New Year, New Life

Seems crazy it's the last day of the year. I've been thinking a lot about how my life will change in 2009 and it's a little overwhelming. Hazel is 7 weeks (well technically speaking 6.5 weeks) away from entering our world. Our lives will never again be the same. Of course I'm excited about that but also scared (as any young first time mother would be). I'm excited to meet her though. To see what or who she looks like, to hold her little tiny body in my arms, to show her off to the world. It's the ultimate art project. "Look what we made!" I'm also excited to be on maternity leave for at least 8 weeks. I can't imagine not coming into the office everyday for 8 entire weeks. I've been working here for 8 years now and can't imagine my only job being to take care of my baby. Entirely new world for me. I'm also hoping to get some sewing time in while I'm home with Little H. I've been spying some patterns I'd like to try out. I would imagine jeans and a cotton top will be my outfit of choice for the next little while. My friends say not even jeans but I've never been much of a sweatpants person. I didn't wear elastic waist pants while pregnant until I couldn't possibly breath in my others. Even then I tried to squeeze myself into them. I do miss real pants. And heels. I know I won't be needing those for some time now but they are still fun to look at and dream about. I have an obsessive love for impractical shoes. Like these for example. I've been flat out drooling over these for ages now. However they are now out of my size and have a 4 inch heel. Infant & four inch heels don't go hand in hand I'm guessing. Sad. I am excited to get back to wearing "real" clothes again. Even if they aren't fancy dresses or the same size I used to wear. Heck, I'll be excited to be able to see my non swollen feet at some point again.

I don't like the idea of making resolutions. People always put so much pressure on themselves to come up with a list of things they want to do in the new year and then feel terrible about themselves when they fall off the wagon. I'm content just knowing that everyday of 2009 will be an adventure of some sort. Might be just something as simple as Hazel slept for four hours straight but I'm going to be thankful for every single day of it.

Happy New Year Everybody! I hope your new year rings in bright and full of hope. I know ours will...

Forgot to Mention

Yesterday when I arrived home from work there was a giant box on my front porch. Strange because I hadn't ordered anything. Turned out to be Haze's gift from my sweet grandparents in Colorado. This stroller system ROCKS! John was so excited he had to put it together right away and spent an hour figuring out how to use it. I'm totally in love with this thing and can't wait for H to use it!!!

Holiday & Hazel

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Amazing! I've all but two presents purchased and wrapped. Thank goodness. I have to do a last minute sewing project tonight and will be all done. I'm looking forward to not having to get up early tomorrow and the yummy dinners in my future. Of course spending time with family as well. I will be experimenting with some new (well not new, I just didn't know I had them) settings on my camera over the holiday. Hopefully I will have some fun shots to share once I'm back on Friday or maybe Monday. Snow and ice is forecasted to be heading our way tonight, so looks like we might have a white Christmas after all. Doesn't matter to me really. I just hope the roads are safe for travelers.

Work is a lot busier than I thought it might be. I do work for sales people however, so even though it's near the holiday it's still end of quarter at the same time. I always feel for them this time each year. I know my brain normally shuts down a few days before Christmas and I have trouble getting anything done. I can't imagine having to be super focused during the holiday on anything other than family and fun. It takes a special brand of person for that I think.

In other news, I've been looking at baby rooms online. Way back when my Mom and I first started talking about Hazel's room she mentioned painting a large tree on one wall of her room. I was totally against the idea because at that time I was going to make her room very neutral colors and not "kiddish". Well I saw this one the other day and I've fallen for the tree idea. How dang cute is that! I think I would want it all in white given that the walls will be that amazing shade of aqua that I can't wait to see on the walls. With her white crib, dresser/changing table and rocker to help it not overwhelm and be more girlie. I'm also planning a white shag rug but haven't found one I really love yet. Also, I'm STILL looking for bedding. How amazing is it that I can't find anything I love that isn't $300. Who in their right mind would spend that on infant bedding? I just don't know. I'm also still in search for curtains but don't want to get anything there until I find the bedding. I don't want it to clash. So, no idea. I'm stuck. I do love the tree idea though. Mom: You were right.

If I don't post before the holiday officially begins, Have a Merry Holiday! I'll be back on Friday (sadly).

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

Can't believe Christmas is next week! I'm scrambling around trying to figure out what is left to be done (actually a lot at our house because I've been pretty out of the Christmas mood this year). I've got my work cut out for me this weekend I think. My plan is to stick with simple, not expensive, holiday stuff. Gifts, food, etc. I don't have a ton of people to buy for, so that's a blessing and I don't have a ton of food I have to make either. Also a blessing. I want to be in the Christmas mood, I'm just having trouble finding it this year. Thus the reason for the silence around here lately. I TRY not to post grouchiness here for me to read later and think "Man! What the heck was I thinkin?!". So let's just leave it at, I have a lot to do in a little amount of time with not a lot of energy.

I hope your holiday planning is coming along better than mine. More later about Hazel's room.

How Many?

Interesting facts for today:

-There are 246,220 people in the U.S. with the first name Hazel.
-Statistically the 271st most popular first name.
-There are 835,008 people in the U.S. with the last name Martin.
-Statistically the 16th most popular last name.
-There are 672 people in the U.S. named Hazel Martin.

We just thought we were being unique!!! Find out how many people in the US have your name here:

http://ww2.howmanyofme.com/

Mini Obsession

Having a mini obsessive moment over Etsy today. I do this from time to time. I forget how much cute handmade goodness is out there just waiting for my little heart to yearn for it. Here are a few of my faves today:The cuteness that is this clutch simply can not be denied. PLUS, it has a bird on it. See it here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5251093

I have a strange love for paper stuffs recently. These hand printed cards are so pretty and sweet. Maybe I would do more hand written notes. OR I could just save them and look at them. See them and other cute here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=54503

I'm down right nuts over this bicycle mug for some odd reason. Maybe it's because of the color or the fact that I've totally been wanting a old school bike lately. Not sure, but I love it. See it and tons of other cute here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=81916

I know what you're thinking, "Another Bag?" but seriously, this one is super cute. I love the light color for spring/summer and the texture of the gathering. PLUS, it's called the Hazelnut Mini Truffle bag. I mean seriously, it's named after my child for heaven sake. Of course I love it! See it and more here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5531346

Lastly, this sweet necklace. I think it would be adorable to get mine with J, N & H for our fast approaching new family. Such a cute idea. See it and more stuffs here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5600180

This year I'm thinking a ton about home made gifts. Not because I don't love to buy things or because money is an issue per say. I just can't seem to get homemade coolness out of my head. I'm cooking up a list of great gifts for the people in my family. Can't wait to share pics with you when the holiday is over. Can't share now because it would give away the surprise!!!

We did end up getting snow yesterday. Enough to make driving home interesting but not enough to keep us all home from work. I actually was stuck at home for two hours today because we live on a steep road with a lot of shade trees shading the road from sun lights. The tiny amount of ice that was out there was right in my way. Oh well...

Rachel W

Has anyone else noticed lately how extraordinarily gorgeous Rachel Weisz is? Seriously. I didn't know anything about her till The Mummy came out (cheesy but fun movies. ONLY the first and second. They didn't bring her back for the third and I refuse to even watch it). Then she was in Constantine and I loved her in that too. I also love her accent. She's just dang pretty if you ask me.

She & Him

No, not the band. Even though they are great too. She, referring to our Hazel. Him, referring to my JZM. Her story, last Monday I had a mini glucose test done at the baby docs office only to find out shortly there after I'd failed it. They scheduled me for another test (a full glucose test this time. A three plus hour ordeal that entails me getting my blood drawn tons of times and drinking a really foul tasting liquid). My dad was gracious enough to go with me as we both suspected I would get rather woozy after having nothing to eat or drink for hours besides this gross "soda pop". We witnessed every sort of weird things/person you could imagine while sitting in that waiting room for three and a half hours. Long story short, test results came back negative. No diabetes for me or Hazel.

Now Him. The Mr went on Sunday to play paintball with some friends from work. His first time. He loved it and had a great time of course. He came back with only a few welts (notice the nasty one on his arm in the above pic) and a lot of fun stories to tell.

We're suppose to get snow today. Was suppose to come overnight I think but we got nothing. Snow doesn't seem as exciting now however since I have to drive in it and it rarely gets me out of work. I am looking forward to seeing that first big beautiful snow this season though. After that, I'm pretty much over it.

Work continues on our house. We're still in the prep stages as far as doing all the small little things that really make a big impact once the paint goes on the walls. Dad put on all the pulls for my kitchen cabinets yesterday. We picked out a cute mini ceiling fan for the kitchen over the weekend too. Got the back splash ripped off and picked out new tile for that. We just have to make a decision about the counter tops before the back splash can go up. Can't remember if I mentioned here or not. I've changed the green color for the main living space. Less sage, more of a yellow green. More us for sure. That should go on the walls soon. Oh and we've also decided to add a new five shelf cabinet in our kitchen/entry way area for linen storage/food storage. For some reason my house doesn't have a real linen closet and we end up stashing towels and sheets where ever we can. I'm so excited to have a place to actually put all that now. A really life linen closet!

Christmas Time

This year I'm not feeling particularly Christmas-y. I mean don't get me wrong, I love to see the lights and think about someday Hazel running in to presents under the tree but I'm not with it like normal. I normally start listening to Christmas music right after Thanksgiving dinner. I normally have my tree up before the Thanksgiving dishes are dry. I typically love this holiday and yet for some reason, I'm not feeling that cheer this year. Maybe it's because I'm pregnant and tired all the time. I'm just not sure. I DO however love the above idea and am thinking about doing this at our house this year instead of our tree. With all the painting and stuff going on, I can't imagine dragging that thing out and putting all those shiny pretty things on it only to have to move it around again when we need to move furniture and such. I'm in the baking mood. That's about as holiday as I'm feeling today at least. I'm going to start the Christmas card list (I did proactively buy those over a month ago now) tonight and who knows what else. I'll keep you posted on what I actually end up doing.

Interesting Thought

"There are no miracles for those who have no faith in them."

-French Proverb

We're Makin Progress Now

Take a look at all the colors we've finally settled on for the house. Green is living room (It's the middle one), orange is hallway, grey is our bedroom and teal is Hazel's room. Super excited to get these started (Dad's working on trim today) and see how different my house looks. We've lived with that mocha brown for so long, I can't imagine anything else. Picking out actual colors has been a challenge and a stretch for me. I'm not very adventurous when it comes to paint because it's a lot of work to redo it if you hate it. I tend to lean more toward the safer side of things. Dad always helps me step out though and do something fun and creative. I always end up liking it once it's up but it's a nail bitter till it gets there. I'm for some reason the most nervous about the green but know it will look amazing once it's done. I'm TOTALLY in love with the color for Hazel's room. I originally wanted to just stick with browns in there. Not get crazy but once I saw the orange in the hallway I knew something more fun was in order. So excited to see her room all put together. Still don't have bedding but that's my fault.

In other news. It's the day before Thanksgiving (In case you've been asleep for a long time or something). There are a total of five people (that's counting myself) on my floor at work today. I knew it would be like that but I'm always amazed how empty the parking lot is. I'm almost certain going home early is in my future. I tried to save some work to do today because I knew it would be just super dead. We'll see how long I actually have to stay.

Happy Turkey Day to everybody!

Things to Look Forward To...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/unrulythings/2186340763/in/set-72157603720643491/

I miss my flat belly (I never realized how flat it was till it wasn't anymore. boo.) and cute jeans. Looking forward to holding my baby girl and seeing my feet again sometime soon. Well, not like it's next week or anything but soon in the grand scheme of life...

I'm also looking forward to a new fancy camera. It's all I really want for christmas, new year, valentines day, birthday, 8th year anniversary. Yeah, I figure it will be the last thing I get for awhile but it will be worth it because I can bring you amazing shots that only I can come up with. With Hazel on the way I feel more than ever like I need to document life each day. I've not done a great job of it so far but soon my job will change and I'll have more time to just think up new things/ways to photograph things. New fancy cameras help a lot too.

It's Almost Here!!!

I am so excited for Thanksgiving this year. I'm excited to see my family but also excited to eat. I mean this year, I won't have to worry if I want hat extra roll. I'll just eat with with butter and not worry about the calories because I can. I'm so excited. My friends and I have been talking about Thanksgiving food all morning. It's always interesting to me to hear what people's family signature dish is. Each family has one. I would say ours in the noodles. I miss getting up early with my Grandma Ann to roll out the noodles on her huge oval kitchen table. I can't wait to make memories like that with Hazel. It's hard though because you never know what things end up making a lasting memory in someones head. This year we're doing something different. We normally try and go to one family or the others for the day of but this year we're kind of going to both. First Dad's side for pre meal snack and hello. Then over to my Mom's hubbies family's house for the actual day of meal. Then leaving Friday around noon to drive down to John's family and lunch with them. I'll certainly get my fill of yummy food. I can't wait for my Mom's banana muffins, John's sisters stuffed mushrooms and Aunt Bev's sour cream mashed potatoes. Seriously, I'm drooling just thinking about all this food.

Infectious Giving

Giving always becomes a topic during the holidays. Most people think of giving either of presents to loved ones or tossing a few coins in the little red buckets as you enter the grocery store but I've been trying to think of this topic in a new way this season (and hopefully into the future). Infectious giving is what comes to mind. I'm not talking purely about monetary giving. I'm talking time, resources, food, sometimes it's just a smile for a stranger. I'm asking God to show me new ways I can give of myself each day for Him.

Our church is doing an amazing thing this year. They've set out to donate 10,000 pounds of food to local shelters and local families in need. That's a huge number and seems impossible to me alone but every week thousands of pounds of food get delivered by people around the northland that want to help out. It's been amazing. John and I filled up eight grocery bags for the cause this time. It feels so good to give stuff away. It's always nice to get stuff but it's far more rewarding to give it away. Not everyone has money or time to give away, that's understandable BUT if God has blessed you with something (time, money, a passion for a specific cause), use it. Give it away like it's on fire. God's blessed John and I in the area of money right now and I'm so thrilled to be able to buy food for needing families or to buy a new coat for a teenage girl who's family can't afford a new one. It helps me keep my life in perspective. Seriously, how many pairs of shoes do I really need? How many lip glosses can I really use at once? I often feel like we get caught up in the things we want and neglect to think about why God's given us the resources we have. I'm not suggesting we sell our homes, move into shacks and give all our personal belongings away. I think God wants us to enjoy our lives (Get new shoes, have cozy bed sheets, eat out sometimes) but I also think He calls us to be wise with our lives. Wise with our resources.

These are just random thoughts I've tried to put together to make full sentences. I know it possibly doesn't make a lot of sense at this point. I'm sure I'll continue to bring pieces of this puzzle out in the coming weeks. Below is an article I linked to from our pastor's blog. It's basically about infectious giving. Take a read...

http://inmed.us/news.asp

Nesting

To start with, I'm totally in love with these little rubber stamps from Target. I think I'm going to have to order these for fun projects in the future.

Yesterday I mentioned I cleaned my house and was kinda freaked about it. That feeling only compounded itself when I got home last night and realized all I had to do was make dinner. Even Hazel's (well Dad's temp room starting tomorrow) room is clean. John and I were marveling at how never in our marriage have we not had a junk room or at least corner. The only place left to tackle is my crafting desk. It's covered in, well crafting stuff. I don't really have enough storage for all that and I find myself wanting to get into other crafts now as well. One step at a time I guess.

Who Are You and What Have You Done With Naomi?

I started out today by getting up around six and cleaning my house. That's right, cleaning. Weird huh? Then I made breakfast. Like I actually cooked something for myself to eat before work. Equally strange. But, the really testament to how strange my behavior is today is that I just ordered a bunch of stuff from Lands End. LANDS END, PEOPLE. I've always thought of them as a place where preppy folks bought all their stuff. I've looked at their site briefly a few summers ago for a swim suit but that's the extend of my love for them. All that changed recently when I got a random catalog in the mail. I flipped through it out of boredom really because what is a pregnant lady going to buy from the preppy catalog? Well, apparently my taste has changed considerably. I found tons of things I was drooling over (mostly coats, hats, tote bags) and wasn't even ashamed of myself. Maybe it's the pregnant hormones talking but they have some great prices on some great stuff. Pretty much any basics you could need (t shirts, sleep pants, robes, house slippers, cardigans, winter stuff, tote bags, swimwear, winter boots, etc) they have it. I've grown into a fairly no frills basics girl and when winter rolls around each year I reach for anything that is going to be soft and keep me warm. This year in particular I have a mild obsessive love for fleece. No idea. Again, totally out of character for me but I can't get enough. I'm also in love with these puffy vest things. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? I'm telling you all, the body snatchers have arrive and took me first...
BTW, The pics aren't the things I bought but if I didn't have a preggy belly I would. I got things like hat, scarf, gloves, house slippers, etc. I'm excited to get a puffy jacket and vest next year though AND wear real jeans again.

Not Much

Not much to say today from the Land of Naomi. Glad it's Friday. A cold weekend is a head but thankfully everything we are going to be doing will be inside. I'm planning to do a major clean/rearrange starting tonight. I guess I'm feeling that nesting feeling. I've been looking around the house and realizing we have so much stuff. So much stuff we don't ever use or really don't like. My plan is to keep the stuff we love and use. I will pack up any clothing I currently can't fit into but other than that, I plan to make a large haul to the goodwill. I'm excited to focus on one thing at a time till it's done. Not sure why.

In other news, Dad's coming to town. Next week my Dad's coming to KC to paint the entire inside of my house. Walls, trim, the works. It's in desperate need and I'm so excited!!! Excited to have him here for a unexpected visit AND excited to have fresh paint on the walls. Haven't decided on a color yet. I'm terrible at paint colors for some reason. He's REALLY good at it though and I'm hoping he can give me some help there.

Also, I've purchased some cute things recently that I haven't shared (nothing fabulous but little things make me happy these days). The coffee maker was an extremely awesome gift for our anniversary. Boy do I love it...

New canisters, new knee high stockings, some pretty flowers, some fuzzy yarn that is planned to be a cute bunny animal for my Hazel. Also, in the shot with my canisters, you can see a tiny orange bowl. That's actually a set of really cool tiny bowls/measuring cups that I'm totally in love with. I'm on an orange kick again.

5:00pm can't come soon enough today...

Weekend

The weekend has come and gone. Rather quickly I must admit. Saturday Gran and I braved the cold to do some furniture shopping. We ended up leaving with only a few kitchen items. Had dinner at one of our favorite places.

Lovely food and company. Woke up feeling yucky for our seventh anniversary. I think my sinus thing has either returned or was just hiding for a bit because it's back with a score to settle. I managed to drag myself out of bed for some quick errands and a lovely gift. Napped on the couch for a while and then realized I was gonna have to pull myself up and be awake for our dinner plans later that night. We ended up going to Lidia's Italian Kitchen. It's such a lovely place and the food is always good.

The restaurant itself is gorgeous and I'm always just in love with the decor every time we go. This is the huge stone fireplace near the entrance. The lighting is so dim in this place I couldn't get a great shot but you get the idea. So cool. Also, they have three of these amazing Dale Chihuly light fixtures down the middle that's I'm totally blow away by every time as well. What that guy can do with glass is amazing!

Montage to The Cuteness That Is John

Since we've been together SEVEN years this weekend, I thought it only fitting to do a mini montage to my husband. We've had many many funny times together.

Like this one for example...

This was before we tried to cross that water you see behind us. We of course got the thing stuck and the funniest story every told unfolded. All I will say is that it involved my mom standing in her underwear in the middle of that water trying to pull us out using her pants as a tow rope. I'm laughing so hard I'm crying just thinking about it.

Next, we have...

This funny shot is of John dressed up for my dad's pirate birthday party. That in itself isn't the funny part. They funny part came when we all came home late full of piss and vinegar. The boys decided to steal the target practice deer from the neighbor behind them to put on the back porch looking into the kitchen window of the other neighbor. I'm pretty sure they started WW3.

Then we have...

This was from my 25th birthday party. We had a huge bash at Gran's house with family and work folks. Tons of food and of course booze. I'm not sure if it was the mixing of the booze or the excitement of all the new people he's met that night but we found John a few hours later passed out hugging the toilet in my Grandma's bathroom with the towel bar ripped off the wall. He spent the night in there as he was completely against sleeping in an actual bed that night.

Last but certainly not least. The Darth Martin head gear. He used to wear this to play video games till I made him put it in the attic. I'm a mean and evil wife, I know.

I gotta say, he always manages to keep me laughin. Love his guts more than I can ever say.

New Cuteness For Me

New Corso Como brown mary jane heels. I've been looking forever for the perfect pair and here they are. Best of all, they were on sale!!!

Secondly, super cute white mini bird planter my mom sent me as a gift a few weeks ago. It's such a sweet piece and I think it will have to go in Hazel's room. By the way, the lighting in my house really sucks.

Finally Friday. We're having dinner tonight with some friends, I'm going out furniture shopping with my Gran tomorrow and then Sunday is our 7th wedding anniversary. Amazing that it's been seven years. We both always say it seems like we haven't been together all that long but that is seems like we've known each other our entire lives. I can't wait to share our special day together again this year and many more to come...

Not much going on with me today. The weekend was nice. Nice weather for sure. We saw the movie Eagle Eye Saturday night. LOVE Shia (the main actor) in just about everything he's done so far. It's an action-y movie per usual for me. I sometimes wonder why I'm not one of those deep, art movie type of people but I'm totally not. I want stories to play out and make sense and then at the end be done (and preferably a happy ending. I know that happy endings aren't always reality but I think they is enough sad in this world without having to make movies about it too). Anyway, good action for those of you, like me, that like action.

Also, the time change spent the entire weekend messing with my head. I'm finally getting around to liking the idea of it (not that I had much choice). I got up an hour early today and felt totally awake. I got a ton of little things done around the house before I had to leave for work. I felt like Wonder Woman!

Tonight John and I are going to try and tame the wild forest of leaves in our front year. We have to huge trees in the front and a ton of big-ish ones in the back. Our little old people neighbors are out in their yards every morning raking leaves and trying to make us feel bad. Hasn't worked so far but I am getting tired of every time I open the front door a gust of crunchies fly in. The cat loves it, I however have to sweep it up.

Hope everyone was able to get out and vote today. As I get older I see more and more the importance of it. I've heard horror stories today of people waiting in line for around 3 hours to make their mark. Crazy times.

Happy Halloween

No, this is not my pumpkin. Wish it was. I actually totally forgot about this holiday until I was driving to work and cute kids at the bus stop had funny hats and such on. I was like "What's up with that?" Then I remembered. Sad really given that this is John's favorite holiday (Besides our anniversary, I'm sure). We never seem to get around to decorating or even making plans for the big night. We don't pass out candy or anything. We're so lame. I know that will all change now that Hazel is on the way. John is already talking about taking her out trick or treating and what fun costumes she might like. More important to him, HE will get to dress up and not feel silly for doing so. He's so cute. He's a little photo of us from years ago on Halloween.
Who knows what we're going on about. Bet you can't guess what is costume is. ZOMBIE...

Glad today is Friday. This week has seemed long but only really because I spent two entire days of it at home, sick. I'm better-ish now. Sinus stuff doesn't just go away seems like. I'm excited however because this weekend, we have NOTHING planned. Other than church but nothing else. I'm sure we will decide we want to go and do something at some point but it feels nice to not have plans. I hope to just work around the house and relax. Seriously, we never relax and do nothing. I think the weather is suppose to be really nice too, so hopefully we can spend some time outdoors with our little girls.

In other unimportant to anyone but me news. Awhile back I got an award at work and part of it was $100. I saved it forever because honestly I wanted to spend it on the right thing. Something I would love forever. That's a hard thing to find. Well I did it. I've been searching for the perfect brown purse for I can't even remember how long. Looked everywhere seems like but couldn't find anything I was in LOVE with. Finally came across one by The Sak and spent a few weeks thinking it over. Did it have the right amount of pockets? Was it the color I wanted? Was it to big? John was about to go crazy from me talking about this stupid purse already! Anyway, ordered it last week and got it this week. OMG, I love it so much. It's just perfect and will even be perfect when Hazel comes a long because it's big enough I could use it as a mini diaper bag for quick trips to the store and such. I'm in total love. I keep getting it out of my work drawer so I can just look at it. Behold...

Yes, these are the things that excite me these days. That and all the INSANELY cute baby clothes out there. Anyway, hopefully you all will have a lovely weekend filled with nothing to do just like us.

Hat Obsession

So if you know me at all, you know I'm totally obsessed with hats. I don't tend to wear a lot of them in summer but as soon as those leaves start falling my head starts itchin for some sort of covering. I get this love of hats from my Dad of course. He's been a hat man forever (even though he's resorted recently to the dreadful Titans cap. Yeah, I'm watching you buddy!). Last year I got a great new coat that's black and white tweed with big black buttons. I love it but my hat, scarf, gloves combo are always so drab. This year I'm hoping to get something a lot more fun and pretty to livin up the wintry weather. Here are my hat picks for today (All from Urban Outfitters):

Growin...

So as I promised last week (well sometime) I got a better picture of my belly for you. Here I am in all my splendid pregnant glory...

She's nearly a foot long now. We keep calling her out little chili cheese coney. Last night I had a terrible time sleeping. She was awake and kicking around 1am. Got up and had some choc milk to calm her down. Just like her mom a good dose of sugar will chill her right out. Finally got back to sleep on the couch (yes the couch. The bed really isn't very comfortable for some reason) and then around three something I woke up with a cramp in my leg. Up walking around for ten minutes trying to get it to calm down. Alarm at 5:30. Sigh...

At least today is sunny though. Hopefully that will keep me awake and motivated to work. Hopefully.

As Requested...

Been a few requests recently for a updated belly shot. Here you go. I do plan on getting some not so terrible shots at some point. She's really sticking out these days. Only to get bigger I know. She's moving around a lot too. Sometimes she kicks so hard it makes me jump. We have another doctors appointment next Monday. I've never been to the doctor so much in all my life.

This weekend was good. John had to work Saturday, so I stayed home and cleaned up the house and took a lot of breaks. Getting harder to do things I'm used to doing. Like clean the toilet for example. Our plumbing has been acting up lately. John had to come home from work and work on our house more Saturday night. Sad but we got it all fixed I think. Sunday he got up early and went off to his sky diving class. That's right, sky diving. He's always wanted to do it and as nervous as it makes me, I wouldn't be a good wife if I kept him from doing something like that just because it scares me. He had to take a five hour safety and procedures course and then they were suppose to jump. However, the wind was just a little to high yesterday and he had to get a rain check. So sometime within the next 30 days, John will be jumping out of a plane. Yikes! He's excited though.

Got a new book this weekend. "Twilight". I really know very little about it but I've heard a lot of people talking about it. I know it's a vampire book and that they are making a movie of it that is to be released soon. I picked it up at Target to just read while waiting on John to look at games and it seems easy to read but also could have a good story. I guess it's one of like four in a series. Just what I need. Another series to get painfully hooked on and then devastated once I've read the last book. I still can't manage to get past the last Harry Potter book. Anyway, haven't started it yet. I'll keep you posted.

Cute pic for today (besides my beastly belly), Emma looking oh so sweet in one of our chairs. She's never laid in this chair before or since. I think she was just looking for a photo opp.