If Only I Was Jennifer Aniston in Cute Undies...

This morning I felt like I was in a movie...of course if I had been I would have been played by Jennifer Aniston and would have had on a very cute matching panties and bra set...Probably in purple lace.

But alas, I am not and was not.

I was all dressed, smart and sophisticated, for work (ha, you know me better than that--I had a dress from Target on) and was feeding Bug his blueberry yogurt. Something happened and I knocked my coffee cup causing a good deal to spill onto my dress and me to yell "Fuck!"

**Side note--a great advantage to having a developmentally delayed child who doesn't talk is that I can still cuss. He isn't getting mama out, so I am confident fuck isn't coming anytime soon.**

Anyway. As with all cuss words, Bug starts giggling. He must love the tone of voice. And as I look at him, I realize in my mopping up coffee, cussing, and dress dabbing mania I had forgotten him.

And his yogurt.

That he loves to eat by scooping it with one hand and trying to place that liquid onto his spoon to then attempt to get to his mouth. It is an art he hasn't yet quite mastered.

Now I admit, he doesn't look that bad here because like every good mother I started to clean him up before deciding I needed a picture of the chaos. Originally his entire right arm from fingers to elbow was magically covered in yogurt.

At this point I realize there is no salvaging the outfit and so I strip off the dress and spray it with stain stuff while pleading with Bug to use his spoon, not his fingers.

Like he can use a spoon...








Thus commencing what would have been my Jennifer Aniston scene.

Me in only my undies, standing in the kitchen, spoon feeding a purple-faced baby his yogurt.

Wishing I had some coffee.

Take a Breath Already

Sometimes life moves at a snail's pace...and sometimes it feels like you are drinking from a fire hose. Such is life. 

The first thing I hung up
in our new home! Love Italy!

As many of you may know, life in our household has changed drastically since the last time I posted. Bug and I now live back in Colorado where we just closed on and moved into our new home. Honey is still in training and won't get to join us permanently for many months.

So with the move, the closing, the job search, the day care search, the snow, dog sitting, unpacking, figuring out which light switch belongs to which light, and being a single mom...life is moving at fire hose pace. 

As I started writing I thought to myself..."Just take a breath already and write."

Of course, right as I expanded my lungs the sleeping dog next to me farted. Such is life.

That all being said I am excited to start blogging again. I hope to be more consistent. I will do my best not to use this as a place to bitch, but no guarantees! I have a feeling the next several months will try me in ways I am not really ready to be tried so that will probably spill over here.

If nothing else I am sure many stories will come of it all and I will share them all with you!

Nursery's Ready...Come on Baby!

The final touches have been completed on Baby Gannon's Nursery...just in time for his due date, which is today...

Too bad he's not yet here to enjoy, but it gives me time to post the pictures!

So I know you've seen the paint job and the changing table makeover but there were two other major projects that we worked on: the mobile and the airplane picture. When you see them only one will actually look major, but I assure you the other one took forever too!

First, the mobile. This may not look like much but it took me pretty much all my pregnancy to complete as I am not all that craft-able without specific directions. Here is a link to the Pinterest mobile that started this obsession, but it didn't have templates or anything for me to go directly off of so I had a lot of improvising.

Honey drew me a template of a B-something or another plane. (No matter how hard I try to keep these planes straight I am doing a miserable job). He actually drew me 2 different ones, but doing both were leaps and bounds beyond my ability so we have all six of the same plane.

Overall I am really happy with it. Each plane is made of paper and balsa wood to make it more sturdy. And the little propellers really turn. In the end it probably cost less than $15 to make...not counting the gas of about 55 trips to hobby stores...but that is a whole other issue.

The other major project was inspired from this Pottery Barn picture on wood:

We really didn't want to spend $300 on it, but after I showed it to Honey he fell in love with the idea and got his heart set on having a B-17 on the wall because that was the plane his grandfather flew in the war.

So he found a wonderful gentleman on the internet that would let us use a photo he had, which we then tried to convert to 4 or 5 canvas panels.

Unfortunately, that proved VERY difficult because the size of the photo and the usual size of canvas panels we'd need and we gave up.

So I turned to again to the wonderful world of Pinterest. We found several pins on putting pictures on canvas but then found these great directions for transferring a picture to wood.

And here is how ours turned out...

Pretty amazing! It was a pretty time consuming process since it is like 6 feet long, but totally worth it. It probably cost about $50 for all the supplies, maybe not even that.  We just love it.

So here are a few shots of the whole room:

Now we just need the little guy to get here! Of course he will end up sleeping in our bedroom for the first couple of months, but I already love sitting in here to read so I am sure we will be spending a great deal of time in his nursery. 

It turned out just as I had hoped! 

My Manly-Man and His Candied Walnuts & Diaper Covers

For those of you who know my husband, he tends toward the manly-man side.

He loves guns. Hates musicals. Loves getting dirty. Hates the Kardashians. Loves wrestling with the dogs. Hates shopping for clothes.

Well the last couple of weeks he has had some time off so he's been very helpful around the house doing both manly things like making our toilet flush without the need to two hands and bicep muscles to push the lever down. And he has done more wifely duties like clean the oven and mop the floor so I don't have to on maternity leave. Let me just say here: I really married a keeper...I mean jackpot!!

Annnnnyway. Beyond these chores that I had added to his list, he also surprised me (and himself) with a couple of extra domestically cute actions...

Number 1: I came home from work last week to find him making candied walnuts.

Candied walnuts.

I have no idea what it even takes to candy a walnut because if I get to a recipe that calls for me to do that I immediately balk at the thought of an extra step and move right onto a new recipe. And to make it even better, he called it "easy" and "fun"!

And they were some pretty stinking good walnuts!

Number 2: He had a friend come over to watch a movie and pulled out the cloth diapers we had purchased earlier in the day to show off to his friend.

Mind you, this friend does not have kids...is not married even...is also more of a manly-man...and I swear did not ask anything about diapers to precipitate this show and tell.

Honey contends his friend did indeed ask about the diapers...but I'm not so sure. Honey did most of the picking out of cute diaper covers at the store and I think he was just very excited.

Again I tell you I hit the JACKPOT with him!! He is my cute manly-man and still all domestic!

Wow I'm Huge...and I Killed the Bread Monster

Wow, it has been way too long since my last post. Definitely time for some updates.

1. I killed the Bread Monster. Let's face it, we all knew it would happen and personally I am extremely impressed I kept it alive so long...and that I actually made bread from scratch...more than once, even.

2. I am getting huge! I mean, people ask me if I am having twins. Most of my body hasn't changed a bit but my stomach is huge. Huge-huge. I almost smacked the lady handing out the little registry guns at Target yesterday because she made me guess how far along she was. Now, to me she just looked a little chubby so I said 4 months. She was six. Mind you I am just about 5 months and don't just look chubby. I look like I could give birth this summer. Huge. Here are some pictures. Judge for yourself, but unless you are telling me I look fabulous or that I do not in fact look huge, keep your comments to yourself!

3. We spent Memorial Day weekend in Hilton Head. Honey's sister was nice enough to give us lots of old baby toys and goodies. Overall we had a relaxing and easy trip with a little sunburned skin but that was it. We did happen upon this lovely gentleman before actually leaving Fayetteville as we got gas.

Sure you have a restroom, but do I really have to bring my own toilet seat?

Fayetteville is full of characters...most of which cause Honey to carry a gun. And here are some more lovely photos from the trip.

It was VERY windy!

4. I am doing more writing. If you are the type that like to read blogs and articles about health and education you can check me out at:

www.brainhealthcolorado.com
www.e-merging.org/blog
www.ourcoloradonews.com/education/

As you may notice most of these are things I write on the sly for other people. So yes I am actually getting paid to write. I'd make more babysitting, or working at McDonalds, or doing just about anything else, but I am using my English degree at a paying job. And let's face it...no one expects that to happen!

So there you go, you are now all updated on my life. I will do my best to not let time get away from me. Plus I have several upcoming trips that I promise to write all about.

Not to mention more pictures of my ever growing belly!

2012--New Puppy, New Car, New Job? New Baby?

So I know I have been slacking on writing lately. I have several excuses. And not any of them involve, aliens, supernovas, or Kirk Cameron.

1. My parents came to visit us for a week. I showed my parents the sights of Fayetteville and surrounding areas. Mostly surrounding areas. Fayetteville takes about 1 afternoon.

We did a lot of shopping. My dad loves shopping for cars, furniture, shirts, antiques, and just about anything else. We walked through the 3 blocks of downtown Fayetteville and hit every open shop. Dad was bound and determined to find a new shirt, even if it meant going in stores that didn't cater to his age or race. Here were two of my favorite pictures:

Needless to say, I won't be shopping in downtown Fayetteville for clothing. I tried to get Dad into the lavender suit but sadly he declined.

We also did some furniture shopping. Can't you just see me in this bed!

Wowzar! We also hit up the Special Operations Museum which was very interesting. In front is a statue of Iron Mike. I am sure I should know the story behind who he is...but anyway here's the statue.

So Mom and Dad visiting is one reason I got very behind in posting.

2. Yes I do have a new job. I now work full time (at one place instead of bouncing around between a couple). I work as an office manager at a Construction Waste and Recycling Center. Mostly I sell landscaping materials that we recycle like mulch and stone for driveways, and stuff like that. 

It is very busy and I LOVE the people I work with. I really enjoy working in a small business that is family run. After all we get paid for lunch which involves us sitting around gossiping for about 30 minutes then talking a bit about work. And the company pays for someone to come wash and vacuum my car once a month.

And they are very strict in their Family comes first mindset which will really come in handy since...

3. 

I am pregnant! And I have been freaking exhausted! So when deciding whether to sleep or blog, I have chosen sleep every time. Luckily we have just past the 1st trimester and I am starting to hope that my energy will come back and bless me with motivation again. 

We are very excited and look forward to baby coming in late October. A baby shower is getting in the works for this summer in Denver which I am already looking forward to. I can't wait to see everyone again!

So I hope you forgive me laziness. I hope to get back on a better schedule. 

2012 has been a busy year so far, just to get busier!

Can you be Addicted to Cities?

Best store ever!

This last weekend I made my monthly jaunt up to the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. I haven't really been to the main part of any of these cities but I have been to important places like Nordstrom Rack, REI, and Trader Joes.

I noticed something while I was up there. More than once my pulse started racing, I got a goofy smile on my face, and I instantly felt...jubilant.

First it was seeing a beautiful highway with 4 lanes in each direction spanning out in front of me.  Odd...yes. It reminded me of last time I was in Denver and I actually got a little excited for traffic on I-25 because it proved that people lived around me and had important, fun, fashionable places to be.

Fayetteville traffic consists of people waiting in line to get on base, or crazy amounts of solders trying to eat at the chain restaurants on Skibo Road on a weekend night. Parking lots of Chili's, Texas Road House, and Ruby Tuesdays are out of control.

A second time over the weekend that I felt euphoric was when I walked into DSW. I don't even really like shoes, I'm not that kind of girl, but it was DSW. I didn't know it was there, so it was a little happy surprise of a life past when I could buy a cute pair of shoes at a reasonable price whenever I needed them. (Without the hour and a half drive).

I have grown to love cities. I love the sights, smells, people, weirdness, and now the malls/shopping too.  Yes I also love mountains, trees, trails, and open space. I need both. In talking about where we will settle down someday, I have lots of wishes--mountains, hiking access, big yard, sunny, etc. I have only one real requirement...I must be within 10 minutes of Target.

Yes this may be an addiction. Support group anyone?

Pretty New Car from Across State Lines

Yes I have a new car! And I hope to not have to shop for another one for...well forever if I can help it. I picked out a 2008 All Wheel Drive Honda CR-V. The fun thing is that it has all the bells and whistles. Honey wanted just the bells and I just the whistles so we decided to get both. Heated seats, leather, moon roof (which is different from a sun roof, how??), controls on the steering wheel, and dual air.

I really love the dual air so I can make my side as warm as I want and Honey can keep his side freezing. It also has XM radio for now. If I had a real job I might splurge to keep it going whenever the previous owner's contract runs out, but since my meager money will go to paying for the rest of the car, that probably won't happen.


As with the rest of this car buying experience, finding my CR-V wasn't easy. We had to buy one this last weekend because of Honey's schedule. No pressure, right? Once I actually figured out exactly what I wanted and the price I was willing to spend, we found 2 possible cars. One in Florida. One in Virginia.

The one in Florida had less miles and was a little newer so I had Honey on the phone with the dealer trying to make the numbers work while I worked furiously on Orbitz and Mapquest to figure out how to get to Pompano Beach and back between work on Saturday afternoon and work on Monday afternoon.

They wouldn't budge on price and had crazy high fees. So no trip to Florida.

We kept our fingers crossed on Virginia. Friday morning we drove the 4 hours up there in a crazy little rental car to save on gas. Has anyone ever been in a Toyota Yaris? They are the most uncomfortable, weird little cars. And ours had power nothing, no cruise control, and I think the windshield wipers might have been optional as well.

Anyway, we made it to Virgina, liked the car and bought it. Honey tried to haggle a bit, but the price was in my budget and I was ready to sign. I think the salesman knew he had us--after all, we'd just driven 4 hours and were not likely to go home empty handed over a hundred bucks.

So here is my car. Yay!

Even Honey likes it--he's borrowed it once already and has offered to drive it to get gas when it is empty. Such chivalry!

Fuchia be Damned but Bring on the Strippers

Honey and I have yet to find a new car, so we plopped ourselves into his diesel-sipping truck for the 3 1/2 hour trek down to Hilton Head, SC this weekend. A friend of his watched the house and puppies so we had 3 whole days that didn't involve getting up at 6 am or cleaning up poop. Good times.

We truly had a wonderful time, but there was one thing that kinda bugged me. Hilton Head, for those who haven't been there, is a somewhat unique place--in that it won't let you be very unique. Many beach areas I've visited have a little bit of a live-and-let-live hippy vibe. A WINGS store with crappy souvenirs, a shop selling sarongs, bright happy colors bouncing off the glistening water of the ocean while children's laughter dances on the breeze.

Well in Hilton Head that is strictly not allowed...at least the bright happy colors. On their development website it reads:

"Soft shades of tan, green, rose, and dusky blue are among the only colors allowed because Hilton Head ordinances require everything to blend into the environment instead of looking over-developed. Few streetlights line the roads and no road signs are lit, so if you plan to drive around Hilton Head Island after dark, it would be in your best interests to familiarize yourself with the area beforehand so that you can find what you are looking for."


The Arby's sign, for example, is brown--not red. The Red Roof Inn can't have a red roof. Odd, huh? Everything is muted like the color has slowly drained out of the signs and buildings. Yet, they do have two strip clubs on the island. I am sure they only have non-neon, rose and tan signs to beckon in the hopeful gentleman in from the golf course.

Now I am a big proponent of vibrant joyful colors so the aesthetic kinda bummed me out. Not to mention, the lack of any lights on the signs makes getting gas, finding an ATM, or just driving your drunk husband home in the rain, WAY more difficult than it needs to be. And considering most of the residents of Hilton Head are older, I am amazed any of them can even venture out after dark. It is a death-trap I tell you!


Besides the color thing, Hilton Head really was nice. Everything looked very neat and tidy and the beach was gorgeous. It had tons of running trails, lots of beautiful trees, and fun bars. It rained most of our visit so we didn't do much on the beach but it was beautiful. I especially liked the Spanish Moss.

I look forward to visiting again during the summer when the sun is shining more and really makes the grey and tan buildings sparkle :)

We also checked out Charleston which is gorgeous. We didn't get to spend enough time there so I will definitely have to go back, but I was there long enough to learn they embrace colors. The even have a row of houses celebrating the rainbow.

Rainbow Row

That's my kind of town!

Puppy, Puke and a Cheerleader

As many of you know--my lovely little Toyota, that I bought myself for my 21st birthday, is dead.

So let me tell you what happened...

It all started Saturday morning with Little Lucy throwing up. Now we had been fighting a case of diarrhea with her since the third day we had her. She'd eat, have some diarrhea, we'd make her fast, she'd get just rice to eat, then finally mix in food...then have more diarrhea. Our fat little puppy was no longer fat at all.

Then she threw up inside her cage. And she wouldn't eat.

Bad, very bad. In the world of puppies this could mean a disease called Parvo.

As I found out when I finally got a hold of a vet that was opened on Saturdays. Parvo could be deadly if not treated, they told me, right before they said they could not possibly get us in.

So, in my head I am thinking I have killed my new puppy because I was too cheap and laid-back to get her to the vet at the first signs of diarrhea. I frantically search the web for every vet and vet hospital within a 50 mile radius, my fingers flying on my phone trying to find someone, anyone that could see us on a Saturday.

Thank god for the PetSmart here which has a vet hospital in it. Pretty handy and open 7 days a week!

So you are wondering what this has to do with my car--I'm getting there.

I get off the phone with PetSmart hospital and they say bring her in RIGHT AWAY. No appointment needed. Which leads me to a mad dash into the bedroom to get dressed and tell my sleeping husband we needed to go to the doctor. I had already had 2 hours to work myself into a major tizzy and his slow movements out of bed and into the bathroom were NOT fast enough for me.

So, I run into dining room, put on a shoe, then see Lucy throw up again. At this point Honey comes out of the bathroom to see me trying to hold back Lucy, clean the puke with a giant wad of paper towels while muttering, "Where the hell is my other shoe?"

In between laps of the house where I am searching for my shoe, while wearing one and grabbing my purse, keys, etc, Honey stops me. As I struggle to put my coat on upside down, he asks what the problem is and why I am in such a rush. I yell to him about "Parvo" and "dead puppies" and "hurry" as I run back into the bedroom throw off the one shoe and put on a full new pair still muttering, "Where the hell is my other shoe?"

Finally we are in the car with the dog, and both shoes, headed to PetSmart. Halfway there a little Jetta decided to make a U-turn...without looking...and slammed into us. Honey swerved, we spun, Lucy shook, we avoided a tree, and stopped facing the destroyed Jetta.

And out steps a very upset little high school cheerleader all dolled for a big competition that day. We realize everyone is fine but I start crying anyway because now we can't get to the vet and my puppy IS GOING TO DIE. So Honey gets a car that pulled up to take me to the vet and he dealt with the car. This could be one of the greatest/sweetest/most wonderful things he has ever done. And he even called the insurance companies too! This is why I married him.

Anyway, I am bawling in a stranger's car answering the incessant questions of the 5 year old next to me between sobs, but make it to PetSmart. And...of course...Lucy doesn't have Parvo. I mean, she could have had it, but she doesn't. She's fine and on upset tummy meds. And wanting to eat everything in sight.

My car, on the other hand, is not fine. You can't open the passenger door and there are shards of the Jetta inside the quarter panel. But you should have see the Jetta, her whole front was gone. Makes me love Toyota!

This week we should find out what the next step is but I needed a new car anyway so it may just happen sooner than expected.

And yes I finally found my shoe--on the dining room table.

Thing I Miss Most About Working

In some circles I might be considered a workaholic. But this is America and we thrive on workaholics so there is no 12 step program to help me recover. Instead I have taken it upon myself to mend my ways by not getting a job...

Well at least a full-time job. I have a part-time one. And I am interviewing for a 2nd part-time one. But still, I don't have a full-time job. So it is progress.

I was that crazy person in college that had a full case-load and 2 jobs: admin assistant and waitress. Looking back I have no real idea why I needed 2 jobs, my rent share was $187/month. $187/month!! But I digress...

There are certain things I really miss about working. Money is a big one--but Fayetteville isn't the hub of culture, shopping, or entertainment so I don't really need money. Friends is another--I do spend most of my daily hours talking to dogs, assuming they know exactly what I am saying, and are answering me back by the movement of their eyebrows. But the thing I miss most is Fridays.

Teacher Happy Hour in San Diego

Friday is a magical day in the land of work weeks that adults get to look forward to like a mini-Christmas. A Christmas without stress or wrapping presents or family dinners or fruitcake. It usually involves unwinding with friends and drinking. I love both of these.

This may sound a bit unaltruistic (is that a word??) but Fridays may also be what I miss most about teaching. Teachers do Fridays like Will Farrell's Elf does Christmas. Teacher happy hours are by far the happiest hours out there. Maybe because they often start at 3:30?

Being partially employed and mostly only being responsible for "potty time" doesn't really change based on the day of the week so Fridays just slide by like a Wednesday or a Sunday with no hoopla, no happy hour, no magic.

It is really very sad.

The Good, Bad, and Ugly of My Drive Through the US

It takes 3 days to drive from Colorado to North Carolina. 28 hours--ish. Well it took us 6 weeks. Of course, we took some side trips down to Pensacola and then up to Chicago. Along with several weeks hanging out in Tennessee. We drove, and drove, and drove.

This drive was so fun, that I decided to drive back to Denver for the holidays. It is funny how a few weeks of boredom in a new town make your forget how terrible it is to drive across Kansas. So 1900 miles back to Denver and then again back to Fayetteville.

In this time I made note of some peculiarities in our country. Some are awesome, some are just weird, and some suck.

1. For some reason, the state of Missouri hasn't caught on that using numbers for state roads rather than letters, gives more options. Instead you come across signs like this:

Really? Yes, Missouri there is an easier way.

2. St. Louis has the best radio station in the country. You must check out GenX Radio (at least if you are a GenX'er!) Singing along with Tubthumpin, Ace of Base, and Pour Some Sugar on Me, got me through looking at the alphabet soup of signs. If you are into the I Heart Radio app or website, you must add 100.3 GenX radio. You won't regret it.


3. Don't drive through Tennessee with expired license plates...or even kinda expired. In Colorado if your plates are expiring in December (like mine were), you have until the end of January to get your registration done and new stickers (you gotta love a state that is so laid back that they give you 30 days extra). Well in Tennessee, as of December 1st you are a wanted criminal. I was surrounded by 8 cop cars including an undercover and a drug squad car on a deserted county road. Was it the gun in my car? Nope, just my license plates.


4. If you are a banker, move to Columbia, Tennessee. They work from 8:30-3:00. Nice, huh?


5. The state of Kansas sucks. Beyond the obvious fact that it is flat and long and boring, the state of Kansas actually makes you pay to drive through it. (No I am not talking about the speeding ticket I got outside of Hays). The main route through Kansas, and the rest of the middle of the country, is I-40 and hoity-toity Kansas make you pay to drive on it. Randomly in the middle of Topeka you have to pay a toll. Because driving through the state isn't payment enough somehow.