Happy Anniversary C!

Three years? Three years already?! How can that be?! Thank you for making being married far less painful than I imagined. I love you baby.

Moments to Remember

Do you ever have those moments that you know you'll remember for a long time? Not the important, life-altering moments. Just the moments where you think you were especially funny or witty or smart. (I just know G has to have some of these.) Here are a couple of mine.

Months ago, I was sitting with C at his parents' house. His dad was working on a tough crossword puzzle. Knowing that I also do crosswords, he gave it to me to see if I could fill in anything. Some time later, I handed it back to him. Upon receipt and before looking at the puzzle, he asked, "Were you able to get any of them?" As he looked down, he noticed that not only did I get some of them, I got all of them. Now, I don't share this to tell you how great I am at puzzles. But rather, just because I was super proud! Sometimes I feel like much smartness is expected of me in that house, a smartness that I don't feel worthy of most of the time. So to be able to come through at that moment, was awesome. Just please don't expect me to play Rook with the same smartness.

I make no claims to be funny. Rather, I'm like John Stockton to the funny Karl Malones: I just assist. I'll set you up so you can be funny. But I got a good chuckle out of myself the other day. Wednesday night C and I went to dinner. C ordered pepperoni pizza, and I had a chicken souvlaki. C had enough pizza left over so that he could take the remainders to lunch the next day. I wrapped the pizza that night getting ready for the next day's lunch. But my yogurt breakfast the next day didn't quite cut it. So when I was packing C's lunch, I took a good-sized bite of his pizza before putting it in his lunch box. Then forgot completely about it...until after work that day when C says, "I got a nice surprise in my lunch today." At first, I was trying to remember what surprise could have been in there (a different cookie perhaps?) but then I remembered...the bite! And then I got to pat myself on the back once again for being so funny. In fact, I'm still patting myself on the back. These moments don't happen that often.

C's Wish List

As C doesn't really post on this blog, I'll just have to guess what he'd want given unlimited funds (those being the key words: unlimited funds).

• Duh. Season tickets to the Redskins.
• Since the above will never happen, how about a big, flat-screen LCD TV on which he can watch the Redskins?
• And how about something to eat during those games?
• And some dessert after the steaks?

I think I can handle that last one. The rest will have to wait.

Christmas Traditions Swap

My Christmas Wish List

...since so many of you have asked what I want for Christmas. Mostly because I'm bored at work (again), I have time to play around online so I thought I'd help you out. Here are some fun things I've found.

• This cutting mat. I have a smaller one, but would LOVE a bigger one.
• These kitchen cutting mats. How fun are they?!
• This hoodie for Bruno. Don't you know how much of a sucker I am for a guy in a hoodie?! He'll take a large.
• And I guess if Bruno gets one, Mr. Mullet should too.
• And if you're feeling particularly generous this season, this ring is simply beautiful.

Thanks in advance.

Update on the Mullet

Thankfully, everything concerning the Mullet has been going great, which is why I speak so little of him. But I thought that as I'm quickly approaching trimester three (Saturday!), that I could at least say a little something. And like in wedding announcements and Christmas cards, people insist on seeing pictures, so you won't be disappointed.

So let's see...we've had two ultrasounds at which they say things look great. He has a beating heart, a penis (hence the "he"), two almost-scary-looking eyes, two legs, and two arms. (Did you see that girl in India born with EIGHT limbs?! Wow.) And everything else that they can see that I can't, I'm told, also looks good. Also, he moves like CRAZY. C and I spent most of last week's sacrament meeting just watching my belly erupt with little bumps. It was really quite entertaining, and probably quite irreverent as well.

Concerning me, I feel so good that sometimes I forget that I'm actually pregnant. I'm sure this will change soon however. Once I was out of the first-trimester-extreme-exhaustion, I've been great. Still exercising, still walking Bruno, still working (or least, still going to work). The one thing that I didn't expect was to not be used to this new body of mine. More than once have I ran into something with my butt, not realizing just how deep I am. (Depth as defined as the length from belly button to butt, which has certainly increased.) I'm not in love with maternity clothes because they just make me feel bigger. I'm sure Clinton and Stacy would have some better suggestions. But I am (as well as C) extremely grateful to have had such an "easy" time so far. I know it could be MUCH worse!

Also, I'm not yet at that stage where I just want to have him out of me NOW. In fact, given how totally freaked out and unprepared I feel, I'm not sure I'll ever feel that way. I've been reading books and watching videos, but if you have any other suggestions for things that helped you, please pass them along.

We're slowly working on getting stuff for Mr. Mullet's room, which he will have to share with Ms. Computer and Mr. Sewing Machine (don't you just love how breaking-the-stereotypes I am!?) for who knows how long. We have his crib, his changing table (both in white), a diaper bag (in chocolate blue), a stroller (in green), a few quilts I've made (including this one), the baby carrier I won last summer, and a TON of other stuff (like a baby swing, papasan chair, carseat, car seat carrier thingy, bath thingy, lots of clothes, baby sling) thanks to the extreme generosity of RNAi. I even picked up a 6-month Redskins outfit from Craigslist, which should fit him perfectly come the start of next year's football season. C's mom has already thrown in an outfit, blanket, and diapers! And my sis has put together two boys worth of clothes that I'll pick up during Christmas. After seeing the ridiculous cost of baby bedding sets, I decided that I wanted to make the crib skirt and bumper. I have the skirt done but am taking my time with the bumper, but it will get done. (Christmas presents need to be finished first!) A high school girlfriend is throwing me a shower in Utah so we're kind of holding off on all the other stuff until we know what we need for sure.

And please don't ask what my work plans are after Mr. Mullet arrives. I simply have NO idea.

Oh yes, the picture. Hmm, I feel like I should have been standing with better posture. Oh well.

I Still Love My Newspaper

You may know that I regularly read obituaries. In the Salt Lake Tribune, obit reading was much better. In addition to being more interesting, you'd quite frequently see someone you knew. A previous boss's mother (Mrs. Kirkham) recently died and I found out by reading the obits online.

My Washington Post does three types of obituaries. First, the regular kind done by regular people. Second, what they call a "news obituary;" where the person who died is someone not necessarily local, but famous. The third type is what they call "of note." I'm not really sure who gets to be "of note," so I won't be able to explain it. In these "of note" notices, they will list the person's name, followed by a short description of who they were. This description is generally what their career was. See the following picture for an example.

Some time ago, I saw one that made me pause. It said, "John Doe, Pip." I could not figure out what a PIP was. I kept reading to find out that this person had been a member of the band "Gladys Knight and the Pips." Ooooh, that kind of Pip. Riiiiiight.

But Friday's edition ran a news obit that caught my eye. I had to share. You just know that the obit editors were laughing hysterically as they titled this.

Why Haven't I Done This Before?

Last night our ward had a Cookie Exchange. Can someone please explain to me why I have never participated in one before?!

So, what's for dinner at my house tonight? Cookies!

(In case you're wondering...I brought these.)

Best Wedding Reception Ever

No, it wasn't mine. (C and I both agree that while we loved our wedding and our entire wedding day, it wasn't the greatest wedding ever.) Rather, the best wedding reception ever was one C and I attended over the Thanksgiving weekend.

What was so great about it? For starters, we arrived at 5 p.m. for a cocktail hour. Wow...if only we drank. But let me tell you, my free Sprite was awesome. An hour later, (yes, a full hour of said open bar), we were ushered into the dining room. To find your table, you had to find your little placecard (see above picture). How cute is this?! And how great are those bridesmaids for putting these together?!

Once all the guests were seated, they started to announce the entire wedding party. First were the parents of the bride. The DJ (yep, they had a DJ) played some fun little song and the older couple did a fun little dance, to the "oooh, how cute" of the entire audience. Next came the parents of the groom. Their dance was a bit funkier and their dance, a little funkier as well. Now the audience is chuckling. BUT then come the bridesmaids and the groomsmen. I'm not sure who picked the music, but each couple had some different song (e.g., "Cotton-Eye Joe"). In addition to the fun songs, (here comes the best part) they all did some totally crazy and totally choreographed dance. It was hysterical. Can you just picture how much fun they all had choreographing their dances?! The entire audience was laughing so hard. At our table it was unanimous: Best. Wedding. Ever.

Then, of course, came the food. We got salad (yum, feta); we got crabcakes; we got prime rib. (Take a look a the placecard. C and I both had filet mignon, hence the red rose. But if you ordered the salmon, your rose was pink and if you ordered chicken, it was yellow. Awww, how cute and how practical!) And then we got dessert: a yummy chocolate pudding in an edible chocolate bowl AND chocolate-dipped strawberries. All this in addition to the continuously open bar. Again, bring on the Sprite!

And after dinner was the dancing. Given my "delicate condition" (that, and the fact that we just ate a lot of food...see above paragraph) we weren't much in the mood for dancing. We did get in one dance though.

It was just a great time. We only hope the bride and groom had as much fun as their guests!

The Post Where I Just Complain

You should be grateful that I waited 22 hours to post this. I'm just so tired of big corporations. I can't imagine working in corporate America. Here is a list of my least-favorites:

1. PayPal. I HATE them. HATE HATE HATE. I argued with them for 35 long-distance minutes yesterday about why I cannot verify my account with them. And if I don't verify my account with them, I can't get paid. I did have a choice, however, that would let me get a PayPal credit card. Right, like that's what I'm going to do. A credit card through PayPal? Are they high? No thanks. Besides, any monies paid to me would be sent to the card unless I requested checks. CHECKS?! Again, who are they kidding. I'm still seething about this.
2. TicketMaster. They're almost as bad as PayPal. I hate that you end up paying so much more due to their fees. Ridiculous. I also hate events where the only way you can get tickets is through TicketMaster. Don't they know how evil TicketMaster is? Why must you support the evil empire?
3. Comcast. Why is it so hard to offer me good service at a reasonable price? And what is it exactly that should be worth $120 per month? You're not doing anything. Once you install the line (which is a matter of turning a switch at my apartment), you're done working for me. We know you're not going to provide any kind of follow-up customer service.
4. Kaiser Permanente. At ultrasound one, Mr. Mullet didn't want to show us his spine. I was told that I would need to come in for another ultrasound. Fine. I got a phone call from the OB's office saying that I needed to schedule this appointment for some day before the 10th of December (which is only 10 days away). I call radiology and am told that not only can the girl on the phone NOT schedule the "urgent" appointment, but the girl who does do the urgent scheduling is just not available. She's there, but just not scheduling the urgent appointments. They'd take my name and return the call later. Really?! This is how you handle "urgent" appointments? I'm just glad that something isn't seriously wrong with me. UPDATE: I just got off the phone with them again and apparently the "urgent" appointment setter has 5-7 days to return my phone call. This is not 5-7 days until I'll have the appointment. It's 5-7 days until I can even set the appointment. How can Kaiser not see this as ridiculous?
5. Any company that uses an automated phone system. My main complaint with this is that generally I'm asked to enter some type of ID. But for some reason, once I'm connected to an operator, that operator then asks for the same ID. Why did I have to enter it the first place if they're not going to use it?! How hard is it to transfer this information to the operator? Sheesh. I know very little programming but am pretty sure that even I could accomplish this.

And people think government is bad. I honestly don't know which is worse.

It's Finally Open...

And just in time for Christmas (not coincidentally).

I did it. I opened and filled an Etsy shop. I have no idea if things will sell or not, but I guess we'll see.

So anyway, check it out here.

Exploring the Naming Possibilities...

I know George Costanza wanted to name one of his kids "7," but I'd never before thought about mathematical symbols! It's a whole new world!

I have always been preferential towards the factorial sign, "!"

Whale Softie

Perfect Weekends

Sometimes things just come together and go as well as planned. Two weekends ago, I had one of those times. It was one of the best weekends I've had in a long time.

Friday night C had to chaperone a football game at his high school. While he was gone, I took the opportunity of the rainy night to just sit on the couch and do nothing. Well, close to nothing. My sis decided that she wanted to start digital scrapbooking. For her birthday this past March, I bought her a copy of Photoshop Elements, apparently an easy program to use to do the digi-scrapping. But for some reason (two little boys and a very little girl, most likely) she has little time to devote to learning a new program. So I told her I'd learn it, and pass on my wisdom to her when we meet over Christmas. Therefore, Friday night was spent introducing myself to PE. And now I'm hooked. I'm throwing out all my old scrapbooking stuff and will focus strictly on the digi side of it. I'm excited.

Saturday morning C and I went to our newly-reopened Giant. It's awesome. It's bigger. It's brighter. It has a "deli" instead of a "delly." We love it. After grocery shopping, we spent nearly five hours with C's mom prepping her basement for her Thanksgiving visitors. Some of you know that one of my all-time desired jobs is to be the host of "Clean Sweep" and that's basically what I got to do. It was awesome. The basement is not only cleaned, but organized and now fully habitable. I was just so proud of the work that all of us put in. It was just so satisfying. But exhausting. We went home and ordered pizza, which we never do.

Sunday morning I decided that I better use some of the fresh raspberries we got on sale the day before. I found a recipe for basic muffins and folded in said raspberries and topped with an orange peel-powdered sugar glaze. YUM. Then we took Bruno to Roosevelt Island, as it was simply too beautiful to stay inside. We came home and relaxed and watch the very sad Redskins lose a very sad game. It's hard to be a Redskins fan. (I'm starting to become a Colts fan. That Peyton Manning, his commercials just crack me up.) I worked on a few projects (some Christmas so they'll have to remain a surprise) while C cried over the loss (not really).

And then Monday. Ahhh, federal holidays. Given it was such a special day (ultrasound day!) for us, I wanted to make it memorable. We started the day with a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal. Totally yum. Read the paper, watched some Today show. Then we left for our super-early movie. We saw "Lars and the Real Girl." HILARIOUS. I highly recommend it. Then we went to lunch and had Mexican food. (Notice how awesomely I ate this weekend?! I certainly did.) Then we had enough time to go home and get Bruno walked. Then we trekked back to the doctor's office for the ultrasound. Mr. Mullet was (1) healthy as far as they can see from ultrasounds, (2) ALONE in the womb, and (3) fully cooperating with us to let us see his gender. Ergo...it was perfect. We went home and enjoyed our Monday night.

Three days of perfection. When can I do it again?

Mullet Rag Quilt