A Long Update

Dear Blog,

I've been absent for a few months.  Oh, you didn't notice?  Well, I have a really good reason.  I've been sick and I haven't wanted to write and only whine about how sick I feel.  But not writing about how sick I feel just doesn't seem right under the circumstances.  This is a good kind of sickness, or at least the kind of sickness that will have a really great ending and has a time limit of 5 more months!  Yep, you probably did the math and figured it out, I'm pregnant!  The morning sickness has been pretty rough.  Especially since I'm 18 weeks and it's supposed to be over by now according to blogs and books and friends.  But, it's still hanging in there reminding me how miserable I can feel.  I'll try to write about some of the funnier aspects of morning sickness at another time, but now I just want to remember some of the more fun parts of pregnancy so far.

Shawn and I took a trip to Disneyland in October with his brother Lance's family.  We'd been planning it for months and I was absolutely determined NOT to be pregnant at Disneyland.  Right before we left I was a bit suspicious that I might be pregnant and my period was technically one day late when we left.  But it hadn't been particularly regularly since I went off of birth control, so I decided it wasn't a big deal.  We had a great time in Disneyland, but my period still hadn't shown up when we got back on Sunday night.  Monday I knew it was time to take a test, but I was so nervous about it!  We had decided to start trying, but I thought it would take months before we actually got pregnant!  I didn't feel ready, I thought I would have more time.  We had a family party right after work, and I just couldn't think about anything else, and we went straight to the store from the party where we ran into a neighbor who was just so chatty!  I kept thinking, "We have things to do!  We can't sit here and chat with you!"  

I was too nervous to actually look at the pregnancy test, so I left it sitting on the counter and told Shawn to go in and look at it.  And sure enough we are pregnant! Shawn was so excited right from the first moment, but I was terrified!  It took me a few days to not be freaked out about the whole thing, and honestly it's taken me a few weeks to get excited! 

And then the morning sickness settled in.  And the painful sciatic nerve.  And heartburn.  And lots of cramping and stretching.  And congestion.  I feel like if there's a pregnancy symptom I've had it.  At first I didn't want to tell anyone, not a soul, until 12 weeks.  But after the first couple of days of morning sickness I had to call my Mom, and as soon as I called my Mom Shawn called his.  Then I had to tell my sister because it's been too long since my Mom has been pregnant, and she never had morning sickness.  And so much for waiting until 12 weeks.  We slowly told people, but did manage to keep it mostly secret until Christmas.

Shawn had to work for my first OB appointment at 8 weeks, so I invited my Mom to come, and it was so sweet to have her with me.  Part of me was scared that they would tell me I wasn't pregnant and just had the stomach flu, despite the pregnancy test and no period.  When we heard the heartbeat for the first  time it became real for the first time!  And then they had a portable ultrasound that was new in the office, so I got my first ultrasound and saw my tiny baby moving around and looking just like a baby!  And that's when I started to cry.  That is an amazing experience and one I won't even try to really describe!

Shawn came with me to the 12 week appointment which was our first with the actual doctor who was going to deliver our baby.  I'm glad he was there to meet her with me and hear the heartbeat again.  That's by far the best part of the appointment, just a reassurance that Baby Walker is still in there and going strong.

We haven't come up with any good nicknames for the baby yet.  When I talk to it I just call it "Baby."  Shawn doesn't talk to the baby like I do, but when he talks about the baby he always calls the baby a he.  Shawn is determined he's having a boy!  I think it's a girl, but am not completely determined.  For a little while we called it Franny because it was the size of a raspberry, and Fran is similar to the spanish word for Raspberry, but it didn't stil for more than a couple of days.

We have a great pregnancy app on my phone and have had fun reading the updates every week and seeing what fruit or vegetable I'm carrying now.  Currently the baby is the size of a Mango, but I suspect it's more of a baked potato.

Well blog, that's enough for tonight.  And hopefully the morning sickness will stay away for a few more days and I'll be able to write the humorous part of morning sickness.

Annie  

What I've Been Up To

It's been another long and hard week.  This is what I've been up to when I haven't been working:

I got on Pintrest.  I love it, but it's so easy to lose an hour there!  I'm SaltLakeAnnie if  you want to follow my boards.

I've been watching the first season of West Wing this week.  I'm not sure how many times I've watched the first season of West Wing, probably 3 or 4.  I love it because I feel smarter when I watch it.  It makes me want know what is going on.  But sadly, I probably could tell you more about the politics and what is going on in the Washington, DC of West Wing better than what is actually going on today.

I am working on making this skirt.  I love it and have been dreaming of making it since before I owned a sewing machine.  The fabric I'm using is similar but slightly different.   I ran into a slight snag though when I discovered I needed an invisible zipper foot.  Did you know you needed more than one zipper foot?

I made this pie for Shawn.  Well, not THAT pie, but that's the recipe for the pie I made, which I got here.  Only, I didn't do the lattice crust, I went for a regular old pie crust.  And I think it was the best apple pie I've ever had.  I'll definitely make it again, and next time I'll try the lattice crust.  (Oh, and to be perfectly honest, I bought the pie crust, I didn't make it, I just used the recipe for the insides.)

I harvested the first of our sunflower seeds.  The sunflowers were huge, easily three feet across!  We cut them down and let them dry for two weeks and yesterday I harvested them.  I'll try to post pictures of the actual flowers later, they were amazing!  I've roasted most of them and left the rest raw to either give to the birds this winter or plant next spring.

Right now I'm making this soup, found on Pintrest (and here).  It's so nice to have a Sunday.  Shawn and Scooter are asleep on the couch and later Shawn will make some bread.  We plan to take a drive up the mountains to see the beautiful fall leaves this afternoon, and I plan on convincing Shawn to let me whoop his butt at Ticket to Ride Europe after dinner.

Overwhelmed

It's been one of those weeks and it's only Tuesday.  Yesterday was one of those days that when I got home from work I told Shawn that I just wanted to cry.  He looked at me and said "Go ahead and cry" but he face looked more like "Please don't cry, I won't know what to do if you cry!" Today was one of those days that I said to Laura, let's just run away.  She asked where I wanted to go and I said, I don't care, anywhere but here.  I'd be satisfied with Park City or Logan. (They are other cities in the state, I don't think that really classifies as running away.)  Ugh.  I feel so overwhelmed at work, so behind.  And the behindness is overwhelming the overwhelming feeling.  And last week I had a week that was a perfect catch up week.  Until three urgent project got dropped on my desk, and then one of the behind projects came to a head, and I didn't get anything else done.  So, this week I'm even MORE behind, more guilt for being behind and I just want to stop and run away.  I just want to ignore all the behind projects and start completely fresh.

So, I stopped today and yesterday.  I surveyed my office and got that overwhelmed feeling, but I decided to meet it head on.  Instead of plopping non-urgent tasks and random papers in piles around my office I confronted those piles.  I went through all of those papers and I threw most of them in the recycling bin.  I organized the others and I cleaned off my desk.  And I started to feel a sense of ease.  A sense that I can indeed get caught up.  And tonight before I left work I sat down with my "to do" stack and I went through every item, and I created a To Do List.  And for the first time in weeks I feel like all that work is manageable.  I can do it.  And what's more, I'm kind of excited to do it.  I love to do lists, I love crossing off items.  Even though it's already been a long week I'm kind of looking forward to tomorrow and walking into my clean, organized office with my to do list.

Semi-Annual Craft Night

This Saturday night is the Harrell Family Semi-Annual Craft Night.  It happens every April and October and happens to coincide with this other event.  In the spring we made some fun bottlecap magnets and last year we worked on crafts for my wedding.  For some reason or another I'm the one that is assigned to finding the craft project to do, and this year I'm thinking wreaths.  But I like them all and can't decide which one to do.

First up, the Acorn Wreath (tutorial found here).  I love the color of this wreath, I love how perfect it looks.  I love the wide ribbon.  I can't think of anything I don't like! The first problem is where to find acorns.  The second is that it is very time consuming, not a one evening kind of project.

Next, the felt flower wreath. (Found here.) The color is perfect for the autumn.  I love how it looks, I like the idea of the felt flowers.  But again, it might be more than a one evening kind of project.  

Third, another more than one evening project.  Maybe I'm not being very creative, but I do like the dark pink.  Maybe I'll save this one for Valentine's Day.  Maybe it's the color and the gauzy ribbon, but it's a little romantic.  This year I left my red Christmas Wreath on the door until spring, so I definitely need something for Valentine's Day. (Found here.)

This is my favorite of all the wreaths.  It's the Split Pea wreath!  It looks SO EASY to make, and I love the texture.  I want to make them small and hang them in my windows like in the tutorial, but I have no idea which windows.  I love the color, but it doesn't exactly say fall, does it?  My sister suggested spray painting it, and I like that idea too.  Maybe if I spray painted it black it would be a good Halloween wreath?  Add some orange or yellow felt flowers?  Hmmm.  This is a top contender, but maybe too messy for a quick evening project.   (Found here.)

I think this pumpkin colored yarn wreath is the winner.  Winding yarn around a wreath would be easy enough to do while sitting around and talking, and I think it's quick enough for one evening.  I love the felt flowers and the small branches.  I want to make those felt flowers and put them on headbands and bags too.  (Found here.)

Most of the wreaths were found on my new favorite blog, Little Things Bring Smiles.  I want to make all of Katie's projects!  I love blogs that inspire me, and this one is definitely working.  

So, what do you think?  Which one would you do?  Do you have a favorite fall craft?  Or a favorite craft website?  I need some Halloween or indoor fall decor ideas too.  Where do you get inspiration for home decor?

North Carolina

I love to travel.  I love visiting new cities and learning how they work.  I love shopping in new cities and visiting restaurants.  I love maps and travel technology.  I love apps that help me find a place to eat.  I love using technology to find my favorite store in a new city.  And this is a love that Shawn and I share, we both love to travel.  We love to visit new countries and learn about new cultures.  But something changed in my love of travel when I began to love Shawn.  I know that they say that love can grow, but in some ways loving Shawn made me love travel less.  The problem is that now when I do travel I want to travel WITH Shawn.  I want to share new cities and new experiences with him.

I was in North Carolina for work last week.  Try as I might to convince Shawn to take a week off of work  and come to North Carolina with me, the romance of sitting in a hotel for a week by himself while I worked didn't convince him to join me.  Nor did the awesome hotel with an indoor waterpark.  And the week I spent in North Carolina was one of the longest weeks of my life.  It had nothing to do with the meeting I attended, or the person I traveled with, or the appointments I had.  It had everything to do with being away from Shawn.  I wanted to be able to share everything with him.  I wanted to sit at the table at night with him and tell him about my day.  I wanted to hold his hand while I fell asleep.  I wanted him with me to laugh at the strange pictures on the walls of the hotel.  I wanted to explore with him.  

But while I hate traveling without him, I love that we live when we do and have the technology available to us.  I can take pictures and immediately send them to him.  I can text him or email him about things that make me laugh.  I can call him at night easily.  And the best invention we found this week was face time from Apple.  When I travel for work I can take an iPad with me and I LOVE using facetime to chat with Shawn at home with our MacBook.  I loved being able to show him my hotel room. I loved seeing his face.  And that's what made this week bearable.  

Highlights of the week:

1) Staying at the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, North Carolina.  It felt like a strange place for a meeting since they really cater to families, but the staff was amazing and the meeting went really well.  The water park looked like a lot of fun, and I would definitely stay there again.  And the little kid inside of me really wanted to go buy a magic wand and participate in their Magic Quest.  

2) My travel companion would not agree with me, but I loved our second hotel too, the Blake Hotel in Charlotte, NC.  I thought the lobby was swanky and loved my room and the view of the city.  I didn't like that it didn't have a gym but you had to go across the street to work out (which I didn't do).  The staff was also really amazing and friendly.  Is that a North Carolina thing?

3) The three hour drive each way from Charlotte to Raleigh.  OK, driving for 8 hours in a car with a colleague in one day isn't exactly what I would call fun, but I loved seeing the drive from Charlotte to Raleigh.  We didn't take the main interstate, but our Garmin sent us a less direct way that took the same amount of town.  We drove through the town Pittsboro, and I fell in love with it.  I want to go back and stop in this town!


Next time I'm in North Carolina I'm taking Shawn with me.  And I'm glad the next trip I have planned is a trip with Shawn to DISNEYLAND!

Autumn

All over the World Wide Web I've seen people rejoicing that it's fall.  And I've been in denial.  They've been enjoying fall colors and fall sweaters, decorating their houses for fall.  And in my mind it is still summer.  I love summer, I love the long warm days and my husband being home all day.  But the reality is that Shawn has been teaching for over a month and the mornings are dark when we leave the house, and the hot days aren't so hot anymore.  But I have still clinged on to the thoughts that it is still summer!  I used to rejoice at the Autumnal Equinox, but this year I was in North Carolina and decided to completely ignore it.  But then on Monday Shawn and I went out to pick our pears, the seven pears on our pear tree that has struggled to live.  And on the ground there were leaves!  Only four or five, but leaves nonetheless.  Fall is here my friends.  And while I love fall, this year I am not ready for it.  I don't want summer to end.  Because after fall comes that other season, the season I dread the most, the season of snow.  I like watching snow fall.  I don't mind it being in my yard.  I even tolerate having to shovel it.  But the thing I dread most about snow, driving in it.  I hate, loathe, despise driving in snow.  So, can we just keep summer here a little longer?

It's That Time of Year Again!

Dear Blog,

Can I tell you why I'm excited that it's September?  Not because of football like so many other people, but because of fall television! My favorite shows are coming back!  No more repeats, no more going to Tivo and wondering if it recorded anything good, but new television!  Here are the shows I'm most looking forward to:

America's Next Top Model

Ok, so this is my guilty pleasure of a reality show.  I don't really like the fighting or even the judging.  OK, why do I watch this show again?  Oh yeah, I really watch it for the photo shoot costumes.  That Tyra, she's creative.  (Speaking of ANTM, my Tivo is recording it RIGHT NOW!)

Biggest Loser

I love the Biggest Loser because it both makes me feel inspired and guilty all at the same time.  Inspired because hello, the contestants work so hard and really overcome a lot.  Guilty because I'm sitting on the couch eating and not getting up and going to the gym.  I like this because for a reality show it's not as manipulative and conspiring as a lot of competitive shows can be, it really depends on the contestants.  Some seasons the contestants have been manipulative and formed alliances, but sometimes they don't they're all there to lose weight and have a better life.

The Vampire Diaries

OK, another guilty pleasure.  This is one Shawn got me in to.  I've never really been a fan of vampires, and certainly not that other vampire book/movie series, but I'm hooked on Vampire Diaries.  Shawn doesn't watch a lot of TV, so this was a way to watch something together.  I really like the story lines, I find them intriguing.  Plus, Damon played Boone on Lost, but it took me halfway into Season 2 to figure it out.  I'm automatically a fan of anyone who was on Lost.

How I Met Your Mother

I love this show and I owe it all to Laura.  I didn't start watching HIMYM until the end of the third season when I moved in with Laura.  And from that moment on I was hooked.  It's funny, and it's even funnier when you've watch for a bit and start catching on to the repeat jokes.  Like Slap Bet.  Or the Intervention.  Plus, I would totally marry Tedd.  (Um, can I say that now that I'm married?  He's a fictional character, nothing to worry about Shawn!)  And Marshall and Lily?  Cutest couple on TV.  And though Barney is disgusting, part of me wishes he would be my friend.  

The Amazing Race

Now my all-time favorite television show, The Amazing Race!  I have watched this show from the first season and I LOVE IT!  They contestants get to travel the world, they get to do cool challenges like eating strange food or rolling cheese down hills.  This is the only reality show I would ever consider applying for.  And like The Biggest Loser there is rarely any malicious strategy or alliances.  It's the people who are nice to each other that do well in this race, the mean people rarely get to the end.  I love this show, and I want Phil's job.

So, Blog, what about you?  What are your favorite shows?  What reality show would you do? Are you an HIMYM fan too?