This Joy Filled Life

well Christmas is over, and what a merry one this was!  We finally were able to share our great news with family (and now friends) and i feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders!  ahhhh... sigh.... ahhh... its good to not have to lie about my thickening belly and fake drinking alcohol to avoid any weird looks or questions.  WE'RE HAVING A BABY!  there. now that thats done, i will get into what else is going on. i've been feeling great these last couple weeks. i will be 14 weeks on tuesday, and i think morning sickness has all but left me.  (there are still a few pesky food aversions, but i can deal with that as long as i don't feel like i need to barf at any moment.)  my stomach had been growing a little bit, and from the pictures i've taken every week since we found out, i can definitely tell.. although most probably could not.  some of our aunts told me "oh i can totally tell, i knew it the moment i saw you.." and although i sort of like...

so today is sunday and on tuesday i will be 12 weeks!  that is a big milestone, and the risk of miscarriage is far less after this point.  I have my 12 week appointment on friday, and hopefully the doc says everything is a-ok.  i am feeling truckloads better than the last post.  my non-barfing-but-still-sicker-than-a-dog morning sickness seems to be ebbing away and i am able to think of most foods without wanting to ralph (this however, does not include chicken, which still makes me nauseous just thinking about it).  i am a little bit less tired than i have been, although because this is sunday and i don't have a whole lot to do, i plan on taking a nap in the near future. we are getting very excited to tell everyone our big news.  we plan on telling our extended family on christmas and then from there we will tell everyone else.  i really am dying to tell people.  i want to shout it out. whoever's idea this was to wait so long must have been a l...

so i've been quite quiet on this blog for a little while, and while i could talk about my back issues and physical therapy, there is something much more exciting that i haven't been able to talk about that simply trumps anything else that is going on around me.  any number of my friends would automatically say "oh a secret? you're totally pregnant!" because that is pretty much our answer to everything lately.  "i'm feeling sick," "oh you must be prego"; "i am thirsty," "oh you're totally pregnant"; "I am tired," "oh you're definitely prego." at one point everyone i know was getting married, and now it seems like everyone i know is going to have a baby.  AND.... drumroll please?? SO AM I!!!  WE ARE PREGNANT! ahh, it feels so good to get that off my chest!!  lets just say that keeping secrets is not my strong point.  that's not to say i am not a reliable person, but when it's my own ...

So, yes, i have been neglecting my blogging duties, but lets be honest: this is not my job, nor does anyone really rely on me posting to get through the day, so for now, i'm not worried about it.  i guess i just really haven't had much to say lately... i still don't really.  i haven't been running because i threw my back out (again) and i am finally resigned to going to physical therapy to see if we can't fix this pesky problem i have that seems to come back every few months.  i've been told otherwise, but i seriously think i have sciatica or something.  isn't that something only old people get?  i just hope to get to the bottom of this, or i might subject myself to the embarrassment of getting one of those upside-down-back-pain-cure-machines. We can be serious and say that i wouldn't look nearly as serene in spandex hanging upside-down, so lets hope we figure out my back issues.  I really was enjoying running, but now i am probably going to have to sta...

this summer has been so full and busy, its a wonder i'm having time to sit down and write this!  we just got back from maui on monday night and already we're thrown back into the busy life we left for a week.  with a bbq on saturday and parties, showers, babies, and work, i feel like i already need a break!  perfect time to start a new hobby? sure, why not.   i've talked before about my desire to kick my butt back into shape, and for the most part, i have succeeded in maintaining my not-so-svelte-as-it-used-to-be figure... not bad, but i am going to do something crazy, something i've never done or had any interest in before- running.  now i am not training for a marathon or anything, like some of my crazy friends.  my goal is realistic; i found a website that gives a training course to go from the couch to a 5k in about 2 months. i am impressed that it is actually working, so far anyways.  when i started, (this is a little embarrassing to say) i coul...

it's been a while since i last blogged.. and that is because we've been across the country visiting the east coast.  we figured now would be the best time to see some of this beautiful country, so we packed up and hightailed it over to Boston, New York, and DC.  sort of an "our nation's old and interesting places" tour.  It sounded like fun, and it really was, in Boston and New York.  lots of sightseeing, walking, eating, walking, sleeping, walking... but by the time we got to DC it was more like this: sweating, walking, sweating, walking, sweating, eating, sweating, walking, sleeping, sweating, walking, sweating... you get the picture.  at 90+ degrees and around 100% humidity, i am not really sure how people who live there deal with it!!! I was so hot and sweaty i literally sweated through a few shirts.  gross.  so, needless to say, DC was not as much fun as i had hoped.  my feet were tired, we were hot and sticky, and we (nick) were beginning to...

spring has sprung, and it has been very nice (by northwest standards).  we've been working in the yard a ton, and our efforts are beginning to pay off.  all the plants we bought as tiny starts are beginning to mature, so now our yard doesn't look so sparse.  my goal in the end is to have a lovely full, lush garden, not a whole lot of empty space... so, we're getting there. in addition to working in the garden, maybe spring has affected me in other ways.  i've been exploring other blogs that focus on cooking and entertaining and i found a little gem of a blog called " not so humble pie."  on this blog Ms. Humble tries out all sorts of recipes, mostly sweet things, and blogs about them.  this week i tried her recipe for fluer de sel caramels, and i have to say i really impressed myself!  on to bigger and better things from here?  we'll see.  here is a look at what i made: delicious, really.  they were soft and chewy, with the salt o...

we just got a new digital slr camera...  i am so pumped to be able to use it!  we actually got it for free, if you can believe it.  our checking account acquires points as we spend money and over the last few years we accrued enough to "buy" this bad boy... so we did. i haven't actually had a real photography lesson since 7th grade in mister gernon's photo class, and my last photography class taught more the composition of a picture than how to actually use the camera, but i think i might take it up again as a hobby.  if anything i hope to be able to take fun pictures of my children (when i have children--i'll be practicing, so when the get here i'll be ready). i think the best part about this camera is experimenting-- the last slr camera i had was not digital, so i never really knew what i was getting until the film is developed.  now i am able to see instantly how much i suck... but also learn immediately how to correct the problem.  this is especial...

let me just say that i love LOVE bloggers new template stuff.  i can do way more than i really know how to do and look cooler doing it now that there are all sorts of picture and layouts i can choose from.  i just got inspired by some of the patterns there were so i changed up my blog.  prettier, don't you think? i do. i've been reading a lot lately, both actually reading and listening to books on CD.  the library is my new best friend.  i haven't been this excited to go there since i was 7 and my mom let me pick out 5 books to bring home for a week.  i have a closet book fetish (whoops, out of the closet now).  i love books, but i realized i cannot afford a new book every week or so.  thus, my bi-weekly (or more) trips to the library.  more than just a place to pick up something i've requested, i find that the library helps me to decompress  after a long day at work... well not so long as most people's days, but for me... eh. i'll sto...

lately we've been working on fixing up the house. by lately, i mean since we moved in, and by fixing up the house, i mean beginning with one project that leads to another project that leads to another project.  for example: we (nick, not i) decided we needed new interior doors in the house. ok, fine. but because we needed new doors we needed new trim. ok, fine. but because nick got the trim in halfway before i got home, i made him take it out and do it again with another type of trim (that covered the gaps in the wall). ok, fine.  when the trim went in we began the process of finishing the work by caulking, sanding, etc.  who knew home depot would give you false information??? we made a mess of one section of trim and gave up. ok, fine.... until 6 months later i could no longer stand looking at unfinished trim. i threatened to hire someone, which, in turn got us motivated to finish it. ok, fine. trim is done, but we decided that if we are going to finish and paint the ...

I just looked at my last post and got a little depressed... just an update, after that I cleaned the house, the dog got her walk, and well,  I didn't work out, but like I said, my life is a work in progress.   And hey, two out of three is pretty good, if I do say so myself. But in all seriousness, I SERIOUSLY need to get into better shape.  Over the past, say, two years or so I have gained some weight, and well... I've gone soft.  Conveniently two years ago is when I got married, so it must be Nick's fault right?  Not all the four course meals I slave over in the kitchen striving for wifely perfection.  The main goal right now is to be healthier. Back in April we bought P90X, which is a set of work out DVDs.  I know, I know... from TV? REALLY?  Because I am being SERIOUS here, I will tell you that it is a hell of a work out, and for the one month that we did it I really saw results.... then life caught up and we got distracted and didn't finis...

My house is a mess. I have a cold. My back hurts. Its REALLY nice outside. Essentially, I haven't done very well with my resolutions to keep clean, stay healthy, or work out.  Plus my dog hates me because I won't take her on a walk. My life is a work in progress...

So Nick and I just got back from an amazing trip with amazing friends.... It would have been fun anywhere, but we were on Maui! Ahhhh... just the thought of it now sends the scents of sun screen and saltwater my way, and really, I should think about this more often, because as I sit here, I am staring out at the drizzly, sprinkly, wet, Northwest weather. It was a nice change to say the least. Pretty much the only thing I missed was my dog... so that says a lot. Alas, here we are back at home, and I guess being on the beach at the beginning of a new year gave me time to plan all the great things I'd like to accomplish in the New Year. For example: We have about a zillion unfinished projects around the house that need to get done... my car is a disaster and hasn't been washed for about 6 months... those work-out DVDs I swore I would use are sitting on the shelf (I only made it a third of the way through). To be concise- I just need to make some things happen. I think my New ...