three years ago today was a good day.

Today, not so much. I woke up in an unpleasant mood and have been bombarded with others in the same position. It's really too bad because today is a great day.

I became Gary's girlfriend on this day three years ago. For those who don't know this story, I made the poor guy wait 5 days after having said no the first time he asked. Clearly, I couldn't live with that and told him I WOULD be his girlfriend, by the stump :) on July 14, 2008. The look on his face was priceless and I'm pretty sure that look made me fall in love with him right then and there.

At our first outing together - my cousin's wedding. August 16, 2008

Dinner at McCaffrey's. July 14, 2011


Love you, Honey Bear :)

PS: I promised to be in a PLEASANT mood this evening.

Welcomed LULL

Wow, it has been such a long time since my last post. Sorry! I have been crazy busy at work, do not have much time after work/no working internet in my Baker apartment. (Yes, those are my excuses :)) For the first time since I arrived in Decorah, I have a lull. I decided, "what better use of this lull than to write a blog?"

LSM on this side of things has been a crazy experience. I started off well and then got a bit shaky once all the kids arrived. I was frayed at the edges and wasn't at 100%. However, I'm back and feeling really good about the work I am doing. I have better organization and am working through figuring out how to effectively work within a professional environment and how to communicate with everyone. These are things everyone needs to know so I am thankful to have the opportunity to grow.

That being said, I can't help but to continue my internal struggle. I will be a mother soon and with that, I wish with my entire being that I could be close to family (whether in Decorah or Elkader). I want my sisters and parents (in-law) to have close access to our new baby :) However, I just started a new job and Gary will soon. We can't just up and leave. 1. I think that is unprofessional to leave after just one year especially knowing that MANY people applied for my position. It has taken time and money to train me and I don't want that to be for not. 2. A sister gave sound advice that our little nugget will have some amazing opportunities in a bigger city - art, food, entertainment, etc. Duh - zoos! 3. opportunities have not arisen in either desired locations that would warrant a move at this point. 4. we don't have the financial means either! So guess what, Gary and I get to suck it up. Also, another sister mentioned that I should see how next summer goes (at LSM) before deciding whether or not we as a family unit can handle it. That is called making good life decisions.

Beyond that, I've also been freaking out that I'm not showing. I worry that something is wrong with our little munchkin, but many have quelled my worries. And if something is truly wrong, Gary and I will be able to handle it. We have each other and family and will make it through any trouble (but let's just hope that isn't the case). We have an appointment (with an ultrasound!!) on August 4th. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Things I am looking forward to?

1. My weekend off coming up! Possible boating trip with the spouse and sister/brother-in-law on Saturday. The weather better cooperate.

2. Gary's cousin's wedding shower!

3. A friend's wedding shower!

4. A pre-paid mini-honey/baby-moon during my week off in August

5. Buying a new camera - I have been convinced we need a Nikon. Besides, I've had my current camera for 5 years. It's time for an upgrade w/ video capabilities per Gary's request.

6. Buying a vehicle. Gary and I need to jump on this for the new nugget.

7. All things baby - books, furniture, etc. Time to start looking and making decisions! Oh and baby shower! That sounds so much more exciting than my wedding shower and THAT was amazing. I can't wait :)

Summer here I come!

I will be returning to Decorah TOMORROW! I am so excited!!!! For one, going to/working at Luther has been the official "start" to my summer for too many years so folks, Vanessa is pumped. Gary and I will be heading down after I am done with work tomorrow and I will not return home until July 25. Woah.

Recap of a lovely weekend:
1. Friday dinner with Maura & Emily (two of my LSM friends from the cities). It was soooooooooo nice to finally get a chance to hang out with them. We went out to eat at Chianti Grill, which is an Italian restaurant where my co-worker's husband works. We all forgot to make a reservation so we ended up waiting for almost an hour but it was well worth it. I got the capellini with shrimp. YUM!!! and of course, we all splurged on dessert. Lava cake? Yes please. We ended up staying there for a total of 3 hours but it was such a great time to catch up before I leave. Emily is also pregnant so that was fun but miss Maura is not a baby person so we tried to keep our baby talk to a minimum. Tried :) Maura is also heading off to grad school in Arizona so THANK GOODNESS we were able to get together before I left. She leaves 2 or 3 days after I get back and I highly doubt I'll have the chance to say goodbye. Oh well :(

2. Shopping Saturday! Gary & I headed to some mall in the area for the sole purpose of me buying some clothes that will fit. Old Navy was a bust but then Target saved the day! I found some super cute stuff. And a swimsuit. I have wanted to go swimming since I got pregnant. I'm not so much craving foods, but I am definitely craving some fun in the water. We also went to Bridesmaids, which is totally inappropriate but hilarious! My Gilmore Girls Sookie was outrageous.

3. Productive Sunday. I went to work for about four hours to get some things done and out of the way. It felt so good going to work on Monday and not feeling bogged down. With having to finish up loose ends and pack up, those four hours were welllll worth it. I also did dishes, went grocery shopping, made goulash and read. Lovely Sunday.

4. Tuesday - 2nd doctor's appointment. Gary and I just went this afternoon. All is still well. Baby's heartbeat is still 150. Sadly, I don't have another appointment until Aug 9 since I'll be out of town. But I'll be getting an ultrasound that day! Get excited.

The end. I move tomorrow and I still need to clean the apartment and pack. Woe is me :)

Breakfast woes

I had a tomato for breakfast this morning. That and a tall glass of milk.

It was strangely satisfying but of course, at 9am or so, I was starving. Perhaps I should have eaten the second one :)

Seriously though, breakfast is sooooo annoying to me. I've never been a big morning eater, especially for what most people consider "normal" breakfast food. Toast? No, PB&J? No, but that's what I've been eating most mornings these days. French toast? Sure, but I never seem to be in the mood. Eggs? Love them but not so much anymore. I also only care for scrambled but even that is not doing much for me. Cereal? gross. I had that for awhile at the beginning but I really can't stand it. Soggy cereal makes me gag. Ew. Things like yogurt and fruit or granola, I WISH I LIKED THIS STUFF! Maybe I should try it now that I've got different food preferences.

As you can see, my choices of "normal" bkf food are quite limited. If only I could go back to my middle school and high school days where I came early to discover they were serving PIZZA for breakfast. Oh how I loved that pizza. That and their taco pizza. If I were to miss two things about Starmont, those would be it.

Snacks are a whole other debacle. I'm trying, people. Really.

Martha Martha Martha

1st off - I want to thank Martha Stewart for her Organization Tip of the Day:

http://www.marthastewart.com/273099/ice-cream-scoop-on-a-stick?xsc=eml_org_2011_06_04

I want one of these right now! (ps to Amanda: I tried to link this but for whatever reason it won't show up in the post. Sorry!)

On another note I now have all our wedding photos on my computer. I desperately want to share them but the files are much too large to put on our wedding photo share site. Shoot! I thought about putting a few up on facebook but I want to ask our photographer if that's okay first. I will get them up as soon as I can!!!!!!! I could always make everyone a copy of the cd as well. Let me know if you want one :)

Thirdly, Gary and I are going to the zoo today!! I hope we don't run into any road construction because honestly, that can just about ruin my whole day. We planned to go to Bdubs last night and then to a movie and nearly didn't do either because we kept getting lost. There is a TON of construction going on all over the city and the stupid road signs do nothing but get you really confused and angry. Once we realized we would have no way to eat and make it to the movie on time, we canceled the tickets and made our way to a different Bdubs. It was good but then our waiter was too preoccupied with a table of 6 girls with their chests and butt cheeks fully exposed to bring us our bill. It took him nearly 20 minutes to even realize we had both finished eating and were just sitting there. Silly waiter. We ended up back near our neck of the woods by 7:30 and picked up How Do You Know. What a lovely way to finish the evening.

Baby news: No baby bump yet but I am now officially in my 2nd trimester. I look forward to growing a belly (more that I already have :) and enjoying being pregnant. 13 weeks and 2 days. Get excited.