We had a nice, low-key Christmas here. Jon loved the presents I got him, including a 20GB iPod (he stayed up 'til 2:00 a.m. Christmas night putting music on it) and a DVD of one of his favorite movies ("Better Off Dead" with John Cusack). Also, as a non-planned but fun gift, when we were out doing last-minute family Christmas shopping on Thursday night, we found men's suits majorly on sale in Macy's. He got a beautiful pin-striped Kenneth Cole suit for 50% off, and I used my Christmas bonus to pay for it (the bonus covered it all except $75--not bad). This is his first real suit. Jon got me a beautiful light blue wool/cashmere pea coat (I LOVE it), a DVD ("Ever After"--love that movie!), and he's taking me shopping for a new pair of shoes. OH!--and my parents got us a digital video camera!

After we opened our gifts to each other, we went over to Jon's parents' house for the rest of the day (around 10:00). I brought potato casserole and helped Colleen with some of the rest: barbecued green beans (a good recipe!), sweet potatoes, ham, rolls, and pumpkin pie. We all exchanged gifts and then ate around 3:00. Jon spent much of the day testing out the new video camera and iPod, watching the Miama Heat beat the Lakers, and catnapping. He and I went back home around 7:30 and watched Spider-Man 2 (a gift from Jennifer).

Now it's back to the real world... but at least it's just a 4-day week (Friday off).

In pregnancy news: I feel like I have gained about 80 pounds. I think it's closer to 15, but still...

I think I felt the baby move today! I can't be positive that's what it was, but still, I'm pretty sure. I was in bed this morning, having hit the snooze button a couple of times. I rolled over on my side and was still, and then, blip! a little tappy sort of bubble. It was a couple of inches below my belly button and a bit to the left. I waited for a few minutes to see if I felt anything else, but nothing felt as strong (and anything else I felt might have been a mind psych-out). Cool!

I'm going to sit still for a few minutes after I eat lunch today to see if I feel anything. ;)

Pregnancy update
Well, there isn't much to update. None of my clothes fit me, and I feel plump, especially in areas that I didn't think needed to get any bigger... This is all for a reason, so I'm not going to obsess too much! I still haven't felt Baby move, but I've been trying to pay attention. I think sitting still after I eat is a good time to feel movement.

My grandparents gave us the stroller/car seat system I found and love for Christmas. Yay! Also, I bid on a nice, gently used white crib on Ebay and was the high bidder, but apparently I didn't meet the reserve price. I didn't want to go above my bid anyway, though, so perhaps the seller will contact me. It's a local pickup arrangement in Del Mar--would be worth it for the money saved.

In other news, I have Friday off from work and am hopeful that they'll let us go early tomorrow too. I'm not taking any paid time off this week or next week in order to save the PTO for later in the pregnancy if I want to take it then. Also, I already used several hours here and there throughout December. That's it!

Blogs I've been reading
I don't have a blogroll on my blog because the purpose of my blog is more personal- and friend-oriented. I don't write anything too interesting to anyone who doesn't know me (perhaps it isn't interesting to those who know me either...). But these are some blogs I've been reading recently:

Chez Miscarriage - Not the best language you will come across, but this woman writes very well and injects humor in surprising places. I've read her archives from March 2004 through today. Struggling for years with infertility, she and her husband have finally chosen a gestational surrogate to carry their baby. That pregnancy is in the early stages still.
The Leery Polyp - Along the same lines (including the language), this woman struggled with infertility and, along with her husband, had decided to adopt. Now at the beginning of that process, she has found out she is pregnant, but she is not too hopeful, having had numerous miscarriages before ("The pregnancy feels imaginary. Unreal. I try to picture myself getting to the point where maternity clothes are necessary, and it actually makes me laugh, it's so ridiculous, so impossible to believe... And of course I want to believe in it, but I'm terrified."). She's currently struggling with still wanting to continue the adoption process but wanting to be hopeful about the pregnancy.
The Proverbial Wife - Written by Marla Swoffer, a Christian who lives with her family in the liberal San Francisco area. Thought-provoking posts.

And, of course, my real friends:
To A Discerning Eye - Bryce and Ashley in Scotland.
Jack Flack Always Escapes - Adventures of my friend Nell, now living in New York. We met in middle school and became good friends in early high school.

18 weeks!
We had a nice time at Denny's for breakfast this morning and are just getting lots done around the house now (I cleaned our bathroom and shower, am doing some laundry, will go empty the dishwasher after this, and wrote a couple of thank you notes for Christmas gifts already received; Jon mowed the lawn, will wash one of our cars, and is doing miscellaneous yard work). We're going over to Phil and Katrina's tonight--that should be fun. It's the first time the four of us have hung out since they got married in October. Nothing else big going on today!

Random thoughts 11 days before Christmas
I finished the rest of my Christmas shopping on Saturday--with two weeks to spare! That's actually cutting it a bit close for me. I don't like big shopping crowds and aisle upon aisle of cluttered merchandise thrown every which way. Before his married days, Jon wouldn't have even started Christmas shopping yet. "Two weeks?! That's plenty of time!" That's why I do the shopping. This year, he just has to buy gifts for his dad and his friend Scott (and me).

At my doctor's appointment last week, they took some blood to do a screening for Down's syndrome and a couple of other birth defects. The doctor said the results would be in within a few days, and they would call me if there was anything to discuss. "If you don't get a call from me," she said, "consider that good news." Yesterday, I had a message on my cell phone to call the doc office to "discuss some lab results." Yikes. I called the number and waited on hold for 10 long minutes. The "lab results," though, were from a urine sample, not the blood test, and I just have some hints of a minor bacterial infection. I already got the prescription and everything is fine. But I wish they could have been a little more specific about which lab results they were calling about. Of course, even if they were calling about the blood test and there was something "wrong" with the baby, we wouldn't be changing a thing. The doctors may recommend "terminating the pregnancy" (come on, people, call it what it is: killing the baby), but we would not consider that. The reason we agreed to have the blood test done in the first place is just to know, to be prepared.

We were very busy this weekend, but it was mostly with fun stuff. The wedding on Friday went very well. Jon was very groomsmanly. I saw quite a few old friends/acquaintances (Mickeal, the Millers, Amy, the Johnsons) and even a person/family I did not want to see, but even that went very well. On Saturday after a Christmas program rehearsal, I tried to help Jon's parents move into their new house, but only being able to lift light boxes doesn't help very much. So instead, that's when I finished my Christmas shopping. Saturday night was the annual ornament exchange party. This was our third year going, and I think we had the most fun this year since we knew a few more people. I even liked the ornaments we went home with (a first!--many people bring joke/ugly ornaments, and then the several that are really neat get "stolen"). After the party, we went over to Neil and Casey's house and had a really great time sitting around and talking until way past my bed time. That caused Sunday morning's message to be a little fuzzy in my mind, but it was still good. I was back at church at 4:30 for a last rehearsal before the Christmas program, which started at 6:00. It went surprisingly well, considering the singers had never practiced with the band and the actors had never practiced with the musicians and the lighting was never planned and there had never been a dress rehearsal. Dinner out with friends after the program was a nice ending to a full but nice weekend.

And so it begins
Our [too-busy] Christmas season seems to be beginning now. Tonight is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner for a wedding Jon is in (the wedding is tomorrow--Friday--and we'll be leaving work early to get to it. I wonder why they chose a Friday for the wedding and, since they chose a Friday, why they chose a time that meant everyone, guests included, would have to take time off of work to attend). Saturday is an annual ornament exchange party. Sunday is our church's Christmas program (I'll be singing). Thursday next is a potluck at work. Friday next is another party, this one involving a white elephant gift exchange (someone want to google the origins of the phrase "white elephant"?). Janel and family arrive some time around then for a week, and we'll be taking a Varela family Christmas picture on the 22nd. Seth's first birthday is the 23rd. Amid all of this, I really do want to continue to take a step back and remember the true significance of Christmas, enjoying the activities, decorations, parties, and company, but always with Christ and God's miraculous gift in mind.

Wednesdays are my favorite week day
Wednesdays are nice because I don't have anything scheduled after work. Mondays and Tuesdays are for flute lessons, and Thursdays are for music rehearsal at church. Wednesdays are free. It makes my whole day a lot more relaxing, knowing that I'm done with obligations at 5:00. I usually just relax at home, but today I'm going to Target to shop for a wedding gift and some ornaments for an ornament exchange we're going to on Saturday.

Oh, my next doctor's appointment is tomorrow, and I'm hoping Jon can come! He hasn't heard the heartbeat yet, so it would be neat if he could hear it tomorrow. I'm over 4 months pregnant now!--and our baby is about 4.5 inches long and weighs very little (a couple of ounces).

We had a very nice time this weekend with my parents. They arrived mid-day Friday, and we went straight from the airport to Laguna Beach for lunch and to enjoy the beautiful, sunshine-y California weather. It's a good thing we enjoyed it Friday, because Saturday and Sunday were dreary, rainy, and chilly. My dad also got another crazy shirt. The four of us went to I Love Sushi for dinner on Friday. I didn't think I would get that jealous of everyone for getting to eat all that good sushi, but I did. I really do miss those Philadelphia rolls and tropical rolls and wasabi... Of everything I'm not supposed to eat while pregnant, sushi is what I miss. The shrimp wontons, miso soup, and salad I had were still very good.

On Saturday, we had breakfast at home and hung around the house for a while. Jon, my mom, and I got lunch at Del Taco while my dad went to a business meeting. Then my mom and I did some baby room shopping at Babies R Us (I think I might register here); we looked at cribs (expensive!), strollers (expensive!), crib mattresses (expensive!), and dressers/changing tables (super expensive!). I found some decently priced things that I like. Saturday evening, the four of us went to the Clippers game versus the Timberwolves. We had seats in the Clear Channel suite (Jon's company advertises on the radio through Clearchannel/Clear Channel--however they write it--and so he gets these tickets sometimes), where they provide lots of good food (free) and comfortable seats. The game was exciting--it went into overtime, but we lost.

On Sunday, Jon and I went together early to church to do our normal routine (Jon setting up sound, me rehearsing music), and my parents came later (already over halfway through the service--I know this was my mom trying to be sensitive to my non-believing dad, but oh well). A bunch of us went out to lunch after church, and I was reminded once again why I like going to the food court at the mall if a bunch of us are going at once: no bill sharing. Trying to figure out how 12 people are going to pay one bill is always a huge hassle. Anyway, Jon was off to Sacramento by this time for work, so my mom, dad, and I spent the rest of the day together (including a drop-off-dad-at-Home-Depot-so-we-can-do-one-more-stint-of-baby-shopping hour. We went to Target and saw the crib linens/room decorations I'd like to register for and also found a dresser that would work as a changing table--less than half the cost of the ones at Babies R Us. It felt weird to do all this baby room shopping when I'm not even really showing yet and still have 6 months to go. I felt like an imposter in Babies R Us, with all these cutely very pregnant women walking around looking at the same things I was. But hey, I'm still pregnant.). We made taco soup for dinner and then watched "Italian Job," since my parents had never seen it.

We got ready this morning at a leisurely pace, and I took them to the airport. That pretty much sums up the weekend!

I don't know if it's my prolonged absence from being around my dad for so long that made me forget or if it is actually that he has changed, but I think he has gotten more set in his ways and impatient. At lunch on Friday, a girl one table over from us had a loud, annoying laugh--it was quite noticeable and inappropriate. While I think most people I would have been with would either not notice it, laugh about it, make fun of her, or just shrug it off, it really frustrated my dad. Things like that annoy him to the point where it could ruin his meal and prevent him from having a good time. I don't know if he has always just been that way and I didn't notice as much or if it really has gotten worse. Interesting.

There isn't too much on tap for this week, but I do have my 16-week appointment on Thursday morning. In addition, Thursday is my one-year anniversary of reaching lifetime status in Weight Watchers.

General news
Work
I have been quite bored here lately. So have the other proposal writers--at least the other two I'm friends with. Because of the restructure of the sales and marketing force in the company and the changing nature of how exactly we're doing business (new products, new sales targets), the salespeople haven't been getting/submitting proposal requests. This is our slow season for proposals anyway, but annual projects are only so interesting (and only take up so much time). The fact that I'm only going to be working here 5 months longer (though no one here knows that yet) also factors in to my boredom/lack of motivation.

Jon's job, on the other hand, is anything but boring. He's working his typical long hours and coming home exhausted. I can tell when he has had a good day, because, though he has usually worked 10+ hours, he feels productive--like he actually got things done. Receiving constant interruptive phone calls and questions surely impedes progress...

Home
We still haven't decided 100% what to do with our house: do the addition after the baby's born? Not do the addition and instead just get a new roof, of which the house is in desperate need? Regardless, we need to have something done about the roof so we don't stay up at night each time it rains praying there are no leaks.

We're still really enjoying our new tile floors and the heat, protection, and comfort God through our home gives us.

Pregnancy
This past week has felt new. I've been feeling great, but I've also noticed that my lower-to-middle back has been hurting. I guess that's typical, even this early in pregnancy when I haven't gained much weight. Also, I've been thinking that it is a boy. Of the 4 or 5 dreams I have had with our baby in it, it has always been a boy. And in discussing names with Jon, I kept thinking about and wanting to talk about boy names--almost like I had forgotten about the girl names I like. This might just be my subconscious "psyching me out," since I have been leaning toward wanting a girl just a little bit more than a boy. But a couple of the boy names we came up with have me very excited, so maybe it's God preparing to change my heart. :)

Weekend plans
My parents are coming to visit this weekend! This is my dad's first time back out to California since they moved exactly two years ago. My mom has been out numerous times (three I think). They're flying in Friday and leaving Monday morning, so this is a short visit, but certainly better than nothing. Though I don't mention it much, I really miss my parents and brother and sister.

We're planning on going to I Love Sushi for dinner at some point over the weekend, and Jon got four tickets to the Clippers game for Saturday night, so we'll go to that too. I think my dad wants to go to Laguna Beach and buy a t-shirt, too (my silly dad).

Flute lessons
I have four flute students right now--two on Mondays and two on Tuesdays. If it weren't for one of my Monday students, I would think that I am a great flute teacher.

Angela, the student I've been teaching the longest, is a diligent 12-year-old who has long fingers and a naturally good tone. She comes from a typical Orange County Asian family; I think her parents push her to do well in everything--tennis, swimming, flute, school, etc. I'm sure her room is always clean too. She has improved steadily since starting lessons.

Tosin is a man from Nigeria who is in the states for school. Although he is busy and sometimes cancels our lessons (well in advance), he is a good student. He practices a lot for our lessons, and he listens well (I'd hope so--he's 27). He's improving steadily.

Natalie is a new student--we've had just two lessons so far (tonight will be the third), but I will have fun teaching her. She is a freshman at a local high school, and she is intimidated by the [snobby] older flute players. Although she has a good sound, we're working on the fundamentals now (scales, reading notes) and on not getting frustrated/flustered when she messes up.

And then there's Annie-Jo. She is a 9-year-old from England living here with her family for 6 months. I have taught others as young as she is, so I don't think the issues stem solely from age. Annie-Jo talks incessantly--her stories start off sounding like they're related to what I've just told her about flute, but then they tangent off and keep going and going. It's hard for me to get a word in edgewise, and so I end up having to be stern with her. But it isn't just the talking. In the three months or so that I've been teaching her, I think she has made about three weeks' worth of improvement. I give her basically the same assignments each week because she either hasn't done them at all or she hasn't made any change/improvement. I do think she practices. Another problem: her mother. Annie-Jo's mom is also a beginner flute player, so I think she tells Annie-Jo how to do things; often, those things are in direct opposition to whatever I've told or assigned Annie-Jo. (Oh, and after talking with the mother a few times, I see where Annie-Jo gets the incessant talking from.)

I think it's time for a new teaching plan with Annie-Jo. Usually, I don't have to do much preparation for my lessons. I set up my flute, the chair, the music stand, and then, when the student arrives, I look over what I assigned him/her last week and start from there. Maybe Annie-Jo needs even more structure: a written out quiz she must start immediately upon arrival while I put her flute together for her (instead of her putting her flute together, which has become a time where she slowly puts together the flute while rambling on and on); a rule sheet with the number one rule of "no story-telling"; a requirement that she repeat my instructions to her after I give them... Look out, Annie-Jo!--you're about to be hit with Extreme Flute Teaching!

Thanksgiving
What a great weekend. Jon's parents and little sister stayed over, and Colleen and I did the traditional meal--turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberries, potato casserole, squash casserole, green beans, sweet potatoes, and three pies. I cleaned the house, avoided shopping madness, and did most of my Christmas decorating (to be completed when we get a tree) on Friday. It was very nice to spend some extra time with Jon and sleep in. He and I went to dinner and a movie on Saturday night, and we talked about baby names for the first time. I think we whittled the choices down to 2 for a girl and 3 or 4 for a boy. We still have plenty of time to decide, of course, but this was the first time I actually pinned him down to talk about it. I think the whole thing (pregnancy, actually having a baby) hasn't really hit him yet. Will it ever? Maybe not until the baby's born. :)

This year, I am very thankful for
- my salvation
- my husband, his leadership in our home, his work ethic, his love for me, his gentleness
- my husband's job
- the miraculous little life growing inside me
- the abundance of food, shelter, clothing, and every necessity God has provided for us
- Scott and Kim and the other close friends God has blessed us with
- our families

ISFJ - "Conservator". Desires to be of service and to minister to individual needs - very loyal. 13.8% of total population.

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Weekend report
For some reason, I got very detailed today about my weekend...

Is it over already? We had a busy weekend. On Friday, we went to Bible study after eating dinner at Taco Bell. I held baby Sam during the study, and he fell asleep--I just love that. Bible study ended around 9:45, and Jon and I went with Neil and Casey to see a 10:10 showing of "National Treasure" with Nicolas Cage. It was entertaining but definitely not DVD-worthy. We didn't get to bed until about 2:00 this night, which is way late for us old married people. On Saturday morning, I got my hair done, and Jon and I went out to a delicious lunch at Marie Callender's after this. We sat in a booth and he sat on the same side as me--I love it when he does that (not too often). Back home, I decided to take a nap on the couch and asked Jon to wake me up at 2:10 so I could get ready to go to a wedding I had agreed to help with (I had to leave at 2:30). I heard Jon calling my name to wake me up, and I looked up at the clock: 2:25. Oh darn! My husband and I just don't share the same understanding of time! I rushed to get ready, grabbed an apple, and headed out the door by 2:35 (and I did make it on time, thankfully). I helped set up the ceremony and hand out corsages, etc., at the wedding, then drove to the reception site and set the whole thing up (centerpieces, candles, favors, table arrangements, seating charts, etc.). Not until much later in the day did I realize that, in my haste to get ready, I had not put on the navy blue dress pants I had thought I did, but instead I'd put on my black dress pants. I was wearing black pants, brown shoes, and a dark blue/white/khaki-striped shirt. I hope no one noticed. After I finished helping with the wedding around 7:30, I stopped by Taco Bell on my way home to an evening of relaxing while Jon was at a bachelor party. I also finished an editing job. On Sunday, we went to church (annual Thanksgiving service) then got a quick lunch, changed, and headed up to Hesperia to have an early Thanksgiving with Jon's dad's side of the family. And get this: it was snowing (in Hesperia)! Saddleback Mountain had the most snow on it I've ever seen. Saturday night brought some very strong winds (broke our fence in the backyard), and Sunday was uncharacteristically cold for California. We made it up to Hesperia just fine, though, and spent several hours with family (some of whom I knew, some I didn't. But a funny thing about this family is that no one ever says hello or introduces each other or introduces themselves if they know they don’t know you... Oh well). We started heading home around 6:30 and felt just exhausted by the time we got home. We didn't have much down time this weekend, so this long weekend coming up is especially enticing.

I heard the heartbeat today! It was at 160 and sounded kind of like water quickly sloshing back and forth. The rest of the doc appointment besides hearing the heartbeat was very routine. The doctor went over my bloodwork with me (everything's normal and good, and I'm not a carrier for cystic fibrosis), and she asked if I had any questions, and that's about it. Next appointment is in 3 weeks.

Several people have commented this week that I'm showing a little bit! They already knew I was pregnant, so they were "looking," but still, that is fun.

I'm cooking a good dinner for Jon and me tonight. I feel like we barely see each other during the week, and when we do, it's for a quick hello before one of us leaves for an obligation (music rehearsal or basketball or flute lessons or whatever) or a late-night dinner eaten in the living room. So tonight, it's meatloaf, potato casserole (two of Jon's favorites), and some veggies, with the last piece of pumpkin pie being saved for my husband (I even bought whipped cream--he is going to love it).

Pregnancy report
I'm now entering the second trimester! At 13 weeks 4 days, I'm feeling pretty good and am not as tired as I was a few weeks ago. My second doctor's appointment is tomorrow, and I expect it will be fairly routine, though I'm hoping/thinking I will get to hear the heartbeat. I have gained roughly 3 pounds, but I already feel like I've gained more. My waistline has definitely expanded, and most of my pants either don't fit or are uncomfortable. My skirts and shirts are all still fitting fine. A few days ago, Jon said I'm showing! That makes me happy. I want to look pregnant, not just tired/bloated/queasy.

If you would like to see my sideview belly pictures, taken so far at 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks, and 13 weeks, please e-mail me or ask in the comments section here, and I'll send you the link to the album.

Evangelism: anytime, anywhere?
I went with several coworkers (most of our department, in fact) to a "motivational seminar" yesterday--an all-day snooze-fest with speaker after speaker attempting to get 12,000+ of us motivated by telling funny stories or telling us about how rich they are and that we can be too. After one of the speakers/assistant MCs interviewed Jessica Lynch (it was semi-interesting, but she is obviously not a public speaker), he got up and seemed to be transitioning to the next speaker. But he didn't. Slowly, he segued into the fact that we need something "spiritual" to really motivate us. He didn't use any "God" words at first. He said something like, "You just need to believe in something." I might have misheard that statement, but I do think he said that. Not 5 minutes later, he said that it does matter what you believe. "If I believe with all my heart, with all my faith," he said, "that this TV screen will fly me back to Florida tomorrow, all the faith in the world isn't going to make that happen. But if I have just a bit of faith that the airplane I board will get me home, it will happen." OK, I'm thinking, so what is the airplane? What do you believe? He still didn't say. Eventually, he worked in some "God" words and finally told us "the prayer [he] prayed in [his] heart 27 years ago"--Jesus, come in my heart, fill me up, make me into the person you want me to be (real solid). Then he had his wife come on stage, and they told the story of how they met and decided to get engaged "even though [they] didn't love each other. [They] felt God told them to get married."

While I obviously have some issues with the actual message this guy was giving (it was unclear/vague, inconsistent, and Scripturally inaccurate), I was offended (too strong a word? Maybe taken aback) by the sly, less-than-honest way in which it was offered. At our Friday night Bible study a couple of weeks ago, we talked about a book called Permission Evangelism, which, though I only read excerpts, gets a little too extreme for me but that advocates a less obtrusive, in-your-face, now-you-listen-to-me type of evangelism/witnessing. The author of that book would have definitely been squirming in his seat yesterday. At this motivational seminar for business people, we were given no schedule, no agenda, no list of the order of speakers or topics--no warning about this spiritual talk in the middle of "how to understand the stock market" and "the 40 questions to ask in sales." Then, after slowly easing his way into this very vague spiritual talk given to a very captive (and shocked) audience, the speaker then started using religious jargon ("evangelism," "I asked God to put her face before my eyes") that must have turned many off. If his talk were able to help turn one unbeliever into a believer (I say able because he never really presented the gospel and so if someone prayed his prayer for Jesus to fill him/her up and change his/her life, I don't think that does it; I say help because I know it isn't a person who causes another to believe), perhaps it would be worth it. It seems to me, though, that the talk did harm, putting believers like me into a state of dismayed awe, and turning off unbelievers and giving them another reason on their list that Christians are wacko fanatics ("We got engaged even though we didn't love each other because God told us to") who shove their beliefs down others' throats.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves
This book is hilarious. Nell got it for me for my birthday, and I read the first several pages last night. Author Lynne Truss describes me (and my kind)--sticklers--perfectly. She writes how sticklers have been "weeping friendlessly in caves" waiting for a book about punctuation to be written with a panda on the cover. In the first chapter, about the apostrophe, she writes of her meeting with a member of the (real!) Apostrophe Preservation Society (right now I can't remember if it's the Apostrophe Preservation Society or the Apostrophe Protection Society) and about how she was disappointed that the society doesn't have a militant wing to combat those who create signs like "CD's, MOVIE's, DVD's, and BOOK's" (what about climbing ladders in the middle of the night with apostrophe-shaped stencils and paint?).

I love it!

We had a great evening for Kim’s and my birthday last night. The guys took us to dinner at the Blue Bayou (the nice restaurant inside Pirates of the Caribbean) at Disneyland. We got up to D-land around 6:00 and walked to the restaurant for our 6:20 reservations. Kim ordered salmon, Scott got tri-tip, Jon got pork, and I got prime rib. It was all very good (mental note: order the pork next time--I tasted it and it was delicious). And then we ordered 3 desserts and passed them around--we were stuffed! Since the park closed at 8:00, we had time after dinner to go on one ride, so we went on the haunted mansion. Then we walked around Downtown Disney for a while. We all had a very nice time, and Scott and Kim enjoyed an evening together while Glenn and Kathy watched the kids.

I think this is the first year that we got a present for Kim, AND it’s the first year that they got a present for me--it was really cool how that worked out (I wanted to get something for Kim and didn’t expect they would get something for me, and they thought the same). I got Kim a pair of soft black-and-white-striped gloves and a khaki-colored reversible purse. She wore the gloves last night. And they got me a cute picture frame for a first picture of our baby--it is white and has little block ABC letters around the outside. And they also got me another Old Navy maternity top (my mom has already bought/sent me 3--I love them--and a pair of pants)! This one is really cute--here's a picture. It has a ribbon tie in the back too—made of the same fabric as the sweater.


Jon was such a sweetheart yesterday too… He had flowers sent to me at work (really pretty yellow, red, and maroon-yellow mix roses), and then of course he took me to dinner. When we got back to the car after Disneyland, there was a card on the passenger seat waiting for me, and that was very sweet. He had written personal/specific things next to each couple of lines of text. Then we got home, and after I showed him the gifts from my family that I had opened earlier, he took out the trash. When he came back in, he had gifts for me! I thought he was done with the gifts! He got me a really cute red-, blue-, white- and brown-striped purse (it’s reversible too to navy--in fact, it’s the same purse I got for Kim, just different colors! Jon didn’t even know this), and inside had 4 pairs of cute socks (he has noticed a lot lately how old and hole-y my socks are) and a new umbrella. He’s the best.

I had a wonderful day yesterday, spent with my husband and our friends, and couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

Weekend
We had a rather uneventful weekend, which was fine with me. After eating at Taco Bell (my first pregnancy craving! More later) with Scott and Kim, we went to Bible study on Friday night, and it was very good. Then I went to a bridal shower on Saturday, but out of the 30+ women there, I knew only the bride and one other girl, so that wasn't much fun. That evening, Jon and I went to see "The Incredibles," but it was sold out until 2 hours after the show we wanted to see, so we went to Blockbuster and home instead. We watched "Waiting for Guffman"--it has many of the same actors and is in the same vein as "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind." They're improv movies, meaning there was no script, and the actors were just given ideas about who their characters were and what the story line might end up being. "Waiting for Guffman" was the first of those three movies; I liked it, but I liked the other two better. We also rented "About Schmidt" but haven't watched it yet. Then Sunday was our usual wonderful Sunday--a terrific church service (Arch and Carolyn's 20th anniversary of being at the church!), food with friends at the mall, and naps and housework at home in the afternoon before Jon's basketball game.

My first pregnancy craving
I've been craving Taco Bell and Del Taco. On Friday, we went to Taco Bell, and then Jon took me to Del Taco Saturday evening for dinner, and then Sunday after church, we drove through Del Taco before meeting everyone at the mall food court. I think I would like a Mexican pizza at every meal, please.

In other news... my birthday
I turn 24 tomorrow. I haven't been thinking much about it at all, I'm sure mostly because I've been thinking more about being pregnant/having a baby. And anyway, what happens at 24? Nothing! At least at 25, I can rent a car without paying extra (we really felt this one strongly when we went on our honeymoon 2 months before Jon turned 25). What I do know is that I will have my first baby in my 24th year, and that's enough for me. :)

I told my boss yesterday that I'm pregnant (she was excited and I think tried to be chummy by asking me what our "future plans" are re: me coming back to work. I avoided that question), and then today at the end of the department meeting, she introduced a little "announcement" and I told everyone else. That was fun.

I knew, just knew, that coworker Lori would bring up the fact that my being due May 21 means I'll be out during our proposal busy season ("out" as in I'll be returning to work 6 or 8 weeks after the baby's born--no reason to clue them all in today that I won't be returning). Those were the first words out of her mouth in the meeting after everyone else's congratulations quieted down.

After we got back to our desks from the meeting, Lori said something like, “So, it’s so exciting!” and then she said that me being pregnant explains why I’ve been so testy and moody lately. Next, she said, “Because you’ve nearly bitten my head off a bunch of times in the past few weeks!” She says all this with her stupid smiling face and plays it off like she is half-joking but she really isn't.

That made me want to bite her head off now. My patience has just worn thin with her over the past few months--starting well before I got pregnant. However, I held my tongue and did not say anything rude or mad at her comment... I just played along with it like, "Yeah, so now you know why! Yeah, I haven't been feeling good."

Although her comments had me seething, and I'd still prefer not to have to interact with her (ever), they did point out to me that I haven't been acting correctly toward her. I have not "nearly bitten [her] head off," but I am impatient with her. I need to remember that I am the Christian here--and she isn't.

It's hard to deal with people you don't like.

Dreams
10/20 - I dreamt that I was Lorelai from Gilmore Girls. (Well, half the time it seemed I was Lorelai, while the other half I was a third party watching the events.) We were in some sort of old-fashioned, wood tavern or restaurant facing a river. Nothing major happened except that Luke and Lorelai kissed and, apparently, made their love public. I wouldn't have written this one down except that it was the second night in a row I had a dream (the night before was the miss-the-wedding-rehearsal dream).

10/24 - I dreamt first that I had to do some quick shopping at Ross, and two of my coworkers from my real work apparently also worked there. Debbie helped me find what I needed, and Lori kept bragging about how she had brought up the idea to get the store the automatic diaper cutter so that the employees no longer had to cut the leg holes in each diaper with scissors. Then the dream switched to me being in a big grocery store with Kim. We kept finding cool items and putting them in our cart, but I couldn't find peanut butter anywhere. We found Jif barbecue sauce. Kim found a different brand of peanut butter, but I specifically wanted Jif so I didn't take what she found. That's all I remember.

11/2 - This dream is a little more difficult to describe, because it was all over the place. I started off sitting in the living room with a mother and daughter I met the evening of 11/2 for a flute lesson consultation [they're very nice and I will start teaching the daughter lessons starting 11/16]. But that scene quickly changed to a restaurant and dinner party that included my dad. A demanding bride came in and started ordering me around, including telling me to go get her dancing clothes. Apparently, I was the reception coordinator. I ran through the restaurant and into a large lobby (of a hotel), with several children following me. We ran through lobbies and stairwells, passing some NBA players (mostly retired ones) posing for a picture along the way. I never did make it to wherever I needed to go to get the dancing clothes...

Election results
Excellent results this morning! I was able to stay up until they gave Bush 269 electoral votes around 12:15 or 12:30, but then I fell asleep. Jon was out of town last night (in Sacramento for one day), so he wasn’t there to keep me up. But I woke up this morning, and he still had 269! Looks like Kerry has made his concession call and will make a speech at 1:00 today. Woo hooooooooooo!

Some of the California propositions we didn’t want to pass did end up passing (of course), including the one providing $3 billion for stem cell research (the worst) and the one taxing 1% of all income over $1,000,000 for hospitals (darn, looks like I will have to turn down that $980,000 raise I was offered here at work). However, the one forcing companies to provide healthcare coverage for employees did not pass (good), and the one lessening the strength of the 3 strikes law also did not pass (good).

David Dreier, the congressman John and Ken (radio hosts) were trying to get out of office, still won his district at about 54%.

This was/is so exciting!

In other news...
I’m thinking about when to tell work I’m pregnant. I feel like I’m showing a little bit! But I don’t know. I wanted to wait until at least 12 weeks to tell, and I’ll be 12 weeks on Friday/Saturday. We have a departmental meeting tomorrow (but I would tell my boss before then and have her segue into any sort of announcement). What do you think--comments?

Election day
I voted this morning before work. Jon seems confident that our presidential candidate is going to win, but I'm not so sure! My presidential vote doesn't mean much in the state of California anyway, but I also felt it was very important to vote on the many propositions on this election's ballot, including ones on stem cell research, forcing companies to pay for employees’ healthcare (can you say, "Drive companies out of California"?), and lessening the strength of the 3 strikes law. I think there were 14 or 15 propositions, and I voted no on most, except for about 3 that had no fiscal impact. The only prop I voted yes on that will cost some money is on DNA testing for all convicted felons.

Also, I will be looking forward to seeing what happens with a little “controversy” ("Political Human Sacrifice") being stirred up by AM 640 talk radio hosts John and Ken--they’ve been trying to get Congressman David Dreier out of office because, even though he’s a Republican, he has a horrible voting record on illegal immigration. Dreier's district is very Republican, so it will be interesting to see if anything comes of that.

How deep the Father's love for us
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold, the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
-Stuart Townend

OK, I'm ready for the second trimester, please. All of the pregnancy books and websites and traditional wisdom say that with the second trimester come renewed energy, no more queasiness/nausea, and a greatly reduced risk of miscarriage, among other desirable improvements. I bought new lip gloss and nail polish for myself at Target on my lunch break today as a mini-celebration of almost reaching that milestone and in anticipation of that extra energy I'm supposed to get. I can paint my nails.

I came down with a sore throat/stuffy nose cold yesterday (woke up with it all of a sudden), so I'm not going to go over to Joe and Ricci's house like we'd planned to visit the parents and new baby. Even though I feel OK, I'd just as soon wait a few days to make sure Ricci feels comfortable with me coming. I keep looking on Mission Hospital's "View Our Newborns" page to see if there will be a picture of little Jeremiah (Miles), but I haven't seen anything yet.

I must be very busy to have not posted in almost a week. But I am as far away from busy at work as I've ever been. The past couple of weeks have just dragged by. If the proposal writer position weren't basically indispensable, I would wonder how much longer we'd be around, because no work is coming in for us (the reason being the sales force has been recently reorganized, and we work closely with them and depend on the sales people to bring proposal prospects to us). But really, if they were going to lay off any proposal writers, it would be proposal writer S and/or proposal writer J before me. They are slackers, slow learners, one of them has ADD and says the most nonsensical things all the time, and their proposals are sub-par. So there.

Phil and Katrina's wedding was this past Saturday. It turned out great. I had Friday off to do the bridesmaid stuff and go to the rehearsal and dinner... even took a few "girl talk" minutes with Katrina as she was quite nervous about the wedding night. The wedding was on Saturday at 11:30, and the reception was at the Summit House in Fullerton, which was really nice. Katrina was a beautiful bride.

This past week, I've had a few "sick" pregnancy days. They haven't been bad, but I'm definitely counting down the days 'til the second trimester. I'm at 10 weeks 3 days today--over 1/4 of the way through the pregnancy already.

One more tidbit of news: Joe and Ricci Brosseau's baby boy, Jeremiah (Miles) Tobin, was born late on Sunday, October 24. He weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces, was 19 inches long, and has light hair! Congratulations!

Pregnancy Dreams
For a few weeks now, I've been having very vivid dreams. I've read that this is a relatively common symptom of pregnancy. Weird! The dreams have mostly had nothing to do with our baby or babies in general. They've just been vivid and I've remembered them (strange for me). Last night, I dreamed that I completely forgot about the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner this Friday for Katrina's wedding--that I just showed up on Saturday for the wedding thinking everything was going fine.

A couple of weeks ago, I dreamed that Jon cheated on me and was not remorseful about it (I woke up sad but then realized that I'm actually married to the best man in the world). (I also read that "spouse cheating" dreams are common in pregnancy!)

Of course, now that I'm thinking about it, I can't remember the other vivid dreams I've had. I'll update periodically when I have them, though. I think they're interesting.

The cruise was great! The food was of course the best part. We were scheduled for the 6:00 "main seating" for dinner each night, and you dress up kind of nice and sit at the same table each night with a different menu. You can order as much as you want (it's free!--all except alcohol and soda). Each night, I ordered 2 appetizers, a main entrée, and a dessert. One night I had a virgin strawberry daiquiri--yum. Saturday night was the "formal" dinner, so we all dressed up.

We also went to the different comedy and musical shows, and Jon and Neil spent some time in the casino. The weather was just perfect, and we spent a couple of hours each day at the pool. Sunday was our day in Ensanada, Mexico, but we didn't stay off the boat long: Ensanada is only about a half notch above Tijuana in cleanliness and niceness. It was nicer to stay on the boat. We slept in Saturday and Sunday mornings and just had a very relaxing time!

We had the "inside information" on how to get off the boat early on Monday morning: we requested white "early debarkation" tags for our luggage and were the first called off our ship. We found out that Jon's and my deck, #2, was going to be the last to get off the ship, and that would have been around noon, even though everyone had to be out of their cabin by 7:00 or 7:30 or so. Anyway, we got off the ship by 7:30, and Jon went to work while Neil and Casey drove me home. It was all very fun!

So that was our weekend! I had yesterday off work too, and I unpacked, did laundry, went to the grocery store, and went to a tailor to get my bridesmaid dress altered for Katrina's wedding (which is this Saturday!). Now I’m back at work.

Our cruise is tomorrow! We've been planning this trip for over a year, so it's very cool that it's actually here. Neil and Casey are picking me up from our house at 1:30 tomorrow (I'm working a half day first), and we're driving up to Jon's office, since he's relatively close to the port. We'll probably make it over to the ship by 3:00 or 4:00, and I think we sail at 6:00. Saturday is our day at sea, so I hope the weather's good for doing activities. Sunday is a day in Ensanada, where Neil, Casey, and Jon have all been but I haven't. Then, we sail back to Long Beach/L.A. Sunday night and arrive Monday morning. One of the evenings is "formal" for dinner, so I'm bringing a long black dress with a silver spider webby design. I haven't worn it since 1999, but I tried it on last night and it looks just OK. It doesn't make me look like I'm pregnant--it just makes me look like I have a poochy tummy (it's a drapy/clingy fabric). Oh well!

Jon and I have never been on a cruise before, so I'm hoping Jon doesn't get seasick. :)

The doctor's appointment went well yesterday. It was basically just like an annual exam. The doctor also did an internal exam to determine how big baby is/when I'm due, but (maybe TMI for some of you guys) she said my uterus is tilted (I guess very common), so I'm going in today for an ultrasound! I get to see the baby and baby's heartbeat! I don't think Jon can come down for this appointment--it's at noon and he has a meeting at 10:00, so that's a bummer since the ultrasound is the cool thing. Anyway, just wanted to let you know everything went well yesterday!

Edit: the ultrasound was SO COOL! I saw our little baby and the heartbeat. The tech said the heartbeat is nice and strong, and I think she said it was beating at 167 (that's right--beats per minute! They're fast little tickers). After measuring the size of the baby, she said my due date will probably stay where it is at May 21--the computer calculated May 20, so we were pretty darn close with our own calculations. I got two little pictures of our bean-shaped kid, and Jon sounded excited to see those tonight. You can actually tell where the head is and even where the arm buds and legs are in the pictures. :)

A nice weekend
I think getting off work early on Friday started everything off right. We spent Friday evening at Scott and Kim's house for dinner and a rented movie ("Big Fish"--Jon and I saw this in the theaters and liked it even more seeing it Friday). On Saturday, we did lots of housework and yardwork (I used my new mop on our tile floors--loved it), but not until after we went out for a late breakfast at Ruby's (so late, in fact, that they had stopped serving breakfast, so we got lunch). Chris and Sabrina came over for dinner on Saturday night; we grilled tri-tip and had salad, potatoes au gratin, and French bread for dinner and Sabrina's homemade pazookies for dessert while we watched "Bourne Identity." (I've just noticed my tendency to sometimes italicize movie names and sometimes put them in quotations--oh well.) (Also, I did tell Sabrina that I'm pregnant--she was very excited and happy. When they came over, I told her that she was one of the only friends I'd known who had been trying to get pregnant--most of my other friends either got preg by accident or didn't tell me they were trying--so because of that, I had expected it to take a lot longer for us. I think she respected the fact that I had taken her experience into consideration.) Sunday was our usual nice Sunday: church (music, sound), lunch with friends at the food court, naps at home (and I am definitely pregnant--I slept for 2 hours!), and Jon's basketball game. We went to Scott and Kim's after the game (Scott's on the team too) and watched the Dodgers lose (sad for Jon). Also on Sunday, I told Katrina that I'm pregnant--and she too, of course, was excited. It's good to have that done now, because I can just focus on her wedding and helping her day be special.

Now I'm back to work for another week, but this will be a shortened one: I'm leaving work early again today, AND I'm only working a half day on Friday, because on Friday we go on our cruise! It's finally here! But more on that later this week...

Today is my first doctor's appointment. My cute husband is going to go with me, despite the fact that the appointment is smack dab in the middle of the day and is located nowhere near his office or any of his stores. I'm excited to talk to the doc!

Ahhhhh, Friday.
This is going to be a nice weekend. The past two have been busy (Katrina's bridal shower on the 25th; memorial service at church--Jon did sound and I played flute--on the 2nd followed by a fun but long 2nd birthday party for Sierra). And I even get to start out my weekend early today: I'm taking 3 hours of paid time off to leave at 1:30 and go get my hair cut/highlighted (I checked into this, and it's OK for me to do that while pregnant--just can't sit around inhaling from all the bottles and chemicals). Mmmm, and I think I will treat myself to a decaf frappucino afterwards (4 weeks of no coffee--even decaf--has already made me miss it a bit!).

I think we've told most everyone (besides my work) about our news... except our friends Chris and Sabrina. We met them through Nate and Louise (and although N & L know, I know they didn't tell C & S), so they are a separate set of friends from most of ours. (Chris and Sabrina go to a different church.) Anyway, I tried to get in touch with Sabrina yesterday but couldn't. I'm just a little bit worried about telling her, though, because I know they have been trying to get pregnant for well over a year. I don't know how to show my excitement and share the news but also be sensitive to how that might affect her (or not affect her--I mean, I know she'll be excited, but I'm not sure how much or even if it will hurt her). I don't think I'll flaunt the ease with which it happened for us. I was expecting a much longer wait. But, anyway, this is what I'm praying about and thinking through today.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Edit: I just remembered that I've also been wondering about whether or not to tell Katrina (college roommate who is getting married in 2 weeks). I don't want to "steal her thunder," though I don't think she would take it that way. I just don't see her in person very often, especially now. With her, I think I just need to call today or this weekend and tell her. That way it won't be a big deal on her wedding day, but she'll also know in case I don't feel good or something (then I wouldn't have to try to explain that on the day of).

A new, great, exciting update...
or The reason I haven't been posting lately

I couldn't just keep blogging as usual, when things haven't been as usual. And I couldn't start blogging about things that were going on--that wasn't the right order of events. Am I being cryptic enough for you? Here we go... I found out on Friday, 9/17, that I'm pregnant. Yes! I had to tell family and close friends before I posted on here--I don't think my grandmother would have appreciated finding out about her next great grandchild by reading it on my blog. As of today, I am about 7 and a half weeks pregnant (baby is about the size of a raspberry!), and my first doctor's appointment is Monday (this doctor group waits until at least 8 weeks). I am so excited! This is something I have been looking forward to for years. My due date is somewhere around May 21, though I'm sure the doctor will give me a bit firmer date after my appointment.

Some of the reactions of my family members and friends:

~From my mother - an actual squeal (I don't think I've ever heard my mom do this) and lots of happiness
~From my dad - "Well shucks, how did that happen?"
~From my grandmother - "Well, Katie, isn't that just absolutely perfect?"
~From Lucy - a couple seconds of silence. Then, "You are? Yaaaaaaayyy!"
~From Greg - after I told him not to cry: "Too late."
~From Scott and Kim - We were with them in the mall parking lot while they put their kids in the car, and Jon said, "We're thinking we're going to have ourselves one of those [kids]." Scott replied, "Yeah, any time in this lifetime?" and I said, "Around May 21st, actually." Kim popped her head back out of the car and asked, "What?! Are you pregnant?" Lots of smiles, hugs, and questions ensued.
~From some of our other friends - Some happy tears! They know how much I've been looking forward to this.

As far as pregnancy symptoms and morning sickness, etc., I'm feeling pretty good. There were about 10 days to 2 weeks there where I was feeling queasy or nauseous all day every day, with it being especially bad in the mornings. That made being at work all day very difficult, especially since no one at work knows--try explaining why I'm so tired and haven't felt good for so long AND that I'm not contagious, all without telling I'm pregnant! I won't announce it at work for several more weeks probably--probably until I'm just showing. Anyway, ever since last Wednesday, I've been feeling much better. I've learned I must have food in my stomach or else I start feeling bad, so I'm eating a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack in addition to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That helps. It looks like I'll be feeling good when we go on our cruise next weekend (yes we're still going! Of course! Not like I would have really had that much alcohol anyway), and I'm hoping I still easily fit into the bridesmaid dress for Katrina's wedding 10/23--so far so good on that front.

So, that's the news! And, as long as work stays under control (it has been busier this week and last week), I'll be back to posting more regularly.
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

I promise a new, great, exciting update within the next 48 hours. Well, don't hold me to the "great" or "exciting" parts--but I'll try.

For now, here are two (digital) pictures from our trip to Europe:

In front of the cathedral in Strasbourg, France:


Heidelberg cathedral:

The bridal shower went very well on Saturday. I only got a little bit lost on the way to the location... It was a very lovely house with a beautiful backyard perfect for the event. We did the games I had prepared, had a really good lunch (which I just helped prepare--didn't make any of it), and watched Katrina open a bunch of cool gifts. I was exhausted by the end of the day, and I drove home and sat on the couch for the rest of the day until Jon got home. :) I'm glad this year's shower season is over!

Other than the shower (or in addition to it), this weekend was nice. We went to Macaroni Grill on Friday for Colleen's birthday, and Janel (Jon's sister) and Seth (her 9-month-old son) came too--they're back in CA! Sunday was our normal Sunday: church (Jon did sound and I did my usual music stuff), fellowship and lunch with friends after church at the mall food court, naps at home, some editing work, and Jon's basketball game in the evening. And now it's back to another week of work!

Tomorrow is the bridal shower I'm hosting/helping to host for my college roommate. This is the last shower I'm doing for the year...thank goodness. I really have liked doing them, but this one has been stressful. It turned into a lot larger ordeal (and a lot larger guest list) than I had anticipated.

My to do list before tomorrow:

--print/bring gift list sheet
--finish wrapping present
--print & cut sheets for picture game
--get together all game stuff (poster, 2 sets of papers)
--buy a few packs of pens
--buy bread
--decide what to wear
--find & bring name tags

Finishing the list would be easier if today weren't my mother-in-law's birthday. We're doing dinner for her tonight.

Thankfully, the lady at whose house the shower is being held is doing most of the food. I'll arrive an hour or so early to help set up. Hope I feel OK. I've been feeling blah all week.

I'm still not feeling like blogging, but I'm doing it anyway. I should be gearing up for my 100th post, which I think occurs next post or the one after that (it seems blogger has been stuck at 97 for a couple of my posts).

Those two prospective flute students from last night will now become weekly students, which makes my total student list add up to... 3. Actually, ideally I'd like to stick to 3, max 4, while I work full-time and edit (and cook/clean, etc.).

I haven't been feeling very bloggy this past week. So I'm just checking in. Here I am. I have some editing to work on, and two new flute students are coming by the house for consultations tonight. Adios.

Back in the swing of things
This is my second day back at work, and things are going fine. I didn't experience much jet lag at all, which is nice.

I miss Ellie (Nate and Louise's daughter). She's quite cute. One of her favorite activities is to say, "Sase! Sase!" (chase) and run around one of their armchairs while someone chases her. When the adult feels it's time to stop (it's tiring!), she'll say, "Mo-wee," which means more.

Upon returning to work yesterday, I found out that I had the opportunity to switch desks with someone (the situation is too lengthy to describe, but it involves a whiny guy who doesn't want to move back to his old desk though he's being asked, so instead he asked me to move to his old place and he'd move to mine. Gosh, I guess that wasn't so lengthy). Though I like my current location (it's tucked away and has a window view, and no one can walk up behind me without my knowing--and the other location has none of these benefits), this move would move me away from annoying coworker. Hmm. Tempting. It's funny to me that whiny coworker would even want my desk, though, because I don't think he and annoying coworker get along at all. I guess he likes the people over at his old desk even less. But I don't think I'm going to give him the satisfaction. Moving both him and me makes absolutely no sense; it would probably even ruffle some feathers (even with a "directive" from boss, annoying coworker would probably realize this was something either whiny guy or I requested--this may hurt her feelings, which I don't want to do. She may also be "mad" at me for having agreed to a move that would put whiny guy next to her, since I know she doesn't like him). So, I don't think I'm going to do it, but I just find it interesting. The end.

We're back and the trip was great
We got in to LAX last night around 8:00 and back to the house at 10:00 CA time (after having traveled for 21 hours...yikes). I'll finish my little trip log...

On Thursday, Louise and I went for those massages... they were heavenly. I have only gotten one professional massage before, and I loved it. This was just as good. In fact, this was the first time I'd ever gotten a facial, and I especially loved that because they rubbed my feet. I almost fell asleep! We bought a quick lunch after the massages, and drove to the next town over to go to a discount pottery place. I bought 3 square Christmas plates with their famous design on them. Louise and I had a good time talking while we drove around that day. We watched "Sweet Home Alabama" that night to complete our girls' day!

On Friday, it was the guys' day. They rented a BMW and enjoyed driving fast to their main destination: golf. Jon said he hit 210 km/hr on the way home (around 130 mph). I think they had a good time playing golf, though I guess they were paired with a VERY slow other 2 guys for their foursome (they said there were conversations of over a half hour in between holes...).

On Saturday, Jon and I went by ourselves to Cologne (Köln), a city about 1.5 hours away from Wiesbaden that has the largest cathedral in Germany (it was huge!). We ate at McDonald's (hey, we were by ourselves and we know no German!) and took a guided tour of the cathedral. We also walked around the train station and paid 2 euros to use the restroom. By that time, it was time to head back to Wiesbaden (and hit 220 km/hr on the way!), since Nate, Louise, Jon, and I planned on going back to that good Italian restaurant (Casa Europa I think it's called) one last time. They have bruschetta to die for and really good soup (I got the cream of tomato both times we went, and Nate loves the cream of broccoli, cream being the key word!). We watched "The Saint" that evening, and Jon and I stayed up late packing.

Sunday was time to go home. Our flight out of Frankfurt was at 10:30 a.m. (though with delays and a "Folks, we'll be returning to the gate momentarily to have a faulty temperature gauge checked out" from the captain, we didn't take off 'til noon). I finished Angle of Repose on this first flight, though. We had a long layover in Charlotte and were very glad to get back to L.A. last night. I got a rush of "been up way too long" energy last night and ended up unpacking and putting everything away before we went to bed. :)

I have the day off work today to recover from jet lag (actually don't have any...yet!), get film developed, catch up on e-mail and editing, do some laundry, go grocery shopping, etc.

Trip log
We are having a great time! We got in on Saturday morning 7:00, after having gotten barely 2-3 hours sleep on the flights (there were kids sitting behind us with no parents on the flight, and it was hard to sleep anyway), but we made it through the whole day just fine with a 1-hour nap. I did sleep 12 hours that night, though (9 to 9). :) I think it was this day that we went to downtown Wiesbaden and walked around. Jon found a T-Mobile store ("T-Punkt") and was impressed with how big it was and all the phones they had that still hadn't made it to the states.

On Sunday, we went to chapel, and then we went out to a GOOD Italian restaurant for lunch. I'm blanking on what else we did this day... I think we just hung out, napped, etc., and had a good dinner at Nate & Louise's house.

On Monday, we all drove the 2.5 hours or so to Strasbourg, France. We saw the cool church (neat stained glass) and walked around the city, and we ate at a little French café (I even spoke a little French!). Then we took the 1+ hour boat guided tour of the city, which was really nice and pretty, though it got very hot towards the end. (Speaking of weather, it has been PERFECT so far every day!—mid 70s-ish and sunny and breezy.) We got some ice cream at another place, and I mistakenly ordered raspberry for everyone, not strawberry (oops… framboise=raspberry… I think fraise=strawberry). It was still really good. In the afternoon, we drove to Heidelberg and dropped off our things and Ellie with Louise’s mom at their house. Then we went out to dinner at Die Kartoffel (spelling? It means "The Potato" in German). It’s a fun tavern-like restaurant where they bring you your meat raw on a very hot stone, and you cook it yourself. It comes with 3 good sauces, a big potato, and salad. It was really good! We also walked around that city after dinner (Laderbrunen?); it’s the oldest city in Germany and has a Roman column from the year 2. That night we slept at Louise’s parents’ house in Heidelberg.

On Tuesday, we spent the day in Heidelberg. Jon and I climbed the steps to the top of the bell tower of the church (very cool views of the city) and took a guided tour of the castle ruins. The city is really neat. Pepperdine has a campus there, though we weren’t exactly sure where to find it. We had lunch at Nate and Louise’s favorite Thai place in Heidelberg—it was actually very good! That evening we drove back to Wiesbaden and had fondu for dinner and watched a movie here.

Today has been a relaxing/home day, because Louise had a doctor’s appointment (she’s pregnant, due in March) and Nate has youth group today. Tomorrow, Louise and I are going to get 2-hour massages, and on Friday, Jon’s renting a car to drive the autobahn. :o)

Toodloo!
I'm hoping to blog a bit while we're gone (the Johnsons have a computer, and Louise is pregnant and will probably want to nap and have "down time") to keep up on the different things we've done, but I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to. Don't want to be rude.

We have no trip itinerary since we're letting Nate and Louise lead the way, but I do think we'll go to Heidelberg one day and maybe Strasbourg. We're staying in Wiesbaden. Here's a map of Germany. :) I think Nate has youth group activities at least one of the nights, so we'll probably participate in that.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Updated updated to do list
-change sheets
-pack toiletries and carry-on bags

DONE:
-buy BBQ sauce for Nate and Louise from Wood Ranch
-laundry
-Coinstar our "rainy day" change
-cash? traveler's checks?
-buy new camera (it's awesome--at least I love it! A Canon Rebel--I think that's the right one)
-clean out fridge perishables
-found out about sleeping pills; might have them or might not
-buy & mail b-day card for Greg
-get out passports and other traveling docs
-pack (at least I packed. Jon, on the other hand....)
-stop worrying

Updated to do list
-change sheets if guests are staying at our house
-clean out fridge perishables
-buy sleeping pills for flight???
-buy & mail b-day card for Greg
-get out passports and other traveling docs
-pack
-stop worrying

DONE:
-buy BBQ sauce for Nate and Louise from Wood Ranch
-laundry
-Coinstar our "rainy day" change
-cash? traveler's checks?
-get camera from Ray? film? (nevermind on this one; we might get our own camera)

To do list before trip
-buy BBQ sauce for Nate and Louise from Wood Ranch
-laundry (and change sheets if guests are staying at our house)
-clean out fridge perishables
-get camera from Ray? film?
-buy sleeping pills for flight???
-Coinstar our "rainy day" change
-buy & mail b-day card for Greg
-cash? traveler's checks?
-get out passports and other traveling docs
-pack
-stop worrying

4 days 'til we leave for Germany! I think I'll feel frazzled until I actually get things packed (maybe I'll create a list today to help make myself feel better about not forgetting something). We've got some things to do before we go too, like stop by Wood Ranch to get a few bottles of BBQ sauce to bring to Nate and Louise (by special request). We're also going over to Scott and Kim's house tonight to hang out one last time before we go (we just can't get enough of baby Samuel!). Although it's a bit late now, I just realized that Scott's birthday is one of the days we'll be gone, so we should have gotten him a little something (maybe we'll get something in Europe). My brother's birthday is also a day we're gone, so I'm going to head online and get him an Amazon.com gift certif since I wouldn't know what to send him anyway (I always get him clothes, but I haven't seen him in a while and don't know what size he is now!). :)

This post has been a bit jumbled and unorganized (disorganized? unorganized? Are either of those words right?), but that's how I'm feeling now anyway!

Lucy has now been at college for one week (her classes started Monday though). But she isn't old enough for this! She's my little sister--keyword little. I talked to her on the phone for a few minutes on Friday and have e-mailed back and forth a couple of times. I think she's doing well. It's hard to tell with her; she's so laid back and easy going (apparently, I got enough female-ish emotions for both of us) that not much seems to phase her. I think I'll send her a little care package.

Don't know why the first picture is cut off, but here are some with the floors all done!

This week we've been watching a lot of the Olympics and enjoying having our house back to normal (with some beeeeautiful floors, of which I'll post pictures as soon as we get new batteries for the digital cam)! Jon did end up getting the dishwasher to work, so we didn't have to buy a new one.

Only 10 days until our Germany trip! I haven't really been thinking much about it lately since it has always seemed so far away, but now it's here! Jon says we may take a day trip into France at some point, and besides that I think we'll let Nate and Louise schedule our days. I'm really looking forward to the time off work... things are abnormally slow this month in the office (this is normally the "busy season"), and it's getting monotonous.

Ricci's baby shower went great today! Just 5 girls showed up in addition to Ricci and me, but it was perfect--we're all the same age and had fun talking and hearing from Ricci what it's like to be pregnant. There was just the right amount of food and, even better, no weird silences or awkwardness since we mostly all didn't know each other.

In preparation for the shower, we got all the house stuff back in place last night, including all the stuff on the bookshelf, dining room things, couches, pictures/sconces, etc. The only snag was the dishwasher: because the new floor in the kitchen is slightly higher than the floor was before, the dishwasher no longer fits. Jon made sure the washer feet were screwed in so the washer stood as low as possible, used his Dremmel tool to file down the screws and things that were highest, even sawed off some of the protruding wood underneath the counters--all to no avail. So we might have to get a new one (no big complaining here--the dishwasher is really old--but it worked just fine! We had actually been planning on getting a new stove/oven first, since it is electric and when we took it out we saw that there is actually also already a gas hookup there!).

We might go to Macaroni Grill tonight... I can't wait for an Insalata Rossa!

We went and saw Scott and Kim and baby Samuel last night. He is so cute and little! And he can already move his head around--just like Sierra could. Sierra came in with Glenn and Kathy after a while, and she sat on my lap and helped me hold "Baby Yam." She was cute--gentle mostly but kept wanting to point out where his eyes were (and thereby accidentally poking him in the eye). Kim had him with no medicine at all--she is awesome. I wonder if I will be able to do that (one day!)--I hope so. I don't know if I'm a wimp or not. Can't wait to see them again!

Oh, and the house is coming along. We have our fridge and stove back, and our couches, new rug, and coffee table. Tonight is the dishwasher, dining room things, and odds and ends like lamps. Phew! I had already gotten used to how things were, so this morning I actually walked out to the garage from the kitchen to get milk for my cereal, and then I remembered the fridge is in the kitchen.

UPDATE: the baby was born today at 11:58! Welcome, Samuel Glenn. 8 pounds, 14 ounces, 21 inches long, and baby and mom are doing well. Kim did in fact have a successful VBAC with no medicine (eek!). We're going to go visit tonight.

Peeves, of the pet variety
I was thinking today about the phrase "pet peeve" and how accurate the "pet" part of it really is. A pet is an animal one chooses to own, then nourish, love, and watch grow. We foster the continuation/growth of our peeves when we make them our pets. And when it comes down to it, they are choices. A pet peeve isn't "that there is evil in the world;" a pet peeve is "that some people always use apostrophes in the wrong places" or "that people drive so darn slow on the freeway." So yes, there are annoyances out there in the world, but it is my choice whether I take those peeves on as my pets. Do I foster the growth and continuation of my peeves, or do I allow a spirit of love and understanding to supercede?

Here are some of my pet peeves that I should throw away (or "take to a farm with lots of land where they can run free, play, eat, and sleep all day"):
-grammar/spelling in other people's writing (still may correct it when asked, but it is not something to be annoyed about)
-freeway driving: it's OK if someone is going slow in the left lane; I can pass on the right and avoid thinking anything mean about the other driver
-other people's chronic lack of punctuality (OK, this will be a hard one to throw away, but I know I can certainly improve my attitude toward these people and be understanding about whatever circumstance caused them to be late)

What about you? What pet peeves do you think you can "take to the farm"?

pet peeve
n. Informal
--Something about which one frequently complains; a particular personal vexation.
--A particular or recurring source of irritation, as in My pet peeve is that neighbor's cat running through my herb garden. [Early 1900s]
--n : an opportunity for complaint that is seldom missed; "grammatical mistakes are his pet peeve"

Still no baby! I'm praying for Kim. 10 days late has to be frustrating, since they have been looking forward to a certain date (8/8) for 9 months, and then it passed and... nothing. C'mon, baby Samuel!

The tile is finished. It looks really great. We had to let the grout dry overnight, and tonight we will put the sealant on it, but that's it. I started cleaning everything that was left out in the kitchen, since it's now all dusty from the tile and grout particles.

Having this minor disruption to our lives for the past 1.5 weeks has opened my eyes to the fact that doing a remodel/addition would be this experience times 100. If this was an inconvenience, then the addition would be like a 6- or 8-month ongoing disaster. But... I still want to do it. Financially, it's still wise, even though that's what is hanging Jon up: one of his buddies/coworkers who works in the construction industry said it would definitely cost more than what we've been informally quoted. In my mind, though, even if it cost twice what we've been quoted, it would be a good deal. But I have been thinking and rethinking everything because of this minor tile deal. Is this something we want to do? Is it worth it? Comments/advice? (By the way, I uploaded some digital pics I took of the proposed floor plans. They're big so I won't put them on here, but e-mail me or ask in the comments section if you want to see them; I'll give you the URL. I'm also not sure about "disclosure" or whatever and if it's OK with the architects for me to share the plans, so I'll share sparingly I guess.)

The tile guys are at the house today finishing. I am relieved and excited! Time to have my stove and fridge back! I hope the dishwasher will hook back up correctly (Jon and Chris had a lot of trouble removing it, and when it did come out, water spouted everywhere because the valve didn't close when shut off).

The baby shower I'm throwing for a friend is this Saturday, so I'll spend the next couple of evenings cleaning up and getting the food items ready. But I'm also supposed to go over to our pastor's house tomorrow evening to show him how to use PowerPoint, and then there's music rehearsal on Thursday night. And tonight is partially full because of a flute lesson... so that leaves Friday night to get everything ready! If worse comes to worst, we can do the shower in the yard.

The tile guys came on Saturday at 6:00 a.m. and worked their hinees (sp?) off until 5:00 or so, but they still didn't finish. They're supposed to come back tomorrow. It looks good though!

We saw "The Village" on Saturday. Because I had heard so many poor reviews of it, I was actually pleasantly surprised. I liked the overall themes, including man's inherent sinfulness (even when outside "evils" are eliminated).

Still no baby born for Scott and Kim! She was due August 8. Since she's trying for a VBAC, they were going to let her go no more than a week late and then induce her this past Saturday. But she went to the doc on Friday and was told everything still looks good, so they'll let her go and see if she can start labor naturally before the 20th. I really hope she can.

Frustration at work
A coworker has really been getting on my nerves. This isn't annoying salesperson--thank goodness (she's gone)--but it's someone who sits basically right next to me in our little "pod." At first, it was personality stuff, and now that I'm annoyed at those things, little mannerisms and "lower level" things are bugging me too. It's all going downhill.

Personality things:
-She is such a complainer. I now know I can't recommend any restaurants to her anymore, because she comes back to work after going to the restaurant whining about how much she hated it.
-She is overweight (probably "obese"--since it's over 30 pounds) but still goes to the vending machine several times a day and eats candy. Now that she's "on a diet," she complains nonstop about what she can't eat anymore. She has told us her goal is to lose 30 pounds by the middle of December, and if she does, her big "reward" is to go out for a big meal at Chili's. Hello!--that is not a "reward"--that's really a punishment since you'll be working against what you've been working toward for months.
-She'll turn around and start right in on some conversation she must have been having in her head and expect me to know what she's talking about. It's like she's rereading an e-mail I sent her yesterday or the day before or something, so she'll turn around and say something like, "Yeah, with that you're going to have to find out what the answer would be from Customer Service."
-She doesn't listen and always interrupts.
-She is annoyingly protective of and anxious about her 21-year-old son. She calls him all the time. She talks about how she can't go to sleep at night until he gets home, because she's so worried. She hears sirens on the street near her house and assumes it's because her son has been killed in an accident.
-The only change she is willing to go along with is one she suggests. I created a style guide for our department and did a reworking of all of our AutoText to update grammar, punctuation, etc. I also fixed consistency in spacing (some sentences had 2 spaces after periods, some had 1, some even had 3--I went with the Chicago Manual of Style, since that's what our company supposedly uses, and corrected everything to 1 space), and she is still complaining about that 9 months later.

Mannerisms:
-She talks weird. She halfway smiles whenever she talks (not bad I guess), so when she says her Ps (like in "park" or "apple"), her upper teeth touch her bottom lip to make the sound (instead of both lips coming together to form the sound).
-Whenever she gets up from her chair, she does this annoying little "grunt" thing. I know she has back pain, but jeez!

OK, and now it's time for me to do what would help me: begin praying for her. Anyone else have ideas?

No tile guys yesterday or today. And apparently, not tomorrow either. Bummer! The worst is having no stove, dishwasher, or kitchen counters. At least the fridge is hooked up in the garage.

Tile guys, won't you please come and finish what you started?

Weekend in review
What a busy weekend! We stayed up SO late on Friday night ripping up floors and baseboards. I'm glad Chris and Sabrina came to help--for hours. And we didn't even finish--by 1:30 a.m., we realized it wasn't worth it to try to get up the remaining flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms, so we left that and went to bed (good idea, since we had to get up at 5:00 a.m. for Jon's day).

Then Saturday was the racing day (see pictures in post below). We had to drive up separately (I had to wait at the house for the tile guys to show up so I could show them what we hadn't gotten done, where the tile was, etc.). I got to the speedway before anything really started, though, so I'm glad I didn't miss anything. First, they took the 7 men in Jon's class out in a 15-passenger van to ride the course and show them where to take the turns (Jon said they took the turns, in the van, at 100 mph!). Then, they got in the cars and drove 10 laps (or more?) behind a pace car to get a feel for the track. Next, they went into a classroom for a 45-minute to 1-hour session (not so exciting for me sitting outside in the hot!). After the class time, they had another driving session, this time with no pace car. They started out in a Nascar start formation and did a few pre-planned formation changes they must've talked about in the class. Then they had several "free-for-all" laps where they could drive at their own pace and pass each other if necessary (the instructor communicated with all drivers through the radio earpiece they all wore). Then it was time for another 1-hourish class session, and then one more 25-minute driving session. This is the session where I really saw Jon get comfortable in the car (at least that's what I could tell from how fast he was going). I know Jon had a really great time, and I loved watching him. His best lap (according to my wrist watch and out of the 6 or so laps I timed): 55 seconds (around the 2-mile oval course). :)

We got home around 2:15 on Saturday to see the progress on the tile: not as much as I had hoped, but it looks good and the guys did get up the floors in the kitchen and bathrooms. I rrreally hope they come tomorrow and can finish.




Saturday night we went to Scott and Kim's. Scott showed us the house addition/remodel plans he had drawn up. Oh my gosh, they are awesome. I mean just awesome. In addition to adding the second story, there would be a lot of reconfiguration on the first floor... which means a lot of disruption to our lives--for many months. We're still talking/praying about it, and Jon wants to see how much we'd get approved for (we'd do a HELOC--home equity line of credit), but after seeing those plans I am so gung-ho for this!

Pictures from Jon's racing day
First: Jon finding the certificate for the racing day in the shorts pocket: "Whaaaat?"

Learned a new (to me) word today, but I'm not very sure if I like it. I guess it's slang, but still....

Natch.

As in "natchurally"?

Jon and I went to Home Depot last night to pick out grout for the tile tomorrow. We got a good matching color. Since we aren’t going to be home tomorrow, the installer guy came over this morning at 7:00 to go over what needs to be done. We have our work cut out for us tonight though!!! We’re doing as much of the prep work as possible to reduce the time we’ll have to pay him for, so we’ve been ripping up the carpet and baseboards. But tonight we have to scrape up the floors (VCT) in the kitchen and both bathrooms; clear all the furniture; pry off all the baseboards, door casings, and wood on the floor that held the carpet; remove the stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher (going into the garage I guess for now); get up the rest of the carpet in the living room area; AND get to bed at a “reasonable” time since we have to get up very early tomorrow. We thought we might not have to scrape the kitchen and bathroom floors--we thought maybe they would lay tile over them--but the guy basically shot that idea down this morning. Oh, and it sounds like he won’t finish with everything tomorrow, but that’s OK. I think he would come Monday/Tuesday to finish, so we wouldn’t have to go too long with partial floors. At this point, I don’t care if it takes a week!!!--just give me my tile! :)

At some point, we hope to meet up with Scott and Kim for at least a little while tonight, because 1) Scott is done drawing up our house plans! and 2) Kim is due on Sunday so this’ll be one of their last restful Fridays for a little while.

Our house
I realize I'm going out of order, as I sort of already mentioned the "remodel/addition" below, but I don't think I ever wrote about it. I'm stealing the text below from an e-mail I just wrote to a dear friend (hi Nell!):

We’re thinking about adding on to our house. Currently, it’s a one-story, 2-bedroom, 2-bath place with a teeny kitchen. We’d be adding a second story with 2 bedrooms and a bath. That may include some restructuring of the downstairs to create a little bit larger kitchen and/or dining area, but I don’t know. Our friend Scott and his dad are architects, so Scott came over last week and took measurements of the house so he can draw up some plans. This would be a very smart move for us financially, as having a 4-bed, 3-bath house would mean we could stay/fit in the house a lot longer AND even if it cost us 5 times what we’re thinking our budget will be, it would still be smart because we’d still be paying way less per month than if we sold our house and moved to a 4-bed, 3-bath house in the same area. Home prices are astronomically high here, and though we felt we paid a lot when we bought ours, its value has gone up a lot since we bought it. So that’s our fun news, and I’m really excited about seeing the architectural plans. I do know, though, that doing a major remodel like this effectively takes over your life for 6 months, but now is the time to do it when we don’t have kids.

Jon's birthday
It went pretty well last night! Ray, Colleen, and Jennifer came over around 6:30 and we barbecued some of the albacore and yellowtail Jon caught deep sea fishing a couple of weeks ago, and I fixed corn, vegetables, and French bread. We had Colleen’s poppy seed cake and coffee afterward, and then Jon opened his presents. He got clothes from his family, a Home Depot gift card from my parents, and earlier in the day Scott gave him a new tape measure and utility knife (boys!!!!). Then he opened my gift... 3 Old Navy shirts and a pair of shorts (he really loved the shorts). After he finished, he said, "Thanks everyone!" because he thought that was it. I said, “Check the shorts,” since he hadn’t noticed the little car that was in the pocket. He found the car and said, “Oh wow, what is this, a little GTO?” It was cute--I think he was confused but trying to sound excited because maybe that was my gift to him--a little Hot Wheels car. I said, “Look in the other pocket.” He reached in and pulled out the certificate for the racing school, which I had paper clipped to a brochure about it. He opened it, looked at it for a second, and asked, “What is this?!?” I told him he will be spending this Saturday driving stock cars in a racing school at the California Speedway. “Whaaat?” he asked. “This Saturday? But what about the tile?” So that was the only downer--that he was concerned about the tile. I think it’ll work out though. Even if we need to postpone the installation one week to 8/14, that day would still work. I took a couple of pictures last night and will post them once Jon can fix the USB port thing on the computer so I can upload the pictures.

We had a good, busy weekend. On Friday, we went down to where Jon's family is staying and had pizza and cake for Jennifer’s 14th birthday (we got her a necklace and cute little pad of paper in the shape of a purse when we went to Solvang and also a little photo album). We left around 9:15 and met up with Neil and Casey to see “The Manchurian Candidate” with Denzel Washington. I found it entertaining but a little “out there” (the events seemed plausible through most of the movie, and then things started getting weird and too unlikely). I also thought the whole political agenda was very obvious and overdone. I am interested in seeing the original movie though (with Frank Sinatra). Then on Saturday, I went and got my hair done while Jon helped our friends Dustin and Lissa move into their new townhome. We got some work done in the yard/house after that (Jon started ripping up our carpet and baseboards in preparation for the new tile that is being installed this Saturday, and he spent a while getting up that ugly wood floor at our entryway), and then that night we went out to dinner at Wood Ranch with newly engaged Steve and Chelsea. We went to Steve’s place afterwards and played a very fun game called Hoopla (an offshoot of Cranium). Then on Sunday, we went to church and then straight to the Angels game with Rob and Kristen and their daughter Skyler. It was rrrrreally hot until our seats were finally covered in the shade after maybe an hour and a half. The Angels won and we went home and rested before leaving for Jon’s basketball game at 5:30. We arrived to find out that his game was really at 5:00, so Scott and Kim came over to our house, and we had dinner out on the patio (and Sierra watched the humming birds--it was so cute). Then Scott and Jon took measurements of the house so Scott can draw up plans for the remodel/addition! Yesss!!! And that was our weekend.

Countdowns
Jon's 27th birthday: 1 day
Baby shower I'm throwing for Ricci: 19 days
Trip to Germany: 32 days
Bridal shower I'm throwing for Katrina: 54 days
3-day cruise to Baja: 74 days
Katrina's wedding: 82 days

I'm so boring.

We're going to the place my in-laws are staying tonight for Jennifer's 14th birthday. And tomorrow Jon's helping our friends move from their apartment to the new townhouse (I say Jon's helping because, though I will be there too, I doubt I'll be much help with the heavy lifting). Sunday we're going to an Angels game with Rob and Kristen. Our weekend is full, which is nice, but it means we won't get the things done around the house we need to.

Oh! And finally--the date is scheduled for our floor tile to be installed (in the whole house except bedrooms). It's next Saturday, 8/7. This has been almost a year in the making (since buying the tile in November and having to wait until June to get it).