Quiet Monday Night

Gracie and I are just hanging out tonight.  The weekend was pretty uneventful, but relaxing and good, including some time spent with Casey, which is always cherished this time of year… heck, any time of year.

Even though I’ve had the weekend to rest, it seems Monday evenings are often when I’m the most fatigued.  Maybe I don’t sleep enough on Sunday nights… or more likely it’s the loss of another weekend and the facing of another work week.

Whatever the reason, a quiet Monday night seems a good combatant against it all.  The thoughts of desk days ahead are wiped away by the stories of a good book, the cold temps of the evening fall away against cozy blankets and a cup of tea.  And for Gracie, a cuddly position on the back of the couch are equal to all of that.

Pillows, Part 2

I made some more pillow covers this weekend.  With their completion, I now have a nice set of pillows in the living room which, especially when combined with the new curtains, make things much more cozy.

This is the one I made on Saturday and I absolutely love it.  It’s made from two of my old shirts which didn’t fit me very well, but I still really loved the fabric.  (It’s not seen above because it’s actually on the loveseat, not on the couch)

I cut the fabric for the next one on Saturday and sewed it on Sunday.  My sewing wasn’t the best on this one and the pillow I filled it with is old and kind of lumpy, but that can easily be remedied later on with a new pillow.  The fabric for this one is a handkerchief and leftover fabric from another pillow cover I made awhile back.

Before pillows:

With pillows (the other two floral pillows are some I inherited – by asking for them – from my Meme and which I love the mostest):

I really love how the living room is looking right now.  In addition to the pillows and curtains, I also recently changed the “art” above the couch.  It is now some photos I took myself at/of a place I dearly cherish.  The personal touches really make things more comfy and welcoming to me.

Hello Spring

Spring has opened up beautifully.  Yesterday, its first day, the skies were clear and the temperatures were comfortable.  In the evening, while we disappointedly watched Mason get destroyed by Ohio State, we had the windows open.  The air was cool, but fresh and not the cold air of winter.

This morning, on the way to work, there was a huge rainstorm, accompanied by a little thunder and lots of lightning.  It was dark and menacing, but by mid-morning it had cleared off and by the time I left to come home, it was nice enough for windows down in the car.

I am joyed by blooming daffodils and the trees beginning to bud.  It’s a rejuvenating time of year and my spirits are high.  I just hope this spring we’re experiencing moves north soon and melts the snow that’s still a part of the lives of those of you reading in New England!

Happy Flex Day

Today has been grand and there is still the evening to enjoy.  I got a good night’s sleep last night and woke up, had a great breakfast, and started my spring cleaning.  The dining room has been dusted and thoroughly vacuumed and a tablecloth adorns the table.

After the dining room was done and I took a quick shower, I headed out to run some errands.  I came back and replaced the air filter in the HVAC and hung some curtains, which Casey will probably hate… if he ever notices… but which I think add a little coziness to the living room.

This afternoon, Casey came home to watch the Mason game because he couldn’t get it to play on his computer at work (too many people enjoying March Madness on their company internet).  The game was ridiculous, far too intense for a pregnant woman’s blood pressure, but they thankfully pulled it out and are headed into the next round.

The weather has been gorgeous today and the windows have been open, airing things out.  I think I’ll take additional advantage of the beautiful temps and walk to the grocery store for a Boli pizza crust to combine with ingredients we already have for dinner.  Casey has to finish up some work he delayed by leaving early, but hopefully later we can do some typical Friday-night DVR clearing.  In the meantime, I think I’m going to figure out some pillow covers and maybe sew some t-shirt quilt squares.

I feel really good about this day.  I’ve filled up my time in good, productive ways and it’s great to have the energy to do such things.  I’m hoping the rest of the weekend will follow suit!

Refresh

Wednesdays are often a bummer, the middle of the week when you’re tired from Monday-Tuesday and not quite amped up for the weekend yet.  I was especially tired this morning after an up until after bedtime game of birthday Scrabble with Casey last night.  To make it worse, there is a lack of work at work and it makes for very long boring days.  A girl can only play so much FreeCell.

Today after lunch when my eyelids got super droopy and there was no work coming in, I decided I just couldn’t take three more hours of trying to look busy.  So I handed in my leave slip and headed home with hopes of a refreshing afternoon and an early bedtime.

The power nap when I got home went a little longer than I meant, but I was not deterred from plans I made for the afternoon.  I got up and started preparations for a good dinner.  Then I went for a walk outside, intent on searching out signs of spring.  It is still cool and crisp, but warmer weather is definitely on it’s way.  The robins are out and about, daffodils are poking up all around, and from the swampy areas in our neighborhood the peep frogs are making their presence known.

Now I’m waiting for dinner to bake and after eating I’ll “play” in my journal and then go to bed for reading and an early bedtime.  Hopefully these bits of goodness will make for a boost in the morning and a good Thursday!

27

Today is my twenty-seventh birthday.  I haven’t felt much about it besides the desire to be happy and celebrate my crazy wonderful life.

People at work were generous in keeping things joyful.  One detective wished me a “happy birthday” in multiple languages using his iPhone – I have to say that was a first.  I was brought a (second) breakfast of Danish and OJ from Panera Bread.  Many people wished me a happy birthday and at lunch I was taken out to eat at Hard Times Café – I love their buffalo chicken salad.  I received a card from one close coworker friend and also a card signed by a bunch of people around the department.  Then this afternoon I was treated to coconut cake made by one of the dispatchers, who is a super baker.  It was delicious!

Best of all, though, is that Casey is coming home early from work to have dinner with me.  We’re going to play games and hang out and it’s going to be grand.

If my twenty-eighth year is anything like today, it should be pretty fantastic!

Weekend Bits

This weekend was pretty lovely.  I finally got to see Casey for more than five minutes and it was nice to spend some time with him.  We both are seriously ready for busy season to be over.

On Saturday during the day, he worked a bit from home while I worked on sewing quilt squares.  I’ve been working on a t-shirt quilt sporadically for a long time and it’s really starting to come together.

Saturday night, we went to a friend’s house for dinner (we grilled and it was delicious) and some Wii gaming (Big Buck Hunter and Mario Kart).  It was kind of for my birthday, but mostly just for a relaxed night out.

On Sunday, I got up and went to church.  We had stayed out way past my bedtime the night before, and losing that hour of sleep was a bummer, but church is always worth it – totally revs me up.  Throughout the rest of the day, I did a little housekeeping and worked on the project seen in this post.

Part of my winter décor was handmade snowflakes and yesterday I took them down.  I chose some of my favorites and painted them fun colors, after which I Modge-Podged them to my plain black journal.  Some of it looks a little messy, but overall I really like how it turned out.

This week I plan on doing some spring cleaning.  Nothing too heavy, but enough to freshen things up.  It’s supposed to be really nice weather wise the end of this week, so I’m really hoping I’ll be able to open windows and air things out.

Our Little Gummi Bear

Yesterday, both the doctor and the sonogram technician referred to this sonogram image as the "gummi bear" or "teddy bear" because the little's arms look so short and stick out like those of a gummi or teddy bear.

I guess that's nicer than calling it an "alien bear" with that big ol' funny shaped noggin!

Of course, I mean that in the nicest way, and even with that big head, it's still a super sweet thing to see - way better than the "smudge" in the first sonogram photo. Casey was very excited by this image and said it gave him a reality check that there really is a little baby in there!

Thank goodness he finally believes me. ;)

Not A Strong Suit

I had my twelve-week (or more accurately, 11 weeks 5 days) appointment today. Through these OB/GYN appointments, it has been brought to my attention something that is not really my forte. Thankfully, it’s not something I need to do every day, though it becomes nearly embarrassing when I can’t do it at the doctor’s office, with the nurse patiently waiting.

This task I’m referring to is peeing into a cup, which essentially means peeing on demand. The first time at the OB/GYN, it took me at least two tries. Today, it took me two cups of water and three attempts. I’m talking serious “stage fright” here people. Of course, maybe if the nurse wasn’t patiently waiting on the other side of that double-door with the little ledge in the middle, I might not be so inept.

I’m sure I’m not the only person to struggle with this, but I probably do get more embarrassed than I should. It’s a silly thing and the nurses are probably used to it. I meant to be more prepared this morning, but thinking about it in advance probably just made it worse. Next time, though, I’m drinking a bunch of water before my appointment… or maybe I’ll just use the cup I requested today, getting it done before the appointment, no patiently waiting nurse required.

Oh man, I’m such a weirdo.

The Weekend in Review

Mom and I had a great weekend, filled with chit chat, relaxation, food, and plenty of treasure hunting. Since it’s kind of fun to list things (maybe just for me?), here is pretty much all we got up to:

Thursday: Pizza for dinner. Bible study. Grocery for fruit and ice cream.

Friday: Breakfast at home: eggs, toast, fruit. Ikea – where we split a cinnamon bun, Mom had coffee and I had chocolate milk before we made our way around the giant store. Quick stop at Borders. Lunch at Chipotle. Treasure Hound resale shop. Relaxing afternoon at home. Light Dinner: scones with maple cream and butter/strawberry jam, fruit. Rented and watched Book of Eli. Bedtime.

Saturday: Breakfast at home: leftover scones with maple cream and butter/raspberry preserves. Building 1 of the DC Big Flea Market at the Dulles Expo Center. Snack at the Big Flea: pretzel with yellow mustard and waters. More walking around the Big Flea, including most of the second building. Lunch: McDonalds drive thru, mainly for Shamrock Shakes. Home for more relaxing in the afternoon, including watching a super lame movie on TV, followed by naps - all the walking at the Big Flea tuckered us out! Dinner at home: spaghetti with spicy red pepper sauce, garlic bread, and salads with Italian dressing gone wrong. Quiet night of Scrabble against each other on Facebook while watching HGTV. Bedtime.

Sunday: Breakfast: homemade blueberry muffins. 9am praise service at church. Quick trip to Target. Drop off at the airport and farewells… but no crying. :)

Again, I am so thankful that Mom is able to come and visit as often as she does. This was an awesome weekend filled with so many of the things we love doing together and I look forward to the next one!

Mum Is Here!

Mom is here for the weekend and we are going to have a grand time.  She got here last night, bearing gifts for my birthday (which is a few weeks away, but how nice to get them in person!).

From her, there was a vintage table runner (from her own stash) and two jadite bowls I admired when we went out last time I was home (just weeks ago!).  I love them and they really do make fruit more lovely to eat.

And from my Grand-Mama, a new apron, handmade by her out of awesome fabric!

Today Mom and I are heading to Ikea for some browsing, then maybe to a thrift store we have passed but never stopped into.  Tomorrow we are going to the DC Big Flea.  They’ll be lots of looking and admiring and if we’re lucky, maybe some prizes to take home.

I am so thankful that she is able to visit as often as she does; it really makes living so far from home a lot easier to bear.