January 2012 Photo Update

I'm totally fired from blogging. In my defense, January was crazy and February has been so far too. So, whatever. Here are some pictures!

This is the baby boy at 6 months. Isn't he precious?? I heart him.

These pics were taken while we were in Texas last month, visiting Baby Boy's greatgrandma (Honey GG). Don't you just love his little hat?? It was really awesome being there and meeting the woman that C respects and loves more than any other. And, of course, she loved meeting that baby. I'll post more pictures of that trip sometime soon when I'm at my own computer.

These ones are just a random sampling of pictures taken on my phone in January 2012:

No, it's not consequence that "random" sampling of pics from my phone are all of the Baby Boy. He's really my only subject these days.

Oh, and also of note in January, this bad boy:

It's a Colt Revolver (get it???). There is still some work to be done, and eventually I'll add onto it, but this was as far as Sue and I got during the first session. I may or may not be addicted to ink...

Weekend Update (still no Tina Fey)

So, it's Sunday again. Here I am, yet again, at work since 6 a.m. I've been doing it for so long now that getting up at 4:44 a.m. on a Sunday morning is nothing. There is something seriously wrong with that...

In any case. It was a productive weekend. I got my new bed set up. It looks amazing (pictures to come), and it only took me basically ALL of Friday. I'm paying for it now though. My chiropractor is certainly NOT going to be thrilled that I put myself through such a thing. He can't expect me to sit around doing nothing all weekend just for the sake of my hip, though! Can he? Does he? Who knows. I won't do it in any case. Even if I end up paying for it in pain over the course of another week. Being injured sucks, by the way, particularly if it's a hip injury. Can't exactly put a cast on it and wait for it to heal, now can we? Nope! So I grit my teeth and bear it, and try not to complain too much.

Also this weekend, my momma was able to see my Carmy a couple of more times in the hospital. She should be going home today, and hopefully I'll be able to chat with her a bit on the phone when I leave work. I spoke with her mom, the awesome Ms. Tams, the other day too. Both moms report that Carmy is doing very well with recovery, which doesn't surprise me because Carmy is strong and resilient, more so than anyone else I know. My momma reported that Carmy had really good color in her face just a few hours after the c-section, and apparently the poor girl has staples in her stomach from the surgery. I remember having staples in my knee after I broke my leg, and that prompts me to hope with every fiber that her scar doesn't look anything like mine after staples!

That's pretty much all of my news from this weekend. I am very much looking forward to (and also simultaneously dreading) next weekend bc it is going to be PACKED. Thursday night is the Sex in the City 2 premiere, so the girls and I are getting dressed up for the opening event at the Gateway. That is going to be amazing! Friday night I'm going to see Gallagher with all the peeps from the shop where my BF works, which is going to be also amazing. Nothing like seeing a 60+ year old man smash watermelons on stage, right? Right. Saturday night is Jefe's graduation party/bday party for his wifey, at which I will be making an appearance so that Jefe does not follow through with his threat of never speaking to me again if I don't show. The silent treatment from him would prove to make work akin to slow and painful torture, so I will comply ;-)

The weekend after that I'll be in ye ol' IF Town for Beerfest and to see my darling Carmy, of course. When will I be relaxing? Or cleaning my house for that matter? I'm not sure. There is no rest for the weary, I suppose. This is what I love about the summer, though. Certainly there will be no want for activities. Thank Xenu for three day weekends.

Warm Weekend = Heaven

So, don't judge me, but I may have gone to Ikea twice yesterday and spent money both times. Hey! I said don't judge! I finally bought my bed! It has not yet been constructed (that may actually have to wait until next weekend), but I own it! The good news is that the price dropped $20 from when I looked at it originally. And, it only came in two boxes, which were only slightly unweildy (HUGE thanks to Megs and Faye for carying them up my stairs for me!!I'm under strict orders from my doctor not to lift more than 10 lbs lest I aggravate my hip injury further, so I totally owe my girls lunch).

Of course, as it is Ikea, I couldn't just go in and come out with the bed! Nope, I also bought some shelves for my front room, a new rug for my kitchen (one of their awesome little circle ones in blue), and some file folder boxes because my filing system is in serious need of organization. When I went back in the evening with my bf, I bought hanging folders and a double sided mirror for my bathroom. I sure to love that Ikea! They are so handy. And their stuff is cute too! I'm pretty sure that my entire house will eventually be furnished with all Ikea stuff, save my dining room table.

So, two Ikea trips in one weekend? Must be Spring! It's about time too, because I am FED UP TO HERE WITH THE COLD! I just want it to be warm now that we're mid-way through May. Is that really so much to ask? I think not! This weekend did not disappoint like the first weekends in May did. Last weekend was warm too, I guess, but I was in ye ol' IF Town, where it was 50 degrees and windy. I was there for a baby shower for my dearest Carmy, who is expecting her first baby girl (Emri Jade) on June 10. At the shower I got to see one of my favorite mom's ever, Mrs. W, with her two newest granddaughters. I have a couple of pics from that event, which will have to be posted at some undetermined time in the future because my lap top is shot to hell, and I'm still in the process of buying a desktop to hook up to my 32" TV (woot! Only looking for the best deal at this point. Hopefully by next weekend I'll have made a decision on that).

In addition to going baby-clothes crazy at Target for baby Emri, I also made her a quilt by hand. I busted out my sewing machine finally (it's been sitting unused in my second room since August of last year when T got it for me for my b-day), and even though it is obviously handmade, the quilt turned out awesomely I think. I'll definitely be doing more of that kind of thing now that I know for sure how to thread my machine (it's complicated, okay?). I also get to make curtains for my new bed, and I need to make some for the entry way closet because the accordion doors on that are basically useless without a bottom track (which, for some unbeknownst reason, was never reinstalled after the carpet was laid).

I've been feeling so crafty lately! Even though it totally gives me away as having been raised a Mo, I am really glad that I have some talent for handcrafts like sewing and crochet. They are useful talents, really, and I would much rather make than buy, particularly when it comes to giving gifts. I just need to focus in on those talents and see what I can do with them. I'd love to start selling on Etsy, so I'll need to build up somewhat of an inventory. That's pretty much what I'll be working on over the summer. As well as painting (both creatively and decoratively) and getting more ink done. All in all I think it will be a really productive and exciting summer.

A Week in Paradise (no pics)

So, I'm back from my vacation. I have been for about a week, actually. For those of you who didn't hear, a volcano in Iceland blew up a couple weeks ago and effed up air traffic in and out of Europe. Well, said volcano went off two days before I was supposed to leave, and therefore my dream vacation to Amsterdam and Paris was DOA. I'm still trying to convince myself that I'm not bitter about it. I'll get back to you on how that goes.

In any case, having vacation time from work already set up, T and I said "F*CK IT!" and went to Mexico, where we spent a week laying on the beach/by the pool and drinking fruity alcoholic beverages. We even managed to tour some Mayan ruins and got cultured. It was amazing and beautiful, and I will most definitely be returning there for future vacations. So, though it was not Amsterdam and Paris for 10 days, 7 days on the beach is a pretty awesome consolation I suppose.

Still.

I'm not bitter.

I'm not bitter.

Pics of the beach and what not to come eventually.

Weekend Update (with Photos, minus Tina Fey)

And it's Sunday again. I swear they just keep sneaking up on me! In case you're wondering, 6 am is way too early to be doing ANYTHING on a Sunday morning besides sleeping, and yet here I was, at work, logged in and ready to go by 5:59 am. Blasphemy, I tell you, blasphemy.

In any case, the weekend was good. I got to see my BFF and her baby girl. Last time I saw Paisley Mae she was about 7 pounds. Now, she's about 17 and just getting cuter! Don't believe me? Here she is!Told you so! Isn't she just the cutest? You see her hands? Those little fingers are constantly moving like she's grabbing at the air. It's too cute. I just want to squeeze her. Paisley is not biologically my niece, of course, but April might as well be my sister so I'll claim her offspring as such! She's entered that baby phase of development where she's just observing and soaking everything in. She is soooooooo well behaved. She only got cranky at IKEA right as we were about to leave and needed a diaper change. She was fascinated with my hair too. She just stared at it and wanted to wrap her fingers in it. OMG, she's a doll! I heart her. Can you tell? Oh yeah, and her mom is good too :)

Speaking of IKEA, I may or may not have spent $140 there. It would have been at least $300 more had I had a means of transporting this bed:Can I just tell you how stoked I was to see this there?? I have been looking for a simple four poster with clean lines (none of the fancy, turned posts for me, thanks very much!) for ages, and there it is waiting for me at IKEA. I love IKEA so much! This will be the first thing I buy when I get back from Europe next month and have located a truck or something big enough to haul it.

In other news. Last weekend was the first day of Spring, and I took advantage of the warmth by wandering around my neighborhood for about six hours with my bf. It was awesome, and I've got to tell you; I am SOOOO glad that I don't live in Midvale any more. In our wandering, we found a cute little game/hobby store in the complex up the street. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a picture with this particular game: The Bullet? You bet! How's that for awesomeness?

Also in the awesomeness category, my dear friend Mr. Tolman's shirt. Behold: Check out all his Majesty!

And this one, of my Matty! I found this picture on my phone a couple of days ago, but I don't remember taking it. All his 6'4" fits rather nicely in my little nook, eh?

So that's it for this edition of the Weekend Update with Photos. Stay tuned for another exciting episode to come (eventually...)!

This Week (In Review)

1. In case you were wondering, strep throat is no walk in the park. First off all, it's painful, secondly it's annoying and thirdly it makes your breath smell like death.

2. Using up half of one's allotted sick time for the year in January is maybe not such a good idea.

3. Antibiotics rock. Except that they're horse pill sized, and I have to take two at a time, twice daily for 10 days. And they're gross. No pain no gain, right? Right.

4. Thursday = Friday for me this month, and that means that by 11 a.m. on Thursday I'm ready to pull my hair out bc the minutes are CREEEEEEEEEEEEPING by.

5. Anticipation over friends coming into town on Friday night isn't helping the Thursday work situation go by any faster either.

6. Anyone wanna buy a full sized IKEA loftbed? It's too tall for my second bedroom, so it's time for it to go. It looks like this only in birch, and is very sturdy. I think you'll need at least 9ft ceilings to accommodate, but I have a mattress or two to go with it! Tell your friends!

7. Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich from Domino's = heaven on bread. Better hot than cold though.

8. My dependence on Diet Coke grows by the day. Why does it have to be so delicious?

9. It is possible, I have found, to go three to four weeks without doing any grocery shopping other than to buy milk. I would, however, not recommend it seeing as having fast food at least once a day for those three to four weeks can get expensive and is likely not the healthiest route.

10. In case you were wondering, being single pretty much rocks. I know my married friends would say differently, but seriously? I basically love it.

That's all for today. Have a great weeeeeeeeeeeeeeekend!