Daily Ramblings - Shark Tank Swag Box!

Not sure if any of you remember my review of Groovebook from a little while back.  They're a company that was funded, and seems to have had some decent success on account of the show Shark Tank.  I got a pleasant surprise last week when I was contacted by the folks over at Shark Tank, who read my review.  Turns out that the show is now going into syndication on CNBC and they offered to send me a swag box for being an avid viewer.  I wasn't going to say no to an opportunity to try out some of the products I've seen on the show!

My box arrived this week and here's what was inside:

- Gobie Water Bottle - This is a cool water bottle with a filter to turn any water into safe drinking water.  I'm super excited to have this and can't help thinking it would have been handy while we were at Disney this month to filter the cloudy looking water from the water fountains!  This will definitely be something that gets regular use.

- Origaudio Fold N Play Speakers - These are self-powering, folding (thus portable) speakers made from primarily recycled materials.  Supposedly they work with our phones, so perhaps that's how I'll test them out.  Husband immediately found these interesting, from an audiophile perspective.  He's very curious to know how they sound.

- Pork Barrel BBQ Sauce - As it turns out, we needed BBQ sauce anyway, so this was a perfect addition to the pantry.  Who doesn't love a good BBQ sauce?  This one seems really well reviewed online, so can't wait to give it a try.  The company has a variety of different sauces and spice rubs available, working out at about $5 bottle + shipping.  Also, there's quite a few recipes available on their website to try, so now it's just a question of deciding what to make.

- Reboot Energy Spray - Admittedly, this is the one item that I doubt I will end up using.  I'm not really into energy products in general, so I suspect I'll let the water cooler fairies at work find it a new home.

- Nuts 'n More Chocolate Peanut Butter - We should all be impressed that I didn't just open this up and start eating it the second I opened the box.  Instead I showed a modicum of self-restraint so that I could take the picture and do this write up first.  I might just go straight back upstairs and dive in with a spoon when I'm done though.  I remember the episode where this was featured and I'm very grateful to have this decadent peanut butter in hand!

Thanks for the folks over at Shark Tank for sending the swag.  I can't wait for more episodes, and to catch some I may not have seen yet.

Daily Ramblings - Surviving Disney with a toddler

Reading the park map, ready to roll.

Now that Owen is comfortable walking and exploring, Husband and I decided it was time to brave the crowds and take advantage of the So Cal resident deal for Disneyland/California Adventure.  I will admit that I was a little nervous leading up to the trip - How was he going to handle waiting in line?  Would he last the day without his usual 2-3 hour nap?  Would he decide to randomly run off into the crowds?  It didn't help that every time we checked the weather leading up to the trip, it got increasingly hotter, seeing as we're in the middle of an unreasonably warm May.  I was not relishing the idea of a crowded theme park in 100 degree weather, but off we went!

The good news is that we had a great time.  I'm not entirely sure what Owen thought of everything.  There were definitely moments when his eyes were bugging out at trying to figure out his surroundings.  Other times, he'd let out an "oooh" when something clicked in his head.  He had moments where he was analyzing his surrounds, other times when he was being a goofball (like when he decided to blow kisses to all the ladies in line behind us).  While we were mentally preparing ourselves for a tired toddler meltdown (and you will definitely see and hear the tired, over-stimulated, screaming toddlers around the park), he made us proud and was a pleasure to travel with.

Before we went, I consulted with my close friend and Disney guru (lifetime season pass holder) on the best way to handle the park with toddler in tow and was given some excellent tips and tricks.  After my experience, here's ten "Surviving Disney with a toddler" tips.    

Waiting in line isn't so bad when there's so much to look at	1)  Get a hotel right around the park.  They may not be fancy but, for the main part, they're reasonably priced and comfortable enough.  We've stayed at the Camelot Inn and Suites before, and were at the Ramada MainGate this time around.  The hotels in the area will provide cribs free of charge, some have Disney themed rooms/suites that you can rent, and being walking distance from the main park entrance is great if you need to duck out for nap time or to grab a bite to eat off property. 2)  Travel as light as possible!  We took our stroller into the park (although baby wearing is also a great option), stuffed it with diapers, wipes, snacks, change of clothes etc.  Strollers at Disney are kind of amazing - they get left all over the place but nobody messes with them.  I still wouldn't recommend leaving anything valuable in there though.  We had a backpack to carry all essentials that we wanted to keep on us while in line (primarily consisting of the DSLR and some snacks in case Owen got hungry), but our hands were free otherwise.
3)  Bring more snacks than you think you'll need.  We tried to keep it to things that would survive the heat, with resealable packaging!  You can always make "snack packs" with ziploc bags.  In our case, we took popcorn, jerky, dehydrated fruit, raisins, and squeezable pouches.  You also want to make sure to bring plenty of water.  You'll be doing a lot of walking around the park and it is thirsty making.  You can ask for a cup of water at the restaurants, and there are also water fountains around the park (although be warned that it may be a little warm and cloudy looking).  While snacks and bottled drinks are readily available in the park, you will pay a premium and that can add up quickly.  I do recommend the fresh fruit stand by the Jungle Cruise, and anybody that's been will tell you to get some Dole Whip! 4)  Bring comfortable shoes.  This may seem obvious, but appropriate shoes are going to be important and, if you are going to be going for more than one day, I would recommend bringing more than one pair.  I actually changed shoes three times over the course of the two days and was able to escape the park without sore feet.  Definitely look for shoes with arch support and break them in beforehand.   We threw some band-aids in the backpack just in case.	Paradise Pier California Screamin', ready to roll!
Astro Orbiter Fist bumping a Storm Trooper	5)  Check height restrictions.  While there are plenty of rides that have no height restrictions at all, it is nice to know which rides with height limits are ok for your child.  32" is the lowest height restriction and Owen, at 32.5", was able to go on a whole set of rides seeing as he met that.  It wasn't always easy to get him to stand up straight so they can check him, but it was worthwhile.  The height restrictions are actually noted for each ride on the park map so you can prepare yourself that way, and hopefully avoid the meltdown that I witnessed from one kid, upset at being the only one in his party too short to ride Indiana Jones. 6)  Download an app.  There's a whole variety of apps out there that will give you approximate wait times for rides.  We used Mousewait.  Seeing as our plan was to limit waiting in line to 20 minutes if possible (which we figured was the upper limit on keeping Owen entertained in a confined space), this was a great way to see what rides were relatively free at any given time.  The beautiful thing about Disney though is that they do try to keep the lines interesting at least, so there should be various things to look at while you're waiting and you can turn that into a game to keep the little ones entertained.
7)  Use FastPass wisely.  The rides where you can get a FastPass are clearly marked on the map, but keep in mind that the FastPass distribution isn't always right next to the ride.  The great thing about FastPass is that you can go do something else before your scheduled return time, thus avoiding lengthy waits.  There are some rides where the FastPass is really in demand (such as Radiator Springs in Cars Land) - FastPasses were sold out within the first hour and the line to even get one was over 25 minutes.  We actually decided it wasn't worth our while, so we skipped over it.  The FastPass we got for Roger Rabbit ended up being a happy accident because we rode it twice in a row, once by waiting in the regular line, then we immediately hopped back on with our FastPass. 8)  Single rider is a great option.  Not every ride offers single rider.  We used it for California Screamin' and Indiana Jones.  You get a ticket from one of the cast members, and they will direct you where to go (which in the case of Indiana Jones is actually through the exit).  When you get to the front, you wait until they call for a single rider, then you give them your ticket and go!  Both times I used it, I was on the ride straight away.  This meant that one of us could stay with Owen and do a toddler friendly ride in the meantime.	Checking out Flik's Flyers Owen rode the carousel three times while we were taking advantage of single rider on California Screamin'
Disneywasted!	9)  Trade something.  You can trade both pins and Vinylmation figures in the park.  Pins can be traded with cast members, which I got to witness a couple times and it was very cute.  In our case, we had some Vinylmation to trade, which can be done at specific locations in the parks, and Owen had a good time picking his mystery box number, then carried around the figures he received in his trades. 10)  Take your time.  Gone are the days when Husband and I could go to the park and knock out everything we wanted to do in a morning.  You don't need to see and do everything to have a good Disney experience.  Pick a few things you'd like to hit and consider everything above that a bonus!  Don't forget to get a little down time for relaxation and take cues from your child.  Simple things, like watching the horse drawn trolleys go by on Main Street, or spending a little while cooling off in the theater, was time well spent.  In our case, sitting and watching the ducks for a while, then a short stroll, is what eventually got Owen to nap.  There is so much to do that it's impossible to do it all in a day.

We probably won't be going back again for a little while, and there's no shortage of theme parks in So Cal that we might visit before heading back to the Magic Kingdom, but I left the trip excited to take Owen again.  I guess we did something right!

Daily Ramblings - Kitchen Reno Completed aka I'm A Slacker (Part 2)

I must apologize for my unexcused absence.  I've had photos of our kitchen renovation on my camera for a few weeks now and just never got around to taking them off, or posting about anything at all.  So, here we are and I do want to share these, seeing as you got to see the before photos!

The project took a little over 2 weeks total.  We kept the existing cabinets and all the appliances, except the dishwasher, which we switched to stainless steel to match the rest.  We added new ceramic floor tile, "tan brown" granite, glass mosaic backsplash, stainless steel sink and faucet, cabinet hardware, and under cabinet lighting.  We ended up getting a new water heater installed, adding a light above the pantry, refinishing the ceiling, and removing the garbage compactor which served no purpose other than to remind us that the 1980s happened.  I can hardly recognize the white/bland kitchen that was there before now it's been replaced with a warm and happy space.

Renovations with a toddler in the house?  Not the most fun thing ever, but this was the biggest and most inconvenient one we have planned.  Unlike doing a bathroom where you may have other bathrooms to use in the meantime, most houses only have the one kitchen, which makes life hard when you don't have access to it, especially considering we cook a lot in our house.  

We still have a bathroom and living room space to work on, but for now, we'll take a break in our (finally) dust free space!  Back to regularly scheduled programming...

Daily Ramblings - So that's what was under there...kitchen reno (Part 1)

Welcome to March. So far, the month has been taken up by dust and home improvement, so here's a quick breakdown of what's been going on! (Right now, I'll share everything via Instagram photos, but proper before and after shots to come later...)

Here is the original kitchen. That's a lot of little white tiles, right? In fact, our kitchen table (not pictured) also featured little white tiles on the top, a leftover gift from the previous owners that we never bothered to remove. The problem with little white tiles everywhere is that they are impossible to keep clean....and, without anything on the counters, it's quite apparent how bland this looks!  We've upgraded the appliances in the last couple of years, but notice the beautiful trash compactor in the lower left corner?  We don't even know where the key for that thing is, so it's mostly been taking up space.  We had it removed and I can't say I miss it.


Whomever laid the tile previously never bothered to do the laundry room, or under the dishwasher or stove.  The gap between where the tile stopped, and where the dishwasher was placed, was about a half inch collection point for things that had been swept over time.  Gross, I know, but I certainly wasn't about to go fishing around in there to get things out.  To be honest, when we first moved in, 5.5 years ago, we knew that the kitchen would eventually have to go.  I'm surprised it took us this long!


One advantage (if you want to call it that) of the bad tile job, was that it wasn't a complete shock when the tile was pulled up to reveal this beautiful linoleum underneath.  The building was built in 1981 I believe, which means that's probably the original.  Gorgeous isn't it?  I thought about keeping it for....no, I'm kidding.  That stuff had to go asap.  Three guys spent an entire afternoon scraping it off the sub-floor.  I was at home that day, and not at all jealous of what they were doing.


The counter-tops were demolished on day two, after the floor was pulled up.  Needless to say there's a lot of eating out/ordering for pick-up going on right now, and I'm grateful for the paper plates and plastic cutlery left over from Owen's birthday.  Our fridge is also in the living room, which makes for easy access at least...and we'll just say that's a silver lining.


The cabinets are the one thing that we're keeping, although we will be adding hardware.  Our new floor tile is a slate color with brown tones that match the cabinets, which they are starting to lay down today.  The granite is going in this weekend along with a new sink and faucet.  We're finishing everything up with a pretty glass mosaic back-splash, which will be started next week and is likely to be the most complicated part as it is the most intricate.  It might also be the part that I'm most interested to see come together as the granite and flooring are quite dark, so the back-splash (and paint) is where we decided to bring back some lightness.  


I stood in the kitchen this morning to take a look at/admire the paint color in daylight. As I was contemplating how much I enjoyed our chosen color (BEHR "Sculptor's Clay, which is essentially a neutral somewhere between brown and grey), I laughed at teenage me who would have undoubtedly thought being excited about such things was lame.


Any kind of remodeling can be stressful, even more so with a toddler in the house.  We've had various adventures this week just trying to keep him out of the house as much as possible.  When we did our bathroom, there were at least other bathrooms available to use.  Not having access to the kitchen, as a household that cooks 5 nights a week, is definitely a unique situation that I'll be glad to be done with.  It's a small price to pay for getting to cook in my new, awesome kitchen soon!  I'll be back with an update next week...

Daily Ramblings - Merry Christmas and all that

Hard to believe it's Christmas Eve already.  This year has been filled with a whirlwind of activity and, even now, with only a few days left, we still have so much left to do.  So, in anticipation that I won't get a chance to update this space until 2014, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Daily Ramblings - Birthdays and un-birthdays

Our household was recently hit by the dreaded lurgy (which is one of those British phrases I'd very much like to get people using here in the US).  A couple of weeks ago, Owen brought home a daycare cold, which resulted in getting me sick.  He recovered pretty quickly but, having given the munchkin all my antibodies, I didn't fare so well.  After the cold symptoms dissipated, the following week of sinus headaches led me to the ENT doctor.  He congratulated me on the general disturbing state of my sinuses and tonsils, then sent me home with a 10 day dose of antibiotics.  The drugs had just taken hold on my infection when Owen started coughing and wheezing, leading to a weekend trip to urgent care where he was diagnosed with bronchitis.  Now we have to give him breathing treatments with albuterol twice a day, which essentially means we wave a wand that is spewing vapor into his mouth and try to get him to stay still for 10 minutes while it works it's magic and opens up his airways.  There is nothing fun about this.  Trying to get a six month old to stay in one spot for 10 minutes is hard enough as is, let alone with something that he doesn't understand shoved in his face.  If he doesn't start crying straight away, I will potentially spend those 10 minutes trying to wrestle the wand out of his hands because he's trying to eat it.  This morning he thought it was a gigantic straw and was trying to suck liquid out of it, then got frustrated because it wasn't working.  The kid is too smart for his own good.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, we did have cause for celebration.  Owen turned 6 months on Monday. That's half a year since he burst into our lives and changed us forever.  I can hardly believe it.  In that he was sick, I didn't get to do the photoshoot that I was hoping to, but snapped some pics on my cell phone to commemorate.  I'll do a proper photoshoot with him in the next couple of weeks.  I'd say his "blue steel" is pretty good already though.

Yesterday, it was my birthday.  I'd say 34 is a relative non-event, and the universe did feel the need to remind me of that as I struggled with car trouble and a wheezing baby, which meant my celebratory dinner ended up being Indian takeout, obtained and hand-delivered by my loving husband.  It certainly wasn't the ideal birthday but, in the end, I was surrounded by my boys (the big one, the small one, and the furry one) and I can't complain about that too much.

Daily Ramblings - My heart goes out to Boston

Yesterday, while at work, news of the bombings at the Boston marathon started flooding my Facebook feed.  My heart sank as I felt the weight of the needless loss of life, as it did when I heard about Sandy Hook, the Colorado theater shootings, and so many more senseless acts before them.  I may not know those who were in attendance yesterday, but they are in my thoughts - the needless loss of three lives and the countless other lives forever changed.  

My perspective has changed now I have my little baby boy.  Each time another devastating event occurs, I can't help but wonder what kind of crazy world I'm bringing my child into.  I look at the innocence and beauty in his eyes as he learns about his surroundings.  He touches a simple piece of fabric, a leaf, or a park bench, with such fascination because to him it is new and wonderful.  He has no idea of the horrors that exist in the world.  I can't fathom how the innocence, that we are all born with, turns into enough hatred to willfully and harshly end the lives of others - especially children who are just starting their journey.

I know I'll never be able to protect my child completely from the scary things, which seem to happen all too frequently. I know the time will come when he will ask me to explain why a horrible tragedy, such as the attack on Boston, has happened.  It's impossible to properly explain something that has no basis in logic or sanity.  There is a meme that's been floating around, which I found to be poignant, and I hope to remember the words when the time comes.  I hope I can teach my son to be one of the helpers.
  

Daily Ramblings - The Return

My maternity leave from work ended up being somewhat of a maternity leave from blogging too. All the things I would normally have to share - food, crafting, etc. went out of the window and were replaced with trying to figure out what day of the week it was and how many times Owen had pooped/napped. I had many hours some time between 1 and 4 am to peruse Pinterest for all the fabulous things to cook and pretty things to make...when I could finally muster up the energy and/or time of course!

When I was originally figuring out my maternity leave, I was thrilled to be able to take 4 months off (although granted nothing like the year that other countries automatically grant - I mean how cool is that?) It really sounded like a long time but, as I now spend part of my evenings running around putting together daycare bags with clothing and bottles for my little guy, I realize that it still went too fast. I feel for those mothers who can't take much time due to financial restraints or issues with job security. I'm super grateful to California for being a maternity leave friendly state. I had grand aspirations for all the stuff that I wanted to do with the little one and, even though I hardly did any of it, I have no regrets. Some days we never made it much farther than the couch, but I will look back fondly at the time when he was just small and needed nothing more than snuggles from his mama.

I am truly amazed every day as I see my baby boy learn and discover something new. He has learned how to pick things up with his tiny little hands. Invariably, he puts said items straight in his mouth, which is just a momentary replacement for drooling all over his fingers. (People say that *insert fluid here* isn't gross when it's your child. Having been covered in it, I can say that it's still gross, you're just more accepting when it's your kid that's wiping it on you.) He is figuring out his toys - like the one that plays classical tunes and lights up when you push the button, or the lizard that lights up and says colors when you touch it (which is truly not a euphemism for anything). The problem is, of course, when he's been pushing the button non-stop for 20 minutes and you know you're going to wake up in the middle of the night singing the "red, yellow and blue" song in your head. He reminds me that sometimes the simplest things are beautiful. I catch him staring at something I haven't truly looked at and it helps me to rediscover. I also can't help but love that he puts a smile on the face of strangers when we're out and about. I'm a proud baby wearer and people really get a kick from seeing his little face peeking at them in line at Target/the library/restaurants. He loves to look around at everything, quietly alert and taking it all in. He's currently working on sitting up, rolling over, and is generally so strong that I suspect we'll be doing a lot of chasing him when he becomes properly mobile! He loves to chatter with us and imitates husband's facial expressions really well. (They do have the same eyebrows after all). The best though is his goofy toothless grin and his attempts to giggle - which sounds like a gurgling hiccup and is usually accompanied by a string of drool. He's going to be quite a ladies man and, while I may be a little bias because I'm his mother, he's a handsome little devil.

Fortunately, his good nature has held steady at daycare and he meets his caregiver in the morning with a smile on his face. He's learning from the other babies there and is a tired little boy when he returns at night. The transition back to work has certainly been easier knowing that he seems to be having a good time, and I am enjoying being back in the world of adult conversation. While I miss my baby during the day, it makes me treasure the short time we have to spend together each evening. 

Getting back into the swing of things will include blogging and adding my exploits into motherhood into the mix. I am finally back and have so much to share!

Daily Ramblings - Welcome 2013!

Happy New Year to you all.  I hope the holiday season brought you everything you desired.

Last year was a whirlwind.  I was completely preoccupied with pregnancy and then the arrival of my beautiful baby boy for 11 of the 12 months.  Even now with just under 2 months left in my maternity leave I'm realizing how few things I had planned to do during my leave have actually been done.  (Don't get me wrong though, I'm certainly feeling at peace with accomplishing nothing more than looking after the little guy and doing basic household chores daily!)

Even something simple, like updating my blog, has been more challenging than I expected as our computers are in the basement so not super convenient.  Husband was kind enough to buy me a tablet for our wedding anniversary/Christmas so now I can communicate with you from the couch/rocker/bed....even with babe sleeping in the crook of my arm.  Technology is awesome!

For now, I leave you with a little bit of Photoshop magic, courtesy of our friend Nick.  Here's baby Owen in his Christmas Eve outfit...

Daily Ramblings - Hanging in there

Don't worry, my lack of posting doesn't mean I've gone into labor or anything.  I've heard that at this late stage of pregnancy, there is a shift into nesting mode (i.e. must clean everything in the house in preparation for baby) or exhaustion kicks in.  Based on the fact that my major accomplishment yesterday was finally getting a pedicure, I'd say I fall into the latter category.  Yup, I'm tired.  Husband says it's no surprise considering I've been making a baby for the last 8.5 months.  He's a smart man.  I was actually very busy doing just that while on the couch yesterday... 

So, although yesterday was a wash, on Saturday we were super busy and we're now 80% done with the nursery.  I need to wash the bedding and order the last few things, then I can take pictures for the big reveal.  Meanwhile, this morning was another non-eventful weekly appointment.  Nothing exciting to report.  Still pregnant.   

Last week, I had a final scan to get an idea of the size and position of baby.  It was possibly the most fun I've had at a doctor's office ever - the hour long wait for my appointment and the strange altercation with an older lady in the elevator (who was quite insistent that I'm having a girl) notwithstanding.  The good news is that we painted the room blue with good reason - he's still a boy and "not shy" about it (as the doctor said). 

It has to be said that I'm completely in awe of ultra-sound technology and the level of detail that can be achieved.  To be able to see his features, watch him snuggling up against his tiny little hands, and even know that he already has hair, is both eerie and amazing.  It's impossible not to be completely in love though. 

This week is my last week at work.  It's bizarre to think that I'm going to be taking a "break" from this place where I've been coming for the last 11 years of my life.  I may just spend all next week napping...we'll see.  :)

Daily Ramblings - The home stretch

36 weeks and still hanging in there!  I still haven't done anywhere near all the stuff on that (rather informal) list in my head.  The important stuff is getting there though, so I'm cutting myself some slack.

This weekend, husband and I were relentless in our pursuit of "getting our shit together" (so to speak).  We finally signed up for our Costco membership - primarily for savings on baby wipes and diapers, although husband will tell you that it's so he can buy a new TV.  Armed with the 900 count box of baby wipes, which will still only last us 2 months by our estimation, we also ended up with about 12 lbs of meat to make and freeze meals with.  Since then, we've been marinading pork chops, cooking pasta sauce, and last night I made three meals worth of mini meatloafs.  11 days worth of dinner down and my goal is to move on to chicken recipes this week once I've gone shopping for more veggies.  Hopefully, the pre-made meals will come in handy when we're dealing with the newborn and trying to figure out what day of the week it is/the last time we showered.

On Sunday, we met with a friend for some maternity shots.  I've only seen this one so far, but how cute is that?  I can't wait to see the rest, and will definitely be sharing when I get copies.  I'm so used to being behind the camera that I forget how to pose in front of one sometimes.  Husband isn't usually thrilled about the concept of being in photos either - although I remind him that with the new addition, there will be a lot more of this to come!

Next step is finishing up the nursery.  I'll leave all the details of the great crib debacle for another time, but I'm really hoping that some time before the end of the upcoming weekend that we'll have everything built and situated.  We also need to make a final decision on wall decals (seeing as we're in an earthquake zone and don't need things falling off the walls next to the crib).

Meanwhile, baby is having a little party in my belly.  It's amazing to be able to look down and see my belly wiggling like a shaken Jello mold.  It's become visible to other people now too, which is good because I'm no longer that crazy pregnant lady who starts giggling for no reason and saying "did you see that?"  He seems to enjoy putting his foot in between my ribs on my right side and is more than happy to kick me away when I try to push him into a more comfortable spot (for me anyway).  This interaction with my unborn is the most indescribably wonderful thing. 


4 weeks to go....unbelievable really!

Daily Ramblings - Gift basket fun!

In the aftermath of all the shower fun, I did want to share the gift baskets that I put together for the girls who hosted.  I had been stewing for a little while on what to get each of them and had been throwing around several ideas in my head.  Finally, I decided that I was going to make a gift basket for each so that I could incorporate a mixture of things and tailor the baskets to their individual likes. 

Basket #1
Paige loves to bake.  She and I were opposites for a long time.  She could bake anything but wasn't great at cooking, while I could cook anything, but couldn't bake for the life of me.  (I should note that we've both made great strides in our baking and cooking respectively).  In that I will always associate her with a mild sugar high, when I spotted the Red Velvet wine from Cupcake Vineyards on the shelf, I knew exactly what I wanted to do!  Going along with that theme, I also got an oven mitt, Betty Crocker spatula, some dark chocolate covered almonds and espresso beans, and (to add the handmade touch) themed magnets [see insert in the picture below].  

Basket #2
Holly is a total anglophile - something that drew us together in the beginning when she found out that I'm English.  In the spirit of gifting alcohol, I know that she's a Guiness drinker so wanted to find some new British beers that were similar for her to try.  I ended up with Young's Double Chocolate Stout and a bottle of Hobgoblin (which was a necessary purchase for the name alone). From there, I added some Heinz Baked Beans (a British classic) and some Yorkshire Pudding mix.  I also threw in some more of the chocolate goods, as I figured they would go well with the chocolate beer, and made her magnets using a letter that Henry VIII wrote to Anne Boleyn [again, see insert].  I figured it was fitting for someone who stayed at Hampton Court every year growing up! 

I somehow had a preggo moment and forgot to take a picture of the basket of chocolate and cheese that I made for my mother-in-law too.  I'll admit that I've never really put together gift baskets before, but this may be my new favorite thing!  I had such a great time gathering all the little things to put in them, and it worked prefectly with my indecisive nature as I was able to put a variety of things together rather than having to decide upon one bigger item.

As for the magnets, I had fun making these.  I got the 1" half flat glass marbles, which you can find at Michaels or the dollar store.  I chose to use bigger marbles, but there's also smaller versions out there.  I used Mod Podge to adhere the images to the marble, and then E6000 glue to stick the magnets (also available at Michaels) onto the back.  The glue seemed secure after about an hour, but I've heard that 24 hours is best just to be sure.  Here's a pretty decent tutorial if you want to try it yourself.  They're so cute and I may be making more for holiday gifts this year!

Daily Ramblings - Freshly showered!

This Saturday, I had my baby shower. It seemed like the shower was so far away, but then I realize I'm 35 weeks today and my pregnant self is rounding the last curve, heading straight toward the finish line!

My girls, Holly and Paige, had been conspiring on my shower theme for weeks.  They had my mother-in-law (who graciously allowed us to invade her house) fully entrenched in the conspiracy, so I was very much in the dark on their plans until I showed up.  They ran with the fact that I'm still a British citizen, and went full-on UK themed - union jacks, shepherd's pie, sausage rolls, royal family facemasks, the whole deal!  I was even given a rubber duck fascinator (a duckinator?) to wear - which is why you should never make frivolous comments about "you know what would be funny" to a crafty person as they will probably make it happen.

So, while Holly was busy being super crafty, Paige was a baking fiend.  Both of them have toddlers in the house, so no clue how they managed to accomplish everything they did.  My desert bar was insane, with a variety of treats that were all delicious (and some of which now reside in my freezer for emergencies during maternity leave).  In a slightly sick and twisted moment, Paige made the inside of the baby cake cops red velvet.  I've never felt so guilty to be chomping on a baby's head....not that I do that often anyway.  She also super-imposed husband's head onto the body of a baby, which was both hilarious and simultaneously creeped out all his family members.  It is still making me giggle! 

All in all, I'm such a lucky girl to have the best collection of family and friends who were there to celebrate with me.  It was fun, relaxing, and overall, I had a fantastic time.  The girls were even sneaky enough to Skype in my parents from the UK so that they could join in my special day.  This did result in spontaneous weeping on my part (that's one hell of a surprise to spring on a preggo lady) but I couldn't have asked for more.

Thanks ladies!  You are both so amazingly fabulous and talented...and quite frankly - you rock.  :)

Daily Ramblings - 32 weeks

Stormy skies when leaving Olive Garden after dinner last night.
Love it when it's moody.  ;)

I quite enjoyed this weekend - did a bunch more sewing, massage, pedicure, enjoyed some good food with family, and scored some deals at Target.  Yes, I think I've pampered myself more, since realizing I can no longer cut my own toenails, than I ever have before.  

This morning, I had my 32 week check-up.  Everything is looking good, and it says something when you spend more time discussing cell phone ringers during your visit than you do any concerns that the doctor has (i.e. there were none).  The number of weeks I have to go is in single digits, which seems so strange.  I feel like we have a ton of stuff to do, but also feeling quite calm about it all - perhaps because I'm not entirely sure where to start!

- Our crib and dresser should be working their way to our house soon so we can get those built, then work on decorating the walls in the nursery.
- I made my tentative list of things for the hospital bag, so plan to start putting it together in the next week or two.
- We secured a daycare spot on Friday, which is a huge relief in itself as it's good to know we have somebody we like lined up to look after #weebabyjacobs (yes, my unborn has an unnecessary hashtag in all Facebook references thanks to a friend of ours...who knew it would catch on?)
- Speaking of names, baby's still nameless for now.  I believe it's driving husband's grandmother crazy that we haven't picked a name yet, and she seems more anxious about it than we are!  We've narrowed it down though, so making progress. 



In the meantime, while I actually DID remember to grab my camera this morning to take some photos of what I've been sewing, I didn't have a chance to get the pics off the camera.  I'll get organized eventually, I swear!  :)

Daily Ramblings - Where did the couch go?

I think my unborn child may have more clothes than I do.  Husband and I unwittingly fell into the perfect storm of hand-me-downs with this kid.  Our two nephews are also fall babies and, as they are quickly growing out of the clothing and other baby gear, there is a stream of stuff making it's way into our house.  After receiving two huge boxes of clothes yesterday, we now have enough clothing to cover him from approx 0-9 months.  I happily sat in front of the TV, watching Olympics highlights, and sorting by size until the entire couch had been overrun by tiny little outfits.  It's all so cute I can hardly bear it!  Meanwhile, a similar thing is going on with one of my closest girlfriends, also with two boys.  She's also been toting around a box of clothes for me for the last 3 weeks.  [Seriously, nobody buy this baby any more clothes!]  I don't even know the right way to thank my sister-in-law and my friend (and their respective husbands of course) for their generosity.  It's truly overwhelming, in a wonderful kind of way.

I'm a few days from being in my third trimester and I can't help but wonder where the hell the last 3 months went.  I've heard that the middle three months are the best.  I no longer have the nausea from the first trimester, and haven't fully developed the discomfort of the last. Jenny (the masseuse at my chiropractor's office) has been keeping an eye on my progress.  A couple of weeks ago, I told her that I was hoarding the massage sessions that my insurance will cover until I really needed her.  Back then, she looked at my ankles and said "it's ok, they're not too swollen yet."  This week, when I was there for my weekly pilates session, she took one look at my ankles and said "it's time".  I'll be seeing her on Saturday, cankles and all. 

Meanwhile, the feeling that time is running out is upon me.  There's still so much to do and organize, birth classes to be attended, books to be read, things to be made!  I remember months ago thinking how much time I have....and now realizing that the time is slipping away quickly.  He's strong enough now that his wiggles are evident from the outside of my belly and he seems to be enjoying his yoga first thing in the morning as I'm trying to ignore the alarm clock.  Soon enough, he won't just be the alien being that's taken over my belly, he'll be a real life little person.  It's weird.  People ask us if we're ready and, honestly, we have no idea if we ever will be.  Feeling somewhat unprepared and all, I couldn't be happier.

Daily Ramblings - Painting...check!

Here's a preview of the nursery, freshly painted in shades of blue!   We love the clean look of the blue with the white trim and the crib/dresser combo is going to be white as well.  We're still deciding on whether to get wall decals, but in the meantime I'm finally getting my Looney Tunes animation cels framed, which are going to look great against this backdrop.  I just love the darker blue that we're using for the accent wall.  I've actually been trying to figure out if there's another wall in the house that I can paint that color because it's gorgous (and we have a ton of paint left over). 

For any fellow preggos out there looking for a good paint - we used Behr Premium Plus (available at Home Depot), which ranks really well as far as low-VOC interior paints go.  I was able to help with the painting without worrying too much about fumes.  With an open window, the smell was pretty minimal.  Another handy tip, which I wish I'd realized earlier, is that Dollar Tree has a very decent selection of painting supplies.  I'll definitely be keeping that in mind for any future painting endeavors.  

Next step is the new carpet.  We picked it out and we're just waiting for delivery and installation.  The carpet we have now is beyond help and we were planning on getting it replaced at some point anyway, which would also serve to fix the annoyingly squeaky floorboards.  It'll be another couple of weeks before it arrives, and I can't wait!  Now that I know it's on it's way, the current carpet just annoys the crap out of me.  

Meanwhile, I convinced husband that we must have this hot air balloon mobile hanging in the room so used the 20% off everything coupon at Joann's to pick up the felt today.  More on that soon...  Can you tell I'm in full nesting mode?  ;)

Daily Ramblings - 23 weeks already!

Typing this, I realize I am 23 weeks and 3 days pregnant.  That puts me so close to being in my third trimester already and I have no idea how that happened!  So, in the second half of 2012, and the second half of this pregnancy, time to take a quick moment to breath and recap what's been going on.

Second blue for most of the walls, first blue as the accent.

Things are trucking along on the preparation front.  Our living room already has a small collection of hand-me-downs from family and friends who are trying to offload their own baby gear.  Meanwhile, the bedroom is in the midst of being painted.  Deuce spent all day Sunday playing watch-cat in the hallway (seeing as we wouldn't let him in the room for fear of him ending up with blue paint streaks, or decorating with blue paw prints).  The lighter color is all done, and this weekend we'll finish up the accent wall in the darker blue.  Next step is replacing the carpet (which looks like it was installed well over a decade ago and is in dire need of replacing anyway).  As husband's grandmother said - it's like buying a dress.  Next thing you end up needing new shoes, handbag and jewelry too.  Speaking of jewelry...pregnancy swelling, accompanied by sweltering heat outside, has resulted in having to take off my wedding bands for the time being.  It's been 2 days and I honestly miss them.  I'll be getting a cheap placeholder this weekend. 

The hospital tour has been done, complete with making husband carry around the pack of Huggies that we won in the raffle.  I was hoping it would help the concept of baby sink in for him seeing as he doesn't get the pleasure of having the little one bouncing around on his bladder.  Next step is to look through all the books my friend just gave me.  Husband gets a copy of "My Boys Can Swim" as some light bathroom reading, while I get the more serious task of formulating some kind of "birth plan" (a/k/a best laid plan most likely to go awry).   

I miss sushi.  While tempura rolls and baked scallops are still delicious, a fatty piece of yellowtail nigiri has never sounded so good.  It's so hard to resist the bacon wrapped hotdog vendor in the parking lot outside of Big Lots.  I want to dive face first into a venti iced (and Irish) coffee.  I could really go for a medium rare filet. 

In more crafty stuff, I'm making great progress on the cross stitch piece, and nearly done with the blanket that I've been working on.  For those of you who are knitters, I'm sure you can sympathize when I say that I hate seed stitch!!  Only 10 more rows and I'm done though...I can make it!  My sewing space is non-existent right now, but I am still formulating crafty plans (which I will likely never find the time to execute) in my head.  I want to sew blankets, and accessories, create wall art, make a mobile (airplanes or hot air balloons?), sew ridiculously cute baby pants out of ridiculously cute boy fabrics.  The list goes on...

As I look forward to the next couple of months, I realize that there just seems to be so much that I need to do - baby related and otherwise.  This year has been a whirlwind of a time, but a wonderful one where I'm truly excited about the next chapters to come. 

Daily Ramblings - Guess what?

Yes indeed!  We had our 20 week ultrasound scan yesterday where we got to hang out with the little one for a good half hour while a specialist poked, prodded, measured and checked Peanut (although the name doesn't seem quite so fitting anymore - he's grown quite a bit!)  Great news is that he's a healthy little guy who was rolling back and forth, stretching and generally seemed to be enjoying himself.  The other great news is that I wasn't required to have a full bladder for the screening - which would have been tough enough without being pregnant! 

It was truly the most amazing thing to see all the various body parts, the heart beating, tiny little feet and hands.  She even turned on a cool blood flow thing which showed the way the blood was moving through the umbilical cord, the heart, etc. We're talking a baby, who is really only about 10" long, on a 42" flat screen!  I think husband was having a great time getting to "meet" his son (still weird saying that) for the first time in such a way.  It's even better to have the whole thing on DVD so I can take another look any time I want. 

I've had my suspicions all along that Peanut was going to be a boy.  What I discovered that old wives tales are just that and paying any attention to them was the only thing that may have made me think this baby was anything BUT a boy.  So, my random craving for pancakes and the breakout in the middle of my forehead really have no bearing on gender, in case anybody was wondering.  What is interesting is that in my husband's family, we have an entire generation of boys - in fact enough for a basketball team (although not enough players to have anybody on the bench).  Statistically, you'd think there should be a girl in there somewhere, but it seems that the Y chromosome is strong with our bunch!

Regardless of the big gender reveal though, I can't describe how happy I am to have a healthy baby, and to have a clean bill of health myself right now.  Soon enough, the little jabs and flutters will likely turn into full blown punches and kicks - I really can't wait!

Daily Ramblings - Meh!

I am a bad blogger.  I've actually had things to share in the last week or two, but haven't managed to take the photos off my camera due to a major lack of space on my computer. 

My trusty Dell, purchased sometime circa 2004, is finally at the end of it's time.  I have about 12GB of space left on the hard drive, which just isn't going to get anybody very far!  We do have a secondary hard drive that we were planning on plugging in, but husband says there's some issue with the connectors which means no expansion for me.  So, instead, we decided it's time for a new machine and purchased a new desktop over the weekend - we just haven't set it up yet.  So, while I would love to share with you the amazing crock pot recipe for pulled pork, it may mean waiting a few more days. 

In the meantime, I'm excited that Instagram is now on the Android platform (and I'm sure they're excited that they were just bought by Facebook for $1Billion!)  I think that non-iPhone users have seen this floating around for a long time and wanted to be allowed to play.  I haven't had a chance to do much with it yet, but I suspect I'm going to enjoy it. 

Anyway, thanks for bearing with me during this gigantic blogging blip.  There's good stuff to come!

Daily Ramblings - So neglectful!

I really do feel like I've been horribly neglectful of my blog readers recently.  2012 has proven to be positive in many ways, but it certainly hasn't given me an over-abundance of time.  It's times like these that I'm glad I decided not to set myself a ton of new year resolutions - I blinked and it's March, and I've done a lot but strangely feel like I've not accomplished enough!

A quick rundown of the highlights from last week.  I finally started posting some new jewelry items in my shop.  For example, I found these donut beads a while back and immediately knew I wanted to present them with cord.  I really like how they turned out, and each bead is so unique!  I also changed the backgrounds for my jewelry photography.  The plain white wasn't highlighting the pieces in the way I wanted to show them, so found a really cool pack of metallic scrapbooking papers to use instead.  I also got another order of beads and findings from Artbeads.com, which I hope to start working with soon.  I see stitch markers being available some time in the future.


I missed Foto Friday again, but I've still been keeping up with my photography project. Here's a couple of my personal favorites from last week.

From the brilliant (if not slightly deranged) mind of my co-worker, Randy. 
He makes amazing rock sculptures, which I just had to photograph and share!

A photo from a poetry book I had at my parents' house. 
I think the illustrations are beautiful and hope to pass this down to my own kids some day.

Then, this weekend, I did an engagement photo shoot for some friends of mine - Marcy & Kent. Marcy rides horses, so we decided to go with a horse themed shoot, and spent the afternoon at Sullivan Canyon - one of L.A.'s little secret spots with beautiful trails to walk and check out the houses of the rich and (potentially) famous.  Then it was off to Santa Monica to catch the last few minutes of sunlight before the sun set on the horizon. We were lucky to have such a beautiful SoCal day. If anything, there may have been a little TOO much sun on occasion, if that's even possible! You can check out the entire set of photos here.


I have so many things that I want to get started on, and I'll find the time at some point (I hope). How has your 2012 been so far? Don't forget to take time to breathe!