merry christmas!

We're headed to Temperance and then on to Muskegon.

Safe and easy travels to all of you, and a very Merry Christmas!

grapple

I've seen them at the grocery store before. Blister packs of four apples proudly proclaiming their status of "Grapple!" and their high price of $3.99. Last week I decided to pick up the mystery fruit and give them a try. As I stood trying to discern their authenticity (this wasn't just an apple with spray-on grape flavor, right?) I couldn't find an ingredient list, so I assumed they were just a variety of apple I was unfamiliar with.

I get them home and the grape smell is intense; the whole kitchen smells like grape bubble gum. I show them to J and we immediately split an apple - and Zippy gets some, too. He takes one look at the package and says "It's just an apple with grape flavor sprayed on." What? No!!! This was something exotic and cool (a rarity at our local Meijer), not a sprayed-tanned apple.

Right there, on the middle of the package - Ingredients: apples, natural and artificial grape flavoring.

I am so disappointed. And my kitchen still smells like fake grapes.

spreading christmas cheer

I thought this was great. Give it a few seconds, it's pretty entertaining.

Enjoy!

are you going?

Who's going to GLI with me? We'll be there Fri. night. I guess the Tech game starts at 8, but we've never actually been to the game, we just hang out downstairs in the bar. I, obviously will not be drinking, so J is looking forward to not being my sober driver! We usually hit the bars after the game, but not this year, I just get so tired so early. So come to GLI next Fri and hang out with me!

Also, for those attached to DSP's - who is going up for 60th this summer? We are planning on it, and it'll be Peanut's first trip to the UP :) just checking to see if anyone else will be going and where you'll be staying.

you were all right

Every comment made about iron pills is true. They are evil.
Hello Metamucil.
And Maalox, how could I live without you?

Blahhhh, heartburn :(

gifts

I love shopping for Christmas gifts :)

And I like selling Christmas gifts, too. I just got back from Indy, I had a really great Christmas Open House there and helped all of my customers pick out fab gifts for their families (even hard to buy for men and teenage boys). I can help you too! You can call me or order directly from my website, I offer free gift wrap (just let me know you'd like it wrapped) and shipping.

Another idea is to give a gift from Heifer International. I think a gift from Heifer is perfect for everyone you know that is socially aware, but sometimes hard to shop for.

Happy shopping!

dear...

Dear Hair,

You look marvelous today, I realize this means six months of terrible hair, but I thank you for the gift I've been given today. :)


Dear Bladder,

You are empty, quit complaining.


Dear Taylor Swift,

Your new song is catchy and cute, but so insipid. It's been running through my head for days, I am so over it. Please release a new song right away so they'll stop playing this one.

Thanks.

i'm relieved

The week before Thanksgiving I went in for my blood glucose test. At my OB's if you don't hear from them it means everything was fine and they'll discuss your results with you at your next appointment. I thought I was fine because I hadn't heard from them; last night I realized I had a voicemail hanging around on our home phone and it was from the Dr.'s office. No information is ever provided in their messages, so I got to think about my dreaded test results all last night, which means I got no sleep.

Let me back this up a little, I've been worried about GD since before I became pregnant. It's no secret that I didn't become pregnant right away, this is because I have mild PCOS, which some people describe as pre-diabetes. I don't need to test my blood sugar, but I do need to be careful, and watch what I eat, and exercise everyday. In fact I was on blood sugar meds before I became pregnant as a way to stabilize hormone levels - this worked, and we now have Peanut - but you go off of the meds after conceiving because they can hurt the baby. So I've been pretty much thinking all along that I'd develop GD, and we'd just deal with it then and hope that it remained gestational only and I would be back to normal after the baby is born.

So I called the Dr.'s office as soon as possible this morning. I was expecting to leave a voicemail, but I actually made contact with the nurse who had left me the message. I guess when they test your blood sugar they also test your iron levels, and mine are just a tad low so she was calling to tell me to go to the Pharmacy and get some over-the-counter iron supplements and take them once a day. And they'll be checking my iron levels again at 30 weeks to make sure they are just right before I deliver. Just to be certain I asked her about my sugar levels and they are great :)

So I'm happy, and so relieved. And I guess I'll be buying some vitamins today.

lazy

I am so unmotivated today. I have a million things to get done, but I am blogging about absolutely nothing instead.

If you have any left over motivation please send it my way.

Thanks.

kobe's a big brother!

I just got a call from Mel.

Chase Allen was born at 4:41 AM.
6 pounds
18 inches

Everyone is healthy and happy, although Mel sounded a bit tired :)

oh sh*t

See that ticker? 100 days until Peanut's due date.

The room is not painted - I don't even have a color picked out. I have registered for a car seat, strollers, and at Laura's urging, a jungle swing. Oh, and some Dreft. That's it.

I officially feel like the most unprepared person ever.

back home, blah, blah, blah

We came home Sunday night - we had a great time in Gatlinburg! I'll post pictures later, honestly I probably won't get to them until after Thanksgiving, but you never know. Zippy traveled well in the car, and was a quiet little stowaway at the cabin; pets were not allowed, but I figured if someone found her I would just play dumb. It turns out we had nothing to worry about, and we took some fun pictures of our contraband-pig.

I thought Zippy was all better, but today she started refusing to eat again. So I called the vet, but I really don't want to drive up there, so I'm trying to convince them to call in a prescription to the local vet for me to pick up. Right now I'm waiting for the vet to call me back.

Besides Zippy I'm focusing on Thanksgiving dinner, there's a lot I need to do, and I can't seem to find any parsley at the grocery store. In fact, the woman behind me in the checkout line had all the ingredients for stuffing in her cart, and a huge bag of cilantro. I was going to ask her if she meant to use the cilantro, or if she was looking for parsley too, but she had this terrible scowl on her face so I stayed quiet. I wonder how her stuffing will turn out...

expensive little piggie

As suspected Zippy has a GI tract infection. In fact she has a certain bacteria that is deadly, so I'm glad I took her to the vet so we could figure this all out.

I'm sure you're all wondering "How much does it cost to keep a pig healthy?" This time the price was $135.65 - I know it's a bit ridiculous, but she's my little buddy, and she relies on me for everything, I can't let her die. Believe me, I was half expecting the vet to tell me that she is old (5 years), and probably wouldn't make it, then I was going to bring her home and have a local vet help her "over the bridge." But her vet felt there is no reason she won't feel better after an extensive round of antibiotics, pain medications and probiotics. Add all of those meds to three syringe feedings,four syringe waterings and a new vitamin; and you have one confused Alanna. So after I post this I am making a spreadsheet to keep track of Zippy's new schedule.

FYI - Zippy is now accompanying us on vacation, what a pampered little pig.

sick little piggie

Zippy is one sick little pig. She is really pathetic, not eating or drinking and just wanting to be held. So I've been syringing her water, and kibble mash. Today we are going to visit a new vet, because I found out that her old vet moved to Africa.

The new vet is about an hour from here in Toledo, it may seem ridiculous, but she's not a happy pig, and I need her to be better by Wed so I can go on vacation!

In other news we started registering for Peanut, Oh My Gosh - I had no idea there was so much stuff to register for. I'm beginning to think we'll need an addition just for all of the stuff. And while we were in the area I went to Macy'$ and bought some new bras. I know the ta-ta's are huge right now but I was not expecting to be quite this large - 40 DDD. I think I've officially entered sideshow sizing.

catch up

I haven't blogged in a few days, I've just been super busy. Last Friday I woke up to a call from J that his grandfather had passed away. We all loved Bumpa, and his absence is going to be hard on the whole family. On Sat J had planned to go to the Navy - Notre Dame game with his mom, and they went anyway and had a nice time. My sister, Susie, had the weekend off at 'bucks, and a teeny bit of homework, so she drove down and spent the day and night - we just hung out, but we had so much fun :)

We drove up to Muskegon on Sun and drove back home Mon night. It's about a 4 hour drive from here - not too long for two old pro's from Tech, right? WRONG! That drive always wears me out, blahhhh.

Tues was a catch up day, Wed felt like a catch up day, although I'm not quite sure I accomplished anything and yesterday we had Peanut's last ultrasound. Peanut was being extremely active, even the technician commented on the acrobatic abilities of my tiny Peanut. This time she was able to measure everything and we have a healthy little baby, and the doctor knows Peanut's gender, but we still don't - and that makes me very happy!

Today I've been working around the house and finalizing plans for Thanksgiving. Next Wed we leave for Gatlinburg - I ended up renting a cabin, and we should be there during the color peak, which is a nice surprise because I just assumed their color season ran about the same as Michigan and Northern Ohio's. For the record, Tennessee is much further south than Ohio, so obviously the season changes come later. And we're going to Dollywood - and I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about that!

That is all. Have a good weekend!

craving

This one is terrible.

I am seriously craving a huge, frosty pilsner of BEER.

Does this mean I am gestating a future frat-boy? Or just a future Alph Gam?

thanks,and eewww!

Thanks so much for all of the vacation ideas. I'm writing them all down and creating a new file for "Vacation!" in my filing cabinet. J has 15 days of vacation left for this year, he can roll five over to next year, the rest are use-it-or-lose-it. I've decided we are not going to be in this situation next year; I am going to hold him down and force him to plan our vacation time for next year before he plans his work schedule.

I've decided we're going to Gatlinburg for 5 days just before Thanksgiving. I really want to go to Dollywood, and hiking in the Great Smokey Mountains, and everything is supposed to be really pretty for the Christmas Season. Today I need to decide if we are staying at a B and B or renting a cabin. I feel the strong pull of daily maid service.

Here's the eewww! I just swiffered our bedroom. I must be related to Chewbacca, the hair ball that came out from under our bed was beyond disgusting. You would have thought I never clean. So gross. Reminded me of the hair ball they snaked out of the AGD house plumbing.

On that lovely note - have a great day!

vacation

J and I are in need of a vacation. All year long we were planning on going to Niagara Falls and Toronto during the summer. But then Peanut came into the picture, and I wasn't feeling too well, and now it seems a bit cold for the Falls.

This is where you come in. I need a vacation spot. We don't want to spend a ton of money, and would prefer not to fly - we're just looking for a fun and relaxing, reasonably priced, vacation. We're also looking to get away for at least a week, maybe a bit more. My only stipulations - not Vegas - if I'm going there I want to be able to drink, and not camping - sleeping in my own comfy bed is hard enough right now, I don't need to be on the floor in a sleeping bag.

spooky

Tonight the Trick-or-Treaters will be out! I am so excited to get rid of all of the candy I've been buying. It seems like I am always reaching into my candy stash, and the only way that will stop is if the candy is gone.

I carved four pumpkins, I'll post pictures later. One is supposed to be J's, but I had to help him design it. I felt like I was helping a three year old - "Do you want eyebrows?" "Should they be scary or happy?", etc. That's the last time I carve a pumpkin for him - next year I'll just make more for myself :) Also, this year I made two of the pumpkins into lanterns by drilling holes into them, I like the way they look - very Martha.

Four big pumpkins = tons of pumpkin seeds. It took 3 hours for me to roast all of them, and I'm tempted to take them to the neighbors because I can't see us eating all of them by ourselves. But they are salty and delicious!

I can't wait for Halloween to be over, because the Meijer commercial with the clown reflection in the freezer scares me. There's just something about clowns that is not right.

weird dream

Last night I had the weirdest dream.

I dreamt J and I were on vacation and we had my friend Holly and her two children with us. We also had the young son of one of my Mary Kay clients, three little boys (actually J and his two brothers as children), and Eli and Peyton Manning. For some reason we had a gigantic suite with a whole mess of beds, but only one bathroom.

Holly and I slept in one bedroom with all of the assorted kids, and J roomed with the Manning brothers. The kids wanted to go swimming but for some reason little J and his brothers were wearing snow suits. It was highly chaotic, and the housekeeping staff kept barging in to refill the little bottles of shampoo, bars of soap and shoe-shine towels.

J and I kept trying to get in some alone time by locking ourselves in the bathroom, but the Manning brothers kept barging in.

I woke up confused and disoriented.
Any insight into what this dream means?

rigth now...

J is on his way to Wendy's because I MUST have a Frosty.

Yep, it's essential to life.

this and that

I had my ultra sound on Thurs. It's a good thing we didn't go in expecting to find out Peanut's gender - because someone was VERY shy. In fact Peanut was downright uncooperative, after 45 minutes of trying to get baby to roll this way and that the technician told us to come back in three weeks.

So we will have another "photo session" soon :)

This weekend we made apple butter with Holly (my OH friend) and her family. This was so cool. Her family has been making apple butter over an open fire in this huge copper kettle for around 120 years. Two weeks ago we went to Amish country to buy the apples and apple cider, and we had a schnitzing party (peeling, coring and paring) on Thurs. so everything would be ready. Holly's dad started the fire at 7 AM and seven bushels of apples and twenty five gallons of apple cider went into the kettle. By 6 PM we were canning machines. We ended up with 130 extra-delicious jars of apple butter, and one bowl to eat from all night long.

On Sun. we drove up to Troy to go to a cider mill with my parents. It was so nice to see them even for just a few hours, and my mom made the yummiest stew and a German's Chocolate Cake.

In other news I have been working! Which is exciting because I don't feel like I've been treating my business like a business since we moved (9 months ago). I haven't put in too much effort, but I've seen huge results. I was queen of sales and bookings at my meeting last night - which means I got to wear a tiara and sash (cheesy, but I love it!). And I woke up this morning and held a class, so today is already turning out to be productive :)

clean teeth

I went to my new dentist this morning, so now my teeth are all clean and happy :)

I've been so much better about scheduling personal appointments since we moved. I loved my GYN from before we moved to Indy, so I made sure to schedule that appointment as soon as we moved to town - now with Peanut on the way I'm scheduled there all of the time. I also went back to my previous family practice, but I'm looking at switching because I don't know anyone who uses them as their pediatrician. We found a new eye doctor right away because J's glasses were falling apart, and my contacts were running out, and we are both already scheduled for our yearly exams. And now we have the dentist squared away for both of us.

It's so nice to know that these things are taken care of, that they are no longer looming over my head - just another item on a long list of to-do's.

Speaking of appointments, Thursday we have THE ultrasound planned, but I'll disappoint all of you because we are not planning on finding out if Peanut is pink or blue. I'm excited to keep it a surprise. I feel like so few things in life are truly surprises, I just couldn't resist creating my own.

Happy Tuesday!

home again

Last night I cam back from Pittsburgh - I was there for an MK retreat.

I really like going on the little trips, I get to see my extended group of MK girlfriends, and I get extra training and I am always really excited about my business when I get back.

Enough procrastinating from me, time to get back to work!

know what?

I really, really, really like Gummi Bears.

thanks, erika

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) -
Tigger Liberty

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) -
Vanilla Thin Mint

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) -
A Lan

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) -
Pink Monkey

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) -
Rose Warren

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) -
Lanal (but I think Broal is cooler)

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) -
The Pink Quaalude

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) -
Amos Waine

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) -
Angel Truffle

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )
Ann Thurston

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) -
Grant Greenville

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) -
Spring Rose

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) -
Apple Sockie

14. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) -
Muffin Maple (hmmm... hippie or country clubber/)

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) -
The Knitting Storm Tour (HA)

88 degrees

Today's high is 88. I no longer fit into my shorts/capris, even if I fold in the waist band and leave them unzipped or use a hair tie to extend the waist. So I'll be sweating in my maternity jeans.

Awesome.

hello, peanut

For awhile I thought it was just gas, but I have decided that I can officially feel Peanut moving around. It's light, and I only notice it when I'm not busy with something else, but I think it's amazing.

I am in love with my Peanut :)

PS - J brought home an MTU shirt for Peanut, so cute!

sucked in

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I just lost 45 min of my day because I was sucked into the wig show on HSN.

I'm just as shocked as all of you.

in the air

Right now J is in the air on his way to Houghton. He's going up with the recruiting team for Tech under the guise of giving lectures on ethics in business. I know he's really going because he wants to hang out at the DT.

Also in the air are about 10 million mosquitoes. They've been really thick ever since the torrential rains and flooding; we had a cool spell last week and I thought they had died down. Today it's warm and there are so many flying around my backyard it looks like it's snowing. I think I'll stay inside, even though I really wanted to go on a walk :p

thank you, come again

Just for Mel, it's my list of careers.
I was hoping "Martha Stewart" would show up in my list, but apparently someone already has that career.

1. Convenience Store Operator
2. Principal
3. Florist
4. Fashion Retailer
5. Interior Decorator
6. Art Director
7. Advertising Account Executive
8. Antique Dealer
9. Art Dealer
10. Sports Marketer
11. Entrepreneur
12. Marketing Specialist
13. Stylist
14. Librarian
15. Humanitarian Aid Worker
16. Tour Guide
17. Retail Salesperson
18. Craftsperson
19. Potter
20. Animator
21. Dental Assistant
22. Fashion Designer
23. Venture Capitalist
24. Investment Advisor
25. Media Buyer
26. Child and Youth Worker
27. Special Education Teacher
28. Teacher Assistant
29. Clothing Manufacturer
30. Bed and Breakfast Proprietor
31. Recreation Director
32. Early Childhood Educator
33. Addictions Counselor
34. Restaurant Manager
35. Caterer
36. Cosmetologist
37. Funeral Director
38. Industrial-Organizational Psychologist
39. Publisher
40. Hotel Manager

sometimes...

...you wear stretchy pants.

I have to admit that I'm digging my new maternity jeans. No zippers, no buttons; the Amish may be on to something.

emma's first day

Emma's first day of kindergarten was last Wednesday. Her mom had to work so I got to take her in for her very first day :)

She looked so cute - her hair is super curly, but if you put it up while it's wet, it looks nice and sleek and you get one huge sausage curl. We optimized the sausage factor by doing pigtails, and we of course used her new sparkly butterfly barrettes.

I had borrowed my brother's truck to bring home a couch from Ikea, and Emma - who attends a local farming community school - hopped out of the biggest, shiniest truck on the lot. I got a few looks from the other moms, haha!

I have to admit that I cried a little, Emma is my special little buddy and she's growing up too fast!

Best part of the morning? As I was leaving the bus drivers asked me why I wasn't going to school today. I thanked them, but let them know it'd been 10 years since I'd attended high school :)

weekend recap

We had so much fun!

We did everything we planned, except for having dinner at the Antlers in the Soo. We walked in and put our name in, but it was so much trashier than we remembered, so we had a really nice meal at the Ramada instead.

Mackinaw Island was fab. I forgot to bring my phone and I was sad because I was going to call Sonya and hopefully find her for a quick hug. But while we were walking up to the Grand Hotel we ran into her :) She was cute as ever and she had Olive with her. Olive is one great dog!

I walked the bridge on Labor Day, I was finisher 17,660. There was a little problem with the return buses, it was kind of a big problem - a two-mile-long line of sweaty, tired walkers. So we shelled out the big bucks and took the ferry to the Island and then back to St. Ignace. The ferry ride was actually really refreshing.

On Monday we drove home, and my mom took pictures of me sleeping in the car. Thanks Mom!

Here's a picture of my dad pointing out the water line as we rode the Soo Locks boat tour. :)

chicken king

It's County Fair time!

Now that we are back in the Fin, I get to work the MK booth at our county fair. I worked this morning and it was hotttt. It was also "Senior Day" so most of the leads I have are for older women. So many of them were so sweet, I can't wait to call them and be their Mary Kay lady :)

Best part: This morning was the 4-H poultry judging. I saw a high school senior, who looked like he was way too cool, proudly wearing his "Hancock County 2007 Poultry King" sash. It was green with sparkly gold letters. Hee Hee!

are you done yet?

I just brought in an absolute harvest from my tiny little veggie patch.

11 cucumbers
3 brandy wine tomatoes
2 green peppers
3 pints of cherry tomatoes

and there are 7 watermelons ripening

When we planted the garden I picked plants that I love to eat. Then I became pregnant. I now have the worst aversion to tomatoes and cucumbers.

I think the garden fairy will be leaving veggies on my neighbor's steps!

bridge walk!

It's been 20 years since my family walked the Mackinaw Bridge on Labor Day. So we decided that we're doing it this year:)

I was seven when I walked, Mason was almost 4 and he rode the whole five miles on my dad's shoulders, and Susie was an infant (8 months) and rode in the baby backpack. I have two memories from that walk: I really wanted to swim in the lake, and I could see Mason's Mickey Mouse underwear.

We are driving to Troy Saturday morning, and driving with my parents to Mackinaw City. We're going to have lunch at Cunningham's, because we always have lunch there. And then we'll drop our stuff in St. Ignace and go to the Sault for the afternoon. We want to eat dinner at the Antler's - because we always tell stories about eating there as kids, and it's time Jocko sees the giant moose head and the Bunyan Burgers for himself. We're also going to the Locks, because they're cool, and Jocko has never been there (I was shocked by this - I thought every young Michigander had to see the locks by the time they graduated from high school).

Sunday we're hanging out on Mackinac Island, along with about a million other tourists. I have never been more excited for fudge. And Monday is the Bridge Walk. Susie and I might not walk - we may just decide it is too hot, and go shopping instead. And then on Tuesday we'll head home.

I'm so excited!

out to dry

The river has receded and we were able to go downtown for breakfast this morning. J's office is still closed, but he was able to pick up his laptop and has been hiding in MY office and catching up :) The HVAC system at his building is out, and the security guards told him that if he didn't check out in 20 minuted they were going in after him - and they weren't kidding. He said it was incredibly hot and humid in the building, he was sweating when he came out to the car.

Yesterday we tried to go downtown, but the river was still way too high - we saw a few cars brave the water, but we weren't foolish enough to try it. I did take some pictures, but they don't look like much unless you know what the area looked like before the river rose.

What I really wanted to see was our old house. It was downtown, just a few blocks from J's office, and the news crews had been filming from nearby. That house was not in a flood plane, I am sure no one had flood insurance. We passed by the house today and the curb was full of soaked items. We recognized a few of the things as an old workbench from the basement, and some old cabinets that were hanging above the workbench. Then there were a lot of wet boxes, but no carpeting because we ripped it all out and fixed the wood floors when we lived there. The street looked like Sanford and Son had moved in. J and I couldn't stop talking about what we would be dealing with if he wasn't transferred a few years ago, I'm sure we would have still been in that house.

Nothing else has been going on. We've been contacting local friends to see if anyone needs any help. We helped some neighbors disinfect toys that were in the basement and J helped carry some wet carpet and padding out to the curb. That's the extent of damage we've seen in our neighborhood and among our friends.

wanted: one ark

Our county is underwater. We are safe and sound in our home, but J is home for the day because the Big M is closed. It is closed because there is 5 feet of standing water on Main St.

Here comes the craziest part - the Blanchard River, which runs right through downtown and snakes through the rest of the city, is not expected to crest until 8pm TOMORROW. I cannot begin to imagine how high it will be.

We aren't supposed to drive today, but I need milk, plus I really want to take some pictures, so we're going to venture out and I might have some exciting shots for you. Maybe. We'll see if the police send us back home.

ETA:
The river is now scheduled to crest this afternoon, and the word on the street is that our power and water will be going out shortly. J's office will be closed tomorrow, and they will be assessing the need for essential personnel for Fri - although they'll most likely be working from remote locations. We're going to take some pictures in our subdivision this afternoon - a few of the streets are really high, and some of the backyards have turned into lakes. But we are fine, and Zippy is completely unaffected.

i want, i want, i want!

* a croissant, a really fresh and yummy one
* a big cup of hot cocoa, with a huge pile of whipped cream
* chocolate dipped strawberries
* french toast

I'm really having a bowl of frosted mini wheats.

ETA: The craving for a croissant became a monster. The monster actually climbed into my car, drove to Panera and purchased a delightful croissant. I was able to restrain the monster on the way home and enjoyed the carbi-goodness at home.

i wonder...

Does an Orange County Choppers bumper sticker, on the rear window of your sea foam green, Town&Country minivan, make you tough?

odors

I know it's just a part of being pregnant, but this heightened sense of smell is really distracting. I seem to have an odor of the week. Last week it was baby poop, nope, no babies in my house, and I still could smell it, blech. The week before it was asphalt - J says that's probably because of the recently finished roof, but he couldn't smell it. And this week the smell is ham. Not just any old ham, I feel that this is the smell of lunch meat that you let sit in the fridge too long and I can smell it everywhere! But it kind of makes me think of Hamwinkies.

the great return

I'm back. Let's see, since I last blogged Mel and Kobe came to hang out for a few days, my garden has been going crazy, I went to Dallas for a week for MK, and I found out I'm pregnant.

Yes, you read that right. It only took 4 years, but in March we should have a little bundle. And Jocko and I are super excited :)

I was freaking out, because I have no idea what is "normal" and my doctor ordered an ultrasound to make sure I was still pregnant. Of course I was, and we even got to see the little heartbeat, and there's a fuzzy picture of a peanut on my chalkboard, so that's what we're calling baby until it's here - Peanut:)

sometimes...

...living in an agricultural county has its benefits.

Picked this morning mmmmmmmmmmm.

aha!

I grabbed a clean dishrag out of the drawer yesterday and found a petrified chunk of cheese attached. The cheese became embedded in the dishrag, and when it was laundered a chunk came off and landed in the lint trap. Now, that makes sense.

I think it's time for new dishrags.

the lint trap

Today, in the lint trap, I found a hard, orange blob. Upon further inspection I realized it is/was cheddar cheese.

I don't understand.

i was going to...

...post pictures of my garden - I have three baby tomatoes!
...post a picture of my new garden-gnome entrance mat - I bought it at Targ&t yesterday when my little sister came to hang out with me :)
...take down and put away the tent that was drying in my backyard - it's been there for a few days, it was super dirty and wet after camping.
...grill hot dogs for dinner.

But it's raining. :(

Oh well - Happy Friday!

hooray!

My mom is coming to spend the night! She'll be working in Columbus tomorrow and is coming for tonight and tomorrow night - I love it when she comes over :)

In other news - my birthday was Sunday, J and I chilled out - we had been to a crayfish boil on Sat and need to recuperate, and eat ten tons of food! I'm getting an i-pod for my birthday, but I'm a bit worried about using it with our PC. Any thoughts?

Oh, one more hooray!, I'm going camping this weekend with Meris, Al and Adrienne. it's our annual A-Team Extravaganza. This year we are going to Pittsburgh, to camp at Ohiopyle, and visit Falling Water, the Frank Lloyd Wright house. I am too pumped!

emma

Emma is my buddy (she will tell you that I am her *best* friend). I babysat for her before we moved to Indy, and her mom, Holly, is my very best friend in the Fin. Emma is five and I took her to kindergarten evaluation - she thought this was extra special because I wrapped up a pair of froggy sunglasses for her to open - which she wouldn't take off for the rest of the day.

A few weeks ago she came to spend the evening with us, and she drew me this picture.
Emma is on the right, playing with Zippy - see Zippy's cage? The oval is Zippy's tube and the circle is her food bowl. I am on the left, and I'm cooking - you can tell because of the circles. And Jocko is watching ESPN, illustrated by a box with three happy faces (duh!).

Jocko loves this picture because Emma gave him hair :)

yee-haw

I woke up very early this morning (ok, so maybe it wasn't really early - but it was early for me) and I thought "Hmmmm, I am sick of bananas for breakfast. I'm hitting the drive-thru." I tried the cinnamon roll thing at McD's - yeah, not so good. And I tried the iced coffee - ok, but no 'bucks. But all was not lost, because I also ordered a hashbrown (I was thinking ahead), oh fried-potato-goodness, how I love you!

At any rate, the combination of the early morning, caffeine, and an enormous amount of refined carbohydrates has me more than a little giddy.

Hee, hee!

monday, monday

Let's see... today I have, cleaned, cleaned and cleaned. Why? Because we worked outside all weekend, so nothing was done inside, and we generated a metric ton of dirty laundry. The garden beds around the house are looking good, some of the plants needed to be cleaned up, and a nice layer of mulch was laid. Now it stinks like mulch (I find that it smells a bit vinegar-y), but it looks purtty!

We also picked a company to replace the roof, and I picked the roof color. We decided to replace and enlarge the skylight in the entryway, and to add a skylight to our bathroom. We also bought everything we need to replace the gutter behind our garage, as it is currently MIA. Unfortunately that project won't be completed until the roof is replaced, and right now it looks like the roof will be scheduled for August. Why can't they just squeeze us in this weekend? We have a ranch, they won't even need extension ladders.

Oh, my favorite part of the weekend - I bought some vegetables to plant in my "farm." A few tomato plants of varying sizes, sweet peppers, watermelon, and some seeds. And we bought manure and peat to help the soil :) The pants aren't in the ground yet, because we are still under frost-advisory until this coming weekend. So everyday I get to haul my little plants out to the deck and give them water and love. I promise to take pictures once the farm is set up.

Happy Monday!

erika = awesome

Erika has finally named my blog :)

I will be sending her good vibes all day long, in acknowledgement of her completion of the daunting-task-that-is-naming-the-blog. Hmm that just might be a run-on sentence. OH well.

Jubilation! The blog is named!

one year

Last year May 1 fell on a Monday, it was also the day of my first post; so today is my blogiversary. Hooray!

This is the first time I've ever successfully kept a record of my life for more than 3 weeks, and now I am addicted. So, just as a quick recap, here are the highlights of the past year:

* one house bought, one house sold
* 15 pounds lost and re-gained :(
* trips to Dallas, Muskegon, Zeeland, Houghton (yes, you are still waiting on pictures), Pittsburgh, Maine, Troy
* one visit from Mel
* five wedding receptions
* one list of 101 things-to-do that needs to be posted
* one million hours spent catching up with dear friends

I'm so glad we're all blogging - I love our virtual couch :)

kristin

I see you commenting on blogs here and there. But I see no blog of your own. I think this calls for some pin-number action.

So Kristin, PIN NUMBER, make a blog :)

sea weed trees

Your friends and associates should generally find you a dependable and trustworthy person.
You are a direct and forthright person. You like to get to the core of the issue right away, with few signs of hesitation.
You are creative, mentally active and industrious.
You have a sunny, cheerful disposition.
What does your drawing say about YOU?

i don't bend that way

I had a productive weekend :) J and I worked in the yard on Saturday and today I worked.

Our yard is full of surprises. Because we did not plan the landscaping, we have to kind of guess at what's going on; I find my self thinking "Is that a weed? Should I pull it, or not?" that's how it's been so far. Now that we're into April (almost May - can you believe it?) it's a bit easier to navigate the foliage. So we worked on taming the out-of-control ground cover and battling the dandelions. The latter being the reason I cannot sit. I must have done a million squats while digging dandelions, and my butt really hurts. But I enjoy looking at our cleaned up flower beds, and I'm eagerly anticipating brightly colored flower beds and boxes.

I also have big plans for my first vegetable garden! We have a small box that the former owners grew some veggies in, so I'm assuming the light is right. Right now I'm planning to have tomatoes (I want some heirloom plants), zucchini, acorn squash and lettuce. Any other suggestions?

oh my

I was lacing up my tennies this morning to go out for a walk and as I stood up RRIIIIPPPP. Yes, I split my pants.

I'm sticking with the theory that they are over one year old and are constantly being washed, they really are ratty and thread bare. But it still doesn't make you feel very good.

impromptu

One of the major benefits of working from home and for yourself is flexibility.

Case in point:
* Adrienne calls this morning, a bit down, and we chat. Then we decide I should probably bring a bottle of wine and spend the night in Ann Arbor. Oh, but, she's looking at a new apartment at 5:30! No problem, because I am leaving Ohio at 3 PM to hang out with one of my bff's, and look at a new apartment with her.

joy :)

the problem with updating

Well, the main problem is that you actually have to blog to update the blog. Which requires me sitting at the computer (do it everyday) and composing a mildly cohesive entry (oh, so that's what you have to do).

Must. Write. More.

So, to satiate that burning desire to know all things alannarose, I will compose for you a top ten list of things that have been occupying my time. Oh, yeah, and Happy Easter!

10. Baking for my Relay for Life team bake sale = 20 pie crusts, 2 big batches of cookies, 2 carrot cakes (I ate the leftover cream cheese frosting - mmmmmm), and 2 peanut butter cakes.
9. Wasting time on Swap-bot.
8. Going to Muskegon for Easter.
7. Planning projects for the house.
6. Cleaning Zippy's cage.
5. Hanging out at the Optometrist's office.
4. Watching Color Splash!
3. Talking to Mel.
2. Being a Mary Kay lady.
1. Standing in line at the post office.

inspired road trip

I'm road-tripping tomorrow. It's not that exciting; I am driving with my MK director to Pittsburgh for a conference - the saddest part is that I won't have time to visit Al while I'm there :(

But I've decided to plan out my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days, and I figure the ride out there and back will be perfect for brainstorming and finalizng the list. So on Mon. look for a shiney-new bloggie :)

Thank you Heather, for the inspiration.

bosch

I know we aren't at the Tech anymore, but if Tech was in northern OH Bosch! would have been today.

:)

In honor of the event I took pictures of my two remaining "snow piles" with a symbolic can of DDP - can you believe there is no beer in my house?! Don't let J's brothers know - they may disown him!



And another sure sign that spring is here is my garden gnome, which was lovingly placed in my front yard because I believe gnomes like rock walls.

found! do i get a reward?

The roof* did not fall in on me. It was much more tragic than that - our internet was out for almost an entire week. EEEKKK!

There was, in the IT guy's words, "some major mechanical issues on our line." So major, that while on the phone with either J or me, he routinely muttered under his breath "This is SO not good." I kept picturing IT guy on the other end of the line with big sweaty armpit stains, HA! I had the option of using a dial-up connection that is reserved for occasions just like these, but I decided not to frustrate myself, and just left the computer off instead.

Now you must excuse me, I have lots o' blogs to stalk :)

*J wanted me to let you all know that our roof is in no danger of actually falling in. I guess I was just hearing ice melting and sliding around, not the actual roof doing a shimmy-shake.

it sounds ominous

I can hear my roof falling apart. Trust me, it is not reassuring.

The good news is, we knew the house needed a new roof when we bought it, and the previous owners escrowed the money for a replacement for us (Nov and Dec are just not good months for roofing in the north), so it's paid for.

Now it just needs to last until April. You can do it, roof! I'm rooting for you!

happy new year!

It's Chinese New Year! And it's the year of the pig. To celebrate, my favorite pig received a brand new, red chew-bie.

"I love my new chewb! Now, give me treats!"

catch up

I know it's Sunday, I was busy/sick all week.

Highlights:

* Woke up to this much snow on Tues. morning,
but we didn't just wake up, our neighbor decided to fire up the snow blower at an un-Godly hour. This ticked me off. Then we realized he had cleaned our sidewalk and driveway, I forgave him.

* Have the typical after-Carnival plague. While not as bad as food poisoning (sorry, Laura) it does beat you up quite well. I have decided that canned ravioli from Wal1greens is a miracle food, and $udafed and Robatuss!n were my new friends.

* Feeling much better now.

* Moved a lot of stuff around the house. Now it is starting to feel like our home and not just "the place where all of our stuff lives." Making the fireplace pretty made me smile, now I feel all warm and cozy when I sit in the living room :)

* Also set up the guest room, so feel free to come and visit!

woohoo!

So Carnival was awesome, and I will write more later, it's amazing how behind you get after being gone for less than a week.

For now I will leave you with some love from the Ambo.

still alive

Wow, this is a really disjointed post. Know what? I'm tired, and I really don't feel like trying to make it cohesive, so read with caution, it's not pretty!


Yes, Laura, I am still alive. Unfortunately, this plant is not. Yep, this is the sad little plant that didn't make it through the move. Here's a picture of it in better days.


This move has really thrown a wrench into my routines; I can't seem to get anything accomplished, and that really stinks. "Update blog" has been on my to-do list for over a week, so here it is, a brief update, just enough to be able to cross one item off of the growing list.

I have just a few pictures from the move, or rather, from the moving in part.

This is the contents of a typical box that we unpacked.

And this is the amount of paper required to properly pad the items.

We weren't saving any trees, people.

My garage is full of unpacked boxes - item #35 on my to do list? "call moving company and schedule box pickup" - I should probably do that today so we can park in the garage for at least part of the winter.

In totally unrelated news - We are driving to Houghton tomorrow! DT - here I come!

how exciting!

Happy National Pistachio Day!

all moved in

Yes, we are all moved in :)

In fact, the stove came about 20 mins. ago - yay!

There was one casualty in the move - a potted tree. It froze, and I took pictures because it was too pathetic to not be memorialized. I'll post the "sad tree" picture once I get my printer hooked up.

procrastination

The movers come tomorrow. I have really mixed emotions on moving, I'm sad because I really love this house, and I'm excited because the new house is awesome and I'll be closer to my parents. The whole situation is just a jumble and a stress. But very soon we wil be all moved in and settled :)

I thought you all might like the answers from my quiz, although, it seems AJ can give them to you. Roses to AJ, Super-Stalker Extraordinaire.

In my family I am the oldest of four children, I have two brothers and one sister. I have a guinea pig named Zippy, she wears fur pants. I spent my senior year of high school in Germany, although I grew up in Troy. I met Jocko in January of 2000, I was 19. I have lived in three states; Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. My favorite color is pink, and I think everyone got this question right :) My mug name is Barbie Girl. Melanna was my dual nickname with Mel and Alotta Hose was given to me by Laura, I think it was during the Phi Kap Halloween mixer when we all dressed up as fembots? Sad but true fact, in college, when I was totally wasted, I would yell at Jocko in German. I always cry during Beaches, in fact whenever I hear the "Hero" song by Bette Middler, I start to sob. My last term at Tech, Amandaleigh and I would get out of class at noon and head to the Amabassador for a fishbowl, sometimes two, and then truck over to the DT for bubble.

i'm a follower

Create your own friendquiz here

it's all a bit clearer now

Perhaps you recall me talking about crazy self diagnoses? Well, I was trying to make light of it, but something was not right.

It appears I have found an answer, I have been having panic attacks. Tuesday night I thought I was going to die, I almost called an ambulance. So on Wednesday I vowed to go to the doctor; only problem, we have lived here for two years, and I never found myself a doctor. I ended up at an urgent care place and the nice, old doctor prescribed some At!van in case I felt that way again. He also made me promise to find a doctor as soon as we move.

The moral of the story is to get yourself a doctor! Do this when you are healthy and you will save yourself the stress of having to search for a good one when you are ill.

i'm on hold

Fun day of having the utilities taken out of our names.

Muzak is so awesome :(

new "hobby"

It's 1:45 AM and I can't sleep, so it must be time to blog!

I have found a new hobby - using WebMD to diagnose myself with a myriad of diseases. I know, it is sad.

Most recent diagnoses: diabetes and pulmonary edema. Yeah, for real.

The diabetes ended up being a combination of too little sleep, not enough water and a lot of stress. I actually convinced myself that I was experiencing nerve pain, and I called Jocko at work, in tears, to try and convince him to come back from his trip early to take care of me. Hmmmmmm.

The pulmonary edema ended up being heart burn - I swear, I thought I was having chest pains!

Now, don't think I'm turning into a super hypochondriac. I have not called an ambulance, or scheduled a million doctors appointments; I simply give myself a few hours to decide if I'm really having medical problems, or if the power of suggestion is just a little too much for me to handle.

in case you were wondering...

It is entirely possible to start a fire in your microwave.

1. pop a bag of popcorn for breakfast.
2. do something else while it is popping.
3. return and stare at the horrific amount of smoke pouring out of the microwave.
4. open windows and turn on the fans.

The saddest part is, that was the last bag of popcorn, and I am still really craving popped goodness :(

quickie

1. We closed on our new house last week.
2. We move in Jan 19th.
3. Christmas was very nice, we spent a good amount of time with both of our families.
4. Jocko bought me pearls :)
5. I had so much fun seeing everyone at GLI.
6. In fact, I was still "having fun" at 6:00 PM the next day.
7. And then I had to buck up and be charming at my mom's Christmas party.
8. Oyster crackers have no magical healing properties, but my mom's chili does.
9. I saw Night at the Museum on New Year's Eve.
10. It was super cute.