links I'm liking

It's a lovely Saturday morning and I'm lazily browsing the interwebs while glancing up every now and then to watch the grass finally get green(er). Aahhh, weekends!

Being with child, I've been wandering the world wide web and stumbling across baby sites, naturally. Funny how that happens... ;) Anyway, I came across a few sites today that are full of stuff I'm drooling over (heh, how ironic):

Babesta
For the indie-rocker in all of us.

Pixie Rock
Seriously, what Apple lover (aka, Rob) wouldn't love the "iPoo'd" onsie??

Ubooshi
For trendy graphic tees and stuff; apparently all the celeb babies rock this "label". haha

Little Lark
Okay, the little boy on the home page is advertisement enough for me...what a lil heartbreaker! I'm in love with their simple nature-themed designs.

Wry Baby
Kooky off-beat humor. Their tagline is "raise funny people". Yes!

And to keep all these links organized in one easily-accessible place? Heavens no, not the "bookmarks" of your browser... that's so 2007! I use Evernote, an online "information manager" with downloadable, synching programs for your computer (PC, Mac, and even Linux for the true nerds out there) and mobile phone (iPhone... and all the *other* phones). It's SO handy to save -and tag!- links, articles, or whatever I run across, all in one seachable place. How simple!

There are two informative posts on info managers at Rob's blog, if you're interested. :)

So anyway, that's how I'm spending my Saturday morning so far. Next on the list is to get stuff ready for moving day next Friday!

Have a great weekend. :)

and the love child is...

hello blogworld!

Gosh, it's been a while. I've just started to feel somewhat like "myself" again in the last few weeks, but I've been transitioning (for what has seemed like months now) into a new role at work that will give me almost zero computer time. So, my blogging suffers another blow!

I'm excited about my new position at work! I work for a clothing recycling company, and up until now I've been doing admin work (boooring!). But the new role will be totally different; I'll be a "site finder", which means I'll drive around Minneapolis and St. Paul asking various businesses if they wouldn't mind hosting one of our collection boxes in their parking lot. (we collect clothes in boxes around town rather than one drop-off location) Sometimes this is super-easy and the business owner readily agrees with smiles all around. Sometimes it's ridiculously difficult, involving getting numerous signatures and permits from cranky city council members. And sometimes it's just plain demoralizing, hearing "no" after "no" after "no". I just tell myself that those people probably give their kids lumps of coal in their Christmas stockings too. Somehow that makes it all better. hahaha

I just found out that my boss in the office has hired a replacement for my current position in the office, and I will start training her next Monday. That means that I will be site finding full-time by the following Monday, if all goes well. I am really excited and a little scared, too.

I'm excited because I'll be essentially working for myself (as a contractor, with my company as a "client") which means I set my own hours. Yaaaay! No more 5:30 mornings! I can leave the house whenever I darn well please! I do have a quota of sites that I have to get each week (4-5, which works out to one a day, more or less) but I'm free to get more, and to do it all in one day or to get one every day, or whatever. The freed-up schedule is SO liberating after spending over a year chained to an 8-4, M-F schedule. Now I can come home at noon if I get a site early in the day... or I can take the random Thursday off to take a day trip to wherever my lil heart pleases. It's also exciting because if I *just* meet my low-end quota I will roughly triple my weekly income. Um, yay??!! Of course, I'm comparing pre-tax vs. post-tax, so that has to factor in, but over all, it's vastly better both financially and time-wise.

I'm a little scared because there is NO hourly pay. It's 100% commission. IOW, I can work my bootay off all day (or week) long and if I get no sites, I get no money. That's a lot of pressure, especially if I have a bad day physically or something. And right now, this is our primary source of income. Double pressure.

I say "primary" because Rob and I are both still building our MonaVie income, and in a few weeks we're starting a 3-month program called the "Diamond Run" that should more than kick our income up a few levels. This is also very exciting, since it's all about teamwork (which I'm seeing more and more that it's based around the biblical model of discipleship) and getting to know/love people. The goal is to have MV replace my job as our primary source of income by September, which is when the love child is due to arrive and demand my full attention.

Speaking of the love child... I started feeling little rolls and pokes and bumps about two weeks or so ago. It's the strangest sensation! Trying to describe it is really hard, it feels like I swallowed a live fish and it's swimming around inside me. Hahahha Or if you've ever caught a tadpole or a guppy when you were a kid and you have it trapped in your hand underwater, it kind of wiggles and bumps against your hand... that's a perfect example of the feeling. (C'mon, I can't be the only girl who caught "things"?) Anyway, it's kind of gross and kind of fun at the same time.

Wednesday is our day to "peek" and hopefully find out what the love child IS. Aside from human, of course. ;) I'm really excited... for one thing, I hate calling a human being "it" all the time, and I think naming it and knowing how to relate to it will really help me bond even more. And that's always a good thing, especially when we're talking about a child here! haha

I think we've settled on a name if it's a boy, and we have 3 or 4 that we're deciding between if it's a girlie. Name and sex will be freely shared once we find out on Wednesday, if the lil wiggler cooperates!

Alrightie, well for not blogging in over a month, this was much longer than intended. Sorry to all my readers who don't like long posts! (ahem, Erica)

I'll be back on Wednesday!

Oh, for those of you who like visuals (I do!) here's a picture of me last week (at 18 weeks or 4.5 months):

would you like to take a survey?

For some reason I've fallen prey to doing a few random surveys on Facebook, something I said I'd never do. ;) Since I haven't had time (new job promotion!), energy (new baby on the way!) or inspiration (no excuse!)I have been neglecting my poor, sad lil bloggie. So I figured I may as well cut-and-paste the surveys that I do take over here... y'know, for fun.

(anyone remember the nasal voice in some commercial or song or something from the mid-90's that said over and over "would you like to take a survey?" No? Maybe it's my imagination.)

So, let the survey-taking commence! The items with an "X" next to them are the ones I have personally done. My extraneous comments are in italics.



Things you have done during your lifetime:

(X) Gone on a blind date (um... yeah.)

(X) Donated blood (does plasma count? It was awful enough.)

(X) Skipped school or class

(X) Watched someone die (my aunt... it was actually pretty incredible)

(X) Been to Canada (Lake Louise in Alberta... honeymoon, FTW!)

( ) Been to Mexico

( ) Been to Florida

( ) Been to Hawaii (hoping to set this straight this summer!)

(X) Been on a plane (countless times...)

( ) Been on a helicopter (I want to SO bad!)

(X) Been lost

( ) Been to Washington D.C.

(X) Hugged a homeless person

(X) Swum in the ocean

( ) Swum with stingrays

( ) Been sailing in the ocean

(X) Cried yourself to sleep

(X) Played cops and robbers

(X) Recently colored with crayons (Macaroni Grill!)

( ) Run a marathon (does a 5k count? Yeah, I didn't think so...)

(X) Sung karaoke (in Nashville, of all places. Hall of shame moment)

( ) Volunteered at a soup kitchen (no, but I tell myself every Thanksgiving that I will do this *next year* Lame.)

(X) Paid for a meal with coins only (quite common in Reno, actually)

( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch

( ) Seen the northern lights

(X) Been parasailing (Almost! But the place was closed for the day)

(X) Been on TV (just various news clips here and there)

(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't (umm, this survey. Haha)

(X) Made prank phone calls (hello, is Mr. Wall there?)

( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans (no, but Rob has)

(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose (how embarrassing!)

(X) Fed an elephant (at the circus when I was little)

(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue

(X) Fired a gun (BB gun. haha)

(X) Danced in the rain

( ) Been to the opera

( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus

(X) Serenaded someone

( ) Seen a U.S. President in person

(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe

(X) Watched the sun rise with someone

( ) Driven a race car

(X) Been to a national museum (hmm, I've been to a bunch of museums, I'm sure one of them had to be "national")

( ) Been to a wax museum (I totally want to! My grandpa got mistaken for a statue at the one in London; he scared the people next to him when he moved)

(X) Eaten caviar

(X) Blown bubbles (uh, who hasn't?)

(X) Gone ice-skating

(X) Gone to the movies

( ) Been deep-sea fishing (no, but I almost went one of the many times my brothers have gone... I'm bummed I didn't)

( ) Driven across the United States (like, ALL the way across? East-West? I've gone from OK to MN several times, and that's *almost* all the way North-South)

( ) Been in a hot air balloon (Another thing I've always wanted to do!)

( ) Been sky diving (never in a million years. Period, the end.)

(X) Gone snowmobiling (Tahoe, baby!)

( ) Lived in more than one country

(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets

(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish

( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful geyser

(X) Seen the Grand Canyon

( ) Seen the Statue of Liberty (seeing the 4th of July fireworks around the Statue is on my "must-do" list too)

(X) Gone to the top of the Seattle Space Needle

( ) Been on a cruise

( ) Traveled by train (I always thought this would be so romantic)

(X) Traveled by motorcycle (traveled? Like on an overnight trip or around the city?)

(X) Been horse back riding (lots and lots of times)

(X) Ridden on a San Francisco cable car

(X) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World (Land. Several times)

(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer

(X) Been in a rain forest (Africa- near Victoria Falls)

(X) Seen whales in the ocean (from my aunt & uncle's telescope)

( ) Been to Niagara Falls (no, but I've been to Victoria Falls in Africa, which is similar. I got wet.)

(X) Ridden on an elephant (on Bertha the mascot of John Ascuaga's Nugget in Reno. It was at a circus when I was little)

( ) Swum with dolphins (that kinda creeps me out)

( ) Been to the Olympics (almost went to Atlanta in '96)

( ) Been to the World Cup

( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China

( ) Seen and heard a glacier calf (what in the world is that?)

( ) Been spinnaker flying (huh?)

(X) Been water-skiing (and wakeboarding)

(X) Been snow-skiing (I think snowboarding qualifies)

(X) Been to Westminster Abbey (okay, well... I walked up. They were closed that day! So have *have* been "to", just not "in" )

( ) Been to the Louvre

( ) Swum in the Mediterranean

(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game (several)

( ) Been to a National Football League game

( ) Swum with sharks (uhhh. right. If dolphins freak me out, there ain't no way)

( ) Been white water rafting (not after the horror stories my brothers tell all the time!)

( ) Written a book or screen play

(X) Been to Europe

(X) Been to Vegas

( ) Climbed a lighthouse

( ) Seen the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C.

( ) Flown a plane

( ) Owned a boat

() Gone skinny dipping (not sayin')

( ) Watched grandchildren grow (whose? If mine, then no... but other people's, sure!)

( ) Been to the Kentucky Derby (oh! this is on my "must-do" list!)

( ) Been to Key West

(X) Been to a rodeo

( ) Owned a convertible

So there ya have it, folks. Exciting, eh?

this one goes out to the one I love

5 Valentine's days with you and you still set my heart on fire. Love you, Babes!

running on "E"

I just don't have much energy to blog right now.

I mean, I barely have the energy to do the necessities like drag my tired self out of bed at 5:30 and make it to work, then drag myself home, eat (ugh) and crawl back into bed by about 8:30 or 9. Toss in the occasional grocery store trip and church on Saturday nights and I'm spent. And Rob's doing most of the cooking and cleaning, on top of his studies, classes, *and* work... the dear man!

I honestly never knew I could feel this depleted. I did find out from my Dr. that besides from being worn out from growing a whole new human being, my body is also trying to fight off an ongoing infection that I never knew about, so hopefully that will get taken care of in the next week or so as the medicine takes effect. I can't wait to feel like myself again! "They" say that most people turn the corner around the 13th week (ie- beginning of the 4th month) of pregnancy, and all I can say is "bring it ON". Until then, I'll be conserving all the drops of precious energy I can.

In other news, I'm getting a cool promotion at work that should just about *triple* my income, so that's awesome!

a minor cat-astrophe

Excuse the silly pun, I just couldn't help it. ;)

Yesterday was a big day for my kitty, Chester. He went to the vet to get "tutored", in the words of Gary Larson. After the initial exam, the vet emerged from the back room with perplexing news: Chester couldn't be neutered. SHE had to be spayed.

Huh? What?

All this time, Chester is a GIRL!!

Rob tells the story much better on his blog. It's hilarious, really. Now just to mentally adjust...