griffey apple seed

day 168:


we do not give our dog human food. we didn't want her to beg... 


although, we have dropped things that she has eaten before we have been able to pick them up, so now she knows it's really good, and begs.


however, we do let her have apple cores. i don't know why we started giving them to her, but she loves them.

and she knows she gets the core, so as soon as you bite into an apple she comes running.


well today, she smelled an apple in tim's computer/work bag. and kept at it until she was eating it, while still in the bag.


finally tim realized what was happening, and took it from her, but she was patiently waiting for him to give it back to her.


she did find it fair and square.

mmm... spicy!

day 167:


and what's the deal with spice racks? (to be said in the voice of jerry seinfeld). 


but seriously, sometimes i wonder why i have a spice rack. i wanted it. i registered for it. i got it. and now, i rarely use it. 


and even when i use it... i use the same spices. i mean, come on! who uses fennel? or celery seed? the answer is no one.


but i guess it looks good on my counter.

heat please

day 166:


we have been trying to save money.


and one way we do that, is by keeping the heat off. 


last year we spent a TON of money on propane, so this year (as pictured before), tim installed a wood stove.


however, for reasons too long to explain in one blog page, we have a bunch of wet wood.


this wet wood makes it very difficult to make a fire. usually tim is in charge of that, but because he was out all day, i tried to make the fire myself...


and i failed miserably.


so i dug out the old heat dish (which we got last year when our heat was broken, but that is a completely different story).

let me tell you, this heat dish throws some serious heat. griffey and i sat right in front of it all day. actually, most of the day, griff was on the floor right in front of it. she was so close, i was afraid her fur was going to go up in flames.




in order for you to fully appreciate the heat situation, i have taken a picture of the heat dish, and the dog in front of it (not nearly as close as she was earlier), and of course the wet wood drying in front of the fire that tim is nursing.


we could just turn the heat on, but that would mean spending money. instead, i'll sit in my housecoat... and slippers... with a blanket... in front of the heat dish.

home movies part deux

day 165:


tonight we went to watch a few home movies from my side of the family.


tim got to see me take some of my first steps, tell a story about a rock in baby gibberish, pick my wedgie on the beach, and play piano at a recital. (in that chronological order). 

however, the best video of the night was not of me at all. it was of my awesome cousin derek. he was just a little tike, singing in a church kids choir.


but let me tell you. he had allllll the hand motions down pat. he was, by far, the star of the show. his singing was pretty amazing too.


i laughed so hard, at one point i couldn't breathe. i was glad when each song would end so that i could catch my breath.


what a great family movie night.

marley & me

day 164:


this is marley.


he is the cutest poodle i have ever seen.


i don't really like poodles, but he is just the cutest. and he sat on my lap (or julia's lap) the whole time we visited tina and lindsay.


it made me want a little lap dog of my own... i know, i know, i'm crazy. i'm pregnant. but i still want another dog. 


i won't get one, but it doesn't change the fact that i want one.

anything for you

day 163:


yesterday i called tim from across the street and asked if he would come out and move the recycling bin so that i could pull in the driveway. i didn't want to have to get out of the car, move the bin and then get back in.


then later that afternoon, i yelled from the upstairs bathroom and asked if he would come upstairs and bring me a towel, since i failed to get one before i got in.


so tonight, when he called me from hampshire regional high school, in westhampton, and told me that he locked himself out of the car, of course i drove out to bring him the little clicker to unlock his doors.



and in all seriousness, i didn't mind. he does everything for me.

home movies

day 162:

today was the best day.


i am exhausted (but fortunately for you, did not go straight to bed). 


i had breakfast with an awesome friend and heard some great news. i got coffee from another great friend, and drank it with yet another wonderful friend. i got my hair cut (first time since june), then went to btown for dinner with the in-laws.


the best part of the evening, was when we broke out the home videos.

it's not very often that you find baby videos of people our age. i thought i was maybe the only one with footage of some of my first steps... but tim had video of him as an infant!



however, we didn't get to watch the videos that were on the small tapes, because we couldn't get the camera to play them, but it was funny watching us all try.

i love thai (and apparently sleep)

day 161:


well... i'm an idiot.


i forgot to blog last night. 160 days without forgetting, and then it happened... sleep was the only thing on my mind and i went to bed without blogging. without even taking a picture for that matter.


i thought about lying to all my fans, saying that there must have been a problem with the website, but i just couldn't.


so here's what happened... i was up late the night before, was up early that morning, drove out to amherst for dinner at the hanger (which was amazing), hung out way too late, got home and went straight to bed.


this morning, when people were wondering about my missing blog, was the first time that it crossed my mind.


to say that i am disappointed is an understatement. i really wanted to make it one year without missing a post, but now that's not gonna happen...


so my plan is to go one extra day at the end of my year. that way i still have 365 posts. 


at any rate... here is today's post.


we had thai/chinese/sushi for dinner tonight. one of my favorite parts about getting asian food is that it always comes with a fortune cookie. 


i know it's silly, but it amazes me that they can make cookies with paper inside. i mean, seriously, how do they do it??

quality time

day 160:


tonight was so much fun.


matt and i have been friends with julia, peter and steve for years, but i can't remember the last time that the five of us hung out.


so tonight, take us five, add tina and tim, and a game of "imagine if", and you have got yourself one heck of a party.


for those that don't know, peter was in canada... forever, and only stopped here for a week, then he is headed to guatemala... forever (with a quick trip home for the wedding).


glad we all got a chance to make great memories before everyone goes their separate ways.


we're gonna miss you pete!!

winter pep

day 159:


we had our last pep rally of the year today.


it was a nice way to kick off the winter break.


the teachers that plan it, really do a great job at entertaining 2,000 kids for 45 min.


of course they do the usual starting line up thing... where they call all the names of the athletes, who then run into the gym.


but they also plan entertainment, like the drum line performance. they did awesome. my favorite part was when they played the trash cans.


and then there is the class competition. and this time it was a crazy singlet/flippers/goggles/swim cap wearing, hockey stick carrying, pickle bobbing extravaganza.

i know it doesn't make any sense, but i did get a few good shots.

fort knox

day 158:


i have always wondered why the cereal companies make their boxes so hard to open.


come on! i'm supposed to be able to close the top to keep the cereal fresh, but every time i open a box, i accidently rip the spot for the tab... or sometimes i rip a flap... whatever, there is always a rip, making closure impossible.


luckily, i go through the cereal pretty fast so there is no chance of it going stale. 


but still, it's stupid.

the best stuff on earth

day 156:


i have always loved coffee. 


come on, grandpa red used to put it in my bottle, how could i not love it?


however, since i have been pregnant, i have not really been in the mood for it.


until the other day that is.


i designed a perfect drink. it's a quad grande, half caff, two pump raspberry, two pump white mocha latte. 


oh yeah, with whip.

flowers make me smile

day 155:

funny story.


tim comes in yesterday with flowers. and i am thinking to myself, "ohhh, how sweet, flowers."


so i kiddingly say to him, "awe, someone got you flowers today?!". he looks at me funny as he puts them on the counter and says, "yeah, it's kinda weird, this woman at work gave them to me."


now i feel dumb because i assumed they were for me, but then i start thinking, "yeah, that is weird", so i ask, with a slightly irritated tone, "who did you say gave them to you?"


and he just calmly says, "no one, they're for you." so, now i feel dumb for believing him. 

but i got over that pretty quick, cause they were so beautiful.


i have never really been much of a flower person... but i could get used to having fresh flowers in my kitchen.


they brighten it up, and they smell amazing.

and i must say, that i definitely like the "wild" flowers over roses. it makes it seem like someone picked them fresh from their garden.

and with all this snow, the feel of a fresh garden is just what i need to brighten my day.

happy valentine's day

day 154:

today started off with a beautiful sunrise.


yes, i took my camera out at 6:30 am to catch this shot.


and then today ended with tim coming home with flowers and chocolates.


i'm not a huge fan of valentine's day... i mean, i like the flowers and chocolates. they made me feel special, but i didn't need a big night out with a big present.




just something little to make me feel special, and a night on the couch with my honey <3 

an early present

day 153:


the wonderful alexis was selling her famous cake pops for valentines day. so, of course, i had to buy some for tim. he loves them!!


but there was one problem... i had to get them from her at church today, and there was no way to keep tim from seeing them.


i told him that he couldn't have them until tomorrow, and he gave me the "yeah right" look.


i can't blame him for not wanting to wait. they are delicious.


so i let him have them today. which was fine, cause then i got to have one. or two.

oh well

day 152:


i was so excited today. excited that i actually had something to do (out of the ordinary) and i would be able to take some good pictures.


i mean, there are only so many pictures i can take inside my bathroom.

however, as we were driving to boston for our niece's birthday party, i realized something terrible. i forgot my camera.


i even charged my battery last night so it wouldn't die. 


so instead of getting some awesome picture of elizabeth opening presents or blowing out her candles, you get the dog.


sorry.


happy birthday elizabeth.

pickles and ice cream

day 151:

they say you will get weird cravings when you are pregnant. 

well, i wouldn't say that any of mine have been weird. i mean, we have these two jars of pickled something... and i have no desire to eat them at all.

tim has had some of them before. they are homemade from debbie mann, and i am sure that they are very good.

i have just never been in the mood to eat them.

no pickles for me. but i will definitely take the ice cream.

money maker

day 150:


so today i noticed something odd.


the toilet paper package says "for home, business, or resale". yeah that's right, RESALE.


not sure who exactly is re-selling the toilet paper, but apparently, if i want to, i am allowed.






i clearly take way too many trips to the bathroom.

what is wrong with me?

day 149:


i would like to think that i take my christmas decorations down in a timely fashion.


i don't take them down on december 26th, but i don't wait till january 26th either. 


however, it seems like i somehow manage to forget one decoration up every year. 


last year it was the framed snowman cross stitch thingy that hung by the back door. it literally made it till the summer before i even realized that i missed it.


this year it is the basket in the bathroom.


however, just like the snowman, after i realized i forgot it, i didn't do anything




i mean, i could pack it up, but all the decorations are already put away. i guess i could stash it under the sink until next christmas... which is more likely than me putting it where it belongs.


but for now, i'll just leave it.

tights!!

day 148:


i love tights.

i don't know why, but i do.


mostly i love them with boots.


usually i wear brown or black leggings, you know, just something basic.


but today, today i wore my yellow tights.


people made comments. but i don't care. i have never cared what people said about my clothes. i have my own style. and today that included yellow tights.

to the market

day 147:


we finally went to the grocery store!!!

we kept putting it off, until there was really nothing left in the house.


the only problem with that is, we needed a lot of stuff. 


and the only problem with needing a lot of stuff is, it adds up.


so after unloading/ putting away all the groceries, it was time to make dinner.


and i had frosted flakes. and they were grrrreat.

you're the best

day 146:


not that i want my blog to turn into a place for me to brag about how amazing my husband is, but he always seems to do things that make me so happy.


this winter has been brutal (obviously). but you know what, it's been pretty easy for me.


tim does everything. and it seems like he is out there every single day. 


if he's not shoveling or snow blowing, then he is on the roof or chopping ice. and once he is done with all that, then he has the chore of stacking the wood by the house. 


today he helped clear snow from the roof at church, and then came home to continue working at the house.


i am so thankful that i can stay inside in my warm house, while he takes care of everything else.

(and did i mention that he cleaned the whole house yesterday?)

mill on the river

day 145:

today was an amazing day.


julia and her wedding party girls (minus the beautiful ally) went to pick out our bridesmaids dresses.


we had a blast. sharing the one dressing room between the 6 of us. trying on all sorts of colors and styles. we ended up getting a really great dress (that hopefully will look great when they alter the size 14 i ordered to accommodate my ever growing belly).


afterwards we went to the mill on the river for lunch. i think a couple of you may remember this place ;)


it is absolutely beautiful there. but it was a little too rainy and cold, so i didn't get a lot of shots before i headed for the car.



thanks julia (and donna) for a wonderful day.

glove love

day 144:


i got these gloves for christmas, and i absolutely love them.


it's kinda hard to see in this picture, but they are not only fingerless, they are also longer than normal gloves.


so they keep my arms warm, but not my fingers. just kidding.


i love the length, because it works perfectly with my jackets with cropped sleeves. and i love that they are fingerless because i can still text and write and whatever else you can't do in regular gloves. 


however, this morning i was wishing i had some fingers on my gloves. cause it was bitter cold. i took the dog out and thought frostbite might set in. i actually pulled my fingers inside the gloves so my palms could warm them.


but they are still my favorite gloves.

gotta love friendly's

day 143:

i worked at friendly's for yeeears. 


now, i can't help but get nostalgic every time i go there.


like tonight. when i picked up our sundaes. 


i cringed a little when i saw the stained apron of the girl that waited on me. 


i shook my head as i noticed the ice cream on her forearm as she turned and walked away.

oh and here's a shot of griffey. i couldn't help it. she was posing for me.

pay it forward

day 142:


i have had plenty of friends get pregnant.


but i never thought to buy one of them a gift, or send a card to say congratulations.


i always just said congrats and left it at that. if i was invited to a shower then i brought a gift.

but now that i am pregnant, i am realizing how nice it is to give a little gift or a card. of course it's not expected, but it is something that makes you feel special.


i have some mom (and dad) friends who know this, and in turn have made me feel special.


thanks to the switz for sending me a gift at work and making my day.


thanks to caroline for sending me a gift all the way from utah. i miss you!


thanks to pete, meg, paul and jess for giving us a gift when we came to visit.

all tuckered out

day 141:


griffey played outside in the snow for most of the day.


then we went to my parents house and she continued to play with her best friend tawny.


well, needless to say, she was tired. 


as soon as we got in the car she fell asleep on the floor.


i wanted to get a picture of her sleeping, but as soon as i took out my camera, she woke up.