farm life

day 183:


tim and i talk about moving back to western mass at some point...


we love it there.


however, we love it here too. when i look out the window, i see horses and donkeys, fields and barns.


i don't know that i can give this up.

keepin it classy

day 182:


do not make fun. i do not care if you like my watch or not.


all day long, i look at my watch. wether it is to see how much time is left in the period, or to write the time on a pass for a student... i always need to know the time.


and the clocks in the school don't work, so the watch is all i've got.


so i have been wearing a sport watch every day. a digital, plastic band, sport watch. then i got to thinking... this sport watch doesn't really go with my work clothes. i'm dressed for work, but my wrist looks like it's going to the gym.


that is when i began the hunt for a digital watch with a silver band. i want it to look nice, but i want to be able to tell the time in less than a second. it's more efficient that way.


unfortunately, the watches i was finding were men's, and they were very bulky. but then i found it. at target. the perfect watch.


who cares if it looks like an old man's watch.


*and as a side note, i wear my watch upside down, so it really just looks like a silver bracelet. i just took the picture this way, because it looked funny upside down.

babies everywhere!

day 181:


a girl at my church just had her third child. this is her first boy. he is just so precious, i couldn't stop staring at him.


in one week, i am going in for an ultrasound. we could find out then if the baby will be a boy or a girl, but we are going to wait.


everyone keeps telling me they think i'm having a boy. maybe people should start placing bets.


i really do not care if we have a girl or a boy. i don't have a preference at all. we will all just have to wait till around august 4th to see what this baby mango is :)

all grown up

day 180:


i had to buy some more dog food today... and i realized that griffey is going to be one in just one month, so it wouldn't make any sense to get her a bag of puppy chow.


i know this might sound stupid, but i can't believe she is already a year old. it seems like just yesterday that she was small enough to run underneath the island in the kitchen, or fit through the squares in the horse fence.


it makes me wonder how fast time will go by when the baby gets here. as much as it seems like it's taking forever for this little bugger to get here, i feel like i will look back and say, wow, i can't believe this baby is already here. like i will look back and say, i can't believe my baby is already turning one.

fail = who cares?

day 179:


so... i know you might be sick of my DMV story, but i have GOT to share what happened today.


my car failed emissions, so i had to have it fixed. i got it back last night and went to get it tested again today (so that i can officially register it) and they said i have to drive it for 150 miles after it's fixed so the car can reset itself... or something like that.


i explained that i needed it to pass emissions so that i could register it, and the guy told me just to bring the "fail" report to the DMV, and that they would let me register with that.


i didn't believe the guy. why would they make you get an emissions test in order to register if they don't care if you pass?


well, he was right. i went to the DMV and the lady took the "fail" report and processed my registration. i told her i got the car fixed... i asked if i needed to prove it... she said it didn't matter.


apparently the state of connecticut doesn't really care about clean air... they just want my $20.00 for the test.

sweet ride

day 178:


if you are following, then you know about my awesome day at the DMV. so to update you on the story...

my car failed inspection, and i had to get it fixed. luckily, while my car was at the shop, i was able to drive my father-in-law's car. 


but as i walked through the parking lot and into work this morning, i noticed something. i don't know why i didn't realize it before today, but alas there it was...


ms. pava's car. parked in the handicap spot. ms. pava's tan buick... the exact same car as me.






*a side note: to those that don't know ms. pava, there is really no describing her. words would not do her justice. however, i will say that she looks like she is 90, and she still subs at our school. also, this post is in no way meant to make fun of ms. pava, only to make fun of myself. the suggestion that i am synonymous with a 90 year old woman, is enough to make any one laugh.. whether you know ms. pava or not.

baby mango

day 177:


i visit a couple of different pregnancy websites daily. and on these websites there is a way to track the growth of your baby.


for some reason they compare the size of the baby to various pieces of produce. 


and if you ask matt longo, he thinks that the size isn't consistently getting bigger, but in fact fluctuates from week to week.


like one week it went from a peach to a lemon... i guess lemons are longer cause they're kinda oval shaped, but i'm with matt, i always pictured peaches bigger than lemons.


well, i am at week 19 now, and this week the baby is the size of a mango.


that kinda scares me, cause a mango is big... and matt will be upset if it's a smaller fruit next week.

biggest winner

day 176:


i know that i am supposed to be gaining weight...

however, there is still something wrong with watching the biggest loser...






and eating a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

not happy!

day 175:


my dog is very strange.


we have crate trained her since the day we brought her home. she started off being in there only at night, but once we went back to work she was in during the day too.


at first my dad would come over and let her out around lunch time, to break up the day, but since like october she has been in the crate all day while we are at work. with no problems.


and then today i came home and she was sitting in the corner of her crate, trying to stay away from her pee. it was all over most of the bottom of the crate, and consequently her.


so, she had to have a bath. and she was not happy. 


afterwards she kept giving me these looks, like she was mad at me. and then i was sticking my camera in her face, so that didn't help.

baby bump

day 174:


so i got to thinking about my post a few days ago... i am all for documenting my ever growing belly.


but i am not for documenting it the way some people do. take for example kourtney kardashian. she has a naked picture of her pregnant... and it's hanging in her mother's bedroom. now that's just too much for me.


but to each her own.


however, i did realize that i had only taken one picture of my belly, and it was very early on. for someone who takes pictures every day, that is unacceptable.


so i am going to be more diligent in taking pictures of my journey to motherhood. i won't necessarily post them all on here, but i will definitely take them.

cat light

day 173:


today started out pretty awful... i had to work. 


oh well... the day got better though, as we were able to spend the night with friends from DC.


i may have put a pic of their cat on here before, but i just couldn't resist posting this pic.


i love the lighting here. it was so dim in the basement, but there was this one light shining on tabby cat.


just beautiful.

eating for two

day 172:


tonight tim ordered pizza... for himself. at first he ordered a large, but when the lady told him he couldn't get the large cut in pie slices, he opted to downsize to the medium.


his change made the lady ask how many people would be eating this pizza. and he felt ashamed that the answer was, "just me", so instead he said, "me and my wife".


he lied. he lied so he wouldn't be judged. 


i love it.

airing my dirty laundry

day 171:


as i have said many times over, my husband is amazing.


and one thing that i love, is that he has not mentioned the pile of clothes on the floor outside of my dresser.


i will be honest, i used to be very messy. my room always looked like a bomb went off. but since i have been married, since i have been sharing a room with someone, i have been super clean. never a mess in my room.


so let me explain. now that i do not fit into many of my clothes, i have been forced to buy new clothes, maternity clothes. and those clothes, do not have anywhere to go. i need to empty out my dresser and my closet and put the new wardrobe in them.


but until then... thanks to my husband for being patient. i will get it done. i swear.

baby business

day 170:


i had an interesting conversation with my faves tonight... a new trend with pregnancy photos. how much is too much?


anyway, i can kind of see both sides of the argument... i understand why people do it, but i also understand why it can be a little much.


at any rate, i have started a baby book. not quite into, or ready, for pregnancy photos. but i have started documenting my pregnancy in words. not pictures, just words.

hell

day 169:


i think that people that go to hell are forced to stand in line at the DMV for eternity.


on my way to work today i realized that my vehicle registration was expired. and not just a little expired, like january expired.


so i thought it best to go straight to the DMV after work. 


when i got there i learned that, because my registration was expired and i had not yet passed emissions, i was going to have to be issued a temporary plate.


this temp will last me ten days... during which i must get my car inspected and go back to the DMV to renew my registration.


i won't rehash all of the details. i know you don't want to hear them, and believe me, i do not want to re-live them, but let's just say it was more of a hassle than it had to be...


ok, i will take part of the blame, but the DMV is not innocent in this! i should have had my car inspected long ago, and been prepared to renew. but the DMV was supposed to send me the renewal form, and they definitely did not. i would know if i slacked off and didn't mail it in. 

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.