Less than two weeks....but who's counting?

Less than 2 weeks until the D-day...the Due date!! We are on pins and needles and soooo anxious. I keep meaning to take pics, but you know when I think of it? Once I've already put on my ill fitting pajamas! I'll spare you the pain of having to see that. But I did get 2 comments today at work that it looks like I've dropped. That has to mean something, right?
I still feel awesome though!! I had progress last week at my appt. and I'm hoping for even more tomorrow. Hopefully I'll remember to take a pic and post it.
I still have a few more things to get done...well, that I am hoping to get done before her arrival -but if they don't get done? Ehh, least of my worries. I got the majority of my presents out last week. I have bought 95% of everything for Christmas.
This weekend we have to put the car seat in the car and I need to wash a couple more things. And I need to mail out the last of my gifts and finish up my purchases.
AND....AND....
I got a new stove!! Woo hoo!! I'm so excited to cook on it. My current one is pretty old and crusty. It was time for a new one. I'll post pics after we get it in.
I feel like I have a million things to post - my mind is running a million miles a minute. But for now, I'm going to bed. Goodnight Friends.

Things I L-O-V-E

Inspired by Jesse, here I go. This list is not complete or prioritized, I'm just writing as I go. The people in my life that I love so much know it, so if I have forgotten someone or something, I do apologize, it was not intentional. My brain is only working at about 40% this morning, so you'll have to  be forgiving.

Tony, my parents, my lovely talented sita, my in-laws, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles. The roof over my head, Kirby, brunch, salsa and chips, journaling, Jesse, Robin, Craig, Renata, Cherie, Jen, Heather, and Irene. Jenni and Rob. Jesse's blog. Health Insurance. White Russians, Bloody Mary's, love letters, really good dreams, irony, the public library, Italy, the Cistene Chapel, Morano glass, a really good cup of coffee, iced cokes, sappy commercials, when someone else washes my hair, Baltimore City, the Rocky Mountains, playing the piano (on a tuned piano), Sofjan Stevens, Philly, Gettysburg, my sweet neighbors (Mandy and Michael), Grace and Josh, people who truly love being parents, babies, Sonic, La Posta, the smell of roasting green chiles, canoeing, camping, hiking, snow shoeing, journaling. Cookbooks, My So Called Life, Wings, books that make me think outside the box. The way Kirby smells after he's been sleeping, road trips, yoga, making lists, planning meals, the fall, gardening, canning, rollercoasters, Lake Superior, a New Mexico sunset, Andrew Wyeth, Portland, Maine, karma, empathetic people, that point in your run where you forget that you are running, the finish line, Aunt Edie's cabin, my Nannie's cooking, my mom's cooking. Giving the peace at church, singing loud, languages, houseplants that I don't kill, adult league kickball, baseball games, Joe Mauer, the light at the end of the tunnel, Nora Zeal Hurston, cooking, baking, sledding. Really good sermons, Assisi. The Opera. Muscials. NPR. Mornings. National Parks.

So there it is, I'll probably think of things throughout the day that I didn't put on here, but I'll leave it as it is. What are some things you love?

Finding your OM

The other day my friend sent me an email at work and he was telling me how he's at a place in his life that is definetly good - but how he wants something different. He thought things would be different. He and his wife really want to move closer to family, but are struggling to figure out HOW to make that happen. How do you walk away from a really good job, a house you can't sell, instead of waiting and seeing how things go maybe next year? Patience is such a virtue and one of the hardest things to have. They are homesick. He thought things would be different and he feels like his wheels are just spinning as he's biding his time. I've been there. We've all been there. It's so easy to forget about the present because you are busy trying to plan your future. How much do we miss by doing that?
It got me thinking about how you picture your future at different points in your life and then it seems to turn out so different than you had imagined. A lot has to do with fate - but I think a lot has to do with you and what you create for your future. I would like to think that you can do anything.....maybe that is my age still talking. But to a certain extent you can create your own course. Not to say you won't fail, but the worse thing would be having never tried. It's easy to say - I want to do this and I think it would make me happy - but the following through is so hard. You may have to give up your good job to go back to school with the hope of finding a more fulfilling career. You are rolling the dice - but honestly - how often does someone get a degree or training and then say - well, that extra time and money and new education wasn't worth it? At least you tried - you went for it. And the potential pay off is so  much more than struggling in the mean time. I struggle with this because I'm such a worrier! I will worry about the smallest details until I make myself sick.
As I was laying in bed the other night thinking about this - an image, maybe a dream but I wasn't fully asleep yet, came to my mind that filled me with calmness. This image is quite a few years down the road, but it's peaceful and I can't stop thinking about it. Tony and I were at his Aunt Edie's cabin on the lake (Minn), a place we have been numerous times before. Tony's dad spent summers there and Tony got to go there when he was young too. It's been in the family for a long time. It's a beautiful little bungaloo and you can walk right down to the pier. In the image Tony was down at the pier with our two little boys and they were fishing. I could hear them giggling and squealing. I was up on the porch working on research for school and beside me was a bassenet with a beautiful baby girl sleeping in it. The breeze was nice and soft and it was a beautiful summer day. My cup runneth over.
Now whether or not this will ever happen is up in the air. But it's a very real possibility. Anyways, I've been thinking about it all week and it has made me smile each time. Maybe that is my happy place - the place I should close my eyes and go to when things get stressful - or when I forget about the really important things in life. My mantra.
What's yours?

Irony

Lelaina: Can you define "irony"?


Troy Dyer: It's when the actual meaning is the complete opposite from the literal meaning
 
 
I LOVE Reality Bites....love it - it's definetly in my top 5. If you haven't seen it rush out and get it. It could just be my reminising about the 90's - but if you have fond memories of that era I think you will like it too.
 
I was thinking of irony because of something funny that happened in class on Tuesday. Maybe it's one of those things that is only funny to me. Let me give a little back story - since moving out here I have heard quite a few times "I'm granola" "We're crunchy" "I'm a total hippie" All of these attributes should be apparent without having to advertise. If you are these things then they will be obvious by the way you live. And I've seen plenty of hippies between here and NM. So when I hear these things I usually roll my eyes.
So on Tuesday there was a girl sitting next to me in class and I heard the guy in back of her asking her if she was drinking another hippie drink and she replied that yes, it was, because you know she's a hippie. She said this in all seriousness. As she was holding her Louis Viton (sp?) purse.
Can you define irony?
Wait - can you define judgemental?

New Years Resolutions

I'm bad at resolutions. I usually don't make them, but when I do I goof up with in the month. So I usually save any resolutions and use them for Lent. And they usually get broken too. Oh well, at least I try, right? But some of my resolutions this year are as follows (I LOVE LISTS!!!!):
Run more with a goal of 12 - 15 miles/week
Sign up for at least 2 5K's
Actually take Portaging trip, not just talk about it
Pay off 2 credit cards
Go somewhere that my passport is necessary
Start writing again, possibly a book (thank you Nathan, for inspiration)
Find a new job, in a new city

Ok, so the last one is the most difficult. There is only so much we can do, after that, we are going to rely on faith. The job hunt is going to begin in ernst very soon. We've been saying for a while we would like to be closer to our families, but that's it, we've only been saying. I applied for MANY jobs this summer, and nothing came through, so we just took it as a sign that it wasn't our time. So we are going to start trying again. The reasons to stay in Baltimore are numberable, however, the reasons to leave have more weight. Like seeing family more than twice a year if we're lucky, we want to start a family and we want them to be closer to our parents. We are wanting to move to Colorado, it has what we want. Housing is cheaper, we already have friends there, within a day we can drive to our folks house, great snowboarding, great water activities, great hiking, camping, star gazing, rock collecting.....it's just a lot more closer to what we know too, what we grew up with. I think everyone starts a family with an idea in mind of how they want to raise their kids...we want our children to appreciate the outdoors and spend a lot of time with them outdoors, learning to take care of themselves and enjoy nature. We love Baltimore city, but we don't want to raise kids here. And I know there are many other places in Maryland that are great to raise kids in, but not for us. Your values can be instilled in your kids anywhere, but we feel it will be easier out west. It won't be the easiest thing to move from here, but it won't be the hardest. Tears will be shed, again, but we are ready for the adventure.