Since last time …

…a few things have happened. Including this little one, who is now four months old. She is a sweet little bear, and I look forward to sharing her with all 3 of you who check in with me here.

Smoothie weather

Today’s forecast is for 66 degrees.  That is downright balmy in these here parts.  And after being glued to the couch or bed for most of the dark winter due to nausea and fatigue, the sun and “warmth” and chirping birds are welcome relief.  Walking the dogs this morning made me want nothing more than a strawberry-banana smoothie as soon as we got back.  It didn’t last long.

Pretty sparkly things

I finally picked up my first Big Girl jewelry box, courtesy of a Christmas gift card.  My modest collection of pretty things looks much nicer and less tangled in its new home. 

While hunting for pieces to wear on my wedding day, I found this vintage jewelry seller on Etsy.  I have had to cut myself off since those days of buying in the name of Wedding; in fact it pains me to even pull up the website because there are so many Pretty Sparkly Things.  Anyway.  A couple of the rhinestone pieces in the picture below walked down the aisle with me.

And a close up of the lucite moon glow bracelet because it was just too pretty against the deep brown of the box …

King of the Pillows

Normally Boo gets the spot between ma and pa, but when I walked into the bedroom on this particular night Duncan had clearly staked his claim.

The bane of my existence

Or at least of my domestic endeavours.

I hate our bedroom right now.  HATE IT.  I was very spoiled with a 2300 square foot condo for two years (pre-August 2009), and am now in a 900 square foot apartment.  End of the world?  Nope, not at all.  Very irritating after having a room for sleep, a room for the computer and a room(s) for storage and laundry, despite having two roommates and pets?  YES.  And these are my first world problems.

The bedroom has high ceilings, a wall of windows with a spectacular view, and enough room for a queen sized bed, a computer and a Chick TV*.  Unfortunately, the benefits are also the drawbacks.  High ceilings mean lotsa wall space that dwarfs just about any attempt to fill any of it in.  A wall of windows is lovely, but threaten to wash out any photos that are hung in the path of the sunshine.  Room for the computer and TV mean that the computer and TV will be put in there, taking up a wall with their ugly screens, cords and flashing lights.  WOE IS ME.

A couple of weeks ago, my beloved Mr. Tim encouraged me to have at it, giving me the green light to purchase some canvas, paints and maybe a lamp or two.  He figures that I may be spending many hours on end trying to sleep or trying to get an itty bitty to sleep in the months ahead, and that I should probably find the space to be a cozy and comfortable expression of our lives and not a depressing dumping ground for laundry and random filing jobs.  That, or he was worried that my research into carpet tiles and DIY painting of baseboards would lead to a very expensive move-out process.  And so I started to homey-up what should be our homiest room.

*Chick TV:  A TV that is 20″ or less in size, commonly purchased by single women in their 20s before they take up residence with a boy who cares about being able to see the images on the screen from more than 3 feet away.

Sleepy boys

We actually did a lot today – a long drive in the sunshine, a long nap to cure a headache, a bbq with the guys, and a massive UW win over New Mexico in NCAA tournament play - but there was no camera present to document it.  So instead I had to snap a shot of the sleepiness at the end of it all.

Speed boats and driving habits

We joined up with friends Matt and Amanda for happy hour at our new favorite place for a casual and cheap night out in Bellevue, The Spot Off Main.  It’s just a few blocks from home, has drink, food and pool specials galore, is (usually) very clean and well lit, and has really friendly employees and clientele.  Not to mention a FAB hummus plate.  Win-win.

After a couple rounds of beer (and ginger ale), we came back to Chez Tim-Staci for a rousing game of Guesstures.  And rousing it was.  We learned that in some people’s set of rules, if someone guesses a word that is similar to the word you are acting out, you can say they are right.  We also learned that when a certain person drives, he does so while wildly shaking his hips.  Hmm.

Hardware

We have been so very lucky to receive hand-me-downs of not insignificant baby items (crib! bassinet! playmat!).  These pieces include a dresser that may also be used as a changing table.  It is adorable, a great height with deep drawers, and is all white with white knobs.   Since I can’t leave well enough alone, I decided to make it a little more “us”.

I picked up a few knobs from Home Depot for about $0.90 each, some acrylic paints and an acrylic gloss medium from Michael’s, and had a little fun.  Of course it wouldn’t be our baby if there wasn’t a fish or two in the mix. 

Being counted

Census 2010 form completed!

Stinkers

Mr. Tim and I were not very honest with our families about the ultrasound date because we wanted to surprise them with the gender news.  We consequently told them that the appointment was March 22, when in fact it was on the 15th. 

The “reveal” involved cupcakes and food coloring and a card with a cheesy poem that went something like this …

Will a girl or boy 

Be bringing joy?

Just take a bite

To see which is right!

I know.  Not even my 2nd grade teacher would give me high marks for this one, but it got the point across.   

We stopped at Paper Source for gift wrap supplies, ran home for the cupcakes and then raced to our respective home-neighborhoods on the opposite sides of town to deliver the goods.  We left the packages and returned home to await the phone calls, during one of which my Grandma said we were stinkers.  Actually, my mom did too. 

 

It's a boy?

 

Nope, it's a girl!