July activities part 1

Did I mention that Daniel and I went on a road trip a couple weeks ago?  No? How clumsy of me.

Not that I post regularly enough for my absence to even be noticed...

Anyway very early a couple Wednesday mornings ago, we got all loaded up and drove with my two younger brothers to Driggs, ID.  Our route looked a lot like this...and took about 14 hours.

Even though we made good time, and had no traffic it was still a long day! When we pulled our tired bodies into Grandma Green's driveway in Driggs, it was such a relief to be there.  My Grandma Green is the sweetest little lady, and it had been three years since I'd seen her last.  One of her traditions is to make a quilt for each of her grand children that get married.  There were several weddings in 2006, and she had just finished our quilt in time for us to take it home with us.

 

This quilt is so beautiful and I know how much time Grandma puts into a quilt.  I'm pretty sure I'll always love it!

The next happening on our road trip was when Daniel and I ventured to Rexburg. I should explain that we moved from Rexburg 3 years ago, and it took me all three years before I was ready to go back, even for a visit.  One of my best friends and former roommates still lives there, and was kind enough to take some time off work to hang out with us.  When we moved from Rexburg, they hadn't completed the Temple, so I knew it was going to have to be one of the first things we checked out. 

After checking out the temple, we gave my little brother a quick tour of BYU-I, where he is thinking of attending in a couple years.  There have been so many changes on campus that I hardly recognized a couple of the buildings.  It was neat to be back, and I remember why I loved going to school there.

We finished our little trip to Rexburg with all you can eat pizza at Craigos.  It was to die for.  I have missed that pizza more than anything else about that town.  I had way too many pieces, so if you think I look pregnant in the pictures above, I'm sure it was exemplified after stuffing myself with lunch.  We also picked up Sonic happy hour drinks on the way back to Driggs.  I love that place.  We got three huge drinks for $2.69. 

Clearly the high points of my trip involved more food than should be consumed in one afternoon.  I had to pack it all in though, because we don't have either a sonic or craigos in Olympia, and it's hard to justify a 14 hour road trip just for pizza.

The next couple of days were spent at a huge Green Family Reunion in Teton Valley, and because I'm not the greatest blogger ever, I didn't take a single picture and don't have much to say about it.  It was very fun to see cousins that I haven't seen in years, and I got an awesome farmers tan.  I think it comes with the location. 

I'll have another vacation post of last weekends activities coming up soon, so stay tuned for a camping trip at 25 weeks pregnant!

a lesson learned

Don't you just love it when things work out? 

On Monday evening, I had my first moment of panic about becoming a mother.  I'm not sure what set it off, but I was momentarily terrified and anxious.  I know that six and a half months into a pregnancy isn't the time to start second guessing ones decision to start a family, but I was nervous.  Daniel, calm as always, pointed out that nobody is ever really ready for a baby, and you make it work ready or not.  As true as his words were, they didn't help too much, and I still felt worried about all the prep work that hadn't been done. 

I was overwhelmed thinking about all the options and decisions that need to be made.  What will she sleep in, where will we put her, the list went on and on, eventually spiraling down to my potential ability (or lack thereof) to mother.  In my prayers that night I specifically asked to be blessed as I try to prepare to be a mother and that things will work out.

The next day I felt guilty about these negative thoughts, like somehow our baby would know that for one night, I was worried, that I questioned whether we had made the right decision.  It left me feeling shaken most of that day.  Like I was living in a fog.  I didn't like it.

On Tuesday, I set out to do what I do best when feeling unsettled.  I whipped out an excel spreadsheet and made a list of what I had determined to be baby essentials and their cost both new and used.  (Something about that excel page just puts my mind at ease...)     

On my list I had:
Bassinet/co-sleeper/cradle
Crib
Swing
Changing Table
Dresser

The next step in my plan was to take that list and try to visit some yard sales this weekend and see if anything came about, when my mom called me at work this morning.  She and my dad, (both work for the public schools and have summers off) had been out at a yard sale and found a crib, changing table and dresser all for $35 and they were in good condition and pretty new.  Even my used, low cost estimate for these items was at least four times that much.

After a couple cellphone pictures and phone calls exchanged Daniel and I made a quick decision that this is going to be the best deal we'll find, and that we'd be crazy not to snatch it up.  Yes, the crib set is white, and we'd been looking at a cherry/espresso finish, but that doesn't really matter.  Heavenly Father knew I was worried about being prepared, about finding a good deal, about getting these little details figured out, and he prepared a way. 

I'm trying to be better about acknowledging His hand in my life.  Seeing that He actively guides me and watches out for me, and this was a perfect example of that.  I'm grateful for this experience and grateful that my parents were in the right place at the right time looking out for me.

I love it when things work out. 

my plan of attack

For the first time all summer, it has been hot! I love summer, and I don't want to complain about the sunshine or heat.  So I've been creating a plan of attack for surviving the long hours stuck at my desk

For those who don't remember, I work in an old brick building and when the sun comes out, it's a lot like an oven.  On these warm summer days, it's hard to stay cool at work.  Yesterday I tried my luck with an icee from Target. It was good, but melted really quickly, and wasn't quite what I was looking for.  Today on my lunch break, I had to get gas, and since the Costco closest to my work, is conveniently close to Jamba Juice, and I had a $1 off coupon, and a gift card I couldn't resist.  I didn't even mind waiting in line for Gas at Costco, as I got to enjoy the air conditioning a little longer.  I'm also looking forward to a meeting in an air conditioned building in an hour.

More than any of that however, I'm looking forward to 5:00, when I can get off work and go swim at my parents pool.  I went last night for an hour and a half and it was quite refreshing.

Here's to hoping the sunshine sticks around for the weekend for more swimming!

On trying to convince myself that I'm awesome

I've been feeling frumpy the last few days.  I'm not sure if I need a hair cut, or if I'm still in the 'is she fat or pregnant' phase or what's going on, but it all boils down to me feeling frumpy.  So I decided to throw out my usual routine and get up earlier to spend a little more time getting ready.  See if it makes a difference.  I know 6:30 isn't that early, and it's not like I get dressed in the dark.  It gets light outside at what seems like 4:30 in the morning.  But today I had a surprised awakening of sorts.  It's currently 10:51 AM. It has been a very normal morning so far.  In the middle of a phone call with a rep. at one of the collection agencies we work with I looked down and noticed that in fact, I'm wearing two different shoes. I'm starting to think that this whole getting up earlier thing is doing more harm than good.  If it's not the solution to my frumpyness I'm at a loss as to what is.


For now though, I'm rocking mis-matched shoes...I did have a good laugh about it with my coworkers, and plan on going about the rest of my day like normal.  If people notice, maybe they'll think it's as funny as I do.  I'm going to chalk this up to doing my part to make somebody else laugh today.

Trust me, if  I had my camera at work, there would be a picture!