Baby Shower

On Thursday, two of my friends threw me a Baby Shower. It was a lot of fun (for me, anyway). ;-) In all honesty, I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at a baby shower.

We played Pictionary with baby-themed words, we had a chocolate fountain and other desserts and of course there was the customary Ooooh-ing and Awwww-ing as I opened the gifts. I got some really cute stuff and I can't wait till the baby is actually here!

My mom sent a couple receiving blankets that she made...

Andy's mom sent a cute quilt that she made. (Someone should have told me to hold it upright--Oops!!)

The real icing on the cake was the surprise Andy had prepared. He had arranged for some chocolate lollipops (next to the cake) to be delivered and for the chocolate fountain. One of the girls who helped arrange the baby shower (the girl standing on my right in the first picture) decorated the cake too.

The Loot...

When we first moved out here, I was really concerned about starting a family because we are now so far away from OUR families. But I have been soooo impressed with the way our ward has shown their support and love for us and welcomed us in to their families. Several people have offered to babysit or to come over and help out when the baby comes--even if I just need a nap!! Our ward really is amazing. Today, a couple who recently moved into the ward spoke in church and mentioned that they had been in their previous ward for about 3 years. When it came time for them to move here, they had 10 people show up to help them move. When they asked our ward for some help when the moved into their new house out here, they had 14 people show up!! (Of course Andy helped organize that.) They were really touched that so many people would come and help some relative strangers move on a Saturday morning. We really do have a great ward and I'm so grateful for the kindness we've been shown since moving out here.

Sneak Preview

We went to Tennessee for Thanksgiving to spend the holiday weekend with family. My sister in law, Amy, took some pictures of me. Here's a sneak preview...

Another Project

I recently found a "how to" for how to make appliqué neck tie onesies on a blog. I decided to give it a try. I used some Hawaiian material I had and I had to borrow a friend's sewing machine since mine died last week. I think it turned out pretty cute and it wasn't very difficult either.

"I'm a Man!"

Over the past month or so, Andy has engaged in some friendly banter with a couple of his co-workers who have, and always carry with them, pocket knives. Not only do they find occasion to use their pocket knives for random tasks, but they can't seem to understand how anyone can get through a day without having one at the ready.

This week, Andy's co-workers ceremoniously presented him with his very own pocket knife. They played the "Rocky" theme song and presented him with his very own pocket knife and official "Man Card". So I guess it's really official. Andy's a man.

By far, the coolest thing about the pocket knife is that it has a built-in light. Pretty sweet.

Arts and Crafts

Over the past few weeks, I've been working on a few baby-related projects. Last month, one of Andy's co-workers gave us a crib. I had my heart set on a white crib so it would match the rest of the furniture in the baby's room. Andy was kind enough to indulge me. He doesn't understand why all the furniture needs to match, so considering the time we've spent preparing and painting the crib, I'm very grateful. Here's a picture of the crib once we had moved it into the room, but hadn't quite put it together yet.

During the whole process of taking the crib apart and putting it back together, we discovered that it was missing a few screws. Fortunately, we were able to get some replacement parts at our local hardware store. Here's a picture of the crib AFTER we sanded, primed and painted it.

I've also been sewing some burp cloths. I found an easy tutorial on a blog. I got most of the ribbon at Big Lots (4 rolls for $2-$3).

I then found another tutorial on how to make pacifier clips on a different blog. This was perfect because I was able to use up the remaining ribbon from the burp cloths by making pacifier clips. I also have a friend who will be selling candles at an upcoming craft fair this weekend. She offered to try and sell some of the clips for me there. Maybe I'll throw in some burp cloth / pacifier clip combos. If that doesn't work, then I have a bunch of gifts for all the upcoming baby showers I'll be going to in the coming months.

I had a doctor's appointment last week and things seem to be progressing as normal. My swollen feet are within the normal range for how far along I am (about 30 weeks), I got my seasonal flu vaccination and the heartburn and leg cramps are somewhat under control. Considering the symptoms some women have when they are pregnant, I'm grateful that I'm feeling as well as I am.

America Junior

I was in Canada (aka America Junior) over the weekend for my former roommate's wedding. Another one of my former roommates and a friend also went and we had a ton of fun. The wedding was absolutely beautiful--very fitting for a beautiful bride (inside and out)!!

I left on Thursday evening and the wedding was scheduled for Saturday. Andy had asked me what our plans were for Friday and when I responded that we would be helping Carmen with any last-minute preparations etc, he asked if we would be putting doilies in her hair. So that's exactly what we did.

Throughout our trip, we were completely fascinated with the subtle differences between America and Canada. Here are a few of our observations.

• Canada is way too cold. It had snowed before we arrived and there were several flurries throughout the weekend. I was obsessed with the notion that maybe Canadians just don't know that there are warmer locations to live. The typical response to my helpful observation was "This really isn't that cold. You should be here when it's 40 below!! Now THAT's cold." To which I just shook my head and internally mourned the loss of their sanity.
• The cows in Canada are not very happy. They're certainly not happy, California cows. They looked skinny and very hairy--which they have to be in order to withstand the freezing temperatures.
• In order to dress for cold weather, one needs to have either jeans or sweat pants which get stuffed into boots like Uggs. Add to that some kind of sweater or jacket and a warm hat. That's the typical Canadian garb. Wish I had been thus prepared.
• While the weather is very cold, the people are very warm. We were treated with such hospitality and friendliness that we could almost understand how people would rationalize living there. Carmen had everything lined up for us...places to stay, cars to use, most meals...everything!! Thanks Carmen!!!
• Our most significant finding was that the word "Hey" can be used with reckless abandon. Prior to this trip, I was under the impression that "Hey" could only be used at the end of a sentence. Not true. It can be thrown into the middle of a sentence (much the way some people might use the word "um") and it does not necessarily connote a form of agreement. Of course we had to have a competition among ourselves to see who could get away with the most authentic use of hey while speaking to a local. It was very entertaining.
• I also learned an interesting factoid. The Cardston, Alberta temple is the only temple that does not have a gate or fence around it. About 90% of Cardston is LDS and I guess a fence just isn't needed because there is no threat of vandalism. How great is that?!?!
• Canada also has some really great candy bars and some...interesting...potato chip flavors. I think I bought more candy bars over the weekend (based on the locals' recommendations) than I have in the last 5 years. So far, I think Mr. Big is my favorite.

Shifting gears, I must say that I was VERY impressed with the excellent job Carmen and her friends and family did with decorating the Cultural Hall--which is right across the street from the Alberta Temple. Once you entered the cultural hall, you completely forgot that you were in a church gym. Here's what I mean:

I told you they did an amazing job!!

We returned home on Sunday afternoon. I ended up waiting on the tarmac while a part was replaced in my airplane for the St. Paul to Raleigh leg--which meant that after a 2-hour drive home, I didn't get home until 2am!! Fortunately, I made it safe and sound and wasn't really tired during the drive or during the ensuing work day.

Thank you Carmen for a fun weekend (I *almost* missed being single again) and Congratulations on the marriage!! What a great couple! (Check out her super-hot shoes!!!)

Activity Days

A couple weeks ago, I threw together an activity for the 8-11 year olds at church. (We have about 9 girls who show up regularly.) We talked about tithing and the importance of saving money. I learned that most of them had never filled out a tithing slip, so it was good to go over that with them. We also talked about tithing settlement since that is one of the Faith in God requirements. I had found some ceramic farm animal banks on clearance (they ended up costing less than $2 each after I pointed out some flaws on them to the cashier and got an additional 20% discount off the clearance price...bargain of the century!!) I wanted the girls to decorate and personalize their banks and boy was I surprised with the creative results!!! I had prepared small squares of cardboard (which they covered in scrapbook paper) as a platform and then I let their imaginations run wild. Here are some pictures of what the girls made.

This really cracked me up. She made a nest for her chicken bank and even included eggs made out of puff balls.

This is a very sassy chicken. Not only does she have flowers and a feather boa around her, but the chicken has a ruby red necklace made out of puff balls.

Mooo! This cow is living large in her barn yard complete with a fence made out of pipe cleaners.

I thought this one was very simple, but very clever. You'll notice that her pig is a little muddy from rolling around in the pigsty.

If I were to do this again, I would allow for more time to decorate the banks. I could have talked to them for at least an hour about how to calculate tithing, the importance of saving money, the importance of wanting something but not having to buy it just because it's there, what a credit card is and to impress upon them how expensive things are and that they shouldn't expect their parents to buy them whatever they want. We ended up spending at least 45 minutes decorating the banks and the room was a disaster afterward, so help with cleanup would have been very much appreciated.

Raku Party

I haven't been taking ceramics classes since July. My old ceramics class had a raku party last night and they invited me to attend. In case you are unfamiliar with the raku process, I took some video of the fun part. Raku is a Japanese, low-fire (the kiln is brought up to only about 1,900 degrees) glazing technique. I think it's fun because they take the pieces right out of the kiln when they're red hot. Then the pieces are placed in small trash cans with newspapers and other flammable materials while the piece continues to cool down. It's a lot of fun because the process allows for a lot of variation in how the pieces turn out. It's pretty hit or miss. Either way, it's a lot like Christmas when you finally get to see what the pots look like when they come out.

In addition to the raku party, I picked up three more pieces that had been fired for me. I have one left and then I'll be hanging up my apron for a while. Kinda sad. Here are some pictures of my last few pieces.

The Best Baby Name EVER

In our search for a baby name, I'm very tempted to go with Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Here's why...

It comes from a scripture found in 2 Nephi 18:1 - "Moreover, the word of the Lord said unto me: Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen, concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz." The meaning, found in the footnote, is "Destruction is imminent". Enough said.

Hoarders

Andy and I have discovered a TV show on A&E called Hoarders. At work, I have been to several conferences for fiduciaries where they will have presentations about hoarding and how to help someone who struggles with the condition. I've always found them to be so fascinating. The TV show is every bit as fascinating. I find that I squirm and gasp about as much as I would if I were watching a scary movie! Of course the best thing about the show is that after watching an episode, I have plenty of motivation to go through a box of "stuff" that I haven't looked through for a couple years and toss items that I justify keeping around for the sole purpose of reminding me of something or because I think it might be useful someday.

Of course, the downside of the show is that I tend to get itchy and feel like I need to take a shower after watching it. As much as I may not like it sometimes, I'm glad Andy is good at not wanting to keep stuff around the house because the cost of keeping, moving and storing stuff is just not worth it.