watch the ads and it's almost like paying...

Weblink Wednesday! I almost forgot that I actually have a fantastic link to share, which was sent to me by one of my college roomies. She knows me so well... a video that combines my passions for online social networking and musical theatre... *sigh*. It's like finding the Holy Grail or something.

halfway

The beach trip was fantastic and you should all be jealous that you weren't there. It was hot, it was sunny, the tide was high at just the right time, and the sunscreen was flowing in abundance. Oh, and of course there was chocolate. From the Chocolate Tree. Cause really, those of you who have been there, is there any other chocolate after you have had the experience of The Tree? Not really, no. BUT I am glad to be home, and the dogs were very happy to see me (kinda left me wondering what Joe DOES to them... or doesn't do... when I'm gone for so long...).

I have hit a few pregnancy milestones, namely that I am now officially halfway through this whole being pregnant thing. That means in about 4 and a half to 5 months, I will be blessed with a little squalling bundle to call my very own (and Joe's). As of right now, if it is a girl it will be a nameless little squalling bundle, but still. (We have options... we just can't narrow it down to ONE name. For the one child... that might be a girl.) Very exciting. I also no longer fit into any normal, non-stretchy or longer-in-the-front-than-in-the-back clothes and have had a few strangers ask me when I'm due. Now that is a weird occurrence the first time it happens. You get so used to having to tell people that you're pregnant, your brain kinda stops for a second in panic mode thinking "how do they know??? who told them??? how does this person know my life???" before you realize that you look like you're smuggling a canteloupe.

Cause I do now. That's the other milestone. I LOOK pregnant. And I swore I wouldn't be one of "those" people, but I may just have to do one of those profile shots showing off my new silhouette cause it is crazy. I'm very intrigued and amused and afraid and in awe of my little morphing body. It's amazing what we women-folk are engineered to do (well, I guess the ones among us who choose to and are blessed with the ability to procreate... don't want to step on anyone's toes here...).

In other, non-baby related news, I may join the ranks of the somewhat employed for a few weeks in July. My bosses want to have some summer classes for some of our new, younger company members. As you can probably tell from my last scintillating post, I am really looking forward to the change of pace and to having something meaningful to do with my day. Not that conversations with four legged companions about my opinion of how slimy Wes is on The Bachelorette isn't meaningful, but you get my drift...

heave ho

Here we go. I am going to write a blog entry.

Ready everyone?

I don't know... you don't look ready.

(Ok, took up sufficient space with that... now then...)

But seriously, I don't know what has kept me from blogging of late. I kept coming to the page and even sometimes clicking on the "new post" link, and then I would stare at the blinking cursor for a few minutes before shaking my head and going back to facebook. Once I even typed a few sentences! It could be that my life is simply not very blog-worthy right now. While I have enjoyed the break from teaching and the flexibility to make plans whenever I want, I have to admit that the unemployed lifestyle is a bit monotonous. My day usually starts off something like this:

9:30am - Wake up and try to force myself to sleep a little bit longer, cause really, what else is there to do in the morning? Not to mention I want to take advantage of the ability to sleep in for these last few months before it can never happen again.

9:45am - Finally succumb to the dogs staring at me plaintively from their kennels and my own need to visit the restroom and haul myself out of bed.

9:50am - Pick out the days pair of stretchy pants. Ah, pregnancy.

10am- Wrangle the dogs, feed the dogs, spend some time talking to the dogs.

10:30am- Computer time begins. This can last for a while. There are facebook status changes to make, blogs to read, emails to check, youtube videos to watch. If there are episodes of The Bachelorette (or Here Come the Newlyweds... or Lost... or Cupid...) to catch up on, that can be my entire morning. Sad? Maybe. But plenty of people waste away the summer watching bad TV. Right? RIGHT?

And then I usually invent some errands to run or brave the heat and take the dogs to the park. Lately I've been spending some time at the pool in the afternoons when it is just to hot to do anything else. Oh and I can do laundry now since we have a washer and dryer, so that's always exciting. Or dishes. If I'm lucky I have an obedience class in the evening or a doctor's appointment in the afternoon...

Oh, I'm sorry. You've fallen asleep. See what I mean?

Well, lucky for you, blogfans, I am going to the beach this weekend. This makes you lucky for two reasons: 1) I will be unable to blog for that period of time since the beach house is a place of no internet (and after this entry, you will probably be ok with that...), and 2) Interesting things happen on vacation! So I might have stories to share with you! And there might be pretty pictures! Oh gosh, it's enough to make me want to get up off the couch and dance around... But it's only 11:15. Computer time isn't up yet.

if you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere

Taxi from the airport: $25 and the moments of pure terror that you are about to die in a tragic car accident.

Hostel: $100 a night, the few hours of sleep you lose due to loud Hispanic conversation in the lobby and insistent, OCD, daily morning vacuuming.

Walking over 20 blocks, sometimes in the wrong direction: Free, unless you consider blisters and achy feet a "cost".

Admission to the Natural History Museum: $11 when you buy at the kiosk and say you're a student (cut me some slack... I'm poor).

Meteor hitting the earth: Lots of cool dinosaur bones, but no real dinos. Some things really come with a cost, folks. Like... extinction.


Hot dog at a street vendor outside the museum: $2 for a small, $3 for a jumbo.


Water bottle what will eventually cause the death of a camera: $2, but a lot more than that if you factor in the camera part.

Five of the most beautiful cupcakes ever from Magnolia Bakery: $12.50


Eating those cupcakes: Knowing that you will never again eat a cupcake without remembering how much better these really are than any other cupcake in the world. Sigh. I mean, really. Look how pretty they are.

Tickets at TKTS for a hysterical off-Broadway show recommended by a gay man: $120


Metrocard: $20

Umbrella from a street vendor that only closes when it feels like it... but that you are tremendously thankful for nonetheless: $5 (unless you're Chelsea... and then it becomes $3)

Fake Coach purse from a sketchy Chinese guy's van on Canal Street: $35

Fake Dior sunglasses: $5

Jellyfish appetizer at a Chinese food restaurant: $8

Entrance to MOMA to see paintings covered in bird poop and then discuss what really does make something "art": Free on Fridays!

Sharing a city I love with sisters that I love even more: Definitely priceless.

junebug

Well, kids, I managed to survive the month of May somehow. I'm sitting by the window in my brand spankin' new HUGEMONGOUS bedroom in our brand spankin' new 2 bedroom apartment watching my dogs chew on each other and taking a break from the unpacking/nesting process. On the first day of June! I love the new apartment, but I have not loved the process of moving into it. For those of you who don't know, I am not such a champ at transitioning (ie. change freaks me the heck out). My mother in law- who is, by the by, deserving of some kind of medal after all she did for us this week- and I had a fabulous time painting the bedroom and future nursery and she did a lot of hauling and packing and loading and unloading and errand running on our behalf while she was here, and then Joe had some lovely helpers on Sunday since our dresser is actually made of solid granite, embellished with lead (no, not really, but it is heavy as a... something really heavy... rhino?). So I can not (at all, as Joe reminds me every now and then, as gently as he can) complain about how our move went. We were so blessed by the number of people who were willing to pitch in and get it all done, especially since I am so sadly unable to lift heavy things due to my delicate condition. (HA- suckers.) So everything is here rather than there and that, I suppose, is the main goal of moving. However, friends, I do not enjoy living in a house that looks very much like a storage facility. I'm a big fan of nesting. I like picture frames to be on surfaces rather than in hampers strewn about the living room. I like books stacked on shelves, not on the floor. I like clothes in drawers, not Rubbermaid tubs. So I stand in the middle of my new apartment, surveying my new territory, surrounded by all of the stacks and piles and boxes of things that need to find a new home in our new home... and I feel an unmistakable urge to run screaming from the building. Or cry. Maybe both. Because if I want any nesting to be done, I have to be the one to do it. (Joe's not much of a nester... he just brings in the worms.) So, that is the plan for today and tomorrow. After a week or so of packing, it is now time to UNpack and and create the second home for my little family.

Speaking of the family, the dogs love the new apartment. Must be the 400 extra square feet and the windows looking out into the parking lot.

Oh, and Wednesday morning I fly to New York City with my sisters until Sunday.

Oy.

irony

I was going to take a picture... actually, I DID take a picture of how ridiculous my living room looks right now. Just being in here is making me feel all twitchy. I can't really attribute this feeling to the pregnancy, because I'm pretty sure I would feel this way regardless, but I doubt all of these hormones that are making me want to nest and sort and clean help any. So I was sitting here looking at the explosion of crap that is my home at this moment and I thought "I should document this and share it with my adoring fans".

Then I went into my computer junk drawer to get the hook-up cable for my digital camera and remembered that it is packed and buried somewhere in one of the multitudes of white plastic hampers lining the periphery of the room. And I do not feel like hunting that little booger down. Cause that process of moving and rifling and digging through things would make everything look even worse in here, if possible.

So, sorry fans. No picture for you.

movin' on up

My mom came up to Athens with me this Sunday to help us begin the process of moving. Now, mind you, we don't actually move (like... take our stuff from one house to another... you know... the typical moving situation) until next week. But for such a small apartment, we have managed to accumulate a lot of stuff. Fortunately for us, my mother is a master sorter/packer. So we sorted. We made piles of trash, piles for our "swap party" that we are going to host in June, piles to move when we get our keys on Tuesday, piles to take to Goodwill. We managed to get through the entire living room, kitchen, bathroom, and even some of our terrifying closets in just one afternoon. After we had exhausted our floor space (and our motivation), we decided that we had done enough for the day. I feel alot better about the progress that Joe and I will be able to make on our own next week (since I can't do a whole lot of heavy lifting) before we have the help of my family and maybe some kind friends (we'll feed you... and give you beer...) on Sunday. But of course Joe decided while I was gone for the week (I decided to come home with Mom so that he could study and I could head down to the beach early with them tomorrow) that he should get a loveseat from some of his friends and stick it in the living room amongst all of the hampers, baskets, boxes, and trash bags that I am fairly certain he has not taken out. So now we have even less floor space... and even more to move. I haven't seen how he managed to get the loveseat in our living room, but I am so glad to not be living in that room right now. Fortunately, when I get back to Athens we will be getting the keys to our new place so we can get some of our cra... ahem... beloved belongings out of one tiny space and into one slightly larger space. With a nursery!

Speaking of which, Mom and I have done some fabric shopping for said nursery while I've been home. I had been thinking about doing a pretty conservative, neutral, calming yellow and grey color theme... and then I saw this fabric grouping that I fell in love with. And it is not grey. Or yellow. Or calm, for that matter. It is actually turquoise and lime green. And I love it. Check out this nursery... now, the paint color is a lot more extreme than I am going to do, but I think the room is so much fun. And we Caldwells are nothing if not fun.