Project 365: Day 369- December 4th

I am 22 weeks 2 days pregnant today... and so I wanted to document that WITH my new shirt that I bought :) I absolutely love that little baby bump, let me tell you! :) hehe!

I hung around the house today while Ethan was hunting, but guess what he brought home to me??

Yes, he must REALLY love me, huh? hehe! I was SO happy and SO excited, so yes... that is what we watched yesterday. Well, I take that back-- I watched it once by myself, then Ethan and I watched it together :) hehe! He actually liked it-- I think it was all the fighting, haha!

After that we got ready and we went to the Christmas parade here in town. We stayed in my car because it was oh so cold, haha! But we had fun :) Here is our little photoshoot. HEY-- we got bored, haha!

And yes, I took a few pictures of the floats, but they aren't very good because it was dark and there were NO lights but the lights on the floats themselves, LOL

 (That's Santa up there ^)
and after the parade, we drove up to Columbus to my brother's girlfriend's apartment and had dinner there with my brother, his girlfriend, her roommate, and her fiance :) Marie made us baked macaroni and cheese, a type of fried chicken, salad, and cornbread muffins! It was SUPER yummy! We had such a good time :) After dinner, they took us to this little ice cream shop. I got some sherbert.. Cranberry! It was SO good. We tried to get a picture of us by the lights, but I had to set the camera on a rock, hit the timer.. it was dark.. it's a blurry pic, but it's a good memory :)

Cheers to Project 365!

December 4th- WONDER

December 4 – Wonder.
How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
(Author: Jeffrey Davis)

Starting traditions. I never really thought about the traditions that my boyfriend and I would create and pass on to our children. Then, we found out we were expecting (yes, all of these have been about our sweet, precious baby. She has rocked our world) and now, I sit wondering what we want to teach her, what we want to incorporate in our lives, during our holidays, etc. For Halloween, we decided to pass out candy and we want to continue doing that each year until Tayler is old enough to take around :) For Thanksgiving, we started a tradition of going to my parents house and his mom's house. And we are still figuring out all of the Christmas details :) So far, we have got a tree, decorated it, purchased a stocking tree, and bought stocking stuffers. We want to continue these traditions with Tayler as she gets old. She (in all her little beauty) has created and cultivated a sense of wonder in every aspect of our lives.

December 3rd- MOMENT

December 3 – Moment.
Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).
(Author: Ali Edwards)

October 23rd, 2010. I woke up very early this morning (I'd say around 6AM.) I was too excited to sleep. I grabbed some blue berry toaster streudels, threw them in the toaster, poured a glass of orange juice, pushed the lever on the toaster one more time (I like my toaster streudels extra crispy), picked them up, put them on a plate, sat down on my favorite part of the couch (the side with the recliner), and watched some television. About 9AM, my boyfriend finally rolled out of bed, grabbed some breakfast, and joined me in watching "Hocus Pocus." After this was finished, I grabbed a shower using my vanilla body wash, shaved, curled up hair, pulled on my light blue jeans, my blue tank top, and my gray sweater. It was a little snug in the tummy area, but it was working for me-- I was freezing! My boyfriend got ready and we left our house at 12:30PM to meet my parents at the down-town library at 1:00PM. We had about an hour drive ahead of us... I was so anxious. I was so excited. I had to pee. I drank about 3 bottles of water in the span of an hour... and yes, we had to stop at a McDonalds because I thought I was going to burst! The car ride was noisy-- it was full of chatter. You could tell EVERYONE was anxious and nervous! :) And about 2PM... we FINALLY arrived. Where? Our 3D/4D ultrasound place. We were finding out the sex of our baby. I was 16 weeks and 2 days pregnant and it was time. They told us not to be a minute late... we were right on time. They were an hour behind of schedule. Story of our lives, I tell you! haha! My mom, dad, brother, boyfriend, boyfriend's brother, and boyfriend's brother's girlfriend sat in the waiting room for what seemed like forever. I was fanning myself with a paper... being anxious makes me hot. We could hear other people finding out what they were having and the screams of a lady who was told she was having triplets. And FINALLY, they called our name. We went back into a cozy, dim-lit room. There was a huge couch, a futon-type bed next to the ultrasound machine, and a flat screen TV on the wall. I took off my shoes, got comfy on the bed.. and here the ultrasound technician came walking in. I grabbed my boyfriend's hand. We were so anxious. She squirted the hot ultrasound ointment on my tummy, grabbed the nifty wand they use, and we were ready to go. Oh, our baby was moving everywhere! She asked me what I'd drank before I came-- I said water. She said "Oh Lord, I would have thought you drank tons of caffeine." Nope, my baby just has a lot of energy, haha! And about 2 minutes later, she started typing the words on the screen...

It's a...................

GIRL!

Yes, on October 23rd, 2010 we found out we were having a precious baby girl. And she was healthy. And growing wonderfully. We breathed a sigh of relief. I have never felt more alive than I did in that very moment. I know seeing her will be an even more incredible experience, but finding out WHO that person was inside of me was AMAZING.. it changed my life.

December 2nd- WRITING

What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
(Author: Leo Babauta) 

 Honestly-- everything I do each day contributes to my writing. If you read my blog, you'll see that I write about my day, every day. Every single thing that I do (okay... maybe not EVERY single thing that I do ;)) gets written about. I take inspiration to write other blogs from phone conversations, commercials, TV shows, etc. I believe any writer can find inspiration during any activity throughout their day... if they'll only allow themselves.

December 1st- ONE WORD.

I have to catch up since I just found out about "Reverb 10" so here goes!  

   December 1 - One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell) SURPRISES.
Yes, I think that word pretty well encapsulates this year. Why? Because after a bad string of luck in the dating department, I found my soul-mate. Honestly, I always sat and wondered when the searching would end. You know? I knew in the back of my head that one day, I had to just "get it right..." but when? I thought I had it right in 2009, but turns out--- I didn't. Then he walked in to my life... SURPRISE!
and wherever your soul-mate is, true love soon follows... and true love brings... A BABY. Yes, on July 29th, 2010 I found out we were expecting. SURPRISE! I was a nervous wreck to tell my family.. a nervous wreck to be pregnant, but there was no turning back, hehe!
For the entire first trimester, I thought I was having a baby boy. Just a "gut instinct." On October 23rd, 2010, we found out we were having a BABY GIRL. SURPRISE!
Yes, this year has been full of surprises! 
For 2011-- the word I want encapsulated is: THANKFULNESS. Our baby girl is due April 7th, 2011. My book is due to be published in June 2011. I just want to see my blessings and be thankful! 

 

Project 365: Day 368- December 3rd

I went grocery shopping with my momma today. I probably spent entirely too much money on food, but who are we kidding? You can NEVER spend too much money on food, haha! I had to open a bag of pretzels through the store I was SO hungry LOL Grocery shopping just isn't the best thing for a pregnant woman to be doing, haha! Just being honest here. I even ate before I left. Sheesh. But EVERYTHING STILL looked good :) Story of my life, haha! Can you tell what my breakfast craving is?

Yes... TOASTER STREUDELS. Amazing invention! :) 
And while there, I also picked up another shirt to fit over this ever- growing belly of mine, haha!

I'm so beyond excited to wear it :) 
And I picked up some jewelry to wear to Ethan's company Christmas party. I'm totally not dressing Christmas-y. At this point in my life, I care more about COMFORT. haha! So, I'm wearing a teal shirt, black dress pants, and black flats from Target. I'll take pics of the outfit when the time comes, but here is the necklace I bought. 

I am so excited to wear it :) 
Once I got home from grocery shopping, I unloaded the groceries and Ethan and I enjoyed 2 subs from Tim Hortons. We LOVE the chicken salad subs on toasted wheat bread. Yum! Then we cuddled up (with our new mattress pad on our bed!) and watched "The Polar Express" -- another one of my FAVORITE Christmas movies!

Cheers to Project 365! 

 

Christmas Music

Since Christmas is a mere 23 days away (including today of course!) I decided once a day I am going to talk about something that has to do with Christmas... it's time to transform this blog into an even more personal blog as opposed to just posting pictures for my Project 365-- errr... Project 730? haha! So, today-- my top 5 FAVORITE Christmas songs. Ready. Set. Go.
1. Where Are You Christmas- Faith Hill: From the film "How The Grinch Stole Christmas." I swear, this song warms my heart every single time I hear it. Definitely put this on your Christmas playlist!
2. All I Want For Christmas Is You- Mariah Carey: This song is a must-have on your Christmas playlist even if you aren't waiting for someone to come home. It has an amazing beat-- it's my ring tone on my phone right this very minute. Enjoy it! :)
3. Grown-Up Christmas List- Amy Grant: I cry every single time I hear this song. The words are captivating. They will make you think about your life, about the world, about your desires, your wants. I definitely recommend listening to it.
4. Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)- Amy Grant: Beautiful. It gives you a wonderful perspective of how Mary must have felt. It's an amazing song. I get chills every single time I hear it.
5. Baby It's Cold Outside- Jessica Simpson/Nick Lachey: This is the only version I have of this song, but seriously-- any version of this song is amazing! Ethan and I joke around singing this back and forth to each other all the time. It has a catchy tune and I can't help but think of "Elf" every single time I hear it hehe!


What are your Christmas-Playlist-MUST HAVES?