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?  

 

Project 365: Day 367- December 2nd

Today marks being 22 weeks pregnant :) 5 1/2 months. Can you believe that? Time is flying, but it seems as though it's going slow just the same! However, we have so much to get done for our little girl, so I'm glad we have about 18 weeks left! :)
Here is our full body shot:

And an upclose belly shot (with my shirt down hehe)

And an upclose belly shot (with my shirt up lol)

Let me tell you-- that little girl is growing by leaps and bounds... and she already has a personality of her own, I swear, haha! She's stubborn, we've seen that! If you poke her, she retaliates with about 10 kicks. If someone puts their hand on her (other than myself), she will immediately stop kicking and only start again when she is sure it's her mom's hands. LOL People are going to start thinking I'm insane that she actually kicks and you can see it/feel it because she won't show anyone else. haha! But gosh, I'm so in love with her! About 18-ish more weeks and we can meet her!
Tayler and I were starving today (as we always are, haha) so, we packed up and headed to meet Papaw Brian and Gigi for lunch at Tom's Ice Cream Bowl :) It was SO good. I got a hamburger with lettuce, onion, mayo, and mustard and shoestring fries with a slice. SUPER yummy! Here's a picture of mom, dad, and me :)

We had so much fun! I really miss hanging out with these two like we used to, but I guess that's part of growing up, right? If you're still living at home with your parents-- ENJOY IT. I promise, you think "Oh, I can't wait to get out on my own.." and then it happens... and you move 40 minutes away and see them about 2x a week if you're lucky, and you really start to miss the little things-- dinners, movie nights... Just enjoy every second you have :) 
I headed home jamming to some Christmas music I downloaded and waited for Ethan to come home. He went hunting and guess what? HE GOT A DEER! He was so proud, hehe, and I was so proud of him! He dropped it off at the processor so we should be getting trail bologna and jerky in the near future :) Once he got home, we watched "The Santa Clause" for awhile.... (one of my favorite Christmas movies!)

And after about an hour of watching that, we flipped over to the Heat/Cavs game. And WOW, was that an intense game. You'd think it were the NBA finals, haha! Heat pulled out a win..

Cheers to Project 365!

Project 365: Day 366- December 1st

December 1st, 2010 brought SNOW!! :) Yes, we woke up to our first layer of snow this season this morning :) How beautiful! I absolutely love the snow (except when I'm driving in it of course, haha!) But it's amazingly gorgeous! It snowed on and off all day--- BEAUTIFUL.

It was a light dusting, but... it snowed none the less :)

After seeing the snow, I decided to stay warm inside :) I worked on some things around the house, wrapped a few presents, did the icky dishes, and watched some re-runs of "The Office" hehe! Ethan finally came home and was rushing around so he could go hunting! 

Yeah, he was totally stoked haha! But unfortunately, his gun didn't work when he saw a doe (poor fella) so he came home really disappointed. So, we went and bought some bread for my lunch tomorrow, grabbed some McDonalds, ate while watching a game show, then he headed to the gym. Once he got home, we decided to play some putt-putt on the Wii hehe!

And Tayler joined us, haha :) 

Cheers to Project 365! (is it still Project 365? How about Project 730? LOL)

Project 365: Day 365- November 30th

Yes, you read that correctly.
Today is day 365 of Project 365. Crazy, huh? I have been doing this every single day for an entire year. Honestly, when I started this project, I didn't quite know if I'd make it the WHOLE time. I have a habit of starting something and not finishing. *Oops* But I really fell in love with the idea, not to mention the support was absolutely amazing through it :) 
I took some time to look back through the pictures of the past few year. I saw the day I met Ethan (December 26th, 2009)... I saw the day I got my diploma for my Bachelor's degree, I saw the day I found out I was pregnant, I saw the day I found out we were having a little girl and what is amazing is every single day is documented.. not only with pictures, but with words. I love that I can go to any date and see how I spent that day :) I've gained friends and sadly, lost friends. I've attended planned activities and had surprises. It's been such an amazing year and I am truly truly grateful for it.
I haven't decided if I'm going to continue or not. Sadly, I have no more photo space on this blog. So, I either have to pay to have more space or transfer everything to a new site. I'm not sure what I plan on doing yet, but any advice would be amazing :)
And here are some photos from my last day of Project 365:
I spent a greater part of the day today working on Christmas cards! I LOVE the holidays and I LOVE spreading Christmas cheer!! Can't wait to get some stamps and send these puppies out hehe!

It was so much fun! I know that sounds weird-- writing out my own address 30 some times, but I just can't help it! I love knowing that people might just smile when they see these :) 
Ethan came home and we ran some errands, I was CRAVING a baked potato all day long (I made one for breakfast and it was terrible haha!) so I got a baked potato from a local restaurant with cheese, bacon, butter, and sour cream and oh my heavens, it was amazing!! Yum, yum, yum! After dinner, we played a little Wii-- "Minigolf" ohh yeah :) It was suppose to be a Christmas gift for Ethan, but we were super bored last night, so I let him open it so we could play, haha! Here Ethan is playing:

And here I am in my peejays! LOL

We had a fun evening hehe! We ended the night feeling Tayler kick up a storm! She was  partying in the womb last night haha! :)
Cheers to Project 365!

Project 365: Day 364- November 29th

Oh, I knew it was going to be a long day today, haha! Unfortunately, the Thanksgiving weekend made me a terrible procrastinator which meant I did not clean and I did not do any homework whatsoever, haha! So, the first task this morning was working on my project for class. Once I finished that, it was time to clean this house (which included a HUGE load of dishes and 2 loads of laundry... *sigh*) I definitely shouldn't have procrastinated, that's for sure! I did the living room, sat down and enjoyed a yummy snack (PB&J) hehe! And got started on the bathroom. Finished the bathroom, relaxed, swept the hallway, relaxed, cleaned our room, relaxed... and it was at this point I was literally exhausted. Felt like I couldn't even keep my eyes open. Thank God I got a small burst of energy and did the dishes and swept and mopped the living room. FINALLY the house was clean :)

And with that small burst of energy, I decided to start supper--- homemade broccoli and cheese soup and veggie pizza. I am not a fan of veggie pizza, so I just ate the broccoli and cheese soup with french bread. It was scrumptious if I do say so myself :)

Ethan finally got home from hunting and he enjoyed lots of veggie pizza and 2 bowls of broccoli and cheese soup haha! He loves that stuff ;)

During my day of doing things at home, I watched "The Office: Season 6." I'm almost done with all of the seasons, whoohoo! How exciting, right? :)

And since I was watching season 6... it meant I was watching Pam & Jim's wedding which I COMPLETELY bawled through!! "Forever" was like the perfect song for that part of the episode *sigh* And just how Jim takes care of her wants... gah, touched my heart :)

And I thought I'd do a belly shot just because I was wearing the shirt I was wearing in my 5 weeks pregnant shirt shot and I wanted to show the comparison, haha!! Here's almost 5.5 months:

And here's 5 weeks pregnant:

And I was exhausted by the end of the night, so we crashed early!

Cheers to Project 365!

Project 365: Day 363- November 28th

Woke up this morning rather early and relaxed as I always do on Saturday mornings-- listening to the top 20 countdown on VH1 :) Yes, I watch this every Saturday morning and absolutely love it hehe! My favorite song right now is "For the First Time" by The Script. If you haven't heard it, listen below and enjoy!

After that, I got ready and headed to meet my momma at the mall :) When we first got there, the stores we wanted to go to weren't open yet, so we grabbed some Wendys. Yes, I was craving it, haha! :) And after that, our stores finally opened! Mom was returning something at JcPenneys so I just looked around and guess what mom showed me? Baby clothes! She knows better than to do that, let me tell you! LOL So, of course, I had to buy her a few things:

(How cute is this little jumper?? I'm thinking this might be her coming home outfit with a long sleeved onesie, leggings, and shoes.. we'll see!)

(and how could I pass this up?? she does love her mommy, hehe!)
And since I am always buying things for others lol, I talked myself in to buying a maternity shirt for myself! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Almost 5.5 months pregnant here. So exciting and so crazy, haha! Time is FLYING! lol
After that, I went to a few more stores and bought a few items for Ethan for Christmas :) He's so spoiled, haha! I really hope he likes them-- I'm sure he will *wink wink* hehe!
I finally got home and cuddled up with the bored, whiney boy (Ethan) haha! I don't know how he ever survived before I came along, honestly. But he soon headed out to meet some friends at Subway for lunch since I already ate and he went to fix his muzzleloader since he's start hunting tomorrow. I wrapped his presents while he was gone :) whooo-hooo! 
Later on that night, I met Ethan's father for the first time. How cool is that? :) And then, we cuddled up and watched some of "The Office" AND "The Wizard of Oz"

and Ethan bought me a present---

I LOVE LOVE LOVE candles and he knows that-- look how many he bought me!! haha!! I won't be running out any time soon, bless his heart :) He's so good to me!
Cheers to Project 365!

Project 365: Day 362- November 27th

Saturdays for us have been very relaxed here lately. Ethan wasn't feeling the greatest the night before (running a fever, upset tummy, etc.) so I let him sleep in and I watched some music videos on VH1 and watched my daughter move around in my tummy. Okay, so her movements aren't as visible as a 35 week old baby right now, haha, but you can see her kicks :) So, I took a short video of this. Really, you can only see her kicks at the beginning of the video (first 10-15 seconds) and they are on the left side of my tummy, so pay attention :)

After that, we "wrapped" a few more Christmas presents. Ethan went Christmas shopping for me with TJ the night before, so he wrapped my presents and I wrapped up Susan and Carol's. Look at our tree now!

We are wrapping a few at a time... just spreading the Christmas cheer a little bit more, hehe! And after we wrapped our presents, it was time for the OHIO STATE VS. MICHIGAN GAME!

I will say, at first I was getting ticked because it seemed like Ohio State did not even show up. That always frustrates me. Michigan has one of the worst defenses in the Big 10 and we were letting them walk all over us. But FINALLY, the Buckeyes made their appearance known. One thing that was ticking me off today during this game?? The "unsportsman-like conduct" calls. What in the heck was the point of that? Man, got my blood pressure up, haha!! But we won nonetheless :)
After the game, Ethan and I took a nap (we were wore out from that game LOL) and when we woke up, we ordered some pizza and snuggled up to watch "Home Alone 4" and "Home Alone 3." I LOVE this time of year :)

Cheers to Project 365!!