Rogue Beagle

Making over the world's ugliest mailbox

2011-08-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

Our house is 65 years old (to be exact). I think this mailbox has probably been around since the house was built. I don't have a "before" picture, but it shows much wear and tear. You can sort-of see it here. It's basically a standard, metal, dented US mailbox. Add to that that it is standing on a metal pipe (yes, pipe) that is cemented into the ground, meaning that if we were going to replace this mailbox, we'd have to dig it out, possibly requiring a jackhammer. No thanks.

But it is really ugly due to the fact that the pipe it's standing on is bent at a 30-degree angle. It's an eyesore. So I thought I'd try and apply some makeup, so to speak. First I spray painted the pole (pipe), flag, and handle black, then spray painted the rest of it red to match our front door and shutters. Then I had my sister cut some vinyl stickers of our address, and I

applied them. I really like how it's turned out. Certainly not the world's best-looking mailbox, but it's not quite as awful as it was before.

Sweet Sixty Bash

2011-08-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, my sister and I threw a birthday party for my mom. Everything went really smoothly and we all had a wonderful time. Thanks to mom and dad who were a huge help, very good sports, and held the party at their house. I wanted to share some photos of the party, since I'm continuing with the "craft" theme on the blog for now.

A relative of mine made the cake for the party, and I have to say: it was the highlight of the night. She owns a cake decorating business in Spokane called Cupity Cake Bouquets, and I would highly recommend her. The cake was three scrumptious flavors, and the design was something I found online and thought would be fitting in our "hot pink and black" theme.

I made this banner, which I found on the Martha Steward DIY Weddings website.

Props to my sister who used her new Silhouette machine to make these utensil holders and photo frame decor.

Here is a photo of the food table.

And of course, the guest of honor. Happy Birthday, momma!

How Great, indeed.

2011-07-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

I have a handful of hymns that I sing to Isaac at bedtime every night. How Great Thou Art is one of the more frequented. I know Isaac likes when I sing to him, but I can't help wishing that my rendition sounded more like this.

This video makes me cry.

What would you pay for 2 extra hours of sleep?

2011-07-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about our house is the big windows in every room. I've lived in places that feel dark with teeny windows, and I love the light and open feeling in our house. That said, this environment is not conducive for toddler sleep, especially in June when the sun rises at 4 a.m.

I am not okay with getting up at 4 a.m. Hence, the need for blackout curtains in Isaac's room. These were pretty simple to make, the tabs on top being by far the most challenging and time-consuming portion. I just bought fabric and blackout fabric, stitched them together, and added tabs. They've worked pretty well so far! I'd say total price for the project was around $20, a bargain for two extra hours of sleep.

"Boob lights"

2011-05-16T14:14:00.000-07:00

Is it PC to call these boob lights? That seems to be what everyone calls the budget-basement contractor favorite light fixtures that are in every non-updated house I've ever seen. They're everywhere, the boob lights! Our house has five of them, and they were hard to ignore in their polished brass, 80's glory.

But I didn't have the budget or the knowledge to replace all five of them, so I thought I would try the Krylon metallic finishes spray paint. Let me tell you, the process was not without challenges. first I tried to completely remove the fixtures from the ceiling so I could take them outside to spray and avoid the fumes. That resulted in me realizing that there was no way I trust myself to turn off the power, unhook the wiring, and put it all back together in working fashion. But then reaffixing the fixtures to the ceiling proved to be quite complicated and required Jeremy's help (he was thrilled!).

So I painted the living room and bedroom fixtures with Oil-Rubbed Bronze spray paint, and did the kitchen and bathroom in Brushed Nickel, to match the existing fixtures. The ceiling around this ORB light needs some touch-up, but I like the way it looks!

Kid Rock

2011-05-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

For my next "crafty" post, I want to show off the child's rocking chair makeover I just finished. I bought this mini antique rocker at a garage sale for $3. The woman I bought it from said it had been in her family since her Grandmother, and her grandchildren had used it, so she estimated 5 generations. It must be well-built, because it was well-worn but sturdy. Here is the before picture. The canvas fabric was pretty gross.

To refinish the chair, I sanded it, primed it (twice), and spray painted it white (twice). I added foam and batting to the seat, and covered it in fabric. A note about my fabric choice - I originally (painstakingly) chose a gorgeous Amy Butler fabric from Fabric.com, which came and was beautiful, but was definitely not home decor fabric (oops), so it wasn't quite heavy enough for this project. So I just ran to Joann's because I was sick of being patient, and picked out a fabric that would work. Gender neutral, bright, and coordinates with white. I think this fabric is ok, but certainly wasn't my first choice. In case you're curious, this was my first choice.

If you look at the "before," I didn't think the back looked very comfortable, so I wrapped and weaved some jute webbing and put quilt batting over that. However, since I didn't really have a frame to staple fabric onto on the back, I settled for making a slipcover. Here it is, with three buttons. This is handy if the back ever gets dirty, but I can honestly see the seat getting dirty much before the back ever would.

To round things out, here are some photos shot by the "momperazzi" of the chair being used.

Reading

Food on the face

Ready to get down

Getting down (so cute)

Back up

Rocking chair = Jungle gym

She's craftay

2011-05-06T14:08:00.001-07:00

Or, at least trying to be! Since I DO realize that it has been over a month since I've posted on the blog, I thought I'd do a little series of posts about the crafts/home updates I've been working on. Some are more exciting than others. I thought I'd post this little Easter project first, since it will quickly become outdated.

This is an Easter egg garland that I made out of paint chips from Walmart. It cost $0 because I already had kitchen twine. I still haven't taken it down, because it's Springy and cheery and colorful (which the weather is not!).

One

2011-03-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

Happy First Birthday to Isaac Raymond Wang! He turned 1 yesterday and we had a little party for him. It was so much fun and he was such a good sport, despite being tired, sick, and cranky. So many people came and loved on my little man. He (we) are so blessed. Here are some pictures.

A project

2011-03-20T10:41:00.001-07:00

I read a lot of design and crafting blogs. This leads to obsessions over things like reupholstering an old chair, which I wouldn't necessarily call healthy. Anyway, after reading about a lot of before/after chair projects on Design Sponge, I was inspired to find an old chair and reupholster it. Since I hadn't done this before, I went in search of an "easy" side chair for my living room, to replace my husband's (broken) college futon, which we rarely sit on.

I found my chair at the Salvation Army in Moscow for $16. It had black legs and navy velour fabric. It had been recovered once, and really not well. Here is the before. As you can see, the back was falling off. Sorry for the low-quality pictures, our camera battery died, and we have a new one on order. These are phone pics.

Underneath the velour I found a layer of 60's upholstry fabric, probably the original, cream and faded red. Note all the staples on the ground!

Under the red fabric was the original padding, which was in fairly good shape, so I decided to re-use it, and just add some fresh foam and batting to provide additional padding. I also added foam and batting to the back. Sorry, I didn't take photos after I added padding.

I learned a lot in this process! Primarily, I learned that I really enjoy reupholstering chairs. This is good news, because I have a lot of leftover materials (foam, batting, tack tape, staples, etc.). So if I find another chair with good bones, I can do another one, and maybe sell it?

Here is the after. I painted the legs white, found the fabric on sale at Joann's, and tufted fabric-covered buttons, and everything! I even did a "real" upholstry job on the bottom (no pic) and the back. I'm very pleased with the outcome, and Jeremy says it passes the living-room test.

Mr. Personality

2011-02-26T18:42:00.001-08:00

An afternoon on the couch at home. Don't mind the Christmas pajamas!

A boy and his truck

2011-02-02T21:13:00.001-08:00

After weeks (months?) of watching the baby play with momma's makeup, hair brushes, and combs, which happen to be in a highly accessible baby-height drawer, Isaac's dad will be very happy to see him doing something manly - being totally engrossed in his toy truck. :)

2011

2011-01-21T09:42:00.000-08:00

A belated Happy New Year!

With a new year comes a lot of little minor changes, mostly for the better!

I have a new boss (same job, just reassigned to a new person) and I'm liking the change. I also have a new, purple, android phone, which I love. I also have the free photoshop app, which I've been having fun playing with, despite taking way too few photos of my precious (TEN MONTH OLD) little man. Here's an example. Pardon the blurriness - still getting used to the camera on

the new phone.

Isaac is really fun right now - moving constantly! He's really on the go, and must explore every inch of every new environment. Which is fine at home and at daycare, but not so great when we're say, in Costco, where the floors are less than sanitary. He got a little cranky when I wouldn't let him crawl around on the floor of the bathroom and the vision center.

He's also in a phase right now where he's up one or two times a night... Not my favorite thing, but not the end of the world either. I think we're going to bump his bedtime back by a half hour, to see if being a little more tired helps. Methinks it's just a phase.

Jeremy also got a promotion (Assistant Athletic Director) which came with a small raise, which he's very modest and quiet about, owing to the budget cuts and layoffs in higher education. I think he deserves it. But I guess I'm biased. :)

Also, speaking of the husband, he and Isaac are two peas in a pod. Here's a photo to prove it:

For Your Enjoyment

2010-12-17T13:53:00.000-08:00

I have seen bits and pieces of this new NBC show, "The Sing Off." It's an all vocal show - no music tracks or instruments behind the singing groups. So they're all acapella. This video is of a group of guys from the University of Oregon. Of course I was pre-disposed to hate them. But this performance is so much fun, and they're so talented, that I can't help myself - I love them. Enjoy.

Smug much?

2010-11-19T08:21:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while, mostly because there's a lot going on. Ha, listen to me - complaining about how busy I am even before the Holidays start. I'll be eating my words (and a whole lot of turkey) a week from now!

Things have been really fun around our house, since Isaac has started to:

- Crawl. He's still pretty slow, but gets around really well. It's fun to sit across the room and watch him crawl his way over to me.

- "Talk." He says "mama," although I'm fairly certain he has no idea what it means. It mostly happens when he's frustrated, so maybe he is trying to communicate something.

- Pull up to standing. I'm amazed at how good he is at this! I would have a picture, but the only time we've taken a photo of him pulling up, he was buck naked pulling up on the bathtub, to see the water running into it. I'm sure 15-year-old Isaac will appreciate my not posting a naked picture on public Internet domain.

It is really strange and unusual to feel so incredibly proud of my little man for achieving these things. They are of course totally normal baby developments. It would be an issue if he was not starting to do these things. But I have this complete sense of pride and joy when I see him do them, or demonstrate them for other people, or when I tell people what he's up to and learning. I'm sure this is just the beginning (wait until he WALKS and TALKS and BECOMES THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES), but I'm very smug about my super strong, genius baby.

From the Totally Unrelated Items category, here's a good post on parenthood: http://alphamom.com/your-life/postpartum/a-dozen-or-so-somewhat-shocking-revelations-about-motherhood/

I did #13 yesterday. Gross.

Fall Family Fun

2010-10-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

1. Reeeelaaaaaaxed on Friday night.

2. Moscow Farmer's Market with a friend on Saturday morning. It's definitely "late Fall" now, because it was COLD and RAINY and the wares for sale have started to dwindle. Mostly gourds, apples, root veggies, and potatoes. But even the rain couldn't damper the fun and enthusiasm I feel about going to the market on Saturday mornings. This time we got to go with my friend Kathy.

3. Back home for a nap and some chores.

4. Idaho Vandal Football at the Kibbie Dome. They trounced New Mexico State and Isaac made it all the way to the 4th quarter before "losing it."

5. Jeremy gets home from working the game and I take off for Craft Night with the girls. I stayed out until 11:00 - which is scandalously late for me!

6. Church on Sunday morning - a huge blessing hearing about a mission trip to Ghana.

7. Back home for a nap and some laundry.

8. Coffee date with a girlfriend at Starbucks.

9. Went with above girlfriend to see the Eugene Ballet's performance of Cinderella. It was very good, but we had some distracting 4-year-old girls directly in front of us who could NOT sit for more than 10 minutes at a time. Ah well. They were pretty cute, decked out in princess Halloween costumes!

I'm loving this Fall so far.

I heart fall

2010-10-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I posted here. But I'm at peace with that, because my five readers know that I'm busy. But I really enjoy documenting our little life, so here are some bullets about what's been going on with us lately:

* Isaac is so fun. Exhausting, stretching, character growing hard work, but SO FUN. Here is a fabulous post on motherhood written by These Little Moments. I think she sums up life with a little baby really well.

* Isaac wakes us up every day with a chorus of grunting and moaning combined with babbling. We always say "there's that gremlin again." This morning he was in his crib chatting to his stuffed gray kitty.

* Early fall has been glorious here on the Palouse. So pretty, with cool mornings, and warm, sunny afternoons. The leaves in our front yard are falling like crazy, just like every year, but the sweet neighbor girl raked them up yesterday for a nominal fee. She's very industrious.

* Jeremy got a new phone - an HTC Evo, and I'm quite jealous. (drama-queen warning) Also he's still trying to figure it out so I don't really talk to him anymore.

* Isaac has begun army-crawling. (see how I'm breaking up the baby talk with other things? I'm so well-rounded. ha.)

* The new job is good. My favorite thing about it is that at 4:30 every day, I just forget about it completely until 8:00 the next morning.

* Isaac had his first fever (brought on by teething, along with a nasty diaper rash. Thank you, Internet, for helping me stay calm and explaining symptoms) of 101.6, which only lasted a couple hours. Poor thing, but he seems to be all better now. I did enjoy the extra snuggling while it lasted!

* The Phillies are down 3-2 in the NLCS, which makes for extra-tense evenings in our house. :)

A Little Man

2010-09-23T22:33:00.000-07:00

Today I found myself thinking - "Man, I sure wish my friends would update their blogs more often. I want to know what's going on with them." And then I realized how hypocritical that was, since I haven't posted in two weeks. Ah well.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll be posting more later, but I've started my new job (it's challenging and a really good fit for me), Isaac has started daycare (had a rough first week but is doing much better now) and life is chugging right along. Being a stay-at-home mom is tough, but so is being a working mom! Confirmed: motherhood in general is tough.

That being said, Isaac is an absolute doll. He has turned out to be a picky eater, but he's reluctantly eating pureed veggies, banana, avocado, sweet potato, and even a bite of cornbread. He's also very close to sitting up on his own, and can get on his hands and knees, and rock back and forth, like he'syearning to crawl. He absolutely adores Reggie, and laughs his head off when someone who wasn't paying attention to him looks at him real fast and smiles (including the dog).

Here is a video of Isaac sitting up and playing with blocks, like a bona-fide little boy. The video (which I'm sure will be excruciatingly boring to anyone who's not related to Isaac), is also starring Reggie the Rogue Beagle.

Feeling Domestic

2010-09-07T13:03:00.001-07:00

Last week I had a day where I was feeling very domestic, so I was motivated to make couch pillow covers and cinnamon-swirl bread in one day. The result was some nice new pillows but I am now totally burnt out on being domestic, for at least a month. :)

So, first, the cinnamon bread. I wanted to make this recipe, and I did, but of course it didn't turn out as well as it did on the Pioneer Woman's website. It was yummy, and we made french toast with it the next day (yum). But it took a total of about SIX hours to make. I'm sorry, but no matter how good it was, I don't think I'll spend six hours on it again. Ah well.

I also decided that my couch pillows were in need of some attention since I have a (very sweet, cuddly, loving) Rogue Beagle who drools on them constantly. Gross, right? I even took a picture of the drool-covered maroon pillow to post on here, but decided it was too gross for public consumption. So I deleted it. You can thank me later.

I wanted some pillows that coordinated with the room's color scheme, had a pattern, and a light color. So off I went to the Joann Fabrics home decor section. I found this pattern and loved it, and bought 2.5 yards, which turned out to be exactly the right amount to cover four pillows. (How often does that happen??) I decided to make the covers removable, so I can take them off and wash them when they get covered in drool, instead of raking out the dough for a whole new set of couch pillows every 4-6 months. So I bought three buttons for each pillow. About four hours of sewing and stitching on buttons later, this is the result. I love them!

It's safe to say that Reggie likes them too.

Abundant Harvest

2010-08-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

This year we planted 21 tomato plants. And when I say "we," I mean Jeremy, because all I did was to go crazy and buy too many tomato plants. Our garden is only about 5 ft by 15 ft, so the plants are inevitably planted too close together. Because of that, our soil has been stripped of its nutrients, so while we have tons of tomatoes growing and ripening, only about half of them are edible. The others are either rotten or have white sponge-like texture just inside the skin. Anyway, I LOVE homegrown tomatoes, so I am quite excited about this:

Beagle as Body Pillow

2010-08-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Since I renamed this blog after our Rogue Beagle, I figured I should take a break from all the baby pictures and feature Reggie for once.

A perfect Sunday afternoon - everybody napping except Jeremy (who doesn't believe in naps).

Don't quit your day job (oh wait...)

2010-08-27T09:11:00.001-07:00

So the baby's hair had started to get ridiculously long, and adding that to the huge bald patches he has on the sides and back of his head, he was just looking goofy. Like a half-hearted punk rocker with a faux mohawk. And a rat tail. So I decided to get over the emotionality of the FIRST HAIRCUT and just do it. Like my mom said "It doesn't have to be some big emotional thing." She's right. Document it, and move on. Moms are so wise.

I figured out a few things after this first haircut episode. 1) I am a terrible hairstylist (it's easy to cut too much) and 2) We should cut the baby's hair when he's sleeping, not when he's wide awake, screaming and squirming.

The BEFORE picture. His hair was wet, but that helps you see how long (and mohawk-ish) it was.

The AFTER picture. You can see the huge alligator tear running down his cheek. Why are mom and dad so MEAN???

The remains. Sad little baby hairs.

Cows in the road.

2010-08-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

The other day a friend from church told me about driving from Pullman to Seattle along Hwy 26, and lo and behold, there was a cow in the road. They had to slam on their brakes, and narrowly avoided hitting the cow. Then they had to wait while the cow (slowly) moved out of their way, so they could continue driving.

This doesn't surprise me much, since there are multitudes of grazing cattle along that highway, and it seems natural that occasionally one would escape to try and cross the road. But it did get me thinking about cows in the road - how they are surprising, inconvenient, and unplanned. Prepare yourself for some semi-coherent bumbling.

The Lord puts cows in our road sometimes. If we're not paying attention, plowing along at 65 miles per hour (maybe distracted by clutter, not keeping our eyes on the prize), a cow in our road can really throw us for a loop - literally it could mean rolling your car. Imagine if you were texting while driving and you didn't see that cow until it was too late? I think that could happen in life too. If we're distracted by, well, a distraction, something other than the Glory of God, maybe that cow in our road will really cause problems.

If we're driving defensively, expecting the cow in the road, we're able to keep a cool head when we fly around a corner and see that cow standing there. We can control our vessel, slow down, and wait with grace for the cow that has interrupted our life path. If we keep our eyes on the bigger picture, 1/2 mile down the road, we can more clearly see what's coming and avoid devastation and catastrophe.

Now, I realize I'm speaking as someone blessed enough to never have dealt with a true "cow in the road." I've had a happy, healthy life. My cows have lingered more on the shoulder of the road, causing me to swerve, but not come to a complete screeching halt. I thank the Lord for this every time I remember. But I do trust him, and while it may be easy to say now, I know His plan for me is better than my plan.

The best part is: even if I may not see the cow until it's too late, I will still be held lovingly, to heal, in the palm of the hand of the One.

James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who perseveres under trail, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Hebrews 4:16 - Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Jeremiah 29:11-14 - "I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD. "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity."

My favorite things - Baby edition

2010-08-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

I have already done "My favorite things" posts for summer and winter, so I thought it would be appropriate if I did a baby version. Of course, Isaac is only 4 1/2 months old, so there will surely be lots of things to love in the coming months. But having passed the newborn stage and having starting to get things "figured out," here's some stuff I love. These are things I would advocate to any new mom friends, for sure.

1. Gerber Flannel Burp Cloths - These are by far the most absorbent, best burp cloths we have used. And Isaac is such a spitter, they are an absolute necessity. They also wash really well, and come in boy, girl, and neutral colors.

2. Evenflo Exersaucer - We bought ours used off of Craigslist, which worked out great. When Isaac was about 10 weeks old, he started to get really bored being on his back all the time, and he didn't tolerate tummy time. So even though the Exersaucer is only recommended for babies 4 months and older, we let him use it because he was so strong and had great head control. It was amazing. For the first time, he allowed us to put him down. It was a huge relief for us.

3. Water-filled teething ring - Since Isaac teethed so early (had 2 teeth by 3 1/2 months) it was hard for him to hold onto and control teething toys, because he was still working on hand-to-mouth coordination. So for us, we had to find a small, easy-to-grab teething ring. We used the butterly-shaped one above quite a bit.

4. Baby Einstein Take-Along Tunes - Isaac is obsessed with digital lights. For example, he can see the printer power button from the chair I feed him in. I can't let him see it, though, until he's done eating, because he gets so distracted by it! Sometimes when he sees lights he just SMILES like "This is what I have been waiting all day for!" It's hilarious. This toy not only plays music and lights up, but it plays classical music instead of some obnoxious kiddy song, so it's tolerable for adults too. It's also small enough that he can chew on it to his heart's content. This is my "Go-To" toy that I keep in the diaper bag for when Isaac is fussy in public and I really need to calm

him down fast.

5. Nuby Flip N Sip Cup - Isaac is still working on learning to drink from the sippy cup. But this is the one that was recommended by other moms I know, and I really like it so far. It can close, which is great for the diaper bag. It also has a straw, so baby doesn't have to figure out the mechanics of how to tip the cup upside down to get a drink. I also love the rubber grips on the two handles; they make it very easy to hold.

6. Safety 1st Recline and Grow Feeding Seat - We have a very small house. To add a high chair to our dining room really was not an option. Instead we bought this booster/space saver high chair. It hooks onto a seat, and I adore it. It's easy to clean (the tray can go in the dishwasher) and Isaac likes to sit in it while we eat dinner, even if he's not eating.

7. Graco Snugride 32 Car Seat - I never would have bought a car seat this expensive, except that in order for it to be compatible with the BOB stroller (see #8), we needed to get a specific car seat. The upside to this one is that most infant car seats only go up to 22 lbs. Isaac is about 17 already, and his 8-month old friend is passing the 22 lb marker. The Snugride 32 goes up to 32 lbs. Which means, that I can keep him rear-facing (much safer) and in this seat until he reaches 32 lbs. Here's to not buying a new car seat until Isaac is a year and a half!

8. BOB Revolution Stroller - This was a gift from my mom (thanks, mom!). We had heard that this was the best stroller on the market and worth the extra dough. It's true. This stroller handles like a dream, is easy to pack up, and is comfy for baby. We used the car seat attachment until Isaac was almost 4 months (I believe manufacturer recommendation is 6 months), when he was strong and stable enough to stay supported in just the straps - which are great, by the way. The downside to this stroller is that I had to buy attachments (I got the car seat adapter [$60] and the handlebar console [$30]) but both were worth the money. One mom stopped me on the street the other day and said "Good for you, getting the good gear with your first baby. We

bought the cheap stuff with our first and had to replace it all for babies #2 and 3!"

9. Bumgenius One Size Pocket Diapers - I have loved cloth diapering Isaac. Disposable diapers seem like a waste to me. A waste of money, a waste of landfill space, etc. That being said, I can understand how someone who hates laundry would hate the idea of cloth diapering. Luckily, laundry is my favorite chore. The one-size BG's fit from 7-35 lbs, so they are supposed to fit for the whole time your babies are in diapers, all the way up to potty training. We'll see about that! The elastic and velcro also make these easy as pie for dads and babysitters/nursery/daycare workers etc. I have a stash of 28 diapers, some of which I bought new, some second-hand from EBay or the BG site, and some are called "Haute Pockets," which are a lower-quality (read: cheaper) brand. My goal is to use these for a 2nd baby, so while they were an investment at

first, in the long run they will save gobs of money. *HA! As I sit here typing this, Isaac is in the bouncer next to me pooping into a BG - grunting and all. I'm confident, though, because we have WAY fewer blowouts in the cloth diapers than in the disposables. :)

10. Carter's Sleep Sacks - I like that these are long sleeved so when it's warm out, I can just put Isaac down to bed in this and a diaper. Also, Carter's has been my very favorite brand of baby clothes. Very cute and durable.

The bottom line is that babies are expensive. There's no getting around that. But the market is full of wonderful things that make being a mom smoother and easier. Every baby is different, and like my friend Jessi said, babies don't need too much stuff!

Foray into the world of "food"

2010-07-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

Isaac turned 4 months today (Happy Birthday, baby!), and we got the green-light from the doctor to try infant cereals. These are really thin grain cereals mixed with breast milk, providing a little extra iron to baby, and teaching him "how to eat." Today we tried rice cereal, which is usually the first to try, because it's really easy to digest.

Here's a little photo essay of our attempt.

This is how I knew he was ready to try eating - total fascination when mom and dad eat:

Step 1 - So excited to be in the new high chair and ready to eat!!!

Step 2 - First bite - no idea what's going on, but open to a new experience.

Step 3 - A couple bites in - "Hmmm, okay, this is yummy. Gimme that spoon!!"

Step 4 - "Mommy I am DONE with this. I gave it my best, but I am NOT hungry anymore."

I call the whole experiment a success (for the first try). He definitely needs more practice with this eating thing, but I'm proud of him for trying! I think I should try eating cereal before he gets his bottle - he had just finished eating 5 oz of breast milk when we tried today. I guess it's a learning process for both of us! :)

Just had to share

2010-07-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

This is by far the cutest thing on the Internet. This woman is on maternity leave, and doing the blog as her project. She imagines what her baby girl is dreaming about while she naps, and then creates that scene around her. I could never be this creative or motivated!

Brutal Honesty

2010-07-18T22:57:00.001-07:00

The last four months have been humbling for me. Becoming a mother is humbling - you learn that you don't know everything, can't do everything, and that your baby will be different from the babies in the books and your friends' babies.

I've learned I am a limited person. There's only so much I can handle. Example: the other day, in the afternoon Isaac was on his third or fourth hour of fussing, with very little napping (20

minutes tops?) and I was changing his diaper, and he was just screaming, and I had to take a second to just close my eyes and breathe. I'm working on "resiliency."

Additionally, being laid off (or I guess more accurately, "fired") is quite humbling. And then, being unemployed and job hunting is its own kind of humbling: "Do I meet the minimum requirements?" "Could I handle this job if I were to be hired?" It's difficult to sell myself effectively through countless cover letters.

Fortunately, while I have been humbled (which, I think, was exactly what I needed), I really don't think I'm in a crisis, and I feel very secure in the Lord. I know He will provide! If I'm being honest with myself, I know I never would have quit my old job on my own. So I'm excited to see what His new plan is for me. I also know He won't give me more than I can handle with Isaac.

This sweet, punkin boy. I am so incredibly grateful for my time at home with him. He certainly has challenging days, but he's so snuggly and has the sweetest little giggle. He is almost four months old and is changing so quickly! He has two teeth already (so we've been dealing with the joys of teething) and he's been trying so hard to roll over! Soon I will be buying fleece to protect the new crib from the beaver baby (when he can sit and pull himself up to chew on crib rails)!

If that's not love, folks, I don't know what is

2010-06-29T08:05:00.001-07:00

I love being a mom. I have this fun little guy to hang out with every day. He needs me, and I think I need him too! He has been such a blessing to us, and he's so strong and healthy, I really feel lucky. He's also a trooper - he has been all over the place with us, spending just about as much time away from home lately as at home. First we went to Phoenix for eight days, then we spent a week out at my parents' lake cabin with my sister. This last weekend we were in Spokane and Coeur d'Alene to see family and watch the Ironman race. Isaac has handled most of this extremely well. He adapts really well to new environments, and charms everyone he sees.

BUT (there's always a but, right?) he's in a phase right now where he HATES the car. He'll scream when we get him in his car seat until he runs out of voice or energy. Sometimes this means 10 minutes, other times it means 45. I read in a magazine that when you have a crying infant in your car, your driving skills diminish by 50%. The article suggested that when your baby starts to cry, find a safe place to pull over and attend to him. Well, since Isaac doesn't really "need" anything (he's always freshly fed and diapered), attending to him really wouldn't be much help at all. Plus, we'd never get anywhere. So, I guess the poor little guy will just have to learn to deal with the car.

So on Sunday as we were headed back to Pullman from Spokane, Isaac cried for a few minutes, fell asleep, and slept most of the way in the car, which is wonderful. But then he woke up hungry just as we arrived home. I took him inside and he just started screaming. I mean, full-on, out-and-out, hysterical, I HATE BEING ALIVE screaming. So I changed his diaper. He proceeded to scream, and pee all over me and the nursery. Got the new diaper on, and picked him up to comfort him. More SCREAMING. Then he projectile-vomited, managing to cover himself, me, the dresser, and the carpet in puke. Finally he calmed down with his bottle, and all was right in his world again, but it was one of those 10-minute parenting snapshots that you wish you could videotape and show to high school kids as teen pregnancy prevention education.

I would not endure 45-minute car crying sessions or being covered in bodily fluid for everyone. But I will, gladly, for this little punkin. Here he is in his life jacket at the lake, looking particularly chunky.

Turning Points

2010-06-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

We've come to several turning points in our lives, I think.

1) Jeremy's brother Andrew got married last Saturday. It was a stunning, Godly wedding and we are SO happy for them! I hope they are having a safe, glorious time in Taiwan. We had an incredible time vacationing in Arizona, although traveling with a baby is high stress! The bridal party:

Us at the Grand Canyon:

2) My sister is getting married, exactly one month from today. How exciting! Wedding craziness begins on Saturday with her Bridal Shower.

3) Isaac has had his own turning point, just becoming such a fun little guy! He smiles (almost laughs) at me every day, has really started STARING at things, and is developing a little personality. I love seeing him hang out in his Exer-saucer, because he LOVES being upright and checking out those toys! Here he is swimming in AZ:

4) I find myself abruptly and unexpectedly unemployed. I found out a few weeks ago that my contract is not being renewed for next year, so I am contemplating what to do next. Of course Isaac is so little that it would be nice to stay home with him for a little while, so I'm not job-hunting real aggressively yet. I was disappointed to see my job come to an end, but I know God has a plan and I know it will be a good one. Because of that, I'm actually kindof excited to see what comes next!

Intro to Summer

2010-05-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

Ugh, I can't believe I haven't done a post since the labor story a month ago. I hear moms say it all the time, but time FLIES with a little baby. We are having so much fun with Isaac, learning a lot, and doing a lot of snuggling. He's a great baby - a little fussy sometimes because of his reflux, but just loves to snuggle and sleeps really well at night! He's sleeping 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours straight every night now, ever since he turned seven weeks old. It was like a switch flipped for him, and he could sleep really well all of a sudden. I know we're lucky in that regard. Jeremy and I are both people who LOVE sleep, so we're feeling very blessed with a baby who likes to sleep too.

Isaac has reflux (as mentioned above). Like father like son, I guess. Jeremy is on Prilosec and Isaac is on infant Zantac. Also it turns out we were overfeeding him (he's 12 lbs 10 oz already!), so we've cut down on his amount of food, which makes him want to eat more often (every two hours!). But I've come to the conclusion that he is just a hungry baby.

A week from today we are heading down to Arizona to spend a week with family before Jeremy's brother gets married down there. It should be a really fun vacation and I am excited for the heat and the time spent with family. A family wedding is such a great way to kick off summer! Then, we get to do it all over again when my sister gets married in July.

This summer will be so fun! Now, if it would heat up to more than 45 degrees during the day in Pullman!

The labor story

2010-04-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

Going into my labor, I had a few goals: 1) Try and labor at home as long as possible before going to the hospital. 2) Try to give birth without pain meds – I would take them if I thought it was necessary, but wanted to try it without. 3) Breastfeed as soon as possible after delivery. The Lord teaches us lessons. Mine was that things don’t go along with my plan, but His.

Being two days past my due date felt like I had gone two weeks past. J I know that’s silly to say, but because the doctors had been telling me I’d “most likely deliver early” due to the gestational diabetes, I thought for sure I would have had a baby by my due date! Of course most first time moms go past their due dates, so two days was really no big deal, but I honestly felt like I couldn’t possibly be pregnant one second longer. And Jeremy was itching to become a dad, so I was doing all I could to stimulate labor contractions! I’d gone on long walks, eaten spicy food, and yes, we’d tried having sex, too, which is an accomplishment at 40+ weeks pregnant!! Saturday night (3/27) I read on the Internet that pineapple can stimulate labor. So I ate half a pineapple before bed.

At four o’clock in the morning, I started having contractions. They were about 15 minutes apart, so I tried to sleep in between and lasted for about 2 hours before I woke Jeremy up and told him I was in labor. I took a 6:00 a.m. shower, because I wanted to be clean if this was the day the baby was coming, and I couldn’t sleep any more. Afterward I ate breakfast, called the parents and siblings, and finished packing the hospital bag. (P.S. It’s hard to do those things while in active labor!) At 8:45, I called the hospital to let them know I would be coming in soon, because my contractions were 7-10 minutes apart, and lasting 45-90 seconds. They said I’d probably be okay if I wanted to stay home and labor for another hour or so, that would be fine, but then to come in.

At 9:15, things really started moving quickly. I told Jeremy I didn’t want to wait any more for his mom (my doula) and that it was REALLY time to go to the hospital. Now. So off we went, and we’re probably lucky we live in a small town, and it’s only five minutes to Pullman Regional, because I had a contraction in the car and another at the reception desk. The nurses got me into my room and my gown very quickly, and checked my cervix. I was 8 centimeters dilated and in transition! Since I was Strep B positive, they threw an IV in my arm (for antibiotics) and called the doc, saying “Get here right away – baby’s coming!” At this point, the nurses expected the baby to come within the hour.

Hearing that, two thoughts crossed my mind: 1) I’m not ready to push – this is going way too fast, and 2) If I’ve come this far without pain meds, I can certainly last another hour. So the doctor arrives, and confirms that I’m 8 cm along, and he breaks my water, thinking it will stimulate the last two centimeters of dilation. Pretty soon after this, I start feeling the urge to push, and the nurses and my doula are encouraging me to do whatever my body says (which is nice). The doctor came in and watched me push for a while, and told me that the baby was “sunnyside-up,” meaning instead of coming out facing the floor, he wanted to come out facing the ceiling, which is a problem because that means I would have to push out the widest part of his head. The doc says if I continue to push, and try different positions, the baby could turn as he descends down the birth canal. So I spent the next 2 ½ hours pushing in different positions. I tried a reclining position, the birthing ball, squatting, right side, left side, hands and knees, and worst of all, the “Texas Roll,” which is a modern form of torture where my head was lowered below my hips, and I was pushing upward. Two words to sum it up: excruciating and exhausting.

In the end, the baby’s heart rate stopped recovering after each contraction and attempt at pushing. The doc told me I’d probably have to have a cesarean section, which of course I didn’t want, but after my ordeal, I was just ready for it all to END, so I was happy to sign the release form (in a very shaky hand, by the way) and start prepping for surgery.

Now, as I mentioned before, Pullman is a very small hospital. And this was a Sunday. On Sundays Pullman Regional only staffs one anesthesiology team, and they were already tied up in a surgery they couldn’t leave. I was told that we were waiting on a team to come over from Moscow, ID (8 miles away). All in all, it took an hour from the point when the doc said a C-section was necessary until I was wheeled into the OR. The nurses had tried to give me some medication to stop my contractions, but they were going so strong at that point that it only served to slow them down some (every 5 minutes instead of every 2). I was very grouchy that this medicine didn’t work all the way! The nurses were VISIBLY worried about the baby, crowding around the monitor and pressing the Doppler into my belly quite hard, to get accurate readings.

The following are the things that were happening at this point that I was not aware of (thank goodness): 1) The anesthesiologist from Idaho was in question because nobody knew if he was licensed to practice in Washington. 2) There was talk of moving me to Moscow via ambulance or to Spokane via helicopter if the team did not work out VERY SOON. 3) The doctor was quite upset, arguing with people on the phone and not speaking to my family about what was going on, because of his concern for the baby.

In the end, it all worked out. The Idaho anesthesiologist was licensed to practice in Washington. He got there in time. The surgery prep team was wonderful and kept me calm. They gave me a spinal, and from the moment the pain was gone, I was a happy camper. Jeremy said when he came into the OR I had a goofy smile on my face. They delivered Isaac within minutes, I heard him scream and got to kiss him before he went to the nursery with dad, then had a nice chat with the docs and the anesthesiologist while they stitched me up. Isaac was able to come into the recovery room while they monitored me, so that we could breastfeed as soon as possible after the surgery.

As it turned out, Isaac was wrapped twice with his umbilical cord, once around his neck and once around his abdomen. So, try as I might, every time I tried to push him out, the cord would bungee him back up. There would have been no way I could have delivered him vaginally. Thank God for modern medicine - I'm scared to think what might have happened if a C-section wasn't an option. The postpartum hospital stay (3 nights post-cesarean) was wonderful, from the nurses to the pediatricians to the food, it was all great! Next time, I know I have the option to do another C-section or try and deliver vaginally. If I do try, one word – EPIDURAL. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad I tried it once without meds, and the pain was most certainly worth it. I just don’t see any reason to do it again!! One last note - Jeremy would have made a good doctor. He's very cute in scrubs! I know someone got a picture of him - I'll have to find it. :)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

2010-04-13T16:20:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I probably won't hit ALL the ways, but quite a few! For my baby, Isaac Raymond Wang, born at 2:55 p.m. on March 28th, 2010, the reason I haven't done a blog post in almost a month.

1. I love that you are put here to challenge your parents, and make your mom a stronger person! From your very entrance to the world (labor story coming soon) you were big on the drama and suspense!

2. I love that you baffle nurses. You baffled them when you would NOT come out of mom. You baffled them when you were so BIG (8 lbs 12 oz, 21 inches long). You baffled them when your blood sugar kept spiking and dropping that first night. You baffled them when you SCREAMED a lot in the hospital (they said you must have quite a temper). You baffled them when you kept testing positive for jaundice but they didn't think you looked yellow at all. You baffled them when you gained a full POUND in five days. "Average" is not in your vocabulary.

3. I love that when you're nursing you can go from content to OUTRAGED in 2 seconds. You can also go from "screaming bloody murder" to "sleeping" in 2 seconds.

4. I love your newborn smiles, even if they just mean that you're peeing.

5. Speaking of bodily functions, I love that I can hear you fart/poop from across our entire house.

6. I love that you were born with a full head of hair (and a widow's peak like your daddy) and blue eyes. I'm excited to see what color they become permanently.

7. I love the way you smell - even when you're poopy.

8. I love that you're not a screamer. Please oh please, stay that way, for mommy and daddy's sanity.
9. I love that even though you're not very good at nursing, you go at it FULL FORCE, so you still get enough nourishment and we don't have to supplement with formula. We're team, and we'll get better over time!

10. I love that you sleep with your arms up over your head, and you wiggle them out of the swaddle! The nurses said this is because you did a 9-month handstand on my bladder. Sounds about right!

11. I love that you could hold your head up (for short periods of time) at 2 days old.

12. I love the bond you and your daddy have, already. I know you guys will be best buds.

3 days and counting

2010-03-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

I realized yesterday that I hadn't taken a belly picture since I was 36 weeks along, and since that's almost a month ago, I figured I'd regret not taking an "end of pregnancy pic." However, it was a stretch, because I feel about as photogenic as a cow lately. So here I am, in all my 39 weeks and 4 days of pregnant glory.

Anyway, I have no news, nothing exciting happening besides waiting (patiently?) for baby to make his appearance. I have an ultrasound tomorrow to see exactly how big this kid is... My guess is he'll be born at 9 lbs 4 oz. A whopper of a kid! :)

The countdown

2010-03-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

There's a song that's always played at Cougar Basketball games. In fact, it's really overplayed at Cougar sports - I think we play it at volleyball and football too. The pep band plays it after player introductions, right before tipoff. They play it over the sound system when there are only minutes (or seconds) to go in the game, and somebody calls a timeout. You guessed it: it's The Final Countdown. (link is to some goofy college guys with their air band in a dorm room - pretty funny)

Anyway, in my line of work, I hear this song a lot. And right now, I think it applies to the baby I'm hefting around all over town. It's the Final Countdown, alright. That noise you hear? That's the timer going off on this bun in the oven! On Friday I (the baby?) will officially be "full term."

Jeremy took this photo of me last Friday night, before he took me to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival concert. The music was AMAZING. But I was sitting on a hard bleacher for 3 1/2 hours and got pretty uncomfortable. We got home at 12:30 a.m. I haven't seen 12:30 a.m. in MONTHS. Maybe a year. I feel so old.

So anyway, since the baby could technically come any time, the nursery is about done. I took some pics. Here ya go!

The blue accent wall:

I'd say this is my favorite thing in the nursery right now - we found a BEAGLE nightlight, in the exact colors that we decorated the nursery. I felt so releived we could include Reggie in the baby's room! Don't mind the poorly painted outlet - we didn't do it. :)

34 weeks - only six weeks left!

2010-02-12T11:33:00.000-08:00

Here I am at 34 weeks pregnant (sorry, I cut my head off). Thebump.com says the baby is about the size of a large honeydew melon (though I think our guy is bigger), which is fitting, because the size of Jeremy's "honey-do" list continues to grow every day. :)

We're in full-nesting mode right now, putting finishing touches on the baby's room (building the dresser/changing table, hanging pictures, etc.) and washing baby clothes as we receive them. I had a baby shower last weekend, and have another one next weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!

The pregnancy continues to go pretty smoothly, I'm handling the gestational diabetes okay, but it continues to get harder to keep my blood sugars under control. I've found I have to walk 50-60 minutes a day now to produce enough insulin. I don't want to go on meds or insulin, so here's hoping I can control my diet enough for the next six weeks without it!

Baby is nice and big (a week ago he was 5 lbs, 4 oz) and I'm having contractions every day, so the doc thinks I'll deliver a little early, naturally, which would be nice. He just says I have to make it three more weeks (to 37 weeks) so that I don't have to be flown to Spokane for the NICU. I REALLY want to deliver here in Pullman!

My guess? Wednesday, 3/17. :)

Persistence that pays off!

2010-02-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

Lloyd and Wyla Headley are my great uncle and aunt. They are two of the sweetest people I have ever met, and have been married for SEVENTY years. The Spokesman-Review recently did a story on them, which can be found here.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

The Branding of Disney

2010-02-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

In short, Disney does it right. When they do something (any type of endeavor - movie, merchandise, theme parks), they go all-out, delivering a high-quality product with very few flaws and gaps. I think a perfect example of this is their Pixar division, which produces the most well-made animated films of the last 10 years. Cases in point:
Toy Story
A Bug's Life
Toy Story 2
Monsters, Inc.
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
Cars
Ratatouille
WALL-E
Up
In total: 22 Academy Awards (Up hasn't earned any yet) and $5 billion of worldwide gross earnings.

I recently spent 4 days (and nights) inside Walt Disney World in Orlando. We were the for the 2010 UCA/UDA College Cheer and Dance National Championships, which is hosted by Disney World. We stayed at the Disney All-Star Music Resort, which is a family-friendly, affordable option for people who want to stay inside the park.

The Crimson Girls by our hotel pool, which is shaped like a guitar:

Disney certainly has it all figured out, from airport transportation (bags delivered directly from
baggage claim to your hotel room), to park-to-park transportation (free busses that run every
20 minutes), to park admission (scanned park-hopper passes individualized with fingerprints of
the pass holders).

But one thing I admire over all others is Disney's branding abilities. It's incredible how many times we saw those uber-recognizable mouse ears inside the parks. Kids incessantly begging their parents to buy them Mickey paraphernalia, and most of the time, they get what they want. Here are a few examples of things I saw - people spending money to give Disney some free advertising. :)

A dancer in her Goofy hat, which she HAD to have - $29.99

Another dancer in her Mickey antennae headband (sparkly and pink) $6

Mickey/Minnie souvenir balloons - not sure how much, but I probably saw 300 kids carrying these.

A few girls in front of Mickey's "Fantasia" hat:

And of course, what's more iconic than Cinderella's Castle?

Even the milk cartons are branded!

Everything inside Disney is done in grand, regal style. Princesses must train for months before they can be "Belle" or "Cinderella." Characters go through a rigorous training process to ensure the brand's authenticity. Costumes are all in prime condition (you would never see Pluto's tail ripped or looking "used" like Butch's often does). And I believe this attention to detail is part of what makes Disney so recognizable and lucrative. Park workers clean up litter 24 hours a day. An underground series of tunnels takes "non-costumed team members" from place to place inside the park, so they are not seen by guests.

Not to mention, Disney is the King of Package trips. Just to see how long it would take, I looked up the costs for a family of four to vacation in Disney World. For under $3,000, a family of four could vacation there for 5 nights, 6 days, including 6 days of park tickets, airfare, and airport transportation. While I wouldn't call that "cheap," it isn't as much as I would have imagined, especially for so many days! And it took me all of 12 minutes to book on their website, which was fun and easy to navigate.

31 WEEKS

2010-01-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

Hee hee! Here I am today at 31 weeks. I love that this means I officially only have 9 weeks to go. Somehow single-digits sounds a lot closer than 10 weeks.

I am handling the gestational diabetes pretty well (I think I have a mild case, because my blood sugars aren't too difficult to control) and I had a good doctor's appointment today. I do need to have an ultrasound in two weeks, I guess, because my uterus is measuring big, and the doc thinks baby may be breech. Not a huge alarm at this point, but good to know.

The overly large baby could be a result of the GD, but they've been telling me baby has been measuring big ever since my first ultrasound at 10 weeks. So who knows? Maybe we have my due date wrong, or maybe I just grow big babies. I guess we'll see!

Thanks for being along for the ride - this pregnancy thing is pretty fun.

Holiday Fun and the Ever-Expanding Belly

2010-01-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

The holidays this year were a blast, even though they were a bit of a whirlwind (when are they not, I guess). We were in Spokane for Christmas, then in Boise for the Humanitarian Bowl, then in Pullman for Men's Basketball over New Years. Just a little photo journal for you! :)

Christmas Eve night playing Beatles Rock Band with my mom and sis - this will have to count as my 27 week belly picture, since I didn't take one. Hiding behind the guitar!

Jeremy and I on Christmas Eve before bed. Jeremy is enjoying his "White Christmas" drink, while I'm am enjoying... the Christmas spirit? ;)

And lastly, here I am today at 29 weeks. Baby is healthy, but the doctors are still concerned about possible Gestational Diabetes, so I have to go spend another four hours at the hospital on Saturday morning for blood tests. Awesome.

My favorite things - Winter edition

2009-12-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

Taking a page out of Oprah's book, I want to share some things that really make my life better, in a practical way. Things that I would suggest to close friends, or family members. I did one of these in the summer, but it had very summery-things on it (like sunscreen and flip-flops). Sunscreen and flip-flops feel like a world away right now. :)

Starbucks Eggnog Lattes (light, decaf). Nothing says "holidays" more to me than this drink. And if you ask for a little extra nonfat milk, it's not so bad for you!

2. Bella Band by Ingrid and Isabel: This is a MUST HAVE for anyone who is newly pregnant. I love mine (I have two - one white, one black). I've been wearing it since I was about 17 weeks pregnant, almost every day. The only days I don't wear it is when I'm wearing pants that have a full-belly panel. I love it because it helps hold my pants up, makes me feel like I'm "held in" in all the right places, and keeps me warm because I'm having a winter pregnancy. I'll probably keep wearing it post-partum as a "support-hose" substitute.

Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Sugar Scrub. Can you say at-home pedicure in 3 minutes? I can. I use this stuff a lot, maybe

once a week or so, and the different scents really do effect my mood (for the better). My favorite is Orange Ginger for Energy.

4. Motherhood Maternity: Ok, this is the end of the "pregnancy things," but I really love this store. They have a great online system, which is good for someone who lives in Pullman, but the in-store staff is really great and the prices can't be beat. Some of the clothes are more fashionable than others, but that's to be expected, since expectant moms come in all ages and sizes.

5. Pandora.com: I can't believe I hadn't discovered this online radio site until last week. I am now totally addicted, listening all the time at work. You get 40 free hours per month, and they will tailor-make a radio station according to what you like and dislike. I typed in "Michael Buble Holiday" and the music that followed was absolutely perfect for office-listening.

6. Armommy: This company is owned by a friend of ours, Rae Friis, and her mother. Rae lives over in Seattle and she is one of the most fun, creative people I've ever known. Armommy comes up with products that make a mother's life easier, and Rae does printing; holiday cards, gift tags, invitations, etc. I fully intend to buy one of her nursing tops and some of her bibs when baby comes!

Suave Damage Care Shampoo and Conditioner: Due to prenatal vitamins and pregnancy hormones, my hair is growing at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, while it's growing fast, it doesn't seem to be growing healthy. Combine that with the very dry winter air, and I had a lot of breakage on my hands. When the hair stylist told me I need to switch shampoos, I thought I'd give this one a try since it was cheap ($2.79 per bottle at Wal-Mart) and I've liked Suave products in the past. I was pleasantly surprised! It really does seem to have made a difference. If you are struggling with breakage and split ends, you should give it a try.

8. Wrapping paper from Costco. In December of 2004, Jeremy and I were preparing for our first Christmas as a married couple. I had never wrapped that many gifts before, so I thought - "why don't I just get a roll of paper from Costco?" Well, five years later, that roll of paper has finally run out, as I wrapped gifts for this year. I seriously wrapped almost every gift we gave over five Christmases in that same paper from Costco (good thing I liked the print), and I cannot believe how long it lasted. Not only that, but it was really high quality paper as well, with a good feel, and it didn't rip easily. I believe it was 300 square feet for $9, or something close.

Starbucks Peppermint Mocha (nonfat, decaf): Normally this entry would be "hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps," but since that's off the menu for me this year, Starbucks gets an extra shout-out. These are delicious.

I was shooting for a list of 10 things, but I ended up with 9. Oh well, that's life!

It's been a long time.

2009-12-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize how long I've gone without a new post! How disappointing. Anyway, below is a belly pic of me today, almost 25 weeks pregnant. Only 15 weeks left! I guess we better get going on the nursery...

We ordered some prints for the walls from Artimals.com, and of course I'll post photos when the nursery is put together, but I have a feeling it'll be a while. Honestly we probably won't really start working on it seriously until January. Oh well.

We got the house decorated for Christmas, and found out that we'll be going to Boise with the University of Idaho for the Humanitarian Bowl. Fun! I love this time of year - I'll even put up with waking up to 0 degree temperatures for the Holidays!

Of which to be thankful

2009-11-18T10:31:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is a week from tomorrow. That makes me very excited, since this year especially we will have a large family gathering and I am immensely looking forward to seeing everyone! In that spirit, today I am thankful for:

-Hot chocolate, in a very cold November in Pullman.
-Cheerleaders and dancers who are more than willing to carry things for their pregnant coach.
-A husband who, despite being sick, works extremely hard and cooks for me.
-An easy, "low-risk," trouble-free pregnancy. Praise God!
-A savior who loves me regardless of my sins and failures.
-Decaf Eggnog Lattes from Starbucks, and some friends who gave me a gift card.
-A few days off next week.
-My last 10 days of being 27. :)

A little something to share

2009-11-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

I read a lot of stories online, most of which are either sent to me or linked from one of my blogs. This one is pretty long, so you'd need some time to read it, but it is a very touching true story about a man and his autistic son who were swept into the sea while swimming.

I love the ocean, but also think it's one of my Top Three Scariest Things.

It's A Boy! And other bits and pieces

2009-11-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

We found out this morning that our baby is a boy! A big boy, by the way, who has a rather large head. That will be fun to push out...

Everything looked great on the ultrasound, and I feel really good. My favorite part was that we got to see baby boy yawn twice during the ultrasound. Very cute. Got my H1N1 shot today, and have a sore throat to prove it. :)

Just some pictures to update - here's me at 19 weeks (today I'm 20 weeks) and my cheerleaders in the Alamo Bowl as we played Notre Dame in San Antonio last week.

Gratitude

2009-10-26T19:05:00.001-07:00

Dear Pullman Transit Bus Driver,

You are the hero of my crappy Monday. You know, one of those Mondays where even the weather is depressing, your body doesn't feel right, and maybe something crappy happens too? Well, I'd like to thank you for doing your job well, and thinking of others, during what I'm sure was a busy day. Why? Because more people ride the bus when it's raining. See, I know, because I went to school at Western.

Thank you that you noticed me walking on the sidewalk in the pouring rain. Thank you that you noticed the HUGE puddle in the street about three feet from me. Thank you that instead of blasting through that puddle and drenching me from head to toe, you slowed down and let me speed-walk past the puddle before driving through it. You are a caring person.

Because while today was not the best Monday ever, you saved it from being the worst Monday ever with your kindness.

Thank you, Monday hero! You were a blessing on a very gray day.

I am WAY too old for this - by about 10 years.

2009-10-24T07:49:00.001-07:00

But I guess this is what I get from working with college kids...

Your source for all things pregnancy :)

2009-10-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

1) I watched a rerun of Dr. Phil the other day, where he spent an hour talking about stay-at-home v. working mothers. I can honestly say I agree with everything he had to say on this, a very polarizing issue! He featured Heather Armstrong, writer of Dooce.com, as a guest expert, and hers is a website I read quite often. It's poignant, but also a little bit heavy on the language, so there's your warning. It's interesting to me that women who are probably quite intelligent, loving, level-headed people can so completely lose their heads over this issue! I'll give you a clue - there is no one-trick solution for every family. You gotta make it work how you can make it work! :)

2) Last Thursday, for the first time, someone recognized that I am pregnant without my telling them (my dental hygienist, who I see every six months like clockwork). I definitely have a belly, and have been utilizing the rubber-band on the jeans technique almost every day. Picture below.

3) Found out that baby can hear us now. His/her ears are functioning, and I should really start feeling movement soon (I have thought I felt something once or twice, but wasn't totally sure).

4) We'll find out if we're having baby boy Wang or baby girl Wang on Nov. 6th, as long as the ultrasound is clear. My bet? Boy.

Here's me at 17 weeks (on Sunday). Still getting used to the automatic setting on the camera. Can't figure out the right moment to smile - ha! :)

2009-10-14T18:28:00.000-07:00

Although I DO have plenty of things to say about my pregnancy (I'll save them for another time), I thought I would diverge a bit and talk about the fact that I actually have many things going on in my life that do not have to do with pregnancy.

I also think about things unrelated to babies, which I'm sure will surprise my husband. :)

We are in a home-group Bible study with about 30 people from our church on Tuesday nights. This year, we are studying the core of our beliefs and how they match up with beliefs of churches like LDS. It has been eye-opening and fascinating. The book we're working through is "The Changing World of Mormonism," which I believe is older than me, and we all had to buy used copies off Amazon because it's been out of print for something like 12 years. If you have questions, it's a great resource.

Also, work has been pretty crazy the last couple months! We've had four home football games, a trip to Seattle and one to L.A., along with a few very fun and exciting volleyball matches. The volleyball team is ranked 25th in the nation, which is GREAT, but eight teams in the Pac-10 are ranked in the top 25, so they've got their work cut out for them over the next five weeks!

Homecoming was last week, so here's a pic of the "Coug Wall" stunt, and a video of the "Ball Back" pyramid. :)

I know what you're thinking

2009-09-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking - "Oh, man. She's just going to turn her blog into a pregnancy journal." Well, not true. But, yes, today is another pregnancy post. :) I figure, it's about all people ask me about anyway, so they must be interested.

Here's a picture of me today at almost 15 weeks - I'm just starting to show. I'm really surprised at how self concious I am about being pregnant. I was shy at first when we started telling people, and now I have all these body image issues about gaining the weight. I think it's just a phase, and I'm sure come February, when I'm huge I'll think it was all very silly to feel this way.

And here is a little blog post I wrote a while back, before we were telling people about the pregnancy.

Post written July 22, 2009 (4 or 5 weeks pregnant)

I found out I was pregnant last Friday. It was a huge shock. I took the test on a whim, convinced my period was going to start ANY MINUTE, and was so shocked at the positive result that I told Jeremy in about the worst way possible, and took 2 more tests within a four-hour period. Of course they all said the same thing.

I think the reason I was so shocked was because I had heard that when you go off the pill, it takes a while (at least a month or two) for you to start ovulating again. NOT TRUE.

Before I knew I was pregnant, I had felt "normal." Sure, I had been needing to use the restroom in the middle of the night more than usual, and I'd had 2 little tummy aches, but for the most part, my body felt the same.

But the moment that test said "pregnant," I started feeling symptoms. I started being nauseous, peeing every hour, my boobs started hurting, and I was tired. Yeah, right. Like I went from "normal" to all that in 1 day. So I decided that at least at this stage of my pregnancy, I can feel exactly as "out of sorts" as I want to.

That could mean that I feel something (tired) and make the worst of it - "Oh I'm so tired and pregnant, I need 12 hours of sleep tonight." Or I can just be a little drowsy and make it through the rest of my day. Or I could feel nauseous and go sit by the toilet expecting morning sickness to overtake me at any moment, or I could just take a couple deep breaths and get on with life.
I'm sure there will be plenty of time down the road for really being overcome by this pregnancy. For now, since no one knows I'm pregnant, I want to feel as normal as possible. Mind over matter, for now, anyway.

UPDATE: I feel very blessed that I have had an "easy" pregnancy so far - very little morning sickness/nausea, no real issues other than fatigue.

Only six months left

2009-09-21T09:41:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of our little bun in the oven! :) He/she is due on March 26th, which is just about perfect if you ask me, and now I just have to be patient. I think I'll start showing soon, but the pregnancy has been fairly easy for me (thank God) so far. More on that soon. :)

Besides being knocked up, work is just crazy busy, as we finished three weeks in a row of home football games. Thankfully we have two weeks off from games, but I am flying to LA on Friday to help chaperone for our game against USC. They'll be sufficiently pissed off, from their embarrassing loss to Washington this weekend. Yikes!

Resolution

2009-09-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

I've decided to not try and force the blog. When I have something to say, I'll write, when I don't, I won't put meaningless crap up here. Sound fair?

I mean really, nobody cares what I had for lunch (leftover Chinese from The Emerald).

But just so there's something here for today, you need to go to www.capitalonebowl.com and vote for Butch T. Cougar! Preferably, every day. Thanks!

Life is Demanding, Without Understanding

2009-08-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

Deep, huh?

Last night, while waiting to fall asleep (usually doesn't take long), I started thinking about Ace of Base, the 90's fabulous Swedish pop sensation. I know, totally random, but when I asked Jeremy about them, we both started busting out in song. When I was 13, I had their whole album memorized (Happy Nation), and would dance around in my living room to "The Sign" and "All That She Wants." So for your Wednesday viewing pleaseure, please enjoy some Ace of Base. Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes, they are still a band, and they tour around Europe. Good for them!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96jFtzVa80A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjJwqDa1QVI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RYo0JpT410&feature=related

You know you missed it!

A thought for today

2009-08-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

"This is life's nature: lives and hearts get broken - those of people we love, those of people we'll never meet. The world sometimes feels like the waiting room of the emergency ward and that we who are more or less okay for now need to take the tenderest possible care of the more wounded people in the waiting room, until the Healer comes."

Anne Lamott, in Traveling Mercies

Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."

Matthew 9:20-21

An experiment

2009-08-11T14:31:00.001-07:00

So, last Friday, I was out at my parents lake cabin, by myself (with two dogs), while it rained all night and all day. I went to Video Quest here in Pullman to rent a movie, and found out I could rent 5 old movies for 6 bucks. So I went ahead and did it. Then, I was so bored, I watched four of them in one day. Here's my impressions of them - some I had seen before, some I hadn't.

Movie #1 - Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1996)

I rented this because Jeremy had taken me to the play in the park two days earlier, so the story was fresh in my mind, and I realized it had been almost 12 years since I've seen this version. I do love how Baz Lehrmann took olde english, and put it into a modern, gang-riddled, dirty L.A. setting. 17-year-old Leonardo Decaprio doesn't do it for me, but the characters are all portrayed very well.

My thoughts on the actual STORY, though? Well, first, Romeo and Juliet are DRAMA QUEENS, and Romeo hangs out in a pretty rough crowd. Secondly, they received some VERY unwise council, in the forms of the Priest and the Nurse. Star cross'd lovers? Yes, but perhaps cooler heads may have prevailed? But then it wouldn't be a timeless love story, would it?

Movie #2 - Definitely, Maybe (2008)

I've recently become a Ryan Reynolds fan, ever since I saw him in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Proposal.

Definitely, Maybe stars him and Abigail Breslin as his daughter. It's a very cute telling of a man's life story, or maybe more accurate, his love story. It's very sweet, and definitely worth a rental, maybe. :)

Movie #3 - August Rush (2007)

To be honest, I never had much of a desire to see this movie. That being said, I rented it because I had friends who LOVED it.

I almost turned it off 10 minutes in, because the premise is so absurd. "Orphaned kid finds his parents by 'following the music.'" Puh-lease.

However, I'm glad I stuck with it, because it's a beautiful story, it's always worthwhile to see Robin Williams play a creepy character, and I do love me a happy ending!

Movie #4 - Cold Mountain (2003)

As my husband can attest, I have a terrible memory. I rented this one, forgetting I'd seen it on the DVR at home.

That being said, I'm glad I watched it again. It's such an incredible movie, with outstanding acting and a poignant storyline.

It's no wonder this movie was nominated for seven Oscars. Just an FYI - there are some steamy scenes, that certainly weren't there in the TV version, so I wasn't prepared for that...

Lazy blogger

2009-08-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I've been a lazy blogger lately. I think it's because we've gone out of town to the lake every weekend (I know, it's a rough life. Someone's got to do it) and when we're in town, we're desperately getting caught up on work and chores. I know, enough excuses.

The summer has TOTALLY FLOWN BY. I can't beleive that I start "real work" next week. We go to cheer/dance camp at Central Washington next Wednesday through Friday, which I think will be very tiring but really fun. After that, practices start. So I'm trying to savor every last bit of summer, since it's ALL OVER in six days. What? Too dramatic? Okay, I'll stop.

The summer has been lovely, pretty much everything I hoped it would be, lots of travel, seeing family, doing races, hanging out at the lake. It's even been hot enough for me. (Remind me of that when I'm whining in January about the cold/snow) Our house isn't air conditioned, but we make it work pretty well, with window-and-fan-management.

Just to throw a picture in here, here's Reggie and I sacked out in bed, on a hot morning.

Triathlons!

2009-07-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Over the last two weeks, Jeremy has finished two triathlons, and I have done one! I found it

more challenging than I thought it would be (mostly due to the lack of current in the Spokane

River) but fun, nonetheless. I think I'll do one again, maybe next summer!

Here are some photos of Jeremy at Tiger Tri in Colville, WA. It was an Olympic-distance race, .6 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 5 mile run.

Before the swim in the new wetsuit!

Finishing the bike leg

2nd transition. Stuff that Powerbar into your mouth and GO!

And here's a video of him finishing!

And here are some pics of me at Race the River in Coeur d'Alene, ID. This one was sprint distance, 5. mile swim, 11 mile bike, 3.2 mile run. Jeremy did this one as well, but he was in the first heat to start, and I was the last, so he was done by the time I had started!

Coming out of the swim - amazed I could actually run.

Starting the bike leg - my favorite.

At the finish with my tri buds Jessi and Katie. Nice job girls, and thanks for the support!

Warranties are our friends

2009-07-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

So as you know, we bought a "new to us" car last month. I still love it. However, on Tuesday evening, we were on our way to see Harry Potter (which was okay, by the way), and I went to get something out of the backseat, and the door wouldn't open! I was so frustrated and annoyed that I just said "I'll deal with it tomorrow."

Now, the nice thing about buying a Hyundai is the warranty. All Hyundais come with a 10 year/ 100,000 mile warranty on the engine, and a 5 year/60,000 mile warranty on all car parts. And even when I bought the car used (it's a 2007), it still had that factory warranty. So I drove down to Wysup Hyundai in Lewiston yesterday to have them check out the door.

As it turns out, both interior panels on the rear doors had come loose, causing them to get jammed when you try to open the door. In an hour, they had them both fixed, and fixed two other problems with the car (factory mandates - the speedometer and brake light), at no cost to me. Woot!

I've never had a car with a warranty before, since I've never bought a car this new. I love it. They gave me a bill that said Total Charges: $85.42. You owe: $0.00. That is what I like to see.

Redirected!

2009-07-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

I don't have anything meaningful to say today, so I'm going to direct you to my father-in-law's blog, Logos2Go, because he had a great post yesterday.

Ohio

2009-07-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

Last week, we went to Ohio for a family wedding, and spent some time with long-distance family. I had never been to Ohio, but found it very flat and fairly humid. We had a lovely time with Jeremy's family, eating a lot of food, chatting, and playing cornhole. :)

Here's some photo highlights.
Us at the wedding (don't mind the rain-flattened hair).
The wedding colors were green and bright pink - very bright! Here's the cake (which was wonderful) and the centerpieces.

And on our Detroit-Seattle flight home (a pretty brutally long flight, by the way) I spotted this interesting cloud formation (I'd say over the Dakotas).

Oh, PR, where art thou?

2009-07-15T08:50:00.000-07:00

Summer TV sucks. No, really. I've always been known to be someone who maybe watches a little too much TV. But even I don't watch most of the crap that's on in the summer. ABC has such jems as "Wipeout," "Dating in the Dark," and "I survived a Japanese Game Show." NBC is currently airing "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here." HBO one-ups them all with the new show "Hung," (warning, link is PG-13) which, if you can't guess what it's about, well, that's probably okay.

Oh, but let's not forget Fox's "More to Love," which is literally "The Bachelor" for fat people. Nice.

For the last five years, the only thing I've watched in the summertime is So You Think You Can Dance, which I still LOVE, by the way. That's the only DVR timer I've got set right now.

Okay, that's not true. I've started watching this new ABC Family show, "Make it or Break it." It's about a foursome of gymnasts who train at "The Rock" in Boulder, CO., and it may be one of the worst shows ever made. Don't judge me.

Anyway, there was always one glimmer of decent TV amidst the tidal wave of crap. And that was Project Runway. It's now been over a year since season 5 of PR aired. I was thinking the other day, "Where is my beloved Project Runway?" I know you were thinking it too! Well, I'm here to answer your question. Project Runway has been dropped by Bravo, and picked up by Lifetime, and season 6 will premier on August 20th. Thank goodness! You see? They've "made it work!"

Here's a little teaser video for any fans out there!

Just got back from Ohio at midnight last night. Photos and stories to come.

Bald Eagles and pillows on the floor

2009-07-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

So you know it's been a long time since you've posted when your three readers are giving you crap about it every time they see you. Sorry. I have been enjoying the sunshine instead of holing up in front of the computer screen. That, and I haven't had much inspiring to say, as I'm sure you'll discern after reading what's below.

It's never a complete Independence Day until you see a bald eagle at the lake, right?

Happy Birthday, America.

Well, I guess for my perfect Fourth of July, you'd need family (check), 90+ degree weather (check), the lake (check), a floatie (check), and LOTS of good food (check). So I'd say we made out pretty well.

On Sunday, I decided I was in need of new shoes for the wedding we're attending this weekend in O-H-I-O, and Jeremy decided he needed a new pillow. Where can you get both these things in one stop? Ross, of course! So head over to Moscow we did. Here is Jeremy pillow-testing in the aisles. What a goof.

By the way, I have come to accept that it is a hard-written truth that every time I wash my car (or cars), it pours down rain two hours later. Such was my Sunday.

P.S. This is what a Beagle looks like when he returns home after a long (fun) weekend, to a house that is 85 degrees.

A Sweet Ride

2009-06-22T09:06:00.001-07:00

I guess we can check this rite of passage off our list: we bought a car this weekend. Did the whole "test-drive, negotiate term and rate, sign a million documents, have the dealer wash and 'prep' the car for you" car-buying experience. With no parents within a 200-mile radius. We have very loving, helpful parents, but I'm glad we did this on our own. It sounds strange, but this seemed like a more grown-up, scary thing to me than buying a house. I wonder why that is? Anyway, here's the car. It's a blue 2007 Hyundai Elantra. I love it.

Ah, to be remembered in a sidewalk for posterity

2009-06-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

A few blocks from my house, the City of Pullman is paving a sidewalk. It's much needed - along a narrow, steep road where Reggie and I have nearly been sideswiped multiple times. Walking it today, I came across a little message from Emily and Geneviere:

Apparently, they were here! Now, I don't have any problem with little sidewalk "So and So was here" or even "So and so loves So and so" messages in wet concrete. I even think it's quaint and adds small-town-charm to an otherwise boring sidewalk.

Well, so much for small-town-charm. On the next square, Emily and Geneviere drew lewd pictures and wrote nasty four-letter words. Classy. This sidewalk is three blocks from an elementary school, in a family neighborhood. If I were Emily or Geneviere's parents, I'd be having a talk with my daughter. FOR REAL. I might expect this on Greek Row, or in a bigger city, but in my little corner of Pullman? Really?

I dunno, am I overreacting? They're not quite done with the corners of the sidewalk, so my hope is that when they come back to finish the concrete (after the rain), they'll pave right over E & G's little lapse in judgement. We'll see.

Taking a whack at home improvement

2009-06-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

I'm really proud of Jeremy for renovating our shower over the weekend. He did a great job. I'm so excited for when the grout is dry and sealed, and we can actually shower in it. A note to all you aspiring home improvement junkies - when renovating a bathroom (or just a shower), it's helpful to have another one to use. A big thanks to Jessica who let us shower at her house multiple times over the weekend. :)

Here's a little photo journey. Don't expect a true "before" photo, because of the aforementioned nastiness. Here's Jeremy and his buddy Karl (without whom this project would have been a major disaster) in demolition phase 2. The plastic surround torn off, cutting through drywall to see (yikes) what's back there. And yes, they found a window... Note - see the curling iron I forgot to put away on the counter - covered in dust.

A closer look at the window. So weird. And a tubfull of debris.

Here's the grouting phase - Karl in his dress socks because he came from a wedding. Classy!

Here's the "almost after" pictures. The tile and grout are finished, but the bullnose (edge) tiles are still on order and will get here Thursday-ish. So that's why it looks so literally rough around the edges.

For anyone who might be keeping track, we haven't gotten the new car yet. Hopefully it will happen on Saturday! For now, I just hope the weather holds up so I can keep biking around town... :)

An Update

2009-06-12T10:23:00.001-07:00

So, lots of things going on right now!

We're trying to get out to enjoy the lake, but seem to have things going on every weekend so far. It's okay, I guess, since the water at Coeur d'Alene is COLD right now.

Yesterday I sold my car, which means I'm two-wheelin it around town until I get a new car, which will hopefully happen sometime in the next week or so, but we'll see! At least it's nice weather for biking.

Tomorrow, Jeremy is tiling our shower surround (this summer's home improvement project) so I'll post an after photo next week. I would post a before photo if I wasn't so ashamed at the filthiness that is the current state of the shower. Long story short - the plastic surround doesn't meet the top of the tub, so there's an inch of mold and dry rot that I'm sure is infested with snakes and critters just waiting to grab my ankles while I shower. Okay maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it is certainly not something to be proud of, or to post on your blog for the world (or your three readers, thanks Jaclyn) to see.

Next weekend is the Plewman Family Reunion in Tri-Cities. Hoo-ha! Should be quite a day.

Watch for pics of the new car! Ooh! Suspense.

Yoga-tastic

2009-06-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

I'm currently taking a "Conditioning Yoga" class. It's really challenging! Other yoga classes I've taken have been watered-down, yoga-for-the-masses easy versions. This class, on the other hand, is almost two hours long, and designed for "athletes, dancers, and fitness enthusiasts."

There are only two of us in the class (me and my friend Erika, the dance coach) but it's really fun, because our instructor tailors it specifically to us and our strengths/weaknesses. The teacher says it's a treat for her, because she gets to use all the challenging poses that she can't use in her other classes. I'm ALWAYS sore on Saturdays, usually in my glutes, and my flexibility has shot through the roof from all this yoga!

Sometimes the teacher has a tendency to get a little too "spiritual" for my liking (chakras, anyone?), but all we have to do is tell her we want less of that, and more of the hard stuff, and she's happy to comply. So far, my favorites are Plow Pose, Dolphin Pose, and L Pose.

10 Things I'm Loving Right Now

2009-06-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

1. My pink Samsung Instinct, which is Sprint's version of the I-Phone. The texting took me a while to get used to, but I love love love having the Internet at my disposal, the visual voicemail, and the Sprint TV (full episodes of 30 Rock, anyone?).

2. Silver flip flops. (link to a similar pair at Old Navy) These have pretty much replaced all the rest of my flip flops this summer. I wear them everywhere. The problem is that the soles on these are actually leather, so they're starting to wear out from all the use.

3. The peonies in my back yard. So pretty! The perfect color, and each blossom just gets bigger and bigger!

4. Safeway Organics Italian Sodas. Orange blueberry is my favorite. They're about $2 a bottle (4 servings) and perfect for summer!

5. My Jane Austen Anthology. I've finished Sense and Sensability, and Pride and Prejudice, and I'm about halfway through Mansfield Park, which is pretty scandalous, by the way. I still have Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Lady Susan. I love having this to read, but it's SO heavy! Also, it makes me feel like a slow reader, because look how much text is one one page!:

6. kottke.org I certainly don't always agree with the politics here, but this is my new source for random facts. Here's something I learned today: "Thanks to digital technology, designers can squeeze so many functions into such tiny containers that there is more computing power in a basic cellphone (not a fancy model, like a BlackBerry or iPhone, just a cheap one) than at NASA's headquarters when it began in 1958. That is why the appearance of most digital products bears no relation to what they do."

7. Banana Boat Faces SPF 30 sunscreen. I've always been prone to breakouts, but I needed to start wearing a high SPF on my face, to avoid the premature aging process. This one is oil free, doesn't smell too "sunscreen-y," made with organic materials, feels good going on, and best of all, doesn't make be break out.

8. White ballet flats. (Link to a similar pair at Target) These are great because I can literally wear them with anything. Skirt? Check. Jeans? Check. Shorts? Check. Capris? Check-check-check. And they're made of PVC pipe, or something, so I can just wipe them clean.

9. Facebook. Seems to be the only way to keep in touch with my cheerleaders/dancers while they're gone over the summer, so I've become even more addicted than I used to be (who knew it was possible)? It's even worse considering Facebook Mobile on my phone (see #1).

10. Working out! Specifically, working out with a buddy who keeps me accountable. My good friend Erika and I have been working out regularly for about three months now. I feel great - healthier and less stressed. Watch for a post in the next couple days all about our LONG weekly yoga class. It's quite something!

UP

2009-06-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

What's that? You want to go see a fantastic, wholesome movie? You like comedy, but also incredible animation, intricate storylines, adventure, and heart-wrenching emotion? Well, you're in luck. Disney-Pixar has made a movie just for you.
We saw Up on Friday, but I've been told my movie reviews lack some... "eloquence," so I'm going to direct you to my favorite movie blog for their RAVING review of UP. I love summer movie season... :)

For the over-25 set

2009-05-26T16:07:00.001-07:00

If you are 25 or older, or approaching that age, please read this. Thank you.

Five random things in my purse

2009-05-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

1. USB memory card adapter - Because you never know when you will need to put some photos onto your computer! It looks so beat up because I've been carrying it around for 2 years!!

2. Dental floss - has come in handy more than I every would have imagined (think pineapple, popcorn at the movies, steak/broccoli/lettuce from a restaurant, etc!)

3. Tide to go - I guess that's not so random, because lots of women carry one, but mine is unique because it's there for messy Ivy, not messy kids.

4. Artificial nail glue - classy, huh? I also use it as superglue when stuff breaks.

5. A very cute, very NOT functional fake Chanel wallet - I bought this for ten bucks at an outdoor market in L.A., and in retrospect should have investigated it much more fully. Problems: 1) there's no pocket for coins, so they're flying all around the inside of my purse and of course I can never find them when I want them. I even resorted to putting them in a ziplock bag. Classy, Ivy, classy. 2) the wallet is constructed badly, so I can't even keep my cards in the slots, because I can't get them out on demand. Jeremy calls this the "Law of Diminishing Returns." I wonder when I'll give up and revert back to the old wallet? We'll see!

Because I love this Buster

2009-05-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

Reggie is three now, which is amazing. Anyway, here he is standing guard in our (newly green and almost lush) front yard.

Fun Videos

2009-05-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

I love these Nike commercials with puppets of Kobe and Lebron. But I can't figure out how to post them straight onto the blog, so here are the links:
Chalk
Championship Rings

Movie Review - Star Trek

2009-05-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and I saw Star Trek on opening weekend (Sunday matinee) which confirms his Trekkie-status (that, and he giggled his way through the movie) and makes me the nerdy tag-along wife. But I'm okay with that. The theater was full, which is consistent with the movie's $72 million opening weekend. (WOW) I haven't seen much Star Trek (movies or TV) but Jeremy watches reruns now and then, so I know who the main characters are, which made following this a little easier.

The Good: I loved pretty much all of this movie. The casting was dead-on (one review I read said Zachary Quinto was born to play Spock - I agree), the action was amazing, the plot line was good, and it was FUNNY!

The Bad: I would actually say there was a little too much action. We barely got to know the characters, since they were constantly fighting or getting beaten up.

Anyway, I know I liked this movie, because I've never had a desire to see Star Trek, but after seeing this one, I can't wait for the next! As a matter of fact, I think I would pay to see it again in the theater. Maybe.

Movie Review - 17 Again

2009-05-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend I saw 17 Again and Star Trek. Today's review is for 17 Again:

The Good: Zac Efron is a bona-fide STAR. That kid can do it all. And his character in this movie wasn't overly cheesy (like his High School Musical character), but I am starting to wonder if he can do anything besides play a "basketball-playing jock." We'll see.

This is your typical "go back and try your life again" flick, and of course it has a predictable "I guess I did things right the first time" ending, but I knew it would be like that, and they do a great job with the humor and storyline. Also, Thomas Lennon as the nerdy best friend is fantastic, and the source of most of the great comedic lines.

The Bad: Oh, this movie is SO predictable, and had some incredibly awkward scenes (sex education class). Also, I thought Matthew Perry was sort of "dry" as the grown-up version of Efron, but his character was supposed to be downtrodden, so I guess that works.

Overall, this was very cute, and funny. It's almost done in the theaters, so I suggest you wait a month or so and rent it. Very cute!

Springtime Miracles

2009-05-08T10:14:00.001-07:00

I love that I'm reading Genesis right now, and Wednesday, this appeared over Pullman:

Genesis 9:8-17

Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you - the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you - every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth." And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."

I think that the DOUBLE rainbow signifies that God loves us doubly. :)

HGH Much?

2009-05-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

As I said yesterday, we saw Wolverine last night. I liked it, because I'm a dork and I love comic book movies. Actually, after looking over my list of movies I want to see, I'm realizing I kinda like guy flicks (with the exception of My Sister's Keeper). But that's okay, I guess. Just means my husband will be more willing to tag along.

Things I liked: Well first, the most obvious - there was lots of man-flesh in this one. Producers were pretty hesitant to cover up Hugh Jackman's beefed-up physique, since the most he ever wore was a wife beater. And not only that, but there was Ryan Reynolds (who played Deadpool, and will soon have his own X-Men Origins movie). And there was Taylor Kitsch (from Friday Night Lights, who plays Gambit).

Okay, once you've gotten over the hotness (who doesn't like muscles, really?), look at the picture again. Hugh Jackman has never been that big and veiny, and holy cow, since when is Ryan Reynolds that huge? I know Hollywood is big on HGH (300, anyone?) but COME ON. They look like Hulk Hogan after finding out his daughter had a sex tape released.

I don't mean to post a million pictures of men (really) but here are Jackman and Reynolds "before" pictures:

Skinny-minnies! (by comparison)

Okay, so back to the movie review. I liked it a lot, and we even waited around after the credits for the 30 second clip. I liked that there were cameos by lots of mutants (Cyclops, Emma Frost, Silver Fox, Wraith, Agent Zero), but I didn't like the ending. I won't go into detail, for anyone who plans to see the movie, but let's just say it was a waste.

Summer Movie Schedule

2009-05-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

Last year, I made a list of movies I want to see (or I think might be worth seeing) over the Summer. So, here we go again!!!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May 1st. We are seeing this one tonight. I'll post my thoughts on it tomorrow. I know you can't wait. :)

Star Trek - May 8th

Terminator Salvation - May 21st

Up - May 29th

The Year One - June 19th

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - June 24th

My Sister's Keeper - June 26th

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - July 15th

Off to the races

2009-04-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try and sound all "triathlete-chic" and say that Racing Season has begun. Please don't make fun of my times, because I'm new to all this, and my only main goal is to just FINISH all these events.

I started training a few weeks back with a friend of mine, Erika, who is great about ahem, "encouraging" me to work out at least three times a week. The best thing for me is working out in the weight room with the football team, because they're very good about "motivating" each other to push hard, which makes me push harder, just being near them.

A few weeks back, Jeremy, Reggie and I did the Canine Canter, which is a 5k fundraiser for the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine, and I finished in about 33 minutes. Then, last weekend, I bought a bike. It's a used Fuji hybrid with road tires, handlebar extensions, and a racing seat, so I think it's just about perfect for my needs. I need a lot of practice, though, because I'm not comfortable yet.

This weekend is Bloomsday, a 12k, and should be a fun family event, with Jeremy and my whole family running. My goal is to finish in 90 minutes, which would mean 12-minute miles. I think I can do it if the motivation is there, and my "weaving" skills are up to par. Jeremy's hoping to finish in 60 minutes. I know he can do it!!

THEN start the traithlons. This means I need to get into a pool to start swimming. I bought a swim cap and goggles, and found out that the pool on campus has a "women's session" on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I'm going to go. I am! Really.

We're already signed up for the Race the River Triathlon in Coeur d'Alene on July 26th, but I think I want to do another one as well. I'm considering:
- Spring Festival Triathlon/Duathlon in Moses Lake, 5/25 (sprint distance)
- The Moses Lake Family Tri, 6/6 (offers family, sprint, and olympic distances)
- The Ellensburg Tri, 8/8 (close to sprint distance)

Let me know if you know anyone who has done any of these! 5/25 is awfully close, but we'll see!

In other news, I'm totally lovin this ring. Why are things like that so expensive? :(

Idol

2009-04-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

First, let me start by saying:
"Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness." Jonah 2:8

In the past, I have always enjoyed watching American Idol, although I will admit that the show is infinitely better when watched on DVR, because then you can fast forward through Seacrest's silly babble and the rough performances. This season, I knew it was all going downhill when the focused in on "bikini girl" for not one, or two, but THREE episodes.

Then we got to the top 20, and they started doing group performances. Oy, vey. In the past, these have been great! But this year, they're all cheesy and lip-synced, and boring.

Also, Paula Abdul has gotten increasingly crazy every single year. I did find out that her contract expires this year, and I'm hoping that the addition of fourth judge Kara Dioguardi is meant to ease the impact as Paula leaves the show. She brings nothing to it, constantly telling the contestants they were wonderful (despite how horrible they were), besides her goofy choreography last night.

I don't mean to sound like I'm ragging on the show. I really like Kara and Simon, and I praise the show for finding some truly great talent over the last 9 years.

But the funniest part of all this season is how it is so clear cut that Adam Lambert will win it all, and nobody else has a shot, despite how lovable Danny is or how cute Kris is.

A little something for the ladies

2009-04-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

So I'm really looking forward to seeing 17 Again. I love those "get a chance to go back and do it all over again" type movies, a la 13 Going on 30, Big, Freaky Friday, and Back to the Future.

I also really like Zac Effron. Here's why:And if that wasn't enough, here's another reason:

Oh, calm down everyone. He's legal (22). Oh, did I mention he can sing, too? :)

I love these!

2009-04-14T11:10:00.001-07:00

A new one. ABC Family played The Sound of Music on Sunday and I watched the whole stinkin' thing. :) So I could sing along with this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k

Fast Food Junkie

2009-04-10T11:30:00.001-07:00

I'm a self-proclaimed fast-food junkie. I absolutely love it, always have, and I absolutely know how bad it is for me. In fact, I'm pretty well-versed on it, having read most of Fast Food Nation and having a husband who I tease about his "organic lifestyle."

McDonald's is my guilty-pleasure of choice. I usually crave it three times a week, but I control myself and go for lunch usually about once every other week (sometimes more). I go through phases, though. In college, I went through a Taco Bell phase, because it was cheap and right by my house.

In fact, I'm actually thankful for things like Fast Food Nation and Supersize Me, because it made chains like McDonalds and Wendy's clean up their act a little bit. For example, McDonalds got rid of "super sizes," now sells salads and fresh fruit, cooks its fries in trans-fat free oil, and now offers milk and apples as an alternative to soda and fries for kids. (But don't forget that the apples come with caramel dipping sauce...)

While I'm on the topic, let's not forget that McDonald's is one of the few remaining very strong American companies, and along with Wal-Mart, employs more workers than any other corporation in our country. Not only that, but McDonalds is the US's largest purchaser of beef and potatoes (#2 in chicken). Talk about "good for the economy."

Of course, binge-eating fast food every day is completely idiotic and even, I think, a form of deliberate self-harm, which is why lawsuits against McDonalds for making you fat are so laughable. People, just like with everything else in life (alcohol, sun exposure, ice cream), MODERATION is key. Here's my favorite meal at McDonalds (what I usually get for lunch):
McChicken Sandwich - 360 calories
Small French Fry - 230 calories
Small Diet Coke - 0 calories

Now, while I realize that 590 calories is not exactly a healthy, smart lunch choice, it's better than, say, a Burger King triple Whopper with cheese (1200+ calories).

Here's Proverbs 23: 20-21. (ESV). "Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags."

A busy week!

2009-04-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

I've been grouchy lately, with seemingly no explanation. Turns out, I was Vitamin D deficient. (this is a self-diagnosis, by the way)

After one gloriously sunny weekend, two baseball games, and one really fun Sunday Brunch, I'm feeling much more myself. Which is definitely a good thing, since I've got a crazy week this week.

Monday - have friend over, watch the NCAA National Championship game.

Tuesday - WSU baseball, Bible study.

Wednesday - girls' movie night: Twilight, Marley & Me.

Thursday - open practice, judge video tryout submissions.

Friday - Good Friday service.

Saturday - 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. dance team tryouts.

Sunday - Easter (church, brunch).

I'm so excited to take on this week! And I think a BIG part of that is due to the sunshine! PTL

Recession-ista? I think not.

2009-03-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I found myself in dire need of sunless-tanner (not just any brand will do, you know) and socks. By the way, did you know they stopped making white crew socks for women? If you want em, you have to buy mens. Sorry, I know I've just ruined your day.

So, off to the Palouse Mall I went. Of course once I got there it was not just sunless tanner and socks I was looking for, I mean, seriously. However, we are in a serious economic recession, so it had been a while since I've been to the mall, and the plan was to remain frugal.

I expected the mall to be a place of shame - a place where only those who are blind to our financial reality would go - a place where you are not to be seen. Spending money, of course, is something only the rich and careless are doing these days, right? WRONG.

The mall was PACKED. Like, waterpark on July 28th packed. There were lines at the dressing room at Old Navy (chalk-full of summer styles, by the way). Ross had just gotten a new shipment of clothes, and they were packed too. You couldn't even look through the racks easily, for all the people there. And the LINE at the dressing room? Oy. I bought some stuff. I even ran into numerous people I know. Weird.

But the weirdest part? I bought skinny jeans. Didn't see that one coming.

How embarassing

2009-03-17T10:34:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm officially embarassed because it has been almost a month since I've posted. I knew this would happen. And I almost forgot my password to log in. I vow henceforth to never go this long again. Sorry. Oops. Moving on.

The Cougs made the NIT tourney, which of course, is not the big dance, but is nonetheless quite an accomplishment, especially for a team in a "rebuilding year." They play St. Mary's tonight at 8:00 and my eyeballs will be firmly glued to my television set. Go Cougs! No, I'm not in California with the team. However, if they make a run in this tourney and get to the final four, I'll be taking my kids to Madison Square Garden in NYC. GO COUGS!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I had a serious dilemma this morning, because I wanted to wear my Coug gear, but it is most definitely not green. So I settled for a green sweater for the 1st part of today, and I'll wear WSU stuff this evening. I love that this is my biggest problem today. :)

It's also Spring Break and Pullman is deserted. I'm trying to take full advantage. I got my oil changed this morning in 25 mintues flat, will have my studded tires taken off (which will undoubtedly stop the snowfall), take Reggie to the vet, and go to the eye doctor. How productive!

It has been nice to have some slow days, work wise, but I already miss the kids and can't wait to have open practices, so I can see them again. Then comes tryouts. Lookout! It'll be competitive this year! :)

Top o' the mornin' to ya!

An Update

2009-02-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

1. The mice are all gone, it seems. Thank goodness. I'm not sure we could stand killing any more of them!
2. Valentine's Day was lovely! We had a fun night in, watching movies and eating calzones. :)
3. Basketball season is almost over, with only 5 more games at home. It seems like the last two months have flown by! Here's me working a game, wearing the awesome Britney Spears headset, getting ready to do a promotion at a timeout...

4. Jeremy got a new job, at the University of Idaho. He is their new Director of Athletic Development (which means he's a fundraiser). He starts March 2nd, and I'm very excited and happy for him.

5. In light of #4, we are planning on putting our house on the market in the next couple months. If it sells, great. If not, that's okay too. So if you know of anyone who wants to buy a cute little bungalow in Pullman...
6. As happens every February, I'm sick of winter. March is a really difficult month for me, because it's long, and it's cold, and it's dreary. Luckily for me, I'm going to L.A. on the 11th for the Pac-10 basketball tournaments. Maybe it will be 80 degrees there. A girl can dream.
7. In Pullman, the city combats the bad roads with gravel. Gravel, gravel, and more gravel. So by this time of year, it has gotten to a completely ridiculous point. I tried to take the dog on a walk the other day, and was slipping all over the sidewalks because of all the gravel. I hope they clean it up soon!

Three Blind Mice

2009-02-04T09:40:00.000-08:00

Or I guess I should say "three dead mice."

Mouse #1: Death by overdose on dog food. Found while scooping food into container. Screams ensued for 5 minutes.

Mouse #2: Murdered by Reggie "the Exterminator" Wang while trying to escape from underneath the dishwasher. Funny, I would have thought Reggie was a lover, not a killer.

Mouse #3: Decapitated by medieval torture device (mouse trap). Poor thing. Probably thought it was just going to enjoy a nice little peanut buttery snack.

My house has become a war zone. I just hope we got em all, so I can start the cleaning and sanitizing process...

Movies in 2009 - so far, so good!

2009-01-28T14:29:00.000-08:00

The last few months, Jeremy and I have been procrastinating on movies we'd like to see. We wait and wait and then when we finally decide to go see a movie, it's no longer playing in the theater. This happened with both Marley and Benjamin Button. So now I guess we wait until we can rent them. Oh, well.

So last week I decided to be proactive and see the movies we were interested in RIGHT AWAY. I went with a group of girlfriends to Bride Wars, not expecting much, just some cute actresses and lots of silliness. Bride Wars was that, but it was also, surprisingly, a pretty good flick! I even got into it enough to cry at the end.

Then, Jeremy and I had 'date night' and went to see Slumdog Millionaire. I thought it was one of the best, most well-made, beautiful, depressing, uplifting (yes, I know that doesn't make sense) movies I've seen in years. I absolutely recommend it. I love the way they tell the story. I know it's only January, but this is my "must-see" movie of 2009 so far.

A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-01-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

I think a combination of laziness and excessive travel have kept me from updating my blog more regularly, but don't you worry! Blogging more often is one of my 2009 resolutions. For more, read on! Thanks to Andrea who I stole this little questionnaire from!

Life is about personal growth, right? :)

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? I travelled to new places! (Hawaii, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas!)

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I think last year I resolved to lose weight, which I did! Yay!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes, I had two close friends from college who had beautiful babies!

4. Did anyone close to you die? No, praise God!

5. What countries did you visit? My sister and I went to Vancouver, BC for a week.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? Maybe a new car? Maybe.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? March 18-29, NCAA Tournament, WSU's run to the Sweet 16, and getting to be there every step of the way. September 12th, flying to Texas, cramming in a football game, and flying back all in one day to avoid Hurricane Ike. November 22nd, incredible Apple Cup. And November 27th, flying to my new favorite place on earth, Hawaii.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I think just doing better at my job.

9. What was your biggest failure? The horrible Kid's Clinic I held last year (unorganized, not productive). I did better this year, but our numbers were down because of how bad it was last year... :(

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No!

11. What was the best thing you bought? A new golf driver. :)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I think my cheer and dance teams win this one - so far this year has been blissfully drama-free.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? As usual, the candidates running for office - Gregoire and Rossi were the worst.

14. Where did most of your money go? Mortgage, groceries, new bike for JP.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Being in Hawaii?

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? There's a LOT, but I'll say Jordin Sparks, No Air.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder?b) thinner or fatter?c) richer or poorer? happier, thinner, and about the same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Worked out and read my Bible.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Gossip, drink, and watch TV.

20. How did you spend Christmas? TEN days in Spokane with the Wangs and Plewmans. Very nice.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? I think I "stayed in love."

22. What was your favorite TV program? The Office, Ugly Betty.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I don't think so.

24. What was the best book you read? I got the most "sucked-into" the Twilight series, but the best book was probably Water for Elephants.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? I love Sara Bareilles.

26. What did you want and get? Clothes, and lots of them.

27. What did you want and not get? A car. Hopefully in the next 2 years.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? Ironman.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was in Hawaii, snorkeling and working Cougar Football. I turned 27.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? I really loved 2008. Maybe less time in front of the boob tube and more time spent with people.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? "Cheer-coach spandex-chic."

32. What kept you sane? My husband, Starbucks, my family, and blogging.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Can't think of one.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? Presidential race

35. Who did you miss? My girlfriends from college. I'm very cut off in Pullman.

36. Who was the best new person you met? I'd have to say Erika, my dance team coach.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. I think God is teaching me how selfish I am. Trying to work on that...

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. ??

Hawaii

2008-12-01T12:51:00.000-08:00

I can't really describe it in words, so I'll let the photos do the talking for me. These are just a very small sampling, but I really beleieve that we took advantage of every single second of our trip!
Me at the game wearing my lei from the University of Hawaii cheer squad!

Hanama Bay, where we went snorkeling. So fun!

Me on Waikiki beach.

The girls and I after dinner at Benihana.

Update

2008-11-18T10:37:00.000-08:00

I guess we're officially in November (cracks me up that I just now realized this, on the eighteenth!!) because I'm sick and busy and feel like I can't catch up. Don't take this as complaining, because I am starting to feel better, and busy is good, because it means productivity, and I am truly blessed for having a job that I love, even when I'm running around like a chicken with a sinus infection.

I just finished reading Tony Dungy's book, and it was fascinating! He's an incredible, good man, and it's great he was able to have this book published. It also gives you some insight into the NFL - very different from college athletics. I think it's understandable why players making that transition often have a hard time.

Got the Twilight movie coming out on Friday, so I'm looking forward to seeing it with my sister and Casey. It'll be us and 300 teeny-boppers, but I'm sure it will be a fun time. Like most girls who read these books, I found myself completely obsessed. I read about 2,000 pages in about 10 days. Yikes!

I'm also looking forward to Thanksgiving, because I am so thankful for everything and everyone in my life. We're having a "pre-Thanksgiving" next Monday in Spokane, since I'll be on a work trip over the real holiday. Very nice of my family to move their holiday for me. They're having other big meals on the real day, of course, but I will be here. :) Sweeeet. Yes, that building with the rainbow in it is our hotel. Ha!

The weather is really up-and-down right now, with 60 degrees and sun one day, and 40 degrees and rain/wind the next. But I guess that's Fall on the Palouse!

More advice you didn't ask for - the ladies' edition!

2008-11-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

* Wear the high heels.

* Men like it when you ask them to open jars.

* Lipstick is almost always a good idea.
* Never let a man watch you put on a pair of panty hose.

* Learn to type. You'll struggle through life if you hunt and peck. Besides, you can always be an administrative assistant if you lose your job.

Now here's where you can advise me - how do you keep from suffering Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) when it's 40 degrees and rainy (and windy and dark) and your job requires that you stand outside for six hours and watch a terrible football team every Saturday? :(

Leaves

2008-10-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I was SO proud of myself last Friday because I raked up ALL the leaves in our front yard, put as many as I could into our yard waste bin, and put the rest in piles. Then, we left for the weekend to hang out in Spokane with the families, and to my dismay, came back on Sunday to this:

And as you can see, there are still PLENTY of leaves left on the trees. Luckily, I have a great husband who raked all these leaves up on Monday before I even got home from work! Whew.

Oops

2008-10-23T10:28:00.001-07:00

Whoa, it's been a long time. I guess I've been busy at work, when I don't feel like I should be, mostly because we're doing so poorly in football, and because basketball hasn't started yet. I thought that going into this year, I would feel HUGE releif, and the job would be easier than last year.

On the contrary! I've been feeling much busier than last year, which I guess is partly due to my giving myself more work, in the name of "improving the program." Good for me. But enough about work.

Other things are much more interesting. Going to Spokane this weekend to see both sets of parents, who we haven't seen in quite a while. Going to watch the WORLD SERIES, where the Phillies won game one yesterday, and I am quite literally praying that they continue to win, for the sake of my husband's sanity.

Also going to Costco this weekend (I love Costco) and picking up leaves in the front yard for the 2nd time this year. The sad thing is that if you look at my trees, they don't look like they've lost any leaves. (sigh)

But I love fall! The apple cider is in the grocery store. My favorite!

Advice part 1 - the everyman.

2008-10-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

You can never have too much good advice. There are some little tidbits below - some are kinda adapted from my mom, others are from websites and books I've read.

* When someone is drowning, don’t jump in after them. Find a branch.
* If you’re in a contest, you have to find a way to be different than everyone else.

* If you’re lost in the woods, follow a stream downstream and you’ll find houses.

* If you think something might need to be ironed, it probably does. Iron it.

* You can certainly have everything you want out of life. It just might not be all at the same time.

* It’s not what you make that makes you rich — it’s what you spend that makes you poor.

* Stand up for what you believe in until you are proven wrong. And if you are proven wrong, accept it gracefully.

* Expect to succeed. And expect to work for it.

* It’s easier to stay out of trouble than get out of trouble.

* You can’t please everyone. Some people will complain even if their ice cream is cold.

Goals

2008-09-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

Goal #1: Stop watching so much TV, and invest my time in something more meaningful (like reading and learning to be a better cook)

Reality: I love TV. Pathetic as it may be, I look forward to some of my shows (CSI, The Office, Ugly Betty, Project Runway, Gilmore Girls reruns, Heroes). I think the realistic goal is to only watch the TV I really love, and to stop watching the junk (America's Next Top Model, The Hills, etc.). I can do that.

Goal #2: Improve my housekeeping skills. Specifically, to develop a weekly schedule: clean the whole bathroom, clean the floors, clean up the yard, and change the bedding, every week.

Reality: Hard as it may be to believe, I really have gotten better about this in the last few years. I'm especially good at getting my laundry done weekly. The truth is, I'm a happier, more relaxed person in a clean environment. So that is my motivation to complete this goal.

Goal #3: Update Jeremy's and my wardrobe. Since he lost so much weight, and all my work pants have "issues," like too short, or saggy crotch, or too big.

Reality: I'll probably just pick a few pieces here and there, since the stark reality is that I can't afford the full Banana Republic/JCrew wardrobe that both Jeremy and I would love. Here we come, Old Navy.

Whoo-Hoo WaMu Friday

2008-09-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

Washington Mutual went under yesterday, being bought out by JP Morgan Chase. I worked as a teller for WaMu for about a year and a half, and it was an okay job. It was job #2 of 4 in Pullman, and of the four, I can probably say it was the 2nd best job I had here, mostly because of the people. I love those WaMulians!

But as a result of my working there, all but one of Jeremy and my personal financial accounts are at WaMu, including checking, savings, mortgage, and a Roth-IRA. So it was a little scary when Jeremy shouted from the living room "WaMu collapsed!!" Of course we are protected, all our money is safe, and we are now JP Morgan Chase customers.

Long story short: I heart the FDIC.

The death of a theory

2008-09-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

As you saw in my last post, I needed a hair cut in a dire way. My theory for the last couple of years is that "a haircut is a haircut, whether it costs $10 or $40."

So when I moved to Pullman, I tried Fantastic Sams (because that's where my mom always took us as kids). These places are usually franchised though, so you never really know what you're gonna get at your local "economical chain salon." I only went to the Pullman Fantastic Sams once, because I sat there the whole time thinking I was going to contract some horrible disease from dirty scissors.

The only other cheap-haircut option in Pullman is SuperCuts, which for the most part, has been pretty respectable. I never have to wait too long, and the ladies are always friendly. Plus, they sell great products and offer a "Buy 10, get 1 free" punchcard. I'd say I've been there about six times now (apparently I don't get my hair cut enough, since I've been here over four years) and have had about three good experiences.

The last two times, though, are enough to break my theory of cheap haircuts like a Michael Phelps swimming record. Every time I go, I try very hard to explain exactly what I want, and every time, I end up with something completely different. Both the ladies who've botched my hair have been very kind, and given me relatively cute haircuts. The problem is that these cute haircuts were definitely not what I asked for.

Yesterday I asked the girl to cut one inch off the longest layer of my hair, and to give my layers a very short trim, just to get rid of the dead ends. I ended up losing almost four inches of hair in some places, and I left there with a completely different shaped haircut than I wanted.

So I am officially in the market for a good hair stylist in the greater Moscow-Pullman metropolitan area - someone I can develop a relationship with, who will listen to me and actually understand what I'm asking for. I guess my days of the $10 haircut are over.

Just a few things

2008-09-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

I don't feel like I can form cohesive paragraphs today, so I'm doing bullets.

* Yesterday I did a back handspring at cheer practice. I was scared, but it went well and made me feel young.

* The weather is GORGEOUS. I don't remember the last time it was so warm in mid-September. I love it. I'm hoping it holds until Saturday (game day).

* I made it back safely from Texas (the storm came in about 90 minutes after we left).

* My brother-in-law is okay, but his apartment in Houston still doesn't have power.

* Today I appreciate my parents more than ever, the fact that they are healthy and happy, and close to me. I'm trying to help a friend through the sudden death of her mother, which is an emotional rollercoaster.

* I need a haircut (see photo).

I don't like Ike

2008-09-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Ike is headed straight for Waco, Texas, where Jeremy and I are going tomorrow. They have moved our football game from Saturday afternoon to Friday night, in the hopes that we'll get it in before the storm hits.

That's good, except it means that in one day, we have to:
- Fly to Texas
- Prepare for a football game
- Play (cheer) a football game
- Fly back to Pullman

Ugh. I think tomorrow will be 6 a.m. to 4 a.m. I CAN DO IT!

Working with college students

2008-09-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

I have a few observations from my year of working with college-age ladies and gentlemen. I hope this post doesn't come off as negatively sexist, but I KNOW that working with my guys and girls are two very different things.

Last year, since my cheer squad was not a stunting group, it was mostly ladies, with a few guys thrown in for good measure. The dance team (obviously) is all-female. This year, on the other hand, I have a huge group. In all, I'm working with 26 ladies and 17 guys. So it's a big group.

At cheer practice, twice a week, there are 12 guys and 12 girls. If I need to do some paperwork, or distribute something, or have a conversation with one athlete, it's interesting to see what happens to the rest of the group. The ladies will drop into something productive (usually) like stretching, or rehearsing dances. The guys, on the other hand, will completely lose it and start running around like monkeys. They usually end up trying to tumble (when they don't know how) or trying to jump up to try and reach the ceiling beams.

This is not to say the guys aren't hard-working. I know they give it their all at every practice, but the attention-span is just not there! Two minutes of down time and they are no longer focused on the task at hand. This is partly my fault as coach, not keeping them in line 100% of the time at practice, but I'm learning, and I think I'm getting better about keeping the whole group on task. I just can't help but acknowledge the stark difference between Monday practices (guys and girls) and Tuesday practices (ladies only). Oftentimes, we finish early on Tuesdays because the ladies are so much more on task that we accomplish everything more quickly.

All that being said, college cheerleading would not be what it is without men involved (as we established last year). This year has come with a whole new set of challenges for me, but I am truly loving every minute of it. I was nervous about having a whole team of guys, but I really appreciate them for their hard work, and what they contribute to our team - a sense of collegiate spirit and athleticism.

Also, the girls are terrible at running those huge flags! I'm glad to say that although our football team has looked far less than stellar for the last two weeks, the cheer squad and dance team have really stepped it up this year, deserving all the praise they've been receiving. Here's to my kids for working so hard and adding an entertainment value to games that are somewhat... lackluster. Go Cougs!