Hobbit-ish Potpurri: Anniversary Happenings, et al

Hey Humble Readers...

Yesterday was a crazy busy day around the hobbit-hole.  Add to the usual Saturday busy-ness (grocery shopping, tidying up the house, etc), it was our 5th anniversary.  It was certainly a different kind of day than the day we were married... it was blustery and snowy here yesterday, but five years ago in K-town we had a pretty nice day.  Nice enough to have pictures taken outside.  Like this one...

Anyway, my Beloved planned our anniversary celebration and he did a great job!  He booked a 'date night' at Heriage Ranch here in town.  We had a beautiful one hour carraige ride, all snuggled up under cozy blankets.  We got to see a family of deer through the trees, and even though it was chilly, we had a wonderful time.  I just wish we would have remembered to take some pictures. 

After the carraige ride, we were shown into a private dining room and he had pre-ordered our meal, so it just started coming.  A small antipasto platter, followed by tossed salads (I had a house made maple vinagrette... YUM!).  Then the BEST steak I have ever eaten (seriously Humble Readers... OMG!  It melted!), served with grilled asparagus, a baked potato, and garlic bread.  And yes, I was a bad girl and had dessert, too... chocolate peanut butter pie.  Because the package deal that my Beloved chose included alcohol, and we skipped that (obviously... I'm so looking forward to my first glass of wine when we go to K-town this summer!), the restaurant gave us two free movie passes. 

My Beloved is an incredible blessing in my life.  I know I have said it before, but he makes me a better person every day simply by being by my side.  There aren't enough words in the English language to express how much I love him, and how honoured I am that he chose me to share his life. 

*****
Also on the schedule yesterday was a big event at our church.  We, as a congregation, have been without a regular pastor for more than two years.  After a very long and drawn out call process, we chose a new pastor and he accepted the call.  He's only just recently graduated from seminary, and yesterday we had the privilege of being present at his ordination (when he officially 'becomes' a pastor).  It was a very moving service.  I wasn't the only one in tears when his wife and daughter (8 years old, she was also the crucifer for the service... she looked so proud carrying in the cross ahead of the procession of clergy) presented him with his stole.  I wish we could have stayed for the reception after, but we had to get home to meet the sitter and head out for our evening. 

*****
I had an NST this morning, so when my Beloved headed off to church, Ginny and I headed down the street to the hospital.  Everything went really well... blood pressure 132/69, Halfling's heartrate in the upper 150s, lots of movement, no contractions to speak of.  Ginny was a perfect angel the whole time, eating her goldfish crackers and charming the nurses.  The only downside was when Dr. W asked about my bloodsugars, and I confessed that I was a bad girl yesterday.  She gave me a dirty look and reminded me about watching my weight gain (I'm down 2 pounds by the way). 

*****
Tomorrow is a big cooking day.  I'm planning on making a big batch of marinara and a couple of shepherd's pies to freeze.  I've got a list of things that I want to make and freeze in the next weeks, and I need to get cracking on them.  Time is running out!

Week 30: Spring Is In The Air (or Not...)

Howdy Humble Readers...

I hope you all are enjoying some spring-like weather, where ever you are.  It's been unseasonably warm here on the northern flatland, and with the big dump of snow we got last week everything is still sloppy and slushy.  But it has been nice enough to have the windows of the house open in the afternoons.  I'm loving the fresh air!!

I'm anxious for spring to get here.  I'm tired of being cooped up in the house all the time.  I'm hoping, once the ice and slush are gone, to be able to go for short walks in the afternoon with Ginny.  She needs to get outside, and we both need to activity.  The reality is, we may yet get another blast of winter.  The first year that I lived in our little city it snowed at the end of May.  Last year we got snow in June.  It's not the norm, but it does happen.

(I wrote the above this afternoon... before we had a mini blizzard.  **sigh**  The weatherman told us it would be rain.)

In other news...  Sadly, we found out that we aren't going to be able to go away for our anniversary next month as we had planned.  I'm bummed, but hopefully we'll be able to do it next year.  It just would have been nice to do something a bit big for our fifth. 

And from the 'doh!' file... Because it was a bit of a hectic day, I forgot to call Dr. W's office on Friday to find out about the ultrasound results (if they were able to determine if it's placenta previa or not).  I called Monday, and discovered that her office is closed for the week.  I see her at the hospital next week Monday while I have an NST, but she won't have my file there, so I doubt she'll know. 

On to this week's update...

How far along? 30w0d (8 weeks to go)

Maternity clothes? Yup!

Body Oddities? VERY dry skin, alternating constipation and IBS flares, acne, back ache, cracking joints, super sore & slightly leaky boobs, dry/itchy eyes, leg cramps, round ligament pain, tingly fingertips, tired, gassy, Braxton Hicks, tendonitis in my thumbs, NEW THIS WEEK: nothing much

Sleep? Hit and miss.  I'm back to waking up between 3 and 4 am.  I end up being awake for an hour or two and then falling asleep on the couch.

Intense Dreams?  Re-reading the Hunger Games series has messed with my head.  Lots of weird hunting/being hunted dreams.  With a little of bombings and explosions thrown in for good measure.

Best moment this week? Making progress on my massive to do list.  It feels good to be working toward something.

Worst moment? Honestly, Ginny's having a rough week.  Between teething (that is showing no discernible progress), a growth spurt, and attempting the switch from two naps to one... it's been a challenging few days.

Movement? I think the Halfling has turned finally.  Oh, and the little one has had the hiccups a few times this week.  Still waiting for the moment when Ginny feels a kick.

Food cravings/aversions? Shamrock shakes... (thanks a lot, Amy! LOL)  Thank heaven they are only available for another week.  Then the temptation will be gone.  Really, I just want anything ice cold. 

Rings?  Still on... I have, this week, reached my pre-pregnancy weight.  It's a couple of weeks ahead of last time, but I'm not overly concerned.  I just need to keep things under control from here on out. 

Gender?  I had a brief stretch when I was getting 'boy' vibes, but I'm back to thinking of the Halfling as a girl.

Medical Concerns? Gestational Diabetes (insulin 5 times a day), High blood pressure (on 50mg of lobetalol 3x daily), continued heartburn (on 60mg of Pan.taloc daily), kidney stones, low lying placenta, low iron.

What I miss? Being able to get things out of the bottom of the fridge or the lower cupboards. 

What I look forward to? My Dad may be coming to town for work again later this month.  I'm hoping that he'll be able to spare some time to help me do a couple of things around the house.

Emotional State? Mostly okay this week.  I've had some bad stretches, but overall, better than last week.

Show & Tell: Two Whole Years

This is my first time participating in Mel's Show and Tell... so I hope I do this right. :)

This week we are celebrating our second anniversary. I can't believe that it's been two years already! I am so blessed!

I decided to share a few random pictures from our wedding. These are all things that illustrate the theme of our day... whimsy! As you can likely already tell, I chose red and white for our main colours for the wedding (with a little yellow and orange thrown in for contrast).

We wanted our special day to reflect us... and as neither of us is particularly elegant or sophisticated we thought that trying to be that way at our wedding would be silly. Most of all, we just wanted to be relaxed and have fun!

Instead of a wedding cake, I chose to do cupcakes! Not only was it a whole heck of a lot cheaper than a wedding cake, but it set the mood entirely. And they tasted great (even if the red icing did stain my niece's face).

Instead of having fancy little bags of almonds or other froo-froo favours to give away, we had a candy buffet. At the end of the Valentine candy season, I stocked up on cinnamon hearts, candy hearts(the ones with little messages on them), jelly beans, chocolate kisses, and m & m's.

We had little red and white chinese food take out boxes with our 'Thank You' tags attached with our signature red and white polka-dot ribbon. Everyone was able to choose what they liked and have their own little stash of treats for the end of the night.

Our service was presided over by a wonderful lady who is a children's pastor. We were fortunate enough to be able to have the service in the church building where I grew up (even tho I no longer attended there). Pastor J, who presided, chose to use "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" as a part of her sermon. It was absolutely perfect and a total fluke!

My niece, R, was our flower girl. When we went looking for her dress, I had no real picture in my head as to what I wanted for her. But when we saw her dress... white and foofy, with red rose petals in the skirt... I fell in love! And so did she! She was a real trooper that day, four years old and trying on dress after dress. Seeing as she had flowers on her dress, I chose for her to carry a bouquet of lollipops. She was very excited, until she found out that she was going to have to share them with her brother, N. N served as a very special usher (I think that almost six is too old to be a ring bearer, so he walked my grandmothers, and my mom to their seats).

The last picture I want to share is one of my favourites from that day. We had the majority of our pictures taken at a park in my hometown... and as it was April, the trees were just starting to bud and leaf out. The grass was particularly soft yet, and that combined with my aversion to high heels, I quickly changed from my pretty strappy sandals, to a pair of platform flip-flops (totally hidden by my dress). As we made our way around the park that afternoon, me fighting with my dress and veil, my beloved was extremely helpful... he carried my shoes and my little handbag without embarassment and in true manly style.

I love remembering that day. It went by so fast! I loved every minute of it. I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful man in my life... supporting me through all our ups and downs. He is my best friend, my soulmate, my beloved.

Don't forget to stop by Mel's to check out what the rest of the class is showing this week!