Sunday Night Chit Chat: Happy Hobbit Day!!

Hey Humble Readers...

Happy Hobbit Day everyone!  Today is my hairy-toed cousins' (several times removed, of course) birthday!  I should have planned a bit of a celebration, but you know what?  I kind of forgot *gasp* until just a little while ago. 

I was in a great mood all day, even with Pippin having a major meltdown at church this morning, until about an hour ago.  Then I had to use power tools.  That involved a lot of foul language, an injured finger, and a few ugly scratches on my newly painted bathroom walls.  But at least the new mirror is finally up, as are the towel hooks.  Whew!

Just realized that Pip was wearing the WRONG colours!
He's wearing Lions orange.  Bah!
Gotta find that kid something in Rider green. 

Today was a football day for the residents of this little hobbit hole.  Ginny was particularly excited because she got to wear her own "jersey shirt" this afternoon.  She's had it for a while but it was way too big last year, and way too warm to wear it until now.  Sadly, the Riders lost it in the last 30 seconds of the game (personally, I think they came to the game too late).  But Ginny was having a blast cheering for "da green guys".  At least she was most of the time.  Sometimes she would cheer for the wrong team, but she thought that was terribly funny. 

She told Daddy that she wants to be a
football player.  Too cute!

Tomorrow's post will be the second half of my interview with actor, director, author, and my friend, JR Vikse.  I heard a rumour that there might even be another give away... You better stop by to check it out.  :)

On to this week's chit chat.  Here's what I'm...

Reading - I'm about a third of the way into The Cuckoo's Calling.  Mystery isn't usually my taste, but I'm liking this one, and no, not just because JK Rowling wrote it.  The main character is intriguing, and I'm liking the grittiness of it.  Who knows, there might be more mysteries in my future. 

Watching - A Mike Holmes show.  Not sure which one, he has a bunch on HGTV.  But I love him, and what he does to make things right for people who have been screwed over by unethical contractors. 

Listening To - My Beloved, making his lunch for tomorrow.

Cooking/Baking - Tonight was a roasted turkey breast, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.  Pretty tame.  Tomorrow is Chicken Pesto Pizza and salad.  I'm also making a big pot of vegetable soup (for my lunches next week) and I'm thinking I'm going to try altering my favourite pumpkin bread recipe into something a bit lower carb.  I've been craving pumpkin bread.

Happy I Accomplished This Week - All my cooking.  The pesto, the tomato sauce, the plum jam.  I managed to get the hobbit-hole cleaned, and I remembered to go to the eyewear place to get them to fix my frames (yes, I had a screw loose). 

Looking Forward To Next Week - Hopefully seeing some movement on the scale.  Donating blood.  Trying a couple of new recipes.

Thankful For - Awesome sales (see the Bonus Question), children who fall asleep before the bedtime story is over, free movie rental from our cable company that allowed us to see "Silver Linings Playbook" (GREAT movie). 

***Bonus Question*** Have you started thinking about Christmas? Shopping yet? Planning anything??  Of course I have!  I started really thinking about it last month, and started my planning right after our little mini-vacation.  I have I have a few gifts already, including my Beloved's main gift.  I went out today, just planning on pricing out a few options, and ended up finding a smoking good price on what I was looking for.  Seriously, I saved more than 50% on it (sorry I can't tell you all what it is, but my Beloved reads this from time to time, and I don't want him to find out).  I was stoked.  I also got a few ideas for the wee-lings, and decided that some of the ideas I thought we would go with just wouldn't work.  I start early so that I can watch for good sales, and to spread out the shopping so that it's not as big a hit on our budget.  I actually have much more to say about how I plan for the holidays, but I think I'll do a whole separate post for that later in the week. 

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This was posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Pop over and check out what the others are chatting about this week. 

Sunday Night Chit Chat: This & That

Howdy Humble Readers...

Miss Ginny at the park

Pippin hangin' out in the front yard 

I hope you've all had a great weekend. 

(Before I forget... J.R. has released a sneak peek of his upcoming book release on his website.  Click over to check it out, and if you don't know what or who I'm talking about, go here to read my interview with author J.R.Vikse and enter my giveaway!)

Things in the hobbit-hole were hoppin' yesterday.  My Beloved and the Wee-lings left for Little Town To The South at around 8:30 in the morning.  I got to work on painting the bath and hall by 9:00.  I was still at it when they got home at 8:00 last night, but I was doing extra, unplanned painting in our front entryway.  It wasn't until ten o'clock last night that I was able to take a shower and scrub off all the splatters and splotches.  I was hoping to have before and after pics for you all, but there are still a few details (like a new mirror, which won't be getting purchased until next weekend) that need to be installed.  Overall, I'm happy with the results.  It's much brighter, and feels a bit more spa-like. 

Today has been much less productive, in large part due to a lousy night's sleep and aching muscles.  I managed to get myself to Wa.lma.rt to buy myself some new walking shoes.  Hopefully they last longer than the last pair (not from Wally World, but from a chain shoe store). 

Something I learned yesterday (beyond the fact that painting a bathroom sucks)... I don't handle separation from my family well.  Specifically, me being at home by myself, with them out of town.  It was surprising and honestly a bit upsetting to discover that I was very anxious as they were leaving.  Off and on throughout the day, waves of uneasiness would wash over me.  It's odd, because I've never had this issue before, like when I've gone to Big City To The North with the girls.  I'm hoping it's just a phase. 

And speaking of phases... I say this in a whisper, as I don't want to jinx it, but it appears that Ginny is coming out of her "I don't want to feed myself" phase.  She's very proud of herself when she finishes eating in a timely manner, and when she hasn't needed any help from us.  One thing that may have helped is that we are now allowing her to have a cup with a bit of water at dinner time.  She's one of those kids who would fill herself on a drink and not eat, so the rule has always been that beverages come after meal time.  Now, at dinner, she gets a special cup half full of water, and she's allowed to take sips after every few bites.   I don't know if there's a correlation, but I'm happy nonetheless.

Onto this week's chit chat.  Here's what I'm...

Reading...  Mistress Of My Fate by Hallie Rubenhold.  The jury is still out on it.  Parts of it makes me think of a regency era Twilight, but other parts are quite good.  We'll have to see how it comes together at the end.  Not sure what's on deck, as I am at the top of the wait list at the library for the Robert Gailbraith (aka JK Rowling) novel.  We'll see if I get a call from them in the next couple of days. 

Watching...  A Mythbusters marathon.  I love those guys. 

Listening to...  my Beloved mutter to himself as he studies for his next CGA exam. 

Cooking/Baking...  Tonight was pretty tame.  Steaks with compound butter, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots and broccoli.  I had some of my no sugar added, lactose free maple walnut ice cream for dessert (it actually tastes a lot better than it sounds). 

Happy I Accomplished This Week...  Ummm, well I painted the bathroom, the hall, the entry way and coat closet.  While I actually gained back a few pounds, I discovered I HAVE A COLLAR BONE!  You can see it, a little.  It's been missing for the last decade or so. 

Looking Forward To Next Week... This week is going to be a challenge.  Lots to do, and a short time to get it done.  But it's all for a good reason... VACATION!  My daily to do lists are a little crazy, but I am adamant that I won't leave anything in the hobbit-hole for my MIL (who will be here to care for the Wee-lings) to clean or reorganize. 

Thankful for... That my family is safe and sound, under our roof.

***Bonus Question*** Are you sad that summer is coming to an end, or looking forward to the fall months? I have always loved autumn.  It's always been a season of beginnings.  My birthday, the start of the school year (which I have always loved, even when my life hasn't been defined by school), the lead up to the holidays, the cooler weather after the heat of summer.  All of it breathes new life into my soul. 

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This is posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Pop over and check out what the others are chatting about tonight. 

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: A Tale Of Two Dressers

Howdy Humble Readers...

First and foremost, if you're here from ICLW, check out my introductory post here.  And if you are looking for my interview with up & coming author, J.R. Vikse, check it out here.  Don't forget to enter for the giveaway of J.R.'s debut novel The Lazy Postman (and don't forget to check back next month for the second part of my interview with him about his new book, The Keeper Chronicles: Playing With Fire). 

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I'm taking a break from my prep for the painting I'm going to be doing this weekend (sooooo sick of plaster dust from filling dings and holes), just so I can come chat with you fine folks.  The hallway is completely prepped now... holes filled, sanded, and trim/doorframes are taped.  Bathroom is almost ready to go.  I need to tape the trim and take down the medicine cabinet (I hate the thing.  It's going into the dumpster).  Other than just painting, I'm completely reorganizing our little bathroom, so I stocked up on storage containers for under the sink at the dollar store.  I also bought hooks for our towels (not enough room for towel bars for all four of us), a new towel ring for the hand towel, and a shelving unit for over the toilet.  My Beloved and the wee-lings are heading down south to my MIL's place for the day, so that I can have the hobbit-hole to myself.  Yay!

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It's a hazy warm day here in the Shire, I think from the wild fires burning south of the border.  We've actually had a really nice stretch of weather the last week or so.  Warm but not too humid, and cool at night so we can sleep.  A nice change from the majority of the summer, which has either been soggy or muggy.

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I'm in a quandary, Humble Readers.  My Beloved and I decided that for our birthdays (his at the end of the month, mine is the middle of next month) we are going to buy new dressers for our bedroom.  Since before Ginny was born, my Beloved has been using a laundry basket for clothes storage, because we stole his dresser and painted it for the nursery.  The dresser I have is a cheapo-pressboard-piece-of-junk that's falling apart.  For quite a long time I have been fixated on a dresser from Ik.ea...

Hemnes 3 drawer dresser - $149.99
image courtesy www.ikea.com

I actually really like the bigger version, the one with 5 drawers, but two of those is not an option budget-wise.  While I was on their website, I came across this...

Tarva 5 drawer dresser - $139.99
image courtesy www.ikea.com

It's bigger and actually cheaper than the three drawer unit above.  I like the general style of it, but it's natural pine, which means I would have to stain it or paint it.  I have never stained anything before, so I'm not sure how good I would be at that.  Painting would probably be a better option because I have done that in the past... but then the issue of where I would paint them, and keep the wee-lings away from them while they dry. 

Any thoughts?  Suggestions?

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I have to report that the lack of exercise over the last several weeks due to the lingering crud has taken its toll.  I have gained back a few pounds (of course, I'm too pathetic to record that on my tickers).  Gah!  And to add insult to injury, the new walking shoes I bought  back in June are already headed to the trash.  The insoles are shredded and there are already holes in the toes.  Grrr... I spent a decent amount of money on them.  And the only other shoes I have to walk in are my Sha.pe Up.s, which hurt my toes.  Not exactly motivating.  I am going to have to get a new pair of shoes, it's just dang frustrating. 

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Pippin just got his one year vaccinations on Wednesday, only three months late.  He's doing pretty well with them, only a bit of a fever yesterday and some general grumpiness.  He's over 25lbs now, and 32.5 inches tall.  He's catching up to Ginny so fast.  Too fast.  I talked to the nurse about his lack of talking, and she told me not to be concerned just yet.  Because he's a second child, and a boy, it's very common that speech can be a bit delayed.  She gave me some suggestions to help him strengthen the muscles in his face and how to encourage him to talk.  It's apparent that he understands much of what we are saying.  He responds to most directions and comments directed at him.  He dances to music, and he likes to laugh, squeal, make lots of little boy noises.  I guess I just need to be patient.  The nurses also suggested that we hound Dr. B to get Pippin in to an allergist, given the extent of his eczema.  Most doctors around here like to wait until the little ones are closer to two years old before they go the allergist route. 

*****
Well, I should get back to work on the prep for painting.  Pippin has just crashed in his playpen, and Ginny is snoozing in the nursery, which means I have about an hour of uninterrupted work time.  Woohooo!

Sunday Night Chit Chat:

Hey Humble Readers...

All things considered, it's been an okay week here in the hobbit-hole.

The good...

• I've been consistent with going for walks every day this week.  I've increased my steps per day from a low of around 2500 to a high of just over 8000 (target - 10000).  I'm averaging between 5000 and 6000 right now.  Starting tomorrow I'm going to be adding in my walking poles (for those unfamiliar... imagine ski poles with blunted ends) to help work out my upper body. 
• I have been counting all my carbs (as best I can... it's an inexact science I'm afraid) and measuring everything.  I'm keeping my counts below my self-imposed targets (breakfast < 30, lunch < 45, dinner < 60) and I may be able to lower those targets soon. 
• My blood sugars have been dropping steadily, and while they aren't where they need to be, they are markedly improved.  I'm not sure how much of that is attributable to the metformin and how much to diet and exercise (I'm guessing maybe two thirds/one third), but however it's happening, I'm glad of it. 
• I have lost a little over two pounds this week, so I am less than half a pound away from my original weight-loss target!!!  Woohoo!
• Pippin went for his first haircut this weekend.  He looks like such a big boy.  Less than two weeks until his birthday... how the time flies!
• We actually had weather warm enough for me to break out my new capris and flip flops.  Of course, there is a possibility of snow in the forecast for the next few days, but we are supposed to be back up around 18C by mid week.

The bad...

• While the metformin is doing its job on my blood sugars, it's also doing a number on my lower GI.  There has only been one day in the past 10 where I haven't had an IBS flare.  Not fun, and certainly not convenient.
• When I got back from my walk on Friday morning, my Beloved and I discovered that we had no hot water.  If you've been around here awhile, you may recall that we had just had the hot water tank replaced a year and a half ago, so you can imagine how unimpressed I was.  After waiting all day for the plumber to come, we discovered that our gas had been shut off.  On a Friday.  There has been a huge mess about the gas bill (basically, my Beloved who is our condo board treasurer hasn't been getting the bills.  Our board president changed our service provider a couple of months ago, and has never gotten around to giving us any of the paperwork... like I said, a huge mess).  We have been without hot water all weekend, and likely won't have it back until sometime tomorrow.  Ask me how much I like cold showers and boiling water on the stove to was my dishes... I dare you. 

Ok, on to the Chit Chat!

Reading?  I'm about 30 pages away from the end of Taliesin.  I'm going to finish it up tonight and then dive back into the Mitford series. 

Listening to?  My Beloved as he slurps his iced tea. 

Watching?  Call the Midwife and Mr. Selfridge.  There's also a new series on PBS called Bletchley Circle that's an interesting mystery/procedural drama that I'm recording.  Who knows when I'm going to get around to watching. 

Cooking/Baking?  Tonight was a typical Sunday dinner.  Roast beef, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots, asparagus, and mushrooms.  Was very yummy.  Tomorrow is a new recipe for pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes, and roasted cauliflower.  I'm very into roasting our veggies just now.  Roasted mushrooms are seriously the best thing I have ever eaten.  At least this week.  :)

Happy you accomplished this week?  I'm very proud of myself for sticking with my walking this week.  There have been moments when I didn't feel like getting up at the butt crack of dawn, but this is important. 

Looking forward to next week?  Planning Pip's birthday party.  I think I have the menu sorted out, now I need to decide on the cake and do some dollar store shopping for decorations. 

Thankful for today?  The things that make our lives easy.  Dishwashers, washing machines, and hot water heaters (when they blankety-blank have the gas to make them work). 

****Bonus Question**** What is your preferred method for contacting someone? (email, text, phone, letter, etc...)  I prefer anything but the phone.  I hate talking on the phone.  My cell phone rarely actually is used for making or receiving phone calls.  I guess I would have to say email is my preferred method, although texting can be good for quick messages.  My sister loves to text and I'm just not that into it.

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This has been posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Click over and check out what others are chatting about tonight.  And better still, join in!

Join Me In A Happy Dance!

Hey Humble Readers!

I am such a happy happy hobbit today!

We have been living in the hobbit hole for almost five years.  That is almost longer than anywhere else I've lived in my lifetime.  When we bought this place it was a huge step up from our dumpy one bedroom apartment with carpet in the kitchen (for which they were charging us more than $900 a month), but we didn't have any savings.  So the only mortgage we qualified for was a 40 year, zero down mortgage (an option the government has now vetoed). 

That's right, a 40 year mortgage for a two bedroom condo.  Yikes!  But we wanted to start building equity and the payments were less than what we were paying for rent, so we went for it. 

Fast forward almost five years and our mortgage was up for early renewal.  I knew that the call would be coming from the bank, and given what our financial picture has looked like for the last couple of years, I was fairly concerned about what kind of interest rate we could get.  

I fully and honestly confess that I know very little about how mortgages work, other than you borrow a lot of money from a bank and they charge you a lot of interest, and then you pay them back for years and years and years.  I have had images of us being in our late 70s and early 80s still living in this condo. 

So the call came from the bank just before we left for K-town.  The mortgage was up for early renewal, and there were some good rates available, but they were only available until the end of February.  I scheduled an appointment for today, and my Beloved and I made our way down the hill to see our mortgage specialist.

I was worried.  I was actually really worried. 

It turns out that I had absolutely nothing to worry about.  At all.

Apparently, we made a great choice five years ago when we chose to pay our mortgage weekly.  That has given us a huge leg up.  Simply by paying more often we were already down below 30 years on our mortgage.  I was happy to learn that. 

And then the mortgage lady told us that she could cut our interest in half.  While that sounded good to me, I didn't grasp the big picture.  Until she showed us our payment schedule on her computer screen.

We have gone from a 5.39% interest rate to a 2.69% interest rate.  And by keeping our payments at the same amount each week we have knocked a whole lot of time off our mortgage.  As of today, it would only take us 17 years to pay off our mortgage. 

17 years!!!  Do you know what that means?

It means we are no longer upside down in our mortgage!  We are paying more toward the principle than to interest.  We are moving forward, not backward.  We are gaining ground. 

We are locked in for two years, which fits our current plan almost perfectly.  We are going to live as cheaply as we possibly can for the next year and a half or so, and pay down as much of our debt as possible.  With the added income from my Beloved's new job, we will hopefully knock out two thirds or more of it, if we can. 

And then, in two years, WE BUY A BIGGER HOBBIT HOLE!  Something with 3+ bedrooms, 2+ baths, a finished basement and close to a park.  Preferably a townhouse or a duplex (my dream house is currently available in our price range... hopefully something similar will be available two years from now). 

I have a perma-grin on my face.  Who will dance with me? 

(As an added bonus, when I stepped on the scale this morning I was thrilled to learn that I am now 26.5lb down!  Only 8.5lb to go for my first target!)

Public Service Announcement

Hey Humble Readers...

When was the last time you cleaned your dryer vent?  Be honest now. 

I'm not talking about the lint trap, I'm talking about the actual exhaust hose and vent that goes outside your home.  It's a task that's easily missed in your annual home maintenance schedule. 

We are fairly sure that it had been done just before we moved, a little over four years ago.  Over the past couple of years, my Beloved and I have talked about having someone come out to take care of it for us, but something more pressing always came up... like a new furnace, a new hot watertank, a baby or two needing car seats and all. 

We finally bit the bullet and had a guy out to tackle this ooky job...  And man oh man, it's a good thing he did. 

(A bit of background... we live in an small older condo-ized apartment building in which every unit has stackable washers and dyers.  We live on the second floor, and the length of the exhaust tubing from the dryer to the outside is too long and too high for us to manage this task ourselves.  Hence the need to hire a professional.)

Humble Readers... there was a bird's nest in there.  And I'm not talking figuratively.  An actuall honest-to-goodness bird's nest.  Just imagine all the lint and gunk that was trapped in there along with birdy ickies.  It makes me shudder to think about it.  Beyond the grossness factor, the risk of fire associated with blocked dryer vents is substantial. 

So, my advice to you all... find out when you last had your dryer vent cleaned, and if it's been more than a couple of years, GET IT DONE! 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled head-cold.

Sunday Night Chit-Chat

Howdy Humble Readers...

 

Wow, what a week we've had around the hobbit hole.  Teething, tantrums, a rather large police action less than a block away (that we still don't know any real details about) that involved what sounded like three blasts from a seriously big-a$$ gun, and then finding out that a friend was hospitalized with a serious bout of stomach flu.  Crazy!

 

But now it's Sunday night and that means, Sunday Night Chit-Chat over at Carla's My 1/2 Dozen Daily. 

 

Sleepy boy... with a fixation on his fingers!

What are you:

 

Reading?

I'm about halfway through Order of the Phoenix, so a bit more than halfway through my annual Harry Potter reread.  And my 'to read' list just keeps growing!  I ordered my copy of A Casual Vacancy (Rowling) this week, and I've the advanced reader copy of the new Ken Follet mega-epic on my night stand.  Zoiks!

 

Watching?

Nothing at the moment, but I'm planning on watching a mini-marathon of Once Upon A Time this evening.  Gotta refresh my memory for the season opener coming up. 

 

Baking/Cooking?

Dinner tonight was a new favourite.  Super easy Chicken Verde over Salsa Rice with Black Bean Salad.  Just throw 3-4 frozen chicken breasts in your slow cooker with a jar of salsa verde (tomatillo salsa), a tablespoon of cumin, and a tablespoon of chili powder.  Cook on low for 6 hours or 3 hours on high.  About halfway through the cooking time, add in a can of black beans (rinsed & drained) and a cup of frozen corn kernels.  At the end of the cooking time, shred or break up the chicken breasts. Serve over rice (I cooked my rice in chicken stock and salsa) or quinoa.  Not all that pretty to look at, but very very yummy. 

 

Happy you accomplished this week?

Went through and reorganized Ginny & Pippin's closet and dressers, filled most of the holes in Ginny's fall/winter wardrobe at the consignment store, and took Ginny for a haircut.  My wee sweet girl now has bangs (and I will post a pic as soon as I get a good one).

 

Looking forward to next week?

Making some progress on my Christmas crafting projects.  I think I've decided on my hand-made gifts for this year, so combined with the projects that I really want to do... I've got to get my butt in gear. 

 

Thankful for this week?

The generosity of people from our church.  One lady gave us a belated baby gift for Pippin (a cute outfit that will fit him by Christmas) and another brought us a bookcase she's no longer using.  I'm going to see if I can find a tutorial on painting laminated furniture, so that I can paint it to match our living room furniture.  Any tips?

 

What is something you've been procrastinating on and really should just do it and get it over with already?

The baby books!  I am so far behind on Ginny's and I haven't even started Pippin's yet.  It's just so daunting.  I'm thankful that I have this blog as a record (at least monthly) of their happenings. 

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: Randomness Abounds

Howdy Humble Readers...

I hope that you're having a great day so far.  We had a fun morning of playing and goofing around, and now, I'm happily watching an old episode of Gilmore Girls and listening to my wee little mister snore his heart out. 

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From the stuff I wasn't warned about file:  I'm in an odd place in terms of my post-pregnancy body.  All my joints ache, particularly my hands, hips, knees, and ankles.  This happened after Ginny, too, and I found it seems to be fairly common, but why does no one talk about it?  It makes sense that we're warned that our tendons and ligaments stretch out and get all loosey-goosey during pregnancy, but why does no one talk about when those tendons and ligaments start going back to normal... the pain is making it difficult to sleep

And from the same file:  Nerves and muscles in my abdomen must be on a new level of healing because there have been random twitches and small spasms that almost make it feel like there's a halfling still in there kicking.    Bizarre!

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Exciting news for our hobbit-hole!  A couple of weeks ago the condo board agreed that we need to replace the patio doors on four of the six units in our building, including ours!  Yay!  The window guy was here measuring last week, and hopefully we'll have new sliding glass doors before the snow flies!  Ones with a screen door that actually slides open.  I'm not picky tho... ;)

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I had a nightmare last night that I was being stalked by this crazy woman.  She took over my blog and was posting all kinds of insane stuff saying she was me, and advertising porn sites from my online hobbit-hole.  Writing it out here, it doesn't sound scary, only nuts, but trust me I was freaked out.  I woke up just after 5 this morning shaking and with my heart racing.  It took about an hour and a half to shake the creepy feeling, even with reading and watching a bit of a documentary about farmers markets on PBS. 

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For all the work I did on the weekend to get the nursery ready to move Pippin in there, I haven't been able to do so yet.  I keep telling myself that I'm concerned that he'll start waking in the night again and disturb Ginny.  But really, I know I'm just lame. 

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Sold another of the real baby items we had... the tummy-time mat.  Pip is still doing tummy time of course, but we're actually working more on sitting up.  With the bum.bo chair and the bouncer-exerciser thing, and the playpen, and Ginny's reading chair all in the living room, I was just getting a bit claustrophobic.  I had to get rid of something.  And we have a gazillion receiving blankets to use for tummy time, and they fold up where the tummy-time mat didn't (at least not easily).  So why do I feel like crap for having sold it already?

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: A Whole Lot of Weekend

Howdy Humble Readers...

Well... another weekend come and gone.  It was busy, but productive.  I was able to cap off the weekend with making a family secret recipe (as in... no, it will NEVER be featured on Foodie Fridays).  Ribs with homemade bbq sauce.  I only make them once or twice a year, partly because it's a fair bit of work, and partly because I don't want it to become commonplace.  I did, however, think ahead and made a double batch of the bbq sauce, so I've got some to use on chicken  or pork chops later in the season.  Ginny had her first taste of ribs and sauce, and she lurved it!

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I think we're as ready as we're going to be.  I've packed my hospital bag and the small diaper bag.  The nursery is as close to done as we can get for right now.  It's crowded, but such is life.  I keep reminding myself that people raise children in smaller places.  I refer you to this post, from a year and a half ago, for a tour of what the nursery originally looked like. 

This is what it looks like now. 

From the doorway... change table, bookshelves, and Ginny's crib

From by the closet, Ginny's crib & the Halfling's Crib

Ginny's dresser has been moved into the closet, and the change table has been moved to where the dresser used to be.  As of tonight, Ginny sleeps under the window (please let her ignore the curtains, please let her ignore the curtains!).  The new crib came with a little dresser that will do for now to hold the Halfling's clothes. 

And speaking of clothes, this wee one had better like pink... we don't have anywhere near as much gender neutral newborn stuff as I thought we did.  I'm sure we'll make do, but I was surprised.  On the up side, when I was going through the box of newborn stuff, I found one of my nursing bras.  Yay!  I thought maybe I had thrown it in a donation bag by mistake. 

Oh, and we found out that we will get to use the family cradle again.  I had thought that it had gone back to BC this past summer, but my MIL has it and is bringing it with her next week. 

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This is the blanket that I knitted for Halfling 2.0.

It's the same as the one I made for Ginny, just different colours.  Basically a really big knitted washcloth.  I'm not an experienced knitter by any stretch.  But I'm glad to have something that I made for this little person. 

The pics don't represent the colours well... it's really a funky combo of purple, gold, green, blue, and pink.  Sounds awful, but it works!

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We have our new couch.  It's so strange sitting on a sofa that actually has some support in it.  Sadly, the couch is a little too big, so for the moment we are having to live without one of our side tables.  I have a plan for how to fix things, but it involves moving two of our bookcases which are currently bolted to the wall.  That plan will have to wait until late June or early July before it gets put in place. 

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Ginny's teething is still going strong.  Her gums are so sore, poor girl.  And I don't know if it's a teething thing or if she's finally come out of this hyper-extended growth spurt she's been on, but she's not really into napping at all.  She was super tired this afternoon after church, but just refused to go to sleep.  It makes for a long afternoon and evening with a cranky wee girl. 

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A couple of cute Ginny moments today... First, while we were at church, she and I were hanging out in the nursery/playroom while my Beloved was teaching his adult sunday school class.  I was sitting in one of the arm chairs, and for the first time ever, she crawled right up in my lap.  She never does that!  She was adamant that she had to sit with me almost the whole time.  She kept getting down to get a toy or a book, but then she would just come right back to me, and crawl up. 

And, tonight after her dinner, while my Beloved and I were still pigging out on ribs, she was having her milk and some chocolate goldfish crackers.  She started trying to dunk her goldfish into her milk, but sadly her sippy cup didn't really make that possible.  I'm not sure where she got the idea... (there may or may not have been some oreos in the house a couple of weeks ago, and I may or may not have allowed myself to have a couple with some milk, but that was a while ago, and I'm not admitting anything).  It just goes to show that little ones really do watch everything we do.

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Oh, and I promised the obligatory pregnancy pic... here you go!

Feeling Enormous!

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What was the highlight of your weekend?

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: Reports from the Couch

Hey Humble Readers...

I hope that you are all doing well today, whatever you're up to. 

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Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts on my last post.  The anxiety has eased a bit, and I have slept a bit better.  I'm hoping the fact that I have another busy weekend ahead will help keep me distracted.  My mom gets here next week Tuesday, and I have planned a few things for us to do on Wednesday just to stay busy.  T-minus 7 days.

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I have to get my Beloved to take a picture of me sometime soon.  I need to have one documenting the hugeness that is my body these days.  I'll also post a pic of the Halfling's blanket that I finished on the weekend, and the now very crowded nursery as soon as I'm able.

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We had to go couch shopping yesterday on my Beloved's lunch hour.  My mom is going to be sleeping on our couch for a week and our shabby red couch decided this week to give up the ghost.  We've only had it for just over 4 years, but we only paid $300 for it when we bought it, and it's been through a lot (heck, it supports my sorry huge backside day in and day out... and my Beloved is a substantial guy too).  We had hoped that it might last one more year, at least through the spit up phase, but that's not to be.  Thankfully, we got a good deal on a couch similar to what we have now, and we have been able to arrange for friends to help us pick it up and get rid of our old sofa. 

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My new system for keeping up with the house seems to be working well.  I love lists, and every Sunday I've been creating my to do lists for each day of the week, and I've been spreading out my regular cleaning throughout the week, rather than trying to do it all on one day.  I've been able to get all kinds of things done that would normally slide.  This week has been a bit tougher... I think I'm just running out of energy.  My hope for next week is, other than a bit of light housework, I want to watch a couple of movies (maybe an LOTR marathon... I haven't watched them in quite some time). 

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Just in time for my Mom and MIL to be taking over some childcare for us, Ginny has started teething again.  Her last round was over a month ago, and now we're seeing the emergence of the molars on her left side.  The poor girl was inconsolable yesterday.  I don't like to give her too much tylen.ol, but yesterday she had two and a half doses, and it barely helped until just before bedtime.  This time seems to be a "hard and fast" round of teething.  Hopefully, when she wakes up this morning, there will have been good progress made overnight. 

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I'm feeling like I should apologize for the randomness of this post.  It's just a little bit of where we're at right now.  Everything seems to be going in painful slow motion, and hyperspeed all at the same time.  I know that this time next week everything will have changed again, and all this minutea will be laughable.  It's hard to imagine. 

Bloggity Summer Camp: My Bloggity Space

Hey Humble Readers...

Welcome to Bloggity Summer Camp!!!  Calliope at Creating Motherhood had this fantabulous idea to get the bloggy mojo flowing through the summer.  Here's how she describes it...

"Think of this as summer camp in the blogosphere. We’ve all been dropped off at a month-long camp with fantastic cabins and great wifi. Each night we gather at a looooooooong table over a yummy meal. And as the fireflies dance outside someone puts on some sweet sounding Bessie Smith and we talk about something. We get to know each other better."

Cool idea, eh?  And you can join in any time you want! 

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So, today's topic... My bloggity space!

I love my little netbook, and it and my lap-desk reside on our big comfy red couch.  It's not the prettiest piece of furniture... it's definitely showing some abuse (too many dinners eaten in the living room, a wee girl who likes to chew on the pillows, and two not-small adults who lounge in front of the tv too much). 

What does your bloggity space look like?

Blog Challenge Day 15: My Dream House

Howdy Humble Readers!

Greetings from your friendly neighbourhood paint-covered hobbit!  I've spent all day working on getting a set of bookshelves painted for the nursery.  It's taken me all day because I'm moving pretty slow these days, and I had to take a nap this afternoon... heaven help me!

But the Blog Challenge beckons, and it's time to talk about my dream house... so, here's a picture:

I finally discovered the key word that describes my dream house... craftsman style!  I love the front porch and the gabled windows.  Not that my Beloved and I want an older home to maintain or a big yard, but something like the house pictured above, on a small lot, with a garage or at least a good solid shed (so that we don't have to store things in the garages and basements of family and friends). 

My dream house would have 3 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms (the en suite would have a nice deep soaker tub and a rain shower).  It would have an informal living room, a cozy dining room, a comfy family room (with a ton of built in book cases), and most importantly, a bee-ewe-tee-ful big kitchen.  Lots of cupboards and drawers (I want drawers for my pots, pans, and tupperware), a big pantry, acres of counter space... a double wall oven, one of those french door fridges, and an island with a butcher-block top.  I would have tons of pantry space, and a nice big deep freeze. 

And... if all that weren't enough, my dream house would come with a friendly, very competent maid service that would come by weekly to clean. 

That's not asking too much, is it?

What would be your favourite room in your dream house?

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: Random Insanity

Good afternoon Humble Readers...

Thank you so much for you kind words on last night's post.  I really appreciate all your support.

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So, here's the current scene in the hobbit hole. 

That's my entryway and kitchen.  (And, yes, that's the crib in its box in my living room.)  Yikes!  As it turns out, it's likely going to be a two day job.  They had to chop our old furnace into pieces to get it out.  Thankfully, I was at a doctor appointment while that was going on.  Like everything in our condo, the furnace room is small, so it makes for cramped work spaces for the guys doing the work.   It will be great once it's done, but this sort of thing just sets me on edge.  The one installer is very talkative, so I've heard all about his BIL who lives with him and the drama that has taken over his house.

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As I mentioned, I had a doctor appointment today.  It was with Dr. B, my regular family doctor.  Dr. U is on vacation, but he didn't want me to go a week without a check in about my insulin and blood sugar numbers.  My interaction today with Dr. B reminded me why I wish that Dr. U was a regular GP and not just an OB.  Dr. B is not very supportive or encouraging about anything.  He made the usual "we need to make sure you don't gain too much weight" comment, even tho I am still below my pre-pregnancy weight by a pound and a half.  He took my blood pressure (130 over 70), and commented that "even though it appears normal" he's sure we'll have to increase the dosage on my meds sooner rather than later (he said that same thing when he first put me on the lobetalol, 10 weeks ago).  He was also fairly condescending about my blood sugar numbers.  He was "very concerned" that my fasting sugars are still so high (averaging 6.9-7-3 most days), and then clucked and hmmmm-ed over my food log.  Yes, I have allowed myself a few treats here and there, but for 90% of the time, I have been very good.  Anyway, the new plan is to add a morning shot of the long acting insulin to see if we can get my baseline blood sugars down, and then things should fall into place.  Should...

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I came across this article today... I think it would freak the tar out of me if I saw one of these speed bumps ahead of me. 

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On the menu tonight: Lazy cabbage roll casserole.  We'll see how it goes.  I've only ever made traditional cabbage rolls, so this seems a little odd.  But if it works, then I won't have to spend a ton of time burning my fingers making 'real' ones.

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Autumn is definitely here.  Trees are turning colour dramatically.  It's been rainy and brisk all week.  A year ago this time it was still hot and dry.  So much for my hopes of a late winter.  *sigh*  Oh well... it's been making me think of turkey and pumpkins... Thanksgiving is a month away (for those of us north of the 49th parallel) and I'm looking forward to cooking a big meal. 

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: The Saga Continues

Good Morning Humble Readers -

Well... my Beloved did his best, but in the end, the faucet defeated him.  I am currently without water in my kitchen.  Have been since last night.  Plumber probably won't be here until tomorrow morning.  Fun times!

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I went to see Dr. U today.  Just a follow up on my GD, to see how things are going.  He's still not totally happy with my numbers (the mornings especially are far from great), but he set my mind at ease by telling me that it takes time to get the right balance of insulin and my ever changing body chemistry.  He said that we may be playing catch up for the rest of this pregnancy, because as the baby grows my need for insulin will continue to increase.  I got a quick peak at the Halfling, and he/she seems to be turning a bit... no longer completely transverse.  My weight is also down again... now officially lower than my pre-pregnancy weight for two visits to the doctor in a row. 

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So, the stove... I am so happy with our new stove!  It's awesome!  Ceramic flat-top with a warming zone and one burner with turbo boil.  Self-cleaning convection oven, that can convert a regular cooking setting to a convection setting at the push of a button.  And the bake element is hidden.  My only complaint is that the storage drawer underneath is smaller so I have had to find space in my cupboards for a few pans and things.  But what I'm most proud of is my mad negotiating skills (ok, not really, but I can pretend).  We shopped around, and the best deal was at Sears.  Regular price on the stove was $1249, but because it was last year's model it was marked down to $799.  We agreed to take the floor model (no dings or scratches or anything), so with a three year 'protection agreement' included (valued at $139, which we will get back in three years if we don't need to use it) we paid $769.  Delivery and taking away our old stove was extra, but all in all, I'm happy.

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My next u/s has been booked for 32 weeks, so first week of October. 

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In an ironic twist, I have to attend a meeting in Calgary in mid September, for work.  The meeting is to help me be a better manager (coaching staff, directing how things go on the sales floor, driving sales, etc).  The meeting takes place two weeks before I start my mat leave.  Hilarious!

Pray for my Kitchen!

Oh Humble Readers... I can't decide if I should be worried or proud.

Currently, my Beloved is in the kitchen. 

He's attempting to change the kitchen faucet himself.  He bought the new faucet this morning.  I can't believe how expensive faucets are, and he got one at the bottom end ($150).  Yikes! 

He spent more than two hours trying to get the old faucet off.  Apparently there were some seriously stripped screws.  Now he's trying to put the new one on.  I'm staying out of his way. 

No matter what, I love him for trying!

When It Rains It Pours

Good evening Humble Readers...

Just a quick post to vent...

We knew we were going to be replacing our furnace this summer.  We put it off as long as we could, but it has to be installed, next week.  $2500

Then the oven died.  Don't get me wrong, I love my new stove, but we certainly could have done without that expense right now.  $775 (and I got a good deal... I promise I'll tell you about it tomorrow)

Today, the kitchen faucet started leaking ... again.  This time it's serious.  It looks like we'll be spending $300 on a new faucet and installation (because we are both inept at anything plumbing related). 

Have I mentioned that I'm just a bit stressed?

Being a grown up sucks!