Monday, November 30, 2009

Paint it Black

Oh Black Friday...

We went.  The "we" was my sister and me.  We hadn't been since she was pregnant back in 2006 (right?) and we had gone for a few years up until then.  And then we didn't go for a while.  I'm not sure if it was because plans kept us apart on Fridays or we just had enough of the crazies and needed a reprieve, but for whatever reason, this was our first venture back into the madness of the start of the holiday shopping season in a few years.

At first, I had no intentions of going.  Emy mentioned something about heading out, but I was unsure of my level of commitment and stamina due to being just about 6 months pregnant (tomorrow!).  But then, I got a second wind...first wind?  Was there even wind at this point?  Nevermind.  I got motivated to go and there were some deals Em wanted to score like the 32" flat screen at Target for $250.  I really had nothing pending I wanted, but Black Friday shopping is no one man task.  So I was all set to go!  Then she broke the news of what time we were heading out.  4am.

4am!

Also please note that we were doing Thanksgiving at Mom's later that day, so we still had cooking turkey, potatoes, green beans, etc. to accomplish that day.

So I reluctantly agreed to be up and ready and pick her up at Mom's at 4am so we could get to Target no later than 4:30am for the 5am opening.

When we got to Target, I first saw no line of people, though I did see plenty of cars.  Well, there was a line.  What I thought was a long line.  But, by the time 5am rolled around, the line had grown to at least 1 mile long, wrapping around the entire store.  Our goal was a tv, though being about 100 people back and hearing the store manager talk about no running, pushing, biting (yes, biting), we were skeptical of our chances on the tv front.  So we figured out what else we would shoot for ($3 toaster, blender for mom, husband gifts, maybe sheets?).  We got into the store and we were off.  No, there was no real running, though my sister did run about 3 steps in the end, rebel...but I was on cart duty and she planned on heading straight to the tv section, which according to our maps was to be located in maternity on this cold morning.  I lost her in the crowd in my attempts at cutting people off to get a cart (sorry) but when I caught up with her, she was smiling, and hauling a big tv box back through the racks!  SCORE!  We got one of the probably 25 tvs available, that literally were gone by 5:02am.

We also managed to pick up everything else on the list and got in the long long line by 5:20am (I was the time keeper) and by 6am, we were back at home with our loot, ready for the day!

Oh Black Friday, you may be crazy, but we former Evans' girls heart you so!

erin

Monday, November 23, 2009

Thanks for the Memories

We all know Thanksgiving is this Thursday and this time of year is when we all take a moment to reflect on the good things in life, the things we are thankful for...

And sometimes that's hard, especially this year. This year has been hard. There have been a lot of things this year that we've had to struggle with, struggle though, and struggle to comprehend and I have a difficult time finding reasons to be thankful for such struggles. Death, no work, bad economy, 12 months of negative pregnancy tests, rude/thoughtless relatives, rude/thoughtless co-workers, too much rain...the list flows like floodwater, especially this year.

But, there is also something that comes with struggle and that is strength. And even though it is harder than hell to look past what is right in front of you to find the thing that keeps you going, it's important to try. This is what separates us as survivors in life.

So here is my list of thanks for the strength I've found through the struggles:
-Danny has worked 2 months in 2009. This has made life a definate struggle financially and emotionally, but we've perservered through it and managed to both make ends meet and do a lot of home projects. We've also learned to cope with the stress of no work, so I'm thankful for that.
-There have been instances where people have shocked me with their rudeness and thoughlessness, even relatives in our family. I've really struggled with letting the resentments for these people go this year, but I find that in doing so, I no longer have to harbor feelings of resentment. It doesn't change them, but nothing will. I, however, do not have to make myself feel worse because they lack a level of maturity and sensitivity. So they can have it, and I'll move on and be thankful that I am able to do so.
-Our house is still for sale. I realize many people have faced this and are currently in the same boat due to our current state of economy. I would be so happy if someone would just buy the damn thing, but I'm thankful for our situation and that we don't have to make 2 mortgage payments, we don't have to go through foreclosure, we can just ride this out until it's over.
-12 months of being told "no" sucks, plain and simple. I never thought it would take so long for us to get pregnant and during those 12 months it was very hard to hold on to hope that nothing was wrong. Turns out, nothing was wrong and here we are, 5 months pregnant. For that I'm thankful, but I've also realized I'm thankful for that year. If nothing else, we learned that having a baby is something we truly want. During our moments of stress and worry, it's still something we desperately wanted and our resolve was tested. So now we get to fully enjoy the experience of waiting without worry for our child to be born. Nerves, sure, but not worry.
-And that leads me to death. I want to say that I am in no way thankful for losing my Dad. He wasn't in pain, he wasn't sick, he wasn't ready and I'm can't find any "thanks" for his passing. I would give it all back to have him back, but unfortunately, that's not how it works. And everyday it's a struggle to think about and deal with and everyday I have to find the strength to deal. But a lot of days I do find that strength and I am able to deal with it. For this I am thankful and I credit this to my dad. Somehow, I believe, he made it possible for me to go on without him here. And the strength I've gained by going through that whole experience is something no one can take from me. It's almost a bravery to face the unknown. Many times in life you try to prepare yourself for bad news by picturing the worst thing that could happen to you and thinking of a coping mechanism for that. Well I've been through the worst and look at me, I'm doing alright. So what else is there to fear? What else is there to worry about? Not much, and for that I am thankful. Thanks, Dad...you still keep me going.

So there you have it. A list of struggle that I've taken control of and giving a new spin to. For that ability, I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

erin

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Girl.

Is what we're having!!


Beyond thrilled!


erin

Sunday, November 15, 2009

It's Raining on Sunday

The title says it all.  Rain, again.  All week.

Not a bad weekend, all in all.  Had to work Saturday morning/early afternoon and then I got to spend a little downtime at home before going to dinner with my in-laws and then watching a movie with a friend of mine.

Today I was up by 7, did some housework, then went out with Mom for a little shopping and lunch.  Now I am home again, doing laundry and awaiting Sunday dinner, again at the in-laws.

Not too much is happening right now.  We find out the baby's gender on Tuesday and I've taken the whole day off work so we can register and continue to celebrate the occasion!  We're very excited at our house to finally find out who will be joining our family in March.  And how soon is March??  This pregnancy is flying by!

Have a good week!
erin

Monday, November 9, 2009

Working on the Chain Gang

Whew!

That's all I can say.

I think nesting mode is kicked in!

Now, usually when I "dedicate" a weekend to cleaning, it's a half-hearted thing. I have the best intentions, and then I usually scale back what should get done to what really only needs to be done to look passible until the next round of cleaning happens. And after that 2 hours or so, I'm totally non-functioning for the rest of the weekend.

Not so this past weekend.

I didn't even go into Saturday with a gigantic to-do list. I had somethings I wanted to accomplish, I knew my mom was going to be helping me, and that was that. I was even attempting to scale back as I made my way to the grocery store for the first time in about a month (yay for macaroni and cheese keeping us going).

But then I picked up Mom and her cleaning equipment, we made our way back to my house, put groceries away and it was on!

What we accomplished:
After I filled in at work from 7:30am-9:30am:
-I cleaned both bathrooms
-Mom vacuumed the MOUNDS of dog hair from the dining room
-Got a load of dishes washing
-Mom and I washed the dining room floor (this is a large floor, mind you)
-Followed by steaming the dining room floor
-Followed by polishing the dining room floor
-I vacuumed other rooms in the house
-We put clean dishes away
-Mom did more dishes. I swear dishes multiply while you do them!
-I promptly fell down on my bed for 40 minutes while Mom finished ripping down all wallpaper from my old bedroom to prepare for the transformation into a nursery.
-Danny finished painting in the hallway (so all rooms but the nursery have now been repainted).
-Danny fixed our fence out back so now there is a working gate.
-Danny and I both raked/swept leaves in the front and back yard (that 97 year old rake that we've had my ENTIRE life gave me wicked blisters because I did not wear work gloves...silly me).
-I participated in a very futile job of cleaning the back door of dog nose and paw prints. They will return shortly.
-I made dinner, which is not a big deal, but I totally wasn't planning on doing so and hey, it was a long day! Then I did dishes, again!
-I fell asleep at 8pm
End Saturday.

On Sunday, my entire plan was to do nothing but watch mindless television, which I did for a good while, but then I started a load of laundry, picked up drop cloth in the living room, attempted to move the piano (I thought I would just slide around, not so much), folded AND put away said laundry, started another load, and finally took a nap.

I did notice that soon I will need to vacuum the basement steps and change out the shower curtain in the guest bathroom, but I think those tasks will have to wait until the next nesting jag kicks in...which could be later today.

erin

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Body Bumpin'

19 weeks, 5 days...