For the Record. . .

It is not easy completely avoiding writing about the fact that I have a human growing inside of my uterus.

I was four weeks when I found out (remember the weekend John and I went to Atlanta? You know how we went to the Georgia Aquarium that Saturday? Yeah, I found out that night that night). I had a couple of questionable symptoms, but then The Obvious happened (or didn't happen. . . ), and we headed to the nearest store (thanks to Target for existing!), picked up a home pregnancy test, did the Pregnancy Dance (not really) and it came back positive.

I then proceeded to take five more tests over the next week. You know, just to make sure.

Now I'm fifteen weeks (or three and a half months) along and due May 22, 2010.

The baby is uh, insanely active. I can't feel movement yet, but I'm kinda wondering what in the world it's going to feel like when I can!

It's been a fairly easy pregnancy-- I haven't been sick at all. I was crazy exhausted until about two or three weeks ago. Like, I'd wake up at 9:00, do a little cleaning, run to the store, and then take a three hour nap by 2:00 in the afternoon. But I've pretty much got my energy back.

We don't know what the sex is yet, but we'll find out January 4th!

Ummm. . . I think that's it!

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Mmm. Food.

My favorite 'fast food' right now? The dinner combo Publix has going on: one rotisserie chicken, two 16 oz. deli salads/beans (I got potato salad and baked beans), and a package of sweet Hawaiian rolls for right around $11! I picked it up coming home from my black Friday shopping trip I took late this afternoon.

Speaking of Black Friday shopping, I did it a little differently this year. The last several years I've gotten up and braved the early morning crowds with my mom, sister-in-law, and brother. Obviously that couldn't happen this year, so I sort of just sat around and cleaned until John got home around noon (he stayed up all night, left the apartment around four this morning, got to Best Buy half an hour later, and stayed till 11:30ish this morning). I checked the mail and saw that my parent's send me a gift card to Wal-Mart, so I was finally able to buy the Pyrex storage dishes I've been needing! I got back home, started doing some online 'looking' and saw that Old Navy had some great deals still going on, so I went and bought two pairs of jeans, two shirts, and two scarfs, and it was all less than $50, woot!

Thanksgiving was fun, though different. We drove to John's grandparents yesterday morning and hung out with everyone that was there (including John's dad who had driven down to do some work for one of his brothers). We ate around noon (and I had the second best tasting dressing ever, along with some awesome sweet potato casserole) and spent the rest of the day lazing around the house. 'Twas fun.

John is watching an episode of Smallville that he recorded on our DVR, and I noticed that the National Weather Service blurb was scrolling across the screen announcing a tornado watch north of us. I was really confused, because the weather has been consistently cool and storms weren't in the forecast. . . then I realized we were watching a recording from a few weeks ago.

Smooth.

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in between

For awhile, my old laptop has been having some major issues in terms of how well it runs, how long the battery holds any amount of life, and the the keys sticking (or falling off). We discussed computer buying options and finally decided that we'd get a new computer (just the computer; we already have a twenty four inch monitor) that John would use, and I would take over his fairly new HP laptop. The only issue with that is that the keyboard on the HP is having some issues, too, but since it's under warranty, we're going to send it in and have the keyboard replaced.

This weekend Andy and Cherie have been visiting us, and that's been a lot of fun (even though we really haven't done anything other than eat and play Mario Kart). They leave tomorrow morning, John will work for two days, and then we'll head to his grandparent's house (a little over an hour away) for Thanksgiving.

John has to be up at 3:45AM and at Best Buy by 4:30 for Black Friday (thank you oh so much corporate retail). I haven't decided if I'm going to do some shopping or not-- we really don't need anything. I really do not expect the crowds (or traffic) to be nearly as insane as they are in Tennessee, so it could be fun actually having the ability to maneuver through a store and get a good deal on a scarf or sweater. Or Nintendo DS.

Ahem.

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in which i talk about things i know very little about

Case and Point: Shutter Speed.

And just so you're aware, the u and i key are right next to each other, and you all were almost in for quite an opening for this post.

But I caught it first.

But back to my original point: Shutter Speed.

According to the ever so reliable Wikipedia (ahem), shutter speed is a common term used to discuss exposure time, the effective length of time a shutter is open; the total exposure is proportional to this exposure time, or duration of light reaching the film or image sensor.

Yeah, it didn't make a lot of sense to me either.

Until I started tinkering with it while taking pictures of my Christmas tree the other night.

The idea I had was to only use the light the Christmas tree lights were emitting. No flash, no other lamps, no kitchen light. I wanted the picture to give the same feel as when I was looking at the tree with my own eyes.

I realized (finally) that the shutter speed was going to be my best bet in achieving this desired look.

Watch my progress:

.0025 sec 1/400

AH! Too dark!

.01 sec (1/100)

Still too dark, but at least we're going in the right direction. Let's see what happens if I really move the SS.

.05 sec (1/20)

Ooh! Major progress! Still not quite where I want it but almost. . .

.066 sec (1/15)

Eureka!

One of these days I hope to explain (in my own words) shutter speed/exposure time/every other [awesome] complexity that comes with owning a DSLR, but for now, I can revel in the fact that I'm at least making some progress in my knowledge.

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Today's the Day!

They're [the love birds] are back!

The Christmas tree is up. . .

And ready to hang out for the next few weeks. . . .

Last year, I teetered back and fourth on which group of people I should belong to:

Those Who Put the Christmas Tree Up After Thanksgiving (and no sooner!)

-or-

Those Who Put the Christmas Tree Up Before Thanksgiving

I decided to put the tree up Thanksgiving night and decorate the day after. I was fine with my decision until I realized how much I loved the warm and cozy feel that all of the yule tide decor brought to our home. I was sad when I took everything down shortly after Christmas because I wanted to have enjoyed all of the decorations even longer. With that in mind, I decided then to trim the tree November 15th of this year.

And I have seriously been counting down ever since.

Why November 15th? Because it's the exact middle of the month. Far enough from Halloween for it not to be obnoxiously early, but falling a little before Thanksgiving to give me a little over a week extra to enjoy the wintry cheer they bring.

If you've been following me for awhile (meaning if you read the blog I was using this time last year), you'll recognize the ornaments and the red Christmas love birds theme I've got going on. I know some people like to change up their tree theme each year (i.e. one year all blue ornaments, one year all white, etc.), but that's not for me. I like to buy a few ornaments a year that have some sort of meaning, and then keep the rest of the tree decorations in a traditional Christmas theme (red, white, green).

Though one thing I was planning on doing this year that's a little more untraditional was putting up a second tree that I called the Dr. Suess tree. It wouldn't have literally been decorated with Dr. Suess characters, but rather those bright, neon ornaments that seem to be becoming so popular. However, due to the move to Florida (and a lack of storage space for a second Christmas tree), I won't be able to do that this year. I did, however, come up with a creative way to use a few of the Suess-like ornaments in the living room. I'll share that creation another time.

I still have more decorations to set out, like the stockings, various snowman figurines, and my kitchen decorations. You all can expect another Christmas-y post with more festive decorations soon!

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I survived Da storm

photo by John. editing by me.

Not that there was much to Ida once she made landfall. Though, as weak as she was, the overnight winds managed to create a foot long crack in the windshield of John's car. Thanks to good ol' Florida insurance laws, it was replaced for free.. Oddly enough, when he called the insurance company, he learned that he was the first claim of the day (at 10:00 in the morning) for 'hurricane' damage.

Only us.

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the best five bucks i've spent

You're looking at it.

Finally. After using Blogger for almost two years, I discovered a website (via Amy's blog) that offers affordable templates that really suit my blog style.

((And yes, this is a bit of a spin off of Amy's most recent blog post about her blog style. We'll just pretend we're doing a blog carnival-- meaning all of you should talk about your blog style too!)

And by affordable, I do mean that I shelled out a few bucks on this cute template. Like five. That's cheaper than a chargrilled chicken sandwich combo from Chick-Fil-A!

I really enjoy writing, and blogging is a way to provide an outlet for me to do so. Granted, many of my posts are on my day to day life, but every once in awhile I'll get creative and share something different with you (like that awesome poem I wrote last entry-- ahem).

This blog is a reflection of my life-- whether it's news, random thoughts, reviews on things I've purchased-- it more or less revolves around me. And John. Sometimes. I mean, let's face it-- bloggers like to talk about themselves. Why else would we have them? And there's nothing wrong with that-- I think most people would rather I blab about nonsense here rather than to their faces. At least on my blog all of you are choosing to read this mindless babble :)

So back to my original point-- my blog reflects my life, and I wanted a template that sort of reflected my style. Something clean, simple, and organized, yet with a splash of color and personality. Nothing obnoxiously girly, yet containing a bit of femininity. I think this template achieves those attributes quite well.

I also was desperately wanting a three column template. And a matching header. The header will come soon, along with a signature and a couple of other things to go with this scheme.

I was overtly excited about it this morning, causing me to feel like a complete nerd. I mean really, who gets giddy over a blog template.

Me, that's who. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. It's not really too much different that getting excited about a new Christmas decoration (which are um, coming out SOON!). Except I can't actually you know, touch my blog.

But that's beside the point.

So until then (whenever then is), I'll be adding pictures (because I can DO that with this template!), moving text around, and just enjoying the newness of my new look. . . and basking in the fact that my blog is now three columnized.

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i have no idea where this came from. but my day-- poemized.

it's kinda raining. and sorta windy.

hurricane hype is way beyond trendy.

i grabbed a few extra bottles of water,

while the weather outside seemed to teeter and totter.

i drove back home, stomach a-rumbling

while waves hit the shore, breaking and crumbling.

mexican food, i had been craving

so we went to a new joint, thanks to all the raving.

quesadilla for me, burrito for him

if we eat this daily, we'll never be slim.

home again, we lazed around

wondering if some idiot was risking being drowned.

nap taken, video game played

'dude watch out, i'm throwing a grenade!'

time for dinner, really? so soon?

off we went, to brave all the loons.

subs from Publix, chips from home

Monday Night Football, 'they're in the red zone!'

Game over. Steeler's win.

see you tomorrow,

'til then. . .

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Hurricane's a Comin'!

Go figure.

We get within three weeks of the end of hurricane season with not a single major storm, when lo and behold, one forms out in the gulf.

Her name is Ida, and she's just been upgraded to a category 2 hurricane.

If you weren't aware (which most of my Tennessee people weren't because, well, why would you really care?), Ida formed a couple of days ago, went over Nicaragua as a fairly weak system, and was downgraded to a tropical depression. Once she was back over the water, she gained momentum and was labeled a Cat. 1, until recently when she was bumped up a notch.

So long as she doesn't get any stronger, we're going to ride the storm out. I just checked the weather channel, and it's supposed to be downgraded to a Cat. 1 by the time it makes landfall Tuesday.

*edit*

Now we're under a hurricane warning. I'm only slightly concerned because we're about half a mile off the coast, and I can't help but wonder of minor flooding is going to be an issue and we're gonna have to scramble to save our TV.

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Weekend Wrap

And what a whirlwind weekend it was.

Last Wednesday night, during church, I suddenly had the idea of making a surprise trip to Tennessee for the weekend to be with my family on Halloween. I proposed the idea to John (telling myself that I would not get upset if he didn't want to-- after all, it is quite a bit of driving for just one solid day up there), and he said he wouldn't mind going, so off we went!

My family has sort of made a family tradition of having chili, pigs in a blanket, and the other typical Halloween goodies every year for about sixteen years, and this would have been the first year I'd have missed it. Since we've always been very consistent in this tradition (as opposed to Christmases and Thanksgiving which were celebrated based on whether or one one of my parents had to work that day), I was kind of bummed about missing it.

But. . . I didn't have to! I called my mom and let her know we'd be coming and needed to shack up with them for the weekend. She was excited and decided not to tell my dad, so that when we showed up, he'd be surprised.

I think befuddled was the word he wound up using. John and I got to my parent's around 9:30 Friday night. I donned a Jason mask (that my dad had already seen thanks to my texting him pictures of me wearing it throughout the day-- that way he would freak out when he actually saw me) and walked up to my parent's back porch. Conveniently, there was an open window that looked through the dining area into the living room, leaving my mom in plain view (who knew I was somewhere in the yard) and my dad off to the side. I yelled "TRICK OR TREAAAAAAT!!!!" and proceeded to cackle like a mad man while my mom told my dad that I was my brother. My dad, confused and knowing that I didn't sound like my brother walked up to the window and was sort of laughing (still didn't put two and two together regarding the mask), and when I took it off, 'It's Anna!' was the next thing out of his mouth.

It was fun-- I've never really surprised anyone like that before, so I really enjoyed all of the anticipation.

Saturday my mom and I met up with my sister in law in town to do some winter clothes shopping (believe it or not it does get a little cold down here) and then to the grocery store to buy some last minute food for the evening. We went back to my parent's, prepared the chili, pigs in a blanket, and sweets and just had a nice evening hanging out, watching UT beat South Carolina, and handing out candy to trick or treaters (who didn't really show up until after 7:00-- a rarity in my parent's neighborhood).

Sunday we left my parents and met up with John's parent's and some family friends at a Mediterranean (YUM) restaurant for lunch before heading back.

Overall great weekend. I think Andy and Cherie are coming down in a couple of weeks, we're doing Thanksgiving at John's grandparents (who live a little over an hour away), and then we'll be back in Tennessee for Christmas weekend!

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