Hooray! We've got a great weekend planned!
Tonight: chores and laundry (not so exciting, but oh well)
Tomorrow night: Dinner at the Elite Cafe (we have a gift card!). Then we're going to see Tropic Thunder at 8:15.
Sunday: Take Mrs. B to the beach
Monday: EAT CAKE!!! Hooray! We get to eat the top tier of our wedding cake! (Note: I'll be on the treadmill very shortly after to make sure my blood sugar doesn't get wacky).
Hope the Labor Day weekend is a great one for everyone!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
One Year Ago Today
One year ago today I traveled from Delaware to NYC to meet my in-laws in person for the first time. Here's a picture of us atop the Empire State Building. It was a really fun day, and kicked off the festivities for our wedding Sept. 1. I'm so lucky to have great support and love from Leif and Nina and Ole Morten (Pete's brother). :)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Dangit
The picture arrived today. We ordered it in glossy. I think it looks cheap. Then while I was trying to put it in the frame -- holding out hope that it would look better in the frame -- I broke the dang glass on the frame. Which was brand new and $50. I called the frame store and asked them what the heck kind of frame they would sell me that would break right away (absolving myself completely of being in a hurry and likely the cause of the breakage). They said they would sell me new glass for $16. Just great. Now I'm wondering if we should order the picture in a different finish. I hate it glossy. So instead of this "project" costing us $100, it will now likely cost us $140. Grrrrrrrr.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Two Freestyles!
Sweet! I got two products named Freestyle today. One is the Medela Freestyle breast pump, which finally arrived and I am most excited about. We spent a little more to get the one that has all the bells and whistles, and the actual pump can be held in your hand. So tiny! So many cool features! This is important when I return to work and will be pumping several times a day. (Side note: I just noticed it just went on sale at the place I bought it. Now I have to wrestle $20 off the price I paid-- arggggh).
The other Freestyle is the blood glucose meter, from my adorable cousin Kammy, who unfortunately has type 1 diabetes. She's a trooper for sure and upon hearing that my insurance didn't cover the Freestyle meter, sent me an extra she had, plus lancets, plus a zillion test strips. Why it's different: rather than jabbing myself in the finger (and trust me, at four times a day THAT is getting old), I can prick my arm and it takes a teeny teeny teeny amount of blood -- the size of a pinhead -- to test. Less blood = less owie.
Hooray for products named Freestyle!
The other Freestyle is the blood glucose meter, from my adorable cousin Kammy, who unfortunately has type 1 diabetes. She's a trooper for sure and upon hearing that my insurance didn't cover the Freestyle meter, sent me an extra she had, plus lancets, plus a zillion test strips. Why it's different: rather than jabbing myself in the finger (and trust me, at four times a day THAT is getting old), I can prick my arm and it takes a teeny teeny teeny amount of blood -- the size of a pinhead -- to test. Less blood = less owie.
Hooray for products named Freestyle!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Weekend Review
Ok here's the review for the last hurrah trip, pictures are two posts below.
Jewelry store: bad news: they don't have the "bargain bin" in the back anymore. The clerk told me I could wait until their big sale next month, but we all know September is likely to be a busy month for me, so no thanks. While the necklaces were stunning, especially this one, I have a lot of necklaces that frankly, don't get enough rotation as-is. Meanwhile, I have about four pairs of earrings that I rotate. So new earrings were in the works. I settled on these; I figure I can wear them to work and for everyday without LG grabbing them. It's a wee discouraging to see that they were 20% more in the store than the website. Ouch.
Next: the Scharffenberger chocolate factory tour. We arrived and were famished, which is dangerous in a place like that. We immediately bought two small semisweet bars and eyed the items we'd be purchasing after the tour. We gobbled up our chocolate, and I had brought almonds to balance out my blood sugar. The tour was actually like a little class; we learned about how they roast cacao beans, and all the various processes they go through. And we got to taste chocolate. The chocolatier is only about 10 years old; despite the name sounding ancient. The actual tour was only about 5-10 minutes, but interesting nonetheless. At the store afterwards, we bought LOTS of chocolate and even THIS for LG.
Next: dinner at Chez Panisse cafe. I say the cafe, because the restaurant is super fancy and has one menu each night. The cafe is well, a cafe. We arrived at 6 for our 7:30 reservation and asked if there's any way they could seat us early (again, famished). Of course they said no problem, and we were seated within a few minutes. Upon looking at the menu, I wanted the quail, but felt torn since the only other time I've been to there, I had quail. So I ordered butter lettuces with baked goat cheese for my appetizer (which was so divine I almost licked the plate) and braised short ribs with sweet polenta and some kind of weird beans. Pete ordered a pizzetta with nettles and pecorino cheese. We had to ask what nettles were, and we didn't feel too embarrassed about it -- apparently they're cousins of spinach. Our appetizers came and Pete ordered the most fantastic wine EVER -- I had a bit. Our dinners came and Pete ordered a handmade pasta with chicken and morel mushroom ragu. It looked different than I thought it would; with clumps of chicken and mushrooms here and there as opposed to a creamy sauce. But he said it was really good. Mine was really good, although the ribs were a wee fatty.
The restaurant itself is very homey feeling; Pete said it smelled like his grandmother's house at Christmas. It's very warm and inviting. It was a special night and we held hands and just enjoyed each other. Fun!
Jewelry store: bad news: they don't have the "bargain bin" in the back anymore. The clerk told me I could wait until their big sale next month, but we all know September is likely to be a busy month for me, so no thanks. While the necklaces were stunning, especially this one, I have a lot of necklaces that frankly, don't get enough rotation as-is. Meanwhile, I have about four pairs of earrings that I rotate. So new earrings were in the works. I settled on these; I figure I can wear them to work and for everyday without LG grabbing them. It's a wee discouraging to see that they were 20% more in the store than the website. Ouch.
Next: the Scharffenberger chocolate factory tour. We arrived and were famished, which is dangerous in a place like that. We immediately bought two small semisweet bars and eyed the items we'd be purchasing after the tour. We gobbled up our chocolate, and I had brought almonds to balance out my blood sugar. The tour was actually like a little class; we learned about how they roast cacao beans, and all the various processes they go through. And we got to taste chocolate. The chocolatier is only about 10 years old; despite the name sounding ancient. The actual tour was only about 5-10 minutes, but interesting nonetheless. At the store afterwards, we bought LOTS of chocolate and even THIS for LG.
Next: dinner at Chez Panisse cafe. I say the cafe, because the restaurant is super fancy and has one menu each night. The cafe is well, a cafe. We arrived at 6 for our 7:30 reservation and asked if there's any way they could seat us early (again, famished). Of course they said no problem, and we were seated within a few minutes. Upon looking at the menu, I wanted the quail, but felt torn since the only other time I've been to there, I had quail. So I ordered butter lettuces with baked goat cheese for my appetizer (which was so divine I almost licked the plate) and braised short ribs with sweet polenta and some kind of weird beans. Pete ordered a pizzetta with nettles and pecorino cheese. We had to ask what nettles were, and we didn't feel too embarrassed about it -- apparently they're cousins of spinach. Our appetizers came and Pete ordered the most fantastic wine EVER -- I had a bit. Our dinners came and Pete ordered a handmade pasta with chicken and morel mushroom ragu. It looked different than I thought it would; with clumps of chicken and mushrooms here and there as opposed to a creamy sauce. But he said it was really good. Mine was really good, although the ribs were a wee fatty.
The restaurant itself is very homey feeling; Pete said it smelled like his grandmother's house at Christmas. It's very warm and inviting. It was a special night and we held hands and just enjoyed each other. Fun!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
We're One of THOSE households
We're one of those households that does not wear shoes in the house. You take them off upon entering. We've noticed our carpets are much cleaner this way and while it may be a hassle for occasional guests, we are big fans. Pete got me into this; when we were dating I'd put a fair amount of effort in picking out just the right shoe, only to have to take them off when hanging out at his apartment. I recently read a study that says that taking your shoes off prevents all kinds of bacteria and disgusting things from entering your home. Which is good. So I'm on board, and have now even made the maintenance man take off his shoes upon entering our place. No one gets off!
So anyway. The entryway carpets were NASTY. I mean, gray and just felt mangy and gross when you walked on them. So we rented a steam cleaner from the grocery store and Pete went to work. One of Pete's best traits is that he's extremely extremely thorough, so he spent about two hours on the entryway, hallway next to the bathroom, and outside the bathroom (from that unfortunate sewage issue last year on his birthday -- yes, he was standing in sewage in the bathtub and we couldn't get a hold of maintenance for several hours. Happy 35 Pete!).
Here's a little movie of him steam-cleaning away:
So anyway. The entryway carpets were NASTY. I mean, gray and just felt mangy and gross when you walked on them. So we rented a steam cleaner from the grocery store and Pete went to work. One of Pete's best traits is that he's extremely extremely thorough, so he spent about two hours on the entryway, hallway next to the bathroom, and outside the bathroom (from that unfortunate sewage issue last year on his birthday -- yes, he was standing in sewage in the bathtub and we couldn't get a hold of maintenance for several hours. Happy 35 Pete!).
Here's a little movie of him steam-cleaning away:
Friday, August 22, 2008
Laguna Seca weekend
Laguna Seca is a legendary race track near Monterey, about 3 hours south of San Francsico. It lays nested in the beautiful hills bathed regularly in sun and fog.We decided to take our first trip there during the automotive festivities that takes place there in August, and you can read more on that here.
The event we came for is the "Monterey Historic Automobile Races" where cars through the ages were put through their paces.
When we first arrived we saw some really old cars from the late teens (thats pre-1920), you have to wonder what will happen if they collide or go off the track.. People used to die very easily back in those days. As the day progressed more recent cars were brought out to progressivly louder sound levels. Imagine what an un-muffled bored and stroked 1969 Camaro sounds like standing right next to it. Mmmm. Almost a shame to wear earplugs.
Very entertaining was the Mario Andretti Demomstration laps.
He did several laps in a vintage Formula 1 racer from 1978:
We also enjoyed the pit-area a lot, which was open to the public. It is pretty cool to get up close to these old 20th century legends and talk to the owners and drivers.
Just being in Monterey this weekend is a treat because theres so many exotic cars there, it is not unusual to park next to something pretty rare:
Click on images for full resolution
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Last Hurrah Weekends
With four weeks until my due date, we're trying to schedule little things to do that we probably won't be able to do for a while. Last weekend we went to the car races in Monterey -- Pete will fill you in on that.
This weekend, here's the plan. Let's start with the most fun: dinner at Chez Panisse Cafe. Chez Panisse, in case you don't know, is a highly-renowned restaurant in Berkeley. Read more about the restaurant HERE and the founder HERE. Read the cafe menu HERE. We were lucky to get reservations at short notice. I'm excited.
Before that, we're going on a tour of Scharffenberger's Chocolate Factory. It's also in Berkeley, thankfully, so we won't have to drive very far from A to B. Chocolate, when eaten with protein, doesn't affect my blood sugar. Sweet.
At some point we're also going HERE. I absolutely love this jeweler and her necklaces and she has a bargain bin in the back that I'm going to peruse.
Hooray for last hurrah weekends!
This weekend, here's the plan. Let's start with the most fun: dinner at Chez Panisse Cafe. Chez Panisse, in case you don't know, is a highly-renowned restaurant in Berkeley. Read more about the restaurant HERE and the founder HERE. Read the cafe menu HERE. We were lucky to get reservations at short notice. I'm excited.
Before that, we're going on a tour of Scharffenberger's Chocolate Factory. It's also in Berkeley, thankfully, so we won't have to drive very far from A to B. Chocolate, when eaten with protein, doesn't affect my blood sugar. Sweet.
At some point we're also going HERE. I absolutely love this jeweler and her necklaces and she has a bargain bin in the back that I'm going to peruse.
Hooray for last hurrah weekends!
Miata update: Meter hood 2
As you may already have read on this blog I have been working on repairing the meter hood on my car, picture above proves I am all finished. I also used some of my leftover leather to fix the big holes that used to be where control arms for the wipers and blinkers are.
Next thing I am going to fix is the windows, they are a bit hard to roll up and down. Im afraid if I leave them as is that the cables my fray and break.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Brunost 0, Diabetes 1
Sadly, I have discovered through several trials (and huge error) that Brunost (Norwegian brown cheese, shown here on the right) sends my blood sugar through the roof. We're putting our giant block of it that we smuggled home back into the freezer. Sob.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Picking a Pediatrician
This looks fairly straightforward. This lady looks pretty good (she's in the office every day, which is good), but I'm a little concerned she lists Hello Kitty as one of her interests. Gawd. I'm hoping her interests in allergies, eczema, nutrition and obesity balance it out. :)
Monday, August 18, 2008
SOLD
We sold our entertainment center tonight. I'm sad to see it go, but happy that we got some $$ for it.
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Missing Things
Dangit. We have three things missing in our apartment and well, it's driving me crazy. I suppose you could argue that crazier is a more accurate description, and you might be right.
Somehow on Monday night I had the list of who gave us what at our shower, and wrote some of the thank-you notes until I ran out. Now I can't find the list anywhere. I've narrowed down the gifts to mostly everyone, but am hoping for the others -- in order for them to get their thank-yous quickly -- that I can just write thank you for the baby clothes. I'm positive that's what they got us; I just can't remember for one person exactly which outfit they got us.
Next up: our wedding print, the Vanity Fair shot. You know the one. We have a 11x14 display print of it, all carefully tucked away to not get damaged. And we're not sure where it is. And we'd like to frame it before LG gets here.
The last thing is an adorable baby gift that I'd really like to use as soon as LG gets here. I'm positive it's not in the humongous bag of clothes for her, since I know that part of it was a duplicate gift (which we don't mind at all). I suspect it's still wrapped, but can't seem to find it.
Dangit. Even though I'm not Catholic, I might have to pray to St. Anthony. Somehow that always works.
Somehow on Monday night I had the list of who gave us what at our shower, and wrote some of the thank-you notes until I ran out. Now I can't find the list anywhere. I've narrowed down the gifts to mostly everyone, but am hoping for the others -- in order for them to get their thank-yous quickly -- that I can just write thank you for the baby clothes. I'm positive that's what they got us; I just can't remember for one person exactly which outfit they got us.
Next up: our wedding print, the Vanity Fair shot. You know the one. We have a 11x14 display print of it, all carefully tucked away to not get damaged. And we're not sure where it is. And we'd like to frame it before LG gets here.
The last thing is an adorable baby gift that I'd really like to use as soon as LG gets here. I'm positive it's not in the humongous bag of clothes for her, since I know that part of it was a duplicate gift (which we don't mind at all). I suspect it's still wrapped, but can't seem to find it.
Dangit. Even though I'm not Catholic, I might have to pray to St. Anthony. Somehow that always works.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
LOOT!
Once again, we're stunned by the generosity of people. Seriously. My office shower was today and I can't even believe how much stuff we got. Little Girl has more clothes than Pete now. Seriously. Bags and bags and bags. PLUS and insanely huge gift card for buying the crib mattress and insanely priced breast pump, which you KNOW I'll be using at the office, so it'll really be nice that it came from my co-workers. In a nice way, not a creepy I'll think of you when I'm expressing breastmilk kind of way.
Here's a picture of all of the bags. Dude!
The rings of diapers were so cute; I put them around my neck and said I looked like I won the Kentucky Derby. My friend who hosted made me a special cake without sugar that I could eat, and made the other cake too -- how nice was that? She's very very sweet. We're so so so lucky to have such great friends. And I'm lucky to have such wonderful co-workers. Yay!
Here's a picture of all of the bags. Dude!
The rings of diapers were so cute; I put them around my neck and said I looked like I won the Kentucky Derby. My friend who hosted made me a special cake without sugar that I could eat, and made the other cake too -- how nice was that? She's very very sweet. We're so so so lucky to have such great friends. And I'm lucky to have such wonderful co-workers. Yay!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Someone Likes Her New Bed
We cut up the two-inch memory foam topper that used to be on our old crappy mattress and put it inside Mrs. B's new bed (which arrived today). She uses her bear as her pillow all the time -- we didn't pose her that way!
The Hospital
In case you're wondering, here's the hospital where we'll have Little Girl. We're planning on doing a dry run of the drive to identify parking and the fastest route there, and possibly where I can get ice cream on the way home. ;)
Friday, August 1, 2008
Weekend PREview
Well, the weekend preview is looking fairly blank. We don't have a lot planned, besides chores and errands and stuff. We sat down Monday or Tuesday this week and wrote out a list of everything that needs to get done before the baby arrives. Some of the items I'm hoping we can tackle this weekend; as the pregnancy wears on my energy level seems to be um, decreasing. :)
- We had our next-to-last session with our financial planner this week, and have some homework to do by Wednesday, so there's that.
- We're finishing the entertainment center stain and though it has historically taken about oh, two weeks to dry, I'm praying for a miracle to have it dry by Monday so I can take it to the Home Consignment Center to get it sold and off our porch. Speaking of our porch, we might work on that this weekend too; it's a mess.
- I've got to work on the wedding album; using the Blurb software. Oh, and the first wedding album too!
- We've got to order prints of photos of family and friends for the Wall of Love in the nursery -- a wall of pictures of people we love to bring happiness and to remember that we're loved while I'm nursing for the 87th time in the middle of the night. Oh and get all of the frames in order. And figure out if we want to hang them on the wall or put them on shelves (my vote: wall)
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