Monday Morning Musings - This last month

It's been an interesting month since my last post.  Some of it's been great and some has been not so great.  Nothing horrible has happened.  I've just had an interesting time adjusting to life as a mother.  Lots of mental and emotional turmoil.  I decided to talk to my doctor about it and we decided that I was probably suffering from Postpartum Depression and needed some medication.  It kind of surprised me because I wasn't feeling particularly sad or "depressed."  Just really, really extremely anxious about everything.  And that's just not me.  But after just about a week and a half on the medication, I started feeling much better and now I feel back to normal!  Hooray for modern medicine!

Now for the great parts.  Cadence started smiling!  She's such a smiley baby now!  It's so cute and is a sanity saver!

She's also starting to enjoy her play gym a bit more.  She makes all kinds of cute coos and grunts as she's playing.

And, unbelievably, she slept for SIX STRAIGHT HOURS one night this week!  I've been lucky if she did four and I got three.  I'm hoping for a few more sixers!

Monday Morning Musings - Shortcuts

Do those text shortcuts bother anybody else out there?  Not only do they butcher English grammar, I always read them like words!  Really odd words.  And yes, I do know they are acronyms. 

The worst one for me is ROFL.  Everyone else in the world probably reads that as it's supposed to be, "rolling on the floor laughing" (Who really does that anyway?  I've never laughed that hard because of an e-mail, text message, etc.).  I can't help but read it phonetically, and it sounds like a disgusting puking noise.  And that's not funny at all!

I do have to admit though, I have used LOL a few times.  It's more true to life for me.  Sometimes I do laugh out loud after reading e-mails, text messages, and blog posts.  But the acronym thing still drives me nutts!

But emoticons, I love those!  Does that make me a hypocrite? =^..^=

Monday Morning Musings - My birthday

My birthday was this weekend, and it was AWESOME!!  Derek always does a really good job of making the day special.  The whole day was all about me.  I got to choose whatever I wanted to do; he even let me choose what to listen to on the iPod! 

The cutest part of the day was in the morning.  Derek came home from his early morning job and took Cadence so I could go back to sleep (she had kept me up quite a bit of the night and I really needed more sleep).  He also offered to make me pancakes for breakfast.  After I woke up and got ready for the day, I came out to have breakfast.  Derek was struggling a bit taking care of Cadence and making food, so I took her.  He looked a little sad and said to me, "This morning isn't working out like I wanted it to.  I wanted your food to be ready for you already, and you weren't supposed to have to do anything!"  He's a keeper!! :)

And Derek planned a surprise evening of fun for me.  He invited our friends over for games and trifle (It even stayed a surprise until just before they came.  That's a record for us, I usually find everything out!).  So much fun!  Thanks guys for the great evening!!

I got some great presents.  Thanks Mom and Dad Nay and Mom and Dad Cheney for the birthday money.  I'll be putting it to good use soon!  And I'm so excited to watch Yes Man and eat yummy snacks with Derek.

Monday Morning Musings - It's Finally Fall!!

It's finally Fall, and I am so excited!  Although, I haven't been able to get outside for the last couple of days. It's been pretty rainy here.  Cool, rainy weather and a new baby don't go too well together...

One of these next few days I'm going to have to get my warm weather clothes out again--and check to see if they still fit...  Good thing I've got a birthday coming up soon! :)

Monday Morning Musings - And Baby Makes 3!!

Here's what I've been musing about lately...

Her name is Cadence.  She was born last Tuesday, and was a whopping 9lbs 12oz, 22 inches long!  That's all I've got for now.  I have a newborn!! :)

Monday Morning Musings - Life Changes

I'm not sure which is worse.  On the one hand, you've got not knowing the day your life is going to drastically change.  It'll come at some point; you know what will happen, or at least you have an idea.  You just don't know when. 

On the other hand, you've got a scheduled date.  You know almost down to the minute when it's going to happen, and the anxiety caused by the hugeness of the change builds up because in the back of your mind you're constantly thinking, "this is the last time I'll be doing this before..."

Or at least that's what's going on with me.  I'm in the second category of life changers.  I think I stress myself out more than the actual event does because I'm always thinking!  My c-section is scheduled for Tuesday morning.  As in tomorrow morning.  And it's just hitting me now. 

I've been pretty excited about having a scheduled c-section rather than going into labor whenever my body and baby decides it's time because of what my doctors have advised me. But now that the scheduled big day is coming up I'm starting to freak a little.  Just on the inside at this point though.  I don't do so well with pain.  For goodness sake, I have to have my husband hold my hand when the nurse takes my blood for tests!  I'm a major wuss.  Plus, after the pain comes a baby and all the changes that requires.

In some ways just letting it happen could be better.  I wouldn't have time to worry about everything.  But that would probably mean I would freak out in a bigger way on the big day.  This way it's spread out a little more.  Derek will probably be grateful for that! :)  And I'm sure when all is said and done, it'll all be worth it.  That's what I've been told by every mother I've talked to whether or not they went through labor, had a c-section, or a combination of both. 

So keep me and Derek in your prayers this week.  I'm sure we'll do fine, and I'll probably even surprise myself with how well I make it through the next few days, but it's always nice to have people praying for you!

Monday Morning Musings - Making Room

We are making room for the baby! My dad and I went to the U-Haul store this morning to get boxes so we could get all the blankets, towels and sheets we weren't using out of the hall closet in our house and into the storage unit. I couldn't believe how many unused sets of sheets and towels we had around the house!!!

The next step is to transfer our sheets and towels out of our room into the hall closet making all kinds of room for baby stuff. Then Derek's going to build another shelf for even more storage. I'm so excited!

And then (you thought we were done, didn't you?) we're going to move the computer desk out of our room and into the sun room, making room for the crib. THEN we'll be set. I think...

Monday Morning Musings - Exhaustion among other things

I have been so dang tired lately!  I know it's normal and will only get worse after the baby is born with the complete lack of sleep.  It seems like every time I sit down, I end up snoozing within five minutes!  I've even been assigning errands I usually love to do to Derek so I don't have to get up and get "real" clothes on.  Oh well, I guess it could be worse.

Can you believe that August is pretty much gone?!  Seems like I felt this way about July just a couple days ago!  The thing that's freaking me out the most is my due date range is in September (4th-24th).  That's, like... now!  Not in the distant future anymore!!  Aaahh!

And that's all I really think about anymore these days.  Sleeping, napping, and having a baby soon.  Oh, and the occasional digi-scrapping/bookmaking projects.

Monday Morning Musings - Thoughts

I woke up this morning with a couple of things on my mind.  One quite a bit odder than the other.  The first thought was as my radio alarm was going off at 8:07am and 8:14am and 8:21am.  I thought to myself, "Wow!  Everyone of these songs tells a great story!"  Yesterday was a little weirder.  My first thought as I woke up to my alarm was, "I can digi scrap this song!"  Hmm...  wonder what I've been obsessed with lately.

The second thought I had this morning, when I was a little more awake, was how grateful I am that time never goes backwards.  I've had this feeling before in Korea near the end of our time there.  It was fun.  I enjoyed teaching English in a foreign country, but there were just some really difficult things that I'm glad didn't get stretched out any longer than they already were.

I'm kind of in that stage again now.  I've officially got another month until my due date; although I'm hoping to go earlier.  It's been fun.  Being pregnant is, um, interesting and... full of surprises?  But I'm sure as heck glad that time never ever, ever goes backwards!  The unknown events of the future are a little scary sometimes, but I've been able to handle all my life events so far--some more gracefully than others--so why not life events yet to happen?

Monday Morning Musings -

I'm excited for another new week.  Not because I'm doing anything important or exciting though.  I'm just happy to be one week closer to not being pregnant anymore!  It's not all bad and I'm enjoying most of it, but I am getting tired of some of the well meaning yet insulting comments like, "Oh, WOW, are you going to pop?" or "You sure are getting big," or "Are you sure you aren't having twins?"  Comments like those aren't helpful or uplifting when you officially have 6 weeks until your due date!  I guess every pregnant woman gets those around this time, right?

But there are plenty of nice people who say things like, "Look how cute you are," or "Are you getting excited?" or "Do you need any more baby things?"  I always appreciate those!  Thank you nice people!

I was pretty excited to have my brother come to Sunday School with me yesterday.  He often works on Sundays, so the times he's there are really great!  I really like it when he comes with me.  He's fun to have around.  Plus, he holds the cute babies.  I'm not a baby holder... yet, but I do like to watch them.  It would have been nice for us both to have our spouses with us, but they're both in Primary.

There are a million things I'm hoping to get done this week.  We'll see if I get to them all. 

Monday Morning Musings - A Birthday Photo Scavenger Hunt

We had some great fun with our friends the Ortons last week. For Tanya's birthday, they had a photo scavenger hunt. I considered bringing my big camera, but Derek convinced me that our cell phone cameras would be perfect because they would be quicker to use.  And they were great for the scavenger hunt, but the photo quality is really bad and some of our pictures are really worth saving so I'm a little sad...  Oh well, lesson learned!!

The list the Ortons made was great, but was a little hard for just the two of us to do, so we modified a few of the things.  Here are three of the pictures

A model pose on a pedestrian bridge.

The Toyota jump high-five near a town landmark.  There weren't enough of us to do the jump and take a picture, so Derek high-fived a big clock tower thing.

Puddle jumping.  I think this is the best of all the pictures we took.  I love how itty-bitty the puddle is and how seriously Derek's jumping into it!

Derek was so great to humor me by being the subject in all the photos.  I was probably a little too bossy and/or demanding about each shot, but he was really good about it!  Thanks Derek!  You're the greatest!  I heart you so much! :D

Monday Morning Musings - Is this real life?

Hey, what do you know?  A Monday Morning Musing on Monday morning!  That hasn't happened for a while!

As my pregnancy progresses, I've become very aware of my body, and it's often on my mind.  As of today, I'm approximately 32 weeks along.  Some body parts that I've become aware of I had no idea I had, or had no idea they would change to the way they are!  Sometimes I think about what-can-I-do-to-get-my-body-through-the-day, and other thoughts are just self conscious.  I know that I'm lucky, and have had it pretty easy so far.  And I'm grateful for that.  But I'm a wuss.  A big--and getting bigger--wuss! :D

So you can imagine, how grateful I was when I got up from the couch the other day and as I was walking away, Derek--who was sitting next to me on the couch--said, "You have such a sweet butt!" Or maybe you can't...  Maybe it's just me.

Before getting pregnant, comments like that were flattering, but... a little much for me most of the time.  But that day, I was so happy!  I didn't say anything right then, but I think I've thanked him for the butt comment just about everyday since then! :)

And on a completely different note, here's some pages I've recently finished!!!

Monday Morning Musings - Book Review

So I finished reading The Chase by Clive Cussler last night.  It was a great read!  Cussler is one of my favorite authors because he puts the right amount of action, romance and comedy in his writing without it being too risque or vulgar. 

The Chase is part of a new series (I think.  It's what I heard; although it seemed like the author left it open to either way.  It could stand alone or be a part of a series).  There's a new main character who was suspiciously similar to Dirk Pitt (a main character in another of Cusslers' series) for the first few chapters, but then he got his own identity about mid-way through the book.  The similarity didn't really bother me too much.  I liked reading the adventures of Dirk Pitt.

There was one slightly inappropriate scene, but it was sort of like an edited movie.  You know what happened, but didn't see--or rather, read--it.  I appreciated that.  And since the novel is set in the early 20th century West, there was a lot of gun slinging, but nothing that bothered me.

Probably the most surprising thing for me in the book was that the author made a very positive reference to Salt Lake City and the Mormons!  That almost never happens!  When we--the Mormons, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--show up in books, we're often portrayed as strange and secretive.  Not so in this book!

I really enjoyed reading The Chase by Clive Cussler and look forward to more of his great action and adventure novels!

Monday Morning Musings - Hello Again!

We are home!  Emphasis on WE because Derek is finally back!  Hooray! 

We had a wonderful week in Provo visiting Derek's family.  Four of Derek's brothers and their families were able to visit HQ in Provo all at the same time!  It was tons of fun and we did all kinds of fun things.  I'll be giving more details in tomorrow's Top 10 post.  Be sure to come back! :)

It's a shame that all the brothers live so far apart from each other.  It would be a blast to get together more often.  But then would we really appreciate the time we spend together?

But as great as it is to be on vacation with family, it is really nice to be back home.  And especially to be back home with Derek.  I told him next time he traveled.  I'm going to come with him.  NO MATTER WHAT!!! :D

Monday Morning Musings -

Funny how these always end up being posted in the afternoon! :D

I went to the library today and picked up a few books.  The one that I'm most excited about is on freezer dinners.  The title is something like, Don't Worry Dinner's in the Freezer.  Or something like that.  After looking through it, I'll probably have a ton of prep work before freezing, but will have tons of dinners ready and much less work when it comes time to actually cook it!  Hooray!

And I've started reading a book about Benjamin Franklin, by Walter Isaacson.  It's excellent.  Definitely not an easy read, but very enjoyable!

Monday Morning Musings -

Can I just say two words?  Guitar Hero!  I got the full band set Saturday afternoon and my dad and I spent the evening jamming!  Well, not the entire evening, but it was a significant amount of time for us.  We never seem to be able to sit down and do something for more than 30 minutes at the most. 

And you know the best part?  My dad loved it!  I was a bit worried that he wouldn't really enjoy it because he's never been that into listening to music, especially Guitar Hero music!  But I think it was a hit!  He kept saying, "I think I know why you guys like this game so much!" and "I need to play that again so I can get it right," and "I like that song!  It's got a really good beat!"

I also worked on a special surprise for Derek.  Nothing big of course, but special if I do say so myself.  So Derek, get excited!

And here's another picture of my cat.  This time she's doing her hotdog pose.  She does this quite often.  Doesn't she look like a furry hotdog?  Sorry for the image quality.  Anytime I try to get my camera out, she moves.  This is a web cam pic.

Monday Musings

So I pretty much forgot to post today.  I thought about it briefly a couple of times, but didn't do much about it. 

I was lucky enough to do something fun and spontaneous this weekend.  I wouldn't say I'm not usually a spontaneous person, because I can be.  But usually, my spontaneity involves going to Wal-mart at 11pm, or eating cookies for breakfast.  This weekend was different.  On Thursday afternoon, I decided that I would drive down to Provo on Friday afternoon to surprise Derek.  And it was perfect.  It was great to see Derek, and it was great to have a min-vacation.  I wish I could do it again next weekend, but that would just be pathetic! 


I'm trying to think of things to do in the evenings while Derek's gone.  I can keep busy during the days, but at about 5:30 or 6:00, I run out of ideas.  Most of the things I've thought of I decided against because I want to do them with him.  Even the girly things.  Not that I do a whole lot of those anyways.  And he doesn't always do them with me, but he'll sit by me and do something manly.

So, any ideas?  And Derek, I know you read my blog.  You'd better start leaving comments!

Monday Morning Musings - Fantastic Sunday!

I had a fantastic Sunday yesterday! I helped Derek sub his primary class which went a lot better this week than last. And then in RS, I taught a lesson on Adversity and trials.

I was a bit nervous about teaching on that subject because even though the counselor who asked me to teach assured me they didn't ask me because I had a lot of experience with the topic (taking care of my mom), teaching is still teaching and I'm a notorious crier. I cry every time I bear my testimony, or talk about anything personal spiritually. But I felt like the lesson went really well! I had a lot of audience participation partly because I planned it that way and partly because the sisters in my ward are just great!

After the lesson, several people complimented me, and one even said that it was the most cheerful lesson on adversity she'd ever heard! :) Another funny thing was my friend Kristi gave a talk in Sacrament meeting on adversity. It ended up working out great though. We're quite a team!

As we were leaving church, I saw our friends Ann and Travis and thought we should eat dinner with them. So Sunday evening, they (and their two boys) came to eat orange chicken, veggies and rice with us.  Ann made an EXCELLENT chocolate chip oatmeal cake!  It was seriously amazing.  I'm going to get the recipe from her and you all should too!

Cornhole is probably the best relaxing outdoor game around, so we had to teach our friends.  At first, we all sort of stunk, but then we got in the groove and played a boys vs. girls game.  And guess who won!  The girls!  Ann and I were a great team!  What a great end to the day! :D

Monday Morning Musings - Memorial Day Fun!

Derek and I have had all kinds of fun today!  We tried to sleep in because it was a holiday, but that didn't work too well.  We both woke up by 9am.  Oh well, I guess waking up early means that we can start the fun sooner!

Then we went over to the mall in Boise.  I've been in severe need of some clothes that actually fit my body!  I have a few things in maternity sizes, but I've been noticing things not fitting quite right!  Derek was really nice and supportive about the whole trip.  Usually he complains a bit about going shopping for clothes, but this time he was really great.  I found a couple shirts, a skirt, and a new bra (**hooray**)!  I'm set!  I was hoping to find another white undershirt, but the Downeast Outfitters store didn't have any!  Darn!

After the mall, we went to Lowes to get some 2x4s and paint to make our CORNHOLE GAME!!!  Derek's brother and sister-in-law introduced us to it a few years ago, and ever since we've been wanting a set and now we've finally making it!! 

Here's a picture of one of the boards.  Derek wanted orange, but this turned out a little more CONSTRUCTION than we hoped.  Oh well, we won't miss it on the grass!  The other one is a nice yellow color.  I'm hoping that the boards will dry soon so we can play this evening!  I tried to take one of Derek working on it, but he's become a little over sensitive about how he looks when he's dirty.

And in other news, my flowers that I planted a few weeks ago and then thought were dead... AREN'T! They're so pretty!

Monday Morning Musings - Trash

er... maybe it's more afternoon?  But I was thinking of this this morning.

Last Wednesday evening, we forgot to take the trash out to the curb, and none of us were awake or dressed enough to run out there Thursday morning when the trash men came.  Therefore, our cans were still full and trash built up around the house because we couldn't take it out. 

All weekend, we were lamenting over our predicament.  It would be another week before the trash men came again so it was either wait it out (not really our first choice), or go to the dump (we didn't really like that option either because you have to pay to dump stuff). 

Then I remembered how much trouble trash was in Korea.  There were no large trash bags.  The largest they had were shopping bag sized which was convienent in a way because you could buy them at almost any grocery/department store check-out and use them for shopping bags as well. 

But the Korean trash system is very specific.  You must separate food and throw it away in very small yellow bags (BTW egg shells aren't food, they go in with the regular trash).  Recyling is big in Korea, but it's not easy.  You have to separate paper, cans, glass, plastic, and cardboard; all in their own bags or boxes.

So you didn't just have one or two bags to take out.  You had at least six!  And it wasn't always easy to take out the trash.  Most large apartment complexes had a designated trash "area" with organized piles of bags within the parking lot, but smaller apartment buildings and individual homes didn't.  For us--we lived in a small apartment building--there was a place down the road where we could leave our trash bags.  It wasn't too far away, but it was far enough that we would try and coordinate taking out the trash with other errands we had to run.

There were also trash "police."  These guys would check the trash bags to make sure that people were disposing things properly.  If there was a problem, they would watch for the person who was doing it wrong and then fine them.  This was scary for us because no one told us about the trash system until we had lived there for almost a year!  We could have gotten in big trouble.

They also had specific rules for businesses.  I'm not quite sure what they were, but somehow they were so strict that cities don't put out public trash cans because they're afraid that buisnesses will break the rules and throw their trash out in the public cans.  From what we saw, businesses throw their trash out on the far side of the sidewalk in front of their shops.  Gross, huh.  Especially since we knew you can't flush T.P. down the toilet in Korea, and the trashmen don't come regularly.  Eww! 

So after thinking about that, I can't complain too much about our current trash problem.