I'm an aunt!

My new nephew, Charlie Oliver Reed, was born today at 7:46pm and came in at 7 lbs and 6 ozs. Now I get to be the cool aunt who lives across the country and takes him to get his first tattoo. Sweet.

I Love Money too

It's a ridiculous show, like pretty much all other "reality" television, but I can't help but watch the train wreck that is I Love Money on VH1. Since I (not proudly) watched the other shows the I Love Money cast were on (Flavor of Love, I Love New York and Rock of Love), I was interested to see what kind of screwed up stuff they'd have these folks do for $250,000. So far, I haven't been disappointed: money booth grab in bikinis (men and women), an american gladiator-style double ended baton fight, a kiss off, and flinging chicken with catapults. I don't know why I like this show, but I can't stop watching.

I'm going to be an aunt soon!

My sister is 8 months pregnant and has been telling me a bit about the lamaze and other classes she and her husband have been going to over the last few weeks. She said they showed the live birth video a few days ago and it made both her and her husband a little queasy. I've seen a few videos of this amazing event and I always cry and feel a bit sick. In fact, I watched three different women give birth in the last 1/2 hour and I started crying during every video! The idea of being pregnant doesn't bother me but the giving birth part scares me shitless. I have anxiety attacks just watching the videos of someone else giving birth and it freaks me out to no end to think of myself doing what they are doing.

In October, we are going to Florida to visit Disney World and my sister, brother-in-law and new nephew. When we get back, I will be going off birth control pills as I am 34 and, if we are going to have kids, we'd like to get started sooner than later. After having a miscarriage last summer, I'm scared of repeating that but the thought of actually giving birth brings me to anxiety-driven tears... so I've been reading about Hypnobabies and water births and anything else I can find about ways to make the process less...anxiety filled. There's some interesting stuff out there...

The heat is making me lazier...if that's possible...

We went to Bullwinkle's last night for Chris's surprise birthday party and had such a fun time! Laser tag, skeeball, and all sorts of other games got the evening going with all-you-can-eat pizza and soda, mini golf, bumper boats and more laser tag to follow. We won a ton of tickets and then the guy working there gave us a bit of a bump up and we won a lava lamp! Woo! All of Chris' friends were really nice and everyone had a blast acting like kids again.

Today is the usual laundry and grocery shopping day and if it weren't for the reprieve from the heat in Matt's parent's basement, I'd be groggy and sweaty and just plain gross feeling. It's at least 10+ degrees cooler in that basement and by the time the movie was done (we watched Half Baked for the Nth time and it's still super funny), I was a little chilly! Crazy! Now, back here at home, it's considerably warmer than that basement but still comfortable inside with the fans pulling a cross breeze through the apartment and bare feet. I need to go up the street for milk and I just don't want to venture out into the sun. We were thinking about going to dodgeball practice today and we just can't seem to find the motivation to do anything but sit and stare at the screens. That's good for writing but not so good for making milk appear in the fridge...

Back from the lake and my back is killing me.

We went out to Lost Lake yesterday and it was a fantastic day. We had a little picnic lunch when we arrived, then rented a rowboat, spent about two hours gliding along the lake and just enjoying the nice weather. Matt rowed most of the time (he's much more coordinated than I am and had been using the rowing machine at the gym so he's had more practice) but for the 15 or 20 minutes that I rowed, I felt like I was doing it wrong. And boy was I right. Today I have a stabbing pain between my shoulder blades and my spine that goes up to my neck. I am such a wuss.

Selling my memories for a pittance...

...leaves me with mixed emotions. On the one hand, garage sales are fun to browse and a great way to make a little extra cash (which I definitely need right now). On the other hand, seeing people look at the treasures, which once held some sort of importance for me, as though they were digging through a dumpster is just... sad and a little painful. Fortunately, I had a side sale of the jewelry I make and got a lot of positive response about it so I ended the sale feeling pretty good about things. Plus, it was fun listening to '50's Hawaiian music (the Reader's Digest Aloha Hawaii 8-track, volume one and two!) and hanging out with Matt. We ordered pizza and enjoyed the sun (he got too much - I stayed in the shade) and made enough to go to the beach tomorrow without feeling like we're blowing our rent money. All in all, it was a good day.

It's weird not having much to say...

I have been so removed from writing that I'm grasping for something of substance to put down here. I feel like I'm second guessing everything I would write as not interesting or not important enough to document... I guess I'm so used to communicating face-to-face about anything of importance to me that it's hard to get back into my own head and let out the inner monologue. I have full, lengthy conversations in my head all the time so it should be easy to translate that to print but everytime I look at the blank page, my mind reflects what I'm looking at and I can't seem to focus on a stream of thought. I'd like to be witty and full of insight about life and being married and having a dog...I'm sure that will come out in time. Until then, I'm going to try to have some adventures that will be fun to write about. Like in the old days... :)

New laptop, same lazy girl

I got a new laptop and I am hoping it will encourage me to get back into writing. We shall see what happens.

At last... my love has come along...

So, things are completely different from the first plan and we are getting married in two days on Friday the 13th. Sweet. Heading out of town on Saturday at 6am for our honeymoon...Disneyworld, here we come!

At this point, I am very, very tired.

My world is dog.

I can't believe how much of our time is spent doing dog stuff now. Puppy Kindergarden every Wednesday for the next four weeks, dog park every day, vet appointments for shots, pet stores for toys, treats and food... Oi! I love the little guy and his constant need for attention has made me appreciate my relationship with M even more (if that's possible!) as our alone time is limited now.

Also, my cd player is starting to crap out and....yes, I know, who even uses cds anymore in the era of the Ipod? Well, I do and I need a new portable cd player. Preferably one that plays mp3s. :D

And also...

Wedding plans have changed almost 100%. The owner of the old venue called me a few weeks ago and said she had some bad news: they are being shut down and their last day of operation is Sept. 9th. So we had to find a new place, new caterer and less expensive bridesmaid dresses to help make up for the cost increase for the venue. Needless to say I was pissed, but now everything is fine and we're having our wedding on October 13th like we wanted in the first place. Ahhhh.

This is our new baby, Malcolm:

What a handful!

It's about time...

...and my abundance thereof. I have a new job coordinating system access set ups for new and current users at one of the biggest insurance companies in the US. It's easier than it sounds. So I've been diligently planning wedding and reception details and we've decided to turn it into a two day event. We wanted to get married on October 13th but, after looking at the calendar, decided to do it on the 14th because it's a Saturday. After a few headaches and several sketches of the table set up for the reception getting thrown in the garbage, I ran a bath ( I do my best thinking while I'm soaking in the tub). Ten minutes later, called for my sweetie and asked what he thought about having the ceremony the night before, on the day we originally wanted anyway. I said there would be no table moving, no "who has a seat and who has to stand" worrying, no rushing to get things rearranged while 200+ people are staring at us waiting for the party to start...no stress! Plus, it would make the ceremony more private - immediate family and close friends only would be invited - and we could have it at a park or down on the waterfront or at the Japanese Gardens... ahhhh. Beautiful. He got right on board with that idea and when we told our families this past weekend at the engagement brunch my parents hosted, they thought it was a great idea.

I can't wait.

my brain is about to explode.

I need to go get a manicure, pedicure and massage. I didn't sleep well last night with all the running around worrying if there were enough chairs for everyone and pages of cake pictures and bakery ads flipping through my head. Some decisions need to be made pretty dang quick so I don't have to go beg some doctor for valium or lunesta or something. Also, everything I eat is making me ill.

Eloping is starting to sound like a good plan.

it's on!

We're getting married October 14th. The planning phase is in full effect and our parents are meeting for the first time next weekend. I've pretty much decided on bridesmaid dresses and we're narrowing down places to have the reception. We're going to Disney World for our honeymoon and the girls, except my sister, and my mom and I are all going to a bridal show this weekend to taste cake and take notes.

I will need a nap some time soon.

*bells are ringing*

Matt proposed last night! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pfft.

So much for updating this more often. It seems like when I have free time, I just want to sleep or veg out. I'm tired more often than I think I should be and I'm ready for a break from work at Christmas. Nothing sounds better than three days of sleeping until I'm done (rather than until the alarm forces me out of bed), no plans and spontaneous, very low key, mellow activities like board games with the fam and maybe a movie or two.

It's My Dad's Birthday

As I can't be 2 hours away with him, I'll wish him happy birthday from here and go to Thanksgiving next week with gift in hand. Sadly, my sweetie won't be there. But my sister will and that makes me happy.

I think I'm coming down with something. I started getting a sore throat last night and nothing had changed when I woke up this morning. Meh.

Short week.

No, it isn't National Short Person Week, it's just a 4 day work week for me. We play bingo at work and I won the last round, which meant I got to spin the roulette wheel to determine my prize options. I spun green (the best one!) so I got to pick either 1/2 day off paid or a 1 hour massage. I opted for the 1/2 day off (duh) and, now that I don't have any mutual days off with my sweetie, I'll be enjoying this Friday doing whatever with him. Woo!

...And so the holidays begin...

Now that Halloween has come and gone (fun costumes, tasty drinks, early out), the winter holidays are right around the corner and I am NOT ready for all of that hullaballoo. The plan at this point is Thanksgiving with my folks (just me) and Christmas Eve with my folks (both of us). Plans for Christmas Day aren't really set (part of it will be spent getting home from Eugene) but I'm sure that will solidify soon enough. We talked briefly about getting a small tree since our place isn't really big enough for a regular tree... and this would be my first tree since I've lived away from my family. We're also talking about going to Disney World in January for 5 days... if we're good about money until then, it should work out just fine.

Photos from Halloween coming soon...