Our Menu - Week of 2/1/2010

I am very happy to report that we did not eat dinner out once last week!  While we never got to the potato soup, and we aren't this week, we had food for every day and it was quite nice.  Our only problem is the oodles of leftovers.  But, I guess that is what we have dogs for :).  As always, for more great menus, head on over to Org Junkie for other Menu Plan Monday participants.

This week is overly simple as I am getting more and more exhausted, and we aren't sure that I won't be induced on Wednesday, or sooner.

Monday: Our own version of goulash we call hamburger mac & tomatoes with my Mom's cheese toast and a a salad.

Tuesday: Shake n' Bake pork chops (we love those if you couldn't tell) with broccoli and fried potatoes (we are making mashed potates as well for my husband, but that's a surprise).

Wednesday: Hot dogs and brats (for the hubby) with french fries and corn.

Thursday: Leftover manicotti for Victor, spaghetti for my Mom and I with garlic cheese bread and a salad.

Friday: Biscuits and gravy with bacon and eggs.

Like I said, we are keeping it very simple and having mostly family staples.  The less work I have to do this week, the better.

Uncomfortable

I have been terribly uncomfortable the last few days, and extremely exhausted as well.  As I'm sure you can see where I'm leading to, we haven't done much the last few days.  Actually, I take that back.  My Mom busted her butt working on her room/storage yesterday after she got home from work.  I have completely cleaned out our 2 closets in our room and the bathroom is cleaned and organized...somewhat.  The dogs also got baths today.  And now my bedroom floor and actual bed are a disaster.  I found tons of sheets that I'm going to use as cleaning cloths and/or burprags, so they need to be washed.  I also found quite a few towels that need to be folded and put up.  But I tuckered out.  And so did the rest of the family.  I'm really hoping I have tons and tons of energy tomorrow to work on some stuff around the house because its driving me crazy!

On the plus side, we did get our grocery shopping done this morning.  But, someone stole some diapers out of our cart before we made it to the checkout and I didn't realize it until then and I was not about to go get some more.  I also bought a lot of items I'll need at the hospital and I worked on packing the diaper bag a bit.  I ordered some stuff off of Wal Mart a few weeks ago using the site to store option, so I'm waiting for that stuff to get in as well.  Anyways, all of this means that I have all my food for the week and I will be here posting my menu plan in a bit.  We went super simple this week as I'm exhausted and we aren't sure what the doctor is going to say on Wednesday.

Just a little update so everyone knows I'm still alive.  Alive, but uncomfortable and exhausted.

A Plan

It just ocurred to me.  We have been rearranging and "organzing" all willy-nilly in this house, and while it has worked somewhat, we are down to needing a plan!  Yes, I thought it was a novel concept to for I am that smart!  I originally decided I didn't want to plan things out because that was to static for me and I wanted the freedom to do super easy things since I am on bedrest and really shouldn't be doing hard manual labor.  However, I have come to realize that maybe my plan to not plan was not so smart.  Why you ask?  Well, because I really don't know where we are at with everything.  And that my friends is a waste of time.

So sitting here reading some of my favorite organizing blogs (Org Junkie and The Lazy Organizer) it finally dawned on me that I do in fact need a plan.  Maybe a plan isn't for everyone, but as you may have guessed, I am a planner.  I really should actually get a job in some type of planning field (event, wedding, personal, etc.) as I thrive in those situations.  Anyways, I have decided I need a definite plan for EACH room in the house.  We have a lot of little things left to do in each room, and even some big things, but I won't know about them, or remember them if I don't write them down in To-Do List form because that's how I roll.

Theoretically I want everything done before Weston gets here, but I don't really see that happening.  So I need to focus on his room first.  Which is very hard for me because I don't go in there very often so I really haven't been able to assess what is needed in there.  I think once someone gets home tonight, or maybe 2 someones, I am going to go in there and look around and write down every single little thing that has to be done before a baby can inhabit the room.  Which is really kind of annoying since he won't be sleeping in there for awhile, he will be in with us, but whatever, it's the right thing to do. 

By elimination, that means OUR room has to be done next since he WILL be living in there a lot.  Our room is almost done, but there are tons of clothes that need to be hung up and the bathroom really needs to be cleaned and organized.  Then there is our extra closet which is full of bedding crap that will probably bite it, or get turned into dish towels.  I also need to get some lights for the closet.  And we need a curtain or something for the freaking ginormous window that is right by where I sleep.  I hate light when I sleep and the dogs keep ripping down our ghetto fix...an old sheet.  So yes, these things must be done.

Next up is the living room.  This one has to be done because this is where we, as a family, hang out the most.  I am sure I will have Weston chilling with me in the living room, so everything must be in its proper place and there has to be room for all his fun swings and bouncy things to keep him happy.

Next comes the new office because I will spend time here a lot once he is born as well.  Right now it has turned into a catchall because I didn't have a plan.  See how this has backfired on me quite a bit.  There is tons of crap in here, most of it from my car and from my office since they were moving right as I was put on bedrest so I thought ahead and brought all of my stuff home so no one would have to move it.  Nevermind the fact that its been out in my car since December 7th (and earlier for a lot of the stuff), its in the house now.  I want to setup an effective working system in here, doesn't that sound exciting?

Next will be the kitchen/place to eat.  This one stresses me out.  This is probably the one I am dreading the most because I know a lot of things need to be moved around.  I need an effective cooking space and effective storage and right now I have neither.  This goes along with getting our lovely dishwasher installed so we won't be using the portable one anymore.  I would like everything cleaned up and in its proper place before that happens though.  Also, does anyone need glasses.  We have enough for a family of 20, so if you need some, I know the perfect place to get them.  I wonder how things like that happen anyways?

So there, I now have a plan for a plan (HA).  I will start writing my plan tonight and who knows when it will actually go into working mode.  I guess that all depends on the results of tomorrows appointment.  But, at least I will have a plan of attack for each room and people can do things for me, or if not, then once I am back home with my son, I can work on the plan while he is sleeping and I am not awestruck by him...on second thought, everything better go well tomorrow so we can all get our butts in gear, none of us will do anything once he's here, I just know it.

Beef Manicotti

I should probably change the title to the Beef Manicotti and make it turkey as that is what I used.  I was trying to healthy it up a bit.  First off let me tell you, I did not TOUCH the stuff.  I made it for my husband mostly, and my mother to try.  I don't eat marinara or spaghetti sauce, I can't stand it, it has too many spices.  I prefer plain tomatoes with some salt on them, but that is neither here nor there.

My husband loved the manicotti, my Mom didn't and she wasn't shy about letting me know (I'm trying to let go of this, I'm not succeeding as you can tell).  My biggest complaint was the sheer amount of time it took to do this.  Also, I got dirty and I am not a fan of that.  Stuffing the meat and cheese mixture into the manicotti noodles was the worst part, and the most time consuming.  Since this was my first go at it, I expected it to take awhile.  And now that I know what is involved, I can plan my day accordingly and make everything in steps, which was my original plan, but I had no idea it would take that long to make.

Overall I was pleased with the results.  My husband really liked it and it looked yummy (except for the tomato sauce of course) and cheesy and gooey!  I have 7 more stuffed noodles in the freezer, so I'll make that for him at some point in the near future.  I will probably make this again, but not too often since he is the only one that will eat it.

Low Fluid I hate Thee

I had my weekly checkup this morning...it did not go very well.  I now get weekly sonograms to monitor the fluid level as I have been having issues with that as of late.  It is related to the blood pressure issue, naturally.  My fluid level was down to 6.5, with 5 being the lowest it can go before they induce.  I have another appointment on Friday due to this discovery, and depending on what we find out, Weston may be here sooner than we were anticipating.  I'm depressed about this because I've tried everything I can to relax, stay hydrated, and rest.  As I've told Victor, it makes me feel like a bad Mom because my body is doing this to my son.  I really hope my fluid level goes back up and we have some more time to prepare.  I haven't packed my bag yet, nor do I have everything I need for Weston.  I don't even have things to put in the diaper bag yet, which is sad, I know.

Victor and I came home and he started back up on my nesting for me :).  We have completely rearranged 4 rooms in the house, as well as set up the majority of the nursery in the last 3 weeks.  I mainly supervise, which probably sucks big time for him since I'm bossy and hard to please.  I think he's somewhat used to this by now though.  I love the new layout of all the rooms.  I'm so smart when it comes to those things, not to blow my own horn or anything.  I think he is secretly really pleased as well, he just hates admitting it.  We are hoping to have Weston's room complete by this Sunday, but who knows if that will get done.

I just wanted to post an update.  I'm not in a very good mood right now, so other updates won't come until tomorrow or so.  I'm really in a funk, which I've been fighting for weeks and its really just gotten the best of me.

Nervous

I am absolutely petrified right now.  Of child birth and of being a Mommy.  I have no idea what I am getting myself into.  I'm excited but scared.  I plan on going all natural for several reasons.  I'm not so afraid of the contractions as I am of the pushing and actual birth.  I think that will be extremely painful.

When I'm nervous, I make lists.  Here is my list of things I need to pack:

• chapstick
• tennis ball and other massaging instruments
• hairbands
• socks
• toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste
• conditioner (shampoo dries my hair out really bad, so I only use it sparingly) in a travel size container
• body soap in a travel size container
• washcloth
• face wash
• deodorant
• my own towels
• my own pillow(s)
• some type of sleep mask
• camera and charger
• video camera with extra tapes and charger
• ipod and accesories
• laptop?
• nursing bras
• nursing PJs and comfortable pant bottoms
• nursing pillow
• nursing cover
• cream for the boobs
• nursing pads
• baby book
• dermoplast/epicream
• tucks pads
• depends?
• under garments
• going home outfit
• list of people to notify about the birth
• cell phone and charger
• notepad and pen
• thank you cards?

I'm also making Victor download the contraction master application for his iphone.  Because when I'm nervous, I plan.  Obsessively.  I tend to get this kind of nervous after I hang out with my friend who has two beautiful little girls.  For some reason being with a baby scares me!  I remember leaving the hospital after my Mom and visited her when her second daughter was born back in early November and being so stressed out I started crying.  I was just so overwhelmed and scared for what I was about to experience.  And the way I deal with this is to plan and make lists and act like a neurotic freak.  Such is the life of me!

Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin

This is an awesome recipe!  I am a very picky eater, and I'm not a fan of pork (except bacon because HELLO its bacon), so I was very hesitant to try this when someone from work brought it in as a healthy lunch option for our exercise group.  I'm also not a fan of spicy food, even though I am from Texas... I know it doesn't make sense.  This is a really simple and yummy recipe, great for a family.  The best part, it uses the crockpot.  You can do this for 4 hours or 8 and it tastes just the same and falls apart just as easily.  Without further adieu:

Raspberry Chipotle Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

• Medium sized pork tenderloin, whatever will feed your family.
• 1.5 cups bottled raspberry chipotle sauce, you can get this anywhere and any brand works
• Garlic Salt
• Pepper
• .5 cup water

Method:

• Coat all sides of pork tenderloin in garlic salt and pepper.
• Place in slow cooker.
• Pour 1 cup of the raspberry chipotle sauce over the tenderloin.
• Pour .5 cup water over the pork tenderloin and sauce.
• Cook for 4 or 8 hours, depending on your preference.
• Once done, pour the additional .5 cup of raspberry chipotle sauce over the pork.
• Serve and enjoy!

This is one of the easiest recipes known to man, and if I can do it, anyone can because I am so not a cook :).  If you try this, let me know if you liked it.  Happy cooking!

Our Menu - Week of 1/25/2010

Woohoo, it's finally time to post our first official week of menus.  I'm very excited as is my family, we are really sick of eating out.  For other great recipes and menus, Org Junkie is where this is all coming from :).

Monday: Shake n' Bake pork chops, blue box (my favorite) mac & cheese, and broccoli.

Tuesday: Turkey & cheese manicotti (using an adapted Food Network recipe) with salad and garlic cheese bread.

Wednesday: Raspberry chipotle pork tenderloin done in the slow cooker, fried potatoes, and green beans.

Thursday: Slow cooker pot roast with carrots and potatoes and rice.

Friday: Spud Special Soup with yeast rolls.

Saturday: Leftovers!

I really hope everything goes according to plan, I'm very excited that we are doing this!  I'm really stretching my comfort zone by cooking a lot of this stuff, but I'm hoping its the start of many new habits in this household.

Plastic Bag Bliss

I'm in a blogging mood.  Mainly because I am so excited about things going on in my life right now.

Anyways, I don't know about you, but we tend to keep the bazillion plastic bags we get when we go to the grocery store, or any store really.  We then use them to take our lunches, scoop cat litter, carry random things, etc.  Except, there was a huge organizational problem.  All the bags were just getting thrown on the floor in the pantry.  We are talking several years worth of plastic bags, because of course they move with us!  It's been driving me batty, it was so nasty and tacky looking and clutter-y and just rage inducing really.  I was complaining to my Mom about this and she took awesome initiative and got the box her space heater came in and loaded all of the plastic bags into it!  She put all of the paper bags into a huge plastic bag we had as well.  I took all of the paint cans outside.  These were leftover from the idiot previous owner, and they too were driving me batty.  So now we have a nice clean, organized pantry floor and it is truly a thing of beauty.  It really made me feel great and refreshed!

I'm telling you, these organizing people are right...it's a great high!

Sunday?!

Can this weekend really be almost over?  We have been semi productive this weekend, with today being the best day yet!  My Mom has really been working on her room a lot today.  There is a storage room where she sleeps at and when we moved her in, we just piled tons and tons of crap in there because we didn't have time to go through everything.  Well, now is the time.  I guess I've inspired her through all of the organization I've been trying to do in the rest of the house. 

It's so refreshing when things are picked up and clutter is cleared.  It really does make you want to do more and more.  My only issue is, there isn't much I can do right now because we are doing a big room rearranging on Wednesday.  We are completely switching the living room layout and moving the dining room table into the breakfast nook, and making the dining room the office.  This really is going to be the most efficient layout for us and I am so excited to get it done!  I know Victor isn't looking forward to this task, but I'm sure he will be so happy with the outcome...even if he can't see the TV while he eats dinner now :).

My Mom and I went grocery shopping yesterday morning at Super Target, so I will be back later with my Menu Plan Monday stuff, which I am very excited about.  I'm a little nervous at all of the cooking since I tend to really crave fast food when we setup menus, but this is truly for the best.  We need to stop eating out and wasting tons of money on groceries.  We aren't branching out too much with our menu, but it will be a challenge :).

On that note, I'm going to skidaddle for now.  I'm quite tired and need to get the dining room table cleared off for dinner (that Victor is bringing home...from Wendys, last night I promise!).

Slacker!

Well, at least on a personal front.  I've been doing a lot of work the past few days, so I haven't gotten to do a lot of the personal stuff I'd like to.  I'm also physically and mentally drained, so I've been having a hard time doing things, working is really taking its toll, especially now that I am having such a hard time to sleep.

So, no I did not get the Meal Plan Monday thing done.  We did sit down and write out a menu, but I have not made it to the grocery store yet!  Which obviously means the Try it Tuesday did not happen as I had no ingredients for my green smoothie.  I'm irritated by all of this, but I just have to get over it.  Life happens, a lot, so I need to look at the positives and not dwell on what I feel I missed out on.

In some very awesome and great news, we rented the house out today!  I'm still apprehensive since no contract has been signed yet, but that is happening on Friday and we will be getting half of the deposit then and the remaining the following Friday.  You have no idea how thrilled I am with this.  It gives us a lot of direction and clarity within our lives as we now don't have the burden of that house hanging over us.  Our new tenants will be moving in at the end of February/beginning of March.  Is that ideal?  Not really, but I'm excited that we have a renter, and from what I've heard, they sound pretty awesome.  They will be doing any and all repairs themselves, which is a huge relief to us.  I haven't officially met them since I try to stay home and relax as much as possible, but that will change on Friday.  I have a lot to do, lease agreement wise, between now and then, so wish me luck :).  I'm thinking about asking my friend for some assistance since she is quite the expert.  I really am just so darn excited.

In other exciting, but not nearly as monumental, news, we rearranged our bedroom today.  OK, I mainly did nothing and Victor did everything, but that's how it goes when you are pregnant.  It looks awesome!  It works so much better for us and the room actually seems bigger.  Of course we have 2 huge kennels in there for the dogs, but we can't do anything about that.  I still have a lot of stuff to pick up and sort in there, but I will get to it in due time.  Next up is the living room and dining room.  We are making huge changes in these 2 areas!  Since Victor will actually have the whole day off next Wednesday, those arrangments will be done then.  I am so excited, you have no idea.  I finally figured out a layout that works for our house.  We won't be using the dining room as a dining room anymore, it will become the new office.  We have a rather big breakfast nook, so our table will be moving in there.  This will be especially beneficial once Weston begins eating solids.  The carpet would be utterly ruined so being on tile will be a lot better.  Plus it just seems natural :).  I will still have a lot of placement to figure out, but I will get it done.

The next 2 days will still be pretty busy for me.  As I said, the end of January is a very busy time in my particular field, and we get everything done a week out, which means Friday everything has to be done.  I'm helping as much as possible, hence the tons of work I've been trying to do the last couple of days.  I won't be here much, and I probably won't be getting a lot of personal stuff done, but the following week should be much better and things should flow much better.  I am really looking forward to the coming weeks as we start really preparing our my baby boy to get here.

Update

Yes, it's me, live and all fleshy like.  Todays appointment went great!  My fluid level was back up to 10, which is great!  And, my blood pressure was 114/76 which is even greater!  I don't have to back until next Wednesday woohoo!  I'm sure my doctor would have preferred that I come in next Monday, but it is so much easier on Wednesdays since my husband is off work on that day.  Anyways, I am so thrilled and my baby boy gets to cook another week!  He was so cute on the sonogram.  He had his foot up right by his face and it was a perfect foot picture!  He also had his hands around his face.  It was his sleepy time so he was irritated that the sonogram tech kept poking at him...just like his Momma.  They didn't tell me how his weight was measuring, but I'm sure everything is going great.  He's such a trooper and I can't wait to meet him, in due time of course.

I will be back later tonight with our menu plan.  I'd like to plan it out with Victor since, you know, he eats the food too.  My Mom told us to pick the food since she can always find something to eat.  I'm going to try and be concious of her needs, but its so hard, we are a weird eating family.  But I'm really going to try and branch us out in the food department as I think that will encourage us actually eating at home as opposed to eating fast food.

Also, I'm going to be trying something new, green smoothies.  I need a lot more veggies and what better way than mixed with fruit where you can't really taste 'em :).  I'm looking for a good recipe right now, so I'll let you know.  There is a feature on a blog out there called Try it Tuesday, so maybe I'll do that tomorrow!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is my appointment.  To say I am nervous is an understatement.  I'm terrified of what I will be told.  At least its early in the morning so I won't be dreading it all day long.  Hopefully I will get the news that my fluid level, if it did nothing else, at least stayed the same and did not go any lower.  I'm praying for that, I really am.  My son needs to stay inside a few more weeks!

With all of this in mind, I was going to take part in a thing called Menu Plan Monday from the Org Junkie website, but because I don't know if I will be coming home tomorrow, I didn't really think there was a point.  If I do get good news tomorrow, I will come home and try to get a menu lined up for the week so grocery shopping can be done.  And then I will take part in all of that fun.

I need to have an early night and relax as much as possible, especially considering I maybe got 3 total hours of sleep last night.  I don't really know what the issue is.  I came and laid out on the couch sometime after 1 because the dogs had taken up my whole side of the bed and I was tired of fighting with them.  Then 2 of my cats decided they needed to sleep on me, which didn't really bother me, but the couch was just not very comfortable.  Since my Mom went in to work at 5 this morning, once she left, I went and laid in her room where her cat proceeded to lay on me (a miracle because that cat is not nice to anyone), which again didn't bother me, but I just could not stay asleep.  I am desperate for some rest, especially since I know I won't get a lot once Weston is here.

Anyways, I was just checking in...I really hope I'm back tomorrow with a good report.

Much Better

I just wanted to let everyone (ok, my Internet ego!) know that after my horrible venting session yesterday, I had a fabulous evening with my Mom and husband.  Sure I ate too much, and maybe didn't drink quite enough water, but I had a fabulous time with them and laughed like I haven't laughed in awhile.

My Mom brought us dinner and we all ate and enjoyed each others company.  Afterwards, my Mom and I put the stroller and carseat together.  We still have a little bit to do, but its mostly ready for Mr. Weston.  We somehow got to talking about The Longest Yard so after dinner we popped that in and had a laughing good time.  My Mom had never seen the newest version and she really enjoyed it.  I'm sure laughing helped me out, even if I didn't end up sleeping  well at night.

Just wanted to let everyone know that even though I'm still upset and worried, my family is truly awesome and I really appreciated the time I spent with them last night.

Frustration

I have had an extremely frustrating week, and unfortunately it isn't getting any better.  I'm trying to look on the bright side and stay positive, for my son's sake, but it is so incredibly hard.

Monday and Tuesday were hectic and felt overloaded to me.  I take most everything in my life entirely way too seriously, which is why I was originally hesitant to agree to work from home.  It has nothing to do with the people or the work, it has to do with the insane amount of pressure I place on myself.  I feel like I have to get every single thing done that is put in front of me, even if that isn't what others are actually expecting of me (they may like that, but know it probably isn't possible).  It is an extremely busy time of the year in my particular profession and obviously my company is short handed due to my bedrest.  I feel horrible about that and stress myself out about it constantly, so to somewhat try and compensate, anything that is sent to me, I usually try to complete and will work quite awhile to do so, which I shouldn't be doing.

Then move ahead to Wednesday.  My appointment wasn't until 10:50 and Victor's work made him work that morning (his day off) due to a shortage of people.  He had told them he had to be out of there no later than 10:15 so he could pick me up and take me to my appointment.  While I was waiting on him, I got up and worked some.  Things were just not going my way and it felt like everything I touched was messing up, so that naturally frustrated me.  I've also been having horrible phone troubles so I didn't receive his text message a little before 10:30 saying he was just now cleaning up to leave.  So I waited and waited, and finally got up and got ready and left on my own... later than I should have.  So I was late to my appointment, I got there at 10:50 and that's when my sonogram was scheduled, so I was pushed back and Victor (who met me up there, not 5 minutes after I got there) and I waited for quite some time.

We got our sonogram and everything was fine, or so I thought.  Apparently my fluid levels are on the very low end of OK.  But, of course you know that wouldn't be the only problem.  My blood pressure was elevated again, in the 140s, so that of course raised a lot of flags.  Unfortunately, my doctor wasn't there, he was at a conference, so I was seen by the nurse practioner who also consulted with the doctor on call for mine.  They decided I needed to do another 24 urine analysis (my 3rd one!) and I had to come back in this morning for another sonogram and blood pressure check.  My fluid level was at 8 (I really don't know what that means) and anything between 5 and 25 is normal, but because low fluid is a side effect of high blood pressure problems, they are starting to get concerned.

This morning, my Mom and I made it to the appointment...which we waited and waited as usual.  We got the sonogram and then I had my blood pressure checked and it was back down to normal, but my fluid level has gone down to a 7.  This is so incredibly frustrating for me because I did exactly as they said and tried to stay as hydrated as possible.  I literally drank at least 2 gallons of water yesterday and a gallon Wednesday after we finally got home from the appointment.  My doctor wants me back in bright and early Monday morning for another songoram and visit.  I was told I may have to start coming in twice a week as well.

I am so utterly depressed about this.  I'm scared as well.  I know if I get below 5 they will probably want me to deliver and if my pattern keeps up like it did this week, that will be by next Wednesday.  I'll only be 34 weeks at that point, and that is still just entirely way too early for my son to be born.  I guess the only thing I can do is relax as much as possible this weekend and continue drinking a billion gallons of water, and pray for the best outcome possible.  All of this just makes me feel like a terrible Mom already, and I feel helpless as well.

Add on to all of this that we are in the process of trying to rent out our other house, and I'm frazzled to the bone.  I've received a billion calls and we've had 4 families tell us they are VERY interested, but I haven't received any calls back so now I'm starting to stress out about that again.  This really just hasn't been my week :).

Here's to a relaxing and peaceful weekend.  I'm very hopeful that things take a turn for the better and that my son stays as healthy as possible!

Its been a few days...

I really haven't felt so great the last few days.  I didn't get hardly any of my To-Do List for Sunday done as I just felt like crap.  Also, we had a nursing class from 1:30 to 4:30 and towards the end of class I started getting a really bad headache and just feeling bad overall, so I came home and rested for about 2 hours.  Monday I woke up dizzy and felt that way for the better part of the morning, so I only managed to work and then take a nap in the afternoon.  So, in other words, I haven't done much of anything.  I'm hoping tomorrow will be different, but my day will be all sorts of choppy due to a doctors appointment and then a few appointments showing the house for prospective renters.

We met with a couple tonight who seem really promising.  I've had several no shows and that irritates me to no end.  I don't care if you have no interest, don't say you will come if you aren't going to...huge pet peeve of mine.  Also, being late, don't even bother.  Anyways, I'm really hopeful regarding this couple.  Things seemed promising and they were at the house for well over 30 minutes.  But I'm not going to get my hopes up.  We have 3 appointments scheduled for tomorrow, all towards the end of the day.  I'm not looking forward to this, it wracks my nerves more than you could know.  My phones been ringing off the hook and I hate phones, so it takes everything I have to actually pick up the phone...sad, I know, but such is the life of me.

I don't have too much to say considering how unproductive I've been the past few days.  I get my sonogram tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have tons of interesting information to pass on to everyone.  Until the, I bid you a fond farewell :).

Sunday's Tasks

If you read my profile, I am obsessed with To-Do Lists... I love them!!!  I may never cross things off (stupid, right?!), but I adore making them.  And many times, I get overly detailed, but that is in hopes of crossing off tons of little things that eventually add up to a big thing.  So to indulge my obsession, I'm going to have a little "feature" on this here blog detailing some sort of To-Do List.  Without further ado:

Sunday, January 10th To-Do List

• Clean out clothes closet and get rid of all unworn clothes
• Find container for baking products in pantry
• Vacuum nursery
• Get all dishes washed
• File all miscellaneous papers
• Assess items in closets in nursery and figure out where things are going
• Create a weekly menu plan for this upcoming week (this includes looking for recipes and creating a shopping list)
• Wash towels
• Wash underclothes and whites
• Get my car completely cleaned out, backseat and trunk
• Create Receipts Folder
• *Hopefully* get our office completely setup the way I want it!

Yes, this is extremely over ambitious, and I'm sure not 100% of this will get done.  This is especially so because I have to count on either my husband or my Mom to do some of this stuff as I am unable due to bedrest.  But, these things have to get done before Weston makes his appearance, so why not get them on my list now :)!

And, on a final note I am so incredibly happy the Cowboys won!  Makes me so proud to be a Texan and a Cowboys fan :).

The perils of owning two homes

Yes, I am an idiot who owns two homes.  While this may not be bad for some, it hasn't worked out that well for me.  Of course, my first renter was my Mom and she moved in right after we bought our second house, a little over a year ago.  Now we are trying to find renters because I just don't think I could sell this house right now.  It's a great little house, but there are a few things that need to be done that I just don't think we could swing.  But, who knows, some of those things may need to be done before we are able to rent the house out even.

We have a prospect coming over tonight *hopefully* between 5:30 and 5:45.  This is the first person to look at the house, mainly because I am lazy and the whole house stressed me out.  I guess this would be a side note, but here's something about me... when I stress about something my natural reaction is to completely avoid it at all costs.  You can see how this is probably not a good thing.

Anyways, last Friday my Mom and husband went over and painted the one bedroom that was in desperate need of painting (mainly because I ran out of the brown color I originally painted it and there was a spot, so it needed to go back to white).  I posted an ad on Craigslist and we have this lady coming by tonight.  We were supposed to meet up Monday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday, and finally today.  Hopefully this just gets done and over with.  I really hope she wants the house.  That would relieve so much pressure off of all of us.

My Mom stuck a For Rent sign out on the lawn today with my phone number on it.  You have no idea how nervous this makes me.  I hate phones, I don't even really like talking to people I know on phones.  So this is a huge stressor for me.  But if we can quickly rent the house out, then no harm no foul I suppose.

Word to the wise, only own 2 homes if you know what you are doing...

Organization Revolution

There is a great blog I read, Org Junkie (http://orgjunkie.com/ - I am not one to know the HTML stuff yet, sorry), and I have become absolutely obsessed.  She has such great tips on how to organize, and one thing I really love is that she makes it clear that what works for her might not work for anyone else.  Don't ask me why I value this so much, I just do.

Anyways, once I stumbled upon her blog, I knew I could no longer lead my life in such an unorganized fashion.  I absolutely had to get my entire house organized and get systems (something she preaches about) in place as soon as possible.  Her website has been invaluable to me.  She has really inspired me to get my act together, so to speak.

I've slowly started going through my house, piece by piece, and pulling things out, going through them, throwing away, and then reorganizing.  If you walked in, you wouldn't be able to tell this.  But that isn't what matters to me.  What matters to me is that things are getting done.  One of her major philosophies is to start small and work your way up.  Well, that's exactly what I'm doing.  I went through our filing cabinet and good grief you wouldn't believe the amount of crap I was able to throw away or shred.  A lot of the stuff just wasn't even important to begin with, so why it was in there, Lord only knows.  Now I have about 6 hanging folders in there that are labelled properly so I know whats in them and where to stick new information I get.  The only sucky part was that the filing cabinet does not hold legal sized papers, which is what a lot of our housing documents are, so they are in the bottom drawer laying awkwardly.  Oh well, I'll survive that I'm sure.

I haven't been following her method entirely.  I just kind of pick something and go after it for a bit.  I've been picking up books and magazines from around the house and placing them in there *hopeful* proper spot.  And I've completely gone through the fridge and freezer and gotten rid of tons of crap that we just won't ever use.  She is so right when she says there is a "high" associated with cleaning and organizing these things.  It feels great to have things in order, not having to look everywhere for things.  I actually found my marriage license while doing this.

As I said, I still have a very long way to go!  I'm not sure what I'm going to work on today.  I try to do one thing a day, nothing too big as that isn't very smart for a woman on bedrest.  Tuesday we went to Target and bought 2 boxes of some Tupperware, the kind where everything clicks together, because I absolutely could not stand my tupperware cabinet anymore.  I started washing the pieces yesterday and went through the cabinet throwing away pieces I no longer want.  Org Junkie talks about using baskets a lot...well I don't have a lot of extra money laying around, so I started looking at my old tupperware collection in a new light (something I think she'd be proud of...can you tell she's kind of my hero :)).  I could use the bigger pieces for baskets, say to store all of my spices in.  I poured my Cheerios into a taller container that I had to get rid of the boxes, etc.  It's amazing how much nicer things look.  I'm still not done with the tupperware cabinet as I'm not done washing the new pieces and I decided to store the old pieces in the cabinet because I don't have anywhere to just set them right now.

I'll probably be chronicling my journey to Organized Heaven on here, it's something I've become quite passionate about...to the point where I think I annoy my Mom and my husband.  But, I'm sure they will appreciate my hard work in the end.  At least I get to feel productive, if only for a minute or two.  I will take pictures, though that is hard for me because I'm embarassed of the shape of my house.  If I get brave enough, I'll post said pictures and after pictures too!  Here's to a new Organized Life!

Unharden my Heart

I went with my Mom to Tom Thumb this afternoon after she got off of work. She picked me up at the house; we drove around for about an hour, and then headed to the store for some more green beans and other accoutrements. We frequent this store quite a bit; we were just there Monday as a matter of fact. There are two "slower" people who work there, a man and a woman. While we were trying to park (in the handicap spot due to my Mom's knees, which should be fine soon...), the man was collecting carts and happened to be in our way. I immediately got irritated and said some not so nice things to my Mom. And I immediately felt horrible. Yes, he can be a bit irritating, he will talk and talk to you saying the same thing over and over again, but that is no reason to get frustrated or irritated. I've really tried to make it a habit not to get "annoyed" by these folks, but apparently I'm not doing so well.

Sitting in my Mom's car, I began thinking about all of this and how unGodly and rude this is of me. I had an epiphany if you will. People are who they are, no matter their differences, and I should learn to love and accept everyone no matter what. It most definitely isn't my place to judge others. And I find judging others has quite a negative effect on my heart and my overall well being. I'm the first to admit, I'm quite a judgmental person, overly so really. I would like to lose this layer of my personality completely. Only God has the right to judge, and while I may not like a person’s so called flaws, I need to learn to accept them for what they are, part of God's creation.

This is a huge step for me because being judgmental is part of my personality, a big part. My husband often comments that I am way too judgmental and that's probably why I don't have a lot of friends. Though he is being sarcastic, I can't help but wonder if what he says is true. I don't open myself up to people because of my preconceived notion of their personalities. And truthfully, I'm probably missing out on knowing a lot of great people. I think it is also partly a defense mechanism as I myself am terrified of being judged by others. I am scared to know what they think when they see me and talk to me. But this is really only hurting me and depressing my soul.

I feel this falls along the lines of wanting to be more Godly and a much better Christian. I need to find a Church I feel connected to and find a group of women I can relate to and share experiences with. So I guess this is one huge goal for me. Open my heart more to God by finding a great Church, and then I will lose my judgmental-ness and live a happier life. See how it all relates?!

Welcome

Here's to a new year and a new blog.  I've been going through a lot lately and decided that I needed some changes...namely a new blog.  I felt uncomfortable with my old blog as I feel I was being "spied" on by people.  It's not something I want to go into, but I'm hoping this will remedy the situation.  If not, I don't really care at this point.  People need to get over themselves.

I am starting this blog with full plans of buying my own website and learning all the html babble...the whole 9 yards so to speak.  There are so many things I feel I want to learn about websites and from people in general, so I feel this is a great way to get started.  I'm notorious for not following through on things, but I'm really hoping I do so on this.

So, a little about me.  I'm 24 and I've been married to my husband, Victor, for 3 years.  We are expecting our first child, a baby boy we've decided to name Weston Michael Kit (the Kit is after my Dad), on March 3, 2010.  Who knows if I will actually make it to my due date as I am currently on bedrest for preeclampsia.  That started December 2nd.  I spent about 3 hours in the hospital on December 4th where my test results showed the beginning stages of preeclampsia.  I am currently on 600mg of Labatelol to keep that in check, which has been working pretty well thus far.  I will talk a lot about this as it pretty much consumes my day. 

Anyways, we live in a suburb of Dallas, Irving, in a pretty nice neighborhood...we are actually the ghetto house :).  My Mom now lives with us for several reasons.  She had double knee replacement surgery on November 2nd and the rental house she was living in (owned by me) just wasn't conducive to her walking.  Also, we are uninsured and paying for everything baby related on our own.  Her moving in would cut our bills in half, and hers as well.  So we are trying to save everyone money in the grand scheme of things.  Also, hello, built in babysitter :).  My husband and I have 4 cats and 2 dogs.  Yes, it is a zoo and sometimes it feels completely overwhelming.  I love my animals dearly, even if they do get into mischief quite often.  Brianna is the first cat I bought myself and she is a purebred Ragdoll.  Meowser is a Siamese tabby mix.  Keegan is most likely a manx type mix cat who is solid white.  Payton is a Siamese calico mix.  Our dogs are Boxers, Rocky looks American while Keeva looks German.  Don't worry, I will post a blog dedicated to my animals very soon.

Up until December 2nd, I worked as a property tax consultant for an outsourcing firm.  I still do part time work for them currently to supplement the income and to help them out.  My husband is a tech trainee for a Toyota dealership in the Arlington area.  My Mom is an accountant and she has been with the same company since 1989!!!  I've grown up there and consider some of her fellow coworkers as very good friends.  My Dad died on May 6, 2006, the day before my 21st birthday.  If I sound bitter, I am.  I am very close with my family, especially my Dad.  I have a hard time talking about my Dad because I think I'm still in the denial phase of grief.  He was a great, great man and I miss him very much.  Hopefully through this blog, I'll learn to deal with some of my emotions, and maybe one day I'll post a blog on him.  Believe me; the whole world would have been better off knowing him, that's how great he was.

I think everyone gets a general picture of me from this post.  My goal is to be an open book on here, I have nothing to hide, hence the openess of the post.  Like I said, I'm really looking forward to this journey.  I'm starting many things this year and I feel like this blog will be a culmination of everything.