"Awww, Bless your heart hon." -Baylor Representative basically trying to sell me a husband

*Sirena recently posted a link to our Singletons of 211 community blog http://singletons211.blogspot.com/ that we started back around Senior year of college.  That would make it 2003/2004 when we started it.  This blog entry is one that I posted post-graduation when we were still keeping up with the blog from our various cities.  I sat down and read like oh the ENTIRE archived blog this evening and laughed outloud MANY times.  This post was just too funny...talk about PRESSURE to get married/couple up!

Posted by me on 10.24.2005

Actual convo. with a Baylor Representative
I had this phone converstion this past Sunday afternoon
Baylor rep: "Hi Laura, we're just calling to check in and see how life after college is going."

Me: Great :) Thanks for calling.

Baylor rep: So, are you still in the Austin Area, lets check your address

Me: Ok

- we check address/contact info, then oh so casually thrown in is the following:
Baylor rep: So are you still enjoying teaching?

me: yes, very much so, it's a great job

Baylor rep: Still with Leander ISD?

Me: yes, great district

Baylor rep: Are you still teaching first grade?

Me: I sure am

Baylor rep: So, have you had a chance to get married since you've graduated?

Me: No, I haven't (thinking in my head...wow they must do some sort of statistical average- % ring by spring, % first year after college, % post first year out)

Baylor rep: Aww, bless your heart

Me: stunned silence

Baylor rep: Well laura, we're putting together a directory for all of the recent baylor grads...blah blah blah, coffee table quality directory...blah, blah, only 69.99 if you act today...only twenty dollars more if you want the cd-rom to go with it...blah blah blah

Me: I don't really need a directory, but thanks so much for offering.

Baylor Rep: Well let me give you the number for when you change your mind.

I "copy down" the number

Baylor rep: So Laura, is this your only contact number

Me: yes

Baylor rep: Ok laura, so have you had a chance to get engaged yet?

(ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!!! lol)

Me: No, I sure haven't

Baylor Rep: Oh, bless your heart hon. Well, you have the number

Me: yep, thanks, have a good day

Baylor Rep: you too hon, thanks now, bye.

Me: bye
So...they really must keep tabs...neat...sic 'em bears
lol, bundy

Hair cut

Time out- how could I leave this off the last post?  I got my hair cut and colored today.  I've been with a new gal since mine "no longer works at SASS" ie- I think she was fired :(  I've been to see my new gal 2 times.  The first time, she did not make my hair red enough in my opinion, but when I got home Brian LOVED it and it ended up being a great nutmeg/red tinged color.  I really enjoyed it! The second time I saw her I simply got my hair shaped up and she really listened about the layers I wanted and took care of it- I loved my hair!  Now, I went this morning for the third trip and told her- let's do exactly what we did last time on the color.  :)  I reminded her that we kept it more nutmeg than red.  I told her how much my husband liked my hair color last time, and how I ended up loving it!  I also asked her to take a bit more off of my hair length wise b/c I wouldn't be back until at least a few weeks after Creighton was born so I wanted to have some room to grow it out....yeah we agreed on an inch instead of the usual 1/2 inch.  Let me tell you...she took mroe than an inch.  :(  Boo.

I am hoping that tomorrow when I do it on my own and mess around with it that I will be happier with it, but I am just not sure how it is going to go.  Brian asked me why I keep going to her if she keeps not doing what I like.  I told him I am giving her a chance.  SHe told me today that if I still don't like my hair in a week to call her and she will fix the color for me- which I appreciate.  So, we'll see what happens.  It's just not the natural subtle shade of red I was going for...it's more Miranda on Sex and the City style red hair. SOmething my friend Borrego wanted me to try since college...so now it's accidentally been done. 

I did notice that an actual AVEDA hair salon is opening in Harker Heights and I just might have to move my hair care to that new establishment.  How I have missed my organic honey phomolient from Aveda.  They are my first love when it comes to hair products.  I'll post a pic of how the hair turns out tomorrow.  I don't even want to take a picture tonight.  You'll just have to look at the side shot of me with Daisy below for an idea of what it looks like now...

Daisy...

So...Daisy is excited about Creighton coming soon too! Tonight, she kept putting her paws on Creighton.  Not pushing, just placing them there. Brian and thought this was pretty funny.  A couple of times Creighton kicked or moved, but it didn't seem to phase Daisy.

Here she is checking out Creighton's crib...or perhaps she's after the cute teddy bear...

That's all, just wanted to share these cute pics!

"Above the rooftops, eyes closed we're gonna spin through the stars, our arms wide as the sky, we gonna ride the blue all the way to the end of the world...When the kids are old enough, we're gonna teach them to fly...You and me together could do anything..." -DMB You and Me

I was sitting on the couch thinking all of these thankful thoughts and so I decided to share.

I'm thankful that today I started my day out with a brisk walk with Daisy and Holly. Exercise is always more pleasant when it is done with a friend!

I'm thankful for the woman at Dillard’s today who saw me looking longingly at a super cute fitted Kensie dress and said, "Don't worry, you'll get back into those clothes soon enough!" I am also thankful for the associate who did NOT make me feel dumb when I had to walk up to her at the jewelry counter with a ring box attached to my ring finger b/c I couldn't get the fake wedding ring I was trying on off. (My fingers are too large to comfortably wear my wedding rings now...no ankle swelling but my fingers have gone up a half size or so depending on the weather.) The associate was kind enough to give me some lotion and tell me not to worry, the rings would actually come off. She also went on to tell me that plenty of women who weren't even pregnant got rings stuck on their fingers...which actually made me feel better.

I'm thankful I still fit in size medium maternity jeans :) I now own a stunning new pair.

I'm thankful that my kids at school feel like it is appropriate to hug me at any point in the day...I had two just come up and give me random hugs today when I was CLEARLY in the middle of teaching a small group and later when I was organizing a bunch of spirals. I'm glad they feel like they can approach me. I also appreciate the fact that one kiddo not only gives me her "good afternoon" hug, but also feels the need to pat Creighton...i.e. my belly, every day. (I think she's got some Borrego in her!)

I'm thankful that after a long day at work I got to come home to Brian putting the finishing touches on the dinner he made for us because he has decided that I would probably prefer not to cook dinner at the end of the day when I am feeling tired and rather large. I'm thankful that we get to laugh together again. It really hasn't been that long since we just couldn't. A year has gone by quickly.

I'm thankful that I accomplished a quilting goal. I set out to do finish a baby quilt for a friend and I got it done in the time frame I specified. I just set small goals and met them! Yay! I'm going to have to apply this small goal setting thing again in other areas of my life!

I'm thankful my dad still calls just to check in and "see how I'm doing" every week.  I appreicate that he can get excited with me over whatever it is I'm excited about! I want to be like that with my own kids!

I'm thankful that Daisy was the sweet, kind, and even CALM dog that I know she can be from the moment I got home today to the present. She's adorable!

I'm thankful that I get to carry Creighton right now and will experience the gift of having him someday soon! It’s so amazing when he rolls over, sticks an arm or a leg out actually moving my stomach, or even pokes me in the ribs because there is this real little life inside of me!

I'm thankful for my good friends who care and for the richness and depth they add to my life. I'm thankful for their realness and our inside jokes!

I'm thankful that when I finish this blog and finally tiptoe to bed, that Brian will roll over and wake up just enough to put his arm around me so we can fall asleep together.

I'm just really thankful!

If only I could have a bowl of pho...

PHO GA Soup!

So, this is all that I wanted this evening for dinner.  Sadly, because I don't live near a variety of restaurants, pho was unavailable for me this evening. I googled, and I hoped furiously that there would be a place I could get the pho in Killeen since it is an army town, but alas, I could find none listed online...well, one but I couldn't tell if it was in a shady part of Killeen or not, so, I passed.  As soon as I can get to KIM PHUNG restaurant, in Austin, TX, I am there!  I really thought about driving there tonight, but since I had no other reason to drive to Austin and I actually couldn't think of something that I needed to buy there, I did not.  Sadness.

Instead, I got the best substitute available: Thai food from a little quick prep place in town.  Now, my thai food was tasty, but I have to say Pad Mee, is just not the same as Pho soup!  (But the peanut sauce was awesome...for my fresh spring rolls!)

That's all, I just needed to share about my fruitless search for pho soup this afternoon/early evening.

30 week check up

I had my 30 week check up today with Gretchen (she sees me every other time or so) and she is this lovely grandmotherly type woman who was very kind today.  She told me not to stress about gaining 3 lbs in 2 weeks, but just be careful since Creighton is about to start growing like mad.  (Seriously- 3 LBS in 14 days?!!! UGH!) She also was kind enough to tell me that it looked like I was gaining all the weight right where Creighton is, so I guess that is good.  I did confess that it was not the only place I had gained weight, but she seemed unfazed.  Sometimes it's nice to have some female empathy. :)  I did however walk a brisk 30 minutes with Daisy today and pushed through when I started to get the lovely Braxton-Hicks (Sp?) contraction deals...thankfully they just hit at the end.

All was well with Creighton- he had a strong heartbeat of 152 bpm...which Gretchen told me meant he was either quite excited over the breakfast I had eaten or he was still hungry...I went with excited, but later ate a spoonful of pb just in case he was actually hungry. 

I also decided to share with Gretchen the entire story of how I had a recent panic filled dream.  Why I feel that I need to share the WHOLE story with people, I am not sure, but I do think part of me was gauging her response to see how normal dreams like mine were.  She didn't act like I was crazy, so I took that as a good sign. :)

My dream was- in a nutshell- that I had just delivered Creighton, but the doctor was not Russ, instead it was some chick who did not care at all and the nurses had taken Creighton out right away after he was born and they would not tell me what was wrong.  Finally I basically demanded that they tell me what was going on and all they would say was "Something's wrong with him- he's too small." At which point, I began to have major trouble breathing in my dream...we're talking gasping for breath repeatedly.  I then (in reality) woke up from my dream gasping for air and crying.  Brian woke up and told me what I was telling myself- it was only a dream and helped me calm down, which I did after a few minutes, but still- that dream was not pleasant.

Gretchen gave me all sorts of reasons that I might have dreamed that and told me it was pretty normal. All in all, a good little visit.

After that I came home and I started experimenting with some new free-motion quilting. My aunt sent me a website where this lady is designing a new free motion quilting design a day for a year.  Today I tried one and it turned out ok for a first attempt.  I'll continue to work on it though! Here's the link to her blog if you are interested:  http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/ I feel inspired after searching through her ideas. I could totally come up with my own ideas I'm sure! I just need to get on it! Um...and improve my skills!

That's it for now. Will post more later this week on last weekend's trip to Wimberley!

"You make me smile like the sun, fall out of bed, sing like a bird, dizzy in my head...you make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe, shine like gold, buzz like a bee, just the thought of you can drive me wild, oh you make me smile..." -Smile, Uncle Kracker

What a great shower I got to go to in Austin last weekend! Some friends from my hometown threw it for me and it was lovely! Sandra and Liza hosted the shower and they made very tasty treats for everyone to enjoy!  They also made a very cute diaper cake!  I was so impressed!  It was so much fun to see friends and family and pretty awesome to be on the joyous side of things! 

Many of the guests who attended the shower also came to John's funeral last year, and what an amazing thing it was to me to see everyone gathered again, but this time to celebrate Creighton's soon to be (11 weeks!) arrival!  Real friends are like that though, they are there when life is hard and there when life is so exciting you just can't stand it! It really meant a lot to me.  Of course I didn't mention any of that, but I sure was thinking it.  The experience of having John is just such a part of my life now, but thankfully thinking about him or being reminded of him now really draws me back to God's grace and faithfulness.  So much has happened in a year and I am thankful.

The shower was SO much fun! All of my aunts came and so did two of my cousins- many of them traveled multiple hours to come for the shower, and it meant a lot to me that they came! I loved talking with everyone, the food, all the hugs, tummy pats and I loved opening all the gifts for Creighton and imagining him using them!  The outfits are adorable and he is going to be well dressed!  I also came to the relization (after Brian unloaded everything from the car) that having a baby equals having a TON of stuff!  It seemed like a lot at the shower, but when it was all piled in the nursery is was a massive amount of baby paraphanalia!  Crazy! I've since completely cleaned out the closet in his room and reorganized oh...everything!  It was so fun!

After the shower I went to Kirby Lane with Erin, Jen, Shea, Laura, and Carosa and we had a great time talking and eating yummy food!  It was so nice to just sit and be with such good friends, I am again quite thankful to have them in my life!

I would also have to say that I am in full-blown nesting mode around the house!  I have a list of projects for me to complete and a list of projects for Brian to complete before Creighton arrives.  We'll see how we do on getting all that done!  I know the time will probably pass quickly, but it seems like eleven weeks is a long time unitl Creighton gets here! 

I've been reading all sorts of wonderful books lately. I've been reading  Helping Baby Sleep, The Science and Practice of Gentle Bedtime Parenting and this has been my favorite so far, but I'm also reading a massive book by Dr. Sears Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know about Your Baby from Birth to Age Two and it is more of a reference book, but it is really helpful too!  I have The Philosophical Baby on order as well as Nurtureshock.  Nurtureshock just sounded interesting in general, I'm not sure that so much of it really has to do with infants, but I decided I wanted to read it too.  It was just recently published.  Anyway, in the midst of all of this informative reading I also read Dan Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol and LOVED it!  It was so interesting and a page turner. I will admit that I slowed down for the very end of it, but up until then, I was staying up way too late to find out what happened! I would definitely reccomend it!

Things are going well at our house, and Brian has lofty plans of building a deck off the back porch before Thanksgiving when all of our family will be celebrating at our house this year! I'm going to attempt to help Brian some which means I get to put some screws in the deck way down the road after he has put the planks on! I'm so excited to host Thanksgiving!  It will be a blast to have everyone over!

Creighton is doing well.  At my last doctor's appointment (28 weeks, last Monday) I measured perfectly and I had not gained any weight which was quite ideal!  All that walking and eating right really paid off!  Now I'm on the two week rotation for going to see Russ or Gretchen (The nurse practitioner who sees me every other time and is delightful as well!) and I think that is pretty amazing!  I'm in the third trimester officially and I have started to experience some of the aches and pains associated with that, as well as some Braxton-Hicks contractions...which are just small contractions you get as your body starts to rev up for the inevidible labor.  Creighton is kicking all.the.time. now and he's pretty funny! I can feel when he rolls to the side or switches posititions and that is pretty interesting!  A few nights ago I saw something push out on the top of my uterus and arch all the way from one side of my tummy to another! Was it an arm, an elbow or a foot? I can't be sure, but it was pretty neat!  Right now Creighton is a bit over 2 pounds and 14 inches or so long.  From this point out he just gains weight each week.  All of his senses are developed and his brain is continuing to mature.  He probably has hair on his head now and his little toenails and fingernails are still growing!  He can open and close his eyes and he can respond to light. (He does, each morning when I get in the shower!)

I could ramble on and on...summary:  I'm really excited!