....And to all a good night!

I have been up since 4:00am. Well, I did take a nap between 1-4pm. But, damn if I wasn't at Mervyn's at 6:00am picking up a last minute gift. I also got some clothes for Travis and Ashley while I was there. Woohoo! Sometimes insomnia comes in handy... no?

And, you bet your ass I was at Starbucks at 6:45am having a Peppermint Mocha. :)

We did our Christmas here today. My dad came over, and we lavished Travis with a ridiculous amount of gifts. And I took pictures with my new Canon Rebel XT. Well, I got that one early from my dad a week ago... but it still bears mentioning. :)

We went out to a yummy brunch afterwards, and then I came home and crashed out.

Then, I got up, baked, wrapped, and finished a gift for tomorrow that I have been thed WORST procrastinator on. But, I love how it (finally) turned out... and hope the intended recipient does as well. I JUST finished wrapping a few minutes ago.

But, wow... as of right now... I think I am officially BURNT OUT on this whole Christmas preparation thing. Sigh.

My feet? They are swollen! My back? It hurts. My nose? It is stuffed up. I don't want to shop anymore. I want to make soup, and lasagna... I want to nest. I need to mop my kitchen floor.

I want to relax. I want to knit baby things... I want to just BE. After tomorrow, I finally can. Whew.

Anyway... Merry Christmas to all - and to all a good night!!

See you next year! :)

Dreaming of a Well Christmas....

Things. They are getting done! Shopping is 99.9% finished... the calendars went to the printer today. We had a proof done last night, and I finalized everything.... looks great! :)

Gift knitting, it's nearly complete.... not doing too much more, really. I want to be able to knit some cute girly things for Ashley... so I am glad the Christmas knitting is almost done! :)

BUT.... with the good also comes the not-so-good...

Travis has had a cough since Monday. I had bad insomnia last night. Like, I woke up at 3:00 am and couldn't go back to sleep. Until like 6:00 am. Plus it was storming outside, really the wind was howling... and this damned tree branch kept smacking the window right outside our room. When I woke iup, I felt like I am coming down with something, too. Ugh. Sore throat, general achy feeling. Sucky. Yup, it is. I had a Coldbuster from Jamba Juice this morning instead of Starbucks. Waaah! :(

And I am taking Zicam... so, hopefully whatever this is will be short-lived. So, um.... Santa? Please? Take pity on the pregnant lady who does NOT wish to be sick on Christmas. Thanks!

Baking cookies, and a baby....

I love holiday baking! I just have to stagger it out this year, so not to be overwhelmed by a 2-day-bake-athon as in previous years.... pre-child, mais oui!

Anyway... I am not working anymore, and I used to bake for those I worked with, bosses, officemates... but all that is no more.

Today, we're having our Parent's Place holiday potluck. I baked up a batch of these yummy Black-Bottom Coconut Bars this morning, and they are cooling in the pan, awaiting slicing. Our whole place smells so good right now! I also did some slice-and-bake cookies adorned with colored sugar this morning. I made the dough a few days ago, and wrapped it up and tucked it in the fridge. The dough was left from The Spritz cookie baking attempt Friday - which - sadly, failed... by no fault of the recipe. That dubious honor belongs to the Wilton cookie press I used (brand new - by the way)and it sucked so much.... but a replacement is on its way to me... damn right - I called and complained!

Yesterday Travis helped me cut out (packaged, GASP!) "Gingerbread Boy Cookies" and I need to stop by the store today and pick up some pasteurized egg whites for the Royal Icing. I tried and tried to find Meringue Powder in the grocery store... but I was only able to find the huge-ass Wilton can of Powdered Meringue at the craft store. For $8.00. Um.... no thank you! So, I will make it with pasteurized egg whites instead... and today we will decorate our Gingerbread Boy Cookies! :)

Anyway... the holiday projects are coming along.... slowly, but surely. The calendar is nearly complete... the knitting is... well... it's coming. Eventually.

I had my 23 week OB appointment yesterday... unremarkable... which is exactly how I like them. BP was 100/70 so... Woohoo! I have to do the GD test again in 3 weeks. They have you do it at 12 and 26 weeks now, apparently. So, ugh. But whatever.

I need to stop by the bookstore to pick up a book for our $5.00 book exchange before class today. So, guess I need to go now...

falalalalalala

Lately.... my ambition... it's just vanished. I want to blog, I want to post comments on the ones I read. I want to change my blog header...I need to clean.... need to finish (or even start) various projects for Christmas gifts.... I want to bake... want to Christmas shop - but ugh. I'm always tired, procrastinating.... just plain lazy, I suppose. Naps sound good, so do early bedtimes.... but not what I need to do. This magical 2nd trimester where I'm supposed to have all this energy - it just eludes me!

We had our big ultrasound last weekend. And..... for those of you that don't already know.... IT'S A GIRL!!!!

Her name is Ashley... and we are super-excited to meet her in April.

Speaking of, Ashley is moving more and more these days. Most times, when I wake up in the morning... I feel her moving... low in my abdomen. The flutters, I know will become more and more strong over the next few weeks... even painful at times. Right now, I am just enjoying the gentle, sweet movements and relishing the reminder that she is always here with me - throughout my day.