Breaking up the routine
A change is as good as a rest.
I just re-read that line in one of my favourite Bernice Thurman Hunter stories, and I could not agree more.
I’m big on routine, and I find a comfort in knowing how my days are going to flow. But on the rare occasion that I break it up by doing something different, I’m surprised by how good it feels.
On Sunday night, I found myself driving in our Jeep — and regular readers know I do not get many chances to wrestle the wheel away from Darling Husband.
It was a clear night, and I hooked my iPod up to the speakers and cranked it while I cruised. There is nothing quite like belting out a song at the top of your lungs and “car-dancing” behind the wheel. I was actually disappointed when I reached my exit!
It reminded me that while a routine is OK, it’s too easy to fall into a rut. It’s important to shake things up and do something different and fun.
On the agenda tonight? In between cooking dinner (blah) and doing laundry (blah), I’m going to make some time to play a little Disney SingIt!
P.S. Yes, I know, I’m 12. But it is seriously an awesome game.
About a girl
Last night I dreamed I had a little girl named Alice.
She had long curly hair, and was running around a backyard wearing butterfly wings. She was dancing barefoot, and she was so sweet.
I had kind of forgotten about Alice, but it was on my first attempt at a list. Maybe it’s a sign?
Here is my revised version …
GIRLS
- Grace
Hannah(everyone hates it)Emma(too trendy)- Ella
- Claire (possible middle name)
- Charlotte
Bethie/Beth/Bethany(everyone hates it)- Alice
- Hilary/Hillary
- Molly
Bella/Isabella(I actually want to name our next dog Bella)- Aurora
BOYS
- Nicholas (almost ready to cross this off)
Brady(was too trendy for Darling Husband)- Andrew
- Ben/Benjamin
- Peter (maybe my new favourite!)
What names do you like? Promise I won’t steal!
The groupie in me
AMAZING news! My friend C is pregnant!!!
Since starting this blog about my future plans, I have obviously had a baaaaad case of baby fever. So finding out one of my friends is pregnant is the equivilent of someone blogging about home decor and finding their friend has a show on HGTV.
Yeah, I’m a preggo groupie!
Darling Husband and I are beyond thrilled for C and her hubby. They are the first of our friends to get pregnant, so it’s exciting to be able to openly discuss all-things-baby with another couple.
Of course, as soon as I found out the happy news, I was babbling on about Laptops to Lullabies. I dragged over the laptop and showed off my little blog, and told C all about my online friends who are also trying to get pregnant.
C read a couple of posts and was even wearing a BellaBand, one of the items on my wish list! It was like my blog come to life!
So naturally, I pestered C with tons of questions — oh, the joys of being friends with a pregnancy-obsessed girl like me. In the name of higher preggo education, here are a couple of interesting things she told me about morning sickness that you won’t read in What to Expect …
- Her morning sickness started about six weeks in.
- Yes, it does happen morning, noon and night, just like we’ve heard. Boo.
- No, crackers do not help (unlike all the books say).
- You can feel it coming on, so you’re able to make it to the bathroom (I inquired about if she had ever puked at her desk, which is my nightmare)
- It can be frequent, but it’s not a lot at a time.
- She is still sick, at 14 weeks, but it’s finally getting a bit better.
- She is hoping not to be the pregnant girl who is sick for the whole nine months. Fingers crossed for you, C!
- Excessive morning sickness means the baby will be smart, according to a study!
- Before getting pregnant, she had motion-sickness and car-sickness, and her doctor said that might be why she has such bad morning sickness. This is bad news for me, who gets woozy on the Merry-Go-Round!
A big thanks to C for enlightening us on what’s to come, and a HUGE congratulations to you and Hubby! We are so happy for you!
xoxo
xoxo
My husband rocks
OK, coolest idea ever. Over at The Great Adventure, they started something called “My Husband Rocks” Friday. Every Friday, you write a post about why your husband is the best guy ever.
LOVE this idea! Here goes nothing! …
Dear Darling Husband,
Any man that is willing to take his wife to the craft-supply store … and then buy some of the items for her, so she can make good use of multiple one-per-customer coupons .. and take her to the fabric store … and wait patiently while she sorts through a million bolts … and then take her to another store to buy acrylic paints … (all in one evening) … is definitely a keeper.
Thanks for being endlessly patient and super-sweet.
Love, your wife
xoxo
xoxo
A tale of two parties
Tonight, a bunch of work friends decided — right as we were all about to leave for the day — that they were going to go out for dinner and drinks.
It was totally spur-of-the-moment, and for them, it was the perfect plan, because …
- They all live downtown.
- I mean right downtown. As in walking distance or an $8 cab ride from the bar.
- All of their spouses were meeting them there.
- It was a gorgeous evening.
- They all like to drink.
They wanted me to go with them. But today is my nephew’s birthday, and I was invited to the family dinner/cake/presents deal-i-o. Darling Husband is working a night shift, but that never stops me from hanging with his fam.
I told my colleagues about my plans, and everyone told me to blow off the family party. My boss jokingly said he was ordering me to go, as a work function.
I have caved in situations like this in the past, because I don’t want to miss any team-building rah-rah-ness and feel left out when they talk about it on Monday.
But this time, I hesitated like crazy, because going with them would mean …
- I would either have to take the bus late (and alone) or pay for a $35 cab ride back to my condo in the ‘burbs.
- I would spend $20-$25 on food, Diet Coke, tip, etc.
- Even though I can handle being the only “single” person in a group of couples, it does kind of suck.
- I would have to do the whole “No-I-don’t-want-a-drink” dance, which would lead to preggo speculation.
- I hate spur-of-the-moment decisions. Unless it is about buying new craft magnets or something.
While they were standing around discussing the venue, I grabbed my coat and bag, and explained that I really felt I should go to my nephew’s party. Everyone groaned and I felt soooo lame. I played it off like I felt like I had to go, had already promised, blah blah blah.
But truthfully? I had already told Darling Husband’s fam that I probably couldn’t make the party, because I thought I’d be stuck at work until late. So I could have easily went out with my work friends, and no one would have known.
I wanted to go to the party. I wanted to have dinner with my huge, crazy family-in-law, and eat birthday cake and give my nephew his present in person. I wanted to sit around the living room with them and laugh and talk.
I never could have admitted to my work friends that I chose to go. They all seem to detest their own family events, and are surprised that I spend so much time with Darling Husband’s family.
No, wait — scratch that.
My family.
I really do think of them as my family.
And I know I made the right choice.
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