17 weeks!!

Sorry about the poor quality. The scanner is being complicated.

Heart Beat!

Heard a heart beat today! It took the doctor a few minutes to find it (felt like forever) but nevertheless, it's there. 164 beats per minute! Scheduled my little surgery for November 18th. I'll feel so much better once that is done.

Whew!

I have made it through the first trimester! I am 12 weeks along now. I go back to see my lovely ob the first week of November to set up my cerclage. I don't know if I'd call it simple or not but it's a short little surgery where a stitch is put in to keep the baby in. I have a incompetent cervix which basically means it's a weak almost non-existant cervix. I'll have this done right around Thanksgiving. Am I nervous? Nah. I had this done before while pregnant with the monkey so I know what's all involved, risks, what I can and cannot do. Bedrest of course follows this. But without the cerclage, carrying a baby wouldn't be possible for me.

I will say that this pregnancy has been mild so far compared to my previous. No upset stomach, no migranes, and no backache. I have been insanely tired, new to me. And my stomach is a tad picky as to what it wants. Grapes have been a favorite the past few weeks. I have been wanting a grilled hotdog though. (Maybe one day, I'll get one.)

Some swap goodies!

The yarn came from the givers and needers swap on Craftster.

 The bath pouf and necklace is my thank you gift from the same swap.

(both are homemade, of course)

A full house

I am 8.5 weeks pregnant! Much of the exhaustion is gone thanks to the prenatal vitamins. Dan and I have been talking about not finding out what gender this baby will be. We think the anticipation will all but kill us, but we are going to try to resist! After all, there's lots of cute gender-neutral baby stuff out there, right? We've also been kicking around some ideas on how to make room for baby. Sure, we live in a four bedroom house so you would think that we have tons of room. Eh, not really. This week, I will be boxing up the sewing room some and trying to carve out some space in the diningroom. (So keep an eye on the Up For Swap section, it will be growing!) We'd like to make the sewing room (a small 8x9) the new play room for our Monkey's growing toy collection. By doing this, we hope that her bedroom will stay neater and be more manageable. Then, our fourth bedroom that is currently used for storage, will become baby's room. Busy, busy, busy.... The perfect pace for right now.

On a personal note, I am excited about how this here blog will transform throughout the pregnancy and in the not-so-distant future. I will feel like I can include happenings around the house now because after all, the green room will stay green but will serve the purpose of a play room.

Yesterday, life felt complicated. Today, it wasn't so bad. Tomorrow, who knows?

Surprise!

Yes, that's right. That's a baby in my tummy! Yay! I am 6.5 weeks along but feel enormous!

Expiration dates explained!

I torment my MIL when she has eggs past the sell by date in her fridge. This is for you MJ. In my face!

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/care2/54/food-expiration-dates-what-do-they-really-mean.html

Package from Stuype

Here are my goodies! Yay!

A crocheted Bath Pouf, Red Hair band (looks adorable with my short hair.), and a lip balm cozy.

Close up of the lip balm cozy. Cute butterfly button!

2 purses! Both have removable strap!

Neckwarmer. Super cozy.

Action shot of neckwarmer! Am I wearing it right?! *Notice the short hair!*

Thanks Stuype for the awesome package!

Moody Pete

Grumpy

Confused

Seeking revenge

Do you like mail?

I mean other than bills and junk? I do... a lot! Well, I just came across this pretty cool site. http://www.sendsomething.net/  It's totally random. I signed up like less than a week ago and have all ready gotten an awesome homemade postcard!

 It brightens my day when I get something in the mail. As a stay at home and borderline agoraphobic, the outside world remains outside. So, when I can connect with people in my comfort zone, that warrants a "WooHoo!". Wouldn't you say?

The heat, the heat!

Well, right now where I am, is 84 degrees outsdie. Not too bad....outside! Inside is horrible. Both thermostats are broken and the heat upstairs has been on all day! My puter is upstairs so as we speak, I am sweating like crazy! I told myself that I was going to post something tonight....but was worried I'd have nothing to say. Oh and sadly, the green room is upstairs as well. Hopefully, when Dan gets home in like 3 hours (!) he can fix whatever the problem is. It just seems like life works against us anymore. When it's not one thing, it's three. But I'm not allowed to complain! So that's why I am ranting to you. No one else will listen.  I gotta get this place straightened up by Saturday (Dan and I's 5th Anniversary).But I can't do anything for the worry of heat exhaustion. Nothing goes right. Sometimes I hate this place.  Why does everything have to be so complicated?!

Good news though, I am involved in an awesome swap with a fellow craftster member, Stuype. She's crocheting me a purse, cowl and such. I am in return sending her some supplies from her wishlist of supplies. I am soo excited. I'll post pics when I get everything.

The Monkey is gonna hang out with my Grandma Mae this weekend while Dan and I celebrate 5 wonderful years together in Marriage. It's been a great 5 years! <3

Fresh from the green room!

Still warm from the iron.

Homemade Christmas

Got the green room cleaned up some. So I just had to craft something! We are going to have a homemade Christmas this year... from decor to gifts. Old fashioned, I say. So I'm getting started early!

DrumRoll Please.....

Let's see how long it stays this way!!!

Phase One---Room Clean Up

Look! It's the floor. We're getting there!!

On another note, I added a new page to this here blog. Up for swap tab. Check it out. If anthing interests you, drop me a line!

I can explain....

....Umm... No, I can't!    Here are pics of my (ahem) sewing room. I've been neglecting it for quite some time. Don't worry though, I'll get it straightened up in the next couple days. Hope my Grandma Jo doesn't see this.... I can just see her shaking her head right now.

Can you find my chair?

Poor sewing machine.

Sewing simplifies everything.

I have been without a sewing machine for over two months now. I so desperately NEED to sew something. It's a strange thing. I grew up in a craftless home. Sure, my mom would sew a button on my dad's shirt or something but that's as far as she ever went crafting. I never thought that I would ever sew, let alone NEED to sew. The craftiest person I know is my Grandma Mae. She worked at a sewing factory until she retired like years and years ago. She would make me shirts and stuff. She crochets like a mad woman and knows the ins and outs of a sewing machine. But until I was 23 years old, I refused to sew. I'd balk at the mere thought of me sitting at a table hunched over at a sewing machine. After the birth of my daughter, something switched on. And it was a sewing machine. The gentle hum of a sewing machine comforts me in a way that I've never experienced before. It's the ultimate therapy for me. When I am angry, I sew until I forget what I was mad about. When I am sad, it makes me smile. When I don't have my sewing machine, I just go crazy. So, I am crazy now. But not too crazy to sew. When I am sewing, nothing is complicated. Sewing simplifies everything.

Looks like I am crazy!

In the previous post I ask about the home pregnancy test I took. Well, as an update, I took another and it was Negative! After crying for a few days, I am okay now. But I am thinking about making an appointment with glorious Dr. Wolford to see if he can twist Mother Nature's arm a little. Until then, I'm going to stay away from the infant section of every department store known to man. That shouldn't be too complicated, right?

Am I Pregnant? Or Just Crazy?

Okay, so I have been feeling queesy for like a week now. So I thought "what the hey" and took a pregnancy test. Two lines means it's positive. Am I seeing things? Do you see two lines?

Check out YFF!

A few days ago I added a site to my link list. YFF means Young, Fat, and Fabulous. This site is great. I am a curvy girl at a 18/20. It can be difficult to find clothes that fit and find styles that work for me. This site is my go-to-guide to fashion. All these chicks look great, no matter what size. So if you're like me, frustrated that fashion has seemed to have left you behind, check this site and tell fashion to get it's ass back here!

BTW, I'd like to thank everyone for their nice comments. You make me smile.

New Hair Cut

My fabulously new hair cut!!!

I swap with Swap-bot!

Step 1 in self acceptance mission: Complete.

Okay everyone! I did it! I cut my hair.... short short. I left the bangs cute and wispy like. It looks great on me! Pictures are coming soon. I need to find the charger to my camera! Tiffany, who cut my hair, showed me how to style it so many different ways. I can look edgy and punky. I can go for the "don't notice me please" look. Or I can go for the "I'm a rockstar look" (my fav). My daughter thinks it's awesome, which is the ultimate seal of approval. Whew! I'm glad I did it. It turns out that I have pretty eyes and overall cute face. So step one in my self acceptane mission is complete.

Step Two:  Learn to dress with confidence and look fabulous!

I'm back...

And I feel zesty! My dedicated readers know that when it comes to my looks, I'm a depressed mess. I have just one mirror in my house and I avoid it at all costs. I've gone to therapy on and off for about 5 years, hoping someone with a degree could fix me. But I am still broken. But every doctor, counselor, therapist, psychotherapist says the same thing. It's an ultimatum... "Either learn to like yourself as you are... or do something about it!". And they are so right. And after 5 years of suffering, I have decided what I am going to do. Both. I'm going to like myself and improve at the same time. I've kept my hair long for years so I could hide under it. Not no more. I'm going to get a short hair cut...something I feel good about....maybe a pixie with some wispy bangs. I'm going to wear that shirt I've always been too ashamed to wear. I've always wanted to be one of those women with the swing coat, chunky scarf, and big shades. I'm going to wear shorts. I'm going to turn heads and feel good about it. I'm going to be FaBuLoUs. Yes, I am overweight. Yes, I jiggle. And oh yes, I got double D's. And NO, I'm NOT gonna APOLOGIZE for it! Danni's not hiding any more.

Going off radar...

Hey! I just wanted everyone to know that I am going on a computer hiatus. I'm gonna take a few days for some rest and relaxation... Hang out around the house in my sweats and pig out. I need to catch up on my Golden Girls reruns and catch up on laundry. So... don't worry. I'll be back in a couple days.

For JessySihk....

Still alive!

Well, my surgery went fine. All is well. The bleeding has stopped (all ready!). And I'm feeling pretty darn tootin' good, thanks to my wonderful doctor!! He takes good care of me. Plus, he ain't too bad looking while he's doing it either. Sorry, that was bad. Must be the painkillers!

Received from Linda in Texas today. The pictures follow....

And lots more!  Thanks Linda!

That figures!

Something terrible has happened! I go in for some "female" surgery in the morning so I waited til the last minute to get my bath. I light my candles, turn the hot spigot, and walk away into the next room to dig out some jammies. Humming a happy tune, I find my favorite jammie shirt. I walk back into the bathroom and bend down to test the water to find it to be cold! "No hot water?" I think. "This can't be possible."  

But, oh yeah, it is very possible. So, now that I've grumbled at someone out there, I'm going to start heating up some pots and pans on the stove. Wish me luck.... no, wish me some damn hot water!

Dan and I made plarn....

Grandma Mae was so very concerned for my mental well-being....

She'll cut ya!

Sitting on my cutting table....

Wedding gift for a friend.

Happy Birthday, Luke!

If you see Luke Williams of Commercial Press, tell him to have a good one!!