nursery update

so here's a picture of the nursery:

i know, i know the color is BRIGHT, but we'll be hanging tons of stuff on the walls to break it up, so it should be not quite so overwhelming. i never read up on the right colors to put in a baby's room (i'm sure there some feng shui type method to it), so this color may give the kid nightmares, but it can't be worse than a giant butthole over the crib - right blair? (actually i think the creepy old babydolls are way worse than a butthole, but thats just me)
anyway, we have this great rocking armchair:


but the upholstery is not so great. i'd love to re-upholster it - anyone know how to do that? i don't mind doing it the tuck and staple way i once saw Todd oldham do on that old decorating show he had on mtv.
and Blair has introduced me to this great website for home design, which has links to ohdeedoh (the children's room decorating site - oh i love it!!), apartment therapy, kitchen stuff, and a diy-techy for the home site. i haven't even begun to be able to look through it thoroughly, but as blair said - "its like crack". i found this post that is about re-greening your space in which they tell you how to compost your toilet! gross. seriously. we compost but never would i do that. it smells bad enough.
so as soon as we find out what the baby is (mar 16!!) i'll continue my quest for curtain and bedding fabric. i think it will just be easier that way. neutral is very hard to find apparently - especially when you aren't looking for animals or clowns all over it.

worst/best two weeks

after one of the worst weeks ever, i am now having one of the best weeks ever (so far...). last week i had a committee meeting, which went ok. then i had a "job interview" for this new lab i was hoping to get into as a post doc. i say "interview" b/c it wasn't a typical interview - i had to present my data to the lab, then meet with each lab member individually. the actual process was low stress, but the day before it was revealed that this could be a competition for the position between me and one of my best friends, whom i had recommended to the guy! what a predicament!! anyway, it all turned out well, he called me today to offer me a job (which i, of course, accepted). its a raise (not much but still...), great hours, and a great lab! i'm super excited and super relieved i won't have to worry about this come summertime.
AND it snowed! and it snowed like 7 inches! i absolutely love the snow and its like a winter wonderland outside.
i took yesterday off (there was no way i was driving) and got so much done around the house it was kind of incredible. i had worked all weekend (both in lab and at alchemy) and i think i really needed this day off. i got a lot of the nursery set up (jack painted this weekend - its bright but i love it!), we're starting to get the other back room taken care of b/c it was a big shitty mess, and i started organizing pictures to re-hang in the hallway. i still need to get to the thrift store to get some more picture frames cheap.
i tried on all the maternity clothes i've ordered/had given to me and have decided one thing about maternity clothes: they are the stepping stone to mommy clothes. i see why women end up trapped in mommy clothes - b/c they're wearing pseudo-mommy clothes (paperbag waist jeans, weird button downs) for six months before the baby and are brain washed into thinking those things are still cute after the baby is out. NOT me!! you'll never fool me maternity clothes! mommy clothes are NOT cute. and really, neither are most maternity clothes. oh well. nothing else fits right now, so i am trying to make due.
this morning i went into to work late and jack didn't have to go in until the afternoon, so we made a pregnant snow mama. she's got big boobs, a big belly and a big butt (i hope the neighbors don't find her too vulgar). she also has a sweet wig and headband a la alice in wonderland. it was so fun and there was so much great packing snow! oliver had a great time playing in it too (mia, not so much).

i've finished the first three books of the twilight series and all i can say is i'm starting to really dislike bella. this whole bella/jacob thing REALLY annoys me. bella really annoys me in general. however - edward is quite enjoyable.
we have andrew and em's engagement party this weekend - which should be pretty fun. luckily we decided to make em blueberry and lemon cupcakes (her colors are navy and yellow), since she's given up chocolate for lent. i'm kind of excited about these cupcakes - 1) b/c they will be delicious and 2) i can use up some of the cupcake boxes left over from our wedding. i will not be stamping them however, sorry no time!
and countdown to britney begins: 21 days.

whats up with the wonky eye? too much plastic surgery kim!!

winter wonderland

i woke up this morning to the sound of rain, which quickly turned into snow! oliver and i ran out to play before i went to work, where the snow of course turned back into rain. i love the snow - even though i've been craving the warmer weather that we've been having. i just wish it would stick. other than that, i'm completely over the winter.
jack and i went to lowes, as i said, and spent quite a long time picking out paint. jack sometimes surprises me with how indecisive he is. or maybe he just really wanted the RIGHT color. we also couldn't agree on the color for the living room. finally we went for a fantastic blue for the nursery (aptly named slumber) and a very neutral, light beige for the living room.
i think we may even try to start painting this coming week, since he has quite a few mornings off.
i received the most amazing book in the mail today: a facsimile of lewis carroll's handwritten, personally illustrated first version of alice in wonderland (alice's adventures underground). its giving me great ideas for my next tattoo....
i've been working hard on organizing all my figures for work to present to my committee. hopefully they'll agree i've done enough work to graduate very soon. my goal is to be out of the lab and writing by the end of march. its lofty - considering i have been having some trouble focusing lately. but i think it can be done. i'm just worried about trying to answer questions while i'm any later than 6 months pregnant - i haven't had too much of the pregnant brain yet, but i'd imagine its only going to get worse.
Shawn and I are planning on getting out this weekend (no, really we are!) to see Lore at gallery5, which features a friend from high school. i've been wanting to get out and see something like this that gallery5 tends to do every once in awhile, so i'm happy to actually be doing it. it will be nice to get out as well.
i've been browsing ikea's website again and i think i've found some doable options for the baby room. i'm still disappointed hey don't have those curtains but these would def work:

more red than i was thinking, but i think its more gender neutral which makes me happy. and those textiles will be great for making something else....
ok.enough being distracted. off to do some real work.

yummy soup

i'm finally getting over my cold-mainly thanks to the copious amounts of soup i ate in the beginning of the week. my wonderful sister-in-law even loaded her five children into the car just to bring me her special "feelin the healin" soup. brave woman. so i'm finally starting to feel back to normal.
i'm very excited because jack and i went to lowes to buy paint. jack has a week coming up soon that he'll be able to paint which is fantastic because i'm antsy to do some redecorating. not just the nursery but our room, the living room,the other back room, even the hall (yes, i am redoing the great wall of family photos...a little less intense hopefully). i also bought some seed starters - i'm planning corn, lettuce, and peas this year - along with some more peppers, cucumbers and attempting the tomatoes again. so thats our valentines day - lowes, viva mexico (best mexican! i would venture to say better than el toro loco), jack washed my car (and shoo it needed it! he was actually afraid i had diseases festering in the carpet) - it was lovely.
as for the nursery, it seems like i'm going to have to find curtains as well as bedding. i've checked every ikea on the east coast and i think they've discontinued them. and they didn't have the fabric i liked either. i want this space to be gender neutral but its a lot harder to do that than i figured. so much so that i actually yelled at the fetus "be a girl!". how terrible! please don't judge. but if its a boy...i hope he likes britney and lady gaga because we're going to see both in the next few months. i feel its important to expose children to culture at a young age.
we're starting to get bridal and wedding pictures back which i'm very excited about framing. i need to be on the look out for frame sales, or start hitting up the thrift stores - anyone want to make a trip with me? i also need to find a good place to do enlargements.
sunday we went to one of jenny's sewing classes. i made a tiny cute pin cushion! it was fun and i learned A LOT! i learned how to thread my machine properly - not my mom's ghetto version, and a fancy "rocket ship" knot making trick. i've been kind of slack on the sewing lately and this has inspired me - thank you so much jenny!!
this week i'll be going through all the baby stuff kate has sent over. i feel like i've sprouted a belly overnight, so i may have to start digging into some maternity stuff. we also have birthing group and nancy this week - so hopefully the baby is in a good position to listen to. next month we get to find out what it is - incredible!!

tv: normally i have no interest in the show dancing with the stars but this season lil'kim is on! i love lil'kim! shawn and i love her so much we used to drive everywhere in his little white cabrio convertible(the mallow - short for marshmallow) with a life size cardboard cutout of kim in the back seat. buckled in. and we'd make whoever else was riding sit next to her. i can't remember what he ended up doing with her, but those were good times. so needless to say, i'll be rooting for kim.
i've been busy (yea!!) so i've actually missed lost this past week, and two weeks of desperate housewives. i've been catching up on nip/tuck on hulu - this season has not been a disappointment. i also think i'm going to register for dvds for my baby shower so i'll have something to do at 2 am. i'm thinking bones, dexter, the tudors.

ahhchoo

yuck. so i have terrible cold, i actually stayed home from work. which is probably good b/c my one attempt at leaving the house today was disastrous. i feel like i've been sick more this winter than any, but i think i feel like that every year. i should have seen this coming, as the kid i was sitting next to in class in thursday did nothing but breathe on me in between sucking up his snot. i tried to turn as far away from him as possible and even put my shirt over my mouth so i wouldn't breathe his air, but it obviously still got to me. he would turn wherever i turned and lean forward when i did - it was literally like he was trying to get me sick. gross. people should really stay home when they're sick. really.
so shawn and i went to ikea yesterday. i wouldn't say it was a total waste, but they didn't have the curtains i really wanted (which of course you can't order online or through the catalogue), but i have plenty of time. and h&m was kind of a bust too - they had very little by way of maternity stuff, and even their baby stuff was slim pickins. of course i still managed to find something. i always do.
so lately i've been trying to find a job - or a post doc. normally after getting a PhD, people continue on to a post doc, which is basically another 2-3 years of "school". you are in charge of yourself, but still working in someone else's lab. i hadn't really planned on doing this, until i got pregnant. if i can find a nice mentor, i can have a couple months off when the baby is born, work from home, and also have a more flexible schedule once i get back into the lab. and luckily for me, the cancer center has grants available to post docs that they are having problems getting rid of (so i should have a pretty good chance of getting). now i just have to find a lab. there is a guy who works in molecular immunology (allergies and such) of which i have NO experience, but there is a lot of research opportunities in cancer immunotherapy. this would basically be looking at cancer as a group of bad cells that your immune system has not been able to attack, and boosting your immune system against them as therapy. to me, this seems extremely interesting and not a bad way to go for a couple of years. i'd have a lot of learning to do - but thats what those two months off are for right? so heres hoping. oh and i have to graduate. but having this position before graduating would basically be a free pass to getting my degree.

in gossip - omg what the hell is going on with chris brown and rihanna?! Shawn told me he hit her b/c she gave him herpes. drama!

all by myself....

when i wasn't pregnant and i could drink, i never really wanted to go out. i was quite content to sit at home and watch tv, read a book, whatever. so now that i can't drink i'm dying to go out. and not go out to drink (although i miss that too), but just get out of my house, talk to someone other than the dogs and jack. i just want to hang! (do i sound desperate here?) i just find myself to be really bored. i don't even mind being at work until 6 or 7 because i dread going home. part of it is that jack has been working late a lot, so he's not even home when i get home. part of it is that i have this lame routine: walk in the door, let the dogs out, turn on judge judy (or mathis or joe brown), let the dogs in, feed the dogs, watch judge judy, eat dinner (i'm usually so apathetic i won't even cook), watch whatever else is on, let the dogs out, get ready for bed, read, go to bed. every single nite! lame!!! and i get tired, so i don't really want to hang out late, just hang out for a little while - dinner, breakfast on the weekends, sewing party, book club, i don't care!!
anyhoo. enough self loathing. here are some things that i love: 2 new blogs (well, new to me) angry chicken and soule momma (thanks jenny). i think these people have the most creative ideas, so i like to steal them. and from them i found this blog.
and from that i went to etsy and bought this for the nursery:
which is all handcut out of rice paper. i wanted to buy like eight of these, but figured that may be overdoing it. i'm also off to ikea this weekend to buy some other stuff for the nursery and hit up h&m for baby and maternity clothes. of course, i'm scared to buy maternity clothes b/c i have no idea how big i may get or what sizes i should buy or how to gauge what i think i may need. luckily i don't have to buy much b/c kate sent over a huge tub of maternity stuff (including some really nice designer maternity jeans). yea kate for having five kids before me! espec. b/c we're getting basically everything else from her as well.
our farmer friend bridge mentioned that blueberries grow beautifully in va and would do great in our backyard. so in honor of the blueberry, i think i'll plant some this year. he said there's a great place in afton called edible landscaping that delivers, but i'd kind of like to make the trip up there this spring to check everything out and enjoy the drive. plus i told him we would plant the placenta underneath.
i'm slowly figuring out how to use my new phone. i didn't think it would take me this long but it is. i want to look into the apps for it - i know it doesn't have nearly as many as the iphone but it def. has some. but it is slightly frustrating when i can't figure out how to answer a call. lord help me if i need to dial 911.
this made me super excited:seriously this is classic kelly(bitch) and donna(moron)! ooh i can't wait!! and the other good news is that the britney concert is 99.9% on. i was very nervous that she was going to cancel - i mean we have really good seats! but it looks like its all good and me, the blueberry and shawn will be shaking our booties in march.