happy birthday, pops!

yes, my father was born 3 days after my mother (although she will be quick to tell you that he is 5 years older).  so, happy birthday, dad! and so goes the embarrassing list of reasons why my pops is so great:

1. he is the most sincere person i have ever met in my life. for reals.  i did not pick up my sarcastic nature from him. 
2. i procured my love of genealogy from him. to his delight, from a very young age, i would always ask stories of his family and his parents family. what it was like for him to grow up. so we have him to thank for my ability to bore people to tears with genealogy.
3. loyalty. it's big with him. if my dad was ever your friend, or if you were ever kind to him, you will be forever spoken highly of. my dad knows way more "real good guys" than i thought was possible. he will also not hesitate to tell you to look these people up and go and visit them if you are in the near vicinity. no, it doesn't matter if you yourself haven't met them.
4. thirsty? not an alcoholic? my dad is your man. he has been brewing his own beer for over 30 years. and he is really good at it. this isn't me just bragging about my dad. it has been taste tested by many beer lovers and all agree.
5. like meat? (who doesn't, right?) my pops has converted an old 1950's refrigerator into a smoker. he has been smoking meats, eggs, cheese, and probably more for quite some time. this combined with his mad gardening skills, and brewing talents would make him set in case there was some sort of disaster that kills walmart.
6. my dad most patiently taught me how to ride a bike, drive a car, and to drive a manual truck. not an easy task (any of them). although my dad is quiet short in patience regarding any sort of line, traffic situation, or venue that has more than 6 people; he never once yelled at me while i grind-ed gears shifting on dirt roads.
7. along with my mother, my dad is one of the hardest working people i know. he was always up at the crack of dawn heading out to work, and would return in the evening covered in grease and dirt (oilfield mechanic). he worked outside no matter the temperature or weather doing physical work. all for his family.

thanks, dad. happy birthday!

tis the season, for agu

ah, december. lights, gifts, decorated christmas trees, and agu. agu is a conference in san francisco. thousands of scientists go to this conference every year. and i do mean thousands. aaron guessed around 22,000. i'm not sure why it is in december, it makes no sense. it's the time of the year that stress is highest, so probably not the best time to add additional work stress, but alas.

for years, i hated agu. years. this year, will be aaron's 11th or 12th year attending. and i think i've come to terms with it. i would rather have aaron around this week, but honestly it's worse for him than for me. for two weeks prior he worries about getting his science together and presentable, then there is poster printing, or some years, speech practicing. and then when he gets there it's science all day and schmoozing all night. the introvert in me cringes, but he handles it really well, and i think has fun in spite of himself.

each year during this week is my one time to watch it's a wonderful life. i watch it every year religiously and always when aaron is at agu. mostly because aaron hates this movie, really hates it. he thinks george bailey had an awful life..."trapped in bedford falls, no travel, or education, or career he chose for himself- but he has friends! great! you can have friends AND do all those things" he does have a point, but i don't let that ruin it for me.

happy birthday, mama!

in an attempt to wish my mama a happy birthday, i wanted to share with you some of the reasons my mama is so special:

1. she is not shy about expressing herself. seriously. if my mom is mad at you, you will know about it. she is not passive aggressive. I've seen her throw salads, tell off the cable man, slam doors, not to mention the stories she tells about herself in her "younger days". on the same note, she also tells me how much she loves me, how proud she is of me, and how perfect I am (yes, she really thinks this) oh, about six or seven times before we get off of skype. and hugs, she is not scared of hugging you to death.

2. growing up, she was always fond of games. my momma and i played many games all the time together. cribbage. scrabble. gin rummy. she was the only one who liked games as much as me.

3. the woman can cook. we might not have been the richest family in bogue, but you would never have guessed it by the quality and flavor of the foods we ate. she is the reason i shrivel my nose when i hear what other people grew up eating.

4. she is a tough lady. monday - friday my mom was always up before dawn. getting ready for work, getting us ready for school. sometimes she worked on the weekends. most of the time she held at least 2 jobs at any given time. she is what my dad would call a "tough broad".

5. clean freak. the house was vacuumed every day. dusted once a week. a load of laundry was ran every day. everyone showered once a day (it didn't matter if you "didn't do anything" that day). to this day, i can't relax after dinner until the dishes are done. she might have given me a complex.

6. one time when a boy broke up with me, she bought me a magazine/book totally devoted to prince william.

7. when i moved in with aaron after 5 years of dating, she asked me how i would keep my virginity. bless her heart.

happy birthday, mom!

blanket 4

for the last 4 years i have made a blanket per year. i'm not sure how exactly this started to become a tradition, but it has.

in 2011 i knitted a log cabin blanket using the colors forest green, brick, heather, and chocolate brown. in 2012, i attempted my first quilt using the pinwheels in the park pattern. more on that fiasco, here. and 2013 brought us the broken stripes pattern.

are you ready for 2014's pattern? it's from modern minimal: 20 bond & graphic quilts by: alissa haight carlton. the pattern is "hot spot".

it is made up of six different shades of red solids that range from light to dark. i used robert kaufman kona cottons in oral, red, rich red, wine, crimson, and burgundy.

for me, sewing the top of the quilt is the best part. i dread actually quilting it. i just use my small sewing machine, and for me, there is a lot of pressure. i just made a really cool quilt top, i don't want to ruin it with my ineptitude at quilting. but i have to remember that that is part of the learning process.

i'm already dreaming of the 2015 blanket. i have the colors all picked up, but i think i'm going back to my roots of knitting. by then, we will have a newborn on our hands and not much sleep. i think the only thing i could muster at that point will be the garter stitch.

week 26

week 26. it's hard to believe we are in the 6th month already. there is lots of movement from our little guy this week. particularly in the evenings while i'm sitting on the couch or lying in bed. he likes it when i'm relaxed. i like that about him.

although pregnancy has, in general, been a lot easier than i have heard about - this week some discomfort has crept into the equation. it is often hard to find a comfortable position while lying down and in the afternoon/evenings back pain is starting to kick in. boo!

halls are decked

fact, i never put a tree up until after thanksgiving is over. i know that's a little strange, but i feel like thanksgiving gets trampled on by people in a mad rush to make christmas get here sooner. the weekend after christmas is when we get our tree.

we always get our tree at minnesota bob's christmas tree farm. always because we did it last year and this year (and will continue to do so in the coming years). their trees are beautiful, prices are decent and they do everything but drive it home for you. 

stockings are hung

also i have been listening to my favorite christmas album of all time, a very she & him christmas. m. ward and zooey deschanel are yummy together. topping my christmas song list this year is "lumberjack christmas", and the hark! songs for christmas album, by sufjan stevens. and, of course, "nutmeg" by john legend which probably isn't for the younger ears

week 24

the first photo with snow in it! nothing has really changed this week, although there have been a few days that end with a backache, but nothing to severe. we go in for our 24 week check up on thursday. the checkups with the midwives are great. i weigh myself, they measure me, we hear the heartbeat and we go over any questions i might have. they have only drawn blood once, and taken a urine sample once, and i've only had one sonogram. really basic, but reassuring.

baby things. between the two of us, we have determined that a lot of it looks like things that aren't really needed. is this true? obviously we will be getting the basics, crib, car seat, clothes, bottles, breast bump, etc. but are there things that may not look obvious but are essentials? for instance, a bobby pillow? help me out here...

happy day of thanks!

we obviously have a lot to be thankful for this year (and previous years). do you ever feel so fortunate and lucky that you are afraid it will all go away one day?

what did you do to celebrate? we went to a "friendsgiving" at our friends sara and steve. there were about 20 people there. yes, 20. does that seem like a lot to you? usually get togethers with 20 people would require me to be drinking some wine, due to the introvertness in me. however, as you know, that is not to be. i think it is actually good for me to to be forced into these social situations head on. and it was fun. we both had a good time hanging out with friends, and making new ones. and, of course, the food was delicious. we got home around midnight and we still so keyed up that we went for a walk around the neighborhood. perhaps, my favorite part of the day.

the next day we watched planes, trains, and automobiles. i love that movie and haven't seen it in years. its awesome that a movie that old can still be relevant, and funny by today's standards.