30 October 2012

What I Miss

I'm really bad with goodbyes.  They don't really affect me too much, and I hate when people get all weepy about me leaving.  I usually see the adventure ahead of me more than the place that I might miss later.  Our most recent goodbye was rushed, but that was fine with me.  Why drag it out?

I was recently trying to think about things I'm starting to miss from the past two years down in Pensacola.  So far, it's a short list.  When thinking about that, I also started reflecting on things I actually do miss from previous homes.  I have much more clarity for those things since the dust has settled and I have those way behind me.  I thought I'd share those lists with you today.  (I'm not going to say I miss certain people or friends on any of these.  Obviously it's a given, but people are also mobile.  Most of the friends from each of these places don't live there any more anyway.)

Lawrenceville, GA (home)
  • Is it bad that I can't think of anything?  Maybe that's a blessing.
Athens, GA (college)
  • Free or cheap entry into a lot of great sporting events, including football and gymnastics
  • Free city and campus bus system with my student ID
  • Myers Quad
  • Tons of stuff to do
Jacksonville, FL (AmeriCorps year)
  • Main Library
  • My bike (which was stolen on my last night living there)
  • Ultimate frisbee pickup game on Sundays
Hampton Roads, VA
  • Sacred Heart Church
  • Walkable Ghent neighborhood
  • Imperio Inca restaurant
  • Norfolk Botanical Gardens
  • Croatan beach and watching the surfers
Pensacola, FL
  • St. Paul Parish
  • Brie dip from Hopjacks
  • Teaching Budget for Baby class
  • Naval Hospital Pensacola and free healthcare
  • Central Time Zone
  • (To be determined with time and comparison!)
The Pensacola list was actually longer than I expected (sure as heck beat out Jax). My hometown, however . . . ouch. Sorry, Lawrenceville!

28 October 2012

What I Wore to Mass and Other Goings-on

I'm linking up with Fine Linen and Purple's What I Wore Sunday again.  I promise I have done more lately than just get dressed and go to mass, though.
What did you wear to church today?
We've been in this apartment just shy of two weeks.  I've been working on this gallery wall:

Baby Cora has been working on her mobility and her central incisors.  She skipped creeping/army-crawling and never liked rolling very much, so we never even had to childproof the last place.  But in the past week or so, she started crawling and pulling up and is cutting another pair of teeth. She also turned 9 months old on Friday and had a doctor visit.
Crawling, pulling up, and her 9 month pic.
(Yes, the mobile was taken down immediately after that pic was taken.)
And B has been working on getting everything squared away for his new job, which he starts tomorrow, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 7am.  Actually, I don't think I could ever describe my husband as "bushy-tailed," so nevermind that part.  B has also shown me around a bit, including a little stroller walk in his old neighborhood.
Somewhere between his old house and his grandma's old house
Now onto what I wore to mass today:
Shirt: Mossimo from Target; Pants: Old Navy from back when they sold professional clothes;
Shoes: American Eagle from Payless; Necklaces: from 1saleaday.com
I haven't worn these pants since pre-Pensacola, and I apparently haven't gotten any taller as they still need to be hemmed.  I like the colors on them, though.
I took a risk wearing a long necklace while toting a grabby (and sometimes grubby) baby.  It was cold inside the church, so actually my jacket stayed on most of the time and it was a non-issue (B held her through most of the service anyway).  Also, as we were driving to church, I exclaimed, "Crap, I forgot my rings!"  B smirked, and I just had to ask, "You forgot yours too, didn't you?"  Sigh.  He also left the garage door open, and we both forgot to bring a jacket for the baby.  Garages and cold weather are new obstacles for us.

Here is what Baby wore to mass, minus the sour grimace:
Rockin' the pink and gray, and she had on pink socks but they kept falling off, as baby socks tend to do.
Well, my feet are still freezing, and B promised I could buy some new clothes once our apartment was put together. I definitely think some riding boots and some warm socks are in order!

Check out some other church-going lovelies at Fine Linen and Purple.

21 October 2012

What I Wore Sunday

Y'know, back before I got pregnant, I used to do some of the "What Am I Wearing?" linkups.  But then I got lazy and basically existed in falling-down maternity jeans and the same four t-shirts. Well, I am pleased be joining a brand-spankin'-new hop that will show off my Sunday best. Fine Linen and Purple has started a new one, and it's all about what we wear to church!  Generally my best outfit of the week happens at mass, so this is perfect.
Check it out!
Today was an anomaly.  My MIL was here and offered to watch baby while B and I went to earlier mass, and then she went later.  It was the first time since before she was born we went to mass without her!  It felt a bit odd, especially because we're new in this town and it was our first time attending mass in Fort Wayne. Well, my first time, that is.  We went to the church where B attended K-5 Catholic elementary school.  He even remembered the priest once he heard the voice (said he hasn't changed a bit!).

So, on to what I wore:
B told me I looked like a starving grad student in this outfit!  I was wearing white socks with my shoes, which was dumb (after living in FL, I have no idea what to wear on my feet--and yes, my feet were cold in those shoes), and my jacket is literally from my mother's 1970's-era closet.  So here is it without the jacket or shoes:
I need a hair makeover . . . and yes, it's quite obvious we're still unpacking this place.
The sweater is new (from Target), the pants are old, and the necklace is this one with Baby Cora's birthstone.  I'll try a bit harder next week, I promise.  If you have any shoe suggestions for me, please leave it in the comments!

Link up what you wore to church over at Fine Linen and Purple!

19 October 2012

It's Almost Here Again

Yup, the holidays.  Everyone hypes up all the material stuff and Black Friday, but my favorite part?  Giving and receiving beautiful Holiday Cards!  I love that the internet has made it so easy to share pictures of our families right in the cards with one another.  I even displayed all the cards I got last year in a cute way:
Pretty sure I saw it on Pinterest - just twine, tape, and paper clips
This year I'm very excited since our cards will include a new name on them--our baby, who was born this year gets a billing.  For my holiday cards and other projects, I almost always turn to Shutterfly.  They have some cute stuff, including religious cards, traditional Christmas colors, and modern and whimsical types.  Now that we're living in Indiana, I might even choose a more "winter-themed" card and have it make sense for the first time! Some of my faves:



You can also see my Shutterfly wall calendar in the background of the first picture (to the left of the fridge).  I make one every year, and last year I even made a desk calendar for B to take to work.  The site always has some sort of promo going on that fits my needs.  You should check out their special offers and see for yourself!

If you'd like to win a $50 credit to Shutterfly, check out the giveaways going on over at chambanachik and Flip Flops & Combat Boots.

I was compensated for this post in the form of a credit to Shutterfly.com. As always, all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

12 October 2012

7 Quick Takes (Indiana Inaugural Edition)


— 1 —
We made it to our new home state of Indiana quickly and safely over this past weekend.  And I am coooooold!  My new agenda is to find some actual winter clothes!  They have to be cute, warm, easy to both chase a kid and nurse her in.  This is going to be a quest, I gather.  I have a look in mind, it's just a question of money and that last caveat (who sells nursing-friendly sweater dresses??).

— 2 —
We are crashing at my in-laws' place just north of Indianapolis for now, but the day after we got in, B's dad took us up to Fort Wayne (just over a 2-hour drive) to help us look at apartments.  We looked at three and made a decision that day.  We gave the movers a call, and we'll be moving in next week!  For some stupid reason, I forgot to check if it has a dishwasher, and I've been having mild panic attacks all day that it doesn't (it's not listed on their website).  I guess it's good that our pact is you either cook or do the dishes, and I'm usually the cook.  But I also love to bake, and I'm on my own as far as "hobby cleanup" is concerned. No turning back now, though.  I guess I'll just find out on Monday.

This apartment also requires me to scale a flight of stairs, which I'm not so keen about. It will be the first time in almost 4 years that I'll be living on the second floor, but there's no one above us and we have our own private (indoor) staircase.  We also have our own one-car garage, a patio, and we're a mile away from an great park/YMCA, and another mile from an awesome library that has a "Born to Read" program for young babies!  The icing on the cake (other than the fact we don't need to buy a snow shovel) is that we're an easy five-minute drive from B's grandmother and his aunt and uncle.  I'm actually really excited to live around all this family.  They all have already offered to babysit, too.  They love Cora!

— 3 —
And who could blame them?  She is pretty cute!  And she already shares my love of maps!
Learning to navigate her new home!
— 4 —
Cora has had some interesting physical development milestones lately. My MIL found an old baby fork in her drawer so she put some of last night's dinner on it and gave it to her to see what would happen. After Cora gnawed on the back end of it as she usually does with spoons, she turned it around and fed herself off the fork!

Baby Cora can also get into the crawling position, but only seems to be able to crawl backwards.  She can then drop down on her stomach, pivot, and barrel roll.  And as of this week, she can get herself back into a sitting position.  Her favorite thing to do, though, is stand up.  She can't pull herself up yet, but she's trying soooo hard.  She also has tried to just stand up from the middle of the floor (unsuccessful as well). We usually just sit there and hold her up or prop her up on some furniture and sit behind her.  I'm not sure if she'll ever really crawl, since I think she'll want to walk instead.  According to my mom, that's what I did, so hey, it worked for me.

— 5 —
B and one of his brothers went to a political debate that was being held here in their hometown on Wednesday.  It was the gubernatorial debate for the Indiana candidates.  Aside from trying to teach Baby Cora how to say "gubernatorial," B also mentioned that the Libertarian candidate looked like he 'smoked pot in the woods.'  I saw the picture of him and immediately recognized Rupert from "Survivor" fame!  He does look like a barefoot hippie . . .
One of these things is not like the other . . . [Source]
— 6 —
I don't talk much about the baby products I use, but I did a TON of research on strollers a year ago, and I think it paid off!  I knew too many people who were disappointed with their pretty-but-flimsy travel systems, and we didn't need the car seat part of those anyway.  Instead, we used a Snap-N-Go (bought at a consignment store for cheap) until Cora was big enough for her "big girl" stroller around 6 months, but I still LOVE what we got for the long haul.  

Behold, the Baby Jogger City Mini:
In the course of a week, she went from wearing a onesie and no pants or socks to THIS giant bundle!
We had to wait to use it because if you look closely, the straps are still at her ears, and that's the lowest they go.  I also have a tray that goes on the front, but she has no real need for it yet. The maneuverability of this thing is great, and it folds soooo easily! My only beef with it is that I can't fit my giant diaper bag in the bottom, but it hasn't been that big of an issue yet. I keep a quick-changer system in the back pocket and then just throw my small purse in the bottom.

I promise I'm not being compensated for this, I just really love our stroller!

— 7 —
B and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary the day before our movers came for the packout.  Our big "celebration" this year involved eating freezer pizza and drinking champagne while my neighbor looked after Cora for a few hours.  And we also got ready for the movers, namely by throwing stuff into the hall bathroom. I've forced B to join me in taking the same picture by the lamp each year (and amazingly all 3 of our anniversaries have been celebrated in Pensacola, even though we lived there just over 2 years).
Also known as "The Decline of Formality"
I also took one this year with just the two of us.  I can't decide whether to do it with the children or without each year.  I like to see how the family changes and expands, but we also do pictures for Christmas cards each year that shows that.  What would you do?  For now, I think we'll just take both.  Hooray for digital, right?

For more Quick Takes, check out Conversion Diary.

03 October 2012

3 Years!

It's my favorite day!



It's kind of amazing to think that even though B was in the military, we have spent all of our anniversaries under this same roof in Pensacola.  What wonderful and adventurous years they have been married to my best friend. Here's to many more in wherever life takes us!

It fits again! (But only after I nursed the baby, LOL!)
Check out the dress in other years: