Digital Nesting

I never actually 'nested' before my oldest was born. Not because she came too early or anything like that, but I just plain didn't feel like it. We got stuff done because we had to get it done (like putting the crib together), but not because I got any actual 'itch' to do it.

This time around, it's been mostly the same, minus one episode where I decided to vacuum out my car. To be fair, it was filthy.

Now that I'm 5 days overdue, my nesting (or lack thereof) has taken on an interesting form. Digital nesting. It's kind of dumb because I know I can get this kind of stuff done during a midnight nursing session after baby comes, but I want it done NOW.

I have four email addresses. FOUR. (Not including my work one.) Three with gmail, one at Yahoo. They each had their own purpose, although I might be able to phase one out. (But letting go of a primary email address that goes back almost 10 years is HARD. Like, way harder than it should be. That's literally a third of my life kinda hard.) As of 2 days ago, one gmail address had been forwarding to its own Yahoo folder, and the other 2 were just sitting out there not being checked much. I started hating how Yahoo's organization was (and it seems to keep changing), so I've decided to dump them all into one gmail account. Sounded easy enough, but I'm finding out it's a lot harder than I though, thanks to a million security features on gmail's end that I don't always know how to fix.

I'm also trying to fix commenting on this blog and when I comment on other Blogger-hosted blogs. It wasn't playing nice with a Yahoo email address any more, and everything I got was coming from no-reply email addresses and my comments on other blogs were bouncing. What a headache! I might even put CommentLuv on this site and fix some other issues I've neglected to touch.

Once I get the email situation under control, my plan is to back up some pictures to our external hard drive (and probably the cloud as well) and try to get my Documents folder under control. I promise I'm much more organized at work!

And who writes a post almost a week overdue without a bump pic? Notmesaidtheflea.

that face when you realize that you're more pregnant than you have ever been before
(40 weeks, 4 days, post-Zumba class)

Have you ever done a big digital cleanup? Or nested in an unconventional way?

7 Quick Takes: Doorknobs, Cellphones, and a Cute Sous Chef

--- 1 ---

Well, I got the call I was fearing today. My childhood pet died. Frisky the cat lived a wonderful 20 years, roaming around the cul-de-sac I grew up on for all those years. I wrote a post about a month ago about my cat if you want to know more (like why he only has 3 legs).

--- 2 ---

Speaking of my family, they are all driving here for the holiday! My mom, dad, sister (pregnant with twins!), her husband, and 2 kids are all piling in a van tomorrow and making the trek from Georgia to Indiana. They'll be stopping overnight and getting here on Sunday. I'm so excited. I even have a list of fun stuff we can do--which was a harder list to make now than it would have been a few months ago, since a lot of things are just not doable or even open in the cold weather.

--- 3 ---

In a house update, we have been changing out the door knobs this week.

BEFORE

AFTER

It's definitely an improvement from the brassy gold thing (and that obnoxious handle thing which can't be childproofed and I kept getting my finger caught in). But I'm still not 100% sure about it. I feel like oil-rubbed bronze would have looked better with this wood, but I loved the kitchen knobs that were stainless on wood so everything just got based on that. I don't know, what do you think?

--- 4 ---

We also got a tile and grout cleaning done by Stanley Steemer today. I thought it would be more dramatic, but it turns out that our grout had long ago been sealed and painted. That's good, in a way (except for the grout paint that got on the tile), but I'm still glad we did the cleaning.

BEFORE

AFTER

Now if it's dirty, I can only blame myself! (Or, um, a certain toddler who throws food if she doesn't want it . . .)

--- 5 ---

I have spent the last month researching, and I think I'm ready to take the plunge. I will soon be a smartphone user! B decided to cancel his dumbphone with Verizon, since he has a company iPhone. He has barely used his dumbphone in the past year, but we kept paying for it every month. Well, that frees up just under $40 per month for us, and I can finally cut the apron strings from being on a family plan with my mom and dad (which was cheap, but, um, I've been married for 4 years! It's time!).

I have decided to go with a no-contract plan, since for a single user I am 100% positive it's a better deal than any of the big names. While Republic Wireless is probably the best deal out there with Virgin Mobile a close second, I have decided to go with Ting instead. I'm going to buy a Samsung Galaxy S3 off of Ebay for about $200. The good news is that if I hate the plan, I can just find something else. I'm purposely choosing a good phone that can be used with a lot of different no-contract plans, just in case this happens. But I'm excited about this. Hey, I might even join Instagram! I've been a dinosaur for wayyyy too long.

(Also, there is a referral program that can save you money so let me know if you want to join after I join. Some internet stranger gave me a link for a $25 credit!)

--- 6 ---

My husband B has his "weekend" mid-week for whatever reasons. This is good sometimes, like when I want to go to the gym while Cora naps. B confessed to me tonight that while I was out on Tuesday, he decided to watch Sleeping Beauty on his own while his daughter was asleep. He mostly did this because neither of us could even remember that movie. (I'm actually not sure I have ever even seen it.) Cora has some Disney princess board books that we read, and in the Sleeping Beauty one they call her Briar Rose just randomly, and it bugged him.

Well, over dinner tonight he gave me the entire synopsis of the movie and even threw in a critique of why it was sub-par to Snow White. It apparently needed more singing.

--- 7 ---

As much as I feel that Cora is a Daddy's girl, she is starting to get pretty clingy to me. Especially when I try to cook dinner. She clings to my legs and wants me to pick her up.

My solution: making her my sous chef. I even put an apron on her today. (I think Santa needs to bring her one in her own size. Hint hint, big guy.)

My phone started ringing right as I was taking the picture.
She immediately went from "cheese!" and smiling to this.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

free is better than good, and then you grow up

We finally joined the new millennium and got a fancy TV that broadcasts HD.  It's one of those flat-screen numbers that almost every other member of the Navy blew their entire first paycheck on.  But not my husband, of course.  And I'm okay with that, because I am ridiculously frugal.  For the past few years (decade?) each of us (especially me) seemed to be living by my old AmeriCorps mantra of "Free is better than good."  And sometimes free stuff IS actually good, so the other mantra was "If it's free, it's for me!"  We applied these ideals to food, clothing, events, really anything.  I've been slowly progressing to actual adulthood and getting all these size-XXL t-shirts out of my dresser and into a donation bucket . . .  

First, let me take a minute to mourn our old television, a free handout from another Navy wife (thank you!!).  The bunny ears were also free, as I got them at one of those white-elephant post-Christmas re-gifting parties.  Yes, I actually "stole" them from another person, and amazingly, no one else wanted them!  So they have followed me around for the past 4 years, from Jax, to Virginia Beach, to Norfolk, now to Pensacola, sometimes tucked back in the closet (when I worked for Cox Cable and got everything really cheap), but then sitting proper and pretty on top of the TV since B moved into his solo bachelor pad back in 2008.

Oh grandma, what long ears you have!

Can I just tell you how much I loved the 2009 digital transition?  Yes, we had to buy this little box because the free TV wasn't compatible (government coupon FTW), but there's no "snow" any more, and a super clear picture!  Our old TV is now our guest room TV, so our visitors can enjoy all 10 channels that it picks up (less than Norfolk, but oh well).  In addition, we moved the VCR in there (also free), because B was embarrassed that we had one and didn't want it on display in our living room any more.  But it was way cheaper (did I mention it was FREE?!) than re-buying all my Disney videocassettes!  I'm not embarrassed one bit.

Even with the new television, we still refuse to pay for cable, so enter our new antenna.  Yes, we pull HD right out of the air, and it looks amazing!  Although this new antenna looks effing ridiculous, and we have the "ears" fully extended (we're a bit far from the towers -- they're all in Mobile).  We watched a few football games on our new TV this weekend, and I'm impressed!  Our one issue is that we don't pick up FOX, so I guess I'll have to watch "Glee" on Hulu (or just read the spoilers all my friends will post on Facebook). 

Didn't George Jetson have one of these bad boys?

But after our little shopping spree where we bought some other big-sticker items, I was humbled once again by this Sunday's mass readings.  If you missed it, the ending was a nice reality-check of "You cannot serve both God and mammon" (Luke 16:13).  So I'm turning off the television for now and gonna go finish the book of Genesis.