Diamond Rings and Silly Things

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Ding Dong the Weeds are Dead!

So since I've moved into my house I have had weeds in place of my flowers in my flower beds. I didn't mean for it to happen - it just did. When we first moved in, there were quite a few weeds, and I told Jon that I wanted to get rid of them so that the little flowers could grow. However, such as is life, we had to prioritize and we decided that fixing our house into a liveable capacity took priority so we could get out of his parents basement. (Even though we closed on our house just a couple of weeks after the wedding, it still took three months to recarpet and refloor, repaint, get new countertops installed, get appliances, fix walls, etc.) Not that we didn't like it at his parents, it's just not fun as newlyweds, I'm sure you understand. ;) So we focused on the house.

Once the house was liveable, there were still repairs and little things that we had to do to make it nice, and with work and Jon's school, tearing down the chicken coop in the backyard from the previous owners, my car getting hit and then my hood crashing into my windsheild and us having to fix and paint my car, we just never got around to our little flowers. So the weeds took over and then winter came.

The following spring we decided to paint my car a different color, and the weeds continued their hostile takeover of our flower beds. I contemplated trying to get the weeds, but they were almost overwhelming now - plus there was still work to be done on our property that took priority. We put in an extra driveway for Jon's boat, we put in a sprinkler system in the back yard and planted grass, fixed our fence, and lots of other little things. Another winter comes, and the weeds continue to thrive. We would cut them down at times, especially when we came back from a vacation and saw a weed that was taller than Jon (he's 6'2"!), we made sure that the weeds were cut short, but they were still getting thicker.

So now we get to this spring. The snow melted and I saw all the little weeds, a thick carpet in my flower bed, working their way up through the soggy soil and I had decided I'd had it. I told Jon that once the weather was warm enough, we were going to destroy these weeds. So, that's what we did! I took one of those garden Claws and tilled up all the weeds (okay, half of them and Jon did the other half) and Jon would shovel them up and throw them away. It took a lot of effort because they were so bad, and the whole time I kept thinking of how few weeds we'd had when we first got the house. No time to dwell on the past though, we kept working, and finally they were gone! To make sure they didn't come back we put down that gardening paper and went and got some red lava rocks and put those on top. Then we took the big decorative rocks that had previously been hidden and put them on top and - Poof! We suddenly had a presentable yard! It didn't take nearly as long as I thought - it looked a lot more daunting then it really was. Maybe it's just that Jon works faster than I do, I don't know, but we got it all done in just a couple of hours - and that included running to the store twice to get the lava rocks! I still haven't planted new flowers yet, but I'm getting some tiger lillies from a friend at work and then I wanted to transport some of my tulips over there. It will be so pretty when it's done! (As long as I keep it nice!)

Now we just have to tackle the area under our pink blossom tree (I don't know what it's really called, but it's pretty!) and we'll be set! That one's a little harder because there's an electric outlet there and we don't want to till up the wire and get shocked. Anyway, here's our pictures of our hard work paying off! (I didn't get a picture of the weed before so you could really see it, but I'll see if I can find some weeds that compare and snap a shot of them!)

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Update at 10 Weeks

So, I know that some people are probably thinking that I'm crazy for announcing my pregnancy as early as I did - I would normally be one of you. Yeah, I was just too excited not to, and while I can keep other people's secrets really well, I can't keep my own. :) Now a lot of people have been asking me questions about everything, so I'm going to give a brief overview of what I've been asked without going into all the pukey details. (I'll also put up pictures once I'm home).

We went to the doctor on the 18th and got to meet my baby! He/She was little, only 2.36cm long and looked like a gummy bear. My doctor told me that based on the size I was about 9 weeks. We also got to hear the little heartbeat and yes, I cried a little. :) We also determined that my due date was December 21. I figured that we won't have an official Christmas, but at least I'm still getting a great present!

One of the biggest questions now - morning sickness. Yes I have morning sickness, and yes it lasts all day. The thing is that I get very very nauseous and don't throw up a lot, so I have little relief. The foods that make me sick are, of course, some of my favorites like chocolate, any and all fruits/fruit juice, bagels and hot dogs. My bad breath also makes me sick, forcing me to have a toothbrush in my desk at work and carry gum with me wherever I go, even though I really don't like to chew gum. Chips and salsa were surprisingly a friend of mine over the last couple of weeks, but recently became an enemy as well. Things that make my stomach happy are steaks (Fillet Mignon is the best), avocados and Cheerios (or Honey Nut Cheerios). Also Coke has been something that helps my stomach, and luckily I found one of those big packs of caffeine free Coke, so I try to keep a can of that close by.

Next common question is am I showing yet? Answer: Not enough that anyone but me or Jon can tell. I can feel the little bump and see it (especially when wrestling on my slacks for work!) but it's very small and I really don't think anyone else would notice. I am however getting a big ole' pot belly from eating so much and not throwing up as much as most pregnant people do. I'm hoping this will level out over the next few months. :)

Last thing is we told my Dad on Sunday that I was pregnant and he was very excited. I'll have pictures and the whole story later once I get the video from my sister. :) Poor Dad, has to be a Grandpa before he's 50! ;)

I think that those are the main ones. Overall my sickness is getting better (or at least it was until today, but still...) my stomach is getting bigger and Jon and I are still very very very very very very VERY happy and excited for our little gummy bear baby to grow and come into our lives. Thanks everyone for your well wishes as well, we really appreciate it!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Something New....

Okay, so I was going to just wait and see who would notice the little addition to my blog page, but I'm thinking that if I were to come acrossed it and not see any posts about it I would be angry at that person, so here is my little post. If you'll look to the right side of my page you'll see my subtle little announcement. Yep, after years of waiting and wondering when it was going to be time for us, and just as everyone else completely gave up hope on us (thus almost everyone's reaction of disbelief and calling us liars when we told them) *wink*, Jon and I are having our first baby! We went to the doctor this last Monday and determined I was 9 weeks and everything looks healthy at this point. It looked like a gummy bear with a heartbeat on the ultrasound, but it still made me cry. :) Anyway, we just wanted to share our news with you. :)

Monday, May 18, 2009

3 Years Baby!

So on May 13 Jon and I were able to celebrate our 3 year anniversary! Wow! Sometimes I can't believe that we've been together for so long because time has just flown by, and other times I think, "Really? Only 3 years?" because it feels like we've been together forever!

To celebrate our marriage, we decided to go on vacation! Last year we kept talking about it but never planned anything, so we ended up working on our anniversary (bleh!), so this year I blocked out the whole week for us and let my boss know that there was no way we'd be working - even if all we did was sit around the house and watch movies I was bound and determined to celebrate it somehow this year. We planned, then planned some more, then forgot about it for a while, then planned some more. Initially we were going to go to Lake Powell and take Jon's boat out and bring some friends, but since everyone else has babies they all thought that while Lake Powell is amazingly fun, it wouldn't be so great for small babies to play. So we changed our game pland and decided to rent a condo in St. George like we did in February. (Thank you Brian for finding the place for us!)

Our friends Brian and Tiff and their baby Makaylee came as well as my fabulous sister-in-law Amber and her son Owen. We stayed there for a few days just swimming, relaxing and shopping while the boys went fishing or golfing. It was so nice! Then Wednesday came and they all had to leave, but Jon and I stayed behind and met up with my sister Julie and her husband Phillip and we went camping for another couple days! We camped at Quail Creek Reservior and went boating and the next day went caving! It was so fun! We went to Bloomington cave (which Julie said was the 5th longest cave in the nation, but it's just the 5th longest in Utah, but still) and ended up getting a little lost and then had our flashlights all die at the same time while struggling to find the exit. Luckily we had extra batteries, but only enough to fill the 2 headlamps once each and then we were out. Kind of scary - the boys freaked out more than the girls, but we found our way out (we were only in there for 5 1/2 -6 hours) and went back to relax at camp. **Note, if you ever go there bring gloves, knee pads, helmets, and LOTS of extra batteries/flashlights and rope!

All in all it was a great trip and we had so much fun! I am completely sunburned and exhausted still, but it was a great trip. I wish I had pictures, but Jon has this nasty habit of stealing the camera every time I have something worth taking pictures of because he needs to take pictures of fish. (sigh) Well Amber and Tiff got some pics so you can see those on their blogs if they ever update them. ;)

Just as a closing note, I just wanted to say how much I love Jon. I love that we get along so great, can always talk about anything, keep eachother in check, and the fact that he takes such good care of me all the time. Meeting him was one of the greatest things that ever happened (thank you Melissa!) and marrying him has been the greatest thing that's ever happened in my life and there's not a day that goes by that I'm not entirely greatful that we were brought together. And to think of what would have happened if I hadn't gone on that blind date! ;) And even though I've been bugging him about giving me a baby for the last couple of years, I'm really glad for the time we've had with just us because we've really grown so close and I just love him so much and love all of the fun we have together. Happy anniversary babe!