Friday update

So much snow has arrived - we're flush with it! Two big snowfalls within a week, with very cold below-zero temperatures in between. I am hopeless when it comes to estimating depths. I'll say to D, "what do you think we got, like 6 inches?" And he'll reply, "Audry, that's at least a foot of snow." Rish and Gabe got a snow blower, so Gabe stopped by to do our driveway. What a guy!

I waited until after we visited Santa to start on our Christmas cards, so we'll be a bit behind on getting those out. But not to worry, you all will receive a card chock-full of adorable little Boyd photos!

My friend at work took this camera phone photo of my boy and I after meeting Santa.

Other news: we have a new CEO at my workplace, a dynamic lady from out of state. Really have high hopes that she'll re-energize our staff and bring morale up! We also filmed some TV commercials this week to promote one of our service lines - those spots will start airing next week.

On the travel front, D, Boyd and I will hop on an airplane and visit San Diego to see some of my family members. Wish us luck with this new experience!

Being silly. The thing he's sitting on is a PlasmaCar. I got it for free (plus free shipping!) from Pampers Rewards. All of those diaper codes finally paid off.

Trying to stay warm in cold Alaskan weather. We've been reminding Boyd to put his hands in his pockets when it's cold.

My supper club met this week  Great minds apparently think alike, because 4 out of 8 of us gave a gift having something to do with a mason jar! It was funny to see all the canning jars being exchanged. There were jars filled with candy, hot chocolate mix with snowman poop (marshmallows), and even a redneck wineglass (mason jar with a candlestick base). I packaged a Starbucks hot chocolate packet with a mini bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme (the liquor store sales girl didn't blink an eye when I asked for 10 mini bottles of the stuff) inside of a jar, complete with daisy-cut metal lid, striped straw and holiday tag.

My holiday gift to friends at work.

The good stuff to go in the jars!

Boyd did this all by himself! We looked down and he had pulled all of the bottles out to line them up in a curve.

Boyd has been teething for the last couple weeks, plus this week he picked up a cold from somewhere. Those nights of uninterrupted sleep have been few and far between lately! Last night he was just so restless, tossing and turning with a stuffy nose and asking for water every 15 minutes. I tried to sleep on the couch with Boyd but we were both pretty exhausted this morning. D and Gabe left super early to take the boat out for a winter hunting trip to Prince William Sound. Please send good vibes their way for a successful and safe deer hunt!

Fall update

No official snow on the ground as of yet. We had a nice dusting on the second day of autumn, but nothing lately. Wet and windy for a couple of weeks (and unseasonably warm in the 50's) but now the temperature is hovering between a more normal 30-40 degrees.

I finally bit the bullet and upgraded to a new iPhone. I previously had the 4, so my white 5S is a whole three versions newer! So basically it's my first new phone in 3 years. Lots of fun things to play with: Siri, fingerprint scanning, better video and photo capability. However, the photo below is how I received my new iPhone. Apparently FedEx thinks THIS is the appropriate way to ship expensive electronics! I'm just shaking my head over here.

Fall means health fairs. Lots and lots of health fairs. On the weekends. Saturdays AND Sundays. Ugh. But just for a few minutes during each one, I steal upstairs and take in the breathtaking view from the 7th floor where my office is located. It's especially amazing on a clear day.

These particular fairs were for some of the entities that we are preferred providers for, so that meant my mom and D were both invited. And I got to see my baby on one of those mornings! He charmed everyone, as usual - well, when he wasn't fussy. He comes every year so it's neat to see my coworkers react to how much he has changed over time.

D and I are in the process of reorganizing the living room, mainly due to our TV upgrade. We're finally entering the 21st century with a flat panel television, ya'll! I sold our old bulky armoire on Craiglist (to the son of a friend - although I didn't realize it until he showed up) and then picked up a new lower-profile stand on Craigslist for $40. Unfortunately the new stand is too wide for the space, so I widened my search and found a skinnier cabinet at Target. This new setup is really workable now and gives us quite a bit of open space to hang out. I ended up selling the too-big stand for $40 (broke even!) and the old TV went for free. It was a very productive Monday! Now I need to get rid of our big stereo system that used to be in the living room and is now stashed in purgatory (aka my craft room).

Oh hey, what do you think of our new porch? I think it's pretty sweet - D has a really good design sense. This sort of reads mid-century modern to me. He replaced the rotted wood flooring and some of the supports with cedar boards, basically removing almost all of the existing porch. The stairs were already done - a project he worked on a couple years ago. It's hard to tell from this photo, but the roof supports come out at a slight angle to give a little more walking-around space. The panels are painted the same color as our house and give us a little privacy. Our existing roof doesn't quite overhang the whole porch, so D attached clear plastic roofing panels - which also works to let light through while still covering everything. We still need add stairway railing, extend the gutter all the way over, and decorate!

My mom, Boyd and I attended the Korean wedding of a boy I used to tutor during my breaks from college. Holy smokes, that makes me feel old! His wife is super pretty and they make a cute couple. I think my mom said she works at the Korean consulate office here in Anchorage and he is in the Army. Anyhoo, the wedding food was great - all Asian dishes. The cake was delicious! That's kimchi on the left of the cake (spicy fermented cabbage) and duk (rice cakes filled with sweet bean paste) on the right.

My mom has a little crab apple tree in her backyard so this fall we picked most of the apples, divided them up and made crisps and pies. They're tart so the apples make perfect fillings for pastries. YUM. We also end up with a bunch of apples left over from my work health fairs, so there's a lot of baking going on around here in the fall.

Boyd has been a part of two photo shoots so far. Risha and I are friendly with a gal who reports for one of the TV news stations here in town. She is also a photographer on the side and very sweetly agreed to take a few photos of Boyd a month ago. She's pretty busy, so we're still waiting on those pics. And we had a shoot at my workplace 2 weeks ago and needed some kiddos to be a part of the Pediatrics portion, so my mom brought Boyd - and Risha brought the 3 girls she now watches. She ended up finding a new job with a new family - the girls are 11, 8 and 2.

Rainbows pop up more often now. I've seen maybe one a month - that's a lot, right?

The busy season

Oh wow, it's a whirlwind of activity around here! One of my oldest friends (we met in high school 22 years ago!) was married this past Saturday, and as a bridesmaid I've had a very busy month, especially this last week. Between her wedding, work, trying to squeeze in family and friend time, I feel like it's been go, Go, GO all of the time! But the wedding was beautiful, as was the bride - and we all had a wonderful time.

Risha's wedding is this Saturday (already!), and my mom and I are throwing her bridal shower tomorrow (yikes!). Busy times all around. But we've had a month of sunny and scorching hot weather (up in the 80's at one point) so that was fun. This week it has cooled off considerably and the clouds have rolled in. Please cross your fingers for NO RAIN on Saturday for Risha & Gabe's outdoor wedding.

Work is ridiculously overwhelming right now. My boss is in Europe for 2.5 weeks and I'm up to my eyeballs in projects. But I'm holding my own and feeling good about what I've accomplished in the midst of all of this stress and activity. And I'm looking forward to MY 2.5 week vacation starting July 4th! Sounds like my brother-in-law and his girlfriend are coming up in July, and my awesome friend Stephanie will be here for a long weekend in July as well. SO FUN!

Thanks for hanging in there with these postings - I'll have Boyd's 16.5 month update up shortly.

Ready for Christmas!

Santa always visits my workplace in early December, so I bundled up the baby and talked my mom into coming with us for a photo op last Saturday. I thought for sure Boyd would freak out about meeting the big man in red, but he LOVED SANTA! We could scarcely believe it, but here is the proof...

His face in the pic below kills me. Part coy, part "how YOU doin'?"

I don't know what it is about photos, but after the first few snaps Boyd gets all smiley and happy for the camera.

I found his coat and booties on Zulily. Usually shipping from that site takes forever, but the package arrived a couple weeks ago - just in time for Santa.

Adorable, right? I just love this kid so much and was very proud of him for doing as well as he did. Next year I'm SURE he'll have the big meltdown, so I'm thankful for these amazing photos now.

Happy weekend everyone!

Can it - baby edition

Risha and Gabe are borrowing our pressure canner to can salmon, which will be used as wedding favors next summer. As you can see, the canner is the perfect size to hold a Boyd-sized baby...

Still very rainy in our neck of the woods. Haven't seen anymore snow since last month but it's just a matter of time. Fall is health fair time at my workplace so I've been pretty busy. We completed one fair and have 2 more to go. Because of this extra overtime in my schedule, my boss has given me Mondays off for the month of October. Still waiting to hear if it will become permanent!

D and I both had to work this past Saturday and thankfully my mom was able to watch Boyd. She stopped by the health fair to get her own labs done and brought Boyd so my coworkers could get a good look at him. They loved him! It helps that he is such a sweet baby.

Baby bump - 35 weeks

Can barely keep my eyes open today. The last couple of nights I've been averaging about 5 hours of (unrestful) sleep a night and I'm just dragging at work. If this continues I'll take my doctor's advice about the Tylenol PM and pop one next week. I feel like a barely-functioning zombie.

Yesterday I felt a tiny bit of cramping on and off in my abdomen, which isn't anything to worry about according to my doc. Just the body getting ready to push the peanut out. Some twinges in my lower back too. My belly is also getting less squishy and harder to the touch. My balance is off too since my center of gravity is out of whack. It takes a huge effort to put on socks, pants or anything below the belt!

And the bigger the baby gets, the more he presses on my bladder so I am in the restroom CONSTANTLY. It seems like all I do is drink water and spend time in the bathroom. :-) He kicked me so hard in the ribs earlier this week that it took my breath away. Painful. Increasingly I can feel his limbs pressing up against my belly - little arms, legs, feet, etc. It's neat when D can feel them too.

Being a compulsive list-maker, I created a comprehensive one for items to bring in our hospital bag. I'm starting to get that together and can't wait to get the nursery finished! D's out of town job is winding down after next week or so he'll be home for a while. Perfect timing because Risha is moving into her new place next week.

Starting in about 10 days I'll see my doctor every week since we'll be in the home stretch. BabyCenter stats say the little guy is around the size of a honeydew melon and between 5.5 and 6 pounds, but we'll get a better idea of his stats during next Thursday's ultrasound.

Been trying to wrap things up at work and make sure my duties and projects/events will be covered to my boss' satisfaction. The process a little stressful since there are things that only I do and no one has been cross-trained.

Baby bump - 31 weeks

I have another prenatal appointment this morning at 10 am. I'm at 31 weeks today but technically this is my 30 week visit. My hips and back are still achy but I'm trying to keep up with yoga and my elliptical workouts regardless.

 This past weekend we saw hurricane force winds blow through Southcentral Alaska (up to 118 mph on the Hillside!) Was probably 60-70 mph at our house? I'm not totally sure but as far as I know we didn't lose anything. Sure was scary though. AND the weather warmed up to close to 50 degrees - in December! Most of the snow melted off the streets, although it was very icy before that. So much for a winter wonderland. I hope it snows a lot before Christmas.

I'm working on a proposal to give to my boss and the CEO, detailing the work schedule options I'd like for them to consider after the baby is born:

• 4-day work week – off on Monday or Friday
• Reduce schedule – work part-time in morning or afternoon for certain number of hours
• Work from home 1-2 days per week 

The 4-day week is my first preference - I don't want a full-time schedule after the peanut arrives - but we'll see what they say. I would love to stay home everyday but that sort of makes me nervous. I've never not worked or had my own money, and having 2 incomes is very nice!

Take this job...

I try not to complain about work too much because for the most part my job is great and really, it's better to think positive, right? Negative thoughts and energy just bring a person down. Sometimes though, it feels like my efforts are majorly under-appreciated. I learned a long time ago that you are the only one who has your best interests at heart when it comes to the workplace. The company's concern is the bottom line and that's pretty much it! My boss is great at protecting me from most of the BS that comes with this job but she can only do so much for our little department of 2.

My workplace has seen a lot of changes in the past couple years and morale is down all over the company. Sad but true. A lot of it has to do with leadership. And quite a few of us fantasize about leaving to do other things - some have already started to make that leap! I need to stick around for a while because of maternity leave and insurance issues, but a recent event has really pushed me over the edge. It's so frustrating to give your all to a company and make sacrifices, and then be taken advantage of. I'm just so over it.

Baby bump - 21 weeks

Yikes, round ligament pain is no joke! I worked a health fair last Saturday and it was a long day on my feet: starting at 6 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m. Plus I tweaked my lower left back trying to pick up water bottles. So no more heavy lifting for me from now on. Didn't get to bed until 11:30 that night, and then when I woke on Sunday I felt a dull throbbing pain on my lower right abdomen. Google and my pregnancy books said it was round ligament pain brought on by too much activity. It's basically my belly stretching out. For 4 straight hours! Thankfully it has only struck a couple more times but with less intensity.

I finally ordered a few maternity items of clothing. Never thought I'd be so excited to get elastic-waist pants! Our little guy is starting to move a little more. Still feel the fluttering sensations but I'm pretty sure there has been some karate kicking and kickboxing too. My sleep patterns are so messed up - I wake multiple times during the night and have had the oddest dreams (which seems to be normal during pregnancy). Otherwise, things are good!

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Baby bump - 19 weeks

19 weeks today! Still very tired at night but then I'm up most mornings by 5:30 a.m. and can't fall asleep for a while. This being my first pregnancy, I'm not sure if the baby is moving or not -  I don't know what to watch or feel for. There were a few butterfly flutterings this week so that may have been baby movement (I like to think it was).

I'm planning on staying in town this weekend and finally shopping for some maternity pants because the pressure on my tummy is getting ridiculous! My dresses and skirts (with stretchy waistbands) are falling into the work clothing rotation more often now.

Happy weekend everyone!

Hollywood comes to Alaska

The Alaska Film Office has been revived in recent years with some cash from the State Legislature and really wants to entice productions both big and small to film in Alaska. Because of the tax incentives, the movie "Everybody Loves Whales" was shot in locales around the state - it starred Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Ted Danson, etc. I think it comes out sometime in 2012. 


The next big Hollywood production is a movie called "The Frozen Ground" and will be shot over the course of month in Alaska. You can read about it here: Anchorage Daily News story. The big name actors are Jon Cusack, Nicolas Cage and Vanessa Hudgens.


The story calls for a couple scenes set in a hospital and guess where the director wants to film? At my workplace! I showed a few of our spaces to the pre-production team last week and yesterday the director came with a crew member to scout it out. It was pretty cool to see their process of picking out areas to set up shots and scenes. So if they decide to go ahead with using our facility for a couple days, we'll have Nicolas Cage and Vanessa Hudgens here on campus and you can bet your booty I'll be down there trying to catch a sneak peek!

Baby bump - 18 weeks

I'm 18 weeks today and depending on the size of my last meal, my belly either looks bigger or smaller than it should at this time period. I feel huge but all the ladies at work say I'm looking pretty tiny. Last night I made potato/egg/cheese/salsa tacos (with Darin out of town I get to eat whatever I'm craving for dinner) with a side of broccoli. 2 tacos was too many - after dinner I looked like I was at least 30 weeks along!

Took these photos this morning...added a pretty scarf and jewelry to dress it up for work.

My workplace has over 900 employees so obviously I don't know everyone, but many people I recognize by sight if not by name. I caught one of the maintenance guys looking at my poochy belly yesterday in the elevator and that made me wonder - how many people don't know I'm pregnant and just think I'm eating too many tacos for dinner night after night?

My new addiction

What a nice weekend! Lots of sunshine and the days are getting longer. D went snowmachining and hunting up north while I stayed home to do housework, errands and take the dog on a nice long walk. The streets are all clear but the trails still have snow and are fairly muddy in some places. I wore my xtra-tuffs and they were a mess by the time we got home - Drift was too, so he slept in the garage.

The quality of these photos isn't the best - they were taken with my iPhone...

Taking the shortcut.

You can see the difference between springtime and winter in these two photos. Same area - even the dog is in a similar position! Unfortunately the tree couldn't handle the weight of the snow and broke off.

The snow melts in mysterious ways. It's like a snow Stonehenge.

I usually bring my phone with me on hikes, just in case - and also like to listen to my iPod on my phone. For part of the trek we were back in the woods and the bears are starting to wake up. I ended up removing one earbud and turning the music down so I could hear any unusual forest sounds - like a charging black bear or angry moose. It's ideal to make noise and not sneak up on wildlife so singing out loud to Katy Perry seemed like a good idea.

I got Drift to run at a gallop down this long stretch of road near the Campbell Creek Science Center. We were both pooped afterwards. Need more exercise (the both of us).

Pretty blue skies - no clouds! This was around 8 p.m. Pretty glorious to have the sunshine back.

So, I have recently seen the light and joined the ranks of scores of Alaskan women who swear by their Danskos! Friends and coworkers have sung the praises of these clog-like shoes but I always thought they were a little ugly - still do actually. :-) But some styles are less awful and I have been needing really comfy shoes for those days that I am on my feet all day at work (e.g. health fairs).

REI had a sale last month and I used the 20% coupon plus a gift card and merchandise credit to get the brown pair below (the Marah mary jane's) for $16...they're normally $115! Even the checkout person was impressed. And then last week a Dansko vendor was in my workplace lobby and I purchased a black patent-leather Professional pair. They are SO COMFY. The height and clunky-ness take a little getting used to (they're clogs, after all) but now my other work shoes feel so uncomfortable after wearing these. I've heard that Danskos and Xtra-Tuffs are some of the most popular shoes sold in Alaska today.

 

Juneau Trip 3

Our work event concluded around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and after a quick lunch my team headed to Mendenhall Glacier, locateed just outside Juneau. This whole area is part of the Tongass National Forest and the glacier flows into Mendenhall Lake. One of the other girls had been here before and pointed out a trail that starts at the base of the Visitor Center and winds around to the waterfall (barely visible at right in the photo below).

Mendenhall Glacier, from the visitor pavillion.



So huge!



At this point in the trip, I was EXHAUSTED. Actually, we all were - but couldn't pass up the chance to do some sightseeing.

 Later in the day and right before we headed to the airport for our 90 minute flight back to Anchorage, some of us took the opportunity to shop downtown. Most of the stores were closed because it was the off-season for tourists but a few were still open. This place had 75% authentic Native Alaskan items and 25% fake stuff from China - a better percentange than most gift stores!

"Oosik" is the Alaska Native word for...well, you can read it yourself.



Walrus skulls with scrimshaw art on the tusks.



Love the vivid colors of Alaska Native art and crafts.

That's it for my Juneau photos. I hope to take D back for a visit sometime next year - maybe in April of 2012. Alaska Airlines offers a constituent fare (30% off posted rates) to Juneau when the State Legislature is in session, which is a pretty good deal.

Life Update

Honeymoon - we leave Thursday morning and I couldn't be happier! My suitcase has been half packed for, oh, A MONTH. D pulled out our snorkel gear - isn't it funny that two Alaskans have their own snorkel gear? - and we plan on using them almost every day if we can swing it. D very sweetly checked out some great travel books from the Library last month and I made copies and marked those suckers up with notes. I'll also have my iPhone 4 (did I tell you peeps I finally got one?) for on-the-go info. Oh and we rented a Jeep! Fun fun fun.

Work - I'm at that burned-out stage again. Last week we were in Juneau and yesterday we had another health fair. Long days and one day off a week are taking their toll. I have been preparing people at the office for my 10-day honeymoon absence and by the way they are acting you would think I'm leaving for a month or more. I fully expect Monday through Wednesday of next week to be long days as I get everyone's last minute requests carried out. We're not pregnant yet, but I think people's heads are going to explode when they contemplate my 3 month maternity leave!

Dad & recovery - he is at home and getting stronger everyday. The Mayo Clinic will have him back for a visit 100 days post transplant, which is sometime in March.  Thank you for your prayers and support! Mom is taking amazing care of him. If you peeps are ever sick you will want my mother as your caregiver because she has singlehandedly brought my Dad back to health AND kept him healthy throughout this process. Although I suppose his excellent attitude and great physical shape (cancer notwithstanding) had something to do with it too. :-) Dad's risk of infection is still high since the pre-transplant chemo wiped out all of his immunities. We had a different scare right after he came home - a blood clot (DVT) that was thankfully treated in the Knoxville hospital. Mom is trying to fatten him back up again and it looks like Dad may even try to play in a disc golf tournament again soon!

Weather - cold and clear again. Yesterday morning on my drive into work at 6 a.m. it was -4 degrees. Time to fire up the woodstove. D went snowmaching with some buddies from work but he left me plenty of wood for fire-making. He is very considerate like that.

Entertainment - D and I had date night - in the middle of the week even! I had a free movie ticket set to expire this past Wednesday so we hurried on over to the brand new movie theater on the east side (near my high school) and saw "True Grit." D is a big time western fan (I'm enjoying them more and more) and this was a very good film - we recommend it.

Marriage- In Hawaii D and I will mark 8 happy months since our wedding! We're not taking this for granted and know that every day, week, month and year that we are together is a milestone to be celebrated and thankful for. No baby news yet but we'll let you all know when we have some! And hallelujah, I finally sold the rest of our wedding stuff. I had a big tote filled with the last bit of wedding decor plus the burlap tablecloths. This woman is planning her daughter's wedding and grilled me on all of our details. She even wanted to see our wedding photos! I drew the line at that one. But I got a good price for everything and we both parted happy. D says I should start my own wedding planning business, but then I would say goodbye to all of my weekends in the summer. I live for summer!

Juneau Trip 2

More photos from beautiful downtown Juneau!

Looking north from the 8th floor of the State Office Building in Juneau.

Downtown Juneau is constricted by mountains on one side and water on the other. That left the mountainside as the only other option for building homes - and build they did! There is an amazing system of walkways, stairways, ramps and winding roads that take you to the houses in this area. Most of the homes date from the early 1900's, with some older than that - late 1800's! Believe me, that is ancient for Alaska.

I am always fascinated by old buildings and homes. "Old' being a relative term in Alaska because of our young history as a state.

Interesting juxtaposition of old and new around Juneau - concrete city buildings mixed in with historic homes and businesses.

Our team from work had a short time off to walk around on Friday evening. Since the city is located in Southeast Alaska (and a rainforest to boot!) we saw almost no snow on the ground. The mountains had a light dusting but nothing like in Anchorage.

This was a war memorial for Alaska Natives serving in the military. 

I talked with a gal who works for the State and says she lives in Juneau when the Legislature is in session. She rents an apartment downtown and doesn't need a car because this area is so walker-friendly. Although the downside is that if she needs to go grocery shopping (Juneau has a Fred Meyer, Wal-Mart AND Costco!) she has to borrow a vehicle for that.



The Governor's Mansion, completed in 1912. Anyone can walk right by it!

The balance on this photo is totally blown out, but it gives you a better idea of the surrounding buildings.