Listening To: Arctic Monkeys AM. "Do I Wanna Know?" popped up on the iTunes Top 100 Alternative channel this week. I completely forgot that AM had a new album. I popped right over and bought it. Been listening to it practically nonstop. So good!
Book finished: The Graveyard Book; Storm Glass; Sandman Vol. 11 and 12; The Book Thief; The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Reading: Cape Storm by Rachel Caine
On the Nightstand: Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift; The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon; Total Eclipse by Rachel Caine
MakingLists: I ran across a great article on Flavorwire entitled "50 Books Every Parent Should Read to Their Child." It's a great mix of new and old books. In fact, we own many of these books, but a majority we have never own or were destroyed by twin boys at some point. So, I am starting a list of books to eventually buy for Arthur. I'll be adding them into an Arthur wish list on Amazon once I inventory our current collection.
Around the house: Really focused on getting the nursery ready for Arthur's arrival. J put together the crib, travel system, wall decals, and mobile all without me asking. I love how it all works together. There are still some odds and ends being stored in that room that need to find new homes. *cough* laser disc player *cough* The rest of the house has been just here. I want to vacuum every room before the baby's arrival, but that sounds like so much work... maybe not. I should also do one more big bathroom cleaning before. Now to work up the energy to actually do these things.
On the Job: Big changes! As of today, I have one week left with the company. To be fair, the company is currently in the process of being acquired and the future of my project is very up in the air. The current plan is to have the project team spin off into their own company. It's so completely disorganized that the CEO decided to not renew my contract. And I'm honestly okay with it. While the additional bit of income would have been nice, I was starting to have some serious doubts about the project and it's future. Plus, the team was so disorganized that I didn't even know who my actual supervisor was. So I have a few more days wrapping up my tasks and transferring the data to another team member and then I'm done. Just in time to focus full time on being a mom.
From the kitchen: I tried a few new recipes with mixed results. This seems to be a trend. I made a faux peach cobbler with just butter, peaches, and a yellow cake mix. I really liked it, but J was upset that it wasn't "real" cobbler. I also made a skinny version of chicken parmesan that was absolutely amazing. Instead of a heavy batter and frying, it used a light breadcrumb batter and baked the chicken. I made extra to freeze for next month. It was easier than I thought it would be. It's on the keeper list! I also tried California quesadillas. They weren't amazing, but I can probably doctor them up next time. I want to get a few more things made and frozen for after the baby's arrival.
On the Web: OMG the GoodReads controversy... I've been following it since last Friday and I can't believe the craziness. Censored by Goodreads has been an awesome resource to keep up with all the articles and related issues. I decided very quickly last weekend that I wanted nothing to do with an organization that would treat it's participants like a disease. I deleted my GR account and am currently shopping around for an alternative. I know many have migrated to BookLikes, but I'm not completely sold on it yet.
Farmer's Market Finds: We actually ventured out to the market yesterday, but not for produce. We went to get lunch from the sausage guy. BBQ slaw dog for me and Seoul dog for J. We also grabbed some kettle corn and cheese popcorn. Yummy! Walk to the market and back took it completely out of me. I think yesterday will be my last big walking trip. I was out of breath and in pain by the time I got back. The food was good, but I guess I won't be back for a few weeks.
Crafting: I finished the family album! It is completely update and ready to be put away. I still have to do the boys' albums for this year, but found I need to buy them new albums as the ones I was using are full. So a bit of a delay there... With the family album completion, I am ready to transition to Project Life. I prepped a few pages about the transition and my pregnancy. I plan on doing weekly or biweekly spreads once the baby arrives, but I had all these pregnancy and preparation items to fit in somewhere. I decided to start with an introduction page outlining the transition and the reason for the new style. Then I made a page highlighting all my ultrasound pictures and fetal development. This will act as a nice introduction to the focus of the new album: Change and Growth. Looking forward to sharing the spreads on here soon...
Watching: Kitchen Nightmares (S1 and S2) and The Voice are my while I'm working television selections. I finished Kitchen Nightmares this week, so I need to find something to replace it. It's great to have on in the background. J and I have been moving through Suits S3 (OMG summer finale!), Monk (S5-6), Star Trek: TNG (S7), Star Trek: DS9 (S1), and finally! Game of Thrones (S2). Plus I've been watching new and old favorite movies for my Month of Movies. Coming to the end of the project... Ready to move on to something new. Plus, I have a list of new television shows that I want to check out (Sleepy Hollow, SHIELD, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Almost Human, The Blacklist, Dracula, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland).
Pregnancy Update: More BH contractions but still very sporadic. Lots and lots of pressure, nausea, heartburn, insomnia, etc. Ready to be done... Four women from my October pregnancy board have already had their babies. I am just waiting for my turn.
From Nature: Randomly last week it rained all day just like in the Midwest. it was gloomy and the rain came down in fairly heavy sheets. It reminded me so much of my hometown. Thankfully I finished my errands for the day before the rain came as people around here lose their minds when water falls from the sky. They completely forget how to drive and subsequently annoy the crap out of me. It was nice to observe the rain and clouds from inside the house. Bonus points for the temperature staying in the high 60s - low 70s throughout the day.
Shopping Scores: I picked up a ton of clearance rack items from Stampin' Up for this month's club order. I went in needing to buy glue dots and came away with an embossing folder, a single stamp, three new inks (retired 2013), and three packs of 12 x 12 paper, envelopes, and one pack of 8.5 x 11 paper. Whew! It was a lot, but I got some great deals.
Plus, we've been receiving random baby gifts in the mail from friends and family. I'm trying to stay on top of photographing the deliveries and getting Thank You cards out in the mail quickly. So far, I'm doing really good. I created a new FB album for all the baby stuff so everyone (i.e. my mother) can see what we got.
Project: Mental preparation for the baby. I'm trying to savor my quiet relaxation time now. I'm also trying to clear my schedule and mind of clutter to spend time focusing on healing and the baby after he's born.
