Friday, May 27, 2011

Cursed by the Airplane Gods

I seem to have the worst luck when it comes to flights. I woke up at 6:15 this morning, got out the door by 8:20, and began my drive to Boise to catch a flight to Seattle. My parents and I are going to IKEA after they pick me up from the airport and then I'm attending a friend's baby shower this Saturday. Needless to say, I was really excited when I left this morning, except for wishing Niklas could have gone with me. (He has a typical case of lots of homework on the 3-day weekend.)

Here's me driving down to Boise this morning:


Here was my view to the right:



Here was my view in front:



And here's me now:



Why the glum face? Upon checking in it turns out that my flight is 3.5 HOURS late! The plane had mechanical issues (not comforting) and instead of dropping some of its scheduled flights to make up for lost time, it simply delayed each and every one. I am both bummed and grumpy about this, as it seems I always happen to pick the flights that are delayed in the end. I'm also tired and ready for a nap, but having no husband to watch my stuff while I sleep, that won't be remedied for a few more hours. Overall, this delay means I'll be getting to bed a lot later tonight than I wanted because I have a pending project to get done by tonight.

And that is why the airplane gods hate me.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

3-Year Anniversary Today!

Today marks 3 years since Niklas and I were sealed for eternity in the Rexburg, ID temple. It's crazy to think that we've been married that long already, but I'm sure each year I'll feel that way. I'm grateful to have Niklas as my husband. Even though we drive each other crazy at times, I can't imagine being with anyone else; nor do I want too. It's easy, in the day-to-day living with one another, to forget (or take for granted) what a miracle it is to be married to each other at all. We are around a lot of singles all the time while serving at church, and it reminds me how much I looked forward to being married when I was single, and yet was unsure if or when it would happen. And then I remember the magic of our "dating" (more like hanging out) and ending up together. With the world getting more and more confused, scary, and hard to live in, it's nice to know that Niklas will always be a loving, supporting influence in my life. We are both imperfect people, but so far we have helped each other to grow in many ways, even if it has been a bit painful at times for both of us. So here's looking forward to another year with my sweetheart; and what a life-altering year it will be! Happy anniversary, Niklas--I love you!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Loud Talkers and Baby Stuff!

Yesterday, Niklas and I hit Idaho Falls to do some window shopping in the downtown area, along with other errands. It was a beautiful day and was nice just to walk around in the sun. After a while, I really wanted some ice cream. Big surprise---I always want ice cream now. So we stopped by Sundae's Eats & Treats and I ordered a sugar cone with mint cookie ice cream while Niklas got some rainbow sherbert and a philly cheesesteak sandwich (one of his favorites it would seem). The gal taking our orders asked if we were planning on sharing the sandwich, to which I said no, and Niklas and I went to sit down. Right before we get to a table, this random boy (I'm guessing in junior high---13-14 years old?) who is sitting at a nearby table with a much younger boy, loudly asks, "You don't like to eat?!" Then I explain to this random stranger that I just want ice cream right now, and he (being Niklas) wants the sandwich. So Niklas and I sit, and the next thing that comes out of this kids' mouth to Niklas is something like, "If you put chocolate in front of a woman, she'll want you." I was totally incredulous---wow, this kid is totally clueless about women and some aspects of social decorum, not to mention having this "man-to-man" chat with my husband while I'm sitting there. For some reason, I found it totally unsettling that this young kid had these ideas about women already. Anywho, at that point I wasn't in the mood to hear all of this boy's widsom on how to catch a woman, so I turned to my ice cream and gave it my full attention. A few minutes later, Taylor Swift's "Tim McGraw" song came on over the speakers, and the kid loudly says (in our direction), "I HATE this song! It makes me jealous." ....Whaaaat??? Don't get my wrong; I basically like people, even ones that have a tendency to butt into your mental space at times. And I do believe in being kind in thought, word, and deed, though I am human and fail way too often than I would like. But honestly, this kid was not rubbing me the right way---I was tired, my feet hurt, and was basically in no mood to deal with a loud person who kept giving way more insight into their psyche than I cared to know that day. In short, Niklas and I didn't turn to him to get sucked into asking, "Why jealous?" We kept on eating and I tried to maintain happy thoughts. Of course, the evil side of me thought, "I really hope I don't have a son that thinks like that, or shoves their way into people's notice!" This kid even sauntered when he walked. Anyway, I'm not saying I thought this kid is a bad person or anything; but being pregnant and all, I was not in the mood for this kid's unwanted conversation! Besides that little blip, Niklas and I had a pleasant walk around town, and then dragged ourselves home after doing some much-needed grocery shopping.


Okay, onto some baby loot we've gathered so far! :D We have a crib and a mattress:

A cute, neutral teddy bear bedding set (I LOVE the teddy bears!):





The matching teddy bear play mat:





A teddy bear boppy:



A traveling system:





And a play pen (or whatever they're called), photo courtesy of my mom:





I also have a cream-of-the-crop breast pump, but I figured you wouldn't really want to see a picture of that. ;) I'm not looking forward to having to use it down the road. Just sayin'... We have also bought a couple of extra mattress covers and bed sheets. I was eager to start getting our baby stuff, but I'll have to wait on the clothes for now. I want to get a nice variety of neutral and gender-specific things eventually. I might even try my hand at sewing a few things, but we'll see if that actually pans out or not.


Overall, things are well. I'm still working full-time and enjoying the relaxation (too much--the apartment is always a mess) from school while Niklas is working hard to graduate with his Bachelor's degree in English this December. He has also been working as a teacher's assistant for an English professor and will have an opportunity to teach a college class on June 15th, which I think is pretty neat.


Here are some pictures from the last few months of us (mostly Niklas actually):





Niklas modeling (with his creepy clown face) a Superman Snuggy my mom bought for him as a gag gift after Christmas. This cracked me up because Niklas was always going on about how anyone wearing a Snuggy looked like a cultist. Now he can start his own Superman cult (notice Superman in the background)!





Niklas putting together Star Wars Pocket Models (basically made out of plastic card stock), with a look of, "Why are you taking a pictures of me and my nerdy habits?" :D





Niklas playing with his newly-created pocket models: a Snow Speeder shooting at an AT-AT.


These next three were taken today.





Niklas painting some miniature models at the kitchen table. Besides enjoying the process, painting seems to be a stress-reliever for him as well.





This is the robot miniature he was painting in the last picture (there is no way I could paint all those tiny details).





And here's a picture of me at 15 weeks in our cluttered apartment. I'm actually wearing a belly band here, since those pants are too tight for comfort in the waist now. I'm hoping to have more of an obvious baby bump by my next appointment in June. :)


Oh, and we bought a tomato plant this weekend! I'm looking forward to getting some home-grown tomatoes this year!





That's all the updates for now! :)

Friday, May 20, 2011

Big News!

First off, just wanted to say I've been busy with life and finally finished my Master's degree in Accounting! Next step is studying and taking the CPA exam, which will take me probably longer than a year. But I'm okay with that. :)

Secondly, and way more exciting: I'M PREGNANT!! I'm sure everyone that reads this blog already knows, but I still wanted to put it out there. Niklas and I are so excited to be starting our family and look forward to welcoming this little soul into the world. I am due November 12th, and find out the sex of the baby on the morning of June 24th! We both have been feeling like it will be a girl, so time will tell if that's true or not.

Things are looking great so far---we heard the baby's heartbeat today and it is going strong, which makes me very happy.

Even though this is a month old (click on it to see larger version), here is an ultrasound pic of our little developing one done April 21st, when I was almost 11 weeks. You can see arms, legs, and a little face. The last picture was the measuring of the heartbeat.



I'm sure I'll try to explain how I'm feeling about all of this in future posts, but for now, amazed, humbled, joyful, worried, and love pretty much sums it up. :) Off to eat pizza and cookies! (Hey, baby wants....)