Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Dreams By The Sea Etsy Shop


I saw this etsy shop because of the adorable starfish barrettes & hair clips! There's Starfish barrettes, starfish bobby pins, starfish headbands. Bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings.

When I was little, my favorite childhood movie was The Little Mermaid. It was my first movie I saw in the theaters, and it was instant love! My Auntie Debbie even had a custom made Little Mermaid book published for me, with me as Aerial! And oh would I make my parents suffer through my singing of "Part of Your World"!!



So I decided that when (or more like IF) I get married, I would have a beach wedding or a cruise wedding like Aerial did in her happy ending. And I always wanted a hair accessory to of course match my "Sea theme" wedding. And these barrettes would go beautifully with a white dress!


I also love the delicate jewelry they have too! 

Old New Again Etsy Shop

I am loving these wood signs!

"In our shabby chic shop, you will find a large selection of wood letters, wood words, wood shelves as well as home organization & cottage decor from key hooks to wall vases to blackboards. I hope you enjoy our unique cottage style home decor. We add more country, primitive, retro style items often, so check back regularly." - Liz & Rick

I found this shop through someone posting a picture on Tumblr.
They have several wood shelves, wood signs, key hooks, vase holders... well if you read above you already know what they got! They have several colors to choose from, including chocolate brown, poppy orange, vintage white, avocado green, and ballet slipper pink too! 

I've never been a shabby chic lover, but these signs and hook designs are turning it around. I would love to have one of these pieces in my humble abode!

 Even 20 (of the 50) states!


Thursday, October 21, 2010

Pumpkin Time!


Pumpkin Time!
(you have to say it like the Jersey Shore Boy's say "TShirt Time!"... ok maybe that's not the same, my bad)

I'm so excited to do a little craving at Madalyn's this Sunday!
I haven't carved a pumpkin in years!
So I'm looking up people's craving ideas, spooky & goofy faces.

I've found this time consuming one...

For the fasionistas...

And in case there's a little geek in us... 

Of course I had to find the Hello Kitty one...

I don't know what my pumkin will look like but all I care about is that I'm letting my inner-child have fun again!
Halloween is 10 days away!

Word of the Day 10/21/2010

Renovate (verb)
1: to restore to a former better state (as by cleaning, repairing, or rebuilding)
2: to restore to life, vigor, or activity : revive

Examples: Mom renovated the kitchen three years ago, and is now planning to buy all new furniture for the living room.

"Last year, the city approved a $2.8 million plan to renovate the theater portion of the building and reopen it as a public venue under the control of the parks department." -- From an article by Elizabeth Donald in the Belleville News-Democrat (Illinois), September 15, 2010

Did You Know?: "Renovate," "renew," "restore," "refresh," and "rejuvenate" all mean to make like new. "Renovate" suggests a renewing by cleansing, repairing, or rebuilding. "Renew" implies a restoration of what had become faded or disintegrated so that it seems like new ("efforts to renew the splendor of the old castle"). "Restore" suggests a return to an original state after depletion or loss ("restored a piece of furniture"). "Refresh" implies the supplying of something necessary to restore lost strength, animation, or power ("a refreshing drink"). "Rejuvenate" suggests the restoration of youthful vigor, powers, or appearance ("she was rejuvenated by her new job"). "Renovate" has "newness" in its origins: it ultimately derives from the Latin verb "novare," meaning "to make new," itself a descendant of "novus," meaning "new."

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

I Heart Harry Potter

Yes it's true, I'm more a Harry Potter fan than a Twitard (Twilight Fan). And the first of the 2 part finale starts November 19th! Less than a month away! CAN'T WAIT!

I was on Warner Brother's YouTube and there are 8 trailers for this movie! EIGHT!
But these two are my favorite... so far...

This first one has Harry in a bra *giggle*


This second one has Harry and Ginny getting "closer" *wink wink*

Word of the Day 10/20/2010

Farraginous (adjective): consisting of a confused mixture : formed of various materials in no fixed order or arrangement

Examples: The large box at the hotel’s lost and found desk contained a farraginous assortment of hats, umbrellas, cell phones, and other personal items.

"Like the Habsburg empire, the kingdom of Sweden encompassed a farraginous set of languages, including Swedish, Finnish, Latvian, Estonian, and German, the language of administration." -- From the book A History of Modern Europe: From the Renaissance to the Present (Third Edition), by John Merriman, 2009

Did You Know?: "Farraginous" is the adjective connected with "farrago," a word we featured in September. In Latin, the stem "farragin-" and the noun "farrago" both mean "mixture" or (specifically) "a mixture of grains for cattle feed." They derive from "far," the Latin name for spelt, a type of grain. In the 1600s, English speakers began using "farrago" as a noun meaning "hodgepodge" and "farraginous" as an adjective meaning "consisting of a mixture." The creation of the adjective was simply a matter of adding the adjectival suffix "-ous" to "farragin-" (although at least one writer had previously experimented with "farraginary," employing a different adjectival suffix).

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

#51 DZP: Go to a Concert


If you remember back on my post about this concert, you could tell I was stoked for Oct 8th to come!
So yeah: Daniel, Brian, Alex, & I went to go see Maroon 5 at the Greek Theatre in LA! 
I had a blast even though Bruno Mars wasn't there (yes, that's right... he ditched this concert for some reason...) I ended up with a lot of good dreams under my pillow from that night! Now if only I brought my good camera, but glad the iPhone worked out!


Maroon 5's LineUp:
Misery
If I Never See Your Face Again
Harder to Breathe
Give A Little More
The Sun
Won't Go Home Without You
If I Ain't Got You (Alicia Keys cover)
Out of Goodbyes
She Will Be Loved
Wake Up Call
Shiver 
Stutter
This Love 
Encore:
Makes Me Wonder
Sunday Morning

Couldn't have ended the concert with 2 better songs! haha!

#98 DZP - My Sister's Keeper


Oh
My
Goodness

Not the best movie to watch when hormones are raging and emotions are bouncing off the wall. But I loved it just the same! I plan to watch it again and again, probably for the fact that it makes me appreciate my life and everything I have.

Beforehand, I've clearly never seen this movie and obviously never heard what it was about, but I love Cameron Diaz and  Abigail Breslin, so I wanted to watch this for sure. Nevertheless, I cried throughout the whole movie, couldn't sleep because my eyes were too puffy to close, and the nose/water-works kept rolling on.

For those of you who have no clue about this movie either, here's a recap from Wikipedia:

Conceived by means of in vitro fertilization, Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin) was brought into the world to be a genetic match for her older sister, Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), who suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia, in order to keep her alive. Her family members are introduced one by one and each tell about how Kate's illness has affected them personally and the family. When Kate turns 15, she goes into renal failure. Anna knows that she will be forced by her parents to donate a kidney. Anna tells her parents that she does not want any of this, and proceeds to sue them for medical emancipation and the rights to her own body. Her overprotective mother, Sara (Cameron Diaz), who leads an almost obsessive campaign to keep Kate alive, regardless of what it takes, is indignant at Anna's decision and even strikes her across the face when she receives the notice of intended prosecution. Attorney Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin) agrees to work for Anna as her guardian ad litem, suing for partial termination of parental rights. It is later learned he agreed to take the case not for the notoriety, but because he has epilepsy and understands her predicament of not having control over one's own body.

The movie shows "flashbacks" of memories between the sisters, the family, Kate's boyfriend Taylor, etc.  Then during Anna's case hearing, Anna and Kate's older brother, Jesse, reveals that Anna's actions are actually under Kate's instruction; Kate, not wanting to live any longer, and knowing Sara refuses to hear any option other than her desired one, had gently persuaded Anna to refuse to donate her kidney. Sara is indignant at this discovery, but is finally forced by both Jesse and Brian to realise that Kate had been trying to tell her this for some time.

Before the case is settled, Kate dies in her sleep at the hospital with her mother by her side. After Kate's death, Campbell brings the court decision – Anna won the case. The family moves on with their lives, being changed by Kate's death, but every year on Kate's birthday they go to Montana, which was her "most favorite place in the world." Anna also wonders why Kate had to die but she got to live. At the end, Anna says that their relationship continues because she will see Kate again.

So you can see, my poor hormones had it coming with this film.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Chinese Gender Calendar

Now before ever seeing this calendar, I felt like I was going to have a boy. Ever since I was about 8 or 9 weeks I've been feeling like it's going to be a boy.
Now after seeing the calendar... it only confirms it!


My age is 26, and my conception month was July, so I plugged in the info and got this:


Looks like Little Peanut is the next Mr. Peanut!

"Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth" by Jenny McCarthy


Jenny's pregnancy wasn't.... pretty - and she wants to tell everyone all about it! From the get-go she tells us "If you bought this book, you are already aware of my frankness when it comes to certain things—anatomy and bodily functions among them. If someone gave this book to you as a gift and you've never heard of me, apologies to you!"

She goes on to talk about the nitty-gritty of pregnancy in all its not-so-pleasant detail, covering morning sickness, hormonal rage, cravings, hemorrhoids, "engorged" breasts, gas, hot flashes, fainting spells, brain farts, weight gain, spider veins, emotional rollercoasters, acne, water retention and of course, labor.

Jenny is undeniably ridiculous but down right hilarious, and her openness and self-deprecation are refreshing. Each brief chapter focuses on a different (and awful) part of pregnancy, with her relating personal memories and usually winding down by reassuring women they're not alone. Her tales are, for the most part, a "hoot", though they may offend more uptight people. For example, in the beginning of McCarthy's pregnancy, she was constipated, so she visited a specialist (she'll tell you aaalllll about specialists). In the waiting room, the assistant called her name, and "everyone... looked up in surprise, and I knew what they were thinking: 'Jenny McCarthy has butt hole problems?' I was so embarrassed, until I realized that they had no right to be smirking: Those assholes were also there because of their own assholes. I felt better already."

Now I don't say use this book for medical advice, but it was nice to read (laughs and tears) that she went through the same crappy morning sickness as I'm going through, and she doesn't sensor anything! And I know now not to listen to my body, not see specialists unless told by your doctor, and not to go get my hair blown out and done up when I start having contractions!

Later I'll get the next one: Baby Laughs: The Naked Truth About the First Year of Mommyhood

#3 DZP: Tie a note to a balloon and let it go

#3 COMPLETE!!

I completed this a while ago, but now that I'm "out", I can post this!

I was at my parents one afternoon and 2 Mylar balloons with chip-clip weights came floating to our yard. My dad took them to the back and was going to pop them when I stopped him (like someone was going to steal my balloons or something).

So set off to look for a post-it, a piece of paper, just something to write on!!!
The first note & balloon got caught in the cable lines, so thank goodness I had the second balloon.

The two balloons were from my guess a boy's birthday party... judging by the Cars! I think it was pretty awesome cause that's one of my favorite Pixar movies!


But after I set the 2nd balloon off, the 1st that got caught wiggled free! It was probably waiting for it's other-half, the 2nd balloon so they can go together. So I really set off 2 notes!



But I watched the balloons dance in the sky till I couldn't see them past the tops of the trees. I don't know where they'll end up, Mylar can last a long time you know... but I can only hope for my note to be true...

Thursday, October 7, 2010

One of These Please!


I could seriously go for a virgin one of these bad-boys... wait, that sounded wrong lol!

Or this...


The Due Date

I forgot to mention in the last post... the due date is April 15, 2011

umm...that's TAX DAY!


You know.... maybe I could say peanut is my #102 DZP lol!

Happy 13 Weeks Little One!

Hey guys, I'm Pregnant!
Yup! I heard the stork and it flew my way!

I'm 13 weeks today woohoo!

Alright kids, it's story time...
(warning to the Men that might read this... I might get graphic)

- August 19, 2010 -
Just about a week before this date, I was noticing certain "changes"... changes I couldn't explain just yet. So with the "encouragement" of my friend Annette, I decided to take a pregnancy test in the morning before work. Now I've taken these tests before (not telling how long or how many times before) and some of you ladies might know & understand the waiting that you have to put up with for the results... sometimes up to freaking 10 minutes! That morning was different, for sure. I doubt it took even a minute for the results! And when I came back to my bathroom and looked at my "P-stick", sure enough it said "Pregnant".... I got the tests that actually tell me in letters if I'm prego, not a damn plus or minus.  
I didn't "freak out" like most Mothers-to-Be would do (good freak out or bad), I stood there staring at the stick for a good 5 minutes before I started to move towards my cell phone. Once I grabbed the phone, panic hit home. I called Annette and told her, then quickly got off cause I realized my FIRST call should have been to my doctor to make an appointment!
That same day, just a couple hours later, I went into see my General Family Doctor, Dr. Janet. We had a really good "pow-wow" about what comes next, how I felt about this news, if this will effect to my already medical complications, what my plans were as far as "keeping it" or not, etc. etc. Then she sent me on my way to the blood suckers (the medical lab) and they drew blood to "for sure" test.
Then I called my Gyno, Dr. K. I couldn't get until the next week, so I'd have to wait a bit. A couple days later, the blood tests came back and said I was about 5 to 6 weeks pregnant.

- August 26, 2010 -
When I got to my OBGYN appointment, the practitioner Dr. Donna asked me every medical question out there, of course, and then we talked about when my last visit from Aunt Flow was. To be honest, Aunt Flow sometimes didn't visit me and it was quite a long time since she did so Dr. Donna immediately threw me into the ultrasound room for quick look: just to make sure for a heartbeat and to calculate how far along I should be. The outcome: 7 weeks!
Dr. Donna then sent me to the nearest blood sucker group and they took 10 vials, 10 VIALS!!! Damn blood suckers!

My first picture of the little one!

- August 28, 2010 -
Now granted it's a little more than a week since I found out... but I finally got around to telling my Mom and Dad. So far I told the Baby-Daddy Alex, Annette, Ohio Julie, and my really close coworker Maria whom is like another Mom to me. I of course wanted to tell my parents ASAP, but also face-to-face. They were busy that first weekend, and so I had to wait till the next saturday when I could go over to the house and share the news.
Once I told the folks, Dad went to go take a nap (typical Doc move) and my Mom went to Amazon.com and bought up the store (typical Eileen move) for prego dvd, books, and even found little hard candies to help with morning sickness!
Once it set in their brains, the "newly grandparents" became more and more excited by the second! I was stoked I had a support team building, with them at the helm of the baby boat!
When I told Julie about my news, she told me I had a little peanut inside! And the name stuck. I told my parents that little fact and Peanut became the nickname!

- September 3, 2010 -
My first real major scare.
I thought I lost my little Peanut. The last two weeks before this date, I had Laguna Hills band camp that I had to be at, the 1-9 rehearsals I blogged about before. It took a major toll on my body and I started to bleed. Not extremely heavy or dark or anything, but still I was bleeding. I immediately started to panic and began to cry. I called my mother. She told me to lay down, stay calm and she was on her way over. I called the on-call doctor, and she informed me that this might not be a miscarriage and that when the office opened at 9, call the nurses and see if I can squeeze in an appointment. Unfortunately they had no availability, so they sent over an ultrasound request to Hoag Hospital and off my mom and I went. Once there and entered into the system, I was taken down one of the many halls to the ultrasound room.
To my relief, Peanut was still heart-beating away. Now at 8 weeks, Peanut was starting to look like a little baby. A little baby that was still with me.

- September 7, 2010 -
My original "next" appointment with Dr. Donna/Dr. K. They were told about the Hoag trip and I still received another ultrasound. The scare was due to too much activity and clots around the baby, not in the placenta, but around in the uterus. So I was told to limit my standing, and I was only allowed to work because I sit at a desk most the day. Other than that, it was just bed rest and calmness.
Now going on 9 weeks, Peanut looked about the same but everything was still going good! There were even little arm and leg buds growing!

8 Weeks and 5 days 


- September 19, 2010 -
The day I told my grandmother.
That was a night to remember. My dad cooked up a surf and turf dinner for her. Dinner turned into a huge event. But after the laughs and good food, I sat at the table with my mom and gma and broke the news to her. Now I already knew that she wasn't going to take it well, not well at all, but I still had a little hope. I never cried so hard when she left that night. She broke my heart and said she was disappointed in me. At least the dinner was good, maybe not so much the dessert.

- September 22, 2010 -
Yet another check up and ultrasound. Peanut moved when it first started! Poor thing doesn't like all the ultrasounds, it's like an annoying rock concert to the little one. Then I saw Dr. K and she talked about my hormone levels and of course was there to answer any questions I had.

11 Weeks

- October 5, 2010 -
Jump a couple of weeks from then and I had my 5th ultrasound! By now the news getting around the office, and most of my good friends were told, I felt much better come this appointment. This was my screening appointment, so it was a full ultrasound check up and then off to the blood suckers yet again, to test for down syndrome and other things.
The ultrasound was the most exciting yet! Little Peanut was moving about and being uncooperative to the nurse.... stubborn comes from both the father and the mother in Peanut's case. The little one had flipped turning the last 2 weeks, and right then turned it's back toward the camera and did NOT want to be apart of this screening. But after a while, the little one turned to see the profile, where we could see it crossing it's legs, bending and moving it's arms (my guess touching it's face). There were two feet and two little hands, not just buds anymore! There was a clear spine and the left & right brain! It was all very exciting!

 Dark spots is the brain, under that is the eyes, and a little line for the mouth.
13 Week Profile Pic!

Then the nurse switched to the "4D" ultrasound! I saw this done on one of my DVDs and it's pretty amazing! I don't know why it's called 4D, because it's really like 3D images, but you can really see the detail, it's just a better picture of the little one. Granted Peanut looks like a skeleton (pictures below) but Peanut was just chilling there like it was in a hammock, probably waiting for the sound waves to stop.



- October 7, 2010 Today -
I carry around those ultrasound photos everywhere with me. The more I look at them, the more I fall in love with my Peanut. I'll have to say today is
"Happy 13 week Peanut! Mommy loves you!!
.... now hurry up and get out! :) "

This little life inside me has brought a whole new meaning to my own life. I know now that my body will never be mine ever again, but my heart I gave willingly to this little one.
I'll start my second trimester soon and I can only say that even though the morning/all day sickness sucks, the peeing every 10 minutes blows, the fatigue is a pain, my boobs hurting & growing so much is nuts... but it's all worth it. Since the day I found out, I haven't not once regreted the little one. But for laughs: I can only hope though that the next 6 months go by faster than these first 3!

So yeah... fatter belly anyone?

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

This Looks Amazing...


Just saying...

What Sounds Fabulous Right Now?

HOT CHOCOLATE!

I love when it starts to rain!
Makes me always want hot chocolate, a warm blanket, and good movie.
Don't forget the marshmellows!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Happy Friday!

Word of the Day 10/1/2010

Tittup (verb): to move in a lively manner often with an exaggerated or affected action

Examples: As the curtains part, the play's main characters tittup to and fro across the stage.

"Ahead of him Sulla could see Gaius Julius Caesar's women tittupping along on the high cork soles and higher cork heels of their winter shoes…." -- From Colleen McCullough's 1990 novel The First Man In Rome

Did You Know?: "Tittup" has been used as noun naming an imitation of the sound of horses' hooves moving at a pace between a canter and a gallop since as early as 1703. The rhythmic sound and bounce of such movement was infectious enough to lead people to apply the word to other bouncy gaits, and to lively or restless behavior in general. "Tittup" was first used as a verb in 1785. In 1862, William Makepeace Thackeray recalled the word's equine origins when he wrote of "a magnificent horse dancing, and tittupping." The word is not common today, but it does see occasional use, especially in British sources.

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day