Random Friday (on Thursday)

1. Leaving on a jet plane... Literally, I am getting on an airplane tomorrow headed for Georgia. I said goodbye to Washington and now Owen and I will be staying with my parents for at least a week until we can join Tim in Kentucky. I am so excited about seeing all our family so soon, but I hate that I'm leaving Tim to have to deal with everything in Washington and that I will be away from him for such a long time. 


2. You've got a friend in me. I said goodbye to my Washington friends yesterday. It was really sad because we just started hanging out right before Christmas last year and things have really clicked between us since then. And it is just so cute to watch our babies play together near each other. I have loved having people who I can ask mommy advice of and we've really bonded over the fact that we're all in the same place in life. When you move to a new place, it takes a long time to meet people and forge those friendships, so I hate that we're moving right when I've finally found some great friends. 

3. It's a smash! My new favorite show (other than Revenge) is Smash. It was a mid-season debut so it just started about three weeks ago. I DVRed the first two episodes and finally got around to watching them last weekend. It is such a fun show. It's about the creation of a new Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. The show stars the songwriting team (one of whom is played by Debra Messing), the bad-boy director, and the two actresses vying for the role of Marilyn. The show features some pop songs and also songs from the Marilyn musical. I really enjoy those ones the most, particularly the baseball number from the first episode. Glee may have originally helped musicals make it on TV, but Smash is completely different from that show. It's a lot more realistic (no bursting into song randomly while walking down the street) and really makes me reminisce about my old musical theater days in high school. 

4. And the planning begins... I have started planning Owen's Dr. Seuss birthday party. I know it's still almost two months away, but right now a lot of things are out of my control as far as the move goes and where we will live when we get to Kentucky. So instead, I plan his party because I can at least make some decisions about that. So far, we have the location, date and time, some decorations planned, and our invitations ordered. I am hoping to be able to make a few decorations while I'm in Georgia next week. Right now, I am planning to make some type of birthday wreath for the front door of the party venue. These are the two options that I like best: a balloon wreath and a ribbon wreath. Any thoughts? Which one do you like better?

5. This bites. So Tim and I watched the latest Twilight movie last weekend. I read the books a while back and have seen all the other movies, so I figured I needed to watch this one. It was really bad. Tim and I made fun of it the entire time. We joked about how the vampires change color so often, going from "they put flour on my face" pale to clown make-up white. We laughed at Kristen Stewart's terrible expressions during the wedding scene (she seriously looks so afraid of him). I almost died after the wedding night sex scene when you see that their passionate love-making was so intense that Edward apparently ripped paintings off the wall and eviscerated their feather pillows. Just like I'm glad that I was too old for Barney  as a little kid, I'm equally glad that I'm not a teenage girl during the Twilight craze.

6. Precious pictures. We are in the process of scheduling Owen's 1-year photos. We are going to be using Stylized Portraiture in Athens, Ga. They have taken photos of both of my cousins for their senior portraits and looking at their blog, they do fantastic work with babies too. I am so excited about having these photos done of Owen. I really want to capture all his cute baby-ness before he becomes a toddler. 

7. Owen's going to grow up to be a rockstar. Because he sure knows how to trash a room. Our landlord has been wanting to show our house a few times this week and trying to keep it clean and picked up while Owen is awake is near to impossible. See below.

Facts about Kentucky

   


     I don't know much about Kentucky. I think we maybe drove through Kentucky once. Not really sure. So I figured I should do a little research on what will soon become my home. Honestly, I couldn't even remember the capital before this (it's Frankfort, by the way). Sorry, Ms. Karwoski.


1. Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass State.
2. Richmond, where we will be living, is in Madison County.
3. Richmond is home to Eastern Kentucky University. Go Colonels!

4. Richmond is not far from Louisville, site of the Kentucky Derby. Gotta buy myself a gigantic hat!

5. The sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was born in Kentucky on February 12, 1809.

6. Post-It notes are made exclusively in Cynthiana, KY. Jif peanut butter is made in Lexington. Corvettes are made in Bowling Green.

7. The tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) is the current official state tree. The state flower is goldenrod. The state fruit is the blackberry.

8. The state bird is the cardinal. The state wild animal is the gray squirrel. The state horse is the thoroughbred. 
9. The state song is "My Old Kentucky Home" by Stephen Foster. 

10. Our alma mater's football team will play an away game against the University of Kentucky on October 20, 2012. Yay for being back in the SEC!

11. Richmond has a Chick-Fil-A and a Zaxby's. Richland, WA, where we are moving from, has neither of these restaurants. This is a big deal. 

12. In Lexington, it is illegal to transport an ice cream cone in your pocket. Also, by law, anyone who has been drinking is deemed sober until they "cannot hold onto the ground." 
13. The state motto is "United We Stand, Divided We Fall."
14. Kentucky is home to Cumberland Falls, which is known as the "Niagara of the South."

15. Richmond's cost of living is 11.2 percent lower than the U.S. average. 
16. Some famous Kentuckians include: Muhammad Ali, Daniel Boone, George Clooney, the Judds (Ashley, Naomi, and Wynonna), John James Audobon, Diane Sawyer, Steven Curtis Chapman, Johnny Depp, and Johnny Unitas.

17. Richmond is known as Kentucky's fastest growing city and is named after Richmond, Virginia, the birthplace of Revolutionary war hero Colonel John Miller. He founded the city.
18. Our next baby will probably be born at Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center. (And for those who are wondering... no, I am not currently pregnant.)
19. The newspaper in Richmond is called The Richmond Register. 
20. According to Mapquest, the drive from Richmond, KY, to Watkinsville, GA (where our parents live), is six hours and 41 minutes. 

Random Friday

    Here are my random thoughts, ideas, pictures and more from this past week. We are busy this weekend getting everything ready for the move because Tim starts his job in Kentucky in just two and a half weeks! Eeep! Pray for us! 

1. Owen coughs. My child has now out of the blue learned how to cough for attention. He will make these little "cough, cough" noises and then smile really big. It is hilarious. Most of the time, they're not even very convincing. And sometimes he makes himself really cough by fake coughing.  

2. Double the cuteness. Owen sleeping is one of the most adorable sights in my world. I just love sneaking into his room after he's fallen asleep just to look at him. The other day Tim was putting Owen down for his nap and it had been a while, so I peeked into the room to check to see his progress. This is what I saw. Aw....

3. Happy birthday to you. Owen's first birthday isn't for another month and a half, but I have already started planning. I am so excited. We have decided to have his party in Georgia where his grandparents live so that a lot of family can attend. And because by that time, we will be living in Kentucky where we don't know anyone. His party will be on April 14 and it is Dr. Seuss-themed. It is such a fun and colorful theme and I have found so many great ideas on Pinterest. And Owen loves when I read Dr. Seuss to him. I think it's all the rhyming and the colorful pages. "The Lorax" is his favorite. 

4. Tasty Thursday. In case you didn't notice, there was no Tasty Thursday yesterday. This is because we are moving in just a short time and instead of trying a whole lot of new recipes, we will be eating a lot of the stuff that I have frozen and trying to use up what is in our cabinets. Sorry if you enjoy that post, but rest assured, in a month or so when I have a kitchen again, it will return.

5. Baby, you should be in pictures. My baby is growing up so fast. I can't believe that he is almost one year old! I really want to have professional photos taken of him soon so I've been doing some research into some photographers. And there are tons of ideas on Pinterest for first birthday photos. Though part of me wants them to be a little less themed and not just have pictures of him with cake and balloons and stuff. Haven't decided yet.

6. I'm a winner! Let me start this by saying I never win anything. So imagine my surprise when I get an e-mail from Seventh Generation saying that I won a green laundry kit through the Lorax Generation Sweepstakes. Yay! I love Seventh Generation products. But cue my disappointment when I look down at the bottom of my e-mail to see "Look for your laundry kit to arrive in 6-8 weeks." Sad. Well, I hope my landlord likes doing laundry. 

7. Movin' out. So as many of you know, we are moving really soon. I have already made a moving checklist and added a moving tab in our home management binder for keeping track of everything we need during the move. I've already cancelled our doctor's appointments and I am picking up Owen's birth certificate and copies of his medical records to give his next pediatrician. There are 19 "to-dos" on the list. And we have a very short amount of time to get it all done, so I may neglect the blog for a little while in the meantime. But rest assured, I will be back at some point. 

Big news!

     First there was Georgia. Then Washington. And now it's official... we're moving to Kentucky!

    Richmond, Kentucky, to be exact.

As of Tuesday, Tim officially accepted a new job in Kentucky. He will be working for the same company in a very similar position, but we will be so much closer to our parents. Instead of flying all day to get to them and spending oodles on plane tickets, we'll only have to make a six and a half hour drive to visit. Yay!

We couldn't be happier. After a lot of prayer and conversations and trying to figure out where we wanted to be for the next five or so years, it feels like this is the exact right place for us. The way the Lord worked it out and prepared the entire thing was such a blessing. Tim wasn't even very confident he would get the job after his interview. But like the name of our blog suggests, we have always trusted God's plan for our family. And whenever we have waited for His provision or trusted in his prodding, our lives have been so much better than we could have imagined. 

Tim has also worked really hard to try to get us closer to our parents. And if it weren't for his work ethic and personality, I don't think he would have gotten this job either. He's amazing. And I can tell you honestly, I would follow this man anywhere. He could get a job anywhere from Kentucky to Cairo and I would be there. But Kentucky is better...

I am so happy that Owen will be able to get to know his grandparents and aunts and uncle better. Our extended family is so important to us and we are both so happy that we will get to see them all more often.

So stayed tuned to see what's in store for us. 

Valentine's Day Surprise

    Thanks to Pinterest, I had no shortage of ideas for what to do for Tim for Valentine's Day. I really wanted to do something special for him since he hasn't gotten as much attention from me since Owen was born. And when I found this idea, I was a little apprehensive about the time and money involved, but then I decided to just go for it and surprise Tim with a really unique and fun gift. 

    So for this Valentine's Day (our eighth!), I sent Tim to work with a bag full of gifts to open on the 14th minute of every hour. So at 8:14 a.m. he opened the first one, 9:14 a.m. he opened the second one, and on and on for a total of 14 gifts throughout the day. He had four to open once he got home from work. His gifts were mainly small, but meaningful. Some were romantic, some were practical, some I bought, some I made, some were sugary, some were playful, and some were serious. I had the best time coming up with ideas for gifts to get him. After buying or making all his gifts, I wrapped them in red wrapping paper and then labeled each of them with a shipping label printed with "Open me at..." and then the time. The original blogger had a template to use when printing the labels, but when I tried it, they printed off incorrectly so I had to make my own. The gifts turned out really awesome and had a really impressive visual effect when you stack them all together.

What's that on the right, you ask? My early Valentine's roses from my sweetie.

I love the fun tags.

  Here is a list of the gifts that I got Tim and the times that he opened them. It may seem expensive, but I got several of the things for free and found online deals for pretty much everything else. And of course, the candy and other sweets were cheap too. The things that I made were pretty inexpensive as well because I had a lot of the supplies already on hand.

8:14 a.m. - His Valentine's card from me. I personalized it with photos from our engagement shoot, our wedding, and some of Owen and printed it online at Tiny Prints during one of their free promotions. 

9:14 a.m. - Energy in a Jar. This is an idea that I found on Pinterest where the original crafter packed Mason jars with various items and labeled them "Energy in a Jar," "Refreshment in a Jar," and "Pampering in a Jar." I thought that "Energy in a Jar" would be perfect for a guy who wakes up at 4 a.m. to go in to work. So I bought some energy bars, a small pack of peanuts, a small bag of M&Ms, some single serving packets of coffee and an energy drink and packed them in a large Mason jar that I had already. Then I printed off the label, glued it on, and voila! My label didn't print as bright as the original, but I still think he'll like it. And when he uses all the contents up, he can bring it home and I'll refill it!

This is the jar that I made. 

10:14 a.m. - Chocolove chocolate bars. I got two of these chocolate bars online during a free promotion. Tim really likes dark chocolate so I hope he'll enjoy these. 

11:14 a.m. - "Warm Bodies" by Isaac Marion. Nothing says "romance" like a love story about zombies, right? Here's a description of the book: "R is a young man with an existential crisis - he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades... After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a blast of color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world." It sounds a little weird, but definitely unique. And they're making a movie of it sometime later this year, so it must be pretty interesting. 

12:14 p.m. - Dunkin Donuts Strawberry Shortcake coffee. Tim is a coffee-aholic, so I searched high and low for a Valentine's Day flavor. The best I could find was strawberry shortcake from Dunkin donuts. It smells really good actually, so I have high hopes for it. 

1:14 p.m. - Little Debbie Will You Be My Valentine? cakes. Who doesn't love Little Debbies? They always make me feel like a kid again when I eat them. And they make me remember my great grandma, who always had a cookie jar packed with swiss cake rolls and oatmeal creme pies. 

2:14 p.m. - A giftcard to My Froyo. This is a fun frozen yogurt place that they seem to only have around here. You pick your yogurt flavor and throw on a bunch of toppings and pay by the weight. I figure it will make for a nice date one day. 

3:14 p.m. - The book "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. I know this isn't the most romantic of presents, but Tim and I have been trying to be more of a team when it comes to dealing with our finances. We have been working on staying on a budget and keeping up with our receipts and working towards paying off our debts and I figured some tips from Dave Ramsey couldn't hurt.

4:14 p.m. - a bag of Dove chocolates. Tim's absolute favorite type of chocolate is Dove Chocolate. I generally buy him one of the heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, but since I was doing such a big set of gifts this year, I just bought him a bag of the chocolates. Plus, they cost about a fourth of what a box costs.

5:14 p.m. - Tim's Valentine's Day card from Owen. This was from another free card promotion that I found online so I ordered a card to give Tim from Owen. I personalized it with one of the photographs from Owen's newborn photo shoot. It is so sweet.

6:14 p.m. - the book "Real Marriage" by Mark and Grace Driscoll. I know, I know. Another book. But this one is about marriage and I thought it would be an interesting book to read together. It's written by the pastor of a large church here in Seattle. We have another one of his books, "Vintage Jesus," and we both thought it was really interesting and funny. 

7:14 p.m. - The I Like Book. This was another one of my online deals. The I Like Book has spaces for every day of the year to write something you like about your spouse (they also have books for your kids). Then you can look back at all the sweet things you wrote about each other. I thought it would be a fun little exercise to remember all the reasons we fell in love with each other. 

8:14 p.m. - Heart boxers from American Eagle. This is a cheesy gift, but it is also a much-loved tradition for us. I have gotten him boxers for several years now and he has always loved them. The cheesier, the better. I generally buy them from American Eagle or Old Navy because they make them better quality than ones you would buy from Walmart or somewhere and they also are generally pretty funny and cheeky (no pun intended). These ones have glow-in-the-dark wording. Last years, his boxers came with 3-D glasses. Haha!

9:14 p.m. - An "I love you because..." frame. This is another Pinterest idea and a gift that I was able to make for very little. The frame itself was from Walmart for $3. And it looks quite a lot like the one from the original crafter. I just loved how romantic and classic hers is. I found a lot of other designs on Pinterest, but this was my favorite. You basically print "I love you because" on scrapbook paper and put it in a frame so that you can write a personalized message on the glass in dry erase marker. I thought this would be a neat thing to have either on our dresser or on a wall in our bedroom so we can write sweet messages to each other.

This is the one I made. I hadn't written on it when I took the picture, but before I wrapped it I wrote, "you have been my Valentine for eight years!"

     And there you have it. I know I had mentioned what I was doing to a few people and I figured they might be interested to see everything I did for the surprise. Tim was really surprised and seemed to like the anticipation having to wait an hour for each new gift. He said he really liked the Energy Jar and the picture frame and the Like book. He also seemed pretty happy about the chocolate. :)
      For dinner, we had shrimp arrabbiata and steamed asparagus with wine from a local winery. And for dessert, we had brownies with Love Potion No. 9 ice cream that I picked up from Baskin Robbins earlier in the day. Yummy!

     After dinner, we opened Owen's presents and cards. He was so excited! He loved ripping open cards and presents and he really seemed to like his present from my inlaws.

Owen had heart-shaped toast.

Loving his card from Haley. Maybe a little too much...

Card from Papa and Nana.

He already thinks dinosaurs are cool. Must be a boy.

His barn animals from Nana and Papa are so cute.

Puppy!

Checking out his new book.

     During the day yesterday, I constructed another surprise for Tim that I found on Pinterest - a grown-up fort! I dragged our guest bedroom mattress into the living room and draped a sheet over the top and attached it to our dining room chairs and then filled the inside with pillows and soft blankets and Christmas lights on top. It was very fun and romantic. We opened presents together and ate dessert and watched a movie, which was a treat in itself because we don't have a TV in our bedroom (and never will) so we never watch movies in bed. Oh, and in case you're wondering what I got for Valentine's Day... I got diamond earrings! Guess I'm not the only one capable of surprises on Valentine's Day.

For those of you saying "Ick!" because I posted this photo, I had a request from a friend to do so.

 

Owen also had fun playing in our fort.