Almost Wordless Wednesday

Saturday morning my MIL and I got up early to hit the New Haven Flea Market. My coworker told me about the market- she went last year and found North Face, Tiffany jewelry knockoffs, Ugg boots, etc. She did warn me that she heard the place got raided earlier this year so the merchandise might be a little different.

My MIL LOVES flea markets so we headed down, unsure of what we would find. I should have taken a picture, but it was rows and rows and rows of fake purses (every label imaginable- Coach, Hermes, Dolce & Gabbana, etc.), jewelry, clothes, music, rugs, etc. It was pretty impressive, despite the fact that some of it was repetitive.

Sorry about my manly-looking hands but I got these three rings for $1 each. Super cute!

I have needed a clutch for a while and this fake Burberry clutch fit my iPhone and was only $7. Score!


I have also wanted a light gray purse for a while and this fit the bill as it was only $10. It's not my favorite, but for $10 it works!

My favorite purchase was the moose hat. CP HATES it which means I love it. Ha! Actually I have been threatening to get a hat like this for a while....once I found one (only $8!) for an adult (they also other animals like a cat and a cow), I knew it was allllll mine.

I wouldn't head to this flea market every weekend but it was not bad. All four purchases added up to less than $30 which is a good day of shopping for me!

Do you own a piece of clothing that your significant other hates?

Baby shower

Today my office held a baby shower for a coworker who is due in the beginning of January. I have to admit, it was a little hard. I am, of course, very happy for her. I have no idea if she had problems conceiving or how long they tried to have a child but at this point it doesn’t matter as she is almost to the finish line.

But during the shower my mind kept wandering to whether the office will ever get to throw ME a baby shower. Will I ever get to complain about a lack of sleep because I am too uncomfortable and big? Will I get to talk about the labor and delivery tour that I took of the hospital? Will I get to ask older coworkers about whether I should take a Lamaze class (it’s not applicable to me because I have to have a c-section, but still)?

When she was opening her presents I oooohed and aaaaahed with everyone. I mean everything is just so small and adorable! But afterwards while in a circle talking with the mother-to-be and four older women who all have kids I tried to play down my knowledge of giving birth/all things babies because I didn’t want to tip anyone off that we had been trying….or that I read pregnancy blogs…..or have talked about giving birth/pregnancy with friends that have kids.

Thankfully, the “NSC you are NEXT!” was not uttered. I have to be honest that I contemplated NOT going to the baby shower because I am literally the only childless married person in the office of child bearing age. The few others who could get pregnant or get someone pregnant are not in long term relationships (except for the gay guy and I don’t think pregnancy for either him or his partner is in the cards). I was terrified that someone was going to say something and I don’t know what my reaction would have been. Turn bright red? Start crying? Make a sarcastic deflective remark? Suddenly clam up? I have no idea.

These days not knowing what my reaction is going to be is tough. The hope that I have of getting pregnant is still tempered. I am still planning things for the spring thinking that we won’t be pregnant. If I didn’t do that I am not sure how emotionally stable I would be right now because if I can’t look forward to a pregnancy, I need to look forward to something else.

Non sequitur thoughts

Why does Buster feel the need to lay down in the bathroom every time I need to pee? He always cocks his head trying to figure out where the sound is coming from which is hilarious….but still. Why does he feel the need? Is it because I watch him pee every day? At least he gets praised while doing that- I just get a weird look!

CP and I realized that for the next few months while my uterus is healing we are going to actually have to prevent pregnancy. An odd concept after trying for a year and half with no results. But if what the doctor said is true (that CP’s sperm is okay and the endometriosis was the reason we couldn’t get pregnant), then we will have to be careful. Now I just have to wait and see if my periods are going to go back to normal cycles. *crossing fingers*

So I finally decided to check out Pinterest after hearing so much about it from you guys. I love the idea, but why do you have to request to get an invite? That is kind of annoying.

I think that this extra workload is going to be around for a while. The coworker who was put on a special assignment wrote on another coworker’s Facebook wall that she will be retiring at the end of the year. Since she is older, I don’t think that she is very tech savvy….so I’m not sure that she knows that I could see her post. My company won’t be hiring anyone to fill her position so although I hate my job, at least I’ll stay busy.

Would you get falsies for your dog? We will be fixing Buster after he turns a year old (waiting that long is better for his joints since he is a bigger breed) and CP wants to get false balls put in. I think that the idea is absolutely ridiculous, but CP claims that Buster needs them. Someone mentioned that Kim Kardashian had falsies put in for her dog and I keep asking CP if he really wants to be like Kim Kardashian…..but that doesn’t seem to sway him. Thoughts?

I'm not happy that I am working today, but at least I don't work in retail and have to deal with crazy shoppers. What happened to spending time with your family on a holiday? I feel bad for all of the hourly workers that have to deal with people that PEPPER SPRAY others just for a discount. Unfortunately I think that stores are helping create chaos by holding these intense sales for only one day and at weird hours when people are tired/drunk. Why not buy more of the in-demand products and spread out the discounts throughout a weekend or a week? Even if the stores don't make the discounts as steep they could get more people through the door, produce less craziness, and get more product moved. Do you shop on Black Friday?

Comment so that I can be entertained during my very boring work day today!

Turkey Day!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am so excited about all of the yummy food that CP is making! CP’s grandmother, his mom and her husband are coming down from NH later today. We would have gone up to NH with the dogs, however I have to work on Friday. :-(

As usual, CP is planning on making way too much food for only 5 people. But at least I know where he gets it from- his mom is baking 4 (!!) pies (AGAIN) to bring down which is so ridiculous. Her excuse is that her friend and friend’s brother will be stopping by for dessert on Thursday night. Luckily I only like two of the desserts so I won’t be tempted by the other two.

Our meal:

Butternut squash bisque
Salad with pears and gorgonzola cheese (featuring lettuce from our garden!)
Turkey (currently sitting in a maple brine)
Mashed potatoes
Wild rice salad (healthier than stuffing)
Roasted root veggies (carrots, parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes)
Kale and bacon
Cranberry sauce (since CP is the only one to eat it he got it in can form this year)
Gravy
Dinner rolls (made by me!)

Dessert:

Pecan Pie
Squash Pie
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (made by me!)

Interested in what our meal looked like in 2010 and 2009?


Does your family make too much food for Thanksgiving? How many people are you having over to your house? Whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great Turkey Day!

Looking forward to warm weather

Yesterday I alluded to our upcoming vacation….in three weeks CP and I will be headed to the Bahamas (Paradise Island to be exact)! My parents have a time share so we are staying right next to Atlantis FOR FREE. Yay for a free hotel!

Check out that water!!!

We really haven’t planned this vacation too much. Partly because that is our m.o. for vacations and partly because we have been too busy with having no power, my surgery, etc. I have been to the Bahamas before, but it was a quick cruise so I only got to spend a couple of hours on each island. CP has never been down there before so it will all be new to him!

This is not our usual type of vacation because it is a pretty touristy place. We certainly aren’t going to complain, but I think that it is going to be hard to get to a local restaurant to sample REAL food….not just the meal plan Atlantis tries to push on you (which we didn't get. $69/day? Ridonkulous). But, we are going to try to find a grocery store (locals have to get their food somewhere right?) to search out weird and new things to eat as we have a full kitchen where we are staying.

Has anyone been there? Do you have suggestions on things to do there? How about a nice restaurant? We will be there during my birthday which means we will be headed out for a nice dinner! I think that we are going to try to do one day of scuba diving. The doctor has cleared me for that, but I have a feeling that the doctor doesn’t realize how heavy the tank is out of the water. :-) I’ll just have to see how my stomach is feeling when we get down there. Other than that we have no plans except for kicking it at the pool/beach drinking fruity drinks.

Warm weather awaits…..

Back on the horse

Today is the first day that I am allowed to drive….but that’s not what I am excited about. Today is the first day since my surgery that I am allowed to exercise!* It’s just walking, but at least it’s something.

During lunch today I took Buster on a 25 minute walk. After that I took Fuzzy Britches for a 20 minute walk. For the most part, it felt great. I had a dull pain in my lower right abdomen, close to one of my incisions, but it was manageable. I have it when I am just walking around our house on a daily basis anyway, but I made sure not to push it too much.

So walking is my only allowable form of exercise for another three weeks or so. It’s frustrating, but I can only imagine how much pain running would produce. Even though I can only walk, it would be nice to lose a few pounds before our vacation- does anyone have any suggestions for walking weight off (other than just walk a lot? Ha ha.)? I know that losing weight/toning up is 75% eating right so I’m adding more salads/healthy things….the good news is that my two weeks off from the surgery didn’t add any weight to my body. I never asked the doctor if I could do squats, lunges, etc. so I’m guessing those are out of the question….along with weights. What is a girl to do??


*I sort of cheated and took Buster for a 25 minute walk yesterday because I had to get out of the house! Shhhhh.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

This is what our street looks like 2 1/2 weeks after Winter Storm Alfred. Our town has promised to pick up the tree branches- we just aren't sure when.

The dogs have enjoyed their new chew toys.....


Especially this limb....

Fuzzy Britches' favorite thing these days is to squeeze herself into the smallest places possible....here it is under a side table.

Being at home while CP works has made me bored....so I made a test batch of dinner rolls for Thanksgiving. They turned out great!

We also had very brown bananas so I made banana bread muffins with raisins. Yum!

Despite lots of leaf stalks breaking due to Winter Storm Alfred, the brussel sprout plants are surviving and the sprouts are getting bigger!

Winter beets are looking good under our winter greenhouse.

Spinach on the left, swiss chard on the right and out-of-control lettuce in the back!