Christmas drinks and dorks
Hey, so I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and Hanukkah.
Here we are on Christmas day, looking like a couple-a dorks:
LG looks pissed (she wasn't), but this was the only shot where she was looking at the camera, so...
Here's a cute one of the two of us -- a little blurry -- but she's smiling and that's all that matters:
And last but certainly not least, here's a little roundup of our holiday beverages:
Holiday magnum from Domaine Carneros, a mocha with a peppermint stick (I suppose it's really a candycane, but whatever, peppermint stick sounds much more old time-y and quaint), and a duo of gin martinis, which look an awful lot like boobs here. Martini boobs!
Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas! Happy Festivus! Happy New Year!
May your days be merry and bright!
Mine sure are.
Thanks given for this year
Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday, which, after almost five years of blogging, is not something that needs repeating year after year. Plus, Thanksgiving is like everyone's favorite holiday, isn't it? The food, the drink, the naps, the second dinner, the fifth bottle of wine, etc., etc., it's not very original) is over, but what a lovely one it was. Lots of food and drink, family Skype-time, and laying around watching Elf.
I didn't workout, I didn't shower, I did take a picture of the two of us and cut off Chris's head...
...So everything went according to schedule
I intended to take pictures of all my Thanksgiving food, because contrary to a popular blogger, I know you all really do care what I had for lunch, or in this case, Thanksgiving lunch (the Best of all the Lunches!) Unfortunately, I was hungry, so this picture of cranberry sauce is all I got:
Leftovers making their way to me tomorrow as a stir-in with my vanilla Greek yogurt, YUM
LG totally dug her first Thanksgiving. I mean, she ate the usual formula and pureed slop, but whatever. She seemed happy nonetheless:
It's like she likes us or something. So weird, this one
We hit up Napa on Saturday, for the second weekend in a row BECAUSE WE CAN, and it was lovely and glorious, as you can imagine. The last time we were there, we picked up our HOLIDAY MAGNUM, which is something I am, for obvious reasons, looking forward to immensely. Now. Should we drink it on Christmas or New Year's Eve, Christmas or New Year's Eve? I know you're all feeling very sorry for me. I'll go drown my feelings of despair in my one-and-a-half-liters of champagne.
Other than that, there's nothing to report. My turkey soup is about done and my stomach's a-grumbling, so it looks like it's going to be an early dinner and bedtime for me.
Oh, but first, here's a picture of the baby actually enjoying her bath for once:
Or, you know, not hating it like usual. Whatever, I'll take it
Happy belated Thanksgiving to you all! Life's Good around here and I hope it's the same for you!
Nothin’ lasts forever/Even cold November rain
Well hello! October just drug its little ass, didn't it? And now here we are, in November, the beginning of my favorite time of year (THANKSGIVING! HECK YEAH!) and I'm sure now until the end of the year will go by in a second. Regardless, I've already started playing the Mariah Carey (Holiday) station on Pandora, so I'll be in the damn holiday spirit for the next eight weeks.
Although it drug by, my October was busy, what with trips to Bakersfield and Austin. I feel like I went somewhere else...maybe? But I guess I didn't.
October really was The Month Of The Internet, which started out by seeing Rhiannon (and Bill) (and BoB, sort of indirectly) at the champagnery. I don't have a picture of that; HOWEVER, Rhiannon did get to meet Tyler Florence later that day and she didn't even offend him or anything, unlike yours truly.
Then there was @theblathering in Austin, which was quite the whirlwind. So much so that I think I'm still catching up on the sleep I missed that weekend. I think - and this is being generous - I got maybe, MAYBE six hours of sleep the entire weekend. Maybe.
Anyway, here's a picture of some of us ladies in Austin. (I stole this picture from Elisabeth.)
Miss Vanity (me) chose this because her hair and boobs look good. Neither of these things happen often, what can I say?
Then last weekend I got to see MORE Internet ladies (and Peppa) for brunch in Sacramento. (Picture stolen from Amy. I can't be taking my own pictures these days, clearly.)
Check out how cute LG and Peppa are going to look together when they're older. Luckily they won't be able to kiss because those four giant cheeks will totally get in the way. Giant Cheeks: Messing up Game Since 2011
Then there was Halloween, a holiday which I'm not into too much, and neither is Chris, so we spent our evening hunkered down in the dark, drinking wine, and eating Reece's Pumpkins.
She's all skin and bones, hardy har har!
October also marked the month LG could start sitting up (albiet wobbily-y) on her own, as evidenced here:
And eating solid (and I use the word "solid" - quite literally - very loosely, as it's just a bunch of pureed ickiness) food:
I feel like I can't just leave you with that gross picture of my kid, so here's one of the two of us, dressed up all nice and fancy for Napa:
If fancy means the leggings that don't have the hole in the butt, that is
Oh, okay, FINE. One more of the little turd-monster:
Turns on the charm if, and only if, I move the camera out of my face so she can see me making ridiculous faces at her. So high maintenance, this one
Happy Thursday, best day of the week!
Working out the work and workout
I'm in sort of a weird place and it's bothering me, so I'm gonna get all 2007 and write my feelings about it.
I've been back to work for a little over two months and things are fine, truly; nothing to report either way about that. I like my job and it provides stellar healthcare and while I miss my kid (all day, but usually pretty hardcore around 2pm), work is good.
What's NOT good is the working out. From the time LG was about three weeks old, I started working out again, mostly doing the Shred and/or Bethenny's yoga DVD and/or going on walks (LG was silent on our walks! Or, she was silent to ME when I put my music on. Same diff.)
I did this mostly for my sanity, as I'm one of those weirdos who starts to freak out if she doesn't workout. I'm not a hardcore worker-outer, mind you. I just feel better when I DO something.
Anyway, the (re)start of work has put me in this weird place where I want to workout, but I also want to spend time with my child (imagine that) and it's been hard finding the right balance between the two.
See, I get home from work around 6pm and if I go on a quick workout, I can be home around 6:45pm. The problem, though, is that LG goes to bed sometime between 7pm and 7:45pm, which means if I workout, my time with her is very limited.
Not to mention, working out after work causes us to eat dinner around 7:30pm or 8pm and when you go to bed at 9pm, that's too damn late for dinner.
I know the answer is to just drag myself out of bed and workout before work, which is actually when I prefer to workout, but DAMN. I'm tired.
All this whining aside, I've been doing the Couch to 5k program and will be completing it this week. I was a little skeptical of the program; if you'd have told me eight weeks ago I could run three miles straight two months from then, I'd have laughed at you.
But, I started the program to give myself a workout I could complete in 30 minutes and I've done just that.
Regardless, I still feel this pressure to find the time to do what I want to do (workout, hang with LG and Chris) and what I need to do (workout, hang with LG and Chris.) But hey, at least my wants and needs align, right? Could be worse, I suppose.
In other news, I bought jeggings this weekend and they're fabulous. So at least I've got a roof over my head, food on the table in front of the TV, and jeggs.
Goner
One day I'll have the time (and topic) to write something worth reading, but today is not that day. Until then, here, look at some funny pictures of my kid falling over:
Baby in a hoodie!
Going...
Going...
Still going...
Still going...
Gone.
Auf Wiedersehen!
LG is really keeping us on our toes here at Home Sweet Sarah.
The other morning I walked in her room to find her 180 degrees from the direction I'd put her to bed in, her head at the end where her feet had been. I asked Chris if he'd been in her room in the night. He had not...
Then this morning I walked in (to very loud screaming) to find LG sideways, her legs through the slats of the crib. Poor little kid was totally freaking out and would not listen to my reasoning that if she just STAYED where I'd PUT HER, we wouldn't have this problem*. Kids, they never listen.
After a bottle and last week's Project Runway (good choices for both the winner and loser, methinks, except that Joshua needs an attitude-adjustment), I put LG back in her crib, propped up in a Boppy. Every few minutes, I'd have to quit what I was doing to RE-prop her up, as she'd wiggled herself lower and lower and out of the Boppy, which understandably pissed her off. Again, if she'd just listen...
Finally I got some silence, but when I came in a little while later to retrieve her so we could leave, she was like this:
Doh!
And then she puked all over her new outfit and my (not new, but clean) outfit, as well as my clean and styled hair, because OF COURSE SHE DID. It is the Law Of Spitting Up: No matter when you fed the kid, no matter how many burps or pukes you got out of the kid, the kid WILL puke all over you as you're leaving the house. And running late. Because of course.
*If you leave me a comment saying, "Just you wait till she really starts moving!" or something equally-annoying and obvious and not helpful, I will delete your comment. I'm not in the mood today.
Fall into change
It is now (FINALLY) September, which means we've entered my second-favorite month of the year (my birth month, February, is first-favorite.)
This is the month of anniversaries (my parents', mine, my BFF's) and Labor Day (no work!), as well as the official first day of Fall, which, even though September is usually still one of the hottest months here in California, is my favorite season.
September will also, SO HELP ME GOD, bring an end to August: The Month Of Sick. We've all been sick twice (various colds and flus; nothing too serious, except LG had a slight flu and there's nothing more sad than your usually-happy baby all red- and watery-eyed and pitiful.)
It's time to give August the boot and get out of the house FINALLY, so on this long weekend we are -- rain or shine, sore throat or not -- going to Napa to, A) Pick up our wine shipment, and B) Sit out on the patio and enjoy some bubbles.
There are a lot of things I miss about living in San Diego: The quick walk to our favorite bar; the hills along the cliffs, which are far superior for working out than our flat subdivision; and countless restaurants that are not named Chili's or BJ's or (Cr)Applebee's.
But San Diego doesn't have the beautiful wine country, where I'd spend every weekend if money were no object. It doesn't have my nice big house, with my garden in the backyard. And it doesn't have seasons that change, where leaves fall and rain comes, and the hills outside our bedroom window turn bright green.
We met as kids there, but we'll raise our kid here, where changes actually happen. Change can be good, change can be very, very good.
All growned up
After all the initial sadness (all mine) and tears (all mine) about taking LG to daycare, it actually turned out fine. Chris and I dropped her off together that first Monday morning and I never looked back. I didn't call all day, figuring they'd call me if there was a problem and of course, no one called me. LG was just fine, as I knew she would be. (It was me I was more worried about.)
While I do miss her during the day, of course, I know she's really enjoying it there and the daycare ladies LOVE HER. Every day, they tell us how easy LG is and how she's the best baby. I know they probably tell every parent that about their kid, but...No they don't. LG is the best, dammit.
Just being her usual awesome self. No big deal.
They also regularly tell me how I should be a supermodel and how pretty I am and well, between that and the complementary coffee and tea (and sometimes muffins and scones!) they put out for the parents, I might just start hanging out there myself.
Of course with a room full of snot-nosed little kids, germs abound and by the end of the first week, LG was sick.
Here's the poor little lamb-chop passed out on the couch the Saturday after her first week at daycare:
And because she's such a giving and sharing child, she gave her cold to me. What a doll.
Cold notwithstanding, daycare has been great and worth every penny, just like we knew it would be. Now, if only we could pay to stop time a little bit, because MY BABY IS GROWING UP TOO FAST.
"What, MOM?"
“Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy”*
My mom was in my office this week. She's up here on business a lot, but has never been in my actual place of business.
When I got her text that she was in the building, I jumped out of my chair. "My mom's here!" I shouted to my coworkers, and then ran out to go meet her.
As I was waiting outside the door for her to get out of her meeting, I could hear her beyond the door, laughing and talking.
I Tweeted, "My mom's here!"
"I can hear mom!"
"I'm so excited to see my mom!"
"Mom mom mom!"
And then I wondered if this is how LG feels when she hears my voice? I like to think so.
Four months old, 28 years old, it doesn't matter. Moms are the best.
(Except maybe between the ages of 13 and 17, when it'll be more like, "Ugh, my mom's here." But that's okay, because those are prime ages to embarrass your children.)
*Stewie Griffin, of course.
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