Why, Hello 2013

I've decided to officially list my New Year's Resolutions. Hopefully sharing this information will make me more accountable, and more likely to keep them.

1. Start a new blog - post at least once a week.
My original blog unfortunately lost all of its images awhile ago when I attempted to merge 2 google accounts. I've been attempting to restore it for over a year now, and I tend to use its unorganized state as an excuse to not write. I've already started this one, hence our new URL TheHiltonHerd.blogspot.com.
2. Enroll in some sort of exercise class.
I need to be sure to get out of the house and exercise. I'm hoping a class environment will be more enjoyable for me than my regular 'go to the gym' approach.
3. Document and share my fertility and pregnancy experiences over the last 2 years.
I've written about it a thousand times in my head, but never been confident enough to actually document this. I think it will help me resolve some emotions that still come up from time to time, and hopefully my words could one day help someone else going through a similar experience.
4. Take walks with my dogs
This should be fairly easy considering all of the mountain trails accessible from our new apartment, and the fact that we are yard-less and need to now take our dogs out on a leash every time they need to relieve themselves.
5. Everyday document something that happened to everyone in the family.
I plan to just record one quick item for each of us on index cards, and keep this going every year. We will add on to the same card in following years and get to re-visit what happened on the same day the year before. I plan on making this part of our dinnertime routine.
6. Create and stick to a menu at least 6 nights a week.
This is probably going to be a hard one for us. I would like to have at least one vegetable every dinner, and shop no more than one week out so we are using fresher produce.
7. Minimize my wardrobe - only purchase future items that I love.
I tend to buy things just because they are on sale. I want to get away from this mentality, and only purchase items I love. This will mean that not everything I buy will be on sale, and I will have to save up for the things I really want. I hope to cut the amount of clothing I own in half. I want more quality and versatile items that also make me excited to get dressed in the morning.
8. Carry my camera with me more often - photograph something new at least once a week.
I want this photo to be taken with an SLR and not my phone. Phone photos are a little too easy, and I want this to be a challenge. I want to focus more on landscape and still-life, I've really only done portraiture in the past.
9. Chill out.
Stop thinking of being with my baby as work and stop trying to manage him as if he were an employee. I've gotten so used to my job over the past 8 years, that I have begun to use it to define who I am. I need to step back now and stop trying to manage everything. I need to let my baby be a normal, messy, and sometimes fussy baby. And I need to let go of some control and just let things happen in their own time.
10. Make friends.
I need to be more friendly and step out of my comfort zone. I need to be ok with casual conversation, and make a bigger effort at small talk. Take interest in people I've just met. Ask leading questions and learn something about those around me. Attend Relief Society, and enjoy the spirit, instead of being defensive.

There are many other things I would love to work on, but I fear that this small list may be difficult to accomplish already. Most of the items listed above, I believe, will better our family, and help us live a healthier happier life. This all comes at an ideal time for change, new baby, new occupation, new apartment, new city, and many more adjustments in our lives. Most of all, I just want our home to be a happy place, and I'm excited to do my part in achieving that.

Morning Routine: Schnauzer Edition

On days when I'm not in a rush, the schnauzers and I have a wake-up routine. First thing is Tobey will crawl up close and snuggle with me


She will stare at me with her big brown eyes as I pet her. She can be pretty darn cute sometimes. This will usually last for 10 minutes.

By this time, Scout (a ridiculously heavy sleeper), is just starting to become coherent. She will roll her massive body over, and slowly army crawl her way up the bed. When she gets to Tobey, she doesn't change course, she just goes right over the top of her. Tobey will get offended by this, sneeze a few times and march down to the foot of the bed to pout. Scout continues her awkward army crawl until she is right in my face (and usually positioned in the absolutely most uncomfortable place for me, like with her pointy schnauzer knees in my pregnant belly). Scout will then 'nudge' my hands/arms so I will pet her. I'm not sure if nudge is the appropriate word though, one time one of these "nudges" was so forceful, I ended up throwing my iPad on the ground.


My poor highly allergic doggy likes to have her ears and head scratched. If one hand disengages for even a second (say to read an email on your phone), Scout will run, jump, and belly flop on face so you can't possibly focus on anything but her.

After 5ish minutes Tobey decides it's her turn again and will back up to my face so I will scratch her 'bum' (it's actually on her back right above her tail). I thought about sharing a picture, but a face full of schnauzer butt is something Tobey does special for me :). Tobey will growl at me while I'm scratching her (no idea why), which makes Scout think its time to play. Then there is an entire UFC fight going on somewhere by my knees while I'm trying to work, or email, or blog from my bed.

And that is my schnauzer filled morning. Not really sure how they will feel about life next week when Dude drastically upsets their schedule.

On a side note, apparently I type 'the schnauzers' often enough that my iPad has decided to remember and store it. It kinda sounds like a band name or something.

On a second side note, there are about 8 million things going on right now that I probably should have blogged about instead, but I think I will just ignore all of our life changes and watch Alias in my pajamas today.

Instagram Photos

Just messing around with embedding Instagram images for work, my personal social platforms tend to be bombarded every time I work on something new.

Withdrawals

We have now just crossed over into what has been our longest time without Disneyland in the past year (2 months, in case you were wondering). Apparently I am officially addicted, pretty sure I'm going to develop the shakes soon.

Our next trip is tentatively scheduled for May, since I am such a planner (especially as far as travel is concerned), I decided to check prices with my favorite hotel today.


I don't think even I will be able to negotiate our regular price of $80/night this time. I have a suspicion that their prices are this high to discourage me, so I will focus on things like laundry and work, instead of planning a trip 9 months in advance.

Nursery

Oooookay. I thought I new what I wanted to do with the nursery, but there are too many options and I am starting to feel extremely overwhelmed. My original goal was to do a Disney/Pixar Cars theme, but I'm finding there is a very, very fine line between adorable nursery and "I bought all these trashy cardboard cutouts at Walmart"

Here is what I mean:

Adorable Cars nursery



Trashy Walmart Cars room



So I moved forward with the softer, baby friendly colors in mind and found a ton of great ideas, below I've included a few:
Name plaque



Radiator Springs Racers vintage style poster (sadly only available for purchase in-park, or for a ridiculous amount of money on eBay).



Removable checkerboard border



I finally had the perfect nursery coming together in my head. Colors were going to be black, white, baby blue, and a little red when Lightning McQueen was included. I wanted the artwork and accessories to reflect vintage Route 66. And I had already found most of the items I wanted to include.

Then I realized something absolutely awful. The carpet is green, and the walls are turquoise. Here is a photo of our crib that's also includes the carpet and walls:


I can not figure out how to make this nursery work around those 2 colors. After spending so much time picking out the perfect stuff, I really can't bring myself to do it all again.

I've had vague ideas like vintage Disneyland attraction posters



Construction crew (bulldozers, cranes, orange cones, etc.)


We also have a few other projects going on right now. We have moved all of our 'office' supplies into our dining area. All of my craft supplies are going in the awkward pre-storage room in the basement. And we bought a new bookshelf and have cleaned out some storage in the basement so we have a place for all of our books, magazines, etc. Hopefully inspiration will hit me soon, only 85 days left until due date, and we have so much to do! And every day that goes by I'm a little heavier, a little more tired, and a little more uncomfortable. Not sure how many good 'lets put together an entire nursery' days I have left in me!

Countdown 95

95 days until my due date. I sure thought my nesting energy would give me superhuman powers by now, but sadly, all I've accomplished so far is to remove every item from the shelves/closet in our office (soon to be nursery) and make piles on the floor. Tonight I had every intention of organizing said piles, but instead, I colored a picture. Of two dinosaurs. In love.


I also called the wisteria crayon a bastard as my husband was walking by. He just doesn't understand how frustrating certain crayons can be.

My big accomplishment for the day (besides the Dino picture) was to order our crib online. I got a great discount on it, and I didn't even have to leave my bed.

So yeah, 95 days doesn't seem like enough time to get everything done, I need to start making better use of my time!

Yay! Season 7 trailer released