Another work day

Today was a good day as soon as the morning was over. I have severe chest pain this morning. It doesn't feel good until I take a shower. I called the baby doctor to make sure that the inhaler that the doctor prescribed was ok. It is. I'm glad...pain is not fun!!(really?)
This week is really going by fast. I like those kind of weeks. Today was a catch up day. "Senior" designer is in Bozeman, Montana today with a client. I organized files and trained my new officemate. Her name is...I haven't come up with her blog name...to be determined. Anyway, she is really great. She will be taking over "Senior" designer's jobs while I am on maternity leave!!
Here is what is going on with all my current jobs:
Sim..it is almost done with the installation. Everything is installed except for the island in the kitchen. We are about to measure for countertops.

Sim Kitchen Floorplan

Ken...We are working on the guest bath now. The tile is going in. We are tiling the walls and floor.

Ken Guest Bath Floorplan

Gor...Has been installed. We are done. Tonight the client's are having an anniversary party. The job is beautiful. I need to get pictures and post them! Here is the floorplan:

Gor Kitchen Floorplan

Far...We are doing the office now. I just got the order in for the cabinetry. It takes about 7 weeks till they are ready for delivery. Here is the floorplan:

Far Office Floorplan

Py...Almost all the cabinets have been delivered. The kitchen install will start on Monday, Feb 13. I'm really ready for this job start! Especially the activity room. Which is a huge entertainment center bookcase that makes and L and takes up 2 huge walls. It will be beautiful!!
Here is the Kitchen Floorplan & the Activity Room Floorplan below it

Py Kitchen Floorplan

Py Activity Room Floorplan

Rich...this is a new job that just got ordered. It is such a cool floorplan I have to post it for you...Here it is:

Rich Kitchen Floorplan

Pretty cool huh? This is the center of the house and the stairs lead to the second story.

This is a majority of what is in progress, whether it be ordering, installation or punch lists.
-Until tomorrow

Ok, I'm back

I don't know why it has been so hard to blog lately. I know Kaydee, I lag!!! The past weeks have just flown by. I live weekend to weekend. J & I have been trying to fix up the house. We have been getting some painting done and we got a new couch. We are also trying to get rid of our old couch. It is in our dining room right now. Everything is kind of in disarray. I feel totally out of control. I think I have finally gotten out of my lathargic stage and have started to see the first sign of a nesting stage. I cleaned my refrigerator on Sunday.
Yesterday I booked my Mom's flight. She is coming March 11 and I am taking a week of vacation. She is going to help me get the baby room and guest room in order, unless I am so motivated to get it all done before she gets here.(Yeah, right)
Here is a photo of my baby boy: Little D!!


-Until tomorrow

I kept forgetting it was Friday.

I wore my first maternity outfit today. It was kind of fun. Ah the little things. I finished up the 2nd option on Fisch this morning. Mr & Mrs Fisch came in at 11:15. They liked the 2nd option and decided to go with it. They decided on the finished also. English Figured Sycamore with accents of stained and dyed madrone burl. These are both exotic veneers. It is going to be beautiful!!
I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and steamed green beans for dinner. It was good. We watched the Bad News Bears. It was ok. Time for bed. My back is killing me.
-Until tomorrow.

Hook'em Horns!!

We just got done watching the UT vs. USC Rose Bowl game. Yes, Ellie Mae just watched an entire football game!! Our small group came over to our house and watched. It was a really good game. I love Texas!!

Today was my first 8 hour day back to work. It actually wasn't that bad. I was hungry all day. I worked on Far's office. We did their bathroom a couple of months ago and they are ready to start their office. I did 2 options so it took most of the day. Wednesday is over and the weekend is almost here!!!

-Until tomorrow

Back to the Rat Race!

It was only a little hard to get up this morning. I could have slept another hour though.
I was a little afraid to go to work because I knew there would be germs everywhere! "Senior designer" sounded like death before I left for vacation and Chica sounded awful on the phone on Thursday. There was no telling who else got sick while I was gone. I cleaned my phone, my keyboard, my mouse and my desk with alcohol. I could tell that "Senior designer" had sat at my desk last week. Yuck!! Our office manager told me that I had forgotten to turn in my timesheet before I left for vacation and if I wanted my paycheck to get him the timesheet ASAP. I got that to him first thing and got my paycheck! Happy about that!!!
I worked on Rich job. "Senior designer" has priced this job as cheap as he possibly can. I will bet you money we will loose money on it. He takes my pricing sheet and just drops numbers for certain people and then at the end of the job he wonders why we lost money and didn't make anything on the job. I like to keep these cost sheets as proof and show him at the end of the job that he doesn't need to be pricing the jobs AT ALL!! He had an appointment with Mr. Rich at 3pm. I left the office at 2:25pm for my baby doctor apointment at 2:50pm.
We got to hear the heartbeat again! It has slowed down but is louder than the first time. It is just so amazing to hear. They also took blood for some test. I can't remember exactly what it was, J knows, but they said that no news will be good news...so I hope they don't call. We also scheduled the Ultrasound. It will be on January 23nd!!! 3 weeks!! We will know if it is a boy or a girl!!!!
Tonight I made grilled cheese sandwiches and oven baked fries. Ooo toughy huh? I'm just a baby cook! It will get better!!
J has been playing with his XBOX 360 that I got him for Christmas!!! He is having so much fun! Every now and then I hear him giggle because he has figured out something new that it does. It turns out that it is a media center. He can pull pictures from his laptop wirelessly. We were looking at pictures from vacation on the big screen. It was actually really neat.
Here are a few pics from vacation...ENJOY!!

J & Ellie Mae at the Train Station in Cottonwood, AZ!!

J & Ellie Mae at the Grand Canyon

J at the Grand Canyon

Ellie Mae at the Grand Canyon

It was REALLY cold at the Grand Canyon!
-Until tomorrow

LAZY DAY!!

J and I slept in this morning. I actually slept!!
My new year's resolution this year is...(drum roll please) to cook dinner most nights. I have been married for over 7 years and I just don't cook. J & I fend for ourselves or go out to eat. With the pregnancy I'm just sick of the same old thing and I'm sick of all the bad things!! So the solution is to start cooking and get good at it!! The only downfall to it all is I don't have a dishwasher. I know, I'm a kitchen designer, and I don't have a dishwasher...pitiful! The house that we are renting does not have one. It has a lame trash compactor instead, which I don't use. So, I got a slightly used dishwasher off of one of my jobs at work. It is sitting in the garage right now. All that needs to be done is...the trash compactor uninstalled and THROWN OUT!! and demo the drawers next to the trash compactor to make the hole big enough for the dishwasher. There is a plumber/electrician at work that has agreed to do the hook up FOR FREE! It's just all a matter of doing it. Pregnancy really disrupts the regular routine of your life. You just get so darn tired or so darn iritable that you can do any of the normal stuff you used to do. So poor J, my most awesome husband has to to a majority of the work. I have him so run down from all the stuff he has to do for me that he is worn out, burned out and tired!! Anyway, I know that the dishwasher project will get done before the baby!!
So, back to my new year's resolution...I have made a list of what I am preparing for dinner every night of this week. I also made a grocery list!! Usually when I decide to cook the grocery bill is insane. We only spent $100, and that includes my breakfasts and lunches...and J's snacks!! So for dinner I made Mexican Casserole and salad. It was really good. I was impressd with myself!! The key question is did J like it? He said it just needed a little seasoning...oh yeah, I forgot about that stuff!!
J & I also had to go buy a present for our nephew All Star "Z". It is his 11th birthday. We got him a gift certificate to Build a Bear. We all went over to R(J's brother) & E's(my sister-in-law) house and had cake. Turns our All Star "Z" spiked a fever 45 minutes before the party. Great contagious germs. Anyway it was a nice family birthday party!!!
J & I are both facing reality that we have to get back to the real world tomorrow. Why does vacation go by so fast?
-Until tomorrow

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I didn't get to blog our entire vacation because I couldn't get on the internet for the rest of the week. We were out in the middle of nowhere. We stayed in Camp Verde for 2 more days. On day 3 we rode the Verde Vally Railroad. It was really beautiful. It was exhausting though. I rode in the out door car for the 1st half, my eyes were tired from squinting in the sun. The train left at 1pm and we didn't get back until 5pm. J and I got some dinner and went back to our hotel. We watched tv and relaxed. On day 4 we got up the next day and went to Jerome, AZ. It is an old copper mining town. It has a population of maybe 500. It was a neat little quaint town. We then went to a fish hatchery. Then to Sedona. J & I walked around uptown Sedona and went into all the neat little shops and had lunch too. That night we went to a cowboy dinner in Cottonwood, AZ. J & I took old west photos. They came out really cute. The dress I picked out made me look really pregnant or really fat. The dinner was good!! We had beans, baked potatoe, BBQ beef, applesauce and spice cake on a tin plate. The lemonade was in a tin cup. The show was cute too. A bunch of cowboys singing old cowboy songs like Tumbleweed and Ghostriders in the sky. The only part I didn't like was the wooden benches. I nearly died sitting on them for 1 1/2 hours. J & I slept in the motorhome tonight. It was really hard to sleep in the motorhome being pregnant. It killed my back and the bed was just too small for J & I and all my pillows. On day 5 we drove up to Williams, AZ. We drove to the Grand Canyon south rim. It was beautiful! But as the sun went down it got really cold! Wind blowin' cold. We drove back to the RV in the dark. We ate dinner at a 50s diner called Cruisers Diner on Route 66. It was really cold that night it hurt. J & I stayed at a hotel again. On day 6 we got up and ate breakfast at another 50s diner called Route 66 diner. Then we were off on our way home. We drove most of the day. Excuse me, J drove most of the day. We stopped in 29 Palms, CA. We left Williams at 10am and got to 29 Palms at 6pm. We stopped along the way and went to the Grand Canyon Caverns in Seligman, AZ. That took about 2 hours. It was really interesting. An elevator took us 21 stories down, 210 feet. It was warmer in the caves than outside. The reason it is called the Grand Canyon Caverns is it has a tunnel that ends at the Grand Canyon. At the end of the tour they turned out the lights and you couldn't see you hand in front of your face. And everything was formed around 345 million years ago...blah, blah, blah, whatever. When we got to 29 Palms we had dinner and J & I looked for something to do. We played Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture...J won(as usual). On day 7 we headed home. We left at 8am and got home at 11am. We unpacked the motorhome and got lunch. We washed clothes and put everything away and did nothing for the rest of the evening. I got addicted to this new game called Aloha Solitaire. We did nothing exciting for New Years. We went to sleep at 12:15am. This morning we got up and went to the Auto Show at the convention center. It was really good exercise for me. I was exhausted afterward. J & I played with his Christmas present, the new Xbox 360 for the rest of the day. We made a fire and I have played so much Aloha Solitaire that I am sick of it. Tomorrow is our last day of vacation. Boo. Then it's back to real life.
-Until tomorrow

Day 2

Well last night J & I didn't make it to the movies last night. We had to go thru the drive thru at a Jack in the Box, because the dining room was closed. It was the only restaurant open in Surprise. We took our food back to the motorhome and ate dinner and went to bed. We were tired.
Today we got up at 8am and went to the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Surprise, AZ. We got some groceries and stuff. We set out at around 11:00am and drove a couple of hours. We stopped at a really nice rest stop and had lunch. The view was really nice.We drove maybe another 1/2 hour and arrived at Camp Verde, AZ. We checked in at the RV Park and drove in to Sedona. It was a beautiful drive. We then drove into Cottonwood. We found a Sizzler and had dinner. J & I found a nice hotel and checked in for the night. Time for sleep. Traveling makes you tired.
-Until tomorrow.

Day 1 VACATION!!

We left at around 11:30 this morning. We drove all day and just got to Surprise, AZ. It was a nice drive, especially when it got to be about 5pm. The sunset was absolutely beautiful!! J & I are going to the movies now to see King Kong.
-Until tomorrow

Only 2 more days left till I'm FREE!!

Today I finished up some final details on Jord. "Senior designer" called at about 10:30 and told me he had the flu and that he wouldn't be in today. He had me work on pricing and a proposal for Rich. The kitchen that was designed for Rick is really original. It is a round circular kitchen. I didn't get to work on it. I'm actually kind of bummed about it, but I realize I have more than enough. About 3 weeks ago one of our cabinet manufacturers came to our showroom. This cabinet manufacturer is my favorite. They are not a large company, but they are really awesome at what they build. I have been working with them for the past 3 years. I can't tell you who they are because "senior designer" is nervous that someone else would "steal" them from us and take time away from our projects.
Anyway, Sim was delivered today!!! Yeah!!! But one setback, I talked to the superintendant at the jobsite and he asked when the install would start. I told him tomorrow, no problem. I went to verify this with our production manager. He said that "senior designer" had taken Jack and Augi off the Sim job and put them on the Gavran job. Gavran job is one of Chica's job. (Chica is my best friend) I was so angry. "Senior designer" does what he wants, doesn't communicate the changes to me, I think we are right on schedule and tell the superintendent that install starts tomorrow like we planned, and I look like the bonehead. I called "senior designer" and told him I was sorry that he was sick, but he was going to call the superintendent and the client and tell them about his changes. Let him take the heat!! Throwing it right back at ya!!
I got the proposal done for Rich and left at around 4pm to turn in my heart monitor. I left poor M with all the documents to make changes if "senior designer" had any. M is our receptionist. She is really awesome!
We met Kaydee, THE INTIMIDATOR, Amy Jo and Scout at Fuddrucker's. It was a good time! I love hanging out with friends!!
-Until tomorrow

Almost through the week!

Today I worked on Jord all day long. I had tons of details to finish. My shoulders were in alot of pain. I pretty much stared at the computer screen all day long. I finally got the email out for a price quote at 5:25pm.
I had a doctor appointment today at 2pm. I had told the doctor awhile ago that my heart would flutter sometimes and it would also thump really hard, hesitate, then beat really fast. So she wanted me to get some test done. That was today. I had an echo cardiogram and a resting EKG. I am having to wear a heart monitor for 24 hours too. That bites. I feel like I have seran wrap wrapped around me. I get to take it off at 3pm tomorrow. It will definitely be an uncomfortable sleep tonight.
-Until tomorrow.

Already Monday again.

I can't believe how fast the weekend went. Friday night was our company Christmas Party. We all went to Hard Rock Cafe. It was a fun time!! On Saturday I had a surprise birthday party for one of my friends and a family birthday party for my Sister-In-Law. Sunday morning I watched the first half of the Charger game and then went shopping. I only lasted 2 hours. It's really no fun by yourself. J & I went to the movies and saw Chronicles of Narnia. It was so good. I loved it!!
Today at work I worked on Fish all day. I had to finish the revisions from the meeting on Friday and get the drawing to our cabinet manufacturer for pricing. I sent the email at 5:10pm.
I had Tres Tacos from Baja Fresh. Yummy!!
-Until tomorrow

Another long day.

What is the deal with long days lately?
Work was intense all day. I worked on Jord all morning. I got the 3 options done. During all this Mr. Fish called and wanted us to come to his home instead of him coming to our showroom tomorrow for our 11am appointment. I told him that would probably be fine, but I had to check with "senior designer" first just to make sure. "Senior designer" was with a client and the meeting had just started when Mr. Fish called. I told Mr. Fish that "Senior designer" would probably be an hour or so and as soon as the appointment was over I would call him to confirm. Well an hour goes by. He asks me very sternly, why hasn't "Senior designer" called him. I told him that he was still in a meeting. Mr. Fish went off...I've had it, either you come to my house tomorrow morning or I want a full refund, I want an answer, all the plans better be done, this is ridiculous, I want this project done. The man just paid his design fee like a week before Thanksgiving. We have already had a conceptual meeting with him and his wife (they showed up unannounced expecting us to drop everything for them, luckily "senior designer" was at the office and of course he did drop everything for them.) So, I just calmly tell him there is nothing I can do until "senior designer" gets out of the appointment. Another hour goes by, he calls again. Our receptionist tells him that "senior designer" is still in the appointment. He tells her this is unacceptable. She asks him if he wants to talk to our office manager. (I lover her for doing this, at least I didn't have to talk to him again) He said yes. You don't want to mess with our office manager. He is a retired drill instructer!! So "senior designer" finally got out of the appointment and we tell him what happened. He called Mr. Fish and told him that he never breaks from an appointment for a phone call, but as soon as the appointment is over that will be his first phone call. Clients like this are so hard to enjoy working with.
Our appointment went well with Jord. She brought her daughter who just passed the bar in Boston.
It's late. J is sitting over my shoulder sighing loudly!!! Time for bed!!
-Until tomorrow

Long day.

Today was a long day. J was in LA at Dacor training, so I was by myself. He had gotten up at 6:15 yesterday morning. The alarm went off at 6:15am this morning for me. I don't get up until 7am. I know it is only 45 minutes, but 45 minutes is precious to me!! I haven't been sleeping well since I got pregnant. I just wake up in the middle of the night a couple of times for no reason and it's hard to get back to sleep. I would love to be able to sleep in a little on Saturday mornings but my internal clock wakes me up at 7am. Of course on work days I could sleep a little longer if I could.
At work we had a really good debate going this morning. The subject...God!! I thought it was awesome! A couple of the installers were talking about free will and sin and a ton of other stuff! It was really cool!!
I have a lot of new jobs. Here are a few new jobs I worked on today...Jord, Fish, and Mudd. We are only in the conceptual stage. We have an appointmen with Jord tomorrow. I have 2 more floorplan options to do for the the meeting at 2pm.
Sim gets delivered on Monday!! Yeah! I'm really excited about this one. We have been dealing with the Sims for 3 years now. They signed their proposal and contracts in 2003. They bought a really large house in a really nice neighborhood and tore it down to the studs. They have added onto it. The view is incredible. We are doing the kitchen, breakfast nook, butler's pantry, living room bar and theater bar.
Ken is almost complete! Ken is my favorite client. Mrs. Ken is awesome. She never complains ever. She is on my perfect client list. The tile guy finished the floor and the backsplash today!! The closet is being installed tomorrow and all the plumbing needs to be done. The glass enclosure for the shower is all that will be left. It will be installed the Wednesday after Christmas. We promised her that her master bathroom would be done by Christmas. I am going to get "Senior designer" to call her tomorrow and tell her the bad news. Hopefully she will stay on my perfect client list!
Tonight was our potluck at small group. The food was REALLY good!! We exchanged gifts and had a wonderful time!! Sunrise gave me a ton of baby "stuff". IT begins!!
I actually feel like a normal person and lately forget that I'm pregnant. The only thing that reminds me is how tired I get and I have no pants that fit. Speaking of tired..I am. Goodnight...
-Until tomorrow

I am back!!

Ok, so I know that I lag really bad. I think I am totally over my "morning sickness" and I feel like a normal human being again!! I'm just really tired. I can deal with that!! Everything is great right now!! Preparing for Christmas!
-Until tomorrow (I promise Kaydee!!)

10 weeks!!

I don't have a picture for this week. But the little one is the size of a small plum!
I woke up this morning with my emotions running wild. I just started crying. No particular reason just a combination of "stuff". The work day was so slow.
At about 4:30 a strong feeling of nausea came over me, even with the wristbands on. It went away and came back, went away and came back. I was so glad to get home. J had dinner ready. What a wonderful man I have!!
We went to small group and studied Paul. I am so exhausted. It's time for bed!
-Until tomorrow

A friend that works with J said that his wife used an accupressure band that is usually used for seasickness could help with morning sickness. I just got them last night and they worked awesome for 4 hours straight. I took them off to go to bed because I felt antsy with them on. Shortly after I took them off, I felt horrible again. I almost couldn't fall asleep I felt so horribly bad. I eventually fell asleep.
This morning I put them on as soon as I got out of the shower. I have made it through the day feeling somewhat more of my old self. There is still a tinge of nausea here and there. But nothing as strong as before! Even if these things are mental, I don't care. I feel great...or better than I did! Thought I would share! Here is what they look like. Mine are gray!!

My new accessory!

Mondays last forever.

I got up at 8am this morning. I thought I would work at home. But when I called "senior designer" he wanted me to come in just in case Wominh didn't come. Wominh is another designer. Alot of "senior designer's" projects have been going to him because I am so overloaded.
Of course after I went in to the office Wominh came in. I got alot done though. I have 2 new clients: Nier and Fish. They both paid their design fees last week and I am working on conceptual plans. I also finished the change order for Sween today...FINALLY.
Speaking of finally, NEWS FLASH....Homie proposed to Chica on Saturday night!!!!!! Chica is my very best friend! She & I have worked together for about 9 years. 6 of those years have been at the current firm that I am at now. Homie is one of the installers. They have been dating for 5 years. I didn't think today would ever come!!! YEAH!!!!
After work, I got my hair cut. Then for the rest of the night I worked on designing a special gift certificate for J's dad. He is involved with an organization that will be auctioning off different items for charity. The gift certificate that I made was for lunch with the president of J's company. I really enjoyed making it!! I didn't feel sick the whole time I was glued to the computer tonight!!!! Time for bed!
-Until tomorrow.

My day of rest!!

Again, with the 7:30am thing. I just want to sleep peacefully!! When I sleep I don't feel sick!!
Waa, Waa...
I started designing a gift certificate for an auction for J's dad. I really like doing things like that. I completely concentrate on something else and don't feel as sick. I was going to a jewelry party today at 1:30, but I just couldn't make it out the door. I just couldn't make myself go. I fixed my hair, put on my makeup...I was all ready to go and I just felt awful!! Kaydee..please tell your sister that I had every intention of going and trying her h'orderves, I just had a sick episode at the wrong time.
I eventually picked myself up and went to Wal-Mart because I couldn't sit at the house anymore. This was my list ( I know you're dying to know) 1. Kitchen trash bags 2. plastic cups 3. hair gel 4. Light pink nail polish 5. Yarn
I painted my nails earlier today and they look like I dipped my fingers in pepto bismol. It's quite scary!! I have also decided to crochet a project. I am hoping that this will get my mind off of the sickness!!!
I started a Martha Stewart poncho. My hands are kind of hurting, I haven't crocheted in a while.
-Until tomorrow.

Just get me out of the house!!

I just can't sleep late anymore. I don't know why. My sleep is not deep and everytime I move in the night I wake up. So, when I wake up in the morning at 7:30am, I can't go back to sleep. I read some chapters in a new pregnancy book that Kristin let me borrow. It is really cute! I got really antsy and just HAD to get out of the house. J & I went riding around in the convertible. It was a beautiful day. 71degrees and not a cloud in the sky. I had to put a jacket on. We didn't do anything particular, just went here and there.
We decided not to have a real Christmas tree this year because of the new kitten. She is such a menace that we don't want her knocking it over and spilling water and tree needles everywhere. We bought a 4' pre-lite tree. It is cute and just the right size to put next to the fireplace.
I absolutely HAD to have Taco Bell for lunch. There is something about a bean burrito or a soft taco that just makes me feel better. J is going to get real sick of Taco Bell. We also went to Blockbuster and rented a couple of movies. We got the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman Begins and Bewitched.
We went to church at 5:15, then J took me to Fuddrucker's. Yummy!!
After we got home from dinner, I felt really lousy. I was in and out sick all day, but I was really sick after dinner. J & I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was weird but if was good. I liked it.
I am wiped out and SICK of being sick!!
-Until tomorrow.

I'm 9 weeks today!

The crown to rump length of the embryo is 1 to 1 1/4". This is close to the size of a medium green olive. The baby's arms and legs are longer. Hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over the heart area. Fingers are longer, and the tips are slightly enlarged where touch pads are developing. The feet are approaching the midline of the body and may be long enough to meet in front of the torso. The eyelids almost cover the eyes. External ears are evident and well formed. It now moves its body and limbs.

9 weeks

Isn't life just amazing!

I have had a really rough week. I'm feeling really nauseas. I can't wait till I at least get to the 2nd trimester!! Maybe the nausea will go away!

-Until tomorrow.

Catch up...

I have not been feeling well for the past two days and the days before that our DSL was down. It just started working today.
Pregnancy is not easy. The past two days have really kicked my butt. The nausea just pulls you down. I'm really trying to just "suck it up", but it is harder than you would think. J is so awesome to put up with me! I love him so much..mushy, mushy.
I left work at about 11:30 yesterday. So I am starting the week off behind. I went to our new client's house Strod at 10:30 with senior designer. We met an architect there. There are so many twists to this house. Hopefully everything will work out that the client wants. The city is really very annoying when it comes to some things.
Anyway, that's my update for now.
-Until tomorrow

8 weeks today!!

It is amazing to read how the baby is growing. Today the baby is the size of a pinto bean. The eyelid folds are forming on the face and nerve cells in the retina are beginning to develop. The tip of the nose is present. Ears are forming, internally and externally. In the heart, the aortic and pulmonary valves are present and distinct. Elbows are present, and the arms and legs extend forward. Arms have grown longer. The bend at the elbows and curve slightly over the heart. Tubes leading from the throat to the functioning part of the lungs are branched, like the branches of a tree. The body's trunk area is getting longer and straightening out.

8 weeks!!

I felt great today!!

I had a really good day. I didn't feel sick at all while I was at work today. It must have been the chocolate chip cookies I ate today (I wish).
I gave final approvals on the drawings for Sim and Py today. Those jobs will officially start in December. I also order new tile for the Gor job...exciting! For the rest of the day I worked on putting together production and installation folders for Py. I really got a lot done today. It was a productive day. "Senior designer" didn't come in until later in the day.
When I got home J & I talked a bit and before I knew it it was 6:15. I had to be at my small group at 6:30. I was only 5 minutes late. It was a good study. We studied Phillipians 1:18-27. I told everyone I was pregnant. Only half of the group was there tonight, alot of people were out of town this week. I stayed and talked for about an hour after we were done. I got home at 9:30. J & I watched American Chopper. I really like that show. Those guys are funny. This epidode was them traveling around in London on different tours. No wonder people don't like Americans in Europe. Time for bed!!
-Until tomorrow.

Happy Halloween!!

I didn't feel too hot today. I felt sick as soon as I got to work. It is so hard to fight that nausea feeling. The day got better when my best friend from highschool, Nette, called me. I called her last week to tell her the great news and I had to leave a message. She figured it out real quick. It's hard to leave someone you don't talk to everyday a message to call you back, but you don't want to spoil it and tell them why. It was really great to talk to her!! I really miss her and wish she didn't live so far away. Her daughter is turning 2 in January. She is the cutest little "tooty-toot," as Nette would say.
J took me to lunch today! It was nice to get out of the office. I hardly ever leave the office at all except if I have an appointment. It was a perfect day today!
"Senior designer" made and appointment at 4pm at the Strod jobsite. I met him there. We showed her the options for her kitchen. She was really happy with the results. I really like this client. I left her house at about 5:30pm. It was dark and it felt like it was 8 o'clock.
When I got home J & I went for a walk. It was fun to look at all the halloween decorations that were out. We saw lots of trick or treaters. We decided that we didn't want to cook for dinner so we ran for the border.
First, we went by J's parent's house just to check in. Samson had one of those cone colars on because I think they said he got neutered today. He's such a sweet puppy, he's just a little hyper.
After dinner we wanted to watch a scary movie. We watched House of Wax. It was actually pretty good. I really probably shouldn't be watching scary movies. Knowing me I will have really bad nightmares and not get any sleep at all.
So, off to bed. Sweet Dreams!!
-Until tomorrow.

The Weekend is here!!

I felt good this morning when I got up. As I drove away from the house I remembered I wanted to bring a cup of orange juice. I was running late and couldn't go back. When I got to work, Sarah Jean had an extra bottle of orange juice...Yeah.
I got everything done on Sween change order, I just needed for "Senior Designer" to do his part. I called him and he was off ordering tile for his house. So I guess Sween won't get done till Monday now.
I also put together an order for Ken's Guest Bath. We won't start this project till Jan 2006, but I still need to get all the plumbing fixtures ordered in case there are any back orders. The Ken's Master Bath is going well. It has been completely demo'd, the tub deck has been modified to make the shower larger and the shower has been hot mopped. The granite fabricator's did a measure on Thursday for the shower floor and the shower dam. These will be granite slab. Next week sometime the floor and dam will be installed and we can start the tile work.
I also worked on a change order for Sim. They have decided that they want me to order all the appliances. I had to send the final order in and make sure there was no price increases. I won't hear back from the vendor until Monday.
I wasn't feeling well at about 3:30 so I packed up my stuff and took some work home with me. When I got home I took some Rolaids and felt better. J & I went for a walk for a 1/2 hour again. We went and got dinner at Quizno's. I had the honey mustard chicken salad. It was better the first time I had it. We watched Resident Evil-Apocolypse. I like Milla Jovovich. I wanted to watch it because I like the fight scene at the end. I forgot how scary it was. I forgot all about the jump out at you moments.
-Until tomorrow.

Today was a good day!!

I woke up feeling pretty good. We had a staff meeting this morning and all I was craving was orange juice. Guess what, the rep from SubZero/Wolf brought in bagel sandwiches and ORANGE JUICE!!! I was so happy!
I worked on the Sween change order most of the day. I got interupted with small stuff from Ken and Py. I also had to price a small vanity for one of our vendor's house. I still didn't get the Sween change order done. There is just so much to go through and verify. Hopefully, I will finish it tomorrow.
When I got home I changed immediately into shorts, t-shirt and tennis shoes and told J I was ready to walk. We walked for 30 minutes. I have been meaning to do this since I found out I was pregnant. I have finally started.
J & I went to the grocery store after our walk. I look at the grocery store in a completely different light now. There were so many things that I denied myself. I was such a crash dieter. I realized I have no idea how to eat right. I am also very lazy and don't cook. It's just one of the last things I want to do when I get home from a long day at work. I also don't have a dishwasher, so that means I have to wash the dishes. I am trying to fight this right now and not be so lazy and such a procrastinator. It's just so hard when you feel nauseous most of the time.
I haven't really had morning sickness in the morning. It is usually really bad in the evening and at night. This has been my first week of this symptom...I hope it doesn't get worse.
So after our grocery store adventure we watched our tv shows...Survivor and Alias. Survivor is going exactly how I want it to. Alias is eh...so-so. I don't mind the new people at all, it's just kind of boring. J & I fell asleep watching it. We probably watched 1/2 of it and was out.
That probably means I need sleep. Time for bed!!
-Until tomorrow.

Not so good night.

I'm not feeling so hot. It's time for bed.
-Until tomorrow.

It's finally out!!

I told everyone at work. I was tired of keeping a secret!! J & I ARE EXPECTING!! This is the reason why I haven't been blogging so much. I have just been exhausted and experiencing some mild nausea. I am so happy everyone knows now! I am 7 weeks today! Now I can document all my true feelings and everything that I'm going through! My due date is June 17.
I am actually feeling great today! I had orange juice this morning, which was so refreshing, it just made me feel great. Food has a whole new taste to it. That is really cool, but it's really bad because I don't want to gain too much weight. I want to be healthy!!!
So there it is, the BIG news!!! I'll write more later...I promise!!

I am alive!!

I have been so busy and tired and sick and hungry and all kinds of things. The internet has just not been that important to me for the past 2 weeks. I have so many more important things I'm thinking about lately. You just look around and see all the things that really need to be done and taken care of and the internet just isn't as attractive as is has been the last couple of months.
Work is as busy as ever. I have 2 new jobs I'm working on: McKell and Strod.
"Senior designer" called me this morning at home and wanted me to meet him at a jobsite. The new client is Strod. The view of downtown from her house is spectacular!! Her existing kitchen didn't have any straight walls. They were all different angles all over the place. I've never seen anything like it. It's like when they built the kitchen they didn't use a straight edge at all. The client gave us a check for $6,000. This is just the design fee. This covers all my time to design and do the drawings. We are also going to bring in an engineer on this job because we want to get rid of a wall that two beams die into. Like I said it's weird and it baffled "Senior designer", which says alot to me. There is not much that baffles "Senior designer." We were at Strod's house for 3 1/2 hours measuring. I really like days like today because I get to the office and eat lunch and it's almost 2pm! For the rest of the day I worked on Ken and Gor. Theses jobs are going really well. Yesterday at Ken the shower was hotmopped and they started the addition of a closet wall and a new pocket door. I have arranged for the granite fabricator's to come out and measure tomorrow. They floor and the dam of the shower will be solid granite slab. This has to go in first and then the walls and shower seat will be tiled. I haven't really worked directly on the new job McKel. I have been handing that over to one of the other design assistants. He is doing all the pricing and drawings for it. I just know minor details. "Senior designer" keeps forgetting this and keeps asking me questions about it. He has an appointment with McKel on Thursday at 11am. I asked him today who he wanted at the appointment, me or the other designer. He said he didn't know yet. I have been telling him to give more to the other designer because I can only do so much. I have tons of other small tasks that have been on the backburner for too long. I have also been working on finalizing working drawings for the Py job. I approved all the drawings today for the kitchen. I just have to finalize the activity room (which includes a laundry area, entertainment center and bookcases). The room is huge and it has a ton of cabinets in it. I am ready to put this one to bed. "Senior designer" and I went to the Py jobsite and verified some measurements. We overlooked the powder room so we measured it and now I have to do the drawings and send this in with the rest of the job.
Another thing I am trying to get done is a huge change order for the Sween job. This is the second house that the Sween's have done. We didn't do the kitchen in the second house though. We put in a beautiful master closet, all new interior doors, one-of-a-kind wine cellar, a gorgeous office and we also put stone in various areas of the exterior of the house, and redesigned the front driveway. This job is now done. There are several things that we did that have not been charged to the client. I have to compile all that. It is rather difficult on such a large job. But "Senior designer" tends to be such a tazmanian devil and does things without telling me, then at the end of the job asks me to put together the change order. Luckily, I have already done 4 change orders prior and am not completely and utterly behind, but I'm still behind. This is my priority tomorrow at work. Nothing else is important. I will finish the Sween change order tomorrow no matter what!!
So, how's that for catching up. It's only one day and I give you a novels worth of words. I'm going to go be brainless for 10 minutes and then time for bed.
-Until tomorrow.

Football Day!

I slept till 10am. I felt well rested. J and I had some errands to run. We went to CostCo to get some water and a birthday present for J's brother RD. Scout and Amy Jo came over at 12:45 to watch the Charger game. Wahoo, go chargers. If you know me you know how excited I am about watching the Charger game. Football is just not my thing. I have really tryed to be a football fan. I just can't. We are watching to game right now. It is the 4th quarter. Chargers 27, raiders 14. There is 4 minutes left. These guys at my house are all crazy Charger fans. I mean that in a loving way. Their nuts though!!!
J and I have to go to his parents house at around 4:30 for RD's birthday.
I'm just going to watch more tv tonight and then to bed at a decent hour.
-Until tomorrow.

I was non stop all day.

I woke up this moring at 8:30. Thank goodness J set the alarm. He's a good man. I would have totally everslept if he hadn't. I was ready and out the door to Chica's at 9:30. Everything was ready except for the croissants and the balloons. Chica's man had gone to get those items and went to the wrong stores. He made it back and everything was ok. We ate good food and the presents were so cute and the games went well! Short, simple and sweet. It was so fun. I hope Sarah Jean liked it.
After the shower we had to switch into wedding mode. Chica and I received a wedding invitation for today after we had sent the baby shower invitations out. The wedding is for Rodger. He worked with me and assisted "senior designer" also. He left our firm about a year ago. Rodger wants to be an architect. He works at an architectural firm downtown on the 14th floor in a corner office. He is so much happier there. Anyway, Chica, Homie(Chica's boyfriend), and I were in the car driving away at 1:14. We picked J up and were on our way to the church by 1:40. We parked at the church at 2pm on the dot. We thought we were going to be late but the bride was standing outside and the wedding party was organizing in the back of the church. There were still lots of people arriving, thank goodness. The wedding was supposed to start at 2pm. It started at 2:35. The wedding mass was in spanish and some parts in english. More spanish though. The wedding was finally over at 4pm. That was the longest wedding I have ever been to. We drove to the reception and had some fruit and veggie snacks. The bride and groom finally arrived. It was a mexican wedding and they had italian food. I think that is funny! It was really good food though...garlic bread, caesar salad, bowtie pasta and tortellini with choice of red sauce and alfredo sauce and lasagne.
There was a mariachi band first, they were really good. Then a ranchero band was up. That was neat. We stayed till 8pm. We were going to at least wait till the cake was cut. But the dollar dance was just starting at 8pm so we all decided to leave. It was a very nice wedding.
I was just exhausted from staying up the night before till 2am.
J and I watched a couple of our recorded shows when we got home. We watched Alias and The Apprentice. I really am upset about Alias. I don't even really like watching it as much. I am so mad that Michael Vaughn died.
I'm really tired, I'm going to bed and am not setting an alarm for tomorrow.
-Until tomorrow.

I took the day off!

Slept in a little today!! I had some housework to get done today. I finally got to watch some tv from this week! I watched Martha Stewart The Apprentice. I really like that show. I mainly like it because I like the tasks they get and how they execute them. I always think of what I would do. I know there is a lot of back stabbing and unneccessary drama, but all that aside I like the tasks.
My friend, Chica, and I are throwing Sarah Jean a baby shower on Saturday. I put together a cd of music for name that tune with the work baby in the title. I went over to Chica's house and we went to the grocery store and got watermelon, grapes, pineapple, cake mix...etc. We decorated the her house and I finally left her house at 1:30am. I got home at 1:45 and it is so past my bedtime!!
-Until tomorrow.

"The Intimidator's" Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARGE!!aka The Intimidator!!

This whole week has been really hard to get through. I'm just exhausted! I stopped drinking coffee cold-turkey. I didn't really plan it, I just kept forgetting my creamer everyday and now I'm like why bother, I'm so far into withdrawal it's just easier not to drink it. It really amazes me how addicted you get to that stuff. I don't even drink that much. I have maybe 1/2 cup. Maybe. I love having it with CoffeeMate French Vanilla Creamer!! I also like Cinnamon Vanilla Creme and Creme Brulee! I can't have my coffee without it. It is just heaven!
Work dragged by. I have tons to do and I got tons done, but I couldn't tell you what specifically (aren't you glad). I got off work at about 4:45. When I got home I made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It was for Sarge's birthday. J was in LA all day at a Dacor training. Dacor is a brand of high end appliances. He got home just in time to leave for small group.
Our small group leaders, Jeff & Kristin, just bought a new home. Tonight was our first time seeing the new place. It is so beautiful! Kristin did such a great job picking out the colors. It's so homey!!
We studied Hannah and ate cake and brownies. J & I just got home. It's time for bed.
-Until Tomorrow

I was really tired today.

I worked on Ken a majority of today. We met the client at the slab yards. She picked out 18x18 Golden Tuscany Travertine tiles and Imperial Gold Granite slabs for her master bathroom. I confirmed all the plumbing fixtures and accessories. There is still a question of the shower valves and the tub faucet. She decided she wants a handheld shower head for both. I had already ordered both of these fixtures. Anyway, demolition of the existing masterbath will start on Monday. I love job starts. I just have to get everything ordered so the job will stay on time. I have to order all of Gor and Ken by the end of the day on Thursday. I am taking Friday off. "Senior designer" is taking more time off. He will not be in the office Thurday-Monday. When he is here I just can't stay on a schedule. So, I like it when he is gone. They are going up to Sonoma with his wife's sister.
After work I had my ladie's small group. We started a new study on Phillipians. I really liked the first study. After the study I met J and the men's softball team at On The Border. They won their game 9-8. After most of the games they go for Taco Tuesday, tacos are $1 each. Today is Amy Jo's birthday. Scout, her husband, is on the men's softball team also. He brought a birthday cake for her and surprised her. It was fun! I love On The Border's chips and salsa!!
J & I didn't get home till 10:30pm. Time for bed, I'm exhausted!!
-Until tomorrow.

Today was a blur...

I got up, I drove to work, I worked, I ate lunch, I worked some more, I drove home, I ate dinner, and now I am blogging. I don't have anything interesting to tell you. I'm kind of boring lately. At work I went through the Gor cabinet order with a fine tooth comb. I will make a list of all the revisions and fax them to Redl tomorrow. Wa-hoo exciting!
Maybe more interesting things will happen tomorrow.
-Until tomorrow.

It's time for a new week

I know I have been lagging for the past couple of days butI had a cold and it was pretty miserable. I'm better now.
Friday night I hung out with my best friend Chica. We planned all the details for Sarah Jean's baby shower that will be next Saturday. We also went shopping. We had a lot of fun! Chica and I work at the same company together. We also worked together at our prevous jobs. We have know each other for about 8 years. The only bad thing about working together is that we don't hang out enough after work. It's just hard for some reason. But when we do hang out we really have a lot of fun together. I stayed over at her house until 1am. So much for going to bed early on the weekend to beat the cold I had. I slept in though on Saturday morning. I actually felt pretty good when I woke up.
On Saturday, J & I went out to look at something he wanted for his birthday. He was originally supposed to get the deck in his truck replaced because it wasn't working right. But he couldn't find a deck that was compatible with the sub he currently has. He had gone to 2 different places that took out his dash, replaced the deck, hooked everything back up and then realized that the sub wouldn't work. Then, they had to take everything back out and put in the old one. Both places told him he was going to have to spend around $1,000 to make it work. He decided it wasn't worth it. He has decided he wants a 400 DVD changer now. So, we went to check out prices at some different places. We also went to some furniture stores. We were thinking about getting a chair for our living room. Right now we have a Love Sac. We love the Love Sac, but we need a real chair. I didn't really see anything that I liked. It will be really hard to coordinate with our sofa without getting into custom fabrics. I really don't want to do that. I would like a sectional sofa eventually, so we will save up for that instead of getting a chair that doesn't really match. I also saw the bed I want. I'm gonna put it on my wish list!! So J & I went to Best Buy and bought his birthday present. We got chinese food for dinner. But before J set up his new "toy", we watched a movie. We watched Robots. It was really cute. J started putting all his DVD's in the new changer. We got tired early though. We were both pretty tired. J had a cold too and he was a day or two behind me so he didn't feel good either.
I woke up at around 8:45am this morning. J had a pretty bad sinus headache so I went to church without him. Today was a great day of nothing. I actually didn't touch the computer all weekend except for now. I just watched brainless tv!! I watched Bridezilla! It was funny to watch all these high maintenance women plan their weddings in New York on their $90,000 budgets.
So now the weekend has come to an end. Boo. J & I just got finished watching another movie. The Longest Yard. It was actually pretty good. It had some foul language in it and some violence. The violence was mainly football violence. It had a good story though.
Time for bed!
-Until tomorrow!

I guess I've been busy...

I don't even remember what I've done so far this week. I worked and oh, I worked and worked somemore. Monday night I got my hair cut. Thank goodness, my bangs were in my face. Last night I went to the Men's softball game. They played awesome and won 27-7. We went to On The Border for $1 tacos. We didn't get home till after 10. Tonight was our small group. Our study was on Rahab. I can't go into detail. It's my bedtime. I don't think I've been getting enough sleep. I think I'm getting a cold, I'm sneezing every 10 minutes.
-Until tomorrow.

October is breast cancer awareness month!!

Did you know?

• 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer?
• A woman dies of breast cancer every 11 minutes?
• 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no known risk factors?
• 5-10% have a family history of breast cancer?
• Breast cancer is the most common cancer of all women?
• It is the leading cause of death for women 35-54?

You are at Risk if you're...

• Female
• 50+ years of age
• Never having given birth
• Family history of breast cancer
• Family history of cancer
• Younger than 12 when menstruation began
• Smoker
• Obese

Women over the age of 20 should examine their breast once a month!!!

Please click here for Breast Self Examination.

I also added a bunch of breast cancer awareness links to the sidebar.

The day went by too fast

J & I got up entirely too early this morning. We got up at 7:45am. J had told his parents that we would go to SeaWorld with them not knowing that we would stay up till 1am last night.
SeaWorld was fun. We saw the baby clydesdale. His legs are so tall he has to spread them out to reach the ground to eat. Kinda like a giraffe. We also watched a police dog demonstration. It is so amazing to watch those dogs. At the end of the demonstration one of the dogs opened the police car door and got in and closed the door. They also said that when they are outside of the car they usually leave the dog in the car. If anything happens, they have a button that they can push that will let the dog out of the car. We also watched The Wild Artic and Haunted Lighthouse 4-D. Water sprays you right in the face. That's just not fun to me. It was a beautiful clear day and J wore plenty of sunscreen!
After SeaWorld, we were beat. J took a nap and I tried to watch ER. The DVR did not record it properly. It was skipping the entire time. I fell asleep for about 10 minutes. I woke up at 4:57pm. We had to be at J's parents house at 5 to celebreate J's birthday. Good thing we live close. We ate hamburger's and had cake. J opened presents. It was nice. I talked alot to my niece trying to catch up on her life. She is a freshman in highschool. I can't believe how old she is now. She is involved in band. She plays the clarinet and is really good at it. She uses my clarinet from my band days. She tried out for pep band and only 4 clarinets made it. My niece and 3 other seniors. I'm so proud. She is also very involved in playing soccer. She is going to tryout for the highschool soccer team. This summer she went to Holland and played soccer for a week. She's really good! She's just growing up too fast.
After the birthday party we went to 7eleven. I got a french vanilla cappuccino, my favorite. It was so yummy. I wish it wasn't as fattening as it is...boo!! We went to the grocery store. Our life is so exciting!! Grocery store on a Saturday night. There isn't any other place I'd rather be but with my wonderful J grocery shopping! When we finally got home we watched a movie. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. This version was made in 1988 by the BBC. It was a little hoky and slow, but it followed the story exactly. It was 2 1/2 hours long. J had a hard time staying awake. I was interested because that is what I am reading right now.
It's getting late! We are going to 8:15am church in the morning because the Charger game starts at 10am.
Here are some photos from SeaWorld!
-Until tomorrow.


The Penguins 


The Anheuser-Busch Donkey 


Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale Colt 


Police Dog 


Pet's Rule Upside Down Rope Climber!

Fridays are awesome!!

Fridays are always the best days at work...duh. I went in early and worked on Sim. The theater bar was all I had left. I finished it, for now! I also worked on Gor and Far. The plumber was at Gor this morning trying to finalize his bid. We already had a bid from another plumber, but we felt that his price was high. We were right to bid it out to a second plumber, he was almost half the price of the 1st plumber. So I signed the contract for the plumber for the Gor job. The Far job is almost complete. We are waiting on travertine slab countertops to be made and the glass enclosure for the shower. I got 3 options on how to install the glass for the shower, none of which were exactly how "senior designer" wanted them. I tried calling him, but he had horrible cell service and we couldn't hear each other. I decided not to decide until monday what to do. Something happened today that I wasn't expecting. My new office is actually in progress. The office I have now is only a year old. The space that I designed was for me basically to be alone, maybe an assistant in the future, possibly. One of the other offices flooded and that designer had to move into "senior designer's" office. His office is basically a storage room. It has tons of veneer samples, tile samples, plans, paperwork that is probably 15-20 years old. All this was scattered everywhere in his office. There was just enough room for someone to clear out a path to his desk and to work on a computer. So "senior designer" decided to move in with me. I did not design that office for him to be in there. It just doesn't function properly. He brings in paperwork, samples and plans all the time. I am constantly trying to figure out what to do with it all and keep my sanity and get my work done. I convinced "senior designer" that he and I needed to move into his office. Afterall, it was bigger, had a better ocean view and was quieter. Right now my office is grand central, it is the first office you see. I am constantly being interrupted. So, the flooded office has been repaired. New flooring has been put in. And all the furniture from "senior designer's" office was put in to this new office that was flooded. So today there were guys cleaning out my new office to be. Even though all the furniture is gone, all the junk is still there. This is huge progress. I am going to try to take the time this weekend to finalize details of the new office. I am trying to give "senior designer" a small space in whick he can't scatter junk all over. My new space will have tons of storage and I am going to face the ocean. It will be great!!
So, I left the office at around 4pm, went by Marshall's and got a few things, got home and read some more of my book. I finished the Magician's Nephew. J got home at around 7:30pm. He had played in a golf tournament all day with his work. He was exhausted. We got ready and were out the door at 8pm. We went to Rubio's for dinner and we were at the bowling alley by 9pm. We met friends there for Thunder Bowling. We had a great time. Here is who came: Kaydee & Sarge "The Intimidator", Scout & Amy Jo, Sunrise, and two other couples that I don't have false names for yet. We had a great time! We didn't get home till 12:45am! Here are some pictures! Enjoy!
-Until tomorrow.


J


The Intimidator


Kaydee


Amy Jo, Sunrise, & Ellie Mae


The Girls


The Guys