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