Friday Five

Get ready! It’s a parenthetical sort of day.

1. My sleep over the last couple months has been pretty meager, to say the least. I’m not exactly falling asleep at my desk, but I have been tucking myself into bed around 8:00 or so (yup, I am a party animal). This early bedtime has been pretty great, with a couple exceptions: we started our childbirth prep classes on Monday, and they run until 9:30 (and one of the “supplies” for the class is a pillow! So cruel); a couple Saturdays ago, my middle-of-the-night wakeup was around 2:00 (a little earlier than usual), so I got to peruse all the pictures on Facebook and Instagram of my friends’ Halloween festivities (again, party animal). I suppose this is my body’s way of preparing me to become No Sleep Jones come December, but damn…it’s also making me feel pretty uncool. (Is step one of parenthood admitting that I probably wasn’t very cool in the first place?)

2. This weekend will consist of our usual College Football Saturday (in which we DVR every single game and fast-forward through/watch the interesting bits of whatever we please), interrupted briefly by a breastfeeding class. This contrast strikes me as sort of hilarious, but that’s what you get with a baby that’s going to be born on the cusp of bowl season. (Hopefully we’ve conditioned her in utero not to be alarmed when we start shouting at the television. If not, well…sorry, baby.)

3. I’ve been reviewing my 30 Before 30 list – with about a month to go, there are some pretty clear “not gonna happen” items…and I’m ok with that. Some of the items will be easily rolled over into whatever Adult To-Do List comes after turning 30– horseback riding, summiting Mt. Tallac, taking a photo a day for a year– and some I’m willing to just let go. This is probably a post unto itself, but let me say for now that I originally intended for my 30 Before 30 to be more aspirational than a straight “must-do” list.

4. The number of televisions in our house is (finally?) equal to the number of adults. No tv in the nursery means I’ll have to have something to keep me entertained during what I understand will likely be months of erratic sleep, so we’re in the market for a tablet. Any suggestions? We’re not an Apple family, and spending the amount of money an iPad would require seems fairly ridiculous, so tell me what you know about the Samsung Galaxy, the Kindle Fire, and their ilk.

5. Being in “countdown” mode isn’t exactly a new thing to me (I like to have a finish line in sight, whether it’s a vacation or other event), but it seems pretty momentous to have only four weeks left before I go on maternity leave, and only six weeks (SIX WEEKS WHAT) before my due date. I still can’t really wrap my head around the fact that they’re just going to LET us leave the hospital with a baby that we CREATED (magic, got it)…but I guess that’s what happens, isn’t it?

What are you up to this weekend?

Gearing up

Thank you for all your kind words after my big “reveal”– I am not often thrilled by others’ ultrasound images, so thanks for humoring me. 🙂 The nice part of waiting until nearly halftime to share pregnancy news is carrying around this little secret for so long, but now that we’re officially “out” (and how!), I’m beginning to see just how long the list of Important Plans to Be Made is. Of course, I’ve been surreptitiously adding my preliminary favorites to a hidden Amazon shopping list, which helped prepare us slightly for the gauntlet of Buy Buy Baby (whose name I find unbearably crass)– but only slightly. The danger of an enormous store filled to the brim with every conceivable piece of baby equipment is that you will inevitably walk out somewhat cross-eyed. We were able to leave having been able to lay eyes and hands on the stroller/carseat combo that I thought we’d like, and with a fuller understanding of just how widely tastes in furnishings can vary (surely someone is buying that cow-print carseat, but it certainly won’t be me).

I’m sure we’ll be back in another such store soon, but for now I’m cowering near the computer, which contains plenty of helpful information and reviews, plus an occasional gem such as this one (click to embiggen; I promise it’s worth it):

A quick goodbye to 2012

Oh, 2012, you kicked my ass. Maybe it was just these last three months in particular (because it’s never all bad, is it?), but I won’t be sad to see you go. Tonight I will enjoy the company of my husband, friends, and plenty of champagne as we bid good riddance to this year in one of my favorite places. (That’s the view from our bedroom– not too shabby, right?) A good friends reminded me not to challenge the universe, but I have to say that I feel like 2013 has to be better. Happy new year to all of you– may you all enjoy a year full of love and joy and adventure.

Lately

Recently, things ’round these parts have been…

…sleepy. Mostly because of this guy, who still hasn’t quite figured out that, in this family, we sleep all night. (And remember to go to the bathroom outside, but one thing at a time, right?)

His full name is Samuel Reginald Sarkisian, but usually he is "puppy." Either that or "leave the cat alone!"

…social. We’re attempting to get Sir Puppington used to being around people that aren’t us (he does enough growling/barking at GP as it is, so we need some socialization STAT), plus there have been various out-of-towners to  entertain for the last couple weeks. Remember downtime? Me neither.

…cultured. Both low and, well…medium? In the last month, I’ve been to a concert, a handful of hockey games (including the playoffs, holla! But don’t get too excited, because this series is a nailbiter for Los Tiburones), and a musical.

Look, it's not like it was the opera or anything. There were numerous fart jokes. Still, THE THEAT-AAAHH! (Which is how I pronounced it all night long. Sorry, GP.)

…pretty. I finally caved (to…myself? Is that a thing?) and signed up for Birchbox, which has brought me a new scent to try (probably not a keeper, but pleasant enough to use up the sample), eyeshadows to practice my rarely-used “smoky” skills, and a couple natural face-related products. Oh, and this hair oil! That I am already obsessed with, even though there’s no way I can justify a full-priced bottle (yes, even with free shipping).

…industrious. You know how sometimes all the projects you’re a part of at work are super-busy at once? Yeah, that. Spreadsheets, mail merges, and paper-cuts for days.

Friday Five

End-of-week randomness? You’ve got it!

I have been eating grapefruit segments over plain Greek yogurt, topped with chopped roasted almonds, all week. Grapefruit is something that I could have sworn I didn’t like– “I only like grapefruit-flavored things,” I’d say– but wouldn’t you know it, I dutifully segmented a juicy ruby-red on Monday and haven’t looked back since. I have very few food aversions, so I’m happy to have checked this one off the (pretty short) list.

—–

I am having what Rachel Zoe would call “an orange moment.” I bought Essie’s Orange, It’s Obvious and Revlon’s Orange Flip lipstick (a Cupcakes and Cashmere favorite, and I am nothing if not highly suggestible), and have decided on orange as my “base-bright” for the spring (and summer? Probably). It’s been alternating between pouring and drizzling outside for the last few days, and this orange manicure is basically the only thing keeping me from rocking myself and whimpering softly in a corner.

—–

My grandma recently acquired her first computer! This is a big deal, because now she has email and I can feel better about not calling her that frequently (I call her! Just…not frequently). In true Grandma fashion, her email handle is [Grandpa’s name][Uncle’s name]@domain dot com. Yes, she has two other children. No, I have no idea why they’re not included in her email address. Maybe gender uniformity? Please tell me hilarious stories of your parents and grandparents on the internet, like these.

—–

I am thisclose to being done with 1Q84, which I have checked out in both hardcover (pages 1-635, then had to return it) and Kindle formats (pages 636 to end). I like its brand of magical realism, could do with less plentiful descriptions of breasts (is this a Murakami thing? I hope not), but would ultimately recommend. Has anyone else read it? What should I read next?

—–

We’ll be spending the weekend braving forecasted rain in southern California, testing the resiliency of our bodies on roller coasters at Magic Mountain. Because we are nerdy enough to be (LITERAL) card-carrying members of an actual roller coaster enthusiast organization, we’ll be able to ride them until…well, until we just plain can’t take it anymore.

Accidental hiatus

Eff you, hotel magnet. Mommies and childless married ladies go on business trips, too.

Sorry, folks! I know, I know…I answer eleven random questions and then big fat disappear for over a month. I have my reasons, the largest of which was a two-week work trip to South Carolina (maybe a little recap is in order? I did manage to have some recreational time while I was there, in between asking 12-year-olds questions about sex) and a minor one being that GP and I made our annual attempt to watch many/most of the Academy Award-nominated films (via illegal download, shh). I’m happy to report that we’ve watched eight of nine Best Picture nominees– all except for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which neither of us believes has a snowball’s chance of winning anything, given critical response. This year’s field seems much weaker than last year’s, and I have a hunch that Hollywood (who, more than anything, love Hollywood) will go for The Artist, which was completely charming. Hello, tap-dancing! So fun.

In slightly-less-exciting news, I have added this calendar to my cube and this recipe (with an andouille substitute) to my repertoire. Basically, I’m winning life.

Anyone at an Oscars party tonight? We’re off to my parents’ house for dinner and gown-judgement.

 

Friday, I love your face

The last couple weeks have been a little trying, health-wise (the in-laws brought a throat-focused ailment to town with them, which left us both with tonsillitis, then I had The World’s Worst Sinus Headache for a couple days this week), but I’m finding plenty of reasons not to completely take to my bed immediately after limping home from work. Among them…

• An anniversary dinner at a nearby Austrian restaurant, which allowed us to taste some never-before-sipped wines (even beyond the wonder of grüner veltiner!) and sigh over some pretty wonderful spätzle (and, clearly, to have more fun than ever thought possible with umlauts)
• A flurry of online-purchase shipments, including our now-traditional anniversary album (Yes, two years in a row does a tradition make. That was some weird syntax right there.)
• Friday Night Lights. I know I’m about five years late to the “I love the Taylors” party, but you guys…I love the Taylors. And Matt Saracen (and his grandma!), and Tim Riggins, but not Lyla Garrity. Sorry, just can’t. Even when she’s getting her locker defaced with lipstick.
• Christmas music on Pandora. Somehow, I skipped over the segment of July in which I desperately yearn for sweater-and-hot-chocolate weather, but I’m making up for it now– the perfect counterpoint to hours of Powerpoint editing at work.
• Moccasins, my new iteration of house-slipper. GP has been rocking the moc slippers for quite some time (you’re welcome, dude), but I had been holding out for the right pair…which I found for about $12 at Target. It’s all I can do not to just wear these everywhere during the weekends. Target, you complete me.
• The beginning of hockey season. Not just because I get to regularly sport this shirt, but because I missed those guys. We have full-season tickets now, so I’ll get to do even more power-play-shark-mouth-hand-signaling. Joy!

Tell me, friends, what’s making your week? Also, here is a picture of me in some Sally Jesse Raphael glasses, taken in Japan. Enjoy!

In an attempt to be less of a bummer…

I will now list things that are getting me through this week. (I know it’s only Monday, you guys, but it has been a rough couple weeks.)

Thing the First: Last weekend was our first “free” weekend in awhile. Now, it’s not that we’ve been doing terrible things during the last couple months’ worth of weekends, but there is certainly something to be said for a weekend where the greatest demands upon you are to make waffles on Sunday and get your car washed. (Nailed it!)

Thing the Second: There seems to be something of a Simpsons renaissance afoot in the Sarkisian household. I am in full support of this, and GP is gladly curating our pre-sleep showings, filling in my gaps of Groening knowledge.

Thing the Third: I’m expecting something in the mail both tomorrow and Wednesday. Will there ever come a day when I am not absolutely psyched to see the UPS truck? I sure hope not.

Thing the Fourth: Speaking of mail, I got a surprise $100 MasterCard gift thingie in the mail today from Hyundai. Yes, folks, I have a new car and then they also gave me money. I win.

Now that we’re even closer to Friday than we were this morning, tell me: what’s getting you through the week?

You need to eat this.

As a native Californian, I am basically required to love avocados…and I do. I saw this as a suggestion (let’s not call it a recipe, ok?) on The Kitchn, and was all over it. Best breakfast that’s achievable in roughly three minutes, hands down.

Toast with a quarter of an avocado mashed/spread on top, a little sprinkle of salt and crushed red pepper. Get on it!

Wordless Wednesday: a walk through the neighborhood