waiting waiting waiting

so update: MIchael and I moved to Rexburg about a month ago! He has a bit less than a year of school to finish (YAY!) and so here we are! We have a nice little apartment and got all set up with new midwives so now it's a waiting game.

Michael has ajob so he is gone almost everyday (getting ajob here is rare so I'm not complaining)  I just don't have a job so I don't have much to do but wait.

The baby's room is finished! YAY! The house is almost completely unpacked (YAY) and guess who hasn't arrived yet? The. baby.

I really am getting impatient. I know I shouldn't, but seriously, I am SO SICK of being pregnant. I'm pretty sure I drive everyone crazy with my complaining but it is just MY TIME TO BE DONE!

Maybe my next post will be about my new baby (tomorrow. tomorrow. tomorrow. Say it with me)

OH and is anyone else NOT ready for thanksgiving and Christmas??? 

Time to Brag

So I don't do crafty things very much. Okay, hardly at all. But we bought a new sewing machine and I hate to see it sit there not being used so I took some advice (stole an idea) from a friend

and I remember an idea a sister in law gave me about

making a pillow cover and I MADE ONE!

Yes indeed-y. I made one and may I just say I am proud!

For a first timer it turned out rather well!

First: I bought a yard of brown felt and about a yard of leftover fabric that I thought was cute.

Next, I took the felt and with the top and bottom of a cup I cut out circles. About 20 of each. Then I cut the circles in half.

I sewed the half circles on (like so) and kept going and going and

when I got close the middle I switched to the smaller semi-circles.

OH! I forgot to tell you I measured out the fabric to fit my pillow. Sorry. That is an important step.

Anywho, I sewed it all together....

...and VIOLA! Instant flower pillow covering thing! YAY!

I deserve a round of applause. I think it looks pretty darn good for a first timer.(Although it did take my four hours when the pattern thing I followed said it should only take 1...whatever. I'm a beginner, alright?)



FALLLLLLLLL

I Absolutely ADORE autumn. So when the weather gets a bit

chilly compared to summer and the leaves fall

and the air is brisk, i get so excited because

IT'S TIME FOR FALL!

For me, autumn means scarves, hats, boots, cute/adorable/chic jackets. Going outside on walks and not worrying about overheating but not freezing either. Breathing in the brisk air and feeling

better and healthier and for me the world just feels like

a better place.

One downside to the fall (well it's not really a downside, I guess)

ok so one thing that is difficult for me right now

is that I'm pregnant and I can't wear all the lovely autumn-y outfits I could before. Bummer. But that is ok! Because I love it anyway!

Totally random posting but I just had to share some feelings!



lately

One day, when I have a house of my own with a yard and trees and stuff

I'm going to plant plant raspberry bushes and apple trees and so on...

okay so I haven't thought it TOTALLY through, only because it seems like a distant

dream, but I really would like to have a garden and reap the rewards from it!

So in the mean time, we bought raspberries from the local Rotary! 14 lbs of them! 

I was out of town the day we were supposed to pick them up and MIchael forgot so when we got them they weren't really raspBERRIES as they were raspMUSH. But they were awesome just the same!

We have already made some raspberry vinagairette (how is it spelled?) that I quickly put on a spinach salad for dinner!

I don't know if I'd make it again. Or maybe I'll try a new recipe. This recipe was REALLY acidic and it sort of left little burns on my lips... but I was so proud that I made it that I just ate it anyways!

Michael surprised me when I came home the other day and he made raspberry freezer jam! Oh Freezer Jam! How I love thee!

It is so good!

but.....

I still have like 12 lbs left and I'm running out of options and fridge space (it's a big container)

any recipes? suggestions?

Thank you everyone who gave me advice on sewing machines and what to use and all that stuff.

I haven't bought one yet (big surprise) but I am narrowing down my

options and I really appreciate hearing views from people who OWN sewing machines.

So, THANK YOU :)

After not seeing him for 6 months, my little brother Robert and his friend have come over from Wyoming and are staying with us! It is really great to see my brother again! I have missed

him! I actually miss all my family (imagine that). It's hard when you don't get to see them more than once a year. I guess that is what phones and skype is for but still, nothing can really beat how nice it is to see them face to face and hug and just be with them!

So, while they are here I have been searching my brains (and my husbands brains, and the internets brains) on things to do in Washington. I think one of my big fears is that

people will come and visit me and have a horribly boring time and never come see me again (abandonment issues, anyone?) So anyway, yesterday was our first full day with the boys so we went to the farmers market in the morning and walked around (they really don't have a farmers market in wyoming so Robert was in awe, aw, ah, ?, of it and it's producey, homemadey awesomeness) , we went out to dinner at a local pub/lunch. Truthfully, I don't know what came into our

minds to decide to take two boys under 21, and a pregnant woman into a bar but I guess we were feeling pretty rebellious. Needless to say, we got a LOT of funny looks, but the food was good nevertheless.

After that we went to Anacortes and hung out at Washington Park. It is right by the ocean and there are all these really cool jagged square like rocks that you can climb around on.

These are pictures from the last time Michael and I went (about 2 weeks ago) but I'm just trying to show you how pretty the beaches in Washington are!

After Washington park, we went to our wards Pioneer Day Luau. Because you just KNOW that after the Pioneers got to Salt Lake they celebrated by roasting a WHOLE pig (be thankful I don't have any pictures of that)  and wearing leis . All sarcasm aside, it was fun.

After that we went home. Thank goodness. I didn't know entertaining people for a whole day could be so exhausting. My feet hurt, I had to pee (which isn't really that different from normal days) and I wanted to lie down and watch a movie and never move again.

And Monday....we're going to Seattle. Oh beer me strength (that is a quote from "The Office"...anyone?)



NEED

Okay everyone, it has come down to one conclusion...

I need to learn how to sew. My mom can sew, my sister can sew,

my cousins can sew, my sister in law can sew,

and I must learn.

Especially since now I have a baby boy on the way

I'd really like to make him clothes

and curtains

and shoes

and toys (if that even requires sewing...?)

and stuff.

Looking online at all this plethora of patterns and cloth it makes

me want to drool with longing!

First things first...I need a sewing MACHINE. I guess I could do the old old fashioned needle and thread and

making dinner over a hot fire in a pot waiting for my men to get home from slaving in the field-

 sort of thing but I'm too impatient for that.

Does ANYONE have any suggestions for a good sewing machine that isn't too expensive?

it's a...

Went to the doctors/ultra sound place on Friday (the 8th) to find out what our child is going

to be! This was SUCH an exciting thing for me, let me tell ya! Now I can TRULY

prepare! Prepare how I want the nursery to look, the clothes, and the name!

So we went to the ultra sound tech place (how do ya like the technical name?) and I had to have a full bladder. This was the most horrible thing ever! To have to have a full bladder and sit in a waiting room for FIVE HOURS (okay more like 20 min, but it felt like 5 hrs) while your husband

is being sweet and awesome and trying to make you laugh and you just CAN'T or an accident

might occur, and for some unknown reason your nose has decided to see how many times it can make you sneeze is, in a word, HORRIBLE! This must be what hell is like!

SO! I finally get called back there and lay down and the sweet lady who is doing our ultrasound is "I'm going to check all these things and afterwards we are going to see what the sex is."

Ten min into checking everything she was like "Oh, look at that! It's a boy!"

we were both stunned with our mouths agape. A boy? Us? We are having a BOY?

This was/still is big news since we have seven (count 'em, SEVEN) nieces and no nephews!

MIchael kept saying "Are you sure?"  "Are you positive?" That poor ultrasound tech! She was like "Well, I'll check again" ....MIchael made her check 4 times.

So we are very very sure it is a boy! And we are very happy and excited!

So ending this whole unnecessarily (sp?) long post I just wanna say how BLESSED we feel that we are even able to HAVE a baby, let alone a boy! And that it is healthy and strong is the greatest blessing of all!



summah!

SO the past couple of weeks have been so much fun! A couple of weeks ago Michael's brother and sis in law came over for Father's day weekend! We hung out, got some delicious ice cream from Dairy Queen and I got to see these two lovely girlies (below) Annie and Maddie. some of my nieces. Aren't they ADORABLE?!

AFter they left, my sister and her family came over to visit me! I had not seen them for six months so it was so nice to see them again! I really missed my sister...which is really weird for me to say if you knew us at all growing up.

This is us...all pregnant and stuff. OH yeah, we are pregnant together! She is due about two weeks after me! How cool is that?!

I got to see Makayla too. Danielle's daughter and another one of my nieces! She is so cute! She has grown so much in the last six months!

And in other news, I find out the sex of my baby on the eighth! So less than a week! I am so excited to find out!

do you guys have any guesses on what it could be? :)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

I would like to recognize some father's today.It IS father's day after all :) These are guys that have directly or even indirectly

influenced my life and made it better in some way.

I'll start out with my dad Dale Speiser. I'm very grateful to have such a funny loving dad. Sometimes he could be very strict but

I know that it was because he loved us and wanted us

to turn out well. And I think he did a pretty good job because

we've all turned out successful and happy.

When things were hard at home we never knew it. He wanted us to be happy and he still does! He is so supporting and encouraging.

I LOVE YOU DAD.

This is dad in Ireland. What a nice hat :P

I'm so glad he could find someone who makes him happy

and that he could be sealed to for eternity. What a good

example for us.

I Love you dad.

NOw I would like to thank another dad in my life. Rick Kannely.

Rick is Michaels dad and a really great guy

Rick and Kim (his wife, my mom in law for those who don't know) joined the church later in life when they had already

started a family.

As difficult as it was at first they were faithful

and stuck with the gospel and I really

admire them for that.

Without Rick (and Kim of course) this beautiful family wouldn't be here.

And of course, he raised Michael to be the man he is today.

A wonderful husband, a strong member of the church, and a great

man all around.  And I'm most thankful for that :)

Last, but not least, I would like to recognize a soon-to-be father.

He has been the best thing in my life and

everyday he does something that has me realize how eternally

thankful I am to have him as a husband.

He is respectful, he supports me, and he loves me despite the stupid

things I say or do.

He makes me laugh. Since, I view laughter as a very

important part of my life I am SO SO grateful for this.

He is my very best friend. I am so so so so so (x100) thankful that he loves me and that I get to start a family with HIM. And I know

he will be a great father to his kids someday.

Happy Father's day!!!!

I'm not great with words so I hope this was , atleast, readable. :)

Did I REALLY put DAILY KANNELY!?!?!

HA! Just laughing at myself because I put "Daily happenings" and you maybe get a post from me once a month! And in GOOD months you'll get two! Filled with mostly pictures.

THis one will not be filled with pictures though. Maybe just one. And it is NOT of my own doing. Since we got a new desk top computer (instead of doing EVERYTHING on our old laptop) I haven't been able to add more than one picture to this thing...Does anyone know how I can fix this? If so, please help!

Michael is still working (sometimes it feels constantly, but I am just a needy wife who wants him home all the time) and he is taking a Wicklander Zulowski seminar/class because it looks really good on a resume! For those of you who don't know, W&Z is a class that teaches you how to interview people to get the most info out of them (oh and if you didn't know, he is Loss Prevention so he interviews "suspects" , mostly employees, when they steal or cause company loss)

So we had our fist ultrasound about a month ago and it was one of the most wonderful things! We saw the baby move! We had an appointment about 2 1/2 weeks ago and I heard his/her heartbeat! That was also wonderful! I can't even say how blessed I feel that Michael and I are having a baby!

 Okay, no I'm going to complain a bit... the first trimester I was SO SICK! Everyday I was very nauseous  all day and just overall sick. I have developed some aversions that I have never had before. Cucumbers...yuck yuck yuck. I used to love them but now they are slippery, slimy, gross nasty smelling things. I can't even think of them without feeling sick.

I don't think I really crave things (not in an outrageous "I have to have it for every meal" way) but I have been able to tolerate more foods now. NOw that I am in my second trimester I have gotten LOADS better! Only nauseous every once in a while! The only thing I'm noticing is that my pants are getting tighter and I have to pee. constantly.

All the complaining aside, I am so happy to be pregnant!

my due date is Nov 25th! I am almost 4 months now! I'll be officially 4 months in a week! Isn't he/she beautiful? :)

The weather in Washington is usually rainy, damp, dark but for the past couple of days we have had beautiful glorious sunshine! I walked to the Farmers market yesterday just to enjoy the sunshine! I bought flowers and a loaf of cinnamon bread! When Michael came home from work, we walked around in the sunshine too and enjoyed some ice cream! I LOVE SUNSHINE! OH washington! WHy can't we have this forever? It *is* June, afterall. Is sun too much to ask???

update shmupdate

So about a month ago (actually a month ago EXACTLY) we went on a trip to Germany! Michael 

is so awesome and surprised me with the tickets about a month earlier when I had a particularly bad day at work! He is so awesome! So anyways, here are some pictures of our trip.

Frankfurt from our hotel room window

 Breakfast. YUMMMY!!!

Why can't buildings in America look like this???

 My husband the cutie patootie.

Sorry about all the changing text colors. I was testing out some that I liked. I settled on this one.

So work has been good. Bev (one of my co-workers and friends) just came back from Germany too. She  had never been before and she LOVED it. She also fell in love with Doner kebaps. Those are so good! If you don't know what they are you will just have to travel over to Germany and try one!

So life has been very good over in our neck of the woods. Lots of sunshine (scratch that, occasional but very APPRECIATED sunshine) and the trees are blossoming. My favorite time of year. Besides fall. :)

All righty, Ta ta for now!

OH almost forgot one more picture...

I'M PREGNANT!

not gonna brag or anything but...

I'M LEAVING FOR GERMANY TOMORROW!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
DAS GRASE IST GRUNE! (the grass is green.....hey! It's all I know so don't judge!)

CALI and updates!

So we went to California last week for about 4 days to visit Michael's grandparents! They live in Watsonville California which is about an hour south Francisco!  So, I have never been a fan of California. Whenever I would think of it, I would think of smog and tons of people in bikinis and drinking mochas and so on. But this area was beautiful! The weather was cool (not HOT like I expected) and the surrounding hillside was gorgeous! 

Here we are at the beach! We did some jumping pictures. WHAT  a surprise, right? 

My wonderful in laws. 

Stay tuned for some cool jumping pictures from Germany. We are leaving March 6th and staying until the 14th. So I think there are some cool jumping pictures in our future. I am so excited! My wonderful husband surprised me with the trip and I have been practicing my German on Rosetta Stone. So now, if I get myself in any trouble, I can say with a certainty "The car is white, i am eating a sandwich, I am drinking milk, the dog is big, i have a red book."

What could go wrong?

And in sad news, one of my favorite bands- The White Stripes- broke up a couple weeks ago. :( so sad. They are so talented and I love their music!

But in good news. There is always my other favorite band: Devotchka. Polky, jazzy, folky goodness.

Hello! So it has been a while. I think I always start my blogs that way "It has been a while" sheesh. Trend anyone?

So Every new years I try to come up with resolutions and this year one of mine was to start running. Not to be a racer "I am going to win this 20,000 mile race!" but to run to be healthy and train myself to be able to run away from killers and not be weary :) So we bought me new actual running shoes (you know, the ones that cost a bit but were actually made for running) and some comfortable running pant things and updated my ipod. and...

WANNA HEAR SOMETHING COOL!?!

I am actually doing pretty well at keeping this resolution!!! I have been running 3 or more days a week since beginning of January and I have noticed my legs are more toned and I don't gasp for breath as much! YAY FOR ME!

So new subject, Michael and I have been having more weekends together which I ADORE and so we try to go out and do something on those days. Last weekend we went on a ferry to Friday Harbor. First of all, I will say that I LOVE Ferries! They are beautiful ships that take you into the beautiful expanse of ocean! I love the ocean! And it was a little chilly and rainy (OH what a surprise for washington) that day but I loved it! It makes it seem more comfy and lovely!

I love these boots! Michael says that if the boat sinks than I could find shelter among the seals because my shoes were made from their babies. HAHA. (note: Blair's boots were NOT made from actual animals. all faux)

The weekend before last, Michael and I went on a hike (I can't remember where) but isn't the view beautiful?? (below)

So sometimes I think Michael and I have officially become an old couple. I know we have only been married for almost two years but guess what we're doing for valentines day???

De-cluttering the house together. Can't get anymore romantic than that. Although what I WANT for valentines day may just add more clutter. It is a 35mm Holga Mint camera from urbanoutfitters.com. What a cool camera!!!

the end of my post for now