Monday, January 31, 2011

Day One

 Today is the first day I go back to work
 Which means I have to go 8 - 10 hours without holding this cutie.
A whole day without looking at this face.


I pretty much spent a good portion of last night crying uncontrollably whenever I thought about leaving Aubrey behind. When I wasn't crying I was storming around the house like there was no possible way I could get everything done before this morning.

Martin: Where is the lettuce that I cut up and put in a bowl
Me: In the fridge.
Martin: You threw it out?
Me: No, it's in the fridge.
Martin: You put it in a bag?
Me: No, it's in the bowl.
Martin: You threw it out?
Me: (storms over to fridge) No. It's RIGHT HERE!
Martin: Ok. God you don't have to be such a bitch about it.
Me: (walks back over to sink where I am getting ready to give Aubrey a bath and starts crying uncontrollably)
Martin: Oh. I'm so sorry. Now I feel like an ass. I didn't realize you were having seperation anxiety. I thought you were just storming around for no reason.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

The Kitchen

This is our kitchen. I am sort of in love with it. I love how it feels so bright and so open. I have a major aversion to cupboards, and a huge love for the lack of cupboards in this kitchen.


 I am obsessed with the butcher block countertop.

I also love the canned foods up there. I think they add some nice color. And the black woman cookie jar. I am seriously in love. Gabe and Ingrid got that for Martin and I for Christmas two years ago and I absolutely love it. I love the bright red color. It was the inspiration for my kitchen 


I love the liquors and mixed drink glasses on one shelf and the wines and wine glasses on the other.


At first I wasn't sure what I thought about this bookshelf. But I think I've decided that I really like having all the metal pieces displayed on there. And I definitely like the glasses full of silverware.


This kitchen is, by far, the nicest kitchen I have ever had. I really love how I have it decorated. If this kitchen was in a house that I owned, though, I would still have a list of changes to make. These changes would include, but are not limited to:
paint the bottom cupboards black.
extend the shelves further along the wall.
get a microwave with a fan that mounts on the wall and mount it above the stove
take the bookshelf out to use in another room and use that corner as more of an eating space
hang an old ladder from the ceiling for hanging pots and pans.
put some sort of shelved pantry in the back corner by the refrigerator.

Wow. For as much as I love that kitchen, I didn't realize I would have such an easy time coming up with changes and additions, but that list got pretty long in a matter of a few seconds!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Love

I love...
 I love how happy my child is.

I love how she squirms all over the place


And I especially love that this photo makes me think of an old man relaxing by a fire. It's just so funny!

Friday, January 28, 2011

The Lion and The Gazelle

Last night, Martin and I had the pleasure of having Gabe over for dinner. Martin and Gabe went through an entire liter bottle of Gin and a half gallon of Orange Juice. Needless to say, I think they had a good time.

I always like seeing Gabe because he is a great storyteller. And he's funny. Last night he started to tell Martin and I a story.

Gabe: Ok. I'm going to tell you a story. But you can't scold me. Neither one of you.
Me: I never scold you.
Gabe: Are you serious??
Me: Well, I think I'm getting a lot better!
Gabe: (starts telling story and looks across the table at Martin) Martin you look like a lion waiting for me to drop a gazelle.
Martin: What?! I'm not saying anything.
Gabe: And when I drop it your going to give it a nice slow bite just to show your satisfaction.

Ahh, brothers.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Spit Up

Lately, I've been finding spit everywhere. Yesterday in particular was a rough day for me, well for my wardrobe.

I started the day out wearing a gray zip up fleece sweater thing. I fed Aubrey in the morning and then burped her. During the burping - there was spit-up involved. I suspected it went past the burpcloth, but I couldn't find it on the couch or my pants or anywhere. So I thought maybe it was all on the burpcloth. Then an hour or so later I crossed my arms only to disover that a small sea of spitup was conveniently resting below along my side, below my armpit but above my waist. Basically situated at the perfect height for me to rest my entire arm in it.

Then. I had a haircut appointment. And I haven't had a haircut since August, so I was irrationally excited. And I went in the closet and put my jacket on, then turned around to get Aubrey ready to go.
Martin: Uhhh. Ummm. You got a little something going on there.
I look down at the lapel of my peacoat only to find a collosal amount of dried spitup plastered across the coat.

And then.

After returning home from a particularly fun ice cream night at our friend's Katie and Ryan's house. I fed Aubrey one more time before putting her down for the night. After this feeding and burping I went to the bathroom only to catch a glimpse of my back in the mirror. Covered in Spit Up.

Needless to say, my tiny little buddle of joy creates a lot of laundry!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I Had To Come Back With Something

This morning, just after I got out of the shower - the phone rang. It was my mom.

Mom: Do you want me to watch Aubrey while you get your haircut this afternoon?
Me: Umm. sure. If you want to.
Mom: I would love to. What time is your appointment?
Me: 2:00
Mom: O yeah, that's fine. I'll be around all day.

Martin: Who was that?
Me: My mom said she can watch Aubrey while I get my haircut. I don't even know how she knew I had an appointment today?
Martin: I told her
Me: Ha. How did that come up in conversation?
Martin: Well. I didn't know about Aubrey's doctor appointment on Wednesday and I couldn't look like I have no idea what's going on - So I told her I knew you had a haircut today.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Cousins

 On Wednesday I babysat my two nieces Kendyll and Leigha. I've talked about Kendyll here before. You'll probably remember her as the child I speak of with such high regard it often sounds like I'm talking about a celebrity.
 The experience, while being fun, confirmed what I already was pretty sure of.....I am not ready to have a second child. or a third child. And definitely not three children under four.
But I was really excited to get pictures of the cousins!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Cribs

I have a confession to make. We have had Aubrey sleeping in a pack and play since she was born. It was just easier because we didn't have a lot of space in our old apartment, we knew we would be moving and didn't want to worry about assembling and disassembling a crib, and we were coming home basically every weekend so the pack and play was a lot more convienent. However, it has recently started to become more and more apparent that we really need to bite the bullet and purchase a crib. This is most strongly evidenced by the fact that if Aubrey is tired, but will not fall asleep in the pack and play - we just put her on the bed and she falls asleep almost immediately. I'm assuming this has something to do with the fact that the mattress is so much more comfortable than the floor of the pack and play. Martin and I were discussing what sort of bed to get for Aubrey and wondering if an old disassembled crib in the back of the farmhouse would work.

Me: Well, I guess it depends if the slots are too wide. Because they have new rules for that now and that crib is really old.
Martin: I think it would only be a problem if she got her head stuck in the slots and died.
Me: Yeah, that's the point. It would be a problem.
Martin: Obviously it would be a huge tragedy if that happened. I just meant it wouldn't be a problem that the crib was technically illegal unless something happened.
Me: I'm not really worried about complying with the law here. I'm worried about the safety of our child.
Martin: Oh right. I was just saying.

Friday, January 21, 2011

 It's official. This kid is adorable.
 I never thought I would be the person that wanted to stay home from work. But as my return to work gets closer and closer, I really don't want to leave this one behind.
 I mean, I have always loved my job. But her. She's amazing. I wish I could take her with me. everyday.
Don't you think a child like this would help boost grocery sales???

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Arms Out

 The other day Aubrey fell asleep in her vibrating chair with her arms sticking straight out.
 While I knew that taking pictures was a risky move that would most likely result in tipping the precarious balance of the universe I couldn't resist but to document the moment because it was just so funny.
I'm still trying to figure out how it was comfortable and why her muscles never relaxed enough in her sleep for her arms to drop to her sides.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Living Room

I spent most of last week unpacking, organizing, and decorating! Organizing things is one of my favorite things to do, so to say it was a good week is an understatement. I was moved home and I was organizing/decorating while also hanging out with my favorite girl!

Anyway, I'll probably be posting pictures of all the rooms in our apartment in the near future because I am just so freaking excited about them all! I haven't gotten around to hanging anything on the walls yet, so all pictures are sans wall decor, but I still think the rooms look amazing anyway. These two pictures are from our living room. I've wanted to have people over on other weekends when we've been home and visiting, but Martin has never wanted to saying that there wasn't anyplace for people to sit. Now with all the furniture moved in and arranged so beautifully, I was more than happy the other night when Martin and I were sitting in our new living room and Martin remarked, "This room is set up for hosting"

And by the way, I know the rocking chair isn't fully in either photo, but don't you love everything about it??? It is an antique rocker that my parents gave me for Christmas. I am seriously in love with it.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Itty Bitty

Itty Bitty Socks for Itty Bitty Feet.

Can you think of anything better?

Now if only she would stop kicking them off!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Martin Luther King Jr.

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."Martin Luther King Jr.

"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."MLKJr.
I know I've already posted once today. But I was just looking through quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. and figured I should probably post my favorite. I know I could do a better job at standing up to injustices I see in the world and I think we all probably could. I guess today is a good day to reflect on your place in society, where you want to see the world, and what you can do help.

Snow Bibs

Scene: I'm putting snow bibs on, Martin is sitting on the couch, Aubrey is sitting in a baby chair.

Martin: Whoa. Someday you should just wear those and nothing else. That would be really hot!
Me: Are you joking?
Martin: No. Those things are made to show off your boobs. They would really be out there.
Me: Yeah. But what about my legs. The ski pants don't do much for the rest of my body.
Martin: When your boobs are looking that good, nothing else really matters.

Friday, January 14, 2011

I Don't Know If I'd Call These Resolutions

I realize that it's mid-January. I realize New Years Resolutions are supposed to be made at the beginning of a new year. I realize we're sort of past that point already. But, I figure, better late than never.

Also, I don't know if this list would really qualify as a list of resolutions since for the most part, nothing on this list is going to make me a better person or make the world a better place. It is really just a list. of random things. with an end date in mind. but even that is fairly flexible. I'm not really pushing myself hard here. or at all.

1. Travel somewhere by train. This became a goal of mine last week when Martin was taking a load of corn down to PA and was waiting to unload right beside a traintrack that the Amtrack went by on. He commented on how incredibly quickly the train flew by and shook his entire truck and for some reason, that story has really motivated me to travel somewhere by train. So, Martin and I are thinking about going to NYC to visit my dear friend Amanda sometime this year.

2. Eat something different. I know this is sort of non-descrip, but what I mean here is I want to try something I've never tried. Something unusual. Not just an unusual or new way of preparing something ordinary - like beef or chicken or rice or broccoli. But I want to try something exotic that I haven't tried before. Like aligator. Or ostrich. Or some strange plant I haven't even heard of yet. Also, my friend Megan is growing finger-limes on her farm which are a new craze, and I would like to try those too.

3. Journal. I want to keep a journal. Not an ordinary journal where I record the weather and every other detail of my daily life. I feel like I basically hit all the highlights of that on here. Mostly, I want it to just be more of a stream of conscious journal. Where I just write random thoughts. And I want to glue things in it. That's the main thing. You know when you go on vacation and it seems really important that you save the ticketstub from the airplane. Or the brochure from the museum you went to. Or that 25 cent postcard that you bought in some giftshop so you could remember that you were there? And then you get home from the vacation and you have all these super random souveigners but nothing to really do with them so you shove them in a box that you never open again. Until you move. Or go on an organizing spree. Or try to make space in your house. And then you find a box, probably several seperate boxes housing random ticket stubs and brochures and postcards and the free sound card they gave you at the hallmark museum and you think that was so awesome that they gave me that sound card for free at the Hallmark Museum I should definitely keep saving this. And then you either throw it back into the box because you don't want to deal with it or you try to figure out what you should do with it. If you're doing that latter, after a few minutes of deliberation you'll ultimately decide that while it was amazingly generous for a free museum to also give you a free card you'll probably never do anything with it so you'll do one of two things. a. throw the card out in a fit of frustration. or b. send the card to someone that you need to send a card to. And let's be honest. This is the age of the internet. Who do you really need to send a card to? Send them an email. Or a facebook message. I mean, who has good address records anyway? So - you'll probably end up conceding for option A, throwing out the beautiful, amazing, and free card with absolutely no purpose. This has gotten to be a really long-winded explanation, but point being - I would tape it in my journal. The one I'm going to start. As soon as I buy a journal. One without lines.

4. Learn to bake bread and apple pie. Completely unrelated. I just want to be able to make both of these.

5. Travel. I realize this isn't new. Or exciting. Especially for me because I love to travel. And I do it quite frequently. But this year, I have a baby. I realize this is a fact you are already aware of unless you don't know me and you are reading this blog for the first time, but having a baby means a couple of things. First of all, I am using a majority of my vacation time to extend my maternity leave. Therefore, I won't be able to take any long trips. Secondly, taking a baby on an airplane is high on the list of things I'm not really looking forward to. But, I would like to explore places that are within driving distance and at the very least have fun "trip weekends" I think one a month would be a good goal.

Here's the trips I have planned so far:
January: Work Christmas Party at Turningstone Casino - this weekend.
April: Katie Mason's Bachelorette Party at either Atlantic City or Las Vegas!
May: Katie Mason's Wedding in Maryland!
June: Alan Johnson's Wedding in Vermont!
July/August: A Weekend in whatever city Caton decides to go to Law School???? (Get back to me on that one Caton)
Some undetermined month: Previously mentioned train trip to NYC

Let me know if you want to be part of my travel plans!

6. Host a Holiday Dinner. Hopefully (fingers crossed) we buy the house of our dreams this year and I can have Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner in our gorgeous dining room on the amazing huge wooden table that I'm going to buy for next to nothing at a flea market or garage sale or antique store or something and both my family and Martin's family is going to attend said dinner. But if that doesn't all pan out, I'll even settle for a bbq on Labor Day or a random lunch on Columbus Day or breakfast on mother's day. I'm really not picky. I just want to host something in my theoretical house.

7. Have a Superbowl Party. I don't know why, but I have wanted to have a superbowl party for a while now. A few years. I think basically since we got married. I'm not even that into football. But I think it's really fun to watch anything with a lot of people. And I love appetizers. And I love making lots of random, extremely unhealthy appetizing dishes. Of course, we don't have any channels on our TV so this might be a resolution for next year. But then, now that I think about it. If we have a newish TV, which we do, and there is no such thing as bunny ears any more, we should automatically have that receiver thing in it to get local channels right? I was under the impression that nothing came in when we lived in Trumansburg, but here - I know we should get something here. Maybe I'll make figuring that out my project for this coming week. That sounds like a good plan. It would be a big waste not to have a party this year because our living room is set up so nice. I'm quoting Martin here when I say It's set up for hosting.

8. Start a Game Collection. Ok. Maybe I'm going all mom here. But I have always really enjoyed going to game nights. They are basically always a crowd pleaser and even the biggest party poopers tend to have a good time. Also, and I'll admit it, I have visions of all my hypothetical children gathered around the fire for a family game night. It's all very poetic in my head. But if I want to bring this fantasy to life I'm going to need to start buying some games because somehow, the only game I have to put under my coffee table (the coffee table that I've decided to dedicate as the game station is Twister, a puzzleball, and deck of cards.

9. Tailgate. Something. I was going to say go to a Bill's Game. But that's only because they're the closest professional football team and going to a game would imply tailgating and that's really all I want to do. So I changed it. Because I really could care less if we don't go to the game. I actually think it would be slightly halarious to show up to an event with no intention of attending the game and just tailgate in the parking lot before. Also, I could do this at a concert and it would be just as fun. The point being, I just want to waste an entire day tailgating. And I want it to be warm when I do it, so that rules out the majority of football season.

10. Buy Cute Shirts. Okay. This is totally random and just popped into my head out of nowhere. But I almost made this resolution finish this post so I feel like buy cute shirts is still an improvement. Here's the deal. Both with the stretch of a resolution and with the reason for the resolution (because I haven't been long-winded enough in this post). First of all, about the point when I had already passed five things I decided I needed to make it to ten resolutions. Secondly, about the time I came up with nine resolutions I absolutely. could. not. think of a tenth. Thirdly, I've been working on this list for exactly one hour and thirty three minutes as I type this sentence. To be fair, I also changed Aubrey's diaper, fed and burped her during this time frame (some of these things making typing very difficult). So, I really just want to finish this post. But then I remembered that when I was re-hanging all my clothes in our closet the other day, I came across the realization that I own ten cardigans. Which sounds excessive, I know. But I wear cardigans all the time. In fact, I almost always wear a cardigan. Which is why I think it is imperative that I branch out a little bit and buy cute shirts that are not cardigans.

The End.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

The Happy - Sad Continuum

Before having a child of my own - I never really liked children. I understand this sounds cold-hearted, but it's not. You know when you go to a family reunion or a graduation party or some sort of large gathering that hosts the gamut as far as age is concerned. At these parties there is usually one, sometimes two or three, really nice, beautiful girls that all the children are attracted to. The children love these girls and typically,the girls love children.

I have never been one of those girls.

Other than my niece Kendyll, whom Ingrid says I speak of as if she is a celebrity, I can't really remember any really good interactions I've had with children. (Although, I did make up a lunch plate for one of the little Neal boys the other day, but I'm not really sure that counts since the interaction occurred after having a child of my own).

It's not that I don't want to have good interactions with kids. It's just that I really enjoy conversations. And I know that kids can have conversations, mostly because I have learned this from Kendyll, but typically, I have no idea what they want to talk about. I am completely out of the loop when it comes to children. My friend, Michelle, remembers basically every children's book ever made and for some unapparent reason is also familiar with all the cartoons. I don't have that knowledge. And I don't think any child wants to talk about the last book I read, The Perks of Being A Wallflower or the fact that I just recently watched all six seasons of Sex and The City on DVD.

That's not to say I don't like being in the general vincinity of children. Because I also really enjoy laughing And kids say the funniest things. I just can't lead the conversation to get them to say the funniest thing. So I like to contain my interactions to eavesdropping, essentially. I like to sit, slightly in the distance, and listen to the funny things that kids say to other people.

I've gotten horribly off track here.

Here's the thing. As I've beaten the point to death stated, I am not really a kid person. So, everything my own child does is completely fascinating to me. One of these things being the Happy - Sad Continuum. Here's the thing about it - you've heard of a love/hate relationship? It's sort of like that. But slightly different. One moment Aubrey will be looking around, making cooing noises, and smiling. And I am thinking wow, you are the happiest, cutest, most adorable kid alive. Then thirty-two seconds later. Crying. It's completely crazy! What could possibly have upset the balance of the universe in such a drastic way in 32 seconds!

That's just one of my many new kid observations.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I Guess I'm Really A Mom

When I was a kid, my mom used to read Better Homes and Gardens magazines and I would think she is such an old lady.

Now.

I picked up a Better Homes and Gardens Magazine in the store the other day and read it cover to cover.


and I relished every moment of it.


Guess I'm the old lady now.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Candy Drink

Martin: Does that mean you got three creams and three sugars in that coffee???
Me: Yes.

(mundane conversation about the ideal temperature to drink coffee at follows)

Me: This coffee is delicious. I'm really glad I got three creams and three sugars.
Martin: I'm really glad I only got one cream and one sugar. It really maintains the coffee flavor. You're basically drinking candy. It's like you said - I want a grown up drink but I want it to taste like candy!

We're Back!

I just wanted to let everyone know that we are officially back in the 585. I'm in the middle of unpacking and organizing everything into our apartment on the farm and  - we're looking for a house to buy!

If you know of any houses in the area that may or may not (we aren't opposed to stalking people) be for sale - Let us know!

In the meantime, I'm hoping to have some sort of gathering in the very near future here.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Snowglobe Town

Martin: Let me tell you about Trumansburg. It's a snowglobe town. Just the other night Jenna and I were going to get some milk from down at the local ShurSave. I love the ShurSave. Here, we finish each other's sentences - Jenna, tell Megan why I love the ShurSave.
Me: Umm. I don't know.
Martin: Well, Jenna doesn't like the ShurSave because it's not Aldi. I love the ShurSave because they have those high school kids working there. You know, the ones that really don't care and look annoyed. That's what they have in Tburg
Megan: Ha. You're calling it Tburg now. Aren't you cool?
Martin: Yeah. Tburg. You know, Trumansburg. You know what they ask you at the ShurSave? (looks over at me and waits)
Me: Do you have a gasbusters card?
Martin: Nooo. What else?
Me: Paper or Plastic?
Martin: Yeah! There we go again finishing each other's sentences!
Megan: (laughing hysterically) I really hope you put this conversation on your blog
Martin: The other night we were coming home from that there ShurSave with the high school kids that ask you if you want paper or plastic and I was saying how Trumansburg is a snowglobe town. You know, if you were going to put a town in a snowglobe - it would be Trumansburg.
Me: Yeah, it is really nice. There are cute stores and restaurants. And not a single stoplight. And all the houses are really nice.
Martin: And I was saying it was a snowglobe town and not two minutes after I said it. Guess what we saw? Tell her what we saw, honey.
Me: A group of carolers.
Martin: That's right! A group of carolers singing down the street.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Dress Up.

Ever since I've had Aubrey and been able to fit back into my old jeans I've been insanely excited to get dressed up - for basically any occasion. While I still don't think I look like I used to look. For the first time in months, I at least don't feel like a bloated fish. I am constantly trying to think of reasons to wear heels for no reason other than they make every outfit look instantly stylish.

Last week sometime, Martin and I went to Chili's to use a gift certificate Martin received from his boss for his birthday.

Me: I think I'm going to wear heels. I just really want to wear heels tonight. Is that okay?
Martin: Yeah, sure. Wear whatever you want.
Me: Ok. How do I look? How does my butt look in these jeans? Do you like the heels? Does my stomach look fat?
Martin: You look great. I feel like you're some sort of woman from the pioneer and you're putting on your best housecoat.
Me: That's mean.
Martin: I just mean, you're getting really excited to dress up for Chili's.

On the flip side, I have also been rocking old college t-shirts like it's my job. But, sometimes I dress them up by wearing a cardigan with them.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

New Year's Eve

Martin: We need to make sure Aubrey is really good at this party tonight.
Me: Yeah, I know. I get really stressed out if she's fussy in public.
Martin: Yeah. And. If she's crying a lot then no one is going to get laid tonight. They'll all be too scared to get pregnant.

Friday, January 7, 2011

CopyCat

This is my niece, Kendyll. If you don't think she's adorable, don't tell me because she is absolutely freaking adorable.

On New Year's Day, the whole family went over to Martin's mom's house to celebrate both the new year and Christmas over lunch. Although I didn't get to am too much of an idiot to have taken pictures on this day, it was so cute to see how amazing Kendyll was with Aubrey. First of all she loves babies and names all her dolls Leigha (after her baby sister). She loves to hold babies in her lap and to pet their heads. She is amazing! And super cute.

And when she held Aubrey in her lap and Aubrey decided to let out an outrageous loud poop that probably vibrated through Kendyll's leg 3 times in a span of approximately two minutes all Kendyll did was make a big OOooo face and say, "I think she went to the bathroom"

And when I went into the other room to feed Aubrey in the afternoon, Kendyll followed with her doll. I should rephrase, Kendyll followed with her doll after picking up a dirty pair of Aubrey's tights to use as a burpcloth with her doll

And when I lifted my shirt up to feed Aubrey, Kendyll lifted her shirt up and nursed her doll.

And when I held Aubrey up to my shoulder to burp her, Kendyll held her doll up to her shoulder to burp her.

And when Aubrey let out a big burp and I said, There you go. That's a nice big burp. Kendyll looked over at her doll and said There you go. That's a nice big burp.

So you see. Adorable.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Can It Get Any Better?

 I want you to look at these pictures. Really look at them.
 Could my life get any better?
Because I really don't think it gets any better than this right here.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

To: George - Love, Jenna

The holidays have come and gone, but my stories about them haven't.

And a holiday would not be complete if I didn't spend time with my best friend of forever, Caton McKenna.

So, a few days before Christmas, I spent an entire day with Caton.

We went wine tasting.
We played games.
We attended her parent's vet practice holiday party.
And we wrapped presents.

We mostly wrapped presents for Caton's dad from Caton's mom.

After we finished wrapping, Caton was picking up all the presents to place under the tree. As she was picking up my wrappings she was reading the labels.

To: George From: Iva

To: George Love, Iva

To: George Love,............Jenna?

You wrote Love, Jenna

Me: Oooo shoot. Oooops.
Mrs. McKenna: Hahaha. Just leave it.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Brucker Christmas Bash

 Every year on Christmas Eve, Martin's family gets together to celebrate.
 It's pretty much the event of the year.
 I love seeing everyone
 And I love seeing my baby look at me across the room.
 And I love playing games. and eating. and laughing.
 And hanging out with my cute niece
 Who takes pretty amazing pictures.
Merry Christmas Brucker Bash!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

2010

Ten Things I Loved About 2010

10. Food. I love food! So naturally food, is going to be part of the things that I loved about 2010. So food. Ithaca has tons of great restaurants and 2010 was filled with amazing lunch dates with Ranatta, Judy, and Kristin mostly at Collegetown Bagels, Garcia's or Taste of Thai Express. Also, I got Martin to try and enjoy Thai food.

9. Books. I love to read. And I read a ton of great books in 2010. I think my favorite book I read in 2010 was Middlesex, which is probably one of my favorite books ever.

8. Travel. I went on so many amazing trips this year. Chicago. Key West. Austin. Nashville. Memphis. Oklahoma City. Kansas City. St. Louis. Brooklyn.

7. Wine Tours. Even though I was pregnant for nine months of the year, I probably went on more wine tours this year than I have ever before. I wasn't drinking on a majority of these, but I still had a blast. And the ones I did drink on, were very, very fun.

6. TV. Ok, so we still don't have cable. or any channels at all. But we did watch a lot of our favorite shows on DVD. There was plenty of repeat viewings of both Seinfeld and Arrested Development and we're currently making our way through How I Met Your Mother which is pretty spectacular too. And then there is my obsession with Glee which I fulfill on Hulu every week. And, Martin and I weekly get our fix of Modern Family. Oh, and when we find ourselves somewhere that does have cable tv - we bask in the glory of it.

5. Ingrid. Talking to Ingrid almost every day was amazing this year. The only thing that would have made it better is if I had seen her more than just a few times. If she wasn't in a timezone six hours ahead of me. And if she lived close enough to me that we could share sugar.

4. Friends. Lunches. Dinners. Game Nights. Skiing. Wine Tours. Birthdays. Canoeing. Basically anything that involves laughing and hanging out with friends has made 2010 an amazing year.

3. Family. So. you can't pick your family. You just get them and you love them anyway. But, if I could pick my family, I would probably pick mine anyway.

2. Martin. So, it should come as no surprise that Martin is the love of my life. And I love spending time with him. And making babies with him. Or having a baby with him. Well.....both. And we have the best conversations. Pretty much. ever.

1. Aubrey. I spent most of the year pregnant, which was fun, but not nearly as much fun as spending all my time with the cutest kid on the planet.