Vote!

Vote for Fictionist in the Choose the Cover of Rolling Stone Contest! They're an amazing band from Provo, Utah, and some incredibly talented musicians. Click on this link to go to their contest page and rate them. Also, check out their music (I especially like "Before I'm Old") and their awesome music video!

AND PS: They'll appear on our favorite of shows, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon! Woo!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing everyone lots of love.

Just had to show this card Andrew got me, thought it was hilarious/adorable. Love him!!

Baby Bump & Nursery Update.

The time is fast approaching when little girl will be here with us, and I'm kind of freaking out! Ever since I hit 30 weeks the time has seemed to be flying. I'm in fight or flight mode trying to get everything ready for her arrival. Good news: we've made lots of progress on the nursery because of it! So, here's a recent bump pic (33 weeks, 4 days) and some updated pics of the nursery. Enjoy!

Bumpity, bump, bump.

Pillow I made last night for the rocker!

The bigger effect. Also made the curtain last night (with Andrew's help measuring and hanging).

Refinished dresser on the left, new paint and knobs. Thanks Mom & Dad for the donation :)

Shelves, expertly painted and hung by Andrew while I was at work :)

It's here.

Our iPhones came via FedEx today and I am beyond excited! We've been holding out with Verizon for the day they'd get the iPhone, and I am happy to retire the old brick I was using. Yay!

Salt City Burger Co. Delish.

Okay, anyone in Utah, you HAVE to try this place--Salt City Burger Co.. They have locations in Sandy & Bountiful, and although this may be a trek for some, it will be so worth it! We went there a couple weekends ago and got a burger, shakes, and fries (half regular, half sweet potato). Holy cow. That's all I can say...it's delicious (and it's not just the pregnancy talking)! I am not usually a huge burger person, but this was incredible. And, the milkshake was an actual milkshake, not just a lot of soft ice cream like most places. And the fries... Well, anyway, if you get a chance, we highly recommend it!

Bringin' Spring.

I have been in an oddly crafty mood this week (maybe it's "nesting", who knows), which has been nice for making the days pass quickly. I decided to bring a little spring to our home in these freezing temps, and make a wreath that my lovely friend, Camille, posted on her blog. She's so darn crafty, I love it. Anyway, I made this little wreath to bring some sunshine to our door. It was surprisingly VERY easy, and took very little time--my kind of project! So, to you and yours, happy early spring!

Progress.

I've had a few requests for pictures of the inside of our new place. I've been working to unpack boxes, organize, and decorate for the last couple months, and though I'm not nearly done with everything, here's a peek at some of the progress!

The family room--still need to do a couple more pillows, not sure what color yet though. And please notice Andrew's handy work of the mounted TV and shelf--he's very proud :)

Beginnings of baby girl's room. Still need to make a curtain and pillow for the rocker, put knobs on the dresser, pictures in the frames, hang some shelves...but, it's a start! And, I made that white crib skirt (the only one I could find was $60! I couldn't bring myself to pay that), which I'm quite proud of. The hardest part was actually bending over to cut the fabric, oy.

The upstairs guest (future baby) bathroom.

The rest of the rooms in the house will be debuted at a later time, once I'm happy with them :)

Baby Brielle.

I promised pics of my new niece, so here we go! She's a little darling.

She's already won grandpa over, of course.

Banged up.

So, I was getting restless and needing a change and decided to get me some bangs cut. My lovely friend, Erica (a hairdresser, don't worry), did the deed, and I have to say, I'm liking it. We'll see how long that lasts, but I'm glad for a change at least. Next change: have the baby!

Never ending...

Night. That's what this is. It's 2 am, I'm at work (eating, of course) and am not sure how I am going to last 4 more hours until my shift is over. I can't even enjoy my favorite pasttime--planning my next Anthro purchase--because I am too fat to fit into any of their clothes anymore. Bleh. On a happier note, I just ate a delish orange. I love this time of year for that reason, yummy orange season. And I just rhymed, look at that.

On another happy note, I ordered a rug from West Elm for our guest bathroom and I am lovin it! See above.

Bellies.

Here they are, the bellies! Unfortunately Andrew has not gained any sympathy weight while I've been pregnant. I better not pass him up by the end of this...

The Prego Diary.

So, I've gotten a lot of flack about not looking pregnant, not blogging or posting enough about my pregnancy, etc. Mostly, it's not that exciting day to day. But also, there's some laziness and fear of being that pregnant woman who won't shut up about her pregnancy in the mix as well (note: not talking about anyone in particular here! More about myself...some days I feel like it's all I talk about cause I don't have much else going on!) So, to make up for my lack of info giving, I've decided to do a post about how pregnancy has been for me so far. Here are a few tidbits.

• I haven't really gotten sick (thank goodness), which was my biggest fear because I absolutely hate throwing up. It only happened once, and I think it was a fluke.
• I was very tired during the 1st and 2nd trimesters, but I feel pretty good now (i.e. I don't have to sleep til noon every day!) My only sleeping distress is that I cannot sleep well at night. I toss and turn and finally fall asleep soundly around 7 or 8 am when Andrew is leaving. I think that may also be attributed to my night shift schedule, though...
• I DO, in fact, look pregnant. I promise I'll take a really good belly shot here soon. I just don't like taking pictures of myself period, so being pregnant hasn't exactly helped that :) But, I have had quite a few strangers in the last couple of weeks ask when I'm due, so yay! I think it's more noticeable in person. So really, don't be too jealous that I don't even look bigger, cause if I don't, then my scale must be way off.
• My belly button just doesn't look the same. It's very odd.
• Most people enjoy the extra enhancement "up top" (wink wink) that accompanies the growing belly of pregnancy, but I have to say, I hate it. I've never been a busty girl and I think that's how it was meant to be. (Not that I would necessarily be classified that way now by most people's standards, but it's a big change for me!) I can't wait for the post-nursing shrinkage.
  
• I can feel our little gal move a ton, and she is most active at night--usually right when I'm going to bed and when I get up to go to the bathroom many times. The nights I work are like a party for her, because we're actually awake together! I think she also gets jealous when I hold other babies in the nursery at work, cause she tends to kick them a lot :)
• I haven't had any crazy cravings...yet. For a while I was really digging salty things (think french fries and kettle cooked chips) late at night, but that's pretty much gone. Now I just eat normal, except for the fact that I eat about 14 meals a day vs. 3. I can't fit too much in at a time, so I have to graze. Probably not the best habit to get into, but oh well, it works for now!
• I have had a lot of those "Braxton Hicks" contractions, but I had more of them while we were in the process of moving. Now that I've slowed down a bit, I only have them a few times a day.
• Working full-time nights is starting to take it's toll on me. By the end of the night my body just plain hurts. Other people might just think I'm lazy, but my back and legs can't handle it much longer. Other than those long nights, though, I haven't had too much pain to speak of.
• My ankles are not swollen...yet. Knock on wood! They do get slightly swollen after a night of work, but they did that when I wasn't pregnant, too. I think being pregnant in the winter really helps me in this area, which I guess is an okay trade-off for the increased slipping hazard I've become in the snow.
• I think it's still weird to think I'm actually going to be a Mom when all of this is said and done. Right now I just like having a little secret friend with me all the time, that nobody else really gets to be friends with. She keeps me company when I'm home alone and Andrew's at work. But to think of actually being her mom and raising her and knowing what to do...that is all a little overwhelming for me! I'll cross that bridge when I come to it I guess. For now, we'll just continue to get to know each other and decorate the nursery :)

Well, there's a good recap. Sorry if it's long and boring, and if nobody reads it, I'm at least glad I wrote it all down for myself to remember one day. I'll be 30 weeks on Saturday, and then it's 10 weeks (hopefully slightly less...) and counting til we can meet her in person! Yay!

Welcome, Brielle!

Welcome to our new niece, Brielle Prusse, born on 1/11/11 at 8:11 am. She's a little thing, 7 lb. 1 oz. at birth, and is the clone of a cabbage patch doll in my opinion. Such a little darling, and hopefully a great future friend for baby Garlock! Pictures to come soon. Love the Prusse fam!

It (Was) the Holiday Season.

Mr. & Mrs. Claus on Christmas morn

And boy was it great. Unfortunately, due to being out of town, working, and trying to move-in (still), I've been a bad blogger. But, better late than never! So, here are some pictures of our fun times in Utah for Christmas and California for New Years.

Cute niece, Eliza, got a "Bumbo Chair" and apparently loves it!

My wonderful hubby got me some of the Penguin Clothbound Classics I've been lusting over for a while. Love them!

Testing out the self-timer on my new point-and-shoot. We look very posey, but still adorable if I do say so myself :)

Brennan (in the shirt we got him) and Tim on Christmas night.

Jenna and Ashlyn making silly faces. Silly girls.

One of the Holiday Windows at the Grand America Hotel in SLC. Andrew's agency designed a few of them. Sorry it's sideways, I'm too lazy to go in and flip it right now...use your imagination!

Now in California, at Crystal Cove, a pretty little beach with cottages and old cars. Of course, we had to get a pic with this beauty for Andrew :)

Went to a surprise party for David's birthday with Summer, and also got to meet their good friend, Sergio (on the right). What a guy, what a guy.

Fondue on New Year's Eve. I think it was more work than anything, but I gotta say, the cheese and chocolate...mmmmm. A pregnant woman's dream.

The girls at fondue. Katie was in Utah with the Nichol fam (we missed you!)

Andrew got a little over-eager with the cheese and burned his tongue mid picture.

Anyway, good times had by all. We love our family on both sides and feel so blessed to be surrounded by such great, supportive people! Hope everyone had a great holiday and are enjoying the new year so far!

Officially Adults.

You'd think being married, out of college, and pregnant would make us feel like adults. But, nope, we didn't feel like official adults until yesterday afternoon when we became homeowners! Ah! Scary/exciting/great/weird. It's in Daybreak, a lovely community in South Jordan that we've just fallen in love with. We are so excited about our new little place and the home it will be for us in the upcoming years. We move this weekend, which I'm glad for since I'm not hugely pregnant yet. More pictures will come once we're settled in--if I survive the next few days!