Whoa and Wow!

Whoa! It's freaking cold out! The temperature actually dropped on my drive to work this morning. It was 9 when I left the house and I looked down during my drive in and the truck said it was 6. Temperatures this cold really make me despise the walk from the parking garage. It is a nice little walk to get in when it is 75 outside, but it was bone-chilling this morning. I wonder why it got cold when I had to come back to work.

Wow! I'm super excited about news that our department will probably be landing another large gift to renovate our food facilities. Right after my maternity leave started, we learned that a wonderful donor would be contributing $1.2 million and now another has agreed to completely renovate our 50+ year old food labs.

In other news, I'm getting a glimpse of single parenthood for a few days while John is away for work. Hopefully it will remind me how much I appreciate the help that he gives me. Maybe it will keep me from complaining that he waits until the last possible moment in the morning to get up to help me get Jeremiah ready. I need to remember that he does help with him throughout the night and in the morning.

And one more thought

I've recently found myself wanting to purchase bras. That's right - bras. I want to get something with a cute little pattern, possibly with matching underwear. This is because I have been wearing the same three nursing bras for months. I love breastfeeding and would never desire to quit so that I could wear a normal bra again but I will definitely be hitting a nice lingerie store when I'm done feeding. I'll buy something with a nice color or pattern that doesn't have a front open option. I would never have guessed that normal bras would be something I missed.

What's the deal with gas?

I've heard so much about how much gas was going down and that it was the lowest it had been in over a year. I loved filling up for $1.88 on Monday but why has it skyrocketed back up? How does it go up 20 cents in two days? That's ridiculous!

Getting over the hump

It is Wednesday night, 8:36 p.m. and I'm wiped! Oh, how I wish it was Friday!
It's been a relatively good week to this point but today seemed so long. As the day seemed longer and longer, the fact that it was only Wednesday sunk in. I got over the hump of the middle of the week but I'm concerned that tomorrow could be a long day too.

However, I am looking forward to finally getting time to discuss a variety of projects with my boss. Things have been so busy since I've been back that we have not found a time to update each other. If we can do that, then hopefully I can get a few more projects rolling. Maybe that will make the day go faster.

Update on my resolutions - I haven't been perfect at them, but I haven't completely failed yet either. We're trying to do points, when possible. I'm working out, but not as often as I had set my goal for. My hubby and I are attending an adults only couples shower on Saturday night and I think we might try to stop for a quick drink or a stroll through the bookstore, depending on how long the party lasts and how anxious I am to get back to the little guy. Oh, that is one resolution that I am keeping. I'm sure to take time to snuggle, play and/or read each night.

Oops!

I made a hasty laundry move last night and managed to wash John's wallet. I'm fighting off a cold so I wasn't real careful as I threw a load in the laundry prior to finding my way to my bed. I asked John to put it in the dryer and he ablidged. When he came to bed I asked him if he changed the load and he just replied yes. (How very nice of him not to rub my face in it.)

Then, this morning I woke up to find the contents of his wallet nicely arranged on the kitchen counter drying out. That's when I realized what I had done. Oops! It will dry.

On a different note, I have recently reclaimed 30 minutes of my day. I purchased a hands-free band. No this has nothing to do with my cell phone but rather is a elastic band that holds the breast pump so I don't have to. I'm not using that time to relax and read a magazine while I pump. Although I have new concerns about the contraptions effect on me. I guess it's one more reason for the breast feeding clinic to get a call from me. They have figured out by now that I'm a first time mom. My guess is that they are used to it.

Random thoughts

A few random thoughts that are in my head.

1. I have to pass along that my husband was somewhat offended that I was more attracted to slow cooking meat (see post below) than to him. I must say that the back rub he gave me last night far surpassed slow cooked meat. : )

2. My writing has become very sloppy. I have noticed so many typos in my posts lately. I better get my act back together now that I'm at work.

3. I've never hated my evening commute so much. When I leave here, I really just want to get home. I no longer yearn for that drive to disconnect work from home. I can't imagine being people in the big cities who commute over an hour one way.

An Affair

I want to have an affair....with my crockpot. I want to become intimate with it and have it wipe away some of the hectic moments of my day! I just put dinner in the crockpot and it is so thrilling to know that in 8-10 hours, I will have a great dinner ready with no work but clean-up tonight.

As my maternity leave comes to a close, I'm trying to be as efficient with time as I can. One way I'm hoping to do that is to eliminate the 15-30 minute debate of what's for dinner when I get home in the evening. I want to remove the time that I spend staring aimlessly at the pantry. If I can reduce prep time during the week that's great too. So, I'm hoping to have a plan of meals at the beginning of the week, ensuring we have all ingredients needed, and use tools like our crockpot to have dinner getting ready while we're at work.

Do you have a crockpot recipe that you love? I'm looking for more ideas. If it something I can put in the crockpot in the refrigerator the night before, that's even better.

The non-resolutions

I've decided that this year there are some things that will not make my list of New Year's Resolutions. They are the following:

1. I will quit worrying so much.
I know this is a waste of space on my list of resolutions because I could probably name 10 things that I'm worrying about right now. When/If I quit worrying about those, they will be replace by something else. It is in my nature to worry. There's no sense in saying that I won't.

2. I will be happy with the life I have.
As much as this sounds like what we should all be aiming for, I want to make my life better. There are numerous goals and dreams that I have so I can't be completely satisfied and happy with the life I have. Yes, I will promise to be thankful for what I have and enjoy it, but I will be reaching to make my life even better for me and my family.

3. I will keep a clean house.
Who are we kidding?! I thought about writing this on the list of resolutions and then I realized that I have a two month old, will be going to school, working full time and frankly, I'm not the best housekeeper to begin with. I'll be happy to keep up with the laundry and clean when I can. It won't be a pit, but I'm not promising spick and span.

There are the non-resolutions. Now, here goes the real list.

1. Lose my baby weight by March 31
To be accomplished with the support of my husband, as we're both committing to WW points. I'm also setting a goal to work out 4 times/week and start walking 3 days a week during my lunch hour (to reduce stress and get some exercise.)

2. To communicate my expectations more clearly.
Because it is in my female nature, I sometimes assume that my husband would just know what I want. This means that I don't always tell him what I want or expect. Additionally, I need to remember that I deserve what I want out of life so I should feel comfortable communicating my expectations. Sorry dear - this will be an improvement, but not a free ride for you. I won't be telling you exactly how to send the flowers at Valentine's or when and where to whisk me away for a weekend. You have to do somethings yourself, or they don't mean as much!

3. Develop a housekeeping/household task schedule. (and stick to it)
Although I'm not promising a clean house, as I mentioned above, I would like to develop a regular schedule of tasks so that they aren't so overwhelming when I do decide to do them. I think one of the reasons I hate ironing is because there is always so much of it.

4. Set aside time for our marriage.
With a new baby in the picture, I want to ensure we set aside time at least once a month just for us.

5. Enjoy my beautiful baby boy!
As I've already learned, time will pass very quickly. I resolve to take time to just play or read with him daily - bath time will not count, nor will him being on the floor in the same room that I am folding laundry or paying bills in.

Here's to 2007!!