currently... [january 2017]

starting: to plan Baby Q's nursery. Two of my best friends have already started planning a shower, so Mr. Q and I need to register soon, so we need a theme! Mr. Q has helped me narrow it down, but I'll be posting some of the ideas I went through here in the weeks to come. I am definitely of the mindset that a nursery should look like it belongs to the rest of the house, not like a parallel baby universe.

hoping: that pregnancy rhinitis is a phase and won't last for 20 more weeks. I've been sleeping with a cool mist humidifier on, slathering on Vick's VapoRub, and using Simply Saline at least twice a day, but not being able to take effective medicine or even drink Breathe Easy tea is crushing me.

scheduling: pregnancy courses offered through the hospital I'll be giving birth in. They offer a six-week course on either Low Intervention or Prepared Childbirth, Infant CPR, a basic Newborn Care class with info on bathing, sleep, diapering, feeding, and such, a Breastfeeding for Working Moms class. I also plan to take the prenatal tour of the hospital and get our car seat checked before little one is due!

reading: Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (#4 in the Outlander series) - I tried to read this one once before and had trouble getting into it, but I'm about halfway through this time and enjoying it much more. This one is set on the East Coast of Colonial America in the 1760's, when Jamie and Claire Fraser become homesteaders. Instead of just Claire being the first person point-of-view character, there are also chapters that follow her daughter Brianna Randall in third person as she tries to figure out what became of her parents after Claire went back through time in Voyager. I'm bothered by Claire referring to Native Americans as "savages" because having recently come from 1968, she should know better, but I'm really enjoying Gabaldon's descriptions of the Appalachian mountains before they were settled.

playing: New Justin Timberlake! Have you listened to "Filthy" or watched the video yet? It's been an established fact since 1997 that I'm going to enjoy anything involding Justin, but I had no idea he even had a new album coming out until I saw the trailer for Man of the Woods a few days ago.

Linking up with Anne from In Residence

currently... [december 2017]

Two of my favorite bloggers, Anne from In Residence and Jamie from Perpetual Page-Turner (who became a mom while I was on hiatus! Congratulations Jamie!), have features on their blogs with what they're currently up to, so this month I decided to join in now that I'm back to blogging. 

lighting: an Advent candle every Sunday. One candle, because I went super minimalist this year/never got around to buying additional candles or making a wreath. I ended up popping a pillar candle into an empty glass jar, adding some Epsom salt and glitter "snow," and calling it good - it's the prayer and spiritual preparation for Christmas that count. Ann Voskamp and Tsh Oxenreider have some great Advent resources on their sites if you're interested in starting this spiritual practice but not sure where to begin.

spending: my mornings wondering if I'm going to be sick and late for work or if I'll make it there on time. Thanks, Baby Q. My nausea and morning sickness are definitely less terrible now that I'm in my second trimester, but every now and then the floor tiles start swimming, or I'll start gagging for no apparent reason, and apparently my heartburn is never going away #hairybaby

choosing: Dirty Santa gifts for upcoming celebrations with my Bible study and co-workers. I don't know why a simple party game that's meant to be playful and funny causes me so much anxiety, but I never know what to buy! I don't really want my contribution to be THE gift everyone fights over, but I certainly don't want it to be the one no one wants.

sending: what feels like a million Christmas cards. We did a photo card for the first time ever with one of the pictures from our pregnancy shoot, and I may have gone overboard on the order. I saved money with a coupon from Motherhood Maternity, but as someone who usually just grabs two boxes of cards from the store, there was definite sticker shock.

singing: Hanson and NSYNC Christmas songs - those were the first two holiday albums I ever purchased and they're still the first ones I play every year!

reading: The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines - not super into it so far. I feel like I'm reading a boring e-mail exchange between a married couple.

eating: cookies Mr. Q made with the leftover Halloween Kit-Kats and Reese's we still had in the kitchen. 

wearing: a LuLaRoe Carly dress on a regular basis - it's so perfect for pregnancy, but I still look like I put some effort into my outfit for work. 

watching: Brooklyn Nine-Nine - I started streaming it on Hulu and watch a few episodes a week. Why has it taken me so long to catch on to how great this show is? Also, I think I am Amy Santiago.

waiting on my DVR: several episodes of Saturday Night Live - I haven't been able to stay up very late recently. I think the last SNL I watched was Gal Gadot if that tells you anything.

texting: my sister-in-law and her girlfriend about family Christmas plans.

on my library holds list: Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon - I tried to read it once before and failed, but I really miss the characters so I'm going to give it another try.

on my book to-buy list: Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones for the Creating & Co. virtual book club - have any of you read it? Is it worth paying for?

waiting to be released: Maggie Stiefvater's Dreamer trilogy (the follow-up to the Raven Cycle with Ronan as the main character).

looking forward to: winter break, even though ours is very short this year (our last day of school is December 22nd, and we go back January 2nd).

craving: Cheez Doodles, Doritos, nachos, Amy's macaroni and cheese, etc. - for reasons I will probably never know, powdered/fake cheese seems to be my number one pregnancy craving. Is there some mineral in "cheese product" that my diet is missing?

griping about: our standardized testing schedule. As if testing in and of itself weren't bad enough, we never seem to be very organized ahead of time, and there are two days when I'm going to end up basically babysitting the students who aren't testing. I have put together an awesome activity for the first day, but for the second I am super tempted to pop in a movie.

need to do: finish my Christmas shopping, especially for Mr. Q (does anyone else find that husbands are incredibly difficult to shop for? Why is that man so self-sufficient?)