december

oh december... always such a busy time. potentially very stressful. which kinda makes me think that the dude who sings "it's the most wonderful time of the year" didnt quite know what he was talking about.

CHRISTMAS TREE: or, rather, "the saga of the christmas tree" because the probability of things going according to simple plan is apparently zero in our lives. i am going to spare the gory details of the crisis and just mention that it seriously took 3 days for us to get the thing upright and decorated. the good news is that it all ended well, and the result was rather charming- although i realized after the fact that all of the red ornaments i bought made our noble fir look like it was sprouting apples. i found that amusing.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING: who doesn't love christmas shopping? all the stress, spending, herds of people, lines for restrooms, and outrageous traffic. mmm. holiday cheer at it's finest. i personally enjoy the wrapping of the gifts more. i like the sight of presents under the tree. it's so exciting.

CHRISTMAS BAKING: a delicious marathon by yours truely. and yes, i sacrificed and accumulated an extra few pounds by taste testing every single thing that i made, for the good of the people. i shall remember it fondly when i'm working it all off post-partum.

CHRISTMAS LIGHT-SEEING: off of old pepper drive in lakeside. here is how it went down this year: we parked, started walking, got up a couple streets before my back started spazzing out, and then we went home. do i sound like a pansy? it's because i am. i can't even walk up hills anymore. how pathetic.

this house was my favorite: absolutely nothing except for a grinch in front of it. awesome.

FINALS: for noel. so painfully stressful. we shall not talk about them here.

NOEL'S BIRTHDAY: being born close to christmas is kind of a hassle. luckily i've got a good family and great friends who take the time to remember it amid all of the holiday tumult. dear christopher ordered me birthday flowers this year. i was quite impressed that he managed to remember my favorite flower and my favorite color- and put both in the same bouquet! oh i felt so special and loved! because everyone knows that just saying "you're special and i love you" doesn't quite communicate it like something as indirectly metaphorical as flowers (yeah... we women are all crazy, i know). and then, of course, we had a tiny little party at my family's house.

at the logan house... with choco cupcakes.

GIVING BLOOD: by chris only this year, because i am preggers. ;) not to worry though, for tradition's sake i went with him- and the dude taking his blood told us a story about how he changed his son's diaper in his trunk one time and the kid peed all over the upholstery. fun times. i'll have to remember that one if we ever have a boy.

CHRISTMAS EVE: which was actually when chris and i celebrated our christmas day, since he had to work on christmas this year. we had the morning together to open the bounty under our tree, and in the evening we partook of the glorious feast-party that was provided by mi madre. awesome awesome day. i loved it.

at my parentals. in front of their gigantic tree.

CHRISTMAS DAY: was like old times for me. chris marched off to work early in the a.m., and i went over to my parents to witness christmas morning as i always knew it. all seven of us kids were home again- probably for the last time- and i am grateful to have experienced all the magic again. to top the day off, we were able to spend time with some of my dad's family who we haven't seen in forever. it was a good time.

COMMENCEMENT OF 3RD TRIMESTER: which is rather interpretive, since i've seen 3 benchmark weeks that could be considered the beginning of the last trimester (as if pregnancy math isn't weird and confusing enough). whatever the case really is, december was it for me- and i'm looking unmistakably pregnant now. i think it's kind of funny- it took me so long to actually look pregnant, and right when i started thinking "oh there it is", my bump started growing at hyper-pace. and let me tell you, i'm getting pretty stealthy at 7 months pregnant... with my parabolic protrusion knocking stuff all over the place, and me mistakenly thinking i can still squeeze through tight spaces, i am THE epitome of poise and grace, right here. just to think i've got 2 more months of getting bigger to go!!

a little bit about christopher.

i realize that most of the people visiting this blog probably don't know my darling husband, because i am assuming that most of the people visiting this blog do it via the link on my facebook page. in all reality, i'm not all that certain that he really even knows what a blog is- he just knows that i made one about us and i post junk on it. so, just for kicks, i thought i'd write 5 things about the man:

#1: where is christopher from?
 christopher staples was not born in california. not anywhere near it. as a matter of fact, he was born in the most opposite place you can get from california. christopher was actually born and raised in maine- yeah, that place all the way over on the east coast, by the canadian border (like, woah...). he tells me stories of these crazy things called blizzards, ice storms, black flies and mosquito swarms... all of which sound fairly horrific (i've never personally experienced any of them myself). if you were to ask him whether or not he'd ever like to return to live in his home-state again he would emphatically answer "no". christopher is definitely a fan of southern california... apparently the weather is much nicer, and instead of black flies and mosquitoes we've got katy perry and snoop dog prancing around in forests of chocolate and gumdrops (which isn't too bad of a trade off, assuming katy perry's still on autotune). PS: chris hates the song "california girls", and thinks the music video is ridiculous- just so everyone is clear here.

this magnet is on our freezer door. i think the implicit wit is brilliant.

#2: what is chris's favorite color?
chris's favorite color used to be green. that is why he has a green car. when chris and i first met he also had green towels, a green bathrug, and an awful green toilet-seat cover (side note: WHY were those ever invented?? even in the most meticulously clean bathroom, they're wrong and gross). anyways, if you were to ask chris what his favorite color is today, he would say: "well... it used to be green. before i started to wear a uniform everyday that was green. now it's just... too much green." and so if you were to ask him again what his favorite color is- because he will always lament the loss of his old favorite color the first time you ask him instead of actually answering the question- he'll go "well... i don't know. i guess blue. i like blue. blue's an okay color." and so: blue is his favorite color.

#3: chris has... tattoos?
yeeeep. as you may have noticed. he has four of them. many of you may know that i come from a very traditional family with very traditional expectations. i personally couldn't care less that he has em- i've actually grown quite fond of them myself (just don't tell my kids that in 18 years, ok?). when chris and i first started dating, i couldn't tell you how many people asked me, "oh he has tattoos??? wow... how does your dad feel about that?" well, chris heard exactly what my dad felt about it when he forgot to wear long sleeves over to my parent's house for the first time (oops). in all reality, it was bound to happen sooner or later... and dear ol' dad promptly offered him "free tattoo removal" with a belt sander in the garage. you can imagine my father's disgruntlement when all of my younger brothers began to examine chris's ink with express fascination. after a few months, and a stern talking to from my mother, my dad finally let go of the tattoos thing. and now chris and the pops spend time talking about the UFC, wrestling, jiu jitsu, guns, shoulder injuries, and other man-topics instead. brotherly bonding at it's finest i suppose...

it's kinda like watching "the gladiator"... starring chris's bicep.

#4: what is chris's favorite thing to do?
chris is by nature a very energetic being... he is not unlike a dog that needs to be walked every day in order to drain excess energy and maintain a healthy state of mind (dog whisperer anyone?). as a matter of fact, chris's mother mentioned that during road trips their family would have to stop every so often to "run chris" so that he would be more tolerable in the car. hence, it comes as no surprise that he has adopted a very active lifestyle... nothing makes him happier than a good, challenging workout. the harder he's breathing and the more sweat he's dripping the better (don't say "ew", he showers afterwards. he's not a complete barbarian).

#5: chris likes youtube.
a lot. especially the channels that re-mix already preposterous videos into even more ridiculous songs. why is this? i do not have an answer. and i stopped searching for one a long time ago.

the end.

*note: all information contained in this post has been reviewed and approved by chris himself, and has been deemed "accurate and irrefutable". just so we're all clear here.

november.

the trend seems to be that the closer the year is to ending, the more exponentially busy things get. november exploded upon us with a ferocity this year. happenings include:

ULTRASOUND- (yeah, i kinda mentioned this in the previous post, i know) looks like daddy's gonna have a little yoga buddy. :) she's already a pro at garudasana.

MOVING- whaaaat? oh yes we did! OUT of the modified barracks where we had been living and IN to an actual apartment. the improvement is glorious, holy cow! however, moving is still moving... it's always kind of an all-encompassing hassle, and it always takes way more than a few days to get everything situated. add to the mix that i've become incapable of lifting anything relatively substantial anymore (for reals- i tried it and in doing so i realized that my formerly strong, sturdy back had instead become all bendy and unstable like a slinky. it was painful and pathetic). this created a futuristically comical, but presently exasperating situation, as i very much dislike being helpless. i've been raised to be the princess that slays her OWN dragons, thank you very much- but this time, i kinda had to rely a little bit more on prince charming than i had initially intended... dang it. how embarrassing.

VETERANS DAY- good day to honor the veterans. and my dad, since it's his birthday (cake anyone?). also, since chris had the time off, his parents came by that day for a thanksgivingish sort of visit, and stayed for the weekend. mmm... nothing like a pre-thanksgiving to load me up for the holidays.

taken on veteran's day weekend. bump = 22 weeks.

SCHOOL- for me, not chris. for some reason, the month before finals gets freakishly busy. projects are assigned and exams start happening more frequently. i personally think this is all because many professors- like many students- are procrastinators. tsk tsk.

THANKSGIVING- at my family's house! mmmm... more food for the pregnant lady (haaaa... except i'm being quite serious). for reals though, every year i find myself more and more thankful for my mother, and not just because she is one of the most fantastic cooks of all time. :) and chris surprisingly got the day off, so we were able to celebrate together. hooray! my gramma took pictures, bless her.

 aww, acting like we love eachother. ;)

bros and sisters all home this year! check it out!

PREGNOID UPDATE- no more morning sickness! AT LAST! i can EAT again!!! it's so wonderful!