Viking Tea Party: randomness

Kate of Lazy Kate Creates tagged me for the Happy 101 Awards (thanks again, Kate!) over, um, a month ago and I actually started this post exactly a month ago. Yikes. Since then I've managed to misplace my little Casio camera (argh! where are you?!) which has the photos I took to finish the post so I took a few more this afternoon and am determined to finish and post about the things that make me happy. You know, like actually finishing this post. :)

Matt - This one is pretty obvious. I remember saying to my mom, maybe even before Matt and I got married, that he would be The Man to be married to while pregnant and he is. I keep telling him he should save some of the 'doing everything for me' (although if it weren't for him I would forget my vitamin more often than not) for when I really can't do things for myself so easily but I don't think he will. Pregnancy is a good time to be married to a squirrel!

Our Little Acorn - Also obvious but high on the list never-the-less. Sure, the way that little acorn makes me feel sometimes doesn't exactly make me happy but I've known since I was 17 that I was meant to be a mommy and am happy to finally get to have this experience. I can't wait to see him or her again at our next scan here in a few (okay, four) weeks!

Going Back to Ohio* - Even the slightest little thought of this one makes me smile! We're going back to Ohio for my family reunion in June! Not only will I get to see my family and my family get to see me showing. I hope, at least a little bit, I'll also have the chance to see Ginny showing quite a bit and I'll be there for her baby shower. And the food - I'm so excited about the food! I think we'll have to eat out every day considering the length of the list of places I miss. My brother and his fiance will be up from New Orleans, too. I haven't seen him since the wedding and have yet to even meet my future sister-in-law. The one night we did a Skype with them while Mom and Dad were here, I was so prego-tired that by the time the call actually took place, I was in bed and fast asleep.

And, as an added bonus, Matt and I will also be able to spend our first anniversary sitting in the shade under the tree where we were married last summer.

My iTouch - I had no idea what an iTouch was when Matt took me shopping for one. Now I can't live without it. It's a quick way to check email and surf the web and it's also a great way to play games. I have an embarrassing number of apps...

This is a tower defense game called The Creeps! that Matt and play constantly. By strategically placing weapons like ray guns and boomerangs you try to make sure the ghosties, vampires and other scary things (although there are other levels with space and underwater scary things) don't get to the scared kid hiding under the covers in the bed. Sounds silly, I know,but it's fun. For some reason it recently reset our games so we're starting all over again but neither of us really mind.

I read an article a few weeks ago that made me realize that this little gadget it really going to come in handy come this fall. It'll be perfect for those middle of the night feedings! I can browse the internet, Facebook and, if I get a chance, tune in to the BBC iPlayer and catch up on a little television.

My grey cotton yoga pants - I seriously wish I'd bought more than one pair of these last summer at Kohls. I'll admit I kind of spent quite a lot of time in them before I was pregnant but now that even the jeans I have that still fit aren't really comfortable enough for all day wear...I live in them. They're stretchy and comfy and will see me through many more months, I'm sure. Heck, yesterday I had to walk into town to return a movie to Blockbuster and, after a few moments of deliberation and thoughts concerning the fashion police, I just threw on a jacket and left while still wearing my heavenly grey pants.

Fresh flowers - Nothing cheers up a room more than fresh flowers. These are my first Mother's Day flowers - pretty tulips that opened up nearly the minute I put them in front of a window full of sunshine.

Lucy & Mina - My cats. :) One of the photos on my missing camera was of Mina in her usual spot - sprawled in my lap (with Lucy sometimes curled up on the couch beside us) - and, of course, for the first time today she's nowhere to be found so a replacement photo isn't going to happen any time soon. I've read that animals can tell when you're pregnant and I think Mina is one of those who can. She's always been cuddly but her cuddleness is in overdrive now. She comes running from where ever she was lurking as soon as she hears me sit down and jumps into my lap. Of course, this behavior could also be because I'm actually sitting down more often....

A good book - I've had a really good run recently when it comes to books. I've actually been keeping a list since the beginning of the year and can't believe that I've yet to post a link to it here. I just started reading A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler last night. Tyler has written two of my very favorite books, The Accidental Tourist and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, and makes me wish her characters were real people because I would love to have a long talk with Macon or have dinner with Ezra at the Homesick Restaurant. I've not had this feeling with any of her books since but this one has potential.

Stationary sets - Paperchase makes the best stationary sets! This is one I bought yesterday and I can't wait to break it out later tonight. We finally printed off photos of the baby from our 12 week scan to send to my grannies and, of course, I have to include a letter. :)

Paper, envelopes, address labels and stickers. I love the paper because the reverse side is always printed with a super cute design. This set is especially cute because the paper comes in two shades - white and brown - and the designs are completely different. So cute!

So I know I'm supposed to pass on this fun award by tagging ten people but, honestly, I'm not a tagger. It's not that there's no one out there who makes me happy - if you're reading this, trust me, you make me happy - but I'm just not good at knowing (beyond a handful of people) who actually reads this blog. But, like I said, if you're reading this, you make me happy and I'd love to hear what makes you happy, too!

*My experience promises to be nothing like The Pretenders song. :)

Matt and I sampled a couple of ciders from Southampton Somerset (correction madedays later - cider goes straight to my head and fiddles with my fingertips) tonight after he got home from work. A little to dry for the tastes of either of us but still incredibly drinkable.

Did you know that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova of Once fame have an album out/coming out? Yet again, something I should have known about but had to hear about on Facebook. NPR is streaming the entire thing until October 27th - I listened to two of the songs and will hopefully be picking up the album tomorrow as I think it's already been released here*. They're coming to the O2 in London in January and I'm really looking forward to seeing them. If you've yet to watch Once for whatever reason, I highly recommend it.

Speaking of concerts and the O2 - as an early Christmas treat from Matt's mum, Matt, my sister-in-law Laura, and I are going to see Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra in December. I feel like everyone should know who Bill Bailey is but I know my friends back in the states probably don't know who he is so here are some helpful links: Cockney Music, Kraftwerk, Pub Jokes, Dueling Xylophone. All right, enough. I'm very excited - he's hysterical. And - yikes! - it's after one - off to bed(ish)....

*Nope, I was wrong - it's not out until the end of the month. Argh.