The Last Word

Six Months

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:17:00 +0000

Six months . . . as in, half a year, whoa. Somewhere along the line, this squirming ball of squish became a real live person and I don't know when it happened. I thought for a while he was going to be the most serious baby and he would never smile. Then came one smile, and another, and now one is almost permanently glued on his face. He is so darn silly, and joyful, and full of life.

It's hard not to feel on top of the world when someone looks at you like you are Justin Bieber and they are a twelve year old Belieber. Squeeeing and flailing limbs and everything when he sees me or his dad. But his favorite person in the world isn't a person, it's his dog. He can be crying his little eyes out and all I have to do is call the dog over and his face breaks into a teary smile and giggle.

Sometimes I get frustrated by how tedious and tiring it is to take care of a baby all day (which only happens a few times a week, bless my mother-in-law) and I need to get away for some time to myself. So I drive out to Target or whatever and all I can think about is how much I miss him. Last night I had some errands to run, and when Frank told me that he had already put him to bed when I got home, it was all I could do to not run into his room, grab him, and say "Let's play!"

And now, the good stuff:

Old vs. New

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:27:00 +0000

Listen, I watch HGTV and House Hunters and a LOT OF IT. I know I am going against all that is hipster by wanting a new house. I know that the cool thing to want is a turn of the century house with tons of charms and built ins and original flooring, etc. But you know what? I, unlike a lot of the people on that show, and unlike a lot of people who want an old house, have actually LIVED in an old house. Lots of them. My college was in the city, and all the surrounding neighborhoods were jam packed with those cute old-style houses. I lived in several of them. They were all varying levels of nightmare.

First of all, no matter what you do, everything is always dirty in an old house. There is dust everywhere, all the time. Things that are supposed to be white are kind of brownish gray. The most notorious offender (which we called the haunted house because it looked like a children's drawing of a haunted house) had some kind of large mammal living in the walls and attic and it was NOT a rodent. This was a large hibernating mammal, like a black bear or something. My roommate had this weird panel on one of her walls and one day we decided to unscrew it and see what was behind it. There were about half a dozen stained pillows and wadded up blankets shoved behind there. We closed it back up and didn't ask any questions.

I've seen roaches, maggots, hibernating bears, and enough mold and mildew for a gaggle of "property virgins" (HGTV joke har har).

Now I know that normal grownups with a reasonable house-buying budget who are appearing on an HGTV show are not looking at the hell-holes that I lived in in college. But those memories have forever tainted my idea of "charming old world style". And its not just limited to the naive college kids with no sense of living standards. A friend of mine just bought a cute and charming old house, only to realize upon move-in day that the floor of the attic was lined with COFFIN LIDS.

So when we realized that our family of three plus two wild animals was just getting to be too much for this townhome, we decided to build anew. We did look at a few older houses here and there. One was gorgeous and perfect but overlooked a highway and a waste water treatment plant. One looked like it was haunted by the ghost of a dead hippie. There wasn't a single one we considered putting an offer on. In the end, we selected a very suburban two story colonial in a very suburban town, and you know what? We're fine with that.

Sawyer's Crib

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:47:00 +0000

All the finishing touches are finally done . . . just in time for us to move (I'll get to that later). Full Disclosure: it never actually looks this clean and organized.

There's some pinterest inspiration up in this joint. That mobile for one. If making a mobile by punching holes out of paint chips looks easy, don't be fooled. This thing took me forever to make, involved a lot of rubber cement and swearing.

I made the curtains and bedskirt from fabric I bought online. Frank helped me paint the stripes and walls because he thought Sawyer would be born with four arms from paint fumes (don't worry, it was low VOC paint, and he has two arms). My amazing mommy made the quilt, I found awesome woodland animal fabrics at a local fabric store. See that fancy glider? Craigslist - $50. I googled the product code on the tag and it's worth $650. Chaching. Lamp, random S are from Marshalls, tray is from Target. The rug and side table are from IKEA. I did this on the cheap, very cheap. The crib is from Walmart, SHHH.

The gallery wall is made from stuff I've collected during my pregnancy and even before. The ornate wood frames were gaudy looking mirrors I found at a garage sale five years ago, but I popped the mirrors out and spray painted them. Some of the prints are greeting cards, some of them are designer wrapping paper that i bought at a card shop.

More storage from IKEA with Martha Stewart storage cubes from Lowes. The changing pad cover is from Designs by Christy on Etsy, make sure you check her out. The knick knacks and stuffed toys are from places like Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Kohls, Ikea, etc.

If ya ain't first, you're last

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:50:00 +0000

I'm a finalist on Project Nursery!

Vote for me by going here!

I decided to enter Sawyer's nursery in a nursery design contest (his is the orange and aqua one shown above) and I became a finalist! Kind of shocking for me because I did this on the lowest budget possible and most of it I made myself. I'm completely honored to be in the running. I would really appreciate it if you could give me and Sawyer a vote. I'm going to do a post tomorrow with the details of the nursery. I don't win much, a $50 gift card, but just being recognized would be the best part. I put a lot of myself into this.

Thanks for your help :)

3 Months

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:36:00 +0000

They say that the first three months of having a baby is like the fourth trimester. If so, we're out of the water. I think Sawyer is officially not a newborn now, and is instead a chunky rolley baby. It makes me sad that he's growing so fast, but honestly he's becoming a lot more fun. I feel like I'm hanging out with a little person now, not just a squishy blob of hunger. Things are good.

Here's the big guy:

The deets:

The progression:

Looks like my photography skills might be improving too, haha.

It looks like Sawyer's chill personality is staying intact. He is such an easy, smiley, relaxed baby. It kind of scares me for the next baby, because I'm not getting that "up all night" crazy experience. He's just so much fun to be around. The only thing we're having a problem with is the reflux. Baby boy will puke up an entire bottle at a moment's notice. It makes public feeding a scary experience. If I'm feeding him at someone else's house, I'll usually bring spare clothes for both of us and will feed him sitting on the floor with a bath towel. The upside? I've become adept at catching puke. This morning I caught projectile vomit in a spare tupperware container.

Also, the once super-quiet baby is now starting to talk to us. Or should I say, howl. I honestly think that he's starting to mimic Wilbur's howls, since he hears them all day long. Look at 40 seconds, proof.

Two Months

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:51:00 +0000

Oh look, Sawyer turns three months in two days, so now is a good time to do his two month post. So when i say "this month" I'm really referring to last month. And go.

This month Sawyer really started smiling more, a few coos here and there, and as you can see, he got much chunkier. Toward the end of month two Sawyer was diagnosed with reflux, the trendy disease that almost every baby gets, ha. We're talking spitting up entire bottles, out the nose. It doesn't bother him when it happens, but it looks like the puking scene from The Exorcist.

We spent a lot of time just finding a rhythm and I started to feel more confident about being a mother this month. Although, Frank was still working half days so I had yet to experience full-time mom duties.

Sawyer's first Thanksgiving was a hit. We went to Frank's sister's house first and then to my parents'. All new babies were present and accounted for. It's so strange that my side of the family has babies now. We've been babyless for over 20 years.

Sawyer with his cousin Max, Frank's sister's baby. They are only five weeks apart but Max is a little chunk!

With my Grandma, his Great Grandma. I'm so happy that my Gram is around and relatively healthy enough to enjoy her three great grandchildren. Sawyer looks pretty stoked too.

The Hotlist - Newborn edition

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 17:35:00 +0000

Babies require a lot of . . . crap. I felt like I needed every kind of equipment, every type of swaddling blanket, because you never know. After trying different things, I now know what works for me and what doesn't. Here are my favorites:

Fisher Price Rock n' Play Sleeper

I have a nice wooden modern looking cradle that matches the furniture in our bedroom. However, this things got such amazing reviews that I had to register for it. Sawyer sleeps in this every night. It's supposed to be great for babies with reflux. Even though Sawyer doesn't have reflux, I like that it keeps him somewhat upright, reducing the chance of him spitting up. It folds up and is light and portable so we can move it around the house and take it with us places, rather than packing up the bulky pack-n-play.

Britax B-Agile travel system

I dreaded getting a stroller because they all seem so bulky and cumbersome. The goal was to find a stroller that was light, easy to fold up, and looked cute. This is very similar to the Babyjogger Citiy Mini, which is extremely popular. What won me over about the Britax was 1) the price and 2) the fact that it's compatible with Britax carseats (you need to buy a $60 adapter kit with the City Mini). It steers so well, I love it.

Dr. Brown Bottles

I went with the Dr. Brown bottles because I already knew how to use them since my sister in law used them with her kids. Some people don't like them because of all the parts you have to clean, but it hasn't been a big deal for me. They are supposed to be one of the best bottles for reducing gas and fussiness and they seem to work for us.

Moby Wrap

I work from home so I need to be able to keep the baby happy and still be hands-free. It takes some trial and error to figure out how to put this thing on, but once you do it's great. There are a bunch of different ways you can hold your baby in it. This picture shows the particular hold that we like to use.

Fisher Price Snugabunny Swing

It's big, it's ugly, it place creepy church music. It has a damn canopy for god's sake. But it's magical and we can put the baby in here for a little while why we get some stuff done.

Halo Sleep Sack

We've tried several different swaddles and this is our favorite. It's easy to use and miraculously, I can change his diaper at night without unswaddling him (it unzips from the bottom up). He sleeps soundly without flailing his arms around and waking himself up. He also looks like a little burrito in it, so bonus.

One Month

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 17:05:00 +0000

We have one month under our belts. It's completely amazing and unbelievable that Sawyer didn't exist outside my body a little over a month ago. He's our whole world now. I'm working on my birth story now, but i'm not sure if I'll share it or not. It is so deeply personal.

Motherhood has been everything and nothing like I expected. I expected the constant cycle of bottles, diapers and naps. What I didn't expect was how much I would enjoy it. What I also didn't expect was for this all-consuming love to hit me so hard. I'm so much happier than I expected to be. I had a rough pregnancy, emotions-wise, and I spent a lot of time absolutely terrified of motherhood, scared that I wouldn't be able to bond with the baby, worried I would hate my new role and miss my old life. I didn't realize that it was absolutely out of control. I didn't really have to worry about how to become a mother, because it just happens without your consent. And I didn't have to worry about loving my baby, because no matter how hard I could have tried not to, because there is no way that I couldn't.

That's not to say that it hasn't been challenging at times. The first few weeks were hard, really hard. It's not really the lack of sleep that was hard, but just getting used to a new sleep pattern. Sawyer was up every 2-3 hours at night to eat, and I could never really get into deep sleep. I also experience the baby blues, which most women do. It's crazy because you can actually feel the hormones rushing in and out of your body. I would burst into tears dozens of times per day, and it was totally out of my control. I would say through my sobs, "I have no idea why I'm crying right now, I'm not even sad!" The baby blues combined with complete exhaustion eventually did me in, and I was scared that PPD was starting to set in. I expected this though, and saw my doctor right away. He put me on a new med, Frank let me get a few nights of uninterrupted sleep (we're formula feeding so this was possible) and within two days things were significantly easier.

I feel like I've really found my footing now. I can change a poopy diaper with just one wipe, dodge a stream of pee, swaddle with one hand. I'm also not stressed out very much at all. This is largely to the credit of Sawyer, who is a dream baby. Everyone comments about how calm and happy he is all the time. I (always the pessimist) expected an extremely fussy difficult baby. What I got was a baby who only cries to let us know he's hungry or needs a diaper, can spend an hour laying on a blanket just looking around. We can take him shopping with us without worrying about a meltdown. I know his temperment could change overnight, but right now I'm enjoying this content baby. He has really helped ease us into this transition.

My physical recovery has gone quicker than I imagined as well. Labor was incredibly quick and easy (well, after the epi!) and since he was so small, I didn't tear too much. Within a week, I had cabin fever and was able to get out to do some shopping. I've lost 20 pounds but have another 20 to do, and it's holding on for dear life.

They say having a baby changes everything. Everything it has changed has been for the better. Of course it's not as easy to run out the door to run a quick errand, and we can't decide last minute to go on a trip, but much of our life remains the same. Because of our awesome family, we have still been able to go on dates, see friends, be grownups. And we don't just talk about the baby, we still talk about everything we did before him. Our relationship is stronger because of this amazing person we made together.

What has changed is me. I have found a confidence that I didn't have before. Being pregnant and giving birth has changed me for the better. I grew and gave life to a human, a perfect human. I can do anything. I have also experienced a range of emotions that I didn't even know existed. I understand people who choose not to have kids, and sometimes I even wondered if I wanted them. But I feel like for me personally, my life experience would never have been this full without this baby. It truly is a miracle.

Introducing

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 22:14:00 +0000

Meet Sawyer.

October 17, 2012

12:53 pm

5 pounds 13 ounces

19.5 inches

Manboobs and Men Who Are Boobs

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 20:39:00 +0000

When I first got pregnant, I naively assumed that the biggest violation of my privacy would be people wanting to touch my belly, and doing so without asking. I'm into my 8th month, and I have to say I haven't had much of a problem with this. Not a single stranger has touched me or even asked to, and only a couple of family/friends have, and that doesn't bother me.

BUT, my privacy has been violated in a way that I definitely did not expect.

I went to a wedding last weekend, and not one but two different GUYS asked me if I planned to breastfeed. These were not close friends. One was a guy i met one time, about a year and a half ago, when we were drunk together in a limo. The other one is a neighbor down the street that I have talked to a handful of times. One guy had a six month old daughter with him and the other's girlfriends is due around the same time I am.

The first guy, guy A, introduces us to his daughter (wife is not around because she's in the wedding) and starts spewing off random baby facts, akin to Rainman, because now that he has a baby he is the official knower of all things baby. We talk about benign things like strollers for a while until he abruptly asks, "So, are you going to breastfeed?" Frank and I look at each other like "seriously dude?" and I feel the sudden need to cross my arms over my chest. I kind of stumbled over my words and told him that I wasn't sure yet, blah blah, and he proceeded that as soon as I get past "the bloody, cracked, nipple stage" I'd be good to go and it would be super easy. Though the guy has a minor case of MB's going on, I'm pretty sure he's never nursed a baby. Thankfully, frank jumped in and said, "We plan to feed the baby."

I may not be able to breastfeed because of some medical issues. Whatever. I don't feel like I need to explain myself or justify myself. To anyone, especially a strange guy. And no, I won't degrade myself or preface any explanation with, "I know breast is best but . . . " because there are many times that breast is NOT the best, in a particular situation, case closed. And I feel well qualified to judge my own situation and make the right decision.

The point I'm trying to make here is not really about breastfeeding vs. formula. The point is that it has been really disconcerting to watch my body suddenly go up for public debate and judgement. No one in their right mind would ask a woman a question about her breasts if she weren't pregnant or a mother. Or a loaded question about such a personal choice. Because you know if they're asking, they have an opinion about it. I think the next time someone asks me I'll follow up with an equally inappropriate and private question, like "How much money do you make?" Any other suggestions?

(By the way, this same guy also asked me if I planned on getting an epidural. Because his wife went all natural and it was "really easy". I like to think that if she would have been there she probably would have smacked him.)

An Insider's Look at Pregnancy

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 00:39:00 +0000

I've been pregnant for over seven ~~years~~ months now, so I consider myself somewhat of an expert. I want to share with you what I've learned so far. Although I have a feeling that I'm just now entering the "I want to die, kill me now" stage where you feel like your body is being ripped limb from limb. So I'm sure I'll have more to discuss later.

It's no secret that this pregnancy has been hard for me, super hard. I think I said in a previous post (although this might have been a blog post i wrote in my mind and never actually wrote, that happens a lot) that the hardest thing about this so far has been the hormones f-ing with me. I've gone to the brink of crazy and (almost) back and it's been horrifying. But I don't feel like writing a post about the really hard stuff so I'll stick to the normal pregnancy stuff.

Pregnancy will go a lot faster than you think it will. It will also go a lot slower than you think it will.

Cravings: For me at least, the cravings were not extreme and there hasn't really been one single craving that has lasted for a while. The way I explain it is that these are things that I crave when I'm not pregnant, I just give in to the cravings more now because food is ALL I HAVE.

Maternity Clothes: When you're not pregnant, you think all these stores have the cutest maternity clothes. I always thought, "I can't wait to be pregnant, this Liz Lange shit is cute!" Then you actually have to shop for maternity clothes and you realize that target has two racks of maternity clothes and they are all size XL. You have to drive 45 min away to the only Old Navy in your city that has maternity clothes, and they have about 3 racks, all size XL. Your standards for fashion go way down because you have nothing to pick from. Before, I could have walked into a Motherhood Maternity and said "I will never wear this fugly stuff," and now I'm all like "Oh, a plain t-shirt with side ruching? JACKPOT!" I really feel for the women who have to leave their house to go to their job, because I have literally been living in the same pair of leggings and rotating between three tank tops for the entire summer. My theory is that a lot of women fall into the "mom clothes" rut because they get so used to having to wear crap during pregnancy. I'm countering this by pinning tons of real people clothes.

More on Maternity Clothes: I (naively) said at the beginning of the pregnancy that my goal was to not wear maternity clothes at all. HAHAHAHA. So smug. It lasted for a while, but I eventually realized that despite the lack of selection and style, maternity clothes actually do flatter more than "regular" clothes. If you compare a plain white tee to a plain white maternity tee, the maternity one will make you look ten times better. I could probably still wear regular jeans, unbuttoned, with a belly band right now (in a few sizes up from my old size, RIP) but I don't want any kind of stuff touching my stomach besides the glorious spandex panel of maternity pants. I just feel more sensitive there and don't want things all bunched up and pinching my gut.

The strangers-touching-your-belly thing has not been an issue for me so far. It hasn't even happened once.

Stretch Marks: None yet, but I know that most of the time they happen in the last couple weeks. I also know that it's mostly genetic, so I don't go crazy with the belly butter etc. What did freak me out was that my mom told me she practically erupted in stretch marks at 5 months and the doctor told her it was one of the worst cases he's ever seen.

My goal was to be one of those women who work out until they give birth. I thought that those who didn't were mostly just lazy. Not true. One day I woke up and my body had broken overnight. My SI joint went out of place and hasn't gone back, so for a while I could barely walk, had excruciating pain, and sleeping was a joke. Since I've been going to a chiropractor and getting massages, it's been downgraded to a constant pain and annoyance that only wakes me up every 2 hours rather than every half hour. But it makes regular yoga impossible and I can only walk about a mile or so now. It also feels like my hips are being ripped apart with a crowbar.

Feeling the baby move: A lot of people who have never been pregnant ask me what it feels like to have a baby inside you. Well. . . it feels like you have a baby inside you. Imagine taking a newborn squirming jerky-limbed baby and putting it inside yourself. I get kicked in the ribs on the hour and have to push him out of there. It's kind of cool but it kind of sucks also. It feels like all my internal organs are in different places than they used to be. I got food poisoning a few weeks ago (yeah seriously) and I could feel the intestinal cramps in my chest.
Peeing my pants: This started pretty early for me. Anytime I sneeze, I pee myself. The only way I don't is if my bladder is empty and I have enough warning to cross my legs tightly. I've peed on the new glider for the baby's room. I've peed

There's one more big one, but that requires it's own post. Hopefully I get around to writing it and not just writing it in my head. It's a doozy. In the meantime, here are some pictures to prove that I'm actually pregnant. The whole "take a photo each week of pregnancy" thing only lasted for a few weeks.

These are from a wedding I went to this weekend:

And this is what I more typically look like:

Hidden Talent

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:18:00 +0000

I swear that I'm going to start regularly posting real posts. Soon. Very soon.

In the mean time, I'm mastering my latest talent, peeing my pants when I sneeze.

Where do I start?

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Mon, 21 May 2012 01:06:00 +0000

I've been thinking about this blog post for about three months. You know, the one where you come back from a big hiatus? How do I explain why I haven't been on here for months? Well to be honest, it's not that exciting, it was more laziness than anything else. Sometimes I go through bouts of anxiety and depression, and that happened this winter, which blows. I had gone years without a panic attack and then boom. It had a lot to do with hormones and going off my birth control (you see where this is going?), but also my constant worrying and neurotic thinking didn't help. Turns out hormones are more powerful than I could ever imagine, as I would find out throughout late winter and spring as well.

I found out that I was pregnant in February, and honestly it was a huge surprise. It shouldn't have been that big of a surprise, because well, I know how these things work. But still, when you've never been pregnant before, seeing those two pink lines can be an incredibly shocking experience, it doesn't seem like a possibility. It took a while to get used to (and I'm still getting used to it, I'm 16 weeks along) but things are starting to sink in a little more and I'm adjusting better than I thought. The first few months were rough, I admit, and I went through even more depression and anxiety. Hello hormones, and the fact that my crackpot doctor put me on an antidepressant that I had a bad reaction to. It basically did the opposite of what it's supposed to. Yes, I would love to not be on any meds at all while pregnant, but for me this proved to be an impossibility. My hormones do crazy things to my brain. I now have a better doctor who got me on the right medication, a therapist who I LOVE, and I'm doing a lot of work on myself, learning how to stop my negative thinking, live in the moment rather than the future.

Enough brain talk. What about this baby? Well the sonogram picture I put in the last post was about 8 weeks ago, so I imagine it looks much more human-like and bigger now. I get my next sonogram in three weeks, the big one where they make sure all the parts are there and in working order. And of course . . . gender! Yes, we're finding out. I'm a planner. I need to know. I have a list of names, and this is embarrassing to admit, but this list of baby names has been in progress for about ten years. The same little Word document has traveled from computer to computer and college, to apartments, etc. It's not that I've always been baby crazy, its more that I wanted to remember a name when I heard a good one. I probably won't be sharing it on this blog and I'm thinking about keeping the name a secret even from family and friends until birth.

The baby is measuring perfectly. Although my original estimated due date got pushed back 9 days because I measured small on the sonogram. The due date calculated from the sonogram is November 3, but the due date calculated from my last period is October 25. The explanation is that I probably ovulated late in my cycle, but i'm not sure if I believe that. The due date we're telling everyone is November 3, but I wouldn't be surprised if it came in October. Heartbeat is great, and fast.

So yes, the focus of this blog is probably going to change quite a bit. To be totally honest, when I started this blog it was because I was reading so many pregnancy/baby blogs. I knew I wanted to blog my pregnancy and baby, and I wanted to get started before that so that I could learn how to blog, connect with other people, etc., before it happened. It definitely won't be all baby talk all the time though, because right now, it's just in there marinating and I'm pretty much going on with normal life. I don't read all the baby books and I try to stay away from the Babycenter message boards and everything. When I do that, I find myself comparing my situation to others and constantly feel like I'm thinking and feeling the wrong things. So I'm just letting nature take it's course and letting this be my experience. That means not obsessing over every little feeling and bodily change. But this blog has always been about my life, and this is my life right now.

New Growth

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Sun, 20 May 2012 12:42:00 +0000

I love spring. Everything is green and fresh and new. New things are growing.

Happy Thanksgiving?

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:00:00 +0000

You're welcome.

Let the countdown begin

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 02:23:00 +0000

I'm hosting Thanksgiving tomorrow at our small townhouse with our giant family. Luckily, nine people can't make it so there will only be eighteen of us. Eighteen people. And only three of them are from my side of the family. That's what happens when you marry into a family of eight siblings. In a townhouse. It's not like I have a whole lot to cook, I only have to do the bird, throw some crescent rolls in the oven along with three boxes of Trader Joe's sweet potato pie bites. But just making sure the house and everything is in order is tiring. Our house is a mess most of the time, but when I'm having people over, it has to be spotless. Weird. I have a headache and I'm exhausted and I can't think right now, so I leave you with this:

I was on the phone with my dad yesterday and he said, "So what's for dessert on Thursday?" And I said, "Pumpkin pie, apple pie, and cookies." He didn't say it, but I know he was hoping a pecan pie would be making an appearance. He's from the south, and pecan pie is a staple there. So I trekked out to the store, bought a bag of pecans and some corn syrup and got to baking. Yeah, that's a homemade pie crust, no big deal. He should be pleased.

The music rut is over!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:06:00 +0000

Ever get into a music rut? I love that feeling of finding an album or an artist that you're obsessed with and have on repeat 24/7. Lately I haven't been listening to much of anything.

As cheesy and ridiculous as the movies are (don't get me wrong, I love them regardless) the Twilight movies always have the BEST soundtracks and always expose me to artists who are kind of under the radar. The Breaking Dawn pt 1 album did not disappoint. I'm out of the rut! Right now I'm listening to the band Sleeping at Last. So good! Most of their songs are pretty melancholy but some of them are more upbeat. But the lyrics, oh my goodness, the lyrics are soooo good and I find myself looking up the lyrics to every new song I hear. Just beautiful.

This is from their song "Turning Page", the song that's actually on the soundtrack:

If I had only felt how it feels to be yoursI would have known what I've been living for all alongWhat I've been living for
We're tethered to the story we must tellWhen I saw you well I knew we'd tell it wellWith the whisper we will tame the vicious scenesLike a feather bringing kingdoms to their knees

From "Birthright":

But what doesn't kill usMakes us stronger they sayBut our only birthrightIn this life, is the Breath that we take.

From "Tethered":

I'll be brave when you are frightenedYou'll be strong when I am weak in the kneesI'll be calm when you have had enough of these rushing wavesYou'll be the oxygen I need
You'll be balance when I waverI'll be warmth when you are shivering coldYou'll be patience when I've had enough of this waiting gameI'll be the anchor cast below

From "January White"

Well, we could let our guards down a little easier this time, We could trust that when there's joy, there's nothing dark behind. In spite of history, Hope is January white.

From "Watermark" (this one feels particularly relevant to me right now for some reason):

Dive in with your eyes closedFor the life you were born to claimAnd the water will be paralyzedBy the courage you containAnd the flutter of your earnest heartIt will fill the silent seasAnd all will be restored in your memory

Plus the album artwork is gorgeous and kinda makes me want to break out the watercolors.

I also discovered Sharemyplaylist.com, and it's something I've been looking for a long time. You can type in a song you like and it will find playlists that people contribute that include that song. It's awesome for discovering new music.

Disclamer: I just found out that Sleeping at Last is a christian rock band . . . nothing wrong with that, just not really something I'm typically into. I really wouldn't have guessed based on most of the lyrics, but whatever, I'm totally open minded!

Monday Funday

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:22:00 +0000

Some good things about this Monday:

Baking pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and eating two of them straight out of the oven for lunch

Wearing sweatpants and Uggs to work (my dining room)

Blasting the Breaking Dawn soundtrack with no judgement

Having an eye-opening session with my therapist (I think everyone should see one!)

Frank not having night class this week and knowing it's a 3-day week

Have a good Monday!

Living Room Redux

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:54:00 +0000

If you've ever been to my house, you know that I can't leave a room the same color for too long. We've lived in our house for a little over two years and I've painted every room except for two of our bathrooms. And it's not like it was horrible to start. I just love how painting is a cheap way to totally change the look of a room. And I've become kiiiiiind of a pro after learning some tips from our friend who helped paint the hallways and two story stairwell (he used to be a professional painter).

So anyway, I decided I was tired of the two toned look of our living room, and wanted to lighten it up so it's nice and bright for the winter (hello, SAD sufferer). But once I had the room painted a very pale aqua, it was suddenly way too cool and bland looking. Enter Crate and Barrel and some cheap DIY tricks to add some warm orange accents.

So here is the living room before:

And here is the after:

I did really love that bold teal color but it was a little TOO bold to put all over the room, and I was just over the two toned look. I am also not a fan of beige, and I think it casted a yellow tone on the room. So here's the rundown of the changes:

I kept the light blue trellis-patterned pillows (um yeah, just realized one is sideways. I'm not a photographer and I'm not an interior designer) but replaced the other ones with these bad boys from Crate and Barrel. They're just much better quality pillows and I like the more graphic and colorful look. Kept the framed vintage map of Paris above the couch. (PS - I want a sectional, BAD)

The color is totally off in this photo and doesn't really do this side of the room justice, I swear. We grabbed those rust orange pillows from JCPenney, which have the same burlap feel as the Crate and Barrel ones. And I love the buttons. See the wall art? I bought two cloth napkins from C&B that were on clearance for $8. Then I bought two square canvases from Hobby Lobby and stretched them on it, using a staple gun on the back.

I'm kind of in love with this antelope/gazelle/goat? head from Home Goods. Frank looked at me like when I was completely insane when I plucked it off the shelf and said, "I'm getting this, now," without any consideration. I think he kind of loves it now :) Plus I knew it would look awesome because I saw it's distant cousin here. I share the white ceramic animal obsession, it's a sickness

The lighted nook above the fireplace didn't change much, I just cleared some clutter and added this orange vase that I found at Marshalls.

Here's the surprise! I did paint this wall the light aqua color to begin with, but it felt like one big long blue room. So I decided to use some leftover brown paint to do an accent wall, in order to kind of separate the dining area from the living room area. I LOVE it! This photo really is horrible though, I suck at Photoshop. The paint is definitely warmer and slightly darker and really contrasts with the white chair rail.

The artwork is the same stuff that used to be above the the loveseat. They are pages from an old atlas that I bought at an estate sale. The matting on it was white before, so to make it pop a little more, I grabbed some fabric that I already had and just wrapped the mats.

And here's a picture of Little Man sleeping on the dining room table, because he has no manners.

Taking a day off

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:41:00 +0000

On Wednesday, Frank and I decided we both needed a day off. Except I can basically never take a day off anymore, boo, so I woke up super early and did my "must do" work for the day and left the rest to handle the next day. After he woke up, we decided to take the pup to the dog park since it was such a beautiful day and almost 70 degrees out. Indian summer is just a cruel joke to me though. Mother nature is a lying B.

Wilbur made friends with some Pit Bulls and Boxers because he's bad ass like that. Some pudgy old lady beagle tried to sniff him out but he didn't have time for bitches. It's so funny to watch him play with other dogs. He doesn't like chasing, he likes being chased. So he just annoys other dogs until they basically want to kill him and finally chase him and then he's all like "weeeeeeeee!".

Then we had a picnic lunch including turkey (organic and nitrate/nitrite free) sandwiches, lite organic cheddar, spicy cilantro hummus, raspberries, and whole grain pita chips with hummus, ALL from Trader Joe's. We just got one close by, can you tell I'm obsessed? Look at me, being all organic and hippie, for cheap.

I laid in the sun on a bench.

And stared up at this:

And then we went and got ice cream from Brusters. My pick? Half a scoop of pumpkin pie and half a scoop of caramel apple crunch. Please note my excellent iphone food photography skills. I definitely should have done some kind of vintage filter on that.

My sexy beast of a husband got deep dish apple pie.

And Wilbur stuck with a doggie sundae and a milkbone.

But apparently getting his own ice cream wasn't enough and he begged for ours.

Then we went home, the end.

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:49:00 +0000

It's been a rough few weeks. I got really sick, my anxiety disorder made a triumphant return (it was REALLY bad) and then I got sick again (well . . . it's the same thing as before because I stopped taking my antibiotic, which as it turns out, I was allergic to). I'm finally on a new antibiotic, and have crawled out of the hole that is panic disorder and anxiety disorder. I'm ready to get my shit back together. Winter is always really hard for me, I get the "winter blues" and can't STAND the lack of light in the evenings. In order to stay happy and healthy, I'm going to try a few things:

1. Cardio at least three times per week

2. Yoga twice a week

3. Lifting, twice a week

4. Meditation, once a day

Yeah I know, meditation, weird hippy stuff. But I just downloaded an app so it's directed meditation and its all about relaxing and slowing your breath. The problem is that i usually fall asleep when i do it . . . so I'll have to get that under control.

Plus I lost like three pounds when I was sick and I've been in the mindset that I can eat 5000 calories a day because I'm in the red. Probably not a good idea. They put a Trader Joe's in near my house and I've been eating their dried mangoes like it's crack.

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 02:12:00 +0000

I won't say much about it besides that I'm going through some serious, hard, shit right now.

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow. ~Mary Anne Radmacher

Whoa wait what?

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:59:00 +0000

I'm going to have to step it up on the blogging front because the impossible has happened. My husband started a blog.

Let that sink in for a minute. It's the last thing I ever thought he would do.

The only people that know about it so far are a few of his friends. Stop by and leave him a comment: it would absolutely make his day!

Don't mess with Texas or sinus infections

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:36:00 +0000

I'm back in cold, rainy Pittsburgh and recovering from a massive sinus infection that also spread to my throat. That was the diagnosis I received at the urgent care clinic I visited the morning after I wrote my last post. (Side note: There was also a guy named Kirk there waiting to get stitches. Apparently one of his friends threw a full bottle of Gatorade at his face and basically cracked his face in half. You wouldn't think a Riptide Rush to the grill could do that much damage, but you'd be surprised.) Luckily the combo of antibiotics, Mucinex, Vitamin C, and Advil kicked in quickly and I was feeling noticeably better by that afternoon. We drove around Galveston checking out some of the historical district. I was still feeling like crap so most of the photos were taken from the passenger window of a moving car, so they're not very good. That night I finally felt well enough to actually leave the hotel and eat dinner, so I got a steak (in Texas!) with a gulf view. Then I went to bed by 8.

On Thursday morning, I woke up ready to rock Galveston. I still didn't feel awesome, but I could stay awake for longer than 20 minutes and it was our last day there so I wanted to make the most of it. When Frank got back from his morning class, I convinced him to ditch the rest of the day. We drove around town, did some shopping and got an awesome lunch of crab stuffed shrimp (for me. He got something lame with chicken). The rest of the afternoon was spent laying at the pool and drinking Grey Goose and vodka (which is my new favorite). We also went for a long walk on the beach and I found the biggest seashell I've ever captured! Yes, I captured it. Honestly, looking for seashells is my favorite part of the beach and you can bet I brought this bad boy home with me.

Frank brought this back for me when I didn't feel well enough to go to one of the fancy dinners:

The Hotel Galvez:

These are some of the houses/buildings we saw on our drive around the historic part of town:

The pool area was amazing, so was my view wink wink:

I could do this every day.

My boyfriend:

Me, back from the dead

My giant seashell:

I liked the sun flare

Pointing out grammatical errors on the beach

The view from my deathbed

noreply@blogger.com (Emily @ TheLastWord) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:29:00 +0000

(I started this post last week, but the shoddy hotel internet was cooperating, so I'm finishing it now.)

Here's the view from my death bed:

Amazing view, but it would be nice if I could go out and walk on that beach, not just stare at it from my bleached hotel sheets. I tagged along with Frank to a work conference in Galveston, which is actually an island off of Texas. Of course I started feeling weird after I stepped off the plane, and by last night I was feverish and had to call it a night before everyone else. Today has been miserable. I've been able to stay awake for an hour or two, do a little bit of work (even though I'm not at home, I'm technically still working because I didn't tell any of my clients I would be gone). Then I pass out and wake up in a pool of sweat a few hours later. Fever, chills, aches, and a little bit of a sore throat. I've missed a Mexican buffet and a gourmet dinner of seared salmon and who knows what else in favor of a 1/2 gallon of orange juice, some pizza flavored Combos and some gummy worms. I'm praying that today was the worst of it and I'll feel miraculously fine tomorrow.

Galveston is a weird place. We're right on the ocean but there's not much of a beach. The hotel is gorgeous, but when you take a walk down the street there are boarded up houses, pawn shops, and fried chicken joints. We passed through a cute historic houses with gorgeous houses that look like they're right out of a magazine, but if you take a wrong turn, you're in the ghetto.

Anyway, our hotel is pretty impressive. We're staying at the Hotel Galvez,

One way to freak yourself out is to Google your hotel on a whim to find out if it's haunted, and then find out that it is indeed very haunted and has been the subject of many paranormal investigations. The story is that a woman's husband was away at sea and she was staying at the Hotel Galvez. She got word that his ship had wrecked and no one had survived. She was so distraught that she hung herself from one of the turrets. But it turned out that his ship had not wrecked and he returned a few weeks later. Apparently she haunts the hotel now.

I will update later with more Galveston photos and any ghost sighting.