Crazy Cat Lady

I never thought I had the potential to be a crazy cat lady until we adopted Lucy. I seriously love this cat more than most things in life. She is the GREATEST! When Richie moved to Logan last year leaving me in Oregon solo, I was so grateful to have her little self there at home to welcome me back from work, watch Lost DVDs with me until the wee hours of the morning, and generally remind me that I was loved. Pets are fantastic. I will always feel pity for those out there who just don't value the love of a good animal.

No, we do not dress our cat. Lucy has allergies (to what remains the big mystery. We think they're food allergies.) which cause her to continuously lick herself raw. It is very sad, and occasionally the outbreaks will be bad enough that she has to wear a cone or an "Elizabeathian collar." This is her in her collar when we first adopted her. I eventually had to sew tulle around the edges, making this look like even more of a fancy dress, because she figured out a way to lick her belly. During this phase we called her "Space Cat." Yes, there was a song.

Lucy always has been and will always remain a giant bed hog. She looks grumpy. Shouldn't have awoken her from her 18 hour cat nap.

Likes: yogurt, ice-cream, string cheese, Planet Earth dvds, the fish tank, exploring outside, the laser, neck rubs, chin scratches, drinking from my glass (or any liquid container that is not her water dish), the heater vent under the bed, cuddling, attention

Dislikes: her cone, cold/wet weather, cat nip, children, the vaccum, loud cars, being left alone, baths, pills, most cat toys

Okay Winter, You Can Be Over Now

I like the snow for about two months. Maybe even three. But after February, really, it's time for Spring. I LOVE Spring! It is my favorite season. So why in the world am I lving in frozen ice-world Logan? Yesterday, at 10 am, Richie came into the bathroom as I was getting ready for church and informed me that it was currently -4 below zero outside. Lovely.

We went hiking (why we didn't put our snowshoes on is a mystery. I was okay with my snowboots, but Richard only had tennis shoes) on Saturday up Logan Canyon. During my whole pregnancy I can honestly say that I have never felt "fat," just pregnant. But after looking at this picture, I can't believe how big I'm getting! I look totally fat! But at least I don't feel fat. I still feel fabulous and pregnant, not fat. Only 11 more weeks to go!

Welcome 2009!

First, apologies to my total lack of communication for the month of December. Yes, I know that many of you were placed into fits of worry, lighting icon candles in prayer for my health, but don't worry. It was only my severe lack of energy from the holiday struggle that kept me from journaling my thoughts electronically for all to consider.

I finally took picutres of my house, at least, the main floor. I will post the basement and loft when the nursery is finally done (hopefully soon!).

But before I shower you, my delightful readers, with envy-inducing evidence of my AWESOME house, I need to say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my wonderful husband.

We celebrated 5 years of pure bliss on December 27th. I can't believe it--five whole years married, to each other, monogamous, happy (for most of it)! We didn't do too much in way of celebrating. Earlier last year I wanted to make travel plans for Belize, but then pregnancy and home ownership came into play (I'm not complaining). We went down to Cedar City for Christmas, so we drove up to Salt Lake on our way home Saturday and ate at The Roof in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and walked around Temple Square afterwards to see the Christmas lights. It was quite pleasant except for the fact that I over ate by about 5,000 calories (the dessert buffet is INCREDIBLE) and wanted to vomit for most the walk. But it was beautiful, fun, and very reminiscent of when we got married. I did let the Chemist know however, that if we weren't out of the country in another five years, with diamond studs in my ears, we won't be celebrating an 11th anniversary. Just kidding...maybe...

Oh, don't we look so happy and cold? Okay, on to the house...Featuring the Living Room, Bathroom, Kitchen, TV Room, Guest Room/Study

Happy New Year! 2008, you were great; 2009, looking fine!

What a Fantastic Month!

November has been awesome to me. I must share. Obama won the Presidential election, the University of Utah Utes thoroughly destroyed the evil, self-righteous BYU Cougars (I hate them so much...) in the Holy War, our OB appointment went well, my sister Nicole returns home on Thursday from her 18 month LDS mission to the Netherlands, and...we moved into our new house!

That's right, we are now home owners. I have been experiencing many mixed emotions about it the past two weeks (that's how long we've been in the house and the main reason I haven't written much). While I am very excited to finally be in my own home, I have much anxiety over money (the not having enough of it part), fixing the house up, leaky dishwashers, boxsprings and other pieces of furniture not fitting in stairwells, and the like. I have felt really guilty too, because while it is by no means a palace, it is quite large, actually bigger than what we really need, and all that space is intimidating. I feel like we might be living beyond our means, and that really we should have bought a much cheaper, smaller house. But I shouldn't complain, right? I should be grateful for the many blessings I have in this house, and believe me, I am. I am soooooo grateful.

So is it weird that I have these anxious, guilty feelings attached to my joy? I think part of it is the time of year. I hate cold dark winters. Just hate 'em.

The house was built in 1948, has three bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a huge basement and quarter acre lot with a great, big backyard. It was built by a brickmason. I promise I will get more pictures, but I want everything to look perfect in them, so for now, here is a pic of the front of the house:

The Bebe Bump

So I see it is pretty typical in Hollywood to glory in the "baby bump." Since I would like to be rich and infamous some day, I will follow suit. I am expecting People Magazine and TMZ paprazzi to be at my door any minute!
I am at the end of my 4th month (not sure what week exactly. 17? 18?).

I wish Richard knew how to take a really good subject photo. And I wish I knew how to pose for a really good subject photo. That is why I am usually the one behind the camera. For whatever reason, Richie really wasn't into taking my picture with Maude. He takes really good landscape photos, but I guess I am not as interesting a subject. Will someone please come take artsy, legendary pregnancy photos of me? Please?!

Tricks and Treats

Here are a bunch of pictures representing the many fabulous and fun things The Chemist, Maude The Fetus, and I have done the past couple of months during this gorgeous Autumn (warning, they mostly involve all, or parts of, pumpkins). We didn't do anything fun for Halloween this year. It was quite sad really, but when you're only friends have tiny babies/children, and you don't drink, there aren't many reasons to get the house decorated, dress-up, and rock it all night long with the ghosts and the ghouls. Maybe that's a defeatist attitude, but next year, next year will be awesome. We'll have a baby, a place to party, and I'll make sure Richard has a kick-ass costume. As for candy, well, I consume enough of that on a daily basis as to ensure I don't need more on Halloween.

We went kayaking at Tony Grove Lake, which is up Logan Canyon. It was really fun, but the lake is quite small, and after about half an hour, we had already explored the whole thing from the water. We also ended up hiking the little trail that circles the lake. It was a perfect day: sunny, warm, slight breeze. But that also meant there were loads of other people up there too.

We went to a u-pick pumpkin patch in Paradise for our jack-o-lantern pumpkin. I love pumpkin patches. Isn't Richie cute? It was cold and snowy that day!

We went on a hike in the Left Fork of Blacksmith Fork Canyon. It was quite pretty, but the road was unpaved and very bumpy, and we forgot that it was deer season. Every other person in that canyon was hunting (and there were quite a few of them) and the slight few who weren't were at least wearing bright orange. Maybe it wasn't so smart of us to go on a secluded hike while pregnant in the middle of hunting season, but we went anyway, made lots of noise, and fortunately didn't get shot at (that we know of). The colors on the hike were actually very blah and brown, so the picture of the foilage is enhanced to trick you. I don't know why I took Richie's picture in the shade, but in black & white it actually looks spooky, like he's on a haunted hunting trail.

Richard carving our pumpkin.

Me vomiting the pumpkin guts. Hee hee...

Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday to My Favorite Ghoul!

Today is my mom's birthday! What a great time of year for a cool birthday party. She loves Halloween. She is the most wonderful mother. I love her! All my friends in high school (and those that knew her in college as well) love her too. They all call her Mom or Mom Barkume. I wish I had more pictures on my computer, but here is a little montage to celebrate the many (but not too many) wonderful years of her life, the best being the ones with me.

On the hike to Angel's Landing, Zion NP.

Out to dinner with my Dad.

Both this picture and the first one on top were taken at the beach near Bandon, Oregon.

Cast of Characters: Little Fetus Maude

I'm proud to present our unborn baby GIRL!

The internet poll has prophesied correctly: Maude is the clear winner, and thus we will call our unborn girl child Maude until she really enters this world in style. I can't wait for all that pain and tearing and screaming. She's making me work for her, that's for sure!

I wish our ultrasound picutures were a little clearer, but she is quite the squirmy baby, and apparently my placenta is right in front of her, so the images weren't as focused as some I've seen. But she looks healthy and is right on target for size, which is a great indicator that everything is developing correctly. We got to see pictures of her brain, bladder, spine, and watch the blood pump through the four chambers of her heart. It was amazing! I can't imagine being pregnant and not getting to see that! Even when my mom was pregnant with me, which wasn't too long ago, this sort of technology didn't exist. That is crazy to me. I love living in the 21st Century--what a blessing!

Clearly, the "girl"part of her. Nothing poking out between those legs! Her bum is on the left, the mouse is pointing to the labia, and her feet are to the right.

I think these pictures of her feet are just...sigh...too wonderful and amazing. She's really in there!

The best picture we got of her spine. I only wish her profile wasn't blurred.

"It's Automatic When You Know It"

Here is a picture of our baby at 11 weeks. This ultrasound was done at the end of the August. It looks like an alien, I am aware of that. But it's our alien, and that makes me happy. Everyone needs an extraterrestrial of their own to grow and love, right?

When my mom found out we were having a baby, she thought that we were going to name it Otto. Not that I don't like that name, but I have never really considered it, and since we don't know the sex of the child, I don't know why she assumed that we would name it that. My dad then wryly suggested that the middle name should be "Matic." Very clever. But then I thought, Automatic Peterson, that's a good, funny name for a sexually undetermined fetus. And henceforth our babe has been known as Auto around these parts. It's much better than Richard's suggestion of Cletus the Fetus. Eeeewww...I hate both those words.

Now my mother-in-law, on the other hand, has really been gunning for Gus since the moment we got married almost five years ago. Can you imagine hearing about Baby Gus for five years? I said "absolutely not! That's the name of the fat mouse on 'Cinderella.'" There's no way I'd ever name a human being that came out of my birth canal Gus. But Richie loves it. He uses the mouse voice from "Cinderella" and says "GusGus" really fast. Sigh. This child is in for a lot of weird nicknames.

I've also had some Oregon inspired suggestions, like Rainesong, Snowbright, and Moonstar. So now I'd like to open it up to suggestions from the audience. The new poll to your right will have my top five suggestions, but please feel free to post other options as well; nothing will be turned down on the path towards the moniker that will label one for life.

Avast, Pirates Win, Arrrr!

I know it has been up for some time now, but, Pirates win the poll! Richard was upset by the results (he was the only one that voted for ninjas). I love ninjas too. They're so sneaky (there could be one in my kitchen right now and I wouldn't know!) and if pirates had the same code of ethics or the same sense of duty and shame, ninjas would definitely win in hand-to-hand combat. But we all know that after getting slapped around, a pirate would just step back and rocket a bullet into the ninja's belly, and not even feel bad about it. That's while pirates rock. Not to mention that they live on a ship and sail around the entire world, and have hidden, cursed treasure. And scurvy. I mean, whoever heard of Ninja Treasure? Or some sort of ninja vitamin deficiency? Family Honor or a nod from the Emperor is probably the only reward that ninjas receive. Maybe a cool sword too. But I want gold me mateys, lots of gold. It's the only stable financial standard in today's economic mess.

Okay, since I am new to blogging and not too technically savvy yet, I couldn't figure out how to post youtube videos (although I know it can be done, somehow) here are some links to some funny ninja videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muLIPWjks_M
This is for "Ninja Cat" which never ceases to crack me up. It even made the Chemist laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdLCEwEFCMU
I don't condone the use of the word "fag" but this video is still pretty funny and covers all the basics of becoming a ninja. Is it racist when Asian Americans use a really bad Japanese accent?

I tried to find some cool pirate videos, but none that tickeled my fancy, arrrr....

Tomorrow look for a new poll concerning our babe. She (we think) needs a name, and she needs your vote.

Snow Day and the Conquering Hero

Today I awoke to snow!

It has been blustery and stormy all weekend, and though it snowed both Saturday and Sunday, it was still a surprise to wake up and see nothing but white out the window. I am so grateful that our landlord believes in keeping a warm house!

Luckily, the weather is supposed to bounce back up into the 60s for the next few weeks. I am definitely not ready for winter, and not done with beautiful Autumn. Winter can wait a little while longer. I took this picture this morning from my front porch. I didn't quite get the effect of the snow like I wanted, but I live across the street from the Logan LDS Temple, and it was a particularly lovely view this morning with the bright sunlight and smooth snow lawn.

More importantly, I am happy to announce the results of the St. George Marathon! Richard not only reached his goal time, he smashed it to bits as he finished the race in 3:33! His time for the SLC marathon was 4:24, so he took off more than 50 minutes! And in pouring rain I might add! I was so excited for him, even though I wasn't prepared to take pictures and video-I thought I had another 10 minutes at least to get the camera ready. I wanted video of him actually crossing the finish line. Afterwards, Richie was only minimally sore for two days. He felt fine all last week. The real secret to his success is this: don't stretch before any runs, drink lots of carbonated beverages, get minimal sleep, and shave body hair into aerodynamic coiffitures, as seen below:

What a sexy Fu-Man-Chu! He was going to put his hair into a mohawk, but the rain prevented that from being successful. My mom got a really big kick out of the moustache. When she first saw him she choked on her lunch. But she recovered enough to snap this photo:

I'll leave this entry with some more images of the wet marathon. My parents and I did the "Mayor's Walk," which was the last 2.2 miles of the marathon course and ended at the finish line. Hopefully, the next marathon will be a Boston qualifier!

Good Friends

Jonas Newsome is Richard's best friend. They've been friends since they were 12. At least, they were wellwishers, in that they wished each other no specific harm. But Jonas has been a very important person in our lives and we love him and his family very much!

Jonas turned 30 a few days ago, and I'd like to say Happy Birthday Jonas! I'm posting a video of him swimming at Alsea Falls in Oregon. He and his wife Phyleen and their baby Bridger came to visit us a year ago. I also put up some pictures of him to preserve a bit of his dignity. He really is a great guy. I hope you don't regret giving us this video!

My good friend Laron also had a birthday recently. Happy Birthday Laron! Laron is one of the most beautiful people I know in every way: beautiful mind, beautiful heart, beautiful soul. I have some great photographs of Laron, but unforutanely, none that are digital. This picture I'm posting is the only decent one I have of him on my computer. We are at the top of Mt. Timpanogos in Utah. Please ignore the way I look. We took off for the hike at 4 am and didn't get back home until 7 pm or so! It's a steep 13 miler, but totally worth it. Laron of course, didn't even break a sweat.

Laron has some gorgeous photographs posted on Flickr. If you'd like to check them out, here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/91213518@N00/

The Sweetest Zuchinni of All

I help with two different gardens, and as usual, the zuchinni plants runneth over. I figured that there has to something else besides zuchinni bread and stir fry that incorporates large amounts of this prolific squash. I saw this recipe on the news the other day, and decided to try it out. It is amazing! I think it is my new favorite cookie! And it doesn't even have chocolate in it! You know it must be good if something sans chocolate can trump a cocoa suffused delight. Without the frosting, these would work well as scones. But the frosting adds a "zip" and a zest that the cookie alone is missing!

Lemon Zuchinni Cookies

2 cups flour
1 tea baking powder
1/2 tea salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tea lemon zest
1 cup shredded zuchinni
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 table lemon juice

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In large bowl cream butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and lemon zest until fluffy. On low speed add flour mixture until dough is smooth. Stir in zuchinni and walnuts. Drop onto greased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated 375 F oven, 15-20 minutes (very light brown). While still warm drizzle with Lemon Glaze. Cool on rack. Frosting: mix powdered sugar and lemon juice together.

Let me know if you enjoy them!