that’s right, mr. halloran and i are expecting.  that you see there is our nugget.  or d-nugg as my sister affectionately refers to it as.  we are 14 weeks now, and this is the strangest thing in the world.  there’s really no nice way to say this – i’ve felt like shit lately.  absolutely exhausted, sick every hour and a half if i don’t stuff my face, my body is doing weird things, i’m too tired to do things i enjoy, and i’m a little terrified.  or a lot terrified.  i’ve always been the one to be excited about having a baby and being a mom – i like responsible things – while mr. halloran has always been a little tentative.  when he stopped being tentative, we started trying, and then we got pregnant and all i could think about is how our lives are going to change.  we’re pretty selfish people – myself in particular – with our time.  we like to do our own thing on our own terms.  i myself really thrive on that.  and now there’s going to be a little one thrown into the mix that’s going to change all that.  we’re excited, don’t get me wrong.  but i’m nervous.  i think i’m allowed to say that?  having babies is heavy.

i’m finally coming out of the cloud of exhaustion and have felt so good this weekend that i went skiing not once but twice (!).  i’ve been writing people back and talking on the phone and reading books and i’m a little bit back to my old self.  which feels good.  and i think that will ease my fears a little bit.  hooo-eeee.  things are going to be a’ changin’ around here.

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sophie’s thankful too, for food, naps, and for finally getting over her little cough.

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listening: cleopatra by stacy schiff on audiobook.  i’m really not a fan of history, nor biographies, but this is book club’s selection this month and by golly i’m going to participate.
eating: there’s focaccia in the oven and minestrone on the stove.
drinking: agua.
wearing: the sweats i was wearing yesterday (it’s sunday, okay?).
feeling: mr. halloran is weatherizing right now, and this makes me sad.
weather: pleasant.
wanting: the upcoming week to be done.
needing: absolutely nothing.
thinking: about all the books i need to read.
enjoying: a quiet sunday at home.
wondering: should i finish chores or read?

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we hiked to the top of gold mountain, which is where mr. halloran proposed two years ago.  we even took angus – that little pug hiked five miles with us.  what a great little pug.  then we came home, cleaned up, dressed up, and went out for a night out on the town, stopping at scratch for dinner, mizuna for dessert, and a movie (thanks dad + mhairi for the night out – it was so great).

while we were out, sophie gorged herself on what was likely at least two pounds of dog food.  i’d like to say this never happens, but sadly this pug acts like we never feed her and breaks into the food can with some sort of regularity.  at her last vet appointment this week, she was two pounds heavier than last time.  such a beautiful chubby pug.

it was a lovely day.  love you, mr. halloran.  here’s to the next 39 years.

xoxo

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i guess you could say i haven’t felt very creative lately. i just barely started a new sewing project (yellow + gray duvet cover). my meals keep repeating themselves. the house is a mess. no flowers have been planted. am i not myself? it seems that way. even with the recharging i’ve received from the nicer weather, i’m still feeling a little blah. here’s to getting over that. quickly.

mr. halloran and i leave for nyc on friday. so. excited. to see my little brother and even my dad for a day. on my list of places to visit? the met. magnolia bakery. serendipity. anthropologie. pies n’ thighs. everywhere. we’ll also be swinging to boston for a day to visit my stepsister and her husband, and to portsmouth to visit one of my long lost friends from graduate school. this vacay will be a delight, and is so needed.

what else is happening around our place? well, mr. halloran installed a beautiful travertine backsplash in our kitchen. i’ve finished a few books (my fave as of late being still alice, a book about a linguistics professor who gets early-onset alzheimer’s). the monster project i’ve been working on for work has come to an end. nikki still has no sign of the cancer (thank goodness). my broccoli is the only plant i’ve planted from seeds that seems to be fairing well. aaaaannnndddd i think that’s it. exciting, no?

i leave you with this. to make you laugh.

and to warm your heart.

since that time, i’ve been reading eating animals by jonathan safran foer.

this book came out about a year and a half ago, and while jonathan safran foer is one my faves, i’ve really been dragging my feet about reading it.  i mean, i knew it contains information i should know.  but did i want to know what was happening in this country’s factory farms?  no.  and it’s not like we ate a lot of meat, and it’s not something i ever craved… but we still ate it.  without much reservation.  or worry that what we were participating in could be part of something awful.

i was a vegetarian on and off from the time i was 11 until i was 19.  solely on the principle that i liked animals and didn’t want to eat them.  i don’t know what really caused me to start eating meat again, it just kind of happened.  even when i’d hear bits and pieces of how animals are farmed, i still chose to eat meat.

well, this book has kind of changed my life.  and just like i didn’t appreciate the judgment i received when i was a vegetarian in my earlier years and the constant combating with people about my reasoning, i’m not going to get up on my soapbox and use this as a platform to tell you all of the things that i’ve learned.  but i will tell you that you should read this book.  even if you don’t want to.  you just should.  just to be aware.

i am now a vegetarian.  fully committed.  a welcome change.

click here.

i love me some happy hippies.

also, the second song in the set, “home” (starts around 5:00), is the song mr. halloran and i walked down the aisle to as a married couple, and reminds me more of getting married than our first dance song does (“you are the best thing” by ray lamontagne).  oh, memories.

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i have been doing a lot of traveling for work, and on friday i found myself in othello, washington.  now, washingtonians don’t believe othello to be the nicest place in the world, but really this little town gets a bad rap.  it’s got an amazing sense of community, nice (warmer) weather, excellent ag land, and a huge latino population (and we all know how i have a soft spot in my heart for all things mexican).  one of the people we met with in othello recommended we stop at this little mexican grocery store and order a meat roll with an orange on top.  so we did (and i had to use my spanish to get it), and it turns out it is the most glorious carne asada you’ve ever tasted.  worth the two hour drive alone.

all of this comes one day after i told matt i was going to be a vegetarian.  vegetarianism starts… tomorrow?

i smell sunshine, because some nice flowers are sitting on our tabletop and we have been eating caprese salad galore.

and yesterday i made some pillows, taking our living room up a notch if i do say so myself.

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mr. halloran and i had an eventful weekend, but my favorite part was our date to downtown spokane.  the weather was decent (and by decent i mean not raining for once!) so we decided to take the bus downtown and walk around some shops and riverfront park, grab a coffee treat, and read some magazines at the library.

at the spokane staple gift shop, boo radley’s we found such gems as pug-in-a-box and squirrel underpants.  you’re welcome.

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