Izzy was scheduled for a grooming appointment early Monday morning, so JJ took her in for me. She had to be there between 7:30 and 8 so when JJ called at 8:10 and was just leaving the house, I was a bit perturbed. I asked him why he was just leaving and he said he got a call from the railroad and thought he’d have to go in, so he had spent some time looking up on the computer why they might be calling him. For the last few weeks they had been sending him messages when he logged into his computer system that he needed to come in for refresher training for the job he got bumped from a few years ago. They’ve sent him these messages before but never actually followed through with scheduling him. They were calling him Monday morning to let him know he had been taken off his board and would not get paid until this training was complete. So we had some decisions to make. 1) should he close the restaurant down for the week and do the training or 2) give up that position at the railroad (forever) and go to the restaurant like normal. We didn’t have a whole lot of time to decide, and I didn’t have much of an opportunity to talk to him while I was at work.
He decided to close down the restaurant for the week and go to the training Tuesday through Friday from 6 AM – 2 PM. I think it was the best choice in the long run. I told him it was going to be weird having him home all week, but of course my mind started going to town as I came up with projects for him to help me with while he was home. He did have one of his employees go into the restaurant Tuesday night and make up sandwiches for people to buy out of the cooler, and then another employee opened at 4 on Wednesday. JJ knew he was running out of things, and some meat needed to be sliced which his employees can’t do, so after work on Wednesday he went to the store to get food for the following week and headed down to the restaurant. He ended up helping till close before he headed home.
Yesterday after work JJ came home and cooked all the meat he had bought for the next week. He bought a new smoker and seasoned it first, then cooked 10 slabs of ribs, 3 big briskets and a pork loin. I thought the whole neighborhood was gonna show up on our driveway because it smelled so good. In the meantime, I continued to work on a project we’ve had going on all week. We started working on the dresser/changing table. The first night we took off all the hardware and sanded it down. Then the next two nights we worked on priming and painting. Last night I finished the glaze and hopefully tonight we will have the whole thing done. I can’t wait to see the finished product and show you guys a sneak peek!
We also moved the furniture out of the office and are ready to move the guest room furniture into the old office to make room for the nursery. I’d like to get that done tonight also, but we’ll see. This week has been very unusual – not only having JJ home, but just the random things we’ve had going on each night. I have stayed up way too late each night and have been dragging a big during the day, but I just want to take advantage of this time we have together to get things done. It’s hard to get anything done when he’s only home two days a week – one being Sunday when we both want to relax, and the other being Monday when I’m at work and he’s running errands all day preparing for the upcoming week. Tomorrow I have a meeting for work all morning and JJ will go down to the store for the day, but luckily he will come back home after the restaurant closes for the night. We’ll see what else we can tackle this weekend around the house.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wordless Wednesday (Almost)
I think I'm getting to the hormonal stages, because I teared up at this video. I don't think the music helps. Sammy does the same thing - he smiles when he knows he's in trouble, but he doesn't show his teeth like this dog does. How cute and funny is this? And please tell me I'm not the only one that tears up watching this...I just feel so bad for the dog.
Monday, April 25, 2011
23 Weeks
Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 23 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby J is about the size of a large mango; more than 11 inches long; just over a pound
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 6 lbs.
Maternity Clothes: This week I wore all pre-pregnancy clothes.
Gender: GIRL!!!!!!
Movement: Yep, it’s a regular occurrence now. There have been a few times it’s been pretty strong and surprised me.
Sleep: Sleep is already becoming difficult, which I didn’t expect. Rolling over and trying to find a comfortable position is not such an easy task anymore.
What I miss: Nothing really.
Cravings: Laffy Taffy, and while I’m down at the restaurant my dad has THE BEST Dr. Pepper slushy machine at his store. So of course I had to have a few of those, which is unusual for me to drink pop at all, but they’re so good!
Symptoms: The abdominal pain is much better this week. I still have to be careful not to get up or move too quickly, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was last week. I have an appointment with a dermatologist tomorrow for the rash so we’ll see what she has to say about it.
Best Moment this week: Receiving our first gift for Baby J – a set of bibs from my aunt.
How Far Along: 23 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby J is about the size of a large mango; more than 11 inches long; just over a pound
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 6 lbs.
Maternity Clothes: This week I wore all pre-pregnancy clothes.
Gender: GIRL!!!!!!
Movement: Yep, it’s a regular occurrence now. There have been a few times it’s been pretty strong and surprised me.
Sleep: Sleep is already becoming difficult, which I didn’t expect. Rolling over and trying to find a comfortable position is not such an easy task anymore.
What I miss: Nothing really.
Cravings: Laffy Taffy, and while I’m down at the restaurant my dad has THE BEST Dr. Pepper slushy machine at his store. So of course I had to have a few of those, which is unusual for me to drink pop at all, but they’re so good!
Symptoms: The abdominal pain is much better this week. I still have to be careful not to get up or move too quickly, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was last week. I have an appointment with a dermatologist tomorrow for the rash so we’ll see what she has to say about it.
Best Moment this week: Receiving our first gift for Baby J – a set of bibs from my aunt.
Easter with the family
I was to bring a dessert for our family get together this time and I wanted to try something new. My friend Lindsey at Just Add Sugar had posted a few options recently and I decided to go with Pioneer Woman's Red Velvet Sheet Cake. When we got back in town Friday night, JJ went to visit his doctor friend and I went to the store. First mistake - don't go to the store after being gone for a day or two. You won't remember everything you need! I got what I thought was everything and headed home. I wanted to knock out the dessert that night so I wouldn't have to rush Saturday morning.
I should back track and say I realized about halfway home that the pan I was going to make the sheet cake in was in JJ's car. So we pulled over on the side of the highway so I could grab it from him. Then while I was at the store I thought that it had been a while since I'd posted a recipe on here and wanted to take pictures - but the camera was in JJ's car. Of course! This should have been my sign to stop right there, but I didn't. Once I got home and started setting out all the ingredients, I realized I didn't have baking soda? Who doesn't have baking soda? THEN I realized I didn't have vinegar either. And the kicker is that I only needed about a teaspoon of each. I really didn't want to go back out to the store so I called JJ and asked if he was on his way home yet and if he could stop and get those two things for me. I should have just gone myself because by the time he left, drove the 45 minutes home, got stuck in construction and an accident, it was after 10 when he got here and I was not about to start a baking project then. I was tired and ready for bed.
I got up Saturday morning ready to tackle my dessert. The cake was very easy to make. While the cake was cooling I made the frosting. PW even said she's made this icing a few times and it's flopped, but if she just keeps beating it together it finally redeems itself. I got the ingredients together and started beating. and kept beating. and kept beating. It was still separated and did not look right at all. I didn't have time to continue messing with it, so I just decided to stop by the store and buy frosting on the way to my aunt's. Overall the cake turned out well, the frosting not so much. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I would still recommend the recipe and might try it out again. It tasted good so that's all that matters! You can find the full recipe here with pictures, but here is the short version:
I should back track and say I realized about halfway home that the pan I was going to make the sheet cake in was in JJ's car. So we pulled over on the side of the highway so I could grab it from him. Then while I was at the store I thought that it had been a while since I'd posted a recipe on here and wanted to take pictures - but the camera was in JJ's car. Of course! This should have been my sign to stop right there, but I didn't. Once I got home and started setting out all the ingredients, I realized I didn't have baking soda? Who doesn't have baking soda? THEN I realized I didn't have vinegar either. And the kicker is that I only needed about a teaspoon of each. I really didn't want to go back out to the store so I called JJ and asked if he was on his way home yet and if he could stop and get those two things for me. I should have just gone myself because by the time he left, drove the 45 minutes home, got stuck in construction and an accident, it was after 10 when he got here and I was not about to start a baking project then. I was tired and ready for bed.
I got up Saturday morning ready to tackle my dessert. The cake was very easy to make. While the cake was cooling I made the frosting. PW even said she's made this icing a few times and it's flopped, but if she just keeps beating it together it finally redeems itself. I got the ingredients together and started beating. and kept beating. and kept beating. It was still separated and did not look right at all. I didn't have time to continue messing with it, so I just decided to stop by the store and buy frosting on the way to my aunt's. Overall the cake turned out well, the frosting not so much. I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I would still recommend the recipe and might try it out again. It tasted good so that's all that matters! You can find the full recipe here with pictures, but here is the short version:
Ingredients
- 1 cup Shortening
- 1-¾ cup Sugar
- 2-½ cups Cake Flour
- 1-¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2 whole Eggs
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1-½ teaspoon Vinegar
- 1-½ ounce, fluid Red Food Coloring
- 1-½ teaspoon Cocoa Powder
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly spray a large (18 x 12) sheet cake pan (or you can use a slightly smaller jelly roll pan) with nonstick baking spray. Be sure to get in all the corners of the pan.
Sift together cake flour and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, stir together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Add vinegar and stir. Set aside.
In a separate small bowl, mix together cocoa and red food coloring. Set aside.
Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk/egg mixture until all combined. Pour the red mixture in and beat until combined.
Pour batter into prepared sheet cake pan. Use a large offset spatula or knife to even out the surface. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Place a large cutting board on top of the cake pan, then invert the cake, allowing it to turn out onto the cutting board. Allow cake to cool completely before icing.
(Ice with Tasty Kitchen recipe “That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had”. It’s perfect with this cake.)
Sift together cake flour and salt. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, stir together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Add vinegar and stir. Set aside.
In a separate small bowl, mix together cocoa and red food coloring. Set aside.
Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk/egg mixture until all combined. Pour the red mixture in and beat until combined.
Pour batter into prepared sheet cake pan. Use a large offset spatula or knife to even out the surface. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Place a large cutting board on top of the cake pan, then invert the cake, allowing it to turn out onto the cutting board. Allow cake to cool completely before icing.
(Ice with Tasty Kitchen recipe “That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had”. It’s perfect with this cake.)
Ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 cup Butter
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)
Preparation Instructions
Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool.
In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.
While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.
I just realized what I titled this post and that I didn't mention anything about Easter with the family. It was a nice day. It had been a while since I'd seen everyone; last time was Christmas and they didn't know we were pregnant yet. When I walked in and sat down, I saw some bibs on the table but didn't think anything of them. (See how it still hasn't sunk in that I'm pregnant and will actually need things like bibs in a few months?) We ate, talked, all the normal things. We discussed a date for my baby shower which was fun to think about. Two of my cousins got to feel the baby move too which they thought was pretty cool. And then my little cousin brought me over the bibs. They were adorable! I felt so awkward holding them though, like why do I need these? So without further ado, Baby's J's first gift:
There are 5 bibs that say "Thank heaven for little girls," "Wrapped around daddy's finger." "Pretty like mommy," "Little princess," and "Sweetie." They are so cute! I just stared at them on the way home thinking these are actually for my baby!
In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.
While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.
I just realized what I titled this post and that I didn't mention anything about Easter with the family. It was a nice day. It had been a while since I'd seen everyone; last time was Christmas and they didn't know we were pregnant yet. When I walked in and sat down, I saw some bibs on the table but didn't think anything of them. (See how it still hasn't sunk in that I'm pregnant and will actually need things like bibs in a few months?) We ate, talked, all the normal things. We discussed a date for my baby shower which was fun to think about. Two of my cousins got to feel the baby move too which they thought was pretty cool. And then my little cousin brought me over the bibs. They were adorable! I felt so awkward holding them though, like why do I need these? So without further ado, Baby's J's first gift:
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Good Friday
Working at a Methodist university has its perks, like being off on Good Friday. I took the day off to go down to the restaurant to help out and left after work on Thursday. JJ spent all day Thursday cooking a ton of meat and by the time I got there, they were wrapping up for the evening. It was definitely not as late of a night as it was the last time I was down there. The next morning we got all packed up so we could just leave to come home straight from the restaurant and went to start our day. We got a bit of a rush during lunch, but for the most part the day was fairly slow. We expected Friday and Saturday to be slow due to the holiday. It gave him a chance to finish cooking and slice the meat while I took orders.
My dad came by the store for a while and we got to talk to him; a lady who works for local publications came by and talked to us about advertising; and I was able to meet a few of JJ's biggest fans (aka his regulars). I already knew the town was small and everyone knows everyone, but what surprised me was people who walked up to me and just started talking like they knew who I was. As soon as I walked in the door Thursday night, I had come in just behind another couple who ended up ordering some BBQ. I was just standing at the edge of the counter and this girl starts in saying "your dad had to come by and tell me the news!" I still don't know how she knew who I was, but it was weird and cool at the same time. People seem to genuinely care about others down there.
JJ had one of his employees come in at 4 so we were able to get the kitchen cleaned up, finish slicing the meat, and we're out of there about 6:30. It was nice to go down for the night and next day and not be so slammed that I was worn out after leaving. This next month or so is going to be touch and go as far as when the store will be busy versus dead, but I expect it will only get busier as the weather warms up, lake season starts, and everyone is out of school. Can't wait to see how it all pans out!
My dad came by the store for a while and we got to talk to him; a lady who works for local publications came by and talked to us about advertising; and I was able to meet a few of JJ's biggest fans (aka his regulars). I already knew the town was small and everyone knows everyone, but what surprised me was people who walked up to me and just started talking like they knew who I was. As soon as I walked in the door Thursday night, I had come in just behind another couple who ended up ordering some BBQ. I was just standing at the edge of the counter and this girl starts in saying "your dad had to come by and tell me the news!" I still don't know how she knew who I was, but it was weird and cool at the same time. People seem to genuinely care about others down there.
JJ had one of his employees come in at 4 so we were able to get the kitchen cleaned up, finish slicing the meat, and we're out of there about 6:30. It was nice to go down for the night and next day and not be so slammed that I was worn out after leaving. This next month or so is going to be touch and go as far as when the store will be busy versus dead, but I expect it will only get busier as the weather warms up, lake season starts, and everyone is out of school. Can't wait to see how it all pans out!
Smokin Jay's
JJ hard at work
JJ and I (Ignore the temporary menu behind us - a permanent one is on its way)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
ICLW
Welcome ICLW’ers! I haven’t participated in a few months, but I’m looking forward to meeting new bloggy friends over the next week. My abbreviated story is that my husband JJ and I started TTC in May of 2009. We quickly realized it was going to take us longer than we had originally planned so we got some help. At first I started on Clomid for a few months and then in July of 2010 we went to an RE for the first time. I was diagnosed with PCOS so we did two rounds of IUIs plus Femara which were both unsuccessful. We took October and November off from IUIs but I was still taking Femara. In a roundabout way, I had heard about acupuncture possibly helping with infertility so I made an appointment with a local acupuncturist and 3 weeks later we found out we were expecting! We found out the week of Christmas, and as much as we wanted to announce our big news to the family during the holidays, we held off – all the way till 12 weeks! I am now 22 weeks pregnant and overall feeling great. We found out a month ago we are having a little girl and I am ecstatic! I still can’t believe this is really happening. Even though my belly is growing and I feel Baby J moving all the time, it doesn’t feel real. We had a cookout at work yesterday and of the 5 people helping set up, 3 of us were pregnant. The two non-pregnant people kept telling those of us who are pregnant to quit lifting things. It was hard to remember that I was one of those people now! And a big wakeup call came the day before when I was at the store shopping for the cookout – I ran into two people I knew but hadn’t seen for a while, and instantly they noticed my belly and congratulated me. I think I’ve definitely “popped” in the last couple of weeks so there is no hiding the belly now! We are due August 22 and I am starting to get anxious about the delivery. I don’t do well with hospitals but I’m trying to keep my nerves in check. We are just beginning to work on the nursery and I am super excited to see it all come together.
A few random things about me/my family are that my dad is moving out of state next month so we have had his two lab puppies (1 year old and 2 years old) since the beginning of December. They have quickly outstayed their welcome and I can’t wait for my house to get back to normal with just our two dogs at the end of next month. Also, about five weeks ago my husband opened up a BBQ restaurant in a small town in Missouri which has taken him away 5 days out of the week. It has really taken off and he’s enjoying it, but he misses being home and I miss having his help around the house.
Those are the big things going on in our lives at the moment. It’s all very exciting and I feel so blessed to call this my life right now. Blogging has been such a great therapy and outlet for me through our TTC months and it is equally important now. Many of my fellow bloggers have gotten their BFPs in the last few months as well, and others are still waiting for their special day, and I hope to be supportive to everyone. Now I’m off to go read about each one of you!
A few random things about me/my family are that my dad is moving out of state next month so we have had his two lab puppies (1 year old and 2 years old) since the beginning of December. They have quickly outstayed their welcome and I can’t wait for my house to get back to normal with just our two dogs at the end of next month. Also, about five weeks ago my husband opened up a BBQ restaurant in a small town in Missouri which has taken him away 5 days out of the week. It has really taken off and he’s enjoying it, but he misses being home and I miss having his help around the house.
Those are the big things going on in our lives at the moment. It’s all very exciting and I feel so blessed to call this my life right now. Blogging has been such a great therapy and outlet for me through our TTC months and it is equally important now. Many of my fellow bloggers have gotten their BFPs in the last few months as well, and others are still waiting for their special day, and I hope to be supportive to everyone. Now I’m off to go read about each one of you!
Monday, April 18, 2011
22 Weeks
Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 22 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby J is about the length of a spaghetti squash; 11 inches long; almost a pound
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 6 lbs.
Maternity Clothes: I’ve worn the maternity jeans a few times, but still mainly in my regular clothes
Gender: GIRL!!!!!!
Movement: Yep, it’s a regular occurrence now.
Sleep: Sleep is already becoming difficult, which I didn’t expect. Rolling over and trying to find a comfortable position is not such an easy task anymore.
What I miss: Being able to get up quickly and not feel pain.
Cravings: No special cravings this week.
Symptoms: Still have quite a bit of round ligament pain (I’m guessing that’s what it is). Also the rash is still on random parts of my body and seems to be spreading.
Best Moment this week: Going out with some friends and them feeling/seeing Baby J move. We also picked out the paint for the nursery!
I had a doctor's appointment today. Everything is going well; Baby J is measuring at 21 weeks. This was the first time she measured my belly and she said at 22 weeks they want the baby measuring between 20 and 24 weeks. I asked her about my rash and she told me to quit taking my vitamins for a week and if that doesn't clear it up, she'll want me to see a dermatologist in case it's fungal. And she said I would do the glucose test in 6 weeks. She also said the abdominal pain was normal, which I figured, and just suggested a few ways to help. Said that during these weeks I'm growing and stretching so much it's bound to happen. (And you can tell these are not maternity pants in the pictures this week - they look a bit stretched in the front, ha!)
How Far Along: 22 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby J is about the length of a spaghetti squash; 11 inches long; almost a pound
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 6 lbs.
Maternity Clothes: I’ve worn the maternity jeans a few times, but still mainly in my regular clothes
Gender: GIRL!!!!!!
Movement: Yep, it’s a regular occurrence now.
Sleep: Sleep is already becoming difficult, which I didn’t expect. Rolling over and trying to find a comfortable position is not such an easy task anymore.
What I miss: Being able to get up quickly and not feel pain.
Cravings: No special cravings this week.
Symptoms: Still have quite a bit of round ligament pain (I’m guessing that’s what it is). Also the rash is still on random parts of my body and seems to be spreading.
Best Moment this week: Going out with some friends and them feeling/seeing Baby J move. We also picked out the paint for the nursery!
I had a doctor's appointment today. Everything is going well; Baby J is measuring at 21 weeks. This was the first time she measured my belly and she said at 22 weeks they want the baby measuring between 20 and 24 weeks. I asked her about my rash and she told me to quit taking my vitamins for a week and if that doesn't clear it up, she'll want me to see a dermatologist in case it's fungal. And she said I would do the glucose test in 6 weeks. She also said the abdominal pain was normal, which I figured, and just suggested a few ways to help. Said that during these weeks I'm growing and stretching so much it's bound to happen. (And you can tell these are not maternity pants in the pictures this week - they look a bit stretched in the front, ha!)
Sunday, April 17, 2011
What goes around, comes around
New Dave is moving into my dad's house for the time being, as a renter or roommate or whatever you want to call it. After eating lunch with my dad and Nina today, we were supposed to meet him at the house just to go over some things. He called us and said he was running late, he had just heard some news about his wife and wanted to talk to his sister. I said I hoped everything was OK and he said he'd tell us in person. I told JJ what he had said and we were very curious to see what he was going to say.
He had just gotten to the house when we pulled up and we no sooner walked up the driveway when he got this nervous smile on his face and blurted out that his wife is pregnant. Holy shit! His lip started to quiver and he was trying so hard to hold back the tears. She is 13 weeks along. He moved out 6 weeks ago. They haven't had sex since last August...You do the math. And this bitch still won't admit that she cheated on him. She even had the gall to tell her friend that it "could be" Dave's.
I was shocked. Not only does it piss me off to hear that she got pregnant while she was cheating on her husband, but Dave and his wife had tried last year for a few months to get pregnant and couldn't. And bam...now she's pregnant with this fat, bald, 40 year old's baby who is put to shame by Dave. I'm sure he is still in shock over the whole thing, but now looks back on certain things and realizes even more of what was going on. So more than likely this happened right around the holidays. Merry Christmas, huh?
I have no idea how she feels about all of this - if she's excited, if she's embarrassed, whether she wants to stay with the guy, who knows how the guy feels about all of this. We all agree that they both deserve each other. Dave can do so much better and he has all the ammunition he needs to move on and never look back. I still cannot believe this has happened!
He had just gotten to the house when we pulled up and we no sooner walked up the driveway when he got this nervous smile on his face and blurted out that his wife is pregnant. Holy shit! His lip started to quiver and he was trying so hard to hold back the tears. She is 13 weeks along. He moved out 6 weeks ago. They haven't had sex since last August...You do the math. And this bitch still won't admit that she cheated on him. She even had the gall to tell her friend that it "could be" Dave's.
I was shocked. Not only does it piss me off to hear that she got pregnant while she was cheating on her husband, but Dave and his wife had tried last year for a few months to get pregnant and couldn't. And bam...now she's pregnant with this fat, bald, 40 year old's baby who is put to shame by Dave. I'm sure he is still in shock over the whole thing, but now looks back on certain things and realizes even more of what was going on. So more than likely this happened right around the holidays. Merry Christmas, huh?
I have no idea how she feels about all of this - if she's excited, if she's embarrassed, whether she wants to stay with the guy, who knows how the guy feels about all of this. We all agree that they both deserve each other. Dave can do so much better and he has all the ammunition he needs to move on and never look back. I still cannot believe this has happened!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Finally Moving On
I wrote about an issue I was having with my toe here way back in December of 2009. Who would have thought I'd just now be getting over it? I realized after looking at that original post, I never did write a follow up. The doctor that I went to see was an idiot. He didn't even listen to what I was saying; just went straight to drawing a line on my toe nail, which took forever to get off, and saying we can just remove this part - as if I had an ingrown toe nail. Which I knew was NOT the case. So it was a waste of a lunch break and a $35 copay since he was a specialist.
I remember by the time of my appointment, the soreness had mostly worn off so I just left things alone. A few weeks later though I started to notice something new going on. There was something right at the base of my nail near my cuticle. I couldn't figure out what it was though. I let a little more time pass and I told JJ it almost looked like my nail was growing out and was detached from my cuticle/nail bed. Sure thing, that's what it was. In fact, I was growing a new nail behind the old one. If I've learned one thing throughout all my issues with my toe nails, it's to just be patient and let it do its thing. So I did; I let the nail grow out. And here we are 16 months later and I am happy to report that the old nail finally grew all the way out! And to celebrate, I went and got a pedicure this past week. I haven't had polish on my toes much at all the past few years just because it seems like whenever I put it on, something happens and I don't catch it in time because the polish is covering it up. But my nail lady seems to thing all is well and I should be fine to leave the polish on for 4-5 weeks before taking it off.
I'm using this time to take a picture of my pretty feet. The main reason is a reference for months down the road when I might be swollen. I got the idea from Kelly who dealt with swollen feet earlier in her pregnancy. I was surprised when my nail lady told me my feet were slightly swollen too. I'll definitely keep an eye on them from now on. (Side note: Now that I've taken a picture of my feet today and looked at it, they do maybe look a tad swollen. You can even see the marks from my socks. Hmm, I'll ask my doctor about that the next time I go). But don't they look so pretty with polish? It's almost weird seeing polish on my toes, it's been that long. I'm just glad after the initial injury back in August of 2007 I can finally (hopefully) move on!
I remember by the time of my appointment, the soreness had mostly worn off so I just left things alone. A few weeks later though I started to notice something new going on. There was something right at the base of my nail near my cuticle. I couldn't figure out what it was though. I let a little more time pass and I told JJ it almost looked like my nail was growing out and was detached from my cuticle/nail bed. Sure thing, that's what it was. In fact, I was growing a new nail behind the old one. If I've learned one thing throughout all my issues with my toe nails, it's to just be patient and let it do its thing. So I did; I let the nail grow out. And here we are 16 months later and I am happy to report that the old nail finally grew all the way out! And to celebrate, I went and got a pedicure this past week. I haven't had polish on my toes much at all the past few years just because it seems like whenever I put it on, something happens and I don't catch it in time because the polish is covering it up. But my nail lady seems to thing all is well and I should be fine to leave the polish on for 4-5 weeks before taking it off.
I'm using this time to take a picture of my pretty feet. The main reason is a reference for months down the road when I might be swollen. I got the idea from Kelly who dealt with swollen feet earlier in her pregnancy. I was surprised when my nail lady told me my feet were slightly swollen too. I'll definitely keep an eye on them from now on. (Side note: Now that I've taken a picture of my feet today and looked at it, they do maybe look a tad swollen. You can even see the marks from my socks. Hmm, I'll ask my doctor about that the next time I go). But don't they look so pretty with polish? It's almost weird seeing polish on my toes, it's been that long. I'm just glad after the initial injury back in August of 2007 I can finally (hopefully) move on!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
I think I'm growing...in more ways than one
Ever since I sneezed last week and had the worst.pain.ever. I have noticed pinches here and there in my stomach. The nurse said that it would happen more often from here on out, but I didn’t think she meant so soon. Maybe I am still a little sore from that sneeze, but I think my stomach is finally starting to grow, more rapidly, and it’s not liking it. I’ve read numerous pregnancy updates before where people say they miss sleeping comfortably and I didn’t understand what they meant when they were so early on in their pregnancy, but I get it now. I can’t roll over anymore during the night without a little bit of pain being associated with it. It’s not like my stomach is huge and flopping over when I roll (yet!) but it pulls and stretches in weird ways. I can’t sit up using my stomach muscles anymore, because it pulls. I can’t stand up from a chair too fast because it pulls. I’m guessing this is round ligament pain and it just comes with the territory of growing a baby inside of me, but it’s definitely been an adjustment and something I wasn’t prepared for. I plan to ask the doctor at my next appointment if there is anything I can do to ease the pulls, but anyone out there have any suggestions of their own?
On a positive note, I am loving my growing belly. I can’t help but turn sideways when I’m brushing my teeth and stare at my new figure. It has definitely become more pronounced in the last couple of weeks and I don’t look like I just ate one too many hamburgers anymore. Any time Jason is home I ask him 100 times a day, look at my belly now, look now, as if he can tell from one hour to the next if it grew. I’m having fun resting my hand on my belly and feeling Baby J do tricks in there and letting me know she’s with me. I’m feeling her more and more every day and it’s making me get a glimpse of what mommyhood feels like. It’s amazing. I don’t want to rush things; I want to enjoy everything about this pregnancy because who knows if I’ll get another shot at it, but I can’t wait to meet her later this summer. I can’t believe we are over half way there and in just a mere 4 months she will be here with us!
Here are some pics of me in my new maternity clothes. I have to admit I felt pretty frumpy at work today, but I was super comfortable. After wearing a tank top yesterday, that kept riding up my stomach, under a cardigan sweater, I was for damn sure wearing a shirt today that covered my belly. As you can tell from the pics, I still have some growing into the shirt to do, but I'll get there no doubt. And I felt like the pants were a bit saggy in the butt, but the elastic waistband is like heaven. And now for the cliche' "hold your belly" photo.
On a positive note, I am loving my growing belly. I can’t help but turn sideways when I’m brushing my teeth and stare at my new figure. It has definitely become more pronounced in the last couple of weeks and I don’t look like I just ate one too many hamburgers anymore. Any time Jason is home I ask him 100 times a day, look at my belly now, look now, as if he can tell from one hour to the next if it grew. I’m having fun resting my hand on my belly and feeling Baby J do tricks in there and letting me know she’s with me. I’m feeling her more and more every day and it’s making me get a glimpse of what mommyhood feels like. It’s amazing. I don’t want to rush things; I want to enjoy everything about this pregnancy because who knows if I’ll get another shot at it, but I can’t wait to meet her later this summer. I can’t believe we are over half way there and in just a mere 4 months she will be here with us!
Here are some pics of me in my new maternity clothes. I have to admit I felt pretty frumpy at work today, but I was super comfortable. After wearing a tank top yesterday, that kept riding up my stomach, under a cardigan sweater, I was for damn sure wearing a shirt today that covered my belly. As you can tell from the pics, I still have some growing into the shirt to do, but I'll get there no doubt. And I felt like the pants were a bit saggy in the butt, but the elastic waistband is like heaven. And now for the cliche' "hold your belly" photo.
Monday, April 11, 2011
21 Weeks
Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 21 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby J is about the length of a carrot; 10 1/2 inches long; ¾ of a pound
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3 lbs. (I’m guessing more, but I won’t know for sure until my next appointment)
Maternity Clothes: I finally bought some maternity clothes and wore a few pants last week.
Gender: GIRL!!!!!!
Movement: Still feeling her move several times a day. One day last week I didn’t feel her until late morning which had me a bit worried, but I started thinking about it, and all of a sudden there she was!
Sleep: Sleep was a bit hard this past week since I was congested, but overall I’ve been sleeping pretty well.
What I miss: Nothing really.
Cravings: No special cravings this week.
Symptoms: Last week I was lying on the couch and sneezed. I had a horrible pain in my stomach (which I’ve had even before I was pregnant) and just attributed it to round ligament pain. It went away, but woke me up once during the night and I couldn’t even stand up straight the next morning. I called the doc and the nurse said I could be sore up to a week and that it would start happening more often. Luckily the pain only lasted about two days.
Best Moment this week: Buying maternity clothes and actually looking pregnant in them. I don’t know what it is about maternity clothes, but they really make my stomach pop, more so than my normal clothes. Oh, and we also started cleaning out the nursery and I plan to pick out wallpaper and paint today!
How Far Along: 21 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby J is about the length of a carrot; 10 1/2 inches long; ¾ of a pound
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3 lbs. (I’m guessing more, but I won’t know for sure until my next appointment)
Maternity Clothes: I finally bought some maternity clothes and wore a few pants last week.
Gender: GIRL!!!!!!
Movement: Still feeling her move several times a day. One day last week I didn’t feel her until late morning which had me a bit worried, but I started thinking about it, and all of a sudden there she was!
Sleep: Sleep was a bit hard this past week since I was congested, but overall I’ve been sleeping pretty well.
What I miss: Nothing really.
Cravings: No special cravings this week.
Symptoms: Last week I was lying on the couch and sneezed. I had a horrible pain in my stomach (which I’ve had even before I was pregnant) and just attributed it to round ligament pain. It went away, but woke me up once during the night and I couldn’t even stand up straight the next morning. I called the doc and the nurse said I could be sore up to a week and that it would start happening more often. Luckily the pain only lasted about two days.
Best Moment this week: Buying maternity clothes and actually looking pregnant in them. I don’t know what it is about maternity clothes, but they really make my stomach pop, more so than my normal clothes. Oh, and we also started cleaning out the nursery and I plan to pick out wallpaper and paint today!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Getting some practice in
Unfortunately, Natalie from I Was Told There Would Be Pajamas had to make an unexpected trip back to KC for her dear grandpa's funeral, but fortunately for me I got to see her again and meet little baby Jack. He is so cute and tiny!! As I've mentioned before, I don't have much experience with babies, like none, especially newborns. She handed him right over and I got to hold him for a while. And then as soon as the lip started to quiver and the face got red, I got to hand him back over to mom. What happens when I can't hand the baby back over to mom because I AM the mom?? Gasp! Natalie says you just figure it out, so I'm going with that.
It was a perfect day in KC, it got into the 90s! There was a great breeze outside so after visiting for a while at her aunt's house, we went to The Legend's and ate outside at Panera. Little Jack just slept the whole time and we had a great conversation. It was so fun to get to see her again just after meeting her in December. So much has changed. She has her baby boy, I'm expected our baby girl, so the conversations were definitely different from last time, but still very entertaining. I also got to meet her brother and some of her extended family and it seems like she has a great support system.
After feeding Jack a couple times and the sun starting to beat down on us, it was time for me to go and her to meet back up with her family before heading home to CO. Her little one is just too precious and it was fun to get to hold a newborn a few months before we have our own.
I left The Legends and went over to my dad's house to meet new Dave. He will be moving in there as a rental or however you want to look at it, so I showed him around the house and answered any questions he had. We talked a little bit about how he's doing and he seems to be in a really good place. He's just ready to move on and even said he's ready to start dating again which I was excited to hear. He feels like he's been divorced for a year or so based on how emotionally detached their marriage was, so I'm glad to know he's open to meeting new people. It will be fun to have him closer and hopefully JJ and I will get to see him more again.
JJ has hired his first employee at the restaurant and she has worked the past few nights getting familiar with how things go. She was comfortable enough to close on her own tonight so JJ's on his way home right now, about 4 hours earlier than normal. We might go out to dinner and eat on a patio somewhere, take the pups for a walk, and hopefully get to watch a movie in front of the big living room window while a storm moves in. Nothing better than going to bed to the clapping of thunder and lightning. It was a great day and I hope to get started on moving furniture around tomorrow so we can begin on the nursery!
It was a perfect day in KC, it got into the 90s! There was a great breeze outside so after visiting for a while at her aunt's house, we went to The Legend's and ate outside at Panera. Little Jack just slept the whole time and we had a great conversation. It was so fun to get to see her again just after meeting her in December. So much has changed. She has her baby boy, I'm expected our baby girl, so the conversations were definitely different from last time, but still very entertaining. I also got to meet her brother and some of her extended family and it seems like she has a great support system.
After feeding Jack a couple times and the sun starting to beat down on us, it was time for me to go and her to meet back up with her family before heading home to CO. Her little one is just too precious and it was fun to get to hold a newborn a few months before we have our own.
I left The Legends and went over to my dad's house to meet new Dave. He will be moving in there as a rental or however you want to look at it, so I showed him around the house and answered any questions he had. We talked a little bit about how he's doing and he seems to be in a really good place. He's just ready to move on and even said he's ready to start dating again which I was excited to hear. He feels like he's been divorced for a year or so based on how emotionally detached their marriage was, so I'm glad to know he's open to meeting new people. It will be fun to have him closer and hopefully JJ and I will get to see him more again.
JJ has hired his first employee at the restaurant and she has worked the past few nights getting familiar with how things go. She was comfortable enough to close on her own tonight so JJ's on his way home right now, about 4 hours earlier than normal. We might go out to dinner and eat on a patio somewhere, take the pups for a walk, and hopefully get to watch a movie in front of the big living room window while a storm moves in. Nothing better than going to bed to the clapping of thunder and lightning. It was a great day and I hope to get started on moving furniture around tomorrow so we can begin on the nursery!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
20 Weeks - Half Way There!
Just a quick summary of how our night ended last night...we finally got JJ's car running about 10:30 and he was able to get out of here this morning and go back to the restaurant. My car was really acting up this morning so I called JJ to see if he'd have time to stop by on his way out of town, but he ended up not being able to. I had a girl come out with me and pop the hood when I went to lunch and plain as day was the hose to my cold air intake completely detached. We got it fixed in a couple minutes and my car is good as new!
On pregnancy news, it seems like this week is not only a major milestone, but it marks the time I really will start to grow. The baby went from 6 1/2 inches last week to 10 inches this week! Well, that's not entirely true. Up until this point, the baby has been measured from the crown to rump. Now she's measured from head to toe so that's why there is such a difference. Also, I might be gaining a pound a week or so from here on out which is kinda crazy to think about.
Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 20 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby J is about the length of a banana; 10 inches long; 10 1/2 ounces
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3 lbs.
Maternity Clothes: I have a rounder belly, but I’m still in my regular clothes
Gender: GIRL!!!!!!
Movement: Feeling the baby move several times a day, and several movements at a time. She wasn't moving much when I was working at the restaurant but I think it's because I was so active. I notice I feel her more when I'm sitting or lying down.
Sleep: Sleeping pretty good, just wish I could get more of it. From my last posts it was pretty obvious we had some late nights this week. I'm going to focus on going to bed early this week because you girls were right, and I think I ran myself too hard this weekend and I'm feeling it now.
What I miss: Nothing really. Maybe sleeping on my stomach a little bit.
Cravings: No special cravings this week.
Symptoms: I've noticed random rashes on my body. I first saw them on my arms, and then little spots here and there on my legs and side. They kind of look like hickeys - red but they don't itch. A few people have commented on my belly in the last week so I think it's definitely starting to get more noticeable.
Best Moment this week: I'd have to say JJ feeling the baby again. Since he isn't home much, I feel like he misses out on tummy time and just feeling for the baby. He got some good movements in the last couple days though and they are getting stronger.
On pregnancy news, it seems like this week is not only a major milestone, but it marks the time I really will start to grow. The baby went from 6 1/2 inches last week to 10 inches this week! Well, that's not entirely true. Up until this point, the baby has been measured from the crown to rump. Now she's measured from head to toe so that's why there is such a difference. Also, I might be gaining a pound a week or so from here on out which is kinda crazy to think about.
Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 20 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby J is about the length of a banana; 10 inches long; 10 1/2 ounces
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3 lbs.
Maternity Clothes: I have a rounder belly, but I’m still in my regular clothes
Gender: GIRL!!!!!!
Movement: Feeling the baby move several times a day, and several movements at a time. She wasn't moving much when I was working at the restaurant but I think it's because I was so active. I notice I feel her more when I'm sitting or lying down.
Sleep: Sleeping pretty good, just wish I could get more of it. From my last posts it was pretty obvious we had some late nights this week. I'm going to focus on going to bed early this week because you girls were right, and I think I ran myself too hard this weekend and I'm feeling it now.
What I miss: Nothing really. Maybe sleeping on my stomach a little bit.
Cravings: No special cravings this week.
Symptoms: I've noticed random rashes on my body. I first saw them on my arms, and then little spots here and there on my legs and side. They kind of look like hickeys - red but they don't itch. A few people have commented on my belly in the last week so I think it's definitely starting to get more noticeable.
Best Moment this week: I'd have to say JJ feeling the baby again. Since he isn't home much, I feel like he misses out on tummy time and just feeling for the baby. He got some good movements in the last couple days though and they are getting stronger.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Not Over Yet
I thought our weekend craziness was winding down late Saturday night - oh how wrong I was. JJ's car has been acting up for a while now. He's tried this and that to fix it but it's gotten worse in the last few weeks. The guys at Auto Zone were convinced it was his fuel pump so he ordered one last week and planned to replace it yesterday. He happened to find two new spark plugs in the garage and changed those to see if it made a difference. It did seem to make it a little better, and his car was pulling different codes than before. We headed up to Auto Zone to have the codes scanned and see what we were dealing with now. It sounded like it was a fuel injector so we ordered one and planned to pick it up this morning.
We did some yard work and went to the store along with a few other things. It hit 90 degrees here randomly yesterday so we took advantage of being outside as much as we could. I started making dinner and JJ came in to eat. He has had his eye on another smoker from Wal Mart and started looking at it again online. Even though he still had some homework to do, he decided to change his clothes and head up to buy the smoker. We were under a severe storm advisory last night and even before he left the rain started coming down in buckets. I ran outside to get my nice clean car in just in time.
About 10 minutes after he left, he called me which isn't that unusual. He said that his car started acting funny and I wasn't really sure what he wanted me to do. Apparently it was something totally different than the issue he's been having and he was pulled over on the side of the road. It was coming from the back end, which he hadn't messed with at all, and he didn't want to drive anymore. He asked me to find his rain gear from work and to bring it to him. This is horrible, but the first thought that popped into my head was "but my car is clean..." I know, not a good wife. So I grabbed his rain coat and drove about 5 miles to meet him on the side of the road. Luckily the rain had really let up and it wasn't hailing anymore. I sat behind his car in my own with the headlights on while he looked underneath to see if something was stuck. He couldn't find anything so we turned around and tried to make it home. We had to stop several times along the way because the noise would come back or it would act funny, but we eventually made it home. He was convinced it had something to do with his parking brake.
Once we got home it was about 10:30 and I was all set to go to bed early but that obviously wasn't happening. I usually sit outside while he works on his car just to keep him company and watch what he's doing. He first jacked up the car and then we had to find the tire iron, which we found pretty quickly. I was thinking great, this is gonna go fast, we'll see what's wrong, and be done. Then JJ mentioned that we also had to find his lug nut key. Quick side story about this key - when he had problems with his starter several months ago, he accidentally drove off with the key on his tailgate and by some amazing grace found it on the side of the road about 2 miles from our house. So the fact that he didn't know right where it was dumbfounded both of us last night. We seriously spent an hour and a half tearing our garage apart looking for this damn key...and never found it. He eventually took a socket and hammered it on to the lug nut and just prayed that he could break it loose. And lucky for us he finally got it.
By this point I had already asked him what I could do to help, and if he needed my car on Monday to get around or me to take off a few hours. He mentioned me taking off the whole day, and even though I'm trying to save as much time off for maternity leave as possible, a day off didn't sound too bad after our long weekend. I knew it wouldn't be a relaxing day off though. So since I knew I was taking the day off, I stayed up with him. Things were just not going our way, and even after he got the tire off, he couldn't get the rotor off, so we ended up calling it a night and went to bed about 3 am.
I had to wake up early to call into work this morning, but I went back to sleep for a while and we both got up around 9. JJ went to mess with the rotor again but didn't have any luck. What added to the stress of getting his car fixed was that since we had run out of so many things at the restaurant including meat, we had to go buy all that stuff today and smoke most of the meat at the house. We got ready and headed to the store around 12:30 and JJ got another headache. We couldn't afford to let it get bad so we went to see Dave so he could get an adjustment. A few stops later and we were back home with the necessary tools to get working on the car again. And to add to the day, sometime between our last stop and home, MY check engine light came on. I had noticed my car was doing some funny things earlier, but I didn't say anything; just thought it would go away. We had to run by Auto Zone again so they ran the scanner on my car and it has something to do with my air intake. Even though my car is under warranty, JJ added a cold air intake on it which basically voids the warranty, so we have to take it off and put the factory air filter on before we can take it to the dealership - like we had extra time in our day to fuck with my car too. Sorry - by this point I had just had enough. Who knows if he'll actually have time to look at my car before he leaves for the week. My guess is no.
He was able to get the rotor off and sure enough the shoes had broken off. I ran to the store that had them in stock and JJ is now working on getting them back on, plus taking breaks here and there to check on all the meat he has on the smoker. I just hope to God that this will fix the problem and his car will work. Otherwise it looks like I will have to take off more time tomorrow and drive him back to the restaurant. We haven't even thought that far ahead because we're just crossing our fingers that the problem will be fixed. We still have more meat to smoke, JJ has to pack, and I wanted to for sure go to bed early tonight. It's 8:15 and I just don't see that happening. I haven't even done a weekly pregnancy update yet...I'll do that tomorrow along with an update on how our evening ends up tonight. Wish us luck!
We did some yard work and went to the store along with a few other things. It hit 90 degrees here randomly yesterday so we took advantage of being outside as much as we could. I started making dinner and JJ came in to eat. He has had his eye on another smoker from Wal Mart and started looking at it again online. Even though he still had some homework to do, he decided to change his clothes and head up to buy the smoker. We were under a severe storm advisory last night and even before he left the rain started coming down in buckets. I ran outside to get my nice clean car in just in time.
About 10 minutes after he left, he called me which isn't that unusual. He said that his car started acting funny and I wasn't really sure what he wanted me to do. Apparently it was something totally different than the issue he's been having and he was pulled over on the side of the road. It was coming from the back end, which he hadn't messed with at all, and he didn't want to drive anymore. He asked me to find his rain gear from work and to bring it to him. This is horrible, but the first thought that popped into my head was "but my car is clean..." I know, not a good wife. So I grabbed his rain coat and drove about 5 miles to meet him on the side of the road. Luckily the rain had really let up and it wasn't hailing anymore. I sat behind his car in my own with the headlights on while he looked underneath to see if something was stuck. He couldn't find anything so we turned around and tried to make it home. We had to stop several times along the way because the noise would come back or it would act funny, but we eventually made it home. He was convinced it had something to do with his parking brake.
Once we got home it was about 10:30 and I was all set to go to bed early but that obviously wasn't happening. I usually sit outside while he works on his car just to keep him company and watch what he's doing. He first jacked up the car and then we had to find the tire iron, which we found pretty quickly. I was thinking great, this is gonna go fast, we'll see what's wrong, and be done. Then JJ mentioned that we also had to find his lug nut key. Quick side story about this key - when he had problems with his starter several months ago, he accidentally drove off with the key on his tailgate and by some amazing grace found it on the side of the road about 2 miles from our house. So the fact that he didn't know right where it was dumbfounded both of us last night. We seriously spent an hour and a half tearing our garage apart looking for this damn key...and never found it. He eventually took a socket and hammered it on to the lug nut and just prayed that he could break it loose. And lucky for us he finally got it.
By this point I had already asked him what I could do to help, and if he needed my car on Monday to get around or me to take off a few hours. He mentioned me taking off the whole day, and even though I'm trying to save as much time off for maternity leave as possible, a day off didn't sound too bad after our long weekend. I knew it wouldn't be a relaxing day off though. So since I knew I was taking the day off, I stayed up with him. Things were just not going our way, and even after he got the tire off, he couldn't get the rotor off, so we ended up calling it a night and went to bed about 3 am.
I had to wake up early to call into work this morning, but I went back to sleep for a while and we both got up around 9. JJ went to mess with the rotor again but didn't have any luck. What added to the stress of getting his car fixed was that since we had run out of so many things at the restaurant including meat, we had to go buy all that stuff today and smoke most of the meat at the house. We got ready and headed to the store around 12:30 and JJ got another headache. We couldn't afford to let it get bad so we went to see Dave so he could get an adjustment. A few stops later and we were back home with the necessary tools to get working on the car again. And to add to the day, sometime between our last stop and home, MY check engine light came on. I had noticed my car was doing some funny things earlier, but I didn't say anything; just thought it would go away. We had to run by Auto Zone again so they ran the scanner on my car and it has something to do with my air intake. Even though my car is under warranty, JJ added a cold air intake on it which basically voids the warranty, so we have to take it off and put the factory air filter on before we can take it to the dealership - like we had extra time in our day to fuck with my car too. Sorry - by this point I had just had enough. Who knows if he'll actually have time to look at my car before he leaves for the week. My guess is no.
He was able to get the rotor off and sure enough the shoes had broken off. I ran to the store that had them in stock and JJ is now working on getting them back on, plus taking breaks here and there to check on all the meat he has on the smoker. I just hope to God that this will fix the problem and his car will work. Otherwise it looks like I will have to take off more time tomorrow and drive him back to the restaurant. We haven't even thought that far ahead because we're just crossing our fingers that the problem will be fixed. We still have more meat to smoke, JJ has to pack, and I wanted to for sure go to bed early tonight. It's 8:15 and I just don't see that happening. I haven't even done a weekly pregnancy update yet...I'll do that tomorrow along with an update on how our evening ends up tonight. Wish us luck!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Busy Busy
This weekend marked the one year anniversary of my dad getting his first c-store in Lowry City and it was also the city-wide garage sale. He asked that I come down and help sell hot dogs in front of the store. My brother was in town for a few days on Spring Break so I took the labs to my dad's house on Wednesday night and had a few normal, quiet nights at home before leaving to go out of town for the weekend. I took my pups up to my dad's Friday before work and then hit the road as soon as I got off that afternoon.
I got to the store about 6:00 and got a glimpse of what JJ has been up to. He wasn't super busy or anything, but even two orders kind of puts you in the weeds when you are just one person. Since I hadn't been there since opening day, I wasn't really sure what his processes were and felt like I was more in the way, so I backed off and just let him do his thing. I brought a bunch of baby back ribs down with me that we had to smoke that night, and even though I had been up since 5:45 that morning, we didn't leave the restaurant until 11:30. I was exhausted, my feet were killing me, and I just wanted to go to bed. Of course we had to make a Wal-Mart run for a few things for the next day, but we finally made it back to the apartment around 12:30 and went to bed around 2.
I wanted to make sure we got back to the restaurant in plenty of time on Saturday. Last year they started selling hot dogs by 10:30, but of course we were running a little late. We got there about 10:15, but JJ wanted to clean his smoker before pulling it around to the front of the store. After being there about 30 minutes, I could tell JJ was kind of slowing down. I asked what was wrong and he said he had a headache - never a good sign. By this point, it was about 10:45, we still didn't have the grill set up or anything done for the restaurant which was opening in 15 minutes. I remember at 11:05 I was walking through the store to get something and a man stopped me asking when we'd be ready to serve BBQ. I asked him to give me 10 minutes and that was the last thing I remember the rest of the day.
Well, not really. My dad's fiance was there to help, but since we were off to a slow start, my dad asked her to run to the bank. She got back about 11:30 just in time to go out front and man the grill so I could stay in the restaurant. I told JJ to go sit down or something and he said he was gonna go lay in the car for a little bit. Keep in mind, none of the food is prepped. It's cooked, but nothing is out. I got one order, then another, then another - 3 orders right off the bat once we pulled our Closed sign. I just took it in stride and reverted back to my serving days.
I was doing OK until hell I don't even know what time it was, but two ladies came in and asked if we had kids items. I said no and she said OK, we'll take 8 caboose's - that's one of our sandwiches (like the tie to the railroad? :)). Wha?? 8 sandwiches? Then of course two more orders were standing behind her. I realized I wouldn't be able to handle these orders on my own so I grabbed my dad's fiance from the grill outside (which she had yet to sell anything anyway at that point) and she helped me pack up all the sandwiches. The brisket hadn't been cut, so I had to do that, get the fries ready, prep all the boxes, whew it was a lot! But we got it done! And of course my dad comes back while Nina is helping saying now people are ready to buy hot dogs out front. It was a little crazy.
I think I went out on 3 different occasions at first to ask JJ a question and he was being no help. He had the car running, shirt covering his eyes and he was just out of it. At that point I realized I was on my own. Things weren't nearly as hectic as when I got that order for 8 sandwiches, but it definitely stayed steady. One of the biggest issues I had was we were starting to run out of things. We ran out of ramekins for ketchup and BBQ sauce; we ran out of to-go boxes so then I had to start wrapping the sandwiches which took longer; we ran out of beef, burnt ends, long buns, I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting. It was good we were running out - means we had been busy, but it sucked that we had to go through the afternoon short of things. My dad's partner and his wife showed up and I had a little down time and would either be out front with the grill, talking to them, or working the restaurant. My help was getting ready to leave (this was about 3:30) so I went to get JJ up but he had just stepped out of the car on his own - migraine free thank God.
He was ready to go, even though by this point we had it under control. I filled him in on what all we were out of, what I had been doing, and then we went outside with my brother who had arrived about an hour earlier. The hot dogs were really starting to sell, we actually ran out of those too. One thing about the place we buy our meat from, it's mostly sold in pounds. So when I went to buy the hot dogs and Italian sausage they came in a 5 lb. or 10 lb. box; I had no idea how many were in there. We guessed there were about 50 hot dogs. Luckily my dad has one of those roller tray things in his store that he sells hot dogs on, so we were able to grab about 20 more from him plus hot dog buns to sell outside. We went through about 30 Italian sausage, and the big hit were the baby back rib samples. JJ's specialty is his ribs but they weren't selling that great the first few weeks. He thought it was because ribs are a tricky thing and they are a little pricey. People don't want to pay for an expensive meal and not know if the ribs are gonna be any good. So we decided to sell rib samples to get people to try them out for cheap so hopefully they fall in love and come back. I think it worked - we sold almost 9 slabs of baby back ribs yesterday.
Every morning when JJ gets to work, he gets his sales report for the previous day. He had yet to hit a $300 day but thought for sure it would just be around the corner. Well during a slow period I had at lunch time I grabbed his reports from the previous two days. Friday he ended up selling $330! He finally had hit his goal. Then fast forward back to Saturday evening, I think it was around 6:00 at this point. My dad had come back and asked if we wanted to know how well we had done for the day. We sold $184 outside and over $400 inside!! We had over a $600 day when it was all said and done! And what's crazy is, the inside sales I did pretty much all on my own. And JJ always complains about how busy he is...Pshh, he just needs me. :)
My brother stayed around to help us clean up and re-hang JJ's Now Open banner outside that had fallen down. By the time we left the store for the night it was about 9:30. We had to get my car and got on the road home about 9:45. After stopping to pick up all the dogs at my dad's house we made it back to our house at 11:30. It was an exhausting two days but it was all worth it. I really like being down at the restaurant and helping out, I just wish I could be there more. The weather was perfect, lots of people were out because of the garage sale, besides JJ getting a migraine it was a great day. I'm sure I'll be dragging ass tomorrow morning though when my work week starts up again. Hope everyone else had a great weekend!
I got to the store about 6:00 and got a glimpse of what JJ has been up to. He wasn't super busy or anything, but even two orders kind of puts you in the weeds when you are just one person. Since I hadn't been there since opening day, I wasn't really sure what his processes were and felt like I was more in the way, so I backed off and just let him do his thing. I brought a bunch of baby back ribs down with me that we had to smoke that night, and even though I had been up since 5:45 that morning, we didn't leave the restaurant until 11:30. I was exhausted, my feet were killing me, and I just wanted to go to bed. Of course we had to make a Wal-Mart run for a few things for the next day, but we finally made it back to the apartment around 12:30 and went to bed around 2.
I wanted to make sure we got back to the restaurant in plenty of time on Saturday. Last year they started selling hot dogs by 10:30, but of course we were running a little late. We got there about 10:15, but JJ wanted to clean his smoker before pulling it around to the front of the store. After being there about 30 minutes, I could tell JJ was kind of slowing down. I asked what was wrong and he said he had a headache - never a good sign. By this point, it was about 10:45, we still didn't have the grill set up or anything done for the restaurant which was opening in 15 minutes. I remember at 11:05 I was walking through the store to get something and a man stopped me asking when we'd be ready to serve BBQ. I asked him to give me 10 minutes and that was the last thing I remember the rest of the day.
Well, not really. My dad's fiance was there to help, but since we were off to a slow start, my dad asked her to run to the bank. She got back about 11:30 just in time to go out front and man the grill so I could stay in the restaurant. I told JJ to go sit down or something and he said he was gonna go lay in the car for a little bit. Keep in mind, none of the food is prepped. It's cooked, but nothing is out. I got one order, then another, then another - 3 orders right off the bat once we pulled our Closed sign. I just took it in stride and reverted back to my serving days.
I was doing OK until hell I don't even know what time it was, but two ladies came in and asked if we had kids items. I said no and she said OK, we'll take 8 caboose's - that's one of our sandwiches (like the tie to the railroad? :)). Wha?? 8 sandwiches? Then of course two more orders were standing behind her. I realized I wouldn't be able to handle these orders on my own so I grabbed my dad's fiance from the grill outside (which she had yet to sell anything anyway at that point) and she helped me pack up all the sandwiches. The brisket hadn't been cut, so I had to do that, get the fries ready, prep all the boxes, whew it was a lot! But we got it done! And of course my dad comes back while Nina is helping saying now people are ready to buy hot dogs out front. It was a little crazy.
I think I went out on 3 different occasions at first to ask JJ a question and he was being no help. He had the car running, shirt covering his eyes and he was just out of it. At that point I realized I was on my own. Things weren't nearly as hectic as when I got that order for 8 sandwiches, but it definitely stayed steady. One of the biggest issues I had was we were starting to run out of things. We ran out of ramekins for ketchup and BBQ sauce; we ran out of to-go boxes so then I had to start wrapping the sandwiches which took longer; we ran out of beef, burnt ends, long buns, I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting. It was good we were running out - means we had been busy, but it sucked that we had to go through the afternoon short of things. My dad's partner and his wife showed up and I had a little down time and would either be out front with the grill, talking to them, or working the restaurant. My help was getting ready to leave (this was about 3:30) so I went to get JJ up but he had just stepped out of the car on his own - migraine free thank God.
He was ready to go, even though by this point we had it under control. I filled him in on what all we were out of, what I had been doing, and then we went outside with my brother who had arrived about an hour earlier. The hot dogs were really starting to sell, we actually ran out of those too. One thing about the place we buy our meat from, it's mostly sold in pounds. So when I went to buy the hot dogs and Italian sausage they came in a 5 lb. or 10 lb. box; I had no idea how many were in there. We guessed there were about 50 hot dogs. Luckily my dad has one of those roller tray things in his store that he sells hot dogs on, so we were able to grab about 20 more from him plus hot dog buns to sell outside. We went through about 30 Italian sausage, and the big hit were the baby back rib samples. JJ's specialty is his ribs but they weren't selling that great the first few weeks. He thought it was because ribs are a tricky thing and they are a little pricey. People don't want to pay for an expensive meal and not know if the ribs are gonna be any good. So we decided to sell rib samples to get people to try them out for cheap so hopefully they fall in love and come back. I think it worked - we sold almost 9 slabs of baby back ribs yesterday.
Every morning when JJ gets to work, he gets his sales report for the previous day. He had yet to hit a $300 day but thought for sure it would just be around the corner. Well during a slow period I had at lunch time I grabbed his reports from the previous two days. Friday he ended up selling $330! He finally had hit his goal. Then fast forward back to Saturday evening, I think it was around 6:00 at this point. My dad had come back and asked if we wanted to know how well we had done for the day. We sold $184 outside and over $400 inside!! We had over a $600 day when it was all said and done! And what's crazy is, the inside sales I did pretty much all on my own. And JJ always complains about how busy he is...Pshh, he just needs me. :)
My brother stayed around to help us clean up and re-hang JJ's Now Open banner outside that had fallen down. By the time we left the store for the night it was about 9:30. We had to get my car and got on the road home about 9:45. After stopping to pick up all the dogs at my dad's house we made it back to our house at 11:30. It was an exhausting two days but it was all worth it. I really like being down at the restaurant and helping out, I just wish I could be there more. The weather was perfect, lots of people were out because of the garage sale, besides JJ getting a migraine it was a great day. I'm sure I'll be dragging ass tomorrow morning though when my work week starts up again. Hope everyone else had a great weekend!
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