17 weeks - miscellaneous goings on

Hey everyone! It's a three day weekend in the Naylor household and that mostly means just hanging out, but we managed to sneak a mini home improvement project in while we were at it.

Our old kitchen faucet had been dripping for the past couple of weeks and finally we decided we'd had enough.  We initially thought we'd go for a repair until the faucet manual (which the old homeowners had actually saved for us) said we'd need to dismantle the whole thing and purchase spare parts.  No thanks! Besides - I have hated the faucet since the day we moved in, so it was a good excuse to get an upgrade.  I didn't take any before pictures, but picture a crappy faucet that drips - that's pretty much what it was.

We were mostly sold on the new faucet because the box promised "easy above-counter installation" - winner! At that point I didn't really care what it cost or looked like, because I am the only person in the house that really fits under the sink and can get my hands behind the sink to where the faucet is attached underneath, so I wanted it to be as painless as possible.

Despite the promise of the above-sink installation, I still had to spend time under the sink dismantling the old system.  Lucky me!

Nice angle, Andy.  Also I believe I am doing reverse tabletop pose for all you yoga fans out there.  

But, once I got the old mess out, I really was above the sink for most of it.  I found that sitting in the sink was more comfortable than standing in front of it.

Home improvement projects are so fun! (yes the kitchen is still purple.  This is on the to-do list).

Fro helped:

Checking the hot water connection.  Looks pretty good.

My dad is going to look at the hammer and putty knife and say - WTF are those kids doing with those inappropriate tools? They don't know the first thing about basic plumbing!  Rest assured, Dad, those were to remove some pieces of wood that someone had put over that hole (actually nailed down!) by the hot and cold supply which was preventing the knobs from turning.  Handy to keep crap out from the hole, but not so useful when you need to turn the water off.  I am planning to replace it with a piece of cardboard.

After about 90 minutes (60 minutes to remove the old piece of crap and 30 min to install the new faucet), here's the final product!

This one is a one hole faucet with an added soap dispenser.  The old one had the faucet control where the soap dispenser is now.  I think I prefer having everything together.  And the best part is this one doesn't drip!  Not bad for a Sunday afternoon!  Also, note the sad state of my rosemary plants.  I think it's too cold for them in the garden window...

Also I wanted to give everyone a little update on the pregnancy!

I'm in my 17th week now, quickly approaching halfway there.  I am only up about 5 lbs so far, which is right on track, and I feel great.  No more food aversions really, but I'm still obsessed with sweets.  I'm still going to yoga as much as I can (typically about 3 times a week) and doing light cardio at the gym a few times a week in addition to walks with Ripley, etc.  I've been in maternity pants for a couple of weeks now because I tend to get really bloated in the afternoons, especially at work when I've been sitting most of the day (sexy!), but I think some of my old pants would definitely fit.

My lower stomach is rock hard but I don't really think there's much to see.  If you didn't know I was pregnant, I don't think the belly would be a giveaway!

I have no explanation for my facial expression.  I think I was telling Andy to stop zooming in.

I also took a picture with my shirt lifted up.  I even had it all uploaded here with some witty commentary but I just can't put it on the internet.  I'll post another picture when it doesn't just look like a doughy stomach, which is what my stomach looks like right now.  Trust me, it's not cute.

The book tells me the baby is about the size of your hand with the fingers spread open and it's apparently moving around quite a bit.  I have felt some light movement, but nothing routinely and nothing that feels anything like a kick.  I read another blog where the woman described it like a cell phone vibrating.  I guess that's fairly accurate, but (and here's a little insight into how my brain operates) all that analogy makes me think of is that scene in the Dark Knight when the joker put the cell phone into that guy's stomach and it turned out to be a bomb.  And I find that really creepy.

West Side Story!

On Friday, Andy and I had our awesome date night at the Performing Arts Center courtesy of his wonderful parents.  We had a fantastic evening!!

The weather on Friday was nothing short of apocalyptic.  This was the view out Andy's window before he left work:

Scary huh?  This past week we've had rain, snow, hail, freezing rain, and even some wind gusts up into 80+ miles per hour.  What's probably the most amazing is that on Friday afternoon it was 48 degrees outside.  It's JANUARY, Alaska!

The wacky weather has also provided some amazing sunsets recently.  How pretty!

After work we headed to Ginger, an asian fusion restaurant downtown, for dinner.  It was probably one of the best meals we've had since we moved up here! We'd only eaten there for lunch before, but we'll definitely be back for dinner again.

After dinner (and dessert at the baby's request), we walked over to Town Square Park in front of the Performing Arts Center to check out the ice sculptures.  They've been up for a couple of weeks, but after this week (and the warm temps) I don't think they're long for the world.

The statute of liberty is about 15 feet tall and currently dripping.  Sad.

At night the sculptures are all lit up in different colors and so pretty.  The city does a lot to try to make it look nice in the winter time and this is one of those things that makes you almost appreciate the cold.  You couldn't put these things up in most cities!

I took some pictures the day after they were put up when we went out at lunch time so you can see more of them.

The sculptures were in much better shape then as you can tell from this before and after shot.  Turtles before:

After.  One may be headless.

The Christmas Tree is still up.  I think they leave the lights on until about March.  At least through Fur Rondy.

Time to head inside for the show! 

Andy would like to point out to his parents that the carpet is the same.  Since 1988:

 We ran into one of Andy's bosses at the show (who now possesses the season tickets that Andy's parents had back in the day - small world!) and he told us an interesting story about the carpet.  Apparently the city bonded the building in the early 80s when the oil boom hit.  By the time it was actually built, the market crashed and they had run out of money.  Because the city was obligated to spend 1% on art, they decided to pick something functional and hired an artist to design the carpet.  Surprisingly, it's really held up and I, for one, think it's pretty nice!

Proof we were there (Andy at least):

Finally we made it to our seats.  Not a bad view!! All the better to see the choreographed dance/fight scenes!  When you're a Jet, you're a jet all the way...

Like I said, we had a great time.  Even though we stayed up way past our bedtimes, we couldn't have had a better night! Thanks for the tickets mom and dad, we loved it! 

New Year's Day

We kicked off the new year with some snowshoeing!

When we got up to the parking lot for Flattop, the car's thermometer said it was 37 degrees! We actually had to shed a couple of our layers before we got moving.

Ripley was ridiculously energetic.

I was mostly feeling good.  I had just taken my hat off in this picture if it wasn't obvious from the appearance of my hair.

It WAS a little windy (a lot windy in parts, as a matter of fact).

Like I said, some parts were windier than others.  Ripley's ears also double as windsocks.

But, it was a beautiful day.

Except for this direction.  Don't look that way.  God, doesn't that just LOOK cold?

Ahh, that's better.  Sleeping Lady.  The one and only.  

We even saw an eagle.  I think Andy saw him catch a squirrel or something.  Poor squirrel.

I took about 100 pictures of Sleeping Lady today.  I've never seen it like this before.

On the way down the hill from our hike, we took a different path than we took up.  This required us to go down some steep parts.  As I may have mentioned before, walking downhill in snowshoes is basically impossible.  About 10 seconds after I took this picture, I promptly feel on my butt and slid down the little hill.  That's one way to do it.  

What did I say about the skies up here?  Absolutely amazing.

I think my resolution this year is to get out and enjoy more of this wonderful place.  Happy New Year!

Christmas Recap

Yes, okay, I know it's already January 1, but since we went right back to work after Christmas, I didn't get a chance to post about our holiday.  Like last year, it was really low key - just the two of us and the animals (okay, I guess the baby was technically present, but (s)he only enjoyed the same activities that I did, which may have included a nap or two.

We got up early and took Ripley for a walk, then opened presents right away.  Andy went overboard with me this year!

First, I got this new duvet cover and pillow shams from West Elm.  Aren't they pretty??

This is obviously not my bedroom.  We don't have a headboard - what do you think we are, rich people? 

Too bad it spends most of its time now covered up in a blanket to try to protect it from the herd.  It helps knowing that it's under there though, and it's about 100 times better than the slightly shiny one we got at Fred Meyer when we bought the king size bed four years ago.

I also got this camera lens:

It is especially good for taking pictures indoors (and will be excellent for taking pictures of the baby) but has all sorts of other great applications.  Now that we have this one, the kit lens, and the telephoto(ish), we're pretty much set.  Andy also got me some photography books so I can work on my skills.  I spent most of the afternoon taking pictures of the animals.

On top of those, I also got some spikes to put on my boots so I don't fall on the ice (these would have been extra nice when winter first hit, but I'm sure we'll have more icy days ahead), and some fleece pants.  What a nice husband!

I didn't get Andy a pile of gifts - I just got him one thing:

But to be fair, it was a pretty big (also small, though) thing.  We had an old first generation iPad that Andy used all the time, but that was having a hard time doing basic functions like not crashing when opening up basic websites.  I had told him that there was no way he could get a new iPad, but I caved when I found a fantastic Black Friday deal.  He was surprised and I think he loves his present.  

Andy's parents surprised us with tickets to see West Side Story when it comes to Anchorage later this month.  

Andy's parents were season ticket holders for the Performing Arts Center when they lived here, and Andy talks about his great memories of going to shows when he was younger.  We have literally talked about buying tickets to four separate shows but then never actually did it, so we are really excited for this night on the town! 

In my family we draw names, and my sister drew me.  I got an excellent whisk and a new glass measuring cup from her and the promise that most of the stuff is on its way from their home in Austria. Since they still haven't arrived as of today, along with all the maternity clothes she was sending me (which I am SUPER excited about!) I think some postal employee is currently enjoying all the fabulous things she got me and the wonderful comfort that maternity pants have to offer.  This is probably because I never give a present to the mailman.  Is this a thing that people do?  I'm sure they're on their way and I'm excited to have a second Christmas whenever they do get here (and for more maternity clothes...did I mention I'm excited for maternity clothes?).

My mom drew Andy and sent him a ton of awesome and much-needed outdoor gear including new snow pants and pants for snowshoeing/cross country skiing (if we ever get skis), new socks and a new hat.  He has literally worn at least one of the items every day since he got them and they are great.  

After we opened presents, we hit the kitchen to make a Nielsen family traditional Christmas breakfast - Ebelskiver! Ebelskiver are Danish pancakes that you make in a special pan.  My whole life we always had them on Christmas morning and this year my Grandma sent us our own pan to use.  Equipped with the secret family recipe, but unfortunately not Dad's hands-on instruction (Ebelskiver making has always been Dad's domain, but thankfully he gave us a couple of last minute pointers on skype), we went to work.

First you pour the batter into the little cups and wait until they cook on one side.  

And then, through the use of magic (and possibly some swear words when you can't get them to turn), you flip them over and they make perfect spherical pancakes.

This first batch was a little darker than I like, but we quickly got the timing down to an exact science and promptly made (and devoured) several dozen with syrup, applesauce, and powdered sugar - just how I like them.  Since I couldn't stop eating them, I think the baby enjoyed them, too.  The Danish genes have clearly been passed on!

We then spent the rest of the day in a food coma (don't worry, we ate more later), on the couch watching movies.  We always watch the same movies every Christmas: Love Actually and Die Hard.  I know that Die Hard doesn't SEEM like a Christmas movie, but it really is.  Also, I enjoy the continuity of watching two movies with Alan Rickman and like to think that Bruce Willis dropped him off of the Nakatomi Towers for not giving the necklace to Emma Thompson.  

So that's it! Christmas 2013! It was a good one.  Hope you all had a great Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEAR!