happy new year!

so yea. karl and i are expecting, adding a new addition to the family, pregnant, have a bun in the oven, knocked up, in the family way, eating for two, preggers, with child, um... i am running out of pregnancy slang... please contribute your favorites in the comment section.

bridget got her wish: we were pregnant at the same time!! not very long since she delivered mylee jayne shortly after this picture and i didn't actually know i was pregnant until a few days after this picture.

so this is our big BLOG announcement!! *HOPEFULLY* we have gotten to tell most of you in person or over the phone. *HOPEFULLY* friends and family that were sworn to secrecy did not tell you. and, if you knew, and you let the secret leak, well, that is dissappointing. for you. and the people that you told. because they got to find out second hand. and that sucks.

so here are the answers to the FAQs:

• i am 13 weeks, 1 day (as of this morning). That is pretty much thru the first trimester/first third. (big sigh of relief!)
• i have been pregnant since BEFORE halloween, i was pregnant in mexico! (BOO!), and for thanksgiving and all the happy hours and christmas parties in between and after. FAKE drinking is FUN. (fooled ya!)
• karl and i agreed not to tell the world until we heard a heartbeat/had an US. we heard a strong heartbeat (160 something) at 12 weeks exactly right before xmas. doc says chances of a miscarriage at this point are SLIM to NONE. yea. it was a great christmas present to share. it made the secret worthwhile.
• my official due date according to the doctor is july 5. but july 4th is much easier to remember.
• we have our first Ultra Sound January 18 at 16 weeks. (i don't know why they measure it in weeks; it is secret doctor code. it is like measuring babies age in months. 18 months old? JUST SAY ONE.)
• we are NOT finding out if it is a boy or girl. it is going to be a surprise. you can buy me things in green and yellow and orange (and even pink and blue if you are bold!). i promise it won't ruin the fun of buying baby gifts or decorating a nursery. (not that you have to buy us any gifts, but if you do it will still be fun!)
• we don't have any names yet. ALTHOUGH john robus hills, eric desjardin hills, and phillip matthew price matheny hills HAVE already been suggested.
• matt price is in the lead in the running for godparent. he has given us a presentation. though, if we have a girl, he might not be interested.
• i am not really showing (i can tell. you probably can't.) i FOR SURE look bigger than that picture above! i will post a picture tomorrow or monday. you can be the judge. it just looks kinda like a beer gut. i have gained two pounds. pretty good for three months. momma said she didn't show till month 5 or so. i can wait.
• um, let's see, this is getting lengthy. i feel good. i have had some morning sickness. (nausea and vomiting both.) karmically, i think that is good. i don't mind puking. it is those girls that HATE throwing up that shouldn't have to do it. i have had some cramping, a few migranes (new to me!) and some bloody noses. and some searing pains in my ass. literally. all of which doc said are fine and normal. i promise to try and not gross you out. it really hasn't been bad at all. i sleep a lot and i feel pretty normal!!

I will stop for now. I will try not to blog SOLEY about the pregnancy BUT i have been keeping it a secret for three months so I kind of need to get some of it OUT of my brain. i still feel nervous it's not real or something is going to happen, but we are really trying to enjoy this time, and i hope i can share a little of it with you all. if you have any more questions or i missed something major, let me know and i will address it next blog.

the great christmas carol debate

so the great debate of chicken dance vs. duck dance (DUCK!) and bbq pit vs grill (BBQ PIT!) and kitty corner versus katty corner (KITTY!) and binki vs paci (BINKI!) and oh so many more rages on.... karl and i discovered one more this christmas... we were on our way back from church with our nephew fisher and were listing to rudolph the red nosed reindeer... and we are singing all the silly parts... rudulolph the red nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose... glows LIKE A LIGHT BULB... they wouldn't let poor rudolph play any reindeer games LIKE MONOPOLPY and so on and so forth and we get the part where they say... YOU'll GO DOWN IN HISTORY... LIKE ____________. You fill in the blank here. Remember the price of our friendship is on the line here if you get it wrong.

blink blink blink blink

so, speaking of careers, we received some interesting news today:

here is one of the many articles about it
here is another one

so we aren't really sure what it means yet for karl and his job. basically, it could mean a variety of things... they could keep an office here and karl would stay there, they might work remotely and he would work from a home office, it might mean an offer for a job in Cincinnati, it might mean a whole new job, um, it might mean many things. and, of course, no one can give a definate answer at this point. we are optimistic whatever the outcome it will be good - karl is great at his job (of course) and a great employee so I (personally) am pretty confident he will be just fine. BUT STILL. geez. merry freaking christmas! don't stress out over the holidays.

more news to come... we'll keep you posted. you might just have a new city to visit: friends in OHIO! (we are destined to never leave the mid-west/mid-south)

things about me: 2007

when i was younger (oh so much younger than today), here are some career choices i did and did not want to make:

think grade school:

things i did not want to be when i growed up:
1. an astronaut
2. a vet
3. a race car driver
4. a dancer (not the dirty kind) (i knew i wasn't graceful even then. we have some video of me at age 4 telling everyone i wanted to be a ballerina and then performing the most horrid, spastic dance you have ever seen. ever. not meant for me. ever.)
5. a cop

things i did want to be when i growed up: (keep in mind these are childhood thoughts)
1. the first woman to play major league baseball (think there is still a chance?)
2. a fashion designer (i drew many outfits)
3. a daycare owner (see? i liked kids when i was 10. now? i still like kids but owning a daycare? i think no. for me.)
4. an author (oh the stories i wrote... in them someone always died or lost a limb.)
5. an artist of some sort (this one lasted till maybe early high school when i lost interest.)
6. a hockey player (this was a brief desire b/c i can't really ice skate very well. well, and i hate being cold.)

things i wanted to be in college:
1. um. i had no idea.

i was always jealous of those people who "knew" where their careers would take them - especially doctors, nurses (no way i could stomach being a nurse or doc), lawyers... you know, the "dream i'm-gonna-be-a-doctor-when-i-grow-up careers" that people just know they want to pursue. and do. and are successful at it.

and now? well, now I work in Advertising for a successful publication company. And I like it. It's fun and my company is great (remember that mandatory week of at christmas? it's paid. oh yea.). I may not do this exact JOB forever, but I'm good at it and my company appreciates me.

Still figuring it out, right? I'm not all growed up yet. I have plenty o time. :)

Christmas Party 2007

isn't it beautiful? leah created it. it makes me happy. we had a great time and came home with some great gifts - a traditional nepalese corta (which karl wore for a good portion of the evening) and a potato pellet gun (it worked!).

laundry is in the wash. mac and cheese and hotdogs and kool-aid were made for dinner. 50 first dates is on the tv. fleecy blankets are piled high. one more week of work until the holiday break.

i can't figure out this photo. but you get the gist. it's FABULOUS.

rudolph ain't got nothin on me

hey guys! i am trying to be cheerful today when all i really want to do is nap so i busted out my rudolph light-up nose that i won from the family christmas snatch at turkey time! (it is cold and raining and the perfect hibernation weather!!)

here are some things i am looking forward to:

• having the week between christmas and new years off (company policy baby!)
• not traveling for christmas
• spending christmas with karl's parents and kim and sean and the boys (we haven't had christmas in LR in awhile!)
  
• leah and blue's annual christmas party this saturday (i am going to make stuffed mushrooms again. both veggie-tarian style (read: MORE cream cheese!) and meat lover style (read: MORE cream cheese sprinkled with bacon!)
  
• wearing a tacky christmas sweater to the party AND possibly to work next week sometime (who is with me?!)
  
• smelling our real live xmas tree (yea it is half decorated. the lights are on. it smells delish. MOST of the ornaments are on. it has no star. it is shedding minimal needles. yum yum yum.)
  
• the sheer number of time i use parenthesis in a post (what? i like them!)
  
• ANTM finale is tonight and, despite this cycle being incredibly lame (sauce), i still have a shot at winning our fantasy league.
  

things i am cranky about:

• bobby petrino leaves the atlanta falcons (mid-season!) to join the arkansas razorbacks as head coach. it is not so much that i am CRANKY about that specifically i am just TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT IT! (bringing it up helps, right?!)
  
• counting down the days until 12/21 (last day before the holiday!) is driving me nutso. yep, nutso. can it please be that day please?
  
• all my friends in tulsa who have no power and will "hopefully get it back before christmas "... yikes. please don't start fires in your homes. that is very risky.
  
• the rain, rain. i like the rain. maybe this should go on the happy list.
  

ok i am going to figure out what my husband is feeding me for dinner. goodnight ya'll. ;)

magazine coverage

look - it's me! (scanned from a magazine). i got to play in a photo shoot for one of our publications at work (a perk of working in publishing)- it is a meeting planner "helper" which is appropriate for me as my last job was as a meeting planner. i have tried to block out that whole period of my professional life! i loved the work, but MAN do you guys remember how miserable i was!!?! thank god that is over. i still feel happy about my decision to leave there. ANYWAY, the article was about different generations and how they view conferences/meetings (i was portraying the gen y-ers... which we are pretty much on the cusp of gen x - gen y BUT i look like i am twelve years old so it all worked out ... the gen y'ers like to bring their lap tops, i pods, pdas, and cellulars to their meetings so they can multi-task!). So there you have it! FUN PHOTOS from me.

let's see. today is my dear friend kristy's bday. Special wishes for a great day to her.

Jennifer and Jeff visited Little Rock this weekend on a whim which made for a fabulous weekend... i love unexpected lovely surprises such as that one. we made a roast and watched movies. i liked it.

My company christmas party was on Friday. It was as lame as i expected it to be, but we still had a good time.

i have a migrane today. at least i think it is a migrane. it's pretty much THE worst head ache i have ever had... there is lots of pain. i don't do medicine, so it's been a quiet day with the lights off. suggestions that don't require pill popping? ANYONE?? it hurts behind my eyes real bad.

oh the weather outside is delightfully warm

things i did and did not do this weekend:

- i bought ONE christmas present. one. and i think i am going to take it back.
- i decorated nothing.
- i got no tree.
- i cleaned minimally.
- i cooked not at all *unless you count heating things up*

maybe this whole get into christmas thing isn't working out.

pretty much i feel like a worthless piece! :) my windows are open (70!) and i am going to take a nap with that nice breeze blowing in!

also, i went to the store (grocery style). Can someone please tell me why milk is like $4.50? Seriously. Karl and I each drink a gallon a week (at the least! and of the 2% variety!). It is becoming a more expensive habit than smoking! I NEED MY MILK. what can we do about this!?

so right thanksgiving was last week

the babies, the games, the master chef, the siblings. ahhhh. so nice. and on to christmas. this year (for quite possibly the first time ever, er, since i was a child?) i am attempting to be excited for the holiday season. my first step in the right direction is to watch the tree lighting (on tv) at rock-a-fella center in nyc. i also have been dreaming up christmas card ideas and making christmas lists. karl and i are planning on getting a tree (only our second ever in our christmas history)(we'll see if it happens!) and i might try and (gasp) bake something this year. like cookies. TAKE THAT ST. NICK.

we saw snow flurries!

just got back from the holiday in stl. the drive back was LONG and MISERABLE. it was raining when we left st. louis and it raining all the way to little rock and it is still raining now! we left early to make sure we could get the dogs on time but weather and accidents delayed us - many thanks to eric for getting the doggies from the hotel. now we are cuddled up with some pizza and the amazing race. i have turkey day pictures - but they are still on my camera and i am too lazy to get them right now. i CAN say the food was DELICIOUS. i ate like a champ! food and family makes a delicious holiday. more to come.

thanksgiving makes me happy

How to make a turkey:
1. you get a gun
2. you shoot a turkey
3. you pull out the feathers
4. and put it in the microwave for four hours

(excerpts from an old class of my aunt jayne - recipes by 5 years olds).

Kat's Mashed Potatoes - exact science
1. get you some big brown potatoes (no red; too wet)
2. peel them
3. cube them
4. boil them (a lot till they are mushy; maybe 40-45 for a big batch)
(THESE THINGS DON't TAKE THAT LONG and you can actually make homemade mash more than once a year at thanksgiving)
5. drain them
6. put a lot of butter(real and salted), salt, and milk (2% or above preferably)
7. use a machine or mixer to whip the crap out of them. (periodically checking for more salt, butter, or milk)
8. when there are no more lumps and they are smooth and fluffy and you just know they are finished, you are ready to eat (though in my case, i have been taste testing the whole time).
9. serve (with or without gravy)
10. eat (at least one helping!)

karl and i got in a potato product arguement (it was very exciting). i just don't think thanksgiving is for any other potatoes other than mashed and sweet potato casserole. he says cheesy potatoes or other potato-ey casseroles are ok. (they are so not okay). what kind of taters do you have on turkey day?!

tailgating and resting

low key weekend. i slept till 11 and made sunday stew. i just ate said stew so i am kind of in a stew coma and my thoughts are all full and hazy and i want to sleep more. who is with me?

easing into the cold weather. need new clothes. excited for turkey and taters. eyes closing. can't form complete sentences. goooooooood night.

back to life, back to reality

so. being off for a week. well, it's great, but coming back? yea, that kind of sucks. i think that is the first week long vacation from a job i have ever taken (look ma i'm all growed up!). Things are crazy at work. I can't seem to catch up. Boo Peeka. (this too shall pass, right?). is it awful that i am already looking forward to the turkey day holiday?!!? (probably not). karl is in san fran all week for work (he will be out of the office for two weeks!!) for a conference and i am bored at home and browsing the internet. the internet is not interesting today. not so much. anyone have any good sites they have stumbled upon lately? i need entertainment and laughter (i just cried thru the entire hour and a half of the biggest loser - STUPID SHOW GETS ME EVERY TIME!).

what does one do when ones significant other is out of town?

• eats buttered noodles with lots of garlic salt and parmesean for dinner three nights in a row
• lets arlo sleep in the bed with me (also going on three nights in a row)
• accidentally on purpose forgets to take out the trash so i have something for him to do when he comes back (though it is starting to smell a bit so i might have to give in on this one!)
• turns the heat up at night (just a little! like i even need it anyway it was freaking 80 degrees here today!)
• watches all kinds of girly movies on the tube (like 'because i said so' - a movie featuring mandy moore and lorelie gilmore)
• breaks the husbands computer several times (curse it, fix it, don't ever tell) (WHAT? he stole my mac book!)
• sleeps with the lights (and maybe the tv) on.
• goes in a little late to work (normally karl and i carpool and he is a stickler for being there at 8; my office is like a freaking mourge at 8)
• gets ready for work in complete and utter silence. the way the morning time should be. ah, the joy. no tv, no lights, no doggies, no cereal crunching heard for miles, no cover ripping offing, no singing made up annoying good morning songs.
• and maybe miss him. and even those dang good morning songs. just a little.

on the homefront

i am so happy to announce a safe delivery of the cronin clan's newest addition: bridget and brian (and joe and isabel) welcome mylee jayne (making her first blog apperance here via camera phone! happy sigh!)

additionally i would like to extend special congratulations to our friends, elizabeth and jeremy, who just got engaged!! so happy for those two.

i don't think i can go to work tomorrow. seriously.

casa de angela and the gang

at the aeropuerto leaving mexico...
i don't want to leave (and look possibly like an anorexic orphan)... jenny and jeff's wedding present from us: dinner at le kliff (literally built into a cliff overlooking the water. quite possibly the coolest dining atmosphere EVA. )
the bride and groom dance the dance.
luke looking cool with his shades and cigar - TAKING MORE PHOTOS!
the sun is setting - the sun saved the most beautiful set of our trip for the wedding night.
little island people lounging in the pool
the first group toast: TO MEXICO!!
we told karl to "suck it in"
the aforementioned mosquito netting on the beds! the whole villa was open air - showers, toilets, bedrooms, common areas, all of it!! i looooved showering with a view! the view from our bathroom shown below.... the only time i have ever enjoyed my small bladder! HA!

our first meal in puerto vallarta - karl blew us a little tune. un pacifico por favor.
so the trip was awesome as i am sure you have seen some of the pics already on both melissa and brooke's blogs!! they both did a much better picture taking job than me. oh well! the villa was, as stated, awesome on all accounts. we decided we are so spoiled now that we can never travel again with out a staff (the villa had a chef, TIMO whose food was AMAZING, our house man SAUL (sa-oool who took care of us on so many levels), and his assistant ONOFRE. they seriously took care of everything. food, drinks, problems, everything. the open air concept was awesome... no air conditioning or real private spots, just an amazing amount of fresh air, sunshine, and happy smiles. cabs were cheap! (like $4 to get from the villa to downtown where we did some shopping!) it was an experience like no other and karl and i still can't get over it or thank jenny and jeff and her family enough for including us.

sleeping in mosquito netting is as cool as it looks

the internet at the villa is pretty slow and it is taking too long to upload images so i think you are going to have to wait until we get back for more pics!

we miss you all. er.

today was an amazing day in PV!!

i took this picture with my camera!

hola como estas? Esta aqui.

goodnight moon

• i have heart burn. literally my heart is ON FIRE. (ever since i quit smoking, i swear IT BURNS ALL THE TIME!)
• beauty and the geek, ANTM, all RECAP shows. RECAPS = ANNOYING.
  
• so far we have had five trick or treaters. FIVE. why did i even make the effort to buy candy?
  
• karl and i went to "Boo at the Zoo" last night. While "Boo at the Zoo" in theory is good b/c it supports the zoo, it was a complete waste of time. maybe because there were 'candy stations' for the kiddos - each one sponsored by one corporation or another - i mean, candy wrapped in corporate logos? what is that even saying to a five year old? like we don't see enough advertising all day everyday. ANYWAY.
  
• tangent over.
  
• i am feeling uninspired to blog. truly.
  
• sorry.
  
• charlies.
  
• until next time (when i promise to be more entertaining!)
  

80. eight zero. 80.

my grandfather turned 80 0ver the weekend and both my sister and i made the trip to STL to surprise him! (there was a party and it couldn't be missed!) i can't even find all my pics right now so you get these few.

i am going to let go of my irrational anger towards the entertainment industry

i am cranky and stressed this Friday afternoon. i have to do lots of things. and i want to do nothing. grrr. such is life. to cheer myself up i am sharing a pic from the bachelorette party that is HILARIOUS. i have NOT A CLUE what we are laughing at but it makes me happy to look at this picture.

happy friday. have a good weekend. i intend to.

if you haven't watched ANTM please stop reading (and other oddities)

so, there is this thing i do with my seeester and her friends. it is called fantasy ANTM (americas next top model for all of you who live in a hole). AND the way it works is this: we pick our top three and get a point each week they stay in. As a BONUS point, we pick who gets kicked off each week. my pick last night: ambreal. WHO. TOTALLY. GOT. KICKED. OFF. by the judges and then STUPID EBONY (i know ambreal and ebony are somewhat ridiculous-ey modeley names - there is also a chantal, a saleisha, a bianca, a mila and a lisa - and yes i feel lisa is a ridiculous name.) ANYWAY, as I was saying, STUPID EBONY decides to throw in the towel, costing me my point and her her future. Tyra was NOT happy. I was NOT happy. A million other viewers hoping boring Ambreal was going to get kicked off were NOT happy. I'm not actually sure how the world is functioning today. Has anyone ever QUIT antm?

this too shall pass, right? (oh the drama!)

in more important news, i have lost three pounds.

i hate socks

it's true. and it is almost time to wear them, like, everyday.

i hate them all equally. wool socks, socks with seperate toes, tube socks, dress socks, NYLONS, the red sox (errr.. whatever), footie socks, argyle socks, smelly husband socks, pom-pom socks, novelty socks (dirty), cuffed socks, scrunched up socks, socks with characters on them, socks with lace on them, knee socks, crew socks, ankle socks, trouser socks, booties... all of em!

the only socks i like are my workout socks. PERFORMANCE socks. (that have a purpose) (that barely peek out of my tennie-rubbers) (and that keep me from blisters) (kinda).

one time (high school!) i didn't wear socks to a football game at the Transworld Dome (Edward Jones Dome?) in January and had to walk eight blocks (it was snowing; shoes not waterproof) and my feet almost fell off (mom and i were literally climbed up in the sink and running my bare feet under water in the STL Rams stadium bathroom). it hurt. i cried. i have many other similar experiences. my husband during the winter time will often find me in agony on the edge of the bathtub with hot water running over ice cube toes. or trying to sneak my freezing feet under his warm legs as we watch tv on the couch. (we (i) call these 'feet warmies' and karl LOVES them.)

oh. and. also. i choked on a hairball *my own* at 4 am this morning and almost died. literally i swallowed some hair and it was all up in my throat until i vomited. GROSS.

life is rough in the big city. maybe someday it will stop raining!

Race for the Cure, Phase 10, and other relaxing happenings

race for the cure happened this weekend. i have a love/hate relationship with race for the cure. i love it because it is totally inspirational and AWESOME but i hate it because people who don't run races ever are REALLY good at getting in the way. there was a lot of pushing and shoving up front - seriously i almost got trampled - not a good place to feel claustrophobic (45,000 registered racers pushing forward!) they give 'stars' to those running under 27 minutes and coral them up front but crazy, slow people in big groups like to push in front despite the fact they are going to start walking less than a half mile in. though i guess i should admit it was kind of nice to pass like a hundred people. whatever. additionally, i made this pretty shirt naming the people i was racing for but next year i am going to make it in white with pink lettering.... there were other folks wearing pink and the survivor shirts are light pink - i think the dark pink is a little too close to the survivor shirts. eh, well, lesson learned. melissa and i had a blast making shirts friday night (pictures above). pretty much it was like we were in junior high - minus the puff paint, plus fabric paint and stencils.

saturday we had a loverly evening of mexican food, trivial pursuit, and phase ten with kristen and jr. today, even though it isn't THAT cold yet, i made my first sunday stew of the season (thick and delicious!) and am now watching game seven of the ALCS and relaxing before the work week begins.

this weekend: happiness is beef stew aroma lingering through the house, attic fan whirling, open windows, breast cancer ribbons, 3.99 t-shirts at the craft store, cheese dip (oops!), clean sheets, long showers, and the world series playoffs.

homecoming pics!

as promised. are we gonna do it again next year!?!?

this week is going by fast. i need it to SLOW down. i mean, seriously, how is it almost thursday!?!?!

la bachelorette - jennifer lenore

so homecoming pics will be tomorrow i suppose - here is a small showing of the bach party pics. we had a lovely gathering (beginning with the panty game of course!) and dinner at (edit: marys! franke's is in NYC) mary's (italian place on 15th in t-town; pretty much the only authentic italian in town i believe; it is GOOD), and on to Tin Dog. Yes, Tin Dog. my favorite bar in the ENTIRE world. call me lame, but i love it in all its seedy glory.

we passed on to jenny the bridal t-shirt (among other things!!) and had a great time. the parrot bra? it came from garden ridge. garden ridge. of all places. pierre is on the left. richard is on the right. they needed several reattachment surgeries throughout the night (clearly not perfect for any kinda party where you actually wear the thing)

this week i am trying to eat less calories - five pounds (ha!) and i will happily get on the plane to mexico. if i don't lose it i guess i'll have to stay home.

"we have to stop for hunting gloves"

ok. we spent the weekend in tulsa for two reasons: 1. jenny's bachelorette party on friday. 2. TU homecoming!

happy sunday night! i am settling in to watch the rainy d-back and rockies game (BASEBALL PEOPLE). it looks pretty cold at coors field!

i have many pictures. just not sure which to post. the weekend was fun. and exhasting. all at the same time. let's just say while i had a great time tailgating i am glad i am not in college anymore! it was really great to see everyone and i am looking forward to homecoming 08! (it will be YEAR FIVE in our spot!!)

i might be too tired to post and might want to drag it out over a few days. so here are some hawt pics of me and melissa at the bass pro shop on our way back! karl made us stop for hunting gloves. that's a mountain lion in the background of the glass elevator. yea it is.