Wednesday, March 21, 2018

happy spring, jerks!

23 weeks
It's been a bitterly cold winter. But the beginning of daylight savings time, some sunshine, and hearing the birds chirping in the mornings over the past few weeks had me feeling hopeful that I'd made it! I'd survived another winter! But on the first day of spring, Mother Nature dumped a pile of snow on us.
23 weeks
23 weeks down, 17ish to go

It was actually our first/only significant snow of the year. This winter was cold, but we only got a few dustings of snow - the kind that melted before you could even put your boots on and head outside. I always get suspicious that there will be a spring snowstorm if we have a snowless winter. If it's going to be cold, I don't mind there being snow in the winter, but once it's spring - no thanks! I lived through five Syracuse winters where it snowed from October through May, and there's a reason I left that city behind when I graduated from college!
23 weeks
But it was nice to have Larry home from work and to cozy up with my family - dogs napping, fire in the fireplace, chili simmering on the stove, peanut butter blondies baking in the oven.
23 weeks
23 weeks
23 weeks
23 weeks
The snow will be melted by tomorrow, and hopefully Mother Nature gets the message that winter is over. I'm ready to bust out my Tevas for real! Here's what I'm looking forward to this spring:

+ A belated fifth anniversary trip to California in April. It's not Hawaii as we'd originally planned, and I won't be drinking virgin tropical drinks or wearing sundresses on the beach, but staying in a cabin among the redwoods and exploring Big Sur still sounds pretty relaxing. Plus, it doesn't require an 11 hour flight to get there!

+ I feel like I've finally hit the sweet spot of pregnancy. The first trimester (and let's be honest, beginning of second trimester, too) symptoms are gone, and I'm not yet feeling heavy and uncomfortable. (Yes, I know I look huge in the photos, but maternity shirts do a really excellent job of accentuating the bump! So far I've gained a quarter of the recommended weight, which means the belly will quadruple in size over the next 17 weeks. Yikes!) But right now, during the day I'm starting to forget that I'm pregnant, until I see my own reflection and think WHOAH! Thankful to be feeling pretty good right now and hoping to make the most of it.

+ Getting back on the trail! I can't wait to get outside and hike this spring. My regular winter walking loop around my neighborhood has gotten so boring, so I'm looking forward to a change in scenery. And maybe I can find some friends to walk with so I can get in some social time, too. It's been a long and lonely winter.

+ Getting back in the pool. When I first found out I was pregnant, I said to myself "I'm going to swim and eat spinach salads every day!" Yeah, that lasted about a week. Then I spent two months lying on the couch and surviving on scrambled eggs and pears and bread. But it's not too late for me to start swimming again. I just need to see if I can squeeze into my swimsuit!

+ Trying new recipes and reading more books. I'm finally starting to enjoy cooking and reading again! I've been making lots of trips to the library and am looking forward to spring at the farmers market and eating fresh veggies. (Maybe I'll finally start eating those spinach salads again!)

+ Creative projects. Creativity has taken the back burner lately, and starting up on painting/drawing/sewing projects again sounds daunting. My brain and hand feel rusty. I need to make this happen.

+ A last hurrah getaway with Larry. I don't know if I'll feel like traveling in May, but I'd love to go to Savannah for a long weekend. I hate the term babymoon, and last hurrah makes it sound like Larry and I won't have any fun after the baby is born (hopefully this isn't true - we're looking forward to doing fun things and traveling with the baby), but a short trip for just the two of us before finishing up the baby prep sounds great. If we can't make Savannah happen, then maybe we'll just take a road trip to somewhere within driving distance of home. The Eastern Shore? West Virginia? We'll see...

Speaking of baby prep, we haven't started yet, so that's also on the schedule for spring. I feel like we have to finish all the house projects that we haven't done over the past 10 years of living here, get our shit together, AND get ready for the baby. Overwhelming!

Lots to do and look forward to. Happy Spring!