Wind

I know I complain about the weather. And I know I'm inconsistent about it. One day I'll be complaining about how miserably cold it is, and then like clockwork, I'll be complaining about how hot it is six months later. As Darrell has reminded me on more than one occasion, I have a very narrow window for "comfort" when it comes to weather.

However, I've officially decided that I have a new nemesis when it comes to weather. Forget the frigid cold, forget the oppressive heat--what I hate most is the wind. I'm not talking about the nice, gentle summer breezes, or the sizable gusts that inevitably accompany a strong storm--I'm talking about the annoying, steady, 15+ mph winds that will last for days on end. The kind of wind that will pierce through even the warmest "wind-proof" winter jacket, or ruin a perfectly nice summer day at the lake. It's downright awful.

And the thing that makes the wind in South Dakota even worse? It's incessant. It never goes away. It may be lighter and more bearable on some days, but it's still there. Now, you may be thinking that, in theory, if it's regularly windy, then you would be more likely to get used to it (and subsequently, less likely to complain about it). Well folks, that just isn't the case. I'm here to tell you that there are some things that you just can't "get used to"--and constant wind is one of them (especially when it is strong more days than not).

Think I'm exaggerating about how much wind we get around here? I'm not. Want proof? Check out these graphs of wind data compiled from weather records dating all the way back to 1974 (courtesy of Weatherspark.com):

Average monthly wind speed for Sioux Falls, SD

Average monthly wind speed for Hickory, NC (Darrell's hometown)

Where do I begin? For starters, let's talk about the scale on the y-axis. The graph for Sioux Falls goes all the way up to 30 mph, while Hickory's graph only goes up to 22 mph (and the graph itself barely surpasses 20 mph at any point). Then, do you notice how the Hickory graph doesn't actually have a red line, just small amount of red shading? That color represents the average daily minimum wind speed--which means that in Sioux Falls, every day registers (on average) enough measurable wind to have a daily minimum wind speed (the solid red line), whereas Hickory has enough days with no measurable wind that you have to extend your range to include the 10th-90th percentiles to even see an average daily minimum. Additionally, Hickory's highest daily average wind speed (black line) is 7 mph, which is still 2 mph slower than the lowest daily average wind speed in Sioux Falls.

Bottom line? The wind sucks in Sioux Falls. We need to get ourselves some mountains or something stat.

The Pact

As I've mentioned before, I know that I can always count on Jodi Picoult to deliver a captivating novel. In fact, her novels are often captivating to a fault--usually once I start reading I can't stop until I've gotten to the end. I think the longest it has taken me to finish any one of her books has been four days, and this book was no exception. I found myself pulling this book out during any and all breaks at work, for an hour or two in the evenings, just to figure out what was going to happen next.

And the crazy thing about this book is that it appears to be resolved from the start, seemingly leaving little mystery or suspense about what could happen next. Two teenagers--neighbors their whole lives and boyfriend/girlfriend as of the past few years--apparently devise a suicide pact that ends up getting botched, leaving one of them dead and one of them in the hospital. The police aren't satisfied with the story of the suicide pact, though, and a murder investigation is launched. However, the story is told alternating between flashbacks and the present day, which provides the reader with information the police are not privy to, and subsequently seems to create a clear picture of the events that unfolded on that fateful night. Or at least that is what Picoult is leading you to believe--up until the very end when she throws a final (totally unpredictable, as is usually the case with her novels) twist into the story.

Would I recommend this book? Of course. It's the perfect opposite to Romeo and Juliet--instead of two lovers whose families are at odds with each other, these two teenagers are raised as best friends and have parents that fully support their blossoming relationship. Despite those differences, however, the end result is the same as in Shakespeare's tragedy.

I will say, however, that this was possibly not the best book to read while pregnant--or perhaps at anytime when you are raising kids. Because it definitely isn't afraid to delve into tough parenting issues; namely, the fact that you may not know your child as well as you think you do, and there may not be anything you can do to fix that.

30 Before 30: Crafts

So the last of my 30 before 30 lists is the one that is probably going to be the most difficult for me to complete. Mostly because by nature, I am not a creative, do-it-yourself kind of person. Not necessarily because I don't want to be, but because I tend to talk myself out of attempting projects due to a fear of failing (I'm a little bit of a perfectionist). And with the possibility (or likelihood) of the project ending up a disaster, I usually reason that it makes more sense just to go out and buy the product (or pay someone else to do it for me) so I don't have to waste my time making an unsuccessful attempt (plus then I don't feel like a failure).

Darrell, however, is soooo not this way. He's always up for trying some new project (whether it's building bookshelves for the nursery or a patio for our backyard), and he isn't afraid to just dive right in to the task (sometimes I actually wish he'd put a little more research into what he is doing, but he's been successful with all his projects so far, so I suppose I can't complain too much).

I've decided that the attitude I'm going to have to take toward crafting is the same one that I've been working on accepting as a soon-to-be mother: I know that as parents Darrell and I are going to "fail" plenty of times, but that doesn't mean we can throw in the the towel and give up. We have to learn to adjust, maybe redefine our idea of "perfect", and take pride in what we have. Easy enough, right?  :)

Since I'm not very in tune with this whole crafting thing I don't exactly have a laundry list of projects that I'm dying to attempt, but I have stumbled across a few that I think might be fun. Especially as I work on planning a bridal shower for my sister. So we'll see how this goes--here's to hoping I can (successfully!) get through thirty projects in thirty months!

Homemade Tile Coasters
Yarn Eggs
Tiered Snack Stand
Ziploc Bag Book

Showered with Love

Last weekend Darrell and I traveled up to Minneapolis for a baby shower with a group of my girlfriends from high school. Even though it's been almost ten years since graduation, nine of us girls still keep in touch regularly and get together whenever we can. And of course, babies are a perfect excuse to get together. In fact, of the nine of us, four of us are expecting kids during this calendar year.

Unfortunately, not everyone could be at the shower because we've dispersed to many different states (and in one case, to London), but we used Skype to get as many people involved as we could. It was so much fun to catch up with everyone who could be a part of the shower, and having these girls in my life even after so many years (and across so many miles) is such a blessing. Love them!

Amy, who is next to me, is also expecting--due in July!

Aside from getting to see everyone and catch up (and of course having BOB get loved on and spoiled), the highlight of the shower was definitely the cake. My friend Whitney (front row, blueish cardigan) made an incredible cake. Everything was made from scratch, including the fondant.

Seriously awesome. Even the elephant is made from fondant! And on the inside was a chocolate cake with raspberry buttercream and raspberry filling... I'm hungry again just thinking about it. Even Darrell, whose only request when we were selecting our wedding cake was that it didn't have fondant, agreed that the cake was delicious. Apparently making the fondant from scratch makes it infinitely better (of course, that is pretty much true about anything).

In other good news from the weekend, BOB was very well behaved during the car trip. Granted, we had to make more bathroom stops than usual, but I didn't have any issues with cramping or discomfort. Not too shabby for eight hours in the car at thirty-four weeks pregnant. Hopefully he continues to be this well-behaved out of the womb--we're hoping to make a trip to Iowa in the middle of May and have tickets booked to fly out to North Carolina in June. Fingers crossed!

Wedding Wednesday: The Honeymoon!

So I realize the honeymoon is a separate event from the wedding, but I'd be remiss if I completely neglected any discussion of the honeymoon in my series of wedding planning advice. Because honestly, planning the honeymoon can be just as stressful as planning the wedding. And since you are probably planning the honeymoon at the same time you are planning the wedding, reducing the stress for one will inherently cause less stress for the other.

Now, last spring I talked a little about our honeymoon, and in my discussion shared a few pieces of advice. You can check out the post for all the details, but in a nutshell, here are some of the things that I think are important to keep in mind:

Be true to yourselves
Sure, everyone may think of white sandy beaches and lying around all day with an endless supply of fruity concoctions when they think of a honeymoon, but if that doesn't fit the style of you and your significant other, do something else! There's no unwritten rule that says honeymoons have to involve exotic locations and ample relaxation; I know plenty of people who have gone to non-traditional places and done non-traditional things and loved every minute of it (including some friends who spent their honeymoon cross-country skiing through the North Woods of Minnesota).

Be flexible in your destination
If sandy beaches and fruity drinks are your cup of tea, remember that there are lots of options when it comes to locations. While the Caribbean is certainly popular, places in Hawaii (and even Florida!) offer many of the same amenities, and without the added headaches of passports and international travel. If visiting wine country is more your style, avoid the chaos of the ever-popular Napa area and try visiting some of the more secluded wineries in the Pacific Northwest. You never know what hidden gems you may find if you expand your search outside of the box a little bit.

Don't lose sight of the marriage in the excitement of the honeymoon (and wedding)
Probably one of the worst ways to start a marriage is in a boatload of debt because of an over-the-top wedding and/or honeymoon. Obviously one way to save money on your honeymoon is to follow the suggestion above and look at non-premium locations. It's generally always going to be cheaper to stay within the country than to travel out of it, and locations that are a little more off the grid often come with lower price tags (and as a bonus, they are often less busy!). Another option is to splurge for only a night or two instead of the whole vacation. Treat yourself to that five-star luxury hotel for the first few nights, but then spend the rest of your honeymoon at a more economical place. That way, you still get the experience of being pampered, but without quite as much of a price tag.

Absolutely, positively make sure that you TAKE a honeymoon
I didn't address this in my post about our honeymoon, but I think it is incredibly important. Even if you are the most organized person in the world (and/or have the best wedding planner ever), you will probably still leave your wedding feeling frazzled and exhausted. Having even just a little bit of alone time with your new spouse will allow you time to relish in the excitement of your big day (and recover!) before getting back to your "normal" life. Consider spending just a night or two at a bed and breakfast if you can't afford something more extravagant (or don't have the time off work to go away for longer), even if the bed and breakfast is in the same town you live in. Trust me--it'll be nice to have just a day together without any pressing issues to worry about.

As a final note, one thing that Darrell and I did that I would definitely recommend is working an extra day into your honeymoon where you are back home from your vacation but not obligated to be at work. We used this day for one thing and one thing only: organizing our house. It certainly wasn't very relaxing, but we spent the entire day putting away wedding gifts, rearranging cabinets and closets, schlepping old house goods to a second hand store, etc. And since we technically considered this day to be part of our honeymoon, there were no distractions from jobs, family, or friends, and we were able to get nearly all of it done in one fell swoop. Which made the transition of going back to work and adjusting to married life so much easier; there were no worries about when we would find time to clean, whose job it would be to put stuff away, where we would put stuff, etc. It was all taken care of and the only thing we had to worry about in the evenings after work was being husband and wife and enjoying each others company. Sooo fantastic.

Hopefully you don't find wedding planning to be too terribly stressful, but in case you do, hopefully you are able plan a wonderful honeymoon where you can take some time to enjoy being in the company of your husband/wife!

Belly Pics: Weeks 33 and 34

Nothing terribly exciting to look at this week--just a big ol' belly of baby!

33 Weeks

34 Weeks

I'm definitely still bumping into stuff (thank goodness BOB is nice and protected in there), and I'm starting to fatigue a little easier when I've been on my feet for long periods of time, but otherwise I'm still feeling good. BOB is doing his best to stretch me out from the inside, which can be uncomfortable at times, but is certainly fun to watch (pretty much any movement he makes is visible from the outside--kid is seriously running out of space in there). Supposedly BOB is going to settle into his birthing position soon (hopefully head down, not butt down like his father was); while it'll be nice to be able to take some deep breaths and not get winded walking up a flight of stairs, I'm not sure if I'm ready for lots of extra pressure on my pelvis and even more frequent trips to the bathroom. But, I suppose just like all the other changes I've gone through in this pregnancy, I'll eventually get used to it. And besides--there's definitely light at the end of the tunnel! I feel like I could handle anything for just a handful of weeks.

Pretty Toes!

Highlight of my day on Friday?

Getting a little pampering done!

Actually, that's not entirely true, because we also had a doctor's appointment on Friday, and hearing that everything is still going well with baby always trumps any other exciting things that may happen on that day. Friday's appointment was especially fun because baby tried to kick the doctor twice while he was trying to find the heartbeat--kid is already developing some serious attitude. Not too surprising given where this kid got his/her genes, I suppose.

Of course, Darrell thinks that it was a little silly of me to get a pedicure because A) it'll be at least a month (probably longer) before the weather will be nice enough for me to even consider wearing sandals and B) I can't really enjoy the fancy nails myself because when I look down all I see is this...

But whatever. Still totally worth it. And I'm sure he would have felt differently about my decision if I had asked him to be the one to clip my toenails since I can barely reach them myself. Of course, with as quickly as my nails have been growing, he might still get a chance to be the one to clip my toenails because I'm not certain I'll be able to go these last six weeks without a trim. We'll see how fun that is--I'll just tell him that it'll be practice for trimming baby's nails. Sounds reasonable, right?