New Years Eve Already??

Has anybody else started thinking about their New Year's Eve resolution?  Well, you might think I'm kind of weird because I have...  I've always wanted to make decorated sugar cookies like the best of them.  So, by this time next year I will be able to make decorated cookies!

I'm a little anxious on what shape of cookies to make.  I was thinking some star shapes to start out, making some random shapes and whatnot on the cookies kind of like this

Anyone already do this kind of thing? Have any tips or suggestions for me?  Anything will help!

Working Mama

Yesterday was my first day back at work.  I am part time, so I was scheduled 4-8.  I didn't actually leave until 8:30 because I was a closer...

I was not that excited about working.  And I work again today.  In fact, I work the next two days, also.  I didn't really want to go back, but my fiance doesn't make enough for all of us to live on.  Well, he does, but we are still kind of stupid and like to do stuff (and spend money on things we don't need).

Now that I am working, my fiance has to watch baby Carolina while I am at work.  I made a little to-do list for him (basically, bathe the little one, play with her, and clean a couple of things that I've asked him to do for a really long time) and I called him at break to hear him say "No wonder you don't get everything done during the day."  And I get home and he as only done two things on the list: give Carolina a bath and play with her.  He didn't clean :/

Well, other than that little revelation, he decided to watch Dumbo with the little baby.  So, since he put that movie in, I've been watching it all day instead of Tangled.  I have been watching Tangled about 3-4 times a day for a week or so.  Before then, it was Cinderella, and then before that, Tangled again, and right before that The Aristocats.  I've seen those 3 Disney movies about 50 times apiece before I would switch movies.  And my daughter is only 2 1/2 months old!

I'm going to go ahead and get off here.  I need to eat something so I don't feel like crap at work tonight.

Political Musings

So...  Obama has won!  I'm pretty happy about that.  I'm sure not everyone of you that reads this will be happy, but I ask you to not rave in the comments.  It's over, maybe next time.  Thanks.

Anyway, my poor little baby just had a tummy ache that ended with milk being spewed on my shirt :/  The poor little girl.  She wasn't acting all too excited to eat, but it had been a couple of hours and I'm about to go to sleep, so I figured I'd feed her and when I picked her up to burp her, it was ridiculously loud.  And then she burped again, except it was a little more than a burp...

Well, now that that is out (it is pretty disgusting, don't know why I am sharing it with you), I am tired.  Well, not really, but I need to get to bed!  Good night, and have a happy four more years with Obama!

To The Doctors Office!

Yesterday, my fiance took the day off from work to go to our daughter's doctor appointment.  When we got there, Carolina was hungry!  And since I breastfeed I figured I would wait until after her appointment and just get her to calm down enough to get through the appointment...  Well that didn't work so well, she was mad.  And she had to get 3 shots!  A mad, hungry baby with needles poking her!

She does this kind of cute thing when she really gets mad.  She will push as much air out of her lungs as she can, and then take a big gulp of air and scream as loud as she can.  Lately, her loud is getting louder and louder.  I remember when it used to be that you probably couldn't hear her one booth over in a restaurant.  Now, she can scream bloody murder.

Well, her poor right leg bled a little bit (and it got on her outfit that I'm not too fond of anyway, so it didn't really matter, haha), and her left leg didn't bleed at all when she got her shots.

After leaving the doctors office,  I had to text everyone the good news!  She is 23 1/4 inches tall, and 10 lbs 9.6 ounces.  For the past week I've been weighing her and guessing her height.  When I got a tape measure out, I measured her twice (in her bassinet, I put her feet up to the end and measured to the top of her head) and got 23 inches the first time and 23.5 inches the second time.  So, I was right!  And I also guessed her to be between 10 and 11 lbs.  I was thinking about 10.5 lbs, and my moms scale said she weighed 10.6 lbs, so I was right there, too!  I'm so good at this.  If only she didn't seem heavier.  That's probably the worst part of it all.

My fiance and I were driving through the town that her doctors appointment was, and he just so happened to spot a little light blue car that he thought we might like (we have been thinking of getting a new car because ours is a 2-door).  We stopped by the car and he got out to check out the car.  A salesperson came and talked to him for a bit.  And then we got conned to going inside (with a newly hungry baby, again...) to find out the price of the car.  The guy was really nice to us, but when he got his manager to help with some financing questions, his manager was really pushy and not nice.  Like, we had made it clear we were not leaving with a new car that day.  But he just kept pushing the subject.  And once we talked about our car a little bit, he said that he really wanted our car (an Honda Accord), and would give us an extra thousand if we got the new car today.  Luckily, my fiance said no (I don't really want that car).

That manager was really pushy and it was not exactly a good experience car shopping (the first time I had ever gone and also talked to a salesperson seriously about a car).

Well, I need to get off here, the baby's crying!  Talk to you later!

Post-Shopping Day

It turns out I didn't go shopping last Saturday :/  I ended up going the next day to a mall closer than Iowa City.  I got something for Christmas (that you won't be able to see until then! but I can tell you that they fit!) and I looked at some baby clothes that were absolutely adorable.

Anyway, looks like I missed saying Happy Halloween to all of you...  I ended up going and hanging out with my mom, grandma, and daughter (yeah, four generations all together in one house :) actually I've got a fifth generation alive, also).  I tried my hand - unsuccessfully - at crocheting a baby hat.  I ended up making it into a little beret because I didn't want to unravel all of it, haha.

Welp, I'mma get off here and surf the internet a while...  Talk to you later!

Patton Oswalt

There is a comedy show going on tomorrow night in Iowa City... and I've got tickets!!  I'll be going with my fiance and a guy friend of his.  The main comedian is Patton Oswalt.  For all of you who don't know him, he is probably best known for playing Spence on The King of Queens.

I'm pretty excited, except I have to express a lot of breastmilk for my beautiful daughter to eat while I am away.  Iowa City is about two hours from where I live, so I'll be away from her for onwards up to 6 hours.  Maybe even 7... :(  The last time I was away from her for a long time was when I went to see Sinister (which I have written a post on), and I was so glad to get to see her again after so long, and then I was only away from her for about 4 or 5 hours.

As a warning, I will not be posting anything on Saturday, unless it is very late in the evening.  My fiance's parents are taking us all shopping.  I'm not sure where yet, but I'm pretty excited.  I will definitely take pictures of what I get and post them on here.  I'm thinking of getting a sweater (at least one), and maybe a pair of flats.  But probably not the flats, it is getting cold, and I don't need to be wearing flats while it is snowing out.

As for my baby girl, she might like some baby snow boots :)  I wonder if anywhere actually sells baby snow boots for babies 5 months and younger... I really don't know, because babies that young don't really walk or go out in the sun very often.

Well, that's kind of all I have for now.  Bye!

What Colors?

I have been thinking about my wedding lately.  I have no idea what color scheme I am going to go with.  I've been thinking about either teal and silver/white or a color called guava and beige and white.  The color guava is like this.  Well, it's close to that.

It's like that color scheme.  This is a pretty cake, but not exactly what I will go with.  I know I am going to go with white roses, though.  Anyone else use white roses?  I'm mostly going with white roses because I know they will go well with almost anything.

As for a general theme, I am thinking it has to have a sweet lacy feel to it.  As far as the dress goes, I'm either thinking a dress with lace, or a dress without lace and a lacy veil.  What do you think?  Either way, I'm going with lace, so don't try and convince me out of it!!

A Warm Cup of Cocoa and Sweaters are Always Nice

NaNoWriMo starts in 9 days!!...

Anyone doing the challenge?  Know what you're going to write about?  You don't have to say the exact storyline or anything, but which category are you doing?  Science fiction, memoir, biography, political science, etc.?  I'm actually going to do literary fiction.  I haven't quite decided if I'm going to rewrite the story with basically no changes, or if I'm going to rewrite it with the changes I have in mind.  Personally, writing it without the changes seems a lot easier to do.  Really, I'm probably going to end up writing it without the changes so that I have something to go off of later when I write the version with the changes, my real goal after NaNoWriMo.

Anyway, enough about NaNoWriMo...  Is anyone else in the sweater mood?  I am, but it is so hot where I'm at.  But that will all change this weekend, we are supposed to have temperatures in the 40's (whereas, it has been in the 70's for the past week)...  Can you believe that??  70 degree weather in Iowa in October!  If that isn't a sign of global warming, then what is??  Earlier this year, we even had warmer weather way earlier than we usually do.  It was getting warm in March, not 70's warm, but hotter than it should have been.

This sweater is probably my favorite sweater at Urban Outfitters.  I'm definitely asking for it for Christmas.  Anybody else like the sweater?

I Need a Hero

Lately, I've been watching the show "Heroes".  I was interested in watching it when I first saw commercials for it six years ago.  In the past couple of days, I've managed to watch the first two seasons and half of the third season...  Actually, I'm watching an episode right now.  And, as a fair warning for those who have not seen the show - - - SPOILER ALERT!

So, to start off, Peter is absolutely adorable, but you won't hear me saying that to my fiance, haha.

But, once I get past the drooling, I have to say, his character is hard to understand.  He is always acting the good guy, but he has his bad moments.  I'm interested in seeing how he ends up.

Well, ok, to let you know where I am at, the Tracy Strauss just died.  Baby Matt Parkman is saved!  And, I just have one question currently...  Is baby Matt Parkman actually adult Matt Parkman's son?  Or is he the baby of the affair?  Oh, and how did Matt Parkman learn to fly.  I feel like I missed parts of some episodes or something.

Speaking of the hot guys in the show, if Sylar/Gabriel didn't have such a huge face, he would be really hot, also.  Honestly, I was a fan of the Sylar/Elle couple pairing, and was sad to see it go away.

Oh... Um, nevermind about Matt Parkman flying.  I get it now ;)

Have any comments about the show?  Post them, I'm always glad to see activity other than my ramblings going on!  See you later!

The Sleeping Baby

Today, I started watching "The Walking Dead".  I have never seen it before, nor did I really ever think about watching it, but yesterday my sister started watching the first episode on my Netflix account and I just so happened to finish feeding my daughter just in time to watch it, also.  After that, I have barely even watched anything else, except "King of the Hill" with my fiance during suppertime.  I'm already done with the first season, and about 5-6 episodes into the 2nd.

I am so caught up into the series it is hard to stop watching it.  I'm just so glad I have another month and a half off and can do these kinds of things during the day while I don't have a man (namely my fiance) to watch over me and tell me to do the dishes.

Anyway, on a different note, my daughter is going through a growth spurt now!  She has been sleeping almost nonstop (waking only for an hour at a time or less) since yesterday.  At first I was a little concerned, afterall I am a first-time mother, and then I looked up why a newborn might just sleep like a zombie all of a sudden.  I was pleased to see that many others have had the same problem aaaaand she's just having a growth spurt.

Well, it does make sense because just before she slept 24 hours a day, she ate every couple of hours, whereas before she waited between 3 and 5 hours to eat (day and night, respectively).

So, as a closing statement(s), I'd like to just say that if anyone wants to comment on "The Walking Dead" then you are welcome, and if you have had some baby trouble - with solutions - please share them!  Bye!

Sinister

Have any of you watched the new movie, "Sinister"?  It is amazing!  When it comes to scary movies, I'm absolutely terrified, but I never jump at those "jump" moments.  But with "Sinister", I was jumping and even letting a couple words fly that a little baby such as Carolina shouldn't ever hear until they are thirty+.  I watched it just last night with my fiance, it was our first date night since before the baby was born...  Personally, I think I should stop talking about it so late at night and start thinking about rainbows and unicorns...

I'm going to turn on some cartoons "for the baby."  Have a good night all!

NaNoWriMo

So, today, I'm going to talk about NaNoWriMo...  Are any of you going to participate?  If you are, what are your strategies??  I am going to participate this year.  I have talked about participating with my fiance for a while, and we have both decided to actually work on it this year.  I've been doing writing exercises every night for a while now, and have managed about 2,000 words a night, which is ridiculously awesome.  I calculated the amount of words I'd have to write per day to finish on time and it is 1,666.66 repeating words.  And if I get at least 2,000 words a day, then I will have 5 days at the end, and since I am on maternity leave, I could easily manage more words than that.

As for my fiance, he works, plays guitar, spends time with his daughter, etc...  He doesn't have nearly as much time as me.  So, he may not finish.  I may not either, but I'm trying to have a positive attitude!  So, if any of you have any advice or just want to talk about your experiences or just to talk, go ahead and comment!  See you later!

Day 2

I just finished watching a movie called "Mother Dearest".  It was definitely interesting.  I really liked it and recommend it to all of you drama movie lovers.  It was very dramatic and depressing.  Well, the story reminded me of both Cinderella and Tangled, except that the ending was not a good ending, it was satisfying, but not a "good" ending.  And by good, I mean, it wasn't a happy ending, the character was just as malicious as the thing torturing her... I've already given away too much.  But I can't help it!  I am just a movie-spoiler, especially if I'm watching a movie I've already seen with someone who hasn't seen it...  I know, it's a bad habit, BUT I'm all right with it and I try to keep quiet, I really do.

Anyway, enough about the movie (which I recommend to those who love old movies and complicated plots).  I'd like to share some little tidbits of cuteness about my baby.

Number one:  I "love" when I go to feed her and she moves her head side to side while trying to find me.  Well, I think it's funny, but it can really frustrate someone who is trying to sleep at night!

Number two:  She has the most adorable pre-cry face!  Her lower lip pouts and her eyes close tight, my fiance and I nicknamed her pre-cry face "frogface" because it reminds us of a little frog.  She even has a cute cry, although I don't like it when she cries.  She already sounds like a little princess who hasn't gotten her way.  Of course, she does have those hysterical cries as well, but she doesn't scream.

Number three:  Well... She is just all around adorable!  Just last night, I had to go grocery shopping.  The whole family - a whopping three of us - went to Wal-Mart and it just so happens that the baby clothes are located right next to the grocery section :/  My fiance just so happened to glance over and see this adorable red and white pattern hoodie and little red pants.  He fell in love almost instantly!  We just had to get it (even though I don't have an income at the moment, and his income is just above what we need to survive, good thing I'll be back at work next month).  It was really cute, and now she has a hoodie that doesn't have some stupid little saying on it (sorry to those of you who like the sayings!).

It's not that I don't like the sayings, I just think they are tacky and don't want to dress my baby in clothes that are tacky.  It seems that my family (and the fiances as well) loves tacky clothes.  Almost everything my aunt gave me was everything she had for her baby girl who is now two.  You know, it may be kind of cute if you take the words off, but even then I don't really want to put my baby in it.  She is just too good for the polka dots that are on every single baby girls clothing, or the little kitten that says "I have the best Aunt in the world."

Not even some of the designer girls clothing looks that great.  I want to put her in something that makes her unique.  I guess I have been doing that since she wears a lot of browns (blue seems to much like a boy, especially since it all has dinosaurs on it, and I don't want to have everything she owns be pink because clothing companies think that girls can only wear pink) and greys, and mostly every other color than pink.  We even painted her room green!  You'd almost think she has a boys room from the crib sheets.

Sure, sure, I'll go ahead and stop now since I've just raved about baby clothes (a rather boring subject for a blog, if you ask me).

As a final note, I'd like to say that my writing has gone up tenfold in the past week or so.  I almost finished a short story (it has a theme of death and insanity to it, like something a student would read in his/her college reading class, or at least I hope) last night after I did a 35 minute writing exercise.  I've got two writing exercises under my belt, both 35 minutes, and I'm pretty proud considering I'm an aspiring writer who writes absolutely nothing on a daily basis.

Well, I think I'm done for the day... Bye!

A Beginning

Ok, to start off with, I'd like to introduce myself and my daughter.  We are Alicia Ann and Carolina Ann Jolie, respectively.  I chose the name Carolina Sunshine because (obviously) my daughter's name is Carolina, and she is the sunshine of my life! :)  Of course, everyone who has a daughter would think the same of their own, but... mine is just a little more special ;)

Anyway, she was born on August 31, 2012, weighing in at 8 lbs. 11.3 oz. and 20.5 inches long.  As soon as she came out the doctor said he was surprised I only had one little tear.  So, being 6 weeks old today, it would seem that I have a lot of stories to tell you about!  Well, not really.  She is pretty boring so far.  I mean, she has been awake a lot more lately, but she's not quite old enough to do the fun baby stuff, like playing with toys and having reactions to books (other than falling asleep during the day when mommy reads "Anna Karenina" out loud).

Oh, should I mention that I breastfeed?  That will definitely be a topic of many posts on here.  And perhaps the daily needs and wants of a newly made mother... Probably some things about the fiance also.

Let's see...  When Carolina was first born, the first movie I watched was Tangled.  It is my favorite movie right now :)  I have literally watched it around 30 times since she was born, that and The Aristocats.  I've recently gone on a Cinderella hitch because I got the movie just a few days ago and have watched it at least once every day.  Luckily for little Carolina, we got the collectible jewelry case as well.  Sadly, it's made of cardboard, but only so many of them were made (the Wal-Mart I got mine from only received two), so it may be worth a lot of money later.  Even if it isn't, I don't really care, my daughter has a jewelry case now!  That's more than I can say for myself (I've been searching antique shops for at least a year to find the most perfect case).

Well, enough about my little jewelry case search, and back to Carolina!  She is absolutely adorable.  She loves watching her mobile in her crib.  Sometimes I just sit in her room and reset it over and over again while I do things like put away her clothes or read and she is just as happy as can be watching the butterflies and monkeys go in circles (we picked an animal theme for her room decoration).

I think I've gone on long enough... I don't want to bore anyone! Bye!