Colonial Williamsburg

Hello! Haven't had time to post lately... been so tired! I just can't seem to sleep for more than two hours at a time... is this pregnancy's way of getting me prepared for a newborn already? But all is well, don't worry. I'm just starting to become huge! We decided last weekend that we would go down to Colonial Williamsburg (we both went there when we were kids but don't remember much). We needed a little bit of a vacation and pretty soon I won't want to spend a weekend walking all day!

Here are some pictures from there, I hope to get more posted later this week, so check back!

When we were there they were having a dying demonstration over at the weaver's house. I think all this yarn looks so pretty...



Harland's favorite place was the shoemaker's building. The guys there really knew their stuff, and told us a lot about making shoes back in the day. Now, if I ever do any time travel I'll know what to look for in a good dancing shoe. Well for guys... women had a different shop (and would bring 2 pairs of dancing shoes per dance and when they wore out threw them out...).



They used jars to keep their seedlings frost free back then. I think the glass looks pretty as well...



And what do you think this is for?

It's for raising doves for dinner. I had to ask because I couldn't figure it out, seemed too big to be a Martin house and obviously chickens wouldn't be able to get up there or fit in there!

Until next time!

Our new neighbor is so LAZY!

I haven't had time to take any pictures of the house yet, really. I'll get to that some day(and really, who wants to see pictures of rooms full of boxes?). But I caught this little guy taking a sun snooze on our fence. Cute!



I say, take a nap in a sunbeam when you can! Especially these days, what a winter! We still have about 8 inches of snow on the shady side of our yard, and on our porch. It'll be a long while yet before I can get outside and start planning my herb garden! I figure his summer I won't have much energy for full on gardening... but I love to cook with fresh herbs and they'll need less maintenance. Not that I have a huge space to garden anyway!!

Here's to thinking warm thoughts!

Baby Pictures...

Here are the sonogram pictures from yesterday... I still have to post moving pictures and snow pictures... but I have been really busy lately!

Enjoy!

What's new...

Well, actually a whole lot isn't new. I am starting to "get bigger", and I'm 17 weeks along today. It feels weird to start gaining a baby belly, as I'm sure those of you who have gone through it know. I mean, I'm not stranger to gaining weight, but baby belly appears in a different spot than where I gain weight. Also, it's kinda hard rather than squishy, so it's a totally different feeling! I knew eventually I'd start to get one, but it still came as a shock when it started... I mean for months I knew I was pregnant but the outside of me didn't change! Then the last two weeks... Bam! Expansion!

What else is new?

1. We got our first baby present, from my cousin Lisa and her family - 2 very cute rattles. It was really touching to get a surprise like that in the mail.

2. I didn't get my thank you notes and some cards I wanted to mail out. I'm bad at these things on a normal year... but these days by the time I get home, I'm tired and I'm also terribly forgetful. It's not a good combination to get anything done.

3.We've packed up some stuff we don't use daily. It's my goal to pack at least 2 boxes a day this week. I don't want to be scrambling at the end to get things done.

4. We got the appraisal on the townhome and it was for the price we're paying so all is good there! Only a few steps (and a few more weeks) to go and we'll be on our way!

5. I singlehandedly saved Northern Virginia from a bad snow storm yesterday. You see, we only got 4 inches... and it's all because I bought a snow shovel earlier this week. If I hadn't we could have gotten a lot more. But the storm stayed south just to make sure we didn't have the opportunity to shovel. Works every time. It's someone else's job to buy one next storm.

Terra Cotta Warriors

This weekend we went to see the Terra Cotta Warriors at the National Geographic Museum. If you want to know more about them you can click Here.

If you're thinking about going, make sure to order your tickets in advance. They're sold out for several weekends ahead. Harland bought these tickets for me because I had tried to buy some before Christmas and every time I chose a day, they were sold out!

It's a small museum but the exhibit was really nicely put together. They had different kinds of the warriors. Some were officers, some were horsemen or servants or government officials... others were soldiers. They're all life-sized and it was interesting to learn that they all looked different (every single of of thousands and thousands!) and at one time had been painted in brightly colored paint.

You can't take any pictures inside the exhibit, so I will have to show you these outside pictures...
Here's the museum...


Here is a picture taken through the sign on the building when were were waiting in line, looking out towards the street. I thought it was a cool effect...

And here is Harland with a fake terra cotta warrior that they had at the end for picture purposes. It's the same size as the real ones so you can get a sense of size.


It was a really nice day to go out and about - it reached 53 degrees yesterday! Perfect!

Happy Busy New Year!

I don't really have any pictures to post this week, mostly I just came on here to make sure people know I'm alive! We had a lot going on in this household this week!

1. My company merged with another so that has been pretty exciting!

2. I told my boss and co-workers the big news! We are expecting a baby in July! Now I'll have to do all kinds of planning for time off and things at work. whew!

3. We went to see several townhouses last week. We were not planning on buying any of them, but just seeing what is out there. We also went to one single family house. But the big news there is we ended up loving one of the townhomes!

4. We bid on a townhouse and it was accepted! It is in a really nice neighborhood, has lots of "Greenspace" areas (including a park across the street), has a decent (well, for this area) sized backyard and was recently remodeled with granite counter tops in the kitchen! It looks so nice! So depending on the inspections/appraisals/etc. it looks like we'll finally have a place to call home! And one with 3 bedrooms even! I am excited.

5. With all this excitement and change - unfortunately came with a cold. So I'm really rather out of it today. Which is no fun. But I'm terribly excited about all the wonderful new things going on this new year - new company, new house, new baby on the way!