Jeans! And clothes more generally

So! You know how on that end of year survey most of the Internet does, one of the questions is about describing your personal fashion concept or some such? I always kind of roll my eyes at that question and give some sort of tongue-in-cheek answer (which, I'm sorry, is fully justified by the ridiculous "fashion concept" phrasing), but the thing is, I actually DO try to dress in some sort of vaguely pulled together way, most of the time, and I feel like I've come a long way in doing that over the last couple years.

Now, I'm hardly a fashion plate, uh, at all. But! I shop at places other than Old Navy and Target for my clothing, and this is a big step up, so I'm going with it. Also, I finally got the piercing in my left ear fixed, a solid 25 years after it was first done, so that now it actually functions, and the front and back align, and it doesn't close over constantly so that I have to essentially re-pierce it (and draw blood) every time I put an earring in. So! I obtained a bunch of earrings, and I wear them every day (and night, as mandated by my piercing shop for a full year after the piercing was done), and I also wear necklaces and sometimes even watches and bracelets to match, and Annika is old enough that she no longer tries to strangle me with my own jewelry, and I even got some gold stuff in addition to my safe-staple silver stuff, and so now I can... accessorize? Kind of? I'm still not a crazy over the top accessory type, or even a statement necklace type, but I do try to have at least a necklace and earrings to complement my outfits pretty much every day, and that's a big step up for me.

OK, so, back to the subject at hand, the clothing itself. The vast majority of the clothing that I own and actually like and wear regularly is from Loft, Lands' End, and Boden. You see that I've taken a step forward past Old Navy and Target, but I'm not exactly wearing couture over here. But I love, in particular, tops and dresses from Loft (my hips are too wide to fit into most of their pants), dresses from Lands' End, and pretty much everything from Boden (though they are a more recent discovery for me and I have not yet dared to try pants from them--but I don't even wear their biggest size in most tops and skirts so I'm thinking I need to bite the bullet and at least try some of their pants). In the summer I more or less live in lightweight dresses (the Lands' End fit and flare features heavily) and the occasional maxi skirt. My Olukai flip flops are my most-worn summer shoe (I'm sorry, this whole "polished" look is still a work in progress) but I have obtained a variety of flat sandals that are cute and at least somewhat practical for wearing out and about, and I try to force myself to reach for those more often. (Please note, also, that as I work from home, officewear isn't really an issue for me other than for the occasional business trip, so my wardrobe is by and large very casual.)

You'll notice that what's missing from the above is pants. Jeans, specifically. I... well, even though I kind of feel like today's current fashions are very reminiscent of the eighties in tone, and I suspect that in 10-15 years we will look back at photos of ourselves in these clothes and cringe, I kind of love a lot of the current fashions, particularly in jeans. I have fully embraced the skinny jean (it allows us to show off all our cute shoes and boots! I am on board with this!) and also the colored jean. I had a pair of red jeans from Old Navy about a year ago that are sadly now too big, and since then I have no been able to find a decent-fitting pair of colored jeans. Also, jeans are the only thing that I still buy at Old Navy. I wear their rockstar super skinny jeans and like them a lot, for what they are. They fit well, they are affordable, they are available in lots of washes... and they are cheap, and they start to sag and stretch quite quickly after purchase. Because they are so cheap, this is not a big deal because they can quickly be replaced, but you know what I would really like? Jeans that are actually of decent quality.

I've been holding off on doing this for a couple reasons. One, between my lap-band and two pregnancies, my weight has been quite in flux for the last few years, and it has made me hesitate on investing real money into a pair of jeans that might not fit for all that long. Two, and relatedly, I am very very pear shaped, so while I can usually pull off straight-size tops (see above re my love of Loft) and even skirts if they aren't cut too straight, the same is not true of pants. So I was afraid that even if I decided to invest in a couple pairs of high-quality designer jeans, I wouldn't find any that fit me properly.

But recently, well. I'm pretty close to my pre-pregnancy weight at this point, and while the weight loss continues, it is slow and steady, and also, it takes me a lot of pounds (like, well over 20) to lose a dress size, so even if I shrink out of my jeans eventually, it will be a slow process, and in the meantime I've spent a lot of years wearing crappy cheap jeans while waiting to be a small enough size to justify something nicer, and I'm sick of it. I want good jeans! And damn it, I'm going to invest in some. I did poke around Nordstrom (another newly beloved store for me) and was surprised to find that their plus size jeans selection was sorely (SORELY) lacking--some Not Your Daughter's Jeans and... that's it--so I'm thinking I'm going to need to figure out an alternative. Like, what brand should I be looking for, and where should I be looking for it? Friends have made a few recommendations to start me off (Paige and Kut from the Kloth--though I'm not convinced I'd fit into the size 34 from Paige and also it seems to be rarer than unicorn dust to actually FIND a size 34 from Paige even though it theoretically exists--and Kut from the Kloth has plus sizes but the selection appears quite limited in terms of both color and style) but that is as far as I've gotten.

So! I'm on a mission! Find myself some decent jeans! Just one pair, for now! I'm somewhere in the range of a size 18-20 in pants, which sadly means I'm just slightly sized out of most straight-sized lines of jeans, which typically end at a 16. But if you know of any that, say, run big? Or make plus sizes? Or that you've heard good things about? Or have ideas about stores to look at to find out these things (this is where I thought Nordstrom would come through for me, only to be sadly disappointed)? I am all ears. Tell me about your jeans!

Holiday cards: branching out

This is a sponsored post. Minted is giving me a credit toward my holiday card order for writing this post.

You know, I've only ever ordered holiday cards from one place, because they had a good reputation and I connected with them, so I never looked elsewhere. But this year, I've been hearing lots of people talk about Minted holiday cards on Twitter, and saying that they're fantastic quality with great designs. So when I got the opportunity to work with Minted on their holiday card campaign, I jumped at it. And it turns out, as always, that Twitter was right.

A whole new site meant a whole new collection of cards to admire and choose from. I still haven't made my final selection, because we did some newborn and family shots with our favorite photographer, and I'm waiting on the proofs to decide which one to use and then see which design fits. Also, I'm very particular about my card design: I always like flat cards, and generally I prefer one big picture, although considering how many shots our photographer took of just Callum and Annika, I may want a design that allows for one big and a couple small photos. And as usual, I'm looking for something that isn't too Christmas-specific, since I am half Jewish and many of our friends and family members who will be receiving this card don't celebrate Christmas. For these reasons, I am loving that Minted offers quite a few of their designs with customizable options--you can choose flat or folder, and opt for Christmas, holiday, or New Year's text. Based on my in-depth perusal of the Minted site, here are some of my favorite options.

Brushed gold:

Glittery holiday cheer:

Bright stripes:

Wordsmith:

Merry merry:

If any of you are interested in purchasing your holiday cards from Minted this year, they are currently running a discount offer: use the coupon code BELLS to get 15% off an order of $150 or more, or 10% off an order of $100 or more, until November 18.

Winner! And bonus video

Thanks to everyone who entered last week's Tiny Prints giveaway. I turned to trusty Random.org to select a winner:

Commenter number 36 is Beth! Beth, I don't see an email address on your blog so I will try to contact you through a comment or you can just email me directly: duwaxloolu at gmail.

And let's call this video a consolation prize: Callum likes to pretend to read books and then slam them shut and yell "all done!" and it's really very adorable. Also kind of a pain when he "reads" every single book on his shelf and then throws them all on the floor, but whatever. It's cute anyway.

Holiday cards + Tiny Prints giveaway

This is a sponsored post. Tiny Prints is giving me a credit toward my holiday card order to write this post. They've also provided me a giveaway for a reader.

We did our annual family photos about a week ago (with the same amazing photographer we used for last year's family photos and for our maternity photos) and while I wait impatiently to see the images, I've been perusing the Tiny Prints website to start narrowing down the holiday cards I like.

First of all, here is the card we sent out last year:

Now. What I learned last year is that it is totally futile to try to pick a design using a stand-in photo, because the composition and coloring of the final photo selection will be totally different. So this year I didn't even bother with that. I just went straight for the card designs I liked best, and once we get the images from our photographer then that will definitely inform the final choice of design.

As far as parameters: I want something that is not religious or holiday-specific, as we ourselves are a mixed holiday couple and our friends and family celebrate all different combinations of holidays. I like flat cards, preferably, but not necessarily, rectangular. I don't like our last name to be enormously prominent. I generally like designs with just one big photo on the front, especially because Tiny Prints lets you put two small photos on the back, which we did last year, in part because our front photo didn't feature Montana and in part because we had so many amazing photos of just Callum that we had to share at least one:

Beyond that, all I want is something visually appealing and not too hokey. So. Here are the designs I'm leaning toward this year. It seems like they break down into a few basic categories.

Language or design/color scheme that isn't overtly Christmas-y, but still invokes Christmas:

Structured for family news, which makes me feel awkward/I don't know what I would write, but I'd love to get this kind of newsy card from other people so maybe I should get over myself:

Basic wintry:

Anyway. Soon enough we'll have our photos and then I can actually make a choice! And order the cards! And send them out! And then it will really feel like the holiday season has begun.

In the meantime, Tiny Prints is offering a giveaway for one reader: $50 off your holiday card order. To enter, leave a comment here by Friday night and I'll pick a winner at random. And if you're interested in ordering from Tiny Prints whether you win a giveaway or not, check out their special offers page.

And here's a comment prompt for people who want to enter the contest: tell me about your holiday card habits. Do you send one out most years? Does it have a photo? How do you normally display the holiday cards you receive?

A shopping mindset

I haven't posted in a few days because Sandy has been consuming everyone, myself included even though I'm nicely landlocked and far away from the storm and the weather here has been beautiful, but it felt wrong to be posting other stuff when my Twitter stream is full of damaged houses and displaced people. But... well, gotta get back to it, right? And what better topic to start with than the deeply serious topic of shopping? But seriously, to my East Coast friends, here's hoping that your power comes back soon and the damage is minimal and your insurance companies and landlords are cooperative. I'm so glad that you're all safe.

So, on the shopping thing. I... don't do it much. I used to do it a lot more, and then Torsten quit his job and we buckled down on our budget and I stopped shopping pretty much entirely. But then, after awhile, I wasn't the sole breadwinner anymore but... I just didn't quite pick up the shopping bug again. And I think that's for the best. I think that time we spent on one income was a really good wake-up call for us on what things are worth spending money on for us (high-quality groceries, travel, our house) and what things we didn't actually miss (tons of meals out, new clothes).

But every now and then I do realize that I need something specific, and I go to the mall and I walk around and look at the stores and try things on and it's kind of great. It used to be that whenever there was something specific I was looking for, I was pretty much guaranteed that I wouldn't find it. And I'm sure I'll run into that luck again soon. But my two most recent trips to the mall have been shockingly successful. First I went looking for boots and skinny jeans, and actually found both, AND I didn't buy anything else at the mall, despite browsing pretty much every store there, so I consider that a win. And then, more recently, I decided I wanted a nice, warm winter sweater and I went to the mall and found one almost immediately (at Banana Republic, where I almost didn't bother looking because I never used to fit into their stuff and I forget that now sometimes I actually do, and also it was on sale so extra win).

Of course, that second trip I did actually buy a few things I wasn't on a mission for, including a couple shirts for Callum and a Christmas gift for my mom and a shirt for myself, but you know what the nice thing is when you don't shop very often? You don't feel bad about a few unplanned purchases because they are such a rare occurrence.

There's something about shopping that's very addictive. Blogging makes this worse. You look at all these photos of people in these nice clothes and you see the latest fashions and you start to think that maybe you should revamp your wardrobe, too. And then you go to the mall and all the stores are so appealing and everyone is so friendly and it's so relaxing, at least if your husband has stayed home with the baby so there's nobody to whine or complain (and yes I'm referring to both husband and baby in this particular instance; if anything I think Torsten is more likely to whine while shopping than Callum is). And you find yourself just... coveting. At least, I find myself coveting and I assume I'm not the only one, given how many bag-laden people I pass at the mall.

I've gotten pretty good at resisting the urge to give in to my coveting. I'm good at analyzing whether I really LOVE something, whether I'll really get a lot of use out of it, or whether I just think I like it because it's shiny and different. And I'm also pretty good at accepting it if I do determine that I love something and will wear it regularly. I can buy it, assuming the price is reasonable, without massive amounts of guilt. I don't sneak shopping bags into the house so that Torsten won't see.

But... two trips to the mall and I can see the mindset coming back. I saw all this nice jewelry at the mall and started realizing that I have never been great at accessorizing, and even less so since having Callum since he grabs at everything, and thinking that now that he's older that's something I'd like to start doing more of, and shouldn't I start looking for good jewelry? Which, of course, would necessitate another trip to the mall on a jewelry mission. But at what point are you just manufacturing shopping missions because you're just in a buying kind of mood, and you want more stuff?

I'm not a minimalist. I do care a lot about experiences and will pay for them, but I've also found that there are certain things, the kind of things that a lot of bloggers sneer at, that I do care about and that do enhance my daily life. I'm OK with that. I don't see a problem with enjoying shopping, as long as you exercise restraint and do it within your means. But still... somehow I'm just seeing that shopping can be a mindset, and it's one that I used to be in, and then I wasn't anymore, and now I can see how easy it would be to go back to that mindset. And I wouldn't mind going somewhat back into it. Not shopping at all when we were on a single income? Sucked. A lot. But hopefully the experience, in the long run, will help me find some middle ground, and not just be some temporary blip.

So what about you? Do you shop often? What stuff do you think is worth the money? Do you feel like there's a mindset behind being a frequent shopper, and if so, do you think you're in that mindset?

More about holiday cards

This is a sponsored post. Tiny Prints is giving me 50 free holiday cards to write a post about holiday cards. If you want to do the same, fill out this form.
We've been doing holiday cards for the last few years, but we've never done a photo card before--unless you count Callum's birth announcement, which, since he was born in January, we sent out in place of a regular holiday card with the line "Celebrating the new year with our new addition." So, I guess I should say we've never done a photo card with ourselves on it. But as you might have guessed from my previous post, that's about to change.

I've been perusing the Tiny Prints holiday card selection for a few weeks now, and had a whole bunch saved to my projects using a stand-in photo while I waited to get the images from our professional photo session. Here's a tip: it's REALLY HARD to even try to pick a holiday card when you don't yet have the photo you'll be using. Yes, really. You're welcome. Nonetheless, I'm excited about holiday cards and I came up with quite the list of potential designs.

Dotted Cheer. I HEART this one so much. But it requires juuuuuust the right photo to make it work, in terms of color (black and white is pretty much necessary), positioning (to the right, obviously) and white space (need lots of it, on the left). But if you can make it work? LOVE.


Magic Behind Windows. I think this is such a cool design. Yes, it's technically supposed to be from newlyweds. But all the text is customizable, so you could easily come up with something else to say in order to make it work even if you aren't newlyweds. You also have to find just the right photo so that crucial parts of people's faces don't get cut off.


Charmed Tab. This one is simple and lovely. But I'm not totally sure how I feel about square cards.


Stylishly Striped. Sweet and classic. But again with the square thing, and also you'd need a really top-heavy photo to make it work.


All Things Sparkle. I think this is lovely. But is the sentiment too hokey? And also, you need the photo to be in a very gray color scheme in order for this not to look jarring.


And which one of these did we choose? (Or was it even one of these?) Well, honestly? Too many of my real-life friends and family read my blog. So I'm not revealing it here. I'm also not revealing which photo it featured. Sorry! But half the fun of receiving a holiday card is not knowing what to expect until you open the envelope, and I will not be ruining that. Because ruining other people's fun isn't holiday-ish at all.

Baby gear we would do differently

When I was pregnant and trying to figure out what baby stuff to get, it felt like the big trend was for people to say, "Only first-time moms buy stuff ahead of time. You don't need anything! Don't waste your money!" And while I appreciate the sentiment behind that (wipe warmer? Not necessary), I didn't find it helpful. Because despite the people chirping, "You don't need a crib! The baby will sleep with you! You don't need a stroller! That's what your arms are for!" I DID want a crib and a stroller. And a swing. And a glider. And a bunch of other stuff. And you know what? When the baby came, I was GLAD I had the stuff.

(The swing, by the way, was the number one thing that people said not to buy ahead of time. The baby might hate it! It costs so much! Just get one later if you need it! But I decided to take the risk on the swing, figuring that even if Callum hated it, the next baby might like it, and if not, since I bought it used on Craigslist, I could probably resell it and make most of my money back. And you know what? Callum DID like the swing, and we used it SO MUCH, and you know what I'm really glad I wasn't doing two days postpartum on one hour of sleep? Rushing out to Target to pay full price for an inferior quality swing because I was desperate.)

Anyway. My point is, I carefully researched baby products and purchased only what I thought we would actually need and use. And we made the executive decision to only buy things that we thought we would need right away. High chair? Bouncy seat? Jumperoo? All things that could (and did) wait. But Callum slept in his crib from his first day home. He napped in his swing. He bathed in his tub. And so on. All that stuff that we bought ahead of time? We used every single item. And I was really glad we had it.

All this is just a really long intro to say, if you're an expecting parent thinking you don't need all that junk? Great. Don't buy it. I'm sure you're right. But if you're thinking you DO need all that junk, and you WOULD like to have it, and now you're wondering if you're just being silly and naive to buy it? I don't think so. I mean, make careful choices, do your research, and only buy what you think will make sense for you, while of course understanding that some things might work better than others for your particular baby. But don't feel like you're being a ridiculous first-timer by getting stuff ahead of time. People's instincts are usually pretty accurate as far as what they think will fit into their lives and what won't be necessary. So if you think something will be useful and you want to have it? Buy it. We did, and I'm so glad.

Now. All that said, there ARE a few things that we learned from experience were not perfectly suited to us. Things that we actually ended up doing changing after a few months of experimenting. This still doesn't mean that the way we originally did things wouldn't work for a lot of people. But the lessons we learned are, I think, worth sharing.

1. Stroller.
We started with the Chicco Cortina stroller, which was purchased in a travel system along with the Chicco Keyfit 30 car seat. The travel system was so steeply discounted that it was almost the same price as the car seat alone. Since car seats should not be purchased used anyway, we were going to have to pay full price for it, so the sale price of the travel system made the stroller nearly free. And we used it for ages. And we liked it a lot. We still do, actually. It has great suspension. The car seat fits into it. It has a regular seat that reclines fully. It has an adjustable handle. It has a giant, accessible storage basket and lots of cup holders. It's awesome.

And it's also HUGE. It fills the entire trunk of our car. Even our SUV. It is FANTASTIC for around the neighborhood, but it is not so great for around town. So then we purchased an umbrella stroller to keep in the trunk (well, we put it on our registry and received it as a gift). It's the First Years Ignite, and I think of it as a compromise stroller. It's lighter and folds down relatively small, but it's still not super tiny and weightless. It has a sunshade, but not a huge one. It has decently high handles but Torsten (at 6'4") still has to bend a bit to push it. It's pretty sturdy but it's not great on dirt trails and hikes. It has a basket, but it's not very accessible. The seat reclines, but not all the way. So, it does a lot and as an umbrella stroller it's great. But we still prefer the Chicco, if only it didn't take up our entire trunk.

Enter the CityMini. We actually decided to get this when we got our SUV, because Montana rides in the back of the SUV, and there wasn't room for both her and the Chicco stroller back there, which meant that the umbrella stroller was our only option, which wasn't very helpful when we wanted to go on a hike. So I did a bunch of research and decided to splash out on a more expensive stroller that does everything at once. It's lightweight. It folds up small (and with one hand). It has big wheels and good suspension. The handle is high. The sunshade is huge. It's incredibly maneuverable. The seat reclines very far. And, for our next kid (since Callum has already outgrown his infant seat, rendering this a moot point for him), we can get a converter that allows us to fit the car seat into it.

Basically, I love this stroller. It is totally worth the money to me to have one stroller that does everything and fits in our car. We leave it in our trunk and we keep the Chicco set up in our garage for neighborhood walks. But it would also be great as a one-and-only stroller, as long as you don't mind taking it in and out of the car. And I think we'll donate our umbrella stroller to a battered women's shelter or something.

2. Dresser.
Sadly, when I was pregnant our Ikea hadn't opened yet. So we selected a simple dresser from Land of Nod, which my parents gave to us as a Christmas gift. We got a (fantastic) non-skid changing pad to put on top of it and ta-da! Changing table. And for a long time it worked great. The changing pad took up nearly the entire dresser, but we squished wipes and lotion on the end of it, and we keep our diapers in a basket next to the dresser anyway, so it was fine. But then Callum got bigger. And squirmier. And suddenly every diaper change involved wrestling toiletries away from him while listening to constant crashes as he knocked whatever he hadn't grabbed on the floor.

Conveniently, our Ikea finally opened at just around that time. So we purchased this dresser. See how long it is? It is GLORIOUS. Callum can kick and roll and grab to his heart's content, and nothing gets knocked over. Plus there's room for everything we want to keep on there, even a lamp! And bonus: more drawers for clothing. So, the old dresser is in the bedroom that currently serves as my office, and will be put back into service once Callum is potty trained and graduates to a big-kid bedroom.

3. Diaper bag.
When I was pregnant, I read a bunch of diaper bag reviews and selected the Skip Hop Duo. A sale and a coupon allowed me to buy it for cheap at Macy's, which is convenient because we don't use it anymore. There isn't really anything wrong with it--though it's a bit narrow, which can make it hard to find things in the main compartment--but it was a pain to carry. It does have nice stroller clips, but when you just want to grab the bag and the baby? It was a little unwieldy. I probably would have stuck with it, but Torsten really hated it. So I bought him an Eddie Bauer backpack-style diaper bag for Father's Day, and now we both always use that one. It's just so nice to be able to put it on your back instead of having it weigh you down on one side and swing around clunkily while you're trying to wrangle a baby. The Skip Hop has been retired (though I did transfer its changing pad into the Eddie Bauer, since I found the Eddie Bauer changing pad inferior). Maybe I'll donate the Skip Hop to a shelter with the stroller, now that I think about it.

4. High chair.
Originally we purchased a Fisher Price high chair/booster seat combo instead of a more traditional seat. And I still think it's a great concept. So cheap! So easy! So compact! Straps right onto your dining room chair! And the reasons that this didn't work out for us are very specific to our particular baby and furniture. We have nice microsuede dining chairs that we did not want the baby eating (and spilling) on. So we put the seat on one of our old wooden Ikea dining chairs that was very compact and lightweight, with straight up and down legs. And our child is very large, and very squirmy. And the combination of these factors meant that Callum would bounce around during meals and rock his chair right off two of its legs in a terrifying manner. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before he managed to tip the chair over entirely and land on his head with a chair and booster seat on top of him. So we splashed out for a more traditional high chair, the Graco Contempo. And it works great. It's comfortable. It's nice. It's easy to clean. And best of all, it's sturdy. Callum can bounce in there with all his might, but that thing is not going anywhere.

So, those are the main things we've learned and changed as we've dealt with a real baby instead of just a theoretical one over the past nine months. (And by the way, Amazon Affiliates isn't allowed in Colorado so I don't benefit from people clicking those links--they're there purely for reference.)

So now it's your turn. What are some things that seemed great at first, but wound up just not working for you and your baby? And what did you end up doing (or what would you do next time) instead?

Bloggy gratitude

You guys. In the past week or so, guess how many boxes of AWESOME baby stuff have showed up in the mail for us?

Three.

Guess how many of them are from awesome, generous, amazing bloggers whom I've never even met in person?

THREE.

First, The New Girl went far, far, far above and beyond the contest of hers that I won and sent me a whole box of pregnancy/new parent stuff. Huge piles of books. Baby wraps (including a Moby wrap! Which I had on our registry). Blankets (including a Miracle Blanket! Which I had on our registry). Nursing covers. And on and on. It is like the Mary Poppins carpet bag, only for newborns. And it is AWESOME.

Then, Erica sent a big box of maternity clothes, really nice ones from Old Navy, a whole set of jeans and long sleeve shirts and sweaters, basically an entire maternity wardrobe. All of it lovely, all of it in great condition, all of it stuff I would have picked myself. All in a box for ME ME ME. Except, one thing wasn't for me--a teeny tiny pair of adorable Keds that I cannot WAIT to put on Piglet.

And lastly, Kate sent me an amazing package of adorable, barely-worn newborn boy clothes that her own son grew out of almost immediately. There's a snowsuit and a whole adorable set of onesies, pants, hats, and other insanely cute tiny baby clothes. A whole entire newborn WARDROBE was in that box.

All of this! From people I know exclusively through our blogs. From people who are just really incredibly nice and thoughtful and giving.

This baby is already so loved and spoiled, even by people he's never met. And, another lovely benefit: it makes me feel pretty freaking loved and spoiled myself. Everybody wins!

Low-budget shopping

So. Our ultrasound is NEXT WEEK. I mean, OK, it's next THURSDAY, which means it's not IN a week, it's really in a week and a half. But still. NEXT WEEK.

Weird as this might sound, since we are planning to find out the sex (assuming Piglet is willing to share that info with us), that little tidbit of information is actually not the number one thing I'm looking forward to about this ultrasound. Mostly it's getting to see Piglet up close and personal and check in on all that development stuff. We haven't really SEEN the baby since the ultrasound at 8.5 weeks (the photo I posted when I announced I was pregnant). And at that time the baby was a bean-shaped blob and we couldn't see much more than the heartbeat.

Then of course we did get a quick glimpse at 12 weeks, when the midwife couldn't find the heartbeat with the Doppler, but that was with the terrible-quality bedside machine. Have I told that little story? Basically we knew that at 12 weeks it really depends on a variety of factors whether the Doppler can pick up the heartbeat or not, so we knew it was a possibility that we wouldn't hear it, but after a few minutes of the midwife poking around my abdomen with the Doppler wand it started to get a little panic-inducing, not hearing anything.

Of course I'd made the mistake of making the appointment for the very end of the day on a Friday, so after a few minutes the midwife, seeing that we were nervous and in need of confirmation that everything was OK, called the ultrasound department to see if they could fit me in real quick. But they were already closed, so she reluctantly pulled out her bedside machine, warning us that it was really not good quality and she hates to use it because it often leaves more questions than answers. And then she poked around for a minute before saying, "Oh, I see the yolk sac," which scared the shit out of me because there shouldn't BE a yolk sac at 12 weeks (at that point the placenta has taken over) so I immediately started thinking that the baby had stopped growing and the yolk sac had never gone away.

And then just as the midwife said, "Oh, that's not the yolk sac, that's the head," Piglet jumped. The whole body seriously leapt, like it had been poked (and maybe it had). And then we got a better angle and saw the head in profile, and the baby kicking its legs and waving its arms, and then we saw the heartbeat, so that was a lovely, reassuring moment. But, as the midwife had warned us, the quality wasn't good. We didn't get to see a whole lot (though we could see that there were basic things, like, you know, legs and arms, and a nose), or even figure out the heart rate, and we certainly didn't get any pictures to print out and take home with us.

(Though I will say that DAMN if that baby didn't look EXACTLY like Torsten. Yes, I know I'm smoking crack and a blurry image of a 12-week-old fetus doesn't look like ANYONE, but I SWEAR. I think it was the shape of the head.)

Anyway! The point is, we haven't had a proper ultrasound since early June, so I am really looking forward to getting a real look at the baby, a good one on a proper ultrasound machine, one that takes a long time with a tech who shows us our baby's face and spine and heart and all the rest. And finding out the sex will definitely be awesome but I am more interested in making sure that Piglet is developing normally.

BUT, as far as planning is concerned, the sex thing? Super important. We've done some shopping already, picking up random cute things that we've found on sale, figuring it's good to get gender-neutral stuff because if there's a second baby down the line that isn't the same sex as Piglet, the stuff will be usable for both. And we're doing our nursery in turquoise, yellow, and white, which we feel is a completely gender-neutral color combination. Speaking of which, the rug I ordered arrived, and we are in love:


But what we've discovered is that it's HARD to find gender-neutral stuff. Even if it's not bright pink or whatever, it often has ruffles, or puffed sleeves, or a very boyish-looking polo-style collar, or whatever. And while I would happily dress a daughter in blue and not care about strangers thinking she was a boy, the sex of the baby will most definitely impact a lot of our baby clothing choices.

SO. The point here is that after the ultrasound, we are totally going shopping. And it's a bit of a struggle because if this were last year when Torsten still had his old job, we would have a decent amount of disposable income and could go crazy with the shopping. But this year, the company is doing great and is ahead of schedule but isn't producing income yet, so we have no real money. We obviously discussed this when we decided to get pregnant, and we've budgeted for a certain amount of necessary baby stuff and a few not-so-necessary-but-still-adorable items. But it's hard to pull the trigger on that stuff.

In fact, I've been checking out sales for weeks. You can get five-packs of onesies at the Carter's outlet for $8 to $10. You can get adorable, high-quality pajamas and other baby stuff at Costco for under $5 apiece. You can stumble into Old Navy on the weekend when they happen to be giving an extra 50% off clearance prices and get a bunch of baby outfits for $2 to $3 apiece. And then you start to feel like anything over $4 is pretty much a completely outrageous price for baby clothing.

Which, really, is a GOOD way to feel. Going crazy with disposable income on all sorts of unnecessary baby stuff would be fun, for sure, but it doesn't have to be this way. Having a very limited income means that we have to be much more discerning in our choices, and really at the end of the day that will probably work out for the best.

However, in anticipation of finding out Piglet's sex, I've been thinking about this shopping thing. I have an Old Navy gift card burning a hole in my wallet, and I invested in that 50% off Gap Groupon the other day with plans of blowing the whole thing at Baby Gap once we know boy or girl (Gap clothes tend to be highly gendered, from what I've noticed in my browsing there). The Groupon requires spending a full $50 at once, so my hope/plan is to get a bunch of cheap stuff off the clearance rack and maybe round out the purchase with one splurge on something adorable that isn't on sale. But I'm not even GOING to Baby Gap until we know the sex. Unless the baby keeps its legs crossed at the ultrasound. (Note to Piglet: PLEASE don't do that. Thank you.)

Oh! AND this past week the price of the crib we want dropped again, to $50 below the price it was listed at when we first selected it, so after some dithering, we bought it. And it's on its way to our house right now. A crib. For a BABY to sleep in. OMG.

Registered

Today I am exactly 18 weeks pregnant, and almost exactly 5 months away from my due date. That is starting to sound like I am seriously pregnant, huh? In just over two weeks we have the big ultrasound, and after that, when we (hopefully) know the baby's sex and (please please please) have seen that it is developing healthily and on schedule, it will feel really... real. Like it's really going to happen. Though it's starting to feel that way, a little bit, now. I still have twinges and flutters that I am pretty sure are baby movements, but they're so faint and fast that it's hard to know for sure.

In the meantime, we still haven't bought anything to prepare for the baby other than a few prints to hang in the nursery and now, as of yesterday, a rug. It is gorgeous, and much more affordable than most rugs, and fits perfectly with the color scheme of the room, and it was the last one in stock. So, I pulled the trigger and now we'll see a) if it was really in stock and actually shows up, and b) if it's as nice as it looks in the picture.

But still, we haven't bought anything that is definitively BABY, like, you know, a crib. And we won't start doing all that until after the 20-week ultrasound. However, we have made some definite progress. And by "definite progress," I mean we braved Babies R Us (why oh why do we not have a Buy Buy Baby in Denver yet?) and a local baby store to check out in person some of the baby items we've been researching online.

And it was productive, really. Babies R Us surprised me with the staff's helpfulness and knowledge. We had a detailed conversation about strollers with one employee, and a very helpful discussion about baby carriers with another. I know, it sounds beyond fascinating to the rest of you, but it really was so useful.

We didn't buy anything, but we came away with a clear idea of what we do and do not want. We want the slightly more expensive Baby Bjorn that comes with the extra waist strap for lumbar support. We do not want an expensive crib, lovely as they are, because the point of investing in expensive furniture is that it lasts a lifetime, and this crib will not be used for more than two kids, so we would prefer a cheaper crib that still gets top ratings for safety. We do not want to spend the extra money on a super lightweight urban stroller, because we don't have to worry about carrying it on buses or subways or stairs. We do love the stroller we've picked out, in part because it has an adjustable handle that works for the 8-inch height spread between Torsten and me (and also because it has the nice manly features of excellent steering and suspension, apparently). And so on.

When we got home we fleshed out our registry considerably. The registry, while obviously a useful thing for anyone who wants to buy us a baby gift, is really more of a shopping list for ourselves, since we have almost nothing of what we need, baby-wise, and expect to purchase most of it ourselves (though we will look into getting some of it used). Almost nothing on the registry is still rated "nice to have" (code for "still needs research")--the only exceptions being cloth diapers, bookcases, and winter outfits. Everything else is a decision--we definitely want this. Crib, changing table, swing, bouncy seat, stroller, car seat, baby carrier and sling, pack n play, monitor, even a diaper bag.

I feel very accomplished about this. And also very pregnant (even though I know I am only going to get much bigger and waddle-ier) because the exertion of visiting two baby stores in one day was enough to wear me right out. When we got home from Babies R Us I had to spend a full hour collapsed on the couch with a glass of water to recover.

And it's not just shopping. On Sunday we took the dog to the state park for a walk. We went not that far, and while it was sunny it wasn't that hot, and the walk was in no way strenuous, and yet by the end I was red-faced and panting, and again, required an hour on the couch to recover. I think it's about the time spent? Because I can do my usual half hour of cardio at the gym with no problem. OK, maybe the sun was a factor too.

Anyway! Isn't it funny how it's all a mental game? We haven't actually DONE anything, or acquired anything that we need, but the fact that we've made decisions and have a shopping list, otherwise known as a plan of action, is enough to make me feel like we are moving forward and starting to get ready for an actual baby.

The other thing that makes me feel like we're getting ready for an actual baby? Is looking at all this stuff designed for an actual baby, and realizing that soon there will BE an actual baby IN all this stuff. This especially hit home when the Babies R Us employee was showing us how to fit the Baby Bjorn appropriately for Torsten's height. He was standing there wearing an empty baby carrier while we envisioned where the baby's head would be on his body, and it was like, whoa. In just a few months he's going to be wearing a carrier just like this, but there will be an actual baby in there, with an actual baby head, close enough to Torsten's own head for him to smell.

How awesome is that?

Baby sleeping options

We started a baby registry. It feels early for one, but this isn't something that we are disseminating at this point. Rather, we are using it as a shopping list/research tracker. We have researched and selected some of the basics that we want--like the crib and stroller and car seat--and added those to the registry for our own future reference. We have also put a bunch of placeholder things on there as reminders that we still need to figure out whether we want them, and if we do, exactly what it is that we want.

Luckily, Amazon is perfect for this. They have pretty much everything ever, and they allow you to categorize your list into "must have," "like to have," and "nice to have." So, I am categorizing as I go. If it is on there as a placeholder and has yet to be decided upon/researched, it is "nice to have." If we know for a fact that we definitely want it, it is "must have" or "like to have."

Basically, it's super convenient. Except that when I look at the registry, my head starts spinning because over half of it is still "nice to have." In other words: we have no freaking clue.

Some things that still fall in the "nice to have" category on our list (and this is not a complete list because looking at everything we still need to figure out at once would probably cause my head to explode, and plus we're only talking about baby gear here, and not all the other stuff we need to figure out, like oh, I don't know, daycare? AGH):

• Bathing mechanism
• Cloth diapers (research questions remaining to be addressed: do we want to do cloth diapers? If so, what kind? But that is a subject for another post)
• Breast pump
• Bouncy seat
• Swing
• Baby monitor
• Bassinet/co-sleeper

Let's talk about this last one, shall we? I started this conversation last night on Twitter and people had a lot of advice and opinions, which was great, but my head started to spin trying to keep track of all the 140-character responses, so I thought really we should move this conversation to the blog. So here we are!

Here is what we were basically thinking: get the crib. Set it up in the nursery. Try to use it for naps during the day (though according to Twitter the baby will sleep in all sorts of random places, and mostly on me, for at least the first six weeks). Set up some sort of sleeping mechanism like a bassinet or a co-sleeper in our bedroom, within arm's reach for easy access, to use at night.

But everyone has different opinions about this. And here's what it seems to boil down to: every baby is different, and sleeps differently, and has different preferences, and responds well or poorly to different things.

The gall! I mean seriously, why don't all babies come out the same, with an easy set of things to do that they will like and things to avoid that they won't like? And, barring that, I think we should get some sort of, I don't know, advance notice. Like hey, your baby won't sleep for the first six months. Or hey, your baby needs a swing to sleep, ever. Or hey, your baby will scream its head off if you put it in the bouncy seat.

I'm thinking like a weekly update from the uterus? This could also provide some much-desired information on the health and development of the baby. Two birds with one stone!

But, OK, this solution seems unlikely to appear sometime in the next six months (side note: my due date is exactly six months from today!), so let's discuss more realistic options.

First of all, I get it: We can't know. We can try to prepare, and do research and pick what we think will be the best option, but until Piglet gets here and starts showing us what does and doesn't work, we can't know. So we need to be prepared to be flexible.

Second of all: given that half of what we prepare for probably won't work, we'd rather not spend a ton of money on an array of baby products that wind up being totally useless. On the other hand, we don't want to have to stick the baby in a dresser drawer while we try to figure out what will work for it in the long run. A middle ground would be nice.

Third of all: we aren't interested in co-sleeping with the baby in our bed with us. This is the only given we've been able to agree on. It's just not for us. We definitely want the baby to have its own defined, separate sleep space. Even if it's one foot from our bed.

So now what? Do we buy some sort of bassinet or co-sleeper and assume the baby will sleep there at night? Do we try to make it sleep in its crib round the clock? Do we just give up and put the crib in our bedroom from the start? Do we do something else entirely?

Complicating factors: apparently the AAP says the safest place, from a SIDS perspective, for a baby to sleep is in its parents' room? I deal with a SIDS project at work, and I've edited a ton of science-based documents about SIDS prevention, and I had never heard of this recommendation until last night. Does this really make a difference? Or is it some sort of political middle ground? Also, is it really recommended for the baby to sleep in its parents' room until it's six months old? That seems like an awfully long time.

Also, I know that the point of having the kid near you is for middle-of-the-night nursing/convenience, but several people have pointed out to me that after the kid eats, it needs to be burped and have its diaper changed, so you end up getting up anyway. How does this actually work, in reality, from those of you who have been there? Is it really easier to have the kid right there? And if so, where do you change its diaper?

And, people say that their kid only slept in a bouncy seat/hated the bouncy seat/only slept in the swing/hated the swing. Is there a majority that prefers one or the other? What did/does your own kid prefer? And how do you find out if the kid hates the bouncy seat/swing without buying one to try out?

Plus, our house is two stories, with the bedrooms upstairs and the living areas downstairs. Does this mean we will want some sort of downstairs sleeping contraption as well? Will a bouncy seat/swing be sufficient, assuming Piglet doesn't hate both these things, or do we want a Pack N Play/bassinet/dresser drawer/I don't even know?

I understand that we can't answer all these questions before the baby is born, really I do. But my question really is, what CAN we do before the baby is born? Can we try to figure out what would work best for us, and plan for that, on the off-chance that the Piglet will comply with whatever sleeping situation we set up first? Are there certain things we can/should have on hand in advance? And what can wait until after the kid is actually here?

First world problems

I'm sick of living on one income.

I mean, it's not that hard, really, not at all. We can afford our mortgage and our car payment and all our other necessary bills. We have cut a lot of things out, like eating out, and hardly miss them. We have a great quality of life and consider ourselves very lucky. My salary is decent and we are doing just fine.

And, it is so worth it. So, so worth it. Torsten is so much happier than he ever was when he was in his previous job. He is doing amazing work. He is on the cutting edge of technology again, exactly where he always used to be until he stopped having the time and energy to stay there while overwhelmed with his last job. He is making great partnerships and already impressing potential clients. He has come much further in the past few months than anybody was expecting. I am really impressed with his progress. He is also very pleased. There is hope that soon there will be a client, maybe even more than one.

But oh, I miss having disposable income. Not so much because I miss buying random things I don't need (though I do miss that to a certain extent). More because I miss being able to do what I want. I guess this is a learning opportunity to figure out what is and is not important to us in terms of budget priorities down the line. And what is important for us to spend money on is experiences.

For example, my best friend is getting married in San Francisco next month, and I won't be attending. She'll be having another wedding in Panama in a year or so and I am already counting on attending that one, but still. That doesn't make up for the fact that I won't be there for this one.

And every now and then a quick vacation, just a long weekend on a last-minute beach resort deal, would be so nice. Sometimes we're just tired, both of us, and want to rejuvenate and take a quick break.

And sometimes artists we really like come to town and we would love to go to their concerts but can't justify the cost. Like Lilith Fair. I've been wanting to go to that show since I was 13 years old and actually went once only to have the mom of the friend I was with force us to leave before Natalie Merchant and Sarah McLachlan came on. Ever since then I've been dying to go back and now the show is coming to Denver but we just can't figure out how to justify the expense. So we aren't going.

And yes, sometimes I do want to buy things. If I see a cute skirt, I want to have it. I'm losing weight and I can't justify purchasing anything other than the most basic pieces from Old Navy to tide me over as I descend to a new size. We take nice new photos, and I want to print them and buy nice frames to hang them in. We have a beautiful dining room table and crappy Ikea chairs that don't fit it at all, and I would like to buy proper chairs to fit the table instead. I want these things. And I used to be able to spend money like that if I wanted to, and now I can't, and that is frustrating.

I know, I know. Woe is me. I earn a good salary and have a great husband who is pursuing his dream and running a company that seems like it will wind up being successful. I spend my money on paying for our nice house and our nice car and our nice lifestyle. I get it; I know I'm lucky, and most of the time I don't mind at all. And I know, even when I'm feeling like this, that it's OK, it's worth it, and also, it won't last forever.

But sometimes I just miss being able to buy something because I want it, dammit. And not having to count pennies and budget by the dollar and consider every purchase and put off necessities because are they really necessary?

And yes, it's a good exercise in self-restraint and frugality, and even once Torsten has an income again, some of the modifications that we've made during this time (such as trimming our grocery budget in half) will definitely stick with us. And that's great.

But ooh, just to go on one carefree shopping spree. Even just at Target! Or really, who am I kidding... especially at Target.

Brand enthusiasm

You guys have seen these brand enthusiast campaigns that pop around the blogosphere every now and then, right? The three that come to mind are Gap, Nintendo, and Dove.

I don't have a problem with the campaigns at all. In fact, I think they are inspired. I get so many PR pitches in my inbox and almost without fail, they are poorly executed--nothing to do with me or my blog, clearly not coming from someone who is familiar with me or my blog, wanting quite a bit in exchange for nothing or very little. (See this brilliant post for a sample of the type of pitch I tend to receive. I'm sure most of you have received similar correspondence.)

I would have no problem doing compensated reviews, provided I were allowed to be honest. I've never been approached by anyone with a PR pitch that actually intrigued me, which is the reason I haven't done anything like this yet. However, if I were to be selected for a BlogHer review campaign, or to become a brand enthusiast for a company I was interested in, I would totally go for it.

I thought the Nintendo and Gap campaigns were smart. They picked a variety of bloggers with different perspectives and audiences. They hosted great parties for those bloggers, with great giveaways for all the guests. And then they had the bloggers post giveaway contests for nice things. I believe in Nintendo's case it was a Wii or a Wii Fit, and with the Gap it was a free pair of jeans or a $50 gift certificate.

But the brand enthusiast campaign I've seen most recently is for Dove. Specifically, a new type of Dove deodorant. I've seen at least three or four posts from some of my regular bloggers who have hosted Dove parties and are now doing Dove giveaways on their blogs. And again, I think that's awesome. Congrats to them for getting selected to participate, and getting to host what looks like a fun party.

But what I don't understand about the Dove campaign is the giveaway. From what I can tell, the item up for winning in each of these contests is a sample of Dove's new deodorant. That appears to be all.

Maybe I've been skimming? Or didn't read the rules correctly? But I feel like I have a certain threshold when it comes to a) the types of reviews or giveaways I'd be willing to post on my blog, and b) the types of contests and giveaways I'd bother entering on other people's blogs. And a contest for a sample of a deodorant that probably costs $4 even in its full-size form? Well, that's below my own personal threshold. I think it would make a lot more sense for Dove to give away a whole basket of fun pampering body products from their current line, with the new deodorant they're trying to promote placed front and center. That is the type of contest that I would take the time to enter, and that would motivate me to give my contact information to a corporation. A deodorant sample? Not so much.

But again, maybe I don't know the whole story. So I'd love to hear from you guys. Have you ever participated in a compensated review, giveaway, brand enthusiast, etc. program? How did you make the decision? I would especially love to hear from people participating in the current Dove campaign... is there more to it than what I'm seeing? How did you decide to take part?

And if you've never participated in a campaign like this, would you consider doing it? What do you think when you see compensated reviews and giveaways on other people's blogs?

I would if I could but I can't so I won't

So back when we first implemented this spending freeze, I read this article about a "financial fast." I didn't read it for advice, really... just out of curiosity, mostly. And of course our spending freeze is lasting more than 21 days. And what this woman proposed was a bit more extreme than what we're doing (probably because it only has to last for 21 days).

But one thing she suggested was no window shopping. And I have actually sort of generally tried to stay away from looking at things that I want but can't have, particularly online.

However. I kind of enjoy looking at new clothes and stuff, and KNOWING that I can't have them is kind of good. It means there's no dithering about whether it's worth it, how much I will wear it, and so on. And it's enjoyable to see what's around and look at all the pretty clothes.

So, with no further ado, I present you the clothes I would buy if Torsten hadn't quit his job. And by "clothes" I mean "dresses," obviously. Because what's more fun than a dress? Also, nearly all of my dresses are now too big.

1. A lovely LBD. I need this, right? Because I don't have an LBD that fits anymore.

2. A floral sundress. It's almost spring! Florals for spring! Yes?


3. You can hardly go wrong with summery J. Crew. Seriously.


4. This dress is purple. AND it has one strap. I like that!


5. More florals. But that's a good way to pretend that it's May now instead of February, don't you think?


What about you? Anything (dress or otherwise) you've been coveting? If so, do you think you'll actually buy it?

Purchasing restraint

So, in keeping with the goals I posted yesterday, Torsten and I right now are in ultra-save mode. We are trying to avoid spending money on anything. Seriously, anything at all. Basically, if it's not absolutely essential, we aren't buying it.

I've started keeping a mental list of the things that one or the other of us has mentioned that we'd like, and that under normal circumstances, we would purchase or at least seriously consider. So far, I've calculated that we've saved ourselves several hundred dollars. And that's not including the savings from not eating out and avoiding excessive trips to the grocery store for last-minute meals.

Here are the things that we've casually mentioned that we'd like, and immediately vetoed as not necessary right now:

• A few interim dining room chairs to go with the dining room table that Torsten's parents gave us for Christmas (assuming $25/chair, that's $100)
• A replacement bracelet for the gorgeous bangle that Torsten gave me for Christmas but that I had to return because it didn't fit over my hand (at least $100)
• A dual trash and recycling can to replace the paper grocery bags we're currently using for our recycling (around $50)
• This amazing purple watch ($75)
• A new bathrobe for me because mine is so big that the pockets cross over to the wrong sides of my body when I wrap it around me (around $30)

That is over $350 that we could EASILY have spent on non-essentials over the past week or so. Now, we don't normally spend that kind of money on random things, and yes, a couple of them are holiday-related, but some of them aren't. And we've been spoiled by the fact that we earn more than we spend into feeling that if there's something we really want, it's OK to just buy it. And while that has certainly been an enjoyable attitude, at the moment random materialism is not the goal. Saving money aggressively is. So these purchases are on hold for now.

I don't NEED a new bathrobe--too-big bathrobes are fine because the belt holds everything together. I certainly don't need a watch just because it's purple; I already have a perfectly functional watch. Yes, I loved the bracelet that Torsten gave me, was sad when I had to return it, and wish I had been able to pick out a replacement one, but I'm fine without a bracelet for now, and he gave me other nice things for Christmas. Yes, our crappy Ikea chairs look ridiculous next to our gorgeous new table, but for another year or so, who really cares? And yes, the paper bag with the recycling is annoying and falls over often, but there's no reason for us to buy some fancy stainless steel contraption when a $10 plastic bin will meet our needs just as well for the time being.

So. No non-essential purchases. And I'm very much looking forward to seeing how much money we're able to save this way.

What about you? Are there any things you want, but aren't buying for yourself? What types of non-essentials are worth the money for you?

Good customer service FOR ONCE (or twice)

Well! People certainly do have strong opinions about Lexus commercials, as it turns out. I have to say, I wasn't expecting to incite quite so much controversy with what I was thinking was a fluffy little post. But hey, the more discussion, the better, right?

Anyway, in the past couple of days I've had two amazing customer service experiences, and I feel compelled to share them here, because... well, if they'd been bad experiences I'd be ranting about them here, and really, it's only fair for it to go both ways, right?

So, first of all, the hard disk on my work laptop started making funky noises like it was going to die any second, and programs started crashing on my computer. On Monday, I contacted my company's IT department, who put me in touch with Dell directly. I was a little nervous about this, and picturing hours on the phone going from person to person with nobody able to help me (this has happened to me with Dell in the past).

But instead... well, it was amazing. I called up. In under five minutes, I was talking to a real person. I explained the problem to him. He had me run a couple simple tests on my computer. Then he said he'd have a new hard drive sent to me, free of charge. And a new adapter, too, because my computer has stopped recognizing mine. He had to talk to a supervisor to get approval for all this, so he said he'd call me back within an hour. I figured I'd never hear from him again, so imagine my surprise when 45 minutes later, my phone rang and it was him, confirming the shipment. And then, yesterday morning, the new adapter AND the new hard drive showed up at our door.

Seriously! The whole thing took me under 15 minutes on the phone, no ridiculous lengthy useless troubleshooting, nothing. AND it was free. I mean, I'm assuming this is because my company has some sort of enterprise-level contract with Dell, but still. It was AMAZING.

And then I decided to press my luck and call Comcast. We had a couple of promotions on our bill, worth a total of about $40 in savings, and they expired a month or two ago. At the time, I spoke to someone to ask if they could be re-applied and was told I had to wait 90 days. But because it just seemed ridiculous to be paying so much more, and reminded by a post at Get Rich Slowly, I called back. Again, I was given the same line about having to wait 90 days, but this time instead of just saying OK and hanging up, I asked if anyone was available who could make an exception.

And... well, turns out, there was! He transferred me to something called the "employee department" (has anyone heard of this? When we were with RCN back in DC, they had something similar). So when I got on the line with the second guy, I politely explained the situation and said that while I liked Comcast and didn't want to switch, if I wasn't able to get my bill lowered, I was thinking about canceling. I didn't invoke the name of any competitors (though there are competitors in the area), but I assume it was implied.

And the guy immediately said, "Well, normally we do ask that you wait 90 days between promotions, but of course we don't want to lose you as a customer, so let me see what I can do." Then he typed for all of 10 seconds and then offered me SIXTY dollars off a month, for the next six months, PLUS free Showtime. For real! That's MORE of a discount than we were getting before. All because I invoked the word "cancel," and was polite about it.

It's my understanding that in some areas, Comcast is the only alternative, so it's harder to call them up and make threats. And I totally get that, but you know, it's still worth calling, right? You can say that you're trying to cut costs and you're hoping you can get your bill lowered, and if you can't, you're thinking of canceling altogether. Even if you can't threaten to switch providers, you can still threaten to take away your business. And it's not an unfeasible threat... I imagine that lots of people whose incomes have been reduced are cutting out luxuries like cable and Internet. It sucks, but I bet they're doing it.

All I'm saying is, it's worth a shot. Sixty dollars a month! That's over $700 a year! Just from one five-minute phone call. Just call your cable/Internet provider and try it. And hey, if they call your bluff about canceling (assuming that it IS a bluff), you can always just "get disconnected." Right?

A visit from the parents

Yesterday I took the day off work to spend with my mom because my parents are in town. My dad had to spend the day at a work conference so my mom and I drove up to Boulder and wandered around the Pearl Street Mall, browsing in the shops and enjoying the lovely weather. It was the first time I'd really been to Boulder, and it was lovely.

We also went to a couple of regular shopping malls and did some shopping, and um, can anyone explain to me why I haven't been to a New York and Company for years? Because they were having a summer clearance where a ton of adorable stuff was 70% off, and I came away with two fantastic cotton summer dresses for $13 each. Plus, they offer a 15% discount to AAA members (we aren't, but my parents are), so the dresses ended up being $11 each. In fact, I'm wearing one right now. How awesome is that?

And, my dad has been helping us around the house with some minor repairs and upgrades we've been meaning to do. The first thing he did was help us install a shower door in the master bath so we don't have to use a shower curtain anymore. Am I the only person who hates shower curtains? I always bump into them while I'm showering and then they stick to me, and also if you don't manage to hang them in a way that allows them to dry completely after your shower, they get all moldy and have to be replaced, which is a pain in the ass and also gross.

So, no more shower curtain issues for us! The new shower door looks AWESOME and also makes the bathroom look much more open and spacious, because now you can see that it ends where the tub ends, instead of where the tub starts. Plus, the previous owner of our house redid this whole bathroom and put really nice tile in the shower, and now you can see that tile from the bathroom. It was a relatively easy upgrade and SUCH an improvement in the room. It makes me want to do a lot more of this type of thing. Although, of course, without my dad around to help it's a lot harder.

The next project that he and Torsten are taking on is installing a dog door. I was a little concerned about this because raccoons (and small people) could theoretically come inside through a door. One solution to that would be to get a fancy electronic door that only opens when activated by a little box that the dog wears around its neck, but a) those doors cost $350, and b) I didn't really want the dog having to wear this special fancy collar with the box.

But, it turns out that now dog doors (or at least the one we bought) come with a locking metal cover that you can just slide in and lock at night when you go to bed, so you don't have to worry about nocturnal visits. And during the day animals could come in, but I doubt they would--and either way, it's better than our current system of just leaving the back door open during the day so Montana can come in and out as she pleases. Flies also come in and out as they please, which is no fun at all, and in theory squirrels could do the same, though so far they have not. Plus, once it gets cold we would have to stop propping the door anyway, at which point Montana would be SOL. So basically, this dog door is a WIN for everyone.

Everyone, at least, except the person who has to cut a giant whole in our back door to install it. This is why it's great to have my dad visiting! He does all the scary jobs, and he does them well. I don't not even want to think about how much money he and Torsten spent at Lowe's this weekend. Ugh.

Speaking of shopping, though, later this week I'm going to have to take pictures of my new dresses (and I got a third one at Target, also adorable and cheap) and of the shower door, and do a little show-and-tell post on the blog. But that will have to wait, because I have work to do. And a manicure to go get with my mom.

Frozen bananas and deliveries in the mail

Last week I read this post about making "ice cream" out of just one ingredient--bananas. I promptly stuck two bananas in the freezer so I could try it. Of course, I didn't think to peel them first. Have you ever tried to peel a frozen banana? Because I'm pretty sure it's not possible.

Anyway, on round two of the banana-freezing attempts, I thought to take the skin OFF first, and was much more successful. So yesterday I put a frozen banana in the blender with a spoonful of natural peanut butter and a packet of Splenda, turned the blender setting to "puree," and waited to see what would happen.

At first I thought the blender would break, because it made horrible noises, but it turned out to be fine. The horrible noises were just the blender chopping the banana into little pieces. Once that happened, it blended fairly well. Certainly it did not turn out looking like the photo with the recipe, but oooh, it was delicious. In fact, just typing this, I kind of want more. Would it be a problem to make banana peanut butter "ice cream" for breakfast? Thoughts on this?

Yes, I felt slightly like I was making filling for Montana's Kong toy, but who cares? It was delicious! I need to do some experimenting with other ingredients to add instead of peanut butter. Honey? Nutella? Something else? Peanut butter AND Nutella? Mmm. I think I'm drooling.

Anyway! Just thought I'd share, because OMG yum and also, not bad for you!

In other news, I have found myself eagerly awaiting the arrival of the mail every day. There's so much cool stuff on its way to us! Our photographer emailed us a week ago to say he'd be putting our wedding album in the mail last week, so that's the most exciting thing. And also, the purple bathroom stuff I've been admiring at Kohls for months finally went on sale for almost half off, plus I got promo codes for free shipping and an extra 10% off, so I finally bit the bullet and ordered a few items.

As a side note, this is the weird thing about Kohls: they claim to be so affordable, and yet some of their prices are really outrageous! I mean, the trash can I wanted, even on sale, cost $32, which seems like quite a lot. And yet it was originally priced at $60! And that's not the whole "original price" that never really existed--that stuff was listed at full price for literally months. In what world is $60 for a trash can "discount"?

Anyway, the other thing I'm waiting for in the mail is the guidebook to Denver that I ordered yesterday. A couple of you recommended the Not For Tourists guides, which sound great, but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be one for Denver, at least not yet. But the book that I ordered sounds great too. At least, let's hope.

Boots!

I have tomorrow off of work, and I am so excited about it. I don't have any earth-shattering plans, but I am really looking forward to the day.

We're having some lovely people over for dinner, so after I get up (which will hopefully be luxuriously late), I will head over to Whole Foods to pick up everything we need to prepare the meal. And at some point I will head to the gym to swim for an hour (or, if I happen to wake up early, I'll go to water aerobics class). There will hopefully be some relaxing on the couch. And possibly a trip to the dog park.

But what I am most looking forward to is SHOPPING. I don't shop much, especially these days when we are working on paying off my surgery. But I've decided to make one purchase that I really missed last winter: soft, warm winter boots. I have real, hardcore snow boots (with purple trim!). They're great. We bought them when we found out we were moving to Denver for real. They are tough, and waterproof, and warm, and they have great traction. But they are also stiff and awkward and not really comfortable for long periods of time. They're designed for really walking IN snow, like when you have to take the dog for a walk or whatever.

So yeah, I have that. But what I WANT is cozy warm fluffy boots. Not ones that do well in the snow, not necessarily even ones that are practical and reasonable. No, what I want is the winter equivalent to summer's flip flops. Comfortable, easy, slip on right away when you're headed out the door, not appropriate for brutal weather.

Basically, what I want is Uggs. Though they are expensive, and also not the most attractive thing I've ever seen. So I'm going to the mall to try some on. And I'm also going to try on Emu boots, because those are similar but more affordable. Although also possibly even less attractive.

So, here are my options. I'm considering three colors of Ugg: sand, eggplant, and gray.

I like the sand the best, I think. They're the most versatile and the least offensive. But I'm concerned that they'll show dirt too easily. But I've also heard that if you apply the weatherproofing and dirt-resistant spray stuff, they don't get that dirty, and they can be cleaned. Thoughts on this? Does anyone have experience with this?


Then there's the eggplant. Yes, this season Uggs are available in a deep purple. Which is awesome, but do I really want purple boots? Boots that I would wear with everything? Wouldn't that be a tad over the top? I mean, it just seems excessive. But on the other hand: PURPLE.



Gray is sort of my backup plan, if I decide that the sand will show dirt and the purple is too much. But I don't really LIKE the gray. I just don't want to get the chocolate (which I also like), because I wear too much black. And I don't like the black ones either. Gray is the least offensive of the remaining colors, basically. But does that reasoning really make sense for such expensive boots?


Then there's the Emu option. But a) I don't really like any of the colors (they don't have a sand or eggplant equivalent--their beige is hideous--so I'd have to go with the gray), and b) they really are ugly, in my humble opinion. Still, is it worth it for the cost savings? The Uggs cost almost twice as much as the Emus.


Sooooo... what do I do? Uggs or Emus? What color?