Changes ahead . . .

So, 2013 approaches. 

The world didn't end on December 21st, much to everyone's dismay . . . joy? Sometimes, I'm not sure.

Last entry, I promised to fill you in on changes . . . so here it goes:

The hubs is currently in Cali . . . and I'm not . . . .

He's out training for his new position and looking for a place to live. He'll be home in about four weeks for a company meeting and, hopefully, ready for us to move out there.
He called me this afternoon--perkier than I've heard him in a while--to tell me how beautiful San Francisco is, even at night, that he at an awesome sandwich, and that he's going to be in a wedding since one of his pal's groomsmen fell through. Oh, and he found an awesome jacket for the cooler weather we'll be inhabiting . . . and it was half off . . .

Me? I refuse to put on pants.
I'll let you interpret that as you may.

Dinner date the night before he left . . . and before we took down our tree . . . which, FYI, resulted in a  MOUNTAIN of needles and a naked tree. Apparently, it was dead.
And he's adorable and I miss him. Like lots.

He just sent me this in a text . . . Doesn't he look adorable in a tux? And a little like Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords?

My last day at work was December 21 . . . coincidence? Or just the most convenient Friday before Christmas?

We were always under the agreement that it was a temp position, and they weren't expecting me to stay past December, so I requested my last day be the 21st. That Tuesday, they threw me a surprise party. I mean, really--so SWEET. I was shocked. Like I stood there looking around wondering who on earth the cake was for . . . ME!!! It was really, REALLY nice.  I worked at a great place, great people, but, with the move looming and we-don't-know-when, I thought it was best be home on call, getting ready and all that.
I think . . .

And, now, for the big reveal . . . .

My sis-in-law is prego!

This is good news--great news--but shocking. I still haven't fully processed it . . . You see, for the past five years, she has said to everyone, "Oh, no, kids? Nope. Not for like ten years. If ever. Kids? No. Not even. Nope."

Two weeks ago, she texts me asking for a movie night.  She hands me a Christmas gift. "Happy early Christmas!"
I'm confused . . . and wondering if there was a gift exchange that I forgot about . . . and if there's something I have hiding in the bedroom that I could throw in some wrapping paper or a ziplock or something . . . but I say, "Oh . . . thanks!"
I open it, and pull out a little pink box. Confusion--multiplied hundredfold. "Pregnancy tests?"
"Turn it over! Turn it over!"

And this is what I see:

 

Pause. 

Process.

Ponder.

"Wait . . . you're pregnant?"

She nods, clapping.

Commence screaming. And hugging. And jumping around.

She's due in August. "It's the first family birthday in August," she says, because on my in-laws' side, birthdays are a clan affair, and most of theirs are in May. Apparently, her husband has gone into full prego-research mode and is just as excited as he can be.

My mother-in-law is ecstatic. For years, she has been begging her two married children for grandbabies.  The woman loves babies and was DYING to be a grandmother. One day, Julie shows up with a little box and hands it to her dad. Inside, there's a cupcake with a pacifier on top and a note reading, "Something sweet is coming in 2013."
MIL went nuts. Started screaming and hugging (you know, the normal female joyful reaction--we don't just shake hands like guys or anything).  "I thought it'd be Chris and Sarah! I thought it'd be Chris and Sarah! But it's YOU!!! A BABY! OH MY GOSH A BABY!!! A BAAAAABYYYYY!!!! A BABY!"
Apparently, it went on and on like that for a while.

My FIL, Steve, was in shock, but he's excited. Hasn't stopped talking about it at the office (I worked down the hall from him), and he's beaming.

Her grandparents are "over the moon," according to Steve, so happy for a great-grandbaby that's local (the others live in Texas). They all LOVE babies. Like lots. Like don't stop asking people to produce offspring.

I asked her--I had to--later that evening. "Julie, I thought you didn't want to have kids. Every family get-together, all you did was say how much you never wanted kids."
"Well, Mom asked the same thing, and I said, 'You ever think I was lying to surprise you?'"
"Huh."
"Yeah, I've wanted kids for a few months, now, and Ryan decided a month ago that he did, too, and now we're pregnant!"
"Well, congrats! I'm so happy for you!"
And I am. Really :]  
But I don't know if I can ever get used to calling myself an "aunt." Doesn't "Aunt Sarah" sound like someone who sells packaged chocolate chip cookies or something?

Oh, and P.S I hope everyone had a simply FABULOUS CHRISTMAS!! Yaaaaaay!!!
We did. :] 

On to a happy New Year!!!

Sometimes, you come back to the same old thing

You know, I will spend hours--nay DAYS--tweaking my blog design, and, when I pull it up for my husband and siblings to admire, they look puzzled. "Isn't that they same thing you had last time?"

"No! ... I mean, yeah the background's the same, but I change the font and the header and the layout here and--" I stop talking because their eyes have glazed over in an attempt to sound interested.

"Oh, well, it looks good." Then they walk off.

So I TRY to do things differently. I went all blank and white and sleek and minimalist like all these awesome blogs do, and it just seemed . . . empty . . . so I try a few new things, learn a few new tricks, and it still just didn't feel right. So then I try a new background, and it seems too busy and then--doggone it--the editor freezes and won't let me change a darn thing for two days.

• FYI -- if the blogger editor every does that to you, save your layout as text in a document (go to TEMPLATE and click EDIT HTML and it brings up a text box), then go back to the TEMPLATE editor and go to a default layout.  It should clear things up. If you just had a minor change to your layout, just plug your saved code back into the EDIT HTML box and then tweak what you need to in the template editor. Or start from scratch, it's your call. 

 I spend forever editing this image, trying to get it the way I'd like . . . but it just didn't seem to work . . . it was too . . . busy  . . . despite being awesome and involving squid, one of my favorite animals . . .

If you think this one looks better . . . let me know . . . I'm quite attached but just not sure it fits . . . plus it took me FOREVER to get the image edited correctly . . .

So, in the end, I tweak and I edit and I search and I plug stuff in and I edit some more and I alter more text and more images in PIXLR (seriously, it's my new favorite online photo editor--LOVE IT). Finally, I look through all the art and pictures and I come back to this one:

And, doggone it . . . it just fits . . .

So, the blog has been evolving in appearance for a month, now . . . . and it looks almost exactly like before . . .  *sigh . . . Well, if it's not broken, don't fix it, right?

Oh, I'm thinking about starting a 30 Day Link-Up with some writing and/or photo prompts.  Thoughts?  I'm considering some sort of "get to know you" prompts. When Chris and I first started dating, we'd exchange emails with all sorts of wacky questions like "if you could create a planet, what would it be?" or "What color would you be and why?" It was loads of fun, and I thought it would be a great way to get to know some more bloggers and help with writers block.
I'd love to get your opinions! Throw them at me!

I have great big news . . . lots of it . . . but I'm saving that for the next post or two, which will hopefully be up right after Christmas :]

Have a wonderful holiday, everyone! Merry Christmas!

For those who left too young . . .