NaBloPoMo Day 15: Things I Love

I'm pretty tired today (babycenter.com is like "You're probably feeling kind of tired at this point. Try to squeeze in a nap everyday." and I'm like, "Ya. Right. I'll definitely get on that, I bet it'll fit right in with all my other luxury activites: manicure, massage, yoga class..."). So I thought I'd make a list of things I'm loving today and hopefully I'll feel a bit more perky by the end of it!

1. My sister is coming this weekend!
She'll only be here for a couple days for a friend's wedding, but it's better than nothing!

2. Heather finally got engaged!
It's been coming for like, months. But it finally happened and I'm giving her lots of wedding advice (solicited and not) through email. She's in Utah, but fortunately for HER I'm pretty good at long distance wedding planning/advising. And because most of you don't know Heather, I've know her since her birth. Literally. Our parents were in the same ward before we were all born and we grew up together.

3. Chocolate. In small amounts.
For some reason chocolate makes me throw up nowadays. But if I'm careful and eat it in small doses it stays down and I really enjoy it because I know that little bit I'm eating is precious! I don't think I appreciated it as much when I could down it with reckless abandon.

4. Baby movement
Today I was sitting at my desk and had my arm resting across the top of my belly. He doesn't really like when things get into his space (he often pushes against my desk/the kitchen counter/etc. when they're smashed into the belly) and he whacked my arm hard enough to actually make it bounce a bit. That's a lot coming from a kid I can barely feel on the best of days!

5. Good pizza.
Mmmmm. So full right now.

6. Christmas shopping!
I am totally rocking the Christmas shopping this year. I've never gotten so much done before December even started before. I think I'll even start WRAPPING soon. I love being on top of things.

7. Thanksgiving
It's kind of unfortunate that Christmas infringes on Thanksgiving every year. It's such a great holiday (Nicole wrote a great post about this exact subject here). I've been thinking a lot these past couple weeks about all that I have to be thankful for and, let me tell you, it's a serious list. At the tip top: Family. I have a phenomenal one, from Aaron to my parents to my siblings to my in-laws to my impending micro-Moncur. All awesome.

8. Photography
For a lot of reasons. It's really great to share a hobby with Aaron. Normally our tastes are not really in sync, but photography is one thing we can sit and talk about and enjoy together. And since we've gotten interested, I've spent a lot of time looking at the work of various photographers and have really come to appreciate it. For example, Designmom posted about this guy today and I fell in love. I bet his shoots are so fun! We also like this guy (particularly the lifestyle section). And I'm rather fond of this one as well (also really like her logo).

9. Tomorrow is exactly 3 months until my due date.
Yay! (On the other hand, 3 more months of this?? Sigh. Just give me a baby already!)

10. TSO on Saturday!
And I think we all know how I feel about that.

11. Friends
I'm going with some friends tonight to watch Melody dance and I'm pretty sure it will be awesomeness all around.

12. Blogging
Blogging is awesome for so many reasons. It lets me write, for one, which isn't something I would necessarily push myself to do otherwise. For two, it helps me stay connected to long distance friends and family (hi, in-laws!), and for three, it's helped me make friends! I've gotten to know several girls in my ward much better through blogging and I never would have connected with Janssen and the great people that came with her without blogging (too tired to link anymore, see sidebar). Then there's the people that I've never met in real life (and may never have the chance to) and it's kind of fun to have those people too. I have a whole community through this blog!

13. My kitchen candle
My mom held a craft boutique at our house in California every year. She and a group of friends spent a few months making crafty little things and then opened up the house and sold their crafts during the first weekend in November. During those 2 days, our house was totally transformed. It was kind of like the official start of the holiday season for our family. There were hundreds of beautiful things to look at and touch and taste (Heather from #2's mom makes these amazing caramels and sometimes there was homemade jam and we always had a crockpot full of apple cider). And there was the smell...ohhh the smell. It was heavenly. Last year I was walking through WalMart and I smelled it. And suddenly I was 7 years old again, stealing bits of caramel and wishing I could have some little trinket or another from one of the tables. The smell was coming from a candle, so I bought 2, one for me and one for my sister. Mine now sits on my kitchen counter and a lot of times I'll be talking to Aaron while he cooks or making toast or even just walking by and I'll get a whiff of it. Sometimes I just have to stop, pick it up, and take a deep breath. I love it all year round, but these past couple weeks it has really helped me feel the spirit of the season and it makes me anxious for Thanksgiving mashed potatoes and a Christmas tree and sparkly ornaments and The Forgotten Carols and all the other wonderful things that come in November and December.

14. Rain
It's been overcast all day and it FINALLY just started raining! When I walk outside it's going to smell like wet concrete, which is possibly the best smell in the world (right after my kitchen candle). Ok in the time I typed that it stopped raining (stupid AZ weather) but it'll still smell nice outside.

Still tired. But now I'm smiling!