1:58 pm
I received a package from her with an adorable baby outfit in it but there was no note with it. The return address baby outfit from her, no note or anything. The return address is to a Tracy Holeton of Unico Inc. in Franksville, WI? I don’t know any Tracys.
Anyone know who my mystery woman is?
In totally unrelated news the maintenance people for our townhouse complex killed my rosemary. They were out spraying the other day and apparently the don’t know the difference between weeds in ground and a potted plant on my steps. Two days later the weeds and my rosemary are completely dead.
Arg! I’m pissed! That was my most used herb.
12:09 am
I totally adore this rocking chair, it is one of the most comfortable pieces of furniture I have ever sat in. I hope the baby likes being in it too. I try to keep the cats off the nursery furniture but I am lenient about the chair (as long as I don’t want to sit in it.) My Aunt Vickie crocheted the beautiful rainbow baby blanket draped over it.
1:05 pm
Yesterday Michael and I went and set up our gift registry at Walmart for the baby shower, which will be on April 5th. I am really starting to look forward to it and having all my friends there celebrating the coming of our baby. The registry was really fun to create too, once you register they give you a little scanning gun (it reminds me of a phaser) and you can go around the store and scan the barcode of everything you want. Then it plugs in to the registry terminal and uploads everything to your registry. People can pull the registry up online or go to any store and find it (just look up Jaspenelle Stewart.) Michael and I really got into looking at all the cute baby stuff but we tried not to get to scan happy… hehe.
Walmart was fun but rather draining in a unique way (anyone use to small stores probably knows what I mean) so to recharge a bit Michael and I went for a walk by the Spokane River and he took this picture of me. I know I am right where I am suppose to be weight wise right now but some days I feel huge and cumbersome… but most of the time I am quite comfortable with how I am. I love how I look in this picture and I feel so blessed to be at this wonderful point in my life.
6:00 am
If you keep track of my photoblog you might have seen the macro of the antique bottle I posted the other day. I love glass bottles or most any size or shape, though I prefer ones with functional corks or lids that are relatively smooth. 
My exceptions to this preference are some antique bottles.
I am not exactly sure where this love for bottles began but my oldest memory of being fascinated with bottles goes back to when I was quite young. I remember looking at an old orange cream soda bottle and being utterly engrossed with the embossing on the glass and wondering how it was done.
At the moment I limit my bottles to the ones I really love and I only buy ones (in thrift stores) that I currently have a use for. The bottles in the photo above however, were given to me on Monday. An elderly woman in one of my friend’s families recently passed away and my friend somehow ended up with the bottles above. She gave them to me as she had no particular use for them and knew I would appreciate them. And I do, very much so! (Thank you Michelle!) The two rows of bottles on the left have no writing, the middle row only have embossed fluid ounce readings on them and the two right rows have heavy embossing, (the further right are actually old root beer syrup bottles.)
The one I am holding in the picture for the right is my favorite. I have been trying to imagine what might have originally been in it. Obviously they all held fluid at some point, dry ingredient bottles tend to have wider mouths. The glass on my favorite one is quite thick and smooth except for a vertical seam on opposite sides. The only marking on the bottle is “192″ embossed on the bottom.
The reason I like smooth bottles the most is because they are excellent to relabel or paint, I usually fill them with spices. These bottles have narrow enough necks that I don’t particularly want to fill them with spices, so I am not quite sure what their eventual use will be for. I may even up just putting small matching “things” in them (like sea glass) for display, though I like functionality above all. It might be neat to put some of my cooking extracts in hand painted antique bottles, a shame to hide them away in the baking cupboard then… A use will come to me though.
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Something I recently found out that I think is really neat is that I can get coupons from WIC between June and October that can only be used at local farmers markets. I think that is really cool!
4:58 pm
Graywolf drew this beautiful picture and dedicated it to me and two more of her pregnant friends, Mearu and Lisa. It is called “Beidh mé leat”, which means “I’ll be with you”. Graywolf says we are amazing and I have to say, I think she is amazing too. She has been through a lot in her life and she is one of the most empowered people I know. Her art is incredible (she made the corset for my handfasting last summer!) and is only rivaled by her compassion for others. Thank you Graywolf for dedicating this piece in part to me, it really made my day.
I am feeling the baby move so much lately, every 3 hours or so I feel flutters. Michael even felt one recently and you should have seen the look on his face, it was so priceless. If I had to pick a moment to realize just how amazing of a father he is going to be, I think it was that one. This baby is such a precious gift and we both want to give it all the love in the world. Sometimes it is hard to believe that my little body is capable of growing a new life, one that Michael and I created together.
I think it is one of the most beautiful feelings in the world. I feel so very blessed.
2:48 pm
A few people have asked me what I want for my birthday, which is on Wednesday!
I would like to have Bradley classes, which will cost $250 for a set (12 weeks.) I don’t expect someone to give me all that but every little bit helps. So if you want to give a little, we have a paypal account at:
babyfund[at]michaelandjaspenelle[dot]com
If by some chance we get more then $250, the rest will go towards more baby stuff!
So what am I doing for my birthday? Not sure yet, other then I going to the Pagan meetup downtown. I love seeing my friends!
Oh and that is me to the left if ya didn’t know. Is that a baby belly? It just kind of just appeared recently when I noticed that I no longer have a waist…
I think I felt the baby move recently, felt like a butterfly in my tummy, but maybe it is just wishful thinking!
5:36 pm
I thought I was getting my ultrasound today but it turns out today was just a check up. I have lost three pounds which baffled me a bit as I have been eating and had very little morning sickness. I had bad morning sickness today though, so I wonder if it was water weight? Still I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight, so more food for me.
I am having my ultrasound on January 24th, I have to pee 3 hours before going and then drink 32oz of water and hold it. Oh joy. I just may explode! If we bring a blank vhs they will tape some of it for us, does anyone still use vhs? Do they sell them? I think we have a couple upstairs maybe… We don’t even have a vcr.
Still, all is well. One of Michael’s coworkers may be giving us a crib and I look forward to setting that up!
3:30 pm
(Click drawing for a larger image.)
Do you remember that dream I had awhile back with the condor and vulture woman? Rah Bop drew a picture of that aspect of it and sent it to me for Christmas! I got it in the mail a few days ago and totally adore it!
I will do a Christmas recap post later but right now I really need a nap…
8:09 pm
I was walking to the downtown Goodwill today when I found myself standing near a crosswalk waiting for light to change. There was a couple homeless guys there and we chatted for a few moments. This lady pulled up next to me and out of the blue handed me three bags, instructing that they were for each of us. I was a bit dumbfounded but I took them and she drove off.
Inside each of the bags was some food and a toothbrush and toothpaste (wonder if she was a dentist? ;-)) I gave two of the bags to the homeless guys whom I was talking to and mine to another guy.
I have to admit I was a little miffed for a few minutes, “I do not look homeless!” I thought, looking down and my new boots and work jacket. Of course I do carry a large backpack around and was talking to homeless people. Michael sugguested this evening that the lady gave us all one just in case I was homeless, she didn’t want me to feel left out. That makes sense.
I think it was so thoughtful of that lady to be out delivering simple food items to people in need (even if I was a case of mistaken identity.) I like seeing people giving food and clothes to the homeless more then I like seeing them give money. Money can sadly be misused by some. This is certainly the giving time of year, which is wonderful, but I think it is so important to give back to the community all year around. Homelessness and poverty are not simply winter issues. (That said I think that lady was in the regular habit of handing out food.) This month, some of my local group are having a Winter Solstice gathering and we are asking all who attend to bring a donation for Second Harvest. We are hoping to make this a regular habit at all out sabbat gatherings. I think this is a good time of year to start the new tradition though.
Anyhow I am glad their are nice people left in the world, it gives me hope for the future.
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Completely unrelated: Why don’t birdwatchers like those little brown sparrows? I don’t understand, they are amazingly cute and inquisitive.
