What you don't want to see at 7:15 am...

...especially when you have a 7:30 test.

Keyhole iced over

Car door completely sealed shut

Entire car encased in 1/2 inch thick ice, some of it even thicker. This car isn't going anywhere fast. Luckily, Scott had a nice friend with a garage who picked him up for his test.

bits and pieces

A visual depiction of why new windows are a Spring priority for us.

Yes, that is ice building up on the inside of my window. Yes, the wood is so wet from years and years of this that it won't hold its paint anymore.

Ok, now for some pregnancy information indulgences, because I know you all want to know about me. (Ha ha, ok, I just want to tell you.) I think I felt the baby move last night, which was fun. The heartbeat this morning was at 147, and I have an ultrasound scheduled for December 31st. So what do you think we should have, a boy or a girl?

Last night I had another pregnant dream. I was a teenager back in the church building I grew up in and my youth leader was performing brain surgery on me as a birthday gift. My skull was just hanging open, and I felt really privileged because this was the only birthday gift I was getting that year. During her "surgery" I was sitting in a folding chair making small talk to all the other young women around me. Then the church meeting started and my leader went up to sit in the front row. I was near the back, but my skull was still hanging open. I was patient for a few minutes, but then I kept trying to get her attention so she could close up my skull. I didn't want my brain to dry out. I ended up closing it myself, but then got scolded by my mom because of it. Strange.

Chocolot

We have some good friends in Utah whose mother is a candy making artist!  She is starting her own artisan chocolate company and needed to test shipping methods.  Since we wanted to try her delicious masterpieces, we were lucky enough to be shipping guinea pigs.

They looked perfect and tasted delicious!  This picture doesn't do them justice.  I wanted to wait until Scott came home to share them with him, but I couldn't resist.  I ate three and three halfs before he got home!  I REALLY liked this one, this one and this one (which surprised me because normally I don't get too excited about peanuts) and I enjoyed gazing in awe at this one and this one... they tasted good, too, but they looked amazing.

Britta it's your birthday! Happy Birthday, Britta!

Imagine the title being sung by an overweight, middle-aged, escaped convict who thinks he's Michael Jackson and you've got the song playing in my head. This is your beautiful birthday picture taken at 6:09 am. You are even winking at me!

Happy Birthday, Britta.  Here are some things I love about you:

1. Your smile
2) Your eyes
3)Your smarts
4) Your arts
And since we are like two birds of a feather

we will always be so happy together
Happy Birthday, Beautiful Britta.  I love you.

If I were a celebrity...

...everyone would be talking about my baby bump.

But as things are, no one notices yet (except me!)

I had a funny dream this week and I'm blaming it on pregnancy. I dreamt I was craving the taste of cigarette butts. And I ate like 8 of them in my dream! Just chewed the filter, paper, burnt end and all, and it was totally satisfying. But I had to sneak them when no one was looking because that's just gross.

It was a dark and stormy (AND COLD!) night

Last night, Britta and I returned home to Missouri. Before we left for Minnesota we turned down our heater and so we expected to return to a chilly house.

Oh, boy. Was it chilly.

In sifting through our mail, Britta discovered a note from our local gas company which told us they had turned off our gas on Tuesday.
We weren't too bothered by that, and I'll tell you why:
When we moved into our house in late July, we called the city to have our water turned on. No problem.
We called the power company to have the account set in our name. No problem.
We called to set up internet service for Britta's work. No problem.
We called the gas company to have the account set in our name. Here's a transcript of the conversation:
Me: Hi. My wife and I just moved in and need to set up an account for our gas service.
ATMOS Energy: No problem. I'll just look up the current account. What is your address? (I give them our address). . . Okay. Well I'm not showing that we have any gas service going to that address which means that there is probably no hook-up to worry about.
Me: So, there is no gas line here?
A: Nope.
Me: So our heater is not gas? (btw: our water heater was electric and there was not a visible pilot light or gas line to our heater that I noticed at the time)
A: No. It could be electric.
Me: One less thing to worry about.
A: One less thing to worry about. Can I help you with anything else?
Me: Why would you ask that question if you knew we didn't have a gas line? Weirdo.

Okay, that is just about verbatim. Except that last line, which was really, "Nope. Bye".
Turns out that our heater was gas. Turns out we never set up an account. Turns out that the coldest week of the year was this week. Turns out our house was just above freezing last night.
So when Britta and I investigate further, I discover a gas line to to the heater hidden behind it and wedged between it and the wall. I pull off the panel and: no pilot light.
No heat

We called about eight friends/various leadership in our ward. No answers. We called one more and asked for a space heater. Luckily, he had two. With our oven on and two space heaters going, we bundled up in about five layers of clothing and three blankets (including our down comforter) and made it through the night.
The gas guy is coming back today.
I can't wait to have a warm home again.
Ah, the lessons I have learned (i.e. never trust customer service reps; OF COURSE it is a gas heater!!) and the story we now have to tell our children.

This is what makes marriages sweet.