My new year progress continues!

All is well in my little world. As of today in week 30, I can still wear heels, run up stair and walk fast. I can't however finish my food because my stomach has zero room...so it gets exponentially bigger every day but I have no room to eat, ain't that something?
Zoe's room is making some progress as my mom dukes ordered her crib today. This weekend I am going to get the matress and the glidder from Target because I totally want to take advantage of the sales at Target. Also, I went to a photo studio in BK whose work I really admire during lunch yesterday and they shocked the hell out of me by saying that a 11x 14 print would cost $400. They do the type of photography that I love, you can see it at : http://www.robertofalck.com/. When I told DH about my little Brooklyn adventure he looked at me real perplexed and wanted to know why I couldn't just go to Sears. So there you have it, I have Park Slope Boutique taste but Sears money and such is the story of my life :o)

I had the talk with my boss about maternity leave and it looks like they will be bringing in a consultant to fill in while I am gone. I have spoken to this consultant before and she seems qnice but it's always weird to have someone else doing your job; I guess I will have to relax and go with the flow. I have been working consistently since I was 15 years old so being off for 12 weeks is monumental and scary all at the same time...too bad I never got to take this type of time off to travel but it's in my future, I know it!

I have also been working on my big Costa Rica Family vacation for July which I am very excited about. So far we have 8 rooms confirmed and a possible 4 more; so it's going to be most of the cruise people from last vacation plus some fun new faces. I got confirmation that all rooms are available and I am booking hotels this weekend. Next week I can concentrate on planning out the group activities and the party. Fuquita and I were on the phone last night trying to figure out what will be in season in July so that we can get our mouth ready!

This weekend will be crazy busy with stuff going on from 8:30 in the morning on Saturday until well into the evening. I also have to do a massive shopping expedition to Target and Trader Joe's after work tomorrow. On Sunday, I will be trecking out to Westchester to pick up boxes of hand-me down clothes for Zoe. My co-worker is having a boy and they had made a substantial investment in girl clothes for their 1st born so looks like I will be home free for 3 years. I have no idea where I am going to put all these clothes but I am going to not look a gifted horse in the mouth.

Simplifying my life

If you have ever spent a lot of time at my house, you know that I run my home life and my work life pretty much the same way: I have a system, schedules or to-do list for everything. Due to upcoming important new demands on my time, I started working on improving my home system last year to create more free time in my life. Here are some of the things that I did:

-Got rid of clothes that don't work enough, books that I have read and don't plan on ever reading again and all of my papers from graduate school...good ridance!
-Changed the software that I use to manage my budget to Mint.com so that my budget mostly manages itself and all of my bills are automatically paid each month.
-Made a deal with DH: he does all the cleaning and I do all the grocery shopping and cooking. This works pretty well except he doesn't get under every nook and crannie like I prefer so I am going to find a cleaning person to deep clean once per month starting in February.
-Sucked it up and spent an extra $100 to take NJTransit and reduce my commuting time by 15 minutes each way.
-Closed down my IRA and consolidated all of my retirement into one company and just 5 funds (Thanks Lady Ebo for the inspiration!!).
-Cut down my grocery shopping to 1x per month at Target and TJ and 2 orders per month at Shoprite.com. I cook 3x per week so I can plan a month worth of meals (12 meals) and just add in breakfast stuff, fruit, snacks for DH and cleaning supplies :o).
-Bought a fabulous application for my i-phone that has really helped me track my errands and phone calls.

I don't know if any of this stuff will work for you but it might give you some ideas. My goal is to spend the smallest amount of time possible on housework and errands and have more time for family, friends and myself in 2010 :)

Now I just have to simplify getting stuff together for Zoe...I went stroller shopping with my fellow diva this week and it was ummm a challenge.Maybe there is something wrong with me because everyone else in the store seemed to be very into all the gear. I love, love, love to shop but baby stores just have a million versions of the same thing. So I did what I do best, I went online and searched for strollers with extendable handles that will last until she no longer needs a stroller and I came up with 2, please tell me what you think and I will order something in the next month or so ;)
http://www.bumbleride.com/collection2009/flyer-tech-spec.php

http://www.maclarenbaby.com/us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=162&Itemid=88888908

Friday Morning random commentary

A funny thing happened on my way to work today...I got on the train and realized that I had no wallet! I had not train pass and no money at all...how reliant I truly am on my wallet. So I had to call DH and have him drive my wallet to Penn Station New York so I could get to work and back home today. It didn't feel funny at the moment but now I have to shake my head and smile because I am the only person that ends up in these scenarios.

One of the things I really wanted to get done this winter was to finally get my wedding album done. The owner of the studio that I contracted with is a looser and went out of business so I never got my album. I was able to find the photographer who actually did my pictures and he is willing to do the album for the small amount of ...$1750. Yup, that's right, $1750. That will get me 30 pages with 60 pictures. He is a great guy and I have no doubt that his work is worthy but unfortunately my work isn't compensated at that level and it takes me some time to earn that much money. Whoever thought of making weddings into a business was plain ol' genius!

I am really looking forward to the weekend because I have been feeling cranky the last few days...like I literally told the online customer support person at best buy "I really don't' want be transferred, please cancel my order and I will do it some other time!" I usually have lots of patient for customer support people but I just can't be bothered. I think I just need some time to just chill and do what I feel like doing. I am going to go to Yoga and the beautician tomorrow and then I am just going to relax at home taking down my Christmas tree. On Monday I am off but I have a pretty lengthy doctor's appointment after which I totally plan on going to look at a stroller. I am still on the fence as to whether I really need a stroller but I am going to take a look and see how motivated I feel ;)