I’ve already posted about one gift I received at Christmas with the “local” theme, and today I want to post about the other gift which is local to Chicago, where my oldest sister lives.

From Daily Daguerreotype

It’s an insanely cool and funky appetizer tray featuring a plate with Chicago landmarks. I realize that it is supposed to be used for hor d’oeuvres or cupcakes or other bite-sized entertaining foods, but I’m one of those people who has a hard time putting something away in a cupboard and only using it on special occasions. Do I have hor d’oeuvres out every day? NO! But I have bananas out every day, so let’s put em on the cake plate!

(Also, don’t those tomatoes look good? I typically despise an uncooked tomato, but pregnancy is doing weird things to me, people!)

Chicago is one of my favorite places even though I’ve never lived there. My first trip to the Windy City was right before my freshman year in high school when my dad took me on a business trip with him. We stayed in a mind-blowing suite on the twenty-something floor of the Hilton Chicago Magnificent Mile that included a cheese platter and a bottle of wine. My dad let me have a swig of the wine which I thought was disgusting at the time, but I was all about that cheese! I handed out pamphlets at his seminars, went to numerous dinners in private rooms of fancy restaurants, enjoyed a true Chicago hot dog while watching Sammy Sosa play at Wrigley Field, and fell head over heels in love with the son of my dad’s old college roommate – a senior at Arizona State University. I came home knowing I was going to live in Chicago one day and even created my very first email address with “ChicagoGirl1″ as the username.

My next trip back was in college when a few of my friends piled into a white Oldsmobile for a spur-of-the-moment roadtrip. To save on accommodations we pulled the car into truck stops to sleep for a few hours each night leaving us mighty tired and mighty greasy when we finally made it into town. Our trip was ill-timed, just a month after 9/11, so everything in the city was completely shut down. We couldn’t go to the top of the Sears Tower, most of the municipal buildings were closed, and the streets were dead quiet. But the city was still beautiful, and the guy I wanted at that time kissed me, so Chicago remained magical in my mind.

I took another trip back to visit my sister for Easter and interview for a record company internship later that year. I loved driving around downtown and imagining myself hanging out there all summer long, although I eventually wound up in DC for a different job. I met up with a friend who took me to Maggianos for my very first experience with calamari. (Mance, I think I still owe you a dinner at Smith & Wollensky.) And I finally got to the top of the Sears Tower on a gorgeous day where I could take in the whole city – beautiful and sprawling as ever.

We’re headed up 65 again this year for Easter to eat some more great food and enjoy the company of family. No matter what I can’t help but think that maybe one day I’ll live there for a while. Although perhaps if I lived in Chicago the romance would wear off, and I’d rather always think of it as a beautiful place to fall in love with the wrong person… but eat the best slice of pizza around.

You heard me right! Recently you guys have been visiting and commenting and keepin the love flowin over here at Verbal Intent, and it’s about time I give a shoutout to my awesome readers by doing a giveaway. It hit me the other day when I took Matt out to dinner on MY dime for the first time in a while, that I think my official job these days is a blogger. Soon to be a mommyblogger, even. Weird and wacky and wonderful.

So here’s the deal… what we’re giving away is a $25 Amazon.com giftcard. Hey, that’s enough to earn yourself some Super Saver Shipping! If you’re anything like the folks in this house you absolutely heart Amazon.com, and I hope you can find something fun that’s right up your alley.

Details:

• The giveway is open now, Friday evening, and will close on Monday morning (Mar 1) at 9 am central time when I will pick a winner thanks to the good peeps over at Random.org.
• All you have to do is post a comment with what it is you’ve been ogling over at Amazon and/or what you’d like to see more of on Verbal Intent.
• Make sure you include your email address (I guess that’s a given since the commenting system is set up that way).
• You can enter more than once!!! If you post about the giveaway (with a link) on your blog, Facebook or Twitter account, just add another comment here with a link to the proof.
• Winner will be announced Monday afternoon and will be emailed their giftcard.

Ok, guess that’s it! Let the party start! And thanks for rockin the VI casbah, y’all.

Last night I asked Matt what I should blog about today, and he told me to tell you about the two little hoodies I bought for Penny yesterday at Target for $1 and $1.50 respectively. So, I bought her first hoodies, one navy and one white, and now you are all sure that she is my daughter. Because you will probably see her in a hoodie, jeans & sneakers ALL THE TIME. Why wear anything else, I ask?

But I didn’t just want to write about that because all week long it’s been baby this and baby that, and my male readership is about to fizzle away and die like those female Olympic snowboarders if they keep fallin’ on their noggins! I’ll go ahead and be the jerk and say that I don’t watch the Olympics to watch people fall, I watch the Olympics to be amazed that they don’t fall! PUH-LEAZE!

What I really want to blog about today is how excited I am to be driving up to Cincy tomorrow to meet up with my BFF at IKEA and shop the day away. In some ways this is not the best time for me to be going there because I have a million things I want to get once our upstairs has been drywalled, and it’s just not there yet. But in many other ways it’s a great time for me to go because I won’t spend all the money I’d be spending on the stuff for our upstairs yet, so maybe we can eat during the month of March.

I thought it would behoove me to make a little list of the things I need so that when I get there I don’t go too hog wild, and here is the short list:

• curtain solution for our bedroom
• coffee table (old coffee table will be painted and going upstairs to the “den” when it has walls and a ceiling)
• 1 white queen sized duvet cover
• rocking chair for Penelope’s room
• 2 chaise loungers for the backyard
• maybe a few of their cheap throw pillow inserts

But you know what I’m really a sucker for at IKEA? Not organizational items, not dishware, not rugs… their plants and planters! I have a very hard time walking out of there without picking up some more plants, and to be honest, I have my hands full of houseplants right now. I don’t need any more. But I can always use a few more pots, so I might fill up my cart with those.

I’m also excited to scope out the kids section for the first time. I got a feeling that’s going to be a goldmine.

While perusing IKEA’s website to figure out what I needed, I came across a couple of new products that I thought were really cool. Take a look at these:

Solar-powered pendant lamps for use outdoors! I think these are fabulous and would look wonderful on a back patio that was covered with a pergola.

This little alarm clock might be too cute to say no to.

These “gardening bags” can be used as pots for plants, or I can think of about a hundred other uses for a very inexpensive and colorful bag. How about storage containers for kids toys? Or a true gardening bag – to be taken out to the garden with you when you pick your fresh veggies and herbs? Love em.

And finally, nightlights! Guess we’re going to have to start rockin some of these in our house. I better go now and make room for all the new junk I’ll be picking up tomorrow!

I have been dreading this day, February 18th, 2010 since July 7th, 2009. Today was my original due date.

I envisioned having to write a title for this post along the lines of “Priscilla and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” But so far it hasn’t been like that. What in the name of Desmond David Hume?

I woke up this morning to the sun beating in through the windows, Matt fast asleep beside me, Berlin curled up at our feet, and Mojo sitting on my face meowing for his breakfast. It was perfect aside from that last part. Matt got to sleep in because he didn’t have to leave for work until noon, so I lay in bed a while longer daydreaming about what I would eat for breakfast if I were on a cruise ship and had that huge buffet sprawled out in front of me. Scrambled eggs laden with salt and pepper, bacon, sausage, croissants, cheese, a grapefruit half, strawberries, cantaloupe, orange juice and a bottomless cup of coffee. Sweet gastronomical bliss!

Then I couldn’t take it any longer. I woke up Matt to find out what he would eat for his cruise breakfast. It was basically all of the above but replacing the coffee with tea. He would hit the poolside burger grill for lunch and a margarita and would finish the day with surf and turf for dinner. We climbed out of bed and I whipped up some banana bread, coffee and tea which was ready by the time Matt got out of the shower. Then we meandered outside to the back deck and ate our breakfast while I threw the tennis ball for Berlin. It’s 44 degrees outside, or such saith Accuweather, but it felt more like the high 50s.

We sat outside for a solid hour soaking in the beautiful weather, the sun, the fresh hot morning drinks, and a puppy playing in the grass. We chatted about the summer, how each night when he gets home from work we’ll grill out on the deck, take a walk around the neighborhood, put Penny to bed, then settle in with books and iced tea in our Adirondack chairs until it’s dark out. Isn’t the best part of summer the fact that the sun doesn’t set until 9 pm? I think so.

On the list of things to accomplish today is a trip to Home Depot (of course) and a trip to Target. I think I’ll treat myself to the greatest indulgence in the world – a leisurely stroll through every single aisle of Target. It’s the equivalent of chocolate cake. I have more work to do on our taxes this afternoon, and I think I’m going to make something delicious for dinner. Like homemade BBQ chicken pizza and a big ole salad. And we’ll watch The Office and Matt will chortle loudly.

I wish I could be meeting my first child today. But I can honestly say I no longer fear death because I have somebody to meet on the other side. I’m a changed person, but the biggest change is an overwhelming feeling that I am insanely blessed. I have everything in the world that a girl could ever want. I spent such a long time chasing and working for the things I wanted in life, and here they are. All right here in my hands, and I am insanely content. I want to think that if it were all taken away tomorrow, I would still be grateful for the time I’ve had married to my best friend, laughing with friends and family, being surrounded by adorable four-legged animals, cooking and eating great food, traveling the world, and experiencing the crazy miracle of pregnancy.

After Matt left for work, I checked my email and saw a sweet note from a dear friend who remembered that today was the day. It made my heart really really warm. I know there are people looking out for me, thinking and praying for me today. Life is what you make it, and I think that today we should make it an absolutely perfectly lovely day.

Over the past few weeks, really since we found out that we were going to have a girl, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and thinking and pondering my upcoming identity change. Half of me is really excited about the new aspect of being a mom, and being a mom to a little girl. I’ll brag. I think I’m going to be a good mom because I’ve noticed that the best moms are actually the ones who were never baby snatchers to begin with. Something having to do with maternal separation anxiety. I’m sure Matt has a psychological term for this. But then there’s the other half of me who is cautiously preparing myself for the myriad challenges ahead.

There are so many things that will make this shift to motherhood a challenge. I’ll have to live more selflessly than I ever have before. I’ll have to give more of myself to someone and find inherent reward in doing that – no thank yous or pats on the back from the little nugget. In fact, I’ll wind up having my love and selflessness responded to with grumbles, frowns, tears and “I hate you!” (Assuming she has any of my DNA.)

I’ll also deal with new social challenges that I haven’t faced before – kids who pick on my kid, the constant competitiveness and judgment of other moms, and my own expectations or hopes being shattered.

In preparing for this new identity, I’m realizing that it’s pretty similar to the change that happens when you get married (or perhaps committing yourself to a life partner… to be all equal opportunity whatnot). On the one hand, you learn who you really are and, hopefully, increase in confidence. But on the other hand, you realize your personality baggage to the fullest and need to make steps towards becoming a better person. Both of those things, growing your confidence in who you inherently are, and making changes towards being a better person are strangely tough. And I think that while you’re on that journey, the people who have always loved you will continue to love you, and the people who have always hated you will continue to hate you.

Which is actually pretty encouraging. I mean, I’m cool with the people who hate me. And I’m becoming increasingly thankful for the people in my life who have always loved me and will continue to love me even as I evolve out of the box I used to live in. And then there are those new friends – that new community of people who are loving on me and supporting me because they can see the trajectory my life is about to take. Maybe they see my potential as a mom? Or just as a person on a journey.

I automatically like those people a lot. Because there’s nothing I love more than new people and new experiences laced with potential. And whooo-boy, aren’t we in for a new experience!?

I’m wishing that I hadn’t already purchased all of my neices and nephew’s Christmas gifts, because I just found out about the greatest new children’s book EVER. My dear friend, Ginette, has just published her first children’s book entitled My Mommy is a Mermaid and you can pick up the hardcover here.

I took a look through the preview, and the illustrations are just gorgeous. Great work, Ginette, and I can’t wait to read it for myself!