This ‘n That

— 1 —

During the government shutdown, I finally joined Erin for a manicure and got gel nails for the first time. I’ve gotten them redone twice since then and have been REALLY impressed with their durability. The polish lasts for 2+ weeks with nary a scratch. The only sign of time passing is that they start to grow out and leave a big gap at the bottom. On top of that, it seems to make my nails stronger somehow — they’re longer than they’ve ever been, long enough that they are actually getting kind of annoying and next time I plan to have her file them a lot shorter!!

Look at me, talking about fingernails. Weird.

— 2 —

I posted this photo on Instagram earlier this week. It’s a little outdoor space between two buildings at a conference facility just down the road from JSC, where I was supporting a meeting. I feel like living in Houston makes me appreciate pretty little spaces like this because they are so few and far between. It feels so rare to find a little area where there is actually some nice shade provided by trees taller than 15 feet and full as opposed to scrubby. I have lived here for more than a decade now…but I still really miss big, green leafy trees.

— 3 —

I had an HVAC guy come to the house earlier this week to investigate the problem I mentioned last week, where one of our heaters doesn’t seem to respond to the thermostat. He took a look at everything and…found absolutely nothing wrong. He was able to get both the a/c and the heat going using the thermostat normally. And then when I was all like “no, seriously, it would not turn on” and tried it myself, it worked. Either the problem magically fixed itself, or it’s intermittent and I’ll get to call them again soon. Either way, at the moment I’m just really frustrated that I ended up paying a guy to tell me my heater is fine.

In related news, I asked him to confirm which rooms each of our two heating/cooling units affect. He said one unit does our master bedroom and bonus room, and the other unit does the living room, kitchen, dining room and front bedrooms. I think this is the third time someone has laid it out for us, and each time the explanation has been different. Time to go up into the attic and trace the vent paths myself, I think.

— 4 —

Last Sunday at Drake and Eleanor’s birthday party, Emma got to try her first piece of pizza. She’s had our homemade version of pizza a couple times, but this was straight-up Cici’s delivery. She loved it — ate one entire slice of cheese pizza, even the crust!

Despite a few exceptions like this, Emma’s been unusually picky lately. She refuses even things she’s eaten in the past, and will only reliably eat things in two categories: dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt) and fruit. We even tried peanut butter and jelly mini-sandwiches for the first time — what kid doesn’t love PBJ?? — but she’s not really a fan of that either. It’s surprisingly hard to not stress when she only eats about 3 bites of dinner, but I just keep reminding myself that she’ll eat when she’s hungry…right??

— 5 —

Christmas is coming up FAST and I haven’t done a thing. No decorations up at home (although I did at least pull the box out last night), no tree, no lights outside. I can neither confirm nor deny that there is a pumpkin still sitting on our front stoop. I also haven’t bought a single present. Oh wait! I did order our cards a few days ago after we managed to get a passable family photo in our backyard in the rapidly dimming daylight. They won’t be here until next week and then still have to be addressed and sent, but I guess I get credit for doing half of one Christmas-related thing.

— 6 —

I’m signed up for the annual Reindeer Run 5K in Nassau Bay on Saturday, a race I’ve done almost every year since moving to Houston. (I think I missed it last year but can’t remember why. I’ll blame it on having a small baby at the time.) Even though I haven’t been running lately, I was still planning to go and walk it with Emma. They usually have a petting zoo and some other kids stuff that I thought she’d enjoy after the race. BUT…the weather forecast is showing a 50% chance of rain on Saturday and temperatures in the 30s. Cold and rain doesn’t sound like my idea of a good time, or Emma’s for that matter, so I may end up bailing on it. Bummer.

— 7 —

Yesterday was “picture day” at Emma’s daycare, so we put her back in the fancy outfit we got for Thanksgiving (seen in this post, if you are curious). My 16-month-old daughter is wearing a size 2T dress and it’s only slightly big — I guess that’s what happens when she consistently measures at 98% on the weight chart! I have no doubt that next week when the prints arrive, I’ll be shelling out some ridiculous amount of money for a few pictures. But they will be ADORABLE pictures.

(Linking up: 7 Quick Takes, hosted by Conversation Diary)