favorite things Saturday.

first off, let me just say that it took some willpower to allow the typo of the last post's header to remain unfixed. I think there was another typo/misspelling in the content of the post, too, but there was a lot to do the past few days so I made myself let it go. so I'm imperfect! now you KNOW!

back from travels and happy to be home. husband is just stirring so I'll pop off these things that I'm enjoying for your leisure reading pleasure:

1. the sun. blinding me with your light, I'd almost forgotten who you were. blink. you seductress, it's good to have you back.

2. smartwool socks. they are the bomb and I love them very much. thanks, husband, for the hook-up and thanks, smartwool, you've made my winter much more comfortable (not to mention colorful! they also come in regular colors, and it should be said that the variety of women's styles is totally better than the men's).

3. when I'm out and about and feel myself getting hungry, an easy, one-on-every-corner go-to snack has been the bean and cheese tacos from Taco Cabana. I love regular tacos but thought it best to refrain from mystery ground beef until this baby is born, and the b&c tacos have fit the bill as a quick fix. of course, that was before I went looking for an image this morning and found out the sodium content of one taco. sigh. it was nice while it lasted, taco-friend.

4. I don't like to drink white milk. I haven't since I was little. sure, I'll have some in my coffee or with my cereal, but you won't catch me drinking what's left over in the bowl after I've eaten the cereal out. shudder gross. however, I recently re-visited the childhood fave, Nestle Quik, and find it to be delicious. Cold cold Promised Land milk with this in it is so good I'm sad when I've finished drinking it... which has to be fast, because I don't want it to get warm or the chocolate to settle at the bottom. the only drawback is that milk makes my stomach, or taste buds, or something, feel... milky, so I have to wait and be judicious about what I imbibe next. no orange juice or coffee for sure, gag. Promised Land chocolate milk is good, too, by the way.

5. baths, every day. especially with good stuff in it, like the fizzy ball my father-in-law got me for Christmas from Bath Junkie or this simply wonderful, rejuvenating bath soak my sister-in-law gave me:

6. I used the funds my sweet grandma gave me to buy a few maternity things, and this was one of the most awesome purchases I made. these maternity leggings rule!

7. using Pond's reminds me of my Grandma. and I love to use it everyday... it makes me feel clean and soft.

8. I like olives.

9. I also like eating with chopsticks... aside from being fun, it forces me to eat slower which results in less heartburn. and that's always a good thing.

10. you couldn't keep me from bread right now. M brought home the yummiest bread this past week, and every morning I carved off thick slices to toast and gobble.

11a. in my first act of somewhat-violent goodwill toward the house on Woodfin, I took my clippers over Wednesday morning. our very nice renters had let the tree-shrubbery grow up over the front windows, which I seriously un-like. I'm sure it's rooted primarily in the fact that when I found the house, thanks to a Greensheet ad, it was literally covered in foliage and in the years I spent there there were many many hours of pruning and ripping and cultivating. so you'll understand why the roof-high greenery in the photo below struck a nerve:

11b. the house now sort of looks a little startled, like whoa! you can see me and I forgot to put on my shirt!, but it's all for the best. more natural sunlight can come in through the window and those bush-trees will fill in if they're regularly cut back.

12. feeling the bebe, as husband calls her, move around more. and actually seeing my stomach move a little! odd, odd sensations, but deeply sweet and fun. babycenter says she was the size of a banana at 20 weeks:

and we turn 21 weeks tomorrow, graduating to carrot. which we cannot wait to put in a lot of your baby food, little person!

honorable mentions of things to like right now: Niko Nikos always, sports bras, challenging yoga class, working more than I'd hoped, farmer's market this morning, good friends, sweet family, dear church, planning fun stuff, naps, the occasional diet coke, spreadable goat cheese from Pennsylvania, spicy pasta sauce, mostly controlling the urge to freak out about something, and reading my Francine Rivers book.