January Photo-A-Day - Day 30

"Story"

A day in the life of Moriah:

Woke up, thought it was Saturday, and then realized it wasn't. I may have been slightly disappointed, but then was happy to realize it was snowing. And then sad to realize that Harold wasn't really out much today. I had breakfast, watched a YouTube video, made coffee, got dressed, and then drank my coffee while my friend called. I got fidgety while I listened so I sorted the few baby things we have so far and then proceeded to go through the bins in the bedroom closet. I found Christmas decorations I forgot to bring out, for both John's birthday Christmas-themed party, as well as Christmas itself. I also emptied a bin of miscellaneous house decor into another bin of said items so now my yarn is sorted! Yay! By the time dinner came around, aka I was starving, the floor of the bedroom was a mess. And it still is, now that I think about it. It's an organized mess though. Little piles of items to go to certain places and so forth. We went off to Bible Study...it is frigid out! Then came home and John had his dinner, and I had my second dinner. (Don't worry, I had lunch and a snack between breakfast and dinner, haha!) Then he headed to bed and I've pretty much been an aimless waif since then. I did make a fabulous smoothie though before coming and blogging for the night. The end.

*curtsies*

January Photo-A-Day - Day 29

"Entertainment"

One of the first things people have noticed in our home is we don't have a TV. It was a mutual decision early on that will probably stick around for a long time. Granted, I like technology. I was recently given an Amazon Echo, and it's been really fun to use! And practically, my sleep has improved with the sounds on it. John loves his fancy-schmancy computer with the bells and whistles that he made as a late teen, but it's tucked away in our middle room. We both love our phones for YouTube and such, his work laptop for DVDs as well as the mini portable DVD player. So yeah, we have technology. We aren't against it. We use it to keep track of things, but I still rely on a pen and paper calendar for most things. We have an good size card and board game collection, that I swear feels smaller every day so we slowly add to it over time. I have a basket of yarn for projects to be started, and bags of books around. Most of the time, our technology is dormant. I forget the computers even exist until late in the evening when I remember to blog. My phone is usually on me, but I leave it on vibrate or off as I don't like to be always reached. John is the same way so there are a few people who have taken to calling me to reach him or pass on messages as I'll be slightly more likely to answer, haha! All in all, entertainment is nice, but it's even nicer to just curl up on the couch together, or play a game, or just exist!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 28

"Favorite Phone App"

I've really enjoyed having the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" app on my phone. Handy information, and I've made a few new friends as well! It's nice to see women band together and support one another through various hard times. I'm thankful I found it!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 27

"With Your Phone"

Reality is, nearly every picture I post is with my phone. But I figured taking a picture of nightly smoothie fit the bill as I used my phone to confirm that putting a clementine in it wasn't weird or going to taste horrible. It was actually pretty good! The downside was I used up the almond milk so it ended up being more soupy that usual. Today I had peach yogurt, blueberries, a clementine, almond milk, cinnamon, and honey in my smoothie. 😊 Yum!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 26

"Token"

John was fiddling with his ring on his desk. I was admiring the reflection in the glass, when I thought to arrange our rings for today's picture. My engagement ring, our wedding bands, and my trinity ring from this summer made for a lovely photo composition.

January Photo-A-Day - Day 25

"Prism"

I couldn't find my prism when the sun popped out for a little bit today, but I could find my heart necklace my grandma made with Swarovski crystals. Whenever the light hits it, the various angles can create splashes of reflected light, and sometimes, even rainbows! I've had it for a long time, and I love it. 💜 Prisms remind me of Pollyanna, and the love of them in the book.

Here is an excerpt from "Pollyanna" by Eleanor H. Porter, Chapter XVIII Prisms

Pollyanna had not hung up three of the pendants in the sunlit window before she saw a little of what was going to happen. She was so excited then she could scarcely control her shaking fingers enough to hang up the rest. But at last her task was finished, and she stepped back with a low cry of delight.

It had become a fairyland--that sumptuous, but dreary bedroom. Everywhere were bits of dancing red and green, violet and orange, gold and blue. The wall, the floor, and the furniture, even to the bed itself, were aflame with shimmering bits of color.

"Oh, oh, oh, how lovely!" breathed Pollyanna; then she laughed suddenly. "I just reckon the sun himself is trying to play the game now, don't you?" she cried, forgetting for the moment that Mr. Pendleton could not know what she was talking about. "Oh, how I wish I had a lot of those things! How I would like to give them to Aunt Polly and Mrs. Snow and--lots of folks. I reckon then they'd be glad all right! Why, I think even Aunt Polly'd get so glad she couldn't help banging doors if she lived in a rainbow like that. Don't you?"

Mr. Pendleton laughed.

"Well, from my remembrance of your aunt, Miss Pollyanna, I must say I think it would take something more than a few prisms in the sunlight to--to make her bang many doors--for gladness. But come, now, really, what do you mean?"

Pollyanna stared slightly; then she drew a long breath.

"Oh, I forgot. You don't know about the game. I remember now."

"Suppose you tell me, then."

And this time Pollyanna told him. She told him the whole thing from the very first--from the crutches that should have been a doll. As she talked, she did not look at his face. Her rapt eyes were still on the dancing flecks of color from the prism pendants swaying in the sunlit window.

"And that's all," she sighed, when she had finished. "And now you know why I said the sun was trying to play it--that game."

For a moment there was silence. Then a low voice from the bed said unsteadily:

"Perhaps; but I'm thinking that the very finest prism of them all is yourself, Pollyanna."

It's a...

...........................................................................................................................................................

...BOY!!! Edward Allen Schairer is due mid-June!!! 💙 His name means "Prosperous Protector; Little Rock". He would not stop wiggling so as you can see by the sonogram, his hands are next to his face. John got to hear the heartbeat in person for the first time as well as come to the ultrasound and I'm so glad he could! He is definitely our little miracle! 💙 

January Photo-A-Day - Day 24

"Morning Light"

I've been awake since about 5am this morning for no good reason other than I couldn't sleep, so I attempted to watch the sunrise although it didn't. There was a bit of pink in the sky for a while but it didn't last long. It straight away was gray and dreary but later snowed which made up for it. 😊 The following blog post will have some exciting news, so keep your eye out for that later this evening!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 23

"Eyes"

As a kid, one of my favorite blankets was my bear blanket. It was originally my dad's and I inherited it when I moved out. I love the eyes and the details in the fur. We pulled it out recently for the spare bed, and I had a lovely unexpected nap the other day with it. 

January Photo-A-Day - Day 22

"Intentionally Cropping"

Met up with some friends at the last minute this evening! It was a lot of fun and nice to get out after being snowed in all weekend. I think cropping the top of the picture out because it's blurry fits today's prompt pretty well. John was glad to have me out of the house so he could do some kitchen cleaning for me. He was going to banish me to the other end of the house so I wasn't underfoot if I hadn't gone out. 😂 Fair enough, honey! Not to mention, I got a cute bath scrubbie for the baby! Bonus!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 21

"Consider the Background"

The background proved easy on this puzzle, but the foreground is going to be much harder. I think I won't be finishing it anytime soon, but I've enjoyed how much I've gotten done so far. I just need to figure out the best way to tackle the foreground. It consists of browns and beige which make it difficult to sort the pieces out. We shall see how it goes. 😊

January Photo-A-Day - Day 20

"On the Third"

On the third night of having this movie out, we finally sat down and watched it. It was "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". I think this one is definitely my favorite with IV and V coming in second place. Definitely a good way to end a snowy weekend with the hubby! Looking forward to the next Star Trek movie, "Star Trek: Generations"!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 19

"Necessary"

I wanted to blog yesterday, but by the time I was getting ready to do so, I was so exhausted, I went straight to bed. Which helped in figuring out my post as sleep was necessary, and blogging was not. As it is, I'm definitely ready for bed already. I think I need to start shifting my evening routine back an hour or two. The past week or so, by 10pm, I've been completely done for the day. Except of course the one day I had caffeine way too late. 😉

January Photo-A-Day - Day 18

"Where I Stand"

Here I stand in my kitchen, while cooking meal #5 or #6 for the day. I keep eating small meals throughout the day. Haha, in fact, I think I'm going to get a midnight snack before heading to bed as I'm already hungry. Again. The pine tree mat on the floor was a souvenir from the honeymoon. We wanted to get something for our little home that wasn't super cheesy or another mug. So when we found this mat, we loved it! They had a couple different ones, but the pine trees were our favorite. It's so nice to have the little reminder of our adventure in the Adirondacks in the kitchen. I think tipping a canoe over while getting into it, sitting on the bridge of the Enterprise, visiting 4 forts, and setting off the smoke alarm while cooking dinner one of the first nights are great memories. 😉 Although after having it go off at least 3x now on my watch/cooking...I've become very skittish!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 17

"Currently Loving"

Currently loving my hubby for finishing the laundry so I could go to a ladies get together at Church. I was a little upset, to be honest, when some of it was damp still. But, he was great and helped me get it on the drying rack and such to let it finish drying. Clean clothes for the win! And now I'm not upset any more. A kiss (and hug) work wonders lol! Now to put it all away....

January Photo-A-Day - Day 16

"It's Routine"

Every Wednesday now, I don my polka dot dress so I can track the baby bump. It makes sense to me to wear the same thing so you can actually see changes. It's neat to see that now at 19 weeks, my belly has begun to round out. Yesterday was a special first for me! I've felt flutters and such to this point, but yesterday I felt a most decided kick! I was reading Psalm 105:43 out loud during my Bible time, and the baby loved it.

"So he brought his people out with joy,

    his chosen ones with singing."

Psalm 105:43 ESV

Today I felt another kick as I was getting up for the day, and I've felt some other wiggles and such too. Nearly halfway!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 15

"Outside"

Or better said, "Outside the box." I was going to throw this all in the crock-pot some evening this week but as plans changed for our night, I decided to throw it all in the oven instead. It turned out really good and paired well with "The Maltese Falcon". Highly recommend if you've never seen it. Generally my recipe:

• One bag of egg noodles
• 1lb of defrosted chicken breast
• Chicken broth
• Butter (4 tbs)
• Buffalo chicken wing sauce (4tbs)
• Shredded cheese (I used pre-shredded and some Gouda too)
• Parmesan cheese
• Garlic salt
• Italian herb seasoning
• Celery

I preheated the oven to 400*F. Put the egg noodles and celery mixed up in the bottom of my Corelle dish. Then I poured in the chicken broth, along with a mixture of melted butter and buffalo sauce over that. The chicken went on top with all the rest on top to taste and cheese preference. Baked it for an hour and then let it sit for a few minutes before enjoying! Best part is we get two meals out of the work for one. Not that it's much work just waiting for the timer to beep, lol! So I'm glad I went "outside" the box and made a hot yummy meal tonight. It might go to my head if I keep up this winning streak lol

January Photo-A-Day - Day 14

"You (Again!)"

I was hoping my bump would look bigger, but I've found if it's non-maternity, it doesn't emphasize it! Haha! I'll take being able to wear non-maternity for as long as I can. And a few of my dresses, including the one I'm wearing, should last me for most of it. I "dressed up" my comfy clothes today (my soft capris and tunic dress) to give motivation to do some cleaning. I was going to paint my toenails as well, but that never happened. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe Wednesday. One of these days I'll actually do it. Made me think of vintage ads regarding dressing up for housework so here is a few I found. 😊

January Photo-A-Day - Day 13

"You!"

This is about as best as I can do today after a long sleepless night. I guess I'm just practicing for the future, what can I say? My green blanket has been my faithful companion today. It's been so cold! Even though the house temp is the same, it feels cold! Thankful to be heading to bed and not needing to get up early tomorrow. 😌

January Photo-A-Day - Day 12

"Contemplative"

This is about 2/3s of an icicle outside our kitchen window. When I was thinking about today's post as the theme was contemplative, I thought of something I noticed with these icicles. They seem to just "appear". Especially the larger ones. You don't notice them forming until they are formed. Same with problems. You don't notice them occurring until they are suddenly upon you and have snowballed into a large one! But most of all, you don't notice God's hand in something until you look back and realize suddenly that He was there in that situation. He did answer your prayers when you asked for His wisdom. He did proffer guidance during that problem. He was there with you during that dilemma. I think sometimes we need to pay attention more to what's happening around us. Then we will see God working in our life, a problem start to arise and we can take care of it before it snowballs, or even just watch the beauty of an icicle form.

January Photo-A-Day - Day 11

  

"Pop of Color"

Christmas Eve, I'm standing in my parents' kitchen with John and my Dad. Suddenly this item comes to mind. I ask John if I showed it to him when we were at the store, and he says no. I tell him allllllllll about it, because it was really cute. Later that evening, we open our stockings.

THE AMAZING CUTE DUCKY TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER IS IN MY STOCKING!!

He had to keep a straight face when I had proceeded to tell him how adorable it was since it had been in my stocking since the night before! I love it! It makes me smile every time I see it. And it definitely adds a "pop of color" to our bathroom. 😊

January Photo-A-Day - Day 10

"Delightful"

Lots of delightful things today....

~ The snowfall is delightful.

~ That today was John's day off was delightful.

~ Wandering through the baby department at the store was delightful. My selfie camera is on a timer hence I'm laughing and John is wide-eyed. He ended up getting some boats for the baby's bath toy collection because he loved them so much. Haha! I bought the baby a couple books. Can't get much else for the time being.

~ Spending the day together was delightful!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 9

"From Behind"

Is it an Entenmann's Donut or a Fudge Stripe Cookie?

If you guess correctly, I won't share.

If you guess incorrectly, I still won't share.

Good luck! 😉

January Photo-A-Day - Day 8

"Exposing Your Red"

Had to do some brainstorming for this one, haha! Then I remembered the various "red shoes" around the house! I may or may not, albeit do, have a love for "The Wizard of Oz". I love the books. I love L. Frank Baum's works. I love the movie. I love so many things about the land he created in his works! I probably spent just as much time in Oz as I did in Narnia if not more so! So throughout the house, you'll see little bits of love for it. My compendiums of his works, my Madame Alexander doll, a quote on the wall, my special duct tape, and of course, my new phone stand John got me for Christmas. 😊

January Photo-A-Day - Day 7

"Shades of Red"

I love the light coming through my bunny goblet! I bought it back in the summer, and found it the other day. Why I haven't thought to use it, I'm not sure! Today when we grabbed some groceries, I got supplies to make Shirley Temples! Unfortunately, pregnancy brain kicked in and I forgot cherries so I added a splash of cranberry peach juice to my Shirley Temple. It turned out pretty good! And happened to look fabulous in my glass. 😉

January Photo-A-Day - Day 6

"Red"

Sometimes the most simplest of things are the most meaningful and beautiful.

"I must have flowers, always, and always."

~ Claude Monet

January Photo-A-Day - Day 5

(We are only 5 days into January? Feels like longer!)

"Space to Grow"

With the majority of my deep cleaning done, it's like a breath of fresh air! We have space to grow, room for the baby things, and now that the set of drawers is empty, I can put the few things I got for Christmas in it. I also found my old teddy bear Brownie, and my baby shoes and socks. Can't wait to turn it into a more practical selection of things over the next few months, but for now, I'm happy! 💜 The items have a place to go and space to spare!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 4

"Branches"

Our new shelf came in yesterday so we put it together this evening. Why branches you asked? The two things shown, and the third thing I put on the empty shelf are branches of what I love. The bottom two shelves are my record collection. A few are in the living room with the record player, and the rest are now easily accessible for listening to! The top shelves in the closet are my hat collection! Many vintage hats and hat boxes. I was happy because I had an extra clear tote bin kicking around so now I can see in all the bins. A few of the hat boxes are fragile so I'm thankful they are safely housed now. The empty shelf is no longer empty. I didn't take a picture after I filled it and John put the closet doors back on the tracks. I put my cards and letter supplies in there, and emptied out a small set of drawers to begin collecting baby things. I also have a much more spacious coat closet as the records have been chilling in there! That will be the next closet to tidy next week. 😊 Records, hats, and writing letters are all branches of what I love!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 3

"One Word"

Cleaned!

January Photo-A-Day - Day 2

"Fresh"

~ Fresh fallen snow is dusting the world out there.

~ A fresh delicious granny smith is satisfying a craving for an apple.

~ A fresh spin on Marilla Cuthbert. I've been enjoying it this evening (the baby is reading with me, gotta start 'em young! 😉😆) which is a great read if anyone is interested! I can't wait to finish it!

(Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy)

January Photo-A-Day - Day 1

"Welcome to 2019!"

Excited about this month and the year ahead! Tomorrow we celebrate 7 months married and 17 weeks pregnant! Later this month we will find out if it's a boy or girl. Near June 12th, we will welcome the baby into our growing family. And who knows what else lies in store! Looking forward to sharing the year with you all and seeing how we grow along the way. God is good! 💜

(My sis made this for me as a Christmas present!)