Ha Ha & Hooray!

Little Nathaniel

So Nathaniel has been working so hard for several months to get a job. He has spent a lot
of time looking for jobs, learning programs, working here and there and taking such
good care of me, our garden and our apartment. With all that he has basically been
working full-time. Now it all finally pays off!

He had an interview a couple weeks ago down in Orem and was offered that job.
He had a phone interview with a company up in Boise and is actually on his way
there right now. They got him a hotel to stay in for the night and his interview will be all
morning and they'll take him out to lunch. We hope for the best!

It is great to see the fruits of his labors and everyone's prayers in our behalf begin
to create some potential options. For the longest time he would rarely even get an automated
e-mail from a company saying that they even got his application. There was also a recruiter
that kept telling him that companies aren't hiring out of state right now and that Utah
doesn't have any positions.

Hooray!!!

What a great husband he has grown up to be!


Yesterday I was pretty excited to start my second trimester because you're
supposed to feel better, have more energy, etc., and I was pretty proud that I had gone a
week without throwing up. I've been feeling better and I think I have more energy.
Sometimes it is hard to say because I've had work off besides some paper work. So I can sleep
until I wake up and get ready as slow as I want to. I have gone a few days without a
nap lately, but regret not taking one by the time evening rolls around.

Anyway, I guess I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch. I didn't feel super great
last night and even woke up still feeling sickly. I made it out of bed, had some breakfast
and felt like I could take a shower. I felt better after that and asked Than if he
wanted to go to the Temple right then. We got into the temple and he discovered
he had forgotten his recommend, even though he had his wallet. We were on our way home
(just a 3-4 minute drive) and I started feeling sick. Then I was passed the point where telling
myself I didn't need to throw up did any good. I told Than to drive faster and tried telling
myself that I could wait until we got home. No such luck - we were about a block away from
our house and I had two nice spews out the car window that decorated the side of the car
and may have provided some entertainment for the vehicle behind us. Than pulled over in
front of some lucky person's house where I finished up. By the time I was almost done
throwing up I couldn't help but laugh. I started laughing pretty hard and took a picture of
the car when we got home, but I'm sure you don't want to see it.

Ha ha...

Rearranging our Apartment for Baby Hardman - Phase 1

Yes, we are finally having a baby! Although the little one won't be joining us until
sometime around February 8th, we have already started making some changes.


New cereals (both on sale!). MultiGrain Cheerios to help me be healthy and
Cap'n Crunch Berries because it is the closest thing I have had to a craving. I'm not totally
averse to food like I was a few weeks ago, but I still generally don't feel like eating.


New, random stuff in the fridge. You can see three kinds of juices (not because
I like them but have necessity for them). Applesauce for the times my stomach is a
little less than cooperative or happy. Also, a pitcher of water because I am not so
content to just fill up from the tap anymore.



A lot more movies lying around. Here you see Bewitched, Monkees and Conference.
Those are the regulars - always on hand. I do read and nap a lot too.
And sometimes I just lay.


Our new mattress. Sleeping is a thing of the past. Between dreams, bathroom trips
and aching so bad I can't lay on either side for more than a few minutes during
the last few hours of the night, I had to do something. On the left side of the bed
you can see a brown sleeping bag. There are actually two, big, fluffy brown sleeping
bags on my side of the bed. Thankfully it has helped quite a bit.



Saltines on the nightstand.



Occasionally a bowl by the bed at night just in case.
Thankfully I haven't had to use it yet (at night).



The bowl I usually use with the rug pulled away slightly to avoid unexpected splashes.



The couch is now usually equipped with pillows during the day and a blanket all
the time. Sometimes I come out to finish my night on the couch.



We have some new seating arrangements. The couch also often functions as our
new dinner table because I don't enjoy sitting in chairs much. Here is where I like
to put on my makeup because I can sit (there is a mirror on the wall there).


I sit on the edge of the tub and do as much as I can to get ready. You can also see a
stool in the shower. I had that from my ankle surgery, but it works well when you are
tired and pregnant too.


Comfy clothes that aren't tight around the waist are always handy.
Don't worry, I put them away sometimes.


The green bathtub cleaner I made from baking soda, liquid soap and water
with a little vinegar. It works wonderfully!



Last but not least, new pictures. Here is Baby Hardman just over 3 weeks ago at
my appointment when I was 8 weeks. We may have some updated 12 week
pictures next week. All the pictures are meant in good humor, not to complain.
I have been sick but sooo glad it hasn't been worse! And I hope it will get better soon!
It is rather amusing to me anyway and we are happy.

Paris, part 3

The Picasso Museum

Musee d'Orsay:
Van Gogh

Van Gogh's self-portrait

Whislter's Mother (and Than)

A snazzy shirt that I tried on

Little outdoor restaurants

Nathaniel eating Greek food in Paris

A Greek Salad

Versailles, Paris

Nathaniel's review: Our final day in Paris we actually went outside the city to Versailles.
From the moment the palace came into view, I was astounded at the opulence of the place.
The golden gates around the football-field-sized courtyard in front of the three-winged palace,
decked out sculpture and gilding all over – it was outrageous. When we went inside, that
feeling intensified. There was room after room of fifteen-foot ceilings covered in
murals of wealth and power, with walls covered in portraits and mirrors, everything gilded,
everything ornate. We walked into a hall with a thirty-foot, arched ceiling, hung with
crystal chandeliers every few feet for a good sixty feet or so. We walked down a hallway
lined with at least a dozen larger-than-life sculptures of French Nobility posing in
positions of power and intelligence. We saw the royal bedrooms with beds abnormally
high (someone explained to me that they didn’t want anyone to look down on them,
even to wake them up). We saw the private chapel, three levels high, and big enough
for a congregation of a hundred, and all that wealth and sumptuousness built into
a feeling of…I don’t know. Disgust? Lina’s dad asked what I thought, and I said I
thought it was kind of sickening. He said the word that kept coming to mind was
“immoral.” I think that sums it up pretty well.

The Gardens at Versailles:

Size: 800 hectacres


Number of fountains: 50


Sudden rain. It was bright and sunny and while we were checking our map it clouded
over and started POURING. Then it stopped after a few minutes and the sun came out quickly.


Number of trees: 200,000





The Palace:
The War Hall, or something. It had huge murals of past French wars.

Napoleon


Lots of chandeliers.


An enormous bed.


Check out the ceilings.


What we call the "Blue Room." There was a wing of rooms similar to this, but each was a
different color and had different paintings or furniture.


I think this was the chapel.


The gate made of gold, really. I waited several minutes for no one to be getting their picture
taken in front of the gate, but it didn't happen. So I don't know these people.


One of the fountains. If you look to the right of the fountain near the top of the picture,
you can see (sort of) how far the gardens extend even from this point. And that is just one side!

Paris

If you eat Onion Soup in France, is it French Onion Soup?


We found a fun little cafe to eat lunch. Nathaniel can totally pull off that hat!

This area (Sacre Couer) was one of my favorite places in Paris. It rained all 3 days
we were in Paris, but it didn't make things too crazy.

The Eiffle Tower


Notre Dame

Notre Dame wasn't really what I expected, but it was neat. I guess I thought it would be bigger
and have more rooms or something. It amazes me that people could build such a structure
without the tools and technology we have now. It took over 200 years to build.


The Mona Lisa

There she is... It actually wasn't too hard to get up close to this painting.
There were A LOT of people around, but I'm glad it didn't take long. :)


The "Chunnel" train from Paris to London

Most of the ride is through beautiful Paris countryside. We passed little town after
town, each with its own cool church. The train took about 2hrs 15 mins to get to London,
with only about 7-10 minutes under the English Channel.


Sacre Couer

This was one of my favorite cathedrals from the outside.


With my sister at the Eiffle Tower


All 4 of us: Lina, Than, Emily & Dad

The first week of the trip was just the 4 of us pictured above.
Later we joined up with more of my family.

Here are some of Nathaniel's thoughts about Paris (more eloquent & detailed):
We arrived in Paris in the early afternoon, struggled a little to figure out which was
the train that would take us closest to our hotel, finally got on a train (whether the right one
or not, I still am not sure), and came out into downtown Paris. We weren’t too far from
the hotel, but we didn’t have our bearings, and we did have all of our luggage, so we got
a taxi to take us. When we handed him the address of the hotel, he laughed,
said something in French, and made little walking motions with his fingers.
Then he shrugged and took us a few blocks to the hotel.
Upon arriving at the Holiday Inn in Paris, we found we had only booked a room
for one person, and they didn’t have a room big enough for four people. They were very nice,
though, and gave us two rooms right next to each other for almost no additional charge.
We stowed our bags, filled our water bottles, and headed out.
That first day in Paris, we saw Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre,
and we took a cruise up the River Seine. Notre Dame struck me as very spacious
and beautiful. When I read the Hunchback, I hadn’t pictured that huge, vaulted central
chasm of the cathedral proper; I had pictured kind of a maze of rooms and corridors,
story after story. I didn’t picture those huge, intricate stained-glass windows. I certainly
wasn’t expecting all the people worshipping in there. I guess because it’s so old and historic,
I thought it would be a museum rather than an active place of worship. We walked by the
confessional booth, heard some of Vespers, and saw people praying in the chapel there.
Despite the throngs of people, it felt like a sacred place, in a way, and I really enjoyed it.
The Eiffel Tower was just how it looks in all the pictures, but it was a lot bigger than I
thought. It’s enormous! That first arch of the legs is probably taller than the Logan Temple.
There wasn’t much to do there other than oggle, so we didn’t spend much time there.
The Louvre was amazing. For one thing, I’ve never seen such a large building. That is,
not tall, but SPRAWLING. It just kept going, and going, and going. We walked through
some paintings first; I had heard that the Mona Lisa is always thronged with people and not that
impressive, so I wasn’t going to see it, but we ended up walking by anyway. I saw it from a
distance, and the rest of the party went in for a closer look. I really enjoyed the paintings,
though after a while they seemed to all be pretty similar. I guess that’s the effect of a huge
museum that groups paintings by era and nationality; you do get lots of similar paintings all
together. Then we went to the sculptures. I really liked some of the sculptures; my favorites
were one of a lion attacking a man, and one of Prometheus chained to a rock. There was also
a cool action sculpture of Hercules fighting Cerburus. Lina was very tired by this point, so she
kept sitting down and falling asleep. The Seine River cruise was peaceful and beautiful.
It’s a very scenic river, with 18th century buildings all up and down the river, as well as
some much older buildings (Notre Dame). The banks are built up with rocks, and there
is a pleasant little walking path along the river. That was a good thing to end the day with,
because we were very tired.

Home Sweet Home

The John Denver song came to mind today, "Hey it's good to be back home again."
Not that any of you would know that song. Don't get me wrong, the trip was
spectacular, but it was time to be done.

Our plane landed just before midnight last night. It was a looong day of travel -
about 29 hours with little sleep on a bus and plane. Unfortunately the last leg of
the trip home was by far the most miserable because I was sooo tired but couldn't
sleep, and I threw up 3x. The last time was just as we were landing in SLC when you
aren't supposed to take your seat belt off or get out of your seat, but I made a mad
dash to the toilet.

We'll be blogging about the trip sometime, but...

It was nice to come back to our little apartment that is MUCH bigger than the room we
shared with my dad & sister, 4 huge suitcases and 4 beds.

It is much easier to do laundry in a washing machine instead of a sink.

It was fun to see our garden growing - thanks to the Bakers, Merkets and the rain.

Our apartment and house plants were well taken care of by the Bennetts.

We get to sleep in our own bed tonight, and on Sunday we get to go to our own ward!