As usual, Jag got me some jewelry, and as usual, he really picks out some great stuff. In addition to some very pretty glass candleholders, a wafflemaker that I can’t wait to start using, and some great earrings, I got a vintage-style dragonfly necklace, and a pendant with dried pressed flowers inside:

These stitch markers he got me are absolutely adorable. The sheep are all dressed up in Santa hats, holly, and one is even wearing reindeer horns and a Rudolph nose! The level of detail is really amazing given how small these are.

He knows I love puffins (so round and cute), so I got a set of those, as well.

The Icelandic sheep he “adopted” for me for my birthday is proving to be a gift-that-keeps-on-giving. We ordered a spinner/weaver package, where I was supposed to get the softer thel part of the fleece as processed roving, and the coarser tog as a sturdy yarn to use as weaving warp. I got the 2# of roving, but the yarn-making didn’t work out with the fiber processor that the sheep owner used, so she sent me two raw fleeces to play with. The small black one is a ram lamb’s fleece, and the bigger one is from a grey/white/black ewe named Stella.

I’m going to try and get these washed and ready for processing over the holiday break, since I sure won’t have time for this stuff when the Bean gets here! I’m going to process the coarse and fine wool together and see if I can spin a nice Icelandic lopi-style singles yarn.

” Your package is on time with a scheduled delivery date of 12/24/2009. ”

I can’t take any more of this Nook rollercoaster! I wanna get off! 😉

Just checked the UPS shipping status on Jag’s Nook. *CRY*

Your package is in the UPS system and has a rescheduled delivery date of 12/28/2009.

In Transit – Rescheduled
Rescheduled Delivery Date: 12/28/2009
Shipped To: DURHAM, NC, US
Shipped/Billed On: 12/23/2009
Type: Package
Service: NEXT DAY AIR SAVER
Weight: 2.10 Lbs”

Apparently “NEXT DAY” has a far different meaning to me than to UPS.

I just got the shipping notification email from B&N. It’s a Festivus Miracle!

On November 16, I ordered a Nook e-reader as Jag’s big gift this year. (This was not a surprise gift; he spent a while researching e-readers and decided he’d like a Nook.) Up until about a week ago, I had a ship date of December 18 with 2-day shipping.

That changed on the 18th when I got this email:

“Dear Heather,

This is to confirm that your nook is about to ship. Although your shipment has been slightly delayed, we’ve upgraded you to overnight shipping to ensure you’ll receive your nook by December 24th. If you ordered nook accessories, they may ship separately.”

Fine, I went to the web site and found out it was now supposed to ship December 23 for Christmas Eve arrival. I was not thrilled about this, but Jag was ok with getting it a little later than expected.

Last night, me and Jag exchanged gifts (I got awesome stuff as usual, more on that later). Before I went to bed, that status on the B&N web site still said the expected ship date was December 23.

This morning the estimated ship date is….January 22. W…T…F!!!

I called customer service and was told not to go by what was on the web site, that they were unable to tell me if my order was shipping today, and that I could call back around 5-6pm to see if I was even going to be able to give Jag his Nook as a gift THIS FREAKING YEAR.

What really pisses me off is that there has been so little email communication about the order status. If the order is being delayed a month, we had BETTER be getting that $100 B&N store credit that other delayed Nook customers have been getting. Grrrr.

Well, the local news sites say that the ground is too warm and nothing is sticking, but the snow is sure covering everything in North Durham. Our street is totally blanketed with maybe 3/4″. It’s good snowball snow, too, nice and packable, as Jag proved. We ended up deciding not to head out to a friend’s party tonight due the weather and my general preggo-tiredness in the evenings. Sorry Karsten. 🙁

This morning we got the great news that the slight kidney abnormality that was seen in the Bean’s 17-week ultrasound has cleared up, and that everything is looking good. Woohoo! We were also told that the Bean’s current weight is estimated at 3lb 2oz, and that he’s in the 88th percentile for size. I’m taking this with a pile of salt, because I’ve found a whole lot of information online indicating that estimated fetal weights via ultrasound are about as accurate as having the guess-your-age-and-weight guy at the State Fair pull random numbers out of his butt. Which is really annoying, because women have labor induced and C-sections recommended on the strength of those measurements, which often turn out to be off by as much as a couple pounds!

Me and the Bean are entering the third trimester today, which just boggles my mind. It seems like only a little while ago that me and Jag were standing in the kitchen, staring at the postive pregnancy test and going, “Uhhhhhhhh…..”

The Mac fandom in this house is getting out of control. Ada has developed a very warm relationship with the power adapter for Jag’s laptop. She’s not getting an iPhone, though.

…because Jag has been poking around online looking for novelty skull-headed license plate screws. Because I mentioned that I wanted them for putting the new plate on the ÜberWagon. And he didn’t even blink. 🙂

Dad’s secret project may or may not be complete in time for Christmas Eve. I’m hopeful, but it’s going to be a push. Between having to dismantle, reorganize and move the craft room for the Bean’s impending arrival and all the work and planning for the wedding, my handmade gift output has totally plummeted this year. I feel pretty bad about it. 🙁

This afternoon we had an appointment at Triangle Imaging Center to have a 15-minute elective ultrasound session and take a peek at our little Bean. It was a great experience; the ultrasound tech was wonderful and went way over our allotted time, and we came home with more printed pictures than we expected, 104 images on CD, and a 28-minute DVD. The price was quite affordable, and I would definitely recommend them.

It was extremely cool to be able to see facial features and get an idea of what on earth he’s DOING in there when I feel him poking around. He’s very interested in chewing on and playing with the umbilical cord, and seems to like to snuggle the placenta. He made all sorts of interesting facial expressions and his eyebrows were constantly moving.

Here he is chewing on his hand for a change of pace (with his foot up by his head!)

We can’t decide if he has my nose or Jag’s.

The tech noted that he has big feet and long arms and legs, so we suspect he’ll be tall like his dad. Forget a college fund, we’ll need to start saving up for shoes pretty soon!