Nickerson News

Literally…in the newspaper. It was actually quite interesting. A reporter called me while I was on the cruise and asks if he could interview me on organizing. I called him back Monday and he needed his story by this Thursday at noon. He wanted me to be working with a client and have me explain the process to him (what I do, how I interact with clients etc). I told him, first of all, this is way too last minute to try and get one of my clients to agree to be in the paper and second, they are all too private about their cluttered homes. I told him that I just so happened to be working with my mom this week at her house b/c she had ask me months ago to organize a few rooms in her house in Jan. I told him I didn’t want her name motioned since b/c a) she is my mom and I don’t want people to think she is the only client I can get and b) she didn’t want her name to be released. So, we schedule the appointment for Tuesday at my mom’s house. Wouldn’t you know the reporter along with a photographer show up? Oh no. First of all, I didn’t know he was bringing a photographer and second of all we weren’t really dressed all that great (since her house is in reconstruction phase-she had a painter and some other guy over there doing work on the house) and here come the reporters. After we talked it over I said I guess you can release my mom’s name and photo, but stressed the importance of how private and confidential my business is and I don’t “expose” my clients, but since this is my mom, she was willing to do it for her daughter. They took about 100 photos of us organizing my mom’s tiny little laundry room. We actually had them both laughing since my mom can be hilarious when we organize. (The reporter kept saying, “Wow, I’m getting some great quotes”) (Oh no, that could be scary. He did say he would call my mom to make sure she approved of her own quotes.) It was actually a really cool experience and I hope they write a good story about it and TELL THE TRUTH. I pretty much kept threatening his life and he finally was like “Julie, I doing this to help you and your business”. Oh, my bad. Now, we are on a mad dash trying to finish up the room so they can have after photos. The room is going through a complete makeover. The room is being painted (thank God, my mom had hired a painter this week) shelves are getting put up by the handyman and a lovely curtain was made by my mom’s friend. This all has to be done by today so I can have the photo to them by tonight. Craziness. (by the way, it will be in the Potomac News sometime soon…need to find the exact date.)
Other exciting business news, we are now the very proud owners of simplifiedspaces.com. We still and will continue to own simplified-spaces.com, but we have be trying for the last year to get it without the dash. The lady finally sold it to us and did all the transferring (Seth, of course had to walk her through it step by step, but she did it) and we found out her and her husband are Christians. Makes more sense to why she was so nice and only made us pay $50 for the link. I love how I keep seeing God in all my business adventures and opportunities. He keeps watching over us. And it just keeps reaffirming that Seth and I made the right decision to have me go full time with the business.

(by the way, I just noticed I am in need of a MAJOR haircut. Ouch! That pregcam pic just shows how much it needs to be cut. Calling the hairdresser right now!)

Back to routine. Vacations are so wonderful, but then you get hit with reality when you return and there always seems to be a big list of things you have to get done right away.

Yesterday, was Northern VA first official snowfall. Seth is always like a little kid when it snows outside, it brings him back to his New England days. He was so happy last night watching the snow fall and his team, the Patriots, play last night. Of course, it didn’t end well for the Pats, but I have to say (Seth would not be happy that I’m saying this) they have had their fair share of wins in the last few years. Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved to see them go to the Super Bowl and take it all, but I guess I feel bad for all the teams that haven’t been there for so many years. But that’s just me. I always feel bad for the underdogs.

Moving on to the most interesting person in our lives right now…Baby Nick. The kicking is increasing my the day and I love every minute of it. Daddy Seth has yet to feel them, but I think in a week or so, he should be able to. He keeps putting his hands on my stomach and I’m like, “did you feel that, how about that?”. Nope, nothing yet for Seth. I guess Baby Nick needs to get a little bit bigger.
Here is what is happening this week: babycenter.com, pregnancy.org

This is an impressive week for growth! The baby will increase in weight to 8 to 10 ounces and 6.5 – 7 inches! Lanugo appears all over the baby’s body. This fine hair will remain until birth draws nearer. Sometimes you can still see some on the baby’s face and ears after birth. Permanent teeth buds are forming behind the already formed milk teeth buds. Your baby has the same awake and sleep patterns of a newborn. He has a favorite position for sleep and recognizable active and rest periods. Throughout baby’s body, nerves are being coated with a fatty substance called myelin, which insulates the nerves so that impulses can flow smoothly. Scalp hair becomes apparent this week. It has sprouted and continues to grow. If you’re having a girl, the vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes are in place and she has an astonishing six million eggs in her ovaries. They’ll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she’s born. If it’s a boy, the genitals are distinct and recognizable. Your baby is swallowing amniotic fluid and his or her kidneys are making urine. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby’s brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch.

Those cruise ships are great fun, but boy when you come back you are walking like a drunk and feeling dizzy. Where do I even begin? We woke up at 4:30 Monday morning to catch our early plane. Surprisingly, the flight was on time, check-in was easy and everything went smoothly and we were on the ship by 2:00. Seth did have to work a lot, but we still got to enjoy many of the benefits a cruise ship offers. First and foremost, the food is amazing. Everyone says you will gain 10lb on a cruise….please God; I can’t afford all that weight gain. Then there are activities galore. From swimming, to mini golf, to comedy shows…you name it…the ship has it all. You feel like you are in a small city.

We stopped in Key West on Tuesday and did a little shopping (and I mean little) and then headed to an aquarium. Seth and I are not big spenders at all. We bought an ornament that says Key West for our tree and that was it! We try to buy ornaments from the places we visit so we when decorate our tree we can reminisce about our trips. (It was funny, b/c when you leave the ship you have to fill out a customs form of what you bought and our grand total came to a whopping $2.99).

Then Seth had his huge presentation on Wed. morning that seemed to go great. All the attendees thought it was such an entertaining presentation. That is my hubby; he can only produce great work. Then after that was over we got to spend the day in Mexico! It was so much fun. It was a gorgeous day and we spent it at this really fun and adventurous park with crazy looking animals (some that I have never seen before in my life) and we got to swim in an underground freshwater river. It was BREATHTAKING! While we were floating in the river the staff would take photos of you. I thought, “What a great idea to buy one of those photos.” While the Mexican Park was indeed very fun, it needed my help in the organizing field. When I went to go pick up our photos there were a 1000 other people in pink life vests floating down the same river. So needless to say, after 30 minutes of searching desperately for 2 brown heads in life vests, we had to leave to catch our bus back to the ship. So that was the only disappointing part. Another crazy thing about this park was that you knew you weren’t in America. The animals barely had cages, if they had cages at all. Most could just poke their heads out and bite you. (Many of the signs did say, “Don’t touch me, I bite” or “Please don’t feed me, I’m on a strict diet”, but yet everybody was feeding the animals. Not to mention the walkway over the water with the sharks and 200lb turtles didn’t even have a railing. No joke! You could just fall right in and get eaten by a 300lb shark and no one would ever know. I was so nervous that a small child was going to fall in. Unbelievable!

After the very exciting day in Mexico, we rejoined our crew members for more events hosted by Trex decking (the client that Seth was working for and paid for our trip). For those of you who have never heard of Trex decking, you need to check them out. They are the coolest non-wood decks you will ever find.

All in all, it was a great trip. Thanks Trex for letting me go. The staff on the cruise ship are the nicest people you will ever meet. They also are the hardest working people you will ever meet. I would love to be able to treat them for a day. Like I think it would be so cool to have them all actually be guests on that cruise ship for a day…they totally deserve it. They would clean your room twice a day and leave these amazing towel creations on your bed. Who knew people could create animal shapes out of towels!

Oh, one more thing: So the whole week, the cruise staff takes your photos…like at dinner, or when you are just out and about having fun and then you can buy these so called “photos”. Why was it everybody else could find their photos, but Seth and I never found one photo of us and we probably had 25 different photos taken of us? Maybe there was another couple on the ship that looks just like us and they took all our photos.

Ok, that is it for now. Pictures are downloading right now, so I will post them very soon.

As for Baby Nick, I think he/she really enjoyed him/herself this week. The kicking is increasing every day. I noticed the baby really starts kicking after I eat. He/she loves to get fed. It almost feels like the baby is saying “Thanks mommy for the yummy food!” And boy, did Baby Nick get some yummy food this week.

More to come soon.

So, according to the pregnancy world, I am now 5 months! YAY! Halfway there! (you are pregnant nine FULL months, which means you have to go to 10 months-for those of you wondering why I still have 5 months left).

We are leaving bright and early tomorrow so this most likely will be my last post for a few days. Our good friends, Ally and Chad, their good friend Parker from CA, and their dog Rudi come to visit. We had a mini football party (Ally and I went upstairs and chatted instead of watching the game). Chad and Parker are from CA and are big Chargers fans and Seth, obviously for those of you who don’t know, is from New England and and huge Pats fan. So, you all ask, why did we all get together. B/c we are good friends and we knew whatever the turnout, we would have a blast just being together. Rudi, the dog, even wore his blue and gold shirt to root his team on.

I hope everyone has a great week. I just pray that we make our flight and our ship. We don’t want to miss the boat!