from the denver.

we live in colorado now. isn't that weird? I haven't been able to say that in the past 8 years and it feels awesome. it was REALLY sad to leave our family & our few remaining rexburg friends (most have moved on before us) but, we're excited for our new CO adventure. So far I've had the flu twice in 7 days, so that's been fantastic.

i opened up a new esty shop! it's modern LDS art so if you aren't into Greg Olsen paintings, you might like it. i hope you'll check it out.
www.MrsEdie.etsy.com


as usual, prints start @ $12.

$

i got county assistance!
this means that my over $10,000 bill for my surgery will be reduced to about a 1/3 of that (i don't have the exact numbers yet) and we'll be able to pay $25 a month.
I am so relieved & grateful.

lately.

a few things i've been working on lately...
just in time for your holiday gift-giving :)

see it all @ January Jones

oh my gosh, it's been so long since we've chatted.
so, i no longer have a gall bladder and i love it. no more attacks & my surgery pain is all but gone as well. i'm feeling pretty back to normal, i even start work next week.
I made a quick trip alone with Daphne to see our friend Sarah and her new baby Haven. Sarah's water broke @ 31 weeks so initially when i got my ticket it was just to go out to be with her- help with her 18 month old Emmry and help her pass the time in the hospital- but in the mean time Haven was born! she is teeny tiny but doing so well- they hope to have her home next month. It was so fun to surprise Sarah, I cannot wait to live near them when we move (which is coming RIGHT up by the way!)
our best friends Chad & Rebecca are coming to visit from Boston in a couple of weeks! we are beyond excited. We haven't meant their baby Christopher yet which will be awesome as well. (especially because in apx 22 years he'll be our son in law :)
they're even going to take our family pictures. i cannot wait!
in the mean time- here we are last month @ our friends Travis & Bridgette's wedding reception.[pre red hair, obviously] look @ how blond our baby is- so strange :)

red

i've wanted to go really red for a couple of years now. i've tried small attempts but since my hair was so dark, no red was really what i wanted, it would just look like really dark brown hair with some red in it. So, i finally took the leap and had my friend Camille bleach my whole head (i look HORRIBLE as a blond!) and then after several colors of red, i'm happy! it's still shocking when i look in the mirror, but i think i really like it and nic likes it, so that makes me happy.
and no, this isn't because of joan on mad men.
ok, it's a little bit because of joan on mad men.

everyday daphne - end of sep

i finally found a pair of skinny jeans for daphne that actually FIT her! she's so skinny that her skinny jeans don't even look slim fitting on her. but, i found these (while working of course) legging jeans @ gap and they were perfect (especially perfect since i get a 50% discount)


shirt- walmart $4.
gray denim- gap $12 (with discount!)
shoes- old navy $7 (with discount!)
binky- FREE TO A GOOD HOME :)

i love how she has started posing for pictures :) i'm SO happy to have daphne home. When she woke up this morning I wasn't TOO thrilled she was back.. I was so dead tired. but, she's napping now and i'm going to also!

fam pic

new favorite family picture from our friends bridgette & travis's wedding. they gave it to me for my birthday and i LOVE it. we're picking up daphne today from Nic's parents who have had her since the day before my surgery. I'm so grateful they have taken such good care of her, she loves it there. i'm not totally recovered yet but i really don't think i could last another day without her- i'll have to not pick her up too much and hopefully she'll like to sleep as much as i do, but i'm beyond excited to have her home.

state love

i can't do much but one thing i can do while recovering is design.
i'm lucky to have a job i can do braless (too much info?) and in my pjs without showering.
i've added some new things to our January Jones shop- states!
i just have a few up for now so if you don't see the state you'd like, let me know and i'll design it.
you get to choose your colors (see the options in the last pic) and the placement of the heart (on your favorite city) here are a few examples:

utah- MOAB

idaho- REXBURG

california- LOS ANGELES

idaho- BOISE (in boise state colors :)

*also, I need to get one of these printed so I can photograph it, so if you are the first to contact me at: evapaul.dp@gmail.com saying which map you'd like (currently I only have utah, idaho and california available) you'll get it for 1/2 price! (only $6) so I can get it printed and I'll photograph it in a frame before I mail it to you.

go HERE to buy!

post surgery

i'm at home.
resting.
drinking naked juice. (not drinking juice, naked- mind you)
interneting when i feel like sitting (rarely)
tv watching.
eating what nic makes me :)
napping.
missing missing missing my daphne.
(who is being watched lovingly by nic's parents and grandma, i'm so grateful)

denver in words

newest addition to JanuaryJones


17x11 print for $16

if you'd like one for another city, let me know! I just need around 50 words that describe your city and I'll make a custom one for you! (if it's a big city like la, nyc, boston, slc, seattle, portland ect- i won't charge you anything for the design because i'll put it up in our shop to sell, but if it's a little city there will be a $50 design fee.)

do you know about january jones?

no, i don't mean the actress who plays betty draper on madmen (obviously you know about her)
well, i don't love her character but i am OBSESSED with her name. So, when planning to open a new etsy shop (city prints & general art for your wall) i knew it had to involve miss january.

so here are some prints from our newest shop!

JanuaryJones!

prints range from $12-$16 and I'm adding lots more soon (including a neighborhood print for SLC!!!)

tray lunch

every once in a while (but then i really wonder why i don't do it more often-probably because i hate the cleanup) i make daphne a tray lunch (or dinner) i fill each compartment of an ice cube tray with part of the meal.

that day's menu:
1/2 slice muenster cheese
1 slice of turkey
1 jar of carrot baby food (don't judge me- this is the easiest way to get daphne to eat vegetables. i'll probably keep feeding her baby food until she refuses it)
about 1/2 cup applesauce



there is something about tray lunch that daphne just loves. she eats it all up.

gall bladder update

I am going to make 3 blog posts today to celebrate having INTERNET BACK @ HOME! I'm so excited.
We are sharing with our upstairs neighbors. Completely worth $27 a month. We're thrilled.


So, first of all- a gall bladder update.
I got some horrible news on Monday.
I went into to the county office to see if I could add in my $1003 ER bill into my county assistance application. But instead, I got denied all together. The lady who works @ the office is so sweet, I cannot get mad at her. But, I guess this is what happened...
my surgeon had to write a letter to the state doctor explaining why I need the surgery- and apparently in the letter he did not make a compelling enough case that I needed the surgery. He said that is was "recommended" so, the state doctor (which i think it's totally ridiculous that some doctor who has never examined me can be the overruling force in this process) said he didn't think it was necessary. He said I should be tested for acid reflux, which is about the most absurd thing I've ever heard- i obviously have gall stones, i obviously have gall bladder attacks on a REGULAR basis, so saying that it COULD be acid reflux is as ridiculous to me as saying... OR.. it could be an ingrown toenail- i feel like they are just throwing out any possible thing it could be, except admitting what it ACTUALLY IS! (sorry, can you tell i'm frustrated?)

So, now I have to go back to the surgeon (which hopefully doesn't cost me any MORE money) to have him write a more compelling letter saying that i MUST have it removed. I've had now my 5th attack since going to the ER 2.5 weeks ago. Usually people only have to have 1 or 2 attacks before they get their gall bladder removed. My attacks are not "easier" than theirs- I just don't have the $4000 the surgeon is requiring for a 50% deposit. I am so fed up with being in pain and incapacitated all the time. I have to call in to work all the time so I'm losing a lot of money (if i made a lot of money while working :) and not only that, i feel like they will just stop scheduling me because I'm so unreliable. OH! and that's not to mention our Evapaul clients who I'm totally neglecting all the time since I'm too sick.

You'd write a compelling letter for me, right?

OK but there was a sliver of hope in my visit to the county office. I told her that I had not gotten my denial letter from medicaid yet which surprised her. How the process works is that you apply for medicaid and county assistance at the same time- then, they assume you're going to get denied for medicaid and move forward as if you've already been denied to apply for county assistance. So, she moved forward with it as if I was denied and THEN i got denied for county.

But, I haven't been denied yet.. so there is a CHANCE that I could get medicaid instead which would be AMAZING. they pay 100% and also will pay for my $1003 ER bill from a couple of weeks ago. The lady @ the county office said denials usually come pretty quick, within a week or so, so she said it was a good sign that its been almost 3 weeks and i haven't gotten denied yet. So, i am really hoping i just get approved for medicaid- but i need to still go to the surgeon just in case i need to reapply for county assistance.

thanks for reading- i've felt so loved through this whole process. thanks everyone <3

customized prints

my mom encouraged me to design some customizable children's prints for our shop: evapaul petite. i know she used to be so excited whenever she found something with the name: Kirsten on it when I was little (it was rare and usually just in Solvang, a primarily Scandinavian hamlet in CA) She never could find things with my brother's name, Kjell. I wonder why?



So, I've designed a little boy and a little girl- then you get to pick the colors and I'll put your child's name in the bubble. This way it will be perfect for your baby & will perfectly match their room too.

A 10x10 print is $12 but if you mention this blog post in your "message to seller" in the checkout on etsy, I'll refund you $3, making it just $9 for the print (same as our non-custom ones)

hope you enjoy! and tell your friends!

*and yes, Magnolia will be her name if [IN THE DISTANT FUTURE!- this is in no way an announcement!] we have a girl and Sebastian (Sebi for short) will be the name if it's a boy. So, if you steal these names in the mean time, I'll know where you got them and think you're lame & unoriginal :)

when you're feeling down...

design a new, happy save the date!

my gall bladder is broken

so, yesterday was eventful and i felt so loved through phone calls, texts & facebook messages so i thought i'd update you all.
i had yet another gall bladder attack yesterday morning and after taking vicadin and sleeping for a couple of hours i woke up ready to go to the hospital and do whatever we needed to do to get my gall bladder removed. well, it didn't really work that way...

i first went to the ER where they did some blood work (thankfully my other organs have not been affected, which i am so grateful about) and had an ultrasound ( a lot less fun when there isn't a baby to see!) and yes... i have gall stones (shocker) they recommended a few surgeons in rexburg for me to call.

I had an appointment with one yesterday and the receptionist said i could have the surgery tomorrow but they require 50% down before the surgery. The total cost would be a minimum of $8000 and we definetely don't have $4,000 on hand (more like $4) so that wasn't going to work. I met with the surgeon and I really liked him. He reminded me a lot of my dad which i'm not sure is comforting when they will be cutting you open (since my dad designs closets) but, oh well, i felt comfortable with him and so that went well. we spoke with the finincial lady at the surgeon office about our options with $. she said we should apply for county assistance and what they do is contract the hospital and surgeon to work for medicaid rates instead (1/3 of the normal cost) and we don't have to pay anything- we pay the county back after the surgery. They take monthly payments and when we talked to the woman @ the county office she said people typically pay $25 a month but some people pay as little as $5. (and i'm not positive on this but i'm pretty sure you only have to pay for 5 years- so it's not like we will be paying this off when we're 80 which is comforting) so, in total the bill will only be $2500-$3000 instead of $8000, which seems so much more doable. We only had to pay $200 when we had Daphne so I guess we're paying for her now. OH! and that reminds me.... I've been following this SUPER strict diet for the past 4 months since my 1st attack but the surgeon said that he's pretty positive my diet has NOTHING to do with having attacks- the stones probably formed due to a hormore during pregnancy and having attacks is due to that, not with what i'm eating. This really makes sense since I would always be confused when i had an attack because i've been 100% faithful only eating 15-20 grams of fat a day. So, i'm a little annoyed that I've been SO good and it doesn't matter. On the plus side, I've lost 15 very needed pounds and I still have about 10 to go to be where I want to be. So, it's not all a loss. But, it does make me want to go to five guys (i still want to eat vegetarian... i just want to have 1 day where i go a little crazy and then i'll go back to it.. which i'm sure would make me totally sick but i'm craving a cheeseburger and chicken strips with fries like nobodies business :)

The problem with going through county is that i won't be able to have the surgery for 10-14 days. I also learned that i won't be able to work for AT LEAST 2 weeks after the surgery and i won't be able to lift (which i do a lot of @ gap) for a month. So, that's not comforting.


In other news, we are desperately trying to sell/get out of our contract and we're moving in with Nic's grandma Jane in Idaho Falls. She lives right across from the mall so I can walk to work and Nic will carpool from IF up to school each day. It's basically the only way we can survive and not get evicted. It will be temporary till we move to Denver in December and we're grateful for Nic's fam (parents included) who were so willing to help us out. Why aren't people buying invites anymore?!?!?! It's annoying :)

So, that's life. Hope you all are well <3

update

i feel like no one reads this blog anymore and i really don't blame you! we had internet through our apartment complex and they just discontinued the service, so i'm writing from the lounge where i have to work now. we won't be living in rexburg for 6 months so it's been hard to find an internet provider for less than a 6 month contract. arghhhh it's so frustrating.

but, all in all- life is good. we're poor college students (but only for 4 more months- then we'll just be POOR which is kind of depressing) and i just got a job at gap to help things out. nic is off of school and i'm so glad he's at home with daphne. i'm saving all my favors for when i'll be working and he'll be in school (with 21.5 credits) so let me know if you want to watch daphne sometime! :)

she is doing great. she cracks us up. she's started sneaking around (not sneaky at all but she thinks she is) and it's really cute. she learns lots of new words everyday and talks CONSTANTLY at home- not so much when we leave the house, she's a little shy.

I've been suffering with gall bladder attacks and it's really unbearable. even with a very restricted diet i'm still having attacks and it's the worst thing ever (way worse then any part of labor i experienced, plus- no cute baby at the end)

so, that's the update. we're happy. we're healthy (ok, not me) and we're here- just not HERE on the internet. stupid apartments.

yellowstone (yes.. again!)

Our friends Seth and Maddy have been in Europe for the past 3 months and are now in Rexburg for a bit before they move somewhere for good (so depressing) they wanted to go to yellowstone before they moved away and we were so happy to go with them! We left daphne with Grammy & Grandpa for a whole 2 days. I didn't hesitate to go for 2 days, so I guess I was ready to leave her for an extra day (we've only left her for 1 day previously) but, by the end of it i was going CRAZY to see her and Nic was too.


We camped at Lake Hebgen in Montana. it was GORGEOUS! I've never seen so many stars, seen so many bugs and spiders or camped next to such grumpy campers (we arrived at 10:30 and they wanted us to go straight to bed- not eat dinner and talk VERY quietly to each other-- they yelled at us twice. not cool) it was great and Seth and Maddy were perfect company. On Saturday we went into the park and saw some of our favorite along with some things we didn't get to see last trip. It was awesome. We ate the delicious black bean burger at the Old Faithful Inn (i'd been thinking about it ever since our last trip- it is AMAZING!) and then made tin-foil dinners on Saturday night.

On the way home Sunday our bus broke down 30 min. from Rexburg. It was so sad. I miss it already. We'll be getting it fixed soon (we hope!)

18 month stats

just as i thought... daphne has lost weight.
i guess we all have been in our family. unfortunately, i'm the only one who needs to be!
she hasn't grown at all either (since her last check up 2 months ago)

29.5 inches tall [below the 5th percentile]
19.8 pounds [below the 5th percentile]

the doctor said there was no need for concern (but he did recommend a gummy vitamin for her with b12 since she doesn't eat a whole lot of meat.- and no, we're not making daph a vegetarian. i don't cook meat [or eat it... obviously] but if we go out to eat daphne still has chicken or at sunday meals with the family and she does eat the same soy meat that we do on occasion too)

he just said we'll watch her growth charts at 2 (her next check up... i'm going to CRY! she's so old) and see how she's doing. He said she's probably just going to be a short, skinny person. Thanks for your good genes Grammy!! I'm glad she's got the Bingham metabolism, not the Pedersen one :)

He was happy with her developemental milestones and said she's doing more of what they expect a 2 year old to do, instead of an 18 month old, so that's good.

Her biggest fit during the appointment? you'd think it was when they pricked her finger for the lead test.... nope. it was stepping on the scale. cried so hard.

fire in idaho

i guess there was a huge fire in SE idaho today. hopefully it's all taken care of now though i have no idea. but, it resulted in some crazy red/orange skies for us in rexburg.

thanks for voting!

thanks everyone who weighed in on the poll, i really appreciate it.
I took the feedback and have made some changes!
prints are now $9 (instead of $12) for a 10x10 and shipping is $3 (instead of $6)
so, spread the word! go here :)

18 months!

i haven't posted too much about daphne lately and i NEED to! this is pretty much the only place i record anything- and there is so much a want to remember about this age. daphne is so awesome. sure, there are days i want to rip my hair out [and more days that she rips her hair out- that's a whole other issue] but for the most part, i love this age & am having so much fun with it.


i cannot grasp the idea that we have an 18 month old. soon she will be 2 and i might crawl up in a ball and die. i just can't believe we have a toddler- it doesn't make sense :)

at 18 months she is:

still short and getting skinny. i think she still weighs about 20 pounds but she's got her 18 month check up next week so i'll see for sure. those cheeks we all loved are all but gone- she's looking like a little girl now, not so much a baby.

talking a ton. [of course she has to take out her binky first, because she's getting even more addicted to it] she repeats stuff when we ask her to and has a few favorite words:
hi [she says it a billion times a day]
mom & dad & also NIC
binky
birdie
puppa (dog)
bike
shoe

she LOVES being outside- her favorite thing is bike rides. she cries every time we have to go in.

she is loving gymnastics though she doesn't really care to do what the coach or class is doing :)

she is SO strong willed and stubborn- she also has quite the little temper. this was magnified by our potty training disaster- i swear she hasn't been the same girl since. it's going to take A LOT of convincing to try to do that ever again. i won't say it ruined her, but she's not the same- and she's angrier- which i don't really love.

she is a scardy cat. afraid of the vacuum, guys outside mowing the lawn, loud trucks, blow dryer, DOGS, ect.

she still dances.

she is really adorable and we could not possibly love her any more. happy 1/2 birthday daph!

we got her this chair at a thrift store yesterday. i love it so so much & so does daph.