It's my life

Paid Off!

2012-01-31T11:30:00.001-06:00

Meezy and I did something pretty gratifying last week - we paid off his Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8! We live off his income since mine is sporadic, so any real estate commissions I make can be spent or saved at our discretion. We could've put my recent commissions into our savings, or blown them on whatever we felt like, but instead we decided to just pay off his car (about a year ahead of schedule) to eliminate that monthly payment and save ourselves the interest from those remaining payments. It felt so good to send out that payoff! This isn't the first car we've owned outright, but it is the first one that's only had 50,000 miles on it at the time of payoff, and is still worth a good chunk of change. Here's hoping we can hang on to this car for a couple more years and enjoy what having only one car payment feels like!

*Edit - Meezy has reminded me that we paid off his Jeep Wrangler with less than 50,000 miles on it, so I stand corrected!

Can't Wait to Get Back in My Heels

2012-01-30T12:50:00.000-06:00

I've seriously been missing wearing heels since I got pregnant. I'm one of those people who actually feels more comfortable in heels than flats, and I got used to wearing them on a daily basis when I worked in an office. Now that I'm working from home, and knocked up, my adorable pumps spend a lot of time on my shoe shelves. I'm looking forward to being able to wear them again, and that feeling grew even stronger with a purchase I made this past weekend. I went to the Gilt Warehouse Sale in downtown Dallas and stumbled upon a pair I just couldn't resist. They're Emilio Pucci, and they were marked down by almost 80% from retail!

I'm in love and can't wait to find the right occasion to wear them!

My Big Ol' Baby

2012-01-26T16:24:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago I went to my normal doctor appointment and she did the fundal height measurement. All along I had been measuring right on with the baby's gestational age, but at this appointment I measured large. I was 34 weeks along, but the fundal height was more like 37 weeks. My doctor recommended I get a sonogram to make sure there wasn't too much fluid or that the baby was getting too large. I went a couple days later and the sonogram tech took a few measurements from the ultrasound to try and guesstimate the baby's weight. Her estimate was 6lbs 13oz. At 34 weeks, that's quite a large baby! Considering the baby had the potential to gain 1/2 a pound a week, and I could still have 6 weeks to go at that point, we were talking about a 9-10lb baby! Yowza. I went again this week (36 weeks along) to see if he had continued his growth, or if it had slowed down some. Luckily he didn't follow the 1/2 a pound a week pace, and they estimated his weight to be 7lbs 6oz at this point. So, he gained about 4.5oz a week based on their measurements. With 4 weeks potentially left, that would put me on track for more like an 8.5lb baby. I have another sonogram set up for 2 weeks from now (38 weeks along), to check and see how things look at that point. Assuming baby Dutch doesn't decide to come on his own in the next two weeks, we probably won't make a decision as to how to proceed with the delivery until we get the results from the 38week scan. In the meantime, I am going to my doctor weekly now to see if the preparations for labor have started. No dice yet!

With Skinny Comes Problems

2012-01-24T17:11:00.000-06:00

I wish I could say I'm talking about myself, but the skinny refers to my dog, Riley. I mentioned previously that he's lost 20 pounds since we switched him to diet food and increased his exercise. While I am very thrilled with the results, with it has come a few problems! His weight loss has increased his agility and he's quite the spry little guy now. We're discovering that we have to Riley-proof our house while we're gone. The first casualty was my Michael Kors purse. Overnight, I had left it on the kitchen counter, and apparently he smelled the gum I had in it and decided he had to have it. It would've been alright if he had just gotten the gum out of it, but for some reason he felt the need to also totally destroy my purse. Straps had been chewed apart, and there were multiple holes. It was beyond repair. :(

The amazing part about it was how he even got up there to get the purse in the first case. He jumped first on our bar stool, then onto the counter. At his former weight, this never would've been possible!

A few hundred dollars down the drain was bad enough, but the second casualty was more painful to me than the first. I learned my lesson with the purse and stopped putting it on the counter overnight, but I failed to realize our other counters were vulnerable as well. We keep the dog treats and rawhides next to our sink, and Riley got into them when I was out running errands today. Here's the path he took:

First he jumped on the window seat, then on the wooden cooler, then onto the counter. He's too damn smart and skinny for his own good! There were lots of treats and rawhides up there, which is why I call it more painful than losing my purse. He doesn't know when to stop when food or treats are in front of him (hence his former weight of 60 pounds), so pretty much everything was gone by the time I got home. That can't be good to ingest all of that in one sitting, and it sure doesn't help our weight loss attempts. The ironic part was that I was at the vet buying him more diet food when this happened. Doh!

Another One Bites the Dust

2012-01-23T17:16:00.000-06:00

Had another smooth closing today, and this house is now SOLD!

Who's got next? :)

Sold!

2012-01-20T09:30:00.000-06:00

That's always a good word to hear when you're in the real estate business! It's been quite a busy month for me with Marcum Real Estate. I placed a renter earlier this month, I had a closing yesterday on one of my listings, and I'll have another one early next week. It's nice to start the year off successfully, and I've got a few more prospects in the works for the coming months. If you are looking to find a place to rent or buy, or want to put your own house on the market, let me know! As my former and current clients will tell you, I'm great at communication and keeping you informed at every step of the process. I treat each transaction as if it's my own personal endeavor, so you can be sure I'm taking care of your best interests!

Journal of Janet

2012-01-16T16:27:00.000-06:00

I was fortunate enough to be thrown two more baby showers this past weekend, and we are feeling much more confident now about being prepared when the little munchkin decides to make an appearance! Our nursery is filled to the brim, thanks to our generous friends and family! Besides things from our registries, we received a few more very thoughtful homemade gifts!

My friend, Katie, made this adorable knitted cap:

My friend, Rachel, (who is 37 weeks pregnant btw!) made Dutch this blanket in my favorite colors, orange and green.

Previously I picked out fabrics that I liked for a blanket my mom would make, and she gave it to me on Saturday. I love, love, love it!

Here's the sweet little tag that she stitched into it:

I saved the best homemade gift for last. My mom did an awesome job of keeping journals while she raised my sisters and I. When the two of them got pregnant with their first child, she transcribed their journals onto her computer and then printed them out and bound them. I knew she had done this, so I have been eagerly anticipating getting my journal for the past few months! She gave it to me this past weekend, and it's truly an amazing gift to give your child. Now I have a written record of so many memories and milestones from my birth through age 11, as seen through the eyes of my mom. It's neat to see when I started crawling, walking, talking, etc, and I'll be able to compare Dutch's future milestones to mine. Here's a few pics of excerpts from the journal. Lots of entries cracked me up!

Around 9 months old

just shy of 2 years old

27 months old

34 months old

35 months old

44 months and 47 months

just shy of 7 years old

7 years and a few months (my skepticism apparently started early!)

And then, of course, the last page of the journal that I can't read without getting choked up:

It's Coming Together!

2012-01-11T17:56:00.000-06:00

I'm finally feeling like I'm getting close to a functioning nursery. Even though our munchkin will be spending a lot of his time early on in my arms or in the co-sleeper in our room, it'll still be nice to have everything ready when it's time for him to move into the nursery. Here are a few pics showing where it's at now:

I'm guessing the sink in the room will come in handy! I like having it separate from the toilet and tub/shower that's next door because I can decorate this area for a kid, but leave the main part of the bathroom still looking like an adult's guest bathroom if we have a guest staying in the adjacent bedroom.

I picked up this wall decoration from Bed, Bath & Beyond. It doesn't scream out child's room, but I really liked what it had to say, and thought it would be good to serve as inspiration to us and our kiddo when he's able to read.

I did this quick little painting to hang above the closet doors. My favorite quote is "The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit." So, I shortened it just a bit and fancied it up with the orange dots. I'd like my son to learn from an early age about selflessness and charity, and this will help me teach him that.

Here's a wide view of the majority of the room. We don't have a lot of floor space left because we've got all our big furniture pieces bought, but we're still lacking in the bedding area. I need a mattress pad, some sheets, and possibly a bedskirt and then I think we'll be in good shape.

And lastly a close-up of the crib and bookcase. Next to the crib (not shown) is a dresser filled to the brim with clothes for Dutch, and once we get a changing pad, we'll put that on top of it.

34 weeks today, so let the countdown begin!

She's Nesting Again!

2012-01-09T21:21:00.000-06:00

With the realization that my munchkin is just a little more than a month away from gracing us with his presence, I'm back in the nesting mode. Our master closet is not small by any means, but I still found myself feeling like it was disorganized, cluttered, and cramped. After getting my hubby to move our dresser closer to the wall, I set to work on getting everything into its place and opening up some more floor space. I think it looks good now!

Now, let's see how long we can keep it in this condition!

Riley's Before and After Photo

2012-01-04T20:15:00.000-06:00

I've mentioned many times that we're on a mission to help our dog, Riley, lose weight. We are at about the 20 pound weight loss mark, and we're hoping for at least 5 more. I ran across an old picture I had of him, at his heaviest, and figured it was a good time to pose him the same way so everyone could see the major change that has taken place! Here's the difference between 60 pounds and 40 pounds:

Quite amazing! I know he is experiencing health benefits from this weight loss, and hopefully that means he'll be hanging around for many years to come!

Makes Me Smile

2012-01-02T12:36:00.000-06:00

I couldn't be more excited about what this new year has in store for Meezy and I. On that note, this post is about a couple of things that have made me very happy lately! Our friends, Casey and Rachel, welcomed their precious baby girl, Madison, into the world last week. I got to meet her and visit with the parents, and everyone is doing great! Here I am holding the new addition to their family:

We traveled to Amarillo for the weekend to celebrate a late Christmas and the new year with my in-laws. I love spending time with that side of the family since we only get to see them every couple of months, especially my nephews and nieces. My niece, Kaitlyn, is always so sweet and comes up and pats my pregnant belly when she gives me a hug. Her little brother, Noah, is a ham and makes me smile and laugh with his funny comments. My other sister-in-law also has two little young ones, and they are a joy to be around. At one point, her son KC snuck off into the other room where our dog Riley was in his crate, and proceeded to feed him some dog food through the slats. Every time Riley would eat a piece, KC would giggle and say, "NICE!" It was adorable. Here are a couple of videos I took:

I look forward to many more smiles happening in 2012.

Loans That Change Lives

2011-12-29T10:44:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite sites is Kiva.org. If you haven't heard about it, it's a site that brings together needy borrowers with generous individuals. The borrowers don't have access to traditional lending institutions, so they partner with Kiva (through microfinance institutions) to obtain funds from people willing to support their pursuits. The loans usually end up coming from many different individuals, and you can make a loan for as little as $25. You'll notice I keep using the word "loan" - that's right! It's not a charitable donation, it's actually a loan that the borrower will pay you back over time. So, you're giving someone a great opportunity to expand their small business, with the expectation of getting your money back. Now, there are some loans that don't get paid back because of default, but I can tell you that I've personally made 6 loans since I joined the site, and every single one has been paid back in full. You can research the person you're donating to, read about their business, see their loan history, and see the delinquency rate for the field partner they're going through. You can search for a borrower to support by country, by gender, and/or by business sector. I encourage you to jump on the site and see what they're about! For a short period of time, you can click on the link below and take advantage of a free trial to make your first loan for free!

http://kiva.org/ladieshomejournal

What are you waiting for??

Who Will Cross the Line With You?

2011-12-28T16:24:00.002-06:00

ESPN: The Finish Line 2 - Short Feature from Evolve Digital Cinema / IMG on Vimeo.

The Best Blankets

2011-12-27T16:38:00.000-06:00

Are t-shirt blankets! They're so soft and are a great way to find a use for t-shirts you don't wear anymore, but hate to throw away or donate. My mom made me an awesome red and black themed one last year with some of my Tech shirts, and Meezy usually ends up stealing it when we're snoozing on the couch.

He complained that it wasn't quite long enough for his liking, though, so I asked my mom to make another one with more t-shirts. She came through with a Meezy-sized blanket and it's perfect!

As you can see, this one has a gray, blue, and white theme to it. It's the perfect complement to our other one. My mom is the best!

Christmas Week Recap

2011-12-26T09:46:00.000-06:00

Another week has quickly come and gone, and of course we were busy! Meezy and I set up our baby monitor, but it's not your typical run of the mill store-bought item! Thanks to my husband's wicked smarts, we bought the necessary items individually, and I'm pretty sure it's much better than what any of the baby stores are currently selling (and comparably priced). First, we bought the Foscam wireless pan/tilt IP camera. It uses infrared to get good views in the dark, and also has two-way sound.

Next, we bought the Vizio 8" Android Tablet to use as the monitor. We downloaded one of the many apps that's compatible with the Foscam camera, and it gives us a great view of the crib, on a large screen, with sound.

We also downloaded apps to our smartphones, and we can view the live feed from there too. We can adjust the camera's position from any of the devices, and also hear sound or set it up to notify us if there's movement in the crib. I'm excited to put it to use!

Another advancement in the nursery was the hanging of our little man's initials. They came plain white from the store, so I added some colored circles to fit with the theme of the room.

On Friday night, we went to a lovely dinner at St. Martin's with our friends Brian, Sharon, Justin, and Stari. It was French cuisine, which was the perfect preface to our next stop - watching Les Miserables at Winspear Opera House. I had never seen the play/musical before, but I've heard Meezy talk about it in the past as one he liked, so I was excited to get the chance to see it too. I enjoyed the show, and didn't realize that I had heard a couple of the songs previously but didn't know they were from Les Mis at the time.

On Sunday, we traveled down to the Midlothian area to spend time with my side of the family. It also happens to be my Mom's birthday on Christmas, so we had lots to celebrate! I love seeing my nieces and nephews, because they bring such joy to my life. It's hard to believe there will be another little one joining the celebration next year, but I look forward to it. This is our last Christmas without a child, and from here on out - everything changes! Here's a pic of me from Sunday, at 31.5 weeks.

We're less than two months away!

The Baby Owner's Manual

2011-12-19T16:59:00.000-06:00

Meezy and I have sporadically read What to Expect When You're Expecting, but we haven't read it from cover to cover, partly because it's pretty thick, and partly because it's just not very intriguing! Don't get me wrong, it has good information in it, but I just see myself using it as a reference book if something comes up that I have a question about. We ordered Let's Panic About Babies thinking it would be more entertaining and keep us reading, but the first few pages were really cheesy and not funny like I expected them to be, so I stopped reading (I know - we're hard to please!). We had given up on finding a good baby book until our friends, Brandon and Ericka, bought us one called The Baby Owner's Manual. We were pleasantly surprised!

It's just over 200 pages, so it doesn't seem like wayyyyyy too much information than you'd ever care about. It approaches parenting very practically, and doesn't include the constant eye-rolling mushiness that I don't need to read about (I'm going to experience it myself soon enough, so I'd like my baby book to give me knowledge, not an emotional response!). It's also funny, but doesn't try to be too funny. It doesn't go into too much detail on any one topic, so you feel like you're getting a good overview in a lot of areas without feeling bogged down. I read the book from cover to cover pretty quickly, because I was actually interested, and I kept coming across little tidbits that made me go, "Oh, that's a good idea." or "I didn't realize that." So, in other words, I would recommend this book to soon-to-be or new parents if you want a break from the run-of-the-mill encyclopedia-like books!

When I'm a Parent

2011-12-18T21:55:00.000-06:00

I know I'll probably catch some heat for this post, but let me explain. More than two years ago, I started a list of things I hoped to do or not do when I became a parent. I had no intention of becoming a parent in the near future, but I figured that was the best time to start such a list. I wanted to observe parents around me, and the way they did certain things, and write them down so I wouldn't forget how I felt about them. Rest assured, there is no way in heck I am making that list public because inevitably there will be something on there that you do, and you will probably get pissed at me for pointing out that it annoys me or that I would hope to handle it differently. I can already hear the "Ha, just wait until she's a parent!" I get it. This isn't me saying, "Their parenting skills suck and I would be much better." That's not it at all. This is me saying, "Before I'm a parent, I have a unique perspective on watching someone else be a parent. Once I'm a parent, that perspective will change, and I just want to remind myself what it was like before." That's it. Here's an example:

One day last summer, I was at a Texas Rangers game when the temperature exceeded 100 degrees. I saw a family with their infant in a stroller, and the child had bright red cheeks and looked miserable from the sun exposure. That scenario made it to the list in this form:

"I will never bring my infant to a Texas Rangers game in the sweltering heat (or any other outdoor event for that matter, when its 100 degrees outside)"

Maybe the parents couldn't find a babysitter. Maybe the parents thought it would be cute to bring their little one to his first baseball game. Whatever the reason, I don't think it was a good enough one to subject their kid to that atmosphere, at that age. I wrote it down so that I would hopefully remember it later in life if I ever got tempted to bring my child to a game in that heat.

Not everything on the list is "I won't do so and so" type of things. Some of the things on there are appealing behaviors or responses I've observed, that I really hope to try and replicate when the time comes. For example, my sister Joanna has done an amazing job with her 3 year old, in that you will very rarely catch her throwing an obnoxious tantrum to get what she wants. My sister set the precedent very early that that won't work, and Olivia knows this. Case in point: the other day at Chick fil a, Olivia saw another child with an ice cream cone and wanted one too. We were on the way out, and it was getting late, so Joanna said no. Olivia repeated her desire to have ice cream and Joanna declined again. The third time, Olivia started to use a whiny voice and get a little huffy and Joanna looked at her very calmly and said, "Olivia, have you ever gotten what you wanted when you acted that way?" She knew she hadn't, so she said no, changed her demeanor to a very happy one and said, "Mom, may I please have some ice cream?" Joanna declined her request again, we walked outside to the car, I asked Olivia about something else, which made her forget about the ice cream completely, and we went along our merry way with no screaming tantrum, no waterworks, and no caving in by the parent. It was truly fabulous, and I hope to achieve that in the future as well with my kid!

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely know that the chances of me not performing any of the "I hope to never" items is slim. I know that when I become a parent, I will change my views on some things and fall victim to some habits non-parents will find annoying. I know that parenting is ridiculously difficult and even people with the best intentions sometimes have to take shortcuts. Those are the main reasons why I'm making this list. I know that things change, and it will be humorous to see how I felt before a child entered the picture versus after.

Love and Hate

2011-12-13T17:40:00.000-06:00

Things I love lately:

- getting the mail every day because of the fun holiday cards we receive
- driving up to the house to see a package on the porch
- meeting a friend's newborn for the first time, and knowing mine will be coming soon
- my niece making me laugh
- having my husband kiss me and say, "I love my wife, and the mother of my soon-to-be
child."
- cute sweaters and boots
- spending time with friends
- spontaneous adventures
- putting together furniture and baby items for the nursery
- date night with my hubby
- buying gifts for others

Things I hate lately:
- eh, who cares? I'd rather focus on the happy stuff. :)

Catching Up

2011-12-11T23:24:00.000-06:00

I feel like I've been running around like crazy lately, but busy is good! Let me try to catch up on our happenings over the past week or so.

The glider we had on our registry went on sale for $75 off, so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to get it for a steal! I ordered it from Target on a Saturday and got it the next Tuesday. Nice! We put it together and we're pretty happy with it. It looks good in the room, and is comfortable.

We were also incredibly grateful to receive an amazing gift from our good friends, Jonathan and Rose. They bought us the swing and pack and play from our registry. Can you say generous?? We set up the swing and I just wished I had my little angel already around so I could put him in it! It's so cute.

And here's what the pack and play looks like:

We also received an awesome package in the mail from our friends in San Francisco, Jimmy and Rosa. We couldn't help but smile when opening it!

I can't wait for our little guy to be old enough to wear it!

Last Friday I was super busy trying to negotiate a real estate contract, but I was able to get things settled in time to make it to my 3 year old niece's holiday program. It was quite entertaining! As much as she loves to sing at home and wants everyone to be quiet so she can be the center of attention, it was unusual for her to sit there during the program and not sing a single word! Lol. I guess it just wasn't her cup of tea that day. She still managed to be a little ham during it, though, and made silly faces towards us in the audience.

After the program, I told Livi that the baby was moving and she could come feel him kick if she wanted to. She put her hand on my belly and her face lit up when she felt him move. It was so sweet. A little time passed and we were eating dinner, and she abruptly got up and said, "I'm going to check on the baby" and walked over and put her hand on my belly. Talk about my heart melting! Later that night, we went looking at Christmas lights with her, and she kept us entertained with her wit, as usual. We drove through a community display of lights, which included a man in a Santa suit at the end, passing out candy canes. She waved to him, got her candy cane, then made a disapproving look and said, "I don't think he's the real Santa." What a stinker! After eating her candy cane, she turned to me and said, "smell my mouth." Sometimes you just can't explain what goes on inside a kid's head, but it sure does keep me smiling!

On Saturday night, we went to a tacky Christmas sweater party thrown by our friends, Casey and Rachel. We had nothing sufficiently tacky enough in our own closet, so we had to do some shopping to try and find just the right outfits. I think we succeeded!

The hubs in a sweater vest and me in a fringy sweater with shoulder pads. yeah buddy!

Our outfits hurt my eyes when I looked at them, but they were actually quite tame in comparison to what some of the other party guests were wearing! Haha. It was a good time and I look forward to starting the planning process a little earlier next year so we can try to be in the running for the prize for the tackiest outfit!

In other news, I passed my glucose test, and this week marks my 30th week of pregnancy! I'll be going to the doctor for my normal checkup and then I'll be back again to see her every 2 weeks until the 1 week appointments start. Whoa! This pregnancy sure is flying by. I hope I stay just as busy as I have been lately.

Finally, let me use this opportunity to wish my parents a happy anniversary! Today marks 40 years of marriage for them, and I couldn't be more proud. They are a wonderful couple, and they have always been amazing parents to me and my sisters. I am so happy they reached this impressive milestone, and I look forward to the day when Meezy and I can celebrate 40 years too!

Not Your Average Baby Shower

2011-12-04T14:50:00.000-06:00

If you know my husband and I, you know that we don't like doing things the same way as everyone else. We like to buck tradition and just do what makes us happy! On Friday night, we had a party to celebrate our pregnancy. Most people would call that a baby shower, but how many baby showers do you know that are for couples, have catered Mexican food, serve beer and beergaritas, include a betting board, and end close to 1am when the last guests finally retire from the drinking games? That's how we roll! Doesn't matter how old we get, we'll always be young at heart. Here's a peek at the awesome invitations, provided by Lauren at Palm Papers:

My hostesses - Kari, Katie, Jenn, and Jo - did an amazing job of making the party exactly like we wanted it. They brought in fajitas, enchiladas, beans, rice, guacamole, and queso from Rosa's Cafe (my favorite!) and cupcakes from Stein's Bakery. They set up an adorable clothesline filled with socks and onesies, placed beautiful orange lilies around the house, made a board where guests could bet $1 to guess when the baby would be born, and set up a scrapbook station where guests got their picture taken and wrote down advice for us. It was perfect! Here are some pics:

Our adorable kiddo clothesline

The generosity of our friends!

Car seat cover made by my friend, Colleen

Nursing covers made by my friend, Tiffany

Rocking chair made by my friend, Jenn

Cutest rocking chair ever!

Diaper cake made by my friend, Michele

More of the diaper cake

Love these burp cloths!

The Price is Right Experience

2011-12-02T15:36:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I received an email from thebump.com saying they had partnered with The Price is Right to do a maternity-themed episode. We could click a link to see if there were any free tickets available, so out of curiosity, I did. It turns out they did have tickets left! Hmmm. Now I was in a predicament. I've been a fan of The Price is Right since I was a little kid, and I always thought it would be really neat to attend a taping in person. But, the show tapes in Hollywood, so it would require us to fly out there and get a hotel for a night. I mentioned it to Meezy, and to my surprise, he immediately agreed that we should go! (What an awesome hubby!) I found some affordable flights on Virgin America and then used some Discover cashback money to pay for our hotel. We flew out this past Monday night, to attend the Tuesday morning taping. I'd done a lot of research ahead of time to learn about any tips or tricks that we should know. The show gives out more tickets than there are seats in the studio, so it's possible that you won't make it in even if you have a ticket. As such, lots of people recommended getting there earlier than the 8:30am call time to stand in line. I'd also read that people suggested bringing snacks and magazines to help pass the time since there would be lots of waiting before the taping started.

We got to the studio about 6:30am, and there were already about 40-45 people in line in front of us (the studio holds 300 people). By the time 7:30am rolled around, the line stretched out pretty far behind us. I never got to see how long it actually got, or if everyone made it in, but I think getting there early was a good plan! We read magazines and talked to the people around us to pass the time. As it got closer to 8am, studio employees started going through the line and checking tickets. If your ticket showed that you had clicked the link from thebump.com, you got moved over to a priority line. We then became numbers 17 and 18 in line. After they let us into the main gate, we were moved into an area where we had to fill out an information card and we got our picture taken. This is where they weeded out the non-expectant mothers from the contestant pool by putting a large X over their number. (Only women that were expecting were going to be called as contestants). This made us get a little hope that my chances of being called were actually pretty good! We waited in this area for a while, and there was a gift shop and snack bar open nearby.

From here, we were moved into another staging area where we had to wait for a while. We were always told to stay in numerical order, so Meezy and I were close to the front of each line. When the show's producer finally came out, they called us up in front of him in groups of about 9 people. He did a really quick interview of each of us (Where are you from? What do you do? When's your due date? etc), while an assistant took notes. Apparently this is where the decision is made as to whether you're going to be a contestant. You only have a few seconds of time to make an impression! (A girl in our group of 9 ended up being picked as a contestant, and she actually made it to the showcase showdown. She was with her husband, sister, and parents, and they were all wearing clever shirts related to her pregnancy. They were also pretty high-energy!) I think it probably helps if you come in a group and everyone is outgoing and friendly. After the quick interview, we were moved into another staging area where an assistant gave us a briefing about the taping, and then showed us all an episode of the show that included some of the games that were going to be played that day. (Side note: after the interview stage, before the part where you watch the episode, you have to go through a metal detector, so this is where you'd have to give up your cellphone and any other electronic devices. You check them with security and then could pick them up afterwards. They could help you pass the time in the morning, but we opted to leave them at the hotel so we didn't have to get them checked. We didn't want to stand in the long line to pick them up after the taping, when we knew we'd be ready to go and tired of waiting by that point!) Finally, sometime around 12:30pm, we were let into the studio.

They direct you where to sit in the studio, so it's not a free for all, but since we had been assigned such low numbers, we were seated in the front. They had roped off the first couple of rows to put a few groups of women with clever shirts up there, and then seated us right behind them. We were no more than 5 rows back from the stage, and just off to the right side of the contestant podiums. In other words, we were going to be on camera a lot! We were pretty surprised at how small the studio was. I guess what you see on TV is a little deceiving because they use some camera tricks to make it seem bigger. The stage was also much smaller than we expected it to be. They use the same area over and over again, and just move the props for the games and prizes in between each break. The show isn't live, but they try to tape it like it is. In other words, there's not many do-overs, and it doesn't take much more than an hour to tape. They take "commercial breaks" and during those times, Drew Carey and the announcer spend time talking with the audience, making jokes, or telling stories. It was pretty entertaining, and a little weird that he was literally right in front of us!

Meezy and I caught ourselves looking at the monitors a few times, trying to see what the shot would look like on TV, and if we were in the camera shot. One time, I saw myself on the monitor, looking up at the monitor. Oops! We tried to stop doing that as the show went on, so I'm not sure exactly how many times we're on camera, but I'm guessing it was a lot! One of the crew was responsible for prompting the audience on when to clap, cheer, or yell out potential prices, and he was usually pretty close to us, so we started yelling out whatever popped into our head. I'm pretty sure we were no help to the contestants, but we wanted to contribute like he was asking everyone to do! I'm curious to see if I'm ever on camera holding up a ridiculous price. Lol.

When it was all said and done, I didn't get called as a contestant, but the taping was a blast. It was so neat to see people getting called down that you had talked to in line previously, or just simply seen during the waiting process. It made it more personal and we actually wanted people to win and felt genuinely happy for them when they did. After the show was over, they did have to re-tape one person's "come on down" because the cameras missed it the first time. It was kind of hilarious because she had to recreate her excitement and the rest of the audience had to as well. The announcer also had to do a couple of prize descriptions again because his original ones weren't going to fit into the allotted time. After those were done, every audience member was given a gift bag from thebump.com with a few baby-related items and some gift cards in it. That was a nice gesture! We finally got out of there at almost 2pm, which means the whole process took us almost 7.5 hours! There were times where we got bored and a little annoyed, but it really wasn't that bad. I'm glad we went, and I'd say it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We probably won't be doing it again, but I wouldn't discourage other people from going. The taping we attended will run on January 11, 2012. I'll be setting my DVR for sure!

A little shirt for Dutch since he's the reason we went!

Gift bag contents from thebump.com

Riley Weight Loss - Update 5

2011-12-01T17:17:00.000-06:00

I took Riley in to the vet today to get weighed, and I was worried about what the results might be! We had a little eating snafu over the Thanksgiving holiday, and I wasn't expecting any success on the scale for him. We brought him to my mother-in-law's house for a few days, and we forgot that there was a bag of dog food in the shed within his reach. Before we realized what was going on, he had eaten half the bag! Ugh. I thought for sure that would have counteracted any progress we made over the past couple of months, but apparently it didn't! His weight today was 40.5lbs, which is 2.5lbs lighter than he was in August. Great job, Bubba! We're almost at the 20lb weight loss mark, and we probably only have about 5 more pounds to go! There has definitely been improvement in his energy since we started him on this weight loss journey. He will play fetch with us for much longer than he used to. Another nice benefit from him being skinnier is (pardon the TMI) his ability to now reach certain body parts that he wasn't able to previously. This makes for a cleaner Riley! I recently put an old Halloween shirt on him that at first fit just fine, then went to being super tight, then went to being too small for me to even put it on him, but is now back to fitting again! I love my sweet little Riley Roo.

Phase Two Done!

2011-11-27T22:02:00.000-06:00

After I finished the dots and circles on the accent wall in the nursery, I started work on the orange stripe that goes along the middle of all of the rest of the walls. I had to get the help of a laser level, but I think it turned out well. See for yourself:

Accent wall and stripe on wall that leads to windows

Ignore the mess! Stripe on wall opposite the accent wall

Entryway of the nursery

I love the way it all turned out, and I think it's a fun and vibrant design. I like that it's not too much of a newborn design, and also that it's not too masculine, so that hopefully it can grow with our child, or be used for our next one. I also recently bought this bath rug from Target. Works perfectly in the room!

Can't Be Thankful Enough

2011-11-24T06:24:00.001-06:00

It's nice to have a day come along that reminds me how much I have to be thankful for. What started out as a rough year has blossomed into one I wouldn't trade. I'll forever be grateful for the love and support I received at my lowest point, and the strength and courage I gained through it. Today, I place my hand on my stomach and feel the kicks and movements of the life I've created with my husband. I couldn't be happier.

Today, I think about the sacrifices and choices my parents made so I could grow up the way I did. I think about the example they set for me and the unconditional love they've shown. I think about my mom's willingness to drop whatever she's doing to help me if I ask, and my dad's warm hugs and friendly phone calls when he thinks of something he knows I'd like to hear.

Today, I think about the family I've gained through marriage, and the open arms they've welcomed me with. I think about all the nice things they do, and the warmth and love I feel when I see them. They treat me like I've been around since birth, and I'm grateful they love me like their own blood.

Today, I think about my good fortune to have two older sisters who look out for me and celebrate my successes with me. They're there for me when I need them, and they make this journey through life much more enjoyable. I'm grateful I can go to them with my frustrations and my joys, and they welcome both because they love me.

Today, I think about my friends who I'm so proud to surround myself with. While some I talk to more often than others, I'm grateful there are so many that wouldn't hesitate to step up in a time of need. My friends are a diverse group of people, and each one brings something special to my life.

Today, I think about the man who stands beside me, and holds me up when I need him to. I think about the years we've spent together and wish for a million more like them. He supports my dreams and makes them his own. I'm so thankful that his generosity, open mind, humor, and level-headedness have rubbed off on me, and I'm a better person today than before I met him. I'm grateful for the example he's going to set for our son, and I hope our son grows up to be just like his daddy.

I can never really be thankful enough, but I'm trying my best.

Audi R8 Private Drive Event

2011-11-21T18:09:00.000-06:00

I used to own an Audi, so I'm on their email distribution list. I received an invitation from them to attend a Private Drive Event for their R8 at the Joule Hotel in Downtown Dallas. Their R8, if you don't know, is their supercar that starts at $115K and can get up to $200K depending on what options you got. Obviously there's no way in heck we'd be able to buy one of these cars in our lifetime, but we figured it would still be fun to attend the event and get the chance to drive one! The experience turned out to be even cooler than we expected it to be. We arrived at the Joule and they offered us drinks and snacks and we sat through a 15 minute orientation about the car. They told us what kinds of features it had, and then relayed how the drive event would go down. There were 8 people driving in our session, and then each person was allowed a guest. The driver and guest would be the only ones in the R8, and all 8 pairs of us went out on our drives at the same time. A professional driver would be in a "lead" car at the front of the pack and another pro would be in a "chase" car in the back, just to make sure everyone was okay and that we all stayed in the same general vicinity. They let us go on the highway for a while, and then on some winding roads. In total, the driving time was about 40 minutes. It was awesome! We could've switched half-way through and I could've driven, but I was way too terrified to get behind the wheel of a car that expensive, so Meezy got double driving time.

We were surprised at how they just set us all loose behind the wheel of these cars. We weren't on some secluded track, away from other drivers and the elements. We were right on I-35 in Dallas, amidst traffic at times, and even as it started raining. They had put walkie-talkies in each car so the professional drivers could stay in contact with us and let us know where we'd be heading next. Other than that, Meezy was pretty much free to drive how he wanted! It was really cool. I'm sure it looked a little odd to other drivers and people on the street to see 8 Audi R8s driving next to each other! Here's some pics of the experience, and a couple videos for a little taste of what it was like to be a passenger.

Aren't we special?

It had our name on the dash

The one Meezy got to drive

A few of the other ones

Baby Dutch made an appearance

What? Pregnant chicks don't make good car models?

On the highway alongside another R8

It was an R-tronic drive

All the fancy gadgets

Yep, it's a V10

Not your normal view on I-35

This was the group of us leaving the Hotel. The voice you hear is one of the professional drivers over the walkie-talkie:

And us getting on the highway. Man, I love the sound of that engine!

Boots are Back!

2011-11-20T19:01:00.001-06:00

I'm usually not a big fan of cold weather, but I do enjoy being able to wear sweaters and boots. I went through my boots recently and realized that they all have pretty high heels and that's not so great for a nearly 7 months along pregnant lady. Time to shop around for some new pairs with low or wedge heels! I didn't want to spend much, though, since I know I'll be back to the ones with heels after this pregnancy is over. I looked at Kohl's and didn't have much luck, so I stopped by Payless to see what I could. Jackpot! They were having a BOGO 1/2 off sale, so I was able to pick up two pairs for under $100. This pair was Brash brand:

Zippy Riding Boot - $59.99

And this one was American Eagle:

Nola Cozy Wedge - $49.99

I wore the brown riding boots today, and they were very comfortable. They look good over jeans, and I'll probably also pair them with some of my brown/cream sweater dresses and leggings. Bring on the cold!

Good Lesson

2011-11-15T20:26:00.001-06:00

I came across this quote today:

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

Buddha speaks the truth.

Update on the Doggles

2011-11-15T13:21:00.000-06:00

After posting on various sites that we needed to find a home for Juneau, we got a couple of responses. We looked into them, but we decided they wouldn't be ideal situations for various reasons (no doggy door access, person gone all day, other dogs would be around, etc). I started to feel hopeless, like we'd never find the perfect home for her, and we'd either have to suffer through always keeping our dogs separate, or turning her over to a shelter. Neither one of those seemed like viable options, so we went back to the drawing board. Previously we had sent Juneau to K-9 University and had been very happy with the results. She came back much more receptive to discipline, less anxious, and less aggressive. She had learned how to sit, stay, lay down, heel, and was much better at ignoring other dogs when we took her out on walks. In the past if she had gotten on the bed or couch and I wanted her to move, she would ignore my verbal commands, and snap or growl at me if I tried to physically move her. Now, she listens when we tell her to get down, and she wants to please us.

Her relationship with our other female dog, Casey, has always been a little strained, but things were copacetic after she got back from training. Nothing changed on Casey's end, but I think Juneau had gotten a little better at ignoring her. Unfortunately she got to a breaking point last month, and that's why a fight occurred. We felt like we had to remove Juneau from our home, but after further thought, we realized that Casey needed help too. She was always the one instigating fights with Juneau and trying to get under her skin. We could tell that she felt like she was in charge of Juneau, and would attempt to control and/or reprimand her actions. We figured part of that was because she wasn't fixed, and Juneau was another female, and part was related to her lack of training/discipline. So, we bit the bullet and sent Casey off to K-9 University last week. We knew they had worked wonders with Juneau, and we are hoping for the same results with Casey. It's not cheap to have your dog boarded/trained for 2 weeks, but it'll be worth it if it works. The trainers at K-9 are awesome, and they even allowed us to send Juneau up there to get her training refreshed, and to keep her near Casey in a safer environment. I checked in on the doggles yesterday, and they told me there has already been an improvement in their relationship. Casey is starting to pick up the training commands, and they've worked them around each other with no fighting. I really, really hope they finish the program with a different outlook, and can put the past behind them. This is our last ditch effort to keep all of our dogs, and I don't know what I'll do if it doesn't work. The big test starts next week when we pick them up and have three dogs under the same roof again.

On a lighter note, it's been funny to see how our male, Riley, acts differently when he's the only one in the house. Normally during feeding time, he scarfs down his bowl as if it's a race. Sometimes he'll go so fast that he can't catch his breath, and yet he continues to eat. If we give rawhides to all the dogs, he'll run in the other room and try to eat his as soon as possible, and then usually ends up going over to Casey to steal hers too. Now that he's solo, he calmly eats his dinner and takes his time. When I give him a rawhide, he takes it into the backyard and buries it for later consumption. It's hilarious. So much of his previous behavior was influenced by the other dogs being around, and now he's pretty care-free! Sorry, bubba, those other doggles are coming back soon, so you better start digging up those rawhides and eating them!

I Didn't Forget About Fashion!

2011-11-13T22:41:00.000-06:00

While my "comfortable" attire days seem to outnumber my "fashionable" attire days lately, I still try to be on the lookout for cute maternity clothes. There aren't a ton of maternity stores to shop at, so I tend to branch out and find clothes that aren't maternity, but will still work for a girl with a growing tummy. I stopped by Kohl's the other day with the purpose of just picking up some yoga/wind pants to wear around the house. I found these for $18:

They're super comfy and long enough for me, so I snagged two pairs. I have a feeling I'll be getting a lot of use out of them, especially as I get further along, and then right after baby comes. On the way to the checkout, I passed by the Junior's section and some cute items caught my eye. Some of the styles of tops tend to be really long these days, which works perfectly for a pregnant girl! If I just shop for sizes a couple steps up from my normal one, I can usually find something that works. As it starts to get colder, I know I'll want to be wearing something warm but low-maintenance. Insert this adorable striped hooded tunic:

I loved the fit, and it was still long enough after accounting for a protruding belly. At only $22 each, I figured I could justify a second one!

These all fall more into the comfortable category, though, so I searched around for something I could feel cute wearing. I found this belted sweater for $30:

Just imagine the belt resting a little higher than the picture shows! I'm not sure if it'll still be long enough to wear over thin leggings after first stretching over my belly, but it will definitely look good with jeans. Yay for finding a few things that I'll actually feel good about putting on, even as that number on the scale keeps growing!

Phase One Done!

2011-11-08T11:15:00.000-06:00

I finished the accent wall in the nursery, and I'm pretty proud of it!

I can be pretty determined once I set my mind to something, so it didn't take me too long to get it completed. The next step in the painting scheme might actually be harder than the accent wall since I need to use a laser level to draw the top and bottom lines for the orange stripe, and the walls it's going to go on have lots of interruptions- closet doors, windows, etc. It won't be one continuous stripe around the room. Oh well! Who doesn't love a challenge?

Painting Update

2011-11-04T19:09:00.000-05:00

I mentioned previously that this design was the inspiration for the nursery:

I love the whimsical dots and circles, and it features my two favorite colors - green and orange. The window valances, a couple pieces of the bedding, and a few other decorations around the room will be this design, so I decided to use it in my paint scheme too. Talk about hard work! It's been time-consuming, but I'm loving the results! I chose one accent wall to incorporate the dots and circles, and the other three walls will just have a bold orange stripe around the middle. Here's a couple close-ups of what a completed section of the accent wall looks like:

And then here's where you can see what I've done in total, and how much I still have left to do:

I've just been working on it at night, and the stenciling took a few different sessions. I started the painting two nights ago, and probably spent 2.5 hours each night on it. I know it doesn't seem like much progress for that amount of time, but there are quite a lot of things to paint, and they're very small! Overall, I think all the effort will be worth it because I love the colors and the design, and how unique it is!

Help! Need a Loving Home for a Dog

2011-11-01T13:59:00.000-05:00

It absolutely breaks my heart to do this, but since we are welcoming a baby into our home in February, and can't risk extra turmoil or stress during that time, we have the following plea:

We are looking for a loving home for our dog, Juneau. She is a 6yo Shepherd mix weighing about 40 pounds. She is normally a really sweet dog who we have loved very much for the past 5 years, but we originally got her from a shelter and she has some fear based aggression, especially around other dogs. She needs to be in a home with no other dogs, and we can't keep her because our other female dog has started fighting with her. For some reason, some animosity started between her and our other female about a year and a half ago. (She gets along fine with our male dog, but it'd probably be best if she was in a single-dog home). They got into a fight and we struggled to separate them. We tried everything to mend their relationship, including sending her off for two weeks of intense training. When she got back, there was still a little tension, but things were okay with them for the next year, with no more fights. A couple of weeks ago, a fight erupted again, and we had to separate them. We've been working to reintroduce them slowly, but they apparently weren't ready and they fought again. Unfortunately, we just can't keep doing this. I am almost 6 months pregnant, and we are worried about this happening in the future with a baby around. We have never feared for our own safety around her, and she likes people, but for some reason she can't get along with other dogs. She knows the commands sit, stay, down, is housebroken, and will go in a crate when told to. Her favorite activities are cuddling on the couch and chewing on rawhides. She is fixed and micro-chipped, and current on all her vaccinations. It is not easy for me to come to this decision and have to find another home for her, because I've loved her dearly for the past 5 years. She would be a great guard dog and companion for someone. If you are interested, or know of a good home for her, please let us know. If you know of any places that will take dogs like her for rehabilitation and re-adoption, we are open to that as well. If you have any suggestions at all for how to find a good home for her, please get in touch with me. Thanks. Here are some pictures:

They'll Know of our Love: Update

2011-10-30T14:55:00.000-05:00

As an update to my previous post about the lock of love that we wrote our names on, and our friend, Kim, was going to attach to the bridge over the Rhine in Germany...it's done!

Jer, Janet + baby Dutch Marcum

Kim and Mik with our lock

A view of the thousands of locks on the bridge

We are forever grateful to Kim and Mik for attaching our lock to the bridge. I still can't get over how sweet it was for them to do this for us. We can't wait to see our German friends again, and visit our lock of love in Koln, Germany!

Smart Cookies

2011-10-27T11:30:00.001-05:00

I'm amazed at what you can teach a dog in just a few short days. We took Casey to get spayed a couple of weeks ago, and we knew she'd need some time away from the other doggles, especially Juneau, during her recovery. Her and Juneau have a volatile relationship, and we knew her being in pain would just add fuel to the fire. When she came back home after surgery, we made a point to keep them separate or always make sure one was in a crate while the other roamed free. Our doggles have never been crate-trained, so they were not too keen on the idea at first. We had to force them into their respective crates, which was accompanied with lots of growling and resistance, followed by whining once inside. That behavior occurred for a couple days and then, voila, they figured out it wasn't the end of the world to be in their crate! Now, all I do is walk over to Juneau's crate in the living room, open the gate, point inside and say, "Juneau, get in your box." She trots right on over and gets inside! The first couple times it happened, I couldn't believe my eyes. She's so agreeable now! As for Casey, we just make her get into her crate for bedtime. She's used to crawling underneath our bed and sleeping there, so we knew that forcing her to do anything else, let alone get inside a crate, would be a chore. To try and make it seem less like a punishment and more like she was just sleeping closer to us now, I put her crate on the large table next to my bed. After a couple of days of putting up a fight, it almost seems like she looks forward to the crate now! When I open our bedroom door, she runs to the bed, jumps on it, and stands by the crate (the table is even with our bed and just a few inches away from it). I lift the mesh zipper flap and usually without me needing to even saying a word, she walks inside. I zip it closed and she's good for the night! I can't tell you how pleased I am that they've made such strides in minding us. This is definitely going to come in handy when we introduce a newborn into the mix!

Casey and Juneau laying next to each other (during an on-again moment in their on-again/off-again relationship), with Riley in the background

Professional Courtesy

2011-10-26T20:11:00.000-05:00

In this day and age, people want results quickly, but sometimes we're not in a position to be able to take a phone call. I'm in my car a lot, sometimes with clients, and I've always got my GPS talking to me when I'm house-hunting. It's not conducive for talking on the phone, so I prefer email whenever possible. When I'm stuck at a long red light, I can shoot off an email. When a client is walking through a house, I can read and respond to a business associate without speaking aloud. When it's late at night and I'm just getting back home and catching up on what I missed during the day, I can read and send emails that won't disturb someone else, like an annoying ringing phone would. In other words, we can't always be expected to answer our phone or make a call, but how hard is it to send an email? If you want to be a Realtor in the 21st century, you need a smartphone that gives you access to email at all times, or, at the very least, you need to be checking in on your email a few times a day. You need to make it a rule that you respond to all emails within 24 hours, ESPECIALLY if you're the listing agent and looking to get your property sold/leased. I've been pretty frustrated over the past couple of weeks with other Realtors dropping the ball on email communications.

Example 1: I previewed a rental for a client that I thought they'd like, but might have a concern with the size of the master bedroom. The room would be fine, except that the owner bought a massive storage closet unit from Ikea that took up an entire wall instead of having a traditional closet. That didn't leave a lot of room if my clients had a king-sized bed, dresser, and TV stand. I left feedback for the listing agent with that concern. He emailed me and said that he believed that part of the storage unit could house a TV. Okay, that might make the house a possibility then. I wanted to get that verified before I drove my clients all the way out there, though, so I emailed him back and asked if the unit had electricity and cable outlets inside it, so there wouldn't be awkward extension cords running across the room. He said he would check with the owners and get back to me. A day passed. Two days passed. My clients were coming into town soon and I needed to make appointments at the houses that would be worth their time. I emailed him again and asked if he had the chance to verify the location of the outlets. No response. What the heck? How hard is it to follow-up on what you tell someone you'll do, or at least send any kind of response about why you haven't followed-up? If he forgot that he told me he'd check into it, then my additional email should've served as his reminder! I ended up showing the house to my clients anyway, but they didn't like it for a different reason. I sent the new feedback to the listing agent, and what do you know? He emails me to let me know the owners have dropped the price and to see if there's anything he can do to help my clients consider it. Pbbbt. You can start by not selectively responding to emails, and actually following through with the things you say you'll do. I bet his client would be interested to know that he's failing in the communication category.

Example 2: I previewed a rental for a client and I absolutely loved it. The house was great, the neighborhood was great, and it met all of my client's requirements. This was a week before my clients were coming into town, so I emailed the Realtor two days before their arrival to make sure it was still available. The listing still showed as Active, but I wanted to check. No response. I decided to go ahead and make an appointment to show it to them, and hope for the best. When I tried to do that online, the appointment service threw back an error and it wouldn't let me set it up. This can either mean the service is broken, the agent has removed the listing temporarily, or the listing is no longer active. Because I knew my clients would love this house, and the listing still showed as Active, I didn't want to just give up on it in case there was a problem with the appointment service, not the listing. I emailed the Realtor again and told him about my problems with setting up the appointment and asked again if it was available. No response. Are you freaking kidding me? It wasn't until a few days later that the listing changed status to Leased that I knew there was no hope for it. If something was in the works when I emailed him both times, could he not have spent 30 seconds sending me a response and telling me that? Actually, "It's been leased" took me five seconds to type, so that's all it would've required. It's just a matter of professional courtesy, people!

Rest assured that I don't have these communication failures. I find it unacceptable to let an email, text, or phone call go unanswered from my client or from a business associate. Not only that, I get back to people quickly. As soon as I know something, my client will know something. As soon as my client wants to pull the trigger on something, I make sure the other parties involved are aware of that. There's no excuse for a lack of professional courtesy among Realtors, and there's no excuse for a lack of attentiveness towards one's clients.

Kicking It

2011-10-24T16:39:00.000-05:00

I've been feeling little baby Dutch's kicks for a couple weeks now, but Meezy had not had the opportunity to. Since he's only about a pound at this point, the movements are easier to feel on the inside of my tummy than the outside. On Saturday morning though, as I was laying in bed, I noticed the kicks were pretty constant and more pronounced than usual, so I gave it another shot and put Meezy's hand on my belly to see if he could feel them. Dutch got in 3 good kicks in the span of just a couple minutes, and Meezy felt all of them. :) He said to him it felt like I was just contracting my stomach, but I assured him I had no control over the situation!

I like getting the little reminders throughout the day that Dutch is moving around and growing. I get so busy sometimes, or get wrapped up in mundane tasks, and his little nudges are a nice break. The pregnancy experience is so (understandably) tilted toward the mom's side since the changes aren't happening to the dad's body, but having Meezy's hand on my stomach while our little man said hello made me feel like he was getting some of the experience too.

My Favorite Pictures (Europe edition)

2011-10-21T07:30:00.002-05:00

Continued from my post from yesterday, here are my favorite pictures from our adventures in Europe in 2010. Our trip to 5 countries over 2 weeks was one of the most amazing things we've ever experienced, and I'm so grateful I can look back at these pictures and relive the memories and sights. I know we'll make it back to Europe one day, and maybe next time we'll get to bring little Dutch and show him where his Opa was born!

Mayhem on the Museumplein in Amsterdam, Holland during the World Cup Final

Canal in Amsterdam, Holland

Big Ben, London, England

Parliament, London, England

London, England from atop Tower 42

Famous casino in Monte Carlo, Monaco

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Photo op in Monte Carlo, Monaco

Meezy outside the Musee Oceanographique, Monte Carlo, Monaco

Netherlands American Cemetery outside Maastricht, Holland

Basilique du Sacre-Coeur outside Paris, France

Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Paris, France

Inside the Pantheon, Paris, France

Outside the Louvre, Paris, France

Inside the Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France

Inside the Koln Cathedral, Koln, Germany

On the Nurburgring, Nurburg, Germany

Proof I rode the famous ring, Nurburg, Germany

My Favorite Pictures (non-Europe)

2011-10-20T10:49:00.000-05:00

I have a frame in my entryway that contains six of my favorite landscape pictures that I've taken on our various trips. I love walking by it and seeing the beautiful scenes they depict, and thinking about the amazing memories the hubs and I have made while traveling. It got me thinking about how we've seen some pretty awesome sights, and I felt like going back through our photo albums and picking out my favorites. Most of them we took ourselves, but some of them are pictures we asked others to take of us. The number of ones I decided I love started growing rather large, so I am breaking them up into Europe and non-Europe categories! Here they are, my favorite pictures from travels and adventures outside of Europe, in no particular order:

Kim, Meezy, myself at Palo Duro Canyon outside Amarillo, TX

Meezy and me at Palo Duro Canyon outside Amarillo, TX

Puerto Aventuras, Mexico

Snorkeling in a cave outside Puerto Aventuras, Mexico

Friendly dolphins in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico

Kim and I at Coronado Island, CA

Meezy and I at Coronado Island, CA

Polar Bear at San Diego Zoo, CA

Reunion Tower in Dallas, TX

Alcatraz Island outside San Francisco, CA

Alcatraz, outside San Francisco, CA

Skyline in San Francisco, CA

Meezy and I in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA

Our photogenic friends, Brett and Lena, in San Francisco, CA

View from atop the famous arch in St. Louis, MO

Meezy at the Peppermill Lounge, Las Vegas, NV

View atop Rockefeller Center in New York, NY

Sarah, Mark, and Meezy in front of the Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C.

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Kim at Dallas Karting Complex in Caddo Mills, TX

The Best Laid Plans

2011-10-18T18:28:00.000-05:00

Most Sundays around my house are lazy Sundays. Meezy and I try to sleep in, watch some football, eat take-out, and catch up on recorded TV shows. They're pretty much greatness! I also usually start putting together my to-do list for the week and think about how much I'm going to get accomplished on Monday and the following days. It actually starts to get me excited, in a nerdy kind of way, because I love getting things done and marking things off the list. I had big plans for Monday, but that quickly went south around 9pm on Sunday night! Meezy and I drove through In and Out Burger, and on the drive home, I started to feel kinda queasy. After we got home, I ate a couple of french fries (which are really no good, by the way. No flavor!) and had a couple of bites of my cheeseburger. That was all I could take and I had to push them away. My stomach was just not feeling it. I went to the bathroom and threw up. Hmmm. I hadn't had "morning" sickness for quite a while now, and even when I did have it, I usually didn't throw up. This felt different. Turns out, it was!

I found myself throwing up at least once an hour overnight. It was miserable. I couldn't ever fall sleep, and couldn't even keep water or Gatorade down. Poor Meezy had to sleep in the living room because he had to go to work the next day and wasn't getting any sleep with me constantly stirring and running to the bathroom. When morning rolled around, I got kinda worried that not being able to eat or drink anything would affect the baby. I called my sister (who I remembered went through this twice in her recent pregnancy) and then called my doctor's office when it opened. Basically, there isn't a worry with not being able to eat for a day or two, but not staying hydrated can become a problem. If I still couldn't keep even water down by mid-afternoon, I might've had to go into the ER to get IV fluids to avoid dehydration. I really didn't want that to happen! I was super thirsty (and hungry, of course), but I made myself just take small sips of water and I sucked on ice chips. The throwing up persisted throughout the morning, but it became less often, and I was actually able to sleep for about an hour and a half in the afternoon. That made me hopeful that things were on the mend! I still didn't feel awesome by dinnertime, but the vomiting had ceased, and I was staying hydrated. Man, stomach bugs are ridonkulous! I lost an entire day to this stupid thing, and wasn't able to get anything done. I found out later that a few of my friends also caught it this weekend. There's no stopping it! Lol. I'm so thankful I'm back to my normal self today, albeit 4 pounds lighter, but normal food still doesn't look super appealing!

I Am the Face

2011-10-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

Today, October 15th, is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. I am the face of miscarriage, and I am the 1 in 4 women who will experience the loss of a baby at some point in their lives. Hearing that statistic makes me cringe because it's way too common of an occurrence. I know that it's true, though, because it's happened to more of my friends and family members than I can count. The silver lining is that the taboo around this subject is disappearing, and there are many of us out there available to talk to if you need it.

I think the important things to remember are that miscarriages and stillbirths are predominantly NOT caused by a lack of prenatal care, or something else the mother did or didn't do during pregnancy. They are not your fault, and there's probably no way they could've been prevented. (www.iamtheface.org) The startling truth is that 25-50% of pregnancies end in miscarriage (pregnancy.org), 1 in 160 pregnancies ends in a stillbirth (March of Dimes), and about 20,000 babies each year die in their first month of life (March of Dimes). These statistics aren't meant to scare you, instead they are meant to reassure you that you're not alone, and there are resources available if you need support. Someone somewhere, probably even nearby, has gone through what you've been through.

This day is a bittersweet day for me. I am happy to carry the torch for this cause, because we need voices, and we need solidarity and strength. But, I can't help but think about how my original due date was just two short weeks from now. Back in February and March of this year, I thought I'd be welcoming a baby into the world right about now. It wasn't in the cards, and that's okay. I've accepted that, and my sorrow has turned into joy at thinking about the boy I will be bringing into the world in February.

Trigger Happy

2011-10-10T16:13:00.000-05:00

Now that I've pretty much got my nursery theme figured out, it's hard not to jump in and purchase every cute thing I see that would fit that theme! I've done pretty well so far, though, in not going crazy. I did pull the trigger on an item last night that was just too adorable to pass up. The hubs was with me, and he said, "just buy it" so that sealed the deal! Check it out:

How cute is that lotion dispenser?? The nursery has a sink inside the room, so I knew I'd need a few bathroom items that had to fit the theme. I saw this green frog, surrounded by dots, and knew I had to have it. My main colors are green and orange, and dots are another central theme, so it couldn't have been more perfect. I also got the matching wastebasket. It's starting to come together!

Speaking of the dots theme, here's a reminder of what some of the bedding and window decorations look like:

It's a bit ambitious, but I'm attempting to replicate this design on one of the nursery room walls. It will be the wall behind the crib, changing table, and dresser. The other walls will just have a bold orange stripe running horizontally along the middle. Meezy thinks I'm crazy, but I've got enough time to finish it before the baby comes, and I think it will look awesome upon completion. Here's the first peek of just the outline of my drawings on the wall, before paint:

This is only one small section of the wall, and it took a decent amount of time, but I'm getting the hang of it. Can't wait to post more pics as it progresses!

Internet Famous

2011-10-06T21:15:00.000-05:00

I mentioned last Christmas that my nephew brought fingerstaches to our family get-together as a joke, and we were all good sports and put them on for a family photo. My brother-in-law added a funny touch by wearing a spiked hair hat, a la NSYNC. Since my dad already has a real mustache, he put his fingerstache up to his forehead and made himself a unibrow. I thought that was pretty clever, and the whole picture was hilarious, so I uploaded it to imgur and posted it to reddit. It quickly made the front page and got a lot of views. By a lot of views, I mean over 180,000. Holy cripes! I can't believe the picture was viewed that many times.

I had forgotten about it since then, until my nephew's classmate recently told him he had seen him on an iphone app. What?? Apparently our picture was snagged and posted to a few other sites since then. One of them was Buzzfeed, with the following description. Lol.

That site shows a hit count of about 2,000 views. It totally cracks me up that people took our photo and submitted it to other sites, and that it's been viewed almost 200,000 times. Man, I wish there was some kind of compensation for getting this much exposure on the Internets! Haha.

Halfway There

2011-10-05T19:51:00.000-05:00

Today marks 20 weeks of pregnancy. I honestly can't believe I'm halfway there. How did I begin this momentous day? By trimming some bushes in the backyard of our rental house. Lol. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be going, going, going until the actual moment I give birth. I have to say it's been a pretty laid back pregnancy so far. I'm not one of those pregnant women who reads every parenting book in sight, subscribes to a million different email lists, checks a daily progress app, etc. I'm not knocking the women who do that; it's just not my style. I like to roll with the punches and take things as they come. I think taking a more relaxed approach has helped the time go by faster. Having to stop and think when someone asks me how far along I am has actually made me less worried in general because I'm not constantly thinking about what week and day it is. I do appreciate the fact that I don't really feel 20 weeks pregnant, though. Some days I don't even look like it! Let's see how long that lasts...

Even though I haven't been a super hands-on pregnant woman, that doesn't mean I haven't already learned a lot of things along the way. Most of them were pretty unavoidable because my body wouldn't let me ignore them. Here's a snippet of what I've discovered over the past 20 weeks:

- if your hips grow, the belly band doesn't really come in handy for trying to avoid buying
   maternity clothes
- you can gain a decent amount of weight in other places besides your belly when you're
   pregnant
- heartburn/acid reflux is super crappy, but Zantac (or a glass of milk) does help
- I can't sleep at all without Unisom, and even with it, I wake up 3-5 times a night
- we go through a lot more toilet paper because I pee ALL THE TIME
- I can totally see why women gain excess weight because I'm hungry every waking
   moment
- I wouldn't say I crave pickles, but I eat them because they're good for snacking and low
   in calories
- it's best to keep snacks with you at all times because they'll help calm an upset stomach
- new exercises cause sore muscles at a much more profound level now
- I will perpetually have a stuffy nose
- Meezy is always there when I need him
- the "pregnancy card" can and should be played when you need help lifting something

That is by no means an exhaustive list, but it hits the highlights. I'm sure the next 20 weeks will bring many more realizations!

It Has Its Pros and Cons

2011-10-04T15:57:00.000-05:00

I've gotten some ribbing here and there about "not having a job." I'm sure it's all in good fun, but it does confuse me as to why someone would think quitting an office job in favor of working in real estate means I don't have a job. While it's true that I don't work in someone else's office anymore, it's also true that I don't sit around all day doing nothing. Here are the pros and cons I've gathered so far, after "not having a job" for the last 3 months:

Pros:
- Sometimes I get to sleep in.
- Sometimes I get to meet my friends and family for lunch dates.
- Sometimes I get to run errands during the day when the streets and shops are less busy.
- Sometimes I get to watch sporting events that happen during the day.
- Sometimes I get to make myself a complete lunch or dinner instead of having to settle for
   fast food or a frozen dinner.
- Most of the time I get to wear whatever I want.
- I'm no longer in a cubicle environment, so I avoid a lot of the annoyances that come with
   that.
- I can rush to someone's aid or lend a hand if needed, easier than I could before.
- I don't have to feel bad about missing work because of doctor/vet/auto/etc appointments.
- I can curse out loud.

Cons:
- Sometimes I have to work nights and weekends, or whenever my client needs me.
- My work doesn't stop because I go on a vacation.
- Sometimes I have to drive 45 miles each way to get a house listed or host an open
   house.
- I don't have a 401(k).
- I don't get paid vacation or paid holidays or paid sick days.
- I have to pay self-employment tax.
- I have to estimate and pay quarterly taxes.
- I don't get a consistent paycheck.
- Sometimes I do a lot of research/work that ends up earning me nothing.
- All of the supplies necessary to do my job come out of my own pocket.
- I have to talk on the phone a lot.
- I don't get to see/talk to some great friends I made in my previous office environment as
   much as before.
- I have a ton of memberships and subscriptions that I have to keep up to date to stay
   licensed, that my "employer" no longer pays for.

In other words, it's not all rainbows and unicorns to be self-employed, but there are definitely some benefits. If I didn't have a very supportive hubby with a great job, there's no way I could've done this. I can't say just yet if this was definitely the right decision, but I'm very glad I made it, and I'm doing my best to make it right for us. I'd rather regret the things I did than the things I didn't do!

Let the Painting Fun Begin!

2011-10-04T12:45:00.000-05:00

I might be biting off more than I can chew, but this could be fun!

Nerd Alert

2011-09-29T21:17:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we visited Amarillo to meet the precious baby girl pictured below:

This is Emma Sharon and she is my newest niece! She's a tiny little thing, and just as sweet as can be. Her older brother, KC, is already 18 months old and chatting up a storm! He melted my heart with his flirty little smiles. We also got to spend time with the rest of Meezy's family, and it was a nice break from our super busy lives back at home. While we were there, my sister-in-law gave us a couple of gifts that she said she had seen and knew they fit us to a tee. I'm a little embarrassed to say, but she's totally right! Nerd alert:

Circuit board coasters for Meezy

10-key pencil cup for me

Status: Confirmed

2011-09-28T15:10:00.000-05:00

Meezy and I had already made up our minds that we were having a boy, so I'm glad the doctor agreed with us today!! We got confirmation that our kiddo does, indeed, have boy parts. Let the games begin!

19 weeks along

Trying My Best

2011-09-23T15:14:00.000-05:00

It's not easy sitting by and watching myself gain weight, even though I know it's "for a good cause." I've been annoyed at seeing the scale go up, yet it doesn't show very much in my belly. Apparently there are other areas where the weight has been going! I've tried to put healthier snacks in my house since I know I need to eat every couple of hours. The weirdest part has been how quickly my stomach will tell me I'm hungry. There have been a couple of times where I've eaten at a restaurant with friends or family, and we've hung around for a while after eating, just talking and visiting, and by the time I get up to leave, I feel hungry again! Sweet jeez. That's kinda frustrating.

Since I can't really restrict my calories for the sake of me and the baby, I've tried to also focus on staying in shape. I ride the bike or go for a walk a few times a week, just to stay active. This is also helpful since I technically still have some work to do to get my leg back in shape since I broke my kneecap last year. I need to make sure it's strong enough to handle me when I reach my heaviest! Last weekend Jer and I ran the Oktoberfest 5K with some of our friends. It's been a really long time since I've done any running because of my knee, but I wanted to give it a shot. (Yes, it's safe to run while you're pregnant if you were active before getting pregnant). Things started out pretty good, and I got through the first mile just fine. We took a break so I could walk for a few seconds and get some water, and then we started running again. We did about another mile and then took another break. We finished off with running the last full mile. Overall, we ran almost 3 miles and probably only walked for about a quarter of a mile. There were definitely some painful twinges in my knee with each step, but I knew I needed to keep going so it would get stronger. I'm glad I was able to run for as far as I did. It felt good to get out and do something active, and it made me hopeful about being able to pick up running again after I give birth. My quads were definitely sore on Sunday, but that didn't last too long.

So, you'd think that running 3 miles would be more strenuous than yoga, but apparently it isn't. Lol. I decided to try a yoga video earlier this week, and oh. my. jeez. my body is pissed at me right now. I guess it uses a lot of different muscles that I don't normally use, because I have soreness pretty much everywhere! I honestly think I pulled a muscle in my side around my ribcage because I almost want to scream when I try to turn over at night. It's so weird. I might have to find a super beginner yoga video, or just get back on the bike instead!

More Inspiration

2011-09-19T18:29:00.000-05:00

Here are some more items that are serving as the inspiration for the baby's room:

Nursery Stuff

2011-09-19T10:35:00.000-05:00

I don't know if 18 weeks along is the appropriate time to start figuring out your baby's nursery, but since I'm going with gender-neutral colors, I don't think it hurts to get a head start! I know I want the main colors to be green and orange, so I figured we'd start the daunting task of designing a room from scratch by choosing the bedding. Holy jeez, I had no idea it would be so hard to find something I liked in those colors. I found a ton of green themes, a few orange themes, but nothing green AND orange. Sure, I could design my own on one of those custom sites for $350-$400, or go pick out my own fabrics and ask my mom to make EVERYTHING for cheaper, but both of those tasks didn't appeal to me. I don't want to spend a fortune in this area, and I also didn't want the entire burden to fall on my mom. After a gazillion google image searches, I finally came across something that I thought would work. It's not solely green and orange, but those are predominant colors, and I really think I could bring them out by what I do with the rest of the room.

I think the orange and green theme is still obvious in this set, even if there are other colors. I think it also allows us to use orange in other areas of the room without feeling like it's orange overload.  The blanket that came in the set is yellow, so I'm definitely leaving that out, and asking my mom to make something custom to replace it. I'll pick out some fabrics that complement this overall theme, and she can put something together for me that's more along the lines of our original vision.

We'll be ordering our nursery furniture in a few weeks, so it should be really fun to actually get some items in there and start figuring out where everything will go. I've also started throwing together ideas for the paint scheme, and I'm kinda excited about it! I think the hubs and I have come up with something cool, so I've got to get some sample paint colors and dive in before time for the furniture to arrive. Our painting ideas might take a little time, so I'm ready to get started!

H&M for Maternity??

2011-09-15T23:52:00.000-05:00

I'll admit I had become a bit of a jean snob once I got a taste for premium denim. It didn't take long for the Banana Republic, American Eagle, Old Navy, and Gap jeans to be replaced with Hudson, Citizens of Humanity, Paige, and Seven. But, since becoming pregnant, that obsession has had to cease. I can't spend $180 on a pair of jeans in a bigger size that I'll only be wearing for a couple of months, or spend that much on a pair of maternity jeans just because they're my usual favorite brand. It's not very practical considering how many new expenses pop up with parenthood! I tried shopping for some at Destination Maternity, but they're just so boring!! Who wants pants that only come in Small, Medium, or Large? Pbbbbbbt. That's not appealing. And you can bet that they're not going to fit "just right" when you only get those three options.

I popped into the new H and M store at NorthPark the other day, and oh.my.gawd I love that place. So many of their tops are loose-fitting, so I can get away with wearing them during pregnancy even though they're not technically maternity shirts. And they're so dang cheap! I've never tried jeans from H and M, but checking in there on FourSquare unlocked a coupon for 25% off any pair of pants. What the heck, I'll try some on and see how they feel. I found some jeans for $40 and grabbed a size larger than my pre-pregnancy size. I put them on and they fit perfectly! They're low-rise so they fit underneath my little baby bump, and they're large enough to account for my expanding hips. I liked the shade and the material was soft and comfortable too. So, after my coupon, I got some jeans I actually feel good wearing for $30. Take that, lame maternity jeans!

Personalized Art

2011-09-12T16:35:00.000-05:00

I was on Zulily.com the other day (yes, dang it, I've signed up for another discount site that sends me daily emails), and I came across some really cute artwork for a kid's room.

I love how the paintings are simple, but they use bold colors and include a child's name. I thought about ordering one, and then realized I could probably just paint one like this myself. I'd probably do one with an orange background and a green frog, or a green background and an orange dump truck. Either way, it shouldn't be that hard, and it should save some money. If you don't have any artistic ability, you can check out the paintings for purchase here. I'm soooo looking forward to our doctor's appointment where we get confirmation of the sex, because I'm ready to order some bedding and start personalizing things!

I'm an American

2011-09-11T20:57:00.000-05:00

I say what I feel. I wear what I want. I believe what I choose. I read whatever I like. I live free and you can't take that away from me. I'm an American.

Halfway to the Grand Slam

2011-09-08T12:16:00.000-05:00

If you're not a tennis buff, let me explain the title. Winning the four major tournaments in tennis (Wimbledon, US Open, French Open, Australian Open) is considered completing the Grand Slam. Last weekend I was able to make it halfway through the spectator's version of the Grand Slam! I traveled to New York to watch the US Open. (I went to Wimbledon last year, hence the halfway there status). This was my first visit to NY, and I was SO excited that it included the chance to see some of my favorite tennis players. If you want to watch the big matches, you have to buy your tickets way ahead of time, and even then, you're not assured of who you're going to get to see. Upsets happen, players withdraw, the weather doesn't always cooperate, and sometimes they move the players around on the courts and adjust their start times depending on what works best for the TV broadcast schedule. The highest seeded players and/or fan favorites are usually scheduled for Center Court or Court 2, and they can either play during the day session or the night session. When I bought our tickets, I just guessed and chose Center Court day session for both Saturday and Sunday. The day session included three matches, so I figured that would increase our chances of seeing a top player. The schedule for the court/session isn't released until the day before the matches, so I was on pins and needles right up until we actually got to NY! More on that in a moment.

On our first night in NY, we saw The Book of Mormon at the Eugene O'Neill Theater. We had pretty good seats, and the theater wasn't as big as we expected it to be, so I kinda feel like everyone had a good seat! Here's our vantage point:

The musical was everything we expected it to be: hilarious, irreverent, sarcastic, and fun. If you can't take criticism or allow yourself to be poked fun at, then this show probably isn't for you! It uses Mormons in its examples, but obviously there's a more widespread message being delivered. Its theme is that religious stories/beliefs can be rigid and silly, but taking them metaphorically and not literally can bring about enormous good. In other words, lighten up! Here's a clip from the 2011 Tony Awards where one of the songs was performed:

Did I mention it won 9 Tony awards?? I'm glad we went and I think we chose the right show since we only had time for one while we were in NYC.

Day Two in NYC was mostly spent at the US Open. The day session started at 11am, so we got there a little before 10 to check out the grounds and make sure we didn't miss a moment of the matches we paid for. I was pretty excited to see that the schedule included the world #1 Caroline Wozniacki, Roger Federer, and Serena Williams. Those are some big-name players, and it was crazy that we would get to see all of them play in the same day. We found our seats and we were pretty happy with the view.

Here are some other pics from our first day at the Open:

We were able to get some sight-seeing in too:

The schedule for Sunday's matches came out on Saturday afternoon, and I almost peed my pants when I saw who we'd be watching...Andy Roddick!! I'd like to say he's one of my favorite players solely because of his tennis ability, but let's be honest. He's easy on the eyes too! Haha. There's more to it than that, but it's one of the factors! I always cheer for Roddick because he's around my age, he's American, he's fiery, he's got a great serve, and lots of times he's the underdog. Kim Clijsters was first on my list of players I wanted to see at the Open, but since she withdrew, Roddick was next. I'm glad it worked out that I got to see him, along with Nadal, on the second day. Here are pics from that session:

On Sunday afternoon we went to Rockefeller Center so we could go up to Top of the Rock for views of the whole city. Unfortunately it was foggy, so we didn't get super clear views, but we still got some good shots.

After that we headed to the 9/11 site to look at the new buildings being erected in place of the former Twin Towers. The visitor's center doesn't open until 9/12 this year, so we weren't able to view the actual memorial, but the new towers were pretty impressive.

From there we went to Mesa Grill, a Bobby Flay restaurant. The food was definitely delicious, but of course the prices were high, and the service was slow. Considering there are so many eating choices in New York, I would definitely try something else if we ever go back.

While we didn't get to do as much sight-seeing as we would've liked since the US Open took up a big chunk of our days, I'm still really glad we went. I don't take for granted the travel opportunities I've been given over the past few years. My hubby is incredibly supportive of my dreams, and he works really hard to make them come true. I am so thankful for his generosity and the fact that he shares my adventurous spirit. While I know having a child next year will definitely cut back on our ability to travel, we're going to try very hard to see that it doesn't get eliminated completely from our lives! It's very important to us to see other people, other cultures, other cities, other lifestyles, etc. We'll make sure we don't lose that drive, and we'll make sure our kiddo gets to share in it too (when he's old enough to appreciate it, of course!)

Birthiversary Trip!

2011-09-06T19:00:00.000-05:00

Last Christmas, my sisters and I gave my parents a trip to San Francisco. (I talk about it here.) This is an exciting time for them, because they both turned 60, and they will celebrate 40 years of marriage soon. They got to decide when they wanted to take the trip, so they traveled there last week. Their "birthiversary" trip was the best gift we've ever given them! They had an awesome time, and I'm so glad they got the chance to take a few days to relax, sight see, and just spend time together. Aren't they adorable??

Love you Mom and Dad! Can't wait to spend 40+ years with the love of my life too. :)

Never a Dull Moment

2011-09-06T17:09:00.000-05:00

I've got a ton of pictures to upload from our awesome vacation in New York, but unfortunately there's a more pressing matter at hand. Our stupid water heater in the attic burst! We don't know how long it had been gushing water since it was happening upstairs and we couldn't hear it downstairs. We got home from our trip, ate dinner, and tried to relax for a few minutes. I went into my closet to start unpacking our suitcase and I heard the sound of running water. That's not unusual if the washer is on, or someone is flushing the toilet upstairs, but when you know that neither of those things are happening...something is wrong!! I ran upstairs and heard the water, and saw it coming through the ceiling. I yelled at Meezy to tell him what was happening, and he rushed outside to turn off the water supply. What a nightmare! Our other water heater burst earlier this year, but it was over the garage, so it wasn't a big deal. This one is a bit more of a problem. The water leaked through the ceiling into our gameroom, soaking the items on that wall, and the carpet beneath it. It's definitely going to require some repairs, not to mention a new water heater! I just hope it doesn't ruin our shuffleboard table and wall-mounted TV. They definitely had water dripping on them for a while. I guess we're lucky it happened the day we got back, and not while we were in another state!

This is how much water my steam cleaner soaked up on the first run

Finally Done!

2011-09-01T23:07:00.000-05:00

After months and months of hard work, we have finally finished the remodel of our rental house in Lewisville. I can't even describe what a relief it is to not have this on my to-do list any more. Whenever I wasn't working on it, I was always thinking about what still needed to be done. The effort has paid off, though, and we have a beautiful house just waiting for a new owner! Check out the finished product:

Here's a link to the listing. It has quite a lot to offer! Practically everything is brand new, from the roof to the flooring. Contact me if you are interested.

Riley Weight Loss - Update 4

2011-08-30T16:57:00.000-05:00

I took Riley in for his annual exam, and the vet said he looked great! His weight is 43lbs, which is 1.5lbs less than he was at his last visit 6 months ago. I know that doesn't seem like a lot of difference, but it's a 3% weight loss, and we'll take it! We're getting closer and closer to the goal. I can't believe he's lost 17lbs since we started this (that's a 28% weight loss!). Lots of people have commented on how much skinnier he looks, but I have a hard time seeing it since I'm around him so much. I did notice it last time I got back from a vacation though. He seemed smaller! I think our overall goal will be to get his weight to about 35-38lbs. I get the feeling I'll be looking to lose weight too, come spring of next year, so hopefully we can experience some success together.

The Matriarch

2011-08-30T16:15:00.000-05:00

Pictured above is my wonderful Oma, age 92, and my niece, age 7 weeks. It blows my mind to think about all the things my Oma has seen and lived through in her time on this earth, and how, in contrast, my little baby niece is just getting started. They both make me smile very, very much!

Fiesta!

2011-08-29T17:43:00.000-05:00

If you aren't in a Supper Club, you should be. Ours is called 'Bacon Gang' and we met again yesterday for a Mexican Fiesta. The menu was ridonkulous! Burritos, Mexican chicken casserole, Mexican beef casserole, tamales, 7-layer dip, queso, salsa, and guacamole. For dessert, Rebecca made us an amazing snickers/oreo concoction, drizzled with caramel. Delish!

Our newest members, Jenn and John, immediately got in the spirit by bringing some candles and a piñata. Muy bien!

We let my niece, Olivia, have a turn at the piñata.

Unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough to bust it open, so the adults had to get involved!

(got a little dangerous when Rebecca hit the tree with the broomstick and broke a piece off, LOL)

They'll Know of our Love 5000 Miles Away!

2011-08-24T22:31:00.000-05:00

When Meezy and I traveled to Germany last year, we visited a bridge on the Rhine River in Koln where couples wrote their names or something else sentimental on a lock, attached it to the bridge to signify their bond to each other, and then threw the key in the river to assure it would never be opened, or broken. We thought it was such a cute idea, but didn't have time to go to a store and buy a lock and then return to the bridge to add ours. The friend we were visiting in Germany, Kim, remembered our regret at not being able to add our lock, so when she came to visit us this month, she brought a lock along with her. She told us to write what we wanted on it, and then said she'd bring it to the bridge and attach it for us. Wasn't that sweet??

Here's what we wrote on our lock:

And here's where she'll be attaching it:

Kim's gesture was incredibly thoughtful, and I look forward to visiting our lock in Koln some day!

Back to the Grind

2011-08-19T21:23:00.000-05:00

I dropped off our friends from Germany at the airport today, after having spent the last 4 weeks trying to give them an awesome American experience. I think we succeeded, but I'm exhausted! Now it's time to get back to reality. I've got just a couple things left to do before our rental house in Lewisville is ready for sale/lease. It's getting a new roof put on next week, as well as a new stain for the fence. I'm also working on listing a friend's rental in Keller, and I've still got my sister's house in Midlothian up for sale. Besides that, I'm in the early stages of starting an LLC for the purpose of investing in more real estate. I'm excited about adding more properties to our portfolio!

Did I say it was time to get back to reality? Scratch that. I'm taking a short detour before I get down to business. My dad and I are heading to Vegas for a few days to celebrate his birthday. I got another free room offer from the Palazzo, and since Meezy just went last weekend, my dad jumped at the chance to take a cheap trip to his favorite gambling destination. Since we get along so well and have so much in common, it should be fun! Wish us luck. :)

Where I Am Now

2011-08-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

*This is the last in a series of posts about experiencing a miscarriage.*

So, where am I now? It's been about five months since I had to undergo a D and C to remove my failed pregnancy. The sadness has subsided substantially, and I've made it through a few conversations about the experience without crying. That doesn't mean there aren't still times where I get sad. That doesn't mean I was able to re-read all of these posts without getting choked up. Believe me, I'm ridiculously excited that I'm currently 13 weeks pregnant, but that doesn't erase my previous ordeal. It makes it easier to be happy now, but it doesn't eliminate the sad memories or feelings completely. I consider myself incredibly lucky that we were successful in getting pregnant again the first month my doctor told me it was safe to. I look at it as avoiding adding insult to injury. The injury still happened, but it wasn't made worse.

So what have the other effects been, besides bad memories? I think the one that hurts the most is the loss of the pure joy that people get to experience when they see a positive pregnancy test. I had it with my first one, but worry and doubt clouded my second. I couldn't forget what happened the first time around, so my positive test in June was just met with a feeling of "let's hope this one works out." Doesn't sound super joyous, does it? That's not the way it should be, but I had lost my innocent naivete. I couldn't help but remind myself that I shouldn't get my hopes up.

The joy is here now, but I guess it was just a little more delayed for me than it is for others. My 7 week sonogram still left me with doubts, which were almost gone after my 9 week one. I honestly didn't get to have that purely happy moment until my 12 week sonogram, though. I still didn't allow myself to fully accept that this time around would be successful until just this past week.

Another effect on me is a much deeper understanding for what other women have felt. I've known many, many women who had miscarriages, and I (callously) thought I would handle it better than them if it ever happened to me. I'm embarrassed by my previous views, because this experience was stronger than me. It kicked me off my high horse and definitely gave me a reality check. I remember not understanding how a woman who had a miscarriage could still be upset over it after later successfully having a child. I just figured their sadness would go away because they had fulfilled their overall goal. Here's my lame sports brain at work, but this is how I previously related it: If I swung and missed a pitch, but then connected and hit a home run on the next one, why would I still be upset about missing the first pitch? It took it actually happening to me before I realized that each pregnancy is an individual occurrence. Each pregnancy is its own "at-bat."

Obviously there have been other effects on me, like one I mentioned in a previous post about feeling closer to my husband. I'll never forget this experience, but I think time will lessen its harmful effects on me. Hopefully the positive effects stick around forever, though. One thing I know for sure - I can't let myself wallow in 'what might have been.' I am living in the here and now, and cherishing the baby I have growing inside me today.

If you would like to share your story with me, or need an ear to listen, or just want to say hello, you can reach me at vanweezy (at) gmail (dot) com. I'm here.

The Day to Day

2011-08-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

*This is the third in a series of posts about my experience of having a miscarriage.*

I consider myself a strong person. I like to think I can handle stressful situations with minimal interruption to my peace of mind. When something crappy happens, I might complain for a moment, but I've gotten pretty good at fixing the problem or learning how to ignore it. I don't like letting the bad overshadow the good. With that said, having a miscarriage really tested my abilities. I tried to be strong, but it was tough. I tried not to let the stress get to me, but it won sometimes. I think part of that was due to the hormonal changes I was experiencing, and the other part was due to just the extremely sad nature of the situation. I thought I had created life with my best friend, but I had failed. It was a devastating realization.

My first taste of not having my emotions in check happened one morning when a very sweet coworker asked me how I was feeling. I had spent the previous day at home, sobbing a lot, trying to take in the news my doctor had just told me about my molar pregnancy. It was one week after having the D and C, and I felt like everything was crashing down. I needed the day at home by myself to grieve and let out some frustration. My coworker thought I was just home sick with a cold, so when I got into the office the next day, she stopped by to see if I was feeling better. I was angry and sad, and I snapped at her. Without looking away from my computer screen I said, "I'll be fine." I was uncharacteristically curt, and my tone wasn't friendly. She reiterated that she heard I was sick and just wanted to make sure I was okay, and I repeated, "I'll be fine." As soon as she left my desk, I felt horrible. I had been rude, when all she was trying to do was check on me. No one at my office knew the troubles I was having, and I wasn't about to lay it all out there while I was still so fragile. I wrote her an email later in the day to apologize for being short, but I really didn't give an explanation why. I just couldn't talk about it yet.

Two weeks after the D and C, Meezy and I and a bunch of friends went out to dinner. One of my good friends from high school was there, and after everyone else ordered a cocktail, she ordered water. We gave her a sideways glance, and she confirmed our suspicions: she was pregnant. Of course we were elated for her and her husband. It was no secret that they had been trying for months and had previously been feeling discouraged about their lack of success. Everyone at the table was thrilled to hear their good news, including me. I could feel a little bit of sadness welling up inside me, however, and I tried my best to subdue it. But, when she announced her due date, October 27th, I couldn't hold it in any longer. That was the exact due date I had been given, before we knew my pregnancy had failed. What are the odds? The tears started flowing and I was completely embarrassed. My pregnant friend had no idea what we had been going through, so I had to tell her about everything. I felt horrible about the deep sadness I was experiencing right then, and even more horrible for taking away from her joyous moment. She completely understood why I reacted the way I did, though, but it still didn't make that moment any more bearable.

In the weeks that followed, there were more trying situations. Each time another friend or coworker announced their pregnancy, or talked about their kids, I was reminded of my plight. It's not like I wasn't happy or excited for them; it's just that I was also sad for myself at the same time. I know there are people with much worse situations than mine - years of trying, infertility, multiple miscarriages, stillborn births, etc. I'm not trying to minimize their suffering, or compare my pain to theirs, but this was still a personal tragedy for me. This was still a devastating loss that I had to be reminded of constantly. I needed to grieve.

If there is any redeeming part of this whole situation, it can be found in the realizations I have made. Choosing to have a child is a monumental step in a relationship. The hubby and I decided we were ready, and knew it was what we wanted before we started trying, and having a miscarriage just reinforced this. The emotions we experienced afterwards really showed us how much we truly did want this to happen. Instead of becoming disheartened and withdrawing from the situation, it just made us want it more. If it's possible for love to get stronger, then the love between my husband and I has done just that. I'm so thankful my best friend is the one going through this with me. We've been together through some amazing highs, and now a profound low. The way we've made it through it all, never wavering, has just proven to me that I picked the right one. I can't wait to share this love with our future children.

It Wasn't Over

2011-08-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

*This is the second in a series of posts about my experience of having a miscarriage, and what happened after.*

After the D and C, Meezy and I were in surprisingly "good" spirits. We viewed this as a setback, but knew we could overcome it together. My doctor told me I would need to wait 4-6 weeks post-procedure before we started trying again. Okay, no big deal. I could spend the next month eating cold deli meats, drinking sodas with aspartame, and enjoying an alcoholic drink if I so chose (things I had previously given up when I became pregnant). I knew my body was capable of getting pregnant, so I tried to stay upbeat. The time would fly...or so we thought.

A few days after the procedure, my doctor called me with the pathology results. She had sent the evidence of conception off for testing to see if they could determine what went wrong. I didn't think what she said could be worse than finding out my pregnancy had failed, but it was. It was bad news. I had experienced a "molar" pregnancy. This means instead of developing into a fetus, my "baby" had just become a mole, or growth. Something went wrong in fertilization, but my body didn't know that. It thought I was technically pregnant. (Lucky me for being the 1 in 1,000 women who experience this!) Even though the D and C removed the growth and scraped the surface layer of my uterus, if the mole had moved into the muscle layer below, then there would be problems. I would develop a disease and more than likely need to be treated with chemotherapy. Whoa. That's a lot to take in. The way to determine if that occurred was by getting repeated blood tests to check my level of hCG hormone. After a normal D and C, my level should drop to zero within a couple of weeks. If I had developed the disease, then my level would plateau or rise. For three weeks in a row, I had to go in for blood tests to see if my level was decreasing. If it did reach zero, then I would have to start coming in monthly to make sure it stayed at zero. In the meantime, we weren't allowed to take any chances with becoming pregnant again, because that would skew the results. That 4-6 week waiting period just went out the window, and now we were talking about a minimum of 3 months. That news was more devastating to me than the news I got the day I went in for the sonogram.

At my first blood test, my hCG level had dropped from 5,880 to 156. At my second blood test, it had dropped to 22, then to 7 on the third. Finally I went in for my follow-up appointment with my doctor (one month post-op), and the level came back at 0. Whew. This didn't mean I was completely out of the woods, but it did give me reason to be very hopeful. From there, I was required to schedule a monthly blood test for the next couple of months, to make sure the level stayed at 0. I know some of you will think a couple of months doesn't sound very long, but when you go from being pregnant in February, to being not pregnant in March, and then not even able to start trying again until June, it feels like an eternity.

I guess I was "lucky" in the sense that it wasn't worse. It could've become a cancerous growth and could've required chemotherapy. That would've meant at least a year before we could try again. I'm really, really thankful that it didn't come to that, because I don't think I could have handled a year of the emotions I experienced.

More to come...

I'm Not Alone

2011-08-14T10:43:00.000-05:00

*This will be the first in a series of posts that I'll publish over the next couple of days. They were actually written a while ago, but I wasn't ready to publish them until now.*

I'm by no means alone in this ordeal, but that didn't make it any easier to deal with. I know this will come as a surprise to a lot of people, but here goes:

My first pregnancy did not make it to term. On March 24th, in my ninth week of "pregnancy," I had a D and C. What this means is that I found out I was pregnant in February, but something was wrong. The fetus didn't develop correctly, and I had to undergo a procedure to remove the pregnancy. It was a hard time for me. I had so many things I was supposed to be excited about - the recent birth of a niece, vacation plans, friends and family members being pregnant, friends getting married, etc. While trying to joyfully celebrate these things, I also had to grieve the loss of the baby I thought I was going to welcome in October.

It was supposed to be such a wonderful time. My sisters and I were all pregnant at the same time, and were all going to give birth in the same year. How fun, right?? Three moms going through the same things at the same time. Three little cousins growing up around the same age. I got excited when thinking about what was to come. I secretly shopped for maternity clothes online and started getting ideas about the nursery. I couldn't wait until the day we found out the sex of the baby and got to share the good news with the whole world. Before I was even able to tell my family, though, my big plans were promptly cut short.

At seven weeks in, I went to the doctor for my first sonogram. She couldn't see anything on the monitor, but my body said I was pregnant. The tests were positive, the symptoms had started, and the hormone levels were growing. We thought we might've just been wrong about the timing, so we scheduled another sonogram for a week and a half later. It was tough during that waiting time, because I wanted to believe that everything was fine. I wanted to believe that a baby was developing inside me, despite that nagging feeling that something might be wrong. Unfortunately, the next sonogram confirmed our fears. There was no baby.

Meezy and I had been playing our cards very close to our chest. No one knew we were trying for a baby. We wanted it to be a huge surprise when we made the announcement! What a cruel turn of events. Now, our first mention to our family that we were trying to get pregnant was the news that our first pregnancy had failed. We were so sad that we even had to share the news. The reason we did, however, was because the procedure involved anesthesia and a hospital visit. Having already started experiencing the initial feelings of becoming a mother, I knew my mom would want to know something like this was happening to her daughter.

To add insult to injury, I received a call from the hospital two days before the procedure, telling me they needed a deposit for my portion of the costs. I was at work, trying to maintain my composure, and now I had to think about the cost of the termination of my pregnancy. Awesome. In addition to that, one day before the procedure, I got questions from two different acquaintances/coworkers, "When is it going to be your time?" "What's next for you, a baby?" Nothing like trying to hold back sobs while sitting at your desk. Let this be a lesson, people. Don't ask someone when they're going to have a baby. I've been guilty of this in the past, and I didn't fully appreciate the ramifications of the question until now. You never know what issues they're dealing with; you never know if they're having trouble conceiving; and you never know if they're about to undergo a D and C the next day! I know it seems like an innocent question, but it can have a very, very profound effect when asked to certain people.

The main reason I'm writing this post is because I want other women like me to know that they're not alone. When your friends or family know that you're trying, and then something goes wrong, you have a support system to lean on. You can be open about your feelings, and what's going on, and let people be there for you. When you don't tell anyone that you're trying, and then your first sonogram results are inconclusive, you feel lonely. Your spouse shares your feelings, but you haven't allowed anyone else to. You feel upset, but can't share it. You get sad, but try to hide it. The reason we chose that route was because we didn't want the world to know what we were going through, right as we were going through it. It was new to us, and we needed time to process it by ourselves. We didn't want it to be the only thing people thought about when they saw us. We didn't want people wondering when we'd try again. We didn't want people asking us how we were doing. I just wanted to be left alone, yet I hated the loneliness. It was a conundrum. I didn't want to talk to someone about it who I knew I would see constantly after that. At one point, I thought about trying to find a stranger on which to unload this burden, but I didn't know how to go about it.

Because I know that I'm not alone in experiencing these feelings, this is me telling you that I'll be your stranger. If you are worried you might be miscarrying, or recently have, talk to me. Send me an email and tell me what you're feeling. If I do know you personally, you can be sure that I'll keep your secret. If I don't know you personally, use me however you need to. If you just need to write about what's bothering you, but don't want a response, just say that. Just putting it down in words will probably help. If you want some reassurance that you can get past this, and everything will be alright, let me do that for you. Heck, you don't even have to be a pregnant woman to write me. If you feel like you just don't want to talk to your close family and friends about something, you can talk to me instead. My email is vanweezy (at) gmail (dot) com. Please don't be afraid to contact me.

More to come...

The Circle

2011-08-13T00:22:00.000-05:00

Early last month, Meezy and I traveled to Amarillo for his brother's wedding. I was a little more than 7 weeks along at that time. During the reception, a nice song came on, and Meezy danced with his mom. It was a sweet moment in and of itself, but when I looked around the rest of the dance floor, I also saw one of his sisters (who was about 33 weeks pregnant), swaying back and forth with her 16 month old son in her arms. Another sister, just a few steps away, was tending to her two kiddos who wanted some cake. I experienced such a crazy rush of emotions and started crying. It was such a profound and beautiful moment to me. There I was, sitting with my baby inside me, barely 7 weeks along in his life. Then there was my sister-in-law, so close to giving birth to her second child, also holding her first one, 16 months into his journey. Then my other sister-in-law, with her 1st grader and 5th grader, with lots of years of practice under her belt. Lastly, there was my mother-in-law, also dancing with her child, 29 years since becoming his mother. We were all in such different places on our motherhood paths, but we were all on the same one nonetheless. I'll never forget the feeling of that moment.

What a Difference a Few Weeks Makes

2011-08-11T17:29:00.000-05:00

Wanna see what a baby looks like at 7 weeks? Good luck! There's not much to see!

Is anybody home?

This is the ultrasound I got to see at 7 weeks. Baby boy just looked like a little dot. The main purpose was seeing the flickering heartbeat, though. That was very gratifying. Unfortunately my hubby was out of the country on the day of my appointment, so I brought my sister with me for moral support (you'll find out more about this later). I was so nervous and already crying before the ultrasound even started. As soon as the picture came up on the screen and there was a flicker, my sister exclaimed, "That's a heartbeat!!" It was awesome.

Now here's what my baby looked like at 9 weeks. Look at the progression!

There's somebody in there!

It's amazing how things changed in 2 short weeks. We could actually see the head and the arms and legs. We could also see the umbilical cord. What a joy! I really started feeling confident about the pregnancy at this point. We had reached another milestone, and everything was still looking good.

And here's our latest ultrasound, taken at 12 weeks:

Hi baby!

Look how much detail there is now! We could see individual fingers and toes, and some bones. We could even tell that the baby's feet were crossed. The doctor says it's a boy, so I guess I'll refer to the baby as HE now! Every time he moved during the ultrasound, my heart skipped a beat. I couldn't believe that was happening inside me, and I couldn't feel a thing! Can't wait to keep tracking how much he grows and develops in the coming weeks.

The Times Are A'Changin!

2011-08-11T17:00:00.000-05:00

I finally get the chance to announce our big news! Meezy and I are expecting our first child around 2/22/12. We're only 12 weeks along, but the doctor is 98% sure that it's a BOY!!! He told my sister she was having girls at this stage in both of her pregnancies, and he was right, so I'm feeling pretty confident. I couldn't be happier right now. It's been hard keeping this quiet for this many weeks, but I'm glad it's finally out in the open! My morning sickness hasn't been too bad, and even when I get it, it's actually been a nice reminder that things are still progressing each week. (Mine should've actually been called evening sickness, btw!)

It's hard to believe that this is really happening. I've always had the desire to be a parent, but I really wanted to wait until I knew the hubs and I were ready. We wanted to enjoy the married life sans kids, travel as much as possible, and be a little irresponsible with our money when we felt so inclined. I think 5 years of marriage has given us that opportunity, and now we're ready to tackle the next stage of our lives. Should be a fun and challenging journey, and I couldn't have picked a better partner to take it with.

Vacation to Florida

2011-08-08T21:16:00.000-05:00

We're back from our trip to Florida, and we're exhausted! We had an awesome time, though, and the scenery was breathtaking. Here's a recap:

Since we were bringing Kim and Mik along with us, we tried to find cheap airline tickets. Hence, we flew Spirit Airlines. Well, I guess you get what you pay for! They nickel and dime the hell out of you to try and keep the fares low. Each checked bag costs $28 IF you pay for it online ahead of time. If not, it's $38/bag. The kicker is that their weight limit is 40lbs, which differs from the 50lb limit we were used to. The two bags for our group of 4 were both over 40 lbs, so we had to rearrange stuff to just make one of them overweight (you only get to bring on a personal item for free, not a carry-on, so we couldn't use that outlet for help with the weight redistribution). That cost us another $25. Overall, we paid $81 EACH WAY for our bags. Wow! Wanna know the best part? They failed to put Kim and Mik's bag on the flight for some unknown reason. WTH? We landed at 9:30pm, and were the last flight in for the day, so they told us they'd put it on the early flight the next morning. Since they didn't have toiletries or clothes or anything for that first night and next morning, we had to find the closest store that was open 24 hours. That happened to be a Walmart. We had to drive ten miles to get there, but it might as well have been 800 miles because it felt like we stepped into Haiti. Quite an experience! Anyway, Spirit said they'd have it delivered to our hotel shortly after the flight arrived at 9:30am the next morning. By the time noon rolled around, and we hadn't even been called to alert us to an impending delivery, we just decided to drive back to the airport ourselves and pick it up. Sure enough, it was just sitting in the baggage office. Thanks, Spirit, for the awesome baggage service! That was kind of a bummer that it put a damper on our first few hours in Fort Lauderdale, but we shrugged it off and made the best of our remaining time.

We stayed in a 2-room oceanfront suite at the Pelican Grand Beach Resort. I have to say we were really impressed with the hotel. The location on the beach was unbeatable. A lot of the hotels in Fort Lauderdale are across the street from the beach, so you're stuck walking across and looking for room on the public beach. Our hotel had a private beach that was literally a few steps from the water. The view from our balcony was awesome in every direction. The hotel also had a great pool and lazy river. We ate some of our meals on the back balcony of the hotel and it felt like we were in a magazine. Just take a look for yourself:

The view below our balcony

Truly beachfront

I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real

We traveled into Miami and South Beach a couple of times, but honestly Fort Lauderdale was more our style. We did check out the shops and restaurants and spent a little while on the beach there, though.

South Beach

Couldn't resist reppin' the Mavs in Miami!

Had to grab some Cold Stone!

Dinner at PF Chang's in Downtown Miami

When we weren't relaxing on the beautiful beach outside our hotel, we checked out Ocean Avenue, did some shopping at Dolphin Mall, and visited McCarthy Wildlife Sanctuary in West Palm Beach. If you're in the area, I highly recommend giving that last place a visit! It's $20/person for a guided tour through their facility. It was totally worth it. We got to get really close to their amazing animals, and learn a lot of really neat background info and facts about them. Our guide interacted with the animals, and even let us in some instances. It was awesome!

Me holding a Kinkajou. I wanted to take it home!

Mik with the Kinkajou.

Jer holding a 12 ft. albino python

Kim and the python

Everyone got a turn with the tarantula

After all of our adventures, we ended the trip with an unforgettable dinner at Chima Brazilian Steakhouse in honor of Kim's birthday. It was a great trip!

Happy 19th birthday!

It's Gonna Be A Good Day

2011-08-05T09:15:00.000-05:00

First Week with the Germans!

2011-07-31T18:14:00.000-05:00

Our former exchange student, Kim, and her brother Mik, arrived in Dallas on Monday afternoon. They'll be here for four weeks, and we are very excited at all of the adventures that are in store! First up on the agenda was taking them to Fossil Rim in Glen Rose. It's a bit of a drive from the north part of the metroplex, but it's always a great time to go there. Here are some pics of our awesome encounters with the wildlife. We saw a ton of animals, but as you can see below, the zebras and giraffes were our favorite!

On Friday night, we went to the rodeo in Fort Worth. Meezy and I had actually never been before, so it was a new experience for us as well. We enjoyed the show, and had a great time catching up with some friends. Afterwards we headed over to Billy Bob's to grab some food and watch people two-step! It was a fun night, and a great way to end the first week.

Bone Marrow Recipient News

2011-07-22T22:43:00.000-05:00

The mandatory waiting period after donating bone marrow finally lapsed in June, and I was able to make contact with my recipient's mother!! Here's a snippet of her email to me:

"He is doing very well!! He turned 12 last month! I cannot tell you how much we appreciate what you have done for our family, and thank you for getting in touch with us."

Her words warmed my heart. I've often thought of the boy I donated bone marrow to, and I really, really wanted to know if he was okay. To hear that he made it to another birthday, and is actually doing well, is probably the best news I have heard in my life. I'm friends with his mom on facebook now, so I've been able to see tons and tons of pictures of him, and even follow the bone marrow donation journey from his side of things. Please consider signing up to be a donor at www.marrow.org. You could save a life! Want proof? See the picture below.

How sweet is this face?

Where Have I Been?

2011-07-22T22:25:00.000-05:00

Ack! I'm so sorry for slacking on the blog updates. I had no idea I would be this busy AFTER quitting my full-time job! I've got a million things going on right now, and here's a taste of what's kept me away from the computer:

- I'm representing my sister in the purchase of a beautiful home on 8.5 acres in Midlothian. It's my first official transaction as a licensed Realtor and it has been very, very interesting! It's had a lot of quirks to it, but it's given me great practice and I look forward to the purchase closing in mid-August.

- I got my first listing! Check it out here. It's a spacious home on a large lot, and it's move-in ready. Buy it!

- I am working non-stop on my rental house in Lewisville to get it market ready. New carpet should be installed next week, and we're in the process of getting a new roof. Each day we're getting closer, and I look forward to putting the Marcum Real Estate sign in the front yard.

- I've been busy getting my house ready for two houseguests. The exchange student we hosted a couple of years ago, Kim, is coming back to visit for a month. She's also bringing her brother this time, for his first visit to America! We'll be throwing a party for them, taking them on vacation to Florida, and trying to do as many touristy things around the metroplex as we can. They arrive on Monday!

- I've been making travel plans like crazy. On the agenda for the next two months we have Florida, Vegas, New York, and Denver.

- We spent about four days at the mercy of the guys replacing the roof on our house. Since we have 3 dogs, we had to keep them in the house all day while the workers were here, all night since their equipment and nails and debris was in the backyard, and then take them out every few hours, on a leash, to use the restroom. That was super annoying. We were also woken up each morning at 6:30 to the sound of pounding on the roof, and they didn't leave until almost 9 each night.

- I lost a whole day of getting anything done thanks to a flat tire. See the above bullet point for how a nail could've ended up in my driveway, causing a flat tire. (Still bitter). Anyways, I went out to my car in the morning, and discovered a completely flat back tire. I opened up my trunk, looking for a spare, and discovered just an air compressor where a spare would've been. It looked pretty janky, so I figured I would just call Cadillac Assistance and get them to come out and air it up enough for me to drive to Discount Tire. They arrived within about 45 minutes, and attempted to air it up. No luck. It wasn't holding air at all. The technician looked at all the tires and showed me a bubble on one of the front ones. Doh! That would probably need to be replaced too. Only problem was that I had no spare and no way to get it to Discount. The Cadillac technician called a tow for me and I had to go back to waiting. The tow truck took about 2.5 hours, so I was stranded at home during this time. They finally arrived and loaded up my car on a flatbed and drove it, and me, over to Discount. Since my front and back tires are different, and they had 15,000 miles on them, it wouldn't be so easy to just replace one of each without problems. I don't have the luxury of rotating my tires, and I didn't want tires with such differing tread levels, so I decided to replace all of them. If I got the exact same brand/specs I already had, it would be $2,200. Shiiiiiiit. No thanks. I opted for a cheaper brand and got out for $1,100. Still painful, but better. They told me it would take a couple hours, so I asked Meezy at 3pm if he could leave work early and pick me up. He agreed, so I waited. And waited. He got stuck on a phone call and didn't end up getting me until 4:30. Not his fault, but it sure made for a long, annoying day with nothing on my to-do list being accomplished.

My Baby Nieces

2011-07-18T19:01:00.000-05:00

My sister is working on a birth announcement for little Lexie, so she asked me to take some pictures. Here are some of my favorites:

Superwoman!

Happy girl

Precious face

Sweet girl

So happy!

All worn out

My 4 month old niece, Bella, was also at my sister's house when I was taking pictures, so I snapped a couple of her as well!

Who me?

Cutie face

Ready for her close-up

The Lewisville House Nightmare Continued

2011-07-11T21:50:00.000-05:00

This is a continuation from this post.

There was a distinct smell present in the Lewisville house, thanks to the squatters letting their dogs shit wherever they like. Apparently they didn't care too much to clean up after their dogs' messes, so there were stains on the carpet everywhere. It was so nasty that I wouldn't dare walk on it without shoes. The thought of their toddler crawling on it almost made me throw up. As we turned the corner to the kitchen, it became very apparent that they hadn't wiped a baseboard, dusted a corner, or mopped a floor in the 2.5 years that they lived there. They also hadn't cleaned the refrigerator, microwave, or stove even once. It was heartbreaking. The top of the line stainless steel appliances that we had installed had been treated like throwaways. The beautiful travertine tile in the kitchen that I had laid myself had been neglected and had red nail polish spilled on it. The animal smell was replaced with rotting food smell in the kitchen. The electricity had been shut off days before we had access to the house, and the squatters were nice enough to leave perishable food in the refrigerator. I had to throw it all out while choking back vomit. All of the walls had a dingy tint to them now from dirty hands and splatter stains. The anger swelling inside me at this point was only a preview for what we'd find upstairs.

(after I removed the rotten food)

damage to a wall

check out the nice caked on food rings on the stovetop

The carpet upstairs was similar to the downstairs. Lots of stains and lots of dirt. The hall bathroom was pretty gross as well. The sink, tub, and toilet obviously hadn't been cleaned, but luckily this bathroom wasn't used often since they just had a toddler. When Meezy and I made our way into the master bathroom, our jaws dropped. Their shower was the nastiest thing I have ever seen. I'm not kidding. Truly the most disgusting thing ever, when considering it's supposed to be used to make someone clean. The toilet was a close second. Apparently the husband has bad aim, because you could clearly see a piss ring on the ground around the toilet, caked onto the linoleum. The toilet lid was down, and we were both afraid to lift it. Meezy had tennis shoes on, so he pushed up the lid with his shoe. Inside was a used condom. How delightful! (Don't worry, I didn't take a picture of the toilet b/c I didn't want you to lose your lunch. The shower pics might take care of that for you, though).

My blood is boiling again just writing this down. I really, really, really hope these people get what is coming to them. You shouldn't be allowed to treat other people's property like this without repercussion. You shouldn't be allowed to raise a child in an environment like this. These squatters are the scum of the earth. There, I said it.

Happy birthday, Alexandra!

2011-07-08T14:57:00.001-05:00

It's with great joy that I get to announce the birth of my newest niece, Alexandra Kate. We've all been eagerly anticipating the arrival of this sweet girl, and I am happy to share some pics of her first moments! Say hello to Lexie.

The Lewisville House Nightmare

2011-07-03T01:15:00.000-05:00

Alright, put on a pot of coffee, because this will be a long one. Meezy and I own a rental house in Lewisville. We purchased it a few years ago to live in when we first moved to the area. After a year, however, we decided to move closer to our jobs, so we turned it into a rental. We had a little trouble getting it rented at first, because there's a smaller rental market for houses of that size and price. After one tenant moved in for a month, broke her lease, and had her deposit and rent checks bounce, we were desperate. We had been paying two mortgages for a few months by this time, so we were willing to put almost anybody in the house. Little did we know how much our desperation would come back and bite us in the ass.

The tenants that finally moved in were a pregnant married couple who were going through a short sale on their house. They had an adjustable rate mortgage that was quickly getting out of control, so they wanted to sell their house and rent for a while. They had been making their previous mortgage payment (before the large increase when their rate changed) for a few years, and it was comparable to what we were charging in rent, so we felt comfortable they could make it. Also, considering they were about to have a child, we thought they'd want to stay in the house for a while instead of moving again after the baby was born. They signed a year lease and we breathed a sigh of relief.

After a few months, the excuses started. Rent payments were being made later and later each month. They never just didn't pay, so we cut them some slack and basically were thankful we were getting paid each month, regardless of when it actually happened. When the initial lease term was up, they wanted to renew, as we had hoped. They signed on for another year. The excuses continued. We finally got tired of hearing them, so we enforced the lease and required late fees to be paid each month. They agreed that they owed them, and they paid them. Okay, that wasn't too bad. We're getting extra money above and beyond their normal rent payment, and we're no worse off than we were before. When the second year's lease was up, they asked for a 6-month lease, because they were ready to start looking around for something cheaper. We said that was fine because we were growing tired of their hassles, and we agreed that they should probably not be renting a place of that price considering their payment history with us. We were looking forward to them moving out in April of this year, and our plan was to find some new renters within a month. The mortgage payment is not fun to make with no rental income coming in to offset it, so we knew we'd be under a time crunch.

As we got nearer the end of the lease, the renter assured us he'd be making all his final payments on time because he wanted to be able to use us as a reference. He also said he'd get the house professionally cleaned because they could really use their deposit back. That all sounded great to me! The better the condition of the house when they left, the better chances of us getting it re-rented quickly. When March rolled around, the 5th of the month came and went and we didn't have a rent check. We emailed and got no response. We called and got no response. A few more days went by and we tried to contact him again. He finally responded to us on March 20th and asked if he could get put on a payment plan for March and April. He wasn't going to be able to pay the full month's rent at one time in both of the months, but he could make payments every two weeks to make it work. Fine. There's not much we could do at this point, because it's already the end of March. We agree and he paid half of March's rent on the 25th. The next payment, which would be a full payment for April, would be due on the 8th. We told him that if he didn't pay that on time, we would immediately have to start eviction proceedings. He assured us that wouldn't be a problem.

The 8th came and went and we didn't have a check. He didn't contact us. I emailed him and said we'd be coming by in a couple days to post the eviction notice. No response. We waited one additional day to see if he was going to pay, or even communicate with us in any way, and he didn't. We went out to the house and Meezy taped the notice to the front door. As he was doing that, the renter opened the door. Meezy said, "We tried to work with you, but you didn't hold up your end of the deal. We told you if you didn't pay you'd be evicted. If you don't vacate the house, we'll have to get the sheriff out here." The renter smugly says, "You can't remove me from the house until you go to court first. By the time you get a court date, I'll already be gone." If the guy didn't have 100 pounds on Meezy, he probably would've received a punch square in his face for that attitude. Can you believe the nerve? He knew that he was going to string us along and make us think he was going to pay, just so he could stay in the house for free as long as possible.

The law is NOT on the side of the property owner when it comes to urgency. If someone fails to pay, you have to post a notice of eviction on their door that gives them a few days to make it right (the number of days is set out in the lease; in our case it was three). When those days are up and they haven't paid, then you have to file a motion with the court to request a court date. The notice of the court date is served to the tenants, which can take multiple days if they're not home when the process server makes an attempt. Finally a date is set and you have to present your case to a judge. I believe I made the first filing on April 12th because I had to wait the required days after the eviction notice was posted, and yet didn't get to plead my case until April 26th. That entire time, the tenant is just living in my house for free and there's nothing I can do about it. Seem unfair to anyone else? When I went to court on the 26th, the (now they shall be called ) squatters didn't show up, because they knew they had no defense. I received a default judgment against them in the amount of the unpaid rent, $2,325, plus my court filing costs of $91. What does a default judgment mean? Basically nothing. I'm fairly positive I'll never see a dime of that money. I knew that going into it, but I just wanted something recorded in the public records that showed these people were scumbags and they owed me money. At this point, they were still allowed 5 days to appeal the ruling. If they didn't, then we could've paid to have the sheriff remove them. Can you believe how long of a process it is, to get from posting an eviction notice to actually forcing them to leave the premises? "Lucky" for us, they had their stuff out by April 30th, the original date their lease was supposed to end, so we didn't have to resort to the sheriff. So, we were already out $2,400 at this point, and hadn't even had an opportunity to assess the house and see how long it would be before we could get it re-rented.

Meezy and I walked into the house after the eviction ordeal was finally completed, and our jaws hit the floor. Our nightmare had just begun.

To be continued!

Fancy Schmancy Movie Theater

2011-06-26T20:57:00.000-05:00

Meezy and I couldn't come up with something spectacular to celebrate our 5 year anniversary, so we just decided to try out Gold Class Cinema s in Fairview. We've heard from others that seeing a movie there is really awesome because you get to sit in comfy recliners, you can order food during the movie, and all the seats are reserved. That sounded good to us, so we bought tickets for Super 8.

Pro tip: become a member on their website beforehand (it's free), and you'll get discounted tickets.

We opted for the premium plus upgrade seats, which are larger and fully reclining, further away from others, and come with free popcorn. When we got there, it was super easy to find our seats, because there were so few in the theater! We ordered our drinks and dinner and I inquired about the popcorn (my hubby is in love with movie theater popcorn). The waitress told me it would be coming shortly. Our food arrived and we gobbled it up (chicken quesadilla - just okay; pepperoni and sausage flatbread - better). We figured the popcorn was next, even though we kinda thought it would've made a better appetizer than after-dinner snack. After a while, the waitress came by and asked if we were ready for our dessert. I told her not yet, as we'd like to eat popcorn first. She looked surprised and realized that they had forgotten to bring it out for everyone in our section. Okay, no big deal. We got our popcorn and then our dessert arrived soon after. When our waitress came by again to close out our check, she asked if we needed anything else. Meezy asked for a refill and she said she'd get it. We never saw her again. That was kind of a bummer since there was still a lot of movie left. Oh well. So, overall, the idea of that theater is pretty cool. The seats are comfy, being able to eat dinner is convenient, and having smaller theaters with fewer seats is nice. On the flip side, the food was just okay and overpriced, and our service was bad. I'm not sure if we'll go back to that theater, but it was cool to give it a shot.

Back in the Saddle

2011-06-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

I know I've been failing lately at keeping this updated regularly, and I really apologize! Big changes are in store for me, beginning next week, and I'm excited about starting the next chapter of my life. First up on the agenda is knocking out the massive to-do list we have for our rental house in Lewisville. The previous renters, er squatters, left it a complete disaster and we haven't had the time to devote to getting it back in shape. That will all change next week! I'm looking forward to sharing with y'all the ridiculous ordeal we had to go through to get them kicked out of our house for non-payment, and then the story of what we found the first time we went into the house after their eviction. Get your popcorn ready; this will be good. Stay tuned!

Back to PT

2011-06-16T21:35:00.000-05:00

As if I didn't have enough things on my plate, my knee started hurting again recently. Didn't anyone tell my body that I don't have time for it to act up?? I hate being a complainer, and I tried to ignore the pain, but after it persisted, I decided I better pay attention to it. (Remember I broke my kneecap back in November). I went back to my orthopedic doctor last week and he diagnosed me with patellar tendinitis. Basically the tendon that connects my patella to my shinbone had become inflamed. That sucks because that tendon plays a major role in most leg-related activities! He gave me a patellar tendon strap, which will help distribute force away from that tendon whenever I resume physical activity. Before I'm able to do that, though, I have to go back to physical therapy for phonophoresis. That involves the driving of cortisone cream into the tissue through the use of ultrasound. I have to go twice a week for the next few weeks. Booooo! That means 4 hours and $80 dedicated to it every week. Whatever! I guess it has to be done. Put it on the list.

Happy Birthday, Lloyd!

2011-06-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the absence from posting over the last week. My life has been busy, per the usual. More posts coming soon. In the meantime, say hello to Lloyd! He is the beautiful son of my friend, Colleen. He was born early this morning, looking great and healthy, much to his parents' relief. Colleen has been through a lot in the past couple of years, and she deserves this happiness. Congratulations to her and her family, and I wish nothing but the best for them in the years to come!

Well Project Update

2011-06-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

In reference to this post, I'd like to give an update on the funding of the water well in honor of my friend Tiffany's nephew, Lucas. We had previously worked on raising money towards this project earlier this year, but hit a plateau about halfway to the goal. Just a week ago, Tiffany and I started spreading the word again, in hopes of getting over the final hurdle. I am so proud to say that THE WELL HAS BEEN FUNDED! My amazing friends and family answered our plea, once again, and the result will be clean drinking water for people in need. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the people who donated to this special cause. Some of them don't even know Tiffany, but they contributed because they know she is important to me, and they know this pursuit is noble. Every single person that donated played a part in making this happen, and we couldn't have done it without any of you. The joy I'm experiencing right now is hard to contain. I eagerly anticipate the day I can post pictures of the well built in Lucas's name!

I just want to especially thank a couple of my girlfriends who truly epitomized the concept of paying it forward with their donations. You two ladies know who you are, and I'm in awe of your generosity. I know that Holden Uganda holds a special place in your heart because of recent events, and your willingness to help others does not go unnoticed. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

If you wish to honor another child that left us too soon, by providing clean drinking water to those in need, you can still donate to another fund or to the administration fund.

Ever since I first heard the following quote, I've tried to live by it. I think it's quite fitting here:

"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit." - Nelson Henderson

A Beautiful Tribute

2011-06-02T16:30:00.001-05:00

Earlier in the year I wrote this post about my friends and family answering the call when I asked for help raising money for a worthy cause. I just realized that I did not give an update on what the money was used for, so I want to take the opportunity to do that now.

Loved ones of Jess and Jared Doss were devastated to learn of the passing of their sweet daughter, Kaitlyn, last December. Everyone felt helpless and struggled with finding ways to comfort them in their time of unimaginable loss. A couple of their friends came up with the idea to raise money to fund a well in Uganda in Kaitlyn's memory, through the Holden Uganda Foundation. What a beautiful tribute it is to provide health and hope to others, in the name of someone who left us too soon. Through the help of a lot of generous people, this goal was achieved, and the well was funded!

"In Loving Memory of Kaitlyn Olivia Doss"

Health and Hope

I am so grateful to my family and friends (who didn't even know Kaitlyn) for helping to make this happen. It's an awesome legacy in her name, and it will help people every day. With that said, I have a new plea. After my friend, Tiffany, graciously accepted my request for help with funding Kaitlyn's well, she decided to embark on a mission to fund a well in the name of her nephew, Lucas, who died before he was able to take his first breath in this world. If you have a few extra dollars to spare, please consider donating to Holden Uganda in the name of Lucas Paul Stewart. Go here, click the Donate button, and make sure to select Lucas's name under the Fund. It costs between $2,000 - $2,400 to build a well, and Tiffany is almost halfway to that goal.

As an added incentive, if you donate and let me know, I will match your donation, up to $500. C'mon friends and family, we can make this happen!

Academic Year in America

2011-06-02T12:59:00.000-05:00

Two years ago, at about this time, Meezy and I decided to host a foreign exchange student for a semester. We were looking to give someone an opportunity to experience our country, while also granting us the privilege of learning about their culture. It was an incredible experience, and we made a life-long friend out of our student and her family. (We visited her family in Germany last year, and she's coming back to the US for another visit later this year). I know that we'll be a part of each other's lives for many years to come.

Hosting someone in your home for 6 or 12 months is not easy, but it's not daunting either. There are minor inconveniences associated with it, especially if you've never had a child previously, but the benefits far outweighed them. We loved introducing Kim to our families, taking her on trips, showing her some American culture, etc, etc. It was an amazing 6 months, and we have hundreds of fun pictures to help us remember it.

Some people thought it was odd that two 20 somethings with no children would want to host an exchange student, but it made perfect sense to us. We had the time, money, space, and desire to devote to the experience, and it couldn't have been more perfect. Other hosting families we met during the process consisted of families with teenagers, or retired couples. I think an exchange student can fit into most home situations, because there are various advantages for each. In other words, it doesn't matter if you're 25 years old or 55 years old. It doesn't matter if you're single or married. It doesn't matter if you have kids or not. As long as you have the desire and willingness to share, you can make a good host!

If you'd like to learn more about hosting, check out the AIFS website here. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. If you want to take the first step towards hosting, even if it's just to get more information, let me know and I'll refer you. It's never too late or early in the year to get started! There are always kids looking for host families.

This is Why

2011-05-31T17:00:00.001-05:00

I heard about a frustrating situation that some friends had to experience last weekend, resulting in a large monetary setback they weren't expecting, and it immediately made me want to find a way to make it better. (For privacy reasons, I'm going to have to leave out the details). I hate when bad things happen to good people, and I always want to fix my loved ones' problems. My hubby was outside repairing a broken sprinkler head in the sweltering heat when I got the news, so I walked out there to discuss it with him. I relayed the story to him and before I even got the chance to ask if we could find a way to help, he said, "How much do you want to give them?" He read my mind.

This is why I chose him. He has a giving heart, and he doesn't hesitate to offer help. I fall in love with him all over again, each time I see how generous he is. He's incredibly unselfish and it makes me very proud to call him my husband.

Guilty Pleasures

2011-05-29T18:45:00.000-05:00

I've become a tad bit obsessed with fabulous shoes and handbags. I decided to branch out and get a Michael Kors bag instead of sticking to my usual brand, Coach. I heard Neiman Marcus Last Call was having a 30% off sale, so I figured this was a good time to try something new. I saw this bag and immediately fell in love with it:

Michael Kors Gansevoort Shoulder Satchel, Green

I tend to stick with "boring" bags that are either black, white, or brown. Since green is my favorite color, though, it didn't take much convincing me for me to step outside my comfort zone. I'm definitely loving this purchase, and will probably consider Michael Kors in the future as well. My favorite parts are the pockets on the ends that are perfect for items I use often and want to get to quickly (cell phone, keys, chapstick, etc).

Kam Half d'Orsay, Nude, L.A.M.B.

What goes well with a beautiful handbag? A killer pair of shoes! Still taking advantage of the NM Last Call sale, I picked up these summer heels for a wedding in July. I'm sure I'll be wearing them before then, because they're just too cute. I usually think L.A.M.B. shoes (from Gwen Stefani) are a bit too crazy for me, but these were right up my alley. It's gonna be a fashionably fabulous summer!

More Favorite Things

2011-05-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

I feel like I'm starting to mimic Oprah's Favorite Things, except that I'm not going to buy each item for all my readers! Last Christmas, my mother-in-law bought me this awesome cookware set from QVC:

It is the Temp-tations Floral Lace 11pc Oven to Table Set. It comes in four colors, but green is my fave and that's one of the theme colors of my kitchen, so that's what I got. These dishes are amazeballs because you can put them in the oven, the microwave, the fridge, and the dishwasher. No transporting to other dishes is needed for any part of the process.

They're also wonderful because they are very heavy-duty with a classy design, yet very affordable. For under $50, you get 3 baking dishes with lids, 3 metal racks, 3 matching glass trivets, and 2 bowls with lids. I love having a cohesive theme when setting out multiple dishes for a buffet spread. They are great when hosting dinner parties or when bringing food to other people's get-togethers. I have used these countless times since receiving them! The only drawback I've seen is that these lids don't snap onto the dishes, just more so rest on top of them. It's great for stacking them in the fridge, but not great at keeping things sealed. My mother-in-law suggested putting foil over the dish and then putting the lid on top of that. Even with this shortcoming, I still highly recommend them. (I believe other designs from Temp-tations are available with better, snap-shut lids). I have already found myself needing more than what comes in this set, so I ordered a couple of additional pieces:

These are the Floral Lace Oval Covered Bakers w/Racks. Considering how substantial these pieces are, and that they come with lids, trivets, and racks, $40 is a great deal. If you're looking for some new cookware, I suggest you go to QVC.com and search for Temp-tations. I have been very impressed with mine!

Swimsuit Season

2011-05-20T23:18:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, you're not exactly ready for swimsuit season. Unfortunately, the weather isn't going to wait for me to get in shape, so I'm going to have to make do with the way my body looks right now! I'm not really thrilled about going to the Wet Republic pool in Vegas next month, because the bodies there are going to be ridonk. My plan is to just hide out in the bungalow and drink. Lol. I don't think I'll be buying a new swimsuit this year, but I did shop around to find a cute cover-up. I imagine I'll be spending most of my time around the pool wearing it, so might as well find a good one! I went to the Banana Republic Factory Store in Orlando a couple of days ago, and I found the perfect one. Of course I can't find a picture of it online, so this similar one at Piperlime will have to do:

The one I got actually has the tie right below the part where the V-neck ends instead of at the bottom. It is sheer and the sleeves are cinched at the end, instead of folded over like the one shown above. You get the idea, though! It seriously works wonders. It's very good at hiding imperfections, while still accentuating the assets, if you know what I mean. It was a bit pricey, at $55, but I think I'll be putting it to good use.

My Favorite Travel Item

2011-05-18T13:41:00.000-05:00

Last year I purchased some eBags packing cubes, and I have been in love with them ever since. I bought a 3-pc set with one large, one medium, and one small bag.

I figured they'd be helpful while traveling, but I had no idea I would end up liking them this much. I usually have a few different categories of clothing that I take on trips. There's my everyday clothes, my dressy clothes, my workout clothes, my undergarments, etc. I can easily separate them in my suitcase by using a packing cube for each type, or combining two similar types into one. You can fit a lot more items in one cube than you initially think. Even though the material is lightweight and the top is mesh, I haven't had any problems with ripping, and the zippers are very durable, so no problems with jamming. I don't like unpacking all my clothes when I arrive at my destination, so I pretty much just dress out of the packing cubes each day. I don't have to search around in my entire suitcase to do an inventory of what items are available to me for the needs of the particular day, I just pull out the relevant packing cube and look through it. It makes it easy for me to see what my options are, and how many options I have left when thinking about the days left on a trip.

I have a weird thing with not liking my clothes to touch the shoes that I have packed for a trip. Keeping all my clothes in packing cubes eliminates this problem. The cubes are also a great size, so they fit perfectly in my suitcase and stack well. If you're an organization freak like I am, you get a big smile on your face when everything is in its place and looks good in the suitcase!

Lastly, the cubes can serve as a laundry bag and separator on your return trip. I don't like my dirty clothes cavorting around with the clean ones on the trip home, because then I feel like I need to wash everything, even if I didn't wear it all. Now, I separate the dirty and clean clothes into different packing cubes and that makes sorting super easy when I get home.

I'm sure you think I'm crazy for raving about this simple product so much, but I promise if you get a set, you will love them too! With all the traveling I'm doing this year, I see an additional purchase in my near future!

Questions

2011-05-13T18:34:00.001-05:00

Why do people in group 3 crowd up by the boarding area when groups 1 and 2 are called? It's not your turn yet; the rest of us can't tell if you're in line or not; you still have a guaranteed seat!

Why hasn't anyone come up with a more efficient way to board and deplane passengers? It shouldn't still take that long after this many years of commercial flight!

Why can't the airlines come up with a better way to handle carry-ons, so that each person has a reserved spot for one above their seat, and one below their seat? That's apparently not how it works currently or we wouldn't see people having to store their bags many rows away from their seat and messing up the deplaning process when they try to retrieve them.

Instead of charging an exorbitant amount if your single bag goes over 50lbs, how about you let people check multiple bags that weigh up to 50lbs in total, for the same price? Wouldn't those be easier for the baggage agents to handle, instead of one massively heavy bag?

Delightful Dinner Party

2011-05-11T14:14:00.000-05:00

This is a little overdue, but I need to give mad props to my friend, Rachel, for hosting an amazing dinner party a couple of weeks ago. A few of us ladies got together to watch the Royal Wedding at her house that Friday night. She had taped all the festivities for us and prepared a jaw-dropping feast to enjoy while we watched. Each of the attendees had a place card with our royal name on it. Here's mine, with some personal details excluded!

Viscountess Janet ....... of Clintonshire

Check out the table in the background! The place settings and the decorations were amazeballs. And don't get me started on the menu! Any dinner party that serves Cornish game hens is going to be a winner. I can't believe how much work Rachel put into this. I was incredibly impressed. She even made the cake that Prince William requested - a chocolate biscuit cake.

Here's the best part - a few of us wore our wedding dresses! It was reminiscent of a Friends scene, but with better fare. Rachel thought it would be a fun idea, because when do you ever get to wear your wedding dress again after the big day? I was definitely game, but a little worried that it wouldn't fit after five years. Much to my relief, it still did! She provided us with some adorable fancy hats to complete each outfit.

Rachel, me, Becca

If you look closely, you can see that Rachel's had some random food stains on it, and Becca's is completely yellowed at the bottom from her beach ceremony. Mine had a little yellowing too, but it wasn't very noticeable. Hilarious. You put so much effort into picking a dress that you can only wear once, and then it ends up getting ruined during the ceremony/reception!

There was a lot of hating going on around the day of the ceremony. I saw many "who cares about the royal wedding?" or "when is this going to be over with?" bla-di-da comments. I'm not sure why people were getting upset with the event. I mean, seriously, there is bad stuff happening all day, every day around the world. Why can't some of us take a little while to enjoy the celebration of something good? Call me sappy, but I think the union of two people who love each other is an awesome thing. And, how many of us wish we had gotten a fairytale wedding? I don't get mad and resentful when other people get something I want; I try to be happy for them and celebrate it. In other words, all the ladies in the room cheered the happy couple with our glasses of champagne and enjoyed a little girls' time. It was a wonderful get-together, and I am so thankful to Rachel for inviting me!

Happy birthday, BFF!

2011-05-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we celebrated my best friend's birthday at Hotel Zaza. Jenn and I have been friends for more than ten years, and even though it would be easy to hate her because she's so darn gorgeous - I love her to death!

Jenn and I

Friends for 10+ years - me, Jenn, Rachael, Bryan

My cutie husband

As Jenn put it, we partied like rock stars and had an awesome time. This definitely qualified as my one time a year to drink alcohol, Lol. There was a wedding reception going on at the hotel at the same time as our party, and they just so happened to have a photo booth. Yeah, we crashed it. Hilarious photos ensued.

As if that night wasn't fun enough, my hubby also gave me my birthday present over the weekend. You know that little weight loss bet we made, that I lost by the tiniest of margins? Well, he decided to let me win as my birthday present. Best. Husband. Ever. New York, US Open, The Book of Mormon play...here we come!!!

Happy birthday to me!

2011-05-05T14:53:00.000-05:00

Another year has come and gone, and there were definitely some memorable moments. I'm not one to make a big deal out of my birthday, but it was nice to receive so many messages from friends and family today. I am reminded of how many wonderful people I have in my life, and how happy they make me. I'm also reminded of how lucky I am to be where I am in life, at age 28. I feel like I have everything I need - a loving family, a wonderful spouse, loyal friends, a great house, a steady job, 3 doggles, and a future that just keeps looking brighter by the minute. I don't take a single thing for granted!

In honor of my birthday, I would love it if you made a donation to a worthy cause. If you feel so inclined, here are some suggestions:

Susan G. Komen 3Day for the Cure

Kiva

Donors Choose

Be the Match

Have a wonderful week!

The US Open Challenge - Update

2011-05-04T00:38:00.000-05:00

Sad to say, I did not win the challenge. Meezy and I both did reasonably well, considering we had outings with friends, a trip to Vegas, parties, tenant troubles, and a wedding over the span of the last month. It's hard to lose weight when you're super busy and stressed out, but he and I managed to lose 6 pounds and 4.5 pounds, respectively. When we used those numbers to calculate the percentage of weight lost, he squeaked out a victory by .002 percent. That was a bitter pill to swallow, let me tell you. He won fair and square though, so I conceded victory to him! I'm just proud of the both of us for actually putting forth the effort to try to get healthier. I'm going to continue my efforts over the next month and see if I can experience more success. Even though there's no competition this time around, it'll still be worth it! Hopefully I can post another update next month with more pounds lost.

Photobooth Fun

2011-05-02T16:45:00.000-05:00

I'm a goofball at heart and so are the people I love. :)

Donors Choose

2011-04-29T11:30:00.000-05:00

I love this website. Not just because it happens to be Stephen Colbert's favorite charity, but because the concept is greatness. I know a lot of teachers, and the majority of them share the same complaint: there's not enough funding for them to provide the necessary supplies to their students. Lots of times they have to personally fund their projects, or just go without. DonorsChoose.org gives them the platform to post classroom project requests in hopes of finding generous individuals who are willing to fulfill them. Check out their About section if you want to learn more.

There are tons of projects to choose from, and you can even narrow down the area and school you want to support, if you want funds to go to a specific cause. If you're feeling philanthropic today, I encourage you to donate to my friend's class:

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=490341

He is an art teacher in a high poverty area of Dallas. His kids need the most basic of supplies, and you can help! I linked to this on my facebook page yesterday and was so pleased to see that, today, two other people had already donated. (One was my mother, which I'm always proud to claim).

If his particular request has expired by the time you read this, please consider donating to ANY project on the website. Don't worry - donations are tax deductible!