Amazing Ziti

This is another delicious recipe and it doesn't take too long to make.

Amazing Ziti

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

2 cups shredded carrot (I left this out when I made it because I didn't have any on hand)

2 (10.75 oz) cans condensed tomato soup

8 oz dried cut ziti pasta (about 2.5 cups)

2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil

1 medium onion (chopped)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 medium bell pepper (chopped)

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 oz)

1 cup shredded Colby cheese (4 oz)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (1 oz)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook ground beef over medium heat and add shredded carrot, chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, fresh or dried basil, and garlic powder into meat mixture. Cook until meat is brown.

3. Drain off fat and stir in tomato soup.

4. Cook ziti according to package directions.

5. In a 4 quart Dutch oven pan pour in meat mixture, mozzarella cheese, and cooked ziti.

6. Sprinkle top with parmesan and Colby cheese. Bake for 35 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

I know I haven't posted any recipes lately. It's not that I haven't been trying new recipes because I have. I just haven't taken any photos of the recipes. So I figured I shouldn't post them. But I've decided to just go ahead and post some of these recipes. After all, it's not fair to deny you the deliciousness of some of these recipes just because I was too lazy to take any photos of the final product.

This first recipe is one of my favorites. Mainly because it's not only delicious, but it is SO easy! This is one of those recipes that you can easily keep all materials on hand and then when you are short on time for dinner, this is the perfect recipe to pull out. It literally takes about 20 minutes. Perfect! Plus, it makes plenty for left-overs.

Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cans of Veg-All

2 cans of condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

2 cans of canned chicken meat

3 packages of PIllsbury Crescent Rolls

1 package (2 cups) of shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Mix the cream of chicken soup, drained cans of Veg-All, the canned chicken meat, and the milk in a large skillet over medium heat. Add a little salt and pepper to season. Once mixture starts to bubble take off of the heat.

3. Spray cooking spray on casserole dish or metal baking dish. Line the bottom and side of the dish with the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (usually takes 2 packages).

4. Pour mixture into the lined dish. Top mixture with cheddar cheese.

5. Cover the dish with the remaining Pillsbury Crescent Roll. Cook for approximately 15 minutes or until the crust on top looks golden brown.

See? That's all. It's so easy! I love this recipe!!

Baby Belly - 30 weeks

T. Bubba (a hilarious comedian - if you haven't heard him, trust me, you want to get his CD) has said that with your first child you have 3 scrapbooks filled with photos of baby. When the next child comes you have one scrapbook and, well, with the third child, the only photo you have the neighbor took. So is it sad that I have only one photo of Baby Daniell in utero . . . and this is our first child? Yah, I know it's sad. Especially since I'm a photographer. So I understand why I keep getting harassed to post more photos. I will try my best to be better at this. Today my friend - and fabulous newborn photographer - Beth Johnson and I went out to play. While we were shooting, she took a few photos of me and my humongous belly. But to satisfy the masses, I am going to post a few of the photos for you. Enjoy!!

(Sorry for the lack of clarity. Blogger just doesn't work very well!)

29 1/2 week survey

How far along? I will be 30 weeks on Monday. Officially in the third trimester and the 7th month. Wow. I'm officially at the point of going to the doctor every two weeks now.

Total weight gain/loss? I think I'm done talking about this one. I feel like a huge cow. :-( My doctor said I'm doing good - 15 pounds total from my first drs appointment. But the number on the scale does not make me happy. And yes, after this post, don't be expecting to get any more numbers on this subject.

Maternity clothes? I really don't know what this question is asking. Yes, I have maternity clothes. Yes, I am wearing maternity clothes. What else is there to say?

Stretch marks? Well I guess I'm still lucky in this area. None so far.

Sleep? I wake up at least once in the night to go to the bathroom. And then maybe another time or two to change positions. But I guess I can't complain that much. I'm not completely uncomfortable when I sleep (except for being hot). The main issue is that my hands seem to be going numb at night. I'll wake up and my hands will be tingling. Sometimes the right hand will do it while I'm putting on my makeup in the morning. But I don't notice it the rest of the day. Very weird. Doc says its normal and that, unfortunately, there's nothing really to be done about it.

Best moment this week? Finding out that I passed my glucose test! Yippee!! (doing the happy dance). This means no change in diet!!!!

Movement? Yes, I feel movement, but not as much as I was. I brought this up to the doctor at my appointment this week and he had me do another ultrasound because I guess less movement is a big deal. See there? I learned how to cheat the system and get yet another ultrasound!!! :-) Don't worry, that was not my intention. I really just hadn't felt baby during the times I normally do and the movement was really light. But all showed up ok in the u/s. Baby was moving and drinking in the amniotic fluid and looked really cute. Supposedly the placenta is next to my belly wall (not baby) so it may be "hiding" some of the movement from baby. On another note, baby has finally flipped and the head is down low and butt up high. So that hard pressure I feel occasionally as I sit a certain way is baby pushing his/her butt into my ribs. Thanks kid.

Food cravings? Basically everything someone mentions. Ugh. It sucks. I am still craving fruit - fruit has definitely been a theme this pregnancy. But for some reason lately I've been craving sweets (Starbursts, M&Ms, donuts, Sour Patch candy, ice cream, etc.). Not so good. I'm trying to balance out my candy intake with fruit intake. We'll see how it goes.

Labor signs? No. Although Teacher at our birthing class said that a lot of the pressure we feel now are actually small contractions. But no worries, nothing to go to the hospital for. By the way, when do I need to start having bags packed???

Belly button in or out? In. If you've kept up with my previous surveys you know the belly button is a matter of contention for me. I don't want to talk about it.

What I miss? It's football season. I think you know what I miss. That's right. A nice frosty beer in my Alabama koozie. Sigh. And call me crazy, but very recently I've actually wanted to work out. Yah, weird, I know. Maybe it's just because I'm feeling SO huge right now, but a part of me just wants to work out.

What I'm looking forward to? Having my chair come in!! I ordered it August 27 and they said it could be here in 4 weeks. Can't wait!

Milestone? I'm finally starting to look and feel pregnant. I think that's a milestone, right?

Bonus Question - Swelling? YES! I know, this is a question I just added. But I have definitely felt my feet swell and my hands as well. My wedding rings are very tight. :-( I'm sad to think there may be a time I won't be able to wear them if this swelling keeps up. Luckily, it seems I'm the only person who has noticed it. I guess it could be worse and I could actually LOOK like Violet from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

On a completely different note, a lot of people have asked me (or my mom) where I'm registered. So I thought I'd just mention it on here. Baby Daniell's loot is located at BabysRUs and also Amazon.com.

Ready, Set, Birth

Jeremy and I had our first birthing class last Monday night. This was something we debated about for awhile - do we take the class or not? We finally decided to just go for it. After all, I haven't really read much about this pregnancy. Scary huh? So right now, I'm totally unprepared for what's to come. I figured I needed some form of knowledge about what to expect when I enter that delivery room. Plus, I get a tour of the labor and delivery ward by signing up with the class. Extra perk.

So we show up for our class on Monday not knowing what to expect. First, our teacher is NOT what I was expecting. She's got this long hair (unusual for older women .... unless they are a hippy .... hmmmm) and she's so soft spoken. But she was highly recommended by two of my friends. So I keep an open mind. We sit down and start looking through our packet of information. What first caught my attention were the "affirmations." We received two sheets of paper: Affirmations for the Expectant Mother and Affirmations for the Expectant Father. There was definitely some corniness in there, but I still kept an open mind. I won't write out all of the affirmations but they were along the lines of: "Pregnancy is beautiful," "childbirth is a normal healthy event," and "my mate and I are the center of the childbearing experience." But the one that got me - and yes, I DID laugh out loud (I hope that doesn't get me kicked out) - was the one that said "I am able to flow with labor in perfect harmony with nature." Um, excuse me? Yah, right. As I'm shoving something the size of a watermelon out of my who-ha, I do not expect to be in perfect harmony. But heck, what do I know? I've never done this before. Oh and we had to fill out this information sheet. One of the questions asked how I feel about using drugs to help with the pain. My answer: BRING IT ON. Literally, that is what I wrote. I see no reason to lie. So that's about how the class started.

After the other classmates arrived - there are 7 other couples besides us - we went around and introduced ourselves. We are the "out of place" couple in that our baby isn't due until Dec. 1 and everyone else in the class is due early to mid November (and one woman is actually due the end of October). But come to find out that the hospital tour is done on the last class, so at least we know we'll be around to do that whereas some of these other ladies could easily go into labor before then! See? I'm always thinking ahead. Only two of the couples (we were one of them) don't know the sex of the baby. That was pretty cool.

We then split into groups of men and women to discuss the "changes" we've noticed with the pregnancy. The ladies' answers mainly were "we are always hot," "higher libido," "trouble sleeping," etc. The men's answers were more about dealing with our hormonal changes, worrying about the financial aspect, and sleeping less because we aren't sleeping well. It was sort of funny. But that was the fun part of the class. I enjoyed just sitting there with the other women talking about our pregnancy. It was reassuring to know that these other women felt a lot of what I'm feeling.

But after that it sort of went downhill. We sat while our teacher brought out photos of the female body showing us where baby is and how our insides get squished and manipulated as baby grows. Ok, so that part was actually quite fascinating. I mean, by week 34 or so your bladder has completely disappeared. Crazy! No wonder I have to pee all the time. I can't imagine how it will be in another month! But that part also scared the crap out of me - seeing the size of the baby compared to where baby is supposed to make his/her debut? Yah, scary.

Then teacher went over symptoms of pregnancy and what certain things mean and when we should go to the doctor. I guess that was helpful. The most helpful part to me was being told to take note of the time your water breaks and what color it is. I mean, who knew to take note of the color! But if it's green, well then that's bad news bears. I think the thought of green "stuff" coming out of my body convinced Jeremy that we may need to buy a waterproof mattress pad . . . and maybe even something for the couch. LOL Teacher is nice, but she loses her train of thought and therefore repeats herself A LOT. That's just annoying. But the most annoying thing of it all was when she decided to go over the above-mentioned affirmations. She literally read them word by word to us. Maybe it's just us, but at least Jeremy and I feel the same way on this: we can't stand when someone reads to us - when we have the paper right in front of us. We are all adults and, from the introductions, we are all educated. We don't need you to read to us like children. UGH!

Well luckily after that we went into our "relaxation exercises." For this first class we just both laid flat on the floor (interesting to me that she had us do this considering our doctors tell us NOT to lay flat on our back) and then we just did some breathing exercises to relax. I guess it worked. But there were times that I almost cracked up (and come to find out later that Jeremy did too). At one point Teacher starts talking about baby being all safe and comfortable in the amniotic fluid. Well all I could think about is this green fluid filled with baby's poop she had talked about earlier. I almost lost it right there. Jeremy confessed later that he almost started laughing when she was telling us to relax each and every toe: "Relax your big toe, now relax your second toe" and so on and so on. And he envisioned her saying "now relax your 6th toe." I have no clue why he thought this. He's weird. My weird husband. But as we were driving home and discussing all of this neither of us could quit laughing. We were cracking each other up. And it's then that we realized that we may not be able to look at each other in this class - or else we will start laughing .... and get kicked out.

So that was class 1. We'll see how the rest of them go.

What I learned last night

As I sat home alone last night finishing my book and then watching the Auburn-Mississippi State game and the Saints-Vikings game, I learned a few things. Here's what I learned (ok, so "learned" might not be the right word for them all) in no particular order:

1. I need another really good book to read. None of the books I currently have at home interest me right now.

2. Cowbells may be obnoxious, but not nearly as much as Boise State's ugly blue turf.

3. Someone needs to take Newton out before Iron Bowl because he just scares me.

4. Left over pizza is not nearly as tasty heated up in the microwave as it is a toaster oven.

5. However, Papa John's garlic dipping sauce IS just as tasty coming right out of the fridge as it is when it arrives in the piping hot pizza box.

6. Rice Krispies cereal gets soggy really fast.

7. Mississippi State's stadium is REALLY small.

8. I really wanted Mississippi State to win . . . and they didn't.

9. I really wanted the Saints to win . . . and they did.

10. The Favre-ster needs to retire already.

11. I hate Thursday, Sunday, or Monday night games that start at 8 p.m. or later - don't people realize I have to work the next day?!

12. ShootQ is very cool.

13. Baby Daniell is probably going to come out of the womb knowing phrases like "hold on to the damn ball" and "tackle him you f*!#ing idiot!"

14. Never leave a hungry pregnant woman alone until almost 10 p.m. Otherwise, Baby Daniell will also come out of the womb knowing how to say "learn how to use the damn phone!"

15. To others, I probably sound like a very hateful person, but I'm really not. I was just hungry . . . very hungry. And I L.O.V.E. my football.

Speaking of football. There are so many amazing games on tomorrow. Can I hear an Amen?! I am stoked!! Can I also hear a ROOOOLLLLLL TIDE?! Hmmmm, I wonder what new words Baby Daniell will learn tomorrow . . . .

And the transformation begins....

My parents came into town for an extended weekend to experience the 4D ultrasound and also to help me paint the nursery. The saga began on Thursday at NFWC for my 4D. Both sets of grandparents were there and I think seeing the ultrasound made this whole experience much more real for them. The u/s tech was very nice and never caved to my father's wishes to know the sex. But it didn't matter. Seeing how uncooperative Baby Daniell (BD) was, everyone in the room had a good guess at what they thought BD is: boy. Well, we'll see.

Once again BD didn't want anyone to see his/her face. Let me tell you how totally frustrating it was to pay $200 and see BD sucking on his/her foot! (But on the bright side, he or she is very flexible!) Even after going to the bathroom and having a nice little talk with BD (no threats I promise! It was more like pleading actually), BD STILL wouldn't show us his/her little face. I guess that's a little white lie. We were able to get a few unobstructed photos - BD even opened one eye! - but it was still a little disappointing. What a blessing the u/s tech was because she offered to let us come back this week - without charge - and try again. I plan to try either soda or chocolate this time around to get baby moving. Heck, I may even resort to bribing if I have to. We'll see. But despite Jeremy and my disappointment (don't worry, it was only minimal), the grandparents seemed very happy. So that's good.

Here are some photos until the next go around:

(This is BD saying "No photos please")

Friday I went for my glucose testing. That was just a whole ball of fun let me tell you. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I passed so that I won't have to go again for the three hour test. So help me if I have to go back for that one! Although I did get a yummy sausage McMuffin and iced coffee with hazelnut afterwards. DON'T JUDGE ME!!!

When I got home, mom had already primed the room and we got right to work painting. I have to admit, that after a whole day of painting, I remembered why Jeremy and I paid to have most of the house painted. I hate painting! Especially all the detail trim work. I just don't have a steady hand. But somehow we got it done. And I love the color and think it turned out pretty darn good looking!! So if you ever come to visit and decide you want to take a closer look at the nursery, DO NOT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD mention anything about uneven lines or imperfections or I may just have to banish you from my home forever! :-)

So the crib is finally in one piece after several hours of Jeremy constructing, unconstructing, and reconstructing it (BTW, read the instructions before attempting to put a crib together) and the room is painted. The nursery is finally starting to take shape! I'll continue to post photos as more gets completed.

The crib assembled against the newly painted wall:

You can sort of tell the color of the nursery better in this photo. It's a very light beige color.

Something my dad bought at the downtown marketplace on Saturday. Disregard the fact that it's pink . . .

Samples for the nursery. The green paint swatch at the top left corner is the color we are going to refinish the old dresser in. We're going to have two pillows and hopefully the crib skirt made out of the striped fabric. We'll have another two pillows made out of the fabric with the circles. The green fabric swatch on the bottom left is what our curtains will be made out of and the swatch on the bottom right is the material our glider is going to be.


Here is a sketch of what the nursery will (hopefully) look like when finished.

(I really hate Blogger sometimes. In "edit" mode, the text is all the same size and the bottom photos are not cut off. Weird.)

Pillsbury Giveaway!!!

Ok, who doesn't want some yummy Pillsbury chocolatey goodness right about now? I know I definitely do . . . . but maybe it's because I know I can't have it because I have my glucose test tomorrow. Stupid sugar. But after the test, well, the little Pillsbury Dough Boy better beware because I'm coming to find him!

Anyway, if you would like the opportunity to enter to win some free delicious goodness, then go to my friend Amanda's blog here and enter to win!!!!!!!!

http://therearetwosides.com/2010/08/giveaway-pillsbury-sweet-moments-prize-pack.html

26 week survey

How far along? 26 weeks. Only one more week until my third trimester starts. Wow! My next appointment is only 3 weeks away instead of 4-5 and then I'll soon start the every 2 week appointment.


Total weight gain/loss? Ugh. I don't even want to talk about it. I gained 6 pounds since my last appointment. Technically, if the books are correct and I'm supposed to gain 1 pound a week, then I only went over by 1 pound (since my last appt was 5 weeks earlier). But that didn't stop the skinny, blond b!#ch at the doctor's office from saying "Whoa, momma, 6 pounds! Packing on the tonage are we? You might want to watch that or before you know it you'll be as big as a house and they'll have to take off the roof and remove you with a crain to get you to the labor and delivery room." Ok, so she TECHNICALLY didn't say that. But that's what I heard when she DID mention how 6 pounds was more than what I should have gained. Sheesh. Thanks lady. It's easy for you standing there all young and pretty and blond. Yes, it IS important to constantly mention that she was blond. It makes me feel better. I don't know why. Anyway, I bet she hadn't just gotten back from a 7 day cruise (+4 day land tour!) to Alaska where eating was like breathing - it had to be done . . . all the time . . . and in mass quantities. Yah? What the hell was I thinking scheduling a doctor's appointment the week after that trip?!? I must be crazy, er, have pregnancy brain.


Maternity clothes? Just before the Alaskan vacation, my mother in law and I went shopping and bought a bunch of maternity clothes. I feel pretty comfortable now with what I have. And I can finally wear some of the maternity tops and not look funny since I now have my baby bump!


Stretch marks? Not yet....


Sleep? Ok, I guess. I wake up a couple times a night to go to the bathroom and/or to change position, but I guess I'm sleeping ok other than that. I did wake up one day last week with really bad stomach and back pains that lasted for a few hours. I couldn't find a comfortable position to save my life! But luckily it hasn't happened since.


Best moment this week? Well, the best moment of the week hasn't happened yet. I'm anticipating it will be Thursday afternoon when I have the 4D ultrasound done! The best moment I had last week was picking up and putting the crib together on Saturday!! (Well, technically Jeremy put the crib together . . . ). I love it!


Movement? Yup, I'm feeling baby move. Jeremy can't feel him or her yet, so he's frustrated, but I feel those thumps all the time!


Food cravings? Fruit. This baby is going to love fruit! On the cruise I loved these strawberry lemonades they would make - yummy! I've also been in a ginger snap mood recently. Weird.

Labor signs? Nope.


Belly button in or out? So, I thought that the farther along I got, that annoying crease would disappear. You know, baby would just sort of push it out. From the time I was little, this was always my hope - that at least when I got pregnant, that crease would disappear, if only for 9 months. Nope. I was wrong. I think it's destined to be there for the long haul. So, my belly button is still in - hidden in my belly crease. :-(


What I miss? OMG, let me tell you how much I missed alcohol on the cruise. It killed me! I also miss sushi. I mean, the good stuff. I will still get some sushi every so often, but it is always something with shrimp tempura. Which is fine. It's still quite tasty. But nothing like tuna. Yum!


What I'm looking forward to? Painting the nursery this weekend!


Milestone? It's finally 4D u/s time? Is that a milestone? I made it home safely from the Alaska trip - which included a very bumpy ATV ride? Is that a milestone? How about the fact that I finally LOOK pregnant? Not sure if these things are milestones, but they are things I'm happy about.

Stay tuned for photos from the 4D! Here's hoping baby is cooperative and we get some good face shots . . . and NO shots of baby's goods. I've already had a talk with the u/s tech. NO MATTER WHAT, she is not to tell the parents the sex of the baby. I promised to pay her more than my dad. :-)

Baby Belly - 23 Weeks

Ok, because so many of my so-called friends out there have been harassing me for photos - yes HARASSING! Didn't you know it wasn't nice to harass the pregnant woman?! - here, I will post one. So this is me at basically 23 weeks (one day shy). I'm looking a tad rough - don't hold it against me!

We leave tomorrow on our 11 day Alaskan adventure! Who knows, maybe I'll see Sarah Palen. One of my coworkers gave me a message to give to her, but I think if I did, I'd end up in jail. So I will be avoiding that.

I hope to have plenty of photos after it's all said and done. Unfortunately, I will have limited access to phone and Internet on the trip - I really don't know how I'm going to survive! But leave me love and I'll get it when I get back!

Slacker Pregnant Gal

My good friend Vica is also pregnant right now and on her way to having a precious little girl! (maybe this week......?) But as I was catching up on her blog, I realized what a slacker I have been. I have absolutely zero photos of me pregnant. Zilch. Nada. And for someone with a photography business, that's pretty darn sad! Not a single belly photo. Then again, I haven't really wanted to show off my growing form . . . at least not for public viewing. Those of you who have been lucky (or not-so lucky...) to see me in person, well count yourself special.

But I guess this needs to change. I'm officially 22 weeks. It's about time I start documenting this journey. I need SOME proof of what I'm actually going through so years from now when my teenager is driving me crazy I can pull them out and say "LOOK WHAT I WENT THROUGH FOR YOU!!!" Yah, I'm going to be an awesome mom. :-)

So, photos will be on my "to do" list for this weekend. I will go ahead and forewarn you that I am doing this grudgingly and that because of the "wonderous and unique" body that I have - aka, the stupid crease that's always plagued my belly - I still just look fat, not pregnant (in my opinion). But I'll do it. For you. And maybe for some parental revenge in years to come.

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!

Are you a book lover by heart? Are you trying to get back into reading after a long hiatus? Are you just looking for a coaster? Whatever the reason, check out this awesome book giveaweay by Amanda at There Are Two Sides. It sounds like a fascinating book and I'm hoping to win! So join the competition and leave some love on Amanda's blog!!!!

Monthly Survey

Hello there. I had my lastest doctor's appointment on Wednesday, but with how crazy work has been because of the looming special session, I haven't had time to post my survey. We were able to get another ultrasound on Wednesday because when we went in a few weeks earlier for the "big" one, Baby Daniell was being uncooperative and wouldn't let Victoria see his/her nose/mouth area. So we got another one! Baby Daniell was a tad more cooperative this time - at least Victoria could see what she needed to see. But, Baby still wasn't giving us a great profile view. Baby kept his or her hands up in front of the face almost the entire time. Baby definitely does not like the paparazzi! But we got a couple of good ones and when I get a free moment, I'll post them here. And according to Victoria everything looks perfect with Baby! And mom's doing ok too! LOL

How far along? 20 weeks . . . . Halfway there!

Total weight gain/loss? I have a quick question for this survey. Does anyone ever actually LOSE weight while pregnant? Just curious . . . . so I can seek these people out and slap them! Total of 8 pounds gained so far. I'm told that's good, but who knows!

Maternity clothes? I haven't bought a ton of maternity clothes. But my parents did just take me on a shopping spree at Chicos when I was in Pensacola and bought me some clothes that should last throughout the pregnancy (but they aren't actually pregnancy clothes). So let's see what my inventory is so far:

1 pair black maternity slacks from Gap
1 pair khaki maternity slacks from Gap
2 pair maternity jeans from Old Navy
2 maternity dresses from Motherhood (I love these dresses!)
1 maternity shirt from Kohl's - but I think I ruined it at my last wedding by leaning up against unfinished wood. It now has all of those annoying fabric balls on it. :-(

That's about it for TRUE maternity clothes. I still have this awesome long jersey dress from The Loft that I love and is great for pregnancy. And then my parents just got me this great skirt, tank, cropped jacket combo from Chicos (love it!). I also got a few more tops/tanks from Chicos that I should be able to wear for the duration (hopefully!). So that's about it. I'm sure the people at work are probably tired of seeing me in the exact same thing every week. Well, they are MORE THAN WELCOME to give me a gift card to Motherhood or someplace so I can go buy some new clothes....... ;-)

Stretch marks? Again, I haven't spotted any that weren't there before the pregnancy. Fingers are crossed....

Sleep? Yah, I'm still not sleeping well unfortunately. :-( But at my drs appointment on Wednesday I did talk to the doctor about sleeping on my back and alternative ways. So hopefully that will help a little. I've figured out how to become a tad more comfortable at night with multiple pillows positioned everywhere. Poor Jeremy! He can't even see me anymore! But lately, I've just had trouble falling asleep and then I wake up several times a night to either pee or change position. So I spend most of the week tired. I even caved on Tuesday and splurged to have a white chocolate mocha because I just couldn't function that morning. But I guess I better get used to it, right?

Best moment this week? Best moment of the week had to be FINALLY deciding what we want the nursery to look like!

Movement? YES! I mean, they are barely there. But I definitely feel the fluttering. And at the drs. appointment the baby had hiccups (you could see the baby hiccuping on the ultrasound - it was too cute) and I could feel those!

Food cravings? Hmmm, well I had a few days where I was craving sweets. One day I was in Publix and saw the cakes and wanted cake RIGHT THEN! So I bought a cake mix and some icing and made a cake that night and had a huge slice. But, um, yah, now I have this huge cake left over on the counter . . . . not so sure what to do with that. I've been craving Mountain Dew a lot - but that is one craving I try NOT to indulge in! I know how bad it is for me! But every so often, I have to have one - or at least take a sip of Jeremy's! Um, I've been on an applesauce kick lately. But I think that's about all. I'm still in my fruit phase, so that's good. Oh, and I have had cravings for popsicles, so we have some of those in the freezer now!

Labor signs? Nope.

Belly button in or out? Same as last time. :-( But Victoria (the u/s tech) told me that the baby is right about at my belly button area, so hopefully when Baby Daniell moves up a tad more, the belly will start to look more, well, pregnant-like.

What I miss? Ugh. I definitely miss alcohol at this point!!!!! I just want some wine or a cold beer in a frosty mug. :-(

What I'm looking forward to? I'm really looking forward to our family vacation to Alaska in August!!! But baby-related - I'm looking forward to buying the crib and chair for the nursery.

Milestone? Starting our baby registry and reaching the midway point in the pregnancy!!

Baby Daniell

Please don't judge me by the quality of the photos. I couldn't get digital images, so I had to take photos of the ultrasound photo and then upload it. So, yah, the images are a tad blurry. But you can still see a baby in there!

Ok, here is Baby Daniell around 11 weeks. Just looks like a tiny little peanut, huh?

And here we are at 18 weeks. Hey, look there, it actually looks like a baby!

And here's Baby's foot. Yes, Baby has 5 toes on each foot and 5 fingers on each hand. Score!

That's all for now. Since Baby was uncooperative and didn't let Victoria (the ultrasound nurse) get a good photo of his/her nose and lip area, we get to have another ultrasound at our next appointment. So I will hopefully have some face shots after that! And for those of you wanting me to post some photos of me, I just have one thing to say to you: KEEP DREAMING! :-)

EXPOSED!

I'm still plugging along. I've started to not worry as much about certain things, which I don't know if that's good or bad. But it is what it is. I decided I'm not going to stress about sleeping on my back, I'm not going to stress about eating lunch meat, and well, essentially I'm trying not to stress about too much. Which has me a tad discombobulated. I mean, I'm a stresser. It's what a do. I like to be prepared, but no matter how prepared I am, I stress. Well, for some reason I've taken a completely different mantra to this pregnancy. Heck, I'm barely reading any books about the whole thing. Can you believe it?!? It's not that I don't have plenty of reading material on hand (thanks to many friends!), but I just haven't felt the need to go pick them up. The good ole "What to Expect When You're Expecting" - you know, the Bible of pregnancies? Yah, haven't cracked it. WHAT IS UP WITH ME?!?! So not only am I not stressing, but I'm also not really preparing either. Oh well.

But I do need to vent about something today. Pregnancy. Three months (and that's if you're lucky) of feeling like you're in a constant state of being hungover, but without the fun the night before, followed by dry red eyes, breakouts, the "fat" stage (you know, where you don't yet look pregnant, just fat?), cutting out certain foods you love (aka, sushi!), and a whole host of other things. Don't even get me started on not being able to drink during football season. WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO DO?!? But, no, on top of ALL of this, your boobs get humongous. Yes, that is my vent today. The girls are huge. I'm feeling a little inappropriate at work even. Maybe I should quite my job and go be a Hooters girl. Oh wait, mine are REAL so that's out. Maybe there is a Hooters for pregnant women somewhere? Reminder to self: Look that up. Anyway, I'm feeling a tad, well, exposed. And I'm not liking it. But there's something worse. Men just get to sail through the entire nine months. And to top off the whole pregnancy experience, they get bigger boobs to look at as well. How is this fair?!? They don't have to outgrow all of their bras, all of their clothes, all the time being scared to death they're going to get cankles, and in the end push out an 8 pound baby. Oh no. They don't have to deal with any of that. But they get big boobs. Every guys dream. And they get it. Tell me, what did women do to piss off God that much?!? Was eating the apple THAT big of a deal?!?

*sigh*

That's all I've got.

On a brighter note, we have another ultrasound on Monday. Hopefully it will help me forget about my enlarged mammaries.

The Survey Part II

So I went to the doctor yesterday and, yup, baby's still in there. The heartbeat was going a mile a minute - but I hear that's normal. It's so weird to hear the difference between my heartbeat and the baby's.

Completely random and off topic, but one of my biggest pet peeves is bananas that don't open properly. You know the kind right? Where you try to open it and it doesn't split right and then you're fussing with it to open and then the top of the banana gets all mushy? Ugh. So frustrating. I only bring it up because as I was typing this, I was trying to eat my banana and that happened. And it's the second time this week!!! This bunch of bananas are being completely uncooperative.

Ok, back to the topic at hand. Since I just got felt up by the doctor I figured it was as good a time as any to update my survey!

How far along? 16 weeks today baby! (Doing this survey on Wednesdays appears to be becoming a theme....)

Total weight gain/loss? 4 pounds - gained. But I guess I can't complain.

Maternity clothes? Well I still just have the one pair of black Gap slacks and the Old Navy jeans (although I can't wear those to work, which makes me sad). I'm waiting for my new pair of khaki Gap slacks to come in. Oh, and I did just buy three dresses from the maternity store yesterday! But I'm not positive I'm keeping them yet...... they definitely will look adorable when I have a bigger belly, but right now, I'm not so sure. And I'm about to have to head into bigger tops. The girls are just popping out of my old ones!

Stretch marks? Not that I can see. I'm counting my blessings so far.

Sleep? Ugh, horrible. I read in one of my many baby books that about this time I need to start trying to not sleep on my back. Well, I sleep on my side a lot normally, so I didn't figure this would be a big deal. Was I wrong! I don't know why, but my hips are KILLING me! I'm assuming it's from sleeping on them and never taking the time to get on my back or stomach. But they hurt so bad. And I am waking up every 2 hours or so because they hurt and then I have to switch sides. I can't believe it. This is going to be a LOOOOONG pregnancy if this keeps up.

Best moment this week? Finally starting to feel decent again! I think I may be over that stupid viral thing I had!! YIPPEE! And it appears that the morning sickness may be gone as well. Thank the Lord!

Movement? Nope, still just indigestion! LOL

Food cravings? I'm still craving fruit and smoothies. But my new thing is definitely Icees. Preferably the cherry ones (although I broke down and got a coke one yesterday because I HAD TO HAVE ONE and they were out of cherry). I am LOVING them! Granted it's been a bazillion degrees out down here and they are very cool and refreshing! Oh, and I am somewhat getting my appetite back for meat. But it is definitely not something I crave.

Labor signs? Again, no. Thank goodness!

Belly button in or out? Still M.I.A. :-( I'm really starting to wonder what my belly is going to look like with this weird belly button thing I have going on.

What I miss? I miss sleeping on my back.

What I'm looking forward to? Starting the nursery!!! (Oh, and also starting to show .... more. LOL)

Milestone? I have a few. They may seem small potatoes to you guys, but they are big to me. (1) Buying new (and bigger) bras.
(2) I'm starting to feel better!
(3) Going into a maternity store and shopping for the first time.

Hope you enjoyed my update! I have another doctor's appointment in two weeks, but that is for another ultrasound, so I probably won't do an update. Stay tuned for the next one .... I think I may just update right after my doctor's appointments. It's an easy timeline to remember! Plus, I'll know whether I want to post my weight loss/gain! LOL

Happy Hump Day!

Am I Human?

I'm so ready to crawl into a hole and die. Or at least stay there until I feel somewhat human again. I had two days, two wonderful days, of feeling really normal again. And then it was gone. We went to Waco, Texas over Memorial Day weekend to visit Jeremy's brother and his family. They just moved into this huge compound and I am not exaggerating when I call it that. The place is massive. But I guess when you're breeding you're own small army it has to be. But it was beautiful. I did take photos. And no they are not attached to this post. They are still on my camera in true Ashley fashion. I bet you guys wonder how I ever became a photographer huh? LOL Good question. I'm actually pretty good about my client's photos - getting them off the camera immediately, uploading into Lightroom, backing them up, editing, etc. But then again - those people are PAYING me. When it comes time for personal photos, I just don't have the energy. It's weird, I know. I'm weird, I get it. Deal with it.

So we get to the compound last Thursday. We basically chilled around the house, playing games, watching movies, and swimming. There was lots and lots of swimming. But it was fabulous. And Friday and Saturday? Yup. Those were my two days of normal. My "morning sickness" (aka, feeling nauseas all day long - especially when I was hungry - but not wanting to eat anything because nothing sounded appetizing) was gone! I woke up feeling great. All day I felt great. I ate as I pleased. I even had some meat for dinner without the urge to vomit (although I only had a very small amount!). It was pure bliss. I finally had reached that stage in the second trimester where I was going to start feeling like a human being again. Sunday I still felt pretty decent but I did wake up with a case of pink eye. From where, I have no clue. I had been around 3 rugrats (two of whom had gone to birthday parties....) but none of them had it. Oh well. I did. Joy. But still, overall, I'm feeling pretty good.

Then Monday morning hit. It's 3 a.m. and I have my head in the toilet throwing up. But trust me, this was NOT related to the pregnancy. Oh no. I had felt like this once before. Back in my second year of law school, it's spring break, and Jeremy and I had gone to California to go skiing. And somehow I came down with some 24 hour bug - and it just so happened to be on the day we had to drive across the Sierra Nevada (yah, I'm horrible at geography, so I'm not exactly sure what mountain range it was....) from Reno to Mammoth Lakes. It's like 3-4 hours of nothing. Complete nothingness. And you're on winding mountain roads with no place to pull over. That is when I learned the art of throwing up in gallon sized ziploc bags. Yah, pleasant image huh?

Well that is how I felt Monday morning. OH and guess what. Another travel day. Monday we were leaving to come back to Tallahassee. Needless to say, I threw up again getting ready to go to the airport, threw up in the car on the way to the airport, threw up in the Dallas airport, and again on the flight from Dallas to Tallahassee. Let me just put it on the record that airplane throw-up bags are made for children. They are so small and the opening is not nearly wide enough. I totally felt like I was going to get it everywhere. But I didn't. I succeeded! I was so proud of myself. For all of 1 minute until I wanted to throw up again.

I know, this is all TMI. Whatever. You are my friends. Hence you get to know all of the gross details. So that's where I've been: sick. Luckily, all of the nausea ended on Monday. But Tuesday I woke up with a sore throat and a headache from Hades. Plus, all this time I had horrible body aches. Ugh. I finally went to the doctor on Wednesday, just to be told it is "viral." Those are the WORST words ever. Seriously. When you are feeling like shit and you want nothing more than to fall into a deep drug-induced coma so you don't have to suffer anymore, the last thing you want to hear is that whatever you have is viral. Because that means no drugs. No magic pill to help it all go away. Granted, even if they had a magic pill for what I had, I probably wouldn't have been allowed to take it. You know, being pregnant and all [rolling my eyes]. But I would have at least liked to have felt justified when I told people I had the flu. Because that's what it felt like. But no - it's VIRAL. Blah. They were able to give me something for the pink eye though. Some nice little eye drops that burn the cotton-pickin corneas out of your eyes. Oh my gosh they hurt. And this morning - I woke up with more crusties. I don't think this burning eye drop solution is working. And I'm pissed. But I'll give it a few more days.

Anyway, so that's where I've been. Home sick all week. I came in to work yesterday. Big mistake. I felt horrible the whole time. I came in late, took a long lunch, and left early though. But still. I should have stayed home and slept. I'm feeling A TAD better today, but still not very good. This is the longest a sickness has ever stuck around with me - at least in recent memory. So I don't know what to think. I guess I'll just continue to "get lots of rest and drink lots of fluids." Since that's the only prescription I'll get. Please, please, let me start to feel human again!

If you made it to the end of this post without feeling queasy. Congratulations! You are a real trooper and I appreciate your loyalty. Now if you want to slip me a few drugs, I'd really appreciate it . . . .

I'm Baaaaack!!!

Hello? Is anyone out there? I would completely understand if all of my faithful readers abandoned me (all five of you). After all, it has been over two months since I posted last. I apologize.

Wait, you know what, I DON'T apologize. A lot has been going on in those two months. I mean, A LOT. Life has been crazy. Hectic. Turned upside down. I shouldn't have to apologize for that should I???

So let's see. What has happened since we last spoke, er, I last typed. I survived session! It's over once again. And once again I am sitting here anxiously waiting to see if Governor Crist will show some love to the state employee and veto the nasty little bill making us pay for our health insurance. I know, I know - "You should have to pay for your health insurance like everyone else does" - I've heard it all. And it's not necessarily the cost. Because let's face it, the amount they are going to charge state employees for health insurance is negligible compared to what many people pay. It's actually a really good deal. BUT that is NOT the point. I repeat: NOT THE POINT. The point is that we are state workers, getting beat up on every single session. We haven't gotten a raise in 5+ years (nor a cost of living increase mind you) and trust me, inflation hasn't stopped. So while things have continued to get more expensive, we've continued to get the same lousy paycheck we've gotten in the past. And I say lousy because state workers are not paid well. That's why the benefits HAVE to be good; otherwise, who would bother to work for the state??? In fact, Florida has the lowest paid state workers in the entire nation. THE ENTIRE NATION PEOPLE! And yet, we are one of the top 5 biggest states. It's utterly ridiculous. And insulting. And to add salt to that wound, they are now saying they are taking away one of the great benefits to being a state worker with a crappy salary by making us pay for our health insurance. Dear Jesus, let Crist veto that crap bill!

[stepping off my soap box and cooling down]

Ok, I'm back. Aside from the crap mentioned above, session was extra tough this year because we lost an attorney in our office the first week of session. Tracy moved on to bigger and better things over at the Department of Agriculture approving or denying people's firearm registrations. And because we are a small office and need to get along with whoever we hire (and more so because of Eric's intense and time-consuming interviewing process) we decided against hiring someone in the middle of session and figured we'd wait until the interim. So we went through session with just two attorneys this year, which put an extra burden on everyone.

Then to top it all off, I found out I was pregnant! There ya go. Those are the big beans I needed to spill. Whew! It's nice to have that off my chest! So on top of session and being down an attorney, I also wasn't feeling well. I was exhausted all the time, nauseas, and had this kill-me-now-and-put-me-out-of-my-misery headaches. Yah, fun.

So now you see why I'm not going to apologize for letting two months go by since writing last.

Oh and in honor of announcing the pregnancy on the blog, I am going to follow in Betsy's footsteps (check it out here) and do an occassional survey to let everyone know how things are going. So here goes the first one:

How far along? 13 weeks today baby!

Total weight gain/loss? Well, since I have decent news right now, I will share this information. But I'm sure as I get farther along, I will become more and more secretive. I have gained 2 pounds. But 0 pounds between my first and second appointment! That made me somewhat happy.

Maternity clothes? Call it pregnancy, call it I ate too much during session, who knows. But my pants definitely started feeling tighter a few weeks ago. And you know how I feel about tight things around my waist! So I bought a pair of black maternity slacks from the Gap (wearing them today in fact!) and a pair of maternity jeans from Old Navy. I know, I know - I could have bought a belly (bella?) band, but I was desperate to have something more comfortable and I had no clue where to get one of those bands and I couldn't ask because none of my friends knew about the pregnancy. Hence the maternity pants.

Stretch marks? No new ones....

Sleep? Well up until two nights ago I've been sleeping like a baby. Absolutely wonderful, minus the getting up to pee. But honestly, that's normal. I have a bladder the size of a pea, so this pregnancy is going to be a blast!

Best moment this week? Betsy's reaction when I told her about the pregnancy!

Movement? Yah, all the time. Oh wait, that's just indigestion. Nope, no movement yet.

Food cravings? Let's see, FRUIT. All I've wanted to eat is fruit. Oh and fruit smoothies. Those are my new fav. And I'm sort of embarrassed to admit this one, but Taco Bell. I totally crave some soft taco supremes. Yum! I've also eaten a ton of yogurt and cereal. Oh, and keep me the hell away from meat. PUKE! The thought of meat in large forms (aka, steak or chicken breasts by themselves) makes me sick.

Labor signs? Are you kidding me people?? Seriously. No.

Belly button in or out? How about M.I.A.?? Yah, I've always had a belly button caught between two love handles [sigh. :-( ] But it's become even less noticeable since the pregnancy. I'm interested to see what happens to it as I get bigger and start showing!

What I miss? Feeling normal - aka, not feeling like I want to throw up all the time or put my head in a vice to relieve the headache.

What I'm looking forward to? Starting to show!

Milestone? Well, I just entered my second trimester.....

And there you have it. Stay tuned for more updates!!

I'm behind. Don't shoot me.

Ok, I am the WORST blogger ever! I STILL have photos from our European vacation to post. Can you believe it??? Yah, when did we take that trip - a year ago??? Ok, not that long, but you get my point. The portion of the trip that has yet to be posted was actually my least favorite part of the trip - Budapest. The city was just so . . . dirty . . . and . . . depressing. It was the only city I didn't feel completely safe in.

Anyway, you're probably all excited because you think that those photos will be in this post. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but they are not. I actually haven't even edited them yet. [insert expletives here] I KNOW! Please don't yell at me. Life has literally swallowed me whole and spit me back out. I'm not finding time to do a lot of things. Like get a pedicure. Or return some clothes that I desperately need the money for. Or clean the house (thank goodness for Jeremy!). Anyway, as you can tell, editing photos from my least favorite city on the trip is at the bottom of my to-do list. But I wanted to let everyone know that I haven't forgotten about them! I promise I will post them . . . eventually. Maybe like on the one year anniversary of our trip. Hmm, now that's an idea.

I will not be ashamed any longer!

Let's talk about music for a minute. I have been told by some of my friends that I have no pop culture knowledge. You know who you are. And, you know what? It's true. There I said it. I have no pop culture knowledge. Growing up I read books and my mom banned MTV. So yah, I don't know a lot about music or artists or anything remotely tied to that. And I'm done being ashamed about it. So what if I don't know a single answer on Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture edition. I bet I could smoke you in Phase Ten. Or not, but that's not the point. The point is that I am embracing my lack of pop culture.

So now that you realize I am not a music-buff, I can continue with my story. I'm driving home the other day and listening to the radio. Or more accurately, Sirius Satellite Radio (shamless product plug) - if you don't have it already, I highly recommend it. I like my radio just like I like my TV - WITHOUT COMMERCIALS! Anyhoo, so I'm on my pop station and the new Michael Bublé song comes on and I have this sudden urge to drive into oncoming traffic. Ugh. Listening to him is so tedius. I really just don't like his music - guess it's not my style (yes, even someone with no pop culture knowledge can have a music style people!) So, rather than smash up my pretty Baby (and as a result, have higher insurance payments - yuck!) I quickly changed the station. I just hit whichever present I could find and it happened to be channel 9. And for those of you with Sirius you know that channel 9 is "90's on 9," which means . . . . yup, you guessed it: 90's music! And guess what comes on? "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer. And what do I find myself subconsciously (or maybe it was consciously . . .) doing? DANCING. In the car. To MC Hammer. That's right folks. I was getting my groove on to "U Can't Touch This." I'll give you a moment to let this sink in.

Ok, moment's up. NOW. It's up. Quit laughing.

I couldn't help myself. I was getting into it. My head was going from side to side, I was singing the words, and I probably even did the white-man's overbite. And you know what? I'm not embarrassed. It has a catchy beat. And it's way better than that Michael Bublé shit.

And this isn't the first time this happened to me. Another time I was driving and Michael Bublé came on (Sirius: for the love of God, please quit playing his songs on the Top 40 hits station - put him on the Elevator Music station or something!). So I changed the station (I think to the 90's station again . . . weird) and "Boombastic" by Shaggy was on. And yes, I choose to listen to that over boring, whiny elevator music. And, again, I found myself shaking my groove thing.

So, yes, I admit that I have no pop culture knowledge. I admit that I have danced in the car to MC Hammer and Shaggy. And I admit that it was FUN! And I am throwing down the gaunlet and daring YOU to have a little fun and to let loose and maybe shake YOUR groove thing to a song you secretly like. But here's the thing: DO IT OPENLY! Don't be ashamed! Embrace your crappy music taste!

To generate discussion, leave me some comments on what music you secretly like, but have always been embarrassed to tell others about. Come on. We won't make fun of you . . . . too much.

And because I like blogs with photos, here ya go:

= BORING

= FUN!

Deal with it.

DOG-gone diets!

So, as you may have read, my dogs are on a diet. Sad, isn't it? You can see photos of my babies on my other blog here (by the way, I'd love for you to follow it!) They don't look that bad do they??? Well, according to the vet, they are "overweight." What does the stupid vet know anyway?

We picked Kai (our golden) out of her litter because of her small paws. I'm sure there were other reasons as well, but mainly, it was the paws. See, there's this mean little rumor floating around that you can judge how big a dog will get by the size of its paws as a puppy: big paws = big dog, small paws = smaller dog. It sort of reminds me of another little comparison rumor that floats around college (oh, who are we kidding? - and high school) campuses. Hehehe . . . yes, I am that immature. Moving on. Well, I have first-hand experience that this rumor is FALSE! (Oh, I'm back to the dog's paws one by the way). As Kai continued to grow . . . and grow . . . and grow, we soon realized that she just had baby feet and that the rest of her was not going to follow suit. I belive she topped out at 80ish pounds. Yup, that's right, our female golden retriever. But, you can't just judge a book from it's cover. You've got to do a little more digging. If we go back and take a look at Kai's mom . . . well unfortunately, I don't have a photo of her mom. But if I did, you'd see that she was sort of rotund herself. I think it runs in the family. Genetics, ya know? They are just big-boned!! I swear! Or, quoting from the fun animated movie Ice Age (BTW, do you know how much I love animated movies??? If you don't, I'm sure you'll soon realize based on my posts!):

Manny: I'm not fat. It's all this hair. It makes me look poofy.
Sid: Fine. You have fat hair, but when you're ready to talk, I'm here.

Yes, that is the ongoing joke in our household - Kai has fat hair. I think it's a perfectly logical explanation. Really. I can say that with a straight face. I swear. Well, the vet didn't buy that answer. So basically Kai has been on a diet since she turned 1. Yah, I know, sad.

And then there's Sequoia, our cute little sheltie. She may look like a miniture Lassie, but believe me, you do NOT want this dog saving you from a well. She'd be more likely to jump down there with you just so she's not alone. Severe dependency issues, I tell you. S.E.V.E.R.E. But you got to love her. Even if she slams her head into the door every morning as you leave the house. Yah, I think she may have brain damage. But she's adorable and I love her. And she really does have fat fur. If you've ever seen her in person, you can attest to that. But when she's wet she looks like a little drowned rat. So, she has a weight issue?? Naw, couldn't be. Damn vet. Again, telling us that she also needs to lose a few lbs. Did I mention that this is the same vet that now wants Kai to have a "Senior Wellness Exam" because she is a "senior citizen"? Yah, she's 7 people. Even in dog years (49), that's really not that senior. But, for the sake of argument, assume she IS a senior. Well then she should qualify for some AARP discount right?? Um, NO! They want to charge you MORE once they reach senior-status. Something seems backwards here. Damn vets. But I just got off track.

So now both of my babies are on a diet. We'd already been feeding them the weight management food. What else can we do??? Oh yah, well, I guess we could take them for more walks. You know, like responsible dog-owners. But we don't want to admit that THAT may be the problem because, ya know, that makes US look bad. So we decide to scale back on the amount of dog food they get - and supplement with foods that have more fiber so they feel full. Such as green beans. Yes, we are now feeding our dogs green beans. And pumpkin. And carrots. And rutabagas. Those dogs now hear a can opener and they are salivating at my feet. We've created monsters. But I have to admit, I have seen a noticeable difference. Especially in Sequoia. She has, well, a waistline. Imagine that! We have not had them weighed since the diet-edict came down, but I am hopeful. We shall see.

So needless to say, the entire household is on a diet. At least no one feels left out.

I did it!

We had two beautiful days here this weekend! So guess what I did? That's right, I got off my butt and went outside and did some cardio. [gasp] Yes, I know this is somewhat shocking to those who know me. But let's face it, not that many people actually read this! LOL It's not that I abhor working out or never do it; I just haven't done it, well, since Thanksgiving. Yup, that's about right. I haven't worked out since Turkey Day. There are many "reasons" why (it's the holiday season, the days are shorter so it gets darker earlier, it's too cold), but the truth is, I haven't wanted to. That and, well, it HAS been too cold for me to want to get up at the crack of dawn to work out. So I've been lax. And now with the legislative session about to start in a week, there will be no time for working out. I'm not exaggerating; I really will have no time. During session I generally work from 8 a.m. until midnight. So, yah, getting up at 6 a.m. to work out is not my idea of a good time during this time of year. Although, if our committee meetings stay on their current course (Thursday at 8 a.m.) I'll have to get up at 6 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday regardless, so at that point I might as well get up the same time Monday, Tuesday, and Friday and work out. Yah . . . we'll see. Not likely. But I guess there is always a chance I could stick with that.

Anyway, it was gorgeous here this weekend. So Saturday, Jeremy and I went out for a bike ride. It was great! We got bikes for Christmas and have only had the opportunity to ride them 3 times! Like I said, it's been cold . . . and rainy . . . . So we went riding yesterday and loved it. Then today we took the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood. I love when I can let them off leash because it allows me to walk faster and get more of a workout. When they are on the leash they always want to stop and sniff. I know, I know - they're dogs and that's what dogs do. But sheesh! But when they are off leash then I can continue to walk and they can catch up with me. It's perfect. Plus, I think they tend to get more exercise because they have the ability to run around more.

Did I mention that my dogs are also on a diet? Yah, well, that's a post for another day . . .

My theory on why the baby-boomer generation produced, well, so many babies

I solved one of life's questions last night. How come women back in the '30s or '40s (just pick a decade) popped out kids like a toaster popping out bread? It wasn't because couples were more in love back then or because women had more time on their hands or because it was "the" thing to do. No, it all had to with bed size. That's right folks. Size DOES matter . . . . at least in this sense.

Back in those days, couples most likely had double or full-sized beds. I would go out on a limb to say that having a queen bed was a luxury that most couples could not afford. Well what happens when you are sleeping in a double or full-sized bed? You touch, that's what happens.

As I'm laying in my queen-sized bed last night trying to fall asleep, I'm realizing there is no way to move without touching Jeremy. He starts out almost on "my" side of the bed to begin with! What do you think will happen as he tosses and turns throughout the night? OF COURSE he's going to end up on my side. It's inevitable. And being that close produces more body heat, which you know what that means . . . that I'm sweltering under the covers. And he wonders why I have to sleep with the fan on even if it is 20 degrees outside! It's because I'm so blasted hot under the covers and with the combination of our body temperatures.

So this gets me to thinking. If I feel this cramped in a queen bed, imagine what my grandparents or great-grandparents felt in a double or full bed. Sardines, that's what. And when you are that close to begin with, well, then there's really only one thing to do. Procreate. Hell, I bet sometimes it even happened on accident because everyone is just SO close. And as the decades passed and people became more and more obsessed with size, we eventually became a nation where a queen bed is unacceptable. "WHAT?!? You don't have a KING bed?" And then you're denied membership to your country club or something. I know I've been there . . . having that discussion with friends, coworkers, family, whoever, and someone asks what "size" mine is. And I sheepishly bow my head and whisper: Queen. And then everyone shakes their head in disappointment. Well, if it hasn't happened to you, then either you're the person shaking your head in disappointment or you're lying to yourself!

And let's be honest, who wouldn't want a king bed? I know I do. I have "king-bed envy." I think it's an actual disease. All that room. You don't even have to touch if you don't want to. In fact, if you get a California King, you could be so far on the other side of the bed that you don't even notice when your spouse crawls into bed! You can roll over approximately 3 times and still not be on your spouse's side of the bed. Genius! Now I'm sure this may hurt in the procreation department, but all it means is that you have to make a little bit of effort. Now has effort ever really hurt anyone? Plus, with all that extra room, it may create some wonderful opportunities for experimentation! (Not that I know anything about that or anything - remember, I have a queen bed).

So now you know my theory. Now, let's have some fun!

2010 Goals

I seriously can't believe how far behind I am on posting. I mean, it's already like the middle of January and I haven't gotten around to posting my new year's resolutions - or goals as a friend of mine likes to call them (and I tend to agree with her that it's a better term).

So without further ado:

Goal #1:
Spend more quality time with Jeremy. Interpret this as you like. It has multiple meanings anyway. But the overall theme is that I want to spend more one-on-one time with him. No TV, no parents, no dogs . . . ok, that last one might be asking too much. But we'll see. We are so bad about getting caught up in life that we often don't take the time to just be together. We have a long, hard day and want to do nothing more than come home, have a glass of wine (or a bourbon in Jeremy's case) and watch TV. I admit it - this is a GREAT evening for me. After all, I love my wine and I love TV just as much. But then sometimes I realize, wow, I haven't spoken 5 full sentences to Jeremy today. Come on - I know I'm not the only one out there that goes through this. Right? RIGHT? RIGHT?!? So anyway, goal number one is quality time - however I can get it!

Goal #2:
Eat healthier. Yah, I know. This and the "work out" or "lose weight" are always on people's lists (get ready for goal #3 by the way....) And usually everyone fails miserably at these types of goals. I admit, I have. But so far we have been doing OK with the eating healthier goal. I'm not going to lie and say we've done a complete 180 with our eating habits because we haven't. But what I have done is made sure we always have a salad with our dinner and usually another veggie as well. I know. It doesn't sound like much. But for us this is huge. We are the family that used to think ribs and tater tots alone classified as a complete meal. You laugh, but I'm not kidding. So recently when I made our ribs and tater tots, I also made us a salad AND asparagus! That's right folks - two veggies were on that plate. And you know what that meant? It meant we ate less ribs and tater tots. So I say that is an accomplishment. We will eventually have to up our "eat healthier" game, but for now I definitely say we get an A+ for effort in this category.

Goal #3:
Be more active. There you have it. You knew it was coming and here it is. I sort of have to laugh at this one myself. Because we haven't done much of anything to get the ball rolling on this goal. It's just, well, it's been so darn cold. And that makes it hard to want to be active. But I am proud to say that last weekend we rode our new bikes (that we got for Christmas in an attempt to accomplish goal #3) for 1.5 hours. In fact, we could have been gone for longer, but I don't actually remember the time we left the house. Anyway, it was at least 1.5 hours. Which I have to say is HUGE! We hadn't ridden bikes in years and we go for that long?! Yah, I was proud. And more importantly, I was sore. Let me tell you, bikes HURT your, well, you know . . . . private area. I felt like I'd had sex for about 5 hours straight after that bike ride . . . . and I actually had almost the same sense of satisfaction as well. LOL OK, too much information I know. So, yes, I was extremely sore afterwards. We took the dogs for a walk after the bike ride and I almost fell coming down the front steps because my legs were like jello. It was quite comical. But we did it. We rode our bikes. And I can't wait until the weather gets nicer so we can go more often.

So those are my three main goals. I'm sure I could think of some other things (save more money, eat out less, etc.) but I wouldn't want to overwhelm myself.

Lucky #13!

All I have to say is:

NUMBER 13 BABY!!! ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Roll Tide Roll!

So it's T-minus two hours and 45 minutes until kickoff of the National Championship! All I can say is that I hope for a good game all around. If things happen to not go my way, I want to at least be able to say "we played a good game." None of that Utah Sugar Bowl bullshit from last year. Now if we can have another awesome game like we did in the SEC championship game that would be stellar. And even better if Texas plays like they did against Nebraska. But that may be asking for too much. No matter what happens, I love my Alabama boys and think the SEC kicks some serious ass.

So I'll see you on the flip side. Hopefully with number 13 in hand . . .

ROLL TIDE!!!