Interruption

I'm hoping what happened last night is just an interruption in the otherwise very smooth and healthy pregnancy I've had.

I was very active yesterday.  I went for a 2 mile walk, I cooked, I cleaned my car in the heat.  I noticed that I had been having contractions throughout the day, but wasn't really paying much attention to them.  Finally at around 5 pm, I decided to lay down, drink a huge thing of water, and count my contractions just to be sure I was in the clear (more than 6 in an hour requires me to call my doctor).

Well, within a 1/2 hr I realized I had already reached my 6 per hour limit.  I gave it another 1/2 hour just to be sure, and they did continue.  So I gave the doctor a call.  She called me back quickly and instructed me to go drink at least 32 ounces of water in 20 minutes, then lay down.  If things were not better within 1 more hour, I needed to call back.

They weren't better, and in fact started to get worse (they started making me very uncomfortable).  I called back, and was told to head into labor and delivery.

Ian and I quickly looked around and grabbed a few things just in case we'd be in overnight, or longer.  Throughout me getting ready to leave the house, and the car ride and walk through the hospital, I became extremely uncomfortable.

Quite honestly, I was thinking "how am I ever going to go through labor naturally."  After lots of tests later - baby girl was determined to be absolutely fine (although irritated with the poking around of my belly).  Her heart rate was monitored, as were my contractions.  My midwife called them "irritations."  Cervix was completely closed and the tests came back negative for signs of pre-term labor.  All good news!

I continued to complain of horrible back pain that got worse when I was standing for more than 10 seconds, and if I was laying on my left side.  The last resort test was a ultrasound of my kidneys.

Finally, we got answers.  I have a kidney stone.  The doctor knew I wasn't really interested in anything for the pain, but stressed that I at least get the prescription filled in case I needed it.  He said that most pregnant ladies say that passing a kidney stone is more painful than labor.  Thank goodness the pain I had been experiencing wasn't labor related - it had me worried.  Now it explains why the pain got worse after drinking about 40 ounces of water so quickly (my kidney had to work overtime and was also working on trying to move the stone).  It also explains the contractions - when you have some type of bladder or kidney infection, normally contractions will increase.  I can ignore the contractions over the next several days until this stone passes.

We stopped on the way home and got the prescription filled.  Luckily, I didn't need any of it to sleep last night as the pain had mostly dissipated once that huge amount of water had gone through me.

I am so grateful they were able to find out what was wrong, that baby girl is perfectly healthy, and that what is wrong is not a huge deal in the scheme of things.  Yes, it's going to be painful as my body tries to pass the stone - but I'll deal with it.

And I'm so grateful that I was able to go home, and get a good night sleep.  I made sure the doctor was okay with me going away this weekend.

You see, I'm in one of my good friend Leah's weddings in NY.  Ian is staying here to go to Stacy's wedding.  My bestie Lauren is flying to the airport near the wedding where I'll pick her up in a few hours.  She'll be my date for the weekend!

Stacy, have the most beautiful wedding weekend!  I'm so sad I'll miss it but have already charged the batteries for the camera so that Ian can take lots of pictures for me to see!

I'm off to NY - if possible, can you say a little prayer (or send some positive vibes) that I have a healthy and smooth (hopefully pretty pain free) weekend?

24 Week Check-up

I had a check-up with the doctor yesterday and everything is going well!  Baby girl is measuring right on schedule, heartbeat was good in the 130's (except he couldn't get her to sit still to listen to it for very long).  Talked with him about our birthing plan and was happy to hear that it was already in my chart from my last appointment that I want to go natural. 

I am not sure if I mentioned this after my last appointment - but I wasn't thrilled with the way that particular doctor had handled the whole natural birth conversation.  It's not that she said anything that wasn't promising - but rather she didn't sit back and really want to listen and talk with me about it.  She did recommend some things if I want to go natural which was good.

So I wanted to bring it up with this doctor today to see if he gave me a similar reaction.  His response was much more welcoming.  His entire approach isn't as hurried which is awesome.  He always sits down and addresses any questions I have before we get started.  So I brought up that my goal is to go natural - he said he fully supports that as long as baby's heartrate is looking good.  That sounds completely right on to me.  I also mentioned that I do not want to have the IV hooked up so that I can be free to move about.  He is completely fine with that as well.  His request is that they are able to listen to the baby's heartrate for about 10 minutes per hour.  Outside of those 10 minutes, I am free to walk the halls, move within the room, try different positions, etc. to make myself more comfortable.  I don't know if this seems like normal protocol to other moms out there??  But according to my reading, I am feeling comfortable with that plan.  Obviously, I want them to monitor baby periodically!  I just don't want to be tied to the bed very much.  He also reiterated that I should labor at home as long as possible - increases the chances of me going to the hospital closer to when I need to start pushing.

The rest of the appointment was fairly uneventful - he gave me some things to try for the heartburn and said that the swelling of the feet (which just started three nights ago) is pretty normal but to increase my water intake to try to flush all of it.  Sounds good!

Lots of baby related things to do this weekend.  And somewhere in between that stuff and school work, I am going to be outside enjoying this amazing weather.  Enjoy it and Happy Easter to others celebrating it!

Friday Happenings

I have posted a lot this week people!  I hope you're not too overwhelmed with the amount of information I've thrown at you.  Or bored.  Or... Well I just hope you've enjoyed this many posts because the likelihood of it continuing once spring break is over is pretty low.

When we moved to Baltimore, we purchased lots of new items for the house.  Mainly, we got new stuff for the family room (couches, TV, ottoman).  Otherwise, the majority of our furniture are from moving out of our respective parents houses, or what we bought when we lived on our own out of college (not together at that point), or hand-me-downs from our families.

Our kitchen table though - it was Ian's parents from when they lived in France.  Ian moved to the U.S. from France when he was 15.  He's turning 30 this year.  This kitchen table is OLD.  It is at the top of our list to replace when I'm finished school and we have two incomes.  I'm sure it was super stylish when his parents had used it back in the day, but it's time for this baby to go.

Unfortunately, it is still serving its purpose and we just don't feel we can justify spending money on new table/chairs when we have more important things going on in our life (the big one, our sweet little girl and all of the stuff we need to get to prepare for her arrival). 

We were at Tar-get and Ian saw a tablecloth and said - why don't we just keep the table covered?  Hmm, simple solution, inexpensive, and could possibly hide a bit of the table?  Let's go for it!

Well, I'm LOVING it covered.  We bought a busy but dainty tablecloth for about $20.  Actually, this picture makes it look old-ladyish (no offense to old ladies), but I promise it looks much brighter and sunnier in person.  And I can't help but smile when I walk into the room and see it.  While I cannot wait to replace this table, I'm much happier with disguising it for now.

See:

I just took pictures of our guest room to post as before pictures.   I will be posting them next week, along with pictures along the way to transforming the guest room/exercise bike room/storage area into nursery for baby.  And then, next Thursday, her furniture is being delivered.  We measured everything out last night to decide where each piece is going.  It's so exciting to start this process!  And holy crap, we're getting so excited for her to be here (but little one, stay in there and keep growing for at least another 14 weeks).

In the meantime, here is one picture of the sliding glass doors in her room that I am currently researching.  Why?  Because these doors let in SO much heat during the warmer months, and the room is freezing during the cold months.  Also, see how much light they let in?  We need to block out that light for her naps.  Finally, we want the doors covered because I'll be breastfeeding and I want to feel comfortable without worrying about people people able to see in (it would be extremely difficult for anyone to see in anyways - but still).

We're looking into getting black-out drapes. From what I've read, they help no only block out light, but insulate the windows.  Anyone have experience with these?  Where did you get them?  I've found a bunch of places online, but they seem to be expensive and also we have to buy the black-out liner in addition to a curtain on top.  Even more pricey!  Any other recommendations?

Have a fabulous weekend! We have plans with friends, plans to work on the nursery, and I have plans to write this stinking paper.

Friday wrap-up

Lots of random things today.

The mattress topper thingie that I talked about on Monday is totally awesome.  A couple weeks ago, I woke up with my hip asleep (did you even know this was possible?  I didn't!) - that's when I realized we really needed the mattress foam thingie (seriously, what is the proper name for it??).  The instructions said that it takes a few nights of sleep for it to get to its optimal comfort. Sunday night I was kind of feeling blah about buying it.  But by Wednesday I was sold.  I haven't been waking up with my hips hurting!  And now, I don't even budge when Ian gets up in the morning.  He also hasn't been waking up every time I go to the bathroom.  I thing the foam makes the bed move less when one of us moves.  All in all, so far we're loving it.

Spring break starts today!  I say that with enthusiasm even though I'm going to be super busy paper writing and researching.  But I do have hopes to get some baby related things done - like narrowing down some of our baby product selections.  I've also been doing some nursery brainstorming and I think we have the basic concept down which means we can start looking for stuff for it!

Also over break we have some lunch and dinner plans with some people - should be good to have some time to catch up with people we don't get to see often.  One of the lunches I am going to is with a fellow pregnant lady, and a lady who just had her first baby.  So I'm sure that lunch will be super informative and have lots of baby talk.

Someone asked us if we have bought a lot of stuff for the baby - and I have to say, I don't think we've bought anything yet!  I've bought some books to read about babies, but we haven't bought clothes or cute things for the nursery or anything really.  I'm really actually impressed as to how we made it over 21 weeks pregnant without buying anything.  So also on my list over break: buy something for our little girl. 

It's supposed to rain here all weekend - so much rain that we're under a flood watch.  It should make it a good weekend to stay home and look up lots of baby stuff online.  And of course, ms. Tessa will be snuggling with me on the couch.  She'll probably look like this:

And yes, her tongue does stick out on occasion when she's REALLY knocked out.

Oh, and tonight is fish Friday night for Ian and I.  I made some awesome roasted potatoes last night and will have those as a side for tonight's dinner.  Last night, I also made Zucchini Gratin because we had veggies to use up before they go bad.  For vegetarians and even non-vegetarians (Ian and I are most definitely not vegetarians), this dish is delicious.  It tastes rich and creamy (even though I made it with skim milk!) and is an awesome twist on the usual potato gratin.  Even Ian, who normally turns his nose up to an entire vegetarian meal LOVED it.

Okay I think that officially ends my randomness for this post.  If you made it this far, clearly you're bored at work :)

I have lots of posts in drafts lined up so I will most definitely be posting quite a bit as we make some baby related decisions soon.  Who knows, maybe I'll even throw in a weekend post in case you're bored at home because of the rain.  Have a fantastic weekend!

It's Friday!

I have lots of random things to talk about today.

First, I was checking out another blogger's post recently, and I loved something she wrote:

"Really we cannot control which hand we are dealt, but it is all about HOW we play those cards. How we react to the hand we are given-if you spend so much time crying at the door that has been slammed in your face you will never see the window which has been opened for you."

Some stuff is going on in our lives that is causing us lots of stress recently.  This quote reminded me that I need to focus on all of the things I can control.  I can eat healthy, surround myself with people who understand and support me and remind me to stay balanced.  I can pray, read things that keep me balanced, go to church each week, lean on Ian when I need to, and of course, focus on our little yogi and all things baby.  This is an amazing time in our lives, and I am trying my best to make it exactly that.

Second, even though I have a lot going on and need support, I realized I need alone time.  Ian had plans with one of his buddies to grab dinner and beers after work.  He asked if I wanted to go, and I didn't feel like it, so instead, after grabbing some Mr. Yogato with Kim, I spent my night alone.  Well, not all alone.  Tessa kept me company.  But it was nice to have that time to myself.  I told Ian he needs to do this more often - more than like once in a blue moon.  He was offended at first, but then when I explained why, he completely understood.  After all, he has two nights to himself per week because I have 2 night classes.  What does he do while I'm gone?  Eat crappy foods and play video games.  Ha.

Third, it's FRIDAY! I woke up feeling so happy that I am one class away from the weekend. I am heading to the gym after class - something I haven't done in over a month.  Tomorrow, we have brunch plans with some friends who just found out they are pregnant too!  Tomorrow night, we are checking out a restaurant we've been wanting to try for awhile now - I'll have a review of it on Monday.  I have plans to get work done somewhere in there, and sticking to our goal of going to church every week. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blizzard

Well, Baltimore is supposed to be getting an enormous amount of snow this weekend - some are saying anywhere from 18-26 inches, some are saying up to 40 inches (I think these people might be exaggerating just a little).  Either way, we're in for a weekend at home.  As much as I love when it snows, I hate that Marylanders freak out and feel they need to have every item from the grocery store, as if they're preparing to be stuck in homes for over a week.  Especially in Baltimore City - we won't be stuck for a week!  I think we'll be good by Monday.  Do I need to go and buy toilet paper to last me 6 months, and 6 gallons of milk?  YES! IT'S GOING TO SNOW - WE NEED TO PREPARE TO BUNKER DOWN. The sad thing is, I do need to get toilet paper because we're kind of cutting it close.  I am not looking forward to standing in line for hours - so I'm hoping I can wait until most people will be back home (once it really starts snowing today) and it'll be less crowded.

The professor who cancelled class on Wednesday cancelled class today too!  I love this guy.  Any form of snow that is expected to stick scares him so much that he cancels class.  He's this adorable old little man (probably about 75-80 years old), who also happens to be a fantastic professor.  I wonder if he is prepared to cancel next Wednesday's class too considering we're supposed to get more snow on Tuesday night??  We'll see!

So on my agenda today is to get work done and go to my dentist appointment today.  I HATE the dentist.  I'm trying out a new dentist because, well this is embarrassing, but I haven't been to the dentist since we moved to Baltimore - in 1.5 years.  Ew.  I made an appointment for Ian today as well - he hates the dentist more than I do and I'm not going to even admit how long it's been since he's been.

We'll be bunkering down (that phrase sends me into giggles!!) (with clean teeth!!) watching the beautiful snow fall.  Ian will be busy doing things around the house - cleaning out areas so we can make room for all of the new stuff we'll soon be accumulating for baby.  I'll be reading. And reading. And reading. 

Happy weekend!

I got nothing

I'm seriously hoping Obama's visit to Baltimore today, and the resulting road closures for his arrival and departure, won't make me miss class! 

This weekend I am going to be ridiculously busy doing work - the amount of reading I have this semester proves that the saying that professors "work you to death" in 2nd year is true.  And I'm really hoping we do get some snow - that would at least be pretty for me to watch come down while I'm stuck inside!

I hope you have something more fabulous than work and watching snow flakes to do this weekend!  Enjoy :)

Jury Duty, Maternity Clothes, and Other Random Goodness

In my blogging life, Friday tends to be a day of randomness.  I ramble about various things going on in my life, thoughts on things, and possibly even a rant or two.  But hey, I kind of like it.  And much like the past few Fridays, today will be a post about similar random things going on.

Yesterday, I got our mail and was flipping through the various envelopes when I saw one that looked kind of, suspicious.  It looked like a government envelope.  I hesitated, hoping that it wasn't what I thought it was.  But sure enough, when I opened it, I realized my instints were sadly right.  I have jury duty.  Now, you'd think since I'm in school to go into the legal profession that I'd be all excited and really appreciate the legal system in that we have peers who judge us.  Well, I answer yes to both of those questions - but I just wish jury duty happened to fall on a day that I have nothing to do.  Instead, I'll have to be excused from classes (normally frowned upon unless you are deathly ill or have an emergency).  But hey, at least I'm not likely to be picked as a juror.  I imagine it'll go a little something like this:
         And what do you do for a living? Oh I'm a full-time law student.  Dismissed. 
The likelihood that they'd want me as a juror is probably slim to none.  But who knows!

We went over to a couple's house last night for some pizza and to visit with their 4 week old daughter.  The husband (of the couple) has been friends with my brother since they were about 15, which means he's essentially like another big brother to me - he's known me since I was about 9 or 10.  It was so nice to go and have someone to ask all kinds of questions to since they literally just went through having their first baby.  I was clapping my hands in excitement on our way to their house to see them and the baby.  My goodness, she is absolutely adorable, so little and squishy.  Her bottom lip sticks out so far when she cries (which sounds like a little coo).  I fell in love in an instant.  I held her for just a few minutes (she was a little fussy) but it made me realize just how close we are to having our own little cutie in our arms.  We came home and Ian was just amazed at how small a newborn is.  I can't believe we are on this journey - I am SO freaking excited.  They also got me a bag of mommy goodies - a be-band (to help my current pants stay up while they are unbuttoned - something I was going to get this weekend - SCORE!), Jenny McCarthy's book Belly Laughs, some candies that help soothe the stomach, some shampoo/conditioner/lotion for a little pampering, some Belly Bars (these taste delicious!), some tissues for those inexplicable times when I might get a little teary, and Tylenol since it's the only pain reliever I can take while pregnant (and helpful for the common headaches these pregnancy hormones have been causing).  Love all my goodies!

This weekend we are catching up with some friends we haven't seen in awhile, going maternity clothes shopping, and I have to get work done for school.  I'm slightly nervous to go clothes shopping - but excited to get some stuff that my expanding belly will be comfortable in.  Also on my agenda, going to a bridal gown store to try on a bridesmaid dress for my good friend Leah's wedding.  I was super worried about sizing because I have no idea how big my belly will be by the end of May.  But luck was on my side, because they just created the same dress in a maternity fit.  Sweee-eet!!

I hope you all have something lovely planned this weekend - hopefully it's a 3-dayer for you!

Random Friday-ness

While we were in England, Maryland got a huge snow storm.  I was hoping we'd see some when we got home, but we got to the parking lot at the airport to discover that rain had washed all of it away.  I'm not really a cold weather person, but for some reason I become a giddy girl when it snows.  I love taking Tessa out in it, going for a long walk, and then coming inside and having hot chocolate!  Well we got snow last night - but it's hardly enough to get giddy about.  Hoping 2010 will bring another big snow storm to us!

But it's probably a good thing it didn't snow too much because we have lots of plans for the weekend.  Tonight I am heading to a girls-night-in party.  Tomorrow we have plans to grab lunch with the lovely Kim and Jeremy.  And Sunday we have brunch with high schools friends.  I'm trying to get in lots of friend time before I go back to school in 1.5 weeks.

At some point, we need to take down the Christmas tree and take it to the recycling center.  I've been procrastinating on that!

You have anything fun planned for the weekend? 

Sunday Funday

We start out going to church, then get our weekly grocery shopping done, then come home and fix a big breakfast together.  Then we promptly head upstairs, put our pj's on (and I put my glasses on instead of wearing contacts),throw on our slippers and head back downstairs to lay on the couch with Tessa.  We spend the rest of the day watching football, talking, and snuggling with a blanket.  Somewhere in between games, I normally throw something on the stove or oven that requires very little effort.  Today, I'll throw a bunch of ingredients in a pan and stick it in the oven so we can have braised short ribs for dinner.  Amazing smells from the food slowly cooking reach us on the couch, making us love Sundays that much more.

What a perfect day.

Random Friday Thoughts

I have hesitated to say anything for fear of jinxing myself - but I am down 3 lbs since stopping the asthma medicine.  I'll take it!  And honestly, it just inspires me to work out even harder.  Like yesterday, I burned 700-800 calories in my hour long workout.  And I hope I can push just as hard today when I go to the gym.  I'll continue to keep you updated on the health progress!

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Yesterday, I had just had a killer work-out (ummm, my butt is SO sore today), and was feeling exhausted but relieved that my school week was over.  I had won a starbucks gift card on Tuesday night, so stopped by and picked up a pumpkin spice latte.  Driving home, I saw the mailman and realized I had missed the mail going out, so turned around to go give him a birthday card to go out.  I went to pick up my coffee and realized as the entire cup spilled all over my car that the starbucks person hadn't put the top on properly.  I spent the next 45 minutes cleaning up ORANGE latte out of my car.  I'm not really sure what smell to expect when I get in my car.  It could be really bad or really good.  Cinnamon spice smelling, or sour milk smelling?  Let's hope for the former.

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Also at Starbucks, I picked up their new instant coffee packets.  I figured I'd give them a try, especially since I had a coupon for it.  I tried it this morning - fan-freaking-tastic.  Tastes like a fresh cup of coffee.

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Last night, Ian politely asked that I keep him company in the kitchen while he did the dishes after dinner.  I got caught up with other stuff and left him hanging.  He rarely gets irritated with me (because I'm just so freaking perfect you know - errrr, or he's just really laid back and puts up with a lot of my crap), but this was one of the rare times he did.  I have a very rough time apologizing.  I feel extremely ashamed and like absolute crap if I ever have to apologize.  Nevertheless, I sucked it up, and apologized.  But being that he rarely gets the opportunity to be mad at me, he ended up dragging it into this huge thing.  Then I ended up mad.  Just because he was still mad at me.  I know - it's crazy and ridiculous.  But I can't help it.  He knew that it took a lot to apologize.  But he finally admitted that he doesn't know how it happens, but when I should be apologizing more, he ends up being the one apologizing.  At this moment, we both bursted out laughing.

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Random weekend plans:

• birthday celebration for a law school friend this evening in Fells Point
• Pumpkin Patch (yes, I did try to go the past 2 weekends - but the weather simply did not cooperate with us)
• Kim and Jeremy are coming over for dinner
• Ian and I are going browsing at some stores for me to show him some things I want for my birthday

Now, I'm off to get a flu shot and then heading to the gym - I probably won't be able to move when I wake up tomorrow considering how sore I already am.  SWEET!  Happy weekend!

Where did this cold come from?

Brrrrr - it's cold outside!  Why is it we just kind of skipped over the fall weather quickly?  And why is it raining April showers in October?   Hmmm, come back mild weather.  I'd rather not go from turning off the AC a couple weeks ago to needing to turn on the heat! 

Anywayssss.  We ventured out for dinner last night at Woodberry Kitchen, which is also where we went for Ian's birthday a month ago.  But this time we met up with my oldest friend (as in we've been friends since we were 1 or 2, not that she's really old in age) Trish, and her hubby.  Ian had never really gotten a chance to get to know Trish, so I was super excited that we finally got together now that we're both in Baltimore.  We had a delicious dinner over wine and shared some old, funny stories.  I wish I had taken a picture, but we just got too caught up in catching up.

This weekend, after Ian runs his 19 miles, we're planning on getting some household things taken care of.  I also am hoping for better weather so we can do one of my favorite fall activities: going to the pumpkin patch and orchard!  I found several within 20 minutes of us, so we'll probably check out at least one. 

Should the weather not cooperate, I think we're planning on having a relaxing weekend snuggling with Tessa and watching movies.  I'll take either option - both sound like a weekend full of just what I need - relaxing with hubby!

Happy it's Friday

It's Friday and I'm tired - this means it's a bullet-point day.

• I have still kind of been down since my post a few days ago about the weight issues.  But instead of sitting and dwelling on it, I've been trying to use that frustration to motivate me to make my workouts more worthwhile.  After being sick a couple weeks ago, I hadn't been as good about getting in my 5 workouts.  So this week I made a point to get to the gym 4 days.  At each workout, I did at least 30 minutes of cardio on a machine that makes me burn about 400-500 calories in those 30 minutes.  Then I do core/weight/circuit training for 30 minutes.  I'm not sure how many calories this amounts to in total - but I imagine it's between 500-600 calories.  I also spoke with the trainer I had previously been working with.  He wanted to see how my workouts were and if I'd noticed any differences in my body.  After explaining that I hadn't, and I haven't lost a single pound, he switched up my routine to get more weight/circuit training in.  So my new workout schedule will be 1 less day per week, but more intensity each time.  Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays I have to do cardio/weights/circuit.  We'll see if this makes a difference!
• I had a girl's night last night, and Ian was coming home late, so Tessa had to come with me to dinner and then went with me to the bar afterwards (otherwise she would have been left for about 12 hours at home).  We sat outside at the bar and she was the perfect pup.  She eventually fell asleep on the sidewalk at the bar and I realized it was probably time to go home. 
• Tomorrow, Ian is running Baltimore's Half Marathon.  I'll be wandering around the Inner Harbor area while he runs, so let me know if you'll be there as well and we can meet up!
• We are planning on eating at The Corner Stable sometime after the race to try out their famous ribs and crabcakes.
• I am officially obsessed with The Biggest Loser for the first time.  However, it makes me sob like a little baby.  I don't know what it is - but their stories make me cry.  And I want Jillian Michael's to come and kick my ass into shape.  It also has made me really want the BodyBugg.  But I looked them up and they are expensive! Holy crap! Not sure I really want to ask for that for my upcoming birthday.

Anyways - I've been busy with school this week so I really am kind of blah.  Hoping this weekend will allow me to unwind and enjoy this beautiful weather we've been having.  Maybe we'll even make it to the pumpkin patch - one of my favorite fall activities!  Have a fantastic weekend.

TGIF

I have been taking care of a sick Ian all week, and my body had been fighting to not get whatever he had...until yesterday.  I woke up with a terrible sore throat, headache, and stuffy nose.  Thanks Ian.

We were planning on being away this weekend to visit my great aunt, but can't take a chance of getting her sick considering she's still recovering (which by the way, she's back living in her apartment by herself because she has fully recovered from whatever was wrong with her! so freaking amazed by her).  So we are going away next weekend instead.

Our plans for the weekend are pretty non-existent.  I have done absolutely nothing productive today besides taking trips to and from the kitchen to pour more hot tea.  Tomorrow, we are having dinner with Ian's parents to celebrate his birthday since they've been away for a few weeks.  Otherwise, we plan on resting up, running errands, and watching some football.

Which reminds me - I am currently 1-1 in my fantasy football league.  As of Sunday night, it looked like I was going to lose for the second week in a row, but the lovely Ronnie Brown had an amazing game on Monday night that pulled me ahead to win by 2 points.  YEAHHHH!  I've become addicted to watching any game in which one of my fantasy players is playing in - it's seriously a disaster considering I need to get work done on Sundays. 

Anyways - I'm off to pour myself another hot cup of tea...have a great weekend!

Cloudy Friday

A busy weekend ahead!

We have Annie and Brad's wedding tomorrow (which I'll have pictures and a post about on Monday!) and on our way home from the wedding (we're spending the night there) we have Elena's first birthday party! And not that we can plan around it, but the birthday party happens to interrupt my watching of the Redskins game so I'm pretty sure we'll either be going slightly late to the birthday party. Also, somewhere in between all of that we have errands to run and presents to buy for upcoming birthdays for friends.

So with all of that to get done, I'm glad I don't have classes today. But the past few Fridays I have had trouble getting much done - I just get distracted with enjoying the day, outside, running errands, playing with Tessa. So when I woke up today, I was somewhat happy it's overcast - less temptation to go and play.

But also, I don't think I mentioned a little incident that happened to my car a couple weeks ago. I had my endocrinologist appointment about 25 minutes from my house and then grabbed lunch and headed straight to school from the appointment. I got to school and parked in the garage. I turned off my car and went to the driver's side door to pack my things up and throw on a little makeup. After that, as I was leaning into the car to grab my bags, I noticed a puff of smoke come up into the car. I stepped back, very confused and noticed more smoke coming up along the windshield on the inside of my car. The garage guy came and said my car was probably overheating. But my darling hubby, who happens to know a thing or two about cars, told me over the phone to do some things to determine if it was my engine overheating. It wasn't. So Ian came and followed me home that night and took it to work the next day. He checked it at work (he works in the car industry) and they figured out the problem. Something to do with a part that controls when you switch from AC to heat to defrost, etc. And the best part - it's super cheap to fix! Even better.

The part has come in and off to work my car went with him today. That long freaking story is to say that I also happen to be carless today. He left his car for me, but when I drived it 2 weeks ago for the first time in like two years. It's manual, and although I used to drive a Wrangler that was manual, it's very different than his little manual car. So when I drove it a couple weeks ago - it did not go so well. So I'm stuck at the house today. With no food in the house I might add (errands that I wrote about above - food shopping).

So today, I'll be doing lots of work, stuck in the house, trying to make food out of condiments I think. I'm so ready for the weekend!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Soaking in the Fun

I am soaking in all the fun I possibly can before I start back to school a week from Monday! This weekend we have so much going on that I'm super excited about. I joined an all ladies fantasy football league - and I'm heading to the draft party tonight to make my picks. I grew up watching the Redskins, but truly didn't get into football until a couple years ago. But I still have a lot to learn in terms of knowing more about each team and certain players - so I figured this would be a perfect way to learn. I'm not really close with the girls in the league, but I think it'll be a great way to meet some new people. I can't help but feel like I'm at the first day of school again when I am nervous I won't fit in. Amazing how those stupid insecurities come out when we're faced with new situations.

Tomorrow, Ian has to run 12 miles in the morning, and then we are going out to brunch with Ian's parents for his Dad's birthday. Tomorrow night we are heading out to dinner with my mom. Sunday Ian is going to hot yoga with me (he doesn't know this yet - hehe).

I'm trying to squeeze as much family and friend time into my last week as possible - and that also means lots of blogging which explains why I did 2 posts in one day!

Behind the Storm...

Out comes the sun! And as I was one crabby lady just a couple days ago - I really do think it had something to do with the rain. Now that it's sunny, I'm happy as can be! I really think we need to move some place warmer - the sun makes me so incredibly happy. It's perfect golf weather for me:) (yes I play golf - and absolutely love it - this is another blog post in itself I think).

How freakin' beautiful is it out there today?! I just ate my lunch in the courtyard at school after finishing my 2nd to last day of classes! WAHOOOOOOO!!! Sadly, I'm now sitting in the library, procrastinating by blogging instead of studying. Also, instead of reading this morning, I cleaned up my labels on my blogs - ummm that's gotten a little out of hand (I have way too many). I'm seriously getting the itch to be finished with school when I start doing tedious things like that!

I don't have big things to do this weekend - my one and only thing I have planned to do besides study is play kickball tomorrow. Big plans, clearly. What are you up to this weekend?

Slacker

Wow I've been a slacker this week! I really don't have much interesting to report. It's been a busy week back to school and I have a paper due Wednesday so I've been working on that. Last night, one of my professors (who I think rocks!) went to happy hour with our class and paid for the first $100 worth of drinks. So that was fun.

I'm less than 5 weeks away from exams. So I've been meeting with my professors from last semester to review my exams - I'm doing anything I can to improve this semester.

Today I'll be enjoying wearing spring clothes and sitting outside after my one class. We have a kickball game tomorrow and then we're having a few people over from my law school for a cookout. I'm hoping the expected rain in our area doesn't happen to fall when we're trying to cook the food. Fingers crossed!

In the Media

There has been so much gossip, and very strong opinions regarding two stories in the media recently. The first story is about the dude who did this. It is sad that she's back to talking to him! I just think it sends a horrible message to women who are in abusive relationships. So many times women stay with abusive men for financial reasons, or for their kids. Here, Rihanna clearly has neither of these issues and yet is going back to him, and even went so far as to ask the Judge to remove the order the disallows Brown from contacting her? Eek! Assuming that the reports of how badly she was beaten are true, all I can say is that my respect for the both of them has drastically diminished. What are your feelings? Should the judge have granted Rihanna's request? I have mixed feelings about that.

The 2nd piece of gossip floating around is the drama that went down on The Bachelor. Some people are tearing him apart and blaming ABC. Others are saying it's good he ended up following his heart in the end. While I do think it's good that he follow his heart, and that everyone makes mistakes, he should NOT have ended things with her on the show. That is just downright cruel. I do think ABC probably had something to do with it, but bottom line is that Jason should not have done that to Melissa in front of the television. It's awful! I can totally understand why she became so pissed - because he was loser in handling the situation with any class. But I do not have an issue with him realizing he made a mistake. And I personally liked Molly and Melissa, so I really didn't have an issue with him being with Molly. My reaction when he said goodbye to Molly on the finale was that no guy would be crying that much if he thought he was making the right decision. What do you think about it?

This weekend I have lots of work to do (I should really stop reporting this piece of news, as it really isn't anything "new"). Saturday, we are heading to my school's Barrister's Ball. It's basically a semi-formal with an open bar, kind of like a prom for law school students. Hoping it'll be fun and not turn out to be a waste of time! We also will be picking up the barstools we ordered from Crate & Barrel (we picked them up last weekend only to unwrap them and see that all 3 were broken). Hoping that this time they'll be all in one piece! What are your plans this weekend?

Time to Celebrate

Because I just got home from class, the weekend has started (which is reason alone to celebrate), but most importantly, I just turned in my 1st writing assignment of law school!! SOOO HAPPY!

Last night was another late night editing my paper. So I am about to each lunch and take a longggg nap. Then will probably enjoy this beautiful weather with Tessa until Ian gets home. Then we're off to have crabs and beer!

Have a great weekend!