26 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 26 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is the size of a English hothouse cucumber. She weighs just over a pound and two-thirds and is about a 14 inches long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 20 lbs. Holy cow! I feel HUGE! Check out that BELLY!

Maternity Clothes: All I wear now.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: I love feeling her twist and turn around in my belly. She's getting stronger and you can now see the kicks just looking at my stomach. She's a fiesty little thing!

Sleep: Not much has changed on the sleep situation. I still have some difficulties sleeping. I wake up multiple times during the night.

What I miss: I've missed working out this week. I don't know if its because I've been eating everything in sight (thus the additional 20 lbs showing up on the scale) or if Brooke was just having a growth spurt...but I feel like I should be doing something to counteract my increased appetite.

Cravings: I officially like Chic-fil-A again! Yay!

Symptoms: Sore hips/pelvis. And I had one nose bleed this week. I guess that increase in blood didn't have anywhere else to go. I'm just glad it didn't happen out in public!

Best Moment this week: Mike and I went to Buy Buy Baby and picked out the rocker/glider and ottoman for Brooke's nursery. I loved sitting in all the different chairs and thinking about rocking and reading books and singing with Miss B.

25 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 25 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is the size of a rutabaga. She weighs just over a pound and a half and is about a 13.5 inches long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 18.5 lbs. I can definitely tell my face is getting rounder. I have 'pregnant girl face'.

Maternity Clothes: All I wear now.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: I love feeling her twist and turn around in my belly. She's getting stronger and you can now see the kicks just looking at my stomach. She's a fiesty little thing!

Sleep: Still having some difficulties sleeping. I wake up and turn over because I'm either on my back or uncomfortable.

What I miss: I don't miss anything really. Being able to bend over without getting out of breath maybe?

Cravings: Still craving sweets (although not as much) and my main craving this week was Cinnamon Cake. Starbuck's cinnamon coffee cake rocks! AND its even better with a Peppermint Hot Chocolate.

Symptoms: Sore hips/pelvis and a sore tailbone.

Best Moment this week: Mike and I had the whole week off for Christmas and New Years and it was really nice to have a week to just enjoy each others company. Also, I had two strangers ask me/make pregnancy comments. The lady at Einsteins asked "When are you due?" and our sweet dry cleaning lady asked "Um....you pregnant?" I guess I've officially hit the 'people know your pregnant and not fat' stage. :)

24 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 24 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is the size of an ear of corn. She weighs just over a pound and is about a foot long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: According to my scale I've gained 17 lbs. but according to my last doctor's appointment I've gained 15 lbs. I'm thinking we're going to go with the doc's word on this one. :)

Maternity Clothes: All I wear now. I'm hoping that Santa brings me some more maternity shirts and sweaters because I really need them.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: Oh yeah...she's definitely a wiggle worm. I can see my stomach jump now from her kicks. I think we might have a gymnast in training here. :)

Sleep: I've hit a sleep wall again. Sleep has become a little more difficult. I've had a lot of congestion which causes me to breath through my mouth. Which I HATE. I hate waking up with cotton mouth.

What I miss: I definitely miss having a glass of wine. I went out to eat with a few girlfriends and they all ordered cocktails/wine. I was super jealous.

Cravings: Just sweets in general. Since I had cut back (a teeny tiny bit) on my sweets the glucose test drink wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be. I had the red drink which like Fruit Punch Powerade with an additional 3 cups of sugar in it. I actually liked it for the first half of the drink and then it became too much.

Symptoms: Still suffering from heartburn.

Best Moment this week: Hearing the words "You passed! Everything came back normal" in regards to my sugar test. I was sooooo worried I was going to fail. To be completely honest I was more afraid of having to do the 3 hour test more than actually having 'the sugar'. I was having crazy amount of anxiety just thinking about having to fast before and then getting my blood taken 3 times. Such a relief to know that my body is working like it should.

23 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 23 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is the size of a large mango

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I've gained 16 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I've been growing a lot this week. I've noticed that some of my regular shirts and sweaters are definitely getting shorter in the front now. It's time to order more maternity clothes!

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: Oh yeah...she's definitely a wiggle worm. I can see my stomach jump now from her kicks. I think we might have a gymnast in training here. :)

Sleep: Sleep is still pretty good. I've had a few crazy dreams lately but other than that I can't complain.

What I miss: I'm really trying to watch my sugar now so I'm definitely missing my daily sugar indulgence. I'm preparing for my glucose test which is next week...let's all pray I don't have 'the sugar' (aka gestational diabetes).

Cravings: Blueberry muffins! On Sunday, Mike made me some wonderful blueberry muffins and I've been eating one or two every day. They are SOOOO good. I think they're even better since I didn't make them.

Symptoms: Still suffering from heartburn. I feel like my fist is constantly in my stomach (at the bottom of my sternum) to keep the burn from being as bad. For some reason applying pressure seems to work.

Best Moment this week: One night this week I was laying on the sofa watching tv and admiring our Christmas tree and all of a sudden little Brooke started kicking away. I pulled up my shirt to watch my belly dance and just had such an overwhelming feeling of love and joy. Not sure what else could be better than relaxing on the sofa at Christmas time with a little miracle bouncing around in your tummy. I can't wait for next Christmas when we can all snuggle on the sofa together.

22 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 22 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is the size of a papaya

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I've gained 15 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I LOVE my maternity clothes. I can still wear a few regular shirts/sweaters but I definitely prefer all maternity clothes.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: She's moving a lot! I feel her moving every day now.

Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty good this week. I wake up once a night to make a quick trip to the bathroom.

What I miss: Nothing really.

Cravings: Anything with cheese! I have been craving hashbrown casserole and broccoli casserole. I have always been a huge cheese lover...Brooke however seems to not love it as much (talk about MAJOR heartburn!). She must get the no cheese thing from her Gramp (he doesn't love cheese either).

Symptoms: Major heartburn (mostly from the cheese).

Best Moment this week: Feeling her kicks get stronger and stronger. She kicks A LOT now.

21 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 21 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is the size of a banana

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I've gained 13 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I LOVE my maternity clothes. I can still wear a few regular shirts/sweaters but I definitely prefer all maternity clothes.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Brooke Henley Femiano!

Movement: She's moving a lot! I feel her moving every day now.

Sleep: I mentioned my concerns about sleeping on my back to the midwife as our last appointment and she basically told me NOT to worry about it. My body will notify me before Brooke would ever be effected by it. So, needless to say, I'm back to sleeping on my back every now and then...and its' been the best sleep I've had so far this pregnancy.

What I miss: Nothing really.

Cravings: Jalapeno Chips

Symptoms: It's nearly impossible for me to put on my socks without grunting. Bending over is starting to get REALLY uncomfortable.

Best Moment this week: Our friends Mack & Caitlin came to visit with us on Saturday and with them they brought a very sweet baby gift. A PINK Georgia outfit (pink pants, pink Georgia t-shirt and a pink zip up Georgia hoodie) and sweet girly receiving blankets. It was our first girl gift. I will remember it forever. :)

Gender Reveal

On Thanksgiving Day we did our big gender reveal to our family (parents and siblings). It was VERY hard for me to NOT tell anyone since we found out the day before Thanksgiving. It was less than 24 hours (22 to be exact) but it was probably the longest day ever. At least I kept myself busy preparing for Thanksgiving (which we hosted at our house this year).

I think I've recapped the nickname Turtle before now, but I'll do it again. Back at our very first appointment, after we received our first ultrasound pictures, we were sitting in the waiting area to be seen by the doctor and Mike and I were looking at the black and white squiggles. I made the comment "You know, a lot of people say it looks like a bean or a peanut...but I think ours looks like a Turtle." And so, the nickname Turtle stuck. It's kind of hard to see, but maybe you can make out the turtle shape too.

I had been thinking of ways to tell the family the gender of our baby almost immediately after we told them that we're expecting. I googled 'gender reveal' and 'revealing the sex of your baby' and probably everything remotely close to that under the sun for ideas. I didn't want to do the cake thing...where a bakery does the cake either pink or blue and everyone (including us) found out at the same time. But...I did really like the idea of a pink or blue cake. So, I came up with the idea of doing a cupcake cake...as a turtle! Perfect! Below is how the cupcake cake turned out.

So, on Thanksgiving Day everyone arrived around noon and we were all anxious to dig into the turtle cupcakes. All our family members were just staring at the cake and looking at the sides, trying to figure out what was under the brown and green icing. Everyone took a cupcake and they all peeled back the foil wrappers at the same time to find that it was PINK inside! I captured this fun reveal on our little point and shoot camera, so it's not great.

And please excuse my voice...I think I sound funny on video. I'll have to work on that because I'm sure I'll be posting tons of videos of Brooke and I'll be doing the crazy high pitched Mom voice to get her to blow bubbles and laugh.

I LOVE watching everyone's reactions. Every time I watch this clip it makes me smile. :)

20 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 20 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is the size of a cantaloupe

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I've gained 11.5 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I LOVE my maternity clothes. I can still wear a few regular shirts/sweaters but I definitely prefer all maternity clothes.

Gender: It's a GIRL! We found out at our 20 week appointment (the day before Thanksgiving). It was by far my most favorite appointment....no blood work AND an ultrasound to determine it's a girl!

Movement: More and more flutters. Mike was able to feel a kick/jab the other night.

Sleep: Depends on the night. Some nights I wake up to pee once or to re-situate and other nights I sleep all the way through.

What I miss: Nothing really. Getting a good nights sleep consistently.

Cravings: Still craving sweets and Moes. And Thanksgiving dinner food!

Symptoms: I've been super hungry this past week...growth spurt maybe? I've also been experiencing a lot of pressure. Its not really a painful pressure just an uncomfortable pressure. I mentioned this to the midwife at our appointment and she said it could be my pelvis/pubic bone separating. OUCH! It's crazy to think that my body is repositioning bones and muscles.

Best Moment this week: There were so many best moments this week. We got a crib and dresser last weekend. We found out that we're going to have a daughter and got to feel Brooke kick. We got lots of ultrasound pictures and got to hear her heartbeat (139).

We're officially half way to meeting our daughter!!!! I thought our 20 week appointment would never come and now I can't believe we're already half way finished!

19 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 19 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is the size of a mango

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Somewhere along the way I gained more weight than I was reporting...it was an honest mistake any preggo lady could make. I've gained 9.5 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I LOVE my maternity clothes. They are soooo comfortable. I would highly suggest anyone investing in a pair of maternity jeans...especially for Thanksgiving dinner. :)

Gender: Counting down the days!!!!!!

Movement: Still just a few flutters.

Sleep: Depends on the night. Some nights I wake up to pee once or to re-situate and other nights I sleep all the way through.

What I miss: Just being comfortable. My body has been experiencing some 'growing pains'. It seems to come in cycles. It all starts out with an itchy belly...I'm assuming because my skin is stretching (although no stretch marks yet, thank goodness) and then the next day or two I have an intense amount of pressure all in my torso. Imagine all your inside organs feeling like they're being pushed and squished into your rib cage, because that's the only way I can describe it. Its very uncomfortable. Then a day or two later it seems like my body adjusts to the pressure. And then, it starts all over. I know I shouldn't complain because it's only the beginning. There's a lot more squishing to do over the next few months.

Cravings: Sweets. Sweets. And more Sweets. I can't seem to get enough cake, cupcakes and candy...which is very odd since I've never had much of a sweet tooth. I blame Mike for passing on the sweet tooth gene.

Symptoms: Having a bladder the size of a pea. I think I visit the bathroom at least 25 times a day. I feel like Turtle has placed a sack of marbles on my bladder.

Best Moment this week: Mike went on a business trip to Ireland and brought back a cute green onesie. I thought it was so sweet and thoughtful for him to bring back a little souvenir from his trip. AND...I've been feeling more and more flutters. :)

18 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 18 Weeks

Size of baby: Turtle is the size of a sweet potato

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 7.5 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Loving my maternity pants and slowly gearing up for some maternity shirts/sweaters.

Gender: Still don't know but I have a cool idea how we're going to reveal the gender to our family on Thanksgiving Day. HINT: A Turtle something will be involved. :)

Movement: Still just a few flutters.

Sleep: I'm back on the crazy sleep train. I've been having wacky dreams again and I tend to wake up several times a night because I can't seem to find a comfortable position.

What I miss: Since I'm only treating myself to one caffeinated drink a week I'm really missing a Starbucks Peppermint White Mocha. All the red Starbucks cups are making me jealous! I definitely miss coffee.

Cravings: Moes and cinnamon sugar twisted/braided doughnut. I'm also still enjoying sweets.

Symptoms: Still the emotional basket case...although some days are better than others. I somehow seem to cry even when I'm not upset....like when the song my Dad and I danced to at my wedding came on the radio the other day. I cried like a baby on 285 while listening to Steve Curtis Chapman. I also cried to Darrius Rucker's "It Won't Be Like This for Long". Who am I?!?!?!?!?!

Best Moment this week: Finally getting that cinnamon sugar doughnut. I'd been craving it for DAYS!

17 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 17 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby F is the size of a turnip

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 6.5 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Maternity pants have arrived!!!!!!! Yeeehaw! I'm still wearing my regular shirts for the most part though.

Gender: Still don't know but I have a cool idea how we're going to reveal the gender to our family on Thanksgiving Day.

Movement: Maybe a few flutters, but not as much as last week (maybe it was gas!). I've been poking my stomach to see if I can feel Turtle move away.

Sleep: I've gotten into the habit of getting up once to pee at night. Although I did sleep all the way through the night without waking up not even once. I woke up feeling like a new woman!

What I miss: I still really miss the Publix Turkey with American Cheese, mayo, banana peppers and jalapenos. I also miss not being able to eat Grilled or Baked chicken....it just really grosses me out. Fried is OK though. :)

Cravings: I can't seem to stay away from the left over Halloween candy. The Twix were the first to disappear and the Snickers are slowly disappearing too. I've also been craving SweetTarts. Mike gets on to me and tells me to watch my sugar...something about both our mother's having gestational diabetes.

Symptoms: Last week I mentioned just a growing waist line but I forgot to mention my hormones taking me on a crazy emotional roller coaster. I seem to cry at the drop of a hat (which I hate!). This week the emotional roller coaster has continued although I only cried when we were watching Mrs. Doubtfire on Sunday night. I'm making progress! I've also experienced cankles as my dear husband pointed out. On Sunday we were driving home from the GA/FL game and when we stopped to eat at Zaxby's by our house I looked down at my feet and they were super swollen. I started thinking all kinds of crazy things like "is this a sign of gestational diabetes? Did I have too much sodium? Have I not had enough water? Is Turtle ok?" I came home and elevated and rested and my feet were back to normal by Monday night. Oh...and I almost forgot! Pregnancy brain! I accidentally melted one of our Cutco knives in the oven last night. :(

Best Moment this week: Getting 3 pairs of maternity pants. I am MUCH more comfortable in them.

16 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 16 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby F is the size of an avocado

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 6 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I'm pushing the envelope a little. I realize that wearing pants unbuttoned/unlatched at all is not acceptable. I keep putting this off because I just haven't had time. Looks like I'll be ordering some maternity pants online soon.

Gender: Still don't know. November 24th can't get here fast enough!

Movement: Nope - still nothing.

Sleep: Sleeping has gotten a smidgen better. I definitely think my Snoogle has helped out.

What I miss: Drinking as much caffeine as my heart desires. I've limited myself to one caffeine drink a week. It's my weekly treat. I miss drinking Sweet Tea, Coke, Dr. Pepper all in the same day.

Cravings: I've been eating more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches lately. :)

Symptoms: Just a growing waist line.

Best Moment this week: I've started looking at nursery bedding (both sexes) to get some ideas and I think I might have found cute sets. I get giddy excited just thinking about placing an itty bitty baby in a crib.

15 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 15 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby F is the size of an apple

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 5.5 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I think I might be in my last week of non-maternity pants. I hope to get some free time this weekend to go shopping for some new work pants.

Gender: We decided to wait until our November appointment to find out the gender. And I can't wait!

Movement: Still nothing.

Sleep: I'd been having some trouble sleeping...waking up multiple times a night from tossing and turning. So.....I bought a spiffy pregnancy pillow. It's huge and takes up the 'extra' space in our king size bed. My first night sleeping with it was terrible --- I thought I was going to take it back. But then, I gave it a second chance and slept like a baby. I L-O-V-E my new Snoogle.

What I miss: Nothing is coming to mind right this second, so, I'll go with seeing lower numbers on the scale (although I realize that's not going to change for a looooong time).

Cravings: Friday night Mike took me on a date to the Cumming Fair. I was sooooo excited about eating a corn dog and a funnel cake. I've been craving corn dogs ever since.

Symptoms: I haven't had any morning sickness this week (so far). My only symptom is my sense of smell and my growing stomach.

Best Moment this week: We switched around the bedrooms in our house to prepare for the new nursery. It's exciting to see an empty bedroom and to know that I'm planning for all new stuff for our BABY!

14 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 14 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby F is the size of a lemon

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 4.5 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I think I'm really starting to push the limit with the safety pins. Mike laughed out loud at me and then insisted to get a picture. I obliged but I'm pretty sure I'll be sporting my new maternity jeans to work this Friday.

Gender: I've had 3 dreams it's a girl...can't wait to find out if Turtle is a Michael or a Brooke!

Movement: On Sunday I was laying on the sofa with my belly out and I saw my stomach was moving. I told Mike to come quick and he saw it too. "Is that Turtle?!?!?!?!" Mike's reply, "Um, I think that's just your stomach twitching." So, still nothing official.

Sleep: Still waking up during the night. Usually around 2/2:30ish and then again around 4/4:30ish.

What I miss: Dr. Pepper

Cravings: I was on a Cheetos kick for a few days but that quickly switched to break and bake chocolate chip cookies. I may or may not have had 7 (out of 12) within 24 hours of making them. They're just SOOOOOO good!

Symptoms: Only had a few bouts of morning sickness and I've been randomly getting nauseous during the afternoon. Thankfully, the afternoon bits haven't interfered with supper.

Best Moment this week: We made our first baby purchase this week. We got a BOB jogging stroller! Our kid might not have a crib to sleep in but it's got the mack daddy of jogging strollers. Mike got really excited when he saw it in my car and immediately started pushing it around the driveway. After a few seconds he said "Man! This thing is smoother than a Cadillac!" I have to agree...I've been testing it out by pushing it all around the kitchen, dining room and living room. :)

And now for my small dilema, our 16 week docter's appointment is scheduled for October 26th and our sheet that the doctor gave us does not indicate that it's an ultrasound appointment. :( We have the option to get the 3D ultrasound to find out the gender 'early' (which we'd have to pay out of pocket and I think it's upwards of $100+) OR we wait until our 20 week appointment and find out the gender then (which is already scheduled for November 24th - the day before Thanksgiving). My dilema is do we wait or do we find out early? Decisions, decisions.

13 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 13 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby F is the size of a peach

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 3 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing my regular clothes but they are starting to get a little uncomfortable...even with the rubber band trick. It won't be long until I will venture into the maternity section!

Gender: I had a dream this past week that it's a girl...can't wait to find out for sure though!

Movement: Nope - none yet.

Sleep: I still seem to wake up at least once during the night.

What I miss: Publix turkey and cheese sandwich (cold!). Although today I treated myself to my first caffeinated beverage in 3 months...a DR PEPPER and it was glorious!

Cravings: I have rediscovered how much I love Kosher Dill pickles. :)

Symptoms: This past Saturday morning (13 weeks, 1 day) was the worst morning sickness I have experienced thus far. It's never taken me almost 20 minutes to brush my teeth before!

Best Moment this week: Celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary at the beach...just the two of us. Next year we'll have to get a babysitter...or it'll be "2 and a highchair"

12 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 12 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby F is the size of a lime

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 3 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I'm wearing my normal clothes but using the nifty rubber band and safety pin tricks.

Gender: Can't wait to find out!

Movement: I could have sworn I've felt flutters but I'm pretty sure it was just gas. :) Can't wait for the real movement!

Sleep: Before, I've always slept like a log. But now, I seem to wake up at least once or twice every night, usually sometime between 3-4am.

What I miss: Turkey sandwiches, sweet tea, cokes and sushi

Cravings: The past 11 weeks I've been all over the cravings board. It started out with me craving Taco Bell, then to McDonald's, pizza, Mexican food and cereal. But my craving for week 12 has been Peanut Butter Oreo's. (Mike and I got into a small argument in Publix over whether I could get them or not. I won.) :)

Symptoms: I'm still experiencing a little bit of morning sickness...although its only when I brush my teeth in the morning. And a few waves every once in a while in the evenings but nothing to send me running for the toilet, thank goodness.

Best Moment this week: The 12 week Ultrasound! It was amazing to see the baby moving around on the screen and yet not be able to feel that inside my stomach. And it was very exciting to see that it now looks like a BABY (and not so much like a turtle anymore)! It seems real now!

July 29, 2010

On July 29th, 2010 we got some great news! We saw this.....


Here's the Dad-to-be...minutes after I told him that he was going to be a Dad. He was making our lunches for the day. In fact, that was my last turkey sandwich...you know the no deli meat thing has really throw my lunch off.

It consumed my thoughts all day, for days...because Mike didn't want to tell anyone. So we waited a few weeks and then when I couldn't NOT tell anyone we decided to have all our parents and sibilings over for a dinner. Right before we were about to start eating dinner, Mike asked everyone if they wanted to see a cool picture we had taken from Montana and everyone said sure. So on our TV pops up this....

I tried my very best to capture it on my video but I was too nervous and it didn't turn out very good. You can see my sister's reaction which makes me laugh, and you can hear my Mom squeel/scream. Just so I have it on the blog here it is:

We had our first dr's appointment in August and we had our first ultrasound. We weren't expecting to see anything so we were really excited when they gave us a few pictures. A few minutes after the ultrasound we were looking at the pictures and I made the comment "I always hear people saying that it looks like a bean, or a peanut....but I think ours looks kind of like a turtle." And so our kid already has a nickname. Turtle is due April 8th! We are THRILLED! :)

Montana - Part 3

A few pictures from Glacier National Park....it was breathtaking!

Montana - Part 2

Montana Part 2 shall consist of pictures from the Missoula Half Marathon.

Mike graciously 'volunteered' to get up super early (somewhere around the time of 4:45ish if I remember correctly) and drive us to the start line....and then quickly learn his way around the course to find the perfect places to snap some in action photos.

This was us right before we got in the formation at the start line. The sun was just starting to come up and it was just beautiful. And you might notice that we're in North Face jackets...Nat gave me one as a gift and they were perfect since it was chilly that morning.

After reading about 1000 blogs on review of half marathons and marathons, I decided that I wanted to be one of those people who run with a camera. So I bought an ifitness belt and stored lots of goodies in it for the race. I got the double pouch belt so i put the camera in one pouch and some sharkies and a gu in the other.


This was my first attempt at taking pictures while running. Nat is a little blurry but you can see by the smile on my face I was having the time of my life. It was such an amazing feeling to set a goal with your best friend and then 7 months later...after training separately on opposite sides of the country to be in the moment and realizing...I'M RUNNING A HALF MARATHON! I don't think I'll ever forget that feeling from that morning.


This was one of the many shots that Mike captured during our race. After the race Mike told me he could always spot us because my hair was swinging from side to side....I guess you can see what he was talking about in this picture.




This picture was around mile 9 or 10....we were starting to get tired and put in our ear phones to pump us up and keep us moving.

The finish line was amazing! There were people everywhere, cheering and clapping. And as you were approaching the finish line they were announcing your name. At the very end Nat and I kicked it up a notch and ended up finishing strong. Mike, Josh and Madalyn greeted us at the finish line with huge smiles. It was perfect.

Our official time was 2:52:14...and I'm proud of that. We really just wanted to finish and to say that we'd finished it in under 3 hours. We definitely left some room for improvement for the next one.

I can officially mark the half marathon off my bucket list! :)

Montana - Part 1

Last Friday we headed down to the Atlanta airport bright and early to catch our flight to Montana. We had been planning this trip since January so we were very excited that July was finally here. After sitting behind Grandpa poopy-pants the entire 4 stinky hours (some old man farted every 5 minutes...literally), we finally made it to Salt Lake City for a quick layover. Then it was onto a smaller plane which took us up to Kalispell.

I had the great idea to pack my running stuff in a carry on...that way if they lost our baggage I'd at least have my running gear for the half marathon. Well, Delta didn't seem to find it a priority to find a spot for my carry on and took it from us and made us check it. I just knew my running shoes were going to end up in Honolulu (which is where that plane was headed after Salt Lake City). Sure enough, when we got to Kalispell my carry on bag was no where to be found....I was in a slight panic. All I could think about was the horrible blisters I was going to have from buying new running shoes. As it would turn out, my carry on made it on the next flight from Salt Lake to Kalispell. All that worrying for nothing....

Anyways, Friday afternoon we picked up lunch from Quickee's, a delicious little sandwich shop in Whitefish. After lunch Natalie showed us around her cute little town and then we headed up to Big Mountain where we went on the lifts to the top of the mountain. I guess I should mention that I typically am not afraid of heights...although being on that ski lift made me VERY nervous. At one point Mike raised the bar about 1/2 an inch and I couldn't think straight I was so scared. I think I might have cried a tear or two. Of course, he laughed at me and I made him promise not to tell anyone. After that I had the death grip to the bar, just in case my oh so funny husband was shooting for another good laugh. Once we got to the top we stood in awe of the beauty. It was just beautiful.

Saturday morning we all piled into the car and headed down to Missoula. It was a 3 hour car ride but we were in good company AND the scenary was just beautiful as well. We got out to take pictures a few times.

Once we got to Missoula, we checked into our hotel and then ventured over to the expo to pick up our race numbers. It was a disaster. The line to get it clogged and they ran out of women's half marathon shirts. I had to sign up for them to send me my shirt via mail...I hope I get it.

Part 2 - coming soon.

I'm alive!

I guess it's time to update the ol' bloggity blog...I've had several requests...so here it is.

Last time I posted I announced that we got a new camera. I have had lots of fun snapping pictures and capturing birthdays, Amanda's graduation, of random thing in our house and our petunias. More on the petunias in a bit. One of the reasons it's been almost two months is because my personal netbook is having issues connecting to the Internet at home (so I'm borrowing sweet Mike's work computer to do this post)...therefore, I don't have any pictures for this long boring update.

Lets see....Mike's birthday came and went - he got a new putter, new snazzy golf shoes and a new golf bag. He looks like a hip new golfer. :) Mike and I celebrated him ringing in the 2-8 by having a yummy dinner at Maggianos.

Mom's birthday came and went - won't disclose her age because I'm afraid of death threats...but none the less we had a great dinner at a little place that I can't remember the name of. :) Good times.

My birthday came and went - I got a camera - we've already discussed this. Mike took me on a date to Wildfire for my birthday dinner. It was delicious...one of my favorite places to eat!

Mike went on a fishing trip with his Dad to Fort Myers. I was planning on going to to Panama City but I found out the week of that the condo was already being rented...so I stayed home and relaxed. I met up with two lovely ladies, Rebecca and Zoe and we had pizza and then strolled at the outdoor mall.

My sister, Amanda, graduated high school. Lots of rednecks had fog horns...we did not. After graduation we went down to the boat and had burgers and just enjoyed each other's company. Mike and I gave Amanda a book call "My Naked Roomate" --- it's lots of stories/tips about going to college. I saw it in the bookstore and started flipping through it and realized that I wished I had read a book like that before I went off to college. Lord knows, I was in for a RUDE awakening. There's enough stories there for a year's worth of blog posts.

Memorial Day rolled around and we spent the weekend just hanging out around the house. We went and looked at cars for Mike - which ended up being a great tease.

June 2nd came around and we decided that we would in fact go buy that awesome car that we both fell in love with. Mike drove his brand new 2010 Infiniti G37 off the lot looking like he ate a hanger. He still LOVES that car. It is pretty awesome.

Father's Day weekend, Mike played in a golf tournament with my Dad. They won their flight and went into the shoot out (aka the playoff's). They did great and ended up getting beat in a chip off. :( Overall, they did great!

For Father's Day - I spent the day with my Dad. We went for a walk in the morning, ate lunch at the club and then went to the pool for a few hours. Surprisingly I did NOT get sunburned - although I think I might have a slight allergic reaction to the sunscreen because my legs have been itching non stop since I put that lotion on them. We finished Dad's day off with Mexican.

And now that brings us to this weekend. We had a pretty lazy weekend and it has been great. Yesterday, we went to chic-fil-a and then went and played at Lowes. And as for today...I may or may not have waited until 4:30 today to take a shower and brush my teeth. And, I may or may not have ate chips for breakfast.

As for a running update...I don't have much to say because I've been a little bit of a frady cat. Several weeks ago, I started reading up on why my knees were so achy after my runs...I self diagnosed myself via runnersworld.com that I was having some issues with my IT bands. Its cause from not stretching enough, upping mileage too fast, or just over-running. It can cause some serious runner injuries...so I backed off....and during that time I've sort of lost my running mojo. My longest run was 10 miles. I've been trying to keep moving during the week on the treadmill since it's been hot like the Sahara here. I thought about running early in the morning before work but I can't seem to plant my feet on the floor before 6am....even with fervent prayers for God to intervene. I've decided that I started training for this half marathon entirely too early. I got burned out before my race got here and now I'm just praying that I don't injure myself within the next two weeks.

Next weekend is the Peachtree Road Race --- which speaking of that came in the mail this past week...this year was the first year that I actually got assigned a time group/wave based on a previous race. And, the weekend after next I'm off to beautiful Montana. I've been chatting with Natalie on a regular basis and I think we're both in the same mind set....excited and maybe a little nervous. I am just so happy that we are going to accomplish this goal together.

And I think that's it. Hopefully, we'll figure out what's wrong with my netbook and I'll have some pictures next time.

Say Cheeeeeese!

This is my new toy. Actually, its our new toy...but it's my birthday present. We picked it up on Saturday night. I have taken appromitely 83,526 practice pictures. I can't wait to learn more about our new nifty camera. This little gem will capture a lifetime of memories and I am SO EXCITED!

So Long Insecurity!

This past Saturday I met up with some sweet girlfriends and we all went to see Beth Moore at FBC Woodstock. I have been trying to get through the book for a few months, but I'll be honest...I've struggled with 'putting on my new self.' I learned this past Saturday that I'm being silly and I've been holding on to my pride. I still haven't finished the book yet, but I WILL FINISH THE BOOK. If I know you in real life I have probably thought about you at least once since I've been reading this book (seriously, Mom, Amanda, Ashley, are you reading this? You can borrow my book once I'm finished) and it's not a bad thing at all. I just want to share with the people I love how to deal with some of the same things I'm struggling with too :)


I am in the midst of reading the book and I wanted to note a few things that I have been able to relate to, in one way or another.

• Insecurity can make you act like an idiot in female relationships. Is it horrible that I've been so insecure that I've been afraid to introduce two girl friends because I was afraid that they would like hanging out with each other more than they would like to hang out with me? Geez, just typing this I sound like a high schooler. Ugh, so embarrassing.


• Insecurity can make a Mom to be overcontrolling or just generally out of control. I'd like to tweek this to say Wife, since I'm not a Mom yet. There have been so many times that I have been so insecure while Mike was out of town for work. I've had those crazy, "I'm not with him, I can't control what he's doing or who he's talking to or who he's looking at." Clearly, this is NOT Mike's problem. This is a Michelle problem. Again, as I am typing this out, I feel like an idiot.


• Insecurity can turn a gifted person into the competition. Hello, old job. The way I was 'evaluated' at my last job was based on how you 'stack up' to your peers. Talk about being competitive...every one is busting their butt to get "exceeds". I often felt like I couldn't or shouldn't ask for help because I didn't want the 'gifted' one to know I didn't know the answer.


• Insecurity weighs heavily in weight issues. Not so much the weight issue for me, but I have definitely struggled with being comfortable in my own skin. I'm going to try to let that all go and BUY that running skirt even if I don't have 'runner legs'...yet. ;)


• Insecurity can talk us into doing things we don't even want to do. Hello, high school and college days. I think everyone falls to peer pressure at some point in their life. Heck, there are a lot of things I've done in my life that I'm not necessarily proud of, but I think everyone has. So, its time for me to let those things go too.


• Insecurity can make us give an entirely wrong impression. Wow. This one is absolutely me. I'm a shy person. Reserved. And I've been told more than once that this tends to send out 'snobby' vibes. I'm making an effort to be more out going and to not be so shy. In fact, I really came out of my comfort zone at Beth Moore when I ran into a bunch of blog friends (strangers) and I hugged their neck and introduced myself. That is definitely NOT me. And, I'm armed with the proof:

I'd just like to add that I was NOT having a great hair day because it was rainy and humid and gross outside...but....back to letting go of those pesky insecurities!

And from Chapter 8...Insecurity can roar it's ugly head when....

• Your boss calls you into their office to speak to you.
• Somebody give a presentation in class right before yours...and it's fabulous.
• You met someone you really admire and said something stupid.
• You have a new haircut. And it's hideous. (Oh yes, I've had a bad hair cut - I wrote about it here)
• Your husband's on a business trip, and you can't get ahold of him. (see 2nd bullet point above)
• You poured your heart to someone and they didn't get it.

I hope to add to my 'favorites' after I finish the book. But until then, please be patient with me. I'm a work in progess. And, I'm on nobody's time, but HIS time. :)

Unexpected Attack!

I have a blackberry. Every time I send or receive an email - it comes to my blackberry. Sometimes, its nice and other times, not so nice. This afternoon - around 5pm my phone lit up with 80 emails. All 80 of these emails were a copy of a sent email being sent from my email account. Not only was someone/something sending emails to EVERY person I have EVER emailed...they were sorely inappropriate emails. Things regarding erectile dysfunction, sex positions, and all kinds of embarrassing things. GRREEEEEEAT.

If you know me - then you know that this is absolutely NOT anything that I would ever do. Therefore, I am completely embarrassed by the fact that my family and friends got these crazy and offensive emails from me. So...if you received one of those emails....please delete it and don't click on any of the links.

Fortunately, I was aware of what was happening almost immediately because my phone notified me - however, if I didn't have this I probably never would have known. So, I guess the annoying flashing red light on the blackberry was a good thing today at 5pm. I also quickly learned that a friend had the same exact thing happen to her around the same time today. So...if you have a gmail account you might want to check the sent box just to make sure you weren't a victim too.

Until next time - I'll be changing every.single.password to everything.

I am an R-Tee-st

Monday night I met Mauri for a fun girls night at Sips N Strokes. I was VERY nervous about going because I can NOT draw anything other than a stick figure and snoopy laying on his dog house (my Dad taught me how to draw Snoopy when I was young and I guess it just stuck with me). But, after I started mixing up colors I had soooooooooo much fun! I definitely will be going back. Here are a few pictures from our fun night....

This is the original picture.

I asked Mauri if I could paint a mustache on her face and she said yes. So, I thought I should practice...we got carried away and ended up painting this guy on the table. (And, no, I never did paint facial hair on Mauri)

So - what do you think? I think we did pretty darn good! It was a great night. Great friend. Great wine. Lots of laughs. Lots of smiles. And two alright pictures. I can't wait to do it all over again!