Life's a Beach!

I apologize it's taken me 3 weeks to post pictures from our vacation of a lifetime. Normally it would be due to pure laziness on my part, but this time I actually have a pretty good excuse. If you haven't already heard Jeff and I will be expanding our ranks this summer, on 7/5/09 to be exact. Yes, you heard right, we're pregnant...or I am at least. Surprised?? We were a little too, but now we're nothing short of excited. And if I can just get through the nauseau/vomiting/all day miserable feeling of the first trimester, I'll really be golden. For the past 2 weeks most of my focus has been on not puking. Here is the current routine: 1. Get to work without puking 2. Get situated at my desk without puking 3. Get as much work done as possible without puking 4. Get back home without puking 4. Eat dinner, walk and go to bed (without puking). Some days I am successful, but it's still a big guessing game as to what sets the peaunut off at this point. And yes I did get some medicine last week, thank goodness, but it only worked really well for about 3 days. It's definitely still helping some, but I spent a large part of my day yesterday green at my desk, so unfortunately it's not a sure fix.

Anyway, we found out our exciting news the very day we left for our dream vacation. I took a test that morning "just to be safe," and voila! There is nothing romantic or sweet to report about my delivery of the news to Jeff either. I essentially crawled back into bed (at 6:30am in the morning, mind you) and stuck the "pee stick," as he calls it, in his face. Sweet right:) Part of the shock factor is due to the fact that although we were planning to start "trying" on our vacation, neither of us ever imagined it would happen this quickly. Don't get me wrong, we are NOT complaining. But it did take a few days for the "I can't believe we're actually pregnant!" shock to wear off. And if you ever need proof that it only takes one time of not being "careful" to get pregnant, well here you go. Enough said!

Okay onto our dream vacation - which by the way it really was just that. Thankfully I was only 5 weeks pregnant during the trip, and the sickness did not set in until the day we got back (week 6).

The flight to Miami was quite uneventful. We met up with our friends Amy and Michael on the rental car shuttle at the airport. You'd think transporting 4 adults, 2 kids and all of the associated gear would have been a real hassle, but it really wasn't that bad once we met up. Aside from the 1.5 hour wait at the rental car shop, everything else was a breeze.

It took us much longer than the 3 hours we'd anticipated to get to Key West. I think it took almost an hour just to get out of Miami. I was a little dissapointed with the drive (and very glad I didn't insist we drive the entire way). The pictures I've always had in my head of the Keys is of white sandy beaches and palm trees billowing in the wind - a tropical paradise. The real Keys is nothing like that. Oh the turqoise water is beautiful, but there are virtually no beaches, and the towns we drove through were all pretty dumpy, for lack of a better word. But it was still fun, and I'm glad we did it the way that we did.

Unbeknownst to us, we scheduled our arrival to Key West during the culmination of Fantasy Fest, which is a week long party somewhere between Mardi Gras and the Gay Pride Parade. We saw some pretty racy costumes leaving the grocery store that evening, but by the time we made it downtown, were seeing things I never want to see again. To be blunt - NAKED.PEOPLE.EVERYWHERE. I guess in Key West body paint is considered a form of clothing. Anyway, it was 9:30pm at this point, and we had a carful of groceries and 2 kids needing to go to bed. Come to find out, they shut all of the streets down on the island for the parade until midnight, so despite our best efforts we could not get to the hotel where the ferry was waiting to take us to the island. Obviously we couldn't wait until midnight with the kids, so we quickly came up with plan B. The boys drove us as close as they could to the hotel, loaded the stroller down with as many of the perishable groceries as we could fit, and Amy, Dawson, Bryce and I braved the masses to walk the last 12 blocks to the hotel/ferry. We got lots of nasty stares from all of the naked people, but managed to make it to the ferry unscathed. The picture below is a very tame example of what we saw. And the straps on that lady...if you look closely you can see they were painted on. So that was the most exciting thing that happened on our trip. The day we were leaving Jeff had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic he'd been on, and had red welts all over his body for 3 days. We figured if anyone asked, we'd just tell them he'd has a reaction to the body paint:)

The rest of the pictures pretty much speak for themselves. We stuck close to the island all week because it was essentially empty, and truly it's own little tropical paradise. It looked like what I thought the rest of the Keys would. We enjoyed beautiful sunsets, lazy afternoons on the beach, and lots of good food and fun with our friends. It was truly a week to remember! We drove back to Miami the last night of the trip, and met up with one of my old friends from Alaska, and her husband. A great way to end a great week!

Next Week

In approximately 2 days and 18 hours we will be on an airplane headed here for an entire week. Words cannot come even close to expressing how unbelievably excited I am about this trip, so we'll suffice it to say I am really, really excited.

If you need me next week, my apologies. I'll either be on the beach or at the pool eating popsicles, reading books, playing in the ocean and having an all-around fabulous time. I don't mean to rub it in but hey, these types of trips don't happen very often. In our case, never. And we wouldn't be going on this one were it not for the generosity of some of our very awesome friends, who we can't wait to hang out with next week. Like I always say - Good Friends + Good Food = Good Times!! It doesn't get any better than that.

So please pray for safe travels and lots of sunshine. We're all flying into Miami and driving to Key West. I tried to talk Mr. Big Jeff into driving, but he heard 18 hours one way and quickly vetoed that idea. So flying we are, which is ok with me. Flying = more skymiles, which = more trips later on.

We also have an awesome couple from our SS class house sitting for us while we're away. The only problem with this set-up is it means I really have to clean up before we leave. I always try to clean things up before a trip, but I find myself dragging my feet knowing that I have to clean this time. And do you think I've started packing yet - of course not. In fact I haven't even thought about it yet, except to think about the fact that I haven't thought about it, and then just to put it off another day. I did put together a menu and grocery list this morning, since we'll be cooking most of our meals in - and dining on the upper deck with a panoramic view of Key West I might add. Gotta hate that.

So Aloha for now friends (that means hello and goodbye in Hawaiian). Catch ya in a few!

Babycakes

I thought I found my calling last week. I had the best time making these cute cupcakes for my sister's shower.

Here is a close-up so you can fully appreciate the cuteness of these things. Although I take full credit for the craftsmanship, I give full credit for the cuteness to my husband. Let's just suffice it to say my first round of babyfaces didn't really look like babyfaces.

This picture disturbs me just a little bit.

Anyway, back to my new calling. I had a blast making the cupcakes. But then I figured up that it took me about 5 hours, from start to finish (this includes making both the fondant and buttercream icing, desiging the faces, then baking and decorating the cupcakes) to complete this project. If I charged $30 for 24 super cute cupcakes, minus $5 in supplies, I'd be earning a whopping $6 an hour for these things. Now if I didn't have to make all of the icings, or could do several batches at once, it might be worth it as a side endeavor. But until I become more efficient, or grow another set of hands, I'm afraid cupcake decorating is not in my future.

The glowing mother-to-be demonstrating the art of slinging - thanks for the idea, Amy!

Sisters - isn't she absolutely glowing? Pregnancy really does become her. She's leaving me some big shoes to fill when my time comes...

I've had many people ask me if I find it weird/akward/strange that my baby sister got pregnant before me. To be honest about it - yes it was in the beginning, just a little bit. I mean she IS my BABY sister. How could she possibly get through this without me forging ahead of her to pave the way?? Never mind that millions of women have been through this before her and survived:) But I quickly got over my fears, and also my secret but brief dissapointment that we lost our last chance at having the first biological grandkid on either side. I was able to let go of my recovering type A personality have to be #1 at everything because none of that is important. It doesn't matter how far down the list you are, or who goes about it first. What matters is enjoying every step of the journey, no matter who goes ahead before you, and also the people you meet along the way. In 2 months I am going to be a doting aunt, and my sister is going to be a fantastic mother - again. So I am genuine when I say I am thrilled for her, and can't wait to be a part of this new chapter of her life. We are so blessed!

We had our monthly supper club Sunday night, a rockin cajun fest complete with boudan sausage and jazz music. What a fun group!

I hope that face means Hank is really enjoying the garlic cheese bread I made (A favorite Pioneer Woman Recipe).

This past weekend it was cool enough to pull out my hat. Scout was really excited about it too, can't you tell. And Saturday I slept until 10:30 AM and Jeff slept until 2:30PM, can you believe it? That only happens on days when it's raining and we have nothing to do, which is about once every 3 years. I probably could have slept until 2:30PM as well, but my recovering type A personality isn't there just yet. Instead I moved to the couch, sipped coffee, munched on crepes and read my book. A GREAT way to spend a rainy Saturday.

Hope everyone has a great week!

The Daily Trudge

I've tried very hard to be positive about my work situation this year. Working for the state, is, well, working for the state. But there are many advantages to this position. For example, I get almost as many federal holidays as my husband, who works for a bank. My hours are 8:00am-4:30pm, although in my case it's more like 8:15am-5:00pm. But come 4:31pm I am typically the last person left in the office, so technically if I wasn't such a goodie-goodie I could leave at 4:30pm with everyone else. And I think I get paid relatively well, considering what I do, although some might beg to differ.

But no matter how positive I try to be about my current job situation, I CANNOT bring myself to find anything good to say about the daily trudge to my car and back. I've even included a photo below so you can see for yourself I am not exaggerating when I say it takes me at least 10 minutes to get from my car to my office. And that's only when the weather is good and I'm wearing an outfit that allows me to walk really really fast. When it's 150 degrees outside, or raining, you can add an extra 2-5 minutes to said commute. In the dead of the winter, there are some days I'm able to cut it to 9 minutes, but even on my fastest days that is as good as it gets. Anything below that would require an actual sprint, which is hard to do in high heels and dry clean only clothes.

View from the roof of my car to the FRONT of the hospital (Note my office is in the BACK of the hospital)

Now the hospital does offer a shuttle service, but honestly, by the time they pick you up, and then pick everyone else in the parking lot up, you'd have been better off walking. When I tear into the parking lot at 8:05am, I cannot afford to spend 13 minutes on the shuttle when I know I can hoof it in 10. My (recovering) Type A personality simply will not support that level of inefficiency:)

My point in saying all of this is to explain why, on days like today, I really have a hard time finding anything positive to say about work.

Because this means that today, I am going to wet, potentially really wet, before I even set foot in the building. And for someone who is always freezing, even on a normal day, that is almost enough to make me turn around and head straight for the house, and in turn my warm, comfortable bed.

Even this beautiful umbrella that I got from my sister-in-law last christmas doesn't cut it when the rain starts blowing sideways, and the water in the stadium gets deeper by the minute. And to top it all off, we park in a stadium, and tailgaiting is like a religion around here. So for weeks after a game, there is garbage, and tons and tons of chicken leg bones, floating around when it rains. It's like a freaking chicken cemetary. I can hardly stand the sight (or smell) of it now, I have no idea how I'll handle it when I'm pregnant. But that is another story for another day.

One day last month it rained so hard we were all drenched/soaked/completely saturated from the WAIST down by the time we got to the office. Not just our shoes and socks folks, but EVERYTHING from the waist down. And of course our office is always freezing, so on that particular day we all sat shivering at our cubicles until some kind soul brought us a hairdryer to help with the drying process. It was possibly my worst day of work to date. Joint Commission visit - no problem. Complete clothing saturation before 8:30am - it's all over. Since the "prime" parking spots are assigned based on your tenure, I can look forward to at least 10 more years of hoofing it (if I stay that long) before securing a place in the garage.

Now I know what you are all thinking, that the cold shouldn't bother me because I'm from Alaska. Well let me tell you about that - in AK, save the rare 80 degree days in the summer, it's almost always warmer inside than it is outside. That's why you can still wear your cute little outfits, even in the winter, because you know you'll be okay once you get inside. In the south, you go from 150 degrees outside to 50 degrees inside, so even if you want to dress for the season you, or at least I can't because there is a serious risk of contracting hypothermia everytime you step into a building. Also, AK is very dry, so unless it's below zero outside you can usually put on enough clothes to stay warm. In MS, the humidity makes 50 degrees feel like 15 degrees, and the cold just goes right through you no matter how many layers you have on. I'd take middle of Alaska winters to Missisippi cold snaps anytime!

Thankfully, even though it was drizzling when I got to work this morning, I did not get wet. We'll see what happens on the way home.

Okay, enough griping for now. I think I'm going to invest in one of these for future commutes. It's what I used to fish in in AK, and it kept me dry on the worst of days. Wouldn't that be a site to see:)

SUPER Easy, SUPER Yummy Pumpkin Muffins

It’s embarrassing how easy these are, but they are so delicious I have to share.

(1) box dry yellow cake mix (just the dry mix, don’t prepare it)
(1) 15oz can of pumpkin pie mix
(1) tsp Cinnamon
(1/2) tsp nutmeg

Mix everything together, drop spoonfulls into a cupcake pan (batter is very thick) and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Not only are these muffins healthy (cake mix w/o the egg and oil is not bad for you) and delicious, they make your house smell heavenly for hours.

I LOVE this time of year.

Bring on the Rain!

Despite Mother Nature's best efforts to thwart our plans, we had a wonderful trip to Atlanta last weekend.

It's been a bittersweet summer for both of us, so a chance to relax and unwind with dear friends was just what we needed.

Jeff's new girl - melt my heart!















The Keim Kids















Jeff and Doug, our amazing mentor/friend




















My sweet, sweet grandparents (who let us invade their house and host a party at their place)















More bars in more places:) How's that for advertising.















Alyssa getting a lift through the muddy stormwaters















Even a little (lot of) rain couldn't deter these partygoers




















End of the evening meltdown - "But mommy I want that chair!" Notice the wet behind, compliments of Mother Nature's fury all afternoon and the resulting dampness that evening.















Old neighbor and friend Meta, and new baby Ishma














Lunch with Lisa, Stacie, Hadley and Lindsey















(Former) Shepherd love - Courtney, Stacie and Josh


We don't miss the traffic.
We don't miss the inflation.
We don't miss the smog.
We don't miss all of the shopping, theaters and entertainment.
We don't even miss our old house.
But we REALLY miss our ATL friends.


A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway.
Fr. Jerome Cummings


There is nothing worth the wear of winning, but laughter and the love of friends.
Hillaire Belloc