Week 23

This whole last week has been kind of lame. The weather's been kind of cold and crappy, work was dragging on all week, and Brian had to work a lot of overtime. Kind of the opposite of perfect. All of the down time led me to try something new- attempting to crossover to a self-hosted blog. Turns out it was a little bit more complicated than what I was expecting and my patience was just too short to try to deal with it. And for as much crap as people talk about Blogger, I've really liked it. That's kind of all that really matters. I'm sticking with this for now. Enough of that.

This is what I'm looking like now:

Pretty hefty, huh?

I think the camera may have added those 10 (or 20) pounds though. I mean, obviously I'm getting bigger, but I look like a cow in the 23 week picture. In my own defense I ate a pretty big burger for lunch and I had just downed a cup of almond milk.

Or maybe it was a bad angle.

Or maybe I'm just that effing big now. I don't know... more pictures to come soon though.

On a positive note, I managed to squeeze into my old jeans last night (which I hadn't tried in a couple of weeks, so that's a good thing, I guess).


On another positive note, the baby is definitely getting bigger and stronger. She's kicking a lot more, which is very reassuring. And now, not only can Brian feel her, but we can see her moving! It's nothing too crazy yet, but if I lay down, all of a sudden my stomach will twitch. Right now it just kind of looks like a muscle spasm, but it's neat. :)
Saturday
Brian had to work all day yesterday, so that kind of sucked, but I got to spend some time with my family, so it worked out. My mom and I went to our step class in the morning. I noticed that although my energy level is back up, my dexterity level is down. Like, if I make the wrong move in class (which happens more frequently than I'd like to admit), I can't adjust my body in time to catch up anymore, so I have to stop and figure out where the class is, and then join them again. It's kind of frustrating, but if I concentrate, I think I can manage. Or I could just look like an idiot. Either way.

After class, we went to Joann Fabric to get some quilting supplies so we can finally begin our project. While I was there, I got a canvas to I could make an art project...

A Kevin silhouette for the nursery! I'll post a tutorial tomorrow- it's super easy. And Kevin-approved!

That night after Brian got home, we went over to our friend Rachael's house for some corned beef and cabbage. It was St. Patrick's day, after all! It was nice to get to spend good quality time with our buddies.

Sunday
Today was a good day. We rounded up the moms and went to Buy Buy Baby to start our gift registry! Buy Buy Baby is affiliated with Bed Bath and Beyond and it's basically laid out the exact same way- a huge store filled with baby stuff. We've been in there 4 or 5 times now and each time, I get super overwhelmed. Like, I don't even know where to begin to shop for things.

Brian put up with me pretty well because I was kind of being a jerk. Not to him, but in general. The long week caught up with me, I was exhausted, and being in a huge store and not knowing what's what was making me feel like a pretty inadequate mom-to-be. But the moms were patient with me and Brian calmed me down. So between us, the moms, and a very helpful saleswoman, I think we made some pretty good decisions about what we want to get for the baby. Oh, and we bought a crib, so that was pretty exciting! Things are starting to come together and I'm feeling a lot better. And I got to spend more time with this guy today,

and what could be better than that? :)

Passing on my inner nerd...

I always enjoyed reading while I was growing up. My parents have a picture in of me that is still hanging in their hallway from when I was like a year old, fast asleep with a book opened up and resting on my chest. My mom used to continues to tell people that I brought a book to my first Dodger game. Before I got a TV in my room, I used to put myself to sleep with a book every night. I still have my huge collection of Baby Sitters Club books hidden away in a closet, and you know I've read each one at least twice.

Needless to say, I like getting lost in a good book and I believe all the reading I did as a child helped me immensely in school and broadened the range of my imagination. I want my daughter to enjoy reading as much as I do, so like I discussed in my last post, I want to create a reading area in her room from the get-go.

Over the weekend, my dad and I started working on a book case. My dad's pretty awesome- as soon as I told him what I wanted to do, he sprang into action by creating plans and drawing out dimensions of shelves. We went shopping for a bunch of lumber and started construction on Saturday morning.

A couple of hours in, Brian came over and jumped right in to help. Why wasn't he there from the beginning, you ask? It's because he's the best husband ever! He stayed home to vacuum and do dishes while I went to go play with power tools. He's awesome! ♥

But like I said, as soon as he got there, he jumped right in, so this piece of furniture is really going to be a collaboration of love for this little girl! We're still not done yet. We still have some trim to add and then some sanding and painting to do, but it's looking good!

One of the highlights of my week was coming home to one of my first purchases for the baby... books!!!

Sure, they're well beyond the reading comprehension level of a baby-toddler-young child, but they're classic stories (that I want to read/reread myself), so I'm going to start young! I felt kind of silly at first, but I'm looking forward to diving into some of these stories with her. Plus, Brian and I found a bunch of Golden Books (remember those?) and Disney books that we'll read to her too.

I'm so excited for it all! These books are really cool too- leather bound with shimmery pages and even some very pretty illustrations.

Purdy!

And for anyone keeping track, I've moved into my 22nd week, so here's last week's picture:

And compared to the previous weeks':

Starting to get bigger! The cool thing is, aside from the occasional heartburn (which is bad when it hits), I'm feeling pretty darn good. I'm staying awake later, I have more energy, and I'm starting to look pregnant in clothes and not just fat and frumpy. I've been feeling good at the gym each morning and the ladies there have been very sweet and complimentary, which has been making me feel good too. I'm also starting to feel her kick (Jab? Upper cut? Swing a bat? Not sure but she's getting stronger!) and that's been very reassuring. It's been a good week!

More to come soon!

An Exciting Announcement...

We had our 18 week ultra sound yesterday morning! When I was offered the chance to schedule this appointment on Valentine's Day, I jumped at the opportunity because what could be more romantic than discovering the gender of your baby and sharing in that excitement together? (Well, besides making the baby itself... sorry, mom!)

Anyway, Brian and I made this grand plan that we would have the ultra sound done in the morning and then have a triple valentine's date with our parents where we would all find out the gender together. We told the ultra sound tech our plan- she loved it and was very careful about having us look away when she was in gender-specific areas. She even printed us out pictures with the gender written on it for us to open later.

The ultra sound went well- everything appears normal. The baby measured about 10 ounces. We got to see it suck it's thumb, yawn, do some back flips, and kick it's little legs- kind of amazing, considering I still can't really feel any of it!

Well at the end of the appointment, Brian accidentally looked at the screen and saw the gender result- unbeknownst to me. Once we left the room, he admitted that he saw it. He felt bad but I was excited because I wanted to know so badly, so I was like, "Tell me! It's a girl, right?"

And wouldn't you know it...

Needless to say, we were both pretty psyched about that! Now I can't stop thinking about names and nursery ideas and little baby dresses...

It's helped to take my mind of of my ever-growing stomach. Speaking of which, here is the latest photographic update of that disaster:

It's definitely not as bad as it could be. I've gained 8 pounds. I just don't feel like I look pregnant. I want to pop a little so I have a clearly defined pregnant belly. Right now I think I look like a more fluffier version of my regular self... like I drank too much beer on Super Bowl Sunday. That's kind of how I feel too- bloated and full and a little sluggish. I will say this though- my energy seems to be coming back a little bit. For example, it's almost 9:00 pm and I'm still awake. That hasn't happened in quite some time.

I'm still a little frustrated because like I said, I still don't really feel pregnant. I've been feeling like I'm just me, gaining weight and looking fatter than ever. I'm still going to the gym almost every morning, but let's face it, working out is getting more difficult- I can't lift my legs as high as I used to be able to in class, I'm practically kneeing myself in the stomach in spin class every time one of my legs comes up to pedal, and I'm very aware of my heart rate now, so I try to tone it down instead of pushing myself when I feel like it's getting too high. Weird because I ALWAYS push myself. My whole life has always revolved around sports and fitness (helll-lo, athlete, coach, PE teacher) and so this is a very odd transition for me.

And like I've said before, I'm not a skinny person by nature. Though I've never really gone on a strict diet, I've always had to work at maintaining weight and I gain weight very easily. So to be gaining weight and not being to do anything about it is kind of freaking me out. I know I'm supposed to be gaining weight and I am actually slightly below the recommended weight gain allowance for my size, but I'm not comfortable with it yet. Here's a side by side from when I starting taking pictures of my belly at week 7 back in November to this last weekend at Week 18:

See how it's just looking kind of like a chubby gut? And to think I didn't like how big I looked before! :)

Okay, I'm done ranting. For now, anyway! I apologize if I sound ungrateful, because I promise, I'm not at all. I have had a fairly easy pregnancy so far and I cannot stress how much I have appreciated that. I'm just still trying to wrap my head around this new figure and the extra weight around my middle! The important thing is, I'm healthy, my baby girl is healthy, and Brian loves both of us. He's the best- he tells me I'm beautiful every day, and that means the world to me.

The Nest: Agree or Disagree

The Gym
I've been totally lame about posting it, but (other than the occasional day off) I've still been going to the gym every morning with my mom. I'm proud of her- she used to hate working out and sweating and now I think she actually likes it doesn't mind it!

Anyway, since we've been going on such a regular basis, we see the same people there pretty much every day. Last week, the group fitness instructor that we see 3 times a week told me I look skinnier... she knows I'm pregnant. A day later, one of my neighbors told me my face looks thinner... after I told her I'm with child. Well today after our spin class, 2 (TWO!) different ladies told me that I've lost weight. They don't know I'm pregnant, and I just kept my mouth shut and said thank you. One lady wouldn't let it go! She said- and I quote- "I don't know how much you've lost but you're definitely smaller. Keep it up!"... won't she be disappointed in a month or so when all of a sudden I have a belly.

I think it's kind of funny- I've always had a little belly. You know, that pooch right under your belly button? It's always be there, even when I've been at my smallest. I can run marathons, do crunches everyday, doesn't matter, it's always there. I've always felt like I look like I'm pregnant. And now that I actually am, people are telling me I've lost weight! It's just silly.

My actual weight hasn't budged at all. That scale is stuck right where it is. BUT my boobs have gotten bigger and my lower stomach is bigger (like, jeans are NOT comfy right now), so I guess I probably have lost weight in other places. I suppose it makes sense... still makes me shake my head though.

The Nest
Now that The Knot knows that I've graduated my status from engaged to married, I've been getting emails from The Nest. While The Knot was totally helpful with wedding planning, I haven't read one of these emails from The Nest that I actually find useful, or even enjoy reading. The latest one actually pissed me off, so I will share. Keep in mind, these are just my opinions of what I read, and I might be totally off or thinking too hard. But these were my initial sarcastic and slightly profane thoughts as I was (angrily) reading it.
The email says:

7 Signs You're Ready for a Baby

Are you ready to be a mommy? Here are some unexpected signs that it's time

1- You're not totally bored at a friend's baby shower.

Admit it: Baby showers can be mind-numbing. Sure, the baby clothes are cute and your preggo friend looks absolutely adorable, but who isn't secretly watching the clock? I'll tell you who: Women who are ready to sport a big ol’ belly themselves. If you find yourself taking mental notes about which gifts you do and don't want for your own baby and dreaming about perfect baby shower locales, you’re in mommy mode.

I say: Oh man, baby showers are the worst kind of party there is. I'm actually dreading my own. I'm not the most girly person there is so that might be part of my problem, but I try to leave a baby shower as fast as I can- especially if it means I can avoid the gift opening. But that doesn't mean that I'm not ready for a baby. It means that I DISLIKE showers and fake small talk with fake people, while sitting around and fake applauding for little overpriced Ugg boots that the baby will outgrow in a month. (Okay, they're pretty cute though) Actually, the only time I smile for real at a baby shower is if someone gets Butt Paste. Because that is funny.

Oh, and I came across this gem in my google search for pictures:

This could be the only time I've never wanted cake. Is that baby supposed to be dead??

2- You can tell a Bugaboo from a Mclaren – and you have a preference.

Are you a sporty and active City Mini kind of mom, or do you prefer the smarts and sophistication of a Bugaboo? Maybe you like the preppy Maclaren. If you have the faintest idea of what I'm talking about, you're definitely ready to have a baby.

I say: Actually, I don't have ANY clue what you're talking about. So, you're saying that because I don't know stroller brands, I'm not ready to produce offspring?? Even though we are financially, mentally, and physically prepared? Even though this addition to our family will be the most loved and cared for little baby, surrounded by the love of responsible parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends who are all so excited to be a part of this child's life? Even though this baby was created out of two people's love for each other and is wanted more than any other gift in the world? No, you're right, I better google WTF a Bugaboo is before I decide to actually go through with this.

3- You stop noticing cute dogs.

If you're a dog or cat person and suddenly want a baby, you'll probably start seeing your pet – and pets on the street -- differently. You'll always treat your dog as your fur baby, of course, but your biological clock will tell you something else: I want the real deal. Paws can't take the place of 10 little pink toes.

I say: I'm sorry, but I'm a dog person. I've always had dogs in my life, and I love them. I've also always known that I wanted to be a mom. But that doesn't make me look at dogs any differently. That doesn't even make sense to me. I'm looking forward to how Kevin will act with our baby, and how Buzz will round out our family. It certainly doesn't make me think dogs aren't as cute. IN FACT, when we go out and there are screaming babies around, it kind of makes me appreciate how mellow Kevin is and how nice and quiet our house is for now. Again- this doesn't mean I'm not ready or I don't want to be a mom, it just means that I can still appreciate cute dogs because DOGS ARE AWESOME.

4- You’ve perused the aisles of A Pea in the Pod just for fun.

You weren’t there to buy a gift for your pregnant friend; you were actually quite impressed with how stylish maternity wear has gotten these days. You’d actually wear that wrap dress! I’m sorry to be the one to inform you: They make wrap dresses in non-pregnant sizes too. You were in there for a reason, and it wasn’t to bone up on fashion trends. You want a pea in your pod.

I say: I don't know what A Pea in the Pod is either, but through context clues, I have inferred that it's a maternity clothing store. Here's a little story about that... a couple of weeks ago when we were in Vegas, we were at an outlet mall where they had a maternity store, so I popped in just to take a gander. At the time, I was almost 9 weeks along, and looking less like I was pregnant and more like I had a big breakfast. Needless to say, I already felt silly being in there because nothing would fit me yet. Then I started looking more closely at the clothes. There are folds upon folds and layers and layers of fabric that don't even make sense (yet, anyway). The sizes were completely different. It was like being in a foreign country. It was totally intimidating and I got out of there in less than 2 minutes. The point is, I felt very out of place being in that store so early, and I WAS pregnant. It would be totally weird to just be in there shopping around before you're pregnant... like, wearing a wedding dress when you don't even have a boyfriend. But who would do that?

5- You’re less interested in Christian Louboutins, and more interested in the name Christian.

There was a time when names like Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan elicited thoughts of sexy stilettos and designer dresses. Now they bring to mind, well, cool baby name ideas. So do celebrity names (“Reese would be great for a boy or a girl!”) or even TV characters’ monikers (“The name Suki is growing on me…”). It’s probably time you had a real baby to name.

I say: This is the only one that I even remotely agree with. Except I've never been into Louboutins (just found out they even existed like, 2 months ago- told you, not very girly.) So I'll put it into terms I understand... You're less into Tom Brady and more interested in the name Brady. Agreed. I am totally taking more notice of names. It's kind of a big deal. I still can't totally agree with this "clue" though- I don't think your interests should wane just because you want a baby and I don't like how that is implied. Maybe I'm reading it too literally, but I'm still going to watch football (especially since I can't play it)... Likewise, if it was my thing, I don't think I would be less interested in shoes or designer clothes.   

I kid, Brian, I kid

6- You figure out when you’re ovulating and feel a thrill when you and your husband have sex on those days -- even with protection.

Think of it as a practice run. If you know it could actually happen if you weren't on the pill, and you're excited about it (maybe even turned on by it), then stop popping those birth control pills and go for it! (Um…tell him first, though.)

I say: Um, no shit... and you can't just "TELL" him, it's a pretty serious conversation that you should probably have with him. This brings me back to the whole maternity shopping thing before you're actually preggo- it just sounds like something someone who is bat shit crazy would do. It just seems weird to get excited when you're still on birth control or using other forms of protection. And it also seems like you would just be setting yourself up for some serious disappointment. Not to mention, over the years, I've had more than a few teenagers talk to me about wanting to get pregnant or that they have had unprotected sex and now they think they might be pregnant... does that mean they're ready? I highly doubt a 15 year old that has a druggie on-again-off-again boyfriend and no job is ready to raise a child. Getting excited about ovulating doesn't mean it's baby making time- even if you're happily married. Having a baby is a serious life changing event that needs a little more thought put into it than just feeling a little thrill at having sex... reach a little deeper. (And if sex isn't already thrilling enough on it's own, you're probably doing it wrong.)

7- You crave the pregnancy glow.

Your pregnant friends have shiny hair, glowing skin -- and they even say that their fingernails are stronger. Sometimes you stand in front the mirror and wonder what pregnancy will look like on you. It may be time to find out!

 I say: Sure, because shiny hair and glowing skin totally outweigh feeling bloated and sick and exhausted on a constant basis. Who cares about gaining anywhere from 15-35 (or more, if you aren't careful!) pounds when your fingernails are strong! Are you kidding me?? While I will say that my hair is actually (finally) getting longer, it isn't any more shiny and my skin looks the same as it always has. In fact, I know pregnant women who have major breakouts on their faces because of what all the hormones have put them through. I also have a friend who says her belly got fuzzy with each of her pregnancies. I have another friend who had to take breaks throughout the day to put her feet up because they would start to swell so bad. I had a killer headache yesterday that knocked me on my ass for the better part of the day. They're are also plenty of beautiful things happening while you're pregnant, but if your reason for becoming pregnant is to get more glowing skin, rethink your priorities, and go to Target and get some Neutrogena products.

So again, all of that was just my extremely biased opinion. I could be the crazy one. All I know for sure is that when I read this email, I was really offended by it and I didn't and still don't agree with it. There is a good chance that I am just super defensive and I'm prepared to accept that. But it just didn't sit right with me. What do you think?

 

Momma's Birthday

Saturday was my mom's birthday and today is actually my brother's girlfriend's birthday, so we spent the weekend celebrating! But before we get to the fun, first things first...

Smiles where you least expect it

I tend to get wild hairs up my butt from time to time (where did that phrase even come from??) and I'll decide to paint a random wall in the house, or hang up a bunch of random pictures, or rearrange furniture. Luckily for me, Brian is pretty easy going and just laughs at my randomness. This weekend was no exception. Like 2 years ago- I'm pretty sure before I had even met Brian- I bought this cute cabinet from Bed Bath and Beyond to replace my medicine cabinet. My current medicine cabinet is in the middle of the master bedroom and I think it is so ugly...

My bed is just to the left. Lame.

So on Friday afternoon, I finally decided to switch out the cabinets. This took some more of my magical strength )that I only have when I have no around to help and all the dog can do is laugh at me) as I held the ugly cabinet up while simultaneously unscrewing it from the wall while leaning over the counter that is full of a bunch of crap.

In the place of the cabinet, I found this:

Someone (dad) was trying to be cute when we painted the house! But it brought a smile to my face and on I struggled.

I had to assemble the new cabinet which was both entertaining and mentally draining. (I screwed a couple of parts in backwards. It took a good 5 minutes before I figured out why the doors wouldn't close. Nobody ever said I was smart.)

Anyway, before long, the newer, prettier cabinet was ready for it's debut. Turns out hanging a much wider, heavier cabinet is much more difficult than taking down an old one. But I managed as Kevin supervised...

Success!!! Much more aesthetically pleasing, no?

Nope....

That right there is about 4 inches of open wall. $h&#! F*c%!

So now I don't have either cabinet in the wall. But at least I have Wallson to keep me company.

Get it? Like Wilson? Silly me.

Anyway... 

Mom's Birthday!
Onto the fun! Since mom's birthday was Saturday and Jenn's is today, we combined to have the major celebration yesterday. We went out to dinner and it's always nice when we're all together like that. After ward, we went back to the parentals' house for cupcakes and ice cream. I made the cupcakes... and I was pretty proud of myself.

 Pretty delicious looking, right? Chocolate with chocolate chips and chocolate frosting. Yup.

And now a word about mom...

My mom has always been my best friend. I didn't always want to admit it, but she is always right about everything. She knows me better than I know myself and because of that, she has always given me the best advice- even when I didn't want to hear it. From the boys I dated to my education to what I should wear, she always knows best and she isn't afraid to be brutally honest with me. We laugh with each other because she is so silly, yell at each other because we are both loud, stubborn Italians, and love each other because we are best friends as well as mother and daughter.

And now for the last 2 and a half months, we've been workout buddies too! She has been working out with me every morning, 6 days a week. She even goes on the days where I just can't seem to get myself out of bed. She has made me so proud with her hard work and dedication, and I'm so happy that she is finally making some time for herself after all of these years of spending so much on time on the rest of us. Plus it's been fun getting to spend some extra girl time with her in the mornings! ♥ I love you, mom!!!

And if you're wondering why I am the way I am, it's because of the people I was raised by, raised with, and will raise future me's with:

Looks like poor Jenn is the only normal one!

Thursday Things

1- Brian started a new job on Monday. It's definitely a good change for him and it's a step in the right direction for our little family. Really, the only downside is that he has to take the dreaded 405 to get there, so his commute (which is shorter mile-wise) takes longer and he gets home later.

We lose some together time in the evenings, but it's good because I've been able to straighten up some things around the house, catch up on some grades from work, and check it out- even write a blog post! Plus, his job comes with some pretty sweet perks. (More on those later!)


2- I'm getting really excited about Alexis' birthday. It's still over two months away, but we're going on a cruise and it's going to be so much fun! Brian's never been on a cruise before, so it will be exciting to see how much he likes it. Oh, and we're on a mission to design some really loud and obnoxious shirts. Stay tuned...

3- We had an earthquake today. It was a 4.2 which sounds pretty big, but it didn't really feel too bad. As far as I know, there wasn't any damage anywhere. It happened during 5th period and I was on the track with my class while they were running the mile. They didn't even feel it and I'm pretty sure they thought I was on drugs when I started asking them if they felt it. I was worried about Kevin because  we still have some wedding presents on the kitchen table and I was afraid he would have an imprint of a slow cooker on the top of his head he's never experienced an earthquake.

But when I got home, he was his usual happy, wiggly self. So, everyone's safe and sound... just makes me realize I should probably be more prepared. (And put away all of the potential projectiles that could kill my dog.)

4- I ran 3 miles this morning. Well, ran/walked. I finished just under 36 minutes, so I averaged a 12 minute mile. Kinda lame, but I wasn't going 100% either, so I felt pretty good about it. Like, really good about it. Like, if I actually tried, I might really be able to get faster. There's a 5k in December that I've done 3 times before and I think I'm actually going to race in it this year. I did it 2 years ago and my goal was to run without stopping. I did and finished in 31 minutes. Me thinks I can PR...

5-I feel like I can't catch up. Like at work, they keep changing my rosters so my kids are switching around all the time. And at home, as soon as I clean something, one of the boys will go and poop on it. I feel like I'm one step forward, 2 steps back. Oy.

6- I want to move. But that's probably not happening any time soon. So after I spoke with real estate mom (glance over to the right side of your screen), I decided I should probably just give in already and start doing some of the things I was putting off around the house. They were being put off because don't want to put more money into a house that I don't see myself in forever. But the time has come to either do something with this house or move. So floors and counter tops, look out because I'm going to rock your world.

7- I'm looking forward to this weekend for the sole reason that I don't have to go to work on Monday. We're 3 weeks into the semester...

I think that's all for now. I'm going to whip up a post about the hallway project and then go clear some space for those wedding presents!

Beach Dog Jog

I guest posted over at Tara's blog today, so head over there and check it out! It was all about my DIY wedding projects- fun stuff!



I head back to work this week after a much needed break this summer. In honor of the end of my summer break, Kevin the dog and I went to the beach to exercise and enjoy the 65ish degree weather (as opposed to the 95+ degrees in the Valley).

We started off with a jog at Zuma Beach in Malibu. Unfortunately for Kevin, dogs are not actually allowed on the beach there, so we had to stick to the sidewalks.

This wasn't all bad- like I said, the weather was way more enjoyable and I could still see the water. Kevin, however, was too short to see over the wall. If you look in the picture above, you can see that the wall opens up every 30 feet or so for beach access from the parking lot. And so every 30 feet or so, Kevin would stop and look at the water.

See, Kevin is obsessed with water. He'll just keep drinking it if you let him and he loves playing in it. Blame it on being a labrador, I guess! I felt bad since he's not allowed past the wall, so I told him if he did a good job running, we would go up the coast about 5 minutes to the dog beach.

I swear, he understands English, because after that, we were cruising and he did an awesome job. We probably only went about a mile, but I was satisfied with that. We were both huffing and puffing, I was sweating, his tongue was practically touching his toes... so onto the dog beach we went!

Post run- check out that tongue!

I love watching Kevin at the beach. It never fails to make me laugh the entire time. He used to be afraid of the waves and he would act like a little kid- like when the waves crashed, he would run from them, and when the water went back out, he'd chase after it. Well now, he full on attacks the waves! When they would crash, he run up and pounce on them. Adorable!

After a bunch of wave-pouncing and seaweed consuming, we decided to call it a morning. We were both feeling good- just enough exercise, just enough sun- time to head home.

Before we even made it back onto the highway, Kevin climbed up into the front seat and started to fall asleep. You know you've had a good day when you fall asleep before you even lay down!

He's so cute! I love him and I'm going to miss him so much when work starts back up. Hope your summer days are so much fun you fall asleep sitting up!

30 Day Challenge: Day 12

Before we get onto the 30 Day Challenge prompt, a sneak preview of things to come...

Paint on the hands... you know what that means... (Sorry Dad!)




Now, how you found out about Blogger and why you made one...


Okay, so this is pretty lame, but it's the truth... Back in the days of Myspace, there was a blogging tool that you could use on your profile. I wrote on it maybe a total of 15 times in the 4-ish years that I used Myspace. My friends seemed to enjoy what I would write, but I would only write when I had something witty or important to write about. I never did it as a daily thing.


Well at some point I noticed this girl that kept writing on my boyfriend-at-the-time's profile and I was kind of like, who the ef is this? So I checked out her profile and noticed that she not only also kept a Myspace blog, but she also had a link to her own private blog. This was the first time I realized that blogging was something that anyone could do for any reason they want. Instant intrigue.


So I started to read what she was writing and I discovered that she was writing all kinds of things about my at-the-time-boyfriend. Like about how she drove down here (from Northern California) to see him and try to hook up with him, like the day before he asked me to "be his boyfriend" and about how much she loved him. She never used his name, but it was very obvious through nicknames and his friends. More intrigue.


Now this is the lame part- for some reason, I couldn't stop reading what she was writing. Eventually, she even ended up writing about me and some of my friends. This was all so weird because 1- her and I had never met, only had very limited contact over Myspace and 2-she didn't know that I was reading her blog. Or maybe she did. This was back in the days where no one kept profiles or pictures private, so who knows. It was just weird to know that someone was writing pretty much everything they were thinking, and once I knew there was stuff about me and the BF-at-the-time, I was pretty much addicted. I told the BF-at-the-time and he didn't really care. He said they went on about 2 dates but he wasn't really interested. He said she was crazy. Typical guy stuff. But being a typical girl, I was hooked on what this chick was writing.


So that's the sad but true way I found out about Blogger. Once she started linking to other blogs and I noticed how many other ladies there were who were very similar to me in age, interests, lifestyles, and how these girls all gave each other advice and helped each other through rough spots and it just seemed like a cool community to be a part of.

Plus, it's fun to look back at what I was thinking 6 months ago, and sometimes it's nice to vent and reflect. And that's that.

Onto more important things...

P.S. Insanity-Day 2! This is a tough workout! I'm more sore today than I have been since I ran the LA marathon a year and a half ago! But it's good to be back. My muscles hurt so good!