In Addendum to

my post about the pearls, I received yet ANOTHER necklace in the mail yesterday. So now I have two; one broken and one all in one piece...hmmm, what to do???

P.S.- Does anyone love me anymore? I haven't had a comment in like three or four blog entries...

Mawwiage, that blessed arrangement- that dream within a dream...

In the span of 20 minutes, I've read two articles on marriage that have thrown me for a loop on the Today Show website. I don't know that I'll rant and rave about my opposition to the ideas both of these articles portray- but it does make me sad and my heart hurt for what I believe the true purpose of marriage and a family is, compared to what people seem think it is and seem to be missing out on. I like the Today Show, and I know they're just bringing to light people's "options" for different kinds of lifestyles and such, but I wouldn't EVER think of living apart from my husband by choice or not marry because it would just be better for each of us financially. The word that comes to my mind is SELFISHNESS in both articles. That's just me though. When you wed, you promise to become as one- it's not about you anymore... it's about your family you've just started. Anyway... I'll stop, but tell me what you think. Seriously- I want to know. I have to admit though, the second one is pretty funny though...
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21564357/ and
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21369007/from/ET/

Our Pumpkin Patch/Carving/Halloween Pictures

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Wake Up! Wake Up!

I'm so tired today. This is me... (except for I wish I had a monitor like that...)
Ryan and I usually wake up together in the morning, but today he got up a half hour earlier because he had to go in early and I just wasn't up to it. So I decided to sleep an extra 45 minutes... and set the alarm on my cell phone. At about 6:22am I got a text from Ryan saying he'd gotten to work. So I went back to sleep for what I thought would just be another 20 or so minutes. Well...I slept and had weird dreams and snored myself awake and thought "hmm, I thought the alarm would've gone off by now..." so I looked at the alarm and it was 7:29!!!! I have to LEAVE the house at 7:50! YIKES! The dork I am forgot to click on "enable" so the alarm would actually go off! So I busted out of bed, took Ally out and left her outside while I took the fatest wash-my-hair-and-face-and-body-shower EVER, got Ally back in, got dressed, blow dried my bangs, brushed my teeth, put shoes on and was pulling out of the driveway at 7:54am! I even got to work on time! G0 me!
But now... I'm suffering from that time I'm used to having to wake up and eat breakfast and check my email, play with Ally a little and actually enjoy The Today Show. I got a good amount of sleep though, which apparently my body needed. I'm like 98% sure Ryan gave me his cold he's had for almost a week. And Bobbie was right, having a cold and being pregnant at the same time SUCKS! I can take Sudafed, but it doesn't really do anything- plus I feel that it pushes my blood pressure up to high and that worries me. So I think the extra hour of sleep was good for me... I just need to wake up now!
I'll have some pictures up later tonight from Ryan and I carving our pumpkins and stuff. We have a busy weekend and sadly say goodbye to DJ tomorrow... I will miss her lots. I might even cry. :(
Sayonara for now.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

From our Pumpkins to yours... I hope you have fun with the trick or treaters that come by! I'll post more tomorrow!

I Have a Bone to Pick

And it's with overstock.com. I was reading through some friend's blogs and came across the site wantnot.net. The lady that does this site finds bargains and shares them with readers and you can find some really great deals there. There was one reader who recommended going to overstock.com because for a couple days only they had free Cultured Freshwater Pearl Necklaces and all you paid was shipping which was $2.95 (which they are now selling for $19.99)! They were just the small ones and not very fancy, but I was all over that! I mean, might as well try it out right? So I placed my order, on Sept 26th with shipping taking the usual 8-10 business days. According to my account info, they actually shipped on the 28th. Well... 8-10 business days passed and still no pearls. My first indicator that they weren't coming was that they sent them USPS which in my neighborhood can mean disaster. There are three other houses that have the same address except for the very end of the street name which ours is DRIVE, and there is a WAY, and a COURT. So I thought, great- it got sent to one of those others and I'm never getting it. I contacted overstock.com and did a live chat with a CS representative and they said to wait a couple more days and if still no pearls- they would do a trace which could take an additional 4 days and then send a reorder which would ship right away and then it would be ANOTHER 8-10 business. Well, they never came so the second order shipped (and AGAIN with USPS shipping) Oct 16th and as of this past weekend I still hadn't received them. Now I know, I know... $2.95 big whoop. But it was the principal of the matter. So yesterday I got back on "live chat" with them and pretty much told them I was ticked off and that if I didn't get them TODAY I was cancelling my order and never shopping with them again. She asked me to wait the day and if they weren't there they would do ANOTHER trace...etc. Needless to say, I was aggravated.

Ryan got home and called and said "guess what you got in the mail today". Yes, the pearls had arrived. When I got home I saw they had been sent merely in a cardboard envelope of sorts and packaged in a pretty little see-through light blue tulle jewelry bag. I opened it up to see if it would fit me, and as I poured them out in my hand, little pearls that were loose came tumbling out because the string had broken... "You're kidding me right?" were the words I said to myself. After taking OVER a month of shipping for a $2.95 item- they were broken. I'm not even that big of a fan of pearls either! Now, I'm not going to send them back or anything like that- I can restring them myself... but again, it's the principal of the matter.

I've shopped from overstock.com before and NEVER had a problem. My sister has never had a problem. Maybe it was because I didn't pay much for what I ordered? I don't know- but that whole experience taught me a lesson... you pay for what you get.

Here's Our Boy!

We got the ultrasound pictures scanned finally. Hopefully you can see them well. He's got the cutest little nose ever, and love that he's got his thumb and fingers up in the one picture. Can't wait to see his face in person!

okay, okay... the long awaited post...

Well... as if the 5 weeks of waiting until our appointment wasn't enough, sitting in the waiting room for over a half hour was TORTURE! My sister Delinda came with us and sitting between her and Ryan is always entertaining- so at least I had that distraction sitting there in anticipation. We finally got called into the room and I laid down to get poked and prodded at. We got to see the little one's face and profile (I will scan and attach pictures when I can), we got to see two little feet and hands and arms and knees and legs. The heart beating and the little belly. Spine looks good, brain looks good- and we even got a great Skeletor view of the little one face! So I mean, all of this was great and I was laying there with watering eyes looking at my beautiful little child while holding my wonderful husband's hand and just feeling so blessed. But really wanted to see what was going on "down there" on this kid! FINALLY we got a peek, and a good one at that... and well kids, we're having a little BOY come to our family! And boy is he a BOY! No doubt about it!
So Ryan will no longer be the only guy in the house what with me and our little doggy Ally! We are so excited!!!! We both have really wanted to have a little boy, but I've had a few dreams it was a girl and everyone thought I was carrying high even though I'm not really- I'm just really short! And I would say a good 95% of the people we asked or I work with thought it was a girl. I even did! So it's taking a little adjusting to realizing that first I can stop calling him "it" and that I've got to think in boy terms now! It was SOOOO fun to see our little guy moving around in there and to see his cute little face!

We got to call our parents and my brother Greg while they were all together and let them know!

So his daddy is SUPER proud and we both couldn't be happier!

Right Brain v Left Brain

Go to this LINK and try it out. I do not see how she could even be turning anything but clockwise. I even tried to picture it the other way. I guess I'm a right brainer!

Fire and Rain

As we all know there's a lot going on in Southern Cali. I wanted to see mainly if any of the temples in the area have been affected (which haven't) and while looking at the Church website I found this article. I'm so grateful that we are taught preparedness. And I'm also grateful for all of those people who have helped put those kits together and have donated or made the blankets being sent those people who are in need and have probably lost just about everything. It makes my heart hurt to think about how they're going to start all of that over again.
On a lighter note, my sis gets in tonight and we see little Bun Smith tomorrow! I'm so excited. I dreamt last night it was a girl. We'll see! Any bets on what it'll be?
It's also rained (not hard) for the last three days... in no way are we out of our drought yet but it's much needed and I'm so grateful for it. I just wish Cali could get some too! Hopefully they will soon.
Also... why is that some people just don't wash their hands after going to the restroom? You know my feelings on this already... but I'm reminded of it constantly here at work. It really grosses me out. Merely putting your hands under the water for a second isn't going to magically wash away the germs. Sure it's better than nothing at all... but still. Okay. I'll stop. I already wrote about this.

Lastly- did I mention how COOL it is that Ryan's parents and my parents (who live across the country from each other) will be together tomorrow (with my big bro Greg and fam) in Utah when they find out who their little grandchild is going to be?? It is so cool.

Okay bye.

Princess Leia Baby Costume

Okay, this is the funniest/cutest thing ever... if I knew I was having a girl right now, I'd buy this! Even if (she) couldn't wear it until next Halloween!

Ryan said I needed to update my blog. I don't really know what to talk about though! I guess you'll have to deal with randomness. We had a good weekend, and today it's RAINING! All of the prayers are being answered, although we really could use SO much more- hopefully it'll keep coming. We're going to do a Stake fast next Sunday... if I could I would, but I think it's a great idea. There are a lot of denominations here that are doing group prayers and I think it's wonderful.
Let's see what else... the weekend was good. We did a lot of laundry, I mean A LOT. I know, sounds fun. But when it gets to the point where Ryan says "Heather, did a tornado hit our room?" then I know it's time to clean up!
We went to a wedding reception for a couple in the single's ward and it was SO beautiful! It was an actual sit down and eat at a table of your own and watch them dance and cut the cake and toast the couple kind of reception. Haven't been to one of those in a while! I'm used to the traditional Mormon reception (like ours) where you come and go as you please! The decor was so beautiful and she just did such a wonderful job! They are a beautiful couple as well. Couldn't be happier for them.
We were irreverent in Sacrament meeting yesterday. Ryan started off tapping his head to mine very gently and then I'd do it to him until finally I hit his pretty hard and it literally made "bonk" sound! Luckily it didn't hurt, but man we couldn't stop laughing and I of course started to tear up it was so funny. We were looking around to see if anyone heard it because it was so loud! We're bad, but I'm SO grateful for someone who makes me laugh A LOT every day!
There were words of meaning I wanted to share today... but I am at a loss. I'm tired and my nose is stuffy today and it's cloudy (which don't get me wrong I'm glad for the rain) and it makes it hard to feel energetic.
But on a good note- we've got the rest of today, tomorrow, and then Wednesday Delinda gets here and then THURSDAY we see BUN! Woohoo! Can't wait!

Thanks to Ashizzley

Penguin Swing

In case you're bored... or just don't want to work anymore... like me.

Bullets

• I'd NEVER thought I'd say in Georgia "We're in a drought". We need rain and it doesn't seem to be much in sight.
• Why does our dog have to throw up anytime we take her in the car? I know the "scientific" reasons... car sickness or whatever, but why our dog? Especially when I already have a queasy stomach!
• There are some people in this world who should have a job where they work alone... and not in a team or with other people.
• 8 hours of sleep is not nearly enough for me lately, when it's sad that I used to survive on like 6. Oh and remind me NOT to take a Tylenol PM at 10:30 when I have to wake up at 6:30, that just doesn't work.
• I can't WAIT to go see my family, friends and the mountains next month... only 5 more weeks!
• I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner too. Oh and seeing the lights at temple square, hopefully!
• 8 days until the gender of "Bun" is revealed... and counting!
• I love my in-laws.
• I wish I could wear flip-flops to work everyday.
• For the longest time I thought the song "Why Georgia" by John Mayer was about a person named Georgia. I thought it was strange for him to pick that name. Then I realized after he was talking about driving down 85 that he meant here... in GA... where I live... DUH.
• I'm SUPER excited to see my cuz Laura and her family this weekend, and that we get the privilege of them staying with us!
• Is it worth it to come in an hour late and work through your lunch? I'm debating that right now as I sit here typing and wishing I could go for a ride in my car since it's my "lunch time" right now and can't.
• Why do people put their cell phones on "speaker phone" at work? Where everyone can hear? I've seen so many people in general do that... they just walk around stores and from their car to a building with it on speaker. I don't want to hear their conversation, and the only time I do it is when Ryan and I both should hear or I'm changing my clothes and can't hang up or something. They're still holding the phone up to their face/mouth, what's the big deal about not having it on speaker?

On that note, I leave you to read this story. Good times.

Well we had a good but busy weekend. The concert was AMAZING. I am so taken back by some musician's talent! Both Béla Fleck and Nickel Creek are amazingly talented and pick away like little bandits! It was an incredibly enjoyable evening being with my man and as we sat there we realized that it had been a LONG, LONG time since just he and I went out together. Not just out to eat somewhere... but OUT and all alone! I'll attach a couple pictures and maybe a video. They were very entertaining. And if you like them or even Blue Grass then I would highly suggest seeing this show! I just LOVE going to concerts, it's one of my favorite things to do! And the baby liked them too! Boy was it moving!
Saturday night we helped Ryan's parents out with their 40th High School reunion. That was fun and also quite interesting! We checked people in and gave them their name tags and took money from them and stuff. Quite a few people when coming up to the table automatically knew that Ryan was Morris Smith's son because he looks JUST like his dad did! It was funny. It was also fun to see people's reactions to not seeing each other for so long and to see what people hung out with each other that night and made you wonder if they did back in the day... and then what was even MORE interesting was a couple that had dated in H.S. had gotten back together after all those years and got MARRIED (yes folks) at the reunion that night! It was quite funny to us... also very entertaining. We had a good time though. We were glad we got to help!
Now we're just getting the house ready for our visitors this weekend and then next week we have my sister coming in! So much to do... so little time! When do I rest?

Okay, I really promise not to always write too much about being pregnant and all that jazz. It's just that this is like a journal to me and the whole having a human growing inside of me thing is new to me and well, sort of (well REALLY) a big deal! So I just need to talk about it for a sec. Little Bun is probably just getting bigger and bigger and so it's presence is being felt more and more each day. And let me tell you, it's so fun! It's so COOL to know that the little flicking I feel inside and little movements here and there and the sort of weird-make-me-uncomfortable dancing on my bladder are all made by MY KID. Yes folks, MY KID! 1/2 of Heather + 1/2 of Ryan= BUN IN THE OVEN! And I get to feel it all first! And I get to (kind of) know what's going on in there first! I feel so honored and privileged, even though this pregnancy isn't always all the fun I thought it was going to be. It totally makes it worth it though when I get to feel the little thing. I do have to say though, that I can't wait for Ryan to feel it too. Especially when it's kicking him in the back when we're trying to sleep at night! Ha, ha! I just can't wait to see it and hold it and love it (which I already do of course) and kiss it's cute little baby cheeks!!! And, I know whole heartedly that it's going to be THE CUTEST BABY ON EARTH!!! Seriously... :)

Anyway... that's all. We're going to see Nickel Creek and Béla Fleck tomorrow night at the Fox. That should be awesome, and it's a date... just me and my love! Excited about that! And then we are helping Ryan's parents with their 40th High School reunion on Saturday night. So it should be an eventful weekend!

(Do you think that's real?)

I have a super cool Uncle who has run 10,000 miles!

I found this entry on my cousin Ann's blog yesterday. And wanted to also give a shout out to my Uncle Mark who is a remarkable man, on a few different levels! And that even though he had a heart attack last year despite his healthy nature, he was up and moving in no time and didn't let that stop him! He's 61 and still runs every day. He said that he and 16 others who all had heart histories teamed up to run the Marathon Relay in Akron, OH. Go Uncle Mark!
From http://www.akronmarathon.org/news-and-press.asp?action=news&id=141:
The “Cardiac Athletes” team represents the internet support group started by Lars Andrews, a cardiac physiologist in Portsmouth, United Kingdom (www.cardiacathletes.org). Andrews’ call for stories of athletes overcoming heart-related health issues was heard by New Yorker Dave Tuttle, 54, who took up marathon running after heavy smoking led to quadruple bypass at age 46. Tuttle’s teammate in the Road Runner Akron Marathon relay is Mark Collier from Gilbert, S.C. Collier, 61, almost died from cardiac arrest in September 2006 from an irregular heart rhythm known as Long QT Syndrome. Collier has set his training so that he will run his 10,000th running mile upon completion of the Akron Marathon, just 370 days after his initial cardiac arrest.

Running his 10,000th mile!

(what's even cooler is that he was just made the sealer in the South Carolina temple too!)

Well, we had a pretty good and somewhat non-eventful weekend. We went to a corn maze just north of where we live with some friends. We drove up with Michael and Lori and then ate dinner and then met Dylan and her fiance Sean and his brother and friend. We got there pretty late so we didn't get to go through all three mazes or ride the hay ride, but we got through at least two- and one was haunted. Ryan and I mostly laughed at the others getting scared, we only got scared once by a guy who was following us REALLY close with one of those "Scream" masks on. We also bought the punkin (yes punkin) that we wanted to get and it's perfect and sitting on our doorstep! It was a lot of fun and I think we're going to try and go again before Halloween.
We also got some painting done in the family room and hallway (which means there are just two walls left to do- anyone want to help?), watched conference or listened to it, got a glider rocking chair from Ryan's sister (thank you Kelly!), rested, ran some errands... and that's about it. Pretty low key if you ask me. But it was good to just relax. The next few weeks of the month are looking to be pretty busy!
Been feeling little B.S. moving more and more, and either my work pants today just haven't stretched out from the wash yet or they're getting tighter! I guess it's time to break down and get some work clothes. I'm personally on the count down for the big ultrasound in let's see, 2 weeks and 2 days! Wuhoo! I still wish I had more energy then I do, and I also wish standing up wasn't so painful with all the internal stretching those tummy ligaments are doing. But all in all I feel pretty good most days.

stuff

- it's been gloomy for three days straight with LITTLE rain, and if you can believe it, Georgia is in a drought and needs it. So I say to the clouds- quit looking so gray and just rain already! Like REALLY rain!
-the leaves are FINALLY starting to change! Those trees with the bright yellow leaves are my little rays of sunshine on these gloomy days. (and Ryan and Ally too)
-acorns keep falling from the trees above our house onto the roof and scaring the crap out of me in the middle of the night!
-we finally got a plumber out to the house this week after having leaking from what turns out to be our water heater for close to two months or more (luckily in the garage). Apparently we get the award for the oldest water heater the plumber has ever seen, 27 years old! Go us! (oh and yes, we did replace it with a shiny brand new one!)
-we're going to a corn maze tonight if it still doesn't decide to rain, and I'm pretty excited about it. I'm hoping to get a pumpkin from the patch they have there to put on the front porch!
-I'm excited for conference this weekend, especially interested in seeing who has been called to replace our beloved Pres. Faust.
-I've had a twitch just to the right of my nose below my eye for two days, it's really driving me buggy.
-my sister is coming to visit in three weeks! And she's coming to the doc with us to see what the baby is! I'm pretty excited to have a family member there with us, especially since mine is all on the west coast.
-this is just how pregnant I am, I'm eating Yoplait Thick & Creamy Mixed Berry yogurt with Garden Salsa Sunchips. No, I'm not dipping the chips in the yogurt. I'm just alternating between the two. Look, I'm hungry.

Heather tortures Ally every morning. Here is proof....

The Bun in the Oven

So this morning I had to lay on my stomach to stretch out my back while in bed, and while doing this felt the baby kick or punch or something. That was exciting because I'm feeling Bun more and more. But now that I'm at work- holy cow I can feeling it just moving around a ton! It must've REALLY liked those Apple Jacks I had for breakfast this morning! It's quite the incredible feeling! It's been making me smile with a cheesy grin all morning!

My husband ROCKS

So we've had this house since January, and we've gotten some painting and fixing up done- but have had to do it a little at a time for monetary purposes. Ryan worked some overtime for the big boss and they gave him an extra $200 so we decided to use it to buy paint for our biggest problem room, the family room and entry way. It's been long overdue... the room was partially mustard and partially WHITE, so it's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We still have a large portion of the room to finish but Ryan got a good start on it all! We'll need some recruits for the rest. But it looks so good so far! I wish I could help more... but uh, I think I have a pretty good excuse! I picked the colors though... so I guess I kind of helped!

Fire place wall, our "accent" wall.

The Entry Way

We used the accent color on the wall the door is on too.

bird

Ryan here. I chased an ugly bird the other day.

Ryan out!

B.S. is doing just fine...

We went to our 16 week appointment today. We got to hear our baby's cute little heartbeat which was about 140-something BPM (I suck for not remembering the exact number), and he measured me... but he didn't tell me that part. Everything seems fine and normal and our next apt is October 25th! Wait, Oct 25th?! That's like a whole stinkin' 5 WEEKS AWAY! BOOOOOO! 5 weeks feels like a universe away... And I have to admit, both Ryan and I were slightly to extremely disappointed that we didn't get to see little B.S. today. Which I'm not really sure why I expected to be able to in the first place when last time we went he told us we'd have to wait until the NEXT time after this apt. I guess I got to reading too much online and got my hopes up even though I know that even though it IS possible to see what the gender is at this stage- it's just not too common to find out now. So I got myself (and Ryan) all worked up for nothing. But in the end, all I really care about knowing is that the little one is first of all alive, has a good steady heart rate and is growing- which it totally is! I haven't gained any weight back since I lost the 10lbs in my first trimester, but I am sure getting bigger. And I have felt it moving which is fun! Not a lot yet- but it sure didn't like getting poked today by the little machine thing the doc used to listen to it's heart! It kicked or something right when he was poking me! It was cute! It's a really cool and unusual feeling.

Oh and I don't know about all you other prego people out there in Blogland, that have this wonderful symptom, but my nose has been stuffy! Not having a cold or allergies stuffy, just stuffy. And it's ANNOYING. Everyone at work thinks I'm sick or something.

Okay, enough baby talk...Heather OUT.

Reasons To Love Ally

She's DANG cute...

She's entertaining.

(I HATE my laugh in this... just ignore it...or pay attention to it since I brought attention to it just now...crap...)

And she is a little snuggle bear.

What's not to love?! She's a fun friend to have around. Can't wait to see how she and the baby will get along.

Our Pregnant Bellies
from the top of the falls Silly Kids Ryan & Ashley
We went to Amicalola Falls State Park today with our Ashley and well, the hike up to the falls was just too much for all of us for a number of reasons, but let's just say it was too late in the day. So we found the road that you can actually DRIVE to the top of the falls, duh... so we just did that instead and spared ourselves the 600 and something stairs! It was sure beautiful though and relaxing to be in the nature.
Then on the way home in the middle of the country we stopped at THE CUTEST pumpkin patch (Burt's Pumpkin Farm) and walked around! I loved it! I decided right there and then that was going to be a tradition with the Smith Family. A trip to the falls and then to the pumpkin patch to get a couple of pumpkins and other goodies they have there. They even had hay rides and tractors and it was just fun. I've always wanted to go to a pumpkin patch like this so it was WAY exciting to find one! They had GINORMOUS ones and little itty bitty ones, white ones, gourds, pumpkin bread, popcorn, apple cider- it was just fun! We were there a little too early to get a pumpkin yet- but maybe we can go back. Again, I just sure do love the Fall! It really was a fun day. And it gave me more reasons to love Georgia!

I got this lucky shot...

Atlanta Georgia Temple

Piedmont Park, The City, Ryan and Michael and Lori

I'm a Sleepy Bear

Why is it that almost every time I tell someone that right now I need AT LEAST 10 hours or more sleep, they're surprised? I'm pregnant for Pete's sake! I'm working, eating, sleeping and moving for 2! And not only that, but the little one is constantly growing and needing nutrients and health even more than I do! The reason why I'm so tired TODAY is because last night we went with Michael and Lori to Piedmont Park, which for those of you not familiar, is a really cool park smack dab in the middle of downtown Atlanta that has baseball fields, dog parks, fishing, grilling and playgrounds, and lots of green space among lots of other amenities. We went to Improv in the Park and got our blankets out and enjoyed the WONDERFUL cool night air. However, it didn't start until 8 and we didn't get home until 11pm. And although it was worth it and LOTS of fun, 11pm is about 2-2 1/2 hours past my bedtime! And on top of that I was already pretty exhausted yesterday from not sleeping so great the night before. My sciatic nerve is not my friend right now.

I'll post some pictures tonight. I don't have many- but I've got a cool video of the city skyline and moon.

I liked today's LDS Gem

"[The Lord's] sweet assurance . . . can guide you and me--in our time, in our day, in our lives. Of course, we will face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God's approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but also as a determination to live decently.
A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well."

(Thomas S. Monson, "The Call for Courage," Ensign, May 2004, 55-56)

okay, so I read this one wrong the first time and got 0%! yikes! it's fun though, it only took me one more try to get it... once I really read the directions!
http://www.njagyouth.org/colortest.htm

Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

Oh what a beautiful day! Seriously, yesterday and today have been BEAUTIFUL days! There's a perfect breeze, the temperature is nice and cool but not too cold, the sky is blue with out any humidity in the air. I LOVE the Fall, despite Ryan's uncanny dislike for this time of year. Mostly because that means his days of working out in the cold are coming... which I understand. But I still love when the weather becomes bearable again and the leaves start to change and the breezes are so pleasant. I love the different holidays that the Fall ushers in, it's like a lead into the fun times! But I already discussed this last year. This year my goals are to go to a corn maze, for us to carve pumpkins, to get some Halloween decorations, hopefully pull off our surprise Halloween costumes, do some outside activities like campfires or camping in general. Things like that.

The weather has given me a renewed sense of energy... I guess being in my second trimester helps too. So I made homemade cookies today! Don'tchya wish ya had sooooooommmmmmeeee?????

I took the recipe from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and just took out the shortening part (mostly because I don't have any, but think it's too much) and they turn out perfect! YUM!

It's official

I have ANOTHER headache. See the thing is- I am not a stranger to headaches, and bad ones at that. Before I got pregnant- I had them FREQUENTLY, and by frequently I mean like 2 or 3 times (or more) a week. BUT I guess Heavenly Father was graciously sparing me from this constancy in my life through my first trimester because I never really experienced one of my "bad" headaches then. But Monday and again today, I've had "one of those headaches". The kind that feel like they could turn into a migraine at any time? Yeah, "one of those". I think it could be either how I'm sleeping or my pillow situation. Or lack of sleep... or just being pregnant! Or it could be that I've had too much sugar today and not enough water too. It sucks though, because honestly Tylenol does NOTHING for my headaches. Heck, 4 ibuprofen barely touched them when I wasn't pregnant. So I basically just have to deal with the pain. I broke down and took the advise of many comments on pregnant friend's blogs made by mothers who bought body pillows to sleep with during their pregnancies. I bought the most unobtrusive one as to not kick my hubby out of bed. It's a little strange looking and hope I understand how to use it correctly, but I am pretty excited about it and hope it will help lessen the headache situation! Or at least help me sleep more comfortably, especially as the pregnancy progresses! Should ship pretty soon!

Other than that- I have been feeling a lot more energy in general. Although it comes in spurts. I haven't been as nauseous, the last time I threw up was almost two weeks ago- so that's promising. Although I'm not counting on it never happening again. I've been craving pickles. I've been feeling the need to munch all the time. I feel hungry A LOT. I still can't eat a lot in one sitting though. I do get full really quick. My next doc's appt is in two weeks and I'm anxious to see where my weight is at and if we'll get to hear the baby again. My pants are getting tighter and I'm getting more and more self conscious because I honestly think people can't tell if I've just gained more weight or if I really am pregnant. I feel the expanding and Ryan notices it too. But he seems much more excited about it than I am right now! I'll be more excited when you can really tell! I also really just can't wait until I can feel the baby and I am super excited to find out what it is which wont be happening for another 6 or 7 weeks, sad. I guess that's not that long considering how quickly the last three months have gone. Okay, that's all for now. I hope not all of my blogs feel like prego postings.

It's very unusual for me to remember what I was doing EXACTLY one year ago to the date let alone 6 years. But for the obvious reason of this being the "anniversary" of 9/11/01, I wanted to document what I was doing and how it affected me.
At the time I didn't have my own car, and my friend Ryan W. had lent me his Jeep to drive home to my dive of a basement apt in Orem, UT the night prior. I had to go pick him up pretty early in the morning so I could take him to work and on the way there was listening to 107.5 The End (which no longer exists) with Chunga and Mister (who do still exist) when Chunga announced that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings in New York City. I, of course, did not believe him, because he's a joker and can never be taken seriously. I just thought it was one of his stories that he told. They cut to music and I merrily went on my way to Lehi, enjoying the fresh morning air blowing through the open Jeep with no top or doors on.
I got to Ryan's house and as I approached the top of the stairs to his family room, he said "get up here, did you hear about this?" and right then we watched on the news the second plane fly into the second Trade Center tower. I couldn't believe my eyes! I thought this had to be a mistake! What was wrong with the pilot?! Did they miss the airport and not notice a large building in front of them? I was confused; heart broke for all of the people on the plane, and for all of the people who had just arrived to work for the day. I called my mom in Logan to see if she had heard, and neither she nor my dad knew anything about it. I told them to quickly turn the news on and hung up.
I don't remember what happened for the space of the next couple hours until I got to work at Fotogenix in the mall and had to go into my darkroom to start the up the machines so the chemicals could warm up enough for me to start the responsibility of printing the portraits I was in charge of. My job was easy, but being in the dark all day and that particular day listening to the radio and sad stories and speculations of what happened and why- not only in NYC but in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon, was depressing me more than usual. I had to leave, I couldn't be there alone in the dark anymore. I remember leaving work early with out getting in trouble- and I think it was because basically the whole mall shut down on that horrible day. I remember going straight home and I literally sat on the floor (mostly because we had no where to sit at our apt) and watched and recorded the news for the rest of the day.
I listened to the stories of the men on one of the planes who tried to fight to survive knowing that they were putting their lives at risk but were willing to do so to save their fellow passengers. I listened to the wives of some of the passengers who talked about getting phone calls and hearing their last goodbye and "I love you" from their beloved husbands knowing they'd never see them again. I was so saddened by the people that were forced to jump out of the building and wondered what compelled them to take that action, and also wondered what I would do given the circumstance. I was saddened for the people who didn't know if their lost ones had made it or not, I was saddened for the people who had to walk and walk to find somewhere to get medical treatment, I was saddened for the people who had to give those people medical attention in such horrid circumstances. All of them, in my mind, were heroes to me. I couldn't and still can't imagine having to go through such a grim and frightening ordeal.
I don't know that I'll never forget that day- not only because of the severity of the attacks but because of how real it made life seem all of a sudden and how unsafe I felt for a moment in time in my own country. I cried a lot that day, overwhelmed by the sadness and destruction. I'd never experienced such an awareness of people who weren't in my own little world and my bubble.
I think today I'm affected by it because I'm now married and have a little one on the way- and the thought of losing my husband makes me so deeply saddened. The thought of losing ANY of my loved ones makes me feel so somber.
I can’t imagine how difficult it is for those who were directly affected by that day, because I know that it wasn't just one day. I know that day will go on and be relived forever. And I pray for comfort in those people's lives. I know that even though I sat and watched it all happened on the television and wasn't actually there, that it had a huge impact on my life. I was and am so grateful that I was safe and that no one I knew had been hurt or killed.

Am I the Only One...

that would be PERFECTLY fine if in the Cheddar Chex Mix they only had the corn chexes in it? I mean, I'll eat the wheat ones and the pretzels- but I usually eat all the corn ones first (IF I have my own bag. Because after all, dad always told us "no picking!"). The crunch is just right (much different from the wheat crunch) and the combination of flavor is just like a little bit of heaven to me! They're just so yummy with that powdered cheddar on them! In order of importance; CORN chex, wheat and then pretzels and I hardly (if ever) eat the Cheese crackers in there. They're just not the right taste of cheddar to go with the glorious little corn guys- they ruin it for me. I know, I'm a nerd- but I've thought this every time I eat it... and yes, I keep eating it because it's so dang good! Anyone agree? Disagree?

I'm a big fan of pedicures anyway. But in my opinion, it should be a MUST for a pregnant lady to get a pedicure. Whether or not it's "professional" doesn't matter. I do however, believe that a foot rub should be involved as well as a leg rub. And a massaging chair is always a bonus. For me, it's going to be a necessity as much as I can to get one... because wow, happy is what mine made me!

Sponge Bob lives in Bikini Bottom...

That's what Seth kept telling us all weekend! He's a way cute kid! (No people or children were harmed while taking this picture of Seth holding a knife aimed at ME!)

We had a really good time in Florida. The drive down didn't seem too bad once we made it through the unnecessary but not surprising traffic in Atlanta. The drive is really actually pretty, especially the horse farms that we drove by. And the sunset was awesome with some really beautiful clouds. We actually made pretty good time and got there before 10:30pm. Saturday we had fun going to Brent and Jill's property they're doing a housing development on, and the boys rode 4 wheelers while the girls sat in the cool air conditioned office chatting away. The view was great too because it's right on the Indian River and they've built a lovely little deck out back over looking it and the palm and oak trees with the Spanish Moss hanging from them. Jill also picked a star fruit and cut it up- I didn't eat it because she said they're better cold, but next time I'll try one. Regardless, they're a very pretty and interesting fruit- so I took a picture! That afternoon we just hung out and took it easy and tried to cool down from being out in the heat. Also Ryan had to recover from his little "accident" his wife wasn't very happy about on the 4 wheeler. I wont go into details other than he's fine thank goodness. We planned on going to Sunset Waterfront Bar and Grill but it was too rainy that night, so therefore the wait was horrible- so Jill and Brent treated us to a very fancy meal at a very fancy restaurant. I felt completely under dressed and was worried that we'd not find anything to eat there, but we had fun and the food was great and we even got some entertainment by a lady who seemed a little overly dramatic about her food, when it came and how it was cooked. I mean, it was to the point of head in her hands funny! She was pretty upset about having to send back her salad twice. Anyway- it was a nice dinner out and Sunday we woke up to Brent making pancakes and we quickly got ready for church. After Church we basically just chilled out and napped and played and watched the tube for the rest of the night. We planned on going for a walk on the beach, but stormy weather prevented us from doing that. Monday we woke up and Ryan and I went to Ron Jon's Surf Shop and then went to Cocoa Beach and played in the water. There was a surfing competition going on, but not many waves- so there was just a lot of people there mostly. There was one guy who was standing on his surfboard and rowing himself with a paddle. That's one way to do it! The water really was perfect, it wasn't to cold and also the waves were minimal so it was easy to hang out in. After the beach we met up with Jill, Brent and the two boys and went to the Sunset bar and grill (finally) for lunch. It was just great! The weather was perfect, we got a table near the water and the food was good. I got my crab... that's all I really wanted. After that we went back to the property for one last ride on the 4 wheelers for Ryan and Brent and got to visit with some friends of Brent's business partner and his wife. We left shortly after that to drive home. Which seemed like it took FOREVER, when in all reality- it didn't. It was just WAY TOO LATE... and 6 hours of sleep for a pregnant lady is not a good idea. Anyway- we realized that after this trip, we'll have been to three coasts this year! We sure have been lucky to travel as much as we have- and we've still got one more trip left! Home to Utah for Thanksgiving!

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