Winter wonderland/ I want some proof!

This is the view off our deck as of right now. The snow is supposed to continue until midnight. The storm has moved from Bellingham south. Downtown Seattle, Kirkland, Bellevue were at a complete standstill today. In Tacoma, we woke up to only a small dusting, but we are supposed to get more as the storm works its way southward this evening. And of course, feeling on and off icky. I over did it on Tuesday steam cleaning the carpets and upholstery so yesterday was all sleep and nausea. Today is a little better.

My waist might be a little thicker, but only enough to make me feel bloated! Anxiously waiting to have visual proof of this nausea and fatigue. Tomorrow marks 10 weeks.

Feeling better....????

Today is the best I've felt in nearly 3 weeks. No retching at all. Yeah! I stopped taking my pre-natal vitamins and I think that made a big difference. I am still taking folic acid and vitamin B6 which I think are the most important for now. Crossing my fingers that worst is over!

1st OB visit today

Had my first prenatal visit today. The first thing the midwife asks, of course, is "how are you feeling?" So I tell her the last 10 days have been miserable, I couldn't go to work on Monday, I don't know how I'm going to get through this, yadda yadda yadda. What does she say? "That's great! That means your pregnancy is progressing like it should!". Great. However, I do feel a little better today. I read that vitamin B6 can be helpful so I took some last night and this morning and I think it's making a difference. I have high hopes for going to work tomorrow, so wish me luck! I go back in a month (12 weeks) for blood work and my first ultrasound. They offer the 12 week ultrasound as part of a screening for certain chromosomal abnormalities. I am not high risk, but I feel it is still valuable information to have. Bottom line, the 1st trimester is just survival. I need to just keep trying different things because what works one day, may not work the next. Hmmm. Kinda like parenting!

Thanksgiving pics

Rendezvous and Bea and Bert's in Mesa
Desert rain storm

Where I spent most of the week
Barry's morning hikes

Bleuaghhh

All I can say is thank god for the anti-nausea med, Zofran. Although it hasn't completely absolved the nausea, it has made my days somewhat livable. Barry did lots of golfing and hiking while we were in Phoenix. I pretty much stayed in bed sipping ginger ale and feeling very sorry for myself. Right now I am convinced that there must be mass amnesia after the 1st trimester or women would never get pregnant a 2nd time. I guess if I am this sick, it just means I have LOTS of hormones taking care of this baby. Yeah, easier said. I will try to get some pics up from our week by the end of the weekend.

That icky feeling....

This morning it hit hard. Relentless nausea and fatigue all morning. Able to avoid loosing my cookies by going back to sleep for 2 more hours after breakfast. Of course, woke up hungry and nauseous again. We are down in Phoenix for the holiday week and the weather is, of course, lovely. I hope to get up the motivation to get to the pool this afternoon as I had to skip out on a hike with Barry and Dick this morning. Oh well. This too shall pass.

Welcome to the world, Ethan!

Congratulations to my sister Chandra and her husband Jason on the arrival of their son, Ethan. Ethan is their first...human baby, as their 2 dogs held the baby slot for many years. WE LOVE YOU GUYS! WE CAN'T WAIT TO MEET ETHAN!

HUNGRY!

I am hungry ALL the time. It seems like if I don't eat every two hours, I get nauseous. I woke up the other night at 3 AM so hungry I couldn't get back to sleep. A piece of buttered toast did the trick. To avoid waking up in the middle of the night, I have taken to eating heavier meals for dinner which, let me tell you, does wonders for acid reflux! Lovin' my Tums these days....and the calcium won't hurt either.

Staying strong

Feeling really tired today. I had a nice leisurely jog with Io this morning followed by a nice long yoga routine. But man! I was pooped. I sat down and put in an extra 30 minute meditation. With my meditation practice, the yogis say when you are pregnant, you can meditate as frequently and as long as you like as opposed to the usual 20 minutes twice a day. That extra 30 minute meditation felt like a 2 hour nap. A very efficient way to charge my batteries.

The character is supposed to me...pregnant

It's Official

I went to see my primary care provider today. I am indeed pregnant! Made my first appointment to see an OB on December 3. Putting my work out clothes on today, it is really hard to believe I am actually pregnant. I'll upload a picture from the side every 4 weeks or so as things progress. What I want to know is: When do my BOOBS get bigger?????









4 weeks, 3 days 135 lbs

Pregnant?

Yeah...uh...looks like a plus sign...
And we thought Obama winning the White House would be the best news of the week!
It's obviously very early so send us prayers, thoughts, and good vibes for good health for all of us. Barry left work yesterday for a chest pain scare which was diagnosed as acid reflux. I tested later in the evening which led Barry to think that maybe he DID have an anticipatory heart attack! Io seems a little concerned. He was giving us this look like "but I thought I was the baby"...

OBAMA WINS!!!

We have never been more proud to be Americans than tonight!!!
Whooooo HOOOOOOOO!!!!
Take a minute to listen to the song...thank you to the state of Ohio for going blue...and Florida, and Virginia...

TRUE BLOOD!

Barry and I are hooked! You are missing OUT if you are not following this evocative HBO series. Every episode adds an unexpected twist that leaves you holding your breath until next week. There is no better reason to subscribe to HBO! This week even introduced a red tri-color Australian Shepherd (with tail) with a BIG secret...clearly, that sealed the deal for us.

Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer as Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/09/sternbergh_on_true_blood.html
Photo via google search

HALLOOOWWWEEEN!

Enjoying my day off carving pumpkins. Apparently our neighborhood doesn't get many trick-or-treaters, but we are prepared! Plan to just lay low and watch scary movies. Io is going to be a warewolf this year....oh wait, I guess he already is half-dog half-human...or at least he THINKS he is!

Relaxing Weekend

Nothing too exciting this weekend. Saturday, we went grocery shopping, went to the gym, took a nap, rented movies... Today, we washed the cars, and went on a nice long walk with Io. Today was so beautiful. Hard to not be in the mountains on a crisp sunny weekend, but sometimes nothing beats a weekend of down time. The last weekend of light as we gear up for the end of daylight savings.....arrrrrgghh! The end is near!

The Uintas- We miss the aspens! Photo by Cory McCann Green

Halloween is coming!

Started decorating for Halloween. We were both out of town last year so this is the first time we've decorated. Starting to get our scary on, but it is still a work in progress!


Spoooooky at night!

Gorgeous day for Rainier!

Tammy and Paige came down last night so we could use our place as a launching point for a hike today. Very COOOLD, but crystal clear views of Mt. Rainier from Norse Peak. When we got to the trail head at 9AM, the temperature was only in the 20's at 4000 feet. At the top (3 hours later) it was only 35 degrees at nearly 7000 feet. Ahhh, but the wonderful sunshine warmed us up over a 2 hour lunch along with our fire log, mimosas, hot chocolate, smoked salmon, gourmet cheese and other goodies. Here are some highlights!

Rain, Rain, go away...

Fall has arrived in Tacoma. It rained all weekend. The next 5 months we know will be hard as the days get shorter, but at least this year we know what to expect! Yesterday was still warm and balmy, but today had that chilly crispness in the air that tells you fall is here to stay. Leaves are just now starting to turn. Thanks to the cool wet summer, there is already a pretty nice show of colors this year. Despite the "poopy" weather this weekend, we made the most of it. We drove up to Bothell to spend Saturday afternoon with Tammy and Paige checking out the Woodinville wineries. One of our favorite Chardonnays comes from a small family owned and operated winery: the Facelli winery. I went to the Facelli winery for the first time 2 years ago when I was in town for a friends wedding (before we moved back to the Northwest). We have so far made it a yearly event to buy load up on his Chardonnay for the year. Don't be surprised if Santa Claus brings some Washington wines to Salt Lake for Christmas!

Kelly and Barry mapping the route through old growth forest
on the way to Appleton Pass in Olympic National Park
(photo by Tammy and Paige Smith)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle- Fall Cleaning Part II

I spent yesterday morning breaking down boxes and sorting recyclables from the "throw out" pile in the garage. From that big pile, I only ended up with 2 medium boxes of actual trash! I filled up my Subaru almost completely with cardboard boxes. When I got the the recycle center, they asked if I wanted to get paid for it. Sure! I thought. So they weighed my boxes...100 lbs! Guess how much they paid me??? 50 cents!!! Whooo hooooo...I can park for an extra hour at a parking meter now!

As for the other stuff? I sent Cory my old Mac cinema display and the packaging store took my donation of 2 large bags of packaging peanuts and bubble wrap. So, what about the "good will" pile? I was complaining at work since it would have taken me 3 trips in the Subaru and none of the charities were picking up until next week. Long story short, A wonderful co-worker offered to pick it up with her truck! She is LDS and donates through the church...she picked it ALL up yesterday afternoon. So we don't get the tax deduction, but since we don't own a home, it probably wouldn't have been useful for us. It WAS useful getting the stuff out of my garage though. I hope in these hard economic times, these items in good condition will find good homes.

Here is the final result!

Our life thus far

A slide show from past to present. I composed "Worth the Wait" in 2005 after Barry and I had dated long distance for 2 years while I was in nursing school in Seattle. With nursing school almost finished, we were making plans for me to move back to Salt Lake City when I wrote it. 3 years later, we have certainly made up for the wait.

Best of Summer '08

Although a day away from the official fall equinox,
the rain over the last couple days and rain forecast
for the week indicates that summer is over in Tacoma.
I think we made the most of our summer!
Here are some highlights.

Fall Cleaning

I have enjoyed Chandra's blogs so much, that I thought I might start one too. It's a great way to keep everyone posted on what's going on. As you may know, Barry and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on the 16th. We celebrated the weekend before with a little overnight back packing trip on the middle fork of the Snoqualmie river. We had clear skies, a full moon, and Barry caught lots of fish with his new fly rod. I think he was inspired by Jason's fly fishing when we were in New York in August. We hoped to go back this weekend, but alas, the wet northwest fall weather has arrived!


So instead, we did some big fall cleaning today. When we moved to Tacoma, the packers packed EVERYTHING! Including items we should have left behind. On top of that, our garage started looking like a war zone of "gear gone wild". Now we have two piles in the garage, one for the trash and one for donation. Our outdoor gear has been reduced to only the gear we use. 21 months of procrastination and it only took us a couple of hours to accomplish our mission!


Before/After


Before/After


Trash/Good will