Home at Last

I'm now recovering from a fantastic weekend with missed friends and family! I had such a nice time. I got to see my brother for about an hour during a layover in Chicago. I stayed with The Baylers.

And yes I got the best response out of Nicole just like I knew I would. It wouldn't be funny to explain, you just had to be there.

I saw my beloved Hallmark Girls. This is an old picture but it works for my purpose here. I could have put my apron on and started ringing people out. It was so comfortable. Like I never left. Good times!

I got to spend much needed time with my "Surrogate Family" The Kalgrens. Unfortunately some very important members of this family were not in attendance which was quite heartbreaking for me (Melissa & her boys, Roddy and his family) but I took what I could get. Steph (the BFF) is the one with the blue shirt w/ the white bird. Karen and Steven (the two right above Steph) are the newlyweds. I'm not going to name them all off but if you have questions just ask.

I got to eat at the best Mexican Restaurant on the planet: Rey Azteca!

I think had I had more money I could have eaten there everyday and I would have! If you live in the Hampton Roads area and you like mexican food GO THERE!!!!! Get the cheese dip! And maybe Chili Colorado.....yummmm, Chili Colorado!

It's too bad I didn't have more time to spend there. I would have loved to go to PA to visit more of my family. Sad. But I'm glad I got what time I did. I am however very glad to be home. I missed Terry very much. And I was nervous about the baby the whole time. I didn't want anything to happen being that far away from home.

I seem to be showing some signs, though! I have no control over my body temp or my emotions! I had a gnarly hot flash on the plane home. I thought I would burst into flames! I burst into tears for no reason at all and then suddenly it's over. I love the smell of coffee but now I can't stand it! WTF?! All else seems to be going well.

Boulder Falls

Terry & I went on a hike yesterday to Boulder Falls (Marked easy in the book, I checked!) It was so nice. The trail was nice and flattish. There were lots of people out, but not too many. And there were a bunch of families with little kids. That made me happy to think that we could bring our kids with us. It was nice exercise but I didn't fell exhausted afterward. A good day. Here are a few pics.

The falls stand about 75 tall. They were so pretty. Much better but less water than Bridal Falls. With only half the work. I fully intend to go back! ASAP.

So far pregnancy if going fine. I've suffered no morning sickness yet though I fully expect to wake up every morning puking. I had a little heartburn, my boobs are sore and I can smell something gross from a mile away. As a matter of fact I have so few symptoms that I'm wondering if those 2 positive preg test were wrong. I hope they were right. I've told almost everyone I know. "Hey guys, just kidding!" Well see Oct 2 if I need to sue the shit out of the preg test company for making me lie to all my people!

Well my trip to VA starts in 2 days! I can't wait to see my friends. I'll be there about a week. I'm pretty sure most of them have no idea I'm knocked up. I'm excited to tell them face to face. I think Nicole will give me the best reaction. We'll see.

A Downside :(

So call me whiny but this will be my first child and I want all the bells and whistles that come along with that. I want a nice baby shower, I want all my friends to be like "Awwww look how big your getting!", I want my mommy! Everyone we know lives across the country! We have discovered the downside to living in Washington. (I still don't want to move back, though.) On the off chance that any of my peeps would throw me a shower, the time that showers normally happen I will be too big to travel. Boo Hoo! Poor pitiful me, right! At times like these I really miss my friends & family. I will be seeing 3/4 of my clan in 6 days! Yeah! My Clan!

I go see the doctor on Oct 2. I'll be about 9 - 10 weeks at that point. They told me that there's no real point in coming any earlier than that because they can't hear the heart beat till about 10 weeks. Cool!

So I have an assignment for all who read this. I have a few names picked out for boys and girls but I would like more choices. Tell me what you got!

The Unexpected

So Terry & I went whale watching yesterday. We were on the Puget Sound in the San Juan Islands for 4 hours and didn't see a single whale. Sad. We did get a rain check to come back some other time for free so it wasn't a total loss. Plus we did see other stuff. We saw lots of seals...

See 'um? Right there on the rock. The little white thing.

And there. The little shiny black thing stickin' out of the water.

We also saw an eagle. He's right in the center of the picture.

And an eagle's nest. It's about 6 - 8 feet across. In the Y of the tree.

Oh and we saw lots of deer. Yes deer. There's an island (Speiden Island) that is home to 4 different kinds of deer for around the world. Long story short....2 dudes in the '60s wanted to make the 2 mile long, 1/2 mile wide island a wild game hunt for rich old guys who don't want to do any real work when it comes to hunting. They imported 4 types of deer to Speiden. The project didn't work and the guys couldn't get all the deer off the island. So they're all still there living in peace with no natural enemies on an island owned (now) by the guy the founded the Oakley Sunglasses company.

As we made our way into Canadian water's we passed the most northwestern tip of the USA. Stewart Island's Turn Point Light House. Whales can often be seen here. Sadly not by us, though.

We also saw some Jelly Fish. The biggest one's I've ever seen. The biggest one I saw was about 2 feet across. Moon Jelly fish I think they were called.

We saw a few Doll's Porpoises. I wasn't quick enough to catch a picture. But I did catch a nice sunburn all over my face & chest. It was nice and cool out there so I forgot all about the sun cooking me from the sky and reflecting off the water. I look like a lobster.

Anyway not a whole lot else to talk about....Oh wait there is one more thing. I'm Pregnant!! At least that's what the little pink plus sign said! Twice! I haven't been to the doctor yet but I will go (hopefully) some time this week.

It didn't take near as long as I was expecting it to. I thought it would take a few years. We haven't even really been trying that hard! I, of course, will keep you all posted.

To any of the Hallmark girls who read this, please keep it under you hat till I get there. I would like to tell as many people I can myself face to face. I know Holly & Jamie read this from time to time. I wanted to tell everyone face to face but I just can't keep it quite!! Hehe. If my own personal calculations are correct I'm due around May 5ish. Woo hoo! I think I'll call my Mom, Nappy & my dad Grand Papa (roll your tougue when you say that)! What do ya'll think?

Worth it?!?

OMG! Am I out of shape. Although I am over weight I do get out and do things. I walk my dog, we go to the beach, you know physical stuff. If I have a day off, I do things I don't sit around on my ass much. I just happen to enjoy food. That being said, Terry and I went for our first official mountain hike yesterday. I thought I would die. It was only 3 1/2 miles (roughly) round trip which would normally be no big deal, but this was quite literally a steady uphill the first half. And of course down hill on the way back. That was no fun either, my knees are killing me!

So anyway here's how it went. We got this book a few months back, "60 Hikes within 60 Miles - Seattle". All the hikes are labeled: Easy, Moderate, Difficult. So we start hiking and about 20 minutes in to it Terry says "If this is moderate I would hate to see difficult". At that point I start to feel bad about myself. I'm thinkin' "Man I can't let this simple path beat me" But it was so hard! About half way to the mid point (the payoff) I tell Terry "Go on without me, save yourself!" So he goes ahead of me and I slowly keep going. He's gonna go ahead, turn around, meet up with me, then we would head back to the car. Well because I kept following him I came to a point that I knew I had to finish. I had come to far to turn back with out the big payoff. So I press on. I call Terry and he has made it to the payoff. He says it worth it and he's so happy that I didn't turn around and go back to the car. Now I really can't disappoint him. He's so proud. I finally meet up with him and we make our way to the pay off. In his case back to the pay off. I pass a couple of old ladies on my way and of course there is now way in hell I can stop now!! OLD LADIES!!! I soldier on. There are some spots that I can't even believe that this is a real trail. It's like a foot wide on the side of a mountain and the path is covered with these giant rocks. It's insanity!!!

So finally after what feels like 5 miles uphill and 5 hours, I've made it. And all my pain and suffering was completely worth it.

Bridal Falls (The Pay Off)

The View

Terry in his Happy Place!

So after enjoying the sites we start to make our way back down the mountain. What happens next you ask? Well it rains buckets of course! By the time we made it back to the car I was completely soaked! And cold. I didn't really warm up till this morning in the shower. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest and it's beautiful rain forest!

FYI: The Hike was labled Difficult! I found out after we got back to the car. I could have killed that man!!

Tid Bits

For starters let it be known that I have a butt load of stuff to do today. That fact alone means that I shouldn't even be wasting time on the computer much less writing a blog! Plus I don't have a whole lot to write about. I'm just lazy sometimes and I really don't want to do the dishes.

So Ter and I are going Whale Watching! We are going to the San Juan Islands in the Puget Sound and hopefully gonna see some orcas! That in of it self is super exciting to me but I'm also stoked about boating in around the sound! I love water and the coastlines around here are my idea of heaven! Not only do we get to go out in a boat for the tour but we have to ferry to the islands in the first place. Sweet! I never thought I'd be doing some of the things I've done lately.

You know the ONLY reason I wish Terry & I were super rich is so he would stop worrying. He can suck the fun out of something so fast just by silently bitching about how much money we don't have. He'll only say one thing about it then be withdrawn for the rest of the evening. Hence the silent part. I affectionately call him The Fun Murderer. He is cute, though.

Less than a month till my VA trip. I'm excited and freaked out all at the same time.

Excited because:

a) My flight layovers in Chicago for about 4 hours, where my brother lives so he's gonna come to the airport to see me. Yeah!

b) Karen's wedding (the whole reason I'm going to VA in the first place) is gonna be attended by my surrogate family for PA, The Kalgrens.

c) I get to see my VA friends.

d) I get to eat at my favorite Mexican place! REY AZTECA, here I come!

Freaked out because:

a) I like to fly but I'm scared to fly.

b) This will be the first time I've ever gone anyplace completely on my own. You know with out Terry or my Mom. I know it's pathetic.

That's one of the reasons I wanted to go so much. I don't do stuff on my own very much and I really want to be able and not scared to do things with out my security blanket. (aka Terry)

Well the house is pretty much done. I need to clean it and take pictures and I'll post them in the next day or so. (Hopefully, If I can get my lazy ass off this computer.)

Uno Ass Man

So I don't remember if I got into what's been happening at work since my old boss was canned. In short we got a new manager and he's been doing great things for the studio. His boss, our district manager Michelle, who is a huge pain in the ass, wanted him to pick or hire an asst. manager. So naturally since I have no desire for the position they asked me. I respectfully turned it down.

Let me explain: Terry and I are finally at a place in our lives where we can do things we want. Go places, have kids, spend real time together and I don't want my job to interfere with that. I'm simply trying to gain experience so I can go on to have my own studio someday. Not shot to the top at the Sears Portrait Studio. I'm quite happy being a peon. No one bugs me, I don't have to deal with most problems that come up, blah blah blah. And the pay isn't that much more than I'm making now.

So anyway they hired two new girls to fill they lack of employee void. One to be a part time peon and the other to be asst. manager. Well low and behold the part time peon is awesome. Fast learner, great customer service, good with kids, the works. We love her. The A.M. on the other hand dreadful! She's bad all around. She's essentially good at nothing as far as the studio is concerned. And I'm pretty sure she had never picked up a camera in her entire life before she was hired. WTF!!?? To make matters worse. The part time peon is moving, Sara is going to collage, I'm going on vacation, and the boss may take another job. ALL in less than a month!

The boss has finally wised up to how crappy she is and has asked her to step down from the asst. position. Which she happily did. Then they came right back and asked me to take it which I agreed to (if you want something done right do it your self, right?) Well now that I've excepted the district manager is telling my boss that "The Asst. has to work Sundays and nights" of which I do neither. Seriously, you're going to pester me to take a position I don't even want and then throw in conditions? I think not! So I told my boss to tell his boss that if that's the way it's gonna be she can shove that position strait up her ass. (That is exactly what I told him! FYI)

He's yet to tell me any new news but will see. I may be the Uno Ass Man (#1 Asst. Manager) I may not be. Either way I'll be alright. Trust me!

Update: I've talked to Trae (the boss) since I posted this and he said that he doesn't care what Michelle says he's just happy I'm the A.M. I guess I'm the Asst. Manager. Okey Dokey.