Scatterbrained Days

For those of you who saw my last few posts yesterday and wondered why I was trying to teach you about ESL, wonder no more.  

I am a complete and total mess these days.  :)  Between juggling school, training for Barre, leading a Girl Scout Daisy troop, and wrapping up grad school my brain has been struggling to keep it all straight.  So last night I sat here working away on my Graduate school ESL blog and instead of posting them to that site posted to Port of Thoughts....Oh me!  

I guess I could say I'm a big scatterbrained these days. 

On a different note, I made it through my training in Nashville and am continuing to study and learn more about Barreamped Method now that I'm home.  I went to class tonight with Leigh-Ann teaching and got a fantastic work out that had my muscles shaking.  :)  

Here is a pic of Suzanne Bowen, Megan, the other future BarreAmped Lex teacher, myself, and Leigh-Ann, owner of BarreAmped Lex.  I met some other great girls down there and am excited to go back again to learn more from them!

Behold, BarreAmped

(Suzanne Bowen-courtesy of www.barreamped.com)

I couldn't be more stoked than I am right now about this weekend. I have been blessed with the opportunity to come to Nashville to be trained by owner and creator of BarreAmped fitness, Suzanne Bowen.  I have been so excited at the thought of teaching, after experiencing the amazing strength that BarreAmped has given me mentally and physically.  

Leigh-Ann has brought this fabulous class to Lexington at ElleFitness and allowed so many of us to see how challenging, motivating, and effective the BarreAmped method is.  

As excited as I was before arriving, I hadn't really prepared myself for how awesome this training would be.  I am even more amazed after being here to see the fitness knowledge and body awareness that Suzanne has and believes in instilling in her instructors.  Her focus is on form and keeping the body safe while making your muscles change into their strongest form possible.  I can't wait to see what the next few days will bring.  I pray that I have the mental and physical ability to be the type of instructor I'm hoping to be.  The possibilities here are endless.  :)  Thanks Leigh-Ann for this fabulous opportunity. 

What Do You See?

I see a huge dead limb that has fallen out of our oak tree in the front yard.  I see a blessing because we had been needing to have it cut out, and putting off the $100 or more to get it down.  I see the kindness of a neighbor who offered to help Barry break it up and put it in his truck to haul away.

I see a hideous sight in my kitchen, no kitchen cabinet doors.  I see the blessing of a retired wood worker who has offered to help build a custom cabinet for our new suspended microwave.   I see the power of friendship.  I see a blessing.

I see dishes on the counter that need put away.  I see evidence of a loving and kind husband who offers to make a healthy dinner when I'm bogged down by work.  I see love.  I see a blessing.

What Do You See from where your sitting? 

Telling Two of my Favorites

My Granny and Pepaw mean the world to me.  They are such amazingly special people it's hard to put into words.  I have always had a special and close relationship with them.  I couldn't wait to tell them about our news.

There birthdays are a day apart from one another and we decided it would be the perfect time to tell them.  So, the day before their birthdays we stopped over to give them their birthday cards. (we had to do it early because I was leaving for Barre training in Nashville the next day).

After letting them both open their cards we gave them a small envelope as their "gift".  Inside they found a little baby duck with a message inside telling them about their newest great grandchild.  :)

Again laughs, cheers, and tears then insued, as seems to be the ritual for telling people your expecting.  :)

They were sooooo excited, it was a thrill and a half!

My grandfather said he "usually has a small pull one way or the other for a boy/girl, but with this little baby he could care less, because he knows it will be perfect!"  I love them to pieces and can't wait for them to meet our little Baby C!

The Fabulous duo: Granny and Pepaw!

The Secret is Out

September  20th, 2011

The secret is out!  After our ultrasound Tuesday we had Barry's parents over for dinner and drinks, and of course a little surprise!  Barry had found these Tervis tumbler glasses a while back and thought it would be the perfect way to tell them. 

Barry quickly poured them a drink upon their arrival.  At first, they had turned the cups around so that they were facing us!  Being impatient to tell, we quickly alerted them to take a look at their glasses.  Barry's mom became immediately emotional and soon we were all hugging, and laughing and celebrating to the good news!  This is there first grandchild and they are completely stoked.
We spent the rest of the night smiling, chatting, and dreaming of what is to come, all of us under the general spell of baby bliss!  

Then the weekend came and we were headed down to Somerset to spend time with my parents "for my 10 year highschool reunion".  That Friday when we got down there w couldn't wait to tell them but we had to drop off Kman first, then run to a football game, before heading home to spread the news.  We came home and sat down with them and told them we had a little gift to give them, something we had picked up while in San Francisco.
And what they unwrapped was this

They were both completely in shock!  We stood hugging, tearing up and jumping for joy excited in the wonders of this blessing.  The rest of the weekend was wonderful and I spent some sweet moments with my parents, and especially my Mom who let me know just how much it means for her oldest baby do be having a baby.  :)
This is so much fun!
Thank you God!

Reunions

This past weekend we headed down to Somerset for my 10 year high school reunion.  I have been working on/thinking about it for a little over a year as the coordinator of all things reunite down there.  Facebook made it easy to get in touch with most people and to keep up with the guest list.  

Those days of high school seem so long ago, and even having a reunion makes you feel a bit aged.  I was looking forward to seeing whomever showed up.  And though I wish we had ended up with a larger turn out it was good to see the faces that were there.  My bestie from school Samantha wasn't able to make it since she lives in WA and had just made the trip home with her kids recently.  :(  

We headed back to the old stomping grounds for a football game Friday and then had dinner Saturday at the Harbor.  Fun times.

Old times

New Times

It was also a great chance for us to be able to spend time with mom and dad, and also have an afternoon visit with Katie and her growing little family.  :)  Blessings, blessings.  :)

Labor Day Fun in S.F.

This past Friday we lifted off and headed to the West coast for a lovely San Francisco wedding.  It was nice to visit the city again and enjoy some different sites and scenes we hadn't done before.

We loved the hotel we stayed at, Hotel Abri which was a little boutique hotel that had been renovated in a very modern theme.
We spent time walking the shops close by getting in some shopping on a couple occasions.  We met up with the Adwells, Richardsons, and Ryan & Whitney and Tabor for shopping and lunch on Saturday.  That evening was filled with walks around downtown and a trip to Ghiradelli Square for some lovely dessert with the whole gang including Winston and his bride Liz.
We had breakfast on Sunday at Dottie's one of the top rated little spots for breakfast in SF.  Which was evident in my our two hour wait outside just to get a table. I will say that this breakfast was one of if not the best of my life, and it was quite an experience!  Sunday evening we headed to the fabulous wedding and had a great time seeing everyone and dancing the night away.
Monday we headed over to the Argonaut hotel and stayed with Christy and Wes.  We spent the day exploring areas of the city we hadn't seen before like the marina district, the parks across from the Fisherman's Wharf, a few adorable neighborhoods with fabulous architecture, and a walk down to Chrissy Field to view the beach and Golden Gate through the fog.  We stumbled upon the beautiful Exploritorium on our way back and had a great time marveling at the sites.  We had dinner with Thompson that night at a great sushi bar and ended with some Ben and Jerry's delight.  :)
We flew back on Tuesday and were glad to be home.  It's always great to travel, and always great to sleep in your own bed.  Especially when it involves a new mattress and puppy you missed dearly.

Here are some pics to recap :)

One of our favorites!  It was so yummy I'd like to go for breakfast lunch and dinner to try all the crepes and panini's! 

Love that wall, love that man!

The boys being troopers while we shopped!

Ghirdelli Brownie and C.Chip Cookie Sundae's

Our first peak inside Dottie's

Waiting in line, oh so close!

Totally worth it and we ordered for a party of 30   :)

Yumminess!

Our First Glimpse of a Miracle

These first few weeks of the "knowing" have been strange, wonderful and challenging.  I have quickly found my way into the world of nausea but have managed to get the sort that lingers around all day long.  Barry and I find ourselves constantly smiling and excited at the thought of what's to come.  Having not seen the baby yet, I have been clinging to my iPhone apps like BabyCenter and BabyBump to tell me what is going on in my body each week.  Though only a lil' smaller than an inch our baby's heart is beating and it's hands and feet, brain and other organs are forming.  Seriously God is amazing.

But with it has come worry, that we both try our best to leave to God to take care of.  We wonder if it's growing correctly, and how it's doing constantly.  

Today we saw Baby C for the first time.  My eyes immediately tear up again just thinking about it.  All of a sudden we could hear a heart beat loud as it could be and there on the screen was the image of a baby.  You could clearly see it's head and body, and it's harms (yes it's hands on arms are apparently morphed to it's side at this point) flapping back and forth like crazy.  Almost as if it was waving to us for the first time.

Tears of great joy came into our eyes and I couldn't stop laughing at the first sight of it!  (thought this was discouraged from the ultrasound tech who needed my belly still).That moment changed our lives I'm sure of it.   Actually seeing our little baby put my mind at ease.  We left the doctor's office with a beautiful picture that needed me to stare at it.  (I don't think you should be allowed to drive home from this appointment, as having this picture became more of a driving hazard to me than texting out a novel on my iPhone.  I seriously encourage taking a cab people!)  

Now I am looking down at my stomach wondering what you're doing little BabyC.  I'm so happy to have you, and your Dad and I are the happiest people on earth today.  All because of you.  

Smile at the Strangers

It's amazing how much I am touched by the bloggers I follow.  Their are the crafty ones, the amazing mom's, the creative decorators, the thoughtful ones, the raw ones, the amazing cooks, the great writers, and the ones that make my side hurt laughing.  I love all the blogs I follow and enjoy finding new ones all the time.  

I haven't had much time to read through my blog roll very much lately but am constantly checking on my faves.  These women feel like they are my friends.  I feel connected to them without having ever set eyes on them in my entire life.  

Today my heart breaks for some sad news from a lil' Momma who has lost her babe.  I found myself tearing up as I read the words from her broken heart. 

It made me realize that these bloggers are physically as much of a stranger as the people I will pass in an airport.  Yet I know the behind the scenes parts of their lives that the cashier at the grocery store may not. 

You never know what someone is going through.  I need help remembering that, and my reminder came today.  So I will be thoughtful of making more of an effort to speak to those people in my life who continuously puzzle me, or frustrate me, because who knows what demons they are battling on the inside of their life I never see.