I am so excited for this weekend, and I can sum it all up for you in one word: MULCH! We have been preoccupied since a few weeks before we left for vacation, and haven’t had a free day to pay attention to the outside of our house (let’s be honest, we’ve barely kept up with the inside).

I’m so tired of driving up to my house every day looking at all the things I wish we’d had the time to take care of, but hadn’t. I feel bad for my nice neighbor who’s getting ready to put her house on the market, and whose beautiful black mulch makes ours look a year old (which it is). And I’m so jealous of everyone else’s mulch…I even smell it everywhere I go and it is TAUNTING ME! So this weekend we’re having a big fat yard of mulch delivered (like a cubic yard, not like a whole yard, although our entire yard is not big at all for those of you who haven’t seen it).

I will also indulge in some sort of flowering hanging plant for the front, and probably some other florals to plant in the ground. The backyard will be another story…it will probably take hours to rake up all the leaves we never got last fall, and I’m guessing it’ll be close to 20 lawn bags of refuse. And the saddest thing is there is nothing to reward us underneath…my efforts in growing grass didn’t quite take root (pun intended) and all we will get is nicely raked dirt, but that beats messy old leaves in my book. We’ll finally get the patio furniture out and celebrate Howe style in the backyard

This is becoming a priority for my sanity’s sake; I need to eat dinner on my deck and look out at something that looks more like this instead of the sad wasteland that’s currently outside my sliding glass door. I’ll let you know what kind of progress we make…these are lofty aspirations for one weekend but with close to zero plans ahead of us, I think we can do it.

Should’ve posted this sooner but you can get a free small iced coffee at DD today. Go get one! Now, hurry!

You can also get a free southern style chicken sandwich free at McDonald’s today. I confess, I had one! I got a sandwich, side salad, small fry and drink for under 4 bucks! And I even checked the nutritional info for the whole meal (since I do that now) and it was less than a full sized sandwich at Panera, so go get a cheap dinner and don’t feel guilty! This promotion ends at 7pm I think, so hurry out and eat for free.

I think I’ve entered that stage of pregnancy when you get really really ravenously hungry. Which is ironic, because I was just telling a friend how I don’t find myself much more hungry than normal (no longer true) and also unfortunate, since with “normal” hunger levels I have managed to stay on track (and/or slightly ahead) of predicted weight gain (probably not true for long).

It first hit me on Monday night. Granted, I’d eaten a late breakfast so I picked at lunch, but by 4:30, even the disctraction of finding out my baby’s gender and watching her tumble around in my belly for 45 minutes was not sufficient…I wanted food. I went home and ate a turkey sausage on a roll, salad and mac & cheese…the really creamy and disgusting kind from the box. Then I was still starving so I ate another turkey sausage on a roll. Then I waited 30 minutes, images of the leftover Carvel cake in my freezer distracting me from an episode of Friends, and finally, I went for it. A big slice of goodness, but that wasn’t enough…I drizzled hot peanut butter over the whole thing. And finally, I was full.

Today I left for work armed with snacks for between meals. By 2 pm, they were gone and the hunger was after me! I ended up getting a smoothie from here. I knew it had to be a nutritional hazard, and was probably the equivalent of drinking sugar water but at that point, I didn’t care. I ordered a small, but was given (and charged for) a medium. And I came home to view the stunning nutrition (or lack thereof) info. Holy crap! 550 calories, 4 grams of fat (2.5 of them saturated) and a stunning 103 grams of sugar later, I will never get a smoothie from DD again! I should have gotten a Big Mac…I think I would have been better off! It was good, but not that good!

I will stick to my decaf iced coffee with milk and pack extra Fiber One bars…I could have 3 of them and still not consume as many calories as I did in that innocent looking plastic cup. In fact, I could have TEN of them and consume less sugar! Ok, I’m off my soapbox and on to find somewhat healthy items I can get myself in a pinch on the road when my snack stash runs out.

Sorry for the lapse. My craplet…I mean tablet…had to be sent to Duluth, GA for some TLC since I have abused it daily for a full year. I have dropped it on the pavement 4 times (that I know of) and once I left it on a hot coffee pot burner for 45 minutes. The plastic melted and it was never the same. Although Brian got his new Macbook I’m still Mac-resistant. All the shortcuts are different and keys are in different places so when I look back at something I wrote it looks like gobblety gook. Or something like that. But I decided to bear with it for one blog post, after all, the big appt was today. And my HP is guaranteed to be returned to me by 10:30 tomorrow morning and I will be anxiously awaiting it’s arrival :) 

Speaking of anxiously awaiting arrivals, I finally succumbed to my big belly and dragged Brian to a maternity store on Sunday afternoon. Actually, he didn’t require much dragging, and they have comfy seats outside the dressing room at the maternity store in Colonie, so he was ok. He was also admired by the entire staff for his patience - I think they were also concerned about the fact that we were going to have a kid, since we were laughing and giggling like teenagers the whole time. It’s just funny - they have a pillow in the dressing room you can velcro onto yourself to see if clothes will still look good on you when you are ginormous. Yeah…like that’s the only part of me that will get bigger. They should just tell you flat out that nothing will look or feel good on you at 8.5 months pregnant. However, some of the stuff looked pretty cute for the time being.

The nice and helpful saleslady kept bringing me the size I wanted and the next size up whenever I asked for something. I finally looked at Brian (who, ever so lovingly, was also advising that I consider buying clothes that would last me the duration of the pregnancy), and told him that if she didn’t stop suggesting I try on bigger sizes, I would take the ginormous pillow and shove it down her helpful throat. Those people should have special insurance - pregnant women are a testy bunch. Throw them in a row of dressing rooms with huge mirrors trying clothes on their ever expanding bodies…that’s just a dangerous and hostile work environment.

And I just know I’m leaving something out…what is it? Oh yeah, we’re having a baby girl. And she makes all of this worth it.

Sometime during the last ten days, I popped. I used to think this word was strange, but it really is the best available descriptor. My belly was in, and now it’s out. It popped…much like a kernel of corn would. This has altered my daily life in several ways. I will list a few:

• People now KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’m pregnant. It’s obvious, I can’t hide it (unless I’m sitting or you can only see my…forehead). Today I walked into an office and the receptionist (who sits behind the counter and can only see my from about the shoulders up)gave me the GREATEST of compliments…”How are you! It’s been a while. You look tan…and did you lose weight?” at which I replied “Thank you, I love you, but stand up.” Then the truth was out.
• Yesterday I was cleaning up and I leaned over to pick up a tissue Posh had found and ripped into 1,928,837 pieces on the carpet. Halfway into my “lean over” my belly ran into my knees and I bounced back up. I had to re-evaluate leaning over to get to the tissue debris. I ended up in a sort of a squat, making a space for my belly between my legs. Halfway through this maneuver I realized I looked like those pregnant women on TV. And the light bulb went on…
• I wake up in the middle of the night and have to shift positions. Usually this involves more mental strength, since I’m typically hauling my new appendage from one side of my body to the other. It is very entertaining; well, it’s entertaining anytime but at 2am when no one else is up to see it but me. Then, it’s not so entertaining. So really it never is.
• In the middle of meals, I feel like there is just too much crammed into my abdomen. Baby, baby stuff, meal and lots of water. So I lean back, and eventually leave to go to the bathroom hoping some of the tension will be relieved. It isn’t.
• Speaking of sitting, I notice that I find myself sitting like a guy sometimes…my legs aren’t always crossed…sometimes they’re apart. Wierd.

So that’s that. I’m still getting used to it, and sometimes when I look in the mirror, I don’t believe it’s me, but I’m embracing it!

Since I’ve pretty much cut out soda as a result of my efforts to avoid high amounts of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and caffeine, I’ve had to find some satisfying alternatives. Enter the juice spritzer, which simultaneously satisfies my constant cravings for juice.

For the record, this is pretty much the only craving I’ve had so far (with the exception of the Cheerios phase, but that was a wierd first trimester sickness thing). It’s not just juice, but anything sweet, cold and fruity. Sorbet does the trick too. But juice is just more accessible. It also helped me get calories into me during the aforementioned first trimester. Now that I’m trying to avoid empty calories, which I think juice would qualify as, I’ve made juice spritzers a regular part of my day. The recipe is simple. Part juice + part spritzer = juice spritzer.

On vacation I had awesome ones, with OJ, pineapple juice and cranberry juice. They totally rocked as poolside beverages. Now that I’m home, I’m sticking to simpler recipes, containing the two juices I crave most, and, oddly enough, pretty much never drank before I got pregnant. Namely limeade and grapefruit juice. Mmmmmmm. I’m drinking one now. I know limeade isn’t really a juice, but it’s the most awesome thing ever made and I love it, but if I drink a whole glass I feel sick. Not to mention ingest WAY too much sugar.

I can’t believe I just wrote more than one paragraph about juice spritzer. I really am a preggo, huh?

• So tired - didn’t pull in from Long Island till ten. Couldn’t go straight to bed even though I was sleeping when we pulled into the neighborhood…had to stay up and gear up to be ready for an awesome morning leading worship at NC-Colonie tomorrow.
• Things that will make you laugh when you’re half asleep - listening to Kevin Brustle (worship pastor), who filled in for me at practice this week, singing all the songs for this weekend in MY key…so everything was either super low or super high. Even more hilarious = Dan singing harmony with him. It totally brightened my night! Can’t wait to see my team tomorrow, I miss jamming out with them 2x/week!
• Whirlwind trip to Long Island was totally worth it. Brian’s grandpa is awesome and we are so glad we got to surprise him with a big 80th birthday party! He is still cracking jokes and making his family and friends laugh…at 80. Not too shabby if you ask me.
• I hope I find myself in his shoes when I’m 80. Having a party where they’re adding place settings at the last minute because so many people want to be there to celebrate. Sharing the day with friends who I can still call friends after 40 or 50 plus years. He is a man of character and it showed today.
• Wish we could be closer to ALL of our family and see them more and spend time with them for longer than 24 hours.
• Whirlwind trips are not my favorite…neither is living out of a suitcase for 2 weeks in 4 different hotels. But in 5, 10 or 20 years I will be glad I was there today with my husband and his family, and I would regret it if I’d missed it!
• Baby Howe (soon we’ll know if it’s a momma’s boy or a daddy’s girl) is growing and kicking me ALL the time. It started becoming more prevalent this past week. Now it’s several times a day. I think it’s because my pants are getting progressively tighter in the waist, and there is more pressure on this kid’s nesting place. I think I sense the baby tapping something out in morse code: “Buy maternity pants mom! You’re squishing me!”

No seriously, what happens in Vegas? I wouldn’t know, even after having been here 36 hours. I landed, took a shuttle to the MGM grand, and haven’t left the premises since. I did attend a poolside reception last night for like 30 minutes. So I was outside, but still technically on the premises.

It is 10pm here and I just got back to my room for the night. I left at 6:45 for breakfast. I am surprisingly energetic. I do however have a list of grievances against Las Vegas in general. I realize my trip hasn’t really given Vegas a chance to show me what it’s got, but so far, here’s what I’ve experienced:

• 30 minute wait to check in (granted, about 2500 people were checking in with our group…not including normal guests…within a 2 hour span) to find that our room was not ready and we should check our bags with the Bellman (another 10 min wait) until we are assigned one.
• Finally got to the room around 7:30pm after a half day of meetings. It was a smoking room. When I called and complained on behalf of my 8 ounce fetus, and asked for a room that would not require me to inhale second hand smoke all night, I was told none were available. When I marched downstairs and asked for the same thing (alongside about 50 other upset guests, many of whom were from our company, some of whom were put in rooms - with roommates - that had a king size bed and a COT), I was (eventually) upgraded to a celebrity suite. I was so excited. I got there. It wasn’t as cool as it sounds. I think it should be a celebreality suite. Or just a reality suite. That would be more fitting.
• Tonight at dinner the entree was filet and jumbo prawns. Feeling guilty about already having eaten my share of shellfish this week (a pregnancy thing) and concerned that all the meat looked blood red…and because my good friend Melissa said “Don’t eat that!” (She also rebelled on behalf of my child when I bought a bag of Doritos earlier this week) I accepted when offered a vegetarian meal. Then my meal never came. Then I found out they were out of vegetarian meals. I was offered just jumbo prawns. I asked instead for meat that was at least medium well. They said no can do. Then my manager and his manager got wind of it. They were outraged and demanded that I eat out of genuine concern for my well being. As it turns out, the only way for me to eat within the hour was to walk back to the hotel (a trek that is all indoors, all MGM Grand property, but still a 15 min walk!) and order something I could eat, since apparently all the convention food was brought in from off the premises. So I did. I ate alone in my room and rushed back to catch a solid hour and a half of the program.

Needless to say, I’m not a fan of the MGM Grand. I have many more less entertaining stories but I think you get the point. And since this is all I know of Vegas, I don’t really love Vegas. But tomorrow, our sessions end at 12:30, and my flight is at 4:15. I plan to eat lunch by the pool, sip on a delicious virgin Pina Colada (which I’ve been craving all week), then spend no more than $15 in the casino…5 dollars on roulette because it looks cool on TV (#28, baby’s due date!), and 10 at the slots in tribute to my grandma, because she is awesome, and she loves the slots.

So although I am still not clear on what happens in Vegas outside of the MGM Grand, I know one thing for sure: many things may stay in Vegas but I am not one of them! Viva las direct flight home tomorrow at 4:15.

Although I planned on hibernating in my room, accomplishing stuff, and wallowing in my sorrow that my hubby was gone, Melissa and her superior sales ability lured me out and onto the beach at San Clemente. She is a good salesperson, for sure, but she was selling a great product!

I got some sun, got to see the surfers, walked the pier…it was beautiful. I headed back to Newport Beach, and on my way, grabbed some dinner here, and a famous chocolate covered apple (Snickers variety) here. I will let you know how that is I decided to take the scenic route home from San Clemente, and drove the Pacific Highway as the sun was starting it’s descent. It was beautiful…I had the windows down, the wind in my hair, and the radio blasting. All of a sudden, right as I start driving into Laguna Beach, this song comes on, and I’m like, are you kidding me? I thought I was on an episode of The Hills and LC was about to hop in my car! Good times.

Goodbye OC. I’ll be back soon.

So as much as I love vacation, I have to admit the last couple of nights I have gone to sleep thinking about all the things I haven’t been taking care of while I’m away. Like checking e-mail, end of month stuff for work, banking stuff…you know, the daily grind. Today is my opportunity to chill out and play catch up a little before round 2 starts tomorrow.

I’m actually realizing that I get to slowly ease back into the real world instead of just being thrust back into it full force (like Brian will be, arriving home late tonight and going straight to work tomorrow morning). Vegas will be work, and I’ll have to, like, adhere to a schedule, set my alarm, and use my brain. But it’s still in Vegas so it’s not exactly the daily grind. Then I’ll be home for one day…one very jetlagged day…and drive down to Long Island that evening for some family time. I will use all of this time to mentally gird (second time I have used that word on my blog in a one week span…wierd) myself for reality, which starts when we get home Sat evening, and wake up Sunday to head to church early where Brian will resume the role of Campus Pastor and I the role of pregnant pastor’s wife and worship leader. Then monday, it’s all back to reality!

The other day I was telling Brian how I haven’t really thought past May 3rd at all. I have nothing planned, nothing coming up to look forward to or dread…nothing. I pretty much planned life up to this wonderfully relaxing and somewhat chaotic period of travel, and didn’t look past it. I asked Brian, what will we do next? To which he replied by staring at my ever increasing belly and saying “it’s all about that kid from now on!”

So with that in mind, I will look forward to May 12th…the day we find out whether this little one is Prince or Princess, and immediately begin to design and execute a super fabulous Howe baby bedroom. With Brian leading that endeavor, I’m sure the results will be spectacular!