Binge Blogging

  My dearest friends, clear your schedule for the rest of the day. I'm about to do some serious binge blogging. Or, at least I'm going to try. There will surely be some baby stuff to steer me away, and if by some miracle that doesn't happen, I'll most likely be a victim of my own attention deficit disorder.
  I always thought that I'd chronicle my pregnancy through the use of this blog, but that didn't become a reality when a pregnancy was more than a hypothetical. I wrote only one entry. That's right, one. I mean it's a miracle happening over nine months, right? I'll never be pregnant for the first time again. And it's not like I had a problematic pregnancy that I wouldn't want to share with my nearest and dearest.
  The truth is that there wasn't a lot of down time during my pregnancy. We shoved as many major life events into those 9 months as possible. It made the whole thing go by FAST--like, race car fast.
  Anthony and I started writing weekly (or bi and tri-weekly in my case) letters to our unborn child as a bonding exercise. I also kept a pregnancy journal, and there was a lot of overlapping between the journal and the letters. So while the readers of each are segregated, I felt super redundant by blogging about the pregnancy as well.
  So I'm going to do my very best to record what I can remember in the next couple of entries.

10 Things I've Learned During My Pregnancy

  I can honestly say I've learned a lot over the past 39+ weeks. I doubt the majority of people are pregnancy scholars prior to their own personal journey through Pregnancy Land, but I just don't think I was in any way prepared for what was about to happen to me. So, for all those other ladies who are or are thinking of becoming a mother for the first time, enjoy.

1. You will lose the ability to use your abs. This one might fall under the common sense category, but I honestly had no idea that I would no longer be able to sit up on my own. Prior to becoming pregnant, I took my abs for granted, always thinking they needed to be worked on. Turns out, those bad boys were already pretty strong and I used them a lot. 
2. Any kind of maneuvering your body becomes an event. Getting out of bed? Make sure you're lying flat, and then really use your arm strength to slowly roll onto your side, swing your legs over as quickly as you can (which turns out to be a glacial pace), now push up using your hands as hard as you can to hoist yourself up to a sitting position.
3. You will pull muscles doing things that absolutely should  not pull muscles. I moved my pillow one night and pulled a muscle in my neck. That was then followed by a breakdown about how I couldn't do anything anymore. (Poor Anthony!)
4. When it comes to pregnancy, everyone's got a story to tell. And boy do they love to tell it. Go ahead and add 30 minutes to everything you do--fifteen minutes to account for you doing everything at 1/2 your normal pace and another fifteen for random people stopping to tell you about their experience with pregnancy.
5. Speaking of everyone else's stories, they're all horror stories. It's kind of like the customer service rule of thumb: people are more likely to talk about a bad experience than a good one. I know, fun.
6. Don't ever tell someone you're ready to have the baby--it's a trap. This proclamation is always followed by more horror stories about how they walked around 3 cm dilated for weeks before their due date and still wound up giving birth a week late. Super encouraging.
7. Used to getting cat calls when walking down the street? Good news--you'll still have lots of people make comments about your body as you walk along the same street. It's just more like "Whew, you're about to pop" or "Suck in that gut". Because apparently that's appropriate to say to a random stranger. True story.
8. Stretch marks? Two words--Spoiled Mama
9. No massages or aromatherapy during the first trimester. These can kill your baby, seriously.
10. Speaking of things you need to avoid, that list sticks very closely to everything enjoyable in life. Sound dramatic? Just wait, you'll understand.

   There's still so much more that can be added to the list, but I'll stick to these ten. 

   I'll end by saying that I've had an absolutely wonderful pregnancy and will miss my sweet baby boy growing inside of me. Now with that being said, let's go August. Mommy and Daddy are ready to meet you!!

Man of my Dreams; Man of my Prayers

  I can remember dreaming about the man I would someday marry as a little girl. This dreaming spurred prayers for the unknown man--anything from hoping he had a good day, to our future lives together, to asking God to shape him into the man I would need him to be, and similarly, shaping me into the woman I would need to be for him.

   This continued on throughout my teenage and adult years. In fact, I specifically remember praying for for him last year. I didn't know who he'd be or when he'd come into my life, but I knew that he would at some point and I wanted to do my part in praying for his daily and spiritual life.

   I asked God to look into my heart and mold my future husband into exactly who He knew that I would need. I even went as far as to dream for extras such as being handsome and funny. Greedy, I know, but it never hurts to ask. :)

   And just like He always does, God answered that prayer whispered by a little girl through the years until she became a woman. In Anthony, I have found everything I could have possibly ever needed and wanted. He challenges me. He continuously builds me up and offers support in all my endeavors. He is my perfect compliment, my confidant, and my very best friend. Through Anthony, God supplied needs I didn't even know I had. Our Father, true to form, even went above and beyond by throwing in those extras. (I told you it never hurts to ask.)

  So let this post be an encouragement of prayer to those unmarried little girls and ladies. It might seem silly to pray for a man that you haven't yet met and may not plan to meet for a while. We all need prayer, and who better to pray for than the man who will be the leader in your home one day? God hears those requests and honors them. He is able to see the needs we cannot and grants us our heart's desire.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.--Mark 11:24

Hot in Cleveland....yeah right

   I went on a business trip to Cleveland a few weeks ago. Do you remember when about 2,000 flights to and from Atlanta were cancelled due to ice during February? Yeah, that's when I went to Cleveland. As you most likely figured, my original departing flight was cancelled. Snow in Cleveland; ice in Atlanta. But it was no worries--turned out to be a fun and productive trip.

   Typically, when I visit various markets, there isn't a lot of time to experience the city from a tourist's point-of-view. I spend all day on sales calls (which is delightful because I get to meet the people of the visited city) and then spend the evening catching up on emails in my hotel room.

   But my trip to Cleveland was different. Some of you may or may not know this about me, but I truly enjoy NBA basketball. I won't say I'm an avid fan because I rarely watch it on television, other than the Playoffs. Anyhoo, it just so happened that the Cavaliers were playing a game during my visit and I really, really wanted to go. I was planning to play it by ear and make sure the station had not planned anything for that particular evening before I purchased my ticket. While waiting for my delayed flight in Atlanta, I received a text asking if I'd like to attend the game!!! The tired people around me looked at me like I was crazy when I whooped and hollered after receiving that text.

  Needless to say, the game was great! I'm not a Cavaliers fan, per se, but I certainly wasn't going to miss the opportunity to see them play. Enjoy a couple of pictures, below.

  I decided to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while being stranded in Cleveland. I didn't really care anything about it, but I figured...when in Cleveland. I don't have anything against Rock N Roll, I just particularly care about any music hall of fame. I can see sequins at Hobby Lobby and guitars at any music shop. (I know some of you are completely rolling your eyes right now. I don't blame you.)

Katy Perry's outfit

Johnny Cash's Suit & Guitar

Alice Cooper's boots

Michael Jackson's Glove & Jacket

Rut?

(stuck) in a rut

Fig. kept in an established way of living or working that never changes. David felt like he was stuck in a rut, so he went back to school. Anne was tired of being in a rut, so she moved to Los Angeles.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

  One of the perks of my job is being able to have a change of scenery every other week. Business trips are seen as glamorous by most. Sometimes they are; sometimes they're not. Often times I find myself in a cool location but working and viewing the city from my hotel room--that part not so glamorous. Meeting new people, experiencing the culture of a state (particularly those past the Mason Dixon), and eating at local establishments is the fun, glamorous part.

  While the coordinates on the grid change there is one thing that remains the same, no matter the duration of the trip: I find myself grappling with familiarity in a brand new place. For example, there is a restaurant in Toledo that I love, and while I'm sure there are lots of great eateries in the city, I ate both lunch and dinner at this restaurant in the same day. Why? Because i really like the food and I can't get it back home. I often wonder if this means I'm getting stuck in a rut when I visit a city for a day or two. Is that even possible, by definition, if I'm only there for two days.

   I write this seemingly pointless yet observational post because I found myself already doing it today. I'm in Columbia for the very first time and will be here until Friday evening. My hotel doesn't offer breakfast so I googled coffee shops near me and found two local spots near the hotel and the station. I made the decision to try one this morning and the remaining one tomorrow morning, but my breakfast was good and the coffee even better. I decided right then and there that I didn't even need to try the other spot because it couldn't possibly be more quaint than Immaculate Consumption, and there's just no way they can make better hand-crafted lattes. 

   I guess I'm getting stuck in a rut all over again....but at least there'll be good coffee. :)

Night y'all!

DC for NYE

  I've been meaning to update the ol' blog site for a while now. So here goes....

  Back story on how this came to be:  It all began at a work soiree (fancy for retirement reception) on December 20th. I have a couple of coworkers from the DC area, and they were urging me to plan a trip to our nation's capital one day. Fast-forward to a couple of weeks later. Anthony and I are having lunch with a friend, and she mentioned she was going to visit her parents in DC and suggested we should join. A couple of days later, we're in the car making our way to DC.

  We were able to spend two full days visiting museums and walking the Mall.

Starting off Day 1 with this cutie pie. The first museum we visited was the National Museum of American History. This museum was super cool! I especially enjoyed the Star Spangled Banner: The flag that inspired the National Anthem exhibition. This flag is HUGE and almost 200 years old. It really gets the emotions flowing when viewing it. I also really enjoyed the First Ladies exhibition. It had so many beautiful gowns!!

The White House. President Obama was on vacation in Hawaii during this time.

Next, we visited the Botanical Garden. The colored foliage was sparse which is completely understandable for this time of year. It was still a cool place to visit.

Lastly for day one, we visited the Air and Space Museum. To be completely honest, I was tuckered out by the time we reached this museum so there are no pictures. 

The Capital. We were unable to take a tour of the Capital, unfortunately. It's on our list for next time!

We started Day Two off right with the reflecting pool. 

The whole group on Day 2. :)

After about 22 years, I finally got to see this man! I remember a classmate taking a trip to DC with his father and showed us pictures of the Lincoln Memorial back when I was in first grade. After hearing his story at show and tell, I've always wanted to visit this memorial. See, dreams really do come true!

Love how the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, and the Capital line up. Great shot by Anthony!

We meandered over to one of the art museums, next. This was a wonderful experience! We spent a good bit of time in here and only scratched the surface. You'd need at least one full day to experience all that this museum has to offer.

Next up was the Library of Congress. This was the most beautiful building by far! I honestly couldn't say if I spent more time looking at the exhibits or the walls and ceilings. I cannot tell you how neat it was to see Lincoln's speeches written in his own handwriting! We even saw the Wanted poster for his assassin.

We decided to celebrate NYE with Georgetown cupcakes! The line was crazy long, of course, but that didn't deter us from joining it. We spent the evening with great conversations over dinner and cupcakes. It was the perfect NYE. :)

  I cannot tell you how happy I am that we decided to go on this trip at a spur of the moment. It was absolutely wonderful, and if you haven't had the chance to visit, I strongly suggest you start planning a trip now. You'll need a good week to see everything!

Balance

**Disclaimer: You don't have to be Sheldon Cooper-smart to understand this physics lesson.**

 Have you ever experienced a moment that made you lose faith in the human race? Chances are the answer is yes. I seem to experience this somewhat frequently. I blame this on my high expectations of manners from perfect strangers.

   Here's a couple of things that make me more than a little disappointed in my fellow man:

• Failing to say "thank you" when a stranger holds the door open for you. Let's just say I'm that gracious stranger who is holding the door. It may be a small act that only adds up to a couple of seconds out of my life, but I didn't have to volunteer this act. I may be in a hurry; you don't know. It takes less time to say "thank you" than it did for me to hold that door open so make the sacrifice, please. It actually means a lot. (Because, if I'm being completely honest, your failure to do so makes me want to scream out, "Do over!", and I can promise you I won't be holding that door the second time around.)
• Gossip. If you were the subject of whatever you're talking about, would you want someone to continue on with the story? What's that? It's true?? Who cares!?! It's not your business to tell. If you like to tell people's business, why don't you talk about your own? Or are you just not that interesting? (Can you tell I have a bit of animosity built up for gossipers? Whoops.)
• Poor customer service. If you know me at all or read this blog even semi-regularly then you know the high emphasis I put on quality service. When I receive service that is less than sub-par, I usually try to make excuses for that person such as (but not limited to): they're having a bad day, they're going through a breakup, their pet just passed away, and so forth. While one of these excuses just might be true every once in a while, let's be honest--they probably just don't want to be at their job. I get it. Not everyday is sunshine and roses for me either, but have a little dignity and take pride in your work. Challenge yourself to be the best   insert here  you can be.
• Not letting the first person on the elevator off first. I realize this might be a lofty expectation, but if there are only two people in an elevator I believe it's only fair that the last person on is the last person off. After all, that's the person who delayed the other person in getting to their desired destination. 

  Okay, I think that list will suffice in getting my point across. The point of this post is not to air a bunch of grievances. No, the point is actually Newton's third law of motion:

  For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

  It seems that every act that leaves me shaking my head is always balanced out with an act of human kindness amongst strangers.

  For example, I was recently in Savannah for work and got to be a part of something wonderful. As I was walking around downtown with a coworker, a utility truck hit the gas when the light turned green at a traffic stop. When he did this, several buckets full of tools and small pieces of hardware scattered throughout the intersection. Thanks, Inertia! It made quite the scene, as you can imagine. Everyone on the sidewalks stopped what they were doing and stared while murmuring things like, "That sucks." I know because I was one of them. Then, something great happened. I looked to see if cars were coming, turned to my coworker, and said, "Let's help him." And so we did. We hopped into the street in our pencil skirts that make it nearly impossible to bend down comfortably and high heels that aren't exactly built for speed, and began picking up the pieces of hardware, tools, and buckets. Once people saw us doing this, they quickly jumped in to help. Within minutes, the driver of the truck had all of his equipment loaded and was ready for take off. 

   I don't share this to brag on myself for doing something good. I share this because I had an opportunity to display human kindness. That act only took five minutes, at most, out of my day and it very well could have been the difference between a horrible day and a good day for that man. If no one had pitched in he would have had to attempt to pick up all those items in an intersection in of one of the most visited cities in the nation (and the area that sees the most tourist traffic). It would have taken him a lot longer and most definitely would have put a damper on his mood. But by five strangers taking time out of whatever they were doing this man was able to go on about his day without a big delay. And who knows? It might have inspired others on the sidewalk to do something special for someone when the opportunity arises. 

  There are so many similar experiences that I could share with you. They happen everyday. Some small; some big. Their impact is the same. It has a positive effect on someone. 

  I want to end this post with a challenge. I challenge you to be that equal and opposite reaction when you experience one of those actions that leave you disappointed in people.