Today is the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. I am very excited about this particular holiday because I have 3 whole days off work and lots of fun things planned for those days.
Tonight, when the work day is finally done, I am getting together with my sister and a 3 other friends for dinner and a movie....Sex and the City 2!! When the first Sex and the City movie came out we had a similar girls night....my sister wasn't able to make it though so I am very glad she can this time. Sure, I can't have anything exciting to drink (cosmo, martini, etc) with my dinner but that won't stop me from having fun. I think my last Girls Night Out was my bachelorette party....and that was over a year and 3 months ago! So it won't be as wild tonight as it was that night (an entire other post in itself, haha) but I think we are all looking forward to the evening.
Tomorrow, if the weather cooperates, we plan on spending time at my parents' house, lounging by the pool, just relaxing with everyone and hanging out. Tomorrow evening Michael and I are attending the wedding of the youngest daughter of my former boss. It will be nice to see a lot of my former coworkers and I know that the bride will be beautiful. I love going to weddings with Michael because it always reminds me of our own wedding and how wonderful it was.
Sunday we are having a traditional family pool party at the Mercer house. Which means lots of people (family and friends), lots of food and drinks (minus the drinks for me this time), and cutthroat Trivial Pursuit. We do this kind of party several times a year (with or without the pool being involved, just depending on the weather) and it is always a great time.
Monday could be a nice relaxing pool day or maybe a movie with the family or Michael and I have talked about going to register for this baby...I know we have to get on that soon! Whatever we end up doing will be nice and then the next work week will be good and short.
I hope everyone is able to just relax and enjoy the long holiday weekend with family and friends. I am so thankful that I have such close friends and family and am looking forward to getting this fun weekend started!! :-)
Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Dogs
I really do like dogs. My sister and I had a dog when we were much younger (we miss you Muffy!) and if Michael and I didn't live in a condo we'd probably have a dog ourselves right now. And once we do get a dog we'll probably end up with a couple since I think I would like a cute small dog and he would want a larger, more protective dog. Either way it would be nice to have a good sized yard so any dog could run and play and get some exercise and we don't have that right now.
Michael and I getting a dog is definitely not the topic of my blog today. No, instead I have decided to vent all my frustrations concerning our neighbors, who have two small dogs...and who let said dogs bark outside our bedroom windows. Every. Single. Day.
This has been going on for literally a couple years, probably since they got the first dog. Our condo is on the bottom floor and they live in a town home that attaches to the end of the building and backs up directly to our unit. They have a back door that opens to a small patch of community grass that runs the entire length of the building. This patch of grass runs right by our entire condo, including all our windows. These "lovely" neighbors like to tie up their two dogs just outside their back door to let the dogs go to the bathroom....and every single time they run right under our bedroom windows.....and bark. And bark. And bark. At literally nothing. Conveniently for our neighbors they can't hear the dogs (or they are deaf) and the barking goes on and on until I am ready to scream (and often do...at the dogs, the neighbors, just whoever). As I mentioned, we have been dealing with this for well over a year....even my former roommate (before I was even married) can recall trying to study while the dog would bark away outside. We have tried all kinds of things to get this to stop...Michael has repeatedly gone over to merely ask them to bring in the dogs, we both have apps on our iphones for dog whistles that are supposed to hurt the dogs' ears, we will bang on the connecting wall and yell for them to bring in the stupid dogs....and most recently Michael has been talking a lot about digging a big trench or building a big wall of some sort blocking the dogs from getting near our windows (neither of which we can do, but the idea isn't terrible). In the past we have discussed planting poisonous plants (not really sure what plants would be poisonous to dogs), spraying them with our hose every time we hear them, buying a bird house that has an anti-bark alarm to hang out by our window...even buying muzzles and leaving them at our neighbors doorstep. In desperate times we have even discussed getting a bigger, meaner, louder dog that could possibly scare their dogs into shutting up and at our most frustrated we have considered inviting my brother over with his handy-dandy bb gun to do some damage.
Here is what is the most awful and irritating about this whole thing. It almost always happens when we are already sleeping or trying to get to sleep. Don't get me wrong, it happens all day long, almost every single day of the week. Some of you may have even been on the phone with me, trying to have a normal conversation, and heard the obnoxious barking in the background. But it is without a doubt the most annoying thing in the world when I am startled out of a deep sleep or even worse when I am trying to get to sleep in the first place. I am not getting a whole lot of sleep these days...between getting up to go to the bathroom and trying to get and stay comfortable. Not to mention Michael's occasional snoring, haha. The very last thing I want to hear is a dog (not even mine) barking right outside my bedroom window.
So anyway, this morning was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. I get up each morning at 8:15am. On a typical morning Michael leaves for work at about quarter till 8 and I get about half an hour of totally quiet, uninterrupted sleep. No offense to him but usually that is the most sound sleep I end up getting each night. Today he was leaving for work early, at 7, and I was really excited to get a good long hour of blissful sleep. Not so much. About ten minutes till 7 (yes, 6:50am) the dogs began barking outside the window. I heard Michael leave and squeezed my eyes shut and tried to ignore the noise. But getting woken up with a loud bark definitely makes the heart beat faster and as the barking continued I began to get upset....you can imagine how upset I was HALF AN HOUR LATER when the dogs were still barking. Since there was no going back to sleep I finally got up and as I got ready for work I plotted a very strongly worded email to the President of our Home Owners Association. Which I did send as soon as I got to work and typed it up, thank you very much. To my surprise, she responded immediately. She said she understood how we felt and would be annoyed too (and that she imagined it is probably 10 times worse since I am pregnant). She assured me that she would have the HOA Management company issue the neighbors a written violation and would also call them and talk to them herself....since they are breaking a rule of just tying up dogs and leaving them unattended. I was very happy with how she has handled it thus far and can't wait for the peace and quiet to settle over my home.
Do I realize that these neighbors will know right away that we must've complained and had something to do with the violation notice?? Yup. Do I care at all? Nope. I am so happy right now just looking forward to the possibility of not hearing those dogs every single day. Clearly it has taken me way longer than necessary to take action on this matter but now that I have, I already feel better.
We can't move, we can't dig a big trench and we can't have my brother shooting up the place to stop the annoying barking......but if all it takes is a phone call or email, we sure can do that. And I am happy that we finally did. :-)
Michael and I getting a dog is definitely not the topic of my blog today. No, instead I have decided to vent all my frustrations concerning our neighbors, who have two small dogs...and who let said dogs bark outside our bedroom windows. Every. Single. Day.
This has been going on for literally a couple years, probably since they got the first dog. Our condo is on the bottom floor and they live in a town home that attaches to the end of the building and backs up directly to our unit. They have a back door that opens to a small patch of community grass that runs the entire length of the building. This patch of grass runs right by our entire condo, including all our windows. These "lovely" neighbors like to tie up their two dogs just outside their back door to let the dogs go to the bathroom....and every single time they run right under our bedroom windows.....and bark. And bark. And bark. At literally nothing. Conveniently for our neighbors they can't hear the dogs (or they are deaf) and the barking goes on and on until I am ready to scream (and often do...at the dogs, the neighbors, just whoever). As I mentioned, we have been dealing with this for well over a year....even my former roommate (before I was even married) can recall trying to study while the dog would bark away outside. We have tried all kinds of things to get this to stop...Michael has repeatedly gone over to merely ask them to bring in the dogs, we both have apps on our iphones for dog whistles that are supposed to hurt the dogs' ears, we will bang on the connecting wall and yell for them to bring in the stupid dogs....and most recently Michael has been talking a lot about digging a big trench or building a big wall of some sort blocking the dogs from getting near our windows (neither of which we can do, but the idea isn't terrible). In the past we have discussed planting poisonous plants (not really sure what plants would be poisonous to dogs), spraying them with our hose every time we hear them, buying a bird house that has an anti-bark alarm to hang out by our window...even buying muzzles and leaving them at our neighbors doorstep. In desperate times we have even discussed getting a bigger, meaner, louder dog that could possibly scare their dogs into shutting up and at our most frustrated we have considered inviting my brother over with his handy-dandy bb gun to do some damage.
Here is what is the most awful and irritating about this whole thing. It almost always happens when we are already sleeping or trying to get to sleep. Don't get me wrong, it happens all day long, almost every single day of the week. Some of you may have even been on the phone with me, trying to have a normal conversation, and heard the obnoxious barking in the background. But it is without a doubt the most annoying thing in the world when I am startled out of a deep sleep or even worse when I am trying to get to sleep in the first place. I am not getting a whole lot of sleep these days...between getting up to go to the bathroom and trying to get and stay comfortable. Not to mention Michael's occasional snoring, haha. The very last thing I want to hear is a dog (not even mine) barking right outside my bedroom window.
So anyway, this morning was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. I get up each morning at 8:15am. On a typical morning Michael leaves for work at about quarter till 8 and I get about half an hour of totally quiet, uninterrupted sleep. No offense to him but usually that is the most sound sleep I end up getting each night. Today he was leaving for work early, at 7, and I was really excited to get a good long hour of blissful sleep. Not so much. About ten minutes till 7 (yes, 6:50am) the dogs began barking outside the window. I heard Michael leave and squeezed my eyes shut and tried to ignore the noise. But getting woken up with a loud bark definitely makes the heart beat faster and as the barking continued I began to get upset....you can imagine how upset I was HALF AN HOUR LATER when the dogs were still barking. Since there was no going back to sleep I finally got up and as I got ready for work I plotted a very strongly worded email to the President of our Home Owners Association. Which I did send as soon as I got to work and typed it up, thank you very much. To my surprise, she responded immediately. She said she understood how we felt and would be annoyed too (and that she imagined it is probably 10 times worse since I am pregnant). She assured me that she would have the HOA Management company issue the neighbors a written violation and would also call them and talk to them herself....since they are breaking a rule of just tying up dogs and leaving them unattended. I was very happy with how she has handled it thus far and can't wait for the peace and quiet to settle over my home.
Do I realize that these neighbors will know right away that we must've complained and had something to do with the violation notice?? Yup. Do I care at all? Nope. I am so happy right now just looking forward to the possibility of not hearing those dogs every single day. Clearly it has taken me way longer than necessary to take action on this matter but now that I have, I already feel better.
We can't move, we can't dig a big trench and we can't have my brother shooting up the place to stop the annoying barking......but if all it takes is a phone call or email, we sure can do that. And I am happy that we finally did. :-)
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Beach
A couple weeks ago we were very lucky to take some time away from work and head down to the beach with my family....PCB 2010, Whoo Hoo!!!! The last time I was in Panama City was Spring Break of 1997.....my freshman year of college. One of my best friends, Tracey, and I headed down for a very interesting time, to say the least. We remember most of it. Thankfully we bought some airbrushed t-shirts, with plenty of scrawled phrases that don't even ring a bell to us now, haha.
Needless to say, I remember all of this most recent trip, even without the airbrush tee, and it was wonderful. The weather was perfect, no oil in the water or on the beach, perfect temperature with a nice breeze.....plus a really, really nice condo to stay in while we were there (thanks to my sister doing the research and booking this place for us).
Needless to say, I remember all of this most recent trip, even without the airbrush tee, and it was wonderful. The weather was perfect, no oil in the water or on the beach, perfect temperature with a nice breeze.....plus a really, really nice condo to stay in while we were there (thanks to my sister doing the research and booking this place for us).
I LOVE the beach. I don't really like getting all in the ocean so much (the edge is just fine with me), but being right near the water, lounging on a chair and soaking in the sun with the sounds of the waves crashing, with an occasional walk at the waters' edge....I could just do that forever. Which reminds me that if this is your plan, you'll need to put on sunscreen thick and often. Maybe it was because it wasn't so scorching hot, or maybe the wind was just a tad more than a gentle breeze, or maybe because it is true about pregnant women having more sensitive skin.....but my couple of applications of SPF 30 didn't quite do the trick....I got pretty burnt. I wasn't the only one, Michael looked like a splotchy lobster too. We didn't let it ruin our trip for one minute, we just upped the SPF to 50 and made sure to lounge in more shady spots (like under the umbrella).
I was really very sad to leave when we had to....I could easily live at the beach and hopefully one day Michael and I can retire to a nice condo on the beach.
Here are some pictures from the trip....can't wait to go back....next time we'll have a new family member to bring with us!! :-)
View from condo
Michael and I on the balcony
Sara and I
Dillon and I
Coop & Max
Coop and his best buddy Uncle Michael on the train
Chip & Gus 
New pals!I wanted some of these mini turtles SO bad. But apparently they are near death to the pregnant woman (I guess you can get salmonella easily from them or something) so I had to talk my parents into letting Dillon get a couple....for me to be around them I have to have supervised visits and can't touch them at all. Better than nothing and you can bet this will be the first pet my own child will have....after the risk of salmonella is gone, of course. They are SO adorable.
My hubby and I, relaxed and happy on vacation. :-) With the exception of it just not being long enough, this trip to PCB was really fun and wonderful and I am so glad that we had the chance to spend some good quality time with my family. It will probably be a while until we get to go back to the beach (hopefully not more than a year, I am sure the baby will love the beach as much as we do when she finally gets here) so I am happy this trip was filled with great memories!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
A couple pics.....
So here are a couple belly shots of my pregnancy so far....I haven't taken them with any regularity....for example I am 25 weeks and 4 days pregnant and it has been almost a month since I took one....need to be a little more diligent about keeping track!!
At 19 weeks and 2 days pregnant...just before we found out it was a girl!
At 22 weeks and 4 days pregnant...she (more like me) is getting bigger!
Hopefully I can add some more soon....unless I get too big to fit in the frame....then you can all just use your imagination on how giant I am getting!! :-)
At 19 weeks and 2 days pregnant...just before we found out it was a girl!
At 22 weeks and 4 days pregnant...she (more like me) is getting bigger!
Hopefully I can add some more soon....unless I get too big to fit in the frame....then you can all just use your imagination on how giant I am getting!! :-)
Thursday, May 20, 2010
No extra glucose here....
So Monday I had my 24 week doctor's appointment (at 24 weeks and 5 days) for the Glucose test....something I have been dreading for quite some time. Basically they were testing me for gestational diabetes, which is apparently pretty common in pregnant women.
Why was I dreading it so much, you might ask?
Well, I have this little issue with sugar....as in, if it is in candy (and I don't think there is anything else actually in candy) then I LOVE it. Not always chocolate candy (although once in a while I need a good Hershey's with almonds bar or a mini Snickers or chocolate covered almonds/strawberries or a seasonal Cadbury egg) but the list of other candies that I could eat non-stop is endless. Sweet tarts, Runts, red licorice, Peeps (so happy they have them now for more than just Easter!), all different types of lollipops like Blow Pops, Tootsie Pops, even Dum Dums, gummy bears (or snakes, shape isn't too important), Gobstoppers....I think you are getting the idea. Basically if I got locked in a candy store I wouldn't even try to get out.
It's not like I sit around and eat candy 24/7. But you can be sure that if I get a craving for something sweet I have a little sugary treat in my purse at all times. And even though there is candy ALL around my house (in little bowls, in the cupboard, in my room, etc) I don't constantly eat it...and sometimes I have to throw away candy that has been sitting around for too long.
The problem for me might be that, along with my occasional dip into the candy bowl, I eat too many other things that contain too much sugar. I like Froot Loops for breakfast. Early on in the pregnancy it was one of the few things that the baby didn't "complain" about when I ate it....so I kinda stuck with it. I also like those frozen strawberry popsicles and ice cream from time to time for dessert....more sugar. Chocolate milk makes it into my day at least a few times a week....more sugar. Anyway, the point is I was super worried that the second they took my blood for the glucose screening at the doctor's office they would see sugar crystals floating in it or something and stamp a big red FAIL on my chart.
BUT......the results are in and I PASSED!!!! The nurse even made a point to say my iron looked good too. Hooray for that, cause I know I am not eating enough green (or any other color) vegetables along with my sugar filled diet.
I feel like I can relax a bit now that the test is over and had positive results....although I surely don't want my child to be born having sugar withdrawals and screaming for a little candy fix with her formula. I have decided that I will try to limit myself on the sugary stuff, at least until she gets here. We'll see how that goes!!!! :-)
Why was I dreading it so much, you might ask?
Well, I have this little issue with sugar....as in, if it is in candy (and I don't think there is anything else actually in candy) then I LOVE it. Not always chocolate candy (although once in a while I need a good Hershey's with almonds bar or a mini Snickers or chocolate covered almonds/strawberries or a seasonal Cadbury egg) but the list of other candies that I could eat non-stop is endless. Sweet tarts, Runts, red licorice, Peeps (so happy they have them now for more than just Easter!), all different types of lollipops like Blow Pops, Tootsie Pops, even Dum Dums, gummy bears (or snakes, shape isn't too important), Gobstoppers....I think you are getting the idea. Basically if I got locked in a candy store I wouldn't even try to get out.
It's not like I sit around and eat candy 24/7. But you can be sure that if I get a craving for something sweet I have a little sugary treat in my purse at all times. And even though there is candy ALL around my house (in little bowls, in the cupboard, in my room, etc) I don't constantly eat it...and sometimes I have to throw away candy that has been sitting around for too long.
The problem for me might be that, along with my occasional dip into the candy bowl, I eat too many other things that contain too much sugar. I like Froot Loops for breakfast. Early on in the pregnancy it was one of the few things that the baby didn't "complain" about when I ate it....so I kinda stuck with it. I also like those frozen strawberry popsicles and ice cream from time to time for dessert....more sugar. Chocolate milk makes it into my day at least a few times a week....more sugar. Anyway, the point is I was super worried that the second they took my blood for the glucose screening at the doctor's office they would see sugar crystals floating in it or something and stamp a big red FAIL on my chart.
BUT......the results are in and I PASSED!!!! The nurse even made a point to say my iron looked good too. Hooray for that, cause I know I am not eating enough green (or any other color) vegetables along with my sugar filled diet.
I feel like I can relax a bit now that the test is over and had positive results....although I surely don't want my child to be born having sugar withdrawals and screaming for a little candy fix with her formula. I have decided that I will try to limit myself on the sugary stuff, at least until she gets here. We'll see how that goes!!!! :-)
Thursday, May 6, 2010
An anniversary....of sorts
So yesterday was Cinco de Mayo....the 5th of May. Mexicans were celebrating the anniversary of a victory in battle....and Michael and I were celebrating 4 years since our "unofficial" first date.
Michael hadn't been in Atlanta for more than 6 months at that time and had only been working a few months at the credit union. Up until that point we had mostly hung out in group situations and seemed to get along well with plenty to chat about and we both seemed interested in having a good time. Cinco de Mayo was on a Friday that year....coincidently the very first Friday that I was to start my volunteer work at Egleston Children's Hospital. My slotted time was from 6pm-8pm....pretty much when all the happy hour festivities usually got going. I was a little bummed about missing out (even though I was excited...and a little nervous...about starting my volunteer work) and Michael mentioned that he lived close to the children's hospital and that if I wanted to I could just go over to his place to meet up with him after I was finished and we would plan on hitting some Mexican restaurants to celebrate the occasion. I really don't think I considered it a "date" at the time, just friends hanging out to eat lots of chips and drink lots of margaritas.
Anyway, as it turns out, my 6-8 time slot ran a lot later than 8 o'clock. I was playing Monopoly with a teenager and given the fact that he was the one in the hospital bed I didn't want to just cut and run at 8...so we played a bit longer. It was either 9 or after when I finally apologetically called Michael to let him know I was on the way. Much later he told me that he thought I was just standing him up.
Once I got to his place, finally, we had a beer and then decided to head out to find a suitable Mexican restaurant in the area. I had one in mind (Panchos) but when we got there the parking lot was so full we couldn't even park, let alone get in the place. Strike one. The next place we drove by (El Azteca) was also a packed house....and we saw a little sign that said they were charging a cover to even get in!! Strike two. Then I had a brilliant thought....not far was a smaller Mexican place that had awesome margaritas (ugh, can't remember the name....we started out my sister's bachelorette party there though) and I was sure we'd be able to get in and enjoy our evening. We got there and were very excited to see it was not packed. We went in and waited a bit for a hostess....who promptly told us basically to leave, it was late (um, not even 10 o'clock yet...close, but still that is not late for Cinco de Mayo!!), they wouldn't be serving, etc. Strike three.
And so, starving at this point, we ended up eating pizza and drinking beer at Fellini's. Not exactly the way one pictures spending a Mexican holiday but we had a good time. I think after that we just went back to his place and I got my car and headed home. Date or not, we had definitely had a great time together that evening and were clearly comfortable hanging out with each other.
For the next year and three months we had plenty of similar "dates" together, went to the gym after work together, watched movies, chatted on the phone, made up reasons to skip the gym and drink in the middle of the week, and became really close friends. And finally in August of 2007 we had our first "official" date.
Did I know on May 5, 2006 that I would end up marrying and starting a family with Michael? Nope, and I don't think he knew it either. But both of us, looking back, realize that something special started on that Cinco de Mayo 4 years ago......which makes May 5th an anniversary for us that we will always remember!! :-)
December 2006....after Cinco de Mayo but still well before we started dating!
Michael hadn't been in Atlanta for more than 6 months at that time and had only been working a few months at the credit union. Up until that point we had mostly hung out in group situations and seemed to get along well with plenty to chat about and we both seemed interested in having a good time. Cinco de Mayo was on a Friday that year....coincidently the very first Friday that I was to start my volunteer work at Egleston Children's Hospital. My slotted time was from 6pm-8pm....pretty much when all the happy hour festivities usually got going. I was a little bummed about missing out (even though I was excited...and a little nervous...about starting my volunteer work) and Michael mentioned that he lived close to the children's hospital and that if I wanted to I could just go over to his place to meet up with him after I was finished and we would plan on hitting some Mexican restaurants to celebrate the occasion. I really don't think I considered it a "date" at the time, just friends hanging out to eat lots of chips and drink lots of margaritas.
Anyway, as it turns out, my 6-8 time slot ran a lot later than 8 o'clock. I was playing Monopoly with a teenager and given the fact that he was the one in the hospital bed I didn't want to just cut and run at 8...so we played a bit longer. It was either 9 or after when I finally apologetically called Michael to let him know I was on the way. Much later he told me that he thought I was just standing him up.
Once I got to his place, finally, we had a beer and then decided to head out to find a suitable Mexican restaurant in the area. I had one in mind (Panchos) but when we got there the parking lot was so full we couldn't even park, let alone get in the place. Strike one. The next place we drove by (El Azteca) was also a packed house....and we saw a little sign that said they were charging a cover to even get in!! Strike two. Then I had a brilliant thought....not far was a smaller Mexican place that had awesome margaritas (ugh, can't remember the name....we started out my sister's bachelorette party there though) and I was sure we'd be able to get in and enjoy our evening. We got there and were very excited to see it was not packed. We went in and waited a bit for a hostess....who promptly told us basically to leave, it was late (um, not even 10 o'clock yet...close, but still that is not late for Cinco de Mayo!!), they wouldn't be serving, etc. Strike three.
And so, starving at this point, we ended up eating pizza and drinking beer at Fellini's. Not exactly the way one pictures spending a Mexican holiday but we had a good time. I think after that we just went back to his place and I got my car and headed home. Date or not, we had definitely had a great time together that evening and were clearly comfortable hanging out with each other.
For the next year and three months we had plenty of similar "dates" together, went to the gym after work together, watched movies, chatted on the phone, made up reasons to skip the gym and drink in the middle of the week, and became really close friends. And finally in August of 2007 we had our first "official" date.
Did I know on May 5, 2006 that I would end up marrying and starting a family with Michael? Nope, and I don't think he knew it either. But both of us, looking back, realize that something special started on that Cinco de Mayo 4 years ago......which makes May 5th an anniversary for us that we will always remember!! :-)
December 2006....after Cinco de Mayo but still well before we started dating!
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