Thursday, December 29, 2011
Another little thing to peruse on one of your vacation days. :)
http://www.oprah.com/packages/your-happiness-plan.html
Is it 2012 yet?!
The Christmas decorations are down, the house looks "normal" and "decluttered"- obviously, I was quickly over all the holiday stuff. I always love when a new year comes. It's like a fresh start. Nothing will really change immediately for us in 2012 but I like the idea of it. It makes me want to put fresh yellow flowers in the house and pretend that it's springtime. Yeah, good luck with that, huh? haha We have a good four months of this cold weather left before we get anything that resembles a spring day.
But, luckily for us, we have something coming smack in the middle of those four months to bring some brightness to our lives! Less than two months and baby Max will be here! I'm so excited, I can't stand it. I have two friends giving birth to their babies this week and I am j-e-a-l-o-u-s! haha Laura and Stan are having their twins, Lilah & Colin, this Friday and I'm SOOOO excited for them! And, Christina and Chad went into the hospital this morning to have their baby boy, Hudson, today! Plus, great for the 2011 tax returns! haha
I'm pretty much ready for this pregnancy thing to come to a happy ending. I'm uncomfortable now, I'm not very fond of the extra junk in my trunk anymore, I now like staying behind the camera instead of in front of it, and I can't sleep through the night, or more than about an hour for that matter, without waking up for any of the following reasons: my back hurts, my hip hurts, I catch myself laying on my back and then I can't breathe, Christian nudging me because apparently I'm a champion snorer now, or because, of course, I have to pee. Plus, I'm tired of not being able to hug or kiss my husband without practically bending over. haha It's all very awkward. But, I know he needs to stay in there a little while longer. Plus, Christian made a good point the other day: he's easier to keep track of while he's in my tummy. haha
So anyway, on to other things. We had a great Christmas as I hope all of you did! We went to Western Maryland to visit Christian's family for the weekend. The warm winter has hit over there this year too so we didn't have a white Christmas. That's pretty odd for the mountains but I'm not complaining. As many of you know, Christian and I don't really exchange gifts for Christmas so there's nothing to report there but we are planning a beach vacation at the end of April that will count as somewhat of a late Christmas present. We planned on a ski trip this year between Christmas and New Years but that fizzled out due to not being able to get everything coordinated with a larger group. But, anyway, for those of you who did exchange gifts, I hope you got what you wanted/needed!
Anyone have any New Year's resolutions?? I don't really have one this year. I definitely want to get back in shape ASAP after Max is here but I already work out so that really can't be a resolution.... I'd like to read more but I know with baby here, that will be close to impossible to keep up with.... So, I think I'll just stick to the good ol' "maintain a happy life by choice" motto as my resolution. It's been working pretty dang well for the past two years! I hope all of you have a fabulously happy 2012! Make it a priority and a choice!
Oh, I have an idea.... some of your resolutions should be to visit Chrissi & Christian more often! That would be fabulous! ;-) We love having company and any of our friends and family are more than welcome anytime!
Now, I just want to touch on a few things in the news lately. First off, the funeral of North Korean leader Kim Jung Il. Have any of you seen the footage of the people "crying" and going into convulsions? It's a bit much. The news is saying that it's mostly fake because people don't want to seem unsupportive of the regime but WOW! Christian and I watched some of Anderson Cooper 360 last night and he showed the footage and we were blown away and were kind of laughing at how dramatic it was. Yes, it's sad that someone (anyone) passed away but there were no tears and the people who didn't think the camera was capturing them weren't even grimacing. Craziness. So, I guess we'll see how his son does.
Secondly, have any of you heard of breastfeeding "nurse-ins" going on around the country? Let me first make something clear: I am all about breastfeeding and I think it's 100% natural and beautiful and all that jazz. But, is it really necessary for a Texas woman to sit ON THE FLOOR in the women's clothing department of a Target store and breastfeed her child? I've provided a link to this story about the TX woman.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2011/12/breastfeeding-at-target-moms-stage-national-demonstration/
She was on GMA yesterday talking about how offended she was that people kept giving her bad looks and shaking their heads. She was even offered a dressing room by one of the Target employees but refused it and that's when she says she kept getting bad looks. I'm a woman about to have a child who I will hopefully breastfeed but even I get a smidge uncomfortable when I see women doing this in a wide open public place. Is it so hard to find a place a little more private than the floor of Target? I'm not a fan of this...
Third news story... the awful, awful Christmas Eve fire in Connecticut. The mother lost her parents and her three children. The fire was caused by embers from the fireplace being discarded outside the home but still close enough to the home to catch fire. They were trying to be safe by getting the embers outside but I guess they weren't safe enough. There were no smoke detectors in the home as it was being renovated. This is such a sad story. If any of you are thinking you're having a bad day, bad year, bad anything, just think, it could be WAY worse. Also, please take time in the next day or two to check your smoke detectors! After hearing this story, I replaced batteries in all of ours.
Ok, so anyway, I hope all of you are having a great week! Tomorrow is Friday! Enjoy the long weekend and have a SUPER happy New Year!!!!!
xoxo,
Chrissi
But, luckily for us, we have something coming smack in the middle of those four months to bring some brightness to our lives! Less than two months and baby Max will be here! I'm so excited, I can't stand it. I have two friends giving birth to their babies this week and I am j-e-a-l-o-u-s! haha Laura and Stan are having their twins, Lilah & Colin, this Friday and I'm SOOOO excited for them! And, Christina and Chad went into the hospital this morning to have their baby boy, Hudson, today! Plus, great for the 2011 tax returns! haha
I'm pretty much ready for this pregnancy thing to come to a happy ending. I'm uncomfortable now, I'm not very fond of the extra junk in my trunk anymore, I now like staying behind the camera instead of in front of it, and I can't sleep through the night, or more than about an hour for that matter, without waking up for any of the following reasons: my back hurts, my hip hurts, I catch myself laying on my back and then I can't breathe, Christian nudging me because apparently I'm a champion snorer now, or because, of course, I have to pee. Plus, I'm tired of not being able to hug or kiss my husband without practically bending over. haha It's all very awkward. But, I know he needs to stay in there a little while longer. Plus, Christian made a good point the other day: he's easier to keep track of while he's in my tummy. haha
So anyway, on to other things. We had a great Christmas as I hope all of you did! We went to Western Maryland to visit Christian's family for the weekend. The warm winter has hit over there this year too so we didn't have a white Christmas. That's pretty odd for the mountains but I'm not complaining. As many of you know, Christian and I don't really exchange gifts for Christmas so there's nothing to report there but we are planning a beach vacation at the end of April that will count as somewhat of a late Christmas present. We planned on a ski trip this year between Christmas and New Years but that fizzled out due to not being able to get everything coordinated with a larger group. But, anyway, for those of you who did exchange gifts, I hope you got what you wanted/needed!
Anyone have any New Year's resolutions?? I don't really have one this year. I definitely want to get back in shape ASAP after Max is here but I already work out so that really can't be a resolution.... I'd like to read more but I know with baby here, that will be close to impossible to keep up with.... So, I think I'll just stick to the good ol' "maintain a happy life by choice" motto as my resolution. It's been working pretty dang well for the past two years! I hope all of you have a fabulously happy 2012! Make it a priority and a choice!
Oh, I have an idea.... some of your resolutions should be to visit Chrissi & Christian more often! That would be fabulous! ;-) We love having company and any of our friends and family are more than welcome anytime!
Now, I just want to touch on a few things in the news lately. First off, the funeral of North Korean leader Kim Jung Il. Have any of you seen the footage of the people "crying" and going into convulsions? It's a bit much. The news is saying that it's mostly fake because people don't want to seem unsupportive of the regime but WOW! Christian and I watched some of Anderson Cooper 360 last night and he showed the footage and we were blown away and were kind of laughing at how dramatic it was. Yes, it's sad that someone (anyone) passed away but there were no tears and the people who didn't think the camera was capturing them weren't even grimacing. Craziness. So, I guess we'll see how his son does.
Secondly, have any of you heard of breastfeeding "nurse-ins" going on around the country? Let me first make something clear: I am all about breastfeeding and I think it's 100% natural and beautiful and all that jazz. But, is it really necessary for a Texas woman to sit ON THE FLOOR in the women's clothing department of a Target store and breastfeed her child? I've provided a link to this story about the TX woman.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2011/12/breastfeeding-at-target-moms-stage-national-demonstration/
She was on GMA yesterday talking about how offended she was that people kept giving her bad looks and shaking their heads. She was even offered a dressing room by one of the Target employees but refused it and that's when she says she kept getting bad looks. I'm a woman about to have a child who I will hopefully breastfeed but even I get a smidge uncomfortable when I see women doing this in a wide open public place. Is it so hard to find a place a little more private than the floor of Target? I'm not a fan of this...
Third news story... the awful, awful Christmas Eve fire in Connecticut. The mother lost her parents and her three children. The fire was caused by embers from the fireplace being discarded outside the home but still close enough to the home to catch fire. They were trying to be safe by getting the embers outside but I guess they weren't safe enough. There were no smoke detectors in the home as it was being renovated. This is such a sad story. If any of you are thinking you're having a bad day, bad year, bad anything, just think, it could be WAY worse. Also, please take time in the next day or two to check your smoke detectors! After hearing this story, I replaced batteries in all of ours.
Ok, so anyway, I hope all of you are having a great week! Tomorrow is Friday! Enjoy the long weekend and have a SUPER happy New Year!!!!!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Ok, ok... so it's been (almost) a month since I've blogged. Sorry folks.
Gosh- so much to catch up on! I haven't blogged since before Thanksgiving and I feel I should catch everyone up on this life of mine.
So, last time I blogged, we were getting ready for a LONG drive down to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday. And, boy was it a long drive.... especially since we started it off with two flat tires just 40 minutes into our trip. We must have run over something on our way out of town. The "low tire pressure" alert went off for the rear right tire and then immediately "dinged" for the front right tire. Christian watched the tire pressure gage in the truck slowly creep down as we hurried to get off the freeway. We were able to make it off the freeway and were only ONE MILE away from the Midas garage when we weren't able to drive anymore. So, we had to wait about 30 minutes on roadside assistance to come pump the tires and plug them well enough for us to make it to the tire place. We made it to Midas and about an hour and half later, we were patched and ready to hit the road. We only got about four hours of driving in that day but made it safely to Florida the next evening. Sixteen hours was our total time. Blahhhh.
We got to Pensacola the weekend before Thanksgiving and just spent time with family and friends the first few days. Then, we went to New Orleans for Thanksgiving day and night with my mom and step-dad. That was a fun thing to do and it was different.... kind of a change of scenery from the typical Thanksgiving hooplah that usually takes place. :) So, it was nice. Then, the day after Turkey Day, we headed back to Florida where I hosted my best friend's (Alison) bridal shower with some of our closest friends. It was a fun time and it was great to see everyone. The Sunday that followed was my first baby shower and it was so fantastic! It was hosted by Karyn, Alison and Ali and I couldn't have been happier with the turnout! We got some GREAT gifts for Max and the food was delicious! Christian had to leave that day to head to Dallas for a class for work. So, he was gone for the rest of my time in Florida. He flew back into Pensacola on Thursday, I picked him up from the airport and we got about six hours of driving in before we stopped for the night on our way back to NJ.
There really is nothing quite like being back at home when you've been gone for about two weeks. Our bed never feels better than that first night back! Plus, I was anxious to get all of our nursery stuff put away and organized! Speaking of- the next day, my friends Vicki and Paige hosted another baby shower up here for me! It was also fantastic! They put so much work into it and it was beautiful and so thoughtful! Most of my NJ/PA friends were able to make it so it was a lot of fun! And, we got even more great gifts!!
The same day as my shower, we had Christian's squadron's Christmas party that night. It was fun and it was good to see all the folks he works with. I never realized how many people were in his squadron! It takes anArmy (err... Navy), I guess!
Maybe all that going, going, going is what put me down for the count this past Monday. I felt like I was hit with a ton of bricks that afternoon. My whole body hurt, I was coughing and had a horrible headache. Then, to top it all off, I pulled a muscle or something in my right side that made it painful to breathe! I felt awful. But, I'm slowly getting over the remnants of whatever it was. I still have a little bit of a cough, sore through when I wake up and some congestion but I'm pushing through!
In the middle of all that junk, I had a MUCH needed hair appointment! I ended up having about six inches cut off of my hair and I really couldn't be happier with that decision!!! My hair was looking raggedy and definitely needed a fresh look. So, I lightened it up some and chopped it into a long bob. It's resting on my shoulders now and looks SO much healthier!
So, then we come to this past weekend. Dad and Rhonda flew in Friday around lunchtime and we had a great weekend with them. Friday was spent just shopping around town and taking them to Ikea for the first time. haha Then, we all got up early Saturday morning and hopped on the train to NYC. We had great chilly weather the whole day and the city was jammed packed with other Christmas tourist. We spent most of the morning walking around and seeing all of the decorations for the holidays. In the early afternoon, we got to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular show featuring the Rockettes! It was a GREAT show! It was so pretty and kind of magical! Then, we walked up to Central Park and got a horse and carriage ride through the park before we headed off to dinner at the Time Warner Center. We had a great day! Thanks to Dad for the show and dinner!
It was a quick trip for them as they flew out on Sunday. But, we had a great time. Sunday was spent shopping for baby stuff that we still need. We got our monitor and made some other decisions on items that we still need to get now that I've price shopped all of them. I'll probably be making another trip to Babies R Us this afternoon to scratch off a few more items on our "we need" list. Our crib arrived today and I can't wait for Christian to get home from work so we can put it together!!!
I had my last ultrasound today! Everything went really well and Max is measuring great! He's already moved into the head down position, which is great and he weighs three pounds and eight ounces and is around the 50th percentile for most of his measurements. I can't wait for his arrival! I know I should really slow down and cherish these last weeks of pregnancy (and sleep and quietness) but I'm just so excited to see what he looks like and actually hold him.
That pretty much sums up everything that has been going on in our lives. This weekend, we're heading down to Annapolis, MD for a wedding. I have an interview appointment with a pediatrician this week too to see if she's one I'd like Max to see. I need to schedule these with a few more docs but I'll start with this one first.
Then, can you believe that Christmas is less that two weeks away?!?!?!! CRAAAAZY! I hope all of you are having fun Christmas shopping and getting into the holiday spirit! Have a great week!!!
xoxo,
Chrissi
So, last time I blogged, we were getting ready for a LONG drive down to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday. And, boy was it a long drive.... especially since we started it off with two flat tires just 40 minutes into our trip. We must have run over something on our way out of town. The "low tire pressure" alert went off for the rear right tire and then immediately "dinged" for the front right tire. Christian watched the tire pressure gage in the truck slowly creep down as we hurried to get off the freeway. We were able to make it off the freeway and were only ONE MILE away from the Midas garage when we weren't able to drive anymore. So, we had to wait about 30 minutes on roadside assistance to come pump the tires and plug them well enough for us to make it to the tire place. We made it to Midas and about an hour and half later, we were patched and ready to hit the road. We only got about four hours of driving in that day but made it safely to Florida the next evening. Sixteen hours was our total time. Blahhhh.
We got to Pensacola the weekend before Thanksgiving and just spent time with family and friends the first few days. Then, we went to New Orleans for Thanksgiving day and night with my mom and step-dad. That was a fun thing to do and it was different.... kind of a change of scenery from the typical Thanksgiving hooplah that usually takes place. :) So, it was nice. Then, the day after Turkey Day, we headed back to Florida where I hosted my best friend's (Alison) bridal shower with some of our closest friends. It was a fun time and it was great to see everyone. The Sunday that followed was my first baby shower and it was so fantastic! It was hosted by Karyn, Alison and Ali and I couldn't have been happier with the turnout! We got some GREAT gifts for Max and the food was delicious! Christian had to leave that day to head to Dallas for a class for work. So, he was gone for the rest of my time in Florida. He flew back into Pensacola on Thursday, I picked him up from the airport and we got about six hours of driving in before we stopped for the night on our way back to NJ.
There really is nothing quite like being back at home when you've been gone for about two weeks. Our bed never feels better than that first night back! Plus, I was anxious to get all of our nursery stuff put away and organized! Speaking of- the next day, my friends Vicki and Paige hosted another baby shower up here for me! It was also fantastic! They put so much work into it and it was beautiful and so thoughtful! Most of my NJ/PA friends were able to make it so it was a lot of fun! And, we got even more great gifts!!
The same day as my shower, we had Christian's squadron's Christmas party that night. It was fun and it was good to see all the folks he works with. I never realized how many people were in his squadron! It takes an
Maybe all that going, going, going is what put me down for the count this past Monday. I felt like I was hit with a ton of bricks that afternoon. My whole body hurt, I was coughing and had a horrible headache. Then, to top it all off, I pulled a muscle or something in my right side that made it painful to breathe! I felt awful. But, I'm slowly getting over the remnants of whatever it was. I still have a little bit of a cough, sore through when I wake up and some congestion but I'm pushing through!
In the middle of all that junk, I had a MUCH needed hair appointment! I ended up having about six inches cut off of my hair and I really couldn't be happier with that decision!!! My hair was looking raggedy and definitely needed a fresh look. So, I lightened it up some and chopped it into a long bob. It's resting on my shoulders now and looks SO much healthier!
So, then we come to this past weekend. Dad and Rhonda flew in Friday around lunchtime and we had a great weekend with them. Friday was spent just shopping around town and taking them to Ikea for the first time. haha Then, we all got up early Saturday morning and hopped on the train to NYC. We had great chilly weather the whole day and the city was jammed packed with other Christmas tourist. We spent most of the morning walking around and seeing all of the decorations for the holidays. In the early afternoon, we got to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular show featuring the Rockettes! It was a GREAT show! It was so pretty and kind of magical! Then, we walked up to Central Park and got a horse and carriage ride through the park before we headed off to dinner at the Time Warner Center. We had a great day! Thanks to Dad for the show and dinner!
It was a quick trip for them as they flew out on Sunday. But, we had a great time. Sunday was spent shopping for baby stuff that we still need. We got our monitor and made some other decisions on items that we still need to get now that I've price shopped all of them. I'll probably be making another trip to Babies R Us this afternoon to scratch off a few more items on our "we need" list. Our crib arrived today and I can't wait for Christian to get home from work so we can put it together!!!
I had my last ultrasound today! Everything went really well and Max is measuring great! He's already moved into the head down position, which is great and he weighs three pounds and eight ounces and is around the 50th percentile for most of his measurements. I can't wait for his arrival! I know I should really slow down and cherish these last weeks of pregnancy (and sleep and quietness) but I'm just so excited to see what he looks like and actually hold him.
That pretty much sums up everything that has been going on in our lives. This weekend, we're heading down to Annapolis, MD for a wedding. I have an interview appointment with a pediatrician this week too to see if she's one I'd like Max to see. I need to schedule these with a few more docs but I'll start with this one first.
Then, can you believe that Christmas is less that two weeks away?!?!?!! CRAAAAZY! I hope all of you are having fun Christmas shopping and getting into the holiday spirit! Have a great week!!!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Energy needed!!!
Good morning everyone!
I'm dragging this morning and cannot get any energy! I'm on my second cup of tea so hopefully I'll get a little pep in my step soon enough. I feel like I have a zillion things to do before we leave this Friday to head down to Florida. I like to have the house super clean and everything in order before we leave so we can come back home to a house that isn't in need of anything. So, I have two days to do all of that. Christian is thinking he'll get out of work pretty early on Friday so I'll have to have everything packed and ready to go tomorrow evening so we can get on the road as soon as he gets home Friday. So much to do!
Well, someone who doesn't seem tired is this little man inside my belly. He's jumping around and rolling around like crazy all day. My stomach looks like something from the Aliens movies. Weird. I read on one of my weekly pregnancy updates yesterday that my amniotic fluid has decreased by half and that's one of the reasons I can feel and see every single little movement now. It's kind of funny because Max seems the like my lower left side. He always seems to burrow down into that area and when he does, I get a lop-sided belly. You know, something that I've been thinking about for a while is how I can't even logically comprehend the fact that I am growing a person inside of me. Seriously, it's mind blowing. When I start to think about it, I just have to stop because it's just too much to really understand. I've always thought the human body was pretty amazing but now, I have a totally new respect for my body and the crazy, wild things it can do. Really neat.
Ok, so... moving on. :) If any of you are looking for a good book, I should recommend one that I finished last week. I can't remember if I've already mentioned it to you guys but if I have, sorry for the repeat. It's called The Glass Castle. It's such a good book! It's written by Jeanette Walls who is a regular contributor to MSNBC and has also done work for the NY Times, Esquire and USA Today. This book is actually a memoir. It's a book that is full of some amazing stories about her childhood, her alcoholic father and artist mother. As screwed up as her childhood was, there were some amazing life lessons learned through crazy experiences and from her parents' "live free or die" lifestyle. It's an easy read and so, so great. The story-telling capability that she has reminds me of the great stories my uncle, Glen, used to tell me and Ali when we were little. I've always loved a good, exciting story. So, it's great!
I'm now reading a book called Republic: A Novel of America's Future. It was recommended to me by a friend of mine from high school. I'm about 100 pages into it and it reads pretty easily. It reminds me a little of the writing style that James Patterson has. So, hopefully it will be pretty good.
Anyway, I'm so excited to be heading home this weekend. I can't wait to see family and friends! I miss everyone so much!!! Another little thing I'm super excited about is the fact that we will be spending Thanksgiving in New Orleans this year! Christian, me, Mom, John and hopefully Adam and his lady-friend will be heading over Thanksgiving day. As many of you know, New Orleans is my favorite place on earth so I'm super excited to spend some time in this great city. Plus, a great cajun style Thanksgiving dinner! We're staying right on Bourbon Street so we're trying so soak up as much New Orleans charm as possible in the one night that we are there.
I also have Laura's baby shower for the twins and Alison's bridal shower while we're in town which I'm so excited about! And, my first baby shower! I'm super excited about that too! Good times!
Well, anyway, I hope y'all are having a good week! Take some time to enjoy some "me time" for yourself! Here's a great quote I want to share:
"Optimist: A person who travels on nothing from nowhere to happiness"
Have a fabulous day!!!!
xoxo,
Chrissi
I'm dragging this morning and cannot get any energy! I'm on my second cup of tea so hopefully I'll get a little pep in my step soon enough. I feel like I have a zillion things to do before we leave this Friday to head down to Florida. I like to have the house super clean and everything in order before we leave so we can come back home to a house that isn't in need of anything. So, I have two days to do all of that. Christian is thinking he'll get out of work pretty early on Friday so I'll have to have everything packed and ready to go tomorrow evening so we can get on the road as soon as he gets home Friday. So much to do!
Well, someone who doesn't seem tired is this little man inside my belly. He's jumping around and rolling around like crazy all day. My stomach looks like something from the Aliens movies. Weird. I read on one of my weekly pregnancy updates yesterday that my amniotic fluid has decreased by half and that's one of the reasons I can feel and see every single little movement now. It's kind of funny because Max seems the like my lower left side. He always seems to burrow down into that area and when he does, I get a lop-sided belly. You know, something that I've been thinking about for a while is how I can't even logically comprehend the fact that I am growing a person inside of me. Seriously, it's mind blowing. When I start to think about it, I just have to stop because it's just too much to really understand. I've always thought the human body was pretty amazing but now, I have a totally new respect for my body and the crazy, wild things it can do. Really neat.
Ok, so... moving on. :) If any of you are looking for a good book, I should recommend one that I finished last week. I can't remember if I've already mentioned it to you guys but if I have, sorry for the repeat. It's called The Glass Castle. It's such a good book! It's written by Jeanette Walls who is a regular contributor to MSNBC and has also done work for the NY Times, Esquire and USA Today. This book is actually a memoir. It's a book that is full of some amazing stories about her childhood, her alcoholic father and artist mother. As screwed up as her childhood was, there were some amazing life lessons learned through crazy experiences and from her parents' "live free or die" lifestyle. It's an easy read and so, so great. The story-telling capability that she has reminds me of the great stories my uncle, Glen, used to tell me and Ali when we were little. I've always loved a good, exciting story. So, it's great!
I'm now reading a book called Republic: A Novel of America's Future. It was recommended to me by a friend of mine from high school. I'm about 100 pages into it and it reads pretty easily. It reminds me a little of the writing style that James Patterson has. So, hopefully it will be pretty good.
Anyway, I'm so excited to be heading home this weekend. I can't wait to see family and friends! I miss everyone so much!!! Another little thing I'm super excited about is the fact that we will be spending Thanksgiving in New Orleans this year! Christian, me, Mom, John and hopefully Adam and his lady-friend will be heading over Thanksgiving day. As many of you know, New Orleans is my favorite place on earth so I'm super excited to spend some time in this great city. Plus, a great cajun style Thanksgiving dinner! We're staying right on Bourbon Street so we're trying so soak up as much New Orleans charm as possible in the one night that we are there.
I also have Laura's baby shower for the twins and Alison's bridal shower while we're in town which I'm so excited about! And, my first baby shower! I'm super excited about that too! Good times!
Well, anyway, I hope y'all are having a good week! Take some time to enjoy some "me time" for yourself! Here's a great quote I want to share:
"Optimist: A person who travels on nothing from nowhere to happiness"
Have a fabulous day!!!!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Good morning!
Good morning everyone and happy Thursday!
I hope you have had a good week so far! Tomorrow's Friday!! I'm pretty excited about tomorrow being Friday because we're leaving tomorrow morning to head to Texas! We're going to Houston for our friend's wedding. We have a lot of friends going also so it should be a fun weekend. Plus, as weird as it sounds, I'm excited about the four hour flight tomorrow because I just got a Nook this week and downloaded a book that was recommended to me by a friend and it's a pretty good one so far! Plus, I have the December Issue of O Magazine which is the Favorite Things issue! So, plenty of great reading material!
Then, a little update on our travels down to FL for Thanksgiving. We're getting in town quite a bit earlier than we had planned. Christian's leave starts on Tuesday the 22nd but he's just going to take a comp day for that Monday and we're actually going to start heading down there next Friday and get there Saturday. We're so excited to come home! I miss my family so much so I'm definitely excited about the extra time. And, actually, we'll be staying a little longer than planned too. Christian has a class to attend in Dallas the week after Thanksgiving so he'll fly out of Pcola on the 27th for that and I'll just stay in town until he flies back into Pcola that Thursday and then we'll start our drive back up here that day and be home by Friday. Good stuff. :)
So, some updates on baby Max. Everything is still going well. I went for a check-up yesterday and everything is perfect! I'm so happy to be feeling so well. The only thing going on is the occasional back pain and I know that definitely comes with the territory. So, everything is good! I have to have a Rhogam shot next week since I'm Rh Negative but that's the only thing going on that's somewhat outside the norm.
Christian and I went to our first labor related class last night. It was a Breathing and Relaxation class and it was pretty helpful. It was nice because it forced us to actually do the breathing methods and relaxation techniques. So, I definitely wasn't complaining about all the massages Christian got to give me last night! ;) Most of the stuff I could have learned from a book but we were glad they forced us to do it. And, I'm surprised by how few jokes Christian made about everything. haha He was a great sport and he'll be a great coach throughout labor. One thing that was funny about the class was that I didn't read any of the paperwork that was sent to me about the class so we were the only couple that showed up without pillows and blankets. haha So, we had to sit on the hard floor but we made our way through it. I felt like a dummy though. haha
Another thing that made me feel like a total airhead this week was when I realized that I had screwed up my best friend's bridal shower invitations that have already been mailed out. hahaha I went up to my office to send out a few more of the invites and realized that I had put her name as Alison Leja, NOT Alison Collier. So, basically, I put her soon-to-be married name and not her current maiden name. When I realized that, I thought my eyes were deceiving me. Haha I literally flipped through every single invite that I still had to make sure this was actually happening. I called Alison immediately but she didn't answer! haha Gosh, I felt so stupid. So, I emailed the group of girls we invited and 'fessed up to my mistake. Goodness.... this pregnancy brain thing is amazing. haha
So, anyway, I guess the whole country has heard this morning that Joe Paterno has been fired as the head coach of Penn State. Christian is a huge Penn State fan so it's kind of a weird thing to think about. He's such a legacy and to see that legacy end in such an unfortunate way is really sad. And the quote that sits beside JoePa's picture on the cover of the Philadelphia Inquirer this morning says it all; "I should have done more." Yes, he should have. As much and I love this 84-year-old man who has the winningest career in college football, he made a very bad decision to not take the disgusting information to police. Sad, sad stuff.
Well, I hope y'all have a fan-freakin-tastic weekend coming up! I'll be seeing a lot of you soon!!!!
xoxo,
Chrissi
I hope you have had a good week so far! Tomorrow's Friday!! I'm pretty excited about tomorrow being Friday because we're leaving tomorrow morning to head to Texas! We're going to Houston for our friend's wedding. We have a lot of friends going also so it should be a fun weekend. Plus, as weird as it sounds, I'm excited about the four hour flight tomorrow because I just got a Nook this week and downloaded a book that was recommended to me by a friend and it's a pretty good one so far! Plus, I have the December Issue of O Magazine which is the Favorite Things issue! So, plenty of great reading material!
Then, a little update on our travels down to FL for Thanksgiving. We're getting in town quite a bit earlier than we had planned. Christian's leave starts on Tuesday the 22nd but he's just going to take a comp day for that Monday and we're actually going to start heading down there next Friday and get there Saturday. We're so excited to come home! I miss my family so much so I'm definitely excited about the extra time. And, actually, we'll be staying a little longer than planned too. Christian has a class to attend in Dallas the week after Thanksgiving so he'll fly out of Pcola on the 27th for that and I'll just stay in town until he flies back into Pcola that Thursday and then we'll start our drive back up here that day and be home by Friday. Good stuff. :)
So, some updates on baby Max. Everything is still going well. I went for a check-up yesterday and everything is perfect! I'm so happy to be feeling so well. The only thing going on is the occasional back pain and I know that definitely comes with the territory. So, everything is good! I have to have a Rhogam shot next week since I'm Rh Negative but that's the only thing going on that's somewhat outside the norm.
Christian and I went to our first labor related class last night. It was a Breathing and Relaxation class and it was pretty helpful. It was nice because it forced us to actually do the breathing methods and relaxation techniques. So, I definitely wasn't complaining about all the massages Christian got to give me last night! ;) Most of the stuff I could have learned from a book but we were glad they forced us to do it. And, I'm surprised by how few jokes Christian made about everything. haha He was a great sport and he'll be a great coach throughout labor. One thing that was funny about the class was that I didn't read any of the paperwork that was sent to me about the class so we were the only couple that showed up without pillows and blankets. haha So, we had to sit on the hard floor but we made our way through it. I felt like a dummy though. haha
Another thing that made me feel like a total airhead this week was when I realized that I had screwed up my best friend's bridal shower invitations that have already been mailed out. hahaha I went up to my office to send out a few more of the invites and realized that I had put her name as Alison Leja, NOT Alison Collier. So, basically, I put her soon-to-be married name and not her current maiden name. When I realized that, I thought my eyes were deceiving me. Haha I literally flipped through every single invite that I still had to make sure this was actually happening. I called Alison immediately but she didn't answer! haha Gosh, I felt so stupid. So, I emailed the group of girls we invited and 'fessed up to my mistake. Goodness.... this pregnancy brain thing is amazing. haha
So, anyway, I guess the whole country has heard this morning that Joe Paterno has been fired as the head coach of Penn State. Christian is a huge Penn State fan so it's kind of a weird thing to think about. He's such a legacy and to see that legacy end in such an unfortunate way is really sad. And the quote that sits beside JoePa's picture on the cover of the Philadelphia Inquirer this morning says it all; "I should have done more." Yes, he should have. As much and I love this 84-year-old man who has the winningest career in college football, he made a very bad decision to not take the disgusting information to police. Sad, sad stuff.
Well, I hope y'all have a fan-freakin-tastic weekend coming up! I'll be seeing a lot of you soon!!!!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Saturday, October 29, 2011
um, it's snowing.... in October.
So, last post, I said "rain, rain, go away".... this post I should change rain to snow. That's right, it's snowing in the great state of New Jersey! The last time it snowed in this area this early was in 1979! That's before I was even born! So, I'm getting in the spirit by listening to Christmas music and baking oatmeal cookies (my fave!). I can at least fake that it's really that time of year for snow, right?
Speaking of Christmas music, Michael Buble just came out with a Christmas album and it's fabulous! I highly recommend it. He's just amazing. :)
Since today is just nasty out, I'm not leaving the house! I went out to check the mail and just about froze my butt off. And, mind you, our mailbox is one of those that is connected to the house. You know, the ones that require a postman on foot. So, I didn't have to go far. haha IT'S COLD! I didn't prepare for this cold weather very well either. We only have a little firewood left over from last year and I haven't gotten any of those self-starter fire logs either. Plus, I'm terrified to go in the garage to get last year's firewood b/c I'm freakishly scared of spiders being on it. So, I'm SOL. haha Plus, I'm trying to not raise the heat over about 65 because we REALLY don't want the $500 power bills to start yet. Oh the joys of gas heat.
Anyway.... Christian gets home on Wednesday! I can't wait! We have our tour of the hospital's maternity ward next Saturday and one of our first birthing classes next Wednesday! So, all of this should be very interesting. The class next week is the natural birth class. Then, in December, we'll take the regular, all-encompassing birth class so we know about all aspects. As far as baby goes, everything is going great! He's moving almost all day now; which really makes me wonder if I'm going to have a kid that never sleeps. Lord, I hope not! haha I had an ultrasound last week and he's measuring perfectly. The nursery is starting to come together and I'm loving it. And... I'm now starting to feel fat. haha I've gained about 18 pounds so far and thanks to my genes, it's going straight to my butt and legs... and, of course, my belly. Now, I'll admit, I'm digging my new found "junk in the trunk", as Christian calls it. haha But, I had to go up a size in jeans yesterday and that was no fun. But, it's all for a good cause, right? ;) And those cookies I'm baking probably aren't the best idea I've had. Oh well.
So, are you guys dressing up for Halloween? No costumes for me this year but I'll be propped on my porch Monday handing out candy to all the little trick or treaters this year. I know a lot of people are celebrating tonight by going to parties and all that stuff. All I have to say is I feel for those of you who are going out in Philly or anywhere else up here! It's friggin' cold and yuck and only supposed to get colder and yuckier throughout the night.
Well, I hope you guys have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!!! Next year, we'll have our own little pumpkin to dress up!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Speaking of Christmas music, Michael Buble just came out with a Christmas album and it's fabulous! I highly recommend it. He's just amazing. :)
Since today is just nasty out, I'm not leaving the house! I went out to check the mail and just about froze my butt off. And, mind you, our mailbox is one of those that is connected to the house. You know, the ones that require a postman on foot. So, I didn't have to go far. haha IT'S COLD! I didn't prepare for this cold weather very well either. We only have a little firewood left over from last year and I haven't gotten any of those self-starter fire logs either. Plus, I'm terrified to go in the garage to get last year's firewood b/c I'm freakishly scared of spiders being on it. So, I'm SOL. haha Plus, I'm trying to not raise the heat over about 65 because we REALLY don't want the $500 power bills to start yet. Oh the joys of gas heat.
Anyway.... Christian gets home on Wednesday! I can't wait! We have our tour of the hospital's maternity ward next Saturday and one of our first birthing classes next Wednesday! So, all of this should be very interesting. The class next week is the natural birth class. Then, in December, we'll take the regular, all-encompassing birth class so we know about all aspects. As far as baby goes, everything is going great! He's moving almost all day now; which really makes me wonder if I'm going to have a kid that never sleeps. Lord, I hope not! haha I had an ultrasound last week and he's measuring perfectly. The nursery is starting to come together and I'm loving it. And... I'm now starting to feel fat. haha I've gained about 18 pounds so far and thanks to my genes, it's going straight to my butt and legs... and, of course, my belly. Now, I'll admit, I'm digging my new found "junk in the trunk", as Christian calls it. haha But, I had to go up a size in jeans yesterday and that was no fun. But, it's all for a good cause, right? ;) And those cookies I'm baking probably aren't the best idea I've had. Oh well.
So, are you guys dressing up for Halloween? No costumes for me this year but I'll be propped on my porch Monday handing out candy to all the little trick or treaters this year. I know a lot of people are celebrating tonight by going to parties and all that stuff. All I have to say is I feel for those of you who are going out in Philly or anywhere else up here! It's friggin' cold and yuck and only supposed to get colder and yuckier throughout the night.
Well, I hope you guys have a great weekend and Happy Halloween!!! Next year, we'll have our own little pumpkin to dress up!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!
I know it's only supposed to rain today and then be gorgeous for the next few days but it's making me gloooooomy. :( Plus, Christian left today for his two week det in the Middle East. Fun fun.... NOT. haha It could be MUCH worse and MUCH longer so I won't complain. :)
So, I just have a few updates on everything going on in our lives lately. It's been a couple weeks since I've posted so I'll catch y'all up to speed.
Well, we had our little weekend away in New Hampshire and that was fabulous. We had such a great time and stayed a such a great little bed & breakfast. It's called the Squam Lake Inn and I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone going to the Meredith, NH region. Anyway, the weekend was great, the clam bake we went to was fantastic and the weather was to die for! Good things all around. :)
Since we got back from New England, we've been focusing on normal life things.... getting the house prepped for fall/winter, finishing the re-finishing of the furniture we got the Max's room, and living our every day lives. But, like I said, Christian finished the Hoosier cabinet for the nursery and I couldn't be happier with the outcome! Now, I can't wait to really start decorating and for our little guy to be here! He's going to have such a cool room. I wonder if I'm ever going to want to leave it! haha Here are a few pictures from my "Max's room inspiration folder" on my desktop:
So, I just have a few updates on everything going on in our lives lately. It's been a couple weeks since I've posted so I'll catch y'all up to speed.
Well, we had our little weekend away in New Hampshire and that was fabulous. We had such a great time and stayed a such a great little bed & breakfast. It's called the Squam Lake Inn and I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone going to the Meredith, NH region. Anyway, the weekend was great, the clam bake we went to was fantastic and the weather was to die for! Good things all around. :)
Since we got back from New England, we've been focusing on normal life things.... getting the house prepped for fall/winter, finishing the re-finishing of the furniture we got the Max's room, and living our every day lives. But, like I said, Christian finished the Hoosier cabinet for the nursery and I couldn't be happier with the outcome! Now, I can't wait to really start decorating and for our little guy to be here! He's going to have such a cool room. I wonder if I'm ever going to want to leave it! haha Here are a few pictures from my "Max's room inspiration folder" on my desktop:
I love all of these and the eclectic feel that they all have. I especially love the cow hide rug in the top pic! That room is my favorite anyway. But, like I've said before, I definitely don't want a theme and I don't want the room to be too baby-ish. I want the room to grow with him and I don't want to have to get rid of a zillion things when he's too old and too cool. :) So, the crib in the first picture is the crib we'll get (Jenny Lind Crib- it's fantastic b/c it's super cheap and it's exactly the look I want!), Christian really likes the orange curtains and I definitely want a fabric-covered ottoman to put by the Amish rocker we're using and to just go in the middle of the room for him to walk around when he gets old enough. I'm so excited! :)
So anyway, in other news... I officially switched to a new OB this morning. I just haven't had a fantastic feeling about my doc recently and his office isn't familiar enough with my insurance so I wasn't getting ultrasounds that should be covered by my insurance. They basically just didn't know what they were doing when dealing with Tricare. So, the new OBGYN practice I go to is called Phoenix OBGYN and they're directly affiliated with the hospital where I'll deliver and they even have a person on staff who handles all military patients. Fantastic, right?! So, I saw one of the docs this morning and he was pretty nice and mega calm... almost too calm. But, there are still four other docs for me to meet during the rest of my pregnancy so I'm not committed to just one yet. But, I just feel better about everything. This new office is cleaner, the staff is more friendly and they actually ordered the anatomy ultrasound that my old doc said I wasn't able to have b/c of my insurance.... when in reality, this one IS covered.... like I said, they didn't know what they were doing. So, I finally get to see my little man again on Friday. Let's just hope and pray his anatomy is all good. :) Also, the doc I met with this morning seemed a little more open to the natural birth option for me. I got a little kick-back from my other doc, which I didn't like. I mean, I'm not a lunatic about it and I will get meds if I need them but I want to definitely try for a natural one. That's about it as far as the baby goes. He sounded great on the heart monitor this morning so that was good. He's still moving like crazy and I love it. He usually moves around the most after we've eaten dinner and I'm just sitting on the couch. Christian has started talking to him and he kicks like crazy when he hears Christian. Whether Max knows what he's doing or not, that melts my heart. :*)
So anyways, I've been keeping pretty busy with Junior League lately. Since I'm an advisor this year, I have about one or two meetings/events each week which has been great. It's really nice when Christian is gone so I have stuff to look forward to.
Lots of birthdays and anniversaries are coming about lately! My mom and John celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary this past Monday. Love that! We have my friend Summer's b-day today, my cousin Ali's tomorrow, my pawpaw's on Friday, my friend Jenna's next Wednesday and then Laura & Stan's anniversary is next Friday! I should buy stock in greeting cards! haha I hope all of them enjoy their days!
Well, I hope y'all are having a good week! I love y'all!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Happy Fall Y'all!
Hey everybody!
I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying your weekend. We've had a great weekend and it's pretty chilly up here today. I'm sitting here in sweats b/c we refuse to turn on the heat since it's supposed to be back in the 70s this week. It's about 64 in our house! haha Christian's actually about to start a fire to warm it up a little in here. First one of the season!
We've been home for a week and it's been great getting back to normal. Christian went back to work and I got back in my normal routine.... back to working out at the gym, cooking dinner every night and actually being up-to-date with current events. :) It's good to be home.
We had a pretty low-key weekend. Friday evening we grilled steaks here at the house and then we both fell asleep around 8:30 on the couch. haha Saturday was spent cleaning for me and Christian worked on finishing his part of the Hoosier cabinet. We got it all stripped and sanded and we were able to prime it yesterday! I'll paint it this week and then it will be ready to go in the baby's room! Then, yesterday afternoon we watched some great college football and ended up craving tailgating food so I made some meatballs with grape jelly and bbq sauce. YUMMY! Then, I fell asleep pretty early again and Christian stayed up to watch some of the later games. Then, today, we ran in a 5k for Junior League. Christian and I met up with my friend Megan (who's also pregnant) and her husband, Matt and ran some and walked some. I was proud of us! I've still been jogging throughout my pregnancy and everything has been great so far so I'm going to keep going until it's uncomfortable. My doc said it was fine as long as my heart rate doesn't get too high. After the 5k, we came home, rested a little and then walked down the street to a little festival going on. Now, we're relaxing and Christian is obsessing over his fantasy football. haha Every Sunday!
We have a short week this week because we're leaving Friday morning to head to New Hampshire for the holiday weekend (Columbus Day)! I'm so excited! It's supposed to be gorgeous weather and we're pumped for the annual Troop Family Clam Bake!
Once we're back from NH, Christian will be home another week and then he's off on another det for 2-3 weeks. Then, after that, only short trips for him until after the baby is here!
Speaking of baby. I went to the doc Wednesday for my monthly check-up and everything is going great. Max's heart rate sounds great, I'm measuring perfectly and I'm gaining the right amount of weight to stay within the recommended 25-30 pounds total for the whole pregnancy. Max is also moving around like crazy now and I can see the little thumps on my belly when he's moving a lot. Christian saw one yesterday. It's so neat.
Well, that's about all I have for now. I hope you all have a great week coming up!!!
xoxo,
Chrissi
I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying your weekend. We've had a great weekend and it's pretty chilly up here today. I'm sitting here in sweats b/c we refuse to turn on the heat since it's supposed to be back in the 70s this week. It's about 64 in our house! haha Christian's actually about to start a fire to warm it up a little in here. First one of the season!
We've been home for a week and it's been great getting back to normal. Christian went back to work and I got back in my normal routine.... back to working out at the gym, cooking dinner every night and actually being up-to-date with current events. :) It's good to be home.
We had a pretty low-key weekend. Friday evening we grilled steaks here at the house and then we both fell asleep around 8:30 on the couch. haha Saturday was spent cleaning for me and Christian worked on finishing his part of the Hoosier cabinet. We got it all stripped and sanded and we were able to prime it yesterday! I'll paint it this week and then it will be ready to go in the baby's room! Then, yesterday afternoon we watched some great college football and ended up craving tailgating food so I made some meatballs with grape jelly and bbq sauce. YUMMY! Then, I fell asleep pretty early again and Christian stayed up to watch some of the later games. Then, today, we ran in a 5k for Junior League. Christian and I met up with my friend Megan (who's also pregnant) and her husband, Matt and ran some and walked some. I was proud of us! I've still been jogging throughout my pregnancy and everything has been great so far so I'm going to keep going until it's uncomfortable. My doc said it was fine as long as my heart rate doesn't get too high. After the 5k, we came home, rested a little and then walked down the street to a little festival going on. Now, we're relaxing and Christian is obsessing over his fantasy football. haha Every Sunday!
We have a short week this week because we're leaving Friday morning to head to New Hampshire for the holiday weekend (Columbus Day)! I'm so excited! It's supposed to be gorgeous weather and we're pumped for the annual Troop Family Clam Bake!
Once we're back from NH, Christian will be home another week and then he's off on another det for 2-3 weeks. Then, after that, only short trips for him until after the baby is here!
Speaking of baby. I went to the doc Wednesday for my monthly check-up and everything is going great. Max's heart rate sounds great, I'm measuring perfectly and I'm gaining the right amount of weight to stay within the recommended 25-30 pounds total for the whole pregnancy. Max is also moving around like crazy now and I can see the little thumps on my belly when he's moving a lot. Christian saw one yesterday. It's so neat.
Well, that's about all I have for now. I hope you all have a great week coming up!!!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Monday, September 26, 2011
Newest news
The first portion of this post was written on our way home from Germany and the latter part is more up-to-date. :)
Hey folks-
Well, how about this for a story: I’m writing this post from aboard Air Force 2. Well, actually it’s the plane that becomes Air Force 2 when Vice President Joe Biden is on board. Apparently, Hillary Clinton uses this plane a lot too.... and other heads of state from around the world. One leader from the Middle East (can’t remember who) just used it to return to his country from the UN Summit after the Afghan ex-president was killed by a suicide bomber a few days ago. That’s why the plane was across the pond.
So, I’m sitting in a big reclined seat, we got to go into the private room where the leaders hold meetings, and I got to sit up in the cockpit for about 20 minutes and see everything from the pilots’ perspective. This is awesome!
So, you’re probably wondering how the hell we got this gig. We arrived at Ramstein AFB yesterday afternoon to stay the night and catch a C17 back to McGuire AFB (where we are stationed) this morning. We got to the terminal at 4:15 this morning only to find out that flight was canceled and the only other flight going to the states today was at 1:40 this afternoon. So, we were definitely disappointed. I told Christian that we should just go check back to the hotel and get some more sleep but he told me he didn’t want to leave the terminal “just in case something becomes available”. Well, thank God we stuck around because about thirty minutes later, over the loud speaker, we heard an announcement for a flight leaving within the next two hours for Andrews AFB (about 2 hours from our house and right outside DC). We were picked for the flight, checked in and got ready to board. We then found out we would be flying on a C-32, and since none of us knew what kind of airplane that was, I Googled it and figured out we had just gotten a first class ticket on Air Force 2. The area we’re sitting in is full of about 30 business/first class seats with leg extenders. Then there’s the private room that I mentioned and a conference room with two separate tables with big, cushy chairs around them. We get to walk all around the plane and the entire crew is dressed in suits, yet they are all active duty military. It’s really a neat experience! So, now, I’ll never want to fly a stupid commercial flight again! haha Oh, and Christian and I got to pick the in-flight movie. haha It’s just so neat b/c we will always remember this.
Another thing that makes this flight really great is that Christian got to feel Max kick for the first time! He was moving like crazy when we first took off so I told Christian to put his hand on my belly and he felt it. So great! :)
Oh yeah, we’ve also finalized his name. It is Maximus Cullen Jenkins. :) Looks good, huh? We’ve heard so much shit from people about the name Maximus but we both really love it. Plus, it means “the greatest”. Only the best for this kid.
So, anyway, our trip to Germany was great! We really didn’t do a whole lot of sight-seeing but we spent a lot of time with the family and ate some delicious food! Christian’s grandmother cooks soooooo well! Lunch is always the big meal over there so from about 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., she’s cooking. And, seriously, it’s all so good. Some of the stuff is super random for me as an American. For instance, hamburger patties with onions and all kinds of stuff mixed in served with creamed spinach and scrambled eggs and then you mix it all together. Random, right? But, so yummy!
The little bit of sight seeing we did was fun. One day, we drove down the Rhine River to see the castles and we had lunch at the same restaurant where we got engaged two years ago! It was great. :) Then, another day, we went to the International Auto Show in Frankfurt. That was really neat. We got to see all the new cars from around the world including Ferrari, Bugatti, Lamborghini, concept cars from Audi, BMW and Mercedes and all kinds of other really neat cars. It took us about five hours to see the entire layout of the show. We also went into Frankfurt a couple days just to look around at everything we’ve seen before and we did a little shopping. But, everything is really expensive in Europe for us because the American dollar still isn’t very strong. It’s getting a little better but it’s still pricey to buy anything over there. I think it’s about 35-40% more expensive. For instance, if I buy something for 100 euros, I’m really spending about $135. So, that stinks.
All in all, we had a great time and we love Europe so much but I’m so ready to be back to the good ol’ US of A. Since we’re flying into Andrews AFB, we’ll have to rent a car to get back home this afternoon. We’re supposed to be going out to Western Maryland to see Christian’s dad this weekend so I’m not sure if we’ll leave later this afternoon or if we’ll wait until the morning. I swear, the traveling never stops with us.
So, anyway, I hope all of you have had a great past couple weeks. The weather is starting to cool off everywhere and we’re getting into Fall up in Jersey!
I’ll talk to you guys soon!
xoxo,
Chrissi
I'll finish up that previously written portion with a little more info about the flight we were on! Towards the end of the flight, the flight crew allowed two people to sit up in the cock-pit for landing and Christian and another guy were chosen. So, since Christian does that for a living, he told me to go so I got to sit in the cockpit for the landing of our flight. It was a really neat experience!
Anyway, we did end up going to Maryland this weekend and now we're finally home. I am SO DANG happy to be home for a while. We're home for about two weeks then we head to New Hampshire for the weekend! I can't wait for that. We're going to the same party (clambake) we've been going to for the past three years and we're staying in a different B&B this time. I'm really pumped! A lot of our friends will be there and it's always a BLAST of a party!
So, that pretty much sums up everything going on on this end. I hope all of you had a great weekend!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Frogs and Snails & Puppy Dog Tails!
We're having a baby BOY!!!!!!!!!! Man, oh, man- I did NOT expect that! I would have bet someone $100 that we were having a girl. I guess a woman's intuition isn't right all the time, after all. Oh, but we are SO excited! I can't wait to experience the relationship between mom and little boy. All my friends say it's so special! And, I'm so excited for Christian. He wants a boy first so bad!
It wasn't super easy to get a glimpse of little man at first. He was balled up (napping, I suppose), when we first tried to get a shot of him. So, I had to drink some juice, jump around a little and tap on my tummy to get him to wake up and move to a better position. So, we finally got a good view and when the ultrasound tech asked us if we could tell what we were looking at, Christian said "I know it's gotta be ovaries" haha. But, the ultrasound tech then started pointing out a leg and then I yelled "and there's a penis!!!!" hahahaha. And, yes, there it was, for the world to see! haha Christian and I grabbed hands and held tight b/c we were both so excited!
We went to a great facility called Fetal Vision Imaging over in Langhorne, PA and the owner did our ultrasound. It was actually a guy who decided to open this business after years as a financial advisor in corporate America. He was super nice. He gave us a couple of 3D images too so we could see what our baby boy's body looks like. He had his hands in front of this face so we didn't see his face this time. We also got a DVD of the whole ultrasound! I've already watched it and we got home less than an hour ago. haha
Well, I'm going to keep this post short but I just wanted to explain a little about what we got to experience today! So, soon, we'll be welcoming Maximus (middle name still to be determined) into the world!
xoxo,
Chrissi
It wasn't super easy to get a glimpse of little man at first. He was balled up (napping, I suppose), when we first tried to get a shot of him. So, I had to drink some juice, jump around a little and tap on my tummy to get him to wake up and move to a better position. So, we finally got a good view and when the ultrasound tech asked us if we could tell what we were looking at, Christian said "I know it's gotta be ovaries" haha. But, the ultrasound tech then started pointing out a leg and then I yelled "and there's a penis!!!!" hahahaha. And, yes, there it was, for the world to see! haha Christian and I grabbed hands and held tight b/c we were both so excited!
We went to a great facility called Fetal Vision Imaging over in Langhorne, PA and the owner did our ultrasound. It was actually a guy who decided to open this business after years as a financial advisor in corporate America. He was super nice. He gave us a couple of 3D images too so we could see what our baby boy's body looks like. He had his hands in front of this face so we didn't see his face this time. We also got a DVD of the whole ultrasound! I've already watched it and we got home less than an hour ago. haha
Well, I'm going to keep this post short but I just wanted to explain a little about what we got to experience today! So, soon, we'll be welcoming Maximus (middle name still to be determined) into the world!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Happy Tuesday!!!
Christian comes home today!!!! I'm sooooo excited! He's been gone six weeks and that has been long enough! I'm hoping this rain doesn't delay his flight any. He should be in the states in about an hour and a half and then flies into Philly this afternoon. :)
So, the house is clean, yard is cut and groceries are bought. I'm so ready to have him around again. These six weeks haven't been too bad, though. We've had worse trips, for sure. This trip was better because we had great communication the whole time. He was able to call every day and had decent internet connection. The last long trip he went on was rough b/c the internet signal was awful and we weren't able to talk all the time. But, I know I still have it easier than a lot of wives who only get to talk to their husbands (maybe) once a week while they're on deployment. So, I'm certainly blessed and thankful right now.
I hope all of you faired well with TS Lee. I read a lot of statuses on Facebook that said some of the winds were pretty strong and I also saw several pictures of the beaches down there. It looks like we're going to be getting the rains from Lee later this week. We certainly don't need any more rain after all flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. Luckily there was no rain immediately around us but further north in the state, it's pretty bad!
Well, I went ahead and bit the bullet and scheduled an ultrasound for this Thursday to find out the sex of our little baby! It's at 3 p.m. Thursday so I'll let all of you know when we find out!
Then, we leave Monday or Tuesday to head to Germany! I'm excited to get over there! We're not sure which day we're flying out yet since we're taking a military flight and you never can tell how that's going to work out. But, we'll fly into Ramstein AFB and rent a car to head up to Frankfurt where Christian's grandparents, aunts and uncles live. I went ahead and got a baby passport from my doctor with all of my vital info on it just in case something were to go wrong. Plus, I talked to Christian's aunt who is calling a hospital over there to make sure they would take me just in case something goes wrong. COVERING ALL BASES! She said the US military has contracts with most hospitals over there so everything should be pretty easy. Plus, most docs speak fluent english, thank goodness!! So, good deal.
We'll be gone for about 10 days and Christian and I are hoping to do some other traveling while we're there. Little day trips and stuff. We talked about going back to the restaurant where we got engaged. It was along the Rhine River after we took the castle cruise. But, this time, we're going to drive along the river and maybe stop to actually walk through some of the castles. Should be fun! We also tossed around the idea of going to Paris for a day since it's only about three hours away by fast train. Who knows if that will happen, though. I'm not holding my breath on that. haha But, I'm very happy that we will have a rental car this time. Usually when we're in Frankfurt, we just walk everywhere. But, the walking everywhere usually consists of walking about seven miles a day! So, this pregnant girl can't guarantee that I'll be able to do that everyday this time.
But anyway, that's about all I have for right now. I hope you all enjoy your week!
xoxo-
Chrissi
So, the house is clean, yard is cut and groceries are bought. I'm so ready to have him around again. These six weeks haven't been too bad, though. We've had worse trips, for sure. This trip was better because we had great communication the whole time. He was able to call every day and had decent internet connection. The last long trip he went on was rough b/c the internet signal was awful and we weren't able to talk all the time. But, I know I still have it easier than a lot of wives who only get to talk to their husbands (maybe) once a week while they're on deployment. So, I'm certainly blessed and thankful right now.
I hope all of you faired well with TS Lee. I read a lot of statuses on Facebook that said some of the winds were pretty strong and I also saw several pictures of the beaches down there. It looks like we're going to be getting the rains from Lee later this week. We certainly don't need any more rain after all flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. Luckily there was no rain immediately around us but further north in the state, it's pretty bad!
Well, I went ahead and bit the bullet and scheduled an ultrasound for this Thursday to find out the sex of our little baby! It's at 3 p.m. Thursday so I'll let all of you know when we find out!
Then, we leave Monday or Tuesday to head to Germany! I'm excited to get over there! We're not sure which day we're flying out yet since we're taking a military flight and you never can tell how that's going to work out. But, we'll fly into Ramstein AFB and rent a car to head up to Frankfurt where Christian's grandparents, aunts and uncles live. I went ahead and got a baby passport from my doctor with all of my vital info on it just in case something were to go wrong. Plus, I talked to Christian's aunt who is calling a hospital over there to make sure they would take me just in case something goes wrong. COVERING ALL BASES! She said the US military has contracts with most hospitals over there so everything should be pretty easy. Plus, most docs speak fluent english, thank goodness!! So, good deal.
We'll be gone for about 10 days and Christian and I are hoping to do some other traveling while we're there. Little day trips and stuff. We talked about going back to the restaurant where we got engaged. It was along the Rhine River after we took the castle cruise. But, this time, we're going to drive along the river and maybe stop to actually walk through some of the castles. Should be fun! We also tossed around the idea of going to Paris for a day since it's only about three hours away by fast train. Who knows if that will happen, though. I'm not holding my breath on that. haha But, I'm very happy that we will have a rental car this time. Usually when we're in Frankfurt, we just walk everywhere. But, the walking everywhere usually consists of walking about seven miles a day! So, this pregnant girl can't guarantee that I'll be able to do that everyday this time.
But anyway, that's about all I have for right now. I hope you all enjoy your week!
xoxo-
Chrissi
Friday, August 26, 2011
Come on Irene...
"Looks like this hurricane is going to run right over you" says my husband on our daily phone call today. Thanks for that info, babe. ;) So, I've been watching this storm religiously for the last two days and there's really nothing else to do other than prepare. I've stocked up on water and food to eat if we don't have power. I have plenty of books to read and I'm about to go to the store to get one item I forgot at the store last night- a dang flashlight. DUH! Hopefully we won't lose power for too long but better to be safe than sorry. I went through two weeks without power after Hurricane Ivan and it was hot as hell. So, going a little while after this storm shouldn't be too bad since the highs are right around 80 next week.
There are a few things I have to do to prepare around the house before the storm hits....putting away plants, remove window units, storing the grill and securing furniture out on the porch. I'm going to head northeast tomorrow to my friend Vicki's house to stay with her and her boyfriend while the storm makes it's way through. I just don't want to be here alone. So, as soon as it's safe to head back to Jersey, I'll head back home to assess everything. So, say a little prayer that everything is OK and none of the HUGE trees around my house do any damage. Luckily, we have renters insurance and everything is replaceable but man, that would suck. TWO houses in one year damaged by storms? No thanks.
So anyway, other than the preparations, I'm going to a Phillies game tonight! haha My friend Iris gets free tickets for the Marlins games so she invited me to the one tonight. It will be my first major league baseball game and it should be fun!
Well, y'all take care and I'll keep everyone updated!
xoxo,
Chrissi
There are a few things I have to do to prepare around the house before the storm hits....putting away plants, remove window units, storing the grill and securing furniture out on the porch. I'm going to head northeast tomorrow to my friend Vicki's house to stay with her and her boyfriend while the storm makes it's way through. I just don't want to be here alone. So, as soon as it's safe to head back to Jersey, I'll head back home to assess everything. So, say a little prayer that everything is OK and none of the HUGE trees around my house do any damage. Luckily, we have renters insurance and everything is replaceable but man, that would suck. TWO houses in one year damaged by storms? No thanks.
So anyway, other than the preparations, I'm going to a Phillies game tonight! haha My friend Iris gets free tickets for the Marlins games so she invited me to the one tonight. It will be my first major league baseball game and it should be fun!
Well, y'all take care and I'll keep everyone updated!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
What's shakin'?
Apparently, the whole East Coast was shakin' yesterday! Yes, folks, I was able to feel my first ever earthquake yesterday as the 5.9 magnitude quake hit southwest of D.C. yesterday afternoon. I was in Philly getting my hair done when the building started shaking and kind of swaying side to side. I looked outside the window I was sitting next to and all the street light poles and trees were shaking too. We didn't know what to think. Was it a huge truck that went by? Was it an explosion? Were we under attack? It was pretty freaky. Then, about three minutes later, CNN announced that there had been an earthquake that was felt all along the east coast. It was a strange feeling, that's for sure. And, I'll go ahead and say that I prefer to never go through anything stronger than that! "Experience an earthquake" has never been on my bucket list.
Other than that ground breaking news (so many puns, I can't help it), I've just been hanging around the house since I got back from FL this past weekend. I'm so happy to be home in the presence of my own stuff. Now, if only Christian didn't get extended until Sept 7, that would be fabulous. But, I will say that it's good that he's not flying home this weekend because of this dang hurricane headed our way. How crazy it is that we could have an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week IN NEW JERSEY! Weird. I'm going to keep watching this storm to see what our news outlets are saying and if it will really make any big issues around here. I'm hoping it won't come this way! I definitely don't want to be here alone while a Cat 3 hurricane runs ashore. I'm only about an hour away from the coast so if it ends up being a direct hit and still a major hurricane, I'll hang with friends here or head out to Christian's dad's.
I just got home from the doctor for another monthly appointment. Everything is going really well and the baby's heart rate was in the 150's this time. I'll have blood work done September 7th as the second part of the sequential screening and at that point, I'll find out when the next ultrasound will be. I'm assuming the end of September or beginning of October. That's when we'll find out the sex! I also got my prenatal passport today. It's a little document that I'll take with me on our trip to Germany next month. It has all of the info so far just in case I have to see a doctor over there. I think it's pretty neat that they do that.
So, not much else is going on. I have to get out and cut the grass this afternoon. Blah! I started it Monday but it was wet and thick so the lawn mower kept struggling. So, hopefully, it's dried out by now so I can get it finished.
Hope all of you are having a good week! Talk soon-
Chrissi
Other than that ground breaking news (so many puns, I can't help it), I've just been hanging around the house since I got back from FL this past weekend. I'm so happy to be home in the presence of my own stuff. Now, if only Christian didn't get extended until Sept 7, that would be fabulous. But, I will say that it's good that he's not flying home this weekend because of this dang hurricane headed our way. How crazy it is that we could have an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week IN NEW JERSEY! Weird. I'm going to keep watching this storm to see what our news outlets are saying and if it will really make any big issues around here. I'm hoping it won't come this way! I definitely don't want to be here alone while a Cat 3 hurricane runs ashore. I'm only about an hour away from the coast so if it ends up being a direct hit and still a major hurricane, I'll hang with friends here or head out to Christian's dad's.
I just got home from the doctor for another monthly appointment. Everything is going really well and the baby's heart rate was in the 150's this time. I'll have blood work done September 7th as the second part of the sequential screening and at that point, I'll find out when the next ultrasound will be. I'm assuming the end of September or beginning of October. That's when we'll find out the sex! I also got my prenatal passport today. It's a little document that I'll take with me on our trip to Germany next month. It has all of the info so far just in case I have to see a doctor over there. I think it's pretty neat that they do that.
So, not much else is going on. I have to get out and cut the grass this afternoon. Blah! I started it Monday but it was wet and thick so the lawn mower kept struggling. So, hopefully, it's dried out by now so I can get it finished.
Hope all of you are having a good week! Talk soon-
Chrissi
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Cruel, cruel Summer
Bananarama should be singing their song, "Cruel Cruel Summer", every day down here in Pensacola. Let's just say I have gotten used to the "warm" summers up north and was not prepared for the Florida heat that I grew up with. It has been so brutally warm that I haven't wanted to do anything outside. I would love to be at the beach every day but it's unbearable unless you're in the water the entire time. Plus, the water feels like bath water so it's not the most refreshing thing in the world.
But, all in all, I've been having a good time. I've spent a lot of time with family and friends and just running the usual errands that I run while I'm home. I am pretty ready to get back to my house and regular routine but I'm making the most of my time here, that's for sure!
I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow! That's so crazy to me! In the beginning, I thought this pregnancy would take FOREVER but it seems to be going by pretty quickly. I'm feeling better and I have gotten most of my energy back. I'm so thankful that I never really had any morning sickness and the worst thing about my first trimester was just being tired. I didn't want to do anything at all! But, now, I'm much more energetic and I'm finally back in the gym! That makes me feel a thousand times better too. Since I worked out so much before I got pregnant, I felt like a total slob during the first trimester because I really didn't work out at all. But, now I'm back to jogging and lifting weights (lighter weight, more reps of course). I'm hoping to keep up a great workout routine throughout pregnancy so I can have an easier delivery and lose weight more quickly after the baby is born.
I hoping for an easy delivery because I'm really hoping to do it totally naturally. I just figure so many other women have done it so I can too! Plus, I want the whole true experience, pain and all. I know it's going to be awful and I'm not totally opposed to having an epidural but I want to try my hardest to avoid it.
Christian is still overseas and actually got extended another 10 days. So, that stinks. But, as soon as he gets back, we're heading to Germany!! I'm so excited! I always get antsy this time of year because we always go in September and I look forward to it so much. I love being around his family over there and just taking in the European culture. I think we're going to try to leave on September 11 on a military flight so it doesn't cost us anything to get over there. Then, we'll do the same coming back about 10 days later. That is probably one of the absolute BEST benefits of being in the military. I really wanted to go to NYC on September 11 and see the ceremonies marking the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 but if we leave that day, we obviously won't be able to do that.
So anyway, I'm leaving this coming Friday to head back home and my dad's tagging along to keep me company. So, we'll get there Saturday and he's flying back down here on Sunday. Should be a good time.
Well, I hope all of you are having a good weekend! Stay cool!
xoxo,
Chrissi
But, all in all, I've been having a good time. I've spent a lot of time with family and friends and just running the usual errands that I run while I'm home. I am pretty ready to get back to my house and regular routine but I'm making the most of my time here, that's for sure!
I'll be 13 weeks tomorrow! That's so crazy to me! In the beginning, I thought this pregnancy would take FOREVER but it seems to be going by pretty quickly. I'm feeling better and I have gotten most of my energy back. I'm so thankful that I never really had any morning sickness and the worst thing about my first trimester was just being tired. I didn't want to do anything at all! But, now, I'm much more energetic and I'm finally back in the gym! That makes me feel a thousand times better too. Since I worked out so much before I got pregnant, I felt like a total slob during the first trimester because I really didn't work out at all. But, now I'm back to jogging and lifting weights (lighter weight, more reps of course). I'm hoping to keep up a great workout routine throughout pregnancy so I can have an easier delivery and lose weight more quickly after the baby is born.
I hoping for an easy delivery because I'm really hoping to do it totally naturally. I just figure so many other women have done it so I can too! Plus, I want the whole true experience, pain and all. I know it's going to be awful and I'm not totally opposed to having an epidural but I want to try my hardest to avoid it.
Christian is still overseas and actually got extended another 10 days. So, that stinks. But, as soon as he gets back, we're heading to Germany!! I'm so excited! I always get antsy this time of year because we always go in September and I look forward to it so much. I love being around his family over there and just taking in the European culture. I think we're going to try to leave on September 11 on a military flight so it doesn't cost us anything to get over there. Then, we'll do the same coming back about 10 days later. That is probably one of the absolute BEST benefits of being in the military. I really wanted to go to NYC on September 11 and see the ceremonies marking the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 but if we leave that day, we obviously won't be able to do that.
So anyway, I'm leaving this coming Friday to head back home and my dad's tagging along to keep me company. So, we'll get there Saturday and he's flying back down here on Sunday. Should be a good time.
Well, I hope all of you are having a good weekend! Stay cool!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
One of the most amazing experiences of my life
Well, I got to meet our little one again today. I had my first trimester screening done which consisted of an ultrasound and some blood work. So much has changed since our first ultrasound that was done about 5 weeks ago! We have a true baby now! The heart beat sounds like galloping horses and the baby had hiccups!!! I laughed so much watching this! It was just so cute! He/she moved around quite a bit while the ultrasound tech pushed on my stomach to make sure the baby got in the right position to take measurements.
I sat there will little tears falling down the side of my face as I watched this little miracle on the black and white screen. All I could think about was how badly I wished Christian was there to see it. I felt selfish for getting to see it while he's over in the 120 degree heat in Bahrain. But, he just called me and we talked all about and and he was cracking up when I told him about the hiccups! haha :)
I'm so happy and relieved that we have a healthy baby right now. I'm sure all moms-to-be worry like I have been but we've worked a while on this and it's just so special to us.
So, now I'm going to get to work on choosing all the baby gear and picking out stuff for a nursery. I'm trying my hardest to find stuff that I really like but I CANNOT find any bedding sets less that $400 that I like! I can't stand themes (no offense to anyone else.... some are super cute but they're just not my style) so I'm looking for all white bedding that can be used for a boy or girl. Nothing too frilly like eyelet lace or anything. The only place I've found it is on Poshtots.com and if any of you know anything about that site, it's strictly a dream site for me. Never in a lifetime would I spend that kind of money. So, who knows. I will be using a print from one of my favorite artists in the nursery though. (www.storypeople.com) I have a couple to choose from and some of them are gender specific so I'll have to wait to order those. The colors are bright and I'll accessorize with other stuff to offset the white. Christian almost has the hoosier cabinet refinished! That will be our changing station. So excited about that! I already have a white dresser from when I was a little girl that we'll use. So, the only thing we have to buy is a crib! Awesome!
Also, we have names almost finalized so I'll go ahead and reveal those so I can stake claim! haha If it's a girl, the name will be Adele Monroe. I'm so ridiculously in love with that name. I think it's gorgeous. Plus, Adele means "to bring joy or humor". I love the meaning. Then, if it's a boy, we have the first name of Maximus but we'll call him Max. We just haven't picked out a middle name yet.
Well, glad the cat is officially out of the bag now on Facebook. So, anyone can post anything now. haha
I hope all of you have a wonderful week! Alison gets in town tomorrow and then we head down to Pensacola on Friday and Saturday! Can't wait to see her!!!
Now I have to go feed myself since I'm starving every hour now! This little jumping bean is growing like crazy!
xoxo,
Chrissi
I sat there will little tears falling down the side of my face as I watched this little miracle on the black and white screen. All I could think about was how badly I wished Christian was there to see it. I felt selfish for getting to see it while he's over in the 120 degree heat in Bahrain. But, he just called me and we talked all about and and he was cracking up when I told him about the hiccups! haha :)
I'm so happy and relieved that we have a healthy baby right now. I'm sure all moms-to-be worry like I have been but we've worked a while on this and it's just so special to us.
So, now I'm going to get to work on choosing all the baby gear and picking out stuff for a nursery. I'm trying my hardest to find stuff that I really like but I CANNOT find any bedding sets less that $400 that I like! I can't stand themes (no offense to anyone else.... some are super cute but they're just not my style) so I'm looking for all white bedding that can be used for a boy or girl. Nothing too frilly like eyelet lace or anything. The only place I've found it is on Poshtots.com and if any of you know anything about that site, it's strictly a dream site for me. Never in a lifetime would I spend that kind of money. So, who knows. I will be using a print from one of my favorite artists in the nursery though. (www.storypeople.com) I have a couple to choose from and some of them are gender specific so I'll have to wait to order those. The colors are bright and I'll accessorize with other stuff to offset the white. Christian almost has the hoosier cabinet refinished! That will be our changing station. So excited about that! I already have a white dresser from when I was a little girl that we'll use. So, the only thing we have to buy is a crib! Awesome!
Also, we have names almost finalized so I'll go ahead and reveal those so I can stake claim! haha If it's a girl, the name will be Adele Monroe. I'm so ridiculously in love with that name. I think it's gorgeous. Plus, Adele means "to bring joy or humor". I love the meaning. Then, if it's a boy, we have the first name of Maximus but we'll call him Max. We just haven't picked out a middle name yet.
Well, glad the cat is officially out of the bag now on Facebook. So, anyone can post anything now. haha
I hope all of you have a wonderful week! Alison gets in town tomorrow and then we head down to Pensacola on Friday and Saturday! Can't wait to see her!!!
Now I have to go feed myself since I'm starving every hour now! This little jumping bean is growing like crazy!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Is it the end of August yet?
Christian left this morning for 30 days in Bahrain and it was a tough one for me. Maybe it's due to all these additional hormones but I was crying like a baby. I took him to base at about 6:30 this morning and then came home and slept until about 10:30. I hate these days. But, then again, he's only gone a month. It could be WAYYYY worse. So, I'll make it through it. It just makes it harder since I have doctors appointments and ultrasounds that he'll miss. Blah....
So, enough with my pity party. I just ask all of you to say a little prayer that he stays safe over there. :)
In the mean time, I've gone a lot of plans coming up! I'm spending this weekend down in Ocean City, NJ with my friend Vicki and some of her friends. She and he boyfriend rented a place down there for the rest of the summer so I'm pretty excited about the beach and hanging with friends! I'll come back home either Saturday night or Sunday morning then I have a brunch date with my friend Paige on Sunday. Monday will be a regular Monday and then Tuesday I have my next appointment. I'm having the sequential screening done which consists of a very in depth ultrasound and some blood work. It's something that was optional for me and the purpose of this screening is to determine if there is a high chance of any kind of genetic defect (Down Syndrome, etc). I'm, frankly, just doing it to have an extra ultrasound. The genetic testing doesn't really matter to me. But if I didn't have this done, I wouldn't have another ultrasound until around 20 weeks! That's like 9 weeks away! I'm already nervous enough so I couldn't imagine waiting that long. So, please pray that everything turns out well on Tuesday for us!
Then, Wednesday, ALISON GETS HERE! I'm SOOOOO excited! I can't wait! We'll spend a little time in the city so I can show her some neat stuff and hopefully eat somewhere neat and then show her around our town. We'll probably leave Friday to start our drive down to Pensacola. I'm really excited about coming home too. I miss everyone so much! There's no place like home, that's for sure! I can't wait to be on the beach and get some good Florida sun! This white girl needs a little color, big time.
I'm not sure when I'll head back up here from Florida. I'm planning on leaving on the 15th to drive back up. I have another doctors appointment on August 17th so unless I change that to a little later, I'll still be leaving on the 15th.
Then, I think Christian gets back around August 28th so I'll have to figure out some other stuff to do to kill time between the 17th and then. Hopefully I'll be able to go down to VA Beach to visit friends down there.
Something else that's been going on is that I've been reading "The Help". Holy moly that book is sooooooo good and I CANNOT WAIT to see the movie. It comes out August 10th so I'll definitely be seeing it while I'm home. For those of you who have not read it, I highly recommend it. I'm half way through and it's such an easy read. It's about 1960s Mississippi when civil rights was becoming a big thing and it's about a white girl who helps the black maids (the help) get their stories out about what it's like to work for white families. It's so great and makes you cheer on the maids! I can't wait to read the rest of it.
I'd like to also say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my big brother! I hope he has an amazing day! I'm going to try and turn this lazy day around and get my butt out of the house. I hope all of you have a wonderful day and weekend! I'll see most of you in the next couple weeks! Love y'all!
xoxo,
Chrissi
So, enough with my pity party. I just ask all of you to say a little prayer that he stays safe over there. :)
In the mean time, I've gone a lot of plans coming up! I'm spending this weekend down in Ocean City, NJ with my friend Vicki and some of her friends. She and he boyfriend rented a place down there for the rest of the summer so I'm pretty excited about the beach and hanging with friends! I'll come back home either Saturday night or Sunday morning then I have a brunch date with my friend Paige on Sunday. Monday will be a regular Monday and then Tuesday I have my next appointment. I'm having the sequential screening done which consists of a very in depth ultrasound and some blood work. It's something that was optional for me and the purpose of this screening is to determine if there is a high chance of any kind of genetic defect (Down Syndrome, etc). I'm, frankly, just doing it to have an extra ultrasound. The genetic testing doesn't really matter to me. But if I didn't have this done, I wouldn't have another ultrasound until around 20 weeks! That's like 9 weeks away! I'm already nervous enough so I couldn't imagine waiting that long. So, please pray that everything turns out well on Tuesday for us!
Then, Wednesday, ALISON GETS HERE! I'm SOOOOO excited! I can't wait! We'll spend a little time in the city so I can show her some neat stuff and hopefully eat somewhere neat and then show her around our town. We'll probably leave Friday to start our drive down to Pensacola. I'm really excited about coming home too. I miss everyone so much! There's no place like home, that's for sure! I can't wait to be on the beach and get some good Florida sun! This white girl needs a little color, big time.
I'm not sure when I'll head back up here from Florida. I'm planning on leaving on the 15th to drive back up. I have another doctors appointment on August 17th so unless I change that to a little later, I'll still be leaving on the 15th.
Then, I think Christian gets back around August 28th so I'll have to figure out some other stuff to do to kill time between the 17th and then. Hopefully I'll be able to go down to VA Beach to visit friends down there.
Something else that's been going on is that I've been reading "The Help". Holy moly that book is sooooooo good and I CANNOT WAIT to see the movie. It comes out August 10th so I'll definitely be seeing it while I'm home. For those of you who have not read it, I highly recommend it. I'm half way through and it's such an easy read. It's about 1960s Mississippi when civil rights was becoming a big thing and it's about a white girl who helps the black maids (the help) get their stories out about what it's like to work for white families. It's so great and makes you cheer on the maids! I can't wait to read the rest of it.
I'd like to also say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my big brother! I hope he has an amazing day! I'm going to try and turn this lazy day around and get my butt out of the house. I hope all of you have a wonderful day and weekend! I'll see most of you in the next couple weeks! Love y'all!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Holy Lord it's HOT!
So, you all probably know by now (b/c of my bitching) that we don't have central air. We have three window units in this house (one in main living room *the only one downstairs*, one in master bedroom, and one in the quest bedroom). Well, it's hot as hell. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that there is a wicked heat wave covering much of the country. Well, NJ is smack in the middle of it. Highs of 100 for three days in a row with all kinds of air quality warnings that come along with that make this chick want to stay inside ALL DAY LONG. Those air quality warnings really freak me out. Apparently, according to a random woman one day, NJ is part of the cancer belt in the US b/c of all the pharmaceutical plants (ironic) and nuclear plant around here. Well I, personally, don't want cancer and I'm not taking any crazy risks by going out for a breath-shortening jog while those warnings are posted all over my weather.com page. No. thank. you.
Well, before the heat really got here, Christian and I were in Maryland this past weekend visiting his dad. We had a good time and he took me to Deep Creek Lake (kind of a resort area out there) for lunch and we ended up looking at a few houses around the lake. Man, we fell in love with one log cabin that had an Open House that day. Of course, none of that is really realistic right now but we definitely eventually want a lake house somewhere. I'm hoping for a lake house to be our permanent residence in about six years when Christian's retired from the Navy and working for someone else. Who knows.
Anyway, we got home this past Tuesday and it's been a warm one ever since. I've still been feeling pretty good. I'm still really tired at certain points during the day and I get nauseous in the afternoons/evenings almost every day now. It's not awful but it's not fun. I'm almost 10 weeks now which is really exciting. I'm so ready to be at the 12/13 week point so I'm out of the first trimester! My waistline is expanding a little each day and my pants are pretty uncomfortable. I bought a Bella Band yesterday so I might start using that pretty soon so I can wear my shorts unbuttoned. haha I've been reading some pregnancy books. First off, "What to Expect When Your Expecting" is truly the pregnancy bible. It has an answer to just about every question that pops into my mind. It's great. I also read Jenny McCarthy's book "Belly Laughs" and it was HILARIOUS! I was laughing out loud the whole way though. Sooooo funny. Those are the only two I've gotten and probably all I'll be reading. I don't want to get a thousand different ideas in my head so I figure I'll just keep it simple. :)
Speaking of reading, I'm REALLY wanting to read "The Help" and then see the movie when it comes out. I've heard it's so good and I can't wait to read/see it. I also need to get back on the studying train for the GRE. I have slacked off quite a bit and I take the GRE at the end of August so hopefully I'll do fine. Ugh!
Anyway, I hope all of you are having a great week and have something fun planned for the weekend! You Floridians are lucky that you have the water close-by! I can't wait to be down there in a couple weeks to take a dip in the Gulf and in a pool! I miss swimming so much!
Talk soon-
Chrissi
Well, before the heat really got here, Christian and I were in Maryland this past weekend visiting his dad. We had a good time and he took me to Deep Creek Lake (kind of a resort area out there) for lunch and we ended up looking at a few houses around the lake. Man, we fell in love with one log cabin that had an Open House that day. Of course, none of that is really realistic right now but we definitely eventually want a lake house somewhere. I'm hoping for a lake house to be our permanent residence in about six years when Christian's retired from the Navy and working for someone else. Who knows.
Anyway, we got home this past Tuesday and it's been a warm one ever since. I've still been feeling pretty good. I'm still really tired at certain points during the day and I get nauseous in the afternoons/evenings almost every day now. It's not awful but it's not fun. I'm almost 10 weeks now which is really exciting. I'm so ready to be at the 12/13 week point so I'm out of the first trimester! My waistline is expanding a little each day and my pants are pretty uncomfortable. I bought a Bella Band yesterday so I might start using that pretty soon so I can wear my shorts unbuttoned. haha I've been reading some pregnancy books. First off, "What to Expect When Your Expecting" is truly the pregnancy bible. It has an answer to just about every question that pops into my mind. It's great. I also read Jenny McCarthy's book "Belly Laughs" and it was HILARIOUS! I was laughing out loud the whole way though. Sooooo funny. Those are the only two I've gotten and probably all I'll be reading. I don't want to get a thousand different ideas in my head so I figure I'll just keep it simple. :)
Speaking of reading, I'm REALLY wanting to read "The Help" and then see the movie when it comes out. I've heard it's so good and I can't wait to read/see it. I also need to get back on the studying train for the GRE. I have slacked off quite a bit and I take the GRE at the end of August so hopefully I'll do fine. Ugh!
Anyway, I hope all of you are having a great week and have something fun planned for the weekend! You Floridians are lucky that you have the water close-by! I can't wait to be down there in a couple weeks to take a dip in the Gulf and in a pool! I miss swimming so much!
Talk soon-
Chrissi
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Whoa- June 20 was my last post???
Sorry folks, I obviously have let this blog thing go to the way side. There's been a lot going on in the land of the Jenkins in the last month. So, I'll simply catch you up to speed!
Well, the summer is in full swing and we've had our share of heat waves up here already. And, our lack of central air simply SUCKS! Yes, we have window units but it is NOT the same. Oh well, though. Summers up here don't last too terribly long and I can get by with the house being around 78-80 (with the air on). Granted, I make our bedroom about 65 degrees at night, which is awesome. But, I'm definitely ready for Fall! I love Fall up here so much. It's amazing with the leaves changing and crisp temps.
Other than the weather, another main topic of our summer was Dad & Rhonda coming to visit on 4th of July weekend. We had such a fantastic time and they got to see a lot of our area. We went to the AT&T National Golf tournament, a first Friday celebration in a nearby town, and then stayed at the Ritz Carlton on their last night in Philly. It was a great time! I'm so glad they came up and now I'm waiting on the next visit from someone! Alison (my best best friend) is coming to visit August 3rd and then she and I are driving down to Florida so I can spend about a week in Pensacola! I'm super pumped about her coming to visit! Love her so much! And, the roadtrip is bound to be an experience!! haha You never know what will happen when the two of us get together.
Christian has been traveling quite a bit on short trips this summer and he leaves for a 30 day trip to Bahrain on July 27th. I'll certainly miss him and this is the first time he will be in the Middle East since we've been together. So, I have my own stresses about that. But, I'm faithful that everything will be fine. :) Before he leaves, we're heading to Maryland this weekend to see his family for a few days. They have a family reunion this Saturday so that should be a good time. We'll also play some golf and enjoy the cooler weather in the mountains of western Maryland. We come back Tuesday and then we only have one more week before he leaves.
And, to get to the main topic, I think everyone that this blog is sent to already knows that I'm pregnant. We're super excited but I'm still pretty nervous. As you all know, we tried for about a year with no luck. I was referred to a fertility specialist who found a polyp in my uterus and I eventually had a hysteroscopy and polypectomy to remove it. And within a couple weeks, I got pregnant! I'm eight 1/2 weeks now and everything has been going ok. I had my first ultrasound at 6 weeks and 4 days and we were able to see the heart beating. That was pretty awesome. I had a minor scare yesterday when I was at work and had some pretty bad cramping and ended up coming home to rest. The cramping went away as soon as I laid down and relaxed and I had no bleeding whatsoever. I called my doc and he said it may have been from the exam I had the day before (normal pap and all that stuff that goes on at first OB appt) or just because my uterus is expanding and if there isn't any bleeding, there's no need to be alarmed at this point and to let him know how I was feeling today. So, I called him back today to let him know that I feel fine and they just told me to drink plenty of fluids and stay off my feet as much as possible. So, I didn't go to work today either and I'm off until next week. Since I stand for about five hours at a time at work, I figure that's not the best thing to do when the doc tells me to stay off my feet. So, other than that, I'm feeling fine! I have some very sore boobs, I'm crazy tired and hungry almost all the time. Just please say a little prayer that everything is still OK and continues to go OK throughout the pregnancy. I assume it's normal to freak out about something happening but this has been a long time coming and I just hope and pray that everything stays healthy.
I know there are some of you that I don't directly send this to but who follow my blog anyway. I just ask anyone to please NOT post anything on Facebook. This blog is a little more intimate and I don't mind a few people knowing but I'm not ready to broadcast it to the world just yet. Thanks ahead of time. :)
So, needless to say, we've been busy!!! I also want to congratulate two of my best friends on their pregnancies too! Laura and Stan are expecting twins!!!! And Christina and Chad are expecting a little one a few weeks before we are. Sooo exciting. I would absolutely freak if I was having twins just because Christian is gone and that would NOT be easy but I know Laura and she's a rock and her and Stan's families will certainly be there for them since they all live within about 20 minutes of eachother! Fantastic. Christina is my friend who lives in VA Beach and he husband is actually deployed right now until December and she's due in January. So, I'll have to visit her to keep her company a little during the pregnancy.
Anyway, I hope you're all having a fantastic week! It's more than half way over now! Enjoy the upcoming weekend and I'll keep y'all updated on everything.
xoxo,
Chrissi
Well, the summer is in full swing and we've had our share of heat waves up here already. And, our lack of central air simply SUCKS! Yes, we have window units but it is NOT the same. Oh well, though. Summers up here don't last too terribly long and I can get by with the house being around 78-80 (with the air on). Granted, I make our bedroom about 65 degrees at night, which is awesome. But, I'm definitely ready for Fall! I love Fall up here so much. It's amazing with the leaves changing and crisp temps.
Other than the weather, another main topic of our summer was Dad & Rhonda coming to visit on 4th of July weekend. We had such a fantastic time and they got to see a lot of our area. We went to the AT&T National Golf tournament, a first Friday celebration in a nearby town, and then stayed at the Ritz Carlton on their last night in Philly. It was a great time! I'm so glad they came up and now I'm waiting on the next visit from someone! Alison (my best best friend) is coming to visit August 3rd and then she and I are driving down to Florida so I can spend about a week in Pensacola! I'm super pumped about her coming to visit! Love her so much! And, the roadtrip is bound to be an experience!! haha You never know what will happen when the two of us get together.
Christian has been traveling quite a bit on short trips this summer and he leaves for a 30 day trip to Bahrain on July 27th. I'll certainly miss him and this is the first time he will be in the Middle East since we've been together. So, I have my own stresses about that. But, I'm faithful that everything will be fine. :) Before he leaves, we're heading to Maryland this weekend to see his family for a few days. They have a family reunion this Saturday so that should be a good time. We'll also play some golf and enjoy the cooler weather in the mountains of western Maryland. We come back Tuesday and then we only have one more week before he leaves.
And, to get to the main topic, I think everyone that this blog is sent to already knows that I'm pregnant. We're super excited but I'm still pretty nervous. As you all know, we tried for about a year with no luck. I was referred to a fertility specialist who found a polyp in my uterus and I eventually had a hysteroscopy and polypectomy to remove it. And within a couple weeks, I got pregnant! I'm eight 1/2 weeks now and everything has been going ok. I had my first ultrasound at 6 weeks and 4 days and we were able to see the heart beating. That was pretty awesome. I had a minor scare yesterday when I was at work and had some pretty bad cramping and ended up coming home to rest. The cramping went away as soon as I laid down and relaxed and I had no bleeding whatsoever. I called my doc and he said it may have been from the exam I had the day before (normal pap and all that stuff that goes on at first OB appt) or just because my uterus is expanding and if there isn't any bleeding, there's no need to be alarmed at this point and to let him know how I was feeling today. So, I called him back today to let him know that I feel fine and they just told me to drink plenty of fluids and stay off my feet as much as possible. So, I didn't go to work today either and I'm off until next week. Since I stand for about five hours at a time at work, I figure that's not the best thing to do when the doc tells me to stay off my feet. So, other than that, I'm feeling fine! I have some very sore boobs, I'm crazy tired and hungry almost all the time. Just please say a little prayer that everything is still OK and continues to go OK throughout the pregnancy. I assume it's normal to freak out about something happening but this has been a long time coming and I just hope and pray that everything stays healthy.
I know there are some of you that I don't directly send this to but who follow my blog anyway. I just ask anyone to please NOT post anything on Facebook. This blog is a little more intimate and I don't mind a few people knowing but I'm not ready to broadcast it to the world just yet. Thanks ahead of time. :)
So, needless to say, we've been busy!!! I also want to congratulate two of my best friends on their pregnancies too! Laura and Stan are expecting twins!!!! And Christina and Chad are expecting a little one a few weeks before we are. Sooo exciting. I would absolutely freak if I was having twins just because Christian is gone and that would NOT be easy but I know Laura and she's a rock and her and Stan's families will certainly be there for them since they all live within about 20 minutes of eachother! Fantastic. Christina is my friend who lives in VA Beach and he husband is actually deployed right now until December and she's due in January. So, I'll have to visit her to keep her company a little during the pregnancy.
Anyway, I hope you're all having a fantastic week! It's more than half way over now! Enjoy the upcoming weekend and I'll keep y'all updated on everything.
xoxo,
Chrissi
Monday, June 20, 2011
Happy Monday!
I know the title of this blog may upset some of you but, frankly, I love Mondays.... especially when Christian is gone. I can't stand the weekends when he's gone b/c I have nothing to do and there's only so much stuff I can do by myself. Plus, I'm used to my daytime t.v. shows and my regular routine during the week. But, I did work yesterday for five hours so that killed some time.
Speaking of doing things by myself- Saturday I went to the Philadelphia Art Museum for the first time since we moved up here! I know Christian doesn't like the artsy fartsy stuff so I decided if I was going to go, I was going to be alone. Plus, for those of you who know me, you know that I LOVE doing things by myself sometimes because I need "me time". I get that from my momma. So anyway, the museum was fun! Plus, I got in free b/c they are a Blue Star museum which means military families get in free between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Regular admission is $25 so I figured I better take advantage of this deal! The only other art museum I've been to is the National Gallery of Art in DC. That was pretty neat too but I was w/ Christian and he was making jokes so I couldn't really appreciate what I was looking at. At the PMA on Saturday, I saw two different areas of the museum. I saw all of the American art which consisted of paintings of American Indians and their treks across country and then the majority of the rest of that exhibit was all American-made antique furniture. That was pretty neat b/c I love antiques! It was awesome to see an old elaborate bedroom all set up and staged behind glass or big wardrobes from the 1700s. Then, after the American stuff, I saw some European art which consisted of about 20 different Monet pieces and, of course, several other artists I had never heard of. Then, in that same area was the modern or contemporary art. That stuff is strange! There was a whole room with about 6 HUGE canvases just with Greek gods' names scribbled on them with what looked like crayons. There was a piece that was a wall-mounted sink with two left-footed child's legs coming out of it. Yeah, weird and I don't get that stuff. haha But then, I saw a lone Pablo Picasso piece. That was pretty neat. So, at that point, I had seen two of the most famous artists' pieces. It may not be a big deal to some of you but I thought it was pretty neat. Then, one of my favorite artists is Jackson Pollock. I was walking around and almost out of the area with that type of art when I ran across one smaller piece of his and that made my day. I was thinking I wasn't going to see one. So, after that, I made my way to the gift shop to look around and then headed towards the exit. I didn't have the desire to see the entire museum that day. It was fun, it was free, and I got some culture!
As I mentioned, Christian is on another trip. He's headed out the Pacific but will be back this coming Sunday. He left last Friday. When he gets back, we're going out to his dad's for a couple days which should be fun. It's beautiful out there in the summertime. Then, we'll come back either Tuesday or Wednesday then Dad & Rhonda get here next Friday!!! I'm SOOO excited for them to get here! We have a fun weekend planned. Friday will probably be pretty low-key but we might go to Haddonfield to walk around since they have a celebration on the first Friday of every month. Then, depending on Saturday's weather, there's a really neat farm around here that I want to visit and then Saturday night we're going to take them to New Hope! I LOVE NEW HOPE! It's such a fantastic little town. Then, Sunday is our day/night in Philly. Dad, being his typical self, booked two rooms for us at the Ritz in Center City for us to stay there Sunday night. That should be fun! It's completely unnecessary since we clearly have a place to stay but he insisted so we're tagging along..... darn, right?! haha
I'm really looking forward to my next trip home too! My best friend, Alison, is flying up here in August and we're going to drive back to Florida together! So much fun! We've been best friends for 24 years and this is our first long road trip together. Plus, she's one of the very few people I could actually stand to be in a car with for that long. haha Christian will be gone the whole month of August over to the Middle East. When he gets back, we're planning to go to Germany to see the family. I can't wait. I love going over there. Not sure if we'll go to Austria this time. It all depends on which house his grandparents are staying in (their main house is in Frankfurt, Germany and their vacation home is in Faistenau, Austria- just outside of Salzburg). Faistenau is absolutely gorgeous and just a neat experience but Frankfurt is where ALL of the family is so that's fun too. Then, once we get back from Germany, October will be sneaking up on us. Then, Christian is in a wedding in Houston at the beginning of November and then we'll come to Florida for Thanksgiving and spend Christmas up here. We have a ski trip planned with friends right after Christmas so I'm pretty excited about that! We had a blast two years ago and it's an every two-year tradition now in upstate New York. Then, it will be an exciting 2012, to say the least! Gosh, the rest of this year is going to fly by. I'm already looking forward to Fall! Plus, I wanted to listen to Christmas music the other day but I held back! haha
One more thing- I get daily newsletter emails from Oprah.com and this article came across last week but I've saved it b/c it's a good one. It's about happiness. And, since you all know how much I love being happy, do me a favor and read it (yes, it's a smidge long). :) The seventh paragraph is pretty good. Also, if any of you are looking for a good book, I'll recommend one that I read last year and still think about all the time. It's called The Happiness Project by Gretchin Rubin. It's a really good book that's written really well. I think it's good for folks around my age and maybe a little older. So anyway, here's the article:
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Mindfulness-and-Positive-Spirit-Methods-to-Achieve-Happiness
Ok- hope everyone has a fantastic week!!!! Do something that makes you happy!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Speaking of doing things by myself- Saturday I went to the Philadelphia Art Museum for the first time since we moved up here! I know Christian doesn't like the artsy fartsy stuff so I decided if I was going to go, I was going to be alone. Plus, for those of you who know me, you know that I LOVE doing things by myself sometimes because I need "me time". I get that from my momma. So anyway, the museum was fun! Plus, I got in free b/c they are a Blue Star museum which means military families get in free between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Regular admission is $25 so I figured I better take advantage of this deal! The only other art museum I've been to is the National Gallery of Art in DC. That was pretty neat too but I was w/ Christian and he was making jokes so I couldn't really appreciate what I was looking at. At the PMA on Saturday, I saw two different areas of the museum. I saw all of the American art which consisted of paintings of American Indians and their treks across country and then the majority of the rest of that exhibit was all American-made antique furniture. That was pretty neat b/c I love antiques! It was awesome to see an old elaborate bedroom all set up and staged behind glass or big wardrobes from the 1700s. Then, after the American stuff, I saw some European art which consisted of about 20 different Monet pieces and, of course, several other artists I had never heard of. Then, in that same area was the modern or contemporary art. That stuff is strange! There was a whole room with about 6 HUGE canvases just with Greek gods' names scribbled on them with what looked like crayons. There was a piece that was a wall-mounted sink with two left-footed child's legs coming out of it. Yeah, weird and I don't get that stuff. haha But then, I saw a lone Pablo Picasso piece. That was pretty neat. So, at that point, I had seen two of the most famous artists' pieces. It may not be a big deal to some of you but I thought it was pretty neat. Then, one of my favorite artists is Jackson Pollock. I was walking around and almost out of the area with that type of art when I ran across one smaller piece of his and that made my day. I was thinking I wasn't going to see one. So, after that, I made my way to the gift shop to look around and then headed towards the exit. I didn't have the desire to see the entire museum that day. It was fun, it was free, and I got some culture!
As I mentioned, Christian is on another trip. He's headed out the Pacific but will be back this coming Sunday. He left last Friday. When he gets back, we're going out to his dad's for a couple days which should be fun. It's beautiful out there in the summertime. Then, we'll come back either Tuesday or Wednesday then Dad & Rhonda get here next Friday!!! I'm SOOO excited for them to get here! We have a fun weekend planned. Friday will probably be pretty low-key but we might go to Haddonfield to walk around since they have a celebration on the first Friday of every month. Then, depending on Saturday's weather, there's a really neat farm around here that I want to visit and then Saturday night we're going to take them to New Hope! I LOVE NEW HOPE! It's such a fantastic little town. Then, Sunday is our day/night in Philly. Dad, being his typical self, booked two rooms for us at the Ritz in Center City for us to stay there Sunday night. That should be fun! It's completely unnecessary since we clearly have a place to stay but he insisted so we're tagging along..... darn, right?! haha
I'm really looking forward to my next trip home too! My best friend, Alison, is flying up here in August and we're going to drive back to Florida together! So much fun! We've been best friends for 24 years and this is our first long road trip together. Plus, she's one of the very few people I could actually stand to be in a car with for that long. haha Christian will be gone the whole month of August over to the Middle East. When he gets back, we're planning to go to Germany to see the family. I can't wait. I love going over there. Not sure if we'll go to Austria this time. It all depends on which house his grandparents are staying in (their main house is in Frankfurt, Germany and their vacation home is in Faistenau, Austria- just outside of Salzburg). Faistenau is absolutely gorgeous and just a neat experience but Frankfurt is where ALL of the family is so that's fun too. Then, once we get back from Germany, October will be sneaking up on us. Then, Christian is in a wedding in Houston at the beginning of November and then we'll come to Florida for Thanksgiving and spend Christmas up here. We have a ski trip planned with friends right after Christmas so I'm pretty excited about that! We had a blast two years ago and it's an every two-year tradition now in upstate New York. Then, it will be an exciting 2012, to say the least! Gosh, the rest of this year is going to fly by. I'm already looking forward to Fall! Plus, I wanted to listen to Christmas music the other day but I held back! haha
One more thing- I get daily newsletter emails from Oprah.com and this article came across last week but I've saved it b/c it's a good one. It's about happiness. And, since you all know how much I love being happy, do me a favor and read it (yes, it's a smidge long). :) The seventh paragraph is pretty good. Also, if any of you are looking for a good book, I'll recommend one that I read last year and still think about all the time. It's called The Happiness Project by Gretchin Rubin. It's a really good book that's written really well. I think it's good for folks around my age and maybe a little older. So anyway, here's the article:
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Mindfulness-and-Positive-Spirit-Methods-to-Achieve-Happiness
Ok- hope everyone has a fantastic week!!!! Do something that makes you happy!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Lordy Lordy.... look who's turning....er, 26.
Happy Sunday morning!!!
I hope all of you are having a fantastic weekend and that you all did something fun! Mine has been wonderful. My girlfriends and I went over to Atlantic City Friday night for my birthday celebration and had an absolute blast! I slept 'til 10 a.m. today to make up for the loss of sleep. haha We had five girls and went to dinner at Buddakon (a great Asian upscale place) and then went out at Ceasars and then over to the Borgata. We were out until about 4 a.m. You seriously lose track of time in those places!!! I lost $100 on roulette, Vicki won $200+ on the Wheel of Fortune slots and then Trish "won" $500 because a guy she was tagging along with a guy who won $15,000 after a $5,000 blackjack bet and gave her $500 (great story!). haha So, we had a blast.
Yesterday was a low-key rainy day and Christian had to work. Last night we walking into town to get sushi and on the way back we saw our first fire flies of the season. I love those things! They make the fields up here look like they sparkle at night. Today I'm going to be cleaning house and working on the yard. We're having Christian's squadron's Admin dept over tomorrow for a cookout so we have a lot to do to prepare for that. The weather has been gloomy this weekend but it's supposed to be sunny and 80 degrees tomorrow! PERFECTION, right?! I love summertime up here. And, it's my birthday tomorrow!
So anyway, I'll catch you guys up on a few things. Last weekend, we were down in Pensacola for a wedding and to see the finished product at our house in Pace. It looks great and we're very happy with the work! But, now we need renters! We have it listed with a realtor so hopefully she'll find someone soon. Jenna's wedding last weekend was so much fun and so beautiful. She looked amazing as well. We had a great time. On Friday night, Dad took Christian and I over to Fairhope, AL for dinner at the Wash House. I HIGHLY recommend that place!!! It's sooooooooo good! The decorations and atmosphere are fantastic too! Yummo! I want to go back TONIGHT! haha The trip was fun and short lived. But, we headed back to Philly Monday night and have had a good week.
I started my new job at Pottery Barn Wednesday! It was a lot of fun. I'll be working two shifts during the week and one on the weekend. And, I've already requested a ton of time off and they seem to be fine with it so I'm diggin' this whole thing. :) I've already redecorated my house in my head with stuff in the store. haha! I LOVE their stuff.
I started studying for the GRE already and I'm a bit nervous. The math portion is going to rock my world. The essays and stuff like that don't worry me but the fact that I haven't had any math in about six years is a little terrifying. Christian has already helped me a little bit so that's good.
I ordered the book "Marriage Confidential" that I mentioned in my last post. So, I'm looking forward to starting that this week.
I have to mention the fact that I'm sitting on the porch right now typing this and listening to the Smooth Jazz channel on Direct TV and I swear I turn more into my mother every day! haha I remember waking up in middle and high school on Sunday mornings to jazz music playing, windows open and mom either cleaning or sitting on the porch reading. Cat Sunday Jazz Brunch on 99.9.... ohhh memories. :) Love you momma!
So, anyway, nothing much more is going on. Enjoy your Sunday and have a great week coming up!
"Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
I hope all of you are having a fantastic weekend and that you all did something fun! Mine has been wonderful. My girlfriends and I went over to Atlantic City Friday night for my birthday celebration and had an absolute blast! I slept 'til 10 a.m. today to make up for the loss of sleep. haha We had five girls and went to dinner at Buddakon (a great Asian upscale place) and then went out at Ceasars and then over to the Borgata. We were out until about 4 a.m. You seriously lose track of time in those places!!! I lost $100 on roulette, Vicki won $200+ on the Wheel of Fortune slots and then Trish "won" $500 because a guy she was tagging along with a guy who won $15,000 after a $5,000 blackjack bet and gave her $500 (great story!). haha So, we had a blast.
Yesterday was a low-key rainy day and Christian had to work. Last night we walking into town to get sushi and on the way back we saw our first fire flies of the season. I love those things! They make the fields up here look like they sparkle at night. Today I'm going to be cleaning house and working on the yard. We're having Christian's squadron's Admin dept over tomorrow for a cookout so we have a lot to do to prepare for that. The weather has been gloomy this weekend but it's supposed to be sunny and 80 degrees tomorrow! PERFECTION, right?! I love summertime up here. And, it's my birthday tomorrow!
So anyway, I'll catch you guys up on a few things. Last weekend, we were down in Pensacola for a wedding and to see the finished product at our house in Pace. It looks great and we're very happy with the work! But, now we need renters! We have it listed with a realtor so hopefully she'll find someone soon. Jenna's wedding last weekend was so much fun and so beautiful. She looked amazing as well. We had a great time. On Friday night, Dad took Christian and I over to Fairhope, AL for dinner at the Wash House. I HIGHLY recommend that place!!! It's sooooooooo good! The decorations and atmosphere are fantastic too! Yummo! I want to go back TONIGHT! haha The trip was fun and short lived. But, we headed back to Philly Monday night and have had a good week.
I started my new job at Pottery Barn Wednesday! It was a lot of fun. I'll be working two shifts during the week and one on the weekend. And, I've already requested a ton of time off and they seem to be fine with it so I'm diggin' this whole thing. :) I've already redecorated my house in my head with stuff in the store. haha! I LOVE their stuff.
I started studying for the GRE already and I'm a bit nervous. The math portion is going to rock my world. The essays and stuff like that don't worry me but the fact that I haven't had any math in about six years is a little terrifying. Christian has already helped me a little bit so that's good.
I ordered the book "Marriage Confidential" that I mentioned in my last post. So, I'm looking forward to starting that this week.
I have to mention the fact that I'm sitting on the porch right now typing this and listening to the Smooth Jazz channel on Direct TV and I swear I turn more into my mother every day! haha I remember waking up in middle and high school on Sunday mornings to jazz music playing, windows open and mom either cleaning or sitting on the porch reading. Cat Sunday Jazz Brunch on 99.9.... ohhh memories. :) Love you momma!
So, anyway, nothing much more is going on. Enjoy your Sunday and have a great week coming up!
"Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Happy June!
Can any of you really believe that today is the first day of June? I CANNOT! It's nuts that this year is just about half over! 2011 has been a pretty decent year so far, I must say. We've had a lot of fun, we're loving New Jersey and we've continued our crazy traveling. I hope it's been a great year for all of you as well!
So, my last post was all about Oprah's farewell and I must say, I find myself a little lost at 4:00 every afternoon. I'm used to my daily dose of Oprah therapy at that time and I no longer get that! So, I will have to find some other way to be enlightened. ;) I hope to get back into reading very soon. I had a bucket list goal of 12 books for the year and I think I've finished two. Oops. I'm going to head to the bookstore later today and check out a new book my friend, Vicki, recommended to me. She knows that I'm obsessed with marriage and relationships and all that jazz so the book is called "Marriage Confidential". It had a great write-up in USA Today and has been pretty interested! http://usat.ly/iudy6k
One other thing that I will have to keep me busy during the summer is studying for the GRE. I finally bit the bullet and registered to take the GRE at the end of August. I'm super intimidated; especially about the math portion. I haven't had math since my sophomore year of college! Hopefully Christian's engineering brain will be able to help me out with the arithmetic. I probably won't be starting grad school anytime soon, though. We only have two years left here in Jersey and then we don't know where we'll end up so I don't want to start something here and then have to worry about credits not transferring. I'll start once we figure out where we're moving. Something that is slightly unfortunate is the fact that only a select number of schools offer the program that I'm really interested in: sex therapy. As I mentioned in last week's post, Oprah kickstarted the public career of Dr. Laura Berman, a renowned sex & relationship therapist based in Chicago. I started listening to her talk radio show a couple years ago and just fell in love with her work. She's so open-minded and helps everyday people open their minds to new ways to improve their relationships (although, not only through sex). Thomas Jefferson University here in Philly offers a fantastic program instructed by accredited sex therapists. I would LOVE to get into that program but who knows if we'll stay here. I think there are about 11 schools that offer this program and they're pretty much all in the Northeast. So, we'll see if I actually get to do something that specialized or if I'll have to go the more traditional route of Marriage and Family Counseling. There are many more schools that offer that program. We shall see. Either way, I know it will be interesting.
So, other than that stuff, here are a few updates on our lives! We had a great Memorial Day weekend with lots of activities going on. Saturday, we went to an airshow in Millville, NJ and then to a BBQ at Tim & Katie's (Tim is in Christian's squadron). Sunday, we laid low around the house and then went to my friend Vicki's place for a cookout. And then, Monday, we went boating down in Baltimore with Christian's biological dad and his family. We had a great time all weekend!
Christian's back to work for a three-day week and then we leave Friday morning for Pensacola! I can't wait to see my parents and family and friends! I'm so excited. I get even more excited when Christian gets to come home with me! We get in early Friday morning and we have to take care of some final things with our house in Pace and then we have dinner reservations over in Fairhope with Dad & Rhonda. They've been telling me all about this place called The Wash House so I asked Dad to make reservations for the four of us. Saturday morning will be spent with family since we get to see baby Bram and the rest of that clan. Then, we'll probably grab lunch or something with Mom, John and Adam. Saturday evening will be spent celebrating Jenna & James getting hitched! I'm so excited for the wedding and to see all of our friends in one place! Great times to be had! Then, we have Sunday and Monday to kill some time before we head back north.
The following weekend is my birthday weekend so me and about five other girlfriends are heading to Atlantic City! We'll be hanging by the pool by day and partying by night! I'm pretty pumped about it! My first summertime trip to the shore. ha!
Oh- I almost forgot! I had my Pottery Barn orientation yesterday! It went really well and I'm pretty excited to work there to kill some time. Our store manager is super nice and really laid back. I'm pretty stoked about the 40% discount too! I was looking through a catalog this morning and I want everything! haha I start work next Wednesday and I'll probably work two shifts a week. They're going to be really flexible with my schedule because I want to be able to be home when Christian is home from trips. So, that's really great. I met two other new girls that I'll be working with and they're super nice too. Everything seems like it's going to be pretty perfect!
Nothing much else to report. I hope all of you are having a great short week! Happy June and Happy Summer! Enjoy it!
xoxo,
Chrissi
So, my last post was all about Oprah's farewell and I must say, I find myself a little lost at 4:00 every afternoon. I'm used to my daily dose of Oprah therapy at that time and I no longer get that! So, I will have to find some other way to be enlightened. ;) I hope to get back into reading very soon. I had a bucket list goal of 12 books for the year and I think I've finished two. Oops. I'm going to head to the bookstore later today and check out a new book my friend, Vicki, recommended to me. She knows that I'm obsessed with marriage and relationships and all that jazz so the book is called "Marriage Confidential". It had a great write-up in USA Today and has been pretty interested! http://usat.ly/iudy6k
One other thing that I will have to keep me busy during the summer is studying for the GRE. I finally bit the bullet and registered to take the GRE at the end of August. I'm super intimidated; especially about the math portion. I haven't had math since my sophomore year of college! Hopefully Christian's engineering brain will be able to help me out with the arithmetic. I probably won't be starting grad school anytime soon, though. We only have two years left here in Jersey and then we don't know where we'll end up so I don't want to start something here and then have to worry about credits not transferring. I'll start once we figure out where we're moving. Something that is slightly unfortunate is the fact that only a select number of schools offer the program that I'm really interested in: sex therapy. As I mentioned in last week's post, Oprah kickstarted the public career of Dr. Laura Berman, a renowned sex & relationship therapist based in Chicago. I started listening to her talk radio show a couple years ago and just fell in love with her work. She's so open-minded and helps everyday people open their minds to new ways to improve their relationships (although, not only through sex). Thomas Jefferson University here in Philly offers a fantastic program instructed by accredited sex therapists. I would LOVE to get into that program but who knows if we'll stay here. I think there are about 11 schools that offer this program and they're pretty much all in the Northeast. So, we'll see if I actually get to do something that specialized or if I'll have to go the more traditional route of Marriage and Family Counseling. There are many more schools that offer that program. We shall see. Either way, I know it will be interesting.
So, other than that stuff, here are a few updates on our lives! We had a great Memorial Day weekend with lots of activities going on. Saturday, we went to an airshow in Millville, NJ and then to a BBQ at Tim & Katie's (Tim is in Christian's squadron). Sunday, we laid low around the house and then went to my friend Vicki's place for a cookout. And then, Monday, we went boating down in Baltimore with Christian's biological dad and his family. We had a great time all weekend!
Christian's back to work for a three-day week and then we leave Friday morning for Pensacola! I can't wait to see my parents and family and friends! I'm so excited. I get even more excited when Christian gets to come home with me! We get in early Friday morning and we have to take care of some final things with our house in Pace and then we have dinner reservations over in Fairhope with Dad & Rhonda. They've been telling me all about this place called The Wash House so I asked Dad to make reservations for the four of us. Saturday morning will be spent with family since we get to see baby Bram and the rest of that clan. Then, we'll probably grab lunch or something with Mom, John and Adam. Saturday evening will be spent celebrating Jenna & James getting hitched! I'm so excited for the wedding and to see all of our friends in one place! Great times to be had! Then, we have Sunday and Monday to kill some time before we head back north.
The following weekend is my birthday weekend so me and about five other girlfriends are heading to Atlantic City! We'll be hanging by the pool by day and partying by night! I'm pretty pumped about it! My first summertime trip to the shore. ha!
Oh- I almost forgot! I had my Pottery Barn orientation yesterday! It went really well and I'm pretty excited to work there to kill some time. Our store manager is super nice and really laid back. I'm pretty stoked about the 40% discount too! I was looking through a catalog this morning and I want everything! haha I start work next Wednesday and I'll probably work two shifts a week. They're going to be really flexible with my schedule because I want to be able to be home when Christian is home from trips. So, that's really great. I met two other new girls that I'll be working with and they're super nice too. Everything seems like it's going to be pretty perfect!
Nothing much else to report. I hope all of you are having a great short week! Happy June and Happy Summer! Enjoy it!
xoxo,
Chrissi
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Goodbye Ms. O
I know it's been a little while since I posted on this blog. I am also well aware that I'm slacking on my "2011 bucket list" goal of posting at least once a week. However, this post has been purposely delayed. I have had plenty opportunities to post in the last week or so but I really didn't have too many relevant things to say so I figured the finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show would give me plenty to post about. So, I waited.
Today, Ms. O signed off from her daily talk show after 25 years of informing, influencing, teaching, and changing the lives of millions of viewers from around our world. This final show was exactly what it should have been. It was just Oprah. As she said, "no one is getting a car and nothing is under your seat", "no more surprises and no special guests". It really was the perfect way to end a truly great show. In my lifetime, the best finale that I have ever seen was that of Sex and the City. I suppose it compares to the finale of Cheers or Dynasty for those of you who are a bit older than me. These shows ended without leaving anyone on their toes and left everything the way it really was supposed to be. Oprah did just that.
I sat on the couch in my living room with a box of tissues ready for those tear-jerking moments that Oprah tends to deliver. I also had a notepad in hand. She reviewed the lessons she has learned over the years and I wrote them down. Oprah has been a true role model to me in my life. No, I'm not delusional and yes, I realize she is just another person on t.v. But, to me, she's so much more than that. If Eleanor Roosevelt or Rosa Parks or Mother Theresa can be role models, so can Oprah. Her wisdom and the fact that she shows grace and humility and strength and power in everything she does has meant so much to so many people.
Oprah's show has been on since the year after I was born. So, she truly has been a part of my entire life. I remember seeing my mom, aunts and grandmother watch Oprah in the afternoons. I, myself, started really watching The Oprah Winfrey Show in my last few years of high school. I remember when I was about 20, I was opening birthday gifts from my longtime boyfriend and for that birthday, he gave me a very nice watch, a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring and The Oprah Winfrey Show 20th Anniversary collectors edition box set. Take a wild guess at which gift I cried. Yep, I cried when I opened the Oprah DVDs. So, obviously, her message has meant a lot to me in the past several years.
She has long been a member of the most powerful women in the world and will remain that to so many people. I admire her for what she stands for, who she is, how open she is to learning about people and feelings and why things are the way they are. I love that she truly inspires people to go for whatever their life calling is, once they find it. I also love the way she has provided a platform to so many other experts to put important, life-changing topics at the forefront of our minds. Some of those experts are Dr. Phil, who has a no-bullshit method of getting people to realize why they are the way they are and how it's affecting those around them; Dr. Oz who made medicine pretty cool and told everyone what the perfect poop is supposed to look like (haha!!); Dr. Laura Berman (my personal role model) who is a sex and relationship therapist who has made having conversations about sex, feelings, love and relationships MUCH less taboo and much more comfortable and easy; and Nate Berkus who has taught so many people to create a home that rises up to greet them every day.
I mentioned a little earlier that I wrote down the key lessons that Oprah reviewed today. Here is what I wrote down and a few bits of my own personal insight about each of them.
*What sparks the light inside of you?*: This is a crafty way of saying "what really inspires you" and I like the way it was said. :)
*Start embracing the life that is calling you and use your life to serve the world*: I can't wait for the moment when I will really figure out what I was placed on this earth to do. I haven't quite found it yet and although I have whispers about it, I still need to figure out how.
*Nobody but you is responsible for your life*: I am lucky to have been raised by a very independent mother and a father who taught be to do things for myself. I know to never look to another human being to "complete" me (Jerry McGuire was just a movie) and I understand that I am responsible for the outcome of this life I lead. And, while I love my husband to pieces, I do not look to him to be my everything.
*You are responsible for the energy you create for yourself and the energy you bring to others*: I try to constantly be aware of this- especially about the energy that I bring to others. This is so important and our society with it's politics has strayed so far from caring about other people's feelings.
*Newton's Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction*: Karma's a bitch. I've been on each side of karma and it is one of the best rules to live by in my opinion. What you shell out comes back at you, ten fold.
*Know the difference between thinking you deserve to be happy and knowing you are worthy of being happy*: this is an awkward and confusing thing I continue to deal with... I'm knowing a little more each day.
*Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does anything I say mean anything to you?*: every single person on the face of this planet needs a little validation every once and a while. Whether it be a child who sits alone in class and acts up just because he wants a little attention or a wife and mother who raises kids, cleans the house, pays the bills, runs the errands, and puts herself last. We all need validation to show us that we are seen, we are heard and that we mean something to you.
*Be still and know*: Be still and listen to what the God (or your version of that one higher being) is telling you and know that everything is happening the way it should. It may just be a whisper telling you that something isn't quite right about a certain situation. Or, it may be a whole brick wall falling on top of you that stops you in your tracks. But, your hearing that whisper for a reason and that brick wall fell on top of you for a reason.
So, obviously, I'm a fan. She will go down in history as an amazing woman and I will be able to tell my grandchildren about her impact on the world and on me. And, for that, I am grateful.
Here's hoping the world listens a little more to what The Oprah Winfrey Show has said in the last 25 years. We would be much better people if that were the case.
xo,
Chrissi
Today, Ms. O signed off from her daily talk show after 25 years of informing, influencing, teaching, and changing the lives of millions of viewers from around our world. This final show was exactly what it should have been. It was just Oprah. As she said, "no one is getting a car and nothing is under your seat", "no more surprises and no special guests". It really was the perfect way to end a truly great show. In my lifetime, the best finale that I have ever seen was that of Sex and the City. I suppose it compares to the finale of Cheers or Dynasty for those of you who are a bit older than me. These shows ended without leaving anyone on their toes and left everything the way it really was supposed to be. Oprah did just that.
I sat on the couch in my living room with a box of tissues ready for those tear-jerking moments that Oprah tends to deliver. I also had a notepad in hand. She reviewed the lessons she has learned over the years and I wrote them down. Oprah has been a true role model to me in my life. No, I'm not delusional and yes, I realize she is just another person on t.v. But, to me, she's so much more than that. If Eleanor Roosevelt or Rosa Parks or Mother Theresa can be role models, so can Oprah. Her wisdom and the fact that she shows grace and humility and strength and power in everything she does has meant so much to so many people.
Oprah's show has been on since the year after I was born. So, she truly has been a part of my entire life. I remember seeing my mom, aunts and grandmother watch Oprah in the afternoons. I, myself, started really watching The Oprah Winfrey Show in my last few years of high school. I remember when I was about 20, I was opening birthday gifts from my longtime boyfriend and for that birthday, he gave me a very nice watch, a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring and The Oprah Winfrey Show 20th Anniversary collectors edition box set. Take a wild guess at which gift I cried. Yep, I cried when I opened the Oprah DVDs. So, obviously, her message has meant a lot to me in the past several years.
She has long been a member of the most powerful women in the world and will remain that to so many people. I admire her for what she stands for, who she is, how open she is to learning about people and feelings and why things are the way they are. I love that she truly inspires people to go for whatever their life calling is, once they find it. I also love the way she has provided a platform to so many other experts to put important, life-changing topics at the forefront of our minds. Some of those experts are Dr. Phil, who has a no-bullshit method of getting people to realize why they are the way they are and how it's affecting those around them; Dr. Oz who made medicine pretty cool and told everyone what the perfect poop is supposed to look like (haha!!); Dr. Laura Berman (my personal role model) who is a sex and relationship therapist who has made having conversations about sex, feelings, love and relationships MUCH less taboo and much more comfortable and easy; and Nate Berkus who has taught so many people to create a home that rises up to greet them every day.
I mentioned a little earlier that I wrote down the key lessons that Oprah reviewed today. Here is what I wrote down and a few bits of my own personal insight about each of them.
*What sparks the light inside of you?*: This is a crafty way of saying "what really inspires you" and I like the way it was said. :)
*Start embracing the life that is calling you and use your life to serve the world*: I can't wait for the moment when I will really figure out what I was placed on this earth to do. I haven't quite found it yet and although I have whispers about it, I still need to figure out how.
*Nobody but you is responsible for your life*: I am lucky to have been raised by a very independent mother and a father who taught be to do things for myself. I know to never look to another human being to "complete" me (Jerry McGuire was just a movie) and I understand that I am responsible for the outcome of this life I lead. And, while I love my husband to pieces, I do not look to him to be my everything.
*You are responsible for the energy you create for yourself and the energy you bring to others*: I try to constantly be aware of this- especially about the energy that I bring to others. This is so important and our society with it's politics has strayed so far from caring about other people's feelings.
*Newton's Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction*: Karma's a bitch. I've been on each side of karma and it is one of the best rules to live by in my opinion. What you shell out comes back at you, ten fold.
*Know the difference between thinking you deserve to be happy and knowing you are worthy of being happy*: this is an awkward and confusing thing I continue to deal with... I'm knowing a little more each day.
*Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does anything I say mean anything to you?*: every single person on the face of this planet needs a little validation every once and a while. Whether it be a child who sits alone in class and acts up just because he wants a little attention or a wife and mother who raises kids, cleans the house, pays the bills, runs the errands, and puts herself last. We all need validation to show us that we are seen, we are heard and that we mean something to you.
*Be still and know*: Be still and listen to what the God (or your version of that one higher being) is telling you and know that everything is happening the way it should. It may just be a whisper telling you that something isn't quite right about a certain situation. Or, it may be a whole brick wall falling on top of you that stops you in your tracks. But, your hearing that whisper for a reason and that brick wall fell on top of you for a reason.
So, obviously, I'm a fan. She will go down in history as an amazing woman and I will be able to tell my grandchildren about her impact on the world and on me. And, for that, I am grateful.
Here's hoping the world listens a little more to what The Oprah Winfrey Show has said in the last 25 years. We would be much better people if that were the case.
xo,
Chrissi
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