Friday Five: Halloween Edition

Happy Halloween!  I hope your day is filled with many treats and few tricks!

I got in to a discussion with some co-workers yesterday about Halloween traditions, and we all agreed that the holiday is not as much fun after the age of about 14.

My brother (3) and me (6) dressed up to trick-or-treat

You're too old to trick-or-treat but you still want to dress up...you don't want to stay home and pass out candy....it's tough stuff!

So today's Friday Five is going to focus on five things that I like to do to celebrate Halloween as an adult.  I'm joining the DC Trifecta bloggers (Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia from You Signed Up for What?!, and Mar from Mar on the Run!) for their Friday Five Link-Up this week, and I'm really excited to do so!

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1. Carving Pumpkins
This is something I loved doing as a kid, and I continue to do it as an adult!  Joe and I started our tradition of carving pumpkins together the year before we were married and just did so on Wednesday this year.

Can you guess who carved which pumpkin??

As I've gotten older, my pumpkin-carving skills have advanced in that I now use the more complex patterns for carving.  As a kid, I made typical jack-o-lanterns with triangular eyes and a toothy grin.  I'm much better now, though, even if I have to follow a pattern!

Another tradition we have is Joe putting his pumpkin in front of his face when I want to take his picture.  He's a silly one!

Tequila joined in on the fun this year by waiting at our feet for pieces of pumpkin to fall to the floor.  She gobbled them up very quickly.  Is pumpkin safe for dogs to eat??

Another part of this tradition that I enjoy is buying our pumpkins from a local church!

Our church has a pumpkin patch, and it's great to know that the money we spend goes to support the youth group at church.  I also enjoy volunteering in the patch and selling pumpkins to others!

2. Passing out candy to trick-or-treaters
Even though we don't have children to take trick-or-treating yet (Baby Fish will be a little young to go next Halloween!), it's still fun to participate in the tradition by passing out candy!

Joe and I watched movies while waiting for trick-or-treaters last year, and we'll probably do the same thing again tonight.  I look forward to seeing all the cute kids in their costumes (and sneaking some candy in the process)!

3. Creating fall-themed treats or gifts for neighbors, friends, and co-workers.
Two years ago, I put together this Fall Party Mix and gave it out to co-workers in Halloween-themed bags.  Everyone loved the treats, and I had so much fun putting the bags together!

I plan to do this again this year and will put the bags together this weekend.  It'll be fun to let the Halloween celebrations continue next week at work.

Another quick and easy idea--remember these lollipop ghosts?

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They'd be so easy to make for friends, or even to pass out for Halloween candy!

4. Decorating the House
This is one I need to work on a little bit more, but I do enjoy decorating for Halloween!

Our decorations are minimal, but I always go by Wal-mart on Halloween or the day after to buy more decor on sale for the next year.  Our collection is slowly building, and I really enjoy being festive around the house.

5. Eating Candy
This is one tradition you are NEVER too old for!

My Halloween favorites include candy corn, candy corn pumpkins, and 3 Musketeers.  You better believe I have all three of those to snack on during the next few days.

Even though celebrating Halloween looks different from when I was a kid, there's still plenty of things I enjoy doing to celebrate as an adult!  I look forward to starting new traditions as Baby Fish joins us before next Halloween!!

Question for you: How do you celebrate Halloween now that you're older?

Lighthouse Loop 2014 Race Recap

Sunday was my first half marathon knowing that I am pregnant (I had no idea I was 5 weeks pregnant when I ran the ZOOMA Chicago Half!).  The Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon is a local race that raises money for the athletic programs at the high schools in the area.  I ran it last year and had a great experience.   This year's race was much the same!

The experience began on Saturday with packet pick-up.  The process was very easy, and the race organizers offered multiple times and locations to get your packets.  This year, we also get a drawstring bag in addition to the race shirt and other goodies!

At first I was disappointed with the shirt because it looked small and I didn't care for the white stripes.  After wearing it on Sunday afternoon, though, I absolutely love it!

Race morning was quick and easy.  Setting out my clothes and other things I'd need the night before really helped!  I decided to go with a pink theme to go along with Breast Cancer Awareness month.

The one downside to this race is that parking is about a mile from the start, and you have to walk over a long bridge to get there.  However, it was a good warm-up for the race, and I got there with plenty of time to make it to the start.

The bridge we crossed to get to the start

There were plenty of port-a-potties at the start line, but the bag check line was VERY long.  They only have one person checking the bags, so that was challenging.  Luckily, I found Bobbie Jo and her husband Derek who were also running the race.  They helped me pass the time in line by discussing our race strategy beforehand and hearing about Derek's recent Half Ironman race!

Let's get on in to the race!  My strategy going in to the race was to run until the pack thinned out, then run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute intervals until the end of the race.  My strategy worked very well until I started having the dreaded IT band-induced knee pain right around mile 4.

I decided to walk for about a half a mile, stretching every now and then, to keep the IT band from being an issue the whole race.  I'm glad I did for two reasons: first, I was able to make my knee feel a little better, and second, I was able to take in the beautiful scenery of the sunrise over the ocean and the lovely oceanfront houses.  

Around mile 4.5, I started running for 2 miles then walking for 1 minute.  It'd stretch between every third interval, and things were going pretty well as far as the knee pain goes.

My favorite scene was turning the corner and seeing the lighthouse!

The halfway point was a welcomed sight.  I had to get a selfie with the lighthouse.  It is the Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon, after all!

Not gonna lie, this was a great selfie!

Around mile 8, my knee started hurting again.  I didn't want to walk much because I was concerned about being able to beat my time of 3 hours from last year.  I wound up sucking it up until about mile 9.5, and thanks to my RunKeeper app, I knew I was pretty good on my time.  I then decided to walk for half a mile and stretch to keep the knee pain at bay.

The walking worked, and I was able to run 2 mins, walk 1 min until mile 12.  I had some extra motivation right around mile 12 when two of my co-workers, Jen and Billy, were at the water station cheering me on!  I was so happy to have them there to give me the push to finish.

I was feeling really great before getting to the bridge at the last mile.  Mentally and cardiovascularly, I knew I could run the bridge.  But, I knew my IT band would not do well with the steep uphill and downhill.  I walked the whole bridge, but I was able to get some nice shots of the causeway.  You can see the lighthouse way off in the distance--can't believe I just ran there and back!

Right after the bridge, I started running again and ran until the finish!  There were lots of people cheering at the finish line, and I finally crossed the mat at....

2:51:13!!

This was my second worst half marathon time ever, BUT I met my "B" goal of beating last year's time!  For that reason, I consider this race a success!

After the race, I met up with my coworker Bobbie Joe and her husband Derek to see how their race went.  They, too, were trying to beat their time from last year, and they finished about 8 minutes before I did.  Yay us! 

Jen and Billy met up with us, as well, and we enjoyed the post race food and some social time.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this race.  Without the knee pain, I felt great mentally and physically during the race.  If my knee wasn't bothering me, I know I could have finished with an average overall pace of 11:30 mins/mile.  That's pretty normal for me, and I'm happy that I was still able to maintain that pace while being pregnant and watching my heart rate.  This is good news because I feel assured of my abilities with my upcoming race schedule (which I will share later this week!).

Also, this race is very well organized.  I love that the high schools man each water station, there are plenty of volunteers keeping the roads safe and pointing runners in the right directions, and the course is flat and very pretty.  The only con is that my IT band seems to dislike this race!

Question for you: Do you enjoy local races?  During which race(s) have you had physical issues?

Pregnancy Update: 18 Weeks + Picking Names

Hey there!  Happy Tuesday :)  I'm pretty excited because I have a textbook adoption meeting all day today.  I hope it goes well and that we pick the best resources for the county for the next 4 years.

Well, as has become the norm around here on Tuesdays, it's time to talk about my pregnancy!  Let's just jump right on in to the update, shall we?

Pregnancy Update: 18 weeks

How far along? 18 weeks (and two days)

Baby Bump progress: this is BY FAR my favorite bump picture so far!

Joe's photography skills are improving :)

Baby's Size? Baby Fish is about the size of a sweet potato!  5-6 inches long and weighs 6-7 ounces

What's happening this week?  This week, baby can yawn, hiccup, suck, and swallow.  Baby Fish is also moving around, but I can't feel it just yet.

Total weight gain/loss: as of my doctor's appointment two weeks ago, I've gained 2 pounds since the beginning!  I imagine it's more than that now, but I'll find out in a few weeks

Stretch marks? Still none!  Definitely going to remember the cocoa butter as the bump continues to grow

Sleep: I'm sleeping well--I just need to make sure to get to bed at a good time.  I've been going to bed later than normal this week, and it's not helping!

Best moment this week: Completing the Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon!  It was my first race knowing about the pregnancy, and I was so happy and impressed with how great I felt mentally and physically during the race.

Miss anything?: since we went to the Wine Walk this week, I did miss sampling all the wines.  I got some delicious pasta at the end, though :)

Movement: Haven't felt anything yet!  It's early still

Food cravings: I finally ate the brownie batter I wanted last week...that was the only thing I really craved this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I think I worked myself sick on Wednesday morning--I was feeling off, and I think I worried myself "in to" some morning sickness.  I wound up staying home from work on Wednesday, which made me feel good!

Gender: still going to wait!  We did hear of some interesting things we could do to let a few people know the gender before we do.  They're going to have to be a good secret keeper, though!

Labor Signs: none (thank goodness!)

Symptoms: being SUPER forgetful, some back pain after the half marathon, and a little bit of sickness on Wednesday

Belly Button in or out? in

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody? I've been pretty happy this week!  I did have some moments of sudden/semi-extreme emotions, but other than that, I've been good!

Funny moments this week: After the half marathon on Sunday, I was talking to Joe and looked down at my stomach and BAM!  I noticed that my bump had grown quite a lot, and seemingly overnight!  We both got a kick out of that, but we were also happy that I seem to be out of the "Is she fat or pregnant?" stage!  Woo hoo!

Looking forward to: feeling the baby move and settling on names!  I think we're getting close to picking them out :)

Exercise this week: I decided to take it easy this week in light of the half marathon on Sunday, but the main source of exercise was the race!

I really felt great throughout the race as it relates to the pregnancy/running while pregnant, which I was very happy about (check back Thursday for a full race recap)!  I plan to take a few days off of exercise to let my legs heal, and then after that, I do want to get in some more weight training since it hasn't been a focus of mine for quite a while.

New this week: If Joe and I focus on something baby-related throughout the week, I plan to share it here on the blog!  And because I like alliterations and fun names for things on the blog, I'm going to call this section...

Baby Fish Feature!

That'll help me look back on this pregnancy and remember all the little things, and hopefully will help those of you going through the same thing now or in the future!  On to this week's Baby Fish Feature!

Baby Fish Feature: Picking Names

This week, Joe and I have really been trying to solidify names for either a boy or a girl.  We talked about some boy names right after we found out, but we really hadn't decided on anything.  Some names came to mind right away, and others we looked at some websites for.

The funny thing is, whenever we think of a name, one of us will always think of something or someONE that name makes us think of.  For example, a family name on Joe's side was actually what my uncle and aunt named their dog!

We are down to two different names for each gender.  There's probably a frontrunner for each, but we will finally decide sometime soon :)

The other thing we discussed: should we tell people the names?  I know of some people who share the name once they find out the gender, and I also know people who didn't share the name until after the birth.  So we'll see what we decide!

Question for you: If you have kids, did you share the names before the birth?  If not, how do you think you'll come up with baby names?

Pregnancy Update: 17 Weeks

Good morning, y'all!  How is your week going so far?  Yesterday was a teacher duty day, so work was actually pretty easy!  Nice way to start the week.  I'm also excited because I'm finally getting back in to my normal work routine!  Good times!

Well, Tuesdays around here mean one thing lately: it's time to update y'all on how the pregnancy is going!  Let's just jump right on in, how about it?

Pregnancy Update: 17 weeks

How far along? 17 weeks (and two days)

Baby Bump progress: 

Baby's Size? about the size of my palm!  Baby Fish is 5 inches from crown-to-rump, and weighs at least 5 ounces.

What's happening this week?  Baby Fish is beginning to get some body fat.  He/she is still skinny, with essentially translucent skin!  This week, he/she is also practicing sucking and swallowing to prepare for eating after birth.

Total weight gain/loss: as of my doctor's appointment last Monday, I've gained 2 pounds since the beginning!

Stretch marks? None!  Still putting the cocoa butter on daily so that I can try to avoid them!

Sleep: no problems in the sleep department.  Trust me, I'm soaking all of that in because everyone keeps telling me that after the baby comes I won't sleep as well!

Best moment this week: Nothing really pregnancy-specific, but I feel like I got a lot done AND did a lot of relaxing this weekend.  Sounds good to me!

Miss anything?:  this week, I've been missing my daily cup of coffee and my normal Starbucks order.  I'm not complaining about decreasing the caffeine, but it just isn't quite the same :-\

Movement: I THOUGHT I felt something this week after running, but after talking with friends who have had babies, I don't think I felt anything.  It's still early, but I got a little excited.  I still don't think it was anything, but who knows.

Food cravings: No real cravings this week, although on the way home from church on Sunday, I really wanted some brownie batter.  Random, huh?  I wound up buying some brownie mix, but never wound up baking.  I also got some candy corn pumpkins, so I was pretty excited about those :)

Anything making you queasy or sick: nothing this week except the smell of the garbage can.  Just queasy, though.  Haven't gotten sick, thankfully!

Gender: can't find out until next month, but we're still planning on waiting!

Labor Signs: none (thank goodness!)

Symptoms: a few growing cramps every now and then, being SUPER forgetful, getting a little emotional over some small things, and a little bit of back pain thanks to some naps/sleeping on the couch.  Remind me not to do that again for a while!!

Belly Button in or out? in (and I'm thinking it will be for a while)

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody? In general, happy!  I have been a little more emotional this week, not so much moody but just emotional.  

Funny moments this week: On Friday, I saw my boss's boss at our coaching seminar.  I was planning to tell her I was pregnant, but I hadn't had an opportunity to before the lunch break.  I left to go to the restroom, and when I came back, my boss told me that she had asked if I was pregnant!  It made me realize that I AM looking pregnant AND that people are noticing!  Fun stuff!

Looking forward to: feeling the baby move, as well as figuring out some more of the logistics for the baby (what we need, what the nursery will look like, figuring out where we'll get what we need, etc.)!  So much to do!!

Exercise this week: I got in a few workouts this week, thankfully!  Let's see what that looked like!

Wednesday-2.7 mile run with the puppy!

Thursday-nothing (busy day + VT football game to watch)

Friday-nothing (being lazy)

Saturday-20-minute walk with Finn

Sunday-none

Monday-2 mile power walk with Tequila

I've been looking to my FitBit to motivate me to get moving!  My average steps have dropped significantly, and I want to get back to the days where I meet my 10,000 steps per day goal.  Plus, I also have a few half marathons coming up, as well as some other 5K races, and I need to make sure that I am prepared for those races.  

Race Weekend Recap

Hey y'all!  How's it going?  I hope your week is off to a great start.  Sorry this post is a little late going up today--we had a late night on Sunday and I just wasn't able to get it together in the morning.  Better late than never, right?

This weekend's main plan was the Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon.  We had a busier weekend that I normally like before a race, but the activities were pretty restful even though we were really on the go!

Friday
I started the weekend off by catching up on the show How to Get Away with Murder.  Is anyone watching that show?

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I'm sucked in now, but I still don't know how I feel about it.  I'm just interested to see how everything all plays out.

After Joe got home, we headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner.  It was just the two of us, which is nice because we normally have a lot of Joe's friends come meet us.  It's nice to spend time with just Joe :)

The rest of the evening was spent watching the World Series game, then we went home and played with Tequila.  Joe likes to do triceps extensions while she's tugging on one of her toys.

It was pretty hilarious to watch the two of them!

Saturday
Saturday began much like last Saturday: four hours volunteering at the pumpkin patch!  I really enjoy helping the youth sell pumpkins at church--you see so many families hanging out together and taking adorable pictures!  It's also fun because I get to know the youth that are working with me.  Definitely a plus now that I'm helping with youth group on Sundays!

It was then time for packet pickup for the Lighthouse Loop race on Sunday.  It was a very quick process, so I was quite pleased with that.  Plus, we got a cute little drawstring bag this year!

In the afternoon, Joe and I headed down to New Smyrna for the Wine Walk.  I was not partaking in the wine (duh), but I really enjoyed walking around Flagler Avenue in the beautiful weather.  Plus, we got dinner at That's Amore (my favorite), so the good food made up for no wine :)  I got my usual dish, which was perfect for carb-loading before the race.

After getting home, I got my stuff together for the race and headed to bed early!

Sunday
The 5:00am alarm was rough, but I got out the door in plenty of time to make it to the race!  I'll have a full recap of the race on Thursday, but it was a great time!

I made it to church after the race, then headed home to spend some time with Joe.  That turned in to taking a 1.5 hour nap, then hanging out :)

The early evening was spent at youth group.  We played an interesting Halloween trivia game (did you know that 2.16 million children dressed as Spiderman in 2004?), worship songs, and watching the next part of the movie God's Not Dead.  I'm really in to this movie and want to know what happens!!

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After that, I headed over to a friend's house to meet up with Joe for the WWE pay-per-view.  It was nice to socialize and I had a good time, but man was I tired getting home after 11!  I went straight to bed and had a hard time waking up this morning.  Note the delay in getting this post up :)

Well, that was our weekend!  Pretty packed, but lots of fun, too.  See you tomorrow for a pregnancy update, featuring my favorite "bump" picture to date :)

Question for you: How was your weekend?  What do you think of How to Get Away With Murder (if you're watching it)?  Did you race this weekend?

Goals for Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon

Happy Thursday, everyone!  It feels a little weird that today's Thursday because I had to stay home sick yesterday.  It kinda feels like a Monday--that'll make tomorrow that much more exciting!

So, this weekend, I'll be running a half marathon!  I'm participating in the Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon, a local race that raises money for the local high schools' athletic programs.

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I'm excited about this race because I had a great experience at last year's race.  It's a good size for a local race, each water stop is manned by students from each of the high schools in the county, and the post-race party has lots of great foods!

Today, I wanted to share my goals for this weekend's race with you.  I've had a hard time coming up with my goals due to a number of factors.

When I first signed up for this race, I was really excited because of my poor performance last year due to IT band issues.

I wanted right away to be able to "redeem" myself on this course, as it should be a very easy course to run a good race.

Then...I neglected to train for this race.  I've run every now and then since the ZOOMA Chicago Half, but not nearly as much as I should have by any means.  I'm feeling very similar to how I felt before the Lake Minneola Half Marathon, where I knew I was undertrained and set my goals with low expectations.

Despite PRing the last time I felt like this, there's a big difference between being undertrained for the Lake Minneola Half and this race....I'm 17 weeks pregnant!  That REALLY affects my mindset going in to this race.  I know I need to really listen to my body and make sure that I'm not overdoing it for Baby Fish's sake.  However, this isn't my first pregnant half marathon!  I was actually pregnant during ZOOMA Chicago, but I didn't know it yet!

So, taking all of those things into consideration, here are the goals I've decided on for this weekend's race:

A Goal:  Run until the starting line pack thins out, then complete the race using 3:1 run/walk intervals (dropping to 2:1 if needed)
On my runs since finding out I was pregnant, this is what I've been doing.  It's worked for me, but those runs have only been about 3 miles.  Hopefully it'll continue to work for this half marathon!

B Goal: Beat my Lighthouse Loop 2013 time (3:01:08)
Even if it's only by a second!  I think this goal is very realistic and doable, considering I walked the last four miles with an injury.

C Goal: Cross the finish line.
If I have to walk more than I'd like, I need to just be ok with crossing the finish line, no matter what the time is.

These goals are very similar to my Lake Minneola Half goals, but I know this is will be a very different race since I'm pregnant.  I'm looking forward to it, though, and hoping that the race is just as much fun as last year!

Some articles of possible interest:
Transitioning from the Half to the Full Marathon from Amanda at Run To The Finish
Your 10 Biggest Fitness Class Mistakes from Shape Magazine
Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Bake from Stephanie at My Freckled Life

Question for you: How do you come up with goals for your races?

Weekend Recap: Fall Fun!

Hey everyone!

Once again, I broke my promise to you.  I said I'd blog 2-3x last week, and that just didn't happen.  However, I am actually feeling more inspired and have ideas for a few posts for you this week!  This isn't just going to turn in to pregnancy updates.  I'll get back on this blogging train, trust me!

So, let's get back to the normal Monday post and talk about the weekend!  Sound good?

Friday
I'm going to include my workday on Friday because it was a lot of fun.  We had our monthly coaching seminar, and as always, I learned a lot and had some fun!  A few of us went to lunch, and we had a great time hearing how everyone had met/gotten engaged to their husbands.  It was so interesting how similar Joe and my pre-engagement story was so similar to another coach!

After the meeting, I came home and had an enjoyable evening on the couch.  Joe was out of town with Tequila (he went to Gainesville for a concert with his sister) and I was dog-sitting Finn (Tequila's boyfriend), so I caught up on all the DVRed shows from this week.  Good times!

Saturday
After sleeping in a bit, I got up and got ready to work at the pumpkin patch for a few hours!

My church sells pumpkins every year to support the youth group, and I signed up to help for 4 hours.  I had a great time cashiering during that time, getting to know some of the youth a little bit better, and watching all the families enjoy a beautiful fall day.  Not gonna lie, I imagined the fun Joe and I would have taking pictures of Baby Fish in a pumpkin patch next fall.  Too cute!

The rest of the day was spent watching football.  Hey, what else do you expect on a Saturday in the fall??  I also had to enjoy some of the nicer evening weather, so Finn and I went for a walk.  It broke up the day nicely before more couch time and football.

 There was lots of cuddling with Pablo and Finn, and the games I watched were pretty enjoyable!

Sunday
I had another lazy morning before it was time to go to church.  After the service, I went by the book fair the church was having to fund raise for the children's ministry.  It was so much fun walking around in there and reminded me of how much I enjoyed when the Scholastic book fairs came to school!

I picked up some books for Baby Fish.  It was kind of hard, since I don't know if the little one will want to read about princesses or construction sights, so I did may best at picking some gender-neutral books.

I also bought one of my favorite fall treats--candy corn pumpkins!

I LOVE these things!  I ate a few while watching more football before heading to youth group in the evening.  Youth group was a lot of fun--between getting to know the kids, watching God's Not Dead, and good small group discussion.  Good times!

When I got home, Joe and Tequila had made it home, so I spent some time with them.  Tequila enjoyed having Finn there for a little bit, as you can tell in this picture.

Good thing both of them are fixed!!

And that was my Fall Fun weekend :)  It was nice and relaxing, and I enjoyed having very minimal plans.

Question for you: What fall-related activity did you participate in this weekend?

Pregnancy Update: 16 weeks

Hey, everyone!  I hope you've had a good weekend since we last spoke on Wednesday.  I have just been so forgetful lately that taking pictures and remembering what I planned to blog is just not happening!  I hope you will forgive me!

What I HAVE remembered, though, is to update you on the pregnancy!  I'll do my best to post at least twice more this week, but no promises considering how much I've been forgetting lately.

Pregnancy Update: 16 weeks

How far along? 16 weeks (and two days)

Baby Bump progress: I'm kind of embarrassed I'm posting this picture, but it's all I got from this week!

Ugh, what a horrible picture!  I'll work on making next week's picture MUCH better!  I guess my photographer (aka Joe)

Baby's Size? 5 inches long and weighs around 3-5 ounces.

Total weight gain/loss: as of my doctor's appointment yesterday, I've gained 2 pounds this month

Stretch marks? None!  Got some cocoa butter with Vitamin E that I'm using daily, so hopefully that will avoid any stretch marks!

Sleep: Still sleeping well!  My being overly tired comes and goes, so that's definitely an improvement from being tired ALL THE TIME!

Best moment this week: Hearing the baby's heartbeat and finding out that everything is looking good

Miss anything?: 

Movement: nothing so far.  I can tell that Baby Fish is growing because of the cramps I get every now and then (doctor said they are normal).

Food cravings: This week, I was ALL ABOUT some cheese!  Queso dip at the Mexican restaurant, Macaroni and cheese, you name it!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Sadly, my lunch on Wednesday.  I packed a healthy lunch of salmon over spinach and fresh tomatoes.  I opened it up and it did not look appetizing!  I forced myself to eat it, but I wound up getting queasy about halfway through and had to stop.  Fail!!  It was really depressing.

Gender: can't find out until next month, but we're still planning on waiting!

Labor Signs: none (thank goodness!)

Symptoms: being really tired every now and then, and I've become SUPER forgetful lately.  So much so that I'm now taping sticky notes to my phone so I'll remember things.

Belly Button in or out? in

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody? I'm happy most of the time, but the moodiness does creep up pretty quickly.  It's only been once or twice this week though.

Funny moments this week:

Looking forward to: feeling the baby move.  

Exercise this week: none :(  I'm still trying to figure out my schedule this year.  I've taken on some tutoring, and Joe and I have been hanging out with people more in the evenings.  I KNOW I need to make exercise more of a priority though because a. I feel kind of gross because I haven't worked out lately and b. I have a race coming up very soon and need to get at least a little prepared for!

One-Word Wednesday

Hey everyone, and happy Wednesday!  Hope your week is treating you well.

I have been so, so bad about taking pictures lately, particularly pictures of my food.  So, now What I Ate Wednesday post for you today.  However, I do have some pictures from the last two weeks to share with you.  I'm going to do this "One-Word Wednesday" style, something I've seen on Katie's blog a few times.

The rules: caption each picture with one word or hashtag style if you need more than one.  Hope you enjoy the pictures!

UGA

Goofball (what's up with my face...?)

Terrapin!! (no beer for me, don't worry)

Fall

Runner

Comfy

#JaguarsMascotAboutToBungeeOffTheLights

Beautiful

Question for you: What's one word that describes your last week?  What one word describes your current mood?
My last week has been BUSYYYY and my current mood is FOCUSED. :)

Pregnancy Update: 15 Weeks

Hey everyone, and happy Tuesday!  Hope your weekend was a good one.  Sorry for no update yesterday--I didn't take many pictures this weekend and thought it'd be a boring post.  We did have a good one, though, involving lots of football!  That seems to be the norm around here.

Guess what guys?  It's time for my first pregnancy update!  I'm using Annette's "questionnaire" she used for her pregnancy updates with a few additions of my own.  If you have other things you want to know, please ask in the comments!!

How far along? 15 weeks (and two days)

"Baby Bump" Progress:  I feel so awkward in these pictures! Haha!

Baby’s size? A navel orange--4.5 inches long and weighs around 2 to 3 ounces.  The baby can wiggle fingers and toes, suck its thumb, and can breathe! (according to What to Expect When You're Expecting)

Total weight gain/loss: Not sure...I actually lost 0.6 pounds at my last appointment (about a month ago), but I think I've gained a few since then!

Stretch marks? None as of now...I had a little scare thinking I had one already last week, but false alarm!  It was just a mark from my pants being too tight :)

Sleep: Luckily, sleep is not something I've had a problem with.  In fact, some days I'll take a nap after work and STILL be in bed around 9 or 9:30.  There are times I'll have to get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, but other than that...no sleep problem!

Best moment this week:  Posting our announcement on Facebook and the blog and enjoying all the love and support we're getting!  It's been so amazing and uplifting!

Miss Anything?  I miss having coffee everyday.  I'll have some decaf or a half-caff Starbucks drink about twice a week, but I really do miss coffee!  Oh, and alcohol.  Don't judge me.  I miss my margaritas on Friday and my glass of wine, especially when we had fish this weekend.

Movement: Haven't felt anything yet, but we did get to see some movement during the first ultrasound a few weeks ago!  It was crazy and pretty cool.

Food cravings: I don't think I've had a true craving, but I am wanting sweets a lot more lately!  I also got a craving (I guess) for Wheat Thins in the store last week, whcih I haven't had in probably over a year.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Fortunately, not much lately.  A few bad smells (taking out the trash, cigarette smoke) have made me a little nauseous, as well as not eating regularly enough.  No sickness for a few weeks, thankfully!!

Gender: We won't find out until Baby Fish is born!  However, I think it's a boy (I had a vision of buying cute little boy's clothes).  But I've had numerous people tell me that they've had dreams and/or think I'm having a girl.  We'll see!

Labor Signs: None!

Symptoms: TIRED, headaches about once a week, being incredibly hungry then eating one or two bites and being "full"

Belly Button in or out? In, and probably will stay that way.  I have a deep innie belly button

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy, and I don't think I've been moody.  You'll have to ask my husband about that.

Funny moments this week: I saw a former co-worker that I hadn't seen since she found out I was pregnant (I taught with her before taking the coaching job).  When I saw her and said I was already showing a little, she said to me "I noticed!"  It was pretty funny, but then later I started getting insecure about being fat...such an emotional swing of pregnant ladies :)

Looking forward to: having more energy.  People say that now that I'm in the 2nd trimester, I should be getting more energy.  Well, it can happen ANY DAY NOW!  I'm done with just working and sleeping all the time.

Exercise this week:  Thanks to my afternoon naps, exercise didn't really happen throughout the week.  I did go on a run on Saturday, though!  I felt good for the most part, even though I did need to do run/walk intervals to keep myself from getting my heartrate up too high.

Question for you: Anything else you need to know about?