There has been MUCH going on that I've neglected to post (you all know how tough the last year or so has been).
As you can tell by my new ticker...I'm pregnant!! YAY! It has been a terrifying and exciting 6 months (yes, 6 months) but completely worth it. Here's a few things about this new development that deserves mention: After my positive HPT I had my beta and progesterone levels checked...and then again about 3 days later. Surprisingly, my progesterone had dropped! That could very well be why I miscarried before. I was started on progesterone vaginal suppositories (yeah...that was fun) twice daily until the end of the 1st trimester. But it obviously worked like a charm because we found out that we are going to have a baby boy of our very own at the end of March! He is expected to arrive on August 15th. =o) I have terrible heartburn, my ankles are beginning to swell (so not cute) and the fabled "placenta brain" has definitely kicked in > I can't remember anything: I've taken the house phone to work a few times, I can never find my keys, and if I don't write things down at work they'll be lost forever. However, Stephen is tickled pink not only to be a father, but that it's a boy. Every time he talks about it, his chest puffs out a little. ;o)
Nathan (my brother) joined the Coast Guard and is in the Caribbean as we speak aboard a cutter. We are all so incredibly proud of him but miss him something terrible. He's regaled us with stories of bad storms with 12-foot waves, stopping illegal immigrants and saving people from shipwrecks.
Momma and Daddy are doing well. Momma is still holding the family together in that special way that every mom does and Daddy is getting chemo twice a week for him Multiple Myeloma. The oncologist said that he does not qualify for the stem cell transplant because the last time his body just couldn't produce the stem cells. In the next few months, the topic will be revisited. But he's holding up very well. Not many bad days and still when they get a little tough, they're not as bad as they could be.
I honored by those you have visited this blog during my hiatus, and I hope that you found it to be at least a little interesting. I hope to continue to be able to keep you updated on these goings-on.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Friday, November 4, 2011
SLACKER!!!
Man...it's hard to believe how I've totally neglected to post. I really have no excuse.
It seems like MUCH longer than only 2 weeks since we've been back from Aruba. Work has tough. I seem to want to stay on "island time" and don't feel like melding back into the rush of the States. It's crazy how different it is.
Meg had the baby the day after we got back. It was funny 'cause I had no idea. I slept in that morning because we didn't get home until around 1. I heard my phone vibrating (left over from the airport) and was surprised when she told me she was at the hospital being induced. Everything went smoothly and beautiful baby girl was born.
Nate had his swearing-in for the Coast Guard a couple of days after we got back. The family wasn't present because he didn't consider it "a big deal." He will be heading off to boot camp on Jan 31. THAT we will be going to.
A pretty big deal for me...I deactivated my FB account. Now I'm not one of those people who post random things all day, but I was pretty big into logging on and just seeing what everyone was doing and looking at new pics. Major setback: it seems like everyone is pregnant or soon expecting. It's pretty hard to swallow watching and reading everyone's happy comments/pics has repeatedly thrown me into depressive states. I couldn't do it anymore. You can experience heartache so many times.
It seems like MUCH longer than only 2 weeks since we've been back from Aruba. Work has tough. I seem to want to stay on "island time" and don't feel like melding back into the rush of the States. It's crazy how different it is.
Meg had the baby the day after we got back. It was funny 'cause I had no idea. I slept in that morning because we didn't get home until around 1. I heard my phone vibrating (left over from the airport) and was surprised when she told me she was at the hospital being induced. Everything went smoothly and beautiful baby girl was born.
Nate had his swearing-in for the Coast Guard a couple of days after we got back. The family wasn't present because he didn't consider it "a big deal." He will be heading off to boot camp on Jan 31. THAT we will be going to.
A pretty big deal for me...I deactivated my FB account. Now I'm not one of those people who post random things all day, but I was pretty big into logging on and just seeing what everyone was doing and looking at new pics. Major setback: it seems like everyone is pregnant or soon expecting. It's pretty hard to swallow watching and reading everyone's happy comments/pics has repeatedly thrown me into depressive states. I couldn't do it anymore. You can experience heartache so many times.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
*sigh*
Well our vacation has come to a close...tomorrow we will be saying goodbye to Aruba. We are sad to see it end and will miss it here. Our flight leaves at 3 tomorrow afternoon.
Yesterday we went on the Island Safari. Absolutely worth the money. The tour guides were awesome, telling us about each stop and making jokes. The scenery was beautiful and untamed. I took lots of pictures and even got to feed some ostriches! =o) Today, we just hung out and enjoyed ourselves snorkeling (I actually got up close and personal with a pelican who was following me), playing on the beach (we built a sand castle) and eating a good meal (at an Argentenian Grill/Steakhouse - we were going to try an Aruban restaurant but couldn't recognize ANYTHING on the menu). Can't complain at all.
Here are the last things I have learned about Aruba since my last post:
1- the country motto is "One Happy Island." This could explain why there are beer bottle caps everywhere.
2- some of the cars have the driver's side on the right side of the car instead of the left. *weird*
3- the only place here that seems to offer free refills is McDonald's, which sucks because it is H-O-T here!
4- there are no 5 dollar footlongs at the Subway here.
5- the ice cream tastes like it was made with coconut milk.
6- there are lizards and iguanas literally everywhere; some are cute and tiny and some are the size of small dogs.
7- the road workers at home look like work-a-holics compared to the guys down here; it's like they're having a perpetual lunch break.
Yesterday we went on the Island Safari. Absolutely worth the money. The tour guides were awesome, telling us about each stop and making jokes. The scenery was beautiful and untamed. I took lots of pictures and even got to feed some ostriches! =o) Today, we just hung out and enjoyed ourselves snorkeling (I actually got up close and personal with a pelican who was following me), playing on the beach (we built a sand castle) and eating a good meal (at an Argentenian Grill/Steakhouse - we were going to try an Aruban restaurant but couldn't recognize ANYTHING on the menu). Can't complain at all.
Here are the last things I have learned about Aruba since my last post:
1- the country motto is "One Happy Island." This could explain why there are beer bottle caps everywhere.
2- some of the cars have the driver's side on the right side of the car instead of the left. *weird*
3- the only place here that seems to offer free refills is McDonald's, which sucks because it is H-O-T here!
4- there are no 5 dollar footlongs at the Subway here.
5- the ice cream tastes like it was made with coconut milk.
6- there are lizards and iguanas literally everywhere; some are cute and tiny and some are the size of small dogs.
7- the road workers at home look like work-a-holics compared to the guys down here; it's like they're having a perpetual lunch break.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Only 3 days left...
This has been a most enjoyable vacation. I am sad to see how quickly the time has flown, but still anxious to get back home to friends and family...and from all this damn sand! =o)
Not much to report since my last post. We've been snorkeling a few more times (still no octopus or squid) and spent some time on the beach. Not too much of the latter though; those of you who remember when we went to Wrightsville Beach for Labor will understand why. My 50 block sun-tan lotion got taken with the beach bag, and the 30 block does an okay job...we're still a little red. We went to one of the malls last night and saw a water show that they put on every night using fountains, laser lights, and Disney music.
We went shoppinig today. Hard for us to find things in our price-range though. Surprisingly enough, most of the stores here are high-end including Louis-Vitton, Gucci, Juicy Couture, Rolex, Coach, etc. We've been sticking to the more touristy shops. It was still nice, though, to go walking in the 95 degree sunshine, with no water and surrounded by a bunch of milling people who were just as hot as we were. =o) I'm only being half sarcastic. Ya'll know how much I hate being hot...
Oh yeah, we saw a woman sun-bathing topless today. That was nice. And Stephen saw some fish while we were swimming; one brushed against his chest, and then he saw 3 big blue ones swim by. Clear water is nice but can still be a little freaky seeing whats around you (note, that's the first time that's happened down here).
We booked an Island Safari for tomorrow. We're pretty excited about it. It's going to the Natural Bridge, a natural swimming pool with snorkeling, the ostrich farm and a place called Baby Beach. The camera is charged and ready to go!
To close with another 5 things I've learned about Aruba:
1- this island doesn't use sales tax...quite nice actually.
2- taxis come in all shapes down here: from vans to SUVs to Chrysler 300s.
3- all sweet tea comes with lemon and there are no free refills.
4- they use the metric system here: kilometers for speed, liters for gas, meters for distance.
5- it's illegal to turn right on red and they use a lot of turn-abouts instead of actual intersections.
Not much to report since my last post. We've been snorkeling a few more times (still no octopus or squid) and spent some time on the beach. Not too much of the latter though; those of you who remember when we went to Wrightsville Beach for Labor will understand why. My 50 block sun-tan lotion got taken with the beach bag, and the 30 block does an okay job...we're still a little red. We went to one of the malls last night and saw a water show that they put on every night using fountains, laser lights, and Disney music.
We went shoppinig today. Hard for us to find things in our price-range though. Surprisingly enough, most of the stores here are high-end including Louis-Vitton, Gucci, Juicy Couture, Rolex, Coach, etc. We've been sticking to the more touristy shops. It was still nice, though, to go walking in the 95 degree sunshine, with no water and surrounded by a bunch of milling people who were just as hot as we were. =o) I'm only being half sarcastic. Ya'll know how much I hate being hot...
Oh yeah, we saw a woman sun-bathing topless today. That was nice. And Stephen saw some fish while we were swimming; one brushed against his chest, and then he saw 3 big blue ones swim by. Clear water is nice but can still be a little freaky seeing whats around you (note, that's the first time that's happened down here).
We booked an Island Safari for tomorrow. We're pretty excited about it. It's going to the Natural Bridge, a natural swimming pool with snorkeling, the ostrich farm and a place called Baby Beach. The camera is charged and ready to go!
To close with another 5 things I've learned about Aruba:
1- this island doesn't use sales tax...quite nice actually.
2- taxis come in all shapes down here: from vans to SUVs to Chrysler 300s.
3- all sweet tea comes with lemon and there are no free refills.
4- they use the metric system here: kilometers for speed, liters for gas, meters for distance.
5- it's illegal to turn right on red and they use a lot of turn-abouts instead of actual intersections.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
O-M-G
Let me give you a run-down of our day...
The day started out pretty cloudy with a few little showers. It didn't start clearing up until around noon.
Then we went parasailing! It was AWESOME. I didn't even get scared and took some pictures with my underwater camer because I didn't know if parasailing involved getting wet. Literaly like the best thing we've done here and one my personal top 10.
After that we decided to try snorkeling. They have a lot of tourist boats off the coast toward the lighthouse. We decided to buy snorkeling gear instead of renting it so that we could explore all the different areas of the island - they have a lot of wreckage within easy swimming distance. We drove until we saw the boats and tried it. I pretty much got it on the first try but poor Stephen was struggling with his mask - it was quite entertaining. We saw some awesome fish, sea urchins and funky coral. Our neighbors usually go in the mornings they say and can see octopus, squid and blowfish. We're going to try to go with them tomorrow before they leave so we can see some of that stuff!
Okay, so we snorkeled (is that a word?) for about 30-45min before deciding to go back to our beach area and swim. We get back to the car and guess what. One of windows was busted in. They took the disposable camera with the awesome pics of parasailing, my VS beach bag, a couple of motel beach towels, 2 pair of pool goggles, Stephen's shirt, and my shorts WITH the hotel key in the pocket. The hotel key WITH the safe key attached. Forget the car, we were worried sick about our money and documents! - I mean Aruba is nice and all but not at all a place that I want to be for an extended stay. Lord have mercy. Luckily everything turned out fine. Nothing was missing. We got another lock to the room door and their bringing another lock for the safe; it's 1 key per lock. We just got back a little bit ago from exchanging cars at the airport (thank goodness we decided to get insurance!!!!).
Let me close again with 5 more things I have learned about Aruba since my last post:
1- punks who don't feel like working like normal folks so they decide to steal other people's things are not partial to just the U.S.
2- even the smallest cars can be pimped out.
3- just because I don't speak your native tongue doesn't mean I'm estupido.
4- next time you're asked if you want to pay an extra $15 a day for car-rental insurance, just remember "Aruba."
5- always remember, in Aruba if you take pictures someone else can take your pictures!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Aruba!
Alright friends and family...my first official blog entry from the great country of Aruba. =o)
Our flight went very well - I surprised myself how well I did taking off and landing. Sure, I held Stephen's hand so tight that it was sore afterward and sweaty and I had to take nice deep breaths to keep myself from using a paper bag. LOL The first flight from GSO to CTL was in a little 4-seater jet; that was the tough one. The next from CTL to Aruba was fine. We were above the clouds most of the time so I couldn't see much of anything.
We got through customs without a glich and I didn't even need my handy-dandy notebook. *wink* We found the hotel even though no one gave us a map (I can thank Stephen's excellent directional skills for that one!). The hotel is very nice with super friendly staff and only a short walk from the beach.
Other than that, not too much to report. We saw the lighthouse today, went "sightseeing" around the island and went jet-skiing later this afternoon. It was Stephen's first time on a jet ski. Words cannot express my fear.
To close I will tell you 5 things I have learned about Aruba since we arrived:
1- For this to be considered the Dutch West Indies, a lot of people speak Spanish.
2- NO one can drive! Folks love to cut you off; they only stop for stop-signs and pedestrians (and that one depends!)
3- Arubans will park just about anywhere. Sidewalks, even.
4- Aruban women love to wear thong bathing suits. Aruban men love to wear speedos.
5- Most of the cars here are European-looking, consisting of the Hyundai Getz (hehe), Chevrolet Spark or Kia Picanto (hehe) which is what we're driving.
Our flight went very well - I surprised myself how well I did taking off and landing. Sure, I held Stephen's hand so tight that it was sore afterward and sweaty and I had to take nice deep breaths to keep myself from using a paper bag. LOL The first flight from GSO to CTL was in a little 4-seater jet; that was the tough one. The next from CTL to Aruba was fine. We were above the clouds most of the time so I couldn't see much of anything.
We got through customs without a glich and I didn't even need my handy-dandy notebook. *wink* We found the hotel even though no one gave us a map (I can thank Stephen's excellent directional skills for that one!). The hotel is very nice with super friendly staff and only a short walk from the beach.
Other than that, not too much to report. We saw the lighthouse today, went "sightseeing" around the island and went jet-skiing later this afternoon. It was Stephen's first time on a jet ski. Words cannot express my fear.
To close I will tell you 5 things I have learned about Aruba since we arrived:
1- For this to be considered the Dutch West Indies, a lot of people speak Spanish.
2- NO one can drive! Folks love to cut you off; they only stop for stop-signs and pedestrians (and that one depends!)
3- Arubans will park just about anywhere. Sidewalks, even.
4- Aruban women love to wear thong bathing suits. Aruban men love to wear speedos.
5- Most of the cars here are European-looking, consisting of the Hyundai Getz (hehe), Chevrolet Spark or Kia Picanto (hehe) which is what we're driving.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
FINALLY!!!
It is so hard to believe that we leave tomorrow. I've been planning this vacation since like February and thought that October 10th would NEVER get here. We're getting so excited that it's been a little hard for us to sleep the past couple of days. No biggie...plenty of time to catch up!
I'm pretty much done with all my packing. All that's left is the last minute stuff that I'm washing, makeup, etc. For this to be my first time flying I'm surprised how calm I am about that. Right now I'm more nervous about getting through airport security. It's that whole "unknown." I've never even BEEN to the airport! Such a shame. But I've visited the TSA website several times so I think we'll be fine.
I left work early yesterday so that I could begin packing and get the car inspected. It was funny because everyone was saying goodbye like I was never coming back! I doubt seriously that I'll go missing down in Aruba, but they made it seem like I was leaving for another job or something. And everyone kept saying that they'll miss me. I swear it was weird; I'm nothing special. Besides, it's only two weeks.
I'm taking my laptop since the hotel has free wi-fi so I plan to post regularly with pics and stuff. I've even cleared all the pictures on my camera so that I have plenty of space. =o)
Alright, that's it for now. Till next time!
I'm pretty much done with all my packing. All that's left is the last minute stuff that I'm washing, makeup, etc. For this to be my first time flying I'm surprised how calm I am about that. Right now I'm more nervous about getting through airport security. It's that whole "unknown." I've never even BEEN to the airport! Such a shame. But I've visited the TSA website several times so I think we'll be fine.
I left work early yesterday so that I could begin packing and get the car inspected. It was funny because everyone was saying goodbye like I was never coming back! I doubt seriously that I'll go missing down in Aruba, but they made it seem like I was leaving for another job or something. And everyone kept saying that they'll miss me. I swear it was weird; I'm nothing special. Besides, it's only two weeks.
I'm taking my laptop since the hotel has free wi-fi so I plan to post regularly with pics and stuff. I've even cleared all the pictures on my camera so that I have plenty of space. =o)
Alright, that's it for now. Till next time!
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