Bed Rest

Let's see if I can remember how to use this site. Seems I haven't done much with it since we started it. Now that I'm on bed rest for who knows how long, guess I have time to figure it out. Mom's right, I need things to occupy my day. It's weird to just be stuck at home with little allowed movement all of a sudden.

Can’t believe we got a bunch of snow yesterday. Was very unexpected! Made myself a cup of hot chocolate and sat by the Christmas tree and read my book/watched the snow come down. It’s surprising how hard it is to relax after sitting here for so many days but that sure did the trick.

I have the best hubby in the world. He knows I’m going slightly out of my mind with boredom so he surprised me with a Nintendo DS with a few games yesterday. Have played two of them, Brain Age and Zenses Rainforest. They’re puzzle games. Sure has helped to pass the time and maybe my brain won’t just be mush after all of this inactivity.

We had Christmas at our house since I’m on house rest (or “house arrest” as I call it). Scott’s mom, dad, sister, sister’s boyfriend, aunt and aunt’s boyfriend came over. Thankfully his mom was all prepared to cook brunch and everyone pitched in to clean up. His parents hung out for the rest of the evening and made dinner as well. It was weird to be the hostess but not be allowed to do anything. Scott was pretty ragged after two weeks of taking care of us and getting the house ready for company. It sure is nice to have the house together though (aside from the garage and guest room that are still full of things unpack). We need to get the guest room in order this weekend though because Amy Jo will be here soon for a week at the office.

We had another doctor’s appointment on Monday (we’ll have one every Monday until the baby comes). Nothing’s changed…which is good. Guess the rest is doing the trick. Doctor thinks he’ll stick with me for another two weeks at least. The baby sure has grown some strong legs. He can kick me pretty hard these days. Strange how something mildly painful can be so reassuring and comforting. :oD

Jelly Bean

Well, it's been a long time since my last post. A lot has been going on recently, I got married, bought a house, and Nicole and I are pregnant.

Our wedding was fantastic! Everything came out just as we hoped it would. Thanks so much to all of you that helped out. We couldn't have done it without you. It was definitely a day that made me realize what wonderful families Nicole and I have. I've never been to a wedding with better food or decorations! Oh and the bride was absolutely beautiful!

We started looking for a house before we got married. Everyone is saying that it's a good time to buy a house and we were definitely ready to stop renting and establish some roots. Plus, we heard that interest rates were about to go up so we wanted to get a house while the rates were still down. The housing market is good for buyers but not quite as good as it was. Our realtor told us that you'll get good value for your money in today's market but you won't find the steals of 6 months to a year ago. This was definitely our experience. We looked at a lot of houses and finally found one that we love. We've been living in our new house for the past month and a half and we still have quite a bit of unpacking to do.

Finally, we'll get to the pregnancy. Nicole is pregnant! We are pregnant! Sometimes it still doesn't seem quite real, although it's be coming more real every day. We haven't decided on a name for the baby yet so we call him Jelly Bean. Oh, we found out we're having a boy so it is proper for me to refer to the baby as him. We're both very excited.

I felt the baby kick for the first time last week. It was absolutely amazing! (I don't normally like to use exclamation points but life is exciting these days.) It's still very hard for me to feel the baby's movements. Nicole feels them regularly. I've felt him twice for sure but it feels like a muscle twitch and I have difficulty distinguishing between my pulse, Nicole's pulse, her breathing, and the baby. I'm sure I'll be able to feel him much more soon. I talk to Jelly Bean daily, usually right before we go to sleep. So far it's been a fairly one-sided conversation but occasionally I can get a kick out of him. In fact, that's how I felt him for the first time. I was talking quite loudly (so he could hear me through Nicole's tummy) and he kicked me in the ear as I turned to listen for some kind of response. It's an odd thing to talk to someone's belly. Luckily Jelly Bean's outside-of-the-womb stimulation is not reserved to my rambles. We also play music for him. Sometimes this makes him kick too. I think he prefers Mozart to Jack Johnson. Hopefully his taste will improve as he gets older.

Well, that's all for now. Stay tuned for a post with all the baby names I've suggested that Nicole has turned down. I promise it isn't as boring as it sounds, I can be pretty creative with names.

Sunny days and lazy me

Well, I should be headed off to a workout class but here I sit being a bum. We went to a co-workers birthday party last night and didn't get to bed until 3:00 am. Makes for one useless Nicole. Everyone tells me I'm still in my 20's so I should be able to keep up...but guess I'm old for my age 'cuz it's been years since I could stay up that late and not pay for it for several days following.

It's such beautiful weather here this weekend. Scott's out running in the sunshine right now (and we have yard work to do when he gets back...boo). He's run a few miles 5 out of the last 7 days. And one of those "off" days he played basketball in a league he's in. He gets home late from the games so he doesn't go running the next morning. He's slimmed down and looking great. But that darn Wii still tells him he's "overweight" but he feels like a champ now that he's consistently out of the "obese" category. :oP

I keep waiting for his motivation to rub off on me but alas it doesn't. I at least did 45 minutes of yoga/strength/aerobics on the Wii Fit yesterday but that's the most I've done in a long time. Can I use the excuse that I can't lose any weight or my wedding dress won't fit...yep definitely going with that! :oD I got my dress from the alterations department on Friday. It's all bustle-ready, pressed and looking beautiful! I can't wait to wear it (a little less than 7 weeks to go)! It's a shame such a beautiful dress will only be worn once.

ScottO still hasn't gotten an XBox 360. We don't play the Wii often enough to warrant getting another gaming system. But...we ordered a new laptop this morning. :o) We planned on getting one of the mini laptops. We usually use our work laptops when we travel (which is definitely frowned upon at work). We absolutely cannot take it out of the country when we go on our honeymoon to Puerto Vallarta (for fear of the IT guy going postal on us), so we decided it was time to buy our own laptop. We wanted a little one that is light and small for travel, to use for internet and playing movies (which is what we would need when travelling). But Scott's been wanting a system that he can do some software programming on. For those who aren't familiar with software programming...it's not something you want done on your good computer. It tends to break the whole darn system at certain points...so...he's not allowed to do it on our home desktop that has our financial software, wedding data, etc. on it. We found a good deal to get a laptop that would serve both purposes on HP (after hours of searching the different brands). It was a little more than we wanted to spend. But I googled for an HP Coupon Code and wouldn't you know I found one for $250 off (on top of the instant rebates we were already using). Brought it down into our budgeted amount and we should have our new laptop in a couple weeks!!

Well...ScottO just walked in the door so I best go get my grubby clothes on to go pull weeds...oh the fun! :oP

Small Victories

It wasn't so long ago that I was a physically fit individual. All through my school years I was very athletic. I played sports year-round (football, basketball, track, etc...) and when I wasn't competing I was practicing or training. I once boasted to my mother that I would always find the time to exercise and keep in-shape...

Fast-forward to August 2008...I ask for, and receive, a Wii Fit for my birthday. Apparently I haven't been making as much time to exercise as I should and my shape is a little lumpier than it was back in the "good ole days". For those who aren't familiar with Wii Fit it is an excercise video game. After over-indulging at my birthday celebration, Nicole and I return home and I happily remove my Wii Fit from its box and start to play. I've heard that part of the game is an initial weigh-in, this is so that Wii Fit can track your weight loss on the road to becoming the physically fit version of yourself. I mentally prepare myself for what I think will be a dose of harsh reality. At least I think I do. The video game version of me is a cute little stick figure with an abnormally large head. Shaking, I lift my left foot onto the Wii Balance Board, an innocent looking device slightly larger than your average bathroom scale. It can measure your center of balance, the pressure you are exerting in a particular direction, and of course your weight. Now as soon as I step onto the board I hear, "Oh" from my TV. Apparently Wii Fit was expecting Twiggy. Undeterred I put my right foot, and all of my weight, onto the board. Whew, No more comments from Wii Fit. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought...

A new screen appears on the TV. It's my big-heaeded, stick-skinny Wii Fit character standing next to what appears to be a some sort of thermometer. The top section is labeled "Obese". A little farther down "Over weight". Followed by "Normal". I believe there is another label after that but as it doesn't apply to me I don't pay attention to it. I figure I'm probably in the "Normal" to "Over weight" category so why bother with the other categories. Just as I start thinking, "My Wii Fit character sure could use some meat on his bones." the indicator line on the weight thermometer starts to move up the scale. Ever hear that saying "be careful what you wish for"? That saying applies to what is currently taking place on the TV. As the indicator line moves up the scale my Wii Fit character begins to plump like a Ball Park Frank. I watch with dread and anticipation as the line keeps moving up, up, and still up the scale. Where will it stop? Normal... How rotund can my Wii character get? Over weight... I know I've gained a few pounds over the years but how many? The the indicator on the scale quickly passes the midway point of the "Over weight" section and approaches the line between "Over weight" and "Obese"... Wow, I guess I'm a little bigger than I thought. The line finally stops. I'm in shock. I can't believe what I'm seeing on the TV screen. My Wii Fit character looks as if he sat on a helium dispenser. I'm pretty sure his belly-button went from an iny to an outy. At least his head no longer looks abnormally large for his body.  The line on the scale indicates...obese. Obese. Really? I had mentally prepared myself for the high end of "Normal". Or even possibly "Over weight". But obese? Wow. I'm stunned. I turn to Nicole, who has been watching the scene unfold and say with a laugh, "Your turn Sweetie.". Her response, "No way". Smart girl.

Since then I've been on a physical fitness rollercoaster. Occassionally I'll dip into the glorious realm of "Over weight" only to find myself in Obese-land just a few days later.  The "Over weight" days are incredibly exciting.  I feel the need to tell all my friends, "I've done it.  I'm now over weight!".  And then I think, wow, there's something really weird with being excited about being over weight.  It's such a backwards sounding goal, "I want to be over weight.".  I mean, who wants to be over weight?  

I guess it's all about celebrating the small victories.  A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.  So to all of you out there battling the bulge, celebrate the small victories, keep your sense of humor, and most of all keep on working.  You can do it.  I know you can.  Because this morning I got on Wii Fit and...I'M OVER WEIGHT! :)

Xbox Obsession

This past week I found myself with an inexplicable desire to purchase an Xbox 360. I just can’t seem to get the idea of buying one out of my head. I don’t need one. I probably wouldn’t even play it. I KNOW I wouldn’t play it that much. But these rational arguments don’t seem to be a deterrent to my new found obsession. Yesterday I actually took to pricing them out to see who has the best deal. It seems that craigslist or eBay is the way to go. You can get them for less than half-price! For some reason Nicole doesn’t seem to think that just because you found a good deal doesn’t mean you should buy. :) She keeps mentioning something about a wedding to pay for and seems to think that is more important than yet another gaming console. Hopefully this blog entry will sate my Xbox craving although I’m not optimistic.

Isn’t it funny how the desire to get something new can be such an emotional thing? I mean there is no logical reason for me to buy or even want an Xbox 360. Yet it is amazingly difficult for me to resist the urge to run out to the store right now and buy an Xbox. I mean the graphics wouldn’t even look that great on our TV. The Xbox is meant to be used on an HDTV and we just have a regular old TV. Hmmm, maybe we need an HDTV…

Almost Healthy

Have had the flu all week. Miserable stuff with the fever, aches, etc. Haven't quite kicked the dizzy but am getting my energy back. Thankfully it hit before I headed to the airport so I was home safe and sound to recover. Another week gone and no more wedding planning done. We're down to 90 days left. Can't believe how the time has flown.

Trying this out

Mom inspired me to give this a shot. I really enjoy getting a little peek into her life.

I'm heading to Cleveland, Ohio first thing in the morning. Will be a whirlwind three day business trip. Wednesday we'll be at meetings starting at 5:00 am PST and won't land in Portland until 11:00 pm PST. I can't complain much though. I thank the Lord that I have a good, stable job. In this tough economic time, it's much easier to be thankful for 50 hour work weeks and crazy business trips.

Of course, I really need to find/make more time for finishing up my wedding planning. Mom gets here in 16 days...I'm sure she'll kick me into gear. It will be nice to have 2 days off work while she is here to get things done.

Well best go finish packing.

~Nicole