Cruisin' Life

Joseph and I had the most wonderful time on our Caribbean Cruise in June. We had been planning and deciphering for months prior on what we wanted to do on our last vacation. . .or if we should even take it? We are so grateful that we decided to do one more hoorah before life became more complicated!

Both he and I had been on cruises in the past with our families but it had been a while. We wanted to go somewhere new. (I love Mexico but just wasn't feeling it this time). St Lucia was one island that really struck my interest mainly because of the Pitons. We debated about doing  an inclusive resort there but are so grateful that we opted for the cruise. (I think we both would have become bored just staying at one place and wanted to see more). The cruise ended up being perfect. We had enough relaxation, adventure and entertainment to keep us happy.

Puerto Rico

We arrived a day early to Puerto Rico as we wanted a chance to see this island. We were exhausted after our flights and sadly may have taken a nap in our room for a couple of hours. We wanted to try authentic Puerto Rican food and took the advice to try a local restaurant and try Mofongo. Joseph ordered it while I went the simple route with fish. I completely missed out because it was delicious!!!! We've acquired some recipes and will hopefully be attempting to recreate it at home.

Our hotel was in a downtown area but was only 1.5 miles from old town. We decided to walk over. . .not the brightest idea. It was so hot and we were so tired!! The end result was worth it, but next time we'll take a cab. :) We visited San Cristobal Castle and ventured through some of the shops.

The Carnival Valor

We had so much fun on the cruise. . .I was lost most of the time (surprise, surprise). Joseph navigated his way through the ship without issues of course. There was so much to do including swimming, food, mini golf, ice cream, shows, ice cream, trivia, ice cream, live music, ice cream and movies by the pool. I wish we had more energy for all of the activities (I'm sure the endless stops at the soft serve ice cream machine didn't help). Yes, we were pleasantly happy.

St Thomas

This island was just beautiful and I loved seeing all of the sail boats in the bay. We wandered around town a little bit and then took a tour up the mountains to see the views and even learn about pirates. 

Barbados

We were planning on walking to the beach and having a lazy day here. We started on our walk when a guy stopped us (we were getting used to this). He offered to ride us to the beach and back with a little tour in between. We took him up on the offer. I feel awful now that I don't remember his name and as soon as I do, I will add him in. He was the sweetest kindest man and we enjoyed talking to him and a little sad that he was working so hard to push our lazy bums around town. The beach was beautiful and the water so nice! 

St Lucia

This was the island that I most wanted to see and it was beautiful. The pitons were everything I expected! We booked a land/sea tour with the ship (one of the only tours I could do pregnant), where we took a bus tour through the island and were able to stop at the botanical gardens. We also got to go on a catamaran and circle the outskirts of the island. So very beautiful!!!!

 

 

 St. Kitts

I'm going to be honest, we were really tired when we made it to this island. We didn't book a tour and it was a million degrees outside. We walked around the shops and spoke with the people a little bit, but eventually went back to the ship and played around by the pool. We heard that the snorkeling was amazing on this island and probably should have taken advantage of it. It seemed so quaint and charming and I now regret not doing more. Because of our laziness, the pictures were sparse here.

St. Martin

This was by far our favorite island. The views were spectacular and the beaches were beautiful. We walked along the board walk and through the shops with the end stop being a relaxing day at the beach. I loved watching people on the jet skis and just sitting back and reading a magazine. I could have stayed there for hours longer, but Joseph can only do a few hours at a time at the beach. I was soaking it up, despite what my white skin depicted!

 It was so hard to come back home but we loved every minute of our last vacation with just the two of us. We met some great friends and are grateful for the time together. Hopefully it won't be our last!

 

I'm Not Sure What I Signed Up For

The word has been out for a bit now, but Joseph and I are thrilled about our newest addition! When I say thrilled, the phrase "scared beyond reason" also comes to mind. :) I found out in March with my positive pregnancy test. We had just come home from Idaho and ironically Joseph had joked around with friends that I must be barren (I think it made them feel a little uncomfortable). We got home really late and I just had to take the test. The test wasn't clear but made me suspicious that it could be positive (since previous months were a blatant negative). The next morning I tried it again and there was the clear double line. I wasn't sure at that point if I was happy or shocked. . . maybe both. Every part of me wanted to wake Joseph up with a pee stick in his face. . .but I refrained. I had bought the book "What To Expect When Your Wife Is Expecting" a while a go. (Sadly enough, the previous month I really thought I was pregnant and bought the book to surprise Joseph. Two errors occurred. 1. He saw that the book had been shipped from Amazon-he had some questions for me. 2. I wasn't actually pregnant-it's amazing what your mind tells your body because I swore I was having morning sickness. Maybe just not-wanting-to-go-to-work-sickness). Before I left for work that morning I placed the book outside the bedroom. I patiently waited at work for a text. His response was "is this for real?" He was so excited as well as me!

Pregnancy world has treated me surprisingly well. I can't complain with the symptoms that I have had. I definitely didn't feel good first trimester but wasn't living beside my toilet either. There were only a few weeks where I frequented the work bathroom. A few people at work suspected but no one really commented on the matter the first trimester.

Joseph and I were the typical couple that didn't want to tell people until the first trimester had past. For some reason I thought it would be fun to wait until we knew the gender to announce to everyone. . .everyone including family, friends, and co-workers. It was a hard secret to keep, especially around week 16-17 when I was really starting to show and people at work were punning jokes my way that I was pregnant. (There are two other expectant mothers who announced before me but are due after).

We were so excited for the ultrasound. I originally thought that we were having a girl. Around 13-14 weeks my thoughts changed and I was convinced that it was a boy. (I think because we both wanted a girl so badly that I expected that it would be the opposite). The ultrasound was such a sweet experience. She was so beautiful!!!! She was so mellow and the tech had a hard time getting her to wake up and move around. . .(is it bad if I hope she stays like that)? When the tech informed us that our baby was a girl tears came to my eyes and I knew Joseph was equally excited.

We were leaving for a cruise just a few days later (post to come shortly) so we had a bunch of work to do still. Joseph sent a few of the pictures to our parents in Florida and Idaho to a local Walgreens. We informed our moms that we had sent pictures from our recent trip to Galveston and that they needed to be picked up. My mom picked them up almost immediately and her text read "you snot!" (That is a term of endearment I promise). Joseph's mother took much longer to pick up the pictures. He was convinced that she wasn't going to make it that day. She called late that night to give us congratulations! Two new grand babies on both sides of the family in one year. . .that's a huge success for both sides.

Besides a few other friends/family/co-workers we didn't tell anyone else until we left on our cruise. I don't know if it was the best way to announce. . .or if waiting that long was a good decision, but either way, it was a fun surprise for everyone.

I'm currently 23 weeks and feeling it.

Always looking my best in 100 degree Texas weather

Energy: Still completely tired all the time. I know it's better than it was, but I can't ever seem to sleep enough
Weight Gain: 15 lbs (I know it's normal but yikes)!
Back pain: I didn't realize that the pain would come so early. I'm trying to stay active and do lots of stretching but I wake up with my back hurting and it progressively gets worse throughout the day. I decided to reorganize a storage closet on Saturday. . .maybe not the best idea to be toting boxes around for the afternoon. I'm still paying for that decision.
Pregnancy Love: I love that I can finally feel her consistently. I have even been able to see her move the past couple of days.
Pregnancy Hate: Okay, the whole waking up at 3am thing to pee is a little annoying but somehow I think it will get worse so I might as well not complain.
Movements: It's only been the past couple of weeks, and really the past week that I have felt her. I love sitting down and just waiting for her.
Belly Button: It's definitely popped out more the past few weeks. Definitely not an outie yet but it's on it's way. (And no one ever told me that it would feel like someone was pulling it out). Is this happening to anyone else?
Cravings: My cravings have changed constantly. I originally only wanted salty foods (I think it helped with the nausea). I have craved red meat a lot! (The cruise was really good to me). I have noticed that I am craving really sweet things right now; I usually choose tart/sour foods but they haven't tasted as good as the really sweet ones.
Stretch Marks: I haven't noticed any yet-quick what cream do y'all recommend?
Emotions: It still hasn't quite set in that I'm going to have a baby. I'm definitely more emotional and cry much easier. I started crying the other night and Joseph asked me what was wrong. I couldn't give him an answer except that it was the "Sunday night blues." Poor husband.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and prayers. Joseph and I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father trusts us with one his precious children. We don't feel qualified for the job but are excited for the challenges that lie ahead!

Your Four Minutes

I know, I know. It's been forever and I kick myself for not posting for so long. (Maybe it would be different if I wrote in a journal consecutively). I could go into all the nitty-gritty details about how Joseph received a new job and we live in Texas now, but I won't. I never have a desire to back track. Instead, I'm excited to share something that touched my heart and I definitely needed to hear!

I was able to listen to disciples of God last weekend while listening to General Conference. I wish I could say I listened to all of it, but unfortunately a severe cold zonked me out for a lot of Sunday's sessions. I will do my best to go back and listen. All the talks given were exactly what I needed to hear. I wish I could say that moving to Texas was an easy transition but it has been far from that. The past couple of weeks have been exceptionally rough. It's easy to make up excuses of why you're unhappy ie, I never see my husband, our jobs weren't exactly what we expected, it takes 3 hours to get anywhere, I miss my friends, I miss my family, two broken cars, yadi-yadi-yadi-ya. Do you get the picture? Yes, this is definitely a "woe is me" scenario. All things that have definitely happened but nothing that I should be dwelling on. I feel like conference was speaking this lesson to me. Every talk seemed to point at my perspective on life and how I needed to change it because I have far too much to be grateful for!

One talk particularly touched me by Gary E. Stevenson and was titled "Your Four Minutes." https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/your-four-minutes?lang=eng&media=video#watch=video He applauds the Olympic athletes who work tirelessly to achieve their dreams. One in particular is skeleton rider Noelle Pikus-Pace. This rider has 4 intense 60-second runs down her slope in order to decipher if she wins a medal or not. This was Noelle's 3rd attempt at the Olympics as injury and time qualifications battled her place for a medals in the past. He states, "can you imagine the anxiety she felt as she waited to begin her first run in the 2014 Olympics? Years of preparation would culminate in only a sliver of time. Four minutes total. She spent years preparing for those four minutes and would spend a lifetime afterward reflecting on them." What a powerful statement. Years of preparation for four minutes to compete. It was only after years of work that her effort paid off and she now has a lifetime to look back and reflect on it. 

I look back at time I wasted because I was sad, or looked at the perception that life just wasn't fair. How wrong was I? For everything that hasn't gone perfectly, I have at least three things to be grateful for. The biggest being a loving husband who puts his arms around me for comfort. How many people don't have that who long for it?  I realize that life can't go perfectly. That's not Heavenly Father's plan (although often appealing). We have to feel sadness in order to feel joy. How can we appreciate four minutes of our life if we haven't looked back and seen the work behind it? I know that I'm not perfect but do know that God prepared a way because of His Son Jesus Christ. We can be perfected in Him and we can stand on the medal stand after this life! 

If anyone is needing a boost in their life or a little bit of comfort, I highly suggest listening to a talk or two! It helped change my perception and gave me that little extra boost to try to do a little better!

Here is the link to all of the talks! Happy Tuesday!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2014/04?cid=HPSU040614654&lang=eng

And here's a few things I have to be grateful for:

For This cutie (and beautiful rivers too)

Apparently this is a comfort food because I can't get enough lately

And Pandas! (Doesn't he just make you happier looking at him)?

Breathing Great!

Do you ever have a problem and not realize you do?. . . .

Don't answer that.

I know I have MANY problems but did you know that you are actually supposed to be able to breathe out of both nostrils? I didn't. Yep, I only used part of one nostril all of my life and thought that it was normal. I have had chronic allergies since birth and just contributed that to chronic mouth breathing.

Working for an ENT has its advantages. I see a lot of screwed up noses on a daily basis and work for an awesome Doc that sees to my every need. After a year worth of allergy injections and multiple nasal sprays, I still blamed my symptoms on bad allergies. It never really bothered me because I saw it as normal. Apparently, it isn't normal.

A CT scan proved me wrong. Ironically enough, spotting all the issues was a surprise on the scan. (I was having bad eye pressure so we decided to rule out sinusitis. Nope, it turns out I just needed to wear my glasses). My scan was noted to have a deviated septum (the wall dividing the right & left nostril), enlarged turbinates (a bone shell that pushes air through the nose), and large bilateral concha bullosas (air filled turbinates more posterior). Another doctor came walking in not knowing that the scan was mine and replied "those are the largest concha bullosas I've ever seen). Yeah, my pride was hurt when I found out that I had a defective nose.

I see hundreds of patients that have these surgeries and do just fine. I didn't want to admit that there was anything wrong with my nose. I figured that my nose had worked just fine for 27 years and should be fine for another 27 years. After much persuasion from coworkers and family, I finally bit the bullet and decided if I was ever going to have surgery, this was the time.

Getting ready to head back

And now the fun part. . . the process.

WARNING: 

The content of this video is graphic. 

(If you don't like blood, do not watch)

(And this isn't my nose, just what happens during a septoplasty)

I think it's fun!

http://sinusvideos.com/videos/32/endoscopic-septoplasty-for-posterior-deviation

And this was the ending product.

And don't worry, I gave you the picture without a blood soaked bandage. :)

I learned that I hate narcotics. (Seriously, how are people on them all the time? I took two pills then switched to ibuprofen. I like being able to turn my head without feeling dizzy).

I became proficient at not blowing my nose for the week. And even better at sinus washes.

I had the surgery on Friday and was back to work on Monday. My nose was a little painful and very dry and irritated for a bit. 

It's been almost 2 months since the surgery (yes, I'm always a little behind). 

The breaking news is that I am breathing great! I once only had 1/2 a nostril at a time. I now have 2 full breathing nostrils all the time. I had no idea how wonderful it was to breathe and not feel congested ALL THE TIME! 

The moral of the story is, that you're not always born with a perfect body and it's okay to try and improve it once and a while.

Oh, and I absolutely LOVE breathing through my nose!

Thank you Dr. Parsons!

Fun in the Sun. . .& Rain!

One thing I love about Joseph's job, he racks up frequent flyer miles and hotel points. Since September, we've been planning on going on a cruise at the beginning of the year. Plans changed slightly when we decided to buy a car (which we love btw)! To save a little money, we decided that we should take Bailey on her first road trip to the happiest place on earth. You guessed it-CALIFORNIA (haha, you know that those words would never come out of either of our mouths). We did visit California and enjoyed getting away.

We stopped for the night in Vegas and found these friendly fellas at our hotel.

I have no experience with Nascar. I've never had the desire to see a race. It was fun to see all of these cars waiting at our hotel. 

Our number one reason for coming to California was to see the San Diego Zoo. I've had a small obsession with Pandas lately and had to see one! Really, I'm completely lame. I follow the updates on the baby panda on the Zoo's website. I spend way too much time caring between the panda's and Winter the Dolphin in Florida. (That's another story). But really, how cute is this?

I want one so bad! He is a fluffy ball of cuteness. Seriously, completely adorable. Anywho, the point of the story is, we loved the zoo!

Look at this chubbers! He's cute even when he's older. :) 

Yet another favorite! There was one giraffe that was in labor. We continually went back to their habitat in hope we could see the birth and be the first to record. No giraffe babies on our trip. Just these cute guys!

He's pretty cute too!

We may have got caught in a rain storm while on the bus tour. We took a quick time out to Target for poncho's and an umbrella. 

The rainy day at the zoo was much better with rain gear!

Pygmy Hippo!

I held one of these little ones years ago in Australia. They are soft, fuzzy and adorable. 'Nuff said. 

My first time inside this beautiful temple! Definitely one of my favorites!

And no trip would be complete without a trip to the beach. Joseph and I are definitely ocean people. Maybe someday we can live somewhere close.

We were able to head north to Anaheim for our last day in California. We loved the slightly warmer weather in Anahaheim. . .although I still wore long sleeves the entire time. Warm clothing is required until mid-80 degree weather occurs. :)

What a happy place! I haven't been here in years!

We of course came "disneyfied." 

Joe may have a little more experience than I do.

Our camera broke midway through our day. Joseph kept on taking pictures of random things hoping it would work. This is what we got. 

Pretty I know!

What is this you ask? Yep-that would be my husband's chest. When trying to get a camera to work, the only logical thing is to take a picture of your chest. Right? haha-sorry for the porn pic. (He may kill me for this one). 

Just a little Booty Call!

Star Wars prepared. 

My favorite ride! Joseph hates it, but I expect to go on it at least once. 

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Joseph, Bailey & I had to leave for home. Luckily, we know theirs more of this to come!