Chihuly!

This past weekend, C and I went to see the Chihuly exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA). It was awesome! We got there a little before 10 so we could get tickets and get in before the crowd. You can take pictures as long as you don't use your flash so I brought along my Nikon and went to town.

A boat...filled with awesomeness!

These swirling shapes are right up my ally...

I'm going to make a boat filled with glass balls, and you're going to love it.

This is part of the ceiling which made me feel like I was scuba diving again.

There's the octopus!

Chihuly was inspired by Native American woven baskets to make this display.

Glass? Or woven basket?

Beautiful.

The largest sculpture he has ever created.

Looked like curling smoke to me.

LOVE.

Crazy goodness.

Simple, pure, beautiful.

Blue reeds made especially for the VMFA.

I really have no idea how anyone can do something so amazing with glass. I learned some pretty cool things while in college...welding metal, jewelrymaking, stained glass...but I would have loved to have learned glass blowing. Never say never!

I love going to the VMFA. We always have a good time and since they remodeled they have gotten some really awesome exhibits in there. The first one was a large Picasso exhibit, which was good but didn't blow me away. Then there was the Tiffany glass exhibit which was really good and an Egyptian exhibit with some mummies which was pretty good. I really enjoy going to that museum. It makes for a fun day and gets me inspired to go home and do some of my own work.

Eating Healthy Again

Who's hungry?

I've been thinking a lot about my eating habits lately. A year ago this past fall I got into a huge vegan baking kick and was making all kinds of vegan recipes. I was loving it. After several months of trying to get pregnant and failing, I fell off the bandwagon of healthy eating and just ate whatever junk I wanted to make myself feel better. I also slowed down on the running. Big mistake.

Since I have gotten pregnant, I am eating much better. I didn't really have morning sickness, but I had all day nausea that I figured out I could keep at bay as long as there was food in my stomach. These foods became my quick go to's:

-red, seedless grapes
-string cheese
-watermelon
-canteloupe
-raisins
-strawberry yogurt
-bananas
-crackers

This was a big change for me because I usually don't eat a lot of fruit, but I am really happy with the changes I have made to my diet and I love that I don't crave chocolate like I did before getting pregnant. I do crave french fries and foods like that but I do my best to try and pick the vegetables off the menu and not the junk. I hope that I can continue these changes after he is born.

Another thing I would like to get back into my diet are the vegan sweet potato muffins that I made for breakfast a lot, and smoothies. I love me some smoothies, but I don't give myself time in the morning to make one. I hope to start getting home a little earlier and taking the dog for a good walk and then making a smoothie for a snack afterwards.

Do you have any healthy go to's? (pregnant or not)

Mary Lee did what the Mayans couldn't

Last night, upon seeing a post on facebook that there is a great white shark lurking off the shores of North Carolina...

me: "Whoa, there is a 16 foot long, thirty-five hundred pound great white shark named Mary Lee off the coast of North Carolina. That's terrifying!"

C: "Thirty-three hundred?"

me: "Three-thousand five hundred."

C: "That's impossible! That's 15 tons!"

me: "It's 16 feet long..."

C: "How can that be? That makes no sense."

me: "I said three THOUSAND five hundred."

C: "No you didn't, you said 30,500!"

me: "No I didn't. I said 3,500! And I'm chewing gum. And you have headphones on."

C: "No you didn't... but still that's a really big shark."

me: "That's scary that it is so close."

C: (mocking me) "Maybe it will swim into the Chesapeake Bay..."

me: "And then it will come up the James River, and down Hungary Creek and walk up the street to our house!" (there is a creek at the end of our street)

C: "It will do what the Mayans couldn't and destroy our Target."

me: "But we will be safe because the back door is locked."

C: "If a 300,000 pound shark knocks on our door it's definitely the apocalypse."

*If you did not read my previous post about the apocalypse, you should check that out because it makes this post that much more funny.

rain, rain, rain, snow

This past week, I had it all planned out. I was going to walk at least 3 days and do prenatal yoga at least 3 times as well. Well then it rained...and rained...and rained...and then it snowed. Needless to say, I didn't get out much nor did I have the motivation to walk.

The cherry tree outside of our house. I love this tree!

Thursday night it started snowing fairly hard and fast, and we even had thunder snow! Of course they canceled school on Friday so I had a 4 day weekend. It was fabulous. For a hot second anyways.

Friday I took my time getting out of bed, lazed about and then started my day. Even though there was snow outside, it wasn't too bad out, so I ran to Micheal's and got the supplies I needed for some artwork I am making for the nursery and picked up some lunch on the way home. I hung out for a bit and then took Cricket for a walk. I did get one walk in this week! She walked kinda fast, it winded me a little.

I then came home and alternated between painting canvases and painting on the walls in the nursery. Next thing I know, it's 9 o'clock at night and my body was saying STOP. STOP NOW!!

I over did it...and woke up sick the next morning.

Saturday I finally made it down to Newport News and met my friend's new baby! Usually holding a baby this young, (he's only 4 weeks) makes me really nervous and awkward feeling, but this time I felt like a natural champ. Maybe those maternal instincts are finally kicking in?? I sure hope so!

I like how he's patting his paci :-)

Sunday was gorgeous out but I spent most of it bent over the humidifier with a towel over my head. At least today the congestion is a little better and I hope it's gone in a few days. I was so mad that I got sick AGAIN because I was sick with some horrible respiratory flu for my whole winter break and couldn't breathe for 2 weeks and now I have another long weekend and spent most of it sick again. Grr. I really need to start listening to my body and take it easy.

This upcoming week looks like it's going to be cold but sunny so maybe I'll get out to walk??

The Big News!

As any parent knows, you are on pins and needles waiting to find out whether you are going to be having a boy or a girl...our big day finally came last Thursday. We were excited but nervous going in there, knowing that we wouldn't just be finding out the gender, but also checking major organs. The tech started with the head and worked her way down and we were so relieved to see that everything was growing correctly and the heart was perfectly formed. What a relief! Then she very nonchalantly told us....

That's right! It's a boy! I have had so many emotions flooding over me the past few days. It just feels so REAL now...it's a real person, a boy! I don't have to call him "it" anymore. He's really moving now and C felt him kick from the outside for the first time on Sunday :-) What a cool moment.

Needless to say, C is pretty excited about having a little boy. I'm excited to have another little man in my life. :-)

Sunday we went to Babies R Us and registered. It was fun but exhausting! There is SO MUCH STUFF you need. I really have no idea how it is all going to fit into my house. Afterward we came home and got started on the nursery. It was our guest/storage room so we've been trying to clean it out. I hope to get it painted in the next few weekends so we can start getting the furniture we need.

My mother in law also gave us the travel system while we were up for the holidays. I love it! I don't know why but I was so excited to get this item. My mom gave me the Vera Bradley diaper bag I wanted for Christmas :-) This is really happening!

So I'm a little over 21 weeks now, a little over half way there! May sounds so far away, but I know it will be here before we know it. My body has really been aching lately and I think it misses working out. I have a plan that I plan on trying out this week. I think my body really misses working out and I REALLY miss running. It doesn't feel right not having a race in my near future that I am training for, but I have big plans for after the baby is born.

More to come later about how my preggo workouts go!

just for fun

1. Number of races you have run: 32 since starting in 2008
2. Where was your first road race? Richmond, VA
3. Favorite road race course: Richmond Half Marathon
4. Most memorable race: My first 10K
6. Ever run in a costume? Nope, can’t think of anything good enough J
7. The only running shoes for me: Saucony
8. Ever injured? yes, my hip in 2008
9. Hot or cold weather runner? Warm-Fall and Spring
10. Morning or evening runs? Late morning
12. Ever DNF? Nope! I’ve always finished
13. Race I'd like to forget: Shamrock Half Marathon-ran with food poisoning
14. Favorite post race nosh: Beer!
15. Galloway or Higdon? I make my own plans, although I tried Galloway before and I like it.
17. Back, Middle, or Front of the pack? Middle
18. Run alone or with a partner: mostly alone but I enjoy running races with people when I get the chance
19. Ever win your age group? No, doubt I ever will
20. One part of your body that has never seen Body Glide: hands
21. Best part of running: The feeling you get when you finish a race.
22. If I didn't run I would: sit on my butt.
23. I can't run without my: ipod
23. Ever lose a toenail? Yes, it hurt so bad!
24. Gatorade or Cytomax? Powerade
25. Favorite gel flavor? chocolate
26. How many days after a race do you usually start running again?  About a week
27. I run, therefore I am a runner.
28. Pre-race routines? Put out everything I am going to wear the next day, double check that go bag is full of safety pins, bib, snacks and camera battery is charged!
29. What is your typical night before the big race meal? Whatever I feel like, though I try to go for pasta and some protein
30. Would you run a road race again? Definitely J
31. What's the farthest you've ever run at one time? 13.1 miles
32. Tucked or un-tucked? untucked

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has had a good start to the new year! Ours has been interesting. C and I both have sinusitis which has just been peachy and on top of that my dog Cricket broke her toenail on New Year's Eve. Our vet was closed yesterday and today so we ended up at the emergency vet after I called what seemed like every vet in the area and they were all closed. It wasn't too bad and I think I ended up paying the same amount I would have at my regular vet. Glad we got her all fixed up but not how I was expecting to spend the first day of the new year :-(



Poor Cricket :-(
 

Anyways, last week we headed up to PA to visit C's parents for a few days. They live in the mountains of PA. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere in a place where people camp for the weekend and don't actually live, so it's pretty much just you and nature. The day after we got there it started snowing and the first day we got about 8 inches. Two days later we got more snow and had a total of about 14 inches. It was fun to see some snow since it stays fairly warm in RVA. I had to wear my father in law's snow pants since mine don't fit right now and I didn't bother to take them with me. I looked and felt like the kid from A Christmas Story. I wanted to sled down a small hill in their yard, and since the didn't have a sled, we used one of the tubes we go down the creek in during the summer. It worked out pretty good even though I had to roll out of the tube! Being pregnant is awkward.

View from my in law's back porch

I didn't spend too much time out in the snow since I have been sick but Cricket had a blast. She went from being terrified of snow to loving it in about 5 minutes. We had to stick her in the basement till all the snowballs melted off of her.

Next time she's getting shaved before we go up there...

We came home Sunday and went straight to the doctor since we both felt so terrible. Glad to be home but I do kind of miss the snow. The mountains are really pretty when it snows.

So, everyone's favorite New Year's topic, RESOLUTIONS!
Mine for 2013: have a healthy pregnancy, have a healthy baby, clean the clutter out of my house before baby gets here, get back into running and lose the baby weight, and take better care of my dog (monthly nail clippings and ear pluckings) Pretty simple things I think I can accomplish.

Anyone have any resolutions to share??