Well, I was right - it was a helluva week. Brad wound up being really sick and I spent the whole week really paranoid I'd get it and we'd have to cancel our trip. Work was really crazy since I agreed to take on a colleague's class while he went to a conference this week. Just a bit nutty. BUT....... We're leaving in the morning!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited! It really just hit this morning that we're actually going and I'm just so pumped. We're in the process of getting packed up, but we're making good progress. Anywho, we'll be back next weekend I'm sure I'll have some stories to tell! I'll probably do another blog with my pics like I did for Korea (only I don't think you'll have to wait as long this time). Have a good week, everyone!

Ugh. I totally hate spring forward day. We went to our friends, Sean and Tracie, house for dinner last night and lost track of time - didn't get home until midnight. Well, make that one a.m. I was scheduled to sing at the 8am service so that was yucky. Needless to say, it was not one of my better efforts. I am so pooped! Our VA friend, Nick, came over for dinner tonight and we had a great time with him, but I'm officially done for the evening. Brad is starting to feel sick (better now than next week!), so he's already in bed. Oiy. It's going to be a hard week. Sorry to be so gloomy. I'll be cheerier when I get some rest!

We have a heartbeat! Brad and I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and it was the magical heartbeat day. Our doc found it right away and it was absolutely amazing to hear! I got all weepy and even Brad was a little emotional. The doc said the heartbeat was strong - 164 beats/minute. My sister-in-law said it would sound like a train - choo-choo-choo, etc, and she was exactly right. The doc is also really pleased that I'm doing so well - all signs point to the baby and me being healthy so far. Good news! This should also be the last week of my first trimester. Time is flying so quickly!

My stupid cat, Shadow, gets into more scrapes than I ever thought an indoor animal could..... There was the sprint towards wherever when we were trying to move, there was the day he spent locked in the basement, and there was last night. This was mostly Brad's fault, but Shadow knows how to really make it fun....

Last night, Brad went out our back door into the backyard. When he returned, he apparently didn't pull the door shut all the way (our doors get kind screwy about that - they look closed, but they're not really), nor did he lock it. When he got up at 4:15 this morning to feed the cats and go for a run, he couldn't find Shadow. What he found was the back door wide open - the wind must have pushed it in!!!!!!!! He woke me up to tell me what happened - there we are, in the middle of the night, in the backyard with flashlights trying to find the curious cat. We found him about 10 minutes later. He'd managed to get out of the fenced backyard (no claws, mind you - he must have crawled underneath) and Brad found him in a neighbor's bushes. The poor guy was terrified - he probably was really excited for the adventure and then got lost, not knowing how to get back inside. We have no idea how long he was out there, but he gobbled down his food and went straight to the litter box. Guess he didn't know he could poop in the grass! As soon as he got calmed down, he went straight to sleep. I imagine he was out there for a while.

I'm just so thankful that a) we found him. b) he didn't get hurt, since he has no claws to defend himself and c) that the only bad thing that happened was the cat got out - no one came in! Brad was absolutely mortified he'd been so careless. He was totally distraught this morning. Needless to say, I didn't exactly jump back to sleep - the adrenaline was pumping pretty hard. So, I've been up since a little before 4:30 and I'm not allowed to have too much caffeine. Ugh.

So anyway, happy ending. The kitty's fine - just pretty wigged out. Another day in the life.... I knew things were far too slow around here. What a week!

Whew! I had a great time with my sister this weekend. We got all caught up, did some shopping and took in some Kansas City sights. So much fun! A friend from Lexington is in town for a conference and so we met up with him after dropping MB off at the airport. He'll be around for the next couple of weeks. Spending the weekend with family and then with a comfy friend from back in VA, we almost forgot we're alone out here in KS.

I think the excitement of last week and this past weekend has finally hit. I'm totally un-functional today. I cannot concentrate on anything for longer than 20 minutes. I think I'm about to give in to the ADD and do what my body wants me to - just chill out. I made a quick trip to the grocery store to get some fresh air - it's 64 and sunny! Coming home, some guy pulled out in front of me on a major road (the speed limit was 40 mph). It was bad enough that I had to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting him! I think the sound of the tires squealing was louder than my horn. Since my windows were down, I could smell the burned rubber from my tires for about 100 yards after that. Getting in an accident would have really been the icing on the cake - especially since it probably would have been nasty. Glad he heard all the rucus and decided to look up in my direction! Might have been a good idea before pulling out onto the road....