Meet the Foulks!

Spontaneous Destruction

2012-01-31T20:12:00.000-08:00

My lovely sister came to visit me this past week. This time, I told myself, we were just going to hang out. Play with Eli. Go be tourists. Go shopping. And I could get her opinion about some house stuff, like what color curtains would look good in my living room.We started out with some great touristy stuff.

At the San Jose Mission

At the Alamo

On the Riverwalk

But what started as a late night conversations about curtains somehow morphed into us demolishing our living room fire place the next day. Go figure.

In my opinion, this turn of events was awesome. I wanted to learn to tile, but the task seemed daunting. Learning from a pro made things oh-so-much easier. Plus having Laurie's expert advice on things like color and tile choice made the selection process go much quicker. Here's a bit of the process:

We'd taken something that had once looked like this:

And turned it into this:

Oh yeah, and the curtains look amazing too.

Library Nook

Bonus: new lamp.

All in all, a pretty excellent two days' work.

A Lot

2012-01-20T12:46:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been feeling a little overwhelmed.

It's a combination of factors, really. There's being a mommy, doing the job of two at work, dealing with changes at church, having too little time to clean, being on the road too much to eat healthy, and just a general feeling of, as my 10th grade French teacher would have said, "running behind the 8 ball." (She had a lot of weird expressions that we made fun of her for at the time, but somehow they've weaseled their way into my vernacular. I bet she's the one laughing now...)

On the days when I tell myself, 'I'm only going to work a few hours this afternoon and just lay in bed and play with Eli for an extra hour,' something seems to go horrible awry with the website, or a flower delivery, or a demographic case study that gets stuck in someone's junk mail.

On the days that I say, "Okay, I'm going to actually mop my floor. For the first time in mooooonths." I end up getting distracted by all the scout emails that are all about this overwhelming word, "Rechartering" and I have to leave 99% of my furniture on my area rug for the next 24 hours. Fortunately, Mike's good enough to say, "Wow, half of the floors look nice!" instead of, "Why's there a bird aviary on my sofa?"

Every job seems only half finished. Half jobs are finished weeks later. Not started jobs are abandoned with a little twinge of regret.

I think it's starting to be too much for one superwoman to do.

The sad thing is, I've eagerly been anticipating the day when I get to announce to all my friends and family that I am quitting my job. Cuz guess what? I am! And it is so, so very exciting. There's more on this job situation to come, but suffice it to say that a little arrangement for me to stay on board until we find a replacement is turning into a nightmare. A perpetual ellipses, if you will.

And maybe, since I already feel like I'm quitting, I just want to be able to be done. D-O-N-E. But I'm not. I'm still checking emails first thing when I wake up and last thing before I go to bed. I'm still attending four hour long policy meetings. And I think I might actually not be able to avoid our busiest marketing time of the year, March, a.k.a. Colon Cancer Awareness Month, like I was really looking forward to. Let me clarify. Looking forward to missing.

And ever since reading the amazing Sharlee's blog, the one where she lists a newly clean house as one of her favorite things in the world, I've been feeling a bit like a horrible homemaker for all the dust gathering in the corners and all the husband's socks strewn about.

And ever since that word, "Scouts" became associated with my name at church, I've been a little confused. Okay, petrified is more like it. I'm the Second Counselor in the Primary Presidency and we've had a lot of changes lately. There was the ward reorganization, which was fine, and I really do love the Primary children, even though every Sunday I still miss the fun ladies I used to work with, and then there was figuring out how to put on the monthly baptisms, which was confusing at first, but now is very rewarding, but now... Scouts? Just that one word has been striking fear into my heart. I need to actually figure it out. But I just don't have time. I mean, have you seen the Scout Handbook?

And I've been drinking too much Dr. Pepper. And I haven't had time to sign up for my Groupon Zumba classes, which I was so looking forward to. Haven't been able to prune my rose bush or mulch my bougainvilleas. Haven't been able to return Mike's Christmas hoodie or Eli's humidifier. Haven't even started to read my book club's novel this month, and I'm leading the discussion. Haven't gone Visit Teaching yet.

There's a lot of that going on in my brain lately. An endless stream of things I need to do, or need to do better. It's starting to make me feel like a big ole failure.

But, even as I'm typing all this out, I'm listening to Eli squeal in his jumper beside me, trying to get the cat to look at him, and I don't feel the need to include him in my "Haven'ts." Because he's definitely my Have.

I have sacrificed that clean floor for holding him. I have avoided a trip to the store so that he could have a bath and some green beans. I have missed chiming in on a few early morning email chains because I've been sleeping in to catch up on some of those stubborn 4 a.m. wake ups that are lingering. I have dressed him every morning and rocked him to sleep every night. And I have made it this long nursing, despite some really long work days and one embarrassing chiropractor visit.

Eli being my "Have" lets me know that I must be doing something right. One very little, very rewarding thing.

It's just that doing that one thing right doesn't really compensate for how everything else seems to be falling apart. It should, though, right?

Somehow I'm just not there yet. Is this normal? Does everyone feel this way? Or do I just need to bite the bullet and call in a maid service?

Funny Daddy

2012-01-07T16:32:00.000-08:00

It has been so great lately to see Eli react to Mike and me more. As he grows older, he's becoming more and more interactive (and, yes, a little more needy). Here's the most adorable video of Eli laughing at his Daddy:

A Brrrrilliant Christmas!

2012-01-07T16:14:00.000-08:00

This year, we got to spend Christmas with my parents in Boise, Idaho. It was so fun, relaxing, and... cold! In other words, everything Christmas should be (can you tell I've been weirded out by one to many holiday celebrations that Mike wore shorts to?). Besides the weather, it was just marvelous to hang out with my wonderful parents, see lots of old friends, catch up with extended family, have my mom spoil me, and show off both my handsome boys.

Am I lucky, or what?

Family time was truly awesome, including a laid-back but fun Christmas morning. It was a little weird having church first thing Christmas morning, but my mom and dad both gave talks in church that were really interesting and neat to hear. Here's some of the fun once we got home:

What an awesome gift! Ha ha.

Of course you can have Thanksgiving dinner on Christmas day!

And this one wins the most hilarious photo of the trip award. There's actually a great explanation for why my husband and my dad are laying beside each other on my parents' bed playing on their cell phones, but I think, as blog author, I reserve the right to withhold the explanation and just let the hilarious photo speak for itself:

Nice.

It was also really great to catch up with old friends and even-older family.

Us with my high school buddy, Lance, his wife and their wee little 6-week old.


Fun at the Beanery downtown Boise with just a few of the many ladies in my family.

Eating pizza with Andrea & her hubby at Old Chicago.

And I can't help myself. I just have to post a few more photos of Little Man. He was just too stinkin' cute all bundled up for the cold weather. One of the first mornings we were there, it got down to 12 degrees, which totally necessitated the bear suit below. Adorableness ensued.

We don't love that we have to fly to see family for the holidays, but at least being far away makes us treasure the time we have together. And if Eli's okay being a frequent flier, so are we!

Thanks for a wonderful time, Gram & Papa!

A Merry Munchkin

2012-01-04T15:31:00.000-08:00

Oh, what a cutie our little boy is. Visiting Santa, hanging out at the North Pole with Mommy, riding a reindeer carousel... what a little bundle of holiday joy!

Tell me this is not the cutest Santa photo ever. It is!

Merry Christmas from one adorable little baby!

P.S. Being a Mommy is fun.

Tis the Season to Party

2012-01-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

On of the benefits of being a dual-income family (or in Mike's opinion, curses) is that we have not one, but two, holiday parties to attend. That means two Saturday nights where we get to dress up, listen to music, small talk with strangers and listen to endless jokes about alcohol.

You can see why it's simultaneously fun and tiring.

Mike's work party this year was Vegas-themed and the main attraction was Huey Lewis and the News, performing, among other things, the Back to the Future hit "The Power of Love." Definitely my favorite song of the night.

However, for us, the best part of the night was the dueling pianos performance. The guys were hilarious and very talented and would play any song the audience yelled out, including a hilarious rendition of an NSYNC song and Mike's suggestion, "Ring of Fire."

The next week, Mike was elated to attend my work party. This one was a bit more work for me since I was on the party planning committee, but the only snaffu of the night occured when I had to fix a PowerPoint presentation that had somehow gone astray. Beside that, we pretty much just ate, chatted and danced (well, I danced...).

It was a busy week, that's for sure!

I feel a bit ungrateful even though these both were really nice events. However, I think this year I felt like the Christmas season was so hurried that I didn't really get a lot of time to feel the peace of Christmas and to focus my thoughts on the Savior. And it really did feel like something was missing. I'm so excited for some changes that will be coming our family's way with the new year. Sometimes, I'm realizing, you just need time to breath. To think. And to be grateful. Yes, for our careers in this bustling city and for the fact that we are secure and safe this Christmas season. But also for the reason behind all the celebrating.

Five Months & Dang Cute

2011-12-11T16:47:00.001-08:00

Our sweet little boy is a chunky, smiley, drooly 5-month-old now. Can you believe it?

I knew I would love being a Mom, or rather, I earnestly hoped I would, but I couldn't come close to imaging how much I would adore our little man.

Here's just a few things of the reasons we love him so very much:

1. He gets so excited when he eats rice cereal that his little legs pump up and down and he grabs my hands and helps me feed him. I can almost hear him saying, "Faster mama!"

2. He scoots himself backward across the floor, usually ending up with his legs tucked underneath the sofa and a perplexed smile on his face.

3. He pulls his little body up into a plank position, simultaneously grunting with the effort and cooing with the success of it all. He's just starting to tuck his knees up under his bum and rock forward.

4. He sleeps. Usually, he sleeps from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. or so, the again until 10, with a nap at noon and around 5 p.m. He falls asleep also almost anytime he's in the stroller, which makes for nice shopping time for me!

5. He is an enthusiastic jumper. He loves, loves, loves his jumperoo. I have to watch him though, because sometimes he gets so over-stimulated by all the bouncing and toys that I have to take him out before he starts gnawing on his hands in wide-eyed anxiety.

6. He learned how to suck his thumb a few months ago, and he is great about soothing himself whenever he is sleepy. I'm grateful I don't have to bumble around in the middle of the night looking for a binkie! He also loves sucking on his tres en vogue giraffe from France named Sophie.

7. He gets a kick out of looking at himself in the mirror. All I have to say is, "Who's that baby?" and he leans toward the mirror with a sloppy grin and a scrunched up nose. It's adorable.

8. He doesn't mind being changed, riding in cars and sitting on our laps being calm (we even made it through a whole Messiah concert with barely a peep). He gets mildly annoyed by being put in his car seat. He is concurently afraid and enthusiastic in the shower.

We adore our little man: his defined jaw, his laughs, his leg chub, his squeals, his eyelashes, his flirting with strangers...

Pretty much everything that Eli does is so adorable that I wish I could capture it all in vivid detail. Fortunately, I have photos. Lots of them. (Have you noticed?)

Eli doing his almost-crawl:

A very jumpy, laughing nearly naked baby:

Thanksgiving Greatness

2011-12-05T21:45:00.001-08:00

Our little elf.

Mike and I spent a blissfully relaxing week visited his family in California. We stayed with Mike's Mom and Dad in their beautiful home up near Lake Tahoe and enjoyed looking at the beautiful mountains, pine trees, and even a little bit of snow. We laughed with family. We read. We watched HGTV. We ate.

Pretty much, it was great. Here's a bit of the fun:

Some of Mike's family at his parent's house.

Eli thought Uncle Steve was hilarious.

Riding 4 Wheelers

Eli and Grammy

Mike and his sisters, Katrina and Merrily.

We even had a few firsts for Eli while there, including:

Teething
Eating his first real food, a piece of avocado at IHOP
Getting his first present
Perfecting his roll and his sitting, and getting much better at scooting his little body forward

I made our vacation a little more stressful when I read our itinerary wrong and made us miss our flight on the way back, but overall, we had a very relaxing, laid back time. It was so fun to be able to be with family!

Here's little man laughing:

And him making the cutest noise ever while making a new friend:

Friendly Faces

2011-12-05T20:58:00.001-08:00

When Mike and I were first married, we lived in the same apartment complex as my old roomie, Tracy, and her husband, Doug. We had so much fun hanging out with them and did all sorts of exciting things like camping, watching Smallville and taking trips to far off places like Bear Lake and Mount Rushmore. We got to know them so well that they were our first friends that we bickered in front of (four days in the car to listening to The Da Vinci Code will do that to you). They live in Dallas now and decided to come down a few weeks ago to meet Mr. Eli.

Because, seriously, who wouldn't want to kiss these little cheeks?

Here are the guys hanging out and watching TV, just like old times... except for the fact that our menfolk have more than doubled since the Smallville days!

We went to the sunken gardens and enjoyed the coy fish and pretty flowers. It was horribly humid, but we survived.

We even got to ride an awesome little train that took us all around the park. The best part? Mike and Doug got to go see a manly movie while Tracy and I stayed home and watched a chick flick and talked about our personality colors. She even gave me an amazing shoulder massage (lugging around an 18 pound baby can make for some serious muscle knots). Thanks for coming to visit us, Myers!

Manic Wednesday

2011-11-21T10:34:00.001-08:00

It's been a whole year since this blog post, and two years since this one, so it's time for another...

Day in the Life of Allison Foulk

I decided to do this other night and thought to myself, Wednesday will be a good day, because I'll get to sleep in, play with Eli lots, work a little and even have some fun time. It'll be a great balance of all the things I usually do.

Instead, though, we have Wednesday, November 16, 2011. Dun, dun, dun. My day begins at...

2:11 Hear little Eli fussing in his swing in the living room. Shush him and turn on the swing. Back to bed.

7 Mike kisses me goodbye, and I ask if Eli is okay. He is, but only a few minutes after Mike leaves I hear Baby yelling for my attention. Bring him back to my room for some snuggle time and to nurse. He's feeling talkative...

8:15 So I relocate Eli to the living room and go back to sleep.

9:15 After hitting snooze twice, I'm up. Check my email while eating some Trix (yes, I'm 12) cereal. Do my makeup and answer texts from the docs I work with. I call the CEO to get some direction for my meeting today. I chastise myself for hitting the snooze button because now I am running behind. My intern makes my morning a little better by calling to see if I want anything at Starbucks. Yes, please! I have to change my shirt like three times because of stains and odd fittings on my mommy body. I wake up little man to change and dress him and nurse a final time. I sing Manic Monday and he laughs. At the last minute, I fortuitously remember to print our the agendas for said meeting. Then I take Eli to a friend's house and we have a whole conversation of high-pitched squeals on the way before I kiss him goodbye.

10:35 Get to one of our clinics. Address, stuff and lick letters that are going out announcing one of our doctor's retirement while chatting with my intern about my job, her upcoming trip to Rome, and (yes, ma'am) Twilight.

12:30 Conduct marketing meeting with 5 docs. Notice right before the meeting that our website isn't working and spend the hour after the meeting chasing a paper trail that ends with a long forgotten web hosting company and server crash.

2:30 Stop by our printing company to drop off shiny metallic paper for our corporate party Christmas invites.

3:15 Pick up Eli and head home, nurse him while making some work calls.

4:20 Work some more on the now stupid website, Christmas party invites, Christmas excel sheets, Christmas cards &Christmas gifts. (FYI, events are never fun for party planners!) Little Bear jumps up and down in his Jumperoo right beside me and then sits on my lap for a bit while I work.

5:15 Eli gets quiet and I stand up to go lay him on the bed. His backside is completely covered by a nasty blow out, so we change clothes and then I wrap him in a soft fleece blanket and lay him on our bed for some sleepy time. He doesn't even peep, just falls off to sleep.

5:35 Decide to be done with work. Stew about something that one of the doctors said today while I pick up the living room, decide my mood would be lightened by changing my indie Pandora station to something less cerebral. Strut around the living room to Don't Cha (Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me).

6 Mike gets home and our friend James shows up. We watch some general conference talks and eat sushi.

8:10 Head to the church for a quick meeting. Poor Mike listens patiently while I vent about work.

8:40 Back home. I work on the program for several upcoming baptisms. Mike plays with Eli and I sort through junk mail, then we watch an episode of The Office.

9:20 I cuddle with little man and notice his eyes are getting heavy. Mike changes his diaper and puts him in his jammies; I nurse him and rock with him while he sleeps.

10 I write this blog post. My eyes starting to feel heavy too. I crave Oreos.

11 Mike and I lay in bed talking and laughing. I browse Facebook, then notice a conflict with a church event on the schedule, plod into the living room to send a few emails, and then head back to bed to fall asleep!

Even though it's been a crazy day, I'm happy to have my sweet hubby and chunky little bear to make even my most hectic days brighter. I'm also very grateful that, tomorrow, I get to work from home. I might even go buy some Oreos.

Garden Glory

2011-11-10T16:11:00.001-08:00

I did it. During one of the hottest summers in San Antonio, with a supposed 100 days over 100 degrees, I kept these bad boys alive!

If you can't tell, I'm pretty proud of myself. I turned this:

into this!

Sure, a few plants bit the dust, but I'd say about 95% of the flowers I planted survived the heat and are now blooming like crazy. Maybe I've found my niche in the homemaking spectrum. I have to say that it doesn't really surprise me all that much that my place might be a sunny spot, one from which I emerge a bit sunkissed and with dirt under my fingernails.

I have always been interesting in gardening. I remember my mom taking me on what seemed like hours-long expeditions around our acre of land, pointing out this current bush, and that Peace Rose Bush, and these purple irises, and those grape bushes... endlessly, or so it seemed. I have to admit that I never minded looking at all the pretty things that bloomed on our land, while digging my bare feet into the cold grass and squinting up at her while she told me the technical names of each plant, showing me its new buds and fretting over any threatening bugs she noticed.

And I loved walking through our vegetable garden, hiding in the tall corn and eagerly watching to see how big our squashes were getting each year. While I haven't had the courage to venture into a food garden yet down here in this crazy heat, I'm at least getting my feet wet with the pretty stuff.

So, here's some of that pretty stuff:

Here's the stone pathway we made a while back, much improved:

And my pretty Bougainvillea in the far corner of the front yard:

So, Mom, I hope I am doing you proud. Just please don't look at my backyard.

Yet.

Rockin' Birthday

2011-11-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Mike's birthday was right before Halloween and we celebrated in a bit of a unique and exciting way: our first real big rock concert! When I discovered that Mike's favorite band, Chevelle, was playing on his birthday here in San Antonio, I couldn't resist the urge to buy tickets, despite vague fears about crazy, moshing, screaming people being in our general vicinity.

Turns out, they were far away enough to be amusing but not threatening. Chevelle was playing with Bush and Filter. I gave Mike the tickets the morning of his birthday, and he was pretty excited... and maybe a bit surprised that I was willing to brave the rock crowd for him.

The concert was held in this awesome venue called the Sunken Gardens. This outdoor theater was very impressive, and almost magical with the limstone cliffs, oak trees, and stone pillars surrounding the concert. It was a bit chilly, but we made it through.

Here's us before the concert:

Here's a clip of Chevelle playing:

And I even knew a few of the songs, like this one by Bush (whose lead singer is married to Gwen Stefani, interestingly enough):

I hope you had a great time, babe! Happy birthday month to us!

Hey Ma, Look What I Can Do

2011-11-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Get ready for some baby news, cuz it's comin' your way!

Little Mr. Eli has been one busy camper the last few days. Just this Saturday, Eli discovered that he can (drum roll, please) roll! Woo hoo! He's been pretty taken with this new trick and loves to roll from his back on to his tummy whenever he gets a chance. He's on--wait for it--a roll!

As it this new feat wasn't impressive enough, Eli has also discovered his...

feet! (Feat... feet... sorry, I'm out of control today.) He constantly has his feet in his hands or his hands in his mouth. It's so fun to see him discover things.

He still hasn't been sleeping for super long periods at night, and most the time I'm awake at around 1, 4 and 8 a.m. feeding him. In some weird way, I'm almost getting used to it. However, I would definitely like to get a bit more sleep so I'm introducing some rice cereal into Eli's diet at night and trying to toughen myself up a bit so that I don't pick him up right when he starts crying. I know it'll be worth it, but it's hard to let your little guy cry! He doesn't know why I suddenly won't feed him. The nice thing is that Eli will fall asleep almost anywhere (see above pic).

All in all, he's a very happy guy. He loves to have us make faces, sing and even growl at him. I almost feel bad putting him in this little outfit because I don't think he's been crabby one day in his life (it says "Crabby but cute").

He's two videos of Eli. The first is him cooing and talking away. Mike was on the phone with a mechanic and Eli thought Daddy was talking to him.

And look at this neat new trick! He's such a strong little guy.

We love you, little man.

Rawr!

2011-11-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

Our little man was a tiger for Halloween.

And if you've ever been scratched by a baby's nail, you know how fitting this costume was.

Happy Halloween!

Fall!

2011-10-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

Cooler weather, pumpkins and a wonderful excuse to - guess what - photograph Eli! I know, something totally out of character.

Anywho, Mike, Eli and I ventured out to the most adorable little pumpkin patch at a church down the road earlier today. Eli was sound asleep so the first photo turned out a little something like this...

Yes. I'm that mom. The one photographing her sleepy, fussy baby while all the world watches. He's just so cute!

But pretty soon, we ended up with these gems:

Okay, so maybe he's still wondering why he's awake.

But he quickly came round to the prospect of Mom's silliness being worth a few smiles.

And even a laugh! Yay! Happy Fall!

Love this little guy. Love this time of year. Life is good.

Favorite Things

2011-10-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

You know those newly married couples that just can't help but being so in love that every moment of married life is utter bliss? And you know how, even though you are really happy for them, part of you also feels a little anxious about that moment when they realize that married life can also also be a lot hard work?

Well, I'm pretty sure that's how people looking at my new mommy-hood might feel. Sure, she's loving it now, but wait until all those late nights really catch up with her. Then Eli's every little whimper might not warrant quite so many Facebook posts. Wait, why am I thinking about Allison when I could be eating this delicious cheeseball?

But I can't help it. I'm still in a state of bliss. I'm still loving every minute of being with this little guy. I'm still in the honeymoon phase.

And, in the spirit of capitalizing on my joy, I'm going to tell you some a few of my favorite things about being a mommy. Prepare yourself. This may get gushy.

I now have someone who finds me exceptionally funny. I can dance around and make silly faces and stick out my tongue and Eli loves it! I mean, I get to exist in my natural state of being. And I have an adoring audience. Because I know this won't last forever (a teenage Eli might not appreciate my dancing and goofy grin so much), I am going to enjoy it while I can!

There is something so satisfying about holding a warm, substantial little body chest to chest, letting his little head rest on your shoulder, letting his little bum hang over the crook of your arm and letting his little arm dangle along your arm. This position is usually assumed when baby is sleepy, and so his body is heavy and relaxed. He just molds to you and tucks in, like it's the best place in the world to be. It's pretty good from my end too, cuddling up with my little guy.

Eli will ever-so-slowly be looking around the room when he's getting in his sleepy/dazed mood. His eyes move across the room until they land on my face and then-magic!- a sloppy, lopsided grin gradually emerges. He coos. He partially closes his sleepy eyes, and leans his little head toward me. Magic, I tell you.

I love running my lips over the soft, peach fuzz hair on the top of his head. It's just so soft.

It's great cuddling with a very happy Eli in the morning when he wakes up for good (usually around 9). He smiles at me constantly and chatters away and we lay on the bed, my sweet little baby resting on the crook of my arm.

I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, there are so many wonderful moments of being a mom.There's no way I could possibly capture them all. But I'm glad that I get to try.

P.S. Here are a few videos of Eli for the grandmas out there. (That's just an excuse for me to post videos. Thanks for giving me the excuse, Mom and Loretta!)

Much Needed... and Received!

2011-10-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

The disadvantage to this past weekend is that my house is still the mess that it was Friday morning. The reason my house didn't get its usual Saturday morning cleaning? Well, I was a little too busy doing this...

Enjoying beautiful views across the Texas Hill Country

and this...

Eating really yummy food to celebrate my upcoming 27th birthday

and this...


Swimming in a pool with an awesome view. Yes, it was cold. Yes, it started pouring rain. Still cool.

And this...


Re-enacting a scene from a classic book, Tess of the D'ubervilles. Yes, I'm a literary nerd. And, yes, that's a little place we stumbled upon called Stonehenge II.

And, lastly, this...

Driving down this exceptionally pretty road with a cool wind blowing across my face.

to worry at all about dishes, laundry and yard work.

Last week, Mike asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. 'Get outta here,' I thought. So, I found a great deal on a hotel on Priceline and we decided to hit the road for a weekend free of work and worry. I may have needed a mini vacation something fierce. It may have something to do with going back to work and somehow suddenly being the only person in the Marketing Department. It may have something to do with an impromptu job interview and rumors about my unanticipated promotion.

Whatever the reason may have been, this was exactly what I needed.

A Chef in Sheep's Clothing

2011-09-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

There's a little website called Pinterest that I have been ~~wasting~~ spending too much time on lately. It has, at least, inspired me to try a few new recipes. I thought I would share the success and relative success* of a few of my new recipes.
I included a few photos I took and links to the original recipes too.

*Note: the relative success of any of the below recipes may or may not be based on the recipe itself, but on my inability to execute said recipe.

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

So...yum! Does the photo of this recipe (on the link) look amazing or what?! I have always loved mac and cheese and made a killer homemade version of this stuff my freshman year of college. Then I realized how expensive cheese was, and had to go back to the generic boxed stuff. Anyway, this recipe looked so delicious I had to try it.
My results:
I modified it a bit by swapping out the normal rotini for wheat rotini, which changed the color of my mac and cheese a bit, and added some fresh oregano from my garden, as well as cherry tomatoes to make the recipe a bit more healthy.
I accidentally added about half a box too much macaroni, for reasons which are beyond my grasp of understanding. I may have also not noticed that I was supposed to precook the noodles. About an hour into the crock pot time, I realized my mistakes and added some extra water and cheese. Even with my errors, the final result was pretty yummy! I look forward to trying it again and actually paying attention to the recipe. I give it 4 stars, with hopefully another star coming once user error is remedied.

Cheesy Potato Soup

My favorite food in the world may well be Panera's brocolli cheddar soup and stumbling upon this recipe made me think of just that. We had some friends staying the weekend with us (Trevor and Michelle, if you must know) and this was the perfect recipe to put in the crock pot during church.
My results:
Okay, so I didn't know what homestyle hashbrowns meant (apparently ones cut into squares?) so I just got the normal kind of hashbrowns. The result was that we had stringy potatoes in our soup instead of potato chunks. The soup was a bit bland even after adding the bacon and green onions to the top of it, but still qualifies as good comfort food. I give it 3 1/2 stars.

Fried Red Tomatoes

I've been getting these massive crates of tomatoes at Costco simply because they look so amazing that I can't resist. Hence, my sudden conundrum about what to do with 20 tomatoes. I have always wanted to try Fried Green Tomatoes and I thought to myself, Self, what about Fried Red Tomatoes instead? I found this recipe to get me going and modified it quite a bit with very yummy results!
My results:

I was out of flour and don't think I have once purchased cornmeal in my life, so I swapped those out for pancake mix and Italian bread crumbs. I also don't like to cook in vegetable oil, so I dry cooked these on my griddle. A bit of the dry ingredients fell off during the flipping, but the end result was nice and crispy, not greasy at all, which was well worth it. We ate these with some Mahi-Mahi cooked in a peach jalepeno sauce and they were the perfect side dish. I give them 5 stars!

Skinny Tuna Melt

Sometimes, I just love me some tuna! Seriously. I can't account for it. And an open-face, cheesy, carroty, tomato-topped tuna on whole wheat just sounded amazing.
Results:
Easy and fun to make. We were out of Mayo (I promise, I do occasionally go shopping... I just apparently fail to get what I need for my upcoming recipes) so I used Ranch dressing instead. When that ran out, I finished it off with some mustard and a few shakes of Italian dressing. On a funny side note, Mike asked if we had run out of bread because the sandwich was open-faced. Sheesh! How could he think I would ever run out of anything mid-recipe? Please! Anyway, the end result was quite delicious. As far as tuna sandwiches go, this one gets 5 stars.

As I've been typing these out, I am realizing what a preoccupied cook I am. I didn't cook even one of these recipes the way I was supposed to! Oops. Maybe I should focus on reading the recipe before throwing myself into it.

Naw... I think I'm good. And most of these recipes turned out fairly decent, errors and all.

Chopped!

2011-09-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

I did it! That's right, I chopped ten inches of my hair off and sent it to Locks of Love. I was debating about whether to do it or not, and based solely on all three (yes, three!) comments I got on my blog post, I decided to go for it. So, ladies and gentlemen, here's the sequence of events:

Before

During

Mid-way

The hair

And me now!

Quite a change, huh? Yay for being brave! This is the third time I've donated my hair, and probably will be one of the last times I'll be willing to grow my hair out so long, so I'm glad I got to do it.

From My Hometown

2011-09-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

I just spent ten wonderful days in the lovely city of Boise, Idaho. Those days were full of catching up with friends and family, rolling around in uber-green, lush grass, sleeping in,and late night conversations with Mom and Dad. Oh yeah, and shamelessly showing off my little man, Eli. Who, by the way, was an absolute champ during all 8 hours of flying time.

What a big boy!

Since the time there was so jam packed with fun, the only way my brain can categorize all the awesomeness is chronologically. So, first of all, there was:

Chinese food with Dad and browsing an awesome Farmer's Market

Introducing my big sister, Evelyn, to Eli, whom she adored


Dinner downtown in Boise's Basque District

Eli experiencing his first cold mornings! He was not a fan of wind.

I also had a great time catching up with old friends. There was a good amount of adventure, like:

Salsa dancing with Andrea

Stumbling upon midnight fire dancers downtown

And some truly sweet moments, like:

Watching Sharlee cuddle up with Eli

We also ate Thai food with our long-time buddy Lance, and had a ten-year reunion with two of my long-lost buds from high school, Chelsea and Stephanie. But due to my forgettfullness, there are no photos to document these momentous occasions. Yes, Thai food counts as momentous.

Ah, and then there was the trip to Rexburg to check on our townhouse (which is still kickin') across the beautiful mountain valleys.

Said beautiful mountain valleys

We stopped to:

Take photos at the same place I have a photo of me, like, 20 years ago.


Experience Arco's famous burgers.


Enjoy things I love that I can only get in Idaho.

Watch my sweet little boy laugh at his new toy

And, yes, that's right, I said laugh! Eli's first laugh occured on September 21 right after getting up. He was standing up, giving me these huge smiles, and suddenly this deep, hourse little, "Heh, heh, heh" came out. It was the most adorable thing!

In Rexburg, we made sure our townhouse was still standing, along with exploring some of my old stompin' grounds. After a long night of trying to get Eli to fall asleep, Mom and I even went for a late-night swim in the hotel pool. So fun. In addition, we:

Checked out the temple

Explored BYUI's new auditorium, which is amazing!

I think one of the best things was watching Mom and Dad with Eli. They both were so adorable.They loved holding him and making him laugh! I think Eli had a wonderful time, what with:

Laughing at Gram's high pitched whirring noise.

Dinner with Pops and Gram.

Falling asleep with Pops.


And rocking in this ginormous chair. (Is this not adorable?)

All in all, we had an amazing time! Just in case you made it this far, here are two short videos of Eli with my mom and my dad, both of whom he rewarded with lots of smiles and cuddles by the end of our trip!

The Long & Short of It

2011-09-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

I'm torn. My hair is the longest it has been in quite a while and I've been growing it out for three years. I was growing it out for the express purpose of donating it to Locks of Love (for the third time, woop, woop!) but now I'm kind of liking it. I've heard all about the post-pregnancy hair horrors though. You know, hair falling out by the handfuls in the shower while the Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho soundtrack plays in the background...

So, here's my dilemma. Keep it like this:

Or go back to these days:

Shorter certainly would be easier for when I go back to work at the end of September. But after years of growing it out, I want to get my "money's worth" before cutting it short. Yet I can't highlight it or color it if I want to donate it to Locks of Love, so I'm kind of stuck with keeping it exactly the same if I don't cut it.

Opinions? Long? Short? Slaps upside the head for the brain power I'm expending thinking about this at all? Help me!

Potty Humor

2011-09-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

I came home from an outing with a friend a few months ago to find this in the yard:

Ah, my husband. He's a funny guy. I especially love that my Orange Esperanza plant was just chilling out. In my toilet bowl. On my front lawn. For all the neighbors to see.

Classy.

But the fact that our old toilet has, ahem, kicked the can is definitely a good thing. It means our upstairs bathroom is pretty much completed (and I have to be honest, it has been for a while, along with 95% of this blog post... having a baby kind of got in the way of completing both!). Anyway, both bathrooms are now decked out with energy-efficient toilets we got for FREE from the San Antonio Water System.

Toilets aren't all this blog post is about though. If you think back to the photos of our bathroom when we moved in, it had some awesome characters hanging around, like these guys:

Can you handle how amazing it was?

Nah, we couldn't either.

Since then, we have painted the upstairs bathroom, despite a debacle with the ceiling paint, installed new hardware, baseboards (to replace the old pink, orange and green ones) and a light fixture. I glazed the cabinets, a la my master bathroom, framed the mirror, framed one of my photographs, and also got some fun new decor. We did all this, including paint, stain, hardware, new light, and even the little things like caulk, for about $300. Comparing it to our old bathroom, I feel great about upping our house's resale value. I'm counting on a pretty good ROI! At some point, we're going to get a new countertop and faucet, but we thought we'd keep the redo cost low for now.

So...here's the much anticipated before and after shots. Ready?

Before

After

And after.

I still kind of want to frame out the mirror, but that turned into a bigger project that I anticipated (How do you make the molding lay flat around the little things that hold up the mirror? The molding is too small to notch into, so do you build out the rest of the mirror?). Even not having that tiny bit finished, I still feel like our bathroom is much better than it used to be.

And if you happen to know anyone who loves Sponge Bob decor, I might know someone who has a net, piggy bank, soap holder, glass figurine, tooth brush holder, treasure chest, sea shell mobile....

Milestones

2011-08-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

One of Eli's first smiles

The past few weeks have flown by in one busy, sleepy blur of baby. And as of Monday, our little baby boy was eight weeks old. Eight! Has this little boy really been a part of our lives for that long? It's flown by!
I happened upon a baby developmental milestone webpage the other day, and it got me noticing all of the little things Eli has been doing, like at:

4 Weeks: smiling
5 weeks: standing, pushing off of lap
6 weeks: blowing bubbles
8 weeks: screaming

It's really quite impressive, these milestones. And maybe a bit silly (blowing bubbles... really?). We've had these firsts:

One of the first baths after the umbilical cord fell off (and already too big for the hospital bathtub!)


First time making it through 3 hours of church... and lookin' a little dazed, I must say.

First time being dressed up by Mommy and her friends.

Our little guy is really growing, and I even have some video evidence. If you get sick of listening to a gushing, goober-fic new mom, just feel free to mute me. I really can't help the decibel level of my voice when talking to Eli.

Here's him at only 5 days old...

And only 4 weeks old....

And now...

(The smiles are best at the beginning and end, but he's pretty darn cute throughout.)

I promise, he does occasionally wear clothes. Anyway, being the one that gets to witness all these firsts is pretty awesome.We're so happy to have our little chunky monkey (14 pounds now!) in our lives!

Done!

2011-08-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

It only took three months and five days, but I am proud to announce that Eli's long awaited dresser is finally finished! It went from this...

To this:

Okay, maybe it doesn't look like that drastic of a change, but somehow it was a loooot of work! And after:

Three repaintings (I am not the smoothest painter)
Two complete sandings
The help of one old college roomie, one sister-in-law, one father, and one disgruntled husband
Three drawer rebuildings by said increasingly perturbed husband
One very unfortanate episode with polyurethane (not for white furniture, friends! that is, unless you want happenin' yellow streaks down your white furniture)
Six pull swap outs

You can clearly see that furniture resortation may not be for us. I may have even promised Mike that I will never again bring home a free, Craig's List find that requires his wood working skills. Ikea was looking mighty fine at some points during the project.

But, with all that said, I kind of adore the end project. Isn't it beautiful?

Officially a Family

2011-08-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, our handsome little man was blessed. His daddy, aka our handsome big man, did a beautiful job on the blessing and it was so great to have our family and friends there to celebrate with us.

My friend Becca told me a few weeks ago that she had always thought of the day your first baby was blessed as the day that you became a real family. And, while I feel like Mike and I have been a family for quite a while, I also understand the meaning of her statement. Having that little baby in your arms is what gives your family this sudden, special, indescribable spark of beauty.

Hearing Mike bless Eli was so sweet, a father expressing all his righteous hopes for his newborn son. And then, there was the part that is forever my favorite during any blessing: when the daddy holds up his newborn baby for everyone to see. Eli was totally passed out, his little arms dangling and a perfectly calm expression on his face. How perfect.

We love you, little Eli, and are so happy to have you in our family. Especially now that it's official. : )

Hiccups

2011-08-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

They're adorable. That's all.

Life with Eli

2011-08-04T16:10:00.000-07:00

What can I say about the last few weeks? Our little guy is only 4 weeks old, and such a blessing. Besides that, he's just so much fun... and so dang cute! Those puckered lips, those blue eyes, the way he focuses on my face and grunts in recognition. So much fun.

Quite a few things have changed in the last few weeks, including:

Having our wonderful family come visit. It's been so much fun to have Mike's sisters, mom and dad, and my mom and dad in town. They absolutely adore Eli and I just can't get enough of seeing him with Grammy or Gram or Pops. It's so precious. Mike also took a full two weeks off of work after we brought Eli home. I'm such a lucky girl!

Awaking during the night. Yes, yes, I am deep in the midst of what everyone mentions when referencing newborns: sleep deprivation! Yes, my back is killing me from falling asleep sitting up. Yes, I did develop a truly alarming habit of locking my jaw and grinding my teeth while in said sitting position. Yes, I haven't been showering until the afternoons. Yes, I've grown accustomed to being spit up on. All the new mommy stereotypes are true. But guess what? Waking up in the middle of the night to feed Eli is-gasp!-almost fun. He's just so sweet and so patient with me. He only cries until I wake up and stumble toward him, then he is content while I bumble around in the room looking for a burp cloth, my pillow, my water... my mind... What a sweetie, even at 2 a.m.

Taking lots and lots of photos. Eli has only been alive 4 weeks and I think I've averaged taking about 250 photos a week. Yeah. I'm a little out of control.

He's just that great.

Being Ready

2011-07-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

If you'd happened to glance at the white board in our kitchen about 2 years ago, you would have seen the words, "Show me you are ready."

I remember getting this impression after praying that Mike and I would be able to have a baby one day. A few simple words, a transfer of the proverbial ball from God's court to mine. Was I ready to have a baby? Was I showing God that I was?

I remember thinking at the time, what does it mean to "be ready" for a child? I thought of a lot of different ways to prove my readiness to Heavenly Father - by strengthening my spirituality, my marriage, my physical means. And looking back over the past two years, since I wrote that message on my white board to when little Eli joined our family, I am more ready. I can't help but see the irony in the fact that only two months after we bought our house here, I found out I was pregnant. Sure, tons of people have babies while living in apartments or small quarters, but maybe buying this house with lots of extra rooms (one that I called my craft room but secretly thought of as a nursery) was a leap of faith, a way to show God that I was making plans for future kids, even if they weren't here yet.

Also, Mike and I seem so much more prepared now to be parents. Any marriage has its ups and downs, but the last two years have really been essential to us building an even stronger, happier relationship. I feel good about bringing a baby into us.

When I was about 4 months pregnant, Mike and I went to the temple. I was sitting there, holding my belly and praying that, if everything was meant to be, that I would feel a closeness to this little baby, that I would be able to bond with him even though I was scared. Right at that moment, I felt him kick the exact spot where my hand was. That was the first time I felt our little guy move. It was his, and God's, way of letting me know that everything would be okay and that I could open myself up to the vulnerability of loving this little baby growing in my belly.

I think that all this time, the waiting, praying and thinking about how I can prove my readiness, has made me the type of woman that will cherish (most of) the moments of motherhood. I can't say that I'll be the epitome of patience or the most exemplary mom out there, but I know that I will value this gift of being a mom.

In fact, the other night, Eli was laying in his Pack & Play beside our bed. It was about 6 a.m. and I had fed him, rocked him and finally put him down. I lay in my bed beside him, listening to him fuss and grunt, thinking, "Sorry, little man. I've done everything I know how to do. You might just have to ride this one out." Well, all of two seconds later, I found myself at his side, lifting him up out of his crib to hold him to my chest. The instant I picked up, he left out this ginormous burp. It was pretty funny and I instantly thought, hey, that's what was bothering you. And, maybe because it was 6 a.m. and I was sleep deprived, I suddenly started crying, thinking, "This is motherhood. This is my chance at being a mom. I don't have to listen to him 'cry it out' if I don't want to. I can just hold him, even if I'm tired and I know I should be sleeping. This is my chance." It just seemed so beautiful.

This is my baby, and I get to love him.

Belated Showering

2011-07-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

So, with all the hullabaloo (read: excellence) in my life lately, I realized that I forgot to post about my baby shower here in San Antonio.

Some of the ladies at the end of the night.

It was so great, and a wonderful excuse to get together with all of the pals I've made the last three years. My friends Becca, Aimee, and Laura threw the shower for me, and they are just so creative and fun. Here's some of the cute things they did:

The most entertaining, and scariest, activity occured as my friends got to cut up photos of Mike and me and paste our faces together to showcase what little Eli would look like. Some of the results were truly terrifying. Fortunately, he ended up a lot cuter that just a combination of Mike's and my features!

My sister-in-law, Tiffany, came down with my old college roomie, Tracy for the shower. I also had friends come from both of the wards I've been in here and some friends from when I worked at the Humane Society. I am so lucky to have great people around me, especially with family so far away. Here's some of the lovely ladies chowing down and chatting:

It was a great night, and a great way to get excited for the arrival of our little man.

Eli's Birth Story

2011-07-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

Eli Alton Foulk

Born July 4th, 2011 at 3:24 a.m.

7 lbs, 10 ounces

20 inches

and absolutely perfect.

Hello world! Mommy, will you tell me the story of how I was born?

Of course, little baby boy. It was a dark, stormy night in San Antonio, Texas. Just kidding. Mommy's funny like that. It was actually a sweltering hot San Antonio afternoon when Mommy went to the hospital, and a little over a week before your due date. Mommy and Daddy were pretty sure you were on your way though. Mommy's body was getting ready to have you and she woke up Sunday morning leaking her water.

Mommy is so happy you are here safe.

Daddy was ready to go to the hospital right then, but Mommy didn't want to be at the hospital forever, so they went for a walk, ate a really big breakfast and lunch, drank a lot of water, showered and put on makeup (okay, just Mommy did the makeup part). Daddy thought it was silly that Mommy was putting makeup on, but she wanted to look nice when you got here. Mommy's silly like that. Mommy and Daddy arrived at the hospital, and it took them a long time to find parking, so it's a good thing Mommy wasn't having painful contractions.
When Mommy got to the hospital at about 1:30 p.m., she went in to use the restroom and that's when the real excitement began - Mommy's water really broke! She had to put her purse in front of her as they walked the rest of the way to Labor and Delivery.
In Labor and Delivery, Mommy told the nurses that she wanted to have you more naturally so that you would arrive healthy and alert. The nurses were really nice, and the doctor too, so they let Mommy walk around and bounce on her birth ball for 4 hours. Finally, Dr. Satterfield came in and stripped Mommy's membranes (sorry, baby, if that's too much information for you). Dr. Satterfield asked Daddy if Mommy had a high pain tolerance because Mommy was able to be pretty calm during it. Mommy sure hoped she did with you on the way!
At about 8 p.m., Dr. Satterfield came in and said that she wanted to give Mommy just a little bit of Pitocin to help you make it into the world more quickly. Mommy was getting a little restless too, so she was alright with that. At 9:30, she took some pain meds that made her very sleepy, but she could still feel the pain. By 10:30 though, Mommy was exhausted. She was able to use lots of relaxation techniques and breath calmly, but was still feeling pretty tired. The nurses said that, since your heart beat was nice and strong, Mommy could still get a low dose epidural, which sounded good to her. Mommy was finally able to rest and at about 2:30, she got to start pushing. Only 45 minutes later, you came into the world!
You were so alert and instantly wanted to look around at the world. Mommy shaded your eyes from the bright hospital lights and you didn't stop admiring the world around you the whole time Mommy and Daddy got to be with you after your birth.

6 Hours Old

I remember Daddy holding me right away. Was he there the whole time?

This is one proud Daddy.

Yes, your Daddy was amazing. He gave Mommy back massages when her contractions hurt, got to help hold her feet during the pushes, and even cut your umbilical cord. He was so sweet and was there every time Mommy needed him. In fact, Mommy only changed one diaper the whole time you were in the hospital because Daddy did such a good job. Changing diapers and burping you were Daddy's fortes. He loved holding you tenderly and laughing at all the sweet and funny faces you made at him. Since being home, Daddy makes sure Mommy stays hydrated and makes her a big, warm breakfast every morning. He holds you early at night while Mommy gets some sleep, and first thing in the morning so that she can sleep in after having stayed up with you during the wee hours of the morning. You are a very lucky baby to have a Daddy that loves you so much.

Seeing Mommy for the first time.

How was I the rest of the time we were at the hospital?

You were so beautiful. That's the word everyone used to describe you. Your delivery nurses and doctor mentioned that you didn't look like a newborn because your face was so round and you looked so developed. They thought you looked more like a 3-week old. You had the biggest hands and feet. During your circumcision, Dr. Heck commented that they called you "Crazy Feet" because of all of the contortions you were making with your little legs. You had a few visitors in the hospital, and since you were born on the 4th of July, Mommy and Daddy's friend brought them a picnic complete with Dad's Root Beer. Mommy and Daddy are looking forward to celebrating your birthday every year and calling you their little "firecracker."

I've been home almost a week now. How am I doing?

You are such a sweet, good baby. You got to nurse right after Mommy delivered you, and you have loved every second of it since. You make the funniest little noises and have gained 2 ounces a day since Mommy and Daddy brought you home - two times what you are supposed to gain! Your little cheeks are getting rounder, and so is your head. Your hair is turning blonder and getting longer. You have peed on yourself three times and Mommy already can see that she's going to be doing lots of laundry. You love to watch Mommy and Daddy and look at the world with your big, blue, alert eyes. Your Mommy and Daddy adore you, and since you came into the world, you have instantly become the most precious, beautiful part of their lives.

Musings on... labor?

2011-06-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

I've always heard about the physical effects of going into labor, but today, it's been more about the mental side of things. As in, my brain ceasing to function. Is this what it feels like to go into labor?

Me and my beautiful belly.

Not being able to focus on my work emails at all. Staring at a half finished email, telling myself, "Allison, focus. Focus." Being impressed at my email writing prowess when I finally hit send.
Having a general sense of discomfort prompt an incessant bout of Eli's hiccups, which then strikes me as ridiculously sweet.
Staring at the word "bout" in the above sentence for a good 10 seconds before remembering that is wasn't spelled either "bount" or "boute."
Stopping at the library on my way home from work to get the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD and sporadically pausing because of pains. Wondering why I'm at the library.
Realizing that we might have a baby around the 4th of July. That sounds fun. Every birthday would be a national holiday. Remembering the few times my birthday fell on Columbus Day. That was great.
Coming home to research what exactly my doctor did when she said she "swirled my cervix" this morning. Is this the same thing as a membrane sweep? I'm confused. Whatever she did, I distinctly remember hearing the, "this could make you go into labor today" part. That was unexpected.
Thinking, "I should take a Tylenol. Duh."Then realizing that a Tylenol would be pretty futile if I'm actually in labor.
Wondering why my hands are shaky. Realizing it's 2:30 and all I've eaten today is a donut. Thinking that that's probably a bad idea, but being disinclined to move.
Vaguely worrying about three work projects I have yet to finish. Thinking about my boss getting induced next week and being mildly entertained by the fact that I might go into labor sooner than her.
Asserting that, if I don't go into labor immediately, I am no longer driving anywhere for work. Or for groceries.
Noting that I need to ask Mike to get milk tonight on his way home from work. And then do the dishes.
Thinking, "I'm not thinking very clearly. I should write a blog post about this. It seems surreally amusing."
Making up the word surreally.

Getting There

2011-06-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

As of today, I have three weeks until my due date on July 12th. YAY! Life has been treating me mostly good. This Texas heat (over 100 for, what, more than a week now?) is driving me a bit batty, but maybe it's making little baby ready to join our family and be out of his boiling hot momma. At my last doctor's appointment, my doc was surprised to see that I'm a little more ready to deliver than she had expected. She's out of town this week, so we'll hope that my contractions stay 8 minutes apart and uncomfortable, as opposed to 5 minutes apart and more than uncomfortable.

However, based on my doc's assessment, Mike and I went out and promptly bought our car seat and stroller this past weekend. I'm packing my hospital bag tonight too, and we're going to try to finish the blasted baby dresser that has nearly been the death of us.

Don't worry, little baby, we're almost ready for you. It's just that, if you joined us now, our house would be a little more messy that I would ideally like and we'd definitely nee to send Daddy out on a few shopping sprees for some of the smaller things we are missing.

Anyway, here's a few pictures of me over the last little while:

32 weeks

36 weeks

It'll be interesting to see if we get to the week 40 photo or not... I'm starting to lean toward not. Whatever happens, we are just getting more and more excited to actually have our sweet little baby join our family.

Blessings

2011-06-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was full of blessings, and I'd be missing out majorly if I didn't take a few moments to reflect on them. The first involves one of my friends from the job at the Humane Society I had a few years back. About 6 months ago, James added me as a friend on Facebook. He was one of the volunteers that I managed and was always super nice and willing to help. A day or two after he added me as a friend, he messaged me one night and we caught up about life. A bit into the conversation, he asked me what LDS was. He has seen it as my religion on Facebook. I explained that it was also known as the Mormon religion. He was really excited and had lots of questions for me. Over the next few months, James and I had sushi a few times, he accepted my gift of the Book of Mormon and a few Christmas videos, he met Mike, I met his family and lizard, he came to church with us and we eventually introduced him to the missionaries (we had to wait until he turned 18).

Well, this past Saturday, he was baptized! It was really amazing. James asked Mike to baptize him, which was an awesome experience for Mike since he hasn't baptized anyone since his mission. It's been really neat to see James progress in the gospel - he's been so open and sincere that it has reminded me that we all should be willing to accept new truth, take it into our hearts and change.

The next blessing was literally just that - Mike's new neice's blessing in Dallas. Right after James' baptism, we headed to Dallas for the baby blessing of little miss Callie Jane Kurtz. She was so sweet in her blessing dress and it was great to be around family for a few short days. Plus, Tiffany gave me a huge Tupperware full of baby boy clothes that have been passed down through the last few boys in the Foulk family. How lucky am I!

It's great to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and to be able to witness all these life changing events. I'm so grateful that Mike and I have this security and comfort in our lives and that we get to be part of gospel as it blesses the lives of others.

Parenting Choices

2011-06-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, there are a LOT of them! I'm realized what a demanding role being a parent must be. To do it well, it really seems like you need all of your talents, intelligence and humility, along with a good dose of God-given support and sanctification, in order to make the choices that are best for your child. I don't even have the little guy in my arms yet, but my head has been swarming with options, like:

Disposable diapers or cloth ones?
Adorable bed skirt or SIDS-safe hard railing?
Travel system or unique-to-your needs stroller and car seat?

This doesn't even include all of those other issues, like taking maternity leave, how long to let the little guy sleep in our room, how to navigate the whole childbirth thing, what kind of bottles/binkies/swaddling blankets to buy, etc. I know I'm not the first one of you to tackle these issues, so we're going to play a little game here, called,
I've tentatively decided to...

Here are the rules. I tell you what I've tentatively decided to do and you tell me if it is a) a brilliant idea b) a passable option or c) something that will eventually warrant me locking myself in the pantry and eating through a year's supply of PopTarts.

Deal?

So, here are my issues:

A. Diapers: I've tentatively decided to go with these:

Yes, my friends. I think I'm going with cloth diapers, the FuzziBunz brand to be exact. The motivating factor behind my decision? Check out that lime green color. Seriously. Enough to warrant cloth diapers! Okay, just kidding. Several of my friends have gone this route and absolutely love them. Also, I'm kind of keen on the idea of saving thousands of dollars and not having synthetic materials up against the little guys most sensitive parts. Just don't judge me as too wacko. I still eat donuts and use insect repellent.

B. Labor & Delivery:
Yikes! This seems like one of those things that should be straightforward, but there are an endless array of options these days, from scheduling a C-Section around your business meetings (because that is soooo me) to birthing your baby in a kiddie pool at home. I guess I'm nervous that what should be simple--you know, the regular birthing procedure as seen on numerous television shows and movies--could actually have an overwhelming variety of options. I think I've decided to go with as natural of a birth as possible. I'm not saying I'm not open to an epidural, but I'd like to see how long I can go without introducing it into the mix since I'd prefer to have a smaller amount of drugs than a greater amount. I'd rather not be induced; I'd rather not have a C-Section. Ideally, I can draw on some of my crazy theater training to put myself in a calm/tender state of mind and relax to some music. I've heard people say it can be done... simultaneously, I can't help but hear the snickers of the folks out there that think like this sounds like crazy talk. Mostly, I want to have a healthy baby and shorter recovery time. Hopefully things will go my way, but if they don't, as long as we have a healthy little boy at the end of it all, I'll be happy.

C. Other stuff:
Stroller: We're thinking this one. Anyone love it/hate it?
Maternity leave: 12 weeks, which is the most I can take. Looking forward to every minute of it.
Bottles & Binkies: Whoa, too many brands out there! Recommendations?

Okay, that's about it for now. I feel better. This may have been one of those womanly blog posts where I really just needed to vent about what was stressing me out, and now I feel better, even though my problems aren't solved.

However, if you have knowledge to share, please do so! Also, if you just have any wisdom about baby stuff, let me in on it. What do you wish you'd have known when you were buying/preparing things for your little one?

Wedding Day Bliss

2011-05-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've finally organized my photos-and brain-enough to tell about the most exciting day of my vacation: Andrea's wedding! In the days leading up to the wedding, Andrea let me be pretty involved. I got to help with the corsages and boutineirs, frosting cupcakes, and icing two of her wedding cakes! I also got to help with her hair the morning of the wedding (and that was slightly stressful, I must admit) and cooking the pasta for her luncheon. I have to say - I'd forgotten how much work weddings are!

However, watching Andrea in the temple with her husband made everything worth it. Dria and I have known each other for more than 10 years, and I don't think I've seen her any more beautiful... or more happy. Here's a collage (can you tell I just figured out an easy way to make collages?) of the wedding morning and being at the temple on the wedding day, Friday, April 21st. Oh, and Andrea's theme was a vintage wedding from the 1930s/40s, which is perfect for her and Stephen since they are both amazing swing dancers and very into anything vintage.

The next part of the day was her luncheon and then reception, all vintage inspired, of course. Oh, and check out the cakes I decorated, the two bigger ones. Can you tell that I'm proud? And speaking of amazing talent, Andrea's sister, Rachel, made her wedding dress! Isn't that, like, incredible? The pictures on the park bench are part of a retro photo booth where you could dress up silly and get a photo taken- one of the many fun touches, like Italian sodas I am still craving.

No event, or fleeting moment even, in Andre's life would be complete without dancing. Here's some of the fun of the night. And, yes, that is me in the big purple dress swing dancing! It was quite fun. Andrea's friend, Lathan, even danced with both of us at the same time. Classic. Oh, and I even got in a Bachata, Meringue and even a small amount of the Lindy Hop. Not too shabby for a pregnant lady, if you ask me.

Overall, her wedding was brilliant and I am so happy that I could be there. It was truly a beautiful day.

Showers for one and all!

2011-05-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

This past week while visiting Boise, I was the recipient of a baby shower. You know, one with all the traditional games that I've played a million times in the last 7 years. But trust me, they are definitely more fun when you're the one being showered! It was so nice to see all the ladies in my family and a few friends too. Here are of the fun moments from the shower:

Just to make the weekend more shower-centered, the next night, I threw my long time best bud, Andrea, a little bachelorette party involving pedicures, pizza certified by the Italian government (no lie), and run-by confettyings. Here's evidence of that evening:

Thanks for making my shower wonderful, family and friends, and I hope I did the same for you, Andrea!

Love is...

2011-05-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

When your husband texts you good morning and that he loves you as he's getting ready for work. Love is also that you, at 5:58 a.m. and while on vacation 5 states away, manage to text him back that you love him too.

This past week, I escaped the craziness of work, church and baby preparations to spend some much needed time with my mom, dad, and friends. I have loads to tell about the trip, but first, I just wanted to share some things that typify my awesome mom and dad.

Me and the 'rents on our Glacier/Canada trip in 2001

I remember going on a family vacation my senior year of high school to Glacier National Park in Montana. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Like, the most beautiful place I have ever been. And Mom and Dad were hilarious. They were so funny throughout the trip that I started taking notes on the amusing things they said and did. (Sorry, Mom and Dad, if this mortifies you.) I still remember some of them. For example,

Aunt Elma, looking over the edge of a glacier in awe: You can't get any closer to heaven!

Mom: [Said with a hint of humor and a good dose of maternal warning] Step over that edge and you can.

and,

Mom: What a great day to fly a kite!

Dad: What a bad day to wear a toupee.

Maybe you have to know my parents to find these little exchanges funny, but trust me, they are hilarious. Anyway, there's just no way I could spend a whole week in Boise without resorting to the proverbial scribbling in my notepad (which now equated to typing on my iPhone). Here are some of the funny things they said and did, along with some sweet moments for memory's sake:

Mom, Dad, and I have always been a bit like the three musketeers and when I visit, we just can't force ourselves to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Usually we end up talking until midnight or 1 a.m., sometimes sprawling out on my parents' bed to tell stories and entertain ourselves. Finally one of us makes the call to actually head to bed. It is at this point that my dad always, and I mean, each and every night, says, "Anybody up for a game of Red Dog?" I have to admit, I have no idea what Red Dog is. I think Dad explained it to me at one point, but I can't remember. It's arbitrary too, because I'm pretty sure Dad has never actually played this game, and certainly not during the time period that Mom and I have known him. Dad and I used to stay up ridiculously late playing chess, but... Red Dog? Invariably, Mom and I just give him a look that says he's a weirdo and head off to sleep, too tired to take off our makeup or ask what this bizarre game that only enters into his head at midnight actually is.

My parents are ta-aaa-aaa-aaalkers! While riding in the back of their car to take my dad to the chiropracter, I couldn't help but just listen to their conversation. They were reminiscing about when cars had actual wood on the sides of them (not decals) and about when you'd have to put wood underneath your feet by the gas pedal to keep them from popping out onto the street beneath. They both were so excited and happy, just reminiscing about life and enjoying each other's company. After being married for 25 years and nearing their 70s, it awesome to see that they still have so much love for talking to each other. No sitting at McDonalds in stony, aged silence for my parents!

Mom and me at BYUI's Mother's Weekend in 2003

Mom is really rather hip for her age, but I can't help telling this story on her. We were sitting in Shari's, my old high school hangout place, eating breakfast at 11 p.m. at night (which is sooo my family - Mom and Dad used to wake me up in the middle of the night when I was little to take me to a truck stop for pie). Mom was talking about American Idol and said, "I love Josh Durbin! He reminds me of Aerospace!" (IE, Aerosmith), followed shortly by, "... posted on Chatter." I couldn't help but cracking up. In her defense, she actually knows who Josh Durbin is (I do not and had to look up how to spell his name) and it was pretty late. She later said that at HP, where she still works full-time, they have a chat system called Chatter and also that she talks to people who work for NASA all the time on the phone. I think the last one's a bit of a stretch, Mom, but I'll give it to you. You are pretty hip, otherwise, even if you do occasionally have a slip of the tongue that makes me chuckle.

Dad at the Foulk's second apt in 2005. What a goof.
My Dad is a story teller. An extreme one. Most the people in our extended family know that if Dad offers to tell a story, you better a) pack a lunch or b) run screaming from the room. Dad used to entertain me endlessly with his made up tales about the lady bug family that lived off of Fairview and had twenty kids. The lady bug dad was a dead beat alchoholic and the poor mother had to tie all twenty kids' eight footed sneakers before sending them off to school in the morning. It was a real tear jerker. Then there's his classic Christmas Bell Story (just when you think Santa's going to pick the littlest bell to adorn his sleigh, he changes his mind and goes for the glossy, big one) and his beloved impersonation of a fork and... well, you get the idea. This past week, he introduced us to his midget joke, which essentially involved him climbing onto a very wobbly chair while Mom and I squealed for him to get off, reaching his hand up very high, and saying, "Once their was a midget who was this... [lowering his hand about a foot] well, really this... [dropping his hand down lower]... actually, this [reaching his hand down past the back of the chair]... tall." So pretty much, the chair was 100% superfluous. Besides scaring us with the wobbly chair and his seemingly inevitable crash to the ground, he actually had us laughing. A lot. I think Mom was crying, even, and threw her pillow at him, yelling something along the lines of, "You idiot! You could have broken your neck! [Pause. Giggle] This tall!"

Us at the airport right before I left.

I think you can see why I enjoy going home so much, and why I cherish all the fun moments I have with my parents. They're great. Also, I'm pretty sure I've inherited some of their craziness. If my kids ever comment that I'm embarrassingly weird or unbearably silly, I plan on taking it as a compliment. That's how I mean it.

Cuz, Mom and Dad, you two are crazy. And very loved.

Nursery Nesting

2011-05-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

This is the most. exciting. blog. post. of. all. TIME!
My amazingly talented big sis, Laurie, came to stay with us for a few days and volunteered to put her vast interior design skills to work. Within just two days, Mini Mike's room went from this...


Before

To this...

After

Isn't it amazing?! I think I am in love. Here's a breakdown of what we did:

1. I found my inspiration online and emailed Laurie the link. I also sent her the bed skirt I had, which matches a very calm, sweet bedding set in cream with subtle green and brown accents. She came to San Antonio full of ideas, technique and color swatches.

2.Mike and I scraped the popcorn off of the ceilings and painted them a nice, crisp white.

3.Laurie and I scraped more of the lovely texture off of the walls and then painted the room a Granny Apple green.

4. We taped off the trees using the picture above. Laurie has a patented method that keeps the paint in nice, crisp straight lines. With our ridiculously bumpy walls, it took even more patience than normal, but, after four steps and three coats of paint, the trees were finally outlined on the walls.

5. I printed out inspiration and drew birds, leaves, and an adorable little owl onto the walls. We painted them on with little artists brushes.

6. We decided to personalize it, so I added a cute little owl to the wall that will watch over baby, and even painted a heart with "M + A" on one of the trees.

7. Laurie pioneered the curtains. We found these beautiful green ones at Target and Laurie added a blue ribbon to them that matched the birds on the walls perfectly.

8. We found some adorable accessories, like a lamp we painted blue, a cute little white bird and a wall print that matches the room perfectly.

9. Mike and I crammed a crib into our Camry and he and Laurie put it together while I watched and laughed. We scored the crib from Craig's List for only $150 (originally $429 at Baby's R Us!), and the versatile thing will even convert to a toddler bed and then a full size bed, eventually. It matches the tree color perfectly!

10. We added bedding. I was pretty exhausted, so mostly I sat on the ground and pretended to be asleep.

11. Laurie and I found an antique white dresser on Craig's List and brought in home, which was quite the adventure. For the cost of gas to drive to Comfort, Texas and a box of bakery items, we scored this dresser, which still needs some TLC and will be our next project.

12. We posed like cheesy interior designers and architects in our room, Architectural Digest style. Oh yeah, we did this.

Baby-Rrific

2011-05-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

The other day, Mike tenderly patted my belly and then looked at me with a gentle smile, saying:
"I never thought your belly would get this big."

He said it so sweetly that all I could do was laugh. Since it's been a while since you've seen mini Mike in all his glory, here's a shot of his face profile from my last (and most likely final) ultrasound:

He hand is right up by his eyebrow, in case you're wondering what that is. And a few updates:

The ultrasound tech said that everything is totally normal with his little kidneys now. They were initially measuring a little big, which I guess it relatively common with boys. Maybe this was a bit of a blessing for me, since it meant I got to see him every month.
I got to see a fuzzy bit of white on the ultrasound, which is apparently his hair, along with some extra other white lining on his cheeks and belly, which is developing fat.
I also got to see him sucking his thumb. Crazy.
The ultrasound tech measured his head and then said, "Oh, he's a little chunky!" Followed by his belly measurements, and, "Yup, he's pleasantly plump."
Baby's now weighing in at 4 pounds. Woop!

Here's me, in all my glory, a few weeks back:

28 weeks!

I'll post one of my at 32 weeks (as of this upcoming Tuesday) soon too.

Busy Bee

2011-05-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Life has been flying by lately. We've had lots of fun and exciting adventures, but they are making all the days blur into one!

First of all, we were lucky to have Mike's sisters, Lindsay and Tiffany, come down from Dallas for a fun few days. Lindsay and her little girl, Allie, were visiting from Boston since Tiffany just had a little baby girl, Callie. We relaxed a bit, and also went out to this fun restaurant called Willie's that comes decked out with a sandbox for the kiddos. The food was pretty good too, so we'll definitely put this place on our list for the future!

This past weekend was also none other than Time Out for Women, aka, the perfect excuse for me and my old roomie, Tracy, to reconnect and have a blast. Highlights from the conference include:

Us acting like 14 year-olds while Jericho Road turned it back boy band style.

Enjoying the beautiful River Walk.

Hanging out in Hemisphere Park and strolling past the old houses.

Tracy making me take cheesy pregnancy pictures. (30 weeks along!)

Life on the Border

2011-05-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, I headed off with one of the physicians I work with to the thriving metropolis of Del Rio, Texas for a marketing trip. Del Rio happens to be one of those fun border cities (fortunately on our side of the border) that are generally avoided by most sane people. But because the docs there send patients to our group, we got to visit this awesome little town to work on forming some new relationships. So off we headed to Del Rio.

If this is the "Best of the Border"...

We stayed at the nicest hotel in town, a Hampton Inn. Our fancy lunch out was Chili's. And me and the doctors I work with made endless jokes about the purported "historical sophistication" and "playful spirit" of Del Rio, as advertized on the Hampton Inn website. Dr. E even almost had me convinced that he bought a Frommer's Guide to a 1/2 Day in Del Rio.

Let me just say, this whole trip was weird.

Sunday night started out pretty good, with us driving around looking for a place to eat once we arrived at about 9 p.m. Everywhere was closed, so we kept on heading south on Main St, until we saw this big bridge. Dr. D and I exchanged a glance and my favorite quote of the trip occured:

"Yeah, we better turn around. Mexico is three blocks that way."

Ultimately, we scored some pretty tasty Mexican food at this little place we stumbled upon:

I then spent the rest of the night added the squiggly line above all the "n"s on the Spanish translation of our Colon Cancer Awareness cards until midnight while simultaneously watching My Fair Wedding, coverage of the Bin Laden story, and a special on the royal wedding. That's what happens when you don't have cable at home: channel overload.

The next morning, we were all set to go bright and early, but apparently Del Rio was not ready for us. We were stood up twice and then finally got to meet a physician who, as Dr. D said, seemed to be either a A) cardboard cutout of a real person or B) a hostage with a gun to his head forced to simply stare vacantly and nod no matter what we said.

With these successful encounters fresh on our minds, we abandoned Del Rio and fled to a lake that was just north of town hoping to see something pretty that would rejuvenate our spirits. It was working pretty well until Dr. D asked if this was that lake where the US jet skier was shot by Mexican pirates. A quick search on my phone revealed that that lake was south of the one we were checking out, fortunately. Our confidence was a bit shaken though, so we headed back to the populous of Del Rio.

The visits got quite a bit better. Sure, there was the office that smelled of urine and a few more supremely bizarre physicians, but we also had a few good visits that should generate some business for us. The trip was pretty authentically Mexican too, since we listened to Hispanic rock music the entire time and I got to learn a few Spanish words (like nueces, or nuts).

Oh, and we got to go through customs, which was exciting for me. We were also constantly surrounded by a plethora of border patrol vehicles. I even got to see my favorite dog (a German Shephard) searching through an endless row of train cars.

When I got home, I was exhausted (we met 17 physician in one day... sheesh!) but also felt like I had taken a mini vacation to a bizarre little part of the world. And I was even still alive. How's that for success?

Stay & Float

2011-04-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

In an effort to get all of our wanderlust out before baby arrives, Mike and I headed to the Texas Hill Country for a fun, water-filled weekend - and our anniversary!

We rented a neat little cabin with our friends, the Andersens, which overlooked a ravine with the Guadeloupe River coursing through it. Okay, coursing is a bit strong of a word. More like gently meandering. While hitting lots of shallow spots and rocks along the way.

Which is what we did when we floated it. Oh well. We emerged only a little sun-burned and bruised, but infinitely more relaxed. As any Texas vacation necessitates, we ate copious amounts of food (shish-kabobs, taco salads, burgers, etc.), played a tiny bit of horseshoes and just enjoyed the views.

Oh, and Mike got bit by a fish.

Also, happy anniversary to us. We've made it 7 years!

Let's see, in 7 years, we've had...

6 homes
5 jobs for Mike, 8 for Allison
1 cat named Cranberry, 1 foster dog named Sammy, 7 foster kittens, and 1 fish named Enrique
Trips to France, Italy, Boston, Washington DC, Mount Rushmore, California, Boise, Arizona, Montana, and Arkansas
3 cars
Church callings in the Activities Committee, Primary and Nursery
Lots of "I love you"s every day
Infinite amounts of laughter
A fair share of hurt feelings and annoyances
A growing sense of humor and desire to overcome our obstacles
Gratitude for the love that brought us together all those years ago...

And keeps us going stronger every day. I love you, babe. Happy anniversary.

I Made It!

2011-04-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

Ever since learning I was pregnant, I made a mental goal to make it to 27 weeks. I think I read that baby's chances of survival triple once you're past this point. Or maybe I just noted that it was the beginning of the third (and final!) trimester. Either way, as of today, I did it.

27 weeks, baby!

Here are some of the things I am loving about being pregnant:

Mike being much more willing to go grocery shopping with me (thanks to the fainting episode, I believe).
Random people being totally excited I am pregnant.
Feeling this fun comradeship with the 15 other girls in my ward that are also pregnant.
Watching my tummy move all around while laying down. Watching Mike's initial reaction to this was classic - I think it could be described as a mix of fear and awe.
Planning what the nursery will look like.
Looking forward to registering for gifts and a baby shower.
Feeling closer to Mike as we've both started to be excited and expectant.
Seeing the little guy every month at my ultrasound and laughing at his unusual poses and fighting spirit.
Getting to buy baby clothes.
Having all the doctors I work with call me "preggers," "momma," etc. and pat my tummy.
Feeling the baby's hiccups. So adorable.
Thinking about the fact that, soon, we will actually have a sweet little boy join our family.

Less than fun aspects include:

Having less energy- how am I going to get everything done if I need to lie down?!
Horribly painful leg cramps in the middle of the night.
A growing tenderness in the belly area from all the kicks and hits I've been getting.
My nearly constant runny nose - which I hear is one of those less publicized and odd side effects of pregnancy.
Waking up constantly during the night wondering if I am sleeping on my left side, having to go to the bathroom, being thirsty, etc.
Watching my leg muscles deplete and my cheeks expand.
Getting more and more nervous each time I yank my wedding ring off. Pretty soon, it's just not going to fit at all.

That's it. Overall, being pregnant has been a wonderful adventure, with the good parts by far outweighing the bad. I'm looking forward to the next three months... and beyond!

Spring Fever

2011-04-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

In the Foulk household, this equates to a strawberry-filled carnival, a lot of yard work, and two guys overtaking my living room for four days as they scrape away the yucky popcorn ceilings.

First, the Poteet Strawberry Festival!

Mike and I headed south of San Antonio with some friends for a crazy, Latino-flavor filled carnival of epic proportions. (And it's called a Strawberry Festival, you ask? Mike was equally confused.) All the madness resulted with Mike and I chomping down on the following: cheeseburger (1), strawberry shortcake (1), sausage roll (1), Sprite (2), jumbo corndog (1), fresh picked strawberries (10). Here's us paying homage to the berry of the night:

The weirdest thing, and there was plenty to goggle at, trust me, was the banana derby, where little monkeys race around on the back of dogs. Bizarre, but true. I even have evidence:

Ah, South Texas. It's a weird, weird place sometimes.

Second, our wonderful little stone walkway!
Mike and I spent our free moments in between conference changing a very dry, unappealing bit of yard into this:

Yes, it's great, I know. All of these plants are supposedly fit for the excruciatingly hot summers here. I'm crossing my fingers I can keep them alive.

Third, our living room!
It's brilliant. The funny thing about this was we were simply planning on having our horrifically popcorned ceilings scraped and painted. However, when the painters arrived, they told us that the moisture from the ceiling would leave water streaks all down our walls. So with one day's notice, Mike and I settled on two grays (Sherwin Williams' Monorail Silver and Tinsmith, to be exact). Needless to say, I was a little panicky about choosing a paint color with minimal notice, but I'm feeling pretty good about it. Thoughts?
Here's a before shot:

And a mid-way shot:

And an after:

We no longer have popcorn on our ceilings! We no longer have a house squirming under the glare of builder-grade tan! And neither Mike nor I had to risk breaking our necks by climbing up the scaffolding to complete such an epic change. I think I may need some design advice about what to do with this new color, but I need to let the changes marinate for a while and form some sensible questions first.

Finally, baby & me at 24 weeks:

Ta da! I am actually 26 weeks as of today. A few months ago, baby's kidneys were measuring a little big, but at today's ultrasound, all looked well. He's 2 lbs, 3 ounces and quite the active fellow. My doctor held up the heart monitor to my belly and instantly cried, "Whoa! This baby is crazy!" He was kicking and punching so much that it took her a while to be able to actually hear the heartbeat. Crazy little man.

Thoughts

2011-04-03T16:00:00.001-07:00

Yesterday and today, I had the opportunity to listen to the General Conference for my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here are a few of my thoughts as I listened to the inspired brethren and sister of my church:

Your future is as bright as your faith. This reminded me of the Principles of Faith book by Joseph Smith, where he mentions that faith is a principle of power. It is the power by which God governs and the world exists. This is an awe-inspiring thought, especially when we apply it to ourselves. Having faith not only helps you, but it invokes you with actual power - the power of God. You can make your future equally as bright as He wants it to be for you through your faith.
Richard G. Scott spoke about the love in his family and I was so touched by what a blessing it is that we know how important and how beautiful the family truly is. Sometimes I take mine-and especially Mike-for granted. I am so lucky to have a wonderful, funny, sweet husband who honors his priesthood and who always tries to treat me with kindness and respect. I am so lucky! Marriage can be stressful, crazy, trying, etc. but it is also beautiful.
I enjoyed the thoughts by President Uchtdorf and Elder Bednar about how our faith is built not solely on visions, like that Paul had on the road to Damascus, but on small, everyday accumulations of God-given comfort, inspiration and knowledge.

In general, conference never ceases to make me feel more inclined to serve and less inclined to be selfish. It helps me to feel grateful for the abundant blessings I have in my life, for my ability to attend the temple and to feel the love of the saints around me, for the encouragement I feel to become a better person, and for the knowledge and truth that this gospel gives me.

Get Your Rear in Gear

2011-03-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Mike and I participated in San Antonio's 2nd Annual Colon Cancer Run, Get Your Rear in Gear. Considering I'm pregnant, we decided to do the 5K instead of the 10K (and let's face it, we probably would have done that even if I wasn't pregnant!).
This is one of the big yearly events for my job, so I've been planning it and working toward getting our team and booth all set up for the last few months. And finally it's over! I don't think that, unless you're an event planner, you realize the relief of being done with something that has consumed your life for weeks. It's bliss.
The race was really fun though. This is my handsome hubby and me about to get going:
And another pic of some people on my team at the starting line (which was also the finish line). And how do you like the shirts I designed? Classy, eh? The slogan was one of our doctor's ideas, silly man. Oh well, it got a lot of comments, which is what marketing is all about, right? :)
Besides doing the Get Your Rear in Gear, we also had a really fun weekend working on our yard. We bought this awesome little Japanese maple tree. I've read that they're pretty hard to keep alive in the San Antonio heat, but with lots of water and profuse compliments, we hope he'll thrive.
On a side note, tomorrow I will be 25 weeks along. 25! It's crazy. The weirdest thing is watching little baby move around inside my stomach. It's so bizarre to see him kick and hit and flip around... and to see my stomach move along with him. He also has impeccable aim when it comes to hitting directly at my belly button or where my appendicitis scar is.
Speaking of my belly button, here's a bit of classic Mike humor:

Mike's coworker: "I'm thinking of getting an Audi."
Mike: "Yeah, my wife's getting an outie, but that's just because she's pregnant."

Ah, my husband. I laughed at that one for quite a while. Anyway, it was a good weekend here at the Foulk household.

All But a Bit

2011-03-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've been having this all-encompassing desire to get things around our house done before little Baby Foulk joins the family. This is called nesting, I believe. But shouldn't nesting involve, you know, doing things that will benefit the baby? In my case, not so much. My nesting tendencies equate to planting flowers, painting our bathroom and redoing our baseboards. Go figure.

Here are some of my projects as of late. I'm hoping that one day, you know, soon, they'll be done. Right now, they're all but a bit done. Or, in some cases, even less than all but a bit.

Here are some before shots... and some almost-after shots.

First, Project Sponge Bob Bathroom:
Yikes.

Can you handle it? Even a Sponge Bob toilet seat.

Mid-way-ish.

Next, Project Curb Appeal:
Not too bad, just a little bland.

Painted door and potted plants: check.

Flower beds, in the works.

I still need to lay down some weed barrier, mulch and make a rock border. Oh, and do two more flower beds/walkways. But at least we've started! Can I just say, there is absolutely nothing better than coming home to your newly painted, spiffy green door and inhaling the scent of jasmine in the night air. Yes.

Projects that I haven't even started but need to finish include painting the baby's room and our kitchen. Fortunately, my talented big sister, Laurie, is coming from Arkansas in May to help me out with these tasks. Yay for help! Maybe she can even inspire me to finish something I've started?

It's Frio!

2011-03-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Mike and I spent this weekend doing something we haven't done in waaay too long: camping! This was one of our favorite Idaho pasttimes, but something about the Texas heat, humidity and deathly large bugs has prevented us from doing it much here. However, we finally decided to just go for it! We headed to Garner State Park with our friends, the Andersons. The park is insanely huge and has the Frio River running through it (Spanish for cold) and lots of pretty hills around it.
We got this great little camp site:
Ate these delicious tin foil dinners:
Hiked down to the pretty river:
And ended up sleeping very soundly in the perfectly cool night temperature.

The next day, we went down the the main camp ground area that boasts mini golf, a concession stand, nightly dances, canoeing and paddle boats. We decided to rent a paddle boat, which was highly entertaining. The paddle boats were super shiny green and fit all 5 of us!
Mike and Kent paddled while Becca, Nicolas and I enjoyed their hard work while trailing our feet in the icy water.
On the drive back, Mike and I went through Bandera, Texas, which is supposedly the "birthplace of America's cowboy." We found this awesome ice cream shop, saddled up to the barstools and went into caloric overload with our Blue Bell brownie sundaes. Mmmm.
Overall, the weekend was beautiful and very relaxing. We're definitely going again, and soon!

Baby Updates

2011-03-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling better, growing a bit bigger, and getting more and more accustomed to the fact that I actually have a little boy growing inside my belly (instead of a little jumping bean). On Tuesday, I had another doctor's appointment and I got to see our little guy's profile. It is so adorable. Just look at his little nose, lips, chin... so crazy! Oh, and he was even opening and closing his mouth during this shot, so we got to see his jaw moving up and down.Baby obviously is incredibly flexible. For the entire ultrasound, he had his legs completely straight with his knees touching his forehead and his hands balled up at his chest. Our ultrasound tech said this baby is going to love being swaddled, as he obviously feels most comfortable in a tight little ball.

I've also been feeling pretty good lately. Not nearly as tired or nauseaus. Here's my most recent photos from the last few weeks.

20 Weeks
22 Weeks

It's funny because what I wear really determines whether I look pregnant or not. Most of my work blouses are a little wider and so people don't realize I'm pregnant. But put me in a t-shirt, and--whamoo!--there's a baby in there! Oh, and I just bought my first pair of pregnancy pants. Soooo looking forward to not cramming myself in my pants anymore. And why are maternity clothes so expensive? It's like they're punishing us for procreating or something.
Despite pricey pants, life is good. I'm still working on remodeling our guest bathroom before baby gets here, and need to totally redo baby's room too... and I'm landscaping our front yard, which will be awesome, attempting to grow upside down tomato plants, and going camping this weekend. Life is good.

Feeling Wicked

2011-03-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

I finally got to redeem my Christmas present from my lovely husband... Wicked tickets! We went Friday night and had so much fun. There's an awesome little deli/bakery across from the Majestic Theater called Gunter Bakery that we had to hit up before the show.And then we mosied on across the street to our awesome seats right near the orchestra section. The show was very entertaining and I loved the music, especially anything featuring the "wicked" witch's goosebump-inspiring voice.Yay for a fun night out in the city! Thanks, babe.

Too Cute

2011-02-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

How does anyone who is pregnant not spend their entire life's savings on baby clothes? They are just so adorable. I can't help myself.

Blurred Bliss

2011-02-19T15:39:00.000-08:00

Life is has been going by in one crazy, but happy, blur. Here are a few of the highlights of the past few weeks:

-Talking to Mike on the phone while driving and feeling the baby start to kick. I've never felt the baby kick while driving before, so that was pretty cool. I wondered if he recognized his Dad's voice. That night, right when Mike got home and we were chatting, the little guy started kicking again! It was so neat.

- Buying my first boy outfit... and then about 10 other outfits in a crazed shopping blitz. Yes, three of the outfits have overalls. Little baby overalls are so cute!
-Girl Scouts Samoa cookies. Need I say more?

- Worrying because our new CEO decided to not hire a third person for the marketing department while my boss and I (yes, both of us) are on maternity leave. Worrying because that meant I would probably be working more hours right up until I had the baby and then probably more after I had him too. Having my worries dissipate when my boss told me the CEO also wants me to start working less hours now... here I come 20 hours a week! 33 hours a week, we can no longer be friends. Ah, this is such a relief.

-Seeing Mike enjoy working around the house. He got a table saw for Christmas and is loving it. Of course, that necessitated two whole Saturdays devoted to cleaning the garage. Oh well, at least we're getting our house in order.-Painting away SpongeBob from our guest bathroom. He and his underwater friends didn't go down easy, but soon, our bathroom will be a calm shade of blue/gray instead of the jolting shade of pink/green/blue/yellow/red.
- Finding out that I officially gained a pound! This is kind of misleading, because actually I have gained 6, but I lost 5 because of my morning sickness. Hence, this is the first pound that really counts. It's also interesting because baby weighs about a pound right now.

-Watching kitty make herself completely comfy on my lap every morning as I check my work email.
See, hasn't life been good? I think so. Especially the baby parts. And the working less part. And the Samoa cookies.

(Baby agrees - he's kicking me right now to show just how much he enjoyed the one I just finished. You are very wise, baby. Very wise indeed.)

It's a....

2011-02-09T06:31:00.000-08:00

BOY!

Yes, that's right, we will be adding a mini-Mike to the family! Mike and I are both so excited! When we heard the ultrasound tech say boy, we both just started laughing. I've had a feeling for the last few days (I know, not super long, but still) that he was indeed a he and so it was really exciting.

He was being so funny during the ultrasound too. The little guy was in the cutest yoga pose, resting upside-down on his head, chin touching chest, legs rolled over head, and with his ankles crossed. Yes, folks, that is the lotus position.

Also, from the kicks he was giving the ultrasound tech, he apparently did not want to be disturbed during his morning meditation.

The doctors said everything looks good, and that he's measuring 19 weeks and 2 days (a little big since I was 18 weeks yesterday). I'll have another ultrasound in about a month. Mike's mom told us that he was around 9 lbs, and that his sisters tend to have large babies too... so we'll see how this goes.

I've also had the pleasure of feeling him kick-a lot!- lately. He's pretty dormant in the mornings, apparently due to the yoga, but at about 7 p.m., the fun starts. Mike even has already got to feel him, which is pretty neat this early on. During my exam after the ultrasound, the doctor mentioned that it was normal if I hadn't really felt him a lot yet, since this is my first baby. I told her I thought I had, but I supposed I could be wrong. She was saying all this as she put the heartbeat ultrasound thing on my stomach, and apparently, the moment she pressed down, he kicked it! She raised her eyebrows in surprise and said, "Oh! I felt that!"

It's so fun to actually think about having a baby boy! Painting the nursery, buying crib bedding, ... I'm so excited! We even have a few names that we like, but I think I'm going to let them marinate a bit before announcing them to the world at large.

On a side note, I just had to show off my grocery list from last night. Yes. I wrote not one, not two, but three things twice. Is this not the grocery list of a pregnant person, or what? As if the repetition wasn't enough, I have vitamins, fiber bars, and a treat listed. Also, I love the question mark by salad. No question mark by treat, but by salad. Ha ha. The longer I stared at this list in the store, the more I found it amusing. Ah, forgetfulness.

A Year in (Book) Review

2011-01-31T12:12:00.000-08:00

Reading has been a favorite past time of mine since I was 8ish, when one of my favorite shows was Reading Rainbow and people at the library would give me strange looks as I checked out with a massive stack of paperbacks (you know, Boxcar Children, Fear Street, Sweet Valley High, Babysitters Club, then later the Little House and Anne of series).

It's been a relaxing and mentally stimulating hobby of mine for years, with a few notable breaks. One of the breaks was motivated by the very long year it took me to read Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. I couldn't read anything for a almost a year after finishing that book - I think my brain blew a fuse trying to figure out why Dostoevsky would want to torture me by giving each character 5 different names.

But 2010 wasn't literary torture. I read quite a few books. Here are my top ten books of 2010, along with the reviews I posted on my Goodreads account:

#10

The Chosen by Chaim Potok

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very good book, one with parental, religious, and cultural commentary that is still nagging away at me days after finishing it.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A darkly ominous book about the consequences of sin, peppered throughout with quotable quotes like, "Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes" and, "The real drawback to marriage is that it makes one unselfish."

*Not necessarily a fun read, but one that lingers.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a sort of YA medieval X-Men. 4 stars for a unique idea, interesting plot twists, and a feisty main character.

Silas Marner by George Eliot

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a delightful little story, I thought to myself after finishing this book. And that's a raving review considering the last George Eliot book I read ended with me flinging it across the room (Mill on the Floss, if you must know). Silas Marner is a touching, meaningful little book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A bit awkward in style, but with a message that more than makes up for it.

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very sweet story about how one little abandoned kitty can change (a small part of) the world. I'm a sucker for both books and cats, so what could be better than a book about a cat who lives in a library? If you, like me, are an animal lover, this book is a must-read.

*Yes, I know I'm a dork. A book about a cat taking #5? But it was just sooo sweet!

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Intelligent and intriguing, this story details the inconvenient tumble of an ordinary, bored girl as she nears mental instability. I found the first half to be witty, yet scathing, like listening to an acerbic friend as she people watches, and the second half equally engaging, but more like watching a building burn. I procrastinated reading this book ever since a high school friend told me she hated it. No wonder. But I wish her review hadn't held me back from reaching my own conclusions. Namely, that I appreciated this story from afar and found it to be a worthy read.

Anthem by Ayn Rand

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Finally got around to reading this book and, wow, I loved it! While I don't necessary jump wholeheartedly on to the objectivism band wagon, I really enjoyed how thought provoking this book was. I will definitely be reading more of Rand.

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Like running with your emotions and stubbing your toe on harsh reality.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer: What a great book!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great book!

*I suppose words eluded me on my review, but this book was just great. Thought provoking without being overly cerebral, rich with meaningful history, but also lighthearted.

Other notable mentions include:
The Hunger Games: sorry that's it's not on my top ten... I really did like it!
Candide: such irony
My Life in France: a little dry, but tres francaise
The Death of Ivan Ilych: very Russian
Not God's Type: so honest and faith-building
The Poisonwood Bible: but be prepared for pain
Blink: intriguing
Gun, with Occasional Music: so very bizarre
Beloved: haunting
A Brief History in Time: too smart for me
The City of Ember: a fun YA read
The Red Tent: historically interesting
Specials: enjoyable
Thirsty: weird premise

Yes! My 2010 reading regime has been documented. Happy reading! And, sure, some of the books I recommended are great, "but don't take my word for it!"

Itsey Bitsey Bump

2011-01-28T21:00:00.000-08:00

For your viewing pleasure....

8 weeks

12 weeks

and 16 weeks

Okay, so it may not look like a lot... but it certainly feels like it!

Guilty Pleasures

2011-01-24T08:57:00.000-08:00

Reading my longtime friend's blog the other day started me thinking about guilty pleasures. You know, the ones I indulge in occasionally. Or more than occasionally. Sharlee's blog entry was about this season of The Bachelor which, yes, I too watch faithfully every week. It's really the epitome of a guilty pleasure.

Besides The Bachelor, here are a few of the other things I've been indulging in:

(Can you guess what one of them is?)

Hot baths. Nearly every night. With loads of bubbles, a candle and a good book.Yes, this is a recent, pregnant development, but I still feel completely extravagant.
Hostess chocolate donettes. In the past, I occasionally would get one of those little packets in gas stations on road trips and wouldn't be able to eat more that a few at a time (maybe due to the plasticy, chocolate flavored layer on top of the donut?). However, the other day, I ... I ate a whole bag. In one day. Yep. And I may have finished off another one today.
Along with The Bachelor, I watch America's Next Top Model. I can't quite explain my fascination with super skinny, 6 foot tall, 18 year old girls, but fascinated I am. Also, I'm addicted to Dancing with the Stars, although that's not much of a surprise.
Sleeping in. I feel guilty even typing it, especially when so many of my friends are up at 7 a.m. with little ones. I count my blessings every day that, for the last year, I've had a job that starts when I want it to. Which usually isn't one minute before 9 a.m.
Not cooking. Can a guilty pleasure be a lack of something? You see, I used to be so dedicated to making a good, square dinner and forcing us to enjoy it at a table, like respectable folks. Again, being pregnant, working, whatever it is... but I have totally lapsed. I think Mike has been existing on pickles, string cheese and pears for weeks. Seriously.
And an old one for memories sake: when we lived in our apartment here in San Antonio, there was a pool about a 2 minutes walk away. For two blissful summers, I swam laps and lounged at the pool with a good book at least once a week. Ah, glorious.

Okay, so there are mine. What are yours? And if anyone's guilty pleasures include eating salad and taking spinning classes, I do not want to hear it!

Telling

2011-01-10T07:33:00.000-08:00

Mike and I have been looking forward to telling our family about my pregnancy, but we've also been a bit cautious. We decided to wait until I was over the 12-13 week hurdle, and then decided to go for it! Here are some the exciting ways we let the cat out of the bag, spilled the beans, etc.

My mom and dad: I was practically giddy about telling my parents, but I really wanted to wait until they were here for Christmas so we could break the good news in person. We waited until Christmas Eve and then gave them this present:
(An adorable little framed picture of my second ultrasound with a message about grandkids.)

Their reactions were hilarious. Dad kept on staring at the gift, trying to formulate a reason why I would be giving them a framed ultrasound photo of someone else's baby, while Mom's eyes immediately shot up to scrutinize my face. She didn't look away for a good five seconds, while I just smiled. Finally she exclaimed, "Are you pregnant?!" And I got to say, "YES!" He he. It was awesome!

My sister Laurie: Laurie was here for Christmas and I was looking forward to telling her at some opportune moment while we were just catching up and relaxing. How I told her ended up being anything but relaxing!

Mom, Laurie, my nephew Payton and I went to Hobby Lobby to browse for some sweet post-Christmas deals. We strolled around virtually the entire store and I felt just fine. Right before we started to leave though, I suddenly felt really, really warm. I took off my vest and mentioned to my sister how hot it was in the store. We started walking toward the exit, and suddenly I felt kind of light-headed.

*Side note: For the last few days, Mom had been commenting on how odd it was that I was so nauseous. When she was pregnant, apparently, she was never nauseous, but just light-headed all the time. I told her that nausea was pretty common, but that most the people I knew didn't get faint or lightheaded during pregnancy. Ha! I think she jinxed me.On with the story. I told Mom I was feeling lightheaded and reached for her arm. Then the real fun began. Apparently, I pitched forward (toward the shelf in the photo), got a weird, glossy expression on my face and completely went head-first toward the floor. My sister initially thought I was just joking, or trying to lay my head on her shoulder, until she caught a glimpse of my face. Fortunately she was able to catch me before I hit said shelf or floor.

While sitting on the floor, she asked if I wanted water and ran to get me a bottle. The first thing she said when she came back with it was, "We are going to the hospital!"

I gave her a weak smile and said, "Laurie, I'm pregnant. Surprise!" Classic.

*Other side note: My OB said this isn't super common, but it does happen, and isn't really anything to worry about, as long as I eat lots of little meals and drink lots to hopefully prevent it from occurring frequently.

Mike's Mom, Loretta: Loretta came and stayed with us after Thanksgiving for a few days and telling her was pretty much mandated by my extremely odd behavior. Namely, riding home from Dallas to San Antonio and feeling like I might need to stop at any moment to throw the car door open to be sick. Also, it rationalizes (a bit) my extreme fixation on having mustard for my Sonic corn dog during the road trip and my near tears when they forgot to give it to me. Then there's the time I was sick at like 2 a.m. in the bathroom right next to their bedroom at Mike's sister, Tiffany's house.... Sheesh, seriously, its a wonder pregnant woman don't end up looking like either fools or hypochondriacs!Also, it appears Tiffany had an inkling because on Thanksgiving day, she came into the kitchen and I was holding my stomach in one of those classic pregnancy poses. What I found amusing about Thanksgiving was three sick women were preparing it! Tiffany is pregnant too and was having stomach issues (as was I, discreetly), while Mike's mom chemo pills make her feel nauseous too. At least the food was good enough to override the nausea-inducing factor of prepping the turkey!

My boss: Final last funny story, and it is truly bizarre, my friends. A week before Christmas, my boss told me that she is pregnant! Whoa, weird. Our department of two is now 100% pregnant! The truly odd part, though, is that her due date is on July 12th. The exact same day as mine! Yes, I have now entered the Twilight Zone.

We were meeting for my annual review this past Tuesday and I was driving from another one of our clinics. I was starting to feel a little shaky (uh oh) but didn't want to be late to the meeting, so I planned on pilfering from our stash of marketing jelly beans the instant I got to our office. I walked in and Holly was already sitting in the office, but I didn't even stop to say hello.

"Sorry," I said, "I am feeling really shaky and need some sugar."
"You don't have what I have, do you?" She said with a laugh.
"Actually," I replied, "I do!"

She was super excited for me, instantly shared her organic crackers, and we abandoned the marketing office in lieu of a restaurant where we both could be extraordinarily picky and drink endless amounts of lemonade. It was great!

Sorry for all the lengthy posts. Apparently pregnancy makes me wax (even more) verbose. But I had to share these awesome stories! Thankfully, I am finally starting to have more energy and less sickness. I haven't even fainted again, although I do have to feed myself endless little snacks and make sure I am drinking enough. I can definitely say, it's been an adventure so far!

Some News....

2011-01-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

No, it's not April Fool's.

But, yes, I am pregnant. Really. Are you feeling shocked right about now? Cuz I sure was when I saw this (so shocked, I bought two of them) :By the time I saw this, I was feeling hopeful, but still super nervous:
And by the time I saw this, we were just plain excited:

AH! We're gonna have a baby! (Did I really just write that?! Seriously, it seems kind of surreal.)

So, on with some of the glorious and gruesome details! I started wondering if I was pregnant toward the end of October. Even though I was feeling different, I didn't want to get my hopes up too much, so I took a pregnancy test on a Monday night toward the beginning of November. I have to admit, I've taken quite a few over the last almost 7 years, and this one shocked me: I stared at the stick, read the little manual, looked back at the stick, took the little manual into better light, reread it again, laid on the bed for a while in shock, reread the manual, stared at the ceiling, then the stick some more, etc.

When Mike got home, we had dinner and he bounded up right after to clear out plates. "Honey," I said, "Can you come sit down again?" "What?" he replied, "Are you pregnant?" I think the pause while I patiently waited for him to come back to the dining room gave it away. His first question, after quite a few minutes of shock similar to mine earlier that day, was, "How close are we to the hospital?"

I'd kind of wondered if I was pregnant for a week or two before the test because I was super tired and had this incessant desire to take warm baths and eat potatoes. However, the most amusing indicator that I might be pregnant occurred while Mike and I were scarfing down some fast food between errands. We were at one of those handy Taco Bell/KFC places and I ordered my annual dose of fried chicken (don't judge!). About half way into my drumstick, I suddenly felt horrifically ill. Mike happened to catch my lack of movement and noted, "You look like you are about to vomit." And that's what I felt like. He kept on mentioning that I looked really sick, using the v- word, etc. and was somewhat amused when I opened the car door, spit out my chicken, and threw the rest in the garbage. Little did he know that was just an indicator for things to come...

My first ultrasound was at about 7 weeks since I was considered a bit of a high risk patient in early pregnancy (I had a miscarriage about two years ago when I was 12 weeks along). I think some of the sweetest words Mike and I have ever heard were spoken when the ultrasound tech chirped, "There's the heartbeat!" Before, with the exact same lady, there'd been only silence and a request to get my OB doctor, so those words were extra sweet (and reassuring).

The past few weeks I have been pretty tired, pretty nauseous and also in this weird land bordering on awe/disbelief. Mike and I have been up for having kids ever since we moved to San Antonio--and, truly, even before that if it was God's will--but it just hasn't happened. I felt no real urgency to pursue other avenues for having children, but have just felt like, when the time was right, it would happen. Plus, I've always wanted to adopt, so Mike and I have talked about the fact that we'd like to do that, again, when the time feels right.

Apparently, something about now must be right. Maybe I've learned enough patience to warrant a blessing like this, and I have definitely learned that our lives don't always fit into the timeline we project for them, and that's okay, even more than okay, sometimes. I remember when we first got married, calculating when to avoid getting pregnant so we could travel for Christmas, not be pregnant during graduation, etc. Over the years, though, my mentality changed into, a blessing anytime is still a blessing! And, maybe, being due during a scorching San Antonio summer is a tender little reminder of how much I won't mind being inconvenienced by a beautiful little baby (I say that now, huh?).

I have to admit, it's a very weird feeling to be announcing this to the world. I'm a little more than 13 weeks along, and my due date is July 12th. I still feel a bit nervous about everything, kind of one of those, is this too good to be true? feelings, but I am feeling more and more reassured everytime I hear the baby's heartbeat, which has been three times so far. Seeing the little guy or gal kick his/her legs is also reassuring, as is every time the ultrasound tech has said, "He's even a little big for his age," or, "What a strong heartbeat."
I also feel compelled to note that, even though Mike and I feel like this is going to be such a great blessing and one that we've prayed for for a long time, our lives have been rich and happy for the last 6 1/2 years. We've wanted children (as a woman, me more than Mike, I'm sure) but have tried not to live with regrets or reservations. I feel blessed, in a way, that we weren't able to have children right off the bat because I feel like I know now how to relate to so many women who have difficulties like ours. I also feel (selfishly) blessed that I've been able to finish my education, have a career, travel and spend time alone with Mike. I feel that God can consecrate all peoples' lives for good, no matter whether they are single, married, divorced, childless, just plain weird, etc.

I have some very fun stories about how we told my parents (who were thrilled) and my sister (who was prepared to rush me to the ER) over Christmas. More on that later... oh, and maybe also my patented technique for losing 7 pounds in a month? Either way, woo hooo!

I think we're really gonna have a baby.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-12-31T18:38:00.000-08:00

Ah, Christmas, how I love thee.

Ah, staying at home for the first time in our marriage, how refreshing!

Ah, family coming from near and far to visit, how fun!

Mom and Dad came down from Boise to visit this past week and my big sis, Laurie, and her two kids, Parker and Payton, came from Arkansas for the week after Christmas too. We made quite the merry group and saw just about every corner of San Antonio and nearly Southern Texas as we possibly could in a week.

Here's a few moments from all the madness:

Visiting the San Antonio temple.

Touring the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi. Dad was a signalman in the Navy from 1963 to 1966 and touring the ship was very moving for him, and cool for the rest of us too.

Letting Mom stick her toes in the Gulf of Mexico, her special request.

Opening presents and playing games. (And, yes, I got a robot vacuum and Wicked tickets! Ah!)

Funny unpictures moments include us attempting to visit the same pizza place from Man Vs. Food (Big Lou's) and waiting in line for almost in hour, outside, in the cold, before learning that the wait was another two hours! Eek! Other excitement includes my niece now being taller than me (sad!) and an exciting adventure in Hobby Lobby with my sister, that may or may not one day be revealed. ;)

I am so happy that we were able to all be together for Christmas, and so very lucky that I have a family that is always saying things either interesting or amusing, full of hugs, and so supportive and kind. What a merry Christmas!

With the Knock of a Hammer...

2010-12-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

And a little bit more, the Foulk household is getting in shape!

In the last month, we have done all sorts of exciting homeownery things, like glazing our bathroom cabinets. I read about this online and decided to try it because there is a) no sanding required and b) no sanding required. So with a paint brush and brown tinted glaze, I took our cabinets from this to this!

(From a boring blond maple to a darker, richer brown that lets the wood grain show through.)

The best part is that it took me, like, an hour to do everything! Success. The camera doesn't quite do the new color justice, but they look really good in person, I promise. I still need to pick out some glam hardware, but they look so much better than they used to.

To make everything even better, our beautiful new granite finally showed up, and we got to put in our crisp white vessel sinks and pump faucets too. It's glorious, I tell you, glorious! Here's the classic before and after shots:

When we moved in, the inspector told us that the countertop in our master bath was broken and that it would leak into our cabinets if we used the sinks, so this is the first time EVER that we will get to use our master bathroom as it was intended! That is, once the plumber finishes his handiwork in a few days. At least it looks really pretty.

Last month was also our official bulk trash and bush pick up for the San Antonio trash department, so we got to get rid of all this stuff. Yes, the pile was so large, it dwarfed our house. I am feeling a little bad for the tree in our front yard, whom I love, but Mike assures me that his beautiful leaves will grow back eventually.

We also found a rug that matches our living room decor for a super amazing deal (even if it is a tad bit small), installed some new faux wood blinds, finally got to use one of our fireplaces, and got our guest bedroom in shape for when my parents come for Christmas.

I have to say, owning our own house is so rewarding! And, in contrast to the townhouse we (still) own in Idaho, this house is old enough that we don't care (too much) that we are learning as we go along. Like that one chick says in Pride and Prejudice, "Lizzy, it's such a pride being able to run my own home."

Oh, and anyone up for a painting party? You know, purely so you can experience that joy yourself....

Holiday in Hollywood

2010-12-20T18:20:00.000-08:00

USAA threw another great Christmas celebration. Mike and I got all glammed up, strolled down the red carpet, had our photos taken by throngs of paparazzi, said a casual hello to Rod Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg, ate like kings, and ended the night only a few feet from stars from Heroes and ER.

So pretty much your typical Saturday night for us rock stars.

Just kidding. Seriously, the USAA work part was amazing this year. Every time we get pampered like this, I think to myself, 'I am so lucky that my hubby got the brilliant idea to apply for a job in the far away land of Texas. And please pass the tres leches parfait."

Here's a little video montage of 5 clips or so of us and our amazing view of The Band from TV, which includes guys from Heroes, ER, Desperate Housewives, House, and (the only one I watch, to my chagrin) The Bachelor. In the first clip, you can even see Mike's CEO, Joe Robles, shaking the tambourine along to Hard to Handle.

Thanks for a great night, USAA!

Christmas Decorating

2010-12-13T08:12:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy decorating, and so Christmas is a fun time of year. I get to bust out the angels, elves and a small army of snowmen to replace all the serious stuff in my house with a bit of whimsical fun. Here are some of the fruits of my glitter-filled labors.

Lessons I am learning: all my decorations are (guess what!) too small for this house. Oh well, maybe I'll score some sweet deals on decorations after Christmas. But, as for now, we work with what we have!

One thing that isn't too small? Our tree! We had the perfect corner of our living room all set up for it, and then the poor thing started unfolding itself. It was shoved up against the mantle, face-planted against a sunny window, and bursting to get out of the french doors. In other words, we had to move it. So, now our tree is the massively oversized centerpiece in our living room. A delicious smelling center piece, I might add, and I'm enjoying it for all its worth, since I promised Mike we could get a fake tree next year.

As part of the festivities, we happened to have two Christmas parties in one night, one for my work and a formal dinner party with our friends. The work party was a success: Mike got to meet all the doctors I work with, we ate the most delicious shrimp ever, and I won $50 while standing in the buffet line. The friend party was also great: we had an awesomely fancy dinner and a whole lotta laughs.

Yay for Christmas!
(And, yes, please do consider this photo your digital Christmas card from the Foulks!)

Of Zebras and Millionaires

2010-12-01T13:49:00.001-08:00

Life's good.

Lots of fun and exciting things have been happening lately.

The first one? My new fridge! It's glorious, I tell you. All shiny and double doory, with an ice maker and a deli drawer, and the freezer on the bottom. This is the Fred Astaire of fridges. The Fabio of refrigerators. The Edward of ice machines.

Even Mike can't stop drooling.

Sure, it makes the rest of our cabinets look laughably small. As for the rest of our appliances... well, they are hiding their 1986 heads in shame. I think the vent on my range is on the fritz due to sheer humiliation.

But oh well. We're in love.

The next few exciting things happened over Thanksgiving break. We went to Mike's sister, Tiff's, house in Dallas for a blissfully low key holiday weekend, and then Mike's mom came back to San Antonio with us to check out our new house (and help us decorate for Christmas).

While we were in Dallas, we got to go to this really cool place called Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, where safari type animals just roam over 1700 acres of Texas hill country. You get to drive right up to them and feed them, which is pretty darn cool and also a little scary, especially when they stick their big, horned heads into your Toyota Camry. Here are some exciting photos of the mayhem.

Free window wash by the zebras!----------------->

This is Tiff and Don's car, with a European deers head about to go inside it.------------------------>

The zebra border patrol. "Excuse me, ma'am. I need to search your vehicle for brown, deliciously good food pellets."

And a funny little video of Mike feeding one:

And me freaking out:

While in Dallas, we also went on a little genealogy adventure to one of Mike's distant relative's house to see if he had any photos for Mike's mom. I was pretty excited to go because this relative happens to own an architecture and interior design firm, and the word on the street was that his house was going to be pretty cool. It was. Here are a few of the reasons why:

A rose from Princess Diana:
A guitar signed by BB King:
And signed Muhammad Ali gloves surrounded by Salvador Dali sketches:
There were also signed Andy Warhol pictures, art by John Lennon, and also just some awesome architecture and interior design stuff that made me happy. It been a fun Thanksgiving weekend, and I'm glad I could share it with family, eccentric millionaires and unabashed zebras alike.

Belated Gratitude

2010-11-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

I know. It's three days after Thanksgiving. Far too late to jump on the gratitude bandwagon.

But I'm sorry, I just really feel the need to express how grateful I am for a few things, even if I am totally unfashionably late.

So, without further ado:

One of my favorite talks from past general conferences for my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is entitled, But If Not, and was given by Elder Dennis E. Simmons. Here's a small excerpt from that talk, as he puts faith into perspective much better than I ever could:

"Centuries ago, Daniel and his young associates were suddenly thrust from security into the world—a world foreign and intimidating. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused to bow down and worship a golden image set up by the king, a furious Nebuchadnezzar told them that if they would not worship as commanded, they would immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. "And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?"

The three young men quickly and confidently responded, "If it be so [if you cast us into the furnace], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand." That sounds like my eighth-grade kind of faith. But then they demonstrated that they fully understood what faith is. They continued, "But if not, . . . we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." That is a statement of true faith.

They knew that they could trust God—even if things didn't turn out the way they hoped."

I love that message, and often find it running through my head. For example,

"Heavenly Father, I'd really like to travel to Hawaii next April, preferably for our anniversary on the 24th. Sunny weather would be ideal, but I'd like to experience those crazy Hawaiian storms I've heard so much about, but only for one day, tops. [Slight pause] But if not, I trust that I'll have many small, beautiful things in my daily life that will help me feel inspired."

Alright, so that's a bit of a silly example, but you get the point. I want this entry to be in honor of this talk and it's ability to leave behind a message that has stayed with me for the last 5 years, transforming my little wants and whims into real feelings of faith and patience.

Instead of But if not though, my gratitude takes the form of Even. Here are the things I am grateful for, even...

1. I am infinitely grateful for my wonderful husband who loves me so much and puts up with my insane amounts of energy and (sometimes) misguided enthusiasm even when we forget that we have a lot more in common than we think.

2. I am so grateful for my loving, nourishing, always available parents who fostered self confidence and initiative in me without ever pushing me to be more than I wanted to be even if our conversations are sometimes so laughably ridiculous I yearn for a tape recorder to document the oddness.

3. I am very happy to have a new--to me--and beautiful home that I can make ours even if thinking of every single thing that we need to do is more than a little overwhelming.

4. I am so blessed to be a member of my church in a country that is free. I often think how insanely lucky I was to be born to wonderful, LDS parents in the land of the potatoes (Idaho) in America. This seems like such an improbably fortuitous situation to live in that I almost can't understand how I got so lucky, even if I sometimes get a little melancholy about being so far away from family and familiarity.

5. I am grateful that I have a good job that allows me to use all the book learnin' I received, and that Mike also has a great career with a really stable and successful company, even if, some days, I just really don't want to go to work even the tiniest bit.

I have a million gazillion (yes, that many) other things to be grateful for -- awesome extended family, really supportive friends, a silly little cat, two cars that run, our new fridge, etc. etc. etc.! And I'm glad I got to share all this overflowing gratitude, even if I was more than fashionably late.

A Day in the Life Of... (Year 2)

2010-11-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

A little over a year ago, I created this blog post detailing what a day in my life looked like at the time. It was quite fun. In the spirit on consistency, I started thinking that it might be neat to do this again... and then maybe even again and again!

Pretty much, there's no sure guarantee that the world will ever be free of me detailing my days from here on out. At least once a year, that is.

So here's today:

8:30 - Awake, plod into my home office to check emails, look at day's schedule, make phone calls.
9:45 - Bring Sammy, the foster dog, inside for some attention. Eat a Nutrigrain bar and a glass of milk, take my vitamins while Sammy watches me and licks my feet.
10:15 - Wash off Sammy's affection from hands and feet, get dressed up for the day, spend perposterous amount of time trying to straighten my hair.
11:10 - Drive to Northeast San Antonio for a work lunch through some lovely rain--so much for the straight hair, listen to F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night (which I am having a hard time getting into) and talk to my dad on the way.
12 - Eat lunch with two of the doctors I work with and a group of OB docs, pick up some marketing brochures, take my car to be washed and vacuumed (for free!), chat with my mom while driving.
3 - Get home, change, schedule docs for their Christmas photo shoot with me on Monday, set up two more lunches and our next marketing meeting, etc. while enjoying my Adele station on Pandora.
4:45 - Done working! Watch part of an 80s movie while going through the mail, check Facebook while Cranberry kicks back on my lap, tidy up, send email about upcoming book club.
6:15 - Mike is home! Have leftover burritos for dinner, talk about our days, watch two episodes of Dress my Nest together.
8:30 - Volleyball at the church building. End up being laughed at quite a bit for my lack of skill, but actually get about 10 of my overhand serves over the net, so we'll call it a success.
11:15 - Home! Kiss a sleeping Mike goodnight, eat a plum, drink a bunch of water, read scriptures and call it a...
11:45 - Night!

Call Me Tim

2010-11-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

It took three years, but I finally was able to go with Mike to the infamous air show!

The air show this year was held at Lackland Air Force Base here in San Antonio, and, considering we live in a huge military town, it's a pretty well attended and cool event. Since Mike has been before, he finally perfected how to attend the air show with minimal waiting: we showed up ridiculously late (3 p.m.), didn't have to take hours getting to the parking lot, got parking right up close, saw most of the planes without waiting in lines, and then meandered out at closing at 5 p.m. Perfect! Here's us having fun.

And some cool video footage:

The night before the infamous air show, we went to a football game with some of our church friends. My friend Jill has a daughter who performs on the flag team and, as it was parents night, we got to see Jill and her daughter perform at half time. It was a perfect excuse to go check out some Texas football. And let me just say, Texas knows its football. The press box for this (high school!) game had like 20 people in it. Uh... wow. I felt like I was in an episode of Friday Night Lights: the turf, the lights, the actual football. All impressive. And it was even cold enough to bust out my scarf and gloves! Sweet!

Yes, we had a very manly weekend, what with all the airplanes, big guns and football. But I enjoyed it! As Tim the Tool Man Taylor says, Arrr ar arrr ar arrr.

Our New Addition

2010-11-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

Meet Sammy!

As some of you know, I volunteer (intermittently) at the Helotes Humane Society, which is truly great. Since HHS doesn't have an actual animal shelter, all of the animals are cared for by volunteers, in their homes, until we have adoption events where the dogs and cats meet their forever families. I'm guessing I'll probably have Sammy for a few weeks.

I have only ever fostered kittens before, but since Mike and I are thinking about getting a dog, we thought this would be a great opportunity for us to try out how it feels.
So far, things have been pretty good. Sammy is an Entlebucher, or mountain dog, and has a very sweet disposition. Sammy was found at a high school by a lady who volunteers at the Humane Society. The kids were calling Sammy over to them and then kicking and hitting him when he came over. Even with all that, when the volunteer called him, he came running over with a big sloppy grin and kisses for her.

Man, it breaks my heart. I've always had a soft spot for animals. I grew up riding horses, sliding down my slide while holding a whole slew of cats, staring at my mom's numerous fish, and being the person my German Shepherd protected during police situation reenactments. Not having any animals around during college was quite sad for me, but luckily I married someone who has an equally soft spot for cats and dogs.

(Mike with our foster kitties a few years back.)

Anyway, back to Sammy. He loves to chase the ball...

and, apparently, Cranberry.

He is such a good dog. I must have left our side gate open one day and, next thing I know, one of our cute little neighbor boys (the same one that mowed our lawn before we got a lawn mower, in fact) is knocking on my door with Sammy beside him. "He was just sitting in your front yard," the neighbor boy said.

What a cutie. I am looking forward to finding a forever home for him where he will be loved like he should be.

A Spooktacular Time

2010-11-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

Where can you find Willy Wonka, Bear Grylls, an oven (complete with an opening door and a bun inside), cavemen, a cowboy, Buddy the Elf, bees, a bunny, a truly scary looking Oompa loompa, a witch, beach bum, Santa, and a 6 foot tall pinata?

Our Halloween party, that's where!

Here's me and Mike.

He's Bear Grylls from Man vs. Wild and I am his little bunny lunch that got free of my trap. :D

My friend Becca and I decided to throw a Halloween party in our new house, and I think we can definitely say it was a success. We started out by making these haunting invitations:

Made these old, tattered-looking lace pieces (which I found at WalMart for under a dollar each, then we stabbed with scissors, washed and dyed with tea... very effective and fun!)Added a fog machine, mice cut outs, old mirrors and lots of candlelight.
Our dilapidated mansion look was complete!
(Mike and Kent making the mice. Becca and I couldn't stop laughing as we listened to them comment about their crafting skills while busily working away.)

Food included severed mummy fingers, hot wassail, delicious caramel apples, Frankenstein pretzels, and all sorts of other goodies.

We kicked off the party with a game that involved party goers sticking their noses through a slit in a shower curtain while I chanted, "The witches have stolen somebody's nose. Who does it belong to, do you suppose?"

Let me just say, this game was hilarious.

We also played the ever entertaining mummy, toilet paper wrapping contest, the eat-a-donut-off-a-string-with-no-hands game (with couples!), the guess who game with sticky notes on your forehead (a la The Office) and a fiery round of Mafia.

(Costume contest winners: Pinata and a tween birthday girl holding a bat!)

I think a good time was had by all at this spooktacular night!

Verdant Texas

2010-10-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

I remember when Mike first mentioned that he had a job prospect in Texas.
My mind immediately flashed an image something along these lines:Joy.

After doing an extensive amount of research, I learned some interesting facts about San Antonio, like:
1. It's the 7th largest city in the United States, with a population of 1.4 million.
2. It has the top tourist attractions in the state, including the Alamo, Riverwalk and SeaWorld.
3. It has a temple, 5 stakes and a whole lotta displaced BYU and BYU-Idaho graduates.Yet even after seeing numerous photos of San Antonio, I still had a hard time shaking the fact that I automatically equated Texas with vast, sparse ranch land. After living here for 3 years and surviving our first year (ugly yellow drought land), San Antonio's landscape has grown on me. I still miss my mountains, but being able to take a little hike through a relative jungle while wearing shorts in late October definitely has its benefits.
And, fortunately for us, we have a tendency to stumble onto amazingly pretty places. Just this past Sunday, we found the coolest neighborhood with:

these really neat limestone rocks, awesome oak trees,

and a little gazebo perfect for re-enacting the "I am 16, going to 17" song from

The Sound of Music.

I don't doubt that if I was still living in Rexburg, I would be bundled up in sweaters and beanies and mittens and wool socks right about now. Even though the San Antonio summers have me missing cool mornings and green lawn that doesn't accost you with bugs and sharp razor blades of hearty, Texas grass, San Antonio definitely has a lot to offer. It's been good to us.

Beauty & The Beast

2010-10-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

I got to go see Disney's Beauty & the Beast (the "Smash hit Broadway musical") not once, but twice this month!First, a group of my girl friends here decided that we should go all together. We ate down town at this really neat place right across from the theater and then strolled over. It was so fun seeing all the little girls dressed up in their big yellow ballgowns! And I absolutely adore the theater we saw it in, which was built in 1929 and has a truly unique Texas-meets-Hollywood-glam feeling. The theater is so beautiful, I could just sit there staring at it forever.Which came in handy because, when I went the first time, we were sitting as far back as you could possibly get, two balconies up, in fact. Let's just say I could hear the sound guy coughing. But we admired the show as only a group of girls can.

The second show happened because one of the doctors I work with gave me his theater seats as a thank you for helping him with a power point presentation. And, let me just say, these seats were amazingly close! I could see the actors' facial expressions and everything! Mike even loved it. We felt super spiffy walking right down to the orchestra seating and feeling the floor vibrate from the music. When confetti fell from the sky for the "Be Our Guest" musical number, it fell all around us. So fun!

(Our super awesome seats and us on the road after the show.)

With all the Beauty and the Beast on my mind lately, it was the perfect starting point for my talk in church last Sunday. Weird transition, you might be thinking. Well...
As Belle is about to be thrown out of the castle after she finds her father locked there, she suddenly cries out to the angry Beast, "Take me instead!"
The first time I heard Belle say those words, I thought of Someone who, in effect, says that for all of us and grants us freedom by paying for our sins. My talk was taken from the words of Isaiah: "Beside me, there is no Christ."
Who would have thought a Disney musical could inspire? But I suppose inspiration can be found anywhere, when you are open to it. It reminds me of how President Hinckley used to always encourage us to partake in uplifting and thought-provoking entertainment. Brigham Young also said, "Upon the stage of a theater can be represented in character, evil and its consequences, good and its happy results and rewards; the weakness and the follies of man, the magnanimity of virtue and the greatness of truth."
I couldn't have said it better. I love doing things like this because they leave me feeling so invigorated and mentally awake. I can't wait to go back!

21... er, 26th Birthday!

2010-10-12T15:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday with my birthday.

My 26th birthday! I started out the day by sleeping in, followed by a glorious minimum amount of work (about 2 hours). After coming home from work, I saw these beauties... waiting for me on the dining room table. So pretty! And, not to break my birthday tradition, a wicker basket with hot cocoa and Pralines, my favorite winter treat. Mike even included my favorite magazine, Architectural Digest. Love this guy!After a bit of yard work, we took off to the AT&T store, where I got my new iPhone! A few years ago, Mike asked me if I would ever want an iPhone. I replied that I might want one eventually, after observing how useful they were for a while. I suppose enough time has passed that I decided I could actually find use of one of these newfangled technological doohickies.

(If there was a way for me to easily take a photo of the iPhone, I would do so. But suffice it for me to say that all the photos on this post were taken with it, so there we go.)

Then Mike and I headed to Boerne, the best little Texas town ever. We strolled along main street, bought a bag full of salt water taffy (and then were given toothbrushes by the store owner... ha!), found a delicious little pizza place with an pretty koi fish pond view, and perused a pumpkin patch.
How pastoral!

All in all, it was the perfect day. Mike even entered a few antique stores with me, which is a true indication of just how much he loves me.

Oh, and when we told our waitress it was my birthday, she said, "Turning 21?" Now, other people might find it a blessing to be guessed younger than your actual age, but (and I am not being overly dramatic), I consider it somewhat of a curse. I know, I know, I'll appreciate it when I am 40. But--ungrateful me!-- I don't appreciate it now. I mean, I kind of need to be able to rely on the basic understanding that I am of employment age. And also married age, etc.

So, oddly enough, when the waitress said, "Turning 21?" I felt a flash of excitement. I really look old enough to be 21?! Sweet! That is almost old enough to have a college degree! That's a gift in and of itself.

Happy birthday to me!