Santa Barbara

So, this past weekend, Nathan and I went to the beach overnight for our last "getaway" vacation before the baby comes. We chose Santa Barbara because it was still fairly close to drive to, but had things to do that we hadn't done yet - a lot of the other beach towns we've been to already.

We drove up on Friday morning and had lunch at Rusty's Pizza Parlor, which I guess is a local favorite. It had really good pizza! Then, we walked along Stearn's Wharf some - pretty windy, which made it kind of cold, but nice. We looked around downtown a little bit, then went back to our hotel to check in and take a nap (I get tired SO FAST now!), then went back to the wharf and ate dinner at Moby Dick's Restaurant. They had a good combination of food, so Nathan could get steak and potatoes, while I got some amazing clam chowder. :) The waitress recommended a virgin strawberry daquari (basically a strawberry smoothie), which was WONDERFUL!

Saturday, we ate breakfast at Sambo's (which is another famous local favorite). We both really like breakfast, so even though our hotel had a free continental breakfast (which we still raided for a quick snack to tide us over until we got to the restaurant), we always try to find a good restaurant to have breakfast at when we're on vacation. We then went to the Santa Barbara Zoo. We like zoos, so even though we don't have kids yet, we've been to quite a few. :) After that, we had hamburgers at The Habit, then sat and walked on the beach. We both got a little pink from being on the beach, but it was still very nice - not very crowded at all.

I have noticed by joints starting to loosen up now that I'm in my 3rd trimester, so doing all the walking we did was kind of hard on my body. We're used to doing a lot of walking on our vacations, so we had to take it a little slower this time around. Needless to say, we both took a nap when we got home late afternoon on Saturday. :)

We had a wonderful time together and that was the point of the trip. I'm thankful for my honey - he is a very sweet and caring husband! He's going to be a wonderful father, too!

Oregon Shower

I'm back from Oregon and I think I'm mostly recovered now. I got a cold last Sunday that got progressively worse throughout the week, making me sick on my vacation to Oregon this weekend. Thankfully, I still had a wonderful time, albeit very tiring!

My mom threw me a baby shower! We had a full house of people - standing room only. :) Four of my friends came, as well as lots of family. Nathan, Luke & I were definitely showered with lots of fun and practical gifts. Lots of cute little boy outfits!!! There are more pictures of the shower in our album of our Hughes Picture site, so you can take a look if you'd like. I flew up there by myself (the first time flying without Nathan since we got married) since it would have been too expensive for him to come just for a ladies' shower. I got to spend a lot of time with my mom, dad & sisters, so that was really nice as well.

I'm working hard to wrap things up at work - one more week! Hopefully I can get things to a satisfactory place before I leave. I'll have to do some training next week as well since a new events person is coming in, but hopefully I'll have some time to finish putting together the instruction manuals I'm doing (4 years of experience is not something they want to lose!). I even worked a few hours from home yesterday. I think it helped - I got a lot accomplished today and I feel a lot better about everything. :)

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and everything is still going well! I'll see the nurse practitioner again in 3 weeks (it's been every 4 weeks up to this point), and then I'll start going in every 2 weeks. Time is ticking away...

Busy Times...

The first week in April is almost a wrap - and it was the start of a what will be a VERY full month!

Work has continued to be busy, although I am able to keep my hours pretty close to 16 again. This is my last month working, so I have regular event things to work on as well as hope to write/arrange manuals and graphs for all the events the Center does for the people going forward after I leave. I only have 3 weeks left, so I'm hoping I'll be able to accomplish all that I want to - and keep a gracious attitude throughout it all. :)

Last week, I took a 3-hour glucose test to check to see if I have gestational diabetes (the routine 1-hour screening test came back with my glucose levels "a little high"). Thankfully, the results came back "normal"! I am VERY relieved! I had been a little nervous because that was the first thing in this pregnancy that showed signs of complications. But, all is well and I don't have gestational diabetes. Praise the Lord!

Both Nathan and I had the day off of work today because of Good Friday. We went to the Babies 'R' Us in Van Nuys to look for a changing table and/or dresser for Luke's room. We saw a changing table we like well enough, but we're going to wait and see if it will go on sale sometime in the next 3 months. They didn't have any dressers we liked, so we ended up going to Ikea (after a stop at In-N-Out for lunch!!!). We found one we liked there, and bought it - so Luke has a dresser now! :) It looks like it will be a good quality one that will last us for several years. Right now, it has taken up residence in the garage still in its box next to the box the crib is in. :)


Here are some pictures of them all for you to visualize. I'll be sure to take a picture of the room when it's all set up, too. :)

I sang in the choir tonight for our church's Good Friday service. The service was very special - it helped us all reflect on the sacrifice Jesus made for us as well as the hope we have knowing "Sunday is coming". It's truly an awesome thing that the King of heaven would come down and die for me - sacrificing everything so that I might be free from my sin and live in fellowship with Him for eternity. It is humbling and sobering. Being in the choir this year has allowed me to spend more time that usual meditating on these great truths as we learned the music. Singing the songs tonight in conjunction with the reading of Scripture culminated in a wonderful time of worship.

Tomorrow morning, I have Easter choir practice, which actually overlaps my nephew, Owen's, 1st birthday party that was already scheduled. :( I'll miss more than half of the party, but hopefully I can still enjoy the celebration a little bit. Then, later that evening, we'll be having our Easter celebration with Nathan's family - dinner, egg dying, etc.

For the rest of the month, just like this one, every weekend has something significant going on. Next weekend, I'll be flying to Oregon to see my family and enjoy a baby shower they're throwing for me! :) I hope to finish making a dress this week to wear to the shower - I cut out the fabric on Wednesday, so now I just need to sew it. :) The following weekend, Nathan and I are escaping to Santa Barbara for a "last getaway" as just a couple before the baby comes. Then, the last Friday of the month is my last day of work after being there for 4 years! My co-workers are taking me out to lunch after we close the office (it closes at 1pm on Fridays). Should be a fun month, but definitely busy. :)

Me as Ice Cream

I don't really agree with the conclusion of my personality at all, but I LOVE Rocky Road ice cream and I definitely go good with "Vanilla" (Nathan!). The quiz was wierd - random questions where I didn't really like any of the answers, but hey - it gave me Rocky Road... now that makes me want some... :)

You Are Rocky Road Ice Cream

Unpredictable and wild, you know how to have fun.You're also a trendsetter who takes risks with new things.You know about the latest and greatest - and may have invented it! You are most compatible with vanilla ice cream.