Nice Day

We had a nice Saturday yesterday. The weather was perfect for running, so we both went to the lake. Had great runs. Then, I went to do my Elevate reading at White Rock Coffee. Pumpkin latte, fall weather, good reading. Excellent start to the day.

Casey then got to test drive a Ferrari. The dealership contacted the law firm and offered to let them test drive the California. Boys like that kind of stuff.

After that, we went to our house builder and picked out EVERYTHING. So many choices. Tile, carpet, paint, fan blades, door knob color, shutters, siding color, base boards, molding, etc. We went through more finalized plans, which were awesome. It's going to be so nice...whenever it gets built. We'll get the financing early next year. The contractor said it would take 5 months to build, but I'm sure there will be delays and lots of set-up stuff before they actually start building. But it will be great once it's done. :)

October: State Fair & Columbus, Ohio

October is a very special month here in Dallas. The State Fair of Texas! Casey and I start looking forward to the fair in August. Love, love, love the fair. We cruise all the (free) expositions, get every free sample we can, pet all the animals at the petting zoo, see the prize animals, and try a few fair foods. We have so much fun, we usually need to go twice, which we did.
My fair goals this year: see a cooking demonstration and the butter statue, eat a funnel cake, see a prize turkey and a llama, and pet a baby pig.

Casey apparently had the goal of kissing a camel. The same camel that bit him last year because he "wanted to feel its lips." He's obviously not one to let a setback like that deter him.
The first time we went, we went with my parents, and I got to do almost everything I wanted. I saw a chef make venison chili with chocolate sauce and do a slam poem, both of which were good. We shared a corny dog and a funnel cake and petted every little goat within reach. But no baby pigs. I was seriously disappointed. We saw Boris, the fattest pig at the Fair, but I wanted to pet a baby pig!

So we went back with our lifegroup.
This is me, very happy. I could pet the baby pigs. They were so cute and so soft. I petted their ears, noses, tummies and chinny chin chins. I went back for more. Hog heaven!
We walked around the fair some more, watched the pig races (Jean Claude VanHam won) and some games on the Midway, and had cotton candy. The picture shows just the bottom half of it! I definitely needed to brush my teeth after that, but it was so worth it. I love the fair. And no, we did not try the fried beer. I have more respect for beer than that, even if I can't drink it for a while.

I also got to visit my best friend from college, Megan, who lives in Columbus, Ohio. She's made lots of trips back to Texas in recent years, and I visited her in Boston, but I had a good reason to visit her now, she just had a baby! Little Annabelle is two months old, and absolutely precious.
It was really fun getting to hang out with Megan and catch up. The weather was much cooler up there, and we got to enjoy some things they don't have in Dallas. Like Jeni's amazing ice cream (I had dark chocolate and spiced pumpkin), Greek fast food, and backyard fire pits. We roasted the hugest marshmallows I've ever seen. It was toasty, melty s'more goodness.
This is me, again, very happy. I could I stayed like that all day long...but unfortunately, she got hungry. She was hungry, a lot! I was also very informative, as a mom-to-be, to see a few days in the life of the parents of a newborn. Very hard to complete tasks, but full of happiness. Megan and Corey absolutely adore that little girl. It made me very excited to meet our own little person. April is a long way away!

Big News!

I'm pregnant! Officially, today, 12 weeks.You can see the baby's right hand, and the thing sitting out of the tummy is the umbilical cord. We should find out the baby's gender in mid-November.

Last week, we got to hear the heartbeat, which was really fast and strong, 162 beats a minute, and then had an ultrasound to determine the due date, April 12th.

I'm really thankful that we've made it this far without any problems. Other than some fatigue, I'm feeling fine, and apparently, the next trimester will be even better. I really have gotten off easy so far. My doctor said that my fitness and exercise would probably help, since my blood sugar stays pretty steady, I shouldn't have too much nausea, which I haven't. I've kept running, and I'm going to try to do the 1/2 marathon in December. I have no idea if that will be possible, but the doctor said it would be fine. In my opinion, healthy mom, healthy baby...so I'll try. :-)

Anyway, we're really blessed and happy and can't wait to meet our little person. It's so long to wait!

I've got a golden ticket....

A few weeks ago I sent out customized versions of these:To celebrate both my graduation Aug 13th and my 29th birthday Aug 25th, I threw myself a Wonka party. It was fun to plan, and if I do say so myself, the party was a total success.

There was, of course, lots of candy.
From every angle. :-)
The meal part of the party was my tribute to Violet Beauregard and the gum that turned her into a blueberry. I made tomato-basil soup ("It's hot and creamy! I can actually feel it running down my throat!"), and roast beef (well, slow-cooker brisket) and baked potatoes with sour cream.
Like this balloon Tom made me:
Too cute!

There was fizzy lifting drink punch, Wonka cake:
And a chocolate "waterfall":

And for one last treat, the guests got to sample lick-able wallpaper:
Christy tries the lickable wallpaper
Linnae sampling a plum.
Kristin tries a lemon.
Travis goes an alternative route.

All brought to you by Veruca Salt. ;-)

Some random shots from Paris

"It's big!"-Casey. Notre Dame, up close.
At Shakespeake and Co, an English-language bookstore in Paris. A very cool hangout. Upstairs are books only to be read on site, not for sale, and a piano to play. Two French kids were playing and singing. It was great. This picture is in imitation of one taken by my friend Bronwen, 10 years ago. How things change, but stay the same!
Mmm...roasting chickens with potatoes cooking in all those dripping. French food is good!
I love that one's called "WHY NOT." Hysterical.
Macabre, perhaps, but she's one of my favorite French authors. She wrote "Gigi."
Pere Lachaise cemetery, both beautiful and creepy.
Casey, taking a break at the Perducet tomb.
Coffee in France. So much better.
Pastries! And I was I good girl and didn't get one of each...just a couple!
Balzac is not my favorite of Rodin's works. You'd feel the same way if you had to read two of his novels and do two oral presentations in two weeks.
Mummified cats at the Louvre. For you, Aubrey. ;-)
Trekking up the stairs to the Sacre Coeur for one of the best free views in Paris.
A fantasy of a confectionery at Montmartre.
Our uber-compact apartment. We bumped our heads a fair amount.
We spent a lot of time in the metro. Not the prettiest part of the city, but useful.
The last night, we staying at a hotel walking distance from the Eiffel Tower.
By the end of our stay in Paris, it was so familiar, I felt like I could easily live there and blend in, becoming a seamless part of busy Paris life. But we were ready to go home, where there's room! Our house feels so spacious. And our puppies are here. They were so happy when we got home. Good puppies. =)

Some random shots from Germany

These were waiting on our pillows at the hotel in Immenstadt. Sleepy sheep, gummy...sheep!
We made friends with some bronze livestock in town, too.
These cows were grazing along what was to be the bike course. Happy cows.
No animals here, but I ran by this spot twice. There were unlimited amounts of great trails through the countryside. It was the best running place ever. Mountain biking was more popular, though.
It did rain some, though. I apparently was tired of pictures at this point.
If you can see my facial expression...I was trying to be a good girl and eat my dinner....but it was crazy greasy. Bacon, melted cheese, hash brown and brown gravy. Who thought of that combination? The cucumber on top was just a tease.
Casey did not have the house beverage at the Hofbrauhaus, despite its being cheaper than soda.
He did have the sausage platter. And I got spaetzle. I like spaetzle.
We, of course, made the obligatory pilgrimage to the Glockenspiel in Munich. Casey didn't get it, and I think he's right.
But overall, Germany was really fun. Despite not knowing the language, we got around and had a relaxing time.

The ITU Long Course World Championships

The official Team USA photo. Casey's the 4th from the left. The guys in blue are the team doctor and chiropractor.
Part of the Parade of Nations. 30 countries were represented.
Pre-race. Casey later said he was really nervous then.
The swim start. 4 km, or 2.4 miles. That 1-2 hours of constant swimming in deep water.
Casey out of the water and looking happy.
I didn't get any pictures of him of the bike, since it was away from town, but I got him on the run. Here, he just started the run.
And then, here with only 10k or 6 miles to go.
At the end, he was really tired, but in better shape than some, and really glad that he could finish, despite a devastatingly difficult bike, and finish well. Being there and seeing first hand, I could see how long and hard it was, and how serious and committed these athletes are. I was really proud to see my own Casey out there with the best of them.