Breaking up is hard to do..

So the mountain of stuff on my table never got touched...maybe tomorrow :)

We broke up today.  Me and t-mobile that is.  Now I am with Verizon.  Lance and I are on the same plan which is good and cheaper.  And my t-mobile days of every call dropping in my house or people not being able to call me should be over.  That was the reason we switched to Verizon instead of t-mobile.  t-mobile was great in MN but not so much here in TN.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted...which is approx 13 yrs...as long as I've had a cell phone.  Hopefully I like Verizon. Anyhow, if you are one of my t-mobile friends and could call me anytime because we were in the same network it is good to know I am switched so calling me doesn't run up your minutes now.  I think that mostly applies to Robin, Ira and Ashley.  Just cause I broke up with t-mobile doesn't mean I'm breaking up with you guys :)  lol

We are having some friends over tonight for dinner but first I must clean off the table.  Which sounds easy right?  but it is rather piled high with papers that need to be organized and all my tax info for the year 2008.  It could take me all day.  

wish me luck!

My Trip in Pics

A little Taco Time...

Pike's place Market at night with my handsome hubby...
Breakfast back at the Market...


Fat pigs and Fat birds...and big ol' pregnant ladies...

reflections...

Lance at work...me tagging along..
At the Chicago crash pad.

I am feeling extremely unattractive these days. Between the bigness of my belly, the overall weight gain and my cankles...well, let's just say "pretty" isn't the word that comes to mind.
I have the constant sniffles too which isn't really attractive either.
Getting myself in and out of a bathtub isn't easy so shaving my legs is a rarity, I did it a couple days ago though but it's not like I'm wearing skirts so a lot of work for no one to notice. Although when I showed my doctor my cankles and she lifted my legs to check it out, they weren't all hairy so maybe it was worth it.
Ug. I am stressing over way to much these last few days too. And it makes me cry which leads to puffy eyes. Also not attractive.

I am not posting this so everyone will tell me I look fine and whatever, I know perfectly well that good friends lie to make you feel better about it all...I've done it myself...I just need to say it somewhere before my head explodes and my blog is where I choose to express this today. Trust me, Lance has heard me express a ton of other things that haven't made it to my blog. All these hormones are messing with my head and sanity I think.

I will post more about our trip and some pictures soon. I am feeling pretty sick today. Not sure what is up. Say a little prayer for me if you read this, I don't want it to turn into anything serious. I could just be worn out from all the fun I had the last few days.

My baby gets the hiccups like 4 or 5 times a day. Not sure what is normal or if I'm eating wrong..I did eat a ton of Taco Time with spicy hot sauce...I love spice.

I've been enjoying the Bachelor and more than that the recaps my lovely sister in law does on her blog...check it out if you are a fan :)

I'm sitting in Chicago at Lance's crash pad, it has been a nice visit...we headed downtown last night with another couple who are here and had dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe. It was a nice drive to see the lovely city of chicago and a great dinner with some nice people.
Today we are going to head downtown again and find the local Tall Girl where they have one more pair of maternity pants than the Tall Girl in Mpls. So that could be fun. We shall see.
Then it is off to Seattle. I plan to eat at Taco Time. Happy Happy Joy Joy. You have no idea how much I love that place...I may devote an entire blog just to the yumminess of it all :)

think pink

I realize that I am having a little baby boy and all that but I feel the need for some pink in my life. So welcome to my pink blog. Isn't it sweet? I will have plenty of blue in my future...so this will be my pink corner of the world :)

lurkers

hey all you lurkers...I know you are there because I have a statcounter...I don't know who you are necessarily but I know you visit and how often...I actually haven't looked at my statcounter for months but I did today and I think a few of you need to say hi already! I am a nice person and if you are reading me I may want to read you so be brave, leave a comment, say Hi! share the love people!

Hello My Baby...

So...feeling this baby move around and kick like crazy always always makes me think of this scene from Space Balls. It is a little disturbing but when the little alien starts dancing and singing...hilarious. I plan to serenade my baby with this song once he is born :) And I am confident my child will be way cuter than this little guy...lol...sorry if this grosses you out...

blessed

One thing my lovely trip back to MN reinforced for me is that I am glad to be where I am today. There is nothing about my life in MN that I hated, I loved every bit of it...from the snow to the job to the people. I absolutely loved every moment of my time there. So to be there and be missing Lance the whole time and to be so happy to get home was a nice feeling. A reminder that I didn't give anything up to move to Nashville but instead I added more into my life. I am blessed to have a husband who loves me, I am expecting a child, my house is filled with people I love and I am getting the experience of living in a city I always thought I would end up living in but never really knew why I thought that. I am blessed to be a part of a church that is honest and welcoming and considering the church I came from was pretty much what my life revolved around and is an amazing community of believers, it is nice to have so quickly connected into a new church community. I have amazing doctors for a pregnancy that has been rather difficult. I have a husband who I admire, love, enjoy and look forward to living life with every day.

yes, I feel blessed.

Our Growing Family

You all know Lance and I are expecting a little baby boy...but what you don't know is that we have also added two girls to our little family. Anyone who is thinking "she must have gotten dogs..." doesn't know me! lol.

We have two beautiful gals living with us, both moved in recently. Their stories are not mine to tell but I figured I would mention their existence seeing as how they will likely come up in any future stories I tell about life in the Lockhart household.

Brandy moved in on New Years Eve Day. I have known her since she was a small child and she is an honorary family member, she spent much of her childhood with my family. She's 21 now and all grown up. Hopefully her fresh start here in Nashville will be enjoyable and a good adventure.

Jessi, my little sis, moved in last week. I am soooo glad to have her here. She kept me alive at the beginning of this pregnancy and just happened to be in town to visit again when I ended up spending a week in the hospital. We are hoping this time while she is here is way less eventful! lol. She will head to St. Louis for a while but other than that I am hoping she is around a lot. And she does have a dog...which I don't mind as long as we are in agreement that I don't have to pet it or clean up after it...which I do once in a while but I don't want the ultimate responsibility for it. If that makes sense. Cami is a good dog though, doesn't really bark and just follow Jess around...basically she leaves me alone. Perfect. :)

Lance and I love having people in our home. Whether it's a quick visit or if someone needs to stay a while. We are blessed to have the space and both of us know what it's like to need somewhere to land during unsure times and times of transition. For now it's is these two ladies, in the future, who knows who else it will be. But this is one way we can easily help someone out. They get the joy of being around this prego lady who is hungry all the time, unreasonably emotional and a little needy. Hopefully it's a good trade off :)

My church is doing a series called "paralyzed" and talking about the fears that stop us from moving forward in our life in different areas. So I have a few thoughts in my own life about fear. I know that there are fears that keep me from doing certain things...like bungee jumping for instance :) But as a general rule I have tried to not let fear grip me and guide me in my life. More recently with this pregnancy. I know a TON of people who are pregnant right now and I know that fear runs rampant. Fear that the child will be born with a problem, fear this thing will happen or that thing won't, fear about being a parent, I could go on and on. I have been confronted with all of these fears as well but I am choosing to not be fearful. For me, I know that I have very little control over all the things people are worrying about and somehow that takes the pressure off. I could worry and let fear fuel the worry but I just don't have the energy for that kind of an experience. I have also come to realize that spending to much time "reading up" on things that have to do with pregnancy starts to cause me anxiety. We live in the information age and it is easy to saturate ourselves with information about anything and everything. I have chosen to not do a lot of "reading up". I do not watch "A baby story" on TLC..when I do I start to experience anxiety. When I just listen to my doctor and take care of myself I do great.
I started to experience some anxiety yesterday when I realized how much I still need to do and buy to get ready for this baby. But I took a deep breath, talked to Lance about it and I feel better. One thing I know about fear is that it is better to deal with it right away and not let it fester or grow bigger.

Colder than cold

I hope the two or three people I know in TN read this blog. It will give them a little insight into what I miss so much about MN and why I laugh when they complain about the "cold" weather here. LOL. It won't make any sense though unless you have lived in a truly cold climate.

I admit that -40 windchill is not comfortable and it felt like a heat wave at 15 degrees today after experiencing the -40...but I still enjoyed my visit to MN. However, considering the only pair of maternity pants I could find are completely flimsy I am glad I live in a warmer climate for this pregnancy!

(PS. I heard when I got home today that they cancelled school here for temps around 3 degrees....it made me laugh because when I was in MN a few of the schools delayed start times when it was -20 and even colder with the windchill...ironic.)

Here is the forward I borrowed from another of my friends blogs (Michelle, I wish I could have seen you and your darling baby's while I was in town! at least I get to see their cute faces on your blog)



60 above zero:
>Floridians turn on the heat.
>People in Minnesota plant gardens.

50 above zero:
>Californians shiver uncontrollably.
>People in Duluth sunbathe.

40 above zero:
>Italian & English cars won't start.
>People in Minnesota drive with the windows down.

32 above zero:
>Distilled water freezes.
>The water in Bemidji gets thicker.

20 above zero:
>Floridians don coats, thermal
>underwear, gloves, wool hats.
>People in Minnesota throw on a flannel shirt.

15 above zero:
>New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
>People in Minnesota have the last cookout before it gets cold.

Zero:
>People in Miami all die.
>Minnesotans close the windows.

10 below zero:
>Californians fly away to Mexico
>People in Minnesota get out their winter coats.

25 below zero:
>Hollywood disintegrates.
>The Girl Scouts in Minnesota are selling cookies door to door.

40 below zero:
>Washington DC runs out of hot air.
>People in Minnesota let the dogs sleep indoors.

100 below zero:
>Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
>Minnesotans get upset because they can't start the Mini-Van.

460 below zero:
>ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale.)
>People in Minnesota start saying..."Cold 'nuff fer ya?"

500 below zero:
>Hell freezes over.
>Minnesota public schools will open 2 hours late.

I had another great day...and I have the cankles to prove it! have I used that dumb joke yet here? I can't remember. I am forgetful these days.

Started the morning off at the MOA. I met Wendy and Miss Macy for some Starbucks and the headed to Tony Roma for lunch with Anika and her two dolls. What fun!

I stopped by the church one more time to see Nina again and saw Pastor J's van in the parking lot and found out he had just gotten back to town and was in his office, I had the chance to visit with him for a good half hour and it was a joy because I didn't think I'd get to see him at all!

Next I found myself eating cookies and milk in the comfort of Julie Fuzzybottom's (not her real last name but isn't it endearing?) home. What a nice treat for me!

I ended the night with my friend Callie and we just enjoyed talking the night away and some really great food at a restaurant that was a bit of a hike to get to but where I had a gift certificate to. Can't remember the name even now. It was great food though. I am so happy to be able to eat these days.

I am officially tired. Happy, but tired. I still need to pack my stuff up tonight so that I am ready for tomorrow's travels but wanted to put a few notes down so I would remember all the fun I had today. When I get home to Nashville I will post pics :)

lovely day! and it even snowed a little. I just loved it :)

Started the morning off getting my nails done with my fun friend Jamie. It was nice to be pampered a little and to girl chat. Even if it was negative 20 on the drive over :)

Next I went over to Cedar Valley and had a chance to see and hug a few people before heading to lunch with "the girls". We headed to Twin Cities Grill and I did not hold back...I ordered my favorites and made sure we had a nice dessert to finish it off. Very nice conversation and I adore the ladies I was with so that was nice. After a few more visits at the office I headed for the Mall of America.

My main objective for this little whirlwind trip was to find maternity pants at Tall Girl. I have a 37" inseam and they are not easy to find. Tall Girl ended up having one pair, they are kind of dressy and black. I wish they had had jeans but at least I have something. I also bought two pairs of "dance pants". They are like a little bit more of a tailored sweat pant. A blue and a charcoal grey. They are not maternity but they will do the trick for a while. I think I can find a pair of maternity jeans online so I should be all good.

Next I headed out to take a drive by my house to make sure it was still standing and all that jazz. I have pretty good renters but of course since I'm in town I just had to see for myself.

I had a few more minutes until I needed to be in Bloomington to pick up Robin so I took a bit of time and headed to my all time favorite store, Patina. It was delightful and made me miss my girls in North Carolina since that was a favorite haunt of ours and I also wished my mom and my sister in law could be there because that was also a place we spent quite a bit of time together.

The rest of the night I spent at Chili's with Robin, Tobi, Randi, Ana, Suzie, Blaine, Dillon, Alex, Hailey, Susan, Travis, Caryn and Pearlann. Yes it was crazy. Six of those people are kids so it was a bit wild. I loved every second of it but I was more than a little tired by this point.

I have one more full day here, several people to see and then I head home tomorrow. It has been wonderful but I will be glad to be home at the same time.

I kind of thought I might tear up or cry seeing people I have been missing but I didn't. I did however, tear up when I got on Cedar off of 494 and headed towards Old Shakopee Road and knew exactly where I was with out anyone telling me, with out mapquest and with out my new BFF (Garmin). I really miss the feeling of knowing where I am at all times. It is slowly but surely starting to happen in Nashville but in the meantime the stress I feel when I am out driving is still there. Thank God lance got me the Garmin for my birthday, it has helped majorly.

I had such a nice time at coffee with my book club girls Nina and Courtney. I love those two to pieces. Courtney is due with her first baby boy any day, I'll post belly shots eventually :)

Next I headed to Cedar Valley. I was a little nervous that I'd forget names and things, especially of the kids, but that all came back to mind with ease. Even some of the babies who were brand new when I left and are now crawling all around I recognized. Kids change so much so fast.

Two moments I want to remember. The first, seeing Joseph (he's like 7 or 8), him looking at me and not saying anything but then walking back to me and stating "you haven't been here in a long time." kind of like..."what the heck are you here for now and where the heck did you go" it was cute.
The second was walking into the family dinner time and having a crowd of people say "ah! hi! Jamie! she's here!" and other such stuff. Very fun moment since I hadn't told many folks I was going to be visiting.

It was a fun night of lots of quick hugs and "status updates" in person. (facebook anyone?) I am now tucked cozily into Beth and Twon's house for the night with my kankles and tired back. It's negative 14 outside (and that's with out windchill)and I can actually say I have missed it. I know if I lived here still I'd be grumbling like everyone else but I get to go home to warmer climates so I am enjoying even the chill factor. I am ready to sleep and start again tomorrow :)

yay for new memories with old friends.

I find this picture to be fascinating and horrifying all at the same time. Just needed to share. This whole pregnancy thing is so strange and nothing like anything else. I will be glad when it is done. I like babies a lot. Pregnancy however, is not my thing.

I am taking a little trip to Mpls. Very last minute. Made the plans today and I'm arriving on Wednesday :) So now how to figure out seeing lots of people!

goodness.

I am excited to see snow. I am excited to see people I love. I am excited to go to Tall Girl and buy the only pair of maternity pants in America with a long enough inseam for my long legs. yay!

I am having a blue day. No reason that I can pinpoint. Just a typical letdown probably from the holidays being done. Family is all gone and back to their lives. Christmas decorations put away. Shopping is finished. Lance is at work. I'm home. The clean up is mostly done. Pregnancy hormones are raging. And I am blue.

I'm sure by tomorrow I'll be back to good. It's just the day.