Spring Has Arrived!

Spring has finally arrived here in Southeast MI!! It is supposed to be a wonderful 68° today! Tomorrow 73°, then 75° for the two days after that. We're headed to Northern MI tomorrow evening and it's even supposed to be that warm up there. I cannot wait! I am so ready for the dreary, cold winter we've had to be over. I may have to pull out some capri pants (if they fit) for this wonderful weather.

I noticed yesterday that I've started to regain some of my energy. Thank God! I'm thinking that I'm going to have to rework my workout routine and switch it to the evenings. I'm not so sure how that's going to go, but really I have no other choice. I cannot get my butt out of bed in the mornings to go running or do yoga. So I'm going to make the ultimate sacrifice and switch to an evening workout girl. We'll see how that goes.

The weekend recap...as a reminder, some friends and I went on a scrapbooking weekend this past weekend. It was wonderful! This was our first time at this particular place and it was set-up pretty much the same as the other place we've been to. All meals, snacks and beverages (non-alcoholic) were included. The food was delicious! One difference that we all noted was that at the other place we were never hungry and never needed to snack in between meals/appetizers. At this place I was looking for a snack in between breakfast and lunch and then again in between lunch and dinner. I think one of the reasons was that they spaced out the meals to far apart. The other think I found interesting, they didn't make our beds in the morning. So all day Saturday our beds went unmade. I found that very strange. The other disappointment, the massage therapist wasn't available this past weekend...so no massage! I was so looking forward to one, too. But, other than those couple of things, it was a great weekend. It was only 40 minutes from my house, so that was very convenient.

As I mentioned, Mr. Jeep, LC, the hounds and I are headed up north for Easter weekend. Mr. Jeep and I have been going up north for Easter weekend for as long as I can remember. It takes the pressure off what I like to call "an obligatory holiday". My parents will also be up there at their house, so they're coming over on Saturday for Easter dinner. Nothing fancy, real low-key. We'll probably color Easter eggs on Friday. I'm looking forward to the Easter egg hunt on Sunday. We go to Mr. Jeep's mom's place and it is in the middle of the woods. The next closest house is three miles away. There's no electricity or plumbing (yes, we call it roughing it, but not really). We use propane for the stove, heat and lights and yes, we have to use an outhouse. The outhouse really isn't that bad. I freaked out the first time Mr. Jeep took me up there because before this I refused to ever use an outhouse. But when you have no other option, you do what you have to do. The outhouse is so clean and you don't feel like you're in an outhouse when you're in there. Hard to explain without actually experiencing it, but trust me. So being in the middle of the woods, we can hide Easter eggs everywhere. It should be a lot of fun. LC will love it!

I'm planning on getting a couple of runs this weekend. It's so peaceful running up there because no one else is around. Although, I do tend to freak myself out when I'm out running. Long story, but I always feel like someone is watching me. Kind of freaky, but I don't let it stop me.

March 26th Friday Follow!!

Welcome to another edition of Friday Follow! Hosted by Hearts Make Families, Midday Escapades and One 2 Try. Check them all out!

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Cut & Paste

So, this weekend I am going away with some friends for a scrapbooking weekend. I know, it sounds kind of corny, but it is SO awesome. Last year, around this time, we went to this place called Cropping Daze in the middle part of Michigan. There were just three of us that went. I was a little skeptical of going at first. I didn’t know if I’d like being there with a bunch of other people I didn’t know, but it was great. It’s along the lines of a bed and breakfast, but you also get to scrapbook for the entire weekend. The place was like heaven and they treated us like queens. All of the meals are included in the price, along with snacks. And these meals aren’t just ordinary meals…they are GOURMET. I was never hungry the entire weekend. In addition to the meals and the snacks, they also keep out dishes of candy and other goodies all day. It’s definitely not a Weight Watchers friendly menu, but it is so delicious. They also made our beds every morning and leave candy on our pillows. Every night they would turn down our beds. On Saturday, a massage therapist came in and, for an additional charge, offered massages. I definitely acted upon that. The scrapbooking area itself was incredible. Each person had an 8 foot table that included outlets, a task lamp, cup holder, garbage can and a great office chair. The best part is that you were able to keep your stuff out all weekend and didn’t have to worry about packing everything up at the end of the day.

This weekend we’re trying out a new place. This place is called Memories Manor and it’s a little closer to home. I’m very interested to see how this place compares to Cropping Daze. Memories Manor’s website states that they have a bellhop that takes all of our bags to your room and scrapbook supplies to the scrapbooking area. It’s the same sort of deal, all the food is included and they will also offer massages on Saturday. I’m really hoping that the massage therapist knows how to do pregnancy massage, because I will be all over that!

Of course, the other interesting part of the whole process are the other people. There was a super annoying bunch that was with us at Cropping Daze last year. They insisted on having the TV on in the scrapping area, along with the stereo. They never once watched the TV. Then Saturday night they insisted on watching Saturday Night Live, turned off the stereo and never once watched it! Thankfully I had my back to them the entire weekend and didn’t have to witness anything that was going on. We found out on a couple of occasions that must not like swearing very much. The three of us were carrying on a conversation and someone *gasp* cursed and apparently, every single one of them bore their eyes into us. It wasn’t like we were a bunch of cussing sailors, we were just having a conversation. There was one woman with them that didn’t scrapbook the entire weekend, she didn’t even bring anything to scrapbook with. She did bring her laptop and was on it all weekend. I don’t know why you’d pay that much money to be on your laptop all weekend, but so be it.

This time there will be five us. I’m going to try and remember my camera so I can capture some good shots. I hope the food is just as good. I’m all about the food these days!

Running...like they do on Baywatch

Of course my first question to my doctor was if I could still run, due to the pregnancy. She told me that I could keep running, but (and this is a big one) I have to keep my heartrate below 140 bpm. Seriously? So, I said okay I can live with that. I can still run, no big deal. Mr. Jeep wanted to know for how long I could keep running. I think he was a little worried that the crazies that are usually kept away by my running would start creeping back into our lives, as was I. The doctor told me that I can keep running until it is no longer comfortable. GREAT! was the response from both of us. Great, until you actually get out there.

So the day after she gave me the go ahead, I headed out for my run. I set my Garmin up so that it would beep at me when I got above 140 bpm. I soon realized a few things on that run. One, I don't know my Garmin as well as I should. I won't bore you with all the technical details, but I didn't have the right thing set and it beeped at me the entire time I was on my run. I thought I was going to lose my f--ing mind. The other thing I realized is that I have to run really slow to keep my heartrate at 140 bpm or below. I really felt like people who were watching me thought this was the first time I ever ran. It took me about 10 minutes longer to do the route that I ran. I kept reminding myself that this is not just for me anymore and that I have to think of the other person inside of me and do what's best for him/her.

I haven't been running as much as I would like. I haven't been sleeping well and can't get up at 5 am to do my normal run. And by the time I get home from work, there's way too many other things to take care of and worry about. Plus, I've been exhausted. This week I have felt like I've gotten some of my energy back, a little. So my goal is to get back on track, or at least the track I should be on right now. It's very hard for a competitive person to change her thinking, but I'm trying.

(This is what I say over and over to myself)

We've Found Her!

Yes, I'm still here and around. I know, I know...it's been since August that I last posted anything. Shame on me. I've been busy reading everyone else's blogs and keeping current with all of them, that I haven't taken the time for myself. So I've decided that now is as good a time as any to get back in the swing of things and continue my rambling and rants. So watch out, because I'm sure they'll be good from here on out.

So, what's new? you ask...I guess the biggest news is that Mr. Jeep and I are expecting a baby in September. September 14th to be exact (and let's hope it's exact). I'm 15 weeks along, so I have a long way to go. We're very excited in the Two Seconds household, to say the least. There will be lots of changes and hopefully all of them good. First of all, the baby, that's a big change. Second of all, LC will be changing bedrooms and along with that comes all new furniture for her and a total room makeover. At first she wasn't thrilled with the idea that she'd be getting a new bedroom, until we told her that she'd get new furniture and she'd get to help pick out the paint color. Then she was VERY excited. We're even on the ball with already having bought the furniture. I found a great bedroom set on craigslist for a very reasonable price.

Of course, I will be the most pregnant in the hottest month of the year...August, but oh well. What can you do, right? I told Mr. Jeep I better not hear one complaint about the electric bill this summer. I'm sure I'll have the air-conditioning on everyday that it even thinks about going over 78 degrees. Between being parked over an air vent in the house or camped out in LC's pool in the backyard, I don't think I'll get a lot accomplished this summer.

That's really the big news. I'm sure I'll be posting a lot of my complaints and frustrations over the next few months. It seems that I get very easily irritated with everything and everyone, so I'll try to find the humor.

We went to the Florida Keys at the end of February. We went with a group of friends and it was very nice. I'm still trying to think of a way to quit my job, Mr. Jeep to quit his job and move down there permanently. Although, I don't think I'd enjoy the hurricanes very much. We rented a really nice house on a canal in Marathon and it was only a five minute walk to the beach. Here's a picture of the tree we camped under at the beach:

We also went to the Dolphin Research Center, which was very cool. LC and Mr. Jeep got to pet the dolphins and shake "hands" with them. LC is still talking about it. Here's a picture:

I opted to be the photographer and not participate. Plus, it was really expensive. It was more for her anyway. If you ever get the chance to go down there, I highly recommend it. We went to Key West one day and stayed for the evening entertainment. In Mallory Square the street performers come out and put on little shows. It was a lot of fun. We also wanted to catch the sunset from there, which we kind of did. I say kind of because there was a big cruise ship docked and it decided to take off two minutes before the sun actually set. Needless-to-say, there were quite a few boos and curse words from the crowd for that cruise ship. Here's the picture we were able to get:

Yes, that's a pirate ship in the picture! Arghh!