Really?

This is not baby related but when I saw this picture on People.com I couldn't believe. I'm an admitted Jon&Kate Plus 8 fan.

The last couple of months have been hard to watch the show due to their pending split. I hate it for the kids and also for them. Granted I'm the first to admit I think she was way too hard on him and I favored him.

That was till this picture......Dude you're not even divorced yet? And you have 8 kids? What are you doing traveling with your "just friends" mate. I get marriages don't work, but the papers aren't done and you have 8 kids that will see this when they grow up. Tacky...kinda like your shirt.

I think this sealed the deal on me not watching anymore. {Hubby quietly rejoicing}

A New Baby

A couple of months ago I started to think about trading my car in. I had a Mazda 3 that I absolutely loved that was getting close to expiring on its warranty. From lesson learned in the past I knew the moment the warranty was up issues would start to arise.

Well about that time this beauty below came out. The ALL NEW 2010 Mazda 3. Yes that's right I'm car obsessed. I worked at a car dealership PT during college so I love when new cars come out. The upgrades, the features, the smell of new car.

Well if you click on the link you will see why my heart was set on the new 3.


After some sweet talking the hubby and some bargaining he said we could "think" about it. Woo hoo, i was set. Until.....


That's right boys and girls, wait do I even have a boy reading?...hardly have any girls reading....anyway, 5 pregnancy tests later I found out we're expecting.

As you can only imagine it was a great surprise, since well...... truthfully we weren't trying. Since we have found out and contemplated life a billion times, we feel blessed that the Lord has given us this gift.

I'm not going to lie, there are some crazy days where I start panicking a little bit but then there are days were I see a baby and want to take them all home. Don't worry the hubby is usually by my side to stop me.

This also explains why I haven't kept up much. The first three months were HORRIFIC. How do people do this more than once. I was sick everyday....and when I say sick I don't mean hoovering the porcelain God....for lucky me it was the feeling you get when you need to make a dash to pray to the porcelain God after one too many tequila shots.....yeah we all know it well...well it was that 24 /7. So as you can imagine blogging was far from my mind.

We also decided early on we would wait the standard 12 weeks before sharing the news and since then the fatigue has set in big time. So after 12 weeks came and went I was in no mood to share the news, bloggy style or real world style.

This week my energy has come back a bit so I hope to start posting a bit more. I hope you guys don't mind that I'll share the road to the big day in December and all else that keeps me busy these days.

No worries I still fret over my almost done office that will now be a guest room but I'm sure for the next couple of posts it will be all baby related.

Good times ahead people.

Oh and I did trade my car in. But I figured the baby needed a mommy mobile more than a single mobile. I got the CX-7 and I absolutely love it. Not what I thought I would end up with months ago but now I wouldn't have it any other way.

Family Fun in the Woods

In early June my entire family headed out to Gatlinburg for a weekend. When I say entire I mean 2 parents, 5 kids, 3 significant others and 2 grandchildren. And most of them are hispanic. So you can only imagine the noise.

A couple of quick pictures with my our new camera.

My handsome nephew showing me what he is eating. Boys never change.


My adorable niece asking me her favorite question..."Whatcha Doing?"


My niece all in enjoying her bubble bath.


It was a crazy 3 days but we were so fortunate to spend the short time all together. I wish we could all do it more often.

Shiny and New

So the hubby and I finally decided to upgrade our camera.

About a month and a half ago we decided to purchase the Canon Rebel XTi.

I'm so very excited to have an awesome camera. Now we just need to learn about it.

We think we might sign up for some photography classes in the near feature as I hear that makes all the difference.

Savannah

We arrived to Sweet Savannah in the late afternoon and we immediately checked in to the hotel. Savannah is definitely a walking town so no need for our car.

We decided to walk down to the Riverfront area.


After some walking we decided to have dinner. We had made reservations for a restaurant in that area named Vic's on the River. We were able to sit near the Sherman Map, a map found during renovations of the buildings which is believe to be drawn by Union Soldiers detailing General Sherman's march from Tennessee to Georgia during the Civil War.

It was pretty incredible to see what areas where detailed on a map almost a hundred years ago. The table also overlooked the river so we were able to watch the sunset while enjoying the amazing food.

We started with Fried Green Tomatoes, then I had the Fried Shrimp and the hubby had the Parmesan Flounder.


They were both incredible. I only wish we could have taken some to the hotel with us for a late night snack.

After dinner we continued our stroll of the area. Some great antique stores, if we ever do a road trip again we are taking a bigger car. Lesson learned. Or perhaps the hubby knew what he was doing.


We visited a couple of bars in the area to get out of the heat and then decided on checking out a dueling piano bar, Savannah Smiles, for the night.



We had previously been to a dueling piano bar while visiting San Antonio a couple of years ago and really enjoyed ourselves. This place did not disappoint and after several hours, yes several, we decided we needed to call it a night. We aren't 21 after all.

The next morning we got up bright and early to get in line for reservations to Paula Deen's restaurant. It's first come first serve so basically you stand in line waiting to just make a reservation. I would complain but it is Paula Deen after all. Check out the line.


After getting our dinner reservation we headed to take a trolley tour of Savannah. With well over 20 square in Savannah we figured we needed a tour to give us a heads up on where we wanted to go.

Did I mention how hot is was? The temps were in the 90's but the humidity was intense. I don't think I could have drank enough water to replace all that was sweated that day. I know...sexy.

I complained to the hubby after a while and within 10 minutes saw this:


Poor guy was in khakis, a sports coat and a tie. I really hope those pictures were worth it.

Savannah is the mecca for girls scouts. It's the birthplace of their founder, Juliette Gordon Low. We ran into three or four group of girls scouts throughout the day, some serious dedication.


After the trolley tour we went by foot through some of the squares we found interesting. At first it was strategic but I'm pretty sure by the time we left Savannah we saw them all.


We decided on visiting Forsyth Park. I love that park...the famous water fountain.


We had to take a quick pic.


Then it was back to the hotel for a quick nap and to get ready for dinner. We may have stopped a couple more times for pictures.


After our nap we made it to Paula Deen's ya'll.



Um, did I already mention this trip we decided on throwing calories out the window???

The hubby had the awesome buffet but I decided on the crab cakes meal. They were soo good and the black beans were one of the best I EVER had. I also had some fried collard greens. I've never really eaten collard greens but these bad boys were fried and delicious.


After dinner we decided to walk off the billion calories we happily consumed. Another beautiful Savannah night.


Earlier that day we found out that a free concert was being held at Forsyth Park that night. It apparently was a graduation concert for Savannah College Art & Design 2009 Grads. We decided to head over to check out the concert and it was packed. We ended up catching Michael Franti and The Spearhead band, new to us but well worth the trip.


We stayed as long as we could before the skies decided to open up and rain all over our parade. So much for that beautiful sunset.

The following day we packed up and did some last minute sight seeing and then on the road we went.

We made a pit stop in Atlanta. First Ikea....How I wish there was an Ikea in Nashville. After my Ikea fix we eat dinner at Chipotle, my hubby's favorite. A Nashville location is opening soon thankfully. After dinner we headed home.

It was an awesome couple of days getting to know some wonderful Southern cities. How I miss them all in one way or the other.

Charleston

We arrived to Charleston, checked in to our hotel, sucked in some air conditioning and went off to dinner. We could definitely tell an increase in temperature as we made in to Charleston. Our first night in Charleston we ate at La Fourchette. We decided to take King Street all the way to the restaurant and got to see some great shops along the way.

Dinner at La Fourchette was incredible. I have a great fondness of French Bistro cuisine and this place did not disappoint. From their double fried french fries to my incredible Hanger Steak I was super full and super happy when we left.

After dinner we strolled the streets of Charleston.


Palmetto Palm Trees, the state's tree, are everywhere and they make you feel like you are in another world. I loved them.



We pit stopped it at City Lights Coffee for some coffee and returned to our hotel and enjoyed their terrace looking onto Charleston Harbor.

The next morning we decided to go on a boat tour of Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter. On our way to the boat we passed some great houses.


Once we arrived we had the pleasure of finding out that our tour was also being taken by several classes of a local elementary school. Sweet merciful.



Overall it was a pretty loud tour due to the children however we got to see the Fort and got upclose to Charleston's beautiful bridge.


After the boat ride we continued our walking tour of Charleston.




We then decided on lunch at Virgina's on King. It was a great break from the heat and another delicious meal.



We couldn't resist sharing a cup of She-Crab soup even with all the heat.



After a delightful lunch we decided to take the trolley down to some historic stops and shops near our hotel. Look what was located near the trolley stop, the offices of magazine Garden and Gun.



I first saw this magazine on a business trip to Ft. Worth over a year ago and thought it was hilarious to have such a combination. Since then however I'm a huge fan. Alright not fan enough to subscribe but I may have been known to browse a magazine or two while out at a bookstore.


We stopped at the Old Exchange Building for a tour. Here is a look out the window towards the Broad Street.



We then stopped at an Irish pub, Tommy Condon's, to watch the UEFA Soccer Championship between Barcelona and Manchester United. Gotta love soccer.

After the game we did some shopping and headed back to the hotel. We decided to try Fat Hen for dinner, a restaurant on John's Island. They focus on making meals with local produce using low country inspiration. It was worth the extra drive.

The next morning we packed our bags and said good bye to Charleston but not before making a trip to Folly Beach.

Asheville

A few days after my last post I headed on vacation for a couple of days. This summer we decided to take a quick vacation and see some cities in the South. We spent 2 days/2 nights in Asheville, Charleston, & Savannah.

Our first stop...Asheville, home of the Biltmore House. Our first day in Asheville, we toured their downtown area, stopping for some light beverages and shopping.

For dinner we headed to Savoy, which was good, my hubby's meal was far better than mine however I still enjoyed the quite and romantic restuarant.

The next day we visited the Biltmore house. I can't even begin to describe the amazingness of this house. Just read here.

When you first arrive you see one of these two lions near the front entrance.



They don't allow pictures in the home {sigh} so I can't share all that was seen but it was definitely worth the visit.

We also took an additional tour, the rooftop tour. The tour name says it all, its a tour that allowed us to head to the roof of the estate. From the ground you can see how ornate the exterior is, with the rooftop tour you get an up close look. Like the limestone tiled roofs. Incredible.




Where the roofs meet there is monogrammed trim. Originally it was gold plated but with time it has worn away. Attention to detail I must say.



We also got an up close look at all the gargoyles and spires which are amazing and plentiful. Once we were down on the main floor we decided to take a tour of the rest of the grounds.



This is a picture of their green house in their gardens. Check out the dimension compared to the adults in the picture. Did I mention this house was completed in 1895.



On the walk back to a car we snapped a pic.



After we left the estate we ventured over to Biltmore Winery. Located on the same grounds but a drive away. We decided to grab a small bite at the Biltmore Bistro. It was super delicious and a break from those clouds you see in picture above.

While in Asheville we stayed at the Grand Bohemian Asheville. It opened earlier this year and was incredible, beautiful rooms with a cottage theme yet very updated with great amenities.

After our all day trip to the Biltmore we headed back to the hotel for some rest {aka nap, it is vacation after all}. Later that night we decided to skip dinner and instead head to a chocolate shop.

Yeah calories out the window during vacation. We headed to French Broad located in downtown Asheville.

First up, chocolate banana cheesecake. I justified that the banana made it count as part of my fruit for the day.



Then it was followed up with chocolate milk & coffee ice cream for me and a chocolate beer float for the hubby. Yum-O



The next morning we were up and decided on the Corner Kitchen for breakfast. Located close to the hotel and in Biltmore Village {tons of stores} how could we resist.



After some light shopping we packed up, headed to Starbucks and hit the road to Charleston.