New blog!

Hello all!

I'm officially closing down this blog and starting a new one that falls more in line with my personal and freelance goals. Don't worry, I'll still be writing! And if I ever run again, I'll write about that, too. :)

Here's the new site: http://lovelylittlesdesign.wordpress.com/

I hope you all continue to follow me there.

TTFN! (Ta-ta for now!)

Halfway + Gender Update

Tomorrow we will be 20 weeks into this whole shebang!

I feel like the face on the right is my, "This might as well
be happening" face.

As many of you know, we found out we're having a little girl! We're both really excited. It was a big shock, because we swore we were having a little boy. I had an early sonogram and I sweeear I saw tiny baby junk. But we were mistaken! And now, we plan for a tiny lady instead of a tiny gentleman.

We also found out that we were actually two weeks behind our expected due date, so everything got pushed back.

Most of my nausea has subsided, now the symptoms deal more with the increased size. I'm mostly wondering where in the HELL we're going to put the rest of her. I have definitely provided baby girl's sanctuary with a few inches of extra padding in the form of ice cream and anything containing a carb. An Otterbox of baby protection. So we shall see how everything pans out.

I can definitely say that I've "popped." There's no question as to whether or not I'm pregnant. My belly is pretty "out there."

Also...I can't stop talking about it. I keep trying to NOT to post on social media about it everyday. It's super hard.

Like now, I have nothing else to talk about.

BABIES!

5 Pregnancy Symptoms I Didn't Know About

18 weeks!

Being pregnant is nothing like you see in the movies. Popular culture failed to adequately prepare me for this circus. I was prepared for nausea and swollen ankles, but not this symphony of oddness. Here are five awesome side-effects from this beautiful life-creation process that I was completely unprepared for:

1. Saliva. You get a LOT of it. It's called ptyalism or sialorrhea and doctors don't really know why it happens. Maybe because you're producing more, or you're swallowing less. I constantly feel the need to spit and whenever I eat anything, I get this GROSS taste in my mouth. I blame the saliva. It's like it takes the bowl of cereal you just ate and twists the flavors around into this disgusting harmony to which your tastebuds dance. It's no fun, and I mainline gum and mints because of it.

2. Hiccups. I get them at least once a day, sometimes twice. And they're not the cute little I-had-too-much-champagne hiccups. Oh no. They're powerhouses that leave me gasping and cause Scott to yell down from upstairs asking if I'm OK. I think they're the result of the fact that I won't let myself burp. Because if I burp I risk the I-just-threw-up-in-my-mouth-a-little thing. Therefore, I'm swallowing extra air. Hence, hiccups.

The swing. It taunts me.

3. Hair growth. Yes, IT IS EXACTLY AS GROSS AS IT SOUNDS. It's like Chewbacca and Sasquatch joined forces all over my legs. I shave in the morning and by the evening, a fine coating of fur has already sprouted. My legs and underarms get 5 o'clock shadow. And I live at the beach. It's obnoxious.

4. Dreams. Holy Moly. It's like I close my eyes and all of the T.V. networks mesh together to create one big mega show of weirdness. I think the dream where I was a ninja who beat up Rihanna is my favorite so far. Apparently this happens to us preggos because we spend less sleep time in the REM sleep cycle, and more time tossing and turning. Therefore our sleep isn't as deep and we remember our dreams.

5. Sense of Smell. I can smell anything now. Everything. Even when I don't want to. Scott calls it my "spidey sense." He can go to work, eat something for lunch, come home that evening, and I'll immediately be like, "What did you eat?" Scott made bacon-wrapped scallops the other day and I had to shutter myself in the bedroom because I thought I was going to pass out from the smell. It's intense.

I hope someone somewhere can learn from my experience. ;)

We're at 18+ weeks now, and the belly is starting to really ride out there. I could eat Jello and Gogurt all day long and I cry at the drop of a hat.

We scored this sweet swing/bouncer at a garage sale last weekend and it's now sitting in the living room. Staring at me. A constant reminder that there's a baby coming.

Baby on Board

Well people....schiz just got real. Ok technically it's been "real" for over four months now, but you hear me.

That's right, I'm pregnant. Knocked up. In a delicate condition. My eggo is preggo. We're expecting. I've got a bun in the oven. I'm in the family way. 

I could go all day.

I hope this cuts me just a weee bit of slack when it comes to the non-workouts. No slack? Oh hush.

Before anyone asks: yes it was planned. I will say that we didn't think it would happen quite as quickly as it did, but as Scott says: "One shot, one kill." 

I found out when I was staying with my parents before I flew over to Hawaii. I took a test, thinking it would be negative, and lo and behold...is that...a plus sign? It was! I immediately did what I'm sure many women do when they see a positive pregnancy test: I started hyperventilating.

I've had a doctor's appointment and heard the train-like heartbeat of our little one. I, of course, cried right there on the table. We're due mid-June and I have a sonogram at the end of this month to find out the gender and hopefully get a more solid due date.

Me after hefting four months of baby up
Diamond Head! Sweaty and frizzy
and awesome.

So here we are...pregs in Hawaii. The good part? It's warm so I don't have to worry about slipping on ice or wearing long sleeves. The bad part? I'm in a bathing suit at least once a week and I have to keep shaving my legs. No post-marriage winter fur for this mama. Plus the warm weather and my raging hormones make everything grow super fast. My legs get a 5 o'clock shadow.

I've been promising people that I would blog about pregnancy and pregnancy symptoms. Because, let's face it, it's NOT like you see in the movies. Or at least it isn't for me. ;)

Stay tuned!

Aloha + Apologies

It happened again. I stopped blogging for awhile. And by "awhile," I mean "over two months."

I'm so sorry! A LOT has been happening. Hear me out, then we can discuss my penance.

Since we last talked, Scott came home from his summer away at school and we spent a month hanging out. Then we packed him up and shipped him out to Hawaii.

Gunner and I then packed out of the apartment, said goodbye to our friends, and stayed with my parents for two weeks. Then WE flew to Hawaii.

The flight was long but uneventful. And Gunner came through it no worse for wear. 

Side note: I will say that seeing my tanned-thin husband walking toward me at the baggage claim definitely made me a little weak at the knees. While I was in Virginia stress-eating, he was swimming and surfing. Yowza. It was all I could do not to cry as I waddled over to him and gave him a hug.

As far as housing goes, we got L.U.C.K.Y. I spent months researching rentals and houses around Oahu. Looking at neighborhoods and rent. I knew we were going to be paying a lot for a little. I'd also seen that housing on Schofield was hit or miss. If you were offered new housing, it was awesome. If it was old housing, it wasn't. Aside from that, the waiting list for housing usually takes months.

I asked Scott to swing by the housing office on the off-chance that there was something available and there was! We're in a three bedroom duplex with a fenced yard in new housing. It's amazing.

Now if we could just get our fuuuurniture. That would be greeeeat. (Said in the Office Space boss voice.)

This makes almost four weeks of sleeping on an air mattress and sitting on a plastic-covered couch. Needless to say, we're so ready for that shipment! The other morning I saw a truck pull up behind our house with crates and I got so excited thinking our shipment had come. Nope, it was the neighbors packing out.

Anywho, I was thinking this blog could take on more of a day-to-day theme, instead of a fitness theme. I think the name, Girl Meets Mile, still fits. I've definitely met my share of miles traveling out here and I know that every day I meet more and more. Miles of road, miles of beach, miles of people, miles of life, etc. (Too corny?)

Oops + Food Photos

I completely dropped off the blog for a month again. I know it impacts everyone's lives, and that it's not just about me. And I apologize.

Ha! Kidding, I know this is relatively unimportant in the general scheme of most people's lives. :)

So...updates. Scott is home, so the eating has commenced. I've managed to still go to at least a few of my spin/gym classes, but it's a lot harder to keep on track when you come home to pumpkin beer and dinner every night. ;)

Side note: spin has been a lot harder to get into lately. The classes book up crazy early, and we all know I won't get out of bed unless my name is on a list somewhere.

I called yesterday at like 3 p.m. to sign up for this morning's class. When I got to the gym, I saw that I had just barely made the cut for class! My name was like..three from the bottom. Sheesh.

Regardless, it was an awesome class. Alyssa was all pumped up from her weekend of excess (she told us she did shots last night...I have NO idea how she was functioning) and made us all work harder. I think I burnt close to 600 calories in the 45 minute class.

Also, Mandy and I wore the same workout top, so that was awesome as well.

I'm actually going to try to go to Nancy's class on Wednesday...I hope I can last the whole time without back-talking.


And now, here's a few photos of the food we've been shoving down our gullets lately:

Pesto, salami and arugula pizza.

Our new popper recipe.

Pumpkin beer and puppy snuggles.

We're big cheese plate people.

First pepperoni bread of the season!

Nothing Weekend + My Fitness Pal

Ah, the weekend. It's so funny how life changes. When you're young and you have an uneventful weekend, you're all "ugh, we didn't do ANYTHING this weekend."

When you're almost 30 and you have an uneventful weekend it's "I didn't do ANYTHING!"

Here's a better picture of the bed!

That's sort of how my weekend went! It's the first weekend since Scott's been gone that I haven't booked myself solid. I went to two spin classes, took Gunner to the dog park, picked up a STEAL at the thrift store, went grocery shopping, made our parent wedding albums, vacuumed out the car and had lunches and dinners with some long lost lady friends! I had a bit of a depression slump Sunday where I watched Disney movies and cried on the phone to the hubs (he took it like a champ), but otherwise it was so nice to be able to watch Law & Order and Sex and the City marathons and sit around in my PJs.

I did make one big change this weekend. Usually, I try to track my activity and food via Weight Watchers. I calculate points for food and exercise and generally try not to live like a jackass. Sometimes I track, sometimes I don't. I'm generally unenthusiastic about it. Apparently you have to actively participate in tracking to lose any weight. I know...who knew?

Here's the whole headboard!

On Friday my friend Aimee came over for dinner. (Stick with me. I know it's a random segue, but I do have a point.) And when I saw her my jaw dropped. She's melting away before my eyes! Every time I see her she's lost more weight. I finally asked her what she had been doing this weekend and she told me she just tracks her calories.

She said it so nonchalantly like she was commenting on the weather. Like, "Oh, it's raining."

So of COURSE I pelted her with questions. What app? How do you do it? Is it hard? How much does it cost?

Aimee told me she uses My Fitness Pal (MFP), a free app. She tracks what she eats, and her activity, and it calculates her daily allowance, etc.

I decided to give it a try. Saturday I downloaded MFP and started tracking calories. I added in what I ate, and calculated the calories I burned at spin (which was a LOT).

Thrift store find. I scored it for $12, marked down from
$36. This crate is usually upwards of $200. We need
it for Gunner's flight to Hawaii. I'm already giving him
treats when he goes in it to get him acclimated.

And it was so fun! For some reason, tracking calories just makes more sense to my brain than tracking points does. Usually I have to check labels for carbs, fiber, protein, etc. But calories is so much more simple. One number. Entered in. Boom.

Also, I've always been suspicious of how much WW penalizes you for certain things. Like alcohol. Or cereal. A 60 calorie beer is roughly the same amount as a regular beer. It's cray. And a non-fat bowl of cereal is as much as some higher-fat breakfasts. 

I canceled my WW account and am now using MFP. I put myself on a faster track, so I'm allotted 1,200 calories a day - and then whatever I burn when working out gets added to that number. It definitely inspires me to get my rear to the gym so I can earn some cals. :)

Also, as a side note, it's official: I'm obsessed with spin. I went to class Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday was a 30 minute ride, Saturday was 60 (which is insanity) and Sunday was 45. I tried to go this morning, but I was too late with the call-in and the class was already full. Boo!

Here's hoping I can get into kickboxing this evening!