Nantahala trip

This is going to be a random jumble of photos from our trip. I haven't developed the water proof camera photos yet, so those are missing.

We had a good trip, but I learned a valuable lesson. Pregnant women shouldn't tent camp when there is a heat wave going on. It's usually quite cool this time of year in the gorge, but it was mid to high 90's and humid while we were there. As long as I was in the water it was fine, but sitting around outside doing nothing was not an option.



We had planned for Daniel to do the Ocoee Thursday morning. Unfortunately, we did not consider the time change so we were an hour late getting there and he missed his trip (we later rescheduled). Our first full day we did the Nantahala in Yahoos (sit on top of kayaks). Before anyone freaks out about a pregnant woman doing the river: 1. I've done the Nanty about a million times and consider myself a decent paddler, 2. I put in below Patton's Run and didn't do the falls (thereby avoiding the higher class rapids) and 3. I wore a helmet and a lifejacket and paddle pants so the worst that could happen would be i take a float down the river (which I didn't of course). That night we went to Relia's Garden for a lovely dinner and took pics at the top of Big Wesser Falls during our stroll afterwards.
(I just love that my cheeks are expanding along with everything else on my body)



The next day we took lunch up to Queen's Lake and spent the day floating on innertubes! It was relaxing and cool! We drove up the nice paved Winding Stairs road rather than the scary, stupid, mountain bike trail excuse for a road that the girls took up last year.

Wow, what a coincendence! Those are our initials. Wonder how that got there?


That night we attending a beer tasting at a new river side pub called the Pourover pub. They had local brewery's giving free beer and had a live band. Daniel got to do quite a bit of sampling. I got to do quite a bit of sitting and watching. :(


On Sunday we woke up to a big thunderstorm and lots of rain. By this point I had had enough of being damp, hot, and uncomfortable so I requested we cut our trip short a day. We packed up everything in the rain and made our way back to the Ocoee. Daniel was able to reschedule his trip down the river for that afternoon, so we had some time to play around the Ocoee Center.

I bought my first baby outfit while there. I thought it was too cute to pass up!


I think this may be the only picture we have of the two of us that Daniel didn't take by stretching his arm out.

There are some great trails going along the Ocoee that seem to be well cared for and clear. They range in distance from about 2 miles to 4 miles. Next trip I would definitely like to take the time to hike these!

After Daniel finished the Ocoee (which he loved, by the way), we spontaneously decided to get a hotel in Chattanooga, go out for a nice dinner, and do some site seeing there! I was pretty desperate for AC and a real bed, so this plan was right up my alley. We got a room at the Sheraton Read House in downtown. It was a beautiful old hotel inside with an amazing indoor pool that unfortunately we didn't have time to hit up. Below are a few pics from the lobby.




I meant to get a pic of the hallways by the rooms because they looked JUST LIKE the hallways in the shining! Red carpets and all!

After a long, hot, bug free shower, we ventured out for dinner at Tony's in the Bluff View Art District. We passed several museums and got to walk over this see through glass bridge.



View looking down through the glass bridge to the road below.


Pedestrian bridge across the TN river?


This is not a great picture, but outside the aquarium are lots of water features and pedestrian bridges covered with greenery and trees.


The next morning we went to the aquarium before our LONG drive home. Below are some pics from the aquarium.






This blue tang hung out by the window and stared at us forever! We figured he was trying to tell us something...never figured out what.



Son, you've got a turtle on yo head.




If you've made it all the way through this long post, I thank you! I'll post pics from the river and queen's lake when I get them. On the baby front, I'm getting quite a belly. I will maybe take a pic this week to share with you. My skin is finally clearing up which is fabulous! I feel pretty great (other than feeling like a cow). I think maybe I've been feeling the baby move, but don't know for sure. Ummm...most of the maternity clothes I borrowed from Sherri are getting too tight in the bust, so looks like I'll need to go get a few more things to wear to work at some point. that's about all i know!

a bunch of stuff

So, apparently, along with being irrational and emotional, I no longer have any patience. It's mostly because of this that I haven't posted in a while. bleh. Anyways, I'm posting now even though I'm having a bad day which will probably seep into this post. I apologize in advance.

So what's been going on in the Martin house? Daniel had a birthday. He went to Chicago on a men's trip to see a World Cup Soccer Qualifier Game to celebrate. This picture is from the day he got back and it's pretty obvious he's a little worn out from the festivities.


I took these pics before he left town, so these were taken about 2 weeks ago.

I modified this photo to give myself a better understanding of what my life will be like in a few months. I do hope our baby will be cuter than what I added here.

This is currently my only sort of 'belly pic'. I'm not brave enough to do one with my shirt up yet. As you can see, this dress has since been moved to the "i can no longer wear because my boobs and/or belly are too big" clothes pile. Unfortunately, this pile is so large now that getting dressed each morning is challenging and depressing. Most of my maternity clothes poke out way more than my belly actually does which makes me look stupid and my non-maternity clothes can no longer be zipped or buttoned. I have a belly band which helps for some things, but certainly not all. Oh well. Thank goodness for cheap Wally World dresses to get me through the interim.


On a much happier note, WE BOUGHT A NEW CAR! Considering we were both driving in 15 year old cars and we didn't feel great going on long trips in either vehicle, this was long over due!


this is one of my favorite features....the back seats lay back! Probably all cars do this now, but it's new to me!

Tomorrow after work Daniel and I leave for our trip to Nantahala (in our new car I might add...convenient, huh?)! WooHoo! We are going to spend tomorrow night in Huntsville and then Thursday morning, Daniel will do the Ocoee! He's never done it before, so I'm excited for him to get to experience some real white water. I will be hanging out, taking pictures, reading books, relaxing while he does this. Once he's done we will continue on to the Nantahala! I don't really know what our plans are once we get there other than set up camp! We plan to do the river and I want to take him to some of the new spots we hit up on our girls trip last year (except I'll be going the way that won't possibly kill us). Last year we did dinner at Relia's on my dad's birthday, so I think I will do that again this year. It would make him happy I know. Dave Heflin, some of his family, and possibly some other Nanty alums will be coming up, so it should be a nice trip! I'm a little concerned about the fact that I have to pee about a million times a day, but I'm just gonna suck it up and make it work!

In solely baby news, we find out what we are having July 9th. Our appointment last week went well. Our typical appointment these days consist of waiting an hour and a half while the doctor delivers a baby and then seeing the doctor ourselves for about 5 minutes. We heard the heartbeat again which was amazing as always. Heart rate was about 150 this time. The baby can hear me now which is really weird to me. I'm trying to talk and sing more to him or her. I don't think I've felt any kicking yet, but every weird thing i feel in my tummy could be it- I've no clue! I've been taking Gentle Yoga which is supposed to really help in natural childbirth. The classes are pretty challenging and I definitely am getting lots of practice at focusing my energy and gaining flexibility.

Also, congratulations to my friends Rachel and Chip who are also expecting! I had no idea I would be pregnant with so many friends at the same time! Truly must be something in the water!

Baby's Heartbeat

One of the many advantages to having a friend who is also a doula? She can doppler you to listen for the baby's heartbeat after book club meetings!

wedding photos

I did not take all the pictures I should have, but thankfully Mom shared hers with me. It was wonderful to see Anna and everyone else, but this weekend was sort of a whirlwind of activity! If you've never been to the Memphis Botanic Garden, I highly recommend it! It was beautiful! I'll have to go back when there is time to explore!




I look huge in this picture. I'm not showing that much. It's all the punch I drank and the fluffy dress.

Anna and Ricky.

Mom and Anna with the beautiful bride Merry Claire!

Baby Front: I PASSED BY GLUCOSE TOLERANCE TEST!!!! WooHoo! I'm in week 15 this week. Baby is the size of a navel orange. Still feeling good! Still having trouble adjusting to the frustration of my clothes not fitting in the boob and waist area, but not being big enough for maternity clothes. Can I just wear yoga pants to work for the next 5 months? I wish.

Hummingbirds!

Daniel made a new 4 sided shepard's hook to hang our hummingbird feeders from this year. That welding class really paid off! Our feeder used to be in the back of the yard by the seed feeders which meant i had to squat in the grass to wait for the hummingbirds to feed. Now, I can watch from the comfort of my kitchen while having my morning coffee! Yay! So far, I've seen two different couples of hummingbirds feeding. They seem to be getting used to my constant presence in the kitchen window in the mornings, so getting pictures is getting easier! So far, they definitely prefer the feeder on the left with the rail for them to stand on the most. They really are amazing to watch though!








(she's totally checking me out in the last one)

On the baby front...I went in for my 3 hour glucose tolerance test this morning. YUCK! I had to fast from 7 pm last night and didn't get through with the test til almost noon today! That's a long time with nothing to eat or drink for a pregnant woman! For those of you who don't know, here's the process: they draw a vile of blood from your arm, you drink a super sweet orange drink, you wait 30 minutes, they draw another vile of blood, you wait 30 minutes, they draw another vile of blood, you wait an hour, they draw ANOTHER vile of blood, you wait ANOTHER hour, and the draw YET ANOTHER vile of blood. That's right, you get stuck 5 different times in the arm for blood on an already super empty stomach. My test was done at the Oxford Diagnostic Center which is new and really nice, so I spent all that time stretched out on a couch reading. It definitely helped keep my mind off how bad I felt. Fingers crossed that I passed! Not sure when I'll get the results, but hopefully by Monday at the latest.

Daniel and I are headed to Memphis tomorrow morning for Merry Claire's wedding. After the wedding, we'll all be going to the cabin for the night! Anna is in town from Seattle to be a bridesmaid, and I can't wait to see her tomorrow! I'll take lots of pics!

Memorial Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend. It was wonderful to have an extra day at home, but the weekend still flew by! We had friends over Sunday evening for a cookout and, thankfully, the weather held off so we could spend some time outside! Daniel bought me a new camera for Mother's Day, so this is going to be a jumble of photos- some decidedly better than others.





Can you tell how obsessed I am with my blooming hydrangeas?! I just love them and wish they would bloom all year!


We've got tiny tomatoes and squash and zucchini! Can't wait for the first harvest!


Doesn't this spread look like it belongs in Sur La Table! Sunday's festivities were potluck and Corinne brought this lovely selection!


Some of the beautiful ladies that were in attendance! Audrey, Nina, Lulu, and Corinne.


Chris (making a funny face) and Charles.



Jennifer and Andrew Parker!


Much like a junior high dance, the men stick to their area and the women to another. This seems to naturally occur as soon as women begin discussing wedding details and childbirth.


Lulu, Charles and Grace hanging out by the fire!

On the baby front, I have made it to the second trimester! WooHoo! And magically, the morning sickness and other icky symptoms are gone or leaving! I've actually made it to the gym several times! it's a miracle! As for belly pics, I still just kinda look like I've had too much beer, so I'm gonna hold off on sharing that loveliness with you all! When it gets a little more preggars looking, I'll post!