Still here

Marty told me to update. So I'm updating. I just don't feel like I have all that much exciting stuff to talk about right now - but it's more that my focus has changed and so what I have to say is not in line with what my blog (and our website prior to 'blogging' -- can you believe I've been writing inane drabble since 2003??) has been in the past. I see these sorts of disclaimers on other girls blogs from time to time - if you're here for triathlon info, you're not going to see a whole lot of that anymore (some, but not a lot). So if that's what your interested in, check back in about a year.



See, if you're training 30 hours a week, your blog is probably all about how you did a 5 hour bike ride and a 45min T-run. I don't have anything like that going on right now, so that's not what I'll be talking about.



This is probably what I'll be talking about - baby, gaining weight, exercising for fitness, baby, cheering for people at races, baby.



Without further adieu, we saw Cowboys & Aliens the other week. Ha. You thought I would be talking about baby right away ;) It was entertaining although there were some definite plot holes I pointed out to Marty who thought it was the greatest movie ever.



While Marty was in Atlantic City this past weekend, my mom came into town and we did some preliminary baby registry shopping. This was overwhelming, which is why I'm enlisting the help of Heather and Angie (who have 5 kids between them) and Kari (who will be of no help but I like her) to go with me to actually register. I'm going to hand the scanner to H&A and they can register for everything I actually need. My mom and I went to Buy Buy Baby which has a huge selection of everything and the kitchen sink. We also went Target which has next to nothing. But here's the interesting part - almost everything that's at Buy Buy Baby is at Target Online, for around 10% cheaper. So I think I will register at both, and then switch things around when I compare prices. Pretty annoying, but hey, this crap is expensive!



Still swimming and running jogging. The weather turned nice this week - fingers and toes crossed that we are out of the woods that was our awful July. It definitely makes running a lot easier and helps keep my heartrate down. Swimming is nice but I am really slow. I haven't biked except on the trainer recently. Still on my tri bike although I pretty much stay on the pads of my aerobars now. I haven't had to add any spacers just yet.



I can also feel the little guy moving around a lot. I didn't start feeling him until pretty recently, probably within the last 2-3 weeks which I guess is normal for your first pregnancy. It's pretty cool but also weird and freaky. It sort of feels like something poking you from the inside, or like a little alien trying to poke it's way out of your stomach. At night I've noticed he doesn't like it when I sleep on my right side, because he gets all pokey in there (which is not good when trying to sleep) but if I sleep on my left he's fine (so far). Apparently, sleeping on your left side is the best when you're pregnant and sleeping on your stomach or back is not good. I've never in my entire life slept on my stomach, but I often wind up on my back after awhile. Then I wake up and think "Oh shit, I'm on my back!" Then I try to flip to my side real quick which is totally not real quick at all. It's something about stuff pressing into a vein and reducing bloodflow to the baby which makes sleeping on your back not a good idea. That is not the medical terminology, by the way.



Tassie wanted to say hi.

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Beer Belly

Marty told me I looked like I had a beer belly the other day. He said it very sweetly, in response to probably me wailing about how fat I am. I had just put on a t-shirt that we had bought from a brewery on our vacation and he thoughtfully looked me over and said, "no, it just looks like you are a normal girl with a beer belly."

Here it is - 21 weeks, 22 weeks? I can't remember, somewhere around there!

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New England Vacay

The vacation was fantastic, but motivating myself to write about it has been difficult. Alas, a friend wanted a recap so I quickly wrote out an email to her which I now present to you (a bit edited) below.

One of the Gaal's ate ice cream throughout the week and the other drank beer all over the place. You can figure out which was which.Weather is awesome up there, I guess warm for them but compared to what we've been getting it was refreshing. Cape Cod is nice, different than Florida and even NC beaches, but pretty in a different way. When we drove to some of the towns it was cloudy and in the 60's! Martha's Vineyard is a tourist haven, but with upscale shops** instead of Wings. We had a nice lunch after biking between towns and then read** in a park. It was beautiful.

Boston seems like such a fun city. Wish we could've spent more time there. Stayed in a swanky hotel next to Copley Square, walked through Boston Public Gardens and then to Fenway Park. It's a very walkable city and much different then NYC. I just can't imagine going through a winter there.

Met up with our friend Sue the next day and she took us to Walden Pond (Henry David Thoreau...dust off your high school English reading). It was like 85 degrees and packed! Poor people don't know what to do with themselves when it's nice out. The park was actually closed because of capacity issues which Sue said she's never seen, but she gave a sob story to the little ranger about how we were from NC and really wanted to see it...blah blah she let us in. They have a 1.7 mile trail around the lake and you can go see the remains of Thoreau's cabin. I did 2 loops and tripped and fell on the second loop and totally skinned my knee like a freakin' 5 year old. Totally embarrassed, and lots of people around including a guy all decked out in hiking gear that exclaimed, "That root is really high!!" I got up in a flash and took off trying not to cry because even though it didn't hurt THAT much for some reason those things just set me off (I think it's more the embarrassment). Anyways, got back and changed into swimsuit to go for a swim in the pond.

This was AMAZING. You would've died, it was so awesome to swim here. The water temp was like 79. This lake was made from a glacier so it's shallow around the outside and then super deep in the middle (like 100 feet). And so clear. I could see Marty's feet the entire time, and the rays of the sun streaking down into the lake - this was so much better than any lake we have here and even better than White Lake. Too bad most of the year it's freezing. Marty spoke whale to Logan** underwater ;) Did a little sightseeing around Concord (Paul Revere -- dust off your high school history) and the shot heard 'round the world.

Then up to Maine where Sue's inlaws all have houses on the beach.
Another awesome beach, just different but so pretty. The water is seriously cold, I mean, they kept saying that it wasn't too bad, but it was probably 65 degrees. Maybe. You stick your feet in and you get that bone hurt immediately. The next day we went to another beach so the kids could boogie board and Marty could surf, it was hot, and the water had apparently warmed up a touch (one of the little girls said, 'it's warm!' poor kids have no idea what warm is). Most were in wetsuits, including Marty, but he shed it to swim because he did get warm sitting in it in the sun. I watched sitting on the rocks (not much beach to speak of). We also did a little kayaking in the afternoon. We both read a lot on the vacation.

Nice dinner in Kennebunkport, saw the Bush compound and then back to Boston to spend the night at Sue's house for our flight the next morning.

**upscale shops: The Black Dog is so overpriced and a big sellout now. You can find the store anywhere on Cape Cod. No, I do not want a long sleeve t-shirt for $58 thank you very much. No, I do not care that Bill Clinton bought stuff for Monica Lewinski here (get with the current century please).

**I read The Magicians by Lev Grossman and Marty blew through the first two books in The Game of Thrones.

**Logan Marton is his name. Marton is the Hungarian version of Martin, which is also Marty's dad's name.

And now, pictures.

Downtown Falmouth, where our bed & breakfast was.

Chatham beach - in the 60's and loving it!

On the ferry to Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard

We rented bikes and rode between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown.

Ice cream!

The Black Dog store. Bah.

Reading in a park in Edgartown.

Heading into Boston

Boston Beer Works next to Fenway

Boston Public Gardens


Fenway Park

They had the Cape Cod League All-Star game going on at Fenway - tickets were $12 and the game was exciting!

Walden Pond

Marty contemplating civil disobedience in Thoreau's cabin.

A little more Thoreau
Getting ready for the awesome swim

They have a serious obsession with Dunkin Donuts up there. But they call it Dunks.
A very old cemetery - 17th century
The shot heard round the world
Too late, redcoat, the patriot wins!

Maine beach



Surfer boy Marty

He's up!

Walking along the beach near the beach house. See? I got in the water.
Sue and I in Kennebunkport
Marty may seem all gruff, but he's a big softie.
Beer, beer and more beer

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Past, Present & Future

A friend of mine sent Marty and I this list:

Top 10 list of "Things Marty can do to help prepare Bri for the next 5-7 yrs":

10. Not answering Bri until she's yelled your name at least 5x before saying "what??? No, I didn't hear you!"

9. Start randomly "wiping out" for no apparent reason. The more dramatic the wipe out, the more fun. Boys LOVE to dive bomb the ground at any chance they get.

8. Use as much space as possible with everything you do. There are no boundaries to living space. Girls are cool with chilling in the corner to play but boys need the ENITRE room!

7. Hands are either down the pants or up the nose MULTIPLE times of the day.

6. Start maximizing the usage of sound effects in daily conversation.

5. Use the couch to builds forts.

4. While watching a good movie, randomly leave to act out the latest scene. Sound effect usage will be used heavily here!!!!

3. Leave the toilet seat down and pee not only on it, but also on the surrounding floor and walls.

2. Find a good cape or super hero outfit and practice "flying" around the house as you defend good vs evil.

1. Continue to tell her daily how much you love her because the boys do love their moms:) It just takes one "I love you mommy" to make everything all right in the world.

We had another nice weekend - Little Uno & Big Deuce swims were on Saturday. The water was surprisingly not too hot. I opted for the Little Uno this year as I have not been swimming a whole lot and just wanted to take it easy.

Yes, I am slow. Fellow Master's swimmer on Friday: "Wow, Bri. You got slow!"

Ummm, thanks?

Yes, I am starting to show. Multiple people at the swim: "I can see your belly" or "Yup, starting to show."

Again, thanks?

We had a bunch of friends/fellow athletes help us out on the volunteering front. THANK YOU!! Without all of you, these swims wouldn't go on. And I will not rant about competitors and t-shirts. I will not rant about competitors and t-shirts.

You'd think we were giving out gold bars or something.

Marty and many others went for a long bike ride in the 100+ degree heat. I went home and sat on the couch while watching the tour and holding Tassie's paw.

Saturday night = birthday party. Lots of fun.

Sunday I went for a bike ride on the bridle trails at Umstead with Marty (after he ran). Again, it was hot, but we went easy.

Sunday evening = trip to the Flying Saucer. Marty is closing in on his plate in the ring of honor. After drinking 200 different beers (counting 3 per visit), you are immortalized on the wall with a plate that has your name on it and a slogan of your choice. I think Marty is at 195 after last night.

Upcoming = VACATION!!! Last year we had a great time doing a bike tour along the Erie Canal in upstate New York, so we were thinking of doing another somewhere else. We discussed options and looked into several and decided on one in Rhode Island in late September. Literally the day before Marty sent in the deposit, we found out I was pregnant. Marty thought, no biggie, but I told him that with my limited knowledge on pregnancy, I didn't think doing a bike tour when I was 6+ months pregnant could be filed under 'things that are safe.' He didn't believe me, but he did believe google, so we bagged that trip.

Instead, we decided to go up to Boston since neither one of us have spent much time up in the Northeast. One our good friends and long time athletes also lives there so we'll get to spend time with her and her family. We're going to Cape Cod for a few days with a day trip to Martha's Vineyard, into Boston, then up to Maine for a few days. I can't wait.

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We started off the weekend with a nice bike ride and open water swim at Jordan Lake. The humidity was low which led to great midsummer weather - a nice reprieve from what we had been dealing with and what's to come this week. Marty and several others met at Inside Out and rode out to Jordan Lake then rode back. I opted to drive to Jordan Lake, ride the reverse route until I ran into the group and turned around. I did a short swim and then drove home. I'm still on my triathlon bike, and am still able to get aero but know these days riding outside are numbered.

This is the recreation area we swam at. I grew up right by the ocean and definitely miss being able to get to the beach in 10 minutes, so it's nice to have pseudo beaches and places to swim up here.

That day/night was very busy on the popularity scale as we had two parties to go to :)

The next morning I had planned on running but my hips were quite sore so decided to go for a nice walk with Tassie instead. Of all things pregnancy related, this is my only complaint at this point. I've been lucky with the pretty much non-existant nausea, no cravings...pretty much it's been business as usual except for the weight gain and how slow I am right now, but this hip ache is for the birds. It typically doesn't bother me during the day or when I run (jog) but at night sometimes laying down it totally sucks. I know it's due to a hormone called relaxin that is released to help loosen the joints down there. Pregancy and labor are truly amazing things with what your body does to prepare. Anywho, Tassie and I headed to Bond Park which is right around the corner from our house and did the lake loop. I took pictures along the way.

And last night I finished off a great weekend with Kari and Alysia; we met for ice cream and a movie (Bridesmaids - so raunchily hilarious!).

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BOY

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Pregnancy and Food

If you've ever been pregnant, you know that a lot of comparisons for how big your baby is, is to food. Last week it was a turnip. I wasn't even sure I could accurately picture the size of a turnip and can probably say that I've never eaten one before. But I found them in the grocery store, picked one up and thought, damn, no wonder my belly looks like it does. Most people say I just look like a normal person now. I've always had a very flat stomach; I just don't put weight on there. My thighs and butt are a different story! Well, I no longer have my flat stomach (because a turnip is in there).

This week it will be the length of a bell pepper.

And soon (fingers crossed), we can stop calling the baby 'it' because tomorrow we go in for the ultrasound that should show us if we're having a boy or a girl! There is always a caveat "as long as the baby cooperates" but I'm thinking we will make it cooperate. I am not above doing jumping jacks and handstands to get the boy/girl to change positions.

People ask, do you have any feeling of what it may be? Honestly, no. I hope that doesn't indicate any future mothering instincts but I really have no idea. My family tends to have girls (I'm one of three, my sister has 2 girls, and Marty's sister has 2 girls). There aren't any boys so not sure if anyone will know what to do with one of those. But apparently the sex of the baby is determined by the guy (i.e. the sperm). I did not do any legs in the air bicycles which is one of the crazy things people do to have a boy. I think.

Also, since my title is pregnancy and food, might as well talk about real food. I have no cravings. No pickles or midnight runs to a fast food joint. Seriously, I think I always crave junk (ice cream, cake, etc) that I feel no different. I'm trying not to overeat, and I think I'm doing a pretty good job with that. Some days I have a huge appetite but most days I seem to be eating around the same as I normally do. The big change is the drop off in my training, so don't worry about me not getting in enough calories. I have never had any issues with that. And I have put on around 6-7 lbs so far.

Yesterday I went out to Harris Lake to cheer everyone on at the Triangle Triathlon. This being a local race, we knew tons of people. It was lots of fun to go out there and chat with everyone. A lot of people had just found out that I was pregnant and it was funny to cheer for someone and for them to yell back to me, 'congratulations!' I also got to talk to several of the fast momma's after the race and they all gave me great advice and encouragment.

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