day off for a long weekend

I'm sneaking this in after Gwen is in bed. None of us have the day off tomorrow, so its time to get back to the grind. The weeks have been so long around here lately. Repeat the broken record of work craziness, house hunting blahs, and all the other normal business. But lets look at some of the nice stuff from this past week.

Gwen got some new clothes from her Nana.

The only dress in the bunch, she liked the soft arms.

Nana did a good job of picking out some boy's shirts which Gwen LOVED. We convinced her the one dress was just a really long shirt and she went with it.

Meanwhile the Autumn weather is well and truly here to stay. We took out the A/Cs, and I got to wear boots and sweaters, which made me happy indeed.

25.5 weeks

I had Friday off. I took it off ages ago for something which didn't pan out, but decided to keep it. I'm so glad I did. AM yoga, lunch with Trav (an early anniversary meal), and some relaxing was just what the doctor ordered. I also spent a few hours in the kitchen which always makes me happy. Friday night it was loaded baked potato soup, and roasted cauliflower on the side. Saturday it was our favorite Pumpkin, Pear, and Fennel soup:

With a sprinkle of cinnamon.

And on the side roasted potatoes, fennel, onion, garlic, and sage. Veggies are never going to be my favorite, but this I would fight people for:

Those two nights of cooking produced veggies for the week for us, plus soup for the nights they were made, one other dinner's worth of each, and another night of each which I froze for later.

Another favorite part... with cooler weather comes much more snuggling from Miss Daisy:

Such a love bug.

Overall, a great weekend, and a good recharge for the sure to be long week ahead.

the state of things

Here are the little things that are taking up my brain space right now, but don't warrant their own posts:

I got another jury summons. Another! I'm so thrilled about this, let me tell you.

I was complaining a little to a friend the other day that this baby was SO LOW and I needed to get them out of my hips and bowels. Well it appears that I forgot was the alternative was, because yesterday the baby pushed up firmly, shoving all my organs into my ribs and making me oh so sore. Seriously, ribs hurt man. TMI, but I went from wearing my bra hooked on the second smallest set of hooks, to the widest set of hooks, and I still might need to break out my old, one band size up, bras. I'm considering jumping up and down, to see if the baby will go back down.  ;-)  A good reminder to be careful what you wish for.

Work is pretty horrible right now. We're all stressed and too busy, and when my boss gets that way, he can be, uh, short with people. Which only makes things worse. Its making me frustrated and stressed and annoyed and...  well, more grateful then ever for my weekends.

Speaking of which, time to wrap things up here.

Have a great weekend!

October

How is it possibly October already?! My favorite month, by far, so I'm not complaining... but September went so quickly, that I'm spinning a little bit. Thankfully our October weekend days are looking a lot less full then last month's, which will be a welcome break. This says nothing about the craziness that is my work week, leading up to our biggest event of the year in November, but at least I'll have some real down time on the weekends.

Its getting really beautiful. Amazing sunrises that I actually get to see, because they happen after I wake up; vibrant leaves popping out all over. I love it.

I had an appointment at the Birth Center yesterday. I'm 24 weeks now, and October will bring the start of my 3rd trimester. Again, I can't believe it. I'm moving super slow today, which is of course, partially because of getting bigger and more unwieldy, but mostly because I feel so short of sleep this week, and hot yoga kicked my butt last night! I'm going to bed early tonight, throwing open the windows to another one of my favorite parts of the season, the cold evenings.

What is October bringing for you?

wrapping up September

What a weekend. So fun, yet so tiring!

Friday night my brother and his fiancee came into town, but didn't get to the train station until 11:30. Trav and I were in bed about 10 minutes after he walked them in the door.

Saturday Gwen slept until 7 and woke up singing! It was a nice way to wake up. Started getting ready, then got Ethan and Elise up, and were out the door by 9ish to head to the Celtic Classic. 

We met my parents there and proceeded to eat Celtic foods (Sheppard's Pie, Haggis, Sticky Toffee Pudding, etc), listen to Celtic music, and watch some of the Highland Games. I had to stop and see my favorite cookie man, and get some Welsh cookies.

Gwen's favorite act. Sisters who played guitar, fiddle, and drums;
and danced jigs. They all had blond hair, and blue eyes like her!

Gwen made friends with this police officer who was there to keep an eye on the crowds. He was so great with her and explained was each piece of his equipment was for. She has been saying for a few weeks that she wants to be a police officer when she grows up and work with the K9 unit, and this just made her want that more!

It was a really great day. We headed home, ate a quick dinner, then got Gwen to bed. We were all in bed pretty early that night.

Sunday, again, Gwen slept until 7 and woke singing. Gosh I wish we could just let her sleep until 7 everyday! She's in such a good mood then. ::fingers crossed for finding a new house soon::

Got up and quickly showered and got dressed. Woke Ethan and Elise up so they could say goodbye (they were walking to the train station an hour or so later), then headed out the door to the March for Babies. Trav's company forms a team every year, and I finally got to join them this year.

These two, with the holding hands! Gahh, my heart!

It was fun, though hot. We were back home before 11, and besides laundry and some cooking we were mostly lazy for the rest of the day. We all needed it at that point!

24 weeks

Everyone was in bed early again, and now we are on to another week.

It was a beautiful morning, and there is a beef stew cooking in my crock pot right now; so as far as Mondays go, this was a sleepy, but good one. Hope your weekends were as full and fun as ours!

dispatches from home

21.5 weeks and ready for my mat!

I'm working from home today and heading to the yoga studio tonight. I haven't been to this studio in about a month (because of how weird my August was with days off), and I'm so excited to see everyone.

I'm interested too, to see how my practice will have changed in the past week. Already now, my savasana is either spent on my side, or propped on bolsters; my floor work on my stomach is still okay with two carefully spaced thick folded blankets (one under my chest/shoulders, one under my hips/thighs, leaving room in the middle for the belly to hang!), but I'm not sure for how much longer; floor work on my back is okay, as long as I'm not laying flat. I'll have more time for yoga at home now that my Lactation Counselor Educator class is ending, but for the past month its been an interesting exercise in adaptability each week when I hit my mat in class. I'm still loving it though.

I'm 21.5 weeks and feeling good. I'm noticeably pregnant now, but not so big that its getting in my way. A good place to be. My nausea is gone, but the heartburn has started in earnest. Not everyday yet, but often enough. I've been sleeping pretty well, and am not so tired anymore. I'm using the body pillow full-time, I absolutely need it to get and stay comfortable. I miss laying on my back to sleep! The baby is good, and moving all the time. That's one of my favorite parts, is feeling the movement. We told Gwen about the pregnancy/surrogacy and she took it so well. I'll write more about that another time though, because it feel like it deserves its own post.

And I guess that is where I am today, on this random Thursday!

pregnancy and "nothing new"

I haven't written about nothing new in a while, and I'm not going to lie, that's because my nothing new project took a hit as my pregnancy has progressed.

There are parts that I've been really good about: other then some seasons of Scrubs that I bought myself with birthday money, I haven't been buying "stuff." But I realized quickly that the combination of being a month ahead of last pregnancy, plus it being my second and showing a lot quicker, meant that I really needed some summer maternity items that I was able to completely go without last time, as well as some transitional items for these in between summer/fall days. Plus I'm doing yoga now, which I wasn't then, so I've just hit the point where I need to retire my regular yoga clothes so I don't stretch them out and ruin them. So there has been some clothes buying. I tried to get some items that I could keep afterwards for the transitional period back to my "normal body," and possibly beyond. Things with great stretch, and longer/looser cuts, that could work as non-maternity clothes. I bought 2 long sun dresses, 1 skirt, 2 pairs of yoga pants and a yoga top, 3 tank type shirts, and 2 short sleeved shirts. I also bought a nicer dress for our biggest work event of the year, during which I will be, well, big. Hopefully I'm done with that buying now, though we'll see how big I get at the end!

The other place of deficiency is food. I mentioned before that my first trimester was so so much easier this time then last, but I still had some nausea issues and had some food aversions. I consciously decided to lift my ban on eating out. If there was something I wanted, and it was all I wanted, I would get it rather then struggle to eat some of something else. Now that I'm in my second trimester, I'm working to cut down on that and only allowing myself to buy food once or twice a week. While I'm pregnant though, I'm letting myself have some leeway on this one.

Still, things are still better then before I started this project. Even Gwen is learning from my experiences. When we went to Cape Cod we walked around Hyannis more then once. The shops were a gold mine "I want this!," but she was happy to "add things to her list" and at the end of the week picked one item that she wanted as a special vacation treat (a wolverine mask). And for something extra special, we each picked out 10 pieces of candy from the penny candy store. When she discovers new things that she wants, we talk about asking for them for Christmas, and she is fine with waiting. We've also started clearing out space for these new items, but going through her toys and sorting out items that she no longer plays with, which she is happy to donate.

Overall, my consumption habits are still so much improved from before I started all of this, and my plan is to continue it more strictly once this pregnancy is over (and in its modified form in the interim). The rewards of more money in my savings account, and less clutter and junk in my house, is infinitely better then the temporary joy of a new purchase. And the few things I do allow myself to get (like my birthday money Scrubs purchase) are so much more exciting now!

Has anyone else cut down on their consumption habits?  What are your strategies?

wordless wendesday {the belly at almost 18 weeks}

I'm now 18.5 weeks, but her was the belly last Thursday.

yoga motifications for pregnancy

One of the first concerns I had when getting pregnant was being as careful as I could to safeguard a pregnancy. I wanted to be sure nothing I did would compromise that little life growing inside me. But I also didn't want to give up the yoga studios I love to find a prenatal class (which neither of my two studios currently offer). I worried that prenatal would feel way too slow to me, since I was used to faster, intermediate flow classes. I also love inverting, and didn't want to give that up.

I did a lot of searching because I wanted to find the best modifications for an experienced yogi to be able to continue her practice while expecting. I wanted to be active and keep up my level of fitness throughout my pregnancy. Most of the information I was finding seemed geared towards brand new or beginner practitioners, but I managed to find two great articles that I trusted, and who's information rang true for me. Plus I made sure to talk with a few of my yoga teachers. I thought I would share the advice here, in case others find themselves in the same position.

Here are the main points:

1st Tri: Not too many adjustments needed at this point. Avoid taking your twists and back bends too deep, and avoid jump backs or jump switches (unless you have already mastered "floating" down) which could be too jarring. It is also recommended that you avoid inversions from 9 - 13 weeks, when the placenta is attaching, as inverting could promote placenta previa.

2nd Tri: As your uterus gets bigger, you will have to modify floor work. At first you might be able to lay down blankets for extra padding, or use bolsters to keep the weight off your uterus. Certain poses, like dhanurasana (bow), can be done on your side; others, like locust are better avoided (maybe switching to balancing tabletop instead). You'll also need to adjust your stance a little wider for certain poses like forward folds to accommodate your growing belly, and the changes in balance. Inversions may need to be moved to a wall. Towards the end savasana will probably need to be done on the side, adding bolsters under top knee as needed.

3rd Tri: The same as 2nd tri, but a step further as your balance changes even more. Stop inverting in the last few weeks, since the baby moving down at that point is encouraged. And really be careful not to push too far, as ligaments really start loosening up and injury becomes more likely.

Most important... listen to your body! Trust your gut. If something doesn't seem accessible or safe, trust that instinct and let go of that pose for the time being. As your body changes, things that were easy will get hard, things that felt good no longer will. Listen to your body, accept your limitations, don't let your ego end up causing you pain. 



Sources:
Yoga Modifications for Pregnant Mamas with a Strong Vinyasa Flow Practice
Pregnancy Modifications for Experienced Students
And my yoga teachers!  :-)

last week in the 2nd tri

* First I wanted to note that I just got a call from my brother, who WILL be joining us for Thanksgiving!! I cannot wait to see him! We'll be having 5 adults and two crazy dogs... should be entertaining! :-) *


Weekly Review

How far along? 26 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +10 lb total

Maternity clothes? Oh yeah... I put on some pre-maternity pants this past weekend to paint in, couldn't even get the zipper halfway up. My more average lengthed shirts are starting to be too short now too.

Stretch marks? None on the belly.

Sleep: Good... I've actually gotten better about night wakings to pee, normally only 1 now, and I sleep soundly the rest of the time. (Of course I say that, but had the worst night of sleep ever last night. Ugh.)

Best moment this week: Getting to hear the heartbeat at the docs this morning. Plus, getting it on the recorder so Trav can put it in a build-a-bear for me! :-)

Movement: Yup, bopping/rolling/kicking away in there.

Food cravings: Avocado rolls still... plus anything creamy and full of carbs, but that's nothing new!

Actual Gender: GIRL! :-)

Labor Signs: Nope, but have started with the Braxton-Hicks.

Belly Button in or out? Innie, but barely!

What I miss: Normal feeling ribs, all the sushi I can eat.

What I am looking forward to: Finding out if I passed the glucose test (did this morning), so I hopefully don't have to do the 3 hr version! Plus, 3rd trimester!

Weekly Wisdom: Hang in thru the bad parts, because the good parts are amazing and so worth it!

Milestones: Last week in the 2nd Tri! I can't believe how fast its going.

::points up at ticker::

Do you see that? Do you? Double digits. Time until this little girl arrives is now in the double digits. Holy crap. Holy. Crap.

Not to mention that I will be 26 weeks tomorrow, which means my last week in the 2nd trimester. Wow. The time is flying by.


So Thursday went well, really well. Its always a little weird when this event is over, since there is such a build up to it... and then, its just done! But it went great, and we were all happy.
I was told that I looked nice, that pregnancy suited me, by a few people... which was very nice to hear. I was wearing a dress I got just for the occasion:


Friday I got to sleep in some, and visited another daycare before heading to work. The daycare was okay, but we looked at a few things and ended up eliminating it.
Trav headed to Ro & Pat's on Friday night (though Ro wasn't there, she was at the apartment) to help Pat pack up a moving truck which is going to his parents' place for storage.

Saturday the crib and dresser were delivered... they're resting in our dining room at teh moment... huge boxes, taking up lots of room! Bah. Oh well, they should be out of there soon. In that regard, Saturday we did coat #1 of primer in the office. I always forget how crappy that first coat of primer is... it never goes on easily or smoothly, but we got it on. Sunday we did the second coat, which was so so much easier.


We also ran out to the store and picked up our actual paint. Trav is home today so he'll be workin in the room some more (probably painting the ceiling - just a fresh coat of ceiling paint, and maybe doing the closet in the trim color), and he's also going to visit another daycare.

Yesterday was so nice out (sunny, mild, lovely around 70*) that we decided to grill for dinner. We ended up getting to enjoy a beautiful sunset as well.

All in all, a great weekend.
Plus, Trav and I talked, and we're going to have my dad take some pictures of the three (3.5?) of us when they come down for Thanksgiving. Hopefully our furry one will cooperate and we'll get a good picture for a Christmas card. Trav is also going to take some maternity type pictures of me sometime in the next few weeks. Hopefully they'll turn out well and we'll have some great shots to remember this time by. Wish him luck! :-)

I also started working on my Christmas list/shopping. So I'm feeling okay about that.

The rest of this week should be good. I have my glucose test tomorrow. Trav has off again, so he'll drive me... then he'll work in the room some more. Friday I have a date with my friends Andrew and Lo to watch Nazi! Zombies! And Saturday is Lehigh/Lafayette, which hopefully means getting to see a bunch of our friends.

Hopefully during the course of the week we can get the room actually painted up, and then cleaned up... and Sunday or early next week we can start moving things back into the office. I can't wait to see the finished product!

Well, for the moment its time to get back to work. Ciao!

the good, the bad, the ugly

I've been hesitant to write this post, but frankly feel that I would be better off to just get it off my chest. I'm going to start with one of those annoying blanket statements...
Pregnancy is hard. So much harder then I thought it would be.

Now let me backpedal!
I am so thankful to be pregnant. So grateful every. single. day. for the little girl growing big and strong inside of me. Every pregnancy is a miracle (seriously, its mind boggling how one little sperm and one little egg create 7.5lbs of life!), but I feel especially blessed because of our experience with our first pregnancy. We want a baby so much, and losing our first was so hard for both of us. I cried for months. Little things hurt me. And seeing those two lines in June, then the heartbeat in July, well it was a balm. It didn't make all the hurt go away, and it didn't take away the pain of losing our first (who will always be our first), but it did give us a new chance, a new start. And because of that, it felt like twice the blessing.

But here's the thing: I really wanted to be one of those women who glowed with pregnancy. Who wore it with ease and grace. Most of the time, I'm not. I certainly have my days (today is actually pretty damn good) where I walk around with a smile on my face and I'm sure people look at my blooming belly and think that I'm such a lovely vision of womanhood. To them I say, "HA!" I spent the weeks up to 19 feeling nauseous, not being able to eat well, and having spells of lightheadedness because of that (the only glow there, was a cold sweat as I tried not to puke on people). I had three spotting scares in the first trimester, and spent week 22 horribly sick... not to mention the scare with her amniotic fluid. Week 23 and now 24 I'm dealing with the pulled muscle that resulted from that sickness, and to top it off, expanding ribs that push on that muscle leaving me sore, aching, and frankly, very uncomfortable most of the day.

Yesterday I left the office to go for a walk around the block, a chance to get some fresh air and stretch a bit. While I was out, I called Trav, under the guise of wanting to talk to him about daycare stuff, but really because I just needed to hear his voice and be comforted. I was having a Bad Day. I was in pain, and that pain was making me feel lightheaded and slightly nauseated. I am so grateful for Trav in all this... he listens to me complain, comforts me when he can, and treats me with little things (letting me get extra sleep, giving in to my food cravings, etc). He's involved... going to as many of my appointments with me as he can, going to visit daycares this friday on his day off, and generally trying to make sure that I'm well taken care of.
I warned him last night that it already feels like my intestines are in my ribcage, and that our little girl has no more 'up' to take advantage of... which leaves 'out', so I'm probably going to have a huge monster belly by the end of this pregnancy (see picture evidence below).


Being the amazing guy he is, he didn't gulp too audibly at that. Lol.

Part of me feels horrible for complaining at all... especially since it feels like that's all I've been doing lately. It feels like a slight against my daughter, kicking away in my belly. There are women out there that would kill to be pregnant, and I was one of those women 6 months ago. But I would be doing no one any favors by pretending that just because this is what I wanted, what I still want more then words could ever express, that it is all fun and cheer... that it isn't ridiculously hard. If I had to be pregnant for another 10 months to get Gwen in the end, then I would. But Lord Almighty on High, I am so glad that I don't. I'm so glad that I'm more then halfway there.

Because pregnancy is hard people. There, I said it. Pregnancy can suck.
But as Ro told me, "In the end you get your baby, and that's the good part."

Happy Halloween!!

Hope it involves lots of spooky fun. :-)

xoxo.

::pop:: goes the belly...

Weekly Review

How far along? 23 weeks (I'm in my 6th month people!)

Total weight gain/loss: + 6lbs!!! (as of this a.m.)

Maternity clothes? oh yes to the pants... but still rocking out pre-maternity tops.

Stretch marks? not on the belly

Sleep: loving every second of it, and now that i'm not super sick, getting it again!

Best moment this week: laying in bed with my belly against trav's back, and having her kick him! he definitely got wide-eyed, and was like, "that was a little weird!"

Movement: oh yea, bopping around in there all the time now.

Food cravings: White sauces... I actually had a dream about biscuits and sausage gravy, and one about Béchamel sauce. So weird.

Gender guess/Actual Gender: GIRL!

Labor Signs: Nope.

Belly Button in or out? Innie, though for how much longer is the question!

What I miss: warm apple wine... so good this time of year.

What I am looking forward to: Viability week, next week.

Milestones: Our little one is about a pound now!

radio silence

Sorry for the radio silence people... we have had The Sick. Big time. I haven't been to work since Monday, and I have been miserable. I think this is the most sick time I've taken in a row since I started this job, and maybe the most I've taken in a year!

Monday I had a little tickle in my throat, but it wasn't anything. I put together a bit crockpot full of beef stew that night, to cook the next day. That night though, no sleep... I was coughing constantly, and it was miserable.
Tuesday we had the ultrasound, then I came back home and decided to call out for the rest of the day since I was feeling so run down and still coughing a ton. I called the midwives and was told I could take Robitussin DM for the coughing and Tylenol for aches, plus lots of liquids and rest. So that's what I did. Didn't have any appetite though, so Trav got to dig into the beef stew alone. I hear it was fab. That night, still no sleep... the Robitussin wasn't putting a dent in the coughing. Plus, all the stuff down the back of my throat and into my stomach made me sick, physically sick three times. Miserable for both Trav and I. If we had a guest bedroom that could be slept in right now (unforch its full of all the stuff from our office right now and you can't even find the futon), I would have slept there, just so the poor guy didn't have to be up all night with me.
Wednesday I was supposed to have my normal monthly appointment, but spent all day on the phone with the midwife, and we obviously decided to reschedule. My temp got up to 100* so she called in a prescrip for Tamiflu, which I pick up that afternoon. Neither of us is sure if it is just a really bad cold or the flu, but we want to play it safe. She warns me that if its the cold, the Tamiflu is not going to help. I have to take it twice a day for 5 days, plus I'm still doing the Robitussin and Tylenol. This day was definitely the worst. The lack of sleep is really doing me in, and I just feel miserable all over. I actually break down in tears twice because I just feel so Bad. My only goals for the day are to try to keep the liquids flowing, and take my meds on time. I talk to the boss about the situation and he tells me to take all the time I need to be better. That night I sleep!! Still wake 4 times, but otherwise my sleep is sound! The only weird thing... some horrible night sweats. My fever breaking?
Thursday I wake up and want to eat something! Hallelujah! I continue all the meds, and drink tons, and actually eat some food. The boss tells me not to come in on Friday... sometime I had been debating. I'm still feeling sick, but I feel so much better. Then the icing on the cake, another really really good night of sleep. I think I only woke up 2 or 3 times... though I have some of the night sweats again.
Friday, this morning, I wake up feeling about 200x better then before... which is only compounded when I eat and then take my first shower since Tuesday morning! I feel (and yes, probably smell) like a new woman. Still coughing, but not nearly as often.. and the shower helps loosen some stuff up in my lungs. My appetite is finally really back too (hopefully I'll finally get to have some beef stew tonight!). I've eaten more today then I have in the past two days combine, maybe even the past three. I'm drinking tons of water, and still resting. Obviously I'm still taking the Tamiflu religiously and am still doing the Robitussin, but have cut out the Tylenol since my temp was back to normal yesterday and today. I plan to rest all weekend, but it will be back to work for me on Monday.

Now here's hoping that Trav doesn't come down with anything. He was feeling a bit off Wednesday night, but thought it might have just been because the poor guy was also suffering from lack of sleep. He said he felt so much better after getting some real rest, and said that he felt fine today. Lets hope that he really did avoid this!!

Lets also hope the my funny feeling ears are just funny feeling ears (maybe from the rest of my head being so full of gross stuff), and not the beginnings of an earache... since that is an unfortunate side effect of both cold and flu.

I think the worst part of the whole business was that I was worried about our little girl the whole time too. I was worried that I wasn't getting enough good stuff in me to keep her content... plus, I'm sure she was wondering why her water bed kept getting sloshed around all the time from all that coughing. ;-) But hopefully I'm fully on the mend now. I'm still not sure whether I just had a horrid cold or if I really had the flu... so many of my symptoms were boarderline between the two, but I'm so glad that I took the Tamiflu either way.

Well, I'm going to get back to my spot on the couch... surrounded by tissues and glasses of water and snacks... and get back to relaxing. But look for those promised pictures on Monday, when I'll actually have access to a scanner again!
(I also posted my weekly review, which I had filled out Tuesday morning before I really got sick... but hadn't posted because I thought I was going to add ultrasound pics that day! Its up now, just sans pics.)

ultrasound pic, prayer request, and weekend away

First off... here is our little girl, with her hands up by her face:

Isn't she a cutie? ;-)

As for that prayer request...
I just got a call from the Birth Center that while everything looks perfect with our little girl (her measurements are all spot on), my amniotic fluid is low. So I have to go in for another ultrasound tomorrow morning with the perinatologist to see if it was a fluke thing (mis-measurement, I was a little dehydrated, one off reading) or something we need to worry about (depending on the level could mean monitoring, bed rest, hospital stay for fluids, etc). I'm trying to be relaxed about this and just assume that it is nothing until we hear otherwise, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared. Can I seriously just not have a normal pregnancy?!
Prayers or low-fluid experiences are requested. Thanks.


On a nicer note... we had a wonderful weekend away! The weather was chilly and it rained/drizzled off and on for the whole time we were there... but the B&B we stayed at was wonderful, and we had a really nice, relaxing time. Plus, the fall foliage there was lovely.

Some pictures:


Train ride:

Waiting for the steam train to pass:
"Haunted" tour through the old jail:





It was an easy drive up and back, the place we stayed was very nice, and the pup was good for Trav's coworker (who puppy sat). All-in-all, it was a wonderful weekend away, and I'm so glad we did it.

Now its back to work for me... though Trav still has two days off (one each furlough and vacation). Back tomorrow afternoon with news.