Back from PA

Evan and I spent around 6 days last week in Pennsylvania as our vacation. A brief recap:

We started in Philadelphia, where the very first stop was at Geno's for a cheesesteak. This was Evan's main priority and he thought it was really good. The line to order at Geno's is always long, 24 hours a day. When we arrived around 1:30pm, the line was probably 50 people or so. It moves pretty quickly. Evan had researched how to order the sandwiches as to not look like a tourist. Apparently they can be like the Soup Nazi if you don't know what you want. We had to eat our sandwiches in the car due to lack of outdoor seating, which wasn't ideal. We made it work.

The next day was spent walking around the historical sites in Philadelphia, mainly Independence Hall, Liberty Bell Center, etc. Evan had never been there and it had changed a bit since I was there in elementary school.

Next we headed to Reading, PA for some shopping. This was a complete disappointment. Apparently a bunch of the outlets had closed up. Evan and I both remember it being a shopping destination, but the outlets it did have were a let down.

Off to Hershey the next day. I had never been there. You can't take a tour of the real factory, so you have to take this Disney-like ride through a simulated factory to learn how they make the chocolate. The gift shop had all the varieties of Hershey products including many of the varieties of Hershey kisses since it's the 100th anniversary of the Kiss. The best part was that after dinner, we stepped outside and the air smelled like chocolate. It was great, like someone was baking a giant chocolate cake.

Then we headed to Gettysburg for a day. We did a walking tour of the cemetery where we learned about the famous battle and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Though the walking tour was fine, Evan was most excited about taking the ghost tour that evening. Gettysburg is said to be the most haunted place in America. I guess if thousands of soldiers died in one little town, you could expect that. So we went and Evan took pictures like crazy hoping for something cool to appear. Others in our group were capturing "orbs" in their photos, according to the tour guide. Evan captured nothing. He was disappointed and even tried manipulating the camera settings. ha.

Last on our PA tour was to see Fallingwater, one of the famous homes designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright (pictured above). I had wanted to see this for a long time. It really is amazing, whether you're a designer or not. It's located in an absolutely beautiful setting out in the middle of nowhere. Very cool. Besides the house itself, the highlight for me at this stop was seeing a bear cub walking through the woods maybe 20 feet from our car. Unbelievable! I never have seen a bear in the wild before. It was cute. We snapped a quick picture after fumbling for the camera, but he had started to trot away, so it wasn't super clear.

After that it was back to Ohio. All in all the trip was good. Nothing too exciting, but it was a nice break from work...where I'll be the entire rest of the summer. I held up pretty well, considering all the walking and the hot temperatures. I've discovered that the heat and sitting for long periods will make my ankles swell. I try to drink as much water as I can, but I think it's just the beginning of my summer of swelling. I guess it's a small price I'll pay while carrying the little one.

Tagged again!

OK, to show what a good sport I am and because it seems like a good thing to do while I'm at work today burning DVDs from a photoshoot, I'm going to answer some more questions about myself. My friend Jen, who I got to know back when I lived in Orlando and was interning at Campus Crusade for Christ, tagged me.

Wow, Jen, I just was thinking about when I flew down for your wedding. A bunch of you all chipped in to buy my ticket and I almost didn't make it back home in time for class (in Cincinnati) due to bad weather and flights being cancelled in Atlanta. I think it was January, wasn't it?

Anyway, on with the questions:

4 jobs I've had:
1. Receptionist at my grandparent's Jeep and marine dealership
2. Natural Wonders (does this store even exist anymore?) sales associate
3. Production artist, designing grocery ads for a national retailer
4. Graphic Designer, my current job, at AGC

4 places I've lived:
1. Malvern, OH
2. Cincinnati, OH
3. Orlando, FL
4. Cleveland, OH

4 movies I watch over and over:
1. Tommy Boy
2. Billy Madison
3. Napoleon Dynamite
4. Sound of Music

4 favorite foods:
1. ice cream
2. pizza
3. dark chocolate
4. coconut

4 favorite tv shows:
1. How I Met Your Mother
2. House
3. Law & Order
4. King of Queens

4 places I'd rather be right now:
1. At home (I'm at work right now)
2. At the beach (oh wait, I need a maternity bathing suit)
3. Buying a maternity bathing suit (so I can go to the beach!)
4. Taking a walk through the park

4 things I wonder about:
1. Will I be a good mommy?
2. Will we be ok financially if I don't want to go back to work at all?
3. If I do my current job part-time, will it work out?
4. Why do I worry when I know God takes care of me every time?

I've Been Tagged?

I guess there are games in the blogosphere where you get "tagged" by someone and have to answer the questions they ask. Evan's cousin, Liz, tagged me and asked me to list 5 things about myself that people may not know. By the way, these questions are always tough for me!!

1. I very much dislike being the center of attention or being put on the spot.

2. I was born on Halloween (Oct. 31). Some people are born the 29th or 30th and say they are born on Halloween. This irritates me. The 31st is the only day of Halloween. It would be like being born on Dec. 23 and saying you were born on Christmas. dumb.

3. I love ice cream.

4. I don't like coffee or coffee-flavored things. Some coffees smell good, but that's it.

5. I enjoy making pottery. We just bought a wheel, so now we can make more cool things (in all my spare time).

We're Having a BOY!

Today was my ultrasound. Evidence was pretty clear that we're having a boy! He is around 11 ounces and developmentally right where he should be. We saw the four chambers of his heart, kidneys, brain, spine, as well as hands and feet. Apparently he wanted some privacy this morning, because he wouldn't move his arms away from his face for very long.

Evan & I decided against the quad test, which tests for down syndrome as well as some other abnormalities. Though the ultrasound is never guaranteed, the Dr. said that the chances of down syndrome dropped by 50% today by what he could see alone. Since we aren't having the blood test done, we'll take that as a good sign that everything is fine. The Dr. said that the nose is now a great indicator of chances for down syndrome. Our baby has a long nose (go figure!) which is a great sign that things are ok.

Now I know everyone is going to start asking about names. We haven't decided yet, and even when we do, I'm not sure we're telling. We have to leave SOME element of surprise, don't we? :o)

Below are a couple snapshots. The first highlights that he is indeed a boy. The second is a 3D image of the baby's face. These aren't quite as clear as the first set, but overall, I think you can distinguish the features.

A potpourri of updates

Since it's been two weeks since my last post, I thought I better get something on here. Like Kris, I didn't want to end up on Sarah Cool's "rarely updated friends" list. :o)

Let's see, not too much has happened since Easter. A few things of possible interest:

1. April 13-15: Evan went to Indianapolis for the STE fraternity conclave. He's still involved and enjoys seeing his brothers. I stayed home and made friends with the couch. I did manage to gather a few friends from church for dinner out and a chick flick at our house.

2. April 14: Decided to get my hair cut. It went from near shoulder length to chin length. I think I make this move just about every Spring. I like my hair shorter. Someone at work said I got the "mom" cut. I'd like to believe that my hair is more stylish than what the comment implied. I think she just meant that it seems all new moms get their hair cut. Who knows.

2. April 18: Went for a check-up to see how me and the little cherub are doing. I gained 2.5 lbs. in the past 5 weeks (which I was pleased with) and my blood pressure was fine too. We listened to the baby's heartbeat again. Last time it took a minute to find it. This time we heard it immediately. It was loud and clear and sounded good. I was relieved to hear it. Since I don't feel sick anymore, I worried that everything was ok in there. Hearing the heartbeat gave me a little peace of mind. I scheduled my next ultrasound for May 7. We should be able to find out what we're having at this appt!

3. This past weekend was beautiful here. Evan & I had a wedding to attend in Norwalk on Saturday. Sunday was church and getting some things done outside. Also, on Saturday, Evan finished painting the nursery and assembled the crib. It's amazing that putting one piece of furniture in the room can make this all seem so real. It's fun to see Evan excited about the baby. You all know him, he's not a real "softy" should we say? He will be fun to watch as a father.

Well, that brings us up-to-date. It's back to work today.
Below, a snapshot of the haircut (just for you, Sarah!).

Gotta love Cleveland: Easter 2007

Welcome to Easter 2007 in Lakewood. I can't really say Cleveland because not all areas of Cleveland got this much snow. Normally the west side doesn't get hit this bad, but thanks to lake effect snow, we got hammered.

This picture was taken Easter morning. Evan's truck hadn't moved since Friday night so you can tell how much snow fell between Friday night and Sunday morning. Unbelievable.

I love Cleveland (hope you're picking up on my sarcasm).

Finally, an upgrade!

After being made fun of several times for my "huge", out-of-date cell phone, I'm getting a new one! I mean, really, my parents have brand new cell phones and don't know how to work them and here I am stuck with a circa 2000-2001 model. Go figure. Above are photos of my old phone and my new one.

But what's also earth-shattering is that Evan is getting a cell phone too! He hates them and has resisted up until now. Basically I told him he had to have one now that we have a little one on the way. Just didn't want to take the chance of me going into labor and not being able to reach him. Also, I always lended mine to him if he was traveling. Now I don't have to share, even though I rarely use mine.

And finally, have a Happy Easter!