I can hardly believe that we only have 30 days left before this little baby girl is going to arrive. Maybe I should say is "supposed to" arrive! I'm fully prepared for the fact that she could be late and try not to think much about her being early because I feel like that will just get my hopes up.
All is well. Our doctor's appointments have all been very normal and Dr. Shoemaker says we are progressing as expected. At our last appointment he said she was already "way down" but I'm not at all dilated. It's strange that she's down already because it sure doesn't feel like it. She still likes to camp out in my ribs! I thought when she dropped that would go away but Dr. Shoemaker says the only cure for that is going to be delivery....sounds good to me! We go back on Wednesday and will have an appointment once a week until she arrives. We made appointments all the way up until June 26th!
Matt and I are trying to make all we can of our time left as a family of two. We've spent as much time as possible out on the boat, which has been so great! I promise to post pictures soon. Even after putting $90 worth of gas in it yesterday, we both just smiled and said we are so glad to have it! If you know Matt at all, that is really saying something....he's not one to part with $90 very easily! We already loved living in Fairhope, but having the boat has made it even better! There's nothing like being able to get out on the water. Mike and Bobi (Matt's Dad and Step-Mom) have already gotten Hannah Cate her own little life jacket, so it won't be long before we introduce her to what has become one of our favorite past-times.
We are finishing up the final touches on the nursery. We have to hang the chandelier/light fixture. Finish up the roman shade and panels for the window and I have to find the right shade for the lamp. I think that's about it and I'll post some pictures for all of you who have been begging. I wanted to wait until it's a finished product so you can get the full effect! Mom is coming in town this weekend for our last baby shower that's here in Fairhope, so I'm expecting we'll knock out a few of these projects while she's here. I'm hoping she'll help me plant a flower in the empty pot that has been sitting on my front porch for a month now!
I promise to have some pictures next time....I know that makes it more fun!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
A Lesson on Bitterness
Over the course of the last year, Matt has been working pretty exclusively on a project in Orange Beach. He and his Dad are the realtors for Heritage Motor Coach Resort and Marina. It's a luxury resort and marina on a beautiful piece of property and is designed specifically for Class A motor coach owners. Class A indicates the "big daddies" of RV's. They are the nicest of the nice and this resort was designed exclusively for them. It was not meant to exclude other motor coach or RV owners, but rather to ensure guidelines for the kind of vehicles that would reside there.
A couple of weeks ago they sent out a marketing brochure to a list of what they believed to be qualified Class A owners. It was a small post card with the details of the property. They received the following letter (along with the original post card) back from a lady in Louisiana:
To Whom it May Concern,
We do not have a motor coach. We do have a Class A camper and Class A Ford Lariat 250 Diesel. Perhaps you need a better education to be better informed before you waste our time and yours, as we are millionaires, we do not ever want to deal with snooty, so called Class A resorts. Do me a favor and loose this address. I have no time for prejudice resorts, we wouldn't let you board our dog let alone our camper.
P.S. Put this flyer in your trash, ours is too good!
I did type the letter word for word and comma for comma as she wrote it. Interesting that she mentions that they should be more educated. Matt and his Dad got a laugh out of the letter. When Matt showed it to me, again, we got a good laugh. It really is funny!
The more I have thought about it though, it's really been a lesson to me. This poor lady obviously lives a pretty bitter life. I commit today to not let anything steal my joy and build up to the point of rage over a silly post card!
Whether or not you happen to own a Class A Motorcoach, check out the website for Heritage and see what Matt has been up to. I am so proud of him for his determination and desire to provide for our family!
www.heritageorangebeach.com
A couple of weeks ago they sent out a marketing brochure to a list of what they believed to be qualified Class A owners. It was a small post card with the details of the property. They received the following letter (along with the original post card) back from a lady in Louisiana:
To Whom it May Concern,
We do not have a motor coach. We do have a Class A camper and Class A Ford Lariat 250 Diesel. Perhaps you need a better education to be better informed before you waste our time and yours, as we are millionaires, we do not ever want to deal with snooty, so called Class A resorts. Do me a favor and loose this address. I have no time for prejudice resorts, we wouldn't let you board our dog let alone our camper.
P.S. Put this flyer in your trash, ours is too good!
I did type the letter word for word and comma for comma as she wrote it. Interesting that she mentions that they should be more educated. Matt and his Dad got a laugh out of the letter. When Matt showed it to me, again, we got a good laugh. It really is funny!
The more I have thought about it though, it's really been a lesson to me. This poor lady obviously lives a pretty bitter life. I commit today to not let anything steal my joy and build up to the point of rage over a silly post card!
Whether or not you happen to own a Class A Motorcoach, check out the website for Heritage and see what Matt has been up to. I am so proud of him for his determination and desire to provide for our family!
www.heritageorangebeach.com
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Tagged
Sweet Emily tagged me well over a month ago, and for sake of our friendship, here goes.....
I'm supposed to list 10 random things about me that you might not know.
1. My real name is Sarah Virginia Barnes. Sally is no where in my birth name, it's not on my birth certificate, social security card, driver's license, etc. Sally is a nickname for Sarah, bet you didn't know that. Don't worry, you are not alone. But, my Mom knew it when I was born almost 28 years ago and so since that day I've been a Sally not a Sarah. They already had the name Sarah Virginia picked out, but she insists I didn't look like a Sarah when I was born and Sally was much more fitting.
2. In keeping with things that happened to me on the day I was born....I was a week late, but on the day I finally decided I was ready to make a grand entrance, I was really ready! When it was time for my Mom to start pushing, the doctor was delivering another baby in the room next door. To keep me from popping out on my own, they had to turn my Mom upside down in her hospital bed until the doctor finished with the other delivery. Dr. Parnell really wanted to be the one to deliver me because he loved my Mom so much, so desperate times call for desperate measures. I've never been good with patience and I've always liked to do things on my own timing, I guess I learned this at a very early age!
3. My red hair is natural, never been highlighted or color treated. I can't tell you the number of times that random people have commented on the color and I can tell they are waiting expectantly for me to divulge my stylist or the box that I use. It always cracks me up. I certainly didn't appreciate the uniqueness of my red hair as I was growing up, but now I wouldn't trade it!
4. When I was in elementary school, I chipped my left front tooth while I was playing on the playground. Years later when I got braces, the chipped tooth came back to bite me again when the gap between my front teeth wouldn't completely close because of the damage done years back. So, they had to give me a partial front tooth to make up the difference. You can't really tell just by looking at me (at least I hope not!) but every now and then it will break again on it's own. It has been several years (knock on wood) that it's happened, but I can very specifically remember the unfortunate times when it did. I looked like such a snaggle tooth and would refuse to open my mouth until I could make it to the dentist! I had nightmares before we got married that it would break the day before the wedding!
5. The very first time that I met Matt, I really didn't like him. I can very vividly remember standing in Michael Kellum's apartment in Auburn and in walked Matt Miller. He clearly thought he was "THE" Matt Miller and that I was privileged to meet him, and he felt the need to state this fact. Didn't go over very well with me, so I wrote him off as someone I would not likely be friends with. Little did I know......
6. My original career ambition was to work in the Marketing department for Estee Lauder. I absolutely love make up and love to do people's make up. I picked Estee Lauder because that's what my Mom always used and I knew they had several lines underneath the Lauder name. I carried this dream all the way through my time at Auburn, even working at an Estee Lauder counter at the Dillards in Columbus, GA the semester after I graduated from Auburn (I graduated a semester early, but wasn't quite ready to actually leave Auburn yet). That's when everything changed. Counter life was hard. Working retail was hard. Working with caddy and competitive women was extremely hard. It was an eye opening experience. From there I had options of going to a corporate office in Tampa or New York and working my way up OR going to another store to be a manager and work my way up through the ranks of a store with the goal of being promoted to a district manager. Moving to Tampa or New York didn't seem like an option for me at the time and I had learned that counter life was most definitely not an option for me. So there the dream and ambition died.
7. I am terribly forgetful. It's very rare that I go somewhere and don't leave something behind, or that at the end of a night I'm not having to ask someone "have you seen my keys?". Just ask my Dad, he has a basket on the table beside his front door that might as well have a sign above it that says "Things Sally left the last time she was here". It's become a joke of sorts, but it's really not funny! Pregnancy has really taken a toll on my forgetfulness and it seems to be 10 times worse.
8. I love to make lists. Very important, considering number 7 above! I use them to try to hide the fact that I am really forgetful. I really love to check things off my list. It's not rare that I will have multiple lists going at once.
9. I'm a really fast walker. I don't do it on purpose, I just walk fast. When I'm in the office in Birmingham, I get at least a comment a day on how fast I'm walking through the hall or that it's very obvious that it's me (when they can't see me) because they can "hear" me walking fast. I can remember shopping trips with my Mom and sister when I was younger and we all walked fast, so I guess it runs in the family. I do like to walk for exercise. On the days that Matt goes with me and I want to walk not run, he will jog beside me while I walk. We get some pretty hilarious looks and comments from people, but it works out great!
10. I've had some pretty neat experiences since I've worked and been traveling for White Plume. One of the best was getting to go to the Oprah show. One of my clients in Chicago is an OBGYN practice and Oprah is one of their patients. I became good friends with the Office Manager and she was able to get me and a couple of other ladies I work with tickets to a show. It just so happened that they were filming an entire show, plus putting some finishing touches on a show they had already taped. I was on TV for both shows! I got an email from a friend from high school after the show aired, and she said I saw someone that looked just like you on Oprah today.....it was me! Too bad Oprah seems to have gone off the deep end these days.
I tag:
Emily Hokanson, Christy Hensley, Krista Nebrig and Courtney Baxley
I'm supposed to list 10 random things about me that you might not know.
1. My real name is Sarah Virginia Barnes. Sally is no where in my birth name, it's not on my birth certificate, social security card, driver's license, etc. Sally is a nickname for Sarah, bet you didn't know that. Don't worry, you are not alone. But, my Mom knew it when I was born almost 28 years ago and so since that day I've been a Sally not a Sarah. They already had the name Sarah Virginia picked out, but she insists I didn't look like a Sarah when I was born and Sally was much more fitting.
2. In keeping with things that happened to me on the day I was born....I was a week late, but on the day I finally decided I was ready to make a grand entrance, I was really ready! When it was time for my Mom to start pushing, the doctor was delivering another baby in the room next door. To keep me from popping out on my own, they had to turn my Mom upside down in her hospital bed until the doctor finished with the other delivery. Dr. Parnell really wanted to be the one to deliver me because he loved my Mom so much, so desperate times call for desperate measures. I've never been good with patience and I've always liked to do things on my own timing, I guess I learned this at a very early age!
3. My red hair is natural, never been highlighted or color treated. I can't tell you the number of times that random people have commented on the color and I can tell they are waiting expectantly for me to divulge my stylist or the box that I use. It always cracks me up. I certainly didn't appreciate the uniqueness of my red hair as I was growing up, but now I wouldn't trade it!
4. When I was in elementary school, I chipped my left front tooth while I was playing on the playground. Years later when I got braces, the chipped tooth came back to bite me again when the gap between my front teeth wouldn't completely close because of the damage done years back. So, they had to give me a partial front tooth to make up the difference. You can't really tell just by looking at me (at least I hope not!) but every now and then it will break again on it's own. It has been several years (knock on wood) that it's happened, but I can very specifically remember the unfortunate times when it did. I looked like such a snaggle tooth and would refuse to open my mouth until I could make it to the dentist! I had nightmares before we got married that it would break the day before the wedding!
5. The very first time that I met Matt, I really didn't like him. I can very vividly remember standing in Michael Kellum's apartment in Auburn and in walked Matt Miller. He clearly thought he was "THE" Matt Miller and that I was privileged to meet him, and he felt the need to state this fact. Didn't go over very well with me, so I wrote him off as someone I would not likely be friends with. Little did I know......
6. My original career ambition was to work in the Marketing department for Estee Lauder. I absolutely love make up and love to do people's make up. I picked Estee Lauder because that's what my Mom always used and I knew they had several lines underneath the Lauder name. I carried this dream all the way through my time at Auburn, even working at an Estee Lauder counter at the Dillards in Columbus, GA the semester after I graduated from Auburn (I graduated a semester early, but wasn't quite ready to actually leave Auburn yet). That's when everything changed. Counter life was hard. Working retail was hard. Working with caddy and competitive women was extremely hard. It was an eye opening experience. From there I had options of going to a corporate office in Tampa or New York and working my way up OR going to another store to be a manager and work my way up through the ranks of a store with the goal of being promoted to a district manager. Moving to Tampa or New York didn't seem like an option for me at the time and I had learned that counter life was most definitely not an option for me. So there the dream and ambition died.
7. I am terribly forgetful. It's very rare that I go somewhere and don't leave something behind, or that at the end of a night I'm not having to ask someone "have you seen my keys?". Just ask my Dad, he has a basket on the table beside his front door that might as well have a sign above it that says "Things Sally left the last time she was here". It's become a joke of sorts, but it's really not funny! Pregnancy has really taken a toll on my forgetfulness and it seems to be 10 times worse.
8. I love to make lists. Very important, considering number 7 above! I use them to try to hide the fact that I am really forgetful. I really love to check things off my list. It's not rare that I will have multiple lists going at once.
9. I'm a really fast walker. I don't do it on purpose, I just walk fast. When I'm in the office in Birmingham, I get at least a comment a day on how fast I'm walking through the hall or that it's very obvious that it's me (when they can't see me) because they can "hear" me walking fast. I can remember shopping trips with my Mom and sister when I was younger and we all walked fast, so I guess it runs in the family. I do like to walk for exercise. On the days that Matt goes with me and I want to walk not run, he will jog beside me while I walk. We get some pretty hilarious looks and comments from people, but it works out great!
10. I've had some pretty neat experiences since I've worked and been traveling for White Plume. One of the best was getting to go to the Oprah show. One of my clients in Chicago is an OBGYN practice and Oprah is one of their patients. I became good friends with the Office Manager and she was able to get me and a couple of other ladies I work with tickets to a show. It just so happened that they were filming an entire show, plus putting some finishing touches on a show they had already taped. I was on TV for both shows! I got an email from a friend from high school after the show aired, and she said I saw someone that looked just like you on Oprah today.....it was me! Too bad Oprah seems to have gone off the deep end these days.
I tag:
Emily Hokanson, Christy Hensley, Krista Nebrig and Courtney Baxley
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Seattle
I had to make one last long distance trip for work, all the way across the country to Seattle. Matt, being the good and self-less husband that he is, agreed to make the trip with me! We decided to turn it into a "babymoon" so we headed out the weekend before my meetings. I was dreading the flight, but thanks to Dr. Shoemaker and the miracle drug of Phenergran that he prescribed for my troubles in the air, I slept like a baby on each leg of the flight! We got to Seattle on Saturday afternoon and wasted no time.
After Snoqualmie, we headed back to downtown Seattle and found a great look out spot where we hung out for awhile and couldn't pass up the opportunity for a photo-op. It really was a great view of the Seattle skyline!
On Sunday we headed to Pike's Place Market and I was blown away! The amount of amazing produce and gorgeous flowers made me wish that I lived there and had easy access to such freshness.
After strolling around the market, we headed across the street to catch a ferry over to Bainbridge Island. I've never been on a ferry before, so it was a neat experience for me. Not something I would want to do every day for my commute though! Bainbridge Island was a cute little community with a quaint downtown and beautiful houses. It really kind of reminded me of Fairhope! We must have left the camera in the car because we didn't get any pictures from this part of the trip.
We headed straight to Snoqualmie Falls to take in the beautiful waterfall. I'm glad we made it to the bottom so we could get a good picture, but the hike back up was rough.....seeing that I'm carrying a few extra pounds these days!
After Snoqualmie, we headed back to downtown Seattle and found a great look out spot where we hung out for awhile and couldn't pass up the opportunity for a photo-op. It really was a great view of the Seattle skyline! 
On Sunday we headed to Pike's Place Market and I was blown away! The amount of amazing produce and gorgeous flowers made me wish that I lived there and had easy access to such freshness. After strolling around the market, we headed across the street to catch a ferry over to Bainbridge Island. I've never been on a ferry before, so it was a neat experience for me. Not something I would want to do every day for my commute though! Bainbridge Island was a cute little community with a quaint downtown and beautiful houses. It really kind of reminded me of Fairhope! We must have left the camera in the car because we didn't get any pictures from this part of the trip. We ate at some great restaurants and really just throughly enjoyed our time together. Monday I had meetings for work and one was about an hour north of Seattle. We thought that our "vacation" was over at this point, because it was back to the original purpose of our trip....work! Little did we know, we were about to happen upon one of the most incredible sights we had ever seen! As we got further North, we started to notice signs for tulip fields and the National Tulip Festival. Matt had heard about the amazing tulip fields, but we didn't think we could fit it into our weekend. It turned out that the tulip fields were in the same town as my meeting and we were there at the perfect time of year. The tulips were in full bloom! Matt dropped me off at my meeting and went to scope out the sights.
He came across this field first, orange tulips as far as the eye could see. They were actually in the process of "topping" the tulips to make the bulbs stronger for when they pull them up to sell. By the time he picked me up from my meeting, they had completed topped this field and only the stems were left.
Luckily, there are lots of different fields! So, we headed a little further down the road to Tulip Town. I'm not sure that I have ever seen anything so beautiful with my own eyes. I had no idea that tulips came in so many different colors. There were just rows and rows and rows of tulips. If you are ever anywhere close to the Skagit Valley in April, I highly recommend making the trip! It was breath taking!
I am so thankful that we were able to fit in some fun time around this work trip. As excited as I am about Hannah Cate's arrival, I couldn't help but be a little saddened that trips like this just won't be as easy and things are really about to change.
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