I Wrote Something!!!!

And I posted it over at Word Flirts... Who knew, 2 posts in less than 30 days... :o)

April

Time for an Update

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would pop by and update how things are going...

Overall things are going pretty well. I am 17 weeks today and we get to hear the baby's heartbeat at each appointment. Last week we had our appointment for January and my blood pressure was on the low side which is a great sign for the blood clotting issues.

I lost 7 pounds in my first trimester. I've regained 3 pounds, so I am still down over all. My dr says that's just fine with him because the baby seems to be growing just fine. And he's not kidding there. I'm already starting to show.

We go on Valentine's day to find out the sex. We're really excited. Maybe then we'll finally start to work on getting the cluttered nursery cleared. :o)

There's been time here and there I get to read. Not nearly as much as I want. And it seems when I feel like reading and have the time to do it, I can't find anything that I really want to read right at that moment. So I'm wondering if any of you have read anything really good recently you'd like to recommend... I know you all well enough to know I won't have to beg ;o)

Thanks & Happy Writing,
April

It's Time For a Break...

Okay, it's officially time for a break. I've fought it for a while. But I'm now at the point of inevitablility.

Today I am 12 weeks pregnant. YAY! And I'll admit the pregnancy and recent events have been quite the distraction. There are also a couple of concerns which place me in the high risk category. Namely a blood disorder I have called factor V Leiden which causes me to be prone to clotting. Which wouldn't be such an issue if I weren't allergic to aspirin which is the easiest and most common solution for the problem during pregnancy. So my focus just hasn't been on writing.

With work and family and the baby on the way there's just been so little time to spend on writing or even writing activities. So I finally decided I need to just give myself permission to take an extended break.

I'll still be around, lurking to see what everyone is up to. And it's definately a temporary thing. It's just a long temporary thing. Lord knows the characters in my head will not permit me to live in peace for long. LOL!

Smooches and happy writing to all of my blog buddies!
April

It's Christmas Time!!!

This is my favorite time of the year. I start getting Christmas tunes in my head in July or August. So when it actually comes around, I'm super duper happy about it.

To dispell the gloom this weekend, hubby and I put up the tree and it really did brighten the day. Now we just need to decorate it. LOL! And decorate everything else. I think we'll finish it off this weekend. I've been a little under the weather, so we just couldn't get it finished yet.

I tried to convince hubby we need to do something like the guy in the video below. And while he's all about working out the technical aspects, I think he's afraid of the prospect of climbing up on our roof (it's steep). So I told him we'd skip it and just do what we usually do. Of course that whole proposition could have back fired on me because he could have been all for it, then where would I be? Probably on You Tube like this guy. LOL!



What about you? Planning any "show" staging for the holidays?

April

What I'm Thankful For...

I'm thankful for my family and all of the friends and loved ones I have or have had in my life. I'm thankful for the time I get to spend with them. I'm thankful for those special people who enter my life and leave me a different, maybe better person.

One of those people is a friend of my husband. And yesterday he lost his battle with lung cancer. It was a relatively short battle, his having been diagnosed just this past spring with stage IV cancer. Short did not mean painless. Through treatments which nearly cut his life even shorter, he persevered and continued to pray for healing and have faith that all would happen as was meant to be.

In June we even celebrated a short remission. However, it was discovered the remission was to be short lived. News that he would be undergoing a procedure spread recently and we all began the prayers for another miracle. However, it simply was not meant to be.

Chris' life itself was a miracle. A talented musician, he's been touching lives for a very long time and when he was diagnosed with lung cancer, he made it his mission to make clubs smoke free.

You see Chris had not been a smoker for MANY years. However, as a musician, he had no choice but to be in smokey places. Thanks to him and his tenacity, we now have an organization for a smoke free SC. And he's raised awareness among local people who thought being under 40 and a non-smoker meant there was no reason to get screened for lung cancer.

So on this day of family and thankfullness, I celebrate the life of Chris Conner and the many ways he touched those around him. And I pray his son who is much too young to understand what is going on will know what an amazing person his father was and will be able to celebrate the legacy he left.

I also pray you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you were able to cherish the time spent with family and friends for the gift that it is...

Love,
April

Does Anyone Smell Turkey?

Well, I know I've been a bad Blogger AGAIN! I am dreadfully sorry for that. My reasons for being such a terrible blogger will hopefully be better explained soon.

In the meantime, Thursday is Thanksgiving for those of us in the U.S. And this will be the first year hubby and I host Thanksgiving dinner at our house. We'll be hosting both of our families and possibly my sister's MIL. So there will be 11 or 12 of us (including a precocious 8 year-old)

My mother, lovely and wonderful person that she is, is bringing the turkey. I think it's because she's scared I can't cook one, but she says it's because she wants to help. She is the helper sort, so who knows... I still think I scare her. LOL! And my MIL is bringing dressing and pumpkin pies...

So that leaves sides (which run the gamut in our family) It seems no one likes the same thing and so there's always a bevy of sides. Mashed potatoes, corn, mac and cheese (for the nephew) and then the traditional biscuits and cranberry sauce. Then, half the family likes pumpkin pie, the other half coconut cake... So baking will need to be done...

And usually there's a fruit tray for appetizers... We're going to be up to our ears in food!

So here's my question. Really two... First, what is your BEST tip for hosting Thanksgiving (large quantities of alcohol excluded) and can you think of anything I've forgotten?

April
(who will try not to have a coronary this week. LOL!)

The Life & Times...

A good friend of mine got married this weekend. It was a lovely ceremony and a very enjoyable and yummy reception. I ate too much... what's new. But I had a good time and that's what matters. Ok, THE COUPLE had a good time and THAT'S what matters...

My darling hubby couldn't attend with me, but it's inevitable at a wedding you're going to start thinking about your own nuptuals, right? Or am I the only sap? Standing there in my bridesmaids dress watching them commit to loving and supporting each other for the rest of their lives I thought back two and a half years ago to when the hubster and I did the same.

We'd dated for over 11 years. I thought we were as close as we could be without living together. But I was wrong. Each year has brough hubby and I closer and the last two are no exception. We've faced our fair share of trials and tribulations, but we've faced them together and I'm thankful to have him here with me.

We found each other so early in life (I was 16 and he was 17), I think we were both fairly skeptical as to whether it was real or puppy love. We often joke that if there is a such thing as past lives, we must have been searching for each other for a long time in the last and that's why we found each other so early this time.

Whatever it was, it was a Blessing. I guess the Lord knew we'd need each other early on and so He provided. And whew, am I thankful.

So I wish Bethany and Steve the same joy and love hubby and I share and I pray they have a long and happy marriage!

Am I the only sap, say I'm not... please!!!!

April

Visit Me

Visit me over at Word Flirts where my characters are costing me sleep!

April

Get Me A Straight Jacket Please...

Things have been nuts! I know, I know... I've been saying that for a while now. But they just seem to stay nuts!

Last week, my best friend gave birth to a precious little baby boy. He's soooooooo sweet. On top of that we've been going to pre-wedding events for a friend who's getting married on Nov 3rd and another friend who got married yesterday.

I'm hoping after the 3rd things will slow down. Hahahahaha yeah right.

The wedding this past weekend was in the mountains, so hubby and I took off Friday and went up early to have a mini-vacation. It was great! We relaxed, did a little shopping, ate some GREAT food that is NOT on the list of approved foods I'm supposed to be eating from :o), and had an overall great time.

The wedding was outdoors at dusk and it was beautiful! It looked like a setting out of Southern Living with grapevine balls strung from ribbons in the trees and everything lit up with candles and little white lights. It was a little bit chilly, but I'd prefer that over hot and humid anytime!

What have you been up to recently?

April

And here she is....

April Andretti...
That's me and my over-sized bottom in a racing suit. I wore shorts because I knew it would be warm... but Whew is it warm in that suit. And the helmets are really heavy. When I put it on I thought my neck might collapse. It made turning my head feel funny though...

After every other driver, this guy checked out the cars. He checked the engine and tires. It was funny because he rolled the cars and the guys buckling people in through the windows would stumble to go along. In the background you can see a leader car and a rookie like me. Actually, my darling hubby who is reading over my shoulder told me that IS me. LOL! So there I am whipping around the track!

I thought at first this was me crossing the finish line. But if you look closely, the little flag guy has a rolled up green flag that he's waving like a nut. He's telling me to catch up to my lead car. But I felt I was going fast enough ;o)

And this is me pulling in to the pit, thanking God I made it without wrecking and praying I don't run over the poor little guy waving me in because the breaks don't really seem to stop on a dime... LOL!

Most of the pics my hubby took were of my car going around the track. But if you've seen one, you've kind of seen them all, you know? Our video camera gave out right after I got buckled in, so he switched to pics. I'm trying to figure out how to get the video off our camcorder so you guys can see them shove my big head through the window. LOL!

Happy Racing!
April (Andretti)