Clemson Tiger...

There is no doubt that Joe and I love Clemson University. 

It is where we both went to college, were forced to grow up, and met. 

I owe alot to the school and loved the experience I had there. 

So last weekend, we headed down to stay with some friends in Greer which is about 1 hour away from Clemson. 

Of course we attended the game! 

Furman Vs Clemson!

We won =0)

It was a blast to say the least! 

But what Clemson trip would be complete with out Clemson apparel. 

Joe, I, and Clemson puppy (who went with us on this trip thanks to our awesome friends) really needed nothing.  But with the newest memeber of the family on the way, bug needed something.

We walked into our favorite Clemson shopping store and there we found Clemson onzies in a three pack by Nike.  We loved them because they were gender neutral since we do not know what we are having yet.

Joe loved the huge Clemson tiger paw! 

To say Joe was excited was an understatement. 

And I am finally starting to wrap my head around this new little bug and that I am going to be a tiger mom x 2 as my friend reminds me since Clemson is really my first child of the 4 legged kind.

 

Do not get me wrong- our bug to be can go to whatever college is best for them. 

And yes bug you will go to college! 

But it is never too early to start brain washing!!!

Unleasing the Secret!

If you know anything about me, I am a very private person. 

There are a lot of things I do not even share with my besties. 

So when I found out I was pregnant, I shut my hubby down.  The morning the test was positive, he was jumping around the kitchen and I remember looking him in the eye and saying,
“We are not telling anyone until I decide it is time.” 
I must have had a serious look in my face because he nodded in agreement.   

There were only a couple things I was mandating during pregnancy, and deciding when to announce was one of them.   Being a midwife, I knew the statics on miscarriage, I knew the statics on genetics and I just wanted to be on the safe side prior to telling people.  I did not want to get peoples hopes up- particularly Joes only to miscarry.  
He was so excited; to be honest I have never seen him so happy!

So we decided to hide our secrete, if only I knew it would be so hard to hide for me!  But I knew it was for the best and determined we were not going to tell anyone until I was out of the first trimester- ha God laughed at me and my idea! Little did I know that I would have a rough first trimester-  my colleague found out at work basically as I was getting sick in my office trash can, and my mom of all people confronted me at dinner one night when I must of looked 5 shades of green.  But both promised they would not tell a sole until, Joe and I were ready. 

When are you ready to tell people? 
I struggled with this for a long time because it was kind of cool having our own little secrete and not having people give their opinions- because I really hate unwelcomed opinions!!!  And I knew that with any life change- I was going to get a lot!   
Also by not telling anyone- it was not really real to me yet. 
I was not ready to admit that life was about to change drastically
and even more so not ready to admit I was going to be a MOM!

That being said- we had to start telling people so at 14-15 weeks it happened. 

First the grandparents to be with a cute little picture frame of a picture with the bug and a note that said “On a day we celebrate when you started our family, we are happy to announce we will be expanding it by one, and it is not another dog!” 

Fortunately both of our parent’s anniversaries were around 14 weeks so this worked out perfect. 

We also sent a picture to both my brother and my sister in law letting them know they are going to be an Uncle and an Aunt.

 Over the following week we let family know, followed by letting friends know. 

Followed by letting work know- yes I was dreading this the most…

More to come on that.

What I was not ready for was the responses!

This bug is already surround by so much love- it is so lucky to have the family and friends that we have!  We are so lucky!
But most of all this bug is so lucky! 

Running during pregnancy!

If I can not run, I go crazy.

It is my mental and physical relief in life. 

So imagine not running for almost 2 months.  

Yeap once the morning sickness hit, I decided quickly after a one time event of me having to hop of the treadmill and hurry to the bathroom that running would have to be placed on hold.  

This was hard, particularily because this is the time of year I pick up my distances because the weather is changing.  So I took up walking for the last two months.  2 miles in the morning, when I could with Clemson and then 2-3 miles in the evening with Clemson.  Now it was not the same as running but at least it was exercise.

Now that the first trimester is gone, and I am feeling amazing, it is time for me to get back on the treadmill.  Over the last two weeks, thanks to the support of my hubby, I have slowly done the couch to 5 K program- expedited version.  It was hard because my body is different and while I am not showing yet I can feel things stretching and cramping which is just a different sensation.   You start cramping and you are like- "That does not feel right, I should stop running."  I feel like I need to listen to my body more and let it tell me what and what not to do- so far it has worked.  

After two weeks of 5Ks, I decided to step it up to 4-5 miles at least 4 times a week. Yesterday I did 5 miles which was great!

I have found I do get dehydrated even more so now, so the Nuun tabs, even thought I am running small distances right now in comparison to what I had been doing, have been great.  

My hope it to eventually get up to 7 miles in the second trimester 

but only time and my body will tell. 

LG = Good Customer Service.

Almost 1 year ago, I blogged about our new LG Fridge.

I truely have really loved having it!

I no longer have fridge envy =0)

However, when the french doors starting acting up 3 weeks ago I was pissed.  Basically, it would not automatically go into the grove we had to do it with ourselves- most likely just a spring on the door was broken- but it was a pain. 

We purchased it last October so it was not even a year old.  I looked thru my LG instruction/warranty guide and found that it was thankfully under warranty.  So I called LG- PAIN IN THE BUTT!  Do not get me wrong they were very helpful and stated that someone who come out to fix it because it was still under warranty- the catch was they only released their schedule two weeks in advance with no evening times.  Of course the Mondays I had off were not opened.  So I had to call back a second time when the schedule go release for the next two weeks- still no luck.  

At this point I was a little frustrated because I knew it was getting close 1 year and I did not want to have to pay for this repair.  So I asked if there was anyway they could work with me.  Basically, I explained that I have a set schedule with almost every Monday off..... NO HELP!!!!

I was so frustrated that I even said to the customer service representative, 
"So basically you are catering to stay at home moms and dads and people who do not work!" 
There was silence for a second and then they agreed with me.  SERIOUSLY!

So I ended up calling back a third time- they must have finally got the message that I was not going away.  The rep explained that the schedule was not open, etc.  I explained this was the third time I was calling and I wanted to get this issue fixed.  After being on the phone for 30 minutes, I had an appointment time on a Monday, which I was previously told was not an option.  THANK YOU!!!!

I hate waiting for people to come work on your house or to fix things. 
Why? 
Because they always give you a window and then they are late and do not even meet that window. 
I was mentally prepared for it. 
My appointment was at 1 pm. 
I got up early, ran errands, had lunch with a friend and was home at 1230 to work on all the things that I could do in the house. 
My heart almost stopped when I heard the door bell ring at 1245. 
OMG they were early. 
I showed the guy in, he had the part to fix it and he was out the door by 1300.

 Fixed =0)

While LG phone customer service was a pain, the repair part was awesome.

But hopefully we will not be needing them again any time soon!

Chicken Seasame Noodles

 This recipe is a family recipe that was handed down from Joe's side of the family.  

I had purchased most of the ingredients back in August when I had even intention of making it for a concert we were going to.  Unfortunately, it did not happen due to the food aversion of meat or even cooking at that point.

So I decided this week to make the recipe because I knew we could eat off of it over the next week, which in turn is going to be busy for Joe since he is working on a big research paper.  

Ingredients

3T sesame seeds

1lb of very thing spaghetti cooked and rinsed in cold water

2 whole chicken breast (4 havles) boiled 30 minutes, coold and shredded by hand

(I actually had to shred some by knife.)

1 cumcumber, sliced thin.  Salt heavily, let them sit, and then rinse and squeeze dry

1 lb bean sproats

3-4 stalks green onions, finely chopped

2 cups raw cashews

Mix together and pour dressing (recipe follows) over top:

Dressing

4 T soy sauce

3 T sesame Oil

2 T vegetable Oil

6 tsp sugar

2tsp salt

4 T rice vinegar.

Mix together and chill.

Prior to severing mix again as some of the dressing settles to the bottom.

Great dish for cookouts or large groups!