Due Date: September 7

So my first OB appoinment was today. All went well. I really like the doctor that I have chosen. Going by my dates, she calculated our due date to be September 7, 2006. Although, she wants me to come in for a sonogram in 2 weeks to determine the exact age of the baby. I'm excited about that. Now if I could only fight off this nausea...

My First OB Appointment Tomorrow

So my first OB appointment is tomorrow at 8:30. Yes you all know that I am a morning person. I asked for the earliest appointment. I'm nervous, scared, and excited all at the same time. I'll post when I get home about how it went.

Going Back to Work Was Hard

I went back to work for the first day since my almost 3 week vacation on Sunday. It was really hard. I got very used to being home. I actually cooked dinner every night. When was the last time that I cooked? Oh, about a year ago. It was so nice being at home.
Sunday was hard for me. I was feeling sick from the time that I woke up until about 2:00 in the afternoon. That's 9 hours folks. I was constantly eating snacks to keep food in my belly. I was happy that I was sent to Fast Track. I got to sit down a little more than if I had stayed in the Red Zone. It was also nice that I got to work with one of my closest co-workers, Cindy. She was great all day, helping me out when I got to feeling really bad.
Yesterday was a good day at work for me. I only felt sick a few times, and it only lasted a few minutes each time. I was in the Red Zone, and was pretty busy, so I was happy that I felt pretty good.
I pray every day that I will have a good day, because I don't think I can stand being sick all day long. It's just not any fun.

I Saw My Friends!

Our lives have been so busy for quite a while now, that we haven't had a chance to really get together for some good quality girlfriend time. Today Lisa, Casey, Emily & I met up at the Stonebriar Mall, and just walked around and did some shopping. I had a really good time. After the mall, I went back to Lisa's house and shared in some extra girlfriend time. Friends are important to me, and I feel that I need to adjust my schedule, to make more time for friends & family!

Pregnancy Announcement Dinner

Last night we took our family out to dinner to tell them that we are pregnant. We ate a yummy dinner at Buca di Beppo.
We planned to wear the baby pink & baby blue sweaters and see if anyone would catch on. Whitney did, but didn't say anything at first.
We passed out a little gift to each family member, and had them open them all at the same time. They opened them up, and inside were little yellow baby booties. At that point just about everyone understood why we took them out to dinner.
Everyone congratulated us, and gave us hugs & kisses. We took lots pictures to help us remember the moment we announced our pregnancy! 

Surprise, surprise...

While we were in Denmark, I wasn't feeling too well. When all was said and done, a pregnancy test was purchased for me, and Miguel & I found out on Friday, January 13 that we are pregnant! At the point this picture was taken, our family & friends still didn't know about our good news! 

Denmark Adventures: Day 4

Day 4: Monday, January 9, 2006

Now we are in Odense, Denmark. This is the real reason we are in Denmark at all. Miguel has to train some people on his company's product. We woke up early this morning and had breakfast with Chris & Lenny. I think that I'm starting to become fond of the open sandwich. It's more and more appealing everyday.
After breakfast we all walked to the train station and caught a bus to Odense. The ride was about 1 1/4 hours. We were a little nervous, because we were all told that the hotel was out in the middle of nowhere. In all actuality, the hotel was about a 15 minute ride from the train station, and I really wouldn't call it "out in the middle of nowhere." The hotel name is Fangel Kro & Hotel. It's very quaint. I like it a lot. It's more of a bed & breakfast than a hotel. They served true Danish food for lunch. They put out quite a spread. It was really good. After lunch I went up to our room, and read some Harry Potter, then I fell asleep for a while.
We just got back from dinner, and I must say that it was very tasty. All of the food was homemade Danish food (except the french fries), and was much much better than I expected. If only I could learn to cook Danish food.
Miguel and I aren't doing anything special tonight, probably just watch a movie or something. I'm in the process of uploading some pictures now, and I'll e-mail soon. I'm not going to post any on smugmug until we get home, because I want to edit them some, and spend a little time making them look nicer, so the crappy versions will have to do for now.

Denmark Adventures: Day 3

Day 3: Sunday, January 8, 2006

Again last night Miguel and I had a hard time falling alseep. I know that I finally fell asleep sometime after 0200. We were determined to wake up in time for breakfast. So the wake up call came in at 0830 this morning. I was dreading getting up because I was so tired. We got up, got dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast. I was expecting something totally different than what we got. Silly American.
I've noticed that there really aren't any obese people here. Many seem to ride their bikes over driving a car (probably because cars are taxed at 180% when you buy them), and thay they eat pretty healthy. Most of the ingredients are fresh. Take our breakfast for instance. They had fresh meat sliced. You sliced your own cheese off of a block. You cut your own bread from the loaf. There were fresh vegetables, and fruit. You made your own yogurt. They use brown eggs instead of white eggs. You ground your own salt & pepper. They had danishes, which I must say were the best danishes that I have ever eaten! What we call a danish in America tastes nothing like what I ate here. What I must comment on the most, though, is a traditional food of the Danish people. It's a kind of sandwich, called smorrebrod. It's open-faced. Doesn't seem very practical t me. It's just like a sandwich that we would make in the US, but they use 1 piece of bread. On that piece of bread, they put a spread, such as butter. They then put the cheese. On top of that they put the meats, followed by the vegetables. Then they pick it up and eat it. What I want to know is, why can't they just add the other piece of bread on top so everything doesn't fall out?
We met up with Lenny at around 1900 for dinner. We walked in the cold for a while loking for a place to eat. Lenny said he knew of a quaint italian place. When we got there, the place had changed to a Brittish restaurant. We kept on looking. We finally found a place that served Mexican and Italian food. Kind of a weird mix. Anyway, all 4 of us ordered pizza. We eat ordered a different kind. Miguel asked for his with no ham (it was some sort of hawaiian pizza). Lenny asked for his with onions, extra cheese & jalepenos. My pizza came out first. Way before everyone elses. Miguel's came out next, but it had ham all over it. The waiter got kind of pissed off when Miguel told him that he ordered it without the ham. So they took his back, and again I am the only one with food in front of me. I tried being polite and wait for everyone else to get their food, but Lenny insisted that I eat before it got cold. Chris' came out next, and his was fine. Miguel's came back without the ham. Yay! Finally Lenny's came out, and it did not have the extra cheese, the onions, or the jalepenos. Lenny asked them for it, but they only brought out the jalepenos on the side after acting quite pissy. So we eat, and the food was really good. Lenny gets the bill, and noticed that they had charged him for the extra cheese and the onions. You know, the extra cheese and the onions that he didn't get. So he calls the waiter over and tells him. The waiter argued a little bit then brought it over to who appeared to be the manager. They talked in Danish for a few minutes, then the waiter bring the bill back and sets it on the table and walked away. Lenny looked at it again, and it was the same exact bill! They hadn't changed it, and they hadn't even told him. So Lenny called him over again. By this time the waiter was really pissed. Lenny pointed out that the bill was the same. The waiter said "I know, I talked to the manager and he said leave it. You pay for it. I'm just a face, the manager is the brains. You talk to him, but it's only 13 kroner." So, Lenny realized that he wasn't going to get anywhere with the guy, gave up and paid for the onions and the extra cheese that he didn't get.
After dinner we walked around town a little more. Somehow after dinner it didn't seem as cold outside. After that we stopped in at a pub right next to the hotel and had a round of drinks. The only weird thing that happened there was an old lady left the pub, and as shw was walking by, we got this really sick scent of piss. It was disgusting, and it lingered for a while.
Stay tuned for more tales tomorrow!

Denmark Adventures: Day 2

Day 2: Saturday, January 7, 2006

So this morning we wanted to wake up nice and early so we could get breakfast in our hotel. Fat chance. We ended up waking up after 1100. Breakfast ended at 1100. Not only were we frustrated that we missed the included breakfast, but there were only a few hours of daylight left. We had planned on going to the palace to see the changing of the guards at 1200, but again, we didn't make it in time.
Did I mention yesterday that it is cold here? If not, it’s REALLY cold. We decided to walk down the street to the main shopping street. It was really neat. Reminded me of a flea market, because the street narrowed, and was for pedestrians only. It definitely didn’t have flea market prices. So it was about a 15 minute walk to the street, and then maybe an hour or so walk through the street if you didn’t stop anywhere. So now imagine me, who is always cold, walking in the cold for a few hours. We stopped in a bunch of stores, had lunch, and took some pictures, so my toes were frozen. I brought a scarf, a hat, and a pair of gloves, but it didn’t keep me nearly warm enough. Think I’m just being a wimp? I will dare any New Yorker to come over here..I know you will be cold.
So back to the shopping. This street reminded Miguel and I of 5th Avenue in new York. A must see for a tourist, but you really don’t want to buy anything, because it is so expensive. For instance, I got so cold that I had to have something to warm my bones. We stopped in a coffee shop. Miguel and I each got a large hot chocolate. I’m thinking $6, maybe $8 at the most. Well, we paid approx. $12. Crazy! Granted, the chocolate was real chocolate that they actually melt in the cup, and the whipped cream was hand whipped, but $12? A bottle of water was approx. $3.50, for a 20 ounce. Wow!
So the all-American that I am, wanted some lunch. What do you think I had? I ate a an awesome “Hamburger Restaurant.” It’s called McDonald’s. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I’m eating McDonald’s while I am in Denmark. Miguel was less than thrilled with that, and I can’t say that I blame him. This is a once in a lifetime experience, and I’m eating McDonalds. They do call McDonald’s a “hamburger restaurant.” I don’t know about all that, folks. It tasted the same, except for the diet coke. In fact, they don’t have diet coke. Here they have coca-cola light. It has the same colors as diet coke, but it tastes much sweeter. It tastes too much like regular coke to me. It’s not great, but it’s doable. Miguel tried something new for lunch. I had a bite, and I must say that it was very different. He had a shawarma and fries. The shawarma reminded me of a gyro. It was the same kind of meat, in a pita pocket, with lettuce, tomato, and some sort of sauce. Not bad. Miguel liked it.
For dinner we met up with Chris Rice, Miguel’s co-worker, and decided to try something new. Obviously the decision was not left to me, or we would have eaten at Burger King or Domino’s Pizza. I’m glad that Miguel picked the location. The restaurant was right down the street from our hotel. It was a Turkish restaurant. The 3 of us go inside, sit down, and start looking at the menus. Again, everything was in Danish. So we called a waitress over who happily translated for us. All of a sudden during dinner, the music got really loud and a belly dancer came out and danced for a couple of songs. I’ve noticed that almost everything is expensive here, including food, but our dinner was reasonably priced. I would definitely eat there again.

Denmark Adventures: Day 1

Day 1: Friday, January 6, 2006

I must say that I was excited about the trip up until we got onto our second flight, and I realized that we were one of the few Americans on board. Then all of a sudden, I became scared. Silly, naive me...totally American, I know.
We arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark at 0700 (that's 7:00 AM for those who don't read military time...12:00 AM Texas time). We exchanged American dollars for Danish Kroner. Looks like play money if you ask me. Then we caught a taxi to our hotel. We were able to check in early (0800ish), thank God, because I don't think I could have made it through the day if we had to wait until 1400 (2:00).
It's cold here. Being from NY you would think that I would be used to the cold weather, but living in TX for the past 4 years has kind of thinned my blood a little. Also, just the other day in TX we had record breaking temperatures of 84...so coming here where it is currently 34, but feels like 24 with the windchill, is a little hard on me.
The first thing that I noticed was that everything is small here. Huge difference from "Everything is bigger in Texas". The cars are small, and kind of funny looking, if you ask me. I didn't even see 1 truck or SUV. Strange. The hotel hallways are very small also. Just about enough room for 1 person to walk through at a time. Even the elevator was tiny. A sign in it said it could hold 13 people, but Miguel and I both doubted that. Maybe 13 Danish people, but definitely not 13 Americans. So, after saying that everything is small, let's move on to the room...
Now for the room...this is a 4 star hotel, so I'm thinking lavish & roomy...I'm thinking American 4 star. Ha! Was I in for a surprise! We opened the door and there is about 5 feet until you hit the bed and that is pretty much the room in a nutshell. Don't believe me? I will post pictures!
We took a "short" nap, which actually ended up being a lot longer that we had planned on...more like 5 hours or so. When we finally woke up, we decided to go and eat somewhere. So we walk to this tiny quaint restaurant that I can't remember the name of. The lighting was dim, and it was cozy. We start looking through the menu, which is written in Danish, and try to pick out the words that we can. So everyone who knows me, knows that I don't like change. I eat the same things over and over, I watch the same shows over and over, I listen to the same music over and over, so needless to say, I immediately wanted to eat the most American thing that I could find...a cheeseburger. Miguel convinced me to try something else since we are in a different country. I decided I was going to have some sort of pasta. I was able to understand a few of the words, and decided on Penne al a Vodka....but it was written in Danish. I asked the the waitress (who spoke english..yay!) if there was meat in the dish....yes, seafood, so I ask about my second choice, seafood, and my third choice, yes, seafood. I'm sure that you are aware that I do NOT eat seafood. So, now I'm feeling frustrated, and didn't want to keep asking the waitress to read the menu to me, so I order the typical American dish...a cheeseburger and fries. How can you mess up a cheeseburger, right? That's what I was thinking. So our food comes out and my cheeseburger doesn't look like a "normal" (and by normal, I mean the American cheeseburger). Anyway, I'll start off by saying that it was good...different, but good. It was not the typical "patty". You know, the perfectly round (or square if you are at Wendy's) beef. This was actually hand formed beef. What a concept! They put the ketchup on for you, and some other sort of "sauce". Either thousand island or french or something like that. It was a bit sweet. Or maybe it was the cheese, b/c come to think of it, I don't remember any solid cheese on my cheeseburger. Hmmm, runny cheese on the burger, how yummy. Then the oddest part was the topping for the burger. There was the typical tomato. Yuck, so off that came, but I ate the rest, and it was pretty good. There was cucumber, red cabbage and a different kind of lettuce. There wasn't a bottle of ketchup on the table, so I ate my fries dry. Not sure if they drench their fries in ketchup here in Denmark, and I didn't want to offend anyone, so dry I ate them. Dry fries. I asked for a diet coke, and ended up with a diet pepsi. Overall it was a pleasant, new experience, once I got past the menu issue.
After dinner we walked around in the cold some more. We found a 7-11 and had to check it out. I got a cup of not so good coffee. The clerk had to help us figure out the coffee machine.
The last thing that I noticed about the Danish people so far, it that most of them speak english, and don't seem to mind speaking it to us. Also, they seem to be very friendly. The clerk at the 7-11 went out of his way to help us, and then joked around with us at the counter when we were paying.
Stay tuned for Denmark Adventures: Day 2 coming up tomorrow.

We're Here!

Hello from Denmark everyone! Miguel and I arrived safely this morning at approx. 7:00 AM local time (about 12:00 AM Texas time). Although the flight wasn't bad, neither one of us got much sleep. We just woke up from a short nap, and plan on walking into town soon.
I was amazed when it was after 8:00 AM and the sun hadn't risen yet! I was reading about that, and I learned that Denmark has really short winter days...sun up after 8:00 AM and sunset shortly after 4:00 PM.
I will keep my blog updated as frequently as I can while we are here, but for now I must go. I am hungry!

3 More Days

This time, 3 days from now, Miguel & I will be on a plane to Denmark. Exciting you ask? Most definitely! Different country, different culture, rest from work (for me, anyway), time away, pictures with my new camera. Those are a few of the exciting things...but, and here's the but...we still aren't ready!!! We still aren't packed, we still haven't cleaned the house, and we still haven't finished the laundry. No biggie, right? We still have 2 more days? Wrong. I work tomorrow and the day after, and so does Miguel. Today is it folks, and here I am blogging about it instead of doing it. So, I guess I'll go now. Wish us luck!

Happy New Year's

I hope that everyone had a great New Year's Eve! We did! We spent the early portion at Doug & Lisa's house. There was yummy food & good company. We played some games, and looked at camera lenses.
After we left Doug & Lisa's, we went over to Frances' house, where of course the was loud music, food, and family! Miguel and I had fun dancing salsa & merengue, drinking coquito, and watching the ball drop at 11:00. We then celebrated 12:00 with a glass of wine, a kiss, and more music & dancing. Overall, we had an awesome night!