It's been a while.... like a year

Well my last post was over a year ago. I guess I thought 2010 wasn't all that great of a year, not much positive to share, but the second third of the year has been pretty great. So I'll share what you many desperate readers are waiting to be filled in on.

January: Alex started Paramedic School and quit his job.

February: We paid off $62,000 in credit card, student loan, and car loan debt. We called Dave Ramsey's show to shout "We're debt free!"

March: We found out I was pregnant and told everyone the good news.

April: Alex's truck was stolen and I learned of my first miscarriage... on the same day.

May: Alex completed Semester 1 of school, got a part-time job and we bought a Toyota Highlander... back in debt $12,000.

June: I turned 30! Lori visited. Bathroom remodel 20 months in the making is complete. I repainted several rooms in the house. Water from the AC handler in the attic overflowed soaking the ceiling, floor, walls, first-floor ceiling and walls. The water-extraction service set up dehumidifiers. The day after he finished, the downstairs window leaked during a heavy rainstorm soaking the downstairs, but I saved myself $400 drying it out myself this time. Roof was leaking. A friend who owns a roofing company saved me 50% and fixed everything. This house is making me insane!

July: I rear-ended a man who tried to defraud me with a whack-job mechanic and then retained a lawyer to sue my insurance for his non-existent injuries. I ended up having a reputable company quote me $600, only to do the job and present me with an $1800 bill. After expressing my displeasure the manager made everything right and I only paid $600 for great work... and my headlights are shiny again. We went to Washington DC/Maryland for Mike and Rachel's wedding. Had a great time with everyone. Ate a lot of food. Started a one-month boot camp.

August: Found out I was pregnant again. Told nobody except my secret 2 friends. Miscarried on the first day of school, while at school. Went to doctor, and when we were waiting in the waiting room Alex told me he was being hired as a firefighter in Polk County. 3 years of school, hard work, and prayers brought this blessing.

September: Jenn and Sean Duff had a baby boy, Shepherd Charles Duff, on September 1. Then Alex found a stray dog. I did not want the stray dog. Went to Atlanta to visit the Davis' and took the stray dog, who ran away from us. We found the dog in the pound, Alex in essence adopted the dog because it was released to him with a microchip. We found the owners in Tampa, reunited them with their dog, who ran away the next week and was reunited with Alex thanks to that microchip. The family decided they didn't want to dog so we kept her until a home can be found. Some interest, but the dog still lives here.... for now. Her expiration date I set expired last Sunday so she is on borrowed time.

October: Found out I was pregnant again despite being told to wait a month by the doctors. whoops! Was very cautious and told nobody (expect my secret people Alex didn't know about). They got me into the Dr. office right away for blood tests to confirm I was pregnant. Round two of tests showed hormones are rising and right where they should be. Started going to church regularly. I really enjoy it and haven't minded giving up heated battles at Frisbee as a Sunday morning trade-off.

November: We saw our baby's beating heart on sonogram (first time we got this far in 3 tries), three weeks later I went to the Dr. again but this time the blob on the sonogram looked like a perfect and beautiful silhouette of a baby. My apprehension turned to elation and my "secret people" finally got to hear the good news. Shared with family... and am so looking forward to the next 7 months. Expecting our baby in June.

December:... who knows yet. Predictions are Alex will graduate Paramedic school and be all done with his certifications... for now. We will go for one more Dr. appointment at will see our 12-13 week baby. Everyone is coming home for Christmas. I'm so excited I can hardly wait to see Lori and Dave and Marc and Amber!

2011 will be a great year. I can feel it already.

Bonnie's 30th Birthday

Bonnie is the first of my friends to turn 30. While I have friends who are 30, Bonnie is the first of the people I grew up with...which also means I have exactly 8 months left until my bit 3-0! She had everything very well prepared. Her new house is finally decorated and so this was a bit of a birthday/housewarming. There was a nice roster present and I mostly spent the night talking to Jocilyn, Drew, and Jenn. I would have talked to Alex but he literally was eating for 4 hours straight. He never stopped. I'm not sure why he thought it was to be his last meal. At the end of the night we ended up building a human 4-3-2-1 pyramid. When I get the picture I will add it. It was a fun five minutes. I was glad I wasn't on the bottom. My already torn knee nearly popped completely. But since I am not yet 30, my body stayed intact.

Here are some pictures

Surprise Visit to Raleigh

As we expected, Lori and I have missed having our respective sister. She was feeling homesick and I was missing my sis so I booked a get away flight and went to see her for the weekend. Nothing too eventful, just hanging out with Lori and Dave. They picked me up on Friday night and took me out to dinner at one of their new favorite restaurants, Firebirds.

On Saturday we went out in search of an afternoon outdoors. We found a park and took a short lake-side trail hike. Of course we had our frisbee so Lori and I spent a while doing one of our favorite past times. Lori said throwing the fris on the beach is her favorite thing in the world to do, but we didn't have a beach so we had to make do with a grass field. Later in the day Lori and I went for mani/pedis for some relaxation and sisterly chat. In the afternoon Lori and I went for a bike ride around her neighborhood and of course, stopped at a a park to toss the disc some more. I didn't have a hat so I left my helmet on to catch the frisbee. I'm sure I looked like a dork, but safety's first!

That night we went to a sports bar to watch the Gators play LSU. Milo was in town and staying with George, and they met up with us to watch the game. We won, of course!

The next day we went to church in the morning and then headed to Durham to see Duke's campus. The architecture was impressive and the campus was very pretty. We managed to find Duke Gardens. Much of it was not in bloom, but we did find a flowery area and took some pretty pictures. There were lots of families, children, dogs, walking around and playing in the grasses. I would like to see the Gardens during the spring, because I bet it is very colorful and relaxing.

We decided to go to Chapel Hill for lunch and found a fun place called Spankey's on Franklin Street. I had a very good club sandwich and the best chili I've had in a very long time. We walked around UNC for a bit, which I remembered enjoying from when Alex and I were there before. Cool campus.

Enjoyed the Tyuses, even if only for a few days. I'm thankful for having a sister and appreciate having such a close bond with her. I can't wait to see them as the holidays get closer.

Race for the Cure

My favorite morning of the year. The Rack Pack was in full force again for our 5th Race for the Cure. The sunrise was beautiful and the good energy, emotion of the day, and slight cool front made for a very enjoyable morning. Alex and Maggie ran the 10K, I ran the 5K, and Mom walked with a new friend. The day reminds us how thankful we are that there have been advances in cancer research that kept my mom and our dear friend Becky with us as they battled through cancers. It also gives us hope that one day there will be a cure. And until that day comes we are grateful to all those who spread awareness, devote their work to research, and give hope to those affected with the disease.

I love my mom. She is so strong and my example of how a woman should live her life. I'm glad that she is here still to teach me things and share the exciting times in our life.

Moran Homecoming

This was back in September.

Mike and Rachel came down for their annual fall trip to hang out and go to Gainesville to watch the Gators. George flew in too, and Neno and Adina were going to go to their first game. They picked the Tennessee game, which turned out to be a tough ticket. We were not able to get enough tickets for everyone to go to the game, but we hung out in the Gameday atmosphere and had a nice lunch at Cafe Gardens.

The Gators won the game but the night was a little bit of a bummer since the game and trip didn't work out like we would have hoped. Oh well, there is always next time.

The week also coincided with Mike's birthday. We had a BBQ and played games like Catch Phrase, Guesstures, and Cribbage. I won them all!

Fun with the Morans

Alex and I went down to Boca because Neno and Adina wanted to take us snorkeling in the Keys. We woke up early and made the drive down to Key Largo. We had a nice breakfast while the sun came up and then we got all our gear and headed out. We sat up in the crow's nest of the boat. It was a beautiful ride out to the reef. Snorkeling was fun but within a half hour the rocking and sea-sickness set in. I did every mind over matter trick I know, and made it back to dry land with minimal damage.

On the way back to Boca we stopped at the Indian Casino. Neno and Adina have been very excited lately because they both won $1000 recently playing high stakes bingo. Unfortunately for us, no beginner's luck. At least we got to eat at the all-you-can-eat buf-fet.

Here's me. A big dork.

Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sux

We went to the Rays game last night for the second game of the series. The previous night the Rays won in extra innings thanks to Longoria, so we were hoping for an equally spectacular show. Bonnie's friend Christopher was able to get us a great pair of tickets in left center field. I have never had outfield seats, but I really liked them. We were in the second row right over Crawford's shoulder. The night was full of excitement for the outfield... I think we had 5 home runs come our way. Anyway, the night was a success. The Rays won 6-4, we got to hang out with Bonnie and meet the very enjoyable Christopher, and even found Janice and Darryl in the traffic jam.

Here we are in our second row seats. The seats we sat in had permanent name plates screwed into them. Alex's said "Ugly" and mine said "Trouble". Whatev!

"Who is enjoying the Rays game with his beautiful wife?.... This guy"