18 Weeks

We had the big ultrasound to see how the baby is developing this past Tuesday. We were also hoping to find out the gender. The baby did not cooperate, so we are hoping to find out in the next week or two. Everything looked to be on track. The baby weighs about 8 oz. We have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday for a check up and for him to go over the ultrasound pictures with us. I was disappointed that we did not get to see the baby's face, but here are pictures of the baby's fingers and footprint.

Happy Place Friday- Part 4

Happy Place Friday is back...just on Saturday this week! I apologize for the delay but it has been a busy week and I did not have my normal computer that stores all of my pictures. The places featured this week are two of my absolute favorites so I hope you enjoy reading about them...
The first is the Beehive Restaurant in Albany, TX. This was the original, but a few years ago they opened one in Abilene and though the food is as good or better there, the atmosphere is still the best in Albany. You feel like you are in an old saloon and house. It is romantic with very soft lighting and white table clothes with fresh flowers and oil candles. I have been going to the Beehive since I was a little girl and it was always a very special treat. It has been a long time favorite place for me. When we were dating, Sutton took me to the Beehive on our first Valentine's Day together and we have celebrated several birthdays and other special occasions there throughout the years.
I love the old salad bar and the huge block of cheese that you get to cut off of with an old cleaver. Thursday night is shrimp night and it is always packed. This is definitely the best night to go, but they also serve great steaks, kabobs, and burgers. They have great hand cut greasy french fries and amazing fresh bread. Sutton's favorite is the lamb they do once or twice a month on a Saturday night. My review probably does not mean much but if you check out their website you can read the many other reviews they have received over the years including a spot on Texas Monthly's list of top Texas steakhouses.

Hickory Street Cafe in Abilene is my very favorite place for lunch. I love this place so much! The food is great- perfect girly lunch food and the service is quick and friendly. I can eat at Hickory Street almost faster than I can drive through a fast food restaurant. I love to go here to meet friends or just to be by myself for an hour and catch up on work and review my numbers. They are famous for their chicken salad and zucchini bread, but my favorite is their soup. Monday they serve wisconsin cheese soup (my most favorite), Tuesday is broccoli parmesan soup (I hate broccoli, but I can eat two bowls of this- they make sure to dip it so I don't get any chunks...), Wednesday is potato soup, and Thursday is tomato basil. I don't know Friday's soup because I try to make it a point not to be in Abilene on Friday.

Their quiche is also amazing! Upstairs they have a small gift shop. The owner, Barbara, is a great lady and I enjoy seeing her each time I drop by. I dream of having a place like this one day, and I definitely would model my place after Hickory Street... They are only open Monday thru Friday from 10-2, so go see them if you are in Abilene during the week.

Happy Place Friday- Part 3

I absolutely love plants and flowers and I love to stop at little roadside stands whenever I can. Unfortunately, as much as I love these things, I was born with a black thumb. I can remember names of plants and random details and love to learn and ask questions at the nurseries, but none of that has transformed my black thumb into a green thumb...yet I still continue on my quest and today my happy places are my two favorite plant and produce stands that I have found over the years.
The first is Hardwick Nursery in Rising Star. They also have locations in Cross Plains and Eastland, but I love the Rising Star location because that is where Jana, one of the owners, works, and because that is where all of the greenhouses are located so they have the best selection. Jana has been very sweet and patient with me over the years, and she has actually helped me to figure out what plants and flowers work best for me. I love that you get to pull a little wagon around to hold all of the beautiful things you find. They also have great produce, pots, salsas, and candy. I always have the best luck with their pentas in the summer and their pansies and snapdragons in the fall and winter. This is also where I got my upright Mexican petunia that has just about taken over my flowerbeds and that comes back each year without fail.

Sliger's Produce in Brownwood is my other favorite place for plants and produce. They are also my favorite place for pumpkins and gourds in the fall. They have an amazing selection and their prices are good. I like that they get their pumpkins early, so I am usually able to have my porch decorated in late September before pumpkins even start showing up in the grocery store.

Hope you enjoyed today's happy places...We are spending the weekend in Horseshoe Bay with Sutton's dad, so that should be a lot of fun. I am a little behind on posting, but hope to get caught up next week. Have a great weekend and stay cool in the heat!

Summer Do

Piper got his annual summer makeover today and he came home a different dog.
Here is Piper's before look-
And now his after picture-
He looks great and I think he feels better too...You can just see it in his smile!

Belly Shots- Month 4

Well, today I took my first belly pic (Esther- aren't you proud?)...As many belly shots as I have insisted on taking of my family and friends over the past few years, I cannot believe it took 17 weeks to finally take my first one of me.
I think the problem is that it is hard to take pictures of yourself and Sutton has been gone alot lately. I saw the cutest layout in the May or June issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine where a girl took a picture every month in the same black shirt holding up fingers to indicate what month. She put all of the pictures on one page and it was so neat to see how her belly grew. I loved the way it turned out, so that is my goal moving forward...We are just going to start at month 4 instead. Sorry, no bare belly shots here...I thought I would spare all of you that agony and spare myself the embarrassment!

Happy Place Friday- Part 2

We are headed east this week starting in Hico, Texas at the Wiseman House. I always joke that I gained 5 pounds when they added Hico to my territory, but there might be some truth to it...It is a long drive out there and I have gotten into the habit of rewarding myself at the end of the day with a quick stop and some amazing chocolate. They are known for their "Wild Woman" truffle, but my favorite is the the "Snookie" which is decadent with a cup of coffee. One of my doctors here in San Angelo told me about it initially and I fell in love with the place the first time I stopped there. My territory has changed a little, so I don't go as often as I used to which is probably a good thing for my waistline. Next time you are in Hico, stop by. The girls are very friendly and there are always samples. While you are in Hico you should check out all of the cute shops downtown and definitely have some pie at the Koffee Kup which is across the street from the Wiseman House. If you are in need of medical care while you are there, go see Dr. Dayton who is absolutely one of the nicest people I have ever met. He has been in practice over 50 years and he is still going strong! Hico is a really neat little town with the nicest people and a lot of history...It is a throwback in time but is still very modern which you will see while shopping.

The other place I love to stop when I am out east is Doc's Soda Shop at the Dr. Pepper Plant in Dublin. They make good sandwiches and their cherry limes are the best I have had in a long time. Probably the best thing there is their special Dr. Pepper made with pure cane sugar...The other Dr. Peppers just don't compare. I always try to pick up a six pack to bring back because everyone I have shared it with loves it and I love to have it on hand for company as a special treat. The people are very friendly and the soda shop is always cool on a hot summer day. I hope one day I will have enough time to stay a while for the tour of the bottling plant.

I am thinking that today's happy places would make for a very fun, quick, affordable roadtrip this summer if you just wanted to get away for a few days. You could visit Dublin and Hico and stay at the Hampton Inn in Stephenville (my favorite). Have dinner at Hard Eight Bar B Que or Montana's and just spend a couple of days exploring this really neat area. A couple of other fun things to do might be to visit Veldhuizen Farm, a place that is supposed to have great cheese, pick your own fruit at Worthington Orchards in Proctor, and have a wine tour and tasting at Brennan Vineyards in Comanche. Unfortunately, I have not been able to visit these places because I am always working when I am out that way, but if you do visit them, let me know what you think. Have a good Friday and enjoy the weekend! We are throwing a big fiesta wedding shower this weekend so I will not be blogging but should be back next week with pictures.

Weekend Updates

The summer always goes by so fast...It seems like every weekend there is something with weddings, showers, family trips, and more. I am behind on the last couple of weekends so I thought I would catch up. The last weekend in May was perfect...We did not have anything planned and Sutton was caught up on his farming thanks to the blessing of rain. We spent the whole weekend at home catching up around the house and on us time. We needed it! On Saturday morning we got up fairly early for the weekend and decided to go get my oil changed and eat breakfast at IHOP and this is what we saw as we were leaving the house...
It kind of set the tone for the whole weekend. We went to Lowe's after breakfast and Sutton picked out his Father's Day present, a new grill. We got our first grill for our wedding almost 7 years ago and it had just about had it. I spent Saturday afternoon grocery shopping and cooking and Sutton spent the afternoon planting nandina shrubs in the back yard...something we have planned to do for years, but just never got around to it. Saturday night we had dinner with the neighbors on the other side of us. Sunday we went to church for the first time in weeks and then had family over, the Gardners and the Hollands, for our traditional Sunday lunch. We had not done this in months and it was so nice to catch up. I made a creamy cranberry pork loin, cheese grits, a spinach salad, Sister Schubert rolls, and that Fudgy Peanut Butter Cup pie. Click here for the recipe. I tried using low fat ice cream to save a few calories and fat, but I think you might as well go all out with this one...It is worth it!
We finished planting the flowerbeds my sweet neighbors started and then enjoyed trying out the new grill on Sunday night. Then a nice storm came in and we got the perfect rain. Another fun part of the weekend was hanging out with our dogs and the bunny. We recently let the bunny out of the cage and he was enjoying being free. We have been amazed that the dogs don't mess with him at all. I think Bub wishes he could do more than just sit there, but they all kind of do their own thing. More to come on that topic a bit later. It was a really nice relaxed weekend for us and we got caught up on so much around the house.

Last weekend, we traveled to Dallas to spend time with family and so that Sutton could attend a training seminar. It was another great weekend and we enjoyed being low key and hanging out. Caroline and Davy are both growing so quickly and they are both at a very fun age. I enjoyed spending Saturday with Sutton's mom, Nancy. We sat out in the morning, had coffee, and enjoyed their new back yard area. Then we had a nice girly lunch and shopped all afternoon. We looked at cribs, baby bedding, and fabric. I am very blessed to have my sweet mother in law who also has a great design eye and an amazing talent at sewing. We did not finalize anything but we got lots of ideas. Later in the afternoon we went maternity clothes shopping and I got several cute things for work. Here is the only picture from the weekend...But I think it is perfect because it sums up how much fun we had just enjoying time with our family. Unfortunately, Sunday ended up being the worst day yet of the pregnancy and the drive home from Dallas was miserable. I have been doing really well and feeling better and better. I ended up finishing the Zofran on Friday and went without it on Saturday. Sunday morning I woke up throwing up at 3 and threw up all day until 7 when Sutton took me to the emergency room for an iv of fluids and a combination of Zofran and Phenagren. Needless to say, I am back on the Zofran and I have not thrown up since. We also came home to a dead bunny. We think he got overheated because there was no sign of trauma from the dogs. I was sad, but like Sutton said at least he really enjoyed the last few weeks of his life being free and he no longer has to live with a tilted head. Sutton left Monday morning for a Farm Bureau meeting in Virginia and I think they are having a really nice time. He will be home tonight and I can't wait! So, there is a long, overdue account of what has been going on around here. I will be back tomorrow with Happy Place Friday. Until then, enjoy your Thursday! It is almost time for another busy weekend.

Happy Place Friday- Part 1

I am starting on the western side of my territory in Big Spring, Texas. Bean's World is a great place for a really good lunch. It is neat because it is an old boxcar in downtown Big Spring. The last time I was there I had the Pilgrim, a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce on toasted marble rye bread. They have a special sweet mint iced tea that is awesome! The neatest thing about this place is that some of the profits benefit the missions of a local church and they only have one paid employee. The other employees are volunteers that receive tips only. I love to go here when I have a little time between calls and I just need to catch up on paperwork or just catch my breath.

Another happy place when I am out west is Scrapping the Moments in Snyder, Texas. I love this place so much that I had to change my work schedule to fit their schedule. I used to travel west on Mondays, but since Scrapping the Moments is only open Thursday through Saturday, I now go on Thursday or Friday...I spend my lunch break with Annette and the girls and they have become dear friends. She always has new stuff and fun projects and when I leave I am inspired to want to create. My visits always bring me back to the reason I starting scrapping in the first place. STM is the last of my favorite scrap stores open in my territory. I hope and pray they remain a source of inspiration for the scrappers of west Texas. Go see them next time you are in Snyder...They are right on the east side of the square- You can't miss the huge sign!

My final happy place for today is a place I have blogged about before. It is a grove of trees in the middle of nowhere between Snyder and Colorado City. Some special person takes the time each season to decorate the trees and post a motivational sign. This little spot always makes my day and I always look forward to the words of wisdom that I am going to find there. It reminds that it really is the small things in life that make a difference.

Hope you enjoyed a few of my "happy places" that I have found over the years as I have traveled the roads of central west Texas. I will be back next Friday with more.

Annual Crawfish Weekend

Over Memorial Day weekend we traveled to Houston to spend time with Sutton's aunt, uncle, and cousins. We do this every year and it is one of our favorite traditions. In fact, Sutton and I decided that crawfish weekend ranks right up there with Christmas as far as anticipation for the day and how quickly it goes by...Steve, Sherri, Clint, and Corrie spoil us while we are there and we also enjoy hanging out with their very fun friends and neighbors. Sherri is an amazing cook and she made a peanut butter cup pie that was to die for- only 600 calories per slice! Of course, I tried to make it when we got home and it is never as good as when Sherri makes it. I'll post pics of the pie and the recipe per Jill's request one of these days. Here are a few pictures from the fun day...


This year, in addition to the customary ping pong games, there was also a spirited game of beer pong (of course, the year I am pregnant!).

15 Weeks

I had my monthly appointment today and we are at 15 weeks!! The baby is about the size of a large naval orange. The heartbeat was strong, my labwork was normal, and Dr. Wilson said everything is on track. I have gained 4 pounds and I am no longer throwing up every day. He wants me to wean myself off of the Zofran over the next few days, so I am hopeful that part of the pregnancy is just about behind us. We will find out 3 weeks from today on June 23 whether the nursery will be decorated in airplanes or butterflies... I was so excited because I did not think we would find out until July. He said I should start feeling movement and begin to show in the next 3 or 4 weeks. We have a lot to look forward to this month and that is why I can't quit smiling today!