Reunion Weekend!

Hmmm...maybe I should start taking a camera with me when I do fun things...

I don't actually have any documentation, but I promise that I had a fun time at my 5th college reunion last weekend! Several friends from far away came into town for the event, and it was fun to just hang out with the girls for the weekend. Here are some highlights:

Friday night: Alumni reception where "eeeeeee!!! *jump*jump*jump*" was the quote of the night as friends saw each other for the first time in several years. Then on to Celtic Crossing where they played ridiculously loud music, but we had fun spotting more friends from out of town. I went home after Celtic Crossing, but other friend headed out to the Saucer. Hmmm...maybe for the next reunion I should not be pregnant....

Saturday morning: I got my Ina Garten on with a brunch for friends. Seriously, I think I may have a complex. I pretty much hopped out of bed at 7:30am on a Saturday, eager to bake scones and mix up a frittata. We also had yogurt/fruit/granola parfait, maple bacon, and mimosas. Hmmm...maybe for the next reunion I should not be pregnant...

Saturday afternoon: We walked to Rhodes, and split up so that I could practice the National Anthem with girls from my old a capella group. After rehearsal we had about 45 minutes to kill, so I walked across campus to mingle at the Economics and International Studies open houses. I saw a couple of professors and tried to sound like I was using my undergraduate degree in my current line of work. I talked a bit too long, and had to almost sprint back across campus in time to literally run onto the football field and sing the National Anthem. Hmmm...maybe for the next reunion I should not be pregnant... After the football game, we walked around campus, stalked our dorms and classrooms, and checked out some improvements on campus. Then a walk back home, a moment to rest and then a late lunch/early dinner at Huey's.

Saturday night: The fifth year reunion party was outside on a pretty cold night, so we spent the majority of the evening huddled around heaters, watching a slideshow of classmates from college. There were pretty much no pictures of my group of friends, but that is because we were lame and did not submit any for the slideshow. The highlight (or at least the shocker) of the slideshow was a picture of three classmates riding the lynx in the nude. I had a chance to catch up with some friends, and it was great to hear what everyone is up to. Since I am boycotting Facebook, I actually talked with people and had nice conversations to learn about their lives.

We left campus (although not before Becky rode the lynx - fully clothed - and traumatized some current students), and I drove my friends downtown to drop them off at the next stage of the reunion party on Beale Street. I, of course, drove home and went to bed, although I had my phone on ringer next to my bed in case someone needed a ride back home. I sometimes think I am a 45 year old woman stuck in a 27 year old body.

Sunday morning: After church, I met the girls for brunch at Cafe Eclectic, where I had a surprise baby shower waiting for me. Well...almost a surprise. Kara had possibly divulged the secret under the influence of vodka the evening before, but we are not holding it against her. Baby Hulgan got some fun clothes, books, toys, a sling, and a jogging stroller from his/her many wonderful aunts-to-be. After hugs and goodbyes, I went home and took a nap!

It was so much fun to see everyone, catch up, and act a bit like a college student for the weekend! 5 years has gone by pretty quickly, and I'm sure it will just be within the blink of an eye that we are celebrating our 10th reunion. In the meantime, I need to get a nice camera and start taking pictures of all these events!!

Positive Story about Memphis!

Last Saturday afternoon, a freelance journalist with CNN came to one of the Youth Villages group homes in Memphis to do a story on volunteers. He is canoeing down the Mississippi River, stopping in at different cities, and reporting on positive stories. Since our news so often focuses on what is wrong with this city, it is nice to see a story about what we are doing right : )

Click here to watch the video! Oh, and yes, I am in it - it was pretty scary to be interviewed by national media!!

Baby Update

We had a good doctor's appointment this morning! It was busy: glucose test, H1N1 shot, ultrasound to check on baby's heart, and normal exam. Our kid continues to resemble his/her mom and dad as he/she insisted on being on his/her tummy and was not excited about moving out of that comfy spot for the tech to see the heart, approximate weight is 2 lbs 2 oz (average is 1.5 lbs), and the head is measuring 2 weeks ahead of the due date (both the father and maternal grandfather of this baby have big heads...). All this to say, I will be quite surprised if we make it to the 1/26 due date - I'm betting on an earlier delivery date.

Echoing Stacey's post, I feel that the quote of the week should be "you look too small to be 6 months along." How can that be when I have a baby who consistently measures big for his/her age??? I think the general public just assumes that your tummy automatically gets huge when you announce your pregnancy.

Poor Sigma

Our cat is 3.5 years old and is very sweet. Of course, if you have come to visit since she was a kitten, you would never know this, because she has severe agoraphobia. Sunday night, Jonathan informed me that he found two fleas on her ears, and we immediately went into disaster mode at the Hulgan household! When we first brought our kitty home, our vet told us that since she is an indoor cat and we do not have any other animals, she would be fine without regular flea treatments. This is the first time we have ever seen a flea on her or in our home, and I must admit it is freaking me out. Jonathan and I spent a long time trying to figure out where they came from: our recent trip to Chattanooga during which we interacted with 3 cats, my visit to a volunteer's home earlier on Sunday during which a small dog was sitting on my lap, the stray cats that live in our parking lot and sometimes sleep where we do our laundry??? After about 30 minutes of trying to figure out how the fleas got in, we finally started just doing work.

As of this writing, all of the upholstery has been vacuumed, the slip cover and all blankets have been washed, two down comforters are on their way to the dry cleaners, and our poor Sigma has had a bath. Bathing her was simultaneously the most pitiful and funniest thing we have ever seen in our lives! Jonathan held her, and I lathered her up. She made the most horrible howling sound you have ever heard (seriously, I was afraid our neighbors were going to call the Humane Society on us last night!), and she tried to literally climb up the wall of our kitchen. She was surprisingly calm after the bath; Jonathan and I took turns holding her in a towel and telling her how good she was and that we loved her a lot.

She seemed to be okay this morning, letting both of us pet and hold her. This evening will be more vacuuming, and I will probably start compulsively vacuuming every day now, because the thought of little fleas in our home grosses me out!!!

Oh, and yes, Sigma is now on a 12 week regimen of flea treatments and a 30 day regimen of baths. We learned our lesson there!

I know I promised...

...that I would not constantly talk/blog about this baby, but I could not resist sharing. Jonathan asked me this morning about the baby's movement, since I apparently haven't been telling him every five minutes that the baby is moving. I don't know, maybe I'm getting used to it? Well, that's enough to set off an already paranoid person - now I am starting to worry about whether the baby is moving enough! But today, every time I have had the thought, "Gee, I can't remember the last time the baby moved. I hope everything is okay," the kid gives me a swift kick to remind me that he/she is still there. Maybe it's just coincidence. Or maybe my kid is psychic. You make the call.

The elliptical machine

Since I can no longer run, I started walking and I took a Zumba class. Yep, I felt like a complete idiot during the Zumba class, and it costs $5 (which I didn't have on me today), so I'm not sure how much more I will go back. I must admit that it was a pretty good aerobic workout, though!

Yesterday when I forced myself into the office work out room, I saw the elliptical machines and thought I would give them a try instead of walking. Whew! I am glad I did! By my sweat, the burning in my legs, and the overall feeling afterward, I got a much more intense workout than I would have simply walking for 30 minutes. Since the machine propels you forward, I was able to give about the same amount of effort as a slow, plodding run. And if you know me, I am the queen of slow, plodding runs!

I have started getting worried that all of the work I put into running before baby will be lost once the baby actually comes, but hopefully working out on a regular basis will help me bounce back in the spring. So, I'm headed back to the elliptical machine today!