What a year this has been! Thought I'd look back at some highlights...
Started off the year running through the woods, and had a blast participating in the MRTC Cross Country Race Series in January and February! I ran more in the Spring, and had some PRs in April races. I was still considerably slow, but managed to finish races in the front half of my age group.
February marked the 5th anniversary of our engagement!
I took my master's comprehensive exam in March...and spent nearly every waking moment outside of work studying.
In April, a tiny little life started and is now about to enter the world : )
In May, I graduated from UT with a Master's in Social Work! Yay!! No more school!!!! I also had my last beer in May...at Bosco's on my graduation night (it was a Midtown Brown) I found out three days later that I was pregnant...oops!
We also received a car in May, so our days of walking and taking MATA everywhere stopped. I need to get back in the habit of walking around Midtown instead of driving everywhere!! It's so easy to hop in the car even to go down the street to the coffee shop.
In June, Jonathan and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary and also went to Argentina for the third time with our church. What a fun time we had partnering with our fantastic friends at La Mision!
In July, I changed jobs at Youth Villages and have enjoyed every minute of volunteer coordinating : ) I'm learning so much about development, fundraising, and event planning along the way!
In September, my sister got married, and we enjoyed a fun wedding weekend in Vermont!
In October, I handled my first really big volunteer event - the Hauntedweb of Horrors!! We had between 40 and 75 volunteers each night for 14 nights putting on the haunted house, and we raised $65,000 for the kids at Youth Villages : )
We also attended Jonathan's 10th high school reunion and my 5th college reunion in October!
November and December were pretty much a blur, as work got insanely busy and we have tried to put finishing touches on preparation for the baby.
Wow! I cannot wait to see what 2010 has in store : ) It should be a busy year with a new baby(!), getting back into running, supporting my wonderful husband as he interviews for jobs, Jonathan's graduation, Jonathan's celebratory trip to Disney World, a possible move in the summer to wherever Jonathan has found a job, and...could it be...the possibility of getting to stay at home taking care of a household after Jonathan's job starts.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Calling all my foodie friends!!!
As the clock ticks down to baby time in the Hulgan household, I need to start prepping and freezing food so that we can eat after the baby gets here! At first, I intended to go to Super Suppers in Germantown or Bartlett, but they have changed so much since the last time I went (oh....2 years ago), and now they have very limited walk in hours. My sister is coming out to visit this weekend, and I think we might spend some time prepping meals for the freezer the old fashioned way at home.
So here is what I need from you - your favorite go-to freezable recipes!
My favorite is here - shepherd's pie from Everyday Food. (made with turkey instead of lamb)
Thanks so much for your help : )
Monday, December 28, 2009
Our first "Memphis" Hulgan Christmas
With Baby H scheduled to come in 4 weeks, we stayed home for Christmas this year. Our families stayed in Chattanooga and Dallas, so it was a 'just us' Christmas. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I was a bit mopey and sad, thinking that I would feel very lonely without all of our family around. We were blessed with a very sweet, relaxing time to enjoy being two before we become three. Looking back, I'm glad we had the time to ourselves.
So what did we do??
Wednesday - Spent the morning in a lot of pain! Finally went to the dr after abdominal pain had not lessened despite 3 hours of walking around, drinking water, resting, taking a shower.... Diagnosis? Hmmm...just some random muscle pain that is normal. Maybe body getting ready for labor? Placenta, fluid, cervix, kidneys, and most importantly baby were all fine - I was just in a lot of pain : ) Oh, and the newest baby weight is 6 pounds, 12 ounces. The dr joked about having a 30 inch baby! Long and skinny is how the dr described the baby after looking at the measurements.
Spent the afternoon resting and trying to take care of work related stuff (I had planned on being at work Wednesday).
Thursday - Slept late, hit the grocery store, prepped food for Christmas Day, and relaxed! We went to the 11pm Christmas Eve service at church, which was wonderful. I got to sing some of my favorite Christmas songs, reflect on Jesus' birth, and calm myself down. I must admit I got a tiny bit emotional at one point in the service, thinking that this might be our last Christmas in Memphis. Our church is such a blessing to us, and although I know we will find another church in another city, I am very sad at the thought of leaving Second Pres.
Friday - Slept late, put breakfast casserole (Jonathan's request) and cinnamon rolls (my request) in the oven, talked with family on the phone, and opened presents. I took a nap on the couch while Jonathan broke open DJ Hero. Our sweet friends, Dan and Katie, invited us to enjoy Christmas lunch with their family. We headed out and had a wonderful time with them. Katie prepared a delicious lunch, and it was fun to meet their family! The highlight might just have been Sam eating his birthday cake, though : ) Such a cutie!
I dragged Jonathan out to see Sherlock Holmes, and we ran into some friends at the movie theater. Another thing I love about Memphis : )
Saturday - We stayed home all day, being very lazy! That's pretty much all I can say : ) I did get an itch to be productive later in the day, so we cleaned out our bedroom closet and did a lot of laundry.
Last night before heading to bed, I told Jonathan I was so glad we had not spent half the day in a car on the way back to Memphis. I think I slept more this weekend than I have in the past month - between naps and sleeping late. Just what I needed : ) Now we're in the home stretch - just four weeks until the baby is scheduled to arrive, so we need to be prepared for anything!
So what did we do??
Wednesday - Spent the morning in a lot of pain! Finally went to the dr after abdominal pain had not lessened despite 3 hours of walking around, drinking water, resting, taking a shower.... Diagnosis? Hmmm...just some random muscle pain that is normal. Maybe body getting ready for labor? Placenta, fluid, cervix, kidneys, and most importantly baby were all fine - I was just in a lot of pain : ) Oh, and the newest baby weight is 6 pounds, 12 ounces. The dr joked about having a 30 inch baby! Long and skinny is how the dr described the baby after looking at the measurements.
Spent the afternoon resting and trying to take care of work related stuff (I had planned on being at work Wednesday).
Thursday - Slept late, hit the grocery store, prepped food for Christmas Day, and relaxed! We went to the 11pm Christmas Eve service at church, which was wonderful. I got to sing some of my favorite Christmas songs, reflect on Jesus' birth, and calm myself down. I must admit I got a tiny bit emotional at one point in the service, thinking that this might be our last Christmas in Memphis. Our church is such a blessing to us, and although I know we will find another church in another city, I am very sad at the thought of leaving Second Pres.
Friday - Slept late, put breakfast casserole (Jonathan's request) and cinnamon rolls (my request) in the oven, talked with family on the phone, and opened presents. I took a nap on the couch while Jonathan broke open DJ Hero. Our sweet friends, Dan and Katie, invited us to enjoy Christmas lunch with their family. We headed out and had a wonderful time with them. Katie prepared a delicious lunch, and it was fun to meet their family! The highlight might just have been Sam eating his birthday cake, though : ) Such a cutie!
I dragged Jonathan out to see Sherlock Holmes, and we ran into some friends at the movie theater. Another thing I love about Memphis : )
Saturday - We stayed home all day, being very lazy! That's pretty much all I can say : ) I did get an itch to be productive later in the day, so we cleaned out our bedroom closet and did a lot of laundry.
Last night before heading to bed, I told Jonathan I was so glad we had not spent half the day in a car on the way back to Memphis. I think I slept more this weekend than I have in the past month - between naps and sleeping late. Just what I needed : ) Now we're in the home stretch - just four weeks until the baby is scheduled to arrive, so we need to be prepared for anything!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Pancake Study Break!
For Rhodes students, pancake study break is a highlight of the Fall semester! The Sunday night of finals between 9pm and 11pm, the Refectory is opened and faculty and staff serve pancakes to hungry, sleep-deprived students. The tables are also lined with butcher paper and students can color with crayons to release some energy before returning to exam cramming. I always loved pancake study break : )
Since Jonathan is an instructor at Rhodes this semester, he received the call for volunteers and asked if I wanted to help out. Of course!! We grabbed a quick dinner after church Sunday night, and headed over to Rhodes. Despite a rocky start (no one was really there to tell the volunteers what to do...), we quickly got into a pancake-making groove. I poured the batter and sprinkled the chocolate chips while Jonathan flipped! We were cooking in the kitchen, but I was able to catch a few glimpses of students when I would bring pans of freshly prepared chocolate-chip pancakes out to the serving area. They looked a little weary, but seemed to be having fun!
For Rhodes dorks out there, it was pretty cool to see the kitchens, and we even got a tour of the super-creepy basement as we were frantically trying to find chocolate chips and blueberries!
I took a couple of pics of Jonathan flipping pancakes, and I'll try to get them from his iPhone to share.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Slowing down
Things are slowing down for me in a few different ways:
1. Walking from one place to the next. I'm pretty slow. I used to be an insanely fast walker wherever I went, but now I kind of teeter from side to side as a walk and I physically cannot go very fast. Jonathan told me I had a very pregnant lady gait yesterday at Target. Ummm, thanks?
2. Standing and sitting. This includes getting in and out of cars, getting in and out of bed, getting up and down in church pews, and especially getting up from the couch.
3. Baby's growth. Thankfully the baby is starting to level out. At my appointment last week, the baby's head and abdomen were only measuring two weeks ahead (previously it had been 2 weeks then 3 weeks ahead...I was fearing that it would be 4 weeks ahead before I knew it). The tech mentioned something about the 60-something percentile. I don't quite know what that means, and I didn't ask. She said it was good - we apparently start to worry when the baby is around the 90th percentile. Although we could still get surprised, I've gone back to thinking the baby will come in January as originally planned.
Oh, and I have some additions to things you should never say to pregnant women (honestly, you should never say them to women in general). I do not know what gives old people to right to say things that are rude.
1. "You really should drink more water, because I notice those spots on your face. You need to drink at least 7 glasses a day." - from an older lady referring to my pregnancy acne. I drink plenty of water, but my body is producing crazy amounts of oil due to hormones. So much so that I no longer use conditioner on my hair.
2. "And look at her face. It really is filling out. That baby can't come soon enough." - from an older lady at church last night, talking to my husband who was standing right next to me, after inquiring about my due date.
1. Walking from one place to the next. I'm pretty slow. I used to be an insanely fast walker wherever I went, but now I kind of teeter from side to side as a walk and I physically cannot go very fast. Jonathan told me I had a very pregnant lady gait yesterday at Target. Ummm, thanks?
2. Standing and sitting. This includes getting in and out of cars, getting in and out of bed, getting up and down in church pews, and especially getting up from the couch.
3. Baby's growth. Thankfully the baby is starting to level out. At my appointment last week, the baby's head and abdomen were only measuring two weeks ahead (previously it had been 2 weeks then 3 weeks ahead...I was fearing that it would be 4 weeks ahead before I knew it). The tech mentioned something about the 60-something percentile. I don't quite know what that means, and I didn't ask. She said it was good - we apparently start to worry when the baby is around the 90th percentile. Although we could still get surprised, I've gone back to thinking the baby will come in January as originally planned.
Oh, and I have some additions to things you should never say to pregnant women (honestly, you should never say them to women in general). I do not know what gives old people to right to say things that are rude.
1. "You really should drink more water, because I notice those spots on your face. You need to drink at least 7 glasses a day." - from an older lady referring to my pregnancy acne. I drink plenty of water, but my body is producing crazy amounts of oil due to hormones. So much so that I no longer use conditioner on my hair.
2. "And look at her face. It really is filling out. That baby can't come soon enough." - from an older lady at church last night, talking to my husband who was standing right next to me, after inquiring about my due date.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Running Itch
This week is taper week for a large number of Memphians. The St. Jude Memphis Marathon and Half Marathon are Saturday morning, and runners are hydrating, stretching, and resting for the big race. I have actually come close to tears a couple of times this week because I am not running the Half this year. Although I have only participated for the past two years, the first weekend in December has become marathon weekend in my mind, and it just feels weird to not participate in it.
One thing that keeps me going:
We checked out the BOB SUV jogger in Atlanta last weekend, and I'm going to order it through one of our local running stores. It is pretty sweet - nice shocks, sturdy wheels for off -roading and curb hopping, a mud guard for the front wheel so baby doesn't get completely dirty on trails, easy fold up, etc. I can walk with baby at 8 weeks and run with baby at 8 months. I will hopefully run without baby much sooner than 8 months, but I am preparing myself mentally and emotionally for a slow re-entry into the running world.
I already have promised myself that no matter where we are living next year, I will be in Memphis the first weekend of December 2010 to hit the road with 15,000 other runners!
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