retainers are sort of like paint brushes

in eighth grade, my family moved almost a thousand miles across the country for my dad's job. i wasn't exactly happy about being uprooted and torn away from the friends that i had grown up with and had planned on going to high school with, but i didn't have much of a choice. thankfully, there was a group of girls in the eighth grade who welcomed me into their group with open arms. they let me sit with them at lunch, invited me to sleep overs and even helped me sign up at the dance school where a few of them took classes. i was extremely grateful for their friendship, so when one of them accidentally threw her retainer away one day, i jumped at the chance to show my loyalty by helping her dig through giant lunchroom trash cans in search of her glittery, pink retainer.

even though the lunch ladies provided us with plastic gloves, digging through soggy pizza crusts and tater tots soaked in leftover chocolate milk was just about one of the most disgusting things that i had ever done in my life up to that point. i didn't care, though, because my friend and i were laughing and gagging together and that's what friends did. after going through about three trash cans, we finally found her retainer. she wrapped it up in a napkin and put it in her book bag where it would stay until she could completely sanitize it at home. if it had been me, i would have just begged my parents for a new one...

anyhow, this past saturday, a friend came over to our house and did the unthinkable. she picked up a paintbrush and a roller and finished painting one of our front rooms for us. i haven't been able to stand the smell of paint since becoming pregnant and the "red room" had become a sort of mental block for LH and i. for whatever reason, neither one of us had been able to take the 30-45 minutes needed to finish cutting-in above the doorway and rolling a second coat over what was already painted. our friend knew about this problem, and had offered numerous times to come over and help. i finally picked up the phone on saturday morning and sheepishly asked if she would come over and help us finish the room. not only did she say yes, but she came over within an hour and had a smile on her face! she told us that she loves to paint, but i honestly thought that she was all talk. well, she proved me wrong. while i worked on cleaning the kitchen and LH mowed the grass, she finished painting our red room and we yelled back and forth across the house to each other. it was great. now, our red room is put back together and LH has even said that it is his favorite room in the house. all we needed was the help of a good friend. thanks, N =)

God has totally blessed us with some amazing friends in the city that we live in right now. realizing that a friend would get sweaty and dirty just to help us out made me want to go out and help another friend somehow. so that's my challenge to you guys today: don't just be a friend to someone, show your friendship to them in a helpful way.

the best compliment ever and one fun bachelorette party

after a half dozen loads of laundry and one giant shopping trip to the commissary for some groceries, i am finally back to the blog. bozeman and i are so happy to be back with LH, but i think that bozeman is definitely missing the company of my parents and their dog... and their giant, fenced-in back yard.

during my time at my parents' house, my mom and i made a trip to visit my brother at school. i got to check out his teeny, tiny dorm room with the horrible fluorescent lighting, i saw his fraternity house and i even checked out the girls' bathrooms in his dorm. hey, i had to go really bad, and i couldn't resist seeing if they were clean or not. i had totally forgotten what it was like to go to the bathroom with dozens of flyers plastered on the walls around you. kind of distracting, if you ask me. although i did get kinda grossed out by the reminder to "flush it down whether it was yellow, red or brown." i guess college-aged girls still need reminders like that? i don't know...

while we were there, my mom and i took my brother out for dinner. at one point, our mom got up to use the "facilities" and i started telling my bro some of the weird things about being pregnant and how much my body was already changing even though i'm only 13 weeks. my mom caught the tale end of the conversation and said, "isn't it weird hearing your sister talk about stuff like that?" this was the highlight of my day: without even thinking twice, my brother said, "i've never thought that anything [LW] said was weird!" i told him it was because i brainwashed him when he was little and he had to throw in a smart remark about me throwing him off of the tractor when he was two. oops.

the next morning, i headed out to my friend's bachelorette party. would you believe that we went white water rafting and then tubing? i was planning on playing it safe and skipping the white water part, but once i realized that it was a part of the river that i had been down three times before and that our guide was not only a fellow bridesmaid from the wedding, but had also been guiding the river for 11 years and was an EMT, my comfort level rose considerably. she convinced me to go with them by promising to keep me and the baby safe, and she delivered on her promise. we had SO much fun. the bachelorette had a special helmet complete with a veil and a tiny bride and groom on top with a sign that said, "kiss me while you still can". her paddle even had her name and "bachelorette" written on it. suffice it to say, she received plenty of attention the entire trip down the river. i can't even count how many times people took her picture!

once we finished rafting, we headed back to the cabin so i could stuff my face and then we loaded up the cars again to go tubing down the "lazy" river, complete with a floating cooler filled with alcoholic drinks for them and non-alcoholic drinks for me. i laughed so hard during most of that trip, because a few certain people, who will remain unnamed, kept getting stuck in trees and on rocks because they couldn't paddle well enough. back at the cabin, i fell asleep while playing some of the typical bachelorette party games. they were kind enough to wake me up when the bachelorette was opening the lingerie present that i bought for her and then to send me to bed.

we all left feeling like it was one of the most fun weekends that we had had in a really long time, and promised to get together next year to do it again. i'll just have to get LH to agree to watch the baby... =)

i have gas! lots of gas!

that is a line from cars and every time LH and i hear it, we crack up laughing. we are all big burpers in our house, and that includes bozeman. it is so funny, because bozeman has somehow learned to come to LH when he needs to burp. LH has this magical touch that somehow helps bozeman burp so much faster than if i try to help him. since we've been away from LH this week, bozeman has been a little bit lost. today, after my mom and i got back from eating some amazing thai food, i was sitting on the floor next to bozeman when i burped. not one second later, bozeman looked at me and burped, too. i guess hearing me burp triggers his burping mechanism... or else it was just a coincidence.

anyhow, LH obviously has the magic touch. there have been times that i will have this huge burp lurking beneath the surface that just doesn't want to escape, so LH will rub my back or something. no kidding, i burp just as easily as bozeman does. i don't know what it is. honestly, i think LH balances out my type-a personality and somehow my whole body just relaxes when i'm near him.

i'm hoping that LH's magical touch works on the baby, too. my plan is to feed the baby and then hand him/her over to LH every time so he can do the burping. think that will work out well? other than the whole LH having to go to work every day thing...

political opinion time

i think i've mentioned before that LH and i don't have cable in our house. on top of not wanting to deal with yet another bundling debacle, we would both get sucked into tv shows when other things could be getting done. we do watch a ton of movies, though, so maybe we don't save much time anyhow.

anyhow, since i've been at my parents' house this week, i have to admit that i have been glued to the tv. yesterday, i watched every little bit of commentary possible about sarah palin. she is my new hero. i have been so impressed with everything i hear and read about her and after watching her speech last night, i'm even more convinced that she should be the next VP. her personality is so strong and she is so incredibly tough, yet she is also very easy to like and relate to at the same time. her addition to the presidential ticket totally sold me on voting for mccain.

great news

we finally have a renter for our condo! he paid the deposit and rent and moved in all in one week. LH and i are so excited to finally have some of that stress off of our chests.

other news in our house: LH and i are spending about five days apart and it stinks! he had to travel for work last weekend and i decided to go along with him. but, rather than drive all the way back to our home afterwards, i ended up hanging out at my parents' house for the week because a good friend from college is having her bachelorette party this weekend. bozeman is loving my parents' back yard and i'm spending some quality time with friends that i haven't seen in awhile, but i am already missing LH so much. he said that it is quiet in the house without us around and i'm kinda worried about whether or not he is eating enough. i guess he did survive as a bachelor for many years before i came along, so he'll be okay...

would you believe that i'm having a baby shower already next weekend? neither do i. there are five of us in our young marrieds group at church who are pregnant right now, and in order to fit everyone in, we are having a group baby shower this month. crazy, huh? and on that note, i must leave you to go eat some more food. baby's gotta eat, you know.