In case you were wondering...

Sorry about being a little late in the update, but the winner of "Dancing with the Stars" was:Brooke Burke! Really no surprise there. Can't wait until next season!

Hope that everyone had a good Turkey Day!

Emu sighting!

You have to refer to my friend Cara's blog in order to appreciate this post. Here is the post to read before going any further.

So, John and I were in the car last weekend when we past a little farm by our house and we saw it - the EMU! And let me tell you...it was HUGE!

John had class this weekend and passed it again yesterday. He took a few pictures with his phone, but they didn't do the giant bird justice. So, he went prepared today with our digital camera. And here it is:

You have to understand - this thing is at least 5 1/2 feet tall, so you can imagine the fear that Cara and her friend endured during their play date that afternoon. Not to mention...this thing is UGLY!

I was right!

Cody got the boot last night.

However, I am not as confident in predicting the final standings for next week.

I will have a full report.

Who's getting the boot?

It's the end of the Fall season for "Dancing with the Stars" (aren't you impressed that this is the first post about it?). Last night was the semi-finals and tonight's results show will reveal who advances to the final next week...exciting, I know!

Here's who is left:

Lance Bass - Hello? Who can forget the recent out-of-the-closet former pop star of *NSYNC? I think that everyone expected a lot from Lance being that he was a part of a boy band and therefore did a lot of dancing. However, he had a pretty rocky start and just last night really stood out.

Brooke Burke - Actress, host, entrepreneur. I am totally envious of her. She is a mom of 4, with her youngest being no more than 6 months old - and you should see her body. Must be nice to have tons of money so that you can look like that. Anyway, she has been the front runner the entire time...up until last night when her Jive was total crap.

Cody Linley - He is best known for his role as "Jake Ryan" on the Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana." (BTW - did anyone catch his character's name - the same name as Molly Ringwald's crush from "Sixteen Candles"). He's young and cute, and he really tries hard. Not sure how much further he will go in the show.

Warren Sapp - He is a recently retired defensive tackle and Superbowl Champion who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders during his 13 year career. I distinctly remember when the Steelers played the Buccaneers a few years ago, and Warren Sapp and Joey Porter got penalties even before the game started due to their mouths. So, it's fun to see the same guy literally gliding across the dance floor...he's pretty good!

My prediction - tonight's victim will be Cody.

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FYI - I saw a commercial last night previewing "The Bachelor" with rejected Jason from last season. It confirmed that the season starts in January...can't wait!

A little obsessed?

My sister swore by this book when she was pregnant with Gabi and of course she bought it for me when I was in the "safe zone" of the pregnancy.

It's a great book - full of info that you really can't find in the stores. It divides up all of the baby essentials and then grades them A-F, even with +/-'s.

So as you can see, I have massacred the book. Well, not so much to that extent, but I definitely went through the major sections and figured out the stuff that is good and the stuff that is not. And as you can see, I have very anal-retentively color coded the different sections and staggered them for easy searching. I know, I am a loser! My Mom even thought that I went a little overboard - oh well!

It was a great help when John and I took our first trip to Babies R Us. It was just a browsing trip - not starting the registry any time soon. But by bringing the book, we were able to alleviate a lot of the over-whelming feelings that can accompany a couple and their first trip to a baby store. Anything below a C, we are not even considering. Makes for a much less stressful afternoon and a much happier husband and wife (or daddy and mommy-to be's).

Bummer!

Becky emailed me this week to inform me that our (my) excitement from the finale of the latest installment of "The Bachelorette" has come to a bust.

DeAnna and Jesse have called it quits. NUTS! I really thought that they would make it work. Here's the article from People.

Oh well, can't wait to see Jason on his season of "The Bachelor" in January.

Tis the Season

Halloween...nope, it's over now. The election...yeah, like I would be excited about that. Thanksgiving...not yet. Christmas...PLEASE!

No. It is time for the start of the high school swim team season. John coaches a local high school swim team (Valley High School in New Kensington). Last season, I started swimming with the team as an attempt to start regular exercise without too much stress on my back. Well, that was the best idea that I ever had in terms of an exercise regime. I even joined a local club by our house in the off season and continued to swim at least 4 times a week.

Last year, I was swimming with the fastest kids (going last, of course). But it was so much fun and kids really seemed to enjoy having me there. Even when we went to various graduation parties this summer, they were always asking if I was coming back to swim.

John had a meeting on Monday for the team and then pre-season (non-mandatory) practices started on Tuesday. John and I both thought that it would be best if I would swim in one of the slower lanes, and gradually move down as the practices got tougher.

However, when I arrived at the pool on Tuesday afternoon, the lane the fewest amount of kids was of course the fastest lane. I figured that I would be fine for the first few weeks until they start to get back into shape, then I would start to move down. When I informed the kids that I would not be a permanent lane-mate, they were so disappointed. But then we told them why, and they were so excited.

My doctor we so pleased to hear that I swim regularly. But there were concerns that we had - How much is too much? Could I dive in? Should I at some point stop doing flip turns? We were told to keep my heart rate no higher than 140 (which is quite difficult...I have to sit out a 50 here and there). Diving in is going to be a no-no soon. Flip turns are fine, but I will reach a point when I just physically will not be able to do them anymore.

Now I have to start looking into maternity bathing suits, because my Speedos are not too comfy anymore. I am starting to get suit-hickeys - my fellow swimmers know what I am talking about. I am wondering if I just go up in sizes, would that be enough to cover the expanding belly. I am not showing by any means yet, but my gut has traveled north and looks much bigger then it ever has...not very happy about that. So, you could imagine how great that looks in a Speedo.

I am just happy that my schedule allows me to have such a regular exercise slot so that I can try to maintain a healthy life-style during this pregnancy. Because we all know that it will never be feasible with subsequent pregnancies!