I'M PREGNANT

For those who do not know, I am pregnant.  I am 15 weeks pregnant, today.  First trimester was pretty uneventful.  Was nauseous 24/7 from week 4 to week 13, but never threw up.  Came close while sitting at a table in Cracker Barrel.  I get nauseous every now and then, especially when it has been several hours since last eating.  I was extremely tired throughout the first trimester, but managed to run enough to be ready for my half-marathon (see previous post).  My energy has increased somewhat since entering the 2nd trimester.  That said, I did fall asleep on the plane traveling to and from Miami and I NEVER sleep on planes.  I've gained a few pounds and have developed a nice pouch.  My current pants (the two pairs I own) are beginning to feel tight and I prefer wearing pants with elastic.  I'm waiting for my sister-in-law to send me all of her maternity clothes.  

ING Miami Marathon/Half Marathon

This past weekend I met my family down in Miami, Florida.  My sister-in-law, Chris, my dad's wife, Karen, and I ran the ING Miami half marathon.  Several other family members came down for the weekend to visit others, and to get together with family.  My brother, Greg and sister-in-law, Mary, flew down from NY to visit Mary's brother, Nick and girlfriend Gabby.  Mary's other brother, Joe, flew down from Raleigh to visit a friend and to be with family.  Mary's parents also flew down to be with family and to celebrate Mary's mom's 77th birthday.  My brother, Matt, happened to be going to Miami this same weekend for his annual golf trip with "his boys".  My dad came down for the weekend to support Karen and to see family.  Joseph was supposed to go down to Miami too, but at the last minute we decided it was better if he stayed home to take care of the dogs.  We had a nice family get together Friday night.  Even matt managed to break away from his "boys" and meet us for dinner.

Miami was interesting.  You are definitely a minority if you do not speak Spanish.  South Beach was fun.   The beach and water are very pretty.  The city is super dog friendly and almost everyone exercises.  Very few people smoke.  The downers: Traffic was horrible and everything was EXPENSIVE.  

The half-marathon was fantastic.  I highly recommend the race to anyone who is looking for a warm event with beautiful views.  The course was beautiful and the temperature was perfect.  It was 60 degrees at the start (6:00 AM)  and warmed up to about 70 by 10 o'clock.  The three of us all ran the entire race and felt good at the end.  We finished at different times; we were all proud of our accomplishments.  Between 12 and 13,000 runners ran the event (full and half).  The race was well organized and the crowds of people cheering were amazing.  The only disappointment was the absence of a "beer truck" at the finish line.  Not because we all wanted to suck down some beer, but because that was our meeting point.  The race shirt was incredibly ugly but the medal was awesome.  

joseph, the chili master

Joseph is known as a fantastic physician, specifically, a gastroenterologist, but these days he is known for his chili cooking skills.  Joseph overcame his failed first attempt at making chili and became the CHILI COOKING CHAMPION.  Yes, Joseph McGowin won his first Chili cooking contest.  He and his coworkers had a chili cooking contest this past Tuesday.  Joseph competed against two female staff members and beat them both.  I must say, Joseph has come a long way in the kitchen.  I do, however, prefer to cook the Mac and Cheese, though.  Congratulations Joseph! 

Survivor 19 Auditions

Today my friend, Angela, and I drove up to an outdoor outfitter near Furman University to try out for Survivor 19.  I've tried out twice before by sending my videotape and questionnaire into CBS.  Since auditions were so close I decided I would apply in person.  Angela drove up from Charleston, SC to audition.  Due to my current health status I would not be able to participate in Survivor 19, as taping takes place between late-June thru August.  However, I wanted to see how far I could get in auditioning.  It has been several seasons since I watched Survivor, but was still excited about being on the show.  Auditions started at 10am.  We arrived at 11am and were greeted by a long, long line of pathetic individuals willing to freeze their asses off in line.  I suppose the line was not anywhere as long as American Idol audition lines, but neither of us were about to stand out in the cold with the rest of the goons.  Several people came in costume and several came dressed as themselves.  CBS set up 3 interviewing "rooms" throughout the store. I snuck to the back of the store and watched a few people record their auditions in front of a CBS camera crew member.  There's no way in hell I could stand in front of a TV camera and talk about myself with bystanders listening to my every word.  The first guy I heard talk was a redneck from South Carolina.  Older man who had grown out his beard for 39 days to show the camera crew what he would look like on national TV, should he win Survivor.  He was also a previous applicant.  The 2nd guy was 23, and had a good story.  Quit school to take care of his dying father...his father died and he returned to school to get his degree.  Nice, nice boy, and very outdoorsy looking.  So, I am here to say that neither Angela nor myself auditioned for Survivor 19.  We'll just have to watch the season to see if any of those "losers" we saw in line made it.  

Avocados, Chili, and Smurfette

Joseph had two significant learning experiences these last few days.  Sunday night he tried to make homemade guacamole to go along with our tacos.  With my guidance via telephone he picked out two avocados at the grocery store.  The avocados were SEVERELY under ripe.  They were hard as a rock... he thought they were semi-soft at the grocery store!  The eventual guacamole was more like diced avocado with guacamole seasoning on it...clearly not suitable for 'REAL' guacamole.  You couldn't eat it at all.  Now he knows which avocados NOT to pick out at the store.  

Sunday night Joseph soaked kidney beans over night in anticipation of making chili on Monday.  Joseph slaved in the kitchen all day Monday, chopping tomatoes, onions, mixing seasoning, adding this and that, all which were thrown into the crock pot.  7 PM rolls around and joseph looks quite discouraged after taking a few bites of his chili.  He stated, "the beans are crunchy".  Joseph did a great job of soaking the beans but didn't realize he needed to cook the beans prior to throwing them into the crock pot.  Joseph eventually transferred the ingredients from the crock pot to a pot on the stove and eventually burned the s*&t out of the chili.  IT WAS SO GROSS.  EVEN JOSEPH COULDN'T EAT IT!  Joseph was so mad he went on ebay and released his stress by bidding on watches he didn't need.  One watch of particular interest was a used smurfette watch, which he won... so, we should soon have a Smurfette watch to add to Joseph's current collection.  As Joseph quoted, "Smurfette wouldn't burn chili".  Joseph sees this as fair punishment for his perceived stupidity.  I encouraged Joseph to keep trying and to suck it up as a learning experience.  I am happy to say Joseph used his last day off from work to buy more chili ingredients and to cook up a GREAT batch of spicy chili.  it was so good Joseph is going to cook and serve it to our dinner guests this Saturday!!!   Maybe we'll have our new Smurfette watch to show off by then.

Honeymoon in March

Joseph and I are going on a honeymoon in March.  We will be going to St. Lucia, in the West Indies and will be staying at the Stonefield Resort.  Check it out: www.stonefieldvillas.com

We are both very excited!

Ben Folds at the Orange Peel

Joseph just shared the great news with me.  Ben Folds is coming to the Orange Peel (in Asheville, NC).  "Ben" was incredible at Bonnaroo and will likely be as good in Asheville.  I want to get front row placement.  For those of you who haven't seen him in concert, do it, even if you don't particularly care for his music.  He's one of the best performers ever.