IN LOVE... with Bali!

I will have so much to write about when I get home. I have been enjoying my vacation and away from computers for a bit... But, I had to get on and share briefly about my fabulous trip in SE Asia. We started off in Singapore which was a great time! We then took the short flight over to Bali and we are IN LOVE with this place. The culture, the lush greenery, bright exotic flowers and jungle trees, the food, and the BEACH! It is paradise! This is the first place I have been that I know for sure I want to return here as often and stay as long as I can! I love all of it (maybe not the mosquitoes...) There is so much to explore and see. I just love it so much! This is seriously a summer home location. Even with it's 20 hour flight - it is so very much worth it! Of all the tropical places I have been, this one tops it all. I will have so many pictures to share soon.

One crazy story... Ben and I went to Uluwatu to see the large Hindu temple set in the high cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean. This temple is filled with tons of wild macaque monkeys. Well these guys are the biggest pests. I had to take out my earrings and all loose articles before exploring. They are all over the place and steal anything they can get their little hands on. One tried to take my yellow sweater but our driver swatted him away. We were walking through this one stone walkway along the cliff and the monkey grabbed the glasses from a woman's face. She screamed and was very scared! The monkey literally pulled them from her face - he was sitting on one of the temple columns and must have reached out and grabbed them literally face forward! He then started to eat them in front of all of us. I would think he would have spit that stuff out but no, he was happy as a clam destroying her glasses. Poor woman! After that debacle, we went to watch the Balinese Kecak dance at the temple which is a dance describing the legend of the Balinese prince and princess whose God tricks them to be able to have the princess as his own. Thanks to a monkey, the prince is able to get his princess back. It is all described in very colorful costumes and dances. With all the good monkeys and bad monkeys around here, you have to be careful! :0

More to come later...

Moving Day is here...

So, today is moving day! Hallelujah, thank you God for paid movers and packers! Thanks to Ben's new company, we just help supervise. Yay - I love supervising! Yesterday the packers came and packed up 162 boxes of all shapes and sizes to move us to SA. It was quite the scene here plus, in my little "safe" area, I had my suitcase for Asia, my corner full of boxes for the temp living in SA, and then I was encased by more boxes for the actual move. What a sight! The movers are here now actually loading the big moving truck. In about 6 hours, the house should be empty. And, tomorrow, we will celebrate in SE Asia. Hooray! I also have an ultrasound appointment today at 18 weeks (or maybe 17) so I cannot wait to see that spunky little Luke. Today is promising to be a beautifully great day! :)

Dream land during pregnancy...

Lately I have been experiencing the most vivid dreams. It is quite odd, and, unfortunately, most of the dreams are not pleasant. They are very odd and sometimes scary. Last night I had a dream that seemed to last all night about a trick invitation to listen to a Christian motivational speaker and I went, kissed Ben bye for the day and told him I would be back in a few hours. I arrived to the speaking engagement and there were about 10 people there and a woman who ended up being a psychotic Christian extremist cult leader and basically singled out and tricked all who attended. We were basically kidnapped and slowly tortured... I tried to break away but I couldn't. All I wanted was for Ben to come find me and I kept thinking of ways to contact him and escape. I have never been more scared that this was truly happening nor have I felt so relieved to wake up and realize that this was just a horrible nightmare - NOT real. So odd. And it was SO real - I can remember so many details of the entire situation. That kind of dream was a first for me. And, the past few weeks - I have had other vivid types of dreams. It could be due to stress b/c there are so many huge changes going on in our life now but I feel like they are all good and working out. So, I don't feel really stressed just anticipatory.

Anyways... I was checking out the latest weekly info on my pregnancy... Week 17. Interestingly enough, the article spoke about the possibility of pregnant women starting to experience vivid dreams about this time. I thought - Phew - so I am not a looney - I am just prego! It is so amazing how many changes my body is experiencing. Just amazing how everyone reacts so differently. I hope this vivid dream stage passes... or I hope that at least I dream about beaches, sun, massages, riding elephants, and fabulously fun vivid dreams not scary ones.

Where Oh Where... What a day!

This is me (not really) after a full day of house hunting! Today we spent all day looking for houses in San Antonio. It is fun but also tiring... lots of work to find the right one and lots of compromise. We have not found "the house" yet but we have another full day tomorrow. Hoping for some great finds.

The smallest stallion in the world - sweet Einstein

This morning I saw a clip on Good Morning America about sweet Einstein - the smallest stallion in the world. He is so precious. I just adore him. It is amazing watching the little guy. Apparently he does interviews daily. Check him out!

Update on Dress Dilemma - Sporting the bump!

Per my post last week on my dress dilemma for the Night for Life gala, I took the advice of my dear friend Elizabeth and sported my baby bump with pride. This is a photo with the chair of the event, my CEO and another agency supporter. You can see the bump. I think it worked out ok! For those that didn't know I was pregnant... they now know! Thanks E for the extra push to sport the bump!

Tidbit Tuesday! Silver Tarnish and White Chalk.

Today we met with our realtor. Looking around at my china cabinet, I got a little embarassed that some of my silver was tarnished and I commented that I wish I had more time to keep all my pieces polished. My realtor told me that he heard about putting a bowl of vinegar in the cabinet where you store your silver, it will prevent tarnishing.

I decided to check this tidbit of knowledge out. While I didn't find out more information on this tip, I did find out that if you add a single piece of white chalk to the drawer or cabinet where your silver is stored, it prevents tarnish! I cannot wait to check this tip out. Apparently white chalk helps reduce moisture which is what helps cause tarnishing of silver.

Formal Dress Dilemma...

This Saturday my agency is holding our largest fundraiser of the year, our 15th annual Night for Life gala. The theme is RED is the Night and it will be a fabulous formal night with a packed philanthropic program with a casino cabaret! Cannot wait! We have been working so hard on this event. My dilemma is... what to wear. I have two red dresses. One is my favorite formal - simple, long, elegant, form-fitting and RED! The second dress is more of a cocktail dress so borderline not ideal for this event. It is a short, strapless red bubble dress. The ONLY reason I am considering wearing more of a cocktail dress is b/c of my baby bump. I am kind of in that in-between time where I kind of look pregnant but kind of look chubby, tire-ish since it is weight just around my belly. Baby bumps can be "sexy" and "cute" at this point but I think I might still be 3-4 weeks away before I hit that category. So, for this reason I am drawn to wearing the more forgiving but sassy short bubble dress. The long red one is fabulous but VERY form fitting and my belly does stick out... Hmm... what to do. Ben thinks that most people know I am prego so not a big deal but he did not deny that I am "in-between" the bump look in this dress. He thinks I need to wear the long one not the short one. I do agree with him but will I be comfy? Will I look bad and tummy chubs? Such the dilemma... I have one day to figure this out. Anyone have any thoughts? I should put up pics BUT I am already in my PJ's for the night.

HELP!

The grand canyon, the hitchhiker and snow!

On Sunday, Ben, Dakota and I decided to take the day and drive to the Grand Canyon. I have never seen the Grand Canyon and Ben visited when he was very young, so we had been wanting to go before we moved out of the state. Since we have basically 3 weeks left, we figured we better hurry up! So, we woke up at 5am and ventured up to Northern Arizona. We knew the high was predicted to be 38 so we were prepared for cold weather... so we thought...

About half way there, I needed my Dr. Pepper so we stopped at a gas station where I was approached by a young girl asking for a ride up to Flagstaff. She was in spaghetti straps and short skirt and had barely anything with her. She said she had been stranded and needed a ride back home - she was a student at NAU. So I decided she probably was not a killer and said we could take her. I figure - we better take her home so some psycho doesn't. So Ben was thrilled at this, but how could we leave her! So, along the way up, we find out she came with her boyfriend to Phoenix from Flagstaff (about 2.5 hour drive) for a party. Her bf basically ditched her and broke up with her earlier that morning about 4am and she decided she needed to leave. So, she walked to the nearest gas station and hitched a ride with some random guy in a Hummer to Prescott exit - then that's where we came in. What was she thinking? There is a shuttle for $40 from Phoenix to Flagstaff daily - instead she hitchhiked? Hello? She is asking for trouble. I guess she really wanted to leave... So, while I am grilling our new "friend" on the basics of how guys should treat girls and that her bf is scum, we encounter a snow storm!

That's right, a snow storm. Crazy - on May 2nd we are driving through sheets of snow in AZ! So, we make it to Flagstaff, drop off hitchhiker chic, and head on up to the Grand Canyon. About an hour later, we are there - sunny and very chilly. It snowed off and on lightly but it was amazing! Such a wonderful adventure for one of our last Sundays in AZ.

On our way back, we encountered more snowstorms until we got near Phoenix and the weather warmed up significantly. What a fun day with my hubby and my little black canine child!