I have been blessed, and I feel like I've found my way. I thank God for all I've been given at the end of every day. I have been blessed, with so much more than I deserve. To be here with the ones that love me, to love them so much it hurts... I have been blessed.

Feeling a bit sad as I sit here to write this blog... empty house. I miss my people! It's been a crazy couple of weeks since I got back from Germany- jam packed with night shifts and then visitors coming to town! I was supposed to work today, but my shift was cancelled due to low census so I'm really kind of sitting around at a loss for what to do next... So blogging it is!

Last week I was graced with one of my best friends from high school, Sara, coming to town for a nice little visit. I gave her the heads up and said it would be a low key trip and she was all for it! We had such a nice visit. 

Our days were spent mostly just laying around, catching up and making some delicious meals. We had a couple of nice days weather-wise while she was here, so on one of them we went and checked out a house called Tudor Place that was built in the early 1800's by Martha Washington's granddaughter (George Washington's step-granddaughter). Noteworthy- the house was actually designed by the same architect that designed the Capitol building. It was a fun way to spend a sunny Saturday.

Leaving for a stroll through G-town

Jas and I in a gazebo at Tudor Place

After the tour of Tudor Place, we walked to one of the local butcher shops and had the most delicious sandwiches you've ever eaten. This may be my new favorite Georgetown spot. The meats that they had on display looked succulent and amazing! Sara got a pastrami sandwich that weighed almost as much as Chloe. I was sad to see her go on Easter morning, we had such a nice relaxing visit.

I worked on Easter Sunday, but that evening my best friend from Columbus, Andi, and her husband, Blair came rolling into town. Andi and I have been friends since middle school (that's over 15 years!), and always find some sort of hijinx to get into whenever we get together. I think this trip was more tame than most due to my "state" and the fact that both of our husbands were there. Usually it's the 2 of us ganging up on one or the other them. I think both of the boys were thankful to get a reprieve this go around.

We spent a lot of time talking and catching up that night, and planned the next day set off to the see the Cherry Blossoms- it is Cherry Blossom season after all... or not. But more on that later.

Monday was supposed to be the warmest day while the Albright's were here, so we decided it would be a great day to see go see the famed Cherry Blossom's out on the Tidal Basin. Since it was a beautiful day, we set out to walk down there. I have recently discovered a little gem of a restaurant called Shake Shack- many of you may have heard of it, it originated in NYC, I really want to know where it's been all my life. BEST.BURGERS.EVER!!! I'm completely in love with their burgers, and I thought I'd share the love with our friends. So, we headed off to Dupont on foot to nosh on these delectable delights.

Both Andi & Blair were fans. I mean, if you're not a fan of a Shake Shack burger then there is something seriously wrong with you. After our lunch we set off for the Tidal Basin, and were greeted with rain. So, we hailed a cab and headed back to the homestead. Insert "Wahh, wahhhhh" noise here.

The ladies at Shake Shack- note the smiles... full bellies = happy girls.

When we got home we just laid around a bit and talked. That night we had dinner reservations at Filomena (delicious homemade Italian restaurant in G-town) for Andi's 30th birthday celebration. So, resting up before dinner was no big deal, we decided to take in the blossoms another day.

That night we got all gussied up and headed out to Filomena. Delicious! That place never disappoints. I think our guests thoroughly enjoyed it as well.

Pre-dinner bump pose

The next day we decided to venture out to see the Cherry Blossoms! What a bust! They have adjusted the date of the peak bloom so many times now... I don't know what to believe. We get all the way down there and there isn't one single bloom in sight. It was a tremendous let down. What better way to get over the disappointment than to drink away your sorrows... Off to a bar on Capitol Hill we went...

Don't get all excited... It's an Arnold Palmer (Iced Tea/Lemonade)- living dangerously. And please do not email comparison pictures of me and Homer Simpson... I get it, it's big- and it's only going to get bigger. 

Love! 

My boo! 

That night we made some steaks at home and just enjoyed each other's company. The Albright's are good times. 

Yesterday I had a doctors appointment- the doctor was quite impressed and very pleased with my lack of weight gain (STILL at my pre-pregnancy weight!), she said to keep doing what I'm doing. It's amazing what a healthier diet and a little bit of physical activity (I am no triathlete- but I do walk every single day) can do for you! She said the baby is measuring perfectly, we heard the heartbeat via doppler and I had to take the dreaded Glucose Tolerance Test! It actually wasn't that bad. I had heard that the orange drink is best, so I went with that and in truth it tasted almost like a really sweet kool-aid, just a bit on the thicker side. Not chokingly thick, but not as thin as regular kool-aid. 

I took it down like a champ and tossed it back- reminiscent of my college days ;)  I felt a little gross after drinking all that sugar, but I got my blood drawn and now I'm anxiously awaiting my results. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be ok, but it's still a bit nerve wracking... especially with my newfound addiction to Frosted Flakes- yes friends, the addiction continues. I just bought another 3 boxes this morning. OMG. Frosted Flakes and Baked Potatoes. Cannot get enough! 

I have developed a new little treat this week- Heartburn! I've never really had heartburn my whole life and now I have it almost all the time. Crazy. Tums are my new best friend. I am on the cusp of entering my 3rd Trimester and this means biweekly OB-GYN visits. Weee, lucky me! My how the time flies. 27 weeks tomorrow. Crazy. 

After the doctors appointment, we reconvened with the Albright's for lunch and then went to a few of the boutiques around Georgetown. Last night we took in a Washington Nationals baseball game. I've been to the Nats stadium once before, it's really nice as far as baseball stadiums go. 

Smitten Kittens

I was so excited that the night we went to the game was $1 Dog Night!! How wonderful! They normally charge $5 a piece for those puppies! Blair and I went down to get dogs for ourselves and our respective spouses and we were greeted by longest line and the nastiest sign ever- "only 2 hot dogs per person/per transaction"... Um, what?! We both decided we would just ask nicely and hope that they would give us more than 2 hot dogs each. The line was way too long to wait in it again just to get another 2 hot dogs. One of us was victorious... and it wasn't Blair! The pregnancy card strikes again! Just kidding... well, maybe not. So, Blair walked up and asked for 4 hot dogs and they said "no, we can't do that." I walked up and in my sweetest voice ever said "I'd like 4 hot dogs please." Sure enough, she gave me the hot dogs. No pregnancy card being thrown, no full on tantrums. And I emerged victorious, much to Blair's chagrin. Whoops. Teehee. 

Upon getting back to our seats after waiting in the ridiculously long hot dog line, I swear the temperature dropped 20 degrees. It was cold. 

Scarf on my head... so stylish.

We made it to the 7th Inning and bailed. The Nats were up 1-0 when we left. Victory as far as I'm concerned. I have no idea whether they ended up winning or not. Oh well. 

This morning Andi and Blair left. I miss them already. It was such a nice visit. Looking forward to seeing them in just a few weeks for my baby shower! Yay! Can't believe how close we're getting. Lil G will be here before we know it. 

That's all for now...