Knocked up!

Yup, it's official! I am 11-weeks pregnant! We actually found out during LPGA qualifying school late October but wanted to keep it quiet until we actually had our first ultrasound. So speaking of ultrasound, here are a couple of images. The doc had to use the vaginal probe to get clearer images, which I was not happy about at all! But seeing the baby's image and HEARING the baby's heartbeat was amazing! It was beating at an amazing 160 beats per minute! And when the doc held the probe still, you could see the baby move. It was moving like crazy! Hope that's not a sign of TROUBLE to come! :-)
Here's a funny pic that came out from the ultrasound. Bobby calls it the crazy jack o'lantern peanut! The baby's eyes and mouth are illuminated like a jack o'lantern and his head and body is shaped like a peanut. And look, he's waving at you too! Haha! Too funny. Speaking of "he", we really don't know the sex of the baby yet. My dad's already put in an order for a girl. :-)
Well, the baby is at 7cm right now - almost 3". We're reading the book "What to expect when you're expecting" and we really thought that the baby was only the size of a blueberry, so obviously we're a little bit off track! But it's just amazing how this little "thing" growing in you can cause so much discomfort and nausea! No, I haven't had to hug any toilet bowls (yet)... but it sure is an awful feeling when all you want to do all day is lay on the couch! And I've yet to have a good night's sleep. The baby already has me trained - having me wake up at least 2 to 3 times a night to pee,... and getting me up at 6:30am needing to eat! Did I mention how tired I am of thinking of my next meal???
But out of it all, both Bobby and I are really excited. I think reality is sinking in slowly for me that I'm going to be a mommy. AaaahhhhHHHHHH...!!! And Bobby is hoping the baby's due date will be on his birthday. Right now, the baby is scheduled to arrive on May 20, 2010 which is 10 days earlier than Bobby's birthday. We're going to have another Gemini in our house! Yikes.... 6 personalities in one household! And based on the Chinese calendar, the baby will be a Metal Tiger. So, among a Dog (Bobby) and a Dragon (me), it's going to be a crazy family! :-)

Productive Sunday

Bobby and I had a really good day yesterday. It all started with a nice surprise in the front yard. There was a little birdie in the bird house!... the one that I "borrowed" from the golf course :-) Bobby had a good point - how DOES that bird just sit there in the entry of that birdhouse? Maybe there's a little perch on the inside. I always wondered if there would ever be another occupant for the birdhouse since there was already a bird's nest in there when I first picked it up from the course. Oh wait, I mean "borrowed" from the course. I'm so happy for the new birdie!!!
Bobby and I finally finished putting together the border along the front yard. We are so happy with our work. It looks so much better! We found some decorative border that will (hopefully) keep the mulch in place! The rain has been washing away a lot of our mulch, hence the rock as well on the corner of the house. We'll need to put another big rock against the wall, once Bobby recovers from his hardwork :-)
Speaking of hardwork, Bobby didn't stop there. Once we were done, I wanted to have a branch of a broken tree limb trimmed. So off he went. First, with the smaller ladder and armed with an electric saw. But then unfortunately, the battery of the saw died pretty quickly. So he was stuck with a curvy saw on a long pole which was doing very little at ground level. Thankfully, I found the other spare battery for the saw. So off he went again. This time with the larger ladder. After a few minutes of sawing, he would come down and tug at the tree limbs (tree winning of course, but obviously not a good thing to say to him). When the battery started to die again, I suggested an axe... and needless to say, an awesome idea! It did take quite a few chops (and a few misses), but eventually, Bobby got the job done! And then, he decided to show off... which probably attributed to his sore back. Who is my silly honey!! :-p
Well, I had my own productive day today. It took SOOOO many hours to paint the front door, but it's done! Just don't look at it too closely. Let's just say that fiberglass it not a fun material to paint on! And... hmm, come to think of it, I still have to paint the inside of the door and the trim on both sides! Good thing my golf season is over and there is no deadline!

New sink and faucet installed!

The new sink and faucet is finally installed! I had bought the kitchen faucet since my golf event in New Hampshire (end of July) and the new sink had been sitting on the kitchen floor since last month. So, yay! The guy that installed it was actually just here earlier this week installing our new door. It took him a little bit longer with the sink and faucet as he had to go back to Lowe's a couple more times to get the correct parts. He also had to familiarize himself with the faucet and its built-in filter system. Fancy! But then again, once it was all said and done, the faucet doesn't actually shut off completely when you turn it off. So drip, drip, drip for a few seconds and then it's done, which is really weird for an expensive faucet. I did buy it at a surplus super-store, but then again, hmmm.... I'm tempted to write to the manufacturer to see what they will say about it. I may want to leave out the details of the surplus store though :-)
It's probably a good thing we hired a guy to perform the installation because I had mentioned how heavy the sink is and the guy didn't really believe me until he had to pick it up out of the box. And he's a big dude too!
Well, the caulking needs to set and I've convince Bobby that I can't cook tonight. Plus, it's too late to go out and get groceries! The sun is finally out after a few long gloomy days so I think we may hang out by the river tonight ;-)

Hair update - Month #4

It's been 4 months since the buzz cut and I feel like any other person walking on the street with short hair. Ok, maybe bad short hair! My side burns have completely taken over me ears! It will probably still be a while before I go in for my first haircut :-)

New door!

I was so excited when our new door finally arrived yesterday! (Here's a pic of our old door, by the way) But I guess I was a bit naive when it came to changing it out. I was curious why installation was so expensive and after watching the guy changing it out yesterday, I understood why.
See, when they say a new door, they mean a new door + an entire new frame! A new door to me meant taking the hinges out and once the old door is out, the new door goes it. Ta da!!! Well, this guy had a crow bar and a hammer and he was taking out the trims and exposing the brick of the house! He then had to trim the edges of the hardwood floor too so it was even and level for installation. 2 hours later, he was finally all done... and it looks great! Now we just have to paint it. Hmm... regular brush or a roller on fiberglass????
And oh, when Bobby got home, he asked if we actually got the correct glass style on the new door. And I thought it looked right, but then when I looked again, it is definitely different from the one that we originally ordered! After he had mentioned it, I really don't remember the diamond-shape pattern. Oh well, I guess our house is our "diamond in the rough" :-)

Joyce Yang

If you haven't seen her play the piano, you really need to. She's unbelievable! There were times when it looked/sounded as if she had more than 10 fingers! Hmm... maybe she does. Bob and I were sitting at the bottom tier of theVanTrease Performing Arts Center but we were still quite a few seats away from the stage :-)
Joyce Yang is critically acclaimed as "the most gifted young pianist of the generation". She's only 23 but has played the piano since the age of 4, when she received her first piano lesson from her aunt. In 2005, she grabbed international attention when she became the Silver Medalist of the 12th Van Cliburn International competition.
Anyhow, she was in Tulsa with the Signature Symphony of Tulsa at Tulsa Community College this past Saturday. She performed the Concerto for Piano No. # in d minor, Opus 30 - composed by Russian's Sergei Rachmaninoff, whom at his time was a supreme pianist and an admired composer.
Dressed in a bright pink, long dress, Joyce sat in front of the big Steinway grand piano and started playing - with no music sheets! She probably played more notes than I have in 2-3 years! Bob thinks it's more like 5 years!... with her eyes closed most of the time no less! There were times when she would crouch above the keys, shoulders hunched over, and she would have this expression on her face - with her cheeks sucked in like she was sucking on a sour drop. She looked so cute! And then, she would occasionally look up at the conductor to make sure everyone was synchronized. Her fingers just flowed up and down the piano... it was mesmerizing! So much so I think the lady in front of me feel asleep! Ha ha! She was an elderly lady so maybe that was her excuse.
If Joyce Yang is ever in your neighborhood, she's definitely a must-see!

Couch potato Day #4

I have done nothing, nada, zilch! these last 4 days... except for eat and sleep and watch a lot of TV! Well, I have been cooking dinner and then just spending more time on the couch at night, watching netflix movies with Bob. Ahhh... what a life! The weather has been rather dreary too so it's been nice to just stay home in my pajamas. I did finally start some laundry today and will probably start on some home projects soon. There are just so many things to do and I don't know where to start! I need to fix the draperies, the half bath downstairs, the laundry room, the dining room, guest bedroom and bathroom... yikes! Our bathroom, the spare room, it's practically the entire house. AHHHHHH...!!!
I did spot some deer yesterday afternoon in our neighbor's backyard.It was a family of four. Good thing my dad wasn't around. He would have wanted to get his rifle out! Although, hmm... venison meat is yummy! :-)

End of 2009 golf season!

So this is it! My golf season is finally over. Phew! It has been such a long summer. I guess so many of those weather delays didn't help either. That green rain blob and red thunderstorm cells were just constantly following us! The tour had a bunch of "ugly dolls" (some hung by the neck!) to ward away the rain, but looks like they will need to think of something else for next year!
It took Bob and I two and a half days to get back to Tulsa, after the detour to Sea World :-) Our last stay at a Hampton Inn was a rather strange one. I guess when you start out by going to your room and there's already someone there opening up the door... that's never a good sign! And then, you come back from dinner and there are about 8 teenage soccer girls gathered along the hallway, sitting outside your room, jibber-jabbering... it's a good thing they were quiet after 10pm!
It definitely feels good to be home again, except the temperature has dropped since I was last home. It's gotten a little bit colder and it's so gloomy! We are expecting rain all week!
We did spot our neighborhood hawk on one of the lower branches yesterday. I wonder what happened to the baby hawks, if there were any!

Sea World!!!

After a few contemplations, we finally decided to go to Sea World. It was difficult at first but after watching the Shamu show at the end of the day, we finally figured out what these people do with all that money from our expensive ticket. These whales eat so much FISH!!!We sat at the very top portion of the "soak zone" so we didn't get wet at all compared to some other people at the bottom seats that were completely soaked! It was quite a good laugh :-)
Before leaving Venice, FL, I was able to take some nice sunset pictures and of course, eat the lobster that Bob had owed to me (from a golf bet) since early this year. YUM!!
I also took a picture of this palm tree outside of the restaurant while the moon was out. It reminds me of a Corona beer ad! Maybe I can sell it to them ;-)