Monday Randomness

Well, I don't have anything in particular to blab about, but just feel like blabbing, so let it begin. First I'd like to share a few websites with you!

For any of you who are mommies, my friend Ally introduced me to diapers.com, so I know I'll be taking full advantage in 2010! They even sell gDiapers. The diapers (and other various & sundry baby items) are discounted a little AND the shipping is free! Score.

Another good site is a friend's blog. She's a runner, and I used to consider myself a runner (before pregnancy) and I love her motivational blog updates and recipes, etc. So for your enjoyment: A Running Girl's Blog.

The weather is changing now here, and I love it. My favorite season is fall, and so I welcome the crisp cooler air and even being downright chilly. I sleep better and get in better workouts and just feel better about myself period. I love fall flavors as well... soups, stews, chilis, apples, pumpkin this-n-that, and of course, candy corn... mmm. The fall also brings some crazy pre-winter weather... we might have 80 degrees on the front range, but we can look out and see the snow-capped mountains in the distance now, which I adore. :) And the other day I saw the most beautiful rainbow. Gorgeous. Check it out! You can even see the secondary rainbow along side it. You'll notice that the colors are reverse of one another... red being the color on the upper band of the primary, and the lower band of the secondary. Aren't you fascinated like me? Please excuse my physics geek shining through... I did an independent study on the optics of rainbows my junior year at SMCM. :)

Anyways, just wanted to say hello, no big news or anything!
*alliwilli

my OTHER blog...

Today I just updated my other blog... the one that's supposed to be for family... so if you're looking for an update on me and the fam, that's where you can find it! Total cop-out, huh? HA!

Also, I'm SO proud of myself this afternoon, I actually went for a run again! I went on Saturday morning and it was wonderful. The cooler weather makes all the difference in the world. I haven't been able to get out and run/walk in a while because of the heat. Today was warmer than I would have liked it, but I still got out there and busted a move! Yeah! I started at a 2 min walk + 8 min run (we'll call it running anyways) but after 2 sets of that I backed off to 3 min walk + 7 min run... gotta listen to the ole body, yeah? Yeah! But either way, it was great. I went 3 1/2 miles in about 41 minutes. Not too shabby for my "condition". :)

Tonight I have a book club dinner out with some girls. I only think I know 2 or 3 of them, but it'll be fun all the same. We're meeting at a restaurant in the Highlands called Lola, which I believe is southwest cuisine... mm, Baby Willi's favorite. And we're discussing the book 'The God of Animals' by Aryn Kyle. It was a great young adult fiction novel. It'll be fun to hear what the other gals have to say about it. I'm not sure I'd suggest it to a pre-teen or early teen, it's kind of heavy for that age, but maybe I'm just aging myself and showing how disconnected I've become with "our youth". HA!



Have a wonderful Tuesday!
Oh! Speaking of! Tonight is the premiere of The Biggest Loser! I'd better go set up the DVR to record it!!!
xo
alliwilli

Respecting my Body...

Well, today I learned a whole new level of respect for my body. I'm not one to give up or give in, even when my body hurts or is over tired. I generally suck it up and "just do it" as I've been told repeatedly by Nike marketing. However, I had a long week with very little sleep and it was beginning to catch up with me. I was supposed to be able to sleep in late yesterday (Saturday) and then get up today and go do the Fans in the Park 10K downtown... but yesterday we had to get up early and head to the fields for Ryan's 8:30 and 9:30 flag football games, during which I ran and did resistance band exercises. So again, another night without enough zz's (only 4 1/2 hours to be exact). So last night Ryan asked me if I thought it was smart to again get less than 8 hours of sleep and get up and attempt to "run" a 10K. I mulled it over and decided he was right. It's time to listen to my body, which very much needed to sleep in without an alarm to wake it up, only waking when it was recovered. So I bailed out of the race. I NEVER bail out of a race. I paid my $20 and I never just let that money and the freebie T-shirt go... this is a first. Part of me felt like such a loser-jerk, but then I remembered that it's not about me, it's about an unborn baby that needs its momma to be healthy, which not only means good nutrition and regular exercise, but also plenty of sleep. So I'm going to pat myself on the back for this one, instead of beating myself up. :)

Health Update

Sorry to leave you hanging on how Ryan's dad is doing... So he had surgery last Monday to have a tumor removed from his bladder and that surgery went really well, very successful. The tumor was removed completely (or so they think) using a scope and he had the catheter removed Thursday. He stayed with Megan & Mike from Tuesday when he was released from the hospital, until Friday morning. He seems to be in good spirits and is feeling a thousand times better. No more pain when he pees and he's able to "hold it" now, which is wonderful.

However, on Thursday when he was at the doctor having the catheter removed they were able to give him his pathology results from the biopsy of the tumor, and the results were positive, as in malignant/cancerous. :( So now we wait for this Friday's oncologist appointment to hear what the plan is from here on out... as I understand it, he will undergo a PT or CT scan on Friday to learn if the cancer was in fact constrained to the tumor itself and whether they got it all or not, keep your fingers and toes crossed that it has not spread anywhere else. After they know the extent of the cancer, they'll create a plan... whether he does radiation and chemo, or has further surgery to remove his prostate and bladder will be determined once they know what they've got.

So, we're all kind of coping with the news. Ryan seems to be doing pretty well, all things considered. None of us like the waiting between appointments, so hopefully the oncology office will be good about getting Randy information and services, otherwise Megan and I will probably get snarky towards the office.

Anyways, sorry for the downer-post, but I know you all wanted to know what came of the biopsy and such... thank you for your thoughts and prayers, please continue to keep Randy in them.

On a lighter note, we had a wonderful Labor Day weekend, did you? I had a Greek themed girls' night on Friday night full on with Guitar Hero Rock Band, then Saturday we got lots done around the house and went to the Rockies' game, and then Sunday Ryan had a softball tournament that his team WON!!! Awesome! He hit the game-winning hit! Woo hoo! Then we had friends over for the Rocky Mountain Showdown, and CSU WON!!! YEE-HAW! Then yesterday we truly relaxed... we slept in, I finished my book, we went to A Taste of Colorado downtown for a crazy sampler lunch... and then more relaxation. Very nice.

Hope you're all doing well! Enjoy the short work-week!
xo - alliwilli

P.S. If anyone needs/wants an LLBean Ultralight Sleeper Sofa, we're selling ours... or giving it away... we need to get it out of the room that's going to be the nursery, and we have no where else to put it... I posted a listing on craigslist but if you're interested, let me know and I'll send pictures. :)

A Visit Home, to the Berkshires

First, for any of you wondering where the Berkshires might be... check out the latest issue of 'SHAPE' magazine and there on page 42 you'll get a full description of the best way to stay active in the Berkshires and just where it is exactly! Ha! No, but really, the Berkshires are the rolling mountains, and the county I grew up in, in Western Massachusetts... beautiful.

So this past weekend I flew back for my best friend from high school, Becky's wedding!!! SO EXCITING! :) She looked absolutely gorgeous. Wow. Very simple, just like she is, but stunning. She was nervous about the make-up because she doesn't usually (ahem, EVER) wear any, but I think it just made her look fab. The wedding was held on Saturday afternoon at Ford Hill Farm in Sheffield, MA. Though it rained all weekend, Mother Nature took a little break Saturday afternoon to allow Beck & Keith to get married at their desired location outdoors in a beautiful field with wonderful views of the Berkshire mountains. Then they held their reception at a great BBQ restaurant! It was perfect. My date was our other good friend and soccer compadre, Sarah Peace... SO fun. Man did we laugh... good times! HA!

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy...

T Barry walking Becky in... yes, that's an antique fire engine... that's what the newlyweds made their arrival to the reception in, siren and all! HA!


Here's Beck & Keith getting married with the amazing natural backdrop


Here's the trio that played at the wedding, and the bathtub up on Ford Hill... I couldn't stop laughing... what the heck?!?! HAHAHA!


And here the 3 of us girls are at the reception


Here's a quality shot of what Beck and I looked like in most of my memories... you'll see a similar picture of she and I on facebook from when we were like 14! Ha!


In addition to the wedding on Saturday, I had a wonderful visit with my family the rest of the weekend. As soon as my mum passes along the pictures from our family cookout on Sunday, I'll post some of those too, assuming there are some fun/good ones :)

On a more somber note, say some prayers for Ryan and his family... His Dad had a bladder tumor removed yesterday and they are biopsying it this week to see if it's benign or malignant. We're obviously hoping for benign so that the surgery is the last of it, so pray for that good news. We're also waiting to hear from the neurologist on why Ryan's brother-in-law, Mike, is having seizures... he has an appointment today to follow up on an EEG amongst other tests, so we're hoping for some kind of determination on that front as well. Talk about a scary week on the Williams' side of things :(

Best to you all! (Wow, 2 blog posts in as many weeks... I'm cookin' with gas, now! Ha!)
xo*alliwilli