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

Bad Bad Bad Blogger.

Howdy partners!

Well, I suck. I'm bad at this. I never lied and said I'd be good at it though! So Neener!

Anyways, I just updated Ryan and my family blog with the recent news that's fit to print, so I'll refer you there for baby updates/news... Hangin' with the Wiley Willi's.

Outside of that, the only other stuff to report in is the usual what we've been up to, I guess... August is always a crazy month for us because we have lots of birthdays to celebrate and my parents usually come visit in August! This year has been no different! I had my birthday on the 3rd and it was a wonderful day made super special by my fabulous husband, full on with taking me out to brunch in the morning and then to the driving range and shopping in the afternoon, then even out for ice-cream later that evening! Fabulous. I returned the favor for him on the 17th for his birthday... we both took both days off, and for his birthday we went out to eat and we went on a tour of Coors Field that was AWESOME! Here's a picture of Ryan being the team manager in the dugout, and then one of the two of us on the field... so cool!




My parents did indeed come out this month, too... they arrived on Saturday the 8th and stayed till Friday the 14th. We had a wonderful time with them, and here's the scary proof. HAHAHA! If you're ever in the Denver area and would like to try some true game, head to The Fort in Morrison, so fun! and delicious!!! (They DO have normal meats and even a vegetarian option for the less adventurous!)



The day my parents left we went on our posse's annual August Birthday Camping Trip and had a wonderful weekend at Blue Mountain Campground. It's just south of Lake George off of Hwy 24 in the Pike Forest. If you're ever looking for a nice place to camp, this is it. It was wonderful and relaxing, and also nice to spend a weekend away from the pace of life, with our friends.




This coming weekend I'm heading to the Berkshires because my dear old friend Becky from middle and high school is getting married! YAY! Saturday the 29th. I cannot wait! I need to go find a dress today at some point to wear to this event!

Hmm, what else? Oh, Milo can't poop and we're worried about him... :( We noticed on Saturday morning that he was going to the bathroom REALLY often, but nothing was coming out… we thought it was a prostate problem or something and that he couldn’t pee, and when we called the vet she thought that it could be a urinary blockage which is common in male kitties… and apparently can be life threatening, so off we went to the animal emergency clinic (not cheap) and they took some radiographs (xrays or something, I guess) that showed no urinary blockage, but that he was literally full of shit. :( So he stayed with them and they gave him 1 enema, that didn’t work, so they gave him another… poor basturd… and then he STILL didn’t “produce” anything… so they sent him home saying maybe he’ll go at home… that was at 9pm Saturday… and we separated the kitties into different areas of the house and gave them each their own litter box and low and behold, Sunday morning, still nothing from Milo… omg, how is that even possible? Well, then by 2pm yesterday the doc called to see if he had gone yet and I said no and she said to bring him back in and so they gave him ANOTHER enema (yes, that’s THREE)… and then took more pictures and the good news was that the poo had moved all the way down and is ready to come out… but the bad news is he’s not pushin’ it out… ARGH!!! Why not!?! So again at 9pm last night we picked him up and came home… still no poop this morning… ?!?!?!?!?! UGGGHHH… I hope he doesn’t have the worst-case scenario which is called “mega-colon” and means that his colon isn’t doing it’s contraction job and helping him go… cuz that could be life-ending… :( So C’MON MILO!!! POOP!!!!

So that was the excitement of our weekend… good times! Ugh. Poor little guy. I hope he goes soon… I really do. They gave us some drugs for him to take, one is a kind of stool softener that we’re giving him, and the other that we pick up today at some pet pharmacy is an intestinal stimulant that will cause the colon/et al to contract and hopefully will force him to push that stuff outta there… so here’s to hoping… however, if he doesn’t go on his own, it’s further indication that it could be mega-colon… :( Please no. He’s still a young spry kitty… not a geriatric kitty on the brink of phoning it in… I can't even consider that. Nope!

So there you have it, I don't write for forever, and then I end on a shitty note... HAHAHA!

Here's a picture of my cute little non-shitter... gotta love him...


until next time I decide to catch you up...
xo

Monster Zucchini

Well, not much to report here! We had a nice weekend, and yep, you guessed it, Ryan had another softball tournament... but again, it was drama-free, and thankfully, it was a one-day tournament here in Littleton. PHEW! So I got in a good run around Johnson Lake at Clement Park during his first game at 8am, and then stunk up the stands by sticking around to watch the rest of their games! It was a men's only tournament, and they didn't do as well as they have in the past, but they seemed to have a good time all the same.

Last night it poured rain and gave our gardens and yard a nice saturation, thank you Mother Nature! So today I busted out the lawn mower (always an adventure for me to get that darned thing started) and took care of mowing the lawn, and then I checked out our veggie garden and to my surprise, I encountered the largest zucchini I have ever seen in my whole life. It's more like a large eggplant than a zucchini. Lisa just told me that you're supposed to harvest them at around 5 inches... this one's like a foot. OOPS! HA! I checked it on the weekend and it was maybe 5 inches but skinny, so I wanted to give it a little more time, but DANG! I gotta watch those squash carefully! Holy smokes! Take a look at this bad-boy!

Still in the garden:

Next to an average sized friend:


Anyways, like I said, not much going on... waiting for a friend to go into labor so we can meet her 3rd daughter, and looking forward to my upcoming birthday and my parents' visit in another week or so. :)

I was SO good about running nearly everyday last week, but this week I've been so focused on cleaning the house that I've run out of time both yesterday and today... tomorrow, I start fresh with a good early morning run while it's nice and cool and before the car exhaust takes over The Ranch.

Happy 36th Anniversary to my Mum & Dad! You're my heroes! :)
~alliwilli