New Car Smell: I Got A Ford Focus

Something I always use to say, "I'm going to drive the ELEMENT until the wheels fall off." I meant it too, however Trey and I have been talking about getting a new vehicle for about a year. Everything seemed to be directing my mind to purchase a new vehicle, despite my overwhelming commitment to my ride for life, ELEMENT. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that Trey is the king of persuasion.

So, I went from this SUV, which gets 23 miles to the gallon, (highway)....

To the Ford Focus, which gets 40 miles to the gallon (highway)...
4 days a week, I commute to work and my estimated gas savings will be approximately $100 a month.

Originally, I had my eyes set on the Ford Fiesta and I actually test drove one about a month ago. It's a great car! Ultimately, we decided to go with the Focus because it's slightly bigger and the price difference wasn't a huge step-up. The Focus model we got is called an SEL.

A nice perk is the Ford Sync Touch Screen. YES, my nerdy-side is overjoyed! I can't wait until I have time to play with it. Yesterday, I worked a full day and went straight to the dealership and didn't leave until 9:45 pm, so I have't had any time to play with my new toy.

The drive this morning was interesting. It's going to take some time to get use to driving a car again. For over six years, I've been perched up high driving an SUV, now I feel like a low-rider in this compact car. Another thing I need to get use to is a car payment. It's been almost 4 years since Trey and I have had to make one. We're hoping to pay this baby off early, just like we did with the ELEMENT.

At this point, I feel like a ticking time bomb

Yesterday, I had a doctors appointment. Even with all the Braxton Hicks contractions I've been experiencing, there has not been much progress.

My doctor said she delivered 6 babies this weekend and when she got called out for one of the deliveries, she asked the nurse, "Has Dominique been admitted, yet?" She really thought last weekend it was going to happen for me, but it didn't and I missed this....

Any day now, it will happen or will it? As much as I want to avoid an elective induction, it may be necessary. Yesterday, the doctor made me pick an induction day. I scheduled it a week past my due date.

DUE DATE = Friday, June 8th
SCHEDULED INDUCTION = Friday, June 15th

Today, I've been having sporadic contractions. They started at 10 am and as I write this post, I'm still experiencing them --- off and on. So, far they've been mild and inconsistent, it's probably nothing, just the usual tease. If it was up to me, the earliest I would want Dakota to arrive is Saturday, June 2nd, but the day I'm really betting on is 5th or 8th. Trey has his money on this Friday.

What is your guess?

Pregnancy Has Fried By Brain

Don't ask me why, but Monday I made a salad, to take to work and instead of putting the salad in the fridge, I put it in the freezer. What the...????? I didn't realize it until this morning. Good Morning, ground beef ice! My spinach is going to be a soggy mess, I'm sure.
Quick question: Why is it so hard to find the perfect handbag????
Yesterday, I was in search for the perfect purse. It took me several hours and a handful of stores before I found one, but it's not perfect.  Since I put a battery grip on my camera, my DSLR doesn't fit in my old bag. Here is what I was looking for when I was shopping.
1. It must hold my DSLR camera
2. The bag must close with my water bottle inside.
3. Exterior Pockets
4. Top opening, no flap openings.
5. Crossover Strap
6. Don't break the bank.

Two things I had to compromise on was the price and the crossover strap. Did I really think I could find a decent purse at a Wal-mart price? Well, this bag fits all my needs, but I wish it had an option for a long strap. One day, when I hit it big time, I will get a Kelly Moore bag.

Here is an interior view of the bag. It comfortably holds my necessities, now I need to fight the urge to fill it to capacity, it's heavy with just these items, no need to add more weight.

Memorial Day
Yesterday, evening we went to the neighborhood pool party at Allen and Carmen's house. I ate a grilled burger and baked in the sun, while Cheyenne and Trey enjoyed swimming in the pool. I feel like Shamu, no need to put me in the water to remind me. Oh, and look my legs and feet are starting to swell. Yay, pregnancy.

10 more days!
 

Who Needs a Table??? & Forced Date Night

One thing I will miss post-pregnancy will be my table top of a belly. It's also a convenient place to rest my arms. Chey gets it!

I have about 12 more days of bearing this child and I'm not sure if my skin can stretch a mila-inch more. Is that even a word? I think my stomach will burst open, first.

Today, one of my old friends from high school stopped by, so we met up for lunch. This is Landrea, she lives in North Carolina. She has family in the area, so she's in town visiting and vacationing. I'm glad I made the list of people she wanted to see.
PS: in case you are wondering, yes that is an outie belly button I'm sporting. I think it's gross. I have the tools to air brush it out, but I figured it is what is, in all it's glory: THE OUTIE!!!! Cheyenne told me, it scares her, I said it scares me too.

When I was pregnant with Cheyenne, Landrea was pregnant with her son, Brandon. Here is a throwback picture from 2008. We were only a few weeks along, when this picture was taken. The kids birthdays are both in November.

Forced Date Night
I want to thank Krista for watching Cheyenne for us yesterday, so Trey and I could enjoy our last date night, EVER! Okay, not ever, but for a long time. I say it was a forced date night because we went out to see a movie and when I called Krista to tell her we were on our way to get Chey, she was like go out for dinner too.

Originally, I misunderstood her because she asked, "are you hungry?"
"Well, sure."
I then started to say, yeah we can all meet up for dinner....and she was like-- no, just you and Trey...
"Oh!!!! I see what you're doing here, you're making us go on a real date."

While, we were out watching Avengers and I was busy eating heartburn -- Thank you, jalapeno Ketchup from Fuddruckers, Cheyenne was playing with her BFF, Makenna. Thank you, Krista! Let me return the favor. 
 

Dallas Cowboys VIP Stadium Tour

One of Trey's co-workers, Chris, works part-time as a tour guide at Cowboys Stadium. We took the VIP tour.
 
There was a big group who purchased tickets in advance to take the tour, but that group of about 35, never showed up, so it was just us. Talk about VIP.
A few years ago, we went on a tour, but there were several areas that we didn't get to see, like the Cheerleaders Locker Room, the perch where Jerry Jones watches the game, and access to the football field.





A private suite you can lease for $800,000 a year. Say what???

Press Conference Room

Trey had to try on a jersey and pads

Whitten! I think the sandals are a nice touch.
 
2012 Tour                                        2009 Tour

Cheyenne loved the pink locker room.

Posing like we are cheerleaders -- The Dallas cheerleaders don't have nothing on us!
 
I hope we get a chance to go to a game this season.

December 2009 at Cowboys Stadium

May 26, 2012 at Cowboys Stadium

The Famous Perch, where Jerry Jones hangs out, when he's not in his suite. The perch overlooks the field at the 50 yard line.

Jones has 4 monitors in the room and there is also a place to add more where the windows are located.

He also has this --  it's his own video control board, where he can watch instant replay clips. The video control board has a scrubber knob and everything.

I love this stadium! It's just beautiful.

Here is the Blog Post From August 2009, when we took the tour the first time:
Bigger in Texas. 

My Week in Photos

Happy Friday! What are your plans? I'd like to say I plan on attending Tasha's high school graduation, but the last time I chatted with Trey about it, he was serious about obeying the doctors orders. He said, "I don't want to be delivering a baby on the side of the road!" He's so dramatic.

Well, here is my random Friday picture post.
Last week, it was all hustle-hustle, hurry-hurry, let's get the nursery ready for Dakota. So this weekend I feel like we can finally kick back and just ride out the days until she decides she's ready to meet us.

Something I Discovered....
I love the way the Keurig Iced Hazelnut Coffee tastes, especially with a splash of almond milk. However, I don't know why the instructions say to put the ice in the cup first and then brew the coffee. That doesn't make any sense because the machine dispenses hot coffee even with the Iced Coffee Setting on. Who wants a watered down cup of Joe? No, thanks.

So this is what I do: I brew the coffee on the iced coffee setting, then when it's done, I transport the cup to the freezer to allow it to cool for 45 minutes, AND THEN I add my cubes.

May was a Fantastic Freelance Month 
I had four projects and managed to collect a few pennies. I've decided for every wave of business I get like that, I should invest in purchasing new equipment, instead of spending it all on toys like a Keurig machine and miscellaneous items. Instead, I should buy a new lens, cards, discs, software, or even start putting cash aside for a new video camera....

This time, I decided to invest in battery grip for my DSLR T2i. The grip holds two batteries at once. So, if I'm photographing and one battery drains, I have an immediate back-up. Ta-da! Two of the four events I photographed, my battery died and I had to change it on the fly. I was a FRANIC MESS trying to change it because it was during the middle of the ceremony! At one of the events, I missed a crucial shot and afterwards, I asked the student to re-stage it. It worked, but I don't want to have to constantly be worrying about my batteries dying.

Have you ever seen Hong Kong Postage? Now, you have. It took my package forever to get to the US. I thought maybe I got scammed, so I checked the delivery status, online and saw it had shipped from China. OH! 

Well, that's all I've got. I can't wait until I'm at home, in my PJs, snuggled up on the sofa. I plan on sleeping in tomorrow. I've got to take advantage of the sleep, while I can.

Taper Time, Pregnancy Style & Lots of Changes

I'm about 2 weeks from my due date (technically 15 days) and if I was training for a race, I would begin my taper, right about now. You know, naturally, I will taper during pregnancy too. I'm a runner, so this is how my brain works. But first the important question: Is it too early to start carb loading???? Pasta, sweet potatoes, come to mommy!

During a taper, one can become irritable, so don't be surprised if in the next two weeks, I start acting crabby. Blame it on the hormones and taper. I can only use this excuse for a short period of time, so I might as well make good use of it. Trey might say, I have already started acting this way and have been like this for some time -- watch it, mister!
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...But I Don't Want to Say Goodbye
Yesterday, we went to a farewell party for two families who go to our church. One of the families moving away is Mike and Erin! I just want to cry and hold their ankles and tell them they can't go.

Erin has been watching Cheyenne for two years. Erin means so much more to me, than a childcare provider, she is my friend. I'm going to miss her and her family dearly. The good news is her husband recently graduated and he has accepted a Pastor position near Abilene. Yes, Abilene, Texas. So, that makes me feel a little better. It's not like they are moving out of state or anything.

Cheyenne understands her best friend, Brianna is moving away. She'll be fine, but I know she'll miss her Bia-Boo.

Childcare Change
Erin gave me plenty of notice about moving, so that allowed Trey and I to pray and find someone else to  watch the girls. A friend in our Sunday School Class was eager to talk with us about the possibility of watching the girls. We had her and her family over for dinner, talked about all the details and we all agreed we were on board.

Sometime, in mid-July, Tonya will be providing childcare services for Chey and baby Dakota. I'm thankful and relieved we found someone we know and trust. Tonya and her husband have 3 children, the picture below is of her with her daughter, Jolie. OH! Did I mention they live about 2 miles from our house? YAY!!!!!!

More Changes
Next school year, Chey will not be attending school (She attended a mothers day out program for two years). This makes me sad, but I'm thankful Erin took her while she was also teaching at that school.

To wrap it up, here are the major changes coming up:
- new baby
- friends moving
- new childcare provider
- no school for Chey

Change is inevitable and we can only learn and grow from it.

Video of Cheyenne's Ballet Recital

Cheyenne's First Ballet Recital

It seem as though there was a miscommunication between some of the parents and the ballet instructor. Half of the class thought the ballet recital was yesterday and the other half thought it was the following week. Ends up, it's next Tuesday.

Trey and I both took off of work, and Trey's mom and Erin's mom drove in from Abilene to watch Brianna and Cheyenne perform. So, the instructor was like, OK - let's do this, all the girls should know the dance by now. And they did.

Both of the girls did a fantastic job! I was so proud! That pink tutu, the tulle, and ballet slippers --- having a girl is so much fun!



Freestyle Dancing

Mike and Brianna



You know I went all paparazzi. I got some video footage, so I'll share a clip of the recital when I get around to uploading it.

Who knows, maybe it was perfectly planned for us to go to the recital a week early. I'm only saying that because we don't know when Dakota will make her debut. Today marks 16 days until her official due date. Last night, I felt two SHARP contractions. I got excited and then they went away and didn't return. It's weird to get excited about pain. I'm sure that excitement will disappear when I'm in the hospital dilated to 5 cm.