NCAA in Memphis - Go Tarheels!

I came home from work on Wednesday and Michael looked at me with these puppy dog eyes and said, "I found a great deal on tickets to the NCAA South Regional Semi-Finals and Finals in Memphis this weekend...can we go please?" Okay, so maybe it didn't exactly go like that, but basically my husband has been a fan of the Carolina Tarheels since as long as he can remember and he's never been to a game! Until last night that is!

(Just to clarify, I also had never been to an NCAA tournament game but I'm also mainly a fan by marriage...)

We took a half day on Friday and headed down to Memphis for the first game of Syracuse v. Oklahoma. Oklahoma won and then it was time for UNC and Gonzaga! UNC was on fire - it was a great game! And secretly, I'm inwardly relieved just for the sake of Michael. What a letdown if his team lost during his first and only live UNC game. But now, thanks to Roy Williams, Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough and the rest of the UNC team, we get to see not one, but TWO Tarheels games in one weekend!

Tomorrow they play Oklahoma for the South Regional Final and a shot at the Final Four. Game's not till 4pm so it will be late by the time we drive the three hours home...those three hours will go a lot faster if we are rejoicing about UNC's ticket to the Final Four (hint, hint Tyler Hansbrough).

Today though, we had nothing planned except for a relaxing day in Memphis. We went to see the famous Peabody ducks at the Peabody Hotel. I couldn't believe how many people were there just to watch some ducks parade into the lobby and play around in their fountain! But, I guess we were two of those people, so what can I say? Click here for the history of the Peabody Ducks if you don't already know the story.

The picture above is from the roof of the Peabody Hotel. The building behind us is the "penthouse" that the Peabody Ducks live in. Later, we walked around Memphis, checked out Beale St., drove by the Lorraine Motel where MLK, Jr. was killed, and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the car (it was too windy to eat outside). It's good to have a day with no plans. We all need those sometimes (even if in the depths of my mind I know there are a thousand and one things I could be doing at home...I've intentionally not thought about a single one this weekend!).

I will close this post with a shout out to all my Crump friends...even if you don't read my blog. I saw this sign and it made me think of all you. And of all the times Jayson Rawley would say during Fruit Basket Turnover at CBC, "If your last name rhymes with Shrump..."

Spring is (almost) here!

It's so close - I can feel it, smell it, and see it...spring is almost here! Oh I know, it was officially spring sometime last week, but until it's consistently beautiful (and/or raining) outside, it's not really spring. This picture makes me think spring though. Our beautiful Keely sitting in the very tall grass with Michael in the background mowing the yard for the first time this year.

Spring makes me happy. Multi-colored Peeps and Robin Eggs Whoppers show up in stores along with multi-colored grass and Peanut Butter Reese's Eggs. (yeah, Michael and I just walked through a grocery store and I wanted to buy all of those yummy goodies...except maybe the Peeps - do people really eat those or do they just look cute?)

Everyone just seems to have a better attitude when it's beautiful outside. People smile and actually look at each other. The warmth of the sun makes me happy inside. The flowers make me smile. I feel like God outdoes himself in the spring. There is new life everywhere. So excited about spring...and about being pregnant in spring. What an appropriate time to be working on my own little new life!

Baby Update - 9 Weeks

So I'm going to try and do a baby update each week...we'll see how that goes. I don't have any belly pictures yet b/c there's not much of a belly yet. It's hard to tell what's baby belly and what's just bloating from all the havoc baby wreaks on my digestion. Everyone's been asking me how I've felt so here's the basics:

Weeks 6 and 7 were pretty queasy. No actual throwing up (so it could have been much worse), but fairly queasy all the time. Usually if I kept something in my stomach I was okay, but that didn't always work. Oh, and I was tired ALL THE TIME. I couldn't seem to get enough sleep. The Friday of Week 7 I fell asleep at my desk for 20 minutes (oops!)...thankfully, there were only 2 other people in the office and I don't think they noticed! If they did, they were nice enough to let me sleep. :)

The greatest story so far though has been from that same Friday. We had a meeting at work from 11-12. I normally eat before noon, so right before the meeting I ate a Fiber One bar to hold me over until lunch. It wasn't enough. I was so hungry by 11:30 that by the time the meeting was over my only thought was getting food in my stomach. So off I went to McDonald's (haven't eaten there in almost a year probably) and ordered myself some chicken nuggets. 12 to be exact. I ate them all. And was still hungry. So then I ate a McChicken Sandwich (which is basically just chicken and lettuce). And then I ate 3 Tums. And then my tummy hurt for the rest of the night...no more McDonald's.

Week 8 though hasn't been as rough on the tummy. I can survive on juice until I can make myself breakfast. Unless Michael is home - he makes way better breakfast than me. My favorite is a whole wheat english muffin sandwich with an egg and cheddar cheese. I have still been having a lot of headaches but I think they might be sinus related...it's that time of year.

Today is the start of week 9...we'll see if Baby Payne has anything different in store for us this week!

Girls Weekend!

I got to spend last night and all day today with both my college roommates and two other close friends from college and it was wonderful! Emily Rickelton (my second roomy from college) who now lives in Baltimore got to go to Cozymel, Mexico again this year with a Lipscomb mission team. So she came through Nashville and got to spend Saturday night with us! To celebrate, we also invited Carrie Charles (first roommate), Melissa Lindsey, and Bonnie Jo Voorhis to have a s sleepover last night!

It was wonderful to have all the s back together again (Amber and Liz we missed you!!) even just for one night. We hit up The Spaghetti Factory last night (after McDougal's and Otters Chicken were both closed at 9:30pm on a Saturday...) and then stayed up till 2am talking and hanging out...man, I feel old because it's been a loooong time since I've done that! Totally worth it though - it was great for us to all catch up!

A Momentous Occasion

Okay, so this is a momentous occasion for several reasons. First, my wonderful sister LeeAnn (see her blog here) created this blog for me several months ago in hopes that I'd catch the blogging bug so she and the rest of my family and friends that don't live in Nashville could keep up with our life. After a few months of encouraging (i.e. nagging) from LeeAnn, I'm finally starting!



Second, (and one of the reasons why I'm finally starting) we have a new laptop! Finally, I can sit in a chair or in bed and use the compy at the same time! My old laptop served me well, but after 6 1/2 years, no battery, and a short in the power cord, it was way more trouble than it was worth.



And finally, (and the biggest motivation of all) I promised LeeAnn that I'd make my first post on my blog that I'M PREGNANT!! Woo-hoo! So...I will try to use this blog to update the world (i.e. my family and the other 3 friends who might be following) on Baby Payne and Michael and I's lives in general.



Hopefully, this will be a great way to keep my family involved (since they are oh, so far away in NC...sniff) in the happenings of the Payne household.



Okay, I have an ultrasound picture, but it's a pdf and I can't figure out how to upload it...and it's 10pm and this mama needs her sleep so for now I'll post a pic of me and LeeAnn from Winterfest when Michael and I told my family we are pregnant. With this being a brand new laptop, I don't have any other pics on here right now, but I'll post more soon!