Are you playing catch up from the weekend? A good bit went down here on Faith, Fitness, and Fun. Nothing quite as exciting as last weekend, but I still rambled plenty. Which you would never be able to tell from how much I ramble in my catch up. Ha!

• I discussed being nervous after my confirmation of pregnancy visit on Friday. I’m hoping for a good phone call today. I have had two more positive tests of a different brand ($ Store brand…yes, they make preggo tests) and symptoms keep getting stronger so I think all is well. Won’t stop me from praying though! The first trimester is the big “scare zone”. I’m thankful I told you all early (aka the day I found out) so I have the option to share all my feelings here. I would spontaneously combust otherwise. And we wouldn’t want that now would we. You can appease me with kind comments. 😉
• I showed a beautiful side of me – some pictures of my bloating belly and begging. Although to the eye the bloating may not be something you want to look at, I thank all of you for your encouragement and letting me know I’m not the only one. I fully embrace it. Any part of pregnancy I love and I know my body is doing it’s thing the right way. I’m actually excited that you show sooner and more with the 2nd pregnancy. I love having the belly bump. And as for my begging for guest posts…I will email you sometime today or tomorrow to confirm with each of you that commented your interest. The more, the merrier so if you would like to do a guest post for me coming up shoot me an email and check out the details here. Thank you so much to all of you already willing to help a girl out!
• I partied it up and shared some frustrations I have been having with a friend. I’m already feeling much better about the situation and I do believe it was an honest mistake from her being caught up in the excitement of her shower. Even with a changing friendship, she is still a quality friend so I trust it was nothing intentional or hurtful. I do have some thoughts still floating around on all that which I may share later.
• Lastly, I updated the layout of my blog so click out of your Reader and let me know what you think.

I will be back a little later with something new and exciting, but I know it’s hard to keep up over the weekend so there you go. And now for the winning part of this catch up…The Winner of the CSN Stores Giveaway!!!!! (roars, whistles, hoots, hollers from the peanut gallery)

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#16 (using random.org) of 60 qualified entries gives us….

Congratulations Kate! Send me your first and last name along with the email address you wish your gift certificate to be sent to. Then I will get it to the representatives from CSN stores as quickly as possible. Thanks to everyone else for their support of the giveaway.

Also going with the winning portion of this post...please help my friend Mandy win this contest to shoot a photo cover for a local wedding publication. All you have to do is enter your email and you can only vote once so it's simple and quick. I know she would appreciate it! CLICK HERE and vote for MANDY LEONARDS PHOTAGRAPHY! Thanks!!!!

Happy Monday! <--- We can fake it til we make it!

Last night we went to an “Around the House” shower for my friend. She is getting married at the end of September and I’m very happy for her. It’s funny because we always expected her to be the first of us to get married. She was always the girl that wanted to be married so badly and I was the girl claiming I would never ever ever do so. Interesting how life works out, huh? And I gotta say I’m happy my plans don’t always go as expected since it tends to lead toward greater things. I adore my life now!

Upon arriving to the shower, I got a quick moment to say hello to my friend.

There was some strained feeling conversation. I admit that part of it could be mental on my part because I wanted to share my good news with her but didn’t want to do so on her special night. But I also was a little disappointed because she knew I would have tested by then and that I had called her a couple times during the week, yet she didn’t even ask. I basically got a brief hello and all the details of getting her makeup done before she flitted off to talk to other guests. I also felt like she was avoiding me the rest of the night because every time I went up to her she walked off immediately.

I’m not too upset about that because I know part of the responsibility as guest of honor is to visit everyone. And there were a lot of people at the shower…many of which I did not know. I know my friend’s family well, but it was so crowded I didn’t even get to be around them much. Normally I would mingle and make new friends, but we had Makenzie with us and had to keep an eye on her the entire time. We are used to attending kid friendly functions and there was nothing on the invite to let us know this would not be a kid friendly place. Makenzie tried to entertain everyone and was still welcomed though.

And there were some yummy snacks to keep me happy. Guacamole, raw veggies, and pita chips (unpictured) are a girl’s best friend when the remainder of the food is very subpar.

We left after only a couple of hours. I was getting tired, Makenzie was starting to act up, we were bored with all the cliques, and I still felt a little hurt by my friend’s cold shoulder. I might be over reacting, but I’m a little surprised she didn’t think to ask when I told her a week ago I would be calling to let her know the results. Also surprising since she has no problem pointing out how hard it must be for me to be heavier (while being sure to sneak in her weight) and wondering how pregnant I will be for her wedding….because after all “she picked the bridesmaids dresses specifically because I was supposed to be pregnant” (something she said not even 2 weeks ago). And it might also be in light of the many questions, supportive comments, and emails from others that I received over the course of the week. Wouldn’t my supposed best friend be more on top of the game?

Okay I’m finished. I don’t like being negative so let’s talk about today. Today was another day of festivity. It has just been a party kind of weekend. This party was more up our alley though. It was our friends’ daughter’s 2nd Birthday. Elmo, a bunch of tots, balloons, and friends from church can make a great party. Trust me.

The atmosphere was much more laid back, we were surrounded by quite a few friends and even the people we didn’t know well were so nice to talk to. The excitement and laughter from the kids just overflows to put smiles on every face in the room and makes for an all around fun afternoon. It's nice to feel like you are a valued friend and that your company is appreciated, but I digress. I think that is almost as negative as you’ve ever heard me get on my blog. I don’t like it. I will say though it helps to vent frustrations. I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt and just recognize some of those actions are just part of who she is and I have to accept that. I also need to consider her perspective of maybe she sensed I had news to share, but didn't want it on her party night, which I understand. So I feel better and am actively going to move on now.

• Are there things you face with any of your friends that can drive you crazy? How do you deal with it? I try to focus on the positive aspects of the friendship, trust there are reasons behind the person’s actions, and just move on. Sometimes it’s hard when you’re hormonal more strongly emotionally invested in what is going on, but I believe you have to trust someone who has been a friend for so long.
• What is something you never foresaw yourself doing, but couldn’t imagine your life without that part of you now? Marriage! And then having a kid not even 2 years into it. The saying “when you know, you know” definitely applies to both of those. I just knew it was right, trusted it, and won’t ever look back.