No turning back...

This morning I met Drennon at the Green Hills Post Office at 7:30 to help her hand cancel her wedding invitations. For those of you who are not familiar with the term "canceling," it means canceling the stamp by hand like it would be done when it is run through the postage machine. Doing it by hand makes sure that the ink on the pretty invitations does not get smeared since it does not have to go through the machine once it has been stamped with the date. Ben could not understand why I was saying that I was going to help Drennon "cancel" her invitations. Apparently, it is not a term people are familiar with unless you've done it yourself.

We had a little bit of a scare when we got there and the man behind the counter told us they did not allow people to hand cancel envelopes anymore. Bad idea to freak out a stressed bride and her matron of honor first thing in the morning! He asked his manager who told him that yes, we could do it ourselves. Thank goodness. I would have had to pick Drennon up off the floor. It only took us about 20 minutes to stamp all 304 invitations! We had a quick little system going. So, there's no turning back now!! Six weeks to go...

Drennon stamping the last invitation!

Music City Pugnic 2009

Yesterday was the 5th annual Music City Pugnic. Yes, it's a picnic for pugs and the ones who love them. I really thought we were going to get rained out, but the weather held off long enough for us to go for a little while. Buster and I have been to all 5 Pugnics; we are so proud! It's held every year on the lawn in front of Trinity Church on Hillsboro Road. It's the perfect place because there are plenty of trees to shade the pugs. This year, we weren't worried about them getting too hot. Ben and I only took Buster this year because it was so wet and muddy. Belle is just too into things, and I would have had to hold her the whole time. I think she has "little pug" syndrome because she likes to pick fights with bigger pugs. Buster is very mellow and just walks around smelling everything. He does have to mark just about every thing that sticks out of the ground. Everyone always comments on his age because he looks so good to be 11. He's my little man and I think he had fun. We saw my friend Stacy and her pug Halle who we've seen at other Pugnics. It was good to see her and her baby boy Cooper.

Buster checking out the volunteers' pugs.

They are in a fence so their owners can work the Pugnic.

More pugs...so cute.

My sweet little man being curious.


All the Pugnic shirts for sale. I had to buy the black one with the pink Pugnic on it.

Buster and his daddy. Normally there would be pugs everywhere in the background.

There just weren't as many this year since it rained.

The unofficial king and queen of Pugnic. They sat in that chair and did not even try to get down. They were very content. (and no, I would NEVER do this to my pugs.)

Nothing

By now, most of you know that I can no longer work due to extreme shortness of breath with activity and heart palpitations. It's nothing dangerous, but since my job requires A LOT of activity, my OB said it was best to just leave work until after Elliotte is born. She is perfect and not having any problems. I think most people would be overjoyed at not being able to go to work, but I have to limit my activity. I can't exercise, do a lot of walking, go up and down stairs, etc without having to catch my breath. So, for the next 4 months (or however long it takes Elliotte to come), I am going to have to be creative with my time. I can tell you all about daytime TV:
GMA: Diane Sawyer is the most beautiful woman over 40 on TV. Ben tells me this every morning. I usually only catch the last hour.
Regis and Kelly: They are hilarious. Regis gets a little annoying at times, but it's worth it to hear Kelly rip on him.
The View: I don't really like all the bickering, but Sherri Shepard is so funny. Sometimes they have good discussions.
Martha: This lady is a serious control freak. She belittles everyone on her show in her covert way. I turn her off when she starts enunciating her words too carefully (this is so pretttty) or when she starts telling her guests how to do what they know how to do best.
Channel 4 News at Midday: Have to see what's going on in the world and watch the weather.
More at Midday: I can't stand Tim Ross! He has to be the most annoying person on the face of the earth! Sometimes I put up with him, but most days I want to reach inside the TV and choke his neck.
Better: I like this show. They have good ideas and are not the least bit annoying.
Days of Our Lives: I started watching this in high school during basketball study hall. I'll be the first to admit that it's insane, but I get sucked in. Right now, Sami had EJ's baby but he doesn't know it, but Nicole who is now married to EJ stole Sami's baby and replaced it with a baby from a high school girl because Nicole miscarried EJ's baby and was afraid to lose him. So basically, EJ should have two babies that are the same age by women who hate each other and live a few streets apart. Only in Salem...
Ellen: My FAVORITE show on TV. She is a genius. I don't agree with her lifestyle choice, but she is compassionate and caring and truly loves to give to people. I laugh so hard every day.
Oprah: I only watch Oprah now if there is someone on her show that I really like. She's a nut job.

That about sums up my day of daytime TV. Now, I don't normally watch all these shows back to back. Usually I try to get out and do something very slowly. I can still go to the grocery as long as I walk around slowly and get the sweet guys at Publix to take out my groceries. I'll go to mom and dad's and sit around there to get away from my crazy bubbies at home who are so confused that I am home every day now. They don't know what to do with themselves. Once Nanny gets home and opens up her pool, I plan to be the tannest pregnant woman ever by lounging in the pool every day! I am going to try and enjoy this time as much as I can since in 4 months I will never be bored again! So if anyone wants to come over and watch TV or go to the pool on your day off just let me know. I can still grab lunch too!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Today is Ben's 29th b'day, so I surprised him with breakfast this morning since he had to go to work. I made scrambled eggs, bacon, and biscuits. He was very happy since we usually just sit on the couch and eat cereal. He opened his gifts after breakfast and was VERY happy with his presents. He received Bass Pro gift cards from mom and dad and his favorite candies: Twizzlers and Reeces. I had to do a lot of looking for his gift this year. He mentioned awhile back that the Sopranos series would be the "ultimate" gift probably thinking that I would never get it for him. I searched online and on sale it was over $300! I couldn't pay that for his b'day, so I decided to see what I could find on eBay. After some careful watching and last second bidding, I got it for $125! I was very happy with myself. He was so surprised by the gift and said he would be the envy of all his friends. He quickly added that he would not be watching it with Elliotte around. I don't need her picking up on gangster lingo before she can speak.
While eating breakfast, Ben asked me if today really was his birthday? I said it was last time I checked, and he said great! Then he proceeded to feed Buster some of his bacon. Now, I NEVER give my dogs table food. Pugs gain weight very easily, so we just stick to dog food. It also makes them beg even more. Ben likes to sneak food to them when I'm not home or not looking. He just grinned as Buster was inhaling the bacon. He said "it's my birthday and you can't get mad at me!" Well played. Buster sure did enjoy the bacon. Luckily the other two were outside or they would have knocked over the table trying to get to it. Buster will probably have the runs later today, and I will hope that he makes it outside!

Ben about to enjoy his breakfast. Notice Buster looking intently at his plate.

Ben was very happy with his presents.

I also gave him a baby book for him to read to Elliotte.

Silly Pug

I had to post this video because it was so cute. When the weather is nice outside, I usually leave the back door open so the dogs can go in and out as they please. Occasionally, I get some unwanted visitors...this day it was a brown beetle that Belle found. She was so funny trying to figure out what it was and trying to play with it. By the time I got my camera she was almost done with the beetle, but I still caught her being silly.

It's a GIRL!!!

Well, today was the big day! Our ultrasound apt was at 8am so Ben could get to work by 9:00. As I was lying on the exam table, I had my first feeling that it was a girl. I just knew it. The US tech said she was 85% sure it's a girl. She just didn't want to move the right way. There was a lot of movement going on, and the tech said she really thinks she would have seen evidence of a penis if there had been one to see. I just kept saying "I don't see a pee pee" and Ben was holding his head in his hands. He was a little shocked at first, but now he's really excited. He's always wanted a girl, but he thought it would be better to have a boy first so she could have an older brother. He said I turned out fine being the older girl, so he's not worried. We got some great US pics and a DVD of the exam. I didn't get to see my regular doctor today b/c she was in India on vacation, but I saw another great doctor. She had actually done a rotation on my floor at the hospital a few years ago, so we talked about that for awhile. It was nice to know that one of the other doctors was just as nice and personal as Dr. Haney. I just love my OB.

Of course, right when I was finished with my doctor's apt, I went straight to mom and dad's. They are really excited. I told dad he was going to be coaching some softball again in the future. Mom and I went to Babies R Us and did some girl shopping. Not too much though. We also looked at fabric for the nursery and found some that I think is going to work. I'm eager to get started now that the nursery is almost cleaned out. Just a few pieces of furniture to move downstairs. The dogs have been moved to the downstairs bedroom (since the nursery was their room), and Buster has not adjusted well. He's "marked" everything from Ben's weight bench to Ben himself. That was pretty funny, but not to Ben. I knew Buster would need some extra time, so we moved him early so he could adjust. I'll just have to watch him to make sure he doesn't "mark" the baby when she comes!

Elliotte Lynn Miller frontal view. I think she looks like me. Ha.

Profile view. She has her hand to her face.

Butt view. No pee pee!

Beth Miller, RN MSN Ed...Hopefully.

I have finally completed my Master's in Nursing Education program! I did it through the University of Phoenix and it was all online. It took about a year and 3/4 with only a 3 week break at the end to finish my project. I was very impressed with the program. It was tough, and I learned a lot from people all across the US. I made two great friends in the process even though I have never met them. These two ladies were such a great support, and we helped each other through our classes. Hopefully we will get to meet someday. I have to wait for my grade to post before I can officially order my diploma, that is why I say "hopefully." Ben gets upset with me for saying hopefully, but you never know. The instructor may hate my project! I think I will be fine, otherwise I would not have posted this. I'm so glad to have my life back and to not have to be on the computer every day unless I want to be. It will be weird not having to write a paper or do a Power Point presentation every weekend. Thanks to all of you who have asked how school is going and given me words of encouragement!

First Baby Clothes

This weekend I took a trip to Clinton, TN (right outside Knoxville) with Lu and Claire to spend a couple of days at Su's house. Su was the perfect hostess making us dinner and breakfast while we were there. We ate, watched movies and shopped. Someone should have warned me that you shouldn't take a pregnant woman around baby clothes even if she doesn't know what she's having yet. I went a little nuts, and there is definitely a theme to the baby clothes I bought. No, we don't know what we're having yet, but all the clothes I bought were for a boy. Maybe that's a sign. Some will work ok for a girl, but I don't really care. It's what was on the clothes that made me buy them.

Can you see my theme? They are all dogs if you can't see the details. Nobody has pug clothes or I would have those too! If someone sees something with a pug on it, you better call me immediately!

A closer look. I just couldn't stand the doggie footies! They were too cute!

Everything dog.

I showed Ben all my purchases when I got home. I did buy him a new pair of shoes, so don't feel bad for him. He thought they were cute, and the dogs were probably better than tons of pink. He did politely tell me that he did not want our child dressed in dog clothes every time it left the house! We'll just have to see how much I find. Only two more weeks til we find out boy or girl!

New Kids on the Block!

On Monday, I finally got to see the New Kids on the Block 2o years late! I was a devout fan in middle school. I had all the tapes, knew every song, had a Danny poster over my bed, and I wore a Danny pin on my jean jacket. The pin was buried on the middle school playground because one of my friends thought Danny was ugly. Well, most of my friends thought Danny was ugly. I loved him! Drennon and I were so excited to go to the concert. She got to go when they were here 17 years ago. I begged, but wasn't allowed. I felt it was better late than never. It was an awesome concert. I've really never heard fans so loud. Makes me never want to go to a Jonas Brothers concert! We started out in the upper level, but when the show was about to start, an usher gave us lower level tickets to fill in the empty seats. We were pumped! They were great seats near the stage. We screamed and danced and so did everyone else. They sang their old songs and some of their new ones. I thought they sounded really good. I can die happy now that I've finally seen NKOTB!

Ready for the concert. See the baby bump?

Joey, Danny, Jordan, Jon, and Donnie

"The Right Stuff" with the trademark dance


Love it

Costume change

Stage 2 by the piano in the middle of the crowd. Look at Danny flexing his huge muscles!

Jordan's solo. Had to get a chest shot. He can still hit all the high notes.

Love this pic

Finale. Hangin Tough in UT jerseys. We loved that!

Enjoy the video below of "Step By Step" one of my favorites from the past.

Naples

Last week Ben and I got to travel to Naples to spend a week at my Nanny's condo on the beach. It was a fabulous trip, and I didn't want to come home. Nanny's condo is literally on the beach, 15 stories up. I always started my day sitting on the lanai eating my breakfast and reading. I read the last three Twilight books while we were there. Couldn't put them down! Nanny made us cinnamon toast almost every morning and made sure we were well fed. I definitely gained back all the weight I lost while I was sick. We went to the beach or pool every day. It was so relaxing. We watched the dolphins and the pelicans play in the ocean. I could definitely get used to that lifestyle. Ben had to remind me that we would never live on the beach. He can take the beach in small doses, and a week was almost too much for him.

The view from the left side of the condo.

The view from the right side of the condo.

Ben finally learned to relax! I think he read four books.

On the beach for our dinner at the Turtle Club. We ate at sunset on the beach. It was very nice and great food.

Sunset at dinner.

The last night we were there, we went on a catamaran for a sunset cruise. This is the boat. It was a two hour cruise around the bay and ocean. We got to see a lot of beautiful, waterfront homes and some dolphins. We took a picnic dinner and ate on the boat.

Us on the boat ready to go.

Getting ready for the sun to set

We had the token "obnoxious" couple on the boat with us who insisted we take a

picture in these glasses. They also had their daughter and her boyfriend do the Titanic pose on the boat.

Sunset from the boat.

Proof I got Ben on the beach! We walked and found lots of pretty shells. Nanny's building is the one on the left in the picture.

Pelicans in the ocean. They kept us entertained by dive-bombing into the ocean for fish. They were so funny.

Pelicans in action. There was a large school of fish in the shallow water and they went nuts.