Friday, August 13, 2010

Abs of Steel

I have decided that I am in a minority. I'm not talking about being in a minority of pregnant women. Heck, 95% of the people I see every day appear to be pregnant right now (men included). I am a minority of pregnant women at the GYM. And when I say minority, I am really saying that I'm the only one. Personally I hadn't thought much of it. I was a regular at the gym 3-5 times a week pre-pregnancy, why wouldn't I continue to go after? Combine that with the fact that I can get a teeny bit hard to deal with when I don't make it to the gym and why wouldn't Kevin force me to go I go? (Kevin may or may not have mentioned that he doesn't know if he's going to be able to live with the post-baby weight Nazi that will be living in our house once Bob is here. I don't think he was talking about me.)

Going to the gym has definitely gotten more interesting in the last couple of months. I am still lifting my weights although I'm not lifting quite as much as I used to. The women at the gym think it's awesome. I get a lot of "you go girl!" and "you're such an inspiration!" from them. On the other hand, from the guys I just get a lot of deer in the headlight looks. I'm not 100% positive, but they seem to think that me pressing a 35 pound barbell over my head while balancing on a Bosu ball is going to send me over the edge and into labor on their watch. Okay, I lied. I am positive. They're like open books. It's actually quite funny to watch them watching me. My favorite day at the gym so far was when Mr. Beefcake Wannabe walked over to the weight rack and picked up his dumbbells. The look on his face when I walked over and picked up mine (that were heavier than his) was priceless. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him there since. I, however, plan on continuing to go for as long as I can. It must be doing some good because I have harder abs now than I have EVER had in my life. I am giving a whole new meaning to the phrase "Abs of Steel".

But no, I am not going to the gym to lose weight or even to maintain where I'm at right now. I'm up 25 pounds with 10 weeks left! I don't think there is any way I'm going to stay under the "recommended" 35 pound upper weight gain limit, am I? Especially since I have other pregnant friends who are trying to sabotage me by emailing me recipes for Crescent Roll Burritos (I'm looking at you, Katie). Even though I'm up 25 lbs, I appear to be carrying it well. Kevin told me yesterday that he can't figure out where I'm putting all of my weight. (Kevin is a very smart man and obviously values his boy parts.) Hopefully people are able to continue wondering for a while longer.

As for me, I recently had an epiphany about pregnancy and weight gain. I've come to the conclusion that the entire reason your butt also gets bigger when you get pregnant is because Mother Nature doesn't want you to tip over forward and hurt the baby. So your butt grows in order to counter-balance your belly. Genius, right? In addition to my growing butt (keep in mind that when I say growing, I mean the extra 4 inches centimeters that have been added since February - refer to above paragraph), guess what else is growing? My BOOBS! (But not enough that my butt has had to counter-balance them too of course). Now, I know that most people don't consider growing boobs to be a good thing. I am not most people. (And just for the record, neither is Kevin.) Mine have gone from A cups to FUN CUPS. (Seriously, I have no idea how big they are. Maybe B's? But let's not rain on my parade, mmm-kay?) Who would have thought that boobs could be so entertaining? And before you freak out and get a visual of Kevin and my chest, let me be clear that I am not even talking about him. I'm talking about ME being entertained. Can I just say that I totally get why guys are so fascinated by boobs? I could walk around poking at these puppies all day! I don't of course, but I'm saying I could. If I had the time. And didn't have to go to work. Or to the store. Or drive. One thing that this pregnancy has made me realize is that I could never, EVER get fake boobs. I wouldn't be able to put them down. Or stop staring at them. I get it guys, I get it.

CHECKING IN - WEEK 30!

Due Date: November 12, 2010
Total weight gain/loss: Up another few pounds! I'm officially in the 170s. So I'm up 23 pounds from 148. As I said above, I still have another 7-10 weeks so I'm hoping that I continue to do the slow, steady gain and don't step on the scale to find myself at 201 next Friday.
Next Appointment: September 16 - just another check up. But we had an appointment yesterday for our second attempt at a 4D ultrasound. In preparation for it, I ate 2 candy bars on the way to the office, just to make sure Junior was up and at 'em. I lay down, she puts the wand on my belly, and............he's in the exact same position that he was last time we tried to get 4D pictures. AND he's completely conked out. Luckily this time, with some helpful poking (okay shoving) from momma, we managed to get him flipped upright and got a few pictures of his face, even though we couldn't get him to wake up. I don't think he was happy about the poking though - he looks seriously pissed off. Both the ultrasound tech and I think he looks exactly like daddy. I'm sure it's not because he seems to have a perpetual scowl on his face...
Maternity clothes? Holding strong. But I need to get some more. I'm getting bored wearing the same 5 outfits over and over. So much for being frugal.

Labor Signs: As you can see, I've added another category to the check-in list. As scary as it is, there is a very real possibility that I could go into labor soon. I'm considered full term at 37 weeks so it makes sense that things could start happening. I'm not exactly sure what those things are, but I'm hoping that instinct kicks in at the right time. Or maybe I should read a few more books.
Sleep: None. Okay, I may be being a bit of a drama queen. I am getting some. But I am beginning to dread going to sleep because sleeping = leg cramps. The "experts" say that drinking a large glass of water before going to bed will re-hydrate you and being well hydrated will help prevent them. What the "experts" don't tell you is that it isn't drinking the water that is preventing the cramping. It's the fact that your legs don't have TIME to cramp since you're jumping rolling out of bed to pee every 30 minutes. That's very sneaky of them.
Best moment this week: Getting my ultrasound pictures. I'm glad we got some, even though he was asleep the entire time. It would have been cool to see him awake and moving with his eyes open. I think. Actually come to think of it, that could be kind of creepy.
Movement: I have a herd of hamsters in my stomach. Or maybe they're Guinea Pigs. Whatever is in there, it is large and apparently trying to make more room.
Food cravings: Yup, none. I mean PIZZA. I HAVE TO EAT PIZZA NOW. (Ha! Now pizza is sounding remarkably good.....)
Planning/Preparations: Oh my god - STRESS! It hit me a couple of days ago that I only have 7 weeks until I'm full term. That's less than two months! And I have a list a mile long of things that need to be done before this baby comes. One of which is finish the nursery. We were on a roll (for about a week) when we got it painted and got the crib and dresser put together. And there it's sat ever since. We need to go buy a rocking chair (or preferably a big, comfy recliner instead), curtains, and wall decorations. I am also freaking out because while we got a lot of what we need from our baby shower in Michigan, I don't actually have any of it in my possession right now. So while I know we received sheets for the crib, I couldn't tell you what they look like or what color they are which is making it incredibly difficult to buy any of the other stuff that we still need. In addition to finishing the nursery we still have to paint the entry and do some other home improvement projects, get wills/legal documents/life insurance in place, make frozen meals for the first couple of months, buy a camera, choose a pediatrician, pick baby announcements, etc.
Belly Button in or out: In. And although it is getting flatter, I don't think it's going to pop out any time soon.
Stretch Marks: None.
Showing?: Remember last week when I said that every time I walk by a mirror I do a double take? I did that again today. Except this time I walked by, backed up (beep...beep...beep), and focused on my butt. I can't help but wonder if Kevin was lying to me when he said he's wondering where I was putting my weight.
What I miss: Still my sleep. I know that I'm going to need to get used to it, but seriously? I had no intention of "getting used to it" this early.
What I am looking forward to: A LONG holiday weekend! Finally, time for some serious R&R. Saturday we're heading to Galveston to one of our friends beach houses for the night, then Sunday and Monday I plan on working on the Baby To-Do List. At this point if I could get one thing crossed off it, I'd be a happy camper.
Milestones: I've finally hit 30 weeks. Not sure if it's an actual milestone, but it is definitely surreal.

Baby's Foot:




Umbilical Cord (the red and blue is the blood coming and going)




Crabby Paddy - He takes after his dad. The little thing sticking out of his mouth is his tongue.













And finally the picture I know everyone has been dying to see - ME:


30 Weeks






(Since this is a post about working out, I decided to add a picture of Kevin showing off his muscles for the camera.)


Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Name that Baby!

Baby made - check. Nursery started - check. Showers galore - check. Baby names - not so much. Not having a name wasn't such a big deal a couple of months ago. We had plenty of time so no rush. We just figured the perfect name would come to us in a burst of song from above. Or, more realistically, someone would say "hey you should name him this" and we would agree. Ideally because we liked the name, not because we had no other options. Now, we have 11 weeks left. Holy cow, where did the time go? I thought this was supposed to be the longest 10 months of my life. It sure doesn't feel that way, especially now that we have less than 3 months (actually only 8 weeks until I'm considered full term) and the most important decision is still the most elusive.

I actually have the perfect name picked out - Lucas. I LOVE that name. LOVE IT. However we can't name him that. You see, our last name is Hockenberry. And 99% of the time, Lucas will be shortened to Luke. And when you join Luke and Hockenberry together you get - say it fast now - Lu Kockenberry. Some other names that are out? Jacob, Nicholas, Richard (come on, think about it! Richard? Dick? Dic Kockenberry? Are you laughing yet? No? Is it really just me?) I happen to blame my darling husband for this massive dilemma we've been presented with. Since the time I was about 8, I had an absolutely foolproof plan. When I grew up and got married, my future husband's last name was going to be either Smith or Jones. I mean, when you're coming from a lifetime of Shagene you really just want to keep it simple. Then Kevin Hockenberry comes along and decides that HE is the chosen one. Convincing me of this took some inital prodding on his part, but then I figured what the heck. (I'M KIDDING HONEY.) After that came the getting married and taking his name issue. After much debate, I decided that Hockenberry was the lesser of the two evils (at least it's pronounceable) so I took his name. But not without a fight. My first idea was to hyphenate - Leah Marie Shagene-Hockenberry. Yeah, that doesn't accomplish much, does it. My next and most BRILLIANT idea was to combine our last names and make a new one. Are you ready for it? SHAGENBERRY! See? How perfect is that? (When we had kids, they'd be cute little Shagenberrys - adorable!) Unfortunately I couldn't convince Kevin of the brilliance of my plan. We would have ended up being Mr. Hockenberry & Mrs. Shagenberry. And that's if I could have convinced him to go through with the wedding at all.

Actually, I shouldn't say that we haven't come up with any names. I'd be lying. Kevin has decided that the name to end all names is Clayton. Yes, Clayton. You know, like our janitor back in middle school. And since this appears to be "The Name," he is being no help whatsoever on choosing "backups". (That's what I tell him the alternate names are - backups for when just in case the baby doesn't look like a Clayton when he's born. Again, sheer brilliance on my part, right?) So we've been working on our "backup" names. Okay, my boss and I have been working on the names - she keeps a running list on the white board in my office and wanders in randomly to add to it. So far our favorites are:

Cole
Austin
Grayden
Wyatt

Also on the list are Logan, Tyler, Ryan, Samuel, Dillon, and Dane. To be honest, Dane is a little to close too Great Dane for me, but since we're already working with slim pickings, it stays. Makes the list look a little less pathetic. I also like Hunter, but not sure about the flow with the last name. I had no idea picking a boys name would be so hard! Girls names are so much easier. I had those picked out and written in my planner before we even thought about getting pregnant. I have no idea why I never thought about boys names too. Heck, I even keep a list of dog names - Braxton, Baylor, Cooper, Bentley, Gus, Molson, Diesel, and Nacho. Maybe I could just go with one of those? Gus?

So in a last ditch effort, I'm reaching out to the world all 4 of my loyal followers. Give my your ideas! What are your thoughts on the ones we already have? Do you have any others that you think would be perfect? TELL US. We will take all of the help that we can get!

CHECKING IN - WEEK 29!

Due Date: November 12, 2010
Total weight gain/loss: Up another 2 pounds! I'm officially in the 170s. So I'm up 22 pounds from 148. I was also at 170 last week so hopefully I continue to do the slow, steady gain and don't step on the scale to find myself at 201 next week.
Next Appointment: September 2 - doctor check up and another shot at 4D photos. Hopefully Junior is a little more cooperative this time and doesn't insist on keeping his back to us.

Maternity clothes? Still in the originals. Everything appears to still be fitting well so no more shopping for me just yet.
Sleep: Getting less and less. I've graduated from getting up once per night to twice per night consistently now.
Best moment this week: Well, the best moment for last week (since I slacked on my blog yet again) - I had my birthday! I am officially the big 3-0. My birthday turned out amazing too. My boss and co-workers threw me a surprise party at work (have I mentioned that I LOVE my job???) Kevin got me a Coach purse and a pair of gorgeous diamond earrings that seem to glow on their own. Then w
e went out for dinner at Jasper's which was beyond amazing. They have fresh sliced potato chips that they toss with a bleu cheese glaze. I could have bathed in those stupid things. And the smoked gouda mac 'n cheese......mmmmmmm. I also had my first glass of wine this pregnancy! I figured what better day to do it then on my 30th birthday? It was really, really good too. And then the best moment this week will be this evening when I pick Kevin up from the airport! He left on Sunday and it has been a loooooooong and boring week for me. Although I will say that I've gotten a ton of stuff done around the house. It's all clean so we don't have to worry about that this weekend either.
Movement: Bob is apparently running out of room, because the movement is constant and getting a lot harder! I can feel him rolling around in there all the time. I don't think the kid sleeps. Hopefully he grows out of that phase before he's born.
Food cravings: Still none. This is getting ridiculous. I'm considering just saying that I have a craving for pizza so that I have an excuse to eat it every night, since that's what I'd like to do regardless of whether I'm pregnant or not.
Planning/Preparations: Still working on the nursery, we signed up for the breastfeeding and newborn care classes at the hospital, and I have another shower coming up on October 9th! I can't wait!
Belly Button in or out: In. I don't think it's going anywhere.
Stretch Marks: None.

Showing?: Everytime I walk by a mirror I do a double take because I'm pretty sure I wasn't quite that big 30 minutes earlier when I walked by the same mirror.
What I miss: Sleeping through the night. And my husband.
What I am looking forward to: Picking Kevin up tonight, my shower that my friends are throwing me in October, finishing the nursery, picking a name, and getting the 4D photos done.
Milestones: I guess it would be considered a milestone to be getting less and less sleep every night - apparently that means that I'm getting close to having this baby. They say it's practice for when the baby comes. I say it's bull. I'm also having Braxton Hicks contractions once or twice a day. They're not painful at all, but can be uncomfortable at times. They're kind of cool because my belly gets rock hard which makes it fun to poke. That usually keeps my occupied for the minute or so that they last.

Since I skipped my blog entry last week, here is my 28 week picture on the left. No, I am not stoned. I do look incredibly tired though. And compared to the 27 week picture (right), I guess I don't look that much bigger. I feel like I'm growing by the minute though.




And here are a couple of the 29 weekers!






Tuesday, August 3, 2010

It's the Final Countdown!

(And if you don't have the lyrics to the Europe song running through your head now, you're obviously un-American.)

Final countdown = I'm in my third trimester! AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!! I'm not exactly sure if that scream is because I only have 3 months to go or if it's because I only have 3 months to go. One = meeting baby, the other = taking care of a baby. Obviously two totally different things in my world. But I think we're on the right track with being as prepared as possible. So far I am registered at the hospital, we are signed up for a breastfeeding class and a newborn care class, and the nursery is underway. Yes, we decided against the childbirthing class for a few reasons. 1) It was 4 weeks long and with Kevin's travel schedule we couldn't be sure he'd be free for 4 Tuesdays in a row, 2) Everyone that I've talked to said that unless you're doing a "weird" birth, such as water, hypno, or drug-free (HA! You have GOT to be joking. Drug-free. Right), it was pretty much a waste of time since the doctors and nurses will tell you what to do and when to do it. It just so happens I trust their opinion more than my own. And 3) If I saw what actually happens during the birthing process, I'd probably end up with a toddler in my stomach because I wouldn't let him out. Ignorance is bliss, right???

Just to explain my blogging hiatus, we've had a lot going on around the Hockenberry household in the last few weeks! As I said above, the nursery is finally underway after being repeatedly put off for every reason you can think of. First because we thought we'd be moving, then because we are lazy. We both realized that "getting started" involved disassembling our entire workout room and cleaning out the closet. And when I say disassemble, I'm not talking about moving a couple of pink Barbie weights and a stability ball (I let Kevin move his own stuff). I'm talking about moving my stuff: a heavy duty treadmill (I'm pretty sure the sales guy referred to it as "The Beast"), an entire set of adjustable dumbells, and a bench press/squat rack complete with 350+ pounds of plates. And a stability ball. Good times. We also realized that by completely emptying one room, everything that was originally in there had to go somewhere else. Namely to another room. So yes, our new nursery may be cleaned out and ready to assemble, but our office is overflowing and you can't walk into the guest room. Those would be the next big projects.

A couple of weekends ago we managed to get the nursery painted and get the crib and dresser assembled. We had been dreading painting, but the painting itself only took us 3 hours total for both coats. We did it in one afternoon. I thought it would take a lot longer with the recoat time being 4 hours, but after recalculating the manufacturer's recommendations in "Hockenberry Time," the recoat time only ended up being 2 hours. So that worked nicely for us. We even had time to go out to dinner afterward. And even though the nursery is painted and has a couple of pieces of furniture in it, it's still not even close to being done. I still need a chair, some shelves, a closet orgainzer, curtains, wall hangings/decorations, a lamp, etc. Okay, so maybe we're not even close to being done.


The Before picture:




The Afters:










And just so you can get an idea of what the color looks like in person (since my camera is horrible), this is what the green actually looks like on the walls. (Please note, this is not my house.)






The next step in the quest for baby is the showers! Last weekend was our shower in Michigan and it was seriously awesome. The weather was perfect and we couldn't have asked for a better time. My mom, dad, and sister did an amazing job throwing it. In true Shagene fashion a pig was sacrificed to the spit, a cow was sliced and diced, and the beer gods were smiling down on us. Obviously not your typical baby shower, but pretty typical for my family. Everyone was so generous too. Kevin and I received some amazing things for the baby. My cousin Lyndee made us a beautiful afghan, my Grandma Omi made us an adorable quilt, my other Grandma Nancy gave us the children's silverware that she had bought for me as a baby, and my sister Kerry collected words of advice and parenting pointers from our family and friends and made a gorgeous scrapbook out of them for us. Yes, I cried. So did Kevin. (I only hope that Kerry cries as hard as I did and is as touched as I was when she sees the Diaper Genie I plan on getting her for her shower someday.)

Grandma, Kevin and I holding the quilt she made for us


A close up of the quilt


A decent side profile of me. Consider this my 26 week belly shot.



Mom-in-law, me, and Mom


Me and Nikki!



Kerry and I (Gosh, Kevin. I don't know if you could've gotten further away. Although the pond in the background is pretty.)



Family picture time! Kevin and I with our parents and my grandmas. (Note to self, always turn sideways for pictures.)




Now comes the task of getting all of the baby's gifts to Texas. As incredibly thankful as I am to Kerry and Greg for volunteering to drive them down sometime during the first couple weeks of October, it is KILLING me to have to wait 2 months. I just want to play with all of my new toys! Maybe try out some of the diapers we received on my Cabbage Patch dolls for practice. And I need to start organizing! Right now the nursery consists of a crib, a dresser, and a stroller. Now I know how a kid feels when mom and dad takes their toys away for being bad. It's going to be a long couple of months! But since they are being so generous as to bring the baby stuff to us, I might take them out for Mexican food and margaritas anyway. We'll see.

I suppose I should probably do a check in. We've been so busy that I've skipped my last two weeks. I haven't even had time to take my weekly belly pictures. Luckily, people have been more than willing to make up for my slacking.

CHECKING IN - WEEK 27!

Due Date:
November 12, 2010
Total weight gain/loss: According to my doctor I am up 26 pounds. However according to my calculations (the correct calculations), I am still up only 20. I have NO idea where they got my starting number, being as they didn't weigh me at my first appointment. Just to prove it, when I got pregnant I was 148 pounds. This morning I was 168.4. I've been holding steady at 168 point something for the past 3 weeks. Hopefully I stay there a little longer.
Next Appointment: August 19 - We're into the every two week phase now. At last week's appointment we had planned on getting a 4D ultrasound so that we could take some pictures up to Michigan for my shower. Of course, Bob the Baby wasn't having it and refused to show us anything but his back. We poked and proded (which only caused him to bury himself deeper into my back) until we finally gave up. The ultrasound tech said that it appears we have a very lazy baby (takes after dad, no?). I just told her that if the baby is like this when he comes out, we're going to be the luckiest parents ever.
Maternity clothes? I'm going to need to break down and buy some more. My shirts are getting tight (and short) due to my belly as are my dresses. I'll be putting that off for another couple of weeks I'm sure. Ooooohhhhhhh........and the worst part of ALL........my SHOES are getting tight. I want to cry. There is one thing that I hate more than clothes shopping and that is shoe shopping. Feel free to send donated shoes in the mail so that I don't have to go find them myself. I'm an 8.5. Okay, 9.5.
Sleep: Still getting up once per night for a bathroom break, but I'm pretty comfortable overall. I think that I'm lucky since I already slept on my left side so I didn't need to learn a new position to sleep in. That has definitely helped.
Best moment this week: I got my stroller! It's a Baby Jogger City Mini (awesome stroller) and retails for ~$230, plus $20 for the child tray, and $20 for the cup holder attachment. I found a used one on Woodlands Online Classifieds and picked it up for $125 cash and the tray and cup holder were both included. The woman had bought it for her baby that they adopted from Ethiopia thinking they were getting a 2 year old. After they got her home and she started putting on weight, they realized that she was probably closer to 5 years old and they only had time to use it a few times before she outgrew it. It is in pristine condition. And to fold it up, you just lift it by the nylon handle on the seat and the entire thing collapses into the size of a purse. Fine, maybe not a purse, but close enough. And it's only 16 pounds! The travel systems we were originally looking at were around 35. Yes, I am freakishly excited over a stroller and plan on whipping out my Cabbage Patch kids tonight to push them around in it (for practice, of course). It suddenly appears that my Cabbage Patch kids will be getting more action in the next few months than they've had in the last 20 days years.
Movement: All......the.......time. I sit in meetings at work and just watch my stomach bounce around. A couple of nights ago Kevin and I were laying in bed when my stomach started going nuts. It looked like the baby had put one foot on either side of my belly button and was quickly alternating kicking his left and right leg. I was NOT expecting that. Sadly, the only thing that came to my mind was the famous line from Twas the Night Before Christmas - "He had a broad face and a little round belly, That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!"
Food cravings: None, but I'm going to have to think of some pretty soon. I'm getting the impression that Kevin was actually looking forward to being sent out at night after random food stuffs, most likely so that he could get his own food and blame me. Of course I'm just making an assumption stemming from the fact that he keeps asking me if I'm absolutely SURE I don't need a Big Mac right now. Yes, honey. I'm positive.
Planning/Preparations: One shower down, one to go! I am so incredibly lucky to have such great family and friends. I can't wait to get all of this stuff into my nursery!
Belly Button in or out: In. And I found out last weekend than my mom's never popped out for any of us kids. Score one for the Barnes' genes.
Stretch Marks: Same as above. My mom didn't get those with us kids either. Score two for the Barnes' genes. (Sidenote: Yes, my Mom's Barnes' genes didn't produce a popped belly button or stretch marks, but they didn't produce popped boobs either. Score -5 points for that.)
Showing?: Obviously. I'm just hoping that I'm continuing to show more in the front than in the back. Everyone I talk to is so "oh, pregnancy is so good to you, you look great, you're all belly, blah, blah, blah." I have a feeling that people LIE.
What I miss: My family and friends! It was so, so, so awesome to see everyone at the shower last weekend. Oh, and I miss alcoholic beer. But my friends and family first, of course. (I hate to admit that they're not winning by much at this point).
What I am looking forward to: Picking a name for the baby. Bob the Baby CANNOT stick. I will cry. As will he. So if it does happen to stick and you come by to visit only to find him bawling his eyes out, it's because you called him Bob. Oh! And my 30th birthday is next week too! I can't say I'm actually looking forward to it per se, being as I had always envisioned my 30th at an all-inclusive Mexican resort with a steady supply of froo-froo drinks in my hand, but what can you do? We'll have to do that for my 35th birthday instead. As for what we're actually going to do for my birthday this year, I have no idea. It kind of snuck up on us so we haven't planned anything yet!
Milestones: I'd say the nursery being started was a huge milestone. That was the hardest thing I've had to do. There are only 1.8 billion different colors, themes, ideas to choose from. We painted it green. Baby steps.


Here is my Third Trimester, Day 1 picture. No, I am NOT trying to stick it out, even though it looks like I am. Just ask Kevin. I made him take about 10 more with me sucking it in and they all turned out looking exactly like this. *big sigh*





Since I didn't take any 25 week shots, I'm including some shots that were taken at 25 weeks, 1 day. These are some of the 108 shots of my gut that were taken by my friend Jill (who obviously just bought a new camera if she's taking 108 shots of my gut) at Aqualpalooza on Lake Conroe. CAUTION: The following pictures contain a bikini. Consider yourself warned!










Yes, Nicole. I feel the exact same way.