Congrats Kirra & Tyler!!!!

An update for those you of who saw the blog yesterday: Your prayers have been answered and Kirra's dad will be able to attend the wedding!! Thank you to all who kept the family in your thoughts and prayers.

Here are a few pictures from our wedding of Kirra going for (and getting) the bouquet of flowers that Mandi threw:

And here's Tyler (on your left) just after catching the garter belt!

And I added this one because Luke (my 2nd cousin) is one of the cutest kids in the world.

Again, a BIG HUGE congrats to Kirra and Tyler. I'm so honored to share in your big day!!!

Prayer Squad Needed

Wether you pray or you throw something out to the universe - I need you. One of my good friends, Kirra, is getting married this weekend. Kirra and I met in college and were basically connected at the hip until both of us graduated. She was like the kid sister that I never had. We'd of course stayed in touch over the years (she was in our wedding) and I've been looking forward to the day that she would meet that someone special and tie the knot. Well, that day is happening this weekend and I couldn't be more happy for her and Tyler. Just a note: At our wedding, Tyler caught the garter belt and Kirra caught the flowers - pretty cool.

Anyway, you're probably wondering why I'm asking for prayer. About three weeks ago, Kirra's dad, Frank, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. It was pretty aggressive and they decided that emergency surgery was necessary. They ended up removing about a third of his stomach during the surgery, but felt like they got all of the cancer. They were also expecting him to fully recover and be out in time for the wedding. That was before he came down with pneumonia and a tube that was put in his stomach starting leaking bile. It's now going to take a miracle for Frank to be able to attend the wedding.

I of course would first pray for that miracle to happen. I know that Kirra is crushed and I'm sure that thought of her dad not being their to walk her down the aisle is devastating. If Frank is not able to attend, I would like prayer for a sense of peace to come over the entire family and for Kirra to be able to enjoy her special day as much as possible.

So, if you would, take some time today to set aside some thoughts or prayers for Kirra and her family. I know that they, as well as myself, would very much appreciate it.

Thankful Thursday - Old Teams & Bro-in-Laws

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I'm thankful for new recipes. We had a delicious nacho cheese soup. Maybe not the healthiest thing in the world, but VERY tasty!! I love trying new recipes...we rarely find and try one that is just awful.

I'm thankful for air conditioning. It's really stinkin' hot lately (go figure, this is Arizona and we are in the desert). Whenever I walked into our house from outside, I am always instantly thankful for air conditioning and the cool, refreshing air that hits my face when I leave the oven that is the outdoors these days.

I'm thankful that my brother-in-law, Andrew, moved up to Phoenix. He moved up here for grad school at ASU. Our goal is to get all of our family up to Phoenix at some point, and Andrew is the first to make the move from Tucson. It will be so awesome to get to spend more time with him. He's a great guy and we always have so much fun spending time with him!! Cannot wait to see him weekly!

Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful for kettlebells...kind of. I'm certainly thankful that I was introduced to a new work out that absolutely kicks my butt, but that has been part of the problem too. I did a kettlebell workout 3 days ago and I'm still walking like I was riding a horse for a month straight and sitting down/standing up is more painful then I'd like to admit. So this is really a future thankfulness, cause I know as soon as I can operate normally, I'm going to really enjoy that workout again!

I'm thankful for my relationship with my old peds team. I'm lucky with the fact that they still follow me in clinic so I haven't totally lost them, but I sure wish they followed me still when I was in the Hole. All is not lost however - as I said, they still see me in clinic and they are my go to for anything outside of the Hole. They're only a phone call or FB message away and they are always very quick to respond. I just very thankful that the relationship didn't get totally severed when I transitioned to the "adult team".

I'm thankful for weddings. I get to see one of my best friends ever get married off this weekend and I couldn't be more excited! I definitely got a new appreciation for weddings since having my own, but I have an even larger appreciation for marriage. As we all know, the wedding does indeed come first and I'm looking forward to supporting Kirra on her big day. Congrats to Tyler and Kirra on their upcoming lifetime commitments!!

So, what are you thankful for today?

Rondi's Recipes: Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder

Mandi and I have been doing really well with cooking fun meals almost nightly, we just haven't been very good at reviewing them and posting for Rondi's Recipes. We had to bring it back though for a special dish we made last night. We had my lil' brother over for dinner, so we knew we'd have to make something that would fill up a "growing boy". We love to explore new recipes and try our hand at stuff that seems unique. We started with a recipe for Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder and then added some stuff to make it our own. If you'd like to see the original recipe, click here.

Ingredients: Chicken breast, Mexican Style Stewed Tomatoes, Nacho Cheese Condensed Soup, Corn, Cheese -- Not pictured because we added in on the fly: Green Chilies, Pinto beans, Taco Seasoning, Cumin, Chile Powder

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and threw into slow cooker.

Added all ingredients in recipe and then added our own.

Finished product all stirred together and cooked.

Serve it up!

Prep Time: About 10 minutes

Cook Time: About 5 hours in slow cooker on low heat

Total Time: About 5 hours

What we liked:

I loved the hint of cheesiness from the condensed nacho cheese soup.

I really liked the addition of the beans and the green chilies - it added some great flavor and who doesn't like beans?

I liked the big chunks of tomato.

I loved the fact that everything (besides the chicken) called for in this recipe came out of a can. Even the stuff we decided to add came in a can. Talk about easy. This was one of the easiest meals in the world to prepare.

I LOVE chicken tortilla soup and this reminded me a lot of it.

You can pretty much count on me liking anything made in the slow cooker as chicken and nacho cheese soup as it's base.

The broth to this chowder tasted absolutely amazing. I could have sipped on it all night.

What we'd change:

I would cut the chicken into smaller pieces and/or do shredded chicken.

I would use dark meat instead of white meat, but that's just because I always think white meat is dry!

I wouldn't mind adding a some jalapenos or something spicy to give it a bit more kick.

I would find a way to add more liquid next time. This definitely had a chowder type of a feel to it and I wouldn't mind making it more of a soup.

I think this could also be really good thickened up, subbing beef for chicken and making a chip dip.

I'm not sure how I would go about it, but this could have used just a bit more of a kick.

Next time, I will try to make the chicken pieces a bit smaller

Here's our overall rating (with 1 being the worst meal we've ever had and 10 being the best):

Mandi's Rating: 9.0

Ronnie's Rating: 8.5

Again, if you guys have any suggestions on how this is laid out or what you guys would like to see answered/done differently, please let us know :)

Hemoptysis Questions

Had a couple questions from a reader that I thought I would share regarding hemoptysis (coughing up blood). Hemoptysis does not happen to all CFers, but if it happens to you, it wouldn't be considered out of the ordinary. I answer all questions to the best of my ability - based on fact, combined with what I've picked up over the years and with a little dash of hoping I'm close:

What do you do after you've coughed up blood?

If I cough up blood I have a pretty standard routine...no pulmozyme for 24 hours. no vest for 12 hours. If clear for 24 hours I resume pulmozyme. I will exercise at 25% the day after the blood.

50% two days after. And if blood free, I resume all activity as normal the third day.

Hemoptysis seems to happen to me a lot at night time, is that the case for you?

It can happen because of the pressure change with laying down. Try sleeping propped up if you can...I've spent many nights sleeping sitting up!

Do your doctors know the source of your hemoptysis? I have bronchiectasis in my right upper lobe, and I understand that it is common amongst CF'ers, and my doctors believe that's what is causing the blood. Could you tell me more about bronchiectasis? Is it the cause for hemoptysis for most of us CF'ers?

Bronchiectasis is just a fancy word for damaged lung. Most all CFers have a varying levels of it and it really just a matter of when not if it will happen. That's what CF can do over time, damage lung tissue and airways. We must focus on doing everything we can do to keep our lungs open and clear. The more closed off and full of junk our lungs are, the faster damage happens.

Bleeding is often a result of infection or blood vessel thinning. Our vessels/veins have a tougher time getting blood to where it needs to go because of our damaged lungs and over time get bigger and thinner. If you look at them under CT, they look like big worms instead of how they should, spider webs or spaghetti noodles. As they get bigger, the walls of the vessels get thinner and are more apt to tear. When they tear, this can result in bright red blood coming from our lungs.

Murderers, Nesting and Late Night Gelato

This weekend Ronnie was in Kansas City, MO speaking at a CF Education Day, so I was on my own on Friday and Saturday. I HATE staying home alone. I am sure someone will pick that night to rob us or come and murder me. In fact, I have trouble sleeping and spend half the night laying awake in bed watching for shadows out my bedroom window. I'm not sure where this fear has come from, and in the light of day I realize it is completely irrational. However, as soon as the darkness of night sets in, I am sure that a serial murderer is around every corner. This weekend was no different. Luckily, I was only home along Friday night, but I woke up at 4:30AM from a dream about someone breaking into our house, and didn't fall back asleep until it got light out around 6AM. It is so very silly, but I just can't help it. I try everything to make the fear go away. I lock and double check all the doors, I sleep with both phones in my bed incase I need to call 911, I have our incredibly scary dog (who literally would eat the face off of an attacker) sleep next to me, I pray that God will take away this silly fear...you name it, I do it. Maybe next time I will be more brave...or maybe I'll just go sleep at my brother and sister-in-law's!

Mainly running on fear and a little sleep Friday night, I did manage to check some items off of my to do list between Friday and Saturday. Friday night I kept my mind busy until midnight starting our registry and researching what products are necessary and best. Then on Saturday I went shopping for a chest for Peanut's room. Instead of doing a changing table, we decided to just get a chest and put a changing pad on top. We wanted something that could be used anywhere in our house down the road. Thankfully I found the perfect chest, and it looks awesome in the room (see picture...which I know isn't the greatest because you can't quite make it out, but there you have it). I also went and physically looked at items at the store that I registered for, to make sure that I liked them in person. After seeing some things, I swapped items and adding some new ones. It is something that was hanging over my head, but feels sooo good to have started working on, and believe it or not, I am getting close to being done!

Ronnie was home all Sunday. So did our normal routine of church, gym, and chores, and then headed to hang out with Josh and Chrissy (bro and sis-in-law). We had a blast playing wii and going for a nice little bike ride. We got home around 8:30 sat on the couch for 15 minutes and I began dreaming about frozen yogurt. I finally verbalized my desire for frozen yogurt and Ronnie said what no man should ever say to his pregnant wife at 9PM when she wants something sweet. He said, "Yeah? Well let's go." My ears perked up and I tried to convince myself for all of 30 seconds that it was too late and unnecessary. But no. It was very necessary my craving convinced me. So off we went to get froyo. Unfortunately there wasn't a froyo place where we went (where I directed us to because I thought there was one there). There was, however, gelato...an equally tasty treat and one that would satisfy my craving just fine! Man was it good! I am pretty shocked that I made it to 29 weeks with only one late night food run...a success in my book! Tomorrow it's back to fruits, veggies, and protein, to give this little nugget all the nutrients she needs!

All in all, a good weekend!

Outrun CF Virtual Race: October 1, 2011!

The first Out Run CF Virtual Race was a huge success. Runners and walkers from all over the world came together with one thing in mind, to Out Run Cystic Fibrosis! This fall, on October 1, 2011, we plan to do it again. The Rock CF Foundation and CysticLife are joining forces, once again, to bring you another Out Run CF Virtual Race.

In case you missed out last time, or need a refresher, here is how it works. Anyone and everyone is invited to participate: Fibros, Cysters, parents, spouses, friends, extended family, you name it! Participants will find a route near their house. Then on October 1, 2011, EVERYONE will lace up their sneakers and hit the pavement in their Out Run CF shirt (Each registrant will receive a t-shirt unique to this fall’s race from us in the mail).

No distance is too long, or too short. YOU pick YOUR mileage. 1 mile? 5K? 10K? 10 miles? Half Marathon? Marathon? It’s up to you! Nothing is too fast or too slow YOU pick YOUR speed. We just want to get the entire CF community out of their houses and into their running shoes on the same day, for the same cause.

Registrants can blog about their training, ask questions, and share tips on CysticLife.org. We want the entire site to be plastered with talk of exercise, running, and encouragement. On race day, we want people to post their times and their experiences. Let’s make this Virtual Race even BIGGER than the first one! Let’s make it the biggest race the community, and the world, has ever seen!!

So here again are the hard facts:

Who: Everyone
What: Outrun CF Virtual Race held by Rock CF Foundation and CysticLife
When: October 1, 2011
Where: Anywhere
Why: Because anyone can run—whether it’s for a minute or a marathon! Together we can Out Run CF.
How : Register at http://www.active.com/running/anytown-mi/out-run-cfvirtual-run-fall-edition-2011

Helpful sites to get you started:

CysticLife.org—Blog about your progress, ask questions about training to the community, post Airwaves with your daily run updates, connect with others to encourage them and be encouraged

Dailymile.com—Make and account and join the Rock CF/CysticLife group to track your miles and keep track of others! http://www.dailymile.com/groups/1463-rock-cf-and-cysticlife-virtual-runners/

Facebook.com—Join the Out Run CF group to see how many people are outrunning CF and connect with them! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Out-Run-CF/164020056961598

Runnersworld.com—Get inspired, find training programs.

Thankful Thursday - 3rd Trimester & Gentamicin

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. as I mentioned, I no longer have the "linkytools" but I invite you to share your thankful blog in the comments section. Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I'm thankful for food. Today I had to go in for a 3-hour glucose tolerance test (yes, that means I failed the 1-hour. I was 133 and the cut off is above 139, but anything in the 130's they do a 3-hour on just in case. We'll keep you posted with results). However, the one thing I learned from this fasting test is how much I am thankful for food. I had to go in fasting for 12 hours, and then it was 3 more hours until I could eat...and for this preggo momma, who eats every 2-4 hours, that was not awesome. I've never had a lunch taste so good! I sure am thankful for food.

I'm thankful for a bigger Peanut. Peanut is growing and healthy, and I am so thankful for that. But the thing I love the most this week is that Peanut is getting big enough that I can sometimes feel a body part moving under the skin, and actually FEEL the body part. It's not just the movement, but Peanut's body that I can feel. It is so incredible!! I am so thankful for the bond I can build with my baby as I feel her wiggle around.

I'm thankful for being in the 3rd trimester! As of Tuesday, we were 28 weeks pregnant. Man, I am SO thankful to be in the 3rd trimester. We are counting down to the end now - only 12 weeks left. Looking at the calendar it looks SO close and I think the next several weeks will fly by (as we have a lot on the calendar), but then it'll probably slow down as we get close to the end and time will crawl by. Also, t feels great to know that if I were to have Peanut today, she would have a 90% survival rate. Knowing that we've made it to a point that Peanut would likely be ok if I went into labor, brings a lot of peace to my often worrying mind!

Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful for my opportunity to spend some time with the good folks out in Kansas City this weekend. I've been invited to speak at their CF education day on Saturday and I'm really excited to share my story. I love being able to speak face-to-face with members in the community, and sometimes I even get to meet people that I know from the online community. I certainly hope that's the case on Saturday!

I'm thankful for this blog. This blog gives me the opportunity to talk about anything and everything. And although talking, or writing in this case, about stuff I care about is enjoyable, I especially like the interaction that takes place on RSBR. It's amazing how willing you guys are to share tips and tricks about topics I discuss on this blog. I've been struggling to come up with veggie centric meals, I voiced that concern and within hours I had comments and emails giving me suggestions. I seriously couldn't ask for anything more!

I'm thankful for inhaled antibiotics. I still think inhaled antibiotics are the best thing since sliced bread. These things go right to the source of the infection and most of the time, no matter which drug it is, it feels like something is working. I just started another cycle of inhaled Gentamicin (an oldie but goodie) and I'm hoping that it holds off a trip to the Hole for a little while longer!

So, what are you thankful for today?

Weight Loss Challenge...Still Struggling.

About three weeks ago I posted about my attempt to cut some lbs over the course of the next 6 months. If you missed the post and want to catch up, you can find it here. I figured I would update you guys on how I did on achieving my weekly goals plus let you know what my new goals are for this week. Here were my original goals:

Using smaller plates for my meals

Not returning for seconds

Eating more servings of vegetables and fruit

Taking more time to eat my meals

I knocked the first week's goals out of the park. We then added additional goals onto my original ones. My goals for the last two weeks have been the same. I still haven't scored 100% on accomplishing them, so until I do, we will not set new ones. Plus, I feel really comfortable with what they are and think that they are all very good to shoot for. Here are my goals for this week:

I will continue with small plates and no second servings

I will eat three servings of vegetables at least 3 days per week.

I will continue to slow down my eating by chewing more and more slowly, and setting food/utensil down between bites.

I will lift 3 days/week and spin 3 days/week. I will also do a separate workout on one of the weekend days.

I will watch the videos (that were sent to me) and begin playing around with the 12 Kg kettlebell.

I will ride my bike while Mandi runs at least 3 mornings/week.

So far, I'm still struggling with the same ones that I was struggling with last week. I feel like I am constantly hungry, so when that snack or meal finally comes, it's hard not to scarf it down. One good thing is that even tough I don't feel full immediately, I'm aware enough to know that it just takes my brain a little bit to register the feeling. Still, I'm not accomplishing all that I have set out to do, so I'm going to have to figure something out. As far as the three servings of veggies, I have improved, but I need to get better. I've tried to increase my salad intake, with the most yummy salad dressing ever (sesame ginger) and I've discovered that I love carrots...as long as they're dipped in hummus. If I could really nail down these last two I would be ready to move on to bigger and better things. I just really need to buckle down.

You guys were great at giving me tips last week and I took most of them to heart. If you have any additional tips or didn't chime in last week, please don't hold back. I need all of the help that I can get!

I started this journey at 205 and was down to 197 a week later. A week after that I was down to 193. Just weighed myself: 191.

Coming Down With A Cold

The past few days I have had a headache for most of the day, but mostly on my left side. My left ear has also been painful to the point that I'm always tugging at it. Finally, the left side of my throat has been pretty sore and I try to avoid swallowing food past that side (pretty much impossible by the way). So I don't know if I'm coming down with something or my body is just being a jerk, but either way, I've taken my usual steps to combat anything that may be going on.

This is my go-to checklist when I feel myself getting non-CF sick:

First thing I do is step it up on my treatments. The last thing I want to happen is for whatever is going on in my head to make it down to my lungs. I make sure come you know what and high water that 3 treatments a day is the minimum but I really shoot for 4. I also try to focus more on my breathing while doing the treatment. You guys know how it is. Sometimes surfing online can make a treatment go by so fast that we barely even noticed it was there...and that's notalways a good thing.

I always try to "drown" my system when I'm feeling a little sick. I drink a lot of water on most days, but I focus on going overboard on the days I feel a little off. Water makes up most of our being and the world, so I figure it must be good for something right? Some say that it helps to

flush out toxins, some say it helps to keep everything moving, some say it acts as fuel for our natural bug fighting machine, and I say that it just makes me feel better so I do it!

Another thing that I always do when I have a sore throat or stuffy head/nose is reach for the salt water. This is a little thing that I picked up from my grandpa while I was young. My gramps was known for sniffing salt water every night and he swore by it's healing effects. I can tell you this - nothing clears out my stuffy nose like sniffing salt water, and if I gargle the stuff, I'm almost guaranteed not to wake up with a sore throat the following morning. It is a home remedy that always seems to do wonders for me.

The last thing that I should do, but is pretty hard for me to get down, is just simply resting. I always feel like I get worse when I slow down. I know that it's not the case all of the time, but it still plays with my mind. The problem is, a good hard workout will sometimes get me right back on the path of feeling great, while other times it can push me down the path of feeling like crud. I never quite know which way it will go until after my workout.

So that's about it. Those are my go-to's when I feel myself starting to come down with something. What about you guys? Any extra steps that you take when you feel yourself "coming down" with something?

Peanut before Glider?

Yesterday we went to Buy Buy Baby to finally buy our glider for the nursery. I have been putting it off for the last 5 weeks because I was nervous to pull the trigger on one. You see, they don't have all of the gliders available to "test drive" at the store, so you can't necessarily sit and feel the one you order. Also, none of the gliders out on the floor came in a fabric I liked. So that meant I had to order a glider I had never sat in, in a fabric I only saw a little swatch of. And to add insult to injury, once ordered you can't cancel it. It could be the ugliest, most uncomfortable chair in the history of the world, and we are stuck with it. Everything about that made me anxious and not want to pull the trigger! However, yesterday felt like it was a good day to be a risk-taker and buy the glider and ottoman.

So we went to Buy Buy Baby and bought a great looking, upholstered chair and ottoman in a fabric that looks like it will be beautiful (a creamish/tanish color). It's the same glider as in the picture (top right of blog), but it's in a different fabric. Well we got the chair ordered and then were told when we could expect our custom beauty: 10/6/11-11/6/11. As soon as I saw those dates I thought to myself, "What? Are you telling me peanut is SO close that I may finish incubating this little nugget before they can assemble and deliver a chair?!" The thought was thrilling and scary all at the same time. It made me panic a little bit thinking, "shoot, what else haven't I done that if I don't do it now it will be 'too late'?" But more than anything I was just excited. We are due in 12 weeks from tomorrow...which means peanut is considered full-term at any point 9 weeks from now. FREAKIN' AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! I, obviously, am hoping to be one of those lucky ladies that has her first just glide right out at 37 weeks...however, I am fully aware that I will likely be sitting, twirling my thumbs at 41 weeks wondering if peanut will ever come out.

So here's where I need your help. What are things that I should be doing (or should have done) at or before 28 weeks? This first time mom has no idea what exactly should be done at this point, but all I know is that if a glider can take up to 13 weeks, there must be other things I need to get on the ball and do. So help me out here...what did you have done before 28 weeks? What can I leave for the last minute?

Bone Health, Daily Physical Activity, and Exercise Tolerance in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis

Abstract

Background: Daily physical activity (PA) may be an excellent tool for the maintenance of bone health in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The aim of this study was to analyze the possible association between physical capacity and activity and bone mineral density (BMD) in young adults with CF. A secondary goal was to evaluate vertebral fractures in this population.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 50 patients with CF who were clinically stable and aged > 16 years but not lung transplant recipients. PA was quantified with a portable motion monitor (BodyMedia Fit Armband). Cardiopulmonary exercise and 6-min walk tests were used to assess exercise capacity. BMD was obtained from dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry of the lumbar column, hip, and whole body. To analyze vertebral fractures and deformity, we performed the Genant and Cobb methods.

Results: Daily PA time at low (3-4.8 metabolic equivalent tasks [METs]) and moderate (4.8-7.2 METs) intensity, respectively, was correlated with Z score (BMD) of the lumbar column (r = 0.36, P < .01 and r = 0.59, P < .001), the neck of femur (r = 0.51, P < .001 and r = 0.72, P < .001), and the total hip (r = 0.54, P < .001 and r = 0.74, P < .001). PA, BMI, age, and sex were predictors of BMD. Vertebral fractures correlated with kyphosis (r = 0.42, P = .02), but not with BMD. Patients who were mildly and severely affected differed in vertebral fracture rate and kyphosis prevalence (P = .002 and P = .013, respectively).

Conclusions: The most active patients with better exercise capacity had higher BMD. Those with more affected pulmonary function had a greater prevalence of vertebral fractures and dorsal kyphosis.

1. Sergio Tejero García, MD, PhD,
2. Miguel A. Giráldez Sánchez, MD, PhD,
3. Pilar Cejudo, MD, PhD,
4. Esther Quintana Gallego, MD, PhD,
5. Javier Dapena, MD, PhD,
6. Rosario García Jiménez, MD, PhD,
7. Pedro Cano Luis, MD, PhD and
8. Ignacio Gómez de Terreros, MD, PhD

Thankful Thursday - Birthing Class & Bob/Rob

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. as I mentioned, I no longer have the "linkytools" but I invite you to share your thankful blog in the comments section. Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I'm thankful for Chik-fil-A. They have a spicy chicken wrap that tastes like heaven...and I happened to have for dinner last night! It comes with a spicy ranch dressing, which I don't use, but instead I used their buffalo sauce on it, and MAN is it good! I highly recommend you give this tasty treat a try.

I'm thankful for birthing classes. Last night we had the first of 4, 2.5-hour birthing classes through our hospital. In just the first class I feel like I learned a lot and am so glad that we did it. It's a great way to learn what to expect and what all the tips and tricks are. I will say, it makes me REALLY eager to have our little nugget in our arms!

I'm thankful for activity. I am currently 27 weeks pregnant and I'm so thankful that I'm still able to work out and be active. I know I've mentioned this before, but I am just so thankful for this that I foresee it creeping onto my Thankful Thursday list a few more times before the end of the pregnancy. I have been able to maintain my same exercise routine and even up it a bit since getting pregnant, and I'm feeling great. It really helps me feel like a human and like I haven't totally fallen out of shape as a result of the pregnancy.

Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful for Bob, the new spin class instructor. Our regular Tues/Thur teacher will be gone for the next ten weeks as she works on a different certification, so a new guy, Bob, is filling in for her. Bob is a very quirky guy and opened up the first class by rapping for a full two minutes. And this coming from a lanky, white, spin dude was quite interesting. Apart from that, he's a great instructor. His coaching style really gets me going and there's just something about the way he teaches that allows me to get to my max (and stay there) more than with other instructors. I'm really looking forward to the next 10 weeks of spin class with Bob.

I'm thankful for Rob. Rob is my neighbor who helped me out with all of my home projects this weekend. I wasn't really interested in doing things around the house when I was younger, so I really didn't learn your everyday fix-it tips. Rob is a great teacher and really brings out the handyman inside of me. Luckily he's very patient and doesn't roll his eyes at all of my stupid questions. He had to explain to me several times this weekend exactly how electricity is grounded and what completes "the loop". Each and every time he did it with a smile on his face.

I'm thankful for our new birthing classes. I've never been one of those "sit in a class and learn" type of guys, but I've always loved learning a little bit about everything.This birthing course is a nice overview of the whole process from third-trimester of pregnancy to your first couple of weeks home with the baby. We've already learned some valuable tips and I can rest assured that we'll learn many more!

So, what are you thankful for today?

Weight Loss Challenge...with Me and Only Me.

About 10 days ago I posted about my attempt to cut some lbs over the course of the next 6 months. If you missed the post and want to catch up, you can find it here. I figured I would update you guys on how I did on achieving my weekly goals plus let you know what my new goals are for this week. Here were my original goals:

Using smaller plates for my meals

Not returning for seconds

Eating more servings of vegetables and fruit

Taking more time to eat my meals

So far, I'm happy to report that I have not broken any of these "rules" with the exception being yesterday as all of our small plates were dirty. I however used the inner ring of the big plate as my guide, so I'm pretty sure that things worked out ok. It's pretty amazing how fast I felt these small changes. I mean, I'm definitely feeling hungry more often now, but as I told my coach, I'd rather feel hungry than feel overstuffed and bloated. The great part is that there are no calorie limits so when I am hungry I can eat. I've never been much of a snacker, just more of an over-eater during meals. Well now I find myself snacking throughout the day on stuff like carrots, grapes and peanuts.

After knocking my first set of goals out of the park, we decided to up the ante a bit and set some tougher goals for me to try and meet. My new goals are as follows:

I will continue with small plates and no second servings

I will eat three servings of vegetables at least 3 days per week.

I will continue to slow down my eating by chewing more and more slowly, and setting food/utensil down between bites.

I will lift 3 days/week and spin 3 days/week. I will also do a separate workout on one of the weekend days.

I will watch the videos (that were sent to me) and begin playing around with the 12 Kg kettlebell.

I will ride my bike while Mandi runs at least 3 mornings/week.

Seems simple enough. I will say though, these have already proven to be much more difficult. The ones that I struggle with the most are eating three servings a vegetables a day and eating more slowly. If it were three servings of fruit a day, I'd knock it out of the park. I'm constantly snacking on grapes, watermelon, pineapple and cherries. I think the main issue for me is I'm not a big raw vegetable fan. The only two that really come to mind are celery (with peanut butter) and carrots (with hummus). Maybe I'm just overlooking some that I would actually like? That's my hope at least. And of course, since I now am always very hungry for my meals, slowing down and setting my utensil down between each bite is quite a challenge.

So I now turn it over to you guys...Any recommendations on ways to get in my three servings of vegetables? Also, how about any tips to make myself slow down as I eat?

Oh yeah, as I reported, I started this journey at 205 and was down to 197 a week later. A week after that I was down to 193. Something's working!!

Home Improvement Weekend (Pictures Included)

This weekend I was all by myself while my wife attended the CFRI conference. As you guys found out yesterday, she had a great time and is so glad that she went. One thing about me being all alone at the house - it brings out the project manager in me. I think it's a combination of wanting to surprise Mandi upon her return and also just being able to focus on the tasks at hand. When Mandi is around during the weekend, the last thing I want to do is work. We work all week and for me, the weekend is a time to unwind and spend quality time together. Some of you may be saying, well why don't you do projects with her? The answer is, we do, but there is just simply stuff that we enjoy doing more together. Plus, I tend to get frustrated when I don't understand things and believe me, that happen A LOT with any project around the house. That's why I'm "showing off" with this blog, not to show you all of the cool things I did, but because I'm pretty proud of myself. If you guys knew my handyman abilities, I promise that you would be proud of me too. (And I have to give a shout-out to my handy neighbor who was around to supervise most of these projects to make sure I didn't burn down the house, thanks Rob!!!)

For whatever reason, I have always wanted a cross wall. I didn't care so much where it was, as long as we had one. We've been slowly collecting crosses since we've been married, but I've been way too chicken to actually hang them up on the side of our house. We still have more that we must collect to hang up, but I thought that this was a pretty good start.

In preparation to replace the bathroom lights in the master bath, I first had to remove the old ones. We had those long silver mirrored lights with about 6 bulbs in them that look like they're for a make-up artist. Not that I hate that look, it just didn't fit out bathroom. So after I ripped out the old lights I had to of course measure out where the new lights would be going and then close my eyes and cut the holes. It was a little tough cause before we had one light over the main counter space and one light over the vanity. We decided that we wanted only two lights over the main counter space and no light over the vanity. The first picture is of where the vanity light used to be. This next picture is of where the new lights are now. As you can see we have some dry wall repairs to make, but I wanted to make sure I painted the area so it wasn't a total shock to Mandi. The toughest part of the job was running the electricity to the new lights. We had to go through three separate studs to get the job done. Mandi loves the lights though so it was more every blown drill bit.

While we were at it, we also figured out why the lights over the tub and shower haven't worked since moving in. I did everything that I could think of to get them to work, but I just couldn't solve the mystery. Rob in all his genius tore the first can light out of the ceiling and discovered that a connection was loose in a little box before the first light that then made all lights inoperable. It's amazing how different the bathroom looks with lights on now!

Back to my fear of hanging things on walls. I don't know where it comes from, but I always think I'm going to ruin the wall. We bought this picture about 6 months ago and it has been leaning on our bedroom wall. Not anymore though!

So I didn't install that fan this weekend, but I did have to dismantle it somewhat in order to install some wall controls. Mandi can barely reach the little ropes to turn the light on and off or adjust the fan speed. We decided that we needed a way to control it without pulling the ropes. We found a little wall unit that controlled the light as well as 3 different fan speeds. We also liked the look of the actual wall control as well which is always a plus. We have been dreading taking the fan apart and re-wiring stuff, but I finally got the courage to tackle it this weekend and just get it done. It was a bit frustrating as I stripped a screw in the wall mount that took me 20 minutes to get out and I couldn't figure out which wire controlled the light, but after taking a deep breath and hitting up Google, it all worked out.

My neighbor works out of his garage a lot and I noticed that he always had way more light. Up until this weekend we just had a single little globe light that barley was noticeable. We replaced that with this more industrial fluorescent light that will darn near blind you.

A couple of weekends ago, Mandi attempted to clean our front porch light that was disgustingly dirty. There was only one problem, the bulbs were still hot. Match hot bulbs with cold water and you can have issues. Luckily only one light exploded, but it kind of put a damper on cleaning the light that day since it was supposed to be a quick job. This weekend I really took the time to scrub it all down and scrape some burnt bugs off of the thing. I also replaced all of the bulbs and now it lights up the entire neighborhood.

This one wasn't a big deal, but was sorely needed. I took the ol' shop vac to the master closet and sucked up all of the dog hair that we track in with our shoes. While I was at it I reorganized the way my shoes are displayed since it's the first thing we see when we walk into our closet

This last project may have been the most gratifying of them all. Since we've lived in this house, the fountain has never worked quite right. This was due because of the slight angle that was created when the fountain settled in to the ground. There are four little holes that stream water from top to bottom, but usually two were really strong and the other two were pretty weak. After the haboob (dust storm) rolled though our neighborhood a few weeks ago, not only was it lopsided, but it was super dirty. The water was brown and the motor couldn't even run because of all the dirt. The first step was to suck out all of the water with a shop vac. I then cleaned it all up with outdoor Oxyclean and gave it a good scrubbing. After filling it back up with water, that remained crystal clear, I still had the settling issue. We used shims and a level and many different attempts to get it perfectly level. It now works like an absolute charm. To finish the job, I hulled decorative rock (bucket by bucket since I don't own a wheel barrow) from one side yard that's never used and place it around the fountain and surrounding bushes. My back still hurts, but Mandi's smile acts as a pretty good pain reliever.

Well that's it. Sure feels like I did more, but like I said, with these "handyman" skills, I'll take all of the small victories I can get :)

Home Again, Home Again

So I should probably start by apologizing for the super late post today. I was out of town all weekend for the CFRI Conference in San Francisco, and today has been a little a-typical.

But I'm back in business and thought I'd fill you in on the weekend. The CFRI Conference is always a great time to meet other CF patients and families face-to-face, as well as learn a whole bunch of new information about what's going on in the world of CF. I will say, I am normally a put-my-feet-up-and-relax kind of gal on the weekend, so going non-stop gets to be a little much for me, but the weekend is always so worth it I keep coming back for more (this is my second year going). I really enjoyed meeting some folks face-to-face that I've "known" online for some time, and it was awesome getting to catch up with some people I met there last year. The lectures were all interesting, but Tiffany Christensen's talk was by far my favorite - that cyster is a rockstar and if you ever have a chance to go hear her speak, GO!

While this cat was away, my mouse certainly did not just play. Ronnie spent all weekend doing projects around the house. We're talking a solid 30 hours of work around our house. The really exciting part was that I didn't know what he was doing. So when I got home, we walked through the whole house I had to try to guess what he had done. It was a really fun game and the house looked beautiful - man my hubby is the best!

Just a quick peanut update. Peanut's doing great (as far as we know), I feel like my belly got WAY bigger this weekend, but maybe some of it is just bloating from sodium-filled conference food. We are 27 weeks pregnant tomorrow, and I cannot wait for next week, so we can be into our third trimester...YIPPEE! One fun effect of this pregnancy that I experience in full-force this weekend was serious swelling in my calves and feet. I guess I'm not used to sitting in a chair all day, and so I quickly realized what happens when I do...my legs turn into tree stumps! We're talking so much bigger that my ankles looked a little white-ish...HOT! Oh well, they would go down over night and re-swell by the end of the next day. I'm not complaining though, at least I know what my legs and feet would look like as a 400 lb woman....OR by the end of this pregnancy!

All in all it was a great weekend, but it's even better to be home with my hubby!