Time flies so fast! I've been so busy that I've neglected the blog again--I looked up and it's already June 10th!

Lots of my time has been consumed with the joy of cooking new and wonderful things. I've had cravings for Indian and Greek food the past few weeks, so I've been browsing the Indian cookbook my hubby got me for my birthday for inspiration. I've found gorgeous produce at the farmers market the past few weeks--I love summer veggies and I'm excited to try new recipes with eggplant, squash, and peppers.

Really, all I can think about is food.

For those interested in why I'm tired lately, I'd like to mention the fact that Hubby Dear and I are expecting our first baby in October. Sometimes I get overly shy about such things because I don't like to be the center of attention, so it's taken me a while to mention it. We are ecstatic beyond words, of course. It's an interesting story about how we found out--remind me to tell it sometime. ;-)

Okay, fine, I'll tell it now. :-)

I scheduled my yearly doctor's appointment in March, and for the few weeks before the appointment I was feeling really off. I was feeling slightly nauseated and sleepy. Even though the symptoms made sense, because they were mild I just thought it was all in my head, since I wanted a baby so very badly.

When I had my doctor's appointment, I told her about my suspicions, and she confirmed that, yes, I was pregnant. I told her how I had absolutely no idea how far along I could be, so she did an ultrasound, and I was already 8 1/2 weeks along. I remember being excited, and actually relieved that I wasn't going crazy. :-) I was actually very concerned that we were going to struggle with infertility, since I have, um, hormone issues, and I hadn't had that time of the month in a very long time. It wasn't until after that that it really started to sink in, and it still really hasn't.

I've been feeling much better than I expected. Only a little bit of nausea at the end of my first trimester, then fatigue after that. I love that I can eat so much food at once!

Anyway, this brings me to another important point. We find out tomorrow what kind of baby we're having. My gut feeling is that it's a girl, but I know we would be happy either way. I'm still processing all this now, even though I've been able to feel the baby kick the past few days. I just can't believe that I'm going to be a mother. It's so exciting, but a little scary at the same time.

I'll post some pictures in the next few weeks. I'm showing a bit, but it's not really worthy of a picture yet. :-) Anyway guesses as to the gender?

I'm currently watching my kitty checking herself out in the dark glass door overlooking our balcony. I think she's picturing another cat on the other side of the glass, as she is walking ever so slowly up to the pane and bobbing her head from side to side to see if the other cat is a threat.

I've been feeling so very tired the past few weeks, and have been turning in as early as 9:30. I've been dragging at work lately as well. It's an odd feeling to have your head bobbing at your desk at 3 in the afternoon! As a result, my desire to blog has spiraled. I'm hoping the beginning of the month will renew my desire to blog and hopefully I'll have some good posts lined up.

They're sitting outside on the balcony ledge, twitting and singing and just generally poking fun at the girls because they are behind the glass.

Poor things so desperately want to go outside and chase those birds, but alas, it is too hot now to open the windows.

Last week, my Bible study group got together for a wonderful night of fellowship at The Mad Potter, a local paint-your-own pottery place. (Which incidentally, is owned by one of the Bible study girls.) I had never done this before, but have always been meaning to. I just was never sure it would be worth the trouble. It turned out to be a blast!

We hung out, ordered some yummy pizza, painted pottery, and just got to know each other better. I think I was a little intent on my piece, however, since I don't think I looked up except to eat! Each piece is unglazed ceramic, and there are so many great ones to choose from. I was surprised at how pastel the colors looked after they were painted on, then the glaze brought them to life. (Too bad I don't have a before picture :-(.)

Here's my finished piece:

I picked this as it was the perfect size to display on top of my cabinets, and, it will make a wonderful serving tray. One can never have too many serving trays!

If anyone wants to come visit me in Houston, we can head over there and have some fun!

It's been a while since I've posted more personal entries, so I thought I'd update really quickly. Work has been going rather well. Right now we are in the midst of a crazy time with several patients starting a time-intensive protocol all in the same month. So far we haven't felt too hurried or stressed. Please pray that the next few weeks go well--they will be the busiest of the lot and we are a little worried!

We're heading to Chattanooga in a few weeks (once work slows down!) in order to check out a residency program there. Stuart is really interested in it and wants to spend the day there getting a feel for the program. We're excited about the much needed vacation, and both of us are excited about the possibility of being in Chattanooga. (It's a close second to moving back to Atlanta). We both love the town and miss it a lot, it's close to family and friends, and the program looks promising. It will be only a small chance of getting into this program, but we will have to wait and see what the Lord has in store for us.

Also, it's my 25th birthday today! Happy birthday to me! (And I'm a wee bit surprised Ashley didn't hijack my blog :-).)

A ramble on spring:

The redbuds are showing their magenta-colored finest, and the azaleas are looking like little bushy puff balls of bloom. Spring is here! It's always much earlier here in Houston than I'm used to, and I feel like I should still be in winter mode. But it's gorgeous right now. Spring is the most beautiful season here, I think. Summer is just too hot, fall is cool and comfortable, but not pretty, and winter looks pretty dead (but not cold). Spring here reminds me most of home with all the flowers in bloom and the mild weather, just perfect for reading out on the balcony. :-)

As I mentioned before, my sister visited me this past weekend. It was her first time in Houston, and it was wonderful to show her around.

Saturday Stu and I picked her up from the nearby airport, grabbed breakfast at the coolest neighborhood IHop, then headed back home to our apartment for the "grand" tour (All 710 square feet of it!) Stu had to work afterwards, so Julie and I walked on over to CVS and Walgreen's to kill some time. At dinner, we headed out to the Galleria, which is one of the biggest malls in Texas. We at dinner at one of our favorite restaurants: The Cheesecake Factory. A yummy meal was had by all. :-)

Sunday Julie and I headed to the grocery store to pick up supplies for our favorite party snacks in preparation for the Super Bowl. (which was an outstanding game, by the way.) We made our family's traditional Tex-Mex dip and ate that for dinner, along with some homemade Puppy Chow for dessert. We spent the evening relaxing, watching the game, then introducing Julie to House, a favorite show of ours that Julie had never seen before.

On Monday, Stu, Julie, and I toured around my place of work, and she got to meet all my co-workers. After the tour, we took the MetroRail up to the Houston Zoo, where we had a wonderful time seeing all the animals, especially the giraffes and elephants. The lion and tiger exhibits were closed for renovations, however. I wonder if that had anything to do with that tiger attack in San Francisco a few months ago?

Tuesday Stu had to work, so Julie and I slept the morning away before walking up to a nearby shopping center and visiting two really cool stores I had never been to before. One sold British wares, and had the most adorable teapots, as well as all the fixings for a British tea! The other store sold handicrafts from artists in Third World countries, in which they were paid fair wages for their work. There were some beautiful items there. I will definitely have to go back to both! After that, Stu met us and we grabbed some coffee, then headed to the farmers market.

It was an absolutely wonderful weekend, and it was so wonderful to spend time with my sister whom I don't see very often at all. I've been craving more time with my sisters ever since I've moved to Houston, and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to spend time with one of them. Growing up, Julie and I didn't get along very well at times, but this past weekend we were almost like best friends. I feel like I got to know her so much better during her time visiting. If only I could move back to Georgia and see both of them more often!

(Alas, I have no pictures. I always forget to use my camera!)