Weekend in Austin

We decided that we should really try to see more of Texas before the house madness this spring and the baby madness this summer. Austin seemed like the perfect destination – only about a 3-hour drive and supposedly lots to see and do.

We started out our weekend getaway by heading out to try what’s been called the best BBQ in Texas….of course. I feel like all we really do is try new smoked meats every chance we get. So, we drove about 15 miles outside of Austin to dine at The Salt Lick. Now this is Texas. We drove through the hill country and passed cattle ranches all along the way. The Salt Lick itself was an impressive place, with what seriously looked like hundreds of people milling around to get their chance to gorge on meat.

They even let you stand by the fire pit and take pictures. Jeff couldn’t have been happier when an employee handed him a giant piece of brisket to hold.

So much dangle meat.

While it was really good, and the atmosphere was pretty awesome (people bring coolers of beer and they have live outdoor music), the actual homemade BBQ sauces they make are mustard-based. I hate tard. Jeff and I decided I would just sneak my own Sweet Baby Rays to drench my chopped brisket sandwich next time.

Baby is very full.

Then we headed into Austin to Barton Springs. We’d heard and read that it’s a must-see attraction, in a huge park along the river with a man-made “pool” in the limestone rock. Unfortunately, due to the recent heavy rains, the river had flooded a little (or something to that effect) and there was a ton of nasty debris. The pool had been drained and it was closed.

Nasty. I didn't plan on swimming in it anyway, but I really don't think I would ever wade my piggies into that potentially E-Coli infested water. Ka-ka.

So, we took our blanket and got some sun in the park.

Austin skyline

Then we finally set out for downtown Austin to check into our hotel and check out the much-acclaimed 6^th Street. This is where all my UT friends say the best bars and restaurants are, and where the action is.

It’s no Kirkwood, but there were tons of bars. We went into the impressive and historic Driskill Hotel for drinks and gawked at the Texan women dressed to kill for the three different wedding receptions taking place. I wish I had more pics of the hotel. Jeff said we would stay there when we visit our kid at UT. He started planning our son/daughter’s college experience during this trip – down to the exact restaurant we’ll take him/her to when we visit. He’s crazy.

After dinner at an Italian bistro, I stopped and got ice cream before we headed into another bar for more drinks. Thankfully no one questioned my Blue Bell with my preggo belly.

On Sunday we went on our own tour of the UT campus. If our kid(s) is going to be a true Texan, we better get used to the idea of UT. The campus reminded us a lot of IU – it’s very pretty, clean and was easy to walk around. Jeff is already pumped for football tailgating, so I have a feeling he’ll be pushing UT (and in-state tuition) on the kiddos early on. 

Texans love guns.

On our drive back Sunday afternoon, we just happened to stop at the exit with the famous kolaches. These things are all over Texas. They’re these Czech pastries that are filled with either fruit and cream cheese (kinda like a donut) or sausage and cheese (like a pig in a blanket). I don’t understand how they’re both the same thing or why they’re so popular here, but there was quite the line for them. I had to get a strawberry cream cheese one, considering they come from Jeff’s people. Super delicious, but pretty similar to a donut.

A proud Finn embracing her Czech-by-marriage heritage.

It was a super fun weekend.

After loading these pics onto our computer and putting them in this post, it’s pretty obvious I’ve put on the baby weight. Yikes-wikesa. Hope you enjoy my 24-week belly (and arms, and double chin and thighs…).

M

Oh Baby, Baby

It's been sooooo long. I started my new job for a company that's conveniently a very large manufacturer of computers, and our new laptop just arrived. I'm back in blogging business, baby.

Jeff and I found out I was pregnant on November 1, 2011. The good Catholic girl in me especially likes this date because it's All Saints' Day, and I like to believe that my dear friend St. Agnes and other angels up there in heaven were rooting for me and helping us along.

I had peed on so many sticks for so many days and months that I really didn't expect this morning to be any different. But somewhere in the back of my head I really thought it was going to be positive. Holy moly it was. Pregger test was seriously positiv-o. I was shocked, but also strangely calm. The first words out of Jeff's mouth were, "Dang la-wang." If you know Jeff at all, you can probably hear him saying this and it's hilarious. We were super thrilled and didn't really know what to say or what to do next.

Odd todd fun fact: This is the same day we were officially labeled "infertile" by the medical community.

I just kept thinking, "so this is what it feels like to actually be pregnant?!?!" Hmm. Pretty normal day after that, and it didn't really sink in at work. I think my subconscious was having a crazy time with the news, though. The very next morning, Jeff asked me if I remembered talking in my sleep. I didn't. He told me that I bolted upright in bed in the middle of the night and shouted out, "Holy shitballs!" Yep, that sounds about right.

Me at about 5 weeks. Feeling good, working out, drinking OJ. This sure didn't last long.

The same day we found out, I had my regularly scheduled acupuncture appointment with the lovely Dr. Liu.

She gave me a big hug when I told her the news and said, "You take long time but I knew you get pregnant." She said she would adjust my tea supplement and "Now I prevent miscarriage." I asked her if it was ok for me to continue acu, and she said I should for the first 12 weeks. As she bustled around me putting in needles, setting up 2 heat lamps, turning on my Asian music and covering me with a paper sheet to keep me warm, she kept muttering, "I knew you get pregnant" and "You take very long time." I'm pretty sure she did all the same needles, but only my ears were hooked up to the electrodes, which was a nice change.

I'm so sold on TCM. I know some of you might think to yourselves, or even out loud to me, that I've gone off the deep-end. You might also think that after a full year of trying, my chances were pretty high that I would actually get pregnant. Sure, after a full year I think my chances would seem to be pretty high. But a "full year" according to my dry barren desert body really only added up to 6 semi-cycles, one of them being medically induced. On top of that, I've only had 2 cycles since the last time I saw my west doctor in Chicago in June 2011 for the bad news that the past 4 times I thought I could get pregnant were complete and total impossibilities due to total lack of eggos. And only one cycle (this one) where I had tru-blood confirmation that I actually ovulated (I begged my western doc for a blood test in mid-October to see if my progesterone levels spiked, according to my body temperature and east doc telling me so. They had! My western nurse told me they were very confident I had indeed ovulated. The first thought that came into my head that morning: I have an egg! (intended to be said in the voice of the late MLKJ)).

 

In my wacked out hippie mind, we got pregnant on our first try and we did it completely naturally - no drugs, no hormones, no in vitro, no surrogate, and we're not having a 2-year-old Asian baby (unless Murf has Jeff's eyes; can't help that).

Baby. 18-ish week ultrasound. Looking G-double-O-D good.

Murf Momma