Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Busy, Busy Days!

Monday was one of those great days, where I got so much done that I almost didn't believe it myself! :) I had a doctors appointment in the morning and then got some Halloween decoration shopping done at the Dollar Tree. I have been itching to start crafting this season & to decorate the apartment for fall so I was very excited to go out in search of a few things. Yesterday on the blog I gave a sneak peek of a few goodies I snagged. You can read about it HERE


After my first shopping trip I headed home to take care of a few medical things and to cancel our house phone & cable. Cox was charging us some crazy amount for our bundle so I cancelled the phone altogether & lowered our cable to the standard $20 a month deal. Now that I'm not working dvr isn't a necessity and we already use hulu and netflix, so to save $105 a month I will definitely take it! :)


After finishing up with that stuff I headed over to my bloggy buddy Brittany's house and we hit up Target, Michaels, & Wal-Mart in search of fall crafty goodies. It was a great day, but by the time we got back to her house my little feet were aching so badly & my toes were sore! I know I am six months pregnant and all, but I am not used to my feet aching after being on them for an hour! It's definitely something I don't think I'll ever get used to. 

After running our errands and getting our supplies we headed back to Britt's house to hang out with her hubby & fur babies. She made an amazing chicken pita dinner and needless to say it was so nice to be spoiled and have someone cook a meal for me! :) I appreciate little things like that so much more now that I am pregnant! 

Yesterday I decided to keep up with trying to exercise a few times a week and headed over to Mt. Trashmore with my friend Megan & her adorable son Cody. We walked around the park about three times and after an hour and a half of walking my little pregnant body was so worn out! But it felt really good to get outside in the fresh air and know I am doing something to help stay in shape. Plus it's just nice to walk with a friend and have some girl time! :) 

I am really enjoying not having the stress of my job and being able to get more things done around the house. I finally have time to take care of myself and spend time with my husband and friends. Plus with this little baby coming in a little over three months I am running out of time to prepare for him too! ♥ 

Hope everyone is having a great week so far! We're already halfway through it!! :) xoxo! 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Goodbye Prime, It was nice knowing you (not really)

Yesterday flew by in what seemed like a flash! I had a doctors appointment in the morning and had to get my medical records printed out since as of today I am making the switch to tricare standard. I can not tell you enough how happy I am about this. Tricare prime is free (other than the allotment they take out of hubby's check each month) but the standard of care, at least in my own personal experience has been horrible. It took me a year after moving to Virginia to even get into the clinic closest to my house, and I almost died when they tried to force me to go to Langley Hospital which would have been a 45 minute drive or worse in traffic. Umm, no thank you!

Once I was finally able to be "squeezed" in and started trying to schedule appointments I could never actually get in to see my PCM (primary care manager or basically my regular doctor) and to this day I still have not had a visit with my actual doctor. I have seen others, but never the one I am supposed to see. The whole system is flawed and extremely impersonal. I literally had two appointments within four days of each other last year and the doctor I saw both times didn't even remember seeing me!!

Now don't even get me started on my  experiences during this pregnancy. It has been a nightmare! The clinic I go to doesn't accept sick appointments or have an urgent care so anytime you are actually sick & don't have a scheduled appointment you can NOT get in to see your doctor. Instead you have to drive all the way to Portsmouth Naval Hospital and go to the emergency room. Can anyone else see how this doesn't make sense? If I have a severe cold & need a doctors note for work I am not going to go to the emergency room. It would be a waste of time for myself and the people working there! Or say for instance when I was suffering from severe morning sickness at all times of the day and night, but didn't have my first appointment scheduled for another month, I had to go to the ER just to get some anti nausea medication.

I found out I was pregnant at about 6 weeks along and didn't have my first actual appointment until I was 12 weeks! Before that the only thing they did at my 10 week appointment was make me pee in a cup & draw some blood. They also made us sit in a group and listen to a power point about being pregnant and blah blah blah. It was a waste of my time! My friend who is pregnant also & about two weeks behind me, is on standard & she was able to be seen at 8 weeks! Her doctor did an ultrasound and actually checked her out. I had to wait until I was 12 weeks to even get that kind of care! From then on she was being seen every four weeks or about once a month. Up to this point (I am already 6 months!) I have only been seen every six weeks.

So finally I have had enough and did the research on costs and what I need to do to switch. I've gotten myself a new doctor and am so glad I don't have to have my baby at Portsmouth Naval and worry about not knowing who the heck is gonna deliver my baby. I can make a birth plan and will have my own doctor who knows me and I can get in to see if I am having an issue with something. I feel like it's such a relief and I should have done this so long ago! Anyway, I'm off to get ready for a walk with my friend Megan & her adorable son Cody. I am trying to walk as much as possible to help me prepare for labor and not get too out of shape since I can't do a lot of other physical activities while I'm pregnant. I hope you all have a great day & sorry for the healthcare rant! ;) xoxo!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Halloween Decorations Sneak Peek

Happy Monday everyone! :) Today has already been a busy day for me here and I am so excited to get started on my fall crafting/Halloween decorations this year! Since it's officially fall and near the end of the month I figured it's time for me to start getting our apartment all decked out.

Being that we live in a smaller place, I don't have too many decorations yet but I started collecting some last year and have gotten a few new things so far this fall. One of the best places you can hit up for inexpensive fall/Halloween decor is the dollar store...No lie! I was skeptical at first but when I stopped by the local Dollar Tree I found so much great stuff!

I couldn't pass up these adorable hanging signs. I also got some fake spiderweb & a felt black spiderweb for a centerpiece on one of our tables. I still have to play around with how I want it to look, but I have some ideas rolling around in my head! :)
I also got these great little headstones to put out and I know I will find someplace to put this creepy crow. ;)
Hello Creepy Crow...
One of my favorite Halloween decorations is actually a sign I found at Michael's last year. It's just too cute!
I can't wait to figure out where I want everything to go and to make a few more things that I have found online as well. If my husband ever made an appearance on my blog he would tell you that I love Halloween probably more than most people, (it's my favorite holiday!) so I'm sure you can imagine how fun this is for me! :)

My mom always made Halloween very special at our house and that's a tradition I want to carry on with my own family. Are any of you decorating for Halloween this year? If so & you are looking for some cheap & easy craft ideas check out The 36th Avenue! That site is amazing & I have been perusing it daily in search of new ideas!

Anyway lovelies, I am off for a craft/shopping date with Brittany from Tales of a Sailor's Soulmate aka my real life bloggy buddy! ♥ Hope you all have a lovely Monday!! xoxo!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Changes!

Hi there everyone! It has been so long since I blogged & there have been so many changes in my life these past few months. If any of you remember reading about all my health issues/embarrassing encounters at the Drs. office a few months ago then by now I can officially tell you all why I was so sick...is the suspense killing you yet? No...ok, well I'll tell you anyway! ;) 

We are expecting our first baby in January!! Those of you who are friends with me on fb or instagram already know this because I revealed it there about a month & 1/2 ago. I was super paranoid during my first trimester that I waited until I was 16 weeks to pretty much tell anyone other than my family and closest friends. I am now about 24 weeks and can't believe how big my baby belly is getting! 
(Here is my most recent baby bump pic taken 2 weeks ago, or 22 weeks!)
It is such an amazing feeling to know that my husband and I have been blessed with this pregnancy & God is using us to create a life! We are absolutely thrilled & I feel so lucky to finally have the opportunity to start our own family. I have wanted this for so long & now we only have to wait a few more months for our little baby to make an appearance! ♥ Until then I am no longer working as of this week & will have lots more free time to update my blog. :) 

I would really like to change the direction of my blog & start adding more recipes and diy crafts I plan on trying. I have so many new things I want to make for fall, so we will see how that goes. I also plan on doing a weekly baby bump update so stay tuned for that as well! Anyway, I hope you all had a great weekend!! xoxo!