Hawaii Recap

Hawaii was a great vacation! It is a place that everyone should visit at least once in their life. We stayed at Milolii, a small village at the bottom tip of the big island. It is on the Kona side of the big island. Kona is the "sunny" side of the island, it doesn't rain very much there so the landscape is mostly lava without many trees or plants. So our landscape looked mostly like this.


Down in the fishing village there was a trail to a black sand beach. It was absolutely beautiful. Most days we were the only people there. On our final trip there Keith was snorkeling and saw a large shark!
We took a dolphin swim trip. I got really sick but Keith had a fabulous time. He took a lot of pictures, some turned out really well. I did have the opportunity to see a few dolphins and get pretty close to them before the sickness set in. It was really amazing to see them so close up!
We took a few trips to the other side of the island. This is the Hilo side. It is the home of the volcanoes, and is much more tropical. This side gets more rain and looks more like the Hawaii you see on TV.

This is me in front of a giant crater left behind after a volcanic explosion.
This is Keith in the lava tube we walked through.
We hiked a little to this waterfall. It was really beautiful.

The final highlight of our trip was the Luau we went to on our anniversary. It was very fun and something everyone should do if they have the chance. It was hard to get good pictures in the low light but I'll post a few.

Screening

Good news came today. I went in for the screening for Down Syndrome, Spina Bifida, and other chromosomal disorders on Tuesday. I got the call from the doctor today that all is well. She said I have the health age and risk factors of a 20 year old. I just wish they knew if I am having a girl or not :)

I thought my sickness had subsided but it reared its ugly head again yesterday and today. I threw up in the kitchen sink last night, rinsed my mouth, and continued to cook dinner. I think I deserve a medal! I think all pregnant ladies do, this is the best experience of my life but I don't think I really understood how hard it was going to be.

My new bikini body

Not exactly what I was going for! About 3 days into my Jillian Michaels transformation I found out I was pregnant. I was so thankful, both to be pregnant and to get a reprieve from Ms. Michaels. So as you can see, I was a little more white whale than Victoria's Secret model. I still wore the bikini on the secluded beaches because, well I had spent the money and I loved it and I don't know anyone in Hawaii. Sharing it here takes a bit more courage, but most of my readers are my friends who are moms themselves so I figured I am among friends :)

Hawaii tomorrow

We leave for Hawaii tomorrow at 11am. I am so excited. I'll have plenty of pictures and fun to share when we get back!

Mixed Review

I just read this book

and I'm not sure how I feel about it. They do have some good ideas, but they are pretty extreme. I have read a lot of research regarding healthy eating. I agree completely with the idea of reading all ingredients and knowing what you are putting into your body. I don't agree, however, that eating animal products equals eating poison. I feel that organic meats and dairy have their place in a balanced diet.

I recommend this book for a new perspective on food and your body, but as with everything take it with a grain of salt (even if it's not Celtic sea salt) and make your own choices :)

Jillian Michaels is trying to kill me

I started the 30 Day Shred today, thanks Katie!

I do not know how those people on Biggest Loser don't die, literally. I am not totally out of shape, after all I walked 60 miles in October, I can walk 15 miles a day for training with no problem, I ran 2.5 miles last week, but this 20 minute workout was HARD. I mean I'm really glad I did it and I hope to look and feel better in a month, but if Jillian hadn't been telling me not to turn off the DVD player I might have!

It's Yellow, I mean Spring

This is how you know it is Spring in Atlanta

Everything gets a coating of yellow pollen. The news said a pollen count above 120 is extremely high, this week we were at 5,837. When it rained, the streets ran yellow! It's really crazy to see.