The Solomon Family expands

Funny, I posted this on my myspace blog and Marks blogspot but not on my own. . . OOPS

It has been an exciting week. This weekend we found out were were pregnant and yesterday we went to the doctor and found out our estimated due date is September 19th.

Can you say WOW!?!

It feels like just yesterday I was thinking how cute Mark was as he was sitting on my couch in Gosnold Mews for the first time, then in a blink of an eye we were moving off to DC together to start on Mark's law school adventure, another blink and we are engaged .. .planning the rest of our lives together and before we can even blink again we are married.

It still seems magical and new to me that we are married, that Mark is my husband. But now here we are in Denver on part two of our adventure, as Mark finishes off his second year of law school . . .me 12 weeks pregnant. Before the end of this year, our next adventure, Parenting, begins.

I can not WAIT for this adventure. Where the idea is a little scary right now because we were planning on waiting another year and a half, it is also exciting. How can it not be exciting, we are expanding our family. . .we are going to have a miniature version of ourselves to love.

All of this makes me realize how lucky I am to have Mark. He has already become the doting husband and the concerned father. Immediately looking up all the possible harmful effects of the prescription meds I was taking before I knew I was pregnant. Making a veggie tray for me so when I get home from work and he is asleep I still have a healthy dinner. Helping me do research on what is good and bad for the baby. But most of all just being the sweetest, most considerate and wonderful husband ever.

I can not wait for our next adventure, because I know together we will do a GREAT job.

Look candon cleans sometimes.
okay once and probably never again.

Hol Sol

Wow. Snow in October. What have we gotten ourselves into.
Hol Sol

My husband knows how to make a girl with a cold feel better
Hol Sol

Too much food but Just enough fun

The bulletin that became a blog
Current mood: cheerful

We had a great weekend. Friday we had to take Bella to the vet to get a minor eye surgery :( but she is doing okay now.

Then we had a fun dinner with our friends Will and Kelly where Mark prepared Steak, Garlic Mashers and sauteed zucchini and squash. Then for dessert Will made a YUMMY Chocolate Pecan pie that was very, very good (and I don't even LIKE nuts in my dessert.). Not to mention all the good wine, conversation and the hope to go snowboarding with them soon. :)

Then Saturday Michelle and I spent the day shopping. We went on a fruitless search for shoes to go with my wedding dress. But had a good mex and margarita lunch. Not to mention Michelle got a really cool wine decanter and set of martini glasses. Then we came home to meet Mark and set off on a dessert finding trip to LoDo. Turns out LoDo on a Saturday night is great for an after dinner drink. .. . but not so much for a timely dessert. However, we did find a GREAT wine shop. Yippee! (In Denver you can not get wine at the Grocery Store, and we have only found seedy liquoer stores with uninformed employees). The wine shop (Sip) had a GREAT selection. I can not WAIT to go back!

We gave up on the Great Dessert Search and instead went to the grocery store and picked up supplies for Mark to prepare us a gormet desert at half the cost. Michelle and I nibbled on bread and drank wine while Mark went to work. It was an AMAZING dessert. I am both GLAD and SAD Michelle took the leftovers home, because having that in the house would be dangerous. . . . . but DAMN that was good.

Then Sunday Mark and I joined Michelle, Kyle, Aaron, Nick and Nick's 6 year old daughter Mia for rock climbing. It was a fun day. Lookout mountain was COLD and my fingers were frozen by the time I got near the top. It is fun when you are climbing and you can not feel your fingers. After freezing for a little bit there we headed over to the sunny North Table Mountain, where I got my butt beat in a game of War by a 6 year old (okay so I sat on all my high cards, so she could win. . . . but she is a very competitive little girl and I did not want to break her spirits). Mark started to lead a climb and set some anchors and then I belayed Mia on two climbs. That little girl is made to rock climb. She doesn't give up either. She stays up there until she finds her route and she rocks it. Then I got to do a climb. It looked easy from the bottom but it gave my arms quite a work out. I would of quite several times, because it was WEARING me out. But Nick is a GREAT motivator. Every time I thought I was going to give up he talked me into keeping it up till I was over it. :) He was a great belay'er, I loved climbing with him.

Needless to day though, I was tired and ready to sleep in this morning. :)

Finally at the top

August 26, 2007 - Sunday


Finally at the top
Current mood: happy

One of the benefits of living in Colorado is the amazing outdoor life. Everything is so beautiful. There is so much to do outside, hike, climb, explore. . . how could one ever be bored.

We have gone out rock climbing a few times since we have lived here. Since I had to get new shoes and a harness (mine are with the movers that STILL have not arrived), I have only participated the last two times. Both times were at Castlewood Canyon in Castle Rock (no not Stephen Kings Castle Rock).

Both times I was incredibly disappointed with myself. I am not making excuses but the rock is harder out here, not to mention a little more painful (at least the places we have gone to). So I have had climbers block. I would get about 1/4 way up the wall and just block, not be able to go any farther.

I realize part of it is the rough rock scares me, I mean when you fall on that and hit the wall. . . skin is coming off. Needless to say that makes one a little more hesitant to push ones self. Part of it is the nerves of climbing with new people. Especially since the new people and Mark are rockin it on the rock, where I am floundering. But the biggest part is hesitation. . . . hesitation is the root of all that is evil.

I have found in rock climbing that the minute you stop and think about it your path, your climb, your distance from the ground and all the other little factors surrounding you. . you freeze. The path seems harder, the rock seems harder. . . the fall . . . .well it definitely seems harder. So when you stop using the momentum to push you up that rock. . . when you hesitate to guess your next move. .. . well you tend to talk yourself out of it.

A new friend of ours is one of my "Rock Role Models". I wish I looked at the rocks the way he does. Not because he sees nooks and crannies I would never dream of holding on to in a million years (not that secure in my rock climbing). But because when the rock has started to defeat him, he sits back and says "damnit, I am going to get to the top". A couple of times he even stopped while being lowered and said "wait, how about this" and would try the wall one or two more times.

I was starting to become embarrassed. Because in essence not getting to the top during ANY of these climbs. . . well it makes me a quitter. I don't like being a quitter. Who does?

So on the last climb yesterday, using Michelle as my role model for this one (she is newer to climbing than I am, but when her brother says NO, try it this way. . .she tried. . . it doesn't always work out but sometimes it does. . like she became the layback queen on the last outing because she didn't quit) I decided I was going to make it to the top. Now granted this is not the hardest of climbs, but it requires one to do a technique that is called the "lay back". The lay back makes me nervous because basically you are smearing your feet (or putting one in a crack if you are lucky enough to have a crack big enough), sticking your hands in the crack and extending your arms leaning back and climbing the crack. I have NO faith in my upper body strength so this maneuver is not one that I felt comfortable with. As a matter of fact, every time Mark tried to teach it to me I would start to lay back and then quit. . .feeling uncomfortable.

But in order to make it up this climb, the lay back was necessary. So this time, without thinking about it, without hesitating. . . I laid back. .. . damn I laid back the entire way to the top. . . until I was able to touch the beiners. Not only that, but after a few other people climbed. . . I did again this time flying up the rock in under a minute. I was determined. . .not determined to look like a better climber, not determined to impress my peers. . . . but determined to impress myself by not hesitating and overcoming my fears.

Now, I am proud of myself, because I overcame something that was causing me to not enjoy myself at one of my favorite hobbies.

If my arms were not so damn sore. . . I would be back out there today, seeing what else I can overcome :)