Denver

We are in Denver for a couple of days, and enjoying the beautiful flowers that seem to be in bloom everywhere. There is a great bookstore we found today called Tattered Cover Book Store. Some new books that I saw there and have added to the "To Read" list include: The Horse Boy, Just Like Us, and Outcasts United.
The night is free for us to have...so Ryan and I are off to a date night, sponsored by the Olive Garden gift card we received recently. :)
Tomorrow...we're heading to Boulder for a daytrip to visit Jani!

Regulars

We are back in Kansas City, MO (well, Independence to be exact). I love this little town! This morning I walked in the crisp fall air around the town square and stopped at the Main Street Coffeeshop to say hello to the manager, who has become a friend we've made on our frequent stops here. Ryan and I are now back at the coffeeshop waiting for another friend to stop by with her 3 week old baby! It's nice to feel like a "regular" in town, with friends and people who know our name. :)

A day of rest with good friends.

With the day off, and the guys in Boston, I decided to take a little roadtrip to visit my ladies of Chicago. Similar to how being outdoors by the lake in Milwaukee leaves me feeling refreshed, spending time with these friends leaves me totally refreshed and recharged. I wish I had more photos to share with you, but I was too busy just wanting to "be" that I decided not to worry about taking too many pictures.

Here is a photo of most of us from last year at Marquette University watching Ryanhood.


The day was full of many surprises...


Analisa flew in from San Francisco!


We made farm-shaped ice cream sandwiches!




And, they threw me a surprise baby shower!


Thanks for all of the love you guys showered me with...it was so great to spend the day with you!!

In love with Milwaukee

It is often asked what cities we like to visit when we are on the road...and a common answer among both Ryan and I is Milwaukee. I think it is because whenever we are in Milwaukee it's beautiful fall weather...the leaves are changing...the lake is right there to enjoy and has great rocks for climbing on...it's a place where we leave feeling refreshed.







And, to add to the greatness of Milwaukee this time around for us, was Brewing Grounds for Change Coffeeshop...



Handmade signage for the show...


I didn't have anything to sew while I was there, but it definitely made me feel more at home seeing they had a sewing machine should the need have arisen.

dos!

Tonight's show was in Indiana at St. Joseph's College. A fun aspect of playing in Indiana, is that no matter where in the state we are, Ryan's aunt and uncle are sure to come and watch. Ryan's uncle is only 8 years older than him, so growing up they were always close. Tonight, they decided to bring their oldest daughter with them, as she reminded them that she is now six and old enough for concerts and staying up late. So, I present to you Abby Green and Abby Green...unfortunate for me, I end up being "big Abby" and she, "little Abby" when we are all together. But, she's cute and full of personality, so I'll let it slide. :)

Date Day!

So, we decided not to go to Niagra Falls afterall. Though it was a good option, we decided instead to have a date day and ride "our" bikes to the park on Lake Erie and play frisbee. Though the Buffalo shores of Lake Erie are not quite as wooded and beautiful as Lake Michigan...it was a beautiful park and a wonderful date!
After returning home we walked down the street from where Melissa lives and continued our date at a coffee shop...of course we had to get the massive golden graham treat...the one cereal where our childhoods collide. (Ryan lived on sugar cereal growing up, and I was only allowed to eat it when our family went camping, at which times I always opted for Golden Grahams. I don't know why my parents thought this was a good idea to give us sugar cereal when camping considering giving kids sugar while all staying within a small enclosed camper at night seems like a sleepless night for all...but I never complained...a break from Grape Nuts was much appreciated. :)


Last night we made a brief stop in Grand Rapids...and today we are headed to Rensselaer, Indiana! Some of the leaves are starting to turn the most beautiful and vibrant shades of red and orange...lots of ohhhing and ahhhing at the nature around us happening in the big ol' Green Machine we call home.

New York!

It is sooo great to be back with Ryan, who thoroughly appreciated my bump and did a great job of making me feel like it was huge, just like I wanted. :)
Life back on the road has been wonderful! My flight into New York was delayed so I had to go straight to the venue in NYC. It's fun playing at some of these venues where we've now played 3, 4, even 5 times. Seeing the people who organize the show is half of the fun. We ate dinner with the promoters and then stayed and chatted for another good chunk of time after the show.
That night we stayed with Ryan's friend Katie from high school and her husband Steve...as well as their fantastic posse of friends, who are totally what I picture when I think of the TV show FRIENDS, even though I've never seen it. Again, we somehow managed to stay up until 4am playing board games...loved it. :)

We are now in Buffalo, NY staying with Melissa McGreevy, my roommate from the early Boston days of City Year. She lives in a cute part of the city that is surrounded by parks and easily accessible by bike. I'm loving the fall weather and the early changing of the leaves. This morning we ate breakfast out on the front porch, and in a little while we are going to head over to Niagra Falls.

Now and THEN!

This past week I have been working everyday downtown at Cafe 54 helping them get ready for an audit. Even though paperwork is not normally my thing at all, there has been something about it that I've really enjoyed. Perhaps its being over on the "club house" side of the building where members (adults with mental illness) can spend their days taking writing classes, computer lessons, talking with one another, etc. When I arrive at 8:30am, there is a whole group of members congregated around the door just waiting to get in to start their day of 'work'. I love it. Yesterday I was able to overhear the writing group, which is also facilitated by a member. They were doing 3 minute writing exercises where they'd write about any given topic for 3 minutes and then share it with one another. When the hour for the writing group was up, they wanted to keep writing...so other members started to share topic ideas, the first one? "Foods you like to snack on, let's write about potato chips!", they all agreed it was a great idea...so writing about potato chips they did. :)

Today is my last day working down at the Cafe...because TOMORROW I get to fly to NYC to meet up with Ryan! I'm thankful how fast the 3 weeks home seemed to go by. I'm also very excited to show Ryan my protruding belly...I don't think there is to much mistaking it now (unless maybe you don't know me at all). Tomorrow night they'll play in NYC, Monday night in Buffalo, Tuesday in Grand Rapids, Wednesday in Indiana, Thursday in Milwaukee, and Saturday in Minneapolis...road living here I come!! :)

Our little lime.

Today marks 12 weeks of pregnancy! I definitely feel like I'm over the hump of nausea and extreme exhaustion...and well into the "constantly hungry" phase of things. I have a little bump of a belly that I'm pretty proud of, even though others try to deny that they can tell it's there (really, I think they are just trying to make me feel good...they don't know that I want to be huge! :).

It's crazy to think that when we found out I was pregnant, the baby was only the size of a sesame seed...

And now, only 7 weeks later, it's the size of a lime!!


It's still a little hard to grasp the concept that in 6 months we will have a little one living with us, making us laugh and smile. We are excited beyond measure for what is yet to come!

Sew...a needle pulling thread...

Today felt like a true Saturday. I slept in (until 7:30am that is) and stayed in bed to finish reading my book, The Bonesetter's Daughter. For anyone looking for a novel to read, I recommend it!
Chris and Melissa stopped by and assured me we do not have pack rats nesting on our roof. When my mom was here, she pointed out a "squirrel" coming down the cactus in our backyard...but I had to remind her that we do not have squirrels in Arizona...sure enough, it was a pack rat...eww!! Not sure where it was coming from or where it went...just so glad it's gone. I then stayed outside and did a bit of yard work. It was a gorgeous day by Arizona standards (gray and overcast) and only in the 90s.
Then I decided to take an adventure trip to SAS Fabrics. I have driven by it a thousand times, and have always thought the "fabric by the pound" sign sounded intriguing, it also made me itch thinking about having to dig through piles of dusty fabric to find what I want. So, I had never made the stop...until today. Now, I'm hooked. It's not nearly as dirty as I had pictured it to be. And it's actually much more organized than I had expected. There are shelves upon shelves of little boxes of buttons and patches with the corresponding button/patch on the outside of the box (all ranging from 10-65cents. A wall devoted to spools of ribbon, ric rac, and biased tape. And of course, piles and piles of fabric. Some of it looks like it came out in 1960 and others are name brands such as Amy Butler. Its cheap, unique, and full of character. I promise I'll bring my camera next time.

With inspiration from SAS, I present to you today's creations:
A mouse pad, pattern from A Handmade Home.

A baby kimono top, pattern from Weekend Sewing.

Fun at home

Dominic wanted me to show all of you how strong he is getting and how he can now sit up all by himself. Crazy to think he'll be 7 months in just a few days!


I so rarely ever bake, as in baked goods kind of baking. But yesterday morning, I decided to take advantage of the fact that I was at home with an oven (a luxury we sometimes miss on the road), so blueberry muffins it was! (Sorry Ryan, somehow our winter stash of blueberries in the freezer has already dwindled to nothing...I don't know how that happened and it's only September!)


The recipe was from this great cookbook I have called, How We Became One. It is filled with stories and recipes alike...beautiful and tasty!


Yesterday afternoon I had lunch with our 80 year old neighbor, Marlena and two of her girlfriends. Every year Marlena has a Christmas party at her house, and I am by farrrr the youngest attendee, but absolutely love it. So having lunch with these women (who also attend the Christmas party every year) was like getting together with old friends. They were super excited when I told them we have a baby on the way, and they had lots of wisdom to share. After lunch the four of us explored the gem show (a large event held twice a year to sell beads and supplies for those who like to make jewelry, which all of us do.) Wow, these women know how to shop. Ahead of time Marlena told me she could only really stand on her feet for about 2 hours at a time...5 hours later, I literally had to drag her out of there because I couldn't handle being on my feet anymore. :) It was a great afternoon.

Then yesterday evening I got to take part in a true Tucson rancher experience. My friend Mackenzie's dad and brother train wild mustangs and then compete with them. They spend 80 days with these horses they get from the wild, and are able to train them so well that they can set off fireworks from the back of the horses without the horses even flinching. It was a huge event watching them practice their competition piece...filled with lots of food, and even some good country music.




Even though I have my clean bill of health, I'm going to be staying in Tucson for another week, since my original flight was scheduled out for next Saturday. Even though I'd like to leave today and get to see Ryan...our financial wisdom is urging us otherwise. :)

Clean bill of health!

I got my lab results back yesterday and met with my midwife. My liver enzymes are totally back to normal. I had another ultrasound...the baby was moving all around in there. :) Originally, my midwife wanted to see me again next Friday, but since all was good yesterday, she said I was free to cancel the appointment...yay!

Health Update

Thanks to all who have been praying for my health! The update isn't really much...I had more blood drawn yesterday and I will find out the results tomorrow. All I know now is that I don't have hepatitis, mono, or an auto-immune disorder.

I'm quite thankful for my years as a Child Life Specialist and knowing some great distraction techniques for getting my blood drawn. Little does the phlebotomist know that I'm singing my ABC's in my head the whole time she has the IV needle in me. :)

Life in the sun

So, the truth is, I really don't want to be in Tucson right now. Tucson is great and all, but not when my mind was set on being on tour with Ryan for 7 weeks...its like having to come home from vacation one day in.
Having my mom here was great company. We stayed busy and she loves the taco stand as much as I do...


For the rest of the time I'm home, I'm determined to look on the bright side of being here.

So far today...
I got to work out with Ben and Mackenzie...Mackenzie is a good friend and Ben, her husband, is a personal trainer...free personal training is a great perk when I'm home!

I ate a great breakfast without having to leave the hotel room to use the lobby's toaster. AND, I knew that the water would taste good before swallowing my prenatal vitamin. Yay!!



In a little while, Dominic is going to come over and hang out! And then this evening I'm going to spend sometime with Samantha...both people that I don't get to see while out on tour. :)

10 days left!

If you want to give to Bitone, but haven't done so yet, there are only 10 more days until the Global Giving Campaign ends. They are still looking to raise $1300 to get a permanent spot on the Global Giving website. Thank you for supporting such wonderful children that mean so much to Ryan and I!

p.s.

It's official...I had to unbutton my pants last night while we were out and about because they were a bit too constricting. Big belly here I come!

Tour de Fall

I often get asked if I am okay with all of the touring we do. It always seems like a no-brainer question to me.
Are they asking me if I like being with my husband all the time? Yes!
Do I like traveling the country? Yes!
Do I like visiting our friends and family that live outside of Arizona? Yes!
Do I like living a simplified life where very little stress is present? Yes!
Do I like experiencing seasons we don't have in Arizona? Yes!
I really could go on and on...but this might not be as fun of a game for everyone else as it is for me. :)

The tour started a week ago today. Although I had to miss the first show in Flagstaff (due to my massive arms), I was able to meet up with them in Albuquerque. I always love getting to the venues, chatting with the people running the show, setting up my merchandise, and then finding a cozy spot to just sit and read before the masses start arriving. :)

In Albuquerque, it was this peaceful water fountain...


Our next stop was Wichita Falls, TX to visit our friends from Boston!! Jen (Ream) and Andrew Pellegrin...with new arrival Jude!


Oh, and for the first part of this tour...Ryan Alfred is joining us! He's great compnay... :)


Then to Kansas City to be with all the Hoods. :) (sorry no photos...).

From there, I had to fly home because the lab results (from when I had my massive arms) came back saying my liver enzymes were quadruple what they should be. The did a gagillion more tests to see if they could figure out why my liver enzymes were so high, but all of the tests came back negative. They re-checked my liver enzymes and they had decreased by 50%! They are still double what they should be, but they appear to be dropping on their own, which is a huge praise! My mom flew into town yesterday to be with me. We got to see another ultrasound...this time the baby's legs were straight up in the air, and it waved it's little arm...the high liver enzymes don't seem to have affected the baby at all! I have 2 more appointments next week to make sure the liver enzymes are continuing to decrease...and then its back to roadliving for me!!