Five Mini-Posts

Oh blog, it's good to be here again. I have missed you! It's just that I've felt terribly lousy for so long. One day I was trying to remember the last time I felt good, and it had been since Halloween. It's okay, I firmly believe that baby boy is worth it. Thankfully, I have actually started to feel better in the last two or three weeks and enjoy a little of what's left of this pregnancy.

So I thought I would stop in and write some mini-posts about the things I would have blogged about had I been feeling better.

Mini Post #1

Danilo and Brittney Finish the Dr. Quinn Series

It's no secret that I was completely enthralled with Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. Secretly inside I feared the day that we would finish the last episode because it would be OVER. Fortunately our set of six seasons also included the Dr. Quinn movies. We actually watched the last one last night.

(Michaela sifting through her mother's belongings after her funeral in Boston before they return to Colorado Springs.)

Michaela: Photographs. They're not just things, are they?

Sully: No. I agree. They're pieces of a person's soul. Somethin' to be treasured forever.

Michaela: (tears falling down her face) Sully, there is a forever, isn't there?

Sully: Oh yeah. We're all going to be together again.

Michaela: Promise?

(Kiss.)

Sully: I promise. 

(From The Heart Within, A Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman movie)

I have this dream that somewhere, maybe in Heaven, our favorite characters from books and movies exist just as we envision them. If I ever find it, be sure that Danilo and I will be spending some quality time with Michaela and Sully.

Mini Post #2

I Heart YouTube Prenatal Workouts

I have found some very enjoyable and effective prenatal workouts on YouTube. My favorite thing about them is that the instructors say things like:

"Now don't push yourself too hard."

"Listen carefully to your body. You don't have to take this to the next level."

"You're doing great. I'm so proud of you for getting up and doing this today."

I feel like a million bucks when I'm done. Here are my favorites.

and my absolute favorite,

Prenatal Pilates with the darling Lizbeth Garcia

Mini Post #3

Kitchen Curtains, Check!

I found several pictures on Pinterest of curtains I wanted for my kitchen and with a lot of help from my Mom, we were able to whip them up in two afternoons. We had fun. I sure appreciated it. Here is the finished product:

The side of my fridge looks terribly unflattering.
Oh, well. It's not like this is a catalog. :)

Mini Post #4

Brittney Discovers Dress Barn

I'd driven past Dress Barn before and thought it sounded like a place Old MacDonald's wife would shop. I'd just never been tempted to go in. Until I attended a vintage dress fashion show put on by Sharon Hill from the neighborhood where I grew up. Sharon was modeling a whole collection of her mother's gorgeous dresses from the 1940s and the whole event was being hosted by Dress Barn. Between Sharon's dress changes, other ladies would model dresses from Dress Barn. And they were so flattering and pretty. They were also affordable. I added to my closet some dresses I absolutely LOVE. I would recommend checking out your local Dress Barn if you never have.

Attempt #49 to get a flattering picture while 7 1/2 months pregnant :)

Mini Post #5
Park City

I told Danilo a couple of months ago that before the baby came I dreamed of a getaway for the three of us that would give me just a two day escape from making beds, cooking, or doing dishes. So Danilo booked a Best Western in Park City with a swimming pool and made my dream come true.

Dr. Quinn at Night

I'm still growing up in the way that I get emotional over movies... let me explain.

I think especially as girls, if we hear that a movie is a tear-jerker, we feel like we should cry while we watch it. "Did you cry?" we ask each other. And so as a 12, 13, 14-year-old, I would force tears to come during really sad shows, probably just so I could fit in.

And then as I got older, some movies really did make me feel like crying, and I would cry freely if I was alone, and not so much if people and especially boys were in the room.

And the funny thing is, that's kind of still where I am. I don't know if any of you have husbands like this, but at a particularly emotional part of a movie, Danilo will check for my reaction to see if I am crying. And he doesn't really do it subtly, either. Cute boy. So there's a lot of potential for me to feel awkward.

But there's something that's so satisfying about crying over something that was worth crying over.

My favorite way to cry over a movie is at extremely beautiful or happy moments, and there have been a lot of those lately. Danilo got me the entire Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman series for Christmas this year, and I have never enjoyed a gift so continuously. Because Danilo will watch it with me, I live all day for Dr. Quinn at night.  

My vote for the most beautiful love story in all the television and movies I have ever seen goes to Dr. Mike and Sully. There is just so much substance to it. Sigh. I can't get enough.

These scenes back to back have been the most satisfying of the whole series so far. I got emotional just reading the taglines on YouTube when I was trying to pull them up. They are beautiful. Watch it full screen. Enjoy.

Sully travels from Colorado to Boston to check on Dr. Quinn and her children who have been gone visiting for more than a month. While Colorado has made a frontierswoman out of Dr. Quinn, she's reverted back to some of her Boston ways and is a little embarrassed when Sully shows up... after staying awhile and sensing it was a bad idea (the trip and pursuing a relationship with Dr. Quinn), Sully catches a train home....