Miles for Matthew

Next month, I will be running for Matthew. This month, I'm twisting the arms of all my friends and family to get them to join me and run/walk for him as well.

You can read all about him and his family here.

His mom and I are both members of JLG but that is not how his story entered my life. It all goes back to when I was about 16 weeks pregnant with MG on Valentine's Day.

The husband and I attended a benefit dinner to raise money for PPMD, which is the same organization for which the race raises money each year.

We did not know at that dinner that we would go on to lose our first child. His story entered my life again, when I decided to run the 1st Annual Imagine How 10k just 12 weeks after she was born.

Ever since then, I have watched his mom far afar raise money in every way possible that all goes to fund research for her son's condition. It has been amazingly inspiring to watch!

This year my goal is to get as many people as I can to participate with our team so that we can contribute to the cause as well!

So if you are local, then join our team!

Stepping Out

Not stepping out as in out of the blogosphere but stepping out of my comfort zone. The "firsts" in our lives are sometimes hard. In my case, the majority of the time my worry over them is almost always worse than the actual task itself once it is done.

LAMG (Life After Megan Grace) has been no different. I've tackled the return to work, JL, ECU football, and basically life in general. It really has not been overly difficult and I'm glad to have just faced everything head on instead of letting it sit there while I worried about it. In the long run, it has just been easier to go ahead and get it over with instead of letting it loom.

Each of these tasks has come with an emotional piece of the puzzle no doubt. Last weekend as I stood among 43k other screaming fans at the football game I'd catch myself crying. Not bawling just teary about the fact that our daughter was not physically there. It was hard. I've made no secret about that to anyone who has asked about our trip to the game (and even a few who didn't ask).

What was harder were the voices in my head who recounted for me the conversations where people doubted my seriousness when I shared that although my due date was August 2nd and the first game was September 5th I fully intended on taking MG to the game. I love football especially ECU football. I'd dreamed of taking MG with us to games no matter how young she was. I wanted to share my love for ECU and football with her. Sadly, I never got that chance once she was born.

Those people who doubted me will always haunt me. Still I attended the game, cheered ECU to a win (barely), and plan to do it again each weekend this year. In the future, I hope to share that with any other children we may have. I'm pretty sure no one will doubt me next time.

Of all of the "firsts" since MG left us here on Earth this one was the hardest to tackle. My love for our daughter along with my passion for football made for an emotional day but I did it and for that I am proud.

Answers to your Questions

Wonderful questions ladies! Now it is my turn to come up with wonderful answers :)

1) What do I feel I gain from being a member of Junior League?

The answer to this question continues to grow as each year goes by. When I first joined it was to meet other local women and do some professional networking.

Since then it has blossomed into much more than I expected from those two goals along with motivation to challenge my exercise goals, giving back to the community, and continuing to better my skills all around through my different roles in the league.

For example, during my first year I joined a running group through the JLG and we set out to run a half marathon and we did! To this day that is one of my life's greatest accomplishments. Maybe one day I'll do another.....

Also, since joining the league I have faced some difficult times in my life. These ladies are always standing there waiting to scoop me up off the floor when I can't do it myself. It is a firm belief of mine that I'm a better person even in my marriage because I surround myself with such great women to share both the best and worst of what life throws at me.

2) Where did I grow up?

Jacksonville, FL is the short answer. Actually, I was born in California. Lived in Maryland for a minute before moving with my family to Florida.

Once my dad retired from the Navy in 1997 or 1998 we moved to North Carolina where I attended high school and college. After college, I returned back to the area and bought my own home after getting my first job.

3) Where did I meet my husband?

We both used to work for a company associated with Nascar. As it turns out, my whole family knew him before I did but they did not introduce us to each other. It was years later, after my family had exited that business for retirement that we ended up working for the same company. After that, as they say the rest is history :)

4) What was my major at ECU?

Actually, it was Communication with a concentration in PR as well as a minor in Biology.

The story behind the Biology minor is that I started my college career at UNCW before transferring to ECU with the excuse of "I want to be a doctor".

That all crumbled down around me about the third time I could not pass Chemistry. To this day, I have a fascination with medicine and have not ruled out pursuing something in the field at some point in my life.

Likely, it would not actually be an MD but maybe something along the lines of a Genetic Counselor.

5) How did my work respond to our loss of Megan Grace?

For the most part, they have been excellent.

Early on in my pregnancy until after we found out I really did not share with anyone at work I was pregnant due to both my history and the fact that I just could not shake the feeling that something was not right.
During this time there were a few people who knew because of obligation. One of these individuals could not stop prying. In the end, when I revealed the news of both my pregnancy and Megan Grace's condition at the same time it seemed to put an end to any prying to this very day. Thank goodness.

The rest of my office has been fabulous. Tons of cards, gifts, emails, and they even sent flowers and brought food. Wonderful!

5) What is our favorite place to vacation and what special memories does it hold for us?

We are split 50/50 on this question. His favorite place is Jackson Hole, Wyoming while mine is St. John, USVI. He likes cold, I like hot.

The truth is we both LOVE both of these places and they both hold a special place in our hearts. They are both beautiful in their own way and basically untouched in many places by human hands. It is amazing to think that God created such beautiful scenery.

St. John is special because we got married with many of our closest friends and family on St. Thomas and spent some time on St. John with them all. It was probably the only time we will have that many people so close to us on vacation together at the same time. I'd do it all over again in a minute.

And for reading through this long post you get pictures :)

Check out the scenery in the background. Simply beautiful!

The boys

The girls

A Bison in Jackson Hole. This was taken as we were snowmobiling through Yellowstone.

A Moose in the neighborhood where we always rent a condo.

The beautiful couple.

A waterfall inside Yellowstone.

Lots of Things

There are lots of thoughts swirling around in my head but since none of them are really lending themselves to a well thought out blog post I'll do bullet points for now:

• I'm back at work as of this past Friday. So far, so good. It is good to have a job to come back to with so many others out of work. For this I am thankful!
• This past weekend I hung out at the pool with some family and had a great time! Pictures to come :)
• Yesterday I shopped for clothes and ended up in tears. There are 20 pounds still attached to me that do not appear to be going away in the near future :(
• Football season is just around the corner. Go Pirates!
• The new Junior League year is also upon us. My placement this year is very exciting. More about that to come also :)

Soon I will be back to my regularly scheduled blogging as my life returns to "normal". Writing is something I love to do I just have not had the time to sit down and put thoughts together. In the meantime, if you are reading my blog let's play a game my friend Stacy recently played.

Leave a comment telling me:

1) How you found my blog?

2) A question you have for me.

3) Your favorite nutritious recipe or weight loss secret

In a few days I will answer the questions you have asked :) How's that for fun since my blog has been rather lame lately?

Saying Goodbye To Another Wonderful Year of Junior League

*Note to self: Lose the four extra chins*

And what a wonderful year it was!

Ladies, thank you all for another great year! Last night, as I was sitting at the dinner listening to all of the speakers my mind wandered as I gazed around the room. It simply amazes me each time I'm surrounding by my fellow JLG peers because never in my life have I ever been in the presence of so many other accomplished, intelligent, and beautiful women as the group we have in Greensboro.

It is such a wonderful feeling and it has always been more than my mind can fathom. My husband has been the recipient of numerous calls from me while on the way home from meetings where I'm just gushing about how grateful I am to be a part of such a special organization and I thank you all for that.

Last night as said my goodbyes I got a little teary. I'm going to miss you all over the course of our break but I'm already looking forward to next year. I'm certain that next year is going to be my best year in the league yet and I'm glad I'll be there to share it with all of you wonderful women.

The reason I'm looking forward to next year with such enthusiasm is because I'm not only working on the Signature Project (The JLG Autism Project) but the Chairperson of that project was last nights recipient of the Kathleen Price Bryan Award.

I have no doubt at first things may be hard because the next JL year starts shortly after Megan Grace is supposed to arrive however I'm comforted knowing I'll be in the midst of a very supportive group of women. On top of that, I find it very ironic that when I entered my placement requests for next year it was either a few days or weeks before we found out about Megan's condition. My top two picks were The Autism Project or The Family Support Network (which is setup to assist families with babies in NICU).

God was there every step of the way and he knew what the path ahead looked like before I ever dreamed I'd be going down it. Despite the news we received I'm welcoming this project with open arms. Last night I addressed this very issue and my response was "I'm excited about the project even more now than I was before because I feel like I can offer a unique perspective to the group" and I meant every word.

Being part of such a great group of women and working on such a worthwhile project next year makes me proud to be Megan Grace's Mommy each and every day. Thank you for being the fabulous women that you are and I hope to see you all again very soon :)

Update to yesterday

The good news is today has been much, much better. Truth be told nothing actually "happened" yesterday to cause things to be so bad but I'll try to recap just for my benefit.

It seems it all started Monday. A coworker of mine had been out of the office for two weeks so I was anticipating the conversation starter of them asking how baby and I were doing since he had been out when we were given this diagnosis. It was late in the day but it happened. All in all, I held it together pretty well and was actually able to chat with them for a bit about the situation.

Monday night we also had counseling. There were some issues I wanted to discuss with this particular counselor because he used to be a pastor and has been in the counseling field for many years since so he knows both sides. Since this has happened I've been having some issues with God. My issues mainly stem around things I've said or thought in the past coming back to haunt me later on. He presented things to me differently and I think I am coming to grips with how I process situations now.

Fast forward to Tuesday morning. Most of my office was never made aware of my pregnancy to start with because we do not work closely and I haven't been able to find my sign that says "I'm pregnant" to wear around the office. Then we received this diagnosis so I've been trying to figure out how to break the news without having to do it over and over because I could not have done that emotionally. This is where email became my long lost best friend. The entire team was very supportive and I'm grateful for that.

Finally, another lady in the office came to me to share that they had been praying for us in her church group. She pulled me away to tell me a very touching story regarding the decision we made to carry Megan Grace to term and of course this was the end of being able to tough anything out. I cried, cried, and cried some more. It felt good but it was hard to stop once I got started.

Long story short I guess I should not say yesterday was a "bad" day it was just filled with emotion from Monday afternoon until I made it to my JLG meeting last night. Those ladies are a support network in and of themselves even when they aren't trying and I'm so grateful for them.

Happy Valentines Day!

From my very unromantic husband :) He brought these home for me on Friday as a surprise. We normally don't give each other gifts (yes, we are strange) but this one was very welcome.

His parents came into town Friday for dinner and we were hoping to get into Village Tavern but no such luck with no reservations and a wait of 1:45. Had they asked me in advance we would have had reservations :) I called Bonefish from the parking lot to see if we could get in there because I have been dying for Bang Bang Shrimp but the very polite hostess told me the wait was going to be a cool 110 minutes. Sooo, we ended up at Chophouse. It wasn't bad but really doesn't fall into the category of Amber's favorite restaurants. Oh well!

Valentine's Day was fun too! We woke up early and headed to Golden Corral (stop laughing). I haven't been to a buffet type restaurant in years but my Steve has been asking to go to Golden Corral for a long time now so I gave in and off we went. Oddly enough, the last time he asked to go I said no and it burned to the ground that weekend. I had always secretly hoped they wouldn't rebuild it so I wouldn't have to go but it's baaack.

The food wasn't very good which hey I didn't expect it be but there was definitely some good people watching to be done. Let's just say it brings a whole new meaning to "Bigger, better Burlington" when you are in that restaurant :)

We spent the rest of the day delivering my grandmother her flowers from my grandfather for Valentine's day and spent some time with them. We did a little shopping at Friendly and I scored a cute shirt and pair of shoes for $20 total at Belk and DSW. Steve got two new shirts and two pairs of shoes (not nearly as budget friendly).

Finally, we headed home so I could eat and nap while Steve took Tonka to get some exercise before the two of us went out to a MD benefit at Kress.

This was totally the highlight of the whole weekend! I got to introduce Steve to some of my favorite JLG ladies, eat good food, and just relax all for a good cause. My dearest Julie has pictures but I don't have them yet. I'll post as soon as I do.

Today we are just lounging around watching the Daytona 500 (him) and relaxing (me). Actually, as I blog he is out washing and waxing my car while the pot roast we bought this morning cooks.

Overall, it was a great Valentine's Day weekend!!!

Two very productive weekends in a row!

It's Winter time and if you know me you know that it is not my favorite time of year in fact once New Year's passes us by it is my least favorite time of the year. The last couple of weekends I've been using it much to my advantage.

Last weekend I organized the whole house while my Steve cleaned the whole house. I literally went through ever closet, cabinet, drawer, etc. and organized things while also getting my Bargain Box pile ready to donate in April.

I've included some pictures below of the inside of one closet that is still cluttered but this is all waiting to leave here. I'm so glad we have to do this twice a year in support of the league because it encourages me to clean everything out and get rid of things we don't need. It is amazing how much "stuff" we have that we don't need or use anymore it makes me feel just a little wasteful but at least I'm handing it over for a good cause.

This weekend I was able to sit down and work on completing some stuff for The Designer Showhouse including designing a Facebook page for the group so we can get the word out. If yo want to join just find 2009 Junior League of Greensboro Designer Showhouse on Facebook.

Who knows what next weekend holds but I feel so on top of things and it's great!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Whew, I've been MIA but for good reason. Last week was busy to say the least. Wednesday night I hosted a 31 Gifts Party. It was small but there was no shortage of laughter. Nights like those remind me how grateful I am to have my friends to always keep me laughing.

Thursday night was even better. It was my turn to host Supper Club for JL so 8 or so of my girlfriends came over for dinner complete with china place settings for the dining room table. We had turkey tenderloin casserole, italian green beans, macaroni and cheese, salad, and a pumpkin cream trifle for dessert. Everything was fabulous if I don't say so myself.

Finally, Friday night the family arrived for a weekend for food, fun, and fellowship. We had wayyyy more food than the average person should ever have in their house at one time but it was excellent. It was a great weekend and I took tons of pics but I've included a few below because I know you would rather look at pics that hear me babble.

Today we will head to my dad's for more Thanksgiving fun before returning home to nap on the couch. Happy Thanksgiving to your and your family!! Enjoy!!

What a fabulous (but busy) Wednesday

Yesterday was such a great day! This could be broken up into several posts but I'll spare you all that and make one really long one. Ready...go!

Some of you may or may not know but my grandfather was rushed to UNC about 8 weeks ago. There were quite a few days where we thought he may never make it home. It still makes me want to cry just thinking about this. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Yesterday.....HE CAME HOME!!! I'm going by after work tonight just to see him sitting in his recliner. It really means a lot to me to be able to see this sight again after all he has been through. Thank you Lord for answering my prayers as you know just how much my Papa means to me :)

Also, yesterday after work I headed to Gboro to 1) Drop off my quote at the BB 2) Pick up three of the books on my list that were waiting for me at the library and 3) go to my very first Supper Club. Much to my delight I completed everything on time and Supper Club was a hit.

The three books I picked up were:

Time Traveler's Wife
The Red Tent
The Kite Runners

Tonight I plan on starting one of them although I'm not sure which one. Thoughts?

Last but not least...Supper Club! I've already mentioned how great it was but seriously it was a lot of fun. Dagney was our host this month and she just has the cutest little family and such a great home to use to host these events.

She cooked stuffed pork tenderloin, salad, green beans, and mashed potatoes along with a chocolate cake for dessert. It was all fabulous and that is going to be a lot to live up to when I host in November.

We had lots of good conversation including politics and no one even got heated. This is just reason # 1,443,644 why I love my JL girls.

My only regret is having no pics of anything for like the last week including last night. I'm planning on working on that tonight :( Have a great evening!

We have a new home!!!

No, it's not "technically" my home but a girl can dream can't she? This house is new home and headquarters of the Junior League of Greensboro. Last night was our first meeting of the new year and the ribbon cutting for this fabulous house.

The house is also known as The Albright House. The house was donated to JLG and restored over the course over the last year. The house has a lot of history and JLG hopes to continue to be part of that history over the coming years.

It is so beautiful both inside and out. I'm so glad we finally have a place to call "home".

Also, as I said above last night was our first meeting of the new year since we take the summer off. It was so great to see all of the wonderful ladies in the league again. We enjoyed the meeting and then headed out for drinks to catch up. It was a much needed girl's night out with some of my favorite people.

We have lots of exciting things coming up this year but as always we will have tons of fun along the way!

P.S. This is a really bad picture of the house because there are like 1oo too many people outside so hopefully I can update later with a better one. Thanks!