Karate in Mexico Beach, FL

This Saturday, Jeremey and I traveled with our Karate instructor and his wife (Howard and Tracy) to Mexico Beach, FL where we trained with Howard's instructor, Sensei Rick Bonsteel. We worked hard and learned a lot. It was pretty chilli out, but the view was amazing! Enjoy some of our pictures!

Before we begin our training, we spend some time meditating and showing respect to our current and past instructors.

Here, we are practicing one of the earliest open-hand kata (forms) we learned. We are simulating combat with someone on a straight line.

This is Josie with her new bo staff...a gift from Sensei Bonsteel. It was an honor to be given such a special gift!

This is Jeremey showing off his Sai skills. Jeremey masters weapons kata (forms) quite easily.

Here he is with the bo staff. Jeremey's bo is 6 feet long...mine is 5 feet long. I was training with a 6-footer until I got my new bo from Sensei Bonsteel! What a relief!

Jeremey and Sensei Bonsteel are working on a kata called Pinan Godan...one in a series of five.

Sensei shows Jeremey some hidden moves within one of the kata.

This is our instructor, Sensei Howard Moring, performing the first Sai kata. He is very skilled!

This is an X-block move against a kick. Check out the Gulf view we had while training. Even though it was cold out, training on the beach was breath-taking.

DUCK!!! This kata is called Passai Dai...we are avoiding a kick in a simulated fight. I really like this kata.

Don't mess with me, man...I will give you a double punch to your midsection that will more than certainly put you on your BUTT!!!

Jeremey said I look like Michael Jackson in this picture...but I doubt MJ could knock you out!!! Ha ha!

The Bahamas...Summer 2007

This summer, Jeremey and I went on a cruise to the Grand Bahamas (I won the trip in a drawing I entered at a Chinese food restaurant...which is hilarious, b/c I don't even like Chinese food!). I got VERY sea sick on the cruise to the island where we stayed and could barely even stand once we got settled into our hotel. But the trip did get better after that. The water there was pristine...so blue and so beautiful! These shots were taken right off the cruise ship we were on. It was not a spectacular ship...but it was the biggest boat either of us had ever been on, so it was an experience. Fortunately, I had enough forethought on the cruise back home to take some Dramamine...so no sea sickness!!! Whew!

We came across this little cute-pie crab on the sidewalk on our way to a local dance club where we danced and danced. On our honeymoon in St. Lucia, I picked up a much larger crab that we found on our bike tour and came away un-pinched...so I braved this guy, too. Luck was not on my side this time, however...he got me pretty good. OUCHIE!!!

Probably my favorite part of the trip was the shopping. There was an outdoor market only half a block from our hotel where the locals sold all sorts of "island" stuff. Jeremey's favorite part of the trip was taking pictures of me shopping.

There were these cute little curly-tailed lizards all over the place! There were so interesting to watch...and fast little boogers, too! Some of them were big enough they could pass for a small iguana.

One of Jeremey's OTHER favorite things about the Grand Bahamas was the rum. For those of you who don't know, rum is Jeremey's "drink". Well, a double Captain and coke is his drink...but any rum seems to do the trick. This little number was called a Pain Killer #2. There was a warning on the drink menu to be careful b/c the rum tasted so good, that you could easily have had too much before you realized it. I had one, too...and it WAS good! We got this at a German Pub...our favorite restaurant b/c the food was just so amazing!

We took a walk one day and found this cute little outdoor bar attached to a really fancy-pants hotel. We had a drink there and decided to have a little fun with the decor. Jeremey makes for a convincing sea wench, no?

I actually stood in front of the statue b/c I was green with envy...why can't I have cleavage like that?!!!

On our first day there, we took a tour of a really nice time share property. We weren't interested in buying, but it was so fun to look at. This picture was taken in an underground pool/swim-up bar with a waterfall! Wouldn't you like one of those a few steps from your front door?!

Rum is pretty much the national drink in the Bahamas...so you could get really cheap rum shots anywhere you looked. These were only $1...and really good according to Jeremey. He took my shot for me...what a sweet-heart!

Some strange man approached our hotel swimming pool and "gave" me this beautiful hand-made bouquet. At first, I thought, "how nice"! Then he proceeded to ask for money for his dear sick aunt...which having already accepted the "gift"...we gave him. We wised up after that. No more gift accepting from strange island men!

Now that I'm pregnant...I'm not as timid about my pics in a bikini...my waist isn't going to exist for the next 9 months...so this proves I really did have one to begin with. That's a Bahamian dollar I'm jokingly stuffing into by top...LOL.!

Jeremey didn't want to be left out of all the fun with the native money...so he joined in with a MANLY money pose! He first tried to pose with the bill sticking out of his shorts...but it just didn't look right...LOL!

This was taken on the cruise ship as we departed for home sweet home. We had fun in the Bahamas, but we definitely prefer OUR sunshine state!

In the beginning...

Jeremey and I discovered that we were pregnant on our 3-year wedding anniversary (Dec. 11, 2007). Even though we had been trying for the last year, it was still such a surprise. I had even bought myself a cadbury egg (the new Christmas version) to make myself feel better when I saw yet another negative test result. But as fate would have it, there was no need for that cadbury egg this time...there were TWO blue lines on the test! We were finally pregnant!

We got a lot of suggestions from friends and family to take pics of my belly as it grows. Of course, we had planned to do that all along. I was a little shy to take the first few months b/c I had to put on a few pounds in order to get pregnant, so I'm not exactly thrilled with my current fitness level. But, for the sake of my baby and my family, I'll post the pics we took anyway. Everyone is hypercritical of themselves, right?! In this picture, I am 4 weeks prego, 113 lbs, and 26'' around at the waist.

I began feeling nauseous within about a week of finding out we were pregnant and then the migraines set in. The migraines are getting much better and my nausea--though pretty constant--is not making me heave or vomit...so I'm THANKFUL! My appetite is pretty low...but doc says that's normal. In this picture I am 8 weeks prego, 110 lbs, and still 26'' around at the waist.

I plan to take a picture every 4 weeks, so keep a look-out for my growing belly!