2011 March « tomorrow a new point of view…

wondering wednesday :: preggo pics

March 30, 2011 at 5:58 pm | Posted in baby diz, wondering wednesdays | 2 Comments

i know people mean well. i really know they mean well…but i have to wonder…why do i feel so weird taking pictures of my belly and post for the world to see?

i don’t know why…but it feels weird. maybe because i have never felt like i had a body worthy of picture taking, or that i hate every picture i am in. let me lay it out for you, i mostly look “bigger” and not necessarily pregnant. that is how i feel, anyway.

~~to get people off my back~~ for the greater good of humanity, here are the newest pictures of me at 24 weeks:

not to be forgotten, here are some other pictures from our 24 week trip to pismo beach:

i also saw this adorable, and kinda creepy, wreath made out of tiny toms shoes. i plan to borrow this idea for something adorable in the future. however, i did realize a wreath made out of tiny toms shoes would cost like $300 to make. so humph. let me keep thinking on that one.

wondering wednesday :: SPAM

March 23, 2011 at 1:38 pm | Posted in wondering wednesdays | Leave a comment

ugh. why can technology be such a pain?

today my email address sent out hundreds ~~billions~~ of emails to my contacts about viagra or something-of-another.

oops. sorry jasen’s dad.

most people would know to stay away. hopefully we all have learned stranger danger for emails. so now, i am changing my email, sending out apologies and pray i don’t have to cancel my account.

that would be a pain.

actually, i have thought of a better word to what i think this is like, but will choose to show some self restraint.

you’re welcome.

a run mix, 2011.

March 22, 2011 at 9:39 am | Posted in music, running | 1 Comment

real runners don’t use music to run. or so i have heard.

fine. don’t call me a real runner. because i love, love, love to listen to music while running.

occasionally, i will even listen to an audio book.

shocking, i know.

when people throw out the question, “which music should i run to?” i always have a hard time answering. it is very much a personal perefernce. some people like loud, quick beat music, rap, pop, inspirational, or country (shudder). i would like to say that i am a lover of all. by all, i mean most.

i run a lot. like, a lot. so i get very board with the same old mix. since i run with my iphone, i only put music on it that i can run to. then i use the shuffle feature. (for a while, playlists weren’t working, so shuffle was my only option.) i kinda like shuffle. you never know what you are going to get. plus, with the handy-dandy remote on my iphone headphones, i can change a song if i don’t like it.

so what am i listening to you ask?

pop mostly. don’t judge. i like to shake my groove thing. and pop music just does that for you.

it changes all the time, but here are a few favorites for march 2011:

pink :: raise your glass
i am looking forward to incorporating the glee version as well.

usher :: more

If you really want more, scream it out louder,
Get it on the floor, bring out the fire,
And light it up, take it up higher,
Gonna push it to the limit, give it more.

katy perry :: firework

you just gotta ignite the light and let it shine,
just own the night like the 4th of July.

flo rida featuring david guetta :: club can’t handle me

feel free to enjoy my selections. then, maybe share some of your own.

zulily

March 15, 2011 at 12:56 pm | Posted in baby diz, crazy things i buy | Leave a comment

like i need further temptation to buy things for this future adorable baby?

enter, zulily.com. it is one of those email-a-day-for-deals-until-they-sell-out kinda thing.

if you are interested in signing up, will you say that i referred you? that would be so nice of you. you can cut and paste my code: http://www.zulily.com/invite/aashdown396 and go to the site to sign up.

in the meantime, i will continue to buy things like this:

baby room inspiration

March 14, 2011 at 10:43 am | Posted in baby diz, crazy things i buy | 3 Comments

we are realizing that having a baby can be overwhelming.

there are a lot of choices out there. and with technology today, you can view rooms or products and read a review about cloth diapers all in a matter of minutes.

jasen and i went to a JBF sale last week. to sum it up, overwhelming.

have i mentioned, overwhelming?

the JBF event is basically a co-op of sorts for everything you could think about for babies, toddlers and kids. there were racks and racks and racks of clothing.

i mean racks of clothing.

so, we ended up with a pair of cute little shoes and a “tummy time” mat.

easy enough. after 30 minutes of ~~hyperventilating~~ looking, we called it “good.”

but, in all the decisions and lists of what you need vs. what you don’t need vs. what you don’t need but think is awesome, i have come up with an inspiration.

enter:

left my art in san francisco by land of nod.

pink and lace and everything “girl” isn’t really us, so this seemed like an amazing compromise.

but, if baby girl girl ashdown turns out to love pink, ruffles, lace, sugar, spice and everything nice, we will be happy to oblige.

who’s ready to paint?

no, seriously…who’s available?

wondering wednesday :: running while pregnant

March 9, 2011 at 10:27 am | Posted in baby diz, running, wondering wednesdays | Leave a comment

is it safe to run while pregnant?

i am not a doctor. but i know a few. and from what i have read and heard, it seems to be safe to run while pregnant. well, at least for me. you have to take in consideration each person’s body and pregnancy. they are all very different and hold their own set of strengths and challenges. since i had been running for a while, (i ran the chicago marathon weeks if not days before getting pregnant) my doctor gave me the ok to continue running. you should NOT begin a running program if you have not ran before. that would be silly.

but, pregnancy running is way different. i don’t know if you can call it running. it is more like waddling. your center of gravity is skewed, you feel yourself leaning forward instead of upright, and your balance is off. so, it takes more thought and concentration than normal. also, it is important to listen to your body and watch for unusual pains or discomforts. i try to take walk breaks between familiar landmarks and regulate my breathing. since my body is producing so much more blood, i have noticed i am short of breath quicker. definitely something to pay attention to.

i just signed up for my 7th half marathon on april 30th, i should be around 28.5 weeks (about 7 months). this week has been the first week of training and i am working out about the same amount since the start of my pregnancy. i put myself on a walk/run modified schedule from fitness magazine. the workouts are very basic, and easy. obviously, i won’t be incorporating speed or tempo workouts.

i realized that my ever growing figure is uncomfortable in jasen’s workout clothes. so, i researched “maternity running clothes” and was happily surprised with what i found.

runningskirts.com had a variety of colors, choices and a maternity line. they are not super inexpensive, but the comfort of 8 training weeks should justify the splurge.

{i bought black, of course. big sprawling patterns does not seem like the most flattering choice, if you know what i mean.}

i found this video from their site. you should watch. it’s pretty amazing.

first purchase.

March 4, 2011 at 10:50 am | Posted in baby diz, crazy things i buy | Leave a comment

one thing i have heard in particular since the announcement of our {future} baby girl, is how expensive they will be.

noted.

i had it in my mind for 5 months that we were having a boy, so i had come to terms with the different types of shopping that takes place. however, boy things are equally as adorable.

but, alas, today it begins.

it all started with this blog i read. (doesn’t it always?) today, i read “you need this” from on to baby. and i was like, “you’re right, i do need this.”

what do i need you ask?