its the holiday season

We are looking forward to Christmas this year...our last Christmas without the pitter patter of kiddy feet (we will, of course, continue to enjoy the pitter patter of Scout's feet!). It is kind of crazy to think about, really. I wish we could see more family and friends this year. Ted and Kim are coming after Chirstmas, so we are excited to see them. I am sure Ted will be giving my stomach noogies in a continuing effort to perfect his technique. :-)

Baby Benjamin seems to be growing right along. I still haven't felt a lot of movement, but I think that, just maybe, I have felt some...its so hard to tell what it is. I am sure that as he gets stronger I will long for the days when I could not feel him! :-) He is supposedly about 10.5 inches long now and weighs 3/4 lb. -- who really knows though. His legs looked mighty long in his ultrasound so I would bet he's a tad longer at this point.

it's a...

BOY!!!!!!!

We found at on Wednesday that we will be welcoming Benjamin Lang into the world this coming April and we are very excited!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

You paid attention during 91% of high school!

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

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concert madness

My weekend was packed with musical activities. I had two dress rehearsals on Saturday (the first was 2 hours long and the second was 2.5 hours). Then both concerts were on Sunday. The Athens Master Chorale concert went really well. My duet was great (except 1 tiny timing issue...but we fixed it quickly). Immediately following that concert, I headed over to church for our Lessons and Carols concert. It was awesome! Overall, the weekend was wonderful...and completely exhausting.

howdy

Hello there! There is not a lot going on these days, but I thought I should post anyway! Work has been good. My boss and friend, Jan, gave birth to her baby girl last week and they are both doing well. Sydney, the new addition to the world, is a beautiful baby!! My weekend is packed with dress rehearsals since both the Master Chorale and church performances are on Sunday. I think they will both be really good and I am looking forward to both...although I am not looking forward to standing so much! Ahh well...

Jeff and I went to look at a used glider rocker yesterday that a lady in the English Dept. is selling in an effort to downsize. It is really nice and Jeff is on his way to pick it up right now! Its kinda of exciting! This is our first big item to purchase for the baby! :-)

Anyway, I promise to update next week after our ultrasound!

happy turkey day!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you have a great day, don't eat too much, and enjoy the company of family and good friends. :-)

Love,
Jeff, Heather, Scout, and Baby Berry

baby stuff

We had a doctor's appointment this morning! We got to hear the baby's heartbeat and all is going well!! I have gained 1.5 lbs, but I am okay with that. My blood pressure has been good and they didn't say anything about my hemoglobin or urine, so that must be okay too.

Now that I am fully into the second trimester (16 wks on Thursday) I am beginning to enjoy the benefits of feeling like a normal human being again. I can eat normally (not eating 20 bowls of cereal a day anymore!) and I feel pretty good most days. I still have my tired days, but overall, I have had more energy to do stuff again - like help cook dinner or do my share of Scout walking.

Jeff has been an absolute trooper and has really made this experience a great one so far.

We go for our ultrasound on December 6th. With any luck, the baby will cooperate and we will be able to see if we are having a Ben or a Madison!! :-) Everyone say a little prayer for us that morning!

On a slightly different note, Jeff and I have started registering for baby stuff!! So far, we are registered for most of the basics at target.com and at babiesrus.com. It has been an interesting process trying to figure what you actually need and what is just extra crap they try to sell new and unsuspecting parents. The book Baby Bargains has been a tremendous asset.

Jeff's cousin, LeeAnn, is letting us borrow their crib, so that is one thing we don't have to worry about! Also, we have picked out the crib bedding we like and the 4 peice set is on the way (thanks mom and dad)!! You can see a picture of it here. I was thinking about getting the canvas art and the mobile too. We may still get the mobile, but I have decided it would be more economical and more fun to buy the wall paper border and make my own art!

In anycase, things are slowly but surely coming together! Now we just have to figure out how to buy a house, give birth, take care of a newborn, and move...all in about 1.5-2 months. That should be easy...right?

happiness

Chip and Shannon are married and on their honeymoon as I type. The wedding was great and the reception was a fantastic party. I even got Jeff to dance...multiple times!! We had a blast. :-) It was awesome to be able to see the whole family and to meet Shannon's fam. They are all pretty cool! (As an aside I think I should mention that Jeff thought that Shannon's grandmother's name, which is actually Oma, was Old Ma. Hysterical!)

Anyway, I have entered the second trimester and all seems to be going well. I have not suddenly been blessed with an abundance of energy, but I do not feel quite as tired as I had been. I am pretty tired today, but I attribute that to the weekend of wedding festivities! I go get a flu shot this afternoon and then tonight I am auditioning for an alto/tenor duet in the Bach piece that we are performing in the Athens Master Chorale. Hopefully all will go well!

sick and tired

...literally. I have had a cold for over a week now, which I just can't shake. I am really tired today and just feel icky...mostly due to the cold, I am sure. The only light at the end of the tunnel, is that if I still have a cold in two weeks, once I am into my second trimester, I can take Sudaphed! Yay :-)

Other than that, things have been going well. I was in Pensacola two weekends ago for my friends' Ray and Dixie's wedding. It was awesome. I got to see old friends and even hang with Chip and Shannon some!

Chip's wedding is two weekends from now. I can't believe it! I am looking forward to seeing the whole fam. This will be the first time we will see some folks since we have announced the coming of baby 'Berry! :-)

Baby preparations are coming along. I'm not really sure what you are supposed to figure out in the first trimester, but we have picked out a crib set (which my mom has so wonderfully already ordered), we are borrowing a crib from Jeff's cousin, and we have started registering for stuff at Target.com and BabiesRUs.com. I think things are moving right along! Jeff and I have decided we will start packing and cleaning the apartment in December, while I can hopefully still participate in the process! We hope to begin looking for a house in Tifton in February and then we'll see what happens!

hunger

I have been ravenous today. I ate breakfast at 7am, had a snack at 8:30, a snack at 9:30 and by 10:45 I was ready to eat my hand. This hunger thing is getting out of control!! I decided to go to Chick-fil-A for lunch at 11 and my coworker gave me a coupon to buy a combo and get one free. I was like, what am I gonna do with two combos?!? Well, I got back to the office at 11:40, ate my nuggets and fries and was finally satisifed...until 2. Then I ate my other combo (more nuggets and a fruit bowl). And I am sure that by 4:30 I'll be ready to eat again!

Anyway, I just had to tell all of you how crazy this whole hunger/frequent eating thing is making me! Cereal has become my best friend at home. Jeff and I used to go through 1 gallon of milk a week. Last week, "we" went through almost three whole gallons simply because of the loads of cereal I have been eating!! Nuts, huh?

Okay, that's all I have to say. I hope you all are having great days and that you are not near as hungry as me!! :-)

pregnant

In case you don't already know...Jeff and I are having a baby!!!!! It is due on April 26, 2007. If my Mom has her way it will be born on April 27 just to keep the weird number thing alive that me, my brothers, and two of our cousins have going (i.e.: I was born on the 20th in 1980, Chip was born on the 1st in 1981 and Ted was born on the 3rd in 1983). Mom hasn't mentioned this yet, but I can just hear her saying it with her nose all scrunched up the way it gets when she is being cute! :-)

Anyway, the pregnancy experience has been interesting so far. I have not had morning sickness yet but have been pretty nauseous. I never thought brushing my teeth would make me want to hurl...pregnany has enlightened me. I also never thought water could give me heartburn...learned a new one there too! I have been EXTREMELY tired and Jeff has been fantastic at picking up the slack for me. Oh and here's a tip: don't talk to me about food -- it will likely cause me to make a horrible face...that kind of face that you don't want to associate with the fabulous edible item that you are trying to tell me about.

I already have something to blackmail my future child with, too! I somehow picked up a stomach bug two weeks ago. I was out of commission for 2 days and on the first and worst day of the illness I fainted. And I don't mean that I swooned in some chick flick romantic kind of way. I mean I blacked out and fell from a sitting postion onto the floor face first. I rug burned my face!! The wounds are slowly healing, but I have a feeling they will be pregnancy battle scars (the beginning of many to come, I am sure) that will never fully go away.

All in all, things have been interesting. My family is beyond excited and that makes me so happy! Jeff has been awesome so far as I am sure he will continue to be. :-)

I will try to update more frequently (but no promises)!

drowning inside

I have drunk so much water in the last week, that I feel as if my insides are drowning. It's good for me though, right? :-)

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Jeff is coming to have lunch with me again today! He came on Mon and Wed too and we had a blast entertaining all the financial aid folks in the break room with us! Jeff is such a hoot when he is in his element...and honestly, what's more fun than commiserating about students?

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It is quiet in the office today. Jan is out this morning undergoing the three hour gestational diabetes test. I hope all is well. I am sure she'll call in a bit.

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We are having some friends over for dinner tonight. Jeff is grilling a porkloin (mmmm...meat cookies!!) and we are having a deep dish apple pie for desert! Woohoo!

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I am looking forward to Sarah coming next weekend. We are going to Dragon Con together...which is not necessarily my thing...however, I will do anything to hang out with Sarah. Maybe I'll get some good pictures for my Dad. He is a big sci-fi person.

back in class

Today is the first day of the fall semester here at UGA and the place is a madhouse of activity. It took me an extra 10 minutes to get to work this morning because of the dramatic increase in traffic. Who would have thought 8 a.m. classes were so popular?

Jeff is excited the get back into the routine and I think he is really looking forward to his courses this term. It was fun to see him so excited about buying his books!

We have already had four people in the office this morning looking for their classes or the Bursar's office or Financial Aid...poor kids...can't event read a campus map. It is amazing that the smarter these kids are supposed to be, the more difficulty they have with the simplest tasks.

Oh well...

right or left brained in love?

I Am Left Brained In Love

Cool and clearheaded, Tend not to get swept away, Dependable and trustworthy, Able to look at thing objectively, Honest and direct in relationships, Rely on standards when picking a man, Good at solving relationship problems, Ready to compete for your sweetie's heart, Articulate, a good conversationalist, and witty, Think overly romantic displays are a waste of time, A few serious boyfriends as opposed to many flings, Notice all of the details about your guy - good and bad.

fun times

There is this awesome chick that I met at church -- Katy. Katy is working on her MA in English at UGA and she sings alto! I love to sing with her. Anyway, I thought she was cool, and over the last few months we have started talking more and stuff. We invited her over for dinner last night and to my extreme delight the evening turned into an old fashioned slumber party. It was awesome! We listened to music, read poetry out loud..how grown up of us, right?, and she and Jeff talked shop. We also went and got cookie dough and ice cream and one of those cans of whipped cream and we totally pigged out...this was after we had sushi and stir fry for dinner thanks to the awesomeness of my dear hubby, Jeff.

Anyway, I slept on the couch and Katy got the air mattress and we stayed up way too freakin' long...like 3:30. But it was just awesome. We woke up and all three of us went to 5 Star Day for brunch and it was just the perfect Saturday morning. It is so awesome to know that even though we are "adults" we can still have kid-style fun! :-)

how liberal or conservative are you?

Heather's Political Profile:

Overall: 60% Conservative, 40% Liberal

Social Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

if your life was a movie, what genre would it be?

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic

Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy - your life appeals to a select few. But if someone's obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky. Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

are you a control freak?

You Are 48% Control Freak

Generally, you are in control but not a control freak. You life is usually in order. However, sometimes you get too obsessed with making everything in your life picture perfect.

Are You A Control Freak?

what color green are you?

You Are Teal Green

You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you. Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible. While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks. Your warm personality nicely counteracts and strange habits you may have.

What Color Green Are You?

well hello there

Sorry for so much time between posts. I have been a busy girl. Jeff and I went to Tifton this past weekend and had a great time hanging out with friends. We enjoyed some good food and good conversation. Missy Lee, the bestest hostess in the World, had some friends over on Friday night to celebrate Jeff's Birthday. We chowed down on some fabulous cake from a local bakery and then played Trivial Pursuit. In the Girls vs Boys head-to-head competition, the Girls came out on top! Wooohooo! :-)

After the adults left two of the girls, Abby and Mary Margaret stayed over to spend the night with Jackie. They had great fun trying to get Mr. Jeff to sing them a song and then waking him up in the morning. Mr. Jeff is sooooooo popular! :-)

We got to see more friends on Saturday and even drove around looking at homes for sale and scoping out some neighborhoods. On Sunday I sang and Jeff played bass with the worship team. It was so nice to worship at New Life.

All in all it was a great weekend. Scout got to hang out with the Schupskas all weekend and just like her mom and dad, was ready to crash when she got home.

It's crazy to think that in 10 months we will be moving back to Tifton. I am excited about beginning to look for a house in February!!

long day

Today has been good, but - as most Mondays - it has been neverending. The last 30 minutes have taken like 3 hours to pass!

Anyway, not a lot to say today. Jeff and I are recommitting ourselves to watching what we eat and exercising more. We bought a scale and we are counting WW Points. I pray that we stick to it.

my weekend in review

Friday we had dinner at DePalmas with two frineds from church/UGA, Katy and Leslie. Then we met up with my super awesome boss-lady, Jan, and her husband, Ed, and went and saw Superman. It was really good. I thought the story was great and the acting was good. I thought that Lois came off as a litte young, but overall it was good!

Saturday I woke up around 9:30 (thanks honey for letting me sleep!) to find roses and a card waiting for me...Saturday was our sixth anniversary. :-) I called my oldest and best friend Sarah and we talked for almost 2 hours. It was awesome. It has been so long since either of us has done that. I felt so great after talking with her. I am so glad that I still have her in my life -- she is such a blessing to me.

So after talking to Sarah I finally made it into the shower while Jeff made some lunch for us. Then we went to see The Devil Wears Prada. It was cute and Meryl Streep was wonderful (as expected). Then we came home, I walked Scout, and we got dressed for dinner. We had italian (again!...I love italian) and it was fantastic.

Sunday we went to church, came home and made a fabulous lunch, and just hung out all day.

All-in-all it was a fantastic weekend!!

let's go to the movies - take two

I get to see TWO movies this weekend. Tonight we are going to see Superman Returns and tomorrow we are going to see The Devil Wears Prada. I am looking forward to both of them! I'll report back on how good they really are...

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Tomorrow Jeff and I will have been married six years. That is so nuts. :-)

nothing to say but sayin' it anyway

So...I don't really have anything to say. I just felt like I should post something. I am feeling pretty good today. Jeff and I are going to Chris and Elizabeth's house for dinner tonight and Elizabeth is making Thai food. I have never had Thai, so I am looking forward to it!

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I made tortelloni alfredo last night and it was so awesome. By made I mean I made the alfredo sauce and boiled the store bought tortelloni...but that's really splitting hairs, isn't it? Anyway, it was really good and rich and everything you want alfredo to be...I so rule.

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I love Nutty Bars. I had forgotten how yummy they are until a coworker split one with me yesterday. They are just plain scrumptious.

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Have you ever watched 30 Minute Meals with Rachel Ray? That chick is nuts. If she says E-V-O-O one more time, I might have to hurl a large object at my television. Other than that though, I like her show. She makes good meals and has good time savings tips. If you can get past the super bubbly personality and the skin tight clothes then its worth watching.

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Okay, so here are all the sites I have made in the last year/am responsible for updating:

New Life Presbyterian*

UGA

Student Affairs

African American Cultural Center

Greek Life

Judicial Programs

LGBT Resource Center

Student Affairs Assessment*

Community Campus Coalition

ABAC

Pegasus Literary Magazine

The ones with asterisk are the sites I am most proud of. :-) Let me know if you see any typos or if anything doesn't work!

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Okay...break's over. Back to work!

working hard

So Adobe Illustrator is a totally different beast than Photoshop. I don't know why I expected them to function similiarly, but I did. So I have spent all morning trying to make a very simple box with text in it. I had to figure out how to use spot colors, which, assuming I did it correctly, was suprisingly easy. I'll be sending the stuff off to the t-shirt guys later today so we'll see how successful I really was.

Anyway, I didn't do a whole lot this weekend. We watched some Scrubs (season 3), did a load or two of laundry and I even did a load of dishes! Not much else though. I saw an episode of the Dog Whisperer. I want to be a dog whisperer. Cesar is cool and Scout totally needs to be whispered.

Well...more work to do. See ya.

tired

I am tired today. I think I stayed up too late last night watching America's Got Talent. The title of the show begs the question...do they really?!? Let me say that after last night's show I can guarantee that America has a bunch of stupid and obnoxious folks who think the weird things they can or cannot do is talent. What a waste of perfectly good sleeping hours.

Anyway, I am off to have lunch with Jeff, Grandmother, Aunt Diane and Uncle John here in about 30 minutes. They are staying with us for two night on their way back home to NC. It's always nice to see family. :-)

family

I love my family. Jeff, Chip and Ted, mom and dad - these are the people that know me, that have shaped me and loved me. Without them I would be lost. I often wish I lived closer to them all - my brothers especially. I was looking at some old pictures the other night and was overwhelmed with how much I miss seeing them everyday. I don't have a lot of pics on my computer, but here are some.

1) My dad, Mel Cothran (all the way to the right), when he was 14. I can see both of my brothers so clearly in his face.

2) My middle brother, Chip, and his fiance, Shannon.

3) Me, brother Ted (on bass), brother Chip (on guitar), and then boyfriend now husband Jeff (on guitar). This was Easter Sunday 1999. We were at my grandparent's house for Easter dinner. Jeff and I had been dating for like 2 weeks and my mom made him stand in a family photo...he was in hell. :-)

4) My youngest brother, Ted and his wife, Kim, on their Key West honeymoon.

Well, those are all the pics I have on my computer at the moment. I will get more pictures later. I have so many that I love it will be fun scanning them in...

the lake house

I liked it...probably for the same reasons that the critics don't. I must have lousy taste because most movies that get panned by the critics I end up really enjoying. Ah well. Who gives a crap what they think, right? Obviously not me!

The movie was good. Sandra Bullock played, as Jeff pointed out, the best sad person we'd ever seen. She was believable throughout the film. And Keanu usually gets on my last nerve but I think "Ted" has finally grown up.

Anyway, if you are looking for a good chick-flick type movie -- The Lake House was good. You'll enjoy it. :-)

let's go to the movies

So Jeff and I are going to see The Lake House this afternoon. I am a sucker for a decent chick flick and Jeff owes me...

I'll report back later.

beam me up...

I grew up watching Star Trek and if you ask me, Star Trek beats Star Wars hands down. Here's why: teleportation. Who doesn't want to simply beam-up to their desired location? Come on, that rocks!

A few more reasons Star Trek kicks Star Wars' butt (if you really need more reasons) are: Leonard Nemoy's Spock, Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard, and James Doohan's Scotty.

I love Han, but come on, the Enterprise could totally take the Millenium Falcon...

look at what i made!!

Ok. So am I thrilled with some of the web sites I have created recently. I feel like I am becoming more and more comfortable with html. Dreamweaver makes things a breeze and I am even learning a bit about javascript. My latest site is for my church, New Life Presbyterian in Tifton, GA. I don't live in Tifton right now, but I love the church all the same and miss the community there immensely.

New Life's current web site was the very first site I created and now that I have learned more about web design I thought I would give it another go. Here is a link to the new site.

If you have comments, suggestions, or ideas - let me hear them! Also, if you see anything familiar that may be because you have seen it before. I am a total believer in hijacking if it keeps me from reinventing the wheel!

from an ordinary girl to the world

Hello and welcome to my little slice of world wide web heaven. Although I am unsure exactly how I will use this space, I am sure there will be some complaining, some bragging, some reminiscing, and maybe even some dreaming. I hope you enjoy reading about my very ordinary life as much as I love living it.