More dating: Cabo San Lucas

My beau and I really didn't waste any time, we only dated for 

3 months, and in that time we made some great memories. One

 of them that stands out for me is the time that my parents invited 

me to Cabo San Lucas with them to a beautiful beach front resort. 

Since it was summer, I decided to go to Pueblo Bonito with them 

and get some good R&R. The only problem was that meant leaving

 Tim behind. He couldn't get work off and we parted ways for a 

whole week. It was torture! I was reading, sleeping in, e-mailing 

my beau daily and generally missing him, though trying not to let 

anyone know that I was unable to REALLY enjoy the wonders of the

 resort without Tim by my side. And since I'm not really that great 

at hiding my emotions, I think everyone knew. We were about 4 

days into the trip and I was in the plaza with lovely splashing 

fountains and cobblestone everywhere just typing away on the internet

 when I had to use the restroom. I slipped in quickly, did my thing and

 as I was exiting el bano I was completely taken aback to see Tim 

coming into the courtyard. It was so surprising that I didn't believe it 

and must have been scared that I was hallucinating because I kinda 

scurried behind a wall out of view. He saw me and I stepped out 

quickly and we embraced. I couldn't believe that he had totally 

rearranged his schedule, taken trades and fly down to Mexico just

 to be with me! We celebrated that night at dinner with my family and 

Tim was able to enjoy all the beauty of the resort (and I could now do 

the same). We went to Todos Santos and enjoyed margaritas and mole

 enchiladas, we walked on the beach, and took pictures at the "sunset 

pool" at the very top of the resort. It was fabulous, and I'll never forget 

how wonderful and a little unbelievable it was for him to come to be 

with me.

Love, Lauren 

Lauren's Silly Names- Stolen from Rose

1. YOUR REAL NAME: Lauren Michelle Bergon

 2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME:(first 3 letters of real name plus izzle.) Lauizzle

 3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and favorite animal) Green Dog

 4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME : (your middle name and street you live on/or neighborhood if it's a number) Michelle Chantilly

 5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name) Berla

 6. YOUR SUPERHERO/CRIMINAL NAME: (Your 2nd favorite color, and favorite drink) Turquoise beer

7. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your last name,2nd letter of your moms maiden name , 3rd letter of your dads name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, and last letter of your moms first name) Arblujas 

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (parents middle names ) Beth Frederick 

9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets). Black Mac

 10. YOUR HOOD NAME :....first 3 of your first name and add -iqua...) Lauiqua

Baby Update # 1

Most people know that Tim and I are expecting our first child and many are asking how I'm doing. So here's a little update.

1. When is your due date: 

Estimated due dates range from May 25-June 7 2009

2. Will you find out the child's gender? 

Yes, and when we know, you'll know.

3. What names are you considering? 

We have it pretty much narrowed down to two names per gender, but only we will know the child's name until he or she is born. (oooh, I hate secrets)

4. How are you feeling? 

Great! I haven't had any morning sickness and I haven't gained any weight yet. I've kinda been gaining and then losing the same 3 lbs for 14 weeks now. I have noticed that my weight is shifting and I bought some new comfy tops until I'm ready for maternity wear (oh yay!). During weeks 1-3, I would feel queasy at night which signaled me to try a PG test. That's about the only time (except the shark cage/boat encounter) that I've felt "sick". I was still running through weeks 1-7, but I really lost the 1/2hr window after work in which I was running when the time change occurred. In the last 6 weeks I've noticed a significant drop in energy levels. I'm working full-time teaching 110% (all 6 periods) at TVHS and of course I'm a full-time worker at home (I try-sometimes) so I'm pretty beat by Fridays. It's crazy, but making the bed and chasing the pups leaves me tired- ridiculous, but true. I'm hoping over this Thanksgiving week break to get back into running through brisk walking and then working it back into the schedule, I really don't want to lose the benefits of running, especially for baby.

5. How is Tim feeling? 

Tired. Because of Hawaii he's been on some 48hr shifts and then he's planning Hawaii and now my b-day and then there's Thanksgiving and we both have our families in town, so--he's grateful I've slowed down and now crash out on the couch most days. He's also very excited. He's trying to stay up on what is happening for me and did some research on home birth and midwifery.

6. What do you mean homebirth? 

We've decided to birth in the comfort of our home with a licensed midwife. We've both committed to the least intrusive delivery we can offer, aside from me birthing unattended, and look forward to the experience. I've been watching home births on youtube.com and most look relaxing and organic in their approach (though I did see a freaky and horrifying one- so if you start watching- beware of that one.). We are aware of the risks and if you would like to know why we came to this decision, just ask. A few key ideas for us included the fact that 25% of all first time mothers experience unnecessary c-sections and often times you have no choice in birthing position, and the doctor's convenience is usually the utmost priority. 

7. Can I rub your belly when I see you? 

Not yet, it's kinda embarrassing when you think all that fat is baby. It's still all me. =)

Love, Lauren

Happy Anniversary! 1 Year of Bliss

Tim & I were talking about going to LA for our anniversary. We had reservations at the Biltmore and had gathered information from some excellent sources about what we should see and what we should do. This plan was worked out over three weeks of guessing and adjusting and basically Tim saying that I needed to decide what I wanted to see and then waiting for a few days for me to get back to him. Regardless, we had a plan. 

That plan changed when my darling husband, who is known for his ability to peruse travel websites, came across a deal we just couldn't pass up. So we scrapped LA and said aloha once again to Hawaii.

After 4th period on Friday, we whisked away to LAX and rode a pretty awesome flight into O'ahu. We once again stayed at our anniversary night hotel in Waikiki: the Wyland. Saturday, we made our way up the windward side of the island visiting beaches and sights and Magnum P.I.'s "Robin's Estate" on the way along the coast. After seeing some awesome sights we headed to our condo on the other side of the island, through the inland highways. On Sunday, we rose early to get up to the famed North Shore and took a boat ride three miles off the coast. We were paying to swim with sharks. Usually it is TIm who gets sick on these boats, but this time he's proud for me to report that not only did he not get sick, but I threw up for once. I think it's the first time he's had to witness that. Usually fine, I believe the pregnancy finally increased my sensitivities enough to mandate a feeding of the sharks. (gross but funny) Okay, so after 20 minutes of violent rocking, we finally got into the cage and it was awesome. Initially, I was a little freaked out. I found myself thinking "Wait, I'm in the water with 20 sharks around, this isn't right" but I then recognized that I was a little weirded out and then I was fine. The sharks are very beautiful and sleek in the waters and I enjoyed our time. We spent about 15 minutes in the water, and we were rocking just as much in the cage as we were on the boat, so when our guide called that we had 3 minutes left, I didn't really mind.  After the whole ordeal with being sick and swimming with sharks, I was exhausted. (Pregnancy is breaking my stamina!) We drove through a little North Shore town and had lunch and then headed back toward the windward side to see what we had missed beyond our highway turnoff the day before. After another long drive to the condo, we played around on our "private" beach. No beach in Hawaii is private, it's all public land, but no one comes to the area by the condo, so Tim dragged me in the water and took pictures using his anniversary gift: a 10.1 megapixel digital Olympus 1030 SW camera that is waterproof to 30 ft. and shockproof to 6 ft. He really loved using it, and that makes me very happy. 

That night we watched some TV at the condo and baked cookies to share. Monday we just toured around the leeward side of the island and went south to a development called Ko Olina. Marriott has built some awesome vacation rentals in high rise towers and created some man made lagoons to cut the surf break, this resort has some awesome beaches: clean and equipped with cabanas. Again, since all beaches are public, we just waltzed right in and grabbed a cabana. The snorkeling wasn't that great and we were really hoping to see a sea turtle like on Hawaii, so we headed back up to Makaha and stopped at a suggested state beach. We were so blessed to see two sea turtles swimming and eating urchins in the open water. Some people there said they had seen dolphins, but we didn't see them until Tuesday. We had a blast, but the wave motion really left me tired. (Again, nothing slows me down like being pregnant-Tim is loving it.) We retreated to our condo for a while and then that night headed out to Roy's for dinner. Tim gave me pearl earrings as a gift and I was able to wear them to our special dinner. We shared pupus (appetizers) and I had the macadamia crustedMahi; Tim had Colorado lamb. We shared the signature chocolate souffle. We retired to our condo and crashed out. The next day we were delayed getting out of the condo because the owners ask guests to wash the linens. So we didn't get a chance to visit Pearl Harbor. It was also Veteran's Day, so I don't know how successful we could have been going to the historic site on such a day. We took it slow and climbed some rocks beside the condo, took a last stroll on the beach and then packed up. As we were passing our turtle snorkeling spot, we saw an enormous pod of dolphins breaking water just a few hundred yards out. Boats with snorkelers were running parallel to the pod and snorkelers were hoping in the water to intersect the pod. I would really like to swim with dolphins at some time, but the resorts cost $600 and the ocean is free, so we'll have to go back another year and give it a try. Unfortunately on the ride home we were separated. I tried to plea the, "It's my anniversary and I'm pregnant" ticket, but there were no takers...oh well, Tim and I battled it out over online trivia amongst 15 other plane riders and Tim beat my overall by 50 pts. I think it was due to the fact that he played 3 hours and I only played 2. =) Just kidding, he's a smarty pants. Good thing our baby's got so much going for her already. Tim's smart and gorgeous, plus he loves me madly and his heart is to glorify God. Thank you for the dash off to paradise love. No matter where we are, being with you is always the best gift to me. 

Love, Lauren 

Why I'm Pro-Choice: CA Prop 4

Take God out of the picture and the rational and evolutionary answer to the purpose of sex is multiplication of the species. After reading a variety of articles by evolutionary biologists, the pleasure associated with sexual intercourse is primarily to motivate the species to initiate copulation more frequently. This of course propagates the potential for offspring. The more times a woman engages in sex with a man the more likely her chances of continuing the species occurs. (Interestingly enough, this outcome can never occur from homosexual intercourse.)

If the sole purpose of sex is ensuring species survival and that survival is by means of breeding and bearing children then every time a woman makes a conscience choice to engage in the sex act she should be able and willing to accept the biological outcome of each sexual encounter.

A woman's choice is made far before she realizes she is pregnant; it is a lie that many believe that abortion is about choice. Abortion is an excuse for feigned ignorance. Every middle schooler knows (because they make sure to teach you evolution by then) that sex in any animal species is for the purpose of extenuating the presence of that species. A woman who engages in sexual activity choices to engage in a behavior that directly produces another species, one imprinted with her own genes. Most women find out they are pregnant during the 3rd week of their pregnancy. By the 5th week, this bundle of cells has a beating heart. By week 8, neural pathways in the brain are forming. 62% of all abortions take place before 9 weeks. I heard our baby's heart beating via fetal doppler at my 10 week midwife check-up. At week 10, fingers and toes are fully developed and functional.

Do I support a woman's right to choose? Absolutely I do, as long as that choice is the one she makes as a biological creature who chooses to engage in intercourse knowing that the outcome of such a primordial and evolutionary function is propagation of our species. I also support a secular woman's right to birth control used consistently. 46% of women seeking abortion used some for of contraception; of those, 76% of the women used it inconsistently. 

It saddens me that minors, whom I cannot even give aspirin in my class, can receive medical abortions without parental notification. That is frightening for me as a parent. It's sad that families are abusive and that often times the mother's father might also be the father of her child, but instead of destroying the life growing inside, give the child the chance to life: there are thousands of couples waiting to have a child to love and cherish. You can make the world a better place by saying no to death and yes to life by choosing it for your child. 

I support a woman's choice, she makes it every time she engages in sex. 

Anniversary Month!- Date #2

On our second date, Tim took us to a glider launch in Hemet. We drove out in the morning to Hemet where we sat very snugly into a glider plane. We were towed very quickly and turbulently through the skies by a bi-plane that eventually released us to glide back down to the ground.

 

This was a very cool idea, but our pilot did not exactly understand that we wanted to glide over the San Jacinto mountains. We also didn't get to glide too long because we found out that Tim is motion sick and about halfway through the plane glide down the poor guy started heaving. Thankfully there was a plastic newspaper sleeve in the plane for him to use; unfortunately, it had a hole in it. I told the pilot that we needed to get down NOW and he started plummeting for the valley floor. This was fun for me, but not so fun for Tim. We came down quickly and Tim was able to recover. I think we went out for lunch afterward to fill Tim's empty stomache. A fun and memorable 2nd date. 

Blog Tag

I think I was tagged on Erica's blog, so I will now supply 6 random facts about me:

6. I really don't like those corner sign twirlers. I get really embarrassed for them, I feel like it's so demeaning to be twirling a sign in front of passing cars. I don't mind teenagers so much, but if the twirler is over 25 or so, it makes me uncomfortable for them.

5. TVs in public places, other than Sport's Bars, bug me. People CANNOT carry on conversations when the TV is on. Watch, any time there is a TV around people instinctively watch it, no one can avoid doing this, and it's just a divisive tool of Satan.

4. If I believed in reincarnation, I would want to come back as an enormous red rock- like the ones of Monument Valley, Paria Wilderness or Zion National Park. I really love red rocks.

3. When I have time, I really read - I read 10 books over summer, but I read almost zero when school is in session- go figure.

2. I've kept a paper journal since I was 15  years old.

1. Mustard is my favorite condiment- it is bomb with french fries.

I tag Tim, Mom, little brother Lex, Keegan O!, Erin Thomas and Alison B too.