April and Randy dot com

Colin and Brad autographs
Originally uploaded by Lady Shada.

I don’t know that I could have had a more whirlwind month.
We started off January with going to Jacksonville, FL to see our friends Paul and Leslie and for Randy to go with Paul to the Gator Bowl. As Randy is an alum of WVU, the prospect of attending this bowl game was very exciting. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen state pride as strong as Mountaineers are about West Virginia. They’re practically rabid (I mean that in a good way really) and no matter where they live, even if it’s outside of WV, the loyalty doesn’t fade.
Jacksonville itself seemed like a nice city but since this was a whirlwind trip, the sightseeing will have to wait until our next visit. I was able to have lunch at the fabulous Buca di Beppo where they are now serving individual portions at lunch as an alternate to the family-size portions offered at dinner. Their pomodoro sauce is to-die-for. I also got to visit the Penzey’s Spices store there, a thrill for me as I’ve mail-ordered their spices for years and have never been to a store. It was only after discovering Penzey’s that I understood how good spices can make a big difference.
Back home, I spent a day at Tyson’s Corner Center in McLean, VA shopping with my friend Carolyn. If you happen to be there, try out the restaurant Coastal Flats. I had the Sauteed Shrimp & Creamy Grit Cakes with Smithfield ham, roasted corn, asparagus, peppers, sweet onion & cajun cream. Wonderful. Hands down, Nordstrom stores have the best restrooms. Really, you could fit ½ of our apartment in some of the ladies’ restrooms which includes a lovely lounge area, a roomy changing areas and bathrooms stalls that one can actually open the door without almost standing on the toilet.
This month we also registered for baby stuff in Richmond at Target and Babies R Us. Having never been in a Babies R Us I was just amazed at the sheer volume of items available for babies. Granted, a baby is born in America every 7 seconds so it’s not as if there will be any shortage of need for onesies and infant car seats. Making choices on what to get would have been overwhelming were it not for a little book called “Baby Bargains” that I saw on Oprah. It was a HUGE help in the process and I understand that the next version is coming out in a couple of months.
During a recent respite from the cold weather, we shampooed our carpets and emptied and reorganized our office and spare ‘oom (soon to be nursery).
We also managed to find time to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary by seeing Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood (from “Whose Line is it Anyway?”). Randy managed to get us 2nd row tickets on the aisle but the Paramount Theater here in Charlottesville is small enough that there isn’t a bad seat in it (holds approximately 1,000). I laughed so hard for that hour-and-a-half that my head hurt. Anybody can make stuff up, but to do it AND be funny is tough. They were wonderful.
I think I’m glad that this month is over today as I can’t squeeze anymore into it.
It’s the final week of my 2nd trimester of pregnancy. It’s actually kind of freeing as now I’m noticeably round and it’s not just “has she gained a little weight?” as my clothes can’t hide my tummy. I tend to carry my weight pretty well though and just as recently as last week, someone at church was surprised to hear that I was pregnant. I would think that the bulbous stomach would be a clue, but really, people don’t pay much attention. I had a friend who lost 60 pounds before anyone noticed.
I hope February is just a normal month with normal mayhem. I can’t keep up this breakneck pace much longer.