Life lately...with zero mention of being pregnant!

As per the usual, I've been slacking in the blog department. I'll give you a self-absorbed pregnancy update tomorrow, but today, you get all the non-pregnancy-related things that have been happening in my world. Buckle up.

Game of Thrones. Duh. Like the rest of the planet, I've been obsessing over/critiquing watching the final season of Game of Thrones. Though I have some serious gripes with some of the plot choices (Jaime deserved better, can Bran just...warg out of the show?), I'm pretty satisfied overall with the outcome and bummed to see it go. For the premiere episode of the season, LP and Elizabeth had a (night's) watch party at their place and I showed up with all the fervor and decorating prowess of an overzealous PTA mom. Sorry not sorry, folks.

Pacers Season Ended. Sadly (or perhaps not), the Pacers were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. While I'm always happy to have my husband back home and get the off-season underway, it was pretty sad to see this super likable team get bounced so early in their postseason run. I was able to attend Games 3 and 4 this year, so no complaints here.

Scarlett turned 3. How is it possible that this beautiful, squishy girl is so grown up?! Her birthday party was Spirit-themed (that's her favorite show) and check out the incredible cake her Aunt April made. So much for my overzealous PTA mom talk...

 ...and speaking of my brother and his dreamy family, they are adding TWINS to the clan in November! I'm still in shock, but so beyond excited to see my little girl grow up with a crew of cousins so close in age.

Visitors. I've been super lucky the past few weekends to have some of my best friends in town. The weekend after my baby shower, Morgan, Hannah, and Jenn came to spend some quality time. Then last weekend, CJ, Eric, TJ, Jenn, and Emerson (is she not the cutest? Proof below.) came for a mini Derailed reunion of sorts. There's honestly nothing I like better than having my favorite people in town.

Odds and Ends. Spring has officially sprung in Indy, complete with thunderstorms, lots of blooming flowers, and baby ducklings on the canal. I can't stop listening to "Cool" by the Jonas Brothers and Wheat won't let me live it down. Dad had ear surgery a few weeks ago and I went home to chauffeur him to and from the hospital and make sure he was okay overnight. We saw an advance screening of Yesterday at the Indianapolis Film Festival and I highly recommend it.

...and that's about it. Life has pretty much revolved around doctor's appointments and preparing for the baby lately, but more to come on that tomorrow.

Life in the fast lane.

Guess what, guys.

While I took my sweet time writing these Spain recaps, life kept on truckin' and a lot more things happened. I mean, a lot. Wheat and I just got home from a dreamy weekend trip to Denver, but before I launch into that, here is a quick recap of the last couple months.

Jenn took me to Columbus to see My Favorite Murder live. For those who don't know, MFM is a podcast where two comedians (Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark) tell true crime/murder stories to each other. Somehow, Jenn lucked into tickets in the second row(!) and we had an absolute blast listening to them discuss the "Angel of Death" Donald Harvey and the Circleville Letter Writer at the Palace Theater. We also used the trip as an opportunity to see TJ and Tasha, get Jeni's ice cream, and meet Todd for delicious pizza at Paulie Gee's. Dream scenario.

Wheat and I celebrated Valentine's Day at White Castle. When every day feels like Valentine's Day, it's not a big deal how you celebrate. So this year, we made reservations at White Castle and it might just become an annual tradition. Every booth in the dimly lit dining room had a tablecloth, fake candle, and flowers. Waiters actually took your order at the table from menus with specialty items like chocolate-covered strawberry shakes. Our food was served with silverware and the bill came out in a Valentine's Day card signed by the staff. Perfectly cheesy.

Plays and events galore. In the last couple months, Wheat and I have seen Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Clowes Memorial Hall, Les Miserables at the Murat, and a moderated conversation with my queen Michelle Obama at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. All were incredible - need I say more?

We spent a couple wonderful weekends in Ohio during which I had an amazing girls' night in Over-the-Rhine with Jamie, Jenn, Elizabeth, and Kelly. We had alcoholic ice cream at Buzzed Bull Creamery, played some video games at 16 Bit, ate amazing gourmet hot dogs at Senate (the one below is the Lindsay Lohan), and played Yahtzee at Rook. My heart feels so full when I spend time with those girls. We also babysat Scarlett and got lunch at Little River Cafe with my mom and brother.

We took a quick trip to Nashville to see Wheat's parents...and by quick, I mean 24 hours. We stayed with some family friends, attended some other family friends' party, checked out the 12South neighborhood, and ate some barbecue, of course.

...and other things, too. The Eagles won the Super Bowl and March Madness broke our hearts and brackets. Jenn and Kenzie stayed the night with us on their way to St. Louis and we got pedicures and played the Sims. The weather pretended to warm up, then snowed, then warmed up, then snowed. Music competition reality shows nearly drove me into the ground with the return of The Voice and American Idol. Wheat and I met Jason Douglas (Tobin from The Walking Dead) at an Indy Fuel hockey game and he gave us a restaurant suggestion for our trip to Atlanta this summer.

It's been a lot, but it's also been really, really good. I hope this life never slows down.

The Ups(ide Down)

Oh, hello there.

Did you think I'd forgotten about my little corner of the Internet? Or that so much time had passed since our trip to Spain that I couldn't possibly remember the details? Or that I'd gotten stuck in the upside down with Eleven and the gang?

Well, the truth is somewhere in the middle - I haven't forgotten about my blog, though I have lost a lot of details about our Spanish adventure, and yeah, I can't get enough Stranger Things.

A lot has happened in the past couple months and not all of it is good. Fortunately, I have editorial control over this here blog and today, I choose to focus on the awesome things. Things like:

---Being married to Wheat for two years. Our second anniversary came and went without much fanfare, but I have to say - being married to him is the easiest thing I've ever done. You know how people always talk about how difficult it is to have a happy, healthy marriage/relationship? Not for us. Not yet, anyway. Maybe we're still in the "honeymoon phase" and maybe things will be harder once we have kids running around, but man - loving and being loved by him just comes so naturally.

Wheat had a game on our actual anniversary, so we went to dinner at Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse downtown, the day before. You can't go wrong with dressing up to eat unlimited meat, right?

---Winning a contest for haunted house tickets. Do317, my favorite Indianapolis event website, ran an Instagram contest asking users to write a scary story in 10 words or less. The winner of the contest won four tickets to two different haunted houses downtown - Nightmare on Edgewood and House of Trepidation. Guess who won. My story: "I woke up to someone knocking...on the closet door."

Although Wheat hates all things scary and haunted, he agreed to accompany me to the haunted trails. **see item above about how easy it is to love him** We had an absolute blast. House of Trepidation was a lot tamer than Nightmare on Edgewood (where the actors could actually touch and grab you), but we thoroughly enjoyed both. We attended Nightmare on Edgewood on "Lights Out" weekend, so we made our way through the trails with only a glow stick to light the way...and they definitely grabbed us. The highlight for me was the Midnight Double Feature section, where the props and sets were designed to look like memorable scary movie scenes and the actors were dressed as iconic villains (Michael Myers, Jason, Freddy Krueger, Jigsaw, Pennywise, the guy from Jeepers Creepers).

---All the Halloween things. Have I mentioned how much I love Halloween? Over the course of the last month, we have indulged in all things related to my favorite holiday. We picked a pumpkin and did a corn maze at Russell Farms. We sat on hay bales and listened to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in Irvington (a neighborhood named after Washington Irving himself) before being visited by the Headless Horseman. We took a chilly haunted tour of downtown Indianapolis where the guide regaled us with stories of supernatural occurrences at the Soldiers and Sailors' Monument, Slippery Noodle Inn, Union Station, and more. Of course, I wouldn't let Halloween pass without making Wheat dress up in a couples costume. This year, we went with Tommy Pickles and Chuckie Finster from Rugrats.

We wore our costumes to Irvington's annual Halloween festival, which completely blew my mind with its cuteness. The main street was filled with vendors and food trucks. Every storefront had its windows painted with Halloween- and autumn-themed images. Bands played while a costume parade (that included toy soldiers, Beetlejuice, the Sanderson sisters, Hillary Clinton, and more) ambled by. For a small donation, we spun a prize wheel and walked away with an issue of The Walking Dead comic book. It was basically my very own Halloween dream world.

---A trip to Baltimore for my cousin's wedding. Over a month ago, Wheat and I traveled to Baltimore to watch my cousin Cody marry Alyssa in a gorgeous wedding at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. The views of the Inner Harbor were spectacular, little touches of Baltimore charm were everywhere (from the National Bohemian cake to the Orange Crush signature drink), and oh yeah - THE ORIOLES BIRD SHOWED UP! We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing with family and exploring Fells Point and Federal Hill. Did I mention ridiculous views?

---All the other happy odds and ends. Birthday celebrations at a cabin deep in the woods with friends, a fire pit, and lots of food. Warm chili with crackers and sour cream. Exploring new places in our city. Brilliant red, yellow, and orange leaves. A house in Greenwood that the owner decorated with mannequins and props to look like the set of The Walking Dead. Apple fritters and cinnamon cider donuts. Long-overdue lunch dates with a couple of my best friends. Oktoberfest celebrations in my Ohio hometown. Kisses and giggles from my niece. Cuddling on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket. And, of course, Stranger Things bingefests.

So yeah, it hasn't been all bad.