30 before 30!

I am SOOOOO impressed with myself and the progress I have made on my 30 before 30 list. I may not have accomplished all of my 30 "to do's", but I came really close so I am very proud of myself! 

1. Travel to Ireland- DONE!

2. Sell our house in SC and FL- DONE!

3. Do something spontaneous and on a whim!- DONE! 

4. Pay off all student loans- DONE! HOLY COW, WE ARE DEBT FREE!

5. Perform in a local theater- (Since I got pregnant, this became a LOT harder). I did however perform in my car and classroom-- that counts right?!?!- KINDA DONE!

6. Save a great amount of money for emergencies- there is ALWAYS room to save more, but I am pleased with what Jeffrey and I were able to save! We reached our goal so I am calling this DONE!

7. Travel to the West Coast- San Francisco- DONE!

8. Become a mom- I am due 2/2017!- DONE!

9. Run a 10K- DONE!

10. Dance in the kitchen often –We have been killing it!- DONE!

11. Laugh every day and find joy in everything and everyone I meet (Teaching first grade really helps with this one)- DONE!

12. Sing! Sing as though no one hears or cares... I already do this, but I could do it more!- DONE!

13. Have a candle-lit dinner on the beach-

14. Go sailing – 2/2015- DONE!

15. Eat something new- DONE!

16. Take dance lessons with Jeffrey-

17. Grow my relationship with God- Jesus Calling is a great daily devotional as well as The Best Yes- DONE!

18. Go on a Mission Trip- DONE!

19. Pay for someone's dinner to pay it forward- DONE!

20. Visit a new state- DONE!

21. Workout more- I have been taking pilates classes for a year and 6 months now!- DONE!

22. Find a hobby that makes me happy and do it more!- I have really enjoyed running and pilates- DONE!

23. Kiss in the rain (again)- DONE!

24. Get a tattoo! 2 arrows on my ribs on 5/2015- DONE!

25. Give up eating out and shopping for 30-days- DONE!

26. See Georgia Tech play at a new stadium- DONE!

27. Take photography classes -Took classes 6/2015- DONE!

28. Visit the Biltmore at Christmas

29. See a Musical on Broadway with Jeffrey (our trip was scheduled for January, but since baby is due, we are going to NYC July, 2017)- DONE (since the trip is booked)

30. Write a children’s book

Birthday Freebies

Since my BIG 3-0 is next week.. *insert overwhelmed, excited, crazy face here*... I have been looking to see what deals and sales I can get. Every year, I always use my birthday as an excuse to get myself a new dress or outfit that I can wear out to dinner. I deserve it right?!? Well, lets pretend I do. This year looks VERY different then any other birthday. No its not because I am literally entering a new decade of life and have stress wrinkles, it is because I am HUGE. I am 37 weeks pregnant and HUGE. okay, okay... I am really not HUGE, but I feel so ugly and disgusting. Nothing looks feels attractive on even the smallest 37 week pregnant woman. I also refuse to by myself anything new because I will not need it in three weeks or less. So, my point is... I want free stuff to make my HUGE feeling, pregnant, 30 year old self feel more like "me" and beautiful. I mean who doesn't want to feel beautiful on their 30th birthday?!? So my lovely readers, I give you...

FREE STUFF OR PROMOS YOU GET ON YOUR BIRTHDAY

• Starbucks: You get a free coffee-- any size, any type-- on your birthday. This will be the first stop I make Tuesday morning and yes, it will be a Venti and yes, it will be a latte with extra foam! Take that twenties. 

• Kendra Scott- For your birthday, Kendra Scott gives you 50% off any item of your choosing. The catch, you have to come into the store. I now love this designer even more because my poor pregnant self called and mentioned we didn't have a store nearby and I couldn't travel. They not only honored the 50% off discount, but they also shipped my item free and wrote me the sweetest birthday note which congratulated me on Ally's pending arrival. Now that is customer service. I snagged this beauty with my discount. 

• Tory Burch- When you sign up for emails with Tory, they send you $50.00 off any full priced item. It does exclude the minnie and miller shoes, but it totally includes sale items! I am still debating on whether or not I want to use it, but it is an awesome deal. I am looking at these fun sunnies. 

• Sephora- Sephora will send you a cute little makeup package on your birthday when you sign up for their rewards program. I got a Tarte blush and lip gloss totally free from Sephora and I have been using them both ever since! 

• LOFT- Since I am a card member, LOFT sent me a free $15.00 for my birthday. I went during their 50% off sale last week and got the cutest blouse to wear after baby and I only paid $2.00!!!! 

Here is another great Blog with TONS of birthday offers. 

35 Weeks

35 weeks

How far along? 35 weeks! 5 weeks or LESS until we meet our princess. 

Total weight gain/loss: 13 pounds 

Emotions:  ALL OVER THE PLACE. Lets just leave it at that. I am feeling all the feels and feeling all the crazy hormones. Add in the crazy dreams and fears I have... well, we wont talk about it! 

What are we most excited about next: Holding my baby girl, kissing her sweet cheeks, and seeing the love of my life hold her. Cue the tears!

What are we least excited about: WAITING!

What I miss: Being able to tie my own shoes and bending over without wanting to die. I miss doing normal, everyday tasks without running out of breath. 

Movement: She is very active. My students say she is working out so she will have muscles when she is born.  

Belly button: Somehow my bellybutton is still an "innie". 

Size: Baby Nelly is the size of a pineapple. She weights a little over 4-5 pounds! 

How I’m feeling: I really cannot complain at all. I feel great for being 9 months pregnant; however, I am 9 months pregnant so I am tired, emotional, tired, sore, tired, feeling huge, tired, and have I mentioned tired?  

Sickness: I am having terrible back pain. I cannot stand very long or I get bad pains up and across my lower back. My legs have also started going numb after a while which is pretty uncomfortable. 

Cravings:

• Peanut butter
• Sour candy 

Aversions: 

• Dairy

• Spicy foods 

Workout: I am still staying as active as I can. My fitbit says I am doing about 7,000 steps a day plus I am walking when I can, lifting weights, and doing pilates. I am hoping to go back to barre class next week. 

I mean look at those sweet, chubby cheeks! 

34 weeks

How far along? 34 weeks 

Total weight gain/loss: 13 pounds -- from the scale at the doctors office

Emotions: We have had an amazing break this past week. We went to Georgia for a few days and celebrated Christmas and our new baby with family and friends. We had two Christmases and two baby showers. Needless to say, we were spoiled. It was SO nice to travel home and spend time with our loved ones. I have also enjoyed Jeffrey being home SO much! I do not want him to go back to Kansas. 

What are we most excited about next: Our little girls room is coming along nicely. We ordered our crib and have washed all of her sheets and clothes. I am excited to see everything in her room come together. 

What are we least excited about: January... can we just skip those long 31 days? 

What I miss: Being able to tie my own shoes and bending over without wanting to die. I miss doing normal, everyday tasks without running out of breath. 

Movement: She is my little dancer. Every time music comes on or I sing (which is always) baby girl gets really active. Maybe she will be in musicals like her mommy! I would love to perform in a few shows with my daughter! 

Belly button: still an innie, but we are close to being flat. 

Size: Baby Nelly is the size of a pineapple. She weights a little over 4-5 pounds! 

How I’m feeling: I am feeling all the emotions. I am excited to meet our sweet baby girl, scared for the upcoming labor and delivery, nervous about being a mom, and overwhelmed with everything we still need to get prepared. All and all, I cannot wait to do what God intended me to do and give our family the gift of a new life. 

Sickness: I am having terrible back pain. I cannot stand very long or I get bad pains up and across my lower back. My legs have also started going numb after a while which is pretty uncomfortable. 

Cravings:

• Peanut butter
• Sour candy or jelly beans 

Aversions: 

• Dairy

• Spicy foods 

Physical changes: 

• My bump is getting bigger and is VERY noticeable. I love all her shifts and movements which can be seen through my clothes now.  

Workout: We walked the beach and stores a few times... does that count? 

We have baby girls heart and kidney check up on December 29! I pray everything looks healthy and strong. I also hope we can get some good pictures of her. After the 29th of December, I will begin going to see my doctor every other week. Let the count down begin!!!

BEST OF 2016!

2016 was a great year for the Nelson family! We were able to pack in a lot of adventures and fun! Here are my top five favorite moments from this year!

#1. Seeing these ladies back in Atlanta and spending the weekend away with them hiking and seeing all that North Georgia has to offer. I LOVE being outside and I LOVE the mountains and hiking. Even though we live at the beach, the mountains are where my heart truly lies. It is also SO nice to see these ladies and play "catch up". Living away from home is VERY hard sometimes. 

#2. Spending time with some of my most favorite people in Charleston. These guys are some of my best friends and would do anything for me and it is the sweetest! We have broken out of most all of the escape rooms in Charleston together and I can't image "breaking out" with anyone else. 

#3. This is by far my most favorite memory from 2016! This is the day Jeffrey and I found out we were expecting a baby girl! I cannot wait to meet our precious baby girl in 2017!!!!

#4. Traveling to Texas to see this gorgeous girl! We have been best friends since elementary school!!!! She is a very talented actress/musician and I was blessed enough to see her perform in Shrek. This was also after I told her I was expecting a sweet baby! This was by far one of my favorite trips!

#5. The highlight of our year was traveling to Ireland for ten days. WE HAD AN ABSOLUTE BLAST! I cannot even put into words how much fun we had touring this beautiful country. We had so much fun, the four of us are busy planning a trip to Italy for 2018!!!! 

As you can see, 2016 was a really incredible year full of traveling and blessings. I cannot wait to see what 2017 has in store for us!!!!