We're Expecting!

I guess it's time to share the good news; Luke and I are expecting our first child next June. While we are incredibly excited to bring a new addition into our family, I'm not so sure baby kitty is sharing in our excitement! I am currently about 10 weeks along and Baby Musselman has a healthy heartbeat of 170 beats per minute.

We found out about the pregnancy on election day. I thought I had the flu, but the doctor told me otherwise! My response to the nurse telling me the pregnancy test was positive, "No, it's negative. It isn't possible that I'm pregnant." You see, Luke and I had an appointment lined up to see a fertility specialist the following month. I was in such disbelief that I had to take two home pregnancy tests to confirm the news after already having both blood and urine pregnancy tests at the doctor's office.

So far, the pregnancy has been exciting, but rough. I can't believe this olive-sized baby can have such an impact on my body! My moods are terrible. I really try, but cannot control them at all. I can't sleep, but am tired all the time. I vomit non-stop. Whoever came up with the term "morning sickness" was sorely mistaken. I am not sure how women can possibly gain even a pound during the first trimester. At this point, I am just trying to keep from losing too much weight.

We Really Need to Get Better at this Blog Thing...

So, it's been a few months since my last post. I know, I am terrible at this blog thing. I honestly do have good intentions. Unfortunately, life always seems to get in the way. Since September, Luke and I have hardly had a free weekend. Luckily, things are slowing down a bit for the holidays. I can't wait! For those of you who don't know, Christmas time is my favorite time of the year. From my guilty pleasure, Black Friday shopping, to baking Christmas cookies, watching cheesy Christmas movies and tree decorating, I absolutely love every aspect of the holiday season! Now we just need some snow to go along with the cold weather.

Since it has been so long since my last post, I will simply post pictures. For those of you who have been waiting for pictures of our newly finished basement, I will leave those pictures for Luke to post since it has been his and my dad's project for the past eight months.

On the beach in Holland, MI

Cheering on our Missouri Tigers!

Wedding FunCollege Roommates

To Grandmother's House We Go...

Luke and I are in the process of driving to Holland, MI to visit his grandparents. I have to say that I LOVE my Verizon wireless internet card! The technological advancement of internet access through cell phone towers makes car rides much more enjoyable. I can keep myself up to date on all the latest celebrity gossip, US Open scores and election news.

So far, this drive has taken much longer than it should. Unfortunately, we still have two hours of driving ahead of us. Part of our delay was by choice; Luke and I stopped in Springfield, IL to visit the Yutzy family. My favorite part was the time we spent jumping on the trampoline with the eight-year-old, Benjamin. Of course, I am now trying to convince Luke that we need a trampoline at home.

Not long after leaving Springfield, Luke and I decided that we were getting hungry for dinner. I'm not sure why, but food is always an issue in our world. It didn't help that we were in the middle of Nowhere, IL. After passing a few respectable exits, we took a Joliet exit. I should have known that this was a bad idea when I asked for food suggestions at the gas station and the attendant mentioned Boston Market, Baker's Square and Applebee's. She even cautioned that Applebee's is "really good, but a bit on the pricey side." As many of you know, I am not a fan of "casual family dining restaurants" so all of these options were disappointing. As a result, we spent over an hour at the exit and ended up eating at a Cracker Barrel after the wait at a Japanese Steak House was too long. I know, Luke is a saint to put up with me!

Now it will be after midnight when we get to G & G Chamberlain's house. I am looking forward to spending some time with the grandparents, but not looking forward to Lake Michigan. Luke's grandfather seems to think I am going to swim in the lake. There are a couple big reasons this will probably not happen. 1.) I like to touch and see the bottom of the body of water I am swimming in. 2.) Lake Michigan is WAY up north. This means it will be cold.

Well, this post is getting rather long. I think I will go back to singing all the songs on my iPod to Luke. He's a very lucky guy!

Hernia Surgery

Since Luke and I returned from our honeymoon, we have been anxious for some desperately needed rest and relaxation. Fortunately, this wish came true. Unfortunately, I had to have hernia surgery for this to happen. For those of you who are lucky enough to have never experienced this procedure, I will be the first to let you know that it could quite possibly be considered cruel and unusual punishment! Basic acts like sneezing and urinating make me instantly cry because it hurts so bad.

Since I have been laid up for more than a week, I have had a lot of time on my hands. Many of you know that this has been difficult for me as I can't stand wasting time. I am going completely crazy! I never thought I would be so anxious to go back to work. Unfortunately, I have almost three weeks off.

Luke has been a saint during this time. He has gone out of his way to attempt to make me happy. I am a very lucky girl!

Here are pictures of my incision.

One month later...

It has been a little over a month since Ashley and I married. So far it has been non-stop action with little to no down time. Unfortunately, other than our honeymoon, we haven't had much time to spend together. The following is a snapshot of the things we have been doing since the wedding.

Honeymoon- The absolute best trip of my life.

Basement-With the help of my father-in-law, we are making good progress on the basement. Right now, we are in the painting phase and my family is coming up this weekend to help.

Baby Borrowing-Over the 4th of July weekend, we babysat for the children of one of Ashley's good friends. Suprisingly, I really enjoyed it. Benjamin (8 years) and Eli (7 months) spent four days with us in Columbia. We kept busy by going to the park, Chuck-E-Cheese, the ice-cream shop, bike riding, etc. It was a blast to have the kids around and Ashley quickly learned that kids do not follow her sleep schedule!

Work Trip-Right now I am in Park City for my company's 2009 product/sales meeting. I miss my new wife like crazy and I can't wait to get back home.

Honeymoon: Part 3 (Back to Bangkok)

Luke and I headed back to Bangkok for the last leg of our honeymoon. It was sad to be nearing the end of our trip, but I think we were both ready to get back home. We were definitely ready for a decent meal! For those of you who have had the pleasure of eating with me, you know that I am one of the pickiest eaters in the world! Luckily, I married someone who is almost as picky. Because of this, we ate a very limited diet while in Thailand.

The cake that the hotel made for us. It was really good.

Pictures from our hotel

Luke and I decided to stay across the river from the main downtown area. This ended up being a good idea as there was a lot of political unrest in Bangkok during this time and it was unsafe for foreigners to be out at night. As a result, we spent most of our time shopping. While most of the shopping in Bangkok is very similar to shopping in the United States, there was one major difference: custom made clothing. The clothing alone almost made me want to move to Bangkok. It was absolutely incredible!

Getting measured for my clothes.


A fitting for a jacket.


Hanging out at the pool.


Luke and I were in heaven at the tailor. The shop had hundreds of fabrics to choose from and could create any clothing design in about 24-hours. The best part was the price. Luke and I got three cashmere winter coats, two spring coats, 12 button-up shirts and a pair of cashmere pants. All of this cost less than $800. It was unbelievable!

These are the coats we got made in Bangkok. Mine are the three on the left. I can't wait to be able to wear them!


On our last night in Bangkok, Luke took me to a Benihana Japanese Steak House. It was definitely our best meal of the trip. While the chicken looked slimy, the Kobe beef was excellent!





We left Bangkok at six the following morning to begin our long trip home. Thailand was a vacation of a lifetime. I definitely recommend Thailand to anyone who has the chance to go there. Our expereinces will not be forgotten.

This is a picture of the type of toilet that made my marathon experience much more difficult. It is a female toilet. The bathroom attendent showed me that I was supposed to squat to use it. That is not an easy feat! I didn't have my camera while running so this is a toilet at the Tokyo airport.

Our Honeymoon: Part 2-Phuket (the long post)

After three days in Bangkok, Ashley and I flew to Phuket for some much needed relaxation. Phuket was incredible! I mean, words can't describe what is possibly the most beautiful place we have ever been. After checking in to our resort, we explored the place we would call home for the next nine days. From the pools and the landscaping, to the baby elephants and giant lizards walking around the resort, we couldn't believe our eyes.

For those of you who don't know, Ashley and I ran a half marathon while in Phuket. Because of the run, we decided to take it easy for our first few days in Phuket. The half-marathon was a wonderful experience, but not something I would recommend doing on a honeymoon!

After our run, Ashley and I got Thai massages and took a milk bath. Although everyone we met raved about the Thai massages, we definitely thought they were overrated. We were also unimpressed about the milk bath as we got bored about three minutes into it.

While our days in Phuket started off slow and relaxing, we found ourselves trying to fit more and more in each day as our time in Phuket drew to a close. We didn't do too much before the marathon as we wanted to be fully rested and healthy for our run. Our first excursion was the one thing Ashley was most looking forward to experiencing on our honeymoon: elephant riding. Our elephant adventure started with a lecture on Thai elephants. Afterward, we met up with our elephant, Chumpoo, and her mahout (elephant trainer) to begin our 45 minute trek through the Chalong highlands. Ashley and I then rewarded Chumpoo by feeding her a basket full of fruit. Finally, our tour ended with a baby elephant show. It was amazing!

The next adventure was a day of island hopping. We went to the two Phi Phi islands. The smaller island was made famous by the movie, "The Beach" starring Leonardo DeCaprio. Our day started off with snorkeling followed by a Thai lunch (thankfully Ashley had the foresight to bring breakfast bars and other food), a hike on Phi Phi Don island and ended with some R & R on an island so small we were able to walk the perimeter in 15 minutes.

The day before we headed back to Bangkok, Ashley and I took another guided tour, The John Gray Sea Canoe Experience. This was definitely our favorite day! We traveled by boat to various caves and lagoons around Phuket. At each stop, we met up with our "friend for the day", Golf, to canoe around the caves. Golf took Ashley and I through some tiny cave openings in an inflatable canoe. Luckily, he did all of the work so we could just enjoy our surroundings. Words cannot begin to describe all of the amazing things we saw so I will simply post pictures.

On our final day in Phuket, Ashley and I finally braved the ocean at our hotel. Unfortunately, the red (no swimming) flag had been up the entire time we were there. Even though it was still displayed, we knew we would be disappointed if we didn't play in the ocean. The undertow and waves were out of control. Ashley was even knocked over and lost her sunglasses. She was crushed about her sunglasses!