Reflections Along the Way

I had intended for this to be a Highlight Reel of sorts, but realized that some events had a ridiculous amount of pictures, whereas other important events had come and gone without ever taking the camera out…so I guess you could say its MOST of 2009 in pictures…

Snow days in January!

In February we discovered that we had two possum friends living under our porch - Pedro and Priscilla

Crazy Hair Day AND St. Patrick's Day all wrapped into one during School Spirit Week

First time climbing at Hawksbill Mountain, Western NC in early May

We had a great time at the New River Rendezvous Climber's Festival in mid-May - and even got to take a clinic with pro-climber Lisa Rands!

Memorial Day weekend trip to Seneca Rocks

Lots of climbing trips to the New River Gorge in West Virginia

Lineberry family trip to Yellowstone in June

Fantastic Utah Climbing trip with Norbert and Manuela, end of June

Ending our Utah trip with a ride to the emergency room...

First time bouldering at the Dixon School Rd Boulders in Gastonia, NC, early July

Father/Daughter biking and camping trip to Galax, VA in July

J-bean's first photos at 6 weeks pregnant in early August!

Labor Day climbing trip to the Red River Gorge, KY in September

We made it down to the Linville Gorge one last time before I got too preggo to hike into the gorge in early October

Our 18 week anatomy scan was in late October - that's when we found out our little jellybean was blue!

Taking advantage of Steve's work trip to Vegas with a climbing weekend in Red Rock Canyon, NV at the end of October

Day after Thanksgiving sales got us our 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid!

2 day climbing trip to Sandrock, AL before the holidays

Christmas with the Lineberry's in Atlanta

So I haven’t been good about updating my blog recently with all the holiday hubbub, but I thought I would throw out a quick holiday sum-up as my last blog post of 2009…

We started out our holiday with a doctor’s appointment for the J-bean on Monday, December 21st.  All was well, so we hopped in our loaded down car and drove down to Sandrock, Alabama for a couple days of climbing before celebrating the holidays with family. 

The Main Area at Sandrock, Alabama

Sandrock turned out to be really fun - by no means a must-do destination, but definitely fabulous for a side trip excursion!  Since the low temps were hovering around the freezing mark with a fair amount of wind, I decided to cut myself some pregnancy slack and spring for a cheap motel rather than a campsite.  I think this was a good decision, especially considering how cold it was in the morning even by the time we got to the crag, and also how good my nice hot shower felt that night.   

At the top of Thin's Evil Twin, 5.11c

DAY 1 ~ Main Area and The Islands

My Dog Has Fleas – 5.8+ – Not a good choice to start the day out in the shade…the rock was ridiculously cold, and my hands were completely numb.
Six Toes – 5.10a – Much warmer in the sun!  Thin, sequency crux led to steep jugs.�
Thin in the Middle – 5.10d – Awkward, thin moves in the middle with a weird, balancy roof section at the shutts
Thin’s Evil Twin – 5.11c - 30 feet of really techy slab climbing – crux around the second bolt, then backed off to 10+ towards the top.  I was psyched to get this one clean for my 25 week 5.11
Thin’s Daddy – 5.12b - a harder variation of the previous climb.  Only 30 feet, and I had to hang twice, but I definitely did all the moves, so Jbean can say he climbed 5.12 in utero!
Kennel Club – 5.8 - this route was back over in the main area, and was really fun – pretty tall, and a nice, casual way to end our day. 

Enjoying an Alabama sunset from the top of a pillar - great view of Weiss Lake!

Steve laying back his way up on Popular Science, 5.9+

DAY 2 ~ Sun Wall

Popular Science (aka Golden Flake) – 5.9+ – a little pumpier than I had anticipated for a warm-up.  I could tell its been a long time since I’ve done any crack climbing, but once I got started I didn’t have too much trouble with it.
Ale 81 – 5.10c - Really hard, steep move right off the block.  From there the climbing was much more straightforward but slightly overhanging and really sustained. I missed a hand hold around the corner about halfway up and had to hang.  Felt hard for 10c.
Misty – 5.10d – Definitely the best route out of all of the ones we did.  Crimpy crux moving thru the conglomerate at the 2nd bolt, then big moves to jugs the rest of the way up – this one would have been really fun to lead…
First Black in Space (aka Windows) – 5.8 – Really fun climb, got really overhanging for a 5.8 towards the top
Super Grover – 5.11b/c – Steve had to haul me thru the crux (which to me felt way harder than 11c…) but the rest of the route went down pretty smoothly.

Working my way up Ale 81, 5.10c

Next it was on to Atlanta, where we spent the next 4 days with Steve’s parents, both brothers, and my sister-in-law (who is also pregnant, due 3.5 weeks after me!)  We ate some great food, got some cool presents, and saw Avatar in 3D!  We also got to see (or not see, rather) a really cool exhibit in downtown Atlanta called “Dialog in the Dark.”  Basically we went thru different rooms with a guide who was visually impaired, in complete darkness, exploring different everyday scenarios with our other 4 senses. 

Megan and I comparing bellies!

We headed north on Sunday morning after breakfast, drove most of the day, and ate dinner at my Grandma and Pop Pop’s house with my parents, aunt, uncle, and cousin.  I spent the next couple of days relaxing at my parent’s house and trying to learn how to knit (any knitters in Raleigh that can help me finish off the cute little hat I made for the bean?).  Steve helped my mom move all of her networking and computer stuff for her business into her new studio, which is almost finished! 

Modeling our 3D glasses before Avatar

Even though we had a great time and thankfully got to see both families, we were glad to head home yesterday morning.  Neither Steve nor I have to work the rest of the week, so we plan on relaxing, working on the baby’s room, and celebrating the New Year in addition to my official entry into the 3rd trimester!  Stay tuned for a 2009 highlight reel coming soon!

Our Thanksgiving holiday was a whirlwind of fun, filled with some traditions, a few new tricks, as well as some unexpected surprises!  I guess I’ll start at the beginning.  On Wednesday, me and the Bean had a prenatal appointment in the morning.  I peed in a cup, got my vitals taken, my belly measured, and then we got to listen to J-bean’s heartbeat on the Doppler.  For those of you that don’t know, the doppler is a nifty little piece of machinery that probes around the belly to detect the fetal heartbeat – once the doctor finds the right spot, he leaves it there for long enough to record the beats per minute.  Well, evidently J-bean wanted no part in having his heartrate measured, so he decided to kick the doppler probe, which I of course felt, and caused the doppler to blip and the doctor to have to start over his count.  It is starting to look like we’ve got a feisty one on our hands…he must get that from his dad   After the check-up, we drove down to Winston-Salem to stay with my parents for a few days.  We spent the afternoon at Babies R’ Us, where we picked out a crib that my parents were gracious enough to purchase for us!  Best of all, it didn’t cost any extra to have it shipped right to our door in Raleigh!  We decided to mix it up a bit on Thursday, so rather than eating a big lunch, we went to the movies and then had a big Thanksgiving dinner.  We saw The Blind Side , which was fantastic, and especially fun since it was based on a true story.  For dinner we had all the usuals, and everything was yummy with the exception of the pie fiasco, which I don’t have the time to go into here, but you can read about on my mom’s blog.  We had quite a laugh…

BUGS!!!

On Friday my mom and I drove down to Gastonia, home of our favorite fabric store.  We were on a mission to find fabric to make the bedding/other decor for the nursery, since I was completely uninspired by anything I had seen at any of the stores or online.  Surprisingly, it took us no time at all to find the PERFECT mix of fabrics!  I can hardly wait to see what it looks like after we’ve made everything and it can be put together, along with the rainforest animals my friend Kim is going to paint on the walls over the holidays!

So what were the guys doing while we were hunting for fabric?  Hunting for CARS of course!  We’ve known for a while now that my old Eclipse has been in desperate need of replacement for a couple of years now, and that there is NO way we could get a car seat to work in the back of it, so the clock was ticking.  Our plan was for me to inherit the Element since my commute to work is less than 4 miles, and since its the perfect baby-mobile – then we would get Steve something fuel-efficient that he could use to commute to work and on his monthly trips to Charlotte, which would balance out the mileage on both cars pretty nicely.  Steve’s intent was just to scope things out and take a few test drives on Friday, but he ended up finding a deal that was too spectacular to pass up, so he waited for us to get back, and then we went down to the dealership so I could check it out.  We are now the proud owners of a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid!!!

Our new vehicle!

We originally had plans to climb the rest of the weekend wherever it was the warmest, but with adding an unexpected car to the mix, we felt like it would best to just to day trip it and then head back to Raleigh that night, so we ended up at Pilot again.  The morning was FRIGID, but once the sun got up nice and high the wind stopped and it turned into a beautiful day!  We had a very relaxing, casual day – we did 2 new routes we’d never done before, followed by 2 old stand-bys that we always like, and ended on 2 old routes we hadn’t done in years. 

22 weeks and proud of it!

Duracell – 5.8 – probably would have been more enjoyable had I been able to feel my fingers…
Oscar Mayer – 5.10 - really fun layback moves at the bottom led to juggy face climbing up top
Body Surfin’ – 5.7+
Hawaii-Five-0 – 5.11a – I’d only gotten this clean a couple of times before b/c it is so pumpy and sustained, so my hopes were not too high for this one, but I ended up feeling really good on it!  I actually made it past the crux and got 20 feet or so from the top before I had to stop and hang for a bit.
8-Ball – 5.8 – this used to be Steve’s nemesis b/c of the overhanging start, and it was fun to see him storm up it this time like a champ
9-Ball – 5.9 – amazingly steep for a 5.9, I surprised myself by flying right up it without any trouble – clean for the first time!

Burly start to Hawaii Five-0 (5.11a)

Steve on the moves after the start

It was getting really crowded by mid-afternoon, so we decided to call it an early day and hike out.  We made it back to Raleigh and had a celebratory dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a new and yummy addition to the restaurants on the post-climbing circuit.

Steve finishing the roof with style!

Working my way up to Man Overboard (5.11-)

This just in – rock climbing is more fun than staying home raking leaves…even if it is at Pilot Mountain.  For those of you that are not in the know, Pilot gets somewhat of a bad rap sometimes…okay a LOT of times.  The rock quality can be questionable in places, the routes are short, and the base of the cliff is generally overrun by swarms of red-helmeted boy scouts and other groups of people on their first “extreme rock climbing adventure.”  Not to stereotype or anything, but these newbies generally have entirely too much testosterone pumping through their veins, and they love to proudly grunt and flail their way up a 5.6, then look down to make sure any girls within earshot are adequately impressed.  Or they might be gym climbers who assume that the one 5.10 jug haul they can climb in their local gym means they should have no problem with technical moves requiring precision, balance, and the ability to find your own holds without the aid of colored tape.  Not to mention the hikers, who will heckle you with ridiculous questions from both the top and bottom of the cliff - “Is that your rope, or did you just find it here?,” “That takes lots of arm strength doesn’t it?”, or my personal favorite, “If you let go right now, would you die?” 

Steve on Devil in the White House (5.10d)

Confessions of snobbery aside however, Pilot does have some very good points in its favor worth considering.  It is a fantastic place to take your inexperienced friends to get them hooked on climbing!  Most of the routes can be accessed from the trail at the top, so if you can’t finish a route, its usually pretty easy to retrieve your gear.  And if you can climb 5.10’s and higher, it has a decent collection of nice sport routes that the gumby crowds often steer clear of.  It is also south-facing, which means so long as its not cloudy or windy, a sunny day in the dead of winter can be quite pleasant.  I know several climbers who wouldn’t be caught dead at Pilot, but I think that’s just silly.  You just have to take it for what it is, and not expect it to be something its not.  Don’t go there hoping for long, aesthetic routes on bullet hard quartzite – if you want that, go to Moore’s.  Don’t go there hoping for remote solitude in a wilderness setting – head to the Linville Gorge.     But if you are looking to have a casual Saturday of fun on the rock with your friends, and still be able to get back to responsibilities the rest of the weekend, Pilot is your place!

Steve pulling thru the overhangs

All that being said, Steve and I headed up to Pilot this past Saturday for the first time since early last spring.  It was the perfect temperature for climbing – cold enough in the morning to ward off the aforementioned obnoxious types, but warmed up fast enough to make for a beautiful day of climbing!  We knew our friend Huck and his friend Dax would be meeting us there, but we ended up seeing 3 other groups of people that we knew, so it made for a fun social scene as well! 

Here’s the routes we did…
Vegomatic – (5.8)
Chicken Bone – (5.7) There is a discrepancy between Jeff Dillon’s new guide and the old Kelley guide, so we’re not sure which route this one is, but its the one in the middle if there are any old school folks out there that know?
Mutiny on the Bounty – (5.10a) kind of an “approach pitch” to get to the ledge where the next route starts
Man Overboard – (5.11-) Woo hoo – my 21 weeks preggo clean 11 went down pretty easily, and I was able to find a clipping hold at the shutts that I had never seen before, making me psyched to come back and lead this route post-preg!
The Herculean Test – (5.11a)
Devil in the White House – (5.10d)

Trying to reach past the belly on The Herculean Test (5.11a)

Observations:  While I did get my clean 11 at 21 weeks, I think those days are numbered…Today was the first day of climbing where I actually noticed my body shape hindering my ability to climb, which is annoying, but needs to be accepted as a fact of life, b/c it is only going to get worse from here on out.  In particular, I noticed that whenever I tried to rock onto a high foot, my belly felt in the way, and I couldn’t bend over far enough to really crank up.  Not painful, just very uncomfortable.  I also have noticed that while my endurance seemed fine on the first few climbs, by the time I got to the last two climbs I would get winded pretty easily, and was unable to do either of those climbs without resting midway through, even though pre-preggo I was able to lead both of them without any trouble.  So although as a whole on the day, I still felt fairly strong and confident, I feel like its probably about time to start toning down on the harder stuff.  But instead of looking at it in a negative way, however, I’m choosing to see every step back from my prior activity levels as one step towards the end goal on April 2nd! 

Christine, Jean, and Mary get ready to hike out, while Finn takes the easy way out

Just over 4 months ago, I saw two pink lines on a pregnancy test.  An hour later, I didn’t believe it so I tested again.  Then also the next day, and then even a week later, just to make sure.  Now, several months later, I’m feeling my litte jellybean kick even as I type this out, and my ever-expanding belly is leaving no doubt to the entire world that my body is producing something amazing on the inside! 

So I am officially 20 weeks pregnant, which marks the halfway point (b/c everyone knows you deliver at EXACTLY 40 weeks, right?)  This stage seemed like a good time to take a break and reflect on all the changes that have been going on lately. 

Me at 20 weeks and 1 day

Now that I actually have a clearly defined baby “bump,” I have a newfound confidence in my body.  Rather than hiding behind flowy, ambigously shaped clothing, fearing that the uninformed observer might assume that I’ve indulged in a little too much Halloween candy, I’ve begun sporting my pre-preggo tops with pride.  Of course I’ve had to invest in a few long tank tops to layer underneath my old shirts to keep my belly from hanging out, but am still savoring the last few weeks that they will still fit.  Almost all of my pre-preggo pants still fit (although a few need to be held together with a rubberband rather than a button).  I’ve purchased one pair of maternity pants which are still way too big to wear, along with a few maternity tops, which I’ve worn enthusiastically a few times, but trying to hold out as long as I can, b/c realistically, I know I’ll get sick of these clothing items long before April rolls around. 

I go back and forth between enjoying being treated like a delicate flower, and disgusted at being treated like I am disabled or handicapped in some way.  While it feels good to have people constantly inquire about how I’m feeling and offer to carry things for me, it is annoying when people assume that I should be laying around in bed all day doing sudoku.  My friend and coworker Heather (who is currently about a week behind me with her second child) warned me to enjoy the coddling while I could, b/c once the baby came, no one would be paying any attention to me anymore.    So I’m trying to take in all of the unsolicited advice with a grain of salt and a smile on my face, understanding that the majority of the people are commenting b/c they care about me, and are only trying to be helpful – and often times the advice is actually useful! 

Trying out my super cool CAMP full-body harness at 19 weeks!

I’m still climbing (toproping only of course) and have managed to complete at least one 5.11 clean per week of pregnancy.  It will be interesting to see how much longer I can keep that up.  I’m still running, although I now mix in a few walk breaks and I’ve gotten a good deal slower.  The funny thing about that is that since I don’t keep track of my pace or mileage or anything like that, the only time I notice that I’m slow is when Steve and I jog together.  If I only ran alone, I would be blissfully unaware of my subtly slowing pace!  I’m also still biking (only on the greenway, no more mountain biking) and feeling pretty good, although hills take a lot out of me and just this week I have had to humble myself enough to get off my bike and walk a couple of times.  But all in all – I’m feeling fantastic!  Aside from the many new and weird things going on in my body (most of which are not appropriate to discuss in this blog…)  I feel as good as new! 

IT'S A BOY!!!!

As far as the jellybean goes (or J.Bean, as Steve and I have nicknamed him), we found out that he is indeed a boy a couple of weeks ago!  He was not shy at all, and had no qualms about raising his legs high in the air the entire time the nice lady was trying to measure his abdomen, femur, head, etc.  I guess he wanted to make sure we saw it.   We were amazed at how clear of a picture we were able to see on the ultrasound machine, and how much he was moving around (especially considering that at that point, I hadn’t felt any kicks for sure yet).  The funniest part was when the sonographer actually caught a picture of him sticking his tongue out!  This is especially cute, since Steve is well-known for sticking his tongue out when he is really focused, either mentally or physically.  We call it “the concentrating face.”  JBean is evidently concentrating very hard on growing these days, b/c according to one of my many pregnancy books, he is about the size of a cantaloupe!   

JBean's concentrating face

Steve's concentrating face in action!

We’ve made our first round of visits to Babies R Us to get our registry started (an overwhelming process to say the least…), and my mom was kind enough to paint the nursery for us while Steve was in Vegas (just the background – my friend Kim is going to paint rainforest animals all over the walls over Christmas break!) 

We have done some name research and come up with a name that we both really like, but we will most likely keep it a secret   So that leaves us with a to-do list of replacing my car, finishing the registry, moving a bunch of furniture around in the soon-to-be nursery and guest bedroom, taking birthing classes, and about a million other things – not to mention all the things I’m sure will come up last minute! So thats the latest update for now!  Time sure is going by fast and I’m sure it will only get faster as the holidays approach.  Our little guy will be here before we know it! 

After we said sticking your tongue out is rude....

Little feet