How Much Weight Will Jason Gain in DC?

On Saturday, I will fly out to Washington, DC, to participate in a two-week grant review. The review process is a pretty sweet deal. The Department of Health and Human Services is paying for travel, hotel arrangements, meals, and a nice stipend.

I’m really excited about one aspect of the review process: dinner. Reviewers will be reimbursed for dinner expenses up to, get this, $31 per night.

Now, I LOVE to eat out. Lacey and I don’t eat out much together because of money; so, eating out every night for two weeks is an appealing prospect.

$31 dollars a night, though, seems a bit excessive. Lacey and I rarely spend that much together! After perusing a few online menus, I can tell you $31 per night is not outrageous for DC.

Perhaps, this rare occasion affords us the opportunity for our first interactive Adkins family blog competition. I will weigh myself the night before I leave for DC and the night after I return from DC. Guess the two-week weight differential and post your guess in our comments section (e.g., +10.5 lbs, -5 lbs).

The guess that comes closest to the weight differential (within the nearest half-pound) will merit a special DC-related prize for the winning weight-prognosticator. Guesses must be logged by 11:59:59 EST August 7, 2009.

Here are a few variables worth considering while determining your guess (yes, singular guess, one per person please).

1. It is likely that my method of transportation to restaurants will consist of my own two legs. Many of the restaurants I’m considering are within a 4 block area of the hotel.

2. For those wanting to scan potential menus, I will be staying at the Madison Hotel in DC. Be advised: I don’t like fish.

3. $31 per night may seem quite exorbitant, but I’ve seen several restaurants where a simple pasta dish and a drink (non-alcoholic) will be pushing my reimbursement level.

4. When budget allows, I will definitely be ordering dessert. A few of my favorite desserts include banana pudding, key lime pie, bread pudding, and vanilla ice cream. Also, I will probably consume sodas and coffee, when budget allows.

For the purpose of full disclosure, you should know that this grant competition, including the grant review, is funded by the stimulus package (a.k.a., the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).

So, while the data may be inconclusive as to whether or not your hard earned stimulus dollars are stimulating the economy, they certainly will be stimulating my waistline!

Adkins Life Update

I thought I'd give an update of what's going on these days and include a few recent pics of Riley!

Jason is off of work for three whole weeks! Sounds like a nice vacation right? Not quite.

This week he is taking a week-long summer course at Southern. Then, this Saturday he leaves to go to Washington D.C. to spend two weeks reviewing grants. During the first week of his D.C. adventure, Riley and I are going to go to Tennessee for a few days to spend some time with the grandparents. Then during the second week, we're taking a road trip up to see Jason! We decided that two weeks was just a little too long to spend apart if we could help it! Hopefully, we'll all get to do a little sight-seeing before Jason drives back with us at the end of the second week.

Jason will stay busy while he's there, but if he does have spare time, he will be pretty conveniently located - two blocks away from the White House! If you think to, say a word of prayer for safe travel and visits for all of us.

Riley is growing and changing constantly. She currently weighs about 14 to 14.5 pounds. She rolls all over the place. You can place her on one side of the room, and she'll roll to the other side. She makes all sorts of cute noises, including the traditional goo goos and gaa gaas. Jason and I are still battling for the first word, Mama or Dada. She smiles a lot, but she outright refuses to cuddle! We love her to pieces and find such joy in all of her little accomplishments!

I am spending my days taking care of Riley, doing some housework, and crafting a little bit. My current crafting goals include working on Riley's quilt and finishing up the tons of works-in-progress that I rediscovered while organizing my work space. Here's to emptying the storage container full of half-completed projects!

Here are a couple of pics from the weekend we went home for Fourth of July. It was the first time that some of my family members got to meet Riley! In the first picture is my Uncle Larry, my Granny holding Riley, and me. In the second picture is my cousin Angel who is expecting her little bundle (Catalina Jolie) on her birthday, July 31st!

Here are of couple of snapshots from an evening we spent with the Goulds. Emily is about 12 weeks pregnant so she is brushing up on her baby skills. In the second picture, you see her son Austin giving Riley a hug. He seems to like her quite a bit as long as she isn't scratching and pinching him (which she tends to do a lot)!

A Visit From My Mom

My mom came to visit last week in order to get a little extra Riley time and to help me catch up on a few things around the house. It was such an enjoyable and productive visit! She mostly helped me in our "work room" (office and craft room) which had been a mess since before Riley was born. (I learned that it's not such a great idea to reorganize the work room a few weeks before your baby is due!)

I'm really blessed to have half (okay, over half) of a room devoted to all my crafty ventures. I'm so proud of my work area now that I wanted to share a few pictures! Hopefully, I will be motivated to accomplish a lot now that I have a clear, organized space in which to work!

Please pretend that the works-in-progress are not scattered across my work table. It really is very neat compared to what it looked like before!

I love storage containers!


My mother never ceases to amaze me by how much she can accomplish in such a short amount of time; her actions were motivating and inspiring! Her visit really helped me rethink how I'm spending (and wasting) much of my time. Now that I have Riley, the day just flies by! It's important to make every minute count.

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16

Chillin' out at the Pool

Riley and I recently went to one of our church's play dates. We went swimming at the Wells house! Riley was adorable in her swimsuit, and she seemed to enjoy the kiddie pool.

I snapped several shots of Brooklyn (and her mommy Sarah). Brooklyn is just a few weeks older than Riley.

Major lesson learned: swim diapers don't really keep liquids in. I learned this while we were taking the pictures of Riley in her swimsuit, hat, and sunglasses. She was sitting in my hand.

Pictured below from left to right: Micah in the kiddie pool, Laeth holding Riley while Ali plays doctor (Riley checked out just fine), Emily holding Riley.

It was a fun day at the pool and a great time of fellowship with other ladies from Auburndale!

Riley's First Real Meal

This week Jason and I fed Riley the traditional first meal for infants, rice cereal. I intend to make most of her baby food in the future, but we decided to go the conventional route for this first meal. She spat most of it out immediately, and she spat-up the rest about thirty minutes later. The experience was fun, nonetheless!