If I may, I'm going to take off from Amanda's post entitled, "A Perfect Friday Night" for this entry because it truly has been nothing less than a perfect, three-day long weekend.  Happy Labor Day to you, by the way!  Hope all you Internet peeps are doing well, particularly those of you in the Louisiana area.  You're in our thoughts and prayers.

I know I'm usually quite wordy, so I'll try to limit my verbose tendencies and keep things in simple list form for ya <grin>.  First, you must understand the main reasons why this weekend has been so amazing:  1) Matt and I are actually home together!  After a summer of week after week of traveling and being apart from each other for quite awhile, we welcomed this time of being together 24-7 with open arms; 2) college football started--oh, baby!; and 3) today is September 1st, the official start to fall in my mind, and a season I've been anticipating all summer long...seriously, I've been longing for it all summer long. 

Friday

• I cleaned house (it was VERY much needed), and one of the things that makes me the happiest is having a clean home!  I was quite content afterward.  Matt came home a little early to mow and get that chore done (Molly was glad to have the jungle removed from her yard), and then we officially began our relaxing weekend.  Hubby brought home a Buddy & Al's Take N' Bake pepperoni and pineapple pizza that we popped in the oven and ate while watching Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.  I even got to read through my latest Cooking Light magazine, a wonderfully relaxing thing to do curled up in a chair.

Saturday

• Yeah for sleeping in (something we know will become rare in 4 more months)!  I enjoyed a walk with Molly and then we got ready for the day.  I wore some new maternity clothes that I found last weekend in San Antonio with my Momma and so I felt spiffy.  Nothin' like new clothes to put a smile on a gal's face, huh?
• After picking up Matt's Nike + Human Race packet and t-shirt (it's a really cool mesh t-shirt), we headed over to Central Market for the Hatch Green Chile Festival.  Roasted Hatch green chiles are a staple in our household (more for me than for Matt).  We're able to bring pounds of green chiles back from New Mexico instead of buying the more pricey ones at Central Market, but we manage to buy a few green chile products at Central Market in honor of the Festival.  We also were scoping out the gluten free products.  Right before we found out we were pregnant, I discovered that I need to go on a gluten free diet, not as strict of a diet as those with celiac disease, but anything with wheat, spelt, barley, rye and oats in the top five ingredients are now a no-no for me.  Between morning sickness with crackers being the only edible food to me, and our travels where we had limited control over our food choices, I have avoided officially starting going gluten free...until now.  Three of the last four days I've been a good girl!  Let's face it, breads and pastas are this foodie's top favorites, and it's painful to switch to breads and pastas that are less appealing to the sense of taste (at least starting out).  But now is the time, and my hubby is doing an excellent job cheering me on and reminding me of the importance of making this change to my physical health.  So far, the things we've found and tried have been pretty good.  We picked up some to-go lunches at Central Market and enjoyed tasty gelato as well!  So far, this weekend has been one big date! 
• We headed home to watch some college football (so sad that TX A&M lost...argh!).  I was like a giddy little girl sitting on the couch working on some projects with football playing in the background.  Matt and I were very productive and made great headway with a baby budget and other financial reports we needed to get ready; it already felt like a huge weight off my shoulders.

Sunday

• Again, I got to wear some new clothes to church (yippee skippee); although, I was probably maybe a little too excited/prideful about what I was wearing because I dropped egg on my shirt on the way to church.  Argh.  I guess my tummy just looks chubby instead of "with child" because I got more hesitant questions of, "Is that a baby?", with many surprised but enthusiastic congrats at my answer of, "Yes".  I was even given the suggestion that I need to lean back more so I make it more obvious I'm carrying a child.  I think I'd rather have people think I'm chubby. 
• Matt and I had to work a booth before and after the two services to hand out this year's 30 Days Muslim Prayer Guides, a helpful resource to use to pray for Muslims world-wide during their holy month of prayer and fasting (which begins today and lasts through the 30th).  We hadn't been to church much all summer because of traveling, so it was so fun to see a bunch of faces of dear friends we hadn't seen in awhile.  We attended the first service but then during the second, we slipped into the prayer chapel and spent some time praying.  It was a precious time and maybe something we'll try to do more often.
• Since we stayed later to hand out the prayer guides, we were starving, so we grabbed some lunch at Potbelly (ain't that a funny name?).  Again, I wanted a sandwich with the yummy bread, but hubby was so good and encouraged me to get a salad, and he got one along with me.  I'm glad I did; the "Chicken Salad Salad" was quite tasty! 
• Home for a nap before the big race!!
• At 4:40 p.m., we headed downtown for the 10k Nike + Human Race that Matt was running in.  We met our dear friends, Chris and Jill, down there.  Matt and Chris ran the Capitol 10k together as well, and Jillie and I are their cheerleading squad.  It's another fun tradition we share as friends.  But next spring or summer, I'm bound and determined that I'll be back to running as well! The fellas headed to the starting line and Jill and I scoped out a spot on the sidelines, which happened to be at the start/finish line.  We didn't know it at the time, but it ended up being the prime location, and I mean prime location!  It was right next to the speakers' box and the first guests they brought on stage were University of Texas alumni and 2008 Olympic gold medalists in swimming:  Aaron Peirsol and Brendan Hansen.   Then we were greeted by former WNBA player Cynthia Cooper.   Ten minutes before the race, Mr. Lance Armstrong himself came out of the VIP section to the start of the race.  I mean folks, Jillie and I were right there!  We could have reached out and touched the guy!  We couldn't get our cameras going fast enough.  But that ain't all!  Five minutes before the race began, we were then witnesses to Matthew McConaughey lining up at the start line right next to Lance Armstrong.  Jill and I held our ground as people wanted to pry their way into our territory.  We just couldn't believe where we were; I never have celebrity sightings!  Sadly, we didn't spot our fellas starting, but we spotted them finishing!  They did AMAZING!  I am so proud of hubby!! Austin followed Tapei as the city with the second fastest average running time at 54 minutes and 51 seconds (for more world-wide race results, click here).  The two of us celebrated afterward by grabbing a bite to eat at Rudy's and headed home, where we started briefly looking at the list of baby names we've each come up with.  They will remain a secret until Polka's day of birth, but I think we nearly have a girl's name nailed down!  A boy's name is going to take a little more work.  <grin>  Our heads then welcomed hitting our comfy, soft pillows to get some sleepy-sleep.

Here are some pics I know you're dying to see!  You can click on the image for a larger view.

Before the race: 
Our two runners and a non-sweaty couple pose

Celebrity sightings before and after the race:

Peirsol and Hansen


Cynthia Cooper

McConaughey & Armstrong before the race

Armstrong finishing the race in 6th place

One more shot of the guy

Our guys having finished well!!

A REALLY sweaty pose

MONDAY

• Today has been a low-key day, but we've already played with Molly out front with the hose and Matt made me some gluten-free pancakes from a mix he found.  They were quite yummy!   And one of the most exciting things I did:  I hung a fall wreath on my door to usher in this grand season!  This isn't just any wreath either.  It's a wreath that was hand-made by Gaga and it now has a special place on our door to welcome visitors, just as it did on her door.  The rest of the day will remain low-key doing laundry, working again on the baby-budget, a nap, another walk with Moos, and enjoying each other's company.  

Hope you all have a great Labor Day, too!

You have until tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. (CST) to leave a comment on the Bloggy Giveaway post.  I'm absolutely LOVING your all's comments!!