Baby Darnell is a...

GIRL!

So I know you guys all know this, but I've had some stressful weeks. But finally, I'm posting it.

A few of my new mommy friends have told me to hold of buying clothes, since everyone likes to give clothes as presents, but I couldn't help myself. Matt and I actually did find out at the first ultrasound that she was a girl, but the midwife was only guessing because the crossed legs made it very hard to see. But my 20 week ultrasound confirmed our midwife's guess! That first time, we went out and bought one pink sleeper, just in case she was right, because we wanted to pick out something together. After my confirmation ultrasound, I had to go buy just a few more items because we REALLY knew who she was :)  Here are the pictures of the adorable clothes we got:

Look! Purple! And kitties! So adorable. 0-3 months

Kitties!  0-3 months

I had to buy this outfit set. Her daddy loves ducks :) Newborn 

SCORE! I found puppies, which are usually on baby boy clothes! And they're purple! 3-6 months

This is the outfit we bought after the midwife's guess. Daddy loves her :) We picked it out in hopes that she can come home from the hospital in this, but even though it says 0-3 months, this looks way more like 3-6 months to me. (Sorry the picture is sideways, I can't figure out how to adjust this)

Auntie Rayla actually bought this! Pajamas for her when she's about 24 months

And I could absolutely not pass this up when I saw it. American Cutie :) I knew her daddy would approve. And of course, in our house, America anything is appropriate all year long :) 0-3 months 

Addicted to Smoothies

I love smoothies. It's how I get my fruits and vegetable in throughout the day. Plus, they're delicious. I recently tried adding spinach to my smoothies. I was so skeptical about it, but you really can't taste it in there! What an excellent way to add fiber and minerals to your diet without tasting it! So now I always have a bag of baby spinach in the fridge to add to smoothies.

Here's the one I made today.

Spinach
Orange Juice
Frozen Blueberries (if you don't have anything frozen, you must add ice to make it cold)
Fresh Strawberries
A Banana (with some of it going to the dog, of course :)
Orange sherbet

Yummy yummy!

Baby's Gender

Well, this is a little on the late side, but you must forgive me, I have had A LOT on my mind. A lot.

We TRIED to find out the baby's gender on Friday, but the baby was uncooperative and kept the legs crossed! How mean! At least our baby is modest, right? Anyways, our midwife did make guess based on what she could see, so I will find out this Friday on my 20 week ultrasound if her guess in correct.

So keep your fingers crossed that the legs stay uncrossed!

Ramblings of a Pregnant Woman

Ok, seriously. Those of us who are prone to klutziness should just get a pass from Mother Nature and have the stork deliver our babies to us. After all, it's not our fault that chairs and walls attack us for no reason whatsoever. And as we get bigger and more off-balance, those walls and chairs become even more sinister. You can almost hear their evil cackling laughter.

Thankfully, purple is my favorite color :)

Predicting the Baby's Gender!

Friday's the big day! At least the biggest day before the baby's arrival, anyway. We find out if we're having a little girl or a little boy! Needless to say, we're SUPER excited :)

However, nothing is one hundred percent accurate when guessing the baby's gender, except running DNA. Even ultrasounds can sometimes be hard to see. Everyone's heard of those old wife's tales, and some people swear by them. I don't believe in any of them at all, but it's REALLY fun to compare them to yourself and find out later if they were right.

So what do the old wife's tale say I will be having?

1. Carrying high or low. High: girl, Low: boy
      -Well, I honestly have no idea. I'm not showing a lot yet. I also have a fairly wide pelvic structure, so right now I feel I'm showing everywhere, haha. I did just get a text from one of my friends that said I'm carrying low, so point goes to the boy I guess!

2. Baby's Heartbeat. 140+ is girl, <140 boy="" p="">     -This one doesn't give points to either. Why? Because the last time we had an appointment, the heartbeat was 140. Sneaky baby :)

3. Cravings. Sweet cravings means girl, salty or sour cravings means boys.
     -Haha, again this one is inexplicable. I haven't had any cravings! I would say sweet, but I crave sweets when I'm not pregnant. I have been eating more potato chips lately, but that just might be me using pregnancy as an excuse to buy them. So again, no score.

4. Chinese Birth Calender.
     -This takes your age at the baby's conception, and the month you conceived. Try it here.  Problem: I actually don't know what age I was, since at our best guess conception was around my birthday. So this baby is being very very sneaky.

5. Mayans Even and Odd.
     -This is also like the Chinese calender, but this takes my age and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If there is both an even and odd number, it's a boy. So for the 4th time in a row, we have no answer. I'd like to know, though, how the Mayans or Chinese figured this out I have no clue, since age of conception and the year have absolutely nothing to do with a baby's gender.

6. Face Breaking Out. More acne is girl, less acne is boy.
     -The legend has it, a girl steals her mama's beauty, thus mama now breaks out like a teenager. Well, finally, one I can answer! My skin has never looked better, so point to the boy! Although, you know, it might be because of those prenatal vitamins, instead of the baby's gender, but whatever :)

7. Wedding Ring.
    -With this one, you tie your wedding ring to a string and hang it over your belly. If the ring swings in a circle, it's a boy, back and forth equals a girl. Point goes to the boy again!

8. Morning sickness. Really sick equals a girl, feeling fine equals a boy!
    -Finally a point to the girl! Even in to my second trimester, I have been getting sick. When I get a headache or a migraine (which is happening way more often in my pregnancy), I'm more likely to throw up than when I wasn't pregnant. I also had some serious nausea in my first trimester, to the point where I wouldn't eat anything all day because I was so queasy.

9. The linea nigra: It's a dark line that runs vertically on your belly.
     -Legend says if it goes down to the belly bottom, its a girl. If it continues farther than that, it's a boy. Well... I don't have one, so no points there!

10. Favorite Side Sleeping Position. Right: Girl Left: Boy
     -Point to the girl!

11. Soft or dry hands? Soft say girl, dry say boy
     -Dry says boy!

12. Clumsy or graceful? The XX makes you graceful, the XY makes you clumsy.
    -I'm clumsy to begin with, but I would definitely say I am even more clumsy now, so boy it is! I can't take my eyes off the sidewalk or I trip over myself.

13. Fuller face. If your face is fuller, it means a girl. No change is a boy.
    -Boy again!

14. Increased Mood Swings. If you're moodier, it's a girl!
     -Nope, it's a boy! I've either felt fine, or been too sick to be moody, haha

15. Baby Weight. If all the weight is in front, it's a boy. If it's spaced all around, it's a girl.
    -I'd say girl. But then again, it's still early, so I'm not showing/carrying a whole lot yet.

So what's the verdict? 3 points to a girl, 7 points to boy, and a whole bunch I couldn't answer! We'll see on Friday if those old wives were right!

Pork Chops with Dijon Gravy

I grew up not really enjoying pork chops, since they were always dry. Matt doesn't really like them, either. But guess what?! After tonight I got, and I quote, "I don't really like pork chops, but I REALLY like yours." Yay! I love getting compliments about my food. :)

These pork chops take minimal work. Seriously, it would be hard to mess these up. And they're super flavorful and very moist. Dry pork is the WORST, but these are far from that :) I made a pan gravy while the pork rested. Served with a veggie and roasted potatoes, these make a fabulous well rounded meal. Yummy yummy!

For the pork chops:

Two bone-in pork chops (please, use bone in. That's key to juicy, yummy pork. Boneless will dry out like you won't believe)
Salt
Pepper
Herbs de Provence (Or you can use whatever seasonings you want, but Herbs de Provence tastes really good with dijon mustard)
Butter (I know, I know. Sorry).

1. Melt some butter in the bottom of a pan over medium heat. You need enough to cover the whole bottom
2. Season both sides of the pork with salt, pepper, and the seasonings
3. Place the pork in the pan. Cook for 7 minutes. Flip, add more butter if needed, and continue to cook for 7 more minutes
4. Remove from pan and rest

For the pan gravy:

Flour
Dijon mustard
Milk
Salt
Butter, if needed

1. Turn the pan down to low. Using the drippings (mainly butter) from the pan, sprinkle some flour in the pan and whisk with the drippings. You only need enough flour to make a one-to-one ratio. You can do less, but definitely do not do more than one-to-one with the flour, or your gravy will be really thick.

2. Whisk in the milk and the Dijon mustard, along with a sprinkling of salt. Sorry I don't really do measurements, just eyeball it. Your gravy will become thick. If you want it thicker, continue adding milk and Dijon. Also, if you want a thinner gravy, use less flour in step one. You can also add more butter at this time. Heat through.

Serve the gravy with the pork chops. Yummy!

Notes:

If you don't like Dijon mustard, just leave it out. Without the Dijon, you'll make just a regular ol' pan gravy, which is just as delicious :)

You can try making an even thinner/healthier gravy by using chicken stock instead of milk.

Pregnancy Update

Alright, here's the run down: I'm not really enjoying being pregnant. Sure, I'm super excited to be a mommy, and I feel blessed that I get to experience growing a little human inside me, but unfortunately, that doesn't prevent it from sucking sometimes. I feel really guilty about it, but I can't help with how I feel.

It's so hard to explain what pregnancy is like to anyone who has never experienced before. Heck, even women who have experienced it might not understand, since pregnancy is so different for everyone. But here's the truth: everything in your body has the potential to stop working normally. Things you didn't even know could be effected b pregnancy are. Everyone knows about the backaches and the morning sickness. But did you know you can be congested through your whole pregnancy? Yup. Since you carrying 7 liters of extra blood in your body, your nasal passages swell and increase in pressure, thus causing congestion. So you basically have the sniffles for up to 9 months. You can become intolerant of certain foods and smells. Some women experience headaches. Your feet swell, your eye sight can get worse, your joints (even joints you did not know existed) ache and cause pain. Everyday activities make you short of breath and more tired than normal. You have to adjust your sleeping position. You can't take anything but Tylenol. You start gaining weight, and with that come ligament and muscle cramps in your abdomen because everything is stretching. You can't eat as much anymore in one sitting, but some days you can't tame your hunger. Your digestive system stops functioning. And lets not forget that your bladder is all of a sudden three sizes too small and you have to constantly use the bathroom. I haven't slept through the night for the last three months because of this. Actually, I usually wake up twice. Guess the baby's preparing me for when he/she gets here :)

For some women, they get hardly any of these. Their morning sickness lasts for only the first trimester, and other than aches and pains and the constant bathroom use, they're fine. Some of us, though, are highly uncomfortable. I happen to suffer from migraines. In the past four days, I have experienced two. I have woken up with them, and they are accompanied by extreme neck pain. I then proceed to get sick all morning (two days ago I couldn't keep anything down until dinner). Tylenol didn't even work because I threw that up, too. All I can do is stay in my house and hope that it eventually goes away.

And this is all just the physical side effects. There are a lot of emotional side effects, too. I pretty much much experience everything from sheer joy to full on panic. I love my baby, I'm so excited to have one, but I'm also nervous and overwhelmed and in disbelief. "Is this really happening to me? Finally?" "I get to be a mommy! The only thing I've ever wanted in life!" "Oh goodness, it's never going to just be me and Matt. Ever again." "Holy cow I get to be a mommy! And buy lots of cute things for my baby." "Oh I hope I don't screw up raising this baby." "Ugh I'm going to get so big!" "Oh my goodness I actually have to push that out of me!" "When do I get to feel the baby move?" "Oh my gosh what if it's a miscarriage?" It's natural for all of these things to go through your head. Sure, everyone knows that pregnant woman get big. But when it actually becomes a reality, you kind of fight it. Even though it's for a good reason, I fought with my weight gain. Does any woman really want to gain weight? Not really. And there's nothing like the reality that eventually, that baby WILL be coming out. Very painfully. And there's nothing you can do about it. I have always looked forward to pregnancy. But nothing- I repeat, NOTHING- can prepare you for it until it actually happens to you. You also can't predict who you will react, or feel, or how easy your pregnancy will be until you're going through it.

Like I said, I'm so glad I get to experience this. There's nothing quite like. On days when I feel good, I enjoy being pregnant and embrace it. Those days, however, that suck, REALLY SUCK. Unfortunately for me, I have more sucky days than good days. I wish more than anything that I could flip that, but this pregnancy doesn't want me to roll that way. That's life. So believe me, I take advantage of the days I feel great. I walk the dog a lot, clean the house, and stay active. The days that I'm feeling like crap, I take it easy and just hope it gets better as I get farther along.

So believe me when I say, I can't wait for this baby to get here! Sure, I'll be exhausted, my house will be neglected, and I won't sleep for about 3 months, but I'm pretty sure having that little baby in my arms will make me forget all about that :) Only about 21 1/2 weeks to go!

Egg Drop Soup

Yay, I'm feeling better! Which means I am getting back to my kitchen and cooking more and more. However, since I'm pregnant, I can't eat as much in one sitting anymore, so I feel like I'm in the kitchen even more than I was before.

One of my favorite things to "make" when I was younger for lunches was Egg Drop soup. In my family, though, we used the little packet. I never tried it to make it from scratch, so I hadn't had it in a long time, until I found this recipe for Egg Drop soup - from scratch!

I love making soup, even in the warm summer weather. Especially now, with the warm weather coming and my pregnancy, it's really important keep hydrated. Broth soups definitely help me keep hydrated, and they are super easy to make and clean up afterwards.

I really wanted to make this recipe, but I only had about half the ingredients, so I just winged it and made it my own. I must say, it came out delicious.

1. Chop up about an 1/8 of an onion. I probably had no more than a 1/4 cup. Place in a small pot with about 1/2 tbsp of oil. When the onion is just about done, add some red pepper flakes to the pan. Quickly add two boullion cubes (or enough for 2 cups of water) and 2 cups of water. Boil until the boullion cubes are dissolved.

2. In a small bowl, beat up one egg. Once the cubes are dissolved, lower the heat. Stir the soup in one direction to get a whirlpool effect going in the pot. Slowly drizzle the egg in to the whirlpool, to make egg threads. Once the egg is cooked (this takes only seconds, really), add in a handful of spinach and continue to cook for a minute or two.

Then eat! I drizzled a little bit of sesame oil into my bowl to add a little more flavor to the soup. It was fantastic. Quick, easy, and delicious :)

Samoa Style Rice Krispies Treats

My sister-in-law Brittany gave up gluten for Lent, so when she arrived last Saturday, I wanted to make sure she wouldn't starve while she was visiting us. I eat gluten, a lot, but this has been a wonderful challenge and learning experience. Excluding baked goods, it's actually rather easy to eat gluten free. The hard part comes when you go out to eat, or you if you're used to buying a lot of processed foods like Cheezits (one of my all time favorite foods, lol).

When one of my friends delivered us some Rice Krispie Treats, both Brittany and I were like, "Score! We need to make these!" One, they're delicious, two, they're gluten free, three, they're something I would consume with vigor, and four, the cereal we did not eat would be happily eaten by my later, so I didn't feel like I was going out of my way to buy something gluten that would then rot away in the pantry.

On our trip to Safeway, Brittany had the genius decision to pick up chocolate Rice Krispies, which I of course did not turn down. Then, while in the marshmallow section, I came across coconut marshmallows. "Oh goodness, Brittany, if we buy these marshmallows, it will be like eating the Samoa Girl Scout cookies!" And those marshmallows immediately got tossed into the shopping cart.

When we got home, we immediately went to work. We used the basic recipe from the Rice Krispies website: melt butter, stir in marshmallows, then stir in the cereal, then spread in a pan and cool. DELICIOUS. We did note, though, that the coconut marshmallows come in a bag 2 oz smaller than a normal bag of marshmallows, so if you do decide to do this, you'll need to make sure to have about 2 oz of additional marshmallows. Ours turned out a little hard, but they are still scrumptious. Also, next time I will drizzle the treats with caramel, and mix in some coconut, so they mimic Samoas even more. All in all, a great yummy treat, that's still gluten free, but will be enjoyed by everyone.

Happy baking!

Baby Clothes

Even though my sister-in-law is visiting us right now, clearly I have nothing better to do than blog. In my defense, however, she is currently addicted to The Hunger Games. She's only been here since Saturday, and she has already finished the first one, read the second one in just over 24 hours, and has taken over my Kindle at the present to read the third one. So, since the dog is sleeping after his second walk, I blog. 

I'm not even half way through the pregnancy and Baby Darnell (here on out referred to lovingly as BeeDee) already has quite a wardrobe to last for awhile! 

My friend Kat, whom I met while at Columbus AFB, has already gone baby crazy. She has this rather not so uncommon obsession with The Big Bang Theory (which I also suffer from) and went a little TBBT onesie crazy. My favorite is the Soft Kitty one :) Best part? She bought 12 month onesies so I won't get bombarded with newborn clothes. Yay, BeeDee already has 4/7 days of the week covered when he/she gets that big! I would also like to mention Kat was generous enough to send a few kid's books, toys, and other baby necessities. Thanks, Kat!

 Here are two gender neutral onesies that I wore when I was a baby. My sister and I went through all the baby clothes a LONG time ago and had my mom store the ones that we liked. Apparently these are two of them, lol. When we know the gender I know I'm going to get the rest of them when my parents come to visit this summer. Honestly, I don't think I will be needing to buy any clothes for this baby! Which is kind of nice, since that means I will get to splurge a little on cute holiday outfits.

Two of the sleepers that I also wore as a baby. The one on the left is the sleeper I came home from the hospital in! So crazy how that has lasted 25 years! For reasons that I won't get in to now, BeeDee will most likely come home in an outfit both Matt and I have picked out, but if that doesn't happen (again for reasons that will remain silent for now) this is a close contender. Even if it is a girl. Something about babies and teddy bears are so cute! And puppies.

Almost There...

That's right, I've almost gotten to the point where I can't hide from strangers that I'm pregnant :) This is a really awkward stage because you're not showing yet, but you still have gained some weight around the waist, so nothing fits right, but you can't justify spending money on the pregnancy pants quite yet. It's really irritating, but yes, I do know it's for a good. I just don't think anyone really wants to start gaining weight. Once it becomes obvious, though, that it's a baby bump, I think I'll be ok :)

Anyways, I am in desperate need of clothes (even non maternity clothes), but I just can't justify buying non maternity clothes yet, since who knows when I'll actually be able to wear it again. Since my sister-in-law Brittany is currently visiting us on her spring break, it made the perfect excuse to go out and buy clothes. I hate clothes shopping by myself, but I also hate clothes shopping with most everyone I know. Brittany is one of those few exceptions. She's great with fashion (check out her blog, Thoughts of Style here on blogspot) and she shops a lot like me. So she was my perfect partner in spending way too much of Matt's money.

We were on the look out for cute accessories, pregnant appropriate sandals, and any pullover vests that I can wear with a tank top during the summer even when I'm pregnant, but will also be a great layering piece when I'm not pregnant. Score! I like the idea of spending more money on clothes I can wear during both phases of my life, and buy mostly just basic maternity clothes. That way Matt doesn't get his (I should say our) bank account drained :)

We hit up Forever 21, where we checked out the accessory area. I came away with this:



(http://www.forever21.com/Product/Product.aspx?BR=f21&Category=acc_necklace&ProductID=1084872077&VariantID=)

I bought the gold one, since all of my necklaces are silver. Even though I'm not a huge fan of the gold hues, the charcoal helps round out that palette, and I'm also trying to branch out and bring more of a variety into my wardrobe/accessories. Since this is a gold piece I would actually wear, I bought it. And for only $5, score!

We also visited the local Ross. I managed to talk myself out of buying anything baby since this was "focus on Sara's wardrobe" day. Once we know the gender, then we can do some selecting :) Anyways, I found a charcoal sleeveless vest/cardigan that will work great with basic tees, and won't be too hot for the summer. I also focused a lot of time on shoes. I'm using my pregnancy as an excuse to invest in some ballet flat and sandals, since those will one, be cooler in the summer, two, they're not heels, and three, I will be able to actually put them on even if Matt's not here to help me. I managed to find some basic black flips flops with a purple strap, some adorable "gladiator" style silver sandals with flowers (don't worry, they look like flowers for adults), and some flips flops with a silver and bronze rope detail. I unfortunately could not find any pictures of them online, super lame! Guess you'll just have to come visit me to see my awesome rockin' shoes :)

Feeling Good

It feels SO GOOD to finally have my appetite back. Seriously, 3 months of nausea, food aversion, morning sickness, and fatigue, even if they're not all happening at the same time, is rather annoying. It's hard to go from no appetite one day, sick the next day, totally fine the next, and complete and utter starvation, yet nothing looks appetizing the next day.

If you're anything like me, the main reason cooking is so fun is that I get to feed other people, but I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor, also. However, if you have no desire to eat at all, it's really hard to cook for yourself or anybody else. Plus, you don't have the energy to do the dishes, either.

Tonight, I made chicken Caesar salad and baked potatoes. Admittedly not very fancy, but hey, it was still very delicious. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper, spread on a mixture of Caesar and Italian dressing and baked it. I made the salad with croutons, the chicken, tomato, and avocado. The baked potatoes were served with bacon (duh), cheese, and sour cream. I still can't eat as much as I used to in one sitting, but that's ok, this dinner tasted so good. I'm not sure if that's because it actually was really good, or if it was just because I finally like food again, but still. And it was somewhat healthy, so score :)

It's Baby Time :)

It's finally been made public, whoot! Baby Darnell will be here late August/early September! I'm personally hoping for earlier, because let's face it, I would like to decrease the amount of time I'm pregnant in the dead heat of California's summer. Because if you remember, I'm more of a subzero winter person. :)

I'm going to be putting the majority of our baby updates here on the blog, since I realize not everyone wants to be bombarded with all things baby in their Facebook feed. So I'll try to limit my updates to this here blog :)

Here are some things I have been asked about in the recent weeks, or I have decided to take note for your sake:

-Morning sickness is most likely (and hopefully) over. I didn't have it TOO bad, just mostly extreme nausea and lack of appetite, or an appetite that could not be tamed on a few rare occasions.

-Food aversion is way worse than throwing up, in my opinion. It sucks to have no appetite, or to be hungry and nothing looks even remotely tasty. I also learned that just because something tastes really great doesn't necessarily mean that it will taste equally great in 3 bites. Or, you can be super hungry, but then in 3 bites you feel your stomach is about to explode because you stomach thinks you just ate the equivalent to Thanksgiving dinner.

So we can conclude from that that pregnancy is weird.

-Even just smelling fresh ginger can help curb nausea.

-No, I'm not showing yet. Please allow me to enjoy my normal clothes as long as possible. :)

-No, I don't yet know if it's a girl or boy. I haven't had any weird dreams yet, lol. The ultrasound will probably be able to tell in mid-April.

-It's amazing how much energy growing a baby takes out of you. There was one day where all I did was watch TV and knit and by 6 pm I was exhausted.

-Being pregnant and being a sufferer of chronic migraine really, really sucks. Fortunately I have only had one so far, and I hope my surging hormones manage to keep any future migraines at bay. Since I'm only allowed to take Tylenol, and Tylenol is worthless, I just have to suffer through them.

-No, I don't/didn't have any weird food cravings. During morning sickness I did notice that usually the only food that sounded even remotely good was dairy (mainly cheese) or eggs. Which is really weird, since that's exactly what settled my mom's stomach when she was pregnant with me. That's why she thinks it's a girl.

-No, we're not registered anywhere, and I'm not sure if we will. We are rather independent, and want to be able to provide for our baby ourselves instead of relying on other people to buy our necessities. I will, however, be more than willing to give you an updated list of what we do have it if you would like one. :)

-I plan on using cloth diapers, but haven't completely decided yet. Just call me hippie.

-I'm having a hard time deciding how to decorate the nursery. If it's a boy, the theme will be airplanes. I'll let you guess who decided that one. :)

-I think Jack knows that I'm pregnant.

-The only food item that tastes weird now is raw bell peppers. Something about their smell that just makes them look unappetizing.

-I have successfully been able to decrease my caffeine intake to one normal sized cup of coffee a day. After that I just drink decaf. And yes, you can still drink caffeine when you're pregnant, as long as it's around 200 mg.

I think that's about it for now!

Lucky Girl, Me

Seriously, how did I get so lucky finding my husband? As we speak, he is outside grilling. No matter that a tornado touched down earlier today, or that hail is coming in, or there just might be some thunder and lightening. (Did I mention our back patio does not have a roof?)

Today he is making me roasted rosemary potatoes and marinated steak. Yesterday he made chicken wings on the grill. THE BEST CHICKEN WINGS I HAVE EVER HAD, mind you. Seriously. They were DELICIOUS. They were so good, in fact, that we used the same kind of marinate for the steak today. And because of that, I'm not going to share the recipe. It's not our own secret recipe by any means, he found it online, but still, I'm not going to tell you because we don't want to share the secret we found! Feel free to do some searching of your own, and I might let you in on the secret, but not until then.

Have I convinced you yet to come out to visit us? We'll grill for you (or Matt will, anyway) and I'm sure the California sun will not disappoint. :)

Gardening Fun

My mom came for a much deserved visit this past weekend. It was so nice having someone to hang out with and share some good 'ol quality mommy daughter time. One of the things we did was to take my flower pots out of hibernation and have a shopping spree at the Home Depot gardening center.

This pot as has snap dragons and is hiding a calla lily bulb

Daffodils, snap dragons, and a hiding calla lily :)

Me attempting to take an artistic photo

Hyacinth, daffodil, and some tulips

A purple plant that I don't remember the name but in California they can get huge. 

I love purple :)

Pot in the front yard with a pink tulip, hyacinth, and leftover flowers from the winter

Can't decide if this is a good picture or not

I keep forgetting to take the Christmas sign out

Matt and I went back to Home Depot a few days later to pick out some veggies and herbs together. I have no idea if the veggies will grow or not, but it's a good project and should keep me busy. I have found a lot of tips on pinterest to peruse.

Cilantro, thyme, and Italian parsley with Matt's Cappucino Stout by Lagunitas. If you have never experienced the awesomeness of the store BevMo, you really should :)

A tomato plant! This is the Bonnie Bell, the big tomatoes. I have another pot of cherry tomatoes

Two kinds of peppers. I bought a salsa pepper and a yellow bell pepper

Strawberries and a rosemary plant in the center! I was so mad I couldn't find strawberry pots ANYWHERE

A line of plants :)

Shopping Dilemma

So does anyone else have inner conversations when they shop at the glorious store that is Bath and Body Works?






http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/cms_widgets/19/40/1940333_assets/lp_bb_s4_fred_tropics_0204.jpg

(By the way, I just discovered the new flavor Rumberry, in the picture above, it's divine, you should go smell it.)

Anyways, on my shopping spree this morning, my intention was just to buy some lotion and shower gel for the guest bathroom, since my mom is coming to visit on Thursday. Yippee! As I was in the store, I had an inner argument with myself that went a little bit like this:

Ok, Sara try not to spend too much money. We just need some shower gel and lotion.

Oh, look at all these new flavors!

No.

Oh, look! 4 of the hand soaps for $20!

Well, we are running low in both bathrooms, and it would be nice to get some soap that matches the color theme....

Done. What flavors? Oh look, lavender and coconut, green and purple for the guest bathroom, and here's a white one and blue one for the master.

But I really don't need 4 bottles of soap...

Yes you do.

Well, ok.

Now that we got that covered, look at the shower gels! It's buy 3 get 2 free! Or buy 2 get one free!

But I don't need all that shower gel. And my mom's not moving in, just visiting. Besides I'm trying to use up the shower gel I have before I get some new ones.

Oh, but come on. Your mother-in-law is coming next month, and her favorite flavor happens to be green, so you can get a purple flavor for your mom!

But they can totally share shower gel.

That way, you can get 4, and that leaves one left over for one for you to choose! And look at all these new flavors they have... don't you want to smell some?

I guess.

Look! This purple flavor smells pretty delicious and will match the guest bathroom! And the White Citrus is over. What flavor do you want!

I DON'T NEED ALL OF THIS!

WHICH FLAVOR DO YOU WANT?

This rumberry does make me all smiley inside.

Done. Let's go. You're not spending THAT much money.


Fifty dollars later...


Matt's going to kill me.

Psh, whatever. He just told you the other day that you never spend money, so you've got some making up to do.

That doesn't mean I NEED to spend money.

Sure it does. Oh well, what's done is done. Your mom and mother-in-law will enjoy their shower times at your house now.

Man, I sure hope so :) And let me point out to y'all that this was an INNER argument. It's only a matter of time, though, before it becomes audible, I'm sure :)

Bucket List

Awhile ago, my sister posted a bucket list on her blog. I think it's about time I did the same, you know, since I have the time :) Also, my neighbors woke us up with their prayer ritual early this morning, so I have nothing else to do, except make pancakes later and continue watching my cat do his morning crazy cat act of running around like a caffeinated kiddo. Ah, pets, what would we do without them?

Anyways, let's get started.

Just note, I don't really have too many hopes and dreams, I'm pretty content with my life as is, so these are probably going to seem boring to you, but that's ok. They're for me, not you :)

1. Be a mommy one day! Seriously, that's pretty much all I've ever wanted in life.

2. See a stage production of Sound of Music. It's the best musical ever.

3. Own at least one 55 gallon tank and start trying my hands at cichlids and other cool fish.

4. Own a therapy dog to take to nursing homes, pediatric hospitals, etc.

5. Move back to the Pacific Northwest.

6. Retire either on the beach or in the mountains near a lake or river.

7. Go to Hawaii.

8. Visit a place where I would need a passport to go to, like the Caribbean or Europe.

9. Visit all 50 states. I think I only have about 20 left.

10. Learn how to can food so I can grow lots of vegetables and then preserve them.

11. If I were to ever own a business, it would be a cupcake shop or a coffee house.

12. Live in a house with a dedicated library.

13. Learn how to crochet and actually pick it up and make something with it.

14. Meet a Food Network chef. I don't care which one.

15. Swim with a dolphin, either in the ocean or at an aquarium. We saw dolphins while we were swimming in Florida, but they were so far away it doesn't really count.

And finally,

16. Just live life to the fullest and appreciate everything I have and everyone in my life that God has blessed me with.

Cheesy Ranch Potatoes

I must inform all of you of some yumminess that I created last night as a side dish. Matt LOVED it. I think he even liked it more than the chicken pot pie I made. But alas, I only made enough for one serving each. But I have been warned. Next time, I must make more!

Alright, so what is it that I made?

Follow along:

-Dice up a potato into small bite size pieces. If you want more than 1 serving per person, dice more potatoes.

-Fry up the potatoes in some vegetable oil in a pan until the outside is brown and crispy but the inside is nice and soft. You will to constantly be turning the potatoes to make sure they don't burn. Salt the potatoes while they're frying.

-Once done, empty the potatoes onto a plate covered in paper towels. This way you can drain all the excess oil. If you leave the oil on the potatoes, not only is that extra calories, but the nice crispy outside of the potatoes is going to be mushy.

-Put the potatoes in a bowl. Dump some ranch dressing to taste on the potatoes, then shred some cheddar cheese on top. Mix. Adjust to taste, and viola! Yummy potatoes.

Cook's note: Next time I might try ranch powder instead of the dressing, but it was still good nonetheless! If you do that, don't salt the potatoes. Ranch powder probably already has enough salt in it. But of course, if you need more, you can always add some :)

Happy cooking!

Ho, Hum

Well, folks, I haven't been writing much, lately. Obviously. I'm living a pretty low-key life right now, so life isn't all that exciting, at least for the blog world. But I figured I would at least write something.

Here are some pictures of my puppy dog:

 He sits like this quite a lot. We're not really sure why. But he's adorable. 

Why are you taking my picture and embarrassing me on the internet, MOM? 

Huey sleeping on Jack's bed, Jack demoted to the wall, in a mid-yawn. 

Other things of note: 

-I have successfully kicked my coffee addiction to the curb! Kind of. I drink only half a cup in the morning, and if I need any more in the afternoon, I brew some decaf. Isn't that awesome? And it even happened without too much of a withdrawal. Yippee!

-Matt finally got back into the cockpit this Saturday! Needless to say, he's excited. Nothing makes my husband happier than flying :) 

-I pinterest like a fiend. Sorry for those of you who follow me and get constant pictures. There's nothing quite like pinterest that let's you know how poor you are. 

-I would just like to mention that when I notice that Pitch Perfect comes out, I WILL be buying it. That movie is just way too awesome to not own :)

-I'm going to do my first baking in a long time! I love to bake, but I haven't been doing it here because I don't want to eat all the cookies I make. I mean, I do, but my hips don't. I decided to make brown sugar oatmeal cookies that I found on, where else, pinterest. Because oatmeal makes cookies healthy. YES, IT DOES.

-I have also been reading like a fiend, thanks to the books I ordered a month ago and the Kindle I got for my birthday. If you like historical fiction and 18th century England, read A Preacher's Bride. I loved it, and it's an easy read, but it's still a mature book. I don't mean sexual, I mean you don't feel like you're reading a young adult book :)

-Books I will be reading once I finish my current one (A Discovery of Witches), are Schindler's List; Water for Elephants; Outlander; Cold Mountain; High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed. I'm mostly excited to read High Crimes. I love reading about Mt. Everest climbs. It fascinates me, I think mostly because of how stupid most people are when deciding to climb Everest.

-I have decided that Nicholas Sparks needs to come out with another book. I know, I know, his books are hopelessly romantic, blah blah, but I don't care. I still like them. All of them.

-Grumpy Cat is my new favorite meme. He hasn't gotten old yet :)  Behold:


http://static.themetapicture.com/media/funny-Grumpy-Cat-Harry-Potter-patronus.jpg

I heart Grumpy Cat.

-I can't wait for next month, when spring flower bulbs come out :) Our landlord left a few big pots, so I'm going to go crazy planting tulips and daffodils and lilies in the pots to make for easy planting. I'll probably spend too much money doing that, but whatever. I only spend money on groceries usually, so I think I'm good.

-I am in desperate need of a new wardrobe. But for some reason I have a hard time spending money on clothes. I don't know why. So please judge me on my pinterest wardrobe, and not my actual wardrobe :)

-I have concluded that if Lucky Charms came just with the Lucky Charms, I would probably buy the cereal and eat it for breakfast every day. Yes, indeed.

-Food Network Magazine needs to be, like, 5 times bigger. It's not fair that it only takes an hour to read the whole thing.

-Last week Matt and I bought a new coffee table and two end tables! Whoot! There is becoming less and less IKEA furniture in our house. We're big kids now :) Not that Matt and I don't like IKEA furniture, but after 4 moves (two across the country), our current end tables and coffee table are showing their age. But for $30 bucks for all three pieces, I'll take it!

-The Seahawks lost last week. Booooooooo. It would have been easier to digest if they hadn't played like crap for the first 3 quarters. Oh, well. We finally had an AWESOME season, with a Rookie quarterback, so we fans actually have a reason to defend our team. Finally :)

Gotta go bake some cookies now! Cheers!

Christmas Pictures

Alright, I'm finally getting off my blogger hiatus and posting the pictures of our Christmas decorations! It's amazing how busy you get when your dad comes down to your new house for a visit, then you spend two weeks up north for Christmas.

Our dining room. My mom made the table runner. 

Another table runner, with Mickey Mouse snow globes 

Our living room, with stockings and the Christmas card holder. 

Jack and Huey of course had to have stockings!

I was going to hang Christmas cards this way, but my cat kept taking the tacks out of the wall. So I gave up and just taped them up on the wall. 

Another table runner! And mason jars filled with epson salts and candles. Snow! Oh and a cat

It's a bowl full of red and silver ornaments! And a Nativity Scene candle. 

So how creative am I? I took some red and white streamers, and shoved them into my glass candle holder for a Christmas decoration that I didn't have to pay for! Yippee!

You can't see these very well, but I made paper ornaments out of scrapbook paper and hung them in the window. I would have also hung the candy canes I bought, but I ran out of ribbon and was too cheap to buy more :)