Prego Pics - please help me decide!

Hi, the pregnancy portraits are done and the gallery is up, but just for a week (until Nov 6th), so hurry and take a look!

Go to http://www.sindea.org/, and click on "your session." Login is "p.j." and the password is "bebe"

I need some help in narrowing down my selection. I'm only planning to get 3 or 4 prints, and I've decided on 41 with HH for sure, leaving 2-3 prints to decide on.

My other faves are: 17 or 28 (with my Chick), and 18, 58, 68 (just me). Please let me know!

(BTW, you'll notice that my quilt & bedroom are the setting for a lot of the pics...YAY!)

New Logo Design

I finished the logo design for Sindea Horste Photography & thought that I'd share : ) It links to her new website, if you want to check out her work.

The gallery for my prego photos should be up at the end of the week...I'll post a link when it's ready!

They start so young, don't they?!

Chick isn't even 2, and already she knows the tricks. If we even SAY the words bedtime or naptime, or try to buckle her into the car when she doesn't want to go...what does she do? She signs and says "Potty!" Of course, once we get her to the potty she doesn't want to sit on it & doesn't have to go. And lately she's started signing "drink" FRANTICALLY when I say that it's naptime. Anything to stall. Is it just in the programming that they know to do it so young?!

Speaking of my Chick, she's going to be a sheep for Halloween (I have yet to make the costume). But I was thinking that maybe she should be Ophelia Frump (Morticia's sister from the Addam's family).... except that she says "baa" so cutely!

In my last post I mentioned that one thing I like about autumn is the apples on the tree in the yard. Here's a picture of part of the tree.

Last night was my midwife appointment. We're to the "every week" part, which is just crazy. I have about a month left still, but that's really not very long. But anyhow, everything was good, but the baby seems to be measuring a little small. I don't know how the measurements were with my last pregnancy, but it's unsettling to me to have anything seem amiss. The measurements aren't off by enough to require an ultrasound yet, but still....

Speaking of pregnancy, last night I used the free Redbox code (a new code every Monday--check in the frugality posts to the right to find the code) and got Baby Mama. I've got to say that it was a pretty funny movie. I thought it would either be too stupid or have too much yucky stuff in it, but I was pleasantly surprised. It did have swearing and anatomy stuff (really, how could you have a movie about pregnancy and not?) but it was cleaner than it could have been, and had a nice ending. Very cute.

And lastly, yesterday I made 3 pans of chicken enchiladas--one for eating this week, and two for freezing. So now I have 11 meals ready + beans & tortillas + muffins. I was going to make the tortillas yesterday, but decided to get real & just bought the mega pack from Cash & Carry. I only used half for the enchiladas, so now we have a good stash in the freezer.

Oh Shoot...Bonnie tagged me

Ok, this is supposed to be 8 things, but I only am doing 6 because that's what I came up with

6 TV shows I Love to watch
1. America's Next Top Model
2. 90210...now you know our dirty secret!
3. Friday Night Smackdown...no, wait, that's on HH's list, not mine.
4. I loved Notes from the Underbelly, but it's not on anymore
5. Any show on HGTV!
6. Good Eats with Alton Brown

6 Places I Love to eat
1. Red Robin (used to be my least favorite until I figured out what I like there)
2. Olive Garden
3. Azteca
4. Home, when HH cooks
5. Anyone else's home, when they cook
6. Changs or any other Mongolian Grill

6 Things that happened yesterday
1. Sunday breakfasts are when I get "special" foods: yesterday was poptarts...and they burned!
2. I took a nap and woke up in the nick of time for church.
3. chick and I watched HH sing in the choir : )
4. I volunteered in the nursery because it seemed short handed
5. Chick did a great job filling in most of the animal noises when we read "Moo, Baa, La la la"
6. I read the 9th month section in "The Pregnancy Book" until I couldn't keep my eyes open

6 Things I love about Fall
1. Halloween (costumes)
2. Autumn decor
3. Christmas Prep
4. Changing colors
5. Bundling up
6. Apples on the tree in the front yard : )

6 Things on my wish list (not in order of importance)
1. "These is my Words" book
2. A couple of Italian cds (Best of Laura Pausini & Best of Nek)
3. A homemade rotating composter
4. Snapware
5. Camcorder (we have to get it soon for the birth!)
6. A healthy birth & baby

6 People I am tagging
1. - 6. You

It's my Lucky Day!

1023! So I really don't know why that's my "lucky number" and honestly I'm not convinced that it IS lucky. Thus far the only really lucky thing that's happened is that Chick slept in almost an extra hour. That meant that I got to sleep in until I woke MYSELF up! And that gave me enough energy to tackle the dishes that have been mounting up!

But really, that's all. And in the history of 1023 being my lucky number the most memorable "lucky" thing was in 1997...Provo, UT...the guy that I had a crush on asked me out on October 23rd. But actually, it wasn't really LUCKY...it was all due to my great friend NIKKO, who was his SIL and coerced him into a double date. Well, whatever works.

Finally some Pictures!

Ok, I finally took pictures. Here we go:

These are the baby gifts that I got at craft group (it doesn't show so well, but the white in front is the album)...there was also body butter & chocolates for me, and a stuffed doggie for Chick (not pictured because I put it back in it's wrapping for her to open after the baby comes).

Here's a picture of me at approximately 36 weeks.

Sorry for the glare...I didn't think about my glasses.

Here is my QUILT! ALL DONE!

Other news:
Last night was my pregnancy photo shoot, and it was SO FUN! It'll be a couple of weeks, maybe, until the proofs are up & I can link you to them. I loved that Sindea let me call the shots, but still had so many great ideas to help.

I'm also happy to announce that I had fun styling my hair for the photos and I officially like my haircut.

Ciao ciao.

A long post about my rollercoaster weekend

Friday

My Aunt took care of Chick while I got a haircut, which I like. Then we went to Walgreens, where I had my first experience with the Wonders of Walgreens and their rebate program. Unfortunately I forgot to take the "$5 off $25 purchase" coupon, so I had to return it the next day (more info on that later).

Then I went home and tried a new rice and beans bake recipe. It turned out pretty well, I think. It's from the Make a Mix cookbook. HH called it "zesty". I'm assuming that's good, since he wouldn't elaborate, but he did eat it.

Speaking of HH, he went to a Cashflow game night and left Chick and I here sick with colds. I was not happy about being left "alone" on a Friday night, but he did bring me a movie that I've been wanting to see. It was PS: I love you. Here's my review...

I really loved this movie, though I was weepy through pretty much the whole thing! I can't recommend it hands down, though, due to a lot of swearing & sexy stuff. It wasn't enough to make me not like it, though (Unlike Catch & Release, which had so little to redeem it that I would NEVER watch it again).

Saturday

Started out great. We got to lay in bed and chat for a while before I rushed out the door to pick up my quilt from the quilter's! It's gorgeous...hopefully it'll be all done tomorrow and I'll post pictures. Then I ran a couple of grocery/shopping errands (Top Foods had a great price on Dole frozen juices), and rushed home (late) to swap childcare & car with HH who went to a scouts outing. While he was gone, Chick and I took naps on the living room floor and worked on laundry and tidying. He got home with tales of woe about the Jeep, which really has had a rough year & we're getting sick of it!

Then I made deviled eggs (a bit too salty, but they were gobbled up regardless), and got ready to go to my craft group. While I was getting ready the Chick didn't get to the potty in time, so she showed me a pile of pooh on the living room rug (as well as some in the potty). Somehow she managed to get some on herself too, so I stuck her in the bathtub, cleaned up the carpet, and hurried to get ready (by that time I was really late).

I rushed down to Walgreens, returned everything & rebought it with the coupon (they were REALLY nice and helpful about it) and bought some more. Then I went (very late) to craft group. That was definitely a highpoint for me that day--I got to sit and visit with the girls, eat yummy food, laugh, AND I got presents! They surprised me with a baby shower. It's great--chocolates for mama (I'm eating some now, as a matter of fact), a present for Big Sister Chick, and baby stuff--a rattle, some soft soft blankets, and an 8x8 album with baby themed papers, rub-ons, etc. I've never done 8x8, and had some misgivings about changing the size for the baby's book, but I'm excited to try something new & HH says as long as it's personalized it'll be great. Anyhow, it was really a fun evening, and I got to start on my quilt binding too. I got home and Chick was in bed, and HH and I cuddled in front of the tv until we were both dozing off.

Sunday

I slept in, put dinner in the crock pot & made DELICIOUS (with secret ingredient) rice crispies to have for dessert. I took a long time getting ready (using some of my new free stuff from Walgreens!), and we went to church. Church was great except that I was having trouble staying awake. Thankfully Stacy shared some trailmix with me, which helped a lot.

We had signed up for the missionaries to come to dinner, but they cancelled, so we had a nice dinner and dessert AND a relaxing evening. The power went out for about an hour, but just as I was starting to light candles the power came back on.

I started working in earnest on my quilt binding, and HH and I got in a disagreement about financial tactics. It's an ongoing disagreement, and one that makes me really frustrated (we don't normally disagree about fundamental ideas), and it ended up with me feeling like he's going to just do what he wants to do anyhow (which is no way to be in a partnership...my opinion is valid too, you know). So I sequestered myself in our room and worked on the quilt binding until almost midnight. I got 2.5 sides done, so I should be able to finish today.

Today

Chick is fussy & I realized that I made a mistake when figuring out the Walgreens rebates (and have to take more stuff back), but we had a good breakfast, I've spent some "therapy" time online, and my Mom just called from their cruise--they're about to go ashore in Hawaii for the first time and they're having a great time : )

That's all. As in the words of Disney's Robin Hood, "sometimes the ups outnumber the downs"...I think that's the case for my weekend, but it's so much nicer when the ups really slaughter the downs.

What I've been up to

Hi. So this week I've been pretty lazy, really. But I have accomplished a couple of things. I've done extra cooking & baking to get ready for the baby. I made extra pear bread muffins, pizza crusts, pinto beans (some mashed for burritos, some left whole), and a casserole--all snuggly sitting in my freezer. Oh, the pinto beans aren't in the freezer yet. They will be though. I still have a lot of cooking ahead of me--I want to have a 1 month supply in the freezer, but I'm doing it a little each day (last pregnancy I did a TON in one day and was sore and exhausted at the end of the day).

Anyhow, besides that I've been learning a lot about couponing. I use coupons--like the 40% coupons for Michaels & JoAnns, or 20% off at Bed Bath & Beyond... but I have never used manufacturers coupons or learned about "stacking" coupons. I've spent (wasted?) a ton of time reading up about it on frugality blogs, etc. I hope to report lots of money saved in the future months : )

Aside from that stuff I've been totally lazy. Chick and I both have colds, so we've been slugs. Today I'm going to get my hair cut, because I get to have prego portraits taken soon! I'm really excited about that. The session is actually in payment for Handsome Handyman putting in a window at the photographer's house--sweet of him to choose a fun photo shoot for me rather than plain ol' money! She's given me the option of doing a logo design to use for print credits, too, so I may go that route. Anyhow, I didn't do professional pictures last pregnancy, so this is a fun new thing this time around!

Oh, and lastly, I had a midwife appointment on Monday. All is great thus far--my blood pressure is down, I've gained 25 pounds total, and I've not started dilating or anything (that's good, because my parents are on a cruise and I was paranoid about early labor). I'm at 35 weeks right now (give or take a week).

Ode to Blogs

I want to take a moment and thank all of you fellow bloggers out there. Not only do I get to share a little of my life with anyone that will take time to read about it, but I also am being totally inspired.

Today I came across a link to a new blog. It's a woman who made a new years resolution to use her crock pot every day for a year. Not only is it an incredibly creative new years resolution, which is inspiring all on it's own, but then I also get to be inspired by the recipes!

Of course she's not the only one. Nikko's blog shows me how to be a domestic Goddess (I'm just in training). Stacy's blog had a great idea not only to have FHE (ok, not HER great idea...I have heard that one before) but to pattern the lessons from her daughter's primary manual (I totally need to get the new nursery class manual so that I can copy the idea)! Katie's blog is interactive and thought provoking (I love that she asks questions). I could name something cool from everyone's blogs, but the Chick is running around in just underwear and I think I should attend to her....

So, I just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration. Handsome Handyman says that I could get just as inspired by sitting on a park bench with friends while the kids played...true enough, but what about my cool friends in other states? And crockpot lady who I don't actually know?! You just can't beat the internet sometimes.

An Interesting Tip from another Blog

Hi. This is actually a comment made on the Hillbilly Housewife blog regarding stashing money at home... I thought it was a great idea.

Kim Says: When you can’t afford a safe: My grandmother took a clean dry mayonnaise jar, spray painted the inside of the jar creamy white, inside the jar she kept her “mad” money. This jar she kept in the dark back corner of her refrigerator, where no one ever saw it. The one thing she said was a must to go with this, was always have a real jar on mayo where everyone can see it! Depending on the color of paint, this could be a jelly jar, mustard jar, etc. I had a house fire in 2001, started in the kitchen, entire house was a total loss… but inside my melted frig, my mayo safe with my unburned money.

(Link to the original post)

To Parody Dave Ramsey...

"I'm Dirty Dish FREE!"

AND

"I'm Dirty Clothes FREE!"

(For those of you who don't know who Dave Ramsey is: He's a financial guy that Handsome Handyman listens to on the radio. He's written a few books, too. I like his down-to-earth approach to finances. Today I listened to his book Total Money Makeover on cd, so I thought I'd pay homage to him just a tad. People that go through his "baby steps" often call in to his show and shout "I'm Debt Free!").

Anyhow, last weekend we had some of HH's family here for a baby blessing. Everyone left on Sunday afternoon and on Monday I started layout for my design work. It has been a busy busy work week, and the dishes that were from the blessing luncheon mated with the dishes from all the rest of this week. The laundry seems to have done likewise.

So today I got everything all caught up! It feels great. I also had fun baking--I made corn bread mix & made up a couple of loaves, and I made chocolate chip cookies and put most of the dough in the freezer (64 ounces of future junk food. Yay!). And lastly I went grocery shopping.

It feels great to have accomplished something and have a clean kitchen again. The only downside to the day is that Chick accidentally broke my 2 cup glass pyrex measuring cup. I guess you win some, you lose some.

Living Room Lighting - Advice Needed!

Hello all. So here's the situation... as previously mentioned we have scraped the popcorn texture from the living room ceiling. We currently have 2 long fluorescent light fixtures in the ceiling (2 bulbs each). While they are great for evenly lighting the room & conserving electricity, they give off a cold light, and are not especially up-to-date looking. I want to replace them before we retexture the ceiling...Handsome Handyman is hesitant because he doesn't want to give up the aforementioned pros of these lights.

We also have 2 lamps--one table lamp and one floor lamp. They are both great for task lighting, but alone they are not bright enough.

To the 2 lamps I would like to add a plant uplight, some recessed lights, and ...? That's where I'm at a loss.

• HH says that recessed lighting won't light evenly enough--it's just straight down.


• The plant light will add some depth and drama, but not a ton of light, and certainly not evenly.
• We had a cool wall sconce that we left at the condo (grrr) and it helped a lot...but HH might balk at having to do that much wiring stuff to add in a new wall sconce or two--we already have plenty to do, he might not want to have his list grow longer.


• It was suggested having a ceiling fan/light combo, but we plan to take out the wall pictured above and have a half-wall bar/counter there instead, and there will probably be a fan in the kitchen, and some recessed lighting or track lights or pendants where the wall is now. So anyhow, two fans that close to each other doesn't seem so great to me.


• I like the idea of an art spotlight for above the fireplace, but that also goes back to the "lots more work for HH" issue : )
  

So I need to know--what kind of lighting do you like in a living room? Do you have any suggestions for my dilemma?

Here are some pictures of lighting that I like (though only the center pic is the only one that is bright enough & look how many lights they have going!), if it helps you. Thanks!!

EEK! I've been tagged

8 Things Tag ... watch out - you're next :)

8 things I am passionate about...
1. My chick
2. Handsome Handyman
3. Home improvements
4. Being creative
5. Shopping/ Frugality
6. My opinions
7. Childbirth, breastfeeding, childrearing
8. Baths & Hot chocolate (or cold chocolate, really)

8 words or phrases I use often
1. Oh, for pete's sake!
2. Is it time to sit on the potty?
3. I'm just so TIRED (that's just lately, though)
4. You're such a lovebug!
5. Don't grab Mama's glasses!
6. Hey, look at what I got!
7. Ok, go ask Daddy to get some for you.
8. I'm going to take a bath.

8 things I have learned from my past...
1. If I pay full price, I'll have buyers remorse
2. Throwing things out of anger will just break your favorite toys
3. People don't really change much...we just need to love them "as is"
4. I'll love it once I get there, I just need to get out the door
5. It's true--you'll feel better if you just get to work
6. You get more flies with honey (yes, I want flies)
7. I won't regret time spent reading with my Chick
8. Making lists works wonders

8 places I would love to go see or visit...
1. Italy
2. Puerto Rico
3. A hair salon...it's been WAY too long
4. Value Village : )
5. My bed...or the bathtub. I'd settle for either
6. Victoria
7. Hong Kong...while we still have family to stay with there!
8. San Francisco

8 things I currently need or want...
1. A rotating compost bin
2. A new motor for the jeep window
3. Energy
4. House Moulding...put UP
5. A lot of time before this baby comes...the more the better
6. New doors (they're on sale at Lowes...I'm so tempted!)
7. A paid off mortgage
8. To lose weight (but actually not currently...in about 2 months)

8 people I tag...
1. Kriste
2. Heather
3. Katie
4. Kim
5. Amanda
6. Polly
7. Bonnie
8. Susie

This Diamond Ring...

doesn't fit like it did before.

I can still get my wedding ring on and off, but it sure doesn't slide on like it usually does. I'm thinking that the time has come to set it aside (temporarily, of course...I do still like my husband).

Ahh, pregnancy. I think my stretch marks from last time are starting to get red again, too. Fun times. But actually I like being pregnant. It's (mostly) fun to feel the baby kick. It's fun to go in for the checkups and hear the baby's heartbeat & find out how much both of us are growing : ) and SOMETIMES it's fun having the big belly. {I think I've mostly gotten past that point...I could barely shave my legs today!}

Anyhow, I will miss wearing my ring.

A Temple in Rome, Italy!

I am so excited about the announcement that there is a temple being built in Rome! Italian members had to go to Switzerland to attend the temple, and in the case of a marriage they were married civilly first. Anyhow, they had (have?) a law that the police could search any building at any time--which meant that we wouldn't build a temple there due to the sacred nature of the temple. I'm not sure if the legislature has changed, or if there are members on the police force now? But at any rate, it's exciting.

I'm SO curious what it will look like. I know the church tends to use local materials and keep reasonably close to local architecture...but of course it can't look like it's just an extension of the Vatican! At any rate, it's just more incentive to take a trip to Italy...it's been way too long.

Follow Up to "Why is your bumper in my tire?"

So last weekend's exciting run-in with the police didn't end as I thought it did.

Today Dave went and got the mail and there was a $1065 ticket for "Not yielding to an Emergency Vehicle."

So, if any of you local folks know of a good, honest, reasonable lawyer in the area that would handle this kind of thing, please let me know via email. We will definitely be contesting this.

Not the greatest weekend--especially when combined with our Jeep breaking down (leaving Dave stranded in the rain on a Friday night) and costing $1500 to fix, and all sorts of other "sand beneath the clamshell" things.

My prayer tonight might honestly be "Hope you know, I'm having a hard time." (See Elder Quentin L. Cook's talk in the Sunday Afternoon Session of General Conference).

Crazy Prego Dream

I dreamt last night that I was at my parents' house visiting with my sisters, M. & J. We decided to take a sneak peek at the baby (who wasn't and isn't born yet), so we took him out. It was a boy named Stephen (not a name that's anywhere on our list of possible names to use), and he had a full head of brown hair. He looked to be about 9 months old and could sit up on his own.

M. decided to feed him baby food peas, which he loved and it seemed like a good idea. Then, as M. was getting ready to walk out the door, she handed Stephen to me. He had a bare bum, and we noticed that he was starting to poo. That's when I realized our mistake: by feeding him we were making it so that he'd be passing meconium when we put him back in my womb! I freaked out because I might not be able to have a home birth if there was meconium in the amniotic fluid.

As if that would be my problem, if all the rest of it were true!

A project that's actually ALL DONE!

I actually completely finished Chick's first year scrapbook! It's the only scrapbook that I have completed (the others I keep working on here and there). I'm relieved to have it done, since soon I'll have a new "first year" book to start.

My policy is to do a full album of the first year, but after that I'll only do a layout or two per year (as an overview, unless there's a really special occasion). That's the only way that I can think of to keep things equal among kids--everyone says that the more kids you have the less the late comers get.

Anyhow, hooray for productivity!

Little Chick

It is so much fun having this little Chick around...she keeps us on our toes for sure! It's funny to see the similarities between us & her...here are two recent incidents.

Handsome Handyman is crazy for black olives. The other day I gave Chick a quesodilla that had some beans, black olives, cheese, and (of course) tortilla. Do you know what she did? She opened it up and just ate the black olives!

I am crazy for baths. Yesterday Chick was sitting on my lap at the computer and she was saying "Bat". I couldn't figure out what she was saying--she was signing too, but for some reason I couldn't understand the sign (I kept thinking she was signing "coat" but she wasn't saying coat). Finally I recognized the sign and realized that she was saying Bath for the first time. So I put her in a bath, and she played happily for probably an hour.

While we're on the subject of signing, I LOVE Signing Time! It has made our life so much easier...previously mentioned confusion aside, it's nice to know what this little Chick is thinking of things. Her spoken vocabulary is growing crazy fast each day lately (Last night she was repeating "Hey Dude" with HH), but her signed vocab is at least four times larger, so she's really able to communicate effectively.