I think I can...

The Internet is amazing!!! Every time I log onto my computer I am blown away by the information that is at our finger tips. In fact today a friend of mine posted these sweet videos on her blog about the exponential times we live in.

Since Christmas I have been on a crochet-kick because Chuck bought me new hooks and yarn. I have been working on a baby blanket for our little girl. I wanted to have something to remind her of how excited we were for her arrival and that I anticipated each day... a few stitches at a time. It takes me longer than normal on a project because of my carpal tunnel but I feel an extra sense of accomplishment when I finish something.

Earlier this week I saw a picture of a friend's little girl in the cutest crochet hat with a little flower on it. Turns out her sister-in law makes them and sells them online. I really wanted to buy one, yet finding out that someone made something themselves leaves me asking the question... can I do that?

So I searched online for patterns... I found one that was similar (however her pattern is way cuter, and so is the little girl in the photo!) I made the hat and am still on the look out for the perfect flower to add to it. I even found out how to make little crochet butterflies, I think when I make one for baby girl I will put a little butterfly on it.

Yea for craftiness!!! I wonder what else I can make?

Oh no... I can feel it happening. I am transforming already, pretty soon this blog will be pasted with craft project updates and baby photos galore!!! Oh well I suppose life would be boring if we didn't transform and get to wander through all of it's different phases.

The Paper Girl

Last night for dinner I made split pea soup. The only thing better than a big pot of homemade soup is people to share it with. We invited over our adorable 83 year old neighbor. She has been so kind and welcoming to us since we moved in and we wanted to say thank you.

She writes me sweet notes when I vacuum the hallways, comes over to ask Chuck to open tricky bottles and jars for her. She brought us a potted plant as a housewarming gift, sent us a Valentine with chocolate hearts and a cute decorative box full of candles. She also delivers the newspaper to the people in the building who order it, because the paper boy doesn't have access to the building and they all sit on the front step. When she finishes reading hers she brings it over to us to read.

She gets all dressed up when she goes anywhere... even to the garbage. Her apartment in painted the lightest happiest shade of yellow and she collects ornamental keys and little ceramic boxes.

She doesn't drive but takes the bus around town. She doesn't have any kids or family that she sees very often, so a bowl of soup and an evening of conversation was the perfect way to tell her that we appreciate all she does.

Last night at dinner when we were thanking her for all of the kindness and generosity, she replied... "That's why the Lord put us here, to look after each other."

The interesting thing about this story is that yesterday I was having a hard time not feeling sorry for myself for a good portion of the afternoon. My carpal tunnel is so frustrating to me and seems overwhelming when I contemplate having it for another month and a half. Laying on the couch pouting, I thought the last thing I wanted was to entertain company... I had already told Chuck I was going to invite her over but laid there debating about whether or not to go and knock on her door.

I finally rolled my butt off and walked down the hallway. The rest of the evening seemed to fly by as I cleaned up the apartment and made the soup.

I don't know how many times I have learned this but I suppose I need lots of reminders, serving other people helps my "problems" seem really insignificant...

That was actually advice I got from another new mommy. She said that motherhood can be overwhelming when she thinks about the things she is missing out on.. like daily showers and sleep. But the cure she has found is to just focus on her baby and what he needs and then all that stuff seems to cause her much less distress.

It reminds me of a pure and simple truth that Jesus Christ taught...

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever will lose his life for my sake and the gospel's the same shall save it."

I have much to learn... I am sure motherhood will be a crash course in patience and self-lessness.

With that said... I think I will serve my baby today by taking a long warm lavender bubble bath and then eating something really delicious. (Wow.. this service thing is easy:)

Engagement Anniversary

Hope your Valentines Day was magical... or at least you got to eat frosted cookies and chocolate.

Last year on Valentines Day Chuck proposed to me at my favorite thinking spot

It was the best Valentines day to date.

This year we didn't plan anything big, it was Sunday and Chuck has been working like an animal,

We went to church and took an incredibly long and luxurious nap.

When I woke up there was a surprise for me on the table.

A big ole fat bag of Ghirardelli Chocolate squares (peanut butter, Carmel and mint... oh my!) and lavender essential oil. Chuck bought it for my labor and delivery. Not only is it fitting because purple is my selected pregnancy color, but it is supposed to produce feelings of calm and relaxation when you smell it.

It is the perfect gift, and I love I have no clue that he bought me stuff!! Surprises are fun and I am amazed with how much we see each other and talk everyday that he is still able to make secret shopping trips ;)

My contribution to the day was no surprise but still something we have both always wanted to learn how to do.

We made sushi rolls

Thanks to a couple instructional videos and the Asian food section at Cub Foods.

It was really quite easy. First we selected our fillings. Avocado, carrot, cucumber, sesame seeds and imitation crab (we opted against raw fish because I am prego... however it is a common misconception that sushi means raw fish. It is the preparation method of the rice and seaweed roll that gives it it's name, no matter what you stuff in it).

This type of sushi would commonly be called a California Roll.

The real trick is getting the rice right. You need short grain Sushi rice, and after it is cooked it is drizzled with a mixture of:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 1/2 Tbl. Sugar

1 tsp. Salt

Then you fan it off and let it dry and get real sticky.

Next you take a sheet of seaweed paper... or Sushi Nori

Place it on your bamboo mat (which was $1.67 at the grocery store). We covered ours with saran wrap for easy clean up ;)

Wet your fingers with water, and press the rice in a thin layer on top of the seaweed. Then in the middles you make little rows of your toppings.

Then you roll halfway... SQUEEZE (but not too hard like I did or all your stuff will squirt out the ends). Then roll the rest of the way and SQUEEZE.

Garnish with Ginger (the pink stuff)

and WASABI (the green paste)

But be careful with the wasabi... it packs a punch. The first roll we ate we both put too much on and went temporarily blind, good times.

You can also dip them in soy sauce if you so desire (and I did)

These are Chuck's handy work. They were de-Lish and fun to make.

So happy to be married to my very best friend and enjoy making fun memories, it will be exciting to share them with our kiddies someday.... but it might be awhile before we start giving our baby wasabi.

Love Ya'll!

Some needed Assistance

Yesterday was a great day

Right now in our life Chuck and I are trying to focus on getting us both through school, being new parents and trying to do so without going into tremendous amounts of debt. I am sure anyone who has ever been married and in school with kids can relate.

We have been trying to adhere to a pretty strict budget since our marriage, and it has been going really well. We live extremely frugally but find that we are incredibly happy. Chuck recently got a part time job that fits his school schedule perfectly and allows us to see each other for lunch and in the evenings. We feel extremely blessed by our new apartment and care taking job which helps with the rent as well.

SO yesterday I got a letter from the country that we qualified for food assistance, which has caused me to do a lot of reflecting. Growing up hearing negative remarks about people who take advantage of the system... I vowed from a young age to be self sufficient.

Yet at this time, considering the good of my family I had to accept the fact that we temporarily will need help. When I went to the County office to pick up my EBT card I quietly promised to myself that I would be incredibly responsible with this assistance, buy what we need, and not be wasteful with the food we receive.

I have paid taxes since I was a 15 year old Burger King drive-through worker, and would like to think that somehow I am just using some of that money... yet I know that there are millions of honest tax paying Americans who contribute to my opportunity to have food assistance and medical coverage during my pregnancy.

SO THANK YOU

for paying your taxes. Without some of these programs I don't know how new families would get themselves started.

To my surprise we qualified for much more than I had anticipated and being that food assistance is retro active from the time that you apply we got an extra month and a half added to our card.

Yesterday I went to the grocery store and filled a grocery cart so full I could hardly turn the corners in the store with it anymore. I felt like crying it was such a beautiful thing to me... but I just laughed. I kind of felt delirious... like I couldn't believe that I would be leaving the store with all of these groceries.

It was the first time since our marriage that I didn't have to analyze every purchase and total everything up meticulously in my head trying not to spend too much money. Or have a mini anxiety attack at the checkout.

I shopped in the Organic section.

Bought lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.

And explored new foods in the ethnic section.

We ate fresh salmon and asparagus for dinner.

Chuck and I giggled as we watched our cupboards fill up and we gave thanks in our prayer as we sat down for dinner that we enjoy such a wonderful life.

My heart goes out to the hungry and homeless especially the people in Hatti, this assistance reminds me that we should always be aware of those who are less fortunate than us and help in whatever way we can.

So if you are hungry let me know... what is mine is yours and our kitchen is always open.

Numby and Pokey

There are many pregnancy induced ailments that women encounter during their nine months... I was lucky enough to score carpal tunnel. Which pretty much means that my fingers and hands randomly go completely Numb. Today for some strange reason it is just three fingers on each hand... they are numb as I type this. I am retaining lots of water which blocks the blood flow into my hands. (I had to take my wedding right off... which made me really sad)

It is posing an interesting challenge to the baby blanket that I am crocheting... and yesterday well it just made me want to cry and sit in the bathtub for an hour or so. But I just needed to grieve the total loss of feeling in my hands for a moment, I am coping much better today.

Whenever I start getting down about the aches and pains of pregnancy, I will no doubt receive a good Poke from within to remind me that this is all for a good cause and doesn't last forever. It's great I have a little miniature support system built inside me. Plus I have Chuck who is very kind and listens when I complain.

I drew a picture to help me visualize myself completely relaxing. It was me as a marionette tied to strings in front of a curtain and above me is he large hand making me move. In pregnancy I have felt that my body is not my own, it has been turned over to creation, to my baby and to God. Before pregnancy I only really understood the concept of conception , yet almost everything else that has taken place within me has been no work of my own and in my mind a complete miracle. My goal in labor is to work hard to get the baby out, but also in a strange way to completely let go, not trying to control everything and understanding that somewhere within my body lies the power and ability to have a baby... I just have to be relaxed and let my body and baby take the lead.

This week I made an important baby decision that took a bit of study and prayer. The first was that I decided to have my mom in the delivery room with Chuck and I. That might not seem like a big decision, but for me it was. For some reason I struggled with thinking that Chuck and I would not just do it on our own... but I read this quote that made me think twice about it all.

"Asking your husband to be your sole guide through labor is like asking him to lead the way on a climb of Mt. Everest. He may be smart and trustworthy, you may love him, but in the Himalayas you'd both be a lot better off with a Sherpa!"

-Pam England, Birthing From Within

At first I thought that I should hire a doula, but with only about two months to go I wondered if I would be able to make a good connection with a complete stranger... my mom and I however already share a deep connection and bond.
I have no idea how I will respond to labor and wondered if having multiple onlookers would cause me unneeded anxiety or stress. Yet I just kept thinking about the years my mother spent giving me back rubs and making colds, flu's, aches and pains all better. Plus my mom is a survivor for multiple reasons which I wont go into right now... but I think having her powerful female influence in the room will be inspiring to me. She has had three babies of her own and attended two labors in the past of other women. Chuck and I are excited to have her on our team!

On a much more superficial note, I also registered for baby stuff at Baby's R Us and Target with the help of some friends. Talk about decisions... do you even know how many different types of strollers there are! Not to mention baby monitors, bottles, diaper bags, bouncers, pack and plays, crib sets.... anyway it can really make a person's head spin. In some respects I feel like I shouldn't have registered at all and just let people get stuff that they found most useful as a mom. Yet as a single lady without kids I always enjoyed registry lists because I never had a clue what to buy for people's baby showers.

Three showers planned and in the works. I am incredibly thankful to Lindsey, My mom and Celeste and Sheri for all their hard work! My baby thanks you too!

K... Time for Yoga. My advice for the day.... Stay Hydrated!

Unusually Predisposed to Ponder....

I remember somewhere in the history of my life someone at sometime threw out this little factoid...

"Men think about sex on average every 3 seconds"

I remember at the time thinking it was an absurd factoid... how would one measure such a thing and I am sure there is a bit of variance between men.

This post however is not to discuss my feelings on the male sex drive, I feel it is more believable than I had at one time thought. That is due primarily to the unusual predisposition I have to ponder food... about every 3 seconds.

It is, no surprise that I decided to study Nutrition... but I would be lying if I said I had fruits and veggies spinning in my head all day long. Food fills my dreams, it is without a doubt one of my first waking thoughts... "what will I make for breakfast?" Yet there are many days when the breakfast menu has strategically been planned out the night before, in which case I awake and go straight to work.

I methodically plan out meals, spend a ridiculous amount of time in the grocery store exploring my options and upon traveling away from home my first thought usually is, "What will we eat, and should I pack a snack?"

After a large meal I often wonder, when will I eat again? will there be leftovers? or what shall I start planning?

It cracks Chuck up

And the most often asked questions in our home are...

"Are you hungry?"

or

"Are you Full?"

I know down to the condiments everything that is my refrigerator and all cupboards at this very moment (Chuck quizzed me once). I even know their locations.

THIS IS NOT PREGNANCY RELATED... I am like this all the time.

Throwing away food to me is sacrilegious, and I will try to find a use for the tiniest teaspoon of any ingredient.

Sometimes I consider myself lucky to not weight 400 pounds. But these are food thoughts, I don't actually eat every three seconds and have developed quite a bit of self control over the years.

Outta Sight Outta Mind

Has had to be my motto. I try not to have a lot of high calorie snacks and other goodies in the house. When they are here I think about them all the time... it's like they call to me from the kitchen. It is for the same reason that I will only allow myself to bake cookies once every month or two.

This is my typical chocolate stash... pretty boring huh. It is for good reason. It allows me to calm the occasional chocolate craving without going nut-zo. I just make a glass of hot cocoa with the unsweetened powder (I add sugar or course), or I will eat a small handful of chocolate chips (sometimes mixed with a spoonful of peanut butter).

You could probably imagine my delight when my husband brought these home the other night, after a day of throwing a pregnant temper tantrum about the computer not working right.

They lasted a few days, until Sunday afternoon when I decided I didn't want to think about the peanut M&M's sitting in the corner cupboard next to the honey any longer! So I polished of the remainder of the bag and felt absolutely sick. I killed that craving and quieted the M&M voices in my head (they serious talk)

"EAT US... come on we are delicious and fun, we will make you happy!"

With the M&M's and the Resse's Cereal gone I thought I was in the clear... until my Grandma and Grandpa came over with an entire Sarah Lee Chocolate Dream pie last night. I had never at this point in my life divulged in such an intoxicatingly delicious piece of chocolate pie. It is heaven... and it is in my fridge right now. I told Chuck we had to find someone to pawn it off to, that we mus'nt eat the rest of it.

Ok.. and here is why I felt the need to write this entire post! I was taking the most delightful nap on the couch when I had this dream. That there was a grown black man crying to his friend about how bad he wanted a piece of this pie. Only in the dream the black man was me, and it turned out I was in a Sarah Lee commercial because the Sarah Lee name flashed across a screen in front of my large black self. I think my being a large black man in the dream was merely to further represent the characteristics of the pie. Big and brown and beautiful... why I was a man I shall never know.

I woke up immediately and ate a piece of pie.

The END.

Savers Orange Tag Special

This week has been a bargain hunting success!

I have officially declared my mother-in law Joni the queen of the frugalistas. I don't know how she does it, but if there is a major blowout sale, going out of business liquidation, items sold in bulk or (my personal favorite) people giving stuff away for free, Joni will know about it.

This women does her homework, she researches stuff online and frequently finds great things on craigslist. Plus she isn't afraid to ask for things. My mom is like that too she will not even blink at asking someone to reduce the price of something or try to negotiate a deal. I am trying to follow their example.

She called us this weekend from a fabric store closeout... we got great fabrics to recover our couch and make drapes for $1.50 a yard. I don't buy fabric often.... but that is cheap. Plus Joni was friendly and kind to the lady at the counter and scored us a few extra yards for free.

Joni has passed this attribute down to her son, and I thoroughly enjoy watching my husband maneuver the sea of clothing racks at thrift stores. We spent a few hours in Savers the other night and I was impressed with the things he found, it doesn't hurt however that my husband has the ability to wear a potato sack and make it look like high fashion. He tried on these orange stripped retro pants and looked fabulous... not many people can pull stuff like that off. Yet being the frugalisto he is, he passed on the orange stripes as they would not be a very practical addition to his wardrobe.

Our favorite find was...

This nutrition book, which contained lots of good information and tips on how to use food to treat common ailments... yet we loved it for the photography. It had full sized page photos of food that were very simply and artistically done.

Considering the Savers orange tag special we got it for only $2.50!

We took it home and began using an exacto knife to extract all of the pictures that we loved. I then gathered my matching frames that I had bought on clearance at Wal-mart last year ($3.00 a piece), and framed a few.

They look great in the dinning room against the new wall. Plus I have a book full of different pictures that I can change out depending on my mood, the season... or just for fun. And it only cost $14.50.!

AND

This week we got a Piano for FREE. My parents donated this to us, as they do not play it. Despite their best efforts to put all of us kids in piano lessons growing up, only my sister continued her musical pursuits and primarily plays the guitar.

Chuck could not be happier with the new addition to the apartment. He really likes to play which works out wonderfully because I love to listen to piano music. I am so excited about the new delightful and beautiful melodies that float through our home... and I also enjoy my new view from the couch.