Happy Birthday

Today is my honey's birthday. Since I will be gone all day, I made him a birthday cake last night. I even made it from scratch. (Since I rarely succeed at making frosting, I bought that in a can.) It turned out pretty tasty.

It doesn't look too pretty cut because my man likes chocolate on chocolate. Doesn't make for a pretty picture, but a yummy dessert.

I'm one lucky lady to be married to this man. Here is a short list of reasons why he's great and I love him.

1. When we are walking down the street, he always walks on the street side to protect me from traffic.
2. He is super supportive of me, my career, and the things I want to do.
3. He is a great father.
4. He is a hard working, dedicated man. When he wants something, he will do what it takes to get it.
5. He insists that BG is respectful of her mother and won't tolerate anything less.
6. He is a wonderful provider for our family and makes sure we are well taken care of.
7. He washes my car for me.
8. He helps out around the house cleaning, doing dishes, and folding laundry.
9. He makes the bed most days.
10. He is a great listener and my best friend.

Happy Birthday Honey! I love you!

Half Marathon

JM has been training for a year to run a half marathon. I have been really impressed with his dedication to go running multiple times a week. This weekend, he completed his first, and was really excited about it. He finished in 2 hrs 6 minutes. BG and I were there at the finish line with a sign to cheer him on.

BG wasn't so excited about waiting, but did a good job.

JM after crossing the finish line with is buddy.

Even after torturing himself by running 13.1 miles, he wants to not only do it again but also run a full marathon. So we may be doing more family weekend trips so he can run. Apparently there is one in Vegas in December. I wouldn't mind going there when it's cold here!

Even with thousands of people milling around, this is the one family picture we got. I was too lazy to ask someone else to take a picture for us.

Friday Fragments

I had to work late last night so I haven't watched Project Runway yet. You'll get my full report later this weekend.
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JM is running his first half marathon tomorrow, two hours north of home. He has been training for a year to do this and is really excited. He was going to run one in April but got injured right before it.
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We are staying in a hotel tonight in preparation for the marathon. I was hoping to take BG swimming. When I tried on my swimsuit this morning, it was not such a pretty site, being large and pregnant and all. Does that mean I'm giving up swimming? Nope, just means others will have to advert their eyes (and I'm hoping we are the only ones at the pool).
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My clothes are in a constant state of mis-fit. Today I'm wearing new maternity pants that refuse to stay up. I intentionally bought them a little large because we all know I'm just getting bigger. Tomorrow's outfit consists of shorts that are now too small and I can't button. I'm really not trying to look so disheveled, my body is just in a constant state of flux for the next year.

Diaper Cake

A good friend of mine just adopted a baby. She is having a baby shower in a few weeks and I have been so excited about it. I decided to make her a diaper cake. I looked up instructions online and set to work. I rolled diapers and assembled the cake. I love the way it turned out!



The baby's name starts with an A and her room will be decorate in chocolate brown, pink, and ladybugs. I painted the letter and and even free handed the ladybug on it. I figured every new mom needs a ton of diapers so it would be a great gift, in a fun way.

*If you are seeing this as the recipient of the gift, please still act surprised at the shower. I was so excited to post it, I couldn't wait until after the shower.

Blog Book

It has only taken me eight months, but I finally got all my 2008 posts printed in a book. I used Blurb and was happy with them. The book arrived late last week and I was so excited to open it up.

I liked that Blurb automatically slurps your blog and all pictures and spits it into a book format. You can, from there, arrange pages, change backgrounds, add more pictures, etc. There were a few things that were tedious, such as the cut and paste option. That seemed to take a really long time. I think they addressed that in the newer version, but I'm not sure. Also, there was no way to add the comments, so if that's important to you, you might want a different product.

In the end, my book ended up at 118 pages for about 15 months worth of posts. This year I have posted much more frequently so I'm sure it will be longer, aka more expensive. I'm hoping to print my blog every year since I use it as a journal. (I'm not sure the last time I wrote in an actual journal.)

See the fun backgrounds you can get? I love it and I'm glad I can finally check this one item off my list.

I'm linking up to Works for Me Wednesday. This is a great way to preserve your blog!

Project Runway

Last night I got home and immediately checked my DVR to make sure PR was going to be recorded. Good thing I did, because it wasn't set. I set it then forgot about it while making dinner, then putting BG to bed. By about 8:20 when we finally sat down to watch, it wasn't recording. You can imagine I was less than thrilled. Instead it was set to record the rerun starting at 9:30. Since I didn't feel like waiting until 9:30 to start the show, we started watching 20 minutes in.

This being the first week, there are 16 contestants. The first thing that struck me was how many young designers there are this season. Many of them are in their mid-20s. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on the contestants because 1- I want to get to know them better and 2- I'm too lazy to discuss all 16. I'll wait until it's been paired down a bit.

The challenge this week was to create an innovative red carpet look that showed their point of view. As expected, there were some really good ones, some really bad ones, and mostly average ones. When it came down to the final six at elimination (the top 3 and bottom 3) the looks ranged from soft & edgy to naked (seriously, it was sheer). Here is the winning dress. (Sorry the pictures are so crappy, click on them to make them bigger, or click over to the website.)

I like this dress and so did the judges. They said it did a great job at combining a hard, edgy look with a soft feminine look. I must agree. Great job designer Christopher! The next one is the losing dress. It got crazy designer Ari eliminated.

This garment (can't even call it a dress) is so far out there and so not red carpet appropriate. She looks like something from outer space and not in a good way. The judges told Ari that she has to consider the someone has to actually buy her designs to be successful. And here is the naked dress that Mitchell threw together in 30 minutes.

Why 30 minutes you ask? Well, he spend the whole first day smocking his dress only to discover it didn't fit his model when she came for the fitting. So he threw this together at the last second and it really showed. This picture makes it look far more opaque than it did on TV. I felt bad for the model.

I really thought they were going to send Mitchell home and keep Ari for her craziness and drama. In all honestly, both garments were really bad. I have no favorites are this point, but I will as things progress. Oh, and the guest judge was Lindsay Lohan. Seriously? Lindsay? I think that was in poor taste, but I'm not a fan of her in general. The best part was when one designer (who made an ugly dress) said she designed it with someone like Lindsay in mind. The camera panned to Lindsay who, you could tell, was thinking "He** no, I wouldn't wear that!"

After watching I wanted to make sure my DVR was properly set so I reviewed my list and switched up the priorities. It was then that I discovered something horrible. Now that PR is on Thursday, it lines up with other favorite shows. My DVR will only record 2 shows at a time and I watch shows on three channels that night. NNNNNnnooooooooooooO!!!!!!! So I'm going to have to choose between The Office, Grey's and PR. Sadly, I think Grey's is going to get the boot because the other two are shows JM and I watch together. So please, take pity on my and invite me to your house to watch Grey's this fall.

It's Almost Here!

I am so excited for the start of this, Project Runway. Does it make me a nerd for getting so excited about a reality fashion show? Or perhaps I just like living vicariously through the designers - a job I would love but have no talent for. Designing requires skills like sewing. I don't even own and sewing machine and call my mom for help with any project. The point is, I love this show. My sweet husband even likes it (though he won't admit it if asked). It a fun show for us to watch together.

I'm going to try and do a PR recap post after every show. You know, let you know my thoughts, judgements, critiques, etc. Ahhh, it's nice to have the life of sitting on the couch judging others while I eat ice cream. I'll try to get those up for Friday, but it will depend on if I actually get around to watching it on Thursday night (love my DVR!) Which reminds me, I need to go check to make sure my DVR is set to record tonight.

What fall shows are you excited about? I'm also anxious for The Office, Grey's, Private Practice and Community.

Big Girl Bike

For BG's birthday, we told her she was getting a big girl bike. Since I am a bad busy parent, we just barely got around to actually buying it for her. JM has already found it a great incentive to get her to listen and obey. When she is good, she gets to ride her bike. When she is bad, she doesn't get to ride it, or "Daddy throw it in garbage" as she will tell you. I couldn't resist breaking out the camera for her first run on her new bike.

She got the hang of it really quickly. Half way around the block she was showing me how fast she could go and I had to speed up to keep up. Whenever I told her she was doing really well, she said "Thanks Mom." It was so precious. I think we'll be spending a lot more evenings walking/riding around the block.

He's Dreamy

I've read that often dreams are more memorable during pregnancy. I think that proved to be true for me this weekend. Here's roughly how the dream went.

I had given some presentation that resulted in an invitation to the White House. Yes, like where the president lives in D.C. So off I went to spend some time with the Obama's. Barack had just returned from a run. While I was walking around Brack walked out in, ummmm, his birthday suit. All I can say is wow - congrats Michelle!

The dream did continue with me chatting with the workers at the White House. When I woke up I was pretty surprised. I told JM about my nocturnal escapade and he has been teasing me relentlessly ever since. We went to the dinosaur museum and I was explaining to BG how a dinosaur's bones are much bigger than ours. He walked up and asked if it was a Barackasaurus. I'm a bit embarrassed by it, but what can I do? I may have blushed a little when I saw Barack on a news story later than day. Do you think Michelle ever considered that unknown, white women would be dreaming about her husband nekkid?

Friday Fragments

On Sunday morning, JM was laying in bed when BG came to jump on him. He told her "I just want to take a little catnap before church." She matter-of-factly told him "That's not going to happen."
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I did not pay $25 to find out the gender early. I will have to wait until Sept 8, but everyone I know right now who is pregnant is having a girl. Could that mean anything?
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JM gets home today from a week-long business trip. It has been a long week and I will be happy to have him home.
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I've hit the eat-everything-in-sight phase of pregnancy. I can now polish off anything from Cafe Rio in one sitting. When I went out to dinner with a girlfriend this week, I ate a whole plate of BBQ with three sides and was still hungry.

Baby Bump

I thought I would take a picture to show my baby bump at 17 weeks. Sorry for the flash. As it turns out, it's kind of hard to take a profile shot of yourself in the mirror.

Please: don't make comments about how you can't even see it. Because really, all that says is "You always have a protruding belly, this is no different."

And for a quick update: I had my OB appt this week and all looks well. Strong heartbeat and good growth. I can now feel the baby moving too which is always fun.

Blogging Ethics

I've seen several posts around about blogging etiquette. Things such as not using all caps, breaking writing into paragraphs, linking back to original content etc. I think those are all good tips. Today I read an article about something else entirely - Blogging Ethics.

This article came from CNN and was about popular Mommy Bloggers who get PR pitches for products. The hope of the companies is that the blogger will write about their product and provide exposure to their readers. Apparently there are some people upset about disclosure of those relationships. A new "Blog with Integrity" movement has started among these bloggers to properly disclose and outline any relationships with sponsors.

I'm curious what you all think. I think if you are being sponsored or have been gifted a product, it's a good idea to tell your readers. However, as a reader it actually annoys me to read the "fine print" of your relationship (boring!). I appreciate you being upfront about it, but mostly I don't care. I want to know how the product works for you. Then again, I'm naive enough to think that most people are honest and their opinions can't be purchased. Your thoughts?

Friday Fragments

I finally mopped my floor today. It ha been a really long time since it was last done. I'll just say I found birthday frosting.

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I love it when good things happen to good people. I got a text today from a girlfriend that they are getting a baby after trying to adopt. They are in Florida waiting to take their new baby girl home. Hurray!

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Does anyone know the magic button to make a 3 year old listen? Is it a lost cause? It sure is causing tears and headaches at our house right now.

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I got to see my high school girlfriends for dinner the other night. It was so fun to see them and their cute kids!


Why do I always look so weird in pictures? Ignore the crazed look in my eyes. I'll blame it on being pregnant. That will make you take worse pictures right?

Woman Get in the Kitchen-

And make me a pie!

Ok, so my husband has never actually said this to me. In fact, I was to one who said it. Bake at 350 is doing a fun food carnival. This month's theme was pie. A bunch of talented baker bloggers took on the challenge and baked up pies. I did not participate. However, it did make me crave pie and decide to take on the challenge of making one from those that linked up.


Since I had most of the ingredients for a mixed berry pie, I decided to use this recipe and start baking. I didn't think to buy pie crusts at the store so I had to make it from scratch (Yikes!). I started on the mammoth project at 4pm and didn't eat pie until 8:00. I started with a clean kitchen and no dishes and ended with a full load of dishes and ok, a clean kitchen (but I have to clean it up.) But yum, home baked pie.



Doesn't that look pretty! I love the crumble topping. It was crispy and sweet - perfect. I was glad I decided at the last minute to cook it on a cookie sheet because it overflowed the pie dish.

Even after letting it cool for nearly an hour, it was pretty soupy. Plating was a bit challenging. It looked more like berry cobbler, but I didn't mind. I was pretty impressed with myself for my first attempt at baking a pie. JM didn't complain. I think next time I'll go for the coconut cream. It looks easier and I love coconut!

Retreat = Fabulous

About a week ago JM and I took a wonderful, much needed retreat. We dropped BG off at Grandma's house (thanks mom!) and headed off to a day just for two.

We started out by checking into our Bed and Breakfast, the Castle Creek Inn. It was fun little place the came recommended by a friend (thanks Jilene!) It's a cute little castle right off main road but still tucked into the mountains. After checking in, we headed out to dinner at Tsunami for sushi. This is one of our favorite sushi places. They have three locations and we've eaten at all of them - all delicious. Dinner was fabulous and the conversation didn't once include directions to "Sit on your chair or you're going on time out." Ahhhh, heaven. At dinner I had a fabulous realization - I like my husband! Not that I didn't know that before but it had been so long since we had a night out with just the two of us, I have almost forgotten we enjoy each other's company.

After dinner we walked around the little complex and picked up dessert at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (Yum!) and did a little shopping. We headed back to the B&B and went to bed. (They had a great selection of movies but we were too pooped to even watch one.)

The next morning we woke up and enjoyed the large tub in our room before heading down to breakfast. Breakfast came with an appetizer of fresh fruit and chocolate dipped strawberries. We had the choice of two entrees and got one of each. My honey was kind enough to trade me when I liked his better than mine. After checking out of our room we heading to the spa for a couples massage.

We got there and put on their fancy robes and plastic slippers. We were taken to a couples rooms where we got foot scrubs before our massages. After a heavenly hour of being rubbed by a man who has now seen more of me than most people on this planet, they turned on their large and very deep tub to a couple's soak. They brought of a tray of snacks, told us what time we needed to exit the room and let us enjoy.

It was again so nice to sit and talk with my honey. I even got him to admit how nice and relaxing the whole trip has been and that we should do this more often (No, the admission didn't require any arm twisting). He, who has always been weirded out by massages, agreed it was fabulous and we need to start budgeting for them more regularly.

We left and went to our separate dressing rooms. He sat in the sauna for a while while I showered using fancy spa products. They even had a blow dryer and an assortment of hair products for use. It was fantastic. After the spa we went to lunch before heading home.

Since we hadn't been relaxing enough, we took a nap and watched a movie before we begrudgingly went to pick up BG from Grandma's house. It was such a nice retreat and I'm so glad we gave it to ourselves. It also made us both realize we need to take more time to have just us dates. So if anyone wants to swap babysitting, please let me know!

Testing, Testing

Now that the cat is out of the bag, I'm sure my blog is going to be including a lot more posts about pregnancy. Feel free to pass over them at your discretion.

At my next doctor appointment is when I have the option of doing the Quad Test. This is the blood test they do to look a range of fetal abnormalities - such as Down Syndrome. It's an optional test, very low risk, and easy to do. (As long a you consider a blood draw easy.) There is a chance of false positives leading expectant mothers to a lot of unnecessary worry. I took this test with my first pregnancy and will most likely do it again.

The reason being - we are planners. JM and I are the planning type. We don't do spontaneous well. Sometimes I wish we could do that better, but we don't. I enjoy planning. I love daydreaming about our future. I like the certainty that comes with planning. I like knowing what I will be fixing for dinner and what we will be doing this weekend. The unknown is very scary for me. Not surprisingly, I don't handle change all that well. I need a plan, a direction, a purpose.

To me, a test like this provides that kind of knowledge. I know some parents who reason they don't what to know about a disability prior to birth, because there is nothing they can do about it. I look at from a different point of view. Even if there is nothing I can do to change the disability, knowing gives me direction. It gives me a heads up for what is coming down the road. It gives me a chance to research and prepare - mentally, emotionally, and physically. I need to know so I can adjust to any change before it happens. So yes, I will begrudgingly roll my sleeve up for this blood draw. Because I'm a planner, and I need to know.

Along those lines of needing to know information, we plan to find out the sex of the baby. My OB actually offers mothers the chance to do an ultrasound at 16 weeks to determine gender. Since it is not covered by insurance, it costs $25 to cover the cost of the tech. I have not signed up for this, mostly because I'm cheap. At 20 weeks I will get a fully funded ultrasound and will (hopefully) find out the sex then. What do you think? Should I shell out $25 to determine pink or blue now or wait until it's free at 20 weeks? Take the poll on my sidebar!