Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Thanksgiving weekend was really good, but very busy. It was filled with lots of this.

We spent nearly three days painting. A few weeks ago I painted BG's big girl room. She was happy to help with taping. This weekend we painted the nursery. Once we get the furniture assembled, and the rooms fully put together, I'll post pictures of both rooms.

We also spend time with family, ate lots of food, and pondered on the many blessings we have. We have so much to be grateful for and I appreciate having a specific time of year set aside to remember those things.

Mom's Cheeseball

There are many food dishes that are traditional this time of year. One of my favorites both growing up and still today is cheeseball and crackers. It's hard to go wrong with cheese, but growing up on my mom's homemade cheeseball had made me particular about cheeseball.

It is actually a pretty simple recipe, but so delicious! The recipe originally comes from a Betty Crocker cookbook.

2 packages cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar (I never measure and I'm sure use much more.)
1 package crumbled blue cheese (4 oz)
1/4 cup minced onion
1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
Chopped Walnuts



Let cream cheese come to room temperature. Combine everything except walnuts in a mixer. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, place chopped walnuts on a plate. Take out cheese mixture and roll into balls. This will make three medium balls or any other size you choose. Roll cheese balls in the chopped walnuts. Place on platter with crackers and enjoy!

I love this recipe and it has become the dish my in-laws request I bring for Thanksgiving. I usually take two and keep one at home just for me our family. Link up to Bake at 350 for more delicious traditional recipes.

New Moon: Greatest Movie Ever?

Let me preface my movie review by saying I am far from the uber-fan. I read the first book, but never saw the movie. I haven't read any of the other books. I enjoyed the first book for the teenage romance that it is. However, I do not own anything with a symbolic apple and you may notice the lack of a "My heart belongs to Edward" button on my side bar.

My mom called me and invited me to go to New Moon with her. I was happy to go because 1- Free ticket 2- Adult girl time and 3-Why not? I went into it thinking it would be mediocre at best. I'd heard the CG was pretty impressive with the werewolves, and it was.

So as to not give away the story to those who haven't seen it (is it possible to spoil a book-based movie for fans?), I'll just give my general thoughts. I left the theater thinking it was a good chick-flick. A fun movie to see with your girlfriend, but not award winning. The one thing that I am still having a hard time with is how unrealistic it all is. No, not the part about vampires. Or even the whole werewolf thing. What bugs me is that some random, plain Jane girl moves to po-dunk Smallville and ends up with two super-human, super-natural, hot guys fighting for her love. Come on now. Like THAT ever happens.

As I was driving home thinking about all the drama, The Cure came on the radio and it was like a slingshot back to high school. I realized that I would have LOVED this series in high school. Mostly because I would have related Edward and Bella to my own, at the time, torrid relationship with a boy who was neither forthcoming nor overly affectionate. Then again, I think I was kind of depressed in high school. (It makes me grateful for the happy, drama-less life I currently lead.)

So all in all, a decent movie worth seeing for the casual fan like me. If you are the uber fan, I don't think anyone could stop you from seeing it.

It's Growing

I thought it might be time for an updated belly shot for those of you who don't live near by. I have gotten large enough and obviously pregnant enough that strangers now feel comfortable commenting. I have gotten several questions about my due date from complete strangers. So, here I am in all my end-of-a-long-day and tired glory at 31 weeks.

Those pants I'm wearing, they are my favorite thing ever. They are maternity sweat pants. Can you think of anything that screams "I'm lounging at home" more than that? I think I may actually miss them when I don't fit into them anymore.

I'm a Little Ashamed

Yesterday when I was driving home, I was flipping through radio stations looking for something good. I stopped on the Christmas station and listened to several Christmas songs. I was bit embarrassed seeing as how it is not yet Thanksgiving.

*****
The pregnancy counter on my sidebar gives me panic attacks. Somehow saying I'm 31 weeks along makes it sound like I have more time than "9 weeks left". What does that say about me that I'm avoiding my own blog because of something I put up?

Online Discounts

Have you ever wondered if there was a discount code for the retailer you are ordering from? I sure don't have time to spend hours on Google looking for codes only to hope they will work. At some point, someone told me about retailmenot.com. It is the GREATEST site for compiling discount codes. Basically, you type in the online retailer and it will pull up a list of discount codes. It only takes seconds, but can save you lots of money!

For example, I just ordered a crib, changing table, and dresser from an online retailer. I had done my research to find the best online deal. Right before I finished checking out, I went to retailmenot and typed in the retailer. Up popped several coupons - $10 off $100, $20 off $200. Then I found the one I really wanted - 10% off orders over $200. BINGO! Since buying three pieces of furniture is pricy, I was pretty excited to find a 10% off code. I put the code into the promo box and it worked.

One of the other things I love about retailmenot is that if a code doesn't work, you click a button to notify them and they will remove it from their site. Every code has a percentage rate for how often it works for customers so you can easily see how well the coupon works. This helps eliminate outdated , expired, or incorrect codes. I’m not getting paid anything for this endorsement; just want to share a great resource!

I Forget..

I forget that the third trimester of pregnancy is physically exhausting. I'm still clinging to the energy of the 2nd trimester (even though it has long since past).

I forget that I can't bend, lift, and squat like I used to pre-pregnancy without regretting it later.

I forget that fetal movements can sometimes feel like you are getting kicked in the ribs, repeatedly.

I forget that pregnancy brings on emotional highs and lows worthy of their own soap opera. (I may have burst into hysterical tears after church while telling JM my tights were too small and hurting me.)

I forget that being pregnant is more than just having "put on a few pounds". I actually have to purchase clothing made for pregnancy. (See above.)

How is that I have a child but still feel like a first time mom with this pregnancy?

Halloween

BG had a hard time deciding what to be for Halloween this year. I had been asking for weeks and she couldn't decide on just one thing. After a while, I suggested she wear her Tinkerbell costume with the wings that she has to play dress up. She was thrilled with the idea and immediately started telling people she was going to be a butterfly.

Thankfully it didn't snow on Halloween, but it was a bit chilly. Luckily BG happens to own a green hoodie that not only fit under her costume, but matched perfectly. She looked really cute and was so excited to go trick-or-treating.

We had a fun time going around the neighborhood and BG got a good stash of goodies. I may or may not have eaten more of her candy than she has at this point.