Monthly Goals

So I have felt inspired recently to have more short term goals instead of long term goals. I am already cooking a bun in my long term oven so I think I am going to need some short term projects along the way.

Brainstorming:

August: Get Lindy and Lucy's website up and running & Clean out the Bathroom closet & walk my 10K

September: Finally get around to painting Elizabeth and Matt's trim since my first trimester will FINALLY be over!!! (with a mask of course) and clean out the Sweet Pea's closet

October: Finally finish our laundry room project and put my office together

November: Register for baby stuff (before Thanksgiving) and complete living/dining room projects

December: Make some major life changing decisions (sorry that's not up for discussion yet) and get a few quotes for our kitchen renovation project

January:Paint Sweet Pea's room and purchase a dresser for our master bedroom

February: purchase baby furniture and get it arranged

...oh yeah...and bring home baby!!

TV Trey's

There's a guy in our church named Trey. He loves to cook and does an amazing job at it. Well, once a month Trey and his wife, Joy, hold a dinner for 12 in their home with gourmet food that it served to us and we all just sit back and relax and eat!! All of the money goes to a charity of our combined choice that is decided before we start inviting people.

Well, we were invited to join the group last weekend. We had a great time and the food was AMAZING!! And since we had several people in our Sunday School class that are involved in a program called Celebrate Recovery which helps people with Life Controlling issues, we decided that CR would benefit from dinner that night. Here's Matt before dinner, super excited about that shrimp stuffed fillet!!

What we ate:

Escargo stuffed Portobello Mushroom Cap

Garlic and Shallot Vinegarette Salad with Cranberry Pecan Chutney and Almond Crusted Brie

Rock Shrimp Stuffed Filet with White Truffle Potatoes

White Chocolate Key Lime Cheesecake topped with Blueberry Compote

This is the White Chocolate Key Lime Pie. I kept meaning to take pictures of everything but once everything was put in front of me, all planning went out the window and I could think about was FOOD!!! Yeah, it was AWESOME!!!

Happy Anniversary E!

For real this time...

Well, today is mine and E's fourth anniversary. We normally don't do much for celebrations. Maybe have a speial dinner or something low key like that. Even Christmas and Birthdays are like that too. If we need stuff, we just get it throughout the year. But this year, E went out of his way as a anniversary/congratulations we're having a baby present and bought me a kitchenaid stand mixer. And it's red!! If you missed this post, click here for the back story!!

For the past few weeks, E has been eying this compressor and nail gun at Home Depot. Those things are expensive!! I have been trying to put him off and put him off to no avail. I have even had friends that have offered to borrow theirs but E is always afraid he will break it and then have to buy them another one. I don't blame him for that. So when we wen tto Home Depot this weekend, I made sure to take a subtle interest in which one he wanted. I figured out what he needed and was planning on going to the store last night and getting it for him, however, he started working around the house this weekend and really needed it. So I broke down and told him what I was planning on getting him for our anniversary and that we could go and get it if he really needed it. He said "Yeah, I knew you were going to get it for me. You took an interest and asked questions about the pnuematic nail gun!!! You never do that!!"

So we went Sunday and I let him pick out the stuff he wanted and a new utility light (??? somehow that ended up in the buggy at checkout time) So Happy Anniversary E! I love you more today than I did 4 years ago and I am super excited about all of the next steps we are planning to take together. Me, Sweet Pea and Maggie appreciate the way you take care of us.

No Spend Month

Me and E have been fighting hard to pay off all of our debts for a while now. We started not long after we first got married. We worked hard for a while but just found it really difficult when E was in another country and I was living at home with mom and dad. But now that we own a house and actually live their full time together, we have been working alot harder. And now...there's sweet pea who I want to stay home with during the day.

So Andrea introduced me to this website today that got my wheels turning. Rachel at Small Notebook just finished a "project" called No Spend Month. I was reading her post about what it entails and all of the challenges they have faced during this time. It really inspired me to have a No Spend Month at my house. Go check it out and see if it's something you could talk the people that live with you into. I definately plan on talking to E about maybe having a No Spend September!!

2 More Baileys

Hey, we always welcome more Bailey's into our household...That's why we decided to procreate!!

Pam and Dennis (E's parents) needed a break from life at home and have decided to stop by for a visit this weekend. I haven't seen them since Christmas but E saw them at the end of May when he went close to home for a conference. Safe travels to you both.

10 Weeks and Still Kicking

Well, I have made it this far right? A quarter of the way through the whole pregnancy. The baby seems to be doing fine. And me...well...if I could just keep up with all of the changes my body is making, I would be fine. One week I am exhausted all of the time and could do nothing but sleep all day and night. Now, if I sleep even an hour during the day, I don't sleep at all during the night. So the new trick is to keep me awake until at least 9:00pm which is alot tougher than you might think these days. After 3 of the worst days of my life dealing with the lack of sleep (combined with the fact that I can't take anything to sleep better, I can't take anything for the headache, and I can't have a cup of coffee to keep me awake), I think I can finally handle everything.

It's very bizarre how your body changes too. I still weigh the same as I did before I got pregnant. I haven't gained any weight but looking in the mirror...That is not the same body I had 10 weeks ago!! I am sure it doesn't help that I am not running 3 miles a day anymore. But I can still wear most of my old clothes but I am uncomfortable in them all. So I have already swapped over to few smaller pairs of maternity capris and some elastic skirts.

And food, I don't even want to talk about food. However, I am finally getting my appetite back again. Learning when to stop has been incredibly difficult though. There is such a fine line between almost full and WAY OVER full. That fine line can be only one bite. So eating slower, more often and concentrating more on how I feel during a meal is taking some time. I can only eat something about the size of a deck of cards, maybe slightly bigger, at a time. But since my taste has COMPLETELY changed, there are only a few things that I actually want to eat still.

Only 209 days left!!!

Weekend Movie Review

Well, we rented 2 movies this weekend and watched 2 on television throughout the week...

The first was Vantage Point. While I thought it was entertaining and suspenseful, E thought was incredibly bored and turned off by all of the inaccuracies in the movies. When that happens, he tends to go ON AND ON all through the movie which drives me BONKERS!!! But in the end, he is right. That whole movie wouldn't have happened in real life. There are too many precautions that are taken in reality that weren't taken in the movie. If you can get past that...It was entertaining, I thought.

The second was 21. It was based on a true story about some kids at MIT who learned how to play Black Jack using statistics and went to Vegas to win big. We both thought it was a good movie (and it's tough to watch a movie that E actually likes). I would recommend it.

And we watched Kiss the Girls on television. I know I know...It's a super old movie but I had never seen it. I really liked it. Very suspenseful. Highly recommend if you like dramas (and you didn't see it 10 years ago).

And then last but not least, we watched Invincible. I started out thinking I wouldn't like it, I even busied myself trying not to watch it but I kept going back. It was good, very inspirational and the sound track was great. I highly recommend.

Happy Birthday Laurel Joe and Nanny!!

These birthdays are seriously belated because I have been in a morning sickness cheese quesadilla hurricane Dolly super fog! Some of the fog is starting to clear which reminded me that I need to play a little catch up.

So Happy Birthday to Laurel whose birthday was last week. The big 18. Congratulations!! You are finally legal to vote, move out and join the military!! I know you must be thrilled! Since I have already carried on about how much you are loved in your graduation memoir, I am just to add a link to all of the wonderful things I think about you and tell you that I love you one more time.

And Happy Birthday to Nanny (my maternal grandmother)! Are we 29 again this year?? How many years has it been?? Just kidding...you don't look a day older than 35!! Nanny works hard and cares for all 9 of us grandkids and 3 of their spouses individually. She always remembers what we like to eat, like to drink, like to wear and keep around the house. She puts a lot of time and effort into making us all feel special and loved infinately!! To the woman who taught me how to hit the garage sales like a queen, who taught me that you can never have too many pairs of shoes, who has cut my hair more times than I am willing to admit (and gave me a perm...80's early 90's), who taught me you are allowed to have more Christmas sweaters than there are days in the month of December, who identifies with my military woes having been through it herself (back before she turned 29...the first time), and who means so much to Me, E and Sweet Pea...Happy Birthday Nanny! We love you very much!!