Sherri's Daily Dealings

My new favorite vegetarian recipe

2012-01-30T19:34:00.000-08:00

So, Pinterest hasn't been too good for my diet. I've tried wayyyy too many sweets and delicious stuff. However, I found a vegetarian taco soup that freaking rocked. We tried it tonight and it was awesome. I mean seriously, we raved about it. I've totally missed my ground beef taco soup with crushed tortilla chips, so this is a good substitute. Plus, this got Graham to eat brown rice, which he has sworn off forever!

Go check it out: Vegetarian Taco Soup

You're welcome!

Yeah, about that..

2012-01-24T16:16:00.000-08:00

Let's just say I've gotten behind in my blogging.

I know, I've received hundred of e-mails from devoted fans asking me to return to blog about my life with my delightful stories and insights.. Please, Sherri, just one more blog entry..

Anyways, this is a short one as Carter has awoken from his slumber.. But I shall return.

Here are some picture of Carter to pacify you in the meantime..

Carter opening his Christmas Eve present.. which was...

Christmas pajamas!

Carter and Brynn playing.

Carter really does have the cutest smile..

Oh Christmas Tree..

2011-12-13T06:30:00.000-08:00

My sister is starting a new tradition to go and cut down a tree every year. In Folsom, we were too far from the tree farms to do that (plus, my mom has a fake tree), but here in Washington, there are tree farms everywhere.

So last Saturday, we got all bundled up for a cold, foggy morning here in Seattle. We met my sister at the tree farm out in the sticks, and got ready to saw down the tree. My sister brought some lovely hot apple caramel cider in mugs, which helped warm us up a little.

Carter and Graham look at a nice Noble Fir

A random family picture

Carter thinks I'm being silly!

So, we had a very nice morning, and helped my sister put up her tree. It was a fun tradition that we hope to continue. It would be nice to get our own.. especially if Graham weren't allergic to trees!

And I'm back..

2011-12-10T13:59:00.001-08:00

Graham is done with school for the quarter.. which means I am no longer an engineering widow!

My birthday was a few days ago. The big 2-9. Graham automatically turns a year older on my birthday too, so he is now 27 per his report.

I just wanted to blog about one of my newest hobbies..

Couponing.

I know, it's getting kind of old with all of those "Extreme Couponers" shows on TLC. But, I've been able to save a substantial amount of money with this hobby, so it's exciting.

It's also a little embarrassing at times.. Example:

One evening after work, I stopped at Albertson's. It was a DOUBLE coupon week, and there were lots of free/almost free deals there. So, I had my 3 transactions with several coupons per transaction. I try to pick the self-serve lines so lots of people don't have to wait behind me. Eventually, some teenagers got in line behind me, so I was just thinking to myself, "ok, hurry up!". During my last transaction, one of the teenage boys snidely remarks to his friends, "coupon mom".

This ordinarily wouldn't embarrass me, because, hey, I paid like $5 total for $50 worth of stuff.. so he was just jealous. BUT, I happened to be wearing my one and only pair of mom pants that day. My mom bought me the wrong fit of pants at Ann Taylor (the regular, high-waisted cut that I would never buy), but I liked them enough to wear them to work with long shirts to hide the high-waisted look. However, the pants totally give me mom butt. (Word of disclaimer.. this is not my butt!)

Remember in one of the episodes of The Office this year, when Pam said,

"I used to be young and cute and sort of funny and, I could do those cute little cartoons and everyone who came through here was like, 'who's that receptionist? I like her.' Now I'm just a fat mom!

That's totally what I felt like!

But anyways, embarrassment aside, I totally rocked the grocery stores last month:

This, my friends, is my loot:

--6 bags of Steamfresh vegetables

--10 cans of Campbell's soups

--4 boxes of Thai Kitchen noodle bowls

--3 packets of Idahoan potatoes

--4 cans of evaporated milk

--1 package of Farmland bacon

--1 pint of cream

--2 package of reduced-fat cream cheese

--2 packages of Challenge butter

--2 sweet potatoes

The market value is over $80

I paid $18. I'm so proud. That's over 75% savings!

You may think to yourself, as I have, well geez Sherri, that's mostly processed food. And yes, it is. However, frozen vegetables are a great standby for quick dinners, noodle bowls are good for Graham's lunches, the instant potatoes are good for homemade bread, and the soups and milk are good for food storage or if money gets really tight.

The Reality of Dining Out as a Vegetarian

2011-11-29T11:38:00.001-08:00

So, I'm 4 weeks in. The one-month experiment is almost up.. with a possible extension into December.. and maybe the whole year of 2012..?

I am down 3.2 pounds, including losing 1 whole pound after last week.. even after Thanksgiving and my carb-loading dinners at Graham's family's house. I even ate 2 bowls of ice cream last night. *Bad*.. I know. Don't ever buy brownie moose tracks ice cream. It's too good.

So, I'm feeling pretty good about this whole thing. I've gotten used to the feeling of a self-imposed diet restriction, and it's really not that bad. I'm still a pro at picking out pieces of meat/poultry from food served to me. I even found some new foods that I really love. Homemade slow-cooker black bean soup--who knew it could be so good? Carter KILLED some of the leftover soup last night.

But.. there is a dark side to eating vegetarian..

I can't go out to eat.

First of all, I don't live in Seattle or Portland, so vegetarian restaurants are few and far between.

Fast food? Forget about it. They only things I can eat are bean burritos or french fries.. Not that I haven't gotten those or anything...

Substitutions in normal restaurants SUCK. At our favorite Mexican restuarant in our area, they had only a few vegetarian options.. none of which looked appealing. So I asked for a vegetarian chimichanga, thinking they would throw in some rice, sauteed bell peppers with onions, and maybe some beans...

WRONG

That, my friends.. is what came out of my chimichanga. FROZEN vegetables. That's right.. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and snap peas. Who in their right mind would eat broccoli and cauliflower in a freaking Mexican fried burrito (I mean, anybody other than my sister's ex who liked broccoli in tacos).

So, I emptied out my chimichanga and put in some beans and rice. I pretty much just ate a fried burrito shell, which kind of makes me sick to think about. I guess I can look at being vegetarian as a way to save money as well as I will no longer be dining out frequently.. or at all.

However, I did find some good options down in Portland. Burgerville's Yukon and White Bean Basil Burger was freaking amazing. I would eat it even if I wasn't doing the whole vegetarian thing. Chipotle's vegetarian burrito.. didn't even miss the meat.

So on December 1st, I don't think I'll be going back to meat. I will eat meat/poultry if that's what is being served at other people's houses, and probably 1-2 dinners per month (beef stew in the winter is a must-eat). I've learned a lot from these past few weeks, and I look forward to trying more meatless meals!

Our menu this week:
Quinoa pilaf with corn and jalapenos with accordian potatoes (both from America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country)
Cheese Souffle (I've always wanted to try this) with vegs
Cuban black beans and rice
Black Bean Quesadillas

I'll let you know how the souffle goes.. especially with me cooking alone in the house with a 13-month old wild child. At least he's not walking yet!

My apologies

2011-11-17T20:35:00.001-08:00

I have been a bad blogger my friends. I do have an excuse though. Graham has been working on an engineering project for school (total yawn, but he's really excited about it), which means he is up late every night working on homework and stuff.. heretofore hogging the computer EVERY night when Carter goes to bed. That means I'm stuck watching TV alone for 2 hours, or reading other people's blogs on my phone.

What have I been up to you ask...

--Avoiding meat still. I almost died the other day at work. They had fried chicken, which I don't even like, but I was drooling just thinking about the moist chicken inside. I got mac & cheese and green beans, which was a poor substitute. We've gotten used to the no-meat thing, so it really hasn't been too big of a deal.
--Couponing. Still reading my blogs and gathering my weekly coupons from online and newspaper. Albertson's has been having double coupons a lot lately, so I've been busy.
--Raising my crazy 13-month old child. Seriously. He loves any and all carbs (especially graham crackers, Satsumas, and homemade bread). He loves to throw food on the ground from his high chair and then laugh like Chucky when I get down on my hands and knees to clean up after him. He gets CRAZY in the bathtub. He tries to swim (including putting his face under the water), and even makes whirlpools back and forth. He knows how to turn off/on the water. He is an AWESOME catch player. He can throw 2 balls at once. Anyways.. you all know Carter is awesome. But, he still isn't walking. And, his weight has gone down to the 3rd percentile, so he has an extra weight check coming up in 2 weeks. His head, however, has remained at the 50th. Graham calls him a balloon.

--Work. We hired ANOTHER new Dietitian, who just started last week. It'll be nice once she is trained and everything, but right now it's difficult to get everything done.

A little something to make you smile. :)

So I hope to get back on the blogging wagon as soon as Graham's school work lets up a bit. Oh, and my 29th birthday is coming up soon. How did I get to be so old??

Baked Risotto and Leftover Risotto Cakes

2011-11-11T19:39:00.001-08:00

This is by far one of my most favorite vegetarian recipes yet. I love risotto because it's so creamy and filling, and really versatile because you can add in so many different fillings. The usual way of making risotto is time-consuming and requires at least half an hour of standing by the stove and ladling hot cups of broth into the starchy rice and stirring the rice. This baked risotto recipe, from Cook's Illustrated, is so easy because you can finish it in the oven and avoid the long stirring time at the stove. It is such a great method for a working mom like me. Then, the next day, you can make risotto cakes with the leftovers!

Baked Risotto
Serves 6-8

3 TB butter
1 medium onion, minced
1/4 tsp salt
3 minced garlic cloves (~1 TB)
2 cups Arborio rice
4 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine (you could substitute white grape juice with a splash of vinegar)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Ground black pepper

1) Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
2) Melt butter in large Dutch oven over medium hear. Add onion and salt, stirring often until softened, ~5-7 minutes. Stir in garlic anf cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the rice and cook until the grain edges are transparent, ~4 minutes.
3) Stir in 3.5 cups of chicken broth and wine. Cover the pot, increase the heat to high and bring to a simmer. Place the pot in the oven and bake the rice until tender and no water remains, ~20 minutes.
4) Just before removing the risotto from the oven, heat the remaining broth. Remove the risotto from the oven and stir in the hot broth and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Risotto Cakes (pictured above)
Makes 2 cakes

1 cup leftover risotto
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I only had Italian-seasoned ones, and they worked fine)
1 egg
1 pinch cayenne
2 TB shredded mozzarella cheese
Cooking oil

1) Prepare "breading stations" with breadcrumbs in one tray, and egg mixed with cayenne pepper in another tray.
2) This is how I prepared the cakes: put 1/2 cup risotto in 1 cup measuring cup. Put 1 TB of shredded cheese in the middle of the caked, making sure it stays in the middle. Add 1/2 cup of risotto on top and pack in tightly. I tapped the measuring cup on the counter to get the cake out intact. Repeat with the next cake.
3) Heat up 1/2 inch oil (I used canola) on medium-high. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Seriously, it is worth making risotto just to have these little crispy cakes. You could probably even bake these after spraying them with Pam, for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

1st Week Vegetarian Challenge Summary

2011-11-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

Here's how the first week went..

It really wasn't too bad. Really. Our meals have been fairly hearty and haven't really left me wanting more. I did cheat though, and I kind of went on a chips and salsa binge over the weekend. That's pretty much all I ate Saturday and Sunday, which is kind of gross but delicious at the same time. Graham also bought us some Tillamook Old-Fashioned Vanilla ice cream, which was another treat. However, when all you're eating is beans and vegetables, ice cream sundaes with chocolate syrup and toffee chips are necessary!

My favorites from this week were the baked risotto and leftover risotto cakes (recipes and photos coming). We all inhaled the food, even Carter. The arborio rice is so starchy that it fills you up in a good way. We had Caesar salad on the side with pita chip croutons.. amazing! It would be better if there were such a thing as short-grain brown rice (in my grocery stores at least), but no such luck. I will be trying a barley risotto this month, which will make it whole grain with more protein and fiber.

Next week's menu:
--Claim Jumper's for my sister's birthday
--Skillet Cheese Pizza from ATK's Healthy Family Cookbook
--Pasta Fagioli from Cook's Illustrated Best Recipe Cookbook with garlic breadsticks
--Fajita Tostadas from Martha Stewart with some sort of rice side dish

Oh, and the best thing about this week?... I lost 2 pounds, even with the chips and ice cream!

To be polite..

2011-11-06T20:57:00.000-08:00

I ate chicken tonight.

A family from church invited us over, and the wife made roasted chicken. Since there weren't hearty side dishes, and I couldn't overdose on my homemade dinner rolls, I decided to partake in the chicken. Plus, who wants to be that annoying person who says, "Sorry, I'm a vegetarian," (said in a snooty, smug tone of course).

I did enjoy it, but it kind of gave me a stomachache.

To be fair though, I did eat banana bread to be polite, which I don't like at all.

Here's to a meat-free next week! Menu coming soon.

Veggie Talk + Carter's 1st Birthday

2011-11-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

So, the vegetarian thing is going ok. I do find myself craving meat, though.. and not even the good stuff. I normally don't drive past fast food restaurants on my way home, but I did yesterday, and the big billboard picture of the KFC Dubilicious made me drool.. even though I think it's disgusting. Today for lunch, I had a veggie pita with romaine lettuce, bell peppers, olives and hummus, and it was pretty satisfying. Tonight is slow-cooker marinara sauce with spaghetti, so it should be delicious.

On to the main event: Carter's 1st birthday party. The party itself wasn't exciting. I mean, how could it be? We're all there just to see Carter (or 2.5 year-old Lorelai) open presents, play with the boxes/wrapping paper or balloons, and have his first taste of cake. Our townhouse was crammed full of 15 people to celebrate Little Dude's birthday, and Carter couldn't have cared less. He did get a taste of some new foods though, which we found he enjoyed immensely.

Our menu was:
Appetizers: Caramel Toffee Dip with Apples and Spicy Hot Artichoke Dip (recipe from co-worker) with pita chips
Main dish: Make-ahead lasagna (Carter's new fave meal) from Cook's Illustrated
Salad: Spinach salad thrown together with random veggies and croutons
Dessert: Old-fashioned chocolate cake cupcakes with buttercream or whipped cream cheese frosting, and funfetti cake with buttercream frosting.

My theme for food was anything I can prepare ahead of time before Graham's family arrived. I definitely don't like cooking when there's a crowd. I don't like other people seeing that I'm such a disaster in the kitchen! I also made a breakfast casserole the day before, to be heated up the morning of. It was a huge hit!
I've been doing research for 1st birthday decorations for months, and this is what I came up with, all inspired from Pinterest and/or Martha Stewart. Since the party was low-key, I figured the decorations should be as well. I made all of them myself.. of which I am totally proud! The pictures suck though.. please don't judge.

Happy Birthday banner, made from scrapbook paper and letter printouts from Martha Stewart online.

Carter's funfetti #1 cake with buttercream on top. Don't look too closely at the piping.. You'll notice my impatience and inattention to detail.

Carter's matching scrapbook paper tie and party hat with "1" on it. I saw a picture online where the baby boy had a tie on while only wearing a diaper, and I obviously loved it. However, Carter would NOT keep the hat on.

A papier-mache "C" from Joann's, weighted down and spray-painted blue. It now sits on Carter's room's shelves, where it's a perfect fit.

Carter's own little smashcake. I love this picture because you can see the only fat he has on his body: his little thigh rolls. So cute!

1st Day as a Vegetarian

2011-11-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

So, it was a little harder than I thought it'd be. Remember, I get free food at the hospital, so I'm not really wanting to bring in lots of food for myself. So, I'm pretty limited in my choices.. especially since they're remodeling our kitchen/serving area/dining room.

This is what I ate:
Breakfast: Kashi Heart to Heart cereal
Snack: sliced apples
Lunch: Romaine and greens salad with kidney beans, grated cheese, olives and low-fat Ranch dressing (yuck); with a whole wheat roll.
Snack: chocolate cupcake leftover from Halloween (oops)
Dinner: Black bean soup with corn muffins

I did end up still having some pieces of leftover candy, but I limited myself.. I'm quite proud.

The black bean soup was pretty good. I don't like the smell of hot homemade cooked beans, so it didn't smell appetizing at all. But, I warmed up to it (nice pun huh) and ended up enjoying it. The real showstopper were the corn muffins. I'll have to post the recipe sometime. They are amazing. Honestly. Graham, who professed his hatred for cornbread a couple of months ago (which seemed blasphemous to me), has since been converted to these sweet and soft corn muffins. Mmmmm.

Anyways, the most difficult thing was deciding what to eat for lunch. Hmmm, flank steak, lime chicken, chicken tortilla soup, beef vegetable soup, or tuna sandwich. So, salad it was. I realllllly wanted something warm (it's getting to be pretty chilly here now), but I didn't give in. Let's hope tomorrow goes better!

And so it begins..

2011-11-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

I've been eating more meat the past few days to prepare myself for going without.. But I am ready. I weighed myself this morning, and it turns out I've gained 3 pounds over the past month. Ugh. I guess that's what happens when you have 3 pieces of fun-sized candy every day at work. Gosh dang Halloween. Anyways, so I'm feeling fat today but ready to take this vegetarian challenge head on.

Here's our menu for the week:

--Slow-cooker Black Bean Soup from Slow Cooker Revolution. I will probably make corn muffins from ATK's Healthy Family Cookbook to go with it, if Graham has washed the muffin tins.
--Slow-Cooker Marinara Sauce with Spaghetti and roasted veggies (haven't picked which ones yet).
--Baked Risotto from ATK's Family Coookbook and Broccoli.
--Risotto cakes (for leftovers).

I'm kind of cheating with the black bean soup, as the recipe calls for a ham hock to be cooked with the beans. I'm still using it to flavor the soup, but I'll toss it at the end.

I'm not really venturing out too far into the vegetarian/vegan world much, but I have a bunch of recipes picked out to try.. and I haven't even hardly pinned any recipes on Pinterest that are vegetarian. I must get to work!

So anyways, I'll post more about my successes and failures, and the reality of trying to go vegetarian in a meat-lovers world. I'll post the delicious recipes too if you're interested.. Wish me luck!

Inspired by Pinterest

2011-10-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

Carter's 12 month photos:

Special thanks to our friend Sherilyn who took these photos.

There's a WHAT in my drink??

2011-10-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

So, Carter's birthday was this weekend (pictures coming soon), which means our house was packed full of family for a couple of days.. Which also means I wasn't going to sleep very well, being a light sleeper and all. I was up early every day, due to Carter's schedule.. definitely not by choice, preparing for his birthday party and guests.

So, I depend on my daily Diet Coke in the morning. Call me addicted, whatever. I don't care. It's delicious.

On Sunday morning, I decided to finish the Cherry Coke Zero I'd left on the coffee table from the night before. It'd be flat, but hey, it'd still taste good.

Later that morning, Graham, 2 of his brothers and I were playing pinochle before church. I was leisurely sipping my soda, enjoying our card game.. when I got to the end of my drink and something NOT liquid slipped into my mouth. I thought it might've been crumbs or something that accidentally made its way into my soda can. I spit it out and took a second look...

It was a freaking PINCHER BUG!!

I screamed for 10 seconds.. And Graham's family laughed for like 10 minutes. Can you believe the bug was still alive after chilling in my drink all night?! Ick.. even just typing this story makes me itchy.

So, ladies and gentlemen.. I now fully believe in karma. Let me explain why.

A few nights ago, I was cleaning up after dinner on the dining room table. Graham often leaves crumbs on the table after eating (we had corn muffins, so it was extra messy), so I was scooping them into my hand. Since Graham had left his soda on the table, I figured it was empty, so I dumped the crumbs and grated cheese into his soda can. When I picked the can up to throw it away, I realized it was practically full. A normal wife would probably dump out the soda and tell their husband about it.. An evil (ok, maybe mischevious) wife like me would do something different..

I left the can on the table and didn't tell Graham. When we were watching TV together later, I asked Graham is he was going to finish his soda. He went and grabbed the can and drank away. I somehow held my laughter in as he kept drinking. As he got near the end, all of a sudden he started gagging and ran to the sink and spit out the soggy crumbs/cheese. By then, I'm cracking up... literally tears were running down my face (see.. am I not totally evil?).

Graham was still gagging, trying not to throw up. You see, soggy bread is his ultimate enemy. He will not even finish the last bits of hamburgers if the bun gets soggy at the end. He was yelling, How the heck did this happen? What is in this can?

By now, I can hardly speak I'm still laughing so hard. I did confess that it was an accident.. but Graham vowed that somehow he would pay me back. As it turns out, he didn't have to. The pincher bug was payback for my joke. Tit for tit right?

My Dietary Guidelines

2011-10-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

So, I've been doing lots of research for my 30-day challenge of consuming a whole-foods, plant-based diet.. And I've decided I want to make some modifications to a few of the recommendations. As a Registered Dietitian, I think I have that right.. :)

1) The doctors in Forks over Knives promote a practically vegan diet, including no added oils or fats, including nuts and avocado. I am not going to follow this recommendation. I, for one, do not feel it is necessary to avoid all fat and I'd like to avoid fatty acid deficiency, which I thought I had freshman year of college. (I didn't--it was just dry skin from the cold Utah weather.. I also thought I had scurvy the following year. Sigh.. I'm crazy. That's what nutrition classes do to you!) I will stick to my canola oil, olive oil, and butter (if necessary). I will consume nuts if they are present in a dish. Since Graham is allergic to tree nuts, I doubt I'll be eating them much.

2) No dairy products are allowed on this diet. I don't drink milk and I don't eat yogurt hardly ever, so that's not a big problem. The bigger issues are butter, cream cheese, and cheese. What I'm going to do is avoid the fatty cheeses like cheddar, and stick to small amounts of parmesan, if needed.

3) Nothing with a face or mother. I am going to avoid all meats and meat products. No eggs, bacon, chicken, nothin.. However, I do have chicken and beef stock that I may use, in the sake of not going broke buying vegetable stock.

4) Nothing artificial, like Diet Coke, Pam spray, etc. If you know me, you know that I must have my diet soda in the morning. Therefore, I am not giving it up.

5) Whole grains without added fat or sugar. This is where it may get tricky. As with #1, I may just have to ignore the "no added fat" recommendation. The no added sugar also rubs me the wrong way. I think I'll just ignore this for now, and just avoid added sugars when possible.

As you may or may not know, I get free food at the hospital I work at.. which means I will probably have to bring in some food to work. Seriously, the only fruits they have every day are apples, oranges, grapes, and bananas. Boy am I freaking sick of apples and I can't stand bananas.

I received a panicked call from my sister today about my "vegan" challenge. She was concerned about my plan for Thanksgiving. Don't worry.. I will consume some turkey that day in the name of tradition. I also clarified my dietary goals..

I'm going to follow the Word of Wisdom (WoW). Now, for you that aren't LDS (Mormon), we have guidelines on how to take care of your body, i.e. no alcohol, coffee or tea, drugs, tobacco, etc. There is also a recommendation to "eat meat sparingly". I'm going to go off on a little tangent right now. Not to knock some people (ok maybe I will..), but some LDS people are so strict about the WoW that they believe caffeine is of the devil because it is in coffee/tea. I cannot say for sure why we have been asked not to drink those items, but for me, it doesn't mean caffeine. But, these same people who avoid all sources of caffeine willingly eat meat every day, possibly even every meal. Is this "sparingly"? I doubt it. It's a bit ironic don't you think? Where are all of the Mormon vegetarian supporters huh??

So, that's my plan in a nutshell. We'll see how it goes!

A Radical Change

2011-10-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

I am considering a radical change in my lifestyle..

I am thinking of converting to.. VEGANISM.

Well, actually, more like a plant-based, whole foods diet.

I know what you're thinking. It's the same that I'm thinking... That's impossible.

Also, isn't a strange for a Registered Dietitian like me who preaches about "moderation in all things" to try an "extreme" diet?

But, I'll tell you what I've been thinking for the past few weeks. A Dietitian friend of mine recommended this documentary called "Forks over Knives", which promotes a plant-based, whole foods diet. It has pretty much changed the way I think.. It even has inspired Graham to exercise more, stop eating his Costco muffin every morning, and drink less soda. After watching the movie, we committed ourselves to more meatless meals every week, and made a goal of more physical activity.

But, remember when I got diagnosed with high cholesterol (actually, re-diagnosed since I was previously diagnosed with hypercholesterolemia when I was 8 years old).. I haven't had it re-checked, since I was pregnant and everything, which makes your cholesterol go up anyways. I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I will have to go on a statin (a cholesterol-lowering medication) when I'm done having babies. I mean, a life without meat, without FAT, without treats.. it seemed like a life not worth living.

But, as I sat here (in my Spanx), feeling uncomfortable and fat, I realized it doesn't have to be this way. I don't have to have high cholesterol. I don't have to be overweight. I don't have to go on my way to a heart attack.. I've always felt that I could lower my cholesterol if I just followed a vegan diet, but I wasn't willing to go there..

But, I'm going to try it for a month, starting November 1st.. and I'm going to blog about it. More details coming later...

Mommy Confession

2011-10-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

So, I have a secret about something I've been doing for the past few weeks..

I got the idea from Christina Applegate's character on the show Up All Night, which, by the way, we love.

So, to give you an idea of what this is.. She offhand said something about her having to wear 2 pairs of Spanx and a girdle to look the way she does.

So I thought, hey I have a pair of (imitation) Spanx, why don't I try and see how I look in work clothes with tummy control hose improving my figure...?

Let me tell you ladies.. If you have a persistent saggy belly from pregnancy, this stuff will do wonders. I've worn them under jeans, work pants, etc. The panty hose developed a pretty big run in it, so I decided to cut them off to make my own shapewear. Now, that was not a great idea, as my cheap-o shapewear now has legs that roll up under my pants and drive me insane, but it works for now.. until I can afford real Spanx shapewear. I feel more confident now that I don't look like I'm still pregnant, and I have a more streamlined look.

Another bonus: I have a decreased appetite, because my stomach is squished and it can't fit a ton of food under such pressure!

New Look + Cake Recipe

2011-10-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

I changed the template to my blog. What do you all (all as in the handful of family and friends who read this) think? Are the leaves too distracting?

Anyways, I will have some pictures to post soon. Carter is turning ONE in a little over a week! How fast the time flies!

Like I said before, I am loving Pinterest right now, but I wanted to add one of my own pictures to the mix, so I am posting an amazing recipe for America's Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated for a delicious cake. I've made this a couple of time, and it has turned out awesome! The strawberries don't hold that well, so make sure the cake will be eaten within 1-2 days of putting it together (not like it'd be difficult to finish).

Strawberry Cream Cake

Cake

1 1/4 cups cake flour (5 ounces) (essential here--don't use all-purpose)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1 cup sugar (7 ounces)

5 large eggs (2 whole and 3 separated), room temperature

6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Strawberry Filling

2pounds fresh strawberries (medium or large, about 2 quarts), washed, dried, and stemmed

4 - 6 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons Kirsch (I didn't use)

pinch table salt

Whipped Cream

8 ounces cream cheese , room temperature (I used reduced-fat and it turned out ok)

1/2 cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon table salt

2 cups heavy cream

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour round 9 by 2-inch cake pan or 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and all but 3 tablespoons sugar in mixing bowl. Whisk in 2 whole eggs and 3 yolks (reserving whites), butter, water, and vanilla; whisk until smooth.
In clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat remaining 3 egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. With machine running, gradually add remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form, 60 to 90 seconds. Stir one-third of whites into batter to lighten; add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert cake onto greased wire rack; peel off and discard parchment. Invert cake again; cool completely, about 2 hours.
FOR THE STRAWBERRY FILLING: Halve 24 of best-looking berries and reserve. Quarter remaining berries; toss with 4 to 6 tablespoons sugar (depending on sweetness of berries) in medium bowl and let sit 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Strain juices from berries and reserve (you should have about 1/2 cup). In workbowl of food processor fitted with metal blade, give macerated berries five 1-second pulses (you should have about 1 1/2 cups). In small saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer reserved juices and Kirsch until syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour reduced syrup over macerated berries, add pinch of salt, and toss to combine. Set aside until cake is cooled.
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM: When cake has cooled, place cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Reduce speed to low and add heavy cream in slow, steady stream; when almost fully combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture holds stiff peaks, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes more, scraping bowl as needed (you should have about 4 1/2 cups).
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Using large serrated knife, slice cake into three even layers. Place bottom layer on cardboard round or cake plate and arrange ring of 20 strawberry halves, cut sides down and stem ends facing out, around perimeter of cake layer. Pour one half of pureed berry mixture (about 3/4 cup) in center, then spread to cover any exposed cake. Gently spread about one-third of whipped cream (about 1 1/2 cups) over berry layer, leaving 1/2-inch border from edge. Place middle cake layer on top and press down gently (whipped cream layer should become flush with cake edge). Repeat with 20 additional strawberry halves, remaining berry mixture, and half of remaining whipped cream; gently press last cake layer on top. Spread remaining whipped cream over top; decorate with remaining cut strawberries. Serve, or chill for up to 4 hours.

Tuesday Morning (the store)

2011-10-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Their motto is: "First Quality. Legendary Savings."

I don't know how many of you have actually been in one of these stores, but I recently found one in my area. Now, I do want to first disclose my bias against these types of liquidated products from department stores and the like, such as Marshalls, TJ Max, etc. I cannot stand shopping in these stores. They stress me out. Like one stand-up comedian said, going into a Ross is like walking through downtown Beirut.. i.e., like a clothing bomb has gone off. These jeans the wrong size? Just throw them to another aisle!!

So, I was looking for some stuff from Michael's the other day when I noticed a Tuesday Morning store a couple of stores down. I ventured in, wondering what the heck they have in there..

I walked around in a stupor.. do they really have pajamas and bras on sale from before I was born? Are the kitchen appliances supposed to have dust on them? Are crocheted kitchen towels really still in style? Shouldn't the merchandise at least look new?

I only lasted for about 5 minutes when I literally ran from the store, vowing to never go in there again.

Seriously, Tuesday Morning stores are the stores that time forgot.

My 1st experience with couponing

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

So, I've never been one to clip coupons. I thought it wasn't worth my time, it was mostly processed junk food (and I still think a lot of it is), and it wouldn't benefit my family.

However, I came across some couponing blogs from women in the Pacific Northwest (Frugal Living NW and Thrifty NW Mom), and I decided that I could spend a little time reading their blogs with deals and clip coupons occasionally. I found a deal to get the Seattle Times for 46 cents per issue (Sundays only), and I started clipping coupons last week.

I found some free deals on the blog for toothbrushes, and some good deals for cereal with Albertson's doubler coupons.

So, off I went to Albertson's for cheapo cereal. First mistake: I went right after work, when everybody and their grandma go to the grocery store! Second: I didn't double check the price on the computer. Third: when I noticed how much it cost, it was too busy and I was too scared to ask the cashier if the price was wrong. So, my shopping trip wasn't as productive as I'd hoped.

Lesson learned: always ask the cashier if the price is different than you thought.

I remembered this on my trip to Rite-Aid today when my free toothbrush was actually $2. The cashier responded nicely, and it was fixed quickly.

So, my deals ended up totaling to $7.00 with the following as loot: 2 toothbrushes (including one battery-powered), 1 container of spreadable butter, and 2 boxes of Cheerios.

Still a good deal even though I didn't get a steal on the Cheerios.

Heaven on a plate

2011-10-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Obviously, this is not a food blog or anything close to it. I can't make up my own recipes, nor do I have a good enough camera to take a good food picture in the slightest.

I do, however, like to try new recipes all the time. Graham likes to brag that we didn't have the same meal twice for the first year of our marriage. That probably isn't true, but it makes me smile.

Anyways, I've made this slow cooker chicken with lettuce wraps a couple of times before, and it's always been good. This time, I added coconut rice and it put the meal over the top. It was AMAZING.

Just thought I'd like to share:

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Mango Lettucs Wraps from A Year of Slow Cooking.

--We used ground turkey from Costco instead of the chicken, and used apricot-pineapple preserves instead of the mango jam.

Sweet and Savory Coconut Rice from Our Best Bites.

--No changes to the recipe. One hint: do NOT use a Le Creuset French Oven to cook rice. It doesn't cook right.

Carter's Creed

2011-10-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

So, apparently Carter is learning to fend for himself at daycare. He got into a fight with an 18-month old baby for a toy, and Carter won. It was a toy vacuum. Was it worth fighting for? Probably not. Carter does have an unhealthy obsession with our vacuum though, but that's a different story.

Anyways, I was talking to someone about this story at work, and she referred to me a poem called A Toddler's Creed:

If I want it,
IT'S MINE!

If I give it to you and change my mind later,
IT'S MINE!

If I can take it away from you,
IT'S MINE!

If it's mine it will never belong to anybody else,
No matter what.
If we are building something together,
All the pieces are mine!

If it looks just like mine,
IT'S MINE!

If it breaks or needs putting away,
IT'S YOURS!

Yes.. definitely looking forward to the next few years!

The only craft I've ever made..

2011-09-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

So, last year I decided I'd do one crafty thing for Carter before he was born. I decided to hand-sew a felt stocking from Herrschner's. My mom made felt stockings for all of our family growing up, so I figured I would continue the tradition. I really didn't think it would be that hard... until this packet of STUFF showed up in the mail:

A ton of felt, sequins and string. I didn't even understand what techniques of sewing/embroidering they wanted me to do, and I almost gave up. Graham even had to help me figure out how to correctly sew a sequin on!
However, after months of long hours on the couch while I was pregnant, watching LOTR with Graham and sewing sequin after sequin, I finally finished (actually my mom helped me finish) the stocking the week after Carter was born. He had a cute stocking ready for his first Christmas:

Now, if only I could get rid of Graham's perverted stocking and make him a real stocking as well..

My new obsessions

2011-09-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm a little behind on Internet fads, but I blame that on the fact that we didn't have the Internet at home for 2 years..

So, I'm trading in my internet obsession from Babycenter for 2 new sites:

Mint & Pinterest

Babycenter, you were good to me while trying to conceive and while I was pregnant, but I don't need you anymore..

Mint, I love you, even though you tell me my "net worth" is negative and that I've gone over my budget for clothing.

Pinterest, you inspire me to be more creative and to surround myself with things that I like.

Anyways, that is all.

A Recipe Post

2011-09-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you have read Amy Sedaris's book, I Like You, but it's this quirky hostess "advice" book. She also has recipes in it, and I tried this one a few months after we got married. It is honestly one of the most delicious and tender chicken recipes I've ever eaten. I highly recommend it, especially if you're into cooking with wine. The combination of red wine and tomatoes is AMAZING.

Chicken of the Taverns
Lightly adapted from I Like You
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (or 3-4# of chicken pieces, skin on)
4 TB butter (I'm still experimenting with how much I can decrease this)
2 TB oil (I use olive oil)
juice of 1 lemon
salt & pepper

28 oz can of whole tomatoes
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried savory (this herb is hard to find--if you can't find it, I originally used "poultry seasoning" in its place and it was still delicious)
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup red wine

Noodles
Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
1) Heat butter and oil in small saucepan. Pour half of oil mixture into a shallow baking pan (I use a 9x13 pan), and rest the chicken pieces on it.
2) Mix lemon juice in remaining fat and baste chicken. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
3) Bake chicken at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes.
4) While chicken is cooking, put tomatoes, onion, herbs, and red wine into a stockpot or Dutch oven. Cook for about 25 minutes and bring to a boil. If you don't like large chunks of tomatoes, break down the whole tomatoes with your spoon near the end of cooking when the tomatoes have softened.
5) Pour tomato sauce over chicken, reduce oven to 350 degrees F, and bake for 1 hour.
6) Serve over noodles and top with grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

He's at it again..

2011-09-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Remember Graham's hatred for my stuffed animal?

Well, my dog should've been prepared for this:

Death by toys..

Freshman Flashback...

2011-09-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Oh, BYU dances...

You can't say we weren't creative!

A story for the ages...

2011-09-20T15:17:00.000-07:00

So, I was trying to think of a funny story from my life lately,but there hasn't been anything.

But, I did remember a hilarious story from my college days atBYU... Let me take you back...

The year was 2003. Tisha and I (along with our roommate Meri),lived in a 2-bedroom condo complex in Provo called "Santa Barbara".It was fall semester, so it wasn't quite snowy yet. Tisha and Darren wereengaged. I wasn't dating anyone in particular, but I was "havingfun". I was working as a manager at good 'ol Hogi Yogi, and I worked everyFriday night until midnight.

Tisha & I on a late-night run to Wal-Mart in 2003.

So, now you know the background.. Let me get to the real story.

Tisha, as you may or may not know, has a habit of"collecting" things, whether they be items of clothing (cough cough..skin tight leather pants..), books, or pets. This year, Tisha haddecided to adopt a mouse, which I was cool with because it didn't make noise,it had its own cage, etc. However, Tisha's compulsion to collect things took awrong turn when she decided to adopt a hamster... that she found on the street.

That's when the red flags should've popped up.. What kind ofhamster/guinea pig do you find on the street? (I mean, besides the thughamsters in those car commercials.) Seriously.. this isn't Argentina! Thishamster/guinea pig/rodent had beady little eyes.. and was totally evil. I couldtell he was plotting my death.

So, we soon found out WHY this rodent had been wandering thestreets in Provo. This hamster was an escape artist. He found his way out ofhis cage many many times. Let me illustrate the scenarios in which this hamsterwas found:

1) Tisha had a private room right next to mine and Meri's room.One night as we were getting ready for bed, we heard Tisha scream loudly. Weran in to her room and found her under her bed. Apparently, she had heard somenoises under her bed, and when she stuck her head under, the hamster was therestaring right at her.

2) I used to sleep with the door open until this night.. I wokeup to some weird noises at 2 AM. The hamster was right near the head of my bed,trying to crawl up on the computer cords and plastic bags that were there.

3) When the hamster escaped again, I decided to sleep with thedoor closed. One morning we found a patch of carpet the hamster had wornthrough to the carpet pad right under our bedroom door. The hamster REALLYwanted to get into my bedroom!

4) One last time when the hamster was MIA, Tisha left for theweekend. I got home from work late that Friday night. I opened the door and thehamster froze in his tracks, right by the front door. I decided I'd had enoughwith this sociopathic hamster. I grabbed my umbrella and ushered this hamsterout the door.

I don't know how many of you know the layout of these condos(other than Tisha, Whitney and I), but the condo complex had indoor stairwellsfor 6 condos. We lived in the basement condo, so this hamster had to get up aflight of stairs and out of of the stairwell's door to get outside. I didn'tfeel bad for this hamster at all. I kind of hoped he would die. When Tisha gothome on Sunday, I lied and told her the hamster escaped. A few days later, Iconfessed and told her I kicked the hamster out.

I thought the hamster wouldn't make it.. But I should've knownthis hamster would somehow convince another sympathetic human to take him in.

A week later, we were at a neighbor's condo, and this guy said,"Hey check out this hamster we found running free!" It was the samelittle evil hamster..

Would you have done the same thing?

Carter's Newest Trick: The "Windmill"

2011-09-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

Remember this hole at the mini golf course? It was the hardest one, and the windmill always seemed to swing around RIGHT when your ball was about to go through!

Well, Carter has decided to imitate this motion and make it nearly impossible to feed him. He holds up his left arm up by his head, and when you bring the spoon to his mouth, he will suddenly swing down his arm, directly hitting the spoon. He gets the food all over his hands, which he then smears everywhere on his high chair and his face. Sometimes we are quicker than he is, but sometimes.. he times it with exact precision and we are unable to prevent it.

It's hilarious. He thinks it's funny and sometimes I can't stop laughing... but it's getting annoying. Hopefully it is just a phase!

Oh yeah.. THAT'S why we're here!

2011-09-08T07:44:00.000-07:00

Occasionally I will surf the Internet, looking for other Dietitian jobs in Seattle, Portland, and Sacramento. Usually I find crap, like being a Dietitian for the CA prison system..

But the other day, I got super excited when I found a full-time RD position in Portland with a home health company. I started thinking about being near Graham's family again, living closer to an actual city, being able to get *free* daycare from Graham's aunts, Graham could get an engineering degree from Washington State Vancouver and it wouldn't take as long to graduate, etc. My mind was running a mile a minute and I was thinking about actually putting an application in.

Then reality hit me like a ton of bricks.. Exactly why did we stay here in Brem Brem?

The co-op program with the shipyard, which not only allows Graham to work full-time (get paid $15/hr) and get "tenure" with the government, but provides a guaranteed job right out of college with a salary of at least $55K starting off, and also pays for school and student loans.

My spirit was quickly deflated. Oh well.. my only solace is that we will NOT live here forever!

End of Summer

2011-09-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

So, it's my favorite time of the year..

The time when I get to put up my FALL decorations. Woohoo!

There are other reasons I love the fall season coming up this year..

1) It's almost time that I will stop being a single mom and Graham will be home before 10 PM every night..

2) Carter is turning 1! But, I haven't decided on birthday stuff yet..

3) I love the slight chill in the air and the reminder of high school football and cheerleading. I love the turning colors of the leaves and trees.

4) Sweaters.. although I CAN wear sweaters practically all year long here in the Northwest.

5) Soups and stews.. More dinner choices..

Life is boring lately. I work, pick up Carter from daycare, make dinner, work out, and put Carter to bed.. and then wait for Graham to come home.

I have started working out again, though.. which is definitely a good thing. I freaking hate this baby paunch that remains from my pregnancy. I don't even like to look at my body in the mirror anymore! And, what's with the saggy boobs?!

What's Carter up to lately? He's learning to "crawl like a man", ie, on all fours.. He still loves his army crawl though. He's started pulling himself up on stuff, which is not fun. He sometimes wakes up in his crib sitting up and crying because he's too tired to lay back down. He still is the cutest boy ever with the happiest disposition ever. He like never cries and is always smiling. His eyes are turning the coolest hazel color. His hair is still blond, and is growing out after his haircut. He is currently sprouting his 6th tooth. He loves ALL food, from quinoa with zucchini to Greek yogurt with fruit. His favorite food has unfortunately become the Graham cracker, which we are limiting to one half-cracker daily. He also is able to drink water from a sippy cup.

Graham is finishing his ice cream truck driver job next week. He heads back to school on September 19th and is gearing up for a hard core quarter of engineering physics and differential equations. We recently got a new desktop that has enough memory for Graham's engineering programs so he can do homework at home.

It also means we are getting the internet at home soon.. So I should be posting more.. but like I said, life isn't exactly moving fast here..

10 months!

2011-08-24T09:04:00.001-07:00

An update

2011-07-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

Carter with mom before church. Doesn't he look like a missionary?

Below: trying a raw onion. (Yes we are mean parents.)

Before haircut

After haircut..

So.. to all of you faithful readers.. I think you deserve an update on our lives.

1) We moved to a new place, just across town. Graham was spending about an hour and a half every day in the car driving me to work, Carter to daycare, to school, etc., so we made the decision to move in June. Now, we live 3 minutes from daycare and 5 minutes from my work. It's a 2-story townhouse with more storage and a bigger kitchen, so it's nice. We don't have a view of the water anymore, but it's ok.

2) Carter is 9 months!! How crazy is that?! He has teeth and he's crawling!

3) Graham has a summer job as an ice cream man. Graham, Graham, the ice cream man. So random! Too bad the summer SUCKS right now. I think it'll be better in August though. So yeah, Graham works until like 9:3o every night, so I'm a single mom every evening. Carter really misses his dad like crazy and gives him the biggest smiles whenever he comes home.

4) I am not working weekends this summer due to staffing changes, which would be nice if Graham weren't working every weekend!

5) I am no longer pumping/breast feeding anymore. Long story, but it got extremely painful, so I stopped cold turkey around the 4th of July. I had rocks for boobs for almost 2 weeks!

6) Carter is hilarious. He has the happiest disposition as a baby that I've ever seen. He is literally a joy to be around. He does some funny things, like sucking his tongue to comfort himself, crawling around like a wounded soldier and dragging one leg behind him, wrestling with pillows (I wish I could post the video). He is also so sweet. One night when I was holding his bottle, he was running his hand through my hair as he ate. I wanted to die it was so cute!

7) Carter eats food like a champ. He likes everything, including raw onions (gross I know), lime rinds, and pureed prunes. However, some things he did not like included lime-cilantro rice and beef taco meat. He actually threw up after trying the rice.

8) I posted this on Facebook, but I wanted to clarify that Graham has 3 more years of school left. The Washington State extension engineering program at our local college only offers classes at specific times, and requires him to go over to Pullman, WA, to the main campus for 2 summers in 2013 and 2014 for labs he can only complete there. Soooo, the extra year SUCKS, but it also allows us to remain here in our town, where Graham can get his school paid for and an guaranteed job out of college. Oh, and Graham is doing very well in school. He's been on the Dean's Honor Roll for 7 out of the last 8 quarters.

So what are we doing for the rest of the summer?

1) Graham's sister, Grace, is here this week watching Carter for us while our daycare is closed.

2) My parents are coming up next week in preparation for their Alaska cruise. Their cruise leaves from Vancouver, British Columbia, so we are going up to Canada next weekend. Carter has his first passport with a giant baby headshot! We are planning on taking a Greyhound bus tour, and I want to walk over this awesome suspension bridge.

3) Graham turns 26 next week.. I've gotten him some fishing supplies for the salmon season coming up.

4) Losing weight. Now that I am no longer breastfeeding, I am 0.6 pounds from my pre-baby weight, but my spare tire doesn't agree. I'm slowly but surely trying to lose my gut. Graham has also gained weight rather quickly. When your diet subsists of Costco muffins, 3 bags of Famous Amos cookies, 3 PB&J sandwiches, and Mountain Dew, you can gain a belly even with Graham's metabolism. I am also trying to get the motivation to exercise, but it's been difficult. I almost always choose time with Carter over exercise.

5) Nothing! Graham is working 5 afternoons/evenings a week, and he has Scouts the other nights. Sucky summer.. but it's ok.

Hope you all are doing well. I'll try to post more pictures of Carter.

8 Months

2011-06-27T07:48:00.001-07:00

Time is just flying by!

Boy Meets Dog

2011-05-26T07:58:00.001-07:00

More Carter

2011-04-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

My experiences with "alternative" medicine...

2011-04-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

So, I guess I should actually write a blog about life huh? Hmmm.. what is interesting about my life... Somebody at the hospital I work at was selling these certificates for $20 for a 30 minute massage, 30 minute acupuncture, and chiropractic exam at a wellness center.. so I jumped on it. I've been having a weird tingling in my left shoulder blade since I had Carter, so I figured I should get it checked out. My being a total skeptic has to be put aside for a bit and just enjoy the ride.. Anyways, the chiropractic adjustment was AWESOME. It was the best freaking back and neck cracks in my life. What can I say.. I'm a crackwhore! Interesting note: I got all dressed up in normal clothes and put on makeup and perfume for my appointment, and Graham accused me of getting all sexy for the chiropractor. Mind you, I didn't even know who the chiro was, man or woman. It was pretty funny when I found out it was a young, fairly attractive male. Graham hasn't stopped teasing me about it yet. The acupuncture was interesting. It didn't hurt at all, and I could barely even feel the needles. It was quite relaxing, because I felt like I'd just woken up from a deep sleep. Did it make a difference? No, not at all, but it felt good. I got a massage, and not only was it lame, it was also only for 15 minutes because my chiro appointment was running late. Yeah, I know it was a cheap deal and all, but come on! So, now this chiropractic/wellness office keeps bugging me to come back. The treatment plan for chiropractic adjustments included some visits of up to 3 times in a week, which would be $30 a session, and that is AFTER my insurance coverage. Uhhh.. I have a kid in daycare and there is NO WAY I can keep that up. Yeah, don't think I'll be going back anytime soon, and I think I'll be avoiding all calls from now on.

I know..

2011-03-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

I need to post more than just pictures. Anyways, please ignore the giant arm and enjoy Carter..

Sorry

2011-03-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

So the video doesn't work.. sorry! Here is a picture of Carter on his toy instead.

5 months!

2011-03-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

So we bought this jumper/exersaucer yesterday from Wal-Mart. Needless to say, it was worth every penny. I had to take a video because he was sooooo excited. He was making his "excited" noise. Love this kid!

4 months!

2011-03-03T07:41:00.000-08:00

Yes, Carter just loves to scratch his face, no matter how much I clip his nails.

Musings on Motherhood, Part 3

2011-02-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

Mommy Guilt...

So it turns out that motherhood is full of inherent guilt trips.. If you don’t do this, you feel guilty.. Or if you do that, you feel even more guilty.. So how does it all even out?

I’m not gonna lie, I knew the first few months after Carter was born would be hard.. but they were harder than I expected. Like I said before, I felt like I had lost a part of myself after having a baby. But I didn’t expect to feel so much guilt for what I was doing.

I felt guilty first off for not feeling an immediate connection with my baby. Sure, I loved him, but I kept thinking to myself, shouldn’t I just be gushing with joy at this moment?

Then I felt guilty for not liking breastfeeding. I thought I would like it, but it was a struggle and not a joyful time. I knew I should keep doing it for my baby, but I couldn’t shake the guilty feeling for not enjoying that special time with Carter.

Then I would feel guilty for forgetting that I had a child. He slept in our room in the Pack ‘n Play for the first 8 weeks, right next to my side of the bed. He would start fussing, and wake me up from a deep sleep, and I would immediately felt guilty for actually forgetting that I had gone through labor, my pregnancy was done, and that my child was actually right next to me. It’s like my dreams ignored that big event in my life. I felt bad that I wasn’t dreaming about Carter and that the dream version of me didn’t have a kid.

I still feel guilty for not wanting to spend every waking moment with my baby. Sometimes, I just want to be by myself, taking a bath, or reading a book. I work full-time, and sometimes I just want to relax. Then I remember how blessed we are to have a healthy and happy baby, and I feel guilty for ever having these thoughts.

So, is this a lifetime problem? Will I always look back at my kids’ lives and wonder if it was me that made them turn out a certain way?

Musings on Motherhood, Part 2

2011-02-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, so what I’m learning about being a mom is that I need to be less selfish.

I guess that’s why it is in God’s plan for us to have children. We can become more and more like him with each passing day.. if we can handle it.

To have a child, I gave up my body. The stretch marks and spare tire prove it.

I gave up my time. I spent many hours at the doctor’s office, more hours on the couch due to my swollen ankles, and hours spent on Babycenter or reading materials about pregnancy, babies, and the like.

I gave up my money. My hospital bill was over $20K.. Good thing I have good insurance! I also am investing significant money in daycare monthly.

But my goodness.. I do not want to give up my sleep!

Anyways, during my maternity leave, I put so much into Carter I felt like I lost myself. I didn’t wear makeup for months. I could not cook or bake. I hardly even laughed or made jokes. I felt so drained from my responsbilities and the pressure to be completely selfless and focused on the baby that I lost my sight of the big picture—i.e. raising a well-adjusted child while I can stay sane. I even worried if I had post-partum depression.

So yeah.. the last week of my maternity leave, things finally started to normalize (is that a word?). And when I went back to work, I actually felt like myself again.. except I had added a new adjective to my description: mom.

I may not be selfless yet, or not even close, but I’m at least trying..

Something to make you smile

2011-02-03T13:26:00.001-08:00

Playing the piano with Dad.

Isn't he the most perfect Charlie Brown ever?

Musings on Motherhood

2011-01-27T16:25:00.000-08:00

Being a mom has actually taught me a lot about myself and life.. and I’ve only been one for 3 months now. I want to share some of my insights over the next few posts..

Ok, I’ll admit it. I hate breastfeeding. I was prepared for how long it would take. I was prepared that it would be hard. I was prepared that it may hurt. I thought I was prepared for all of it, but I wasn’t... not even close. It was exhausting!

When Carter got hungry, I had to get all prepared..
1) Grab the Boppy
2) Get the nipple shield
3) Apply the nipple shield (which would take at least 30 seconds to a couple minutes to put the nipple shield on because it would pop off)
4) Soothe crying baby--by that time, Carter would be crying hungrily, so I had to deal with red-faced baby who was so mad he didn’t want to latch on… Then, he’d latch on, but he’d start whining/crying within a minute because the milk wouldn’t let down fast enough;
5) Sit on the couch while he’d eat for 45 minutes to an hour while I sit and watch TV;
6) Wait 1-2 hours and repeat.

It was just too frustrating! I felt like I never got a break. I was a milk machine.. and I guess I still am. I would actually dread feeding time because it was such a battle. Plus, and this may be TMI, my nipples were so sore I wanted to scream even if my shirt or bra rubbed against them. The actual act of breastfeeding doesn't hurt, but it does do a number on your boobs. I thought I would enjoy breastfeeding for the cuddle time and the closeness with my baby, but I didn’t. Not at all.

We got off to a bad start with me being on magnesium sulfate during my labor, which causes babies to be lazy eaters.. and then with my milk coming in late.. and then with Carter getting jaundice and having to supplement with formula until my milk came in… Ugh. Also, I’m a very private person, so I am not comfortable with breastfeeding in public. I should’ve known or expected that!

Right now, I am strictly pumping, and actually enjoy that much better. I think I might do that next time around too. Then, we both can enjoy feeding time together. My baby can get the nutrients from breastmilk, and I can have a less stressful feeding method with bottles. Plus, I still reap the benefits of breastfeeding (i.e. burning 500-700 calories in a day).

I am jealous of those women to whom breastfeeding came so easily, but then again I’m not. I’m not tied down to the couch anymore, and it doesn’t take an hour to feed my baby. However, I do feel like I am constantly hooked up to the pump, but that is an acceptable price to pay for my sanity.

Reflections on 2010

2011-01-16T16:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, so a lot of these thoughts will be about pregnancy and stuff, so just bear with me here..
--During pregnancy, I learned that my feet are very important tools and should not be taken for granted.
--The most perfect thing you can say to a pregnant woman is “You look great!”, no matter how far along she is. It neither implies she is big or small. I will always use this saying from now on.
--Graham is an awesome husband. No, he’s not perfect, but he treats me so well. Case in point: the night I went into labor, my feeling was that this was my last night before we had a baby, so we may as well enjoy it. He took me to Taco Bell on the way home from the doctor’s office and even left for Dairy Queen around 9 PM to pick me up a Blizzard. Was it good for my gestational diabetes? No.. But I had Carter the next day anyways, so it didn’t even matter!
--Stretch marks suck. That is all.
--I really like keeping a family journal. I started one a couple months after we got married, and I record all of the significant events in our marriage. It helps me remember some of the funny things that have happened, as well as the sentimental things. I had Graham record his experience with Carter’s baby blessing, so it was neat to have him relate his story.
--I wish I could do more geneology. We attended a random family reunion in September in Washington for our Icelandic branch of the family.. I am really interested in this side of the family, and so it was neat to meet all of these random people that I am distantly related to. I mean really, who has relatives from Iceland?
--Camping in the rain BLOWS. We planned a camping trip early in the summer, like mid-June, because our summer was packed with plans for baby showers and stuff. We chose the camping location.. a big lake and a nice campgrounds… but one of our friends chose the date… and they didn’t even end up going! So anyways, I was like 20-something weeks pregnant, and I was starting to get a belly… I made a deal with Graham that I would only camp while pregnant if it were nice outside. The whole trip was a bust. It started raining heavily that night, we used our AeroBed in our tiny tent and it got a small hole in it, we had drunk neighbors who stayed up past 3:30 AM (imagine me yelling in the middle of the night “would you shut up already?!”), and we left out all of our chairs in the rain.. so we couldn’t even sit by the meager fire our husbands spent hours trying to make. I BEGGED Graham to just let me go home.. I’d take the car and he could stay with our friends in the rain if he wanted. But apparently, the wives weren’t having it either, so we all left early afternoon. Talk about lame. Camping in the Northwest is never a sure deal though, so I guess I learned my lesson… No camping whatsoever!
--Thank goodness we have good health insurance. We racked up some big bills this year! I was shocked after seeing the anesthesiologist’s bill for my epidural--$2500—but I would’ve paid for that baby straight cash if I could.
--I will never take Priesthood blessings for granted ever again. I’ve seen and experienced miracles through blessings that I cannot deny.
--Again, my testimony of tithing was confirmed. When I calculated how much paid leave I had, it would only cover 7.5 weeks of my maternity leave. Magically, I received a full pay check for all 10 weeks. It’s like the story of the loaves and fishes… or maybe I just calculated something wrong. Either way.. we had enough money!

I learned a lot in 2010 about myself and the world around me. Being a mother has definitely taught me the most.. but I’ll save that for another blog entry.

Lots of Carter Pictures

2011-01-03T16:52:00.001-08:00

Twenty-Eleven

2011-01-01T17:59:00.000-08:00

So it's been a while since I posted.. Yikes.

Anyways, let's see what's been going on at our house..

--We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Washington. My WHOLE family came up to celebrate and be together, so it was really nice. Carter was spoiled and was held all week long. He got to meet all of the cousins on my side, and was repeatedly called Peanut by my brother and his kids. Now, apparently, my niece who's almost 3, calls him "Sandwich", as in PB&J.

--My 28th birthday was uneventful. Graham let me sleep in, he cleaned the house, and we had some friends over for cake and ice cream.

--We went down to visit Graham's family in Portland before driving to his grandparents' house in Idaho. Unfortunately, the night we went down, Carter spiked a fever a 102.5, and our pediatrician said we should take him to the ER, so that's where we spent 4 hours in the middle of the night. We then had to hang out at Graham's parents house for 3 days so Carter could stay and visit a pediatrician in town to get antibiotics. It messed up our plans to hang out with friends, but Graham's mom loved holding him as much as she could.. so it worked out.

--We drove to Idaho amid a snowstorm, but we didn't have much trouble getting there, except for the 20 miles of pure ice between La Grande and Baker City in Oregon. Fun.

--Idaho was relaxing because we didn't do ANYTHING. I enjoyed sitting on the massage chair every day, even though it bruised my back a bit. Carter was pretty much held by people 24/7, so we're going through detox right now.

--Christmas was nice with Graham's family. We'll post pictures later, but we wanted to surprise everyone with ugly Christmas sweaters. We went to a thrift store in the small town of 800 people because there were ugly Christmas sweaters showcased in the window. I almost bought one that had cats on it and said "Meow-y Christmas", but I found a better one. It was a good thing I did because Graham's sweet grandma came out of her room the next day wearing the cat Christmas sweater.. Meowy Christmas indeed..

--The last week of maternity leave was supposed to be for us to get Carter on a schedule, like us waking up at 6:30 to be ready for work and daycare. That lasted one day.. we really wanted to sleep in the other days! We went up to the coast of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and went on a mini-hike with Carter in a Moby wrap. It was really pretty, but freezing outside.

--Our New Years Eve ended with me falling asleep on the couch at 9:30.. but it was really nice that Carter slept from 10-6. Man, we have the best baby!

So, here are Carter's stats:

Birth weight: 6 lbs, 13 oz, 19 inches long. All 10-25th percentile..

2 months: 10 lbs, 10 oz, 22 inches long. All 10-25th percentile.

Right now he weighs 11 lbs.. He's just a little guy, but Graham is in denial. He got his 2 month vaccinations, and he tolerated them well. He's talking to us a lot, and it is the cutest thing. He's getting good control of his neck, but he still makes a lot of side-to-side motions with his head. He plays with his tongue a lot, and likes to lick everything close to his mouth. He is still a very stinky baby as we found out the first week of his life.

I am going back to work on Monday, so it's really sad. I've cried about it already, but it has to be this way.. But I will be posting a little more, so you should all be excited..

Carter Rockwell is here!!!

2010-10-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

So, here is the birth story for all of you that are curious..

I had my 39 weeks check-up and non-stress test, NST, due to my GD on the 21st. The NST looked great, but my blood pressure was creeping up. It was about 130/90 the week before, but my OB wasn't too concerned. This week, it went up to 146/98, so she was concerned. They had me stay extra and re-took my BP several times. It went down to 130/90, so my OB told me to go home and rest and check my BP at work the next day. If it were high again, I was to call her and go into her office and possibly be induced that day. The 22nd was the one day we didn't want Carter to come because Graham had 2 midterms that day..

At 9:30 PM while watching The Office, I felt a large gush of fluid while sitting on the couch. We called the hospital to see what we should do. They told us if I soaked a pad and was having contractions to come on in. I was having consistent contractions, but just a small amount of leaking. They told us to come in anyways. A simple pH test and ferning told the nurses it was in fact amniotic fluid. So, I was admitted to the VIP suite--held for hospital employees and friends--and started on external fetal monitoring at midnight. My husband and I tried to get some rest.

Around 5 AM, my BP crept up to 156/102, so the on-call OB started me on MagSulfate, which is used to prevent maternal seizures due to high blood pressure. It causes extreme nausea, so I was given anti-nausea meds, and also causes slow-down of labor due to suppression of the central nervous system.. So I was started on Pitocin as well to augment contractions. Luckily, I tolerated all of that well and only had some flushing from the Mag. I was only about 8 hours into it, but this new development in my labor depressed me. I thought about all of the interventions I'd need, Baby Story on TLC was on TV and was stressing me out, so I just thought, oh man, just give me a C-section and get this over with! I calmed down a little, thank goodness. I was having consistent contractions, but they were pretty mild, like menstrual cramps, but worse. Due to my water breaking, they did not check my cervix due to the risk of infection.. So we had no idea how I was progressing until about noon when my OB showed up.. And I was only 1-2 cm, 50% effaced, same as the night before!! And, as it turns out, my water hadn't broken completely. We hypothesized that there was a small tear at the top of the sac.. My OB broke my waters at 1:15 PM and inserted a catheter into my uterus to monitor my contractions. It was like a bucket of fluid gushed out. Gross.

Then, the labor pains really started to get bad. At first, they were like bad menstrual cramps, but then they progressed to unbearable. My OB said I could get an epidural whenever, so I labored with these awful pains for about an hour, and then got an epidural. Ahhhh... RELIEF. However, my blood pressure dropped in response to the epidural, so the nurse started some meds to raise it. I felt better, i.e. no pain, but felt like crap. I had been in "labor" for about 17 hours by then, so I was starving and shaking. I was able to relax, post updates on Facebook and BBC, but by 5 PM, I'd only progressed to 2 cm dilation and 80% effacement. I almost cried.. I thought I'd have the baby for sure by now!

So, they kept upping my Pitocin (up to 24), and when I got to the active stage of labor or transition (I'm assuming), I started vomiting really bad. By 8 PM, I was still only at 4 cm dilation. I thought I would end up having to get a C-section after all of this, so I had Graham give me a blessing. After that, I was able to relax again, and by 10:15 PM, I was 8-10 cm dilated and effaced. My OB said I could start to push. I started vomiting AGAIN, blech. Anyways, at about 11:15 PM after an hour of hard pushing and not much progress, my OB suggested the vacuum because of my baby's changing heart rate and my extreme exhaustion (I could hardly hold up my legs, I was practically crying because I was so tired, and my epidural was starting to wear off). I could keep pressing the button to up the epidural, but I wanted to be able to feel to push. So, after 14 scary minutes of pushing with the vacuum assistance, and one point in which the vacuum slipped off the head, Carter was born at 11:29 PM. He was a total champ through this whole labor. His heart rate never dropped even with all of the stress and changes from drugs and stuff, which I consider a huge blessing.

My room was full of RN's and respiratory therapists due to the vacuum-assisted birth and the reputation of "Mag babies" for having weak cries and being very lethargic. My baby was wide awake, loud, and scored 7/9 on his APGAR's. He laid on my chest for an hour but he would not feed. He was very fussy and was taken to the Nursery overnight for observation due to the wound on his head from the vacuum. Turns out his head was wedged in the wrong position! I also had a 2nd degree tear, but couldn't feel anything while my OB stitched me up.

Carter was 6 pounds, 13 ounces, and 19 cm long. He measures in the 10-25th percentile for weight, length, etc. He's a tiny guy.. We were taking bets, and both Graham and I were guessing he'd be at least 7 pounds, so he was a surprise. Oh and by the way, my sister won the baby guessing game. We've had some challenges along the way with breastfeeding, and jaundice, but he is such a darling baby and we're amazed by everything he does.

Some pictures..

Sensory Overload

2010-10-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

I don’t know about all of you, but I often find myself craving some form of entertainment.. whether it be music, a book, the internet, TV, etc. It even got to the point where I’d require more than one form of entertainment at one time, like I needed the internet and the TV, or I needed to listen to music while reading a book. Total sensory overload. I constantly felt like I needed something to keep me distracted… distracted from what, I have no idea.

So anyways, I decided to institute a no-TV night in our house a few months ago. It seemed to me like the TV was always on. We ate dinner and watched TV, and would then sit there for the rest of the night. Now, every Monday, Graham and I get home from our days at school and/or work, make dinner, talk to each other, and actually interact without the background noise. I’m not going to lie, it has been really difficult, especially yesterday. We’d been gone all weekend and I had a list of shows I DVR’ed that I wanted to watch. Having DVR does make a no-TV night more easy and more enjoyable so I can record the shows I’d miss, but still..

It’s really been nice. We have Family Home Evening, we play music, and we enjoy the quiet in our home. Graham will play for me the songs he’s composed, and it makes for a really relaxing night. We are definitely going to continue this tradition as our family grows. I strongly believe in detaching yourself, even if just occasionally, from media and taking an old-fashioned break from the world.

Oh and P.S.. Sorry if you received a spam e-mail from my gmail account. Some freaking hacker sent an e-mail to 440 of my closest and farthest friends, colleagues, and acquaintances that I have ever sent or received an e-mail to/from. Thanks bud!

Exhaustion

2010-10-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

So, I am now at the point in my pregnancy where every day seems to drag on and I hardly have the energy to get through the day. My cankles are practically thankles now (thighs--ankles), and my belly is stretched so thin I feel like I'm losing sensation around my belly button.

But.. there is light at the end of the tunnel.. Less than 4 weeks left! I will have this baby by Halloween.. I know it. I am honestly looking forward to midnight diaper changes as opposed to hobbit feet.

Anyways, I had a fabulous weekend in California last week. I flew down early Saturday morning, had a baby shower, went shopping (I had to sit down in stores most of the time), dined at Benihana's, went to church, caught up with some old friends, and had an amazing pregnancy massage. Just thinking about the massage relaxes me. They even gave me a brownie at the end. I would definitely go back!

My mom's family was amazingly generous with baby gifts. Seriously. I had 2 large suitcases PACKED full of stuff. Plus, my sister-in-law threw the cutest baby shower ever with the theme "Cute as a button". You can see pictures on my sister's blog. Believe it or not, I still have one more shower next week down in Portland with Graham's family. I'm not really looking forward to the drive down, but hey.. whatever works.

Anyways, I'll keep you updated on the progress with the baby. Hopefully he won't come too soon! I'll be 37 weeks on Wednesday. By the way, if you haven't guessed our baby's weight and due date, you probably should. You can go anonymous if you wish.

P.S. Graham's family.. If you are reading this.. Please do not buy any newborn diapers. We have a ton! Thanks.

Baby Pool

2010-09-22T12:27:00.001-07:00

So, I added a game on the side of my blog where you can guess our baby's gender, height, weight, date and time of birth, etc..

Winner gets an e-mail... or maybe something cool like an iPad. We'll see.

Feel free to guess even if you're a stranger.. We don't discriminate.

Some Pictures

2010-09-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

So, I am really bad about taking pictures and uploading them. Luckily, my phone makes it pretty dang easy to share pictures online. Now, for your viewing pleasure..

Baby Carter's nursery

The crib. I was a little bummed to see that you can't see the crib skirt very well since the pattern is so cute.. but oh well.

So, it's a tight fit in our nursery.. but the chair glider is awesome right. Plus, it glides in a way that doesn't make me motion sick.

Our re-purposed bookshelf. We bought the canvas bins from Wal-Mart for toys and miscellaneous, and we'll be using the middle shelf for books and such.

We spray painted those picture frames to match the room. We also painted the IKEA shelves white to match the bookshelf. Graham made the wooden frame to go around the changing pad so the pad will not shift during diaper changes. Then, when our kids are done being babies, we can remove the frame easily. (I got the idea from Pottery Barn Kids.) Notice the Ken Griffey Jr bobblehead on the shelf? I think we're having a little baseball theme going on. I'm considering putting Graham's baseball glove on the top shelf.. Do you think that's cheesy?

The vinyl wall monogram. Call me Mormon or whatever, but I love it. Don't worry, our baby will eventually have a mattress to sleep on.

The 34 week belly shot.. for those of you who missed it on Facebook.

Belly in a different light.

I've had people tell me I don't look very big, and then I've had people who look shocked when I tell them I still have 5 weeks to go. Luckily, this pregnancy weight gain has ALL been in the belly and chestal region. I like when people tell me I don't like pregnant from behind, because I always wanted to be one of those women. Unfortunately, when you have all of the weight gain in one area.. you get certain results... like STRETCH MARKS. I almost had a nervous breakdown when I first spotted them. So.. you will never see me in a tankini that shows my lower stomach ever again.

Anyways, our nursery is ALMOST done. Just a couple of more things to buy.. Oh, and the baby needs to arrive too.

Life Lessons from Solitaire

2010-08-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Have you ever learned something significant about yourself just by life's little stupid things?

This post is dedicated to the lovely game of Solitaire..

So, I used to have a very specific method of how I'd play the game on my computer. If I didn't score a certain amount of points before drawing the first card from the deck, I would start a new game right then and there. It was pretty tiring to constantly start new games and almost never get to play out a full game.

Then, it got me thinking.. "What does this strategy say about me?"

--I'm a very competitive person.
--If I can't win, I just won't play.
--I'm obsessed with winning and points.

Then I started thinking about my life's experiences that totally demonstrate this quality of mine. I thought about my 5 years in Provo, UT, at BYU and the competitive nature displayed there.. and totally saw the same behaviors there. First of all, I hated dances because I felt like I wasn't cute enough to "win" any guys. Then, there were the wards... and the extreme competitiveness I felt comparing myself to the other girls. Flirting was a bust as well.. as sarcasm wasn't always understood by Utah guys.

So did I end up giving up after 5 years of trying to find a guy there? Hmmm.. almost. I mostly just gave up in the small "games", like dances, ward prayer, FHE, etc, but I never ended up playing the game altogether.. just like I have still not given up playing Solitaire, even though I am currently $500 in the (hypothetical) hole on my phone.

I am still trying to work on my inner competitiveness. I don't know about all of you other women who used to play competitive sports, but it is HARD for me not to have something to be competitive about, even if it is just in my head. It annoys me to NO END that I can't just accept other people's achievements and attributes and not compare them to mine. Why do I have to be competitive about everything, even if it is stupid?

Anyways, random ramblings.. I've been meaning to write this one for a long time.

It Lame..

2010-08-24T16:05:00.000-07:00

So, I have totally been a lazy blogger. I wish I could blame it on the pregnancy, but it's not. I downloaded a blogger app on my Droid smartphone, but let's face it.. Typing a full blog on a touch screen keyboard sucks.

Anyways, let me clue you in on a couple of things in our lives:

--Graham is finally done with the Census Bureau job. He is now fixing people's Playstations, babysitting a co-worker's autistic child, and offering piano lessons as side jobs. Random? Yes. But hey, whatever works! Plus, he can clean up with the house when I elevate my legs at night.
--My ankles and feet started swelling in June.. Cute. Seriously, I have like one pair of shoes left that are comfortable. The rest just suck, even my flats.
--My sister lived with us for a couple of weeks until her apartment was ready for move-in last week. It was so weird having somebody else in the apartment. She ate our food, brought her own weird food into the house, and crowded our little 2nd bedroom/baby nursery. Plus, my sister makes a lot of noises.. like MREHH and stuff. Graham just called her "Noise". Even though we were annoyed we couldn't hang out naked when the temperatures reached 95 degrees.. which is deathly with no A/C, we got used to her being there. When she moved to her new place, we were both wondering how she was doing and if she was ok. It was like our apartment was silent and empty without her.
--I am doing a little crafty project for the baby before he arrives. I'll post before and after pictures when I'm done. I literally almost gave up on the first day because I had no idea what the heck the different types of stitches even meant and the demo pictures made no sense at all.
--We are still searching for a day care provider for our little guy. I hate the thought of leaving him with someone else all day, but hey.. it's what will have to work for our family.
--We really haven't done anything cool lately. I've been working more Saturdays, so it definitely takes a toll on our social life. Plus, I can't say I feel like doing much after I get home from working all day. Graham is ALWAYS trying to get me to go to our community's pool, but thinking about all the kids peeing in the pool really turns me off. Oh, and pregnancy and maternity bathing suits are NOT cute.
--I just got diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. I am one of the lucky 2-5% of pregnant women who get diagnosed with GD. Needless to say, I was pretty upset. Luckily, I know how everything works and what to do. It's just lame. What will I do without my stops to Dairy Queen? It really just takes the pleasure out of being pregnant, even though I wasn't pigging out or anything. So yeah, I have to check my blood sugars 3-4 times per day and really watch my carb intake. Fun.
--The baby's nursery is almost done. I'll have to post some pictures when it's finished. It's nothing spectacular, but I love it.
--I am really looking forward to this fall. Not only will I get a baby, but I get to put up decorations soon and my family is coming up for Thanksgiving. I think it'll be a lot of fun having a big group of us up here together.

Ok, I swear I'll try to update this blog more..

Nice Surprise

2010-07-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

So, I have to tell this story because I think it's disgusting and hilarious all at the same time.

So, I went up to the private bathroom on the 2nd floor at work and noticed something weird with the paper toilet seat covers. It looked like someone had torn out 1/2 of the toilet seat covers, so you only would have half of your bum protected on the toilet.

So, I figured I'd do a good deed and tear out the ruined toilet seat protectors/covers until I got to the non-damaged ones.

About 3 toilet seat covers in, I noticed something pink in the wall holder. I thought to myself, hmmm.. weird! I wonder if someone like is trying to smuggle drugs into the hospital by leaving them in a random place like this, stuffed in a pink t-shirt.

So, out of curiousit, I pulled the pink "shirt" out from the toilet seat cover holder, only to find out that it was a pair of dirty underwear... adult-sized, mind you....

Located in said pink underwear was a couple of large turds, plus some definite skid marks/racing stripes/Hershey stains.

For one, the logic of this act is completely beyond my comprehension. There was a large wastebasket in the private bathroom where the turd burglar's underwear could have easily been stashed or hidden. Secondly, was this just a mean joke someone thought to pull on a stranger in the hospital? I mean, the poop was definitely real, but come on.. Let's think with our heads people! So you pooped your underpants.. fine! Toss 'em in the trash!

Which one would have been better to have found in the wall holder? Probably drugs..

just for a change of pace..

2010-07-05T20:47:00.001-07:00

So I usually write about silly things Graham does.. for the humor factor. I married a goof and I love it.. mostly.

Anyways, I am so proud of him. He just finished his first full year of school with a gpa of 3.89. This means we qualify for some pell grants and some scholarships. woo hoo! go graham

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Quick

2010-06-22T12:16:00.000-07:00

So everyone.. it's been a little busy up here in Brem Brem... I'll detail what we've been up to later..

But anyways, for those of you that missed the announcement on facebook..

It's a BOY!

Carter Rockwell will be his name... And boy does he like to kick my organs!

so...

2010-05-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't have much to say on here, so I'll just talk about some random things in my life:

**Haven't bought anything for the baby yet. I just really hate spending money!

**We find out the baby's sex on June 9th.. so excited.

**We also drive down to California on June 9th.. should be nice to get a break from work, see my family, and start baby shopping.

**Graham is working for the census as an "enumerator".. i.e. taking people's names. Pretty exciting job, but hey.. it's money and flexible hours.

**I am tired of waking up 3 times in a night to pee!! Last night, I didn't even get up at all. I was THIRSTY this morning, so I probably was a little dehydrated.

**My belly is finally starting to "pop". People at work are finally asking if I'm pregnant.

**I hate Bally's gym. We canceled Graham's membership almost 2 years ago and sent them a check to cancel everything, so we thought everything we taken care of because they cashed our check. However, because the cancellation was not mailed as CERTIFIED MAIL, we just got a collection's bill for $140.. Awesome. I thought I'd read the fine print thoroughly, but apparently not!

**Maternity clothes.. don't want to buy them!

**I have totally been craving sea salt and vinegar kettle chips. Salty and delicious.

**Graham went into the doctor because of some severe heartburn.. and wound up having to get an abdominal ultrasound to rule out appendicitis, cholecystitis, etc, because he had elevated liver enzymes. Luckily, his ultrasound was normal after my nightmares of having Graham in the hospital for a surgery. Turns out, Graham has a fairly common bacteria, Helicobacter pylori, that causes gastric ulcers. He's now on 2 antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor. When asked what bacteria he had, Graham said "b pylon?... I mean b python?".. Oh Graham and your refusal to say real names.. So, it looks like we will max out our insurance out-of-pocket fees this year.. So maybe my hospital delivery will be covered 100%... hah. Not with our luck.

**I'm stressing about how we will pay for childcare, and that's still 6 months away. How do people do it??? Even if we still didn't have any credit card debt, we couldn't afford it on my salary. Dang student loans..

**It has seriously been crappy weather out here. I am literally still dressing as if it were fall/winter. I mean, I like that aspect, but a little sun here and there wouldn't kill me...

Anyways, I'll keep you all updated about our little baby T-rex.

When men become primates

2010-05-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I still haven't figured out how to blog from my BlackBerry. Does anyone have any tips?

Anyways..

So Graham and I went on our baby moon to Seattle this weekend. We started things off by taking the ferry over and enjoying the beautiful weather. We then went to the Mariners game against the Angels. Graham wanted to go to this game specifically because of the Ken Griffey Jr bobble head giveaway.

Anyways, after the game, we were taking a long walk back to our hotel along the pier. There were a ton of cars driving next to us stuck in traffic, and we heard someone yelling at us from their car. I was feeling really self-conscious because I'm in an awkward stage of my pregnancy where I just look chubby and not quite pregnant yet. We tried to walk faster, but the guys in the truck caught up with us anyways. I was thinking the guys were telling me I'm fat, so I didn't want to hear what they were saying!

Here's how the conversation went:
Guy in truck: hey man is that your girl?
Graham: yeah man
Guy: yeah she looks as hot as f&$%!
Graham: yeah she's my wife
Guy: You should be proud
Graham: I am
Guy: you better watch out or I may steal her from you. Woo!

Luckily, the traffic kept moving and they passed us up. Apparently this interaction really bothered Graham. He was all ready to go for a fight. He clenched his fists and kept saying "man I just really want to fight someone right now!!"

It reminded me of the head male gorilla in the show "Life" when his troop is threatened by another male. The gorilla gets up and starts hooting and banging on his chest to show his superiority and authority. Graham is my gorilla I guess..

I was just glad I wasn't being called fat.

A post about nothing

2010-04-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

So, I guess I don't really have much to talk about.. I just thought I'd update everybody on how we're doing up here in Brem Brem.

--Pregnancy: I'm finally starting to feel better; however, that does not mean I've gotten up off the couch any night this week (besides for church youth activities). I feel fat, but I've only gained a pound.. probably all in the boobs (seriously). I'll be 14 weeks tomorrow.. yay! My risk for miscarriage in the 2nd trimester is pretty low, so that's good. We will find out the gender in early June, so we are really excited. So, the word is out at work.. The director of my department congratulated me at lunch, and made me feel good. She only thought I was 5 or 6 weeks along, by how I look. So, I only feel like a fatty apparently. I'll post a picture sometime later when it becomes more apparent that I'm pregnant and not just bloated.

--Work: Still working full-time. Blech. Can't believe I have to do this for at least 3 more years. Graham got a temporary job working for the Census Bureau. He says he works with a bunch of dim-witted people.. to put it nicely. He's also a sales/marketing manager for a software product, so we'll see how that goes.

--Church: Graham got put BACK into Young Men's as the Scoutmaster. I told him I can finally think of him as a man again (after his Primary Chorister calling).

--Summer: Our one and only vacation is planned for California in June.. and I cannot wait. We're driving down, which should be fun, but hey.. at least it's better than not going..? We hope to go camping with our friends in the area a couple of times, which should be interesting with a pregnant belly..

--Miscellaneous: I got a ticket for running a red light. I was turning right, and apparently didn't stop all the way. I thought I could fight it at court, but when I saw that they had VIDEO cameras, I admitted my mistake. I figured humor would work best, and it did. I had the judge and courtroom laughing, and the judge reduced my ticket down to $60 from $124. Not bad eh? Plus, it doesn't go on my driving record!

Anyways, I haven't figured out how to post a blog using my phone, so my posts will continue to be few and far between. Stay tuned though..

Announcement

2010-04-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

To all of you that missed the big announcement on Facebook, here it is again..

Our little baby T-Rex is due October 29th, so mark your calendars!

South Park Sherri

2010-04-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

I South Park'ed myself. Go to this website to make your own for free.

We had a lot of fun doing this at work :)

I looked out the window, and what did I see?

2010-03-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

This amazing sunrise!

And Mt. Rainier.

I mean seriously, I talk about how beautiful it is up in the Northwest, but how could you not have a good day after seeing this?

Big Changes in our Family

2010-03-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

Just so you all know...

Graham got BRACES yesterday!

He only got the top teeth done, but he has the brackets, wires and everything.

He still looks adorable (I mean, how could he NOT), but he says he feels really self-conscious. Hence, why I'm not putting a picture online... yet.

The Root of All Evil

2010-03-13T15:30:00.000-08:00

Ok, so we're not as bad off financially as we were a couple of months ago.. But things are still tight. We are trying to pay off debt as best we can so we can be prepared for our future. So, we feel bad about spending money on non-essentials, like an occasional dinner out or whatever.

We recently had a spat (not really an argument, more like a situation) about money. I don't think I told this story on my blog, but here goes the short version. In October, we went on a group trip to go ATVing in a local ATV park. We were using a friend's family's ATVs. Before the whole group got there, Graham's buddy Ryan talked him into going on a joy ride for 15 minutes. To make a really long story short and to spare you the painful details (it was a really BAD day that ended with me accidentally washing and drying Graham's BlackBerry and rendering it useless), 5 hours later, Graham's borrowed ATV was finally towed from the tree trunk in which it was stuck.

The guy was nice about the ATV and said perhaps Graham could work the money off for the repairs. It was really unfortunate since the ATV was defective in the first place. There were several reports of this certain model lacking reinforcement in the front end. I mean really, ATVs should be strong enough to bump off stuff! So, the guy wants us to pay him $3000 for the repair of the ATV...

Needless to say, that is money we definitely do NOT have...

Oh, and we just got a bill from our health insurance for $1500 worth of allergy shots... that uses up ALL of our deductible. Thanks allergist for explaining these things to us! We won't be referring anyone to your practice because your billing practices SUCK.

So, what do you do when you keep getting knocked down financially?

I just keep paying bills and thanking the Lord that we both have jobs..

Meatless Meals

2010-03-09T16:47:00.001-08:00

So, to try and make our home meals more healthy and economical, I've been trying meatless meals at least once a week. I use beans and hearty vegetables as the main attractions. Honestly, Graham hasn't even noticed or complained.. probably because most of the meals are delicious.

Anyways, Cooks Illustrated is my favorite website and they make the best cookbooks. I was looking through my "New Best Recipe" cookbook the other week, and saw a recipe for an asparagus pasta. I thought it sounded delicious, so I decided to try it.

Verdict: absolutely fabulous. The reduced Balsamic vinegar dripped over the top made it perfect! Also, I didn't have fresh basil, so I just used some dried basil (in small amounts), and it still tasted awesome. Graham took TWO huge helpings of the pasta. Oh, and feel free to substitute Parmesan for the Pecorino cheese. :)

So, I'm posting this recipe with the hope some of you may try it and revel in your vegetarian, almost vegan, dinner!

Campanelli with Asparagus, Basil, and Balsamic Glaze
Serves 4 to 6 as a main dish.
Campanelli is a frilly trumpet-shaped pasta. If you cannot find it, fusilli works well. Take care not to overreduce the vinegar, or it will become bitter.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 pound campanelli
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound asparagus , bottom 1 inch trimmed and discarded, spears halved lengthwise if larger than 1/2-inch in diameter and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 medium red onion , halved and sliced 1/8-inch thick (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup shaved Pecorino Romano

Instructions
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in stockpot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta, stir to separate, and cook until al dente. Drain and return to pot.
2. Just before putting pasta in boiling water, bring balsamic vinegar to boil in 8-inch skillet over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium and simmer slowly until syrupy and reduced to 1/4 cup, 15 to 20 minutes.
3. While pasta is cooking and balsamic is reducing, heat 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until beginning to smoke. Add asparagus, onion, black pepper, pepper flakes, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir to combine; cook, without stirring, until asparagus begins to brown, about 1 minute, then stir and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until asparagus is tender-crisp, about 4 minutes longer. Add asparagus mixture, basil, lemon juice, 1/2 cup Pecorino, and remaining 3 tablespoons oil to pasta in stockpot; toss to combine. Serve immediately, drizzling 1 to 2 teaspoons balsamic glaze over individual servings and passing remaining 1/2 cup Pecorino separately.

Dream Sherri is a Jerk

2010-03-08T17:16:00.000-08:00

So, Graham and I don't actually "fight" much in real life, but apparently we do a lot in Graham's dreams..

He often dreams I am either 1) a slut, or 2) a jerk.

Example from last night's dream:

Graham was calling my cell phone and my high school boyfriend, Brett, answered the phone (whom Graham inherently hates). Come to find out, I hired a bum who sounded like Brett to play a trick on Graham.

Graham quickly forgave me and then we "made up".

Now I just wonder.. are these his subconscious fears or what?

Halle-freakin-lujah

2010-02-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

Graham finally got a permanent job!

Almost a year since his last permanent job, he got a job in the mall, working in a kiosk.. He starts tomorrow.

He'll be working part-time, evenings and weekends.. With a base pay and commission, it's the perfect part-time job with school.

Seriously, thank the Lord!!!

New Ingredients

2010-02-18T17:05:00.000-08:00

I may not get into cooking ruts, but I do tend to use the same ingredients over and over, like cilantro, parsley, chicken, lemon, etc..

So, I decided to be adventurous and try something new in my cooking. This month I tried tarragon and short ribs.

The Verdict

Tarragon: Beautiful herb, but not to my taste. It has that "black licorice" flavor, kind of like fennel. YUCK. I just don't like that flavor profile AT ALL. I used it in a creamy sauce for chicken.

Short Ribs: I freaking worked my butt off all day to get these puppies tender. The day before Valentine's Day, I roasted the ribs, braised them with aromatics in a red wine sauce, strained the cooking liquid, and refrigerated them overnight to be able to skim the congealed fat off the top of the liquid. On Valentine's Day, I sauteed some bacon, parsnips, and pearl onions and added the cooking liquid and the short ribs to re-heat. Was the cooking marathon worth it? Absolutely. When placed over a potato puree, it was heaven on a Waterford china plate. I can't say exactly what Graham said, but I'll have you know, these ribs were damn good. Simply said.

My next mission: Collard greens.

My Life is a Mormonad

2010-02-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

Graham and I have been practicing singing for the past couple of weeks.. I mean, he is the primary CHORISTER and all..

Anyways, I've been trying to learn how to sing alto parts, because my voice is a bit lower and it's easier for me. Graham told me I'd probably do better as an alto, but that he likes the way our voices harmonize together when I sing soprano and when he sings tenor in the LDS hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour".

We started singing "I Need Thee Every Hour" while getting into bed, pulling out our Book of Mormon while we harmonized together. Graham then said, "ok we need to stop singing or I'm going to get sick from our cheesiness."

Not a joiner

2010-02-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

I've had many titles in my life, including:
1) Cheerleader
2) Slut (see #1)
3) Nerd
4) Man stealer
5) Jokester
6) Best backspot (see #1)

Among many others...

But never the title of "joiner". What do I mean by this?

My mom always complained when my sister and I were older that we were not "joiners". We didn't try to hang out with other people all the time. We didn't go to parties. We didn't join in any reindeer games..

I am perfectly content being by myself, mostly.. In Portland, I became perfectly comfortable with seeing movies by myself. I would go to bars with grad school friends and be the only non-drinker there and feel ok about it. I don't feel the need to constantly talk to people and be the center of attention in groups. I am ok with listening to other people talk and say something when I have something important to say.

Even when I was young I was like that. It's not that I was shy. I just didn't enjoy other people's company all the time. Sometimes in elementary school when I'd get invited to sleep over at a semi-friend's house, I'd pretend to ask my mom and tell the semi-friend my mom said no. I never had a large circle of friends.. just a few close ones.

If I had been a "joiner", my life definitely would have been different. First of all, I would've been a drinker and your stereotypical ho-bag cheerleader. I would not have attended BYU, and who knows if I would have graduated college. Marriage? Maybe later, after I popped out a kid or two.

So, mom... I think my life turned out alright huh?

And no, I'll never be a joiner.

My Little Bubble Boy

2010-01-26T16:59:00.000-08:00

Graham's family knows how allergic Graham is to everything, and I've told the story about Graham getting hives from a used basketball jersey last year...

But Graham's recent allergy experiences really are almost too much to take..

First though.. Let's take it back a bit, to February/March of 2008 when we were first married.
--Graham decided to get a Snicker's bar and he ate it before dinner. Graham wasn't allergic to peanuts, so he figured it was ok even though it may have some tree nuts in the bar according to the package. When he found a hive on his hip about 30 minutes later.. he started FREAKING out..

He literally tore all of his clothes off and was pacing around the house.

Imagine my face.. "Um, honey.. Why are your clothes off?"
Graham: "I don't know. I'm itchy!"
Me: "Are you going to shower?"
Graham: "I don't know!"
Me: "Well dinner is ready and getting cold... Do you mind if I eat now?"

Graham proceeded to take his plate of food and sat on the couch, naked, and started eating dinner. Me: "Um, what do you think you're doing? That's nasty. Put some clothes on!"

Obviously, Graham goes nuts (nice pun eh?) when he gets a hive, and I don't have any sympathy for allergies or hives.

Graham stopped going to the allergist in Portland when we met for an unknown reason.. But he found one up here and got all of his tests done again in November. Let me list his allergies:

trees

grass

tomatoes

watermelons

honeydew melons

cantaloupe

cherries

celery

cabbage

corn

apples

apricots

peaches

nectarines

green beans

shellfish (including shrimp)

all nuts (including peanuts), except walnuts and macadamia nuts

soy

milk

oats

barley

wheat

flax

mustard

I believe that's the whole list. And no, I'm not making that up. An allergy to healthy food. The allergist partly blamed it on me because I made Graham all healthy and made him eat whole grains and fruits/vegetables. We don't take all of the allergies seriously, like the wheat one (but I don't buy whole wheat bread anymore), but Graham stopped eating fresh apples and milk, and his headaches have all but disappeared.

But he has had an incident lately. His allergies give him severe sinus infections, with severe congestion. He took some antibiotics in December, but the infection is back in full force..

Anyways, Graham came home from church basketball the other night with a crazy story.. Why is it the crazy stuff always happens at church ball games?

Graham and another kid were going up for a rebound or something, and the other kid came down on Graham's right side of his face with his elbow.. HARD. Graham fell to the floor and almost blacked out. He felt a crackling noise in his nose and felt fluid pouring out of his nose.

He assumed his nose was broken and that it was bleeding profusely all over his face, shirt, and gym floor. When he opened his eyes and wiped his nose, the color was orange/yellow, kind of the color of Mountain Dew...

His sinus emptied out on the floor!! He said it took 3 paper towels to soak it up..

And man, have I been obsessed with trying to clear out his OTHER sinus (his left side). I keep trying to karate chop his left eye/nose area to.. you know.. "help him out". But Graham won't let me do it for some reason...

Might as well..

2010-01-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the cat is somewhat out of the bag with this secret we’ve been keeping.. My family unfortunately found out, and now I’m just going to announce it.. (Sorry Graham’s family if you’re finding out here. It’s kind of an awkward thing to tell someone out loud.) I haven’t even told Graham I’m announcing it. Ooops.

We’re trying to have a baby.

There.. I said it.

Anyways, last March (yeah.. that long ago), we received personal revelation that we should start trying to have a baby. We originally were planning on waiting until December of ’09, so it was a bit of a surprise to get that strong of an impression. We talked it over and prayed about it. I can’t even describe what a spiritual moment it was in our house. I get tears just thinking about it..

I didn’t want to tell people at all because I didn’t want people (especially my family) to ask me questions I didn’t have the answers to (e.g. how are you going to manage a full-time job and a baby, or how is Graham going to help with bills while he’s going to school full-time?), or telling me we should wait. Personal revelation is just that—personal. I’d never felt more right about anything, except maybe to marry Graham. That’s why I felt like keeping a secret from everybody.

Anyways, we’ve had some ups and downs during this whole process. 3 doctor’s visits and 1 early miscarriage later, I’ve gotten so downhearted it’s been hard to feel happy for other people and their pregnancies. I never thought it would be so hard. I just thought it’d happen within a month and POOF, I’m pregnant. I get so jealous when I see people's pictures of their cute little kids and just wonder when it's going to happen to us..

On Monday, finding out I was not pregnant had to be one of the hardest nights of my life. No, it wasn’t a miscarriage or anything like that.. I just assumed I was pregnant after trying for what feels like forever. I cried inconsolably for hours. Poor Graham was trying to say the right things, but he only made me angrier. I was losing my faith. We have been doing all of the right things: praying, paying tithing, studying scriptures, serving faithfully in our callings, etc. Plus, Graham has been having a hard time finding a job in this crappy little town, and it only made it worse. I kept saying, “when is it going to be enough?”, “I don’t know how much more I can take!”, and my personal favorite (which I can laugh about now), “Well I don’t want a baby if it doesn’t want me!”.

I just really felt the need to express my feelings, because I have been struggling over the pas few days. Oh, and my grandpa is dying... Just to add one more difficult thing to my life…

Really sir?

2010-01-14T16:51:00.000-08:00

I can't go into much detail about this one due to HIPAA and everything, but this experience was a first at this hospital...

A patient hit on me.

No, not an 85 year-old blind man, but a 41 year-old man with some serious problems.

Does that count as a compliment?

The dog with 9 lives

2010-01-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

So, my last post directed at private bloggers was a bust.. Thank you Mallory for being the only respondent.

Ok, so funny story.. I have been saving this for a long time since our camera wasn't working..

I have a stuffed husky dog from 2000 when the cheer team I coached for (the "Huskies") gave me one in appreciation for my 4 years of coaching. I've always kept this dog on my bed as kind of a neck pillow of sorts. I had it in college, and yes, I still use it as a married woman. It supports my head quite nicely.

However, Graham hates my dog. HATES it. Let me demonstrate his hatred...
The 2 other death scenes not pictured included a "roasted dog on a spit" scene in our fireplace, and a worried phone call from Graham about our vacuum being broken, but it was my dog who was cruelly stuffed into the vacuum bag area.

My dog is STILL alive though.. I just need to clean him from his time spent in the vacuum. I have since adapted to sleeping with a beanbag mini football (Graham's idea), which broke open in our bed, and now nothing...

I miss my Husky.

I guess all I have to do is wash him.

Private Blogs

2010-01-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

I'm going to go out on a limb here...

If you are reading my blog regularly, and you have a private blog.. I would appreciate the reciprocation and be able to read yours regularly as well.

It annoys me when I see which people are clicking from which sites, and I don't have access to them. What if you're trashing my blog?! Just kidding.. I don't write anything interesting enough for people to talk trash about me. But seriously though, my curiosity has been piqued and I want to read your private blog!! I mean, we somehow are connected enough for you to read about my life, so let's make it official..

So, if you're willing to extend a branch of bloggership, please send an invite to your private blog to sher (dot) fech (at) gmail (dot) com.

Happy new year?... No such thing

2010-01-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

Seinfeld anyone?

Well, Graham and I had an eventful night last night.. We chaperoned a youth church activity from 7-9:30 at the ice skating rink. I finally talked Graham into ice skating with me after the activity was almost over. Disappointingly, he did not fall. We went to bed around 10:30 and only woke up at midnight from our neighbors' obnoxious fireworks outside.

Obviously, I hate New Years Eve. It's not a real holiday.

Anyways, here are some of our family's highlights from 2009:

--I learned how to swallow pills.
--I confessed to my addictions.
--Graham and I survived our health problems.
--I had a bad experience with fish.
--I encountered a mystery at my work.
--We took some road trips.
--I had an unfortunate misunderstanding at work.
--Graham got what he deserved for losing something special.
--I purchased a car for the first time.
--I got a wake up call.
--I agonized over stupid baby names.
--We celebrated Graham's 24th birthday.
--I learned that life is not perfect.
--Graham is going to get a good education.
--I proved that I need to wear a helmet.

Wish you all the best of luck over the next year.. and please Lord, do not make 2010 any worse than 2009....

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

We're enjoying our time here in sunny Folsom, CA..

We wish you all happy holidays!

Oh, and we celebrated our 2nd anniversary on Monday..

Flashback to our Portland reception on January of 2008..

I like this one because it looks like I'm rockin out..

What do the holidays mean to you?

2009-12-18T16:40:00.001-08:00

I've said before that our finances have been pretty tight living off my salary alone.. We just DON'T have extra money floating around. We had to buy a new set of tires for the XTerra, which unfortunately were not cheap, and Graham's student loans haven't come through yet for last quarter. We had to take out money from his 401K to pay for his tuition last quarter. Graham DID get a job, but we don't know when his first paycheck will arrive.

It's been rough with so many events this month: my birthday, our anniversary, my dad's birthday, my nephew's birthday, a baby shower, a wedding, etc... I coud literally spend half of my paycheck on other people. So, this has been our plan for the holidays this year: prioritize gift giving (sorry friends who got married over the summer--your invitations are still on our fridge with the hope of buying you something someday.. Tyler.. this means you), buy my birthday gift late, celebrate our 2nd anniversary when our tax refund hopefully comes next year, buy small gifts only for the other people in our life, and perhaps celebrating Christmas in a different way.

And faced with a giftless Christmas, I started feeling really down and I started investigating exactly WHY the thought of no gifts depresses me.

Buying something I know someone wants brings me joy. Not being able to afford anything brings me sadness.

The holidays are about giving.. Does it have to mean giving gifts?

Maybe it's about spending time with family and giving your time to be with them.

Maybe it's about appreciating what you have and not agonizing over the things you don't have. I guess it could be about giving thanks..

I guess this year, Christmas is all about hope. When Christ was born, people all around the world could feel the hope that His birth would somehow change the world..

I can feel hope for the future, but it's just hard right now.

Old

2009-12-12T14:52:00.000-08:00

I don't know why, but this birthday really really makes me feel old.

27

I feel ancient!!

Oh, and thanks if you wished me a happy birthday. I definitely felt loved.

I feel like an idiot

2009-12-03T11:17:00.000-08:00

So yesterday, I was in the public bathroom innocently bending over to pick up some papers, when

WHAMMMM

I slammed my head into the tampon/pad metal box on the wall while standing back up at full force

I literally saw stars and thought I was going to black out

I have a massive bump on my head to prove it

Oh, and there were 2 witnesses to my stupidity

One can only hope I get some kind of compensation from Workers' Comp... Or at least a helmet.

Thanks

2009-11-27T13:56:00.000-08:00

Since I haven't done one of these posts before, I'll just give you a list of things I'm thankful for.. even though it's late:

1) Graham

2) Family

3) Pointy-toed shoes

4) Drew-fit pants at The Limited

5) Santitas and Pace salsa

6) Super Wal-Mart prices

7) Jeans

8) Career and education

9) Down comforters

10) Comcast DVR

11) Wusthof knives

12) Umbrellas

13) iPod car adaptor

14) The calendar feature on my phone

15) The movie "Elf"

16) Piano music

17) Fridays

18) Sun

19) Clicky pens

20) Christmas decorations

Happy holidays everyone

Even More Good News

2009-11-10T12:06:00.000-08:00

Due to one of my co-worker's resignation.. I will no longer work weekends!! I mean, she'll be missed and all, but this is a huge plus.

I will only be working on weekends if my other co-workers cannot work their scheduled Saturday/Sunday shifts.

Hallelujah!!

Although this now means I have no excuse for not going to church every week...

Good News

2009-11-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

I have good news ladies and gentleman...

When I called to tell my parents, the first thing my dad asked, "You're expecting?!"

No.. that's not it.

Anyways, I've been stressing a little because of Graham's school situation. He attends a junior college that has a bachelor's program in engineering, but the program is crappy, non-accredited, and poorly planned. Because of limited class options, it would take him another 5 years to get his degree. So, we've been looking everywhere in WA for engineering programs, since we're residents now.

Washington State in Pullman... good program, no jobs for me.

University of Washington in Seattle.. ok program, job availability, expensive cost of living..

Washington state in Vancouver... good program, low cost of living, better job availability with thr proximity to POrtland and all..

So we were thinking, Vancouver is cheaper to live at, closer to family, etc.. One catch.. Actually 2... I'd have to find a job down there, preferably in WA to avoid state income taxes. Then, I'd have to find a job AGAIN in our town after Graham gets done with his school because Graham wants to get a guaranteed job out of college with a government agency. So... that would be taking a risk there..

But we just found out this week that Washington State is bringing their bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering to our little junior college because of the high demand for engineers in the area, and because we're an underserved population.

So.. we'll be here permanently for at least 6-10 more years. Maybe it's not so good news after all when I put it like that...

Addiction

2009-10-31T16:24:00.001-07:00

I don't even know what to blog about anymore. I barely blog, so I can't write about all of the stupid little things that happen to me that are funny.. which is what I like to write about.

Anyways, I'm going to blog about addiction. There are so many things out there that can cause addiction, and I recently realized I had a problem.

I have one. I am a recovering shopaholic.

It's taken me a long time to realize this. At BYU, I would shop weekly at Nordstrom and Banana Republic. I bought purses, sunglasses, outfits, designer jeans, and pointy-toed shoes. It helped fill the void in my life and made me feel better about myself. I would compare myself to other girls and think, well, at least I'm wearing expensive jeans. I would hit a major low when I actually would go shopping to find something specific and not be able to find a single clothing item. I would geta new outfit for all kinds of occasions, first date, first makeout, birthday, Easter, etc. When I moved to Portland, I started to like even more expensive clothes like BCBG.

Then, I met Graham and that void was filled... But the desire to shop has never gone away. I used to enjoy window shopping, but that just increased the size of the list of things I want in my head. I used to get emails from all of my favorite stores, like BR, JCrew, Macys, Nordstrom, etc, but it only made it worse.

So now, since we're strapped for cash.. I just have to suck it up and not shop or even look at clothes online. It has been really hard for me to deal with this addiction. But, when I look at my bills, it makes it just a little bit easier for me to overcome...

Piglet

2009-10-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in a while, but our lives seem so to be a comedy of errors lately, where everything that can go wrong WILL go wrong..

Graham has a confirmed case of swine flu.. And he's down for the count for a couple of days..

We're still waiting to see if my immune system succombs to the mighty swine flu...

Back from the dead

2009-10-03T13:13:00.001-07:00

I swear, we're still alive.

We don't have internet at our house anymore--we sold that stupid ClearWire contract--and I can't log in at work (Big Brother is watching), so I am so behind in everything. I apologize if I haven't read any of your blogs lately, or even called you. Life has been a little crazy around here.

But anyways, thanks to you all for your support. Graham and I are doing well and are learning something new every day about ourselves, as cheesy as that sounds. Marriage isn't easy, I'm learning.. Oh, and we aren't perfect. Another tough thing to learn. Why is it ingrained in my head that I need to put forward a happy face 24/7 and say that everything is perfect?

So yeah, work sucks--I was supposed to work 4 weekends this month, but my co-workers took pity on me and took one of my weekends.

Church is busy.. when I can actually go.

I also had a traumatizing experience recently that I'm not ready to talk about, but I will in time..

Yeah. That's my life.

What I'm Really Made of

2009-09-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

So...

As some of you may remember, Graham and I have been having some problems with money lately.. There just never seems to be enough!

Anyways, besides that.. and partly because of that.. Graham and I have been treading through some troubled waters lately. I'm not here to air our dirty laundry, but I feel like being honest and completely real.

Honestly, our marriage is not perfect, even though I often thought it was.

Life is not about skating through it without any trials.

Don't worry... We are not separating, even temporarily, but I'm not gonna lie.. It's been rough. My life has been relatively easy until now. Marital troubles are so much more intense than anything else.

Before this, I believed I was weak, spoiled, lazy, unforgiving.. nothing too impressive.

But going through this has opened my eyes as to what I can achieve and who I can be.. I am so much more than I thought. I am faithful, loyal, supportive, and forgiving. I do not wallow in self-pity. I look forward to the future, full of hope.

Our marriage is getting stronger everyday.. thanks to our strong bond and temple marriage. The gopsel of Jesus Christ is true and can lift you up even from your deepest lows.

Just wanted to be open and honest about what's really going on in my life.

Pictures

2009-08-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

I have a few from our recent camping trip and my brother's family's visit.. So here they are for your viewing pleasure.. Sorry, they're totally in random order.

Me and the kids at Woodland Zoo in North Seattle. It was my favorite exhibit--penguins.

Our little tiny canoe on the Hood Canal.. I think we exceeded the weight limit

We found a dead crab and of course we had to put it on somebody.

Life jackets are SO flattering

Graham actually looks like a guy in our ward in this outfit

Nice peace sign Sherri

How many Eagle Scouts does it take to light a fire?
"What do you mean we're out of morning wood?"

The sunset--one of my favorite views.
I'm supervising the boys skipping rocks

The water we decided to cross by canoe.. not our smartest decision

Anyways, I have a ton of pictures on my camera just waiting to be blogged about.. so eventually, we'll make it to Best Buy and get a freaking USB cord and make it all better.

Wow, 3 blogs in 2 days... That's impressive for me.

Haircut

2009-08-20T22:46:00.000-07:00

I need one so bad. Seriously guys. I probably spend half of my day picking at split ends.

I'm thinking of getting a cut and color.. maybe like this?

This is what I'm thinking:
--dark hair
--shoulder, maybe above the shoulder, length
--side bangs

Or is it back to highlights like these (please disregard the bangs)

I'm hoping to get a haircut next week.. Hallelujah!!

Single Again

2009-08-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

So, Graham is gone for 4 days... 4 days!!! He's down at WashJam, a state-wide scouting jamboree. So, I have reverted back to the single life for 4 days.

1) No planned meals. I literally bought canned/frozen food for my dinners. I plan on eating cream of potato soup, frozen bagel bites, and popsicles for dinner (just not all together).
2) TV, computer, and books--no limit to the time spent on any of these activities.
3) Chores.. How is it that I actually FEEL like putting my clothes away when Graham is gone?
4) Major couch time.. I think I might even sleep out there.
5) Girl's Night.. No matter how cheesy that is. Some friends' husbands are also going to WashJam, so we are planning a "GNO". The husbands were laughing because of how seriously we were taking this. All of us are planning on getting pedicures together, bringing something to eat, and watching a chick flick. It's my first one as a married girl. Probably because I hate the term "GNO".

Anyways, I have no idea what to do with myself. I'm like all over the place. The TV is on out on the family room because I need some kind of noise in the house. I also started cleaning, and unfortunately discovered something nasty Graham left behind for me. He left a styrofoam holder in our office that had a little bit of biscuits and gravy left over from Sunday. It LITERALLY smelled like cat pee, poo, and vomit all mixed together. BLECH! Plus, some got on my hands when I threw it out.

I think I'll go back to my lonely TV now and maybe read a book.

A little peek

2009-08-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

I haven't really been writing about the things we've been doing for the past couple of months. It's been quite busy lately, with weddings, working weekends, holidays, and vacations. So, I'll give you all a little update on what we've been up to. Again, I'd like to add pictures, but we still haven't replaced our camera cord.

--July 4th in Portland and Camas, WA. We camped out at his aunt and uncle's house's front yard and enjoyed a laid back day before the fireworks at night. I did some flips on the family's trampoline to try to remember what it was like to be active. We ended our family reunion on Sunday at church with our own little testimony meeting and family pictures.
--My brother Craig and his family came up to visit us 2 weeks later up here in Brem Brem. Joanna and I went to the zoo while Craig and Graham proved their manliness hiking a big mountain in the Olympics. We took the ferry a couple of times across Puget Sound, where the kids had the time of their lives apparently with the wind in their faces and everything. It was too funny and too cute. I wish I'd had my camera. We went to Pike Place Market, which is a terrible place for a double stroller, the flagship Nordstrom store in downtown Seattle, and took the monorail to the Space Needle. We didn't end up going up, but it was ok just the same. The day after their family went back to CA, Braden, my nephew, asked his mom, "We go boat today? We go space needle?" So cute!
--Graham's cousin, Tyler, got married in Portland the next week.. to my sister's old roommate, America. I love weddings, so it was a fun day. It was a hot day outside, very hot, but fun. Also, we had some drama because Tyler didn't pick out a tux shirt for Graham, so he didn't have the correct shirt for some of the pictures. Why do these kind of things ALWAYS happen to us?
--We moved over the next couple of days to our new condo.. Same complex, same layout, and top floor with vaulted ceilings. Pretty sweet. Our landlord even let us paint our accent wall a matching green color. I love it. Oh, and FYI, don't let Young Men in your ward help you move. It's cheap help, but not good quality. Oh, and we spent about 7 hours cleaning our old place, making sure it was spotless.. And then we found out our old landlord was just going to let the place foreclose, so she didn't even care what it looked like. So we spent all that time cleaning when we could've been unpacking! Argh! Plus, our new condo's bathroom was disgustingly dirty when we moved in. Nice.
--The next day after we moved, we went camping with some buddies to celebrate Graham's 24th birthday. We went to a camping site near us, located on the Hood Canal. We had a blast. We played in the water Friday night during the sunset, and then we came back the next day to paddle in a friend's kayak and canoe to the other side of the water. I didn't paddle or anything, but let me tell you.. it was a long way back.'
--Monday evening I got home from work and discovered a piece of mail from US Bank saying we were negative $1300 in our account. Come to find out, they LOST a check that we had deposited a week and a half before, and never notified us. This was also the check that we'd been waiting for for months--the check from Graham's old boss. So, fast forward to 4 stressful days later... They tried to charge us for over $800 in overdraft fees for THEIR mistake. But, it has all been worked out, and we now are positive $1100 in our account. We will soon be switching our account to a credit union in the area.

So anyways, we're all moved in, mostly unpacked, and still getting used to the new place. Life is good, for the time being..

Yuck

2009-08-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so our hospital has a public website where you can see the babies born there.. and you can also see their names.

As many of you know, I've complained about the white trash-ness of my town, and some of these names just prove it..

My Top 10:

10) Kholeen (for some reason, this reminds me of colon)
9) Nefertiti (you know this girl will be called "titty" for the rest of her life)
8) Ja'leah (does the apostrophe make it special?)
7) Karlchen (wtf?)
6) Fuscia (the poor parents can't even spell Fuschia correctly)
5) Gryphon (fancy spelling for a mythological lion/eagle creature)
4) Jaxon and Jaxsyn (future porn stars or dancers)
3) Apple'lee (the restaurant where the baby was conceived)

My Top 2 (and these happen to be twins):
2) Hyaleigh Aliyyah (seriously so blessed)
1) Aqaylah Breaze (no words... no words)

Seriously, yikes.. Shouldn't potential parents be screened before they bring a child into this world?

So, yeah

2009-08-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry. I haven't blogged in a while. Woops.

Anyways, I am freaking pissed off right now.

US Bank is the worst bank EVER.

That's all I'm going to say.

Thanks for the hmmmmmm... compliment

2009-07-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

I received this message as part of the third friend request from this weirdo on facebook:

"your face is really beautiful. but your body is hmmmmmm..i dont know:)i think thats why men dont interested in you....."

So I replied.. "Hey creeper.. why don't you find someone else to stalk.. Oh, and my husband thinks you're hilarious."

Nice.

Ode to George Orwell's "1984"

2009-07-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

I got in "trouble" at work for using the Internet for non-work related things (i.e. Pottery Barn, West Elm, FoodNetwork, etc).

I received a list of all the websites I'd looked at in a week... It had to equal about 100 pages.

So beware everyone...

Big brother is watching you!!

Do you think I'm judgmental?

2009-07-13T12:40:00.001-07:00

That's just a rhetorical question for you all, because I know I am..

Here's what brought that thought to my mind lately:

--There's a Toyota Prius (definitely a "smug" person) that parks in the hospital parking lot near me. The license plate frame says (their words, not mine): "Under God, My Ass". The first thing I thought was, "Man this guy is going to hell."

--I was on facebook, looking at some random friend's profile, when I saw some chick from high school had commented on a picture. I immediately thought, "Ugh you slut [meaning the girl]."

Is being judgmental necessarily a BAD thing?

Google

2009-07-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

Do you ever google yourself? And no, that's not an innuendo in any way.

I was very happy to find that I am now un-findable on the internet. With my new blah married name, I am nearly incognito when you google search me. If you knew my maiden name, which some of you do, you'd be able to find me much easier.

True, you can find me easily on facebook and myspace... but those don't reveal the true me.

So, I could almost say whatever I want on this blog. Almost. But I won't. Anyways, totally random.

Btw, I'm trying to keep this light. I just found out my grandpa has metstatic cancer, with mets to his kidney, liver, and pancreas... and I've been really sad about it... Especially since I see those kinds of patients every day at the hospital. But, you could go to my sister's blog to read about it if you'd like.

New Car

2009-07-03T12:46:00.001-07:00

Before you say anything, like how irresponsible you think we are, or how you hate European cars..

Our new car has:

--The same payments as the old car

--Turbo engine

--A good CarFax report

--Great mileage

--6-CD changer and a spot for an iPod jack

--New tires

--Sex appeal :)

Anyways, yes.. I bought my first car. It's not Graham's, since my name is the only one on the loan.. but he mostly drives it. It's kind of a long story, but we decided to trade in the Chevy Malibu.. or should I say "Mal B". It was a sinking ship, and we wanted out... fast.

So, our friend hooked us up with a dealer in Port Orchard (Grey Chevrolet for anybody that wants to know). They were good, not slimy at all, and dealt efficiently with our purchase. I am VERY happy with my "new" 2005 Saab. Woohoo!

And please, no judgmental comments. That means YOU mom.