The "Belly Shots"

Well it's been a while since I have logged on to the ole Blogger account. Lo siento mucho. I am not assuming that anyone is just dying of anticipation but I am posting some belly picks anyway. Feast your eyes my friends!

Week 15

 Week 16

This sucker came out of nowhere; one day I looked like a Victoria Secret bathing suite model and the next day I get this! I can't wait for the day that I wake up and see that my nose has expanded to the size of basketball. Don't worry, I'm sure you will see before and afters of that too!

Thankfully, I am still feeling great. I'm still sleeping, working out and eating like I normally do so not much has changed in that department. We find out the sex of the bambino on Friday, March 16 so I'll be sure to post the big news.

Who Knew?!

So we ended up getting ANOTHER composter! Remember this one that Tyler made for me last year? Well it just didn't get hot enough in there so we decided to salvage the wood and purchase our third composter. Yes, you heard me, third. The first one was from Overstock and ended up being a waste of money.

So on to numero tres.

Via

I found one like this guy at Costco and it has been amazing so far! Mine is green so it blends in a bit better than this black beast. So far it's our favorite of the 3 and I think it will hold up for a good many years.

Now on to the point of this whole story. There are sooo many things that you can compost. I had no idea that a ton of the stuff I was throwing away could be turned into great garden soil. Hello??? I could be saving a ton of money on soil AND helping the environment!

Here are just a few thanks to planetgreen.com:

From the Kitchen

1. Coffee grounds and filters
2. Tea bags
3. Used paper napkins
4. Pizza boxes, ripped into smaller pieces
5. Paper bags, either ripped or balled up
6. The crumbs you sweep off of the counters and floors
7. Plain cooked pasta
8. Plain cooked rice
9. Stale bread
10. Paper towel rolls
11. Stale saltine crackers
12. Stale cereal
13. Used paper plates (as long as they don't have a waxy coating)
14. Cellophane bags (be sure it's really Cellophane and not just clear plastic—there's a difference.)
15. Nut shells (except for walnut shells, which can be toxic to plants)
16. Old herbs and spices
17. Stale pretzels
18. Pizza crusts
19. Cereal boxes (tear them into smaller pieces first)
20. Wine corks
21. Moldy cheese
22. Melted ice cream
23. Old jelly, jam, or preserves
24. Stale beer and wine
25. Paper egg cartons
26. Toothpicks
27. Bamboo skewers
28. Paper cupcake or muffin cups

From the Bathroom

29. Used facial tissues
30. Hair from your hairbrush
31. Toilet paper rolls
32. Old loofahs
33. Nail clippings
34. Urine
35. 100% Cotton cotton balls
36. Cotton swabs made from 100% cotton and cardboard (not plastic) sticks

Personal Items

It might be a good idea to bury these items in your pile. Just sayin'.

37. Cardboard tampon applicators
38. Latex condoms

From the Laundry Room

39. Dryer lint
40. Old/stained cotton clothing—rip or cut it into smaller pieces
41. Old wool clothing—rip or cut it into smaller pieces

From the Office

42. Bills and other documents you've shredded
43. Envelopes (minus the plastic window)
44. Pencil shavings
45. Sticky notes
46. Business cards (as long as they're not glossy)
47. Receipts

Around the House

48. Contents of your vacuum cleaner bag or canister
49. Newspapers (shredded or torn into smaller pieces)
50. Subscription cards from magazines
51. Leaves trimmed from houseplants
52. Dead houseplants and their soil
53. Flowers from floral arrangements
54. Natural potpourri
55. Used matches
56. Ashes from the fireplace, barbecue grill, or outdoor fire pit

Party and Holiday Supplies

57. Wrapping paper rolls
58. Paper table cloths
59. Crepe paper streamers
60. Latex balloons
61. Raffia
62. Excelsior
63. Jack o' Lanterns
64. Those hay bales you used as part of your outdoor fall decor
65. Natural holiday wreaths
66. Your Christmas tree. Chop it up with some pruners first (or use a wood chipper, if you have one...)
67. Evergreen garlands

Pet-Related

68. Fur from the dog or cat brush
69. Droppings and bedding from your rabbit/gerbil/hamsters, etc.
70. Newspaper/droppings from the bottom of the bird cage
71. Feathers
72. Alfalfa hay or pellets (usually fed to rabbits)
73. Rawhide dog chews
74. Fish food
75. Dry dog or cat food

In other news, the baby is the size of an olive, the turnips in my garden look AMAZING, my carrots do not, and I have a whopping ONE broccoli plant that looks decent!

Our Newest Project

Well Tyler and I have a big project underway and I don't see it being completed until about August 15!

Yep, that's right, we have a bun in the oven! We actually think it looks more like a gummie bear in this picture but whatever!

I have been feeling GREAT so far with no morning sickness at all. I yawn a bit more than usual but haven't needed any naps and still feel good enough to exercise as usual. I am soooo thankful for that!

As far as cravings go, I don't really like the word cravings because, heck, I have always had some kind of craving. I choose to call it preferences. I currently prefer fruit over chocolate (shocking!) and vegetarian options over meat. Nothing makes me gag or anything like that, I just gravitate towards different things these days.

Let's see... what else....ah yes. Not being able to takes baths is not awesome and this whole "you can't eat deli meat" thing has drastically slashed my lunch options. Not being able to drink has actually not bothered me because I make sure to drink something "special" whenever we go out. I have also discovered some GREAT cooked sushi options thanks to my more experienced friends. All in all things have been pretty easy. We are so pumped about all this and just so thankful for how easy it has been so far.

Oh yeah, we also purchased a new rug for the den and Tyler built me a new fence since I ran my car into the old one, but those projects aren't quite as glamorous as building a human!

Over and out!

A Semi-Homemade Christmas

Well I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! As grinchy as it sounds,  I LOVE the holidays but I always love taking the decorations down just as much. I think just getting back to normal is as much of a Christmas gift as any other for me!

Tyler and I ended up going to his parent's church for the Christmas Eve service just as we do every year then heading to my parent's house for dinner. Then we woke up bright and early on Christmas morn (about 4:30 am for Tyler) and headed to Tyler's parent's house with homemade cinnamon rolls in hand. After the Caldwell food and gift fest we headed to my parent's house for round 2. We were home by about 3:00 pm to veg out and play with our toys!

On to the gifts..... My Dad decided to challenge me with doing only homemade Christmas gifts for him and my mom this year. Oh how the creative juices started flowing at the thought, okay not really, I was stumped for a while!
Although the challenge seemed daunting with only a few weeks until Christmas, Tyler and I embraced it and we ended up making 7 gifts either completely homemade or at least semi-homemade!

Here is the low-down:

• 2 button down shirts with monogrammed cuff. Obviously I didn't make the shirts but I did monogram the cuffs.
• 1 collapsible picnic basket with monogram. Again, I only monogrammed.
• 2 cheese boards by Tyler

• 1- 8 x 10 inch Red Oak picture frame by Tyler.

• 1 purse/day bag made by me.

I can't tell you much more rewarding gift giving can be when you but a little more thought into it. I hope that we have the time and energy to do even more next year!

Happy New Year!!!

Guestroom Update

Well we have finally found a hot minute or two to do some updates on the house. Nothing extreme, just a few little things that I have been meaning to get to lately.

One such thing is the bed skirt from my childhood bed that is about 4 inches too short for our guest room bed. Nice....

You can't fully appreciate the horror in this picture but it was all I had. Nothing like a too short, ruffled, white on white bed skirt to perk up a room!

Anyway, my kind and patient friend Blair devoted 3 hours of her Saturday morning to help me tackle the project of making a box pleated bed skirt to replace the old one. She has made a few in her day so she made it look so easy. In truth, it was not too hard and MUCH cheaper than buying a custom made one for my taller than normal bed.

Ta daa....the finished product!

Not perfect but for my first try and only $35 total I would say I did alright! Thanks for all the help Blair!!

Black Friday for Winners

I must brag for a moment. Who am I kidding, I brag all over this blog! Back to the point, I am GOOD at Black Friday. I hadn't planned on doing any shopping on Friday but 9:00 a.m. came around and I got bored. Disclaimer: I am an early riser so boredom at 9:00 a.m. is normal. Now I can't tell you about everything that I bought because some are Christmas gifts but I'll share what I can!

First stop: Jos A Bank
Huge sale! I purchased $377 worth of stuff for a mere $100!! Today they are having yet another huge sale and EVERYTHING is 50% off so get it while you can!

Second stop: Best Buy

That place was a mad house and if I was in the market for a TV bigger than my master bathroom I probably could have saved more but that was just not in my cards. I did however need a TV small enough to fit underneath my kitchen cabinets so I found this bad boy.

I also needed a new SD card since Tyler accidentally gave the other one away somehow. Don't ask!

I didn't save as much as I would have liked but beggars can't be choosers when only 1 TV in stock would fit the dimensions I had. I ended up getting $175 worth of stuff for $143, not my best.

Third stop: Southern Homes and Gardens

Don't get too excited, I need poinsettias and they had some beautiful ones for 20% off. $18 worth for about $14.40. They look nice on my mantel so who cares.

Fourth and final Stop: Dick's Sporting Goods

These are my favorite running shorts and they had them for 50% off. Not too shabby; so I snagged 2 pairs and when I got to the register they gave me another $15 off! That is $64 worth of shorts to help me get skinny for only $17!

So for the grand total: including taxes I purchased $706.20 for only $311.18! Yes I am aware that I could have spent $0 but what's is the fun in that, plus some were gifts and I really needed the rest ;)!

An Update and a Recipe

Well I'm finally finished with my little stint in the pharma sales world and I am now safely and comfortably back in my cushy cubicle. I had a great time getting out and about and enjoyed getting to meet new people every day but there is something to be said for having a home base and knowing exactly where you are headed when you get in your car every morning. When I got back to the office I was also welcomed with a little promotion. Now don't get too excited, it's nothing dramatic but it's nice to feel rewarded for finishing grad school AND getting some experience in the sales world. Anyway, with that said, I have my head back and now have a bit more time to think about blog posts.

I have to get my sea legs back so I'm going to start slow (aka boring)...

One we go...this weekend I had the opportunity to host a baby shower for a sweet friend of mine who is expecting her first child in January and was flattered by being asked to take are of planning the menu! I won't bore you with all the details but I do want to share my chicken salad recipe because it was simple, easy and flipping GOOD!

please forgive the picture quality, I was in a hurry!

Rotisserie Chicken Salad

• white AND dark meat from 1 large rotisserie chicken ( I get mine from Costco because they are huge, if you go for a grocery store chicken you may want to use the meat of 1 and a half, using the dark meat is KEY!!!!)
• 1 1/2 c good mayo (Hellmans or Dukes)
• half of a sweet onion diced very small
• 2 ribs of celery diced very small
• 1 c toasted pecans chopped
• juice of half of a lemon (another KEY!)
• salt and pepper to taste ( I also added a little garlic powder just for giggles)

mix everything together and pop it in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

* depending on what consistency you like, add as much mayo as you need; just remember that using the dark meet will ensure that it has lots of flavor and isn't overly dry. Also, the lemon juice really brightens up the flavor so don't leave it out!