Just some stuff

The wind is pummeling the apartment today. I can hear it blowing across the dryer vent. I'm here at home and Kent is his GMAT prep class until 9:30 tonight. I made him drive himself to class because I don't want to step outside again until that wind stops. It's brutal.

I am drinking a peach Propel. The baby "needed" some Propels a few days ago. Flavored water almost makes me feel like I'm getting dessert. Almost. I'd rather be eating something that looks like this: My latest cake! Unfortunately, it's three-week-old rice crispies disguised as a cake, and I'm not even sure if I could cut into it. So I'll drink my peach Propel and pretend I'm eating a peach cake.

This is the fondant while I was still mixing the colors in. Isn't it pretty?

I only spent $36 on groceries this week! (Minus the Propels, which Kent said I didn't have to count as groceries--isn't he the greatest?) I'm proud of myself, and I smiled when I slid my card through at the check out.

I should be doing homework right now. I graduate in 43 days! Sometimes it's nice to just sit and think about graduating, without actually doing what I need to for that to actually happen.

I've been writing the baby's potential names on a scrap of paper to see how they look with our last name. I haven't done that since I was dating Kent and wrote "Rebecca Ashley Andersen" all over a page of a notebook. It's juvenile and fun.

The 1st trimester report.

I wanted to record some of these special, unusual, wacky pregnancy symptoms and things for me to look back on someday.

• We found out I was pregnant while we were in Hawaii on our anniversary trip.
• I have been very blessed with not feeling too sick. Sometimes during the first trimester I would get morning sickness at bedtime, but there was only one night that I even felt close to losing my dinner. I stocked up on ginger ale and saltines, but didn't even need them. I am SO grateful for that.
• For about five weeks in a row I could not survive without a one or two hour nap between my classes.
• Every couple of days I have a strange metal taste in my mouth that I cannot get rid of.
• I craved an Egg McMuffin for almost a month, but as soon as I finally got to eat one the craving reversed and now I can't even think about eating an Egg McMuffin. Now my cravings change every couple of days.
• I've already been feeling the nesting instinct and I have uncontrollable urges to clean.
• Since being pregnant, being too close to people makes me feel claustrophobic. I wig out sometimes when Kent tries to cuddle with me.
• My sense of smell is seriously bionic. I had to make Kent stop wearing the cologne I bought him for Christmas because it was just too strong.
• I can't wait to get big enough for maternity clothes. Right now I just feel awkward-like I'm getting fatter but it's not obvious that I have a reason to be gaining weight.
• Kent says that my mood swings were worse when we were engaged than they are now.
• We have a girl name picked out, and we picked it way back in November, but we don't even have a single boy name we both agree on.
• All in all, I LOVE being pregnant. I've had it pretty good so far, but I think I'd like it even if I was sick. There's just something so special and happy about it.

Kent with baby Luke. Doesn't Kent look so cute? He's going to be the best daddy. We are both so, so excited.

Clam Chowder Day

"A New England clam chowder, made as it should be, is a dish to preach about, to chant praises and sing hymns and burn incense before. To fight for. The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought for--or on--clam chowder; part of it at least, I am sure it was. It is as American as the Stars and Stripes, as patriotic as the national Anthem. It is 'Yankee Doodle in a kettle.'"

-Joseph C. Lincoln (1870-1944), author of 47 books and plays about Cape Cod.

Today was National Clam Chowder day. We found it on the website Shannon mentioned in her post about odd holidays.

So we celebrated by researching the history of clam chowder (it's from France), watching Sponge Bob this afternoon in hopes that it would be an episode with a clam in it, and then later tonight having a candlelight clam chowder bread bowl dinner. And you know what? It was delightful. Yankee Doodle in a bread bowl.

A touch of Spring

I never throw away an entire flower boquet at once. The flowers Kent gave me for Valentine's day were looking a little bit droopy and sad. But not all of them. So I dug through them, made a sticky flower mess all over my floor and table, rearranged, and ended up with some happy touches of Spring to spread around the house!
I love how this green vase looks with the pink lilies!

Spring will be here eventually--I just know it!

Special Christmas Gift, Part 2

We got a very special dresser for Christmas.

In this dresser, I have a very special, secret drawer. And that pretty black and white box on the dresser: it also holds some secrets.

You see, I bought some very special clothes over Christmas break, because I needed them to go with our very special Christmas gift.

Which wasn't, by the way, the dresser.

Our special gift is something we won't be able to enjoy until August.

August 30th, to be exact. And we are so excited!

Special Christmas Gift, Part 1

On Christmas Eve my family does a little Nativity where we dress up and sing Christmas songs while Dad reads the Nativity story from Luke 2. It's a special tradition to remind us of what Christmas really means so that we aren't just thinking about the awesome stuff we're going to get the next morning.

This year, Kent and I played Mary and Joseph, which was fitting, because we are the only married children. It is always a little funny to see Nathan as Joseph and Sarah as Mary, and while Josh and I could probably look like we go together, that would just be weird. :D So we dressed up and acted out the scenes and had a very nice Christmas Eve.

Oh, and I guess there is one other little reason why it was fitting that we played the parts of Mary and Joseph.

Can you guess?

Yep, you got it. It's because we got a very special gift for Christmas this year. Kent bought us this beautiful dresser that I just love!

Don't you think Mary and Joseph had a dresser this nice?

Does that make sense to you?

give love

Kent asked me what he could get me for Valentine's Day. I said "nothing." And not just because I was being sweet. I really couldn't think of anything, and truthfully, it makes me happier to just have him do nice things for me than for him to actually give me something.

So of course, he did both. All week long he's been making a particular effort to ask me every night what the "one thing I would have him do for me" is. And so, he's done the dishes. He's organized his school stuff. He's made the bed (at 11:00 pm).

And then, to top it all off, he left this for me to come home to. He remembered how much I LOVE red velvet cupcakes. And flowers that are "happy" colors and not just the traditional red/pink. And that I don't really like roses anyway. Sigh!

A woman was in line behind him at the floral shop, and she was making comments about how pretty the flowers are and how impressed she was that Kent would pick something like that. When he got home, Kent told me he has learned that "Making my wife happy usually means making someone else's husband unhappy."


I made another cake. I can now say that I have had enough with buttercream (not that I'm any better at it than when I started-I'm just tired of using it). Bring on the fondant!
I decorated with edible paper. Did you even know there was such a thing? I didn't. But one cool thing--it's Kosher. Says so on the package.

25 Things

I've been tagged by the lovely Katie. Twenty-five random things about me. I'm trying to make sure these things aren't already on my list of 100 things about me, so here goes.

1. I will graduate with a BS in English on April 10th.
   
2. My emphasis is Creative Writing, and I flip flop between loving it and hating it. I love to write, but I'm afraid of becoming a frumpy word person like so many students in my major are.


3. Kent tells me that I'm like a solar panel--whenever we get even the smallest peek of sunshine I stand outside and soak it in.


4. I do not like pets (anything larger than a rabbit). Sure, they can be fun and cute, but I just can't stand the thought of ever having one. Kent feels the same way, thankfully.


5. I'm in search of a hobby. I've been a student for so long, I can't really think of what I'm going to do with myself once April 11th comes around. I'm up for suggestions.


6. I'm moving to Texas at the beginning of May. (Kent accepted the job at USAA--I mentioned that before, right? Sorry if I've forgotten.)


7. I've lived in Utah, Idaho, California, and Texas. I can't really say which is my favorite.


8. I have a favorite commercial--the new one about John and Kate plus 8. (Think California Raisins, Mom.)


9. I am a level 3/Master certified tutor with the National College Reading and Learning Association.


10. I'm eating a little bowl of peach slices right now. I love it because I love peaches, and I love little bowls. (and anything else little.)


11. I know how to play the piano, flute, and piccolo. I can also play the organ, but only sort of.


12. I always open the blinds during the day.
13. I am the choir director for the ward choir, and my choir membership varies between one person (Kent-he's so supportive!) and 30.


14. I just finished cleaning the apartment, and I feel pretty proud of myself. Domesticity makes me happy.


15. My shower curtain, bath rug, comforter cover, pillowcases, and living room rug are all the exact same color of green. And they were all wedding gifts from different people.


16. I just entered a short piece of literary fiction I wrote into a National Undergraduate Literature Conference to see if I'll get the chance to attend.


17. I have a $15 lamp next to my computer desk that flickers every time I move my chair.


18. I only have 3/4 cup of flour left in my flour bucket.


19. I believe that the best remedy for a bad day is Graham crackers With Frosting And Milk.


20. Last night, after I picked Kent up from his class at 10:30 pm, I bought him tacos from Jack-in-the-box and paid for them in quarters.


21. The most frightening moment of my life was when I was in second grade and I got chased down the street by a St. Bernard while I was walking home from school. That might explain the dislike of pets.


22. My newest favorite song is "Lemonade" by Chris Rice. I just discovered it yesterday, and I listened to it until I ran out of free listens on the website.
23. The next place we hope to travel to is either Cancun or Portugal.
24. I want to live in a house with a window over the kitchen sink.
25. I make a point of watching a sunrise every couple of months.

I tag: Jesika, Jess, and Jamie