let's talk turkey.

it's the day before thanksgiving so i thought i'd do a pre-turkey day post since tomorrow will be chaos.  it's the first time in 25 years that i won't be sitting with my family eating my mom's always delicious meal.  it's a bittersweet thing for me.  i'm excited to cook the whole meal myself/slightly nervous as well, but its just gonna be jon and i.  maybe that's a good thing.  if i messed everything up he would still love me and i wouldn't have to worry about disappointing anyone (except myself of course). 

i'm going to be making WAY too much food.  i'm learning this year that my homesickness therapy has been cooking the things my mom has cooked for years.  they have been traditions in the family so i feel connected by learning to make them and carrying on the traditions to my own family now.  on the menu for tomorrow will be:
-turkey. a 14 pound one at that.
-stuffing (which i don't really even like, but i just feel like it can't be left out)
-gravy
-corn
-green bean casserole
-candied yams
-mashed potatoes
-pennsylvania noodles
-cranberry jell-o
and our new traditions:
-cranberry sangria (for jon of course)
-pumpkin spice cookies with cream cheese frosting

yes. all this food for TWO people.  we will be eating turkey for weeks. 

i've already warned jon that tomorrow may be semi-sad for me so to just bear with me and humor me.  this could mean christmas movies or music needs to be on all day, candles need to be lit and a fire needs to be going, or any number of other things.  i just want it to feel like the thanksgivings i've always known as much as possible.  which would really mean i sit on the couch all day and watch football with my brothers and dad while my poor mom does everything herself. but times are changing! i'm a wife now and almost a mom so i need to transform from the kid to the adult.  i'm excited about all of this. its just so different!  anyway, all in all i want to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! if you aren't with your family or loved ones, make the most of it as jon and i will.  i am so thankful we have each other, a healthy and active baby girl on the way, and a puppy we love WAY too much and i have a husband who provides for this family so we can afford this life :) i am truly blessed.

on a quick side note, here's some picture updates of the pregnancy.  27 weeks tomorrow and i'm carrying a basketball already.  i cannot believe my belly still has 13 more weeks to grow.  and in other news, we finally painted the nursery and started setting things up! i'm loving the way it is coming together.  we kept the theme gender neutral so we can reuse for each kid but i'm going to somehow add a little girly flair to the room.  the walls are still bare and we have a ways to go, but here's where we are at so far:

excuse the wardrobe and sorry for the naked belly. its the best way to grasp the basketball! my prego line is getting darker too.

in suzie's words: "it looks photo-shopped!"

one wall is green, the others are brown.  our theme is cocalo nali jungle :)

missing a valance haha

kale chips and cheesy corn chowder.

i promised a recipe blog so here you have it.  on the menu today: flavored kale chips and a homey cheese and corn chowder. 

as i've stated, my carb overloading and sugar highs needed to be put in check.  i'm really bad about snacking, so when i realized i needed to eat healthier, i thought of this snack.  i've been wanting to try kale for a few months now.  it seems like its been all the rage on the cooking shows and magazines.

seasoned kale chips

start with however many leaves of kale you want. 

wash it and remove the stems (thick middle part).  break into chip-size pieces and brush each side lightly with olive oil. 

place oiled pieces onto a baking pan covered with foil.  season with salt and pepper.

cook at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.  while still hot, sprinkle the seasoning of your choice over the chips.  i used ranch dressing dip.  anything can work, be creative! (lemon pepper, seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, etc.)

it's as simple as that!  these chips are tasty and SUPER crispy.  the texture reminds me of what eating crisp fall leaves would be like.  just much tastier. 

bet you can't eat just one.


cheesy corn chowder

alright now that you're all health-ified with your kale chips, its time for dinner.  we had friends over the other night so i decided to make a cheesy corn chowder.  our other friends had us over for dinner a few weeks ago and made this for us and i loved it so much that i got the recipe.  next time i will definitely add shredded chicken.  it gives it some more protein and would make an already tasty soup even better.

you're gonna need the following ingredients:
-5 strips thick-sliced bacon
-2 tbsp unsalted butter
-2 tbsp olive oil
-2 cups onion, diced
-1 cup celery, diced
-1/4 cup flour
-1 tsp salt
-2 tsp minced fresh thyme (i didn't have this, so i just skipped it)
-1/4 tsp cayenne
-1/4 tsp ground turmeric (also didn't have this)
-6 cups chicken broth
-1 lb russet potatoes, peeled and diced
-4 cups corn
-1 cup heavy cream
-1 cup white cheddar, shredded
-2 oz cream cheese (make sure its as soft as possible, mine took a long time to melt in the pot)
minced fresh chives to garnish

1. Saute bacon over medium heat until crisp.  Remove and let drain on paper towel.  You can either break it apart after its cooked or dice it before you cook it.  I diced mine first.  (The recipe said to cook it in the pot but my pot wasn't nonstick so i switched halfway through).

2. In a large pot, melt butter with oil.  Add onion and celery and sweat until soft, about 7-8 minutes. 

3.  Stir in flour, thyme, salt, cayenne and turmeric.  Cook 2 minutes.
4. Add broth, potatoes, and corn.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes. 

Stir in cream, both cheeses and bacon.  Simmer until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.  Do not let it boil at this point, as it may curdle. 

Garnish with chives and serve with gorgonzola garlic toast :)

let's get crafty!!

i know, i know. you're thinking, "two posts in one day?! its my lucky day!". you're welcome.  with only 14 weeks left until baby girl gets here, i decided it was time to start cranking away at her nursery.  there's a few crafts i've been wanting to do and finally got around to them.  thank you pinterest for the first idea!

this simple project can be done in an hour or two.  simply start out with a 12x12 canvas (or whatever size you want) and enough fabric of your choice to cover the canvas.  i used a staple gun to attach the fabric. its hard to tell from these pictures but i chose the colors in makena's room (green, brown, tan, gold) but added some pink buttons to personalize it and make it somewhat girly.  i started by designing the letter M to my liking, before opening the glue.  when i got it just right, i carefully picked up button by button, added a few dots of fabric glue and stuck it back down.  add some ribbon to hang it and bam! you're done.

next, i used the extra fabric that i had to spice up an over-sized mason jar as a place to put kena's headbands and bows :)  tied some ribbon on it and left it simple! now she just need lots more bows....

that's it for nursery crafts for today.

this next idea isn't really a craft as much as it is just a good idea.  go to the craft store, buy some over-sized buttons, some magnets and hot glue and make some cute refrigerator magnets!

lastly, i want to offer some ideas to those couples out there that can't think of creative date nights.  i found a really cool blog that i have to give all the credit to on this one.  it's called Love, Actually and the link is: http://loveactually-blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/envelope-day.html

i think it's extremely important for every married couple to continue to "date".  i'm talking, setting aside a specific night every week to spend with each other.  no cell phones, no kids....just you two.  jon and i have recently adapted this idea, so every thursday we plan to do something fun together.  depending on how much money we have, we will go see a movie, go out to dinner, or even go to the park and walk around.  we hope to keep this up after kids are born. i think its a great tool to a successful marriage.  anyway, sometimes we run out of ideas.  i found this and thought it would be a fun way to spend a whole date DAY together.  i put together my envelopes today and will present them to jon when the time comes.  you still have to come up with ideas, but its just more fun this way :)

you can make this as elaborate or simple as you wish.  i just printed out the ideas in different fonts and colors and taped them onto scrapbook paper.

i color coordinated each phase.  breakfast, event, dinner and lovin'.  come up with as many ideas as you want for each phase (i did 3) and have him pick randomly. 

all done!  if you wanna know what mine said, here you go:

breakfast:
1. breakfast of your choice in bed
2. breakfast diner
3. make breakfast together

event:
1. outdoor event of your choice: mini-golf, nature walk, picnic in the park, etc.
2.  matinee movie of your choice
3. a trip to the store of your choice

dinner:
1. takeout/delivery
2. your favorite restaurant
3. new restaurant

lovin': (don't look, mom)
1. candlelit bubble bath
2. sexy lingerie and a bottle of wine
3. massage and oils

now go be romantic and do this!  coming up next time? recipes!

Baking, Baby and Bank Accounts.

hi friends. warning: it's been a few weeks since i last updated so this may be a long one. 

since the weather has gotten nice and chilly (except for today, with it being in the 70's and on a tornardo watch) i have decided to start baking. a lot.  jon and i won't be home for christmas this year, making it the first year i've ever not celebrated with my family. sad. with that, i decided that i want us as a family to carry on family traditions as well as start some new ones of our own.  every year my mom makes a plethora of cookies, so i decided for the first time i will get all the recipes and make a bunch of my own.  over the years she has added some new ones, but i'm sticking with the originals for the most part.  in the last week i have made chocolate mint snow-top cookies, snickerdoodles, no bake coconut cookies, peanut butter blossoms, mrs. field's oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies, and a new addition by me; andes mint fudge.  at first jon was semi-annoyed at the added expense and absurd amount of cookies, but it has been such a nostalgic experience for me and i think he started to realize that.  all i have left to make are coconut chocolate chip cookies and a few new additions....mint chocolate covered pretzels and hot peppermint fudge.  in a couple weeks i'm gonna jar the fudge in crafty mason jars (blog and pictures to follow) and plate up assortments of cookies and pass them out to friends :)  if any of those cookies sound tasty to you, message me on facebook and i'll be happy to share the recipe. 

now for a bump update.  makena is growing like a weed. and because of that, i got "lectured" by my doctor about gaining too much weight in between appointments.  she did tell me that it looks like i'm only gaining in my belly, which is good.  she said to "just" cut out carbs and sugars (umm, are you kidding me?) from my diet.  there is no way i'd be able to completely do that but for the sake of my body i've decided to shape up when it comes to my food and snack choices.  i did a grocery run and bought healthy snacks like celery and carrots and broccoli and hummus and pita.  It's no flavor blasted extreme goldfish but i guess i need to stop being selfish and give both me and my baby the proper nutrients.  i have my glucose test coming up in 2 weeks.  for those of you who don't know what that is, you basically have to drink an overly-sugary drink and then get your blood drawn to check for gestational diabetes.  with the amount of sugar i was eating up until a week ago, i'm slightly considered i won't "pass" the test.  results to follow.  we also had an appointment with the high risk OB last week which was awesome.  i brought jon just in case they did an ultrasound, since he had to miss the 19 week one.  turns out they did do one! i was overjoyed that he got to see his daughter squirming around inside of me.  of course she was jabbing, punching and kicking me as usual.  the doctor was even surprised at how strong and active she is.  again he commented on how chubby her cheeks are and how round her little face is.  i can't believe our baby is gonna be a chunky monkey! it's pretty dang cute but where in the world did that come from? he also noted that she is measuring about a week ahead in every category.  i asked if she is gonna be a big baby and he said that typically when they develop this quickly so early on, it continues throughout the pregnancy.  maybe we will end up having a valentine's day baby?  she weighed 1 lb 15 ounces last thursday so she's definitely over 2 lbs by now.  everything looked great, including the placenta which is where my blood would clot, but he said it looks very clear! 

25 weeks. starting to really fill out these maternity shirts :)

straight shot of her face with her right hand up by her eye.

profile of our little chunky monkey.

last but not least i'll give a little update of our financial situation.  as you know, we recently switched to the envelope cash method and are loving it.  we finally sold jon's truck which was a huge blessing because in doing that, we were able to pay off that loan and put 11k toward my jeep.  also, our car insurance dropped by about $75 a month.  it's amazing to see how God will provide if you stop and listen to what He's telling you to do.  other things that have "fallen into place" this month include a $100/month decrease in our rent for next year, cheaper gas bill and unexpected and generous baby gifts showing up in the mail.  i can't encourage this new financial approach enough.  in less than 6 months we will be debt-free (all we have left is a small balance on the jeep) and the burden and stress that has been lifted because of it is overwhelming.  learning to make sacrifices and have patience has been a much-needed lesson for me and it's great to watch it pay off now. 


i'll leave you with that for today.  check back in a few days for some new recipes (including chicken and corn chowder and flavored kale chips) and a couple of crafts that i've been working on (including cute fridge magnets, button art and date night ideas).  xoxo!

money talk. baby talk. zero pictures!

i have started to feel like i've somewhat lost sight of the original purpose of this blog.  it's become lots of recipes and pictures (which is GREAT) but i feel like i want to be better about updating on the everyday things. 

i know i have already gone over and described the new money management system jon and i started doing, but i wanted to give an update.  october was the first month we completely relied on cash and stopped using our credit cards altogether.  let me just say that it was not easy.  after jons first paycheck (which is basically our rent with a little left over), we were SCROUNGING until the next paycheck.  we stayed strong and didn't cave.  not to mention we had guests for a week so that adds to the expenses.  well, because of some unexpected twists and surprises, we weren't able to fill all of our october envelopes.  not to mention jon's school money didn't come in until october 31 so with that we were feeling discouraged.  but again we stayed strong and on the 31st we got school money, bonus money and the first november paycheck! not only were we able to catch up on all the october envelopes but we paid every upcoming bill for november, filled half of the november envelopes, put aside a chunk for christmas gifts and got me a new iphone.  AND we will be able to make TWO EXTRA truck payments this month when school money comes in.  i guess the reason i share all of this is because if any of you are thinking about starting this money system, i totally encourage you to do it.  just know that the first few months can be tricky but we have already seen that it pays off (literally).  it also alleviates a ton of stress that goes hand in hand with credit card debt (especially around the holidays). 

on a different money note, we are still waiting for the truck to sell.  we put ads on autotrader and craigslist but haven't gotten too many bites.  we even lowered the price once but hope to not have to go any lower.  we are praying it sells soon so we can get rid of that loan as well as the majority of our jeep loan.

well that's that.  on to baby news.

luckily there's not much news to report.  which is always good.  makena rylie is growing like crazy which in turn means i am growing like crazy.  i have to say, no matter how much you mentally prepare for it, stepping on the scale and seeing those numbers climb is hard to swallow.  i'm so happy and grateful my baby girl is growing big and strong but i've gained almost 15 lbs already.  which IS normal.  it's a girl thing, you understand right?  you'd think this would make me change my eating habits.....nope. obviously it doesn't bother me TOO much :)  kena is an insanely active child already. which makes sense.  its so fun learning her little personality already.  every week when jon and i watch the sing off, she goes nuts.  she loves music like her mama! also whenever i eat or lay on my back.  she kicks me all day and all night.  should be interesting once she gets here.  i'm pretty sure she is gonna have her days and nights backward.  oh well, i'm getting my 9 hours of sleep a night now to stock up.  wait it doesn't work that way? 

two of my friends just had babies this past week (congrats amy/allan and ashley/marc!) and it has made me so excited to see jon hold our baby girl.  there's obviously so many reasons to be excited for her arrival (and also so many reasons to be nervous!) but i just cannot wait to see jon transform from a husband to a daddy.  he is going to be the best dad in the whole world.  he already loves his little girl so much and makes sure to kiss her and tell her everyday. 

i will be 24 weeks on thursday.  that means only 16 weeks to go and only 2 weeks until the 3rd trimester.  insane.  i'm getting an itch to start on her nursery but have decided to hold off until after my baby shower in san diego in december.  that way i can know what needs to be bought still and start after that.  in the meantime i hope to come up with little crafts for her room. 

this trimester has been so great, minus a few backaches and pulled muscles.  i have noticed lately though that simple tasks are becoming more and more difficult.  putting on socks, getting up from lying down, shaving my legs, etc.  i can't imagine how incapable i am going to be around 38-40 weeks. 

well that's about it for me when it comes to baby and money.  things are great, i can't complain.  ANNND mama gidz comes to visit tomorrow for almost a week!! i am so looking forward to her being here and spending time with her.  happy november my friends! xo

(wow look at that! no pictures!)