Happy Earth Day 2010

Love your Mother....Earth ♥

I'M FINALLY PREGNANT!!!

Meet our lil' pumpkin. Due to arrive 10-23-10

We have been trying to start a family for 8 years. The past 2 years we've done 6 fertility treatments that all failed. Our last one was on December 30, 2009. It also failed. We were devastated. We told the dr. it was our last try, it was just too emotionally draining. Imagine our surprise when I got a positive pregnancy test on February 20, 2010!! I saw the 2 pink lines, but still didn't believe it. I ended up taking 8 tests altogether and they were all instantly positive :) I told my hubby the next day. We are beyond thrilled!!

I am 14 weeks today. For the most part, I feel great. I never had morning sickness, thank goodness! Our last ultrasound (above) was taken on April 6th. We got to hear the hearbeat for the first time - what a wonderful sound ♥ The baby was moving all around and the dr. had a hard time getting a good picture. The head is on the right looking down with the hand under the chin. It's amazing how much it's grown since last month!

It still doesn't seem real and I cry happy tears all the time, especially when my hubby talks to my belly. I'm just so thankful we're finally blessed with a little one of our own.

My tennis shoe obsession

I have a small obsession with tennis shoes - I can pass up regular shoes, but I have a shoe fetish with the comfortable, stylish, new-on-the-market tennis shoe.

I discovered the Reebok EasyTone through a friend at Curves. They were so cute and claim to "firm you up so you never have to workout ever again". OK, maybe that's not exactly their motto, but I liked the idea of a shoe that had a dual purpose. They have 2 stability balls on the bottom and make you balance while you walk so that you're working more muscles than a flat shoe. Sounded cool. I needed new shoes anyway, well, WANTED new shoes, so I set out to find these. Every store in the mall carried a different color - some stores were even sold out because they were such a good seller. I found a silver/pink pair that begged to come home with me. They are really cute, they are comfy and I was happy with my purchase. However....if I wear them on a walk, or for too long at a time, it feels like I have a clump of mud stuck to the bottom of my shoe. But they are cute.

The Sketcher Shape-ups have intrigued me for awhile and it seems like everyone around here has a pair, so they must be good, right? I always thought they looked like orthopedic old-people shoes, but I had a coupon (sort-of, I'll get to that in a minute) and decided to go to the store and try them on. They were comfy and worked in a different way than my Reebok shoes. These shoes rock back and forth, front to back, like you're standing on a rocking chair. They had a cute silver/white pair so I decided to adopt them. I figured between these 2 pairs of shoes, I may never have to workout ever again!! I don't really believe that, but it's a nice thought. They do claim to "burn more calories, tone muscles and improve posture". Turns out, my 'coupon' didn't apply to these shoes (grrr!), but I already had my mind set on getting these shoes so I did what any logical person would do. I looked around and found another pair of tennis shoes that I could use my coupon on - couldn't let it go to waste!! I bought a regular pair of cute Asics. I got a $75 pair of shoes for $32 - I love good coupons :) I've only worn my Shape-ups around the house, but they are very comfy.

Maybe wearing these shoes will help me burn off the 8,000 calories I've been eating from my Easter Candy shopping spree (see previous post)

Don't be like me

I highly recommend NOT going to Walmart the day after Easter. If you must go, avoid the reduced priced candy aisle!! There was still plenty of the good candy left - well, there was before I got there ;) We may be eating Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs for breakfast, lunch and dinner! And I discovered SweeTart Jelly Beans - I don't even like jelly beans, but these are fruity and yummy and not waxy like regular ones. I was good and only bought one bag....so far. And then there's the Snickers Eggs. Please don't be like me and buy enough candy to put you in a sugar coma. I feel a little guilty (as I eat another jelly bean...).

HAPPY EASTER!

This cartoon cracks me up!!

My favorite Easter candy is the Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs - YUMM!! We're having 2 dinners today - one with each of our families. Should be full and happy by tonight!

I hope you all have a blessed Easter with the ones you love ♥

How To Cut A Fresh Pineapple

I just bought my first fresh pineapple and I wasn't sure how to cut it up. I found this video and the whole process was actually pretty easy! I had never heard the tip about turning it upside down so the sugars re-distribute. I didn't do that (I wanted to eat it NOW) but the bottom was much sweeter than the top. I'll be buying these more often :)

Homemade Carrot Cake

I made this cake for my mama's birthday yesterday. She's been talking about carrot cake for awhile so I decided to attempt to make one from scratch. I'm not a big fan of this kind of cake, but it turned out really well (it's not my favorite, but I'll still eat it!). I made it into 2 rounds and frosted it with a maple cream cheese frosting. I tinted part of it orange and green and decorated the top. Please excuse the soggy carrots - the frosting was really soft even after adding a ton of extra powdered sugar. I liked the frosting :)

These are the 2 recipes I used:

Sam's Famous Carrot Cake

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Moon over the mountains

I snapped this picture early this morning as the sun was coming up. I looked outside and saw the moon just above the mountains. A few minutes later, the moon was gone! The snowy covered peak to the right is Pike's Peak (14,110 feet). There's not a cloud in the sky and it's supposed to be 50* today. Sounds like a good day for a walk :)

Today's date is 3,2,1,0 (3-2-10). I like nerdy stuff like that!

Happy Valentine's Day (+ a week and a half)

I've been meaning to post the Valentine card I made for my hubby - how does life fly by so fast sometimes?!?!



I bought this cute 'Juggle Monkey' digital stamp image from dustinpike.blogspot.com. He has great stuff and it's really cheap, sometimes even FREE!! I bought my hubby Valentine boxer shorts that look just like this only in reverse colors many, many years ago - one of the reasons I wanted this image.



The 4 hearts and the monkey's face and bowtie are cut out and raised with pop-dots. The whole image is colored with Copic markers. I printed the 'Wild Thing' background on the computer and then cut it out with a Nestabilities die. I Cuttlebugged the embossed hearts, added a ribbon, a rub-on message and some heart brads. I had so much fun making this card. I also added 5 'Monkey Money' scratch off tickets inside - we hit the mega jackpot and won $1. We have decided to go all out and blow the whole thing at once. We're risky like that.

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day.....if you can remember back that far!! :)

Stamps: Dustin Pike digital image 'Juggle Monkey'
Paper: SU! Chocolate Chip, Real Red, White
Accessories: Red grosgrain ribbon, rub-on message, heart brads, pop-dots, crystal effects, Copic markers, printer, Nestabilities Labels One, Cuttlebug hearts folder

Superbowl snacks

This is the only way I get involved in anything football - fun shaped food.

I made these goodies for my hubby to take to his army unit during Superbowl weekend. I found football shaped pretzels and knew I wanted put them in Chex Mix (I love that stuff!!). I also made boiled cookies and shaped and decorated them like footballs. They are made from dark chocolate, oatmeal and peanut butter so they are practically health food :)

Boiled Cookies

4 Tbsp. butter

2 cups sugar

3 Tbsp. cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)

1/2 cup milk

Heat in large pot over medium heat until boiling. Boil for 1 minute.

Remove from heat and add:

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 cups quick oats

Stir until combined and drop Tablespoon sized cookies onto foil. Cool until firm.

*These are a favorite cookie from my childhood. I turn 8 years old everytime I taste one :)