Get in the car and drive

... is what I'd like to do right about now. Nicole's recent post made me start thinking of how we usually take impromptu road trips to South Haven in the summer. We don't make plans, we don't choose our itinerary beforehand. We just pack what we need for 2 days or so, hop in the car and just GO. We find whatever we need on the road or when we get there. As long as we pack wisely, we never run into any problems. Even with Tiegan in tow. I sincerely hope it's still do-able with a toddler AND a new baby! (Although a trip to the beach won't be too pressing, now that we live on the lake and all.)

I took this picture a while back and have been wanting to share it. Remember when we went to JoAnn's and bought a bunch of craft supplies for Tiegan? She and I made this picture frame together with popsicle sticks, glitter glue and little pompons(?). She calls them glitter balls. Anyway, we made it with the intention of using it to frame a picture of Tiegan with her new baby when he/she arrives. She's SO excited! She talks to my belly and hugs/rubs my belly every day. [in a very gentle/whispery voice] "Hi baby... I'm your big sister and I'm going to teach you to ______."

I think it's just too cute. She picked where everything should go, I just helped her with the right amount of glue and everything.

Also, we bought this yesterday for Tiegan's birthday party (not until February 8th). I'm going to have a hard time holding myself back! Hell... the cake mix was only 97¢ at Kroger.

I think the pink frosting will be cute. And will go well with the confetti cake. I'm trying to think of creative ways to decorate, so it's not just a plain pink layer cake with "happy birthday" written on it. Any ideas?? Please feel free to comment!

fruit, fruit, FRUIT!

GIVE ME CITRUS!!! It's what I've been craving like nuts lately. Ice cold citrusy things. If they made Starbursts, only like ice cubes, that would be my perfect snack. Maybe I should freeze some orange juice in my ice cube trays. I have frozen limeade and grapefruit juice concentrate in my freezer, which I have been blending with plain yogurt or just eating by spoon. I made some orange Jell-O earlier using the ice cube method (instead of stirring in cold water, stir in 3cups of ice cubes so it sets up faster). I had a tough time dumping the few deliciously orange-coated un-melted ice cubes into the sink.

[ I cannot take photo credit for the snaps above. I found them by doing a search for "citrus" tags on Flickr if you'd like to try it out for yourself.

I don't even care...

... that we live on the narrow part of the lake and the houses on the other side are so close. I am loving winter more than ever, simply because we get to wake up to this serene view...

(see the lone icicle? haha)

Culinary Explosion

What a ham-bone. I was texting Jason, and Tiegan knows that I can take pictures/videos with my cell phone. She asked if I'd take a picture of her with her Thomas train set (made of Lego's).

I know, her pajamas don't match. For the first time in my life, I'm living in a house without a washer and/or dryer. HELL! It's tough to make it to the laundromat as often as we'd like. It costs quite a bit more than I had imagined, having never needed a laundromat before. We've been doing a lot of laundry at my parents' house. Anyway, the whole reason for that rant was to explain that we usually just throw on whatever's clean. Sweatpants and a comfy long-sleeved tee? OK- pajamas. Does it match? Doesn't matter. She's just sleeping in it anyway, right?

I'm excited for next week's menu, which was my responsibility to pick out. Jason picked out this week's menu and it has been great so far. Next week, we are having...

• Monday: Grilled chicken kabobs on caesar salad
• Tuesday: Chicken quesadillas
• Wednesday: Pork fried rice
• Thursday: Roast beef, bacon & bleu wraps
• Friday: Parmesan turkey burgers

I know, everything sounds pretty simple and plain. But trust me- I've looked up all the recipes and everything has a special little twist to it that we've never tried before. AND, everything is relatively healthy, too. Poor Jason has to deal with me picking out mostly poultry and white meat dishes, since I'm not a huge fan of beef and I can't have seafood (not that I liked it to begin with anyway).

So far I've been surprised at how different this pregnancy has been from the first. There have been some similarities, but not many. This time around, I'm craving super-healthy foods. Anything deep fried or remotely greasy sounds disgusting. Also, you'd be proud: I have refrained from adding extra salt to ANY of my food! If you know me, you know I'm an over-salter. Not anymore. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I don't want to blow up like a balloon this time.

Remember how HUGE I was with Tiegan? Let me just remind you...

In this photo I was about 8 months along. By the day I was induced, I had gained almost 60 lbs.! that's more than HALF my original body weight, people. Not happening this time. (And what was I thinking, cutting my hair that short?)

Maybe a REAL Resolution?

I'm gonna do it.

Not only am I working hard to stay healthy and get my exercise while I'm pregnant, I'm going at it full-fledged after the baby is born.

I have been having a lot of dreams lately that involve me being chased/hunted, or our house being broken into. If that ever happened in real life and Jason wasn't around, I'd be screwed. I have no idea how to defend myself outside of swinging like crazy with a baseball bat. I can't stand feeling inadequate. Just the thought of being a mother of 2 is intimidating, physically. I want to be able to lift, bend, pull, push and play without getting winded. I can't stand taking breaks because I just don't have the strength or energy. I am determined to be fit, self-sufficient and strong.

Domestication

Yesterday, I knew it was time to go grocery shopping. So I thought I'd be smart and create a healthy list, including bulk items that we could make more home-cooked meals with. Jason one-upped me. He did the cutest (and most practical) thing he's done in a long time.

He created a Cozi family calendar and surprised me with a week's worth of dinner menus all planned out. He even used the Betty Crocker recipe site to pick out dishes and plan a grocery shopping list.

Let me tell you: I HAVE to recommend this to everyone. I know I sound like an ad for the Betty Crocker site, but it really made our shopping way easier. We spent less money than usual, and I think we have more useful food this time. Normally, we grab some meats and some staple ingredients for side dishes, but for some reason we always end up with an uneven amount of things that don't end up going together. And food always ends up going bad before we eat it.
I love smart shopping.

Last night, JASON COOKED (!!!) a yummy, healthy (!!! again) meal.

It was like a 15-minute skillet dish with chicken breast, onions, and fresh spinach. The killer ingredient was Nutmeg. Oh, that unexpected spice that makes everyone go "hmmmm". It was great.

If you want the recipe, it's right here. Tonight we're having steak fajita salad. I can't remember what's on the docket for the rest of the week. Next week it'll be my turn to choose the menu. We're going to turn into some serious foodies.

In other news, snowmobiles have really been enjoying all this snow on the lake the past couple days...

Jason, being a lake-living veteran, warned me that sometimes on the weekends they get revving back and forth across the lake into the wee hours. So far they haven't kept me up. I've had a couple dreams that they've come crashing into our house, though. Yikes.

Your Yelling is Not Helping.

Am I the only one who has to push the mute button when a Billy Mays commercial comes on?

His sales pitch techniques (shouting through the entire commercial) are highly renowned and it has been reported that company's sales have skyrocketed mostly due to his salesmanship.

I just find him plain annoying.

Jason and I used to quietly play ESPN radio at night to help us fall asleep. Now that Billy Mays endorses ESPN360, we have nixed the radio. The first night I heard his radio commercial, I was almost asleep (which is difficult for me these days). Then - bam - "HI! BILLY MAYS HERE!" and I was wide awake. The volume was low, but his jolting voice was enough to startle me. I thought it was bad enough when his commercials are on every channel I watch on TV... but now he's monopolizing the radio too?

Eh. So that's my rant for today. I really don't know anyone that likes him or feels any more inclined to buy a product because of his yelling endorsements. SHUT UP, BILLY MAYS!