Chili Night

 When I asked Jon for the chili recipe, he said it was locked away in his head and didn't want to reveal it. Too bad he wrote it down in his mole skin notebook. He he. But, honestly he gave me permission to post about it, and give the recipe. It's from his Mama, and it's really good, and easy!

Bushes Best Chili

1lb. ground beef

16 oz. can of Bushes Best Chili beans

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 6oz. can tomato paste

1/2 cup of water

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt 

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano 

1 teaspoon sugar

Shredded cheddar cheese, and onions (if you like, we don't) for topping

Brown beef, and add chopped onion, and green pepper until meat is cooked. Drain the meat. Combine all other ingredients, and simmer for 30-40 min.

Jon was trying to look like princess Leah!

Dinner Time

 Jon is making me dinner tonight, and it smells AMAZING! I am so excited! He doesn't cook a lot, but one thing he does cook is just about my favorite thing ever. CHILI!!! He got the recipe from his mom, and he really enjoys making it, and I really enjoy eating it!

 I will post pictures and the recipe after dinner.

Our Trip to New York

 We recently went on a vacation to New York. I was really excited, I have always wanted to go to New York, so for us to have this opportunity was really cool. I was, however,  a little bit worried about how Jon would like it considering all the people the noise and so on. I am really happy to say that he LOVED it. There is only one vacation that Jon and I have been on since we have been married that Jon has LOVED. This was our honeymoon. But, whats not to love about a 15 day cruise to Hawaii, on your honeymoon. So to say that this was a vacation that he loved was really cool and we were totally blessed. 

 Here are our pictures for you to enjoy!

This was the best shot I could get of the trade towers, Freedom towers site

There was a turkey in battery park

Memorial for 9/11

The guy with the feathers on his head was in our shot

My sissy

Our lady liberty

I took this

and this

Jon took this one

Classic NY

Really cold

Greenwich village

My Favorite

Diamonds are a girls best friend

You cant see it, but there were big high rises behind us

Central Park

Getting ready for a show

Rockefeller Plaza

Some of the best food I had in NY

Yum!

Empire state building

The skyline from Brooklyn

Fashion Week anyone?

Yes, that's a bud ad behind us

Baby Update

We had baby appointment # 3 yesterday, and everything is well. My sister went with us and she was soooooo excited to go. I thought that she might not want to go, but when I offered, she jumped on it!
We started off with the NP, and she weighed me, and since we went to NY I have lost three pounds. That's what happens when you go to NY and walk two or more miles a day for six days. Then, she measured my tummy, and I am right where I need to be. Then she got out the doppler and tried to listen to the baby's heartbeat, and we couldn't find the heartbeat, but I was not worried at all. So, after that we went to the sonogram room, and I had my third sonogram. We saw the baby right away and she said the reason we couldn't hear the heartbeat was because the baby was moving around so much. The sonogram was REALLY clear we saw the hand and arm of the baby and then we got a full body profile.
After that we scheduled what the NP called the "real sonogram," and I had ANOTHER blood test.
All in all, it was a really good visit, I am getting to the point that I look forward to my Dr. appointments because I feel like I am getting a real person telling me what is happening with my baby. And, I am always on a high when we leave. Maybe it's because every time I have gone to the dr. I have had a sonogram, and I get to actually see our baby. It is really cool!
Oh, we find out the sex of the baby November 11th . Any guesses on what it is?


Oh, and on a side note, I am 15 weeks, not 14, as they told me before.

New York Update

 We have been here for a little over a day now, and are having a blast! We have gone on a bus and have driven all over NY, that was really cool, and it gives you a bit of an idea of how to get around the huge city. Here is what we have done so far. 

We did a night bus ride around the city that was AMAZING, then they took you to NJ to take pictures of the skyline.

Ate diner at a place I was really sceptical about, street vendors scare me. But, it was the best food that I have had here.

 Went to China town and was taken down to a basement to look at knockoff purses (a bit scary), they looked amazingly real. But, I have not gotten one because I'm being really picky for some reason.

 Took a brief walk to Rockefeller center, and Central park.

We have done A LOT of walking, and I thought I might have a problem, but almost all of today has been walking, and it has not been a problem.

I will post pictures when I get a chance.

Goodnight!

Uncomfortable

I don't know what it is, but as soon as I hit 12 weeks last week, I started noticing some obvious signs of pregnancy. For 1, on Thursday I worked, and I was in the sitting position all day and came home and was so so sore from my clothes digging into my skin. Then I had a really hard night when I came to change my pants before we went to Disney land and my FAVORITE pair of pants were making me just as uncomfortable as the pants i changed from. So after a good cry, I put on a pair of Victoria secret pajama pants that look like just pair of black pants.
My sweet husband and my sweet mom got me almost a whole new wardrobe of maternity clothes. They all are a bit big , but they are now the most comfortable clothes I own. Jon got me a pair of jeans, a sweater, a couple of shirts, and threw in some new make up! My mom got me a pair of capries, and a shirt a while ago but she just recently got me a new dress!

Jon also got me this.

My mom got me this.

Needless to say, I am set for a while. I better be careful, I might just ware these after the baby is born. (J/K)

P.S. Other news about the baby, my official due date (for now) is April 22end, and my next appointment is in 2 weeks, and it is very possible I could find out what the baby is.

Excited!

This whole week I have been filling in the front office as people have been on vacation, and my friend (and co-worker) Melissa has had surgery. So I have worked Tuesday through Saturday. I have really enjoyed this week as it has been a change from the norm. But, I still don't think I could work as a full time employee. I have come home really tired, and have not had time to do alot.
With that, I was able to go to the all staff meeting on Wednesday. I really enjoyed going to the all staff in past times, and I was really looking forward to this one.
When we were almost done, one of the admin pastors came up to give some announcements, about upcoming events such as the holidays and so forth.
Generally I work Fridays, and Saturdays. You may be thinking, yuk, Saturdays, But I really enjoy it. It is a quiet day and not a lot goes on. But I especially like it because Jon and I work on the same day.
When the administrative pastor was giving the announcements, he was talking about the upcoming holidays and what we as a church will be doing, same as usual, but one this he said got me so excited that I have been in the best mood since.
He said that those of us that would normally work on Fridays have the day after Christmas, and the day after New Years off! The reason I was so excited about it is both Jon and I are at the bottom of the totem pole as far as seniority. So most likely if we did have to work no matter what. So that is why I am so excited!

Dreaming

When I'm board, I like to search random things online. Most of the time it's not so random. I will look at clothes, house decor stuff, and the new favorite, baby stuff.
Our house has been kept in the true "craftsmen bungalow" style. I really like the style of the house, it was built in 1923, and has all the charm of an old home with a few upgrades. But, I don't feel like I really appreciate the detail in our home. So, one of my "random searches" was "modern craftsmen style homes" I was really fascinated. I think one of the reasons I don't appreciate it like I should is our house is an older version of craftsmen style so everything is really dark, the dark molding, to me, is sometimes all I think people see, because it is only thing I see.
My search brought me to a web site that had all kinds of plans for any style you could think of, with the floor plans, and the master plans for sale. The picture I found below was my favorite because it was almost our floor plan minus the kitchen, and Master suit (funny because we want to add one one day).
I have also been watching alot of HGTV, and I am IN LOVE with the show curb appeal. I mostly watch it to see what kind of land scape they are going to do. I am not all in to the going green thing, but one of the things I love about the concept is how little maintenance those plants need. The house that I found on that web site didn't have a lot of grass, but it did have a lot of random plates.
So, if we were ever to remodel our house I would make it look just like this.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Can I just say it is a perfect day for a Pumpkin Spice Latte. I am sipping mine right now.

Oh, and soup is on the menu for dinner. Yum!


What is your favorite chili weather food or drink?

Lots Going On

We you may have noticed, I haven't blogged in a bit. Not to say that nothing has been going on, quite the opposite. We have been crazy busy with our trip coming up, and of coarse My brother Adam, and his fiancee, Jenni are getting married November 8th, plus the craziness of life adds up to alot. But we are blessed and some cool things have happened with my Dr. appointment.
When I went in, I knew I was going to get a sonogram to see how far along I am. I had been praying all week that I was at least 9 weeks. This trip was, unfortunately the uncomfortable exam, so I was REALLY not looking forward to that. Who would? When she examined me she said I was somewhere between 8 1/2- 10 weeks. I was trilled! From there we went to the other room to have the sonogram, and they determined that I was 10 weeks and 1 day. I cant even begin to tell you how happy I am about that!
I do have a sonogram picture, but have not scanned it yet. When I do I will post it.