yum

Yesterday I used this recipe to make Cafe Rio's sweet pulled pork burritos, and let me tell you, it was delicious. Next time I do it I'll use her recipe for the rice and beans as well so I can get the full effect, but having the meat perfect was oh so heavenly. Apparently Dan knows how to make tortillas from scratch (they did this on his mission a bunch), so next time we'll also have homemade tortillas. Yum yum yum. If you don't live in Utah, like me, but are obsessed with Cafe Rio, I recommend this.

this is why...

Dan in his Sunday clothes is my favorite Dan.

Yesterday afternoon it started snowing. Hard. I was at a friend's house hanging out and doing laundry, so I didn't notice. I didn't leave said friend's house until after 5, by which time the storm had turned into a full blown blizzard. So, I was slowly making my way home, but almost every street I tried to take to get home was being closed down as I got there because the roads were so bad. I finally found a convoluted back way to getting to our apartment, after getting stuck several times along the way, but got stuck once again in the parking lot across the street from our apartment. By this time my nerves were raw from anxiety and frustration, so I called Dan. Like a knight in shining armor he came sprinting across the road and through the parking lot to where I was and took over the driving. Just so everyone understands completely, let me explain something:

this is our parking lot. In this picture you can see the street that we live off of, and across the street is the Dorms parking lot where I was stuck.

We love our car, the lemon
but, the lemon hates snow and ice
she does NOT do well with snow
at all
Our apartment is situated on an incline
so to get to our parking lot you have to drive up a steep road first
the lemon does not like this
but first you have to get out of the parking lot across the street
which also requires going up an incline
in the snow
which the lemon is opposed to

Knowing what was coming up even if I did manage to get our car unstuck in the parking lot, I started to panic. Luckily for me, Dan came and saved the day. He took over driving, somehow managed to get the lemon unstuck, made it up the small hill and out of the parking lot, and then made it up the even steeper hill and into our apartment parking lot. The lemon is currently at the bottom of our parking lot, completely stuck where she is, but I don't have anywhere to go today anyway. This may not seem like a lot to some people, but to me he was a real life saver. I had already been driving in that terrible weather for about 30 min trying to get home, when on a normal day it would have taken me 10 min at the most to get from her house to mine, and I was getting very emotional. Silly hormones. Is it any wonder I love him so much?

between a rock and a hard place

This is where Dan and I are sitting right now. Turns out that because the government wanted to help people through this economic crisis, they didn't take out as much federal taxes in each paycheck. Which means that when we filed our federal tax returns we actually owe the government money instead of getting any money back. This is completely unfortunate in many ways.
1. We're broke
2. We don't have any money
3. We were sort of counting on the tax return to be able to buy things for baby, like a crib and car seat.
Stupid government. We haven't filed our state taxes yet because we were so discouraged after filing federal, but maybe we'll get luckier with state.

I know this post was a bit of a downer, but I needed to rant about it for a second. I am just so stressed out and I don't know how we're going to get everything we need. However, experience tells me that in the end, everything does always work out and Heavenly Father will bless us. It happens every time, so I need to just have faith and keep my spirits up. It'll work out. I'm sure of it. I am just incredibly stressed out.

Quick Update

Last week Lianne and Derek were in town for Derek's work, which was awesome because Nan and I got to spend a lot of time together. We didn't do anything terribly exciting, but it was fun having her here and being able to chat and catch up. We did do some baby shopping, errr looking more like, together and decided on things we want. It's funny how different our tastes are. Because Nan and I were both up here, my mom and dad came up this last weekend and stayed with Dan and I so they could spend some time with the 4 of us. That was a lot of fun. I love having my parents around. Derek's parents had the same idea and came up to Manhattan the same day, so Nan and Derek had quite the family reunion while they were here. All of us went and got Frozen Yogurt from that new yummy place on Friday and then all of us went to the rodeo on Saturday. I couldn't be more disappointed with myself for not taking any pictures while everyone was here. The rodeo was amazing and so much fun, except that I can't sit on those benches for very long without my back killing me. But, other than that it was great. It was the first time my parents have been able to go to a rodeo since we lived in Texas, so they were really excited. While my mom was here she finished my baby quilt for me. I am so in love with it! It's exactly what I wanted. I have been looking and looking for bedding for the crib and nothing has been what I had in mind, so I'm really excited that she decided to make this quilt for me. We're going to make a matching bed skirt as well. It's going to be adorable.


To all my mom friends out there:
What are some things you absolutely could not live without the first couple months after your baby is born? I know I won't be able to get everything before this little girl arrives, so I want to make sure I have all the things I'm desperately going to need. Anything?

I haven't been feeling all that great the last couple of days, which is a bummer because I was planning on doing a lot this week. I guess I will just have to keep resting until this headache/stomach thing wears off.

Yesterday

• I got up early and made sure Dan ate breakfast and packed a lunch
• And then I dropped him off at the Vet school
• When I got home I did the dishes
• and then hopped in the shower and got ready
• Went to my doctor's appointment
• everything still looks great. Healthy baby
• Picked up Lianne and Derek and went grocery shopping
• Dropped Derek off with their groceries at his office
• And then went home and put my groceries away.
• Folded and put away all the laundry
• Reorganized the hall closet
• Moved the desk into our room so the baby will have somewhere to be
• Vacuumed
  
• Cleaned our bedroom
• and the bathroom
• and organized our closet
• Then I laid down for a while
• Dan got home
• I made him change into something nice that doesn't smell like vet school or cows
• Dan, Lianne, and I went and picked up Derek
• and we went to dinner at Harry's for a double date
• Sooooo yummy.
  
• It was a lot of fun.
• We dropped them off at Derek's office and went home
• I got in my PJ's and collapsed
• Pretty good day

This whole "nesting" thing is still really weird to me. Today I plan on cleaning the whole kitchen and living room and possibly moving all the furniture around to be able to vacuum and dust everything. :)

In case you were wondering, this little girl is quite the mover and shaker. They say that by now a baby should have sleep and wake cycles, but as far as I can tell she just has gymnastics and aerobics cycles. She is constantly moving. And, it's not little movements either, for the most part. It's big, all out, making my whole abdomen move, kind of movements. Such a silly girl. Dan and I just watch and laugh as my tummy moves around. We love her so much.

my love

Valentine's Day this year was uneventful, but great.
I made dinner and Dan loved it.
We had store bought cheesecake for dessert. Yum.
Cheesecake is Dan's favorite
that was my gift to him
While at the store, I bought some flowers and a Symphony bar for me
and told Dan that they were from him.
Clever boy, to be able to buy me things while at work.

We cuddled and watched an episode of Fringe together
before I got so tired I had to go to bed.

I slept next to him while he watched the K-state vs. KU game
K-State won!
It was apparently a very epic game.
I slept through it.

All-in-all, not a bad day. We didn't exchange gifts or do anything particularly romantic, but we got to spend time together.
I guess that's all that really matters.

Last Week

Was awesome.

• Went to the doctor on Monday
• Dan heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time
• that was the strongest heartbeat I had heard so far
• I asked if she would give us a quick ultrasound so Dan could see baby
• she was delighted to do so
• we got to see her little fingers and toes
• and her little face
• she kept opening and closing her mouth while on camera
• show off
• it was magical
  
• bought fabric for the baby quilt with my mom
• cut out all the squares for the quilt
• Dan would step in and cut when my back started hurting

• started putting all the squares together
• I watched as Mom sewed all the rows

• I wish I could sew
• someday I am buying a sewing machine
• successfully got the top of the quilt to match the same size as the back
• couldn't be more excited about it because it is a-dor-able

• went to the movies with the parents
• the movie was okay
• sitting next to my mom and heckling was priceless
• Dan made a man cave in the den
• and watched a lot of soccer
• and basketball
• and played lots of video games
• he was a happy boy
• ate good food
• overdosed on the Food Network
• relaxed and spent time together

It was perfect.

Here is a random belly shot from the car ride to Wichita. It cracked me up that my belly covered the seat belt.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope your day is splendid.

Fro Yo

We have found our new favorite thing.
Frozen Yogurt.

There is a new store that just opened up here in Manhattan called the Orange Leaf.
Basically, there is a wall full of all different flavors of frozen yogurt
and you grab a bowl and self serve however much yogurt you want.
Then, you go to this buffet thing and pick any toppings you want.
Yum.
After that they weigh it, and you pay.
I got vanilla yogurt with a bunch of different fruits and it was
Heavenly.

Thank you Fro Yo for giving us a pretty excellent, and mighty affordable, date.

what I'm thinking

I want to go back to Utah solely so I can go to Cafe Rio. I want one of those pulled pork burritos so badly! It's making my mouth water just thinking about it. If you live in Utah, do you think you could express mail one of those to me? I'll love you forever.

Dan's whole rotation was so bored yesterday that they played Hide-N-Seek in the hospital. How awesome is that? Imagine all these older vet students roaming around the halls, trying to appear professional, while actually playing a game. So funny. Dan said they might do it again today because the interns want to get in on it. Maybe next they'll get the residents to play. Epic.

I am missing my family quite a bit today. I got to see all my siblings a lot more this year than I usually do, and I think that must have spoiled me. Chris, Justin, Blaire, and Melissa, are you listening? Come visit me!

I can't wait for Monday because Dan has all of next week off and will actually be able to come to my doctor's appointment with me. This will be his first, and probably only, appointment and we're both excited. Maybe I can talk my doctor into giving me an ultrasound just cause. I also can't wait until next week cause Dan and I will be going to Haysville to hang out with my parents. My mom and I are going to make blankets and quilts for my little girl and I am so excited!!

My "nesting" instinct has kicked in. That's been pretty weird. I felt compelled to go buy a new planner, an address book, and a bunch of organization stuff the other day. It was like, if I didn't get everyone's addresses in one place, I would go crazy. Also, our apartment has never been cleaner. Totally weird. I bought this super cute storage ottoman the other day to put all of our baby stuff in because up until this point it has all just been sitting in the living room driving me crazy. It is all now nice and neat in the ottoman at the foot of our bed and I am happy. A little crazy, I think, but happy. Life is good.

Things

I LOVE:

• Our ward: The people are so nice and generous and we have made so many great friends within our ward. Someone gave me a bag full of baby clothes because she thought I might like it, and someone else has already offered to give us a car seat. So nice and generous! I am going to miss our ward so much when it is time for us to leave.
• 30 Rock: Haven't seen it? You need to. Hilarious.
• Peanut Butter: I don't feel the need to elaborate on this
• My fuzzy blanket: It's so fuzzy!

I HATE:

• Our neighbors

This may seem harsh, so let me explain. Our two apartments share a heating and cooling unit, which means that when they have their thermostat set to a million degrees and our heater is off, it's still 80 degrees in our apartment. I am already feeling overly warm all the time and then you add on the heater and it makes for a VERY grumpy me. Second, when said heater sharing happens, it blows the smell of whatever they are cooking into our apartment. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is because the smell of asian food is the ONLY thing that still makes me nauseous these days. Guess what kind of food they cook all day long? Yep. So, not only does my apartment feel like a sauna because my neighbors cannot regulate their own body heat, but it also smells like a chinese food restaurant. Ugh.

Thank you for letting me rant a little bit. And, if you have any tips about the neighbor situation that doesn't involve hurting anyone (Dan already shot my idea down), let me know.