I Finally Beat It and I'm Thankful!

I am so happy and thankful to say, that I think my cold is finally over! Just to be safe, I'll wait until Monday to start exercising again, but at least I don't feel like crap all the time anymore. Woo hoo!

Anyway, it's amazing how much better one feels when they are no longer sick, not just physically but also emotionally. I have felt totally on edge for the last couple weeks and in the last couple days that has gone back to less edgy (I don't think the emotional edge will really get back to normal until after pregnancy, or wait, maybe after I get over the first sleepless nights with the baby). Thank heavens for Adam being so patient and helpful these last few weeks (although he is that way all the time, I just especially appreciated it these last few weeks!). He has gotten our place 90% unpacked and decorated totally by himself. Though last night I told him that was only fair since I packed 90% by myself. :)

Now with most of the boxes unpacked, pictures on the walls, and most decorations up, it's really starting to feel like home. I think I'm feeling much more adjusted. Plus, there are some really cool aspects to our new place that I am now really appreciating.

The number one thing I appreciate, the toilets! I love the toilets here! I know that sounds kind of dumb, but Adam's parents were smart and kind enough to put Toto toilets in, which are like the best flushers in the world. We had an old toilet at our last place that didn't always flush properly, and that totally grossed me out. Especially since I've been pregnant! Now, no more toilet worries!

I also really love the tap water here. Adam's parents put a filter on the water for the whole house, so that means I don't need my Brita, the tap is already filtered so I can just drink straight from that (well, I do use a cup, but you get the point). Plus, they made us a really big, really nice master bedroom. Like 20' by 12' big. It's quite nice to have that much space, especially since the dog beds are in our room and soon the bassinet, so we'll have the entire family sleeping in our bedroom for a few months.

And finally, we have a racket ball court in our apartment. Yes, an indoor full size racket ball court with a climbing wall inside and other fun things that can be used (like there's hook ups for a volleyball net, a climbing rope, and scooters with attachments for games like hockey, basketball, and capture the flag). Because of my late pregnancy, I haven't really been able to take advantage of this room yet, but as soon as I'm recovered, I fully intend on having Adam teach me how to play racket ball. In the meantime, it's like Doggy Disneyland because it's a great place to play fetch in the winter and we can throw the ball way hard and have it bounce all over and make the dogs crazy. In fact, Rolo loves this room so much that as soon as Adam gets home and she has finished her crazy excited greeting, she runs to the racket ball court door wiggling excitedly, and then looks at the door, then looks at us, then back at the door, back at us, sometimes pawing at the door, until we either give in and go play with her in there, or walk away and leave her hanging. Possibly the only downside to having this super cool room in our apartment is that whenever the nieces and nephews are upstairs visiting grandma and grandpa, they want to come down in our apartment and play in the racket ball court. Although it hasn't been too bad, mostly they just come in during family parties and stuff, which is what we expected anyway.

So, if you all want to have a party, or you want to play a really good game of racket ball, come on over! Adam is way good at racket ball and will probably beat most people (so brothers of mine, next time you're in Utah you have to stop by for a game). Once the baby is born and a few months old, we'll have to have a little game tournament of some kind here. So if you're into physical games and would like to come, let me know and I'll make sure to invite you!

It's no fun being sick

I've been sick with a bad cold for about a week now. Prior to pregnancy, I wouldn't let a cold hold me back. I would still go to work and school, run errands, go out to do fun things, etc. Unfortunately, I have learned that when one is pregnant and gets a cold, one cannot go on living life as usual. I tried doing that and all it did was make me sicker. So, even though I had all kinds of fun plans for this weekend (I was supposed to be up at East Canyon for a girls weekend and before I left Adam and I were supposed to go to the Festival of Trees), I ended up sitting or laying down at home and just watching movies. Boring! The only up side was Friday my friend KrisAn decided to brave my cold and come visit me. Thank goodness!

Saturday I took a little turn for the worse and had a hard time breathing all day, so I pretty much stayed in bed. Thankfully Adam was able to get a lot of unpacking done and get decorations up in our place, so now it's starting to feel a little more like home.

After sleeping with the humidifier on full blast last night, I'm feeling a little better this morning. Although I'm bummed because I still don't think it's a good idea for me to go out, even to church. There are a ton of other pregnant women and babies there, and I really don't want to expose anyone else to this horrible cold. I wish the person who gave it to me would have been as thoughtful.

Anyway, the baby will be here in a matter of weeks now and I have so much to do to get ready for him, but unless I get better soon, I'm afraid I won't be ready in time. So, here's to hoping and praying I get better quickly!

Catch Up

It's been a while since I've written because things have been pretty busy. First, the weekend of October 17th was celebrate Melissa weekend, so of course it was great! On October 17th I had a fun baby shower (Thank you Megan, KrisAn, Mom, and Kelly for all your hard work!). We had great food, complete with two of my favorite treats, my mom's pumpkin bread and red velvet cup cakes! We played some pretty fun games, but my favorite was the diaper game. It's pretty gross, but still fun. There were 10 diapers passed around with different smashed, melted candy inside and we had to guess what it was. It's hilarious to watch people sticking their face into a dirty diaper. At least no on tasted it! My friend Megan took pictures of the shower, so you can see those on her blog here http://megananddan1.blogspot.com/2009/10/melissas-baby-shower.html

Anyway, later that night Adam and I celebrated my birthday, just the two of us. It was great to be able to go on a date again, especially since we haven't had time to in at least a month or two. We went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point and then out to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. And, in honor of my Autumn Project, we did have buy one get one free coupons, so that was super helpful! Then on Sunday Adam made me a birthday breakfast in bed and a great homemade dinner. We were actually able to relax and play games together, which was a nice change from the go, go, go we've been doing lately.

On Monday the 19th, my actual birthday, we went out to dinner with a few close friends to the Cheesecake Factory. Adam and I kind of have a love/hate relationship with the cheesecake factory. I love it, he hates it. I don't love their expensive prices, but almost every time I've gone there I've really enjoyed my food. Adam on the other hand, has never liked his food. I also love it because the portions are so big that Adam and I can share one meal and still come home with leftovers. Anyway, we got the avocado egg rolls for the first time (yummy), the Shepard's pie for dinner (that was pretty good, but not my favorite. Adam agreed), and of course, pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. The interesting thing is that I was actually underwhelmed with everything. Maybe it's because I'm cooking more, but I've noticed I don't enjoy going out to dinner as much. Ever since I started cooking dinner every night, I realized, I can cook a meal just as good if not better than what I get at a restaurant, and it's a whole lot cheaper when I do it! I can only imagine how my sister-in-law Dawn feels, since she's a real chef and probably can always cook a better meal than what she gets at a restaurant.

Anyway, since the "celebrate Melissa weekend" we've been busy preparing for our move. For those that don't know we're downsizing a bit (so we can afford for me to be a stay-at-home mom) and moving to South Jordan next weekend. Adam's been working hard every weekend and almost every night remodeling the place we're moving into (one of his parent's apartments) and I've been spending most days packing the house. I never realized how hard it is to pack while pregnant. The packing isn't the problem, it's moving the box after it's packed. Since I'm not supposed to lift much weight, it's really annoying to pack a box and then have to let it sit there until I can get someone else to move it for me, especially when compared to the weights I used to lift prior to pregnancy, it weighs practically nothing. A few times I broke the rules and moved boxes when I shouldn't have, but I paid for it later with pain and swelling. I'm just glad we're moving now before I get any further along and before the baby's born! With every week that goes by, it's getting harder and harder for me to bend down (due to my big belly) or to keep my arms above my head grabbing stuff (my hands and arms keep falling asleep), or just to have energy in general to constantly be moving. Plus, it'll be nice to get it over with before the holidays, especially since from that point it seems like it'll be a mad dash to my due date (which in my mind cannot come fast enough!).

So, now the house is 80% packed, the stuff we're getting rid of is 80% sold and gone, and the place we're moving into is 80% done. I just have to hope we can finish the other 20% in a week! And when it's all done, and we're moved and unpacked, I think I'm going to sleep for a week! I'm really looking forward to the day my energy comes back to me, though too many people laugh at me when I say that because theirs never really came back. So, if you have any spare energy, please, send it my way! I could really use it over the next couple of weeks!

Weight Gain

As everyone knows, I'm pregnant and therefore have been gaining weight. I totally understand the need to gain, but as I weighed myself this morning I actually had to fight back the tears of my new found weight (5 pounds heavier than last month). I realized I must be doing a few things wrong. First, I believe I'm putting too much weight on too fast (although my doctor says I'm still within the normal range). This frustrates the heck out of me for a number of reasons. First, before I got pregnant I lost a bunch of weight (like 55 pounds). So I really didn't want to gain any more weight than necessary during my pregnancy so I didn't end up back at square one. Two, I currently exercise at least 5 days a week, but usually 6 days. I go walking for about 40 minutes then I come home, stretch and do some light strength training for about 15 minutes. If I'm exercising every day, then why the heck am I gaining weight so fast?! I want half a pound a week, not a full pound a week! This leads me to the conclusion that it must be the food, I'm eating too many dang calories.

Food must be the problem. When I was dieting prior to pregnancy, following a good healthy diet was actually pretty easy most of the time. However, since I got pregnant, the thought of some foods makes me sick, while the thought of other foods makes me want them, NOW. For example, I used to eat at least one or two apples every day, but then I got pregnant and apples never sounded good to me. It's only been since last week that I can eat apples again. Then there's seafood. I used to love eating good fish like tilapia, salmon, tuna, and shrimp. Well, not so anymore! I've tried it a couple times just to see if I can eat it again, but no, it still makes me want to vomit. It has now been 5 months since I've eaten any kind of seafood. Now lets not forgot the stuff I have to have all the time, like sugary treats. Prior to pregnancy, I rarely ate them. Now, I crave it all the time. I don't have any other weird pregnancy cravings like pickles and peanut butter (actually pickles make me gag now) all I crave is sugar in different varieties. And yes, I often give in to this craving. But I justify it by thinking "Well, I pretty much eat low calorie, healthy foods the rest of the day, I drink plenty of water, and I exercise every day, so this cookie won't kill me," but apparently it does.

So, what do I do to slow this crappy weight gain? I'd love to say that I'll just stop eating sugar treats completely, but I know that's not going to happen. I can cut back, but not get rid of them completely. I guess I'll just cut the calories more in the rest of my diet and up my exercise as much as I safely can. Unless you've got any better ideas? How did the rest of you women fight too much weight gain while you were pregnant? Also, if you're willing to share, how much weight did you gain in your pregnancies and how much came off within the first month (you know, from baby stuff and water weight)? I need some comfort here people.

More Success

Today was my second time going grocery shopping from sales and coupons. I got $75 worth of groceries for $45, so I saved $30! And this time it only took me an hour total to plan my menu for the week and go through the ads and coupons. I'm up to making $30 an hour now, pretty good!

Also this week, I made a homemade pumpkin shake. I just used milk, vanilla ice cream, and a couple tablespoons of pumpkin from a can. It was actually really good. Tomorrow I'm making pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, yum!

So I had an idea today. I love pumpkin stuff so much and I really like to carve pumpkins (even though I totally suck at it) so I think it would be fun to have a "Pumpkin Party." All the refreshments would have to have pumpkin in them and the activities would have to involve pumpkins. Obviously carving pumpkins is a fun activity, but for those of you out there that are way more creative than me, do you have any fun games/activities that we can do involving pumpkins in some way (even if it's using fake ones)? And, if you're into pumpkins and would like to come to my party (don't know when I'll do it yet) please let me know, I'd love to invite you!

Autumn Project - 1st Attempt Successful!

My first attempt at part of my "Autumn Project" was a success! Today I spent 2 hours going through grocery sale ads and coupons, then created a meal plan for the week based on what was on sale. I was introduced to this awesome website, http://theobsessiveshopper.net/, which is where you can go, put in your area and pick the stores you want to look at. It then tells you all of the sales they have going on and coupons you can print out (thanks for the tip Lisa!). I did have to download the coupon printing software (took all of two minutes) and then I was able to search through manufacturer coupons that are good at any store.

Anyway, just from the coupons I printed out, I saved $15 (and that part only took about 15 minutes). After I printed out coupons, I then looked at the four main grocery stores that I go to to see what kind of sales they had. I made a list for myself in Excel with the Store, Item, and sale they had going on. In half of the cases, I was able to find an item on sale AND have a coupon on it (this saved me another $15). For those of you new to this like me, Walmart will match anyone's price and honor coupons. The only thing Walmart doesn't honor is buy one get one free sales (found this out the hard way today). Anyway, I then took my shopping list and created a meal plan based on what I already have at home and what I was going to buy on sale/with a coupon. Then I added a handful of things I needed that were neither on sale nor had a coupon for, but were necessary to complete my recipes. Finally, I took my shopping list (which I printed out from Excel to make things easier for the teller at Walmart for price matching), my coupons, and the ads (which I had just received in the mail two days before).

Shopping at Walmart did take longer than normal, but then again I don't normally shop at Walmart so I didn't know where everything was, plus the place was crazy busy. In the end I got $110 worth of groceries for only $61, a total of $49 in savings! Not too bad for my first attempt at shopping the sales and clipping coupons. I guess this is like making $24.50 an hour.

Now, I did get a few things I don't normally get (like some holiday treats that were on sale), so the jury is still out as to whether or not I will actually lower my overall budget for the month. Either way though, I do feel pretty good about my first coupon/sale experience. In the end, I probably would have bought those holiday treats anyway, just because I'm craving them like crazy, but at least this way I saved money. :)

Fun Stuff and “The Autumn Project”

This last week I've had the opportunity to do quite a few fun things. Here's the fun list from the week:
1st – I went to the What a Woman Wants Expo with my mom. Okay, so I was honestly a bit disappointed with the vendors there (specifically there's a really yummy bread vendor that has been at every expo I've ever been to at the Sandy Expo Center and they weren't there), but it was still fun. My favorite booth was a game booth where they sold all kinds of card and board games. I got two new games, Five Crowns and Ticket to Ride. Both are way fun and I recommend them!

2nd – I went to Oktoberfest at Snowbird with my mom. Again, I was a little disappointed with the lack of vendors there, but there was still some cool stuff. They had the Yo-Yo World Champion there who was doing some cool tricks, a German band with all kinds of fun instruments and German songs (lots of polka and yodeling type stuff), and of course, yummy Brats (although I won't be eating one again for the rest of my pregnancy since I paid for it that night when I was throwing up). The best part though was when we took the tram (a big box with 50 people in it hanging from a cable hundreds of feet above the ground) up the mountain to 11,000 ft. Then we hiked down a bit and rode a ski lift back down (which takes 22 minutes because we were so high up). It was actually quite beautiful, a little scary that high up, but fun.

3rd – Adam and I went to the Barnum & Bailey Circus with our friends Megan and Dan. Adam and I hadn't been to the Circus in years so that made it that much more fun. My favorite part was probably the dog show (it inspired me to try and train my dogs to do cool tricks) and the seriously cool disappearing tricks. Adam really liked the disappearing tricks too. Seriously, how do you make an elephant, tiger, person, etc. disappear when the cage they're in is off the ground? Way cool.

4th – My friend Megan and I went to the Miley Cyrus concert. I haven't been to a concert in three years, so this was way fun. Plus, it was Miley and as nerdy as this is, I love her! It was pretty cute to see all the kids there and how excited they got. Miley put on a great show, even though she had the flu. At one point in the show she had to run off stage to go be sick and her back up singers had to finish the song without her. Then they took a 5-10 minute break and then she came back on and finished the concert. So, thanks Miley for putting on a great show even though you were sick!

That's been my busy, but fun week!

Now for my new project, which consists of two parts. It's Autumn (my favorite season!) and that also means it's pumpkin season! I love everything made from pumpkins: pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake, pumpkin everything! So, my first part of the project is to try a few new recipes this Autumn. What I will do is make a different pumpkin recipe at least once a week and then I'll post the recipe I used and the results of my recipe. If I have time, I'll try to even do two new pumpkin recipes a week (maybe one treat and one dinner type recipe). If any of you have any really good pumpkin recipes, please send them my way!

Second part of my Autumn project is to use coupons! I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but I've never been a coupon clipper before and I've never been into looking at the grocery store adds. Prior to being a “housewife” I also worked 50 hours a week and I went to the grocery store on my way home from work, which ever store was the most convenient, even if they were more expensive. Since I've been staying home I've been able to cut our grocery budget in half just by planning in advance dinner every night so I just buy what I know I'll be cooking. Now I want to see if I can cut my grocery budget even more by paying attention to sales and coupons. So, for you more experienced budget shoppers out there, please send me your secrets! One thing I'm planning on doing is making a list of foods I buy regularly and what the “average” price is for these items. That way when I see a sale ad or coupon for one of these items, I'll know if it really is a good deal and if it's worth buying a lot of this item on sale. I'm a huge Excel fan, so I'll be making myself a nice little spreadsheet, possibly even breaking it up by the stores I regularly visit. If any of you have ever done something like this and are willing to share, please do!

I'll continue tracking my spending and compare my October and November grocery spending to my August and September grocery spending (Quickbooks is my favorite tracking tool! It is a must have!). Wish me luck on my two-part “Autumn Project,” and please send me any tips or recipes you have that can help!