Women

"Women of God cannot be like women of the world.  The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender.  There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind.  There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined.  We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith.  We have enough greed; we need more goodness.  We have enough vanity; we need more virtue.  We have enough popularity; we need more purity." 

Margaret D. Nadauld

"You were not created to be the same as men.  Your natural attributes, affections, and personalities are entirely different from these of a man.  They consist of faithfulness, benevolence, kindness, and charity.  They also balance the more aggressive and competitive nature of man.  The business world is competitive and sometimes ruthless.  We do not doubt that women have both he brain power and the skills to compete with men.  But by competing they must of necessity, become aggressive and competitive.  Thus their godly attributes are diminished and they acquire a quality of sameness with man.  The conventional wisdom of the day would have you be equal with men.  We say, we would not have you descend to that level."

President Ezra Taft Benson

So cute...

My wonderful sisters in law and mother in law made us baby bedding- it turned out so cute!  I put it on the crib as soon as i got the boxes.  It turned out great, I love it cause it isn't pastel and doesn't have animals or sports paraphernalia on it- which is about all you can buy in the stores for boy's bedding, and it's the colors I am using- gray, golden yellow, and deep blue!  Here are a few pictures...

(latest painting, hello little owl...)

Thanks Sharee and Jean and Heidi!!!

just a few random things...

i wish Hy-Vee delivered. cause in their deli section they have all this food and a big salad and soup bar and a fountain drink machine with...  Pibb. Xtra.  on tap.  but it's snowing (a little) and i don't feel like driving the 1/3 block drive next door to Hy-Vee right now.  plus Damon is at home studying at the moment.  he would be disappointed in my sub-standard drinking choices.  but i would have them deliver me their biggest size Pibb.

this is what we did this weekend:

we went to the library on Saturday for a few hours.  Damon studied.  i loaded cd's into my itunes... maybe some tim mcgraw and george strait (yum).  maybe a bob marley lullaby album.  maybe the Ratatouille soundtrack for when i cook. and maybe an n'sync album. just sayin'. 

tonight i'm making Pioneer Woman's chicken parmigiana.  if you haven't started cooking from PW, i don't know why you are still here and not at thepioneerwoman.com  for reals.  if i only made her meals from here on out, we would both die blissful. 

35 weeks tomorrow. crazy... and amazon has almost as good prices as costco on diapers.  anyone else notice that costco doesn't carry size 1's?  how annoying.  

yesterday my Bishop told me that i DID NOT look like i was about to pop.  what a nice man.  i knew i liked that guy.  and not just cause him and his wife had us over for brazillian food a while back or because when we played human-hungry-hungry-hippos with the youth he was super competitive and yelling and shoving young people on skateboards towards the cluster of bodies in the middle of the gym... i knew i liked him for other reasons, like, he flatters me. 

are you ready for a NEW year?

2011

This is going to be a big year.

Sometimes lately I've been wondering if we should have waited longer to start a family.  Mostly because we've been having so much fun together the last few months (how is that even possible, with med school?) that I wonder how it will be when we have a little person demanding attention and time and more.  I don't know if it was pregnancy or being out here in Des Moines away from family and all our old friends and familiar places, or being completely poor or just that we've gotten into our marriage groove (oh, I hope it's that!), but the second half of our first year(ish) was way better than our first.

Don't get me wrong, our first was great, but there is a lot of growing and learning that comes in the first little bit of being married, living together, learning to work/fight/eat/play/travel/finance together, and it wasn't always the easiest.

But now?  Now we are havin' a ball.  We know each other so  much better and know what the other wants (Damon is especially good at this) without always having to ask.  We know what makes each other tick and tock and go crazy and laugh.  Damon is the coolest person I know.  He is always happy, I don't even know how.  He's giving and kind and hilarious.  He won't throw away his ugly sweater (a wafflecone, red sweater vest, nonetheless) and wears it around the house.  He breaks into dance and loves the 'Cool TV' channel that plays the world's worst music videos that we sometimes have dance parties to.

He also does more for me than necessary.  Last night he got my toothbrush ready for me. And put it in my mouth.  and then we brushed out teeth together but laughing the whole time and my face leaked from my eyes, my nose, and my mouth.  It was funny, I don't know why.  He offers to carry me to bed even though I'm quickly catching up to him in weight. The other day he made me breakfast in bed even though it was fast Sunday and he couldn't even eat with me.  He just sat there and talked to me while I ate and even put peanut butter on my waffles for me.

Hey, sorry about the time I sneezed on you while we were kissing for photos...

Knowing Damon, I know I have nothing to worry about.  We are going to have so much fun together, the 3 of us. We are getting so excited for the baby to get here, and can't believe there are less than 6 weeks left!  I know the apprehension will be gone as soon as he arrives, and I get to see Damon be a dad.  And luckily, it's a boy, so I'll still be his #1 girl...

And I'll always get the first flight. 

In other news, I'm gonna work on changing the blog up a bit. I don't really like the way it looks anymore.  Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze it into my super busy schedule of laying on the couch and netflixing and blogging. 

2011

Whew, we are still alive!  We spent the last 2 weeks in Texas doing nothing and everything, and we didn't bring our computers, or cameras, for that matter!  We had an amazing time and especially enjoyed the 75 degree plus weather every day.  We have lots of stories to tell and a few pics from here and there that we'll try to get up, but for now, I thought I'd put up the best pictures we got of the whole trip...

My parents got us a 3d ultrasound- something I'd wanted but wasn't willing to pay for, and it was awesome!  The little guy has hair (not the dark stuff you see in the picture yet, that's just from the imaging) and big cheeks and great lips.  It was so cool to 'see' him... can't wait to really see him in the next 6 weeks!

apparently he has a puppy paw. 

eyes wide open

just hanging out, leg crossed over his knee

and then kicking himself in the forehead...

When we first started, he had both his legs and his arms crossed in front of his face, it took some shaking and moving around to get him to unfold for a few minutes...

I'm at 34 weeks, and we have an appointment tomorrow, so we'll see how everything's going, time is flying by, and I feel like we have so much to do (aka buy) before February, but we are both so excited!  I'm especially excited not only to have him here, but to get my body back!  I didn't think it was possible to be so uncomfortable all the time, but it's worth it...

I

got to stay home with damon all day after church got cancelled because of the overnight snowfall.  it started out a little rocky (the thought of staying home alllll day and not even being able to walk over to hyvee to look around or ANYTHING???) but we actually got some things done.  we fixed the crib- we'd put the mattress support upside down making the mattress waaaaayyy too low for me to reach in, even on the highest setting.  we straightened damon's hair with my chi.  we watched 2 episodes of grey's anatomy.  we made homemade cinnamon rolls (paula deen, of course!).  so we're sitting right at about 6:45.  who knows what we might do next!

just ate a cinnamon roll and some chicken ramen for dinner.  for breakfast i ate chocolate chip pancakes with peanut butter and syrup.  for lunch i had a small bowl of white rice and black beans.  i'm pretty sure the 34 black beans in my rice were the only nutritional thing i had all day.  i'm also out of prenatal vitamins.  so kid is getting no nutrients today.  bummer.  i have had 2 glasses of water, so i guess we'll see how tomorrow goes.

suck at calling people.  unfortunate sign of my times: i'd rather text or email than call anyone.  i'm part of that sad generation that is losing the ability to communicate.

think we have moved into the best ward i've been in since i joined the church in the brushy creek ward. maybe even better. i can't brag enough about my ward family, but i just love them all!

haven't had my hair cut in a year and 2 months. which is gross. i can't trust new people with my hair. and so i don't know what to do. bite the bullet?  wait till i'm in utah again?  i'm getting sick of wearing it up in a messy i-just-graduated-high-school-and-still-wear-my-hair-like-life-revolves-around-cheer-practice sort of  crazy ugly look. although i did take the time to blowdry my hair straight last night.  and then, remember, church was cancelled.

have started hearing the really obnoxious comments that people feel like it's ok to say to pregnant women.
 guy at costco: wow, you're due soon!
 me: (inside: do you consider 10 weeks soon, jack... you know what?) not really, still have like 2 months
 guy: oh, it's gonna be a big baby!
 me: (inside: gee, you're single huh?) hope not...  (this olive oil sucks, by the way)
seriously, why do people have no common sense when it comes to these things?  instead of asking, 'are you due soon?', ask 'when are you due'  (that is, if you have lost all sense alltogether and are going to assume a girl is pregnant. which is never a good idea).  instead of 'you look like you're going to pop', you could maybe say 'you look great!'.
last week, the checkout lady at hyvee was all, 'have a nice thanksgiving, it'll be the last one you'll get to enjoy!'  seriously?  i CHOSE to have a kid.  i know, hard to believe.  i don't want you to tell me how horrible life is going to be after having a baby.
and, if you are a stranger, why would you feel it's ok to grope me?  (ok, i admit this hasn't happened. i'm hoping i'm putting off a really good don't-get-near-me vibe)  why would i want you to touch me in a place nobody ever touches me except my husband?  or do you normally go around touching peoples stomachs?  i don't know, if you've never laid hands there before, it seems weird to do it once i have a being inside of me.  maybe that's just me.

can't wait until texas in just 5 short days!  my family and christmas parties and warm weather and rudys/chuy's/any other restaurant i can think of, damon out of school and with me allll day... ahhhh...

\

i call this one, prenatal nutrition.

Things I Miss...

D.I.
Good ol' Deseret Industries (it's my Church's Goodwill).  Everything is clean (mostly members donate, so no smokers- plus!) and there are so many options, and I happen to think Mormon ladies dress pretty well.  I've been to the goodwill and the salvation army here, and both time I looked for about half a second through clothes before I was more than turned off.  I really really need some long shirts, cause leggings are quickly becoming my staple outfit piece.  I also want some tall brown flat boots.  You know, nothing specific, just something kinda perfect.  Cognac.  Almost to my knee.  Not many buckles or other deterrents.  That's all.  I saw a pair at Marshall's a few weeks back and didn't buy them. Still wondering why not...


Milo.
I've been as dog hungry as baby hungry since we gave Milo to the family in Texas.  Worst. Mistake. Ever. I want him back so bad, sometimes I scan the Austin craigslist ads to see if he has shown up on the 'lost' posts or, heaven forbid, the 'needs a new home' posts.  Though we told them (and I've re and re told them through a few emails since July) that if they ever for any reason need to get rid of him, to call us and I'd drive down to Texas to get him.  Apparently they aren't giving him up though.

Also, I feel like a huge traitor that I look at other dogs.  If we get a new one, will I love it as much?  Will Milo know, from 1000 miles away, that I got another dog?  Oh, the angst. 

Utah. People and restaurants.  People more. (most days) the mountains (never thought I'd say that, but it's so much easier to orient yourself against a mountain than try to figure out what direction you are going).  On that note, the grid system.  I hate named streets.  I dream of the grids of Utah towns and cities.

The Temple.  I can't fit in my temple dress. We keep wanting to go out to Omaha and I really want to go in San Antonio over the break, but I'll have to figure out the dress situation.

elephant dude

After seeing about 10,000 cute prints on etsy that I wanted for the nursery, I decided I'd have to take matters into my own hand if we didn't want to completely break the bank on this room.  So far we've done everything on a pretty steep budget, buying and refinishing a craigslist dresser (which turned out awesome) and using stuff we had and hopefully some crafty skills to make decorations.  Today I decided to finally sit down and paint something for the room.  I'd gotten stuff on sale at Hobby Lobby (and then used their 40% off one item coupons on top of that) to craft with- canvases and acrylic paint and brushes and such.

This is what I painted today, I love it so... Our 'nursery' colors are gray and yellow (goldy/mustardy yellow, not pastel) and deep blue, so this painting fit perfect.  I have lots more that I plan to make, and luckily with Damon completely swamped with school the next 2 weeks before break, I've got plenty of time on my hands to get stuff like this done!

(it's a little dark cause I took it with my phone...)

Can't wait to show you my next one!  It's gonna have an owl in it!