My sister in law, Amber, posted this picture on her blog and I stole it.
I decided to post it because I have been afraid to post a picture of myself
lately.
And this one is a great angle and I am hiding behind Clark.
I'm sure that was strategic on my part.
I know it's silly.
You're supposed to gain weight when pregnant.
But it's still hard for me.
I can't explain it.
I'm hoping when I have a "baby bump" I'll embrace my body more.
Yesterday I picked up a pair of jeans from my friend Nikki,
she wore them when she was pregnant.
She cut the size out so nobody could see what size she wore.
I laughed and felt very grateful another person had trouble with the weight gain.
I feel slightly less superficial.
Slightly.

On another note;
Isn't our family cute?

What I love...

Since being pregnant my taste buds have really changed.
Spicy food has never tasted so good.
In fact yesterday I found myself putting Sriracha (a thai hot sauce) on my food.
Something I have never done voluntarily.
Unfortunately, I cant tolerate eel which I used to love.
And I found that white sauce on fish makes me sick.
However, an ice cold boba drink is one thing
that has become 10x's better.
Along with Vietnamese style eggrolls and fish sauce.
My old coworker owns Boba Cafe in the Target shopping center.
Ultra Convenient.

Here are some other things I am loving right now.

1. Ultrasounds. The most incredible thing I have EVER
seen is my little peanut floating around in there. Wow, is now the most overused word in my vocabulary.

2. Volcano Candles from Anthropologie. Best Smell Ever.

3. Back rubs from Casey. I got two yesterday.

Which makes me want to forgive him for not helping me clean the dog pee.
***By the way if you Blog Friends could leave a comment for Casey pleading with him to help me with that... that would be fabulous. You could even drop the pregnancy word on him. Dog Urination and Pregnancy Do Not Mix. PS if you have never commented before this would be a terrific start.

4. Pharmakon by Dirk Wittenborn. I read this book in 3 days. I could have finished it in one and a half but I forced myself to put it down so I could enjoy it longer. It was that good. Pharmakon means both Cure and Poison in greek. Probably, the neatest word ever.

5. My ultra conservative neighbor who blasts 2-Pac while his wife's at work. I like to picture him wearing an apron and cleaning up their maltese's pee. It gives me hope.

6. This Lady

She does not let me down!! I've made 3 of her recipes just this week and they were all delicious. The best was her Outrageous Brownies. They have a pound of butter in them so you know they are good. And if you eat them while their hot they taste like Molten Chocolate Cake. They call for 2 teaspoons of instant coffee but I used decaffeinated because I'm super righteous like that.

7. The Shark Steamer.
This little number changed my life. I have the most high maintenance floors ever! Ugh! I hate them. I still have to clean them practically daily but it doesnt take me 3 hours. (Thats not an exaggeration) It used to take me three hours. Now they are done in a half hour. Fabulous!
Did I mention mine is pink?

8.Gossip Girl.

The Scandal!! I love Blair. She is so good at being the villain you secretly love. Casey complains all the way through it but I honestly think he likes it. When ever a super scandalous thing happens. He is way enthusiastic about the drama. He starts jumping up and down on the couch yelling Oooooohhhh! Maybe that was supposed to be between the two of us. I also really liked the pilot for Privileged. 90210, however, is terrible. I gave it another chance this week and it was horrible. Brenda's not even in it and Jennie Garth is a wet blanket. No more chances. Even if I am totally bored I am not tuning in.

9. Change of Seasons! Sweaters. homemade chili and cornbread. pumpkins. the heater. the smell of the heater when you first turn it on. my belly bump making an appearance. decorations. Christmas shopping. lots of family. a tree. La di da.

10. This picture of Casey showing off his stellar rock hard abs.

He also has amazing thighs, which he achieved by doing this:



I know. He's beautiful.

I am going to sign off in true gossip girl fashion...

XOXO

Like totally more awesome than Hiedi.

VS.

Idaho...Your ticket to Fun



We had the best vacation in Blackfoot, ID.
Ate way too much fried goodness.
Witnessed tons of hair travesties.
Hair teased so so high.
Like Paula Deen says, The closer to Jesus, the better.
Smelled pigs for the first time.
Made super fabulous jewelry with my niece Kaitlyn.
Loved the cold, rainy weather.
Enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa.
Watched home videos of the boys.
Didn't win the Lottery.
Even though Casey and I made a mental list of what we'd do with the
Money.
Had my first fresh side. Is that what it's called?
Oh and I knitted 7 rows of what is hopefully going to be a potholder.

On the way home Casey got sick and I had to drive.
I am the most nervous long distance driver...ever.
My palms were sweaty and my fingers cramped from holding the steering wheel
so tight.
Occasionally I took one hand off the wheel to bite my nails.
Miraculously, Casey felt better as soon as we pulled in the garage.
Sneaky.

I am so grateful for Grandma and Grandpa Randall.
They are sweet.
Funny.
Loving.
and wise.

And...
I have lost my husband to Fantasy Football.

Speaking of Casey- I should post this email he sent me...
It's a list of the foods he ate at the fair.
Try not to vomit as you read all of this craziness;

Fair food I ate

Cod, salmon, shrimp sampler

Smoked turkey leg

Corn on the cob

Scone nuggets with extra butter

Root beer float

Tiger ear

Baked potato with bacon and cheese

Lemonade slush

Wimpy burger

Kettle corn

Tortatoes

Sno cone

Carmel funnel cake

And now I must go to watch the premiere of 90210.

This post is dedicated to Amber...
Who's biggest fear is that Speidi will take over the world.

This is also in honor of The Hills premier this week
And all of a sudden Life Makes Sense again.
Lo still had her panties in a bundle.
Spencer was there in all his Doucheness Glory.
Hiedi was fakey fake fake.
New character! Hold the Phone!
Oh wait it's Heidi's super lame and equally fake sister.
With her eye on the Hollywood Prize.
Audrina was feeling Sad and Left Out and Totally Emo.
Whitney was Boring.
And Lauren is trying to Land herself a Man!
It is ultra satisfying to have all these trainwrecks back in my life.

Big big pumpkin!
As big as Spencer's head.


And The Next Bachlorette Is...

Yuck. There I said it.
I mean, I want a husband not a wife.
The great thing is that his son will be all up in the show.
Nothing like using a four year old to boost ratings.
But I am sure all you Jesse Haters will LOOOOVE this.


And Casey has already started his Christmas list.
Yep, 4 months early.
Here's whats on it...
A remote control car.
That's it.

Some of you might have noticed the "and a baby" on our new and oh so cool banner.
And Yes, "and a baby" means...
We got a brand new baby chihuahua!
No not really.
I'm pregnant!
12 weeks along, which hopefully means I'll be able to keep down my nutritious Wendy's 5 piece chicken nuggets in the near future.
Not that I have full blown Morning Sickness
in case you're curious.

I am trying to read What to Expect When Your'e Expecting,
but let's be frank; Breaking Dawn and Water for Elephants is much more interesting.
Still, I needed answers about how the whole labor thing works- that's what really scares me...
Thankfully I found this:

What to Expect When Youre Expecting just doesn't have these graphics.
And... in case you are wondering what would help me celebrate this very special news
Perhaps you could bake me one of these:


I stole the cake pictures from a blog I was stalking because I'm unoriginal like that.

The Good Stuff
Went to Smith and Wollensky's last night.
A nice break from McDonald's Dollar Menu.
No disrespect to Double Cheeseburgers.
Best steak Ive ever had.
Oscar.
Filet Mignon, crab meat, asparagus and bearnaise sauce.
With truffled macaroni and cheese for extra measure, oh and calories.
Casey and I decided you could shave truffles over anything.
Even Lucky Charms.
Casey in his best english accent... "this steak cost more than a freakin fortnight."
Good thing we had gift cards; Thanks Dad.

And...
My lilies make me smile 20 times a day.
Sometimes I'll just sit on the counter and inhale them.
I'm just going to say it...
Most Perfect Flower. Perfect color. Perfect Smell.
I'm grateful Casey understands my obsession.

And...
I got the new W in the mail yesterday.
I learned Bright, Tiny bags make a big statement.
Bold Jewelry... still in.
Gold...In again, at least for this month.
Charms...Still in.
And Violet is this season's prettiest palette.
Whew! Aren't we all the wiser.
I know everyone lives and dies by W.

And...
I spent an hour on this blog today.
The Martha Blog

Santa Barbara, California
We have been feeling that Summertime need to get out of Vegas.
We packed up and headed to Ventura and Santa Barbara.
The Temperature was 74 degrees.
The Strawberries tasted like Candy.
And we even played soccer with Beckham and Ronaldinho.
Check out Casey's slide tackle.

This is part one of this post... All the creative credit goes to my talented friend Amber... the most talented blogger in all the land. I even copied the color of her text.
Apologies go to my mom for the two piece.

Why you being so messed up China?

If you watched the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics you saw the girl on the left sing. Apparently, she was lip syncing. It was the girl on the right's voice.

A Chinese official said, "The main consideration was the national interest. The child on the screen should be flawless in image, in her internal feelings, and in her expression."

Basically the girl on the right is prettier than the girl on the left. Even the government is superficial. Like I said, Messed Up.

Courtesy of the gossip gangsta.

Poop.

Will somebody please tell Casey that this couch literally looks like a pile of poop.
Sometimes I think I know what my husband likes...