Volleyball & Batman

Volleyball: On occasional Saturday mornings, I get to play volleyball with the girls at my ward. They all impress me with their diving skills (of course, you won't see this young lady diving for the ball- even if I wasn't pregnant, which is a shame, I know). It's fun to play with them because no one is afraid of the ball, but we still have a lot of strategy to work on. Unfortunately, I'm not a big contributer when it comes to strategy (I'm a GREAT bump-er, but don't expect me to set or spike... I hurt myself that way!). Someday I'll learn the techniques. 

Whenever I think of volleyball and why I love it, I've gotta give it up to my Harrison Bay Babes (HBB's)! Hehe, we had great YW volleyball days! "Harrison Bay, we got a VOLLEYBALL team!" [To the tune of "Cool Runnings"]. 

Batman: Okay, so I was a little skeptical to see Batman: The Dark Knight this past weekend- It looked so... dark and kinda creepy. However, Brian and I were awed by what they had done with the movie; it wasn't like what we expected or feared, but much better! Even the morals behind the story were very interesting. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Creamy White Chili Recipe

This recipe is delicious!! It's really easy and pretty quick, too.

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken breasts, cubed (uncooked)

1 med. onion, chopped

1 T veg. oil

1+1/2 t garlic powder

2 cans great northern beans, rinsed & drained

1 can chicken broth (14.5 oz)

2 cans chopped green chilis (4 oz. each)

1 t salt

1 t dried oregano

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1 t ground cumin

1/2 t pepper

1/2 c whipping cream

1 c sour cream

Directions:

In large pot, saute until brown the first 4 ingredients. Add the next 8 ingredients (stop at the pepper). Bring to boil, reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in the last 2 ingredients.

Chili Cook-off and Dancing

This past Saturday our ward held a chili cook-off and talent show. Thanks to Jess Holloway (a good friend from our last ward), I have her delicious creamy white chili recipe which we use often for its deliciousness (it won the chili cook-off at that ward). So, I was thrilled to make it for this cook-off. Despite the fact that we didn't win the trophy, Brian and I were still convinced that ours was one of the best, if not the best in our eyes! Feel free to ask me for the recipe! 

Brian and I got extra involved for this activity and participated in the talent show as well. (Of course, it helps that we're part of the activities committee.) We danced some LINDY HOP for everyone! We had a wonderful time just winging it up there and even threw in a lift (the L-train). Brian says my extra few pounds makes it harder for lift off, so we didn't get too much air! No matter, we both truly had a fun time and it makes me smile to know we still got it (sorta!). We may not remember all our moves, but we mostly make it all up now anyway... it's all about flirting and having a good time. [The pic is of us dancing in the ocean in San Francisco - fall of 2006]

Little Party Girl

When I went in to the doc last, he was struggling to get baby girl's heartbeat and said "wow, you have a mover!" Yep, she likes to create her own little party. It's usually in spirts of wild energy of throwing elbows and knees and who knows what. Brian got a "kick" out of it the first time he got to feel- it was fun to see his surprise! I'm just glad to have a healthy, active little girl (at least whenever she feels like it). I hope she grows up to be like her mom! :) 

Here's a new picture at 23 weeks on Oct. 26th. 

Substitute Teaching

I think over time, I’m learning that substitute teaching (or teaching in general for that matter) isn’t solely about babysitting and telling the kids what not to do. Today it dawned on me that I can teach them something and they can learn and it can even be a satisfying and rewarding experience. Today I took the chance to interact with my students more by getting to know them and telling them about me before we started our lesson. By the time I got to teaching, it was fun to explain the things we were learning and it felt natural. 

Baby Blessing Dress

LOOK! I made it! :) I feel like a giddy little girl! I am SO excited and proud to show you the dress I made for our little baby's blessing. It took me a mere 4 days: 2 to shop for supplies/fabric and 2 to sew! I must have been way too eager! I'm absolutely in love with this adorable dress!! yay!!!!

It's a GIRL!

Yep, it's a GIRL! Our 20-week ultrasound was on October 1st. I give bonus points to Brian who didn't miss a beat at showing his excitement for our big news when he was hoping for a big brother in the family. We are both truly excited to be having a girl (though Brian 

admits he'll have a rough time pawning off all the boys when the time comes! Perhaps he'll have to buy a few more guns. :) I can't wait to dress up our little baby doll; it's becoming more and more exciting. 

Here's another exciting thing: We hit bank at a garage sale and got lots of baby stuff- including a great crib and mattress for cheap, and all the bedding too! I was so excited to put it up (though we have a while to go) that I did it all myself and I can't help but grin every time I look at it. :)

I apologize for not showing off our ultrasound, but the pictures didn't turn out very exciting and I'm a little resentful I guess! We were hoping to get a cool picture of her spine as we watched the ultrasound live, but oh well.

A touch on being pregnant: I didn't know it could be exhausting or even a chore to feed myself, but it is! I usually love meal time, but since I'm supposed to eat all the time, I have to think of, prepare, eat, and put away everything I eat for every snack/meal. That gets quite laborious- especially including dishes. However, I keep going because my body needs it and the docs say I'm still underweight. Trust me- I'm not worried about gaining weight, because well duh I'm having a baby! But I'm not going to start on cookies and milkshakes just to put on some pounds. I'm surprisingly not into sweets. I only want to eat healthy stuff with the exception of maybe some fatty whole milk- yeah, I love that stuff and it's FREE being on WIC!  Whoo-hoo!