elise navidad

dinner + a movie: soup + scoop

2012-02-17T13:22:00.000-08:00

do you guys remember the tv show, dinner and a movie? well, i'd like to do my own version here on elise navidad! it's pretty simple: i share a delicious dinner recipe and then a movie to watch after (or during) dinner!

read the recipes and movie info after the jump!

first up is dinner! tonight, i'll be sharing a hearty soup recipe, plus a healthy, and super easy recipe for irish brown bread (minimal kneading, and no rising)! i got both of these recipes from my older sister. she made this meal for us when we visited over the holidays, and steve and i fell in love (with the food). a warm, hearty and healthy soup is the perfect remedy for the winter blues, don't you think?

dinner: moroccan chicken soup + irish brown bread

MOROCCAN CHICKEN SOUP

ingredients:
1 tbs. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 tsp. garam masala*
5 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 16 oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 zuchinni, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup plain couscous
1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded and meat shredded
fresh cilantro

*if garam masala is not available at your grocery store, substitute 2 tsp. ground coriander, 1/4 tsp. ground cardamon, 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper. then measure out 2 tsp.

directions:
1. heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. cook onion until lightly browned (about five minutes). stir in garam masala and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
2. add broth and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. stir in chickpeas, zuchinni and couscous. cook, covered, until couscous is tender (about eight minutes). stir in chicken. season with salt and pepper, and top with fresh cilantro. serve.

IRISH BROWN BREAD:

ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tbs. cold butter or margarine
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup regular or quick-cooking rolled oats
1-1/2 cups plain, nonfat yogurt
milk

directions:
1. in a small bowl, mix all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. with a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture forms fine crumbs. stir in whole wheat flour, and oats.
2. add yogurt; stir gently. if mixture is too dry to hold together, stir in milk, one teaspoon at time, just until dough hols together (it should not be sticky).
3. turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently five times to make a ball. set on a lightly greased baking sheet. pat into a seven inch circle. with a floured knife, cut a large 'X' on top of the loaf.
4. bake at 375 degrees until well-browned (about 40 minutes). cool on cooling rack. serve warm or cool.

movie: scoop

scoop is a quirky woody allen film starring woody himself, scarlett johannsen and hugh jackman. it's a comedic mystery about an american journalism student in london, who scoops a big story, and strikes up a relationship with an aristocrat as the incident unfurls. funny and feel-good, the film will keep you guessing and giggling. plus, the language is clean, the violence is non-existent and everybody keeps their clothes on.

ch-ch-changes

2012-02-15T09:43:00.000-08:00

hey guys! today i'm working on giving elise navidad a face lift! can't wait to show you when i'm done! happy wednesday!

image via oh pioneer

a few last-minute surprises

2012-02-14T18:04:00.000-08:00

it's not too late to surprise your loved one with one more special little gift this valentine's day! here are some ideas to help you go above and beyond before you call it a night!

for her:

a love note a handwritten note on loose leaf telling her how much she means to you beats a store bought card every time.

breakfast for dinner chocolate chip pancakes, sizzling bacon, and heart-shaped eggs! breakfast for dinner is my all-time favorite (and so easy and cheap!) wouldn't this be a fun break from the traditional candle-lit dinner?

flowers every girl likes flowers regardless of what she tells you. rather than a dozen roses, pick up a single rose this year, or a pretty and unique arrangement like this one.

perfume a great way to help your love feel pretty and feminine. try chanel no. 5. sweet, elegant and classic. you can find it at most department stores.

a clean house if she came home to sparkling counter tops, a vacuumed living room, or freshly laundered towels, you win.

for him:

heart-shaped pizza make your own, or pick up a take 'n bake. who doesn't love pizza?

a head rub as far as i know, head rubs are loved by all males. not into it? pick up the invigorating tea tree shampoo that's like a minty head rub every time he showers. available at target and walmart.

the zombie survival guide complete protection from the living dead. steve needs this. pick it up at barnes and noble or walmart.

slippers these aren't just any slippers. they're memory foam slippers that not only keep his feet comfortable all day and night, but regulate temperature, so that they're never too hot or too cold. awesome. find them at bed bath & beyond.

a framed picture of you for his desk or office so he can think of you at work. and so female co-workers get the hint.

love countdown: ten romantic movies

2012-02-11T14:45:00.000-08:00

today, i'd love to hear what some of your favorite romantic movies are! here are mine, just for fun, and in no particular order...

gone with the wind epic.

roman holiday my favorite movie. so sweet and heartbreaking.

the notebook you know you secretly love it.

ghost unchained melody. need i say more?

moulin rouge voulez-vous couchez avec moi?

jane eyre you already know of my love for this movie. it's so good!

a room with a view funny, and romantic.

casablanca a classic.

romeo and juliet the 1968 version, of course

titanic yes, it's true. this happened to be on tv the other night when steve was at work, and i watched the entire thing! i sobbed for the last hour and a half. poor jude is starting to realize that his mom is neurotic. (are you going to see it in 3-D?)

image via listal.com

love countdown: your love language

2012-02-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

today i want to talk about your love language. have you ever read the book the five love languages by gary chapman? sounds a little cheesy, i know. when steve and i were dating, every time he would tease me, or i would say something mean sarcastically, but secretly mean it (please, you know you do it, too), my roommate would say, "guys...i don't think that's one of the five love languages!" we had no clue what she was talking about, until she explained that it was a book that she had to read for a marriage & family class. well, she got us the book as a wedding gift as sort of a joke, and it's been sitting on a book shelf ever since. well, the other night, i was perusing our bookshelf for a good read when i spotted it. intrigued (and missing said roommate), i opened it, began reading, and actually found it helpful. i normally steer clear of books of that sort, but this one's not terrible. it's mostly common sense information, that we [should] already know, but never hurts to hear. chapman says that we each have our own primary love language, and learning to speak our spouse's love language is important in maintaining a relationship. the five love languages include words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, physical touch, and acts of service. do you know what your love language is? do you know what your spouse's is? (it's okay, i don't expect you to tell me...just something to think about).

Walgreens

2012-02-09T13:00:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey everyone! Today I want to sort of switch gears from the norm and talk about something a little different. That something would be Walgreens! After I had Jude, the nurse at the hospital asked me what pharmacy I use. I had never needed to get prescriptions filled before, so I didn't really have a pharmacy. A Walgreens had just been built here in Logan, so I told the nurse that was my pharmacy, and I'm glad I did. They have been really great about getting our prescriptions filled on time, or reminding us to pick them up. That's why I wanted to let you all know that right now, Walgreens is offering a special discount on annual membership for its Prescriptions Savings Club: Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens. For $35 a year, a family membership covers everyone in your immediate family, including a spouse, dependents 22 and younger and pets. Plus, when you join, you receive discount prices on your prescriptions. An individual membership is only $20 a year. You also save on more than 8,000 brand-name and all generic medications, as well as flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers and diabetic supplies. Plus, you get bonuses when you purchase Walgreens brand products and photofinishing services. Not bad.

Support Walgreens and stay updated by liking them on Facebook and following on Twitter:

Walgreens on Twitter

Walgreens on Facebook.

I'll be back later with a new post about...you'll have to stay tuned to find out!

love countdown: soulmates

2012-02-09T08:15:00.000-08:00

happy thursday, everyone! i've decided to count down to valentine's day with five posts about...love! so to start things off, i want to talk about soul mates. first, what is your definition of a soul mate? your other half? the one and only person in the world meant for you? and secondly, do you believe in them? i'll tell you my take on soul mates after the jump!

click below to read more

when i was a teenager, i definitely believed in soul mates. i figured people got divorced because they married someone else's soul mate, and realized it too late (ha)! if that was the case, we would live in a very cruel world. after a few failed relationships, and a few years of marriage, i've learned that a soul mate isn't a predestined mate just for you. i do believe in soul mates, but i think that you choose your soul mate, not fate.

i think there are people that are more compatible for us than others. with seven billion people on the earth, i could probably fall in love with 100,000 men and be happy with any one of them. but that wasn't very comforting when i was single...it was more intimidating than anything else. when i started thinking about the possibility of marriage with steve, it was scary! as things got more serious, i started giving it more and more thought, and it came down to this: yes, there are probably other people in the world that i could be happy with. do i love steve enough to risk the thousands of other possibilities out there? do i love him enough to want to work hard at maintaining a marriage no matter what? do i love him enough to look past and work through his weaknesses and shortcomings? and lastly, does he feel the same way about me? in the end, the answer to all of these questions was yes, and because of that, we decided to commit to each other and get married. i feel like because we made those decisions, we became each other's soul mate.

that being said, i feel like steve is better for me than anyone else i could have chosen. i look back on past relationships, and with some people i dated, i think we could have made it work, if we wanted to. but we weren't committed to each other the same way steve and i were and are, and that's why those relationships didn't work out. in the end, isn't that why all relationships fail?

so, there's my take on it, what's yours? similar feelings, or completely different? i'd love to know!

images: audrey and mel, paul and joanne

valentine's tea

2012-02-08T14:57:00.000-08:00

valentine's day is six days away! do you have any plans? have you sent out your valentines? my step-mom introduced my sisters and i to something that she did with her daughters, called cupid's tea. a few weeks before valentine's day, she would gather lots of craft supplies, and prepare a tea party complete with heart-shaped sandwiches, gourmet hot cocoa, and tea cookies. you enjoy a delicious valentine's tea, and when you're done eating, you make homemade valentines for all your loved ones! what a great way to celebrate the holiday, and get all of your valentines done, right? i feel like this would still be fun as an adult though, don't you? i would love to get together with my sisters or girlfriends and have a grown-up version of cupid's tea. so, here's some inspiration for hosting your own vanetine's tea:

tea supplies

valentine supplies

heart stationary | heart picks | glitter | printable scrabble valentine (free! via oh happy day)

kids + airports

2012-02-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

a few weeks ago, we talked about traveling with a baby. i was so thankful for all of your tips, and jude did really well on the airplane. on the four hour flight to DC, he slept for half the flight, and when he woke up, we were able to entertain him pretty well. on the way back to SLC, he slept the entire way back! it was heavenly. i got to watch episodes of parks&rec and frasier the whole time! the hardest part about traveling with jude was definitely the time we spent in the actual airport...

exam fail

2012-02-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

steve has his first exam of the semester today, and i happened to come across these crazy exam answers this morning. some of them are stupid (ok, they all are), but it made me laugh. and i love that someone got +2 for naming a tooth chompy...?!

p.s. star wars test

via 9gag and math fail

diy kids art

2012-01-27T16:43:00.000-08:00

hey everyone! i'm working on a gallery wall for little jude's room, and yesterday, i experimented and made some art for it! i'm actually pretty pleased with the way it turned out. it's not perfect, but it's a lot better than some of my other artistic experiments (...you don't even want to know). mostly, i'm just proud of myself for trying it, and finishing it.

i'd love to show you how i did it after the jump...

you will need:

a large blank canvas or paper

large potatoes (one for every two colors you want to use)

acrylic paint

pencil

ruler or yardstick

paper plates (for mixing paints)

small paintbrush (for mixing paints, and touching up)

step one: cut the potatoes in half. use a circular object to trace a circle onto each of the potato halves (i used the bottom of the paint bottles). with a small pairing knife, cut around the circle you drew so that you're left with something that looks like this:

dab your new potato stamps with a dry towel or paper towel to absorb some moisture, and let them sit while you do the next step.

step two: decide how far apart you want your circles. this will depend on the size of your canvas, potato stamps, and your own personal taste. make a small dot on the canvas with your pencil, where you want the center of each circle to be. use the ruler to make sure your lines are straight and circles are evenly spaced (i cheated, and just marked dots in an 'L' shape on the canvas -- a column of dots on the far left side of the canvas from top to bottom, and a row of dots on the bottom of the canvas, from left to right. then, i just eyeballed the rest).

step three: squeeze out each color of paint, and begin! simply dab your potato stamp in paint, and stamp it onto the canvas. be careful not to get too much paint on your potato, or your circles will end up being misshapen, and bigger than you expected. if you have too little paint on your stamp, you can always go back and fill it in with a brush, or your fingers :)

step four: continue stamping, alternating colors as you go. if you don't want it to look too methodical, stamp two of the same color in a row every few rows (otherwise, you can end up with diagonal stripes across your canvas).

step five: when you've covered your entire canvas, let it dry overnight, and then go back and do touch ups. if you have any pencil marks that can be seen, get rid of them, fill in any translucent-looking circles, touch up and misshapen circles as best you can, and white out any drops of paint that may have fallen where it wasn't supposed to. then let it dry, and hang it up!

so, there you have it, my first diy art tutorial! honestly, it was super easy, extremely inexpensive, and i even did it while jude was awake! it took me an hour, tops. eventually, i'd like to do another one, now that i have a handle on it. it would be fun to experiment with a wider variety of colors, shapes, and canvases. i even think with the right colors, this could work in an adult space as well!

p.s. sorry for the poor image quality...my camera is like, eight years old.

parenthood post: home schooling

2012-01-26T09:02:00.000-08:00

hey everyone! for today's parenthood post, i'd love to get your take on home schooling...

growing up i always wished i was home schooled, because i hated school. but i think a lot of kids feel that way. looking back, i'm glad i went to public school, because i'm naturally an introverted person, and i feel like school pushed me (in a good way) to make friends, and get involved in sports, music, and other extra-curricular activities. but now that i'm a parent, the thought of sending my sweet, innocent little jude off to the jungle that is public school terrifies me! i'd love to think that i'll be able to give my kids everything they need to know to survive on their own, and "remember who they are" but, let's be real, it's a scary world out there, and sometimes i feel like although i survived high school with my integrity intact, it was by the skin of my teeth. on the other hand, i feel like facing the challenges that public school brings helped me become more independent and more confident in what i believed, and who i was.

so, i want to know...will you home school your kids? is it something you've thought about? were you home schooled? pros and cons? i'd love to hear your thoughts!

clean: daily tidy-up rountine

2012-01-25T11:28:00.000-08:00

hey everyone! one of my resolutions this year was to be more organized and keep up with the house cleaning a little more efficiently. after a few weeks, i think i've nailed down a pretty good system, and i'd love to share it with you!

i've created daily weekly, monthly, and seasonal lists/tips! but today i'm going to share my daily tidy-up routine. i do most of it right after jude goes to bed, and it only takes me about twenty minutes. it's really simple, but it's made the biggest difference! life is so much better when you wake up to a clean house!

see my tips after the jump! (click below)

make beds make it the first thing you do when you wake up. roll out of bed, make the bed, then head downstairs to hit the shower, or make breakfast. remember, no matter how clean your room is, it won't look that way if your bed is a mess.

spray down the shower after i take a shower, i spray it down with a daily shower cleaner (no scrubbing required). and after i give jude his bath, i hand him off to dad to get him dried off and in his pajamas, and i'll spend two minutes wiping down the tub. these two things have made weekly bathroom cleanings much less intimidating.

clear sink i don't have a dishwasher. washing dishes by hand is the bane of my existence. as i cook and eat throughout the day, i'll rinse the dishes and put them in the sink, because a lot of times i just don't have time to wash them all. so when jude goes to bed, i'll crack out all the dishes left in the sink. it usually takes only about ten minutes if i remember to do it every night.

wipe down counters after i'm done with the dishes, i'll wipe down the counters and stove, first with a wet wash cloth, and then with an all-purpose cleaner. it takes two minutes.

sweep floors once the surface areas are done in the kitchen, i take a broom to the floor, and shake out any rugs. it makes such a huge difference to have a clean floor, and it only takes a minute.

clean/polish kitchen table and chairs if you're like me, the kitchen/dining table ends up as a catch-all for knickknacks during the day. when i'm done wiping down the kitchen, i'll clear anything on the table, wipe it down with polish, and then wipe down the chairs really quick, too. it takes me a minute.

straighten rooms pick up toys, put away books, magazines, clothes, craft supplies, anything that's been left out. i have a basket at the bottom of the stairs that i pile things in that need to go upstairs. at the end of the day, i take it up with me, empty it, and in the morning bring it back down. that way i'm not running up and down the stairs twenty times a day (although that would probably help me burn some calories).

so, there you have it, seven easy steps to maintaining a clean house! remember, if your sink is overflowing with dishes, and you have piles of clothes all over your bedroom floor, this won't be a twenty minute tidy-up. but once you get your place to a livable state, these tips will help you keep it that way, and save you an entire weekend of deep-cleaning.

so, do you have a daily cleaning routine? any helpful cleaning tips? i'd love to hear! and stay posted, i'll be sharing my weekly cleaning checklist next!

image above via realsimple.com

typoclate

2012-01-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

with valentine's day less than a month away, i have chocolate on the brain (also, it seems like everyone i follow on pinterest has been pinning ridiculously delicious-looking chocolate recipes, and it's doing nothing to help me with my no junk food plan this month). anyway, chocolate and type have been pairing up recently, and i like it. instead of picking up a heart-shaped box of russel stover for your loves this year, why not choose one of these wordy options below...

i love interesting typography, and new ways to use it (especially when it involves chocolate). my favorite is the chocolate scrabble!

image info: dynamo blog, oh happy day, mary & matt, behance, typography.com, lucinda ireland, ask alexia, chocolate 'w' cake

weekend reads

2012-01-13T18:18:00.000-08:00

well, everyone, we made it through another first week of school. i'll be honest, this week has been rough. i'm not sure why...maybe because jude is teething again, maybe because school started back up, maybe because the temperatures have plummeted, or maybe because the three of us are still sick. we've been passing some bug around for the past two weeks, and just can't seem to shake it. it's frustrating to say the least. but it's the weekend now! and i don't know what we're going to do, but it won't be school or work related! i'm looking forward to settling in on the couch and catching up on some reading. blog reading that is. i follow dozens of blogs, and today i'd like to share with you three of my favorites that you can browse through if you get some downtime this weekend!

1. a cup of jo

joanna is a magazine writer and blogger living in NYC. her blog covers everything from motherhood to travel, life in NYC, relationships, and food. she's a talented writer, and all of her posts are interesting and creative.

2. this is glamorous

i discovered this blog about a year ago, and fell in love. this is glamorous is...glamorous. roseline's posts are dreamy and poetic. the only negative is that after i browse it, i feel extremely under-dressed.

3. me and alice

susanne lives in sweden with her family, and shares gorgeous photos of her scandinavian home with her readers. her posts are sweet and simple, and you can't help but like her.

happy reading, and have a refreshing january weekend! what are some of your favorite blogs? i'd love to know (and add a few more to my own reading list)!

hair: long vs. short

2012-01-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

if you know me, you know that long hair suits me best. it's taken me numerous bad haircuts to learn that. in fact, my hair is almost at the length i want it, after chopping it off during my second trimester of pregnancy (it doesn't help that my hair grows slower than cold tar running up a hill). but sometimes i look at girls with short hair, and i get a crazy desire to chop it all off! but all i have to do is pull out my seventh grade yearbook picture and that thought vanishes in an instant. some people can pull off short hair. i cant.

long

short

so, which do you prefer? long or short? what's the shortest haircut you've ever gotten? have you ever grown your hair out so long you could sit on it?! i'd love to know!

all images found on pinterest

resolutions: wealth

2012-01-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

as most of you know, steve and i are both college students, attempting to raise a rambunctious little boy. so our well of wealth isn't exactly overflowing. but our resolution for 2012 is to start building wealth. last year, we got ourselves completely out of debt, which feels amazing. our only debt now is our car payment, but we hope to have our car fully paid off within the next few months. we feel like we're finally in a position to start saving for our future. here's how we plan on doing it...

the ten percent rule. the easiest way to start saving. when you get your paycheck, automatically put ten percent into your savings account. we get paid weekly, so we estimated our average monthly income and just put ten percent away at the beginning of each month. most banks will do it for you automatically if you ask them to. what's nice about the ten percent rule is that once you make it a habit, you don't even think about it, and you don't miss the money. tight on cash? start with five percent. even if you only make five hundred dollars a month, saving five percent of that leaves you with three hundred dollars at the end of the year. it might not seem like much, but it's a whole lot better than zero.

the step-down principle. this has saved our bank account. before we had jude, steve and i ate out all the time. we were both living really busy lives as full-time students, and at one point, we were juggling five jobs between the two of us. i would get fast food on my lunch breaks all the time, and so would steve. and then we would go out to dinner because i got off work at midnight, and had no desire to whip up some baked ziti and then clean it all up. the nights we weren't working, we would still go out to eat, because we felt like we finally had free time, and we should do something special. so we started using the step-down principle. basically, we would say, "hey, it's friday, let's go eat at cafe sabor, and then go see a movie" ($45). then we'd go, "okay, maybe cafe sabor, and we'll see a movie at the cheap theater" ($33). "or maybe we'll just eat at costa vida and get a movie from redbox" ($16). "you know what, we'll just make tacos at home, and then go get a movie from redbox." ($1). i'm not saying you and your spouse should never go out and treat yourselves. but most of the time, there are always more affordable options. and cooking together always beats sitting in a crowded restaurant with an obnoxious waitress, and dozens of students on awkward first dates.

cash stash. we really need/want a new laptop, a nicer camera, a couple of bookshelves, and want to save up for a road trip this summer. for purchases like these, we decided to start putting away actual cash to save for them. i can never justify a big purchase even if it's something i know we need (and even if we have the money for it)! i just want to hold onto any excess cash we have. it eases my mind a bit if i can withdraw twenty bucks here and there and let it add up slowly. that way when we do go camera shopping, i'm not thinking, "do you know how many diapers this would buy me?!" i can spend the money on a camera, because i know that's what the money was for.

so, there you have it. three easy ways to start saving. i know this is pretty basic, but it's a great starting point (it was/is for me, anyway). SO! have any financial goals for 2012? any money-saving tips? i'd love to hear them!

resolutions: health

2012-01-05T17:19:00.000-08:00

so, it's the new year, and i'm sure many of you have made fabulous resolutions to make 2012 a little better than 2011. as have i. one of my resolutions is to get in shape. shocker, huh? like you've never heard that before. and, correct me if i'm wrong, but i'm willing to bet that a lot of you have a similar resolution. why do we make the same resolutions every year? why is getting in shape such a common new year's resolution? maybe because it's a good one. and maybe because we messed up on it last year. but i made the resolution yet again, and plan on sticking with it. and here's how i'm going to do it...

first, and foremost, steve and i are doing this together. which means we can either encourage each other or enable each other. we hope to encourage each other. in the past, we have enabled. but not anymore. because we have a plan, and stronger will power. my goal isn't to lose a certain amount of weight, or fit into a certain size. i just want to be healthy, and feel good inside (okay, i know that sounded really cliche but it's scientifically proven that healthy people are happy people). i want to look and feel my best, and i wouldn't mind gaining a little more muscle. here's my plan:

cut the junk. in the month of january, we are cutting out all junk food. all of it. no cookies, cupcakes, doughnuts, bagels, pizza (my favorite), chips, candy, soda...none of it. so far we're doing great (yes, i know we're only five days in), but here's the thing: cutting these things out has already motivated me to eat less crap. it's ridiculous to tell yourself that you will never eat junk food for the rest of your life, but try going without it for a day, a week, or a month, and see what happens. it's a great jump start. when we do start integrating things back into our diet, it will be slow. for example, having a brownie for dessert once a week (and to ensure you don't eat the whole pan, cut the brownies up, throw them in a ziplock bag, and store them in the freezer until next week).

have a curfew. make a commitment not to eat after a certain time each day and stick with it. for us, it's eight o'clock. which is hard, because sometimes steve works until ten. so, i make dinner ahead of time, and send him to work with a tupperware that he can heat up during his break. the hard thing for us is not snacking while we watch tv at night. i try to brush my teeth at eight, so i'm not tempted to eat anything later.

push myself. until i started rowing in high school, i had never really pushed myself physically. i've always been lanky and have never needed to work out to stay thin. which might sound great, but it made me think i could eat all sorts of junk and not have to deal with the consequences. when i took a nutrition class in college, my whole perspective on food and health and exercise changed. my parents were always good about making me eat my vegetables, and i finally understood why. i decided to start taking PE classes, like kickboxing, self-defense and water aerobics, and i was amazed at how much stronger i became by the time each semester ended. for me, finding the motivation to push myself is the hardest thing. steve can go to the gym and has no problem going up in weight if he feels like things are getting too easy. i'm not that way. i have to be in a setting where i'm forced to do it, or else i get too comfortable, and don't progress. workout in a way that pushes you, but doesn't make you despise working out. for example, i detest running. so i don't run. instead i get on a bike, or do jumping jacks, or if i have to run, i make it a fast, five-minute sprint.

stop making excuses. vegetables are expensive and disgusting, i don't know where to start, and i don't have time. probably the top three reasons that i don't eat healthy or workout. my solution: make a budget and eat them anyway, just start, and find time. it really is that simple.

so, now that i've blogged about it, my health resolution for 2012 is official. and i'm accountable. so i want to know if you have any tips? or if you made a health resolution for 2012? tomorrow i'll share my wealth resolution with you...

top image via oprah.com, bottom image via this blogger

2012

2011-12-31T08:55:00.000-08:00

happy new year's eve!

how will you ring in the new year? steve and i will spend a quiet night at home with friends, playing games and snacking. we're also starting a new tradition! we will say goodbye to 2011 by sending balloons into the sky as a way of letting go of all our cares from the previous year, and looking forward to a fresh start and a clean slate. do you have any new year's traditions? are you going out, or staying in this year? whatever you do, be safe and i'll see you in 2012! (unless of course, the world ends). happy new year!

hello

2011-12-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

hey everyone, just dropping in to say a quick hello! how was your christmas? ours was wonderful, and went by way too fast. our week away in virginia was fantastic, and exactly what we needed (although not nearly long enough to squeeze in everything we wanted to do). hope you're enjoying these last few lazy days of 2011. i'll be back later this week with a new year's post!

the photo above was taken by my brother quinn, on christmas morning.

parenthood post: traveling with baby

2011-12-17T10:27:00.000-08:00

guess what? steve, jude and i are going to DC for christmas! we're excited to get out of town, see family, and experience the east coast again! but a little nervous about a 4.5 hour flight with jude on our laps (because let's be real, there is no way he's going to sit on our laps for four hours). so, i want to ask all you parents if you have any tips for traveling with a little one.

we have flown with jude before, but it was a much shorter flight and he was only two months old. he just slept the whole time. and we've driven long distances with him (to kansas city and back), but we could always just pull over and feed him when he needed it, or get out and walk around if he needed a break from the car. that doesn't fly on an airplane (no pun intended).

i've got a few tips of my own, and i'd love to share. you can read them all after the jump! (click below)

BEFORE YOU GO

1. pack a few diapers in you carry-on to get you through the flight, but order diapers from amazon.com, or diapers.com ahead of time, and have them shipped to your destination. you don't want to have to pack forty diapers in your luggage. if you don't want to pay for shipping, plan on buying diapers once you arrive.

2. kids under two are "lap children" meaning they fly for free, because they won't take up an extra seat. but when you make your reservation, be sure to tell the airline you'll be traveling with a baby. if the flight isn't oversold, sometimes they'll put you by an empty seat, to give you a little more space.

3. if possible, make arrangements to borrow a car seat and stroller from a friend at your destination. we've flown with a car seat and it is a pain in the neck to lug that thing around an airport. you can check it, but you've seen the way baggage handlers handle baggage, right? strollers can be a convenient way to cart your baby to the gate, but consider a sling or baby carrier instead. you'll be grateful when you see the other couple trying to hurriedly rip their sleeping baby from its cozy stroller, and frantically jam the stroller into a folding position, while the gate agent is irritably saying "last call for johnson, party of three!"

4.carry on only the essentials. these days you have to pay if you want to check a bag, but it's better than trying to juggle three overstuffed carry-ons and a baby (yes, i'm speaking from experience). consider packing one large suitcase for most of your things, and carrying on one medium bag for in-flight essentials (diapers, books, toys, wipes, snacks, wallet, phone). also, make sure you know how much the checked-bag fee is before you get to the airport. for some airlines it's $15, for some it's $50.

5. give yourself more time than you normally would. you want to get to the airport an hour before your departure time, no matter what. with a baby, try to get there an hour and a half ahead of time. you never know what could happen in that frantic hour before you board the plane, and even if everything does go smoothly, you'll have extra time to let him stretch his legs, feed, get in one last diaper change, or wear himself out before the flight. (p.s. if you're bringing pre-made formula or breast milk, security has to test it to make sure it's harmless. it only takes a few minutes, but consider that when you're thinking about time).

DURING THE FLIGHT

6. if your baby still nurses or bottle-feeds, do it during take-off and landing. babies can't pop their ears on their own, and feeding helps them adjust to the pressure change (it'll also keep him distracted, and calm).

7. if you're traveling with your partner or spouse, take turns. i've heard that sitting apart on the plane helps. that way you can switch off every hour, and you can get some time to read, nap, and relax baby-free. plus your baby will get excited to see mom after an hour of being with dad, and vice-versa. (steve and i are sitting together, so this won't work for us).

8. if it's a long flight, bust out the toys one at a time. if you give him all the tricks in your bag at once, he'll get bored and restless faster. when he starts getting antsy, read him one book, until he gets tired of it. then put it away, and bring out a toy. when he's tired of that, give him a snack. you get the idea. also, consider getting a new toy, or a new book for the plane. it won't keep him occupied forever, but it could buy you a decent chunk of time.

9. if you have a laptop or ipad, bring it. jude loves yo gabba gabba and a few animated movies (toy story, wall-e), and it would be great if he could watch them during the flight. unfortunately our laptop has a ten minute battery life, and we don't own an ipad.

that's all i got. and it all sounds good in theory, but will it go as smoothly in real life as in writing? probably not. so, i want -- no, NEED -- to know...have you traveled with your little one(s)? if so, was it better or worse than expected? was everyone annoyed with you for daring to bring a baby on board? and most importantly, any advice you can give a pair of nervous parents?

image above via lowfares.com

a gift guide for the little ones (part 2)

2011-12-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

are you guys ready for part 2 of my gift guide for the little ones? today's guide is inspired by (you guessed it) none other than little steven jude! if you know any sweet-cheeked, rambunctious toddler boys, this should help you find the perfect gift for him this christmas!

click below to see the full gift guide

toy hammering block, because it would keep him entertained for hours, $5.99, ikea

baby slippers to pad around the house in, $10, h&m

new books, because mom has all of his memorized, amazon

stripey sweater, because he looks so handsome in stripes, $20, h&m

a teepee to play, read and cuddle in, $120, the land of nod

grey wool botas, so he can be stylish, $29, toms

band in a box, because he's a natural musician, $29, the land of nod

double warm monster hat, to keep his little head nice, and toasty, $24, hanna andersson

a gift guide for the little ones (part 1)

2011-12-15T18:21:00.000-08:00

hey guys! today i'd like to share a gift guide for the little darlings in your life! this post is inspired by someone who is very girly, and a little bit goofy...

olivia! my very own adorable niece, who i will get to see (and little jude will get to meet) in five days!

click below to view the full gift guide!

the yo gabba gabba soundtrack. because listening and dancing to music is...awesome!

$9.99, amazon

girl's polka dot caroline cardigan, for when she's feeling pretty, $59, jcrew

fun letter crayons because if she's anything like her mom, she loves to color, $5.76, posh paper creations

toodee cuddle pillow, because she likes to have fun! $12, target stores
red glitter bows, so she can be festive too, $3.49 for two, poppy bows

wooden fruit set, because who wouldn't want that? $24, pottery barn kids

baby animal prints because they're sooo sweet, $25, the animal print shop

reversible kid's apron, for when she's helping mom in the kitchen, $24, bloom works

stripey tights to keep her chubby little legs warm, $9.94, old navy

origami money

2011-12-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

ok, giving cash as a gift isn't homemade, sentimental, or original. but always appreciated! check out this insane money origami!

my parents always crinkle up one dollar bills, throw them in a salad bowl with some salad tongs, and give it as a wedding gift. so essentially, you have a money salad! not bad, huh? i love the idea of gifting cash creatively. have any of your own? i'd love to hear!

p.s. gift card monsters!

origami money via nick cannon

word clocks

2011-12-09T12:38:00.000-08:00

this has nothing to do with christmas (unless you're looking for a cool gift), but i wanted to show you these word clocks. they may just be the coolest way to tell time.

pretty cool, huh?

homemade wrapping paper

2011-12-08T11:09:00.001-08:00

hey guys! today's homemade christmas post is all about wrapping paper! i've linked up a few of my favorite homemade wrapping ideas that i've found from around the web. all of them are easy, pretty, and so much cooler than store bought paper!

coffee filters + ribbon via decor8

see eight more diy wrapping ideas after the jump! (click below)

paper bags + doilies via robbie and erin

snow globe gift wrap via design*sponge

computer paper giftwrap via bhg

read wrap magazine and then use the pages as wrapping paper. brilliant! via mint

stenciled gift wrap via diy network

map wrapping paper! original source unknown (but pretty self-explanatory)

medallion glitter wrap via ambrosia creative

newspaper + baker's twine (so easy) via allora handmade

hope this got your creative juices flowing! i've also seen fabric used for wrapping (think red polka dots, or even burlap), sheet music, and hand drawn. funnily enough, we used store-bought wrapping paper this year. steve got all of his christmas shopping done before halloween, and the gifts have been wrapped and sitting in the guest bedroom since mid-october. do you know how hard it is not to sneak a peek? it's basically torture. happy wrapping!

p.s. glamorous wrappings, and my favorite wrapping: simple red on white
p.p.s. free printable wrapping paper

go sledding!

2011-12-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

with temperatures barely bearable, skies gray as can be, and darkness falling at five o'clock, it's easy to feel trapped inside this time of year. for me, especially. poor jude rarely gets out of the house these days, and i feel guilty about it. i'm always coming up with excuses to stay inside, because i don't want to face the cold. but, you know what? winter only comes once a year, and you might as well take advantage of the things you can do in the snow, while there's still snow! why not bundle up, grab a sled, and find a hill? did you know that a person weighing 150 pounds burns approximately 450 calories from one hour of sledding? so, if you ate a hot dog for lunch, you just burned it off. or if you ate a six inch subway sub, you burned that off, plus the dr. pepper you drank with it. not bad, eh?

sledding seems like such an obvious winter activity, but when was the last time you actually did it? i think i was probably fifteen last time i went! my goal: go sledding this year!

images via pinterest

have a hot chocolate night

2011-12-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

it's not christmas without hot chocolate. i drink hot chocolate every single day in the winter. literally. sometimes more than one cup a day. so, i might as well make an event out of it. round up the family on a snowy night, and serve up some gourmet cocoa. i'd love to sip on homemade cocoa while watching rudolph, wouldn't you?

click below for a few of my favorite (easy) homemade hot cocoa recipes

cinnamon cocoa simple, easy, delicious, holiday-ish.

ingredients
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 cups 2% milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon

instructions
in a medium saucepan stir together sugar, cinnamon and cocoa powder. gradually stir in milk until smooth. heat over medium heat until warm. remove from heat. top with marshmallows.

peanut butter cocoa

ingredients
2 cups 2% milk
1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

instructions
in a medium saucepan over low heat, warm milk until it just begins to simmer and bubbles form around the edge of the pan. whisk in chocolates and peanut butter until melted and smooth. cover and continue warming over low heat until warm. for a thicker cup of cocoa, simmer hot chocolate uncovered until desired thickness is achieved. ladle hot chocolate into individual mugs, and enjoy!

p.s. i've been wanting to substitute nutella for peanut butter in this recipe. wouldn't that be heavenly?

warm vanilla cream it's not hot chocolate, but it's still rich, creamy, and will warm you up from head to toe. it will also put you to sleep. when i can't sleep i make this. sometimes, i can barely even finish the cup before i pass out.

ingredients

2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoons sugar
pinch of nutmeg
heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks, for serving

instructions
in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, warm milk and vanilla. after about five minutes, stir in sugar. continue to stir until sugar is dissolved, and mixture is hot. remove from heat. top with whipped cream, and sprinkle with nutmeg.

...or you can always serve up the store bought stuff, which, if you buy the right kind, can be almost just as good. my favorite is roasted hazelnut or mint truffle from stephen's. i always add a little evaporated milk to mine for extra creaminess.

host a book exchange

2011-12-03T17:35:00.001-08:00

for today's homemade christmas post, i'd like to share an activity/ gift idea. as many of you know, i love reading, and i love sharing the things i read with other people. a book exchange combines those two things! grab a copy of one of your favorite reads, wrap it up, and invite a dozen friends to do the same. it's a win-win situation. you get to share a book with someone else, and you walk away with something new. you can even create a theme, to help narrow down your options. ask guests to bring a snack to share, and you're good to go. the best part is, it's free.

what book(s) would you bring?

p.s. i love that so many of the classics are getting a fresh face. my favorite book redesign is the fitzgerald collecton by coralie bickford-smith. doesn't it just scream fitzgerald? (she also designed the cover of dickens' a christmas carol, pictured above). wouldn't you love to read a book that pretty?

make a photo book

2011-12-01T15:16:00.001-08:00

it's december! are you ready for my first homemade christmas idea? today i want to share an easy, personalized gift for someone you're close to. a photo book! might sound a little lame, and maybe the idea's been overdone, but i mean, come on, who wouldn't want one? they're really not what they used to be. think of the possibilities... yes, you could do a wedding book, baby book, anniversary book, memory book, trip book, etc. but there are so many other options these days. you can whip up a customized calendar in minutes, or create a personalized weekly planner, journal, or notebook. you can compile your family's favorite recipes, and create a beautiful cookbook for each member of the family that they'll keep forever. really, the possibilities are endless, and you would have fun making whatever it is you decide to make.

the best part about this gift idea though, is that it really is something that has meaning behind it. i hate when i see gift guides on blogs or in magazines that tell me to go buy an engraved whiskey flask for my dad. the best gifts i've gotten are the ones that people actually put some thought into. the ones i knew were for me.

check out these sites to get started, or explore your options:

blurb, pinhole press, & tiny prints

a homemade christmas

2011-11-30T15:05:00.001-08:00

have you ever had an entirely homemade christmas? i have. one year, for christmas, my family traveled to douthat state park in western virginia, rented a cabin, and had a very rustic christmas. we made all of the wrapping paper, decorations, treats, and gifts by hand (yeah i have seven siblings and i had to hand make each of them a gift...and i was like, twelve). but it turned out to be a lot of fun. we could actually focus on what christmas is really about, and sort of take time out from the busy-ness of the holidays to spend a much simpler christmas with each other.

so, during the month of december, i'd like to share a few ideas on how to create your own homemade christmas! from decorations, to presents, to activities. stay posted!

top image by bill crabtree for virginia outdoors
bottom two images via pinterest

hosting a recipe exchange

2011-11-28T14:54:00.000-08:00

hey guys! i just got back from a recipe exchange where a few girlfriends and i got to make and try a bunch of different appetizers and let our kids play together. it was a lot of fun for both jude and i to get out of the house and socialize with other people (and eat good food). here's some inspiration if you'd like to host your own recipe exchange!

1. a comfy outfit

susu island blouse - anthropologie

1969 mid-weight always skinny jeans - gap

2. pretty napkins and a stylish drink dispenser

yellow dot cloth napkins - jaqs studio

bubbled beverage dispenser - anthropologie

3. a delicious appetizer

hot spinach artichoke dip - annie's eats

4. notebooks to record recipes and disposable cups

recycled leather notebooks - kate's paperie

pearl plastic tumblers - party city

thanksgiving!

2011-11-22T10:46:00.001-08:00

thanksgiving is tomorrow! which means there will be...a party in my tummy! so yummy! so yummy! (any yo gabba gabba fans?) anyway, i'm excited. what are your plans? we're going to salt lake early tomorrow morning, and we can't wait to get outta here! as much as we love logan, there's always something so refreshing about driving out of sardine canyon. i always seem to let out a sigh of relief and feel a burst of excitement when i merge onto the freeway (most of you are probably like, what the heck is she talking about?) anyway, i hope you have an absolutely decadent thanksgiving, wherever you happen to be! here's some inspiration to get you into the spirit of things!

your wedding day

2011-11-21T11:46:00.001-08:00

hey guys! today i want to talk about your wedding day! did you know that my wedding day was a nightmare? i literally woke up the next morning thinking, "man, i'm so glad that was just a bad dream!" and then i realized that it wasn't a dream, and in fact, everything had gone terribly wrong. i used to feel really awful and guilty about feeling that way about my wedding, but the more i've talked to other people, the more i've realized that i'm not the only one who had those feelings about their wedding day. rarely do i hear stories of people who had a perfect wedding. but i'll be honest, pretty sure our story takes the cake.

i'll tell you all about it after the jump!

steve and i got married during the worst snow storm DC had seen for a century. at about ten PM the night before the big day, the washington DC temple called and told us they would be closed due to the weather, and we would have to reschedule. that's the last thing a bride-to-be wants to hear. we had family flown in from across the country, and some even came out from hawaii! and we were leaving on a twelve night caribbean cruise the following monday, and we would prefer that we were married before then. so we started making phone calls. we had to find someone else to perform the marriage, and we would have to pick him up on our way to our own wedding. and instead of an 11:00 ceremony, we had to be there as early as possible. my brother and steve were up until one AM shoveling snow that night, and by the time we woke up, there was a fresh seven inches, and it was still coming down. i was beyond stressed the morning of. i felt so nervous and sick, and i looked awful because i hadn't gotten any sleep. it took hours to get to the temple, and when we got there, found out my brother and his wife were stranded on 395.

the actual ceremony was wonderful. i can't complain about that. being there with steve, in a room full of people that loved us enough to brave the storm, was of course, unforgettable. that was the calmest i felt all day, and i realized that was the only part of the day that mattered. after the ceremony, i finally felt like i would survive whatever else came next.

well, nothing else really came. our venue for the wedding brunch cancelled, and we had to cancel our reception. i cut my cake in jeans and a t-shirt. i never got to hold my wedding bouquet, my bridesmaids didn't get to wear their handmade dresses. there was no dancing, no party, no photographer. all the work we had done setting up chairs and tables, making centerpieces, designing invitations was a waste. that was the saddest part for me. i tried to stay positive, but the whole time i just wanted to go in my room and cry.

at the end of the day, we had to have our family follow us to our hotel to make sure we didn't get stuck in the snow on the way there. which we did, and they had to push us out. by the time we got to the hotel, the restaurant was closed, so we had nothing to eat. the next morning, we had a dozen messages from people telling us they couldn't fly out, and needed our help, or wondering how we were doing, etc. we just wanted to be left alone, but since our cruise didn't leave until the next day, we had to go back to my parent's house.

monday morning, we got on our ship, and were finally alone. we relaxed, ate, watched movies, went to sleep...and then i threw up all night long. romantic, eh?

so that's my wedding story. was it a horrible, miserable, awful day? no, of course not. but it was something that was really hard for me to think about for a long time. honestly, i couldn't look at wedding pictures without feeling sad for months. and it was hard, because i mean, it's your wedding day! i had these visions of what my wedding day would be like for years, and it turned out nothing like what i had hoped for. but like everyone always tells me when they hear what happened, at least i've got a good story to tell. and i am thankful for the people who put so much effort into making it special, even if it didn't turn out. looking back, steve and i have realized that if we could do it over again, we would probably do it the same way. meaning, we would only want our closest friends and family there anyway (but we would get rid of the stress, snow, and anxiety involved).

so, now that i've blabbed on about my wedding day, i want to hear about yours! was it everything you dreamed of? was it stressful? were you nervous? big or small reception? any unforeseen disasters happen? what was the best part? the worst part? the unexpected parts? i want to hear it all!

new week

2011-11-21T11:10:00.001-08:00

hey everyone! sorry for the lack of posts recently. i just wanted a break from blogging and the internet in general. but i'm back with all new posts this week! see you soon!

city scape print by blanca gomez via d&oc

photo friday + hail the utah aggies

2011-11-11T11:16:00.001-08:00

it's friday! and it's also 11/11/11. which means something really magical is going to happen today, and i think i know what it is. tonight the ags play the cougs at the spectrum! i will be watching from my big, squishy couch, while munching on pizza! can't wait! i love it when we beat byu!

the photo above is my brother, brent (a byu grad...lame) and myself standing on a cliff in colorado, when we went to visit my grandmother for christmas one year. it was taken by my other brother, quinn (whose wife is also a byu grad). have a wonderful november weekend, everyone!

parenthood post: sleep

2011-11-10T10:51:00.001-08:00

you know how when you're pregnant everyone is like, "oh man, you better get your sleep in now, because you're gonna miss it when that baby comes!" well, they were right. and i never really understood how right they were until i had jude. i always thought, "okay, lady, i woke up at 4:30AM every morning during high school, and i was just fine...i think i can handle a little nighttime crying for a few months." how wrong i was. what i didn't think about was the fact that, even though i woke up before the sun was up, and often functioned on six hours of sleep, it was six hours of uninterrupted sleep. and let me tell you, there is a huge difference between the two. so today, i want to talk about those first few (or dozen) months of no sleep. first, when did your baby start sleeping through the night? any special tricks or tips for new parents or soon-to-be parents? do you have a bed-time routine? did you try out a certain method? (sleep-training, cry-it-out, etc.) did any of them work? are you still struggling with sleepless nights?

i'll tell you my experience after the jump! (click below)

as many of you know, i have had the hardest time getting jude to sleep through the night. but i just want to tell you that...he's sleeping through the night! yes, after thirteen months of sleepless nights, i have finally enjoyed almost an entire week of eight full hours of sleep. do you know what that feels like? heaven.

so i'll spare you the details of the past thirteen months, and just tell you a few things that i learned through the experience.

1. the sooner, the easier. of course, the first two to three months or so, you can't expect your baby to sleep through the night. he needs to eat, have his diaper changed, etc. but i didn't really try to let jude cry it out until he was older (around six months). i think that was my biggest mistake. once he learned how to stand up in his crib, trying to get him to just cry himself back to sleep was basically impossible. i did try it when he was younger, but i just wasn't consistent with it. i think if i had been, he might have started sleeping through the night sooner. maybe.

2. create a bedtime routine. this sounds so obvious, and i had always planned on doing this, but with steve and my crazy schedules, it was hard at first to create a bedtime routine and stick with it. also, i wasn't sure when to start implementing one. but again, i think the sooner the better. the younger they learn, the more likely it is to stick. our bedtime routine is standard and easy: we brush his teeth, bathe him, get him in his pajamas, let him play in his room for a little bit, read a few books, nurse him and then put him down. at first he would scream for a while after we turned out the lights and left him, but now he goes down without any fuss. a bedtime routine helps him calm down, and he's learned what to expect.

3. don't compare your baby to anyone else's. just because your niece started sleeping through the night at three months doesn't mean your baby will. and just because someone swears by a certain trick or technique doesn't mean it will work for you. you know your baby better than anyone else, so listen to people's advice, try it out if you want, and if it doesn't work, don't get too frustrated, and definitely don't feel like your baby is abnormal because playing baby beethoven through the night didn't make your baby stay asleep.

those are the big three. a few other things: for jude's birthday, my in-laws gave him a build-a-bear. he loves that thing. and it helps him fall asleep. i think he just likes something to grab onto and cuddle. also, putting him to bed earlier, helped him sleep longer. i used to think, "hey if i'm gonna be up, i might as well let him stay up, that way we'll all just go to bed at the same time, and i can sleep in longer." ha, no. even if he didn't seem tired, he was, and keeping him up, trying to "wear him out" just made him exhausted, cranky and belligerent. one more thing: when he was really tiny, and was waking up all the time because he really needed to eat, my sister gave me a good tip (which seems obvious now, but i never thought about it). she said when he wakes up, go in his room, don't turn on any lights, don't say anything, and don't comfort him too much. just nurse him, and when he's done, put him right back down. that helped jude understand that nighttime was sleep time.

see what i mean about the bear?

anyway, i feel like i could talk about this forever, because it has been such an ordeal for steve and i over the past year. but i want to know your experience. was it similar? if you have multiple kids did it get easier after the first? do you have a bedtime routine? how old was your little one when you finally got a good night's sleep? i want to know!

braids four ways

2011-11-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

in high school, i was in marching band, and we were required to braid our hair for every game and competition, and i hated it because i always looked like an idiot (and a ten year-old boy...but that might have just been the uniform). but it turns out, there are ways to make braids look pretty. so i might just try braids again now that i'm not required to wear them (and a shako). only problem is that i can't braid, so i would have to have my little sister come out from hawaii (yeah, she goes to college in hawaii...isn't that a joke?) and braid my hair for me.

1. pretty maiden braid

2. relaxed double braids

3. simple and girly braided headband

4. awesome braided head

aren't all four of them gorgeous? i'm amazed by people who can braid (especially their own hair!) there was a family i knew back home whose daughters always came to church with the most awesome braided do's. also, i dated a guy once who was weirdly into braids. any guesses who i'm talking about? (ha, kidding...please don't guess). anyway, what do you think? would you try them? can you pull off braids? can you braid hair? will you braid my hair like this? ;)

photo friday

2011-11-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

happy friday! man, this week flew by! any weekend plans? we are going to have some much needed relaxation time tonight (steve had two tests today) and watch star wars episode v (we're in the midst of a star wars marathon, and episode v came in the mail today)! tomorrow we're going grocery shopping (how thrilling) and sunday, we have some friends coming over for dinner. hope you all have a good weekend!

the photo above was taken by my husband, steve, while serving a mission in norway. he calls it "frog lake...because i found a frog in it." haha :)

no shave november

2011-11-03T16:33:00.000-07:00

it's no shave november. are you participating?

my beard is gonna be outta control! (only kidding...or am i?)

image via

what i'm reading

2011-11-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

hey everyone! hope you had a good halloween! we just hung out at home, passed out candy and watched the first twenty minutes of about half a dozen really lame scary movies. but it was still fun!

well, it's been a while since i've told you what i'm reading, so let me inform you. i finished the hunger games series by suzanne collins, which i liked. i don't want to give anything away if you haven't read them yet, so i won't say too much, but they were definitely worth reading (for me anyway). they're easy reads, and impossible to put down (literally, i would take jude on walks just so i could read them uninterrupted). the main complaint i have is that i wasn't ready for them to end...i feel like she could have written an entire fourth book. i wanted more explanation at the end.

i also started and finished the scarlet pimpernel by baroness orczy, which i thought was great. one of the best historical fiction pieces i've read. it takes place at the height of the french revolution, and has the perfect balance of suspense, romance and action. not too long, either. highly recommended. have you read it?

right now, steve and i are reading frankenstien by mary shelley together. i've read frankenstein before, but not since i was in high school, and it was required reading. and there is such a difference between reading for pleasure and required reading...it seems like a completely different story now that i'm choosing to read it. funny how that works. i'm also about to start sense and sensibility by jane austen on my own (my second time reading austen...we'll see how it goes). anyway, that's what i'm reading now. what are you reading these days?

p.s. are you on goodreads? if i'm not already following you, i would love to see what you've read, what you're reading and what you plan on reading. and your thoughts and opinions about books! you can also see more books i've read, and what i thought of them.

week of 'ween: one truly terrifying costume

2011-10-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

halloween is tomorrow! do you have your costumes ready? costumes are what make halloween. remember when people actually used to dress up as something scary? i feel like all i ever see anymore are people dressed as characters from the jersey shore, superheroes, or girls wearing less clothes and more makeup than usual. so, today i'm going to share one truly terrifying halloween costume. last halloween, my sister and her friends dressed up as zombies, and they seriously looked like something out of a horror movie.

not gonna lie, it was pretty refreshing to see college girls dressed as gruesome zombies, rather than slutty bunnies.

see more pictures and how they did it after the jump! (click below)

you will need:

white face paint [try this or make your own]

dark eye shadow [try this]

fake blood [try this or make your own]
hairspray [try this]
a comb, and
old, ripped clothes

1. apply the white face paint as thick or thin as you want...it depends on how dead you want to look. with the eye shadow, start at the inner corner of your eyes, and work down, making dark rings beneath them. after that, add shadow around the nose, beneath the cheekbones, and wherever you think looks scariest.

2. next, apply the fake blood. this is the funnest part...dab red gore around your mouth, on your hands, trickling down your ear...you get the point.

3. next, is the hair. my sister and her friends pretty much just went crazy with a comb and hairspray. grab a chunk of hair, pull it up off of your head, spray it down with hairspray, and backcomb until it's as messy and ratted as desired. continue to do so, until you've got a good nest of matted, tangled hair atop your pretty little head.

i think you can figure out the clothes for yourself...put them on. the nice thing about this is that there's no wrong way to do it, and it's super easy and cheap. once you have the necessary materials, the rest is pretty much up to you. tawny and her friends are doing the same thing again this halloween, but vamping it up. she's going as a zombie bride, and come tomorrow night, you can find her, and a dozen other walking dead, creeping along the strip in waikiki, photobombing and scaring innocent tourists and locals.

so, there you have it, one truly terrifying halloween costume! have a haunting halloween, everyone!

p.s. remember this? so true.

photos by alyse thomson

week of 'ween: two halloween pranks

2011-10-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

hey everyone! growing up, i was always jumping out of closets and hiding behind corners, waiting to scare the living daylights out of my siblings as they came out of the bathroom. once, i hid in our kitchen pantry for a good ten minutes before someone finally opened it. i got 'em good (but they got me back later...also, this wasn't just something i did as a kid...this happened like, two years ago). anyway, i love a good prank, so today i'm sharing two scary halloween pranks! steve and i made some people out of straw and our old clothes to sit out on our front porch. we're going to stick a baby monitor in one of their heads and freak people out on halloween!

also, it's not halloween related, but still a good prank (and hilarious...and horrible!) happy pranking!

week of 'ween: three festive outfits

2011-10-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

hey guys! so sorry this post is coming to you so late...jude has not given me one single break today! he's transitioning between two naps a day to one, and as a result, i haven't had much time for blogging. but anyway, i'm excited to share three festive outfits with you today! (well, tonight, actually). i'm not much of a wear-your-costume-to-work kind of a girl, but that doesn't mean i can't be festive!

orange dress h&m | white + gold bracelet h&m

black bow belt h&m | sheer polka dot tights urban outfitters

drapey sequin tank in natural jcrew | jenna's v-neck cardigan in grape jcrew

1969 lightweight always skinny jeans gap | tara zip platform boots in black asos

stripe saturday sweater j crew | crinkle utility shirt eddie bauer

rail straight jeans in whitewash emerson made | black flats h&m

so, those are my three halloween-inspired outfits for day five of my seven days of halloween! have a wonderful halloween weekend! (and yes, i just said the word halloween three times in the same sentence).

week of 'ween: four ways to carve a pumpkin

2011-10-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

hey everyone! today, i'd like to share four ways to carve a pumpkin! have you carved yours yet? we're doing ours tonight, after little jude goes to bed! every year, i think of these awesome carving ideas that i want to use for the next year, but when the next year comes around, i've forgotten them all. i always just end up doing a puking pumpkin, which never ceases to amuse me. anyway, here are four cool ideas, and i promise none of them are puking pumpkins.

fanged pumpkins aren't these little vampire pumpkins the cutest?
i would totally do this (mainly because there's not much carving involved)

see three more ways to carve a pumpkin after the jump! (click below)

zombie pumpkins. i love these, haha.
something about those creepy bulging eyes...

carrot nose jack-o-lanterns this is something i think
i could actually carve without messing it up too badly.

lace patterned pumpkins okay, who in the world
has the time or patience to do this? still, it's pretty cool.

so, that's it! four ways to carve a pumpkin. any ideas of your own? are you a good pumpkin carver? i'm terrible. i wish i was one of those people who could sit down and carve a landscape, or iron man's face on a pumpkin...but i'm not. happy carving, everyone!

p.s. pumpkin carving 101

all images via marthastewart.com

week of 'ween: five ways to eat pumpkin!

2011-10-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

we are in the midst of my first annual seven days of halloween (or week of 'ween, as it has come to be named), and today i'd like to share five ways to eat pumpkin! this post will make your mouth water and your stomach growl....are you ready?

see five amazing pumpkin recipes after the jump! (click below)

pumpkin cinnamon rolls with caramel icing i have no words. just...look at the picture.

pumpkin garlic knots my little sister shared this recipe on our family's food blog, and it sounds absolutely delicious. i'm making it for some friends we have visiting this weekend!

pumpkin pie milkshakes pumpkin pie you can drink through a straw? there is no reason not to make this.

pumpkin spice eggnog steve bought some pumpkin spice eggnog from the grocery store last year and it lasted us like, one night. it. was. so. good. i would love to make my own!

pumpkin waffles oh my gosh. okay, i love waffles more than pretty much any other food. this recipe blew my mind, because i can't possibly think of anything else i'd rather eat. except maybe pumpkin chocolate chip waffles.

so, there you have it, five delectable ways to eat pumpkin. you may have noticed [almost] all of these recipes are sweet. that's because i have a huge sweet tooth. also, it tastes less like a vegetable that way. so, any favorite pumpkin recipes of your own? i'd love to hear (and try)!

p.s. don't forget about the seeds! i like mine baked with a little olive oil and sprinkled with salt. how about you?

week of 'ween: six spooky reads

2011-10-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

today i want to share with you some of my favorite haunting tales! unfortunately i have to limit the list to six, but here is a longer list if you're interested in getting some creepy reading done this week. also, i think this post may make me the nerdiest person ever. so, without further ado...

see my list after the jump! (click below)

the masque of the red death by edgar allan poe
ok, anything by edgar allan poe, but the masque of the red death is just so unsuspecting, colorful, (literally) and ominous. and it's not the standard tell tale heart or the raven.

the legend of sleepy hollow by washington irving
i went to washington irving middle school, so i had to add this one. also, it has a ghost, a protagonist named ichabod, and a headless guy on a horse who has a jack-o-lantern for a head (who is also the ghost). is there anything about this story doesn't scream halloween?

frankenstein by mary shelley
what i'm reading now. classic tale of monster creating monster.

young goodman brown by nathaniel hawthorne
i took a class exclusively on the works of good ol' nate hawthorne, and have literally read everything ever written by him. but i chose young goodman brown for the halloween list because, well let's see, it takes place in salem, in the woods, in the middle of the night, at a witch's sabbath.

interview with the vampire by anne rice
well, i had to put a vampire book on here, and i haven't read dracula yet. interview with the vampire is a novel about the life of a vampire. it's an easy, cool read, more about relationships than just blood-sucking monsters. although there is plenty of blood-sucking, too.

the cremation of sam mcgee by robert william service
the northern lights have seen queer sights / but the queerest they ever did see / was that night on the marge of lake lebarge / i cremated sam mcgee. need i say more?

so, there's my list, what's yours? any favorite ghoulish tales? any creepy stories of horror you would add to the list? i'd love to know!

image via

seven days of halloween: seven interiors

2011-10-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

happy monday, everyone! are you feeling the spirit of halloween yet? halloween is only a week away! and in honor of the upcoming holiday, i will be sharing seven days of halloween right here on elise navidad! in fact, from here on out, this week will be referred to as the week of ween! first up: seven beautiful interiors in orange and black!

see six more after the jump (click below)

who knew black and orange could look so good? i myself don't have the guts to paint a room black or orange, but maybe one day...(or maybe i'll just get orange towels). either way, pretty halloween-y, no?

all images via design*sponge and desire to inspire

thoughts on a monday

2011-10-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

abraham lincoln

came across this quote today and wanted to share. that's all. visiting teaching and waiting for the window guys to come and measure today. hopefully new windows are in store for us this winter! hope your week is off to a magnificent beginning!

p.s. making these little yummies as part of our dinner tonight, since we have zucchini coming out of our ears!

parenthood post: names

2011-10-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

for today's parenthood post, i want to talk about names! the names of your children, specifically, and the process you went through in choosing one. did you choose a name early on? are your kids named after someone? is there a name you would never give to your child? is there a name you've always wanted to use, but your spouse doesn't like? what's harder, choosing girl's names or boy's names?

i'll tell you what i think, and my own experience, after the jump (click below)

before i was pregnant, before i was even married, steve and i talked about names that we liked and didn't like. it never went well. it seemed like we could not agree on anything! names i had loved my whole life, he rejected without question, and names he had always wanted to use, i laughed at. when we found out i was pregnant, we would literally sit in the living room for a good half hour at a time, and just spit out names until we were too irritated with each other to continue.

we finally found that we both seemed to like biblical names. so, one day, we were flipping through the bible, trying to find names we both liked (weird, i know), and steve flipped open to the book of jude. and miraculously, we both loved the name. then we started thinking about middle names (which we had a lot of because every time we found a name one of us loved, the other would say, "maybe as a middle name...") but about seven months into my pregnancy, we were pretty set on naming our first son jude steven tompkins.

so then he was born. the nurse gave me all the paperwork to fill out for his birth certificate, and told me to get it done as soon as possible. but for some reason, i kept putting it off! when it came time to give this little being a name, all of a sudden i wasn't sure anymore! it felt like such a huge responsibility. the first night in the hospital, i literally stayed up until one o'clock in the morning rethinking the name of my child. i felt so stressed out that i wasn't going to give him the right name. it was agonizing! ridiculous, right? it's just that the baby in my arms was different than the baby i had imagined in my tummy. i thought i was going to have a dark-haired, brown-eyed nine-pounder, and instead i had a blonde-haired, blue-eyed six-pounder. steve and i tried out a dozen more name combinations, came up with names we had never even considered in the months previous to his birth, before we finally just decided that we should stick with what we had. just a little different.

in the end, i wrote in ink, steven jude tompkins on his birth certificate (and i mean the very end...like, five minutes before i checked out of the hospital). for some reason steven jude just seemed to suit him better than jude steven. i know it sounds totally insane, but it's true. after that experience, i refuse to name a child before he or she is born. steve and i have scrounged up a few more names that we both like and agree on (for us boys names are way easier than girls names), but i'm not committing to any name until that baby is born.

that being said, my boss told me once, that her first daughter's name is victoria and no baby comes out looking like a victoria. people grow into their names. so what do you think? agree or disagree? did you wait to name your baby until it was born? did you think it was hard to think of a name for someone you didn't even know yet? did you feel like there was a lot of pressure in choosing a name? oh, and don't you hate telling people the baby names you like? i feel like so many people have strong opinions about baby names!

image by me

let's get seasonal

2011-10-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

happy wednesday, everyone! today i want to share some pretty autumn inspiration. here in cache valley, fall is in full swing, and i'm actually loving the drop in temperature, grey morning skies, chilly breezes and, of course, having an excuse to drink hot cocoa and cider. unfortunately though, we don't get much of the beautiful, rich, fall colors. it's more like, one day everything is green, and the next everything is dead. but pumpkin walks, corn mazes, and cozy evenings make up for it. also...i love cold weather clothing...so much more comfortable (and i have more of it). are you excited about fall, or still missing the summer?

and in case you're in the mood for more....

a blog dedicated to the seasons

how to carve a pumpkin

pumpkin cheesecake recipe

homemade creepy candles

angry bird halloween costume

images via seasonal-love; bottom images by me & marthastewart.com

jude's first birthday

2011-10-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

if you guys aren't tired of looking at pictures of jude,

i'd love to tell you about his birthday!

first, we went to adam's park and had a little picnic.

jude enjoyed playing on, crawling in, and eating the grass (and sticks).

then we went to the willow park zoo, and afterward, played on the swings!

later, we had a birthday dinner and opened presents!

presents included blocks, bath toys, pajamas, toy cars and books!

aaand that's when the camera died. we had birthday cake,

but i didn't get any decent pictures of it. lame, i know.

thanks to everyone who helped make jude's birthday special! whether it was a phone call wishing jude a happy birthday, or you were thoughtful enough to drop by a gift or shoot us a text. it's nice to know that jude is loved by so many people :)

week END

2011-10-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

oh, i know i promised birthday pictures of little jude, but this week has been soooo busy! the three of us have been fighting off a nasty flu all week long and it's absolutely horrible. especially since steve had FOUR tests today. and then went straight to work. anyway, as i was catching up on everything i missed floating around the interweb today, i found this. it's a slideshow of 30 of amy poehler's alter egos. it seriously made me laugh out loud. and reminded me that i missed the newest parks and rec episode thursday! so i'm off to go watch it online. have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!

a year of jude

2011-09-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

guess what? yesterday was jude's first birthday! i really can't believe he's already a year old! ...but at the same time, it's hard to remember what life was like without him. today he had his 12 month check-up where he got three immunizations, a flu shot, and was tested for anemia. he literally has like, five scooby-doo band-aids slapped all over his little body, poor guy. (needless to say, it's been a rough day for him). but we have a wonderful birthday weekend planned for him, which i will tell you all about next week. today i would like to share some of my favorite pictures of jude that i've taken over the past year!

brand new jude! 1-2 mths old

this post ended up being wayyy longer than anticipated, so, i'll show you a lot more pictures after the jump! (click below)

2-6 months

7&8 months

happy baby! about 7-10 months old

around 8-11 months

one year old!

i am so so happy that little jude was born and has made it through his first year of life. here's to many more happy years to come! i love you, little juju!

neon

2011-09-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

have you hopped on the neon train yet? when i was a freshman in college, i bought a pair of electric blue neon jeans and would wear them all the time (there are multiple pictures of me in these pants on facebook...one when i paired them with a neon pink t-shirt...for a date). i got rid of them a few months after i had jude, but i would still do neon in a smaller dose. maybe an accessory. would you?

parenthood post: books

2011-09-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

today i want to talk about books! what books do/did you read to your kids? i read with jude every night before bed, and sometimes during the day if he wants to. i have a red, shiny bucket full of books by his crib, and if we're playing in his room, he'll pull one (or all) of them out and i'll read to him. i'll show you jude's favorites after the jump!

(click below)

jude's favorite books:

are you my mother? by P.D. eastman heart-warming. sweet story, cute little baby bird.

baby hears by karen katz interactive. when you lift the flap on each page, you hear a train or little chicks peeping. jude loves it.

little puppy by chronicle books silly. this is a finger puppet book, and jude thinks it's hilarious. i could entertain him with this one for hours.

first 100 words by sarah phillips educational. jude likes it because there are pictures of other babies in it and i can point to a picture of a nose, and then touch his nose.

i'm planning on getting jude a bunch of books for his birthday (only six days away)! this is not only a gift to him, but to me, too. i think i have every book he owns memorized. so what i want to know is, what books are your kids' favorites, and which ones are your favorites? brown bear, brown bear by eric carle was my all-time favorite book as a little one. also...is your baby as bad as jude? almost every book he owns is ripped or gnawed on to shreds (yes, even the board books have chunks missing).

p.s. parenthood's top 25 best books for baby

all images via amazon.com

what i'm reading

2011-09-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

it's been a while since i've done a 'what i'm reading' post, so i thought i'd update you. i finished the adventures of sherlock holmes, and was trying to decide if i should attempt gone with the wind, or go for something a little less heavy, like, the scarlet pimpernel, when my mom and sister flew into town and ruined everything. they both started reading the hunger games and lured me into the series while they were here. i can't push all the blame on them because my brother-in-law sent us the audio book versions just days previous, and i had wanted to read them for a while myself anyway. i'm in the middle of catching fire right now, and can't put it down (or press pause as the case may be). that being said, it's back to reading (listening, actually)!

what are you reading these days? did you read the hunger games? did they drive you as crazy as they're driving me? thoughts?

image via sodahead.com

9/11

2011-09-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

i know i'm a few days late, but to me, the tenth (or any) anniversary of 9/11 is a big deal.

as most of you know, i grew up in the DC area, and both my parents worked in the city. my dad worked at an architectural firm in georgetown and my mom worked for american airlines. on september eleventh, i was sitting in my seventh grade band class, warming up. our vice principal came into the room, whispered something to my director and hurried out. my director didn't say a word, he just turned and flipped the tv on that was in the corner of the room. at twelve years old, i didn't know what was going on when i saw the footage. all i knew was that one of the planes was an american airlines flight and that my mom was flying to new york that day. my director told us that we were free to use the phone in his office if we needed to. i called both my parents' houses but no one picked up. i called my mom's work, but obviously i couldn't get through. some of my teachers tried to go on with the day as if nothing had happened, others just left the tv on and let us watch. kids kept getting pulled out of class carrying little pink slips. i was in my american history class when someone knocked on the door and handed my teacher a pink slip. he called my name and i walked up, nervous and not knowing whether i wanted to know what was written on it. all it said was "mom missed flight. parents safe."

this past sunday my mom came into town, and is staying with us for a few days. it's weird to think that it was ten years ago that she missed her flight (the only time she's ever missed a flight for work). what's ironic is that when she came out, she had a few things for me...a birthday present from my sister, some things for jude, and the first draft of my college essay, which was about my experience on september eleventh. reading it made me remember my feelings and anxiety that day, and then the relief that poured over me when i found out that both of my parents were safe. both of my parents could easily have been taken that day. but they weren't. they got to see me row in high school, they got to see me graduate. they sent me off to college and they saw me get married. they've even seen me become a mother. at age twelve i don't think i realized how lucky i was to come home to two living parents that day. i wasn't thinking about how hard it would be to be at my wedding without my mom or dad. my heart goes out to those who weren't as fortunate as i was that day...to the kids whose pink slips brought tears instead of relief.

so, sorry for the dreariness of this post, but it seems like in only ten short years, i've forgotten the gravity of the events that occurred on september eleventh, and i wanted to share my thoughts and experience.

what the...?

2011-09-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

just a preview of the ugly lamp contest currently taking place over on this blog. check it out. it's worth the click.

parenthood post: the space between

2011-09-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

today's parenthood post is about the space between. what i want to know is, how long did you wait to get pregnant again? did you have a plan or did things just happen? did you want to have all your kids within a certain period of time? did you want them to be a certain number of years apart? or did you just sort of play things by ear? do you think having kids closer together will help them be closer as siblings? i'll tell you what i think after the jump...

my mom with me & three of my sisters circa 1992

click below

i don't know about you, but i can't wait to have another baby! my pregnancy was really not bad at all, and my labor and delivery were great as well. i loved the hospital i gave birth in, i loved my doctor, all the nurses were exceptional, and meeting the tiny little guy that had been doing somersaults in my stomach for nine months was without a doubt the most awesome thing that's ever happened to me. thinking about going into labor again, and hanging out in the hospital anxiously awaiting the arrival of a sweet little baby that will change my life forever makes me giddy! but there are a few things that are keeping me from getting pregnant again right away...

first, i want jude to be at least a year old. no particular reasoning behind this. i just wanted at least one solid year to enjoy just jude.

secondly, i want to be done nursing jude before i get pregnant again. i wanted to nurse for at least a year (only one more month to go!) before i started weening him. and if i had gotten pregnant before that, then i would have to stop nursing. also, i just want a break from nursing (don't get me wrong, i'm a huge fan of nursing, but sometimes it is exhausting!)

third, i will get a full night's sleep before the next baby comes! it has been almost a year since i've had a good night's sleep. like, literally, i've gotten no more than four hours (at the most) solid sleep in the past twelve months. jude still wakes up three to four times (sometimes more) every. single. night. if i'm going to be pregnant again, i need a good night's sleep or else everyone in the house will suffer.

fourth, steve and i are both still students. i want at least one of us to have a degree before we have another one.

fifth, i want our kids to be at least two years apart. we want them close in age, but not too close in age. no particular reason, that's just what steve and i decided.

now, all this being said, who knows what will actually happen? a lot depends on how many kids we end up having (that could be a whole separate post), what our kids are like, what our situation in life is, etc. etc. but we figure now that we've started, we may as well keep going.

so, what do you think? were there any stipulations you insisted on before deciding to go through pregnancy and childbirth all over again? are you on board to have another one, but dreading those first few absolutely exhausting weeks after the baby is born? do you and your partner agree about the space between? (it took steve and i a while before we reached a compromise). did the way you grew up, or the family you grew up in affect your decision about the space between? i want to know!

all my siblings and me at my brother's wedding circa 2007 (my parents had 8 in 15 years!)

pretty [girly] inspiration

2011-08-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

just sharing some very pretty (and very girly) inspiration on this last day of august. how are you spending your last few days of summer? usually i'm depressed when august ends and school starts back up, but this year i'm actually pretty excited about fall. i'll post some autumn inspiration later!

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[images via a glamorous little side project]

2011-08-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

trying to keep your house clean while your children are growing is like shoveling the walk when it's still snowing.

___________________________

doing some deep cleaning today...although sometimes i don't know why i bother. anyway, happy monday everyone! steve started school today, and it feels so normal that it almost seems as if summer break never even happened. back to real life.

wanting...

2011-08-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

these morse code necklaces! this one (below) says 'love' but you can get customized ones too. check out more options here.

bad news monday

2011-08-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

oohhh you guys. our 1994 lincoln town car is done. dead. we can't drive it without endangering our lives. so steve will be biking to and from work and school and anywhere else we need to go. and i will never leave the house. except to go on walks with jude and sometimes steve. goodbye, lincoln...hello, bike.

on the upside: saving tons of money by not paying for gas and car insurance. being healthier by getting more exercise and eating out less.

parenthood post: pain in childbirth

2011-08-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

recently i've been thinking of doing a weekly post about parenthood. mainly because since being a parent, i've had all these thoughts and questions that i want to ask other/future parents. so, this will be the first parenthood post of many! and it's about childbirth! i read something today that i blew my mind:

"a human body can bear up to only 45 del (unit) of pain. but at the time of giving birth, a woman feels up to 57 del of pain. this is similar to twenty bones being fractured at the same time."

woah. i don't know how accurate that actually is because the original source is unknown, but the point is, childbirth is painful. so what i want to ask all you parents and future parents (ok, mainly just moms and future moms), is how did you deal/how do you plan to deal with the pain of childbirth? did/do you plan to take classes to help prep you for labor? if you did, did they help? did/do you plan to get an epidural? why/why not? some people (my sister) have told me that they got an epidural, but still felt pain, mainly when the baby was entering the birth canal. also, do you think the pain was as bad as twenty bones breaking simultaneously?!

i'll tell you my experience, and what i think after the jump...(click below)

throughout my entire pregnancy, i planned on having an all-natural birth. like, i really did not want to get an epidural. steve and i were both just sort of scared of the whole idea (steve especially). but after ten hours of labor, i finally broke down and got an epidural. in fact, it was actually steve who called the nurse in and told her to get the anesthesiologist. i think seeing me in so much pain was extremely stressful for steve. once it kicked in, i felt great. like, seriously, i turned on the tv, watched clean house, sucked on otter pops, cracked jokes, was actually coherent...whereas before that, i was just sort of moaning and grovelling in my hospital bed (not to mention puking). i will say though, that actually getting it put in still freaked me out, because they tell you to hold still and not move a muscle, which is extremely hard to do if you're experiencing an especially painful contraction. but once that part was over, i was dandy. at first, i was sort of disappointed in myself for not going all-natural. one, because i had planned on not getting an epidural, and two, because when i got it put in, i felt like i could have stood the pain for a little longer. but if i had waited any longer, it would have been too late if i decided i wanted it later on. in the end i was happy with my decision and no matter what i had chosen to do (and i think all moms would agree with me here), it was all worth it.

newborn jude!

anyway, all that being said, i'm not entirely sure if i'll get an epidural next time. what do you think? do you agree with the quote at the beginning? dads...what's your opinion? was it stressful to see your wife go through that pain? steve said the hardest part was that he just felt helpless. similar feelings? i want to know!

p.s. the full birth story here

before & after

2011-08-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

it's thursday, which means it's before and after day over at design sponge. just wanted to share this cool little project someone did. i've seen people turn old doors into headboards, but i've never seen this. seriously, i wish i was this creative.

p.s. finished wuthering heights! just started the adventures of sherlock holmes. speaking of which, have you seen the trailer for the new sherlock holmes movie?

what i'm reading + new books!

2011-07-31T21:51:00.000-07:00

in case you were wondering, i did finish pride and prejudice on the drive to kansas city. i loved it. did i love it as much as jane eyre? hmmm...that's hard. they're very different books. there's just something about jane eyre, though...it's one of my favorites. anyway, i'm onto something else now. wuthering heights. i'll be honest, it's hard to get through. mainly because i know there is no possible way the book could end well, so it's hard to want to finish it. do i like it? i appreciate, and even admire it from a literary standpoint. it's one of those books that i would love to discuss in an english class, or write a paper on, but not one that i would want to curl up with before bed (even though that's when i find myself reading it). every single character is so frustrating...i can't sympathize with any of them. however, it has an intriguing plot, that draws me in, and makes me want to keep reading.

anyway, i got half a dozen new books the other day when we perusing the DI!

i can't wait to get started on them! in case you can't read the titles, these are they: sherlock holmes, les miserables, sense and sensibility, the scarlet pimpernel, gone with the wind, and lord of the rings: the two towers (i was so excited about this one...every time i go to the DI, they always have the hobbit and the fellowship, but never two towers or return of the king! this time they had two towers...now all i need is return of the king). anyway, i'm excited about all of them. one of my lifelong goals is to read gone with the wind...it looks pretty intimidating though. it might take me a year to get through it...any votes as to which one i should start on first?

most embarrassing show on tv

2011-07-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

have you guys ever watched don't forget the lyrics? it is painfully embarrassing to watch. wanna see?

working on some plans for the living room today. also...365 days until the summer olympics! this time i will actually have a tv to watch it on! i don't know about you, but i get way more excited for the summer games than the winter games.

monday, monday

2011-07-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

is it corny? yes. but i love harry! happy monday, doggs! we deposited some cash in our bank account and mowed the lawn today! we also ate some li'l smokies and watermelon. good day so far!

bad week + teepee

2011-07-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

this week was the week from hell. i won't even explain, because it will just put me in a bad mood. but in case you were wondering, we are not moving. all i will say is thank goodness for my husband, chocolate milk, netflix, good books and harry potter. anyway, now that we know we are definitely staying in hyde park, i've felt more motivated to keep working on the house, and make it as comfortable as possible. we've been moving furniture around, and i've got a list of projects that i want to get started on. also, i want to make something like this for jude's room:

if i was little, i would have loved something like this. actually, even as an adult, i would love something like this. i would pile it up with pillows and stock it full of books. you can find a tutorial on how to make one yourself here.

here's to next week being 1,000,000x better!

road trip

2011-07-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

can you believe that is officially july?! i really can't comprehend it. the summer is already slipping by so fast...it makes me sick. anyway, we have spent the morning and good part of the afternoon getting ready for our long-anticipated road trip! on sunday, we hit to road to kansas city! i've never been there and i have never been on a road trip this long. i'm excited! hope you all have a great long weekend, and happy fourth of july! any cool plans?

p.s. unless i finish the last 150+ pages of pride and prejudice tomorrow (which i may), that will probably be my trip book. but i'm looking for an audio book i can put on my ipod for the drive (reading in the car will make me puke licorice and jerky). i want something fairly lighthearted and that has a happy ending. i was thinking maybe persuasion (thank you, prerna :) or the secret garden or something. suggestions welcome!

image from brown dress with white dots

patriotic wedding

2011-06-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

maybe it's because my own got snowed out, but even though i've been married for a year and a half, i am still obsessed with weddings. i spotted this patriotic wedding here and thought i'd share.

really though, i'm in love with this wedding. and isn't her ring ridiculous?! (also, although my wedding turned out nothing like i imagined, it was still the most important and best day of my life :)

dear photograph

2011-06-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

have you guys heard of dear photograph? it's a cool little tumblr that i stumbled across the other day. people take a picture of a picture in the past in the present. and then write a little note:

dear photograph, that stop sign gave me a good excuse to stop cutting the lawn.

dear photograph, grandma loved this beach.

dear photograph, i drained 3's all day!

a pretty creative idea, and very entertaining to page through. would you ever do this? i kind of want to...

what i'm reading + other stuff

2011-06-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

first of all, on monday, (i think it was monday), i went to see the new jane eyre movie! it. was. awesome. i was a bit skeptical, because a few days previous i had watched a version that was on netflix, and i thought it was terrible. the actors were terrible, the script stank, and they changed a good deal of the actual story line. but i was pleasantly surprised with the newest version. one, because michael fassbender is in it, and he's my dogg (seriously though, he was a perfect rochester). and two, because it followed the story line very well. and the acting, set, scenery, and filmography were much better than the version i had seen previously. if you haven't seen it yet, go see it (even steve liked it). it was good. like, i might even buy it.

second of all, i found something new to read! a few new things actually. i finally made it to the library and picked out pride and prejudice. am i skeptical? yes. i wanted to read wuthering heights (might as well read the another bronte sister), but they didn't have it. so far, it's been kind of hard to get into, but i thought that about jane eyre too, and then i ended up not being able to put it down. so we'll see. also, i started rereading the chronicles of narnia, starting with the magician's nephew. steve and i finally rented the voyage of the dawn treader from redbox (it was alright), and i realized i barely remembered anything from it. and i own all seven books, so i figured i might as well refresh my memory. steve and i are reading them together, him in norwegian, me in english.

and thanks to all of your suggestions, i have an even longer reading list! i'll let you know what i choose next...whatever it is, it will by roadtrip book, since we leave for kansas city a week from tomorrow! have a good weekend everyone!

p.s. anyone else excited for harry potter?!

writing

2011-06-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

i started writing something yesterday! i haven't written anything creative for months now, but yesterday i had an idea and jude was asleep, so i just decided to start writing. i forgot how much i like it. my goal is to write a little bit everyday, to keep my ideas flowing. maybe i'll share with you when i have a little bit more done, and i have time to refine it some. i need to start getting into the habit of writing creatively all the time, because this coming school year i will be taking advanced fiction writing (which i'm pretty excited about - my fiction writing class was by far my favorite class thus far). anyway, i want to share something about writing fiction. people always ask me (and other writers) if i base stories off of real-life experiences/places/people etc. yes. of course. i think everybody does. it's really hard not to. however, i've found that often times, i'll begin a story and i will (for the most part) be writing about someone i know, or something in my life that happened, but as i continue to write, i end up changing little details here and there. by the time i'm done, and i start editing, i've created a completely story than the experience i was originally writing about. of course some details are uncannily similar to my own life, but ultimately, i think i end up creating original stories and characters. i just think it's easier in the beginning to write about something you know really well, otherwise your story can seem unbelievable.

anyway, here's a quick update with me:

my dad and grandma are coming today! they will be here in about...thirty minutes.
my little sister gets here tomorrow! booyah!
i mowed the lawn yesterday. the entire lawn. by myself.
i did some more painting yesterday (but still have tons more to do).
the weather is FINALLY nice! it's up in the 80's today.
we are going to missouri in a little over two weeks!

well, i hope everyone had a good weekend! still haven't made it to the library yet, so i will update you on what book i'm reading, when i decide what i'm going to read!

p.s. i entered to win a trip to paris! you should too! you never know...you (or me) might get lucky!

new name

2011-06-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

i'm a tompkins! on tuesday, steve, jude and i finally made the trip down to the beautiful (lie) city of ogden to change my name. surprisingly, the process wasn't as painful as i thought it would be. we only waited for about 15 minutes, and the lady at the desk was extremely nice (after steve complimented her necklace). while we waited, we tried to think of a potential middle name i could give myself, but we ran out of time before we found one, and so we settled with my maiden name as a middle name (although, i was this close to becoming elise galadriel tompkins). afterward, we spent the day doing some shopping and eating mall food. when we got home, we ended the day by watching true grit (which we liked a lot, and that just came to redbox in case you want to check it out). speaking of redbox, the new narnia movie was in there...has anyone seen it, or heard anything about it?

anyway, hope everyone has a good weekend! i'll be posting a video later today (if i can find it again) that i found pretty interesting.

happy sunday + new jude

2011-06-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

happy sunday everyone! this weekend, i finished reading jane eyre! i liked it. a lot, actually. i love a good book, but i hate when it comes to an end. so now i need to find something else to read (i've found that reading while nursing is the only way to nurse...also, nursing is the only time i have to read these days). i'm thinking about either great expectations (last time i read it was my freshman year in high school), hunger games, bossypants (has anyone read that yet?), or maayyybe attempting something jane austen (although i'm still not sure i want to take that leap yet...) anyone have a vote for any of the above?

anyway, i hope everyone had a good weekend! we did a load of yard work, had a few picnics out on the lawn, and i finally uploaded a camera full of new jude pictures. below is a slideshow of some of my faves. enjoy!

"Picnik Show"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

(ages 6-8 months)

what i'm reading

2011-05-24T10:30:00.001-07:00

i'm currently reading jane eyre (remember when i said i was going to read it last summer...yeah that didn't happen). anyway, i want to finish reading it, because i want to see the new jane eyre movie that came out, but not before i finish the book. i'll be honest, i am not typically into jane eyre-ish types of books (you know, old british girly romance books). my older sisters and mom would read them when i was younger and i thought they were incredibly boring. this is my first attempt (outside of school assignments) at reading something like jane eyre, but i figured now that i have matured a little (at least i like to think i have), i could try it. also, classics become classics for a reason, i suppose.

anyway, design*sponge did a post about the movie earlier this week, and i talked to my sister today who said she saw and it was good. so now i'm more motivated to finish it faster! anyone else seen the movie? anyone reading anything good these days?

double deuces

2011-05-17T16:21:00.001-07:00

may eighteenth is a very special day, because...it's my birthday! i'm twenty two years old! this year my birthday seemed to creep up on me...normally, i start counting down in november. steve gave me a birthday present a few days early...some super mario pajamas (i was in desperate need of new pajamas), and i got a professional massage this morning. we took a mini shopping spree this afternoon where i got some shoes, a dress and new workout pants. we're heading out to dinner in a few minutes, but i have no idea where. steve tried to give me some clues, but none of them were helpful. he says i've never been there before, which baffles me, because i've been pretty much everywhere in logan... tonight, we'll come home, watch a move and eat some caramel cobs!

anyway, a wonderful day so far, and thank you to everyone who has wished me a happy birthday! amidst all of this, i will be thinking of my birthday twin, julianna, and reminiscing on past pink double birthday parties, and looking forward to future ones! happy birthday, juli!

UPDATE: the surprise dinner was in brigham city (which is why i had never been there). it's a place called maddox. it. was. so. GOOD. i got the top of maddox which is shrimp, and filet mignon, and steve got the buffalo steak (yes, we ate buffalo). both were delicious, as were the rolls and cornbread (and raspberry butter...oh my gosh) and the home brewed root beer and cream soda.

land's end canvas

2011-05-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

have you guys ever heard of land's end canvas? last year, i bought steve a robe from land's end, and ever since then, we've been getting their catalogs in the mail. i always glance through them, but most of the stuff in there is a little too mom-ish (yes, i know i'm a mom, but you get what i mean). anyway, i discovered land's end canvas the other day, and was surprised by how much i liked what they had to offer:

that second dress with the red stripes is calling my name. i may just have to buy it as a birthday gift to myself. also, i love their shoes & accessories.

back

2011-05-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

i'm back. anyone know how to combine two blogs into one? i'm not sure it's even possible, but just wondering. anyway, here's what's new with me:

work is over
school's over
we moved
the weather is finally nice
jude has two teeth and two more on the way
he can crawl (backwards only...and it's more like scooting than crawling)
he still does not sleep through the night

jiggly puff

2011-03-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

hey everyone. steve and i started a blog together. i think i will be posting on that one more, and this one less. i can't bring myself to part with elise navidad completely yet. i've been blogging on here since my freshman year of college. but recently, i've been thinking that we should do a family blog rather than just an elise blog. however, i have been blogging elsewhere, and so has steve. mesase is a blog i started a few months ago, but haven't really shared with anyone yet. i dunno why. but now that we started tompkinsfam, and i've had mesase for a while, i figured it's not really necessary to have three blogs. i might change the name of mesase to elise navidad just because i like it so much. anyway, this is very jumbled and probably confusing, so let me break it down:

goodbye, elise navidad (this blog)

hello, mesase (my new personal blog)
hello, tompkinsfam (mine and steve's blog together)

nice to see you, ukjent artist (steve's photo blog)

if you decide to check out mesase, let me know what you think. and if you have any ideas for what to call it, let me know. i just chose mesase because i couldn't think of anything else, and i knew no one would have a blog named that. i like mesase, but most people have no idea what the heck i'm talking about. man, i'm in a rambling mood today. i think it's because i'm hungry. anyway, check it out, doggs.

work

2011-02-17T16:51:00.001-08:00

well it's time. i interviewed with creative communications today and will start (re)training next week. steve and i decided it would be best for me to work part time to earn a little extra money and so i can have some time to myself and steve and baby j can spend more quality time together. it will be difficult, but the job only goes until the beginning of may, so if it doesn't work out, i don't have to go back in the fall. we will see. i'll be working from 8AM to11AM everyday and then from 2PM-5PM everyday. not bad. it's an easy, flexible and enjoyable job. and it's not kohl's.

dreaming of...

2011-02-01T12:08:00.000-08:00

normally i don't mind winter too much, but today it is FREEZING and all i can think about is how much i wish i was in places like these...

pictures from the caribbean

pictures from mexico

unfortunately it will be a while before we find ourselves anywhere tropical. hope you all are surviving winter!

my other main man, alec

2011-01-25T21:13:00.000-08:00

according to OK magazine, alec baldwin is "very, very interested" in running for political office. so who would you vote for? alec or don?

steveolicious

2011-01-15T13:29:00.001-08:00

steve now has a blog. it's pretty cool, ya'all.
checkz it out.

my main man, don

2011-01-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

UNCLE TRUMP WANTS YOU!

is this the new face of america? rumor has it that donald trump is running for president in 2012. i heard it on late night with jimmy fallon. coincidentally, the neon trees performed that night, too. weird.

resolutions

2011-01-05T17:28:00.001-08:00

we're still working on our new year's resolutions...we have a few ideas floating around...pretty much the same ones as last year...but when i get them in writing i'll post them here and make it official. so far i'm off to a great 2011 right?

2011

2011-01-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

lazy wednesday

2010-12-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

it's snowy outside today so i'm inside, under my down comforter, sipping on cocoa and cuddling with my little baby man. hope everyone had a good christmas!

play kitchen

2010-11-11T14:21:00.001-08:00

this is probably the most creative thing i've seen all day. i love it. how many of these old entertainment centers are sitting at DI waiting to be re-purposed? i will do this one day.

found over at design sponge.

2010-10-29T00:51:00.000-07:00

i saw a preview for the seventh harry potter movie on tv tonight. i got goosebumps.

out of the mouth of a babe

2010-10-06T21:51:00.000-07:00

i'm starting a weekly video post called "out of the mouth of a babe". that is all i will say at this point, and i will let the video speak for itself. literally.

p.s. sorry it's sideways...

the birth story

2010-10-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

so, here it is: the birth story. i figured i needed to record the story of my little man's birth somewhere, and i might as well share it with those who want to hear about it, so i decided to post it here. also, i prefer typing, rather than writing it down long-hand in my journal. so, anyway, here we go. p.s. just so you know, this will probably end up being long and detailed and probably a little boring, since i am mainly writing this for my own purposes and i want to get every detail. so...feel free to skim or skip this altogether.

on tuesday, september 28, i went in for my weekly doctor's appointment. i met with d'anne moon, dr. kirkman's practitioner since dr. k himself was out of town on a two week vacation. she checked everything out, and things looked about the same. i was dilated to two centimeters and i was 90% effaced. she then asked steve and i if we wanted her to strip the membranes (detach the amniotic sac from the wall of the uterus, releasing a hormone that can often cause labor to begin). she said if she did that, there was a 40% chance that i would go into labor within 24 hours. if i went into labor after that, it wouldn't be because she stripped my membranes. steve and i both decided why not? and she went ahead and did it. i had heard from multiple people that stripping the membranes usually won't do anything to send you into labor, that it just makes you uncomfortable and you get painful cramps. so my hopes weren't high. after the appointment, i dropped steve off at school, went home, piddled around, picked steve up, we went to arby's and got some french dip sandwiches, curly fries and a chocolate milkshake. we also went to motherhood maternity and picked up some last minute necessities, and then went home, had some friends over, did some homework and went to bed. i had experienced some discomfort throughout the day, but that's what you learn to expect when you're 40 weeks pregnant. i woke up at around four thirty in the morning because my discomfort had increased significantly. i didn't think much of it, and tried to go back to sleep, but it wasn't happening. i kept getting in and out of bed, trying to figure out if laying down, sitting down or walking around was more comfortable. finally at around seven, i started to feel a little nauseous, so i made myself some toast and jam. thinking i was feeling better, i decided to jump in the shower, and start getting ready for the day. during my shower, i think, was when i realized that this baby was coming and it was coming today. i got out of the shower, and lay back down in bed. that's when steve asked me if i was okay, to which i responded i was okay, i was just having cramps. he seemed pretty skeptical, and was even more skeptical when i got up to expel the jam and toast i had just eaten. he called my mom, mom said it was probably labor, and steve told me to get dressed because were leaving for the hospital NOW. the drive to the hospital was uneventful. when we got there, we were told to go up to the second floor, where we were given immediate attention, i was hooked up to monitors, and steve was left to deal with the insurance and other paperwork stuff. the nurses taking care of me were amazing. my RN for the morning was trish, who was awesome, and my CNA was treana who was the most helpful person in the universe at that time. she helped me cope with the pain of the contractions and told steve what he could do to help, and got us popsicles and ice chips (and sandwiches and chips and dr. pepper for steve). she even stayed with me while steve ran home to get some things we had forgotten, and drop his homework off. at this point, i was dilated to a three and 100% effaced, but i wasn't progressing any further than that. trish said if i didn't dilate within the next hour, they might just have me go home (which i didn't want to do). the hour passed and i had dilated to a four. i threw up again somewhere in between that time, don't really remember. eventually the pain started getting pretty intolerable, so they hooked me up to an IV and gave me some pain killers. it helped for a little bit, but mainly it just made drowsy, loopy and nauseous and the contractions just kept getting stronger and longer. at this point, trish had gone home, and lori was my nurse who was also awesome. she let me take a break from the monitors and get up and walk around for about a half hour. after ten hours of labor, at around 2:00, i asked for the epidural. they told me now was a good time to get it because if i had waited any longer, they wouldn't have been able to give it to me. apparently, if you dilate past a six, they won't give you the epidural. i was at a five. so, dr. skabelund, the anesthesiologist came in and hooked me up. i was a little scared because everyone kept telling me not to move, and it's hard not to squirm when someone's poking a needle in between your vertebrae and you're experiencing a few extremely painful contractions. anyway, when that was all done, i started feeling better immediately. mom had decided the night before that she was going to fly out, and she made it to the hospital right after i got the epidural. from there on out, it was pretty much a piece of cake. the three of us hung out, talked, watched a clean house marathon (clean house was literally on for my entire labor and delivery), and continued sucking on popsicles and ice chips. i continued to progress about a centimeter every hour. when i was about to a six, dr. noorda came in and broke my water. my nurse (i can't remember my last nurse's name) told me that things would probably go pretty quickly from there on out. at around four or five (i lost all concept of time, and still feel like i never have any idea what time it is), dr. fowers (the doctor who was on-call, and who would deliver my baby) came in and checked me. i was now at a seven and jude had descended to a plus one station (a zero station is when his head is on your pelvic bone - he had been at a zero for weeks - a plus one, meant he had begun his descent into the birth canal). dr. fowers said i could start pushing now, which would mean the baby would come sooner, but i would be pushing for longer. he suggested that i rest for as long as possible, and since my progress was good, just wait until he had made his way further down on his own. so that's what i did. the next time the nurse checked me, i was ten centimeters dilated, and jude was at a plus two station. she called dr. fowers and said that we would begin pushing in about fifteen minutes. this is when i started to get a little nervous and pretty giddy. at around six o'clock i started pushing. they had steve count for each push, which was not a good idea because i kept laughing. i don't know why. but i couldn't stop laughing, and that did nothing to speed up the process. after i had been pushing for about 45 minutes though, the humor wore off and i was tired, thirsty and wanted to get it over with. but i can't complain because thanks to the epidural i felt no pain at all, and although pushing was exhausting i wasn't screaming my head off or anything (although i felt like the veins in my head were going to burst open). while in between pushes, we continued to watch clean house, we talked about how my little sister was in hawaii, and we all wished we were in hawaii, and stuff like that. it was a pretty laid-back atmosphere. well, after an hour and a half, halfway through my push, dr. fowers told me to ease up. a second later i heard crying, and i started crying, and so did everyone else pretty much. steve cut the umbilical cord and they laid little jude on my stomach so i could look at him and help clean him off. then they took him over to the table with all the lights and did whatever they do over there. at that point, it was pretty much just me and dr. fowers because everyone wanted to see the little cutie. i laid there, pretty out of it, with a throbbing headache, crying and a little shocked. treana (my CNA from earlier) stayed late so she could meet the little man, and wish us congratulations, and lori, my RN from earlier came in and did the same thing. eventually, they brought jude over to me and i got to hold him and they gave me some graham crackers, apple juice and a motrin. after a little bit (no idea how long), they stuck me in a wheel chair, and i went up to the third floor with all the other moms and babies. the rest of my stay was pretty much vacation, although by the end, i was a little tired of nurses coming in and out of my room all the time. also, steve and i had an extremely difficult time coming up with a name for him. weird, i know, because we had decided on jude a long time ago. but for some reason, when we saw him, we just weren't sure. we ended up naming him steve jude tompkins, but i guess he goes by jude still. one thing i learned is that i will never name a child before they're born. we spent hours and hours agonizing over names for him, and i'm still not even sure if we named him the right thing. anyway, i could go on about that for another day or two, so i'll leave it at that. steven jude tompkins. he was born on september 29 (0f course) 2010 at 7:28PM MST. he weighed six pounds and fourteen ounces and was 19.5 inches long. no major complications. in fact, we are extremely lucky, because he has a little dimple on his lower back (i don't remember the name for it), where the skin didn't fully form over his spine. at first, we were worried, but the pediatrician checked it out and said there was nothing to worry about. the skin was sealed over it, so we are fine. if he had been born even a day or two earlier, though, the skin may not have had time to fully form over his spine, and little steven jude could have been born with spina bifida. but he wasn't. he's a little angel baby, very calm (except when he's screaming because he peed himself), and the cutiest little man alive.

baby

2010-10-04T22:01:00.001-07:00

so, i gave birth last wednesday. here are some pictures to prove it. more details to follow, but for now enjoy some cutie pics of my little one.

A NOVEL APPROACH

2010-09-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

since i've been at college, i've had to read two textbooks written in novel form. they were both stupid. i'll read novels on my own time. let textbooks be textbooks.

SLEEP

2010-08-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

sleeping is a thing of the past. and unfortunately it's the one thing that won't get better after i give birth.

SKOO and JU

2010-08-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

school starts in less than TWO WEEKS. i can't handle the anxiety. and i'm not even taking main campus courses. summer's almost over. i only went to bear lake once. i haven't roasted enough marshmallows. i haven't gotten enough sun. i haven't traveled enough. I'M NOT READY. in other news, i have six and a half weeks left of pregnancy. people always ask, "so are you ready?" let's be real here...i don't think i will ever feel ready to give birth to a child, and then raise it for the rest of my life and his. a little intimidating. i am ready to wear normal clothes again, though. i am getting so sick of the same three or four outfits day in and day out.

today's fortune: good things come in small packages. one is coming to you!

SHAVER LAKE

2010-07-14T12:02:00.001-07:00

this past week, steve and i went up to shaver lake for a family reunion with the rehaks. shaver lake is a small lake, located about an hour outside of fresno, and about two and a half hours from yosemite. we boated, fished, swam, wake surfed, tubed, hiked, saw some huge trees, ate delicious ice cream, shopped some local antique and craft stores, and enjoyed good company. it was a much needed vacation. pictures to come soon...whenever my mother-in-law emails them to me.

LOTR

2010-07-02T21:59:00.001-07:00

this week steve and i rediscovered lord of the rings (the movies). we've been watching two hour installments every night. we've gotten through movie 2, disc 1. so, half way. i never want it to end. they get better every time. we're losers, i know. but who doesn't love a good LOTR marathon, let's be real. i think we're going to start reading the books together after this. i'm getting steve to read. well, read the same things i like. it's pretty cool. anyway, if you haven't had your annual (or maybe semi-annual) dose of 12 straight hours of LOTR, i recommend you get on it.