Meme

Wow- I haven't done one of these in a long time. I'm only doing this one b/c my SIL asked so sweetly.

1) First thing you wash in the shower? hair
2) What color is your fav hoodie? don't have one
3) Do you plan outfits? nope
4) How are you feeling RIGHT now? pretty mellow
5) What's the closest thing to you thats red? scissors
6) Tell me about the last dream you remember having? I had two dreams for one the other night- I dreamt that I was teaching fifth grade at FES again and it was close to the end of the school day. Some parents were waiting outside so I invited them in my classroom. My students went absolutely berserk. Crazy and would not settle down. Finally they all left and I just sat down and sobbed about how the parents think I'm such a bad teacher. Then I dreamed that Liz asked on her blog" If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?" She had about 11 comments and pretty much every one of them said, "With my grandparents" I was all confused b/c I was going to answer "Right here in Hilton Head- except I'd bring Kiran here- with her ayah (nanny)" But I felt shallow putting that down after all those nice comments.
7) Did you meet anybody new today? I met the people who bought the great consignment shop near my house!
8) What are you craving right now? bryers strawberry fruit popsicle
9) Do you floss? every night
10) What comes to mind when I say cabbage? ew.
11) Are you emotional? depends on the day, the hour, the situation- def more so since I've been pregnant
12) Have you ever counted to 1,000? on purpose?
13) Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? lick
14) Do you like your hair? eh. I could take it or leave it. But I'd prob take it b/c I don't think I'd look good without it.
15) Have you ever met a celebrity? define met. I rode in an elevator with Wayne Gretzky but I didn't actually talk to him.
16) Do you like cottage cheese? only in casseroles
17) What are you listening to right now? The wrestling documentary that someone in my house is watching
18) How many countries have you visited? 11- mexico, bahamas, australia, germany, france, austria, india, thailand, the philippines, italy, vatican city
19) Are your parents strict? not so much
20) Would you go sky diving? hum...for the right price
21) Would you have dinner with George W. Bush? yes- he's in town tonight you know
22) Would you throw potatoes at him? I've never thrown potatoes at anyone
23) Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? no (my rings are off until after delivery b/c i'm paranoid they will have to cut them off)
24) Have you ever been in a castle? yes in europe and india
25) Do you rent movies often?no its been years
26) Have you ever made a prank phone call? I'm sure I did in middle school
27) Do you own a gun? no
28) Can you count backwards from 74? I can...
29) Brown or white eggs? white
30) Ever been on a train? yep
31) Are you too forgiving? probably not
32) Do you use Chap-Stick? I'm a vaseline girl personally
33) What is your best friend doing tomorrow? she's getting caught up on all her grading
34) Can you use chop sticks? Yes
35) Ever had cream puffs? I don't think so
36) What was the last CD you bought? I bought a Caedmon's Call CD in Feb for Kiran to give her Daddy for his birthday
37) Is your hair curly?ugh- it wants to be but its a failure at it
38) Ever walked into a wall? I can't recall doing that
39) Fav time of the year? fall-crisp cool air, my harvest candle, pumpkins, leaves turning.....ah so nice
40) Favorite color? purple
41) Are you sarcastic? some
42) Do you have any tattoos? nope
43) Do you sleep with the TV on? no
44) What is your favorite animal? Maybe a giraffe
45) Can you hula hoop? I used to...I haven't tried lately

So I'm tagging Erin L and E-Rob

Our Week

So I packed up and took off with Jonathan for a week at Hilton Head Island with his company leaving Kiran in the care of her grandparents. Now before you get all huffy and start exclaiming how selfish and unkind that is, let me give you a glimpse of Kiran's life since I left.

She's had the undivided attention of her grandmom and granddad.

She's played in the sprinklers.
She's played with her cousin and helped make homemade ice cream.She's gone to the zoo.
She's eaten lots of good food.


Today she's going over to my parents' where she'll get to play with her other grandparents, cousins, aunt and uncle. My little social butterfly is in hog heaven and is not going to be happy to come home with just Mommy & Daddy. I'm very thankful that we have family close by that are willingly to take care of her and that she loves spending time with so much.

I think the sun is peaking out- time to assume my position by the pool.

Photos of the Wedding

Will's amazing photographer has some pictures from their wedding up on her blog. She did a fantastic job capturing the emotion of the day.

Uncle Wull

My brother got married! It was so beautiful and meaningful and I'll post about it once I get some pictures (send me pictures if you read this and you have some!). I was too busy bridesmaiding and socializing to take any pictures.

My sister-in-law (yea!) gave us such cool bridesmaid gifts. First, she gave us monogrammed travel jewelry cases.


So fun. I'm already planning to use it for my trip.

AND she went to this place downtown, The Beaded Frog, and designed earrings for us! She designed them, they were specially made for us and they are beautiful! Isn't that a cool gift? I had no idea there was a place in Greenville that did this.I put this picture in so you can see the earrings. Except you can't really see them unless you make it really big. But you can see my hair- I was very pleased with the girl who did it. And you can't see how ginormous I am because my arm is blocking my belly. And I'm talking to Jennifer who is due one week after me and doesn't look nearly as ginormous as I do. (Its her second also.)

Pics From a Spring Evening

I haven't done many pictures lately so here you go....

Picnicking with Daddy

My baby girl who is growing up way too fast

Family picture at Movies In The Park

32.5 Weeks

Meal Planning

Tonight I made potatoes out of a box. I actually cringed as I made them. The "potatoes" looked like potato chips and the "cheese" was a powder. I got them basically free since our Food Lion has been having some triple coupon weeks but I still was wondering what in the world I was putting into my body and my daughter's body (J was at class).

I've been working on simplifying my meal planning. I'm trying very hard to keep our grocery bill under $200 a month. I have found a system that is really working for me although I realize some of you will think its totally boring. That is ok- its not for everyone.

Basically I'm compiling 30 recipes (my goal is 30- I'm still working on it) that we love and will plan my meals for the month from those recipes. I do like to try new recipes but I'm limiting myself to one new recipe (main or side dish) a week. We don't eat the meals in the same order and we will probably never need all 30 but I like having that many to choose from. I'm putting my tried and true recipes together in my recipe notebook that I received at a wedding shower. I'm tired of having my recipes scattered through out many cookbooks, half pieces of paper, recipe cards and my favorites folder on my computer.

This has really helped our grocery budget because I'm cooking the same recipes every month. So I have most of the ingredients on hand. That spice I bought a bottle of but only used 1/2 tsp- I can use another 1/2 tsp and it costs me nothing that month.

So there you have it. Do you have a method for planning meals? Organizing recipes? I'm always looking to make this a more enjoyable, easier process.