A little update...


It has been way too long!!! I was wanting to blog every day, but apparently I got lazy. Here's a little update on everything....

I'm good, bored most of the time, but good. Been really tired and in a bit of pain the past few days. Jay suggested that maybe I'm doing too much, but if I did any less I'd be on bed rest. I feel like I've been growing like crazy, and he never stops moving! Our next doctors appointment is August 15th and we'll be getting another ultrasound! I'm excited, Jay thinks the ultrasounds are weird.


Jay is excited about the baby though and can't shut up about it lately. He calls him J.R or the mutant (says its in reference to a Kuato, a character from the movie Total Recall)..... poor kid. Hopefully we will have a name soon. Again, if there are any suggestions out there please let us know! We want to use family names, but I don't have a whole lot to choose from.

I'll be heading to CA August 27th and then Jay will be out on September 1st to pack up me and all my things and drive back that same day. It will be a day trip for him mostly because of school and he doesn't want to loose hours at work. But if we can afford it, we may stay in San Clemente somewhere for a few days for a little vacation before the baby comes. It would be nice, but we're not sure yet. We're going to be moving September 14th, and just put a deposit on an apartment in the area for a 2 bedroom 1 bath, it's a good size and layout for us.

Jay's still working 6 days a week and was supposed to start helicopter flight school today, but he pushed it back a month due to the new Post 9/11 GI bill that recently got signed. I keep wanting to work really bad, but he keeps telling me no. It's just nice to have my own money to buy things for me or just pamper myself, but I also feel bad that he work's so much while I feel like I'm not contributing at all. He recently put me in charge of the finances, don't laugh, and told me if there is "extra" money that I should feel free to spend it on myself. I can't do that.

Let's see what else.... We have a good amount of the "bigger" baby items, like a normal swing, travel swing, bouncy seat, car seat, etc., but we still have a good list of items we need though like a crib, dresser (he's not even going to use his room for a while so we have time on those items), clothes, bathroom items, diapers, you know the basics.

Sorry for everyone that keeps asking for pictures of Jay and I, we just don't get a lot of opportunities to take any. I will get some soon though, I promise!

Tupperware Queen


Yes, I have been labeled by a few people as a Tupperware queen. I am one to save leftovers and am always searching for a storage container that satisfies me. Well I have found it!!! It is the Rubbermaids Premier food storage container. I had seen the commercials for it and thought, "Oh, it can't be true. An easy lid, it doesn't leave the smell of food after you wash it, AND it doesn't stain!" No way... well I have been proven wrong. I have stored tomato sauce in them before, and nothing, no stain. They store easily and the lids even snap to the bottom. Oh and I think the best part of all is you don't have condensation from the lid running into your food... it catches it. You must check them out!

The 4th of July


What does the 4th of July represent to you? Yes it is a day of BBQ's, family gatherings, and most of all the fire works, but it is also much more. It is the day that commemorates the adoption of The Declaration of Independence.

The holiday was first celebrated in Philadelphia on July 8th, 1776, at which time The Declaration of Independence was read aloud, a month later The Declaration of Independence would be officially signed. Little do people know is that The 4th of July did not become an official holiday throughout the United States until 1941.

The 4th of July also represents a freedom. There are unfortunately many people in this world who do not have the option to voice their opinion like so many Americans will never hesitate to do. Americans complain about gas prices, housing costs, health care, or just plain trash our government.

But you know what I say... That is a very small price to pay to be living in this great country. Would you rather be
worrying about some mulisha group or government agency showing up at your front door step. Accusing you or a member of your family of a crime that was not committed or was petty, and in turn place you and your entire family in a camp, a prison, or just flat out kill you? Yes that IS still happens in the world today, North Korea, Darfur, and Iraq, just a few, and if you don't believe me just read up on it a bit, you will be surprised.

We have a military that is ready to defend our country if need be, as well as trying to bring freedom to other people around the world that do not get to experience the privilege.


The United States is not perfect, but are you? I am pretty damn happy to declare myself to be an American.

Please take time out of your day today to remember what this day is about, what this country allows you to do in your everyday lives, and pray for our troops serving this nation,
foreign or stateside, as well as veterans.

Enjoy your 4th of July and be safe!!

My Growing Belly

Lately I have been doing some growing, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually. I have had much time on my hands in the past few months and it has given me a chance to reflect on the life I have led up to this point. I have had some good and bad times, and I know many people have opinions on this subject. However, I like to look at them more as life experiences and lessons well learned. Some of this experiences and lessons were minor and easy to overcome, and others have been some major trial and errors. But they are things in the past and like I said, they are things I can only learn and grow from, which I feel I have.

As for the "boy" he is growing fast, and will be here in 3 (!) short months.... AHHH! He's extremely active and very strong or so I think. We are still trying to come up with a name for him, Jay likes to call him J.R or the mutant... it's all in fun but come on, it's so sad this poor kid. Jay so far has turned down the names I like so far, so we shall see what we come up with in the end. Let me know of any suggestions you might have!! Enjoy the pictures I have put up of my expanding growth. :)


16 Weeks May 27, 2008
Was still feeling sick and just over all "fat". Two weeks later we found out he was a boy!











20 Weeks June 19, 2008
I was finally feeling better by this week and starting to feel more pregnant.











21 Weeks June 26, 2008
Starting to show even more.... Jay's shirts are becoming really handy :)





















22 Weeks July 3, 2008
Well I don't know if you can tell by the pictures, but I feel like I (and probably the boy) am going through a major growth spurt the past few days. He is as active as ever and constantly kicking anything I rest on my stomach.



Gotta really love the stretch marks, I hope I don't get anymore...

The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag




When I started reading this book I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This memoir reflects the life of Kang Chol-hwan and his first hand experiences of living in Yodok, a political concentration camp located in North Korea, that still exist today.

In the 1990's there was an estimated 36,500 prisoners in Yodok, 16,500 of which were in the "revolutionizing zone", meaning they had been imprisoned due to a family member being charged with crimes against the government.



"From Publishers Weekly

North Korea is among the most opaque nations on earth, its regime noted for repression and for the personality cult of its father and son leaders, the late Kim Il Sung and his successor, Kim Jong Il. Kang Chol-hwan draws from firsthand experience in explaining the repression. After the division of North and South Korea, Kang's family returned to North Korea from Japan, where his grandparents had emigrated in the 1930s and where his grandfather had amassed a fortune and his grandmother became a committed Communist. They were fired with idealism and committed to building an edenic nation. Instead, the family was removed without trial to a remote concentration camp, apparently because the grandfather was suspected of counter-revolutionary tendencies. Kang Chol-hwan was nine years old when imprisoned at the Yodok camp in 1977. Over the next ten years, he endured inhumane conditions and deprivations, including an inadequate diet (supplemented by frogs and rats), regular beatings, humiliations and hard labor. Inexplicably released in 1987, the author states that the only lesson his imprisonment had "pounded into me was about man's limitless capacity to be vicious." Kang's memoir is notable not for its literary qualities, but for the immediacy and drama of the personal testimony. The writing, as translated by Reiner, is unadorned but serviceable, a style suited to presenting one man's account of a brutalized childhood. Kang now lives in South Korea, where he is a journalist; his co-author Rigoulot was a contributor to The Black Book of Communism. Together, they have added a chapter to the tales of horror that have come out of Asia in recent years.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc."


Sadly this is still occurring today, and I just cannot believe I have not heard about it. I would have never thought in this day and age, we would be seeing a concentration camp. People are dying from illness, malnutrition, and executions. Please take the time to read this compelling
book.

Click here to read a excerpt from the epilogue.






Jay's "Semi-Homemade" Pizza




The second date Jay took me on was to his house for a dinner he made for me. It was small but oh so good! He paired this chicken pesto pizza with a cesar salad and a nice white wine, of which I can't remember now.

  • 1/2 cup pesto basil sauce
  • 1 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crust
  • 2 cups cooked chicken breast strips
  • 1 (6 ounce) jar artichoke hearts, drained (preferably marinated)
  • 1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese


Preheat oven to 450*

Spread pesto sauce over the pizza crust. Arrange chicken pieces and artichoke hearts over the sauce, and sprinkle with cheese


Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is melted and lightly browned at the edges.


Mmmmm.......

A great little get away


When I used to think of Arizona I only thought of dry desert and hot summers, but located in the White Mountains of Arizona on the Fort Apache Reservation is a quaint camp ground surrounded by pine and aspen trees. Whether you are a tent camper, RV camper, or prefer the luxury of a cabin, this is a great place for a family get away.

As Jay and I recently experienced for a one night trip, Hawley Lake is a great place to get out of the summer heat epically if you are living in the southern part of Arizona. We went from a searing 116* to a nice mild 80*. We chose to camp lake side which happened to be quite the adventure. Along with the many wild animals located there, we also encountered some domesticated cows grazing in the nearby meadow. We would occasionally find them wondering into the camp area eating out of the provided fire pits for different minerals.


Even though Hawley lake offers many different outdoor activities such as sailing, boat or lake side fishing, crawdad catching, or going on a small hike, we decided a bit of hammock napping was in order. We tried fishing, but had no such luck, however, many people around us were catching fish. I think it was the bait we were using, Jay said I was just bad luck. Butt head.

Now if you are the cabin type, which I hope I can convince Jay of someday, they have an ample amount of cabins available year round bordering Hawley Lake and Earl Park Lake (a much smaller lake adjacent to Hawley Lake) .


All cabins include some basics like linens for the beds and bathrooms, dishes, pots and pans, silverware, coffee maker and toilet paper. Oh that reminds me, unless you camp with an RV or something similar that provides a facility to go to the bathroom, look forward to the wonderful outhouses. None of the cabins have microwaves either, so if you have little ones that you would want to heat up a quick meal for, plan on bringing a small microwave or plan to heat it up on the stove.


2008: A very busy beginning...



Much has happened since January 2008. I moved to Arizona with the plan to work, work, work and then to join the military. Soon after I arrived here, I met Jay and by March 2008 we found out that we would be expecting a little one. I, at first was mostly upset with myself at what had happened. How could we both be so naive as to let this occur? I for one had a goal and I was very determined to accomplish it, and Jay was in the process of getting a loan to start helicopter flight school. It turned out to be Jay to take the calm role in all of this mayhem.

He told me that everything would be okay, not to worry, and that he was going to be moving me in with him.I had some suspicion, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. It was a rough beginning, but it is turning out to be a great life.

God love him, he has put up with so much. He works 6 days a week, normally 8-9 hour days, and then comes home to put up with me. I had been sick until about 3 weeks ago, and was I not only having trouble eating and drinking, losing what seems to me a lot of weight (15 lbs) and not really gaining any back. I was just so frustrated with feeling ill constantly and having to take the medication Phenergan every 6 hours. It's hard for me to even take a Tylenol and this was a class C drug which means either studies in animals have revealed adverse effects on the fetus and
there are no controlled studies in women, or studies in women and animals are not available. It caused me to be extremely sleepy, but also put me in a bad mood.

These days I am feeling much much better only having the "normal" pregnancy symptoms. Even though I am still not working, and at this point am probably not going to work until after the baby is born, I have been feeling productive, which I have been lacking. I mostly clean the house, walk the dog, researching various things online, sounds very minuscule, but I'm happy doing it and it keeps me busy. I am also going to be going to school full time in the fall, all online classes, but it will keep be occupied and continue my education to becoming an RN (I have gone back and forth many times with what career I want, but I just keep coming back to becoming a Registered Nurse).

As the days go on, we continue to learn about each other and grow towards the family we will soon be in November.