All the things.

After going a month without writing, at a time when there's lots to say, how does one begin?  It's been such a whirlwind since returning from our two-weeks on the road at Christmas/New Years.  For remembering sake, I am going to write what we've been up to, and hope not to bore you along the way.

Enjoying a delicious dinner at Prejean's exactly 3 years after hosting our rehearsal dinner there. 

In the notable department, we briefly celebrated our 3-anniversary with a trip to the restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner, had maternity pictures taken, and was treated to a shower by family and friends.  Alex came with me for an overnight work trip to Camp the second weekend in January, and each weekend since has been spent kicking ass (aka working like crazy) as we great ready for the little one to arrive.  We've accomplished so much, I want to include a list for memory's sake:

• cleaned out and organized all our closets and storage areas
• donated items to Goodwill, dropped several boxes worth of paper stuff in the recycling bins
• bought 20 baby items (0-12 months) for $25 at Goodwill
• sold items to Amazon, Declutter, and SellBackYourBook
• had furniture moved in all rooms of our house
• sorted shower gifts and set up basics for baby room/our room
• ordered bedding (via Etsy) for the crib we have on loan
• brewed a fresh batch of homemade laundry detergent
• prepared 12 gallons of freezer meals (pretty sure this one almost sent me into labor at 36 weeks)
• ordered/installed two car seat bases and (assembled) the coordinating stroller, had installation checked by a local Trooper
• had carpets/wood floors professionally cleaned
• vacuumed/dusted/cleaned the house...more than once
• renewed Sam's Club membership
• made an errand trip or two (Walmart, Dollar General, Babies r Us, Ulta, Lowe's, etc)
• attended breastfeeding (2 hours on a Tuesday night) and childbirth class (2.5 hours on a Thursday night), and the first ever local Theology on Tap (!)
• toured the hospital where we will deliver
• researched and selected a pediatrician

...that's all in the last three weeks and in addition to keeping up with the weekly grocery shopping and dishes/laundry piles, while trying to get out and walk around the neighborhood at least a few times a week (weather, depending, of course).  And as home ownership goes, we also had to replace our toilet seat, as well as the fill pump on our toilet, and discovered we need a new roof ASAP thanks to an obvious leak stain on the ceiling in our living room.  I'm just exhausted thinking about this list!

Anybody wanna buy some Jodi Picoult books?  Facebook is apparently uninterested, lol.  

At least we shouldn't go hungry.

It's a start. 

At work, I've been preparing what feels like three months worth of lesson plans (if I were a school teacher, that is).  A college student will be filling in for me part time while I'm out, so I have assembled a month by month list of everything that needs to be done, including deadlines and checklists, with as much details as I can possibly anticipate with memory on overload at this point.  There are reports to be submitted and just some things that she cannot do, so I am ferociously working to have those ready before I'm out, while training her on where things are located and how things work in the 10-15ish hours a week she is working now.  Not to mention, this girl works two other jobs (one of which is actually with Alex as her boss on campus, lol), so coordinating with a full time class schedule and three jobs can be just a wee big complicated!

So if you've been wondering why I'm absent, maybe now you understand... :)

I guess now that the big things are checked off, my mind is still working in overdrive but my body can't keep up (and thankfully there isn't much essential left to handle).  We do still need to pack our hospital bags (MUST happen this weekend!), attend a newborn basics class this week, and I never have gotten around to researching day care options in the area...oops.  (Consciously/subconsciously I'm hoping I won't need to make that decision and thus it keeps getting put off.)

In any case, I really miss this here blog and I hope I can get back to posting more regularly.  At some point, I want to share our maternity photos and talk a little about the shower too.  Stephanie encouraged me to prepare a lineup of guest posts for when baby comes, but it has yet to be seen whether I'll manage to be that put-together before the little one arrives. I mean, technically, he or she could arrive any day now... AH!

If we make it to Mardi Gras without a baby...I will need more of this...and Blue Bell ice cream.

This is really happening, isn't it?
-Lauren

P.S.  I know for some this type of post can be uncomfortable, difficult, or just plain painful.  Please know that we recognize this and pray for those of you who may struggle with infertility (any variation thereof) and/or infant loss.  Our hearts go out to families affected by these struggles each and every day. 

Thumbs Up for Divine Intervention

I'm a week late to share this one, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity altogether, so here it is... The lovely Stephanie is on maternity leave, but still churning out good stuff, so head over to visit her at Captive the Heart.  This round, Stephanie asked some of her married friends to share about prayer with their spouse.  ...Because when you're silly, there can be fun rewards involved (in addition to the spiritual ones, haha).

Photo credit:  Katie Hoffpauir Photography

Check back regularly to visit with Stephanie, as she will be sharing more from "Brides Who've Been There" during this Wedding Q & A series!

It's Never Too Late for Gifting Your Love

If it weren't for Stephanie, it seems this blog would be dead these days...and she's the one on maternity leave!  I'm a few days late sharing this here, but it is Christmas Eve and if you're still looking to score a last minute gift for your significant other, she's your girl.  Head over to visit her at Captive the Heart.  This week, Stephanie asked some of her married friends to share gift ideas for your love.  ...And why stop with one gift when you could share 26?  (That's my mantra anyway!)

Check back regularly to visit with Stephanie, as she will be sharing more from "Brides Who've Been There" during this Wedding Q & A series!

What's on My Table?

Right around the time that Alex was starting with his hectic football season schedule, I was winding down my first trimester but still relying pretty heavily on him for preparing meals.  Then, Sheena over at Bean in Love mentioned eMeals and I knew I had to check it out.  A pick-up-and-go meal plan for the week, complete with an organized grocery list, and budget-friendly cost was just what the doctor ordered!

We've been using eMeals for nearly two months now and I have to say we love it!  There's so much more variety in our diets and we definitely feel like we're eating better.  The food is delicious, and most recipes are super easy to follow, and every meal includes a variety of vegetables and/or compatible side items.  If you're more adventurous or have specific dietary needs, you could always forgo the budget-friendly plans and pick something more exciting like kid-friendly (lol), 30-minute meals, or even paleo if you're really out there.  :-p

With eMeals, we get to eat delicious meals like this - Asian chicken pasta salad.  YUM-O.

As I told one of my friends a few weeks ago, I'm 90% satisfied with eMeals and the the 10% dissatisfaction is all a matter of user error.  We're still trying to make it through a week without forgetting something at the store, or misreading a recipe to the point where I use double of an ingredient that was intended to be halved for two recipes.  Yeah, FAIL.

I do have a few complaints about the inability to really customize a printable based on the create-your-own meal plans (an advanced feature one might choose to use after trying a few weeks' worth of plans).  We really prefer printing hard copies of all the weekly plans and working off of paper notes at the grocery store, but the create-your-own is only accessible via the app.  I will say, the projected grocery cost for the first few weeks wasn't accurate since we had to purchase a bunch of staples (seasonings, primarily) that we didn't already have on hand.  These days, the projected costs are pretty darn accurate - and would be more so if we shopped at one of the stores featured by the company.

There is also no way to indicate preferences for certain style meals (other than changing a meal plan) or to say that you really didn't like a meal an don't want to receive it on a future plan.  Weekly plans are guaranteed not to repeat again for 6 months, so we haven't repeated anything yet, but I do wish there was a way for the company to take into consideration our preferences before sending our plans each week.  My hope is that eMeals will continuously improve their service as it gains in popularity and these customization features will someday be available for use.

Turkey and Black Bean Taco Salads.  SO GOOD!

...Like I said, we really do love the program!  Initially we signed up for the 2-week free trial and agreed to a 3 month subscription, but I wouldn't be surprised if we decided to splurge for the year once the initial period.  The annual cost of just $5 a month is really a great deal!  I promise I haven't been asked to write this post, BUT if you do want to give it a try, there is a referral and affiliate program, so please e-mail me first and I'll get you all set up!

So, what's on YOUR table?

-Lauren

Note:  Affiliate links are included in this post.

Fun Photo Reveal!

Remember last month when I said I had something I wanted to write about but I couldn't just yet?  Well, today is your lucky day!

Mid-June, Alex and I met my friend Dawn in Natchez for the day so she could practice taking our photos for an upcoming engagement shoot some her friends had asked her to do for them. It was totally a last minute thing, so Alex was a little suspicious, but he went with it.  I know you want to see the fruits of her labor, so scroll on!

Dawn also gave us each a 1/2 sheet of poster board so we could write a note to one another.  She said it was to help her practice with the posters as props because her friends were planning to write their own vows.

Do you see where this is going yet?

Yep...you got it.  I have been stringing you (and Alex) along this whole time!! This whole photo shoot was orchestrated to reveal our pregnancy to the unknowing dad-to-be!  Scroll on to see the action unfold!

Still absolutely clueless...oh that smile is about to change drastically.  

Yeah, he threw down that poster with gusto, and literally ran away!!!  I'll save from you any more of those blurry and unprofessional photos because, well, in the words of Dawn, "my shutter speed wasn't set fast enough for that!!!"  

Here, he recounts all the reasons he was suspicious about this day trip and photo shoot.  It was Father's Day weekend, after all...

Untucked shirt and all, he finally took a breath and allowed excitement to take over.

Sooo........there you have it!!  We're having a BABY!

Because I know the questions will start coming, I'll just go ahead and list a few of them for you:

• We're due February 19th...which is exactly between Mardi Gras (Feb. 9) and Leap Day (Feb. 29).  My original calculation was for February 20th, so I'd be 100% fine if we found ourselves with a due date baby.  But please, no Leap Day birthdays!!!
• As of yesterday, we're 12 weeks along, so here's to hoping all the typical first trimester symptoms are on their way out and energy/appetite is on the way in!
• No, we don't plan on finding out the gender, so no reveal parties to plan on here.
• No gender reveal = no name reveal either.  I would like to settle on first names with the same initial to leave open the possibility of monogrammed gifts, but we haven't been able to 100% agree on anything that works for that yet (and that's my fault, not his).  
• Also, we don't have any "bumpdate" photos yet because I'm not exactly the thinnest girl on the block and therefore whatever "bump" that's growing most definitely still looks more like chub and less like baby.  Maybe in a few weeks.  Maybe.

Ahh, all the things!!  I'm so excited to finally share this with all of you.  It's been SO hard keeping the secret when commenting on some of your blogs, but now...now I can ask for all the advice from you wonderful moms out there! 

Let the fun begin!

-Lauren

P.S.  I know for some this type of news can be uncomfortable, difficult, or just plain painful.  Please know that we recognize this and pray for those of you who may struggle with infertility (any variation thereof) and/or infant loss.  Our hearts go out to families affected by these struggles each and every day. 

The "B" Word

Every once in a while (okay, sometimes more often than others), I get to dreaming about the day I can leave my "real job" to stay home and raise our (future) kids.  In order to get there though, Alex and I have to come to a place where we are financially prepared to live on just one income.  We have been "practicing" since we were married, having my paycheck deposited straight into our savings account, and his into the checking.  But if we're being honest here, there are seasons with more birthdays, holidays, or special circumstances that make that paycheck stretch a little thinner than I'd like.
 
Certainly there are some places we could really cut back on expenses - that $200 cable bill, for one (and we only have cable in 1.5 rooms of our house!).  We feel pretty comfortable with our savings account, insurance coverage, and investments, but we still aren't quite comfortable with taking the plunge and doing away with one income entirely.  So, when The Budget Mama asked for volunteers to review her latest book Real Life on a Budget, I jumped at the chance to hone in on some of those skills we might be lacking.

Here are a few interesting/useful concepts I took away from the book:

1 - A little inconvenience can go a long way in saving money over time.
I have been making my own laundry detergent for over a year now, and I love it.  The cost savings are amazing, and I kind of like feeling a little extra-domestic over that kind of project.  It isn't as much of a hassle as it sounds, I promise.  Next up - floor cleaner, reusable paper towels, world domination?!

2 - Be aware of all the extra "clutter" in your life.
Inbox clutter is a big one for me.  I get wayyy too much crap in my inbox and should really redirect it to some other address that I don't use regularly.  Dining out is also a type of clutter for us; since we don't have friends here, eating out once a week is our special treat to get out of the house and have a little fun.  Unfortunately, it usually leaves us yearning for more outings...more bad food...and more budget sucking.

3 - Spenders versus Savers?
We're both savers but we have a weakness for telling each other "no."  In other words, it's easy for us to avoid purchases on our own rights, but when we ask the other if it's okay to buy something, it's near impossible to stay firm in our hunches about it.  Moral of that story - we need to make an actual budget and stick to it!

4 - Half Payments, have you heard of them?
I'd never heard of such things until I read them in the book.  We're paid monthly so it's not quite set up for our pay schedules, but if we did have difficulty with living paycheck to paycheck, this could be a really good way to break that habit.

5 - 50/20/30 Framework.
Yeah, I know it sounds like the 20/20 insurance concept, but here we're talking about budgeting 50% of your expenses for essentials, 20% for your future, and 30% for your lifestyle.  This is one budgeting system that I could definitely get behind and it seems totally attainable too.  (I should probably put the pen to the paper before I commit to that statement, though.  Heh.)

Bonus - Debt snowball.
Alex and I have discussions on whether we should pay off his car (at 0% financing, attainable goal) or put a large chunk down on our house (3.375% interest, with a much larger total).  He thinks it's wiser to put money toward the house, whereas I would prefer to pay off something and have fewer debtors overall.  Jessi's theory on paying off the smaller debts first definitely makes my little heart happy, but I think I have a little more convincing to do on Alex's part.  ;)

I'm so grateful for the opportunity to get my hands on this book, and I really look forward to following more of The Budget Mama's tips as we work toward our long term goals for financial freedom.  And, if you want to get your hands on your very own copy of Real Life on a Budget, it's officially available for FREE on Amazon as of today (as of July 5th, the book will only be available for purchase)!

Happy Budgeting to ya'll!
-Lauren

Note:  I received an e-book version of this book in exchange for providing a review of the materials.  All opinions are my own and no additional compensation was provided.

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 11)

I know...it's not Friday anymore.  The DVR and Netflix leprechauns were a little overzealous this weekend, so I'm just now getting around to posting.  You'll forgive me...right?

--- 1 ---

I just realized that this week's "Wedding Wednesday" post never got published.  I picked the date/time and everything, but I guess I hit "save" instead of "publish" so it never went live.  No wonder there were no comment e-mails coming in, lol.  Never fear, the post has been rescheduled for next Wednesday (3/25), so be sure to check it out.

--- 2 ---

As I have said many times before, Alex is great.  He knows I feel pretty lonely around here and in an effort to help me feel loved by far-away friends and family, he convinced several people to record their birthday wishes and assembled them into a hilarious video just for me.  In the 8 minute video, I laughed, cried, and beamed with happiness over the kind words sent from all over the country.  I had every intention of sharing the video here this week but Alex has been out of town so we haven't gotten a chance to edit and upload it just yet.  I promise, it will be worth the wait!

--- 3 ---

As promised (maybe just a few days late), I'm giving away a Free 1/2 Sheet of Jamberry Nail wraps to one lucky lady who commented on my "Three/Twelve = Giveaway" aka birthday post.  Drum roll please....The winner is.... AMY S. of All for Heavens' Sake!  Congrats, Amy!  Since you live in Canada, I can't sell you Jamberry, but I can hook you up fo-FREE! (I'll e-mail you to discuss the details.) Wahoooo. Thanks to those of you who shared your unique/memorable birthday stories. I had a blast reading them!

--- 4 ---

Speaking of Jamberry, it's been a while since I've said much about it here.  Things kinda of died down for me late in the Fall, but I see them picking up again very soon.  And because this is my space, I am going to go ahead and give a shameless plug announcing a really awesome Mother's Day gift set that will be available starting Wednesday (3/25).  The last few gift sets we offered sold out almost immediately, so if you're interested, I'd suggest snagging them up ASAP.  Our typical Buy3/Get1 offer is generally awesome, but with 8 items in this adorable collection, these gift sets are a steal!

--- 5 ---

We may be a little late to the party but after seeing lots of positive chatter over Parenthood, Alex and I decided to give it a try.  Our year long "friendship" with One Tree Hill ended around mid-February, so we took a few weeks off from binge TV before we started Parenthood via Netflix.  It took Alex a few episodes to get into the show, but I was pretty much hooked by Episode 2.  Are there any other Parenthood fans out there?

source

--- 6 ---

So how do your #MarchMadness brackets look these days?  I thought this might be my year...but then my alma mater (NC State) decided to pull one out their you-know-what and beat both LSU and Villanova to reach the Sweet 16, and my National Champion (Georgetown) fell to Utah in the second round so this girl is O-U-T of the running for anything interesting.  Maybe next year I should go back to picking winners based on their team colors/mascots...

source

--- 7 ---

Somehow, I found the opportunity to cook a few things from scratch lately - thank goodness because I am sick(!) of salads.  I had some left over sour cream from chili I made when my family was in town a few weeks ago, so I put it to good use by trying out Patty's sour cream enchilada recipe.  You'd think we were Hispanic for the frequency we consume tortillas and chips.  Anyway, the enchiladas were a great alternative to a traditional version.  In my post about shopping the perimeter, I also mentioned throwing together some banana bread with overripe bananas.  I really need to buy some baking soda, because that bread wasn't exactly the best texture and I could really be baking a lot more fun stuff if I had some of that to throw in the mix.  And since Alex was out of town this week, I finally got around to making a batch of red beans and sausage for the freezer.  Thanks to Jen's suggestion, I threw in some onions and bell pepper this time around...definitely added to the deliciousness.  But, I used too much water so it was more like a soup/gumbo/gravy...the taste was just as great as ever, though!

Okay, enough rambling...for more Takes, be sure to visit This Ain't the Lyceum.

Have a great week!
-Lauren

#16: Shopping the Perimeter

Is it possible to make a post about grocery shopping fun or interesting?  I'm not so sure... but, I'll give it a try anyway.

About a year ago, I began to make a conscious effort to avoid the center aisles of the grocery store...also known as "shopping the perimeter."  If this is a foreign concept, the idea is that all the processed foods are located in the middle of the store, whereas fresh produce, meat, and dairy products are located around the edges.  By avoiding the inside aisles, we are purchasing whole foods instead of processed junk.

In order to hold myself accountable, I added this goal (#16) to my 20 in 14 list and tried to make a habit of staying out the center aisles.  Now, we all know life happens and this isn't entirely practical for 100% of all grocery store purchases or visits.  However, I have photographic evidence of at least a few successful trips to the store.

My only complaint about this whole thing is the outrageous cost of whole fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products.  A boxed dinner may cost $3, whereas making the real deal from scratch could be four times as expensive.  I realize we spend a much smaller portion of our income on food than other world nations do, but it's flat out stupid that real food costs more than processed food does.

I distinctly remember taking this photo because four items cost $20!

Sometimes I also found the produce at grocery stores to be less than ideal.  The selections weren't always at their optimal stage of freshness, and they were always so gosh darn expensive.  In an attempt to cash in on fresher produce at lower costs, we recently became members of Sam's Club.  The local store also happens to be located just about as close to our house as other grocery stores, and it's always a safer place to be than the run down areas of this town.

I really like shopping at Sam's - there isn't as much variety in their produce section, but what they do have is always fresh and longer lasting than what I typically purchased at other stores.  Not everything at warehouse stores is cheaper than other stores, but if you know what you typically pay elsewhere, it's not difficult to make a judgement about whether something is a good buy.  

Using whole ingredients has inspired me to make other things from scratch too - a few weeks ago, I made homemade peanut butter cookies for the pressbox using only three ingredients (eggs, sugar, peanut butter) instead of baking something from a box.  This week, I even managed to make banana bread with some overripe bananas we had laying around.  Also, my mother-in-law bought me a solid 12-in-1 blender for my birthday, so I am itching to crank that baby up and concoct something awesome!

With all that said, the results of these efforts have been increases in consumption of fruits and vegetables in our day-to-day diets.  We haven't experienced weight loss, persay, but I have to believe we are having more nutritious meals on a more regular schedule.  At this point, however, I am starting to become bored with our same-ole menus, so if anyone has some simple/easy recipes (using fresh ingredients) to to offer, please share away!

-Lauren

How Baseball Ruined Valentine's Day

I'm no stranger to whining about our ridiculous work schedules here on the blog, so it seems only fitting to write about giving up Valentine's Day for the sake of collegiate baseball.  Plus, Sarah at Venus Trapped in Mars challenged me to create a post that combined sports + Valentine's Day.  I figure I give her enough crap by trolling her "sports for girls" posts - it's time for me to (wo)man up and play along too.

Did you know...NCAA Baseball opening day for every team starts on the same day - usually the second Friday of February. The season is a grind of 56 regular season games that runs until the middle of May. After that for the fortunate ones, there are conference tournaments, NCAA regionals, NCAA super regionals, and the NCAA college world series....which basically means no life for 4 months, got it.  (Okay, I may or may not have added the last part for dramatic effect.)

With those kinda stats (thanks, Husband Dear) I think I deserve a few minutes to whine, yes?

So what's a girl to do?  Well, Alex is the bestest of all (duh!), so we celebrated early with a nice dinner on Thursday night.  He pointed out how at least I'm "lucky" he's still in town for Vday...he could be on the road traveling for away games.  Okay fine, Husband...fine!

Anyway... I'm kind of known around the local press box community for my cupcakes.  Cupcakes, you say?  Yes, cupcakes.  (Nevermind they're always out of a box...cupcakes! ...Pretty sure as long as it's edible, the press box people will swoon.)

What better way to bow down to the baseball inevitable than to make team-color-cupcakes?!  (And on Saturday, pink/red cupcakes...then maybe Mardi Gras colors on Sunday?  Yes, I think so.)

You win, baseball...you win.

So instead of inhaling a huge box of chocolate hearts, admiring beautiful red roses, or gorging on fine wine and delicious seafood...this girl will be pressing buttons on the scoreboard as ULM hosts the Warhawk Classic (4 teams, 6 games...a whole lotta baseball) all.weekend.long.  At least I don't have to work the other 13 sporting events on campus this weekend.  Geesh, people.

And if you're looking for some true romance (obviously you won't find that with me on the baseball field), check out the story of this lovely couple.  Married for over 40 years, the husband writes a love letter to his wife EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.NO.MATTER.WHAT.  Now that's the kind of love that makes this world go round.  #swoon

For others in the romantic mood, I encourage you to link up with Sarah as she hosts her annual You're Sweet but I Prefer Chocolate link-up...

...OR, her weekly Fan Friday link-up if you're instead feeling sporty.

Thanks, Sarah, for hosting (and letting me bug you on the regular)!

Happy Valentine's, everyone!
-Lauren

P.S.  Please excuse the poor quality photos; it is what it is and I have no excuses today.

TBT: Our Honeymoon Cruise

In an effort to dig my way out of this rut, I'm going to feed Amy's request for stories about my adventures, starting with a recap of our honeymoon cruise.  Apparently winters are tough for me around these parts, because I went a whole seven months without blogging (Oct-May) before/after our wedding.  By the time I returned, there wasn't time or space to hash out the details of our adventure.

What:  

7-day cruise aboard the Carnival Conquest

Where:  

Departing from New Orleans, Louisiana
with ports of call in Isla Roatan, Honduras; Belize Citiy, Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico 

When:  

December 30, 2012 - January 6, 2013

Highlights:

- 7 days in a row...alone, together!

- Our balcony.  I'd cruised twice before, but never with a private balcony.

- Ringing in the new year with 3,000 of our closest friends (ha).

- Alex won $100 in a "claw-like" machine thingy.

- Splurging via our onboard wedding registry.
(Definite WIN.  Bet ya didn't know those were available.)

- Food.  All.the.food.All.the.time.

- FREE room service!

- Excursions.
(Zip-lining in Honduras, hiking the Mayan ruins in Belize, and taking a salsa-making class in Mexico)

Lowlights:

- Being sick (both of us, at different times) on vacation.

- Fights with shady tour guides. (Ask Alex about that one day.)

- Did I mention being sick?

- Oh and, returning to real life, moving, and starting a new job a week later...

Next time:

- New ports!

- Someday, Alaska.

- Friends...everything is more fun with friends!

Yeah, so I'm pretty much convinced cruising is THE way to do vacation.  Who's in for the next one?

-Lauren