Blogging With a Purpose: If I Were to Win the Lottery

Joining one of my all-time favorite bloggers, Becky, for 52 Weeks of Blogging With a Purpose.  I adore Becky, and she has some wonderful purposeful blog ideas for the next year or so.  I'll be joining in often!

 

If I Were to Win the Lottery...

 

...I'd go out and buy my husband a very fancy car, and surprise him with it.  That would be how I'd tell my better half that I'd hit the lotto!

 

...I'd put my little condo on the market, ASAP, and buy a bigger home in my town, something more like this:

Available for just under $4 million - I'm frugal!



 

...along with that home purchase, I'd be heading out to Needles, California and buying the biggest river house I could find.  The ones right on the water, with private beaches.  I'd stock it with some jet skis, a brand new boat, and everything else a river rat could need.  And that would be how we'd tell my parents' about our big win - by showing them their new upgraded river house.

 

...I'd do the right thing and put a lot of money away.  Whether it be investments or savings accounts, a big chunk of money would be set aside for my children's colleges, weddings, and anything else we might be able to help them with.

 

...there would be lots of generous gifts flowing for our friends and families.  Contributions to college funds would accompany any gift for all the kiddos, as I've seen first hand how hard it can be to struggle with student loans as a young adult (I have to take every opportunity I can to thank my parents for allowing me to one of the very few who don't have the problem!).

 

...Disney World would be seeing our faces again, this time, in luxury.

 

The big question: Would I quit my job?  If I'm being honest, I would.  But here's the thing, I would do it so I could go back to school.  I have had a goal of going back to school for years, and lottery or not?  I would be attaining that goal!  The lottery would just make it so.  much.  easier.



New Years Baby Bumpdate: Week 14

14 weeks, 1 day

What's up with Baby this week? Baby is as long as 4 1/2 inches this week, roughly the size of a navel orange.  Baby M is starting to look more and more like a baby - with ears on the side and eyes moving to the front of the head!

Symptoms? Lots of intermittent heartburn this week, but other than that, feeling wonderful!  Totally get why people say the 2nd trimester is the best.

Gender? We don't know, yet!  We have our ultrasound in less than two weeks ah!  We won't find out until a few days later though, at our Gender Reveal party!

Excited For? Can't be excited for anything but finding out whether our little baby is going to be rocking ties or bows at the moment!

Maternity Clothes? Just a pair of shorts for now, but I'll have to transition soon I'm sure.

Sleep? I have taken to sleeping with an extra pillow either in front or behind me, but so far sleeping okay.  A little hard to get comfortable, but once I drift off, I'm rock solid asleep until morning (but for bathroom breaks, that is!).

Movement? Nothing I can feel just yet.  We did see baby a few weeks ago during an ultrasound having a mean attack of the hiccups!  Can't wait until I can feel the little munchkin moving around in there!

Belly Button Status? It's in and it's deep in there.  I think I have an extra large belly button, also.

Missing Anything? Hot dogs and sushi.  And on 4th of July I would have loved a beer (okay, who are we kidding, 5 beers).

Milestones? 

14weeks Telling the rest of our friends our big news on the 4th!

14w4d "Coming out" with our news on the blog!

Cravings? Crab legs.

Weight Gain? I am not one to track my weight religiously, but I am only up about a pound and a half - two pounds.

Baby M: The Details

I promised you details, and details you are getting!  I will be doing weekly Bumpdates and I will do them Thursdays as that is when my weeks change over, each Bumpdate will be for the week prior to that (ex: I turn 15 Weeks tomorrow, tomorrow's Bumpdate will cover Week 14).  I am so excited to share the details of this sweet New Years Baby we're waiting on.  I've actually been blogging throughout the entire "Trying to Conceive" process, and I'm so glad that I decided to do that!  That will all be coming soon though, so for today?  The details and the answers to the questions I've been getting since "coming out" with the news!

Baby M

M is for our last name, I cannot seem to come up with any cute or clever nicknames for this little baby.  The only thing that ever comes to mind is Stress Baby, which seems highly inappropriate.  New Years Baby, maybe?

Due Date: January 2, 2014

Was it planned? It most certainly was!  This is a question we've received mostly from friends our age, and I'm pretty sure the curiosity stems mostly from the fact that they can't in their wildest dreams imagine that they would plan a pregnancy.  But for the record, we planned for this baby, wished for this baby, prayed for this baby, and love this baby already.

Do you know if it's a boy or a girl? Not yet!  We will be finding out, and we're hosting a Gender Reveal party to find out in a fun way with family and close friends.  That will be at the end of this month, and I can hardly contain myself!

How long have you known? I found out on April 24th, so I've known for about 2 1/2 months.  I never beleived I would be able to keep a secret like this, but it was much easier than anticipated.  Though we did tell some people earlier, only a few people knew before our 12 week scan.

Any names in mind? We do have a top boy and girl name, and though we are not worried about sharing them in real life (I tell anyone who asks), I will not be sharing on the blog.  I may or may not share after our little baby makes it's debut, but that's still up for debate.

How have you been feeling? I have to admit I had things very easy.  My morning sickness was limited to only nausea in waves, and there were only two times that I thought I might throw up, and it eventually passed without a trip to the bathroom.  There were about three weeks where I was so tired I thought I might drift off at work, but other than that, it wasn't too bad.  I know that I am lucky, and hope that this will be a trend for all the pregnancies to come in my life.  The one symptom I've been blessed with is heartburn like a mother, and if the myths are true?  This baby is coming out looking like Rapunzel.

Do you have a bump? I'm definitely showing, and though I am so excited to grow this baby, it's sort of embarassing.  Maybe it's because some biatch giving me a massage last weekend said "Wow, you look big for only 3 1/2 months!" or maybe it's because we just now told all our friends so I was constantly worried around town that we'd run in to someone who didn't know yet and give our secret away with my mini bump.  I'm not as nervous now that it's "out" and look forward to this mini bump turning into a bigger one.

13 weeks, 2 days

Any other questions?

Bumpdate with some specifics about this past week coming tomorrow!

Quotable Tuesdays

Firecracker

Along with some yummy hot dogs (and an adorable selection of toppings),

chicken sausage,

carne asada,

fruit and dip,

and lots of beer,

we treated our 4th of July guests to a little surprise...

 

 

That's right, there's a baby on the way!

Details to come!



Things Thursday: Things I've Been Doing Instead of Blogging

1. Couch surfing.  Maybe a little too much time on the couch.

2. Tons and tons of family time!  Last Sunday, we managed to have each meal with a different group of Handsome Husband's family!

3. Um, Big Brother started.  Hello?

4. Using my camera.  I got to take some pretty pictures of MIL Red and her fiance, Mr. Bear, down at their oceanfront wedding location last weekend.

5. Getting more and more excited for our upcoming Beers & BBQ 4th of July Party!  Friends, booze, food, sun and 'MERICA loving...my type of day.

6. Planning (and by planning, I mean, listening to Gardening Mom's plan and loving every idea) a long weekend getaway with Gardening Mom and Sisters Singer and Swimmer.  August can't come soon enough!

7. Enjoying basking in the sun on my walks to and from my work parking lot and on the weekends, but not loving the too hot evenings that have already started. 

8. Having mini family reunions at Downtown Disney.  Lots of family was in town, and it was so nice to see everyone!

9. Really missing blogging, but really lacking the motivation to write.

10. Reading lots of blogs!  I might be lagging, but I'm reading YOU!

Quotable Tuesdays

Gevalia Makes Friends

This weekend, we had the pleasure of hosting Mother-in-Law Red and her fiance, Mr. Bear, over to our home for some yummy coffee, french toast bake, and a yogurt bar!  Obviously this was paired with fabulous conversation!

We were lucky enough to get to try some yummy Gevalia coffee for the first time, and it was a hit at our house!  Mr. Bear isn't a coffee drinker, but everyone else was raving about the yummy coffee!  HH, who prefers a flavored coffee, drank it black and said it was great!

This was the first time I've put together a yogurt bar, and I guarantee if you're coming to my house for breakfast or brunch in the future, you'll see one there.  I had vanilla and strawberry yogurt; and strawberries, blueberries, bananas and granola as toppings.

I made a new recipe for our breakfast get together, which turned out fantastic!  We were too busy scarfing it down to remember to take a picture, but you can find the recipe HERE.  Take my advice, and make it ASAP!

I love hosting people in my home.  It was one of the things I most looked forward to during our Home Buying journey, and I am happy to say that nearly a year later, we have made a lot of memories here in our home.  I can't wait to continue having friends and family in our home over the years, and continuing to make more memories with them.

After our lovely breakfast and some catching up, we headed to our next fun event of the day - we went to the beach to take some pretty photos of MIL Red and fiance, Mr. Bear!  Their wedding is coming before we know it - less than a year, now!  We took some photos to remember this special time in any couple's life, and they might just get some use of them for wedding stationary!  HH was a lovely helper, holding my camera bag and MIL's purse, and even doing some sand-sketching for some creative photos!  I'll let MIL decide when she wants to share these photos (spoiler alert: they turned out so cute!), but here is a picture of my very helpful and Handsome Husband!

All in all, a very successful and joyful Saturday!  

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Lots of Link Love

Like Tara, I think it's important to emphasize the importance of community in the blog world and not only focusing on ourselves and our own blogs, but to spread lots of blog love to those who deserve it.  Every once in a while, I will highlight the posts over the last few weeks that touched me, made me laugh, pulled at my heartstrings, and inspired me.

• Laurie had a wonderfully informative tutorial up on Click it Up a Notch regarding White Balance, for those of you interested in DSLR photography!

• E shared about the most beautiful lantern floating ceremony.

• My very own little sister started a blog!  You can check out her first post, a fantastic recipe for cocunut and caramel cookies over on her new little space on the internet.  

• Becky wrote a great post about Judgements in the blog world.

• A whole slew of amazing bloggers are giving away some incredibly awesome blogging advice!  This is a must-check-out if you're a blogger!

What It's Like Being Married to a Saint

It's true.  My husband is a saint.  You may think I'm being sarcastic, but the man truly deserves a medal for the things he does.  I don't know any woman who is quite as lucky as I am.  And here's why.

My husband:

• Does the laundry, almost exclusively.  I've literally done maybe four loads since we moved in to our home in September.
 
• Washes the dishes, even when he cooks.  To be fair, sometimes it takes him a few days to get to them, but I'm the last girl you'll hear complaining about a few dirty dishes in the sink.
 
• Makes the bed nearly every day, just because he likes the way it looks and feels.
 
• Sweeps and steam cleans the floors.
 
• Is the only person who touches our vacuum.
 
• Brings me lots of meals and drinks in bed, often times without even being asked.
 
• Takes the very very best care of me, in every single way possible.

He does all of this while making me smile, laugh and fall a little more in love with him each day.  I truly don't know how in the world I got so lucky and blessed.  The truth is, I would love him just the same if he was a big ole slob (coughlikemecough).  But can't lie, it's nice that he's the opposite!

 

He also looks good golfing, another win for HH!

 

You may be wondering what it is I do after reading HH's long list of chores, and I gotta be honest, so am I at this point.  I suppose I do most of the cooking, and lots of looking pretty around the house.  Let's be real - HH is definitely the lucky one.