Baby Shower

What a great time! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to both Nancy and Heather for throwing such a great shindig, just for me! Sorry there aren't any better pics, I totally got too involved in enjoying myself and forgot to get any more. I sure wish I had taken a big group pic to capture all the wonderful friends who came to share in our joy over the pending arrival of Baby Girl Allan! Thanks to all of you! We're much more prepared now for the arrival of our lil one. Seriously, it is really humbling to realize how blessed we are to have such great friends out here... ya'll are more like family than I ever realized friends could be. It really makes a big difference when family lives so far away.

Enjoy the pics of a few of the gals 'becoming pregnant' with balloons! :) I'll leave them nameless for their own privacy... but ya'll know who you are! :)

Naming an Elephant

Eric loves his younger brother Collin. They have this 'brotherly affection' thing goin to which I guess I don't completely relate (since I've only got 1 brother). Collin is "Coll-Dawg" on Eric's cell, they love to have lively debates/political bashing sessions every Sunday, and mercilessly tease each other about superfluous things whenever the chance arises. (Thanks Mama Allan for making such a nice scrap page of pics of Collin that I could steal from your blog and post here! :)

Yesterday I was sharing from my National Geographic magazine reading about a group of Elephantologists in Tanzania that get to name each elephant they observe whatever they want. Really cool, random names like "Genghis Khan" or "Marley" or "Babylon". I thought that was pretty fun to think about, sky's the limit, ya know. So I asked Eric what he would name his elephant if he found one. He looked up from his cardiology reading and immediately replied:

"Eric."

then a pause for brief contemplation...

"But only if he was AWESOME...."

another pause...

"If he was a wuss, I'd name him 'Collin'."

Can Anyone Explain Airline Costs?

I just got off the phone with one of my dear friends in Korea who is trying to find cheap plane tickets to visit various friends in the US when she arrives here in December. Can anyone explain to me why it costs almost 400 dollars to fly from Washington D.C. to Columbus, OH (a trip roughly 1.5 hours) and THE SAME DAY it would only cost her 260 dollars to fly from D.C. to Salt Lake City? I just don't get it...

A Pretty Meal

I think I'm a good cook. Really, I can count this as a talent of mine. Recipe following to a 'T' may not be my strongest point, but I can improvise and substitute with the best of them! I rarely make the same meal twice unless it was just an ABSOLUTE winner because I love to experiment and try new recipes. Some yield more success than others, but for the most part, I think I've got a cooking gene.

I've never, however, been able to get my meals to turn out as beautifully as the pictures in books... (maybe because I don't do EXACTLY what they say, I don't know. Or maybe they're all really plastic-- like in fast food advertisements.) Eric assures me my food is attractive, not just tasty. (we were discussing Elder Uchtdorf's talk in the Relief Society Broadcast and I commented that I can never get my food to look as good as I think it tastes.) He didn't agree, bless his merciful eyes and tastebuds!

I made this Thai Halibut (don't worry, I didn't eat the Halibut) curry meal this week (even made the curry myself from whole spices! Very pleased with my new birthday mortar and pestle! Thanks hon!) and he immediately got out the camera to document the "pretty meal" with a

"see, Hon? You make pretty food!"

I love that boy!


btw, there was rice and curried butternut squash to go with everything. Just didn't make it in the picture. I don't know why I'm telling you that... like anyone really cares... but I guess I don't want you to think the meal is unbalanced. (I'm so silly! Why do I care if you think I made an unhealthy meal? We already ate it all anyway!)

Baby Budget 2009

So Eric and I have been working on a baby budget for 2009, just to make sure we will have enough funds to cover all the new expenses. We might need to cut back our entertainment/miscellaneous fund to take care of diapers, ya know? :P It is kind of funny trying to look at national averages for things like food, diapers, and health care and then just kind of guess how much we think WE will be spending in each area. Really, we're trying to be 'generous' with our baby fund but not extravagant. Frugal. I still think we'll be surprised by how much things end up costing us. So, a quick poll for all the moms out there: what was the most surprising new baby expense that you encountered? (and may I ask how much it actually cost you?) Also, if you'd rather answer this question... what item did you purchase that everyone told you was 'essential' and then you realized afterwards there was a much cheaper route? Are there more expensive items that you think are actually WORTH the extra expense for some reason instead of getting the generic/cheap kind?

Pregnancy Thoughts and Shots

Well, we had our 34 week check up yesterday. Everything is looking great!

What will I miss most about being pregnant?

7- stronger nails and beautiful hair!

6- feeling justified to sleep in a little

5- being first in line for food because no one wants to impede the pregnant lady from getting her edibles!

4- how nice everyone is. Seriously, so accommodating!

3- imagining what she's doing or thinking right now every time I change activities

2- watching Eric press his nose into my belly begging for her to "give us some kicks"

1- feeling those sweet wiggles, kicks, and hiccups inside me during the day when I'm pleased to know she is awake too.


I've just been thinking so much lately about how beautifully miraculous it is knowing that she is so much a part of me right now. I'm going to miss that, I think. There are definitely things for which I'm grateful.

32 weeks

33 weeks

34 weeks! 6 more to go!

Delaying the Project...

No picture to go with this one. I'm just kind of postponing getting started on one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) projects for baby: sewing the bumper and matching valance.

don't get me wrong. I'm THRILLED to be making it myself and excited to have the finished product so cute with all the hand appliqued animals and bugs, and all... and the ears and wings that flap freely instead of being tacked down... I mean, these things are going to be ADORABLE! And I really love using my hands (and Jenni Harris's sewing machine) to do it, and I've got the time since I've finally gotten all the furniture finished, and I've eliminated the excuse of a cluttered room since I've finally finished organizing and tidying everything....

so why don't I want to march upstairs and get started?

I think it has something to do with knowing that once I get started, there is no going back til I'm completely finished. I'll no longer have nice, neat stacks of cute material folded up on my desk... I'll have a big work in progress.

it is kind of like that feeling you get before you start typing your huge research paper or thesis. you know. Like you've done ALL the prep work, all the compiling and quote selections, and all you have to do is dig down and commit to sitting in front of the computer for a dedicated 20+ hours or so just to put it all together and crank out the rough draft. But you don't want to do it. Don't want to start because you know you can't do it in 1/2 hour spurts: it has to be HOURS and HOURS to get it done. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? Am I the only one who ever feels this way?