Shes growing!

Today I am 22 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Pretty crazy!!! I feel like it is going super fast. Here are some 20 week pictures for you:

I am actually still feeling kind of crappy. I definitely have my good days and my bad days. I will say the bad days are pretty bad. I am ready to just feel "ok" again. While the nausea is slowly starting to fade, other fabulous side effects of pregnancy are starting to rear their ugly head. Back pain...round ligament pain (for people that don't know what that is...it's what is most commonly referred to as "lightening crotch")...acne...etc etc etc.

I have to say, I am very envious of the people that say they LOVE being pregnant. Do not get me wrong...I am so so SO excited to be having a baby and I feel very lucky that we got pregnant so easily...but this is not what I would refer to as "fun". I know once she gets here all the ugly side effects of pregnany will dissaper from my memory...but right now this is not easy and certainly not fun.

One thing that is fun....the baby is kicking up a storm! She is totally going to be a little swimmer (with the way she is kicking I am predicting her stroke will be butterfly)... or a Rockette (although I doubt with her parents height she will get past the first auditions). Eric has felt her kick a few times as well which is of course very exciting.

I think we have also decided on our furniture. We just have to put in the order!

Today we made our first big baby purchase! Not only did we make a purchase but we got one hell of a deal. I had a craving after the Martha show. For some reason I wanted a hot dog. Eric and I leashed up Toby and heading to a hot dog place about 15 blocks away. On the way up we stopped at a new baby store that had recently opened. They happened to have a floor model upholstered glider that was in PERFECT condition for 50% off. This is like a top of the line 700+ chair and we got it on super sale. It is actually EXACTLY what I was looking for in the exact fabric and color that we wanted. It was totally fate! Now we have a big ol' chair in our small apartment just covered by a sheet until we can get somewhere that has a room for the babies nursey.

As far as bedding goes. I found a fabulous vendor on etsy.com that is going to custom make our bedding with some super sassy fabric AND Michaels girlfriend Eliza is going to make us some custom artwork for the nursey as well ( I am SO excited about this, her work is AMAZING). This babies room is totally going to be a million times better than my bedroom!

So there is your update! A couple other exciting things going on that I will have to update you on when everything is set in stone. Stay tuned :)

Chillin' with my girl Martha

I know ... I know. It has been a while. I will spare you the apology and just say that I will TRY and post more often.

Anyways..onto the excitement of the day.

Today my friend Jenna and I were in the studio audience for the first (in studio) episode of the Martha Stewart Show.
We showed up around 8am and there was already a line down the block. It was crazy to see the weird mixture of random Martha Stewart fans. You had the crazy Martha psycho fansd, the angry husbands that you could tell were just dragged there by their wives, even the local scrapbooking club.

Once inside you had to go through a through security check. I am talking FULL purse check and a metal detector! This was serious business I guess. We were all herded into the "waiting area" where you were made to fill out random waivors and watch past Martha shows on TV.

About 30 minutes before the show started we were allowed into the studio. Jenna and I had prime seats. Totally in the center a few rows up. We had a full view of everything going on.

Check out the in studio kitchen cooking before the show

They were totally playing...lets "warm you up" music in the studio. Definitely NOT things that I imagined being played at Martha Stewart...Usher..Rihanna...etc. It was also funny people watching and checking out the older woman in front of me trying to clap (off beat may I add) to the beats of Usher.

After about a 10 minute warm of up the crowd (an explantion on how to clap...turn your cell phones off...get excited...bla bla) the live show started!

It was a very uneventful show to be honest (tomorrow is Perez Hilton...dang! missed him by one day!!)...especially for her first show of the season. There was a chef on who made some ice cream (not that we got to taste it or anything), Martha's snarky daughter (they totally ripped on each other the whole time), a crafting segment, a cake decorating segment (once again...not something we got to taste) and thats about it!

After the show Martha answer some questions from the audiance...

and then we were hurried out the door. We did get a bag full of Martha swag but nothing huge. A crafting tool, kitchen gadget, some scrapbooking crap and a gift certificate to Michaels.

OF COURSE I tivo'd the episode and you totally see me and my orange shirt clapping and smiling several times. If you missed it I have it on the tivo...you always have an open invitation to come over any day and check out my famous-ness!

You want what?

Cravings are weird.

Right now there are things that I would not touch with a 10 foot pole. Chicken for one totally grosses me out. I was watching my favorite channel the other day (the food network of course) and someone was doing something with chicken and I almost got sick right there. It is so weird. Someone was telling me the other day that its your bodies natural way of protecting itself. Which makes sense I guess....I don't want salmonella...so stay away from chicken.

I used to think that pregnancy cravings were just an old wives tale. I mean please...how could you crave something so badly that you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it?

Well...now my life is consumed with cravings. Seriously...its ridiculous. The second I think of something I need to have it. What is strange is that a lot of my cravings are for things I have not had in years or never even liked.

Lets see...what is currently on my list...

1. Vanilla Ice Cream. I used to hate vanilla ice cream. If someone bought a neapolitan carton I was totally the girl that would eat all of the strawberry and chocolate and leave the vanilla for some other sucker. Now its all I want. The other day Eric ate the last of my vanilla ice cream and I had to remind him of the rules. You know? The rule that you DO NOT eat the last of a pregnant womans ice cream?

2. Taco Bell. We talked about this before. But it still shocks me how much I enjoy it every time I eat it.

3. Spaghetti-o's. What? This started today. I did not see a commercial..no one was talking about...just all of the sudden I wanted...no CRAVED spaghetti o's

4. Pretzals and Queso Dip. I am sorry...that is just good stuff. The problem is when I start to eat it I can't stop. So...its not an every day thing

5. Necterines. I am sure you are happy to see at least 1 healthy thing on my list. I am in love with necterines right now. Good thing the random dude on the corner sells them every day.

I think thats it for now. I am sure I will have a million more cravings over the next 6 mths...what will be next?!?! Your guess is as good as mine!

Happy 4th of July!

I miss BBQ-ing! It is the 4th of July and all I want to do is have a relaxing day off and end it with a nice BBQ.

Sadly, that is not really possible in our small New York City apartment. No backyard ... No balcony ... No BBQ.

I have however heard about those "rule breaker" new yorkers who do a little fire escape bbq-ing. Totally against the law...but I think I may have to take the risk and buy a small hibachi grill.


No "small scale" fireworks here either. All you have is the crazy televised Macy's fireworks along the river. Apparently people start claiming their space pretty early in the morning. I think I will pass on that one. However, you can see the river out of our kitchen window. So its possible we will get some fireworks after all. We will see....

Eric and I are going to still try and "stove" bbq tonight. I have to admit I have a fabulous burger recipe that is always a hit. So we will make some burgers, do some homemade fries and even cook up some baked beans. Then...its early to sleep for me as I have to work tomorrow...fun fun.

If you are still looking for a burger recipe I totally reccomend this one! They are delicous and super juicy.

Best Burgers EVER

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons evaporated milk
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat grill for high heat.
2. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, evaporated milk, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, and garlic using your hands. Form the mixture into 8 hamburger patties.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill patties 5 minutes per side, or until well done.

Today was a good day!

I know .... I know. I have been super lazy lately and have not updated this blog. To be honest...I have not been lazy...I have just been really busy! So...over the next couple days I will try to get caught up but right now I just have to write a quick blog on why today was a good day.

So, I hate taco bell. I think it is gross. Even when I am drunk and its 2am I really do not want taco bell. I have just always thought it was pretty nasty.

This week...ALL I have wanted was Taco Bell. I could taste the Nacho Bell Grande in my mouth. I was craving it...BIG TIME! Sadly I knew of no Taco Bells in the area. It almost brought me to tears. I even tried to get nasty nachos from a different "fast food" taco place and it paled in comparison. I went to the Taco Bell website and plugged in my zip code. There was nothing in my area. It was possibly the saddest I have ever been.


Then today I go to order lunch. I usually order from www.seemlessweb.com. It is this fabulous website with all the restaurants that deliver to your area. It stores your credit card...so when you are hungry just pop on seemlessweb.com order your food and its there in no time! I love it. Super easy and you do not have to talk to anyone on the phone. Bonus!

Anyways..back to the story. So I go online looking for food and I am scanning the newly added restaurants and something miraculous happens. One of the restaurants is a Taco Bell!!!! I was filled with happiness and immediately ordered up my Nachos. 20 minutes later I was the happiest girl ever. They tasted just as I imagined they would...No...they tasted better. Am I crazy for going on and on about Taco Bell...maybe. But I do not care! It totally made my day and now I want more!!

So why else was today a good day?

I love the show Gossip Girl. Yes...I am aware that I am not 15. But I cannot help it...it is totally my guilty pleasure TV show.

ANYWAYS....I was walking home from work today and realized that they were filming an episode a block away from me! Um...fun. Nothing was going on when I walked by. I think they were filming at the sassy hotel down the block. About an hour later Toby needed to go on a walk so I decided to stroll on by the trailers. They were basically shutting down and packing everything up. Oh well. No "sightings" tonight.

Then...as Toby and I were strolling by Mr. Chuck Bass himself walks right next to me!
Don't worry I totally played it cool and waited until I was around the corner until I called my friends to share the star sighting news.

Who knew my block was so cool!

Well thats it for now. I am tired. I promise...I will try and write more later!

Honk Honk

I admit it. I miss my car. I come from a state whose whole economy is focused on the automobile industry. So driving has been a big part of my life since I was young.

Getting a new car was a big deal. I remember posing by my dads new convertibles and thinking how cool it would be to have one of my own when I grew up.

When I graduated college I followed the path of many Michigan residents and went to work for a car company. Cars became my life...I talked to people on the phone about them...shmoozed with dealers...learned everything anyone could know about a Jeep Grand Cherokee...drove way too many miles....and launched a car brand in an international market. Cars were my life.

Even when I left Michigan and Eric and I went on tour...a car was still a major player in tour life. Every few weeks we would pack up ol' Bruiser (our nickname for the Jeep) and travel to the next town. We spent a lot of time in that car.

When we found out we were moving to New York we obviously did not need a car anymore. First of all...having a car in the city is an expense in itself. Apartments do not come with places to park a car...and parking on the streets is basically impossible. If you do find some kind of lot to park it in....it is like having a 2nd rent to pay each month. So we sent ol' Bruiser to a friend and came to New York car-less.

I was very nervous coming here. I have had a car all my life and I honesty like to drive. I have never really had to take public transportation and the thought of learning the subway and bus system was a bit scary. I guess I was just nervous that I would get on the wrong subway and end up someplace I did not want to be.

But...after being here a few months now I actually think I am starting to "get" it.

First of all....every morning I walk out my front door and head to the bus stop on the corner. I get on the bus with all the other working people and head up to 5th avenue. The buses here are much better that than the buses in San Francisco. In San Fran you always seemed to run into a very scary toothless cracked out person. In New York...its basically people just heading to work. I take the same bus to and from work every day. Pretty easy! (oh...as a side note..I also stop in the Trump Tower for a Starbucks every morning as it is across the street from work. I have not seen ol' Donald yet..but I will let you know if I do!)

As far as the subways...they really do not scare me anymore. Transfers? No problem. I have to admit I was very proud of myself...a few weekends ago I was meeting some people in the Village and one of the subway stops was completely messed up. I was able to re-route myself and actually did not even get lost...and I gotta tell you...it was a crazy re-route! I had to get on a weird bus and everything!

So I guess I am finally getting into the swing of things here. I do not feel like a tourist at all. So thats a good thing. I think once it starts to warm up I will really start to enjoy my time in New York.

Bottom line...yes I miss my car...but I am learning how to survive without it.

One more thing....

I know it is just a marketing thing...but I think its funny.

Our family likes to dance!

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