We got playoff tickets!!

Joe and I are enjoying our current freedom to make last minute plans! Tickets went on sale for the NBA playoff game 6 this morning and we got tickets!!! We will be cheering on the Utah Jazz against the Houston Rockets on Friday night. If they Jazz win, they will advance to play the Lakers. It should be fun! Good work on the tickets Joe!

Sigh of Relief!

It's been a long few days. I've made the transition back to the day shift - this job is going to age me! I decided that my stomach doesn't like this change and I am nauseous again during the day!!! I had a presentation to give today to our nursing staff. It was a class to train them to take care of cystic fibrosis patients and I was presenting everything they need to know about the medications. My colleagues and I wrote the talk together, but I was the first to present it. I was allotted 30 minutes and when I practiced last night it took me 40 minutes to get through.....ahh!!! It's over - it did take 45 minutes and the person following me had to wait, but the class coordinator liked the talk and will rework the class to give us more time. To make things worse, we have 2 pharmacy residents on our rotation and they wanted to come hear the talk, and they made me nervous AND the new nurse manager was taking the class and she made me super nervous!!!

It's over! It's been a while since I gave a formal talk to a group and it was good for me. Now I get to decide between watching American Idol or 27 Dresses before I go to bed extra early!

Baby Update!

I had my 16 week doctor appointment on Monday. The heartbeat is strong, although my poor doctor had to search hard to find the little one - he said that the baby kept moving and didn't want to be found. I can't wait until I can feel our baby move!! I am measuring 16 weeks, so things are on track for a Mid-October Baby. Our ultrasound is scheduled for May 27th and it will be so reasuring to SEE that things are really going well and even see the tiny face of our little one.

Wendover Weekend

Look at those tracks in the salt flats

Wendover Will welcomes all!

We had fun in Wendover! It was my first trip through Western Utah. We followed the lake and felt like we were driving through the Great Salt Lake. We spotted Morton Salt - your Salt likely comes for the Salt Lake! Finally we made it into the salt flats. Wendover is just what I expected - casinos stacked along the state line. When we booked the trip I had hoped for warm weather and some time by the pool...but it was cold and I got to work on my black jack skills. I didn't win big, but won during the day and then gave it back at night.

Lewis Black was great - I feared he would be more vulgar, but he wasn't. He had some great lines and even cracked an Iowa joke. He said that since the poor Iowan's had to spend 9 months with the presidential candidates, 1/3 of the state has committed suicide and the rest of the state is too depressed to bury them! He had some fun with the election! The concert hall was incredible and I will watch out for other good shows there.

Enjoy the pictures!

Baby Mama - Hilarious

I loved this movie. Maybe I was in need of such silly laughter because I sure laughed! It's unlike Joe and I to actually go to a movie on opening night especially since it is PG-13 in our community. We were actually standing in line and heard the people behind us discussing how many of the movies are rated R and they had to settle for Baby Mama since it was PG-13. Mormons are not allowed to watch rated R movies and going to movies is one of the top activities for weekends....so you are really taking your chances. The theater wasn't too crowded and it may be because Saturday Night Live is boycotted here as well --- too offensive!!! It took us a while, but we found it on the random local channel that plays it on Saturday nights.

Tiny Fey and Amy Poehler did great and sure made me laugh. If you need a light comedy, so see this movie! It's predictable...but it's laugh out loud funny!

Weekend in Wendover

I had heard of Wendover and I guess it's an experience everyone needs to try once. Wendover is a border town on I-80 in Utah and Nevada. It is the closest casino town to Salt Lake and lately they have been bringing in some fabulous entertainment. Joe and I are heading out tomorrow to see Lewis Black and I guess do a little gambling. They are trying to build it up more and make it more appealing like Vegas. I am looking forward to practicing my blackjack skills for a $2 limit instead of the usual intimidating Vegas $10 minimum!

Lewis Black should put on a good show. I'm anticipating most of his routine will be targeted around the Presidential race which can provide lots of laughs!!!

I'll report on Sunday!

I've missed you Grey's Anatomy!!!

I am so excited for Grey's Anatomy to return tonight!!! It feels like it's been forever since I've caught up on the gang at Seattle's Grace. I am a true fan -- I even listen to the writer's podcast the next day!! Catch Grey's tonight. I will be rushing home from work to catch the episode on tivo.

Boy or Girl??

Check out this interesting article from the NY Times. A new study from England showed that what Mom eats prior to and during early pregnancy does in fact help determine the sex of the baby. As many of you may know - I love my breakfast and I often eat cereal or oatmeal packed with nutrients....so chances are increased that this baby blueberry may very well be a boy!!

Check it out: Mom's Eating Habits May Determine if Baby is a Boy or Girl

Entertaining Tip

Joe and I had a fabulous dinner last night - here is a photo of our view! They had pictures of all the flowers in the summer - can you just picture it? Instead of mints with our bill, they served Strawberries in Tuxedos. It was classy.

I learned a new entertaining tip that I thought I would share. The tables were set nicely including a cream colored cloth napkin. As we were seated the hostess offered Joe a black napkin since he was wearing dark pants - how thoughtful!!! I don't often host dinner where I use cloth napkins, I'm not even sure where the few I have even are....but I found this inspiring. Next time I serve a formal dinner I will make sure no one leaves with light colored napkin remnants on their dark pants!

Happy 3rd Anniversary, Sweetie!

I can't believe it has already been 3 years since our special wedding day!!! It's been 3 great years and we still bring out the best in each other. I'm very grateful for my kind co-worker who is going to let me work her day shift and she'll cover my evening shift so we can celebrate our anniversary. Joe and I are headed to La Caille for a celebration dinner.

Delightful Sunday

Joe and I had a great weekend together. It felt like ages since we have spent a weekend together. Sunday I got to do a few of my favorite things:

1. Red Iguana (Decent Mexican for Utah) for lunch

2. Nap - too much Mexican food!

3. Burgers on the grill - yeah for grilling season

4. I finally saw Juno (am I the last person on earth to see this movie??) I loved it!

It was a great weekend and now it's back to work....

Smart People

Joe and I saw Smart People yesterday. I liked it, but I would say it's a renter or dollar theater kind of movie (I'm glad we went to the matinee). All the actors/actresses did a fabulous job. It felt like an independent film. It was a movie about real people living life and finding themselves. We are definitely going to see more of Ellen Page!

We've gone BPA Free

Since I moved to Colorado and simply had to drink more water due to the altitude, I have carried around the cute Nalgene water bottles. I have bought many as gifts for friends and family when they visit so they could fit in on the mountain. I tried for so long to ignore the BPA craze. It reminds me of the nutrasweet freakout when it was giving rats cancer.

Today Joe and I went to REI and bought all new water bottles. I chose the BPA Free Nalgene Everyday bottle. I won't feel guilty about feeding BPA to the baby and I will still be able to carry around my water bottle and they claim it is dishwasher safe (well, toprack - who can fit a nalgene bottle on the top rack?).

I am interested to see what really comes of BPA and I am wondering if I need to throw out the hard plastic cups I have in my cupboard --- does anyone know?

Yeah for Potlucks!

I have said many times that I have awesome co-workers. Today we had antipasto potluck. We had a delicious meat/cheese tray - with all my favorite cheeses and even prosciutto!!! We had a wide array of veggies, stuffed olives, bread, crackers and then 3 desserts! I'm still not hungry for dinner. I even got to try a new fun beverage that is pregnancy and work friendly....Izze. Give it a try - it's quite good.

I have the cutest dog!!!

I just couldn't resist taking and posting these photos. The puppy is all worn out and catching a quick nap before I head off to work. I guess running a few errands with me was a rough morning for him. I am officially a dog person. Notice he has 2 beds stacked for extra comfort!

My Friend Made the News

My friend Andrea had quite an eventful evening upon returning from Vegas. Lesson to all: Please lock your car even if you only run into the gas station for a few minutes!!!! Her Dad left his car open with their Yorkie in the car while going into the gas station to pay. The car was quickly stolen. The family was most worried about their puppy, Gus. Andrea offered to drive to her parents house to wait for the locksmith to change the locks while the rest of the family drove around to find Gus, assuming that the car theif would quickly ditch the yippy dog. Enroute to the house, she spotted the car and followed it. The guy parked in a hotel for a short time (we assume to purchase the drugs found in the vehicle) and then traveled onward to the interstate and headed North. She continued to follow and called 911 and was patched into the highway patrol and they were able to surround the vehicle and return the puppy safely to her!!! Go Andrea!!! She did a radio interview with our local news station and may be interviewed for the news tonight. Check out her story!!!
Woman Helps Police

FYI: We have decided to feel bad for the celebrities after reading this interview. Andrea said NOTHING about her Dad owing her a vacation....that was added by the reported. I guess they really do like the "twist" things.

Vegas Weekend

View from our room - the fountain view is worth it!














Koi Restaurant - Fabulous view and food
We are ready for Barry - don't worry that's a virgin Pina Colada













They were selling boas at the concert - we just had to get them.



The Fanilows: Laurie, Marlow, Andrea and Cindy --- check out my sparkly eyes!









We love you Barry - he was just feet away from us.








We had a fabulous time in Vegas!!! Our rooms at Bellagio with the fountain view were incredible and the spa was relaxing. We found great restaurants!!! I highly recommend the Lobster Roll at Koi. We found time for shopping and pool time. Barry Manilow was fabulous from the 4th row!!!! We walked in with our boas and just had a blast. I don't recommend getting your makeup done at Sephora in Vegas - you just may look like you should be working the strip instead of enjoying the entertainment!!! Thanks to my co-workers Andrea, Cindy and Marlow - this was our First Annual Girls trip and we have many ideas of where to go next year!!!!

I'm off to Vegas

My bags are packed and I am ready for a fun girls weekend. Update and pictures coming next week!!!

Dr. Oz's Green Drink

Now that I can eat vegetables again, I'm trying to make up for lost time!!! Dr. Oz was on Oprah last fall and shared his recipe for the Green Drink. The one from the show had additional ingredients, but I recently came accross this recipe and have gotten back on the Green Drink wagon. It does take time, but I think it makes me feel better and I feel good knowing that me and the baby are getting most of our daily veggies!!! I count this as 5 servings of fruit/vegetables. Give it a try - it's way better than it sounds, although I recommend a good blender and juicer. I have both from Cuisinart.

Dr. Oz's Green Drink

1 cumcumber sliced

Juice of 1 lemon

Fresh Ginger Root (cut off about 1/2 inch)

1 apple (sliced)

1 stalk of celery (sliced)

1 cup spinach leaves (I like to add these last)

Blend - poor into large glass

2 servings

(I usually put the blender in the fridge for the next day. I add a little water and blend for my 2nd serving) I choose to leave the skin on the cucumber and apple because I need the extra fiber!

DR Appt UPDATE!!!

We had a dr appt today and....... YES, we heard the heart beat!!

Laurie and I are way excited, this is exactly what we wanted to hear.

Girls weekend in Vegas!!!

I have 4 more days to work and then I head to Vegas with 3 of my co-workers for an ultimate GIRLS VEGAS WEEKEND!!! We all share a love for Barry Manilow, so all our other co-workers are calling it the "Barry Weekend". I'm looking forward to a fun time.

We arrive on Friday and plan on spending the afternoon at the Bellagio Pool followed by the spa. I'm booked for a facial. Has anyone been there? I'm sure we'll want to arrive early, but I'm curious about their spa ammenities.

Next we have dinner reservations at Koi. Has anyone been there? It looks great and we hope to spot some celebrities!!!

Saturday is open for shopping. We are looking foward to a Sephora trip without our husbands so we can actually play and have fun. We intend to do our makeup there so we can look good for Barry! Saturday night we are spending with Barry in the 5th row!!! He is a great entertainer and I'm looking forward to seeing him again.

Sunday we get to enjoy most of the day as well because we don't fly back until 5ish.

Any tips or advice for a girls trip to Vegas??

What a weekend!

My weekend was spent at work for the most part. Saturday morning Joe and I went to breakfast before I had to go to work. On the way to work I got a phone call from work asking if I could stop by the liquor store to get some Everclear that we needed to compound a medication. I said sure and had to wait in the parking lot until they opened and 10AM. In Utah there are state liquor stores with limited hours of operation, so you can only imagine the scary drunks waiting for the door to open!!! I headed in with about 10 others in a hurry to get what I needed. After searching the store for 5 minutes I finally asked where the Everclear was and they sent me to the counter - it's a behind the counter item!! My co-workers had no idea they were sending the pregnant lady to the liquor store and it all just makes me laugh!!! I'm going to make my announcement to my boss this week and let the news fly through the department. The good news is that we were able to compound the suspension for our little patient and the story kept us laughing through most of the day!!

Tournament Update

I will be working during all games this weekend and Monday, but please cheer for my teams! If I have predicted correctly and North Carolina and Memphis are in the championship with Memphis winning, I WIN THE POOL!!! I think the chances are slim, but they don't call it March Madness for nothing!!! North Carolina has to finally play away from their home crowd, but we'll just see! Cheer for Memphis!

21 - highly recommended

Joe and I had date night last night and went out for Italian followed by the movie 21. Both dinner and the movie were great. I am intrigued by the story of the MIT students and thought it was going to be more of the true story, but the movie was just based loosely on the MIT students, set in today's time, and very good. Check it out!

I am sad to say that I am to the point of my least favorite part of my job. I work the entire weekend and transition to the evening shift, so I will be at the hospital for the next 7 days. Next Friday I leave for the girls trip to Vegas followed by working the evening shift for another 4 days. I won't really "see" Joe for the next 2 weeks except in bed asleep when I get home and I hope to still be sleeping when he leaves for work.

Nursery Before!

The far wall is a wall of solid windows, the outside 2 windows will be removed and the remaining windows will be replaced with 3 windows.
This wall will be torn out including the ugly "aquarium" and become a solid wall will new sheetrock

These windows that look toward the enclosed porch will be removed and sheetrocked. There will be shelves on the right and a closet will be addd to the left. On the far right of this photo in the door to the room which goes out to the dining room/living room area of our house.

Here are some photos of the room we are remodeling into our nursery. This room is thought to be original (1915) and I think was once a porch and converted to an office for a previous owner. We plan on removing the plaster walls to allow for insulation, new sheetrock, and many more electrical outlets. We intend to remove 2 windows, replace the remaining windows and add a closet. I think it is going to make a great, cozy nursery with much natural light. We have 2 finished bedrooms in our basement, but they will remain our guest bedroom and office for now. I want our baby upstairs with us, but not in the intended nursery attached to our room that we have made a closet!

More Blueberry Gifts

Our sisters are pretty excited to be aunts and they both have found some adorable gifts. Meredith got Blueberry, a book entitled "Peekaboo Blueberry" and many other gifts. It is awesome and even has a doorbell to ring at the end. Thanks for the kind, thoughtful gifts!

First time Moms and Dads Class

We attended our first "parents" class last night. It was a one time class mostly about pregnancy including what's going on in my body and nutrition. We also learned some good exercises and we could ask as many questions as we wanted. We both thought it was pretty fun and we learned some things. We also learned that we have a lot to learn!! They recommend that you take the other classes in the 3rd trimester, so it was fun to take a class now and ask some of our stupid questions and listen to the answers from the other people's studid questions that we were too afraid to ask!!! Unfortunately, they snuck in that live birth of a baby video at the end and that was enough to put Joe over the edge for the night. At least he wasn't the only Dad who turned green!

Are You Crying Again?

I just can't believe the crying on this show!!! I am so sick of watching these grown men keep crying!!! I love the show and we always have our tivo set, but the crying is getting old. Mark's wife said my thoughts exactly last night while he is looking at the gorgeous Australian Coast, "Are you crying again?" Seriously, they need to grow up. It's a GAME!!!

I finally bought "the book"

I just received "What to Expect When You're Expecting". It is the new 4th edition and is released on April 10th, but my copy arrived at my house yesterday. I guess it's literally hot off the presses and amazon.com must have more power than other retailers. I'm not sure that there is going to be anything extra special in the 4th edition, but I thought it was worth waiting for. My insurance company also sent me a book and I got one from my doctor, but I thought it was time for the gold standard!!! Joe got the coolest book as well "Quarterback Dad". We have a lot to learn!