It's A......

 

  BOY!!!!!!!

(I tried uploading the video of when we found out the gender and it wasn't working... I will try again later!)

We are so thrilled, excited, and a little bit nervous to bring a baby brother into our little family. Now the fun part....choosing a name! Any name suggestions? Ready....GO!

Rent

Alright this post is for all you college goers out there. Is anyone else ever dreading the start of the semester due to crazy textbook prices, cause I do. It's actually the reason I put off registering for classes and buying books. I can't stand the idea of spending money on books you'll only need for a semester. Well I'm going to let you in on a couple little secrets of mine. The first secret I'm willing to share is RENT your books people! It saves so much money, enough said. Some books I understand can't be rented, I get that. But if you can RENT them. Life changing. The next secret I'm going to let you in on is where I rent my textbooks, it's a website called www.CampusBookRentals.com. It has been life changing. Let me just list the perks of renting from here.

-Low prices. You save somewhere between 40-90%
-The sooner the rent the cheaper your price is.
-Free shipping both ways when you choose the 7 day shipping.
-You can highlight in the rented textbooks. Life changing I tell you.
-You get to choose the renting periods. Another awesome perk.

And here is how it works. 

A cool fact about Campus Book Rentals is that with every rental they donate to operation smile.
They also have another really cool program called Rent Back, it's where students can rent textbooks of their own to other students. It's awesome you can make 2x as much money as you normally would just selling back your book. Check it out at www.rentback.com.

I've had such a good experience with Campus Book Rentals that I can't help but want to share with others. Try it out and I'm sure you'll love it.

Maternity Sh-maternity

One thing I dislike about being pregnant is having to wear maternity clothes. I try to push it off as much as possible. I think that when I was pregnant with Mia I only bought 1 or 2 actual maternity tops and when I finally had to, maternity capris & shorts. I am now 19 weeks and not looking forward to when I have to start wearing maternity pants but until then I have been wearing leggings like there is no tomorrow. Good thing they are in style, oh and comfortable. My favorite pair I like to wear are from Kohl's. They are the Vera Wang Denim Leggings. My mom bought me a pair just before Christmas (when I had a melt down because my pants were getting tight). I love them so much I just went and bought another pair last week after my mom said to me, "I've noticed you wear those almost everyday, you should go get yourself another pair." Thanks mom for stating the obvious but it did get me to realizing that yes, I did need another pair! They are so comfy and I don't feel so frumpy in them.

Here I am sporting them on Christmas Day, and I have worn them several times a week ever since.

I always find the best items at Kohl's. Thanks Mom!

Simply Vera Vera Wang Rivet Denim Leggings

Picture Via

What do you wear when you are pregnant? I am open to suggestions!

Happy Tuesday!

Boy or Girl?

We find out the gender of our baby on Thursday and I seriously cannot wait. It feels like Christmas! I think this is one of the most exciting moments in a pregnancy.

According to the Old Wives Tales:

140+ beats per minute=girl, and below 140=boy: My baby's heartbeat at our last visit was 140+ GIRL
Cravings- Sweet=Girl, Salty=Boy: I have been craving salty/spicy BOY
Chinese Gender Predictor: BOY
Mayan Calender: BOY
Morning Sickness: GIRL
Ring/String Experiment: BOY

Some women say they have a feeling about what their baby's gender is. I honestly have no clue and to be honest I am fine with whatever the gender is! We are just hoping for a happy and healthy little babe. So what do you think??? What will Baby A be? Cast your vote!
We'll see if you are right come Thursday afternoon!

Las Vegas Getaway- Our **5 Year Anniversary**

Driving from our house to Las Vegas is only about a 5 1/2 hour drive. We dropped Mia off at my mom's house and headed down. We were in a hurry to make it to Vegas in time for a dinner reservation but my husband would not give me any details. We checked into Mandalay Bay. Wow that hotel is gorgeous! Then headed straight to our dinner reservation. We got to Caesars Palace and of course I kept asking questions but as soon as I saw a sign for Mesa Grill I knew that was where we were going! I am a huge Food Network fan, like huge. It's my favorite channel on T.V. And I love Bobby Flay, so of course my hubby took me there.  The entire meal was amazing. Bobby Flay really knows how to put spices together. YUM.

Dear Bobby Flay, I want to meet you someday.



What we ate:

Appetizer: Goat Cheese Fondidu w/ Blue Corn chips

Entree: Spicy Grilled Chicken (Me) Pork Medallions (Hubby)

Side Dish: Chipotle Sweet Potatoes Au Gratin

Dessert: Churros with Caramel & Dark Chocolate dipping sauces

 

We did alot of walking around. My feet were so tired by the end of the night but we had so much fun spending time together, walking through the shops and looking at all the cool things that are in Vegas. Oh, and of course some fun people watching.

Dragon Made out of Chocolate

The next night we wanted to try a Vegas Buffet so we researched and found that Bacchanal Buffet was currently the #1 buffet in Vegas. With 9 different food stations and 25,000 square feet how can you go wrong?? I skipped the seafood station but people were literally piling their plates sky high with shrimp and King Crab legs. The food was pretty good and the decor was beautiful. Definitely worth the experience.

While in Vegas you need to experience some shows. I have been to vegas so many times and NEVER have been to a show. Guess I'm just cheap. While we were there we went to two different Cirque du Soleil shoes, one being KA. The performance was jaw dropping and so entertaining. Worth the $$$ and time!

One thing I love to do in Vegas (and its FREE) is visit the gardens at Bellagio. The current theme is Chinese New Years and it was stunning. This tree was my favorite piece.

We had an amazing time celebrating our anniversary and it was just wonderful to get away together. Here is to 5 more years....and 5 after that...and to Eternity with my best friend.

Datevitation Winner

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Nikki! I just sent you an email with your prize. Thank you to all who entered and follow along this little blog of ours.

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days. We experienced the loss of a dear loved one and flew out to spend time with family. My little family got back in last night and are just trying to get back into the swing of things. Keep reading- more blogging to come, we promise. Thanks for your patience!

Families are Forever

On a day like to day when we are mourning the loss of a dear loved one I just want to hold my family close to me. It is always comforting to know that Families are Forever. Grateful to just have celebrated five amazing years with my hubby, we never know what God's plan is for us. Just be thankful for the time you have now and hold your loved ones tight.

Pictures from our wedding day: 1/12/08

The beginning of our beautiful family together forever

 

 

Blend

 

I bought myself a blendtec.

It feels good, a purchase I won't regret.

The blendtec comes with a recipe book

equipped with facemask recipes , who

would have thought? I'm excited.

 

 

 

 



Valentines Day Gift Idea + Datevitation Giveaway

Over the weekend the hubby and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. He surprised me and took me on a four day trip down to Las Vegas. (More on that later!) We usually don't exchange gifts on our anniversary, instead we usually go to dinner at a very fancy and expensive restaurant and enjoy our time together. But when Datevitation contacted me and asked if I was interested in doing a review I was absolutely thrilled. This would be the perfect gift to give my husband for our anniversary...and it was the kind of gifts we like to give- the best gift of all- our time together! I had never heard of Datevitation.com before but as soon as I checked out their website I thought it was such a fun idea. Datevitation is the web's first online platform to create a custom love coupon book. Unlike the pre-packaged love coupon books on the market, you pick the dates and can customize the text to your liking.  Once you are done customizing the text in your book, Datevitation will print it out and ship it to you in a ready-to-gift box.  Their website is so user friendly they make it a snap to create your custom coupon book, and if you need a little help they even provide a video: http://youtu.be/0Ewi_tnJS48]. I had so much fun creating my coupon book for my hubby. There are over 200 date ideas including creative, artistic, romantic and even {sexy} dates to choose from. Even better are the illustrations that are so cute they make you want to giggle. When we got home from our Vegas trip I surprised my hubby with a coupon book from Datevitation and I can't wait for him to redeem his coupons!

 

 

 

 

How cute did mine turn out?? I love it and shipping was so quick. Their coupon books start at around $20 and that includes 5 custom date pages. This would be the perfect gift idea for that special someone on Valentines Day. And guess what?? All  our readers can use the code ‘somethingbrought’ for $10 off your purchase in January.  That is practically HALF OFF!! You are welcome!

Also, ONE lucky reader can enter the Rafflecopter below to win a Datevitation coupon book of their own. Winner will be announced next week. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Fine Print: Winner will be chosen at random using random.org.  Winner will receive a promo code for a free Datevitation gift book with 5 custom pages.  Additional pages are $1 each.  Winner to pay $3.50 for shipping and handling.  Tax will be applied to books shipped to California.  Books ship to U.S. only

Snow for dayz

 

Snow day in Utah. Yep you heard me right. It's a rare occasion but it happened on Friday. I mean I'm happy it happened but lets talk about how the snowstorm started Thursday night around 4, and how I had to drive to school that night. It's a drive that normally takes 15 minutes. Anyone want to guess how long it took me Thursday?? 2 hours. A 2 hour drive for nothing, because I walked to my class to find it was canceled. Bummer, but on the bright side I got home in 30 minutes. I then got to play in the snow with my favorite girl and we haven't stopped since then. It's been non stop snow time for us.

 

 

 

 

 

Surprise Getaway

Hubby is taking me on a surprise getaway today to LAS VEGAS to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary. He spilled the beans last night so we are packing and driving down there. Can't wait.

In other news...Im 16 weeks today!




Have a Happy Weekend. I know we will!

sesame quinoa with chicken

 

 

Toasted sesame quinoa with chicken adapted from how sweet it is

 

Toasted Sesame Quinoa with Chicken


1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups low-sodium chicken stock

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

3 green onions, sliced (we like to go easy on our onions around here so we only used 3)

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

dressing-

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoons soy sauce (we didn't have low sodium like she used so we opted for less soy sauce.)

and here are her directions-
Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add 1/2 tablespoon of sesame and olive oil. Add in garlic and quinoa and stir to coat, then toast for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in chicken stock and increase heat to high, bringing the quinoa to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover, cooking for 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed and quinoa can be fluffed with a fork. Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.
Add in chicken, green onions and dressing, tossing well to coat. Add in sesame seeds and toss again.

After we sat down to eat we thought how good it would be to treat this recipe like fried rice, but with quinoa obviously and add in carrots, peas, and eggs.
Also how good with this be as the filling to an egg roll with the addition of cabbage and carrots and plum sauce. Sounds good enough to try.

Dinner

Now that the sight or thought of food doesn't make me feel nauseous I am able to cook dinner again. And now I can eat anything I want now that I am on Prilosec- Hallelujah. Here are a few of my favorites I have been making the last few days:

Chicken Piccata- Mia's favorite dinner

Crockpot Chicken Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches - One of hubby's favorites

 

And tomorrow I am going to try a new recipe in the slow cooker for Orange Chicken. Looks amazing doesn't it??

Picture Via

So glad I am finally able to make dinner and actually eat what I make!

Friday Letters

Dear Ipad mini, I love you. I spend countless hours with you. You have made blog stalking 47 times better. Dear 2012, I still feel like you haven't left me! Where did that year go? Oh well on to... Dear 2013, cheers to another year! Dear cold weather, I have had it up to here with you and I'm ready for you to bring it back down to a ten. I've never been so ready for warm weather. Dear cold, you are stuffing my nose, clouding my head, bothering my sleep, and making my nose red. Can you just be done with you.

I'm Linking up with Ashley today.

15 weeks BUMPDATE

How far along: 15 weeks
How big is baby: Navel orange/Apple
Maternity clothes:  Not yet but I think I might need some soon.
Best moment of the week:  Hearing the baby's heartbeat
Food cravings:  Tacos, anything spicy- but it all gives me heartburn so I can't have any of that
Food aversions:  Those have all kind of gone away thank goodness. Food finally sounds good.
Symptoms:  HEARTBURN. My Dr. just put me on Prilosec thank goodness. Tums were not
Movement:  I have felt possible flutters but I'm not counting them. It could have been gas bubbles for all I know.
Gender:  We find out on January 31st.
What I’m looking forward to:  Finding out the Gender at our next appointment!!!
What I miss:  Not feeling like a giant whale
Next appt:  January 31st

Goodbye 2012

2012 was such a good year to us. As I was making a collage of a "year in review" I had a hard time limiting my pictures but here are some highlights from our 2012:

1.  I turned 25 and had a fun birthday with lots of friends and family. My sister flew out for my birthday weekend!
2. I ran my first FULL marathon - 26.2 miles. Such an accomplishment for me. I did it and am still alive!
3. One of my BFF's got married at the most beautiful St. Regis in Deer Valley.
4. We spent the 4th of July at Deer Valley with family.
5. My sister flew in town for July and we spent the entire month playing and having fun in the sun.
6. Allen family trip to HotLanta.
7. Mia turns 2!
8. Girls trip to San Francisco and ran the NWM half marathon.
9. Hubby got his Bull Elk
10. Mia's first dance recital
11. Found out we are adding to our little family due in JUNE 2013

Goodbye 2012- You have been good to me and my family, we have been so blessed. I can't wait for what 2013 has to bring us. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!