Ten on Tuesday

Better late than never! It sucks because during the week I always have to wait until I get out of work to come home and get on my blog. Only when I have quick breaks at work do I actually get on blogger, but when I do, I'm checking out everyone else's blogs and leaving comments! It's one of my secret work indulgences. Well, it used to be secret. I hope none of my co-workers are reading this! Anyway, by the time I get home and get settled down, it's just about this late--around 9:45. But I'm trying to do this on a daily basis! So here goes.

1. I just got back from Jennifer's house. After I got off from work, I went to her house to work on the centerpieces for the baby shower. Remember that lady bug pot I made at Michaels a few weekends ago? Well, we painted and dotted about 20 flower pots tonight. What a great help Jennifer is. And I pay for her labor in food. We had chinese take out for dinner. I had beef with broccoli and shrimp fried rice. Yum-o! Thanks Jenn for always being great company and a great help!

2. I can't believe the baby shower is this weekend. I pretty much told my shop at work that I'm in weekend mode and my great mood cannot be spoiled this week! I'm so excited for this baby shower, but I'm also trying not to get so stressed out about it. My family back home is doing most of the leg work, but I wanted to do all the decorations and even that is tiring me out. I wanted to do so much more originally, but really, it's just me and I really don't want to kill myself trying to do that much. So I've narrowed the decorations down to a few things. I'll definitely take pictures for you guys.

3. Also on the baby shower...there will still be tons of people attending. My mom has chosen to break tradition and invite whole families (guys, gals and kids) to this shin dig. Whatever. Sometimes I just have to let my mom go and do her thing. It makes her happy. But really? Should baby showers have a dee-jay and music? Oh, mine sure will. Filipinos. Gotta love 'em. Speaking of DJ's, some hot stud used to do it for the Filipino American community when we were stationed in Colorado. My mom pretty much made him do it. But he loved it and he got paid! It didn't take much coercion on mom's part.

4. It was soooooo hot today. Must have been in the high 70s, low 80s. I'm usually out and about around our work area, but today, I stayed in most of the time and when I did venture out, I broke out in a sweat every time. Gross. Heck, even Chester refused to go outside today even for a short walk and stayed sprawled out on the Colonel's office floor. Smart doggie.

5. I tried a cool recipe that Malu's Auntie Jewel sent me months ago for a Minute Chocolate Mug Cake. Now you can have chocolate cake at your disposal within minutes and with just a few items that you most likely have in your pantry/fridge already. It's so easy and ready in a jiffy. It was delicious. Especially when topped with vanilla ice cream. Oh yeah!

I got the idea of collecting the Starbucks City Mugs from a close family friend and I've really gotten some cool ones like this one from Beijing. My sister in law, Lulu, got it for me when she went to the Beijing Olympics last year. And when I say she was at the Olympics, I mean she actually competed. In Judo. Yeah, I'll have to save that for another post too. But here is the recipe:

4 Tbsp Flour

4 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Cocoa

1 egg

3 Tbsp milk

3 Tbsp oil

3 Tbsp chocolate chips (optional)

Small splash of vanilla

1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla extract and mix again. Put the mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed. Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT!

With the cravings I've been having lately, this recipe will prove to be DANGEROUS!!!

6. Although I'm excited about going home this weekend, I am NOT looking forward to the drive. Auntie Daisy will be doing most of the driving but 9 hours is a long time!

7. Who knew that picking a baby name would prove to be so difficult? It turns out that Malu and I have decided to change our lil' bug's name. I'm still kind of butt hurt about it, but we have been offered a reasonable alternative, and I have to wait until Malu talks to his mom about it. I'll be posting about that story soon too.

8. I just found out today that Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series, has written another book that is somewhat of a complement to the Eclipse book. I think it's going to be out in June. I'm definitely getting it.

9. On my way to work this morning, I'd heard on the radio that over 60% of married men and women share this. The answer? Hobbies. At first, I thought, hmmm...I don't think Malu and I have any hobbies in common. But after a few minutes I was like, oh yeah! We both like to sing, sing well, and sing well together. Especially when we sing to him playing the guitar. Malu also taught me how to fish (one of his hobbies) and I absolutely love it. We've had so many great times on fishing trips. This is a picture of my first catch. It was taken at Fort Rucker, AL in 2007. Malu was stationed there at the time. I wasn't too successful learning one of Malu's other hobbies--golfing. Yeah, let's not go there.

What hobbies do you share with your spouse or significant other?

10. I was able to talk to Malu yesterday so that was two days in a row. He tried calling me today, but I'd missed the call and instead got a voicemail. It really has been a good week so far!

And there you have it! I liked doing this one. It allowed me to stroll down memory lane for a little while. Good night all!

~22 Weeks~

Hey! This is me at 22 weeks and I have to say that it's been one of the most exciting weeks so far. According to http://www.babycenter.com/, my lil' bug is about 11 inches long, the length of a spaghetti squash! And I can certainly tell the difference. This is the first week that pretty much everyone could tell that I actually have my baby bump and I feel so much more activity in my tummy than in previous weeks! Let me tell you, this girl is so active, and I love it. She's especially active in the mornings, all kicking and squirming. It makes me laugh. I love knowing that she's telling me hello in the morning.

The website also said that the baby is pretty much a miniature newborn, with its lips, eyelids and eyebrows becoming more distinct. Her eyes have also formed, but her irises are not quite pigmented. She even has tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Furthermore, she's got wrinkles and fine hairs (which I found out is called "lanugo") all over her body (and if she's anything like mommy and daddy, she's got a lot of it!), and her pancreas is developing. This is all so amazing and I am enjoying every minute of it! As with last week, I'm going to do a pregnancy survey!

1. How far along? As of today (as you can plainly see on my lillypie tracker above), my lil' bug has been in my tummy for exactly 22 weeks! I can't believe I'm 5 1/2 months!

2. Total weight gain: When I weighed in at the doctor last week, I was 2 pounds heavier than my previous appointment. I really need to get a scale. I know we own one, but I can't remember if it's been unpacked.

3. Maternity clothes? My uniform tops are starting to get snug. I might have to break down and wear the pregnancy tops with the bottoms I already sport. My mom brought me a few cute shirts, all of which are the cute baby doll types. Those are my faves as of late.

4. Stretch marks? They are pretty faint and line mostly my hips. I don't have any on my tummy.

5. Sleep: Usually on weekends, I take naps intermittently throughout the day. I sleep pretty good most nights, but 8 times of of 10, she'll have me up at exactly 0400 in the morning. Then I can't get back to bed and have to roll out of it when my alarm goes off at 0615 (this is during the weekday).

6. Best moment this week: Having my mom here to give me tummy and back massages. She was so excited to feel the baby kick around in there. It was just nice to have someone else (and someone close to me) to share this experience with for a while.

7. Movement? OMG...this is the first week that I'm feeling more than just that "fluttering" feeling. I feel actual movements...a soft thumping which I think is her kicking. She's so active. She's just like her daddy. Well, maybe like her mommy. Daddy is never that active in the mornings :)

8. Food cravings? This particular week, I've been craving the sweets. I'm talking chocolate cakes, chocolate cupcakes, Krispy Kreme donuts. Yum! Canteloupe, papaya and oranges and crepes (the nutella/banana filled kinds). Jalapenos...which I've come to love just from living in El Paso. Jalapenos are everywhere. But I enjoy them doubly so now.

9. Showing? Definitely showing. Early last week, someone asked if I'd popped out overnight because my tummy was actually jutting out from my uniform top. I thought that was funny. But I thought you'd want to see for yourself. Since I refuse to take a picture where I actually show my belly naked, I thought I'd post these because you can really see how much I'm showing in my ACUs (since they're tight and snug).

Side View

Front View

10. Gender Prediction: No change, still a girl.Labor Signs? Umm no. Thank God.

11. Mood Temperament: I'm still crying a lot. Like when my parents visited, they brought their dog Misty with them. Misty gets soooo excited when we get home that she starts pawing really fast and wildly at us sometimes. Well, I was so tired one evening when we returned from dinner (and I was sad that I hadn't heard from Malu in a while and thought about it on the ride home) that Misty's pawing and scratching at me made me cry really hard, where I normally just shake her off. Or I'll just start tearing up at the most random things.

12. Milestones: Just feeling an actual kick for the first time!

13. Weekly Wisdom: Prenatal vitamins make me nauseous when I take them during the day. If you're like that too, do what I do now--take them at night with a glass of milk before you hit the sack and you won't feel it! At least I don't feel it.

And that's it! The baby shower is this weekend and I'm rushing to finish making decorations. I also have to tell you guys about the baby name and the fact that we're changing it. I'll keep you posted!

Winding Down on a Sunday Afternoon

What a day. I'd gotten off to a late start after taking Lucy out for a walk and catching up on some other people's blogs. It was just too nice a day to stay in, so after taking a shower and getting dressed, I headed out.

First stop, pedicure. I have been itching to get my feet done, mainly for the baby shower. And since I don't foresee any other day in the week to do it, I figured I'd go today. Nope, these are not my feet. My feet aren't very pretty in general, but I will say that I got my toes painted fire engine red. Yeow! I like it.

While I was sitting down in the massage chair at the nail parlor, my lil' bug was kicking like crazy. Since I was starving, I figured she must've been to. So I headed down to Pei Wei Asian Diner. I'd always been curious to try the place and figured it was the perfect time. Did anyone else know that this place is run by PF Chang's? I sure didn't. It was written on the door to this restaurant and since I LOVE PF Chang's I knew this was going to be a hit with me already. I was more ecstatic when I found out that they serve the same Chicken Lettuce Wraps that PF Chang's does. Oh, I totally ordered some. That and some pad thai. Everything was delicious. I was so stuffed from the lettuce wraps that I ended up boxing up most of the pad thai. Guess what I'm having for lunch tomorrow? The only thing that sucked was eating alone. I usually surround myself with good friends, but sometimes I just want to be by myself, but it doesn't make eating at restaurants any fun. I suppose I could have done take out, but after waiting in line, I thought my stomach was going to eat itself. Or the baby (ooh, how gross). But it was especially an excruciatingly lonely experience because there were all kinds of couples around me kissing and making googly eyes. I miss having my somebody with me wherever I go.

Next stop, Michaels. It's just next door to Pei Wei's and I still needed some things to get the baby shower decorations done. I swear, I must have been in there for almost an hour. You kinda get lost in there with all the cute scrapbooking stuff and $1 deals. I also ended up spending just under $100 for stuff. Uh oh, but it's all for a good cause right? And Malu told me to have fun with it. And speaking of Malu, he'd called me [extremely] early this morning. Finally! He was out "visiting with the locals" for the past few days and finally had a chance to break away. It was so nice to hear his voice and to know that he is safe and well.

Final stop, Walmart. I had to get some food for Lucy, or as I tell to Lucy--"Lucy food". She understands that. When I say that and pull all the bags out of the car she jumps up and down and starts sniffing wildly. Aw, the simple things that bring me joy.

Now all this stuff has made this pregnant lady extremely tired. But somehow, I have to muster the energy to take Lucy for a walk, vacuum and sorta tidy up this house, and get started on some of these decorations. Yikes! Maybe a nap would do me some good. Yes, I'm taking a nap.

Stay tuned...I'm going to blog about my 22nd week here later on.

Getting to Know You Sunday!

It is a gorgeous Sunday morning here in El Paso! It's sunny and....there's no wind! We had a huge sand storm the other day, yesterday was nice but and still kind of windy. Today? Nothing, just warmth and clear skies. Lucy and I just came back from an invigorating walk around the neighborhood. Now, it's time for you to get to know more about me. If you want to participate, head on over to http://www.mannland5.com/ and get linked!

1. Why did you start blogging? My friend, Melissa, introduced me to blogging about two years ago. I was in grad school at the time, and loved her blog so much that I thought I'd start one. After all, I do have lots of stories to tell from time to time. I started out with just a cooking/baking blog, but then decided to do another one. Speaking of the cooking/baking blog...I need to get back into it. I've been slacking!

2. Who's the one blog friend that you want to meet in "real" life? Oh, I would LOVE to meet Sabrina at Superfluous and Tori at Tori and Chad. They've become really cool bloggy friends. I am happy to say that I will be meeting Jessica of Learning As We Go. Her husband will be stationed here in May. She's also expecting her first child, so it'll be fun to share my preggo adventures with her.

3. Why are you always concerned with losing those "extra 10 pounds" when chances are your husband/boyfriend/friends tell you you're fine the way you are? I've never really been that concerned about my weight. I'll make comments about losing weight, but it's not high on my priority list. Malu tells me I'm fine the way I am; he just wants me to stay in shape by working out and by eating well--and just be healthy. I guess if I was really concerned about losing weight so much, I'd do it for me and not anyone else.

4. What's the one thing you wish guys would understand about you? Not really concerned about other guys, but Malu...he understands me pretty well.

5. Tattoos. How many do you have and how many are visible when you wear your "everyday" clothes? I have one tattoo of a plumeria (Hawaiian flower) on my leg (more like my quad) and it's visible when I wear shorts (which I don't do often. I prefer capris.).

6. What was the best year of your life and why? I'd have to say 2007-2008 was the best. The Army sent me to grad school in Colorado, where Malu and I were able to spend our first full year of marriage together. We lived just down the street from my parents in our first new home. Even though Malu is gone right now, I must say that 2010 is a pretty cool year. We're expecting our first baby and I made the list to get promoted to Major sometime this year.

July 2008--Our First Home

7. Name three things you would do if you were a man for the day. Hmm...I'd burp aloud in public and not think anything of it? I'd put up all the curtains and hang up all the heavy picture frames in this house (I usually am self-sufficient, but Malu usually does these things for me) and I'd take the trash out (Malu usually does this when he's here, but it's all me these days!).

8. What's your alcoholic drink of choice that usually raises a few eyebrows? I'd have to say Long Island Ice Teas. I love them.

Happy Sunday everyone! Now it's your turn...give it a try!

Malu, I miss you!

I haven't heard from him in almost a week and I believe it's because the connectivity (both to the internet and the phone lines) is so shoddy. My emails to his work address have been getting kicked back, so I'm pretty sure that's it. Plus, he's not in exactly the most built up area in Iraq either. He doesn't have a computer in his tent, which he shares with a bunch of other people. He called yesterday while I was at work and I missed all three calls and only because I get no reception in those darn buildings. He left me three voicemails though, so at least I got to hear his voice. But I miss him. So much. Before he left on his third deployment (the one before this one) he recorded himself singing and playing his guitar for me. I play it for the baby every night, now that she can hear and she moves around A LOT. I think she likes to hear her daddy sing. I know I do. We miss you sweetheart. Can't wait for you to come back.

Family and Friends

My mom, dad, and sister left early this morning and let me tell you, I was sad to see them go. The only thing that I could find solace in was knowing that I'll be seeing them again next weekend for the baby shower. What I feel bad about is the fact that I spent most of the week they were here at work. Stupid work. Looking back, I should have asked for some leave, but they honestly had a great time. Auntie Daisy was able to take the ladies shopping (A LOT) and dad, well, he just wanted to stay home with the doggies. They were all such a good help too. Most of the boxes in the house were unpacked (my bedroom is now box free--all clothes unpacked) thanks to Mom and dad had gotten rid of all the tumbleweed in the backyard, broken down all the empty boxes and had everything picked up by the trash and recycling guys. And my sister? Well, Roz is always wonderful to have around. She has such a young spirit and a kind heart. She bought me new movies to watch--New Moon (which I am watching now) and Princess and the Frog. I can't tell you how much my family means to me. I would be nothing without their love and support. I hate how fast visits go.

We spent Thursday evening out at one of the best places to eat here in El Paso--Cattleman's Steakhouse. I'd gotten off from work early and it was going to be our last big dinner here in town. Not only that, that morning I found out that I made the selection list for promotion to Major! So it ended up being somewhat of a celebration dinner as well. Before we left, we thought we'd take some pictures.

Mom, Dad and his signature 'Hang Loose' pose

Mom and her Girls

Wow! That restaurant never disappoints! We all had our fill of steaks (the best in town!) and all the trimmings including pineapple laced coleslaw, beans, baked potatoes, herbed butter--DEEE-LICIOUS! We even had apple pie a la mode. I had to be rolled out of there.

Mom, Jack, Auntie Helen & Roz (before dinner)

They ended up leaving at midnight (last night) so that they could get back in time for a friend's baby shower. And they did make it! Lucy and I are already missing the extra company. My mom slept with me the entire time. She made sure to give me some back and belly rubs. So spoiled! Definitely missing those right now.

But I wasn't lonely for too long. I spent most of today with Jennifer's family. Her son, Dominic, had his 4th birthday party at Peter Piper Pizza. I love that place. Coincidentally, working at Peter Piper was my first job and as soon as I walked inside, the smell brought me back 13 years. Yes, it's been that long! And I love their pizza. So did this little guy. This is her younger son, Ryan.

Isn't this face to die for?

Dominic had a Toy Story party and Jennifer had the COOLEST cake made for him. Like the "Ace of Cakes" kind of cake. He was soooooo excited about it and he'd come back every so often after playing on the rides and with the games just to visit with it and play with the toys. I always wondered whether extraordinary looking cakes like that taste as good as they look and this cake was fabulous. It was so moist and not too sweet. I loved it. I had two pieces.

Dominic adoring his cake

And I couldn't eat this cake alone, now, could I? No way! I also had my fair share of ice cream!

We all scream for ice cream!

I've become extremly close to all of Jennifer's family and we enjoyed acting like little kids at this place while Jennifer played hostess. We took a couple of really cool and funny pictures, but this one I liked the most. Here I am with Jennifer's sisters, Vanessa and Lexi, and Lexi's boyfriend, Mikey (who had just won a gold medal at his track meet earlier that day).

Vanessa, Lexi, Me, & Mikey

And that pretty much wrapped up my day. I was so tired after the party that I came home and crashed until past 6:00 p.m. I probably could have slept into tomorrow, but Lucy had to be walked. After we walked, she and I drove to Hobby Lobby to get some supplies to make decorations for my baby shower. I can't believe that it'll be here next weekend. And I'll be in Colorado! I can't wait.

Wordless Wednesday: Mom & Dad's Dogs

Misty & Rusty

Ten on Tuesday: Family Visit

This week, I'm tying my Ten on Tuesday with my family's visit to El Paso. My mom, dad and sister arrived on Saturday afternoon and needless to say, I've been enjoying having them here. They even brought my Auntie Helen along with them. In case you ever wonder...I have tons of Aunties and Uncles, most of which aren't blood relatives, but really close family friends. It's a Filipino thing. It's also a Samoan thing. Everyone is considered family. Once again, I digress.

1. Regretfully, since I've been working the past two days, the most time I spent with them was over the weekend. When they arrived on late Saturday afternoon, we had dinner at my Auntie Daisy's house. We had barbecue and some of our favorite Filipino foods. Yum!


2. On Sunday morning, we all hit up the Corner Bakery. I've only ever been to this restaurant in El Paso, but if you've never been, it's almost like a Panera Bread. It's great. My parents fell in love with the place on their last visit, and they wanted to go again. Of course, after we got our cups of joe and each had a good fill of baked french toast and fresh fruit, we just had to take a good picture outside the place. And for those of you who keep commenting (mostly on Facebook) that I don't look pregnant...well, here's the evidence. Yeah...I'm totally blimping up.

Roz, Me and Mom

3. After that, we hit up the outlet mall just to go and ooh and ahh at all the cute baby clothes on sale at Carter's, Gymboree, and the like. And it was a gorgeous day to be out, walking off the zillions of calories we had consumed at the Corner Bakery. Of course that didn't stop us from chomping on some good fudgy treats from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I seriously had no shame as I stood in line to pay for my little bag of chocolate covered gummy bears, chocolate covered marshmallows on a stick, chocolate covered strawberries on a stick, and a chopped rocky road caramel apple. YES...I shared!

4. Auntie Daisy's son, Jack, just happened to have a charity gig with his band that afternoon at a local biker bar called Muggs. He is 18 years old and is one of the guitarists for a local, classic rock band (of which it's members are my parents age). We had a great time listening to the band perform while also supporting a fundraiser to benefit the Children's Miracle Network. The place was a biker bar, so naturally, there were tons of motorcycles there. Here's my daddy wishing he could ride a bike, let alone have one.

Dad, Jack, Mom, Roz, Me and Auntie Helen







5. They had some good food out there...typical fundraiser food--burgers and hot dogs. So we chowed down on those while listening to the band.

Dad, Roz, Me & Auntie Helen





6. Thank goodness for Auntie Daisy. With me working, she has to pick up hostess duty and take everyone around. While I was at work yesterday, she took my mom and sister, Roz, to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. I don't have any pictures of their visit there, but the place is amazing if you've never been. They even had a chance to go sand sledding out there. I'm so glad they had such a good time.

7. Since my dad was stationed here a while back and had visited me twice last year, he knows the place very well. Instead of going around with mom and Roz, he likes to stay home with the dogs. They brought their furbabies, Rusty and Misty, with them and they're best buds with my Lucy girl. They've been getting their fair share of walks all day long. And I have to admit, that it's nice to go to work and not have to worry about Lucy being on her lonesome.

8. My mom, dad and Roz have been such a good help with helping me get the rest of the house unpacked. My mom is hell bent on emptying out the soon-to-be nursery so that I can get it started. She unpacked all of our books last night--and there are a lot of books!

9. While I was out at work today, mom and Roz went downtown for some shopping. My mom went crazy shopping out there the last time she visited that she couldn't wait to go again. They came back tonight with bags full of goodies.

10. Gosh, I almost forgot to mention that my mom came with me to my follow-up OB appointment yesterday and although it was a quick visit and the nurse told me that everything is normal and fine, she got to hear the baby's heartbeat and she was so excited. She was so happy and giggly the entire time, you would think she is having the baby. It is her first grandbaby, after all. I love her and am so happy that she could share that moment with me.

I always love to have my family visit. They're my best friends and there's a kind of peace and comfort that comes with just having them here. With Malu gone and me doing this pregnancy gig and enduring all the stress that comes with all those things and doing my job, it's such a relief to know that they are home waiting for me....with a good, homecooked meal every night!

Chester

Not Chester the Cheetos Cheetah, but Chester the Bulldog! A few months back, I'd blogged about starting a new job with the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, otherwise known as the Bulldog Brigade. Well, not too long after I starting working with the unit, the Command Sergeant Major, after searching for months, had finally located the brigade's beloved mascot, Chester. Chester is actually Department of Defense property and has long been a mascot for this brigade. This particular Chester is Chester IV. I don't know exactly how far back all the Chesters go, but you should see him. He's so cute.

Turns out that he got stuck at another unit at Fort Riley in Kansas. A few years ago, my brigade was located at Fort Riley, but was inactivated and re-flagged (stood up again) under a new unit name. That unit kept Chester, while a few years later, my brigade reactivated here at Fort Bliss, Texas (I know...it's confusing Army stuff). Once we located him, we sent two soldiers to Kansas to retrieve him. I heard that the Fort Riley folks were practically in tears when Chester left, but he really needed to be taken to the home of his rightful unit. And he came...with all of his Army uniforms and his military documents (to include promotion and award certificates).

Although Chester is so adorable and loving, he is extremely overweight. No kidding...on his first dayat the unit, he was taken to the vet because he had gotten stuck in some concertina wire (barbed wire) on our compound and got a huge gash. He had to be taken to the vet to get stapled and stitched. I felt so bad for him. But it was that vet that ordered he be put on a strict diet. And the Command Sergeant Major has been sticking him to it. He's such a nice addition to our headquarters and the Brigade Commander is a complete sucker for him. Now we know how to appease him when he gets upset! Ha ha.

Anyway, my lieutenant (LT) got promoted on Friday (congrats Leah!) and Chester made himself a part of the ceremony.



As I said, he hangs out in our headquarters the entire day until staff duty assumes control of him in the evenings. Except this week, he's out in the field with everyone else.

Well, that's it for now. I'll be posting about my family's visit soon!

Getting to Know You Sunday!

Hey all! I'm sorry I'm posting a little later than usual this Sunday, but for good reason. My parents and sister are here in El Paso! We've had a great time just hanging out and shopping (my mom's fave). I love having company here. Not to mention home-cooked meals. My mom is cooking as we speak. Anyway, I will blog more about their visit later this week.

If you want to participate in Mannland 5's Getting to Know You Sunday, copy, paste and answer these questions on your on blog and get linked at www.mannland5.com. And here are the questions:

1. What year did you graduate high school? Wow....that was a long time ago. I graduated from Fountain Fort Carson High School in Colorado Springs in 1997. I went to my 10 year reunion three years ago.

2. What part of your body do you neglect the most? I think I neglect my feet and toes a lot. I hate to polish my own toenails and scrub my own feet, so I usually get pedicures and have someone else take care of the mess. My heels get nasty too. It's actually really gross. As far as physically neglecting my body? Oh, I'd say my upper body. I hate lifting weights, but love to run.

3. Beach house or Lake house? Definitely beach house. I'm an island girl at heart!

4. Mac or PC? I have a PC, but badly want a Mac when this computer gives out.

5. Did you wear braces? No. But I got my front teeth bonded when I was a junior in high school. When I was two, I'd fallen down the stairs and ended up with a gap between my front two teeth. I hated it, especially in my teens, but my mom found a way to get my teeth fixed without having to get braces. Looking at me, you wouldn't know that my front teeth are bonded, or completely real. Everyone says I look like I had braces.

6. If you could be one person for a day..living or deceased..who would you be? I'd honestly love to be Kristen Stewart right now. I'd love to be all cozied up with Rob Pattinson!

7. How many times have you moved in your life? Too many! I'm an Army brat and now in the military. It's my life. So let me count.......I counted 12.

8. Would you rather cook or clean? In our house, whoever cooks, doesn't have to do the cleaning. So I usually do a lot of the cooking and Malu does a lot of the cleaning. I'm just talking dishes in that case though. I do most of the cleaning and like to do it. I'd still rather cook and bake though.

All righty...gots to go! My dad and I are going to walk the dogs. I just wished that I had thought to take some leave this week while my family is here. Except now I have to go back to work tomorrow. The good thing about tomorrow is that my mom will be accompanying me to my OB follow up! Yes!

Fill In the Blank Friday!

Another week down! That means I get to do another one of Lauren's Fill in the Blank Fridays. It's kinda my time to wind down after an entire work week. I love it. Head on over to her blog to participate (or just copy, paste and answer the questions on your own blog) and to get linked to other participants. Here goes:

1. Today I am wearing (well, right now) Malu's XXL USC sweatshirt and my yoga pants. It's kinda sad. I've been wearing it every night for about a week and a half now. It's just so comfy. And I love being in his oversized clothes!

2. My favorite childhood food was anything local Hawaiian, since I did a lot of growing up there (i.e. rice, portuguese sausage, teriyaki anything,and spam!)and my favorite food now is anything Italian. You can't go wrong with pasta. I love it! I still love local Hawaiian food, and lucky for me, El Paso has a Hawaiian BBQ restaurant not too far from where I live. I get cravings every now and then. It's so yummy! If you've never eaten real local Hawaiian food, you have to do it! You won't be disappointed.

3. A day that I am too busy to wash the dishes or call my mom is a day that I am too busy.

4. The last movie I saw was "Precious" on video and the next movie I want to see is, honestly, "The Princess and the Frog". My sister is going to be bringing it to El Paso this weekend, so we'll get to watch it!

5. [One of] my favorite smells is (and this is weird) Lucy's paws because who would think that that musty smell would make me smile every time? I'm sure most dog paws smell this way, but I like to think that it is unique to my Lucy girl. I like to massage her paws at night before we go to bed. Don't worry...I always wash my hands afterwards.

6. A weird little quirk I have is I blink excessively...like, A LOT...and I blink hard. It's a bad habit I picked up when I was younger, I think after watching one of my cousins do it. There's a video from my senior year in high school. I was at an awards ceremony and I was called up to stage to be recognized for some scholarships and the entire time, I must have blinked a million times. My mom was in complete disbelief, because it was the first time she'd actually noticed. She told me to stop doing it. I still do it to this day. Sorry mom.

7. When I take personality quizzes, they always tell me that I am sociable, easy going and that I care for others. I like personality quizzes!

And this wraps up another Friday! Yay! Tomorrow, Lucy is going to the groomer first thing so that I can spend all day cleaning before the parentals and the sis get here. My unit goes to the field all next week, but I'll be in and out since this pregnancy doesn't allow me to stay out there overnight. Thank goodness for that! Anyway, I digress. Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday Follow

I'm participating in Friday Follow once again. Have I mentioned how much I love it? Not only are you increasing traffic to your blog, you're meeting tons of really cool people and it's a lot of fun.

Head on over to the following blogs for more info:

One to Try
Midday Escapes
Hearts Make Families

All of these cool blogs are on my blog list! Happy Friday...up next...Fill in the Blank Friday!

21 Weeks

I found this pregnancy questionnaire on Jessica's blog, Learning as We Go. She's about 16 weeks into her first pregnancy and I thought this would be a fun way for me to keep everyone (especially family) abreast of my pregnancy joys and woes on a weekly basis.

1. How far along? As of today (as you can plainly see on my lillypie tracker above), my lil' bugs has been in my tummy for exactly 21 weeks!



2. Total weight gain: You know, I really don't know. I haven't unpacked our scale yet. But the two times I've been to the doctor, with the most recent being a week ago, I weighed 166 lbs. But that's with my uniform and boots on. Not sure why I didn't experience any weight gain between those two visits, but oh well. I'm not really one to worry about my weight anyway.



3. Maternity clothes? I don't really have too many pregnancy clothes. When I'm not in uniform, I stick mostly to my yoga pants and loose shirts--namely Malu's XXL USC sweatshirt. I do have two pairs of pregnancy jeans, which I love.



4. Stretch marks? I already had some (very faint) stretch marks before I got pregnant, and now I can see them more prominently, which I hate. I lather up the cocoa butter like crazy though, so hopefully they won't be so apparent post-pregnancy.


5. Sleep: OMG... I can't get enough of it, especially during the week. I make my money during the weekends. I pretty much roll out of bed during the week and daylight savings time kicked me in the butt big time this week. I usually wake up at 0615 to take Lucy for her walk, but I have not woken up earlier than 0730 this entire week. Poor Lucy has been getting rushed walks every day.


6. Best moment this week: Hmm....getting the decorations and favors I ordered for the baby shower in the mail.


7. Movement? I've been cramping a lot lately and I've been told that she may be flipping around in there. I feel her slide slightly every morning just as I'm about to wake up. It's pretty cool. I like to think that she's telling me good morning.


8. Food cravings? I don't really have any particular cravings, but I have been craving more sweets lately...like ice cream and sweet, sugary cereals. Gotta have it. I do love carrots, salads, and fresh fruits. I bought a huge package of sliced fresh mango at Costco's last week. It didn't even last a day.


9. Showing? Oh yeah. I'm starting to waddle a lot now too, as my soldiers and co-workers have so kindly pointed out. The only folks that don't think I'm showing are my family, because they only see me in pictures where I really don't look pregnant. My parents will see me in a few days and I'm sure they'll be shocked to see my belly!


10. Gender Prediction: It's definitely a girl!


11. Labor Signs? Umm no. Thank God.


12. Mood Temperament: Oh my God, I'm a complete emotional wreck. For the most part, I'm okay when I am at work, but when I'm all alone in the house at night, especially when I'm lying in bed trying to go to sleep, I get extremely sad and have been crying myself to sleep a lot lately. The other day, I asked Malu to try to call me at night time (my time; instead of calling me when I'm at work during the day) because it would probably help with my late night breakdowns. Is there such thing as pre-partum depression?


13. Milestones: Nothing really. Last week, I went in to the clinic just to get some blood taken for a triple screen and cystic fibrosis test. While I was there, the nurse let me hear the baby's heart beat again and it was normal (at 140). My mom will be here for my next OB appt, which is on Monday!


14. Weekly Wisdom: Dear Self:Even though you feel like you have all of your energy back, you still can't go a mile a minute. You will crash. If you have a day or two that you are on the go constantly, just be prepared to be just about comatose on day three (I'm taking this one from Jessica. It's totally me!)

I guess I'm supposed to post belly pics on this thing too, but I don't quite have the courage to do that just yet. Maybe next week!

Wordless Wednesday: Guess Who's Coming for the Weekend?

Yay! I love my mommy and daddy!

Ten on Tuesday

Yay! Another Ten on Tuesday! Why waste time? Let's get to it!

1. I was sad to find out that my boss was put on quarters today and was all percocet'd up on his couch. But I was happy that this meant he was NOT IN THE OFFICE. Well, everyone was. He's such a great boss and I love him, but it was nice to have a little freedom today. All the girls thought it perfect to have another girls' lunch today (even though we went yesterday). We went to Texas Land and Cattle. I had fish tacos (I know, no steak) and they were delish!


2. I also got to go home a little after 5:00 pm today! Which means I got to come home early enough to take Lucy out on a walk. It was such a gorgeous day today too--sun out and no wind. It was still in the 70s when I took Lucy out.


3. Poor Lucy, though, she was limping again when we started walking at the park down the street. After she had done her "business" she and I just laid out on the grass and enjoyed the sunlight. My poor baby, she's experiencing some early arthritis.


4. As such, I took her to the pet store to get some glucosamine chondroitin vitamins. Since Lucy hates the sight of Pet Smart (she gets anxious every time and it was my fault--her very first visit as a puppy to that store was to the groomer and she was terrified. she has hated the place ever since). So I thought I'd try to psyche her out by taking her to the "Pet Barn" instead. And it seemed okay for a few minutes but after about four or five good sniffs she realized where she was and practically pulled me all the way outside the store. At least I was able to get the vitamins before she did.


5. My sister, mom and dad are going to be here on Saturday and I can't wait. I told my mom to pack my dad some gardening clothes and gloves. Tons of tumbleweed has amassed in my backyard from all these windy days and I need him to get rid of them!


6. I'm totally craving some ice cream right now. I'd be happy with the 50 cent soft serve cone from Mickey D's!


7. I'm trying to grow my hair out, but hate this in-between phase where its long enough to be in my face all the time (and extremely annoying, especially when it's all staticky) but too short to be put up in a pony tail. I've had my hair short for so long and I personally think I look better in it. I want to do something different, yet every time I see a cute short hairstyle somewhere in town, I always want to chop my hair off!


8. I was finally able to download some pictures of the 4D ultrasound off the disc the imaging place gave me. This is my favorite and the one that I framed for Malu and sent to him in Iraq. Doesn't she look like she's just loungin' out? So cute. My friend, Joy, said that our girl looks like she's going to be muscular. Funny. Baby Sala was 19 weeks in this picture.





9. My stomach is growling. My lil' bug is trying to tell me she's hungry. But I don't want to eat anything I have in this house. What to do?

10. The New Moon DVD comes out this weekend. Now I'm thinking I should have put one on reserve. While we're on the topic of Twilight, I saw the Eclipse trailer the other day and just about died. I can't wait to see the movie in June!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Completely Buggin' Out!

I think everyone pretty much knows that the theme for our baby shower is going to be lady bugs, as is the nursery for our lil' bug. As such, I am going completely bonkers collecting every little lady bug item, not just for the baby shower, but for our little girl as well. I guess you can say that I am a bit obsessed. But why wouldn't I be? Aren't lady bugs cute anyway? You just wouldn't believe the things I've done or found. It might make you want to start collecting lady bug knick knacks too.

So, I've been trying to find some ideas for baby shower centerpieces. My friend, Jennifer, told me that Michael's was holding a craft class on how to make flower pot critters. And they just happened to be making the lady bug pots this weekend. So yesterday afternoon, I spent a good half hour in the Michael's store and made one of these cute lady bug pots. Aren't they darling? I had the teacher take a picture of me to show Malu. I'm going to take these, fill them with rice to weigh them down a little bit more and then I'll use them to anchor the red, white and yellow balloons that I plan to order for the party. I figure I'll put that on each table along with some confetti and possibly some printed paper or doilies. What do you think?

Jennifer also happened to take her little boys to the outlet mall on Friday and while shopping at the Converse store, she stumbled upon these. I told her to stop buying me more baby stuff, but I could not hassle her when she said that she couldn't help herself. When she gave them to me, I just about cried. They are sooooooooo cute.

So then I went to the outlet myself the next day and stumbled upon this matching outfit at Gymboree. They happened to be on sale and will fit my lil' bug next winter. See the little antennae on the hat? Too cute.

Jennifer (man, isn't she just great?) is also helping me make decorations for the baby shower. But she also thought to make these cool mums for me, my mom, grandma, and sister to wear that day. I thought that these things were an El Paso thing, but it turns out that these mums, are actually a whole-state-of-Texas kind of thing. Originally called homecoming mums, they were made popular in Texas (and also in Oklahoma) in the 1920s and were made of real flowers. It wasn't until the 1960s that silk flowers were used and additional items were used to symbolize what activities the students were involved in. Girls wear them and recently, more guys have come to wear a smaller version, gartered on their arms. Nowadays, they're not just used at homecoming, but for all kinds of occasions--including baby showers. How convenient! So, Jennifer and I went and bought all the materials and she came up with this one for me. The yellow ribbon has lady bugs on it. It's going to match perfectly with the black and white polka dot dress I'm going to be wearing.

And last, because I'm not trying to give away all the details of the baby shower to some nosy family members...I ordered about 100 of these charming lady bug soaps to give away as parting gifts for all my attendees, since there will be tons of them. I had them personalized and everything. I found them on http://www.babyshowerstuff.com/.

So yeah, I'm totally buggin' out and loving it. The baby shower is a little over two weeks away. The only reason I'm having it early is because my parents, being the crazy socialites that they are, are way too busy in the months of May and June to hold a baby shower. Nor will I be up to traveling during those months. I plan on having someone videotape the whole thing so that Malu doesn't miss out entirely. And guess what? Malu called me today during lunch. What a great surprise! He had received his Easter package, but hadn't opened it yet. I can't wait to hear how he liked it. Anyway, I digress.

Hope everyone's week got off to a great start!

Getting to Know You Sunday!

I'm getting this knocked out early today, peeps! And I must because I have tons to do today--number one is trying to get my bedroom unpacked. Yes, I'm still trying to do it after living in this place for almost two months now. The reason for the hurry? The parentals and my sister are coming this weekend! I'm so excited.

Anyway, if you want, answer these questions yourself and get linked at http://www.mannland5.com/!

1. What's your favorite Easter candy? Gotta be the Cadbury cream-filled eggs. Yum! And any chocolate bunny with marshmallow filling.

2. Who do you think is cleaner..men or women? I have both gal and guy friends who are super clean, but in my household, I think it's clear that I am cleaner!

3. Which do you prefer..wordy blog posts or ones with pictures? It's funny, I prefer ones with pictures, yet my blog posts are wordy as hell!

4. Were you popular in highschool? I wouldn't say that I was extremely popular, but I think everyone knew who I was because of academics and sports and my unsusual last name.

5. What's your bra size? 36B...but I'm in a C now that I'm preggo. My hubby likes it :)

6. How many states have you lived in? In my Army brat years: Georgia, Hawaii, New York, Colorado. In my Army career years (including schools): Missouri, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Colorado, and Texas.

7. What's one blog you read every day? Melissa's Together We Have It All....and tons others.

8. Peanut butter or Nutella? I have both in my house, but oh my goodness--Nutella. Nutella completes my life.

Happy Sunday Everyone! OMG, I forgot to mention that I got to talk to Malu yesterday afternoon. I hadn't heard from him for four days, so naturally, I was an emotional wreck all week long. Turns out, he had gone on a four-day mission to northern Iraq. It's probably a good thing he didn't tell me that because I would have spent the entire week being an emotional wreck and worrying about his safety. But he is alive and well. I'm wondering if he got his Easter package yet. I sent him a lot of goodies including an "I Love You Daddy" picture frame with Baby Sala's 4D Ultrasound photo in it!

'Honest Scrap' Blog Award & Getting to Know M&M More

My blog pal, Tori, of Tori & Chad, gave me the 'Honest Scrap' blog award a few weeks ago and I'm finally making the time to pass it on. As I've said before, I've received blog awards on my cooking/baking blog, but never on this one. So Tori...thanks so much for giving me my first blog award on here! She and I have gotten to know each other through blog comments and occasional emails and you guys, she's one cool chick. So head on over to her blog and get to know her!

As with any blog award, there are certain rules. This particular award has THREE rules! First, I have to pass it on to 10 other people. I have no problem doing that. Only, I don't think I can pass it on to ten people, but to the people that I've been blogging with the longest and are great friends. They all have cool blogs too, so check them out!

Melissa of Together We Have it All
Lindsay of What the Dinkins are Thinkin'
Misty of Mischief
Pamela of Cookies with Boys
Sabrina of Superfluous
Liz of Our Crazy Life
Sara of Sara's Journey

Second, I have to tell my readers ten things about myself that they may not know, but that are true. I'm going to do this, but do it slight differently. A few weeks ago, Tori had completed a survey about her and her hubby and I've been telling her that my husband and I have so much in common with them, that I couldn't wait to fill that survey out myself. So I am--only there are 30 things you'll find out about us. I actually think I've done this survey somewhere before (probably on MySpace), but I have no problem doing it again. Now you'll get to know Michelle and Malu a little bit better!

1. What are your middle names? Mine=pre-marriage, it was Rosete (my mom's maiden name, which is such a Filipino thing to do); post-marriage, my middle name is now my maiden name, Ioapo. I think I did it to appease my dad who didn't want the name lost. Malu's middle name is Milionea, which means millionaire in Samoan.
2. How long have you been together? We met in June 2005--so almost five years. Seems like it's been longer.
3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? I think it was about two weeks from the time I saw him to the day we went on our church "date".
4. Who asked who out? If Malu was sitting here and I was telling this story to a bunch of our family and friends, I'd totally lie and say that he did. But the truth is that after I saw him for the first time, I'd totally stalked him on Army Knowledge Online (on which every Army employee has an email account), found out his email address and sent him an email asking if he wanted to go to church.
5. How old are each of you? Well, I'm 30 and Malu--he's 24. Yes, I'm a total cradle robber. I didn't find out until our church date. I had picked him up at his work and we were driving to the church when I had randomly asked, "so how old are you?" To which he responds, "I turn 20 next weekend." No joke...I slammed the brake halfway down a road and yelled, "what? do you know how old I am?" To which he nonchalantly responds, "well, I figured that since you're a captain and all, you should be around 25 or 26," and I'm like, "uh, yeah! I'm 25 (about to turn 26 in a month)." And that was that. He's younger than my younger brother. His older sister is younger than my younger brother. I didn't tell my mom how old he really was until after we were married. Funny.
6. Did you go to the same school? Uh, see response to #5. No way.
7. Are you from the same hometown? No.
8. Who is the smartest? As young as he was when we met, it was his charm and intelligence that roped me in. He is wise beyond his years and I will always say that he is the smartest of the two of us.
9. Who majored in what? I got a bachelor's in biology from Colorado State University (Main Campus--Fort Collins) in 2001 and an MBA from Colorado State University at Pueblo in late 2008. The Army sent me to grad school for free! My husband hasn't been to college yet. He entered the Army right out of high school, but has aspirations to major in Middle Eastern Studies when he finds a break from all these deployments.
10. Who is the most sensitive? Gosh, I'm oversensitive. He can be sensitive too.
11. Where is the furthest you have traveled together as a couple? Well, we met in Iraq so I don't think you can get any further than that. But the second furthest is Samoa. It was the first time I met his family as well as my dad's side of the family.
12. Who has the worst temper? Both of our tempers can flare from time to time. But I think I have the worst of the both of us.
13. How many children do you want? Malu has been known to want to a big family, which is typical of Samoans. I mean, my dad is one of 13. He's mentioned 6 kids before, to which I gave him my favorite "stink-eye" look. I say less than or equal to 3.
14. Who does the cooking? When we're living together--me.
15. Who is more social? We're both extroverts and love being surrounded by people. Malu, though, is so much more the "life of the party" than I am. He can brighten up any gathering, trust me. I love that about him.
16. Who is the neat freak? Um, I am. I have OCD.
17. Who is the most stubborn? I think he is. He will stick to his guns even in the midst of my tears....most of the time :)
18. Who wakes up earlier? Definitely me. When he's home, I usually spend the better part of an hour trying to wake him up to do something with me. He's nocturnal and can stay up all night long writing music and playing his guitar, which is why he sleeps in so late in the mornings.
19. Where was your first date? Our first date was to a Samoan church service in Iraq. See this blog entry.
20. Who has the bigger family? Well, considering Samoans and Filipinos generally have big families, I'd say that we're pretty equal. I have two siblings and Malu has four. I can't remember how many siblings his parents have (I know it's a lot), but as I've said before, my dad is one of 13 and my mom is one of 7.
21. Do you get flowers often? From Malu? Not really. He doesn't like giving me flowers too much because they don't last a long time. He usually gives me plants that do last a long time (well, sometimes, if I maintain them) or sweets that he knows I like to eat, or just things that he knows I will put to good use.
22. Who is more jealous? I am more jealous by nature. Malu is sooooo not the jealous type. He doesn't do things to make me jealous, I just get that way. I'm much more insecure than he is.
23. How long did it take to get serious? A week. But really, after two days, he was telling his friends that I was going to be his wife.
24. How do you spend the holidays? Always with family. We're both home bodies.
25. Who eats more? Definitely him.
26. What do you do for a living? We are a dual-military Army couple. I'm a Human Resources Officer and he's a Psychological Operations NCO.
27. Who does the laundry? We both do.
28. Who's better with the computer? I think we're both the same. We know enough to get by.
29. Who drives when you are together? He does. But our greatest point of contention when he does drive is where to park when we get somewhere. I feel like he parks the furthest away that he can just to irk me. And I'll nag him until he reluctantly moves somewhere closer. It's even worse when it's cold/rainy outside.
30. What is your song? We don't actually have a song-song. But Malu wrote one just for me, so it's my song. He also plays and sings lots of songs to me...all of which I consider our songs. He loves to play songs by John Mayer and Jack Johnson so whenever I hear those songs, I always think of him and sing along.

Wow. That was longer than I thought. I hope you guys got to know me a little bit better because I enjoyed it.

The last thing that has to be done for this award is for me to let my blogger friends know that I'm passing it on to them. So I guess I'll go and do that now!

Fill In the Blank Friday!

Looks like I underestimated how fast I could get up to 50 followers. It sure does help to do Friday Follow. I've seen so many great blogs and I get so many good ideas on how to make improvements to my own blog. Not only that, people are doing giveaways like crazy. I know I said I'd do my own giveaway once I got fifty followers, but dang, I may have to bump that to 75 so that I have time to give it more thought. Would anyone hate me too much if I waited? I hope not.

Anyway, it's Lauren's Fill in the Blank Friday! which I just had to make time for. It's always a great way for me to relax and unwind before going into the weekend. Here goes!

1. The best day ever was (even though I've had so many great days!) my first date with Malu. We met in Iraq and, of course, there weren't too many cool places to go on a date, even though it was never declared an official date. I'd asked Malu to go to church. Because all the islanders were deployed to this particular base (a reserve unit from Hawaii had brought Samoans, Hawaiians, Guamanians, Filipinos, and Puerto Ricans to Balad, Iraq) and there just happened to be a Samoan service. And we went together. I'd previously gone alone and the pastor was hell bent on finding me a Samoan husband. So when I walked in with Malu that day, I'd introduced them, and the pastor pulled me aside and said, "well, I think this is the one for you." I just laughed. That night, he and I sat on top of a bunker, under the stars, which was very romantic and unsafe at the same time as we got bombed on a regular basis. But we've been together ever since, so I'm glad we took that chance. And you know what? My dad took my mom to a Samoan church in Hawaii for their first date. And they've been together over 30 years now.



Malu and I with the Samoan Church Leadership on our last Sunday service in Balad, Iraq


2. My favorite meal of the day is breakfast because it gives me that jump start to get my day going! And I almost always have to have my Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha (now half-caff, these days).


3. This weekend is yet another chance to relax after a long, busy week of work. I intend to do a lot of NAPPING.


4. Never in my life have I been able to wink properly. Seriously. It also makes it hard for me to fire my weapon sometimes because I can't focus with one eye closed long enough. It sucks.


5. The only thing better than chocolate are hugs and kisses from either my hubby or Lucy!


6. I could really do with an hour long swedish massage. It's been a while since I've had one.


7. The most recent thing I bought myself is a cute shirt and some maternity jeans at Burlington Coat Factory last weekend. They were on SALE!

And there you have it! Tomorrow, I'm getting up early to take Lucy girl to the V-E-T. I can't even bring myself to say it. You should see how she starts shivering when I do.

Friday Follow

Oh my gosh, it's been such a busy week, I almost forgot today is Friday Follow! This week's Friday Follow is being hosted by One2Try, Hearts Make Families, and Midday Escapes (all of which are fabulous blogs that are on my blog list (to the right). Go to one or the other...or the other and see what Friday Follow is all about. It'll bring new folks to your blog and it's always great to meet new people, isn't it?

Today is also Fill in the Blank Friday. I'll have to come back and do that.....AFTER dinner. This baby is starving!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Malu's Home

American Samoa (We were up in the mountains somewhere--I'm ashamed that I can't remember the name)

Ten on Tuesday

Another Tuesday--which means another Ten! Man, I've been cutting it close on making my daily posts. These long work days are killing me and it's funny because my schedule has been like this all of my Army career. Man, my lil' bug is cramping my style. But that's okay. I love her anyway.

1. My friend, Jennifer, had me stop by her house on my way home tonight. She wanted to share her chocolate covered strawberries and pineapple with me and had some cake leftover for me. Tonight, her family celebrated her sister, Lexi's, acceptance onto her high school varsity cheerleading squad. I've become very close to Jennifer's entire family since I've been in El Paso, so the good news brightened my day. Go Lexi!



Me, Jennifer and Lexi at the Texas vs. The Nation Game

2. I brought Lucy to Auntie Daisy's house today since she seemed so terrified to be stuck in the house the other day with the winds blowing like crazy. I went to pick her up around 6:00 p.m. this evening, but still had to go back to the office. She met my boss and we walked around the brigade area for a while so I didn't have to walk around the neighborhood here and risk seeing Wile E. Coyote again. And oh my gosh, it was windy as hell. After all, it is windy season. But man, it's so bad and makes it so much more cold outside.
   
3. Speaking of windy days, there are man-sized tumbleweeds blowing every which way out there. Lucy and I almost got taken out by a few of them last night while we waited for Jennifer and Auntie Daisy to come and rescue us during our "lock out". I spend half my time on the road trying to dodge those suckers. It's sometimes scary.
   
4. My mom received the baby shower invitations that I had shipped to her on rush order. They actually got to her three days ahead of schedule and she's probably addressing and stamping them as we speak. We're all so excited. The invitation has lady bugs on it, which is the baby shower theme (as well as my lil' bug's nursery theme). I'll have to save all the lady bug stuff for another post because I'm totally lady buggin' out these days.
   
5. Every time I make posts to my blog, I cut and paste them into emails to Malu since he can't view it on his work computer nor does he have his personal computer set up in the tent that he shares with a zillion other people. Today, he mentioned that he enjoyed reading my "lock out" post from last night. Then, he just randomly mentioned that on his last night here in El Paso with me, he had recorded me sleeping on his camera and that he watches it pretty much every night before he goes to bed. He said it sometimes makes him sad--that he wish he could be with me. I never knew he did that. Then again, I'm not surprised. When we lived apart here in the states, we used to keep the phones on while we went to sleep at night. Yeah, we're cheesy like that.
   

   

   Another M&M Flashback
   

6. Lucy Girl (that is Malu's nickname for her) is due for her rabies shot. I tried to schedule an appointment with the Fort Bliss Vet Clinic, but they don't have any openings until the 18th! Gosh, is this post backed up on animal appointments too? I guess so! Anyway, yesterday, I decided against waiting and went to the clinic to pull her records. Instead, she and I will be visiting an off-post clinic this Saturday which is perfect because I won't have to leave work to take her. My sweet baby...she is on the floor right now, conked out, and snoring. I love her!



Lucy during one of our weekend walks




7. Over the weekend, I got a membership to Costco. Oh my gosh, I just went nuts in there. Probably because I didn't have anything to eat before I went and bought just about everything that looked appetizing to me. Among the economy sized goodies I got were: a box full of sliced fresh mangoes, cranberry-macadamia nut cereal, fruit roll-ups and veggie chips. I have the feeling I'm going to be at Costco all the time!
   
8. Thanks to Friday Follow, I'm up 23 more followers in just a week. And it's amazing how many cool people I've met through it. Now, I'm 11 people away from hitting the 50 mark...which means I'll really get to do my first giveaway soon. I've been spending some of my hours-long meetings thinking about what I can giveaway. I promise it'll be good. I think I should do some research on how to actually do it right. I've been entering other people's giveaways left and right, and it seems easy, but I don't want to take a chance on screwing it up.
   
9. Oh, I can't wait until the weekend. I have NOTHING planned, which is just perfect for me because I just want to sleep right through it. Since I'm so tired now, I really can't picture doing anything else. Oh bed...I want you!
   
10. I have an appointment in the morning to do some testing. I have to have my blood drawn to see if the baby tests for any abnormalities, cystic fibrosis, etc. Wish me luck!

And that's it, folks. Gosh, it took a lot of energy to get through that one. Until next time! And thank goodness for hump day--the week's halfway over!