Our Happily Ever After

Swap Sponsors

2012-01-26T18:48:00.000-08:00

I wanna be cool like all the other cool kids ;)

I wanna do a button swap (I already do with a bunch of ladies)

so if you're interested, email me ;)

I love meeting new people and I wanna fill my space with even more friends!

abowler.88@gmail.com

P.S. yes, this is a FREE button swap ;)

Crazy Baby Dreams

2012-01-25T06:44:00.000-08:00

I gotta tell you about this crazy dream I had last night!

Oh my hahahaha

Normally my dreams are all over the place anyways,

but for some reason last night was just super bizarre!

So I was dating the Green Lantern (yeah Ryan Reynolds boo yeah!)

only it was also Andrew at times, don't ask how that was working,

it just happened.

And it was fun and all,

then I saw my friend Morgan, who's getting married in March,

in a mall in a wedding dress

and then I was in MY wedding dress walking around the mall with her

and giving her "advice".

And my friends from high school showed up cuz they were

her entourage in the wedding dress trying-on event

and somehow I wasn't.

But they were all impressed that I could fit into my dress while being pregnant.

My Green Lantern then showed up asking me why I was in my wedding dress

and I said cuz I can but didn't he like it?

And of course, cuz he can fly, we swoop off somewhere

and I woke up because I have a fear of heights hahahahaha

I mean, really??

I feel like I've dreamed everything possible.

I have dreamed many times that I had a miscarriage,

and those cause me to wake up with a start,

and sometimes wake Andrew up to comfort me.

I've dreamt about superheroes,

people I haven't seen in years,

our future daughter and hopefully son later,

it's insane.

I ususally wake up even more tired than I went to bed,

I'm guessing mostly because of these dreams.

I dreamed before I was pregnant but these have been so intense

and pretty much every night so sleep isn't truly restful hahahahaha

Oh dear ;)

This crazy baby gives me the craziest dreams

but I mean come one,

dating the Green Lantern?

That's gotta be on the awesome list right??? ;)

A long distance relationship

2012-01-23T20:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much for the well-wishes!!

I'm so oober excited for this little girl to get here ;)

(mostly so she can stop bossing me around ;) )

So I know a few of you know Alyx

from Every Day is a New Adventure

and know that she's pretty awesome.

Well she and I decided to Skype on Sunday

(with both hubs')

and play a game of Settlers of Catan on the computer.

It was such a blast!

(I've basically decided that we're in a long distnace relationship)

Poor Alyx and Mike were so tired though!

It's only an 8 hour difference I mean sheesh!

It was hilarious listening to them

make their dinner in the tiny kitchen

(her camera was being difficult at first so we could only hear)

and then lo and behold:

Alyx came into view!

She's probably gonna kill me for this later hahahaha

and then we could play our game!

Andrew and I had thought we would be playing with real boards,

we were making it WAY more complicated than it needed to be hahaha.

Then they mentioned the online version and I was like

"There's an online version!? Sweet!!"

And thus began one of the funniest games I've played.

And I loved that they were just as "cut-throat"

as we are ;)

Mike won the first game

and Andrew demanded a re-match if they weren't too tired.

Then Andrew beat us the second time ;)

Alyx and I stood NO chance on this stupid second board....

just trust me when I say it was retarded.

So about 4 hours later,

and after 2 games of Settlers

we said goodnight and they stayed up even later hahahaha

We had such a blast and I wanna do it again!

(and yes, my computer is named Lola, don't judge) ;)

Anyone else know this game and want to Skype play with me??

Or challenge me and the hubs??

Come on....anyone??

Halfway mark!

2012-01-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

Today's the day my friends!

I'm halfway though my pregnancy!!!

20 weeks baby!

And in only 20ish more weeks I'll be able to hold my precious baby girl ;)

I honestly cannot wait! ;)

Andrew and I already love her so much,

it's hard to imagine loving her even more

but I look forward to it daily.

I talk to her all the time and ask her to be nice to me

and let me sleep or relax hahahaha

I sing to her sometimes without even realizing it

Andrew laughs and then gets al excited and sings with me ;)

Our car is our soundstage hahahaha

My mom asked me a few days ago if we were gonna

bombard her with Sleeping Beauty

or even just Princesses and I said no.

I wanna wait til she's older and see if she's like me

(doesn't like pink or Barbies, etc)

or if she's more like her grandma then I can encourage

all sorts of things ;)

Now that doesn't mean that I'm not gonna dress her cute

with bows and frills

cuz let's face it, I totally will ;)

I am however going to decorate her room in Disney pictures,

and her Uncle Trevor is going to draw her a couple pictures

to hang up on the walls.

I'm even gonna put up my old Little Mermaid poster,

passing it on to my little one.

(we'll see if it makes it through her life to HER daughter hahahaha)

I love knowing that she's growing strong inside me

and that she's just as stubborn as her parents so far ;)

I haven't felt any kicks still

but I've been feeling more of her movements

(at least I'm pretty sure it's her movements hahahaha)

and happily, a lot of the nausea has subsided.

Only thing now is that my immune system is

basically shot so I catch everything from the kids at church and school

it's kinda comical when I think about it

but still stinks :(

This little baby girl is worth every little piece of being uncomfortable.

So I am now gonna chillax here and watch

Lord of the Rings along with a nice bowl

of sherbet ;)

(Rory loves sherbet hahahaha)

Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3

2012-01-20T13:58:00.000-08:00

So last night Andrew and I went to Disney on Ice: Toy Story 3

and it was awesome!

We had so much fun and it was so cute!!

So prepare yourself for a picture overload ;)

I wanted to document that this hairstyle actually worked for me!

First time it's ever actually worked hahahaha

So excited (and checking the camera)

11th row! We were so close!

Crazy Baby

2012-01-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

My adorable and crazy baby girl has been making life

a little bit difficult.

In this stage of my pregnancy,

she's starting to get on a newborn sleep cycle.

So I'm wide awake 6-7 times a night,

and only able to sleep about 3-4 hours

which makes work really hard

and I often get sharp back and chest pain.

But she's worth all of it.

I cannot wait to hold her in my arms and love on her ;)

On Saturday, I'll be 20 weeks!

The halfway point!

EEEEKK!! ;)

I'm so excited and I am so anxious to be a mom!

Looking at baby things,

is making me super excited and I'm telling you

that there are just too many cute little things that she's gonna

"need" you know?? ;)

And since we're having this beautiful girl,

I've signed up for info on becoming an Avon lady hahahaha

It's something I can do from home,

and it will help us supplement some income

if I'm not working at the school after she's born.

I'm thinking this is a very smart move

and as such, if everything works out

and I'm able to start soon

y'all can order Avon products through me ;)

WOOT!

And you would all be my BFFs

for helping a sister out!

I also thought about Pampered Chef

but that was SUPER expensive to start

and quite frankly,

their products are really good but also pricey

and most people I know aren't in a situation

to spend that kind of money ;)

So anyone else a fan of Avon??

I would literally die of chapped lips if it wasn't for

Avon's Care Deeply ;)

I ordered 10 at one time cuz I didn't pay attention

and was down to only 1!

Unacceptable!

Hahahahahaha ;)

11 Facts

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

I got tagged in the 11 Things blog thing by Alyx ;)

The rules:

1. Post the rules.

2. Post 11 things about you.

3. Answer the questions the tagger asked you.

4. Write 11 questions for the ones you tag.

Ok here goes:

1. I am a European classic novel nerd

2. I am obsessed with Criminal Minds

3. I always prefer being cold over hot

(you can always snuggle)

4. I am a lover of chocolate

5. I like certain fantasy books

6. I'm the oldest of three. My brothers are 20 and 16
(Yikes I'm old)

7. I love Broadway musicals

8. I want to travel the world before I kick it ;)
Especially a Holocaust tour

9. I used to work at Disneyland and it was stressful but fun at the same time

10. I love movies ;)
I also love going to the movies,
the smell of popcorn popping and it tastes delicious

11. I am a Disney freak (hence why I worked at the
Happiest Place on Earth)
And yes, our daughter is being named after Sleeping Beauty ;)

Ok so Alyx's questions were:

1. How old were you when you got your first kiss?
I was 16, first boyfriend and everything

2. What is your favorite sport?
I love watching the Olympics,
especially volleyball, wrestling, ice skating.
I don't really have one I like to play though.

3. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
I say as many as it takes to enjoy the flavoring around the Tootsie roll ;)

4. What is your favorite board game?
I like Uno, Scattergories, Apples to Apples

5. What is the craziest thing you've ever done?
Got up and moved to California to work at Disneyland
when I'm a total homebody and hate change

6. Do you have a bucket list?
Yes and no.
I have certain things I wanna do but I don't have them
on a specific list or anything.

7. Would you rather pick your nose and eat your boogers or touch your poop?
Alyx, what kind of a question is this???
Um none........I'm kinda nauseated thinking about it
Uck uck uck

8. Have you ever played DDR?
Oh yeah!
I wasn't exposed to it until I ws in high school
but I loved it once I got the hang of it ;)

9. What's your favorite movie?
The Princess Bride
overall
and Beauty and the Beast/Little Mermaid
is super close ;)
I love pretty much all Disney movies too

10. Would you rather smell fish every day for the rest of your life,
or eat fish every day for the rest of your life?
If it's tuna I would rather eat it than smell it.
But only tuna ;)

11. Grossest thing you've ever eaten?
Octopus and chocolate-covered ants.
My dad served his mission in South Korea
so he introduced us to those cuisines..

So my questions are:

1. Who is your biggest inspiration?
2. What's the biggest milestone you've crossed so far?
3. Where's your favorite place to eat?
4. Do you work out? And if you do, how often?
5.If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
6. What's your favorite guilty pleasure food?
7. Do you believe in New Year's Resolutions? If so, do you keep them?
8. What's your favorite vacation you've taken?
9. What's your favorite Disney song?
10. Do you have a favorite Broadway play (musical or non-musical)?
11. What's your favorite comfort food?

I'm gonna tag these lovely ladies:
Siri from Of Pumpkin Theives and Buffalo Wings
Carlie from Life...Full of Stories
Emma from Race and Emma
Kaycie from Redhead Memories
and
Kassie & Kayli from Truly Lovely with the Laney Sisters

and anyone else that wants to do it ;)

Lust List

2012-01-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you're all having a great weekend so far!

I wanted to post about some fun stuff I'm lusting after ;)

Something that's more exciting than laundry

and cleaning hahahahaha ;)

I've mentioned this before but I REALLY REALLY

want this:

And yes, in the white ;)

I think Siri is hilarious and I wanna chat with her all day long

(Although for the sake of the other Siri I love her too

and would chat all day long with her ;) )

Other things I've been lusting after:

Aren't they beautiful??

I really want that chair for when Rory gets here and

when I'll be up at insane hours with her ;)

We can both curl up in there and take a nice nap ;)

Lovely right??

So each picture has a link to where you can find it

or you can go to my Pinterest board

"Christmas List"/"Home Lovin"

What's on your lust list?? ;)

Lately

2012-01-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

Firstly let me say thank you for all the encouraging words

you sent me ;)

I'm glad that you all still enjoy reading my random posts and that I shouldn't feel discouraged.

It truly helped me more than you can imagine ;)

I'm so grateful for such wonderful blog/real world friends

(although I consider you ALL real world friends for the record) ;)

I decided I wanted to show you what I had done with my new nail polish!

Now please know that I am NOT a nail artist,

and I haven't painted my nails is a really long time ok??

Ok here's the color I used for my fingernails:

It's called "Dive Bar".

It's basically a dark shimmery teal color and I love it!

Please forgive the "ragged edges" of my fingers ;)

My kids at school liked it too hahahaha

they asked me if my baby liked the color and if that was why I chose it ;)

They're so cute and funny no??

Then last night,

while bored and watching both Mummy movies

(not a fan of the 3rd one, nor Scorpion King...uck)

I did my toes!

Again, forgive my messy delivery hahahaha

The blue is called "Mesmerized"

and then just the plain white color they have.

I used a pin from my sweing kit to help make the dots

(hence the sketchy and misplaced dots hahahaha)

I haven't done my nails myself in years!

I usually pay for a pedicure and get acrylic nails done

(whenever I can afford it - like dances, birthdays, wedding, etc)

So this was way better for my wallet and it took up some time

and kept me occupied ;)

I do enjoy a project of sorts and this was a great time-spender!!

I also want to say that I seriously have the BEST husband in the world.

He is so loving and sweet to me even when I don't deserve it,

or feel completely discouraged.

He is always there with a hug and a kiss.

He's willing to talk to me when I either wake him up

or keep him up late

cuz I've had something on my mind

and I need to talk to him about it.

I love having his support in everything I do

and I love supporting him in everything he does.

Currently he's seeking other employment so we can get medical coverage

for us and our baby.

(We're covered under our parents for now)

and so that I hopefully don't have to go back to work after

she's born.

That's our goal and prayer is that he can find something

that allows me to not have to work so I can be a SAHM ;)

That's been my goal since I was a little girl and

Andrew is wonderful for trying his hardest to make it happen!

Now if it doesn't happen,

we'll still be fine ;)

I've got plenty of baby-sitters I can use hahahahaha

But if anyone here in the valley hears of anything promising

(full-time preferred but if he can get benefits part-time)

and for more than 10 an hour

PLEASE email me and let me know!

He also just really wants to change workplaces

you know??

And once again, thank you loves for being the greatest

blog buddies in the whole world!

Taking care of a little business

2012-01-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the two posts in one day but

I want to make something very clear for some readers.

What I post on my blog is public yes,

and it's part of my life,

but I don't write everything on here.

I really only like to write the fun things we do,

and fun things we get.

So to some this apparently seems wasteful

and shameful.

And like we don't have any responsibility

or that we aren't adults.

Personally, this is MY blog.

If you don't like what I'm writing and sharing here,

then feel free to not come by.
I understand that everyone has an

opinion but when you start to attack my life,

that's not ok.

It's hurtful.

I don't judge people for how they live their lives,

so I expect the same respect.

I truly don't wanna write on here:

did laundry,

paid rent,

paid for internet,

paid for energy,

etc.

Cuz to me that just seems like I'm checking off a list

and my blog is for me to write fun things

and things I want to share with the friends I've made

through the blog-o-sphere.

So I apologize to anyone that may have been

offended by my "way of life"

and "lack of responsibility".

I can promise you that I love my husband

and that we are more than capable of keeping ourselves comfortable

and that we pay all our bills before we buy anything

frivolous and/or silly.

And we are perfectly able to provide for ourselves and our baby.

End of crazy novel.

Fun Things

2012-01-12T16:46:00.000-08:00

Thank you all so much for the congratulations ;)
Andrew and I couldn't be happier for our little one!
We already love her so much
and can't wait til we get to meet her!!

Ok so I'm sure y'all've seen this picture on Pinterest

(or some other color)

And every girl talks about how great this nail polish is,

so I went to Target and bought a few.....

Ok so 6 but one of them is technically a top coat

so does that actually count??

And I am convinced!

They really are great things of nail polish!

They dry fast and are vibrant with all the colors!

Granted they're a little on the pricey side so I won't be buying these very often.

Also, have you seen what Sonic did to their malts/shakes/

anything with ice cream in it??

They look so cute and vintage now!

I love it!!

Now granted it sweats way more than the old styrofoam cups

but it wasn't as cute as these new ones are!

Anyone discover something new and fun??

Our Dear One

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

We were so excited for our appointment yesterday ;)

I had an eye doctor appointment that morning and the whole office was all excited

for us to find out too (it was funny)

They all knew I was pregnant cuz they couldn't dialate my eyes hahaha

apparently there's some chemical that would mess with me and the baby

so they had to take a super cool (and slightly expensive)

picture of my retina!

Awesome!

In the morning Andrew said "Guess what!? We get to know who our baby is today!!"

He was so cute and excited!

And after my eye doctor appointment,

I got to order new glasses!!!

New prescription = new glasses and a pair of sunglasses!

I'm so happy to get those soon! I really like being able

to see better!

(It had been 3 years since my last exam...yeah I know, slacker!)

The top 2 are my glasses and this last pair are gonna be my sunglasses!

Ok ok I'll talk about the reason you all came to this post ;)

Our sweet little baby ;)

We were in and out of the office within 20 mintues!

It was the fastest appointment we've had so far.

The nurse came in to hear the heartbeat

and she found it WAY faster than last time!

Granted Peanut is also a lot bigger now than the last time so we could hear easier ;)

Dr Tutt came in and asked how we were doing,

how baby was feeling

I told him that I can't really feel the baby much,

but I knew when I ate the wrong thing or if I didn't sleep enough

and he was happy to hear that my appetite was coming back

AND that I had only gained ONE POUND in the past 5 weeks!

Thank you thank you! ;)

So he turns on the ultrasound machine and we see our baby!

The baby was waving at us and all of us laughed at that,

but baby didn't want to show us a face :(

See the little nose poking up there??

SOOO cute!

Dr Tutt checked all the vitals,

then asked us if we wanted to know gender or not

I said YES PLEASE!!!

And he went down the abdomen to the legs

telling us the whole time that everything looks great and

healthy and that we're having

A GIRL!!!!

The little plus sign is in the empty space

where a boy part would be if there was one,

but there's not!

So our little darling one is a daughter!!

We are so happy!

Our siblings are so excited to become uncles and aunt!

Our parents are super excited to become grandparents!

And my grandparents are so happy to be great-grandparents!

So in June we will be welcoming

Aurora Rose Mills

to the world!! ;)

I am so happy to be able to call my baby by name now!! ;)

Thank you for the well-wishes and the love you have all showed us!

Tomorrow!!!

2012-01-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we get to find out if our Peanut

is a boy or girl!!

Of course this is assuming that Peanut will pose for us ;)

I'm super excited and nervous and happy and so many other emotions!

I can't wait to finally know if it's Rory or Ben and to really start planning

for our little one ;)

Ahhhh! I'm so excited!!

So today is the last day to put in your vote on the sidebar ;)

Oh happy day!

2012-01-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

Ok I wanted to share my happiness at having food in the house!

We got our grant/loan money for school and with the extra we were able to

pay off other debts we had, set some in savings, and

get some food into our otherwise empty pantry and fridge ;)

I don't have pictures of how empty it was before

just imagine it barren and cold ;)

And echoey hahahahaha

Ok this is here to prove that I can now see my sink

after all the holiday dishes

(and buying detergent for the dishwasher hahahaha)

And who doesn't like Costco muffins??

Yum and the best!

Ok my parents technically bought this for us with their insurance money ;)

It's a thermometer that you use on the temple/forehead

and it's perfect for baby (and mom).

I was so excited cuz the one we have now isn't very reliable

(I run fevers of 93.2 all the time)

Ok I didn't buy this either.

This is a lamp from my great-grandmother's old house in CO.

My parents got 3 or 4 of them and I was jealous

so they gave me one for Peanut's room ;)

And it's a touch lamp - so no noise when baby is up at night ;)

So can I get a HOORAY for that food now in my posession?!

I know!

The angels were singing praises and so was my belly/baby ;)

And can I say that I LOVE Costco ;)

It was the first time I'd shopped there FOR me and I was overwhelmed

but super amazed at the same time!

Now I'm gonna go eat one of my apples ;)

2012

2012-01-03T15:23:00.000-08:00

So I figured I'd hop on the 2012 train with my peeps. ;)

I used to make resolutions,

and every year I would fail.

Mostly it would be because the goals were unrealistic and truly unattainable.

Sometimes it was just that circumstances change and so do people etc etc.

So this new year,

NO specific resolutions.

I really just want to enjoy life.

Enjoy getting ready for this amazing miracle of a baby to get here,

spending time with my amazing husband,

try to re-assert my love for the job I have,

meet some new friends and hopefully make some new BFFs.

On a random note,

why are people already deadset on Valentine's Day?

It's still over a month away!

Sheesh people! ;)

Our Anniversary

2011-12-30T12:35:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I forgot to write down what we did for our anniversary!

So our anniversary was the 16th and we both had to work which kinda stunk

but we tried to make the best of it ;)

At my work, we did gingerbread houses with my kinders

which was a blast!

My parents came and Andrew came with me too ;)

After the gingerbread, we helped the kids with lunch,

then my parents surprised us by taking us out to lunch to Olive Garden!

My favorite place and Andrew loves it too.

It was such a fun and nice time with my parentals ;)

We hadn't gotten to see them for awhile so it was nice to catch up with them ;)

Then Andrew went to work til like midnight

and then back to work the next moring at 8.

He's such a hard worker.

When he came home that night I had heart attacked the apartment

and printed out reasons why I love him and put those

up on the walls next to the hearts ;)

He loved it!

The next night we went to hang out with a few of my Disney Store pals

which was one of the best times in a long time ;)

I miss my Disney family so it was great to catch up with them too ;)

For our anniversary, I made him this little project

This is way cuter than the one I actually made,

I got the idea from Pinterest (of course)

and I accidentally duplicated 2 of them

but Andrew said it was ok ;)

He keeps them next to the bed on his nightstand.

We had made all these grand plans,

trips we wanted to take,

things we wanted to do,

then we decided to not do any of those things.

We knew that our greatest joy was knowing that we were gonna become parents

and we wanted to take things easy

and just spend time together and picture our little one

that will be with us the next year ;)

I'm the luckiest lady in the world

More December Fun!

2011-12-28T13:23:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share how Andrew told me what my present was

on Christmas morning ;)

He handed me 2 gifts and told me to open and so I opened the first one

and I found this in the box:

A rice copy of the camera he bought me hahahaha ;)

Andrew told me that it was back-ordered so it wasn't coming til January

but I was still super excited!

Then last I opened his other gift to me

and lo and behold,

the REAL camera was in there!

Hahahahaha the stinker!

Apparently it came WAY before it was supposed to so it was a surprise to him too!

Awesome right??
I am the luckiest girl ever!

My parents also gave us a year subscription to

Entertainment Weekly magazine!

Also, everyone knows that these are the BEST chocolate cherries in the entire world right?

They come in Dark and Milk but oh....

it's not Christmas without chocolate cherries ;)

Yesterday Andrew and I went to Red Robin

cuz baby really wanted my Banzai burger

and then I could kinda test out my camera somewhere other than the apartment!

Like I said, baby really wanted that burger ;)

And Andrew really likes those fries hahahaha

I have to have them half my burger cuz I can only eat half at a time

so I'm hoping to eat the rest today

while I'm at home!

Anyone else doing something super fun today??

Also, random question,

are maternity pictures popular?

Or only done for certain things?

I haven't decided if I want to have them taken (obviously when I'm farther along)

or not cuz I think it's slightly odd to take pictures of my belly,

but hey if they're cute,

I like cute hahahaha ;)

Ideas?

P.P.S. I'm linking up with Brooke with Year's End posts!

You should too!

Christmas with the family

2011-12-26T09:06:00.000-08:00

I had the BEST Christmas on the planet!

My little brother did homemade gifts this year and they were wonderful!

He made me a paper lantern (like from Tangled) to put in the baby's room ;)

My grandparents gave us grandkids tickets to Wicked in February!!

Andrew hasn't seen it before so I'm super excited to watch it with him!!

The hubs gave me a new camera!

Isn't she beautiful?!

I love her so much!!

I had said that we should get a slightly better camera

for when Peanut is born cuz I'll be obsessed with picture taking ;)

If you click on th picture it'll take you to the site

for specs (cuz I don't know them hahahaha)

I was super excited for this though:

My mom made me a quilt from my old shirts!! ;)
It took her three painful months (her words)
and this describes pretty much my whole jr high - now life ;)
Here's some highlights:

This is from the pin event I worked while at Disneyland!

These from my first trip to NY!

One of the ones from high school
(I graduated in 2007, and this was our junior year shirt:
so year 11 in school and we're the class of '07 hence the
7/11 reference)

This was from a shirt my grandpa gave me when he was dragracing
way back in the day ;)

All in all, it was a great Christmas
and one of the best parts was getting to talk to my brother Nick on his mission
in Pennsylvania ;)
We talked about how excited he is to be an uncle,
how much he loves being out there and loves the people and the work he's doing ;)
It was great to hear him so happy out there!

We had a really fun day opening gifts together,
going to church,
eating Swedes (like crepes),
and Christmas dinner of twice-baked potatoes and roast ;)

I hope your holidays were merry and bright ;)
Today I get to spend more time with my fam
seeing Mission Impossible 4 and going to a family function later on!
I love this time of year!

Getting close to 4 months!!!

2011-12-21T20:44:00.000-08:00

Ok so some have asked about my baby bump and

sometimes it just feels like it looks "beer belly" ish

(and no I don't drink, never have and never will!)

But since losing a little weight and getting farther along,

it's gotten to look slightly more like a bump than just a humongous stomach ;)

And yes, this isn't the best picture of it and I know

that but I can only do so much when I'm home alone trying to figure out

how to make it look good.....

so be nice to me ok?? ;)

I'm coming up on 4 months into this pregnancy!

Holy cow!

Some things that have definitely let up since getting

into my second trimester are:

- my nausea has lessened some

(although it also comes back with full force when just the right smell hits)

- I have some energy finally

- I can eat food sometimes which is nice ;)

(I crave my Red Robin Banzai Burger all the time!

And I was able to eat some of the dinner at

our family Progressive Christmas Dinner on Sunday!)

I'm constantly looking forward to becoming a mother!

I talk to Peanut a lot and try to make them feel loved

and how excited I am for them to come into our lives ;)

This baby has been such a huge blessing in our lives,

has brought Andrew and I closer together as our baby grows.

Andrew talks to our baby too and it warms my heart ;)

I can't wait to find out who our little Peanut will turn into.

A teacher, cop, dancer, baseball player, etc

And we only have to wait a few more weeks then we'll find out

if Peanut's a boy or girl!!

Stockings!

2011-12-20T16:34:00.000-08:00

I wanted to show you the stockings Andrew's aunt Heidi

made for us!

They're so cute!!

And yes, we hung them by the chimney with care,

with hopes that St Nicholas soon will come here!

I cannot wait for Christmas to get here!!!

All the presents are wrapped,

and under the tree!

And can I get a Hallelujah that today was my last day

work for the semester!

And yay for getting to sleep in for the next 2 weeks!

Baking a baby is super hard on the body

and I'm tired ALL the time ;)

Year in Retrospect

2011-12-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about this past year,

and it's been a crazy one ;)

First few weeks of being a married couple

Got my old credit card stolen

Chopped my hair off to re-grow it out

Our first married couple dinner party

Got Andrew through this crazy year of school

Trying to make our apartments look like home

Learning to be crafty-ish

Went on two trips to Disneyland - one with my family and one with just my mom

Lost an angel

Got our callings as Sunbeam teachers ;)

Having random late night nice dinners

My Disney Store closed

Got our pictures taken thanks to Perla

Got hooked on Pinterest

Saw the end of an era with Harry Potter 7 part 2

Celebrated our birthdays

Found out we're going to have a baby!

Going together to the OBGYN for our baby appointments

Spent our first Thanksgiving together as a married couple

And now our second Christmas as a married couple

And I can't wait for more years to come!

One Year

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

One year ago today I married my best friend in the whole world ;)

This year has been full of ups and downs but we have gotten through so much together

and I can't wait for an eternity more to spend with him

and our new baby Peanut ;)

Here's some pictures of our big day

to celebrate!

Bridesmaids and groomsmen

The Mills family

With the Bowler side of the family

All our loved ones with us at the temple ;)

Our first dance

My daddy/daughter dance

Our cake

Andrew said he wouldn't put anything on my face,

he totally did little punky face.

My bridal bouquet

The bridemaids bouquet

I can't believe it's only been a year since we got married!

With an eternity to go!

I love you Andrew!!

Here's to forever! ;)

Christmas and oh baby baby...

2011-12-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been so MIA again lately.

This baby has really lowered my immune system,
and therefore I catch everything

that my kindergarteners have
and it makes eating even harder than it already was.

But I defintely sleep more,

if I could make a living out of sleeping I'd be making hundreds by now

by sheer hours of naps and trying to sleep through the night.

I don't know if any other pregnant ladies have had this

issue this early on with having trouble sleeping.

I'm only 3 1/2 months along but already I have many problems

sleeping at night and especially through the night.

Any help with that??

I'll do just about anything,

and you guys are the best with advice ;)

I'm getting even more excited for Christmas,

hoping I can eat the dinner hahahaha,

and I can't wait to talk to my brother out in Pennsylvania!

He comes back home next September

and we've decided to wait to bless our baby til he gets home

so he can be a part of that ;)

He missed our wedding so this should make it up to him

in at least some small way ;)

I'm one very proud and excited sister and I can't wait to talk to him

and hear his happy crazy voice!

I also can't wait for everyone to open their gifts from us,

I think we've done pretty dang good this year!

I love our family traditions.

On Christmas Eve we watch the cartoon Grinch,

read the Christmas Story from Luke,

and then Grandpa reads the Christmas Bells

and we all cry by the end of it ;)

And this year on Christmas morning we're gonna have crepes

before church at 11:30,

go to church with the whole family,

then back to my parents house for presents and dinner ;)

(my in-laws will be on a cruise so we're having ours later)

I just love Christmas ;)

Always have, always will especially next year when we'll have our little

Peanut with us, and my brother will be back from his mission ;)

So if anyone has ideas to help me sleep please let me know!

Winner announced!

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

The winner of the Blogiversary giveaway is Emma!!!

Girl email me and I'll get you your prize!!!

And thanks to those that entered!

I'll do a real post soon I promise!

Updates!

2011-12-10T11:43:00.001-08:00

I thought I should kinda update you on how the apartment looks!

All decked out for Christmas and starting to look more like a home than just an empty

place with white walls ;)

I LOVE this new apartment!

Having the extra space is just a dream come true!

Especially the poor will-be-baby's-room-but-right-now-it's-the-junk-room room

We kinda throw things in there and shut the door

so people can't see where most of our stuff is hahahaha

Ok so above the fireplace is:

Andrew did it a little different from the last apartment,

and we actually have our fireplace unhindered so if we wanted to use

it we could, although I have no idea how it works! Hahahaha

In my family a big Christmas tradition is

decorating with Annalee dolls:

Aren't their faces so cute!?

(The elf on my lamp in the dining area is also an Annalee)

I started getting these dolls when I turned 18

(I think....pretty sure)

and so now I have my own little collection ;)

The bigger Santa Claus was my first one and I LOVE him!

Just look at that cute piping on his jacket and the buttons!

A-dorable!

Moving on,

now I also have a mini-hallway:

I know it's not a whole lot,

but I like the little things that help make it homey ;)

And faith had to go by the hall light

I mean come on! ;)

It was perfect placement.

Now the only things I have to figure out where to place are my

Disney snowglobes:

And trust me when I say that I sold a couple

but I had to keep the too-cute-for-words ones ;)

That Fantasia one at the bottom is one of my favorites!

And that Cinderella one,

got it for $10 after the box was damaged AND it was on 50% sale ;)

Oh yeah!

Last night I also made the hubs anniversary gift ;)

It's gonna be super cute and fun!

And I tried to wrap Christmas gifts....I need to re-do them hahahaha

Don't forget to enter the little giveaway for my blogiversary!

(scroll down)

P.S. I made these with my kinder kids!

Aren't they adorable?!
Theirs look even cuter than my humongous fingers,
thank you Pinterest!

It's a blogiversary!

2011-12-09T13:31:00.001-08:00

So my blog celebrated it's 3rd birthday this week!

I can't believe it's been 3 years already since I started this hahaha

and if you look at the first few posts, they're kinda sad and pathetic

but now they're a little bit better ;)

I started this blog because a friend of mine said I should cuz I have funny stories,

but I was like "What's a blog?? Isn't that totally nerdy and only for college people

that have weird majors or something?"

Little did I know how fast blogs would become popular,

and then how many of my friends would have one,

and how much easier it is to keep family and friends up-to-date

when it's all in one place!

And especially how awesome it would be to add new friends from around the globe

and counting them among my circle of friends

even if we haven't met in person ;)

So to celebrate this momentous occasion,

I have a little giveaway for you!

A couple makeup bags and a loufa:

Aren't they so cute!?

They're from Bath and Body Works

and they're HUGE!!

So to enter:

Mandatory: be a follower of my blog

Extra entries:

- tweet about the giveaway

- blog about the giveaway

- leave me a great EASY holiday recipe

- tell me your favorite holiday tradition

Giveaway ends Monday night at midnight!!

Baby things

2011-12-08T19:54:00.001-08:00

This baby is stinkin hilarious sometimes with the things it does to me ;)

And I thought I should write it down before I forget what happens!

My emotions are so close to the surface it's scary sometimes.

I cry at Hallmark commercials, Disneyland commercials,

I even cried during a Wicked commercial

oh dear me right??

Andrew laughs at me sometimes cuz it truly is ridiculous,

and I'm laughing with him through the tears.

I cry at the end of movies,

during pretty songs,

and especially during any Christmas-related thing.

I also get cranky super fast!

I try really hard to not get that way,

but there are times,

especially at work,

when the kids are just not doing what I've asked them to do

(for the millionth time)

and to me that's unacceptable in December so a little cranky get I....

ugh.

I also either sleep like a boulder or toss and turn all night long,

which bothers Andrew too.

My dreams are just as crazy as ever,

and soon I'll start to feel the baby even more!

I can't wait to feel our little Peanut,

right now he/she just feels like indigestion and gas.

But I definitely know when baby doesn't like a certain food

I ate or something I did cuz I get a "kick" of sorts

and I remember to steer clear of whatever it was!

I still can't believe I'm gonna be a mama!!

It's unreal ;)

Doc Visit

2011-12-06T15:19:00.001-08:00

SO today we had our second doctor's appointment!

I had NO idea what was gonna happen in this one

but I was positive it'd go well,

and it did!

Guess what?!

I lost 10 lbs in the past 4 weeks!!

WOOT!!

Who'da thunk it?

I was so excited and the nurse was impressed

(I also love that really only ladies appreciate the wieght loss thing

hahahahahaha)

We heard Peanut's heartbeat today for the first time!

It was so wonderful to hear!

Although I'll be honest,

the nurse had some issues finding Peanut,

apparently they're shy and didn't want to be found....

but it concerned mama and definitely caused

my blood pressure to rise a bit!

Whew, she finally found the little bug and heard a strong heart!

It was really just a check-up type thing,

questions answered,

but no exam

(thank goodness cuz I was a little nauseated)

and in 5 weeks we have another appointment!

And at THAT one,

we get to find out what we're having!!!!!

Can you tell I'm excited!?!?!?

So long as baby will pose correctly for us we'll know,

and baby better perform cuz mama's gettin impatient to know!

So what do you think we'll have?

Boy or girl??
(there's even a poll!! over there ----->)

Interesting questions

2011-12-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Emma over at Race and Emma tagged me in this cute questionaire

so here goes:

1. What's a nickname your family calls you?

Um Ali, Baby Girl, Pumpkin, Boo, and many more that I'm SOOO not putting here hahahaha

2. What's a weird habit of yours?

I'm always super tired but then once we get in bed,

I remember everything that I needed to talk to Andrew about

and it all comes out in a weird nonstop jumbled mess hahahahaha

3. Do you have any weird phobias?

None that I can think of

but I'm terrified of spiders, sharks and snakes......ugh

*shudder*

4. What's a song you sercretly LOVE to blast & belt out when you're alone?

I belt out all sorts of songs whether I'm alone or poor Andrew has to listen

heeheeheeheeheehee ;)

But I do love me some Tay-Tay ;)

5. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?

you're VS your and they're VS their VS there!!

People pay attention in your English class!!!!!

6. What's one of your nervous habits?

I ramble and my knees shake.

7. What side of the bed do you sleep on?

Andrew and I switch every now and then so right now

I'm on the left side but I was on the right for awhile.

8. What was your first stuffed animal and what was its name?

It was a cat and I called it Kitty, she had a bell in her tail too ;)
Then I got Puppy after my mom used Kitty as a great
punishment for potty training purposes lol

9. What's the drink you ALWAYS order from Starbucks?

Well if we ever go there I usually get a frappicino (sp?) of some sort

10. What's the beauty rule you preach.....but don't actually practice?

Um......I don't wear makeup or anything but I always accept help from people

so leave me some helpful tips hahahahaha

11. Which way do you face in the shower?

Odd question hahahaha but away from the shower head most of the time ;)

12. Do you have any "weird body skills"?

Not that I know of...although right now thanks to the baby

I can pop my hip at pretty much any time hahahaha

13. What's your favorite "comfort food"/food that's "bad" but you love to eat it anyways?

Pretty much anything that's sweet or greasy hahahaha

though right now there's not much cuz baby's picky

14. What's a phrase or exclamation you always say?

"Dagflabbit!" "You crazy monkeys!"

15. Time to sleep- what are you actually wearing?

I sleep in a pj shirt and my g's ;)

If it's cold I add socks to the ensemble hahahaha

Now I will tag these ladies:

Whitney from Writing on a Whim

Carlie at Life...Full of Stories

Kaycie from Redhead Memories

and anyone else who wishes to do it too!! ;)

Now you know a little bit more about this crazy girl hahaha

New Apartment!!

2011-12-02T07:20:00.001-08:00

Ok so moving was WAY easier this year than last year!

Even though I wasn't able to do much,

baby was difficult and I had fevers all through the day

(it got comical after awhile).

Andrew wouldn't let me do a whole lot so that

I didn't get worse or strain the baby,

he was very sweet ;)

We also had so many people helping us it was amazing!

My mom and brother came, my sister-in-law came,

my visiting teacher came (yeah I know shocked right!?),

and our friend Laurie came

and she borught a new friend for us to meet too

(yay for more people that know us in the ward!)

What was even greater for us that I was forever grateful

was Laurie and her husband Adam (and son Hyrum)

brought us some homemade chili and cornbread

cuz they figured we hadn't eaten yet

and they were right,

I hadn't even noticed what time it was!

After they left, I cried from sheer gratitude of friends and family

that know our needs before I even do!

Ok now the part you've all been waiting for,

the pictures ;)

See I remembered!

I didn't take pictures of the people since I looked gross

and didn't want to embarrass anyone ;)

Ok so we moved from this:

Little itty bitty now that we have THIS:

This will be the baby's room ;)

Ahhhh!

Ok let me explain the random door running into the toliet picture:

So the apartment is a 2 bed 1 3/4 bath.

As in 1 toliet and 2 shower/tubs.

When they first built the apartment there was a wall

separating the toliet from both showers,

then they put in a door so you could get to the john from either shower,

then they finally decided to just take out the wall and so that door to the other shower

totally hits you if you happen to leave it open......

super awkward and I felt like I was being stalked by a door hahahahaha

So who loves the tree??

I do I do I do!!

My in-laws gave it to us,

(thanks Mom and Dad Mills!)

friend Laurie set it up,

and my brother put the lights on and decorated it!

Also don't you love the little elf on the lamp??

I do!

That was also my brother's idea

(he's really good at that kinda thing)

Ok now I will end my novel!

Have a happy wekend!

Can you believe it's December!?!??!

Yay for anniversary and Christmas month!

Lately

2011-11-30T19:19:00.001-08:00

I know I've been kinda slackin off

but I have a good excuse (other than the baby making me sick)

since we're moving tomorrow (yeah I know only next door

but still it's a crazy time right now)

SO I'll see you guys on the other side!

(and I PROMISE PROMISE promise I'll take pictures!)

Loves to you all!!

Thanksgiving/Black Friday

2011-11-26T09:19:00.001-08:00

Ok so I know I said I'd take pictures of everything on Thanksgiving Day,

yeah I'm terrible and forgot.....

Forgive me???

Ok good, moving on ;)

So I was one of those crazy people shopping at midnight

on Black Friday and it was so fun!

Mostly because my mom and I weren't desperate for things,

we just went for things we wanted and if they had them great,

if not no big deal ;)

I also started the night looking like this:

We also visited Best Buy since Andrew was working

(poor guy worked from 11pm Thursday night til 8 Friday morning)

here's some proof that he really was working:

His line was insanely long!

And he blew us kisses as we left,

and thankfully that guy didn't feel weird having some crazy girl

taking pictures of him hahahahaha

So onto the purchases!

First we hit up Bath and Body Works

(their line was shorter)

and I left with:

They had a bag you could buy for $20 if you spent $40

and it had $110 worth of stuff inside.

Um yeah totally got it but it's already in the closet with the other purses

so sorry for no picture!

Those makeup bags and loofa will be making a re-appearance as a giveaway

soon here for the blogiversary ;)

I finally got some shower gel!!

I have missed it so much!

Oh and scents were:

Dark Kiss, Secret Wonderland, Be Enchanted (that's the new one),

and one Vanilla Bean Noel lotion.

Next was the Disney Store

and I came away with only this:

Our new tree topper and tree skirt!

Aren't they adorable!?

And that was really all I wanted from there this year

(next year I'm screwed cuz I'll have a child to spoil.....oh no)

I actually didn't do too bad exhaustion-wise either,

I guess baby likes Christmas like mama and wanted to have fun too ;)

By the end of the night though I looked like this:

I got home at 2:45 ish, bed by 3:00 AM

then at 10 went to Target since I needed to get the hubs gifts too ;)

I gave him part of it yesterday cuz he was so sad-looking

and he'd been talking about this particular thing

for WEEKS and was gonna get impatient

so he got super excited when he saw this:

The newest Zelda game ;)

He's a very happy boy!

Obviously I'm not gonna put what else I got cuz that's a surprise!

Also, kudos and brownies to whomever

can guess what movie Andrew bought me for fun??

I guess this last one might have given it away,

but still who knows what it is?? ;)

Anyone else brave those crazy lines and people on Friday?

What did you get if you did?

Just the best

2011-11-22T18:28:00.001-08:00

Sorry for being a little MIA for a couple days!

I haven't had much to write about honestly,

it's pretty much the same:

baby, baby, work, baby, try to eat and relax, pack, baby, etc ;)

One really fun thing that did happen was on Saturday,

Andrew took me to Old Navy to get some maternity clothes ;)

Now we didn't get a ton,

but I got a new shirt and two new dresses and an undershirt!

All on clearance and they all look good on me thank the heavens!

Now I want you to understand that Andrew pretty much hates

shopping, especially clothes shopping,

so this was an amazing thing he did for me ;)

I knew I married the best one!

Here's the shirt we bought:

It's a little big but that's good since I have

lots of room to grow! ;)

I plan on probably buying some other colors of this style,

it's SOOOOO comfy!

I'll take pictures of the actual outfits soon and post them

(there just hasn't been time for Andrew to take them for me,

and it's kinda hard to do self-portraits without a standing mirror)

I'm gonna wear my nicer dress for my family's Thanksgiving

since we will also be taking family pictures that day,

I best look good yeah?? ;)

Speaking of Thanksgiving,

anyone have ideas on how to battle the nausea the smells

will most likely produce for me??

At school today the older kids had a "feast"

and the smells were killing me slowly

(me and the other pregnant lady at school)

Please any ideas!!!

Dreams

2011-11-18T11:14:00.001-08:00

I don't know how many of you have heard this,

but when you're pregnant you have the WEIRDEST dreams on the planet!

And I do mean, WEIRD!

Ok my dreams would be super cool if they were like this!

But no, mine usually are combinations of things I did that day,

watched that day, ate that day.......thought about that day.

And dude half the time I don't remember doing any of it hahahaha

Ok examples:

The other night I woke up with a start.

I dreamed that Indiana Jones had come to my grandparents

old house in California to deliver something to my grandpa

and it was not what grandpa wanted and he got ANGRY about it

(my grandpa doesn't get angry,

I mean srsly he never does so this was a big deal)

and then I saw my baby girl messing with

my "mom" (it was so not my real mom)

and giggling and then I looked down and was still pregnant!

Um........what?

Now we don't know if peanut is a girl or boy yet,

but all my dreams have been about girls so I don't know if that's a sign or not.

Another night I had a dream that combined Planet of the Apes

and Lord of the Rings.

Yeah.......that's weird right?

I don't even LIKE Planet of the Apes

(it freaks me out a bit to be honest)

and Gollum was this hairy version of himself

and he kept trying to steal my wedding ring

and I was like NO way Jose!

This isn't your dumb precious!

and there was a shark (JAWS most likely),

Katniss from Hunger Games,

and I'm not even sure what or who else was there!

Do you see what I mean by freaky weird dreams??

Oh dear me!

And I'm only on week 10-11! hahahaha

I'm guessing it just gets "better" as baby gets closer to being here ;)

Can you also see how sometimes I have problems sleeping at night??

Oh peanut! The things you're putting me through! ;)

Thoughtful Thursday

2011-11-17T06:24:00.001-08:00

Ok so I realized that Thanksgiving is next week!

Oh my gracious! I'm so not ready!

It'll be fun to see both sides of our family for that special day

(and Andrew gets double the stuffing and he's excited for that) ;)

I'm a little nervous about the smells

(I don't do well with those right now hahahaha)

but I'm hoping I can push through

and not be a total pregnant high maintanence lady ;)

Last night we went and saw AYT's The Pajama Game

that Trev was in!

It was so cute!

This is the first time that Trev has had a real lead and he was so good!

And yeah I'm super biased cuz he's my baby brother

but still, he was super good and hilarious!

I got to wear one of my maternity shirts to the show

which was nice and everyone was touching the belly

and telling me how happy they were for me

(AYT is practically family BTW).

That's the first time people have touched the belly other than my brother

that's obsessed with becoming an uncle hahahaha

so it was kinda nice that more people are excited for us ;)

I know I've mentioned this before,

but I am so grateful for my amazing husband.

He is such a comfort to me when I'm not feeling well,

and he takes such great care of me ;)

And my family is just such a great support system for us

and we can't wait to add to our little family ;)

Q & A sesh

2011-11-15T07:57:00.000-08:00

I'm so thrilled that my first Q & A got such a great response!

Like I said, you guys are the greatest!

And now I will answer your brilliant questions ;)

If you could have ANY job what would it be?

Wow, ANY job? I would love to be brave enough to be Indiana Jonesette ;)

Can't ya just see me with a whip??

If you could visit any place in the world - money and time no object -

where would you go and why?

I have always wanted to tour all of Europe.

And I do mean ALL of Europe,

every little country and fill my passport with pretty stamps ;)

What baby names do you like so far?

Normally, I wouldn't write these,

but family already knows and we've had these planned for a long time!

Girl - Aurora Rose (nickname Rory)

Boy - Benjamin Ryan (nickname Ben)

What are your thought about epidural vs natural birth?

Um....get me the drugs!

I'm a total wimp and have HUGE respect for women that can birth naturally

Kudos my friends, kudos!

Have you found any fun books about pregnancy yet?

Not yet, honestly though I haven't been looking quite yet,

so if anyone has one I should try PLEASE comment below!

How long have you been a blogger and do you have any advice?

I've been blogging for 3 years this December

(holy wow time flies!)

and my main advice is:

write what YOU want, it's YOUR blog after all ;)

Don't get too caught up with feeling like you need to write everyday,

or link up with every linky party in the world,

all the crazy giveaways, etc.

Just be you!

That's why people read your blog is to get to know you!

Also ignore those negative comments

that every now and then happen.

Don't let it get to you,

I just delete them and move on ;)

You waited for Andrew to come back from his mission right?

What was the hardest part of that time,

and did you go on dates with other guys during that time?

Yes I did wait and it was really hard,

I think the hardest part was just waiting to hear from him.

He went to Argentina so letters and tapes were slow to get back and forth.

But I loved having 2 years of always checking the mail for letters

and sometimes getting 2-3 at a time cuz

they got stuck in the mail system down there ;)

Sometimes it would be months before I got anything,

that was rough.....

Dates........no I didn't date anyone during that time.

(I'm not the best date person apparently)

But I did hang out with friends and do some self-exploration

during those 2 years and learned more about myself and

worked at Disneyland at the end of that ;)

What are you guys doing for your anniversary?

Not a dang clue!

Andrew's in charge hahahahaha

but he says he has a few different sets of plans

all depending on baby behaving or not ;)

I know I'll be going to work that day

(gingerbread houses day in kindergarten)

but other than that it's all a surprise!

(But I do have his gift already heeheehee)

How many children do you guys want?

Depends on who you ask ;)

Andrew says 6 and I say

"Ask me after this one!"

I'm content with as many as Heavenly Father decides to bestow

upon us but we're not gonna go crazy like the Duggars or anything!

(20 kids! Yikes!!!!)

Thanks so much for your questions!

If you have anymore,

you can comment below or email me and I'll answer them ;)

Oh gosh!!

2011-11-14T13:03:00.001-08:00

Oh gosh guys have you seen this?????

I LOVE these books and I'm oober oober oober excited for the movie!

It looks like it'll be amazing!!

AHHHHH!

Anyone else freaking out at it's awesomeness??

BTW if you haven't read the Hunger Games,

get on that train!!

I'm telling you they're great reads!

Sundays

2011-11-13T15:27:00.001-08:00

SO the baby has been making me really really sick for the past few days

which means a lot of resting on the couch,

walking around outside for a little,

(I have to exercise for the peanut)

then back to resting.

And today we had our Primary Program,

and the kids did great!

Really really great actually ;)

I was so proud of them and they stayed in their chairs too!

So when we got home,

Andrew put some dishes in to wash,

and started to make dinner for us.

He's such a great man.

I mean especially since I've been so not myself

since we got pregnant and feeling so gross.

He is a saint!

Gives me massages on my sore legs,

and helps me with the smelly trash

and other such nonsense ;)

I love him so much and I know he'll be a great father

to our baby ;)

He also lets me watch whatever movie I'm

in the mood for, including Christmas movies,

which he doesn't like before Thanksgiving.

Doesn't that prove how much he loves me?? ;)

I've been writing down all the wonderful things

Andrew does so that our children know how amazing

their father is ;)

I couldn't have asked for a better husband and best friend ;)

11:11, 11/11/11

2011-11-11T10:05:00.001-08:00

So this is a cool day ;)

Make sure you make your wish at 11:11!

As for me,

it's more packing, packing, and taking it slow ;)

Hope you all enjoy your day off work and Happy Veteran's Day!

P.S. Go here to ask me any questions you feel like! ;)

My Followers

2011-11-10T11:34:00.001-08:00

I know that I have the best followers of all time! ;)

You guys always make me feel better

when I feel so lonely, or sick, or just needing to vent.

So I've been thinking that maybe I would do a Q & A

with my followers!

I've never done one before but I thought it'd be fun!

So you can ask me anything about:

blog, baby, hubs, me, Disneyland, etc ;)

So let's do it this way,

comment below with your question

or questions you are more than welcome to ask more than one ;)

and then I'll answer as many as I can!

The Miracle

2011-11-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

Ok sorry for the absence friends,

it's been a little hectic the past couple days and honestly,

I've been super exhausted!

So we had our Dr appointment yesterday and we saw the baby!!

It's so little!!

I had this overwhelming sense of awe though when we saw the heartbeat

fluttering and realized that we helped create that miracle!

My doctor is amazing and he kept me calm,

and at ease.

(or at least in as much ease as those kind of appointment will allow)

He checked for twins, triplets, quads, etc

and there's only one

(whew!)

Not that I wouldn't love multiples but I'm good with one to start off ;)

I'm officially 9 weeks along

(I'll be 10 weeks on Sunday,

yeah the countdown at the top is off a bit)

and due in June!!

I'm so excited and feel so blessed to have this

great gift as well as a husband that deals with my even crazier

pregnant self and my cravings hahahahaha

So here's the peanut:

Yep that's all ours!!! ;)

I can't wait to see them grow

and find out what we're having!

(should find out about January ish)

Ahhhhhh! I'm gonna be a mom!!!

Weekend wonders

2011-11-06T09:22:00.000-08:00

I know I've mentioned the amazing weather finally coming to AZ,

ad I'll say it again:

IT'S AMAZING!!!

Ok so yesterday I spent the day at home

(I know, I was supposed to go shopping,

but a fever and slight flu bug kept me home)

with the windows open

watching The Grinch and White Christmas

and listening to Christmas music ;)

Had to do it when the hubs wasn't home though cuz he's one of those people

that hates Christmas music before Thanksgiving

but he loves me anyways ;)

I even did some online Christmas shopping done!

Woot!

And today,

again windows open,

but watching Tangled

and later tonight it's my birthday dinner with my family

(lasagna!!!!!! my favorite)

Any fun adventures you're doing this weekend??

Hope you all have a great Sunday!

P.S. make sure you check who the winners are from the giveaways!

Winner winner chicken dinner!

2011-11-05T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ok not really a chicken dinner but it's time to announce the winners for the

Birthday Week of Giveaways!

I know, you've all been dying to know right?? ;)

I pulled every winner out of my cutest hat:

So let us begin!

the winner of the mini photo session with Noelle is:

Whitney from Writing on a Whim!

The winner of this lovely frame made by Miss Holly:

Carlie from Life...Full of Stories!

Winner of the Scentsy Circles from Miss Kassi:

Cara from Life According to Us!

Winner of this adorable ear warmer from Miss Emma:

Kassi from Truly Lovely!!

Winner of the mini session of photos from Miss Perla:

Anna Banana from The Lone Banana!

And lastly:

Winner of my mega birthday giveaway:

Kaycie from Redhead Memories!!

Thank you guys so much for participating!!

Winners please email me your info so these amazing ladies can

get your prizes out to you!

abowler.88@gmail.com

My 3 year blogiversary (sp?)

is coming up in December,

would anyone want to do another week of giveaways like this??

Did you enjoy it??

TGIF TGIF!

2011-11-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Oh my lovelies I'm SOOO happy it's Friday!

Means I get to sleep in tomorrow and Sunday!

Baby really likes to sleep hahahaha

AND Fridays are my early days off of work ;)

And even more, I get to go shopping on Saturday for new clothes!

YES!

I'll do my best to document the cute things I find!

And I'm hoping Andrew will let me buy that Christmas tree at Target ;)

With 3 huge boxes full of ornaments I need a tree!

What are you up to this weekend??

Today's the last day to enter the giveaways!!!
Click the picture on the top of the sidebar!
Winners will be chosen tomorrow! ;)

Looking Forward

2011-11-03T16:59:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE this time of year.

And by that I mean, the holidays ;)

The weather is finally cooling down here in AZ

(Hallelujah!)

and it's lots of time to spend with our families ;)

That's the best part,

spending time with the ones that matter most.

I love family time.

Reminiscing about old times,

looking forward to the new times to come.

Feeling the family love and the craziness

that the holidays bring.

One of the best traditions we do is called

"the shoe elf".

Now it starts in December

but it's still awesome!

So every night you put out one shoe by your door,

and when you wake up in the morning there's a piece of candy

or little trinket inside!

We use leftover Halloween candy to supply the shoe elf ;)

I cannot WAIT to do this with my own kids ;)

Do you have any fun traditions for the holidays??

And I think I might actually take pictures

of all our family events or at least hopefully ;)

Pack the boxes, pack the boxes

2011-11-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

So as I'm packing up the apartment

(to move next door - a whole 20 feet ish)

I'm finding all kinds of goodies hahahahaha

Including:

- food in the couch (as always)

- books I thought we'd lost

- little trinkets that had fallen without my knowledge

- Disney pins I thought I'd lost

and a little bit more

Remember when I re-organized the closets?

Luckily then I also found lots of goodies and got rid of some unnecessary junk.

And now I'm able to get rid of even more!

I hate clutter and unfortunately when I'm sick

I get lazy and don't clean as well as I should and piles get everywhere.

It's been super hard to pack sometimes cuz of the nausea.

I get frustrated with myslef cuz I can't do as much as I used to,

but then I remember why and I'm ok with it ;)

A child is always worth it in my opinion.

But I will remind this child of all the annoyances they caused me

hahahahahaha

just as my parents do to me all the time ;)

In a good way!

My parents are great people,

I promise they just tease all three of us about our "horror" stories

so that is something I will be passing on to my kids hahahaha.

Ok now I have to stop procrastinating the inevitable

and go pack some more.......

this means watching Christmas movies since Andrew's at work!

Heeheeheehee I'm so sneaky!

P.S. enter the giveaways!

and P.P.S. look what I found at Old Navy!

Baby baby baby oh!

2011-11-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

My little peanut is a little high maintenance

and it's hard to push through work sometimes

(the kids are all super excited for me and they know to always give me water

hahahahaha)

but now all I want to do is shop shop shop!

For me and peanut!

I love all the cute things that are out there for mamas!

And of course, my baby will probably be better dressed than I will

hahahahaha ;)

Now first off,

why are all the models so stinkin skinny!?

The majority of women that I know that have been preggo,

are slightly bloated and a little bigger than a stick....

me included!!

Anyways!

The kinda weird thing about my pregnancy is that I'm

due in June so I'll be preggo all through winter AND summer!

So I need summer and winter maternity clothes hahahaha

but hey that just means more new things for me ;)

My family has next Halloween already planned

to include the about 3-4 month old baby

hahahahahahaha

my brothers are both SOOO excited to be uncles

especially since Nick will come home about 3 months after the baby's born

and he plans on stealing our child for a long time hahahaha

We're also hoping that we can hold off the baby blessing so

Nick can be involved in all the festivities ;)

I'm so excited about this little peanut

and terrified all at the same time ;)

Isn't that "normal" for a new soon-to-be-parent?

P.S. Can you believe it's NOVEMBER already!?

Holy cow!!

That means Christmas is NEXT month!!!

Can you feel my excitememt!?

I'm planning on buying this:

Since we will now finally have room in the new apartment ;)

Don't forget to enter the giveaways!

(click the button on the sidebar and they're all there)

Interesting......

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

I was watching the news the other day and heard about this

lawmaker in Connecticut that wants to

change the date of Halloween!

He wants to change it from the 31st

to the last Saturday of October.

Um.......ok?

His reasons behind it are legit:

It's harder to do everything on a school night

since you have to deal with getting the kids from school,

eating dinner,

getting them ready,

and get them to bed at a decent hour

before they have too much candy.

But to change Halloween?

It's always been on the 31st......

and personally, I've already had to contend with Halloween

since my birthday is so close to it.

I don't want it to become Halloween.

I understand the concept,

easier for families if it's on a weekend.

But I mean, really...changing the date??

Your thoughts??

P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaways!!

Christmas Picture help!!

2011-10-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for the birthday wishes and the congratulations ;)

I feel so blessed because of my bloggy friends.

And family, and hubs of course ;)

Ok I know Halloween is on Monday,

but I'm already planning Christmas cards

cuz we're moving apartments Dec 1st so I gotta get em

done like NOW!

This is the card I love the most

from Shutterfly:

Only this picture doesn't really fit the whole

Christmas feel......

So bloggy friends,

who wants to take our Christmas pictures for brownies?

Or cake?

Or cookies?

I'm super broke hahahaha

especially now that we have a baby coming

but I can barter like no other ;)

Anyone??

Anyone else thinking early for Christmas?

I know, I'm slightly a freak but Christmas is my favorite!! ;)

Week of Giveaways!

2011-10-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

SO today is my official birthday ;)

Yes, I am now the big 2-3 ;)

Honestly doesn't really feel any different from 22 but ya know,

it's one year older "and wiser too" BAH!

I should be wiser shouldn't I??

Hahahahahaha

I hope you all have enjoyed the week of giveaways!

And now I have a slightly huge announcement to make

before I tell you MY giveaway I'm gonna do for you ;)

So remember when I was sick?

I have a pretty legit reason for being so sick all the time. ;)

Yeah, I'm pregnant!!! ;) ;) ;)

All of you know how much I've been baby hungry and hoping

and we've been trying, and now it's happening!

I'm about 8 weeks along and nauseous all the time

but I've been able to find a few things that sometimes help me survive

hahahahahaha

This little peanut is just a little high maintenance

but I couldn't be happier nor could Andrew ;)

I have my doctor's appointment on the 8th

so then I'll feel a little more secure in this whole future mother thing ;)

Ok, so now onto the final giveaway!!

I'm going to give away a set of my favorite Disney CDs!

Has all the classic songs from a TON of the movies

along with the History of Disneyland CDs

and one of my favorite book series of all time:

Yes, all of the Chronicles of Narnia books ;)

I'm a huge fan of C.S. Lewis' world he created here,

and for the lessons he taught us sometimes without us even knowing.

Now the version of Narnia is one that has all

the books combined into one big book,

and it's FROM ME.

So it's slightly worn but there will even be a love note inside ;)

and finally

a $15 Jamba Juice card!!

Ok so to enter:

- be one of my followers

(I love meeting new peeps)

and tell me your favorite childhood memory ;)

Extra Entries:

- tweet about the giveaway

- blog about the giveaway

- follow me on Twitter

- follow me via BlogLovin

Week of Giveaways!

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ok ladies another great giveaway!

I love giving things away!!

Meet Perla,

one of my friends from high school and church.

She married her best friend last year in November

and she's expecting their first child

in May of next year!

She did our pictures for us in May

see here

Here's Perla!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey all!

I am giving away a free mini session which includes:

a 45 minute session for up to 5 people

in a location of their choice that's in the Mesa/Tempe area

and that'll include with a disc of all the images and at least 25 edited.

I have been doing photography for a few years and I love it.

It's my passion and I have studied it at school since I was in junior high school.

I started out because my friends knew I was into photography

and they would ask me to help them out with events or whenever they needed pictures done.

I met Ali through high school and we reconnected

after graduation through the blog world and Facebook.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So to enter:

- follow my blog

and tell me what you would use the photo session for ;)

Extra Entries:

- follow Perla's Photo Blog

- add Perla's photo button to your sidebar

- tweet about the giveaway

(and leave the link below)

- "like" Perla's page on FB

and leave a comment on your favorite picture

Welcome fall welcome!!

2011-10-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

Autumn autumn autumn....

doesn't really exist here in the valley of Arizona

well actually I guess sometimes it does ;)

The fall starts here right about now-ish,

which means it's time for my birthday,

and then my husband's favorite holiday,

Thanksgiving ;)

Makes me want to wear:

and attempt to make:

Yeah it makes me SOOO ready for Christmas! ;)

Welcome all you newbies and leave me a comment so I can follow you back!

Here's a little getting to know me post you can read too ;)

And if you wish I have a BUNCH of giveaways

happening this week for my birthday!

Just click on the giveaway label on the side!

Week of Giveaways!

2011-10-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Who's having a ball??

I am!!

And I have more still to come!! ;)

I know, you love me right??

Meet Emma!

She's the next wonderful lady for giveaways!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Happy Birthday Ali!! :]

I'm so excited to be participating in Ali's Birthday Giveaway Week!

My name is Emma and I blog over at Race & Emma.

I blog about adventures with my husband and just random things about everyday life.

I started blogging to share the newlywed life with Race

and my family and then it turned into a wonderful place where I could meet new people,

make friends, and relate with people all over the world who are just like me.

Ali is one of those people that I met through blogland {pretty} recently.

I love Ali's blog and her love of Disney!

And I must say that I'm just a little bit jealous that she got proposed to at Disneyland! :]

Happy Birthday Ali and thanks for hosting such a fun week of giveaways!

{I'm hoping to win some of the ones that aren't mine...teehee!}

Now to my giveaway!! :]

I have recently been crafting/sewing it up over at Race & Emma.

All thanks to the wonderful !

So today I am giving away adorable earwarmers that I made following a Pinterest pattern!

This one to be exact:

Source: None via Emma on Pinterest

Now here are my versions of these wonderful earwarmers!

These are made out of thermal shirt fabric and normal shirt fabric.

{The top one is lined with thermal shirt fabric for extra warmth}.

The flowers are made out of the same fabric and then there is a cute button to

secure it around your head.

Cute, eh?!

I was pretty excited about these and I wear them just about every day.

They are cute, comfy, and warm!

Perfect for fall/wintertime!

Oh, and in case you didn't notice you can wear them with your hair up or down.

They're cute either way!

{Although one way does make you look a little bit more like a gangster/hippy}.

Now, I thought that it would be super fun if you got to choose the color of yours.

So, I have lots of shirts and fabrics that you can choose from!

You can either choose a fabric and a shirt

{to line the earwarmers}

or you can just choose a shirt color that you like and I'll make it out of that!

Or any other variation you can think of that would be fun!

Here are some of the colors of shirts

{FYI: the shirts have never been worn. I buy shirts on clearance for projects just like this! :]}

and fabrics that I have:

Start dreaming of what you want your comfy, cute earwarmers to look like!

Thanks for letting me be a part of your Birthday Giveaway Week Ali!

It has been so much fun!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Love her!

To enter:

- follow my blog

and tell me your favorite fall article of clothing

- follow Emma's blog

- tweet about the giveaway

- blog or facebook about the giveaway

Don't forget to enter the other giveaways
here here and here

Week of Giveaways!

2011-10-26T07:00:00.001-07:00

Are you having fun yet??

Didn't I tell you these ladies were amazing?

And today is no exception!

We have Miss Kassi here today!

She's a fellow AZ newlywed

and I'm ashamed to say that we have still not met in person!

(I hang my head now)

Without further ado,

Kassi!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello dolls!!! How about some FREE SCENTSY!!!
Happiest of Birthday weeks to Miss Ali, first of course! ;)
Ali is a lovely bloggie friend that I sincerely hope to meet in real life one day...
Since we live in the same state and all... haha.

My name is Kassi and I sell Scentsy! See... :)

I have been an Independent Scentsy Consultant since May 2008.
It is something I truly enjoy and LOVE sharing with others!

That's me! :)

The winner of this giveaway will receive THREE Scentsy Scent Circles
from my Scentsy inventory!

Scent Circles are a lovely smelling Scentsy logo with an elastic cord, to hang in your car, closet, lockers...

Pretty much anywhere you'd like to smell nice!

Scent Circles

TO ENTER the GIVEAWAY:

Please leave a comment including any related links for each entry you complete below.

And share your email address if it's not already connected to your account.

Sorry peeps, only open to U.S. residents.

1. Follow Our Happily Ever After via GFC

2. Like Kassi Sells Scentsy's Facebook page and leave a wall comment that Ali sent you

3. Check out Kassi's website and leave a comment here with what
three scents you might like

4. Share this giveaway on Facebook, twitter, or on your blog. One entry for each.
Please provide a link.

Example tweet,

"I #entered to #win some sweet smelling scents from the girls at @kassarie and @MrsAliMills http://crazyaligirl.blogspot.com"

If you can't wait and want to order some Scentsy ASAP please visit my Scentsy website here to place an order.

We ship anywhere in the U.S!
{Christmas is coming up... wink wink!}
By the way, I blogs over at Truly Lovely!
Hope you'll pop over and say hi there as well! :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Isn't she the greatest?

I love her, and so will you ;)

Good luck!

You have until November 5th to enter!!!

Week of Giveaways!

2011-10-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here's for day two of the week of giveaways!!

I'm super excited for you gouys to meet Holly.

She's a great new blog friend I've made through the blog-o-sphere ;)

Take it away Holly!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's Holly here from Eight Six Eleven.

First and foremost, I'd like to wish the always gorgeous Ali a very happy birthday week!

I love that Ali is celebrating her birthday week with some cool giveaways for all her readers.

I started my blog, Eight Six Eleven, in August of this year and I'm addicted!
I love sharing my thoughts, creativity and photography.
I began blogging because I was beginning a new chapter in my life.
One that included a husband, a house and dogs.
I thought blogging would be the perfect way to document all of the crazy adventures
that are sure to follow since my husband and I tied the knot.
And not only have I been able to share this with the world,
but I've also gained a group of supportive and lovely readers.

While my blog consists of a variety of topics,

one thing you may notice is my love of DIY, re-purposing and crafting.

That is why I decided to make one of my favorite crafts for Ali's giveaway.

I love framing words and sayings.

Such a simple thought yet such a powerful meaning.

For the giveaway, I have made one 5" x 7" frame with the words "love the life you live" in vinyl.

I fancied the frame up by adding three felt flowers,

complete with rhinestones and studs in the center.

I hope this little reminder can give the lucky winner some big inspiration!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Isn't it amazing!?

I fell in love with the frame when she first sent it to me!

To Enter:
- be a follower of Our Happily Ever After
- tell me your favorite quote

Extra Entries:
- follow Holly's blog
- tweet about the giveaway
- blog about the giveaway
(please leave the link below if you do)

SO cute!

You have until November 5th to enter!
Enter this one too!!

Week of Giveaways!

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ok y'all!!

Who's ready for some great giveaways this week???

I am!

I'm so jealous cuz I can't enter any of them,

and they are amazing!

To start it all off is a friend of mine, Noelle the photographer ;)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi! I'm Noelle and I'm a wife, mom, and photographer.

photo credit Elise Lara

Ali and I have been friends since we were 16!

The first time I met her was basically a wave across the lunch room
at Westwood High School in the middle of sophomore year.
But then junior year we had about half of our classes together
and we have been close ever since.

I've carried the family camera around since I was about ten.
In high school I took my first darkroom photography class and I was hooked.
If you ever get an opportunity to work in a darkroom TAKE IT.
You will thank me later.
Seriously.
Senior year I took photography at MCC and then I took it at ASU.
I always loved the darkroom but I knew I would be going digital
because I wanted to have a portrait business.

I have now been officially in business since 2008 as Noelle Lara Photography
and I love that I get paid to do something I love
and I still get to be a Stay-At-Home Mom.

For Ali's upcoming birthday I am giving away a mini-photoshoot!

This can be babies,
high school senior,
couples/engagement,
or families (small fee if more than 10 people).
Session will include about an hour of shooting,
and a disc of all retouched images.

Want to earn extra entries?
Blog or Facebook post about my giveaway--including my button
--become a follower of my website.
Leave a comment below for each telling Ali what you did.
That is up to 4 entries per person.

View my Website here and my Facebook page here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So jealous of you lucky loves!!!

Noelle is great!

Now since she is a stay-at-home mom,

she can only travel within 20 miles of her home

before she would need travel compensation

but if you're willing to travel down

here still enter!!!

Don't forget:

- follow Noelle's site

- Blog about the giveaway

- add Noelle's photo button to your blog sidebar
- Facebook about the giveaway

You have until November 5th to enter!!

The Weekend

2011-10-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Weekend everyone!

I'm getting some much needed R&R,

and spending time with the hubs.

Thank you all for being so supportive,
I just had a rough patch to go through at work,
but it's all good now ;)
You guys are the best!!

Much loves to you my lovelies!

Starting Monday is my Birthday Week of Giveaways!

Make sure you come check it out!!

Drama

2011-10-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Drama is unnecessary.

And hurtful.

And ridiculous.

That is all.

New place, new ideas

2011-10-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the get better wishes ;)

I appreciate it muchly ;)

I've been daydreaming about my new apartment

and how I'm gonna decorate it ;)

The second bedroom is gonna be a great new addition

and gives me more space to do more with ;)

I'm looking forward to hanging up more of my Disney lithographs,

and making curtains for each room,

etc.

I wanna be all homey and such ;)

Any ideas for me??

I've....

2011-10-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

Been so sick my peeps.....

for the past week it's been really bad and today

I couldn't get up without feeling like I'll lose everything in my stomach....ugh

Wish me luck and send feel better fairies ok?? ;)

The week in retrospect

2011-10-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

So this week has been my one week off before Christmas

and it has been heavenly.

I've actually slept (this is a big deal folks).

We got our lease figured out and we'll only be moving next door

but it IS a two-bedroom unit!

Hallelujah!

I can't tell you how excited we are!

Especially since the move is only one unit over ;)

Perfect!

We finally got our garbage disposal fixed,

only to have the dishwasher start smelling like what the

garbage disposal USED to smell like....

hahahahahaha oh life you slay me.

But that will be fixed today or tomorrow cuz I cannot handle the smell!

Kinda makes me nauseous,

granted I've been sick most of the week

(hence the sleeping hahahaha)

so anything makes me nauseous hahahahaha

Anyways,

I wanted to be all cool and do fun crazy things,

and I did go to Disneyland so that counted for my week I think ;)

I even got myself a Birthday button at Disneyland

even tho my birthday isn't til the 29th.

Yeah I'm that cool! ;)

Anything fun happen to you this week??

Noquis!

2011-10-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ok so remember the noquis the hubs made a little bit ago?

Well I finally got the pictures off my camera to show you all how

we made them.

Now these pictures are only after the dough was made

and no pictures of the sauce

but it's still good things to know if you ever make your own pasta ;)

Recipe for dough:

- 3 lbs potatoes, mashed

- 4-5 TBSP oil
- add salt
- 2 eggs
-add 1 1/2-2 cups flour, fold in more until doughlike

So after thoroughly flouring the counter

Hello there!

Roll out some in about 1" ovals

If too sticky, add more flour,

basically you'll use a freaking ton of flour!

Then roll it upwards on an upside down fork,

creating some lines across the pasta.

Line some baking sheets with tin foil,

and put your noquis on it

Like so ;)

After you finish all of your dough,

place a towel over them and leave out on the counter.

If you put them in the fridge,

put them in a tupperware with a tight lid ;)

To cook the pasta:
Boil water and plop in the ovals.
Keep in the water til they float to the top of the water ;)

Disneyland!

2011-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

So my mom and I went to Disneyland on Monday for about 8 hours,

and we had a blast!

We had three goals:

- Little Mermaid ride

- Soarin Over California

- Star Tours

and we acheived them in about 3 hours hahahahaha

and then we had to figure out what to do!

So we mostly walked around just soaking in the magical atmosphere

and of course went on Peter Pan and the train ;)

BTW Star Tours was AMAZING!!!

I loved it so much!!

Still had the lovable cheese of the old ride, but with much better

effects and the speeder actually moves like it should hahahaha ;)

We LOVED our hotel!

I didn't take any pictures of it of course cuz we went straight to bed

when we got back from the Park hahahahaha

But we stayed in the Hilton Anaheim and got a breakfst buffet also.

They did a deal where you could pay $10 extra

for two breakfasts so we totally did!

And it was a TON of food!

I was still stuffed all through our trip home!

Now a trip to Cali would not be complete

without visiting Tito's Tacos in Culver City.

It's about an hour away form Anaheim

but only 10 min from my grandparents' old house

and they have the BEST bean and cheese burritos on the planet!

And their chips and salsa - to die for!

We also stopped by Diddy Riese in Westwood

for their amazing cookies

(only .35 each! And 3.75 a dozen!)

But I didn't get a picture cuz I had t jump out and get our cookies

and then jump back in the car

(no parking hahahaha)

Overall, awesome trip and we had a blast!

So glad we were able to get out of town and re-charge our batteries ;)

What is love?

2011-10-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to write about how Andrew and I share our crazy stupid love for each other

but couldn't really think how to put it in words.

So bare with me while I try ;)

Love is:

- cooking together in our tiny kitchen

- watching movies together while snuggling on the couch

- me leaving post-it notes all over the apartment

for him to find when he gets home from school

- when I'm feeling gross and Andrew just holds me

or makes me toast ;)

- our mutual obsession with Dr Pepper

- when we banter with each other

- reading scriptures and praying together every night

- reading our books in bed before falling asleep

- knowing what the other is thinking without any words

- enjoying each other's nerdiness

- hearing "sweetheart" every day

- planning our future and knowing that we'll get through anything

and everything together ;)

Have you ever?

2011-10-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

Have you ever watched a movie, TV show, or play

where you feel embarrassed FOR someone??

Or just feel super awkward because everything in the situation is just that wrong?

Or want to jump into the story to "fix" things?

Or am I the only one that feels like this sometimes? ;)

P.S. I still need 2 peeps for my brithday giveaway!!
Anyone Anyone??
PLEASE!

Hoildays are a-comin!

2011-10-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

This turn of the weather is amazing here in Arizona ;)

It's 76 degrees and windy ;)

Starting to feel like the holidays are a-comin ;)

(I even sang "It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas"

and Andrew said, "No it's NOT! Not til Thanksgiving ends!")

This weather makes me want to do many things all at once,

dance a jig,

drink hot chocolate,

watch Christmas movies,

cook a turkey,

snuggle with a book in a blanket,

wear boots constantly,

and sweaters or cardys.

What makes you happy when weather is pleasant? ;)

A surprise

2011-10-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

So next week is October Break for me.

Which means a whole week off from work!

Can I get a HALLELUJAH!?

And we knew that we couldn't really go anywhere

and that was ok.

Well a little disapointing cuz I want a vacay but ya know,

it's all good when we need to eat hahahaha

So then my mom called me last week and said

"I found a hotel for cheap, can we go to Disneyland for a day??"

My answer

"I'll start packing now!"

So my wonderful amazing mom and I

are taking a brief break from reality

and going to the land of magic on Monday!!

I am soooooooooooo excited!

First, to go on the new Star Tours!!

(multiple times if we can manage it)

And Little Mermaid,

Soarin Over California,

and maybe Haunted Mansion ;)

Oh Mickey I have missed you and I can't wait to go home! ;)

P.S. I have 3 amazing ladies that are going to help in my birthday week of giveaways,

anyone else want to??

Doesn't have to be anything fancy,

just something you love and want to share with my wonderful readers! ;)

Comment here or email me!

(abowler.88@gmail.com)

House/Home/Apartment/Townhome

2011-10-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

Our lease is up in a month,

so we've been lookig to see if we should stay in our complex,

or possibly move somewhere else.

Then last night, while Andrew was at work,

he met a realtor couple,

and so we thought we'd at least LOOK to see about the possibility of a house.

It's pretty much probably not gonna happen,

but it helps looking so we know what to expect

when we are able to be home buyers.

Or if by some miracle we can afford a small little piece of heaven

then the angels will be singing their praises ;)

Wish us luck as we try to figure out what to do as our lease

is coming up

and if you have any ideas, I would lve you all the more for them! ;)

"Traffic"

2011-10-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

Ok I've had some people say that I get a ton of traffic here,

and judging by the amount of pageviews yes I do,

but shall I tell you why?

Yes, yes I shall.

This post

and the search words are:

"tangled"

"Star wars"

"Pascal"

"Rapunzel"

"Dr Pepper"

"disney fantasia"

"disney tangled"

"disneyland space mountain"

"pascal chameleon"

and

"Lauren Brimley"

(no idea on that last one.....)

So has anyone noticed that they have NOTHING

to do with me??

Hahahahahaha but hey that's ok ;)

So I want everyone to know that

I'M not the popular one.....

Disney and George Lucas are hahahaha

P.S. Speaking of Disney,

I'm picking up this tomorrow after work!

KKKKKEEEEE!
(that was me doing a heel-click)

Can ya tell I'm excited?!?!

(just one more thing people will search for now hahahaha)

I'm over here!

2011-10-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

I'm helping host a birthday giveaway!!

It''s Mrs. Kassie's birthday today

so she's doing a giveaway,

and it's amazing!

So many beautiful things!

Go enter!

Ucky ucky

2011-10-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling sick the past few days

(no I'm not preganant, sorry guys)

so I've been a little anti-social and staying home even more often than normal.

But you know what that means??

More Psych on NetFlix

Andrew finding the Jackie Chan cartoon

also on NetFlix

Finishing the Harry Potter books finally

and best of all is getting foot massages from my hubs

when I ask or need it.

Now to take a hot shower....

Trip down memory lane

2011-10-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

And I'm taking you with me ;)

It's been over a year since I "graduated" from Disney U

(and yes, that really does exist)

So I wanted to re-live some of my favorite moments

with my family while we were at the park!

The first time they came to visit ;)

He was being all dramatic while we waited for Capt. EO

In the Animation Studio

My adorable parents ;)

My brother captured this cameo moment...

A true Bowler sibling picture.

The weirdest face you can do in a second's notice ;)

World of Color!

I love this show!

So imaginative and awesome!

Where Andrew proposed ;)

Nick really wanted to get in on the action....

or something....

He also really likes his frozen lemonade hahaha

He was asking me really dumb questions hahahaha

Yes that is me building lightsabers with the children ;)

At my "graduation"

(do you see my long lucious locks??

Yeah I miss them!)

I received my "Duck"erate

and two "Mouseter's" degrees ;)

I loved my time at Disneyland and especially spending time with my family

and getting proposed to ;)

Yeah that was pretty great too!

And thanks for humoring me and

taking a trip down memory lane with me!!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Mwa!