Happy weekend.

i'll be super busy this weekend.  john's family from san diego is here for his cousin's wedding on saturday.  and sunday is my aunt's birthday.  we've been spoiled with pretty stellar weather these last couple of days, but the forecast is predicting rain...boo...

i'll leave you with a few photos i took this week of a dish i made: crock pot teriyaki chicken.  i got the recipe from lake lure cottage kitchen.  i used chicken breasts and omitted the cornstarch because i didn't have any in my pantry.  it was bangin'.  and super easy to make.  the husband ate 2 chicken breasts in 1 sitting!  since i've rediscovered my crock pot, stay tuned for more recipes that i'll be trying.

my trusty, red crock pot.  thanks cousin for buying me one =)

yes, that's raw chicken.

the ingredients.  the recipe called for ginger and garlic separately.
but i had a jar in my fridge that conveniently minced both ingredients
for me.

this is what the sauce looked like before i poured it over the chicken.

sauce + chicken

the recipe said to cook it on low for 4 hours.  but i knew we wouldn't
be able to wait that long for lunch.
so i cooked it on high for 3 hours and it turned out just fine.

i simmered the sauce for 15 minutes with the hope that it would get thicker.
no such luck.  the cornstarch would've been a nice addition. 

this is my plate. i ate mine with a little brown rice and some raw spinach.
totally healthy and delicious.

have a great weekend friends!

Weeks or months?

before i was pregnant, i never understood why women would say 24 weeks.  why not say 6 months?!  or 28 weeks.  why not just say 7 months?!  it almost annoyed me.  but i think i get it now.  our bodies change so quickly each week that we, or at least i, track my own pregnancy journey week by week.  actually, sometimes day by day.  i swear there's always somethin' new happening to my body that's foreign/weird/kinda gross/amazing...you get the picture.  anyways, i just thought i'd shed some light on this ever so important subject of stating a woman's pregnancy progress in weeks vs months ;-)

i'm thinking that's why when you ask a mom how old her child is she'll say 14 months, or 18 months, or whatever their child's age is in months.  this puzzled me as well, before i became pregnant.  but i'm thinking now about it, and it's probably because babies grow so fast and are developing and changing so quickly that from 12 months, their child can be totally different at 14 months.  am i right moms?

and now, because it's my blog and i can post whatever i want...even if it's totally unrelated...i'll leave you with a few no a lot of photos of my 2 lovable rugrats at the park.

even if this photo of bubba is overexposed, i had to include it b/c
he's too stinkin' cute. 

again, i don't care about bubba practically glowing.  he's too adorable.

while bubba takes the cake for being cute.  my joey biscuit is just so handsome.

he's blind, so he's constantly sniffing the ground.

my jojo in action.

aah yes, a shot with both of them together. 

hehe, you get to see jojo's white booty.

handsome i tell you.  handsome.

don't let bubba fool you.  he's no puppy, even tho he looks like one.

anyone who has walked my dogs knows this about jojo.  at any given
notice, he will just sit.

it can be a bit annoying and embarrassing if others are around.  it sometimes
comes to the point where i have to carry him home.
oh well...i'll do it, because i love him.

all 3 of us were just trying to enjoy our last few days of fall before it starts to rain.  and as a closure, i'll leave you with this photo.

thank goodness i can still see my toes!

26 week baby bump.

shall we recap first?

24 weeks

and now for this week's photo.

26 weeks

yesterday, john, my mom, and i took a tour of the maternity unit at the hospital i plan on delivering at.  it's pretty swanky!  seeing where we are going to deliver made it seem that much closer.  baby gabriella, we can't wait!!!

To my mom, happy birthday.

happy 64th birthday to the most beautiful, gracious, stylish, smart, strong, funny, and loving woman i know.  knowing what i know now, this woman is one of a kind.  she worked full time, had a home cooked, delicious meal on the table every single night, dressed like no other mom i knew, and would do anything for my dad, my brother, and myself.  she is a woman that i certainly admire and strive to be like.  she's going to make the best grandmother to baby gabriella, and i know i'm going to be a good mom because i was raised by her.  love you forever mom.  happy birthday.  i can't thank you enough for everything you do for me.

if you're wondering what we did to celebrate her birthday...we ate...yummy korean food at mom's tofu house.  you know me, i just had to take some photos ;-)

i was so excited to dig into this bi bim bop that i forgot to take a picture of it.
trust me, it was delicious.

Camera strap...big deal.

that's what you think.  i've been eyeing a certain black and white camera strap and i finally took the plunge and purchased it a few weeks ago.  low and behold, on a day when john and i are recuperating from a bad cold, a package arrives on my doorstep!  and if i do say so myself, i think this camera strap is cooler than i thought it would be. now i just have to take the plunge and by my nikon 18-200 mm f3.5-5.6 zoom super wide angle lens.

and just in case you were wondering, this is what i do when i'm bored...sit on the floor in my room, in front of my mirror, surrounded by my dogs, and take pictures.  yes, sad but true.

A few old wives tales about pregnancy.

the good news is is that i'm slowly nursing this cold and feeling a lot better today.  the bad news is, is that i think john is now sick.  as i currently type this post, he is beside me and has a scarf around his neck, a beanie on his head, breathe right on his nose, and vicks close by on our nightstand.

i was looking at some photos i took at my friend's baby shower over the weekend and couldn't help but wonder in amazement how each woman "carries" her pregnancy so differently.

I started to google old wives tales about pregnancy and they all made me chuckle.  let's just say, i'm definitely having a girl!  just in case your curious, here's a few of them courtesy of justmommies.com

1. If you're carrying in the front, you're having a boy.  If you're expanding horizontally, you're having a girl.
2. If your fetal heart rate is consistently above 140, you're having a girl.  If you're baby's heart rate is slower, then you're having a boy.
3. Oh cravings...sweets, then it's a girl.  Salty/sour snacks, then you're having a boy.
4. They say a girl steals her mother's beauty.  Having pregnancy acne?  Then a girl it is.  If you have smooth, glowing skin, then it's a boy.
5. If your partner is gaining weight right along with you, then you're having a girl.  If he/she doesn't, then your having a boy.
6. This one's interesting.  If you put your wedding ring on a string and hold it above your pregnant belly...if it swings back and forth, you're having a girl.  If it moves in circles, then it's a boy.

there you have it, some interesting old wives tales about pregnancy and gender predictions.  do you think these urban legends have some truth behind it???