Moose and Charlo!

Day 20: The meaning behind your blog name. Well, I'm Moose. Brian started calling me Moose while we were dating, for two different reasons. The first being that I would often start singing the song Fred the Moose. It's a song I learned at Scout Camp, and I love. It's pretty fun to sing and watch. The second reason that Brian calls me Moose, is because we also used to watch a lot of the TV show Invader Zim. My favorite character is G.I.R. and he always says "I love my moose!" Brian started saying that to me on a regular basis, and thus, my nickname was born.
As far Charlo, its origins are still unknown. It is a mystery that may end up never being solved. But its his nickname and until I come up with something more clever, it will stay that way.

8 3/4 Months Pregnant

Day 19: Another picture of yourself. Well, since I took this picture today, I might as well do another post. I've had a lot of people ask me to prove I'm pregnant. Apparently ultrasound pictures aren't good enough. Wink Wink. But here I am. I'm 39 weeks along and desperately wanting this kid to come.

So Curious!

For the Torres/Bodell baby shower, the theme was Curious George. Stephanie, Brian's cousin, even made a Curious George cake! I had to share some pictures with you, because she did such a fantastic job! She only just started working with fondant and making cakes. I was blown away!

Can you believe how amazing this cake is?

For Paca Bodell

I know Paca Bodell loves to see pictures of his grand kids, so these are posted in honor of him. I have to say, I have the cutest Nephew and Nieces ever. They are so fun to play with. My nieces have started asking me to tell them stories. And I am a terrible story teller, but I love that they like to hear them anyways. We also like to have adventures together. We'll pretend we're on a pirate ship and they will tell me all of the things we can see in the ocean. They usually include a huge octopus, Ariel, Nemo, Nemos Dad, and a turtle. They have some great imaginations and I'm so glad they let me share in that. Hopefully they can teach their cousin to do the same. And my cute nephew? He loves playing with Brian, and Brian loves playing with him! He's definitely going to be a cute Daddy.

Food... Oh how I love thee

Day 18: Something you crave a lot. Now I realise that I skipped Day 17. It's a picture of your family. Considering, we have one that's due any day now, I'll do that after our little Dace has made his fantastic entry. This also means that what I've been craving has a lot to do with Dace. :) I've already shared one of my cravings. The loaded mashed potatoes from Texas Road House are amazing. I could eat those all day long. But here are another couple of things I've been eating way too much of lately... I love Golden Grahams, and all other cereals as well. I have probably 2-3 bowls of cereal every single day. I've been drinking my milk lately too. I may need more calcium in my diet.

At least this one is healthy. I've been craving a lot of different kinds of fruit lately. Apples, Peaches, Grapes, Nectarines, Plums, basically, you name it, I've been craving it and eating it. Good thing most of these are in season and a little bit cheaper right now. :)

And lastly, Breads! Especially ones that just came right out of the oven. Steaming hot loaves of bread, that make your house smell divine. Smith's has a take and bake baguette that is delicious. You just throw it in the oven for 15 or so minutes and you've got a fresh loaf that is perfect for dipping, or just eating. I've been known to eat almost an entire one myself. Fresh baguettes are definitely on my list of learn how to make well.

Waiting for the Waiting Game to End

So far Dace has yet to make his debut and it is driving me crazy. Granted he still has 9 days as you can see from the above countdown my wonderful wife has added to the blog (unless your reading this after the day I posted this, in which case shame on you, Your not reading our blog daily). But he needs to come now because this waiting for two things is KILLING me. And I really hope Dace comes before College Football, cause if he doesn't, I wouldn't see my son for the first 5 months of his life. Okay, maybe a few Mondays and Tuesdays but that's it. Lucky for me, Dace will be making his grand entry a lot sooner then September 1st and though I love football, I wouldn't really ignore my son to watch it (and for those of you that thought I would, I highly recommend never reading this blog as my sense of humor may indeed make you think I am a rotten human being). So since I don't have my boy to hold me over till September 1st, here is another fine video from the people over in the Pac-12 media department that is sure to get you excited for this upcoming season.

Summer Eating

Most the time I ask myself "What am I doing living in Utah?" There are so many things that bug me about this state (primary reason is even though our state is having issues like every other state, our government still takes the time to vote for a "State Gun", I mean really? Read about Utah's newest symbol here http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-18/us/utah.state.firearm_1_wimmer-state-symbols-gary-herbert?_s=PM:US) Sorry for the tangent, but as I was say, "Why do I live here?" Then I remember why as I enjoyed this beautiful summer day off due to Pioneer Day. Since becoming an adult, you don't get to enjoy as many summer days as you did as a kid so you learn to make the most of them. And for me, and my 230 pound body, one of the things that makes summer worth enjoying is food. Not only good tasting food, but the chance to create great summer food. So tonight as dinner rolled around I felt the need to create something that helped make today complete.

When getting in the mood to create a summer dish, there is only one man who can get me in the spirit of summer, so before I "Jump in the kitchen", I made sure to get Harry Belafonte jammin' on the Ipod. So sorry for that bad relation to "Jump in the Line" but you got to miss a few some of the times. Today we had some fresh chicken breast to work with. I was feeling a sandwich was the way we needed to go with this, so after pouring through the kitchen for ideas, I landed on trying a Cilantro Mesquite Ranch Chicken Sandwich. Bangerang Rufio, we had a success. This was the summer sandwich that today was looking for. And to top it off, you had to enjoy the official lemonade of summer, Calypso Lemonade. If you are not drinking it yet, jump on the wagon. With a range of flavors to choose from your sure to find one that you'll fall in love with. For me, it is their Ocean Blue Lemonade, though tonight I decide that Triple Melon Lemonade was the right match for this sandwich. (FYI - I do not work for or am paid to endorse Calypso Lemonade but if the people over at King Juice Company Inc. see the need to send me some free product, I am willing to take my praise to all my social networking, just think about it) And of course what is the point of talking up your food if you don't have the pictures to back it up, so enjoy:

So if you find yourself enjoying a nice summer day this week be sure to add the perfect summer dinner to it, and your favorite summer drink (Which I recommend should be Calypso Lemonade, find out more about them at http://www.kingjuice.com/calemonades.html) Enjoy.

Soon-to-be Leaders of the Pac

I know my wife has a lot on her plate these days, and by that I mean a lot in her tummy, but she is dreading September 1st rolling around. Why? Three simple words, Utah Utes Football! I couldn't be more excited for year one in the Pac-12! Well thats not true because I am more excited for Dace to finally get here (38 weeks along, so anytime in the next month). But with college football being my second love, the next 43 days cannot go fast enough. So here is a little video to hold us over till September rolls in and I am at Rice-Eccles Stadium!

Oh Ryan...

Day 16: Your celebrity crush. This one is easy. Ryan Reynolds. Isn't he just cute?

Ring Ring!

Day 15: Something you don't leave the house without.... I really wish it wasn't true, but I never leave the house without my phone. I hate being tethered to it, but I am. It's become worse since my husband decided to get me a smart phone. Now I can check my email right from it! Oh and I can shop right from it too. I kinda love that. I'm not the biggest fan of shopping unless it's with friends or at Target (I'm addicted to Target), so the fact that I can buy everything on my phone makes me really happy. I can even deposit my check right from it! No more planning my day to fit in a run to the bank. Wow, it really is amazing what phones can do.

Updates

I know it's been a while, so I figure updates are in need. We've had a couple of fun packed weeks, lately. We helped some friends move into their beautiful new home, had a baby shower, spent time with my family for Independence Day, eating and lighting off fireworks.We also got to spend time with our friends from Texas! It was so good to see them! I'm so glad we have such great friends and family that fill our time.

So baby news, we are getting so close to having Dace, it's crazy. 4 weeks? Really? At times it's scary, but mostly just really exciting! I think he's anxious to have more room too. He doesn't sit still for very long. I'm afraid we're going to have a really active little boy. I've been feeling really good for the most part. I'm tired most of the time, but I can deal with that. I feel huge, but everyone keeps saying how small I am. Including my Dr. In fact, she was worried for a bit at how small I am. I kept measuring small, so she had me go in for another ultrasound. I was a little bit nervous. I kept thinking I either did or didn't do something to hurt him. Maybe I forgot my prenatal vitams too many times. Maybe I eat way too much cereal to be healthy. Maybe the boxes I lift at work are too heavy... Anyways, I went into my ultrasound expecting bad news. What I got was not what I was expecting. I'm measuring small, but Dace is measuring big! How? I don't know, but I'm okay with it. They are estimating that he weighed close to 6 pounds at the ultrasound. He's growing fine and everything looks fantastic! I came away with great pictures again. He kept giving us pouty lips. It was so cute! How could I be upset that he scared me with that cute little face? And I think he looks like his daddy. What do you think?

As far as the rest of our month, we'll have Brian's parents in town and are super excited to see them! We haven't seen them since Christmas. I'm really looking forward to spending time with them. I've also got a couple of baby showers coming up. This little boy will be the most spoiled kid on the block if we're not careful! Other than that, we've decided to stay close to home and to the Dr. I really don't want to be caught somewhere unpleasant when Dace decides he's ready to make his appearance. Let's hope for a smooth month!