5 Things I am thankful for.

1. Family. I am thankful for all my family and friends. I can’t say enough about all the good childhood memories I have. I am so very thankful for my parents, Aunt Lynn and Uncle Chod for raising the families together and having so many wonderful traditions. I am thankful for all the things my parents did to provide a loving, caring home during all my years of growing up. I truly cherish all my memories. They make me smile from deep within and continue to fill my heart with love.

I am thankful for Jared, my wonderful husband and best friend for 16 years. With this great relationship I also get to join his family, whom I love dearly and enjoy making new traditions with them. Speaking of new things, I am very thankful for my little baby boy still growing strong in my belly.

2. Health. I am thankful for my health. I am grateful for having such a healthy and enjoyable pregnancy. I am thankful for my love of movement. I enjoy any sport or workout. I just love to move.

3. Job, Shelter and Food. I am thankful to have a job that pays the bills and allows me to live in a house and enjoy daily food. I am grateful for my animals and their unconditional love. I never have to come home to an empty house. There is always smiling faces glad to see me. I am thankful to have a warm and loving home.

4. Music. I am thankful for all the talented people out there that make my soul smile. It can take a frown and turn it up side down. Music makes me feel good. It makes me move and enjoy the moment.

5. Breath. I am thankful for breath. It seems so simple and a staple part of life, but that is just it. It is simple and is the force of life. I am thankful for those moments where breath brings you back to the present moment. Living in the moment and feeling life.

Pure Talent

The other night I came home to a message from my youngest nephew Josiah. He is 5 years old (will be 6 in January) and is in Kindergarten. I had to cut the message down a bit for size, but I am sharing the best part.

Josiah sang me a song that he made up while he was singing it and I love it. Pure talent I must say. I wonder if he is getting this wonderful talent from his Aunt Sheryl.

Thanks for your message Josiah, I love you too! You make me smile and feel loved. I enjoy watching you grow up and seeing your personality shine bright. "I love you the all."

Enjoy – I sure did.

Now Showing "Baby Dreams"

Had another baby dream last night. I was at my friend Kathi’s house and the baby needed changed. As I was carrying him to the changing table, with a half on diaper, a big pile of you know what hit the floor. I don’t know why the diaper was on half way, but it was. It was kind of a messy dream. Then the best part was I was kissing his chubby cheeks and telling him how his daddy couldn’t wait to kiss him there too. Jared and I always talk about how we can’t wait to kiss the neck and cheek areas.

Holy Long John Silver, Batman – A Kitten

Last night I dreamt that I had delivered a kitten – yes a kitten. We were at the hospital and I was asking for my doctor. I told her I don’t remember pushing or the delivery. She said it was so quick it only took one push. Jared and I were in our room and we had this kitten. It had bright orange tiger stripes and was very cute. I remember I said, “This isn’t going to be much harder, what is one extra cat.”

But then I also had a glimpse of a baby. He had dark brown hair with blue green eyes. I can’t wait to meet this little one.

30 Weeks Today

I had a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday and everything is great. From this point on I go every two weeks. Then in January I go every week. At this rate, the due date will be here in no time.

I told the doc that sometimes I feel like I am not getting larger but I think it is just because I see my belly everyday. But the measurements proved me wrong. In three weeks I went from 26 inches to 30 inches.

I am starting to get tired again, just like the first trimester. The last few days after work, I have been back on a nap schedule. Today I even went down to just a step at the gym. For my first time ever, no risers were added. I am actually doing a lot of the routine on the floor and very low impact. It feels good to still be active. I think I will try to keep it up for another month and then take it down even more.

Here is a picture from today and a clip from the doctor’s office on Tuesday. I got a clip of the baby’s heart beat.

Most important meal of the day and my favorite.

Here is what I ate this morning. (following the epic steak dinner) Whole wheat toast with peanut butter topped with an egg. (egg whites with a drop of yoke) I washed this down with a glass of OJ. Yummy.

The other day at work we had a pancake breakfast event. I had a special request (since I am on the volunteer committee) to add peanut butter to the list. Everybody thought this was very weird request. So a couple days later this lady comes up to me and says she saw me put peanut butter on my pancake and she thought she would try it. She told me all she thinks about recently is peanut butter and pancakes. She loved it!

What do I put peanut butter on?

• Pancakes
• Waffles
• French Toast
• Toast
• Sandwiches
• Apples
• Bananas
• Ice Cream (chocolate and mint chip)
• Crackers
• Cookies
• Noodles – Thai peanut sauce
• A Spoon

Believe it or Not!

Yep, you see it correctly. That is a steak on my dinner plate. It has been about 12 years since I ate beef. I had a little beef jerky recently, but a complete beef dinner, over a decade. I wouldn’t say it is my first choice over chicken, pork or fish, but it was do-able.

This dinner menu was a JaredBoy request. He wanted steak and potatoes and I added the salad. The best part of this meal for me was the salad. I love salad.

Believe it!

Showered with Love

I want to thank all my family and friends for all the love and support at my baby shower. The day was as beautiful as all of you are. It was a great feeling to have so many great women there to support our first baby.

The food was amazing! That lasagna was the talk of the night and the leftovers didn’t make it to the next day. The famous Shelley/Irwin Orange rolls were delicious! I have got to get that recipe down. The apple salad and the tasty tea with orange and mint had my taste buds wanting more. The complete meal all the way to the cupcakes was perfect. Thanks to Diana, Mom, Ellen, Michelle and Kristy for all your hard work.

The shower was defiantly a shower of love for me. I felt special and blessed. Thank you all for your support and love.

To Kathi and Catherine, I am sorry for your family loses. I wish you and your families comfort and strength.

Spicy Sausage Penne Bake

Back in Boulder Creek I made this killer pasta bake for Jared. I wasn’t eating meat at the time but I made the pasta with spicy sausage for my JaredBoy. I was thinking about that dish recently and couldn’t find the original recipe I used. So I did a search and found one that was reasonably close.

The dish turned out good. The sausage was spicy, the cream in the sauce of course made it extra yummy and fresh herbs added wonderful flavor. Oh yes, and the healthy part – I used whole wheat pasta.

What would I do different next time? I would add some meaty mushrooms, like shitake. I would also throw in some onions. (maybe even leeks)

Delish - for the recipe

Medicine

When I lived in North Hollywood, my favorite babysitters Shawn and Sam, would make Sharon and I milkshakes. We would drink them so fast that they said we can only have one spoonful per minute and that it was our medicine. I am not sure how well we did with keeping to that small dose, but I do think it made them last a little bit longer.

I like the idea that milkshakes are medicine.

Sharon and I would also make milkshakes every summer when we did our weekly vacation together at Grandma’s. We would stop by the grocery store on the way home from Burbank Airport to get what we wanted for the week. Chocolate ice cream was always on the list.

This yummy picture was from a milkshake I made the other day, Chocolate and Peanut Butter. This flavor combination is a Shelley classic. I don’t know how many gallons of Chocolate and Peanut Butter ice cream we went through on Norelius Ct. I have come to the conclusion though, when you make milkshakes, it takes at lot of ice cream. So when your ½ gallon is gone in two days, you shouldn’t feel bad. Right?