Thanksgiving Meal

We had quite the feast for Thanksgiving. It was so much fun. Can you see all of this food!!! It was just for the two of us; three if you count the baby. I'll give you a run down of all the food. We had a giant turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, creamed corn, stuffing, candied yams, homemade rollsm pistachio pudding, cranberries, pretzel salad, and deviled eggs. I started cooking the turkey at 7:30 in the morning and we were eating by noon. It was wonderful. Sadly as excited as I was to eat, I couln't eat a lot of food. About four bites into my big plate of food, I was full. I guess the baby was sitting on my stomach so I couldn't eat as much. It really is a good thing though. I feel like I'm turing into a big blimp so the less I eat the better. So about this dinner. This is the first Thanksgiving dinner I cooked by myself. Last year Missy was with us and she helped me, but this year it was all me. I was so proud when I got done because of what I had done. It sounds dumb, but I felt all grown up after finishing it. I guess I'll be prepared when our little family grows. Now that Thanksgiving is a few days in the past, we're still working on the about ten pounds of turkey we have leftover. We got the turkey for $8 after buying all the other stuff we needed for the meal, so how could we pass it up even if it was gigantic. Since Thanksgiving I've made turkey roll-ups and a turkey casserole. So for any of you needing to get rid of turkey, this recipe is amazing. It's for the turkey roll-ups.

1 roll of cressant rolls (the kind by the butter at walmart..pillbury maybe)

leftover turkey, stuffing, cranberries, and turkey gravy

about 1/2-3/4 cup of cheese

-connect 2 cressant rolls together in a rectangle.

-put a little bit of turkey, a little stuffing, a spoonful of cranberries and about a TBSP of cheese on one side then seal the edges. I baked it at about 350 for 20 minutes. Just watch the dough to see when it's golden brown. Take it out and put turkey gravy on top. It's so good. I don't like the buttery cressant rolls, but if you like that, go for it.

Also, with the leftover mashed potatoes, I combined them with any leftover stuffing and a little oregano and parsley and made patties out of it and cooked them. Serve them also with gravy on top.

This was a really nice, easy meal that got rid of a lot of leftovers. Something a little different and a lot of fun. I usually go crazy with leftovers or any type of food. Ryan is lucky I like the traditional Thanksgiving otherwise he would have got one of my many creations.

The baby is doing well. I think I may have felt it for the first time on Sunday. It was a really weird feeling, so I was pretty excited. I'm starting to show a very little. We were going to take a picture, but forgot so soon I'll have some of my growing belly coming soon. Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and had a blast shopping.

It's a GREAT day!

It has been such an amazing day for us!! We went to the doctor this morning and we heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time. I almost cried! I've been so nervous because I'm not showing and I don't feel anything, so hearing the beat was such a relief. My baby is okay. The little sweetheart seems to be growing great, and we scheduled our ultrasound for next month. In about four weeks I'll be able to tell you all what we're having. I'm like a littl kid waiting to see what Santa Clause brought me on Christmas morning. I think this is so much better. I'm so grateful to be entrusted with one of God's children. What a blessing it is!!

Next great thing...I got a new job!! It's at my old work, but it will be a lot easier the bigger I get, and they're very understanding. I went in to visit old friends from before and was convinced to apply and I did and was hired. It will be stable income compared to my serving job and stable hours. Plus it will definitely be a pay raise. We're trying to save as much money as we can with the baby on the way, so this is such a huge blessing to us. All I can say is thank you Sid.

Also today I was able to talk to one of my favorite mission companions, Erin Barker. She's amazing. We haven't talked in over a year and haven't seen each other in almost two years. Because of this guy Sid that convinced me to apply for the job I got, I was also able to talk to Erin. I told him I must owe him a kidney now because he's been so great today. Hopefully he'll wait until after the baby is born. Again, I'm so blessed to have such great friends.

One last note, I'm so excited for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I'm cooking for just Ryan and myself and can't wait for all of the leftovers. I think leftovers are my favorite part of the whole dinner. Since I was a little girl we have always made these amazing sandwiches with the leftovers that I introduced Ryan to last year. He loves them now to. So for any of you that have never tried them, this is what you do...

Take two pieces of break and put miracle whip on them (mayo if you prefer, but I hate the stuff!)
put turkey, some stuffing, cranberries, pickles, and anything else that looks good on it and enjoy. It will be the most amazing thing you've ever had.

Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy your Thanksgiving and be safe whatever it is you're doing.

I've been tagged!!

8 TV shows I like to watch...

1. The Biggest Loser
2. Law & Order: SVU
3. CSI: Miami
4. The Unit
5. The Office
6. Today Show
7. Rachel Ray
8. Days of Our Lives (I became a days junkie when I was so sick..pathetic I know)


8 Things that happened yesterday...

1. Drove home from Idaho
2. Babysat Oaklynn
3. Ate pancakes with my hubby
4. Studied for a test
5. Worked
6. Went grocery shopping
7. Washed clothes
8. Talked to Kirsten


8 Place I like to eat (no particular order)...

1. Paradise Bakery
2. Meadow Creek Lodge
3. Texas Rhodehouse
4. Sizzler
5. any of the members houses in Houston
6. My house-home cooking is the best
7. Fong's
8. Olive Garden


8 Things I'm looking forward to...

1. My baby being born
2. The big ultrasound next month
3. Spending forever with my husband
4. Being a mommy
5. Finishing school
6. A trip to New York with my hubby (someday)
7. Thanksgiving and eating turkey
8. Feeling good again


8 Things on my wishlist...

1. My baby keeps growing and stays healthy
2. Health for my whole family
3. A date with my hubby
4. To finish school even after the baby
5. Buy a house
6. Live a long, happy, and healthy life with my family around me
7. Be the best mother I can be
8. Go to the temple this week


8 People I tag...

1. Missy
2. Kellie
3. Ashley
4. Cortney
5. Kirsten
6. Jena
7. Julie
8. Megan

I'M SO THANKFUL FOR GREAT FRIENDS

This picture was taken about a year ago on Ryan and my first date. Kirsten and Damon are also married now. They are the couple that introduced us.

Yesterday had to be one of my favorite Sundays ever, minus a few from the mission. Kirsten and Damon took Ryan and I to Stake Conference (luckily Kirsten told us it was Stake Conference cause we had no idea). I got to hold their baby Oaklynn and play with the little doll. She's adorable. After we got done at church, Kirsten and Damon came over for lunch/dinner with us. It was so much fun. I don't know how the lamb was that I made, but we really did have a great time. A little history on Kirsten and Damon and us. Damon and Ryan were mission companions a few years ago, then roommates after they both were off their missions when Ryan moved back from England. Kirsten and I were roommates when her and Damon started dating, then about four months later they introduced Ryan, and the rest is history. They are such great friends, and it's nice because it's not one of those forced friendships. We were all kind of friends in a different ways before any of us got married. Also, we're neighbors! After lunch, we all just kind of chatted, watched a movie, and then the height of Ryan's night, Ryan and Damon played video games. I don't usually let Ryan play when I'm around because I hate the stupid machine, but I had Kirsten and little Oaklynn here to help entertain me, so it was fun for all of us I hope. I'm so thankful for friends like Kirsten and Damon. They're the kind of friends you hope you always have. We all just kind of do our own things but at the same time we can come together occasionally and have fun. I really appreciate Kirsten and her help. She recently had Oaklynn, so it's nice to have her here to ask questions about the whole pregnancy thing. It's good for Ryan to have Damon around too. He can ask Damon any questions about being a dad. I truely believe that God puts people in our lives to help us be better and so learn from each other. I just hope that we're as good for Kirsten and Damon as they are for us.

Baby News: Everything with the baby seems to be going well. I've had a cold for a few weeks and last week was the worst. I think everything is magnified when you're pregnant because I've never complained so much in my life as I did last week. I'm now feeling a lot better. This week I start my second trimester; apparently the honeymoon stage of the pregnancy. We'll see. I'm still waiting for the reality to set in that I'm pregnant. It's hard to explain how I feel, which I'm sure those of you who have been pregnant can understand. I know I've been sick and I know I've seen the baby on the ultrasound and see the heartbeat, but I don't think it will become a reality until I really have a belly. Right now I feel like the weight gain is because I haven't been able to exercise for sometime. But happily I report that I jogged this morning. It felt so good. I don't go as far, as long or as fast as I did before but just that little was nice. As soon as you can actually tell that I'm pregnant, I'll post pictures, until then I'll just tell you all about it.

We saw our Baby

We went to the doctor again this week, hoping to hear the heartbeat of this little rascal inside of me, but no such luck. As I began to panic, my doctor said she would give me an ultrasound just to make sure everything was okay, and here it is. If you look close at the black spot in the middle, you'll see a little grey area, that's Baby Wood. We were able to see the heartbeat as well as the baby. It was such a relief to know the little thing is okay. I've had some cramping so I've been kind of worried about our baby, but the doc assured me everything is fine. I know they make plenty of books about pregnancy, but I've decided when women are born, they should come with a manual of life, so they can know and understand all the things that will come, especially pregnancy. I guess when I get to Heaven, I'll be talking to God about that.

Poor Ryan during this whole pregnancy, he puts up with a lot. I'm not exactly the friendliest person on earth anymore. For some reason my hormones are are driving me mad; literally. My poor husband doesn't have a clue when I might get upset or sick. Hopefully it will level off at some point so I'm not so mean. Lucky for me I have a wonderful husband, even if he feels like he's living with a grizzly bear. He takes such good care of me. I've never seen anyone worry about someone like he worries about me. It's so cute. On top of being grouchy, I'm exhausted. I guess that comes with all this. I've been told, my body is running at the pace of a marathon runner 24/7, that would make anyone tired. Because I'm tired I don't clean and I only cook occasionally. Someone please tell me this is normal. Or at least give Ryan some reassureance.

Enough about all that, some more exciting news in our lives, I've decided to start scrapbooking. This was a sudden decision today, so Ryan and I went out on an adventure to find all the fun stuff we could for me to scrapbook. We had a lot of fun. HobbyLobby is an amazing place to catch sales. We got a whole lot of stuff for a little price. Now I just have to start. I think I'm going to start with our wedding and how we met. We were really good at taking pictures at the beginning and not so much anymore. I admire all of you that take pictures of everything. That really is the way to do it.

One last note, it's election day on Tuesday night. Everyone get out and vote. Make your voice heard, no matter who you're voting for, your opinion matters. We're having an election night party. Pizza, drinks and watching the election results coming in. Exciting I know, but I love it and so does Ryan. I guess we were made for each other.

I really am pregnant.

Last Friday I finally went to the doctor. That was a blast. Talk about feeling violated, but I've always been a very private and modest person, but I've been told that's going to change quickly with the pregnancy. The doctor gave me my official due date. Drum roll please.........May 14, 2009. I can't believe that somewhere around that date I'm going to be a parent. I'm still trying ot figure out how to take care of myself and a husband (ok honestly, Ryan takes care of me) and now a baby. I'm so excited, but so nervous. Anyway, back to the doctor. Any of you that have been pregnant know that you have to pee in a cup. Well from this they called me on Monday and told me that I had a UTI. Fun, huh. Well this is where the part comes that I know I'm pregnant. I ask the lady on the other line if the checked to see if I was really pregnant because I just couldn't believe it. There was a long silence, and then I said well I took four pregnancy tests and they were all positive but I'm still just not sure. This is the response I got, "Honey, if four pregnancy tests say you're pregnant, then you're pregnant."
Next I've finally experienced morning sickness. I make it sound like I wanted it, but I guess I had thought since I hadn't had it yet I wouldn't, boy was I wrong! I missed all of my classes and all of my work this week because of being sick. I'm happy to report I think I'm finally free. It's liberating to know that I can walk around and kiss my husband without turning green. I talked to my mom today and she was overjoyed that she could finally talk to me without me saying I had to go cause I was sick. I'm so thankful for friends and my mom for all of the ideas of getting the sickness to go way.
I have nothing more to report about the baby. From the website that emails me, it is the size of a grape. That's exciting. It's hard to believe that in just seven or eight months it will be a little bundle of joy. We're very excited to have whatever it may be.

Exciting News!!

Well for those of you that read this, which I'm sure there aren't many...we just wanted to let you in on some exciting news. We're expecting. We just found out this past week. I think that I'm about six or seven weeks along, so the baby will be born in May sometime. We're very excited. This was an unexpected surprise, but with talk with friends I thought we should check if we were pregnant and we are. Ryan is hoping for a girl (along with everyone in my family) and I'm hoping for a boy, but really we just want a healthy baby. I can't believe we're going to be parents. The original plan was to wait until I finished school, but God has other plans for us. It's such a blessing to know he is trusting us to raise one of his children. I still haven't felt too much sickness. I hear that it may be coming soon. Maybe I'll be one of the lucky 1/4 of women that don't have morning sickness. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. It's going to be a very exciting 8 months. My mom is thrilled. I told her before we told anyone else, and believe me she had a hard time keeping a secret. Now we're just going to tell everyone. The original plan was to wait 5 months to tell anyone, but I have a classmate that is 4 1/2 months pregnant and she is showing a lot, so how can we hide it. Anyway, that's our great news. We're now off and running in our new experience of swollen ankles, big bellies, morning sickness, and whatever else comes on the journey to our baby.

Another new beginning!

Our exciting news for the week is that we moved...again. This is the third move for us since we got married 9 months ago. We decided that this was the best for us and it needed to be done, so here we are. It's a cute two bedroom apartment in North Salt Lake. We love it. The biggest challege of moving has been only having one car. Last month, Ryan decided to sell his car, so now we're just down to the new one. It's been fun getting around on the bus and trax for both of us (Thank goodness for public transportation!!). Though both of our schools we get free passes for the bus so we're pretty lucky. I guess since they already charged an arm and a leg for the tuition, it's only right that they give us something back, besides a higher education. Anyway, we're still unpacking, which has turned into a really long process. I've never been very organized, so unpacking is not a strong point for me. I would much rather just throw everything in a corner and find it when I need it, but this is where Ryan and I differ. I have come to the realization that he is a neat freak. Oh well, it's all in our best interest I suppose. So wish me luck as I finish unpacking the last room. Only one left, and I'm done!! I can't wait.

Good Times

In several of my classes today, we were reminded to keep good relationships with classmates, so that in the future we can refer back to these people to help our clients. I'm studying Social worker, and believe it or not, networking as a social worker is just as important as any other career. One of my professors even said that if you don't get involved in the politics in social work, you're not a good social worker. Interesting....Anyway, one of the activities we did in my last class was to take a problem that one of us had then we had to work through it. Well, we all agreed on one problem that was common between us, losing weight/being healthy. I told the other four girls I want to lose 20 pounds and of course it was echoed by a few others. As we discussed this we decided that the biggest change was to be mental. One of the other girls, who really is amazing and will be a great social worker, shared with us that she had an eating disorder. She had received the help needed, but shared with us she was cured but that it would always be there. How interesting! I had no idea. Anyway, as we discussed this I said something about what I had eaten during the day, and she told me not to feel guilty what I had eaten. She really helped me see that i need to focus on the positives rather than feeling guilty for something I had eaten. What she said really struck me. After much discussion between the five of us, I decided that I will just be healthier. I feel much better when I do eat healthy, so why not try it and make an honest effort. I don't want to be watching myself on how much I lose, but how good I feel. The reason I write about this experience, is because it's relationships like these that I'm going to be able to form over the next few years. I know they will help me become a better person as I prepare to help other people as a profession. I'm grateful for these types of friendships that really help me to be better.

Other good times for the week....We visited Kirsten and Damon and baby Oaklynn on Sunday. What a great experience. We haven't seen them since a while before we were married, and have hardly talked to them. It was such a wonderful thing to see them. It was if we picked up where we left off, just a little catching up to do. Oaklynn is a beautiful baby.. I'm so happy for them. They have a nice little family. I have to admit, seeing them with their baby, made me want to start my own family, but for now we'll just enjoy all the babies that our friends are having.

A little about me

Copy/paste the questions ( before the colons) and replace the answers with the first thing that comes to mind.Ready?!?!.....GO!

i am: so happy I'm almost done with the semester
i think: way too much
i know: I am loved
i want: to travel the world
i have: a final in a few hours I haven't studied for
i wish: we could leave for Hawaii today
i hate: rude people
i miss: my mission
i fear: not ever finishing school
i feel: tired and stressed
i hear: the dryer
i smell: air
i crave: watermelon
i search: for great deals for travel
i wonder: when it will happen for us
i regret: nothing
i love: Ryan
i care: helping people
i always: procrastinate
i am not: ready for my finals this week
i believe: in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.
i dance: around the house with Ryan
i sing: just to make Ryan giggle
i don’t always: eat healthy, but doing a lot better
i write: a lot of papers for school
i lose: everything and anything
i never: will give up on my dream
i listen: to music and sing along
i can usually be found: in front of my computer typing a paper for school
i am scared: SPIDERS!!
i need: to go to the temple
i am happy about: my life!!

Maybe I'll have Ryan do one too.

Our First Post

WELCOME TO YOUR FIRST DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WOOD!! So I was never the type to do blogging, I'm not even sure what it's all about, but what better way for Ryan and I to keep a journal of what's going on. The big news for today....IT'S MY 24TH BIRTHDAY!!! WOOHOO!! How did I get so old? Okay for you all that are out there, that are older than me, you understand, how did the time pass so quickly? My mom came down yesterday to spend a few days with us and celebrate my birthday. Really I have the best mom, and I'm so thankful for all the prayers and Heavenly Father for keeping her here with us. She's our family miracle! So about us. Well...we've been married a little over 6 months now. My goodness how time flies. We're very,very happy. We often talk about how we must have known each other before this life and promised to find each other. It was really by chance that we met, but boy are we happy that we did. I'm a student at the University of Utah, studying social work. I'm starting the program in August. After I finish in 2 years I want to get a degree in nursing, followed by a Masters degree in Social Work or Nursing. We'll see which I love the most at that point. My life long goal has been to work with people with AIDS in Africa, so I figure with both, I'll be able to counsel and treat. I am about to start a new job, serving at Red Robin. I'm pretty excited. It should be a lot of fun. I'm still kind of working at my old job at a nursing home, where I did central supplies. Ryan is working full-time at the LDS Church as a security guard. Talk about the dream he dreamed of as a little kid. His mom told me that he always said he wanted to guard the Prophet. With this job, he can work his way to that point, if he still wants to. Yeah for Ryan for going for a dream. I'm so proud of him. To get the job, he had to take an intense four week course, and he passed with flying colors. Also, Ryan is a student at LDS Business College. Right now he's working on his Associates degree in Business. Too bad that degree from England didn't transfer. Oh well, we're loving life together and the stuggles that come along with being newlyweds and going to school and working and running around like crazy. Well....I guess that's all for now. Cuai.