We're Baaack!

6 longs days later we are back from our action packed week long (almost) vacation in New York! My oh my what a week it was. I would like to start off by giving a big thanks, hug and Kiss to Baker for taking me there for my birthday. It was amazing. If I had the means to visit there once a month I would.

So I have a ton to post about the trip in general, but I think I will do that in another post. I first wanted to say that the Big Apple has so much to offer, and has pretty much everything you could ever want with the exception of just a few things. I was really sad when it was time to leave and was getting a bit depressed thinking of going home to Orange County which is just a bijou of a place compared to the City. Public transportation is better, food is better, shopping is better, a lot of things are better. With that being said, I wanted to start off by reminding myself why I live where I live, and although the city seems to have it all it does lack a few things that my current home possesses.

1. Mexican Food. New York is one of the largest populated places for immigrants (Legal ones at least), and has any sort of restaurant under the sun that you could possibly want. French, Dutch, Moroccan, Italian, you name it they have it. EXCEPT Mexican. One of my favorite cuisines doesn't exist in the city. I wouldn't even say that have Mexicans period.

2. Dr. Pepper. Everyone should know that I could take the stuff intravenously, but I couldn't find a restaurant that served it for the life of me. I was able to find the occasional bottle at New York's version of CVS, but never when it really mattered. With my meal. Orange County has got it almost everywhere, which also leads me to my next point;

3. Free Refills. Luckily for me I was warned about this before I sat down for my first dinner, but just couldn't grasp the point. I think they are just punishing those that don't drink alcohol, or maybe that could be why people there are just more fit. That and all the walking.

4. Toilet Seat Covers. I am proud to live in a state that has laws for this. California State law is every public restroom has to have toilet seat covers available for those that use them. Not in New York. My Quads were strengthened from all the squatting.

5. Normal Sleep Patterns. I was amazed at the schedules people in New York keep. We did the touristy things so woke up at normal times out the door at nine and never back until after 11. All day everyday we went, and so did everyone around us. You could walk outside at two in the morning (When we normally would go to bed) and the streets would be filled. Mornings on the other hand were different. No one wakes earlier then 10, and the streets aren't ever filled until 11 or so. What happened to the 9-5, and when was it normal to have dinner at 10?

6. Sunlight. This sort of explains the weird schedules. With all the enormous high rise buildings, you don't ever get the sun until noon, when it is directly overhead. Which explains the sleeping in late. Here I have a natural alarm clock. The sun coming in my bedroom window to wake me no later then 7am. I could get depressed not having sun ever, and can understand why they can sleep all day. We were told that it is normal to sleep in until 1 or 2 in the afternoon on a Saturday. Man alive.

7. Kids. I'm not sure if I remember seeing any child older then 2, or younger then high school. They were all babies in strollers or grown up. I know they exist, they have schools for them, but where are they?

8. Elementary School Names. If you happen to find a kid in elementary school, and you asked them what school they attended, you wouldn't get anything like "College View Elementary" you would get "75". Not a name, just a number.

9. Grocery Store. I recall seeing only one. And it was smaller then a Trader Joe's. Apparently they don't cook in New York. Which would explain the long wait at almost every restaurant.

10. Traffic Lanes. Granted they are painted there in the street, they just don't seem to matter. Most cars regularly drove in two lanes, made their own lanes, and often made left turns from the right lane. This seems to work for them, because on our flight there we ran across an article that stated that Manhattan was in the top 5 cities for best drivers. I didn't see one car accident.

With that being said, I would also like to throw in that I love New York. Just grateful I permanently live where I do.

On The Way

I decided that I get really annoyed by people who sit on planes and talk business on their cell phones. Like we really want to hear about it.. 5 hours till we hit land.

My Celebrity Look-a-Likes

Ha..

Bakers Celebrity Look-a-Likes

Drum roll please...

Two More..

Nights of Sleep then we are off to the Big Apple! I CAN NOT WAIT!

First Sign of Baby

So besides the fact that sitting has gotten extremely uncomfortable for me and I have a growing belly, there haven't been many other signs that we have a baby that will be here in a few short months, until now. My dad's gift to us was a new crib for out little one. We have totally taken our time to pick it out, and I think that I have looked at like a thousand different cribs and colors and have gone back and forth as to which I wanted and ironically we decided on the very first crib we saw the first day we went out to look. I just changed from black to white. All of that for nothing. Baker has been really busy at work and getting home late so for Thursday Craft night Kay and I put it together ourselves to give Bake a break. It was so fun, and totally easy. I knew the last thing Baker wanted to do when he got home from a long day was put something together so I am glad that he didn't have to. (I did make him take out the trash though)


Here is what she looked like when we first took her out of the box. Doesn't look too hard does it?

I owe Kay a big thank you for helping out, and I am sure the next crib I put together will be hers. Hopefully.

Here she is in all her glory! It's a little scary to think that I put something together that our little girl is going to sleeping as a very small child in. Good thing it was so simple and pretty fool proof. I hope.
We still have so much to do before she gets here. I still have to paint and all that jazz. I feel like I still have forever to go, but once i think about it with everything that I need to do there doesn't seem to be much time. I just can't wait to hold her. So sweet.

Bakers Birthday Weekend!

So Its been a week and I still haven't posted about bakers birthday weekend extravaganza. Terrible wife. So sorry. It was seriously such a fun weekend, and Baker got spoiled as he should have on his birthday. My dad recently got a new set of golf clubs so he passed his old set on to Baker. They were like 10x better then the ones he has been using so he was pretty stoked about those.
Then we got wind that our friends from Vegas were coming into town. Love the Harbers. You can actually check out their blog here: The Harbers, but I will have to warn you that they don't update their blog very often. I hope calling them out on ours might put a little fire under their behinds. Ha. It was so good to have them in town. We are terrible friends for not getting out to Vegas. I think this has been their third trip here and we have only been out there once.. and it was for their wedding. Man we suck.
So for Bakers big day, he woke up early.. in the 5 o'clock hour to go golfing with my dad. Was home by 9am so we all went to breakfast at our favorite Crepe restaurant in Long Beach. My favorite are the sweet crepes!

* As a disclaimer.. I have total pregnant face in a lot of these pictures.. I don't look like this really. So embarrassing.

the rest of the day was spent in the beautiful sunny southern California weather, and with a BBQ that night with all of Bakers friends. It was perfect. I mad Bakers favorite cake.. funfetti with strawberry frosting. It wasn't best in show but it took first place for quality and taste. Yum.



Baker pretty much made out like a bandit for his birthday too. All the neighbors brought him gifts, I got him a new pair of work shoes, and he still managed to talk me into a new used surfboard and some racks for his car. He was in absolute heaven. Seems like everyday since his birthday he has been out working on something for his car and his racks. It is so funny.
So Happy Birthday Bake. Hope this year treats you well, because next year you'll be 30!

And the best Mother In Law award goes to...

MINE! I have got THE best mother in law there is to offer. It has been Bakers birthday weekend so we have gotten tons of little packages and cards for him, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a big one addressed to me.
You may remember a previous post about how I was craving that special treat I had up north, Pub Mix, well Cindy sent some to me in the mail. She didn't send me one, but two containers of it. I am in absolute heaven. I can't put it down. The rye chips are to die for.
THANKS CINDY!

Total Post Stealer

So a few of my MC friends have been doing this one, so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon. Plus I just did one on Baker, so why not?

If i wasn't online right now I'd be...
-Working on my monthly newsletter
-Making invitations for Bakers Birthday
-Taking a nap (Man I love naps)
-Reading this months book club book, only we haven't picked one yet and the days are flying by
-Planning out our trip to New York this month! Only two more weeks.

If I were to plan my perfect day...
It would start out with a solid nights sleep for both Baker and I, that means no one waking up in the middle of the night. Then Baker and I would have crepes for breakfast and hang out all day in sunny weather at the beach, when the water was warm and I wasn't pregnant so I could stand the heat and be able to lay on my back. Then we would hit the pool with my sister and the kids then see a really good movie with the Jones', and of course a trip to HSS.

My most favorite possessions are... (in no particular order)
-my imac computer. Love the thing!
-my wedding ring
-my cell phone

My favorite places to be...
-With Baker
-Lake Mead, oh how I miss it
- The Temple
-The Hot tub

My favorite foods...
-Take the Cake Ice Cream
-Anything Cheese
-Bell Peppers and Ranch

What I always order...
-Subway-Chicken Bacon Ranch on Honey Oat
-McDonalds- FRENCH FRIES! and sweet and sour sauce to dip
-Del Taco- #4- Two chicken soft taco's extra sauce with a DP.
-Sharkees- two Maui Chicken Tacos on Tuesdays
-Corner Baker- Club Panini with Cesar Salad
-At home- If baker is cooking- Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup

Drink of choice...
-Dr. Pepper
-Cranberry Apple Juice Slush from Sonic

Dessert of choice...
-Apple Cobbler with a scoop of Vanilla
-Strawberry Shortcake
-Cream Puffs
- Cheesecake

Favorite music artists...
-I can't pick two or three. I have so many.

Favorite movies...
-The Wedding Planner
-SHAG
-Teen Witch
- Troop Beverly Hills

What I'm most grateful for...
-my husband
-our family
- Heavenly Father
-A healthy pregnancy
-Some of the greatest friends anyone could have

My worst traits...
-I stay in bed till the very last minute and am always rushed out the door
-I sometimes get agitated very easily
-I don't eat breakfast
-I get bored very easily, so I go in phases. I will scrapbook for a month, then sew for a month etc.

What do I want for myself...
I want a big happy healthy family that is strong in the church, and to never stop falling in love with Baker. The more time I spend with him the more I do, and I hope that never changes. I also want to live close to our extended family. Ha.

Ten Things You Didn't Know About My Husband

Alright people, I thought I would give you a little taste of the man in my life. He is pretty open and out there for people to get to know him, but here are a few things that you might not know about Baker. Some of you may know this, but if not, enjoy.

1. He is terribly frightened by scary movies. He can hardly watch those made for TV suspense shows with old actresses like the mom from Growing Pains without getting freaked out and not being able to sleep that night. Totally endearing, yet so hard because I LOVE scary movies.

2. His youngest sibling is 14 years younger then he is. She was only 4 when he left the house for the first time.

3. His new favorite sandwich is Peanut Butter and Pickle. A Box family favorite that he just got wind of this weekend and has had three times since. That's almost a whole sandwich on average a day.

4. He's a bit of a one track mind. When he has got him mind set, there is no stopping him what-so-ever. Which is great for me for two reasons, sometimes he is too busy to notice I am getting in trouble, and also it comes in handy when there is something he really wants to get me but can't seem to find the right size. For instance when we dated he wanted to get me the perfect Ugg boots and drove an hour on his lunch break to pick them up from a woman who had them that he found on craigslist, and this year at Christmas he was set on a Gap jacket for me and couldn't find my size until he got to New York so he had it shipped. Love the guy.

5. He has got big opinions when it comes to the house decor. Not a thing in my house is there because I like it, it's there because WE like it. If he doesn't like it, whether I do or not, it's out. Literally.

6. He makes a mean Grilled Cheese. A Sunday staple in our home. Except for this last Sunday because he discovered Peanut Butter and Pickle.

7. He still wears his retainers.

8. He actually enjoys Chick Flicks, and his favorite TV show is What About Brian.

9. He has no bad habits other then smacking his lips when he eats cereal. But its only cereal that he has this problem with. He blames it on his big lips that he claims he can't close when he chews because they are that large.

10. He hates cats. As do I. A match made in heaven. (Sorry to you cat lovers out there)

The no good, terrible, lousy, annoying day

Alright, so I have to admit that I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. I feel like I haven't gotten a good nights sleep for months and it's starting to wear on me a bit. Poor Baker has been sick the last week or so and has had a hard time sleeping as well, and I don't think that the two of us are helping each other out in that department at all. Baker was up for an hour and a half, I was all over the map last night. I just want him to get batter so he can at least get a good nights rest. I don't plan on having another one for many years to come. I mean the later I am in my pregnancy, the harder its going to be, and don't even count on it when the baby comes right?
So I finally forced myself out of bed to get ready and out the door. Late of course, and as I was getting into my car, my wonderful coat pocket flap opened up and let my cell phone slide out face down into a HUGE puddle of water. I kid you not when I say huge. Our complex is great besides when it rains and the parking lot turns into a lake. No point in wearing anything but watersox because anything else will be ruined.
So there laying face down in a huge puddle is my phone. I quickly pick it up to see what I can salvage, and for the first time I don't have something in my car to wipe it down with. Any other day I would have a sweater or a spare shirt or something, but not this morning, I wipe it on the pants I was wearing. I nice huge gutter stain was my accessory today. (One lucky thing about this morning was I was originally wearing a white skirt, but lucky for me the law of fashion is no white before memorial day right?) So I couldn't fix much, the on button actually turns up the volume now, the end button starts up the Internet, and don't even try to use the keyboard. While attempting to text message my brother in law Pete, this is what I got from simply texting P.


For those of you that can't read it, this is what it says:
WWiwwwwwwWwwWWWwWWWwW+s-sWwwwWw

All of this by 8am this morning. I can't wait to go to bed.