When I realized that Scott and I would be moving to Germany not very long after the baby's birth, I thought I might put off doing the nursery. It seemed a little pointless putting one together just to pack it up shortly after, but I'm so glad we didn't! Scott and I have had so much fun putting this little safari themed nursery together. It's quickly become the warmest and happiest room in the house! I've frequently found Scott sitting in the rocking chair or hovering at the door looking inside. I smiled and teased him a bit the first time I caught him, but now I find myself doing it too. Being in this room makes her feel close. It makes her arrival and this next chapter of our lives seem so much more... real! This little one is going to completely change our lives! And as I sit in her room, I try to take it all in.
I know once this baby arrives, life will be very different, challenging and exhausting. Yet, I also know that it will be more wonderful than I can even imagine! Last night Scott and I laughed as she rewarded us with kicks as we tapped her tiny footprints. Man she is so real! She already has her own unique personality and she is coming so soon! We cannot wait to meet her!
The Safari Nursery:
Scott has been sold on a "safari" themed nursery since day one. So for the last several months we have collected and crafted everything in her room for under $200, and I do mean everything! Clothes, decorations, bedding, furniture, bouncers, diapers, etc. We have been super lucky and blessed to know wonderful people and find amazing deals!
A month ago my family sent us a "baby shower in a box". Literally! It felt like Christmas receiving that package full of baby clothes and goodies! Above are a few of the adorable outfits they gave us. 
The super comfy rocking chair and beautiful crib were given to us by my sister and brother-in-law last year! 
Scott and I fell in love with this Zebra canvas! You gotta love the random wall art you can find at Ross for $30! The bow holder above is also a little craft of mine that I threw together last week while watching General Conference. It's an empty oatmeal container covered in leftover fabric I used to make the giraffe wall art. You can find similar examples and instructions on how to make them on Pinterest or here. 
The giraffe wall art is another Pinterest inspiration I found here. I drew individual giraffe outlines on newspaper, cut them out and pinned them to the fabric for a perfect cut.
Scott loved this miscellaneous little safari lamp that we found at the Airman's Attic and for reason's I can't explain I am fond of the quirky-little lopsided teddy bear that we got while attending Bundles for Babies on base. His home is
on the awesome changing table we got from a neighbor for $20 at a yard sale!
I really appreciate that people volunteer their time to make a resource like this available! So awesome! The Keesler AFB Airman Attic is open every Monday, Wednesday, and down Friday, so if you're new here and need a few things to get by, definitely check it out! There really are a lot of resources in the Air Force to help out families and new members. It's been a huge blessing!
People are amazing! Even a 1000+
miles away from my hometown, I feel like I'm at home surrounded by family.
Women in my church banded together and threw me a baby shower, a neighbor ran
out of his house while we were on a walk and offered us brand new baby gear, and
I will never forget the women who befriended me (a silently-suffering pregnant
woman) and made a 7-hour flight delay so much more pleasant!
When Scott and I joined the Air Force
this year, we set off on this new adventure with no idea of what to expect.
After boot camp, all of our attentions have been focused on getting ready for the birth of this baby girl, (who will make her arrival within the next 3 weeks!) and on our move to a foreign country, so for the last 6 months, all of our efforts have been put into working hard and pinching pennies. With all of these big changes looming on the horizon it can be easy to be bogged down with stress and worries about the “little details”, but the truth is, I feel very calm. Perhaps I’m being naive or premature but I feel calm because I know that wherever we go, God will continue to introduce amazing people along the way.
After boot camp, all of our attentions have been focused on getting ready for the birth of this baby girl, (who will make her arrival within the next 3 weeks!) and on our move to a foreign country, so for the last 6 months, all of our efforts have been put into working hard and pinching pennies. With all of these big changes looming on the horizon it can be easy to be bogged down with stress and worries about the “little details”, but the truth is, I feel very calm. Perhaps I’m being naive or premature but I feel calm because I know that wherever we go, God will continue to introduce amazing people along the way.
That being said, today I'm posting
some pics of some particularly amazing people we’ve been lucky enough to meet,
the Clapin family.
Phil and Scott met at boot camp; they
were the "old men" of the group and became good friends. Unlike Scott
and I, Phil's family can't come and live with him while he attends tech school,
so except for a few visits, he's been separated from his awesome wife and
adorable little girl for 5+ months and that's not including the duration of
boot camp!
I admire their strength, love, and
devotion they visibly emulate for each other and am super honored that they
asked me to intrude on their precious time together to take their family
portraits. Capturing this family and especially the sweet moments between Phil
and his adorable baby girl, radiate what I find to be most important. Family. I
can't imagine what it has been like for this family to be separated for so
long, but I hope that when Scott and I’s time comes, that we will manage it as
gracefully as they do. And when it does happen, I’m glad that I know that no
matter where the military life takes us, the opportunity to meet amazing people
who can ease pain, create laughter, or give hope, will never be far
away.
35 weeks,
pregnancy,
working out,
yoga
My "What Do I Look Like? 35 Weeks Pregnant" Yoga Video
Monday, September 15, 2014 |
| Me (feeling awesome and strong I suppose) after cycling about 2 months ago. |
I do three main workouts every week. Walking, cycling, and yoga. Walking is fun, easy, and relaxing, cycling is where I can get "hardcore" and really whip up a sweat and yoga is simply my life-savor! There's no way to word it without it sounding corny, so here it goes; yoga has changed my life! The old me thought yoga was just some hoop-plah workout for women to have an excuse to buy and show off their stretchy pants. So I resisted (what I considered) "the girly form of exercise trend" until my sister opened up her own yoga studio at Renew You a few years back. Even when I gave in and started going, I never in a million years pictured myself being the yogi type. I was the athletic girl. Who as a result of her athleticism, had lousy balance, grandma knees and hips, and couldn't touch her toes even after 30 minutes of stretching? Basically I was an in-denial train wreck.
I've been doing yoga for almost 2 years now and I can't believe the changes! I can honestly say that I've never felt better, even being pregnant! Now don't get me wrong, I still get aches, pains, and cravings just like any other preggo woman out there, but I'm convinced yoga has made adjusting to this new body of mine easier, graceful even. Alright, small yoga rant complete. Enjoy my spur of the moment video! Hopefully it makes someone out there chuckle besides, well, me.
What workouts do you love / make you feel awesome?
baking,
chocolate zucchini bread,
cooking adventures,
goals,
life pursuits
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Friday, September 05, 2014
So I have this list of goals and pursuits (You can check them out on my In This Life page) and one of them I'm actively working on right now is learning how to cook, and more importantly, learning how to love cooking. I don't know if I'll ever be able to completely check off the last one, but I figure I've spent 24 years learning to dislike it, so why not just retrain myself? After a few months I can tell that this is definitely going to be a process, (perhaps an additional 24 year process?) regardless I'm proud to say that I'm enjoying cooking and meal planning more than I ever have! I've even discovered that I have a particular knack and joy for baking. So, to keep things fun and to lesson feelings of boredom and frustration in the kitchen, I've decided to find a scrumptious new recipe to cook every 1-2 weeks. This week was chocolate zucchini bread. Zucchini bread has been pretty cheap and plentiful the last few weeks so it seemed like the perfect time to try it out!
The results turned out pretty stellar! Scott (and the sister missionaries who came over today) loved it! I must admit, the recipe did not turn out as quite as chocolatey as I fantasized, (what can I say, I'm pregnant!) so next time I think I'll use regular sized chocolate chips, but it definitely did the job of curbing my chocolate cravings! Not to mention. It. Is. SUPER MOIST!
I got the recipe from a cookbook my Mom gave me called, "Our Best Bites". You can check out their chocolate zucchini bread recipe here at their site, or I've also posted it below. Enjoy!
And if your like me, good luck on your own "learning to love cooking" adventures!
Chocolate Zucchini Bread {makes 2 loaves}
2 C flour
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
6 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C canola oil
1 C sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
1/2 C sour cream
3 C grated zucchini
3/4 C mini chocolate chips
Topping:
2 T brown sugar
2 T white sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 2 loaf pans and set aside.
2. Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Place flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
4. With a stand or hand mixer beat oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until combined and slightly fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
5. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix until combined.
Gently stir in the grated zucchini.
6. Take a spoonful of the flour mixture and stir in with the chocolate chips (that will help keep them evenly distributed.) If you only have regular chocolate chips, or a chocolate bar, just give it a chop so it’s the size of mini chocolate chips.
7. Divide the batter between the two pans. and sprinkle topping over each.
8. Bake in your preheated 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. I set my timer for 45 minutes and then keep an eye on it for the remainder.
When it’s done a toothpick or skewer should come out without goopy batter on it and the top will be gorgeous and cracked with sugar.
The results turned out pretty stellar! Scott (and the sister missionaries who came over today) loved it! I must admit, the recipe did not turn out as quite as chocolatey as I fantasized, (what can I say, I'm pregnant!) so next time I think I'll use regular sized chocolate chips, but it definitely did the job of curbing my chocolate cravings! Not to mention. It. Is. SUPER MOIST!I got the recipe from a cookbook my Mom gave me called, "Our Best Bites". You can check out their chocolate zucchini bread recipe here at their site, or I've also posted it below. Enjoy!
And if your like me, good luck on your own "learning to love cooking" adventures!
Chocolate Zucchini Bread {makes 2 loaves}
2 C flour
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
6 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C canola oil
1 C sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
1/2 C sour cream
3 C grated zucchini
3/4 C mini chocolate chips
Topping:
2 T brown sugar
2 T white sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 2 loaf pans and set aside.
2. Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Place flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
4. With a stand or hand mixer beat oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until combined and slightly fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
5. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix until combined.
Gently stir in the grated zucchini.
6. Take a spoonful of the flour mixture and stir in with the chocolate chips (that will help keep them evenly distributed.) If you only have regular chocolate chips, or a chocolate bar, just give it a chop so it’s the size of mini chocolate chips.
7. Divide the batter between the two pans. and sprinkle topping over each.
8. Bake in your preheated 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. I set my timer for 45 minutes and then keep an eye on it for the remainder.
When it’s done a toothpick or skewer should come out without goopy batter on it and the top will be gorgeous and cracked with sugar.
