New Favorite Meal

It's been H-O-T!! I've been getting fatter. I know I'm pregnant. But what never crossed my mind was, that I'd be this pregnant, during the HOTTEST time of year! Oh. My. GOODNESS!! I'd tell you to come and murder me. But really, that wouldn't solve much....

With all this heat, and expanding belly, I'm not doing much. Can't lie! From about 2pm on, I just want to lay down, turn up the AC, and nap!! I have absolutely no appetite whatsoever!! But I'm forcing myself to eat. For the sake of my daughter.

When I do eat, or cook, I want it to be easy. Simple. Light. Nothing complex. Nothing that is going to keep me in the kitchen all day. Or that is going to have me doing dishes all night. That's why I'm so happy, that Ashley posted this recipe!!

I've essentially taken the idea, and made similar pasta dishes, 2 or 3 times a week. All month long! We're talking, any veggies I can find in the fridge, are quickly sauteed. Then angel hair pasta is added. Then we eat. Some nights, I sprinkle some cheese on top. Other nights, hubs will grill up some chicken to go with our pasta. He eats it, I don't. One night, he even made us some fish. That was yummy!

I can say this much, I'm having a hard time with protein at the moment. Mornings all together are still tough. Food wise. But I can manage some eggs, and light protein. After that, it's a struggle for me to eat protein. I know it's important. But I just can't deal. So I try to eat peanut butter or beans for lunch. But this idea, is really good. Lots of veggies=lots of good vitamins!! ~Chels

Brilliant Idea!!

I'm trying to find things to keep me occupied. Inside. Preferably! I almost past out, Friday when I went grocery shopping. I walked from a close parking, right inside. At 10am! And thought I was just going to pass out. This heat, is really starting to get to me. And I'm coming to terms with, I MUST stay inside....during the "peak" heat hours. Ugh!

Like I said, I'm looking for things to keep me busy. Inside. If you have any ideas, please leave me a note! I'm going a little crazy here! But I've been looking for ideas, to make things. For our nursery. For our yard. Things like that. And I found something fun on Pinterest!!

Isn't it brilliant? A hula hoop chandelier!! Honestly, I've got plenty of Christmas lights. Hubs went a little crazy buying them up this past Christmas. Apparently, I just need some paint, lace, fabric, things like this. And a hula hoop! How fun! I'd actually like to make one of these. Maybe 3, for our back porch. But I'd prefer to hang ours with rope. What do you think?

Is this something that you'd try? Or that you even like? I'm I going nuts? I hope not. Because I think this would be so fun!! Especially under the summer sky. Just a little bit of twinkle, to make every night, extra special!! ~Chels

You'll NEVER Believe....

You'll NEVER believe what I've been up to today! NEVER!! Cleaning out old jars. You see, in our fridge, we have an entire door, of jars. Of jelly, salsa, dip, honey, sauces, etc. All these jars have nothing in them. They are essentially empty. But in the fridge.

I don't know what our problem is. Why we can't throw these jars out. Why we feel it's important to have an extra large jar of pickle juice, taking up all that room. But today, I got to it. I was pulling out jar after jar, after jar!! Why we feel like a jar with no jam should go back in the fridge....is just beyond me! I had like 30 jars on the counter....

I thought, I could make something with these. Then I stopped myself. Why would I do that? We can recycle them. Either way, I'd have to wash them. Peel labels off. And if I decided to recycle the jars, I'd have to get my hubs to drive them to the recycling place. Since we're not allowed to stick them in our recycling cans.

Well, about half through my washing, I just thought, my hubs will never agree to drive all these across town. Maybe I should make something. I swear to you, if anyone would have come over, they would have thought, this woman has lost her mind!! Talking to herself. With all these empty jars!

I took a break. While half the jars were drying. And I got on my laptop. I searched out easy crafts. To use up some of these jars. And you'll never believe what I stumbled on! This cute little picture. That lead to this post. :)

I think this would be such a fun idea! I've got so many jars. I could make of bunch of these. And put them around our porch, with flowers and candles. Brilliant. Now I just need to finish getting the writing and glue off, some of the jars. If you're wondering about that. Simple rubbing alcohol is taking it off, really easy!

Then I have to decide on some sort of color scheme. What do you recommend? I'd LOVE to hear your ideas. Or any other ideas, you might have. I'm telling you, we have like 40 or 50 jars in total. Maybe more. I'm totally embarrassed about this little fact....

On the other hand, I can finally stock the fridge again. You know with jam, cherries, pickles, etc. All of a sudden, our fridge looks so empty! But honestly, all the food is in the pantry. Just waiting to go in the fridge. :) ~Chels

I Surprised Him!!

My hubby totally surprised me for Mother's Day. I wasn't expecting anything. For real!! Because I'm pregnant. I know that I feel like a momma. But I'm not really a momma yet. Anyway, my hubs totally surprised me. And completely spoiled me on Mother's Day. I knew immediately, that I wanted to do the same for my love. :)

Weeks ago, I started thinking of what I could do. And I started planning. Ultimately, we went on a long drive to the mountains. Were I surprised my hubby with a new fishing pole, and a new tackle box. Jammed with all kinds of fishing stuff. We spent the day in the mountains. He fished. I enjoyed the quiet time. It's so great to connect with nature. Oh, and I cooked us up a big 'ol picnic lunch! We did end up, stopping at the cutest steakhouse, in the mountains. For dinner, on the way home!

But I know I surprised my hubby. First, that I was able to plan, and pull off the entire day! Second, because I cooked. And it was darn good. Most of what I made, were my hubby's favorite foods. I called my MIL weeks ago, and begged her to help me. Which wasn't a tough thing to do. She was happy to help!! :)

The one thing that I totally did on my own, was I made these ginormous cinnamon buns. For breakfast! I'd seen this recipe, months ago. And I'd been wanting to try it. But to me, it seemed like a "fancy recipe." Something you make on a "Special Day."

I'm pretty sure, that my hubby wondered why I crawled out of bed...at midnight. But I whispered to him, that I was having trouble sleeping. Lately, that has been true. It's just hard for me to sleep now. I'm guessing that it's due to my expanding baby belly. But I told him to go back to bed. I quickly made my way to the kitchen. And started these sweet treats. Knowing that they needed some time, to "do their thang!"

Then I went back to bed. On Friday, I'd prepped all the other food. Things were good to go. And I got up, extra early, on Sunday morning. I put the cinnamon rolls into the oven. With our main course. And headed back to bed. My hubby actually slept through all of this. I was shocked! After 15 minutes, I got out of bed. Pulled out our yummy goodness!! And grabbed my hubby's card.

He was shocked! I'm not sure if he was more shocked that I was celebrating him on Father's Day. Or that I had baked a batch of these sweets. And they were so good! I swear to you, 1 roll, was bigger than my hand!! OMG!!

After our sugary breakfast, we got ready for the day. Headed out to church. Then hit the road. It was a really WONDERFUL day! And I hope that we can turn this into a family tradition. Next year, having our baby girl with us! And these little guys, are going to be a regular for all our "Special Mornings!" ~Chels

Green Space

We're having a "hotter than usual" summer. That is saying a lot for the desert. You know what I mean? And it's only June! It doesn't help that I'm pregnant. Or that all I want to do, is make our yard, a green oasis. Just like Cari's yard. Oh, it's gorgeous!!

I want a green place, to relax in. To get away from all of this heat!! Something that's beautiful and inviting. I took to Pinterest for a little inspiration. And I just can't get over this space!!

That vertical box thing, just makes me smile! All these beautiful potted plants, make me happy! This whole space is so fresh. So green! I want a space like this!! Maybe add in a little water fountain, some comfy seating, and some good shade. Yes, we NEED a space just like this!! ~Chels

Tastes Like Summer!!

Let me just say 3 things. One, my sweet tooth is so intense right now. Two, I blame it all on my pregnancy. And three, I've made these sweet treats 5 times, since Shay posted the recipe. Just over a week ago!

I know, right? It's insane!! But I keep craving sweet treats. This one is sweet, has ice cream, oh and it tastes like summer! My grandma used to say that a lot, when I was little. When something just reminded you so much of summer...."It tastes just like Summer!"

Come on! This cookie has it all! Ice cream, strawberry, pineapple. coconut. And it's super easy to make. Run to the recipe....and don't blame me when you've gained 10 lbs. It's Shay's fault. I'm just passing along the great news!! ~Chels

For My Lova'

This week, my hubby and I celebrate 4 years of wedded bliss! On Thursday to be exact! Man, time does fly by! Now, we're just months away, from becoming parents. It's just crazy, how fast life moves.

Back to our anniversary. I wanted to do something special for my Lova'. Ya know, he's been so wonderful, during our pregnancy. Actually, he is wonderful all the time! That's why I married him. Ladies, I wasn't that crazy! I knew, this man was special. :)

I want to do something extra special. Take into account, it's like a million degrees here! We have had horrible smoke, from a fire that's a couple hours from us. Outside stuff, just ain't gonna happen. :( And here I had had my hopes on a starlight picnic. Maybe next year! Instead, I figured I'd make my hubs a special dinner. Inside. With the AC blasting!

And like any normal pregnant woman, when I think of food....I think of desserts!! I know, I shouldn't. But it's all I crave these days. And then I remembered. Those "no bake" cheesecakes. In a flippin' jar! Dang it, they look so good.

So I hauled my pregnant self down to Wally World. This morning. In nearly 100 degree weather....at 10AM. Ugh....the "Dog Days of Summer" are here!! I must have spent, 2 hours looking for those cute little jars. Then I gave up. My feet were getting all swollen. My belly was rumbling. Baby girl and momma were hungry. I bought my ingredients. Then hopped over to Subway. :)

One, I can't find any cute jars. To me, they make this dessert. I'll keep hunting. I've got a couple of days. Two, what the heck else am I going to serve? Honky Tonk Husband likes to eat. And until about 20 minutes ago, I hadn't realized, I don't have a menu planned! I need to get on that! ASAP!!

On a good note, I got my hubby's present. And it's all wrapped up! Yay for me! That rarely happens this early in the game. Maybe pregnancy is getting me more "on the ball." Do you have any dinner suggestions? Or plans. Any ideas? I'd LOVE to hear them! My hubby really is a special guy. And I want to show him on our special day! ~Chels