When to Get Good Deals

Read this "best time to buy" info in Real Simple Magazine today and thought I'd share the love:

Bed Linens:
January is a great time to find competitive prices and markdowns on sheets, towels, comforters, and more.

Furniture:
Industry-wide sales are best in January and July. That's when retailers want to make room for the next season's home designs. The best time to bargain? At the end of the month, when salespeople are eager to meet their sales quotas.

Makeup:
The months of March and August mark the launches of cosmetic companies' spring and fall colors, respectively [this is true for Arbonne, too]. At those times, you'll often receive a gift with purchase or samples when you stock up on new shades.

Clothes:
For the biggest sales on fall clothing, head to the stores in November; for winter items, go in December; and for spring fashions, June. Keep in mind that it's best to stock up on classic styles and colors that will last over several seasons.

Groceries:
Most markets rotate sales on Wednesday, so you'll get the best prices between Sunday and Tuesday. For deals on meat, visit the butcher first thing in the morning, when he marks down items that have that day's sell-by date.

Shoes:
In March you can expect discounts of about 20 to 30 percent off spring shoe styles. In June that number climbs to 70 percent off the original prices. The same cost cuts apply for fall shoes in the months of September and November.

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So there you go! Also check out The Bargain Shopper Lady for good deals.

Naps are a Beautiful Thing

Courtney has been writing about beauty, and I have to say that one of the most beautiful things I've been thinking about lately is NAPS.

While I was working, I would get really tired around 2:00 or 3:00, but of course, I'd keep plugging through until I got home. Now that I can go lie down whenever I feel like it, I actually feel much better. You'd think I'd just feel more lazy or something, but I actually feel more energetic and more cheerful (because I have the energy to be cheerful).

I think I will be surprised after the baby comes as to how much pregnancy really wore me down. It's been such a gradual process that it's hard to notice when certain things are happening, like gradual swelling over time, how much more slowly I walk, how I don't get as much breath, or the vague stretch marks beginning to show on my stomach that already existed before I noticed them. All of a sudden, I'm like, "Hey! Why can't I sing through this hymn at church without getting lightheaded? Oh, I guess I can't breathe as deeply...." I think the tiredness falls into this category, too. I think I've forgotten how much energy I used to have and have become accustomed to it because it happened so slowly.

I know you're all thinking, "Yeah, girl, just wait till that kid is born. THEN let's talk about tired." :) Well, then, let me just go back to my initial statement: Naps are a beautiful thing.

Amen.

Baby Update

Apparently some of you are breathlessly watching the blog for news about when I go into labor. :) So I thought I'd give you an update, since I had a doctor's appointment today.

As of today, I am 50% effaced, but I am not dilated at all. The doctor said that she thought the baby would probably not come before New Year's (stink!). But I also found out that they won't let me go beyond 41 weeks, which means that he will come on January 11 or before.

So there you go!

We'll definitely let you know when we have bigger news. :)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

We've had a really nice day. A few pictures that Mom took:

Me, on Dec. 23. Very pregnant.

Nathan and Dad, working a puzzle. I have no patience for puzzles, but Nathan really likes them, especially at Christmas.

We had so many boxes of gifts sent to us that we made a second tree. ;)

I'm sure I'll write more later, unless bigger events occur. :) Hope your Christmas was a good one!

Week 38 Belly Picture + Bonus Movies

Here are a couple of movies. I will just tell you in advance that I am a total idiot, and I thought that the video picture would auto-adjust once I switched from horizontal to vertical, like it does for still photos. Needless to say, that doesn't work for videos. But I thought you might like to see this, anyway. As you can see, I'm no professional. Forgive me if you end up with a crick in your neck:




And this one is of Livvy and Vi after we put out the new rug for the baby's room. They went nuts! LOVED it!

Christmas Questionnaire

I found this on someone's blog (I don't even know whose at this point--sorry I can't give proper credit!) and thought it looked fun. Want to join in? If you post something similar, leave a comment and let us know so we can go read it.

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1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, mostly because I like to go to town decorating my packages with pretty ribbon and things. This year, though, there has been a hiatus on the high-maintenance packaging. Lots of other things to do right now!

2. Real tree or Artificial? We've never put up a tree before since we always travel for Christmas, but Nathan and I both grew up with artificial trees. Neither of us had ever had a real tree until last night. We went to Home Depot and picked one out. Note to self: Next time, try to buy a tree before the nor'easter that dumps 16+" of snow arrives. :) All the trees were basically frozen shut and had snow and ice in them, and I have to say, Home Depot did not do a good job of shoveling the aisles in the garden section. It really was kind of treacherous. But we found a lovely Douglas fir, which smells amazing, and took it home. It is currently thawing in our living room and is much bigger than we expected, and it is really beautiful. I'll try to take pictures once we get it decorated.

3. When do you put up the tree? My mom would say the day after Thanksgiving. We didn't get to it until, um, December 17. ;)

4. When do you take the tree down? A few days after Christmas

5. Do you like egg nog? I have never ventured to taste it. Something about it being called "egg nog." I mean, come on. Gross.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I wish I could remember. I know I liked this little educational computer thing. I kept trying to tell my parents that Santa left it slightly closer to my pile, so he meant for it to belong to me and not to Ken. And did my Barbie house come from Santa? Probably. If so, that's probably up there.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? No. We are still in the "collecting Christmas decor" stage of our lives. It literally took about five minutes to put everything up, sans the tree. I have to say, that's a little sad. But we've never really had the luxury of storage space for decorations until now.

8. Hardest person for whom to buy? Grandparents.

9. Easiest person for whom to buy? This year it was Nathan. Or maybe Meredith.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Email?! Who emails their Christmas cards?! I think I would only do that if I were desperate. I think I'd rather not send anything and hope they didn't miss it rather than send an email.

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Probably something that ended up under #13. Oh! No, I know what the worst gift ever was--last year's gift from Ken. Nathan and I both received a $.25 recorder and a $1 movie (I got "Boy in the Plastic Bubble," and Nathan got some kind of Godzilla movie). There was definitely some charm to it, though (especially since Ken was dirt poor at the time). The funniest part was that Nathan immediately picked up his recorder and proceeded to play a Christmas song on it. What the heck?! Apparently they teach kids how to play the recorder in English schools.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I like all the old ones, like White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, etc. And of course, who doesn't like A Christmas Story?

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I'm sure it has happened from time to time. Actually, we did recycle one this year at a White Elephant/Yankee Swap party. I am not going to say what it was, but it did get a good laugh.

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Chocolate covered cherries. And my mom makes good fudge and chocolate oatmeal cookies. And my family's sausage balls. Yeah, we're real health nuts.

15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear. I like how simple and elegant they look.

16. Favorite Christmas song? O Come O Come Emmanuel. I love the melody (kind of haunting) and the words. And at Baylor, we would always perform this amazing arrangement of it in choir.

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We've always traveled, switching between Nathan's family and mine. This year, though, we are staying close to the hospital, with Baby B. so close to coming.

18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? "You know Dasher and Dancer and Comet and Vixen; Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen; but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...." Oops, I named Comet twice. So I guess the answer is no.

19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? I grew up opening at least a few on Christmas Eve. We just couldn't wait any longer. Nathan thinks this was a terrible breach of all things normal and just, and whenever I want something right away, no matter the time of year, he says (mostly kidding), "This is just like opening presents on Christmas Eve!"

20. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Trying to fit in seeing everyone in a short amount of time, especially when you don't live in the area anymore.

21. Favorite ornament theme or color? I usually gravitate towards red or gold or a combination of the two.

22. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? Dinner? How about dessert?

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? A baby.

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*UPDATE*

Nathan just sent me this email. Is this funny or what?
"I saw on your blog that you just want a baby for Christmas this year. Why didn't you say so? That saves me the trouble of having to go out and shop. =)"

8 Months

If I have this baby on his due date (January 4), I officially have 2 weeks and 4 days left.

Grr.

I am ready for him to come yesterday. Seriously, folks.

I have had a very uneventful pregnancy, with the exception of some extra weight gain. While other women around me were suffering from severe insomnia or constant morning sickness, I breezed right through the first two trimesters. The third trimester dawned with some back pain, etc., but all in all I've had it pretty good.

But lately, I have been running into all kinds of things that make me just want to go have a baby and be done with the whole pregnancy thing:

• I am starting to get stretch marks on my stomach. UGH. I did not notice until this weekend. I thought I was home free, people! Then this happens two weeks before the due date!
• I feel gigantic. I know I've said that before, but I really, really am gigantic now. I thought about measuring my belly just to see how many inches around it is, but then I decided that probably wasn't the most uplifting thing to do, even if I am curious. :) Plus, I'm a little swollen everywhere, which makes me look even more gigantic.
• I am getting short of breath because the baby has not dropped yet. For example, Nathan says I sigh a whole lot. He keeps saying, "Are you okay?" at odd times, because he hears me sigh, as if I'm upset, but really I'm just breathing. :) He also says I breathe really hard when I'm asleep, and my mom said I sounded out of breath on the phone the other day, when I was only sitting in the rocking chair. And I have not been able to sing through a hymn at church the last two Sundays without getting lightheaded! That is the funniest one, I think.
• My ankles are still pretty swollen, and I am down to only two pairs of shoes--one pair of boots and one pair of cute tennis shoes. And the boots are almost out, too, since they're getting pretty snug. The bad thing about this is that neither of these pairs of shoes is great for icy winter conditions, which we've had this week.
• Apparently there's a possibility I might be developing high blood pressure, which would NOT be cool if it lasts after the baby is born. This coming from someone who was lightheaded in early pregnancy because my BP was so LOW.

All in all, I am just really looking forward to having my body back (or as close to it as I can get). So, yes, I am ready for him to come yesterday, but if he comes in two weeks, so be it. What I'm REALLY afraid of is that he will be two weeks late and come in mid-January (both my brother and I were late). Not so sure Lauren could take that!

I know most women probably feel this way towards the end of their pregnancies. I'm praying for patience and contentment!

Ella is My Girl

Everyone should own this CD:

Ella Fitzgerald is the best female vocalist in history. Period.

Hodgepodge, Round 2

1. If you haven't checked out Katie's blog, you should. It will make you laugh.
2. Has anyone noticed lately that the History Channel has turned into the science and engineering channel? Seriously, enough with the Modern Marvels.
3. I was also disappointed to hear that the Food Channel has decided to go for a more mainstream market, getting rid of some of their more eclectic shows. (Mario Batali will no longer be on the Food Channel, for example.) I mean, Rachel Ray is okay, but I liked all their eclectic and interesting stuff. I do have to say that her Dunkin' Donuts commercials annoy me: "Their coffee is faboo! I keep a million pounds of it on hand!" They'd better keep Alton Brown.
4. I miss Bravo. We only get random cable channels because our TV picks some random things up, like the History Channel. We will be getting cable again soon, but we haven't had it for over a year. I am really sad every time I see "Project Runway" scroll by on the TV Guide channel. Can anyone forget Wendy Pepper? And I just want you all to know that I bought a shirt at Chloe's store in Houston a couple of summers ago.
5. I am really sleepy today. Wish it had been a snow day so I could have stayed in bed a while longer.
6. Don't call me tomorrow, because I won't answer. Nathan and I are going to go stay at a hotel downtown for our anniversary "trip." We usually travel every year rather than give gifts, since it's so close to Christmas. (Although I'm thinking that next year's fifth anniversary might be a good time to splurge on some jewelry, hint hint.) We've been to Montreal, the White Mountains in New Hampshire, etc. But this year, we didn't think it'd be too wise for me to be far from the hospital two weeks before my due date. So we booked a night at a nice hotel downtown. I think it's really historical, but I haven't bothered to look much of that up yet. It's called the Omni Parker House. Anyway, don't call me, because hopefully I will be watching a movie and eating room service.

Winter!

3:00pm:
It's snowing like CRAZY!

1-3" every hour!

It's officially a nor'easter, but on Sunday it might be an official blizzard.

More later!


7:00pm:
My office closed at 3:30 because of the weather, so I went to Harvard Square to do a little last-minute holiday shopping in the snow. At first I thought that might not be a great idea (didn't want to slip and fall again), but fresh snow is actually pretty easy to walk on. You kind of sink in, and it's usually pretty dry, so it's got some grip to it. It's when it gets a little slushy or when it ices over that it's bad. Anyway, after doing my shopping, I went to a coffee shop and worked on knitting one of my Christmas presents while I waited for Nathan to finish up at school. We were originally intending to head out to Outback for our anniversary dinner, but all the snow put a stop to that. The city of Boston actually declared a snow emergency at 1:00 today--there is that much snow! Or at least, that much in a short amount of time. (It started snowing around noon today, and about 8-10" has fallen at this point, with more on the way.) So we went to one of our favorite places in Harvard Square, Bertucci's (a good Italian/pizza place). Then we headed home.

When we went down into the bus station, there were hundreds of people waiting. Turns out there was some traffic something-or-other going on along our bus route that kept the buses from getting back to Harvard, so some people had been waiting an hour and a half! Poor people!! And it was COLD down there, although it was at least out of the wind. We waited about 25 minutes or so before we got a bus. When we got home, we found our upstairs neighbor shoveling out the driveway, so Nathan told her he'd take over. There was no way any of us could get our cars in the driveway until it was shoveled out, anyway. Here's a picture of Nathan and Kara shoveling:


And here's a picture of our car, parked in front of the house. Check out the amount of snow that had piled up on the trunk. Or even the handrails along the stairs!


I overheard one woman saying that it took her 4.5 hours to get home from downtown Boston--understand that downtown is about 6 miles away! And another woman said it took her 7.5 to get home from a suburb. For you Houstonians, that's like saying it took you 7.5 hours to get into town from Tomball or something. Craziness!

Side note: Nathan just called me from downstairs and asked me to bring him two big glasses of cold water. "What do you need those for?" "I'm really thirsty!" "You want cold water?" Mind you, it's 22 degrees outside right now and feels like 12. "Yes. " So I took Nathan two glasses of cold water, found him having shed his jacket and with beads of sweat on his forehead from all the effort of shoveling the driveway and sidewalk, and that boy downed that water. Ha!

So you might be wondering what it's like to live with snow, or you Texans might. Well, I'll describe it a bit for you. The thing that struck me today was how much the snow muffles other sounds. There were cars around, driving on the street and all, but it was just much quieter than usual. I also love the sound of snow crunching under your feet. I don't know why, but that is one of my favorite sounds. Sometimes you can also smell the snow in the air. I can't really describe it, but it smells icy. :)

I was originally going to write about marriage since today is our anniversary, but the snow kind of took precedence, seeing as how this is the first real snowfall of the year and a real doozy of a storm. But Nathan did walk a mile to bring me some roses at work today. Aren't they pretty?? Here they are on our dining room table (if you're kind, you'll ignore the clutter):

Four Years

Nathan and I will celebrate our fourth anniversary this Thursday, December 13. I loved that our wedding was at Christmastime. You'll have to indulge me as I post some pictures:

By the way, that next to last one is of us laughing because the minister had just misprounounced our last name (Mr. and Mrs. Nathan BeResh instead of BeNesh). We weren't sure whether we should turn around and correct him or just go ahead and process out. We ended up just walking back up the aisle. Half the guests thought it was funny, and the other half didn't even notice. A glich has to happen at everyone's wedding, right? Looking back at that picture cracks me up--the minister is just standing there grinning, oblivious to his mistake. Ha!

Hodgepodge

1. Livvy went through a very cuddly spell. This is notable because Livvy is not the most cuddly of cats--she is very independent and doesn't generally like to be held or to sleep right next to you. (Vi is our cuddly cat.) Anyway, here's a couple of pictures of Livvy's cuddly spell:



She has discovered the infant seat and loves to sleep there:
2. Here is a picture of the pee yellow wall color:

And here it is after it was painted blue:
There's still some setting up to do in the baby's room, but once it's complete I'll post more pictures.

3. The baby was wild when they were checking on him because they gave me some orange juice, and I had already had some sugar. So he was just downright hyper. The nurse had to actually stay in there and follow him around with the sensor because he kept moving so much (I got to hear her life story--it's funny how people get chatty sometimes and tell you all kinds of things they wouldn't just tell anyone). Then he got the hiccups, which was entertaining. So far, they think he is still head down, but he is twisting around a lot.

4. In the tour of the hospital, I found out that they only give walking epidurals, not the big time regular knock-you-out-from-the-chest-down kind (not that you can actually "walk" with a walking epidural, because your legs are jelly, but it's less strong, the idea being that you'll have a little more sensation so you can push more effectively). Now, I intend to go as far as I can before getting an epidural so I can move around and help labor progress, but I definitely want to be all hooked up by the time I hit 8cm or so. The nurse who gave the tour said patients definitely consider the walking epidural sufficient pain relief. If you've had one, let me know what you thought of it.

5. Nathan and I have been BUSY. We had something almost every night last week, and I had this long list of things I wanted to get accomplished this weekend. Between preparing for the baby and getting everything done for Christmas, it's a long list! But I was just dead tired. I think this being 8 months pregnant thing is catching up with me. I took long naps both Saturday and Sunday, which I just didn't expect.

Lauren's Christmas List, the Short Version

1. A pedicure. Don't tell my "you must have regular pedicures in the summer to be a real woman" friends, but I haven't had a pedicure in about 2 years. I think it would be really nice to get one before the baby is born. For one thing, in the hospital and after I come home, when I am all swollen and gross and haven't washed my hair, it sure would be nice to have pretty feet. Secondly, I can't reach my toes very well (and haven't been able to do so for a month or two), which means that my toes are not all that pretty right now. This also means that putting my socks on in the mornings is quite the athletic feat. Nathan enjoys making fun of my sock grunting. Granny says he should just put my socks on for me, but so far he has ignored that advice.
2. Cooking Light magazine subscription. Who among you has read and loved Cooking Light? I've had a subscription for about 2 or 3 years now, and I love it most of the time. I used to read that sucker cover to cover when it came in the mail, until I got busy building an Arbonne business then being pregnant, but even then I did go through and read through the good articles and most of the recipes. I used to have a goal of making two new Cooking Light recipes every month, just to expand my cooking repertoire. It was great, until I quit doing it. :) My subscription ran out a few months ago, so I'll buy the magazine at the grocery store checkout every so often if it looks like a promising issue with lots of yummy recipes. (It kills me to pay regular price, though, since buying four magazines at regular price would more than pay for a year's subscription.) The November issue was especially good--it had all kinds of awesome holiday recipes, many of which are quick and easy or good for when you have house guests.
3. An electric blanket. May I just say that when it is 62 degrees in your bedroom when you go to bed, an electric blanket would be heaven? Heavy fleece robe notwithstanding (it is seriously awesome--like wearing a coat to bed), cold sheets are not a pleasant thing. Nathan has balked at the idea so far, believing that he would get too hot. But you can get the dual control kind, where he controls the heat (or lack thereof) on his side of the bed, and I control the heat on mine. Winter is here. It is time, Nathan. It is time.

Busy Beneshes

Hello all,

So I haven't posted anything in a few days, which is unusual for me! We have been super busy. I will write in more detail later, but here it is in a nutshell:

- Last weekend we painted the baby's room. It went from yellow (a hue I fondly dubbed "pee yellow") to blue.
- On Monday, my 8-month-pregnant-self slipped and fell on the ice. No worries, I am fine. So is Baby B.
- On Tuesday, the doctors chided me about not calling immediately after I fell. "But I wasn't hurt!" "Call anyway." Okay, fine. I missed my office holiday party so they could hook me up to a monitor and watch the kiddo for a while. He is fine. Actually, he was wild. More on that later.
- Tues, Wed, and half of today (Thurs), I was in meetings all day long. No breaks. Not even for lunch. I think of a lot of things to say on the blog during my down time at work. Thus one reason for the lack of posts.
- On Wednesday, we went and had our tour of the maternity and postpartum floors of the hospital, and we went to our Meet the Doctors Q&A.
- Tonight, I have my breastfeeding class. Whether or not Nathan ends up attending is still TBD. :)

As you can see, we've been a bit busy this week. I'll update on all of this later on this same post--maybe you'll even get to see the pee yellow wall!

December Arbonne Specials

*UPDATE: Some of the images were causing problems, so I have temporarily taken them down. They'll be back up shortly! In the meantime, you can see what everything looks like at http://www.arbonne.com/.

I told you I'd have some specials up on my website yesterday--sorry that I'm a day late! They are posted below and on my Arbonne website. Let me know if you'd like to take advantage of any of them!

Arbonne is running lots of great specials this month, and I am running a few of my own. Be sure to read to the end to see everything that is being offered in December!
*Please note that you'll need to place your order about a week before you want to receive it (at least 7 days in advance, in this busy season), so keep that in mind when gift shopping. I would advise you to place all orders by December 15 in order to receive items in time for Christmas.

Prep and Plumps 20% Off
In November, save 20% on About Face Prep & Plump™ , each available for only $22.40, regularly $28, while supplies last. I love this product! Not only does it go on beautifully, but it also has anti-aging elements in it that help prevent the signs of aging on your lips. Plump up the volume with this revolutionary formula that works to counter the appearance of thin lips. These gloss and treatment duos — in 10 terrific shades — feature a double-ended application wand to enhance lip color and shape.

Purchase with Purchase Specials
There are a lot of these this month! With a purchase of a certain amount or from a certain product line, you can get a huge discount on an additional item.
With every $75 SRP increment, qualify to purchase the Luxurious Almond, "Always Almond" set for only $31, regularly $77.40
With every $75 SRP increment, qualify to purchase the Mandarin Cashmere "Merely Sensational" set for only $35.50, regularly $88.20
With every $75 SRP increment, qualify to purchase the f.y.i. Arbonne For Your Ideal for only $32, regularly $78.30
With every $50 f.y.i. Arbonne™ SRP order increment, qualify to purchase the f.y.i. Arbonne limited edition SweetFrostings Color Palette for Lips & Eyes for only $18…regularly $40. While supplies last.

Purchase any of these holiday sets:
Sweet Sensations set
Always Almond set
Merely Sensational set
The Two Step set
The SKY's the Limit set
Big Not-So-Basic Intelligence set
Holiday Lights set
Morning, Noon & Night set
About Face Charming Color set
Sweet Talk Me For Your Ideal set
and qualify to purchase one of the six holiday Glass Candles for $12 (regularly $30). Choose from the Luxurious Almond, Mandarin Cashmere, Ginger Citrus, Awaken, Reactivate or Unwind Glass Candles.

Specials Available Only Through Me:
These specials are only available if you contact me directly; they are not available through Arbonne.com or 1-800-ARBONNE. Contact me at laurenbenesh@gmail.com.

Get something back during this giving season--the bigger your order, the more you get!
$5-50: 10% off retail price
$51-100: 10% off retail price and free shipping*
$101-$150: 20% off retail price and free shipping*
$151-250: 25% off retail price and free shipping*
over $250: 25% off retail price, free shipping*, and another $100 of products for $20
*a savings of approx. $8-23

Have a Blog?
Earn $100 of products for only $20 with a blog catalog party. How? Simply publish a post like this one, and I will collect the orders for you. For every $250 in orders that are placed through your blog after a week, you can buy $100 of products for only $20. (It'll be to your advantage to do this in early December if you would like your products before Christmas.)


Merry Christmas!

Best,
Lauren

Sample: Blog Catalog Party

Here is a sample of a catalog party you can have on your blog to earn some great Arbonne products. For every $250 of products that are placed through your blog's catalog party, you can buy $100 of products for $20.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Catalog Party!
How does this work?
* Choose what you'd like, and place an order by emailing my Consultant at laurenbenesh@gmail.com. Be sure to let her know that you heard about the deal through my blog. She will help you place an order, and you'll get your products by approximately [7 days after offer expires].
* All orders placed through my blog receive 10% off the retail price!
* All orders must be placed by [date].

You can see all products at http://www.blogger.com/www.arbonne.com. All items qualify for the 10% off special, but here are a few of the most popular items for the holidays:

Awaken Sea Salt Scrub: $28 for the large tub, $30 for the set of three small tubs
Breathe new life into the old as you cleanse, moisturize and exfoliate skin. A very popular gift!
https://www.arbonne.com/products/holiday/aromatherapy/


Pampermint Foot Scrub and Foot Cream: $37.50 for the set
Lighten things up with this foot care set that puts a spring in your step and softens skin.
https://www.arbonne.com/products/holiday/pampermint/

SugarCoated Powder Duo: $22
This shimmer duo for face and décolleté includes two shades, side-by-side and a puff applicator for a customizable glittering effect. Make your skin shine and glimmer with a flick of a puff and then sashay off into the sun. Great for teens.
https://www.arbonne.com/products/holiday/fyi/products.asp

Arbonne Baby Care Set: $82
For fundamental, sensitive skin care needs, just remember your ABCs: Five products that soothe, nourish and protect skin ... from the day life begins. Arbonne Baby Care Hair and Body Wash; Body Lotion; Body Oil; Herbal Diaper Rash Cream, Sunscreen SPF 30+, plus a free Arbonne Intelligence Rejuvenating Cream for mom.
https://www.arbonne.com/products/baby/set.asp

NutriMinC RE9 Skin Care Set: $298.50
This product line was the first of its kind to address the “after” effects of sun exposure and aging with a REsult-oriented system of products for face and body. Set includes Wash, Toner, Serum, Eye Creme, Day Creme, Night Creme, plus a free Transforming Lift.
https://www.arbonne.com/products/anti-aging/nutriminc/face/set.asp

Faith

This is good.

Christmas Shopping: Check!

You may have noticed a couple new links to the right. They're to the websites for the small businesses of Meredith, Lori, and myself.

As you guys know, I own a business as a sales rep for Arbonne, which makes awesome skin care, nutritional products, etc. They always come out with a bunch of seasonal aromatherapy for the holidays, which is currently available. If you're interested, you can place orders through the website or contact me for more info. In fact, check my website starting December 1. A little bird told me there may be some really great specials posted there. . . . :)

Lori truly is THE Bargain Shopper Lady. She knows how to get the best deals on everything. So check her website out, especially for the holidays! She can help you get great deals on a lot of gifts (and goodies for yourself!).

My sister-in-law, Meredith, has started a small business making the prettiest bags you ever saw. She calls it Linda Grayson Design, and her website is way cute. A couple of months ago, she made a bag for a friend, and everyone else asked if they could buy one from her. So she took the idea and ran with it, and she is getting busy creating an inventory just in time for Christmas. You can buy one of the bags on the website or contact her about custom making something for you. Here are some samples:

Reality Strikes

Sometimes it does not seem real that we are going to have a baby. You can't see his face, you can't hear him cry, he doesn't really require much of you (at least not compared to after he's born), etc. So sometimes it seems surreal that we are going to have a real, live kid.

But Nathan and I have had a few moments when the reality of the fact that we are going to have a baby strikes us. Like when we first saw the ultrasound picture, or when Nathan and I decided he will have to make Hershey Bar Pie every Thanksgiving with our kids (one step is melting marshmallows and chocolate--just imagine how fun it will be to make "marshmallow soup" every year).

The latest one happened this weekend. I bought a cute fleece outfit that I had seen a few weeks ago. I decided we needed it, because it is dang cold here in January, we don't have that many 0-3 month clothes, and it was so cute. I also picked up our travel system (stroller + car seat). So after Nathan put the travel system together, I put the cute little outfit in it, and we both gasped and smiled a little--"Oh my gosh! We'll have a real baby in a real outfit in this little seat!" Zap! Reality struck!

If I Were Cooler

If I were cooler, I'd know how to create my own template for the blog. A lot of you guys have cute ones that are not the cookie-cutter versions blogspot offers. How do you do that? Can anyone give me a quick tutorial? I do have a Mac (that probably helps).

I am the Stuffing

Take this quiz! Which part of Thanksgiving are you?

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

Nathan is the Mashed Potatoes:

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Oridnary, comforting, and more than a little predictable You're the glue that holds everyone together.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

Honestly, Nathan is neither ordinary or predictable (usually). But this was still a funny quiz.

Turkey Day Recap

So I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We had a great one. This was our third year of hosting all our friends in Boston, and it was a blast. Basically, everyone brings food, we have a marvelous feast, then we play board games until our brains give out from the turkey coma.

I don't think a holiday is much of a holiday unless you have a crowd. I like to be surrounded by people on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc. We had 10 people this year, and I think it turned out great. That is about the maximum number we can seat comfortably, anyway. We put the second leaf in the dining room table, put the kitchen table in the dining room, too, borrowed a chair or two, and we were set.

I made a 16+ lb. turkey. I always brine my turkey (for a full discussion, see post below), and I've never had a bad turkey, so I am a big believer in brining now. I have to say, though, that without Nathan's help when it came to manhandling that bird, I don't think I could have done it all at 8 months pregnant! I held up pretty well, though. We got up at 5:30 to put that sucker in the oven, and by the time our guests started arriving, my back was already killing me! But sitting down to eat helped (or maybe it was the food...).

Nathan was a lot of fun this year--he came home the day before Thanksgiving so excited about all the food and getting ready. He even made Hershey Bar Pie, which he always loved eating at his house, and I really have to say that it was the major hit at the dessert table, along with Caleb's apple pie. I think even my quadruple chocolate cake was dwarfed by the glory of that Hershey Bar Pie. I know I ate way too much of it.

Speaking of eating too much, considering how exhausted we both were when all our guests left, we stayed up SO LATE! Like 1am, people! So we were sitting there watching bad movies at 1am, and I said, "How in the world are we still awake?" And Nathan said, "I think it's all that sugar." Ha! I think he must have been right.

Anyway, something did happen that we thought was hilarious. You may not think it's all that funny, but I'm telling you anyway, because it is a long-running family joke. Nathan and I received a gigantic turkey platter as a wedding gift. I mean, this thing is huge. You could literally use it as a sled instead of a platter. Literally. Just imagine it with me. It's got to be 2.5 or 3 feet across, AND, to make it even that much cooler, it is in the shape of a turkey. I have no idea at this point who gave us this gigantic turkey platter, but I have to thank them again for no other reason than that its existence has entertained us for nearly four years. Nathan's parents thought it was especially funny, and we always joke about the huge turkey platter. In fact, it's so big that we have never really had the room for it. But Mama & Papa B. brought it with them to Boston when they came this summer kind of as a joke, like, "Well, now you have the room, and I am SURE you'll use this . . . maybe as a sled." So we stuck it in a corner. But the funny thing is that this year we DID use it! And it worked great! Here's a picture of the beautifully sliced turkey on our famed turkey platter:And that, folks, is my funny Thanksgiving story.

In case you didn't think that one was funny enough, let's try this one:

My mom is a character. She is always the life of the party, which is usually fun, because she is kind of silly. Last Christmas, we reluctantly participated in a Christmas auction, in which she auctioned off all her teacher gifts and other random things for the needy. Now, this doesn't sound very entertaining, but with my mom running it, it had its entertaining moments. Or dramatic moments, to say the least. So this year, for Thanksgiving there in Texas, they joined up with a branch of the family for dinner. Ken and Meredith also drove in for the day. So Amy, my cousin, was talking to her long-distance boyfriend on the phone, and upon Mom's suggestion, they made a little video to send this guy. And would you like to know what it was of? Of course you would. Well, Mom taught her students America the Beautiful in sign language recently. So she stood in front of the couch, everyone else sat on it or stood behind it singing, and she did the sign language. They all acted very serious and patriotic; Ken even had his hand over his heart. And Mom signed America the Beautiful. Don't you wish you could have seen that? This was Meredith's first Williams holiday, and apparently she kept waiting for someone to tell her that this was a joke, that we don't really do things like this. Oh no, Meredith. That was no joke.

So that was our Thanksgiving, both the one we had and one of the ones we missed.

Today, Nathan and I took it easy. We were pretty tired from yesterday. We did get out and take a walk around Fresh Pond, though. This is a pond/reservoir about half a mile from our house, and it's really nice because they've kept the surrounding park woodsy and natural. So we went and hiked around for a bit today. It felt good to get out for a bit, but I do have to say it was really cold, especially when the wind blew. By the time we got back, our chins were numb. :)

Incidentally, I ran across this nifty tidbit about Fresh Pond recently. I thought it was neat. Just another nifty thing about the area we live in that has historical value that I didn't know about until now.

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving, too!

Holidays are Here!

Okay, people, I must tell you some big news:

It's snowing!

Right now! Outside the office window! WOW! Snow doesn't usually fall this early in the winter. We had a few flurries yesterday, but it is a little heavier today. It's not sticking, but there is definitely white in the air!

The thing about this is that I have had so much going on that I haven't really gotten into the holiday spirit--I've had too many distractions. I even read Courtney's post this morning about the holidays, but I was thinking to myself, "Gee, I wish I were that excited about it already." But now that it is snowing, well, this might just do it for me.

Nathan's going to try to take a picture before he leaves the house--the snowflakes might not show up, so don't get your hopes up. But check back later to see if he got a good one. :)

Yay, Matthew!

So those of you who know the Beneshes know that they are a bunch of smarties. Nathan's dad is a physics professor, his mom is working on her PhD, and all their kids are smarties, too. (I won't even tell you what my mother-in-law got on the free rice vocab quiz!)

Nathan's youngest brother, Matthew, called today to tell me that he got into Cambridge University! HELLO, is that exciting or what???

He is graduating from Baylor this year with a Physics degree, and he has applied to lots of different places for grad school. He said he didn't really expect to get into Cambridge, but boy is everyone excited that he did!

Now, one of the reasons that this is so cool, other than the fact that we are talking about Cambridge, here, and that he and Emily (his fiancee) would be living overseas in England, is that there is a strong Benesh tie to the University. Nathan's dad did his postdoc there, and Nathan was born there. Their family lived in Cambridge off and on until Nathan was about 8, when they settled in Waco. So all the kids have a great fondness for the town and the University, and Nathan's parents still have friends there.

Plus, I studied abroad at Cambridge one summer in college, and I absolutely fell in love with the place. In fact, Nathan came with me for a few days, and the first thing we did when we got there was to go see his old neighbors, an elderly couple who kindly invited us in for tea, even though they weren't sure who we were. Ha! The next day, as I went to an amazing Shakespeare class, Nathan went to his old elementary school and asked if any of his old teachers still worked there. Isn't that funny? All of us love the city, and we're really excited about visiting Matthew and Emily, if they do decide to move there (Matthew is still waiting to hear from some other schools, too).

Just click on this picture and tell me you wouldn't love to live here, too!

A Word to the Lurkers

Okay, I have something to say to all you faithful readers. Blogging is more fun when you know you're not just talking to yourself. :)

I was wondering if fewer people were checking the blog or something, because the number of comments has dropped off a lot. But you all keep mentioning to me over phone and email that you saw such-and-such post, etc., so I know you're out there!

I always love to hear what you have to say, and other people do, too! So don't be shy. Leave a comment here and there.

A comment tutorial:

• Click on the link at the bottom of the post that says "0 comments"
• A new webpage will appear. Enter your comment in the box.
• Choose an identity: if you have a blog, log in. Otherwise, choose "Other" and fill in some basic info, or choose "Anonymous." (If you choose Anonymous, just be sure to write your name in the comment box so we know who said what.)
• Click "Publish"

Looking forward to hearing from y'all again!

Science and Christianity

I just checked our church's website. Is this not way cool??

Psalm 19

I didn't have time to expound on this when I initially posted it, but the reason I think this is so cool is because so many people think that Christianity and science oppose one another. A lot of people think you have to check your brain at the church door or choose between believing science or believing the Bible, when that is far from the truth. There are many eminent scientists who see no other option than that there is a Creator. Hugh Ross has written many books on this (he is an astronomer/physicist, if I remember correctly), and I know that another Rice biochemistry professor has talked about the same thing.

Poor Nathan, as a geologist especially, has had several people from both sides (Christians and non-Christians) ask him some questions tinged with a little bit of aggression, since they assume they know what he's going to say. It is an interesting debate that he has had to take a close look at, since he seems to be a target for questions about Creation, etc. What we have read makes us believe that science/nature and the Bible mesh perfectly and are NOT opposed at all. I can expound on this if you're interested, but in a nutshell, that's been our conclusion.

Anyway, I think it's neat that our church is tackling this issue, because so many people can get so up in arms about it, which ends up being more divisive than edifying for the Church. I'm looking forward to hearing what they have to say.

Thanksgiving . . . I Mean, Food

This post was going to be about Thanksgiving, but I think that I am more interested in food right now. So we will just have a chat about Thanksgiving food instead. Because, really, that is why you love Thanksgiving so much, right? I always loved having like 17 people in the house and having a big dinner together, and that's definitely part of it. To this day, I feel like it wasn't really Thanksgiving or Christmas unless we had a crowd. But so many goodies show up this time of year that I think it's time we talk about the food a little bit.

The first year we were in Boston, my parents came up, and I made a stellar Thanksgiving dinner, with my mom's help. That was my first experience with a turkey, and it turned out great, which made me feel like I had finally cut my teeth. I felt like I had crossed the threshold and had become an actual cook and homemaker once I knew I could do a turkey. This is also the year I discovered brining (more on that later).

For the past three years, Nathan and I have hosted Thanksgiving for our Bible study friends. None of us are actually from New England (all the guys are students), and since we all go home for Christmas, we are usually all still here for Thanksgiving (not wanting to pay for two flights home and all). So for the past few years, Nathan and I have hosted a potluck Thanksgiving dinner. I make the turkey and a few other items, and everyone else brings their favorites. We end up with a ridiculous feast. In fact, last year, nobody signed up to make a dessert, so I made two or three. Turns out everyone thought the same thing, and you should have seen the dessert table. (Yes, we had to clear off an entire piece of furniture for all the desserts.) It was glorious.

This year, I'm making the turkey, roasted veggies, rolls, and a dessert (or two).

Here's the deal on brining: basically, you boil a bunch of water, salt, and spices, let it cool, then soak your turkey in it overnight. Then you rinse the turkey and roast as usual. When you brine it, the salt makes the meat super juicy (not salty), so you end up with a moist, flavorful bird. You can search the internet for turkey brines--there are tons of recipes. Here is a turkey recipe from Williams-Sonoma, and here is a list from the Food Network. It is essential, though, to buy a brining bag (basically a huge ziploc bag that you put the turkey and brine in)--unless you have a small turkey, you can't fit the dang thing in anything else and expect to cover it with liquid.

As for the roasted veggies, I usually buy a bunch of veggies that look good and will all cook at about the same rate, and I cut them all up, toss with a little melted butter, rosemary, and S&P, and put them in the bottom of the roaster for the last 40 minutes or so that the turkey is cooking. The turkey drippings flavor the veggies, and they are AWESOME. This roasted veggie side usually consists of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, cherry tomatoes, and anything else that I feel inspired by in the grocery store.

Rolls--you guys, I do not make homemade bread. I know that those of you who do will say it's not that big of a deal, but I am perfectly happy with storebought rolls. Mmm, yeast rolls and butter.

And on to the best part of the day: dessert! I will, of course, make my quadruple chocolate cake. And I think I am also going to make a cranberry-pear pie with oatmeal streusel. Tell me that thing does not look amazing. It is in Cooking Light magazine this month.

And lastly, if you have never made cranberry sauce from scratch, you are really missing out. There is pretty much nothing easier, and it tastes SO much better than that stuff out of a can. Now, if you are one of those people who would just die if their cranberry sauce is not can-shaped and sliced into little discs, okay, fine, I probably can't convert you. But if you are a little more open-minded, and if you're interested in something that will actually taste like cranberries and that you will like so much that you will never, ever go back to that gelatinous goo from Thanksgivings past, check out this recipe:
Cranberry Sauce
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup orange juice
- 12-oz. package fresh cranberries, rinsed, drained, and picked over
Combine OJ and maple syrup in a saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2-1/4 cups.

So what are you making for Thanksgiving? What are your favorites?

Squirmy

So Nathan and I watched this National Geographic video about babies in the womb and how they develop, and one of the things that the video said was that by about this time (towards the end of the pregnancy), the baby sleeps about 90% of the time.

I just want you all to know that this is a downright lie. This kid squirms all the time. The last couple of days in particular, I've been wondering what the heck is going on. He is moving almost constantly, or at least it feels that way.

It just occurred to me that maybe he's squirming in his sleep. Hmm.

33 Weeks

This is for those of you who care about this sort of thing. Here is a link about what is going on with the baby in Week 33:

http://www.pregnancy.org/pregnancy/fetaldevelopment3.php#week33

I've been eating lots of flaxseed cereal for Omega-3's (for brain and eye development--I just can't make myself like salmon), as well as drinking tons of milk, since his bones are hardening right now. :)

Random tangent: It's amazing how many Omega-3 products there are out there. Right now at home we have cereal, bread, and eggs all with high levels of Omega-3's. Nifty.

Beauty is Fleeting . . . But a New Outfit is a Wonderful Thing

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting"; yes Lord, but then why does a new outfit give me a renewed outlook on life?

I have been feeling ultra-frumpy lately. Partly because my belly is big, so all my clothes are big. And partly because it's pretty much winter here now, and all my winter clothes are big, bulky sweaters that aren't what you would call figure-flattering. That, plus there is this one fleece of Nathan's that I wear pretty much every day when I get home. And I actually wore one of Nathan's jackets to church on Sunday, which was just the straw the broke the camel's back--it was just so bulky that when I saw this cute girl in a trendy outfit with a fitted coat on, I kind of wanted to hide. I'm so vain, I know.

I mean, it could be much worse, I know. I could be living in the mid-80's, when the only maternity clothes looked like sailor outfits (eesh). Or in the early 90's, when the cool thing was oversized shirts and stirrup pants (why did we all think we looked so cute?). But something about the combination of a big sweater and a big belly just does not do much for the psyche, or at least mine. I miss you, Ann Taylor.

So this weekend, I went to the mall to pick something up for Thanksgiving from Williams-Sonoma (I think Jesus himself created that store), and I stopped into a maternity store to browse for a minute. I found myself picking some clothes off the rack . . . then in the dressing room . . . then at the register, buying a very cute outfit, because it did NOT make me look frumpy, and that did a lot for my state of mind.

It's a cute red, trendily cut turtleneck and some flowy black pants. Good for work, good for the holidays. Good for my psyche.

You know, I could worry about this and wonder if I'm overly vain or spoiled or something. But I don't think I will. Because sometimes, dangit, you just need a new outfit.

This looked better after my hair calmed down a bit. :)

Hormones are Eating My Brain, part 2

I must tell you once again that my pregnancy hormones are eating my brain. I am pretty much the most forgetful person I know at this point. Here are some reasons why (I will keep a running list, since it's pretty entertaining, so check back):

• This afternoon, I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (YUM), and I made extra so we could bring some to our friend for his birthday. I packaged them up all cute, got a few things together, and we headed out the door. Halfway to our friends' house, I turned to Nathan and said, "What did I do with the cookies?" I had left them at home. Of course. Totally forgot them as I was getting a coat and some other things to bring.
• Speaking of a coat, this morning we were leaving for church, and I announced, "Okay, I'm ready." Nathan looked at me and said, "Don't you think you need a coat?" Oh yeah. It was probably only like 38 degrees--it was only 60 in our bedroom, even, when I woke up--and here I am forgetting about a coat.
  
• Last night, as I was going to sleep, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten my 24-pack of water bottles on the bottom shelf of my shopping basket in the grocery store parking lot. I even pushed that sucker all the way over to the cart return. Did not miss them for a second, until hours later.

Sigh.

Week 33 Belly Picture

I'm officially headed into week 33! Yay!

I liked this picture, other than the band of light across the belly. It gives you a better sense of how big it is.

And here we are in all our glory!
Gotta love the waistline on these pants. I think they look like men's beer belly pants, or at least once you lift the shirt up. You can't beat them on comfort, though.

Week 32 Belly Picture

Sorry this one is late.

Compare this to my Week 21 picture, which is in the same shirt!

Faith & Doubt

I have been going through Beth Moore's Jesus: The One and Only devotional book, and the other day I read something that I really liked, and I thought I'd share it with you all.

It is based on Luke 7:18-28, when John the Baptist, who is in prison, sends messengers to Jesus to ask him, "Are you the one to come, or should we expect someone else?" This question just reeks of doubt, yet this is coming from the man who preached in the desert and baptized people in preparation of Christ's coming. This is from the guy who recognized Christ for who He was and told his followers that he was not fit to tie His sandals.

But here he is, sitting in prison, persecuted and dejected and about to be beheaded, while Jesus is out there doing all kinds of miracles for all kinds of other people. In fact, Jesus had just raised someone from the dead. It seems like a natural response to ask why Jesus had not done a miracle for him, too. It seems like a natural response to wonder if this was really the plan--for him to preach for only a year then be murdered because of political intrigue. So John started to have seeds of doubt.

Our pastor preached about faith and doubt several weeks ago. He mainly talked about Thomas, but he also incorporated this passage, because in both cases, Jesus does an amazing thing. He does not chastise John or Thomas' doubt. He does not cast them out. Instead, He answers their question. How awesome is that? In Thomas' case, He shows him the marks on His hands so that he will believe that Christ was alive. In John's case, in answer to "Are you the one?" Jesus sends the messengers back with the message that "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." In other words, "Yes, John, I am definitely the one." What patience and compassion Jesus had to actually acknowledge their doubt and answer their questions.

In both cases, He does follow it by saying something that implies it would have been better if they had never doubted. To Thomas He says, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed," and to John he says, "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." But since Jesus teaches that it would be better not to doubt, why does He tolerate the doubt at all? Our pastor answered that it is because it is a normal--maybe even healthy--part of being a Christian to doubt. At least when we are seeking answers, we are being honest and are genuinely seeking the truth. He pointed out that in Thomas' case, a LOT rode on whether or not Christ really was alive, including personal safety, and so it made sense that Thomas wanted to see proof. He could have just ignored the other disciples' testimony, but instead, he showed up in the inner room to hear what they had to say and test the truth. There is a genuineness in that. Our pastor postulated that this is why Christ admitted it--because Thomas and John were honestly seeking the truth, despite their doubt.

In fact, in the case of John, Jesus even turns to the crowd at hand and tells them--and remember that this is right after He has confronted John's' doubt and sends him an answer--that "among those born of women there is no one greater than John."

How awesome that Jesus accepts our seeking, answers our doubt, and still sees us for who we are in His kingdom? That we can still be used, loved, and in John's case, honored.

The other thing I love about this passage is what Jesus says to John: "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." I loved learning what the Greek words actually meant the other day, because that's the key for unlocking this seemingly strange answer. And it does seem strange, doesn't it? Why would Jesus answer John in such a way that makes it look like he has "fallen away?" That wasn't really what happened, or at least that would be an exaggeration of the facts. It turns out that the Greek sheds some light on what Jesus actually said.

"Falling away" comes from the word skandalon, which means "a cause of stumbling." So what Jesus is saying is, "Blessed is the man who does not find me a cause for stumbling." Why would John find Jesus a stumbling block? Because Jesus was not working in his life like he was in others'.

Amen to that, right? How many times do we see these amazing spiritual experiences of other people or hear about how God worked in so-and-so's life, and it kind of takes us aback that God didn't work in our life like that. I certainly know how that feels. So what Jesus is saying is, "Blessed is the man who doesn't let the perceived activity or inactivity of Christ trap him or make him stumble" (Beth's words).

Well, that really got me. I think that a lot of times I assume that God is not working in my life in the same way He's working in others' lives because I must have a lack of faith or because I'm not listening enough or because of some other personal failing. And I'm sure that's true to an extent, at least sometimes. But the truth is that God has kingdom purposes, and I am no less a part of that kingdom than any other Christian. He has a purpose in my life, and in the dry spells or when it seems like He's not answering prayer, I still have to trust that He is good and that He is working on my behalf. Blessed am I if those dry times don't make me stumble. I never knew Christ acknowledged this or gave any instruction or encouragement regarding it. I like it. :)

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:2

"Test everything."
1 Thess. 5:21

Shower!

Last weekend, the girls in our Bible study threw me a shower! It was a lot of fun--there was WAY more food than we could ever have eaten (we called the guys when we were done and they ransacked the leftovers), Sara came up with some really cute games, and, of course, opening gifts is always fun. And it's always nice to get together with just the girls. :)

Here are some pictures (more to come):

Me, trying to diaper a stuffed bear with a bandanna and some safety pins, blindfolded. The idea being that we were seeing how we would do if we had REALLY had some little cowboys and had to change them in the middle of the night in the old west, with no lights! The other team won, but that's okay. We still did a pretty good job!

The freshly diapered "babies" and Hannah.

Me, with presents!
Food--mmmm.

Bonnie's cake. Now, Bonnie is famous for her baby shower cakes. She makes them from scratch, and they're always amazing. This one had an orange-apricot filling. Yum!

The girls:

Bethany, Bonnie, Hannah, Kendra, me, Julia, and Sara