I love Food!

The great thing about pregnancy is the satisfaction I get when I satisfy a craving. It is very strange how someone could just mention some type of food, something I may have not eaten in years or something I have never liked, and just could do anything to get my hands on it. I have had a strange cycle for food cravings that have lasted about 2-3 weeks each while I have been pregnant. Here is the progression...

Pickles- on everything

Bagels with whipped cream cheese and salt (sandwich pickles layered on top)

Polish Hot Dogs from Costco with lots of onions

Pizza with extra cheese

Any type of Candy (mainly bite-size Halloween candy)

and now...

French Pastries!

Today I saw someone eat a french pastry (the kind filled with whipped cream) and now I can't stop thinking about it. If ANYONE knows of a french pastry shop/bakery in the Orange County area PLEASE let me know. For some reason I imagine a french pastry shop looking like this!

I HATE VISTA!

Since Brian and I are both going to school full time our one laptop just wasn't cutting it anymore. I bought a new Dell laptop and it came with Vista. Well, I you may have heard, it is really hard to open Windows Vista documents on computers with regular Windows. I like to transfer my notes/homework/papers between my laptop and my home computer to print them. Well, it was driving me crazy since it was having so much trouble. A friend at school told me to just use the CD of Vista from Dell that came with the laptop and install it on my home computer without registering it. I thought you couldn't do that because of legal purposes. He ASSURED me that it is ok. That Vista encourages that so people are more willing to buy Vista since it has a bad reputation.

Well, I did it and things were great for about three days! Then, I get an email from Vista letting me know that my program has been installed twice and that it is illegal. I had 24 hours to contact them if this was an error. I was shocked. I didn't even register it... how did they know? I guess Bill Gates knows all... Well, I waited to ask my friend what to do and the 24 hours expired. Immediately my programs of Vista were shut down on my laptop and I was told to repurchase the program and install it with a new product key. I bought the $128.99 Student and Home Office Vista and can you believe it IT WON'T WORK. I don't know what I am doing wrong, but I am too afraid to call because technically I am a CRIMINAL!

Shopaholic!

On Tuesday I did another interview for Suzie Suh from CBS 2 and KCAL 9. This time it was on shopaholics and impulse shopping. They asked me to just give tid bits on how to become more financially secure. It's funny that they call me for financial tips for different stories. In reality I am just saying the same things over and over again:

Track your Expense- Know where your money is going

Budget your Expenses by creating spending limits

Don't forget to budget for period expenses (i.e. car registration)

Take proactive steps to reduce common expenses (get on the phone and negotiate down your monthly bills, print coupons, cut back on electricity usage, drive less)

Give everyone in the family (including parents) allowances for all of the little things they purchase

Save a minimum of 10% each paycheck for emergencies or unexpected expenses

Focus on debt reduction (cut up retail credit cards immediately!) visit a certified credit counselor at a non-profit agency for help setting up a game plan

Only carry 1 credit card in your wallet and have no more than 2-3 total

Write down all of your debit card purchases in your checkbook registry (where they belong) to avoid any Non Sufficient Fund Fees

Talk about finances as a family- Budgeting is only successful when everyone in the family contributes to its success

Even though I basically say this entire list each time on camera it is up to the reporter to pick and choose which one to put into the story. So... Here is the link to watch the video clip of the CBS/KCAL interview, but you basically just read it in my blog!

http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=78038@kcbs.dayport.com

New Bedding and More Movement!

Last night I felt Savannah from the outside of my tummy. It was the strangest feeling I have ever had. Each time she begins to kick I will have someone put their hand on my stomach to feel it too, but she ALWAYS stops. Brian is getting a little frustrated. When she starts kicking I will call for him and he runs in and puts his hand on my belly and nothing!

Also, this past weekend my Mom and I went out and found the cutest bedding. My Mom bought us two beautiful pieces of furniture. We decided that a full size crib would just be too big for our little one-bedroom condo. We got a porta-crib and a changing table to match. The wood is a dark espresso. So, try to imagine the lady bugs with the pale pink against the dark wood- it's adorable. The only disappointing part is that porta-cribs have a minimal selection of only ugly bedding, and the lady bug bedding didn't come in porta-crib. So, I bought as much as I could (hamper, diaper holder, mobile, paintings, rug, valance, and drapes). I couldn't get the actual bedding (bumper, fitted sheet or quilted blanket). I figured that I could just buy more drapes and try to make the stuff I couldn't buy... since I don't sew it will be a challenge! The changing table had wicker baskets instead of drawers so I thought I would change out the basket liners with the matching material from extra drapes.

Here is a photo from their website at www.kidslineinc.com:

Just a couple Political Cartoons

Baby Shower Tea

Last Saturday, my Aunt gave me a baby shower. We went to a tea house in Brea and had a wonderful time. It was all girls and even Ashlyn went. My cousins and aunt showered Savannah with lots of cute outfits and swaddlers! Everything was SO CUTE in pinks and greens. Thank you all so much for such a great time. Here are a few photos of the event.

Sarah, Sarah!

Brian jokingly refers to my Republican Presidential candidate pick, then after last February, my Republican Vice President pick as my "boyfriend". As you can understand, after studying the economy for the last year and listening to all of the candidates I was 100% for Mitt Romney. The 'boyfriend' reference is because I am so supportive of him. I often refer to him as the smartest economist in the world, a fix it guy, and I also have him on my top 5 list of people to meet in my lifetime. So, I was very disappointed when Brian woke me up last week to tell me that Mitt Romney was not McCain's VP choice. I started rattling off who else I thought it was. I never guessed Sarah Palin (Brian and I just referred to her as the woman from Alaska) was even a serious candidate, and honestly I didn't know anything about her.

So, not too happy with John McCain's decision, I started reading about who the heck Sarah Palin is to try to understand why he picked her. I hoped it wasn't just political angle to get Hilary voters because she is a woman. After I read multiple sites about her I was truly impressed. I set the DVR to record the entire 3rd day of the Republican National Convention. Not only to see my 'boyfriend' deliver another awesome speech, but to hear Sarah's view directly from her. I was BLOWN away by her confidence, her fight, her position on Drilling, her position on big government and, ironically enough (since all the media said was the opposite), I was impressed with her track record and experience.

So, GO SARAH! What an inspiration you are to PTA and 'Hockey' Mom's, young women, and female college students to remember that we have a voice and can make a difference. Who knows... maybe in 13 years I can be a Vice President Nominee too!