On Walking

Life is a lot easier when you make up your mind beforehand about a choice you will need to make. As youth in the church we often hear, “decide now to never drink, and then you won’t need to make a choice when the moment of decision comes.”

So maybe a more practical application for me is to decide at the beginning of the week that I will go to the gym every day before work. Then, when the alarm goes off and I’ve only slept 2.5 hours, I don’t have to worry about how tired I am or how long my workday will feel… I’ve already made my choice. I work out in the mornings.

Well, “work out” is a very generous term. I walk for 30 minutes. Not too exhausting, but I get the blood moving. My back feels better at work, my feet/body don’t get swollen, and hey, I feel better when I go! So here’s to my fourth consecutive week for 6am gym time. Thank goodness Scott is the best workout buddy a girl could ask for. (Debbie - who walks on the middle treadmill- is trying to give him a run for his money, she really loves to chat...)

Advice

Dear Frantic Stefanie,

Next time you lose something, don’t freak out. Go to the most logical place, and look there until you find it. Because there is a 98% chance that it is where is where it should be. Good luck!

Love,

Calm Stefanie

Friend Shower

My friend Emilie was so great to throw me a baby shower! She was so sweet to do it and it turned out super cute!

I tried to get photos with as many of the girls as possible! Don't think I succeeded, but I'm glad I got a few! So sweet of Jamie and Caryn from the ward to come! Caryn (on the right) is due just a week after me!

Shawna and Vanessa are so good to me! Love working with Shawna in the Relief Society~ what a gem! And Vanessa is so sweet, she is due in July!

Baby Hathaway was totally spoiled with gifts!

Oh Angie :) Love her! (Most photogenic girl ever!!!) That is a nice side shot of my GROWING belly. Wow, it looks really big. But not quite as big as it feels...

And Richelle! We have so much in common, Richelle is my sewing and photography inspiration!

Suzy was so good to come support me and the baby! This whole baby shower thing is a great excuse to see lots of good friends!

Oh Merideth! Love the pink tutu she gave, and of course the sunglasses :) Super cute!

Oh hey Julie and Korine! Lovin' the crepe bar and the breakfast casseroles!

Thank you so much to everyone who helped put this party together! I had such a fun time and felt so spoiled!

Oscars 2012

It just so happened that the Oscars fell on Dane's birthday! So fun to have an excuse for a fancy party.

And of course, a cake :)

Thanks Kylie for making the cake, it was delish!

We had just about as much sparkly as we wanted. During the red carpet, during the best picture nomination review, and at the end of the event.

Everyone was very polite, but it was clear we were having an unspoken fight over the shrimp.

Sorry this picture is really awkward... it didn't look any better rotated horizontal. The red rose was a great touch!

Thanks everyone for coming to fill out your ballots with us! We had a great time!

So happy Meryl Streep won best actress! She's had 17 nominations and won 3!

And Octavia Spencer for supporting actress! Loved her in The Help!

Kathmandu with the Boys

My dad came to town last week!

After hearing some reviews of the restaurant "Kathmandu" in Salt Lake, we decided this was the place for us! The menu was half Indian, half Nepalese, both very good! And the service was phenomenal. The Nepalese more mild and less creamy than Indian dishes... in case you were wondering!

The garlic naan was definitely a highlight.

I will always order Chicken Tikka Marsala as my safe dish, sooo delicious!

It was really fun to just sit and chat with Dad and Bry. We seriously just sat there for over three hours shooting the breeze. Just us kids and dad. We talked about family, friends, church, callings, baby, and future family reunions, of course :)

Great company, great food!

Thanks for coming dad, we had a killer time!

MILK

I can't get enough.

You Guys,

I don't know what is going on...

I am the girl who refused to finish her milk as a 7 year old.

I remember once sitting at the kitchen table all night until it was time to get on the school bus the next morning.

A strong-willed little milk HATER.

Really, no lies.

But times have changed.

As Scott puts it:

"You drink more milk than a young calf!!!"

I wouldn't be surprised if half our grocery budget goes to milk.

(And the other half to epsom salts for my sometimes twice daily baths...)

Back to milk.

I do have cereal for breakfast most mornings- so some goes to that,

but otherwise, it is milk by the glass full for me!

I have gone through 2 gallons since I bought them Monday morning

and it is only Wednesday at lunchtime!

Seriously, what is going on?

Are there any negative repercussions of drinking too much milk?

I guess this craving is far better than brownies and ice cream

(Although I still dream about Thanksgiving Point's brownie sundae)

Really though, a cold glass of milk sounds better to me than almost anything at any given moment!

Wings and Bowling with the Scotts

Last weekend we had a fun night out with the Scotts! It began with sticky finger salad at WIngers (Can you believe we all ordered the same thing?) and then off to Jack and Jills for some bowling. Ryker was a champ!

And we had a lot of fun! I finally found something I am better at than Scott! Hallelujah!

Tanner Shower

A few weeks ago, my dad's sisters threw me a baby shower! It was so much fun to hang with all the girls and play such fun games and really just look forward to welcoming this baby girl! My aunts did such a great job planning all the games and activities, I really had a lot of fun!

These are my cousins from Issaquah, Jessie and Melissa- grew up with them and love them!

Their whole family was in town to ski this week so it worked out perfectly!

Oh Allie :) We had some good times at Ikea on our way up to SLC for the party. Thanks for the fun times Al! (Check out that fruit! The mini fruit pizzas were a perfect shower food!)

Heidi and her roommate :) So funny that Scott used to babysit Heidi when they lived in the same ward in Corona!

Sierra and Emilie, what gems :) Super fun girls, thanks for coming!

Wish I could have gotten a picture with everyone, but that is what a group picture is for, right? Huge thank you to everyone who came and made it such a party!

And now,

for the best picture of the night,

and arguably the best picture of my pregnancy thus far:

Me and my Uncle Ed :)

(This photo was his idea!)

Valentines Parties :)

What a fun fun time! I meant to host a Valentines party last year... it didn't happen. So mid- January of this year, I started thinking about the invites and doing just a bit of planning.

A few banners...

water bottles...

and sugar cookies later...

We had a PARTY!

It was really great to reconnect with old friends...

Richelle and Kalin

Carly and Ali

Angie and Emilie on the left

Elyse

Annie and Lisa (I wish I got better photos of everyone!!!)

Everyone brought valentines to exchange. We swapped valentines speed dating style. Half the people sit on the couch, and at the ring of the bell, the chair people move down one person. I was a bit worried about the logistics of this, but it seemed to work out just fine!

We had so much fun, I decided to do another party later in the week! Just make a double batch of cookies and leave the banners up and voila- 2 parties with the work of 1! Poor Scott had to make himself obsolete twice in a week... I did feel bad for that!

We have a better group shot from this evening. Back left to right: Jamie, Caryn, Kelsy, Melissa, Maren, Kristen, Elise, Bottom row: Becky, me, Lindsay and Krystel. I was so glad all these ladies would come- they brought cute valentines too!

Elise is due with a baby girl a month before me!

And Jamie, love her!

Kristen, so darling!

And... she brought berries and dip to share- that was a hit :)

People brought such good treats!

We were spoiled!!!

Becky, our neighbor!

Maren wins for best valentine!

And here is mine- almond bark popcorn compliments of Our Best Bites. Love all their recipes!

Overall, it was a busy and lovely week! There is just something about connecting with the girls that is a darn good time! I haven't even told you about the game we played: 2 truths and a lie- relationship style! We had some unbelievably funny stories come out and learned tons about each other.

A few of the most memorable truths:

My father in law walked in on us the first time we ever made out.

My date told me I was his #2 and took me to meet his #1.

I cried between my reception and hotel on our wedding night.

I said I love you first.

So fun to hear the juice and have a girls night!

Tradition?

I think yes.