The simple joys in life

I have the wonderful pleasure of waking up to this almost every morning. Dennis and I have noticed that we always seem to get about 7 deer walk through our backyard. I think it's the same ones over and over again and all they do is walk around in circles. My favorite part about this is that they usually stay in our backyard while we enjoy breakfast. It's so wonderful and before we eat we add just how much we appreciate the simple things in life to our prayers. I also thank God for moments like these because my baby will have such an interesting life ahead of him. I tell him now (in my belly) about the deer and how much he's going to love seeing them. :)

Saturday night we invited one of new friends over for dinner. We love to entertain, and have parties. (Not crazy parties, more like dinner parties, or wine and cheese parties) It's been hard for us to do that here because we moved here knowing no one. Ashley works with Dennis and we decided to invite her over for dinner. I was so excited to get back into cooking. Dennis really brags about my food at work so I had to make an impression. With that being said, I made a feast for her. Dinner included Chicken Cordon Bleu, Scalloped potato gratin, Roasted tomatoes with pesto, and Creme Brulee. It was fantastic! Of course I forgot to take pictures of everything but I did get photos of the potatoes and the tomatoes. I make the chicken cordon bleu a lot so I'll take pictures the next time.

Homemade scalloped potatoes

Roasted Tomatoes with Pesto

I'll post the recipes later but for now I'd like to get this post up so everyone can read it. :)

Enjoy!

Julie and Julia

I've had several people ask me for recipes since I love to cook. So with that being said I've decided to follow in the foot steps of the movie Julie and Julia and create a blog about food. I'll still let you know what's going on with my life but I'll just include the recipe for my dinner. I'll basically be making a virtual cookbook. :)

I have been sifting through recipes all day today and dinner still has not come to me. I do know we're going to have something with chicken. I will let you know what we had last night though that way you have a recipe to steal if you like. ;)

Spicy oven-fried chicken:

4 (6oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbl (divided) extra spicy seasoning (Mrs. Dash)
1/3C yellow Cornmeal
1/2C nonfat buttermilk
1C crushed cornflake crumbs
your favorite hot sauce for taste.

Preheat oven 400 degrees

Place chicken breast halves between 2 sheets of  plastic wrap; pound chicken to an even thickness using a mallet Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and 2tsp of seasoning.

Combine cornmeal and 1 tbl seasoning in a shallow dish. Combine buttermilk, 1 tsp of seasoning, and couple dashes of hot sauce to taste in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in cornmeal mixture, then buttermilk mixture, and finally cornflake crumbs covering the whole chicken. Place chicken on a wire rack coated with cooking spray, place rack on a pan and in the oven.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 min or until done.

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as Dennis and I did. :)

Magnifiicent King of the Flamingo People

Hmmmm I know you are wondering why I chose this as my title for my blog. Yes it does sound strange, but this is my baby's name. Yesterday at 2:00 pm we had our doctor appointment to find out the sex of our baby. We were surprised, and so happy to hear the results from the doctor.

Yesterday was a great day. I was so happy that Dennis was able to come to the appointment because he has not seen the baby since he looked like a little potato around 9 weeks. I got on the ultrasound table and she put the goo on me. (Which despite what movies tell you, it's actually warm and feels good) She moved around a bit and Dennis and I actually saw our babies goods before the doctor confirmed. She wasn't saying anything so finally I said "Doctor is that a Thingy?" She responded with "Yes, you are having a baby Boy" I can't tell you how much Den's eyes lit up. I think it was the happiest day of his life. I of course was excited too, I can't believe it....what a surprise!

Now to the name part.....

First of all Augustus (meaning "Magnificent") has always been the name for the baby. I'm almost positive Dennis would have called off the engagement if I didn't like it. lol. After Dennis proposed to me (5 years ago) we got in the car and he looked at me all serious, and said "So now that we're getting married, are those names I picked out ok for our kids." I of course wanted to get married so I said yes, thinking one day I could change his mind. It wasn't till we went to Italy that I truly understood why he wanted that name. The amount of respect Augustus still gets is amazing. People still lay flowers next to his statue, it's beautiful to see how much people still love him to this day! That's the day I decided that no matter what we'll have that name for our child.

Ryan (meaning "King") is a family name. It's Den's middle name, and his Mom's maiden name.

Arakelian (meaning "the Flamingo people") Odd I know but when Dennis was in Iraq he met a lady who knew a little bit about Armenian history. She told Dennis that the meaning of our name meant "The Flamingo people" We laughed it off thinking it was funny, but now I think it's super cute with the other meanings of our son's name.

So, Augustus Ryan Arakelian....If you ever read this when your older you are my magnificent King of the flamingo people. :)

Little Kicks!

On Sunday morning I started noticing something different going on below my belly button. It almost felt like little pinches (someone mentioned butterflies fluttering and I guess that's the best way to describe it.) Honestly I couldn't even tell you what the feeling is, it's so beautiful and different than anything I've ever felt before. Of course though I decided to ignore it thinking it's way to early to feel anything. (I was still 14 weeks)

Monday rolls around and as I wake up I start feeling the same thing. I'm noticing that I'm only feeling it as I lay down. I finally mentioned it to Dennis, still thinking I was crazy. He wanted to feel to, but I told him he couldn't because it's only on the inside. I felt really bad. I've tried putting my hand on my tummy to feel it and then I feel nothing, but once I remove my hand it starts back up again. It's so cute.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I noticed the feeling more and more! I had a doctors appointment for an ultrasound on my abdomen to see if I had a hernia or something else. I asked the doctor if it was possible to be feeling kicks this early. She told me yes, so now I am positive that's what it is. :) Most of my ultrasound was above my belly button so I couldn't see the baby but towards the end she let me see him/her. It was AMAZING, I couldn't believe how much it has grown. The legs were extended, and the baby had his/her thumb in it's mouth. Baby was laying on his/her back too just like Momma. :) It was a wonderful experience for sure. :)

I'll keep you posted once the kicks get stronger and when Dennis gets to feel them. :)

I love my town!

I've been blessed in my life to be able to travel and live in so many different places. I'm 23 years old and have already lived in 4 states in the past 4 years. While living in Monterey I was drawn to the colors of the area and noticed that the town almost looked like a painting, a Thomas Kinkaid one as a matter of fact. I would constantly tell Dennis this and he thought I was nuts. Finally while walking down Cannery Row one day we noticed a little shop designated to all things Thomas Kinkaid and his work that was done in Monterey. Crazy am I? I think not. It was amazing to me that by just looking at the area I could his vision on paintings.

Unaware of copyright polocies so here is a link to a painting from Thomas Kinkaid of Monterey CA
http://www.thomaskinkade.com/magi/servlet/com.asucon.ebiz.catalog.web.tk.CatalogServlet?catalogAction=Product&productId=74312&menuNdx=0.20

Now we live in Virginia and I've noticed the same thing as I have in Monterey. We first lived in Manassas, VA for about 3 months while looking for our first home. We decided on a home in Round Hill. The drive from Manasses to Round Hill is AMAZING! As you drive your whisked away into a Bob Ross painting. Rolling hills, with happy trees. Horse farms and beautiful mansions. It's breathtaking, you almost forget your driving. Our view from our house is the same. We have the blue ridge mountains surrounding us and a lake view from our backyard. My favorite time of the day is when the sun is rising over the lake and trees. It's a beautiful sight and perfect for a photo or painting. Once we build a deck you'll see plenty of photos. :)

Growing up I was a dye hard Bob Ross fan. My brother Derek and I would watch his show every day and comment on his paintings. We would always have a running joke saying that Bob always adds one thing that looks like it's going to destroy the painting. We'd scream "NO! Why did you do that, you ruined everything" Then at the end of the show we'd see a masterpiece and comment "Oh that's why" lol Anywho the point why I'm telling you this is because not only was I right about Thomas Kinkaid, but I'm also right about Bob Ross. He grew up in Sterling, VA which is a town close to here. I'm almost positive that this is where he gets his inspiration for his paintings. Every time I look outside I think about Bob Ross, and how happy my trees are. :)

Link to an example of my view by Bob Ross
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Cm1xD61pymPzw0C_ninR_LKYVdmxXPppFVK6H9so5OCiVucpi0nUPg7eRqq8l1tw3pqn2RZei7a6BurL5-tkF8Gh6WySrzQce6mWOdTViqDNIObk9ExfrYLg5imY2TobrLBezon6mt4/s400/DSC_0069.JPG

Annoyed and ready to have this baby.

Since I have found out that I was pregnant I have been noticing discomfort in my diaphragm area. I talked to the doctor about it once and was told it was probably pain from throwing up during the first couple weeks of the pregnancy. Last week I noticed it more and more, especially after a full stomach. I decided to make another doctor appointment just to be safe.

Sure enough my fears were becoming reality and the doctor believes that I have a hiatal hernia. This throws everything off, I have to change my whole diet and exercise routine. Mainly my diet because I was so worried that my baby wasn't getting the right nutrition that I over ate and now have gained WAY to much weight for the first trimester. In order to be comfortable the rest of the pregnancy I have to eat small meals all day long. That way my stomach won't be so bulged like it has been. I also really need to start becoming active. I haven't exercised since I found out I was pregnant because of all the nausea that I've had.

I hope and pray that everything goes smooth with this pregnancy. It's already starting out with a bumpy start. :(

Shelling!

We made it to Sanibel and it's so beautiful. I'm jealous of Dennis for being able to come here every year as a child. It's so nice to be near the ocean and have a relaxing vacation. If only this baby would let me relax. I've been sick everyday since I've been here. Yesterday I woke up with an awful headache that lasted all day, all night, and even some this morning. Then today we went out to breakfast and I ate a ton of biscuits and gravy which made me terribly sick. I am hoping and praying tomorrow i'll feel better.

One of the best things to do in Sanibel is go shelling. The shells are so beautiful here and you can find practically anything unbroken. I found beautiful conk shells but the only problem was that they were filled with either slugs or crabs. I still found an amazing assortment of shells either way. :)

Here are some photos from the trip.....