haiku friday - OB

warm patch of sunlight
basking so contentedly
this is a dog's life

baby leg warmers!

i just think these things are too cute! and when i found out how easy (and cheap) they are to make... let's just say saraya will never have a shortage. i first saw the leg warmers on this new blog i'm following. well, the blog isn't new but i'm a new follower. anyhow, she has been featuring "what i'm makin' mondays" and i really like some of of the projects she's got on there. another cute, cheap and easy craft is the adorable little flower headbands. i will probably be making some of those too. a girl can't have too many accessories!

here are her first few...

100 things i want to do before i die

ok, here's the continuation i promised from earlier. to give myself a fighting chance at accomplishing these things i've included some things that i've already done. the main point is that i feel like these are life experiences that have either contributed to making me who i am or who i want to be. this is the entire list of 100. each item will get an individual entry about it. :)

1. get a master's degree
2. learn to hem a pair of jeans
3. visit all 6 DISNEYS
4. dive the great barrier reef
5. go on safari
6. skydive
7. swim with manta rays
8. learn to crochet a blanket
9. write a book and get it published
10. win a photography contest
11. become a cloth diapering master
12. visit the grand canyon
13. see an active volcano
14. go on a cruise
15. check out a glacier
16. be on the amazing race
17. be an awesome mom
18. learn to surf
19. ride an elephant
20. jump off of a waterfall
21. be a contestant on the price is right
22. fly a fighter jet
23. cook a turducken
24. be a Big Sister
25. get a tattoo
26. pet a wallaby
27. ski and snowboard
28. march in a parade
29. participate in the 3 Day Breast Cancer walk
30. pick wild mushrooms
31. read all the harry potter books
32. see Cake in concert
33. complete 12 5k's in one year
34. shop at the Mall of America
35. eat camel hump
36. kill my own dinner
37. help build a home
38. see a bullfight
39. go ice skating
40. photograph a wedding
41. go deep sea fishing
42. carve a pumpkin
43. make it to my next high school reunion
44. change my own oil
45. learn to play guitar
46. win a big lottery jackpot
47. make my own beer
48. learn another language
49. design and create a dress
50. take my daughter on a road trip
51. make baby food from scratch
52. visit the DMZ
53. learn to make the perfect pad thai
54. eat rocky mountain oysters
55. ride a motorcyle
56. take my family to Korea
57. see a play at the Sydney Opera House
58. learn to tango
59. see the Louvre
60. dye my hair a very unnatural color
61. be in a Food Network studio audience
62. try outdoor rock climbing
63. have my own chickens and garden and maybe a goat
64. see Tori Amos in concert
65. jump off the 10 meter high dive
66. go dog sledding
67. have a natural water birth
68. read/re-read the top 100 classic literature titles
69. bet on the ponies
70. learn to sail
71. see a show on Broadway
72. learn self-defense
73. fly first-class
74. learn sign-language
75. see No Doubt in concert
76. create a drink/shot called Turtle Fart
77. participate in a mud run
78. see an Alaskan summer "sunset"
79. attend an Olympic event
80. watch a really good drag show
81. ride the train up the California coast
82. pick my own cherries
83. learn glass blowing
84. learn to stand-up paddleboard
85. learn to shoot
86. shear a sheep
87. be a waitress
88. visit all 7 continents
89. get a nose piercing
90. bungee jump
91. learn calligraphy
92. see aurora borealis
93. walk on the Great Wall of China
94. see every movie on the American Film Institute's Top 100 of the 20th century
95. attend a Shakespeare festival
96. learn to knit
97. volunteer at an orphange
98. milk a cow
99. tour Italy
100. ride a hot air balloon

nursery inspiration

a lot of people have been asking about the nursery. it is a work in progress. and it's hard to describe the theme because there really isn't a theme per se. like us, it's an eclectic mix of ideas and experiences. but what i can do is show you one thing that can be considered the basic inspiration for the room. it's from saraya's first scrapbook. we love the colors and pattern.

6 sauces

my dad collects hats and sauces. BBQ sauces, hot sauces, marinades, etc. whenever i travel i try to find a sauce unique to the place i'm at to add to his collection. along the way i guess i've developed my own taste for the condiments. so subject to my next big discovery, here are 6 of my favorites:

1. Tabasco brand Chipotle Pepper Sauce
2. Carlsbad Gourmet Ruby Red Strawberry BBQ
3. Stone Five Chili Pepper Agave Glaze
4. El Pato Hot Sauce
5. Sriracha (or rooster sauce, as i like to call it)
6. Nando's Garlic Peri-Peri Sauce (all of the peri-peri sauces actually)

what are some of your favorites? any recommendations?!

citrus cravings

in my first trimester i had daily cravings for citrus. it was a part of my morning ritual to include a delicious serving of ruby red grapefruit with breakfast and every afternoon i'd devour a couple of mandarin oranges as a snack. as i enter my final month of pregnancy, i no longer have uncontrollable urges to consume citrus like it's going out of style but i definitely still appreciate it, especially in a good recipe!

as a part of my promise to try to know where my food comes from, i decided to take these delicious lemons from my friend Denise's awesome tree...



and attempt to make this mouth-watering dish from Pioneer Woman's archives
i love the way she breaks recipes down both in her description and pictures. you can try this baked lemon pasta too or type lemon into my foodgawker link to get all kinds of fun and interesting recipes.

justin and i like a little more substance though so i tweaked the recipe to include shrimp and mushrooms, halved the sour cream, and added some different spices and herbs.


next time, a dessert!

Dakota part 2

so daylight, props and a sleepy baby make a big difference!

haiku friday - Dakota

tiny toes wiggle
soft smelling like spring drizzles
sweet disposition

5 words i like

i just like the sounds of these...

1. bougainvillea

2. supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

3. naugahyde

4. indubitably

5. wingardium leviosa

ok, so that last one is actually two words. and they're a spell from harry potter. so what? i still like them! give me some words that tickle your fancy...

earth day

happy earth day everyone! as i was trying to decide how i was going to celebrate/honor this day i started wondering where earth day came from. i learned it was started in 1970 as an environmental teach-in. one of the great things about earth day that holds true even today is that it can be spontaneous. that first day in 1970 didn't involve mass organization of demonstrators and participants; it was about a grassroots response. so hopefully no one feels like they can't do their part on this (and every) day just because they aren't participating in a huge, organized event. by now we're all aware of little things we can do from taking re-usable bags on our shopping trips, to taking advantage of energy-saving light bulbs and appliances. this year i'd personally like to focus on marine conservation.

The Nature Conservancy lists 10 ways you can personally make a difference when it comes to marine coservation. i like numbers 2 (make informed seafood choices) and 6 (find out the source of your food). a good way to find sustainable seafood is to reference Monterey Bay Aquarium's seafood guide. and i try to shop for the majority of our produce at local farmer's markets. check out the link to san diego's farmer's markets in my links i love.

how do you plan to celebrate earth day?

flower fields

the carlsbad flower fields are about 50 acres of gorgeous spring flowers that are only available for viewing for 6-8 weeks out of the year. primarily known for the ranunculus, the flower fields also offer fun features like tractor rides and a sweet pea maze. we didn't ride the tractor this year, but we managed to get lost in the sweet pea maze for a bit.
justin actually decided to show off some of his own photography skills. i'm so proud i thought i'd give dredwerks photography a couple of guest spots.




and here are a few of my own...

10 places i want to travel to

in no particular order...

india - the food and colors and music are so inviting

tokyo - mostly i want to check out tokyo disney. but seeing the cherry blossoms and riding the bullet train would be neat too!

hong kong/shanghai- of course i'd love to see the great wall but both hong kong and shanghai have disneys now and that knocks me down to having only been to half of the disneys

italy - i so wanted to be stationed here but it was never in the cards. maybe it's better that i never had long term exposure to the food or the machismo but i still want to check the place out.

greece - opah! between my greek friends and my big fat greek wedding, how could i NOT want to visit this place?!

new zealand - land of the long white cloud and the majestic maori. and of course, cute kiwis!

tasmania- on a tip from an aussie friend, this is a part of australia like no other. also, the tasmanian devil may be extinct in the next 30 years.

south africa - safaris and surf!

spain- gorgeous history and culture...

indonesia- bali=beauty

Dakota part 1

our friends Karlie and Augustus just added a fifth daughter to their beautiful family. they were kind enough to allow me to practice some newborn photography with her. it's hard work! but dakota is very photogenic even when she's being fussy. we're going to attempt another session when she's a little sleepier but here's a sneak preview...

butterfly jungle

A Butterfly Lights Beside Us

A butterfly lights beside us, like a sunbeam...
and for a brief moment it's glory
and beauty belong to our world...
but then it flies on again, and although
we wish it could have stayed,
we are so thankful to have seen it at all.

Author Unknown

yum, protein!

today we went to the wild animal park to check out the butterfly jungle. it's an annual exhibit that is only open a few weeks in the spring. you walk into an enclosure where the butterflies flit from flower to tree to nectar-laced table. sometimes they even land on you! it's a very popular exhibit and sometimes the wait to get in is pretty outrageous, but i think it's worth it. while we were waiting, there was a wild animal park employee passing out meal worms and crickets as snacks! he said it was guaranteed to make me go into labor so i kindly passed (though i have had the pleasure of bug eating in thailand!) but justin stepped up to the challenge. i've got some great shots of the butterflies coming but in the meantime, enjoy watching justin nosh on cricket while you wait.

haiku friday - chocolate

chocolatey goodness
melting underneath my tongue
makes baby happy

funky dreams

last night i had a very realistic dream that someone was standing next to my bed making kissing noises over me. but when i opened my eyes, there was no one there and justin was lying on the opposite side of me sound asleep. it freaked me out because i had a very strong sense that there was a presence there. justin jokes around that the aliens are watching and couldn't help visiting because they're so excited about Saraya's arrival.

these pregnancy dreams are so vivid! anyone else having any funky dreams, pregnant or not?