So insane

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I have a baby inside of me.  I mean, I knew I was pregnant but to see the ultra sound and the that it actually looks like a baby now and its inside of me.  Its so crazy.

We had to go in for an emergency ultra sound yesterday and we got to see the baby early, my appointment is in Feb.  On Tuesday I was going to get up and get ready for water aerobics and found that I had been bleeding quite a bit.  In a slight panic I called my mom to see if this was something that was normal, all I have heard that is any bleeding when pregnant is a VERY bad thing.  I called the doctor on call and found out that there is really nothing I could do.  I could go to the ER where they can charge me lots of money and they would do an ultra sound, but if I was miscarrying then there is nothing they could do or I could wait and go into the doctors office the next day and just have my co-pay and they would do an ultra sound and see if the baby was still there.  I opted to wait.  My mom came over and my dad and Jared offered to come help Ross give me a blessing.  I called first thing yesterday morning to see when I could get in and I had to wait until 4pm for my appointment, talk about a long day.  When we went into the doctors they took me right in and did the ultra sound and this is what popped up on the screen.  I hadn't expected to see such a well defined baby, I think I was expecting more of a blob, but was really happy that I hadn't miscarried.  It was just a rip between the placenta and the outer wall?  I don't remember everything she was explaining, I was too in awe of this thing inside of me.  Long story short, things are ok but I just can't do anything really physical or strenuous for the next 3 weeks.  I fear I will get bored just sitting around and that it will be harder to get back into working out after the 3 weeks.

We also found out that I was a month ahead of what was originally thought so we got a new due date of Aug 4th.  Which kind of explains some.  My pants are so snug around the waist right now, part of which is cause I am SO bloated all the time.  I have had to jimmy rig my pants and have a rubber band hold them closed cause to do them up its way too tight.  I also have to wear Ross' shirts since they are long enough to cover my rubber band pants and in case my zipper gets all the way undone you can't see it.  I have been wearing sandals for the last couple of weeks cause my feet gets so hot and if I could fit into my shorts I would probably be wearing those too.  However, considering I eat every couple of hours, sometimes constantly, I haven't gained any weight yet, just lots of bloat.

Ross laughs at the ultra sound cause our baby has no arms and the feet are kind of floating and my mom pointed out that the kid already has quite the gut.  Hopefully this kid isn't doomed from the start.

I've been tagged!!

I've been tagged! The deal is to answers the questions below. This will be fun . . .


1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals, or are they members of your family?

I don't see Havoc as a child or anything like that but he is def part of the family.  He is still an animal but when he jumps to my aid when Ross is picking on me or when he spends his day cuddling up with me when I am sick in bed its hard to think of him as just some animal in the house.
2. If you can have a dream to come true, what would it be?

This is a tough one cause I don't really have big things that I really want to happen, just lots of little things.  I would love to be able to complete everything on my bucket list, but that would be a hard one since I am always adding to it, it is great though when I can cross off something and put a date next to it.  It would be great for Ross to be out of school and in a different job.  I think maybe just to be content with my life and what is happening in it instead of always wanting something different or something more.


3. What is the one thing most hated by you?

Fake people.  I don't care if you like me or not, just don't try to pretend that you do or that we are BFF.  I know that not everyone is going to like me and I am ok with that and on the other end don't expect me to have to like you either.  Nothing I have had experience with lately, just something I hate.
4. what would you do with a billion dollars?

Never work again.  And travel. 
5. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?

A good run with just the right music.
6. Which is more blessed, loving someone or being loved by someone?

I can't pick just one cause I feel blessed to have people that love me and that I have people in my life I can love. 


7. What is your bedtime routine?

Its usually quite the process.  I have to get my lunch and snacks ready for work the next day and I usually sit in bed watching tv, trying to comb out the dog and stay awake long enough to get everything done.  It takes a little bit of time cause I hate to make my lunch and gather snacks and never know what my stomach will accept so it takes a while.  Then I wash my face and brush my teeth and after crawling into bed remember its my turn to take the dog out.  When I get back into bed I put the sleep timer on the tv on so when Ross comes to bed he has some light and he doesn't forget to turn it off, and crash.  I fall asleep very easy but its so hard to stay asleep the last 8 weeks.

8. If you are currently in a relationship, how did you meet your partner?


We were both in California and were friends for a year.  Then we both left California, me to Utah and him to Louisiana, where we were friends for a couple months, then tried the long distance thing for 6 months, then were friends for the next 3 years when I gave in and decided to try dating him again (we were finally in the same state) and well, the rest is history.

9. If you could watch a creative person in the act of the creative process, who would it be?

I can't think of one person or type of person in particular.  I like to watch how others do things so I can replicate it and put my own twist to it.


10. What kinds of books do you read?

Free books.  I don't have one type of book I always read, sometimes I will read anything I can put my hands on.  I do tend to lean towards fantasy and murder mystery.

11. How would you see yourself in ten years time?

I see myself with a family and with Ross having a good secure job so we are financially secure, secure enough that we have extra money left over after bills for extras.


12. What’s your fear?

I've always had a fear of turning off the shower and opening the curtains and finding a stranger in my bathroom with me naked and vulnerable.
13. Would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to visit outer space?

I don't think I would.  Outer space isn't really a draw for me.
14. Would you rather be single and rich or married, but poor?


Money def doesn't buy happiness so I would rather be with my husband and happy than to have all the money I would ever need.  I think I would eventually become very lonely if I just had money.

15. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?


I turn on my lamp so I don't fall back to sleep.  Then I think evil thoughts about having to get up at 5:15 for work.


16. If you could change one thing about your spouse/partner what would it be?


I think it would have to be his procrastination.  Some days it drives me insane, but he has so much on his plate right now with work and school full time that I try to give him slack on it.


17. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?


I wouldn't.  I like my name and can't see me being someone other than Britney.


18. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing that special someone has done?

I do eventually, some things take longer than others to forgive.  I think some things I will never forget, I just have to realize that the person made a mistake.  I wouldn't be able to stay with him if I was unable to forgive him.  And I want him to forgive my mistakes so it would be hypocritical of me to not forgive him.  There are a few things that, later down the road I may be able to forgive, but would definitely end our relationship.


19. If you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be?

I am having a hard enough time finding something to eat today.  My stomach is so finicky right now that eating is quite the process.  I would love to find something I could eat for the next 6 months, even if just one item, that meets all my nutritional needs.

Whats going on?

My husband has become brainwashed.  Before we got married he didn't really care about Thanksgiving, one year him and his mother went to a health food store and picked up a couple items from the cafe and called that dinner.  When he told me what he was doing for his Thanksgiving dinner I thought it was very blasphemous and was shocked that someone would do something like that for a Thanksgiving dinner.  I grew up very differently, VERY differently.  Every year we go to my grandma's house and have the traditional dinner, complete with pie and ice cream for desert.  A couple times Ross has scoffed at my idea of Thanksgiving dinner.  However, over the past 4 years, since he has been stuck in Utah for the holidays, he has been coming to dinner with my family and I heard one of the most shocking statements from him a couple weeks ago.  He told me he was converted to the traditional Thanksgiving dinner and that's the way Thanksgiving should be.  I was pretty shocked, that's for sure.  And since he made that statement all he talks about is Thanksgiving and how many days away it was and how he was looking forward to the food (he even made a request to my mom for extra stuffing so he can eat as much as he wants).  It has gotten so bad and its brought up so much that yesterday I told him I am not discussing anything about Thanksgiving Day, Thanksgiving dinner, Thanksgiving food, any kind of countdown or anything to do with the day.   He is getting more excited for Thanksgiving than for Christmas, give him time on that and I think he will come around.

Ross and I were raised very differently in very different parts of the country.  A few times it has caused a few wrinkles but for the most part its great, we both have very different ideas and traditions to bring to the table and as we have started our little family its great to try to pull from the different traditions we both grew up with and make our own traditions.  I think its fun to try to pull some of the Southern traditions in, some are pretty different from Utah, which makes it more fun. 

Man I'm Ambitious

Yesterday my day revolved around my cursed pumpkins. I haven't had much luck with them from the start. The pumpkin plants almost died when I planted them, then they grew out of control and took over part of my tomatoes. I had over 40 blossoms and lots of little pumpkins start but the stinking bugs in my garden decided to eat all but two. Fortunately there is only 2 people in our house so both of us were able to carve a pumpkin. I wanted to use the pumpkins for puree so to keep them fresh we carved them late Saturday afternoon and I think they turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

Even with all the wind and rain we had on Saturday night they stayed lit and looked pretty cool.

Yesterday I had decided I needed to get the pumpkins taken care of before they started to go bad. I love pumpkin cookies and pumpkin rolls and basically anything pumpkin at this time of the year and I figured I had these two pumpkins and honestly how hard could it be to make puree from them so I won't have to buy it. I thought I could find out how to do it online and it would be a breeze, I have never been so wrong before in my life. Online it said to slice it into quarters and bake them at 350 for one hour. I tried that and it ended up taking 2 hours for one half of my pumpkin to bake to the point of being able to remove the "meat". During those 2 hours the temp in my house continued to rise to a very unbearable heat. When it was finally done I then scraped the meat out and put it in my food processor then into freezer bags. As soon as I took the first half out of the oven I put the 2nd half in and it took another couple of hours, luckily I was able to go for a run while it was baking. On the 2nd pumpkin I decided to try a different method. I tried what we did last weekend when we made applesauce. I sliced the pumpkin and then cut the skin off and put them in a pot with a little water to steam. If anyone decides to puree their own pumpkin, THIS IS THE WAY TO DO IT. It was a bazillion times easier and like 2 years quicker. It didn't smell as good as the baking pumpkin did but who cares when it takes 40 min start to finish versus 4 hours. All in all I spent 6 1/2 hours doing pumpkins, but I do have 27 cups of puree to use that I won't have to pay for.

Now I want to try to make some cookies or pumpkin roll with it to see how it works compared to the canned stuff. I will just remind myself that it was free.

My other project this weekend was some cookies I made. I found this recipe online and wanted to try it but didn't have a reason to just make cookies. I like cookies but with just Ross and I its hard to eat a whole bunch of cookies, or sometimes its too easy to eat a whole bunch of cookies and we didn't need them in the house. (I usually end up giving baked goods to my neighbors when I am in a baking mood, however, these weren't something I wanted to take to my neighbors) My mom was doing a Halloween dinner while my grandma was down so I volunteered to make them and my sister and I got together on Saturday to try them. I think they turned out pretty good, I almost had a couple of my nephews convinced they were real witch fingers.

All in a Days Work

Doing my job, which can be quite monotonous, for almost 2 years I have had to find some ways to entertain myself and one of those ways is listening for less than intelligent things agents and customers say. I have been writing them on my whiteboard at work and thought maybe I would share them. Many people stop by and start reading my board and get a laugh, and after many times of reading them I still chuckle at the lack of common sense some people have. As I am running out of room on my whiteboard I may need to start over on the list. Here is a few of my favorites.

Customer: My name is Phillip
Agent: Ok Phyllis

Customer: My grandparents died when I was young and . . . . .
Agent: Oh, good good.

Agent: Thanks for calling and have a good evening.
Customer: You too hun.

Agent: Its not half, more like 50%.

Customer: Your a man?!? I thought you were a mature woman.

Agent: You have a date gay, ok. (meant to say great day)

Agent: You had good successful with that?

Customer: I NEVER used it!! I haven't used it from the time I used it!!

Agent: I was spoken with her.

Agent: I was pretty exciting too.

Customer: It gave me a computeratored name.

Exuse the length, I was on a cruise

I'm officially addicted. Cruises are THE only way to go. Ross and I just got back from a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise. It was our first cruise and definitely not our last. Ross and I like to get out and see a lot, but on longer vacations it gets exhausting moving around so much, but with a cruise you get the same room and you don't have to pack up so much, your room moves for you and you wake up in a new location. Not to mention the food. I think by myself I ate a half of a cow, so much prime rib, steaks, fillet minion etc. I think I did start off kind of strong cause by day 4 of 7 I was getting tired of food. Every meal in the dinning room starts with appetizers, main course and ends with desert and you can order as many of each as you want. My downfall was ordering a couple appetizers and a couple main courses and many deserts each meal. I def slowed down after day 4. But I did get to try lobster and escargot, I didn't care for the lobster but the escargot wasn't too bad at all. For the dinning room we were assigned to a table with 2 other couples. Before we got to dinner we watched the people outside waiting and I was so paranoid of who we would be sitting with but it turned out very good. We had two other young couples and we all seemed to get along and have good conversations, not the awkwardness I was dreading with some of the weirdos we had seen on the boat.

On the ship there was almost always something to do and something to eat. They had food around the clock and usually had something happening from 9am to 12:30am and that's not counting the pools, water slide, mini golf, basketball court or running track. At night they had comedians and Vegas style shows, lots of trivia and game shows and bingo. We watched a lot of the trivia and game shows, we were always too late for Ross to get in on them, but Ross knew most of the answers so the next cruise he has to participate.

Every day we got our room cleaned twice a day. Usually mid morning while we were out doing activities or off the ship and then when we were at dinner we got turn down service where they cleaned again, turned down the bed and left towel animals on our bed. It was nice to always have a clean room and clean towels.

Grand Cayman

I think this was one of my favorite ports we stopped in because due to the rain it was not sweltering hot and humid. It was warm enough that we didn't freeze when it was pouring and it was cool enough that the rain didn't make it more humid. My understanding was that the Island was at the edge of a hurricane when we were there. But, since we were there to get wet a little rain was ok. The hard part for me was the wind. When we were on the little boat stopped at the snorkel spots the water was so choppy that the boat was all over the place and it was making me sick, luckily I wasn't one of the 2 on the boat that actually threw up. The snorkeling was ok, what I was really looking forward to was Stingray City. On the excursion we booked we were to go to a reef to snorkel and then go to Stingray City and then another snorkel location. Stingray City was a sandbar out in the middle of the ocean (we were so far out we couldn't see land at all) that was between waste and chest deep and there were hundreds of wild stingrays swimming around. They also brought some squid we could feed the stingrays, which was quite the experience. I had to talk Ross into it, he was a little nervous of their tails. We got to kiss and hold stingrays too, the legend on Grand Cayman is that if you kiss a stingray you get 7 years of good luck, needless to say Ross was kissing every stingray he could get a hold of.

On our way out to the first snorkel site we looked to the side of the boat and this random wild dolphin was following the boat. It was so cool, it was able to keep up for a while.

With our excursion we didn't have much time to do anything else at this port. Next time we want to go to Hell. There is a city a little ways away from the port named Hell. We were told it was named that cause it looked like what they thought hell would look like. That's on our list if we ever get back to Grand Cayman. We did get some shopping done at the beginning of the day but didn't dare do too much after. We went to a thing the cruise director did on the ship talking about all the ports, what there is to do, how the tender works at a couple of the ports and most of all he stressed to NEVER be late back to the boat cause you will get left, so we were a little nervous to make it on a tender to get back to the ship. But it all went well and we were never left behind.

Grand Cayman was pretty cool, the port was in Georgetown, and the town was a pirate theme. Tortuga, the slutty island from Pirates of the Caribbean, was on the island and everywhere you look its pirates.

This was the only day I got sea sick. After being on the small boat snorkeling and then I had to get on the tender (small shuttle boat between the boat and the port) and was sitting in the back breathing in the exhaust, then even the ship was really moving, I think half the ship was sick that day. However, I would rather hit the outskirts of a hurricane and be a little sick than have to be averted to a different port or miss a port all together.

Roatan Island, Honduras

We learned the hard way in this port that you need to have excursions to get the most out of the ports. All the ports had the same shops and it was an expensive taxi ride to get anywhere else. When we got to shore here we were going to shop a little and then maybe check out the island, but the taxi would be like $30 a person each direction, which is about as much as an excursion would cost, so we decided maybe staying around port wouldn't be so bad. We did find a zip line company in the jungle across the street, once you got out of the shopping section.

This port was so freaking hot and humid, I could have swum through the air. This was the only port that had a beach right off the boat but it was so crowded most of the time so we just went in for like 10 min before we had to get back on the boat. The beach was pretty, soft white sand and very blue water.

Belize City, Belize

I think this was one of my favorite ports. We signed up for extreme cave tubing before we left home and on the bus ride to the location we got to go through Belize City and a lot of the country side. This one and Roatan Island were very 3rd world, not the best living conditions. When we were going through the city in Belize and the driver was pointing out parts of the city, I wanted to get pictures but the windows were so tinted I wasn't able to get photos. Most of the city was dilapidated shacks that were 10' by 10', some were up on stilts and some were just boards stuck together on the ground. We passed a part of the town that was a tad nicer and the driver said it was where the doctors and lawyers lived, those with money, and they were 20' by 20' homes made of cinder blocks on stilts. He said they usually cost about $200-$300,000 US. The conditions got worse as we went through the countryside. We had a 45 min drive and my eyes were just glued to the window.

While we were driving one of the tour guides breaks out some cashew wine and little cups and started passing it around to the passengers. He said he doesn't care how young you are, if your parents are ok with it then take a drink. I think the legal drinking age in Belize was 18. Also, while we were driving through the city if the bus didn't answer with the amount of enthusiasm the guide was hoping for they would stop the bus in the middle of the busy road. They don't have much in the way of traffic laws here, the red lights are more of a suggestion and no one cares if you run them. We did pass a checkpoint where there was soldiers in full military garb with machine guns standing at the side of the road.

The cave tubing was pretty cool. Our guide told us the history of the caves and the blood letting rituals and human sacrifices the Mayans used to do in the cave. The history was really interesting.

To get to the opening of the caves we had about a 30 min hike through the jungle/rain forest. It was really pretty scenery and it was really pretty hot too. We didn't have but spray and I got eaten alive by mosquito's and their mosquito's there put our puny little brown ones to shame. They are big and black and have long legs that just dangle and they are HUGE. I was joking with Ross that maybe we will come home with Malaria and later that day he came down with a nasty nasty cold and sore throat.

Cozumel, Mexico

We learned in Honduras we needed excursions to get the most out of the ports and the night before getting into Cozumel we decided to do a swim with the dolphins. The other two couples at our table was doing it and we had heard from others how amazing it was and decided we may as well, after all its something I have always wanted to do. The big shock was how excited Ross was. I never thought he would get this excited to swim with the dolphins. When we got to the facility we found out there were 3 babies and we got to swim with one of the moms and her baby. It was fun, but they wouldn't let us take our cameras so I didn't get many pictures. They did have some you could sell your soul for and I bit the bullet and got 3 of them. I mean, how can you swim with the dolphins and not have a picture to show for it. We got to kiss, be kissed, dance, hug and ride a dolphin and lots and lots and lots of petting.

What is Normal?

I have heard the saying, and have even said it myself, "once . . . . . is over things will get back to normal." I have been thinking lately that once summer is over and things are back to normal then I will be able to get a lot done around the house and other projects I have been procrastinating on (I'm pretty excited to open a store on Etsy). However, I was saying that once winter is over and summer is here things can get back to normal and I can get things done. I am beginning to wonder if I really know what normal is, or even worse, that the chaos in our life and our house is normal.