2010: The Year in Review

Here is a little video I made to recap the amazing year that was 2010. I hope you enjoy it, and we look forward to all of the excitement 2011 has to bring! Happy New Year!

2010: The Year in Review

*The song in the video is Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap. Although the song was actually released in 2009, it ended up at the top of my playlist during the year :)

11 years...

Last week, Jerome and I celebrated the 11th anniversary of our first date. We had our usual dinner at Flemings in Newport Beach, and during dinner we were reminiscing over our 11 fun, and sometimes arduous years, together. Many things have changed from our first date back in 1999 till now. Family dynamics have grown and shifted, careers have evolved, friendships have came and gone, reality TV has grown from more than just the Real World on MTV, and technology has become the beast that drives our communication. One thing we laughed about was how much the style of cell phones has changed since the year we got together. Rather than post a montage of pictures of us throughout the years, I thought it would be more exciting to take a walk down cell phone memory lane. Wow, time has certainly changed!

EXHIBIT #1: The "Zack Morris" Phone

When we first started dating, Jerome was the proud owner of a phone just like this. It was too big to be fashionably carried in his pocket, so instead it was kept in his glove box

for emergency calls only. We both also carried pagers around, in case anyone "911"'d us to call them. Even then with our awesome accessories, we knew it was definitely 143 at first sight!

EXHIBIT #2: The Nokia 3310

One of our first big commitments together was sharing a cell phone plan, complete with these trendy Nokia phones. They were more compact than the Zack Morris model, customized ring tones and even had face plates that you could change the color of! I remember having a bright orange one

(that was my favorite color at the time).

EXHIBIT #3: The Motorola Flip Phone

Sometime around the year we got married, Jerome and I moved from our plan at Cingular to new phones with at&t. Part of the plan switch included an "upgrade" to these cool flip phones. How exciting to have such a compact phone that fit in your pocket and be able to see who

was calling from the outside screen!

EXHIBIT 4: The Motorola RAZR

Now we had finally made it to cool phones! They were ultra slim and had tons of modern upgrades like texting and Internet access. Wow!

EXHIBIT #5: The Blackberry Curve

Jerome and I officially entered the world of smart phones with these babies. We became addicted to BBM'ing friends and perusing the Internet from the palm of our hands. Our technological lives had changed for ever, and I proclaimed my love for my precious Crackberry. I never wanted to give this phone up!

EXHIBIT #6: The Apple iPhone

I had vowed to never give up my Blackberry, but Jerome soon convinced me that these were the way to go, so we said so long to our BB's and hello to new iPhones. Now you can find us on these mini-computers making calls, texting, Facebooking, playing Angry Birds, battling on Words with Friends, and a host of other mindless activities. Just about anything else you want to do, trust me when I tell you, there's an app for that!

I look forward to revisiting this post in another 11 years, and comparing the evolving technology again. Until then, so long, and happy texting!

Sundays with Jerome: Chile Relleno Souffle & Averie's Room Day 01

This Christmas was probably our best holiday yet with the family. We had a great breakfast with Chile Relleno Souffle, fruit, homemade sticky buns, bacon, sausage and mimosas. We opened presents, talked, went to see Black Swan (not your typical Christmas movie to put you in the holiday spirit but it was AMAZING) and played Just Dance 2 on the Wii. Interesting thing about Just Dance 2, apparently I am not as good a dancer as I thought I was OR I had too much rhythm that the Wii controller couldn't recognize my sic moves. Nevertheless, I spent the entire day with most of my family and didn't get annoyed.

CHILE RELLENO SOUFFLE

7 eggs
1 1/2 lbs jack cheese
1/2 lb pepper jack cheese
1 pint sour cream
14 oz green chilis

Butter a large casserole dish (9x13). Shred the 2 lbs of cheese. Layer casserole in this order: cheese, salt, pepper (to taste) chilis, then repeat ending with the cheese. Beat the sour cream and eggs together. Pour over casserole. Bake at 350 degrees 60 - 90 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Take it out of the oven and let is sit 5-10 min so the juices can absorb.


Also this weekend, I started to work on Averie's room. The guest room which is now Averie's room has been empty for a few weeks and I kept telling myself I had plenty of time to work on it before she came. I do have time to finish the room before she comes BUT the baby shower is at the end of January so I now only have four weeks to complete my masterpiece. Plenty of time in my mind, to put up raw wood planking, wallpaper, paint the walls, build new closet doors, install crown molding, baseboards, chair rails, assemble all of the baby furniture, and in the living room, mount the TV, build shelves for the shelving unit, build doors to hide the shelves, paint the new doors and clean it all up to make it look spectacular. Thank goodness we will have three days to work on it next weekend during New Year's. We will be ringing in the new year by getting high on paint fumes and maybe a little bubbly.

I am so excited for the vision of the finished project that I wanted to jump on it a little early...also because my EASY projects always end up being a lot harder and take more time than I imagined. The video below is of Averie's room before I started today. It does have the baseboards removed but that's about it.



I ended up getting a lot finished in 5 hours. I put up most of the planking except for the odd sizes of the edges and I need about 4 more feet of planks. Overall I am pretty happy thus far. I decided to install each plank individually instead of using the prefabricated sheets because I loved the durability and look of each plank butt up against each other. We used the prefabricated planks in our bathroom and works for in there but I wanted Averie's room to be done right the first time. I am definitely taking my time with this room and making sure everything is perfect. The video below is what I finished today. All of the wood is raw so I will need to paint to prepare for the mass painting next weekend. I hope to get A LOT accomplished next weekend...meaning the entire room if the weather permits and the paint can dry properly. Tune in for the next update to see what we accomplished. As a teaser, the colors for Averie's room are French Silver and Blackberry Wine.



I hope everyone had a great holiday and has a wonderful New Year.
xo, Jerome

Averie Update

I'm on the verge of my 27th week of pregnancy, and things are moving right along! I'm officially on Winter break (yay!), and what better way to start the vacation, then with our monthly doctors appointment. My OB, Dr. Lai, is still out on maternity leave, so the appointment was with her Nurse Practitioner, Angela. Jerome and I love talking to Angela because she has the most amazing British accent. We both are so envious! Anyhow, the appointment went great. I gained 6 pounds, which I was not too thrilled about (thanks to holiday treats and a mini-vacay this past weekend), but that still puts me at only 16 pounds total, which is excellent. Phew!Averie's heartbeat was beating at full speed today. I guess she was excited about something! We discussed the result of my blood work and Glucose test last week. Good news is I'm not diabetic (bring on the sweets! Haha!). Bummer is my iron did come back a little low, and after further testing, we found out I am slightly anemic. This isn't much of a surprise because I have been anemic in the past, and it definitely explains the easy bruising as of late. To combat this, I will be taking an iron supplement from here on out. Angela assured me that this is very common during pregnancy and nothing to worry about. Our next appointment is on January 17.

Here are some FAQs on Averie and I so far:

How far along?: 26 weeks

and 5 days. The 3rd Trimester is just days away! Dang, time is flying by!

How big is baby?: My uterus is measuring at 28cm, and according to the pregnancy books, she should be around

the 2 pound mark!

Weight gain: So far, I have gained 16 pounds. I'm still having a very hard time watching the numbers go up on the scale, but I just keep reminding myself it is because I am growing a baby. It's just such a mind shift for me. I've spent so long trying to keep the scale number down, and yet now, it's supposed to go up! What a change!

Clothes: I recently bought the cutest dress at Bebe (one that I wanted pre-pregnancy but is equally adorable with belly), but I haven't worn it because I was waiting for the belly to really "pop" out. Thanks to the growth spurt, I am finally going to get a chance to wear it this week! I am also starting to need some new shirts in larger sizes. The belly has officially made itself known, therefore most of my shirts are a tad short. Looks like so

me shopping is in order!

Showing: Over the past 2 weeks it seems the belly has gone from being slightly noticeable to being completely out there for the world to see. I love it, and so does Jerome. I've been waiting to pop and was getting quite envious of the other preggos with their cute bumps. I'm still on the small side, but I'm definitely showing. It's so exciting!

Food Cravings: Nothing new or unusual. Lemonade is high on my list of drinks, and I've found myself going through a drive-thru on several occasions to get one. It's just so refreshing. I can't get enough of it!

Feeling: Fabulous. I have had some "growing pains" in my rib cage and abdomen, which have not been fun. I have also had a lot of tenderness in my breasts (sorry if this is T.M.I for you). I was worried it might be a clogged milk duct or something, but the doc says it's most likely the result of growing as well as the increased pressure from all the shifting in my upper abdomen. Sleep was getting to be miserable, but I got a Snoogle pillow, and lets just say my life has changed for the better. The pillow is amazing! It has so many uses, and fits me perfectly. I still toss and turn at night, but it has saved me from being completely sleep deprived. It was worth every penny!

As far as feeling Averie, she is moving a ton! She's currently nudging her way around my belly button, as I type. It is the most incredible and amazing feeling to feel her little body move around, and to know that she is real! Last night she was really active, and I was so happy because Jerome got to feel her kick his hand quite a few times (usually she goes silent the minute he puts his hand on my belly).

Daddy-isms: Jerome is amazing. I love seeing how excited he is about his daughter, and I can't wait to see him hold her for the first time. I love when he talks to her. He calls her "Avie", and loves touching my belly. This past weekend, Jerome totally surprised me with a pre-babymoon stay at The Viceroy, in Palm Springs. While there, he arranged for me to have a pre-natal massage and facial, new comfy pajamas (that fit! yay!), and plenty of down time to lounge and relax. I was totally not expecting the trip or the gifts, and the whole thing was incredibly romantic of him. Not to mention, a much needed break from the crazy stress during this past week (more info on that in a future post)! I am such a lucky gal to call him my husband, and Averie will be even luckier to call him Daddy!

On another note, Jerome is obsessed with working on Averie's room. Two weekends ago, we bought on the fabric to have the bedding and drapes made (courtesy of my mother). Our stay at the Viceroy was also a huge inspiration for the style of her room (we just love the decor there!). Jerome has been prepping and planning for the painting, crown moulding and wainscoting that he will be putting up in the room. The wallpaper came in the mail the other day, and the paint colors are picked. It's definitely not going to be your traditional baby's room, but it will be perfect for our little Averie. We hope to officially start "construction" this weekend, with a deadline of January 29 (my baby shower is that day...invitations should be out soon)!

Louis and Lola: Still a little worried how they are going to accept their new sister, especially since they have been our "kids" for the past few years. We're hoping for the best!

Obsessed with: This app I bought for my iPhone, called the Stethoscope Expert. For 99 cents it turns your phone into a stethoscope that you can use to hear the baby's heartbeat. We have been using it since my 20 week mark, and it is amazing! It took some time to find her and it requires different headphones than the ones from Apple, in order to hear it correctly. Every night before bed we plug in the headphones and listen to Averie's heart. It is the most beautiful sound! By far the best 99 cents I have ever spent!

@ The Viceroy