I had me a birthday.

...and now I'm 26. and 24 weeks pregnant (23 weeks seen above).

Those are my birthday tulips (from Robert) that are dead as of yesterday, I told Robert I needed new ones and he just laughed...

Also that shirt is huge on me (bought that way purposely) so it makes me look way huger than I am, this is what I like to think at least.

Also this picture, and every picture, of me in a yellow tone reaffirms how I do not look good in yellow...but its the color I own most of.

c'est la vie.

sketchy.

http://sketch.odopod.com/

Valentine's Day 2011

Do you see the shear glee on my face? Robert played left handed for me because it was Valentine's Day...and I kicked his trash. Also happens to be my highest score ever. Happy Valentine's Day to me!

for the record...

...I LOVE being pregnant, and all the excitement with having my first little bit.

But...currently I have a migraine, am nauseated, my back is killing me, my arm hurts from the dTAP vaccine I got yesterday, my head feels fuzzy from the dTAP vaccine I got yesterday and I am so tired I could go to sleep right now for the rest of the day - and not regret it.

Why Heavenly Father decided pregnancy has to be so tough on our bodies is beyond me. But I am growing a human being, and that's pretty awesome.

day Twenty-Five.

day 25: a letter to someone you judged by their first impression

Dear weird man hired by another company that works on the same project as my company:

I knew you were 'off' from the first minute we met.

Dear everyone else:

I called it.

Sincerely,
Me


In pregnancy related news: I hate that I don't know what's going to taste AMAZING until after I've ordered/picked out my food. Often what tastes good is either what Robert ordered and not me or the pasta at the salad bar that I didn't get enough of. c'est la vie.

day Twenty-Four.

day 24 time to face morph / http://morph.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk//transformer/

This was pretty funny.

Me as an Afro-Caribbean:

Me as I would be painted by Botticelli:

Me as an East-Asian:

In other news I had my first irrational crying session last night due to pregnancy. This time I was crying because I had forgot to tell Robert about the sandwich I brought home for him (and left on the counter so it wasn't good anymore) after him asking me what he should eat for dinner at least 10 times as I laid on the couch miserable. I cried so hard it made me lose my dinner. awesome.

day Twenty-Three.

day 23 share one of your current favorite tunes

Well I really fell in love with this song/video about a year ago now. But it's still in my top 3 I'd say.

Coeur de Pirate - Ensemble

day Twenty-Two.

day 22: a photo that makes you happy

Me barely born and my mother #2 of 3 (seester J).

So blessed to have the family that I do.

day Twenty-One.

day 21: your favorite television program

I guess I already hinted at this but...I mean how could I not? Trevor and I used to wake up early on Summer Days just to catch the full hour of Lucy that would come on before we had to switch over to The Price is Right. I mean really, the woman was a genius.

This is one of my many favorite favorite parts:

day Twenty.

day 20: a letter to someone that changed your life

Just one someone? How do I choose between all my family members? Well obviously my mom changed my life and continues to change it day-to-day.
And I already wrote a letter to Robert...
So oddly enough this letter is going to Mr. Tremonti, my Middle School band director (I played the clarinet)

Dear Mr. Tremonti,

Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for realizing that every time someone "challenged" me to move up a chair that I was just so gosh awful nervous that my hands wouldn't stay steady and that's why I lost every time. Thank you especially for the time I lost and you decided to add a 10th chair to 1st clarinet, making me the only 7th grader playing 1st clarinet. Because I could hit the notes, and you knew it.
Thank you for lecturing us everyday that life is hard, so be quiet and play.
Thank you for making us watch "The Music Man" at least 3 times a year.
I say thank you for all these things because I'm pretty sure you took a beyond shy 11 year-old girl and helped her see that she is good at things, but mostly that people believe in her.

That lesson definitely changed me for good.

take care,
Kari Williams (Simonsen)

day Nineteen.

day 19: whatever tickles your fancy

Oh I had a nightmare last night. A nightmare of great nightmarish proportions. It was like I was 8 again, I couldn't sleep and every creek in the house had me repeating "it was just a dream, it was just a dream, it was just a dream."

The only thing keeping me from turning on all the lights in the house, picking up my phone and dialing my momma is that I know she'd have it in for me for calling her at 3am.

You're welcome mom.

I feel the need to explain my dream so that it doesn't haunt me anymore. So here it goes:

I was busy getting lost and then studying (for Robert's test for him) on the LB state campus (but of course it looked nothing like LB state.). The sun was setting and it was so shockingly beautiful that everyone in the area (the library had quickly transformed into an outdoor eating/relaxing area overlooking a lake - naturally) had stopped what they were doing and were taking photos on their phones and most likely posting them on twitter.

Suddenly I'm at my mom's house. Inside and out running frantically searching for her.

Next thing I know I'm on the driveway looking into the opened garage door. There is a man that resembles someone I know, but don't really know. He is searching for something. My mom's garage is a mess (which is SO not my mom's garage) And I ask him where my mom is. He starts rambling saying something about "we need to figure out what to do with it", I scream at him "what happened?!?" as I notice fallen boxes in the corner. He starts explaining that "you shouldn't leave a chainsaw hanging around, someone might fall on it." He's nervous and obviously crazy and soon I realize that under those fallen boxes is my mother, she was gone and this man did it.
So I start to run, not sure where to go as the neighbors I never knew, but one. Sister Kaiser, yes, Sister Kaiser will help me.
Dream ends with me sobbing and running (but not getting anywhere of course) and looking behind me to see that no one is following me.

ick. ick. ick. There is NOTHING worse than having a dream about a dead loved one, let alone your mother.

I looked up on dream interpretation websites what some of it could mean, I thought this was interesting:
Death:
In dreams, death is a metaphor for change and separation.

All I know is it freaked me out, it's been a long time since I've had that strong of an emotion in a dream.

And thankfully Robert was up to riding his bike along side of me on my run this morning. Because I was not about to go outside, in the dark, with dream murderers out there.

Also, I love you mom, you better live until you're at least 100.

day Eighteen.

day 18: set or share a goal

I've had a goal recently that is especially hard for girls. That is to talk less about others in an unflattering way.

AKA: stop gossiping.

The word gossip alone sends shivers down my spine.

also, you have NO idea how hard this has been today. I may have faltered a bit.

Oh and if you need a lesson on gossip, Lucy never disappoints:

"that is all."

day Seventeen.

day 17: a photo that makes you sad

How depressing is this? Well let's just post one that makes me NOSTALGIC which in a way is something that often makes people sad:

circa 2006, me and the newly married Fenns in their Corona apt.

See, it doesn't make me sad. just nostalgic to a time in my life where I had really great friends that I could go visit when I needed to escape the craziness that was HB singlehood. I had cute short hair, I was skinnier than I am now. And did I mention I had great friends?

Oh and I was so magically falling in love with Robert and the time which gave life an extra spice.

Not sad...just different and oh so good.

day Sixteen.

day 16: provide pictures of 5 celebrity crushes



Would I call all of these crushes? Meh, maybe. More like, I will always like their music/movies because I don't know them, I just know who they play. And ok, they're nice to look at.

Clockwise:

Ryan Gosling - The Notebook won me over what can I say?

Justin Timberlake - this crush will never die.

Matt Damon - Jason Bourne, I mean really, who doesn't love him in those movies?

Casey Affleck - Ocean's movies won me over, "The Assassination of Jesse James" sealed the deal.

Matthew MacFayden - of course I only put him in there because he plays Mr. Darcy in Pride & Prejudice. duh.

day Fifteen.

day 15: a letter to someone you wish you could meet

Dear Lucille Ball,

Mostly I was just wondering if you kept any of your wardrobe from the show? Because alot of your outfits are simply to die for.

Oh and thanks for keeping me laughing at the same jokes for about 20 years now.

Love,

Kari

day Fourteen.

day 14: a song from your childhood

Granted this song came out when I was like 3? I grew up with 2 older sisters and one older brother (*cough*MIKE*cough*) that I'm sure influenced this one...

day Thirteen.

day 13: whatever tickles your fancy

Today I would like to confess my love for this:

Best $5 impulse buy I've made (ok...maybe not the best, but perrty darn good.)

Not only does it make your lips perfectly light pinky shiny, but it smells amazing.

go get it.

day Twelve.

day 12: we want to see your teeth today / post a self-portrait

Not a self-portrait, but a portrait of me nonetheless.

I think it awfully clever of those Dodgers folk to put their logo RIGHT over my face...so I couldn't use this photo.

I also think this photo makes us look like real sports fans, and I kinda like it. Maybe that's because we just watched the Blindside, and it gave us fantasies of living in the South and living in a community that revolves around one football team. California is not like that to say the least.

aww shucks.

day Eleven.

day 11: share your favorite recipe

Just one all-time favorite recipe? How is this possible?

Instead I'm going to post 2 (one dinner, one dessert - of course) recipes that I have recently fallen in love with.

First are these...

Mushroom-and-Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce

From the lovely, comfort food making Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman

So these little fancies showed up on my Google Reader a month or so ago and bam, Sunday dinner was planned.

So, run, click and make these ASAP.

My tips/thoughts:

• I LOVE spicy things, so globbing on the Spicy Fry Sauce (which contains Cayenne pepper) was a must!
• Do yourself a favor and buy King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls for your slider buns. You'll thank me later.
  
• No, I didn't use the wine and yes, they were still delicious.
• I am forever going to add heavy cream to my meatloaf, meatballs, hamburgers...you get the idea.

You can print the recipe here.

Now for a dessert, this isn't a recent discovery, but I've been craving them for a while...so they might get made soon.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

Here is the recipe I used:
Cupcakes:
1 cup sugar
1 cup real mayonnaise
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
1 cup buttermilk

Frosting:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
½ to 2 tablespoons of milk*

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two standard muffin tins with cupcake papers.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and mayonnaise until blended. Add the vanilla and blend.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne. Add dry ingredients to the mayonnaise mixture in 3 batches alternating with the buttermilk.
4. Divide the batter among the prepared pans, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 18 minutes, or until the tops are firm and spring back when lightly touched. Cool in tins for 10 minutes. Remove from tins and place on wire rack to cool completely.
5. When cupcakes are completely cooled, make frosting: In a medium bowl, sift together sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and salt, and beat until combined. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar mixture, and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add milk as necessary to thin out to desired consistency.


Tips: for the "Dutch Process Cocoa" I used the Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa, worked perfectly.

These cupcakes are perfectly dense and not just a plain boring chocolate.

day Ten.

day 10: a letter to the person you hate most or caused you a lot of pain

In the words of Cady Herron "I’m trying this new thing… where I don’t talk about people behind their backs"

truth be told I've been trying it my whole life...well since I was 11 (you know, puberty). Girls are vicious and catty, why promote it on my blog?

day Ten is officially skipped.