A Culinary Adventure

The other day Jakob returned home from work just jazzed about Sunday dinner. One would wonder why seeing as how he's never come home before on a Wednesday asking what Mom had planned for dinner 4 days from then. He had researched how to make Donairs and he was rather excited to give it a try. Sunday after church he came home and set straight to work.

Step one: Season and compact meat. At first he was throwing the ground beef on the cupboard and it wasn't working so well. He then got down on the floor and boy he was throwing with force!

Look at that face! That's dedication right there. Step Two: form your compact and seasoned meat into a "loaf" shape and bake it for a few hours.

Gotta love all of that grease!! Delicious. Flip it over and replace it back into the oven. Once it was done Jakob poked it with a meat thermometer to check the temperature. Grease just poured out of the little hole! It looked so gross but gosh it tasted good. We took it over to Mom's place to slice and fry it before serving.

Then came the sauce off. Mom Tobler took this very seriously! She even watched a YouTube video! I love it. Duke (Jakob's best man) has had Doniars in Canada (they were missionary companions) therefore he was invited for the festivities. We also needed an unbiased opinion of which sauce was better. (Mom's kicked Jakob's butt!!)

Oh how I adore Dukas. He is such a good sport and gosh he makes us laugh! :)

All of the boys wore "smoking jackets" to dinner. They looked so fancy. The Doniars were a success! We will be making them at the next Tobler gathering! I'm sure by then Jakob will have it down to a science!

As per usual it was a wonderful Sunday evening! Thank you for joining the festivities Dukas!

Strike!

I love date night!! Our nights out on the town are seriously numbered (only 5 left!) so we want to take full advantage while it is still just the two of us. As a disclaimer yes, we did arrange this group evening activity however both Jakob and I seriously suck at bowling. We have zero talent what so ever!! The nice part is... some of our friends aren't so good either :).

Here I am rocking my 34 week baby bump. It was almost the exact same size as my bowling ball. I swear my bump threw off my equilibrium either that or my ball had magnets that were attracted to the gutter because I wasn't only bad... I was terrible!!

Jakob has always been bad at bowling but gosh it is fun to watch him. I love his Michael Jackson stance. It was an unintentional trademark. Since he is not exactly the "cream of the crop" when it comes to bowling he likes to goof around. David was using Jakob as a lucky charm to try and get his third strike in a row. They were going to throw at the same time so Jakob starts off "One.... Two..." and then he beelines it for Davids lane and tosses his ball down. Let's just say he didn't get a strike for David. What a brat! It's a good things David is a good sport! I don't think he'll ever use Jakob as a lucky charm again. :)

This is Chuck's power stance. He literally did this almost every throw!

Britni was on her game! She beat everyone!! For some reason however she was ALWAYS left with one pin still standing. Just one! She had a lot of spares and a couple strikes but that one pin was persistent!

This is the dragon dance. Yes.... it's odd looking I know. I don't remember what exactly brought the dragon dance to pass but it was one of those silly things that happened in the privacy of our own home so I wouldn't be embarrassed. Jakob brought it up while bowling and I said I would only do it if I got a strike (thinking I was totally off the hook because there was no chance that was going to happen.) As soon as I got my strike everyone yells out "DRAGON DANCE!" And I'm sure half of the bowling ally was watching me. For some reason it just isn't the same dance when you're not pregnant, It has something to do with a big belly. Gosh it was embarrassing having what felt like half of the ally watching this preggo chick do this STUPID dance and rarely do I get embarrassed.

It was a fun filled evening that was followed up with shakes at our place and lairs dice! Thanks to everyone who made it!! :)

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

As per my New Years Resolution I made my first card of the year! Woohoo! *fist pump* I'm not going to lie... I think this is my favorite card to date!!

I made it 6 1/2 x 5 1/4. The flowers were super simple. Follow the link for the tutorial. I've said it once and I'll say it again, I love making cards for Mom and Dad simply because I do not have to worry about thinks being flat and getting squished in the mail! This card as you can tell is anything but flat.

Happy Birthday Mom Tobler! If you would like to see more of my cards click on "Cards" under my header. Be warned they aren't all very pretty. It's been a learning process!

3D Ultrasound

I got to see our little lady via ultrasound again today. This time I asked for a DVD for Jakob. He was a little disappointed when I returned home empty handed last time so I was sure not to make the same mistake again. I sometimes forget that this is obviously as exciting for him as it is for me.

Ethnie is 100% perfect. She's grown a lot and is still on the smaller scale of things but they think she'll be about an average 7lbs when it comes time to deliver. The only thing that is not little is her head. Lucky me! They switched between 2D and 3D a lot which was really cool. That large blob beside her face is her arm. She was all curled up and wouldn't move that arm to get a good shot of her entire face. She's a snuggler and that's fine with me :)

I feel so blessed to have a healthy baby. It is such a miracle and I am so thankful for our little girl and the joy she already brings to our lives.

P.s. I tried uploading the video but even after letting it sit all night it still wasn't done. I suppose it's just too big!

Date Night

Upon returning home from Canada we had to have a date night with Mom and Dad Tobler to exchange stories from our Christmas's and to give them a few presents.

No they didn't exactly ask for memory foam kitchen mats but I think they like them. This was more a gift for me to put in their house. Their tile floor makes my feet hurt after standing on it for any length of time and I only end up cooking when I'm at their house. No fear, they got other presents as well. :) We then dashed off to Costco for the romantic atmosphere and high end pizza ;). Seriously though... I love Costco pizza!

We then headed out to Tivoli Square (a new shopping center less than a mile away from our house) to take some pictures of the lights. They were just beautiful!

They weren't just the average bulb but little flowers. I loved how vivid the colours were.

Mom and I have come to the realization that most of our pictures just end up getting deleted. After scrolling through some of these from that night I discovered that the photo's where I thought I was being oh so clever with angles and such, really weren't all that impressive. It takes more than a nice camera... it takes a good eye!

Which is when we resort to simple pictures such as these! :)

These little nooks were a lot of fun though. Jakob and I had a pose off.

He clearly won. We had such a wonderful evening with Mom and Dad. Thank you for the Christmas gifts and the joy of your company! We're sure glad that you're home now!

Good Friends

I must admit we have some wonderful friends! On Wednesday I got into my car to run some errands only to discover it simply wouldn't start. It made a clicking noise that sounded like a machine gun going off. At first I figured it was my battery however all of my lights came on and my windows still rolled up and down. Confused and rather annoyed I called my friend Nate who was willing to put aside everything to come and help. Not 5 minutes later I received a call from our friend Stu who had just gotten off of work and said he was on his way to relieve Nate. Stu worked on my car for 3 1/2 hours. He figured it was my starter however in my 2001 Dodge Stratus the starter is in a very inconvenient location so he had to take apart part of the engine to reach it. We headed to Auto Zone where they directed us to another store location because my starter was out of stock. The gentleman there took the starter to test it and low and behold... it worked just fine. Confused as to what the problem might be we returned back to the apartment and Stu put the car back together. Before he left he decided to clean the connections to the battery and tried jumping it. It started. I felt so bad! He wasted soooo much time when all it need was a jump. We just like doing things the hard way!

The next morning we tried starting it again before Jakob left for work. Dead as a doornail. (I never quite understood that expression.) Stu came over once again to test the battery (it was toast) and to help Jakob take it out and put a new one in. I am so thankful for such wonderful friends who are willing to sacrifice their time to help us whenever we're in need. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people!!

Awkward!

While at the NYE party at the Wynn, several people came up and asked me if I was really pregnant or if it was just part of my costume. I can't think of anyone off of the top of my head who would dress up as an 8 month pregnant clown for the fun of it but perhaps that is just me. Everyone wanted to touch my belly which is nothing new. I'm used to feeling like Buda. The funniest part was this little girl who was watching me. She couldn't have been more than 6. Some girl pointed at my belly and asked if I was having a boy or a girl. I told her we were having a girl. The first girl with wide curious eyes asked again; "Is that a baby?" while pointing at my bulging belly. I smiled and said yes. Her expression turned from confusion to terror in seconds. "YOU ATE YOUR BABY!!!?" I reassured her that no I had not eaten my baby that it was growing and then she asked me with judging eyes still believing I had consumed my child "Then how did it get in there?!"

I mean what do you say to that?? Do you start the birds and the bee's talk?? Do you walk away as quickly as possible?? I was at a loss. It took a second to compose myself. I just smiled and told her that the baby needed to grow inside of me to get healthy and I quickly moved onto another task because she was realizing I hadn't answered her question. Oh to see the world from a child's perspective!

New Years Resolutions

Holy Moley! How did 2011 slide by so fast?! I remember looking back in June thinking December was forever away and here it has already come and gone in the blink of an eye! I remember looking forward to 2011 with a heart full of goals. I was determined to change, to evolve somehow and perhaps I have in some ways but not to the extent I would have liked. I wrote out my list and simply left it there. This year I want to actually achieve some of those goals on my list, hopefully I can be better this year! Here are my New Years Resolutions for 2012.

1. Be a dedicated mother. It is one thing to simply raise a child and another to put all of your might mind and soul into being a parent. I want to be a mother who adores my children, who laughs with them, who plays with them. I don't want to be looking at the clock thinking "only one more hour until bed time." I realize that of course every parent has those hard days, sometimes even hard weeks but I want to be actively involved in my children's lives and I want to start day 1.
2. WORK OUT! I know everybody puts this on their list but after our little girl arrives I will have more motivation since I'll have some extra pounds to lose. I want to do this the healthy way instead of starving myself which I have done my entire life. I was anorexic throughout high school and the first bit of our marriage. Jakob has helped a lot with getting me to eat and realizing there is a right and a wrong way to stay thin and be healthy. After Ethnie is born I want to stay healthy and love myself regardless. Perhaps that means I will no longer be 5' 9" at 120 pounds and a size 3 and I will have to accept that and realize that it's okay. :)
3. Once again I am putting keep a clean house. It has been so much easier now that we have space to move around but there is always room for improvement! Organized I am but I need to do deep herbal cleanings more often.
4. Once again I am putting magnifying my calling on here. We have just been called to be the "Bear Den" Leaders. I feel uncomfortable because I do not know what that entails. I have some time to get it figured out before our little lady arrives but I want to be there for those boys and ensure that they are having fun and their testimonies are growing!
5. Read my scriptures every day..... yeah I've fallen off of the band wagon. Enough said.
6. Scrapbook!!! I put this on here last year and then somehow I got even worse!! I didn't make a single birthday card this year. I know I suck! This year I need to be more prepared and prioritize. It isn't hard to make a card, time consuming perhaps but I think it means a lot to know that someone cares enough to take time out of their lives to send a simple card. Maybe that is just me but I always appreciate it.
7. Fall in love with my husband even more. Over the past year I have realized that our marriage works and thrives because Jakob and I continuously strive to make it that way. Over the past year I have grown to love him more that I ever knew possible. I want that to continue and it takes effort on both parts. I am so lucky to be in love with my best friend!
8. Don't sweat the small stuff. I'm getting better at this but I still have a long way to go. I have some OCD issues and I know it. It's the small things that get to me and I'm learning that in the end it doesn't matter! Just go with the flow :)
9. Dance like no one is watching! This is more of a metaphor than a literal statement. I want to live life to the fullest instead of just gliding on by. I want to make mistakes and learn from them. I want to saver moments with family and friends. I want to put my whole heart into things that I do. Sometimes that might mean failure and I have to accept that that is okay. Most of the time it'll mean an adventure, a story, a journey, a success and that is what I am aiming for!
10. Join the choir. I love to sing. I think the choir would be fun.

There we are! My top ten for 2012! I am so thankful for all that we have been blessed with throughout 2011, it was a wonderful year! I am looking forward to all of the adventures that are in store for us in 2012! Happy New Year everyone!!