20 weeks

So far I still have heartburn, my back aches after sitting all day at work and my feet hurt if I stand too long. But that's not too bad and I can deal with it. I'd do anything for this little guy. At least I can still sleep through the night. I'm half way there and it's going by fast. But looking at the pace I'm growing, I think I might be a gigantic monster by the end. :)

New Carpet Pics

Josh and I just put in new carpet in the bedrooms this weekend and it looks great! I love how it turned out. The carpet before wasn't terrible, it was only like 5 years old, but it was the basic carpet with a basic pad and the owners before us had a dog, so it was kind of gross. So, before the baby comes we wanted to make it nice and plush and clean! Here are some pictures before and after:

Old carpet


New carpet




Old carpet in baby's room


New carpet and new paint. The paint didn't turn out like we had planned, but it looks nice. We were really trying to stay away from baby blue, but it was bluer than we had hoped. Oh well!



With the crib :) We decided to set up the crib, because heck, new carpet and paint, time to start setting up right? Also, I want to try and make some of the bedding, so I need it to take the measurements. I absolutely love it!

We have the cutest baby ever and it's a....

We had an appointment today and found out our baby is perfect in every way. We got to see pictures and we got a dvd of the ultrasound. We also found out, we're having a little boy!!!!!!! We are so in love with our little guy and can't wait to meet him. I can't believe we're going to have a son. That's so weird to say. But we couldn't be happier! We both felt like it was a boy, but there is always a doubt of course. Not anymore! Only 5 more months until we get to meet him. AHHH... I can't wait!

What do you know about investing? (UPDATE)

My friend and I were talking at work today about some of the customers we talk to and the things they just don't understand or know about investing. A lot of them seem EXTREMELY naive when it comes to finances and investing and I mean EXTREMELY. But then we thought, is it that they don't know very much, or is that common and we just know more because we work in this field? So, I decided to set up a little poll. I have taken it down now, but here were the results after a couple days:

The question was, "Do you know how an IRA and a mutual fund work and the difference between the two?"

Responses:

Yes, absolutely - 6 votes (23%)
Pretty much - 0 votes (0%)
Eh, Kind of - 5 votes (19%)
A tiny bit - 2 votes (7%)
Not at all - 13 votes (50%)

It really surprised me that 1/2 of the responses were not at all. I guess I just assume that people know something about it, but again, it's because I've been doing this for almost 5 years. I would love to help anyone out that wanted some info on how to start or anything like that, because working in this industry and seeing people who are about to retire and only have like $50,000, makes me really sad. How can you live in your retirement years with only $50,000... you can't. I won't give advice, but it's ridiculously important to start saving something now. That's just my two cents.

Update to Olive Garden Post

This is the result of the post below:

So, today I got a call from the manager at the Olive Garden I went to, to apologize. Oh man! I didn't mean for it to be such a big deal! Haha! He was really sorry and said he hopes we will come back and that he talked to the server about different ways he could have approached the situation. He explained they do charge that extra amount for alfredo (even though that's not the point) just so that I was aware in the future.

He was a totally nice guy and I feel bad that they actually talked to the server. Oh well, I do feel like he was rude and I was pretty annoyed the whole time I was there, so I guess it's good that he got talked to.

Also, he told me to expect a $20 gift card :) It paid off I guess!

Olive Garden

I would probably say that Olive Garden is near the top of my "favorite restaurants" list. It could be because my absolute favorite food is ravioli. So, on Monday Josh and I went there for dinner. We sit down and are greeted by our server who goes by the name "Odd." It's on his name tag and everything. He introduces himself as the primary server and proceeds to tell us who the secondary and back up servers are (like we'll remember their names or something).

He's a little bit eccentric, older and obnoxious. Here's where the story starts. He asks our order and I tell him what I want. The same meal I order EVERY time I go there, without fail. Cheese Ravioli with 1/2 marinara and 1/2 alfredo sauce. I have probably eaten this about 50 times in my life. Then Odd says, "Ok, but that will cost extra." And I said, "What? Really? Is that new?" And he says, "It's never changed and I've been here for 25 years." So, I said, "Well, this is the only thing I ever order and I've never been charged extra for that." Then he goes, "Well then all of the servers who have helped you before have probably been fired." (Uh, doubt that).

I didn't make a big deal about it and I ordered it anyways even though I was totally bugged. He seriously pissed me off for some reason (I think it was his attitude), but we looked it up and Olive Garden started 27 years ago, so either he's lying (most likely) or the poor guy has been waiting tables for 25 years. Well, I calmed down because I realized I would just lower his tip by the amount of the charge, so whatever.

There were other things about his service that was really annoying too, but I won't go on too much about it :) So, the check comes and there is a note in there saying, "Have an 'Oddrific' Day!" Oh puhlease.

So, the next day at work I was telling my friend about this and he said sometimes if you file a complaint they will give you like a coupon or something. I figured I'd try and I was actually very polite in the response I sent (online) and just said how he could have handled it a little differently. It wasn't the fact that I had to pay but that he was trying to prove me wrong or something.

I got a response back today, apologizing for what happened and they said they would be sending me a gift certificate in the mail :) Can you believe that!!! Who knows, it'll probably be just like $5, but still! I was very pleased. So, if you ever have a problem with a restaurant and don't mind complaining, you might get something free out of it!

16 weeks

Well, weeks and months are weird in pregnancy, so I'm just saying at 16 weeks I'm also 4 months (which isn't entirely true) But ummm... I can't believe how much bigger I now am from last time. I have a feeling I'm going to be HUGE.

This week's menu

So, I know it's hard enough for me to make a menu for the week, so I decided I would share with you what I have on the list for this week in case you are looking for ideas. We actually had a lot of things come up last week, so I didn't get to use what I had planned, so it was a little more simple for me than normal because I already came up with some of the ideas last week.

I make a day by day list; however, sometimes I mix up the days to whatever I feel like for that day. Here is what I have and PLEASE leave comments on what you like to make, so then my menu for next week will be easier!

Monday - Pasta (probably spaghetti)

Tuesday - French Onion Soup

Wednesday - Shish Kabobs

Thursday - Homemade pizza

Friday - Chicken Fajitas

Saturday - Taco Soup

Sunday - Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bagel Sandwiches


Sometimes I try to make a 2 week menu, but wasn't feeling it this time :) Besides it makes grocery shopping a WHOLE lot easier when you know exactly what you need for that week.

Can't wait to hear your ideas!