New News!

Well, I guess we have been pretty busy lately. Here is a quick little rundown:

We bought a car. A Subaru, in stick, which I cannot drive.
Having a baby. Which is still surprising to me!
Working on the business. Hopefully we can get it going this summer.
Workplace drama with Jason's job. We'll know if he gets laid off or not in a few weeks.
I am super stressed about Girls Camp. I am in charge of the food, and Camp is next week. I can't even go grocery shopping until Saturday, so it will be a high-stress weekend. I just can't wait until it's over!! I am thinking I need a bit of a vacation afterward, but we will see if I get one or not.

Honestly, even with all the drama, I feel like things are going really well for us. We have been in to discovering new places lately, and we have gone to oodles of canyons and other places we have heard there might be caves. It's really fun, and is a great time-user.
Sometime I may have Jason take a video of me trying to drive stick. I can do just fine, except for starting out. It makes me feel like I am riding a bucking bronco!! (no pun intended, as one of our other cars is a Bronco...) I am sure I will get it down eventually. In the meantime, I guess it's a weekend only car!

Amanda is... !!

Yes, it is really true!! I am pregnant, and we are really really excited about it! Here is what we know so far:

Due Date: Christmas Eve (I am not too thrilled about having a Christmas baby, and am really hoping I deliver early. Like somewhere between the 11th and the 18th would be great!)

Weeks along: Eleven, currently. I just had my first appointment on Monday, which was super cool! I loved hearing the heartbeat!! 150 BPM, if anyone wants to know!

Sex: We are not planning on finding out. That is the plan, but it is easy to stick to when you don't have a choice. It will be harder when we could know RIGHT THEN!

Other information- Jason is really shooting for multiples, but we won't find that out until the 20 week ultrasound. We were hoping that we would find out yesterday, but they said when they are that small it's impossible to know from the heartbeat if there is more than one baby.

I have been feeling really good. I don't have any morning sickness at all, which is really surprising. I guess you just always expect to get all the bad symptoms! Other than that, I am super tired, and I can't sleep at all. Not on my stomach, not on my back, and I have to wake up about every hour to flip sides. Not so fun. I am also extremely weepy and emotional. We went to see UP last night, and I cried at least six times. It was WAY too sad for me! Although, I haven't cried at a commercial yet, so that is good!

My Mom, Dad, and brothers are all way excited. I got some funny reactions out of them- especially out of Logan. I told him I was pregnant, and he was like: That's cool! I need a girlfriend! And then he said the same thing to my mom when she talked to him about it. I laughed. My mom has become a baby quilting machine. She even has a broken wrist, and she has already embroidered 6 and the partial squares (from the last time she gave me a count which was more than a week ago) and every time I talk to her she tells me about some new cute blanket pattern or fabric she bought. It is really quite funny! And my dad is way excited. He told my mom that he thinks about the baby ALL the time, if he isn't thinking about anything else. He has always talked about being a grandpa, even when I was little. Needless to say, it will be a very spoiled baby, no doubt!
Me at 9.5 weeks. I think I am already showing. I wish I had a good comparison photo, but I lost all that weight, so I didn't have a current one.

Amanda is...

tired of trying to answer questions about the business quickly, so she has decided to so a whole post about it. I know you are all so curious!

So, in order to kindof understand what the business is, you have to understand what Jason does now. The easy explanation is as follows:
When oil and gas companies need to drill wells, make roads, or place pipelines, they have to have someone come and check the paleontology of the area, to make sure they are not destroying anything amazing. That is what Jason does. (Side note: I find it ironic that they also have to watch the bulldozer do its thing. I mean, seriously, do they think they could salvage anything that it turns up anyway?)

So, Jason got the idea to start a business doing basically the same thing, only for environmental requirements. Such as littering, dumping, and if they are growing or planting any non-native species. I am not 100% clear on these specific details. Jason has them well in hand. I just have the general idea. Anyway, he would go out and make sure they are complying with all of the rules.

We are thinking this is a pretty good idea, since "green" things and businesses are really taking off. Especially since oil and gas companies are not really known for their environmentally friendly ways, we think they will be pressured into it sooner rather than later. Another thing that is really working in our favor is the fact that the government is offering incentives to businesses to do environmental compliance, so we can use it to offset our costs. Again, things that Jason is better equipped to explain.

We have been going to the UVU Small Business Development Center, which is free and they do one-on-one training things to get your business going. All of the people who work there have successfully started a business, and they really know what they are talking about. We are getting tons done, although it doesn't really feel like it, because they always give us a bajillion things to do that we can't quite manage in such a short time. But we did apply for our business license, and we are just waiting to get it through the mail. And we registered our name and are getting our website set up. So, it's going really well. We will hopefully have it up and running soon after Jason loses his job for real. And that is the scoop!

Amanda is....

Really Missing her Husband!!

He gets home from work today, and I want to do something really nice for him to show him how much I missed him. The problem is, I have no idea what to do. And I don't know when he'll be home. So, any ideas would be greatly appreciated! I know, short notice. But I will maybe think something up anyway.

I had a ton of fun yesterday and Wednesday!! My dear aunt, Emily, and her three cute kids (who deliciously warm up to quite quickly), came over and spent the night! It was tons of fun. We played games and ate at Zupas, which has the best salads ever, if anyone knows where one is that's not in Provo... I also made her and the kids waffle-pancakes from the pan Jason got me for my birthday. They are so SO delicious! Seriously, they are amazing. Crispy like a waffle and fluffy like a pancake. Mmmm. Maybe I will make me some more today.

Amanda is....

Amazing!!

That's what I think, anyway. I know, amazing is a very "Amanda" cliche. But seriously, how many other "A" words are there that work like that? I have had a very busy week, but I am really enjoying myself lately. Today Jason and I went and got our business license. It's really exciting. And weird. I mean, seriously, it is strange to be a business owner. We are working our little tooshies off trying to get this business off the ground, but it is just so complicated!! Oh well, I am sure we will figure it out. And since Jason is still working his other job (that he was SUPPOSED to be laid off from), I figure we have a little more time. Which is always nice.

In other news, Jason got his calling upgraded. He is now the 1st counselor in the YM presidency and the Teacher's quorum advisor. We are both still just loving our callings, and this ward. It's nice to find a good fit. Also, I have been dying to go swimming in my new swimsuit (that I paid way too much money for and refuse to feel guilty about.) I was going to take pictures of me in it, but I figure the stock photo will look much better, so you get that instead. It's cuter with the skirt part pulled a little farther down, but you get the idea. Mine is black. I love Love LOVE it, which is why I refuse to feel guilty about it. Besides, I can buy myself a birthday present, right?

Birthday Fun!!

Well, yesterday was my birthday, and it was a crazy but good day. I guess birthdays are usually like that. It started out with a phone call from Suzanne (who is the choir director in our ward) who was wishing me happy birthday (I'm not even sure how she knew it was my birthday...) and wanted to know if we wanted to go over to play games in the evening. Then I had a meeting, and I got sung to. Then Devera (one of the other Beehive leaders) came over with a card. It was very sweet of her. Then I went to babysit Jack, and as I was getting there, Marilyn (another YW leader) sent me some texts telling me how great I am and also wishing me a happy birthday. Then it all calmed down some. Jason Acosta also sent some birthday wishes my way. Then I got home and I was surprised with flowers and a cool pancake-waffle pan from Williams-Sonoma (shown above) that I have been lusting after for a while. Seriously- delicious. Then we went over to Suzanne's for games and had a great time. It's so fun getting to know people! It was a great birthday!
But of course, birthdays tend to bleed over a few days. It started with my mom's gift arriving about a week ago, which was all sorts of cool spices and a cookbook and some recipes. I might do another blog jst about that. It is oodles of cool spices! Mostly Indian and Morrocan. Sunday, Lauren and Adam came over to hang out with a cake (it had strawberries on top and between the layers- yummy!) and a cute pink sweater, some beads, and a cute zipper pouch she made. Today, I am going shopping with Faith, and she will be getting me a present, but I don't know what it is yet!! It will be so fun!

I Am Unable to Stick to my Guns!

First of all, I should really start taking more photos. I am so bad for not having photos in my posts- so apologies all around. I am a bad blogger. I guess I am just so busy lately, and even though I have oodles to blog about, I never find the time to do it! Here is a quick recap:

Last Wednesday, Jason and I went to see John Bachar with Adam and Lauren. For those of you who don't know (I certainly didn't!) John Bachar is like a super famous climber. He free solos (which is without a rope!) and I think he's a little crazy. But it was cool, they had a raffle and gave away tons of climbing gear. None of us won anything, but it was still fun. Also he had tons of crazy photos, which are always neat to look at. And he held the door open for me, so I guess I have that claim to fame now. For climbers, anyway...

Last Friday- I went over to Faith's house, and we did pedicures! It was so much fun! We also did her two-year-old Grace's toes. I taught Faith how to do flowers, and we did each others' toes. She did an amazing job for a first time!

Last Saturday- It was Jack's 2nd Birthday party. His actual birthday was on Monday, but the party was on the weekend for obvious reasons. Heather and Jason went all out and even rented a bouncy castle. It was kid heaven! Then Heather and I had a great rest of the day doing stuff for free! She had a bunch of gift certificates- which I did feel bad for using, so Thanks, Heather!- and we went to see Monsters Vs. Aliens in 3D (which was Heather's first 3D movie and way fun) and went to Chili's. We also did a little shopping, which was not free. It was a really fun day!

Sunday- Lauren's birthday was on Saturday, but since Adam was working then, she decided to do her birthday thing on Sunday. We had fondue at her house. Fondue is always a blast, and it was very delicious! I especially loved the strawberries in the chocolate. The strawberries were so tasty! I love strawberry season! I have been thinking that I need to go to Costco and buy me a giant thing of strawberries!

Tuesday- Jason and I went to the Small Business Development Center to talk about our business. Everything is going really well. In two weeks, we are supposed to be able to do a proposal or a sales pitch. A little scary, but pretty exciting as well. Also I taught our Mutual activity, and it was a good meaty scripture-y one, which are my favorite kind to teach. And the girls enjoyed it! One actually came up to me and told me that she loves it when I teach the scriptures because I make it so easy to understand! So that made me feel really really good!

I guess that is all that has been going on since I last posted. I promise, next time I will do a whole post for each activity. And maybe even take some pictures!