In my attempt to bring back my “creative” side, I signed up for this e-course about art journaling. It provides 52 prompts/themes you can use as inspiration for your journal pages. I really miss blogging and feel like I should be writing more during this important time of my life. Perhaps this will help! The e-course is meant for a real journal book but I’m way too lazy for that…so I’m just going to blog my thoughts and perhaps share some pictures on here. I would like to do a real journal too one day but I need to build up my art stash some more!

Anyways, the first prompt is “Daydreams” and I’m going to try and do a blog once a week having to do with the theme.

I can’t lie. My daydreams definitely have to do with our future baby. I really have gone “baby crazy” the last few months. I notice pregnant mamas and little ones everywhere. They all just seem SOOOOOO CUTE! I’m still really scared of having my own but I definitely love kids!

I daydream about what our kid will be and look like. Will it look more like me or boyrobot? Will it be shy and a homebody like me…or funny and outgoing like boyrobot? Will it like sports? Reading books? I’m so excited to find out!!!

I also daydream about all of the things we would do. I hope she (yes, we found out it’s a she last week!) does like sports so boyrobot can teach her how to catch a ball and be a cute little tomboy.

But at the same time I hope she will love cooking and crafting with me!

I imagine all of the family traditions we will have. And I hope that she has a childhood that was much like mine. Filled with lots of imagination, fun, and friends. I remember building forts with blankets in our living room and playing house with my siblings.

If I am ambitious enough, I would love to build her a teepee like this:

I remember playing night tag, catching fireflies, and spending countless hours outside with neighborhood friends.

I can’t wait to take her places, go on roadtrips, or even travel overseas. I would like to instill in her the love of travel and adventures that boyrobot and I have.

I imagine changing my first real diaper, cuddling with our new baby, and yes all of those sleepless nights we will have and what it will be like. Will we get lucky and our baby will be a good sleeper? Or will it keep us up at all hours of the night? I can only imagine what it will feel like when the baby comes….to be responsible for this littler person who solely depends on us. The thought is just so weird!!!

BTW, I can only hope that our girl is half as cute as the babies in these pictures!!

Honestly, 2011 has been a complete blur. I barely remember the first half and am just consumed with the fact that I was pregnant and miserable the last half. In fact, I am sitting here on my bed feeling completely nauseous with an unbearable pressure in my throat (heartburn?) and a sore tailbone. I’m SO uncomfortable!!

So my new year’s resolution is to stop complaining so much about being pregnant. So with that, I am done. I’m honestly really happy and excited to be pregnant. I just hate being pregnant. So I am really looking forward to 2012 when I get to meet this little babybot and hopefully I can feel comfortable in my body again! I used to dread the thought of labor but now I can’t wait…if it means all of these symptoms go away with it! I can deal with 24 hrs of pain….at least it’s over with. These 9 months of misery are feeling like forever.

Ok really, now I’m done. :P

My other new year’s resolution is to take more pictures. I should have started at our new year’s party. So I already failed at that. But I’m going to try really hard to change that!

There’s so much for us to look forward to and be excited about in 2012. I really can’t wait!! I’m anxious to see how we’ll deal with parenthood and what kind of little person boyrobot and I have created heheheh. I’m looking forward to becoming a real family and starting our own family traditions. I’m excited that a lot of our friends have kids already or are pregnant. It makes the whole process seem less daunting than what it once was. All of my friends with kids have been so wonderful and helpful. And I’m so happy our kid will have tons of friends to play with!!

Lastly, I just wanted to wrap up this post with a thanks to all of my friends, family, and especially boyrobot for making my life extra special. 2011 is the last year that it will just be me and boyrobot. I know it will be bittersweet…because I have absolutely enjoyed these past few years with the amazing adventures we have gone on. I will miss all of the things that we did that probably won’t be as easy to do or plausible to do once we have a kid. I used to feel like I would never be ready to give those things up, but I’m finally in a place where I am looking forward to this. We will still have adventures…they’ll just be different kinds of adventures. And honestly, boyrobot and I are kids at heart so I know we are going to have tons of fun with this little one. And we’re lucky to have a great support system around us so we can sneak in some date nights if need be.

So with that… here’s to 2012…it will truly be a year for big changes!

Wow. Has it really been since october since I last updated? Remember when I used to blog practically everyday? Boy, have things changed. And I am not just talking about my blogging habits…

yup….there’s a baby bot growing inside me! it still freaks me out to think about it. This ultrasound was only at about 12 weeks. I am 16 weeks now. We will soon find out if it’s a boy or a girl. I can’t wait!!! A lot of people ask me if I want a boy or girl….I honestly don’t care. I think it would be fun to have a girl (someone to craft and cook with!), but I’m also scared of having to deal with a teenage girl in the future. Boys seem to be easier but I wonder how I would “connect” with a boy. Either way, I think it will be fun and challenging.

Boy, the past 4 months have just been so dreadful to me. I honestly hate being pregnant. I don’t feel like myself at all…I no longer do the things I enjoy. I just have no motivation or energy to do much and just feel nauseous most of the day. The only thing that has gotten me through this is boyrobot who has been kind, patient, and super understanding. I can’t wait to see how he does as a father. He sometimes worries about what kind of Dad he will be but I know he is going to be an amazing dad because I know what kind of person he is. It’s comforting to have someone like that to go through such a big ordeal with.

Anyways, I just wanted to check back in here and let you all know that I’m still alive (if anyone is still reading this). I will try to blog more often….and I will probably be blogging more personal stuff since I don’t really surf the web much anymore. One of my new year’s resolutions will be to take more pictures…so hopefully I have more interesting stuff to share too!

The topic of the day is the death of Steve Jobs of course. I wanted to share the links and videos that I’ve found the most interesting.

Wozniak on the death of Jobs

Steve Jobs was always kind to me – Brian Lam, former Gizmodo editor apologizes for the iPhone 4 prototype debacle

Steve Jobs narrates the crazy ones ad that never aired

Wired’s obituary by Steven Levy – very detailed and in depth

Steve Job’s Forgotten Life-Saving Legacy – had no idea he was responsible for the organ donor option on our driver’s licenses

four very small stories about steve jobs

Westboro Church announces protest of Steve Jobs funeral….an an iPhone

10 unusual things I didn’t know about steve jobs

I’m at home sick today so I’ve been catching up on my movie trailers. Two that really interest me:

It’s scary how much time I have spent watching this little girl’s makeup videos (just ask boyrobot ha ha). She puts on makeup better than me! If you’ve ever watched those other makeup youtube videos, you’ll find this so hilarious like I did!

She is so ADORBZ! And before you get critical of her parents…it’s all for fun. She does not wear makeup on a normal day and it started out as a joke when her kid started copying all of the youtube makeup videos her mom watches.

You can see the rest of her videos on her youtube channel. She’s so entertaining!

Man, I’m in a complete blogging funk. I haven’t updated any of my blogs in ages…I hope I get my blogging mojo back….because I have so much to share!

Anyways, I wanted to do an update on my favorite iPhone apps since people are always asking me about them (I do have an insane amount of apps on my iphone hehe)

Shopping:
Michaels, Jo-Ann – for all of you crafters this is a must have! they both provide quick and easy access to those 40-50% off coupons so I *always* have one with me! I’ve started sewing so this has been a great money saver for me. I hate not having to look for the coupons at the last minute and waste paper and ink printing them out. You just show your phone and they scan it straight from there. IT’S AWESOME.
LivingSocial – I think out of all of the group buying websites, I like LivingSocial the best. It makes buying so easy! Maybe too easy :P

Utilities:
Wunderlist – I’m kind of obsessed with lists and this is a really sweet “to-do” app. It also syncs up with your PC and just has the sleekest interface of any list app I’ve tried! I’m in love!
StillTasty – This is a website I blogged about awhile ago…and now they have an app! It’s one of the few that I’ve paid for and it’s worth every penny. Helps me keep track of what’s in my fridge!
GasBuddy – With gas prices always on the rise, this is a handy app to see which gas station around you has the cheapest price! I won’t go out of my way to save a few cents on a gallon but if one is cheaper in the same vicinity…why not?
Flashlight – I’m sure everybody already has this app but I didn’t dl it until a few months ago. It turns on your flash as a flashlight and is so much better than those white screen ones
INRIX traffic – I drive a 40 minute commute every day. And when I get stuck in traffic, I’m always wondering WHY. This little app tells you what kind of accidents or big events might be going on on your route. Probably only LA people would find this useful :)

Photography:
Halftone – This app creates little comic strips out of your photos. It’s really fun!

Entertainment:
Remote – Use this to control your appleTV. it’s way better than the appleTV remote because it actually has a keyboard. btw, we love our appleTV!

Games:
Scramble CE – I became obsessed with this scramble game on the Windows 7 phone while I was visiting my sister. It’s sort of like Boggle but you play with real live people. Although this game is not as good as the Windows 7 version, it’s pretty darn close!

Ok I think that’s all for now. What are your favorite apps?

Read this.

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Just discovered this cool website called ifttt. It uses different internet feeds to automate useful tasks for you. For example, you can have any facebook photos that you are tagged in automatically downloaded, get an email or text message if it’s going to rain that day, or even send a text message that will call your phone so you can have an excuse to ‘escape’ a bad date! hehe.

You can check out some of the top rated recipes here. You will need to create an account to start adding tasks though.

In this latest Consumer Reports article I recently read, they tested dishwasher detergents. Since moving into my house, I’ve started using the dishwasher. I love it but I am not a fan of the dishwasher detergent I am currently using….one of those Cascade gel ones. (No wonder it was a hot deal!) I guess a new law that passed last year required certain states to limit the amount of phosphorous in detergents causing some to not clean as well. So this study was done on no or low phosphate detergents. Here are the top ones:

Finish Quantum (30 cents per load) topped the Ratings, followed by CR Best Buy, Finish Powerball Tabs (22 cents per load), which scored Excellent for dishes and pots, and bested some detergents that cost more. Cascade Complete All In 1 (28 cents per load) and Cascade with Dawn ActionPacs (23 cents per load) earned a score of Very Good in CR’s tests, but all Cascades, like all Finish products, aren’t equal. Other Cascade and Finish products were scattered throughout the Ratings.

I’m not sure I have seen the highest ranked one in stores (Finish Quantum?) but I had heard a lot about the Finish Powerball Tabs and how well they performed despite being one of the cheaper ones. I can’t wait til I run out of my current detergent so I can try this one!

Some other products that I have read about that are cheap but perform well are Rayovac batteries (tested to perform as well as duracell or energizer!), the cleaning supplies at 99 cent store, electronic cables (avoid best buy and buy online!), and spices.

What products do you use/buy that are cheap but perform as well as the name-brand ones?