MilSpouse Friday Fill-in #51

Another edition of Milspouse Friday Fill-in! 

1. Facebook or Twitter?

I like both for different reasons- I can keep up and in touch with my IRL friends on FB and see tons of photos. I love Twitter for my friends that I havent met IRL. Overall, they are so much more open-minded and less judgmental than those I know IRL. Ive made some great friends through blogs and Twitter. Twitter is also an awesome place to get news, feedback and ideas!

2. Hard tacos or soft tacos?

Definitely crunchy tacos! I love the crunch and taste of hard shell tacos way more than the mushiness of a soft shell. Plus, I love me some salt and crunchy taco shells have plenty of that! 

3. Gardening or crafting?

This girl has a BLACK thumb. I can barely keep any plant alive, so Im definitely going with crafting on this one. The only things Ive managed to keep alive are a random plant from Christmas and some fresh, organic basil that I picked up in a Germany grocery store. I love cooking with my own herbs and will definitely be getting some more soon! Not only do they taste better than the ones you can buy in a package at the store, but they last so much longer too, so Im saving money, which is always a great thing! I love crafting, I just have a hard time finding the supplies I need over here. Ive got some great ideas lately from Pinterest though and cant wait to try them out! 

4. Fruit or Veggies? 

I love them both, but I have to go with fruit. I love almost all fruit and could eat it with every meal. It's been my most consistent pregnancy craving too! 

5. Motorcycle or bicycle?

Definitely bicycle. Motorcycles are so dangerous. After working as a nurse in a surgical intensive care unit for three years and caring for more than my share of motorcycle accident victims, I am definitely not a fan of them. Ive seen too many people lose their limbs, basic body functions & lives from them. Bicycles can be dangerous too, yes, but I never saw one bicycle accident victim in my ICU. J & I have leisure bikes- mine is a beach cruiser!- that we love to ride, but I havent been able to this summer since Im preggo. I cant wait to ride them next year! 

Happy Friday and I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

Book Review: Grave Sight

Not my image

I stoked to find out that there are a couple of other series written by

an author I really like- Charlaine Harris who also writes the Sookie 

Stackhouse books.

Grave Sight is the first book in the Harper Connelly Mysteries series. 

It follows a twenty-something year old woman who was struck by lightening

when she was fifteen. Since that time, she has been able to locate dead bodies 

and relive their last moments, immediately knowing their cause of death. 

Sounds like a really interesting premise right? 

I was so excited to read this book, especially because it takes place in my home state, 

but when I was finished, I was pretty disappointed. It wasnt at all like the Sookie books, 

in the writing, intrigue or entertainment.

I was bored, the plot was easy to figure out and the main character is really 

annoying. Her weakness and debilitating reliance on her brother are weird and 

a huge turn off. 

So no, I wasnt a fan of the book. I had planned on reading the entire series, but 

after reading the first book, I dont think Im going to buy the rest. 

Have any of you read this series? Are the rest of the books any better? 

Rating: **

Rating Scale

*****: Amazing, wonderful, MUST-read, loved it!

****: Really liked it, would recommend, good book!

***: Liked it, enjoyable, but not the greatest book ever written. 

**: Not so great, some good parts, but overall, it was just ok. 

*: Didnt like it, wouldnt recommend it, bad book all around.

Maternity Photos

I had my maternity photos taken a couple of weeks ago.

I just got the CD in this week and I think they are fantastic! She 

did an awesome job and I am so happy with them.

She took 100 photos! 

I really like them all. We had some taken in her studio and some in a nearby park.

The B&W ones are my favorites, though we do have several of us

together in color that look great. J was a sweetheart and didnt 

complain even once. =)

Which ones are your favorites?

Milspouse Friday Fill-in #50

Head over to Wife of a Sailor to link up!

1. Do you eat raw cookie dough?
    At the moment, no. It's on the "forbidden while you're pregnant" list, but prior to that, yes. I love raw cookie dough, though I rarely bought or ate the stuff.

2. When you get online for the first time of the day...what site do you immediately head to?
    Yahoo and my yahoo email. Then facebook, twitter and blogger. I have to stay connected with the world! Without real TV over here and access to a lot of websites, it's easy to become disconnected from the world back home.

3. What was your favorite pet as a child and why?
    My dog Buttercup. She was a cocka-poo mix and absolutely adorable, lovable and cuddly. I loved all of the dogs that I had growing up, but she's the one I remember the most.

4. If you had a snail that could magically grant wishes, what would you name it?
    First of all, I hate snails. They are just slugs with a shell on their back. We have slugs EVERYWHERE here in Germany this time of the year and they are so gross, leaving a trail of slime where ever they go. Eeww. I would probably keep one that could grant wishes, but Id make sure I didnt have to look at it and I would call it..... Slimy Joe.

5. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
    As many as I want, depending on my mood. =)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Ill be posting a sneak peak of my maternity photos on Monday! They are fabulous! (Of course Im not biased at all!)

Book Review: Dead Reckoning

Not my image

This is the eleventh book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. 

I LOVE these books. They are definitely one of my favorite series.

I like the TV show True Blood, which is based on the books, but the show 

is definitely a lot different than the books. Darker in all ways, but still good. 

Anyway, these books are great. Entertaining, easy reads, that havent gotten stale, 

even after eleven books. I did hear that there will only be two more books, which 

makes me sad because there is still so much that could happen. 

In this book, Sookie is being terrorized (again) by some unknown creature, her 

fairy family moves in and out with her, and her lover and friend are plotting to kill 

the new area master. 

I was able to read this book, start to finish in six hours on the plane ride back to the

States. I liked it and am eager to see what happens in the next book and how she 

will end the series.

Rating: ****

Rating Scale

*****: Amazing, wonderful, MUST-read, loved it!

****: Really liked it, would recommend, good book!

***: Liked it, enjoyable, but not the greatest book ever written. 

**: Not so great, some good parts, but overall, it was just ok. 

*: Didnt like it, wouldnt recommend it, bad book all around.

Pinterest Interest

Like many of you, I love Pinterest.

I love it for the inspiration, the ideas. It just 

makes me happy. 

I have had some great success with craft projects and recipes 

that I've found on Pinterest and I wanted to share them with you. 

The first two are craft projects. 

I love being crafty, but finding supplies here is difficult so I stocked up 

on a few things while we were back in the States. 

The first is a monogram made of seashells.

It was super easy to make-

just hot glue shells and starfish onto a

wooden letter. 

While easy, it was a bit dangerous- 

I think I burnt my fingers ten times while making this! 

I've got it hanging in our entryway, using ribbon from one of 

the baby gifts we received and a straight pin. 

The second is another letter project, one I made for a friend.

J & I love red wine (duh) and we try and keep the corks from each 

bottle. I've used them to make a large wreath which hangs in our dining

room. We still have a ton, though our supply really hasnt increased much 

in the last eight months. ;) 

Ive seen several wine cork projects on Pinterest and 

plan on making most of them! 

Here's my first: 

It was really easy to make, just like the seashell letter. 

You just need a wooden letter, some corks, hot glue and a 

knife to cut them up with. 

The next project is a recipe I found for Oreo pops. 

We made these as favors for my baby shower and they 

were a hit! Such a cute idea! 

These were pretty easy to make, but time consuming and 

a bit messy. 

I loved how they turned out! 

Another recipe we found on Pinterest and used for the 

baby shower was for the punch. 

It is supposed to look like pink bath water. Pineapple ice cream

 and ginger ale makes the bubbles and the rubber duckies are so adorable! 

To see the original links and posts, check out my Pinterest boards.

If you dont have Pinterest yet and want to check it out, just let me know and 

Ill send you an invite! 

MilSpouse Friday Fill-in

I havent participated in this in a long time! I liked this week's questions though, so here ya go! 

1. If you could have a private concert with any singer, who would it be?  submitted by An Air Force Wife’s Blog
John Mayer hands-down. I absolutely love his music and have seen him in concert twice. A private concert of all of my favorite songs? Yes please. 

2. Is there anything you do to supplement your family’s income? submitted by Our Life, One Adventure at a Time
Nope, not anymore. Before we moved to Germany, we were a two income family, but it's been impossible to find a job here. I would love to find something that I could do from home though.

3. During your pregnancy (whether past, present, or future), what did you nickname your unborn baby before you knew the sex? submitted by Explosions of Love
We called her Baby Olive from week nine (when she was the size of an olive) until we found out the sex. I love the name Olive, but we already had a girl's name picked out. 

4. Have you ever won a blog giveaway?  If so what did you win? submitted by Mrs. O’s Life
Yes! And it seriously makes my day when I do! I won a bunch of bath and body stuff in a giveaway hosted my My Camo Colored Life, sponsored by Inspiri, which is run by It's a Dog Tag Wife Life. Sooo good! I won a precious baby hat from Flip Flops and Combat Boots, sponsored by Maggie's Closet. I also won a CSN gift certificate from Annoyed Army Wife. I love giveaways! 

5.  If I looked into your refrigerator right now, what would I find? submitted by Married to the Army
Bread, yogurt, grapes, pineapple, cheese, pasta, tomatoes, onions, peppers, cucumbers, beer, milk, cranberry juice, tea, artichokes, tortillas, salad, chicken, and a huge assortment of condiments. Im heading out to the German market soon though, so Im hoping to add some fresh fruits and veggies today!

Happy Friday Everyone! Have a great weekend! 

Showered With So Much Love

My Mom is an amazing woman. Crazy when it comes to parties, gift buying and grandbabies, but amazing. (She knows this, so dont worry, Im not offending her!)

I absolutely adore her craziness in these things and knew that she would put on a baby shower like

no other when I told her I would be coming home before the baby was born. 

We didnt expect to go back to the States before my September due date, but J was assigned a 

training slot for instructor school. He was notified two weeks before his leave date. The training just so 

happened to be in my home state, so I was super excited to get to go back home for a month while 

he trained. This presented the perfect opportunity for a baby shower! 

The baby shower was at my parent's house. 

Baby M is my parent's first grandchild in fifteen years (I have a 15 y/o nephew) and their first granddaughter. 

She is also J's parent's first grandchild altogether.

She is going to be so spoiled! 

J's mom flew out to spend the weekend with us and attend the shower. We were so happy she could 

make it and have the chance to see me pregnant and feel the baby kick.

My mom went crazy buying presents for Baby M! Most of the shower presents were from her and 

there were 30 people in attendance! 

J's mom hadnt really bought much up to this point, so when she got to town she also went a bit

crazy buying super cute things for the baby. 

We had a great time and I just wish it wouldnt have flown by so quickly!

Ps... My mom should have been a professional event planner- she brainstormed all of this and 

did the decorating. It was beautiful!

One of the present tables

Presents! Cake and punch table.
I LOVE the wreath!
My mom bought it for us and I shipped it back to Germany after the party!

It's a girl chocolate bars and oreo pops for favors.
The bear is a Build a Bear from J's mom. 

I made the oreo pops.
The inspiration came from Pinterest!

The cake!!!
It was absolutely delicious and so adorable!
My mom came up with the design and the rain boots are from her. 

Love this

I loved the decor! The frame is from a friend, my sister and I made the cloth covered letters to
match her bedding, the flowers are from my mom, as are the clothes hanging up.
The large toy to my left is the My Little Pony Mermaid Castle and is from J. It was a
wonderful surprise and baby M's first toy!
The quilt and bedding are behind me. You cant really see them. Once I have the nursery all together,
Ill post lots of photos! 

My wonderful mom and I

The food table
Yum! 

Another view

The punch!
The inspiration was from Pinterest. It's pink bath water with rubber duckies.
It was very good!

All put together

The present tree
Mom hung presents from the tree and the guests had to guess how many they thought were on there.
Then I was allowed to "open" it! 

Isnt this the cutest outfit and hat ever?!
Of course it's from my mom! 

Thanks Mom!
Happy Thursday!

First Baby Shower

A very sweet friend of mine threw me my first baby shower a month ago, here in Germany. I actually enjoy going to baby showers, so I was even more excited that this one would be for me! =) She did a great job and it was a lot of fun. We played a few silly games, ate some cake and opened presents. Baby M received some very adorable things and some very much needed things. Im one of those people who likes the practical stuff just as much as the cutesy things, so receiving bottles and diapers makes me happy. Im so thankful that Ive made such great friends here in Germany. I wasnt expecting to have a shower here and Im having not one, but two!

Decorations, baby photos of mine and Js, cake and drinks;
The cake was very good and so cute! 

We played a game where the guests had to decorate a onesie and I had to choose the winner.
They were all so cute and creative! 

The one in the middle won!
The one to the right says "Mom's German Souvenir"!

Blessed

 It was a great first baby shower! My next shower took place at my parent's house in the States a few weeks ago. It was amazing and Ill post about it soon! Happy Tuesday!