25 Weeks

So my perspective recently altered….

I cannot believe that I am already 25 weeks and 3 days pregnant. This whole experience is going by so quickly. She'll be here in 3 months time. I've been getting clucky and making lots of little baby girl things. Today I finished her quilt top. I used this fabric. It's looking very pretty if I might say so.

Our bedroom is also filling up. We have a change table covered in baby clothes, a bassinet and also a cot (which is actually still in storage. We're going to fix it up).

She kicks and moves around a fair bit. She stressed me out last week because I thought I hadn't felt her move in a while. Into see the midwife I went, who told me she was fine. She'd flipped the other way and was kicking somewhere else. Sneaky baby. We've already given her a name - but you're going to have to wait to find out. 

In terms of how I'm feeling - heavy and uncoordinated mostly. Achy and stretching - but also very happy. 

Wyoming

Jordan's friends, the Warburtons have a cabin in Wyoming. By cabin I don't mean a small wooden hut with dusty bunks and no bathroom. The cabin is big. It has 3 or 4 bedrooms, 2 living areas, a dining area, kitchen…. It's extremely cosy and house-like. It sits on a big plot of land in a teeny town called Smoot. We recently went to spend the weekend there. It was exciting - the first time I'd left Utah since we'd arrived here. Our siblings came and so did Jason and his wife Valerie. Evenings were spent playing Scattergories and Dominoes; days spent snowmobiling (Or in my case, watching others snowmobile from inside). The snow was verrry deep and the weather extremely cold. It reached -18 celsius (which is a nip too cold for my liking).

Wyoming is a special place for us. Jordan's mom's side hails from Afton. It's a very small place with not much happening, surrounded by rolling hills and filled with small-town quirks. We went to the house where Jordan's grandparents lived (which is unfortunately no longer in the family). We ate the most delicious fish and chips (a rarity in the US) at a small seafood place and enjoyed driving through the twisting and turning, snow covered canyons. 

- Alice

The Holiday Season

Pepper loves the snow… I'm not the biggest fan.

Maeve wearing the cardigan that I made her for Christmas

Maxwell - Jordan's 'mini me'

Here in the United States, as American as it sounds - you don't just have 'Christmas.'
You have the holiday season. Why? Because a series of holidays begin in October. First you have Halloween, then Thanksgiving 4 weeks later; Christmas 4 weeks after that. It's basically 3 months of forward planning. You have to. You hit one occasion and then before you have time to put up a Christmas tree, it's already too late.

We spent some time with family over Christmas. Tim and Nancy came to visit from Colorado, and then Ryan, Shelby, Max and Wesley paid us a visit from Arizona. It was also nice to start some new traditions with Jordan, as it was our first Christmas in our own place.

Here is a video that Shelby made over Christmas. It pretty much sums up the whole experience. Jordan's family have a tradition of going bowling on New Years Day, so there's some footage of that and also when we find out that we're having a girl!

- Alice

Expecting the Unexpected

So, I've been carrying around a secret for a little while now.
Jordan and I were recently surprised to discover that we will be parents quite a bit sooner than we thought! Our little girl is due June, 19 2014.

We can't wait to meet our daughter!

Will post properly very soon!

-Alice 

Hibernation

The weather got progressively colder throughout November, and I had been dreading snowfall... The thought of driving in it was terrifying. Because of this, I was hoping to have my office set up at home by then. I guess I wasn't organised enough. I'll be working from home next week, though. I'm really happy about that. Thanksgiving was really lovely. It's such a nice tradition to get together with family and friends to feast. Any excuse to do that is just fine by me. We went to Jordan's aunt Jeana's. There was so much food, so many people.... There were 2 turkeys (Jordan carved one), a roast ham, slowly roasted pork, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes (one lot with pecans, the other with marshmallows on), string beans, salads.... Yeah, a lot. Then for dessert there was: chocolate pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, coconut cream pie, lemon meringue pie...cherry pie (and this is only what I can remember). We walked away from thanksgiving dinner with very full bellies and a bag of turkey meat which I made Cornish pasties with the next day.

I haven't ventured out much over the last few weeks. My days have been filled with work, crocheting pretty little things for Christmas, sewing and cooking. I'm in love with this lady's crochet designs. Since it started snowing, the weather has dropped to temperatures I wasn't even aware existed. The last few nights it's been -16, -18 degrees celsius. In the mornings when I leave for work at 5.30, I bundle up, walk briskly to the car and then drive slowly along the icy roads to get to work. Today as I was going home, I thought 'hmm...It's warmer today.' When I got in the car, the temperature told me it was -2 celsius. Can I now officially call myself a Utahn?

We ventured out on Saturday night to Temple Square. I had my friend, Sarah stay with us this past weekend (Sarah is a friend from Lyon, studying in Idaho). Each year in December, Temple Square is lit up so beautifully. We walked around for a bit and then got hot chocolates on the way home (of course) so that we could warm up again.

And, so until it reaches a balmy 3 degrees, I'll be inside eating vegetable stews and curling up with my sweetheart.

Time

Halloween came and passed. We dressed up as Where's Wallies. We had a lot of fun with this. Can you spot Wally in the supermarket?? We made a trip out West to the desert. I told Jordan that this would be my last camping trip in a while. It's just so so cold!

I cannot believe that we have already been here for 4 months. It feels much longer than that. Perhaps it's the bitter cold weather, waking up so incredibly early to work my French call center job, or the amount of time that I've spent alone with our two dogs in our one-bedroom apartment - but life's got me down this last little while, which is why I've been a bit slack in posting anything. It's not that I'm that miserable. I'm happy to be with Jordan and to spend time with American family, but it is so terribly far away.... And they don't sell Vegemite or Milo at our local supermarket. I think I'm finally discovering the brands that I like, though. I even found some decent sour dough bread.

I've decided to be proactive and keep myself a little busier. I've decided that I'd like to craft most of the Christmas gifts this year, which will keep me busy for the next few weeks. I've also decided to cook more. When it's freezing cold and you're in need of home comforts, it's wonderful to keep busy cooking. I pleaded with Jordan to allow me to take my Stephanie Alexander cookbook over here (which probably weighs at least 5 KG) but it's lately become my best friend. A lot of the recipes that my parents use have come from this amazing, Bible of a cookbook. I've thus far made lasagne, various soups and risotto. I intend to make much more. In fact, I am committed to making at least one good, home-cooked meal a week. 

Last week I made Hungarian Goulash. This recipe is a family favourite and it tasted like home at winter. Kenzie, Shad and Maeve came round and it was very popular.

This is the recipe for how to make Hungarian Style Goulash

You will Need

- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium onions
-500 stewing veal (I use beef)
- 1 tbsp Hungarian Paprika
- 425 g can chopped tomatoes
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 large potato, peeled and diced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and thickly sliced
- 1 green capsicum, chopped (capsicum means pepper, for y'all American folk)
- salt and ground black pepper
- sour cream

Method: Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan and cook the onion for 10 minutes over moderate heat, stirring from time to time, until soft and golden brown. Remove the onion from the pan, increase the heat and brown the meat in batches, then return al to the pan

2. Return the onion to the pan. Add the paprika, caraway seeds, tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/4 hours.

3. Add the diced potato, carrot and capsicum. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Season to taste with pepper and salt. Served best with rice (or can be served on its own)

4. Once dished, stir in a couple of teaspoons of sour cream.

Until next time,

- Alice

Autumn

We took the opportunity to drive up American Fork Canyon yesterday. I so desperately wanted to see the Autumn leaves before the season ended. We were up there at such a beautiful time. The light was golden and it truly looked celestial. Trees just aren't like this in Australia, so I'm always excited when I see Autumn in another part of the world where the colours of the leaves are so vibrant. I also can't get enough of these snow-capped mountains. I can even see them from our bedroom window.

It's colder now and although I'm looking forward to a snowy winter, I'd be lying if I said I don't miss the sunshine. I hope we plan a trip to Southern Utah soon!

- Alice