What's That On Your FACE?!

I love having a webcam on my computer. Todd bought a laptop with a built-in camera before he left so that we can have video chats while he's deployed. It's been such a blessing. It is so much nicer to see his face when we talk.

But last night, seeing Todd's face gave me a bit of a surprise. At first, I thought it was just bad lighting. But I kept staring, and finally I had to ask, "Are you growing a mustache?" He laughed and answered in the affirmative. Apparently, all of the guys are doing it. It's a morale-boosting kind of a thing. What the - ?!
Now, I am a big fan of the two-day scruff. But usually the upper lip and the chin and cheeks match. It's so weird for him to have a mustache without a beard. And this is only a couple of days old. Just wait. . .

Being in the military, Todd's never had much of an opportunity to grow facial hair. He keeps an electric razor in the car in case he forgets to shave before leaving for work. He'll get in trouble if he's not clean-shaven. However, apparently they have different standards when we're talking deployment. And, oh baby, Todd is taking advantage of it! It's super weird.

I asked him how long he was going to keep it, and he did NOT have a deadline in mind. So I gave him one. I said he could keep it until the day he comes home for Thanksgiving. I'll see it in person and try out the prickly kiss. But then it's got to come off. He can't have a 'stache in the brand new daddy pictures! My dad went through a mustache phase, and whenever we look at those pictures, we make fun of him and ask him what he was thinking. Todd cannot have his "what were you thinking" fashion moment as we introduce our new chica to the world. Sorry man.
Readers, what are your thoughts on mustaches? I'm talking - unaccompanied by a beard. Just the upper lip hair. Nothing more. Do tell.

Just a Little Good News

So, just a little bit of rejoicing here. There was angst and possible disappointment, but all has turned full circle now.

Voting ballots. Where the heck were ours?

Todd and I are registered to vote by mail in California. We got our Cali ballots in Alabama last year so we could vote for all the county judges and stuff. We were expecting to get Cali ballots again this year, and VOTE YES ON PROP 8 and also try to keep Obama out of the White House.

But the ballots never came.

I've been calling and trying to speak with an actual person at the Santa Clara County voting office for over a week now. First, I was getting sent to voice mail, which was full and wouldn't let me leave a message. Then, I was still being sent to voice mail, but when I'd leave messages, they must have fallen into a dark abyss or something, because there was no response.

But last night I got a call from them! And they said our ballots had been mailed to Alabama. They put my Utah address and Todd's Oklahoma address in their system and said they would mail our new ballots out in the morning (maybe even as I type this...) and we should have them by Thursday. Hallelujah!

Here is why it means so much to me:

1) I am a patriotic American, and do not want to miss out on exercising my right to vote.

2) Although I am not in love with McCain, Obama scares my socks off. I need to do what I can to get Palin - er, uh, McCain - into the White House. Please, can we stay away from Socialism?

3) Vote Yes on Prop 8 is perhaps the most important action I will have taken as a voter since I started voting in 2000. (For those who don't know, Prop 8 would define marriage as being only between a man and a woman in the California constitution. Sadly, there is a lot of opposition to it in California.) I am horrified by how threatened "traditional" families are, and want to do whatever I can to ensure that my children are raised in a country where it's common sense that a family has a mom and a dad.

At any rate, I was thoroughly disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to vote at this upcoming election, but now my worries are over. I can't wait to hold my ballot in my hot little hand!

Bingham Girl's Weekend

This weekend my mom and sisters came to Midway for a weekend getaway together. We had such a blast! We played games, sewed a baby quilt, and went to art galleries and boutiques around town. It's always so much fun having the girls get together to bond.

me, Kathryn, Mom, Emily

On Saturday, we had quite an hour of drama. We had been at a local boutique, looking at crafts and things. There were samples of lotions and body scrubs all over the place. We all kept putting products on and feeling so chic, smelling each other. Well, I came across a spray bottle that was labeled cranberry spice. How could I pass that up?! I took the lid off and sniffed, but couldn't smell anything, so I sprayed a little on my wrist. Oh man! It smelled SO GOOD! I could not resist spraying two or three squirts on my neck. I reveled in my great new aroma.

I came across my mom in the store and asked her to smell me. She wanted to know what I had used, so I showed her the spray. Well, she read the bottle and said, "It says it may irritate skin." What? I looked at the bottle. Then I looked at what it was displayed with - incense. Not body spray.

I said, "Actually, my neck IS starting to sting a little bit. I guess I'll go wash it off in the bathroom." By the time I got to the restroom, the sting had turned into more of a burning, and my neck was turning red. I washed and scrubbed with soap as best I could, but nothing was soothing me and the red was inching up higher and getting brighter.

I hustled out of the restroom and found my mom. When she saw me, she said my neck looked lobster red! We hustled home to take some Benadryll. However, on the way home, I started to worry that I shouldn't take any medicine without my doctor's approval. I called his number, but he was not in the office. Urgent care had closed two hours earlier. And no one answered the phone at the emergency room. (Gotta love small towns at times like this!)

Instead, my mom made me an oatmeal poultice. I layed on the couch and pretended I was getting a spa treatment for the next hour. It really did make it feel better. An hour later, I was as good as gold. Crazy, I know.

Thank goodness for oatmeal and cold water.

We had a fall feast for dinner - soup in a pumpkin. It was so divine. My friend Rebekah made it last year in Alabama, and Todd has been dreaming of it ever since. We had wanted to make it together before he took off for Oklahoma, but ran out of time. So my mom and sisters and I had it in Todd's honor instead. Here's the recipe:

Slice off the top of one medium pumpkin; clean out the inside of pumpkin and set aside. Saute four cut-up chicken breasts in three tablespoons of butter until golden. Remove and saute three sliced carrots, two sliced celery stalks, and 1/2 cup scallions. Add one can each of cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, and chicken alphabet soup. Stir in one can water, 1/3 cup sour cream, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Mix well and pour into hollow pumpkin. Top with pumpkin top. Place on baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 90 minutes. Scrape pumpkin sides when serving. Makes eight servings.

Mmm. Pumpkin soup. Divine.

And last but not least, I finally took another belly picture for you all. Oh, and Todd's captain is hoping to send the troop to Afghanistan a little early, so now I'm nervous that Todd'll miss The Bean's arrival. They're hoping to leave December 5th. My due date is December 1st. We'd appreciate any and all prayers that she'll make her appearance before Todd takes off.

Me and The Bean a day shy of 34 weeks.

Fun Quiz

Your Element Is Air

You dislike conflict, and you've been able to rise above the angst of the world. And when things don't go your way, you know they'll blow over quickly. Easygoing, you tend to find joy from the simple things in life. You roll with the punches, and as a result, your life is light and cheerful. You find it easy to adapt to most situations, and you're an open person. With you, what you see is what you get... and people love that!

What's Your Element?

Painting the Baby's Room

Well, Todd and I drove back to Midway on Sunday, and right away Monday morning got started on projects around the house. My favorite was painting the baby's room. My jobs included planning the finished product, helping to tape, picking out the paint at Home Depot, and reading to Todd from the hallway while he did the actual painting. We documented the wall's progress for all you loyal readers to see:

Taping the wall

Todd, hard at work painting

Just about done - just need to take the tape off

Voila! And, oh yes, we also set up the crib.

We're so excited! We've got a dresser in there, and space to put the comfy green glider we bought which will hopefully arrive before The Bean does. Now I'll just get to work on hanging up cute pictures and things on the walls. Also, I need to find great crib bedding. So much to do, so little time. I am loving this baby room thing!

What I Like About You

"Come here, my little crock pot."

That's what Todd said to me as he sat down to watch General Conference today. It took me a second to figure out why the heck he called me that, and then I started laughing. I'm slow cooking the baby!

How could I not adore this guy?

Grateful

Just want to say, I love living with Todd. It doesn't matter that we're in a hotel room in an unfamiliar city. I don't care that I'm using travel-size shampoo or living out of a suitcase. I slept better last night than I have in weeks, because when I'd wake up in the middle of the night, I'd hear Todd breathing next to me, and I could put my head on his shoulder and feel him wrap his arm around me. The next two weeks will be bliss.