Christmas According to Becky

I saw this on a friend’s blog, so I tagged myself and decided to do it. I don’t often do tags, but I thought this might be fun.

1. Do you like hot chocolate or egg nog?

Matt and I just got a Cocomotion at Walmart, so I’m going to have to go with hot chocolate. Egg nog is good in small amounts, but really can’t be consumed in vast quantities like cocoa can.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just put them under the tree?

Santa always wraps presents! Santa hasn’t come to visit me in over a decade though, so I’m thinking that I’m on the naughty list. Maybe he will come back someday when I have children. Here’s hopin.

3. Colored or white lights on the tree/house?

I don’t really have a preference for the tree. This year we have a prelit tree, so we have white lights. I like the blue lights on the outside of the house, but Matt and I are not outside light kind of people. We are much too lazy to be putting up and taking down lights on our house.

4. When do you put up your decorations?

Decorations go up the day after Thanksgiving. I usually have the day off work on this day and so it seems like the perfect time to put up decorations. Plus, I want to get the most time with my decorations as I can and if I don’t take advantage of the entire month of December, then what is the point?

5. What is your favorite holiday dish?

I’m going to have to go with Dar Dar Dar. Delicious Jello salad, mmmmm… But, I like my newly invented variation better than the Derington tradition.

6. What is your favorite holiday memory from your childhood?

I don’t actually remember Christmases from when I was really little. So, I’m going to have go with my teenage years. One year, Mom and Bill gave all of us kids money to buy presents for each other from them. It was all very complicated, but we all hit the mall together and shopped all day and it was a lot of fun. I used to really like holiday shopping with my family.

7. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

Absolutely! We always opened a gift on Christmas Eve. I think it used to be a pair of pajamas when we were little, but when I got older, I usually opened my stocking because it had good snacks in it.

8. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

At the parents, we decorate with a bunch of family ornaments that have been collected throughout the years. Rarely, did we have fancy/color themed Christmas trees when we were growing up because us kids were notorious for breaking the ornaments. But, Matt and I have a red and silver tree this year. We don’t know if the glass bulbs will survive many more years as we have a baby on the way, but it is nice to enjoy it this year. Plus, we don’t have any family ornaments because it is our first Christmas at our home.

9. Snow! Love it or dread it?

I love the snow when I’m playing in it. I hate the snow when I’m driving in it. I am a very nervous snowy driver. This may be due to the fact that my car does not do well in the snow. But, it is fun to make snowmen and have snowball fights and such.

10. Do you remember your favorite gift?

My black coat. Mom and Bill bought me a floor length, black coat with a hood. I loved it so much that I wore it all Christmas day. I still have it and I still love it. Best coat ever.

11. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you?

Family. I love the time I get to spend with my family and that I get to give gifts to my family to show them how much I love them.

12. What is your favorite holiday dessert?

Pumpkin Pie! It is delicious and wonderful. DJ made a really good pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. I had three pieces, but I’m wishing I had eaten more. Mmmmm… pie.

13. What tops your tree?

A star is suppose to top my tree, but our tree top is not sturdy enough to support the star. So, right now, nothing tops our tree. Alas!

14. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?

When I was young, it was all about what I was getting. But, now that I am older, I really don’t care what I get, I just think about what I am giving. I prefer giving because it is a chance for me to be nice to my family and friends. It is a lot more difficult to give because I have to think of gifts, but way more rewarding.

15. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Silent Night. It is a classic Christmas song and can be so beautiful when sung correctly. My husband has a wonderful singing voice and I wish that he would sing me Christmas songs more often, but alas that it is usually me who is singing around the house. And, I don’t sing well, so it doesn’t sound that great. He used to sing for me when we were dating, but I guess that wears off with marriage.

16. Candy canes?

Sick! Candy canes are hard pieces of villainous candy, specifically designed to slice the eaters tongue! Don’t be fooled by the seemingly innocuous candy cane when it is really evil!

17. Do you feel Christmas is too commercialized?

What do I care? People will think of Christmas however they want to. I like it for the time I get to spend with my family and that it is a reminder of my savior’s birth. If people want to commercialize the holiday, then it is inevitable.

18. What is your favorite Christmas movie?

I like Elf because it is really funny. But, I remember the old Muppets Christmas movie that I loved as a kid. Doesn’t get much better than the Swedish Chef making Christmas dinner.

19. Can you ice skate?

H-no, but it hasn’t stopped me from enjoying trying. Really I just lack the balance and muscles to do it properly, so it is a lot of work. But, as long as I am doing it with friends or my husband, then it is fun.

20. Are all your Christmas presents ready yet?

All my Christmas presents are bought, they just aren’t wrapped. I should probably get them all wrapped, I’m just lazy.

Baby's Birthday Party

We had a little fiesta for Baby on her birthday. I made lemon pound cake (seen below) and some of the fam came over to eat it and sing to Sarah.


Here's a pic with me and my sissas. Apparently, it was 'wear grey day' and we all got the memo.


This is me and my Baby posing with the cake.

Signature Derington Girl face. Though Sarah looks the sauciest.

Here's a pic of all the fam that came. It was a very exclusive invite list. Not everyone can celebrate the birth of Sarah. Especially not siblings with wild children.


The meems and the baby, being weird.

Happy Birthday Baby!

My Baby is 20 today! She is the prettiest Baby that you ever did see, so here is a picture blog post dedicated to her beauty.

Post Thanksgiving Update

Well, this is my post Thanksgiving belated post. Apparently, I am the worst at posting in a reasonable amount of time from an event.

Matt and I had Thanksgiving with his sister Anne and her husband Carlos. It was at Carlos's sister's house in Orem. We opted for this Thanksgiving dinner because my parents were indecisive as to their Thanksgiving plans until two days before Thanksgiving. I like a definite plan, so I went to the dinner with a time and location already set. I've spent a few Thanksgivings without my family though, so it wasn't too unusual. When I was living in Hawaii, I would have dinner with the ward, which was cooked by the wonderful folks in the cafeteria. This years dinner was so much better than those Hawaii dinners.

Matt and I went over early in the morning to help Anne get the turkey ready because we were in charge of stuffing and we wanted to stuff the bird. Matt and I have taken to adding cranberries to our stuffing. I think that they add a delicious tartness to the stuffing. If Matt had his way, I think that the stuffing would be made of the giblets completely. He was very insistent that they be put in the stuffing. It wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't bad either.

I helped as much as I could in the kitchen with all the preparations, but I was spent early on in the day and had a lovely nap at the same time as Carlitos. That left Matt in charge of making the mashed potatoes. They turned out a little garlicy for me, but everyone else loved them and that is what matters. I woke up in time to hear an argument going on in the kitchen about whether or not the turkey was done cooking. Apparently, Anne didn't know what the little plastic red button in the turkey was for, so she pulled it out when she was prepping the turkey, so we didn't have a visual indicator of whether the turkey was done inside. It was pretty funny. We all made fun of Anne for her mistake, but the turkey turned out great so it didn't matter. I got to carve the white meat off of the turkey, which was fun. But, I left the dark meat slicing to Matt; it is much more involved.

It was a little strange being with new people for Thanksgiving because in my family, everyone wants the white meat. There is usually only dark meat left once the meal is over. But, in the Kimball household, it is the dark meat which is coveted. There was tons of white meat left over, but no dark meat. It was like being in upside down world. I even went to my parents house a couple days after Thanksgiving and they had made the dark turkey meat into a salad for sandwiches so that it would get eaten without people knowing that it was the dark meat. I took one bite and knew that I had been tricked. I cannot be fooled with dark turkey meat! It is just gross to me.

A dish that was absent from my usual Thanksgiving feast was Dar Dar Dar (named by my strange brother Mike). It is pretty much a jello salad with whip cream, cottage cheese, and pineapple. It is a family tradition to have it at Thanksgiving and meals where Mike is present. But, Matt's sister Anne did make a pistachio pudding fruit salad which had Dar Dar Dar qualities only with more fruit, no cottage cheese and lots of marshmellows. This fruit salad inspired me to create a variation of Dar Dar Dar because Matt doesn't really like my family's recipe. So, two days ago, Matt and I made a salad with pineapple, mandarin oranges, apples, cottage cheese, pistachio pudding, and whip cream. It was delicious! I have to say that it was better than Dar Dar Dar (even though saying this will bring curses down on me from my family who charishes the original). Maybe, someday, I will try to bring it to a family dinner and try to convert them. Or, maybe I will be stoned for changing the recipe.

After dinner, nothing much else happened on Thanksgiving. We played Ticket to Ride and Matt and I went home. It was a good day.

The day after Thanksgiving, the dreaded Black Friday, I went out just a little to go and get Matt's Christmas gift. My wonderful brother Johnny came with me for muscle support. He was my lifter and toter. Then, Matt and I put up our Christmas tree. Our tree is currently our only Christmas decorations, but I figure that the longer that we are married, the more decorations we will collect. I'm excited for the coming holiday!

22 Weeks

Well, I'm at 22 weeks now... or the baby is 22 weeks old rather. And, by popular demand, here are a couple pics of me and my baby belly.

Matt has been sick for over a week now. He has the cold that never wants to leave. Two nights ago, Matt sneezed (he has really loud sneezes) and I felt my whole stomach jump. Apparently, the baby heard the sneeze and was startled. Now, every time Matt sneezes or I hear a really loud noise, the baby jumps. She is, apparently, aware of sounds and is frightened by them. While I am ecstatic that the baby can now hear sounds, I am also wary by this new frightened jumping because what if my baby all skitish of sounds when she is born? I want a baby who can sleep through anything so that we won't have to be quiet when the baby is sleeping. Hopefully, this is just a stage and the baby will get more used to hearing noise.

I'm feeling pretty good right now. I still get really tired very quickly, but I am able to leave the house in the evening for a few hours before I am completely drained. I am getting more and more uncomfortable. My back hurts every day and standing only makes it worse. Additionally, my belly is very sore. My belly muscles are becoming completely useless. I often can't sit up without assistance and it hurts to try on my own. My muscles rebel against being used. Additionally, the skin on my belly really hurts as it is stretching out to compensate for the ever expanding baby. It kinda feels like a backwards pinch. It is the same stinging sensation that a pinch offers, only it is a stretching of the skin rather than a pinching. It really smarts!

I didn't realize how trying pregnancy would be. It is a complete body change, so that I don't even feel like my body is mine any more. I don't feel or look like me. Plus, I'm drained of energy all the time and dependent on my eating schedule (if I go off my eating schedule, I get sick to my stomach). I'm like a child myself. I just didn't think that it would be this hard. My sister in laws made pregnancy seem a lot easier. Oh the tangled web of lies!

Despite all the unpleasantries that this pregnancy has come to offer, I love my baby very much. I am so excited for the time when I can finally hold her and see the product of all this work that I'm putting in. This baby better be very cute and very worth it.

Last Weekend

Well, I am suppose to have a belly pic to post, but my digital camera is fighting with me. The batteries die as soon as I put them into the camera and I think that the camera is an evil battery eater. We bought a camcorder that we can take pictures with, but it doesn't have a flash, so the lighting has to be really good to get a good picture. I can't seem to take a picture I like anyway. I make funny faces in all the pics. So, the belly pic will have to wait until next time.

Last weekend, Matt was not feeling well, so we mostly sat around the house, but we did manage to get out for a little while. My maternity jeans no longer fit me (curse that my belly is not the only thing to grow), so we headed to the motherhood store in search of some jeans that I can wear. DJ came along because he was told that we would only be getting a pair of pants and then leaving. I think Matt was foolish to think that he can take me to a clothing store and not expect me to try on more than one thing.

The sales lady was very helpful and grabbed a selection of items for me to try on. I ended up with four shirts and two pairs of pants (I wanted a sweater too, but I was holding back). Hopefully, these clothing items will last me until the end of the pregnancy. I tried to buy a little bigger so that there was room to grow. I feel like a child when I say that because my Mom used to buy clothes that were a little big for us so that we could grow in them. Curse children and their need to constantly be changing sizes. They are the bane of Matt's wallet's existence.

Matt and DJ were forced to wait while I tried on clothes and snacked on a Subway sandwich (cuz I was very hungry). Then, the register computer went down and the sales lady had to ring us up manually and it took forever. Matt and DJ survived, but just barely. I don't think that DJ ever wants kids now.

Matt and I attempted pork ribs this weekend, but we were not entirely successful. We didn't have a recipe, we were just wingin' it and it turned out much too salty. I blame me because I was in charge of the salt. Here's hopin' that we get a recipe and do better next time.

Usually, we are fairly good cooks, most people enjoy our meals (me and the baby). But, I have been branching out since my pregnant tastes are not inclined to eat chicken. So, I search for redder meat recipes. I've picked up a few that I enjoy, but the search is still on. Now all I have to do is teach Marie how to cook from scratch. It may be a lost cause, we will have to just wait and see.

Week 20

My Baby is Skeletor!

Well, I am at 20 weeks now and that means that we went in for our official ultrasound to make sure that all the baby's parts are there and to verify the gender. I am glad to say that Norm was right, it is still a girl. Norm checked all of her major organs and they were all there, which is excellent. Unfortunately, she was being a naughty baby and did not want to stay still for the ultrasound. This made it difficult to check her organs and get good pictures of her.

She has a lot less room in there than she did last time we saw her. So, it was difficult to get a picture of all of her from head to foot. Plus, her legs and arms were all bent and stuff.

It was weird because a lot of what we saw of her was her skeleton. We could see all the bones in her arms and legs and her whole spine. It was kinda cool, but weird at the same time.

She snacked on the placenta a little while we were watching her. Which I thought was really gross, but apparently that is just what babies do. Babies are disgusting.

This pic is a shot of the back of her. She was often showing us her back. She moved around a lot the whole time and it made me a little sick because when she wiggles a lot, it makes me nausiated.

I'm feeling pretty good at this stage in the pregnancy. I find myself to be very hungry a not small amount of the time. And, if I don't eat at the scheduled time that I usually eat, I get very nausiated and then not goodness ensues. Weekends are the worst because it is different from my daily schedule and I often forget to eat and then I get all complainy and then it is hard on Matt.

I can feel the baby wiggling a lot! She really likes to wiggle and move around and it kinda drives me crazy because it makes me sick to my stomach. Jill says that this will pass though and I will start to feel some solid kicks and less wiggles. I hope so because I don't like it when she moves. It is reassuring to know that she is healthy and moving, but it is very uncomfortable.

I have some of my energy back now, which is nice. I have actually stayed up until 10pm the last few nights this week. This is a record for me. I am usually all complainy and upset if I'm not in bed and almost asleep by 9pm. Matt is loving that I am able to stay up a little later and not get upset.

Now that we know for sure that the baby is a girl, we can finally go and start buying gender appropriate baby stuff. I know that I will probably get some stuff from baby showers, but babies apparently need all sorts of stuff. Jill sent me a list of baby things that I will most likely need and the list is quite lengthy. Who knew that something so small could need so much.

Well, that is all for now. I will post another belly pic when I finally charge the batteries in my camera. I blame the french for my slacking on that one.

Our New Floor

Last week Matt began work on our new kitchen floor. We decided to go from ghetto linoleum to awesome tiles! Matt ripped out the linoleum earlier in the week and I neglected to get pics of the floor before hand because I'm the worst! Then, on Friday, Matt started laying down all the tiles. Here is a shot of the beginning of the process.


Matt's hands took a beating during the process. His right hand was all cracked and not good looking, so he is showing his displeasure at his ruined hands in this pic.


Matt got all the tile down on Friday night. Then, on Saturday morning, Sarah came over and helped Matt grout and clean the tile. I was not helpful for the whole process because I'm all pregnant and deficient. It is hard for me to get down on the ground and move around on my hands and knees (as is required for tile work). I blame the baby entirely. Luckily, my prettier and less fetus like Baby came and was a good helper.

Here is a pic of the floor after all the grout is in. It has been cleaned once, but it is still all grouty.

Then, on Sunday, Matt cleaned the floor again and moved all the large appliances back into the kitchen. Which I loved because I disliked my refrigerator in my dining room. Matt is showing off his mad dust panning skills in this pic.


And then we were done and I have a brand new tile floor. I love it! It matches the cabinets better than the green linoleum and it is less white trash. It also makes the kitchen feel bigger. Kudos to Matt for all his awesome and efficient work on the floor. I really did nothing during the process. I fetched food for my husband worker and took pictures. I take no credit for all the floor's brilliance.

Post Halloween Pics

Well, I finally uploaded some of the Halloween pics from my camera, so here are my belated Halloween pics.
We carved more pumpkins on Halloween. So, I did Trogdor and Matt did a scary skeleton thing.



Here is Lucy, she was a strawberry. And, little Carlitos, who was a dragon. But, he didn't like to wear his costume, so it was difficult getting a picture of him.

A Simpsony Halloween

Every year on Halloween, my company gives each department money to decorate their cubicles for Halloween. Then, there is a contest to see who has the best decorations. We did The Simpsons in my department. Here is a sample of what our area looked like.


This is the great Jebidiah Springfield, after which the town is named, he turned out really well.


This is what our cubicle isle looked like. It was very crowded with Simpson characters.


For those of you who cannot read the chalkboard, it says, "The capital of Montana is not Hannah."


I drew this squishee machine myself. I ended up keeping the squishee cup because it is awesome.

The Nuclear Power Plant.

Blinky the Three eyed fish.



I also drew this Duff sign from scratch. The Duff signs that I saw on the internet weren't cool enough, so I made up this design.

Anyway, we drew and painted and decorated for a month before Halloween in the hopes that we might win that blue ribbon, but alas, we did not. Marketing won... again. I kinda hate them more than a little. It is their jobs to be all creative, and half of them are artists! They did Monsters Inc. and they won. I think it is a total jip though because they have a much larger cubicle space, and they took over two conference rooms to put their decorations in. Whatever.

We still had fun decorating, it was a good time.