My family, like a lot of families, has been touched deeply by cancer. I don’t think I’ve ever really mentioned it on this site, but when I was in middle school I lost my grandmother to bone cancer and a few years later my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Thankfully, my dad is many years post-surgery and cancer-free. Skin cancer also runs in my family and I have an aunt who had breast cancer, and all there really is … Read More
20 Weeks
How far along are you? 20 weeks 1 day Cravings? Lately food has really sounded unappealing to me and my appetite seems to either be raging or completely non-existent. It’s strange to fluctuate between the two! Pizza always sounds good, but I’ve been limiting my pizza consumption to once a week and opting for veggies, fruit, whole grains, protein and dairy instead. I’m pretty thankful not to have many cravings, since it means I can eat like my usual self. Sweet still sound … Read More
Food Should Taste Good Party {and Guacamole}
Today marks the final installment of my partnership with Food Should Taste Good. It’s been so fun to have an extra reason to host and entertain friends while serving really delicious chips. But then again, I love any reason to have people over and eat a meal together. We had our church group over last night for Mexican night. Although entertaining on weeknights after a busy work day used to stress me out, I’ve implemented a few simple strategies that make it … Read More
19 Weeks
How far along are you? 19 weeks 1 day Generally Feeling: I’m continuing to battle headaches quite regularly, but other than that I’ve been feeling really good. I still find that I’m tired at the end of the day more easily than before I was pregnant, but nothing too extreme. Showing? Yes! I’m convinced I’m not going to ever get a huge pregnancy belly because I’m on the taller side, but perhaps I’ll be laughing about this when I’m 35 weeks along and huge?! … Read More
On Turning 27
Yesterday I turned 27. I’ll admit that for the first 10 minutes of my birthday I totally forgot how old I was. I looked into the mirror in the bathroom and thought to myself, “I think I’m really going to like 28” only to realize a few minutes later that I was actually 27. I guess it takes the sting off getting older when you’re prematurely aging yourself! I’ve always taken the opportunity on my birthday to look back on … Read More
Apple Cinnamon Muffins with Pecans
After a little bit of a hiatus from sharing recipes on E&C, I’m finally back with something new and ultra tasty to share. Although I have a deep and long-standing love for all things pumpkin, I feel like apples really get overlooked during the fall months because of the popularity of pumpkin. Anyone else feel that way, too? It’s really a shame since apples are one of my favorite foods, and don’t even get me started with apple pie, crisp … Read More
Getting and Staying Pregnant: What We Did Differently
I realize that I’ve posted quite a bit about pregnancy-related topics lately. Hang with me if pregnancy posts drive you crazy, because I have some great recipes coming to the site later this month! Since opening up about our difficult journey to baby, my inbox has been flooded with questions about doctors and medicines and acupuncture. I’m always happy to answer each question individually via e-mail, but I wanted to put it all into a single post as another resource for … Read More
18 Weeks
How far along are you? 18 weeks 2 days Generally Feeling: Overall I’ve been feeling really good this week. The nausea is (finally) starting to subside about 95% of the time and it’s only when I wait too long to eat that I really start to feel sick. I’ve been drinking a lot more water which has been keeping the headaches at bay and my energy is really fantastic. At 17 weeks I started running again, which felt amazing, but a few … Read More
Influence Conference 2014
Last weekend I attended the 2014 Influence Conference in Indianapolis. The driving idea behind Influence is to make your online life more meaningful and intentional through the sharing of your faith, the words you use and the mindset behind what you share on things like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.I’m still unpacking my thoughts and re-reading my notes from the two days I spent at Influence. I’m sure that a lot of what I learned at the conference will continue to … Read More
Money-Saving Grocery Shopping Tips
I mentioned in my September goals that we’ve been taking a closer look at our budget and finding new ways to save. One of the easiest ways I’ve found to save money in our monthly budget is to save while grocery shopping. Since eating healthy is extremely important to our family, I’m not willing to buy cheap food just to save a few dollars, but when I can find ways to save without sacrificing on quality, I’m all in. Lately … Read More
17 Weeks
How far along are you? 17 weeks 1 day Generally Feeling: This is the first week that I can say I’m truly starting to feel better. Mornings continue to be hard, since nothing really sounds good, but for the most part the nausea is getting more manageable. I’ve been battling bad headaches in the past couple weeks, but I’m finding that it’s almost 100% related to how much water I’ve been drinking. If I up my water intake they go away, so I’m … Read More
Surprise Baby Shower for Lauren!
My good friend, Lauren, has been mentioned a number of times on this blog. She is one of my oldest blog friends, and we followed each other’s blogs for years, practically since the beginning when I’m sure neither of us had any clue what we were doing. Lauren has gone from corporate finance guru to small bakery owner to her most exciting new role: momma-to-be! I’m so excited for Lauren and her hubby and can’t wait for them to welcome … Read More