Piper Annabelle's Wardrobe

So, being the kooky, crazy dog mommy I am...I've snatched up a TON of dresses and bows for Piper. I found some amazing ones on eBay AND a woman who hand makes them and does custom ones. I thought I'd show you guys the ones I've gotten so far. I've ordered some really inexpensive fabric also so she can make Piper special ones :) You're probably thinking I've spent a fortune...I spent $5 or less on each one! Some were 99 cents!

Happily Never After ~ The Pussycat Dolls

101 in 1001 ~ Getting Started

So in a previous post this month, I mentioned that I really wanted to do the 101 in 1001, like so many others are. I figure there's no better time to start it then now. Here are a few things I've come up with so far. You guys let me know if you can think of some more.

1. Graduate with my A.S. (almost there!)
2. Graduate with my B.S.
3. Lose 15 pounds
4. Visit Napa Valley
5. Get a new haircut (I've had the same one since forever!)
6. Travel to Greece
7. Start my wedding & event business again
8. Create an e-commerce business (working on this one)
9. LEAVE TEXAS!
10. Read 3 books on the Top 10 Best-Sellers list
11. But an e-book reader
12. Get a pair of Louboutins
13. Log 100 hours of volunteer service
14. Eat crawfish :)
15. Watch Pretty Woman (never seen it!)

....That's what I came up with so far :)

NEW BLOG LINK ~ UPDATE YOUR FAVES!

Hey everyone,

I was able to switch things around and secured the domain name:

Eat, Pray, Love, Live

You can find the NEW (sorta) blog at http://www.eatpraylovelive.com

For those of you seeing this on my old blog, babypando.blogspot.com...be sure to visit the new link above from now on. For those of you seeing this on Eat, Pray, Love, Live...WELCOME! :)

Change Is Comin'...

As you can see, I've done a total change of my blog. Until I can figure out how to purchase a domain and have this link kick you to the new site...this is how it will be.

A lot of things are happening in my personal life and God willing, I'll get through them. This blog need no longer have a "Baby Makes 3" theme as that's not where my life is taking me.

Please pray for me as I make some tough decisions and figure out some things in the next few days. I'm exhausted, feel powerless, and beat down but I have to make it through.

A Wednesday Welcome

I'm super busy with finals this week, but I wanted to say Hello! and Welcome! to all my new blogger friends. Thanks a ton for following my journey, or should I say roller coaster. I look forward to many adventures in the future with each of you.

Hugs!

Our Vegas Trip

  

 

Oh, Vegas. We had a pretty good time. For the first time, I ventured off the strip and did a really neat tour called "Scoot City." The tour was about 3 hours through Red Rock Canyon in a three wheel open roof scooter. It was incredible! The spa was AMAZING! We went to Rio because it's a 30% discount for active duty. I did one of everything you could do and it was the best experience of my life. We did the usual, Fremont Street, Tao, PH & Palms pool parties, Mystere, Peepshow, WPT Final Table, NBA Summer League...and wandered around. Even though we were there for 5 nights and 6 days...it's never enough time to do it all. Hubs won about $500 while we were there playing poker. I hit the slots, hit some good spins, but didn't walk home with any jackpots. We ate, and ate, and ate. I love that about Vegas.

PS. At some point next week, we SHOULD be on Extra! That celebrity gossip news show. We have our DVR set so we can catch our 2 seconds of fame. We'll be asking questions to a plastic surgeon about butt surgery. LOL!

eBay Addiction?

I'm late hoppin' on this gravy train, but eBay has become my new addiction. I set some serious limits though. I won't buy anything over $5.00 unless it's Lilly Pulitzer :) It started by getting a brill idea to make a Miami Dolphins autograph collage for my dad for Christmas this year. I figured I'd find a really nice, big shadowbox type thing and collect trading cards, pictures, etc., with genuine autographs. He'll be so excited! I know you have to be careful to make sure you aren't getting jipped, so I only buy from sellers with high, high ratings...like in the thousands. So far, so good. I even go as far as googl'ing the autograph on google images to make sure it looks the same. Can't wait 'til Christmas morning :)

Now that we have Piper Annabelle, I'm searching high and low for adorable dresses and bows for her. MAN are there tons! Again, I'm sticking to my $5 rule and hoping to snag some cute ones for her closet :) I already found a lady who is going to make me a custom Florida Gators bow. CAN'T WAIT!

Anyway, do any of you go on eBay often? Ever find any awesome steals or crazy listings?

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! Meet Piper Annabelle! :)
This isn't the puppy I had posted previously, things didn't work out with her. But, we found this little darling and snatched her up last night. She's SO TINY! She's 8 weeks old and is very loving and playful. Hubs adores her and it's cute to see them together.

It's nice to have something else to occupy us and give us something to focus our energy on. I don't think this dog will "fix" everything, but it does feel better having her around. Things have been much more calm in the Pando house :)

What plans do ya'll have this weekend? We'll be doing puppy duty and I'll be working on finishing this semester of school. Blah.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday...Vegas Here We Come!

LOL! This was from my 24th Birthday trip last year. Ignore the fact I married a soldier and was wearing a Marine sweatshirt ;-) I can't believe it will already be 7 months since the hubs and I have been married when we get back. My how time flies.

Miss me tons and tons while I'm away and leave me sweet comments to come home to. PLEASE!?!

Have a great weekend and rest of next week ya'll. See ya on Wednesday!

And the Winner Is....

Congratulations Lindsey!

You were the winner of my 100th post giveaway!

I'll be sending you an e-mail.

Thanks to all who entered. My next giveaway will be when my followers hit 100. So invite your friends!

Don't Forget My Giveaway! Ends Tomorrow!

Don't forget! Today is the last day to enter my 100th post giveaway! Have you done it yet? If you have suffered a pregnancy loss or child loss, this is the giveaway for you. I'll be purchasing 10 trees from The National Arbor Day Foundation in memory of your little one.

Enter Now!

101 in 1001

Have you all seen the blogs about achieving 101 things in 1001 days? I've been seeing a few and it never really caught my attention much until I stumbled across Jennifer's website, "Jennifer's 1001 Days Project." I believe she's inspired me to start my own.

I've had a bucket list for quite some time, although it's filled with things that are somewhat hard to obtain. It's not quite full either and I haven't paid much attention to it in a while. I love taking every moment and trying to live it to the max. It might be slightly tough in the situation I'm in but I'm going to give it my best shot.

What are things you all want to achieve? Do you have a bucket list? Do you all have suggestions for my 101?

My 1st Blog Award!

Yippie Skippy!

Thanks so much to Annoyed Army Wife for this sweet surprise!

It's my first blog award for ...And Baby Makes Three! Totally made my day.

The rules for this award are to thank the person who gave it to you (Thanks AAW!!), list three things you like about yourself, and give it to five other people. So, here we go...

*I like the fact I can tan very easily. I thank my Native American genes for that.

*I like my sense of savvy when it comes to business. I thank Jay Kirkpatrick for that.

*I like my eyes. Love them. They change color and I think that's pretty cool.

Now, for the winners of this award from me:

1. Megan at Baby Nolen's Journey

I worked with her husband (sorta) and took over her old job (sorta). Love them dearly.

2. Julie at Julie the Army Wife

A fellow AW who is as sweet as can be. Amazing photographer and mommy.

3. Kelly at Tied Together With a Smile

Another fellow AW who I love more than life.

4. ACU'S, Stiletto Shoes, & Pretty Pink TuTus

An AW with what could possibly be the cutest blog ever!

5. Names on the Sidewalk

An amazing gal honoring our lost babies through sidewalk chalk.

Moving Forward...

Okay. So I'm starting to come to grips with the fact that I might be stuck in this craphole town for a while. I mean, it's all still up in the air as to whether DH & I are even staying together...let alone moving away while he's deployed. But, none the less there's no way for me to get going on my business anytime soon. For those of you who don't know...I started a small wedding and event business back home in Orlando. I had it for a couple years before deciding just to change the scenery and head to DC. I had intentions of getting connected there and starting it up again. However, plans changed when I had to put that on hold to support my husbands career in the Army. Fine. But, if you know me...I can't sit still. Even my husband complains about it. I'll be honest, I like the "high life." Nice cars, nice clothes, nice things...and while I know none of that really matters...it's just me. Take it or leave it.

Anyway, I know to support that lifestyle and to just be overall "secure" in life...I need to be a business owner. I love it, absolutely LOVE the small business world. It's absolutely my passion. I hope to have multiple businesses in the future and have plans of expanding the wedding business into more than just coordinating. But for now, I'm stuck. Here. In no where land. No sense in starting a business here in Central Texas when the type of clientele I'd like to work with don't exist and I'd have to close up shop when we left. Not to mention there is hardly ANY event space to hold nice events here. So, that leaves me with coming up with something else.

My head is always churning and trying to come up with new things. I think I found one. I'm not going to release the idea here yet, not that I think anyone is going to rip me off, but I want to wait until it's locked up. I have some talented friends who design great jewelry and clothing and there are very very very few in this market I want to tap into. Less than the fingers on one hand. Can't wait to tell you all about it. Please cross fingers and say prayers it works out. It could be a really fun way to earn some extra income for myself and the other girls involved.

Poop Scoops & Other Friday Fun-Ness

Warning: I'm in a snarky mood ;-)


Today is indeed Friday. YES! Only 6 more days until I'm on a plane to Vegas with DH.

I did some more shopping today, which always gets me excited. I know my husband thinks I'm super irresponsible with money, but I finally am back to where I am working a great job and putting great money in the bank. I deserve to play a little bit. Not to mention, I truthfully haven't had a new wardrobe or at least new clothes in probably 2 years. Once we get back from Vegas, I'll be buckling down.

Anyway, before I forget...for those of you wondering whatever happened to the dog adoption, it fell through. Basically the breeder was an ass and sold the dog out from underneath us. Excuse me for not wanting to give a complete stranger $300 for a non-refundable deposit on a dog I've never seen in person. Oh well. All worked out I guess and we'll focus on bringing a puppy home in a couple months.

So you're probably wondering why the heck I have the snarky picture in this post. I've been getting super uber sick for days now. I cannot keep an ounce of food down and I feel miserable. To make matters worse, I'm bloated to the max. You'd think the opposite. Anyway, I had serious pains off and on so I finally went to the doctor today. I was sorta hoping she'd just say, "Oh well, take some of these prescription meds to stop you up and stay hydrated." Nope. I walked out with a full on bio-hazard pooper scooper kit. Fun. This was seriously the most disgusting thing I've ever done in my life. I've changed thousands of diapers over my teaching and nannying career. But my own? No thanks. I got through it though and hopefully this mess stops before we go on vacay. Can't a girl just enjoy her vacation!?!?!!

In other news, I read an article about Celine Dion today that really grabbed me. As we all know, she got PG with Rene Charles through IVF. Apparently, she had a MC on another IVF attempt and is now PG with twin boys through IVF. What an amazing woman. I mean, I always knew she was something pretty special...but hearing that is pretty incredible. I've posted before about how I really appreciate when celebs come out and share their struggles with infertility. It makes all of us feel more normal. Thanks Celine!

I hope everyone has a fantabulous weekend!

He's Not Finished With Me Yet...

Wordless Wednesday

This is pure bliss. Beautiful. Heaven in a photograph.

Thanks are in order to Carly over at http://thegriefeffect.blogspot.com/

It's All Too Much

I just can't take it anymore. I really want to crawl under a rock forever. What set me over the edge? An e-mail from our FRG leader. For those of you who don't speak Army, it basically means the person in charge of the "support" group for all of the soldiers and their families in my husbands unit. She's the Commanders wife, and I like her. It's not her fault, but opening her e-mail this morning sent me overboard.

It was entitled "Pregnancy Tracker." I think, oh boy. I open it and she's requesting anyone who is expecting to email her with expected due dates and all of the rest. I'm pissed. I'm hurt. I'm angry. I know it's only to help those families who are expecting in the future. I know it's being used for good. It was a mass email and she doesn't have to tip-toe around the "childless" ones. But still, I hate it. We were supposed to be one of those families. I should be responding..."Baby Pando, Nov 25th." Nope.

It's bad enough I feel like the military makes you to be a social outcast if you don't have children. Everything revolves around families. I get it, and I understand but you know what...some MARRIED couples don't want to have children right now, some if ever. Where are the activities and things for them too? They don't exist. I went to a friends' BBQ this past weekend and she doesn't have children either, nor does she want them while she works on her MASTERS degree. Someone she knew wanted to come and bring their twin babies over. Ummm no. I'm proud of her for putting her foot down. Nobody else had kids at the party and there are plenty of options for those with families as to not impose on those without.

I think one of the Bumpies was right the other day. Perhaps I haven't allowed myself to grieve this loss. With other people's pregnancies shoved in my face and the lack of sympathy from my husband, it's been the only thing I can do to sweep it under the rug like it never happened. How am I supposed to grieve? I had no name. I had no face. The world keeps on turning and 99.9% people don't really understand what you're grieving anyway. Perhaps the only way to truly ever move on from a miscarriage is to get pregnant again, which for us...that is not an option.

Baby Cravings

Not me. Hubs.

This past week he had a 4-day, meaning a long 4 day weekend. So, on Friday he spent the day at work with me and Marisol. He's done it before and he gives me goo goo eyes, but never like this. It sucks.

It sucks that we'd love to be parents, but we just can't. Our relationship is so volatile. In some really ridiculous strange way, it almost feels like if we had a Baby Pando on the way or in our arms, things would be better. I know that's the complete opposite of the norm. Usually the added stress of a child bring even more pressure on a marriage. When I was pregnant, even for the short period of time, things were absolute bliss. Even when we talk about it, it's heaven. When he sees me with Marisol, he is elated. It sucks. I know in my mind and in my heart it just wouldn't be the right thing to do.

I have to be honest here, I'm not on birth control and I haven't been for years. For me, it's a personal/religious thing. No, I'm not Catholic but a part of me has always felt that when God is ready for me to be a mom, He and only He will do so. Perhaps that's why we lost our first. Because the timing wasn't right. Who knows? My mom encouraged me to go on BC back when things really exploded, I thought about it and was going to but I just can't. I'm married, I'm 25, and my body is already screwed enough as it is. I don't need artificial hormones telling it what to do. I'm sure many of you will disagree with that choice, but I just can't do it. I hate birth control. AGAIN...I'm married. I can say that. It's not the same if you're reading this blog and you are in high school sister.

Sigh.

Just Some Stuff...

Happy Early 4th of July everyone! Last year, I spent my 4th on the incredible lawn of the Washington Monument in DC. I packed a little backpack with some snacks and drinks, and parked my butt in the grass with thousands of other people. It was incredible listening to the Army Band play their songs and if I remember correctly, Mark Wills also did a free concert. (man is my memory going!) Anyway, watching fireworks on the National Mall on the 4th was something I will never forget. The ride home on the Metro was equally as unforgettable. Imagine crowds cramming into trains WORSE than when Obama was elected. Yeah. Seriously, it was on the news.

Anyway, I hope that all of you have a safe, relaxing, and fun 4th of July. Remember what the holiday is about, celebrating our freedoms and our heritage. Be proud of who you are and be thankful to those who gave us this way of life and continue to give it. I'll be spending it with my soldier and some friends at a BBQ tomorrow (Saturday) and at Fort Hood on Sunday.

So, I booked my spa day in Vegas today! Woohoo! Can you believe I've NEVER been to a full on spa before? Sure, I've had a massage here or there but nothing like this. The Rio offers 30% off to military and spouses. Loves it. It's not probably the most posh of spas but it will do just fine I'm sure. Anyway, I'm booked for a 50 min Swedish (hubs too) and an "Around the World" which is an 80 min treatment consisting of a scrub, wrap, and mini facial. I can hardly wait! The WSOP (World Series of Poker) is happening then too at the Rio, so hubs plans on spending the day down there watching while I enjoy. Perfect.

So tonight, I have to share I made another yumzo dinner. Pick up a packet of "White Chicken Chili" seasoning/mix...the one in the red envelope and follow the directions on the back. I did mine in our crock though, so I just tossed everything in there raw and let it cook all day on low. FAB-O! Oh, and I added an extra can of white beans. Check it out! :)

School is going well but I'm over it. I'm burnt out and don't feel like chugging along. My grades are great though, which is good.

Oh, anyone every try eyelash extensions? I have pretty nice lashes as far as length, but I'd REALLY love to have super full and flirty ones, at least for Vegas. I found some places in Austin and they charge about $250 for a full set. YIKES! I did find a cosmetology school that does them for $75. The thought of using another school freaks me out after the fiasco with Paul Mitchell (did I tell you about that?!?) but this one has great ratings all over the place. If you have, fill me in on your thoughts. I think I might become addicted even after we get back and keep them. Who knows?

Let's Go Brasil!

Yep. That's me on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro a couple years ago. I believe that was Ipanema, but I always get that and Copacabana mixed up since they run together. Since the US is out of the competition, I'm going for Brasil!

AMAZING Pulled Pork Recipe

Yum Yum! If you don't know already, I have an obsession with my crockpot. I have been majorly slacking lately on using it, but this month will be the last I tell you! Yesterday I made this recipe and it was yum yum delish.

What You Need:
2lbs Pork Tenderloin
Root Beer (1 or 2 cans for small crock, a bit more for larger)
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt
Your Favorite BBQ Sauce (we used Budweiser BBQ and it was good, but not my fave)

I took the tenderloin out of the freezer towards the end of the day and let it thaw a little. I opened it up, rubbed it with some pepper, salt, and garlic salt on both sides. I poured half of the root beer over the tenderloin and let it sit in a bowl in the fridge overnight. The next morning, I dumped the root beer that was in the bowl into my crock, placed the tenderloin inside, and added the rest of the root beer. I cooked mine on low all day long (about 12 hours) however, 6 or 7 hours will do just fine. Once it's done, drain the juices completely! Then, toss it with your favorite BBQ sauce and serve.

I brewed some sweet tea and made some Texas Toast. It was seriously an incredible meal. I can't wait to go home and have leftovers tonight!

A Jumpstart on Follow Me Friday

Just wanted to let you all know that if you follow me, I follow you :) Basically, I've gotten caught up on all of my followers and also posted links and buttons from your blogs on mine. If for some reason I'm missing yours, let me know!

Also, if anyone needs to contact me for something...a giveaway, question, suggestion, etc., please do so by using babymakes3blog (at) yahoo dot com.