98 days!

As of today, I have 98 days of pregnancy left! Yippie! I am now 26 weeks, or in normal terms, 6 and 1/2 months pregnant. I'm so ready for this to be over!

Fail Blog

Failblog.org is one of my favorite sites to go to when I've had a bad day. It always makes me smile. For those of you who haven't been there, it has real pictures of things that they call "fails." Being a dentist, I had to share this with you guys!

see more pwn and owned pictures

If you notice, this is "for the breath of confidence." :)

25 Things

I got tagged for this on Facebook, but realized it would be a good blog post. I really have a hard time coming up with stuff to write about on here, so I figured copy and pasting could work!

25 random things about me:

1. I am a dentist, but some days, I wonder if I should have been a vet.

2. I only like listening to music in my car and when I'm getting ready in the morning. I don't like it playing while I'm in the house, which is totally different from Justin, who always has to have music playing.

3. I like to cook and bake, but really don't want to eat anything I cook or bake. I guess I feel like I've been staring at it for the last hour, and can't stomach eating it. So, we go out to eat a lot.

4. I get a thrill when I catch grammatical errors on billboards/menus/etc, but I realize that's dorky, and I don't usually tell anyone, unless they are really close to me. So, if you've heard me say that something is spelled wrong, congrats!

5. I'm scared that I'm going to get as big as a house when I have this baby. When people tell me that I'm not showing yet (I'm over 5 and a half months pregnant), it makes me feel good. But, don't worry. I'm not starving myself. The baby is in the 89th percentile for size, which is good.

6. I have no idea what to name this baby. We have no family names worth falling back on, and nothing sounds really good with Rives. So, for now, we are calling him "Poohdiggle".

7. Everyone that I love has an alternate name/nickname that I've made up for them: Bread is Bookie, Peanut is Peter, Justin is Zusty/Musty, Butter is Butthead, etc. So, unfortunately, Poohdiggle might stick.

8. I hate Ugg shoes. I think they are UGG-ly.

9. I am the world's worst at picking a place to eat. And, if we are eating somewhere new, I will usually pick the worst thing to eat out of everyone. The only place where this didn't happen was Asia. I ate really well there! I seemed to pick the best meal each time.

10. I don't have an athletic bone in my body. My parents put me in ballet at the age of 2 to work on my coordination, and after 12 years, I wasn't any more coordinated than I was at 2.

11. I'm really proud of my little brother and the man that he is becoming. I'm also really proud that he didn't inherit my driving skills. He's yet to be in a major wreck.

12. I haven't been in a wreck since I was a freshman in college (9 years ago), but since I got in 4 wrecks in 2 years, I will always be considered by my family to be a bad driver.

13. I get joy out of the little things: blue KoolAid Bursts, Justin making the bed, and Jello pudding snacks. These 3 things can make my week.

14. I married the complete opposite of me, and I can't imagine life with anyone else. He is my best friend.

15. I'm scared that having this baby will ruin what I consider a wonderful marriage. Everyone says having a baby changes everything, and I happen to really love my life right now, exactly the way it is. Maybe it will change it for the better.

16. I really miss all of my friends that have moved. I'm talking high school, college, and dental school. I got really depressed the last month of dental school because I realized that I would probably never keep in touch with over 50% of the class. And, I was underestimating. I don't even like thinking about it because it makes me want to cry.

17. I don't like spending money, but Justin does, so we actually have a few nice things thanks to him. The only way he can get me spend money is to make me buy something right when I'm thinking about it. He knows if I leave the store to think about it, that we will never get it. That's why we buy everything (furniture, car, mattress) spur of the moment.

18. I really hope this baby gets all of my good genes and none of my bad ones. I pray for that at night when I can't sleep.

19. I also pray for my baby's future spouse, just like my parents did. I really believe that's how I ended up with such a good spouse because my parents prayed for him my whole life. I really want this baby to have that.

20. I don't sleep well, and I got this from my dad. It's only gotten worse since I've been pregnant.

21. I wish I was a meaner boss. I just want people to like me, and you can't be a good boss if you are like that.

22. I like to read about celebrities on the internet, and it annoys Justin. I don't know why it bothers him so much.

23. I used to be obsessive about painting my toes, but I've let it go since I've been pregnant. Don't worry though! They will be perfect when I deliver! I don't want people thinking I don't take care of that stuff.

24. I am extremely self conscious.

25. I still think of stuff I did in elementary/middle/junior high/high school/college and how I wish I could change it.

It's a boy!

Wow...I just realized it's been months since I've posted on here. In fact, I think my last post was the day before I found out some news that's going to change and has already changed my life. I'm pregnant. And, we found out just a week ago that we are having a boy! Justin and I are really excited, but we have no clue what to name it. With a husband that teaches high school, every name I like reminds him of some kid who's a total butt.

Hopefully, we will come up with something soon!

Kids

I like kids. I like fixing their teeth. However, I don’t like giving them shots. I had to give a 2 year old a shot the other day, and it broke my heart (and my eardrums). I didn’t know a human could make a noise that high pitched. Once the shot was done, she was great though! Who knows what will happen when she comes back.

Crazy Week

This has been one of the craziest weeks of my life, and it's only Tuesday! Someone I trusted proved she cannot be trusted, and everything came to the surface this week. Anyway, keep me in your prayers if you get a chance!

Pad Thai

Ever since we went to Thailand, I've been craving some Pad Thai. Sure, Pan Asia makes a great interpretation, but sometimes I don't want to go out and pay them to make it. After looking at several recipes online, I have mixed some up to get a very good likeness of what we ate (and loved) in Thailand. You do have to go to an Asian market to find some of the ingredients, but it is so worth it!

If it wasn't for Pad Thai and chicken fried rice, Justin would have starved. Those of you who've already heard our stories know I ate everything there, including crickets!

Anyway, onto the recipe!

Pad Thai Recipe - adapted from Chez Pim
Make the sauce first. If you don't, you will just end up with a mess. Trust me on this one! However, to make the sauce, you have to have tamarind paste. It also needs to only have the ingredients of tamarind and water. If you can only find "tamarind pulp" or "wet tamarind", you have to prepare the tamarind first. I could not find tamarind paste, so I had to prepare the paste from wet tamarind. If you don't know what you have, wet tamarind is in a block form, and paste is in a jar.

Preparing Tamarind Paste (this is the longest step)
- Soak 1/2 of the block in 2 cups hot water in a large bowl.
- Take a fork and mash up the tamarind to break it up.
- Once the mixture has reached room temperature, take your hands, squeeze the pulp and mix it all up. You have to use your hands on this one. I usually use gloves because I don't like stuff on my fingers. Work this together until it is a little runnier than room temperature ketchup. If it is too thick, add some more warm water.
- Now, strain the mixture over another bowl to get rid of the gunky pitty pieces. You will have to press this through the strainer.
- You will have more than you need for this recipe, but you can keep the leftovers in the fridge forever. I usually like having extras so I can make Pad Thai easier the next time.

Sauce
1/2 cup tamarind paste (I could only find tamarind in the Asian market)
1/2 cup fish sauce (grocery store on Asian aisle)
1/2 cup palm sugar (Asian market)
Paprika

- Palm sugar comes in hard disks, so to get 1/2 cup, I microwave it for 10-20 seconds on defrost, until the sugar can be broken up.
- Melt tamarind, fish sauce, and palm sugar in small pot over low heat. Stir occasionally.
- Add paprika 1 teaspoon at a time until it reaches your desired spiciness. Turn off pot and let rest.

Pad Thai - All of these ingredients are to taste. If you like more of one ingredient, add more!
Rice noodles (grocery store on Asian aisle)
- If they are dried, soak in hot water for 4-8 minutes to soften. You don't want this like pasta, but you just want it bendable.
Shrimp/Chicken
- Traditional Pad Thai uses shrimp. We like chicken better. Use 7 shrimp per person or 1/2 a chicken breast per person.
Firm Pressed Tofu - cut into thin bite size pieces
3-4 Tablespoons Oil
Pad Thai sauce (from above)
2 eggs
Unsalted roasted peanuts - chopped
Green onions - chopped
Bean sprouts
Garlic - chopped
Lime - sliced

1. Heat wok to smoking over high heat.
2. Add 3-4 tablespoons oil.
3. Add chicken (cut in bite sized pieces) and cook until halfway done (1-2 minutes). Then add tofu, few spoonfuls of sauce, and garlic. Cook till tofu is crisp and brown on the edges.
4. Add noodles and sauce to taste (1 cup sauce or more - I generally use all the sauce that is left over). Keep things moving! Cook noodles until soft. Break noodles up and don't let them lump together.
- If sauce evaporates, add some water and keep stirring.
- Add oil if noodles stick.
5. When noodle is soft enough to eat, push the ingredients up the side of the wok. Crack eggs and place in the middle. Let set 30 seconds to one minute and scramble. Then mix all together.
6. Add peanuts and bean sprouts to taste. Add shrimp now if you are using it.
7. When shrimp is done, add chopped green onions.
8. Plate it up with slices of lime. Enjoy!