If you liked the Hunger Games...

... I think you would enjoy Matched By Ally Condie. I just finished this book and I loved it! Like the Hunger Games trilogy, it is young adult dystopian literature and has a strong female lead. It is set in undetermined time in the future, when every aspect of life is now controlled by the Society. The Society determines what you eat, what you wear, what job you will have, and, the focus of this book, who you will marry, all with the goal of maximum efficiency. Soon after your 18th birthday, you attend your Match banquet, where you learn who you will marry after your 21st birthday. When Cassia Reyes is matched with her friend Xander, at first she is thrilled. But then her mysterious friend Ky causes her to wonder what it would be like to make her own decisions. This was a great read. I can't wait for the sequel to come out in November.

My Pregnancy: 10 Weeks

Wow, it has been a long time since I've updated my blog! But after having a few people ask me about it, I thought I really should get back to blogging again. As you probably already know, we've had some life-changing news in our family since the last time I blogged. Our family will become 3 this March! We are thrilled about being parents. We've been married for 6 years now, and we've been through a lot as a couple. We've lived in 3 different states. I've had several jobs. We both got our masters degrees and Andrew is nearly done with his Ph.D. Andrew joined the Air Force. We became an aunt and uncle. And on and on. We have enjoyed being just the two of us so much. But we can't wait to add a little one to the mix and start the next chapter.


Right now I am 10 weeks along! That means our baby is about an inch and a half long (or the size of a prune). An amazing fact about our baby this week is that its elbows are already working!

I am feeling the pains of having a "barnacle" growing inside me (the baby's newest nickname). Morning sickness hit with a vengeance at week 6 and hasn't let up since. I feel like I am sleeping all the time! I included a picture here of me this week. Now, I am the first to admit that I wasn't a skinny girl to begin with! So this picture doesn't have much "baby bump" to it, just my normal chubbiness. But I know that I will like to look back eventually and see how my belly changed over time.

So I'm back to blogging. I promise to blog about more than just my pregnancy! Although the recipes may be on hold until the second trimester...