Stay at Home Wife and Mother

Home and Family from a SAHWM's Perspective

Pregnancy and Strenuous Activities

In my previous post, I mentioned that my husband and I are currently renovating our house.

Since I am pregnant, he’s doing all those heavy lifting. LOL, I even joked to him that he don’t need to go to the gym or use some alpha t1 because he was lifting appliances, laminate countertops (for our kitchen sink) and heavy boxes, among other stuff.

I used to help him with these stuff before I learned that I was pregnant Now, I’m taking extra precautions to make sure that I don’t become too much stressed because of my pregnancy. Besides, I’m too weakened by my morning sickness to do anything strenuous during the day.

Discount DVDs, Anyone?

My little one is already going to school (pre-school) and as early as now, I’m beginning to count all those hours I have to spend doing nothing.

This reminds me to “revive” my former hobby of watching movies on dvds (watching them on movie houses can be expensive). Do you know where to buy discount dvds? I am also into collecting dvds but not sure about the cost of dvds these days. I still have to keep in mind our family budget, you know.

Chicken Apple Sausage and Rice Stuffed Peppers

apple chicken sausage with rice stuffed peppers recipeCraving for stuffed pepper? Here is a chicken apple sausage and rice stuffed peppers recipe that I got to try the other day. I’d like to share this with you:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup jasmine or white rice
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 4 large bell peppers, red, yellow or orange
  • 2 teaspoon olive oil, divided
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 package (12 ounces) chicken apple sausage, sliced on thin bias
  • 1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup celery, chopped
  • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup chopped red apple
  • 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

Procedure:

  1. Prepare rice according to package directions, substituting chicken broth for water.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 Farenheit.
  3. Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds and veins. Rub peppers with 1 teaspoon olive oil and slightly salt and pepper inside. Place peppers cut side up in a baking dish. Roast for 30 minutes or until peppers are tender.
  4. Meanwhile, heat remaining teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  5. Saute sausage until lightly browned.
  6. Add onions and celery and continue to saute for 4 minutes.
  7. Add mushrooms and cook until vegetables are tender.
  8. Add cranberries, apple, apricots, raisins, sage and oregano. Cook and stir until fruit is softened, about 5 minutes.
  9. Stir in cooked rice and heat through. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
  10. Fill prepared peppers with sausage/rice mixture. Serve immediately.

This recipe serves 4 people.

Enjoy!

Last Year’s Valentines

Valentine’s day is just around the corner and it’s one of the occasions that I love to celebrate during the year. We’re not really into material gifts but last year, I got flooded with gifts on this special day from my sweet and generous husband. Who am I to complain, right?
necklace
Last Valentine’s day, I got two special gifts from my husband. The first one was an estee Lauder pleasures gift set which included a eau de parfum spray and body lotion. The other one was a granddaughter necklace which looks exactly like the one shown in the picture below:

As for me, I gave him a watch, specifically the CECT gps-sg750 gps tracking watch bluetooth pedometer speed distance. You can use it for navigation (like a GPS) just by pairing it with a Bluetooth device. This GPS sport watch has lots of functions including altitude, speed, distance and heart frequency.

It’s not always that my husband and I exchange gifts during special occasions but last year, we went a bit overboard (probably because we got our tax refund? LOL). I still believe that the best gifts that we have are each other. We just have a great relationship and I’m so blessed to have found a husband, bestfriend, lover and partner rolled into one.

The Anti-Social Me

woman hates cigarette smokeThe past holidays had been a whirlwind of some sort especially in terms of socialization. Well, I personally don’t like hosting parties frequently but my husband and I had been invited to a few get-together events in the past month.

During the parties, I usually avoid getting into the company of smokers. We all know how harmful second-hand smoke is and I’d rather be called an anti-social than to be around people who are unmindful of others and breathe out smokes like smoke machines.

But there’s a new craze in smoking that I recently learned from a friend. She’s a host of one of the parties I attended and knowing how I hate cigarette smoke, she was quick to point out that one of her guests was just using an electronic cigarette.

Unlike traditional cigarettes that I hate, the e-cigarette does not burn or use tobacco and doesn’t contain the smoke, ash and smell associated with traditional tobacco cigarettes. Basically, users are just provided with a small dose of nicotine and flavoring while allowing them to satisfy their smoking needs.  She mentioned that there’s no second hand smoke, only water vapor.

Hmmm, I guess those kind of stuffs are more socially acceptable than the traditional ones. I’m not sure though. I guess, I have to research on that, right?

A Curious SAHWM

I was doing some bloghopping rounds earlier today when I noticed that a lot of bloggers are talking about a site called No More Rack.

This is the first time that I’ve heard about the site and, honestly, I got curious with all the attention it has been generating in the blogosphere. There’s this talk about the nomorerack scam while others are giving positive nomorerack reviews. I mean, which is which? It’s kinda confusing, don’t you think.

I can’t help taking a quick peek at the site and was surprised to see that indeed, there are lots of unbelievable deals there! There are daily deals where products are sold at 60% to 90% off retail prices. Even a Fisher Price Precious Places Princess Nadia toy set is given away without cost as long as you refer five friends to the site.

The site’s insane for featuring some insanely great deals too! They offer the Apple iPad (take note!) for only $43.20, a Louis Vuitton GM Handbag for $18.10, a Gucci Sunglasses for $9.51, the Apple iPhone 4S for $51.12, Amazon Kindle Fire Full Color 7″ Multi-touch display with Wi-fi for $17.91 and the Apple iPod touch for $18.26.

Scam or not? Well, I can’t say because I’m not a member of the site. Let’s just hear from those who joined it. All I’m saying is that I’m curious.

That’s all.

Third Sunday of 2012

This morning, we were able to attend the Sunday morning service at a church here in Las Vegas. It’s the third Sunday of the 2012 so far, I was able to stick to my new year’s resolution which is to attend Sunday service regularly.

We live more than 20 miles away from SHBC but, despite the distance, we’ve been attending this church for a few months now. We love their approach (focus on relationship and not on religion) and also the fact that they offer free childcare services during the service.

Speaking of childcare services, not only can we attend the services without a wailing, bored and noisy baby with us, it also helped our baby mingle with children her age even for an hour on Sundays. It has helped her in developing her social skills.

I remember the first few weeks that we left her at the child care center – she wouldn’t let go of our hands and will be crying the moment she knows that we’re leaving. Fast forward to the present: she’s now excited every time we’re leaving for church. When we reach her classroom, she knocks at the door and immediately goes inside once her teacher opens it.

I hope that our family will continue to attend the Sunday service regularly this year and in the years to come.