Giveaway: English Style

I know I did not get this out there sooner and prepare everyone for this because I really do want it to be for the readers that leave me such lovely comments and always stay up to date with me. The ones that check in on me when I miss a few days of blogging. So this is randomly thrown in here for that specific reason! Good luck to everyone! 

I have finally decided that I am going to get this done! I have been promising this giveaway since I reached 200 readers, but with being pregnant along with everything else, I began slacking. I seem to be back in full force, so I have decided to move forward with this giveaway. This is a more personal giveaway. As in given away by me! No companies, no reviews, just me shopping away.

This is my way of telling you all thank you for the support and sticking around! I have been an off and on blogger, and I seriously appreciate the ones that have stuck around for this whole time.

With it getting sooner to Baby A arriving, I will make the deadline to enter this giveaway for March 13. It will give everyone 2 weeks to enter!

So this giveaway will include a few of my favorite British things that I have found here since living in England for over 2 years. Here's a sneak peak:

And of course, I will add in some originals from the country. Ones that I do not particularly care for, but they are originals! We will keep those as surprises. 

To enter, it is simple! 

1.) You must be a reader (one comment down below), and I brutally check this because I can not stand when people come in just for a giveaway. This is a personal giveaway that I want to do for my dear readers.

2.) However, if you do send people to my blog, they will automatically get entered into my next giveaway (CSN stores voucher). This one will not take place until after the baby is born. Please just have them leave a comment stating that you sent them this way. You will get one extra entry for every reader that you send to me.

3.) For another entry, just put in the comments (separate comment please) what type of tea you prefer (if any). Do you like green, black, red... fruity, strong, refreshing, light, etc. I will do my best to get you one that suits your taste. 

And just for fun, also write in the comments with either of the other comments what you would like from England. Or if you have traveled here, I would love to hear about your experience with the food or other adventures. 

Remember the deadline to enter is March 13. It is a Sunday, and on that Monday, I will announce the winner. I will be using random.org to select the winner. 

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In with Mrs. Sergeant!

Q. Aside from no deployments, what is one thing you would want to make the MilSpouse life “perfect”? submitted by Oh How Delightful

A: To me, the MilSpouse life is not meant to be perfect. We know there will be deployments and TDYs. Really, those are the only things I would want to change if I could. Lengthwise for the sake of other spouses and frequency for the same reason. However, I would love to always have my family around. But I would still want to be able to move every few years and go overseas. I guess there isn't anything I would change that is realistic. Oh wait, I know! Save the Drama! 

Q. Just how many peppers did Peter Piper pick? submitted by Married into Army

A: I say he picked 24,345,678. And I'm almost positive he did this all in one day! LOL :) 

Q. If you could have any career in the world with nothing holding you back, what would you do? submitted by It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To

A: The career field I am currently working on getting is my dream career field, which is to be an Elementary Teacher. If it wasn't my dream, I would not be wasting my time. I really enjoyed the Optometry thing for a while, but it was not a good, portable career. After a few years of discovering that, I realized that it was not what I wanted anyway. I would also like to get into fitness training on the side. Maybe not even for the money, just for the knowledge.

Q. Do you have a service oriented tattoo and if so what is it. If you don’t what would you get? submitted by The Squid’s Accomplice

A: No tattoos for me. They are not for me at all. Mr. Man does not have any either.

Q. Imagine a block of time has opened up in your busy day for you to take a class in anything you like. What subject would you choose?  submitted by To The Nth

A: Fitness, Health, Photography. Ceramics - I already do ceramics, but I would love to learn how to mold and fire them as well. 

A-Z Recipes:

Next week we will start back to meal planning. However, since it will be our last month before Baby A arrives, I thought it would be fun to do the A-Z Recipes to help count down to the birth of our daughter. As most of you know, it is part of my 101 Things to do in 1001 Days. I will post what I have listed so far for each letter of the alphabet, but please keep in mind that these may change based on what is going on. Also, we will do normal weeks, which means that Saturday or Sunday (maybe even both) may not be a part of this as we like to travel and based on what is quick to cook for the night.

Here is the list:

A- Asparagus Chicken
B- Buffalo Chicken Wings
C- Crab Cakes
D- Deluxe Burritos
E- Easy Cheesecake
F- French Toast
G- Garlic Lemon Chicken (in the Crockpot)
H- Herb Roasted Potatoes
I- Indoor Smores
J- Jalapeño Cornbread
K- Korean Spiced Kidney Beans (over Rice)
L- Lime and Ginger Grilled Salmon
M- Mexican-Style Pasta with Chicken and Peppers
N- Nutty Cheeseball
O- Orange Glazed Carrots
P- Pork Roast and Sauerkraut (in the Crockpot)
Q- Quinoa Stuffed Mushrooms
R- Roasted Butternut Squash and Shallots
S- Shrimp with Feta Cheese
T- Tilapia with Jasmine Rice
U- Upside- Down Chili Pie
V- Vegetable Soup
W- Walnut Meatballs with Apricot BBQ Sauce
X- Xavier Steak
Y- Yellow Rice and Chicken
Z- Zucchini Chips

As you can see, I tried to add a variety of foods. I have a couple of fish dishes, crockpot dishes, side dishes, appetizers, desserts, main courses, snack time foods, and a couple that would be fun for the family to do together.

They all sound delicious to me, so I hope that it works out. I will try to post pictures from time to time on whichever we cook and keep you updated on how it is going. This will start next week, but I will list how many of them we will do (which will be at least 5) and go from there. As I make them, if I find one that is worthy of posting the recipe, I definitely will!

Pouch Pictures: Week 29-34

It is amazing how fast time has been flying. I can not believe I am already 34 weeks. I do not feel as big as I look in these pictures. The pictures really put it all in perspective for me! Even at 34 weeks, I am still completely 100% content with her staying in as long as she wants! I can't wait to meet her, hold her, snuggle with her, and introduce her to her big brother!

This blog is strictly pictures. I would do an update, but there really is not much to update. I am still in the gym. Not many aches and pains. She did drop at 32 weeks, and that was the only time I had the pains. I do feel the contractions more often and stronger, but I am almost positive they are all Braxton Hicks. We even went to London on Monday to walk around China Town since Mr. Man had not been yet. All is well so far!

Week 29

Week 30

Week 31

Week 32- When she started to drop.

 Week 33

Week 34- Mr. Man loves my belly button nose :o) 

Recipe: Risotto with Shrimp and Zucchini

Risotto with Shrimp and Zucchini

4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (2 Tablespoons Removed To Finish The Dish)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Onion

2 Cups Arborio Rice (or something similar)

1/2 Cup White Wine

6 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth

1 Pound Fresh, Small To Medium Shrimp, Shells Removed And Deveined, Cut In Half

3 Small Zucchini, Ends Removed, Cut In Half Lengthwise, Sliced

1/2 Cup Fresh, Chopped Parsley

1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese


Heat the 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy saucepan with the oil. Add the onions and cook until translucent over medium heat. Add the rice and stir until it is well coated with the butter and oil. Begin to add the wine, and stir continually over medium heat until it is absorbed. Start to add 1/2 cup of hot broth, stirring as it is absorbed. Continue in this manner, adding ladles full of hot broth, and stirring continuously. 

About 10 minutes into the cooking time, add the zucchini and continue cooking for another 7 minutes. Add the shrimp, and continue to cook until the rice is cooked, but remains slightly firm to the teeth. Remove from 

the heat, add the remaining butter. parsley and the Parmesan cheese. Serve.

*This recipe is absolutely amazing! My husband and I absolutely loved it! It was my first time making a Risotto, and I would say it was a success! The only bit of advice I have for you is if you are not much of a shrimp eater to not put a full pound. Other than that, this recipe is perfect!

Shopping: Hospital Bag

I know I mentioned a week or so ago that me and Mr. Man went shopping to top off my hospital bag since it was the last available weekend that we had before we needed it. Well there is a funny story to it that I have to make sure I document.

We went to my favorite place here in the UK to shop. I had a list of specifics that I needed. They were some tanks, pajama pants, a robe, basic bras, big underwear, specific kind of socks, etc. etc. The normal really, nothing out there and just wanted things to be simple.

Of course, Mr. Man was with me because we were going to go out to eat afterward. As we walked through the store, I told him that we were ONLY buying what was on my list and he could get a few things. So we go to get my stuff first. Started out in the pajama/lingerie section since that was what most of my list consisted of. I walk up and I start digging through the pajamas trying to pick a couple out. Mr. Man walks up to me and says, "You have to get these!" I looked at him like he was absolutely bonkers! I replied, "You're joking right? You want me to walk around in the hospital with those on?" His answer, "Yes!" as he stuffs them in our shopping bag. Soooo... these awesome pajamas that Mr. Man picked out for me are cow print. Inside joke throughout this whole pregnancy for us. He just calls me a cow and randomly moo's at me all the time. Not only are they cow print,  but the waist band part says "Moody Cow".  Ummm, thanks husband! I can not believe I laughed hysterically with him for about 10 minutes in this section of the store while trying to picture me wanting around in the hospital with those pants on. Not only that, but knowing there would be lots of pictures taken. Really? But I do have to say when we look back, it will be so funny and will make such great memories.

So onto the next, a robe. I start digging through the robes. I wanted a dark blue or black one. Mr. Man walks up behind me with a..... you guessed it! A cow print one! Another good 5 or so minutes of hysterical laughing as we talk about how funny it is going to be to look back.

Next stop, underwear. I was going to just buy a simple pack of black undies. That's all I wanted. Nope, that wasn't what Mr. Man had in mind. He walks up with some "Wonder Woman" underwear. I look at him "your joking, right?" He automatically shakes his head before I can even say a word. Those go right into the bag. Finally, I just told him to finish my shopping while I waited outside because I did NOT  want to walk up to the cashier with those things. But he made me wait it out.

As we approached the cashier (which was a young man), I just started hysterically laughing. Like I seriously needed to walk away and go find something to do. Mr. Man wouldn't let me. As he was scanning the items, I saw more things that Mr. Man didn't even take the time to show me that he was adding to the shopping bag. I have so pig socks. The top of them have a nose and ears and my toes have a tail!! Yes, he got me some crazy socks, too!! I was just in shock the whole time, but I learned my lesson. Never let my husband carry my shopping bag for me ever again. He's too much of a joker!

As I am walking out the door, I am just shaking my head and giggling. Mr. Man is standing up tall and proud with a big smile on his face. He is freaking hilarious. He is so proud, and he made sure I packed all of the items he chose in my bag! He's such a trip.

Looks like our hospital trip will be more of an adventure than we ever thought!

Movie: Eat Pray Love

Last night after I cooked dinner, I cuddled up on the couch with my pooch and watched "Eat Pray Love". I really had no idea what to expect going in to it because I really do not keep up with movies or books. I had heard so much about it around different social sites, so I thought I would give it a shot. People kept recommending me read it whenever I was looking for a new book to read. I did add the book to my list, but I still ended up renting and watching it before I even purchased the book.

I thought the movie was really good. I did not find it as good as people made it out to be, but then again they were talking about the book and not the movie. Huge difference! The storyline was great, and it was definitely my type of movie to watch when Mr. Man is away.

To give a short description, it is about a woman who was in a marriage. They later divorced. She had a lot going for her, but she still found herself lost. She felt like she was missing a part of her, and she wanted to search to find it. The way she does this is by traveling the world. She first went to Italy. Then to India, and last to Bali. I really enjoyed how they represented each place and their culture. I felt it was truly correct with the variety of cultures and very inspirational. It made me want to go back to Italy actually.  So as she travels the world, she discovers different meanings to things and finds a way to place it in her life to find what she is searching for. It was definitely a good movie, and a perfect one for a night without the husband. Although I do think he would have enjoyed it too.

I love movies that I feel like I can learn something from it and place it into my own life. I definitely got that feeling from this movie, so I think I will be moving the book up on my book list.