Who wants an alcachofa?

This is what we had on Sunday.

Chilorio, artichoke and mexican rice.

Phil is the best chilorio maker :) It was his first time making it and it came out really good.

Our Soccer Player

This morning like at around 6:00 Maya was kicking really hard, it felt a little bit weird. Phillip was sleeping and I did not want to wake him up, so I just laid there and felt her kicks. This little girl is going to be a very active child because she never stops moving. I just love to feel all her moves.

These past weeks I have been feeling anxious, I can't wait for the day she joins us. I feel very blessed because it's been a really good pregnancy so far. I haven't felt many pains and aches and my health seems to be doing fine. I am just very grateful that this has been a lovely experience for Phil and I.

I love your blog award

Here are the rules:I have to answer the following questions with one word answers, then I must pass it on to seven others.
The questions are as follows:

1. Where is your cell phone? dead
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? black
4. Your mother? Maria
5. Your father? Carlos
6. Your favorite thing? shoes
7. Your dream last night? confusing
8. Your dream/goal? graduate
9. The room you're in? living room ( I cheated :P)
10. Your hobby? pictures
11. Your fear? unhappiness
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? home
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? selfish
15. One of your wish-list items? House
16. Where you grew up? Ahualulco
17. The last thing you did? clean
18. What are you wearing? jeans
19. Your TV? uninteresting
20. Your pet? Chip
21. Your computer? DELL
22. Your mood? mellow
23. Missing someone? yes
24. Your car? inexistent
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? many!
27. Your summer? burning
28. Love someone? definitely
29. Your favorite color? green
30. When is the last time you laughed? lunch
31. Last time you cried? yesterday
I award the following 7 people with the "I love your blog award" and in so doing tag them to complete the above questions. I only have 2 people, one of them is Angela and she already did it. I have one left:
Cass

I am a girl!

Today we had an ultrasound; I had been waiting for this day for the longest time. Phil had decided that he didn't want to find out the sex of the baby, but as soon as my Dr. told me that they could do an ultrasound for free he agreed. Well, it was an exiting experience for both of us, we got to see our baby. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger. The ultrasound tech. was really nice, she explained everything to us. Luckily the baby had it's little legs wide open so we were able to see in between them. It was a big surprise to find out it was Maya Valeria. Now I feel bad that all this time I have been calling her Lucas :( No wonder why she kicked me every time I called her Lucas :P just kidding!

We feel very blessed!

Via Arte

Yesterday we went to the Via Arte Festival. There were a lot of amazing artists sharing their talents with all of us on nothing more than pavement canvases. The artists used pastel chalk and painted straight on the pavement. Imagine how many pastel colors they used! We just walked around and enjoyed all the beautiful art. It's sad though that after they are done, they will have to wash away their master pieces.

Carrot-Raisin Cake

This is a recipe from the book, "Cooking for Two." I tried it today and it turned out really good.
Here is the recipe if you would like to try it:
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup finely grated carrots
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (opt.)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup crushed pineapple

Mix oil, sugar, and egg together. Sift dry ingredients together and add to oil mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients and pour into greased 8x8 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Cool and frost with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing: Beat 1/4 cup cream cheese, 2 Tbsp. butter, and 1 cup powered sugar until creamy.

A visit with my new Doctor

This morning I had my first appointment with my new Dr. Her name is Dr. Kannappan and she was really nice and very helpful. She said everything is looking good. She checked the baby's heart rate and told us that it might be a boy; she explained to us that boys tend to have a lower heart rate than girls. I am going to have an ultrasound done next week, so hopefully we will find out then. Phil and I are really exited! Well, I'll keep you guys posted.

Hart Park

Yesterday after conference, Phil and I went to Hart Park. We took Chip with us and he had lots of fun. It was nice to walk around and talk about the things that we learned and liked about conference. The park was really packed with people so it wasn't as relaxing as we thought it would be, but we tried to make the best of it. We are planning on going back maybe next weekend and rent a canoe. I'll let you guys know how that goes.

Us Back in the Day

Oh memories...

Cooking for Two

Martie and Wes sent us a recipe book that I love. The book is called "Cooking for Two" by Debbie G. Herman. I have tried several recipes and I just think it's an awesome book because it has very simple recipes and the servings are just perfect for two people. Thanks Martie and Wes for the book!

The Happiest Day of my Life

What a Lovely Week!

I'll begin with Sunday. Phillip and I were asked to speak at church on Sunday, Phillip's topic was on sacrifice and mine was on testimony. To be honest, I was really scared and I was very close to faking sick :P I prayed a lot and Heavenly Father blessed me with courage to give my first talk in English. It was hard for me because there were so many people, nothing like the little Spanish branch. But, I think I did well. Phillip as always did really good, I was really proud of him. I love his spirit! We also received new callings, we are going to be working together with the 11 year old kids in Primary. We are really exited!
Then, on Wednesday our insurance finally kicked in. We were able to see our new doctor, he was really nice and very helpful.
I have started to do visiting teaching and I am really enjoying it. I really never did it before, there was always something going on. But now I believe that this is something the Heavenly Father really wants me to do, so I know that I have to make it a priority and make the time to go see my sisters.
I was also assigned to call the Spanish speaking voters and inform then about Proposition 8. I called about 45 people today. I didn't have much success but hopefully tomorrow it will be a better day.
We are really exited and grateful for the positive changes in our lives. Living on our own has been a true learning experience.