Thursday, January 10, 2008

Ch..Ch..Ch..Ch..Changes

So, with the New Year, I've decided it's time to make some changes. A great time to get my priorities back in line. Last year at this time I made some resolutions and they lasted for a good five months. Then we put the house on the market....and went on our cruise....and moved....and I got pregnant....and all of those great habits went down the drain. Boo on that.

I've decided to focus on three main goals. We need to have our semi-annual goal-setting FHE, but it hasn't been my turn yet, so I have to wait two more Mondays for that. I figure I better get these babies down in writing somewhere before my motivation flees and I'm back to just playing the piano, blogging, and reading in all my spare time.

1. Have thirty minutes of personal gospel study every day. We're good at reading the scriptures as a family and as a couple, but I'm not so good on my own. And I've decided my personal study doesn't just have to be the scriptures, it can be church magazines or preparing my Sunday lessons for YW. I just need to spend some time every day working on my own spirituality.

2. Work on my BYU continuing ed class for AT LEAST four hours a week. I am in trouble with that thing. I'm still working on Physical Science 100--the class I started last March. I didn't touch it between May 15 and Jan 1st. Yikes! It has to be completed by mid-March, so I'm cracking the whip on myself and hoping I can beat the deadline.

3. Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, at least 3 times a week. This is actually a lifelong goal of mine and sometimes I keep it and sometimes I don't. But winter time is the hardest for me. (Can you even call it winter out here right now?) My favorite form of exercise is walking and I'm way too wimpy to walk in the cold, so I sometimes have to come up with alternate forms of exercise. Like *gasp* Billy Blanks. I can't handle Billy's Boot Camp with my preggo belly, but a little Tae Bo once or twice a week is do-able.

There. I got it off my chest. Now I feel like I'm a little more accountable because the goals are not just floating around in the recesses of my mind.

In other random updates:

*BYU's basketball team played Wake Forest this week and we were able to get group tickets with other BYU fans for the game.

Go Cougars!

It was actually our first college b-ball game since we moved here. Kinda crazy since this is ACC country. But tickets are usually outrageously expensive and hard to get your hands on. (The group tickets on the very top row of the coliseum were not so bad.) Anyway, we had a fun time, but the Cougars got killed. They were ranked in the top 25 when I bought the tickets, but have since fallen out. (With the way they looked at Wake, I'm not surprised.)

Despite, the loss, it was fun to cheer for our alma mater.

*Andrew's back is still killing him. I feel so bad for him. He has been toughing it out and going to work every day, but he comes home in so much pain. He finally got in to see the chiropractor yesterday and has another appt with him this afternoon. Hoping he'll get some relief SOON.

*Whit had her last appt with the orthopedist yesterday and they said her arm looks great. You can hardly tell it was ever broken, other than some strong new bone that has formed. I told them, "Thanks for the great care. I hope we never have to see you again." :)

*Brandon's basketball team this season is really struggling. They lose terribly every game. Brandon was SO frustrated after the first game, but I think he has come to terms with the fact that they are a young, developing team and is trying to make the best of it.

Here he is shooting a free throw.
His team lost this one 4-15. Ouch.

*I've reached the halfway point of my pregnancy. Woo hoo! I am feeling great and can feel our little girl move every day now. She's especially active from about 10-11:30 pm every night. I guess her daddy will have a night owl to keep him company when she's born. Right now we're pretty sure we'll name her Caroline Rose. Andrew actually wanted to name Whitney "Caroline," and I didn't like it then, but I've come around now.
I'm now getting to the point where even
strangers can tell I'm pregnant.
Love that belly!

*My next-door neighbor is a somewhat vegetarian and shared the best tip with me:

Meatless Ground Burger.
I'd never even thought of trying it.

So last time I went grocery shopping I picked some up and made tacos out of it. Oh.... my.... gosh. Can I just tell you that the whole family loved it? With the taco seasonings in it, Andrew couldn't even tell it wasn't ground beef. (Of course he hasn't eaten ground beef in years, so that might've had something to do with it.) It's kind of pricey, so it won't be something we'll eat every night, but definitely a viable option once in a while. (To be fair, I don't know how the price compares to real ground beef because I never purchase it.) And the nutrition facts on it are awesome--half a gram of fat, three grams of fiber, and 13 grams of protein per serving. And NO grizzle. Yum!

16 comments:

Natalie said...

David and I were recently introduced to Morning Star soy chicken patties. So yummy! You should try those out when you get a chance. If you like chicken sandwiches that is. And you are so adorable all pregnant! Caroline Rose is a beautiful name. Although, we have Rose picked out for our baby's middle name too. Not that we are pregnant or anything...but you know for the future!

jax from the harmon squad said...

I just have to tell you you look SO GOREGOUS in that pregnancy picture! There is just something about pregnant women, they're always beautiful.

Ang said...

I love reading all your goals. You guys are so good about your scripture study, especially--such good examples. And I love the name Caroline. (Would you call her Care-o-Line or Care-o-lin? Would you ever call her Carrie for short, or stick to Caroline?).

And I really have to ask you about dinner, truly, because I have a hard time coming up with dinner ideas . . .and I have all the assorted meats at my disposal. For example, tonight was either 1. Sloppy Joes or 2. Chicken Stir Fry. We picked sloppy joes. But I really want to know what you cook. What do you guys eat for dinner every night if you don't use ground beef or chicken or anything like that? Mainly I'm just curious.

And you are an adorable pregnant girl. The other preggo Sweat girl (e.g. your sister in law Cindy) hardly looks pregnant yet!! I keep waiting for her to pop out one of these days!

Carrie said...

I know how you feel about those New Year resolutions. Maybe, just maybe I will stick to mine this year. I love the name you guys picked out! Very cute.
~Carrie

Anonymous said...

With lettuce, tomatoes, onion, pickles, musard and ketchup added Gardenburgers taste as good as hamburgers.

Anonymous said...

So it's the GRIZZLE that's kept you away from ground beef all these years. I've always wondered! Loved reading your new year's resolutions. Forrest told me that he and Tony are having some sort of fitness challenge with each other and that they do push-ups and sit-ups every night and just the power of that suggestion has made me do 40 reps of lifting my huge 5-pound weights each night and 20 sit-ups (in bed, but I'm counting them). We're having a "Biggest Loser" contest at work and it starts Monday. Love to you all - you are a ravishing mother-to-be!
Love,
Grandma Sweat

Anonymous said...

Doesn't someone out there besides me want to know if Brandon made that free throw?

andrea said...

Jackie--you are TOO sweet. Do you mind giving me that compliment again in about 4 months? And then one more time in 5? :)

Ang--We'll pronounce it care-o-line, but we still don't know about nicknames. I remember one friend asking me when I was pregnant with W if we'd call her "Whit" and I told her, "No." But, that's a very common occurrence around here, so you never know with nicknames. Andrew is convinced he wants to call her O-Line, as in the offensive line in football. I am ADAMANTLY opposed(that can't be good for a little girl's self esteem), but he hasn't changed his mind yet.

Also, I'll do a post with my menu one of these days so you can see what we eat.

Anonymous--the bad news is that Brandon didn't make that particular free throw. The good news is that I think he scored 3 of his teams 4 points that game.

Paul-N-Daneen said...

Stop it right now with the BOCA. Dont give me excuses about grizzle. You can buy 98/2 ground beef.Anyway I just wanted to tell you that you looked really hip in your picture. Hollywood Pregnancy here you come. I was just kidding about the Boca. But it still dosen't sound good to me.

Anonymous said...

I love the name Caroline Rose! We were also thinking of using Rose as a middle name. That's not an announcement. (-:

I too am anxious to hear about your typical dinners. I use meat to cook about once a week (and that usually lasts us 2 or 3 meals). Otherwise it's pasta, pasta, pasta. Maybe you could help me be more creative with meatless dinners.

Tell Brandon good job on leading his team in scoring and great form on that free throw!

Joey/Denny/Emma said...

Andrea, you do indeed look gorgeous, and I too am interested in hearing what you (or anyone else in the world) has for dinner every night, especially with little ones.

Anonymous said...

"Carrie" is a nice name.

The Normal Mormon Husband said...

As many of you know, I like our kids to have sports-related names. Brandon's middle name is Trey, as in the 3-point variety. I was pushing to name Whitney either Caroline or Allison, as in Ally-Oop.

There are actually two sports nicknames we could give Caroline. The first is "Carrie", which could mean that one day she will carry her team to victory. The other is that she will be a point guard who is constantly whistled for carrying the ball, which is obviously not good.

I want your input on the second nickname for Caroline. It has a football reference. We can call her "The 0-Line", as in the offensive line. They are the key to the offense, the unsung heroes who sacrifice their bodies for the team. Sure, most of them are 6'7 weigh 350 pounds, and constantly smell like a locker room, but I think it is a witty nickname. Andrea doesn't like "The O-Line". What do you all think?

-He Who Sired The Yet To Be Nicknamed Little Girl

Destiny said...

Andi, You look so cute with your prego belly. I'm just in the stage of feeling very large like a whale! Congrats on a girl!

Anonymous said...

I'm trying to picture Whitney being called O-Line Sweat and it's just not working for me. It is creative though.

Sandy said...

You look fantastic!! I think my belly still might be bigger than yours, though and I'm not pregnant at all:) I'll have to see if I can sneak in the fake ground burger - I love Boca burgers, but Jake won't eat it (we are NOT a ground-beef-free household...but Jake does cook and freeze it for me cause I hate to handle it). Great goals, too -- I need to get on it. This past year was not a great one for goal-keeping for me!