News Flash!

So, I found out what our baby is going to look like. Pretty cute, if I do say so myself. Jon thinks our little peach looks like him. Who do YOU think he/she looks more like?

Classics.

I have been meaning to write a post about food storage, but I have been too tired/lazy to upload the pictures from our camera, so maybe I'll do that later, and for now, I will post something else I have been thinking about for awhile. My movie collection. Which is seriously lacking. In fact, I think I personally own about 2 or 3 movies and the rest I inherited when I married Jon. Most of his are of the action genre, which isn't particularly bad, but is not particularly good either. We really need to build up our collection of classics. The kind of thing we can raise our kids on. Wholesome, entertaining, and uplifting. So I made a wish list, just so I don't forget, and I will post it here, in no particular order.

Singing In the Rain
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Avonlea
Meet Me in St. Louis
The Music Man
Christy
While You Were Sleeping
The Sound of Music
Pride and Prejudice (long version)
Little Women
Mulan
The Lion King
Aladin
The Little Mermaid
Cinderella
Beauty and the Beast
Peter Pan
Robin Hood
Newsies


I would also appreciate any suggestions. After reading this list you should have some kind of idea what type of movie I am talking about, so please, use the comment button to share your favorites!

5 things I've been thinking about...

1. I'm glad this whole election business is over, even though it didn't all turn out how I hoped. I am grateful that Prop 8 passed, and I am feeling peaceful about Obama as President, and looking on the bright side. For one, I think he has a totally adorable family and I am a little jealous of his two daughters who get to live in the White House. See, my dreams of being a First Daughter were crushed at a young age when I found out that Presidents of the United States must be natural-born citizens. My dad was born in Peru, and I was pretty darn sure that that was the only thing that really stood in his way (still am really...well, that, and a lack of desire to be involved in politics...). It was a tragic moment for a young girl. However, with the ambiguity about Obama's birth country, maybe I shouldn't have given up quite so easily. My sister (who will not be named here) didn't. She wrote my dad in on the ballot. Maybe more of us should have done that...I DO like him a lot better than any of the candidates I had to choose from.

2. Modern medicine=good. However, it's maybe not quite the miracle drug I originally thought it to be. I'm learning that I still might be sick every once in awhile. But I'll tell you what. Vomit once a day is a WHOLE lot better than vomit four times a day. So I'll take it!

3. Eggnog=a complete meal. I think I have pretty much always felt this way. At least since college when my parents were no longer around to supervise my eggnog intake. You have to down a couple glasses to really make the meal, but it's got the protein, the dairy, and it's just plain delicious! I look forward to eggnog season* all year! I just love the stuff! In fact, this year I got the very first eggnog of the season. The grocery store guy had to go in the back to find it for me because it wasn't even out yet. And it sure is delicious! One disclaimer though- I am SO not down with homemade eggnog. The stuff totally grosses me out!

4. "Seriously, are these fall colors real???" That's what I think every time I go anywhere. For those who have never spent an autumn on the east coast, I highly recommend it. It's like, trees are EVERYWHERE, and all of them are totally gorgeous. It's a wonder that I haven't run anyone off the road while staring at the trees.

5. Looking forward to my two dates with Jon this weekend. Saturday we are going out to eat downtown and then attending a Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concert. We've seen them once before and they are fantastic. Tonight we're going to Costco for a food storage acquisition and cheap pizza date. We might even score some free samples while we're at it. Is it bad to admit that I'm kind of looking forward to Costco more? I mean, I really like the BSO, honestly. It's just that I haven't been to Costco in a really long time, and well, it's Costco!

*Eggnog season: the time of year between Halloween and New Years when eggnog is sold in many stores and readily available.

Seriously!?!?

Hope everyone is making it out to vote today, or has voted early in states that allow it. Jon voted early this morning on his way to work, and I'm headed out soon.

I have had the sick feeling throughout the entire campaign that this year it's not really about the issues (now that I think about it, is it ever?). I'm not crazy about either candidate, but I wish that people would pay attention to who the candidates are and what they stand for more than what they are (ie. white, black, old, charismatic, etc.) Anyway, Jon sent me this sound clip today and I was absolutely astounded. Seriously, you need to listen here for an explanation of why some people are voting for Obama. YIKES!! No matter who you vote for, do it for the right reason!

Well, we shall see the outcome shortly, and the good news is, no matter what happens, if we stand in holy places, we will be protected from the storm. Happy voting!

Fall--My Absolute Favorite Time of Year!

We have been LOVING fall in Maryland. It is totally gorgeous here, and these pictures definitely don't even do it justice, but yesterday to celebrate Halloween we finally made it to a local pumpkin patch. We've been wanting to go all season, but with sickness, tiredness and business, we ended up putting it off until now. I used my theatre makeup skills to once again create a low-key but surprisingly effective "costume" for Jon and I. We were going to a non-costume Halloween party, so we thought this was a good middle ground.
We took some shots at the Pumpkin farm which is in such a beautiful area, not so far away, that I thought aloud that when the time comes to buy, we should start our search there. It was very country and reminded me of my upbringing. Jon thought this was a really cool one of me "walking into the light". Procrastination definitely had its consequences, but we managed to find a couple of decent pumpkins anyway (don't be alarmed--the hanging man behind Jon's head is just a scare crow...looks pretty creepy though).
After the pumpkin patch (where we picked up some fresh cider to boot) we headed to a Halloween party with some of Jon's work friends. We got busy carving our pumpkin. We decided to collaborate and donated the larger lumpier pumpkin to some friends whose pumpkin procrastination was not as fruitful as ours. I was the scraper of the insides and the designer, and Jon was the cutter of the design (engineering makes him good at that--very detail oriented). The results were not so bad if I do say so myself. I like to call this look "HELP! I'm stuck in a pumpkin!"


On another note, Thursday evening we had the pleasure of meeting up with Shane who was in DC for a job interview on Friday (we thought he should have shown up decked out in a Halloween costume). He took the train from DC to a cute town called Odenton, MD, which is on the way to our area from DC. We met him there and drove to locations designated by Maria as potential future abodes for the Oka family. Of course, this is NOT an announcement that they are moving here. It is one of several possibilities, but we had a great time hanging out with Shane and checking out Odenton. After doing our "homework" we headed to a local Italian place for dinner. It was pretty authentic and really yummy, but unfortunately we grossly underestimated the size of a 14" pizza. I managed about 1 slice, leaving Jon and Shane to do most of the dirty work. I'm ashamed to say that we ended up with pizza in our fridge. :)

And just for good measure, I stole this picture from my dad's blog, but I just can't get over how cute my niece Brooklyn is, dressed up as an apple for Halloween! I think she totally has Shane's smile in this pic!

Top Ten Headlines in Leininger Town

10. Young Women Make Dinner at Leininger Home

I am the second counselor in the Young Women's organization in our ward, which means weekly mutual activities. We frequently work on a skill that the girls would like to develop, and this particular week, we had chosen cooking. In keeping with the "warming only" rule in the chapel's kitchen, we had the young women over to our place for the endeavor. We decided on a simple stir fry, and let the girls do virtually all of the work. We had a great time, and the food was delicious. I just love these girls!


9. Sarah Gets Her Hair Cut

I was getting SO sick of my long hair. It was to the scraggly point, and the humidity out here is very unforgiving. So I chopped it off. I neglected to take a before shot, but let's just say that I lost about 6 inches. I am a big fan of the new, short(er) hair.


8. Jon Pulls Solid "A" on Project Proposal

Jon has started grad school at Johns Hopkins in engineering, and so we're back to the homework thing. He spent hours and hours and hours in the office working on a project proposal for his class that dealt with an automatic hour logging system for big rig trucks. And that was only after the hours and hours and hours he spent deciding on a project, changing it, and deciding on another one. Lots of research and lots of hard work. It paid off though...he pulled a solid 97%. I was very proud of my intelligent and diligent husband.

7. Maryland Family Watches All Four Conference Sessions from Comfort of Own Home

Comcast does not carry any station that broadcasts general conference, but thanks to the Church's amazing new media player and Jon's tech savvy, we were able to hook up our laptop to our TV and watch conference from the couch. It was wonderful. Not only the couch of course, but the inspiring messages. I just love general conference!!! The only thing that would have made it better would have been spending the Sunday afternoon session in Fairview with the fam. We missed you guys!


6. Father Visits Prodigal Children

Having two sets of parents now that we are married is a little confusing. Therefore, for the purposes of this blog, our respective fathers shall henceforth be called Dad Doug (Jon's) and Papa Joe (mine). Dad Doug popped in for a quick visit on his way to visit Lauren at SVU for Parent's Weekend. He brought with him many gifts including lots of books that we have been wanting to read, yummy Texan bbq sauce, delicious Texan pecan candy, and a trip to dinner on him. He also brought us epic movie "The 10th Kingdom" which we spent the next week and a a half watching. It was great to see him, and we had a super fun time. Thanks Dad Doug!


5. Couple Visits Aquarium, Attends Dolphin Show

We finally headed downtown to the National Aquarium, which just happens to be in Baltimore. It is right on the water and it was fantastic. We liked the huge sting rays and the Dolphin show, but our favorite was the long-horned cowfish. If you've never seen one, well...it resembles a floating block of cheese with a cow's face. Pretty incredible.


4. Cougar Fans Reunited with Football After Long Absence

Comcast also does not carry any station that broadcasts BYU football games (I think we need to switch cable companies) so it's been a long and dreary season for us as we hear about our friends enjoying the wonderful winning streak. We, like the rest of you, were disappointed last week, but hopeful that this week would bring better news. We were thrilled that our friends (and subscribers to Direct TV) Trevor and Sarah invited us over to watch the game with them today. We were even more thrilled with the exciting win! Go Cougs! It's good to be back. Also, I'm pretty sure we saw Kirsti on TV. That was exciting.


3. Baltimore Youth Takes Life-Changing Plunge

Our friend Kayla is the newest member of our Young Women group. Though she has been attending Sunday meetings and Wednesday activities for awhile now, she was baptized on Saturday October 18th. I got to give a talk at her baptism, and felt very privileged. Kayla was raised by her grandparents, and her grandfather recently became active in the church after 28 years and introduced Kayla to the missionaries. She is really amazing in her dedication, understanding of the scriptures, and application of the gospel. She has even already started Personal Progress! We love Kayla and are so excited to continue to grow with her!


2. Sarah Turns 27

I turned 27 on Thursday, the 23rd, and feel dangerously close to 30. You think it will never come, but then, there it is, just around the corner. That's okay though. I'll be a young 30 when that time comes. I have a pretty bad cold this week, and haven't been feeling too well, so instead of a night out, Jon brought home our favorite, PF Changs, and we celebrated at home. I got wonderful gifts from Jon and from home, and a flaming cake to top it all off! Thanks to everyone who made it a special day.

1. Baltimore Couple to Celebrate First Anniversary With Bang

Yep. We're having a baby!!!!!! We are SO excited! I'm due May 24th, one day after our anniversary, so for all intents and purposes...ON our anniversary. What a way to celebrate! This ultrasound was taken at 6 weeks for dating purposes, and the little dot on the left is what was then an embryo, and is now a fetus, about an inch in length (roughly the size of a medium green olive according to the book). When we got married I thought I wanted 12 kids, but now, after a month of nausea and vomiting, I think we might stop at one. ;) However, yesterday my doctor finally prescribed a miracle drug called zofran, and I am a new woman. I have eaten for two days in a row, and might actually start gaining weight now. I can go to work without wanting to die, and when at home, do more than lie on the couch and cry, with brief trips to kneel before the porcelain throne. A big shout out to my amazing husband who made many a trip to the local 7-11 for coke slurpees (they do wonders for a sick tummy), took over all household chores, and was on his own for dinner every night for a month, and to my mom and sister Maria who spent hours talking to me on the phone, distracting me from my misery, and generally getting me through it. I know that there are many women who have been much worse off than me, and I can only say that I now have even more respect for mothers than I did in the past. Especially those like my own mom who did this again and again. And pre-miracle drug zofran at that! I am so excited for this adventure and blessing, and so glad that thanks to modern medicine, I have myself back. I cooked today for the first time in a LONG time, and I think Jon is excited too. :)

Protect Marriage

This blog is usually more personal than political, but this video shows how the two can sometimes go hand in hand in a very profound way. It is terrifying to see where our nation and world are headed, and there has never been a more important time than now to stay informed. It is well worth your time to watch this video- it's about 6 minutes long. Just follow the link, and spread the word.