new york seltzer

I don't if it's pregnancy or what, but I have been craving a New York Seltzer so bad lately. Do you remember these guys-fizzy, light and tasty? As a girl, we used to get them at a local subway sandwich place called BK Subs. A turkey avocado sub and New York Seltzer was my usual order, but I don't think they exist anymore.

I did a little research and found that a man named Randy Miller was the owner in the 80s. Apparently, his love for exotic animals and stunts pulled him away from the family business and the drink disappeared in the 90s. BigLots! claims to carry New York Seltzer, but I just don't know that I believe it is the ORIGINAL New York Seltzer. It has to be a knock-off. I need to see (and try) it to believe it.

I wish Mr. Miller would bring back the little glass bottles of goodness. I could really use a New York Seltzer right about now.

a single girl

Kent sends me an email this morning with a link to a video and he writes, "Want to see something that will most likely make you cry?" My thoughts: The man knows me well; I will cry and I don't even know what I'm about to watch.

Did I cry? Of course. I guess crying comes easier these days with the extra hormones pulsing through my body, but I would have cried either way. Commercials make me cry, pregnant or not.

Like Kent warned, this video will most likely make you cry, but it is worth the tears. It's short and powerful.



Are there even words? I don't even know where to begin after watching this. All I know is that I want all girls and women to thrive and feel that they have control of their lives. I've never considered myself a feminist, although I'm sure every woman who is part of our generation would be considered a feminist in the most simplistic form. We believe in the rights of women and the ability to chose our own path. We are able to learn, grow and become healthy, vibrant individuals. Inalienable rights, right? It hasn't always been like that though. Our generation is lucky and should be grateful for the sacrifices strong women have made over the centuries. The problem is that not every woman has the freedom to realize her potential and have the life she desires. That makes my heart sick.

I'm not sure how to help every single woman in the world, but I believe that change can begin with one, single girl. That poem, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, by William Ross Wallace immediately comes to mind. What power a woman and mother holds! She forms and teaches her children, hopefully, filling them with the best things possible, making them feel they can accomplish anything. We need to do that for the girls around us, in our own lives. No need to cut them down, we do that to ourselves enough; we need to build them up in whatever way we can.

As for helping girls and women around the world, I am going to research this matter further to see what I can do. Governments and societal beliefs often obstruct humanitarian efforts, but like this video says, there must be a way, starting with one girl at a time.

Thank you, Kent, for making me cry a little today. It was worth it.

and the Sommer name lives on...

It looks like Kent is going to have a little buddy.

I guess that's not obvious in this shot, but I didn't want to expose the poor little guy on the world wide web. Actually, he probably wouldn't mind; he didn't want to show us much more than that during the ultrasound. Baby Sommer ended up doing a somersault so he was face down, lying on his head. Even when the doctor tried to get a good angle on his face, he covered it with his arms. He was not having anything besides displaying his manhood.

Either way, it was 100% clear that it's a BOY!

Kent's going to have his little soccer player and I'm going to dress him in things like this to show my support.

We're excited to meet little Torres in January.

LA-bor Day Weekend

We didn't go far for Labor Day, but we didn't have to. With LA and family nearby, we managed to have one fantastic weekend.

It all started on Friday afternoon at Rest & Relax Bodyworks where Kent and I got a couple's massage. Oolala. Way back in April, our friend let us know about these 80-minute massages for $37.50 each, so I bought two thinking we would use them after our Ragnar Relay. Well, I sort of forgot about them then randomly remembered them. Turned out the vouchers would have expired on October 1st, so we went to LA for a little R & R.

Side note: Massages are great, really, I'm a total sucker for them, but pregnancy massages aren't as good as the real deal. There's nothing like lying on your stomach so the masseuse can dig out the knots in your back, but I had to lie on my side. Like I said, still great, but not the same.

After that, with my greased down, lavender-scented hair, Kent and I decided to find the Kogi truck in Venice.

Kent printed out the schedule before we left home, so we knew where it was, more or less. At first, we didn't see the actual Kogi truck, but we saw several other food trucks. Apparently, Kogi isn't the only truck driving around LA offering sustenance. Everyone has one! Kent and I need to jump on this business opportunity. Anyway, I thought the food was good, but I don't know that it's worth all the hype. I can't say I'll be chasing that truck around in the near future, but I do want to check out the Grilled Cheese truck. Mmm.

After filling up on Korean BBQ and ice cream cookie sandwiches (with Red Velvet ice cream!) we drove to the Griffith Observatory. We've always talked about going there, but never found (or made) the time. Since we were doing a LA half day, it worked out perfectly.

Originally, we were going to listen to a lecture called "All Space Considered", but we were late and the auditorium was full. Full? Yes, full. So instead, we watched an awesome show in "the world's best" planetarium. (Kent said the brochure said something like that. I can't remember the exact wording, but it made it sound like it was the top dog of all planetariums. Unfortunately, I can only compare it to the planetarium in Salt Lake where I would occasionally go to watch laser light shows featuring Pink Floyd or U2. What else do you do when you're at BYU and you want to do something in the big city?) The show was really fantastic, so maybe it IS the best planetarium. Plus, the lighting was cool.

There's nothing like an observatory to get your mind thinking about life and what lies beyond. I definitely want to go again.

Not the best photo in the world, but pretty good for a camera phone. Good times were had on our LA Half Day and although we know we aren't LA Hipsters, it was fun to pretend.

On Saturday, we woke up too early. Kent got his hair cut (which, I must say, grows at an astounding rate) and I cleaned. I've decided it's better to clean every two weeks versus deep clean every month. Took me long enough to figure that one out. Better late than never. We then packed up our bags and three baskets of laundry (no washer and dryer in the apartment...boo) and headed to Claremont to watch the first half of our favorite college football team with Kent's parents. Shanon also let me borrow Mockingjay (thank you!) and I'm almost half way through. I can't get enough of the Hunger Games series.


We left at half time so we could see this little guy blow out his candles at my parents' house.

For McCray's 7th birthday we roasted hot dogs by the swimming pool and enjoyed some Nacogdoches cake. (I think someone told him not to eat the candle and his face sort of shows some confusion. I think he knew he could only lick the frosting, but the comment threw him off.) Kent also got to finish watching the game and we won! Go Cougars.

Sunday was Sunday. We went to church, ate pot roast, sat around the table and talked, played a crazy game of 21 (Ever tried chocolate covered raisins dipped in mayonnaise? Apparently, it's not too good.) and a few rounds of Pounce. Kent introduced that game to my family and I love it. I'm slow, but it's fun.

Monday, like Saturday, we woke up too early, but this time it was for a good cause. As tradition has it, we went to Oak Glen for a breakfast to benefit the local firefighters. The breakfast is good, but it's more fun to be in the little apple-growing community of Oak Glen. Everything is slower and everything literally revolves around apples.

I always stock up on my apple supply, but never finish it. I'm working on the cider and I plan on eating all of the apples whether by themselves or in something. Last night for dessert we had Applesauce Cake and it was pretty good. Thank you, Martha Stewart and Every Day Food.

The rest of the day was great: barbecuing, more talking, holding my sister's baby (he is an ANGEL baby...I want one like him), relaxing, and maybe doing a load of laundry here and there.

All in all, one wonderful weekend and a great last hurrah to summer.

stretchy pants

Today, I graduated to stretchy pants.


No, I don't mean those lovelies above, but I am wearing jeans with an elastic waistband.


What?! Who knew I'd be so grateful for such things.

My sister donated 4 bags of maternity clothes to my child-growing cause, so I am set for maybe the rest of my pregnancy. Kent's not too pleased about the new garbage bags littering our already crowded closet, but I am so grateful to have siblings who are done with their child-bearing years. I can't begin to tell you how much money we are saving thanks to their generosity. Maternity clothes? Check. Crib? Check. Rocking chair? Check.We even have a Johnny Jump Up. We feel lucky indeed, and quite prepared.

Anyway, I'm going to enjoy the elasticized freedom while it lasts because unfortunately (and fortunately), it won't last forever.

grateful heart

Sickness seems to have befallen me as of late. It all started about a week and half ago on our way home from the West family reunion. Practically everyone got food poisoning or the flu of some type, and it didn't pass me by. The night before our 10 hour drive back to California, I spent my time throwing up in a hotel bathroom. Not the most pleasant experience, but we got through it.

Then, at the Sommer reunion, I came down with a cold. My nose was runny and I felt pretty tired-not too tired to enjoy lounging at the beach all day and playing games-but still tired. On Monday, my cold seemed to improve, but my nose felt inflamed and sensitive to the touch. Unfortunately, I recognized these symptoms. After getting a bad cold a few years ago, my nose felt the same way and I ended up getting a crazy staph infection. It was so gross looking. (I have pictures, but I'll spare you.) Turns out, I have the same infection and it kills. I kind of look like Rudolph or Bozo the Clown. Plus, my lymph nodes are swollen and painful with all the infection-fighting they're doing. To add to that, I keep worrying that the infection is going to hurt the baby and I wake up at 3 and 4 in the morning and have a hard time going back to sleep. Poor little baby, it didn't ask for any of this.

Here's where my grateful heart comes in: I was able to see an ENT (ear, nose and throat) doctor today which in itself was a welcome gift, but as I was waiting to cross the street to go to his office, I looked down beside me and saw a heart-shaped something on the sidewalk. At first glance I thought, "Oh, the aftermath of someone getting heart-attacked...fun." Then I looked closer and saw that it was a leaf that had broken in just the right places to look like a heart. I had to document that simple something. It made me happy, almost as happy as the doctor prescribing me oral and topical antibiotics that I HOPE clear the infection up without harming Baby Sommer.

Today, I am grateful for nature, modern medicine, insurance and hopefully, my health...in a few days. (Fingers-crossed!)

eight-nine-ten

It has been two years today-two years of wedded bliss that is-and I couldn't be happier to be married to Mr. Kent Merrill Sommer. He is such a good man: always constant, kind, deep, loving, forgiving, hilarious, intelligent, adventurous, insightful and of course, good-looking (blue eyes don't get much bluer, trust me). He rarely complains, does the dishes on a regular basis and joins me in watching Project Runway and So You Think You Can Dance. He's almost too good to be true.

The first year, I think we celebrated by doing something fancy, but I can't remember what. Maybe a nice dinner? This year, we're not doing anything too extravagant and my anniversary offering for Kent is under $5, BUT we did spend the morning together at a doctor's office listening to a little something that will make big changes in our lives (and no, it wasn't Kent's other lung collapsing-thank goodness!).

We aren't the best at making announcements, but we're happy to report that there's a Baby Sommer on the way, scheduled to arrive January 31, 2011. It's still unreal to us, but we're 15 weeks in and we heard a healthy heartbeat today so I think we better start believing. I've had some morning sickness, heartburn and other less than desirable pregnancy symptoms, but until my clothes don't fit and my waistline starts bulging more, it's hard to comprehend that we're actually having baby. Maybe a Kent, Jr.? Aww. We shall see.

We may not do the fancy dinner thing this year, but I WILL remember what we did on 8.9.10. Here's to things to come in 2011!