Twice-baked Mashed Potatoes

I created this recipe after a Thanksgiving where we were waiting on the mashed potatoes in order to eat. (You know, mashed pots cool so quickly and are not nearly as tasty that way!) After that I year, I said I was finding a way to bake the potatoes so I could just pull them out of the oven and be done with it. The results are quite tasty if I do say so myself. I usually make as below, but this Thanksgiving I didn't have time to bake them (I know, the irony!), so I just added the cheese on top and the potatoes melted it. Still darn good!

Twice baked mashed potatoes

3 pounds of russet or yukon gold (recommend) potatoes

1 cup of cream

4oz cream cheese

.5 stick of butter

4-5 sprigs of thyme

3-4 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper

Sour cream if you like (adds a nice tang, sometimes I use sometimes I don’t)

Bunch of scallions, chopped

1-2 cups of shredded cheddar

Crumbled bacon ( you can cook 3-4 pieces or you can get the bag from costco like I do :o)

Peel potatoes and cut into small, similarly sized pieces. Cook the potatoes in very salty boiling water (like the ocean) until fork tender

While potatoes are cooking, place cream into a small pot with thyme, peeled garlic, cream cheese and butter and heat on low. If you like creamier potatoes add more cream or milk. Once potatoes are done remove thyme stems and garlic pieces

Combine cooked potatoes and cream mixture (as well as sourcream if using) in a large bowl and use a hand mixer to blend, or a potato masher if you’re a glutton for punishment :o) Add salt and some pepper to taste.  (as well as milk and butter to taste if necessary, this isn’t science after all LOL!)

Spoon mashed potatoes into a corning ware dish and cover with shredded cheese.

Refrigerate until 30 minutes before ready to eat, the bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes (top will be bubbly, possibly slightly brown, your call!) Serve with small dishes of scallions and bacon pieces. Alternate: If everyone likes bacon, go ahead and mix it into the potatoes after mashing.

I love it when I'm smarter than Doctors :o)

I think I've mentioned on here before that the first OB I went to and I didn't exactly jive. It was the practice I've been limping along with since I was in my early 20s. I LOVED my first doctor there, but she left to have her own babies and I haven't been happy with them since. But, I was already a patient there and I thought I would give them a whirl and see how they would be with obstetric care. After my first meeting with the Dr, I was 100% sure they were not the doctors for me. She basically gave me the impression that I was going to have a horrible pregnancy with all sorts of problems because I have approximately one crapload of risk factors. She was telling me things like they would induce early because I wouldn't be allowed to go past my due date. (Umm...why? NOTHING is actually wrong with me!)

Well today, despite my LONG list of risk factors, I get to mark one more problem off the list. I passed my glucose test, which means no gestational diabetes for me!Take that Dr. Doom and Gloom! Well looky here, guess who knows her body? Guess who was absolutely right to look for doctors who would take the risk factors as a reason to monitor, but not to make hasty plans. I am over the moon right now in my smugness. Which probably means something is about to go wrong, but for right now, I'm loving this.

Vacation and Other Holidays

Hi World,

So its been approximately 10 years since I posted and I apologize for my sucking. Now that we have that out of the way, what's been going on?

Hubs and I went on vacation for a week and half with his family. We all headed down to Orlando and stayed at Orange Lake resort and it was mahvelous! The weather was insanely beautiful every. single. day. We're talking lower 80s, upper 70s sunshiney and bee-you-ti-full. I'd say I want to go back right now, but FL is having a cold spell so I think it might take some of the oomph out of the swimming. We were there the week of Thanksgiving and in addition to spending time at the resort, we also got to eat turkey with my family (Mom's Thanksgiving, is there anything better on this earth?!). We also hit Disney and SeaWorld both of which we fun, but left me wanting to go again when I'm not baking a small person. I would have loved to ride some more rides and my back was YURTING hardcore by the end of those days. Who knew pregnancy slowed you down LOL.

Since we've been back, the focus has been on getting ready for the holidays. The bestie and I had our annual cookie baking day on Sunday and boy howdy do I have some cookies in my house now! Christmas shopping is almost done, just the brother and the husband left. Both of them seem to just buy what they want and there's nothing left to gift them!


In Scooter news, she's moving constantly. Last week my belly moved of its own accord for the first time and that was quite the sight! Scott's felt her twice now, although she still tries to play shy on us and won't move on command. Sooo my daughter :o) We saw the Maternal Fetal specialist at the end of November and he kept using the word "perfect" and really, is there anything more you want to hear about your baby and pregnancy? I think not! I only have to see them once a month now, and no more internal exams! Woo flippin hoo! I go see my OB on Friday and have my glucose screen so prayers please that that goes well. I just passed the early screen so today is my last day of carbs until my exam to clean my blood up for the test. The thought of insulin shots doesn't really scare me but the thought of pricking my finger 4 times a day is terrifying! Otherwise I've been feeling good. Starting to feel larger, have a few braxton hicks and my joints feel looser, but all that is par for the course at this point. Ohhhh, and we painted the nursery! So excited to get everything organized.

I think that about does it! Again, apologies for being a slacker, I'll try to be better.

She get it from her papa

Scoot and I are 21 weeks today and we had another ultrasound. Everything is going perfectly both with the baking and the baby. Today I had the same sonographer as my 12 week appt and she has got the magic touch when it comes to getting a profile shot.

The first thing I noticed? That is totally her daddy's forehead. I hope she gets his smarts to go along with it! I'm thinking my mouth and her dad's chin also. Can't tell on the nose yet, but its amazing what you can see at this point.

Just a few more short months and I finally get to meet this little thing that is moving around in there. Amazing to think that the next time its warm, next time we have daylight savings, I'll be a mommy. I am so incredibly grateful for this gift, for my life, for my family and friends. Holy snikes I'm blessed. God, thanks, I'm a fan.

So this is a little late...

A couple weeks ago I had my anatomy ultrasound, otherwise known as the big ultrasound. This is the one everyone gets these days and is when folks normally find out the sex. Cause I'm super special I got to find out early, but it was still amazing to spend some time with the girl. Holy crap is she cute and holy crap do I love her!

The event started with a surprise. I knew my dad was coming in to see the ultrasound but my mom was supposed to be in Chicago and couldn't make it. Or so I thought! Thursday night I go to the door to let my dad in and lo and behold there's mama with him! Or shall I say, what was left of my parents. They've both lost over 30 pounds. I am so so impressed, they look amazing and are feeling great as well. They call it the scooter plan, isn't that cute? It was such a great surprise, we had a great time all weekend.

So early the next morning we all trundled to Lansdowne for the appt. We got to see her brain, all four heart chambers, all vital organs, hands, fingers, toes, the whole shebang. And from what they can see she is perfect. She is also definitely ours. I joke with Scott that I can tell she's our daughter cause I never feel her before 1pm. Well sure enough with a 9:30 appt she made it known that she was not pleased to be poked around that early! She kept covering her face with her hands like she was saying "No, stop, no pictures this early"

"Excuse me, I'm sleeping!"

My parents were really excited to be there and I'll go ahead and out my Dad...he was the only one in the room who needed tissues. It was actually pretty cute. Mom was like me, she didn't want to look away for a second cause she might miss something. Husband was just grinning from ear to ear. I love seeing how much he loves his little girl already.

Here's some more pics:

Scoot's spine

Who doesn't love baby feet?

My baby's giant brain :o)

Hey look, I can post about something besides the baby!

We had a dip contest at work and believe it or not, my crab dip did not win. I know, shocking! Perhaps that was due in part to the fact that this onion dip was so amazing I had to vote against myself. The original recipe is from Ina Garten and is called Pan-fried Onion Dip. I've made a few changes to optimize, but my main suggestion- double the recipe. I haven't fed it to one person who didn't have to pause and give me the "OMG" look after their first bite.

Carmelized Onion Dip
3 medium onions, sliced into 1/8-1/4 inch slices- I use a mandolin. You want them pretty thin.
1/2 Tbs Butter
1/2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
scant 1/8 tsp cayenne (1/8 is pretty spicy for my palate, I try to go a little light)
1/2 c mayo (room temp)
1/2 c sourcream (room temp)
4oz (half package) of cream cheese (room temp)

In a medium skillet (large if you double the recipe), heat to medium-medium high and melt butter and olive oil together. Add onions, salt, pepper and cayenne and saute for 5 minutes until softened. Drop heat to medium-medium low (you kind of have to play the temp by ear, you want the onions cooking but not browning too quickly) and saute, stiring occasionally until onions are deeply carmelized. This can take from 25 minutes to an hour plus depending on a million different factors. Just be patient, its worth it. If you have a non stick pan its likely to go faster.

Once onions have carmelized, remove from pan and let them cool to room temp (or close to it). Put cream cheese in mixer and cream on medium for a minute or so. Then add sour cream and mayo and mix until thoroughly blended. Add cooled onions and mix until combined.

The longer you can refridgerate the better, overnight is best, but 4 hours is pretty darn good too. Let dip come to room temp if you can stand it before diving in, then serve with chips (I recommend something a little thicker to stand up to the dip, like wavy lays or kettle chips) Fairly easy but time consuming, the only trick really is to be patient with the onions.

My daughter is tickling the crap out of me

Big week here in preggoville! As you can tell by the title of the post, its a girl! And she's moving! Not like she hasn't been the whole time but now I can feel her and it is indeed super cool, and amazingly tickly!! I'm a super ticklish person so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that her movements would feel ticklish. I was wondering at first but now since the tickles are right where we were for the ultrasound, I feel pretty certain its her. She is so cool.

And yes, I'm so excited to have a daughter I could bust. I really never thought I'd get a girl after marrying a man with 4 generations of boys but sure enough a girl she is. I already bought her first shirt :o)

This is what I get for complaining about a smelly fridge

Ants people. I have Ants in my pantry! So gross! I've been spending the better part of the evening taking everything out of my pantry, throwing away everything opened (sigh) and wiping down everything else to make sure its ant free. And of course I have to wait for Scott to get home to finish, because I can't actually touch the ant traps. Oh and if anyone every tells you vinegar wards off ants- they lie. Sigh, I guess I should concentrate on the fact that I'm lucky enough to have food for ants to eat.... We'll see how well that works. Maybe if my skin wasn't crawling like they're all over me! Oh wait, I just killed one on my arm. I'm going to shower now. :o(

Learning to listen to my body

My body and I have a long and torrid history. Most of the time I hate it, although currently I'm a big fan of task its undertaking. Even though I've always been a large and in charge if you will, my body has for the most part cooperated with whatever endeavor I needed it to complete. Now to be fair, its not like I was asking it to run marathons or take hours of aerobic, but unlike many woman my size, I could always keep up with my friends at outings, didn't really huff walking up stairs etc. Part of this is because even if my body would yell at me, I'd tell it to be quiet and suck it up because it was a big fatty. Well no more.

I attended a wedding yesterday for an old friend. It was a GREAT wedding, one of those where everyone is out on the dance floor, having a great time, smiling to the end and begging the DJ to play just one more song. I danced my little heart out and had a great time. However as the evening wore on, I became increasingly aware that shaking of my booty was causing some pains in the front. Not crazy, OMG I'm going to die pain, but definite discomfort. So I stopped dancing for awhile and though tired, felt fine. But being my stubborn self, when I heard a song I HAD to dance to up, back I went to the dance floor...and back came the pain. I guess this is yet another sacrifice of motherhood, learning to listen to my body and sit on my fanny even though I still want to dance! Its not a big deal, its just for a season, but its just yet another example of how life changes oh so quickly when you're becoming mommy.

Peace out first trimester, don't let the door hit you on the way out!

Eek!!! 14 weeks down, 26 more to go!I'm excited to start feeling better, the nausea is definitely more sporadic and the tiredness is starting to wane also. I have had more headaches, however I'm not sure if that's pregnancy or ragweed season! I *think* I felt movement last night, but of course I'm not sure. It was a weird fluttering which is what everyone says to look for, but who knows. I like to think it was Scooter though and not gas :o)

I had my first appt with the new doctor's office on Monday and I LOVE THEM. Their thinking is much more in line with my own. That we watch but "baby's are remarkably efficient parasites" and most of the time everything turns out fine. YES! That is what I'm talking about. Really glad to have someone on the same page as me. I also got another quickie ultrasound cause they couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler yet based on my largess and scooter's still relatively small size. It was super cute to see the little bugger swimming around like crazy.

Looking forward to the second trimester! Let the shopping begin!!

The results are in...

I got my NT scan results back this week and things are looking very good! So you have your base chances by age and those can go up or down based on the results of your tests. Both Scooter's chance for Downs, as well as Trisomy 18 & 13 went down! Chance of Downs is 1 in 10,000, the lowest that test goes, and chance of the trisomies was 1 in 6800. Reassuring news most definitely :) Also, apparently the blood test can sometimes indicate problems later in pregnancy  (I'm guessing the alpha fetal proteins? Not sure and the genetic counselor didn't seem to understand the question) like preterm labor and preeclampsia  and those came back fine also. Good news all around!

Pictures from the NT scan

Hey Peeps!

I'm at work so I can actually scan pictures so I thought you may want to see.

Right next to his/her face is the left hand, waving Hi!!!!! Or scratching the nose, whatevs :o) Its crazy to me how much clearer everything is in four weeks. I mean, at 8 weeks I was excited to see some nubs and now you can see a profile! Madness.

So supposedly this is Scoot's arm, I guess I can kinda see it, but this is one of those that looks fuzzy to me. If you can see it, well then I'm glad I posted!

And in other news (and possible TMI, so consider yourselves warned!)

Ha, don't worry, still talking about the baby! Sorry if anyone is bored with it, but right now this is the center of the universe for me. In addition to getting the NT scan on Friday, I also had a consultation with perinatalogist. About 6 years ago, I had an abnormal pap smear and was treated in various fun and fabulous ways. The one that bought me the consultation however was called a LEEP, and basically they remove the affected part of your cervix. Mine was very small, and the doctor was very conservative. As a matter of fact, I've have several different doctors tell me that my cervix looks great. However, this is one of those procedures they don't play with, if you've had it, they want to monitor you closely because it can lead to cervical incompetence (meaning my cervix could start dilating early and I could lose the baby). Since cervical incompetence is a relatively easy fix (they sew your cervix closed until the end of the third trimester), they start checking you at 15-16 weeks and continue every two weeks for the remainder of the pregnancy to make sure things are tight.

Personally, I'm fine with this, because it means I get to check in on Scooter every two weeks. I might even get to find out the sex early since we're having all these ultrasounds. I'm really not worried about it, but appreciate the conservative take on it.

Modern technology is amazing

Today I had my NT scan and consult with the maternal fetal specialist. For those of you who are curious below is a quick low down of the NT scan:

What is the nuchal translucency screening test?

This prenatal test (also called the NT or nuchal fold scan) can help your healthcare practitioner assess your baby's risk of having Down syndrome (DS) and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems.

The NT test uses ultrasound to measure the clear (translucent) space in the tissue at the back of your developing baby's neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average.

The NT scan must be done when you're between 11 and 14 weeks pregnant. (The last day you can have it done is the day you turn 13 weeks and 6 days pregnant.) It's usually offered along with a blood test in what's known as first-trimester combined screening.

Like other screening tests, an NT scan won't give you a diagnosis. But it can assess your baby's risk for certain problems and help you decide whether you want to have chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis to find out whether your baby is actually affected.


In addition to checking the space behind the babies neck, they also check to see if a nasal bone is present, as many babies with Down's don't have the nasal bone present at this age. Although we won't get the official results for about a week, it looks like Scooter is most likely perfectly awesome! They look for the space to measure less than 2.8 mm and Scoot was 1.4! His/her nasal bone was also present and accounted for. We'll see what the blood test says but we are looking really good!

Most of you know my beliefs and feelings on kids, so more than determining if the child had any issues, I really just wanted a peek at my littler squirmer. It is amazing what 4 weeks can do, everything was so clear! I saw the arms and the legs, the hands, the feet, even the little toes. And I saw the baby move for the first time, in addition to hearing the most beautiful sound in the world- an amazing heartbeat at 161 bpm.

This is all starting to feel real. I was always excited and certainly felt pregnant, but I couldn't quite wrap my head around the fact that I'm going to have a baby. I think I was scared to truly accept it and then have it all taken away. But today is 12 weeks...and my baby is beautiful. My. Baby. Just writing those words brings tears to my eyes. I didn't know if I would ever get here, if my dreams were God's plan. I know that nothing is ever guaranteed, but today is magical and I'm going to embrace it.

Insomnia alternately titled Why I almost pushed my husband out of bed

Another week, another symptom! This one has actually been rearing its ugly head for awhile but this week it seems to really be kicking it into gear. I'm exhausted. I fall into bed at 10:00 (which for those of you who know me is EARLY) but somewhere between 2 and 4, I'm wide awake. I toss and turn trying to get to bed and curse my sweet husband who is slumbering loudly next to me, because of course, HE is the reason I can't get back to bed. I normally end up going downstairs and watching some tv and then slinking back to bed around 6 to try to catch up with a little sleep. Sometimes, I'll have the joy of getting sick during the middle of the night sessions too. And then I end up getting a headache from lack of sleep. Is the first trimester over yet?? (I still maintain I am grateful for all of this though, but sometimes I do ask myself what the heck I was thinking!!)

My new right hip

Fat Dog (aka Rodney) snuggling on the couch

Even before I knew I was pregnant (at least for sure!), I noticed that our lab was all up in my grill. And sure enough, his attention continues. Everywhere I go, he follows me. I sit on the couch, he begs to come up next to me. Even  the bathroom is no longer sacred, which I guess is great practice for when the kid won't let me go to the bathroom by myself! Since he was little he's always been Scott's dog, so it particularly amusing that he's now my best friend. Maybe he's just trying to soak up all the attention before there's a new chief in town! I'll be interested to see if he starts stalking the baby after s/he is out, or if he just feels the need to be near the gestating. Either way, you know me! I love attention any way I can get it! LOL

Happy Fetus Day!

Today's a big day in Scooter land! He/she is no longer an embryo and has officially entered fetushood! This is actually a very cool thing because it means that all vital organs and body parts are now in place and the main thing is growing now. In case anyone is wondering, below is a synopsis from baby center about where Scoot is in the developmental process:

How your baby's growing:

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Just in case anyone wanted to see

Scooter at 8weeks 4days

Here's Scooter's latest picture! At the very top is the yolk sac and the from the right to the left is the head, arms, body and feet.

For some reason I was in baltimore?

I had my first labor dream last night, although darn it I didn't have the baby to see if it was a boy or a girl! I keep waiting for that dream to see if it confirms my thoughts of boy. I was in my grandparents row home in Baltimore and I was laboring in the basement. It was one of those situations where I knew where I was but it didn't look like it. So funny. I also knew I was in labor but the pains we weird. I had gas pains in real life all night so maybe it was my body incorporating them.

I had my first OB visit last week, which was an exciting milestone. We got the best pic yet of the baby too, you can actually see the head and arms and legs. It really does bring it home there's a life in there!

I wasn't too pleased with the doctor. Its the practice I've been going to since I was 23, but the doctor I LOVED left to take care of her own kids and I haven't really felt happy there since. I'm considered high risk for a few reasons but I've been considered high risk for my whole life and am generally healthy. I felt like this doctor was already planning my bed rest and booking the hospital. That is not my thought process, I consider being high risk a reason to watch me closer, but not a reason to assume bad things are going to happen. I get it, I'm very realistic about the possibilities of what could happen, but statistics are just that, they are by no means a promise and I think its important to keep a positive attitude. In addition to that, they don't deliver at the hospital I'd like to use, so I'm going to be switching practices. I spoke with my SIL sister and she recommended her practice. I did some research online and I couldn't find a negative thing about them, crazy right? You always find negative reviews. So I'm excited to met with them and see how that goes.

Other than that I'm feeling pretty good. The few symptoms I have are always reassuring actually, its good to know things are progressing as they should!

I've also gone public! Its really nice to not have to hide it anymore, I'm excited to share with the world!

The milestone I could live without

So  I know its a bit early to start bragging, but I have the smartest child ever. Yes, its true. How do I know this? Because its only 8 weeks into its gestation and it can already tell time. It somehow knew that 8-10 weeks is when morning sickness is supposed to be at its worst and sure enough at midnight on the very day I turned 8 weeks, I broke the barrier from nausea to vomit. I'm so proud. Way to go Scooter!

....However, if you'd like to make this a one time thing, Mommy has no problem with that! I'm feeling that might be unlikely though as its currently 6:58 on the next day and I'm munching triscuits in bed. I'll repeat the mantra of the next 8 months, it'll be worth it!

Weird side note: There was very little nausea last night actually, maybe 2 minutes worth before the worship of the porcelain goddess? Strange new stage. Ah the joys of pregnancy, its like a box of chocolates :o)

A little scare and a lot of awesomeness

On Sunday, I had some weird pain/discomfort on my right side and it really freaked me out. I think you always go worst case scenario and I was straight thinking ectopic. All this for an ectopic pregnancy. I called my doctor and he was really sweet and reassuring, told me that was probably a cyst and I was instantly reassured. Phew. I was still uncomfortable but really don't care cause I just need Scooter to be okay. Pregnancy is pretty uncomfortable anyways!

On Tuesday, I saw the most awesome thing ever, Scooter on the ultrasound screen. It's still just a little peanut of cells, but we saw a heartbeat and I am sooooo happy. There's a baby in there! It really does feel like a miracle. I'm doing my best to stay positive and appreciate everyday but I'm still a little scared something could go wrong, however its becoming more real that there might be a bonafide actual baby at the end of this craziness!

I do have some cysts on my ovaries, which was also oddly reassuring since I'll have some random pain still and its good to know that its those and not anything wrong with the baby. I go back for another ultrasound next week so we can monitor them but then I think I start with the OB. They shouldn't be a big deal, so we just watch. Craziness!

Scooter's on his/her way!

I figured I might as well blog as I go even though I'm not ready to tell the world about this pregnancy yet. That's what they created time delay for right?

So yes, I'm pregnant and its finally starting to sink in. We had our second bloodtest on Monday (7/26) and the numbers were great, 2616 up from 71 10 days earlier, that's a doubling time of 46.1 hours. Which for the record, is great, they want you to double every 48-72 hours. I have my first ultrasound on Tuesday, 8/3. I'll be 6 weeks and 4 days along and hopefully we'll be able to see a heartbeat at that point

.As you can tell from the post title, we're calling the little one Scooter. We're planning on finding out and sharing the sex, assuming Scooter cooperates, but we're keeping the name to ourselves. The way I figure it there has to be some sort of surprise on the big day, you know? However, since my brother and sister in law just did the same thing, we learned that you have to call the baby something or else someone...like myself...ends up making up names for the baby. So scooter it is! For the record, I'm feeling boy but I've been known to be wrong, although don't tell my husband that.

I feel like things are going well though cause I have all sorts of fun symptoms. I am EXHAUSTED. I mean, I thought I knew tired before this, I was wrong. The struggle to stay conscious from 3:00 on is a very real thing. I truly hope I don't pass out at my desk. I get occasional nausea, but nothing unmanageable so far. And it shows up at all times of the day, mostly in the afternoon though. Triscuits are my new best friend. There are a few others but I'll spare you all the details :o) The biggest issue has been that I'm scared to death. This is all I've ever wanted for umm forever and having it so close to my grasps is a little daunting. I'm doing everything I can to make sure baby is healthy and I'm trying to remember that God's in control and I should just let go. Easy thing for a control freak like myself, ha!

More on Tuesday after the ultrasound.

How am I supposed to concentrate while this is going on?

It is GORGEOUS outside. Sunny, just a slight breeze and 72 degrees. This is the time of year when I lose all ability to concentrate on anything indoors. SPRING!!!! Please pray for me as I try to keep my job, since all I want to do is play. :o)

In other spring news, I have bulbs! Lots of bulbs! I'm so excited, it looks like tulips and daffodils but I guess I'll find out when they bloom. Its a lovely surprise, I was actually thinking of planting some when we first bought the house, now I am so glad I didn't.

SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No TV day 1

So I'm back from my vacation. It was so nice to have time alone with my Mom but I must say, I was a bit disappointed with the cruise. Just a bit, but still, its the mouse! I expected them to blow it out of the water. Figuratively of course :o) Perhaps I'll get into that at another date, but for now...

I had a great day! Holy snikes you can get a lot done when you're not stuck to the boob tube! I'm really enjoying this so far. My kitchen is sparkling, honestly I don't know if its ever been this clean. I took care of an errand for my cousin, took the dogs for a walk, weeded the garden, and made dinner. Honestly, if I wasn't TV free, I probably would have just vegged all day. This is much better! Now I just need to get my suitcase unpacked, I'm such a lazy bum.

Oh and the books! I've been a reading fiend for the past week and I LOVE IT. I forgot how wonderful it can be to lose yourself in a book. Now its off to bed to see what tomorrow brings. Ciao peeps!

Okay already, I get it!

Do you ever have times in your life where the same lesson keeps popping up over and over and over again? Lately God seems to be beating me about the head with something and it all finally crystallized for me last night.

Some background: I am a TV junkie. I don't even want to calculate how many hours I spend watching TV in a week because I very well could vomit when I see the number. But know this, I'm quite sure its horrifying. While I love great dramas, classics, documentaries, cooking shows, comedies; my favorite brand is reality TV. It started with american idol and went down hill from there. It just completely feeds into my need to know everything about everyone.

On Monday night I watched the Bachelor finale and while I don't think it tops Jason for smut, Jake certainly did his part to continue the long line of picking the pretty girl who is completely wrong for you (although calling Vienna pretty with that horrid blonde hair is a stretch, she should totally go with her natural color, it looked lovely from the roots and fits her complexion better) <<< See that? That snarkiness that quite literally just spilled from my fingers? This is why God is talking to me!

So anyway, last night for some reason instead of going straight to my list of recorded tv candy, I checked out the guide. Lo and behold, To Kill A Mockingbird is on. My favorite all time book, and a darn good movie! So cousin and I settle in to watch. WOW not a good moive, a great movie. Themes of love and family, understanding and the human condition. Of prejudice and pride, of sacrifice, of justice, of respect. The whole time I'm watching I'm thinking about how much more I am getting out of this experience compared to last night.

And then all the conversations and readings from the recent past  just start flooding my brain

• The conversation with a co-worker about quality programming and how many truly great shows there are right now, and how I watch ALL of them and more
• The blog of a mother who almost lost her son and how she's choosing to focus on not just the good things in life, but the best things. The eternal things. 
• Story after story of folks who live their life without tv
• Prayers to God to show me how to better myself, how to make myself worthy to be called Mom 
• My desire to give up something for lent, but having no clue what to do 

I have better things to do with my short time on this earth. So dun dun dun dah! I've decided to give up TV for a month, starting when I get back from vacation. (I am considering an American idol exemption, its only on once!) And after that, I'm limiting myself to 14 hrs a week, and I'm going to try to only watch shows that make me better in some way.

I'm both scared and excited. A lot of the time Hubs and I spend together is in front of the tv, and I'm not sure how he's going to take to losing his tv buddy. I'm more excited than anything, cause think of all the time I'm freeing up! All the books I can read! My house will be so clean!

Honestly, I feel like God has spoken to me, and to not listen would be disobedient. So I'm doing this thing, regardless of my feelings and I'm sure its the right path. What do you guys think? Anyone have any sort of experience here? Great book suggestions? Want to do lunch? I'll have time...

Bringing you up to speed

In chronological order:

• We found a house
• We bought a house
• My cousin Morgan came to stay with us (initially while she looked for a place, but people who want to rent rooms are CREEPY, so she's here indefinitely)
• We moved into said house on Dec 5th, during which we got 5 inches of snow
• Moved in for two weeks when snowpocalypse hit, 18" of snow- I still thought snow was fun at this point
• My parents came in for Christmas AND we had all the family Christmas's at my house, in-laws, my fam, my mom's extended fam- all within a 24hr period. All having just moved in 3 weeks earlier. I've since recovered my brain cells and will not be doing that again.
• January is a blur, I did a lot of unpacking and decompressing from the homebuying experience. There was also more snow. 
• In early February snowmaggedon hit, dumping a full 2 ft of snow. Then three days later, 12 more inches. I think I left the house twice in a week. I still had to work from home. It was lame. I now break out into tears and hide in a corner whenever I see snow in the forecast.
• Hubs turned 34! I got a migraine and he spent all day taking care of me. (Boo to that) I tried to make it up to him by making red velvet cake from scratch. Epic fail. At least his sheperd's pie turned out well.
• Snow is melting, Kristen is happier.

I reserve the right to blog about any and all of these events in detail at a later date. I also have some new recipes to post,  which are bangin. We also found mold on our pantry ceiling, discovered the leak that was causing it and determined that we need a second heatpump put in to effectively heat and cool our home but I'm blocking the chronological order of these events cause they make my head hurt.

Also, my husband has decided to caulk everything in our house, which is great, except he refuses to learn the right way to apply it, so its messy. And he thinks rope caulk is God's gift, so he uses it almost everywhere. Including the baseboards. (This might not sound like a big deal, but let me explain. Rope caulk is like putty, which means its slightly tacky. We have four animals in our house. So I have a grey, messy, tacky line along the perimeter of every room that is now teeming with fur) Sigh. I love him. I love that he's trying to make things better. If anyone has any tips on how I can focus more on the effort he's making and not the hours of work that his "help" is making for me I would really appreciate it. I feel like this is a skill will become an acute need once motherhood comes calling.

Okay, I pinky swear to blog more often than once every 6 months. Next weekend I'm heading to the Carribean for a Disney cruise with my Mommy! We plan to dominate all Disney trivia competitions, get a tan, and majorly relax. Hopefully that will provide some good blog fodder :o) Until then peeps!