My Cooking Venture

If you remember a couple weeks ago I decided to jump in and finally attempt to make Nick's mom's/nana's homemade meatballs and marinara recipe (here) and I didn't do too bad. Both Nick and I were pretty impressed that everything turned out similar to how it tastes when his mom makes it. (Score 1 point for me!)

Fast forward to Wednesday night of this week (remember in my early Wed morning post, I planned my grocery shopping list focused around new recipes: here) - I left work earlier than normal and hit up Hy-Vee for a long list of groceries. I was planning to make four meals that would feed us through the rest of the week/weekend for both lunch and dinner. What did I make, you ask?

• For dinner that night, I found a recipe online for taverns (yes, we call them taverns, not sloppy joes, in our small town) and they turned out damn good. (1 point)

• Nick's mom's lasagna recipe. I always loved when she would whip one of these up and on her Omaha trips put one in our freezer. I attempted this creation and for my first time EVER making lasagna I would have to say I did good. However, where the recipe said to cook the noodles til they are "almost" done? I failed here, the noodles were still a bit hard. Plus, the last layer of cheese melted completely around the top layer of noodles and it just didn't look as yummy as it does when his mom makes it. (0.5 points)

• On the Cooking Light website, I found a recipe for Chipotle Chicken Chile, which I figured Nick would LOVE. I made it (proud of myself for sauteeing real chicken, not using the stuff from a can) and it just didn't seem too appetizing - very watery and the stewed tomatoes didn't seem to cook all the way. I love how Nick tried it and said "if I put enough crackers in it it should taste ok." Thanks for trying to make me feel better, buddy. (0 points)

• From the same website, I pulled off a Creamy Tomato Balsamic Bisque recipe that I figured would be perfect to bring to work for lunch each day. It took 50 minutes to cook the basic mixture at 500 degrees in the oven only to have to then pour it into the blender to mix (note to other new cooks out there: despite having the lid on the blender and holding it down with your hand - steaming hot, red liquid will STILL spray out, burning your hand and staining one of your favorite tanks...) Then it asked to put the mixture in a sieve to sift out the big pieces....well if you forget to put the bowl under the sieve the soup will go down the drain....seriously I'm a lost cause. (0 points)

All in I give my attempt 1.5 points out of 4 total. Definitely not great, but I'm not giving up. You will see more of my conquests posted here as I encounter them. Wish me luck!

Don't Judge Me

One thing you cannot do to a pregnant woman (or maybe it's just me...) is tempt me at lunch time...when I'm starving. I was going to bring my lunch to work today, but didn't and figured I would get something to tide me over in the employee dining room (EDR). Every day our employees can get a salad, sandwich or soup for free in our EDR. I don't use this amenity as often as I should because to be honest it's not as scrumptious as it sounds and the quality is what I'd call subpar. Today I wasn't expecting anything different BUT when I went in there, what did I find....

Yep, a warm pretzel, tortilla chips AND warm nacho cheese. Can you say YUM?  So naturally I did what anyone in my position would do - I skipped right past the salad and soup and made a beeline for the cheese. I'm not going to lie, I may have knocked over a cocktail server in my dive for the last pretzel, but it was well worth it. I figure I'm knocking out two of the food groups with my choice: dairy and grain. Plus I have a banana and some pickles I brought for a snack later that will round out everything but protein. All in I think I did pretty good. A well balanced and delicious lunch...(yes, I am using that excuse to justify eating this meal and I'm ok with it).



Angels Among Us

Angels Among Us

Quite often every day tasks get me stressed and busy and I'm not able to focus on the things that matter. It takes a day like yesterday when I was working on Angels Among Us tasks to bring me out of my bubble and help me realize that things could be much worse or difficult to handle. I've been on the Angels Among Us board of directors since 2008 and it has truly been a rewarding experience. Everything we do in this orgnization is geared toward raising money to help families who have a child battling cancer.

When I was more involved in the family advocacy part of this program, I was able to work with the families more directly and to hear some of their stories was absolutely heartbreaking. Most of these parents had to quit their jobs in order to make it to doctor's appointments and treatments with their children in hopes they could find a cure to make them better. They were stressed about paying every day bills while out of work, but were trying to balance that stress with maintaining a positive demeanor for their child. That's why Angels is so special - we are able to work with these families and pay some of their monthly bills so they can focus on their child during this difficult time.

One of the families we helped in the past had triplet girls and one of their triplets had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Recently she went into remission which is such an amazing thing for that family. Earlier this week, they contacted us and gave us heartbreaking news, one of their other triplets has been diagnosed with ALL and they asked if they could go back on the Angels program. It's hard for me to imagine how this family can go through so much not only with one of their children, but now to have to go through the same thing with another child is devastating. That is the most difficult thing about being involved with Angels, hearing what these families are having to go through with their young kids. No child or family should ever have to experience this disease.

I am very fortunate to have gotten involved in this organization and while I have different types of stresses in my life, I realize that what I am going through doesn't even compare to that of these families - so taking hours out of my week to plan our upcoming events or attend board meetings is simply one small thing I can do to help and I'm lucky to have the opportunity.

Check us out:
http://www.myangelsamongus.org/

A New Ride

Five years ago Nick got a new truck and we loved that truck. It was a diamond white Cadillac Escalade and a perfect fit for him.  Flash forward to now and our beloved truck was giving him problems - randomly it wouldn't start and we could jump it but it wasn't guaranteed to start the next time he tried it. Last week it wasn't consistently starting and after he took it in they said it was the alternator and would cost $400. After they fixed the alternator it still wasn't working and now they needed to replace the fuel pump - another $1,000 to fix. That was it....we decided it was time to trade it in.

After looking around, we found a black Chevy Avalanche - very similar body style tot the Escalade and a really nice truck! It has navigation, DVD player....fully loaded. The day Nick traded was definitely bittersweet, but I think he is going to LOVE driving his new truck. Plus as little man grows up, the DVD player will be perfect for long drives!

Can't Sleep....

Well this is a first in a long time....I have been up since 3:30am and cannot sleep. I rolled around in bed for a while and then decided I wouldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to make use of my time and knock some things off my to-do list. This is what my early morning consisted of:

• Planned my grocery shopping list - Nick's mom sent me some more recipes to try (I wanted some of Nick's old favs) and I'm going to grocery shop tomorrow night (ummm....I guess it would be tonight) for some of the ingredients, plus a few other items we desperately need.
• Folded laundry
• Picked up the house
• Sent out a couple work emails
• Uploaded Marketing Calendars for the Host Team
• Paid bills
• Looked over my diet and decided I'm going to try to cut out Starbucks (except for one-off occassions) for the time being - there is no benefit this provides me (except for pure enjoyment) but they are full of useless calories, no nutritional value, cost about $4.50 a pop....plus I need to drink more water.

If there is a silver lining to being awake right now - besides checking those items off my to-do list - it's that I can't make an excuse not to work out this morning. Here's to working on my fitness...

Wedded Bliss

On Sunday, Nick and I celebrated our two year anniversary. We had talked about going out of town for the weekend, but then decided that we were going to save our money and put it toward our wood floors - which we would get many, many hours of enjoyment from. Instead, we decided to take a mini getaway and booked a room downtown at the new Hotel Deco - I had been dying to stay there since I heard it opened.

It's located in the landmark Redick Tower and had been completely remodeled in the last year. We stayed in the king suite and the room did not disappoint. After we got settled, we headed down to the Zin Room - the new restaurant at Hotel Deco and had appetizers and drinks (Nick). It was a fun space - I can't wait to go back when I can enjoy the many bottles of wine they offer.

Hoted Deco - Living Room (loved the chaise!)

The black & silver wallpaper was gorgeous!

Loved the gray, black and white color scheme throughout the suite.

After apps, we went to Cantina Laredo at Midtown Crossing for dinner. Nick had never been and I love it - one of the last times I was there, I had recently found out I was preggers and was at dinner with Mom & Tessa and had to hide the fact I wasn't drinking - later that night I told Mom the news! We wanted to go to a movie after dinner, but there wasn't one until later, so we went back to the room to relax....and ended up staying in the rest of the night.

This morning we had brunch at Wheatfields and then went and test drove a truck - Nick is thinking about trading his in. We came home and I finished the day painting the nursery. We had a great, relaxing anniversary - I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate two years of wedded bliss together!

24 Weeks: What's New...(6 months!)

Due date: November 21st....the date has moved up a week which means Little Mango will be coming into our lives sooner than we thought!

Baby developments: little man is the size of a papaya and his face is now fully formed...minus the baby fat. He is more than 11 inches long and weights just over a pound. The sounds that his increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now - such as our barking dog - probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

How I'm changing...in the past few weeks, the top of my uterus has risen above my belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball (now that is why my belly is SO big these days).

Weight gain: 2lbs (9 total pregnancy) - OMG growing at least a pound a week. Not used to this!

Cravings: Diet Mt Dew hands down has been my major craving. Decaf doesn't seem to do the trick, but I'm trying to subsitute that when I can. Cold Clausen pickles, Goldfish crackers, popcorn and desserts - I have to have something sweet after dinner!

Aversions: nothing new to note.

Symptoms: leg cramps continue to plague me at night, in addition to the nose bleeds I blogged about last week and my ever growing boobs. I finally dragged myself into Vickies to pick up a new bra and get measured - I'm a officially a 34D! Wowzers

I am loving: all of the maxi dresses and work dresses I've been wearing. I've moved almost completely away from pants - they are just not comfortable anymore, plus they don't fit. I am not a fan of the pant-line I have at the end of the day.

Sleep: has been good, however, I'm starting to wake up in the middle of the night for a bathroom run. Other than that I've been sleeping well.

I miss: it's a double-edged sword - I wish I could fit into my jeans, shorts and work pants. I have seen some gorgeous tops that I would love to buy but I have no bottoms to wear them with! Come fall I'm definitely going to be wearing a lot of leggings and tunics...that I can promise you.

I'm spazzing about: finalizing a pediatrician - I want to check another to-do off our list.

Best moment this week: Nick finally felt him move outside my belly - he was laying his head on my stomach and Cruz kicked him pretty good! At one point this morning you could feel him laying just below my belly button on the left side and there was a noticeable bump there versus the other side.

Milestones: only four more months to go. I painted the nursery today and have ordered some items for it that should be coming in this week. I need to finalize bedding, the rocker, curtains, a rug and a few other things to help it all come together. Plus, we need to get the wood floors put in - this will more than likely be done in September.

Movement: a lot of movement - usually right away in the morning and when I'm winding down for the night. He is a very active little guy!

It's a....: BOY!

Exercise: all at home this past week. Walk/runs with Maya and then light arms & legs in the basement afterwards. My plan is to continue this workout plan or some form of it - goal of four times a week minimum.

Diet: definitely not enough fruits & veggies.

Goals for the upcoming week: eat better, workout...you know the usual.

Belly shot:

24 Week and growing strong!