Category: Uncategorized (Page 112 of 188)

I’ve had a variety of pregnancy-induced thoughts lately. So much so that on my work “facebook” page the About Me section says, “yes, it does always seem like I’m pregnant.” The belly has busted out of hiding (though I can still wear my big jeans, but it’s a rotation of just a few pair). I drag my feet longer and longer each time before digging into the maternity tubs. And I forget that though the shock has worn off for me, some people are just hearing about the future addition, so it’s getting tough to keep a straight face as they react to the news.

I realized just last night that my belly button has spent more time out than in over the course of the last 2.5 years. The second pregnancy it popped by the halfway point. This time around I’m not sure it even waited until the first appointment with the midwife. I’m going to make my future millions by creating and marketing Belly Button Tape to help obscure this tale-tell sign. I’ll make it with cute decorations so that I can look at that instead of the innards of my belly-b while I take a bath.

This week marked the first appearance of the achy-aches in the back and hips that were present the past 2 rounds. I’ve been doing some yoga lately and I’m wondering if the extra movement is what triggers the flair ups (which is probably a sure sign I’m doing something wrong). Perhaps I SHOULD just park it on the leather chair with a jar of pickles.

This time, more than in the past, I battle middle-of-the-night insomnia. Last night I wrote a sermon (though no one has actually asked me to preach; however it was a very good sermon. I was funny and engaging and had a solid spiritual point). I’ve contemplated the hiring process for my current client at work. I considered the practices of men in the process of leaving their wives. You know, the norm. I have not yet awoken my husband to discuss the governmental treatment of Japanese-American citizens circa-WWII. His reaction last time served as a warning that perhaps this was not acceptable behavior.

And the JUNK food (which would trigger the addition of the previously mentioned yoga). Sour gummies, fruit snacks (that I pretend are sour gummies to be good to my teeth), anything tangy sweet – it makes my mouth water. I included the dried fruit snacks on the list this evening when husband had to make a run for dogfood, but he returned with nothing. So I devoured half a bag of sour green grapes. I could go for more, I’m not going to lie. If anyone out there lives in the vicinity of a Target and wants to ship me 874 packages of the Dried Fruit Twists by Archer Farms (strawberry mango, please), you’d probably get  public praise on a well-hidden blog. I was silly enough to think 2 bags would last me a while. In this case, “a while” meant 3 days.

I also have a new theory. With each added child, time goes much faster after they arrive, but much slower before they are born. I can’t believe I’m not even to the half way point! Somebody had to have added 5 weeks to my first trimester.

So that’s life at the moment. How fortunate am I that these are the biggest things weighing on my mind at the current moment? Yes, I’ll take a sec and be grateful for that.

As a present for graduating college, KLR was given her dream trip. She excitedly chose to visit Austria, as it was the site to The Sound of Music, her favorite movie (or musical. Or show. Or all of the above. I’m not sure, I actually have never seen it. I’m surprised she’s still friends with me). And she chose for her mama to accompany her. Her bookshelf now bears pictures of her and her mother acting out favorite scenes as the main characters. Knowing how the story ended for her mother just a few short years later, I’m sure these memories hold an indescribable place in her memory.

But this is just the backdrop to the story.

KLR mentioned that every time they sat down to a meal, which nearly always included wine, her mother would take a picture of the platter before taking a bite. She wanted to savor the memory later. Not of landscape or of hotel rooms where they stayed, but of the gastronomic nature of the trip. I never met the woman, but I think I would secretly try to emulate these types of endeavors.

After moving to Upper, I only met Debbie through story. She was an art and TAG (“tall and gangly” was a favorite McCallisterism) teacher who had an appreciation for the obscure. She could look at a barn door and see a coffee table. She created stained glass projects in her basement. She brought turkeys to school in the back of obscenely small vehicles (a ACG favorite tale). And instead of seeing food as a means to satisfy the tummy, she knew it could satiate the soul.

I’ve never had much of an artistic eye. I’m notoriously utilitarian. A tree is a means to apples or annoying nuts in the yard to mow over or rake. Color is a method of describing “which one”. So hearing that something like a sandwich can be captured on film in a way that evokes emotions and not just saliva baffles and intrigues me at the same time.

Lately there’s been an uprising of semi-to-pseudo professional photographers. Many of them are very, very good (I’m FB friends with several). A few might just have nice cameras and great ambition, but they all have something I envy: an eye that sees the world with brighter color. With the right light and shade and angle, you see something beyond.

I can appreciate that people like Debbie – and those places where her presence continues to shine through, like KLR – can challenge me to look at things, even food, in new ways. It’s not simply there to be consumed, but enjoyed – and in the case of photography, we can enjoy it over and over again. 

I am in possession of a new book (*Note: it is not the book I ordered from Barnes & Noble. That one still has not arrived. The website is too difficult for me to figure out how to turn in the issue to customer service. I’m appalled by B&N. The rest of this gift card will be used after browsing the store). Second Nature is by Michael Pollen, a favorite of mine, and I’m all kinds of excited to be peering into the gardening season. So, in my pre-read, I want to list some of my future garden goals for the year. Now, remember, this kid is due to arrive anywhere between July 2-14. So, though my goals remain high, I believe there should be some grace in any failures I might encounter. I’m not amish, after all.

In the garden:
Tomatoes – roma and a beefysteak. Lots ‘o them, so we can make salsa (by we, I mean husband), pizza sauce and a generic tomato sauce as a base for soups.
Onions – Lots ‘o them. Because we rarely cook a meal without an onion
Green beans – these should be BUSH beans, not POLE beans. Lesson learned last year
Peas.
Squash- perhaps a butternut or spaghetti
Eggplant – 1 plant would suffice
Green peppers – 4 or 5 plants
Hot pepper – last year we had a serrano and a poblano. But that’s really the salsa maker’s department
Garlic – already in the ground! (How proud of me Dan W. will be?!)
Cucumbers – I’d like one plant. That’s all. I don’t love them, but husband loves a good cool cucumber “salad”
Zucchini – one plant. These buggers seem to multiply in their sleep. It used to be that you had to lock your car in the summer or someone would fill the back seat with them, but a friend looked for zuccs this summer past and couldn’t find any! So perhaps I should contribute. For bread and fried goodness.
Sweet potatoes – I know nothing about growing these, but they make the best baby food, so I’d like to stock up.
Lettuce
Spinach

I’m hoping that this book fills me in on some strategy to save space, placement for success and a better understanding of when to put what in the ground and to anticipate some reward. If I can be strategic about what goes in after the lettuce is done for the summer, I’d like to plan.

And we can’t forget the herbs:
Oregano (I think this will come back from last year)
Basil (we were very successful with this last year)
Chives
Parsley
Rosemary
I need to do further research into what makes a good pizza sauce.

Nothing gets you through a January night like thinking about May!