Today

I borrowed this great little meme post from Benita over at Chez Larsson

Today...

Outside my window... scorching heat at 97 degrees, but believe it or not, this is relief from the past few days of triple-digit weather.

I am thinking... about all the birthdays I get to celebrate at this time of year.

I am thankful for... children who nap at the same time.

From the kitchen... cookies and cream ice cream.... mmm my favorite, though not helping with my efforts to lose the post-partum belly.

I am wearing... a brown gaucho skirt from Target, and vintage-style brown tee.

I am creating... nothing right at the moment, but I have a few ideas up my sleeve if I can ever find the time.

I am going... to take a nap... if I ever get off the computer!

I'm reading... lots of blogs, Parents magazine, and Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama

I am hoping... our offer is accepted on the house we want!

I am hearing... the whirrrrrr of the a/c and the silence of a house with sleeping children.

Around the house... my cats are sprawled out, stretching as much as possible, trying to stay cool

One of my favorite things... knowing my maternity leave isn't quite half over.

A few plans for the rest of the week... heading to my dad's house for a weekend barbecue to celebrate the his 60th birthday, and my sister's boyfriend's 29th!

A picture to share...

This week has been a strange one.

I received a call from my midwife while I was a work last Wednesday, letting me know that she was faxing over a letter to my supervisor that I was to stop working and go home and rest. My baby looks healthy, but she is a small one, and they are being cautious. And, we will be welcoming her into the world a little early...

I did my best to wrap things up at work over the next hour, cleaned out my desk, and drove home in kind of a daze. What just happened?

I picked up Addison from school and we went out for ice cream. I was prepared to give him this big mom-to-son talk about how things had changed, how his baby sister would come early, and how I wasn't going to be working anymore, and would just be resting. In my head, I carefully crafted sentences and vocabulary that he would be able to understand and wouldn't be alarming. Well, I must have done a good job, because I was surprised that he didn't have any questions. Basically, it went like this:
"Ok, mom. Can I have a bite of your ice cream? Wanna try mine?"

And that was that.

The rest of the week has been easy on my body and spirit, and my family and friends have been extremely supportive, bringing food, flowers, magazines, helping out with Addison, and doing some light cleaning. Its the transition time I didn't even know I needed, but it has given me a chance to fill up on "me" time before I give so much of myself over to this new little girl.

It has been an emotional week too, with much time to stew over the coming changes and obsess over the things I hope will or won't happen, but mostly its been fun and relaxing.

Last night Ben and I went on what is very likely the last date night to be had in some time. We enjoyed a relaxed and romantic dinner at a cute, authentic feeling italian restaurant called Lorenzo's.




My black linguini with scallops and shrimp was delicious, but things really got interesting when I started having regular contractions for about an hour (Ben, of course, had to time them all on his ipod Touch). We started getting excited and realized how quickly our lives could change at any moment...

But the contractions subsided and we headed to see Away We Go.















What a perfect movie for us to see. Not only was it hilarious, but is was a very sweet story about love, and finding what you need among what you already have. Go see it!

Now its a new day, and I'm doing my best to appreciate each moment as it is. I don't know how to end this post, except to say, I hope you're enjoying the now, today, too!

I've been tagged! Here's me...

Sweet Senacia tagged me for a little meme.

Seven little known facts about me!

1. I was a mother before I could legally drive a car.
2. I could eat an avocado every day of my life and never tire of them!
3. I was born in small mining town in Idaho and I've never been back since we moved away when I was an infant.
4. An estimated 90% of my wardrobe was either thrifted, free, given to me as a gift or hand-me-down, or purchased at a very deep discount.
5. Since I was a little girl, the only thing I've ever really wanted to be was an artist... or Jane Goodall.
6. I have color-graphemic synesthesia
7. I love to cook, as long as I don't have to measure anything precisely.
   

Thanks Senacia!

Meme: 100 foods to try or not to try

Stefania, over at CityMama, posted her Omnivore's Hundred, and it looked fun. Unfortunately, I'm not as well-versed in culinary adventurism as I'd like to say I was. I tapped out at 50! (but half ain't bad, no?)

Want to try it?

Here’s what you do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Italicize any items that you would never consider eating.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos Rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (does alligator count?)
6. Black pudding (no. way.)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush.
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13.PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (Umeshu!)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese (no weird meat products for me, thank you)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O shots
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal ( I had to google it. I don't like too much heat in my foods)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (overrated in my opinion)
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S'mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (huh? I googled this and its like kaopectate?)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis (ewwww)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (see # 68)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (oh hells yes.)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini (nope but dang that sounds yummy)
81. Tom Yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Which thing should be next on my list of things to try?
If you've eaten one of the things that I haven't tried yet, tell me why I should!