This is just to say....

I'm taking the week off of blogging, as I think most people will not be sitting around waiting for my blog posts this week anyway (as I know you all are the rest of the year ;) ).

Catch you all in the new year!!!

Thanksgiving: Part II

This will be my last post before Christmas- so Merry Christmas! Hope you are all safe and surrounded by loved ones. And eating yummy food.

Yummy food, like on.... Thanksgiving? (Check out that transition!). When we go to the cabin, there are usually over 20 people there, so the spread is generally impressive.

There's some prep work, though a lot of cooking is done ahead of time:



The ever-important turkey:



Setting of the table (there are actually two big tables for this group):



Carving the ham:



Thinking about and writing down what you're grateful for this year, to share at the table later:



And finally, dinner is served!! I think my favorite dishes are always the sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and the cranberry sauce.





Then after dinner, there must be board games! Lots of board games!



And playing with all the cute kids:



And finally, making whipped cream for pie!!

Thanksgiving: Part I

Okay, okay, so I know this week is Christmas. But what better time to talk about family getting together- right? Right???

Sorry this post is so late, but I really still wanted to share some photos with you all. We had planned all the way back in April or so to surprise Kevin's family with a visit over Thanksgiving. We had told them we would be staying in Baltimore for the holiday, and luckily no one suspected (we had an insider too, to help with logistics).

We arrived in Colorado and got to see my family for a short period, then headed up to the mountains early Thanksgiving morning where Kevin's family celebrates the holiday. It was so fun to surprise everyone!!!

We didn't announce the other big news right away, but I think like half of the family (Kevin's immediate family already knew) figured it out before we announced it right before Thanksgiving dinner. :)

Anyway, the photos! The delicious food usually begins with yummy appetizers:





There were lots of cute kids there this year- including our nephew. :)



Kevin was constantly surrounded by kids- they love him! He'll be such a good dad:



Here's the beautiful cabin where we are fortunate enough to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with Kevin's family:



And the views of the Collegiate Peaks. Can't beat that view!!! Nowhere in Maryland looks like this :).



Next up: the Thanksgiving meal!!

Sunday Meditation: William Carlos Williams

This is Just to Say
by William Carlos Williams



I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

Baby Update: 15 weeks

So baby updates. This belly is growing! It's like I can feel it constantly stretching.

Let's see how the baby bump is coming along. Photo on the left was taken at 7 weeks pregnant. Photo on the right is at 15 weeks. I apologize for the terrible quality of these photos. Lighting is very good in our bathroom.



This week:

1) Baby's equivalent fruit size? A Navel Orange. (By the way, Kevin wants to create some alternate baby size scale according to freakish creatures. Like this week, baby'd be the size of hairless mole rat or something equally terrifying, just because it would be hilarious. I thought I would post a sample of what I think he's picturing here. I think I'll stick to fruit!).

2) How am I feeling? Pretty good overall. No nausea anyway. But lots of air in my stomach. I feel like I'm constantly needing to burp. Lovely.

3) Cravings? I'm actually having a lot less weird cravings now that I'm out of 1st trimester. Citrusy stuff sounds pretty good (orange, anyone? ;)). I've been loving cheese lately.

4) Baby discoveries of the week? I have to mention something that I got a few weeks ago- an Angelsounds at-home doppler. Okay, it's been a little scary a couple of times when I couldn't find the heartbeat, but overall I love having it. It's so great when appointments are so far apart to know that the baby's heart is still beating away in there. I try not to use it too much but I probably use it every 2-3 days. And Kevin and I recorded the heart beat! What a precious sound. I love listening to it. I'm going to try to attach the clip here (if it doesn't work, visit this link):



Check this out on Chirbit

Sandy Springs Adventure Park

Awhile back (okay, like 3 months ago) we bought Groupons for Sandy Spring Adventure Park. We went with a bunch of friends and weren't sure what to expect.

You guys, this place was so cool.

This is how the website describes it: "In 5 wooded acres is an aerial forest ropes park consisting of platforms installed in trees and connected by various configurations of cable, wood, rope and zip lines to form bridges. Groups of bridges link together to form separate courses."

It's basically a ropes course- but all the ones I've been on are usually strictly guided. At this park, you are given safety instructions, but the course is set up in such a way that you always have to be strapped in- one carabiner always is attached to a line (you can't disengage one of you carabiners without the other one being locked). In this manner you can move through a course, which has all kinds of different obstacles in the trees- including zip lines.

Whee! Here I go!!



The harder courses are higher and more challenging. You're required to do a basic course before you tackle the intermediate and difficult courses. Even the basic courses offer some challenges, but they can go a little slow if you get behind little kids or people afraid of heights. ;) Kevin and I did the basic course together- then he decided to tackle the most advanced course offered (of course). I went to do an intermediate course.



Apparently, only like 1 in 8 people finish the advanced course (if you get stuck, they'll send a guy up to rescue you)- and Kevin did it! He's like a monkey, my husband.

I did good on the intermediate course- definitely some tricky parts, but I have to say, I think I was more fearless than the college-aged boys in front of me :).



It took about 4 hours to do two courses. If you return, you don't have to do the basic course again- you can go right to intermediate or advanced. Though the advanced course didn't look like very much fun to me, since so many people get stuck. I think I'd stick to basic or intermediate. But there were a ton of courses we didn't get to, so it definitely has opportunities for multiple visits. It would be a totally awesome place for kids' birthday parties (ages 7 and up). We saw a lot of little kids having the time of their lives.



Anyway, we had a great time, and if you're in the area, I would highly recommend it!

Sunday Meditation: Robert Hayden

Those Winter Sundays
By Robert Hayden

Sundays too my father got up early
And put his clothes on in the blueback cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.

I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he'd call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,

Speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?


photo credit

Curried Couscous with Broccoli and Feta

This is one of my favorite recipes of all-time, given to Kevin and I by Kevin's mom. It is sooo good! I just love it. Couscous can be so bland, but this combination is anything but- there's just so much good stuff in here!

Ingredients (5 servings):

1.75 cups water
1 cup uncooked couscous
1.5 cups small broccoli florets
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1.5 tsp curry powder
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
3/4 tsp salt
1 15oz can garbanzo beans/chickpeas
3/4 cup crumbled feta (or more. I usually end up using the whole package)

Directions:

1) Bring 1.75 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan, gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork (I love how easy and fast it is to cook couscous!!)

2) While couscous stands, steam broccoli florets (I usually just do this in the microwave).

3) Combine couscous, broccoli, onion, and next 10 ingredients (onion through garbanzo beans), tossing gently (use a big bowl for this, it ends up being a lot of stuff!). Sprinkle with feta and serve.

Big News

Perhaps the real reason I've been a bit more MIA on this blog in the last month.....

Kevin and I are expecting a baby in June!!

We are so thrilled. We finally told the whole family over Thanksgiving, and I just told work today, so now I can post about it on the blog.

We got the positive pregnancy test at the very end of September:

We had the first ultrasound at 6 weeks (hard to see much but you could actually see the little heartbeat flickering at this point- amazing!). I love my OB-gyn practice so far! They've been great. All women, and 2 out of 4 of them are currently pregnant themselves. :)



Here is the baby at 8 weeks (I can't believe how fast they grow in just a couple of weeks):



And 10 weeks (baby has legs!! not much of a neck, but legs!!):



And finally our most recent scan- at 12.5 weeks (more importantly, baby's measurements were very healthly and normal looking):

Some common questions answered (since I've been getting them a lot):

1) How far along are you? I'm currently about 13.5 weeks.

2) Was this planned? Yes, Kevin and I decided that if we waited for the perfect time to have a baby, we were likely to be well into our 40's with Kevin's journey to becoming a doctor, and that med school was probably going to be better than residency for having a baby.

3) Will you find out the sex? Yes, in January.

4) Will you go back to work? Yes, I love my job, plus I'm currently making the income :). I'll likely be taking 8 weeks of maternity leave. Is it enough? Probably not, but I blame that on the U.S. maternity policies that are vastly inferior to many other countries (not that I'm bitter).

5) How do you feel? I actually think I probably had it easy compared to some pregnant women. From weeks 6-11 I had all-day nausea and exhaustion, but only one episode of actual puking. :) The last couple of weeks I've felt a lot better for the most part- but still occasional bouts of nausea.

6) Are you showing? I think I am- though maybe only if you're looking. I actually had a security guard ask me about 3 weeks ago if I was expecting! I couldn't believe it. I'm glad I was or I would have been really offended!!

Anyway, I'm excited to share with all my blog readers the big news- and glad that I can now share stories as they come along. I'm happy to be in the 2nd trimester, and hoping that the rest of the pregnancy continues as smoothly as the 1st trimester- please think good thoughts for me!

Camera Practice

I'm sorry I've been a bit MIA this week- I have lots of posts planned, I just need to sit down and write them. Anyway, here are some pictures I took when I was home for Thanksgiving (did I mention we flew home to Colorado for Thanksgiving to surprise Kevin's family? It was a blast!). These are some photos I took at my parents' house one day. More to come! (but these are just the artsy ones).

I've been working on my bokeh technique:

I love this one- just the blues and greens together.



My mom is a gardener and she has so many great little nooks with cute pots and plants in the yard! Even in winter there are lovely things to look at:

More bokeh (by the way, bokeh just refers to the blurry circular blobs in the background, from what I can tell anyway):



Macro shot!



And this is kind of funny- I was editing this photo below when I realized that there's a spelling error- do you see it? I've probably looked at this stone many times in my parents' yard and never noticed it before: