Happy Thanksgiving!

November 2009

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  We are grateful for our wonderful families and the opportunity to spend time with everyone this weekend!  We have a busy four day weekend planned with baby blessings, Thanksgiving dinners, birthday celebrations, and family get-togethers...I'm sure I will be sharing pictures for some time to come.  Enjoy your holiday weekends!

Happy Birthday Emma!

We love you!

Lucy, Sedated

Found some pictures we took of Lucy when we were having to sedate her after her surgery. Such a mopey looking puppy!  And droopy red eyes!  So glad she doesn't look like this all of the time!

Pizza

Pizza has been near the top of my dinner list these past few weeks. Honestly, it's always near the top of my dinner list, I've just been giving in more.  It always sounds goods, it's easy to make, it fills us up, and we don't feel gross after. Hard to find many meals that meet all of those requirements. We had pizza twice for dinner last week. Is that bad? The first time, we had our usual pizza style, they end up like this. The second time, we mixed it up a little and had tomato, onion, basil, and goat cheese.  It was delicious!

First Snow!

We had our first snow here! And it is cold! Up around our house, the snow came with a very strong wind making going outside not so enjoyable. It snowed a decent amount last night, but a lot of it got blown into drifts, making it hard to measure exactly how much we got. Lucy was so excited about it that we took her out to play last night while it was dark. And then today, we braved the wind and ice and went to the very empty dog park to let her run around some more. Here are about a million pictures!

All of those footprints are hers!

Look at how the wind is blowing her face and ears around!

Still for once

Mid leap

A little gallop

Can you tell how many of her feet are touching the ground in this picture?

She tended to go for the deepest drifts!

Look at those ears flying!

And I was still cold

But for some reason Lucy wasn't cold enough to be deterred from digging her face in the snow.  Funny dog!

And, if you want to see why we took still photos instead of video, check out the sound on this video clip.

Ginger Candy

My sweet husband has been trying to find solutions to help me feel better. Upon realizing that drinking peppermint tea and sucking on lemon drop candies (not together) both help some, and then reading that ginger is supposed to help soothe morning sickness, he decided to combine all three. And he made me some ginger-peppermint-lemon hard candy to suck on.  So far it hasn't "cured" me, but it has helped so that I'm not actively throwing up all day long.  Which was kind of putting a damper on my teaching.  Bonus:  These candies are delicious!

My sleepy face, ready to eat my delicious candy

Delicious!

1/3 cup freshly minced ginger
1/3 cup fresh mint
splash of lemon juice
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup

• Take the minced ginger, fresh mint, and lemon juice and put it in 1 1/2 cups water. 
• Boil it, then let it simmer for 20 minutes. 
• Strain out the ginger and mint, and add water if needed to the liquid to make a cup. 
• Put the liquid in a 3 or 4 quart saucepan (nonreactive material such as pyrex or steel) with sugar and corn syrup. 
• Put a candy thermometer in and bring it to a boil, stirring. 
• Lower the heat until the liquid is at a steady simmer, and don't stir it at all. 
• If crystals form along the sides of the pan, wet a basting brush or pastry brush with water and wash down the sides with it. 
• Grease a 7x10 metal pan with vegetable shortening. 
• When the liquid reaches about 290-300 degrees on the thermometer, spoon out a small bit and drop it into cold water. 
• If it's hard, not chewy at all, it's ready to take off the heat and pour into the pan. 
• Let it cool in the pan for a bit, and when its solid enough to hold the mark, score it with a knife to make it easier to break into pieces. 
• Let cool completely, remove from the pan and break up, then toss with powdered sugar so pieces don't stick together. 
• Store in an airtight container in a cool place.

Happy Birthday Rachelle!

We love you!

First Purchases

I know it is super early to start buying baby gear, but I have a hard time passing up a good deal.  And I figure that if I find something that I personally want more, maybe I can use them as a gift somewhere along the line!  Since ordering them, I realized that the deal probably isn't really that rare, but oh well.  I got a code from a friend to one of these from here, for just the cost of shipping.  What do you think, have you used one of these before? Do you like them?  The print options weren't my favorite, but the basic black is okay.

After "purchasing" the nursing cover, I got a code for a one of these, from here, also just for the cost of shipping.  Have any of you used a sling like this?  Would you recommend it?  If not do you have a favorite?  I really want something that either Andrew or I could use. My thinking is that even if it's not my favorite sling, and I end up purchasing something else, it's small and could fit easily in a diaper bag to bring with you somewhere in case you wanted one. And ten dollars isn't a bad price!

Andrew's Veteran's Day Gig

On November 12, Andrew performed at the 6th Annual Musical Salute to Veteran's at the Mount Baker Theatre. Here is how the event was billed:
As our nation commemorates Veteran’s Day, we in Whatcom County are treated to a Musical Salute to Veterans. A family event, the Salute is designed to bring honor and respect to those that served and are currently serving in the Armed Forces.


The show will honor five local veterans through slides, narration and song. These individuals have been nominated based on their outstanding service by their fellow veterans.


WWU theatre faculty member Mark Kuntz will be directing the show for the sixth year. Local musical performers such as the Mt Baker Toppers, Bobby Lee and others will fill the theatre with songs and music that inspired our nation’s soldiers during war and peacetime.


The Musical Salute is present by the Ron Davenport Memorial Chapter 165 Vietnam Veterans of America and sponsors and donations from individuals.

Despite a free ticket, I didn't feel up to attending that night.  I'm lame right?  Here is a picture of what I missed, taken from the Mt. Baker Theatre's website. 

Andrew also had to dress up, and shave his beard.  Luckily, he got someone to take a picture on his phone so I could have a keepsake.  What do you think?  Should he make a career change at this point?

P.S. I do have to say that beard growing in is one of my least favorite things in the world. And it can't be rushed along at all.

Wow

I haven't posted in almost a week.  I do believe that is my longest without posting in several months.  A few reasons for the lack of posting, in no particular order:

1)  I'm sick now.  Not terribly bad, just bad enough that after dealing with the rest of life, energy for blogging hasn't seemed to exist.  Sitting on the couch watching a movie seems much more enjoyable.

2) It's rainy and gray and cold and miserable here.  We might even have a snow storm next week.  Which cuts down on things to post about because we haven't been getting outside and taking our normal slew of outside pictures.

3) We haven't been doing anything new.  At all.  Which is weird for us, but kind of nice to have a lazy little lull at this point just before the holidays and at the end of the quarter.

4) All of my spare time for the last week has been spent scheduling, writing IEP's and reevaluation reports, writing progress reports, and putting in grades.  All of which HAD to be done in the same 6 day period.  I finished it all and now my life will become a little more mine again.

Which means....more posts again starting tomorrow! Because despite our recent lack of exciting activity I do have a few things I want to share.  For instance: some of Andrew's recent gigs (that include dressing up), some favorite websites and series, some crafty presents we are working on (that need to be finished), my first baby purchase (kind of), Lucy's recovery, and some new recipes.  For now, I wish I was at Priest Lake doing this.

How are we?

Overall, I think we are doing pretty well. We are excited for a new addition to our family and for seeing extended family over the holidays.  We wish we had more time at home altogether, and that we had time to figure out what we need to do to be ready to buy a house.  Individually:

Andrew
Is working in the instrumental library
Is taking his last quarter of classes at Western
Is excited to start his student teaching at a middle school in Mt. Vernon after Christmas
Is teaching a lot of trumpet lessons, and playing a few gigs around town
Has been knitting most evenings

Lauriel
Has only felt sick a couple of times, but it goes away quickly
Is working a lot on some big projects at the middle school, good things, but time consuming
Is trying to get going on the thesis again
Plays a lot of sudoku when she needs a break
Wonders if anyone has favorite pregnancy/baby books they want to recommend/loan

Lucy
Acts stoned when she is sedated
Is still healing quickly, but is very tired of having nothing to do
Can crawl and bow now
Loves her Kong Wobbler

Paul
Has a thick winter coat
Likes to sleep in a milk crate in our bedroom

John
Is still as fat and whiny as ever
Cries every time Lucy looks at him

Abbey
Cries at our bedroom window if she missed coming in before the lights go out
Runs around like a crazy cat

Chickens
Have slowed down laying, but are still giving up plenty of eggs
Hate how muddy the ground is
Escaped one day last week when the weight of the leaves on their netting knocked it down
Get really excited for food scraps when we walk down to their coop

Funny

Most of the time, I find facebook somewhat obnoxious. Especially the millions of applications that share pointless information about games people are playing. But it has is purposes. My favorite: stalking people that I would never have to "keep up" with "in person". Second favorite: when a friend, an actual live friend, shares something that makes me laugh out loud. Try it.

1. Go to maps.google.com
2. Go to "Get Directions."
3. Type Japan as the start location.
4. Type China as the end location.
5. Go to direction #43.
6. Laugh in amazement.

Pumpkin Ale

This project was started a couple of weeks ago and is getting bottled this weekend! I had to work tons that weekend, but it was much more enjoyable to have my laptop facing the kitchen so that I could watch Andrew and Eric spend hours cooking. After the beer gets bottled this weekend, it needs to sit for a couple more weeks.  Hopefully it can be consumed (not by me!) while it is still feeling like fall!

Real pumpkin chunks

From pie pumpkins from Bellewood Acres

Our new, large, shiny stockpot

Measuring the hops on our handy kitchen scale.

Simmering away

Steeping, and taking it's temperature

Aerating

Don't you love the linoleum?

Happy Fall!

Lucy's Surgery

If you are visiting from from the pet blog hop and would like to read more about Lucy and her adventures, click here.

Lucy is recovering nicely from her surgery. She was spayed, had her stomach tacked to her rib cage (literally tied to it), and had a funky growth on her foot cut off and sent to the lab.  Don't ask how much that all cost.  Thursday night, she came home and was acting like she was drunk. She was swaying back and forth, taking two steps and then forgetting what she was doing, and generally being ridiculous. By Friday morning, she was pretty much back to normal. A little too fast a recovery considering that we are supposed to keep her from running for 10 days. She seems to have no clue that she just had her insides rearranged. At least she isn't in pain.  We have been blocking off more of the house to try and keep her from getting in the "crazy dog" running mode, but I don't know how long we can hold off a full out run that we won't be able to stop.  We have also been feeding her all 8 cups of her food in either a frozen kong or a the kong wobbler. Here is Lucy totally consumed by the wobbler.

Later this morning we are going to pick up a light sedative for her. Andrew and I both feel guilty about it, but it is either a light sedative or putting her in her crate every time she starts getting a little energetic. Which is as soon as the food is gone. We don't want her to start thinking that playing is bad, or that her crate is a punishment, so a light sedative it is. The vet says it should just make her a little more tired than normal, not enough to really make her act loopy. We shall see!

Planning for November

I read this post here and it made me think about what I'm excited for this November.  Because I am really am excited for fall.  Today is a gorgeously sunny, crisp day with beautiful leaves everywhere.  IT makes me smile.  So I'm totally copying and sharing my plans for this November!

Stock Photo of Mt. Shuksan taken from here

Make Apple Bisque Soup
Consult with the midwives at the Bellingham Birth Center.
Meet my new nephew at Thanksgiving!
Birthday presents for Rachelle, Emma, & Andrew
Continue drinking excessive amounts of fresh apple juice and apple cider
List some ideas to give family for Christmas presents
Make cinnamon rolls
Drink enough water, everyday
Finish reading my book
Make my own Christmas wish list
Deep clean my kitchen
Spend a nice long weekend with family
Dry more apples
Get my goodreads completely caught up
Take more photos
Find a tea that is pregnancy safe
Get ahead on this project
Get copious amounts of sleep!

Thank you!

My beautiful congratulation flowers from Robin

Thank you so much for all of the well wishes! The word has spread so quickly and everyone has been so excited for us, we couldn't feel more loved!

Some of the more memorable reactions ranged from 15 minutes of tears to screaming to complete assurance that we were teasing. No exaggeration.  Sorry we caught you all of guard, we had this in our plans!

Lucy's Failed Daycare Day

Yesterday was supposed to be Lucy's fun day at daycare. Instead we (meaning Andrew) got a phone call midway through the day saying that we (meaning Andrew) needed to come pick her up because she was driving the other dogs crazy. I guess our little Lucy has started going into heat!  Luckily, we don't have a mess to deal with yet. Hopefully, we can hold out until Thursday when she is getting spayed. The kind people at Tails were great about, just thought it wasn't a good idea for her to be in the pack of crazed dogs all day long.  So instead of playing with other dogs, she hung out in the office with the humans until we came and got her. They did manage to get a cute photo of her.

And a cute video of her hanging out in the office.

P.S. Along with her spay procedure, we are getting an elective stomach tacking done to help prevent the risk of bloat. You can read more about the procedure and some differing opinions on the matter here.

Fall Saturday with Bybees

A couple of weekends ago, Wade and Lynne came up and spent a sunny Saturday with Dirk, Lisa, Andrew & I. They came up to celebrate Lynne's birthday and their anniversary, and we were very happy to get to spend some time with them. It was a sunny, crisp fall day and we made the most of it. We went to Bellewood Acres and sampled all the tasty apple treats, went to Boxx Berry Farm and got pumpkin ice cream while we looked at their flowers and pumpkins, and then walked around Hovander Park with Lucy. Somehow, out of all of the beautiful things we saw that day, Lucy got the most photos taken. She's kind of a camera hog!

I...

...am knocked up.
...have a bun in the oven.
...preggo.
...preggers.
...eating for two.
...expecting.
...with child.
...am in a family way.

And we are very excited!   It's still VERY early, I'm not due until the 2nd of July, but what's the fun in keeping a secret?