Tuesday, January 29, 2008

37 weeks and counting

Today I began the longest 3 weeks in any pregnant woman's life - let me explain:

I've finally reached the moment when the baby can now safely make an appearance in the world, relieving my body from it's burdensome baggage. I fondly look forward to nights of comfortable slumber on my stomach and being able to pick up something off the floor without having to contort my body to do it. Or even to just being able to trim my toenails without having to hold my breath while leveraging my foot against something solid so it doesn't fly back out of reach.

Oh wait - I still won't get to do those things. I'll have a baby to take care of! Please stay in there for a few more weeks!

And this is why time ticks by ever so slowly. Really I want this baby out of me - but really I'm not ready to take on another one, am I? The cycle of hoping for labor and hoping for a contraction free day repeats over and over and over and over - at least 10 times a second. I think my brain just automatically does it for me now, so I can think about other things, too. Or maybe that's just natural female multitasking kicking in.

So I'm finally reaching the end of this pregnancy and I don't know whether to panic or rejoice, but I know that it will all work out and that once I see that little face I won't have a second thought about the panic - at least until I get home.

I really wanted to post a picture of my in all my pregnant glory, but it was a rainy (it's not always sunny skies here) all day and I really don't need anyone seeing the inside of my house - even if only in the background of a picture. So maybe I'll get someone to take a picture tomorrow. If I remember.... If I'm not consumed by thought of labor vs. another day of pregnancy.....

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Country Music Lives in Hawaii!

This is probably the most mundane fact about my life right now - except that the dishes need to be done AGAIN - but I happened upon a Country Music radio station while I was driving in Honolulu this week. I'm so excited! So I listened to it most of the way home, but about 20 minutes away I lost the station signal - those darn beautiful mountains. But I did hear them mention the station's website, so I checked it out today and they have streaming radio online. So I can't listen in the car unless I'm closer to Honolulu, but I can listen at home now!

I told you it was really mundane, but I'm glad to have a new variety for cleaning/busy music. If you ever have the desire to listen to the same tunes I hear you can listen at Hawaii's Country Music - the website it's too exciting, but the music's good!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

And the winner is....

Adios Weight said...
went to Costco and got pizza and frozen yogurt!


I just had Abby choose a number randomly - so there was no favoritism shown!
Though I do have to say that I'm making her Cafe Rio Pork for dinner, so I couldn't be happier (if you want her recipe, just check out her blog - click here).

Amy, I don't have your new address (which also means you didn't get a Christmas card), so email it to me so I can send you something for winning.

As for the rest of you - I'll give you a prize in the form of another good recipe. This used to be Cameron's favorite before we discovered the magic of Blackened Chicken Alfredo (see previous post). I got this one from my dear friend Tonia, back in Utah, she brought it over for dinner after I broke my arm and had surgery a couple years ago (can it really have been 4 years ago?). It's super tasty and really easy - we always have it with peas, mashed potatoes, and gravy.


Crispy Onion Chicken

½ cup Butter, melted
1 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbs. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Ground Mustard
1-2 Cloves Garlic, minced (or approx. ½ tsp. garlic powder)
¼ tsp. pepper
4 boneless, skinless Chicken Breast Halves
1 (6oz) can Cheddar Flavored French’s Fried Onions, crushed


Preheat oven to 350°. In a shallow bowl, combine butter, Worcestershire sauce, Lemon Juice, garlic and pepper. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then coat with onions. Place in a greased 9-inch square baking pan. Top with any remaining butter mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

My Auntie Lynne suggested that I start a recipe blog - and I thought that was a good idea, but honestly, I can hardly keep on top of one blog! But I'm going to give it a whirl, I've started setting it up, but I haven't gotten to posting anything yet. I'll let you know when it's up and running.

Until the next time... if you eat any good food, please keep sharing!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

I should be doing the dishes...

Really, every dish in the house is in the sink waiting for me to come scrub it clean. And I really should do this before lunch as the kids have been eating their sandwiches on paper towels the lst couple of days. I will be so glad when they go back to school next week and eat breakfast and lunch there - they are eating me out of house and home (not to mention the extra dishes)! Seriously we have been going through 2 king size loafs of bread a week, usually I have to freeze one loaf so it won't get moldy before we need it. And I'm sure the kids are sick of pb&j everyday, even if they don't always like what they are serving at school.

Oh, and the bathroom floor really needs to be mopped - but I can't find the mop. Actually it's a Swifer, but I haven't been able to locate the handle part in quite some time. The last time I remember using it was in October with my dear Father-in-law scrubbed my floors and I used it to "rinse" them after. Not to worry - I have cleaned my floors since then, I've just used the Swifer pads and my arm. But I really don't feel like bending over and doing that today, not that I really could bend over that far if I wanted to. Even if I managed to do it physically, this baby would let me have it (probably right in the kidney) as she does not like to be squished, moved, shifted, patted, etc... from any external source - she reminds me of our current diva, Danielle, already, and she still has 6 weeks left in the oven.
Now what what I talking about - of the bathroom floor, maybe I'll bribe the kids to do it - I still have Halloween candy stashed in the freezer. They'll probably think it's fun anyway. Why didn't I think of that sooner - the rugs have been hanging out on my porch "drying" since I washed them on Monday.

Well, the kids are actually playing nicely and I should do something (more) productive while I'm not immediately needed for mediation/intervention. And I'll go find a good country CD to blast while I'm washing dishes - that always helps, and there no country radio stations here. Not that I mind Hawaiian music at all - in fact I enjoy most of the local stations, but they just are good songs to clean to.

Monday, January 7, 2008

I'm still alive!

So I've been totally neglecting my blogging responsibilities lately. I've been planning to post a New Year's Resolution post, but have I had two seconds to even sit down and think about what those might be? No. Maybe I'll get to it this week (wait, school starts on Wednesday, so don't count on it).

In the meantime - I want to know what you are having for dinner tonight. I'm sick of making the same old lame things.

Let's make it more interesting - I'll make it a contest. I know there aren't many of you that actually look at my blog, so it will just be a little one. And I'll send a little treat to whomever wins.

Here's the rules:
1. Add a comment on this post with your entry.
2. I want to know what you're having for dinner TONIGHT - Monday, January 7th. You don't have to post it tonight - but what you really ate - not your family's favorite, not you're old stand by - the real deal.
3. I will give you until Jan. 20 to post - that's almost 2 weeks and then I will choose the one who wins - totally up to me with no reasons why it wins.
4. If I don't know you and you just enjoy reading my babbling, feel free to enter, too. Just make sure you give me a way to reach you (like an email, etc) if I happen to pick you as the winner.

Sounds fair, right? If not, well, too bad, life's not fair (and then you die - as we used to say as kids)

I'll go first - Here's what we're having tonight:
Lil' Smokies and rice - I know it sounds weird, but people here eat it a lot (hotdogs and rice, sauage and rice, etc), with ketcup as a side dish (not really, but...) - we'll be having orange slices on the side (for some nutritional value). We usually have polish keilbasa with rice, but the lil' smokies were on sample at Sam's club today and the kids wanted those instead - really it's cheaper in the long run, so it all works out. And as a side note we will probably be having fried rice in a couple of days with the leftover rice and smokies with a little soy sauce, egg, corn and peas.

See, it can't get much worse than that - Cameron is working late, so I can get away with a dinner like that. I do have a couple of chicken breasts that I should throw in the oven for him later.

So leave a comment with your humble dinner for the evening and you never know what I might send you in the mail.

Oh, and I still haven't sent out my Christmas Cards - so if you usually get one and are wondering if you've some how offended me, no worry, they are just being sent out late - as always, just REALLY late this year....