Welcome, Baby Z!

Congrats to the Z family, who welcomed baby girl Cailyn last night!

Welcome, Annabel!

Congratulations to Karen and Scott who adopted the cutie Annabel Irene last week! We are so happy for them!

It's been fun reading about Annabel's journey on her blog. It's pretty crazy that a one week-old can type!

Huge milestone

as of today, i am in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy.
it's been a wild ride so far, with, as i've mentioned, the entire 2nd trimester going by much too fast. before we know it, a baby will be here in our arms. crazy!
last night, in an effort to see every movie that's oscar-nominated, we went to see there will be blood. can i say "hated it!" in anthony from sex in the city-style? first off, it was way too long. 2 hours and 45 minutes. yikes! mike told me that his friend karen made a statement once that she hates all historical dramas (ironic, since mike loves these the most, i think). after seeing this movie, i have to say that i hate any movie: 1) having to do with oil, 2) faith healing or 3) where there is an obvious false accent being used (daniel day lewis) in much the same way. yes, TWBB is a different sort of movie, but i really did not enjoy the film and do not consider it oscar-worthy. my pick for best picture for the oscars this year is no country for old men. for that, i was a bit skeptical about seeing what i thought was a "western," but it was a great thriller and kept my attention the whole time. noted in an earlier post was also my love for juno, but i don't think it's worth best picture... nor is atonement.

we have seen a lot of movies since i've been pregnant. we are fully taking advantage of not having to worry about paying a babysitter. though i was in a state of en nui with the movie last night, the evening was still enjoyable as we went to the alamo draft house, which is truly the best movie theater in the world. the menu is amazing... so many delights that you can fill your belly with in the dark. i love their margherita pizza and their popcorn in the silver bowl is the best. the lady sitting next to us was enjoying fresh-baked cookies and i almost stole one. though i must admit, i felt grossly full walking out of the theater last night. i do not recommend eating a whole personal pizza and popcorn, too. i am not eating anything bad for me today. not a thing!

peanut was going nuts in the movie theater last night. he was literally throwing his body up against mine, shoving his appendages in all directions, then pushing his arms out to minimize my lung capacity. he has never been this crazy before... i wonder if it was the noise of the film, or perhaps the lunar eclipse?
ac: truth

Patrick on Charlotte's Lust List

My cousin Patrick made Charlotte, NC's "Lust List"... Hilarious. Glad to see he is settling in down south.

I had no idea that Patrick was working for the White Sox farm team. I thought he worked at a sports talk radio station down there. I am so proud of him! Both he and my uncle are the most "Chicago/Da Bears" type-people I know and huge Sox fans... When I say this, I mean that they literally talk like the guys on that skit and know everything about the Bears, the Bulls and the Sox (etc.). Despite being from the north side, I've never understood why my family is Sox-oriented, but we are. Anyhoo, Patrick having a job that could ultimately lead him back to Chicago to be involved in sports is very cool. Yeah for living out your dream.

AC: Surrender

whoa, baby!

the progression of peanut...

if anyone's counting, yesterday was 26 weeks for me. and, this is a really good example of how much better i think my hair looks when my stylist does it! i am pretty sure i got my hair cut on that 20 week day. ha!

Happy V-Day

How I got so blessed I don't know. Mike and I have almost been married for 2 years now. Every day it still amazes me how much I not only love him, but like him. He really is my favorite person. I don't feel worthy of being so happy.

AC: Play

Fascinated

We saw Juno over the weekend and I completely loved it. Z mentioned a few weeks ago that his friend Marcos' sister wrote that movie and also happened to be a former stripper. Now that I've seen this sweet movie, I am even more fascinated by the fact that someone I am somewhat associated with (having been around Marcos a handful of times) has had such a interesting juxtaposition of a life.... raised by church-going folks... goes to University of Iowa... decided to strip for a year and dabble in phone sex... and then writes an endearing movie about teenage pregnancy and gets famous. This takes me back again to my friend from high school Joslyn who had about 30 seconds of fame last summer parading around with A. Rodriguez. How do you get into that life? I just don't have the gene, I guess. And, man, does it stink to be once a stripper, always a stripper? Man, I hope our kids are normal.

Anyway, Mike is rubbing off on me. Now that I've seen this movie I want to learn all about this lady named Diablo Cody. I read a bunch of articles yesterday and guess they are going to be on Oprah soon. Can't wait.

AC: Communication

Peanut's Room- Part 2

We added these awesome plane decals from Bilk Surface Graphics to Peanut's room this weekend. I LOVE the way they turned out. Blik is such a great concept. They look like paint, but you can peel them off if you decide to change the look someday. Thanks Mary Sledd!

Cookies for My Valentine

I was halfway into this recipe before I realized that my valentine gave up sweets for Lent. :( My sweet loves shortbread and also berry-flavored things, so I thought it'd be perfect for him. Since it's Sunday, he allowed himself one cookie and said "these are the best cookies you've ever made." "Better than my Christmas cookies?," said I. "Well...," said he. I'll take that as a yes. And, I'm freezing some for him for Easter Sunday.... it was a nice thought! oops How I missed his sacrifice, I don't know.

"linzer" cookies (from Barefoot Contessa)

3/4 lb unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup good raspberry preserves

confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together butter and sugar until just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt (you know I don't sift... so I didn't), then add them to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes. If you're baking with elizabeth, go have a glass of wine here. :)

Roll the dough 1/4 inch thick and cut 3/4-inch rounds with a plain or fitted cutter (I used a heart one for V-day). With half the hearts/rounds, cut a heart/circle out of the middle with a 1-inch cutter. Place all the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes.

Bake the cookies for 20-25 min., until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temp. Spread raspberry preserves on the flat side of each cookie. Dust the top of the cut-out cookies with confectioners' sugar and press the flat sides together, with the raspberry preserves in the middle and the confectioners' sugar on top.

Black bean & sweet potato quesadillas with roasted red pepper soup

Tonight I made a delicious healthy meal.
Black Bean Sweet Potato Quesadillas with Roasted Red Pepper Soup
from Ashlee's Cooking, a fabo new blog I found.

Yum! Check em out...
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas with Fire Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quesadillas
1 package of flour tortillas, burrito size
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and grated
½ yellow onion, grated
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
Salt and pepper
1 can drained and rinsed black beans
1 cup cheddar cheese

Fire Roasted Red Pepper Soup
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
½ yellow onion, minced
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 red peppers, roasted, THEN peeled and chopped (MB tip: don't chop before roasting... cut them lengthwise into strips, so it's easier to take then skin off, then chop)
1 15 oz. can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp. chili powder
1 chipotle in adobo, minced
¼ cup reduced fat sour cream
Chopped cilantro

Turn broiler on high.
Preheat a large skillet and a medium soup pot to medium heat and add 1 tbsp. olive oil to each. To the large skillet, add grated onion and sweet potato. To the soup pot, add the minced onion and garlic. Add salt and pepper to each and continue to cook until softened. Place red peppers on a sheet pan and place under broiler. Turn the peppers over until all sides are charred, about 2-3 minutes per side. Place in a food storage container and let them sit on the counter for 10 minutes until the skin peels off easily. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, chili powder, and chipotle pepper to soup pot and cover. Turn skillet with potato mixture off, add potatoes to a mixing bowl, and gently fold in black beans, cumin and chili powder. Clean out skillet with a paper towel, spray with nonstick cooking spray, and return to heat. Add one tortilla to skillet, brown on one side, flip over. Sprinkle with cheese, then add ½ cup of potato mixture, then sprinkle with more cheese. Fold one side over, brown for 4-5 minutes,then flip and brown the other side. Two skillets can be used to make multiple quesadillas at once.

Peel skin off peppers and add to a blender with half of the soup mixture. Puree mixture until it reaches desired consistency, add back to soup pot, and bring back to a bubble.Slice each quesadilla in half and plate with sour cream, ladle soup into a bowl and top with sour cream and cilantro.

Muy bueno!

Got the flu

The peanut and I have the flu. Well, actually the peanut seems to be well-protected by the placenta and banging around more than usual while his mama suffers. Yesterday I made friends with all three of our house loos. I don't remember being quite this ill since grade school. And, I even got a flu shot this fall! Thankfully I was able to laugh when seeing grape gatorade reappear the same purple in my toilet 10 minutes after going down. Sorry, I know that's gross, but sort of weird and interesting. Today I feel a little better, but am just tired and weak and bored overall. At least I can eat a little today, but crackers and sports beverages seem to bring on heartburn. I hope I am at the end of this.