Q: What goes *whoosh whoosh* and is incredibly difficult to find?

A: My baby's heartbeat!

After last weekend, in the absence of any warning signs or discomfort, I decided that there was no cause for concern over not hearing Baby D's heartbeat. So I called up the midwives and asked if we could just wait another week or two before scheduling an ultrasound. So yesterday, a week after the last appointment, I went in to go hunting for Baby D's heartbeat again.

Can I just say how much I love going to the midwife's office? It always smells sooooooo good in there, and it's very comfortable and homey! Can I live there, please?

Anyways, after about fifteen minutes of searching with the Doppler, I was starting to get frustrated. Baby's No Show, Act 1, Scene 2. Sigh. And then--

whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh.

Success! Turns out, my baby likes to hang out waaaaaaaaaay down at the bottom of the uterus. So that's the happy ending to my mini pregnancy drama.

A Great Giveaway!

There are lots of giveaways flying around in the blogosphere, but the majority of the products fall into my "Sure, that looks nice, but it's nothing I couldn't live without" category. Well, folks, I would like to point you towards one giveaway that I am wildly enthusiastic about!

Kitchen Stewardship is offering two books from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes series! Be still my beating heart! The reason this is so exciting to me is because after a lifetime of botched batches of bread, I discovered a nearly foolproof (and quick! and easy!) method of baking delicious loaves. And that, dear readers, was Artisan Bread.

There are a zillion ways to enter, so go ahead and check it out here!

My Beautiful Costume!

For the past couple weeks, every Tuesday and Thursday night has been devoted to standing around on stage acting in the opera Rigoletto. I'm a "super", which means that I'm not actually singing in this production. I cannot tell you what glee it brings to my heart when me and my fellow female supers are addressed as "Super Women". YEAH!

This week has been dress rehearsal week, so I thought it would be appropriate to get a couple pictures of the dress:

DANG. This is definitely the best part of being in an opera!

I am the only female in the entire cast that got out of wearing a wig because my hair was already what they had in mind-- long and curly. Score! And look at all that makeup! It looks good on stage, but is pretty scary close-up!

Well, I should probably get some beauty sleep. Gotta keep looking good for all that acting, you know. ;-)

Failure

Well, I didn't write my post yesterday. The magic of NaBloPoMo is broken! I had a good excuse, though. For some reason, I was dog tired when I came home from work, so I lay down and took a nap. Next thing you know, it wast 10 PM, so I puttered around for a couple hours before going back to bed and getting a full eight more hours of sleep!!! I'd say someone was tired! When I woke up this morning, I realized that there was no post for yesterday. Whoops.

In other news, the funniest thing happened today! When our cat Meatloaf enters the bathroom, usually he will head straight for the bathtub and jump in. I don't know why he does that, but it's really cute. Except usually it's empty. However, our tub has had some drainage problems lately and thus drains veeeeery slooooooowly. This morning, after taking a longer-than-usual shower, I opened the bathroom door. In bounded Meatloaf, and before I knew what was happening, Meatloaf dove head first into the half-full bathtub!

I am telling you, I did not know that a cat could run that fast to the other end of a house.

And Meatloaf was just fine, except for maybe his pride.

The Midwife Visit...

... did not go well today. The midwife, after several minutes of trying to find the fetal heartbeat, turned and asked, "Are you sure about the date?" I replied affirmatively, to which she told me that she was concerned about not finding a heartbeat at Week 14.

So now I have to make an hour-long drive for a lovely expensive ultrasound, even though I'm pretty sure everything's okay. I just had a morning sickness episode twenty minutes ago, for crying out loud!- and I'm definitely bigger than I was last week.

Ooh! Speaking of which, here's my fourteen week picture:

That thing you see sticking out from under the door is the paw of my other cat, who, I suppose, felt slighted at being left out of the last belly picture.

So anyways, I'm not too concerned, besides wondering where the heck my baby's heart is. :-P That ornery baby just couldn't be easy and let us get a heartbeat! Baby D. certainly doesn't get that from my side!

What I'm giving up for Lent

When I was a kid, I usually gave up candy for Lent. Last year, I went without cream in my coffee for about three days, until I decided that no loving God would make someone drink coffee without cream. That's just inhumane.

This year, I'm not doing the usual dietary restrictions, since I'm pregnant and you'll never know what I'll HAVE to eat RIGHT NOW. So I'm doing two different non-food-related things.

First, I'm cutting out all computer/internet usage, except for half an hour to get the business end of things done (checking email, finishing up this NaBloPoMo thing). This is my first day, and so far, it has had its unique blessings and troubles. This morning, instead of checking Blogger over breakfast (Adam's usually not up yet), I read a devotional book instead. It was a great way to start the day! On the flip side, I have been sooooo bored at work. I'm going to need to pick up some discreet hobby. Or file my nails, since I hear that's what receptionists are supposed to do.

The second thing I'm doing is a character restriction, if you could call it that. I have noticed lately how easily preoccupied I am with what we don't have, so my other Lenten sacrifice is the right to complain, whether internally or to others, and to be happy with what we do have. It's time for an attitude of gratitude!

It won't be easy, but I'm pretty sure it'll be better than going without cream in my coffee.

Works For Me Wednesday: Easy Homemade Yogurt

Wow, I can not believe that I have never written about my yogurt affair yet! This truly changed my life. I love my crockpot. And I love yogurt. And when those two combine, things get even better. Once you taste homemade yogurt, all other yogurts taste fake and look ridiculously expensive. It is great in cereal, smoothies, and on its own! It's also a great way to get calcium without much fat or sugar-- you control what % milk you use, and sweeten it as you so choose. Personally, I think honey tastes divine in yogurt!

The yogurt makers in coffee cans sounded just like something I'd bungle, so when I stumbled across a recipe for crockpot yogurt, I was sold! It's a very low-maintence recipe-- but be warned, it takes all day to cook.

Here's the recipe that I use, over at the blog A Year of Slow Cooking.

And that, my friends, is what Works For Me.


This is a participating post in We Are THAT Family's blog carnival today!

The Last Minute Post

Drat! Nothing like being all set to go to bed and then remembering that I haven't posted yet today!

Today, I went grocery shopping for the first time in two months. No queasiness, and no blind crazy pulling things off shelves like a madman. Tomorrow, I'm going to make stew in the crockpot, and it'll be sooooo good! I will post pictures and my mom's recipe, so be prepared for a stew recipe coming your way!

Fun Things to Do in Oklahoma City

So here's the part where I show you pictures of some of the fun things we did on our surprise getaway to Oklahoma City! My husband is the best husband in the world.

So what is there to do in OKC? Well, for starters, you can go to Bricktown and enjoy not four, not eight, but fifteen layers of delicious lasagna at the Spaghetti Warehouse.

Dang, Adam's picture looks a lot scarier now that it's off the camera viewer. Here's a slightly less scary picture of me in the Spaghetti Warehouse foyer:

Your next assignment: wake up the next morning refreshed and ready for more adventures!

Conduct lots of business at the business center of your hotel.

See the Bricktown Baseball Stadium. Enjoy the statues.

Visit the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial.

Catch some of the Olympics over breakfast at McDonald's.

Visit the Land Rush Memorial.

See the Botanical Gardens:

(I'm playing the Trumpet Vine, LOL)

We didn't take any really great pictures of the gardens, but believe me, they are well worth the visit!

Go back to Bricktown, watch a movie at the theater, and enjoy the Valentine scenery.

And that, my friends, is a great way to spend the day in Oklahoma City!

What I Learned About Romance Today

Today is what I consider to be our first real married Valentine's Day. Last year, I had to work, and spent all evening watching other couples enjoy a romantic evening out. This year, however, was so special! Adam planned an overnight getaway at our state capitol, so we spent all day seeing the sights, giggling together, and just enjoying each other's company.

Last night, when we first arrived, Adam took me to the Spaghetti Warehouse, a fine Italian restaurant. He definitely knows where a pregnant woman's priorities lie! The place was packed wall-to-wall with couples glowing at each other over spaghetti and Merlot, and we were no exception. Except for the Merlot part, because, you know, Baby isn't such a great wine connoisseur. We had a pleasant time, and one huge helping of lasagna and Caesar salad later, we left happy.

Tonight, just before we left town, we ate dinner at a little hole-in-the-wall pizza-by-the-slice joint (yep, my husband is Italian, through and through!). The place was fairly deserted because it was freezing cold out today, so the Italian music playing overhead was easy to hear. I wasn't too terribly hungry, and the pizza slices were generous, so we bought one to share. And as we sat there, smooshed together in a booth, passing the slice back and forth, I realized, this is what romance looks like.

The wine and the servers and the overpriced pasta is great, but when it all boils down, the most romantic thing in the world is be close to my man, sharing with him (in this case, a delicious piece of pizza). It is very romantic to eat around a part that I know he'd like to have. It is very romantic to see him give that piece right back to me. Freed from enjoying my entree, it is very romantic to enjoy our entree. It is a very shared experience, and for me, sharing is the essence of romance.

Happy Valentine's Day! Be sure to take a minute and tell your spouse how much you love him/her!

I Hope This Isn't Prophetic.

Lately, I've been having some really vivid dreams. From having George Takei (that's Sulu) for a father to swimming with the dolphins, I've been having some real doozies. The other night, I had one about Baby D.

It was a few days after he was born (it was a BOY!!!), and I was taking him out for the first time. I was walking along with him in my arms, and people I knew were stopping by and cooing over him, exclaiming how cute he was, etc. Somewhere along the way, someone asked me what his name was.

Um... oh, dear.

I suddenly realized that I'd forgotten a little detail... like giving him a name.


I've been laughing about this one all day. Here's hoping that I'll have a little more presence of mind in real life, when the time comes!

Why this will be the best Valentine's Day ever!

My husband has been telling me all week that he was planning something wonderful for us for Valentine's Day. I was thinking that he was planning a nice dinner, and then something quirky and unexpected after. That's just the way my husband rolls.

How about a nice dinner, and something quirky-- in another city?

Adam has been planning a romantic weekend getaway for us! I'm super excited! He wasn't going to tell me where we were headed, but I quickly figured it out, and it's a really neat city that neither of us have been to. We will be leaving immediately after I get off work tomorrow. I promise I will take lots of pictures!

Oh, and did I mention-- SQUEEEEEEEEEE!

Workplace Oddities

I usually work in the offices in the back of the store. So when I had to emerge today and do some business up at the front desk, I was surprised to see a businessman charging towards me with a packet in his hand.

"Excuse me," he said, "this may sound like something on TV, but I was at a party a few weeks ago, and I met a guy who owns a music store. I promised him I'd give him some pictures of the party when they got developed. So do you know THIS guy?"

And with that, he proceeded to pull out several pictures and show them to me: "That's him... and that's him... Oh! How did that blonde picture get in there?..."

There are so many wrong things with this scenario. Like, how did this businessman NOT manage to get the name of a person he's developing pictures for? And wouldn't you think there's a better way to find "the guy who owns a music store", other than driving all over town to every music store? There's this thing called the Yellow Pages, buddy. And maybe I'm a little overprotective of information, but isn't it sort of a faux pas to be flashing someone's photo all over town like that?

No, the man in the pictures was not a part of our store. So the Guitar manager gave the names and locations of about three more music stores in the immediate area and sent the silly businessman on his merry way. He may still be out there.

An Angry Cat

Holding the cats too long like this...

...Leads to this.

They're just so cute when they're annoyed, that it's hard not to purposefully annoy them.

By the way, doesn't Meatloaf just have the most fabulous whiskers?

My First Real Meal-- An Easy Recipe

Today, I cooked a meal for the first time in nearly two months. I am not proud to admit this, but I have eaten a vast amount of fast food since becoming pregnant, due to two unfortunate reasons:

1. Going to the grocery store made me sick.

2. Going into the kitchen made me sick.

So what do you do when you haven't gone grocery shopping for weeks, and you don't feel like cooking it anyways? I'm thinking Arby's!

But there is a point when too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing, and for the past week, I've been tired of eating out. I was hankering for a real, home-cooked meal. So today, I made one of my favorite No-Food-In-The-House meals.

For a couple servings, you'll need:

• Dry pasta
• Several cloves of garlic
• Olive oil
• Parmesan cheese

Start the pasta cooking. Meanwhile, slice the garlic cloves. Toss into a pan with plenty of olive oil and saute until it's just barely brown. You don't want to overcook the garlic, or else it's not as good. When the pasta is done, drain and toss with the garlic (and the extra oil) and parmesan cheese to taste. Enjoy!

For more useful bits of information, visit We Are THAT Family.

Baby's First Gift

The drive to work from lunchtime wasn't too interesting. I did drive by Casa Bonita, which has been described as, "Willy Wonka marries Mexico." Definitely a place you'll never forget, either for the amazing restaurant interior, or for the horrible food. Everybody in the area needs to visit it at least once! I should do a post on this place sometime.

And then, I saw it. A Salvation Army thrift store that I'd never seen before! Stop the car!!! I had a few minutes to kill, so I took a look inside. It was a pretty decent store, and I saw some things I'd like. Let me ask you this: do you think $40 is too much to pay for a changing table (second-hand, but with a new mattress in plastic)? I'm still thinking about that one.

I've been wanting to buy a little something for Baby D for a while, so I passed by the baby section and found the cutest little onesie:

Pretty appropriate, considering this family. What a bunch of silly monkeys!

So there it is: Baby D's first gift! I absolutely love looking at it. It's so cute and little, and it'll be filled up with a baby soon! I'm pretty stoked.

Quick! What can I post in four minutes??

I just walked in the door from a very long day. Church, in which we forgot we were bringing Sunday School snacks until twenty minutes before church.

Then a three-hour-long opera rehearsal. I was this close to getting the sluttiest part in the opera. Thank God that didn't work out. :-P

Then a Super Bowl party at a friend's apartment! Since he has a wood-burning fireplace, he and my husband had the brilliant idea of starting a fire.... and roasting hot dogs in the apartment! It actually worked!

One more minute till midnight! So I will say this in closing: I was rooting for the Saints all along. I'm not a football fan, but I've been to New Orleans and found it to be a magical place; thus my reasoning behind choosing them. Now time for bed!

NaBloPoMo: Baby-Talk? Tonguetwister?

Try saying it ten times. I bet you can't.

NaBloPoMo, or that thing I've been talking about for the past few days, is short for NAtional BLOg POsting MOnth (you can view the website here). What cracks me up is that this applies to EVERY month of the year, so why not call it National Blog Posting Year? Anyways, the premise is that you commit on their site to post something on your blog every. single. day. for a month. Now, if you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you've probably noticed that I do really well to post more than ONCE a month! So yeah, after almost one straight week of posting, it probably feels like I'm spamming your reader right about now. Sorry. :-P

And Yet Another Post That Revolves Around How I'm Feeling...

...But this one has a happy ending! Evidently, my body wanted to apologize for how horrible it was yesterday, because today was one of the best days I've had in a long time! I am hoping this means the smooth start of the second trimester, because today is...

Twelve weeks.

Hooray! And to commemorate the three-month mark, I had Adam take a belly picture. I apologize in advance for looking so ratty. And for my cute little demon cat in the corner.

Yep, there's definitely a bump going on now!

A Pregnancy Headache

So I'm participating in that NaBloPoMo thing, and I almost forgot to post today. Reason being, I am experiencing a massive pregnancy headache. This morning, I had such violent sickness that I got a headache, and from then on, the headache has made me violently sick. Ain't pregnancy wonderful? So now I'm going to (hopefully) sleep it off.

There. I posted for a the day. Kind of. Bear with me while I ride out these *crosses fingers* last few days of first-trimester horrors, and I, in return, will make significantly better posts!

The Mother-In-Law!!!

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. While for some, the word "Mother-In-Law" conjures images of the Wicked Witch, for me the word brings to mind a wonderful woman who managed to put up with my husband for twenty-something years. ;-) She is a great mother to her kids (including me) and is woman to look up to!

So, happy birthday, Mom, and enjoy all the presents and the cake!

At our wedding reception, with my brother Nate

A Day Off From Work

Today, along with Sunday, are my days off from work. It is so great to be home during the day here, because my morning sickness is always worst in the evenings, so I haven't had the wherewithal to get anything done around the house. And can I say, as of this morning, that it's good to see the floor again!

I was telling a friend yesterday, I am just waiting to find some joy in this pregnancy. My attitude so far could be best described as sober. I am all too keenly aware of how this pregnancy so far has been a teeth-gritting battle to just survive the first trimester, and also that we're kind of broke and far away from any family or support network. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, it's just the facts.

It's been kind of hard for me to feel excited about a perpetual stomach bug, but I think that once the baby actually starts making a baby-like manifestation, my frame of mind will change. Here's crossing my fingers! And now I'm off to clean the house some more!