Gala for American Family Children’s Hospital

Posted on May 5, 2013 by pintofgoals

Oh hey, Cindy. Nice to see you…and breathe the same air as you.

In case you’re curious, she still looks freakin’ incredible: beautiful hair, flawless skin, and thin but not gaunt. EVERYONE, including our table, stared at her as she made friendlies with the big donors at their tables.

On Friday night, Brody and I attended an event at the hall in Gordon’s Commons on UW-Madison’s campus hosted by Merrill Lynch raising money for the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison. Cindy Crawford was there because her brother, when he was two years old, was treated at UW’s hospital for leukemia. He unfortunately passed away two years later, and since then, the Crawford family has been involved in supporting the hospital.

There are lots of ways to contribute to the charity (besides paying for a table or seat for dinner). Outside of the ballroom, lots of goodies were lined up for a silent auction. I didn’t even get a chance to look at the items, but to be honest, everything was likely out of our price range anyways. Later on, they also had a cash auction. Lastly, a very generous woman agreed to match all gifts for the event up to $400,000. At the end of the night, Merrill Lynch presented the American Family Children’s Hospital with a check for approximately $616,000 for an addition, as they have already outgrown their space.

As for the food, it was quite delicious. We started with an appetizer of shrimp, asparagus “salad,” and a chilled pea and mint soup with bacon.

For the main course, we were served steak, a scallop, and some vegetables (potato and rutabaga I think). Brody wasn’t a fan of the scallop, but I thought it was cooked perfectly and happily ate his.

Sorry for the blurry iPhone photo

Dessert – my favorite – was a trio of chocolate mousse, rhubarb tart, coffee creme brûlée (the best of the three). Again, my amazing husband generously gave me his coffee creme brûlée.

After the eating portion of the night, there were speeches (including one by Cindy Crawford) and a video of a family impacted by the Children’s Hospital. The video was obviously very moving, especially with a little one on the way. I’ll admit to getting choked up a few times and shedding some tears, in particular when the husband said how strong his wife was throughout the whole ordeal. Because one of their twin boys needed to be sent to the American Family Children’s Hospital from Fond du Lac only a couple hours after birth, the first time she really saw her son was when he was five days old. I get teary-eyed even typing that now.

It’s scary to think about all of the bad stuff that can go wrong. I hope we never have to send our child to the Children’s Hospital, but like I said with my minor medical issues, I feel so darn lucky to live in a city with such incredible hospitals, doctors, nurses, and support staff.

Brody and I had a fun time getting dressed up and going out together, especially since we were able to contribute to such an amazing cause.

A few pregnancy related bits from the night:
-The wife of Mark Tauscher, a former Badger and Packer player, said I looked great as she walked past. At first I didn’t realize she was also pregnant, but luckily I did and then complimented her on her red high heels.
-I was one of at least five pregnant ladies at the event. I’m guessing we were all sniffling and crying through the video.
-My go-to drink when I’m out with others who are drinking is a club soda with a little cranberry juice and a lime.

Questions:
What celebrities have you seen in person?
What charities do you like to support (through time or money)?

Hey Shorty, It’s Your Birthday

Posted on April 28, 2013 by pintofgoals

Yesterday I turned the big 3-0.

Some people freak out over this milestone, but it didn’t bother me at all. It was actually a lovely day from start to finish.

It started with participating in the Crazylegs two-mile walk with my friend Jena. We made shirts – people loved them!

We walked along with my former coworker Brad and his wife Jess. They had their baby girl, Hadley, about two and a half months ago. The four of us talked baby stuff (I love hearing people’s birth stories) while Hadley slept.

We made out way into Camp Randall and posed at the finish line. Both of us got a wee but jealous of all of the red-faced runners. I miss the adrenaline, exhaustion, and sweat of finishing a good run. This summer, hopefully, I’ll be back at it.

It’s crazy (no pun intended) that a year ago I ran 14 miles, with the last five being the Crazylegs race. How things can change in a year!

At 1pm, I scheduled a prenatal massage at The Wellness Room – happy birthday to myself. She didn’t have a table for me to lie on my stomach, but it still felt amazing. Because of my self-diagnosed supine hypotensive syndrome (have I mentioned this before?), I was unable to stay on my back the whole time, even at an angle. I still felt super relaxed afterwards as obvious by my manly voice for the next couple hours.

Up until this point Brody had been absent from my birthday due to a hockey tournament. He had a game at 4:30pm, so I got to the rink and watched his team shut out the other team, 9-0. Brody scored one goal (which I missed because I was in the bathroom – story of my life) and one assist. Unfortunately they didn’t make the finals. Fortunately, this meant we got to go to dinner for my birthday.

Last week I told Brody I wanted to go to the Tornado Room for steak. He was surprised because normally I choose funkier or more ethnic restaurants. This pregnant lady wanted beef, which, interestingly enough, is also what I requested for my birthday dinner last year.

I basically knew exactly what I wanted when we sat down – baked french onion soup, petit filet (medium rare), and a green vegetable (I went with asparagus). Their steak is SO good, and I love the onion ring they serve on top of the steak. I failed to take any food pics, but if you live around Madison or are visiting and you want the best steak in town, go here and you will not regret it.

At home, I had a few bites of Chocolate Shoppe peanut butter cup ice cream and then went to bed. We were asleep by 10pm. Party animals around here.

As for presents, my sweet husband got me a ten classes at my favorite yoga studio, Inner Fire Yoga, so that post-birth, I can get in the routine of going once a week on Saturday or Sunday while he stays home with our little one. He also got me a fabulous diaper bag.

I had planned on just using his (the Diaper Dude), but this one is way cuter and looks more like an over-sized purse. He’s so good at gifts!

Like I said – a very good day.

Questions:
Are you a “birthday” person?
What would your perfect birthday be like?

How To Cut a Mango

Posted on April 24, 2013 by pintofgoals

I recently posted a link to Skinnytaste’s Slow Cooked Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa. The salsa includes mango, and a fellow blogger, Liz, asked how I cut mangos. My ridiculous response in the comments section prompted me to write this post. Thanks Liz!

Start by holding the mango the skinny way (flatter sides facing to the left and right).

Cut off the two sides as close to the flat sides of the pit as possible.

You will be left with the pit and some flesh around the outside of it.

Use a sharp knife to cut through the flesh but not the skin making squares and triangles.

Push the half inside outside.

No photo of the next step but you cut off the chunks of mango getting as close to the skin as you can. At this step, you will often find me eating off the small pieces of mango the knife missed.

Almost done now!

Cut off the sides along the edges of the pit.

Run the knife between the flesh and the skin.

Cut the smaller “moons” of flesh into chunks.

There may be some flesh still on the pit, so you may be able to get a little more by cutting close to the pit. If you’re like me, you might go animal style and just eat the remaining juicy fruit off the pit.

There you have it – my technique for cutting a mango.

It takes me about five minutes from start to finish, and it is so worth the time. I’ve never bought pre-cut mango, but it always looks horribly dry and is more expensive. During the winter months, I often have a bag of frozen mango from TJ’s in my freezer to get my mango fix. It is my favorite fruit!

Good luck in your mango cutting and eating!

Adventures in Wine & Recipe

Posted on April 21, 2013 by pintofgoals

In a one week span (a couple of weeks ago), I was lucky enough to hang out with this fun group of women TWICE! Considering we normally all get together only once a month, this was a treat.

Our first adventure was a 30th birthday outing for Mel in Milwaukee. We all decided we do not utilize this city nearly enough with how close it is to Madison/Sun Prairie.

We met at Mel’s house on Saturday morning at 9am to kick off the weekend right: bloodies and mimosas (obv virgin mimosas for Jena and I). The drive to Milwaukee was fast, and we arrived at Lakefront Brewery for our tour (my second brewery tour as a pregnant person).

The tour was lots of fun – our guide had a great sense of humor, and with it being Mel’s birthday weekend, she wasn’t shy getting involved.

At the end in the tasting room, you can exchange your plastic cup for a pint glass. I love drinking out of these, so I was happy to add another beer glass to our everyday use collection. Classy stuff around here.

It was way past lunchtime by the time we left Lakefront (hello extra drinking tokens from two pregnant ladies), so once arrived at The Wicked Hop, we ordered a bunch of more substantial appetizers to share. The bloodies were also meals within themselves – check out all of those goodies! The marinated mushrooms were the best.

Cheers to Mel!

We were in the Third Ward, which has some cute shops and boutiques. We shopped for a few hours, and I found a bright neon orange and white stripped infinity scarf for $15. Almost everyone bought at least one thing – Laura actually walked away with an entire outfit from various shops.

Post-shopping pic on the hotel stairs – Laura’s in the front with the dark hair and all the bags

After some eating, drinking, and gift-opening at the hotel, everyone got gussied up for a nice dinner (and I cannot remember the name of the restaurant now – pregnancy brain?). Three of the ladies weren’t spending the night, so they took off after dinner while the five of us – Mel, Jena, Emily, Nicole, and myself – went to The Oaks, a small but very club-like bar.

One NA drink later, Jena and I called it a pregnant night and walked back to the hotel. The remaining three party animals hit up The Whiskey Bar and closed it down, not coming home until after 3am. Damn impressive ladies!

It was a super fun weekend, and spending so much time with a group of friends like that made me feel like I was in college again…just sober and/or not hungover.

Four days later, we were all reunited for a monthly Wine & Recipe night for our second adventure. Steph hosted and chose the theme “Caribbean/Tropical.” Very timely considering the crap weather we’ve been having.

I failed to take any pictures but I will share a few recipes, starting with mine.

Because I’m still on my “chicken-breasts-make-me-wanna-gag” thing, I felt compelled to go with a pork recipe. While I could’ve done an app or dessert, I really prefer bringing main dishes. I turned to a favorite recipe blog, Skinnytaste, and was not disappointed.

Slow Cooked Pork with Caribbean Salsa was a winner. Even Brody liked it!

Photo from link above
I’m glad I re-read the recipe the day before because it does require you to marinate the pork for at least five hours before putting it in the slow cooker. As the picture shows, I also served mine over brown rice but as leftovers had it in a whole wheat tortilla. Last thing: I didn’t have the specific jerk seasoning Gina used but found a jerk seasoning at my local grocery store for $5.

Other all-stars from the night were Mel’s tropical quinoa salad and Amber’s coconut banana bread. While the the bread recipe is not the exact one she used, it’s pretty close, and I know to trust anything coming from America’s Test Kitchen.

The weather outside was not even close to tropical, but the fun eats and umbrellas in our water glasses made us forget about that. Too bad Steph couldn’t have brought a heat lamp into her dining room or passed around self-tanner.

Before the night ended, the three of us pregnant ladies took a photo because, interestingly enough, we all wore basically the same outfit. Actually Amber and I had on the exact same top from Target!

When this was taken, Amber was 34 weeks (gender unknown), I was 31 (with a girl), and Jena was 25 (with a boy).

It was such a fun week being with these ladies, and it made me look forward to our monthly get together all the more.

Questions:
Do you have a regular get together? Book or dinner club? Scrapbooking or stamping group? Weekly runs with a group?
Thoughts on brewery tours? Best ones around you?
Of the recipes I shared, which one would you be most likely to make?

Babymoon in NYC – Day Two

Posted on April 13, 2013 by pintofgoals

Whoa life! I got busy these last two weeks with grading (end of the quarter), appointments, meetings, etc. But I’m back to finish sharing the details of our amazing vacation!

Friday morning, we got up early and walked the few blocks to Balthazar for a quick breakfast.

Pain at chocolat and Stumptown coffee (LOVE this coffee) – breakfast of champions. Surprisingly this kept my belly happy for over four hours, which included lots of walking.

After breakfast, Brody and I did a little shopping, including to the baby store Giggle.

They didn’t have a ton of clothes, but we thought this onesie, matching hat, and rattle were cute. Funny story: When we got home on Sunday, we had a box from Giggle on our doorstep. My SIL and her boyfriend sent us a gift…including a dress in the EXACT SAME PATTERN. It’s even better because Brody picked out the pattern. Brother and sister have the same taste!

We did lots of walking then:

Past 30 Rock…

And through Central Park.

My friend Nicole (who ran with me for a few miles of the Haunted Hustle in 2011) moved out to New York a couple years ago to work for Tory Burch. We were able to meet her for lunch in the West Village at Joseph Leonard. We had so much fun catching up and hearing about her life in NYC.

For my meal, I started with broccoli cheese soup – good broccoli flavor and not too cheesy.

For the main course, I had this incredible kale salad with pickled onions, hard boiled eggs, and breadcrumbs. My diet had been lacking in greens, and this meal made up for it. I ate every bite.

Our dinner reservations weren’t until almost 9pm, so we met up with another Madison friend who lives in New York for drinks (club soda for me) for what turned into three hours.

Now, for one of the best part of the trip: dinner at Momofuko Ko, one of David Chang’s restaurants. With only twelve seats and a meal that lasts two hours, it is not easy to get in, but Brody managed to get reservations.

Brody snapped a photo of me early on during dinner, and I’m happy he did. Apparently there’s a no-photo policy at Ko. Good thing I didn’t even try to take any food photos – the lighting was horrible anyway. What wasn’t horrible was the food and the experience. For a set price, you are served twelve different courses and get to watch the chef and sous-chefs prepare it all right in front of you. I’ll spare you the detailed list of the twelve we ate, which Brody helped me record the next morning at breakfast, and just tell you about two.

The most unique dish was one with Riesling jelly, lychee fruit, and caramelized pine nuts with frozen grated foie gras over the top. It was such a strange but cool combination of foods.

One of my two favorite dishes, though, was one that’s been on the menu since Ko opened: soft-boiled egg, American caviar, mini potato chips, and a few garnishes. Runny eggs are the best.

Even though the portions were relatively small and the meal took over two hours, we were definitely full when got in a cab at 11pm.

Upon arriving back at the hotel, we were greeted by a platter of goodies!

One of Brody’s clients had this spread put out for us – how nice! Although the last two courses were dessert, Brody had a chocolate chip cookie and I tried a cherry cookie.

We fell asleep with smiles on our faces and happy bellies. It was a very good day in New York.

Babymoon in NYC – Day One

Posted on April 2, 2013 by pintofgoals

This week it was back to the real world after a great break – mostly due to a little vacation to New York City!

For Christmas, Brody went all out and booked us a trip, or what I called our babymoon, to New York. At the time it seemed like it was so far away, but it snuck up on us and now it’s over. Isn’t that how so many things go in life?

I was pretty good about snapping photos with the good old iPhone, and even got a few with our nice snap and shoot…until I somehow got a huge smear of something on the lens and Brody didn’t want to scratch it by trying to clean it with a sleeve. These will have to suffice.

We arrived Wednesday night and got a cab to our hotel. Brody booked us a room at the Mondrian in Soho; the rooms were small but very nice.

It was after eight, and we hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so we found a little restaurant bar called Toby’s Public House and shared a chopped salad and a pizza with salami and artichokes. It wasn’t New York style pizza, but it was delicious and similar to Cafe Porta Alba. Once back at the hotel, we finished watching Argo (so good!) on the iPad and called it a night.

Although we missed out on the pizza, we did have New York bagels Thursday morning at Murray’s. I had a whole wheat everything bagel with plain cream cheese and a small coffee. It was delicious and kept me full for five hours.

Thursday morning we decided to try going to the 9/11 memorial. I had been to Ground Zero nine months after the attacks and was interested in seeing the area now. Unfortunately the wait was over an hour and a half, and we hadn’t really planned on waiting, so we nixed it. I do hope to see it one day.

To get around New York in the easiest and cheapest way, we bought the seven-day unlimited subway pass. It was $30 and so worth it. Besides needing to take a cab from and to the airport and then two other times, we used the subway.

After a mistake on the subway, we ended up very close to McSorley’s, a famous bar. Brody had told me about this place. Apparently nothing has been taken down since 1910, including the wishbones over the light fixtures placed there by soldiers who were off to war (with the intention of taking them down and making a wish when they got home). Another interesting fact: women were not allowed in the bar until 1970 when they were forced to be accommodating to both genders.

Brody had the dark beer and then the light beer, which are the only to beer options. The dark was much better.

From McSorley’s we accidentally ended up at a beer bar Brody had read about called Blind Tiger. Although I couldn’t have a beer (or two like Brody), it was a fun bar with a nice bartender, and Brody and I enjoyed each other’s company. I also did take a few sips of his beer, an IPA by Stone, and a small taste of the smoked Porter with chili also by Stone that they had on cask.

Around 3:00pm, we arrived at The Spotted Pig. This place is pretty popular, but they don’t take reservations. Going for dinner was out of the question, so a mid-afternoon lunch was perfect, and we were seated right away.

They have a limited menu during off times, so it wasn’t too hard to decide with only a few options. I love pickled things, so we got that to start, and then we both had the burger with shoestring potatoes. Everything was delicious, and this ended up being the last meal of the day because we were so full.

To finish out our eventful day, Brody and I had tickets to see The Book of Mormon. This was a part of my Christmas present, and I was so excited. The principal at my school had told me I would love it as long as I wasn’t religious. I’m not, and I did love it.

It is extremely satirical towards organized religion, especially Mormonism (duh). We laughed out loud throughout the entire performance; it was definitely the best musical I have ever seen and hope to see it again one day.

Now that it’s been one week since this day in New York and I’ve been working on this post in ten minute increments for the last four days, I think it’s time to hit publish. Two more days to come!

Questions:
Have you been to New York? If so, what did you do? Did you have any “New York style” food?
What’s your favorite big city to visit?

Pregnancy Update: Week 28

Posted on March 20, 2013 by pintofgoals

I think I’m overdue for an update. Enjoy!

How far along? Twenty-eight weeks! So crazy. I am now in the third trimester.

Baby’s size? One site says she’s an eggplant and the other a Chinese cabbage. Regardless, she is supposedly about 2 1/4 pounds.

Weight gained? At my appointment a week and a half ago, I was up 13 pounds, but on Friday (when we got the good news), I was up 10 pounds. This is a little low on the spectrum, but I am measuring where I should be, so no one is concerned.

Stretch marks? No, but have I mentioned I have the linea nigra? It’s not especially dark but there’s a definite line.

Sleep? Eh, not good. For the last two weeks I have been having some stomach troubles (the doc thinks it’s a bug), and I’ve been up a couple times every night to use the bathroom. Along with that, I wake up more often and need to change positions. I have started sleeping with a pillow to encourage my body to stay on the left side. It’s working pretty well.

Best moment this week? I have three to share.
1) Brody felt her really kick this week, and that was cool. He was surprised how strong she’s getting. My sister, Laura, also felt her kick while at the Admirals game on Saturday.
2) On Saturday morning, I got my butt to the gym for a BodyStep/Attack cardio class. It’s an easy class to modify, and it goes by so quickly because the two teachers are great and the music is fun.
3) My last “best moment” this week was also a milestone in this pregnancy: the glucose test.

I drank this baby on the way home from school. I didn’t think to refrigerate it but thought it was fine at room temperature. It was sweet, but as my coworker said, “I’m sure you’ve drank much worse while out at the bars.” Touché, Dave.

Miss anything? I am looking forward to sleeping on my stomach again and not having to pee every hour.

Movement? Yes ma’am – lots of it. As I write this she is kicking under my right ribs.

Food cravings? Nothing that stands out. My palate has been fairly normal this week. I have noticed that I can’t eat as much at a time.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Chicken breasts still make me want to gag; however I can do shredded chicken. Strange, I know. Car rides continue to be no fun in the morning. This stomach bug (if that’s what it is) is also a pain, and although I don’t have any nausea or vomiting, I still qualify it as “making me sick.” The nurse recommended Florajen3, so I picked that up today at Target.

Gender? Girl.

Labor signs? None.

Symptoms? Heartburn, frequent urination, varicose veins (of a unique variety), and a growing waistline.

Belly button in or out? It doesn’t seem like I’ll ever have an outie, which is fine with me. It is funny, though, to see where the holes were for my belly button ring.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Other baby related updates and info:
-We picked out a color for the nursery: Essential Gray by Sherwin Williams. Brody and I have a painting party for two (or three I guess) planned for Friday night.
-We are strongly leaning towards using cloth diapers. Thoughts? Experiences from moms who have used them?
-A coworker-carpooler-friend gave me her Diaper Genie. It was so nice of her, and she appreciated me getting it out of her basement. A win-win! I’m sure we will use disposables from time to time, and of course we have to use them in the beginning.
-My school board approved my leave of absence for first semester of next year, which means our little girl won’t have to go into daycare until she’s seven months.
-I’m thinking of buying some more maternity clothes from Old Navy. They have a lot of stuff on sale still, and shipping is free with orders over $50.

Time for dinner – catch you later!

Weekend Images

Posted on March 17, 2013 by pintofgoals

Look at me! I took some pictures.

Stuffed Peppers
I made these for dinner on Friday night with a few edits: no currants or feta, added corn, half the cumin (I don’t live cumin) and cheddar on top (added at the very end). They needed a little more flavor – maybe salt?

Sassy Cow Ice Cream – Salted Caramel
This is the best ice cream ever! I tried it for the first time this summer when I took the kids I nannied for to the Sassy Cow Creamery outside Columbus. Brody picked this up at Hyvee on the way home, and it’s made a great after dinner treat.

My sister lives outside of Milwaukee, and a while back, won four tickets to an Admirals game at an auction. She invited Brody and I to come hang out in Milwaukee for dinner and a hockey game. After seeing her apartment, we went to Stubby’s for dinner. The three of us shared the fried pickles as an app, which were delicious, and then I had the grilled cheese with sweet potato fries. We got to the game a few minutes into the first period. We sat in a very entertaining section: mullets, cowbell, and intense fans. Can you spot the two mullets in this photo?

Laura and I are two years apart. She’s very excited to be an aunt and actually got to feel Baby kick while we were at the game.

For breakfast Sunday morning, I made green(ish) pancakes in honor of St. Patty’s Day. There’d be no green beer drinking around here, so I thought this would be fun. I used Target brand whole wheat pancake mix and topped mine with a little Earth Balance coconut peanut butter and real maple syrup. Brody likes the other syrup.

My sister-in-law bought me a subscription to bluum when we first announced we were pregnant. My first box arrived earlier this week, but we are horrible about checking our mail and just brought it in today. There’s a handful of baby products to try later (baby food, dish liquid, constipation relief); I just have to not misplace them before that time!

Oh heartburn. Thank God for Tums. This is a minor pregnancy symptom, but it’s still no fun. I haven’t had it for a few days, but today it was not good. I keep this bottle in our kitchen junk drawer, carry a baggie of these in my purse, and have another baggie in my school bag.

Questions:
Favorite ice cream brand? Flavor?
How did you celebrate St. Patty’s Day?
What was the best part of your weekend?

Six for Sunday

Posted on March 10, 2013 by pintofgoals

1. I might have a hernia. I’m not sure yet because my doctor couldn’t confirm it 100%, but I am scheduled to meet with a surgeon on Friday – kind of nerve wrecking as a 27 week pregnant woman. I’m also unsure how much detail I want to go into this on my blog; we’ll see as I find out more this week.

2. On a more positive note, Brody and I brought a box of books to Half Price Books, were given $16.50 for them, and then spent $45 (after the $16.50 was subtracted) on new books. Ha! But we got a handful of baby and kids books, including a few classics.

Along with the bedding from Land of Nod, we also got some shelves (the natural wood ones).

They’ll look awesome in her room!

3. Last night we had dinner plans with our friends Andrew and Melissa. They’re so fun to hang out with and we all just click really well. We had plans to try Forequarter, but the wait was TWO HOURS! No thank you. Next we drove to A Pig in a Fur Coat, which I blogged about before, and their wait was 45 minutes. Just to see, Brody called Umami, which I also blogged about, and their wait was only 20 minutes. I love Umami and was excited to have everyone try it for the first time. Unfortunately, I forgot my phone and took no food pics, but I will tell you what we/I had: appetizers included pork and chives dumplings, chicken dumplings, beef buns (these were amazing), pulled pork buns, and for my meal I had my go-to miso ramen. Delicious!

4. Today I went to Babies R Us with a neighbor, Robin, to register.

Brody and I decided on most of the big stuff together (car seat, strollers, swing, bouncer, etc.) and put those items on our Amazon registry, so today was for the smaller items. I asked my neighbor because she has four kids (the youngest being 9 months), and Brody was cool with it.
Before picking up Robin, I printed off a registry checklist but ended up using the one Babies R Us gave me.

Robin was so helpful! She gave advice as to what brands work best for her and the boys (yup, four boys) and how many of each item I really need. Even though I had a bunch of stuff already picked out for the Amazon registry, it still took us two hours to go through the store. Here are some of the items I picked: Summer SwadleMe, aden + anais swaddle blankets and burp bibs, Boppy pillow, Avent bottles, Carter’s white onesies, and a quilted sheet for the pack n’ play. There were some items I didn’t like the selection of (e.g. Boppy covers) and some that I’ll buy on my own (e.g. disposable nursing pads). I also noted on our registry that we are not doing pink decor, and hopefully this will deter people from buying us lots of pink stuff.

5. The weather this weekend has been crappy: rain, rain, rain, and some snow tonight. While it’s great that lots of the snow is gone, it has also meant no trips to the dog park this weekend. Sad puppies (and dirty floor).

6. Brody and I finished the day out with some shopping: Costco, Sherwin Williams, and the grocery store. We also cleaned out the nursery even more. Sadly, we did not get around to bathing the dogs. I’m sure they don’t care, but they are getting a little ripe.

Have a good night!

Not a Weekend Warrior

Posted on February 19, 2013 by pintofgoals

My weekend update is a little late, but I have a good excuse: last night I judged a Forensics tournament at the high school I teach at and didn’t get home until 9pm. As they say, better late than never.

Brody was MIA this weekend (aka bachelor party in Chicago). He was gone from Friday to Monday and had a great time with his college buddies.

Knowing I’d be home alone, my mom and sister came to hang out. We had no definite plans, and that was fine by me.

As the title states, I was not especially productive this weekend, but I did still did stuff; plus, I actually remembered to take some pictures!

Already on Friday night Moose was missing Brody, staring at the door into the garage, waiting for him to walk in. I was missing him too, but I didn’t lie down on the tile floor and stare at the door.

I was super lame-o on Friday night, but it was awesome. My mom and sister weren’t coming until Saturday, so I’d turned to Netflix for some entertainment. I watched Goats and Hungry for Change. Bridget, via text message, challenged me to watch three documentaries this weekend, but I failed. Instead, the movies became less “intellectual” as the weekend continued: Knight and Day, Mirror Mirror, and The Five-Year Engagement. Maybe next weekend Bridget!

The walk into the dog park was like an ice rink. Inside the park wasn’t much better.

The sun was out both days this weekend, and the temperatures weren’t bad at all. Saturday I went solo, but my sister joined me on Sunday. Some parts of the park are very dangerous right now, and a dog park lady and fellow Golden owner scolded me for coming while pregnant. I was careful, though, and walked off the path in the snow or shuffled slowly over the ice.

Along with walking for forty-five minutes each day, I also made it to BodyPump Saturday morning. My hope of getting to a yoga class did not happen. Can I say “Maybe next weekend” for that too?

A Food Fight gift card was burning a hole in my wallet, and I rarely go out to eat when my mom is in town. I took my mom and sister to Monty’s Blue Plate Diner, where I hadn’t been since right after college. We had to wait for about thirty minutes, and my hunger pangs told me I needed something stat.

Insert image in mind of a massive cranberry muffin.

My sister had a bite, and I had about half the muffin. Luckily I had some self-control and saved room for lunch.

My mom had a grilled sandwich with chicken (still makes me want to gag), bacon, and goat cheese; my sister chose the Florentine (two poached eggs over sourdough toast with spinach, tomatoes and a mornay sauce); I ordered the “hippie” sandwich with grilled tempeh, mushrooms, onions, and avocado.

We were all very happy and left with full bellies.

The weekend also included shopping (Home Depot, Marshall’s, hair supplies store, and the Dollar Tree), eating (frozen pizza, burgers, salad, and potatoes with sour cream), baking (macaroons), reading (I finished The Good Soldiers), and even a little grading (sonnets written by my freshmen).

Very proudly, I’ll also admit that I was sleeping by 9:30pm Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Before I turn in for the night, I’d like to give a shout out to my friends Jess and Brad who welcomed their baby GIRL (they had kept the gender a secret), Hadley Grace, into the world. She came two weeks early, but considering she was 8 lbs. 10 oz., I think she was ready!

Photo posted on Facebook and Instagram by Jess