19 Weeks

Up Next

2011 was pretty satisfying and included several personal benchmarks: I passed my social work licensing exam, started running and completed two 5k races, got my first couple of white hairs, spent an incredible two weeks in Japan with E, and turned 30.

And now, for something completely different, I'm working on a little guy who will be joining us in June - just about five months from now!

It turns out that, clueless though we are, prepping for a baby is a great project - it engages particular habits and nerdistries in both of us.  For example, I get to gain knowledge and organize information, maybe even make a spreadsheet if I'm really lucky.  Ethan gets to browse Craigslist and move furniture around.  The highlight of his weekend, maybe of his month, was buying a like-new glider with ottoman ($25!) in anticipation of late-night baby rocking.

Yum

I like long weekends because I make better food.  And more of it.  We started Thanksgiving day with this:

It doesn't look like much (potatoes, onions, eggs, and cheese) , especially when peppers aren't in season, but it was our breakfast of champions in Syria, and it's just as good here.  Then we progressed through:

 lasagna (a little saucier than necessary, but delicious)

 maple pumpkin cheesecake

 stuffed acorn squash

 our current breakfast of champions - oatmeal with whatever fruit is in season (in this case, cranberries and apples with a little brown sugar and soymilk; in the summer, it was blueberries, peaches, and/or raspberries)

 sweet potatoes, stuffing (dressing, that is, since we live in the south now), and garlicky green beans

 cranberry pancakes

 grilled cheese with tomato

 pad thai

pasta with spinach/garlic/cheese (okay, this was actually tonight's dinner, but it's such a staple of my diet that I thought it should be included)

Always a Winner

This really is one of my favorite days of each year, at least while we've been living here.  We always have a Thanksgiving potluck at work, and it is always outrageous.  Epic.  I've been looking forward to it for weeks, which E can attest to. 

This was my third such potluck at my current job, and it did not disappoint.  There was so much good food, and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  It was very satisfying, and I really have to remember to take the camera next year. 

Then, to top it off, Aldi finally got cranberries in for the season.  This, too, is a highlight of the fall for me, because I have at least a slight obsession with cranberries.  They are $0.99 per pound at Aldi, which means that I stuff as many bags as I can into our little freezer and spend all winter adding them to oatmeal, pancakes, cranberry orange bread, etc.  Delicious!

Hello to Emelia!

We spent last weekend with our friends Megan and Andrew and their lovely three-month-old, our goddaughter, Emelia.  She could not possibly be any cuter! 

Too. Hot.

Explain to me how weather.com can tell me that the high for today is 94 degrees while simultaneously telling me that right now it is 97 degrees and feels like 102.

I ran my second 5k yesterday, with a chip time of 30:16.7.  I'm not sure how that happened; that's a lot faster than usual.  I don't have any real pictures because E has the camera for the summer, but here's my bib as evidence: