Teatopia

Goodbye 2005

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy almost New Year. 2005 was a special year for us, but I'm pretty sure 2006 is gonna be even better. (I get to meet my daughter!!!) Tomorrow I'm going to post pictures and recipes of the food I made tonight for our little party.

40 Things

1. My uncle once locked me in the bathroom after he stunk it up.
2. Never in my life did I think by 24 I'd be married and pregnant.
3. When I was five I still believed in Santa Claus.
4. High school was an overall good experience. I had many friends, good grades, and I was involved in many activities.
5. I will never forget our trip to South Africa. It was a dream come true.
6. I once met Michael Bolton (is this really anything to brag about???)
7. There's this girl I know who has all the money in the world and is still unhappy.
8. Once, at a bar a man came up to me and starting thrusting himself against me. *gag* The hubby luckily didn't see or there would've been a scene!
9. By noon I'm usually ready to go home from work! LOL!
10. Last night I didn't have acid reflux! YAY!
11. If I only had more time off for winter break. *sigh*
12. Next time I go to church we are starting a new unit on Romans.
13. Terry Shiavo is in a better place. Now I'm done talking about her.
14. What worries me most is losing someone close to me.
15. When I turn my head left I see my rat terrier sleeping against my leg.
16. When I turn my head right I see a snoring, sleeping poodle.
17. You know I'm lying when hell freezes over. I just don't lie, but I do joke a lot. :-)
18. What I miss most about the eighties is the lack of trash on tv. Even 20 years ago, music and tv weren't so immoral. (Do I sound like a parent or what?)
19. If I were a character in Shakespeare, I would love wearing long dresses.
20. By this time next year I'll have just celebrated my daughter's first Christmas and I won't be thinking about having to go back to work on Monday.
21. A better name for me would be neat freak.
22. I have a hard time understanding why my students care so little about their grades.
23. If I ever go back to school (should be when I go back) I will study Cultural Anthropology.
24. You know I like you if spend time with you.
25. If I ever won an award, I hope it'd be for something important. I want to make a difference.
26. Darwin, Mozart, Slim Pickens & Geraldine Ferraro huh?
27. Take my advice, travel. There is much to be learned from other people and places.
28. My ideal breakfast is a leisurely one.
29. I song I love but do not own I don't quite get this one???
30. If you visit my hometown, try not to judge me based on the shallow, narrow-minded people around here. I never thought I'd move back to Columbus, GA. I am a Washington, D.C. girl at heart. People are still so prejudiced down here.
31. Tulips, character flaws, microchips and starswhat's with these weird questions?
32. Why won't people take time to listen to each other?
33. If you spend the night at my house you'd have trouble finding a place to sleep. We are in the process of moving the guest room to another room.
34. I'd stop my wedding for a death in my family.
35. The world could do without crime, rap music, and Howard Stern.
36. I'd rather have less money and be able to stay home with my daughter.
37. My favourite blonde is my mom.
38. Paper clips are constantly disappearing from the cup on my desk at school.
39. If I do anything well, it is driving (never had a ticket before!)
40. And by the way I got this from Melany.

Merry Belated Christmas to Me

We're FINALLY getting a Starbucks!!!

The Let Down

This day is known for 2 things: sales and disappointment. It's so hard to go back to normal after such a wonderful day yesterday. James and I took down our Christmas stuff today and did a lot of cleaning and organizing. The baby's room is still being cleared out, but we have made a lot of progress. I got kind of a late start this morning because I slept in late. I had a bad night last night with the acid reflux and throwing up. It's awful. I can't even sleep anymore. It's getting to the point where I'm scared to eat (and scared to go to sleep because I throw up in my sleep). My doctor said that if I have it this bad at 6 months, it'll only get worse as my uterus pushes my stomach up. Ugh.

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday, so we'll so something with him in the evening. My car also goes into the shop to get repaired from when that lady hit me last week. I'll be driving a rental this week. Other than that, I need to take it easy. My poor body is tired of aches and pains, nose bleeds, and vomiting. I need some rest. March 31 is my last day of work. It seems SOOOOO far away.

Merry Christmas!

So far, we have had a fabulous Christmas. We woke up early this morning to open our presents at home, and then we headed to me parents'. Santa was very good to me this year. From Santa James, I got some books: 2 Viatnemese cookbooks, a book on breastfeeding, "What to Expect When You're Expecting: the First Year" and a book on tea. Santa also brought me a juicer (I've always wanted to make homemade orange juice and it'll be great for making fresh juice for our daughter in a year or two), a heated blanket, bath products, Godiva Chocolates, tea, the Cinderella DVD, and more. Next year we'll be spending our money on our daughter, so I guess this year the hubby went all out. He seemed to think Santa was good to him, too!

My mom got me a gift certificate to a spa to get a pregnancy massage and also one to take a cooking class. I think I want to take a class on Chinese cooking because I don't know much about it. I've been very interested since Stef taught me a little. She also got the baby a beautiful book about the birth of Jesus, with illustrations by Thomas Kinkade. She wrote a message saying how next year we would read it to her and how much she was already loved. It made me cry. I got some girly goodies from my parents and my grandma got me some beautiful maternity clothes. My sister got me 2 beautiful scarves the softest slippers ever. I think I was spoiled rotten this Christmas.

One of my favorite memories of today was feeling my daughters hand (or could've been her foot) through my tummy. I felt it sticking out, and when I touched it, she felt me, and pulled it away. It was one of the first times I've interacted with her. This Christmas has been amazing, but next Christmas I am guessing will be even better!

I have found myself thinking a lot about Mary and what she must've gone through giving birth in a stable. I am already so stiff and uncomfy from all these holiday preparations and being on my feet, and I can't imagine how she must've felt when no one would take her in. She must've been so scared. We are so lucky today. I am warm and taken care of. I have great medical care and I'm even getting a pregnancy massage to ease my achiness. Poor Mary. I have a new respect for her this year.

I am off to bake a Cheesy Squash Casserole (yes, I know, I always bring one to everything) and then dinner with my family at my parents' house.

Hope you all are having a very Happy Christmas. Hope Santa was good to you. :-)

On the Eve of Christmas

I tried to post a few times yesterday, and for some reason, couldn't get on my site.

First of all, as promised, here are the pictures of the Christmas Tea I hosted on Wednesday night.

From top to bottom on the tiered tray: marshmallow fudge, cream cheese and ranch pinwheels (probably the most popular item of the night considering 7 people ate over 70 of them-- no joke!!!), and peach scones.

Cucumber sandwiches with garlic cream cheese and dill:

Fresh, sweetened whipped cream, pumpkin bread, and lemon curd:

Egg salad sandwiches (or Egg Mayonnaise as they say in England) on pumpernickel bread with sprouts:

Broccoli and Gruyere Quiche:

Ham and Cheddar Quiche:

I forgot to take a picture of the Peppermint Patty Cake, but it turned out yummy. It was a little too rich for me though! I also made a Christmas Tea punch with orange, cinnamon, and cloves. It turned out well too.

Today so far has been wonderful. This morning I chopped bricks of fudge I prepared last night (mint chip and marshmallow) for the Christmas Eve party at my mom's tonight, and some for our church-- a group leaves early Monday morning to help re-build hopes in New Orleans. Last night I also made spinach dip for tonight and peanut butter filled chocolate chip cookies for my dad. I have never baked/cooked so much as I have this Chritmas. I hope I have time to do it again next year when the baby is here. Speaking of babies, she had hiccups this morning. My whole tummy was bouncing and jerking and it was so neat to watch! We are headed to church in a bit, and then off to my mom's, as is the tradition.

On a sad note, I am having to limit eating all the goodies I've made because I have HORRIBLE acid reflux, so much so that I have been vomiting. It's just awful. Last night I puked in my bed. I haven't done that since I was a kid. My doctor has put me on a strict schedule of Pepcid Complete, alternated by Maalox. I hope it starts to work because there's not a lot that can be done. I am limited as to what I can take. Oh well. And to further complain, I have had really heavy nose bleeds over the last few days-- one that started in the middle of heavy holiday traffic and I had no tissue! Last night I had one that was so bad, I started to cry and freak out because it just wouldn't stop pouring and I was choking on it. I've always had nose bleeds in the winter, and they say it's worse when you're pregnant because you have 1.5 times the amount of blood you usually do. Ok, enough about my pregnancy woes. How are you spending your Christmas Eve?

The Good and the Bad

The good news is that my Christmas tea went very well. I have tons of food pics to post tomorrow. Just to give you an idea the goodness to come, here are a few things I made: broccoli and Gruyere quiche, cucumber sandwiches, and peach scones with fresh whipped cream. Please check back tomorrow for pictures. I am very proud I pulled it all off in just 3.5 hours, and this includes all the cooking and setting up. I was delayed starting my baking/cooking marathon because of this bad news:

Today I was in a car accident. It was nothing major, and it wasn't my fault. It happened in the parking lot at Publix (our grocery store). I was actually stopped, waiting for a spot, and someone bashed into me and hurt Victoria, my car. The baby and I are fine. We really didn't get hit that hard. It's just a hastle because things are running slow with the claim because of the holidays and the car won't be fixed until next week and I am a snob who can't stand driving a car that has scratches and a dent. I need to get my priorities in order!

Weekend Re-cap

We had such a busy weekend that I forgot to post!!! That's not like me as you all know. Ok, to sum up the time since I last posted:

*Friday felt like the last day of school for the whole year. (well, technically it was, but I mean the whole school year. These kids had no fear and didn't care about getting in trouble). The kids were nuts, but I did get some nice gifts and ate too many sweets. I've been trying to be careful because I've heard the more sugar you consume, the greater the change of getting gestational diabetes. No thanks!

*Friday night we went to a fabulous party at the nicest country club in town. The owner of James's company is an avid golf player and always holds the company Christmas party in the ballroom there. I didn't do much dancing, and unlike GFF who danced the night away, people actually asked me why I wasn't dancing. "Isn't exercise good for the baby?" Yes it is, thank you, but not for my aching feet. I wore gorgeous, but somewhat uncomfortable pointy-toed heels and I wasn't about to take them off, only to rip the bottom part of the only pair of maternity stockings I own. No thank you! I also wasn't feeling espcially well, as evident by the fact that I puked my guts out when I got home. Damn acid reflux. And it didn't help that everyone wanted to give my belly a good rub. Not welcome when you are nauseated.

*Saturday, James took me to lunch at a local cafe called Jumpin' Java. We enjoyed chai tea lattes, sandwiches, salads, and we split some veggie sushi. Yum! Then, we went to a wedding and I burst into tears as soon as I saw the bride walk down the aisle. I think I made a fool of myself, but luckily, my hubby had stuffed tissues in the pockets of his new suit knowing that is overly-emotional pregnant wife might just burst into tears at an inappropriate moment. In my defense, the friend who got married lost her first husband a few years back and never thought she'd re-marry. I was so happy for her, and for her young daughter who now has a daddy. Ok, about to cry again. *sigh*

*Saturday night, we ordered Subway and watched "The Skeleton Key" which I really liked. We had a fire going and the tree lights on and it was wonderful. Sadly though, we learned that night that some friends from church lost their 20.5 week pregnancy. The baby just couldn't breathe, even with help. This news even brought a tear to my husband's eyes (James, are you reading this? Can I admit that you cried on the internet???) I think it hit close to home for us since she was only a few weeks behind us in her pregnancy. Her baby was just born too soon. :-(

*Sunday morning we went to church, and I led my first ever Sunday school lesson in our adult class. It amazes me that I can teach middle schoolers just fine, but get really nervous teaching adults. After church, we had lunch with some other couple, and one couple has a 3.5 month daughter. I think James and I spent most of the lunch fixated on the baby, both thinking that ours will be here in no time flat. Which leads to Sunday afternoon. Clean, clean, clean! I worked James's butt off. He's on a break from his master's and this is the only time. You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff waiting to go to Salvation Army. When and how did we accumulate so much??? It feels good to be getting somewhere finally. We cleaned closets, James's office, and got rid of a lot of stuff from the baby's future room. I also dusted and cleaned everything in the kitchen and living room. We even cleaned the bathrooms.

Today I am off, but certainly not free. I dropped my dogs off at the vet this morning for a teeth cleaning (what a way to spend $400) and then paid bills and finished Christmas cards. Now I'm about to create my menu for the Christmas Tea I am hosting Wednesday evening and go mail some stuff. I'm also going to bake more fudge-- some for James's co-workers and some for the tea. Check back later for the menu.

Better Late Than Never

I didn't get the chance to upload this last night, but here you go-- further proof I have popped. Don't I look like a candy cane? :-)

Totally Oblivious

I just told about 40 kids that I am pregnant and most of them had NO CLUE. Um, please refer to my last belly pic before responding JUST to remind yourself how obvious my condition has become.

And to further convince you, I will post another picture this evening for your viewing pleasure. :-)

Odd

Last night when James and I went to bed, we were completing our nightly ritual of feeling the baby kick (she moves a lot when I first lay down and we put our hands on my belly to feel her). Suddenly, James said that he had forgotten to tell me something odd that happened at the post office earlier.

Apparently, as he was walking to his car after mailing packages, a women in the parking lot rolled down her window and began screaming for help. James thought something was horribly wrong. I'm sure she scared a bunch of people. When people went over, she said that her daughter had been farting in the car and it smelled horrible. She rolled down her wondow to get fresh air. I guess she was worried she'd pass out or something. Man, that child must've eaten something BAD and that women must've been nuts! Can you imagine screaming that loud and then after freaking people out, telling them it was all because of a fart???

Oh Fudge!

I have been busy the last few days! I made three batches of fudge to give to co-workers this week. This fudge is fairly easy to make and quite good. It's also incredibly rich! I used the basic recipe included below, with various yummy things inside. I made one with marshmellows, one with walnuts, and one with mini reese's cups. They are so cute! I have alot of fudge leftover too, so I will save some for my parents' Christmas Eve get-together and freeze the rest. I bought small glass candle holders, filled with them cloves and cardamom pods, and stuck a Yankee candle votive in each. I wrapped them in tissue with a ribbon tied around and also gave them out as gifts at work. I feel very crafty, even though I'm really not. I can say though that this is my craftiest Christmas yet! :-) I'm sure when we have our baby next year, I'll be able to make even more things since I'll be home.

Click below for the fudge recipe. In a pan, bring 1 5 oz can of condensed milk, 3 cups of sugar, and 1.5 sticks of butter to a boil. Turn down to medium and boil for about 4 mins. Stir constantly.

Immediately add a tsp of vanilla, 1 jar of marshmellow cream, and 12 squares of semi-sweet chocolate. Stir well and pouhr into a 9 x 9 tray lined with tin foil.

Let cool at least 5 hours. Enjoy!

Weekend in Pictures

Beef Satay at Prime

Cheese Plate with Fig Marmalade

And lastly, me, at the beginning of my sixth month. Have I popped or what? Notice Gracie in the background sitting on the arm of our couch? :-) And our tree?

Scottish Shortbread

Today I felt more Christmasy. Might've had something to do with the Christmas Cookie Swap I went to today. My contribution was some Scottish Shortbread Cookies. They were easy to make (but the rolling and cutting out requires some patience). This recipe is a new favorite of mine. Few ingredients, easy dough to work with, and soft cookies. I think I might use it again next week for our Christmas cut-outs. I just made these in a round shape to go along with tea, nothing special.

The recipe is included in the extended entry.

Guess who's back in the Christmas spirit? After the swap, James and I spent a few hours Christmas shopping and then wrapped the gifts back home. Tomorrow my mom and I are going to Atlanta for even more shopping. Now that I am really showing (HUGE growth spirt in the last 2 weeks, will include picture tomorrow), I was all excited to wear one of my cute cliche pregancy tops that ties in the back. Sadly, the pregnancy hormones have caused my chest to break out, so now I'll be hiding my nasty bumps with a not-so-cute top. Has anyone else noticed that all maternity shirts are rather low-cut? What's up with that? Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm a slut. :-) Oh well, cute top or not, I'm going to have fun!

Scottish Shortbread Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups flour

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Work butter, flour, and sugar with hands until smooth.

3. Wrap in waxed paper and chill for 30 minutes (or more).

4. Roll ¼ inch thick on a lightly floured surface.

5. Cut into desired shape and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 5 minutes, then reduce temperature 300° and bake 10-15 minutes more.

Christmas Spirit?

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. I get in the Christmas spirit almost as soon as the first leaves are falling from the trees. I love this time of year. But for some reason, this year is different. I just haven't been feeling as festive as usual, and it's been bothering me. It could be that I'm pregnant and my hormones are different, or maybe that this year seems to be busier. I just know that I usually have more shopping done by now. I usually have baked some type of cookies. I am so worried that the season will pass me by, leaving me with regrets. This is my last Christmas before we have the baby. I may not have time to do everything I usually do next year, so I need to try to fit in as many Christmasy things as I can.

I guess it's normal to have an "off year," but I don't want a Christmas that's anything less than wonderful! Maybe these things I have planned will make me feel better:

-- the Christmas cookie swap party on Saturday
-- the shopping trip to Atlanta on Sunday with mom
-- the "Fantasy in Lights" at Callaway Garden on 12/20

If Only . . .

For the past few mornings, except for yesterday, I thought long and hard about what I would do if I didn't have to go to work. Not sure why I do this to myself-- it only makes going to work harder after thinking about all the wonderful things I could be doing instead. I decided that I would make some coffee or tea, sit on the couch next to my Christmas tree, gas log fireplace, and puppies, and wear comfy socks (I have this thing about being cozy!) The reason I didn't feel this way yesterday morning was because I knew I didn't have to go to work! Instead, I had a workshop downtown. In fact, I felt like a woman with an office job or something. I stopped for coffee, wore high heels (I knew I could actually sit all day) and enjoyed not having to yell at kids. It was great!

Although I dream a lot about *not* having to go to work, the truth is, when I am off next year with my daughter (gosh, that sounds weird!) I am going to be a busy lady, but more fulfilled and happy. I can tell that my friend Lisanne has been happier since becoming a SAHM, and I can't wait for that. I'm going to have the best job in the world!

Another Glimpse of the Peanut

I had another ultrasound today and it was amazing to see my baby girl again, even if she was hiding under the placenta! She wouldn't move out from under it no matter how much the tech shook and tapped on my stomach. She actually looked like she was covering her head with her hands, as if she were saying "Leave me alone. I'm sleepy!" She was quite active yesterday during the day, which she usually isn't, so I wondered if we wouldn't see much movement on the ultrasound. She wore herself out exercising during the day! She has really grown a lot since the last time. She weighs a whole pound. My due date is now April 13, but she could come 2 weeks before or after (before would be nice).

She must be getting big, because this evening I have seen my tummy moving probably 10 times! My whole tummmy goes up and down and twitches. It's so neat to watch! Tomorrow night I am going over to a friend's house who just had her first baby (a girl!) on Friday night. I am taking her dinner and a present. I am really excited to see her baby, Ariel. I think seeing her will make it more real for me. This pregnancy is flying by!

Merci Beaucoup!

I love Blogging by Mail! Look what my completely awesome BMM buddy from France sent me! She included a couple jars of mustard (yum!), vanilla sugar, caramels, chocolate cake, some recipes and magazines, among other things! The cooking magazine is in French, but I took French in high school and college, so I can read it. :-) Thanks Melissa!

Indian Dinner

Yesterday, James had to catch up on some school work since he wasn't able to do it on his trip, so I was on my own for part of the day. I decided to drive down to the Indian grocery and pick up some supplies for dinner. Here's what I made:

I bought a box of pakora mix-- all you have to do it add water. It's similar to a tempura and you add a variety of things to the batter. I decided to use eggplant slices, but in the past potatoes and cauliflower have worked well.

The samosas, I have to admit, were already prepared. I've never actually tried to make them from scratch! Pam, the nice woman who owns the store, makes these and brings them in to sell. I did, however, make the coriander/mint chutney. It's very a very cooling, refreshing sauce. I kept mine mild in the interest of my baby and the horrible acid reflux I've been getting, but you can add chiles for an extra kick.

And for the main course: Mulligatawny Soup (Indian curry-flavored lentil soup) I have included the recipe below. Next time, I probably wouldn't use the crushed red pepper next time. As much as I love spicy food, I should keep my food mild. So, if you like milder foods, leave that out.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup lentils
3 table spoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
2 onions chopped finely
2 stalks celery chopped
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder or garam masala
1 dried red pepper crushed
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2 carrots chopped
2 red potatoes diced
2 tomatoes diced
1 zucchini sliced
6 cups bouillon or vegetable stock
Juice of one lemon
1/4 cup cilantro leaves chopped
1 cup coconut milk
Salt to taste

Directions:

Pour enough warm water over lentils to cover well, put aside. This is to soak the lentils before cooking.

Melt butter and oil in large pan, add chopped onion and celery and cook until transparent. Add ginger cook 1 minute more. Add curry powder, dried red pepper, crumbled, ground coriander, freshly ground black pepper and stir over low heat 2 minutes. Add flour to pan, stir over low heat 1 minute. Add the bullion. Mix well.

Stir in the carrots, zucchini, potatoes and tomatoes and the drained lentils. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered 20 minutes, cover pan, simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables and lentils are tender.

Puree in blender or food processor. Return soup to pan, bring to boil. Season the soup with salt according to your taste. Stir in lemon juice and cilantro and simmer 5 minutes more. Reduce heat, stir in coconut milk.

Serve hot. Add a few teaspoons of freshly made plain white rice.

Pain, Pain, Go Away

For the past couple days, I have had a sharp pain on my left side, usually towards the end of the day after I have been on my feet all day at work. Last night, after walking up and and down the mall, I held my belly as I walked to my car because it ached. Didn't post about it last night because I thought it was maybe from walking so much, but then this morning I still had it pretty bad. Rather than doing what my smart friend GFF did, I went to work and have suffered all day. I haven't called my doctor because I have some ideas of what it could be, and I am having an ultrasound Monday anyway. I am wondering if it's because I have slept on my right side EVERY night since James has been gone, and they say to spend equal amounts of time on both the right and the left for the sake of your ligaments. Also, I have something called spastic colon, which means that my colon spasms for no reason, and it hurts like hell. It generally happens on the left. My doctor said that someday when I became pregnant, it could get worse from the pressure on my abdomen, but so far so good, until now. It could also be that.

Little one is fine though. I have felt her wiggling all day, and last night, even during the pain, I could see my tummy twitching as she kicked me. She wanted to say hello I think and let me know that she was doing just fine. :-)

I plan to take it east tonight. And I'll have the hubby home to snuggle with. :-)

I Lied

Ok, so I lied. Mom called at 4:00 to ask if I'd meet her for an early dinner at the mall. You can't go to the mall just for dinner, so when I finally got home 30 minutes ago, it was with a few Christmas presents for the hubby, a sweater for me, and these fabulous new shoes to James's company Christmas party in a couple of weeks. I just can't seem to stay home.

Healthy Alone Time and My Boy Friend's Boyfriend

After having gone out every night this week, I am determined to stay in all evening with my latest Netflix arrival, my Christmas tree, gas fireplace, puppies, and PJ's. The only exception to the stay-home-all-night-rule will be the quick trip to pick up my take-out Indian food.

Last night was interesting. I took my friend B out for his first Thai experience and rather than enjoying it and spending time with me, he text messaged his new boyfriend all night and screamed every time he got one back. One time he even fell out of his chair (I am not kidding). Everyone watched us as we ate and I was embarrased that he called so much attention to our table. Oh well, I'm happy he's happy. I felt lonely when I got home with no James, but after a hot bath, warm pajamas, and "Sex and the City" re-runs on TV, I was set and I slept well for the first time since James has left. I even got to take the new car to work today. :-) (James wanted to give me the new car when we bought it and take mine, but I wasn't ready to give mine up). I am also enjoying reading my "Queen Noor" biography before bed every night.

When you're married and your spouse is away, it's strange having the house empty when you are so used to having someone leave their socks and shoes everywhere (and underwear, and school books, and not replacing the toilet paper, but hey, who's counting?) :-)

What do you like to do when your spouse is away?