SouthBound Blue Route

Darn Cute Kids

2012-01-27T12:53:00.000-05:00

Random

2012-01-26T09:01:00.006-05:00

Sitting at the computer has been making my back hurt. I've been limiting my time overall and using a physioball instead of chair, which helps but still means limited and brief blogging time.

I'm in the middle of Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Game series. So far I think the first book was the best but I guess I should wait until I finish to make my final judgement. They're extremely quick reads and keep your attention. Have you gotten caught up in the hype? Will you watch the movie?

Jim came across an interesting post on NPR about a former vegan who makes a big life change to embrace butchering. The article also includes a pretty cool little documentary type video on the butchering and agriculture.

We recently watched FoodMatters. No matter what your views are on health & wellness it's worth watching. Some of it may seem like really drastic changes for people (like switching to a primarily whole foods diet) but in the end we all need to think more about what we put into our bodies and try to make steps towards better daily habits. Let's just say someone in our house might be getting a fancy new juicer for his birthday.

And not at all related to health food....how awesome is this cake?Must be my belly talking...

Monday...

2012-01-23T09:31:00.000-05:00

"When love is not madness, it is not love."

~Pedro Calderon de La Barca

Another man's treasure

2012-01-20T08:54:00.003-05:00

Some things in life are hard to come by. True love, good friends, a rewarding career, and lets not forget tin coffee cans. Seriously! Plastic has total taken over the industry but a tin coffee can, especially one with a lid, has so many uses. They are super sturdy and great for storing all kinds of things, like screws, nails, construction materials, buttons, or craft supplies. You can get really crazy and make a light fixture or lamp. You can paint them and use them as mini vases or planters for herbs.

You could easily have a few in every room of your house. If only they weren't so darn difficult to come by...

Well yesterday was Jim's lucky day. He was just walking down the street to work and there it was, a perfectly good tin coffee can in the street. A brief inspection revealed that it was not infested with roaches or been used as urinal by a homeless person, so he picked it up and continued on his way. Once inside the office, with great excitement, as he was carefully wiping and cleaning the canister, he showed off his new prize to several staff members. All of whom thought it was the weirdest thing. Why anyone in their right mind would pick up trash off the street? Perhaps it goes back to my redneck Ohio roots, but my initial response was "Sweet!"

A Hope Chest

2012-01-19T10:50:00.005-05:00

The last few times I made a trip to Ohio, I packed up the extra space in our car with stuff I'm been storing at my dad's house for the last ten years. You know the kind of stuff you didn't want to get rid of but didn't want to lug around with you from apartment to apartment in college. Now that I have my own house my dad and I agreed it was time to clear some of it out.

One such item....
Jim and I have plans for a little paint job and transformation to a toy box for the babies room. But that meant first finding a home for the precious memories it has been storing for nearly 15 years. There were a few bigger items that were easier to make decisions about....a mirror (keep it), a collection of beautiful doilies that were my mothers (keep 'em), a few random stuff animals and cookbooks (donated).

Then we move onto to this lovely keepsake box filled with random, but apparently sentimental items......

Let's start with the paper collection: a laffy taffy wrapper, a card from by brother, the label from sparkling wine with NYE 1997 etched into the back, a completely random note from my dad that says nothing particularly touching or sentimental, a letter from my mom apologizing for an argument, a few touching sayings from Dove chocolate, a quote on perseverance, and a few other random encouraging notes/letters from adults such as our minister.

I tucked away the letter from my mom and tossed/recycled everything else.

Next up in the keepsake box were my random assortment of miniature "things" including: dried carnations, a hand-carved bear, Guatemalan worry dolls, some random Christmas ornaments, a pink shiny rock, and a really old Hershey kiss which I associate with a memory of my first "love" and the Goshen Dairy parking lot, although I can't be certain that it's an accurate connection.

I kept the necklace and worry dolls.

And finally, not in the keepsake box but in the chest itself we have the following figurines:

I think the suitcase is pretty suit so it's currently being used as a bookend in the living room. I donated everything else with the exception of the larger carousel house which is also a music box, which I would be nice if we have a girl or otherwise gifted to my adorable niece.

A whole chest of things that once seemed important and valuable.....

Showered

2012-01-17T08:55:00.004-05:00

We were lucky enough to have two really wonderful showers to help prepare for Baby Robinson's arrival. Back in November my sister-in-law and sister hosted a small shower for some of my high school and college friends back in my home town. She decided on an adorable Dr. Seuss theme. I've been meaning to do a separate post about it because the decorations were sooo cute, but I'm computer challenged and can't figure out how to get the pictures she sent on Shutterfly onto my computer and/or blog. My sister-in-law did do a post on her blog so you can check out pictures there.

Last weekend was the second shower for my family and friends on the east coast. Again, the hosts (my friend Sarah and mother-in-law) went out of their way to make a beautiful and creative display. This time they decided on a fun multi-colored theme complete with a candy bar and handmade tissue paper flowers.

Jim and I are so thankful for all our wonderful family and friends. Everyone has been so supportive and generous throughout our whole preparations process! We are overwhelmed with excitement and can't wait for out little one to meet everyone! One more month!!!

Monday...

2012-01-16T09:04:00.002-05:00

"I have decided to stick to love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. "

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Black Keys - Lonely Boy

2012-01-12T10:25:00.001-05:00

The Black Keys rock.
And I get a good chuckle out of watching this video.

Artichoke Spinach Dip

2012-01-11T09:46:00.003-05:00

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1/4 C. mayo
1/2 grated parmesan or romano cheese (or 1/4 C. each)
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 14oz can artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
1/2 C. frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
1/4 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease small baking dish.
Mix cream cheese, mayo, parmasan and/or romano cheese, garlic, basil, and salt & pepper to taste.
Once well mix gently stir in chopped artichoke hearts and spinach.
Scoop into prepared baking dish & top with mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned and warmed throughout.

I love this stuff!

Swaddled

2012-01-10T11:03:00.004-05:00

We rented and watched The Happiest Baby on the Block Sunday night. Jim is now an expert teddy bear swaddler.

Doesn't Mr. Bear look so cozy?

Monday...

2012-01-09T08:43:00.001-05:00

"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today."

~James Dean

Make Your Own Soap

2012-01-06T08:55:00.003-05:00

Spotting this link on Bleubird Vintage made me super excited. I can't wait to try it!

A New Year.

2012-01-04T15:33:00.005-05:00

I didn't do it last year but enjoyed reading back at my goals for 2010 so thought I'd get something in writing while I'm feeling inspired!

Take more pictures. I'm usually really good at this but last year I hardly had the camera out at all, especially after I got pregnant. I'm hoping to recruit Jim on this one too so I actually appear in some photos with the new babe.

Use technology better. Although I love certain stone age practices like sending letters snail mail style and carrying a paper planner, I know I could put technology to better use. I want to get a better handle on technology in useful ways, like paperless statements from my bank and other accounts, keeping track of birthdays, and a better way to follow blogs I read regularly.

Get myself together. This probably sounds ridiculous but I don't want to fall into the mom in sweat pants trap. I could totally see it happening since I'm slowing slipping into a cozy oversized tshirt and sweats world as we speak. And once the baby comes I know my time will be limited, simple task may seem overwhelming, and my wardrobe will be in some kind of in between stage. But, I don't want that to mean a year from now I'm bumming around in tattered yoga pants with no bra at Target. I want to make an effort to get back into actually getting dressed and ready even when I have no real place to go. Just for for me.

Stay healthy. Over the last year I was fortune to have an abundance of time and energy to spend on myself. I know the demands of motherhood are going to cut into my personal time a bit, but I want to make sure that I keep exercise and healthy eating a priority for myself and my family.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2012!!!

Creating New Life. Week 33 1/2

2012-01-02T12:26:00.002-05:00

Monday...

2012-01-02T09:12:00.002-05:00

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right."

~Oprah Winfrey

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T17:43:00.007-05:00

Last year we had a super lazy New Year's Eve but a busy fun New Year's Day. This year we pulled the 'ole switch-a-roo, stayed up late celebrating and playing cards with the Crookers followed by the laziest day of lounging and napping on the couch that the Robinson house has ever seen. Aside from making chili this poem is the most exertion thing I've done all day.....

A night with the Crookers celebrated the end of this year
Their little man Cameron, fast asleep by 8:15 made him even cuter.
We passed the time with fun and good cheer
But allowed only games with the weirdest of names like farkle and euchre.

Midnight chimed and the champagne was poured
With just one lone water glass for the childbearing gal.
Burning and choking as the laughter loudly roared.
She was struck in the eye and with the unexpected fizz required a towel.

Another year now behind us and we got some stuff done
The biggest of all a baby.
A new year filled with love and new kinds of fun
Twenty Twelve will be awesome, not even a maybe.

Holiday Gala: Chiro Edition

2011-12-29T15:17:00.006-05:00

The last time I hosted a holiday party was with my roommates and some close friends back in chiropractic school. It was quite the extravagant affair. Since everyone was always wearing sweats pants and rarely at their best during class time, we decided to make it mandatory to dress up nice and fancy. You know holiday dresses & sparkles for the ladies and a shirt and tie for all the men. We had it catered with little stuffed mushrooms and nice hors d'oeuvres. There was lots of wine, special holiday 'jungle juice' and even a bartender. Like I said, fancy! It was also the very special night of Jim's first proposal....

The story goes that at some point during the evening I was taking trash out to the garage where a group was gathered. Jim was amongst the gang. Jim was so amazed that not only was I hosting the party and wearing a skirt and heels, but I was also taking out the trash. He was so amazed in fact that he was moved to the point of asking for my hand in marriage. This of course was all in good, drunken fun because we weren't even dating then. It was in fact almost a year later before he pursued any romantic interests with me. We even have a terrible little video that night of us reenacting his proposal. I unfortunately can not figure out how to download it, so a few pictures of the evening will have to suffice.

1st Annual Robinson Holiday Gala

2011-12-23T09:47:00.007-05:00

A holiday party seemed like the perfect excuse to put our butts in high gear and get the Robinson house in order once and for all. Ok that's a lie, I fear there is never really an actual end but you know what I mean. Plus, due to the constant state of chaos and construction our house has been in over the last year and a half, we've avoided having any large groups or gatherings here and a little house warming seemed well past due. So, last Saturday we had our 1st Annual Robinson Holiday Gala (so fancy, right?!).

I am overjoyed to report that it was a big success and the house held up nicely. We had plenty of room for about 50 guests throughout the evening, never feeling crowded or overwhelmed. I love how much room there was in the kitchen to put out all the appetizers on the counters, desserts on the island, and even a special little coffee station on the buffet. In some kind of pregnancy memory lapse I didn't take a single picture. Not our lovely guests, the yummy food, the sparkle & glitter. Nothing. But, I did take a fewof the little details that were still intact during the day after clean up....

I covered the buffet with a runner made from brown paper, the kind that comes in a large roll, that we had left over from a construction project and turned it into a little Keurig coffee station. During the party I had peppermint mocha and french vanilla creamer on the coaster. The sugar bowl was a $.50 thrift store find and the little bowl to the far left for the spoons is a cute little Christmas dish that I got in a pollyanna exchange.

I used little placecard holders that my mother-in-law had given me in Christmas pasts to make little signs out of cardstock to designate little details (alcoholic punch, where to find water/soda, etc).

The basement was our biggest transformation. We unloaded our moving truck into the basement and it has been a messy variation of a storage unit since then.....

I don't even think there are pictures of it at its worse. At some point we were actually sleeping down there while the hardwoods were being refinished. I'm going to have nightmares just thinking about those dark, spidery days.

And the After.....
It's also "after" the party so not quite as neat as tidy as it was at it's best.

We have future plans to patch up some holes, paint the wood paneling and eventually want new carpet. But it cleared out pretty nicely and was the perfect party spot.

We set up a long fold out table for beer, wine and snack foods and since it were the later party crowd ended up, I eventually brought down some of the dips and food for everyone.

Since my kitchen and upstairs is pretty traditional, I decided a little more fun was in order for the basement with silver, sparkles and bright colors. I bought ornament shaped foam decorations that come in blue, purple, green, and pink. Some were already covered in sparkles while others where plain, so I used glitter glue to add some special details. I punched holes in the top and used colored ribbon to hang them from the windows, tables, and even the fish tank. I think all the glitter helped distract from the remaining imperfections

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."

~Norman Vincent Peale

That's helpful too.

Blue Route Anniversary

2011-12-22T10:18:00.005-05:00

My old commuter route and the inspiration for my blog title, celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier this week. I'm sure it was a huge traumatic and controversial change at the time, but I just can't imagine that area of Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs without the Blue Route.

image

Holiday Prep

2011-12-21T13:17:00.006-05:00

I finished the last of my gift buying and wrapping today. HoORay!!! I really love the holidays but I hate feeling stressed or rushing around last minute. I even managed to get Christmas cards in the mail at the last minute. We had wanted to do a photo card this year to show off our growing family (aka my expanding midriff) but never got around to taking the actual picture. We were running out of time to order cards and get them in time to address and send them out, so I tried doing a solo photo shot with the tripod and a little Sofee dog assistance. The best I came up with was the 31 week photo, but Jim thought my stomach looked plastic and felt left out. I guess there's always next year.

The rest of the week is pretty much a regular work week but it will be nice to have a 3 day weekend. Christmas Eve will be dinner and gifts with the in-laws followed by an annual gathering at family friends. Jim and I usually come home late and open presents before going to bed then sleep in super late on Christmas Day. It will probably be our last year ever so we'll be taking full advantage. We usually wake up and have a light breakfast, then head to his grandparents for lunch and more family time.

How about you?
Are you all wrapped and ready?
Do you have any special plans or traditions?

Darn Cute Kids

2011-12-20T10:49:00.001-05:00

Monday...

2011-12-19T11:27:00.001-05:00

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

~ Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Creating New Life. Week 31

2011-12-16T13:18:00.004-05:00

Our Birth Plan

2011-12-14T15:56:00.009-05:00

It may come as no surprise that I'm planning on an unmedicated natural birth with as few (hopefully none!) interventions as possible. I'm in no way naive and do realize that there are reasons that this may not go my way. But, I refuse to focus on those possibilities and instead spend my energy on educating myself and reading, listening, and absorbing positive birth stories.

There is a great post on Dear Baby about the topic. It's worth reading even if you're not pregnant and making decisions about a birth plan, especially for woman. It's important that we try to educate ourselves and initiate meaningful conversations. There are also some great links if you're looking to do some research on the topic.

My close friend, Kim, also decided on an unmedicated birth with her third baby, Caroline. Although it started out as a financial decision, in the end she realized it was more than that.

A home birth was a little bit too much for Jim and I to handle our first time around and the only birth center near us is about 45 minutes away and difficult to get a slot in. So we decided to stick with my obstetrician and delivery at the hospital, which is about 2 miles from our house. To support our goal of a natural birth we did some research and decided to use the Bradley method. It's a husband/partner based coaching method focused on relaxation and embracing the birthing process. We just finished up a great course with two doulas in our area and both agreed that we feel so much more prepared and educated on the labor and delivery process, what to expect, and how to handle different situations that may come up.

The website allows you to search for classes in your area. If there are no courses offered in your area I would recommend at least reading Dr. Bradley's book, Husband Coached Childbirth: The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth.

I also recommend Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. Ina May is a world famous and extremely respected midwife and founder of the The Farm Midwifery Center in Tennessee. The Farm has a cesarean rate of less than 2%. The US national cesarean rate is over 30%...

Until it's time for Baby Robinson to arrive, I'm focused on keeping me and baby happy & healthy through good nutrition, exercise, and a positive environment.

"Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic."
~Ina May Gaskin

Creating New Life. Week 30

2011-12-13T09:26:00.004-05:00

This shirt was last seen here at Week 23.

I've certainly filled out a bit since then. I actually feel like the results are much more dramatic than these pictures show. I think it's because my belly is actually heavy now and more limiting by the day.

I've also develop a pumpkin face. I've decided that although this is usually my favorite & warmest winter hat I may just have to retire it for one season due to the particularly emphasis it places on my round, pudgy cheeks.

Pregnancy Favorites

2011-12-12T09:29:00.003-05:00

H & M Mama full panel straight leg jeans. I seriously wear them almost everyday. They are so freakin' comfortable and don't make my ass look all saggy. I'm a huge fan of full panel vs. the stupid demi panels.

Maternity tanks. I have one from Old Navy and one from H & M that I really love. I wear them ALL the time under my non maternity cardigans, which helps stretch my wardrobe a little further.

Tea. I bought a few varieties of pregnancy tea at my local health food store in my first trimester when I was really sick and have replenished the supply several times. It's a nice cozy treat now that it's chilly outside and I'm still restricted from enjoying a good cup o' joe. I occasionally add a few drops of peppermint oil if my stomach is feeling a little unsettled.

Cheese, Cheese, Cheese. Wonderful Cheese.

Cat-Cow pose.

Back rubs. I made an arrangement with Jim that for every day I'm solely responsible for the caring for the baby, he owes me a 5 minute massage. I don't cash in everyday but some days it can be the absolute BEST 5 minutes.

Monday...

2011-12-12T07:26:00.002-05:00

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother."

~Lin Yutang

Darn Cute Kids

2011-12-11T19:25:00.000-05:00

Getting Pregnant. Part Two.

2011-12-09T13:54:00.001-05:00

I try not to take for granted that my profession and education sometimes puts me ahead of the game so to speak. But, I know in this case it is what pushed me to seek better answers, better solutions, and most of all trust in my body.

First I talked to my acupuncturist. I had been receiving treatments for stomach issues on pretty regular basis for several years and the woman I was seeing at the time also happen to treat a lot of woman receiving IVF treatments. She immediately recommended that I start taking chaste tree berry to help naturally regulate my hormones. After a little research I felt confident with the recommendation and started the gross little drops daily. Around this time we also put a bid in on our house and started making plans for our big move. It allowed for some distraction and prevented me from concentrating to much on the issue. I also started working out 5 days a week before work, stretching daily, and focusing even more what I was foods I was putting into my body.

Months and months go by. No baby.

At this point we're almost a year into "trying." More of our friends are getting pregnant and having babies. More and more people are starting to inquire about our intentions to start a family. What do you say?..."My ovaries suck" Realistically you know that very few people actually want to hear about your problems. Besides, what did I expect them to say in response?

I did confide in a few close friends that we were trying but it wasn't a topic I really wanted to talk about in real depth. I knew at the time and even more so now that I was shutting people out of the discussion. I had very strong feelings that I wanted to conceive a baby naturally. I really wanted to trust if I wasn't getting pregnant it was because my body knew something I didn't. I think I knew the more I heard other people doubting that the more I would myself.

I decided to spend money out of pocket to consult with a holistic medical doctor with more than 20 years of experience in woman's health who was not covered by our insurance. Unfortunately in our healthcare system it's difficult to find a doctor that will spend an entire hour listening to you and talking to you about not just your 'problem' but your diet, your sleep habits, your entire lifestyle. I feel very fortune to have had the access to such a remarkable woman and healthcare provider.

After our examination, consultation, and another round of blood work, I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Basically woman with PCOS have a hormonal imbalance that prevents ovulation. The ovaries start to grow follicles that would normally develop into a mature egg but with PCOS the hormones necessary to stimulate full mature of an egg are absent, so the follicles build up and remain on the ovaries as a cyst.

It is the most common cause of female infertility and unfortunately they don't really know what causes it. There is a lot of information on the web about PCOS symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. I didn't really fit the typical prototype but a lot of things did make sense after I was diagnosed: I had been struggling with acne for a long time; I had a lot of trouble losing weight, particularly from my midsection even with a strict diet and exercise; I had suffered with irregular and painful menstrual cycles; and of course the whole infertility thing. All of these things (aside from the actual infertility) had actually started to improve since I initiated the chaste tree berry, which I took as a good sign. The doctor recommended that I continue with the chaste tree berry, try a gluten free diet, serious re-evaluate my life in order to find ways to decrease my stress levels, and start getting acupuncture again.

A few more months go by with little change. At this point I decide it's time to get a new OB/GYN. After a bit of trial and error, I ended up finding a great practice and an open minded doctor. He completely agreed with the PCOS diagnosis and even confirmed it with an in office ultrasound of my ovaries showing loads of cysts. When I told him I was looking to treat the problem as naturally as possible, he responded, "I would love to help you but I don't really know what we can do to treat this naturally." I believe he was really sincere. Sadly, he really didn't know any options that didn't include medication or invasive procedures. He gave me a prescription for Clomid, what he thought was my best option and recommended I try to chart my basal body temperature (which I was already doing at this point).

I carried around that prescription for months. It was stuffed in the back section of my planner where I would occasionally come across it. It seemed easy enough to pop a pill for a few day and like magic we'd have a baby. But, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It just didn't feel like the right thing to me. It was getting to the point where Jim was even leaning toward giving it a try. The poor man had been listening to me for over a year. Every month you have to go through the same emotions....Overthinking symptoms such as fatigue just hoping that it means something.The negative pregnancy tests. Waiting for your damn period so you can get started on your next try. Getting your period. Calculating your ovulation window which is really hard if you're cycle is irregular. Hoping that you nailed it this time. Trusting your body. More waiting.

In the end you're left trying to convince yourself that it doesn't mean you have failed as a woman. I just kept thinking about how a woman's body was meant to do this, but what if mine wasn't. I know that a lot of woman face problems with infertility and deal with very similar emotions. I also know that other woman have trouble conceiving a second or third child or have to face the hardships and emotions after a miscarriage. But there is something so isolating and desolate about not knowing whether you are even capable of getting pregnant at all. For some people these emotions are so strong that they'll do anything to get pregnant, including expensive medication and invasive procedures with terrible side effects, serious potential risks, and no absolute guarantee that you'll get pregnant or avoid a miscarriage. The emotion of all of it seemed like more than I personally could ever handle. Jim and I decided at the two year mark we would start looking into adoption.

So, how did I end up getting pregnant? I continued taking chaste tree berry, until the end of my first trimester in fact to support my progesterone production. I quit my stress producing job, stop commuting over an hour one way to work, and tried to surround my life with all things zen and calm. I sought out regular acupuncture treatment and herbal remedies. Including a concoction meant to dissolves cysts that caused me to have the worst case of abdominal bloating, followed by an extremely heavy period with deep red clots. During this period a cyst in my arm also noticeably reduced in size. I followed this by a course of Chinese herbs designed to support each phase of your menstrual cycle by taking a different blend each of the four weeks. I continued to support my body through good nutrition, exercise, and yoga.

Through it all I had confidence in my body and trusted the process. It was probably the hardest part of it all. I had to constantly remind myself that my body needed time to adjust to the changes I was making through natural supplements and my chosen treatment options. As a chiropractor I'm constantly telling patients that healing takes time. Your body doesn't adapt to changes, good or bad, overnight. I don't think I've ever understood so fully why people take the easy way out. But, I've also never been so happy that I had the strength, knowledge, and support to take the long road.

Darn Cute Kids

2011-12-09T09:48:00.003-05:00

Getting Pregnant. Part One

2011-12-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

This post is a little on the personal side. It also contains words like ovulation and progesterone. Maybe that makes you uncomfortable. In which case you can skip to the end: after nearly two years of struggling with infertility I'm pregnant. I probably could just leave it at that for everyone, but I know that there are other women out there struggling with the same or similar problems. And for some reason we have trouble talking about. Maybe my story and my journey can help someone, so for that person I think it's worth getting a little personal (and a bit wordy) for a day...

Like many young woman, I spent my early and mid twenties (while involved in loving, committed relationships of course!) trying NOT to get pregnant. Even when Jim and I were in it for the forever and had been living together for several years, I was still a birth control maniac. We had careers to establish, finances to get in order, and a young carefree life to enjoy. We just weren't ready for a baby.

I remember the first time we decided it wouldn't be the end of the world if I got pregnant (aka had completely unprotected sex). The days after I found myself calculating nine months down the road. Arranging things in my head and thinking about what would be awesome and what didn't work so well about having a baby in that month. But, it didn't happen and as months started to go by I kinda stopped thinking about it so much. In the beginning we weren't really "trying" we were rather just letting things happen, so it didn't seem like too much of a surprise or shock when I didn't get pregnant right away.

It was about six months into the whole not trying but trying thing that I started to get concerned. Without birth control pills, my cycle had always been irregular. Never your expected 4 weeks, usually 5 or 6, maybe 7 if things were crazy. All the sudden I was on 10 weeks without a period and a dozen or more negative pregnancy test. I headed to my OB/GYN and after some blood work was ever so casually informed, "you're just not ovulating."

Oh, that's all. Just not ovulating. (insert sarcasm)

There are a lot of hormones that work in a very balanced way throughout the menstrual cycle. Because each hormone has a different job the levels change throughout your cycle, so blood work on one particular day can be somewhat misleading depending on what you're looking for. If you are struggling with infertility doctors usually draw blood on several occasions in specific time frames of your cycle. Even with just a snapshot few of my cycle, in my case the most evident thing was extremely low progesterone levels, like postmenopausal low levels. Progesterone is released in response to a mature egg to prepare the uterine lining and is essential in supporting a pregnancy in the first trimester. More details on ovulation and how the different hormones work throughout the menstrual cycle can be found here.

I remember how that particular doctors office kind of disregarded the whole thing, instructing me to just see what happens and call if I needed to come back. We had only been trying to conceive for six months and the apparently standard mark is a year before they really start discussing infertility options with couples. But, trust me on this one. No woman who wants to eventually (like sooner than later people!) have children is Ok hearing that she is not ovulating, particularly not in a very nonchalant way with no offering of solutions or suggestions. Ovulation just happens to be really necessary to have a baby and I felt like I was shuttled back into my old world with this new burden. I didn't really know what I was suppose to do with this information. Change nothing and just keep waiting?

This is when getting pregnant started to became more of an emotional journey than a physical one.

Mommy

2011-12-08T09:00:00.001-05:00

I had my first baby dream last night. I unexpectedly gave birth in the doctors office in some weird back storage room. It was a girl...

I woke up with this uneasy sense of the new life ahead. I'm going to be someone's "Mommy." Are you kidding me?! Some days motherhood it is an exciting but overwhelming concept. So with winter settling in and my last 10 weeks ahead, I've decided to dedicate a series of post on all things pregnancy & baby related.

Happy Birthday Mom

2011-12-07T21:49:00.003-05:00

One of my all time favorite pictures...

Debra K. Stidd
12.7.52-4.16.01

Monday...

2011-11-28T14:41:00.002-05:00

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."

~Maria Robinson

Wish List

2011-11-27T17:46:00.012-05:00

Now that Thanksgiving has had it's proper attention I can turn my attention to Christmas. I hate that poor Thanksgiving gets so overshadowed by it's dominating holiday neighbor. Especially since it's such a great holiday! It's personally one of my favorites. What's better than a nice long weekend to gather with your family, lounge around watching parades & football, stuff your face with amazing foods, and be thankful? Add in the whole no gifts required and you've got a winner. But, the turkey has been stuffed, the pumpkin pie covered in whip cream, and a weekend of leftovers enjoyed so it's on to my wish list for Santa....

**I love these birth month necklaces! I've never been a fan of my birth stone but do enjoy the choice made for October's flower. I also really like January, September, & June. I could also be persuaded to enjoy February in honor of Baby Robinson assuming arrival is timely.

**I'm in desperate need of new winter boots but can't seem to find something I like also in my price range. Good luck on this one Santa.

image

**In an attempt to be more organized I've been looking for a small to medium sized jewelry box mostly for earrings and bracelets, like this.

**I've been wanted a set or two of these latte bowls from Anthropologie for awhile now. Perfect for desserts and special treats. I like the raspberry, chartreuse, and mint the best.

**Jim and I spotted the cutest knit headband/ear warmers while Christmas shopping at Christmas village in Philly. They had a lot of fun color with cute little flowers. I'm thinking something neutral that could go with any of my coats/jackets to just throw on with a ponytail.

image

**I also really want a new lightweight black turtle sweater. But it's a stupid wish since I'm pregnant and either way you go I won't get a full season of wear out of it, so I guess I'll just save that one for next year.

The After. Finally.

2011-11-23T10:28:00.006-05:00

I've got a million mini projects on my to-do list for the long weekend. Hopefully I can convince the mister to give me a hand with a few of them. (You're the best Jim. I'll even make you cookies!) It's an ongoing problem for us because we start a million and one things at a time and always focus on getting the big stuff done. Thankfully we're starting to run out of big projects, forcing us to buckle down and get the little stuff done. Like hanging that mirror in the kitchen. Remember like two months ago when I wrote a post about the same damn thing? We actually hung the mirror a few weeks back but I never got around to posting the "after" effect.

Drum roll.......

Last seen looking like this.....

I love how it turned out. The mirror, which we already owned, is the perfect size. I was worried that it would be too much green but I think it's really off set by the dominate white on the bottom half and compliments the buffet really well. I changed out a few of the accessories for some fall decor which I also helped the green not become overpowering.

What do you think?
Are you a fan of mixing second hand items or do you like a more matched look?

Three.

2011-11-23T10:21:00.005-05:00

Yesterday marked three years of marriage.
We celebrated with heart shaped grilled cheese and tomato soup.
True romance never dies.

Pumpkin Dessert

2011-11-22T10:02:00.004-05:00

If you're looking for a new dessert to add to your Thanksgiving celebration, this is it! It's easy to make and oh so delicious.

Pumpkin Cake Dessert

1 box yellow cake mix
1 16 oz can pumpkin
1 12oz can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 C. sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. chopped pecans
1 C. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9x13 cake pan.
Mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
Pour into prepared pan.
Sprinkle dry cake mix over .
Top with pecans.
Drizzle evenly with melted butter.
Bake for 50-55 minutes.

**I've tried making a gluten free variation using boxed gluten free cake mix and it didn't really turn out right. I think it might be because the gluten free mixes are generally made for smaller pans. Regardless it wasn't an easy substitution and still requires some experimenting***

Kids Corner Special. Ending Child Abuse

2011-11-21T13:19:00.004-05:00

Have I ever mention Kids Corner? It's an absoultely fantastic radio program that airs on WXPN Monday-Thursday nights at 7pm. The host, Kathy O'Connell, engages children on a wide range of topics ranging including nature, science, books, movies, music, and more. Even without a kid in the house Jim and I have been known to listen in. I'm a big advocate of the program and highly recommend the program for anyone with kids and those of you who are kids at heart or just nerds like us.

But even if you don't like goofy songs, cute kids calling in to play the piano, or science trivia you need to tune in tonight. Tonight is an extra special program featuring a conversation with Tracey Thomasey from the Support Center for Child Advocates addressing child abuse. An important and difficult topic all parents and kids need to be able to discuss. You can also find downloads of the interview here.

regarding an important topic all

Monday...

2011-11-21T12:24:00.001-05:00

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

~John F. Kennedy

Thanksgiving Prep

2011-11-20T18:28:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it's Thanksgiving this week! A lot of times we travel to Ohio for a long weekend but this year we're staying close to home and having dinner with my in-laws, where half of the group will be vegetarian. My mother-in-law just can't grasp the whole idea of cooking without meat or meat related products (chicken broth, etc) so I volunteered to bring a vegetarian main dish as well as vegetarian stuffing. After some internet searching I decided on this squash dish. I think it looks AMAZING and hoping it turns out. I've never really worked with phyllo dough so it could be interesting.

After an early dinner we'll head over to Aunt Kathleen's for dessert and extended family time. I'll be bringing along a delicious pumpkin dessert. My sister-in-law makes it ever year for my family and it's always a big hit. I'll have to dig out the recipe and post it this week.

It's also our anniversary this week. It falls on a weekday and we'll both be working until after 8, so we plan to celebrate next weekend with brunch where we got married followed by an afternoon hike, weather permitting. We agreed on no gifts again this year. Of course last year Jim broke the rule so now I don't know which way to go.

Creating New Life. Week 26

2011-11-17T09:45:00.002-05:00

From the eyes of my 5 year old niece....

Monday. On Wednesday

2011-11-16T15:39:00.001-05:00

"When I was 5 years old my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy.' They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them the didn't understand life."

~ John Lennon

Lists & Links

2011-11-10T08:05:00.004-05:00

I made these "breakfast cookies" last night and they are completely gone already! Just sweet enough but not the guilty kind of sweet. Kind of like a bowl of oatmeal in cookie form. We've also really been enjoying a juicy tart morning grapefruit together.

I love this color combo with the soft peach peaking out of the bright yellow. I'm been checking out more fashiony blogs lately including here, here, and here. Maybe because I'm stuck in a a crappy, blah maternity wardrobe.

I also have really been into this blog. Lots of quick posts ranging from motherhood to fashion to NYC life.

I'm heading to Ohio tomorrow on a little solo road trip. To battle my loneliness I picked up 5 different audio books and about a dozen new CDs at the library. I've got everything from Fahrenheit 451, Barbara Walters, some David Sedaris, and a bit of little crappy girly fiction.

I'm hoping this beautiful fall weather lasts through my weekend roadtrip. Any fun plans before the frigid temps set in?

Me and the Sofee dog enjoying a crisp fall camping trip (2009)

Monday...

2011-11-07T08:38:00.001-05:00

"Some think it's holding on that makes on strong; sometimes it's letting go."

~Sylvia Robinson

Couch Potatoes

2011-11-06T19:47:00.002-05:00

Last weekend I turned thirty-one bringing along a lovely 6 inches of snow mixed with ice and sleet. Nothing says "Happy Birthday" like freezing ice balls falling from the late October sky. We bailed on all our Halloween related engagements and spend the night stuff our faces with cupcakes and parked our lazy butts on the couch for the whole night.

Birthday candy corn cupcakes. More candy corn. Toasted pumpkin seeds.

We started off with Paranormal Activity followed by Psycho, which neither of had seen before, then ended the night with about 5-6 episodes of Breaking Bad on Netflixs. The most terrifying thing I saw the whole night was the terrible heroin death on Breaking Bad.

****Warning the remaining post may contain spoilers****

I just get so disturbed by heroin/opioid addictions and the aftermath. It's the addiction I fear someone I know having the most. I just couldn't sleep thinking that last scene and what was going to happen to Jesse and how could Walt just stand there for god sake! Not to mention Jane was super bad ass and combined in a relationship with Jesse, one of my favorite characters.... especially in comparison to Skylar who is just a major bitch! I'm also a big fan of the Los Pollos Hermanos guy and Better Call Saul. Breaking Bad is so awesome.

Creating New Life. Week 25

2011-11-06T19:08:00.004-05:00

This is really the first week that I've noticed I was pregnant from a physical standpoint. Up to this point my growing midsection went unnoticed in my daily routine. But this week I know I'm carrying around a little basketball under my shirt. I have to sit down to put on my socks because I can't flex my hip enough to reach standing up. When I sit down my boobs almost touch my stomach and if I sit for too long I get a crease where the two meet. Squatting down requires caution and rising back up requires a little groan.

I'm getting more belly rubs than ever and a lot more people are taking note of my condition. Everyone thinks I'm having a boy. Everyone also thinks I'm carrying the baby really high. I contribute this illusion to the fact that I have no torso. I have known for a long time that someday being all legs would haunt more beyond shopping for pants and that time has come. I'm under 5'9" and wear a 34" inseam. For comparison, Jim is 6'2" and also wears a 34" inseam and my brother in law is about my height and wears a 30" inseam. By my calculations I'm missing 4-5" of torso. Good luck in there Baby Robinson vs my internal organs.

I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy

2011-11-05T12:46:00.003-04:00

My favorite is the little boys at the end "oh, good for you now you're probably going to get a belly ache."

Monday...

2011-10-31T22:06:00.000-04:00

Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen.
Voices whisper in the trees, 'Tonight is Halloween!'

~Dexter Kozen

Lil Nook

2011-10-27T09:06:00.004-04:00

We have a little nook at one end of our hallway. We also happen to have a cute little bookshelf from our old apartment that fits perfectly. For probably close to a year the poor little thing was completely empty and sad looking. We have the large bookshelves in the living room already starving for more novels, and I hadn't come up with any good ideas on how to put the little red one to good use.

Finally, the anticipation of Baby Robinson sparked an idea. The nook is at the end of the hallway between the two extra bedrooms, which will hopefully be filled up with kiddos someday, so I started filling up the shelf with kids books.

The majority of the books I actually scored out of my dad's basement on our last trip to Ohio. So many of my childhood favorites including: a whole collection of Golden Books, The Berenstain Bears, and Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia. I've also been hitting up the local thrift store where children's books are only $0.25 and have scored some great collections of nursery rhymes, additional Golden Books, and James and the Giant Peach just to name a few.

The top holds a framed wedding invitation, a few of my favorite pictures from our honeymoon in Aruba, and a cool print that was actually the front of a wedding card we received.

Monday...

2011-10-24T20:13:00.001-04:00

"I don't use drugs, my dreams are frightening enough."

~M.C. Escher

Bob Schneider

2011-10-24T11:51:00.004-04:00

I love a last minute Sunday night outing, don't you? Last night we hit the city with a friend to see his favorite artist, Bob Schneider. I only knew the guy because I've heard our buddy Dan talk about him before but wasn't familiar with any of his music.

Apparently he usually performs with a band, but last night he was solo at the World Cafe Live. His lyrics were funny, sarcastic, and innovative and I was definitely audibly pleased throughout his entire show. The guy himself just has a comedic presence making the whole show that much more enjoyable.

He did a lot of on stage overdubs, which I thought was pretty cool. Ever time there was a heavy bass line the baby would start kicking like crazy. Baby likes bass. Actually I just assume that more kicking means the baby likes something. Heck for all I know it's just trying like crazy to get the hell out of there to escape the torture.

Creating New Life. Week 23

2011-10-21T16:24:00.001-04:00

New life. Mid creation. In my belly. Crazy....

I'm at the stage where I can actually see why woman say they like being pregnant. My hair is thick, soft, and shiny. My skin has cleared up and my nails are growing like crazy. I live in this cozy no zipper, elastic waistband world and with a cute little belly that people are magically drawn to touching and rubbing like a lucky penny or something.

Week 23

Focus on the belly and try to ignore the gross toothpaste smear all over my bathroom mirror.

My Morning Jacket

2011-10-21T11:35:00.001-04:00

"Wonderful (The Way I Feel)"

It matters to me
Took a long time to get here
If it would have been easy
I would not have cared

Like a tropical forest
Like a cop on the beat
When all is in order
You get lost in the heat

I feel so wonderful, wonderful, wonderful the way I feel
I feel so wonderful, wonderful, wonderful the way I feel

Doesn't matter to me
I could take it or leave it
I could learn from way back when
And still live right now

With the sun on my shoulder
And the wind in my back
I will never grow older
At least not in my mind

I feel so wonderful, wonderful, wonderful the way I feel
I feel so wonderful, wonderful, wonderful the way I feel
So wonderful, wonderful the way I feel
I feel so wonderful, wonderful, wonderful the way I feel

I'm going where there ain't no fear
I'm going where the spirit is near
I'm going where the living is easy
And the people are kind
A new state of mind

I'm going where there ain't no police
I'm going where there ain't no disease
I'm going where there ain't no need
To escape from what is
Only spirits at ease

Reading Rainbow (2)

2011-10-18T16:37:00.002-04:00

Julie & Julia

by Julie Powell

I actually thought this book was pretty terrible and only finished it out of principle because I hate starting a book and not finishing. Julie Powell is a unsettled 30 year old working a miserable dead end job in NYC. In order to counteract her overall discontent for life she decides to take on a little side project by cooking the 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and starting a blog to chronicle the whole experience. This review on Amazon.com pretty much sums it up.

The jacket gushes, "Julie Powell writes about cooking the way it always needed to be written about." No, she doesn't. She writes about her friends' dysfunctional sex lives, about her own barely-controlled anger management issues, and about how much city life sucks for the less-than rich. But she writes very little about cooking. She also has a rather limited vocabulary, substituting liberal amounts of profanity. This gets old quickly, too. I threw this away unfinished; I didn't want to be responsible for anyone else wasting time on this book by giving it away. Fortunately it was cheap.

The Sun Also Rises

Ernest Hemingway

The story follows Jake Barnes, Lady Brett Ashley, and their post WWI generation through love affairs and drunken shenanigans as they journey from the night life of Paris and onto an excursion to the bullfighting rings of Spain. I'm typically a fan of Hemingway's short stories over his novels but found this to be an extremely enjoyable read. The style seemed a bit more simplistic than some of his novel, which I think helped to create the overall sense of emptiness found in each character. Appropriate for a group know as the 'Lost Generation.'

The Help

Kathryn Stockett

I hesitated taking on another popular best selling work of fiction turned Hollywood after the Julie & Julia experience but decided it would make a good end of the summer read. The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s and follows a young college grad, Skeeter, as she struggles to settling into the old fashion ways of southern life. Her life becomes intertwined with those of two black maids, Aibileen and Minny, as they take on a try to force the old south to catch up with the changing times.

Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

This is one of those books that I can't believe I had never read before. Written in the 1930's Huxley manages to capture the future in a way that somehow resonates with any generation. A sci-fi type future world created by mass producing life in Hatcheries, designating embryos to a caste level, then them in Conditioning Centres designed to determine their future cognitive and physical nature. No competition, no pain, no suffering. A beautiful utopia. As the story moves forward the secrets and sacrifices necessary to create this World State begin to unfold, bringing to question the cost of predetermined bliss.

Monday...

2011-10-17T16:58:00.002-04:00

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

~John Muir

How to

2011-10-12T19:00:00.007-04:00

For a good part of the summer we were getting at least a half dozen ears of local corn each week from our CSA share. It wasn't something I really had an appetite for and it started to pile up after awhile. So it didn't go to waste I ended up freezing a few patches to use this fall and winter for corn chowder!

1) Shuck desired amount of corn

2) Add a few ears at a time to boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes

3) Transfer with tongs to a large bowl of ice water

4) When cool enough to touch carefully cut kernels off

5) Store in freezer safe container or bag. I use this great little containers I found in the section with canning supplies. They seal up great and are reusable. I use them to store extra sauce or soups as well.

I substituted a batch of frozen corn for canned corn and made a delicious batch of chunky corn chowder recipe last weekend. The only other change I made was using instead of the second 1/2 c. of soy milk whisked with flour I used cream and gluten free multipurpose flour. Next time I will add more potatoes and carrots to make it extra chunky!

Served with corn bread stuffed acorn squash.

And a belly picture.

I had just showered.

And I'm not wearing a bra.

Sorry.

Maine

2011-10-12T17:25:00.006-04:00

A few weekends back we took a little road trip to Maine to spend the weekend with good friends.

We were offered a gorgeous fully equipped family cabin with gorgeous lakeside views to occupy for the weekend. Hiking, kayaks, fires, and good company....

Unfortunately it ended up rainy most of the time we were there so we had limited time to enjoy the great outdoors. I was really looking forward to a some nice long hikes in the crisp clean air but it just never happened. The men did venture out on kayaks for a little fishing only to come back drenched and freezing an hour later.

We kept ourselves busy with board game, pool, drinking (except me of course), lots of chatting a catching up, and cute dancing kiddos.

Monday...

2011-10-10T22:33:00.001-04:00

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. "

~ Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement address

Run Rabbit Run

2011-10-10T18:55:00.009-04:00

About the time that I was in the worst of my pregnancy related nausea, vomiting, constipation, and severe fatigue Jim decided to become a vegetarian (actually he's eating seafood, so he's technically a pescetarian but I have a hard time remembering that word). Prior to this change of events, we were both already huge veggie eaters and probably ate a vegetarian meal 2-3 nights a week. And there have definitely been moments, while enjoying a particularly delicious vegetarian meal, that we have commented to one another that we should just take the leap and become vegetarians. It was never really anything more than conversation though. Until one day the bunnies pushed Jim over the edge...

Sometime in early August Jim was working in the garden. It was time to remove our lettuces and the early summer crops that were done for the year, till the soil, & prepare for it for the seed planting of a few fall crops. As he was he working away suddenly the soil let out a squealing yelp at which point Jim comes racing in the house screaming, ranting, and inquiring about my whereabouts. During this period I was a tad occupied with some long overdue bathroom "business" (sorry if this is TMI but Jim thinks it makes the story funnier).

"What's wrong?! Are you Ok?!"

"I tilled over a baby bunny! I need your help"

"What?! A bunny?! Where?! Did you kill it?!"

"I don't know!!! I don't know. In the garden. What are you doing?! I need your help!"

It turned out that Jim did not kill or even injure the cute, little baby bunny. Luckily he was only using a small hand tiller (that we actually scored trash picking) and apparently just grazed the little guy. It also turned out that there was a nest of 3 baby bunnies nestled up in the littlest hole and covered with straw. After much debate it was decided that the bunnies would be moved outside of the garden fence and nestled into a cozy little spot next to the fence, hoping that mommy bunny would find them. My vote was actually for leaving them where we found them but understandably Jim didn't want 3 hungry baby bunnies beginning to feast in our garden in the next few days or weeks.

The bunnies hung around the yard for about a week. Jim attempted to give them water with little success. Until one day he found them curled up together, dead.

Now you might be asking, "How does this equate to Jim declaring his daily diet free of meats and animal flesh?" And I guess the answer comes down to logic really.

Jim knew that the bunnies were too little to survive on their own without the mother. In his head the right thing would have been to put them out of their misery, more specifically drown them in a bucket. But alas, his kind hearted animal loving soul just couldn't do it. Instead the poor babes died a long miserable death by starvation. About a week after their demise, his epiphany struck. He could never have killed those bunnies. Given a gun or weapon of choice he would also be unable to kill a cow, a pig, or a chicken. He just wouldn't be able to go through with it under any set of circumstances. Why then should he expect another to do the killing for him?

Logic I tell you. Pure logic.

At the particular moment that Jim experienced this enlightenment I was surviving on peanut butter crackers and tea, leaving not one ounce of strength to extend any proper amount of attention to it. The house was stocked with plenty of fresh vegetables from our garden & our local CSA share and he was pretty much eating solo every night for almost 2 straight months. I could have cared less what the man was consuming. I had my own set of problems to deal with.

Slowly but surely my first trimester ended, I started eating real food again, regaining energy, and reclaiming my old identity. Which among many things, means lots of new recipes and culinary experimentation. Although I've decided not to exactly follow in Jim's footstep I am fully supporting his new dietary restrictions and only preparing vegetarian meals (with an occasional seafood addition) for the two of us.

You may have even taken note that the recent recipes I've posted are vegetarian friendly. I've also gone through all my existing recipe posts and added a vegetarian tag when applicable. Some posts do contain more than one recipe, but I included the tag even if it only applied to one. I figured that this really should be self explanatory. Actually I'm pretty sure that this doesn't matter at all because of the ten people that actually read this read none of them are vegetarians. And don't ask me how to accurately use these tags to search for things on my blog because I haven't the slightest clue. I'm guessing the search box might be helpful.

Squash Soup

2011-10-09T18:01:00.001-04:00

Jim and I both loved this soup. It had great flavor and was hearty enough to eat as a meal in itself (with a little cornbread, YUM!) but not too much to add a smaller portion to a sandwich for lunch or a late afternoon snack. Plus, I was able to use a lot of ingredients from our garden, including the squash. It was a little time consuming but not necessarily difficult. I will definitely be making it again!

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2 medium butternut squash

1 batch of celery, diced

1 large apple, peeled and chunked

~1 C. carrots, diced ( I used what I had available from our garden, so probably a little less)

1 medium onion (I actually used ~6 small spring onion from our garden)

3-4 sprigs rosemary

8-10 C. vegetable stock

2 C. apple juice

1 C. half & half

nutmeg

cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise (using a sharp knife and a little muscle) and remove seeds.

Place squash cut side down in roasting pan (s).

Spread carrots, onion, celery, apples, and rosemary around the squash.

Add 2 C. vegetable stock and 1 C. apple juice.

**Since I was using two smaller roasting pans I dividing the amount between the two pans. Basically you want a 2:1 of stock: juice enough to cover most of the veggies and keep the bottom of the squash moist. You can varying the amount depending on the size of squash & pan size you have**

Roast until tender (~1 hrs) and the skin begins to pull away easily.

**I have double oven and had one pan in each oven. If you're using a larger pan or double pans in the same oven you may need to lengthen the cooking time**

Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle (but not until cold).

Spoon roasted squash out of skin.

Blend squash pulp, roasted veggies, juice/broth from roasting and remaining vegetable stock and apple juice until you get your desired thickness.

**I have an immersion blender so I transferred directly to my soup pot then poured in the roasted veggies and juice directly from the roasting pan, removing only the rosemary. Without and immersion blender you'll need to transfer the squash and veggies into a blender or food processor**

Once the all the blended soup is transferred to a soup pot, add half & half, cinnamon, & nutmeg.

Simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring as needed.

Enjoy!

Soup's On

2011-10-06T13:49:00.005-04:00

The cooler temps have definitely put me in the soup mood. I really, really love a big bowl to warm me up on a chilly, crisp day. It's so fun and easy to make new creations. Soup can as simple as some veggies and broth or more hearty like chili or chowder. Last year I made a declaration to make a big pot of soup every week. I think I was on track for the first few months but things sort of drop off after that.

But, it's that time of year to get the soup pot simmering again! I already made a killer batch of butternut squash soup a few weeks back (I'll try to post the recipe tomorrow) and have my eye on this recipe for corn chowder for the weekend. But, this black bean soup is also looking very tempting.

image

What's your favorite?

Monday...

2011-09-26T18:46:00.001-04:00

"No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance."

~Confucius

Conquering the pink beast

2011-09-25T17:09:00.000-04:00

We have about 300 half finished projects around here. We seem to get things 70% complete then move on. A lot of it is decor stuff that I am seriously indecisive about, some of it is just boring stuff that we're avoiding, and some it is pure laziness. I've been making list left and right and trying to get some stuff moved over to the completed column.

One such project...the pink beast aka our new buffet.

One of my patients was moving back to Oregon last March and planning to leave behind a lot of their furniture. We ended up snagging this solid, handmade pink hutch; a vintage hoosier cabinet; a really nice wood bench; small glass top table; and a cool rocking chair for a $100. Pretty good deal, right?

The hutch was originally two pieces with a really tall glass front top with crown molding. We already have the Craigslist Ethan Allen hutch in our kitchen/dining room, plus the height would've put it really close to the ceiling so we decided to just use the bottom as a buffet.

Months and months ago we gave the guy a good sanding, a layer of primer, and a coat of nice white paint.

On top I added an assortment of items I had around the house including: a basket of folded cloth napkins, a summery lantern, and a cake stand my mother-in-law didn't want anymore. The artwork is actually the front of a card I saved from our wedding in a frame I already had (I think it was from Target). I added a set of cool knobs that I had picked up on a random shopping at HomeGoods last year and we ended up with a pretty satisfactory "after."

Not bad for a almost free project! Especially since it helped fill in a really empty spot in our large dining room area.

Before

After

Before..view from foyer

After...view from foyer

My biggest problem is that it still seems a little empty on that side of the dining area, especially looking in from the foyer or dining room. So my goal for the week is to get something hanging on the wall above the buffet. I've been debating and searching for the perfect thing for months now.

I have a large mirror from our old apartment that would be the perfect size, but it's a green, kinda distressed looking frame and I'm a little concern it might just be too much green going on in one place. It will probably involve having Jim hold up the heavy mirror repeatedly over a period of days in different lights for me to decide...we shall see.

Mad Men Collection

2011-09-21T12:23:00.004-04:00

Have you seen the Mad Men inspired collection at Banana Republic?

The limited men's collection includes slim tailored suit pants & vest, as well as a collection of kickass fedoras. For the ladies they're featuring a killer pair of cigarette pants, tie neck tops, cardigans, and the classic pump.

I can't believe I missed the 60's. sigh

Monday...

2011-09-19T09:04:00.001-04:00

Let your heart guide you. It whispers so listen closely."

~The Land Before Time

Eggplant Bean Dip

2011-09-16T19:59:00.003-04:00

I concocted this dip earlier this week and it turned out so, so good.

Eggplant Bean Dip

1 medium eggplant (I actually used 2 smaller asian eggplants from our farm share)

1 can cannellini beans

2-3 medium tomatoes

garlic

lemon

olive oil

Puncture eggplant and tomatoes with a fork.

Drizzle tomatoes with small about of olive oil.

Roast together in oven at 4oo degrees for 20-30 minutes.

***The skin should easily peel off both the eggplant and tomatoes and the inside should be soft. If you're eggplant is on the larger size it may take closer to 40 minutes and I would recommended added the tomatoes to the pan half way through***

While waiting, drain cannellini beans and heat slowly in small saucepan with the juice of 1/2 lemon and a drizzle of olive oil.

Remove eggplant/tomatoes from oven and let cool, just enough to be able to handle then peel away the skin.

Combine beans, lemon sauce, eggplant, and tomatoes in food processor and blend until smooth.

I served it chilled with tortilla chips and it was amazing, but I think you could also experiment with serving it warm with toasted pita bread. YUM!

Quiz Show

2011-09-16T07:51:00.005-04:00

Our Netflix pick for the week was Quiz Show. It's one of the many classics that I had never seen and it had been long enough that Jim didn't mind watching it again. The film chronicles a major game show scandal of the 1950s and is considered a fact based dramatization aka a better version of the the true story.

Herbert Stempel (John Turturro) the reigning champ of the hit quiz show, Twenty One, is told to take a dive and intentionally lose to Columbia professor, Charles Van Doren to boost the show's falling ratings. Handpicked by producers for his American appeal, Van Doren (played by Ralph Fiennes, who also had major roles in Schindler's List, The English Patient, and starred as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter Series) is launched into an unstoppable winning streak and easily becomes a national celebrity.

Meanwhile, Stempel is broke after a bookie runs out with his prize winnings, becomes overcome with anger in the shadow of Van Doren's celebrity status and initiates an investigation of the show.

I really loved the movie and would easily watched it again. I'm a huge fan of the late 50s/early 60s (bring back the 3 piece wool suit already!), love a good Jewish character, and enjoyed the innocent yet scandalous tone of the the film. It was also an Academy Award nominee for Best Picture in the mid 90s so I'm not the only one who approved.

Cute tees

2011-09-15T10:24:00.006-04:00

Check out the cutest girls and boys t-shirts collection ever in the new mini Boden catalog. There are lots of bright fun colors, strips, and patterns and I love the variety of appliques ranging from flowers, birds, and puppies to monsters, skulls, and rock n roll.

For a cheaper option check out this DIY using cheap, discount t shirts and fabric scraps.

Jones Design Company

and because I have kiddos on my mind today....I loved this sweet little video

Eggplant Parm

2011-09-12T17:37:00.006-04:00

Although the extra rainfall and cooler evening temperatures were a little tough on the garden, we're still holding it's own. In particular we've got tons of green beans, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and carrots. The tomatoes took a big hit but I'm hoping they make a good recovery and bounce back for another round.

The one thing that's done and gone for this year is our eggplant. It was one of our experimental, first time crops and I'm pleased to say we ended up with 4 lovely deep purple beauties. It's a hot weather plant and has a longer growing period, so the dropping temperatures definitely had an effect on it's ongoing production. But, I'm certainly going cooking up what we do have....

Eggplant Parm

1 medium eggplant

Salt

flour

1 egg

bread crumbs

shredded cheese (I usually go for a blend)

tomato sauce

Cut eggplant into 1/4 slices.

Next is an important step, "sweat" the eggplant. This will keep your dish from getting soggy. Sprinkle with salt and place in colander for about 30 minutes until you start to notice little droplets of water forming. Then press the slices between paper towels to remove excess moisture.

Now onto the breading. This is the same process I use for any kind of parm dish. You'll need 3 medium bowls with flour, 1 egg (beaten) and bread crumbs. The amount needed will vary depending on how much eggplant you have. I use gluten free flour and gluten free tortilla crumbs but the traditional stuff works the same. I also add in some italian spices to the bread crumb mixture (oregano, basil, salt, etc). Next dip each slice of eggplant into each bowl until coating following the order: flour, egg, bread crumbs.

Then fry them up in a preheated skillet on medium heat using desired oil. I usually stick with vegetable oil because it doesn't splatter. 3-4 minutes per side until brown.

Transfer to lightly greased baking dish and cover with desired amount of tomato sauce and cheese. Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.

Monday...

2011-09-12T08:11:00.002-04:00

"As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

~Nelson Mandela

When it rains it pours.

2011-09-09T15:15:00.005-04:00

That has certainly been true in these parts. It just will not stop raining! August was the wettest month in Philadelphia history with 19.31 inches and September is already off to a wet and dreary start with rain all this week. There is severe, severe flooding all along the Delaware River causing tragedy and heartache for some many homes and businesses, along with other locally flooded roadways and bridges, even closing a major expressway. It's not a pretty site and even more depressing to think that that they're forecasting more storms throughout the weekend.

We certainly have been fortune in so many ways but man o man do the little things add up sometimes....

Like our leaky roof. The leaky roof that started weeks and weeks ago during a long rainy weekend, which was followed by a long rainy week, which was followed by Hurricane Irene.

At this point the skies cleared and the sun shone again allowing the Nick the roofer and his crew to spend a day smoking cigarettes, repairing the roof, and taking lots of our money.

Did I mention that it's been rainy AGAIN all week and my roof is leaking AGAIN?! I'm serious.

While we were in Ohio my nephew crashed his new birthday bike, during his birthday party, in front of all his friends. It was rainy and slippery in the driveway.

He hates blood. He hates needles and hospitals even more. It caused quite the scene. He ended up with 9 stitches.

The whole thing was a bummer.

I have this gross mucous, phlegm thing that has been going on my whole pregnancy. There's lots of hacky, coughing, lugie hockin, and often it gets bad to the point of throwing up.

Really attractive stuff.

I had attributed it to just being pregnant in general. But it turns out that it's just being pregnant here that causes this lovely phenomenon.

During our recent 5 day excursion I didn't have one single problem and felt better than I have in months. But, within hours of being back home I was hacking and hocking away. And to top it all off I'm pretty sure the allergen to blame is mold.

I mean why wouldn't there be mold in this house?

And at 17 weeks along I can't seem to gain one damn pound. I actually weighed 2 pounds under my last check a month ago. To this point the doctors seemed sympathetic and unconcerned, contributing the loss to your typical first trimester morning sickness.

But, today I got the stink eye from my doctor followed by "you know some women think it's necessary to diet during pregnancy...which isn't true." I'm not dieting. I'm not even working out. I couldn't get out of the office without a few more additional "are you sure?" type comments.*

I took that to mean I should head to Starbucks for a grande decaf latte with extra whip and some chocolate goodness. To be followed by 400 calories and 16 grams of fat in Amy's gluten free mac & cheese for lunch.

And to round the week off the washing machine broke today. Of course it broke down filled to the brim with dirty water and soaking wet clothes.

I called Jim at work. He was so pleased with the news that he responded with "I have to go" then hung up. I took it to mean...."I'm super busy right now but I trust you to go ahead and head over to Sears and picked out a shiny new one that best suites your needs since you do 99% of the laundry services."

Some things are just a matter of interpretation....

*no worries. the baby is healthy and my doctor is confident I'll beef up in the next few months!

SpongeBob Square Pants

2011-08-31T14:01:00.004-04:00

We're Ohio bound for Labor Day weekend. It's always kid mania with my niece and two nephews all having birthdays in the same week. It's hard to believe another year has gone by.

I meant to post this video last year but I was waiting around for a lesson in video editing from Jim and it just never happened. But, even though it's unedited and sideways I couldn't resists posting it. He's just the cutest kid and was so SpongeBob crazy last year.

My sister also handcrafted this amazing cake with frosting, food coloring, and a few marshmallows.

Seriously how good is that?

Monday...

2011-08-30T08:30:00.001-04:00

Weekend Recap

2011-08-28T20:56:00.000-04:00

Friday night I spilled bright red cherry water ice on my in-laws white carpet. It was by far my worst moment as a daughter in law.

Saturday was work, hurricane prep, and lots of laundry because having only one pair of clean underwear with the threat of days or weeks with no electricity is just something no girl wants to deal.

Saturday night was rain, CNN coverage of Hurricane Irene causing us to worry endlessly about a tree crushing our house, scurrying around for buckets to catch all the water pouring out of our leaky roof, and some good old fashion ass whoopin' at Yahtzee. Seriously, Jim never beats me. Two weeks ago I rolled double 6's on my final roll of the game to get Yahtzee, beating him by less than 10 points. Poor Jim.

Sunday was waffles, your typical home improvement hi's & lo's, and lots of pick up sticks and yard clean up all accompanied by a very strange version of our dog who insisted on being literally at our heels every single moment. I nicknamed her Shadow for the day.

Next weekend we're Ohio bound, so at least there will be interaction with other people which is bound to be a little more exciting.

Battery operated

2011-08-27T13:32:00.005-04:00

It's Hurricane Irene madness around these parts. Of course I'm hoping it turns out to be more media hype than actual huge problematic, damaging storm but we did take a few necessary precautions just in case. We decided to stick with basics; extra water in the fridge; easy access to the flashlights and candles; and most importantly some outdoor wind proofing by moving all our patio furniture to the screen porch, trash cans and flower pots to the garage, and parking my car not under a big tree.

I do agree in cases like this it's better to be safe than sorry and everyone should be a least a little prepared. But what is the freakin' obsession with batteries?! People just can't stop talking about it for DAYS now. It's all over the radio and local news stations this morning where you can still buy batteries. I do understand that there's a chance we may lose power, but come on people!

We do live in the northeast.

Where there are major blizzards and ice storms that cause major power outages in the middle of the the freezing cold winter.

When we only have like 3 hours of daylight each day and subzero temperatures.

And it's freezin' ass cold.

You don't have any flashlights or candles in your house?

Or just can't survive a few nights of darkness after 8pm?

I mean you can go outside and cook on the grill during a summer power outage.

You can go outside without a shovel, snowboots, gloves, and a parka in the summer.

I did not rush out to buy a bulk size package of batteries. I did however swindled a large cup of milk out of the guy at Manhattan bagel in case Jim wants to make me waffles tomorrow morning. You in case we don't lose power.

Monday...

2011-08-22T19:05:00.002-04:00

"It was the love of love, the love that swallows up all else, a grateful love, a love of nature, of people, of animals, a love engendering gentleness and goodness that moved me and that I saw in you."

~William Williams

Gluten Free Dump Cake

2011-08-19T09:26:00.006-04:00

This is a super simple recipe and easy to change up the flavors to suit your taste buds....

Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake

1 21 oz can cherry pie filling/topping

1 gluten free devil's food cake mix (I used Betty Crooker)

1/2 C. butter, melted

Empty can of cherry topping into a 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan.

Sprinkle dry cake mix over cherries.

Spoon melted butter over cake mix.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

It turned out so moist and delicious! So good in fact that I might actually be having a heaping pile of it for breakfast as we speak. But I'm pregnant so I that gives me some kind of free pass to stuff my face with whatever I feel like and it's not appropriate for anyone to pass judgement or tell me that I'm becoming a fat slob. That will cause me to burst into tears and no one wants to be the jerk that made a pregnant woman cry. I'm also drinking my morning cup of Mama wellness tea so that makes up for something, right?

ps. If you're modifying this recipe to use a regular cake mix you may need to double the fruit filling and use a 13x9 pan. Gluten free cake mixes are usually less than the regular dry mixes.

Monday...

2011-08-15T10:44:00.001-04:00

"A ship under sail and a big-bellied woman, are the handsomest two things that can be seen common."

~Benjamin Franklin

There's a bun in the oven!

2011-08-14T22:25:00.000-04:00

Jim and I are overjoyed to share that our first mini Robinson is schedule to arrive mid February 2012!!! For now our lil one comfy, healthy, and safely tucked away in my belly. Watching all the little dancing, prancing, and wiggles on the ultrasound screen and not feeling a thing (unless you count my lack of appetite, headaches, and nausea) is the strangest thing! Pregnancy is such a beautiful reminder of how amazing the human body is and how much of it really is innate.

Baby Robinson 13 weeks

On a blog roll

2011-08-11T09:17:00.004-04:00

I always love it when someone I know starts blogging. Especially so when that someone is a friend or family member that doesn't live close by. I think it's such a fun way to keep up to date and stay in tune with that person. That being said, I was super excited when my sister-in-law (the other Rachelle!) started a blog awhile back. Unfortunately (and no offense Rachelle!) she has been a bad blogger and hardly ever post. sad!

She's super busy doing the mom and student thing so who can blame her. I know that I sometimes have a list of things to chat about and pictures I want to post and just never get around to. But, when I do get back into the swing of things and started regularly posting on my blog I'm always happy to have this little outlet back and bummed that I missed out on expressing myself and sharing my life during my lazy breaks.

Anyways....

Rachelle is totally on a blog roll (3 post in less than 2 weeks!) so this is my shout out to give her some extra encouragement to keep going.

She's super cute and always up on the cutest fashion stuff, plus you can sneak a peak at my cutest ever niece and handsome nephew!

Check out lit'l stressed, a lot blessed!!!!

Ice Cream Special

2011-08-09T09:02:00.007-04:00

Walking Sofee dog is daily routine. Three times daily routine in fact.

We have two normal neighborhood routes: short walk and long walk. Jim sleep walks her on the short walk every morning, mid day walk depends on how much time I have, and our evening family walk is always the long walk. On super lucky days and weekends we usually get in a trip to one of our local parks to really tucker her out.

Recently we added in extra special ice cream walk. Ice cream walk is special because we don't do it often and also because it's a little crazy. It involves extending our long neighborhood walk through a weird fence opening, through the retirement home parking lot and some back streets, then finally onto the city sidewalk and crossing over a busy street. It's really only crazy because Sofee dog is crazy.

She just can not contain her excitement for people or food of any sort, so combine the two in an overwhelming environment and she's a maniac. She pulls, tugs and wiggles barely able to keep herself still for a millisecond. We've been down this road one too many times and have learned that large crowds or overexcitement always result in Sofee dog pulling so much that she practically chokes herself and starts hacking and wheezing. It is quite the scene.

So, awhile back I'm tried to implement a harness to protect her poor lil doggie throat and neck and make outings more comfy and fun for everyone. It's turn outs that Sofee dog totally hates the harness. I don't really know why, although she actually does look a little ridiculous. Her body shape is apparently not proportioned properly and even trying several sizes and models, the harness just doesn't fit her exactly right. Jim says she looks like a nerdy dog and knows it.

He laughs and mocks her.

She hangs her head and looks sad.

I try to soothe her.

In the end everyone gets ice cream and an extra special long walk, so I suppose it's all worth it.

Monday...

2011-08-08T08:12:00.003-04:00

An old Cherokee told his grandson, "My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth." The boy thought about it and asked, "Grandfather, which wolf wins?" The old man quietly replied, "The one you feed."

Pablo

2011-08-03T09:29:00.002-04:00

Bob Dylan has a grandson named Pablo.

That is a bit humorous to me in itself.

And to top it all off, he's an aspiring rapper.

He recently released his first mix, 10 minutes.

Which even lyrically gives a little shout out to his grandpop.

Young Pablo even commented, "I consider him to be the Jay-Z of his time."

Adelphia Apparel

2011-08-02T09:04:00.004-04:00

Sunday afternoon Jim and I headed into the city for the 2nd Street Folk Festival in Northern Liberties. It was a hot, sunny day perfect for strolling the streets sipping homemade lemonade and checking out all the cool vendors. TONS of jewelry, pottery, and artwork along with cute little handmade soaps, doggie treats, and handmade clothing and crafts. I've always liked street type festivals, but the main reason we were there was support my brother-in-law, Tim.

He and his buddy started a t-shirt company as a side project about a year ago and are really starting to make their mark with custom designed Philadelphia related apparel.

They have tons of cool, unique designs and they pride themselves in selling sustainable shirts made of 50 percent organic cotton and 50 percent post consumer P.E.T recycle polyester (I'm not even exactly sure what that means but sounds fancy, right?!)

You can check them out Etsy for sizes (including ladies cut), colors, and a variety of designs.

Rock on Timmer!

Monday...

2011-08-01T19:18:00.002-04:00

"A life without love is like a year without summer."

~Swedish Proverb

Three Cheers for BS

2011-08-01T18:31:00.008-04:00

I guess it's time to break my blogging silence. And I can't think of any better topic to do so with than baking soda.

Try to contain yourself.

Personally I get giddy just thinking about all the fun and exciting ways to use this stuff. It all started with removing a little water ring from the butcher block top on our kitchen island but the phenomenon has spread into my bathtub, sinks, and drains. It's soooo versatile, effective, and cheap.

Let's start with the island....

At one point this lovely Ikea piece filled with water rings and heat spots had me swearing that I'd never purchase furniture from those darn Sweds ever again. The butcher block top does take some upkeep, but now that I've figured it out it's no so horrible. And honestly we're a bit lazy about the upkeep and just down right lazy about using coasters, so it gets a little rough looking before I decide to spruce it up.

First I use steel wool over any water rings or imperfections that have popped up since the last go around. ALWAYS go with the grain of the wood. It will actually pull up some of the wood but don't panic, it's kind of like a light sanding.

Gentle wipe away any dust.

Then it's on to my dearest friend B.S. (baking soda) to clean and deodorize the surface. I just sprinkle it directly on the surface and scrub away with a damp rag or sponge. This does sometimes result it a bit of a mess on the floor, which I don't mind because I like to actually see the baking soda working. If it's an issue for you just mix a few tablespoons of BS with warm water and apply with a sponge.

Now it starts to get exciting.

I cut a lemon into quarters and use the lemon to give the surface a nice deep scrub.

That's right. Use the lemon as a sponge. CRAZY.

Then it's time for a finally wipe down with clean, warm water. I'm a bit excessive with the BS so it sometimes takes a few wipe downs to get it all cleaned off. First, any chucks of BS go right into the kitchen sink for my next exciting kitchen cleaning venture. Then a rag usually does the trick.

At this point things are looking pretty good...

But the key is to seal it off with mineral oil to keep those water rings away a little longer. First the surface needs to dry. So this is the point where I turn to the kitchen sink filled with chucks of BS. I usually sprinkle in a few more tablespoons and grab another lemon quarter and scrub away. My stainless steel sink has never looked so good! Even Jim noticed how shiny and clean it was the first time I tried it.

After I I'm finished scrubbing alway all the grim with my lemon sponge, I take my bucket of warm water that I used for rinsing the island top and add about 1/2 c. of vinegar and it to rinse the sink. Make sure to jump up and down as it bubbles and fizzes. The vinegar and BS will act as a natural drain cleaner to keep those pipes nice and clear.

If I'm feeling really ambitions I haul my supplies up to the bathtub. Again I just sprinkle with BS and scrub away. For the tub I use a reusable scrub brush with a handle on it. I guess I don't feel like it deserves or necessarily needs the lemon scrub. Plus it usually involves a little more scrubbing in the tub to get the soap scrum ring off, but the BS works sooo good you won't need any other bathroom/tile cleaner. I again mix some hot water with vinegar with I'm all done to rinse down the drain to keep it all free and clear.

I'm exhausted. Is that darn island dry yet?

On a superwomen type of day I take my bucket filled with clean warm water and 1/2 c. vinegar and take to window washing.

On a regular house cleaning day. I probably stopped at the kitchen sink and sat on my butt with a glass of lemonade by the pool waiting for the island to dry.

Once the butcher block surface is completely dry I apply a generous coating of mineral oil, wiping with the direction of the grain in the wood. I found the mineral oil cheapest at Ikea and it's definitely worth the extra effort for a beautiful, radiant island top.

If it's the first ever application, I recommend doing 3-4 coats and then just try to keep up with it. This also needs a little dry time, followed by a little swipe with a clean dry cloth to remove any excess oil that didn't absorb.

Now my island, sink, tub, and drains are all fresh and clean with just a few simple household ingredients. Pure and simple.

My First Guest

2011-07-14T12:39:00.007-04:00

Since I'm such a crappy blogger lately....

Hi Internet. There has been a change in your regularly scheduled programing :) I'm Sarah and I am one of Rachelle's friends. Rachelle has been too busy with life to post, and I got tired of checking this blog every.day for a new post, so I decided to offer a guest post so no one else (like me, with no life) has to sit around and wait for Rachelle to stop having so much darn fun with her life so she can post.

I am also a chiropractor (we met in chiropractic school, and no, this post will not go into detail of how we met, that story has been officially retired per Rachelle's request), a full-time working mom of two wonderful kids (Jacob, 3.75 years old and Chloe, 4 months) and a wife to Rob, the person that officiated at Rachelle and Jim's wedding (if you were there, you may remember the handsome guy with the jokes at the front of the room). Nice to meet you!

When deciding what to write, I thought about what she usually posts here, and my thoughts went immediately to my first (no wait--family first) second third fourth love, the piece of furniture in my kitchen. It's a newish addition to our kitchen, and I am IN LOVE. Coincidentally, there is a fun story behind my acquisition of it: My mother has been in real estate for over 20 years. She has moved up the food chain through years of top-sales, and is now the real estate manager of an office. The mortgage broker that works in her office had a rental home on the beach here in Connecticut (where I live) but she was selling it. The furniture in the house was beautiful, and I had my eye on this piece for a while. When I heard she was looking to liquidate everything in the house, I jumped on it! She offered it to me for $100 and I took it quicker than you can blink. It turned out her husband was moving some stuff to storage, so she even offered to bring it to my house for me in the back of the U-Haul, so I got delivery too :)

It fit like it was made for my kitchen. Previous to this we had what I lovingly referred to as the "Ugly Buffet" in it's place. Yes it was handed down from my great-Grandmother, Yes it was 1920's mahogany, but it had been treated badly by family that owned it before me, and it was U.g.l.y.

So now it was in my house--but what to fill it with?! The Ugly Buffet had previously been filled with Jacob's art supplies, so those transferred to the drawers of the new "piece" but the beautiful glass-door cabinets--what to put in there? I rummaged through my house and realized that I love blue stuff. The kitchen walls were already blue, and it turned out I had accumulated a lot of blue pottery. So I chose blue pottery and clear glass to fill it. I seriously love this thing.

So that’s all for now--I hope I entertained you as much as Rachelle usually entertains me!!!

Monday....

2011-07-04T18:16:00.001-04:00

"Where liberty dwells, there is my country."

~Benjamin Franklin

Salad anyone?

2011-07-01T09:34:00.004-04:00

I took garden pictures less than 2 weeks ago but never got around to posting them....

Everything was really starting the fill in nicely, with lots of flowers showing up on the tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers.

We water it once a day, in the morning, and have applied organic plant food twice since we planted everything. After a little research, we decided on straw to hold in moisture instead of mulch which we have used in the past. Jim put lattice that we had from last year for the beans to climb. We also applied an organic garden dust twice after seeing noticing a lot of leaves had holes in them from little critters chewing on them. It seems to have taken care of the problem and keeping our fingers crossed....we seemed to have had no real issues with pests, deer, or disease.

This is what the garden looks like as of this morning. It's out of control how much things have shot up in the last ten days! We have tons & tons of baby tomatoes and cucumbers....

The cucumber vines were starting to take over the whole end of the bed and invade the tomatoes, so we constructed this pseudo lattice for the cucumbers out of a wood futon frame that we found in our neighbors trash (yes, we are trash pickers and proud of it!)

Lettuce, arugula, spinach, kale....I can't even eat enough salad these days!

And to think it started out looking like this only a month ago...

A Summer Update

2011-07-01T08:54:00.006-04:00

The weather has been just perfect here lately. Breezy and cool at night. Warm & sunny with no humidity during the day. I guess I've just been too busy enjoying summer to sit inside and write about summer.....

For Father's Day my dad ventured onto a plane for the first time since 1970 when he was flying home from Vietnam, to spend a week at the Robinson Resort. We had a really great week lounging by the pool and tinkering around the house on little projects the way dads do. My dad also has the craziest repertoire of tales of days gone by of anyone I know. Jim and I think that he should write a novel....poverty, nomadic travels, knife wounds, war tales, women, drugs, dance parties, throw in a list of every job you can imagine and a even longer list of survived surgeries and near death experiences and you've got yourself a best seller. We loved having him and are already looking forward to his trip.

Papa and Elli 2009

After shipping Dad into the westward skies, Jim and I heading north for a weekend of nature. We usually try to get in at least two camping trips a year, but last year was just too crazy with the house remodeling and we didn't go at all. We skipped down Friday afternoon for Salt Springs Park. We've been there a few times before and really love the area. There are only 7-8 campsites that are nicely spaced out, so you don't feel like you're camping on top of another group. In fact on Friday night we were the only people there. There's a creek running right through the back edge of the campsites (where Sofee learned to swim a few years back) and plenty of great hiking. We got a little wet on Saturday morning but it cleared up and turned into a nice weekend. I love being forced into relaxing and enjoying a limited number of activities....during the rain we played a few rounds of Yahtzee and Rummy; during our breaks between hikes we took turns reading short stories out loud; and spent the evenings chatting endless by the fire, roasted marshmallows and enjoying pie iron pizza pies.

This week has been mostly work and a little play so far. Wednesday night we decided to head over to the Mann Center (an outdoor concert venue) for a performance by the Philadelphia orchestra. You can't beat $10 lawn seats and for orchestra concerts you're allowed to bring in any food and beverages you want. I whipped up a yogurt dip for some veggies and chips and topped gluten free cornbread with homemade fresh pesto, roasted red peppers, and grilled chicken for a delicious summer flatbread type sandwich. For dessert we had juicy red grapes. I love a simple picnic on a perfect summer night.

And that brings us to 4th of July weekend! We have no real plans, which I like best. I'm hoping for some nice weather for lounging by the pool. Any big plans for the weekend?

Monday....

2011-06-20T10:39:00.001-04:00

"Love and fear. Everything the father of a family says must inspire one or the other.

~Joseph Joubert

Strawberry summer

2011-06-14T12:25:00.001-04:00

After snoozing a little later than normal due to a late night of Phishing, Saturday morning Jim and I heading out a local flea market (snagging 2 vinyls, 4 books and a really cool painting that is actually a secret key box for a whoopin' total of $3), then it was off to ShadyBrook Farm for strawberry picking. It was overcast and threatening rain, so we basically had the entire place to ourselves and loved it! We ended up with almost 15 lbs of strawberries (and a quart of raspberries).

Fresh picked strawberries are just so, so delicious. I'm pretty sure I could have eaten the entire 15 lbs solo, but I thought it was in my better judgement to capture the delightful goodness for future consumption.

In anticipation of a good garden crop this year, I decided that strawberry jam would be an easy intro to canning and preserving our own fruits and veggies. To get started I purchased a set of canning jars with lids, a canning starter kit that included a jar lifter and lid magnet thingy, pectin, and combo pressure cooker/water bath canner. I'm pretty sure you can do the water bath canning with just a large pot, but you need a pressure cooker for less acidic foods like green beans and meats, so I just decided to get it from the start. I basically just followed the recipe on the pectin but there's a lot of good info about making jams and canning out there, so I did a little reading ahead of time.

In less than 2 hours we had completed our first ever homemade strawberry jam. Aren't the little jars just so cute?!

New to the whole process, I had no idea the quantity needed to make jam. It turned out to be not nearly as many as we thought. We had plenty left....

I decided to freeze a few batches by lying in a single layer on a cookie sheet, then transferring to a freezer safe ziploc bag once frozen. Maybe I'll get inspired to make another batch of jam or even a strawberry pie!

The rest we ate on cereal, with yogurt, and of course strawberry shortcake. Using gluten free bisquick I made my own shortcakes and we pilled them high with strawberries and whip cream!! YUM!

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Monday....

2011-06-13T09:40:00.001-04:00

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have."

~Frederick Keonig

"We want you to be happy. Don't live inside the gloom."

2011-06-11T19:11:00.006-04:00

Last night was my first Phish concert.

It was one of those perfect hot summer nights.

I let my hair down, accepted a grass ring from the mister, set all my worries aside and crowded in amongst the hippies to let the cool grass sink between my toes.

Then I danced. I danced the whole night away.

Groovin.

Jiving.

Jumping.

Shaking.

As much as my little free lovin' hippee spirit desired.

Typically Jim frowns upon these types of outburst.

He finds my extroverted personality combined with my loose hips to be a bit embarrassing.

Don't blame him. I think it's Catholic guilt set deep in his soul.

He's even been known to pull me off the dance floor at a wedding, claiming I was disrupting the crowd with my lack of skill in the Polish polka.

And can you imagine the night his Grandpop called my 'snake hips' at his cousin's wedding?!

Little does Jim know that I was almost always the first, the one and the only person dancing in the middle of our gymnasium at every school dance.

I've been seen completely sober on bar tops. I danced on my dads feet long after my pigtails were gone.

There was always music in the kitchen accompanied by swaying and swinging to my mother's steady "step, touch, step, touch" method.

And the brief moment in time that our high school had a dance team, I danced in a black leather dress and white go-go boots at a basketball game, resulting in a shower of dollar bills from the stands.

None of which has ever embarrassed or shamed me.

I've never particularly cared what people think when they see my own personal promenade taking place. Perhaps I never knew that I should care.

I find it to be so freeing, both physically and mentally.

So much so that I've declared that there will be more frolic, more rock, more spin, more boogie, and maybe even a little two-step in my days.

Just because.

Building a Raised Garden Bed

2011-06-09T11:44:00.006-04:00

Before landing on the decision to largely expand our garden with the help of raised beds, there was a lot of debating, waxing & waning, and muling it over...and over. We did a lot of research about the benefits, cost of building our own, and even looked into several premade, synthetic versions. There was really no doubt that we wanted a larger and more awesome garden (Jim is already plotting out where to put more beds next year!), I think it really came down fear. Fear that building the beds would be more difficult than we thought, which happens A LOT with projects; fear that we would invest the time and money and not accomplish what we had envisioned; and fear that we'd end up with some kind of unexplained garden catastrophe.

As for a garden disaster, we just try and do our best to pay special attention to the plants for signs of distress, pests, etc; watch the weather and make necessary changes to watering patterns or perhaps building a little garden tent at 9 o'clock at night to shade our lettuces during a major heat wave; and just in general obsess and fret over it all. What else can you do? Other than that we're really pleased with the results. The beds turned out amazing (you rock Jim!), building our own ended up being cheaper than any of the synthetic ones, and construction ended up being relatively simple and was completed in one afternoon.

We basically followed along with the instructions found here. We debated about construction materials, but decided to go with cedar planks which we found at our local Lowe's. We purchased 8 planks and one 4 x 4 along with decking screws. I forgot to take pictures during the construction phase. oops.

But within a few hours Jim accomplished this....

Then we positioned them in the desired areas, cleared any weeds or grass, dug holes for the posts, and leveled the beds. This was a little bit of work for us because one bed is on a hilly area but certainly easier than clearing and tilling the soil to create a new garden area.

After the beds were in place and any loose soil was leveled, we layered the bottom with newspaper to act as a weed barrier. The newspaper helps block out the sunlight but will eventually decompose.

...then we added hardware cloth to prevent moles and other critters from coming through the bottom and getting to the plant's roots. Jim used fencing shears (I don't know the technical word) to trim the metal mesh for the corners. We searched around the yard and found sticks with little hooks on them to use as pins to keep the cloth down until we added the soil.

The website recommends an additional step using PVC pipe to create an arc for bird netting. We skipped this step but did add a bracket on each long side to keep the planks from separating from the pressure of the soil.

Then fill 'er up!!!

Our neighbor is a landscaper, so we ordered 2 yards of sifted top soil from him. We actually ended up with 5 yards because the guy thought we could use some extra dirt, but that's another story. We mixed the top soil with our compost as well as bagged organic humus from Lowes.

And there you have it! Raised garden beds. You'll have more control over weeds and pest; better soil quality and drainage; easier accessibility to the crops which allows for closer planting and higher yields; a longer growing season because the enclosed soil will warm up sooner than the ground; and you can plop one down pretty much anywhere and turn the area into a beautiful vegetable or flower garden.

Gluten Free Favorites

2011-06-08T10:48:00.004-04:00

Some of my gluten free favorites right now:

*Food Should Taste Good chips. My favorite are the multigrain with hummus or the sweet potato, no dip needed. They make over 15 varieties but my local health food store only carries a few. BJ's actually carries family size bags of the sweet potato flavor, which just ends up being bad news for my waistline.

*RedBridge beer. With summer weather move in quickly I decided it was time to switch over from red wine to something a little more refreshing. Although I will partake in an occasional mixer, I'm not one for liquor on a regular basis. RedBridge is the only gluten free beer my local beer distributor carries, so I decided to give it a go. It's cold, refreshing, and taste like beer.

*Schar's Crackers. When I transitioned over a mainly gluten free diet, just gave up crackers in general. Recently after being hit with a 24hr flu bug I went in search of crackers just to sooth my tummy and ended up going for Schar's and got lucky. They're pretty darn good. Jim even likes them. The company has been making gluten free products in Europe for 30 years, so I think that is a good indicator of the quality and taste.

*Namaste Pizza Crust Mix. Pizza crust was something I tried about half a dozen or more brands before I found one I liked. The bag is enough for 2 crusts and has some yummy seasonings right in the mix. Make sure to spread it out a lot of the pan because it really bubbles up when you bake it. I like to brush it with a little olive oil too. In fact pizza is on the menu for tonight!

Monday....

2011-06-06T13:41:00.002-04:00

"Sun is shining. Weather is sweet. Make you wanna move your dancing feet."

~Bob Marley

Meximart

2011-06-05T20:50:00.005-04:00

Due to high prices, poor quality produce, and over a year of me bitching about it I finally broke down and started boycotting our local Genuardi's. It was convenience that kept me going back. It's right around the corner and takes me about 2 minutes to get there, while other grocery stores in the area could be up to 15 minutes, depending on traffic. But, life has calmed down a bit leaving me extra time and a clear head, so a few months ago I finally made the switch. I know buy our soy milk, OJ, cereals, canned foods, and other miscellaneous items at Target; hit up BJ's for bulk foods about once every 4-6 weeks; travel as needed to Trader Joe's and/or Whole Foods for specific health food items; and buy our weekly produce at a small farmers market with quality produce, seafood, and speciality items with very reasonable pricing.

The store is in a small shopping plaza and run by Mexicans (whom I am very found of in general) so I like to refer to it as the Meximart. It's a little bit of traveling from the house, but pretty close to my office so I switched up my shopping day and go on my lunch break to save on travel time and gas. I think they're starting to recognize me, which it's just one more reason to keep me going back. I also like the bit of randomness the place displays. They sometimes have strange varieties of beans and striped eggplants, other times heaping piles of heads of romaine, huge bunches of kale. And the registers are always lined with unusual chocolates, little treats and containers filled with dried fruits. Which is how I ended up with a container of coconut chips. At the time I not one single idea of how I would eventually use a half pound of chipped up exotic fruit, but something about the little neatly stacked display at the end of the register pulled me in.

Unloading the groceries at home, I thought...coconut cream pie. Probably because that's about the only thing I think of when I think about coconut. But I think that might actually be made with coconut milk? Anyways, yesterday in a random spout of cooking I had an inspiration and decided on a coconut layer atop a gooey, yummy chocolate brownie.

Gluten Free Coconut Deluxe Brownies

Prepare 1 boxed/package of gluten free brownie mix according to the directions and spread into pan.

In a separate bowl mixed:

one egg

1/2 C. sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 single serving all natural, unsweetened applesauce

Once blended add in 1/2-3/4 C. coconut chips and 1 C. all purpose gluten free flower.

Spoon onto brownie mixture and bake at 350....cooking time may vary (the brownie mix said 30-35 minutes and I ended up cooking mine for about 1 hr. 10 minutes)

The Robinson Garden Club

2011-05-27T07:09:00.012-04:00

We've been working so, so hard on our garden this year and really hoping...like praying to the garden fairies, the sun gods, the center for agriculture, and considering a sacrificial lamb hoping...that it will be our best garden yet. We've had nothing short of an obsession for years now. Many moons ago, Jim and I started our first garden in the edge of the parking area at our first apartment.

Young, shirtless Jim proudly watching over his garden (2006)

Serious gardening mistakes going on here....

I mean how many peppers and tomatoes did we try to shove in those little pots?!

We eventually advanced to a small, in ground garden on the side of our next apartment. We took over some available flower beds for the larger plants, as well as continue with some pots for herbs and smaller crops. It was a small area to work with and not optimal as far as lighting goes, but we made the best of it. We started experimenting with different vegetables, established an herb garden, and had our first encounters with pest, diseases, and other cause of death. I think I was using a 35mm camera at this point and don't feeling like digging up and scanning photos, so I have no available documentations of those stepping stones, but about three years later we ended up with this....

Fancy fence to keep out our Watership Down crew + hand made lattice fence for cucumbers, zucchini, and squash (2009)

Various lettuces, oregano, spinach, and cilantro various lettuces.

Last year we regressed a bit, but to no fault of our own. We moved into our house, so we had to start over in terms of preparing a plot for the garden, the soil was crap, we didn't know the land well enough, we had a bazillion grubs and other pests (which ended up killing our cucumbers and zucchini), and in general were just short on time due to other house projects. We still ended up with some tomatoes and peppers and a good supply of herbs.

Tomatoes (2010)

This is a terrible picture taken through a screen in an upstairs window but it gives an idea of the size and placement of the garden last year

This year has brought on a lot of experimenting and a lot of garden 'firsts' for the Robinsons. We've triple the size, added raised beds, and our using a mix of grown plants from a nursery, seedlings started inside a few months ago, and seeds directly in the garden beds. Our crop lists is insane, we added a killer net type fence to keep, and I'm pretty sure our neighbors think we've lost our minds.

The area with no raised bed is the site of our garden last year. After mixing in manure and compost, the soil quality was so much better so we decided not to cover it with the raised bed. One of the nice things about raised beds is they can go pretty much anywhere, so we moved it over a bit and basically have two garden beds in this area. We realized last year that it didn't get quite enough sun, so we've dedicated this area to mostly shade/partial sun crops, as well as experimental crops.

In ground: sweet potatoes, carrots, asparagus, and onions

Raised bed: string beans, brussel sprouts, kale, lettuce, spinach, and argula

Little pot: zucchini

Come to think of it this whole area is pretty much experimental. The only thing we've grown before are the lettuces and spinach (we have some inside our pool fence that we've been eating for weeks now) but never from seeds; everything else on the list is new to our crop list; for the carrots and asparagus we but seed/root directly in the ground; sweet potatoes were a last minute addition after talking to some lady at Home depot and I think they're not going to get enough soon in this spot; and the brussel sprouts are seedlings started indoors.

Our second raised bed (this is why people think we're crazy) is up on little hill near our pool fence. This area gets a a full day of sun and should be a better spot for all our sunlovin' plants. This bed is a little less experimental than the lower garden....

Robinson garden (spring 2011)

The plants were purchased from a nursery and almost all veggies we have experience growing in the past: tomatoes (4 varieties), peppers (3 varieties), cucumbers, and eggplant (1st time growing). You can also see a potted little plant which is clementine tree that was sent to me in the mail as a gift. So far, so good for the little guy.

We've still got a little work to do, like adding mulch and cages for the vine plants, but it's pretty much grow time now! So, either we'll be feeding our entire neighborhood this summer or....that's not talk about the alternative.