My busy holiday weekend

Jason went out of town this weekend (well, for 5 days) with his friend Brian and some other guys. I did what any normal wife would do...I spent money! Ok, ok, I did work also. I solicited the help of my friends Bridget, Rachel and Sima to paint my master bedroom.

See when we bought our house it was a lovely shade of pink. From the floor up. I'm not kidding. So Jason and I paid someone to paint the ceiling and trim white and the walls a nice builder beige. Our intentions were to live here for 3-4 years, so beige walls were ok by me. However, since the housing market is not for sellers we're staying put for a while. I've decided I'm tired of my builder beige! And what better place to start than the bedroom. Being that our bedroom has 12' ceiling and is HUGE this was a task. I was lucky enough to borrow a 12' ladder from work and Bridget (my expert painter) was nice enough to spend all day on it.

I really like the color - a light brown. Jason and I will paint the bathroom in the next few weeks...one room was enough for me! The only hiccup in the job was when I went to pull the tape off of the trip. I have no idea why, but the white trim paint came off with the tape! It was a pretty humid weekend, so that's my only possible culprit. Now I get to spend next weekend touching up the white trim (to cover the pink!) and hopefully I'll be done.

Apparently painting is pretty hard work because I spent all day Sunday watching TV. I rented the entire season of True Blood and watched all 12 hours in one lazy day. I did intend on going to a friends house for a pool party, but as I was getting dressed the bottom fell out and it rained for a good hour. By that time, my effort was gone. :-)

After my short emotional breakdown over the peeling paint, I decided to finish the stinking project. I have zero coordination. In more ways than one - I fall down a lot and I have a hard time putting things together. So finding drapes for my bedroom has been a 3.5 year process. We have a red winter bedding and a sage green summer (because Texas only has 2 seasons) bedding. How do you find drapes for that? I say brown! Jason hasn't been in agreement with me on the brown, but since I am tired of bare walls and he got a phone call from a crying wife with peeling paint this morning he told me to get whatever made me happy.

I can say I'm one happy woman! I bought brown pillow shams to bring the color into the bedding, brown drapes and hardware. That stuff can be expensive (!!!) but I love the drapes. Now, if Jason ever gets home from his trip and stays home I'll have the drapes hung and update with photos of my new colorful bedroom.

For now, I'll leave you with the old boring one.

A berry by any other name

If you aren't from Texas I can pretty much guarantee you have never heard of a Dewberry. If you aren't from Central Texas, you probably haven't even had a Dewberry. I grew up eating them...they tend to grow wild and are best around Mother's Day. Every year I'd end up with purple fingers from picking my share (and eating more than I kept). So when my coworker asked for "something with fruit in it" instead of a birthday cake I decided on a Dewberry Cobbler. She's from College Station, so she's pretty familiar with my favorite berry. I channelled my inner Southern Lady and found a Paula recipe for Blackberry crisp. Since Dewberries taste pretty similar (they're a little more purple in color) it was a great swap.

Fresh Dewberry Crisp adapted from The Lady & Sons Just Desserts

• 4 cups fresh dewberries, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350. Butter sides and bottom of a 9" square dish.

Place dewberries in a bowl, sprinkle with 1 cup of sugar and cinnamon, stir to cover the berries. In another bowl, stir together flour and remaining 1 cup sugar. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut in butter until crumbly. Pour sugared berries into baking dish and cover with flour mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

Good luck finding fresh dewberries. You may can find them at a Farmers Market, but other than that...you'll have to find someone who knows where to go.

Also, since Jason missed out on the dessert I used a small bag of frozen mixed berries (about 2 cups) this weekend and divided the recipe in half to make another crisp for us. It's a great, easy recipe.

Something fun

5/18/09


Well, it's out there. We told my sister, Casi, mom, step-dad, and Aunt LaDonna this weekend. I feel a lot better!! This hiding thing was wearing on me. And it was a success. So exciting.


First, we met Lin & Casi for dinner at their place last week. After dinner we just sat around chatting and watching TV and I handed Lin the sonogram photo. She just stared at it. Then Casi stared. Then they attacked us! It was so cute - Casi just kept saying "I'm so excited. I'm just so excited." And of course they've requested a girl. I'm not sure what I can do about that at this point, but I'll do my best. Even though my boy name rocks. Also, I was wrong - no tears from those girls!


Friday we headed to College Station for Adam's graduation and planned to tell my mom and step-dad. The plans were thrown a little at first. My step-dad left quickly after we got there, so he missed the big announcement. Then my mom wanted to take her own car. Somehow Lin managed to bypass that and she rode with us. I gave her the photo album and made her look at it on the way. She just kept going on and on about how it was the best gift ever...until she got to the last page. Then we got the "Oh my gosh!" and tears. I was armed with tissues. The second response "There is only one, right?" I had rational fears for having twins (they run on both sides of the family) so I was not offended. I then spent the next two hours through graduation catching her up on the past 6 weeks. I learned something - apparently my mom had horrible morning sickness with both my sister and I. I've still been a lucky person. She also called my step-dad who was pretty excited.


I had felt bad about holding out on telling them for so long. I mean, I'm pretty close to my mom. But Jason and I were pretty adamant that we didn't want most people to know until 12 weeks...just in case. So after I told my mom that she had to keep it secret for 2 more weeks, she said that she was glad I waited to tell her. I've mentioned that we're a family who isn't good at keeping secrets. :-)


Saturday mom had an appointment with LaDonna to get her nails done. Since everyone knows beauty shop talk spreads faster than wildfire, I made sure that those two would be the only ones in the shop. Then I had mom show LaDonna her photo album and we chatted on the phone. Once again I got the "Oh my gosh!" reaction followed by tears.


Overall it was fun telling them. I have sworn them to secrecy in not telling anyone else until the end of May. After that...I don't care! I'll be glad to tell work next week also. I'm getting grouchy and I hope that they don't vote me off the island before I tell them why I'm so grouchy.

I don't like keeping secrets

5/12/09

Ack! 9 weeks finally. For real. Since the doctor took a week back from me, I had to live through 8 weeks twice. It wasn’t as traumatic as it sounds. :-) This week, however, is a very exciting week for me. We’ve decided to tell some select family. Honestly, I’ve come to the conclusion that pretending NOT to be pregnant is much harder than actually being pregnant. This past weekend we visited Jason’s parents and let the cat out of the bag. Being Mother’s Day, we bought a cute card and added a sonogram photo to share the news. And since I seem to eat every 3.5 hours, we told them Saturday morning. They were very excited, but have been put on strict instructions to keep it as a family secret until the end of May.

Tonight I’m telling my sister. I’m taking a HUGE gamble here. My family is not good at keeping secrets, as I’ve mentioned before. But for some reason I want to tell her separately from my mom. Today is going to be a long day. Jason and I are going to her house to have dinner with her and Casi and we’ll tell them. I’ve bet Jason that Casi will cry. She’s a “Lifetime movie marathon watcher for the purpose of a good cry” kind of girl, so odds are good. Plus, since I’ve become closer to Lin I feel like it will be a big deal to tell her separate. Then I’m going to threaten her life if she lets it slip to my mom. As in, I’ll never trust her with another secret as long as she lives threat. I have faith – when my mom got married Lin found out 3 days before me and kept it a secret.

So Friday we’re finally telling my mom and step-dad. Again, more tears expect. I’m also going to threaten their lives that they can’t tell the rest of the family (ok, maybe my mom’s younger sister LaDonna, but only because they’re super close). On June 1, they can print it in the freaking paper for all I care. I just want to make it past the first trimester before it becomes public information. Just in case, you know. I decided to finally make my mom a photo album from my wedding for Mother’s Day. Jason and I spent Sunday night putting one together on Shutterfly, and then had to pay extra to overnight it hoping that it will actually be here on Friday before we leave. Good thing I waited until the last minute. I started putting a scrapbook together, but Jason vetoed that because…well…it wasn’t really up to his standards for a gift. Plus, the Shutterfly album will look better and took a lot less time to make. Friday is going to be a tough night. Lin’s boyfriend graduates from A&M (Whoop!) and the plan is to go to Northgate. So…not only do I have to manage to get my mom and step-dad alone to tell them and make sure my mom’s face is tear free before she sees anyone else, but I also have to fake drink all night! Like I said, pretending not to be pregnant is harder than being pregnant!

I will be so happy when this secret keeping is over!

Pork Tenderloin

Each weekend on the Nest we do a weekly menu post. I'm not much of a menu planner, but it helps me get ideas and recipes. Plus, since everyone is in to saving money right now, some of the menus are built around what's on sale - score!

This week a friend of mine, Katie, posted her recipe for pork tenderloin. Since we have a few of those in the freezer on a regular basis, I decided to try something different. Plus, corn on the cob and green beans were on sale over the weekend...so guess what the meal was? The pork turned out very well, if I do say so myself. Jason ended up working late yesterday so I was in charge of cooking dinner and ended up eating before he got home. Hey, I was hungry!

Soy Lime Pork Tenderloin from So Tasty, So Yummy

• 2 limes
• 2 T wed or white wine vinegar (I used red)
• 2 T vegetable oil (I used EVOO because I was out of veg oil)
• 1 T low-sodium Soy sauce
• 1 T honey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 - 2 lb pork tenderloin

Cut limes in ½ and squeeze juice in a large measuring cup (about 2 cups). Add the vinegar, olive oil, soy sauce and honey. Add garlic and red pepper flakes, whisk to blend the mixture. Place the pork in a zip-top plastic bag and pour the marinade over the meat. Be sure to scrape out any honey that may cling to the measuring cup. Seal and chill for 24 hours.

Preheat gas grill on high. Cook the pork, rotating the meat every 5-6 minutes until all sides are brown. Continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes (about 30-35 minutes total) or until the internal temperature is 160. Take the pork off of the grill and cover with foil for about 10 minutes to let the meat rest. Jason is not the best at letting things rest, so I was kind of glad I was on my own last night. It makes such a big difference!

I tend to overreact...

5/4/09

I'm a little pissed off. Jason and I both think that Dr. Firpo said he cannot come with me to the 12 week ultrasound. At first I was too overwhelmed to say anything. But after a weekend of stewing (and we all know how much I love to stew) I've decided to call and get to the bottom of this. Being sort of reasonable, I'm going to agree with her if there is a good medical reason he shouldn't be there. However, if they can't give me one I have two options. One, they can drag Jason out kicking and screaming. Two, I can divorce her and get a new doctor. I really like her so...I'm hoping I just misunderstood.


Well, I was right. However, I'm not happy about it. Jason can't come. Apparently the imaging center won't let him back there - it's not the doctor. So...after some posting on the nest, I found some mixed reviews. Some girls say change docs right away, others think it's not a big deal. Not being one to overreact, I'm going to stay with my doctor that I have and Jason is going to the appointment with me. I think that if he can come back, he will. If he ends up wasting time, well...not much we can do about that.


I also had a bit of a scare last night. I had some major 'take my breath away' cramps. Now, given that the day was a little crazy around work (we had a minor fire in the laundry room) and I spent most of the afternoon on my feet...I figured that was the culprit. After contemplation, I called the on-call doctor and talked to him. I could have gone to the ER and met him for an ultrasound, but since there was no spotting we decided I should just take it easy for the night. I called my doctor this morning and, surprise, surprise I feel 100% today...she said for me to hold off on coming in. I could go if I wanted to, but I feel pretty good and haven't had any spotting. So...I'm back to taking it easy. Darn it - I want to go to the gym!


I did laugh at the whole situation. I couldn't call Jason since he was taking a final and I couldn't call my mom (great phone call - Mom, I'm pregnant but I'm freaking out right now so what do I do?") So instead, I posted it on the Nest to ask a bunch of Internet friends who promptly told me to call the doctor. Have I mentioned how much I love that group of friends?


It was the first time that I really wanted to tell my mom, but I also really want to do this in person. I want to see the look on her face and get to enjoy that - I can't wait for it! I wish someone had taken a photo of me when I first tested - I think I had a deer-in-the-headlights look going on.

Cheese please!

For once, I found a Rachael Ray recipe that actually is a 30 Minute Meal. See, it looks 30 minutes on her show, but it usually takes me a hour. This one, however, could become a quick go-to meal any time. It's also pretty good.

Peas and Cheese Tortellini from Rachael Ray

• 1 lb frozen cheese tortellini
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 T butter
• 5 green onions, greens & whites sliced and seperated
• 2 T flour
• 1 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Boil the pasta in salted water to al dente. Drain. In a large saucepan, sautee peas, butter and onion whites for about 2 minutes. Whisk in the flour, stir for about 1 minute. Add the milk, bring to a boil and stir in the remaining green onions, salt & pepper. Combine the sauce and tortellini, along with the parmesan cheese and stir.

Hoppy Easter!

My family usually does a pot-luck type thing for holidays. The hosts will be responsible for the main dish and beverages, then everyone else is to bring a side or dessert. This Easter I volunteered for a dessert. I have about 15 Easter/Spring type cookie cutters...but I didn't have the ambition to make sugar cookies. So...I thought about brownies.



These were actually pretty easy. Of course, because of lack of ambition, they were made from a box, but who cares? They taste pretty darn good! I poured them into a 11*13 cake pan and added the M&Ms for a little something extra. I also found out that they really need to cool completely before you try to remove them from the pan. I cut them out while they were still warm and then waited before taking them out of the pan.

Now, the upside is that you'll have a lot of brownie scraps. What to do, what to do? Since I hosted Bunko again this April I saved half of the scraps for my dessert. I made homemade ice cream and used the brownies as toppings. Well, the brownies that survived my trip to the fridge.