Introducing the Tadpole!

So, if the title change for the blog and then the picture didn't give it away-- Here's the big announcement-

Craig and I are expecting a new family member-- sometime in early March. I am about 8 weeks pregnant and got my first picture of the Tadpole this morning. I have scanned it in here in all its grainy glory to share with the world.

For those confused by the picture, the baby is the grayish blob inside the blackish blob-- its kinda got a line going through it, that is from the measurements the doc did today-- and is only a part of the computer processing. I am happy to report that the Tadpole is currently about 13.9 mm long (for those not into metric-- thats somewhere around a 1/2 inch) -- and that puts them right on schedule as far as growth and all that.

We also got to "see" the babies heartbeat. Granted it was only about 3 pixels on the little screen-- but they were flickering like crazy-- Apparently the flickering worked out to 150 beats/minute which is I am told just dandy and right where it should be.

So all seems well with the Tadpole! Craig and I are thrilled, both sets of parents and siblings are excited and well... things are pretty darn great!

So I will apologize for the lapse in posting, but I have been feeling kinda lousy (whoever named it "morning" sickness should be hung up by their ears from the rafters -- its more like all day any-- anytime-- don't even think about eating that sickness) Also, posting about normal day-to-day stuff while I knew this seemed kinda weird, but I wasn't ready to share yet. I wanted some more reassurance that everything was going well. And while there are no guarantees-- everything today looked just as it should-- so we decided it was time to spill. (Plus my Mom wants the pictures!) We actually found out we were expecting the same day I got my new station wagon-- so I've been sitting on this secret for a little while now. So please excuse my bad blogger-ness over the last few weeks, I will try and be better-- and they promise that I will soon regain control over my own stomach so that should help too!

New Favorite line of all time

Without spoiling a single tidbit of the book, I have a new favorite line.

"She is nuttier than squirrel poo"

I got the book just after 1 am... finished same day about 6:45 am. Made Craig drive home from the store and all so I could read. :::: sigh::: No more new Potter books. But I did enjoy it!

Hope you are enjoying it too. I will discuss plot stuff on here someday when I think more people will have already finished.

Post #101

I have again been a lousy blogger this last week... my only excuse is well... I'll share next week maybe, but really its pretty much that I am house sitting for a coworker and have no internet at night-- also, her being away means I have to deal with all the nonsense in the lab that comes up. (Where is the _____? Can I mix Acid and Chlorine?? etc)

I ran out at lunch today to get to borders and get my wristband for the big event. The Grand Hallows Ball tonight. I am in the second batch of people to get my book, which means I should definitely have it before 1 am!!!! YAY! OK, so no sleep for me tonight until I finish. And if you are confused as to what I am referring to-- well, you must be blind, deaf, and have buried your head in the sand for the last few weeks because tonight of course is the big release for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I can't wait... only 8 hours and 10 minutes left!!!!!!!!!

So tomorrow when I have slept some, and recovered a bit. I will reenter the world-- hopefully not mourning the loss of Harry (please please please let harry, hermione, and ron at least live... oh, and Hagrid... and well, all the weasleys (except percy-0-- he's dispensable)-- and well... yeah... I hope no one really like gets killed, but I know JK Rowling is going to kill off someone important.)

In related news, Craig and his Dad have been working on my kitchen floor this past week-- so I will hopefully come home soon to a nice finished kitchen!!! I'll share some pics as soon as the floor is done.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (the movie!)

So last night Craig decided he would take me on a date (crazy boy that one) to see the latest edition in the HP movie series. We got to the local movies early (about 30 minutes before the show) even though we had bought tickets earlier in the day to be sure we got a seat-- and I am glad we did. The place was PACKED-- jam packed. The movie finally begins-- and other than questioning how some people were raised (the 30+ woman behind me with the dry crackly feet who thought the head rest of the seat in front of her was the place to put her nasty feet-- the 17 year olds behind me who giggled and chatted and looked at their glaringly bright cell phones every 2 minutes etc) most of the audience was pretty good. (and thankfully QUIET!)

The movie got going, and not 20 minutes in, the film starts to skip-- the bottom half of the picture was on the top half of the screen and all-- it was just unpleasant to watch. Eventually someone in the audience (after ~3-5) minutes of this got up and went to find an employee to fix it, they did and then 45 minutes later it happened AGAIN. Same result-- a person on an end eventually went out and asked for it to be fixed. The film also went blurry a few times and the sound level was poorly managed. After the movie let out, I went to find the manager. I was pretty displeased that for the crazy price of movie tickets, they could not have someone to WATCH the projectors to be sure they worked. I know when Grammam worked at the movies when I was little and we used to "help" that someone was usually up there to keep an eye on it all. So I explained to the manager that this was unreasonable and I was unhappy with the theater. She tried to get out of it for about 2 seconds and then asked if we wanted a refund. Well yes, thank you I would-- but I would rather have not had my movie repeatedly disrupted! She gave us back the money we had paid for the tickets and we left the theater. Craig's comment on the whole thing "I should take you out more often, you're a cheap date!".


Now, on to my thoughts on the movie itself--
I enjoyed it, I found it better than Prisoner of Azkaban on details-- and a good bit more accurate on plot than the goblet of fire movies-- so that was a nice surprise. I was disappointed in the scenes selected to be cut from the film-- some of my favorite parts of the book were missing. As always-- the movie did not explain everything as fully as the book-- and took a few other liberties-- but I think the general plot was pretty close to the book. I was sad to see the fight scene clipped at the end-- but I understand not everyone wants to sit through a 6 hour HP movie like I would (crazy folks out there apparently some of them have LIVES!?!?!) Umbridge is delightfully evil and bureaucratic-- and very very pink. Really a scream. Kreacher gets cut out a lot, which is kinda sad-- he was funny in the book.

So overall-- I would give the movie a 3/5 on accuracy to the book, but I would rate it a 4 or maybe a 4.5 out of 5 in terms of fun and enjoyable movie. So go on, go see HP#5-- its fun, exciting and a little spooky.

HP #5 Movie Tonight!

Tonight, traditional wings night will be cancelled as Craig and I head to the movies to catch one of the most awaited summer films-- EVER.

Thats right, the next edition of the HP sequence came out today (and I was asleep! at midnight) so we are off to see it this evening. I can't wait! I have decided that I probably shouldn't dress up as well... the cape and hat might be a little toasty considering the heatwave we are in the middle of. BUT-- I AM SUPER SUPER EXCITED! Plus... LESS than 10 days til Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows comes out... what a great July!!!


Other than that, a slow and somewhat blah day at work--- so I will keep trudging through the afternoon with the happy evening to look forward to.

Oh-- and a good recipe! We had Grilled Pacific Pork Kebabs with Pineapple Rice last night-- pretty tasty, quick, and even made Craig do the cooking! (that's my kind of meal!) This recipe was from Everyday foods. I have been a fan of this magazine for a few months now-- since Claud sent me a subscription. The recipes I have tried have all been pretty good-- and pretty easy-- I would recommend checking this magazine, or at least the website out! (even though it is by nutty martha stewart)

La Torta Final!

(Ok, so that's the last cake)

Our last cake decorating class was this past week. I finally got the pictures today and thought I would share. This is one more example of the everpresent buttermilk cake-- though this time flavored with a little orange blossom water and then soaked with a mandarin orange syrup. This cake was filled with mandarin orange (clementinas in spanish) and frosted with a normal buttercream. We then covered it with fondant and did the fondant drape in the colors of the flag of Spain and then I made a little gumpaste flower to stick on the top. Tada! the last cake for class... so now I just need to get a few cake jobs to make some money with all I have learned!

Ratatouille--

Go see this now. Seriously, leave the computer running, hop in the car and get to the theater now. This movie was GREAT! (plus, with the sweltering heat-- the movies are a perfect place to be!) Craig and I both loved it. The animation is amazing, the plot is funny and its an all around fun movie. At least five times during the movie I thought to myself-- that's not animated, it CAN'T be!

So the only lingering complaint is that I don't know what Ratatouille is or how to make it??!!?! They never got to that part. (well, I know its a "peasant dish" and has zucchini in it?)

New item added to my wish list... my own "Little Chef".

Way to go MOM!

My Mom ran her 5th? 6th? Triathalon this morning in somewhere godforsaken wisconsin they are referring to as "Chicagoland" Beyond the fact that at 50 she is going way faster than and far more dedicated than I am at 25-- its really cool because she's doing GREAT. Seriously, how many people do you know who can swim for 1/2 mile, bike 12 miles, and run 3.1 miles-- nonetheless finish it all in one morning! Mom's time this year was 2 hours 19 minutes and 12 seconds--- pretty darn impressive.

So way to go Mom (and Dad, her coach, cheerleader, driver, and equipment manager!) we are both super proud of you. (and envious of your great committment to fitness and yourself!)


FYI-- these triathalons are run by Danskin and the Susan G Komen Foundation--- they are exclusively for women, and have special oppurtunities for survivors of cancer. They are not run super-competetively-- it is the pride in accomplishment that seems to be the driving force. If you are at all interested, check out more information here!

Ratatouille?

So as if my days are not yet full enough of rodents-- my plan for tonight is to go see the new disney-pixar film

I will try and get a review on here soon. I have heard good things about it, and the clips I saw looked both funny and cute. And well, a mouse who can cook is way way way more cute and exciting than a mouse with a boob job-- well, at least for most people!

Outside of that, I've got some catch up work to do around the house (eg... clean the kitchen and the bathroom!), Craig's got to get the lawn mowed before Murphy gets swallowed by some sort of prehistoric mutant grass, and we've got to get to work on digging out the cellar and the nursery. Stay tuned for more hopefully this weekend.

Tuesday again!

Its tuesday again, and wonderefully I finished work at 1:30pm and WENT HOME!! Yay an early nap! I was up at the crack of dawn (thanks evil noisy neighbors-- will vent on that later) but at least I got my cake baked for class tonight-- so it could be worse!

The weekend visit to my parents was nice-- I got to work at the basket party for the firehouse and Craig got to haul gravel and help reframe the garage. So it was busy and all that, but a nice visit overall. I even finally dropped off my VERY late mother's and father's day presents-- so that was good too. We then hurried home to meet Craig's parents and return the weener-mutt YAY! They hung out for dinner (homemade fajitas-- want the recipe?) and then headed home the next morning.
So we are now down to our normal contingent of pets-- and no poo or puke to be found!

Temporary control of the house has been regained!