Road trip!

I have been fully converted - I am now a road tripper!  We drove from NC to PA to MA and then back through NY to NC a few weeks back and can I just tell you what a gorgeous ride it was?  Of course, that was my view from the back seat with little man, but boy oh boy was it pretty.   I have always been a ‘just get there’ person and never really appreciated the trip itself. 

I guess I can attribute the reluctance to drive to too many road trips as a kid in the good ‘ole yellow paneled station wagon.   At the time it’s what people did (yay ‘70s!), but I did spend many, many hours stuck in my tiny corner of the bench seat with no seat belts to help contain my brothers.   We had ‘lines’ on the seat that defined our areas.  God help you if you went over your line.  I cannot imagine how my parents retained their sanity on those trips.  But I digress…

We originally began our plan simply motivated by the sheer volume of stuff that a 6 month old requires to exist for 10 days– and honestly we were driven out of fear of hauling all of that on to a crowded airplane with absolutely no status to let us board early! 

So we were wimps – I’ll cop to that.  I will.  But the bottom line was, by driving we were able to see people and things we haven’t seen in years!  I saw my Godmother!  Yay!  I loved our visit – even if it was just a blitz.  We stayed with friends and family on the way up and back – which was so nice and again something we’re very unaccustomed to…we typically stay at a Hampton Inn.  It was so sweet to wake up and spend quality time visiting with everyone and little man in his PJs – he’s so much fun in the morning!

B & B @ a Rest Stop in PA
Stretching their legs!

We got to really enjoy the ride too because little man was actually a good traveler.  He really did sleep much better than expected and I think really adapted well to being strapped in to his car seat for long periods of time.  We tried to break things up when we could and get out and stretch our legs.  But in reality, I know the drive was hard on B.  He drove the entire thing – from start to finish.  Ouch. 

Of course he had the option to share the drive, but stayed up front in the ‘grown-up seats’ while little man and I stayed in the middle row – his choice.  Does he need a massage to work out the kinks, probably?   But in reality, I think driving was the right choice.  Breaking it up into three days instead of two was nicer too – but that all depends how much time we have to get away.

Going forward I think I would do it again – I didn’t realize how homesick I was for up north – driving through the mountains and seeing the gorgeous scenery certainly made me want to head to Amish country again….who knows.  Maybe I’ll convince B to go on another road trip to Maryland….would be good to see the old stomping grounds again.

Happy Monday Ya’ll!

It Isn't Easy Being Green

Hey everyone - I've not forgotten you!  I've been on bed rest - again.  All is well.  Had another scare, but the baby is fighting as am I.  The little heart is beating like crazy and that keeps me calm.  Unfortunately though, the nausea seems to be beating me.  Although I've had some wonderful suggestions from lots of friends, none of them seem to be working to quell the horrible feeling.  I'm just going to have to 'suck it up' until it passes!  I'll try to keep the whining down to a low roar.  I promise!

All is not lost however - I have lost six pounds! :o)  It's odd that all of my pants are baggy on me for now...I'm sure in a few months I'll miss the bagginess, but for now, I'll appreciate it and hope that maybe I lose a few more before things shift.  I have plenty to spare so anything I lose now will help in the long run I'm sure.

I'm back at work and it feels odd.  I've been turned off for almost five days and now that I have to get stuff done...Oy.  Time to re-engage.  The mood is so somber here at work though.  I wish leadership would do something to get people mentally in a happier place....we need some team building.  Big Time.  It's tough enough to get into a new job without the depressing atmosphere that we have here right now.

At this point I have so much work though that it's a bit scary.  It's even scarier to know there is an end date in the near future...oy again.  While I can't wait for the baby to be here...I'm nervous about leaving work for a period of time.  I'm sure I'll get over that when the time comes, but being the planner that I am, it makes me nervous.

For now, I'll stick with living in the moment and getting through the next few weeks with a smile on my face.  I'll keep focused on what's in front of me and not what's down the road and see where that takes me.  I'll be thankful for my sweet husband and awesome family.  Wouldn't know what I would have done without them. 

We had a great visit with my older brother and his wife this weekend - it was great to see them!  It was fun to be able to just chill out and relax and not worry that my face was a pretty pale green.  Gotta love family!

I hope you've all been doing well and are having a great week so far -

Happy Monday Ya'll!

Time to Make the Donuts!

I am addicted to cooking shows.  Not every cooking show, I do have discerning taste (read I dislike Rachel Ray with all that is in me)....but there are some that I could (and do) watch all day!  Up there at the top of my list is Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.  Okay I know, it's not really a cooking show.  It's more of a "where to go and eat" show, but I would LOVE to have Guy Fieri's job.   

How awesome would it be to go around the country and check out cool joints and get the behind the scenes intro to how their best dishes are made?!   In fact, it gets to a point when I watch too much Triple D, where I crave something so badly, that I will go out to my kitchen and just make it or bake it!

Today's 'I can't stand it any longer' moment resulted in me making gluten free donuts.  Yep, I had to have a donut.  I had the best time playing with the recipe and making the little munchkin style things that I was actually disappointed when I was done!  I made one batch and then mixed it up and covered some with cinnamon and sugar, some with just powdered sugar. Some I filled with strawberry jelly and covered with powdered sugar....yum.  Add a cup of coffee and I was in heaven!   Sorry the picture is a little blurry, but I was on a bit of a sugar high!

Obviously, I can't keep baking things just because I want them - otherwise, I won't be able to leave my house at the end of my vacation.  It sure is fun to be able to use my culinary arts degree when a whim hits me - but I have to use the skills for good healthy food and not 'donut evil!'

As I mentioned above, I don't love ALL cooking shows - some are just annoying and insulting. I don't need to know that a teaspoon of salt should be measured exactly or that if you add vanilla to a boxed cake mix you can fake it as a 'from scratch' recipe.  That's all crap in my humble, albeit blunt opinion.  If you want to take a short cut, watch Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.  She takes a really complicated recipe and simplifies it so you aren't in the kitchen all day, but still preserves the integrity of the dish.  Basically, she still cooks and makes it really easy.

I don't think this generation should grow up thinking slicing cookie dough from a premade roll is 'homemade' - premade dough maybe a great treat and timesaver, but spend some time actually making cookies the 'long way every once in a while - maybe at Christmas.  Get the kids involved like my Mom got me involved and have them decorate the cookies.  It's a fun activity and I can tell you it really inspired me to learn to bake as I got older!  I wanted to recreate those food memories like Mom and Grandma used to make for us.

Making dinner as a family - even just B and I - really makes it all taste better.  Seriously.  I enjoy it so much more when we spend time in the kitchen together than I would if I was just slaving away and plating it for him.  Now I don't have kids yet and I know how crazy life can be - so even if it's hotdogs and baked beans, give everyone a job and make it a team effort - so the whole family can appreciate how much fun it is to 'make dinner' once in a while!

Let's keep cooking in our kitchens and not just on television.  Don't forget that while going out is AWESOME and I love it as much as the next person - it is cheaper to eat at home and there's nothing better than leftovers for lunch my people.   I don't claim to be Betty Crocker folks, but I do love to sit down to dinner and eat things I made with my own little hands - I love it even better when it's something made with B's hands too!

Happy Cooking Ya'll and have a great Tuesday!