Oh how I love the Office

This is seriously why I love The Office so much.
Two reasons specific to this clip:
1. Michael uses the words "parcel" and "leisure" in the same sentence. Love it.
2. The uncontainable rage and how Michael's mouth goes slightly wonky during his last "noooo".
So funny.

nose and stomach

My nose is stuffed again. I had forgotten that when I was pregnant with Noah I had a semi-stuffed nose for the entire 9 months.
Here we go again.
I'm also STARTING to feel tired, but not tired enough to keep me from being ridiculously restless before I fall asleep in bed for the past week and a half. Boo.
Starting to feel a bit "off" in the mornings, but nothing close to nausea. (Thank goodness!)
God must know I am useless and totally suck at dealing with nausea, much less being sick to my stomach.
God bless the women who throw up during their pregnancy. I do NOT envy them one bit.

Best Sports Rant EVER

Every time I see this I laugh. Only a sports celebrity...

christmas/play area set up

So this is our temporary set up with the bookcase and bin thingy (I honestly need to figure out what it's called!) AND the Christmas tree. I'm pleased with the bookcase and need to do something about those gigantic stuffed animals that seem to have infested our house since about...13 months ago I think.

I ♥ Christmas lights

Ikea and Christmas

I went to Ikea today and bought a bookshelf and a bin thingy to help with toy organization. (On a side note, I did this ALL BY MYSELF. Lugged a gigantic box of wood and a smaller but still heavy other box AND a 30 lb toddler. I.Am.Amazing. I just have to tell myself that sometimes. Anyway...I digress.) (Oh and two great things: 1. I found an Ikea gift card I had forgotten about and 2. I got Noah's baby bonus in the mail yesterday. Purchasing large items and having to pay FAR less is so much more rewarding and exciting!)
Ugh. Toys. Childrens books. They are EVERYWHERE! So I thought that with the coming of Christmas this could help me be preemptive in preparing for the enslaught of more toys and books.
And to think...all this for ONE KID! Ridiculous.
Anyway, so I am pretty happy about the set up although I haven't yet built the bookcase. We'll see once it's all put together and set up.
We also set up our Christmas tree this evening so this cuts into Noah's play area. We'll see how that goes and how annoyed I am by the end of the Christmas season of saying, "No touch, Noah".
Oh dear.
Nonetheless...I am pleased with the temporary Christmas set up.

my 30 year plan

Is this not the cutest thing you've EVER seen?
Wow. That's a lot of time, but one day maybe I might attempt this...when the kids are grown up and out of the house.
So like...30 years?
Sounds good.
See you in 30 years, adorable turkey dinner cupcake.

all calm on the home front

Nothing new here. I booked my ultrasound for the 8th of December so we'll get to see the little sprout then. I feel fine, not exhausted (sometimes tired, but not absolutely DONE like before) and I'm trying to drink a lot.
I'm hoping to be able to blog about this pregnancy as much as I can but we'll see.
And I found out that a friend of mine is due within DAYS of me! We'll be pregnant together! So much fun!

Christmas Grooves

Yeah, we Stricklands have got moves you've never seen before!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Natural Childbirth by Bill Cosby

It was funny to watch as a newly married. It's hysterical after kids.

tiring

Today was a mentally exhausting day. I have a lot on my plate right now and am so behind (at least I feel so behind) in some of my work responsibilities. It's hard to work from home. It's hard to work from home and be a Mom to a 1 year old.
But I hunkered down and got a bunch of stuff done. I feel better, but I don't think I'll feel the weight of my responsibilities will lift until the New Year. :( That is a long time away but it'll be over before I know it, I suppose.
I'm so full of water right now (trying to drink more these days) and I hope I don't wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. I enjoy sleeping through the night.
Better start getting ready for bed...

it's true, it's true

I got confirmation of my pregnancy at the doctor's office today and my doctor said my due date is July 22nd, 2009. (We'll see, though.)
I also called the midwifery clinic and already got in! We have Carol as our secondary midwife and Heather as our primary midwife. Carol was our primary last time with Noah but was actually unable to be at his birth. However, Heather was a back up midwife and SHE was at the birth.
So our first midwife appointment is December 11th and I am going to go for an ultrasound around 8 weeks (so a few more weeks) just to have a bit of peace of mind.
It definitely hasn't sunk in yet...but it's very exciting.
If we could wait, we'd tell family at Christmas, but there's no way we can wait that long. :)

Here we go again!

I took a test this morning trying not to get my hopes up. (An impossible task. They were up.)
A positive test was the result! I'm pregnant again!
I left the test on the counter for Jamie to see and later that morning we were both getting ready in the bathroom and he said, "Babe? Are you pregnant? I don't understand that thing." I laughed and said, "Yep." He was pretty happy.
So that's that. Very exciting and we're looking forward to the continued expansion of our family!
According to an online pregnancy due date predictor, I am due July 24th 2009, so we'll see!
I have a Doctor's appt tomorrow and am already confirmed as a client with the midwives again.
I will always feel apprehensive due to my previous miscarriage before Noah, but I don't think I'm living in fear. Cautiously optimistic.
...
And then there were four!

Meal Plan Monday

So Meal Plan Monday (also known as Mexican Monday or No Makeup Monday in my little world) was a bit of a write off. Yesterday I didn't get a chance to make up a meal plan (or at least was a teeny bit tired/lazy) though I did think through what I could possibly make.
So here's what I've got so far for the rest of the week:
Monday
Perogies
Crockpot Tuesday
Beef stew
Pasta Wednesday
Frozen Pasta Shells from 2 weeks ago (yes!)
Fish Thursday
? Not sure
Soup & Salad Friday
Um...maybe a broth-type soup but maybe Pumpkin Soup since I've got 2 cans of it in my cupboard.
We just finished dinner and Noah is half-slouching on the ground leaning up against pillows that are near the couch. He's in a daze watching Curious George (seriously - every parent needs one show that their child would stop everything, sit and watch for at least 15 minutes) - the tv show, not the movie. It just so happens to be narrated by William H. Macy. Not a HUGE fan of Mr. Macy, but it holds Noah's attention so I'm not complaining.

memories...and mustaches

How could I forget about Mustache March '08? Ahaha...this cracked me up. Again.

A great day!

Today was a very good day. I had a productive meeting this morning and then Jen and I got to take off for the afternoon while our husbands took care of the kids. From about 1-5:15pm we were kid free and happy to drink Starbucks and shop, shop, shop!
Some sweet deals:
I got a down jacket from Jacob for only $37!!! It's flippin' sweet and I'm so happy about it! (Plus it's purple! I KNOW!)
I got 2 Sandra Boynton books for $4 each!
I got a bunch of tank tops (for underneath shirts) for 50% off - about $6 each!
I got some other things, but they were necessarily sweet deals although all were sweetly priced. :)
Thanks Jen (and hubby!) for a great day!

Meal plan Week 2

Mexican Monday:

Chicken/meatless Quesadillas

Crockpot Tuesday:

Chicken Parisienne

Pasta Wednesday:

Spinach, mushroom & ricotta fettuccine

Fish Thursday:

Salmon with Pesto Mayo with sauted asparagus

Soup & Salad Friday:

African Yam and Peanut Soup with ginger and pineapple (Courtesy of Miss Beth Fisher) with Mandarin Almond Salad

Royal Winter Fair Saturday:

Woot! RWF!

Suz & Roz Sunday:

We’re having our friends over for lunch on Sunday so I’m not posting what we’re having since Suz reads this blog.

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

So some have asked for this delicious Butternut Squash Soup, so here it is:

INGREDIENTS

* 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

* 2 tablespoons butter

* 1 cup sliced onions (I included ¾ cup green onions instead)

* 3/4 cup sliced leeks (I didn’t include these, but will try next time including them)

* 2 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash (I just used one large butternut squash)

* 1/2 cup dry white wine

* 5 cups chicken broth

* 1 pinch ground cinnamon

* 1 pinch ground ginger

* 1 pound cheese filled spinach ravioli (I used cheese and asparagus ravioli)

* 3/4 cup light cream

* salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the cumin seeds and nutmeg in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook until lightly browned. Stir in the butter, and saute the onions and leeks until tender. Mix in squash, wine, and chicken broth. Season with cinnamon and ginger. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ravioli, and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

3. With a hand mixer, puree the soup mixture. Blend in light cream, and season with salt and pepper. Mix in the cooked ravioli just before serving.

Bon Appetit!

Soup and Salad, anyone?

Yesterday I made butternut squash soup (as per the meal plan for this week) and it was AMAZING! Seriously, I am not a gigantic fan of butternut squash, but this soup was gourmet (in the words of my friend Jen). I would DEFINITELY make it again and on top of it all, I bought a hand mixer that you just mix right in the pot to save time and unecessary dirtying of pots and pans. So I'm pumped to make my own soup a lot more as well as salad dressings and fun stuff like that. (Yes, there is ravioli in the soup - the recipe called for it and so I did and it tasted delish as well as filling me up more than just having a bowl of soup).

comments from my last post

I should have predicted this question. :)

Anonymous said...

hmmm... have you considered the position of McCain supports war which is also killing / murdering innocent people?

10:36 PM

Vanessa said...

Thank you Anonymous for being brave enough to leave your name. :)

Actually this is THE MOST common thing I've heard and while I'm not pro-war by any means the death of innocent people due to war is not the final aim of war. Civilian casualties are considered accidents and as I said, the death of civilians are not the intent of any war.

The final aim of abortion IS the murdering of innocent people. AND the number of babies murdered EVERY SINGLE DAY in the US is over 4000.

So if I have to pick between someone who is pro murdering 1.5 million innocent babies every year or someone who is pro war (civilian casualties for this war approx 100,000 per year)...well, I'm going to go with the one who is pro war.

But that's just me.

Abortion and the election

I want to write something about the US Elections. And specifically abortion. Sigh. But it weighs far too heavy on my heart. But here I go.

All I know is that I could never vote for someone who is in favour of abortion. It absolutely breaks my heart.
I admit I don't know everything. John McCain is not perfect and to be honest I don't really know too much of what he stands for. But I admit that the issue of abortion is one that for me is enough to cause me to NOT vote for someone. I'm not necessarily a supporter of John McCain, but I can say with certainty that if I were a US citizen, I couldn't vote for Barack Obama.

As I write this it is projected that Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States of America. I have mixed feelings. There is no doubt that Obama is charismatic. It's clear that he wants to bring something new to table and to change the face of the United States. But will it be for the better? I really don't know. Only time will really tell.

meal planning update

Meal plan update:
Monday's meal wasn't mexican because I didn't get a chance to actually GO TO THE GROCERY STORE so instead I made a Cheesy Chicken & Squash casserole - I made it up and it actually tasted GOOD. I'm not very good at "making up" my own recipes so I am quite proud of myself. We had leftovers for lunch today.
Today I got to the groery store so we are having beef stew as planned. It smells GOO-OOD (that's 2 syllables for those of you who were wondering).
Tomorrow I will attempt to make stuffed shells (with pork) so we'll see how that goes.
Thursday is Jamie's birthday so I'm saving salmon for another day and Jamie and I will go out somewhere (I think).
Friday will be soup and salad as planned but Food Basics didn't have any Butternut squash!!! This is precisely why I shop at Zehrs. They are more expensive, but they have everything I need and it's all DELISH. :)

Also, I'm pretty darn excited that I used up my nasty-looking (I mean...slightly old?) carrots in the stew. They're fine if I cut off the things at the end and peel them, right?
:)

stop me now

I honestly think I could eat 1 Reece's peanut butter cup every 5 minutes for the rest of my life and not get sick of them.

thinking ahead

I just ordered our Christmas card online. I know. It's November 3rd and I'm WAY too excited about this but it's pretty much our nicest Christmas greeting EVER. PUMPED. :) It's a photo and a card all mixed into one.
I figure I'm way ahead of the game now and should have plenty 'o time to sort out addresses and stamps and all that good stuff. :)

meal planning

I'm attempting to start doing a weekly meal plan. I've realized that in life I am really good and starting new things - it's persevering to the end that I often fail at.
So we'll see how long this lasts.
I'm going to try having a category for each day and then changing up the recipes (because I, a) like trying new recipes and b) get bored with the same thing every week).
So these are the categories I'm trying for this month:

Monday: Mexican food
Tuesday: crock pot
Wednesday: Pasta
Thursday: fish
Friday: soup & salad
Saturday: something easy
Sunday: free for all

I may change up the categories, but these are the ones I will use for the month of November.
For this week my meal plan is as follows:

Monday: chicken fajitas
Tuesday: beef stew
Wednesday: stuffed pasta shells (potentially pork or turkey)
Thursday: maple-glazed salmon
Friday: Butternut squash with ravioli soup and probably an Apple & Spinach salad with Cheese
Saturday: we're out of town
Sunday...scrounge up whatever we can find

So we'll see how this goes. I think this will accomplish a few important things:
1. Eating better - not eating junk or poorly because it's already planned
2. No last minute fumbling around and stress to figure out what's for dinner
3. appropriate grocery lists and eating what is in the fridge
4. Hopefully saving money since only buying what we'll eat.

Now what to do with all this left-over Halloween candy......