Rebecca Black has Ruined Fridays

It’s Friday, Friday - gotta get down on Friday! Ha, literally had that stuck in my head all day - from the moment I told Mack “It’s Friday!” See why annoying, simple lyrics are so catching? Today was a busy day of work. I was helping a lady at a school district (not Everett) who stepped into a job that wasn’t being done very well prior to her working there, and now she was trying to clean up a mess caused by the previous employee. Why does this sound familiar? At any rate, I was glad to be able to help her and get her the info she needed right away, even if that meant that my own projects are moving along at a snail’s pace. It was also a busy day of cakes being dropped off here at my office and then me delivering them over to Comcast Arena for the auction tonight. I love seeing all the creative things people can do with CAKE. I wish I was that talented. I’m not a very good baker. I think I’m a pretty decent cook but when it comes to baking, I always mess things up. In another lifetime, I’d love to go to classes and the whole gambit. It was such a sunny day that I was thinking it’d be nice to go for a walk by the river after work. I was also thinking it’d be fun to cook up the tempeh I had bought at the co-op on Thursday during my lunch break. Nick however, had VERY different plans in mind. When I mentioned going for a walk he actually laughed at me and said “you can only see out of your building in one direction, wait til you get outside.” Outside, I looked to the East and there were black storm clouds rolling in over Everett. I much preferred my “view to the West” which was nothing but blue skies and sunshine. Ignorance really is bliss. I had no idea that storm had been brewing. Here I was with the door open, enjoying the fresh air and the birds chirping. As rain was falling just a few blocks away. Nick also had plans for dinner which were just about as opposite to tempeh as you can get. He wanted steak. Luckily, once steak is mentioned, I’m on board - no need to convince me! We hopped on over to QFC and picked up three big steaks in a family pack - which was buy one get one free! Yay six steaks! While Nick was picking out the steaks I happened to notice there was a big seafood sale. I decided to splurge on some Dungeness crab! Then while I was waiting in line for my crab, Nick noticed there was a wine tasting going on. We ended spending about 40 min at QFC. I picked up a bottle of Fre, which is a non-alcoholic Cabernet Sauvignon. We’ve bought a bottle of this once before and I knew I liked it. I don’t think it’s something I should be having on a regular basis, but steak and crab without red wine is just wrong. Gary had picked up Mack from school early (after helping me deliver cakes to the arena - thanks Gary!) and they were already at the house busy playing. When Nick and I arrived home, we all got busy in the kitchen. Mack helped me make Brussels sprouts with butter and garlic, Nick used his awesome indoor grill (Christmas present!) and I started some water to boil for the crab. Nothing was done at the same time. We had a meal in courses, steak first, then Brussels sprouts, and then crab - wine throughout. Carrot cake for dessert. My mom had made a carrot cake for the dessert dash and had made a tiny, loaf sized cake just for me. She knows it’s my favorite. I was nice enough to share my dessert with everyone. What a great meal! Because we had spent about two hours eating, it was Mack’s bedtime before we could even believe it. Movie time for mom and dad!

Co Op Lunch

For lunch today, I decided a nice walk in the sunshine was the best thing for me. This morning, Beth brought me this: She knows the way to my heart!

Gruyere cheese and Braeburn apples have been my staple throughout this pregnancy. Between the apples/cheese and my usual morning snacks, I wasn’t incredibly hungry come lunch time - but I knew I wanted to at the very least have a smoothie. I headed out towards the co-op and ended up getting a smoothie called “Tropical Fusion” - coconut milk, pineapple, and a bunch of other things I can’t remember. I also picked up yet another “we’ll see how this ends up” lunch. “Spicy spelt with Tofu.” Both were delicious. Spelt is a type of wheat and is 17% protein. This little concoction included spelt berries, chopped red cabbage, chopped red and orange peppers, chopped scallions, tofu, a light drizzling of what I assume was sunflower oil and some sort of spice that had a little kick but not too much heat. I loved this so much that I saved a little for Nick to try. I really liked the texture of the spelt also. While I was there, I also picked up a box of quinoa (never tried it!) and a package of uncooked tempeh. I really loved the “Leek Roasted Carrots with Tempeh” I got from the co-op deli last week and I want to try cooking with tempeh at home. Let me tell you, it looks disgusting raw. I’m just hoping I can get Nick over the grossness of the look and description of tempeh long enough for him to taste it. I know he’ll like it once he tries it!

Yoga and Cake

Tonight was a pretty boring night for food - I had to rush home and get changed for my first night of prenatal yoga! The boys had PB&J as a quick dinner because they were also on their way out for an adventure at the pool with Eric, Melissa and her daughter Jenna. Prenatal yoga was a blast. It was great meeting other women in the same boat as me - the majority of which are about my same age. We are all very close in due dates, I’m the earliest, at June 11th - but the latest is July 8th. So we are within a month of each other. There were five other women in the class, plus the teacher. I really enjoyed the sequence that she had put together. We did several new poses, including “windmill” which I will be incorporating into my daily stretching routine, and also a move where you stand with one foot on a block and swing the other leg in a straight line forward and backward, as high up as your hip will allow. Hip openers are my favorite! And since I can’t do pigeon pose right now, this is a great replacement. We also did shavasana in an altered pose, using two bolsters. This was the most comfortable I’ve been since entering my second trimester. All in all, it was a great relaxation sequence, but I also felt invigorated and energized afterwards. Perfection! After class, I had a few errands to run for the dessert dash which was the next day. I work with two different auction groups here in Everett, one for Cocoon House and one for Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County (DVS). Friday’s auction was for DVS which provides shelter and temp housing for women who are fleeing violent homes/relationships. They are an advocacy based program which basically means that they offer a support system around the multi-faceted government programs available to these women such as DSHS, Everett Housing Authority, the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, and the school systems (Everett School District for their children, Everett Community College and other certification/degree programs for the women themselves). DVS works with the women to create a plan with them, not for them, to establish new lives for themselves - whether that means legal advocacy to file restraining orders, council for pulling a child from the school and transferring to another, help attaining the resources to get a GED or to get into a cert/degree program and learn a new job skill, etc. Most of these women have always been SAHMs and do not know how to be self-sustaining. The problem is a big one - the women that do eventually find the courage to stand up to a violent husband are then forced to go back because they have no way of supporting themselves or their children without the man’s income. Obviously, the issue can swing both ways and I don’t mean to be anti-male in this explanation - it’s just that this particular organization only serves women victims and as such, these are the issues they are dealing with. You can find out more about DVS by visiting their website. This is just one of the gorgeous cakes I was able to procure for the dash:

This cake was a chocolate/mocha cake with raspberry filling. I want this for my baby shower!

How the dessert dash works: Every table receives a “bid card” for dessert. The desserts are all located on a large table and they are available to “view” during the silent auction prior to dinner. During dinner, every one puts down what they want to contribute towards their dessert on the bid card. Each table then chooses a “runner” to be the one to go and choose a dessert when their table number is called. The bid cards are picked up and calculated while dinner finishes up. When it is time for dessert the auctioneer announces the table with the highest collective bid and their runner then gets to choose their dessert first. After calling the first few highest bidders, the auctioneer will then just start calling off the rest of the tables faster and faster. This way, there is an actual “dash” to get a dessert and people are racing all around. It’s very fun. This auction is my second one for DVS - but last year, one of the cakes I donated was the very first cake to go - it went for $700! And the dash as a whole raised $12,000. I can’t wait to see what we raise this year. After picking up several cakes, I decided to stop by the pool to see how everyone was doing. I was immediately greeted by a big smile from Mackenzie who was riding around on a yellow noodle. He quickly scooted his way over to the pool’s edge, said hi to me, explained that this was his yellow sail boat, then “see ya!” and off he went! This kid LOVES being in the pool. I really want to get him signed up for swim lessons. Several books and tv shows have made fun of moms frantically waiting in line to sign up for swimming lessons. I always thought this was an exaggeration and that they just used the scenario to highlight how ridiculous parents can sometimes be. That scene is for real. I’ve tried for the past three sessions to get Mack into the class (there are about 25 classes of 10 kids each session) and every time, without fail, the class is full only an hour after online registration opens. I feel like there is a secret to getting in before registration opens. Tricky moms! Mack wasn’t ready to leave the pool yet and I had cakes to get home, so I headed home on my own. After the pool, they all went for McDonald’s - Mack came home with a Happy Meal for him and a big hug for me. Gotta love the simple things in life. Arriverderci!

Popsicles to the Rescue

Wednesday night!

Even though I got into work late today, I couldn’t help but get an itch to get out of the office given how sunny and springy it was outside. For some strange reason, entering 6 months worth of data (that I’ve already entered into one system) into a new system is not the most exciting thing to dedicate my days to. I am however, making good progress. Once I was able to break free from the office, I threw on my sunglasses and headed out to pick up Nick from work. Then the two of us picked up Mack from preschool.
Nothing is a worse start to the evening than picking up your kid bloody and crying from preschool. It was just a fat lip - he was pushed on the playground and probably bit his lip as he fell down, but the TEARS would suggest to you that his injuries were fatal.
Luckily, firework popsicles came to the rescue!
Talk about a perfect distraction and an make shift ice pack. Two birds, one stone, ahem - popsicle. Mack loved the idea of having a “treat” before dinner and as soon as he had that bad boy, life had returned to happiness and we were ready for some kite flying adventures.
This morning on the way to preschool Mack told me that because the sun was up, it was a good day to fly his kite. He has literally been begging to take his kite out for weeks: when it’s pouring down rain or pitch black outside. Every single time he’s asked, we’ve told him that when it was sunny, we’d take his kite out. So, as soon as he saw the sun over the Puget Sound (we have an AMAZING view from his preschool) he was all over that promise we’d made.
Kite + Popsicle = Mackenzie in Heaven

Then This
Luckily, it was pretty cold out and Mack was over it before the kite got stuck in the tree. Dinner time!

I really love crock pot meals. When I can come home to an amazing, already cooked meal, I feel like I’ve cheated the world. Here, I have extra time on my hands and I get to eat something delicious.
For tonight’s meal, I did a little throw back to 8th grade when we had a family reunion in Cannon Beach. We had most of the hotel along with a beach cabin that we’d have dinners at each night. One night my uncle made a boys scout recipe from when he was a troup leader (is that what they are called, troups?). Anyway, every now and then I get a strong desire to have this meal again - but I’ve never made it. I decided to give it a go - with only the memory of asking him how he had made it when we were eating it (that’s what, more than ten years ago…).

I put three frozen chicken breasts, two cans of petite diced tomatoes, about ¼ cup of brown sugar and a little salt and pepper in the crock pot - on “low” for about 6 hours. When I got home, I asked Nick to make rice because clearly I can’t do it right.
This meal was fantastic! So incredibly easy to make, and so, so good.
On the side, we had some sweet corn.
Please note Nick's fancy plating for this photo. As opposed to my "give me the food!" photo below.


Today was the last day of my President’s Challenge, so I needed to get in at least 30 min of workout. I decided to try out one of my prenatal DVDs from the library.

This workout is ridiculous! Besides the 80’s throwback attire - full body leotards with leggings and high tops - the music is phenomenol. I was cracking up the entire time I was doing this aerobics routine. At one point Mack and Nick came upstairs and they both just started laughing hysterically. Mack joined me for one set of the aerobics.

I’ve included the links to the highlights of this video for you here and here. ENJOY! Seriously, worth your time - the laughter alone is a great workout :)

To be fair, the workout was great - got my heart rate up, I had a blast and I felt like I really worked out. A “real” workout is very hard to come by in the prenatal sections, so I will definitely be doing this again - and soon!

A presto!

That Family That Does Yoga Together....

Stays together? Is that the saying :)
A Tuesday night without Italian?! Feels so weird. I love Italian but I have to say that it has been nice being home every night of the week and being “present” during the times I’m at home - rather than studying for this quiz, or that test, or even just thinking about all the things I need to get done and the constant feeling of a to-do list running through my brain.
The goals for last night: Pick up my on hold items from the library, make a dinner that wasn’t terrible, hang out with the fam - AND, if the mood strikes, get some laundry done.
Success!
After waiting in line at the library behind a family of ten children, each with their own library card and a minimum of $12 in late fees each - I was finally able to check out the items I put on hold earlier this week. I found three workout DVDs that I wanted to give a go.
At home, I got dinner going - Grilled Chicken, Roasted Carrots with Broccoli, and Rice-a-Roni! Seriously, who doesn’t like Rice-a-Roni? It’s the San Francisco treat!
While dinner was cooking, I asked Mack if he’d try out this new video:

This video is super corny but I love the idea. It’s called Yoga for Families and it has basic yoga moves (warrior 2, cat/cow, downward facing dog, front bend, etc) combined into 3 different 10-15 min sequences. They do use some of the traditional pose names (traditional, as in western, not Sanskrit) but for the most part they say things like “be an elephant and wag your trunk all the way to the floor” instead of “front forward fold” or what have you. It took a couple minutes, but we eventually got Mack into doing it - so it was Mack, Nick and I doing our silly animal poses before dinner. I love it! I am by no means suggesting that Mack “work out” on any sort of schedule or as a “need to do” basis, but I think introducing him to the concept is great. I definitely remember watching my mom work it out to Jane Fonda on VHS along with the FIRM and how cool I thought I was when she let me workout with her. My mom is undeniably an amazing example of eating right and staying fit. I hope to look as good as she does when I’m forty - let alone sixty! (she’s going to kill me for putting that, but I think it’s a compliment that my mom is about to turn 60 this year and she looks better that a lot of (if not most) mid forty year olds. Be proud of your age mom!)

Back to dinner, being that I got distracted with our family yoga session, then playing catch with the dogs, and setting the table with Mackenzie - I almost ruined my second dinner in two days! Luckily, I was able to rescue the meal right at the last moment and everything was delicious. No leftoevers = everybody loved it.

After dinner, we watched an episode of DuckTales (remember that show?) with Mack and then read a book, played pillow wrestling, and all the other pre bed time activities. Let me also say that Mack’s bike is now ready to be picked up at the store and even though he did get a sticker last night - he still has a little over half way to go towards earning his bike. Here’s what’s in store for him at the end of the sticker chart:
Nick and I are debating picking this up tonight and showing it to him - he’d still have to earn all his stickers before getting it - OR, if we should get it some other time and hide it in the garage until the chart is all the way full. I’m sure seeing it will be a good motivator, but I also don’t want to introduce a huge battle of “I want it now!” for the next 17 stickers. Not sure what’s the best choice here.

Quick baby recap: I had my diabetes and hematocrit tests done at the doctor’s office today. Good news! I don’t have diabetes! I am however, extremely low on iron. No real surprise here, I’ve been anemic for most of my life. I have a “prescription” now for some special iron that is supposedly easier to absorb. Also, this is supposed to make me have more energy. I’m all for that!

After the doctor, I stopped at home to toss a quick dinner into the crock pot, whip up a smoothie and enjoy some time in the sunshine with the pups. For some reason, Tucker is willing to run and play catch outside but will not do it inside unless I put Muffin away. Playing outside was a nice little workout for Tucker - and a much needed one at that! Fatty!

Into the blender: Ice, frozen strawberries, kiwi, and Protein Plus juice - don’t judge it by the pukey color - it’s a great smoothie base.

Wha la!

Tonight things are flip-flopped a bit. I’m picking up Nick from his work - rather than vice-versa. So we’ll get home a little later than usual, hence the need for crock pot dinner.

See ya later

Burrito Dog

Yesterday was a long and boring day at the office. Lots to do - BUT, I was immediately cheered up when I got home to this:


Tucker has been wrapping himself up his blanket at night and apparently he’s started doing it during the day now too. The thing is, he’s really good at wrapping himself up like a burrito, but then he gets stuck. Today, he had chewed a hole large enough to stick out his head and front legs, but because he’s so stinkin’ fat - the rest of him was still stuck in his burrito wrap up. Ha ha ha! I took a video of him walking around like this before I was kind enough to come to his rescue and unravel the rest of the blanket for him.
With that, the tone for the night had been set - light hearted and full of laughter.
Immediately after, we had some visitors. We got to hear a fabulous story involving the procurement of medical marijuana to the horror of a grandparent present at the time of prescription. You’ll just have to imagine the details :) That makes two family members now who have had marijuana suggested to them as an established medical treatment - no body has taken up the offer yet.
I had decided earlier in the day that I’d make salmon for dinner (Nick’s favorite!) and I got started on prep right away.
Also, I had Nick pick up some parsnips because I’ve wanted to try parsnip fries for a while now. They keep showing up on different things (like here and here) and I’ve been so intrigued!
Turns out, parsnips are kind of like weird carrots. In fact, they smell exactly like carrots - although the taste and texture is a bit different, not to mention they are white and not orange.
Here’s what was on the menu:

Lemon Grilled Salmon
Lime Cilantro Rice
Parsnip Fries

AND, I managed to botch all three! The salmon was taking FOREVER to cook and then I ended up OVER cooking it just a little (a sin in the eyes of Nicholas). The rice cooker, I overfilled with rice, so the rice to water ratio was all wrong and we had rice that was the texture of a kindergarten craft gone wrong. And the parsnip fries, I over oiled - making them super mushy AND I over seasoned - making them a little too spicy. As we were cooking them, Mack said “oh, I love French fries!” (what? He doesn’t need to know they aren’t regular French fries - much less - healthy French fries). After he tried one, Mack spit it out and said “I do not like THOSE fries.” He was so disgusted he didn’t even want the remainder of his fry so much as touching his plate. Little bugger!
Nick and I both agreed that the parsnip fries could be good and that we just needed to work on our (ahem, my) fry making skills. As for the rice and salmon, there’s always next time.

Flash forward to lunch time today! I decided to hit the gym for a session on the circuit. It was a good opportunity to don my new workout duds from Saturday’s mission.

New pants!
I also enjoyed a lovely apple from the CSA that delivers to my gym and a nice cup of tea. I know that seems like a pathetic lunch, especially being that I’m pregnant - but you must have missed the memo about me eating a giant serving of lasagna circa 10am. Baby doesn’t care about “lunch time!” He eats when he wants! And so do I! :)

See you for dinner!

Quidam!

Monday - Monday, Monday…. Always comes too soon eh? Not that I have any complaints, this weekend was filled to the brim and even though we had a memorial service to attend yesterday, I can honestly tell you it was a very fun weekend.
Gary picked up Mack from school on Friday so Nick and I could watch the Husky game. We immediately went home after work changed into our Husky gear and headed over to our friends’ house to watch the game. I’ve been a little MIA from our friends group lately, so it was nice to see people and be a human being again! It also makes for a great evening when your team wins a great game!
Saturday morning we were up and at it pretty early. Mack doesn’t understand the concept of “weekend” well enough to go back to sleep - his body is used to waking up at 6am like he does for school each morning. For him, sleeping in is somewhere around 6:10. Yep, ten whole minutes of freedom! Ha!
We’ve come to rely on having the TV set up downstairs so that when he comes and wakes us up, one of us can quickly turn on a Mickey Mouse and get him set up with some breakfast before coming back to bed and snoozing a bit. Call us terrible parents, it’s how we keep our sanity!
I had a special mission for Saturday morning - two, actually. The first was to go to Costco and get some new workout gear. They are currently carrying some of the new Adidas women’s line for spring. Having bought Nick’s running gear at Costco a few months ago, I knew that if I could find my size, it’d be worth my while to get it from Costco. As it turns out, they sell bottoms in my size - but the matching tops were only available in XS - which is too small, even for me. The irony is that I was also trying to find stuff for my dad and then men’s selection had the opposite problem, his stuff only came in gigantic size. Weird. At least I got my pants, for less than half the normal price. AND, we live super close to the Adidas outlet, which I plan on visiting very soon to complete my “outfits.”
Mission #2 was not so successful. I’d been looking for a dress to wear to Cirque du Soleil for a few weeks now and Saturday was THE DAY to get it done. Let me tell you, it’s hard enough to find a decent dress when you’re twenty something and a mom (everything is either super frumpy or super slutty and short), BUT add to the fact that I’ve got a big ol’ belly and it’s that much more challenging. So…. I didn’t find a dress. I ended up wearing my high school homecoming dress, no joke. Thank god for stretchy fabric!
I did, however, find some great steals on maternity clothes. Seriously, who wants to spend $40 a pop on shirts/pants that you only fit in for about 2-3 months anyway?! Second hand is the way to go! I also snuck in a trip to Plato’s Closet to drop off some clothes that don’t fit anymore and I scored $20. The maternity shop I was at also does consignment, but it’s for store credit, and they only accept clothes m-f. I found a crib set I really liked there, so I’m hoping I can turn in the rest of the stuff Plato’s Closet didn’t buy and have enough store credit to get the crib set - the rest of my stuff is destined for Goodwill!
I spent the rest of the afternoon getting a manicure and then getting ready for Cirque. Quidam was my very first Cirque du Soleil show and I loved every single moment. The set, the lighting, the costumes, everything was incredible. I really wish that Mackenzie could have gone with us, he would have loved it. Next time I’m making sure he gets to go.

I almost feel guilty about enjoying the show knowing he didn’t get to go. We went out to one of our favorite Thai restaurants before the show with some friends - always nice to catch up with college friends. AND, I know have some pretty awesome leftovers to look forward to on my lunch tonight.
Sunday started with an early morning Husky game and we had Kyle and Erin over for breakfast/to watch the game. I think that’s the earliest I’ve ever watch basketball. It was a good game, up until the last few moments when we really just gave it away to North Carolina. Such a crappy way to end our tournament play. After the game, I was off to Edmonds to meet up with my long lost friend Eli! I haven’t seen Eli in ages! He finally lives a reasonable distance from us and so I figured it was darn time we got back together. I met him for brunch (don’t judge me for my two breakfasts!) in downtown Edmonds and we went to a cute little restaurant called Red Twig. I wanted to try out Red Twig because online said they had great crepes, there were also terrible reviews for this place, stating it was overpriced and hoity toity. First of all, they didn’t have crepes except for chicken pesto, which in comparison to the whip cream and strawberries I was anticipating - was not going to cut it. Also, their prices are incredibly reasonable and the food was “normal” done well -- for instance I got a breakfast burrito and I almost got the muffin shaped quiche. I wouldn’t call that hoity toity. The lesson here: you can’t always trust the reviews on Yelp or Urbanspoon - in the end we each get to have our own opinion :)
After that it was time to head out for the memorial service. I can’t believe how many people there were, what an inspiration of touching lives. I hope that when I pass away even a quarter that many people will show up and be able to laugh and celebrate my life. It was a very good service.
To leave you on a happy note: This is what little baby Bowsher looks like at 28 weeks! Only 11 more to go…. Crazy!

Did anyone notice that I did absoluty no cooking this weeked?! Weird. The most action our kitchen saw was when Nick made waffles and scrambled eggs for the game. About that....I better start thinking about what's for dinner :)