3rd Anniversary

Hard to believe it's been three years already! We didn't do much celebrating because we both had to work today (and we've had a lot of activity lately!), but we managed to squeeze dinner at Cheesecake Factory in between work and evening adventure group meetings at church. Then, we arrived home to these gorgeous flowers from Mom and Dad Adams — thanks!

Road Trip

Wow, seems weird not to have posted in several weeks! Ken and I flew to Mississippi 5/18 to hang with my mom over the weekend then drive one of her cars back to Cali that we're buying. We had a great visit, and were able to help get a few things done, the biggest of which was Ken water-sealing the deck.


He worked very hard in the hot, Mississippi sun, and learned that, in fact, even SHINS can sweat. Mom appreciated his work, as that's just a bit less she'll have to do herself (or pay someone else to do). Speaking of whom, mom has gotten a bee in her bonnet and is making loads of progress on the packing. Clock is ticking for granny nanny to get to Cali, so she's kicked it into high gear!

We ended up deciding to buy BOTH of mom's cars (and she bought a Sequoia), so Ken and I caravaned back in the Accord and the Passport. (Now we need to sell our 4Runner and Civic.) We left Tuesday afternoon and headed to Martha's in Baton Rouge, where, unfortunately, I didn't take a single picture.

Wednesday, we headed for Judy's in San Antonio with a stop in Houston to see Ken's friend Kurt's guitar factory (the one where he works, that is) and sister music store. We stayed with Judy two nights. Thursday evening we were able to have supper with most of the local relatives (Judy, Rita/Willie/kids, Day/Kristen/Shane, and Mary). That was a treat, but again, no pictures. I finally broke out the camera when we went to see Rita's new house.


Here are Willie, me, Rita and Ken (not flattering photos of any of us at the end of a tiring day, but you at least get the idea).

Friday we headed to a hotel in El Paso, Texas; then Saturday on to Phoenix, Arizona. Sunday we made it home. Phew! In all, not a bad trip. I'm definitely in favor of shorter jaunts (breaking 2,200 miles into four or five reasonable days rather than two or three heinous, exhausting ones). Ditto on spending a few extra bucks on a good hotel rather than cheaping it out at the budget motel. You just sleep and relax so much better in a nice, clean place with nice linens and good smells and free breakfast, you know?

Anyway, Ken's back at work today and I worked from home, mostly catching up on correspondence. I had 1,479 spam messages to filter through for the 15 or so important ones in my work inbox. That took a couple of hours!

I had my 24-week appointment this afternoon, too. It was uneventful, which is good (and what I expected). Blood pressure is normal, measurements are on target, weight gain unremarkable (I've gained a total of only six pounds or so). So, I'll go back in a month for the next check-up, where they'll do a blood sugar test to make sure I'm not developing gestational diabetes (routine test, I guess).

I guess that's it. I'm going to finish my bowl of cherries and try to think of something good to make for supper. I'm thinking a loaf of some sort...

22 Weeks

Can't believe that this is my last week in the 5th lunar month of pregnancy. Sheesh. Time flies! Here's tonight's pic...

Luke

No, Luke is not the name we've chosen for the baby. Rather, it's the name of the crib set I think we've settled on, a la JCPenney. I think we'll still go with airplane themed accessories in the room and maybe the walls.

I'm trying to wrap my head around the whole registering process (what the heck do babies need? want?). So I'm reading books and online forums and such, trying to get an idea of what people found necessary, nice, and totally useless. Our problem is space — we have very little of it. So, we can't be buying every nifty gadget and piece of furniture that seems cool. I'll be glad when my mom, a.k.a. Granny Nanny, arrives so that we can stash some stuff in her house! I can't even start working on the nursery until she arrives, because I need to put our spare bed in her spare room. Probably. Unless we just sell it! I'm starting to feel the urge to nest and really want to get on with getting ready. But I'm paralyzed until we find a place to stash some of our stuff. Maybe I'll break down and get a storage until until Mom comes.

Well, OK, back to my books.

21 Weeks

Here's last night's pic at exactly 21 weeks. Not a very exciting photo, but at least you can see the progress. I've felt bigger this week; pants tighter, belly firmer. Good things. It's been a bad 24 hours in general, though, because two of my online girlfriends have miscarried in the past day — one at 16 weeks, the other at 22 weeks. Horrifying. So, say an extra prayer for me and this boy that we'll go the distance!

Tofu Parmisiana

Made this last night, and it was really good.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 (12 ounce) package firm tofu
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon oregano, salt, and black pepper.
2. Slice tofu into 1/4 inch thick slices, and place in bowl of cold water. One at a time, press tofu slices into crumb mixture, turning to coat all sides.
3. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook tofu slices until crisp on one side. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil, turn, and brown on the other side.
4. Combine tomato sauce, basil, garlic, and remaining oregano. Place a thin layer of sauce in an 8 inch square baking pan. Arrange tofu slices in the pan. Spoon remaining sauce over tofu. Top with shredded mozzarella and remaining 3 tablespoons Parmesan.
5. Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 20 minutes.