Weekend Recap

M's parents were down for the weekend...we went out to eat with them for the first time since A was born! This was a typical thing for us to do pre-A, we've all got a touch of the foodie gene in us, so we would try out different foodie worthy restaurants when they came down which all had to change when we had A. We had to resort to ordering in and the area we live in has crap for food. There is one great Indian restaurant which isn't that close to us and 2 pretty good Thai restaurants and that's it.

So it was a major milestone this weekend when we actually went out to lunch at a kid friendly chain restaurant (a major compromise for all involved) and went to brunch yesterday morning. Of course, A was good as usual so it was a nice time for all of us.

A continues to pretty much sleep through the night after doing only one night of the Ferber Method. She now will occasionally wake up and cry for 5-7 minutes, but then puts herself back to sleep. Last night, she was up for awhile just kind of babbling so I did go in and give her the pacifier but mostly because I was sick of listening to her babble because it kept me up, thinking that it was going to turn into a cry any second.

This week is exciting, I think the renovations will start on our bathroom. I have to make sure I take those before pictures and then some during pics. We finally decided on the paint color...Benjamin Moore 'Colorado Clay'. We were thinking of something a little more brown initially but M was worried that it was too monochromatic and it didn't have any flair. It was very stately looking but I worried the richness of it was too much for the small space. The Colorado Clay brings out the accents in the tile and the granite countertop and is a nice contrast to the vanity, which were the reasons that we were liking the darker brown color. This color is more vibrant, has the orange undertones I was initially looking for, and is lighter than the other color.

We can't wait for our contractor to get started!

Freedom Begins!

I write this as I sit, completely relaxed on my couch watching M play baseball on the Xbox with a cat stretched across my lap. Normally, I would be halfway through my Tuesday night class, trying not to fall asleep.

Today was my first day of my school free schedule, I kept my hours at 30 so I have Tue/Fri off. I accomplished a lot today, but not everything on the list. Here's what I did:

• Treadmill
• Called various pediatrician offices
• Studied for 3 hours at the library
• Lunch at home
• Grocery shopping
• Made dinner (MIL's mac and cheese recipe)

This weekend was also enjoyable. We celebrated my newfound freedom by spending the day in Cape Ann. We took the scenic way up and meandered around the towns for the day (till my back started hurting and we had to call it quits). We then arrived home to find a surprise gift from M...a Canon Speedlite 430 EX II! I really want to brush on my photography skills for the babies arrival. I want to be able to take some great photos and really wanted the fill flash because I'm sure the bulk of our time will initially be spent indoors and a harsh flash isn't flattering for anyone, even the world's cutest baby. I'll post some pics soon that I took illustrating the regular camera flash vs the fill flash. You can really see the difference.

Here are some pics that I took on Cape Ann this weekend...

I

As T-Day Encroaches...

I've got nothing...no plan, no menu ideas. Luckily, it's just M and I. We are going to VT to have a late Thanksgiving with the in-laws on Saturday. We're thinking we need to have something very un-Thanksgiving like considering MIL will be making the usual expected Thanksgiving Day Dinner.

I'm thinking maybe lasagna...I'm in the mood for something cheesy and non poultry containing. M has already put in a request for a cherry pie which I haven't had in years I think. I will, of course, make the crust from scratch.

The other nice part about lasagna is that, short of a salad/vegetable and some sort of breadalicious goodness, you don't need to do much. You can't have too starches, that would be pigish. You've got your meat right there a top your starch, you've got your dairy nestled in there...this is sounding better and better the more I type about it.

Off to epicurious...

SF eats

Restaurant list for SF so far, interesting enough to look into further:

Absinthe--Hayes Valley
Belden Place--lots of restaurants
Chow--Castro, cheap eats!!
Delfna--Mission, Italian

Zocalo

Tried a new Mexican restaurant last night: http://www.zocaloarlington.com/home.htm

It was good, it seemed more authentic than most places. Read: Don't go here if you're looking for cheese and sour cream laden entree and peach flavored margaritas. In fact, they don't have ANY margaritas because the town only allows beer and wine licenses.

It was good, although M's dish tasted like it had nutmeg in it which gives him some GI issues, so he had a stomach ache the rest of the night.

Menu
Guacamole en Molcajete
Freshly prepared traditional guacamole dip with corn tortillas.$8.50
Carnitas (M)
Slow coocked shredded pork with herbs & spices topped with pickled onions.$10.95
Gambas al Ajillo
Sauteed shrimps in garlic, pico de gallo & ajilo sauce.$9.95

This and That

Friday M's band played at the art gallery mentioned in the previous post with two other bands they frequently play with. It was a fun night, although driving that distance in unfamiliar territory is somethign I could have done without. Even with my GPS, I still manage to take wrong turns. I ended up getting there as they were about to go on, luckily I made it in time. I was thinking back to those high school kids that were there and how young they looked and then I dared to wonder how old they would even think I was....were they looking around thinking how much older everyone else was than them? Yikes...don't go there....

Saturday afternoon I did some shopping because I had a 30% off coupon for Old Navy and the Gap Outlet and found this:

I have no idea what possessed me to buy a sweater with a bird on it....totally unlike me. It's far too whimsical. Actually, I blame it on the art gallery show and seeing those kids, nay, children there. It made me yearn for my youthful self...so what do you do with that? You buy a sweater with a bird on it.

Saturday night, we met some friends out for bbq....he apparently won a gift certificate somehow but has the unfortunate circumstance of being a vegetarian so he invited his carnivorous friends. It was good, but bbq is not something I would ever suggest going out for. I think I'm too much of a spice wimp. I had the buffalo shrimp which was good but waaay more spicy than I would normally order. After that, we headed out to hear our band friends play another show.

Sunday I went to the gym and was hopped up on a combination of adrenaline and caffeine and decided to clean off our back deck to put up our new wrought iron cheapo outside table and chairs. Clearly, we hadn't been out there for awhile. Coolers from the party we had last September were still out there. This weekend, for the first time in a long time, I baked. I haven't really been able to rally on that front since Christmas because I baked my brains out for three full days. But, alas, a rotting banana begs to be made into a tasty bread so there you have it. It turned out well, the last recipe I used had an odd baking soda taste, this recipe is much better.

With the rest of my time, I finally took pics of my sluggish knitting progress....For your pleasure.

In school news, I have done the only presentation required of me this semester and did fine. It's always something I dread, but luckily I do well once I'm up there. I am about 3 hours ahead of my required clinical hours at this point which is good because not this week but next, my preceptor will be gone on the day I do my clinical hours. I've decided to revert back to my normal schedule for the week operating under the assumption that I will continue to do some extra time each week and that by the end of the semester I'll have enough hours without making up that day....it will be a pure thrill to leave work at 430p a full two hours before I normally do. I'll be able to go to the gym after work! Not something I would normally be excited about, but now that I can't I of course, long to.

And per request...cat's at play, cat's at rest. Boigie lacks the little white boots....

Early Valentine's Day

M and I tried to avoid the crowds and hence the bad food by celebrating Valentine's Day last night. I have heard numerous times that since everyone and their brother is going to be out on Valentine's Day, restaurants have many more customers to serve than normal and you can expect the quality of your food to suffer, which seems obvious.

We achieved both goals last night....reservations made several weeks ago got us in right away and good food was had by all...er...both.

We went to Harvest in Harvard Square. We've been there before for brunch...it was good but not anywhere near worth what we paid but we thought we'd give it a shot for dinner. Dinner was really good, M's gnocchi was the best I've ever had and our meat was cooked to perfection. My only complaint is that the tables were very very close together.

Here's what I had:

Maine Lobster & Armagnac Soup
King Trumpet Mushrooms & Marcona Almonds

Wolfe’s Neck Farm Center Cut Ribeye
King Trumpets Mushrooms, Haricot Verts, Yukon Gold Potato Risotto & Bordelaise Sauce

Here's what M had:

Taylor Bay Scallops
Meyer Lemon Gnocchi, Celery & Pomegranate

Jamison Farm Lamb
Coffee Roasted Leg & Braised Belly, Cucumber, Eggplant Panisse, Sumac Yogurt & Cocoa Lamb Jus