Green in the city

Chris and I recently joined a farmer' cooperative food share program. Every two weeks, we get a box filled with organic produce from southern Wisconsin farms. We got our first allotment on June 17, and we're finally using up the rest of the bounty. We got:

• Asparagus
• Rhubarb
• Strawberries
• Mushrooms
• Mint
• Green Onions
• and three types of leafy greens, which we think are romaine, lettuce and arugula, but we could be wrong. For a while, I argued that one of these greens was actually swiss chard. So yeah, we have no idea what we're eating.
  

Having this stuff around the house has given us an excuse to try out all kinds of new recipes, like this cake I just made yesterday, and this potato salad I'm planning to make tonight, as well as old standbys, like the strawberry asparagus salad I insisted* Chris bring for Father's Day dinner at my parents' house.

We get our next allotment tomorrow. I can't wait to find out what's in there. The program also offers a cheese share, but most of their cheese is raw, which sadly, I'm not supposed to have while pregnant. But next summer? That cheese share will be mine.

In other veggie news, we also recently planted our first garden in our backyard. It features tomatoes, three types of peppers, cucumbers, basil, oregano, cilantro and thyme. Chris' ultimate goal was to grow everything necessary to make Greek salad. Now we just need to buy a goat.

* as you might recall, I hate asparagus, to the point that I can't even handle the smell of it cooking in our house. I know. I'm weird.

I want to hug this reviewer

I had no plans whatsoever to see Transformers 2 anyway, but the first paragraph of Roger Ebert's review is a thing of beauty:

"'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' is a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments. One of these involves a dog-like robot humping the leg of the heroine. Such are the meager joys. If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination."

Read the rest of the review here.

9 Links, June 17

There's just too much good stuff floating around the internets today.

1. So cute. Rottweilers get a bad reputation, but check out this male rottie that adopted an abandoned wolf cub. Adorable.

2. More cute stuff. They're called "mini-schwein." I want one.

3. Kinda cute. I've watched this video of The Count Censored so many times, but it still makes me laugh every time.

4. Not cute. The 1968 Chicago riot cops are holding a reunion. And if that weren't enough, check out this gem from the article: "Former Police Supt. Philip Cline is scheduled to be a keynote speaker." Unbelievable.

5. I can't stand Joe Buck, so for this week at least, I'm in love with Artie Lange.

6. I'm sure a lot of people have already seen this video of Obama going Mr. Miyagi on a fly, but if not, enjoy.

7. I'm not sure how I feel about the film adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife. I love Eric Bana. I'm undecided on Rachel McAdams. And Ron Livingston as Gomez? But who am I kidding? I almost started crying during the trailer.

8. It only took two years, but I've finally started redesigning my Web site. It still needs some work, but it's infinitely better than my old one.

9. And finally, a BIG congrats to my boss, who just won the American Business Media 2009 Custom Media Innovator of the Year Award. Yay Jim!

Still here...

...just kind of busy at work and home. Chris and I went to New Buffalo, Mich. this weekend for a little getaway. It was lovely and quaint and the perfect little getaway, although I wish that going once meant no longer having to hear or see those Tim Allen "Pure Michigan" ads.

Birth and birthdays

About five months ago, I wrote this nice little post about how I planned to celebrate Chris' 30th year for all of 2009. I still have a list in my desk at work with all my ideas for the 30 things I'll get/make/surprise Chris with over the next year. And that list has sat mostly untouched since Jan. 31, the day we found out I was pregnant.

Suddenly, all those lovely weekend trips I had planned and big-ticket purchases I thought we could afford have disappeared as I sink every extra penny into the "maternity leave/day care/holy shit, we're having a kid" fund.

In my the last post on this topic, I wrote about gifts 1 - 6. Since then, I did manage to check off a few more items:

7. New York trip - We went the weekend of Jan. 23
8. Carbomb cupcakes - Made a bunch for Chris to bring into work for St. Patrick's Day
9. Massage in Arizona - I got one, too. Week of March 23.
10. Another weekend in New York, but this time with his guy friends, sans wifey - weekend of May 22

And that's it. My average so far ain't too good, unless I manage to pull off five more gifts in the next four weeks. Unfortunately, most of the ideas on my list are no longer doable, due to the aforementioned lack of funds, or my own lack of ability (like that ski trip I was going to plan for last February, until I remembered that pregnancy and downhill skiing don't mix. Although, now I can add "carrying your first born child for nine months in my womb" and "childbirth" to the list.)

Pretty much, the only things left of the list that are affordable and doable are food related, which are fine, but I need more variety. I've got some brainstorming to do.

A new niece and a belly

Sorry this took a few days, but here are some pics of my new niece, Lucinda Joy. She was born on Sunday at 7:33 am. 6 pounds, 15 ounces, and 19 inches long.

From My pictures

She looks a lot like her big brother Jack. Check out his birthday pics here.

From My picture

The happy family

From My pictures

Lucy, doing her best Mr. Burns impression. Excellent.

And because a few folks have asked, here's me showing off the bump.

From My pictures

It's sort of a weird pic. I think I was moving or something.

I want to ride my bicycle

I miss running. And riding my bike to work. And working out so hard that I'm drenched in sweat and totally energized.

My rapidly expanding butt misses those things, too.

Walking and the elliptical machine aren't cutting it for me. Technically, I could still jog and bike. But I worry too much about falling or hurting myself or the baby. And don't suggest swimming, because the pools at the gym I attend and the park district buildings are usually too packed to even get a good stride going ... not that I've tried. I've just watched from afar, and that seems to be the case. That, and I don't feel like buying a maternity swimsuit. And the feet don't really like being barefoot.

OK, I'm done complaining now.

Baby TK pics

Every time I've looked at someone else's ultrasound pics, I've tried to decipher what I'm looking at, but pretty much thought to myself that they looked like a bunch of white blobs.

Now that I've had my own ultrasound, I gotta say, the pics still look like a bunch of white blobs. The ultrasound itself was pretty awesome. You get to see the baby moving around, sucking its thumb, beating its little heart. But then the tech tries to capture one of these moments on screen, and you end up with a fuzzy photo that requires lots of "you kind of had to be there" explanations. But I've received a few requests to see these pics, so here goes:

The standard ultrasound shot

Here, Baby TK gives us a side view. And see that white blob to the right of its mouth area? That's Baby TK's little hand, going in for some thumb-sucking action.

The Bird's Eye View

This shot is looking straight down at the top of Baby TK's head. To the left, you can see the forehead, left eye, nose and chin. And that might be an ear toward the bottom center area, but I'm not sure.

Does not play well with others

I had my monthly baby appointment this morning, and since my last appointment, I've gained 6 pounds. So since getting pregnant, I've gained a total of 12 pounds, which I guess is pretty much normal.

But, it bothers me a bit, mostly because I know the weight gain has less to do with the 8 ounces of baby in my belly, and a whole lot more to do with the past few weeks' steady diet of Mexican leftovers, all-you-can-eat conference buffets, regularly dining out and tres leche cake. Add that to the zero times I've worked out recently, and well, 12 pounds adds up fast.

I really don't have body issues, at least, not about my weight. But I do like being, and feeling, healthy. Usually, if I pig out for a day or two, I'm pretty good about balancing that out over the next few days. But lately, I've had no willpower, and more importantly, absolutely no interest in sharing. If I have leftovers, there's no way Chris is even getting a bite. The other day I went out with a few co-workers, one of whom got an order of tater tots. I pretty much ate half the order, leaving the my 6 co-workers to split the other half. Then today, we had pizza at work, and I was the first person in line, grabbing up as much as I could.

It's like some weird hoarding/famine instinct has kicked in. I do not recognize, nor like, this part of me. In fact, it's one of my pet peeves. It reminds of times I've been to weddings that serve buffet style and you have to wait until it's your table's turn to go through the buffet line. It seems like I always hear someone complain, "When do we get to go up to eat? Why did that table get to go before us? There's not even going to be food left by the time we go!" And I always roll my eyes and think, "Good grief, it's just food. As long as the bar's open, I'm happy."

I have a feeling if I were to go to one of those weddings right now, I'd waltz right up and get in line with the bride and groom.

Mayhem

It's been a whirlwind few days, and it's going to continue like that for the rest of the month. On Saturday, we had our annual Cinco de Mayo party, which, I think, was quite a success, especially considering this is the first time we've done this party without a dishwasher or microwave. The day after our party, I flew to Philadelphia for a work conference, and I got home last night around 10.

This weekend, my college roommate is coming to town, and we're throwing a little birthday party for him Saturday night. This is followed by three days of appointments: my monthly preggo appointment, Rosie's annual (and insanely expensive) vet appointment, then my first ultrasound. THEN comes Laura's due date — I'm going to be there for her delivery this time. She thought it would be a great learning experience for me. I sort of think she just wants to scare the crap out of me. Her due date also coincides with Chris going to New York for a few days. Somewhere in all of this, we're also having all our windows replaced, we're visiting some relatives for Mother's Day, and at some point, I really need to get a haircut.

Right now, it looks like all the May madness ends on Memorial Day, right around the halfway point of my pregnancy. Whew.