Early Valentine’s Present

Hmm…. what could this mean? I’ve never seen a the back of my freezer before.

What is this? A Valentine?

For me?

Hip hip hooray!!!

Now I think I’m going to have the spend the whole weekend baking and see how long it takes to fill up my new toy box!

10 Weeks Along

Hooray! I think the sickness is fading.

Knock on wood.

If only I could sleep.

Oh, well.

Here is what BabyCenter says is happening to our little huckleberry (or kumquat) this week:

“Although he’s barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby now has completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature. If you could take a peek inside your womb, you’d spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.”

Vanilla Beans

I got an amazing Christmas present.

A huge quantity of vanilla beans!

You can spend $20 on a couple vanilla beans at the grocery store, or you could go to Ebay and spend the same on a couple hundred beans. My husband chose the second route.

It’s lovely.

This afternoon I took the opportunity to use a few of my new stash.

Rather than just copy other people’s recipes, I’ll give you a couple of links and tell you about them.

Joy the Baker has a beautiful recipe for Giant Vanilla Cookies.

They are delicious. I think when I’m done typing I may just have to sandwich some vanilla bean ice cream between two of them.

Deb at Smitten Kitchen posted exactly what I was dreaming about with her recipe for Rice Pudding.  I’ll admit that I used boring old white rice and wasn’t brave enough to try the bay leaf.  The warm spoonful I had right off the stove was amazing, I can’t wait to have some for breakfast in the morning.

Next I’m thinking some panna cotta or pots de creme.

Anyone have any favorite recipes?

4 Steps to Feeling Like a Person Again

Don’t get me wrong:  I’m still exhausted and sick and sore.

Yesterday, however,  I discovered some things (besides Saltines and applesauce) that helped immeasurably:

1. Baking bread

Just the feeling that I’ve done something to prepare for the week is so helpful.  The smell and taste of homemade wheat bread are a huge bonus.

2.Cleaning my house

We cleaned yesterday- as in scrubbed the windows inside and out, cleaned inside the oven, scoured the shower, mopped, and everything in between.

It is so exhilarating to have a clean house and not feel like a slob.

3. Baking and decorating a cake

I know I already have baking on my list, but I took it one step further and made a carrot cake last night.  I didn’t feel like I’d be able to finish when I started, but it felt good to use my talents and be creative.

4. Shaving my legs

Oh, boy. Does this make me feel more like a person and less like a bloated baby vessel?

Yes. 100% yes.

I guess I do have something to say

I forgot.

I wanted to tell you that my baby is the size of a blueberry this week, assuming I’m correct about how far along I am (7 1/2 weeks).

That is roughly the same size as a huckleberry.

I think that just may be worth mentioning.

Next week I’ll have my first doctor’s appointment. Perhaps he’ll decide I’m not quite to huckleberry stage yet, or that I’m actually at kidney bean stage.

Grape would be fun, too.

I’ll keep you posted!

Is this me?

Ahem.

Yes, I’m still here.

I’m sorry.

My dearest readers, I’m afraid I’ve hit a temporary slump.

I just don’t know what to say. 0% creativity. And when I do know what to say, I’m too tired to say it. 100% fatigued.

Sheesh, pregnancy makes you sleepy.

And because I’m sleepy I’m not doing too much that you would want to hear about anyhow.

*Yawn.*

Final excuse for this small blogging break: Its too dark to take decent pictures because I made curtains and Steve replaced our light bulbs with a lower wattage.

There you go.

That’s it.

I promise to come back soon.

I hope you’ll come back someday, too.

When prayer is all you can give, pray.

I’m not capable of saying anything that hasn’t been said about what is going on in our world right now.

My prayers are with those in Haiti and I know so many of yours are, as well.

I’m grateful to belong to church with such strong ties to humanitarian aid and the resources to care for people all over the world. Please read this article about what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is doing to help our brothers and sisters in need.

One day I hope to be able to do more than send prayers and the small amount of money we can sacrifice when there is an emergency like this.  How I would love to be with a group of volunteers providing medical care or some other type of assistance.

For now, all I can do is share with you how I feel and hope to inspire a few more prayers and perhaps a few more donations.

Donations for relief efforts can be made at http://give.lds.org/emergencyresponse.

Babies on the Brain

Last night Steve and I checked the mail for the first time this week, and was I ever surprised to find a package from sweet Leslie!

Here is what I found inside:

The cute sayings are tile magnets.  I love them.  And the treats are spectacular.

It totally made my day.  My whole week, probably.

Thanks, Leslie!

What is really on my mind lately is all baby-related, though.

As an official start to my pregnancy I’m going to do something I hate…

…and post a profile picture.

Its probably cheating a lot, but I was wearing nylons in this picture.  If I get brave enough to post a picture every month you can expect a lot of belly growth in the next picture, probably not entirely baby-related.

In other baby-related news, I finished my first baby-sewing project.

These are just some simple burp cloths I made from fabric I had stashed away in a box. I have no clue where it is from or how long I’ve had it.  I realize I’ll probably be given more baby stuff than I’ll ever need (thats what everyone keeps telling me, anyway), but I felt the need to sew something!  It certainly won’t be the last thing I sew, either. I’m afraid that when we find out the baby’s gender I’m probably going to go into a frenzy of crafting, but I’ll try and hold back.

Thanks to everyone for all of the congratulations and well-wishes!

My announcement in more than one sentence

Ladies and Gentleman,

In order so somehow tell you how I’m feeling I’ll start with the words of someone much wiser.

Joseph F Smith once said this:

“Everywhere in nature we are taught the lessons of patience and waiting. We want things a long time before we get them, and the fact that we want them a long time makes them all the more precious when they come.”

Steve and I are so happy to shout from the rooftops and tell the world that we are going to have a baby.

After much fussing and fighting and prayer and hope and doubt, my body has decided it will work properly after all.

We found out on January 1st, which seemed to be appropriate timing.  The baby is due around September 8th, although you should probably stay tuned for more updates as I have a strong feeling that will change.

I couldn’t be happier.

Steve pretends he is a little disappointed to share his birth month, but he is just as excited as I am.

When my brother and sister-in-law announced they were having a baby they shared this video, and it touches my heart and so I’m copy-catting them and sharing it with you.

Enjoy:

So far I only have one question – what do I sew first?

Without Further Ado…

Do you remember way back on December 15th when I teased you with this picture of Chocolate Black Pepper Cookies?

Do you remember that on December 16th I told you that they were going to be the feature of a recipe post? I took the pictures for this post on November 17th.

I’m a little behind.

And yet I have a big behind.

Which is not helped by these delicious cookies.

Today, however, I bring for your viewing pleasure the elusive Chocolate Black Pepper Cookie.

First, sift together 1 1/2 c of flour, 3/4 c cocoa powder, 1/4 tsp Kosher salt, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Sifting makes me happy.

Then find tiny little butter cubes because everything is cuter when it is tiny.  You can’t tell from the picture, but the one in front is a half cube.  I love it.

Mix 1 tiny cube and one normal cube (or 3/4 c butter in any form you see fit) with 1 cup of sugar in your mixer until they are throughly beat up.  Then add an egg and a splash of vanilla.

*If you want to be like me, never measure your vanilla*

Add the sifted cocoa mixture to the butter mixture a little at a time and mix until well combined.  This will take a lot of scraping the sides with a strong arm.

Remember to save the bag after finishing a box or cereal, then open it up carefully and put it on the table. Or, get a piece of waxed or parchment or freezer paper.

Dump your dough onto the paper.

Remember if you take pictures at this point they will not be appetizing at all.

Form the dough into a rough log shape, then roll up the paper around it.

Then roll it on your table to make it pretty, uniform, and round.  Make sure to take a picture at this point so you will realize and show the world that you have dishes to do and a milk bottle to put in the recycling.  Also, it is time to take the Russian flash card off your kitchen cabinet door.

When it is all rounded, pull up the sides and tape everything real well so your dough won’t get frostbite.

Then put it in the very last place you could possibly find room in your freezer. Later you can play “Where’s Waldo?”

If anyone is looking for an excuse to donate a chest freezer to a noble cause, I’d be happy to help you find one.

Let it freeze at least an hour. I’ve left it in there for up to 3 weeks before, though. When you are ready to make your cookies, cut your log into thin slices. Only let it defrost for about 10 minutes, otherwise it will squish too much.

Now, roll your cookie in coarse sugar. When I made this batch I decided to roll them in crushed candy cane. The result was delicious but not pretty at all.  I’ll show you in a second. I’ve since learned that you can buy red and white peppermint flavored coarse sugar.  I’m sure that would work much better.

These ones were done properly.  I try and round my cookies out a bit when I roll them in the sugar, they have a tendency to not be perfect circles when you cut them off the log.

Place them on a baking sheet and bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

Let them cool on a wire rack until they don’t fall apart when you pick them up. Also, learn how to use your camera and photo-editing software so your cookies don’t look yellow.

Here is the sad peppermint cookie.  The candy cane just doesn’t hold its shape in the oven.

Enjoy your cookies, and forgive me for taking so long to tell you about them. They are truly delectable.