Crying over spilled peas (and a pork chop)

Remember how yesterday I was semi-bragging (okay, gloating, really) about how mellow and cool I am? About how nothing phases me, and I pooh-pooh minor things like using the wrong flour and making messes? Well...I wasn't feeling that chill vibe later in the day. Well, most of the day. Yesterday was just a difficult day, mostly owing to a couple of things:

• Being pregnant and being tired/constantly pulling my ab muscles/having back pain/being moody/having headaches/hurting in various other places
• Not getting quality sleep this weekend, due to dogs running amok and waking me up every half hour (we had a dog house guest who has since departed)
• Being pregnant
• Having a deadline looming in a few weeks that's freaking me out (yes, plenty of time, but still!)
• Being pregnant
• Worrying about not working/not having money
• Being pregnant

Anyhow, I held it together most of the day, long enough to pick up a few things at Target, find the Illustrator book I was looking for at Borders, clean, bake a loaf of bread (in the machine), and do a little blogging (which mostly involved looking up recipes and getting distracted by links to other blogs). I won't lie to ya, I was hurting all day, very tired, headachey, and just uncomfortable. The lovely abdominal pains didn't want to let up all day, so I was having fun tolerating those as I moved around, doing my thing. But all in all, I held it together pretty well.

That is, until I showed Pete a 3D image of a 16-week fetus (my current stage) and tried to wow him with interactively rotating it 360 degrees for his amazement. He wasn't so amazed but merely amused, and made some goofy comments about the baby image and walked away. Now, normally that would not phase me and I might even laugh. But not yesterday. This set off a chain reaction made of hormones, tears, and more hormones and tears. After getting weepy for a few minutes, I decided to heat up a leftover chop and peas from Saturday night. I cut away the bone from the chop's meat, and as I tried to slide the bone into the garbage, my entire plate and dinner somehow fell out of my hands and shattered on the floor. Yes, there were peas and pork and plate chunks all over the place. This set off even MORE tears, after which Pete sensed he should get his butt in the kitchen and soothe and help me. I, of course, in my hormonally-hijacked body, tearfully tried to push him away, more for dramatic effect than anything. A wobbly, weepy pregnant woman was no match for Pete, and he succeeded in shooing me away and cleaning up the mess ("But there's peas under the wall!" I wailed, to which he calmly replied he would take care of it.)

Of course, it wasn't enough that I was hurting, weepy, and tired. I had to ignore Pete's suggestion that I go rest, and instead I started washing dishes (well, we DID have a sink full of them). He asked what he could do to help me, after offering me the remaining chop several times (I declined). I did shakily suggest he could rub my back later, "if he wanted to," to which he wisely agreed. I finished the dishes and heated up some hot chocolate, which I finished in a few gulps in front of my laptop, reading blogs. Pete retired to the living room and watched some Military Channel show about ultimate battles (Note: I really don't like the Military Channel.). I eventually calmed down and contemplated what to eat, since I steadfastly refused the extra chop and anything else Pete attempted to bribe me with ("Potatoes? No? How about the noodles? No? Okay...")

I have since slowly reverted to my pre-hysteria state, although I am still hurting and tired. It doesn't make me feel like drawing cartoons all day, but that is what I must do.

So the next time I drone on and on about being so above it all and in a state of pregnant bliss, ignore me. Or at least take it with a grain of salt (and a side of pork and peas). Just remember I have a bucket load of hormones cursing through my body, as well as a gigantic belly that puts a strain on my poor system (and it's only going to get worse). At least I recognize my weaker moments, eh?

(Image from Terrystuff)

Not quite ready to graduate from cooking school

As a side note to last night's wonderful dinner, I must admit it started out a bit shaky. I mentioned I had to run out to get bread flour from the store, right? So off I went, made my purchase, and returned home with said flour in hand.



I set the bag on the counter next to the bread machine, and carefully read the recipe instructions. And what kind of flour did I end up using? No, not the bread flour that was sitting right next to the bread machine, but the bag of all-purpose flour that was way up high in the baking stuff cabinet. I actually had to get a chair, climb up, find the bag, open it, measure it out, and pour it in the bread pan. I didn't realize my blunder until a good 15 minutes later, when I was thinking about how to store the extra bread flour and realized that I never even opened the bread flour. And to my horror, I saw the all-purpose flour sitting innocently on the counter, far from the bread machine, but obviously opened and used.



Meanwhile, the bread machine churned away, merrily mixing up the rogue dough with nary a worry.



Oh well. There's no emergency stop button on the bread machine, so I had to make do and whip up another loaf of bread. Funny, cuz in the past that would have sent me into a frenzy of panic and anger, but I just shrugged, called myself a dum-dum, and started making those lovely Ghirardelli brownies.



Is it the influence of the little person who's on his/her way? I think so. So much is starting to roll off my back, and things seem less critical than they used to. Getting upset over wonky bread is not worth the time and effort. And the little bean was popping about inside me as I baked (poorly), reminding me that there are so many other things in life to worry about that are far more important. And after all, who can get mad when you've got brownies baking in the oven?



(Cookie image courtesy of Cookie Madness)

LIttle miss chef

I'm in a cooking/baking mood today, perhaps because of the recent run of cool, rainy weather. Fall-like temps make me want to cook like mad, warming up the house with rich, fragrant smells from bubbling pots and steaming pans of goodies.

Today I'm making a lovely Saturday-night special dinner for two of my favorite guys: Pete, and my dad. My dad is all by his lonesome tonight, due to my mom working and my little brother camping up north with my older brother. So I invited him over for dinner, and when I read the menu to him, he was more than happy to oblige.

Here's tonight's menu:

Smothered Pork Chops



Oven Roasted New Potatoes



Baby Peas



Tangy Buttermilk Cheese Bread



Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownies (yes, it's a mix, but who cares)



I'm hauling the bread machine we got for our bridal shower out of its box for the occasion (better late than never), and I figured I'd give it a whirl. (Note: all pix are from OTHER peoples' attempts to make this stuff.)

I'm off to buy some darn bread flour for the bread recipe...have a happy (and delicious) Saturday!

What makes this woman happy

What makes me happy?

FINALLY having my stove (Magic Chef 1000) hooked up and merrily cooking away. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to be able to cook on a stove and bake in an oven, after almost two years of microwaving food and eating out. I almost wept when Pete and his friend Scottie finally installed the stove this past weekend.

And what a cool and impressive stove to cook with. I marvel that this thing was made in 1935 and is STILL running in excellent condition. I do have to calibrate the smaller oven because the knob seems to be a bit off, but everything else is great. I'm amazed that it has pilot lights and is so efficient, for being so old. The ovens have to be lit with a match, but that's not a big deal at all, and it's cool to watch the strange burners with central rings of gas light up. Of course, I immediately set about cooking not only dinner for the three of us (for which the stove performed flawlessly, as always), but...



I baked the first cookies of many in it as well. This was the first test cookie (chocolate chip), and it turned out great. The smaller oven needed a lot of extra time, but it did all right, leading me to discover the knob needs to be adjusted. But the larger oven is wonderful, and has been baking batch after batch of cookies for us. (For the record, Scottie ate the first cookie baked, which is only fair, since he helped us so much.) Matt had also played a key part in helping Pete to move the stove to its proper location (no small feat, since it weighs about 560 pounds), for which I treated Matt out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.


Anyhow, yes, I became a baking fiend, but couldn't help myself. These were gone in a matter of minutes, with everyone drooling over the cookies, including the dogs.



A few days later I also made more chocolate chip cookies, and a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies too.



Another wonderful thing is that Matt and Pete brought in my china cabinet from the garage, which has been in storage for the last few years too.



I immediately set about hauling out all my vintage teacups that have been piling up in my cabinets since we moved here. I was a bit surprised by how many I had (22, plus one more missing a saucer), but they were so pretty to look at, and I was glad to have them out of the company of the mugs and glasses and into the china cabinet, where they belong. Since then, I've bought two more at the local antique shop, bringing my collection (with saucers) to 24.



For the moment, they're simply resting in the hutch of the china cabinet. The hutch was missing its shelves and had a piece of loose moulding, but I got it at Crate and Barrel Outlet for less than 1/3 the price, so I don't mind.



Pete needs to build/find some shelves for the hutch so I can properly set up the teacups, as well as our small collection of wedding china.



Another sublime development in our house this weekend is the moving of our entertainment center into our living room from our garage. It, too, has been in storage for two years now, waiting for the floor to be finished in the dining room so it could be moved into the living room. Pete had forgotten I even got the center, but I reminded him about it and the fact that I got it for FREE. Not bad for a solid piece of oak furniture. I'm so happy to have places to store DVDs, books, etc., as well as a proper place for our tv (and NOT the buffet cart that belongs in the dining room).



I also got a nice rug for the sink area at Crate and Barrel Outlet, and the cats and dogs seem very fond of it. Max especially likes to rest here, which is funny, because he is so photogenic against the bright orange rug and vivid blue floor.



Yes, I'm still waiting for Pete to fetch our dining room set from Jeanette's basement, and yes, the walls are unfinished in the kitchen and dining room. But I don't care. I am so happy to have a little bit more normalcy in our house and our lives (I am SO sick of microwave soup/chili and pizza rolls!), and I couldn't be more content at the moment. Well, that is, until Pete gets one of his broken cars up and running and gets rid of the other two beaters. But that's a challenge for another day. For now, I'm enjoying the sweet taste of victory (and cookies) and appreciating the baby steps we've taken to make our house a home, before our baby arrives and is stepping out as well.

Surrounded by dogs

Roxie, our old landlord's dog, is staying with us for the next several days, and Adora isn't exactly being the gracious hostess she should be. She has been herding poor Roxie everywhere, nipping at her mouth and using body checks to keep her coralled. Adora has even tried to eat Roxie's food, which Roxie thoughtfully overlooked. Note the literally high-ranking position Adora put herself in outside while Pete was exercising the dogs. Queen of the Roost, indeed!



If you saw Roxie in person, you'd think she'd be the aggressor, since she's a big Rottweiler and looks rather imposing. But no, it's our little circus bear Adora who's being the dominant one, with Spanky a distant third in the temporary pack ranking (of course, we humans are first and second in the pack, with mama-to-be being top dog, hee hee). Spanky doesn't seem to care what Roxie does, as long as he's reassured he's still loved with lots of petting and cuddling.

This is going to be a loooong weekend....

Back to the drawing (and proofreading) board—again!

I'm happy to say that things are perking up a bit in the freelance department for me lately. I've just been given an illustration project that will run for a few weeks (about 30 hours worth of work). And a potential temporary proofreading position has opened up as well, for which I just need to hash out the details and see if they'll work with my schedule (since I'm working on the illustration project first). AND, I'm beginning a collaboration on a children's book with an friend of a former coworker, which doesn't pay right away but has already been to a publisher and approved, so it's definitely got a chance of turning into something good.

I'm glad this is all hitting me right now, as I'm in the early part of my second trimester (I'm 15 weeks 2 days as of today). I was so severely fatigued, nauseous, and just generally feeling like crap for the last few months that I had trouble simply going about my daily routine at home (walking up stairs, doing laundry, feeding pets, brushing my teeth, etc.). So now I'm a bit refreshed, and although I have to take it easy with the physical stuff cuz I seem to keep pulling my ab/groin muscles (a wonderful side effect of pregnancy), I can certainly sit at my computer and work.

It's amazing how good it makes you feel when you have prospects (and hope for future prospects) after several months of no work and no job leads (except for the one freelance project I did back in June). I'm hopeful that work will pick up, and even if I'm not able to find full time work, perhaps I can become a full-time freelancer at home, which has always been my dream, and would be perfect with the impending arrival of our little one in February.

May you all have great success in your career and creative endeavors!

Frolicking in my very "Euro" bikini in the Ausable River

Part of the gang hanging out at the Flume, in the Ausable River—From left to right: Isabelle, me, Pete, Olivia, and Jeanette



A view from above—belly shot at 14 weeks



While in the Adirondacks, we swam quite a bit. And since I don't swim that much normally and my bikini from my honeymoon still fits, I didn't see the reason to buy a new swimsuit. I was a bit worried that I would look odd scrambling among the rocks with my big belly hanging out of my bikini, but Jeanette assured me it was very "Euro" (lol, not sure if that's true, for all my European friends) to wear a bikini while pregnant.

I actually didn't mind wearing it because it didn't strangle my belly, and I was pregnant enough so that it didn't look like chub, but an actual baby bump. I did get a few curious looks, but most people didn't care, and it didn't bother me enough to hide under a big t-shirt or my sarong. Nicole took a picture of Pete and me, where my belly is super pregnant looking, and I was shocked by how big I had already become (when she sends it to me I'll post it).

Seems like I popped during the last few weeks, and the shorts I had been able to wear on the way up to the Adirondacks were no longer comfortable on the way home. Oh well, c'est la vie, eh?

My husband—the man with the spirit of a little boy

Pete wearing his WWII jacket


Pete wearing his WWII tunic



During most of the time we were up in the Adirondacks, Pete ran around in one of either two outfits: a WWII jacket, and a WWII tunic. He loves anything WWII, and he was super excited when we ordered these from an eBay seller a few months ago.

He wore the jacket on the way up to the park, but most of the time he sported his little tunic. He wore the tunic around the cabin, without pants, for some reason (he still had his boxers on), prompting my 5-year-old niece Amelia to ask at one point (while he was changing from a day of swimming), "Is Uncle Peter going to wear his dress now?"

Home never felt so sweet

Pete and me on Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks...yes, that's my preggo belly straining at my tank top in the picture.



We're back from the Adirondacks, and I'm so glad to be home. I missed the furry children, and sleeping in my own bed. I have lots of pix to upload to vivid, but hopefully I'll get those posted soon.

Hope you're having a great August so far, too!

On the road again...

As you read this, Pete and I are off to the Adirondacks for a lovely vacation in a beautiful cabin near Lake Placid. We were there in '07, and I was super-excited when I found out we were able to go back again this year.



These pictures are from the last time we were there. We were leaving our hotel room and starting our second day of travel, headed to New York and the mountains. Pete had just had some coffee and was super hyper. I, of course, was still drinking my cup and not fully awake. My reaction is priceless, I think, lol.



Hope you all have a wonderful next 10 days while I'm gone...I may try to blog while I'm up there, but I don't know what sort of Internet I'll have, if any. So until then, au revoir!

2-11-2010

The rumors are true.... :)

Sleeping kitty

They are so cute when they're sleeping and not causing trouble, aren't they? Dollie's favorite room is our dining room/kitchen, which is still under construction and full of fun things to play with like scraps of sandpaper, stray screws, and lots of dust. But she also finds it a great place to catch a good nap.

Thanks to everyone who wished us a happy anniversary (Pete and me, that is, not Dollie). We had a great weekend up in Savanna hanging out at the farm and just relaxing a lot (and eating, of course). I'm moving a bit slow this week, and still getting to reading everyone's recent blog posts (I've been soooooo out of the blogging world lately!), but looking forward to our upcoming trip to the Adirondacks on Saturday. I've been busy locating my cameras and running mental checklists for the journey. Hopefully we can get some much needed R & R up there and come back refreshed and calm.

A happy anniversary weekend

Hard to believe it's been almost a year already....

We'll be celebrating our first wedding anniversary in Savanna this weekend at the farm, so I thought I'd post about it now. This is a picture of our anniversary cake, which we got in exchange for a photo of us cutting the cake, from our cake lady. My friend Katie sent me the pic of us cutting the cake, for which I'm very grateful. Pete looks like he's lurching at the cake, ha ha, but it's a cute picture anyhow.



Our anniversary cake was a mini version of our wedding cake, complete with fresh daisies on top, and a basket weave pattern on the side. We got the Chocolate Amaretto Bailey's flavor for the filling, which is one of the fillings that was used on our actual wedding cake. I never did get a piece of Pete's groom cake, but I know it must have been good because Sam made it and she's an excellent baker. That day (and night) is still a blur, although I remember hanging out around the campfire at my parents' cabin after the reception, hair still filled with spray and ratted beyond belief. It was a fun way to end the festivities.



I have since had a few pieces of this cake already, and it's really good. Happy anniversary, Pete! And I will see you guys all next week. Hope you have a great weekend!

Gone, but not forgotten

I've been on a bit of a short hiatus from blogging lately—not intentionally, but there it is. I've just been unusually busy during the last few weeks, and too exhausted to even open up my laptop, much less think about blogging or photography or anything. I've finished up a freelance project and I'm feeling a bit rested after spending a weekend at my in-laws' farm, so I'm hoping to get back into things during the next several days. I've got lots of pix to post from visits to the farm, the zoo, etc...once I get them uploaded to my computer, that is.

Thanks to all of you who continue to support me and my blogs, and wait for my next post to show up. Hope you are all having a great summer, and relaxing as much as possible.

Happy blogiversary to reverie!

Today is the one year anniversary of this blog. Wow, time sure has flown! Lots has happened during that time, too. I've gotten married, been laid off, have had deaths in the family, and have welcomed little ones as well. I hope to continue posting to this blog for at least the next year, if not much, much longer, and sharing little bits of what makes me "me" with all of you (boring sometimes, yes, but that's life).

Hope you've enjoyed following me along on my journey. Things can only continue to change and grow from here!

OMG

Here's a little entertainment for you while I wrestle with my laptop's mouse, trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with the damn thing. I think I have an idea what's up—it's related to the wireless USB transmitter; I think it's just gone wacky and I need a new mouse—but until then I struggle on, trying to do detailed drawings that are due ASAP and having my mouse freak out and open windows, new folders, etc. Fun, fun, fun. At least the AC is working and my iPhone has stopped hanging up on people.

Anyhow, until I'm back into blogging again later this week, I thought I'd share a good laugh with you. I saw this posted on a former schoolmate's Facebook page, and I groaned when I saw it. I'm not going to point out which one is me, but it's easy to figure out. Let me just say back then I was 50 pounds overweight, very nerdy and quiet, and had poor choices in hair and clothing. I'm so glad I'm not in high school anymore....

It's like a heat wave...and possessed electronics

Well, it's been a steamy few days here in the ol' Hoogestraat household, and I haven't been too thrilled about it. Yes, I bitched about all the rainy cold weather, but seriously, is it too much to ask for to have a normal summer? We went from the 50s/60s and pouring rains to the 90s and baking heat. What happened to the 70s and 80s?

To add to the fun, our central air conditioning hasn't been working properly. Last summer it died right before we went on our honeymoon (in early August), and we never needed to use it since then, so it sat there, unfixed. Until now, that is. Well, technically it's not fixed. I just figured I'd give it one last shot, and turned it on partly out of desperation and partly out of confidence. And sure enough, it's providing enough cooling air to temper things in here a bit. The dogs aren't panting so badly, and I can sit here at the computer without sweat pouring down my face (yes, it was that bad). I'm hoping the thermostat continues to drop and we hit a nice comfortable range. I'm not complaining in the meantime, though. I'm pretty tolerant of heat, but for some reason it's really been bothering me during the last few weeks.



In other news, my electronics have been on the fritz today. I sat down this morning to do a little blogging and to work on my freelance project, and discovered that the mouse was feeling kooky and didn't want to work properly. That doesn't sound like much of a problem, but if you can't even open up your hard drive or select options in windows (like restarting, or running a virus scan), then you're SOL. It makes it LOTS of fun trying to do anything, much less draw detailed illustrations or edit photos you've uploaded.

So I've spent the better part of the afternoon trying to fix what's wrong with it, and not getting very far. I was able to switch the primary mouse button to the right button instead of the left, so at least I can select things again, but it keeps freaking out and those little windows that pop up when you right click on something are flashing constantly. Needless to say, I've been unable to blog or do much of anything, except throw this post up to complain. I have lots of catching up to do, especially since I wasn't able to blog all weekend due to a Father's Day party I threw. Hopefully things will return to normal soon, especially since I have a deadline Saturday and LOTS of drawing left to do! I wonder if there are solar flares or something going on right now....

Hunkerin' down

There have been rather bad storms moving through the area today, and another one is on it's way now (the one that's almost covering DeKalb on the map). So I'm trying to stay off the computer and get chores done for the moment. If a tornado comes, it'll be a comedy of errors trying to seek shelter with the animals. I can't imagine how I'll get the two dogs and two cats to squeeze into our first floor bathroom and sit still, while chunks of my house get ripped away by the gale-force winds....

Photo wall

I really like this idea of hanging a bunch of photos along an entire wall, and changing them as the mood strikes. I am a huge photo nerd, whether it's a snapshot of the dog covered in mud or a stunning sunset photo, so this is right up my alley. And I like the idea of changing things up, as I take more photos and inspiration hits. I just wish I had a giant wall to do this on besides my dining room wall (the photos would curl from the heat of cooking).



(Via Design Sponge)

Going crazy in quarantine

Pete and I are in the middle of painting our dining room and kitchen floors, which means everyone has to be quarantined to the living room.



The dining room/kitchen has been sealed off, and in order to get anything from those rooms—food, paper towels, a drink—you have to go out the front door, walk around the house, and enter through the sliding doors, providing that particular layer of paint is dry.



And if you need anything from upstairs–our bedroom suite—the same thing applies. All of our stuff from the dining room/kitchen has been shoved into our living room, including my drawing desk, the huge Magic Chef 1000 stove, and other assorted goodies.



So not only are Pete and I stuck in the living room, but we're crammed in there with a bunch of stuff that we're tripping over AND all four animals are also trapped underfoot with us. At night, Pete and I have to crowd into a twin-size spare bed to sleep (or he sleeps on the couch and I take the bed), and of course the animals all pile in there with us, making it extra cozy (i.e., crowded).



One day of this? Not a problem, I can handle it. But six days of this? I am going insane. We sealed off the rooms on Saturday night, and the final coat of sealer won't be dry enough to release the hounds (and cats) on until Friday. I can sorta understand how someone in a small prison cell must feel. I hate my house being turned upside down, dirty from construction, cluttered from renovating, and stinking of paint fumes. I know it's for a good cause, but I don't think I can stand much more of this.



Yeah—that's our mini vintage Frigidaire fridge in our living room, which you have to walk around to get to the couches.



The cats seem confused and restless, and are constantly getting into it with the dogs. That's my drawing desk that Miss Dollie is sitting on, which has been shoved behind one of the couches. And that's the Magic Chef in the background, which is an enormous stove, but much more so when it's sharing a tiny space with three couches, a fridge, a table, a tv, two people, two dogs, and two cats. Ugh.



The dogs are absolutely bored out of their skulls, as I am. They stare longingly outside all day, wishing they could be anywhere else. And the bummer of it all?



Pete's car is still broken down, so he's been taking my beloved CR-V to work every day. We have him take the car, because otherwise I have to drive to and from his work twice a day, wasting gas and adding miles to my car. So I'm trapped at home in the living room, AND I can't go anywhere besides walking around my neighborhood. And it's been raining like crazy around here this past week, so daily walks have been out of the question.

Hopefully this will be worth all the discomfort, although I'm panicking because we are hosting a Father's Day party on Sunday and I haven't been able to clean the house. Either I can't access certain parts of it, or we're all stuck in one spot and things just will get messed up again. So I'll be doing a marathon cleaning session Friday–Saturday, with a final move of the furniture on Sunday morning, just to be sure the paint is dry. Sigh....