girlymama

my christmas present

I finally have the camera back, so I can show you the Christmas present that I got from my husband!!
Ta-DA!!!!!!
Its a long story. Got a few minutes?

This summer I was in Boston for a family wedding and I found a diamond ring. Seriously. Just laying there in the street. I asked around, but couldn't find the owner. So I had this ring. Unfortunately, it was very ugly. And huge enough to wear on my thumb.
So when we were in India, we got it reset! And here's my Christmas gift from my adorable husband - a new wedding set!! I love it!

a few 'holiday pounds'

How much weight did you gain during the holidays? I bet I gained more.

My mom doesn't have a scale at her house. This may be very very smart. I just got home today and casually stepped on the scale.
And promptly fainted.
Holy heck, Batman.
Since the day I came home from India - which was less than one month ago, mind you - I have gained... are you sitting down?... ten (10?!) pounds. I was appalled. (Yes, I know I'm pregnant and technically should be gaining weight, but ten (10?!) pounds???) I am more than appalled. I am seriously disturbed. And very embarrassed.
My husband heard my cry of "No WAY!" and asked what was wrong. I said, "I gained so much weight!!" He says, "Oh, what do you weigh?" Then he threw out a number.
Jokingly. A number that I'm sure he thought was comically high. That it would make me feel better because, as much as I gained, at least I didn't weigh that much.
"No," I said. "More than that."

Sidebar: The look on his face when he realized I was totally serious was pretty hilarious. Think 'deer in headlights.' It was almost worth it.
Almost.

Then he says, "I just weighed myself and it seemed really high too. I think that scale is way off."

No more cookies.
Ever.

slowly coming out of the food coma

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

We're enjoying a few more days at Grandma's house over here in our family.  Kids are getting majorly spoiled, but that's just part of living with Grandma and their aunties :-) Husband and I enjoyed a date yesterday - always a treat to have free babysitting, right? And we've been highly productive over here, perfecting our Tetris skills, eating supremely unhealthy food and sleeping in.
***********
Today we've been glued to the television, watching coverage of Bhutto's assination. And praying for friends that are there right now, including some close friends there with their three small kids. It is just horrible to watch...
***********
Time for a nap, I think.... I love vacation ;-)

prepare to giggle

My friend - who knows my weakness for baby giggles - sent me this. So funny.

ta-da!!!!!

haircut!

a few peeks at Italy

Courtesy of Husband

Yummmm.......

linky love

Jenny from Chicago just went to Disney World - hee hee hee!!

The Pioneer Woman Cooks! has some great holiday recipes, including one for homemade Chex Mix -- to which she adds garlic! (Cause we all know that everything tastes better with garlic!!) and these amazing looking French Breakfast Puffs that I might just have to make for Christmas morning.

Musings of a Housewife hosted a wonderful posts about purses - which you all know my deep abiding love for purses - and whether its important to match your purse to your outfit.

**I'm not sure how much I will be posting over the next few days, with the Christmas happening and all, but if I don't get around to it... Merry Christmas!!!

gourmet fridays: penne alla norma

My brother and his girlfriend are vegetarians, so this is what I cooked for them the other night. Yum-o.'

Penne alla Norma
serves 4 to 6

1 pound penne rigate
Course salt and pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 large eggplant, cut into 3/4-in chunks
1 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 c torn fresh basil, plus more for garnish
3/4 c ricotta cheese (or a variety of shredded cheeses, if you prefer.)

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add eggplant to skillet; season generously with salt and pepper. Cover, and cook until eggplant begins to release juices, about 5 minutes. Uncover; cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes (if bottom of pan browns too much, add a few tbsps water and scrape with spoon.
4. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and 1/4 c water to skillet; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.
5. Toss sauce and basil with pasta; gently reheat if necessary. Top each serving with a spoonful of ricotta and garnish with more basil.

Recipe origin: Everyday Food 

guilt non-trip

I've realized that there is no way I can go to my grandmother's funeral.
Can you just sit back and imagine the guilt?
Husband is in Europe. I'm in Ohio. If I had been at home in Philly, maybe I could have driven up there by myself. But there is no way I can drive 11+ hours by myself, with 2 kids, to Connecticut.  Never mind the snowstorm in the forecast. Or the fact this is the weekend before Christmas, which would surely not mean traffic on the New York Thruway. (which never has traffic normally or anything.)
And you can only imagine the prices of flights. Last minute. The weekend before Christmas. Yeek.
So I can't go. Neither can my brother, who is basically in the same boat (only not pregnant with two kids). But, I'm still feeling very guilty about only sending flowers and stuff. Extremely guilty.
My dad doesn't really care that we're not going and I know its not going to cause a scandal or anything. (Dad's family is fairly mellow...)  But it doesn't erase the fact that I'm not going to be at my own grandmother's funeral. I know I've made the right decision for our family, but there is still that lingering voice in my head telling me I really should be there. There must be some scenario that I haven't thought of yet to get there. Any other time, I probably could have been there. If I had been home, I could have been there. Or if it wasn't Christmas, I probably could have gotten a flight...
This sucks.

i've decided...

 after much hemming and hawing (what exactly does that mean, anyway?) to cut my hair. It is really too long. And a bit 'blah'. That's mainly what is driving me nuts -- I don't have an actual hairstyle, beyond just "growing out that terrible, horrible, awful haircut I got 15 months ago." Due to the fact that I am a regular person and not a movie star or something, my hair usually just ends up in a ponytail anyway.
Unless Ellie is doing my hair. Then I have many beautiful clips and bows and flowers in it.
So I'm going to my mom's hair stylist today, who usually is the one who cuts my hair. (Yes, she is in Ohio. Does that tell you how often I cut my hair?) And I have a picture of the amazing haircut she gave me... 2 or 3 years ago? I can't remember. But I totally loved it and it worked beautifully with my hair. So here we go! Buh-bye long hair!!

**update: Well, I'm only slightly in shock at the hair, but I think it will grow on me. I think I may have bangs, which worries me. I keep reaching up to touch it and going "AHH! Where's my hair?" My camera is arriving tomorrow night from Switzerland (along with my husband) and I'll try to get a picture up then!