Quotes I've Enjoyed Recently

*Excerpt from an article in the May 2010 Oprah magazine on yourself and relationships:
"Your relationships with others reflect your relationship with yourself, wherever you may be in your personal development.
The key to meaningful connections with the people in your life is making yourself whole by honoring your body, mind, and spirit, filling the voids that cause you not to love yourself. You can't give love if you don't have it. And you can't receive (or even perceive) it because you won't recognize it when it shows up. You've got to care for yourself in order to be able to care for others."
-Oprah

*Quote used at the end of one of my favorite shows:
"If I am what I have and if I lose what I have who then am I?"
-Erich Fromm

*Written to me in a card and very applicable in my life:
"Life throws us many turns and curves, bend with them and you will come out smiling"
-Dad & Pat

Belly Pics 2 :)

Updated pictures: Starting on the left is 16 weeks followed by today at 19 weeks! Its growing more than the mirror let on! My jeans officially no longer close and the be band is in full use! Loving dresses...wish the Cleveland weather would warm up some so I could wear some more :) Also just bought my first few maternity tops from the Gap Maternity store...they are so soft and flattering! Monday morning we will find out the sex of the baby so make sure your vote is in for the sex of the baby before the poll closes Sunday night!

Recipe For Penne Alla Vodka

This recipe is an altered version of Rachel Ray's You Won't Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta recipe. Serves 4-6.

INGREDIENTS:
4 cloves garlic minced
1 whole shallot minced
28oz crushed tomatoes
1 cup vodka (not the cheap stuff)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
fresh basil leaves
1 lb penne or your favorite pasta
*Optional - add grilled / rotisserie chicken

DIRECTIONS:
-Heat large saucepan over low-medium heat
-Add butter, oil, garlic, shallots & cook until you can smell the aroma, approx 3-5min (brown slightly)
-Add vodka to the pan and reduce the amount to half, approx 3-5 min
-Add chicken broth and crushed tomatoes
-Return the sauce to a bubble and then reduce it to a simmer
-Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper
-Let simmer for 45 min for the sauce to thicken and blend
-Add the heavy cream starting with 1/2 cup first and add more depending on desired creaminess/color and bring back to a simmer.
-Remove from heat
-When serving, top with some fresh basil leaves.

*Note: I did not have the heavy cream on hand last time and used 2% milk instead. I brought it to room temperature first. While the sauce was not as creamy it was still thick and delish!

When Good Intentions Go Bad

Last weekend I was in St. Louis with friends enjoying an Apple Pie Concrete at my favorite frozen custard location, Ted Drewes, on Chippewa Street. For those of you that have never been to Ted Drewes, please refer to the picture of this location - the crowd is an accurate depiction any night of the week and multiplies after a Cardinal baseball game. Anyway on my most recent visit, there was a small party bus parked on the street and we wondered who was out partying and making this awesome pit stop? Turns out to have been a bunch of kids no older than 10 or 12 chaperoned by one of the kids parents and a friend. How nice of them to take the kids and their friends out right? Well it quickly became blatantly obvious who the bus was actually for....the wasted adults, drinks in hand. One of the parents thought it would be a hoot to jump into someones convertible in the parking lot while a friend took her picture all the while a child was saying "mom that's not your car!" Really makes me wonder how some people get to be parents. And if I happened to be one of the children's parents this mom was supposed to be supervising also out for some frozen custard, I don't know what I would have done! It's unbelievable that this mother didn't seem to care what kind of message this was portraying to the children, most of which weren't hers...

Belly Pics :)

Starting on the left, the first picture is at 7w4d, then 13w4d, then 15w. More to come!

Fun New Poll!

Make sure to cast your vote for the sex of the baby! The poll is on the right side of this page under the picture of the dogs. I can't wait to see what it is :)

I've moved...again

After a 16 hour drive with Chris's dad, I've arrived in Cleveland. The audio book of choice for this trip was The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. It was a good story but not exciting enough to keep me awake. I listened to 3/4 the book but I'll probably read the rest of it.

We are living in the same apartment complex as last year but in a different apartment. We are in the corner of the community by the forest. It's really nice and quiet; not too many people walk by so the dogs barking is kept to a minimum which I REALLY like! Our furniture was delivered before I arrived and I bought some colorful kitchenware and bedding...I wasn't planning to take it home but I like it so much I just might! The only thing I have left to do is unpack my clothes.

Tomorrow I am flying to Chicago with Chris's dad to see my first baseball season game opener against the White Sox on Monday. I am really excited to see what hoopla they have planned. The dogs are staying in Cleveland with our new sitter Sonya. All is set and I'm ready for an exciting season!