Oh baby baby bubububaybeee

First and foremost I am not preggers. (If that word offends you, m'apologies but "eggers" sounds better than "NANT" to me.) I swear it is baby-land lately. Between real life and blogland (of the ones I follow more regularly) there are a good half dozen couples expecting!

I found out last night from a life long friend that she and her hubby are expecting. She's one of those people that I don't remember life w/o since our fams were/are close and her sister is The BFF. I am SUPER excited for them especially since this is their first baby. A new little one to spoil!!!!!!

Bean Me Up Scotty!

This weekend is a big deal if you are from the Midwest (especially Illinois and Wisconsin) and have not been living under a rock the past few weeks. (Honestly with it being -1.3 and beyond this morning and throughout the day that would more so be an ice block.) Sunday is the Bears/Packers game and so Sunday will be football football FOOTBALL.

When I think of football food chili is one thing that always comes to mind. I was discussing this with Hubs earlier. Chili that is, not football since I'm just getting it now in terms of more of the rules and whatnot. (For the longest time football was big guys in tight pants crashing their heads into each other. Just pause and think about that. It is true in at least some element, right?) I like chili with several types of beans, usually two to three cans and at least a pound and a half of ground meat. Sometimes I add corn, diced tomatoes, or bell peppers (non green ones) to the mix. Hubs is more so one kind of beans and more meat.

I keep forgetting this when I make chili. I get all in the zone and next thing I know there is a big crockpot simmering. Then I forget to freeze part and I am eating chili for a week. Ooops!

I might still make chili this weekend but using the smaller crockpot if I do. There are always other kinds of football food to make - nachos, baked potato skins, and whatnot - if we all decide to do a potluck. I just need to wait and see what the vote is from everyone menu planning wise.

Up to something

On the way home from dinner I was in Hmmm mode. So I knew something was up from Hubs being in super cleaning mode - like pre-party cleaning - as well as just getting the feeling something was up. Overhearing a friend say something about getting situated didn't help either. I know I am a horrible person but after seeing The BFF's car several blocks away - bad choice on her part since it was clearly there and seen from the cross street that we had to use to get home.

There were people there but the true surprise was how many. About 95% of our friends were there all smashed in the back corner of our backroom yelling surprise. It was an amazing feeling to know that they all were there to celebrate my birthday. (It was also amazing that they managed to keep a 2 yrd old quiet in the process - pingpong balls work wonders so I was told!)

It was a night of pizza and wine and hockey and laughing and talking and watching my niece get super excited to play with the Fisher-Price house that was mine when I was a kid.

Putting words to a great night at times are easy. This time is was super hard. Being surrounded by people who mean a great deal to me is a great feeling. It was a night I won't forget.

2011 resolutions

I am hit or miss with New Years resolutions. I can honestly say that I forgot most of the ones I set up for this current year. In a way they were engulfed by the goal to be healthier, happier, and more active in the sense of trying new things rather than actually moving around.

This year having them set in print, or pixels rather, I have a way to look back at them for reference.

• Try a new recipe at least twice a month. It can be a version of something that I have made before but that exact recipe must be a new one.
  
  


• Yoga/stretch daily. I am usually quite good with this but making a conscious effort to totally relax even for 20 minutes is a smart idea.
  
  


• Catch up with friends on a more frequent basis. I have friends from school (grade school through college) that I talk to via email every few months. I may not talk to them on a regular basis but it is always nice to see how they are doing.
  
  


• Sleep and don't skimp on it when times get busy. The one more hour of whatever always catches up on me when I don't stick to a semi regular sleep pattern. This year I have gotten better. Next year I want this to continue improving.
  
  


• Find a running routine and stick to it as best as possible. I am not saying a specific since I don't know how spring will be right now. Having even a small goal to say run 5 miles every week and a half is a good start. Later I may laugh at that and run 5 miles minimum a week.
  
  


• Don't forget the little stuff for myself. I too often forget the little things like painting my fingernails something other than clear polish. (Toes are usually a color even during winter since I hate unpolished toenails.) I have bottle and bottles and I deserve little things to make me smile even on the days I feel like a frump for whatever silly reason.

Snow day

It is snowing again. I like snow but not driving in it. True, living in the Chicago area my entire life I should be used to it but I am still not a fan of it. The good thing though is since we had Christmas Eve at our house this year, the front walk and sidewalk were shoveled and salted. This will definitely help later with shoveling.

I am not surprised though that it is snowing today is it is one of our friend's birthdays tomorrow. We are all going out to celebrate tonight. Last year it seriously snowed. It probably did the year before. Winter birthday's always equal major carpooling to avoid parking problems and whatnot.

My exciting plan for today pre-party is a mix of laundry, snacking on leftovers from yesterday/Friday including cookies that my mom made - the already mentioned kolackys, pecan snowballs and chcochip cookie bar, misc crackers, veggies, and ham, catching up on some TV watching, and reading one of my new cookbooks.

My family has always believed in hints for gift shopping. It is not necessarily exactly what you want, though it can be at times, but ideas for shopping. My uncle had no ideas for me and so I gave him a few cookbook ideas. He was able to find one on the list - Small Batch Baking - which I have wanted for a long time. Hubs isn't a huge sweets person and while I do have a sweet tooth, I can't eat an entire batch/cake whatnot by myself without getting sick of it. I hate when home baked stuff goes stale too and I too often forget to freeze things. This book will fix all of that and of course, if I need more of something for whatever reason I just make more than one.

The other cookbook is Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook. I have never heard of it nor did my uncle but we both agreed it looked good. It is a mix of recipes and techniques which makes me happy. I'll be parking myself with it on the couch later with a cup of tea next to me and a dog sleeping on my feet. I love reading cookbooks as much as novels. It is easy to imagine making it as I read them.