holiday visits

We just got back from a week's long trip to California. Visiting with friends and family, eating our fill of delicious food, and celebrating the coming birth of our first child. Ah, the holidays. This year, as my nesting sensibilities kicked in, I made all my holiday gifts ("made with love in Elizabeth's kitchen"). Here's a photo of the craziness:Yeah. Pounds of dark chocolate bark, white chocolate bark, peppermint bark, caramels, granola, hot cocoa mix and marshmallows. Yum.

I wish I had gotten a photo of the Christmas spread - it was delicious. And the baby shower at my aunt and uncle's house on the Saturday after Christmas was delightful. Here are a couple shots:
It was a co-ed affair, so G figured a good bottle of tequila was in order. I guess I can't blame him. Girls were watching gifts getting opened, boys were drinking in the kitchen. Makes sense, right?


I am so lucky to be able to drop in to California and have so many friends and family converge to celebrate. I count my lucky stars that I have such an awesome community.

Now it's time to get ready for the end of the New Year and focus on January. Baby will be here in less than two months! We've got work to do!

making candy over the weekend

In addition to having brunch on Sunday, I was cooking up a storm on Saturday, making treats for my in-laws. One of these treats are caramels - terrifying to make, but delicious to eat. I had never boiled sugar before - and seeing that frothing mass in the pan as I frantically stirred and tried to read the thermometer because 248 degrees is the stopping point, otherwise something awful happens to the time-space continuum - it was nerve wracking I tell you, good and terrifying. And then it was over. And I waited for the caramel to set, cut it into pieces, and wrapped them up. (Had some help wrapping up from my favorite ladies, J., A., and M... thanks girls!) Here's a shot of me wrapping, taken by the lovely J. (And if you can tell, I was standing right up against the counter - but look how far away my shoulders are - there's a baby in the way. Outrageous!)

seven and a half months!!

Well, I would start by saying "what the? another month has gone by?" but you all knew that already. I would make apologies, but there's no point, there is no fault or blame. Just wish that I could keep this up as much as I do Facebook. But that's another matter altogether...

We managed to get the house put back together about 30 minutes before the first houseguest arrived. Nice! More houseguests, a few last minute RSVPs for Thanksgiving dinner, lots of friends and family, amazing food and thanks to my best friend and my cousin - I didn't have to do all the work by myself. Without them, it wouldn't have happened. You guys are the best!

Then I spent a week trying to figure out what to do about Christmas this year - being on a budget and not having a ton of energy (thanks for that, third trimester!) and really didn't come up with a plan. Oh well. Something will happen, that's for sure. Then G. left town to go back east for a long weekend, to clean out the family farmhouse and get it ready to go on the market.

Of course, right after he left we had our first windstorm of the season (it looks like the trees are going to snap in half, they bend so far over) followed by our first snow of the season (four inches in my front yard! record low temperatures!). And I am alone, in my house, really not wanting to drive on the icy roads.

Throughout all this, I have been neglecting my knitting, which is awfully sad. I set out to knit a baby blanket for this restless little being in my belly - a sizable blanket, lots of colors, gender neutral. It is comprised of seven strips, and when those are done they are magically knit together to make one big cozy blanket. I figured a strip a week (there are seven colors in each strip, so a color a day. easy!) but with Thanksgiving falling right in the middle of of the project, I gave myself nine weeks. Generous! Plenty of time! Well, you all know how time and I get along... mostly that it keeps on going, especially when I am not looking. So here I am, week eleven? of the project, and only have four and a half strips done. Good thing baby isn't due until February 23rd!!

And R. sent me a pattern for knitting your own babylegs. And there are the hats I want to knit, if I knew how to knit them. Patterns still intimidate me - I'll get there some day.

For now, the baby is still up to its antics in its watery home - I swear it is doing back flips in there, which is to be expected at 30 weeks. (Holy cow, how'd I get to be 30 weeks pregnant?) I think last night it was alternately punching and kicking. Impressive coordination skills for such a little guy. Or girl. On that note - pronouns get thrown around quite a bit, i.e. I will say "he kept his legs crossed" or "she's kicking!" but it doesn't really mean I know. I have zero intuition on this front - no dreams, no feelings, nothing. Just a girl's name that I am absolutely in love with, and nada on the boy's name. Except for the boy's names that I don't like. That I am pretty clear on - but not so clear on the names I do like. The one dream I had years ago about my baby boy involved a name that is so trendy now I am not sure I could go through with it.

So that's what I have to say about that, for now. As my grandma would say, "that's all I know about that!".

E.

(ps - hi grandma!! can't wait to see you!)