So, this morning Andy started reminiscing about what we would be doing if we were in Idaho on a Saturday morning like this one. It involved exploring, mudding, and snow. And as I started to wish I was there now, putting on my hiking boots and as many sweaters as I could to keep warm, my mind wandered to some of the places I have been in the last year that I often reminisce about. Here are a few.

Andy and I went backpacking in New Mexico and summited Sierra Blanca. Its not the tallest mountain in New Mexico, but it is the tallest mountain in its particular range. We backpacked in the afternoon, camped in the shadow of the summit that night, and then got up early the next day for an early summit. We literally had the mountain to ourselves. Besides seeing a few people at the very beginning of the hike on the first day, and a few at the end on the second day, we were virtually alone on the mountain it seemed. It was an amazing trip. The landscape was beautiful and serene. I think that besides the temple, I feel closest to my Heavenly Father while in the wilderness, and most especially "high on the mountain top".

This is Andy and I with "our" favorite person, Corey. Andy and I both have a crush on him. We are collectively thinking of marrying him. This was a hike we did in Utah. It was the Mt. Timpanogos hike. A relatively easy hike, though a first for all of us, and Corey hurled all over the mountain from altitude sickness. It was awesome. I felt so bad, I wanted to help somehow, but all Andy could do was laugh. In his defense, if he hadn't been mocking Corey as he lost his lunch on the mountain, he too would have hurled and ruined his ten year clean record of not throwing up. But, in the end, Corey felt better after the episode, and summited anyways.

The best thing about this hike, besides the breath taking views, the clean air, the wild life (oh look a big horn, you - me, staring contest now), and Corey throwing up, was dynamics between the three of us. Let me explain. I never laugh so hard as when I am with Corey and Andy. They play off each other and it escalates until everyone is rendered immobile until the laughing stops. Another thing, and possibly my favorite, is that I can never win a "mocking fight" with Andy. He is too quick and witty. But, when Corey and I are together (though Corey can do it on his own), we gang up on Andy, and for that short moment of time, I win. Its sweet. For these reasons, I often reminisce about this trip. Luckily, Corey is coming to NYC to visit Andy and I in a couple of months, and I am sure that will become a new favorite memory to look back on.

This was a view from near the top of Mt. Wheeler in New Mexico. It is the tallest mountain in New Mexico. It is located north of Santa Fe area just outside of Taos, NM. There are a few things about this trip that make it memorable, and worthy of reminiscing about.

First of all, my dad a little brother came with Andy and me on this excursion. That was more fun that I can say.

Second, this was one of the more difficult and trying hikes I have been on. It was steeper than most hikes I had previously been on and we were packing in all our camping gear so we were carrying roughly 30-40 extra pounds. If that wasn't hard enough, we were caught in an afternoon rain storm of freezing cold rain and sleet and occasional snow. I thought the madness would never end. But we kept on pushing, and right as we arrived at what would be our camp for the night, the rain stopped, the sun came out and everything became warm and dry again. We spent the remainder of the afternoon lounging, drying off, and eating fish (dad with his sardines and herring, the rest of us with salmon and tuna, though I think Michael brought peanut butter instead of fish).

Third, the actual summitting of the mountain was really disheartening. The mountain has many false summits. You think you see the summit, you hike up to it, and upon getting there, you realize that the summit is a little further on. We even knew there would be a false summit. We were expecting it, and still we were fooled time and time again. It was discouraging, especially being so tired and cold, but in the end, we of course triumphed, and nothing is more rewarding in hiking and climbing, than making it to the top. The views from the top were amazing. And it was a really great experience to share with my husband, my dad, and my little brother. What a fun trip. It was hard, but the top wouldn't have been so sweet without the rain and snow and steep trail, and possible bear encounters, and the false summits.

The last thing about this trip that I absolutely loved was how bold the wildlife was. These birds were intent on getting some of our lunch. At first when I tried to give them food, I didn't think they would be ballsey enough to grab it from my hand. Much to my surprise, and the surprise of my family, it was. I screamed and threw the contents of my hand the first time it landed to get food. You would think this would have permanently scared them off, but it didn't, and I got braver and let them land to eat from my hand. Honestly though, I had a bad episode of scabbies my senior year of highschool, and I was afraid of getting it from the birds. No one should have to experience scabbies. I wouldn't wish it on my enemies. Its horrible. And anyone who has been as unlucky as I to "hug a tree" while climbing its branches (something I have done since childhood) and contract the stupid parasite, I sympathize with you. Its horrible. But, luckily, these hungry, bold birds gave no one scabbies this trip.

So, here's to memories, to good times, to good friends, to good family, and to the beautiful places around us. But most especially, here's to my wonderful husband and friend who has a "wander lust" for the outdoors. Without him and his constant need to recharge in the great outdoors, I probably wouldn't have some these great memories.

Hip, hip, hooray!

So, this weekend was full of all sorts of excitement. To begin, I went to the hospital on Friday (not for an emergency, it was a scheduled appointment) for a FirstScreen testing on the baby. It's just basic testing to try to detect any possible birth defects. Andy came to this appointment (his first of possibly many to attend) which turned out to be really great because they did an ultrasound and we got to see the baby together. As it turns out, our little alien has taken human form. It was amazing to see this little person (who is apparently 6 cm long, way to grow!). The woman doing the sonogram was trying to get a measurement on the neck, but the baby wouldn't stop wiggling around. It was kicking and flailing its arms. It's a wilely one. The weird thing for me is that with all its moving around, you would think I could feel something..... anything, but I couldn't. She said I wouldn't feel anything for a couple more months. We also got to hear the heart beat. It was pumping away at 158 beats per minute. It seemed like a bit of a workout but she said it was perfectly normal, and good. It was a really cool experience to see out baby (somewhat resembling a human) together.

I forgot to mention that on Thursday Valerie, Annie, and I went to the Martha Stewart Show! It was amazing. It was the 500th show. Connan O'Brien was on. He was hilarious! He constantly made fun of Martha's perfectionist personality and she mocked his ineptitude to do anything crafty. They had archived some play-dough he burned on a show 2 years previous and brought it on the show for him. He and Martha glittered eggs, and then they glittered a ham. It was nothing short of inspirational. (it was Connan's bright idea to glitter the ham, but it rendered the ham virtually inedible). Then theses crazy sister's came on and made Sunday Easter Brunch.

Then, the big surprise came! Bill Clinton was on the show! I thought my shock would never end. I am not a Clinton fan, but my friends are and for their sake, I am glad they got to see him. In light of him being a president though, that was kind of cool. I would have rather seen someone else, but I am happy about how jazzed my friends were.

So my birthday was this weekend. I made it to the big 24. It's big only for one reason. In the immortal words of Coolio, "23, never will I live to see 24, the way things is goin' I don't know" ~Gangster's Paradise. Seeing as how Coolio and I have so much in common, I too am relieved to have made it to 24.

My birthday was actually on Sunday, but Andy and I had a small celebration on Saturday. Miraculously, he did not have to work on Saturday (something of an anomaly this time of year) and we made a big delicious breakfast of buttermilk pancakes and eggs. Then we went on a big walk in Prospect Park to enjoy the beginnings of spring and the Green Market in Grand Army Plaza. We bought a few pounds of apples and some homemade dounuts. What we really wanted to buy was the cheese. They have fresh, raw milk cheese, in amazing variety, but because I am with child, I can't have raw milk cheese (to my great dissappointment) so we had to pass. It was hard. I told Andy he could go ahead and have some if he wanted, he could tell me what it tasted like and I could vicariously enjoy it through him. But he knows my passion for cheese, and didn't want me to feel bad. So, he too passed on the deliciousness. Later that night, we went out to eat. I will not tell you where. Its a little embarassing. I will only say it was indeed a chain restaurant and the only reason we went that route was because I wanted something familiar. But, for those who gasp at the thought of eating a chain restaurant in NYC, pretend we went to the Grey Dog on Bleeker and Carmine. That's where I originally intended and last minute, changed my mind.

Sunday was a hectic day. We helped with a myriad of things at church to prepare for the Easter Program and brunch afterwards. It was good to be able to help out so much in the ward. On the other side, I was super tired by the time we got home. But, my good friend Valerie prepared a delicious Easter dinner so we quickly got ourselves together, and made our way to the Best home. The meal was a delight. We had ham (crotch ham), green beans (that were sooooo good), mashed potatoes ("these mashed potatoes are so creamy, and I didn't say Ceasar Romero was tall, I said he was Cuban"), salad full of wonderful earthy delights (holla annie), bread that was painstakingly picked up in high heals from a bakery (Thanks Caitlin), and probably the highlight of the night, HAWAIIAN PUNCH!!! (that Aaron really knows how to please a crowd). I brought the cake. I had a cake in mind for about a month and really wanted it, so yes, I made my own birthday cake.

All in all, it was a good birthday. I was able to share my birthday with Easter (something I was originally bummed by, but my dad brought to light a few things I didn't consider, I was humbled and now feel greatly blessed to have shared my birthday on the day of one of the greatest events in history). Martha Stewart said that Easter won't be this early for another 150 years. So, looks it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

So, thanks technology for showing Andy and I our baby, thanks Martha Stewart, thanks calendar deciding guys, thanks lunar cycle, thanks dad, thanks Cindy (who sent me my first piece of baby clothing, its "way cuuute"), thanks mom for the yards of fabric, my projects are coming along nicely, thanks Andy for a great weekend, thanks PwC for not making my husband work on birthday weekend, thanks Valerie for the book, I am jazzed, and for the dinner, it was a delight, thank you friends for helping me put to good use my "fiesta eggs" on 4th Ave, thank you james for thinking boiled eggs may have the same effect, thank you strawberries, for being oh, so, delicious, thank you chain restaurants, and thank you dog in the park who put his head in my lap when I wasn't looking because he wanted to be pet.

So Old Red Barn Co. is having a quilt give-away and I must say the quilt is, as Action-Jackson would say it, "way cuuuute". The fabric is reminiscent of the fabric my mom would use to make me summer clothes as a kid.

Go to her blog and check out the quilt of some of her other great stuff.

http://www.oldredbarnco.com/

hard bound books make an appearance

So, I know I said Saturday I would post these, and I didn't. Hate me if you will, but look at my newly posted books first. http://daydreambooks.etsy.com/

What was my excuse you ask? Well every year for the past 29 years March 8th has been a special day. You see, March 8th is my husband's birthday. I did what I could on saturday (while he was a work, blast tax season) but it apparently wasn't enough, which was a shame because I felt really good on Saturday, no nausea to speak of. That didn't last thought. Sunday morning it reared its ugly head. Hopefully only a couple more weeks to go. Keep your fingers crossed.

But back to Andy's birthday, we tried to go to a Thai restaurant we had heard good things about, but the wait was really long, the restaurant was really crowded, and the weather had turned frightfully cold. So, we turned back thinking we would order takeout when what should come into our view, but Willie's Dawgs. I am going to say it. They have the best hotdogs this side of the Hudson. I had the Rudy: a dog with chili, cheese, and a challah bun. Andy and I shared some chili cheese fries. Andy had the same dog but added bacon. I can't remember what it was called, but something funny. Val and James too had dogs, but I was so absorbed in the deliciousness of my own dog, I failed to notice what they were enjoying. If you haven't tried it, you should, its at 351 5th Ave in Brooklyn. And a side note for those who love mustard on their dogs, you make have a hard time choosing from the endless selection of delicious mustards. I know I did.

Afterwards, we came home and had cake. I made a dark chocolate cake and Andy's favorite butter cream frosting. Its the frosting that is known for being on the Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake. I must say I outdid myself. I think Andy enjoyed it. Eventhough he wanted the red velvet originally, they don't sell them in boxes here (it must only be a southern thing to sell red velvet in a cake mix box) and that cake is too involved for me to make it from scratch.

So I made it chocolate and I added berry for a little extra something. And it was a delight.

Finally, my books are online

So, after, much planning and anticipation, I have finally started to put my books online. Sadly, I only have leather bound books posted now, but I plan on putting up some of my hard bound books tomorrow. I am listing my books at http://www.etsy.com/ which is a really cool website to buy handmade goods from artists. They have literally anything and everything you could possibly want by way of handmade goods. The people who have listed their goods are really talented, and I hope to join in those ranks.

My particular shop is http://daydreambooks.etsy.com/ so check it out. If the link doesn't work, you can search my books. Currently, like I mentioned before, I only have my leather books listed, but hopefully tomorrow, I will have a few hardbound books.

So, tell your friends, let them know if they like books and journals and all things handmade to check out my site as well as others at etsy.

Pregnancy and Taxes

I am currently in my first trimester of pregnancy and I am enjoying all that that entails. Or rather, enduring all that that entails. My relationship with food has become quite complex. I loathe its very existence; can't stand to look at or smell it; it has a tendency to make me want to hurl what little I do have in my stomach. On the other hand, I have found that if I don't eat said food, I feel even more sick. The more empty my stomach, the worse off I feel. And the worse I feel, the more time I spend in bed lying as still as possible hoping it all just goes away. Now, I don't claim to have it all bad. I haven't ever actually thrown up (though I sometimes think if I did, it would solve everything) and I have heard of other women whose lot to carry in this first trimester was much more severe. In that light, I sound like a complainer and a wimp. If that's the case, then so be it. Its my first pregnancy and I am going to play it up for all its worth.


For those of you who pay taxes (ahem, ahem) you may be aware that this is tax season. My husband, being the accountant that he is, can often be found, not at home, but at the office. He leaves home around 8:00 or 8:30 and returns home that evening around....11:00pm, on a good night. So as you can imagine, I don't see him much less eat with him very often. Usually when he is not home, I don't cook. I really don't like cooking for myself. Who am I trying to impress right? I am already impressed with myself for a number of things, I really don't need to add cooking to the list, I'm likely to get a big head. So, as in previous tax seasons, I usually fall back on my ol' reliable, PB&J sandwich. It never fails to satisfy me, and it also never fails to make me feel like I am 7 years old. Both are very aggreeable sensations: to be satisfied, and to be young, not the type of young an older woman might wish for, but really young, like carefree barefoot running around and defeating evil baby-balloon snatchers and creating flying contraptions that never actually leave the ground, though I swear it did one time.


However, with this thing called pregnancy, my old reliable has become somewhat repulsive. I am hurt and torn. I thought the PB&J would stick by my side through thick and thin. And to tell you the truth it has. Its me, or rather the alien growing inside of me, that has turned its back on my old friend.


So, I must eat something right? Right you are, but what since all food is repulsive? Well, let me show you a couple of dinners I have made for myself.

(This is a lime salmon (an old favorite) with a delicious spinach salad with craisens, mandarin oranges, and slivered almonds and a balsamic vinegarette dressing.)

(This is a delicious baked macaroni and cheese with thinly sliced tomatoes on top and more cheese then toasted in the oven. I made a simple green salad with it and put a sundried tomato dressing on top. ( I was acutally having a really good day that day, so I didn't regret this meal))

(This was acutally our Valentine's Day meal. I had been looking forward to it for weeks, and on the day it arrived, the full blown nausea set it. I had a miserable time eating this meal. Which doesn't make any sense to the part of my brain that remembers the way it was before I hated food. Hamburger, spicy curly fries, what more could you want!!!!!????!!!!)


Now, I realize that this food does not fit at all with the nausea story I have been telling. One would think I felt fine and loved food by the dinners I have been making of late. One might also think I was trying to butter up Andy with delicious food so he would take me to Europe, or Hawaii, or Machu Pichu. But I haven't. He hasn't even been home to enjoy the meals. I make them for me alone. Sometimes in the evening, I all of a sudden get this "great idea" for a meal, and I convince myself that once its made, it will look delicious and I will want to eat it. Well, it does look good, but I definitely don't want to eat it, or smell it, or have anything to do with it. But I did go through all the effort of cooking for myself, I might as well eat it. And I do, I eat it, and I regret it. I spend the remainder of the evening lying as still as possible, hoping it doesn't all come back up.

So, now you see the craziness that is my first trimester (hating food, but making delicious dinners I can't enjoy). Before I close this entry, I would like to make a few public apologies. The first is to my husband Andy. I am sorry I am making delicious food you can't enjoy and you are stuck with takeout in midtown as you do taxes for multimillion dollar hedge funds. The second is to myself. Shiloh, I am sorry I keep making delicious food that you can't possibly enjoy. And the last, and possibly most important apology I will make today, is to my old friend, PB&J. I am so sorry, peanut buttter and jelly. You have been there for me through thick and thin, and I have turned my back on you. I hope you can forgive me, and I look forward to our reunion in a few weeks when the doctor said my aversion to food should change into a ravenous need for food as I move into my second trimester.