bodies

This weekend we went to see The Nutcracker at The Fox Theater.  John and I had never been to a ballet before.  It was breathtaking, and I'm not just talking about the men in tights.

I watched in amazement at what these people could do with their bodies.  I was in absolute awe of them.

The human body is a pretty miraculous thing.

The way they moved was captivating and I had so much respect for their craft.  

I am so grateful to have a body that works the way that it does.  I am grateful that my body is strong and healthy and that I can carry this baby inside of me.  We have been given such a special gift to use our bodies however we please.  

As I watched these dancers use their bodies to make art, I was humbled by them.

It was a true Christmas experience as the gratitude of my heart was enlarged.

In other news, 4 weeks and a few days til baby EJ.  I cannot WAIT to meet her.  She has been so active lately.  She is still breech which scares me tremendously.  I want so badly to have a natural birth and really need her to turn that little head upside down!  I might try and coax her below with some Christmas music near my pelvis tonight accompanied by and bag of peas on my upper torso all while laying upside down with my feet in the air.  

It is going to be quite the sight to see.
This body is going to be doing some impressive things of its own tonight...

the best birthday of my life

6:30 wake
6:50 birthday cake for breakfast
7:20 waited outside for john while he went to the grocery to pick up juice for the youth breakfast at church.  i breathed in the cold morning air and listened to the birds chirp and welcome the day.
7:35 watched the sun rise. john said, "when we're old and retired and living in the Caribbean somewhere, I want to see the sunrise and the sunset everyday."  You got it baby.
8:00 threw a football and basketball around with mr. murphy. i'm no athlete but i believe a good grunt is in order every time you throw a ball.
8:30 pancake breakfast with the youth
9:00 trash pick up for 2 hours on the road our church adopted.  giving service feels so good.
11:20 eagle scout project with one of the youth
11:55 i complain and want to go home because i have to pee and im really hungry
12:15 john says we can leave and he tries to crank the versa. car wont start.
12:16 i start to cry
12:17 john says we should pray and asks me to do it, i say no. he does it. he asks for our car to start. then asks me to count to 3.
12:18 i count to 3
12:18 the car starts
12:19 we bust out laughing and john says a prayer again
12:30 we eat checkers and i have a glorious big buford and fries.
1:30 Nap
3:30 caramel apples on porch with john and mom
4:00 hang out with mom and fix things on her computer
5:00 i'm not tellin'
6:00 Shower while John serenades me with "let me die in my footsteps"
7:30 head out for dinner
7:45 Drive to Macaroni Grill and talk to family on the way there
8:30 Dinner
8:40 Pomegranate Italian Soda and Cranberry Orange Spritzers
9:15 Practiced writing Evaleigh's name all over the table with crayons and decided it was a lot of fun to do
9:30 surprise birthday chocolate cake and a table side opera performance of the Italian Happy Birthday song
9:33 smooch
10:10 hold hands in the car on the way home
10:30 john puts up with a photo snapping session
11:11 talk to momma
11:24- baby kicks. john felt her four times in a row.
11:25 john gets distracted and finds gray hairs on my head. 24 is not that old is it?
11:57 birth minute toast with sparkling white grape juice in my new birthday goblets from husband. they are golden yellow and from anthro...does he know me or does he know me?  he knows me.
11:58 watch parks & rec and the office on hulu.
12:00 not my birthday anymore
12:30 fall asleep while husband tickles my arm

24 is going to be perfect, i just know it.

we-go to figo.

Yesterday I finally satisfied a pregnancy craving.

My red-headed soul friend and I went to Figo in Sandy Springs and ate our hearts out.  It is such a charming rustic place where you drink from mason jars and snack on fresh baked bread with tasty olive oil.  

I had the Zucca which is their Butternut Squash Ravioli in a cream sauce.  It was to die for.  She had the Braised Short Ribs Ravioli. Yum!

Its such a wonderful feeling to have a best friend.  I am a woman who has many best friends: my husband, my mother, my sister, and MANY lovely girlfriends.  You can say that I don't believe in just having one best friend.  There are too many wonderful people in the world to just have one favorite.

Lisa and I share a special bond.  She is a friend that touches my soul every day.  I learn so much from her.

Yesterday we met at Figo and when we stepped out of the car we noticed that we were wearing the same hunter green/light pink color combination...freaky.  The rest of the day we were finishing each others sentences and saying the exact same things at the exact same time.  I wish someone could follow us around and transcribe some of our conversations for us to go back and read at a later date.  We's like peas and carrots, me and Lisa.

I love Figo. 
I love Zucca. 
I love Lisa.

i laughed so hard, i gave myself a headache

Last night I had a "girls night out" with two lady friends and...my husband. 

He amazes me at how comfortable he is and how well he can get along in a group full of women.  Maybe its a sign for things to come and we will be blessed with 7 baby girls and he will live a perfectly content life surrounded by countless ladies.

We went out to our favorite sushi place and put a killing on some raw fish, rice, miso soup, and edamame.

I've been pretty down lately so I really needed a carefree night just to laugh and forget about some of the things going on right now.  I am so grateful to my friends and my husband for reminding me that its A-okay to laugh and BE HAPPY during hard times.

I literally laughed so hard I gave my self a headache.  

Now, that's some good laughin'. 

Just a day/night.

I love the times that you have no clue what to make for dinner so you just start throwing random things together.

In to the crock pot I threw:

a pork loin

all of the leftover honey I had in a little bottle

the rest of my brown sugar

hot pepper sauce

Worcestershire sauce

ketchup

apple cider vinegar

a can of tomato sauce

fresh garlic

chopped onions

salt 

pepper

and

chili powder

for 4 hours on high.

Who would have thought I would have gotten this reaction...

And I quote, "Babe, babe, whoa, this is the best thing that you have ever made! Like, ever."

"RealllllyyyY?  I didn't even have a recipe."

"You are lying. What?! You better be able to get this exact combination again!"

Uh oh.  I didn't measure a thing.  Shucks.  I served this Pork concoction over brown long grain rice.  I'll have to try it again and write it down.  I have to admit, there is no feeling in the world like making something for my John and watching him enjoy it.  He makes me feel like the best wife in the world.

After dinner John and I had much studying and paper writing to do.  This is what the table of two married college students writing papers look like...

(John arranged these in the special spiral shape...so artistic.)

Before we really got going on our studies we went to Maggie Moo's Ice Cream Shoppe.

(those look like huge old people scary hands)

I had Fresh Banana Ice Cream with fudge, graham cracker crust, and cookie dough.  Glad we got the small, that stuff was so rich!

Then we came home and wrote our papers til the wee hours of the morning.   We don't remember the last time we went to bed on the same day that we woke up.  Our normal bedtime is anywhere between 1 and 3am.  We can't take it anymore.

Must.

have.

rest.

I guess we are just practicing weird and horrible sleep schedules so we will be better prepared when we have our little babies.

Vintage tablecloths, Handkerchiefs, and Birthdays-1

This weekend I enjoyed quite the birthday celebration.  I have been out "partying" so please forgive the lack. of. posts. 2 days, big deal right?

Friday I was not feeling so hot so my dear friend Meaghan came and relieved me from my babysitting job. (Thanks Meg!)

My hubs was home Friday so he was able to be with me on the day honoring my birth.  So, he took me to Fresh 2 Order and we had a yummy birth DAY lunch.

(I dig these mustard plates)

Then we had these incredibly moist and chocolaty birthday cupcakes from F2O.  The only thing missing was a candle.

Then hubs took me to see Toy Story 3 at the dollar theater.  I laughed, I cried, I really wanted to be a child again and go home and play with my Baby Lissy and Maryanne.  It was the perfect movie for a birthday,  I felt surprisingly reflective about my life and nostalgic for my childhood.

Then John took me one more place for my last birthday gift.  We went to Antiques and Interiors in Sandy Springs and he bought me a vintage tablecloth and 3 old handkerchiefs.  I had really been wanting some colorful hankys to hang on my wall (much more to come on this later, our dining room now looks incredibly wonderful), so like he always does, he fulfilled my wish.

Then we went home to Mom and Dad's and they planned a special dinner for me.

(Apparently, I made everyone stand on my right.)

We had...

and...

Daddy bought me sunflowers.

My mother, once again, did not disappoint.  She lit torches on the porch and we ate by firelight and the moon and stars.  The night bugs were making their sounds and we kept our family tradition and my parents told me about how I was born.  I really love hearing that story.  It was a magical moment.

I learned that birthdays are much better with husbands to share them with, particularly mine.

 I only have 363 more days til the next birthday.  I wonder what life will be like then...

C'est Fall!

Do you feel that kids?  That's right, its fall.  The real deal;  I mean wind-blowing, leaves falling, crunch beneath your new shoes and feet real deal fall.  Today I babysat and opened up the doors and listened  to the wind bellow and tinker through the trees while airplanes flew by.  Other than the fact that the kid pooped three times while I was there, it was bliss.

Today I rushed home after work to be with the love of my life.  We were both STARVING and I was having one of those "oppositions to the kitchen" nights.  So, we went to Sandy Springs knowing there were about 15 hundred restaurants that would suffice.  

"How about Flying Biscuit? Fresh 2 Order?  Nothing but Noodles? Or we could try that French place in Perimeter?"

Um, yes please!  I can't believe I have lived in Sandy Springs for for almost 5 years now and I haven't been to la Madeleine! 

(Look at those fall clouds creepin' in like creepers)

We had read rave reviews on their Tomato Basil Soup; we had to try it.  So we had:

2 Bowls Tomato Basil Soup

1 Quiche Lorraine

1 Quiche Florentine

2 Ice Waters

...and all the fresh French bread we wanted

This is me in my old lady sweater.  I got it at Loehmann's because it was cashmere and Juicy Couture, but really its just a geriatric poop-green sweater trying to be cool. What a wannabe. But I sure do love it.

P.S.What's up with that USA Today newspaper box in the background CLEARLY trying to ruin our French ambience?!

Miss Lorraine

Miss Florentine

Soup Soup Soup Soup

French Sourdough

Wheat

Then we did something we shouldn't have...

So, these French desserts were just staring at us!  How rude right??  We went over to see what they wanted and then they begged us to buy them and take them home to eat.

Fine, "We will each get one."

I picked the Sacher Torte

Husband dearest picked the Strawberry Napoleon

"Oh what's that you say? We got a coupon for another free dessert when you printed out our receipt?  Geez, I guess we will have to get the French Vanilla Berry Tart..."

John and I took our treasures home and sat at the table and tasted each one...slowly...one...by...one...

We think we will move to France just for the desserts alone.  I mean, if American French desserts are this good, I can't imagine how good French French desserts are!

Our favorite was...

...the Sacher torte which was layers of chocolate sponge cake, with chocolate mousse, chocolate icing, and apricot jam in layers.

Yes, we ate all of them...oh, France we want to move to you so bad right now.