Pot Pie

Betty Crocker has got nothing on me! The Pot Pie that I made today is delectable!

I can't take full credit though, I found the recipe on Pioneer Woman's website. This is a definite keeper, and what comfort food is all about. It also got rave reviews from the Husband - which means it passed the test.

Sorry about the crummy cell phone quality photo...

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

1 pie crust (I cheated and used a store bought crust)
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1/2 cup finely diced celery
2 cups leftover turkey, light and dark, diced or shredded (I used chicken)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth
splash of white wine (optional)
1 cup heavy cream
Frozen peas (optional)
Fresh thyme, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in a skillet or dutch oven. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook until translucent (a couple of minutes.)
Add turkey and stir. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
Pour in chicken or turkey broth, stirring constantly. Splash in wine (you can leave this out if you’d like.) Pour in cream. (May add frozen peas at this point if you’d like.)
Bring to a slow boil and allow mixture to cook and thicken for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste (do not under season), and fresh or dried thyme to taste. Do one final taste at the end and add what it needs.
Pour mixture into a casserole dish or deep pie pan.
Roll out crust so that it’s about 1 inch larger than the pan you’re using.
Place the crust on top of the pot pie mixture, and press crust into the sides of the dish. Cut vents in the top of the crust.
Bake for 30 minutes or until very golden and bubbly.
Allow to cool for a little bit before serving.

Serve with a large spoon.

And try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting!

Weeks 5 and 6

Weeks five and six were pretty average in a sense that not much changed. I still had cramping and severe breast tenderness, but I was feeling pretty well overall.

Monday of week five I met with an RN at my doctor's office. She confirmed that I was indeed pregnant, in fact her words were "Oh yeah, you're definitely pregnant". I'm guessing the results she got showed up within a few seconds too, just like my home pregnancy test. We went through a bunch of paperwork, and received a binder full of reading material.

The nurse told me my estimated delivery date (EDD) is July 30, 2010. I had done a little calculating myself when I found out, and the date I came up with was August 2, 2010. I based my calculations on a 31-day cycle, which I have, not the 28-day cycle so many people assume every woman in the world has. I told the nurse that I had a 31-day cycle, and she looked at me and pretty much said "it doesn't matter". OK, for EDD, I'll give you that. Three days isn't a big deal, it's just an estimate anyway. We'll see which of us is more accurate when they start doing ultrasounds where they can really tell. :wink:

What the Husband and I did was simple. I downloaded an application on my iPhone called Ovulation. I plugged in my menses from the last eight months, and the app told me I had a 31-day cycle. What it also does is point out days of the month it predicts you'll be ovulating. It also uses the Shettles Method in predicting the sex of the baby too. Pretty neat, huh? You can also get technical and track basal temps, fluids and what not. Two months of using this app, and we got our big fat positive. The only reason I'm talking about it is because I found the accuracy amazing, with minimal effort (I didn't do temps). When I told the nurse about it, she kind of gave me the side eye. Hey, to each his own. It worked for us. Maybe it'll work you, or your friends. I love that technology can make my life easier. :-)

Monday of week six was the worst that I'd felt so far. It was mostly a lot of excess saliva, and the feeling like I had to burp, but nothing happening. This all combined with an unsettled stomach. Let's call it nausea. Definitely a saltine and water day. I can handle this though. No complaints from me!

November 27: Five weeks
December 4: Six weeks

Denver Part II

The Labor Day trip continues. On Friday we got up, and had lunch at Steubens. A Denver staple. I can still picture the Philly Cheese steak we had, which seems to be a really popular sandwich in this city. Strange, huh?

After lunch we headed out into the mountains to do some light hiking and sightseeing.

After playing around in the mountains, we went into Boulder and walked around in the downtown area, which was really neat. We grabbed dinner in Boulder, and then went to see a band called Vinyl (described as old-school funk, Latin percussion, reggae, and R&B into signature California grooves) that night in Denver.

I have to say, a good day.

Labor Day In Denver

For Labor Day 2009, Brett and I traveled to Denver to visit our really good friends, Mike and Carrie who moved there from L.A. in April. It was my first trip to Colorado.

We flew out of Midway in Chicago, and found traveling out of that airport to be incredibly easy, and just as far as driving to Detroit from Grand Rapids. The airfare was the best deal we could find between Detroit, Grand Rapids and Chicago. I would definitely fly out of Chicago again.

Carrie picked us up in Denver in the early afternoon when we arrived. Our first mission was to find a liquor store to pick up some Fat Tire beer. So very tasty on that incredibly hot day. I have to remind myself to ask Mike to bring some home with him the next time he visits. It's that good.

After a beer and settling in, we decided to hit Happy Hour at Trios Enoteca Wine Bar. I loved this place. It was so posh, but yet, so laid back at the same time. Apparently happy hours are big in Denver. They have them everywhere. And some places have them twice a day; one in the afternoon and one again late in the evening. Half off wine by the glass and half off pizza. Yes please. I got a Pancetta, Caramelized Onion, Mozzarella, Mushroom and Chevre Cheese pizza with a glass of Pinot. Pure bliss.

Mike and Carrie have this urban apartment in the Lodo district of Denver (lower downtown district of Denver), so it made walking to all of these places pretty easy.

After chilling at the wine bar, we hopped in the car and drove out to Boulder. We went up into the mountains a bit, parked the car, climbed some rocks and threw back a couple more beers while enjoying the sites.

A great start to a fun filled trip.

Much To Be Thankful For

On Thanksgiving Day the Husband and I found out we’re going to be parents!

I had a that feeling. It was just there. Something felt different. For a couple of weeks, at night after dinner I was feeling “off” and not very well. I had what I thought were menstrual cramps, with no period to show for it. I had also starting waking up in the middle of the night having to go to the bathroom, which was unusual for me. And let’s not forget the swollen, painful breasts. Painful is not an exaggeration. All of these signs had me clued in before the missed period.

I missed my period on the Monday before Thanksgiving, but was just kind of rolling with it. It had shown up a few days late before. On Thanksgiving morning, after I was all ready and packed to go to Detroit overnight, I was sitting around waiting for the Husband to finish up, and he told me “Just take the test. Don’t you want to know?” I can’t remember for sure, but I assume I was talking about all of the symptoms and the fact that I was now three days late, which led him to urge me to test.

I had taken a couple of pregnancy tests before, but re-read the instructions just in case. OK, here we go. I did my business, put the cap back over the test strip, and set it on the end of the counter. Got myself decent again, flushed the toilet, and had a moment where I thought “I better move that stick to the center of the counter, just so I don’t knock it off.” I picked it up, and before I could even set it back down, the word “PREGNANT” was clear as day! I think it took less than 30 seconds to show up.

Let me start off by saying, I’ve taken these tests before, and when they aren’t positive, they take the full three minutes to process and give you the “Not Pregnant” results. I’ve set the timer and waited. I couldn’t believe it popped up that fast! I didn’t even have time to wash my hands. And in the excitement of the moment I don’t think I ever did, now that I think about it. Oops, don't judge me. It was a big, exciting, distracting moment.

As soon as I saw the “PREGNANT” come up, I called for Brett to come into the bathroom, and held it up for him to read. Oh my god, we’re pregnant! Eeeee! We’re having a Babeski!

Thursday, November 26: 4 weeks and 6 days pregnant.

And So It Begins

Bathroom Renovation - Take One.

No turning back now.

Captions for the photo my Dad sent me:

"There! Finally, got that damn mouse."

"Ut oh, you meant the other bathroom?"

"You want it put back together by WHEN?"

Life As I Know It

Life as I know it may be over. My iPhone appears to be dead. It locked up on me after lunch, and I can't get it to turn back on.

You may wonder, and I'll go ahead and answer for you. Yes, I am just that pathetic. And dramatic.

Can I get someone to queue up the choir? “Amaaaazzzzing grace…how sweet the sound…”