First Ultrasound

Here's the little honey bear. That's what I call him/her. These pictures are from week 9. You can't see much on the pictures, but more could be made out in the actual ultrasound. Brian and I are very excited.

Hope and other babies

Here is a picture of Brian and his new niece Hope. He says she likes to squirm around and curl her body up. Hope was born to Brian's sister and her husband Scott on December 29th. Speaking of babies, most of you probably know that Brian and I are expecting our first child in August! I'm at the end of my first trimester and doing great.

Birthday Sewing

Today's my birthday! After a long week, it was really nice to wake up in the morning for breakfast and presents. Brian kept aside the boxes that had come from my family and his family. So I opened everything at the same time, including his gift. I feel like its Christmas again. I love all of my gifts: from my parents, table cloth, earrings I LOVE, from his parents cranberry bread, dried mangoes, necklace/earring set, a Kohl's gift card, and from Brian a SEWING MACHINE! I'm so excited to have the machine and tools to mend clothes and make basic things for the house. I have not started playing with it yet, but I'm sure I will soon! The image here is the exact machine I have. Sorry it's a little small.

Update and Chagall

Hi everyone, sorry I have neglected my already dull blog of late. As a part of my vacation, I decided not to blog. Brian and I spent Christmas in Minneapolis visiting with my sister, her husband, and my parents. We had a great time together, but man was it cold. Going back to work after a vacation is always a shocker. I've been working on my license application for my counseling license in the state. Brian is finishing up some things for the semester (at Harvard the semester is not over until mid-January). Speaking of January, my birthday is coming up soon. I have asked Brian for one of those mini-sewing machines called a shark. They sell them at Target. If you have ever tried one, let me know. I'm hoping to use it to hem pants, to patch up Brian's well loved jeans, and maybe to make some curtains. For the new year, well, lets just say I'm glad 2008 is over. It's time for something new in my life.

Pictured here is a painting by Marc Chagall called The Poet with the Birds which hangs in the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I liked it so much I bought a print of it that I plan to frame and hang soon. . .

Christmas Cookies

Today, I made my mom's Christmas pecan cookies for a Christmas party at our church tomorrow. Here's the recipe. You can also roll them in powdered sugar after they have cooked to give them a snow ball look. Enjoy!

1 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup pecans chopped
red and green sugar or powdered sugar

Cream the butter and vanilla; add sugar, creaming the mixture until light and fluffy. Blend in water. Stir in flour, mixing well. Add pecans. Shape into 1 inch balls. Roll in colored sugar.

Bake 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet in slow oven (325 degrees) 20 minutes or until firm to the touch. Cook before removing from the pan. Makes 3 dozen.

Red Maple Inn and Fireside Feast

Brian and I recently spend a night at the Red Maple Inn, a bed and breakfast in Spencer, Mass. The Inn had a deal with another inn/farm one town over, The Salem Cross Inn. We took part in their Fire side feast where they cooked most of our meal (prime rib, clam chowder) over a huge open fire. Before the meal, we went on a wagon ride on the countryside with the biggest horses I have ever seen. We then enjoyed a cup of hot cider and mulled wine. The meal was huge and we finished it off with homemade apple pie and a portion of whipped cream as big as the pie! The Bed and Breakfast was beautiful and very professional with a warm fluffy bed and thousands of DVDs to choose from for free! The breakfast really hit the spot in the morning, with some of the best coffee I've had in a long time. We were only gone for one night and day, but we had a great time!

Another week of Illness

Coming off of my allergic reaction, I contracted the stomach flu, along with 11 of my co-workers and about 8 of my clients. It's been a rough weekend for us all. I'm just hoping that the many body parts pictured here will be cooperating with me soon! I have Holiday parties to attend here!

Is it me?! This is my fourth week in a row being sick in some way. I have missed 3 Wednesdays at work in a row because of illness. This has to stop some time, right?