Spontaneity...Tucson at its finest!

Ryan is on tour in the colder parts of the country. Last night he was in Iowa, and today he'll be driving to Chicago where he'll get to stay with our friend Kerry. Then tomorrow its off to Michigan for a house concert in my parent's livingroom! To say I wish I could be with him right now, is a huge understatement...I'd give anything to be out on the road with him...in the snow, together, visiting friends and family all over the country...I really was made for touring in a way that I could have never guessed before meeting Ryan.

But, for now...I'm in Tucson. The sun is shining. The baby is growing. And, I'm getting to have a lot of great quality time in with friends here. When we first moved to Tucson I was totally taken aback by the spontaneity of life. And this week, I've been reminded of it, and how much I love it! For example, on Monday night I got a text from a friend's husband saying he wanted to throw her a birthday party on Tuesday. So, on Tuesday, with less than 24 hours of notice, there was a wonderful birthday party complete with dinner and gaming!

Then on Thursday night I got a text from Melissa saying she was going to have a girls movie night on Friday. So, last night we had a fun girls movie night! We watched Fried Green Tomatoes (my first time seeing it...LOVED it!)...and stayed up chatting/eating 'movie snacks' until we realized it was almost 1am and we all needed to get home and go to sleep.

I hope you all have a great weekend and add in a little bit of spontaneity! :)

Snow & Fondue!

The mountains are covered with snow...and looking mighty beautiful! And the temperatures down here in the "valley" (I don't know that Tucson is technically a valley, but it makes sense that it should be) are in the 60-70s...it's beautiful!

The snow in the mountains...


The blue skies in the "valley"...


Last Friday our friends David and Eileen (and Kaia!) invited us over for a fabulous evening of fondue...3 full courses of fondue that is! To say that it was amazing, may be a bit of an understatement...the evening was absolutely wonderful! David and Eileen said that they love fondue because it becomes much more than a dinner...its an event...there is much time spent chatting throughout the courses, chatting while the meat cooks, oohing and ahhing over the deliciousness, and of course lots more chatting as the goodness takes time to digest in our bellies...
The first course was a cheddar, garlic, and beer fondue with bread, apples, and carrots for dipping.
Second course was a green onion, garlic and beef broth with steak, chicken and shrimp to cook...and then dip in terriyaki, green goddess, or cocktail sauce
And the third course was a dark chocolate with fresh raspberry puree fondue with lots of fresh fruit for dipping. I kid you not, I was licking my fingers clean...yum!!

Me and Eileen preparing the chocolate fondue!


Thanks for a wonderful evening David, Eileen, and Kaia!

Baby!

Sorry if that was a mis-leading title...our baby has not arrived. But, we are getting very very excited...less than 9 weeks from now we'll have a new member of our family to cuddle with (outside of the womb that is...there is lots of cuddling already going on inside of the womb:).

The "bump" is growing quite rapidly. It now looks like I swallowed a watermelon. :) The baby is over 16" long and over 3 pounds!


My nesting has increased a bit. Since we aren't living in our house where I can organize things and get prepared that way...I've been sewing lots and lots instead.

My first attempt at a fitted bamboo velour diaper! (still need to add the snaps)


I used an old turquoise shirt of mine, and an orange shirt of Ryan's to make this newborn size pair of pants and hat...


The rest of his orange shirt was used for this pair of pants...


I used a bib from when I was little as a pattern for this full-coverage bib...


However, if baby green is a girl...Ryan and I think it would also make a cute top to go with the orange pants...


And, both baby and Ryan have assured me that if our baby is a boy, he'll feel very confident and manly in these plum pants. :) There is a matching cream flannel kimono top on its way to match these pants...

Weekend in Phoenix!

Two weeks ago our friend Jacob ran the PF Chang half marathon in Phoenix. I love road races. Some would travel for a professional sporting event, I travel to watch friends run...and usually leave with the bug of wanting to run another half marathon myself (as I did this time).

I went up a day early to visit our friend Jen who had her 2nd baby last month!
Joshua (6 weeks), Corban (18 months), and Jen (no age disclosure here :)


I spent the night with Ryan's cousin Danell and had fun chatting and knitting (didn't think to take photos!)

And then the following morning took my position with Samantha on the race course to cheer away!


We were good cheerleaders, really we were. However, somehow we never managed to see Jacob on the course! We have no idea how this happened. The first place runners went by and the walkers went by, and somehow he was in the mix of 30,000 people in the middle and we totally missed him. :( Even without our cheering, he ran a fantastic race! Congrats Jacob!

In Season!

From May-October I usually find myself longing to be in the midwest or northeast where everyone is outside playing and going to farmer's markets, etc. Somehow I always seem to forget that November-April is gorgeous in Tucson! In fact, our Farmer's Markets are just getting in full-swing now with the winter fruits and vegetables that we produce.
Kaia, Eileen, Melissa, and Dominic at a new Farmer's Market in town...

A spread of the goods...

I purchased some organic kale, a red pepper, yellow pepper, and a bag of organic pink ladies (if you haven't tried pink ladies yet...go out and buy some now....they are like candy...we love them!)...the first 3 ingredients were all used in this yummy recipe.

We've also taken advantage of the great weather by going out on some hikes.
Ventana Canyon Trail...


The ridge trail at the finger rock trailhead (can't think of the name of the ridge right now...)

movies...

We've seen a few movies lately that I'd love to recommend!



Away We Go is a very light-hearted movie about a couple who is pregnant and deciding where they want to live.


Fantastic Mr. Fox based on the Roald Dahl children's book.


And last, but certainly not least, the classic Home Alone with every elementary girl's dream guy...Macaulay Culkin as the star who says the funniest things and comes up with the smartest ways to outfool the burglars. I honestly think this movie gets better with age. :) I don't think there is any other movie out there (okay, well maybe Napolean Dynamite) that I can quote along with the movie playing.

Facebook Unites!

I have this love/hate relationship with Facebook, but I think I'm coming around to feeling good about where I'm at with it.

The Cons:
For a while I felt like I was wasting time on a daily basis just reading updates, etc. But somehow I got to a place where I only go on when I'm emailed a message, friend request, etc...and I don't feel so drawn to it.
Another con was that I was getting Ryanhood fans requesting to be friends, and I didn't know what to do about it. But, with the new year I've decided to just "de-friend" them, and ignore any future requests.

The Pros:
Getting to hear little updates from friends who I otherwise wouldn't be in touch with.

And, along with that pro...a friend that I haven't seen in at least 12 years (TWELVE YEARS) and I got together for lunch last Thursday while she was in town visiting her dad. And, yes I do have to thank Facebook for this reunion as we probably wouldn't have been in touch otherwise...and we certainly wouldn't have known each other would be in Tucson.
Jolon and I went to elementary, middle, and high school together, spent many afternoons rollerblading around our neighborhood (she was way better than me!) and dreaming up how we'd make a difference in the world. Seeing each other and getting acquainted with who we are now was so nice and refreshing. She has a very cool blog that everyone should check out about saving money (she'll even email you the coupons in one concise emails if you sign up for it on the blog). The deals are specifically focused on stores in west Michigan, but some are universal (well, I guess universal might be an exaggeration, but at least national).

Grammie's neighborhood...

Last time we lived with Grammie, I told you about how I love that every other carport has a Buick has a parked under it.

My new appreciation for her neighborhood though, is this sign...As if the picture wasn't clear enough, they had to add a cardboard sign to translate the meaning.

Fried Chicken = Family!

Ryan Alfred (our old housemate) now has a place of his own in town. He tours a lot with several different bands running sound, but somehow has still managed to make a lot of friends in his short 5 months of living here. He has this wonderful dream of having monthly fried chicken dinners at his house to bring together all of his different random pairings of friends to make one big group of friends. I love it...I love when my friends become friends...so I definitely am behind this dinner party idea as well! And, might I mention that Ryan A. makes the best fried chicken I've ever had in my life!

Here is our evening of fried chicken!
Who needs a table when you have a big blanket to spread out on the floor and sit around?


Our wonderful host preparing to serve fried chicken out of the basket!

The blog world...

It's kind of funny how I can get caught up in reading all about the lives of fellow bloggers, and feel as if we are good friends, though truly...we've never even met. Their names become household names, and Ryan knows who I am talking about when I say SouleMama or Jessie. SouleMama lives in the same town as one of my actual friends though, and Jessie is the friend of one of my actual friends...so I think it's totally legit to call them my friends too, right?

Anyway, I wanted to share with you two stellar recipes that I found on Jessie's blog. Happy eating!

Herbed Cheese-Stuffed Salmon and Honey Mustard Chicken

A proper farewell....

Many of you who live in Boston and Michigan know the full story of Appy (my computer), but those that I've met in the last 4 years while living in Tucson may not know the fullness of her precious meaning to me.

Right after Ryan and I had just started dating, he got in his head that he was going to find a way to get me a computer of my own. At the time I was in grad school, interning, and working...and also relying on the public library's computers for writing papers, doing research, and of course emailing Ryan. :) Do-able, but difficult. Totally unbeknown to me, he contacted my friends and family who then also contacted more friends and family asking people to chip in for me to get a computer...and then on December 3, 2004...Appy was gifted to me with a wonderful card of so many names of people who made it possible. It was one of those moments of realizing how many people are rooting me on and also how when we all give just a little something really big can happen! So once more I'd like to thank everyone for Appy...especially the wonderful man behind the idea to begin with. :)

And now I present to you the photos from Appy's arrival:

Kids runnin' the show!

Whenever we overhear Grammie talking about us, we get referred to as "the kids". For example, "the kids" are making dinner tonight, or "the kids" are home, etc. I guess to her, we'll always be kids, and I'm totally fine with that. To be honest, I feel more like a kid than I do an adult anyway. Hence the fact that Ryan and I still like to play pranks on one another every night at bed time...lately the trend has been to hide a touch LED light under the other's pillow and then ask to switch pillows at which point the light is then revealed. It never works when I try to be the prankster though...either I laugh, drop the light while trying to hide it, turn on the light before it is securely under the pillow...etc. Ryan is the master prankster by far in our family.
On Christmas day Grammie's husband (who lives in a home nearby) wasn't feeling well so she decided to spend the full day with him up until dinner and asked us to prepare it, which we were more than happy to do. However, quickly we realized we really are kids with grown-up ages as a disguise. The ham said to cook it for 15 minutes/ pound...but we didn't know how much it weighed...ack! Fear not, the bathroom scale took care of that.

Then, just minutes before the guests were to arrive...the garbage disposal backed up...and brought more up with it than we had tried to initially put down it...yup...disgusting... At first we remedied this with a cutting board and a sign that said, "Sink out of order"...but we realized this wasn't going to work since we're going to have a lot of dishes to do, etc. Ryan then really fixed the mess with a plunger...phew, all was cleaned up just in time for our first guests. :)

It turned out to be one of my favorite Christmases since moving to Tucson. I'm not sure if its getting a bit more comfortable with everyone here, or the fact that there was a baby (Miriam Lynn) joining the family festivities for the first time, or the joy of the baby growing inside of me, but it was definitely a wonderful and relaxing day with lots of family.

Traci, Miriam, and Joe modeling their new Christmas hats!


Earlier in the day with Rachel...

Me, My Blog, and Appy

So, you may have (or may not have) noticed I haven't been blogging (or replying to emails, etc) all that much lately. This is because my computer, which was lovingly named Appy, pretty much died over Thanksgiving, Well, technically it needs a new motherboard. I can't complain though, she made it for 5 years, which is pretty good for the life of a computer.
Ryan and I have been sharing his computer, also lovingly named, Tosh. However, Tosh has just started to act up as well (I think he misses Appy). And, to top it off, Grammie's neighbor decided to get smart with the new year and password protected their wi-fi. Hmmmf.
And, of course now that I don't have my blogging outlet easily at my finger tips I've been having all of these, "Oh I should blog this!" moments.
All of this to say, I'll be blogging as much as I can, but probably not all too frequently for a while. Or, you may get like 5 posts in one day. I'm not really sure.
I hope you are all having a great start to the New Year!

Yup...that kid was me. :)

One of our family stories that I heard often growing up, was that our neighbors teased my mom she would have to come to pre-school with me for snack time since I was still breastfeeding at an "older than westernally accepted age". To my knowledge, my mom never did actually come for snack time...goldfish crackers and juice was all I needed while at school. :) It's funny how often this comes to mind now as I'm getting ready to have our own baby and looking forward to breastfeeding...and also talking with friends about their own breastfeeding experiences. It usually comes up most when people say something along the lines of how you can't breastfeed once the child can ask for it, and I sheepishly say that that was me...though to be honest, I have no recollection of this...I just have heard the stories. Pehaps it was my upbringing, or examples set by friends and my sister, that have continued to reinforce the fact that breastfeeding is healthy for both mom and baby, and that there really doesn't have to be a set age for weaning. I'm also very aware though, that this is not the view shared by everyone, or even an option for everyone. That's okay though...everyone has to do what is right for them and their family. But should you be interested in the benefits of extended breastfeeding, feel free to check out these articles:



Hmmmm...I'm not sure why these links are not showing up when I click "Post"...I'll try fixing this.

Kraftin' it up at Grammie's!

Two nights ago Grammie and I had Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for dinner. Now, maybe you need to meet Grammie to know the significance of this, but it's HUGE! When I asked her what she wanted for dinner, and she said Macaroni and Cheese, I about fell over. Grammie is very proper, not too many food items come from a box or a can, and everything is eaten on nice plates. She said two months ago that her friends, Bebe and Belle, introduced her to Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and she's been hooked ever since. She even confessed to being able to eat a 'whole box' in one sitting. Ha! I love it.

This year has been nice and relaxing with the days leading up to Christmas. No last minute crafting or wrapping, just lots of enjoyment of dinner parties, and the glow of the Christmas tree. I hope all of you have a truly wonderful Christmas!

Gingerbread Houses All In A Row!

Last night my friend Eileen hosted a Ladies Night! Warm soup was consumed, gingerbread houses made (candy consumed), and cookies exchanged (as well as consumed!). It was an absolutely fabulous night that got me totally in the festive spirit...and feeling re-connected to very dear friends that I hadn't seen much of since we returned from our last tour almost a month ago! Thanks Eileen!!

Abby, Samantha, Blanca, Melissa, Eileen, and Anita


Samantha (aka Martha Stewart)'s gingerbread house:


My gingerbread house, which Ryan lovingly (?) called a gingerbread shack later that night...


My growing belly (possibly with the help of the holiday sweets!)...

Little House on the Prairie...THE MUSICAL!!

For my birthday (yes, I turned 30 a few weeks ago!), we went up to Phoenix to see Little House on the Prairie the Musical! It was wonderful..truly, wonderful in every way. And, none other than Melissa Gilbert (the actress who played Laura Ingalls on the TV show) starred as Ma (Or Caroline Ingalls if you will). Every time she would smile, she looked just like "Laura". And, the person who played Nelly...had her role nailed down perfectly. Every mannerism and bratty action totally fit the part. I cried when it was over...no, it was not a sad ending like so many of the episodes are, I was just happy to have seen it...and sad it was over all too soon. I definitely think a certain Ellen W. I know would have made a great cast member in the show...maybe for a future tour they do. :)

Melissa Gilbert as Ma.

Reusable bags in stock!

Hello All!

For those of you who have been encouraging me to re-stock my etsy store...your wish has been granted. :)

funny quotes

I've been working part-time at the Botanical Gardens Cafe for the past couple of months. And, the trainees have me laughing, not intentionally, but they just say the funniest things (in all seriousness), with which I have to restrain myself not to laugh outloud at, but rather practice my parenting skills of keeping a straight face.

"This weather is cold {mind you "cold in AZ means 60 degrees}, and I am used to cold weather because I used to live in Louisiana and California, and let me tell you...it gets cold there!"
(hmmm...I used to live in Michigan and Massachussetts, I don't buy that it gets all too cold in LA and CA.)

Trainee: "Abby, what do you plan on naming your baby?"
Me: "We're keeping it a surprise, but we do have names picked out."
Trainee: "Well, just make sure that you don't use one of those common names that is getting overused these days."
Me: "What are the common names I should stay away from?"
Trainee: "Ralph, George, and Juanita...that's what everyone names their baby."
(really?? I haven't met a Ralph, George, or Juanita under the age of 60 in quite sometime...but don't worry, we are taking his advice and steering clear of those common names anyway.)

Growing!

The belly grows on...




This past Friday was the first day that strangers (3 in one day!) have confidently asked me when I am due. So it's official, I really look pregnant! :)
The baby is now 13.5" long and weighs 1.5 pounds. All is going well...with a bit of acid reflux on the side. :)