crying in public

I have a problem.

I'm an emotional wreck. One would assume that this is a direct result of being pregnant but I must admit that it is an ongoing problem. Bursting into tears over the simplest things just because I've had a bad day or I'm tired.

There was the time it happened when my sisters and Candace ganged up on me and stole my cookie dough, the time Dad asked me to bring some loaves of bread in from the car, the time my family ate all the salad at dinner while I was gone for 5 seconds to the bathroom....

It happened again.

Aaron and I have been taking some birth classes, which have actually been really informative and have prepared me (I think) for what it may be like. During the second class they showed a video of the first real delivery I have seen. It was a home video and rather badly done (corny music and lots of moaning while rocking back and forth). There was nothing gory but you could tell it wasn't the most wonderful experience of her life. So the climax comes and a wee baby babe is born, the new Daddy announces, "it's a girl!" and the new Mommy whispers to her baby, "it was worth it!"

My eyes had begun watering at the Daddy saying the gender and by the time the Mommy made her comment? Body wracking sobs.

I married a good man- he squelched his laughter, put his arm around me and tried to ignore the sympathetic looks from the male half of the other six couples in the room.

project 360: week 8

This week started out with colds (no pictures) and then well, I sewed, Aaron worked and we ate in between. 

Concentrating on sewing NOT on my annoying husband trying to take pictures of my double chin.

Pan fried steak as we only have a charcoal grill which doesn't cook well in winter. This is a very close second best to grilled steak though.

Yards and yards of fabric.

We really need to take bump pictures during the day when the lighting doesn't create blurry pictures. Oh well. I've stopped counting how far along I am. The bump is just big and slowing me down. Baby should arrive beginningish of april though:)

The big quilt is DONE!!!! Now on to shams and the matching wee baby quilt.

Project 360: Week 7

I was bad this past week- Aaron and I were both sick, all I did was work on the quilt (how many pictures do you want to see of that?!) and our church was hosting a bible conference. So I only have a couple pictures!

Every wednesday there is a market in Dearborn, MI that has AMAZING deals on fruits and veggies, so we went there to stock up on produce for the conference. It's such an interesting place! We also found a new market that just opened and here's a photo of it. (Dearborn has the highest Arab population outside of the middle east- so I'm told.)

I'm pregnant, uncomfortable and I hate getting my feet and pants wet. Therefore baggy sweatpants tucked into rain boots make perfect sense for grocery shopping. (Sorry the photo's so dark- Aaron didn't use the flash and it was dark.)

We hit up an outlet mall and found all of these baby clothes for 10 bucks!!!!! (And no- we have no idea what gender we are having!)

Banoffee Pie

I've had some requests for this recipe. This isn't the official way to do it but it's how a lovely wee scottish lady made it for me. The original recipe calls for a vanilla crust- pshaw- everything's better with chocolate!

Banoffee Pie


First off you gotta make the dulce de leche. I'll tell you the way I do it and if it scares you google other ways to do it that might be- safer!

1 can of sweetened condensed milk, sill in the can, with the label removed, submerged in water in the crockpot on low for 10 hours. I usually put in 3 at a time and leave it over night. The dulce de leche keeps for a long time in the fridge.

1 store bought chocolate oreo pie crust. You could make it- just every time I try making it, it um flops. So I cheat.

Slice 1-2 bananas over the bottom of the crust.

Spread the dulce de leche over the bananas.

Whip up 1/2 pint of whipping cream and spread over the dulce de leche. Then decorate with something to cover up the nasty spoon marks left on the whipping cream:) I used toffee bits.

Ta da!! Most amazing desert EVER!

Project 360: Week 6

Sorry this is rather late... but here is last week in pictures. The cold bug hit me again and I was only doing necessary things.

feb 5: inside of lamp shade
feb 6: bookshelves at someone else' house
feb 7: sign's of labor
feb 8: the best cereal mixture in the world (rice krispies and harvest crunch with raisins and almonds)
feb 9: our first six cloth diapers for baby!!! We got a really good deal:)
feb 10: two and a bit more LONG months!
feb 11: making a baby quilt

Project 360: Week 5 (A walk in the park)

On Saturday Aaron stopped work early and we went for a walk in the park. This is what winter with absolutely no snow looks like, rather barren. Here are some of my favorites: (Oh- and my bump is about 32 weeks here.)

Project 360: Week #5

We kinda slacked this week so some of the pictures are a little- well- boring. I need to remember to take the pictures before ten o'clock at night.

Monday: Den paint colors

Tuesday: Bookcase

Wednesday: What love and hard work do to a man's hands:P

Thursday: a tool bag Aaron won from Home Depot but the pictures all had our last name in them so I didn't post it!

Friday: Lebanese Dinner!

Project 360: Week #4

Week #4 I did some extra photos this week. Namely because we got a new camera (!!!) and so have been taking lots of pictures. I also just realized that for some reason I start my week on monday instead of sunday. I'll have to change that.

Jan 23: Aaron working on the baby room

Jan 24: My favorite loose leaf tea ever!

Jan 25: cheesecake cupcakes baking

Jan 26: Pretty flowers:)

Jan 27: Packing goody bags for the sunday school treat

Jan 27 again: The baby room again

Jan 28: Eating cheesecake

Jan 29: The baby in the baby room- 30 1/2 weeks

Jan 29 again: Aaron and I

Project 360: Week 3

I did some other posts with photos this week so we'll include those and here are some other ones.

1. My broccoli is finally growing and it's Jan.
2. The dining room (the light was 20 bucks!). We don't really have chairs and the table is waiting to be painted. Also we stained the floors awhile back.
3 and 4. The living room and the best cup of tea. Ever. Orange Cinnamon Spice. From By the Pound in Ann Arbor, MI. Doesn't look like they have a website but I linked their contact info.

Boneless Wings with Honey BBQ wing sauce

The recipe for these came from blogchef.net and they are amazing. Seriously- I will never spend money on buying them at a restaurant again! Below is how we modified them.

Boneless Wings
Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” chunks)
Oil (for deep frying)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (use chile powder if your worried about too much heat)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
1 egg
2/3 cup milk

Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees. In a large bowl combine flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. In a small bowl whisk together egg and milk. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture, and then roll in the flour mixture. Repeat so that each piece of chicken is double coated. Refrigerate the breaded chicken for 20 minutes.
Step 2: Fry chicken in the hot oil in batches until the outside is nicely browned and the juices run clear (about 6 minutes per batch). Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all of the chicken is gone.
Step 3: Mix fried chicken bits with your favorite wing sauce (more sauce recipes found here if you're not into honey bbq).

Honey BBQ Wing Sauce-
Ingredients:
3/4 cups ketchup
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/8 cup molasses
1/8 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Cooking Instructions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat combine all of the ingredients. Stir until well combined and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes. Thinly coat hot boneless wings in hot sauce and enjoy!