Fleur de Aleta

Yesterday  my husband and I went to our favorite restaurant for breakfast ~ Caffe Latte Da.  While we were there, the waitresses talked about Christmas traditions.  One waitress has a really cute tradition, called Elf on the Shelf. The elf comes out a couple of months before Christmas.  It's a magical elf and nobody can touch it.  It stays on the shelf, but somehow manages to slightly move positions.  The elf is known for moving off of the shelf late at night when everyone is sleeping and leaves little notes, such as "Have a good day" next to the child's tooth brush. The elf also reports to Santa if the child has been good or not.  And the waitress says it's a great way to inspire children to get out of bed, "I wonder if the elf left any messages this morning!" Thinking about traditions, my cousin in Maryland had the tradition of ringing bells late at night and someone calling out "Ho Ho Ho" the night before Christmas :)  She also contin...

I was looking for a simple recipe for chicken and rice and I wanted it to be in the form of a casserole.  I found a recipe, along with suggestions on how to make it better.  Deciding to go with the comments for suggestions, this is what I ended up with: Ingredients: 1 can Campbells Condensed Cream of Chicken 1 can Campbells Chicken and Rice (for both cans, I used low fat versions) 1  cup chicken broth (no msg or salt added) 1/2 cup of uncooked long-grain white rice (we use Uncle Bens, as this is Greg's preference) 1/2 large yellow onion 1 large green bell pepper 1/2 floret broccoli 1 pound boneless skinless chicken tenders bag of shredded cheddar & pepper jack cheese salt, pepper, garlic power Instructions: Heat oven to 375 F. Cut up the onion and bell pepper and broccoli Cut the boneless chicken tenders to bite sized - makes it cook faster, season the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic I used a large rectangular pyrex dish - stir the soup, condensed cream, broth, r...

Yesterday I addressed the envelopes to send out Christmas cards.  I drove to the post office and noticed that I had a couple of envelopes I forgot to put postage on.  I figured, "I'm right here, at the post office, I'll just purchase the few that I need."  I knew that if I didn't, the Christmas cards would go back home with me and would most likely stay home until after the season, forgotten about and lonely. When I walked into the post office, I almost did a turn about.  The line was long and there was only one person at the counter.  Ah well, what's a few extra minutes in a day, right? By the time I was mid-way through the line, a crowd of people walked in, causing the line to reach outside of the building.  I thought, "Wow, and I was complaining about long lines just a minute ago?"  I looked at the lady behind the counter and felt compassion for her. For some reason she caught my eye and I smiled at her.  She smiled back.  As the cus...

I'm thankful to have spent a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving with my family and with Greg's family.  We're are very blessed with loving relatives.  Here are a few pictures to share: My grandmother holding my parents' dog. My cousin and his son My Dad surrounded by children My Love Greg's family (Jarred is hiding from the camera) Corrie makes me laugh with the thumb's up Hehe, this next picture makes me smile each time I see it.  They have a great sense of humor! I'm also thankful that my husband helped me take down all of our Thanksgiving decorations, packed everything neatly away and then we took down all of the Christmas decorations.  We put everything up, well, almost everything.  I want to go back and put a few more things out, but by far and large, we did the bulk of the Christmas decorations and it feels really good to have done so :) And I'm thankful today, to have received o...

We went to the pregnancy specialist today, Dr. Chau.  I'm so thankful that I have two excellent doctors keeping a close eye on our baby.  Dr. Chau did a regular ultrasound and just a quick snap shot of our baby in 3D.  In the second picture you might be able to see the baby better, as I added some color to the baby's face, hand and arm.  The baby facing to the right, eyes closed, his hand is curled in front of of the tip of his nose and part of his lips. The best man at our wedding said, "Oh Wow!  Yeah,  I can see that perfectly.  Gives you a chill huh?" It really does!  Greg said, "It's like seeing the baby out of the womb."  We still have plenty of weeks left to go, but I love this picture!

Yesterday I was thankful my husband has a great sense of humor.  He loves to laugh and he loves for people around him to laugh.  It's a special gift and I treasure it.  Life without laughter would be so sad. Today I'm grateful that my husband wants to understand and is compassionate about our pregnancy.  Yesterday afternoon I took a nap and when I woke up, baby Gregory was right under my rib cage.  It hurt.  Greg saw me trying to elongate my torso and asked how I was feeling and if there was anything he could do to make me feel better.  My husband suggested that we go outside into the cool night air and then he rubbed my stomach and said, "Gregory, be nice to your Mom."  Awww, I melted and felt so much better. When I typed just now about my husband understanding the pregnancy, it reminded me of a conversation we had at my parents' home when we went there for lunch.  My Dad cooked steaks and for bread, he made some small rolls.  Greg ...

I love my husband, have I said that lately?  :)  I know I say it a lot to him, but it's special moments he creates that just melt my heart even more than I thought possible. It seems we've created an early holiday tradition.  Greg calls it "our Christmas moment."  We have a fireplace that he warms up the room with, then he goes to the Christmas music station on the cable television.  We snuggle on the sofa in front of the fireplace, listening to the Christmas music... relaxing and enjoying the moment.  The rest of the world just disappears.... Some might say it's too early for Christmas music, but not for us.

We are fortunate that our two pets, a cat named Tigger and a dog named Penny, get along... Harmony in our Home. ... well... ahem.... most of the time they get along....  Can you tell which one is Alpha? For a direct link to YouTube, click here . I'm also thankful for my brother, Rob.  His birthday is today :)  Love ya, Rob :) And my friend, Shawn, her birthday is also today :)  Hugs to both of you!  Hope ya'll have an awesome birthday!

The day before yesterday I was thankful that the NYC delivery company was up and running.  My parents bought the 5 drawer chest of drawers for the baby's room.  It was ordered in October, but because of Hurricane Sandy, Babies R Us couldn't deliver - the delivery company they use is based in NYC.  The company is back up and running, which I'm always happy to hear - a company running again after a hurricane... and the delivery was made!  It looks wonderful.  I'll have to take a picture and add it to this blog post. Yesterday I was thankful for my OBGyn, Dr. Wild.  She's awesome.  She patiently answers all of my questions and never makes me feel like I'm annoying her.  (I've heard some stories about doctors, so I count myself as very fortunate for Dr. Wild.) Dr. Wild said everything is right on track with our baby.  Heart rate was 150 and fundal measurement was 24 1/2.  I'm at 24 weeks, so that's where it should be.  Dr. Wild goes...

I'm thankful for hobbies, or what I call.. my "labor of love."  ~ That would be making jewelry with seed beads, crystals, gems, pearls, etc.  It's time consuming, but it gives me a lot of joy. Making jewelry not only brings the joy of creating, but the joy of community ~ I've met some absolutely awesome beading friends ~ talented ladies that are such a treasure! For my birthday, my husband gave me a gift certificate to Turquoise Coyote, a bead store - one of the best places to shop for crystals.  They have a huge variety and reasonable prices. I don't go to the town where the store is located that often, but my husband has an account in the area.  He dropped me off at the store to shop while he went to work.  I came back with all crystals!  There's so much more at Turquoise Coyote, but I knew I didn't have many 2xAB (double aura borealis) in my crystal stock. Normally, I wouldn't buy 2xAB, but with a gift certificate, it was a treat :) I ...

I'm so thankful for our pets.  They are family members, with wonderful personalities and a lot of love to share.  Both both our cat, Tigger, and our dog, Penny, are rescue animals.

I'm very fortunate that my parents raised us to appreciate family.  Even if our relatives were across the United States, my parents would plan trips to visit with family.  It created a strong bond with our cousins at an early age and I'll always be grateful and thankful for this :) Last night we went to my cousin, Andy's, birthday party.  Shhhhh, he doesn't like being called Andy, that's a childhood nickname.  *ahem*  Andrew....  Nah, I like Andy better :) In the picture below, Andy is the one on the right. Last night I found out that another cousin is pregnant!  In the below picture, Jessica is 2 months pregnant.  She is Andy's niece, my second cousin.  Jessica is the one on the left. When Greg and I first found out we were expecting, I thought, "ohhh, most of my relatives already have older children."  I figured I was asking too much for other children to be close to our baby's age.  Then I found out that my cousin, K...

Yesterday I was thankful for two things: My Mom's eye doctor.  He was the one who saved Mom from going completely blind when he did the exploratory surgery on both of her eyes.  That was roughly a year ago.  A month ago, Mom needed me to bring her to her eye doctor appointment and while we were there, asked if her doctor could give me a sample of my eye drops until I went to my doctor's appointment.  He agreed, until Mom mentioned I was pregnant.  Then her doctor was adamant that I not take the drops, because they can cause contractions.  (The eye drops are for my glaucoma.) Yesterday was a month since I've taken the drops.  My pressures were 18 and 20.  The doctor fully expects the pressures to rise back up to the mid-20s by the time the baby is due, but until that point, he thinks my vision is safe.  I trust this doctor, especially knowing what all he did for my Mom. Another thing I was thankful for yesterday... was being a part of Gr...

For Tuesday... I was thankful for the freedom to vote.  And the freedom to not discuss my political views, yet make my vote count.  And from that point, to support whoever wins the office.  Either way, it's a tough job. For Wednesday... I was thankful I didn't have to fax anything from the house.  Strange thing to be thankful for, right?  But the fax machine was giving my husband headaches.  He did get it working, but then it sort of put the house line off the hook.  So, now we just keep it unplugged until we need to use it.  Thankfully, that's not often :) For today....  I'm thankful that my husband works for a great company.  He loves his work and cares about what he does and he works with friends that he's known for years.  And even though one of the main branches is in Texas, throughout the year, the company gets together to do different things.  They have an upcoming fishing trip planned for this month.  I'm thank...

You know what's really awesome? When you post on your blog during the month of November about things you are thankful for... and then someone does it on Facebook, as an inspiration from the blog and then suddenly other family and friends pick up on doing the same thing and post what they are thankful for...  what an awesome thing to happen! It's like sharing the blessings and joys each time I read on Facebook what family and friends are writing, rays of sunshine.  It makes me smile.  I'm thankful for that.

I'm thankful for our coffee shop, Cafe Latte Da.  Greg and I had our first date there.  It became a tradition to go there on the weekends.  Then one Sunday, Greg proposed at our coffee shop, where we sat at the same table of our first date, with family surrounding us and the coffee shop friends smiling and bringing out champagne to celebrate. We have a tradition of going to the coffee shop for breakfast.  It's sort of like our "Cheers."  Remember that television show?  "Where everyone knows your name?"  It's so nice to know other regular customers there and the people who work at the shop, always so cheerful and nice!  They even know about us being pregnant; we jokingly ask, "We met here, we got engaged here, can we have the baby here too?" It's a lovely restaurant with delicious food, welcoming ambiance of dark wood furniture, and an atmosphere of friendly community. :)

I could write countless reasons... I'm thankful for my husband.  He is my world.  XOXO

I am very fortunate.  My parents were parents when we were children.  They didn't try to be our best friends or demand that we score the highest in grades.  But they did have expectations on how we treated people and that we always do our best. My parents gave us boundary lines and guidance for growth.  As an adult, I look back on those two opposing things, boundary lines and guidance for growth, and I marvel at how they did the balance act.  It's one that I hope to bring to our child. As adults, my parents are still.. my parents :)  They keep the communication open, offer support and a never ending show of love.  Not just for their children, but for each other. Picture below was taken last month in St. Michael's, Maryland: "I am so thankful for my parents for their unconditional love, endless patience and never ending knowledge.  I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for them.  Both my parents have been incredibly supportive....

I did this one year on my blog, where every day in November, I blogged about being thankful.  It was a lovely way to count blessings and send out positive vibes.  I'm going to do that again this year. To start.... I'm incredibly thankful for the miracle of being pregnant.  I'm 43 and my husband is 51.  We are both first time parents-to-be.  For my parents, this will be their first grandchild.  Even my doctor called our little bundle a "miracle" because everything medically (blood tests, etc) pointed to the impossibility of conception happening. I even found out at my last doctor's appointment that I have a heart-shaped uterus and this could have also been another cause for difficulty in conception, something I wasn't aware of. Thank you, God, for this miracle.  I continue to pray for our baby's health and well being and a healthy delivery at full term. "Sometimes I just look up, smile and say, I know that was you God!  Thanks." Quo...