Baby update: week 17!

Its hard to believe I'm almost half way there. It still feels so surreal and hard to imagine that in another 20 weeks I will have a mini version of Gerwyn and I staring up at me. I recently had my second OB-GYN appt and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was very loud and very fast. And reminded me there's something actually in there. Although I've been gaining weight, I feel no different than I used to after a big meal. I've gained almost 10 pounds and I'm pretty sure my waistline has expanded a few inches. I even purchased my first pair of maternity pants! (Which I've decided will become very useful even after the baby for going to the buffet.) Living in leggings just wasn't cutting it, so its nice to have an actual pair of skinny jeans that not only fit my expanding belly, but are actually somewhat "trendy" as well. Putting them on made me feel "normal" again.

In two weeks we'll have our next ultrasound and get to find out if we're having a mini D or a mini G!

Happy Birthday Cat!

Yesterday we celebrated my cousin Catherine's 40th birthday at Table 17. We have been fortunate to celebrate the big milestone for both of my "international" cousins. First my cousin Mad who has since moved to Korea and now her sister Cat who just happened to be visiting from the States.  I remember when I was a kid, I used to follow my cousins and sister around constantly trying to be "part of the group". With no immediate cousins my own age, I gravitated to the only girls around, even if they were 5 years older than me. Although back then, my instances of being "allowed in" were few and far between, the age gap isn't so noticeable anymore, and dinner felt just like catching up with old friends. Hope you enjoyed your birthday Cat, I know I did!

Family time

Saturday I met the girls for a deeleecious brunch at Joy Bistro. After some great girl time, Mel, Sally and I made a spontaneous quick pitstop at Sweet Bliss for a few cupcakes and then I went home for a nap. Later in the evening we had Mel and Norm and Christine over to celebrate Earth Hour. It was a great way to spend an hour with no electricity, talking to your friends over candlelight.

Today was family time with many quick visits to see my cousin Cat and her son Hoseok and then my new nephew and Charlotte at my brother's. With Easter around the corner, we made many plans to spend more time together and then it was back downtown for me. Good thing I was able to fit in a nap today otherwise I would be pooped and its only 6pm! Now, time to figure out what to make for dinner...

My boots were made for walking... or not

Today was the first day of sunny 16 degree weather in a week or so. During our last good weather stint I decided to start walking part of the way home. I would make it as far as my old condo and then get on the streetcar the rest of the way. Today, with the good weather showing its pretty face again, I decided to try walking all the way home. At first, everything was so lovely. I had my ipod, and relived memories as I walked my old route home. It was very nostalgic and I was thinking "boy, I'm going to walk home every day in the summer!". By the time I got to the River Street bridge, my legs started to throb and my chest was feeling tighter. I was taking as deep a breath as possible but it still didn't seem like enough. My bag felt like it weighed 1000 pounds and I honestly didn't think I could make it. But being steps away from Broadview it just didn't make sense to take the streetcar 3 stops so I continued the long trek home.

One full hour from the time I left the office, I finally made it in the door. My bladder was full, my legs felt like jello and my head was spinning but I made it. It felt like ages since I took a nice long walk like that; it was great to get the exercise but either the extra baby weight or my general "out-of-shape-ness" just made that walk exhausting. I think I'll go back to my original half route... baby steps...

Soba Noodle Salad

I recently rediscovered an old favourite recipe: Everyday Exotic's Soba Noodle Salad. I watched this on tv a year ago and it was very deeleecious not to mention a bit on the healthier side. Super easy and fast too!

First you boil the noodles in water for about 8 minutes, then drain and rinse repeatedly in cold water. Lay out on a baking sheet to cool and then make the dressing and start stir frying the veggies. For my stir fry, I used cabbage, carrots, snap peas, baby spinach, celery, onions and a jalapeno. Fry with garlic until slightly softened. For the vinaigrette combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, veg oil, ginger and a little sugar and sesame oil. Toss half the dressing over the noodles and the other half into the veggies. Once veggies are done, combine with noodles and top with grilled meat if desired. I use thin steak strips that I cook the previous day, its perfect in this salad. Enjoy warm or cold. (One of the great things about it is that its just as good cold from the fridge the next day.)

Lunch at Ev's (WND is back!)

Today was the start of our "Wednesday Night Dinners" for 2010. With our busier schedules, we've decided to take turns once a month and move our "dinners" to weekend afternoons. Not exactly "WND" but the premise is the same.

 Ev started us off with lobster stuffed salmon and grilled asparagus. Yummmm. The chef even made alternate arrangements for my anti-salmon palette and subbed mahi mahi for my salmon. It was deeleecious. For dessert she made an English dessert which I can't remember the name of right now, something like "Messy Eaton" or was it "Eaton Mess"? Anyway, it was creme fraiche with merengue and fruit. Double Yum! It was nice to catch up and see Baby Eric who has grown so much since the last time we saw him.

Looking forward to our turn next month when we host WND Brunch!

Baby Bump and Focaccia

After the deeleecious lunch at Ev's, I took a short nap and then finished off a new recipe I was trying out, Pugliese Focaccia. (I think the Pugliese part is the mashed potato in the dough, not sure.) One of my co-workers had brought her focaccia in and as soon as I had tried it, I had to have the recipe. I topped mine with sundried tomato, basil, onion and parmesan on one and olives, rosemary, onion and parmesan on the other. The recipe was pretty easy and everything seems to have turned out the way it was supposed to. We'll see what the official 'taste tester' thinks.

Also after a big snack, my belly was protruding more than usual so we decided to take a photo. I don't think horizontal stripes are the best idea for pregnant ladies, seems to just accentuate the wrong things. As I start my 16th week, I've managed to continue to wear my regular pants with the top button unbuttoned. Luckily summer is just around the corner so I can start bringing out the leggings.

Fusilli with Spicy Pesto

While at grams on Sunday I caught up on my usual Food Network television programming and happened to watch Giada (one of my favs). She made a spicy pesto with non traditional pesto ingredients. It looked good, so I tried it last night and I have to admit, not bad! I added sun dried tomatoes so it wasn't a sea of green and probably should have added less jalapeno as I practically burned my mouth off. Good way to get your greens:

Spicy Pesto:
- handful raw walnuts
- one jalapeno pepper
- 3 cups of baby spinach (I used 1.5)
- 3 cups of arugula (I used 1.5)
- handful of grated asiago (I used parmesan)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients except oil in a food processor and blitz your brains out. Drizzle in the oil at the end to create a smooth paste. I also added a clove of garlic. Once your pasta is cooked, spoon a couple heaping spoonfuls in and add some pasta water to thin it out. Mix it all up and enjoy!

Yoga Mondays with Mel

When I lived at the condo, my friend Melanie and I decided to take a Gentle Hatha yoga class together. After I moved, I said goodbye to those classes and my weekly get togethers with Mel. Turns out 6 months with no exercise (not that it was a serious workout by any means but little activity is better than no activity,) isn't that great for your body and so, we decided to reinstate our Yoga Mondays. Since its "Gentle Hatha", the classes are pretty easy and work well for my bulging belly. The teachers are very understanding and as soon as they find out I'm preggo, they take extra time to come over and change the pose so that its easier for me to do. Mel often gets a crack out of my inflexibility which has become even worse since getting pregnant. And the other great thing about this yoga (not so great for my mat neighbour Mel,) is that it helps to relieve all the bloating in my belly which has progressively worsened since bebe! "Happy Baby" and "Child's Pose" are my two favs, really gets those gases moving if you know what I mean. Right Mel?!

Baby "E"

This weekend we finally got to meet the newest Lee, Baby "E". He still doesn't have a name yet but they are deciding between Eric or Elijah. Charlotte was a very good big sister, kissing her brother and caressing his face while saying "So cute" as much as she could. We brought her a new game but she seemed to be most entertained by her brother. If she wasn't petting him, she was pushing her own baby doll around in the stroller or feeding it her milk. I have a feeling she will be a very helpful sister.

Before heading to my brother's, I met Sally for brunch at Over Easy. Now that my unemployed friend has a job, its not as easy to coordinate getting together but luckily we were able to meet on Saturday. I really cherish my time with my girlfriends and I enjoyed catching up and joking around with my good ol' pally. Hopefully we will be able to make it a regular event. While I was at my mom's cleaning out her house later that day I went through a huge bag of cards and letters I had saved and found many starting from age 13 from Sally. Its amazing to think we've been friends for so long. Thanks for being my pally Sally!

Alicia Keys

Last night Gerwyn and I went to see Alicia Keys in concert at the ACC. I had gotten us the tickets in January for Gerwyn's birthday and almost forgot about them until he reminded me this week. The seats weren't as good as I had hoped for but it was still amazing to see her live. She is incredibly talented and her voice was always perfect and very powerful. Plus, she was gorgeous on stage! Another bonus was that Robin Thicke was the opening act. Although I didn't know too many of his songs, he also had a great voice and it was nice to see him live.

I think what was best about the concert was that it was an evening out for the two for us. I hadn't realized it until we were actually walking to the ACC but we haven't had a real "date" in ages! I guess you just get so caught up in your routine of coming home, making dinner and passing out, that you forget what its like to go "out". It was really fun. I had forgotten what it was like to actually "hang out" with Gerwyn as my friend. Turns out, he's a pretty funny guy! No wonder I married him! Of course, after we got home I immediately got into my jammies and we both passed out within 15 minutes of watching tv but it was nice to get a little reminder that being married still means spending "time" together. And not just doing chores. Plus in a few months, we won't have the luxury of being 'alone' anymore so better enjoy it while we still got it!

Finding Fruit

The last time I visited my dad's grave was the weekend after Gerwyn and I got married. I remember it was a very sunny (but cold) day and we took my wedding bouquet and two "D+G" apples that were used for table decorations. One green and one red. Just thought it would be nice for dad to see what he missed out on. I decorated his grave stone and we left.

Last weekend we took another visit on the anniversary of his death. The cemetary staff are usually very diligent (read: anal) about collecting flowers after you leave them. You'll never see any flowers left the next time you visit even if they're plastic and last forever. How surprised were we to walk up to dad's grave last weekend and find two perfectly labelled "D+G" apples still sitting on his stone. It made my day! The apples no longer had their colour but they were in tact and the stickers were perfectly clean and obvious right on the front. Seeing as how we were also there to tell dad about the baby,  I pulled out a little tangerine I had in my bag and placed it right beside those apples. I'm sure the cemetary staff won't let the rotting fruit stay there forever but it made me feel better to know that something I had left had stayed with my dad for more than a few days. And now he knows that my fruit family isn't the only one that's growing.

First comes love, then comes marriage...

 

Then comes baby Lee Begonia in a baby carriage! As most of you already know, its official, we are going to become a trio on September 7th. Its been a tough first trimester, mostly with nausea but I also hate keeping secrets and this is probably the biggest one I've had to keep. As someone who looooves their food, not being able to find anything that "tastes good" has been so depressing. But as I enter my fourth month, I'm starting to feel better and look forward to being able to eat vegetables again. (They seemed to be the number 1 sworn enemy of the first 12 weeks.) We are very excited and very nervous (hard to believe you're having a kid when you still feel like a kid yourself!) but look forward to celebrating with everyone in the months to come. I'm especially looking forward to 24/7 stretchy pants, finally an "acceptable" occasion to have a big belly!

A knife update

Today was a busy cooking day. My challenge of the day was Korean seaweed soup (traditionally served on your birthday) called "miyuk-kuk" with chicken. My cousin Mad had shown me how to make this years ago but I had never done it with chicken before. Seeing as how the seaweed is a "super" food (as in super healthy) thought I would give it a try. Also gave me a chance to test out our new knives. All I have to say is WOW. At first I was a bit nervous, seeing as how they are SO sharp, so I first grabbed my good ol Wusthof knife to cut the chicken. Gerwyn saw me struggling and suggested I try a new knife. I picked it up and without using ANY effort, it cut right through the chicken. I was shocked. It turned my annoying chicken task into something that was actually enjoyable! I then whipped through slicing cucumber, again with NO effort, just put the knife to the food and let gravity do the rest. It was amazing. Especially after using my old knife (which is also a somewhat high end knife,) the amount of effort required was really surprising.

Yes, the knives were a pretty penny, but with a good knife, cooking is SOOOO much easier.