…and I’ve been sitting here with this window open for over half an hour, and can’t think of anything else to write. The baby stole my brain. So this is all you get. Don’t even ask how long it took me to write my “dear baby” note today!

I had already unpacked all of my childcare stuff though, and had even set up my play room – that’s how quickly I got “settled” here. So anyway, as time went on, we began to use the room as a sort of dumping ground (I hate rooms like that, but this house has NO storage) for various things we didn’t need right away… and then for the few things we bought for the baby already, and the things our friends have handed-me-down for her… but we never went in there, so we didn’t care.

But now we’re roughly 17 weeks away from having another family member join us, and even though she will sleep in our room for a while, it would be nice if we had a “baby room” where I can spend some quiet time with her during the day, or where I can take her for the night and sleep with her if she is being fussy all night and my husband has a 6am flight and needs his sleep. So I started packing up my childcare things. And do you know what? I have a LOT of books and toys and stuff for 3-5 years old. Our baby girl is gonna be SET in a few years.

So anyway, today I set up 12 boxes – one for each month of the year, and I put my book boxes into them (I recently got little “cube” box/baskets from Target and separated my books by month) and my seasonal toys. Then, I started dividing up other toys – floor puzzles got spread out, different types of building sets and blocks got spread out, different “card games” got scattered… so this way when I do eventually start up childcare again, my toys will rotate a bit better and maybe I won’t forget about things as much. The two pictures on the right here show those boxes, 6 in the baby’s room and 6 in the living room, as I sorted things into them. I also started picking out a few toys and things I had never actually used and didn’t see myself using in the future for my childcare or my child, to sell them.

Aaand… this is the state of the room right now. My 12 boxes are all packed up, and most of the other childcare stuff is also in boxes and moved out of the baby’s room. In the bottom right picture, those 2 shelves closest to the closet? Those, and everything on them, are going to be garage-sale-d next weekend, along with the little pile of books and things that are in the bottom left photo on the left side of the door. Some of the boxes and things still need to be moved/stored somewhere else, but for the most part, the room is looking MUCH better and is much more ready to become a nursery.

This is the hall closet – before, during, and after all the packing. This is ALL childcare stuff. Can you believe it? Like I said, our little girl is going to be set for books and toys when she’s 3-5. haha.

I will post more updates as I prepare the room for our sweet baby’s arrival. We won’t be doing a TON in this room, because we already know we will be moving about 3 months after she’s born (though we don’t know where yet). So no paint on the walls, or wall shelves installed – we will probably hang some pictures and get her a dresser and a recliner/rocker for me, but I have lots more ideas for her “final” room… the one she will actually spend 3 years of her life living in. You’ll just have to wait till Octoberish to see all of that though.

Does anyone have a pregnant-yoga DVD to recommend? I feel like I want to stretch and stuff, but the stretches I’m used to doing are hard/impossible to do with a big old belly! Gotta figure out a way to loosen up my muscles… extra bonus points if it’s available on Netflix Instant! Thanks in advance.

We just finished scarfing down our bowls and holy cow… I couldn’t make you wait another day for this recipe. RUN to the store now and get ingredients for this soup if you don’t already have them. Then make the soup. I beg you. You will thank me later.

You will need:

• 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
• 2-3 leeks (just the white part and the light green part – toss the tough dark green parts), chopped
• Salt and white pepper
• 2 baking potatoes, diced (about 4 cups total). Leave the peels on, because why not?
• about 3 cups of chicken broth
• 1/3 cup or so of heavy cream
• bacon, cooked and crumbled
• sour cream (full fat please!)
• cheese

1. In your soup pot, melt the butter and throw in the leeks. Cook them until they’re soft, about 10 minutes or so over medium-high heat. Add salt and white pepper.
2. Then dump in the broth and potato chunks. Actually, dump in the potatoes first, then the broth. That way you won’t splash the broth (just a little) like I did.
3. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20-30 minutes or until the potato chunks are tender enough to eat nicely. I tasted one and it was perfect.
4. Turn off your stove’s heat, then use a slotted spoon to remove several spoonsful of potato/leek chunks to a bowl for safekeeping. Using an immersion blender or your regular blender, blend the soup until smooth.
5. Add the chunks you saved back into the soup, along with the heavy cream. Stir together.
6. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and bacon on top. Oh, yum! Thick creamy deliciousness with cheesy drips coming off of your spoon…

She wiggled around a LOT during the anatomy scan, so it was tough to get good pictures of her, but it was so cool to watch her moving around inside of me.

I cannot wait to meet our little girl… but on the other hand, she needs to hang out in her little bubble inside of me for a while longer and “cook.” We have a lot of preparations to do before she gets here!

And there’s only so much lemonade and hollandaise sauce you can make at once! So what do you do? Hopefully this little series will help you out in your quest to find out what to do with lemons when life gives them to you in quantity.

This Raw Lemon Cookie Recipe might only use one lemon, but it still counts! These cookies aren’t too sweet, and really let the lemon flavor shine. I found various versions of raw lemon cookies all over the internet, but these at the rawtarian sounded like something I wanted to do.

The recipe made 16 cookies, but if you try them and like them, they’re something you could easily do in larger batches to share.

You will need:

• 1 cup of cashews
• 1 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes
• The juice of one lemon
• 1-2 Tablespoons of honey
• Ground cinnamon
• A food processor
• A food dehydrator

(I think they would be really good with some vanilla extract too, but I’m not including it in the recipe since I didn’t think of it until they were already all shaped and ready to go.)

Start by putting the cashews …

…and coconut…

…into your food processor.

Then whoosh them around for a bit until they’re powdery.

Some bigger chunks are ok. We’re going to blend a little more after we pour in the lemon juice.

And a bit of honey. Start with a tablespoon and then if you taste it and think it needs more, you can add a bit more… but you can’t take it out once it’s in there, so go slowly.

Pulse everything together until it’s a doughy consistency.

Then use a cookie scoop or some spoons to shape 16 (ish) cookies on a piece of parchment paper or a silicone sheet that can go in your dehydrator.

Flatten each cookie “peanut butter cookie style” with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern.

And sprinkle generously with cinnamon.

Dehydrate at 135 degrees or so, about 8-10 hours. They’ll be firm but chewy, and quite lemony.

The flavor is strong and the cashews are “meaty” (does it make sense to describe nuts that way?) and filling, so you won’t likely gorge yourself on these cookies the way you might on chocolate chip cookies made with wheat flour or something. So they’re great for a treat that won’t ruin your waistline.

And there’s only so much lemonade and hollandaise sauce you can make at once! So what do you do? Hopefully this little series will help you out in your quest to find out what to do with lemons when life gives them to you in quantity.

To kick off the series, let’s make Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoned Salt. I use lemon pepper on SO many things when I’m cooking, so it’s an obvious choice for me, and I know I’ll actually use it.

You will need:

• Lots of lemons
• A microplane grater or zesting tool of some sort
• Cracked peppercorns – I just used fresh-ground pepper from my mill
• An oven or dehydrator
• A coffee grinder or vita-mix
• Salt
• A good amount of time and patience, but maybe you move quicker than I do with a zester.

First, start off by making sure your lemons are quite clean. If you’ve gotten them from a source you trust (your tree, a farmer’s market, a friend’s tree), this probably just means wiping them with a sponge or cloth, and drying them off. If they’re from the grocery store and might have wax or pesticides or something on them, you’ll want to give them a good brush with a vegetable brush.

Then use a zester to remove the bright yellow outsides from the lemon. Hold the lemon still and move the zester, not the other way around – it will be easier this way; trust me. When you see white, move to another area – you don’t want the white stuff. That’s the pith and it’s bitter and not really lemon-flavored. It won’t add to your seasoning.

Tap the zest into a bowl and zest some more lemons. And zest and zest. (As you finish each one, you can cut it in half and give it to your husband to juice, but more on that later!) And when you cain’t zest no mo’…

Crack lots of black pepper into the bowl with the zest. Lots and lots, because the lemon zest is strong stuff. It can take it.

Mush it around with a fork so that the oils from the zest get all over the pepper, and the pepper rubs up on all that lovely zest too. It’s like a lemon pepper lovefest.

Once the lemon zest and the cracked pepper have mingled for a bit, spread them on some parchment paper in a thin layer on your dehydrator tray. Or on a cookie sheet if you’re using your oven.

I dried mine for several hours (5ish maybe?) at 135 degrees in my lovely new Excalibur dehydrator. If you’re using the oven, set the temperature as low as you can and leave the oven door cracked open a bit. You’ll want to check on it every now and then because the temperature will be a bit higher than what I used – you don’t want to cook it, just dry it out.

Once it’s all dry, put it in your coffee grinder or vita-mix.

And zoom it around for a while. (Or have your husband zoom it around so you can take a picture.)

I actually did it a bit more than this, because I saw big chunks of pepper, and I’m not a fan of big chunks of pepper.

Once it’s finely ground, dump it into a bowl…

And add an approximately equal amount of salt to the bowl.

Mix it up and you’ve got lemon pepper seasoned salt!

Store it in an airtight spice container or jar and use on chicken, fish, vegetables, or anywhere else you would normally pick up your McCormick’s commercially-made lemon pepper (which is delicious by the way). I don’t know about you, but I get an extra little kick out of cooking from TOTAL scratch now and then. It feels like cooking with love, straight from my heart.

It’s also a good reminder to me that maybe someday I should start using my real camera again. Take these photos from November (real camera), which I sadly never got around to blogging:

Crisp, gorgeous photos… sunny-looking even though it was probably evening, white balance and contrast adjusted so it’s pretty.

And these photos taken not too long ago (camera phone). So sorry. I hope you can still appreciate the beauty of the Romanesco cauliflower from our CSA.

So here’s the basic gist of it.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Meanwhile, heat a skillet on the stove. When the pan is hot, place your chicken thighs skin-side-down into it so the skin can start crisping (turn to medium to medium-low heat). I try to make sure the skin is as “spread out” as possible on the meat so that it gets the most contact possible with the pan. Sometimes it gets sort of folded-up and that defeats the purpose of this pre-crisping.
3. Season the non-skin side with lemon pepper seasoning and Lawry’s seasoned salt (or any seasonings you want – this mix is my standard go-to mix. mmm)
4. Cut up your veggies and wash them. Dry in a salad spinner (for roasting veggies, I find it’s best if they have as little water on them as possible), then toss with extra-virgin olive oil and some sea salt.
5. Arrange veggies in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
6. When the oven is preheated, put the chicken into a glass baking dish skin-side-up. Season the skin with your lemon pepper and seasoned salt and pop it in the oven for 45 minutes or so.
7. After about 20-25 minutes, pop the cookie sheet with your veggies on it in the oven too. That way the vegs and chicken will be done at about the same time.
8. When there are 10 minutes left, flip the veggies around with a spatula. I like how the sides touching the pan get all crisp and caramelized, so I try to maximize that area (and make sure cooking is even) by flipping the veggies.

Enjoy your easy peasy meal. Since there is almost no preparation involved, this is good for nights when you don’t feel like cooking but want a home-cooked meal. It’s also great for lunch, if you’re home in the middle of the day and have a few minutes to get it ready an hour or so before you want to eat. Since the cooking time is mostly hands-off, you can get other stuff done while you wait.

Technicalities aside, I can see that I don’t have much longer to get ready for this baby! I’m so nervous because I haven’t found a Bradley class to take yet (recommended by my midwife, and I really want to find one to enroll in) or done much in the way of preparing the baby’s room or any of that. We don’t have a car seat or a bed or a dresser for the baby… so why is a prenatal massage on the top of my list of “things to do for the baby?” Haha!

This week we’ve started preparing our garden for the spring, and even bought a few plants (though the Lowe’s guy said they’ll have lots more to choose from in 2 weeks, so we’ll have to go back then). We’ve also talked about (though not done much about) preparing for a yard sale to get rid of some of the clutter taking up space in the house and garage. Also, since we know we’re going to move (whether into base housing or across the country) a few months after the baby is born, there are some things I can start packing already… mostly my child development materials which I’m not using now since I’m working outside of my home as a nanny, rather than doing childcare here. That doesn’t sound like much since it’s just one “category” of things, but it’s a LOT of things that I can pack up and it will free up some space for us!

So this Tommy Emmanuel concert? Holy crud… there are no words.

If you’re a fan of music or fingerpicking or guitars in general or even just a person with ears… Tommy Emmanuel will amaze and delight you. As a musician he is beyond talented, and as a performer, he is incredibly engaging and entertaining.

My dad is a huge fan of his and sent me an email a little bit ago saying that he was going to be performing near me and to QUICKLY buy tickets. Of course I jumped on it (since I’m also a huge fan) and got the last pair of “Golden Circle” tickets (first five rows) for his Tuesday performance at Orange Blossom Junction in Exeter, CA.

We didn’t really know anything about the venue, so we arrived all dressed up, possibly a bit overdressed. I didn’t mind though. It was our first big Valentine date *ever* (not counting military balls) and CERTAINLY a special occasion for us – celebrating our couplehood, our growing family, and our first Tommy concert!

Evidently this is the smallest venue in the WORLD where Tommy Emmanuel plays, by 300-500 seats. It was like sitting in a living room with a bunch of good friends… quite intimate. I feel VERY lucky (and we were in the 3rd row, a bit right of center).

We got a nice lady to snap a photo of us, and then we headed upstairs for dinner before the show.

The dining room was maybe a bit TOO intimate for my liking. Our table was maybe 4 inches away from the next table (on both sides). But the food was quite delicious and unique (the crab cakes with bay shrimp were delicious, and the homemade Cabernet ice cream was amazing) which made up for the squished-ness a bit. (See in the foreground of this picture? It looks like a line down the middle of the tablecloth, but those are 2 separate tables VERY close to each other, each for a separate couple who don’t know each other. Oh, well.)

He was a little embarrassed that I wanted to take a picture in the dining room.

But I didn’t mind… sometimes I’m embarrassing, and he knew that getting into this.

After dinner, we headed downstairs to grab our seats for the concert, and snapped a quick photo with Tommy’s guitars before we put the camera in the car (no photography allowed during the show).

This is the song (not my video, not from this concert) that the baby started moving around during. I was grinning like an idiot while choking back tears. It was the most intensely emotional moment… Endless Road:

I also LOVED this song, which will be on his new album (I think that’s what he said). Halfway Home:

And this one, Haba na Haba (Little by Little):

So enough of that… on to the Primal Chicken Fingers. And sorry, there are no photos. I made them tonight and they were so simple, but too good not to share!

Primal Chicken Fingers:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and oil a baking dish.
2. Flatten 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts slightly, just so they are a consistent thickness and will cook at the same rate throughout. Then slice into “fingers” (I got 4 good fingers out of each breast).
3. Beat 1 egg with a generous splash of milk or coconut milk. Put the chicken pieces into the egg mixture.
4. In a ziploc bag, combine 3/4 cup of Almond flour with 2-3 Tbsp coconut flour and the seasonings of your choice. I used a pre-mixed Ranch seasoning (not primal) but onion powder, garlic salt, and parsley would’ve been good if I weren’t so lazy tonight.
5. A few pieces at a time, pick up the chicken fingers and let the extra egg wash drip back into the bowl before tossing them in the bag (seal it obviously) like “Shake ‘n’ Bake.”
6. Arrange the coated pieces in your baking dish, then cook for about 25 minutes or until they’re cooked through.

At first I was disappointed that the outsides didn’t crisp (though I could’ve crisped them in a pan no problem) but the flavor? Out of this world. We will definitely make them again! VERY yummy.

Zora has always chewed up her toys and destroyed them if she could. Tennis balls don’t last long in this house, because she will use her front teeth to pick off all the fuzz and EAT it. If we don’t catch her in time she might even use her back teeth to chomp the ball into pieces.

When we first adopted Zora, my mother sent a box full of goodies for her “granddoggie” … innocent looking “puppy toys” which each lasted a maximum of 15-20 minutes before they were reduced to a pile of strings / scattering of rubber / mound of fluff.

We got her a “tire biter” toy which was supposed to be extremely heavy duty, but during the first (supervised) 20 minutes, she managed to shred part of it and she was up all night vomiting – evidently the “non toxic” toy was toxic to her.

When she was a puppy, we had a pillow in her crate for her to sleep on. Everything was fine until one morning when she had decided she was bored in there (despite also having a Kong toy to chew on in her crate) and chewed the entire thing to pieces… part of the zipper was missing, the inner pillow was pulled out and opened, and fluff was everywhere.

There was another day during her first months with us when she was sitting on the couch watching a movie with us, innocently chewing on her paw (she likes to do that sometimes). Except that when I stood up, a good 2 inch square chunk of my dress was missing from the hem. She hadn’t just chewed up my dress – she had EATEN part of it! Black dress + black puppy = hard to tell what is paw and what is dress.

We’ve tried several soft toys because they’re oh so cute, but they’d typically last 15 minutes unsupervised, or a few days if we only gave them to her under strong supervision (taking them away if she got too rough, but eventually she manages to look peaceful and innocent as she secretly chews seams open and pulls out stuffing).

But this duck? I think I paid $3 for it in the clearance bin at PetSmart. It’s terry cloth and adorable, and has a squeeker in it. At first we only used it as an incentive for her to come back indoors after going out for a pee break. It was her special “yay you came back in!” toy. We’d let her play with it for a minute or two upon coming in, then take it away. So aside from chewing one of the eyeballs open, no damage was done for a long time. Then something happened…

We forgot to put the toy away. But she didn’t destroy it. She would carry it around in her mouth, or sometimes RUN into another room and return with it, like she had remembered she missed her duckie and wanted to be near it… and if she started getting a little too rough with it we’d say, “Zora, be gentle.” and she would usually stop chewing and put her chin on the floor beside the duck.

Sweetest thing. This picture was taken one morning (after a recent haircut – isn’t she so cute with short fur like that? So silky!)… usually in the mornings she’ll cuddle in bed with me for a little while before I get up. If my husband goes to work before I wake up, he’ll usually take Zora out to pee, then feed her breakfast, and let her on the bed. Well this particular morning I woke up and she wasn’t in the room at all. I called to her, and she came running from the living room (probably lounging on the couch) into the bedroom, then jumped on the bed.

She looked around and jumped back down, and a second later she reappeared with the duckie toy! The duck had survived several days of being a “free toy” by this point, and she often just wanted it to be near her even if she wasn’t actively chewing it.

Sadly, a couple days later, she got a bit aggressive with it and chewed open one of the legs. I will mend it so she can still play with it… but this is the longest-lasting soft toy she’s ever had. Her ONLY other toys (besides a tennis ball for playing fetch, but never unsupervised) are Kong toys, which are almost indestructible. It has been absolutely sweet to see her be so gentle with a toy and become so “attached” to it (I don’t know if she has emotions about the toy or not, but she certainly enjoys it). I just had to share the sweetness with you all!