Girl Scout Cookies

We just got Girl Scout Cookies in at work! I am sooooooooooo happy! There is nothing better to me right now then a Samoa.



I now need to loose the box or my son will be grown on caramel and coconut!

Oscars 2008

I used to say I payed more attention to the Oscar race than any election race that was going on.
This year was different. I found myself caring more for the electoral race than anything that went on with the Oscars. Maybe it's because people who were up for best actor/actress were so predictable. Or because when the strike happened you realized how life really does go on with out parties and award shows.
And the big difference is that this year I really care sooo much who wins the democratic nomination. Really I will be happy if either Hillary or Obama wins, but this year getting a Democrat in office is of utmost importance to me! Who won best picture at the Oscars pales in comparison.
Now mind you I sat on the couch and watched the whole show, and I can't say the same for any debate that happens. But the outcomes of each event matter differently to me.

And with the Internet you can get updates so fast, that it's kinda only worth it to go on the gossip sites to see who's outfits sucked.

*my disclaimer is that I would never turn down an opportunity to attend the Oscars, and would accept any award they wanted to give me, as well as be totally supportive of any project I worked on that got a nomination. And being in the arts world I totally understand all the hard work and energy that goes along with making a great movie / show happen!

Stray Dog

I am assistant directing a play at Stray Dog Theatre company called "Night Mother" it's my first production since moving to St. Louis. I am very excited about becoming involved in this company. They do great work and have a very similar style to me!

Everyone should go see this play , the two actresses in it are fantastic and for all thoes of you who crave drama you will get it in this play!

http://www.straydogtheatre.org/

It's a BOY!

We went to the sonogram and found out that we are having a boy!



His growth looked good, and they think that he will be ready to come out July 1st, 2008! Very exciting!

tommorow

is the day we find out the sex of the baby! I will let you all know!

In the meantime if you want better reading my husband is opening a wine bar and you can read all about the progress!
stlwinepress.blogspot.com

New year, food and wishes

This year I decided to cook a large meal and buy some meat that normally would be way too expensive for our budget. We had a friend in from out of town and a great couple that we know and love came over and I fed them until I am sure they had no room left. On the menu was standing rib roast marinated with rosemary and garlic, crispy potatoes, arugla salad with good Parmesan and lemon blueberry parfait. Being pregnant and now in my 4th month has made me want to cook all the time. I usually love to, but I really want to now, and often.
I love picking the menu, cleaning the house, setting up for the dinner, organizing the time-line and watching people as they really enjoy what they are being served. I strive to give people something that they would not just cook for themselves and then layer in good service with hors devours and a surprising light dessert.

As, I think about being a parent I think about all the family dinners to come and how one of the best things my mom did, was make it interesting and different every night. She built traditions and favorites with what she cooked, and it was something that my brother and I looked forward to. Instead of dreading dinnertime and the boring food that could have been served. She taught us the joy that can be in cooking, and we learned about different types of foods and healthy eating and eating as a positive rather than stuffing you face just to clean your plate. I only hope I can do half as good as her with my children.

Since this is a new year and at the end of June we will be parents, I don't have many resolutions just wishes.

I wish for a healthy child
I wish to save more money
I wish to have our basement renovation done in time for my mom to come a stay
And I wish that my husbands wine bar opens with great success

Oh well

I opened them. And they were great!

gifts

Is it wrong to open your x-mas gifts before the actual day? My mom sent me a box of gifts and now they are all unpacked and layed out on the table in wrapping paper and bowes. All I want to do is open them.

I don't know if my will power is strong enough.

Ice cream

What I miss the most about Boston is all the amazing Ice Cream places. They really out do themselves there.

I miss Emack and Bolio's.


I also miss White Mountain Creamery


and JP Licks.


And Herrell's


And Friendley's.


I am on the lookout for non chain IceCream Stores in the St. Louis Area.
I found Crown Candy Kitchen in St. Louis City

and that's a 50 style diner unchanged and still serving soda shop food, including malts and sunday's.

What I want is a non chain (or if it's chain it has to be fresh made) Ice Cream place, where the Vanilla tastes fresh and like Vanilla beany, and you know that there is a family behind the doors making the ice cream fresh.

I don't want Maggie Moo's, or Cold Stone Creamery, Or Ben and Jerry's. I want a store that there's only one of and a place that's still open in the winter for crazy people like me who really love to eat cold things when it's cold outside!

Jumping Bean

I had my second Dr's Visit and it was just supposed to be listening to the heartbeat for the first time (which is really exciting alone) but it turned out that I was far enough along to have an external sonogram. I had never had one before, but because I watch so much TV I knew what to expect. It's really surreal when it's happening to you, but it's exactly what one would assume. They slop clear gunk on your belly (the gunk is warm which was surprising to me) and they take the wand thing and press down on your uterus until they find the baby.
It was amazing to see because it was bigger this time and jumping. No joke bouncing and kicking and pushing off the sides of my uterus. The weirdest part is that I can't feel it at all.

I tried to count two arm and two legs and I am pretty sure that's what I saw, but the machine is not the best. The real big sonogram machine they use to find out the sex is at the hospital.
I went to this appointment without my husband this time, and I feel bad that he was not able to see the jumping bean, we were only supposed to hear the heart, and I got a picture so I feel like he got to feel a part of it.

A Lime

So far the baby that is growing in me has been so small that it did not really make sense it me. I can't feel it and I was not showing at all. When I layed down at night, I could not tell anything was different inside me.
I am now week 11 and almost through my first trimester. It just hit me last night that I have a baby growing inside me. I feel a bit of a bump, my pants are a bit tighter, and when I lay on my back at night I feel pressure on my bladder like nothing else.
This is because it is now the size of a LIME!!!

And also partly because I am beginning to feel a whole lot better. I am still soo tired that I am going to bed at 9:30pm but I am not as nauseous and am starting to really get hungry. This is what the baby looks like at week 11.


It's not my baby but on the website http://www.i-am-pregnant.com they show week by week development in real life pictures.

As I progress and the embryo that is now officially a fetus grows bigger and bigger I am hoping that the reality of what's happening makes sense to me.
I just feel so out of my body and have scrambled egg head and am soo tired that I can't do things the way I used to.

Anyway I have a new job and that's making everything easier as well.

Greek Food

I am on a mission to Find all the good Greek restaurants in St. Louis. So far I have been eating at Olympia and I went to another one off Arsanel. I need to find more. All I need to find all of them. All I do is crave Greek Food. I need taziki sause.

Boston for Thanksgiving

Since I am married, my husband and I share holidays. This year we did Thanksgiving in Boston and we will do Christmas here.

I am very afraid of flying and usually I take and anxiety drug or have a couple of glasses of wine to calm me down. This time since I am pregnant I could do no such thing. It was hard. Especially since we had a connecting flight. That's 2 take off's and two landings. The one thing that I was able to figure out to help calm me down is that if I use ear plugs it is a lot easier.
So we made it. (Which is not surprise considering flying is much safer than driving, but knowing that still does not help)

We had a great time. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at my mother's house, which I was unable to eat much of due to nausea. We saw family friends who were all in town from all over. We saw our great friends John and Noreen and got to see their Christmas tree all decorated, we were able to pull John away from studying for Law school and drag them to my mom's house for a party and then when I did not get enough to eat and needed ice cream we went and got some. And lastly we saw my best friend Alicia and her 2-year-old daughter. Seeing Alicia was amazing for me, because I truly miss her and because she already went through pregnancy and has all the advice in the world for me. We also were able to raid all her baby stuff and use it for our child. We got pounds of clothing, and baby necessities. Seeing her 2 year old really made me feel great, she is adorable, smart and growing way way too quickly.

I think that this trip to Boston made me notice the differences between St. Louis and Boston. I was also sad because my mom and best friend and our really good friends all live there. Since I am emotional and needing family a lot I found myself trying to find a way to stay. I know intellectually that it makes no sense to move here. We are trying to have a life here in St. Louis and the cost of living is a lot more expensive. But emotionally I wanted to move back home. And unfairly whenever I am now upset about something I threaten my husband and tell him that I will just go and have this baby in Boston.

As for St. Louis I am trying to make it home, trying to make and keep friends and hopping that this time next year I will be Thankful that we stayed and made it work.

First OB Appt

So, being a nervous person in general I started dreading my first OB/GYN visit. This is the appointment where they look at the baby for the first time and you can see if everything is ok, and if there are multiples.

I started stressing out because I didn't think that I was ready to hear if there was a problem. I read way way too many websites and blogs about pregnancy and they really do a good job of being negative and realistic. Mostly I tend to skim over the good parts and read the negative parts in detail.

We arrive at the Dr's office and there is no wait, we go right in and I go right in and get weighed. . . and the number will just continue to rise.
We go to the room and the Dr comes in and brings us right to her office so we can say hi before the ultra sound.
This was my first meeting with the woman who is delivering my baby, so I was looking at her in a way that I never have looked at a woman before. All that I was thinking was what will she be like when I am fat, and freaking out at the hospital? Will she be the type of person to ignore my feelings or play into them? Will she try and calm me, or send someone else into deal with it? Will she be rough? Will she let me have drugs early, and will she give me painkillers after if I need? Can I depend on her to deliver my baby safely?
I have decided that she is the right mixture of professional, and realistic. She is a woman who's given birth three times before, so she knows what she's talking about. And I really trusted her, so much that I wanted to give her a hug. The only negative is that I know she is the type of woman who will give me a hard time about weight gain, considering she said 2 times that second piece of cake is not for the baby.

Below is the picture of the small fetus that is about 7 weeks old, it is one baby and they say that he or she will be out around July 1st.



I am trying to remind myself to stay positive and that really there is nothing that I can do to change fate. The more I read about pregnancy the more I begin to feel that my job is to be a great host. The sex and the genes are already chosen and the only things that I can do to harm the growing fetus is to take drugs, drink and do major body beating harm. So my goal is to relax and treat myself right and try not to stress over something that is not there. I did read that women tend to think the worst sometimes because that's our way of hardening ourselves so that if something bad does happen, we can still function. Who knows, I could just be masochistc and need drama. Other than my drama queen notions, I will try to be happy relax and enjoy!

Pregnant

I am having a baby. I am about 7 weeks along and him or her will be born toward the latter part of June.
It's very exciting and new for me, and when I am not feeling sick I am really tired.

I’m really looking forward to having a child in St. Louis because there are just so many things you can do with your children for free. St. Louis is also a very child friendly place, and a place where most people have kids. Unlike NY where I knew almost nobody with children my age or even a bit older.

More to come like my first sonograham picture this next week!

Me

It's my birthday! And I'm going to eat Mexican food!

Halloween Tricks St. Louis Style

So this was our first year in our first house that we got to do the whole hand out candy to the neighborhood kids.
Coming from Boston originally I was used to cabbage night (the night before Halloween where people go around and TP your home and smash our pumpkins) and tons of kids from 5-18 trick or treating and grabbing as much candy as they can and leaving before they look you in the eye. So I prepared myself, bought a lot of candy and got ready to scoop it out.

In St. Louis the whole Halloween thing is way different and much more composed. First off there is no cabbage night here. Kids also stop trick or treating in middle school here so you only get the cuties chaperoned by their parents. The best most surprising part was that every child that came to the door told a joke took one piece of candy and said thank you as they left.
No joke, I was shocked.
We later went to a friends house and I had to ask everyone there who was raised here if they grew up telling jokes for candy, and they all looked at me as if that was the only way.

I guess St. Louis is a polite trick or treating place!

As a side note, Pig our dog dressed up in a pig costume and was a pig this halloween.

Creating

The more I work in this catering kitchen the more I like it. I don't see it as my long-term career plan but there is something wonderful about getting lost in your head while making 400 gooey butter cookies.

I have started working for this great theatre company in St. Louis, and they happen to do a lot of educational work. They have grown a bunch in the last 3 years and now have their own space to work out of permently. You theatre people out there know how hard that is to come by.

So as I was creating, making and baking all these cookies yesterday I came up with this wonderful idea for a class that I could teach at this company. I have to pitch it to them today and if they like it I will tell you all about it!

Bike Race

I was the first girl in a semi-bike race this past weekend. It was called Tour De Moose. A bartender at a bar in South City called Lemon's has done this for 3 years in honor of his birthday.


I think that they called it a race, but really it was supposed to be about the beer. It was a pub-crawl from bar to bar to bar (about 6 in total). All around the City area, from South City to The Hill to Downtown, Soulard and Back! There were about 60 people in the race this year we were told and about 1/3 of them woman. Everyone was there to have a good time and drink and race. There were rules and maps so nobody would get hurt. And the best rule of all was that everyone had to wear a helmet.


I am competitive when it comes to women and biking. Something weird comes over me, I get energy from places I never knew I had, and I have the urge to out do any woman on a bike.
This started in Brooklyn, NY on the Williamsburg Bridge when I decided to go over faster and faster each time and pass as many people as I could. I found out that I could pass people, and I would get a surge as I did.

Since moving here to St. Louis, I have not been on my bike as much, but when I do get on my energy comes back and I am a speed racer.
I think a lot of it has to do with riding with my husband who is a great rider himself. He is taller, faster and better on a bike than me. Also I never beat people at anything, and since I found something that I can do pretty well I am taking pride in it.

So, I think that we have found a new St. Louis yearly tradition, The Tour De Moose!

One Year Later

My wedding dress fits!


Thank god. . .