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The best kind of storms in Missouri are the thunder storms. Preferably ones that don’t include any ice. So for the last three days I’ve been enjoying the thunder storms we’ve been having since I now have a window where I work. Right now I’m looking outside at the dark clouds and watching rain smack against the huge window in front of me. Glorious. Though I really can’t wait for the sun to come back!
Now, a few days ago while we were hanging around at Shane’s family’s house and a discussion came up about a restaurant called Bonefish Grill. It sounded good and we all agreed we should go there for the next family outing. Conversation moved to other things and then came back around and my father-in-law suggested we go there for dinner that night. Talk about spontaneous! We thought ‘how could that possibly be a bad idea?’ and agreed. The way the topic came up was that I was browsing the latest Food Network Magazine and there was an article about a shrimp recipe that Richie (f-i-l) pointed out saying it was an attempt to copy the Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer at Bonefish Grill and that he thought it was one of the tastiest things out there. So we all got ready and headed to the van with shrimp in our minds and empty bellies.
The sad part about this story is that I didn’t have my camera…..the even sadder part was that I didn’t think about my husband’s really good camera phone until AFTER we’d snarfed down the AMAZING Bang Bang Shrimp which is basically fried shrimp coated in a creamy and spicy sauce. Hard to describe, really really good. We also ordered tuna sushi…..
 Sorry for the tiny pics….These are from a phone! I don’t do sashimi for some reason, don’t ask me why, so I didn’t try this but heard it was very good. Next there was the scallops that were wrapped in bacon.
 People wouldn’t stop devouring for me to snap this photo so there are only two on there plus the mango salsa. I was rushing to keep up with the food! We also got calamari with an asian dipping sauce which was really unexpected and rather exceptional.
 For some reason we were all eating with chop sticks. I’d say that calamari was one of the best I’d tried in a while. Not to thickly breaded but still very crispy. Here’s a clip of my plate.
 We also got fish and chips but by the time I went to photograph it the bowl was empty because everyone had grabbed some. We were all sort of sharing the goods. The fish was very juicy and tender though. I had to use a fork for my scallops since they were so huge and I wanted to cut them up.
The atmosphere was peaceful and classy, our server was very discreet and all in all I’d say we’d loved it! There wasn’t a bad moment but that could have been because of the good company.
So if you have a Bonefish Grill nearby check it out and DEFINITELY get the Bang Bang Shrimp!
I feel that I’ve been lame lately as far as posting eats. I’ve been insanely busy at work which sort of puts pregnant me in a bind once I get home because I’m so tired! However, the other night I did make Shane steak fajitas and I enjoyed a fajita taco salad. Which went a little bit like this, chips, cabbage, sauteed onions and peppers, guacamole, cheese and hot sauce.
Here’s a pic of the sauteed veggies. I put a little oil, some Worcestershire sauce and a tiny bit of dijon with salt and garlic. It paired nicely.
Last night I made the tilapia along with brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes. Remember when I rigged up the steamer with my pot? Well I did that again to steam these brussel sprouts and in the water below I bowled the potatoes for the mashed potatoes! Talk about multipurpose!
It worked great! I cooked the fish with lemon and butter, salt and pepper and it was every bit as good as it was last time. The brussel sprouts I put a touch of butter and then just another touch of salt. Delish!
Now for a sprout update! Alot more of my seeds have sprouted so I thought I’d give a photo update. Here is the beautiful milk thistle. It’s getting so big!
This is the red romaine. It’s getting a bit leggy so I’m leaving the light on overnight. We’ll see if that changes anything. It hasn’t been sunny for a couple days so that might be why.
These are some onions! This is from my own seeds for my frontyard garden where as the others are for the community garden. These popped up since yesterday.
So did these yellow pear tomatoes! They’re so little and cute but they grow to be one of the heaviest producing tomato plants I’ve ever seen.
So that’s the update! It just started raining again and I love it since it’s over 60 degrees outside!
Here’s another great post from my Mom and how she makes her own lotion. I’ve used her’s and made my own from her example and it’s truly amazing.
“I started making my own lotion when I decided I didn’t want to put petroleum byproducts and other mysterious ingredients my skin. I know that skin is an organ and that it soaks up whatever is put on it, so I wanted to make lotion out of ingredients that I would feel comfortable eating. For my face lotion (and light summer body lotion), the two main ingredients are Aloe Vera Gelly and a good cooking oil.
Organic cold-pressed olive oil would be the best but I don’t like the smell so I use organic expeller-pressed sunflower oil. Sometimes I add jojoba oil because it is such a good moisturizer and has so many nutrients.
I buy the Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera Gelly at online drugstores. It’s less expensive than getting it at Whole Foods. Put all 12 ounces of the Aloe Vera Gelly in a container and put 3 to 4 T. oil on top.
I use a hand blender and it just blends within seconds to a white cream. Other ingredients are optional. I use an essential oil to add fragrance and nutrients. Add until it smells just right. Sweet orange is my favorite.
 You know those expensive anti-aging lotions? Well, you can make your own by adding anti-oxidant blends. As you can see from the picture, they are just extracts from plants. You can get those from theherbarie.com.
I might add a tablespoon or two of one kind or a mix of all. Blend that in and you’re done. I put my lotion in little canning jars. These make nice gifts, too!
I get the lids with holes and pumps at factorydirectcraft.com.
I make a winter body lotion for dry skin (not for the face) with organic coconut oil. I just plop a few spoonfuls in my container then add enough Aloe Vera Gelly to blend it to a desired consistency.
You don’t need to add anything else because it smells wonderfully of coconut. It will look shimmery and smooth but if it is cold, there will be tiny balls of solid oil in the lotion. Don’t worry. They melt as you spread them on your skin. I hope some of you try making your own lotion. I think you will find it very rewarding.”
So I met with my friend Tomika today at a lovely little place on 39th St. called Room 39. They’re pretty much a coffee shop the serves lovely breakfast, brunch and lunch food using organic, seasonal and organic foods. Naturally when I heard about this place a couple months ago I was anxious to try it but hadn’t gotten the chance until now.
We met around 11 so in case we wanted to go with brunch we could still be in the breakfast mood. I started off with tea.
 I went with Earl Gray with local honey that was to die for. I nearly ate the rest of the little pitcher of it. It was hard deciding what to do next since both lunch and brunch looked so good! After much taste bud driven pondering I decided to go with the huevos rancheros burrito…..with tomatillo salsa on top and breakfast potatoes on the side.
 I seriously can’t explain how good it was. The eggs were creamy and flavorful and with the addition of a little (or alot) of Tabasco sauce made it even better. My gorgeous friend Tomika……
 Went with a ham, cheese and egg sort of sandwich where the eggs are on top and they looked glorious.
 With a biscuit and jam on the side! We had a lovely chat which made the experience even better:)
This week has been progressively getting better and better weather wise and today was in the mid-fifties! There was a bit of rain but the air smells positively springy!
Question: Is the weather where you live getting better yet?
So today I reach the fourteen week point and things are going great! After hearing the heartbeat yesterday it really made everything very real. I can’t wait to learn if we’re having a boy or girl!
 I also learned at the doctor that I’d gained back 1.2 pounds! Which is a good sign because it means I’m not still losing and that my belly growth is weighting something at least. hehe
 I am still really weirded out about how the belly feels. It’s hard and tender-ish and is getting in the way of my usual couch curling up. I’ll have to find another position! haha.
Some other things I’ve noticed during the pregnancy so far…..
My hair has grown waaay faster and thicker. Which I love.
My fingernails are strong and pretty.
I have to go to that darned bathroom more than once a night!
Later today I’ll be going to a local restaurant that serves only organic food with a good friend of mine and so I’ll be posting a review of that this afternoon. Have a great Saturday!
Sorry for the no post last night but after a crazy week of packing up the office I had developed a rather severe headache and wasn’t up to doing much. I tried the usual, tea, a long and hot bath, a neck rub from the hubby and Tylenol but nothing seemed to get it out of me. I hadn’t eaten much all day except for an early breakfast of egg and toast…..
because I was feeling sick so when I got home I had a bowl of strawberries and canned apples (from last falls harvest) to get my blood sugar up.
 After I ate it I relaxed for a while hoping I’d start feeling better but I didn’t so I just whipped up a really simple and easy dinner for Shane and I of hummus and pita for him and hummus and cucumbers for me.
 I topped his with cayenne and olive oil since that’s how he likes it and mine with hot sauce.
 It was good but I was only feeling worse and so after a rough evening I called it quites and went to bed.
This morning I still had the headache but roughed it to work anyway to finish up our office packing before getting a bonus half-day! It was perfect timing since I had an appointment with my midwife this afternoon. Shane came with me since it was going to be the first time we’d hear the baby’s heartbeat and it was awesome. So nice to hear that confirmation of life. It astounded us both at how fast the beating was compared to my heartbeat! The appointment was short since things were going alright with me besides the normal sick stuff and so off we went to get my blood taken. Ouch. I hate that stuff!
On to other wonderful life. My sprouts have been doing beautifully so this afternoon when the light was good I went up to photograph. Here are some of the beauties.
 This is romaine lettuce sprouts, the first to show which is typical since they’re an early spring, cool weather plant.
 These are milk thistle. Something I’ve actually never seen but we definitely wanted to see what it was like.
 Here’s a close up on the milk thistle. I think he’s such a beautiful sprout. Some of the other things that are up are dill, kale, collards, cauliflower and brussel sprouts. It’s such a miracle to watch these grow and see life come up right in front of my eyes, just like my growing belly:)
Shane and I enjoyed the rest of the afternoon hanging out and this evening we have plans with friends. My headache is gone and I’m feeling much better so I’m resting until then and loving the spring like weather.
Have a great Friday night!
Finally, our plumbing issues are resolved. We had a very nice, local, family owned plumbing business came up and in just a few minutes replaced a valve and another small part and BOOM it was all good. I felt so relieved I decided that if I ever owned a plumbing company I’d use the moto ‘We don’t just fix your plumbing, we bring peace of mind.’ Because that’s what good plumbing is to me.
Now, on to food. I only wanted caramelized onions and that’s what I started making for dinner and I just built a meal around it.
 The way I do my onions is basically I put them sliced, in a skillet with balsamic vinegar, water, and salt. I keep refilling the water so that it reduces down while cooking the onions. Once they get to the point I like them I let the water completely reduce so that I get a little bit of searing.
For Shane I made a cheesy, sausage and rice skillet with green peppers.
 It almost looks like a rice pudding in this picture! But really it wasn’t quite done thickening and as you can see I hadn’t added the peppers yet. Shane loved it though! Here’s his plate.
 He drank some Rye on Rye which is a Boulevard Brewery seasonal and it’s REALLY good but of course I can’t drink it. haha.
Here’s my plate. I had mostly salad with caramelized onions and carrots on top. I also tried a spoonful of the rice dish.
 It was alot and I couldn’t finish it but it was quite tasty and definitely helped my craving for onions! Now I’m going to shower and see if I can’t get to bed early again!
Last night we went to bed early….and when I say early I mean REALLY early for us. Around 9:30! It was a lovely evening after an exhausting day and this week hasn’t been the best for me mood wise so I wanted to get some rest. It was glorious! I slept like a baby except for the pregger bathroom breaks of course:) This morning was as hard as ever getting up but I had my breakfast plan in mind since I thought it would really help so much to eat something. Remember when I said I’d start having eggs now? Well I haven’t eaten a single one since making that resolution so yesterday I went out and bought some organic cage free brown eggs and some a loaf of sprouted bread.
So I decided to make us eggs and toast this morning and little did I know how out of practice I was at cooking eggs! Shane hates runny yokes so I broke is on purpose to cook it easily but I did want a runny yoke and accidentally broke mine when flipping it. It was still delicious though.
 It made such a difference to the start of my day. We got out of the house in good time, grabbed some coffee and made it to work. We’re both crazy busy right now so I’m writing this on my lunch break before I head off to an all afternoon meeting! I’m feeling alright right now but ready for another evening of restfulness after this work day!
Just trying to jug alot of water and keep my blood sugar up. Have a wonderful Wednesday afternoon! We’re past the middle of the week now!
Well, finally taking a seat this evening and I just realized I’m REALLY sore! My office is moving this week and I’ve been packing up files. Of course, I’m not doing any lifting of the boxes but just bending over and standing up over and over with files in my arms was enough I guess! My lower back needs a serious stretch!
Once we got home this evening I went straight to it. I decided I definitely wanted to steam the artichokes I got because they are just too irresistible to sit that long in the fridge without me attacking them. So first things first I put some lime juice and butter in a sauce pan with a little bit of water and after cutting the tops off the artichokes I put them face down in the water.
 If my Mom was a texter I would have texted her right when the wonderful and nostalgic smell came floating out of that pan. Sheer heaven. There truly is nothing like it and I will always appreciate it.
Next I got a cream sauce started for the spinach alfredo I was making.
 Just the basic cream sauce recipe of butter, flour and milk. Once it started to thicken I added the spinach and a bit of mozzarella and let it simmer for a while. Then I whipped up a salad and a vinaigrette dressing made with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt, garlic and a dash of soy sauce.
Here’s what my plate looked like.
 Shane likes artichokes but thinks they’re a major hassle so he never eats them. He says that when I’m eating them I look like he does when eating buffalo wings….messy, dipping and making noises of immense satisfaction. I dip it in lime juice and butter. SO GOOD!
Here’s a close up on the pasta to show just how creamy it turned out! Then we comfied up on the couch and watched ‘Coco Avant Channel’. It’s a movie about how Coco Channel gets her start and stars Audry Tautou whom we adore. I liked it alot but Shane’s attention span ran out before the end.
Question: Do you like foreign films?
Well the farther I go along the bigger I feel. Today I felt huge. Still feel huge. My stomach is so round! At this point I feel like we’re going to be having a boy….I know it’s early to predict but how my body has been changing I’d say boy. We’ll see as things go:)
Yesterday was the last birthday celebration dinner for Shane and his Mom. Both their birthdays were during the week last week. We went to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Now, I’m not one for steak, and I never have been but they do have options for people like me. I’ve never had a steak there but I’ve heard some good and some bad reviews of them. I hate that I can’t control my nausea but I have to say I wasn’t feeling super. So I started out with a salad.
 The lighting was gorgeous! The salad had arugula, spring greens, cherry tomatoes, red onions and corn bread croûtons. The dressing was a very light vinaigrette, which was good since I was iffy. Sadly, this photo was taken after I was done eating from the plate.
For my dinner I ordered just some onion rings with a Thai dipping sauce.
 Unfortunately the smell of the Thai sent me over the edge so after one onion ring I called it quits. However, family company was exquisite and I really enjoyed myself and my sprite. haha
 Here’s one of Shane and I:)
Today I felt a little better though a bit iffy still so I munched of green fruits throughout the day and upon arriving home I rigged up a bit of a steamer so I could steam some brussel sprouts.
I did this by putting a metal strainer over boiling water like this,
 I had a knife to keep it held up and it actually worked really well and so for dinner I had baked beans (my craving today), a spinach salad and steamed brussel sprouts….I didn’t put anything but a touch of salt on them and they were heaven.
 Delicious.
Now we’re struggling with a very frustrating plumbing problem that is really getting under my skin. ARGH
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