Floor and Bathroom Redo

Here are some pictures of our new tile floors and bathroom redo.  AH-MAZING work by Mark and Sam of R & K Services.  They are Renovations Specialists but they do it all, even plumbing!!  I swear they are so great to work with.  Nothing but gentlemen and they paid close attention to detail.  Looking around my house still brings a little tear to my eye because I am so happy and so ready to bring a baby home now (well once the nursery is done that is... more on that later).  We Brian will be doing the nursery ourselves himself this week.  We considered tackling the tile floors but figured with our time constraints it was better left to the experts and we couldn't be happier there.  But the nursery is manageable.  First paint color is up.  Next is the border color, then the floors and floorboards.  Then we will get to the fun stuff.  Crib, curtains, etc.   Now!  On to the pictures!!!

TV view.  (We are getting a flatscreen hand me down from a friend soon, YAY!)

Dining Room (With my new blinds, and I haven't hung the wine glasses back up yet)                                  

                                                              Living Room                                                                

The funny little room with no electricity that I have no earthly idea of what to do with.

                                                      The new bathtub and tile!!! 
                                                     (Shower curtain from JCP)

                              Beautiful Skylight in bathroom! You can't tell but they also fixed the texture on the
                  ceiling which makes a huge difference.  It was ugly starburst, now it is flat and I'm in love 

                    The new vanity and toilet.  We kept the medicine cabinet to save on cost.

Where I blog :) 



Spinach and Orzo Salad

I made my mom hungry when I told her about this salad.  I made baby back ribs last night and served them with this salad, that I adapted from allrecipes.com 

Spinach and Orzo Salad

8-16 ounces uncooked orzo pasta  (the recipe called for 16, I used 8.  That way it's more spinach) 

9 ounce bag fresh baby spinach leaves, finely chopped

8 ounces crumbled feta cheese

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1 cup pine nuts

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/4-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 

 (Since the original recipe called for 16 ounces of orzo and 1/2 cup oil and vinegar and I used 8 orzo, I could have cut it back a little on the O&V but I used the whole 1/2 cup of each and although it was strong it was delicious)

Cook orzo according to directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Transfer to large bowl and stir in spinach, feta, onion, pine nuts, basil, and white pepper.  Toss with oil and vinegar.  Refrigerate and serve cold. 

This makes a ton.  We had dinner and lunch today.  Delicious as a side dish and would also be good with shrimp or chicken to make a main course. 

Mom's Apple Squares

I have been MIA for a long time here but wanted to stop by and leave a recipe for my mom's Apple Squares that I loved when I was a kid.  Still do.  Have to have them every fall.  I made them last night and realized that the paper recipe is getting old and ratty and might not survive too much longer, so I better get this down where it will be immortalized. 

Mom's Apple Squares

2 cups flour

1 cup Bisquick

2 cups sugar (I use 1 1/2 and it's plenty)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup Crisco (I use 1/2 and it's plenty)

3 eggs

4 cups diced apples (I usually bake with Granny Smiths, however since I grew up near orchards in NY, for this recipe I am a Macintosh loyalist.  I've never strayed here, but other varieties may be good also)

1 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup walnuts

Mix all ingredients.  Grease and flour a 9x13" pan.  Pour mixture in.  Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees.  Voila!

Weekly Check In

How far along?  28 weeks 4 days

Weight Gain/Loss?  Let's say I started out at 126 which is where I was at my 9 week appointment.  Gain of 22 lbs.  Hopefully tapering off soon, but I'll likely gain another 11.  Oh my...  I'm getting uncomfortable.

Maternity Clothes?  Can I get a hell yes?

Sleep?  It's not the end of the world, but I toss and turn a lot and getting up every 3 hours to pee.  When it's bedtime I'm definately ready, but I'm rising a lot earlier than I'm used to, mostly because I'm hungry.

Best Moment of Week?  Maybe when I saw Brian set the Tivo to record a season pass of Baby Story and another baby show.  Cute!  or when he carried my purse for me through our hospital tour because my arm was sore and I felt crappy from my flu shot.  Or when he started painting the nursery last night after working a 12 hour day.  There are a lot of best moments right now, these are just a few that popped into my head immediately.

Movement?  Yes.  This baby is a crazy insane acrobat.  Although there were 2 different times when she stopped for a few hours and I go into full on panic mode, but everyone needs to sleep I guess.  It's just that when she does, I'm up worrying about why I'm not feeling her. 

What I Miss?  Movement and flexibility.  Exercise endorphins.  Life without heartburn. 

Looking forward to...  Getting the nursery done.  Started the painting last night.  Then the floors and floorboards.  Then I will feel like we are getting somewhere. 

Milestones. 
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Labor Signs..  Had my first Braxton Hicks contraction yesterday.  I didn't expect the belly to grow as much as it did during it, but it did go back to "normal" within an hour.  Slightly painful, mostly uncomfortable.  Deep breaths. 
 

Well our bathroom is almost done!!  We found a great couple of contractors/handymen on recommendation of a plumber we know and they have completed all the drywall, skylight repairs, tile and painting in the bathroom.  They will be back on the 26th to tile the floors in the entire house (with demo it will take at least a week).  Then the new toilet and vanity will go in and I will be in love with my house finally!  The tile floors and the guest bathroom were the 2 cosmetic things I have wanted to do since day one, 3 years ago, but I knew practicality had to prevail and we needed a new AC unit, a new roof, and to our surprise, also new plumbing first.  Now that is all done and we are on to the fun stuff!  Mark and Sam did an amazing job on the bathroom so far and I absolutely CAN NOT WAIT to see the floors!!!!  Then we are on to the nursery finally!  We need to paint, install the laminate, and floorboards.  Brian was going to tackle this himself since he did the other 2 bedrooms, but last night we decided that Mark and Sam are so awesome that we are going to ask them to do it also.  Then, as soon as we complete the final payment on the tile (which was very affordable from Gulf Tile on Columbus), probably after the tax season assuming we get a good refund since we've been putting in up the wazoo this year, we will do the MASTER BATH!!!  Then all that will be left is to resurface the kitchen cabinets, replace the windows, and little things here and there. (Mantle, bar, front door, new french doors, Florida friendly landscaping). 

Another event I am looking forward to is my old dear friend Christine's wedding Oct 1 in the Adirondacks of NY.  I haven't seen the leaves change since 2000 and it is due time!  I also haven't seen Christine in what I think is 2 years, wow!! Time goes too fast sometimes!  and her beautiful little boy is getting so not-so little!  I've got my long dress (which makes me look very pregnant by the way) and sweater.  I'm thinking that I will be needing a lot more warm clothes than that though, looking at the weather there this week it is averaging 60/32 every day.  Oh my.  I can probably leave the flip flops right here in FL for this trip!  But I can't wait!  I will get to see my mom, my brother and sister in law, niece and nephew, and a few old friends as well.  I love these trips, but they always go by too fast, as everybody there is so spread out. 

I promise to post pics soon. 

Supper Sunday!

Worked kicked my butt this weekend.  I had 2 short 5 hour shifts on Friday and Saturday but a lonnng 9 hours on Sunday and afterward I wobbled into Publix to pick up something for dinner with no clue what I want.  Hmm.  Picked up a few things to make breakfast, ie eggs, cheese and wheat english muffins.  I got stuff to make banana pudding (bananas, banana pudding, vanilla wafers, milk, sour cream and whipped topping).  Then I decided I would do roasted veggies for dinner.  I picked up some acorn squash, sweet potatoes, turnips and onion. I'm really feeling the sweet stuff lately.

I got home and since I'm flying solo tonight as hubby is working a long mid, I didn't feel like cooking, so it was a peach (OMG it was such a delicious peach), a banana, a wheat english muffin with peanut butter and a giant glass of orange juice.  After cozying in and watching a chick flick on tv I finally decided to satisfy my fall veggie craving. 

I need to figure out why my phone pics look great on my computer but terrible on my blog :(  In the meantime let me assure you, this not only looked delicious, but tasted just as good!  

Sara's Roasted Roots

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

3 turnip roots, peeled and chopped

1 acorn squash, cut in half, seeded, and sliced into wedges

olive oil, kosher salt, cracked pepper

1/2 white onion

walnuts

Stir to coat 1st 4 ingredients and roast in a 450 degree oven, turning after about 15 minutes, and then every 5 after that, until desired darkness and tenderness.  When satisfied, transfer root veggies to a bowl.  Place onions on sheet to roast for about 10 minutes.  Then toast walnuts on the hot sheet for 5 minutes.  Toss all roasted ingredients with some honey balsamic vinegar and enjoy! 

The veggies caramelize and sweeten up with the heat, even the turnip.  I almost feel like it's desert because it was so delicious.  Now it's time to catch up on my water since I've not drank nearly enough of it today (I hate having to pee every 15 minutes at work.  Although I'm not overwhelmingly thrilled with waking up 4 times a night to pee either, I'll take that alternative over the other.

Baby liked something I ate tonight (or didn't like, I'm not sure how to tell which it is, really) because after I finished eating and I was relaxing on the couch again, I could feel her moving around.  For kicks I lifted my shirt over my already huge at 23 weeks belly, and I could SEE her movement for the first time!  Wild!!  And exciting!   And now it's time to go lay down and stare at the belly some more, Goodnight!!  :)

Sunday Supper

It is looking like Tampa might host a tropical storm this coming weekend, and though we will be in Cleveland Fri - Sun for a wedding, I thought it would be a good idea to stock up with some food just in case we get stuck here.  We don't really need all canned stuff because we are lucky enough to have a generator in case we lose power.  But I still want to have a lot of protein around the house, being pregnant and all.  We have a few 5 gallon jugs of water on hand at all times so we're all good there.  Lots of cans of beans and beef jerky.  Nuts, dried fruit, and "healthier" chips and snacky things.  Of course protein bars which are a staple in my diet.  I love the Atkins ones, the Zone bars, and I'm currently eating my way through some Snackwells and some crunchy Cliff bars that were on sale and they're pretty good. 
I also decided to be a good wife and make dinner instead of the Publix sub that I am really craving.  I got my new Cooking Light magazine in the mail yesterday.  After I browsed the first few pages and everything looked good, I decided to open to a random page and cook the closest recipe.  Ended up making
 Baja Pork Stir Fry
It was quite delicious!  Unfortunately I somehow forgot a red onion at the store, which is odd because I lovelovelove onions.  But I added a whole jalapeno instead of half, and about a cup of extra green red and yellow peppers to sub the onion.  Besides that I followed it to a tee. 

poor cell phone shot

My plate!  Yum yum.

I'll make some brown rice for the husband to have with it, or I'll just have him bring a serving home with him from work tonight if he calls before he leaves.