Loving Bridgette

This post is dedicated to my good friend and coworker Bridgette.

Bridgette used to work downstairs from me. We would talk in passing, but I would always have to get back to my desk to get back to work. A couple of months ago, we rearranged the office set up, and now Bridgette and I sit across the room from each other, giving us a lot of opportunities to chit chat, laugh at each other (or others), and offer words of encouragement when the going gets tough. I've always liked my job, but it's better now that I can talk to Bridgette so easily.

In fact, I enjoy talking to Bridgette so much that in the 2 hours that she's had skype on her computer at home, we've been talking the night away. She fashioned her new haircut, we showed each other our dogs, talked about the footie pajamas her husband ordered her for Christmas from Sky Mall, and laughed about how much we weren't getting done around the house while we were on the computer.

I decided to blog, hoping she'd call back. Procrastination at it's finest. So, dear reader, thank Bridgette for the post tonight!

G is for...

A friend of mine invited me to join her dinner group, which meets monthly at different local restaurants. Each month is assigned a letter of the alphabet, so this month is G for Gumbo A-Go Go (aka J.Gumbos). I love this place! I ate it a lot while I was pregnant, although the spicy food didn't really help speed things along in the end... It's pretty inexpensive, easy carryout, and altogether delicious. Shelby and I used to eat there often, but I think he got tired of it - now he says he hates it. My favorite is the Bumblebee Stew, which is a middle-of-the-road hot, but still is borderline too hot for me. Any hotter and I couldn't handle it.

Other restaurants we've been to since I joined the group: E is for Egg Roll Machine (one of 3 restaurants at Cafe Mimosa), and F is for Flanagan's (great for beer lovers!). Yum!

Update on Making Baby Food

I've learned a few things since my first batches of baby food:

1. Don't bother with anything labeled specifically for "baby food." Same general idea as everything labeled "wedding" - aka extremely overpriced. Plus, Official Baby Food Makers do not have the capacity to make large batches, so you'll end up washing the thing a million times before your cooking session is over.
2. Make large batches and freeze in ice cube trays for 1 ounce portions. A scale is handy, particularly because not all ice cube trays make the same sized ice cubes.
   
3. You can get 10 lbs of apples from Costco for practically nothing. Do you know how long it will take a baby to go through 10 lbs of apples? We may never know.
4. I freeze the food so that I don't have to make it every day, but I enjoy making it so much that I find myself making baby food 3-5 times a week. I spend most of my time in the kitchen doing something or other. It's kind of nice!
   
5. Don't let a baby suck her thumb while eating. She will want to, but whatever it takes, don't let her. Makes a big mess. And by "big," I mean HUGE.
   

Josie eats Kentucky Proud

Josie, at 4 and a half months old, has started eating solid food! Our pediatrician gave us the go-ahead on Thursday, so for two days, she has been eating rice cereal and apples, along with her regular breastfeeding. It's the cutest thing to watch her eat. She is getting the hang of the spoon, and seems to enjoy the tastes so far.

I was determined to breastfeed, and with that same determination, I am now a baby-food-making machine. (All bias aside) Josie is cute enough to be the Gerber baby, but she wouldn't be the best spokesbaby because she's eating homemade food. So far I've only steamed and pureed apples, but I'm having a ball. Only the best for Josie, I went to Paul's Fruit Market, a local produce market specializing in "Kentucky Proud" products. Now I'm finishing up a batch to freeze in ice cube trays for convenience later.

Next up - bananas! (Which, btw, you don't have to cook!)

Pink Tie Ball Invitation

Our friends Morgan and Kyle have invited us to join them at Louisville's Pink Tie Ball, which benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure. My grandmother is a breast cancer survivor, so the event is particularly meaningful to me. We'll be leaving Josie with babysitter Oo Oo, and we'll dance the night away. I got a dress (along with three wardrobe staple jackets!) on Saturday from Sunny Daize, a local consignment shop, and I have my hair appointment for the updo all lined up for Saturday afternoon. I still need shoes, but those are in the works. Shelby and I haven't gotten gussied up in a little while (last time was the wedding, and before that, the USMC Birthday Ball I think), so we're both really looking forward to it. Shelby asked me to keep my dress a secret until Ball Day, so I won't go into detail about it yet.

In other news, W&M football beat UVa in Charlottesville Friday night. GO TRIBE!

Pandora

I love Pandora Radio. I particularly love The Judds Radio on Pandora. Nothing takes me back to elementary school mornings getting ready for school, listening to the country station with my mom, than The Judds Radio. (Although my favorite song from that time of my life is Sammy Kershaw's "Cadillac Style," which I have yet to hear on The Judds Radio.) My favorite song by The Judds is "Rockin' with the Rhythm of the Rain," hands down. They don't play that one much either, but I heard it on the real radio on the way to work the other day. They play some Dixie Chicks, Tanya Tucker, Pam Tillis, and Allison Krauss. They play George Strait, too, but he seems a little out of place here. It really is quite a good mix of female country artists from the 80s and 90s. Check it out!

Thanksgiving - not early, but daily

To state the obvious, I haven't been blogging lately. When I've been at the computer in the past 2.5 months, I've either 1) been at work (working), or 2) been pecking at the keyboard with one hand and juggling a baby in the other, which makes for some really slooow blogging. My train of thought just doesn't want to wait for the one hand to keep up - I need both to effectively blog.

So here I am, just before 10pm, baby in bed, hubby at work, and lunches waiting to be made. Oh yeah, and laundry to be folded. I also thought I'd work out tonight. Had that thought just about every night for the past few days, and it hasn't happened yet.

So much to do, so little time. And so much to be thankful for. My life is very full. I have a husband who adores me. The sweetest, smartest, most handsome man I know chose ME. Wow! He makes life so wonderful. I don't do the greatest job letting him know how much he is appreciated. And loved. Boy oh boy, is he loved.

And then there's our little girl. What a blessing. I thought tonight we should have named her Joy. Because that's what she is. I think we're becoming buddies, too - now that I'm not totally blurry to her little baby eyes!

I have a great job, a lovely home, a healthy body. Am I bragging? Not at all. God deserves the praise and glory for all that I have. I don't have time to blog all that often, but why complain? I have more than I deserve, and the lack of time is proof of every blessing. If a blog post is a prayer, let this one be a prayer of thanksgiving.