Dreams of Fateful Encounters. 1-4-12

I had a dream about Boop last night. Strangely enough, I think this was spurred by the words of encouragement from friends and family who were anxious to see my beautiful baby, and also by the virtually indecipherable ultrasound photos of Boop. Well, let’s be honest: the baby in this dream was not beautiful. Of course, I loved her, but I was very exhausted. The child was very large (but not in the chubby-cheeked cherub, sort of way) and sitting on my knee with little assistance upstairs in my house. She had on an adorable pink dress with smocking that I recognized from when I was a baby.

Mom was scurrying around trying to clean the house, and it seemed like she was trying to avoid looking at the baby. Finally, I said, “Mom, I’m really tired. Would you mind holding her for a little while?” With that, she took a deep breath and came over to take her. Then, I woke up, only to see the episode of the Nanny where she accidently wound up with the foreign lady’s baby on the subway.

At that point, I made another trip to the bathroom and figured I would go on downstairs and have a cup of hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows. I love the smell when you open a bag of fresh marshmallows—that slight confectioner’s sugar smell. When I was little, I would sneak a bag of marshmallows and a package of saltines under my mom’s sewing machine and eat them like little sandwiches while my mom sewed. I wonder if Boop will wind up with such odd habits. If she does, then I’ll know she’s mine J

Potato Candy. 12-10-11

Yesterday, I woke up at 4am thinking about potato candy. This is the 2^nd time I’ve been thinking about potato candy. <Apparently, I’m not the only one. See poohgranma here> The last time was over the Thanksgiving holiday. And where do I get potato candy? My great aunt A. She made the best—the first time I ever had it. It was just the right amount of sweetness, not overpowering. I’ve only had it a few times since. Unfortunately, aunt A passed away a few years ago. I’ll have to try to figure out the recipe on my own. It was a recipe for left-over mashed potatoes—from what I remember, you mix mashed potatoes with powdered sugar, roll it flat, and spread peanut butter on it. There may be more ingredients than that. Then, you roll it up like a jelly roll and slice it like pinwheels. I tried to figure out the craving. Was it protein? Was it potassium? Some combination? Missing my Aunt A? Probably that too.

http://www.southernplate.com/2010/12/old-fashioned-potato-candy.html

At some point, I remember that I saw it at Cracker Barrel. So, I looked them up online to find they didn’t open until 6am, but I was so tired by that time that I needed a nap. I had a bowl of cereal and felt better, but by lunch time, I figured that chicken livers may make me feel better with the iron. So, I got the okra and ‘greens’. The person on the phone when I placed my order said, “What kind of greens? We have green beans and turnip greens.” I held my tongue. We’re too close to the Mason-Dixon line. I simply said, ‘uh, turnip greens.’

I went to pick up my order and scavenged for potato candy. I picked up pecan divinity, something else that Aunt A made. It has a similar taste to potato candy, but the texture (and of course, ingredients) is different. There was a young woman and guy ‘working’ at the cash registers. I got the attention of the guy, “Do you have any potato candy?” He looked at me and said, “Candy?” Meanwhile, I obviously have a roll of pecan divinity in my hand. I calmly said, “Potato candy.” He started laughing, “WHAT?!?”  The thought crossed my mind that he could use an attitude adjustment, but I was just too tired to dole one out. “You make it with mashed potatoes, and it’s covered with peanut butter. I’ve seen it at Cracker Barrel before.” He’s laughing. Again, too close to the Mason Dixon line and wrong generation. I can see that he has not benefitted from elders in the depression era. The woman more calmly said, “We don’t have anything like that.” So, I guess I’m going to have to attempt it on my own. Unfortunately, my cooking mo-jo has been way off lately (e.g., corn bread, peanut brittle, dumplin’s). Mom offered to bring some, but that will be a few weeks. 

Boop’s 1st Thanksgiving. 11-30-11

Thanksgiving is a bit of a blur. I felt like I ran the whole time. I got a phone call from my mother the night before about something that we needed from the drug store, and so I was up and out at 7am. And in a previous post, I said I wouldn’t get out to do any shopping on Thanksgiving.  Wishful thinking. I bought toys for my cousins <I’m cringing, not because I bought toys for cousins, but because I was buying them on Thanksgiving>. There was a steady stream of folks there at the drug store; so I guess I wasn’t the only one. About the time that my mom and I got our list of kids taken care of, I got a call from my Aunt D about jellied cranberries. They didn’t have any at the drug store, and so I made a run to the grocery store. I called Aunt D to check in from the grocery store, and she had thought of a few more things that she needed ;) I was happy to oblige, though, because it’s so nice for her to host Thanksgiving; it’s a lot of extra work for her. I tried to help out as I could. I rallied my cousin, D, to help me go and pick up my aunt S. The responsibility for transporting Aunt S frequently falls to my mom and Aunt D, which is not such a big deal, except the management of her heavy wheel chair. It was nice that my cousin went with me to help.

And we tried to keep everyone happy. So, there were 2 types of cranberries (jellied and Celebration Salad), 2 types of peas (steamed and pea salad), 2 types of meat (turkey and spiral sliced ham), 2 types of rolls (yeast and dinner), 3 types of pie (cherry, pumpkin, blackberry, plus cheesecake), and FIVE types of potatoes (boiled tri-color potatoes in the green beans, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and potato salad). Of course, we had one of everything else, too. And so we ate and ate and ate. Afterwards, Mom and I headed back to her house and made our plan of attack for Black Friday. I was still pretty exhausted, and with all of that tryptophan, I went promptly to bed.  I was so glad that Boop didn’t make an early appearance…

My Little Dumplin'. 11-21-11

Time to get caught up on all of the events of the past few days. It's 4:30am, and I'm starting to get sleepy again. So, let's see. Saturday was action-packed. First, Thanksgiving at my great aunt D's. Mom had taken my lactose-free milk over to my great aunt D's the night before. I had home-made dumplin's and mashed potatoes just like everyone else. I admitted to great aunt D that I had been wanting her dumplin's for so long, and well, sorry to hurt anyone's feelings, but no one else's dumplin's seem to compare! They aren't gummy or cakey-fluffy, no matter how many you eat. Just right ;) So, I was a little spoiled. I think I'm going to have to go up to great aunt D's and just figure out the texture of the biscuit/dumplin' dough; so that I will know when the ingredients are right!
So, there were heaps of folks. I'm guessing close to 50 people again, but not having to rush home, I was able to enjoy folks' company for a while. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I hope I do so well at 89. She's made of tougher stuff :) But I guess she has so much to live for, so many people that love her and appreciate her. We should all be so lucky to live a life where we can enjoy doing for others, to have our heads clear and our minds focused on the right things. Hopefully, I can impart this to Boop, but it will be challenging with us living so far away. She's certainly been dragged along to the homeless shelter enough, but she doesn't seem to mind too much ;) Thank heavens, we're on the easy end of being at the shelter. And, though we may not be near family, I'm fortunate to have friends that are pretty well grounded, and I know they'll be good influences.

Anothah Day. 11-12-11

In research studies, they've looked at the stress of major life events (like death, divorce, and such) vs. having a lot of daily hassles (like traffic, annoying sounds, and such). They find that both can have just as bad an effect on health. I will be glad when this day of many hassles is over. It started out innocently enough, with my typical inability to sleep, starting on the couch, moving to my bed, and then back to my couch. This was complemented by my very large bump making it hard to maneuver. Later this morning, I got a call from the person to mud my drywall, and I was hoping to have this all out of the way soon. So, then one of my helpers came by to finish hanging the drywall that they didn't finish on Thursday. Unfortunately on Thursday, they chose the wrong sized drywall from the shed, and they had already spent quite a bit of time getting it cut to fit the stairs. So today, I was about to help one of my helpers screw in the last piece of drywall only to see that the drywall was too thick <cringe>. I was so upset that I decided it best to send her home. A total waste of time and money. I really wanted to get the drywall dust out of the way before I do serious housecleaning for baby. With all of the things that haven't gone well lately, I feel like I'm hemorhaging money.
And so for dinner, I picked split pea soup because it has a pretty good amount of iron. I thought I could give it a little boost by making fried cornbread in my cast iron skillet. How many times have I made fried cornbread? I can't say, but to say 50 times would be reasonable. Somehow, I put way too much milk in the batter. Basically, I wound up with a mess that took a long time to cook, part of it burned, and the cornbread was gummy :( At 7:30pm, I'm ready to call it a day. Maybe I need to go to bed a few times and wake up with a fresh start tomorrow. "After all, tomorrah is..."

Snow. 10-29-11

Boop's first snow. I don't know if it will accumulate, but it's pretty to watch falling. It's not even Halloween, yet, and there are still plenty of leaves on the trees. I'm nice and cozy on the couch, watching the news with the big snows in the mountains, the gas fireplace is going steady, and I'm sipping cocoa. They haven't told me I have gestational diabetes; so, I'm just going to assume it's okay. After all, Boop needs the calcium ;) And she sure gets busy when she gets something to eat. The midwife said, "You know, activity in the womb is predictive of activity after their born." Um, yeah. In spite of my arthritis and age, I'll manage. I smiled and said, "Well, I guess it's better than the alternative. I'd be most concerned if she wasn't active. In genetic counseling, that wasn't a good sign." She agreed.
About a half hour from here, they're expecting 6-8 inches. It cracks me up that they refer to the area just east of here as "the mountain counties." Well, what do you call the place where I live? Granted, my lot is one of the flattest in town, but the whole place is in the mountains! I'm certainly nervous about folks coming through the mountains in January for little Boop. Let's just hope the interstates stay in good condition.
For the most part, I'm hoping that I can just relax at home this weekend after my last 2 crazy weekends. On the agenda, a trip to the grocery and Lowe's, a big pot of chili, work on the stairs and drywall, and pumpkin bread-making with friends.

Another Drive. 10-25-11

On my way to Mom's, I tried to reach my aunt to have a late lunch. Unfortunately, her phone was off. So, I got some Chipotle, did a quick trip to Home Depot, and then stopped by Aunt D's. She was bummed that she missed out on lunch. We had a nice, quick visit, and I picked up a baby rocker that I left last time. With that, I headed on to Mom's and got Winnie situated. With all of the construction, I was running a little late, but so was S with the crazy bridge situation. I'll blame Mitch; she'll blame Barack ;) So, she, her husband, and I headed out to the Vietnamese restaurant. Her husband always orders the best stuff. I had a yummy noodle soup. It was nice to have a visit to catch up. I think S would make the best mom.
The next morning, I attempted my first German potato salad, which was not Mom's favorite, but I kept catching her sneaking bites of it. And when we started filling our plates at the reunion, it didn't stand a chance! The K family enjoys big meals and telling even bigger stories. It's so good to have a chance to have a time each year that we can all relax and enjoy each other's company. And I'm always happy to have a little extra time to spend with a cousin that I really haven't had a chance to get to know very well. For the most part, my family is so excited about my little Boop. There were only a few awkward moments. A friend of the family that I hadn't seen in many years asked me who the father was... I was a bit flabbergasted; it's one of those moments when you can hear the needle rip across the album. I'm going to have to do better in the future for Boop's sake. Other than a few bits of awkwardness, we had a beautiful fall day, catching up, and watching the coal and gravel barges meander up the river.
Sunday: homemade country breakfast at great aunt D's. I went by to pick up my great aunt A for breakfast, and Mom took over my milk so I could get special gravy and biscuits. I'm pretty spoiled that way :) I pretty much had to eat and run. At 89 years old, great aunt D made breakfast for over 50 people. She cooked all morning! And then I took the northern route back to my house. Big mistake. It should only be about a half hour longer (7.5 hours), but there was so much construction that it added more than an extra hour. I did manage to go to hit some of my fave groceries near my old house and to stock up on whole wheat cous cous and Asian noodles. I also got a bit of Turkish for lunch: eggplant and ground lamb :) I was pretty exhausted when I got home (9 hrs on the road). Fortunately, I'll have time to chill this weekend...

Appetite. 9-22-11

Fortunately, I was able to go back to sleep for about an hour this morning, but yesterday was a different story. I woke up at 3:30 am and came downstairs about 4:30 am. I watched TV on the couch and tried to go back to sleep. The only thing that was going through my head was scrambled eggs. The longer I laid there, the more I thought... Some biscuits would be good. And I have some smoked sausage and a pepper left over from the farmer's market. So about 5 am, I was chopping and whisking and mixing. Come 5:30 am as it was almost ready, I suddenly thought, "Hm. I'm not hungry now." But of course, I ate it anyway ;) I don't need to be hungry to eat.
It seems like I get that yucky feeling after I eat something sweet. I had a left over biscuit this morning with a bit of honey, and I started to feel worse. Not sure when they will be testing me for gestational diabetes, but I have a few risk factors. If anything, my slight pregnancy aversion to sweets may be helpful in the case of diabetes. My blood pressure has been good so far, thank goodness. Hypertension is a risk factor for gestational diabetes. The symptoms for gestational diabetes are so vague and sound a lot like just being pregnant. So, I'm just going to have to wait to see what happens. They should be testing me soon.

Everything Under the Sun. 9/11/11

I was reading that there is some indication that babies form food preferences in the womb, that scientists believe that some flavors or some elements of the composition of food reach the amniotic fluid. And they believe that this is one of the first ways that a baby is introduced to his/her culture. Boop's taste buds started to develop some time ago.
And little Boop. I eat everything under the sun. Hopefully, that will mean that Boop won't be a picky eater. My mom used to talk about what a picky eater I am... I didn't care for green beans (the way they are prepared back home, as one northern nutritionist called them, "cooked to death") or meatloaf. I had internalized this 'picky eater' label somewhat until I had a chance to try Chinese as a teenager and then went off to college. Later, I realized that I'm not that picky of an eater, it's just that the only veggies my mom made were corn, potatoes, and green beans. I didn't eat green beans; so I didn't eat 1/3 of the veggies that my mom cooked. It's unfortunate that I discovered in college that I'm severely lactose intollerant and have a few food allergies that have developed over time. So, people probably still think I'm picky, rather than just not being able to eat things.
In my mind, I imagine my own little Boop visiting with my mom. 'Grandma, can't we have something besides hamburger and potatoes?' 'Well, what do you want to eat?' 'Can't we get Sushi or a Curry? or Ethiopian?' And then what would my mom do? Of course, she'd be going out for Japanese and have to eat something 'slimy'... Mom always said she hoped that I had a child just like me to understand what I put her through. Well, she might be too much like me ;)

Troublemaker 7-1-11

I can already tell. Boop is a troublemaker ;) Ah the trouble this one gets me into! Yesterday, it was an ad for a 3 Musketeers candy bar. I really don't have much of a taste for sweets, strangely enough, and I can't figure out why I was drawn to the ad for the 3 Musketeers. 'But, Boop, don't you realize that I'm lactose intolerant??' And then there was the ad for Reese's peanut butter cups. 'Boop, why do you pay so much attention to these chocolate ads?' I'm not joking when I say that I haven't had a taste for sweet. Lactose free ice cream is sitting in the freezer. I was eating it with my breakfast cereal when I ran out of milk, but I really haven't had much interest in it. It's usually gone in 2 days, but I've had it over 2 weeks.

And this morning Burger King was advertising for $1.04 chicken sandwiches, but it doesn't start until tomorrow, of course. That didn't keep Boop from radaring in on it. 'Tomorrow, Boop, we'll have all the chicken sandwiches you want. The special is all weekend.' I thought I would satisfy Boop with a schwarma from the Middle Eastern restaurant across the street, but I guess it's already closed down for good. (To be honest, the baklava I tried from there was really stale; so I wasn't expecting much from the schwarma.)

On the way down the street, Boop was really wanting a Subway sandwich. No Boop. Our immune system isn't strong enough. There's a risk of listeria. That would be a blow out! So, I caved in to Boop's original idea, doting momma that I am, and got Boop a chicken sandwich from Wendy's. <So what is it with everyone calling me "Honey" all of the sudden? The woman at Wendy's called me Honey, and it seems like a lot of other people have been lately, too. I don't look pregnant. Maybe I just look like I'm starving to death, ahem Boop.> So the sandwich calmed Boop down, but in all honesty, Boop could've eaten another one... Rotten. It would've just made me sick. Boop is always pressing my luck when it comes to food. That poor little Zofran is working over time. Might I remind you, little Boop, about the hyperemesis gravidarum?

I think it's the Paw-Paw in Boop coming out. T*R*O*U*B*L*E. I recognize it when I see it. Always trying to get me into trouble. Those of you who knew my Paw-Paw know what I mean. Right now, Boop could sit and eat a sack of White Castles, which would make me terrifically sick. No black bananas, Boop. That's where I draw the line. So far, Boop hasn't shown any inclination for overly ripe bananas, thank heavens, but I shouldn't mention it as it will bring it to pass. You know Paw-Paw would joyfully take credit for such rotten meanness and then would try to figure out how to get Boop to torment me more!