Fail.

Epic Fail.

My glucose test, that is.

Apparently, 140 used to be a passing grade.  Now, it's been lowered to 130.  My number?  132.  Seriously?  Seriously.  Monday morning I get to return to Quest Diagnostics (not my favorite place in the world) for 3 hours of sugar-crashing, blood-drawing fun.

The bright side?  I'm not anemic.  Just hoping I'm not diabetic as well.

Time will tell!

...what to wish...

I don't know what to wish for this year.

When I blow out my birthday candles, I don't know what to wish for. 

Last year's wish (& the year before that & the year before that...) has been granted.  And I don't know what to wish for!

So I'll just enjoy my birthday, probably more than I have in the past, and wish for something silly.  Like a pain-free delivery. 

Thirty is going to be a good year.

Merry, Merry!

As I sit here, putting off the lasagna I have to make and the cookies I have to frost, I am reminded of past Christmas blogs.  I am a notorious blog-writing downer on Christmas.  Remember 2008?  How about 2009?  I had good reason to be sad, that is true.  And even going back and rereading those blogs makes me cry.  I do still miss those babies, and all the memories I will never have with them.

But.

I can't help but smile when I know there's a 'but...'

This year I feel my baby moving inside me.  He's received Christmas gifts already.  I know his heart is beating strong.  I'm still an emotional basket case!  Sometimes I can't help but just sit and cry!  But I blame that mostly on pregnancy hormones. 

This year I am so thankful.  God has granted the desires of my heart.  If I didn't receive a single Christmas gift for the rest of my life on this earth, I wouldn't care.  The best gift ever will be arriving in less than 3 months.  I'm still amazed when I think about it.

Merry Christmas to you all!  And remember, while we're celebrating the birth of Jesus as a baby, He came to die for you and me.  He took the weight of our sin so that we could have eternal life.  And He's coming back some day!

:receipts:

Ahhhh, the gift receipt.  A great invention, indeed. 

But, like other great things (raises, help with dishes & getting a grade changed), it only works if you ask for it.  And for some reason, even though this is the season for gift-giving, no one asks me if I want a gift receipt!  And I don't know if it's preggo-brain or what, but I never remember to ask.  Just like I've never asked for a raise.  Or to get a grade changed.  I have asked for help with dishes before, and I'm happy to report I always get that help when I ask.

So I'll be giving several gifts this year that will not come with a gift receipt.  And I hate doing that.  I try to buy things people will like, but I do not consider myself a good gift buyer.  I never know what to get people.  I'll be informing my loved ones that if they need to exchange, I'll get them the regular receipt.  How lame is that?  Not to mention, there is more than one gift on most of my receipts. 

Way to make things difficult, Lynn.

Now, since I can't sleep, I'm going to go wrap John's Christmas presents.  Hopefully he won't need to return anything...

the goose is getting fat...

Christmas is coming, ready or not!

We've already had a few family Christmas parties.  Tomorrow is my work Christmas party.  Cookies are being eaten.  Present are being given.  Before you know it, it'll all be over!

I'm trying to stop and really enjoy the holiday...but there's just no time!  Tonight I got all our niece and nephews presents wrapped.  (I also did a load of laundry, washed the dishes and ate dinner!)  There's still a lot to do (including some shopping!), but I feel like I've made a decent sized dent for now.

The baby likes it when I finally sit down in the evening like I am now.  He starts moving and kicking, and I absolutely love it!  Heartburn/acid reflux is still bothering me, but the Pepcid does help.  I'm eating like there's no tomorrow...or rather, I'm eating like I don't have my glucose test this week.  Which I do.  Hoping for good results!

Merry Christmas and happy wrapping!

mishmash

I've decided 12 ornaments blogged about a year is the perfect number.  That way, there are more for next year! 

Yesterday was Christmas Program day at work.  Two programs, one 14-hour day, lots of yummy snacks and minimal crying (from the kids, not me).  All-in-all a very good day, but boy was I exhausted!  I'm taking a few minutes this morning to relax before I jump into my to-do list.

And during these few minutes of relaxation, I'm busy eating some delicious cookies that I was given as a gift yesterday.  This Mom at work makes amazing cookies, and I was so glad she gave me some!  They're almost gone.  :)

Now it's time to make a list and get going.  This stuff isn't going to get done on its own!

Ornament 12

Which is really not an ornament at all.  It's a candle that will be lit every evening until Christmas, as we remember an amazing boy who is enjoying his first Christmas in Heaven, while his family continues to suffer here on earth.  Tyler went to be with Jesus early this year.

Tyler's motto, "Never Give Up" has continued on as his family strives to honor him through the Tyler DeMarco Foundation.  To learn more about Tyler, the Foundation or how to donate, please click here!

Now grab some tissues and watch this video.  It's so worth it.

Ornament Number 11!

Our honeymoon was spent on the Carnival Miracle, and we got quite a few ornaments on that trip.  Some from the ports we visited, and others just from the ship gift shop.  I love the ship gift shop.  :)

This is a (very) small replica of our ship.  I remember it was so much fun, just being the 2 of us, our first vacation together!  I hope we can go back on that ship someday.

How many shopping days till Christmas?

My feet, knees and legs have been very sore lately.  I was just figuring it was all the extra weight I've been packing on.  But after only gaining one pound in four weeks, I know that's not it!  So what the heck is it?  Who knows.  I just keep having to sit down because my legs hurt almost too much to stand.  Of course, I did do lots of shopping today, then cleaning, then dishes.  But I still have cookies to make!!  I think I'm going to sit and unwrap the Hershey Kisses first, that way I'll get a little break before I even start.  :)

Speaking of shopping...I'm doing pretty well.  I think I'm almost done with John.  However, I did something really stupid today.  I bought him a gift that I already bought a couple weeks ago.  Whoops.  I'm blaming preggo brain.

We still have plenty of shopping left to do, but we want to do some of it together, and that's gonna be pretty difficult.  Our schedules conflict quite a bit for the next couple weeks!

Okay, cookie time.

Ornaments 9 & 10...otherwise known as the "I'm Caught Up!" post

This little beauty of an ornament was a gift from John's parents.  I absolutely love the comfy cozy feeling it gives me.

The blanket and book on the chair.  The dog laying on the rug.  The mug of cocoa with marshmallows.  The stockings hung.  The crackling fire.  There's actually a spot on the back where you hook a light right onto the ornament and it lights up the fireplace.  Love it!

And to make myself completely caught up, here's number 10:

This was also given to me by my in-laws.  He's missing his little carrot nose.  :(  But he's still so cute!  The light inside flickers like a real lantern, and I absolutely love it!

Phew!  Caught up!  Now my hope is to do one ornament a day until Christmas day.  As the days continue to get busier, we'll see how I do with that.  :)



Ornaments 7 & 8

I'm almost caught up!  :)

This first ornament was a gift to me from my Mom.  I love it because it's snowman-themed (I'm a little obsessed...) and because it's just so pretty.

It says Happy Happy Snowy Day.  Isn't it so cute?

This ornament was bought in California.  Can you guess where exactly?

It's a little blurry, but I think you can still make it out.  Reagan is John's favorite president, so when we were traveling to San Diego last year, we just had to visit his Presidential Library.  We had a great time, and I'm so glad we got to go.  We'd love to go back sometime!

Baby Update!

Today was my monthly visit to the OB's office!  I was quite worried that since I've been eating everything in sight, my weight gain would be astronomical.  But I needn't have worried.  I only gained 1 pound!  Officially 7 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight.  I can live with that, especially after the 5 pound gain last month.

Baby boy's heartbeat was 153 bpm.  It was a different nurse than I usually have today, but she was really nice and told me it was a very strong heartbeat!

My stomach gained 4 inches again.  Up to 25.  Seems strange to gain that much in size, but only a pound in weight.  Not that I'm complaining!!

Thankfully my blood pressure was back down around where it usually is. 

I asked my doctor about my INSANE heartburn/acid reflux.  Honestly, it has been so bad lately.  Almost unbearable at times, and it wakes me up at night.  Apparently she had told me back at the beginning I could take Pepcid AC...but I forgot.  I've just been treating with Tums.  So today I'm headed out for some Pepcid!  She said I can even take it twice a day if necessary.  She also told me it'll only get worse from here on out!  Oh well, if that's my only complaint I think I'm doing pretty well.  No swelling at all, which I'm grateful for!

Okay, time for lunch out with John.  We actually have a few hours to ourselves today!

Ornaments 5 & 6

I'm trying desperately to catch up.  I hope to do another ornament post tonight, most likely with a baby update in between!

This ornament is very special for an obvious reason: it marks our first year having Christmas together as a family!

Christmas 2006, given to us by my Mom and Dad!  Sorry for the poor picture quality, I have to take the pictures without the flash, and on my camera that makes them blurry!

This ornament was probably one of the first 'destination' ornaments I ever bought.

(Again, sorry about the blurriness.)  My very first cruise was with my parents and little sister and it was amazing!  Our very first port was Nassau, and that's where I bought this pretty, glittery shell. 

Since then, I've been back to the Bahamas with John...I'll show you that ornament another time!  :)



You never know...

...what the day may bring when you work as a Program Coordinator at a preschool!

Ornaments 3 & 4

I'm a little ornament obsessed.  I like to buy ornaments to remember places we've been, as well as to celebrate special occasions.  This ornament was bought on a very special occasion, one of the specialist of my life!

Any guesses??

I (we) bought this ornament the day we got engaged!  January 13, 2006.  I was completely taken by surprise...I had no idea John was planning to propose!  We spent the train ride home making a wedding guest list.  :)

And speaking of the train...we bought this ornament the same day!

Another way to commemorate the day and the trip.  NYC is one of our most favorite places to visit!  And we always take the train, either from Poughkeepsie or Rensselaer.  Come to think of it, I think it's about time we take another trip there soon...maybe before the baby comes!



Ornaments 1 & 2

The first ornament I'm going to tell you about was the very first ornament that I put on the tree this year.  It's also our newest ornament...it was given to us 2 days ago by John's parents! 

In case it's hard to tell (it was hard to photograph) it says "Mommy to Be" on one side, "Daddy to Be" on the other, and "Expecting a Precious Gift" in the middle.  I don't think I need to elaborate much on why this ornament is special to me.  I will always remember this Christmas as a very happy Christmas as we anticipate the birth of our little boy in a few months!  I couldn't dream of a better gift.

This second ornament runs on the opposite side of the emotional spectrum.  I actually cried putting it on the tree, remembering the past couple years and how difficult Christmas was for me.

 This was given to me by my sister-in-law and brother after the loss of our first baby, and to me it symbolizes both our babies we lost, November 2008 and November 2009.  I still cry sad tears sometimes over those precious ones I won't hold this side of Heaven.  It's still hard to understand sometimes.  This was the second ornament I put on the tree this year, and even though it's sad for me, I look forward to the day when my kids are old enough to understand it's significance.

There!  That's out of the way.  I promise, no more sad ornament posts!  Stay tuned...and Merry Christmas!

And now for something completely different...

I think it's time to get off the food subject.  At least for a post or two.  :)

Sunday was Christmas tree day in the Nuzback household!  We made our annual trip to District 2 Firehouse while John did his annual complaining.  He wants a fake tree.  I want real.  I won again this year.  It's getting harder though.  I just can't imagine our kids growing up with a fake tree!

And really, he doesn't have too much to complain about.  I picked the second tree that we looked at!  I'm pretty easy to please, I just want real!  I love the smell of a pine tree in the house.

Sunday night I strung the lights around the tree, and tonight I did the ornaments.  It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself!

There are lots of ornaments not on the tree...because I just have way too many. But all our important and sentimental ones are up. I'm hoping to do what I intended to do (but fell a little short) last year: I'd like to post an ornament a day, and tell you the story behind it, or why it's special to me. I'm going to double up the first few days in order to catch up, and hopefully do all 25 days of December!

Spinaches & Artichokes

After posting on facebook that I was making Spinach & Artichoke dip, I was hounded for the recipe!  Well, maybe not hounded...but several people asked about it.  So here it is!  This is pretty much my own recipe.  I had about five different recipes, and I picked what I liked best from each one!

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic, minced

12 oz. cream cheese, softened (1 and 1/2 packages)

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. mayo

1/2 c. Romano cheese

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

10 oz. package frozen spinach

14 oz. can artichoke hearts

Mix first 6 ingredients together well.  Cook and drain spinach according to package directions.  (I just do it in the microwave, takes only minutes.)  Chop it up and mix it into the dip.  Drain the artichoke hearts then chop them also.  You can make them as big or small as you want.  I chop them pretty small so they go throughout the whole dip, as opposed to big chunks.  That's just how I like it.  So add the chopped artichoke hearts, and mix it all up. 

I bake it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the dish I use.  If I put it in a 9x13, 30 minutes does it.  If it's in a smaller dish with larger sides, it might take a little longer.  You can stir it partway through if you want.  I usually do.

Serve with tortilla chips, toasted french bread, crackers, anything really.

I meant to take a picture of the dip I took to my parent's house yesterday, but forgot until it was almost gone.  So I took a picture of the leftovers that had been reheated. 

Doesn't really look that appetizing here, but trust me, it was good!

the peanut butter ball recipe I didn't promise you...

...but I was asked for, so I'll share it!

This recipe comes from Mom, but I'm sure you can find it pretty much anywhere!

Ingredients

1 c. melted margarine

1 lb. confectioners sugar

4 oz. coconut, if desired (I don't desire...)

1 & 1/2 c. peanut butter

1 c. chopped walnuts (you can omit this also, I usually do)

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

1 t. vanilla

pinch of salt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1/2 stick parafin wax

12 oz bag semisweet chocolate chips

Mix first 8 ingredients until well combined.  (Let me just say here, I use butter, not margarine.  I like to be healthy like that.)  Let cool for awhile (about an hour?) in the fridge, then roll into small balls.  Place on wax paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for about a 1/2 hour.  Meanwhile, chop 1/2 stick of wax into small pieces (reallllly small for easy melting) and place in a small pan on very low heat until melted (or on top of a double boiler).  Add the bag of chips and place the small pan in a frying pan of water (or on top of the double boiler) until melted, stirring occasionally.

Using a toothpick, dip each ball into the chocolate and place back onto the wax paper-lined baking sheet.  Refrigerate briefly to set the chocolate, then eat, give away or freeze!

Makes about 80, depending on the size you make.  :)

the frosting recipe I promised...

Remember when I posted my sugar cookie recipe?  I also promised to post my frosting recipe when it came time to, well, frost!  And when I was at my parent's today and mentioned frosting some cookies, my Dad reminded me that I needed to post the recipe!  So here goes.  This is Grandma's frosting recipe, used on many delicious cakes, including my wedding cake!  And I think it's just perfect for sugar cookies.

First, put 1 lb. confectioners sugar, 2/3 c. Crisco, 1 t. vanilla extract, 2 t. almond extract and 1/4 c. milk in a bowl.  (I kind of do the almond to taste...the recipe really only calls for vanilla!)

Second, mix it all up.

Third...well, there is no third.  You're done!  Unless, of course you want to add some color!

Now, I realize these colors aren't very...Christmas-y.  But let me explain.  I did yellow for the angels, brown for the gingerbread men, blue for the trains (Thomas anyone?) and green (which is Christmas-y!) for the trees.  Some years I don't color the icing at all, and just use sprinkles.  This year, I'm doing both!

And voila!

Delicious sugar cookies.  How do I know?  I may have just eaten 6 of them.  But in my defense, I'm eating for two.