Mazel Tov

We just returned from a trip to Josh's hometown of Athens, Georgia where his sister Emily was married. We had such a wonderful time. Emily and Alan were married in a huge brick building, which used to be part of Kenny Rogers' ranch outside of Athens. It was a traditional Jewish ceremony where the couple was wed by a rabbi beneath a chuppah (symbolizing the new home the couple will create) with their parents standing close by. Emily circled Alan seven times (an interpretation of this is that circling represents the creation of a new family unit separate from each of their own parents'), and at the end of the ceremony Alan stomped on a glass (representing the fragility of marriage). The party afterward began with everyone dancing the Hora, where the guests circled around the couple over and over, and the couple and their parents were hoisted up in the air on chairs. The band then switched over to Latin music and there was more dancing, eating and drinking. My in-laws Angela and Richard worked hard along with Emily and Alan to ensure it was going to be a terrific celebration, and indeed it was.

Unfortunately I took very few photos!

I met some of Josh's relatives that I had not met before, including his only cousins Matt and Andy. We caught up with them, and Josh's aunt and uncle, and vowed to head up to Toronto and Montreal to visit them some day soon.

Matt and his girlfriend Georgina.

Andy and his parents (Josh's aunt and uncle) Dale and Bob

Josh's great uncle and aunt, Johnny and Carol

Instead of invading Josh's folks' house, we stayed in a beautiful, new, LEED-certified hotel downtown. Josh and I had a chance to head over to the University of Georgia campus to go swimming, and visited a favorite Athens restaurant called The Grit. We also bought our first official item of baby clothing at a craft market: a tiny sweatshirt with a hand-sewn moose on the front. We had so much fun over the weekend that I was beginning to believe that I was on the mend from all of the nausea I've been experiencing. But then I had another episode last night, and sadly marked it up to week 11 of puking. On top of that, it rained very heavily all day today, and I could not stop thinking that it would have been snow if we lived further north. And I tried not to think about Emily and Alan enjoying the warm Caribbean waters in Aruba. But enough feeling sorry for myself, and another big "mazel tov" to my sister-in-law and her new husband!

165 Beats Per Minute

I can't think of many more exhilarating moments than what happened today in the doctor's office. As my doctor ran a sensor over my lower stomach, the unmistakable sound of a quick chugging heartbeat rang loud and clear through a speaker. Josh stood by my side recording, and Dr. Lyons proclaimed, "It doesn't get any better than that."
Through that heartbeat, it is reassuring to know that our now peach-size babe is working so hard at growing bigger. It made my episode of upchucking my lunch an hour previous to that fade into distant memory.
I am afraid that Josh is soon to trump me, as he works on creating a blog with images and sounds from the pregnancy. Once he has that up and running, I will surely provide a link so that you are provided the whole multimedia experience.

This Time of the Year

Josh and I celebrated Thanksgiving on our own for the first time in our 11.5 years together. It was quite momentous, as we determined how we wanted to cook the birds (Cornish hen and a regular old chicken) and whether to go with traditional fixings. We ended up with apricot-glazed chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green beans and cranberries. And custard to end. All very wholesome, and all made from scratch. As Josh can attest, I crashed on the sofa soon after the meal's completion, and have an even deeper appreciation for the ladies that have cooked this meal for me/us in the past.

I also turned a year older a few days ago, hence the photo above, which was taken [ahem] 29 years ago. I am surrounded by my neighbor friends (all boys. Tiffany Manty had not yet moved to the neighborhood). And there's Sarah, with red hair. She was one of my best friends for years, and I believe she taught me how to tie my own shoes not long before that fifth birthday. This year we had a few friends over too. I decided against the silver crown, but a cake was present, along with the birthday theme music and a wish after the candles were blown out.

Pit Stop

We had a great treat these past few days, as our good friends Naomi and Jose stayed with us on a stopover on their long, roundabout journey back to California after living in México for over a year. It was so much fun to have them in the house, and we made hearty meals together and had great conversation. Jose also taught us how to play the card game "Oh Hell," which brought out our competitive sides (well, Josh's and mine anyhow). In the photo above Jose and Naomi are preparing rice pudding, and following below are shots of us making homemade pasta for ravioli, filled with kale, ricotta and chicken.






We tried to encourage our friends to move in with us, or buy a house on our street, but they had family to travel and see, and plans to return to California. So we will look forward to the next time we cross paths, which we hope is very soon.

To end, Josh spent a number of years competing as a swimmer, and last Saturday he experienced another side of the sport. He stood over the lanes and watched carefully to ensure that each swimmer touched the wall with both hands during their turn to return to the other side. WKU was holding an invitational swim meet, and came away winning after three days of competition.

Changing Shape

Blogging has not been the same these past few months, as I have avoided revealing something that has taken over much of our focus. Yet rounding the corner to 13 weeks, I figured that those of you who have stuck with me this past year and beyond, deserve to know this fact: we got pregnant. Hence the "emergency trip" by my mom in October, when my morning sickness was at its height. And the stuff is still lingering, lucky me. Fortunately I was prescribed an anti-puking medication, which has helped prevent dashes to the nearest toilet. Or tree.
I am in no way concerned about documenting this experience, as Josh captures all the details. He has been following me around the house with his Leica, and now there are a number of photos of me like the one above and below, in my new favorite places (I hope he doesn't mind that I stole a couple). And maybe some day some of you might be lucky enough to see the photos of me clutching the toilet.
Despite the sickness, this is exciting. At 10 weeks in, we heard the heartbeat. And as the title suggests, I am indeed changing shape. Apparently this being inside of me is currently the size of a kiwi, and is starting to make fists and wiggle its toes. Pretty amazing to imagine.
So now, this blog will certainly have yet another focus, one which I hope remains interesting and a little entertaining. And I will continue to try and sneak a photo or two in from Josh's stash.
I will leave you with this closing shot.

A little piece of México

This will deserve a sequel blog posting, but for the time being I need to write Part I. A few days after my previous Mexican food craving posting, Josh and I headed out on a bike ride. And on that bike ride, we crossed the railroad tracks and passed through a little neighborhood that is coined "Little México." In Little México there are a couple of Catholic churches, a Mercadito (Latin American food market), a tortillera (tortilla-producing shop), and convenience stores advertising calling cards. And as we sailed through the neighborhood out of the corner of my eye I spotted something familiar. At a little road-side stand perched next to the tortillera was a large hunk of meat turning on a spit and cooking under a flame. Josh and I hit the brakes and turned around to inquire. Sure enough, they were preparing tacos al pastor, and it just so happens this Mexican family cooks up the tacos for sale every Friday through Sunday. For this particular culinary delight, we may not have to travel all the way to Guadalajara after all. But before I get ahead of myself, we will surely visit the stand this weekend and I will report with Part II.

Ode to the Juicer

While responding to a friend's e-mail requesting restaurant recommendations for Guadalajara, I started longing for the quick trips to our local tamale and taco stands, as well as the corner restaurant with pozole. I can vividly remember employees of each of these culinary establishments, and can imagine they are going about their work just as they did while we were living there, busily tending to a long line of customers. The thought of a torta ahogada (drowned pork sandwich) has suddenly stimulated my taste buds. And this is coming from a former vegetarian. And oh how I miss the fresh bulk mole that Josh an I bought at the local market and cooked with fresh chicken. Sigh.
So these past few days, as the prices of oranges and tangerines have dipped lower than usual, I am stocking up and am enjoying another item that I have missed: fresh squeezed juice. We brought this simple yellow juicer back from México with us and it has been put to good use these past few weeks. Though I feel a bit guilty that the oranges have had to travel a greater distance to get to me, it is helping me to get past these other cravings that won't be satisfied until I am back in Guadalajara.