Extreme Salad

Yesterday Murray and I went out to eat before I went to teach my class. He asked if Mexican food would be okay and suggested a Mexican restaurant close to where my class is held. I figured I may as well give it a try. If I go to a restaurant, I have to read every single detail of the menu to really figure out what my options are. I figured that there would be something at this restaurant that I could eat.

As I was reading the menu, I concluded that my safest options were the Mexican omelets available or a salad. Ordering a salad seemed risky because little Mexican dives aren't necessarily known for their great salads. But the eggs just didn't sound appealing to me. So I ordered the fajita salad, which boasted grilled chicken (protein), peppers, onions, lettuce, and tomatoes (non-starchy vegetables), guacamole (fat), and cheese (more protein), on a fried tortilla (a couple bites could equal a starch). I figured I'd go for it, but expected to get some plain boring salad with gross iceberg lettuce.

This is what I got.

I'm still not really sure if you can grasp the magnitude of this salad even from the picture. It was the hugest salad I have ever seen in my entire life. And it was loaded with really good stuff. So I ate about 1/4 of it. When the waitress came to take away my plate, she looked at how much was left and asked, "What? Not very hungry, princess?"

Halloween

This weekend, Murray and I attended a Halloween party. It's been years since I've dressed up for Halloween. Of course we wanted to do a couples costume, because what's the point of being married if not to be able to wear couples costumes? But we couldn't figure out what famous pregnant couple to dress up as. Joseph and Mary? The idea of putting a towel on my head (default for any biblical person) didn't really appeal to me.

So we decided to go as a concept. We started thinking of different Beatles songs, and Murray finally came up with the idea of going as Hello and Goodbye. To execute this idea, we figured that I would have to be Hello whichever way you looked at me, and Murray would have to be Goodbye whichever way you looked at him. So he wore a mask of the back of his head over his face, and I wore a mask of my face on the back of my head. We didn't win any prizes. (Which is okay because the prizes were all food I couldn't eat.)

(Murray kindof looks maybe like a chainsaw killer...)

(We didn't intend for my costume to be freaky, but it kindof ended up being just a little bit freaky. One of the party guests said he kept having the feeling that someone was looking at him, and when he looked up, he'd see my backwards head staring at him.)

Next year, I would really love to go as RGB and CMYK, but I'm afraid that while people we work with would (might) get it, those who we socialize with generally wouldn't. I still think we'll do it because it'll be a super idea. Except what would we dress baby as? I suppose we could always dress him in white with "FFFFFF" written across his shirt... (Cue laughter from the two of you who actually get that.)

Murray's Super 8

A few nights ago, when Murray and I were staring at three (four?) different super 8 video cameras strewn all over our bed, I said, "How much did these cost again?" Murray reminded me that they ranged from $5-$20 each, and that's much less than I spend on various splurges on a regular basis. And that these cameras bring Murray an overwhelming sense of happiness.

That was enough to convince me that they were good purchases, because who am I to get in the way of Murray's overwhelming sense of happiness?

And I was even more convinced when I got to see Murray today, looking really hot with his suit (that he wore on our wedding day---swoon!), his hip messenger bag (that I gave to him as a gift), his Murray's Superior Hairstyling Pomade (which, he's happy to discover, is his new favorite hair product and costs under $2 instead of over $15), and super 8 video camera. He's going off to shoot Nicole Hill's wedding today, and I can truly say that if he shoots half as good as he looks, he'll have a fine career of super 8 wedding videography ahead of him.

(First day of shooting pictures taken by ME.)

Palinized

Murray blogged about this over on his blog, but I just had to mention it too because it made me laugh out loud several times. Go visit this site.

What is anyone going to talk about or satirize after this election?? It just seems like there's so much great fodder for comedy out there right now that's just going to go away as soon as the election's over. Pretty sad, really.


Also pretty sad is the fact that neither Jon Stewart nor Stephen Colbert report on Springville politics, so I have no idea who to vote for in Springville. I actually have to try and research that myself, I guess.

Diabetic Smoothie

1 cup light chocolate soy milk
12 frozen cherries
----
Mix in blender.

Enjoy immensely.

Count your blessings...

So, in case you haven't heard, I have gestational diabetes. Have I mentioned that already? Well, in case I have, today I'm going to give you the cold hard truth. How I really feel about gestational diabetes.

It's pretty easy to complain about the limited diet and the finger pricking. But to be honest, I mostly have a positive attitude about this. The benefits to having (and managing properly) gestational diabetes far outweigh the cons. Here's why I see gestational diabetes as a handful of blessings rather than a punishment.

I have poor eating habits. There have been times in my life when I've been able to clean them up a little, but I sink back into bad habits. Because poor eating habits with gestational diabetes would have negative consequences for my baby, it's much easier to adhere to all the rules. I'm not just doing it for me. I'm doing it for someone else. This gives me the discipline to follow my diet exactly and not cheat because I'm not just cheating myself.

I have three full months where I have to follow these new and improved eating habits, which is more than enough time to establish real, lasting changes.

My poor eating habits didn't just include eating all the wrong things, but they also included going long periods of time without eating, then eating large meals. I have always known that it's healthiest to eat smaller meals throughout the day, but I've never been able to apply that. Now that I have to, I find that it's much more easy and manageable than I'd thought.

Murray and I also got into the habit of eating out a LOT. Especially while I was working in Salt Lake City, it seemed impossible to put together a homemade meal. Those habits that we established carried over even after I started working from home. I've always wanted to be better about making meals at home, but until now, I haven't been able to achieve that goal. Now it's much easier for me to make my own meals rather than eat out because I'm in complete control of the ingredients, so I know what I'm eating and how much of it I can eat. We are eating food that is higher quality, more healthy, and lots less expensive!

I am not good at eating breakfast. Now I have to. Every day before Murray goes to work, I throw together a little breakfast for the two of us. It's not anything spectacular. Lately it's just been a whole wheat ego waffle with peanut butter and a yogurt. But it's nice to have that time to sit and visit with Murray before he goes off to work.

I am the type of person who has a hard time controlling portions. If I make a batch of cookies, and they're all sitting in the house, I don't limit myself to just one a day. I will easily eat ten a day. I usually help myself to seconds at dinner. Now I'm learning discipline and portion control and learning that it really is okay to have just one cookie. In fact, El Senor made me these absolutely delicious cookies. He gave me two. I had one one day and saved the other for the next because I knew there would be no way for me to eat them both without spiking my blood sugar. I think I enjoyed the cookies more because now I'm not used to having sweets at every meal. So now I'm thinking that I'll need to make a batch of that cookie recipe and just freeze it all. Then, I can just make four cookies at a time (two for me, spread out over two days, and two for Murray).

I'm making time to go for walks and get in exercise. It's nice to get outside when I'm indoors all day long! Murray and I have been able to enjoy several walks together. It's nice to stroll along in the evening holding hands.

I'm learning that my happiness does not depend on food. Although I love helping myself to lots of ice cream or lots of molten lava chocolate cake or lots of cookies, I'm learning now that having more sweets does not increase my overall happiness. Right now, I feel just as fulfilled and just as happy as I did before my diagnosis when I could eat anything I wanted. I am enjoying the same quality of life. The pleasure that I get from eating food is gone as soon as the food has been devoured. And the lasting effects of those food choices actually have a negative impact on my overall health and well being (and weight!). So I'm learning now that I don't have to indulge every craving to be happy, and in fact, I will be happier and healthier if I don't indulge every craving.

Finally, having gestational diabetes for three months teaches me what life could be like for me if I don't make permanent changes now. I can lower my chances of developing Type II diabetes now by applying these positive changes. And then I don't have to deal with pricking my finger and testing my blood every day for the rest of my life. So this experience is giving me the confidence to make the right decisions for me and my health.

So how's THAT for the glass being half full? You're probably all jealous of my condition now. Also, I need to make sure that I read this post AFTER the baby arrives and I have my eating freedom back. No sense in forgetting all the good lessons I'm learning and slipping back into bad habits!

Murray in a Hurry.

Here's the special present that I bought Murray! Isn't it the greatest thing ever? I knew he'd love it. Of course, when he saw it, he said, "Did you just buy me black man hairstyling product?" I said, "It says MURRAY'S!! And it's retro and vintage!" And let's face it. Murray probably loves it even more just because it is black man hairstyling product. Maybe Murray will start working on an afro...

Okay. So I've been blogging this week about things just to avoid blogging about the one thing I couldn't blog about and that I wanted to blog about. And that was the fact that for the past several days, Murray has been out of town without cell reception, and we have been separated for the first time in our almost year of marriage. Bwa! And I couldn't tell you all that because then one of you, my loyal blog readers/psycho stalkers would have come and murdered me in my bed. But Murray (the original blog stalker) is back now, so I'm safe.

Despite the fact that I lived for about ten successful years as an adult singleton, returning to that singleness was almost crippling. Well, and I'm not being entirely fair because during my single years, I always had roommates so I was rarely really alone anyway. But I really hated having Murray gone. Here are some of the things I missed:

* Making meals for the both of us.
* Snuggling in bed, especially because it was cold.
* Voicing every single random thought I had.
* Reporting to someone who cares about my whole day.
* Asking someone else to please take out the trash. (Shh! It's sitting on the back patio!)
* Getting help determining which shade my pee had turned the pee stick.
* Having random conversations about random things. Like urine, or belly button lint.
* Laughing at above random conversations.
* Watching tv or movies together. While snuggling.
* Having him available all day on google chat.
* Sharing everything I am doing with him.
* Getting positive feedback on every single thing that I do. (Have I ever mentioned how supportive Murray is?)
* Sharing the baby's kicks with Murray, especially when the baby went on this crazy ninja kicking spree. (He's gonna be a socca playa.)
* Having someone ask me what they could do for me several times a day. (Have I ever mentioned how supportive Murray is?)

I'm sure that there are other things that I'm forgetting to list now because Murray is back and so all that sorrow and strife is forgotten. I had to find things to do to fill my time while he was gone. So I went and spent a night at my brother's house in Salt Lake and went to church with his family. And I spent an evening with Murray's parents. Oh, and Jenny even let me babysit her children. And I had my cooking club. So, you know, I did activities to keep from curling up into a pathetic little fetal position... along with my fetus.

Oh, and just in case any of you blog stalkers are still reading this (which you would be because that's what stalkers do), you should know that my neighbor came over one night to make sure that we knew that we needed to turn off our sprinkler system because there was a potential freeze coming on. (He's the one who installed the sprinkler system, and he's taken it upon himself to ensure that we have the absolute best sprinkling experience possible.) When he found out that Murray was out of town, he got all defensive and gave me tips on how to be extra safe, and then also told me that he'd be talking to my neighbor on the other side and letting him know that I was alone and that they both had to keep an extra careful watch over our place. And then my lonely little heart was warmed by the kindness of really good neighbors.

Halloween Food

I just thought I'd share a picture of what I brought to my cooking group last night. The theme was "black and orange" and I felt it was the perfect excuse to use my black spaghetti that I bought at Target months ago. I made an oil-based shrimp sauce to go with it. It really was delicious. I know, because I even tried some. Yep. I ate 3 spaghetti noodles with 2 shrimp. I am restraint incarnate.

I think that this is going to have to be a Halloween staple in my house from now on. The kids will love it... hopefully. I'm even thinking that if I broke up the spaghetti, it would look like LITTLE black worms... delicious!

Black and Orange Pasta

12 oz package of black spaghetti (I got mine from Target.) --Prepare according to directions

1/2 C oil
7 cloves garlic
pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1 lb shrimp
fresh parsley

1) Heat oil on low heat.
2) Add minced garlic, red pepper, and salt; heat until garlic turns golden but is not brown, about 15 minutes.
3) Add shrimp, stir fry for 2 minutes or until shrimp is pink and opaque. (I cheated and just used thawed pre-cooked shrimp.)
4) Add oil sauce to spaghetti, add parsley, mix.

On a completely unrelated note, I think I need to start charging people more for what I do. I just received some Illustrator pattern files that a potential client bought from some professional company. Although they bought the copyrights to the patterns, the company did not actually set up the patterns to repeat. The files are an absolute mess and the client needs me to make them into repeat patterns, which the company should have done in the first place. When I give files to clients, they're set up properly, they're clean, and they're very usable! Must start charging exorbitant prices because obviously my skill and professionalism is worth it.

Today's Special

Today was jam-packed full of action. I had a day bookended by appointments, and I needed to find some good filler for between my appointment times. Here is what I did.

9:00 a.m.: Dentist appointment. Refused an X-ray. Changed my insurance information. Received praise for non-bleeding gums and general excellent oral hygiene during pregnancy. Didn't admit that I never floss and I brush my teeth only once a day. Expressed concern about my overbite that has returned since my braces in high school. Was informed that I'd need another round of full-on braces to fix the problem, except this time my parents wouldn't be paying for it.

9:45-10:45 a.m.: Wandered around Target. Looked for clothes for Jenny that we had found online, but didn't find them. Tried on two pairs of maternity pants and decided not to buy them because they'd need hemming. Looked at a collection of adorable tiny bowls and plates and considered buying them to help me with my portion control, but decided that they were unnecessary purchases and I need to cut back on unnecessary purchases. I can continue to just use my little ramekins for small food portions. Looked at baby aisle and got excited for when I actually get to start buying baby soap. Browsed shampoo section to choose new shampoo, while talking on the phone with Jenny. Sniffed new shampoo, only to accidentally squirt it up my nose. Complained to Jenny about accidentally squirting shampoo up my nose. Got off the phone with Jenny. Chose several shampoo/hygiene items. Looked down to see a blob of shampoo on my sweater. Took a picture to send to Jenny to tell her that the shampoo didn't only go up my nose. Grabbed something really funny for Murray that I can't share with the internet until he receives it, but just you wait. It's going to be good. Made purchases and left.


11:00-11:15 a.m.: Went to Motherhood Maternity to see if they had a maternity skirt that's suitable for the winter. Got one on sale for $20. Considered an adorable maternity coat for a mere $60, but decided that that, too, was probably an unnecessary purchase, or at least a purchase that required further consideration. Question to the public: Can I just get away with using my regular coats during the winter, but not buttoning all the buttons?


11:45-1:00p.m.: Went to a spur-of-the-moment hair appointment. Got to know my new hairstylist really well. Promised to make one more appointment in December right before the baby comes.


1:10-1:45 p.m.: Ate lunch at Guru's where I felt I could easily find something to suit my diet. Filled out my voter registration form. Wondered who goes to restaurants alone. Decided it must be diabetics who can't actually procrastinate eating their meal until they make it home several hours later. [UPDATE: Just tested my blood sugar and apparently the Guru's food I thought was safe was NOT safe.]

1:45-2:00 p.m.: Brought my registration form to the county clerk's office. Waited in line for one minute despite the fact that the place was packed. Expressed my disappointment that during my recent marriage and name change, several of the forms I filled out had a box that said "Check here if you'd like to register to vote today" and despite the fact that I checked that box every time, I still had never been registered to vote.

2:00-2:05 p.m.: Ran into Jenny on my way out of the county clerk's office. (If it weren't for her I probably wouldn't have registered in time. If it weren't for me, she probably wouldn't have registered in person.) Found out that she used an apple to brush her teeth. Considered that perhaps her oral hygiene habits are worse than mine.

2:10-2:30 p.m.: Had my rhoGAM shot at the hospital. Sat in the largest chair I have ever sat in (they don't discriminate against the really really really really obese). Got a shot in the hip. Called my mom to tell her she was a fool for scaring me about being rH negative my whole life because that shot wasn't any different from a flu shot. (During one of her deliveries, nearby there was a stoic woman who didn't make a peep during her entire labor and delivery. When they gave her the shot for being rH negative, she let out a yelp, or screamed or something. But apparently they have made great medical advancements in the past three decades.)

So that has been my day today.

New Office

Cicada here, reporting live from my new office. What do you think? (What I think is that the lighting in my house is not as flattering as the lighting in my old office when I was actually working in a real workplace.) This week, things got really really cold. And I still refuse to turn on the heating to my house. I mean, we just turned off the air conditioning a few days ago. Shouldn't mother nature reward me with some small period of time when she can just heat and cool my house? Plus, I don't think that there's really anything better than getting all snuggly cozy warm during the cooler months. I wait all year long till it's time to wear sweaters again and always snuggle under a blanket in front of the tv.

So that's why I decided that I may as well move my office downstairs for at least a bit of the day every day. That way I get to be warm and extremely cozy for a bit of the day every day. Right now, I'm upping the cozy ante by drink-eating a bowl of diabetes-friendly split-pea soup. And I have decided that steamed milk will be my new best friend. Unfortunately I don't live near a Starbucks (who does in Utah County?) but there is a coffee shop down the street that I might have to try out. Today, I'll just settle for some warmed-up milk with flavored syrup.

Anyway. As long as I save my blog surfing (which is work related because most of the blogs I read are design blogs) for my downstairs-office time, I should have plenty of relaxing, soothing, comforting couch time where I can accomplish some good work. Emails, too. I don't need my big screen to answer emails. Hey... does this mean that I can deduct my living room AND my couch this year? Awesome.

About yesterday, I never got a picture of what I wore, which is probably for the best. I spent the night at my brother's house in Salt Lake, and packed an outfit that I'd never tried on before. I'm not sure I would have worn it if it hadn't been my only option. And I just forwent the tights anyway, because the only tights I could have gotten away with wearing with that outfit were natural fishnets (my favorite kind of fishnets by far, as long as the netting is very tight), and I couldn't buy any at Target when I tried. So I'll have to keep an eye out for natural fishnets.

I feel like this post is rambly. Oh well. Hey, everyone. I went in for my blood test so that I can get my rhoGAM shot tomorrow. Does anyone know if I get this in the butt? Someone suggested that I'm going to get it in the butt. Ladies?

Oh crap. I just got an email requesting that some work-work be done, so I have to unsnuggle and get back up to my upstairs office.

Fall Fashion

It's that time of year again. The time to bust out the fall fashions. Fall is definitely my favorite fashion season. I love the styles. I love the colors. And I love wearing nylons. Call me crazy.

Only I'm a little concerned right now about what to wear to church tomorrow. I don't have any nylons that I could wear with a pregnant belly. But with cool weather, I feel really foolish wearing a skirt without nylons. It's one of the things I'm really picky about.

I can't really do knee-highs because my maternity skirts go just below the knee, so it would look awful when I sit down.

I guess I could go out and buy larger sizes of nylons or even maternity nylons, but when I was in a maternity store the other day, I only saw plain nylons. I'm a patterned nylon sort of girl. So I guess I'll have to see what I can do about just buying a larger size.

And not to keep coming up with problems rather than solutions, but because all my skirts right now are summer skirts, they don't have slick linings, so I'd have to actually go and find a slip and hope that it would fit my pregnant waist, too.

Such a dilemma.

Fashion-wise, I would forgive myself for wearing a denim skirt without nylons (but only because it's October) for one week, except that spiritually speaking, I've always been raised to believe that wearing denim to church will pretty much guarantee that I'm thrust straight to Hell.

I'll have to update you tomorrow on what I decide.

A GB Update

So I know you're all dying to know more about my gestational diabetes and the food that I eat. I know that it's about the only thing that I think about, so I assume it's the only thing you're all thinking about, too.

I'm definitely getting used to this new eating lifestyle. It's really not as bad as I thought it was. Especially since Jenny taught me that eating one fun-size Snickers bar won't spike my blood sugar, and that I can count 1/2 cup of ice cream at dinner as a milk and a fat. Phew!

I think that right now the biggest challenge is finding creative ways to have my protein at five out of six meals. I mean, there's boiled eggs. There's string cheese. There's meat. There's also peanut butter and nuts, but I think that technically I'm supposed to not go crazy on those foods because of their high fat content. I think. I did buy some edamame packs at Costco yesterday so that Murray and I can have edamame as part of our evening snack. It's easy to have meat at real meals, but it's working protein into my snacks that makes me get creative.

Anyway. Last night, I had pumpkin soup with shrimp pineapple spinach nut salad. I made up the salad. Can you tell? Oh, and I definitely had ice cream for dessert. I realized that although one cup of pumpkin counts as a starch, I can have WAY more than 1 cup of pumpkin soup because there's twice as much broth (which is free) than there is pumpkin. So I got two cups of pumpkin soup last night. And that was plenty.

Here's me with my lunch today. See? Not bad at all. I get two slices of bread for my sandwich because I use reduced calorie bread. AND I finished off lunch with a mini Snickers. Not bad at all. Just ignore the fact that I haven't had time to shower yet today.

Check Him Out

Last night Murray and I took a trip to Home Depot to buy paint for the baby's room. We've decided to paint only one wall of the nursery and then Murray will do a very simple "mural" (it's really more of a line drawing than a mural that we have in mind...). The crib will go against this wall.

So we brought the green sheet from the baby's bedding to Home Depot to color match and get the exact right green for the wall. If you think that I, as a woman who enjoys interior design, am picky about these things, think again. Murray is waaaaaaaay more picky. Remember what I said about my urine test yesterday? It took Murray about five minutes to really color match my urine stick to the options on the bottle. "Well, this is a little warmer than that color..." Last night was no different. This is why I love having him around (among other reasons). We compared the blanket to several swatches. "This is too blue," he'd say. "That has more red in it." (It's not every person who can tell you if your shade of green has "too much red.") After checking swatch after swatch, we finally settled on the most absolutely perfect color. Do you know how I know it's the most absolutely perfect color? Because I chose that exact color to paint my room when I was living with El Senor. (The pictures in that link are very yellow, but you get the idea.)

What can I say? I'm really picky about my greens, and Murray and I have the same green tastes, which is a huge relief because I don't know if I could ever love a man who loved sage or mint green.

According to one of my pregnancy books, I'm technically not supposed to paint the baby's room because of the chemicals. I think I'd look into it more if it was more than one wall, but since it's just one wall I don't feel so bad letting Murray do it himself. I helped to tape up the wall and set out the drop mat. He did the first and second coats in no time. My bedroom needed three coats, but it looks like the baby's room might only need 2 coats anyway.

Now Murray just needs to do the mural! Maybe while he does that, I'll sew the glider cushion covers. We're both happy little nesters!

Menu Planning

My mom has commented that I don't post as often as I used to after marrying Murray. She says that I am a lot happier and have less to complain about. While that's definitely true. I think that there's also the factor that when I was single, I had no evening company or schedule, so I'd just sit around with my computer. Now, the computer gets turned off every day in time for Murray to come home. So. You know. There's that.

BUT with gestational diabetes, I now have something to complain about, so my posting is up. Maybe my mom was onto something.

Yesterday I went in for my diabetes education. I thought it was going to be a class with several people, so I was curious as to how they'd educate me about everything regarding my specific needs in a class setting. I was wrong, however. Everything was one-on-one. First I met with a woman who explained my new eating habits and schedule. She gave me a book that has information about all my meals and what foods I can eat and stuff. Fruit juice has been stricken off the list entirely for the rest of my pregnancy, which is ironic since I actually increased my fruit juice intake BECAUSE OF my pregnancy. Anyhoo. What I couldn't help but notice is that in the food index of my book (it's really more like a beefy pamphlet or a wimpy magazine), chocolate isn't even listed. Seriously?

Then I met with a woman who explained to me how I need to poke holes in my fingers six times a day to test my blood sugar. Are you kidding me? And I need to pee on a stick every morning. And record it all. And I need to eat all my meals and prick my fingers at set times.

So last night I entered in six alarms on my iPhone so that I can be reminded when to eat every day, since I tend to be a person who forgets to eat and gets around to it when it's convenient. The first one went off this morning at 8:30. So I immediately pricked my finger, measured my blood sugar, went downstairs, prepared a breakfast for me and Murray, and ate breakfast. And then I realized that I forgot to pee on the stick. After I'd already peed. So I mustered up enough pee to pee on the stick and then I had to compare the stick's color to the color scheme on the pee-stick packaging. Since Murray is the color expert, I called him over to ask his advice and tell me what color my pee stick was closest to. After determining the right color, Murray commented, "You know, all this is kindof fun when you think about it. You get to use a cool little blood machine every day, and then practice color theory with your urine!"

I still have a few questions about my menu, since I was educated so quickly! For example, here are my nutritional requirements for dinner every day. I was pretty stumped about what to do last night while I was looking at them:

3 carbohydrate group
- 1 starch
- 1 fruit
- 1 milk
- non-starchy vegetables
3 meat or meat substitutes (3 oz)
2 fats

So breaking this down for you, it goes something like this.

My one starch that I get to eat at dinner is equivalent to 1/3 cup of pasta or rice, or one slice of bread, or 1/2 cup of potatoes. And other things of the like. But you get that it's a really small portion.

My one fruit is pretty self-explanatory.

My one milk can be either milk or yogurt. I don't drink milk, and yogurt doesn't really seem to go with an evening meal.

I am allowed up to 1 1/2 cups of cooked non-starchy vegetables or up to 3 cups of raw.

My 3 meats means 3 ounces of meat or meat substitute like beans, cheese, eggs, etc. Have you ever seen a 3-oz steak?

My 2 fats means that I've got to add a bit of butter or oil or something to my meal.

So what would you make with these specifications? No, seriously. Please leave comments about what you would prepare given this breakdown. I will love you forever. After I cried a little bit (a lot) about how this was absolutely impossible and it seemed that I'd be doomed to eating mismatched meals for the rest of my pregnancy, I received inspiration. Here's our meal last night:

SALAD NICOISE with Cherry Smoothies for dessert

Salad for 2:
1 can of green beans, drained
1 bag of salad greens (I like the spring mix)
2 small tomatoes
(all totaled, equals less than 3 cups of veggies each)

1 cup of boiled small red potatoes with skins
(at 1/2 cup each, this equals one starch---oh, and I gave Murray more than 1/2 cup because I'm kind like that)

1 can tuna, drained
2 hard boiled eggs, cut up
(all totalled, 3 oz of meat each)

some green olives (for Murray's half, although if I liked green olives, this would have counted as a fat)

homemade dressing made with garlic-herbed olive oil, dijon mustard, and cider vinegar
(two fats!)

Smoothies for 2:
2 cups of light vanilla soy milk
24 frozen cherries
(There's my milk and my fruit!)

After the meal, we were both really surprised to find out that we were both really full. So, as long as I can keep coming up with inventive ways to put my ingredient list together, I may just make it through the rest of my pregnancy without going insane!

Weekend Update

We had a great weekend. I love General Conference weekend. Sometimes I wonder if I should just convert to a televangelist sort of church. I mean, what's better than attending church in your pajamas?

In addition to conference, we prepared the baby's room for.... Switchback! Just in time for her arrival, we got our crib set up (donated by Murray's aunt) and put all of the gender-neutral bedding on. The room is looking more and more like a baby's room every day. Switchback didn't sleep in the crib. She slept in the bed beside the crib. I guess she's all about the big-girl comforts.

Today I go in for my diabetes education. Yikes! After 3:00 today, my diet will have completely changed. So today, I celebrated my last day of ignorance by having a well rounded breakfast:

2 pieces of pumpkin bread, slathered with Nutella (to my credit, I used half whole wheat flour and replaced all the oil with apple sauce...)
1 hard boiled egg
1 glass orange juice

I have been trying my best this weekend to eat all of my Nutella, and I didn't even eat half. Dang. I have a feeling the rest of it is going to go to waste... or at least wait for me for the next three months.

The Monkey Paw

There's this ghost/horror story that I heard in my childhood that my mom called to remind me of this morning. It's about a monkey paw. Have you heard this one?

A man somehow acquires a monkey paw that you can wish upon. Whatever you wish on the monkey paw, it comes true. But everyone warns the man: Don't wish on the monkey paw. He doesn't heed their warning and wishes on the monkey paw anyway. Whatever he wishes, his wish is granted, but something goes wrong in order to grant that wish. Finally, he wishes for $500,000. As soon as he's finished wishing, the phone rings and he and his wife are informed that their son has died. But they are the beneficiaries of his life insurance policy and will be receiving $500,000. Obviously the man and wife are distraught. Later, while still mourning the death of their son, the wife finds the monkey paw and wishes to have her son back. The story ends as the son rises from the grave and comes after his parents zombie-style.

(I got the details a little wrong, but here's the actual story.)

So why did my mom call me to remind me about this story this morning? Well, yesterday I was officially diagnosed with gestational diabetes. And because my mom only bought a one-way ticket to come out for Christmas this year (the baby is due January 4th), she's been wishing and wishing that I won't go past my due date (she said she went 2 weeks over with all but one of us). And she just read on the internet that they don't allow women with gestational diabetes to go past their due date because there's a risk that the baby will grow too big.

I hope my mom doesn't wish for me to get lots of good rest, because for sure something else will go wrong and I'll end up on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy!