sijbrich (see-brik)

Gastronomic Happiness

I recently realized that it's been awhile since I last featured any food on the blog, and that's just a cryin' shame, so today I'm going to mend my ways and show what's been making me happy lately:

 

It's incredibly satisfying to walk about five steps out your back door to pluck some mixed greens or cut a few heads of bok choy and eat them within the hour.  Having too much spinach isn't a bad inconvience to deal with, either.

 

Give us a few months and we'll have some tomatoes, pole beans, and potatoes to show, too.

 

Yesterday morning I was feeling abnormally bright-eyed and bushy-tailed so I tried a new recipe from one of the Bon Appetit magazines I've been stealing from my mom while she's been galavanting in China for the last year.  Ricotta pancakes.  Verdict:  pretty good, but not necessarily worth all the extra trouble of separating eggs, folding in egg whites, etc.

Later in the day we went to pick cherries...

 

Where the branches were so overloaded that some of them touched the ground.  It was a perfect beautiful, slightly breezy first day of summer and we came home with 2 overflowing bucketfuls of perfect cherries. I don't know what could be any better than that.  

Don't you just love summer?

The Verdict on Pregnancy

 

Self-portrait, 37 1/2 weeks.

Advantages of being pregnant:

-No need to worry about cleaning out belly button lint.

-It's gotta be the only time when people will compliment you on how good you look after gaining an unsightly amout of weight in a short amount of time.

-People are incredibly generous.  Those you do know well, and those you've hardly ever talked to.

-It offers an easy topic of conversation.

-You can eat more without shame or embarassment.

-Feeling the miracle of kicking, stretching, and moving of another living being in my belly and anticipating our meeting.

-Always having a ready excuse for any mistake or lack of attention on my part.  "Oh, I totally forgot.  Must be the pregnancy brain." "Oh, I didn't do that because I was just lazy.  I'm pregnant."  I'm actually starting to annoy myself by the frequency with which I have used statements like these.

Before becoming pregnant, I was a bit wary of the concept - thinking about the drastic changing of my body that would be out of my control, and the thought of all of the ailments that generally accompany pregnancy...but truth be told, it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be.  I haven't been without backaches or the general uncomfortableness, but really, I've got nothing to complain about and I've had a rather pleasant experience thus far.

Giving birth.  Well now, let's hope I'll have a similar report for that one. 

Climax of the Immigration Story

This handsome feller became a U.S. citizen last week.

It was also my first time ever attending the ceremony.  I must say, the oath is no laughing matter.  When you take it, you are renouncing your allegiance to your native country and promising to bear arms for the United States if ever needed.  Both pretty serious stuff if you ask me.  So I admired all the more the 70 or so people that took the oath with Mr. P that day, all from countries ranging from Canada to Sudan.  I'm sure many of them have amazing stories to tell about how they arrived at that day.  I know Mr. P has his own story and it never ceases to amaze me how brave and hard-working he proved to be in coming here, learning a different language, going to graduate in school in that new language, and proceeding to create a good life for himself.  I feel blessed to be a part of it.

Now Mr. P faces his first adventure as a citizen.  Three days after the ceremony his sister called from Peru.  She was able to sell their parents' home  and has to clear it out for the new owners by the beginning of next month.  She requested Mr. P's help so he's scrambling to get a U.S. passport since his Peruvian one is now invalid.  Nice timing, eh?  Although the selfish side of me is more miffed about the fact that I don't get to go, seeing as I'm going on eight months pregnant now and he'll be down there enjoying all the fabulous Peruvian food without me.  What's a girl to do?

I can't post the above picture without an added side note about balloon bouquets and how they aren't the greatest idea in the world.  Reason #1:  There's a good chance a balloon or two might pop if you hide them in a closet.  Reason #2:  If you buy them a day before giving them to the recipient, half of the balloons will lose their helium and sag down on the ground, ultimately making a rather sad looking bouquet.  Reason #3:  Driving a car with balloons is just dangerous.  Reason #4:  Wind makes the balloons even more annoying.  So moral of the story is:  It was my first  and last time buying a bouquet of balloons.

Experimenting

Last month I saw this entry on a photography blog that I visit on a regular basis.  I found the photos inspiring, so I forced this good looking guy I know to let me photograph him in a similar fashion.  I don't know if I achieved the daguerrotype feel, but I suppose that wasn't necessarily my goal.  I really just wanted a dramatic and unadulterated photo and I think I got it in a few shots (thanks, in large part, to my very gracious and handsome model, who in my humble opinion, is more attractive than Brad Pitt).  These photos make me want to go on an on about how great this model is as a person, but I'll spare you the rambling and try to respect his privacy.  Let's just say he's got a lot going for him besides his good looks.  Sorry ladies, he's already taken.

 

Visit my photography blog to check out all the photos.

Another self-portrait

Actually, that's incorrect.  This was taken by Mr. P.  Of two girls. 25 weeks.

A very deep, cleansing breath taken in my front yard.

 

 

My first published photograph

Did I mention that I recently had my first published photograph show up in the mail last week?

I took the picture of the piano, not the monkey.  Anyone can take a picture of a sleeping monkey.  But a pink piano?  Well, that actually might be a bit easier than taking a photo of a sleeping monkey, but I'm still excited.

You can actually purchase the CD here, and you might even enjoy the music on the CD, too.  The artist definitely has more fans than I do of my photography and I think it's pretty well deserved. 

Another lesser known fact about some of the photographs contained in the CD booklet - the pink shirt belonged to my late father-in-law.  I'm glad someone else was able to get good use out of it.  I don't think Mr. P could have pulled it off quite as well.

Mysterious hearts

Over the last few days, hearts have all of a sudden appeared in a few places.

 

This one's on our fridge.  Translate it if you dare.

 

Saturday morning we got heart attacked.  Complete with a cute box of treats.

 

Do conversation hearts make anyone else laugh?  Apparently the people that heart attacked us don't know us well enough to know that we don't use a cell phone.  Hmm.  That could narrow down the list of suspects a bit.

And I know this has nothing to do with hearts, but I was cleaning up some photo albums on the computer and couldn't believe that I forgot about this shot from several weeks ago:

 

*Sigh*  A stark reminder that gardening season is still a ways off.  I'm already getting itchy.

This is not going to become a pregnancy blog, I promise.

Let's be honest. My reproductive history is a bit rocky, so there have been many a time when looking at blogs with the writers expounding upon all the details and excitement of their healthy pregnancy left me, well, not really wanting to read their blog on a regular basis.  So I promise that this isn't going to become a pregnancy blog.  Really.  But I have gotten a few requests for photos.  Briefly, here are two to share:

  

I'm really swallowing my pride here.  I call this one Self-Portrait, 20 weeks.  I hope those that requested this photo are happy. 

 

Here's a view from the inside.  We were hoping to find out the gender, but the baby just wasn't cooperating.  I'm okay with that.  I'm just happy to see that everything is in place and functioning properly.

Last night, Mr. P felt the baby kicking for the first time.  I wish I could have had the camera when he jumped and looked at me.  Priceless.

Okay, enough of that. With the renewed energy and the nausea for the most part gone, I've been busy enjoying a few simple pleasures.   Last week I made this:

 

Two people that ate some of it commented that it tasted a lot like apple pie, which is good news for me as apple pie is just too much work, in my opinion.  This apple tart, on the other hand, was super fast and easy to make.  This recipe is not only a keeper, but it's going to replace the 2 or 3 attempted apple pie recipes I have floating around in my recipe book.  I dare you to try it. 

I've also been a little crafty and made myself a new shirt:

 

Hmm.  I think I need to iron it a bit there by the buttons, but other than that, I'm pretty pleased with the results. 

Language Lessons

Just as a preface to this story, I may have mentioned to you before, that as a bilingual couple, we often have funny conversations about English and Spanish.  There is ample opportunity to learn from each other since we're native speakers of the other's second language.  The lessons go both ways.  Here's an example:

The other day we were looking through one of the bajillion pregnancy magazines that my OB gave me (this was one of the few that actually interested me, as it actually had useful information and didn't have baby formula or stroller ads plastered on every other page).  There was a page dedicated specifically to advice for the father.  "...Many women find that this is a time they want to be close to their partner, and they need a lot of affection and TLC."  To which my beloved Mr. P replied, "Really, you need me to make Tomato, Lettuce, and Cheese sandwiches for you?"  To which I duly laughed.  And then thought," Hmm, actually, tomato, lettuce and cheese sounds really good right now..."

I still haven't gotten any TLC sandwiches from him yet, but he is getting well practiced in his sushi rolls.

 

Have no fear, the salmon is grilled and fully cooked.  Although I am looking forward to the day when I can again eat the rolls the way they really should be.