Celebrations and Good Food

My funky haired Valentine

My Amazing Cook Valentine



My sister, Dad and me

The Birthday Girl
I am sure I've gained 10 pounds since Thursday. My Mom and brother-in-law share a birthday, so Thursday the entire family gathered at a yummy BBQ place for a great dinner, then headed back to my parents' house for brownies and ice cream.
Last night, Deech made his ladies (as he likes to call us) a delicious steak dinner. We had sirloin (fresh from a local farm), asparagus, and red potatoes. I would have made rolls for us as I have a few delicious recipes, but I didn't think of it in time, so we had some yummy ones from the store with REAL butter. Liz is on a butter diet (her doctor would like to see more fat on her) which means anywhere that we can sneak butter, we are supposed to. It's quite tempting to have around, but for the most part, those of us that have plenty of fat on us (!!!!) stick to the "I Can't Believe It's Not..." spray.
Deech is really the cook in our family. Early in our marriage, I burned everything, but was determined to produce an edible meal for my husband. I have always wanted him to be proud of my cooking. It took a while to get there. Deech used to watch over my dinner preparations and correct me - er, I mean....guide me. I kicked him out one night and didn't let him back in the kitchen until I had things figured out. I am glad that I learned to cook, but when we have meals like last night, I wonder why I don't have him cook more. He is amazing!!! Everything last night was his own: he just threw ingredients together and everything just melted in our mouths.
I was put in charge of dessert and I found "S'more Brownies" on foodnetwork.com. What a delicious, messy dessert that was! We had a really fabulous day.
I had planned to go all out on breakfast yesterday, but we had to take an all day drive earlier than expected to give our dog back to her previous owner (that is another blog entirely!). So this morning, I made bacon (the real stuff-we usually just do turkey bacon), eggs, potatoes O'Brien, and mini-bagels with cream cheese and orange juice. Needless to say, we will be eating salad for the next week and hitting the gym a lot.
So let me know if I'm on my own here, ladies: I hate working out when I'm pregnant. I know it's good for me and the baby, blah, blah, blah...I know that. I do. And working out should be about taking care of your body, not just sculpting it. But I have a hard time going to the gym, knowing that no matter what I do there the next 6 months, I will just continue to get bigger and bigger! The inspiration just isn't there. Especially when my husband is getting a smaller waist and more defined muscles and reports on his pound loss every day. Grrr.
For some reason, this pregnancy has me a little sad about body changes. The baby is worth it. Beauty is fleeting. I want to be a woman that fears and loves the Lord above all. I want that to be my beauty. Oh, but I am a woman and I feel frumpy this time around. I was walking at the mall with a friend of mine when we ran into another gal we know. Soon we were all discussing Valentine ideas and let's say their plans were a little steamier than my s'more brownies. Standing there with these sweet ladies, I was very aware of their tiny little waists and my ever-increasing one. Ah, but such is motherhood and I wouldn't have it any other way. It will be my turn to work out and watch the pounds melt away soon enough.
That's enough about that. I will just add, it is certainly not helping things that my little Lee loves a certain music video featuring a certain fit Beyonce that is showing off her dancing skills. That is also quite another post.
Hope you all had a wonderful day. What did you and your families for V-day?