Day 11: Share your favorite recipe(s)

Chocolate Cappuccino Cheesecake…Best dessert EVER!!!  I don’t like strong coffee flavors, but the coffee in this recipe just makes the chocolate that much chocolatier.  I don’t put the coffee liqueur in the whipped topping, I put vanilla instead (like I said, I don’t like strong coffee flavors) but I do put it in the cheesecake part.  Soooooooo delicious and worth the effort!

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chocolate-cappuccino-cheesecake/Detail.aspx

Other recipes I love:

Bruschetta:

**the amounts are approximate.  We never measure any of it.

4 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced (if you don’t get the seeds out, it will get very runny and juicy and make the bread soggier)
1-2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
1/4 of a red onion, finely diced(I really have no idea on the amount here!  Do whatever you like...the more onion, the worse your breath will be:)
6+ basil leaves (I always think the more basil, the more yummy!)
Olive oil to coat everything
Salt and pepper (we usually put the salt on as we go.  If you put it on the whole mixture before you're ready to eat it, it will take all the juices out of the tomatoes and make it soggy.  But don't forget the salt, because it really adds!)

We usually butter (or brush with olive oil) some bread (Italian bread, French bread, artisan bread, etc…) and put it under the broiler to crisp up.  Sometimes I put garlic salt on the bread, depending on how much garlic I put in the actual mixture.

Spoon the bruschetta onto the bread right before you eat it and enjoy!

Lemon Spaghetti:  This is one of my favorites (not a favorite of Rob’s, but he likes it.  I think it is a little too lemony for his tastes).  It is very fresh and easy.  It would be good with some grilled chicken on it too.  I think it would probably even be good cold as a pasta salad type thing—I’ve never tried that, though.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/lemon-spaghetti-recipe/index.html

Loin of Pork with Fennel and Garlic:  This is incredible!  I just use a regular old pork loin (no bones or anything fancy) with this.  It is an Ina Garten recipe and I love it with her homemade applesauce (perfect fall recipe when apples are in season).

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/loin-of-pork-with-fennel-and-garlic-recipe/index.html

Homemade Applesauce:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/homemade-applesauce-recipe/index.html

I posted some other favorite recipes a while back too, if you’re interested.

Day 10: A letter to a person who has caused you pain

Dear Adeline,

Would you please learn to do the following things:

Walk, stop doing something when I tell you “no”, and come to me when I say “come here”

It is starting to cause me physical pain to have to pick you up 50 billion times a day.  I am getting bigger in the belly area and bending over to lift you is making me have a sore back.  I try to remember to “lift with my legs and not with my back,” but its faster to just bend over and scoop you up.  I love you, but you are causing me pain.  Plus, you are kinda heavy to carry around.  If you would just learn the previously mentioned items, it would help me a lot.

Love,

Mommy

Day 9: List some of your favorite blogs

I usually only read blogs of friends and family, so if you are reading this and have a blog (that I know about), then yours is most likely one of my favorites.  If I haven’t ever commented, I may not know about it, so send me a link so I can add you to my reader.

One blog that I have been to recently is for digital scrapbooking.  http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/blog/ 

They have some good ideas for layouts and there are sometimes some free downloads too.  I’ve been going to it a lot for inspiration in finishing up Adeline’s baby book and getting started on Baby Bobby’s baby book.  I’m making his an ABC book and I’m making templates for the pages now so that once he’s born, I can just add the photos in.  I figure that this way, his will get finished by his first birthday (that was my goal with Adeline…oops).  I’ll post some samples of the cute pages I’ve done soon!

Day 8: A photo of you taken recently

So I tried to find some pics to show that I actually look pregnant.  I made Rob take this one tonight, but I look nasty because it was at the end of our walk and I was sweaty and tired (this humidity is terrible!).  I don’t like pictures of me when I’m pregnant, so don’t expect to see many more any time soon.

This next one is from a trip to the beach a couple weeks ago.  I think its about time for me to go buy a maternity swimsuit.  Especially since I have been swimming a lot at them gym.

Day 7: A youtube video you find funny

A classic…I don’t really watch youtube that often, but this never gets old!

Day 6: A list of what you ate today

Breakfast: small bowl of honey nut cheerios, large glass of chocolate milk (I must have my chocolate milk every morning!), a few bites of Adeline’s banana, and a couple cinnamon rolls (the little pillsbury kind).  Don’t judge me, I’m pregnant.  And I really like breakfast…

Snack: a few peanut m&m’s at church

Lunch: ramen noodles-pork flavor (I actually love them!  I always have), and a few bites of my cake contest winning red velvet cake!  Plus 2 tall glasses of water.

Dinner: Chipotle chicken tacos (thank you Rob for actually making something healthy for me to eat today!) and a half a graham cracker.

I feel like I ate pretty junky today compared to how I have been eating this past week.  Of course this blog post came on my day of weakness!

Day 5: A letter to your crush

So based on today’s post, I’m guessing this list was probably made up by some 12 year old girl.  I’ll play along anyway and write a letter to my first real crush (probably when I was about 12 years old).  I probably had other crushes when I was younger, but this was the first crush I remember writing in my diary about.  Be prepared, this might be some juicy stuff!

Dear Spencer,

I used to think you were the cutest boy that ever walked the planet.  I remember seeing you in my Sunday School class and was immediately struck by cupid’s arrow.  You had that long hair, parted down the middle that just made the girls swoon.  Looking back, I think it was probably super greasy and grungy looking, but I guess that didn’t matter to me back then.  I remember that you were slightly mysterious.  I guess I found you intriguing!  You didn’t hang out with the other boys at church and I don’t even know what school you went to.  You probably don’t even remember me because I was so shy.  We might have exchanged a few words in the year I knew you, but I’m not even sure about that.  But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t obsessed.  I would fantasize about holding hands with you (I  know, this is getting a little hot!) and you smiling at me or saying hi to me in the hall.  I remember that I thought you had the cutest smile.  I wonder where you are now.  I guess you must have moved away pretty soon after I met you because I don’t recall ever seeing you around much.  I hope you are enjoying a great life and I hope you learned to shampoo that dreamy hair of yours.

Your 12 year old crush,

Haley