Firsts: Green Beanie

This past Sunday Eliza tried her first baby food: Green beans.
For some reason I thought she would think they were tasty. This is what we found. ..

Before her first bite:
After:

Turns out she is not a fan of green beans. No matter how much I tried.

But she tried them. And that is what matters. Then Daddy made her feel all better.

Next up: Peas....

Recap of Thanksgiving

Every year we alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas between Kase's side of the family and mine. We do this because my family lives kind of far away (especially when you have a little one) and it would be too much to travel to both on the same day. This year, we spent thanksgiving with my side of the family.

Eliza got to spend some time with her grandpop.... who looked a little like santa clause.....


She also got to spend some time with her memaw and great-memaw. Four generations..... three of which are Martynes....

It was hard because my memaw has alzheimer's disease and she couldn't really remember who we were. But she loved being around Eliza. She kept saying how beautiful she is and how she could tell she is a good baby. My mom said that my memaw hadn't smiled that much in a while.

It was Eliza's first thanksgiving and while she didn't get to eat any turkey, she did get to sport really cute mocassin's that my sister made her.


My dad grilled the turkey....soooooo.... good.... nice and smoked....

I had to keep Kase from devouring our child as an appetizer...

That is because I was saving her for desert....

It was a wonderful thanksgiving.

Dear Orange Juice,

Image from here

Let me count the ways that I love thee.

Obviously you taste delicious. Especially with bits of pulp, or maybe some added pineapple juice.

When you were on my mother's grocery list, you were simply refered to as OJ. Which puzzled me as a child, I wondered what you, a sweet innocent juice, had to do with Mr. Simpson.

During the summer, Mother would often turn you into a popsicle. Sooo good. When you're frozen you still remind me of my childhood.

You taste soooo good with breakfast, or even as a little snack.

But now, my delicious treat, a baby has come between us. And you have left me with a burning heart, or as some would say heart-burn.

So it is that I must say farewell. Atleast for a while.

But don't worry. I am sure you will show up on my grocery list soon, OJ.

And one day popsicles will be made for my little girl.

Until then.....

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Have you ever had that awkward experience where you think someone/something is someone/something they are not.

Like you think you see a friend walking by. You say hi and they turn around. Only you see that they are not your friend but a complete stranger.

Awkward.

Or when you were a kid and you were shopping. An adult walks up next to you with the same pants as your parent. You tug on their pant leg and ask them a question. Only you look up to see a stranger staring down at you.

Awkward.

Well that happened to us last night. Only not so much with a person.

Last year for my birthday Kase took me to Pigeon Forge. We shopped and ate at a place called Connors. For our meal we shared an appetizer sampler and the most delicious plate of nachos. I am not talking Taco Bell nachos. I mean a HUGE plate full of chips, beans, guacamole, cheese, green onions, jalapeños...OK you get the picture.

Lately, I have been craving these nachos bad. Real bad.

Last night, we were running errands in Turkey Creek when suddenly I see a Connors. The beholder of the coveted nachos. We decided this would be our valentine treat. (Ok I really decided and Kase is nice to me seeing that I am growing his child and all.)

So we park. We go into the restaurant and get a table immediately. I visit the restroom facilities. An employee chats with me at the sink and is super nice. Quick service, clean restrooms, nice employees, delicious nachos. This place rocks!

That’s when it happened. I returned to our table and found Kase looking grim.

“Either this is not the same Connors, or they have changed their menu” he says.

I glance through the menu. Nope. No nachos. No appetizer sampler. Just expensive stuff that I don’t really want to eat. “But the restaurant has the same name with the same sign in the same font and everything!” I was starting to get really worried.

“What are we going to do?” I say very panicky. “I don’t want this stuff. I don’t want to pay money for stuff I don’t want to eat. Let’s leave.” I look over the menu again just to make sure we didn’t miss the nachos, or a section with cheap food.

I was ready to bolt for the door without a word to the waiter. (We only had waters on our table.) But Kase is polite and says we need to tell the waiter we’re leaving.

At this point the waiter shows up to our table with bread. I told him we had to go. Kase said we had a phone call and needed to leave. (Which was true because I had received a phone call at some point and we did need to leave.)

We got the heck out of the nacho-less place. Apparently Connors in Pigeon Forge is different than the Connors in Turkey Creek. I should have known.

Awkward.

Now does anyone know a place that has really good nachos? I know I could make them myself, but they just don’t taste as good.



P.S. Everyone thanks for all the advice from my last post. I really appreciate it. I’m sure I will be asking for more!

P.S.S. Erin, I went to the Ross in Turkey Creek and got some super cute maternity tops for super cheap. Thanks!

What's for Dinner (or lunch)?

Since we've been back from vacation, we have been trying a new experiment. We are not eating out for a month (except for an occasional date night). Our goals are to lose a little weight, eat healthier, and save money.

It's not that we ate out a LOT before. I would eat out maybe 1 or 2 times a week for lunch. My work is stocked with a fridge, freezer, microwave, and even a toaster oven so bringing lunch is easy. But when EVERYONE else has delicious hot lunches from a nearby location, well, temptation is hard to overcome when your stomach is growling. Kase, on the other hand, has it rough. His work doesn't always have a fridge or microwave (depending on which location he is scheduled at). So he would eat out for lunch most days, or not eat any lunch at all.

Then there was the temptation of eating out for dinner. I would be driving home late and pass by taco bell, a favorite at our house, and think "well, it's really late and I don't think we have any good food at home. Taco bell is cheap." Or friends would invite us out to dinner and we wouldn't want to say no. It was just easy. Not that we ate out every night, but it was easy to lose track.

So it's been 2.5 weeks since our not eating out and it's been great! I feel better and have been cooking more which is a goal I had set for myself. Kase has started back to school so he packs his lunch and eats between classes or when he gets to work.

As far as our goals, I know we've been eating healthier. We've even noticed we've lost a few pounds. And we are saving money. Groceries are still very expensive, but we have leftovers that go farther. So it works out better.

Plus when we have went out for date night, I realize the food doesn't even taste all that good.

This post is kind of boring, but I just wanted to remind myself that I have enjoyed our experiment and I plan on continuing it.

Also, I need good (EASY) recipes so if anyone has any PLEASE send them my way!!!! :)

Lunch Time

At work today, my lunch buddies and I decided to take a break from our usual lunches, hop in the car, and drive down to The Fresh Market.

I have never been here before, but I have heard all about it. I felt like I was in a grocery store out of the movies! Fresh fruits, fancy cheeses and breads. There was fruit I had never even heard of. Did you know there is such a think as YELLOW watermellon? WHAT?! I had a bite of cheese that was very fancy and expensive. In fact, my bite probably cost them a whole dollar! It was fun looking at all the delicious foods.

Now, back at work, I am enjoying my harvest. Turkey and Swiss on Wheat, with fresh blue berries, strawberries, grapes, honey dew, and the ever important pineapple. Oh don't forget chocolate milk.

Yummmmmmmmm.... way better than lean cuisine.