Four Point Oh No!

So I've been doing good and keeping a 4.0 grade average in my college classes. I used to be super competetive and was intent on keeping it. And then life happens. :) Working a full time job, going to class and having a baby coming kind of took the wind out of my sails. Right now I'm at the point where I just want to finish my degree, and a C is great in the class because then I don't have to pay back any money. ;) I mean, a 4.0 is great and all, but it won't really make a difference. The thing that put the nail in my 4.0 coffin was my Algebra II class that I'm taking this semester. I wandered through Algebra I and still somehow managed to get an A. This time it isn't working so smooth, and I'm hoping that I will achieve my C goal. :) It's a bit of a letdown seeing the lower average, but I can deal with it. I guess I had to descend down and be with the mere mortals at some point in time.

Tucked In

Yesterday I finally accomplished something that's been lingering around for about 2 months. Back in August, we went to the nursery and got some plants for me for my birthday. That weekend I ended up passing kidney stones, so they didn't get planted. Then D's grandmother in the Philippines died and he went home for the funeral. While I was unsupervised a few more plants ended up at the house. Then my sister came and visited shortly thereafter, and would you believe that even more plants made it home. Then there was a clearance sale at Lowe's and I ended up with yet more plants. I make it sound like I had 50 plants, but it was really more like 10. Regardless, I had to go out and water them and move them around every few days, which got really old.

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day, and I resolved that if I got nothing else done I would get those plants in the ground. So late yesterday afternoon I set forth and got almost all of them put out. There are still one or two left, but they are more manageable than 10. I also evicted several other plants that had grown unruly and the whole place looks a little neater. Definately was happy to get that done.

Tonight when I got home from work I decided to make some soup. D is sick with a sinus infection again, and I felt like having some comfort food. So I decided to make the Irish Colcannon soup from this month's cooking light. I saw right away that the recipe needed to be modified some. For me the ideal potato soup has a light, creamy broth and is not congealed or floury. So since I had some reduced fat sour cream and some half-and-half in the refrigerator I used that. And since I had some ham that needed to be used, I put in some of that too. I was very pleased with the results, and I think I'm going to go have another bowl. ;)

Irish Colcannon Soup
Adapted from Cooking Light

1 Tbs. butter
2 ½ c. small potatoes, cut into quarters
1 medium onion, diced
1 c. ham, diced
Salt & pepper to taste
4 c. broth
8 c. thinly sliced savoy cabbage
1 c. reduced fat sour cream
¼-1/2 c. half-and-half

In a stock pot, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, ham and potatoes and stir to combine. Cover and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the broth and cabbage, season to taste with the salt and pepper. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes and cabbage are tender. Remove from heat and add sour cream and half-and-half. Correct seasoning if necessary.

The Mum that Ate Alabama

Okay, so that's a bit of an exaggeration. Just slightly though. ;) I seem to have odd luck with mums. Last fall I picked up a couple of plants, all shaped like perfect little domes, and planted them out. This spring, one didn't show up at all, one stuck up a few leaves, and one started growing pretty fast. By July-August, it had eaten half of the flower bed. Now it's a huge behemoth mutant that I think has eaten some smaller neighborhood pets and possibly slow moving elderly people. Too bad you can't ever predict what they're going to do. :)

The weather has been beautiful, clear blue skies, bright sun and a chill in the air. Fall is always my favorite time of year, and this one has been beautiful. The trees haven't started changing color yet, but I can't wait to see it. We need to get a firepit for the back yard, so that we can have a fire out on chilly nights. I think it'll be a great weekend for making a pot of chili and snuggling up on the couch to read.

Childbirf Classes

From the time that I found out I was pregnant I have dreaded the childbirth class. I know that you can pick up some good information from them, but I'm not a touchy-feely-huggy sort, and don't usually bond that well with women. After being in the military for 10 years and working almost exclusively with males, I just don't have that much in common with women and don't like their moodiness. However, I know that you're much better off during childbirth if you actually have a clue what's going on, plus you can find out about the facility you're going to deliver at and get some info. Knowing already that I want whatever pain relief that they can give me, up to and including knocking me out, I didn't want anyone lecturing me on natural childbirth and judging me. So I signed us up for one, much to the dismay of D. Last night was the first class and I have to say that it wasn't too painful.

The instructor is an Australian lady which is cool because she could read the back of a cereal box and I'd think it sounded neat. She's pretty laid back and funny, which is the way to get me to listen to things. The other couples in the class are a similar age as D and I are, and they all have due dates within a day or two of mine. Three of the other four husbands are from Illinois, which made D fit right in since that's where he's from. We watched some videos on the stages of childbirth, ate snacks, watched some videos on diet and nutrition, ate snacks, and then did some relaxation techniques where my massage slave had to rub my lower back while I lay there and focused on relaxing. We went to eat out before we went to class, so it was a pretty nice evening out.

I also had my doctor’s appointment this morning where I had my blood glucose test done. I don’t have gestational diabetes and I am not anemic, so that’s two less things to worry about. I go in two weeks for my next visit, and I’m going to have a 4D ultrasound done. I can’t wait to see the baby and what she looks like. :)