Why you'll never have to click on this blog again!

Ladies and Gentlemen.....drum roll please............

After today, you never have to click on this blog again! My sister and I have meshed our blogs together and formed From the Vine to the Urban Stack.  We'd been toying with the idea for awhile, and we finally bit the bullet and our website is FINISHED! We are SO. STINKING. EXCITED. If you like the recipes I post, the stories I share about our life, the books I read and the pictures I take, I assure you that two will be much better than one. And, all of our old posts from our separate blogs are now synced with our new blog, so you can easily find my old recipes/posts over there. So take Inside the Huddle off of your bookmarks and replace it with From the Vine to the Urban Stack.  You won't regret it.

You can also click on the blog here, here, or here, just in case you missed it. ;)

Blue Bell

Thomas' only "off" day is Tuesday (doesn't really count as a off day since he still goes in for a few hours for treatment) but we always try to do something fun to get out of the apartment. This week we drove to Brenham, TX to visit the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory.  Thomas has always LOVED Blue Bell, and we decided the hour trip would be worth it.

After driving past 23490283580 strip malls (I've decided that Houston is one big strip mall) we then entered the wasteland of real Texas. Seriously, we even passed a few ghost towns. And we passed a few gorgeous farms/ranches and that made me happy to finally see, but I think most of them must be hidden far, far away from the interstate so that new folks like me think the typical ranch that you see in the movies about Texas simply don't exist, but strip malls do. We did allow ourselves 5 minutes to talk about missing scenic New England, then we moved on.

And of course, the Blue Bell factory was epic. They actually use local cows (it takes 60,000 cows/day to run the factory) so now I want to support only Blue Bell since they support local farmers. We took the tour along with a group of ladies who were pushing 95 years old. They were kind of mean and harassed our poor tour guide with questions. Thomas and I could barely make eye contact as we kept giggling uncontrollably about their comments. I even heard one of them say that Blue Bell should "make more sugar free desserts." Let's just say this lady had surely been eating quite a few desserts that contained sugar in the course of her lifetime and did not have much room to complain about sugar free desserts. No pun intended.

Everyone received a free cup of ice cream at the end of the tour, and the guide told us we were allowed to sample as many kinds as we wanted. I may or may not have taken this information to heart and sampled 5 kinds of ice cream. I don't know what got into me, but the samples were very small and I didn't finish my cup of ice cream, so don't fear for the health of our child. And take my advice and hurry to your grocery store to pick up a half gallon of Blue Bell Tiramisu....they only made one shipment of it and will not be making any more. It is a delight.

What? We're Moving! Again?

Well, we finally found a cute little house to rent in Houston. Hallelujah. However, the postal service probably isn't saying "hallelujah" as this will be the 6th time in the last 16 months that I've changed our address. I'm sure they think we are in the witness protection program or we're drug dealers or we're running from the law or something crazy like that. Once, a postal worker asked me if the move was "temporary" or "permanent" when I was filling out my paperwork. I glared at her and didn't even attempt to explain.

I've had to change our address in the following order:
1. from Clemson duplex to my parent's house while we were in limbo in Minnesota
2. from my parent's house to our apartment in North Attleboro
3. from apartment in North Attleboro to Danny and Stacia's apartment while Thomas recovered from surgery
4. from Danny and Stacia's apartment to our apartment in Foxboro
5. from Foxboro to our furnished apartment here in Houston
6. from furnished apartment to new house in Houston

And while I'm making lists, here is a list of the following things I will not miss about living in this furnished place:    

1. Having one knife with which to cut things in my kitchen
2. the African figurines
3. the awful suede couch that I've spent so many nauseated hours with
4. the dishwasher here is worthless. wretched. bane of my existence. cleans nothing.
5. the bad mattress here as neither one of us feel truly rested when we wake up  
6. the burners on the stove that smoke every time I turn them on, which in then makes me nauseated (and our new place has a GAS STOVE! so excited)
7. Black, brown, and beige decor makes me want to run screaming from the building
8. parking in a parking garage that makes me want to hyperventilate because I am terrible at parking and I'm terrified I will side swipe another car.

And of course I will leave you with 2 parting shots of the beloved African figurines. I have nightmares about them. These animals are attacking one another. WHAT. IN. THE. WORLD?

We'll be out of here in one week, but we're not counting.
                      

My fascination with alligators

I have a strange fascination with alligators. I know... disturbing, but I just think they are incredible creatures. Now, I don't have any stuffed alligators in my house or framed pictures of alligators nor do I really even want to be that close to an alligator, but I'm always looking to SEE them in the wild. No alligator farms for me...I want the real deal. But, I'm also a 'fraidy cat and am terrified when I do see them in the wild. Yesterday was a perfect example. We decided to go to Brazos Bend State Park  where there are miles of trails through the woods and 300 alligators living all around. There were alligator warning signs everywhere and rules about what to do if you come in contact with an alligator, and I started to get really freaked out. Thomas had a heyday with this and told me in case of an emergency, he'd use an old wrestling move called Fireman's Carry to get us away from an alligator. He even demonstrated on me and I nearly had a heart attack. We only ended up seeing 3 alligators {although I was convinced more were watching us from the underbrush} and one otter/beaver, we aren't sure what it was. It was a gorgeous day and a great way to spend Thomas' day off!

 {gorgeous Spanish Moss all over the place down here}

{random picture of Fireman's Carry that I found online. Can't you see us running out of the woods like this?}

{otter/beaver, maybe you can identify?}

Read...NOW

Hurry to your nearest bookstore and go purchase Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It looks like this:

Or better yet, buy it off of Amazon because their price is way cheaper than what I paid at the local bookstore. But, I like supporting bookstores so do whatever makes you feel good. 

Seriously, this book is the best book I've read since The Help. It's an incredible story of an American POW during World War II. I won't give away anymore details, because Thomas says I can't talk about it without giving it away and he is reading it next. I read it on 2 plane flights plus another afternoon at home, I could hardly put it down. 

Go...support America, support books, and get your read on. 

Husbands, take note

This past weekend, I went back to South Carolina for a fun girls weekend that my mom had planned months ago. It was a great time together and I loved every minute of the cooler weather and being together. 

Upon my arrival back in Houston, Thomas had flowers waiting for me at the apartment. He was really proud of himself because he's been keeping a note to himself on his phone of the flowers I've mentioned I like. I know, he's cute. (He swears I talked about liking lilies once...I have zero recollection of this, but they are really pretty.)

 And of course he got a card to go with the flowers. He said, "I got this card in the 'I love you' section, and then I opened it up and realized it says 'Feliz Cumpleanos' but I figured you'd think it was funny anyway." And I did think it was funny, so funny that whenever we send you a birthday card, you can expect the same thing. Although, we don't know what many of the words mean except for the ones that Thomas translated as "apple" and "peach." It could be a really inappropriate card but we'll never know the difference.

Fall in my Imagination

First and foremost, a big thank you to those of you who read my pitiful blog post about how sad I was regarding my lack of a KitchenAid. My sister-in-law Kelly MAILED me a hand mixer that she didn't use any more. Can you imagine my joy upon opening that care package?! 

Secondly, my fellow NFL wife and warm climate dweller Cissie gave me the recipe for this pumpkin spice cake. She used to live in North Carolina but now resides in Florida because of her husband's job, and she took pity on me and texted me "combine a spice cake mix with a can of pumpkin and bake! It'll give you a taste of fall." I've done this before with a yellow cake mix, and the spice cake mix is so much better. I also made a cream cheese apple cider frosting, and it was delicious. The recipe for the frosting can be found here, just scroll past the cupcake recipe. And FYI, the cider takes awhile to boil down to 1/4 cup. Be patient.

{We may or may not have eaten this portion of the cake straight from the pan.And the lighting in our apartment is awful, hence the weird yellow light in the picture.}

And Baby A has been making me crave this Santa Fe Soup that has always been a favorite. I made it last night and we were not disappointed.  Thomas is loving the things that I crave these days! Meat and beans?! His dream come true. I got the recipe from Caroline over at Savory Sister years ago, or so my recipe card says. Also, the recipe says not to drain the beans, but I drained and rinsed them to cut out some of the sodium.  I just added a little extra water to make up for it and we couldn't tell the difference. Oh, I also only used 1 pound of ground beef. Thomas didn't even know. And it makes a LOT, so freeze half or share it with a friend. 

Santa Fe Soup

2 lbs ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

2 (1 oz) envelopes of Ranch dressing mix

1 envelope taco seasoning mix

2 c water

1 (16 oz) can black beans, undrained

1 (16oz) can great northern beans, undrained

1 (16oz) can kidney beans, undrained

1 (14.5 0z) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (10 oz) can Rol-Tel tomatoes with green chiles

1 (11 oz) cans shoepeg corn, drained

Brown beef with onions, drain. Add remaining ingredients and blend well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve with grated cheese, sour cream and chopped green onion. Yields about 3 quarts. 

Familiar Faces

Our dear friend Preston and his sweet wife Erin came to the game with me yesterday. We both knew Preston really well in college, and Thomas was just in their wedding this past summer. It was so much fun to see familiar faces, and they only live an hour and a half away at Texas A&M! And we won, so that is always nice. Especially when the win means that Thomas won a bet against our friend Tyler who plays for the Steelers, and Tyler owes Thomas a book of his choice. 

Here we are in our lovely furnished kitchen. Please note the African figurines at the top and the ultrasound of Baby A on the fridge. 

It was time

Yesterday, I realized that I'd been here for over a week and it was time to unpack our suitcases. Except, we'd already unpacked  destroyed our suitcases. This is what our closet looked like:

Things had gotten to the point where our closet was even getting on Thomas' nerves, mostly because every time I got dressed I came out ranting and raving about how I couldn't find anything I needed. And if you know me, you know that I am OCD about organization, especially my closet (it is usually color coordinated). Yeah, you read that right. Don't judge. So I bit the bullet last night and got the job done. Thomas was impressed.

And since I spend so much time these days watching Food Network and wasting time on Pinterest, my recipe folders have expanded and my husband is happier than ever. I, on the other hand, usually am disgusted by the food I've made by the time it is ready. Speaking of ready, I'm ready for my first trimester to be over. But I won't complain. 

Here is a recipe for amazing baked potatoes by Giada. I halved the recipe since there are only two of us, and it was plenty. Thomas loved it, and I actually did too. 

Last but not least, I found these No Bake Energy Bars on Pinterest. They are divine. I recommend doubling the recipe as they are completely addictive. 

That's all for now folks! 

2 Healthy Articles

I want to share these two articles with you all that I really love. The first one is an article Thomas found on John Piper's blog about why it is important to be physically fit if you are a Believer. We thought he really wrote well on how we treat our bodies as a reflection on our relationship with Christ. My favorite part is:

"Underneath most of my besetting sins is despondency. I am less prone to such melancholy when I hammer my body three times a week. The reason could be endorphins. Could be ego. Whichever, it’s cheaper than Prozac or psychotherapy. I’m simply happier. And I sleep better. I have more energy."

I personally agree with Piper wholeheartedly on this issue. I just feel better on the days I work out and am easier to be around. Not to mention the fact that I sleep like a rock. Thomas would also agree on this issue--during the off season he only goes about a week without working out and then he goes stir crazy and gets back in the gym.

You can find the John Piper article here. 

The other article is written by Mark Bittman and called: Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? You can find the article here. And just in case you're wondering, the answer is NO. Junk food is not cheaper, so please America, stop using that as your excuse.

Why I Hate Moving

Reasons why I hate moving, aside from the packing and crying and shoving all of our earthly possessions into a portable storage unit for an unknown amount of time...

1. Buying new spices: I couldn't figure out a way to sanely pack all of our spices into my suitcase or the 2 boxes that I had shipped to Houston. I packed our favorite spices that I just can't buy in the grocery store, but other than that I figured it would be "cheaper" to buy all new spices rather than ship them here. I mean, they sell spices everywhere, right? But the hard part is, I never know which spices I need until I start to cook the recipe that calls for the spice I don't have. I feel like I just completed my spice collection in New England, only to have to give them all away. (Lori, I am so glad I gave them to you and I know they are being used well!) So, call me crazy but this really does top the list of things I hate about moving.
2. Missing my KitchenAid: I couldn't figure out a way to bring my 12039843 pound KitchenAid with me. I think of it as an old friend or a sweet family member. I took it to New England with me in the back of the truck, but I didn't drive a car here so that wasn't an option. Please, if you know of baking recipes that do not call for a mixer of any sort, LET ME KNOW. I am considering purchasing a hand mixer, but hoping to hold out on that as long as I can.
3. Buying new pillows: in case you didn't know, there is no sensible way to fly/ship 6 pillows from Boston to Houston. And yes, we sleep with 6 pillows. 3 each. Don't judge us. So we had to buy more when we got here, and I hate them. I want my old, old, old squishy pillows that I've had since high school. Here we are trying out pillows in Target. Thomas insisted that we both try them out on the floor in Target. Gross.

4. Basically, I hate moving because it is SO SO SO SO expensive. When I think back over the last year and all the money we could've saved if we hadn't been moving around like hoodlums....well, it makes me cringe. We could send this baby to college off of the money we've spent moving. Ok, so maybe in 2030 the money could buy our child books, but still.

And the things I like can be summed up in one item:

1. Getting rid of stuff we don't need, specifically clothes in my husband's closet that I don't like. He is never around when I am packing, so I maximize on that time by getting rid of all the ugly stuff. And the hundreds of pairs of Clemson, Vikings, and Patriots workout gear that he'll never wear again but saves for the memories. If you ask me, saving one pair of shorts and one shirt from each team will suffice for memory saving devices.

Baby Mama, Baby Daddy

Let's get straight to the point here folks, we're having a baby! 


We found out a little over a month ago, and i'm currently 9 weeks along. I actually found out while I was in the hospital with Stacia and baby Gia. I immediately drove to the Patriot's facility to tell Thomas in person, who thankfully was having a bad day and bought the story Stacia and I made up about needing to get something out of Danny's car. Thomas was, of course, elated and went back into the facility and told about 15 people, including the entire offensive line. I forgave him, but told him there is a reason he isn't in the CIA or FBI.

We waited another 2 weeks to tell our family so that we could tell Thomas' parents and my siblings in person since they were all coming to the area within a few days of one another. At that point, I was 7 weeks along and feeling great. The day Thomas found out he got picked up by Houston, I began throwing up. Coincidence? Maybe, but it started and it started with a vengeance. I began to panic about how in the world I was going to fly back and forth from Houston/Boston, pack everything up, and make first impressions in Houston all while running to the bathroom every few minutes to lose my lunch. Thankfully, a friend of mine who happens to be a healthcare professional gave me some Zofran, and it has solved all of my problems. (If you are one of the people who would like to inform me that Zofran is bad for me/my baby, please, do your research first and ask a doctor. Because it is completely, 100% fine. And get a life and stop sharing your opinions with me.)

Anyway, the Zofran got me through 3 long plane flights and 3 long days of packing up our apartment (with the help of some amazing friends back in Massachusetts!) I still don't feel great, but at least I'm able to function. We finally got to go to the doctor yesterday and see our baby on an ultrasound! I had an appointment in New England at 7 weeks, but had to cancel it when our life got turned upside down. Thomas was able to go with me yesterday in Houston, and we love our OB. She is so fun and young and has four kids of her own, and we're thrilled about her. However, she may not be so thrilled about Thomas attending appointments with me as he asked about a million questions regarding me taking fish oil, Vitamin B, purified water, my heart rate....basically, I don't know if he is allowed to come to anymore appointments because he is going to make me follow all of the rules!

We are so thrilled and thankful that our baby is healthy at this point and due April 22. And no, we will not be finding out whether it is a boy or a girl. So put on your patience pants and wait with us!

Furnished apartment, so stylish

The good news is, we found a furnished apartment in Houston for a reasonable price. The bad news is, I am having heart palpitations over the horrendous decor. Yet, it is clean, and close to Thomas' work, and we can break our lease at any point. And don't you worry, it is gated and looks like Malibu from the front of the apartment complex. 

I am currently in Foxboro surrounded by a million boxes and our apartment looks like a tornado zone. I made baked sweet potato fries and edamame for dinner, because that's all I could scrounge up. And I'm posting this so that I can procrastinate on packing a little longer. Our POD arrives Friday and it feels like a nightmare that I am putting my belongings into storage for the third time in a little more than a year. But don't worry.... I plan to pack my food processor, lemon juicer, a good knife, and maybe a crock pot if I can find the room amongst our clothes.  I'm holding back tears that my KitchenAid just won't fit in a suitcase. 

Black silk bedspread will be finding a new home on the floor of the closet as soon as I return to Houston with my white Target fake down comforter. Maybe the crock pot will fit in the down comforter!

Hideous shower curtain will also be replaced.

We could take up residence in the bathroom/closet. I am pretty sure it is larger than our current apartment.

African figurines are everywhere in the apartment. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against African figurines, but this is just overkill.

Just look at that brown, black and beige rug. If you know me well, you know this rug is already giving me nightmares. And don't mind Thomas chatting on the phone. He wouldn't get up so that I could document.

Oh, that suede and leather just makes my heart go pitter patter. Again, if you know me, you know that I am cringing. BUT, the couch is comfortable. I can admit that. I would say "come visit us in Houston!" However, you'd be sleeping on that suede and leather beauty. I doubt you want to do that.

Everything really IS bigger in Texas

I got to Texas on Thursday night, and let me tell you, everything really is bigger here. This place is s.w.a.n.k.y. I've been living in small town America in good 'ole Foxboro, Massachusetts, and I've honestly been in a bit of shock at how Texas really is, well, Texas-y. 

1. Everyone here is blonde (I know, I know, I don't have room to talk, but mine is natural) and I can't keep straight the different people I've met with blonde hair. 

2. People drive slow, and I realize I've gotten used to being able to fly down the interstate with all the other Massholes. I've honked at more than one Texas driver, and I don't feel bad about it. They need to GET OUT OF MY WAY. 

3. We'd walked about halfway through the mall before I'd seen a single store that I'd consider shopping in. Everything was Chanel, Louis Vutton, Hermes, Yves Saint Laurent, etc etc. And I thought I'd really arrived when I got to Massachusetts and H&M was only 20 minutes away!

4. Most of the houses that I've seen in the "nice" areas of town are ginormous, with gas lamps outside, columns, gates, an American flag and a Texas flag. What more could one ask for?

5. The portions here are most definitely above and beyond the recommended portion sizes. I ordered fajitas to go when I was alone the other night becauseThomas had to stay at a different hotel the night before the game. I'm not sure, but I think they thought I ordered for the entire team. I've never seen so much food for one person in my WHOLE life. I'll be eating the leftovers for at least 3 more meals. 

6. There was an advertisement at the Texans game asking people to "please refrain from foul language." I laughed out loud, then realized the ad was serious! If they tried to police the language at a Patriots game, the world would most likely come to a crashing halt. They say the f-word there in the same way I use "um." 

7. The people are nice. I keep catching myself feeling guilty for saying "y'all" and then remembering that these people aren't judging me or thinking I'm a hick like in Mass. I'll take it!

Sad, Mad and Bittersweet

For those of you who didn't know yet, Thomas moved to the Houston Texans as of Sunday afternoon. Long story short, we waited all day Saturday for a phone call from the Patriots to tell us whether he had a job here or not. My siblings were all staying on Cape Cod for Labor Day weekend, so we were able to distract ourselves out there until we got the phone call. When the call finally came, all they said was "Thomas, Bill needs to talk to you, how soon can you get here?" We hopped in the car and began one of the longest hours of our lives, not knowing whether they were going to cut him or put him on the practice squad. Bill was very complimentary of Thomas and told him the Pat's wanted him for their practice squad again. We were totally fine and relieved by that, but then found out that if a team wanted him in the next 24 hours, they could have him and we'd have no say in the matter. (I knew about the 24 hour waiver period, but we were under the impression that you could say "no" to the team in order to stay on the practice squad here.)

We breathed a semi-sigh of relief and headed back out to the Cape for another night. Thomas came back to sign his contract the next morning at the noon deadline, but we were unaware that 4 teams had attempted to place claims on him. By 1:00, Thomas was texting me "I'm still waiting to sign my contract, I don't know what is taking them so long." A few minutes later, Belichick came and congratulated him on being picked up by the Texans, and told him he was sorry to see him go.

And then the flood of tears began on my part. Well, I waited until I was off the phone with Thomas, then called my 3 closest friends here on the team and wept like a baby. My brothers and their wives drove me back to Foxboro so that I could take Thomas to the airport and 3 hours later, he was gone.

My emotions are mostly sadness about leaving New England and the first day I was so angry at the whole situation. I felt so mad that God would take us away from here after only 11 months, and it just doesn't feel fair that we are going to our 3rd team since May 2010. I've moved 4 times since then as well. I am so sad to leave our sweet friends on the team who have all just been so good to us. Thomas was really starting to feel at home in the locker room, and I've felt at home here since November thanks to the awesome group of Patriot's wives. We are so sad to leave our dear church, my job, and fall in New England.

Appropriately enough, I've been reading One Thousand Gifts and have been reminded of all that I have that I can thank my Heavenly Father for. Last year at this time, my husband had no job for 3 weeks. This year, he is guaranteed a job for 3 weeks. We are planning to keep our apartment here while we see how things shake out in Houston, and we'll just get a temporary place there for now. Houston does have Chick-fil-A, authentic Mexican food, and no blizzards. (There are wildfires raging now, but we won't get into that.) I fly to Texas tomorrow to see my sweet husband again, attend this weekend's game, and find a place to live.

Lastly, I will leave you with a few photos of Thomas' last game as a Patriot. His parents were able to come up for the game, and he ended his preseason on a good note and played his heart out. (Apparently Thomas didn't put his contacts in after the game. He seems to be squinting at some far-away object in all of the pictures. Or he was in a lot of pain, which is more likely.)

Electricity is my friend

Thanks to Hurricane Irene, we've been powerless for the past 3.5 days. And when I say powerless, I mean literally and figuratively. Despite the fact that I called the local municipal offices and gave them a piece of my mind, they allowed a massive tree on a power line to keep a road closed near our house from Sunday until today. We drove by at least 4 times a day and never saw a soul working on the tree. Stacia and I called each other every time we drove by to say "still no one working on the tree." I did see a local news crew filming the tree, but they weren't doing anything to move it.

Anyway, enough about that tree and the worthless electric company that serves all of New England that left me 3 voice recordings every day thanking me for my patience. I was able to make these oatmeal pancakes right before the power went out. (I used old fashioned oatmeal and it worked just fine.) I also sprinkled chocolate chips throughout, and then threw sliced peaches, cinnamon and brown sugar onto the griddle while it was still hot and topped the pancakes with that peachy goodness. It was a heavenly way to begin our electricity-less 3 days.

We spent a lot of time reading by candlelight, eating out for every meal and charging our phones in the car. Thomas left the windows open while Hurricane Irene swirled around inside our apartment all day Sunday. On Monday I hauled all of mine and Stacia's frozen goods to a friend's house and took a shower there. I spent half of last night on the couch because it was so hot in our bed and The Husband was clearing his throat, in his sleep, all night long. I was reaching the end of my rope by the time the power finally came on this afternoon. I will forever have a new respect for the pioneers, and Adam and Eve, and all of the people who lived in the time between.

 Thomas was quietly reading while Irene swirled my curtains all around him. And don't mind the black panty hose on his leg, that's just a special sleeve to keep the fluid in his knee from swirling around like the curtains.

Thomas created many fire hazards with our candles. In this photo, he had a candle sitting on the arm of the couch. Smart.

The line at TGIFriday's in the only town around that had power on the first day. Needless to say, we didn't eat there. 

"We are at the mercy of National Grid" was indeed true for the past 3 days. (National Grid is that fabulous electric company I mentioned earlier.) From what I gathered from this newspaper, I wasn't the only one who thought they did a pretty terrible job. I'm just glad I can sleep with the air conditioning on tonight!

Quinoa Pilaf

Since Husband is at football all day every day, I can get away with a vegetarian dish for dinner. This quinoa pilaf was worth sharing. I got the idea here but made a few additions based on what I had in my fridge. 

Quinoa Pilaf

1 c. dry quinoa

1 c. water

1 c. dry white wine

2 small squash, diced

2 T. olive oil

1 carrot, diced

1/4 c. onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 c. fresh spinach

1/4 c. walnuts, chopped

1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped

2 T. white balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring water and wine to a boil. Add quinoa and cook for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. 

2. In saute pan, heat 1 T. olive oil. Add carrot, squash, onion and garlic. Cook 7-9 minutes. (I have to make myself walk away so that the veggies will get nice and brown, otherwise I stir them too much in an effort to hurry them up.) Set aside. Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil and spinach to pan. Cook until wilted. 

3. Meanwhile, toast walnuts in toaster oven or under broiler for about 5 minutes. 

4. Stir together quinoa, veggie mixture and walnuts. Add parsley and vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. 

This could probably serve three people as a main dish and about 6 people as a side dish. Unless they are linemen. In that case, serve them the whole pot in a single serving. 

THE Tomatoes

Remember the tomatoes I posted about from Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook? I am more in love with them today than I was two weeks ago. I've now made them 6 times in 2.5 weeks. Three times I made them for non-tomato lovers and they were converted. I put them on sandwiches, on top of fish, chicken...I'm pretty much willing to try them with anything and I'll swear by it. My sister used them in Gwyneth's recipe for frittata and said it was amazing. With these statistics, how could I forget to actually post the recipe? Shame on me.

And while Gwyneth was not the first one to invent these tomatoes, I have to give her credit because her cookbook is the first place I learned about them.

Gwyneth describes them as "a pantry essential. This method turns even the most flavorless, out-of-season winter tomatoes into gorgeous, sweet ones." Preach it, Gwyn.

She doesn't give any measurements for this recipe in the cookbook (which is probably why I love it so much.) But for those of you who need measurements, the last time I made this, I used about 6 Roma tomatoes halved lengthwise. I placed the halves on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzled olive oil all over the top of them (I'd say about 1/2 tsp. per tomato) then sprinkle salt and pepper all over. I use Sarah's Sea Salt  instead of salt and pepper, but if you don't have that, any blend will do.

Place in oven preheated to 275. Bake for 3-5 hours. I usually check them around 3 hours to make sure they aren't getting too brown on top. They will look nearly sun dried and most of the moisture will evaporate. They also keep in the fridge for a week, so I make a big batch and reheat them throughout the week. Hope you enjoy as much as I have!

Baby Gia

Our friends Danny and Stacia had a beautiful baby girl on Saturday, and Danny called me in to the hospital on Saturday night for back-up. He had to return to the team hotel/practice, and poor Stacia was having a bad reaction to her medication. So, here I sit three days later feeling like this hospital is my second home. I'm really going to miss my little pull-out bed with the scratchy blanket and plastic pillows. 

But really, I've had so much fun getting to know baby Gia and helping Stacia, who is an awesome mom. I'm going to have withdrawals after Stacia's family gets here! 

Baby G and I on her first day of life. She really loves me. That chair I'm sitting on turns into a little bed. Comfortable and multipurpose. (kidding)

 What a sweet little family! They really are great parents. Poor Danny has only gotten to come for about 45 minutes the past two nights. Oh football.....

 I have become a master swaddler. One might say I am obsessed with swaddling. I've watched multiple videos on YouTube about swaddling and even said to Stacia at 2:30am "it's like a game to me. I want to be the best swaddler there is. I guess I am a little competitive after all." This fish blanket made by Swaddle Designs is by far the best swaddling blanket. I got carried away and bought three more of them for baby Gia last night. If you'd like a swaddle blanket of your own, this one is called the Marquisette Swaddle Blanket. It is so soft and made out of this fabulous gauze material. I think I may buy one for myself and, oh I don't know, sleep with it at night? Wrap it around my head as a towel? Use it as a scarf?

We're all headed back to our respective homes today, so hopefully we can get some rest without nurses and doctors coming in 60 times a day. Three days in the hospital was long enough for me!