bug hunter

Do not read on if you have compassion for hornets. Yesterday while on the phone with my sista, I casually mentioned to J that there was a hornet/waspy thing stuck between the window panel in our living room bay window. Suddenly J turned into bug hunter and whipped out a can of killer spray (which I didn't even know he had!). He discovered that the buggers were hiding in the shutters outside the baby's room. Horror ensues as I hear my mom's voice screaming out of me saying don't spray that poison! aaah, the window is cracked open - waaait! I could see J was overtaken with bug hunter inspiration and was plotting with his tongue hangin out of his mouth, so I tell my sister to hold and scurry upstairs to shut the window, for fear that I'd have to redo my nesting pattern of washing all the baby clothes and hanging them (then moving them to a new drawer...repeat). I do not want bad bug spray on my baby's favorite swivel glider. He then proceeds to spray the gross foam at least 7 feet in the air (all the while his tongue is sticking out - note: do not kiss husband due to poison particles on tongue). He got em (after another round prying their nest away through the window with his big leather coat on for protection) and I haven't seen him this excited by many of the home projects. I asked him what it would like if he was this excited to hang a new light fixture or paint a blank white wall?

Speaking of which, I can hardly believe that I forget to document the best new addition to our living room, three light green walls! (which J did on his birthday week - such a super sweets!) To top it off I found the beeest, huuuge mirror to hang over the fireplace that has this classy beveled edge and a beachy feel. I rearranged the vintage cameras and the room is really coming together well. I'm still amused that we ended up with couches and walls that almost match our tucson condo exactly. Before and after photos coming sometime soon...

birthday visitors

We had a get together for J, Matt, and Nana's birthday over at our place complete with turkey tenderloin on the grill and a big rack of hand rubbed ribs... oh, and don't forget the cold stone midnight delight ice cream cake that J remembered from my dad's birthday last year. Kayley cutie pie was very helpful passing out napkins for me (and definitely thinks I'm crazy for trying to convince her that I have a baby in my tummy):

happy birthday to J

Yea for middle of the week birthdays! We went out to eat lunch and then made porkchops with summertime salsa so that we could relax at home (especially since we had dinner at our friend's house last night) J has his present of the year already - his new amplifier - which he's already made good use. I added in a few little presents since it's hard to resist having something to give - grilling stuff and a pizza stone did the trick. This weekend will be the real party complete with an ice cream cake.

outlet-o-rama

A friend of mine wanted to check out the clearance sales at this outlet just down the way that I kept hearing about but we'd never visited. When I think outlet I think Potomac Mills, maybe Aurora or any of those assorted deals they stick along the road in Pennsylvania. This premium outlet means premium. It was out of control. They have row after row of big name stores packed with people (supposedly they are always crowded accept in the middle of the winter). The clearance sales were in high gear - and they really meant 70% off and they weren't tricking you by jacking up the regular price. I got a pair of smokin maternity pants (in corduroy - if corduroy can be smokin these are?) for $2.90! It was so good that I went back the next day with J to cruise the guy's stuff. He got pretty lucky too in the Banana. Gotta love summer shopping... and it's only 70 degrees here instead of 170 billion like it is shopping in Tucson.

yea pawsox

After a busy day of soggy shoes from running all around campus with my teeny tiny micro umbrella, the weather cleared for the Pawsox vs the Lynx. The Pawtucket Red Sox do not mess around. They had the largest crowd for a minor league team I've ever seen. Maybe it was because everyone thought it wouldn't be crowded because of the rain earlier or maaaybe it was because it was free hat day! There were kids chanting and cheering. This stadium crowd could keep the wave going. It was a fun crowd of summer outreach students.

sold on the idea!

After two months of mixing table goodness, I am soooold on this idea. (I mentioned it before - they give you the raw ingredients, you mix them into bags which you freeze at home) I just mixed recipes with more soy, brown sugar and orange juice concentrate for this upcoming month. The highlight was rubbin down my own rack of ribs with my own specially mixed rib rub.

All of last month's goodness that we've eaten up:
Hoisin-Lime Glazed Chicken
Marinated Pork Tenderloin
Orange Bourbon Salmon
Shrimp and Bell Pepper Pasta
Sizzling Asian Steak
Southwestern Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This upcoming month of yum:
Amy's Famous Flank Steak
Finger Lickin' Barbeque Ribs
Grilled Chicken Wraps with Cucumber Dill Sauce
Grilled Pork Chops with Summertime Salsa
Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Dill Orzo Salad
Mouthwatering Marinated Turkey Breast

back around

I feel like I've been back around in town lately. My bestest college friends were around this weekend. Happy hour at good ol Spats on Friday went well beyond happy hour and we barely got home before the sun went down. Others went out and about but the pregnant lady has to go home to pass out. Then the next day we hosted another little barbecue (this time with help from our new Sam's Club membership - I know such troublemakers moving to the suburbs and buying a shopping club membership! - btw, no one told me about the little old ladies that give you samples of ridiculously good chocolate cake will insist that you buy some...ooh, then the next lady had penne parmigiana samples - no fair teasing this pregnant lady that is attempting to be healthy). After some eats and a tour of the new place, we headed over to the ridiculously crowded Waterfire downtown. It is the height of the summer and the weather was nearly perfect, so I guess I understand. We were able to carve out our own little spot in the grass and enjoy the view.


The next day we opened J's birthday present early from his parents and we were off to spend his home depot gift cards. We planted some new perennials and annuals in our full sun garden (hoping that J's bunny won't eat them). We also found a hydrangea plant that was so healthy is almost looks fake. People in line were asking us if it was real. It's pinky purple for now, but we can get fertilizer that will turn it blue (hopefully before the end of this season since it lasts through the fall). Here's the before shot, before the flowers fill in and the grass is jazzed up by the new sprinklers we bought.

mystified by the aquarium

Despite missing the off schedule trash pick up this morning, J woke up ready to find something new to do. We ended up deciding to visit Mystic, Connecticut. It turns out it's just over an hour to get there for some good pizza (J says that Mystic Pizza must be good because even Julia Roberts had a big butt in that movie), some New England charm, and a renowned aquarium (which should be called a zoo/history museum or they should just rename it Sea World without the ski jumpers). We arrived a little after lunch time huuungry so we headed straight for Mystic Pizza which isn't the easiest place to find on the edge of the old town strip that is sorta tucked away. Our sausage and pepperoni pizza was some of the best tasting pizza I've ever had - and only part of that was due to how hungry I was.
We went straight over to the Mystic aquarium and as soon as we walked in I was drawn over to the Beluga whales and I'm surprised that we didn't just stay there all day. We visited the sting ray petting area twice before I was brave enough to touch (I was more worried about sticking my hand in the ray piss water and not being able to clean my hand - then don't get me started on my idea that I would rub my eye, then the baby would have some weird ray bacteria to deal with... oh the crazy) We cruised through the indoor exhibit where I swear most of those fish with the little low set mouths have been in my nightmares. I only needed to glance at the gigantic tarantula that eats fish or people thumbs or something crazy (although it still doesn't make sense that they have those big spiders at an aquarium (case number one that it should be a zoo). The sea lion show brought back memories of Sea World minus the hokey pirates, and sadly without the otters that steal fish from the unsuspecting sea lions dressed as sailors. We visited the penquins (more on the story over at the ababybrennan blog). Then we visited the 3D motion ride, which was a last effort to not really be just an aquarium. I had to sit in the out of order chair because pregnant ladies can't take the wild motion for fear they may fall off. It was complete with 3D glasses though so I was still amused. It was essentially a roller coaster mock up in outer space - didn't even attempt to be an underwater deal. strange. Here's my favorite bashful beluga and company:





We topped off the day with dinner at the Voodoo grill with crawfish poboys and pulled pork over cheddar mashed potatoes. Ooh, the New Orleans flair in CT. Then as we watched the sun drop and the draw bridge raise, we ate the best ice cream in Mystic (which I might just believe or maybe I was just hungry again). Good day all around.

happy 4th of a cupcake

Last minute plans to invite some folks over for the 4th followed by a last minute idea to whip out the cake decorating tips to spiff up our cupcakes. Both went off but I think the party was probably more successful than the cupcakes. J, the former professional baker, blamed the equipment. I was in charge of the swirls and J was in charge of whatever you call those white blobs.
We were able to sneak in a couple rounds of bocce and all the grilling before it started drizzling. We made good use of the barn room and the new carpet is still clean - phew. You could hear illegal fireworks going off from every direction. It's nice to break up the work week, but ew was it hard to get back to work today.

mass residents

It's official! We registered our car here in Massachusetts and changed our licenses over (although I have to go back because I didn't have enough docs to prove my new name and we have to get the window tinting stripped from our windows for our registration to be approved - boo). J is surprised that he lives back in the state where he was born, and I'm even more surprised that we are right down the road from the cape where I used to spend the summer on the beach with sand in my toes. Our son will be born here, and by next summer we'll be on the beach with a baby. We've become official New England residents and I caught myself the other day saying that I had to drive 'all the way' to Fall River which is only about 5 miles away (just a little farther than my old Arizona drive to work).

J's bunny

We've officially been here in our new place a month. You notice how long we've been here by small changes. We have new door knobs, a new red door, new carpet, and a sealed deck. J's favorite little baby bunny, who made our backyard its home, is about twice the size. J sweetly monitors his bunny as he diligently takes care of our yard. He's already more tan than he was in Arizona from spending so much time out in the sun working. He's cleared vines out of our bushes, trimmed our hedges, and mowed the lawn (I think) four times already. We still have a blank slate of white in most of the house, but I've already started staring at the paint chips.

fisheye house

Playing with a new zoom wideangle/fisheye lens to get some shots of the new place - I call these the before series II. We've done a little bit more than the original before shots, but we are not even approaching after shots yet. After shots will require something other than the different tones of white. You can see most of our new furniture, but we are still working on the artwork and where we want everything. I left out the two bathrooms since we haven't done much of anything there. We are really feeling settled, and we love visitors!

Our backyard with deck (you see the very edge of J's grill)

Below: A room we affectionately call the barn room. The smallest kitty peanut has taken over this room as her territory and besides walking in and out of the side door and slider to the deck, we haven't used this room as often as the other living room (since we put the comfy furniture in the other). The red couch is a pullout for guests in addition to our guest room upstairs.


Our kitchen - wide and long, but the cabinets are bleh. We are thinking of getting some contrast going with a rich brown/taupe paint on the cabinets before we decide if we want to rip them out. They are in good shape, just can't live with faux whitewash wood over pinky peach.

Our bedroom with our dreamy builtins - We also get our own closets - My double door deal is behind me in this photo.

J's guitar room/office/guest room. The futon cover is being cleaned and this room will need some wallpaper recovery someday.

The very raw baby room - It's really just the bones now, but we have plenty of time.

Our living room area which runs along the side of the house. We plan that this far corner will act as a play area and will eventually house a baby swing, toy box, etc.

The other side of the living room area - This space usually includes me on the couch and J in his new favorite chair. It's nice to have space for bigger and better furniture.

The dining room - On the other wall is the built in china cabinet.