Week 20 update

Week 20 Update

So my belly doesn't ever feel like its growing but if my pants are any indication, it definitely has since we started this journey. I am now at the halfway point in my pregnancy and instead of feeling great, I feel miserable. M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E! I had this seemingly incurable itchy rash ALL over my stomach, which my doctor categorized as Uticaria. Listen up, this ain’t pretty (ewwww!!), and it sure as hell is itchy. I couldn’t sleep for 3 days because I would be up in the middle of the night itching, and plus I had an awful stuffy nose that paired with it. I finally thought the rash was going away last night when I discovered something starting on my legs which looks like it could be a similar type of rash. I’m going to see my midwife today so hopefully she might have something else to tell me besides“oh its just uticaria!” because honestly, why would it be spreading?! Sigh..

On the somewhat happy side, I laid down this morning and started listening to some bachata music and he actually started moving as if on cue. Right now I’m still not getting much frequent movement, but I’ll feel him mostly in the evenings thumping randomly or if I’m really lucky, I’ll feel one strong movement as if he’s turning around in my belly. It’s pretty darn cool!!

Life Update
We're now scheduled to leave London for GOOD on January 21. We have first class tickets back to the good ole U.S.of A and I couldn't be more thrilled to leave! I'll write a post sometime on what I'll miss about London but for now, all I can think of is USA! or more importantly, sweet home Chicago!

Some recent eats

We ordered some sushi from Mai again, and I got the soft shell crab appetizer, crab roll, miso soup, and donkatsu.

I wish I could have eaten some of this..

Some Ben and Jerry's- phish food and caramel chew chew for dessert

I made pancakes and eggs for breakfast on Saturday morning.

Someone stole my camera and took these pictures!

leftover salmon and prawn dinner (evoo, salt, pepper, minced garlic) with brown rice and sauteed mushrooms.

Weetabix, sliced bananas, and dark chocolate chips for breakfast.

T made us some awesome beef dumplings last night for dinner and I made a side of bok choy.

Lunch today was teriyaki beef with brown rice and romaine lettuce.

In the past couple of weeks I've watched: Puss in Boots, Mission Impossible III, Friends with Benefits, Captain America

I've also read: Girl in Translation, Belly Laughs

Currently reading: Baby 411

My last week of school/finals are later this week so its time to get my study on!

Matzo Ball soup

 

Before my mom left back for the States, she left some marinated meats in the freezer for a hassle free lunch or dinner. Aren't moms just great like that?

all I had to do was defrost the meats on the counter top for most of the day and then cook on the stovetop!

 

beef bulgogi with a side of wild rice.

 

For lunch, I made some salmon filets seasoned with sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper

The fish was baked at 200 C for 10 minutes and came out with a wonderful crust.

 

We trekked out to Brent Cross shopping centre for maternity wear this morning (my jeans don't fit anymore!!) and I somehow left with more baby clothes than clothes for myself... okay I take that back, I got a lot of both :-) but not actually the one thing I need which is bigger pants. I did order a waist ban extender though so hopefully this solves my problem-O.

I could shop for baby clothes ALL. DAY. LONG. If your heart doesn't melt at these cute tiny slippers, your heart must be made of STONE!! :-)

 

After some shopping, we stopped at Henry Morgan's deli and split this delicious lunch of soup and salted beef

We went to this Jewish deli in Prague and ever since then, all I can think about is their delicious sandwiches and matzo ball soup (I didn't order this in Prague but for some reason it sounds so much better right now than a regular chicken noodle soup!)

Yumm!! Is it time for dinner yet??

Deok guk on New Years Day 2012

We started off the New Year right by eating the traditional Korean soup everyone eats on New Years day called Deok Guk. Our soup contained the traditional rice cakes, mandu (dumplings), green onions, oxtail, and strips of seaweed. Thank god my mother was here and knew what to do because I would be so clueless! She boiled the oxtail overnight to really bring out the flavor of the broth and make the meat tender; it made the soup so delicious!

 

Koreans believe that eating this soup on New Years will bring you luck and add an additional year to your lifespan. Regardless of what you believe, it's still a damn yummy soup!

I like to add a lot of kimchi to the broth to make it spicy and turn it red. 

Poor T, he made me breakfast only once while my mom was here and the rest of the time, I asked my mom to make me soups. I didn't even finish this beautiful plate of food!

Kimchi kongnamu guk- http://koreanfood.about.com/od/soupsandstews/r/kongnamulgook.htm
This isn't the recipe my mom used but just an example of the traditional style soup.

For dinner, we ordered takeout from Tandis, a Persian restaurant in Chalk Farm. http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/venue/2%3A22407/tandis

We ordered the seabass with dill rice and salad for my mom.

For appetizers, we ordered the Salad Oliveyeh (diced chicken, potato, egg, pickled cucumber and green peas mixed in mayonnaise and olive oil), Kashke Bademjaan (aubergine grilled and mashed with fried onion, walnuts, herbs and garlic topped with whey), and Hummus.

All the appetizers were delicious with a slice of pita bread for dipping!

T and I shared the mixed grill platter, which was flavorful but slightly overcooked.

My humungo plate with all the fixins!

Sonoma getting ready to attack her oxtail bone!

Some exciting news! It's official: We're moving back to the states! Specifically Rockford for now, but hopefully we'll be in Chicago permanently in a few months. I am so excited to be able to spend the rest of my pregnancy in the States and also give birth there. Honestly, there is no other place I would rather be. London has been great but I can't imagine raising a family here. Time to start packing!

New Years Eve 2011

Who doesn't love a little survey: Taken from http://www.sundrymourning.com/

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

Traveled to 4 different countries, taught zumba, stayed pregnant :-)

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?


I don’t think I remember making any definitive New Years resolutions last year but this year I want to:

- be on the internet less

-speak my mind more

-become more domestic

-get back on track with my fitness (this will probably happen after birth)

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?


Yep, I can’t believe my best friend’s are already having babies- my friend Natalie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in August.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, I’ve been very fortunate not to have anyone close to me pass away.

5. What countries did you visit?

Spain, Italy, USA, Belgium, Czech Republic

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

A beach, the sand, THE OCEAN!

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

-Tuesday, September 20, when I found out I was pregnant right before teaching Zumba. I was crammed in a tiny bathroom and decided to take a test and remember smiling during the duration of my class. I can specifically remember smirking and thinking, I know something you guys never will!!

-Monday, December 19, when I found out we were having a boy.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?


-finishing my personal training program

-getting and staying pregnant

-conquering my fear of being in front of people and actually teaching a dance fitness class. This was an amazing experience and I loved expressing myself through it.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not pursuing any job with my personal training certificate

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Yes, a foot injury that plagued me for a few months.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I would say the best thing that was bought for me was my kindle fire. Now I can read books without actually having to scrounge around in the library or bookstores.

12. Where did most of your money go?

Probably food

13. What did you get really excited about?

Finishing my personal training diploma

14. What song will always remind you of 2011?

Hrm… this is a hard one..

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:


– happier or sadder? Happier
– thinner or fatter? Definitely fatter for the latter part of the year
– richer or poorer? Richer

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?


Reading, and dancing a bit more

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?


Facebook.. speaking of that, I guess I should log off now.

18. How did you spend Christmas?

Eating an amazing home cooked meal with family

19. What was your favorite TV program?

Real Housewives and everything trash reality- does this count?

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

The Hunger Games series

21. What was your favorite music from this year?


Mark Anthony “Sigo Siendo Yo” album- an oldie but goodie

22. What were your favorite films of the year?

Nothing really comes to mind besides The Help and Puss in Boots

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

T surprised me with a trip to Barcelona, where we had such delicious food and I got to dance, albeit briefly at a salsa club! Oh, and I turned 27.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Having a better social network/spending more time with friends
 

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

Uhhh.. what fashion concept?

26. What kept you sane?

Sonoma- my dog

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.


Distance makes the heart grow fonder

We started the morning yesterday by taking down our ugly, ratty, dead tree! I swear the cleaning and trouble cutting it down was more than it was worth.

We had to put all the branches in bags so it wouldn't get all over our flat hallway. I hope our neighbors are grateful for this!! :-)

Later that night, we had T's sister and son over for a low key New Years celebration. Being 5 months pregnant, I didn't feel very festive. In fact, I spent most of the day/night in pajama pants.

Our crazy spread that was a mixture of homemade but mostly store bought stuff.

We also ordered pizza on top of all this food.. I wonder who had that bright idea!!

Champagne/grape fruit toast at midnight!

...then on to the party poppers!

I'm not quite sure why everyone was pointing theirs down.

London's fireworks looked amazing from the TV. It almost made me wish I was there. Almost.

Here's to a happy and healthy New Year!