Recent Pregnancy Thoughts

As my due date continues to draw near, I find myself thinking about the presence of a baby in our home/life and it gets me excited.  Although I am sure it will be challenging at times, I am looking forward to loving and protecting this little life that my husband and I made together.  As I was walking home from work this evening, an image came to my mind of our baby wrapped tightly to my body in his/her Moby wrap as I go for my daily walks, run errands, or do work around the house.  I imagined the tiny baby body, perhaps asleep or just very still, with its soft skin and small amount of hair, so content as I go about my business.  I imagined how I would breathe in the baby’s scent from the top of his/her head and I would be so happy and things would be perfect.  Asa and I are excited that we get to have a summer baby.  Summer is my favorite season and adding a family member during that time will only make the season that much better.  I’m looking forward to taking naps together with the window open and the air blowing in, taking walks as a family, hanging out at night by the bonfire, and much more!

I had some thoughts the other day about how truly incredible it is to be pregnant (from a biological/natural point of view).  I had never taken the time to think about it before, or perhaps I just tried to push the thought of it away since I never wanted to experience pregnancy.  It’s really amazing though when you think about it.  First, you have the fact that a tiny organism in your and your husband’s body can come together and immediately create a life.  Then, as your pregnancy continues, you continue creating and building a human!  I mean, that’s no big deal right – I’m just growing a human inside of me – and I don’t even have to do anything besides eat well and stay fit.  Next, you have to experience labor and delivery which your body was literally built to withstand.  Your body automatically knows how to get the human out that’s been growing in there for the past ten months (should I mention here how your body prepares itself for labor/delivery from the start - how it is able to stretch and mold and move – crazy).  Lastly, once your baby is delivered (and even before that, really) your body makes food for the baby…food!  This food can be made for a long time, over and over again, and it will sustain your little baby’s life.  A person can make food with their body?  Come on!  This stuff is just so amazing to me – the whole process almost seems unreal.  And remember: men cannot do any of this!  As someone who enjoys science, health, and anatomy, this information is awesome to know!  And as a person of faith, it’s amazing to realize the power that God has given us humans to be able to create more humans.  He is a creator himself, of everything, and yet He also gives us the ability to create life.  Mind-boggling, I’ll say.

Surprise Baby Shower

Last Thursday, my coworkers threw me a small baby shower at work during our weekly team meeting.  I was definitely surprised.  Although we still discussed work during our meeting, it was nice to hang out and eat food with everyone.  And I appreciated their thoughtfulness!

Aren't these little animals cute for decoration??

Tofu Burritos

At our last grocery outing, we purchased tofu at the store to add to pasta sauce, Chinese stir-fry, and whatever else we could think of as a way to get added protein in our diet.  I always forget about adding tofu to recipes, but I love it when I do remember!  It's so easy to use and it tastes like whatever you add with it!  I know a lot of people out there are not fans of tofu, but I think that's just because they haven't really tried it ;)

Last night I decided to add some tofu to our burrito ingredients.  My husband usually needs more substance than I do when it comes to food, so if adding a bit of tofu, soy meat, or veggies help to make the dish go a little bit farther then I always try to do that for him.  Unlike me, he is a meat eater, but occasionally, so I suppose I could add meat to some recipes from time to time (if I am feeling generous ;) ).  Since we are fresh from grocery shopping this past weekend, we have more ingredients to work with in the house (grocery day is always a relief and I love to restock the fridge and pantry).

I started prepping for dinner by gathering all the ingredients that I was going to need: beans, veggies, tofu, tortillas, and "toppings."

Next, I started working on cooking the tofu.  I heated about a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a small pan, cut a few slabs of tofu into small chunks, and put them into the hot oil.

As the tofu cooked, I started working on chopping the vegetables.  I used spinach, tomato, red onion, and red pepper.

Once the tofu was cooked a bit more, I sprinkled some leftover taco seasoning on it to give it a bit more flavor.  When the tofu was almost done, I put a bit of lime juice over the mixture.

*For those of you who haven't cooked tofu before, the key to knowing when it is done is that it turns from white to a pale brown.  Also, as I discovered this time, tofu "cooks down" quite a bit so it's okay to cut up more tofu than you think is necessary because otherwise you might not have enough.

Finally, when the tofu was done cooking, all that was left was to warm up the beans and create the burrito with all of the other ingredients!  I think it turned out well for my first try, but next time I definitely want to add more tofu and more seasoning - I think I was worried about the seasoning being too overwhelming that I didn't add enough to taste the flavor within the burrito.

Finished product!

5.19.14 - apparently socks weren't the only thing left on the floor after work

I started a page on my Tumblr blog about my husband's socks and their random placement throughout the apartment. I have decided that instead of fighting it and constantly telling my husband to pick up his socks, I will just turn it into hilarity for all to see :)  I would like to continue those updates on this blog, so keep an eye out for exhibits from "There They Lie!"

4.18.14 - leftovers from oh, two nights ago?

4.20.14 - Easter is over (or rather, has begun!)

4.28.14 - even the socks cuddle together when it's cold & windy outside!

5.9.14 - another work week comes to an end. bring on the weekend!

Woodbeck Wilderness Trail Mix

A few weeks ago I took a glucose test, along with some blood work, at the doctor’s just to make sure that I didn’t have gestational diabetes and that all my other numbers were still good.  Thankfully everything is fine, and I passed the glucose test!  However, my iron is just slightly low so my doctor recommended a supplement and/or eating more iron-rich foods.  Last week I went in for my (now bi-weekly) appointment, and my doctor gave me some tips on iron-rich foods to incorporate into my diet.  One suggestion was making a homemade trail mix with all the nuts and other goodies that I personally like.  My husband and I laughed that we had never thought before about doing something as simple as that – making our own trail mix.  My doctor said it took her 50 years to figure out that you can make your own with the things you like in it (rather than what you would buy at the store) so I guess we aren’t the only ones who didn’t come up with that idea.  Well, on our most recent grocery outing we bought all the ingredients and today I made our very own trail mix.  It turned out great (and delicious!).

Recipe for Woodbeck Wilderness Trail Mix

- (3) One pound bags of raw almonds, blanched peanuts, and unsalted cashews.  You can obviously use whatever kind of nuts you prefer and that you think would go well together.

- One bag of dried cranberries

- One bag of dark chocolate morsels

- One teaspoon salt (optional)

In a Tupperware container (size will vary – not sure on the size of mine, but it was one of the bigger ones), add ¾ cup of each type of nut, and ½ cup each of the cranberries and chocolate.  Add the salt.  Put the lid on the container and shake to mix the contents together.  Feel free to experiment with quantity of ingredients.

Easy as that!  Now you have an “on-the-go” mix that you can take to work, on road trips, pack in lunches, or eat at home as a snack.  I thought about pre-making smaller bags of trail mix, but then decided that having a bowl of the mix might be easier because then we can take as much or as little as we want.

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If you want to check out previous entries from my other blog, follow this link: ashleywoodbeck.tumblr.com – I will no longer be posting from Tumblr as Blogger will be my new blogging site :)