Food is good, mmkay?! :)

We had a lovely romantic anniversary dinner out... and a wonderful Halloween with Travis. Pictures on Flickr of H'ween!

It was definitely nice to have dinner at a place with no crayons on the table! We went to one of our favorite Italian places in downtown called Cibo.

We had a super-yummy dinner. I even had a glass of merlot with dinner. While 4 and nearly 1/2 months pregnant! Shocking! Scandelous! Arrest me now!

Sue me, I'm Italian! I didn't even feel a little tipsy. :p

We had:

ANTIPASTO MISTO
calamari fritti, crab cake, bruschetta, grilled prawn, half an artichoke (grilled on a wood grill, and topped with chopped tomatoes, basil, and olive oil)

SPAGHETTI DELLA CASA (me)
Pasta straws, baby shrimp, with a pesto vodka cream sauce (holy crap it was yummy!!)

TAGLIATELLE BOLOGNESE (Jeff)
Thin pasta ribbons with a rich tomato meat sauce, and a side of their house-made italian grilled sausage.

Neither of us had room for dessert, and I ended up taking half of my pasta home and had it for lunch yesterday. Helloooo heartburn!

Last night we (well - I) carved our pumpkin, and we took Travis out Trick-or-treating. My dad came with us, and we went out to Papa Chanos for dinner.

Travis had fun.... but the neighborhood we went to, even though it was really good last year, was mostly dark. Maybe we started out too late? I don't know. He didn't get that much loot, but he had fun. :)


We went to the grocery store today, and got some 1/2 off candy anyway. We are... I mean the kid is set. :)

Travis didn't want to wear his costume last night at first, but he got into character (Superman!) and the first thing he asked for this morning was to put his costume back on. And, yes, he wore his costume almost all day. Even to the grocery store. I t was a nice diversion, considering I didn't get a chance to shower this morning. Instead of looking at my and my oily hair, people were smiling and paying attention to the cute kid in the cart instead! Endearing and cute? Yes. BUT, we'll see how that flimsy costume holds up over the next week, though. Yikes!

Right now, I am making a yummy pot roast in my slow cooker. I am using a recipe from my "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook!"


I am also going to roast fingerling potatoes, baby yams, pearl onions, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, parsnips, and turnips - really simply with olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Yummy!

"Our Best Pot Roast with Roots"
from "Not your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook"
Use medium oval or large round or oval slowcooker
Serves 4-6
Setting & Time Low for 8-9 hours


2 T olive oil, or more as needed
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1/2 cup finely diced celery (including some leaves)
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely diced turnips

3 lb boneless chuck roast, trimmed of all visible fat, patted dry
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine
3/4 c. water

In large, heavy skillet, heat 1 T of the olive oil, over medium-high heat. Cook the veggies, stirring a few times, until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker.

Heat the remaining 1T oil in the same pan, and add the chuck roast. Cook until well- browned, about 3 minutes per side. Add another bit of olive oil if needed before flipping over. (I was using a stainless pan, so needed the extra oil to keep roast from sticking.)Season with salt and pepper, add to the slow cooker on top of the veggies.

Pour wine into the skillet, bring to a boil. Scrape up brown bits, and boil until wine has reduced to a syrupy consistency, 1-2 minutes. Pour wine over the roast. Add the water, and bring to a full boil. Pour over the roast. Cook 8-9 hours on low.

To serve:

Transfer meat to a cutting board, scraping any clinging bits of veggies back into the cooker. Pour veggies & liquid through a mesh strainer set over a bowl. Use a spoon to press sll the liquid possible from the veggies. Discard veggies. ALlow liwuid to settle for a few minutes, and skim off as much fat from the surface as possible. Slice roast against the grain, and serve with the gravy.

Note: If the roast is cooked for the full 9 hours, it may be too tender to slice. If this happens, serve the fork-tender chunks over egg noodles, corkscrew pasta, or mashed potatoes to soak up the juice.

'Ehlo!

Damn, time for an update, I guess. I had my OB appointmet this morning. Everything looks good. My bp was 130/60. I was shocked. My low number has never been that low. 70, es, once. But 60?! The nurse found the hb the first place she put the doppler. I was damned impressed. :) I had my blood drawn for the AFP/Triple Screen. That HURT! She apologized, and thinks she hit a nerve in my arm. Yeowch! I'm sure I will have the bruises to show for it tomorrow.

I also called the 3-D place and made the appointment for our gender-determination u/s on December 1. That's going to be so cool! Plus, this time around, Jeff's mom, step-dad, and sister will be able to be there with us! :)

We went up there this weekend, and celebrated BIL's birthday. It was a lot of fun. Yesterday we went and did a little shopping. Their Old Navy has some Maternity stuff. I got a nice hooded sweater for $12 and a cami with a built-in bra for my yoga class.

Tonight we're going to get a Costco pizza and carve our pumpkins.

Tomorrow is Jeff & my 10 year wedding anniversary!! :) Holy crap! How did THAT happen so fast?!

We're going to have his Grandma watch Travis for a couple of hours (for the first time ever!) and go have a nice dinner out. AND this Saturday we're leaving him with Jeff's mom OVERNIGHT! (Another first!) We're going to stay in Napa, and go out to a nice dinner at the Culinary Institute. My MIL gave me a Gift cert. last Christmas for there, and we wanted to use it before baby #2 comes. I am a little nervous about the leaving him overnight, but he'll be great. He loves going to Grandma's! :)

Weekend....

We had a nice weekend.... Saturday we went to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival. We had never gone before, and weren't sure what to expect. It was CRAZY busy. I mean TONS of people. More like a glorified street fair than a "Festival", but whatever.

We stayed a few hours, and Travis was anything but behaved. Time-outs were improvised on the sidewalk curb, or in random benches. It was tiring. We walked a LOT!!

On the way out of town, we stopped at at Pumpkin Farm, and that was really fun! We got Pumpkins, and they had this area for the kids to throw straw around. We had pumpkin ice cream, and took some pictures (see Flickr for the whole set.)


Then we drove through Santa Cruz and had a late lunch. We drove home, and went grocery shopping. Then I made pasta for dinner. Yummy!

Sunday, I got up early, and did laundry. Then we met my dad at Denny's for breakfast. I had gone with Travis on Thursday to help Jeff's Grandma pick out a new La-Z-Boy couch. So we to pick up her old couch with my Dad's truck to take up to Santa Cruz for Jeff's sister in Santa Cruz. So we drove up there, dropped off the couch, and then we all went to the Boardwalk with my dad and my SIL Sarah. It was a lot of fun for Travis especially! Travis rode the dragon rollercoaster with his Auntie Sarah! :)

Then we went to this yummy Mexican place we love for lunch. We ate way too much food. Then we dropped Sarah back off at home, and said our goodbyes.

Travis threw the biggest screaming, kicking, freaking out fit in the back seat as we left. I mean screaming like you wouldn't believe.... for miles He got really upset because Grandpa AND Auntie were leaving. And he had had NO nap all day. SO, that seriously sucked. Then he finally calmed down enough to fall asleep. Whew! When we got home, Jeff and I watched Next with Nicholas Cage while Travis napped.

It was nice, and busy, and stressful, and relaxing. If that makes any sense whatsoever!