Shannon’s World

About 5 years ago, when Mike and I were dating I attempted to make a nice Beef Stroganoff for dinner. It was a disaster! I am not the best chef in the world, but I can honestly say I don’t make many things that are not edible. The Beef Stronganoff was not edible. I just got a Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe for Slow Cooker/Crock Pot beef stroganoff that I am tempted to try and overcome my “stroganoff fears”. The great thing about the recipe is that it comes with a shopping list as well. It doesn’t get much easier! I plan to make this next week and promise to let you know how it turns out. . . keep your fingers crossed!

Just in time for the holidays:  Xerox is sponsoring a site that allows you to send a card to one of the brave men and women serving overseas.  Go to www.letssaythanks.com and pick a thank you card to send.  Xerox will print it and send it to a soldier currently serving in Iraq.  Again, this is free and it only takes a minute to thank our service men and women who can’t be with their families this holiday season.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!  Mike and I are headed to DC to celebrate with my family and some family friends.  I am looking forward to seeing the niece and nephew, eating great food and doing some shopping.  Mike and I have a lot to be thankful for this year and every year.

About a month ago,I gave everyone an update on the latest and greatest with me, but I thought I’d let you know how the baby is progressing at the 6 month mark:

Your baby’s growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week, when she was just over a pound. Since she’s almost a foot long, that makes a pretty lean figure, but her body is filling out proportionally and she’ll soon put on more baby fat. Your baby’s skin is thin, translucent, and wrinkled, her brain is growing rapidly, and her taste buds are developing. Her lungs are developing “branches” of the respiratory “tree” and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.
The top of your uterus is now an inch or so above your belly button, which means it’s about the size of a soccer ball. With the skin on your abdomen and breasts stretching, you may feel a little itchy now and then. If your skin is dry, keeping it well moisturized may help. Also, your eyes may be sensitive to light and feel gritty and dry. This is a perfectly normal pregnancy symptom known as dry-eye. To ease your discomfort, use an artificial tears solution to add moisture.

Note: this is an update from BabyCenter.com.  The use of “she” in the discription above does not indicate the sex of our baby, the emails just come that way!

On Tuesday night we had a girls night out at Piece in Bucktown.  It was great to see the girls and get caught up.  With my travels, it’s been a while since I’ve seen most of the ladies and it’s the first opportunity they’ve had to see the ever growing “bump”. 

When Heather, Alison and I arrived at our table (after a brief stop a few doors down at Belly Dance and another stop for a pre-dinner dessert at Sweet Thang - so good!) we had no idea that we were sitting next to Piece owner, Cheap Trick guitarist and Rockford native Rick Nielsen.  I noticed he ordered something along the lines of a meat lovers, while us ladies opted for a white pizza with basil.  It was excellent!

On an unrelated note, I stopped at Belly Dance to purchase a Bella Band.  This is the worlds greatest invention for the pregnant woman.  Not only does it allow you to wear your old clothes longer, but it prevents maternity pants from falling down.  I’ve been having a serious problem with my maternity pants falling down and the band is a lifesaver. 

I think these muffins sound so good; I hope to make them this weekend!

Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins
2 c. flour
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. nutmeg
¾ c. sugar
1/3 c. oil
2 eggs
1 ¼ c. canned pumpkin
½ c. milk
½ c. walnuts
2 c. fresh cranberries, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 400. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin well.

Mix dry ingredients together, set aside. Whisk oil, eggs, pumpkin, and milk together in a medium sized bowl. Add dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until combined. Fold in the walnuts and cranberries. Do not over mix. Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake until muffins are puffed and golden and spring back when touched, 20-25 minutes. Check after 20 minutes, as over-baking will result in dry muffins. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins. Enjoy!

How can you not love Coldstone?! Buy one get one free coupon via slickdeals.net. Expires Jan 31. Sounds like much needed snack when Christmas shopping! Enjoy

Mike blogged about the wedding we attended on Friday night in the Big Apple (Congrats, Shaun and Lauren!).  Mike didn’t talk about Saturday and what he did for his pregnant wife.  We started the day with a huge diner style breakfast that was excellent - I had a hankering for eggs benedict and Mike enjoyed steak and eggs (apparently the huge steak we dined on the night before wasn’t enough!).

After breakfast we headed out on a long walk to Grenwich Village.  It was easily 70 degrees on Saturday in the city so it was perfect weather for a walk through some of my favorite neighborhoods.  I was also on a mission!  Our destination: Magnolia Bakery. . .my favorite and something I’ve been craving for a while.  I was tired when Mike and I made it the 60 some blocks to Bleeker Street, so we chilled in the park across the street from the bakery hoping the line outside would shorten.  No luck.  Knowing I was tired and he was fed up with watching other people eat Magnolia’s delectable treats, Mike got in line and left me relaxing in the sun on a bench.  55 minutes later Mike returned with 4 cupcakes (one of each kind) and a banana pudding.  55 minutes!  The man waited in line for cupcakes that he’s never had before for almost an hour while I sat on a bench. . .in the sun!  I am not sure what I did to deserve a husband like this but I am truly greatful.  Half the cupcakes made for an outstanding late afternoon snack and the banana pudding was a wonderful dessert.  What happened to the other half of the cupcakes you might wonder?  Breakfast Sunday morning, naturally!

By the way, Mike confessed the cupcakes were worth an hour in line - they are that good!

I am back after a brief hiatus and trip to NYC (more about that later).  I was happy to find a link to pics of the niece and nephew in my inbox upon my return today.  Only 8 more days until I see them - can’t wait!

For those of you that go way back know of my involvement in IU’s Dance Marathon. The Dance Marathon was founded in 1991 by then-IU student Jill Stewart to honor her friend, Indiana AIDS patient Ryan White. Since then, it has raised more than $4.1 million for Riley Hospital, which built and supports the Ryan White Infectious Disease Center. Over 1,000 IU students fun raise for months leading up to the Marathon and then stay awake for 36 hours straight to show their commitment to the sick kids and their families.

I was involved for three years while at IU serving as a member of the promotions committee, then a Director and finally a VP. Not only is the Marathon responsible for introducing me to some great friends, it’s also how I met Mike!

The Marathon is this weekend down in Bloomington. For more articles, information or to make a donation, check out the following sites:

• www.iudm.org
• 1,056 To Stand for Those Who Can’t (IDS article)

For those of you that attended IU in the late 90s and early 2000s, you’ll remember the tragic death of Jill Behrman.  Jill was an IU student that disappeared while riding her bike in Bloomington early one morning.  The case went unsolved and without a suspect for years….until yesterday.

On Monday a jury found John Myers guilty of Jill’s murder after only 50 minutes of deliberation.  Sentencing will be on December 1.  The Indy Star has a good article.