Getting molars isn't much fun

Emery getting her molars has led to screaming the likes of which I've never heard from this child.

Yet, as awful as I'm sure it's been on her, today I'm kind of glad it's been so rough ... otherwise she never would have wailed herself to sleep on Matt.

She hasn't done this, well, since she was an itty bitty baby! (you might notice Matt still was wearing his hospital bracelet - he wore it till it fell off. AHHH ... melt my heart, would you?)

What we've been up to

It's been one of those stretches where everything and nothing seems all that blogworthy, so I've taken the easy way out and not made a peep. However, now it's been a little too long with no post, so here's a snapshot of what we've been up to, with photos and a video sprinkled throughout:

• Decorating - and I shouldn't exactly be included in "we" because our dear friend Shannon and my mom are really the only ones who have put forth real effort in getting Emery's room looking girly, tasteful and original. Curtains are still being hung, but when everything is put together, I'll post again with pics that include look at Shannon's coffee filter hydrangea wall art!
• Reuniting - after three weeks in Germany for work, Matt was more than ready to come home and also a little relieved that Emery wasn't as big in person as she looked on Skype ... yet, she still grew a lot while he was gone and I'm happy to report that it was a wonderful reunion and Emery hasn't missed a beat in giving her daddy plenty of smiles and rapt attention whenever he's nearby.

Matt's trip also afforded us a reunion with Henny and Papa, one of Emery's namesakes, her uncle Austin Emery, Aunt Jackie and cousin Tucker.

Cooking and eating - We are loving the fruits of summer. Local peaches are everywhere I turn, blueberries cropping up for cereal and pancakes, and cantaloupes just starting to make an affordable appearance at the supermarket.
Here are a few recipes we've been enjoying:

Pasta with Peas, Prosciutto and Lettuce - it might sound strange or possibly bland to you, but trust me, it's absolutely delicious, simple to make and best of all, doesn't even require you making a salad on the side!

Shaved Asparagus Pizza - also extremely simple and a wonderful combination of flavors for an unusual pizza that's worth making over and over again ... also doesn't require a salad on the side (catching a theme here? i love salads but get tired of making them!) Today for lunch, there was only one small slice left, so I made it more substantial, and even more delicious, by topping my slice with two fried eggs.

And for dessert, Salted Caramel Brownies. Need I say more?

A happy reunion

I'm trying to reassure Matt that he's not missing too much of Emery's life as he works in Chattanooga during the week and visits us on the weekends. However, a friend did jokingly point out that he missed half her life while in Chattanooga last week.

Still, I don't think he missed too much other than her putting on a few ounces and getting a little cuter with each passing day. This week her only new trick has been spitting up.

We're thrilled that we get to go down to Chattanooga with Matt next week for a visit, leaving us only one short week on our own again before we make the move!

I can't believe it

I think between Matt and myself, we've said "I can't believe it" about 331 times in the last 24 hours, because yesterday, Matt accepted a job offer at Volkswagen that will take us to Chattanooga, TN!

Matt's been looking for a job since mid-September and in October, we began to get VW and Chattanooga on the brain. Both make sense for us in so many ways, and now that it's finally happened, we're stunned. There were days when something like this happening just felt impossible, but we kept hoping and praying for a miracle. And I took a lot of deep breaths.

Well, we got our miracle, and another miracle is (hopefully!) quickly on its way .... Baby D is due in just under a week. We can't believe it!!

Penny pinching evening

We've had a bit of a rough week or so. Matt is now what he jokingly calls a "statistic" of the recession and is no longer working for General Motors. Fortunately, we're doing pretty well and are by no means in the breadline ... however, I'm not opposed to using my "free bread" coupons at the local gourmet grocery store and we're certainly watching what we spend a little more carefully.

So tonight I served up what's probably going to become a regular in our quick-and-easy, budget meal lineup - fritatta. We definitely got our full serving of vegetables - half a bunch of kale each, along with red pepper, onion and sweet potato, a good amount of protein, and it only took me about 15-20 minutes start to finish.

After dinner I said "I wish I could have an ice cream cone!" Matt acknowledged that I've been doing such a good job with all of this unexpected change, and said he'd get me one, and that it could be a good way to use up our change.

I thought he meant our quarters. But no, he meant our pennies in the change dish. He asked me to count them out and I looked at them, fumed a little, started counting a few, and then said something to the effect of "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

I'm really glad I stood my ground, because Matt relented pretty quickly, counted the pennies and took me to get my cone. Even better, he didn't make me hand the man behind the counter all the pennies. I can't imagine what the cashier was thinking, and I couldn't see his face because I was trying to hide behind Matt the whole time.

So it was a penny pinching evening indeed ... and pretty fun, too!

A fun trip and kitchen safety

I just returned from a fantastic few days in Annapolis and Charlottesville. Of course no trip to Charlottesville would be complete without some time with Tucker, who now eagerly refers to me as "Yiz!" whenever he wants my attention. We had a lot of fun tromping around at the park, playing with trucks, reading, and listening to numerous renditions of "The Wheels on the Bus."

I came home to a house FULL of notes from Matt, who is backpacking in the Sierra Nevadas this week. Everywhere I turn, every cabinet or door I open, there's a note! Definitely a wonderful surprise.

However, I felt suddenly reprimanded when, barefoot, I opened the knife drawer to find a knife to slice some bread, and was reminded by a note from Matt to "wear foot protection."

It's not that Matt's some kitchen safety czar. He's simply reminding me of what happened last summer when he was backpacking - I dropped a knife on my foot while trying to make him banana bread. This little accident put me into surgery and onto crutches for about two months. Not fun.

So, I immediately put on my Merrells and am vowing to have them on at all times while handling knives this weekend! And, incidentally, I have loads of frozen bananas that are just begging to become banana bread. Dare I give it another try?

I want to make these!

I wish this post was a description of how tasty these cookies were, but alas, I haven't even bought the ingredients yet. I'm just enjoying looking at the picture, and am trying to figure out when I'm going to make "The Best One-Bowl Chocolate Chunk Almond Cookies." I'm such a sucker for any recipe that starts with "The Best." If they're the best, well, then I just have to make them!

By the way, this is starting to feel more like a cooking blog and less like a Detroit blog, so I'll throw in a local picture for good measure. This is Matt showing off his wakesurfing abilities for the ladies!

Why girls bake cookies

I think all girls know that when they bake cookies, or any kind of dessert for that matter, for a significant other, they're really just baking them for themselves.

I noticed a recipe for nutty oatmeal cookies today and realized I had all the ingredients. Plus, we bought a LOT of local oats yesterday, and I was excited to have a purpose for them other than breakfast.

So I decided to make cookies for Matt. He deserves a little treat in his lunch every now and then, right? Especially since I usually smuggle away the little chocolate treats I get at Trader Joe's in a place where he couldn't find them unless he was really looking.

The recipe called for a cup of dried fruit, and I realized this was a perfect opportunity to use up some dried cranberries I'd bought awhile ago and hadn't used very much since Matt isn't crazy about cranberries.

Why I thought he would like them in cookies, I don't know. Maybe I thought the cookie would compensate for the cranberries and he wouldn't notice them very much.

Not the case. Looks like I'll have my share of lunchtime treats for a long time.

In truth, though, I really think I was making them just as much for Matt as I was for myself. I think it might have been a little subconscious guilt over squirreling away chocolate treats,which now maybe I'll have to share since he's not interested in my cookies. Darn.

Failproof landscaping

We did a little yardwork yesterday. Actually, perhaps I should say Matt did a lot of yardwork yesterday and I was moderately helpful and hopefully inspirational. (I only say that because on one of our trips between the nursery and home I commented that I didn't feel like I was much help, and Matt said I was inspiration. Kinda cute and I'm hoping he wasn't just joking!)

In just three hours, Matt mowed the lawn, dug up 5 ailing rhododendrons, extended the width of our front bed by two feet, transplanted our Japanese maple, planted 5 hydrangeas and 13 boxwoods, and laid some mulch!!

To my credit, I planted some herbs, did some pruning and weeding and laid some mulch as well.

I really don't have much of a green thumb, and, at this stage in life, am not all that interested in doing what it takes to make it greener. It makes me sympathetic to those people who really aren't that interested in cooking, but still want to eat well without too much effort or cost.

Our friend with expertise in landscaping told us that this plan was "failproof" ... here's hoping he's right!

I need to be more careful

Last night I volunteered at a cowboy-themed fundrasiser for the Junior League. I don't own cowboy boots, a cowboy hat or even a checked button-down shirt ... the only affordable Western flair I could figure out at the last minute was a bandanna.

So I asked Matt if he had any I could borrow, and he hedged a little. To be honest, I was a bit miffed by his response. After all, it's just a bandanna, he wasn't going to be using it on Saturday night I'm pretty sure, and what was I going to do ... lose it?!?! Of course not! It would be tied around my neck for all of 2 or 3 hours and then back in his hands, safe and sound.

I'm guessing you can tell where this post is going. Matt was right to hedge a little in lending me his white bandanna, the one he feels the most sentimental about, the one that reminds him of his backpacking trips.

When I got to the event, I put my belongings in a coat closet and decided not to wear the bandanna at first, since I couldn't really make it look cute tied around my neck and figured I looked "cowboy couture" enough with my denim and heels.

And of course, a few hours later, I returned home, bandannaless. In my rush to leave, I didn't notice that it had fallen of the top of my purse, where I had set it initially.

Here's the good news, though! First, and most importantly, Matt forgave me pretty quickly. Yes, he was bummed that we might not be able to get his bandanna back, but he didn't give me a hard time about it. And for that I am very grateful!

Second, I did track down a friend who was still at the event and she rescued it for me.

Lesson learned - I need to keep bandannas tied around my neck! (and be more careful of course)

The hockey scream

I guess I always knew that different sports call for different spectator sounds. Polite clapping and conservative cheering are appropriate for tennis and golf. Basketball, football and baseball allow for more expressive outbursts of emotion. I thought hockey fit into that category, too, but my exposure to the Detroit Red Wings has proved to me that it doesn't.

When Matt watches hockey, the sounds that come out of his mouth are so bizzare. I was certainly caught off-guard the first time I heard them. They are these high-pitched yelps, sporadic "OH's!" that get you all keyed up and make you think maybe something really exciting actually has happened.

But then I look at the screen and nothing really that tremendous has occurred. The puck is still sliding around, the score is the same and not even a fight has broken out.

I'm still not sure why hockey elicits these strange noises from my husband. And I doubt they're unique to him. It just must be something about the sport that I don't understand.

All I know is that I won't be disappointed when the playoffs are over and I'm pretty thankful that Matt's basically just a playoff fan.

Being deliberate

One of the things about Matt that I envy is how he is so deliberate. There is very little he does without reason, and I'm not just talking about the big things in life, like where to work and live, who to be friends with, how to spend your money, etc.


I'm talking about things like:


1. Parking at the airport. When we leave our car in airport parking for several days in the winter, he ensures that the windshield is facing the sun, so that at least some of the snow that buries our car will melt. In the summer, he parks in the opposite direction, so that we will not enter an inferno upon our return.


2. Parking in general. Matt always back into parking spaces. Though tedious at times, it allows for a speedier and safer departure. I am proud to say that this has rubbed off on me a little, as I almost always back into our driveway and garage.


3. Ordering food at a restaurant. He always hits the restaurant's sweet spot. If we're having lunch at a deli, he gets a rueben or an Italian sub, whereas I'll wander into ordering some pile of roasted vegetables on foccacia or a wrap of hummus and sprouts ... of course there's nothing wrong with these sandwiches, but at a deli, does it really make sense to avoid meat?


4. Where you keep your sunglasses. Matt's sunglasses are always either on his face, or in their case in the console of the car. Mine are either on my face, on my head, on the kitchen table, on the bed, in my purse, on the kitchen counter, sometimes in the console of the car, and never in a case.


5. Teeth brushing. Matt almost always brushes his teeth right after dinner. This way, when he gets tired and wants to go to bed, all he has to do is go upstairs! I delay this process, and it becomes all the more arduous when I'm half-asleep, but flossing and brushing, and he's already under the covers, sawing z's.


6. Washing fruit. When Matt takes an apple to work, he washes it beforehand, doubling his chances of actually eating it. When I take an apple to work, the thought of getting up from my desk, going to the kitchen, washing and drying it is often enough to make me reach for the pretzels instead.

Acknowledgements

I guess it's time to give credit where credit is due. While we were enjoying our crepes and visit to Eastern Market on Saturday, and after I exclaimed, "Oh, I can blog about this!" Matt jokingly reminded me, as he has many times over the past month or so, that he is the one who is giving me all of these good ideas for my blog posts.

It was his idea to go out for crepes and make a pitstop at Eastern Market, it was his idea to go to Charleston for our anniversary, to buy me the New York Times, to get me interested in Pistons basketball ... and really, to invite me to live in Detroit in the first place so that I could finally get offers for subscriptions to Midwest Living, yet another worthy topic for a blog post. And what would be the point in starting a blog called "Motoring Forth," were it not for Matt choosing to live here, and me choosing to join him? (although, strangely, I have yet to write about the auto industry or cars.)

Now he isn't trying to take all the credit here, because of course it's I who sit down and actually type out these posts. But I did feel it was time to acknowledge his inspiration ... especially because I've currently got a few ideas for future posts, that, well, I'm going to need to attribute to him. Thank you Matt!