Flake-Out Friday

Ian and I are creatures of habit. And a bit lazy, yes, a bit lazy.

Flake-Out Friday is something we hold sacred, dear to our hearts. Years ago (and by years ago, I mean before I was pregnant, which may not actually be years ago, but it sure feels like it), we would sometimes go out for dinner, take a long walk after dinner, or maybe go rent a movie, back when you could get in a car and go rent a movie (so long ago, so long ago). Some nights we'd have friends over, or visit friends, or go out for drinks, or maybe even go to the theater for a film.

Pregnancy brought with it a strong desire to wear yoga pants all the time, a need to nap after work or any sort of activity, and a sort of home-bodied-ness never before seen in my lifetime. Ian adjusted grandly, picking up another pair of  'loungey pants' at Target (because I won't let him sit on our furniture in just his underwear, as he would gladly do in a Rachel-free habitat), and Flake-Out Friday was born.

Flake-Out Friday involves several key factors:

1. Pizza, usually with a lot of pepperoni on it, unless I decide I want to make it "healthy" and insist on mushrooms on half. Because that's going to help in the long run, right? Right.
2. Catching up on our shows. We don't have a television or cable, and so watch all of our shows on hulu.com the day after they air. Everything we follow airs on Thursday, so this takes a couple of hours to catch up. 
3. A run to the corner store to see if there are pints of Haagen Daaz or Ben & Jerry's on sale. I must confess this is a recent phenomena, a product of late pregnancy when all I wanted to do was lay on my side while Ian rubbed my back, eating ice cream. Which you can do when you're pregnant, because it's really good to lay on your side and get backrubs (if you're calm, the baby is calm! the baby gets all of your endorphins and feels nice too!*), and you need a lot of calcium when you're pregnant or your fetus will suck it from your bones and you will develop osteoperosis.**

* not sure if I buy into any of that, but I will use any and all excuses to get my back rubbed

** the calcium thing is true, but research is still inconclusive as to whether or not ice cream is the best source of ice cream for pregnant women

To-Cook Recipes

For some reason I can't save into my recipe-box in epicurious.com right now, and I'm lusting after... well, all food.

So, as part save-for-later and part blog entry, here are some desserts I'm dying to try:

• Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed Blueberry Sauce
• Lemon Creme Brulee Tart
• Tarte au Sucre
• Lavender Tea Honey Bread
• Hazelnut Gateau Breton
• Sticky Toffee Banana Pudding

And some main courses that sound like heaven right now:

• Grilled Cheese and Fried Egg Sandwich
• Thai Shrimp and Halibut Curry
• Risotto with Butternut Squash, Leeks, and Basil
• Tacos with Carnitas or Carne Adobada
• Chicken Marsala
• Salmon Cannelloni with Lemon Cream Sauce
• Thai-Style Beef with Noodles
• Farfelle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream
• Korean Rice Bowl with Steak, Asparagus, and Fried Egg
• Chicken and White Bean Chili

 What have we learned? Apparently I'm craving really fatty and delicious things - lots of CREAM in these recipes, which wasn't intentional, I swear. Also, meat. Yummy, yummy meat.

Okay, enough. I'm a hungry, pregnant woman and I'm going to go cook some dinner before I start nomming on my hand.

Transition

Goals I have:

• Find a local yoga studio and start practicing again, at least 2-3 times a week. 
• Bike or walk places when I can (weather permitting) instead of using the car.
• Lose 10-15 pounds, back to mid-college weight.
• Plant a garden (cannot do this until Ian and I "settle" down in 1-2 years).
• Compost.
• Take a kickboxing course. 
• Finish my masters degree in a year (2-3 semesters).

Goals Ian and I are working on together:

• Buying as much of our produce and food as we can locally, utilizing our farmers' market and the co-op as best we can.
• Building our savings back up to pre-wedding numbers.
• Saving up for a European vacation.

A List

Books I read at the same time:

1. A book to be read at bedtime or on the weekends
2. A book at my desk at work, to be read during lunch and my afternoon break with tea
3. My audio book in the car, to be listened to while driving to and from work (typically 1.5 hours daily)
4. A book I'm reading out loud with Ian

Respectively, I'm currently working on the following:

1. The Final Solution: A Story of Detection by Michael Chabon
2. The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter
3. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
4. The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski