Of burgers and onion rings

Today's ridiculous meal is brought to you by Bobby Flay, owner of (among other things) Bobby's Burger Palace at Mohegan Sun casino.

On the left is the Bobby Blue Burger. I know, I know, I'm not suppose to have blue cheese. I haven't had it in over 3 months. But I love me some blue cheese, and I am confident that one burger drowning in the aged loveliness isn't going to hurt the Bean. And yes, that is bacon you see on that burger as well. When I tell you that every single bite of that burger melted in my mouth like butter, it is an understatement. Best burger I've ever had? It's certainly up there. Way up there.

In the center is iced tea that Gordo told me I didn't need because we could have shared one drink and it would have saved us 3 dollars. Fair enough, but I wanted ice tea.

To the right is what I might call "the deal breaker". These onion rings were of epic proportion. Enormous doesn't quite do it justice. They were at least an inch or more wide and the biggest one was probably 4 or 5 inches across. They were, without a doubt, the best onion rings I've ever had. Hands down. Ever. Ev-er.

Before we went, my uncle's wife (no, she's not my aunt) told us we had to get the milkshakes, they are fantastic. Well after the burger soaked in blue cheese and the mammoth o-rings, the Bean said, not right now. So we walked and Gordo lost some money, and then I lost some money. Conveniently the restaurant is right next to the escalator to leave the casino and the milkshake taunted me. I consulted with the Bean and we decided, why not. Dark chocolate milkshake it was. It was tasty, I won't lie.

But those onion rings, I just couldn't stop thinking about the onion rings.

So, I wouldn't say I've had cravings exactly, but let me tell you I think about food constantly. All I watch is Food Network and Travel Channel. Not any one food in particular, just food. This week, apparently the Bean wanted burgers and ice cream. We'll see what happens next week.

Destine to love music

My first baby purchase for The Bean. I love it, love it, love it. I saw it and HAD TO BUY IT. I just wish it was white with black print. They had another wicked cute one, but it was more pinkish, definitely for a girl. This seems more "neutral".

Food

Since coming out of the pregnancy closet, by far the question I have been most asked is "How are you feeling?" My answer is usually "Pretty good, thanks!" In the last week I have learned that by answering "Good" "Great" or "Not too shabby" means that I will inevitably have my head in the toilet within the next few hours. As if The Bean is saying "You think you feel good? I'll show you!" Nice, kid. Real nice.

(To be fair, The Bean has been pretty good to me and my morning sickness has been fairly non-existent. Majority of the time I was more sick from the indigestion and heartburn than from any nausea. However it was always an awesome coincidence between the asking and the hacking.)

On Sunday I officially entered my SECOND TRIMESTER. The honeymoon. The golden months. I can't wait to get a big ole belly. I can't wait for The Bean to kick me in ribs. I. Can't. Wait.

(It also means my head should no longer be anywhere near the toilet. Score.)

And to celebrate, the hubby and I had lunch at 5 Guys ~ The Bean and I had a "little" cheeseburger with lettuce, pickles, ketchup and mayo and loads of fries. And in an awesome twist of fate, there was a Ben & Jerry's down the street where The Bean and I had a *huge* scoop of chocolate peanut butter swirl on a sugar cone.

The Bean and I are feeling pretty good about all that. (So far.)

Yipeee!!

Number of months trying to get pregnant: 20

Amount of money spent trying to get pregnant: Thousands

Amount of tears shed over the last 20 months: Oy...

Finally being able to tell you all that we are going to have a baby:

PRICELESS

The Bean, 11 weeks 2 days

Lots of love

I love hibiscus. Why is it the most beautiful flowers only last a day or two?

We had Gordo's whole family over for a cookout yesterday. I don't think we could have fit any more people in our house. As I sat there with them all, and after spending the day with my family on Friday, I realized a few things.

I'm never going to have the cleanest house. There will always be dog hair, there will always be a crumb or two, there will always be a little bit of dust. I will never be the skinniest. Food will always be a part of my life. I will never have the best behaved dogs. Rex is an excited barker, Penny is afraid, and that's just how it is.

But I love my family. And when I say 'my' family, I mean Gordo's and mine. They aren't perfect and neither are we, but we love each other. We are there for each other. We embrace the good times and bad. I love my husband. I just love my husband. And I love my friends. Never in my 32 years have I been blessed with such wonderful friends. My house may not be the cleanest, the newest or the nicest, but there is so much love within it. We surround ourselves with things we love. And I love my doggies. Rex howls and I know he loves me. I walk into a dark room and hear his tail smack the floor and it is one of the best sounds in the world. Penny is afraid, but runs to me to comfort her and I know she loves me, trusts me. I sleep at night and she rests her head on my leg, and I love to look at her beautiful face. And while I may not be the skinniest, I will always make the best desserts.

I am loving life.

What?

Is bird feeding really such a big epidemic in the Ocean State Job Lot parking lot to warrant this sign? Do people go over there with a bag of stale bread and feed the birds? I don't think I've ever even seen a bird in that parking lot. Not to mention, do the police have nothing else to do than take notice of this bird feeding? Really?

Let the sunshine

The hubby and I spent a really nice (long and hot) day in Rhode Island with my parents today. We went to an outdoor art show, walked along the water and had a great dinner and ice cream. These pictures were taken on my Blackberry, so I apologize for the fuzziness. It is so beautiful there. I could certainly spend a great deal of time there. I hope the beauty of it comes through in the pictures.

This is just not right

This was at 1:20 in the afternoon. OMG

And yet in a strange turn of events, my doopey dogs wanted to be outside. I made them come in after about 30 minutes because it was just that ridiculous. Good grief.

Too hot to handle

It is 94 degrees right now. And its only 10am. I am not tolerant of the heat. I can't handle it. Walking from the car to a store and I feel light headed. I can't take it. And its suppose to be like this all. week. long.

My poor doggies hate it as well. They desperately want to play, run, go for a big walk. I've tried to tell them, its just to darn hot, but they don't want to listen. So we step out to the backyard, and the panting begins. And I say, I told you its too darn hot, but you don't listen. And then we go in and sleep.

Next month my parents will have been married for 35 years. Thats a long time! So the good children that we are (and at the prompting of my grandmother) we are throwing them a party. They don't know about it yet, but the invites are going out today. It isn't a surprise party because~ haha~ the party's at their house. See, when my sister and I put together a guest list, it was nearly 50 people. I can't accommodate that many people at my house. Plus I live an hour away. My parents have a beautiful house and yard, so we will do it there and hopefully my mother doesn't get too pissed off. I fear that she will flip out. But once the invites are out, there's not a whole lot she can do about it I suppose.

We had a great long weekend. I love when Gordo is home with me and we can do things together. We've been trying to do things around the house, rearrange some rooms and whatnot. But here's a question~ Is it wrong that fireworks just don't do it for me? Or Gordo for that matter. Our friends did fireworks on Sunday and as we sat there, Gordo leaned over and said "I'm bored." We do it every year, we go and we watch and we fight the crowds, and every year I think to myself, I don't get what the big deal is.

And I fear that a spark will fall in my hair.