Yaye For Fat Pants!!!!

All women have their fat days - it may be more frequent than bad hair days, but I know that there would always be a week in every month where I just felt FAT.

I knew a lot of it was psychological and it was just prepping me for my monthly visitor - but I still didn't like it. And it was during these days that the baggy shirts came out and the best bottoms were drawstring and loose bottoms.

I've been having a lot of fat days lately - of course every time I voice this aloud, I usually get an annoyed response "You're not fat, you're pregnant!" This is true....but it doesn't prevent me from feeling like a two-ton heffer. The sad part is that I'm not even done with my first trimester (one week left) but the reason for the rapid growth in my girth is due to, so I'm told, is that I'm having twins. And everything seems to speed up when you're having twins.

I've been trying to hold off buying maternity clothes - I really don't need them - sweaters have been really helpful during this time to hide everything - but it's the bottoms that have been the struggle. I already purchased a belly band and I told my fellow cupcake, Amanda, that wearing jeans with the belly band is like HEAVEN - I'm so much more comfortable and don't feel like I'm "suffocating" the babies. And I look forward to going home in the evenings because I jump out of my work clothes and get into my sweats - pronto.

Yesterday, as I was getting ready for work, and had already resigned myself to the fact that I would no longer be wearing any size 8s, I was really surprised when one of my size 8 pants actually fit and didn't "suffocate" my tummy. I was very excited.....until I went to go sit in the car and I hear this 'POP.' I checked the back of my pants really quick - no hole. I checked my winter coat - no hole or rips.....I sat in the car for about a NY minute before I decided to go inside and verify with a mirror that my pants didn't rip. They did not.

I got to work and was walking to my office when I felt silky fabric rubbing against my backside...and then it occurred to me....I split my lining! And sure enough, a trip to the ladies' room confirmed it. Total bummer. Size 8s are now officially a size of my past - thank goodness I have size 10 work pants from my feeling-fat days.

I was excited this morning when I went into my dressing room and discovered that not only did I have "fat pants" for work - I had a pair of "fat jeans" because not surprisingly, I was down to like 1.5 jeans that fit me comfortably....however now that they've been freshly washed, we could be down to zero.....in which these fat jeans will come in very handy!

So yaye for fat pants because without them, I would be wishing that I could show up to work in sweats or drawstring pants...which wouldn't be a bad thing but it wouldn't be very professional.

Turkey Time...Not So Excellent

It's that time of year - Thanksgiving. It's during this time that I look forward to the time off of work that I get - first Thanksgiving, then Christmas soon after.
What I don't look forward to is traveling to families and being out of the comforts of my own home.

For the past 32 years, I have managed to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday without ever having to cook a turkey. There was a couple of years ago that my husband and I decided to stay in town for Thanksgiving so I invited a few other stragglers to come over for Thanksgiving dinner and I ordered a roasted turkey from Wegmans - my effort was just to reheat for 1.5 hours.

Every year, the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving, we usually have a get together amongst our close friends, to celebrate the upcoming holiday. It is a potluck where everyone attending brings a festive dish and the hosts supply the bird. This is the first year that we're hosting the event. Our previous hosts have moved out to California so my husband and I stepped up to the plate to host the event this year. It's always a good time and a good excuse to bring everyone together before the hectic holiday season.

I thought I could get away with pre-ordering the turkey from Wegmans again and just reheat (and perhaps pass it off as my own)....but after meeting with the catering department and seeing that they only offered ONE size of bird that could not feed the 20+ guests we're expecting (and ordering two was not an option), it has come down to me cooking the turkey, myself, from scratch.

I started panicking. I brought my Betty Crocker cookbook to work yesterday but ultimately didn't have time to sift through for recipes. I did get about 10 mins to look online for recipes and I found a whole Turkey prep page with LOADS of recipes...I figured I would try a garlic and herb one - who doesn't like garlic and herb. I think my panic stems from long-ago Thanksgivings where my Mom would prepare the turkey and it seemed like it took a whole day to get it done. I also did not have a great fondness for turkey due to the dry-ness that resulted from my Mom's bird - then again, I don't really recall her basting the bird either. The recipes that I encountered only seem to take 3-4 hours before the turkey is done - no sweat! So now I'm actually not as frightened about making a turkey as I was before.

It will still be nerve wracking - having to cook a whole turkey myself for 20+ guests - but if I can do this, then that's just one more cooking accomplishment to put under my belt - turkey...check.

The gravy will come separately - that has been pre-ordered, thank goodness....I'm trying to take baby steps here.

Who Says Nothing Happens in Del Rio?

Okay, I admit it. I've said that. Many times. When one of the approximately two decent restaurants in town is dead at prime time on a Saturday night, this necessarily causes me to question what on earth people are doing in Del Rio. (Incidentally, Chili's is always hopping; no, I do not consider that one of the select two, although, relative to its competition from iHop to Pizza Hut, it's certainly passable.)

I've voiced my concern several times to my friends in far sexier places (New York, D.C., Dallas, Austin), and I have to tell you - I love my friends. In times of waning excitement, it's nice to know that my peeps are looking out for me. Case in point: I received a flood of e-mails from my preferentially-located pals yesterday with the following (or a very similar) headline:

‘Bachelor’ winner arrested for unruliness
Mary Delgado was arrested after refusing to leave a Texas bar

http://www.austin360.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/TV/People_Bachelor_Winner_Arrest.html

"Where could this Texas bar be?" I hear you ask. Well, that's the interesting part. Yes, you can probably gather from the context that, indeed, baby-obsessed Bachelor Bob runner-up and Bachelor Byron winner Mary Delgado was arrested for causing a ruckus at some establishment in Del Rio. Of course, the articles I reviewed fail to mention which bar, which I think is a little fishy. I need to know these things, as I'm clearly missing all of the action in this town. If I had to guess, I would say it was probably the bar in the lakeside "resort" purportedly owned by Byron Velvick, the famed pro bass fisherman (note: I use the term "resort" very loosely). Maybe they got into some kind of heated argument over the lack of spice in the queso.

But there you have it. I guess I have to go eat my words now.