The Sweet Joys of Fall

It's a testament to the sweet joys of fall that I'm enjoying them so much I want to write a blog post about it. You may have noticed that I haven't posted in about 2 months. School started, I've been pregnant, we moved - things were crazy. But I'm back. Big stuff is happening around here these days. I'll probably kick myself in future years if I don't keep any record of thoughts before having our first baby.

Anyway, the latest:

1) I'm loving cooking fall foods. It's been a LONG time since I've felt like cooking anything, mostly as a result of pregnancy and morning sickness but also because now that we don't have a dishwasher in our new apt, cleaning up after cooking is more of a chore. I know, I'm spoiled.

So lately, because the weather has been lovely and cool and I've been wearing sweaters, I started craving and cooking fall foods. Within the past week, I made butternut squash soup and pumpkin chocolate chip bread. Both were delicious (and both are on my pinterest boards if you're interested).

1.5) Yesterday, Todd and I went to a local pick-your-own farm and orchard where we got a bunch of crisp and juicy apples to make apple pie and apple dumplings. While we were there, we also picked our own head of cauliflower (that was a first). Last night we made cauliflower soup with fresh cauliflower. It was delicious (and also on pinterest if you're interested).

2) Last weekend, Todd had a study course in Philadelphia for his anesthesia boards. Even though he was busy most of the weekend, I went with him for a little getaway and to see Philly. Neither of us have been before. While, for me, most of the weekend consisted of sitting around in a motel room way on the outskirts of Philly or grading papers in the local Barnes and Noble, Todd spent most of the weekend in a conference room in a hotel down the street getting his brain crammed full of study and review tips.


On our way home that weekend, we stopped in Philadelphia and got to tour Independence Hall, see the Liberty Bell, walk down Elfreth's Alley, and grab a Philly cheesesteak sandwich from Reading Terminal Market. It was quick, but fun to get a taste of that strangely bipolar city. It was like part-metropolis, part-historical beauty, part-scary ghetto.

3) Pregnancy doesn't count as a sweet joy of fall. Mostly my thoughts on pregnancy are: 

a) I hate the doctor. I hate going to the doctor ALL the time. I hate that the doctor's office seems to arbitrarily make appointments for me for no reason whatsoever. And it's only going to get more frequent as the pregnancy progresses. Ugh.  

b) I don't feel like throwing up all the time, but I still feel all screwed up. Nothing works the same anymore. My body doesn't feel like my body anymore. I can't tell if I'm getting fat because I'm not exercising like I used to or if it's just the baby getting bigger. I always used to get irritated when pregnant women would say they felt so big. I thought, "Duh, there's a baby inside of you. You're supposed to get big. It's okay to be bigger than you're used to." But in reality...it's totally disconcerting.

4) Hopefully on Tuesday, we'll be finding out if our baby is a boy or a girl!!!! I'm really excited to know. I feel like everything will feel more real and I'll be able to start planning and shopping :) Any guesses on the gender? Todd thinks boy. I think girl. Whoever is in there seems like a really active baby. Every time we see or hear him/her at the doctor, he/she is moving.