The Roaming Rosie Blog

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, but there’s still time to order gifts online. Sure, there are plenty of years that we just go out for a nice dinner instead of exchanging gifts, but this year I wanted to get a little something for my husband and I thought I’d share some of the great gift ideas I found to maybe inspire someone else. Now, since my husband reads my blog, I can’t tell you what I’m getting him, but here are a few visual examples of unique gifts that work for men.

Some guys may be happier with a gift certificate for a day at the golf course or a new set of BBQ tools, but if that’s not their style – or you just got them that for Christmas last month – here are a few ideas that may work for your man:

(just click on the item to see a larger photo and description!)

One of the oddest benefits of being pregnant has been that I really enjoy wearing stretchy pants.  At first I was incredibly hesitant to wear maternity pants, like there was some strange stigma attached to them that I just couldn’t get past.  Plus, (I guess since this is my first pregnancy) it took a really long time for the belly to show.  Even when I first started wearing maternity pants in public, when I was at 18 weeks, I was still amazing small compared to how I am now – at 31 weeks.  Of course, the reason I started wearing the maternity clothing was because my non-maternity pants were uncomfortably tight, so whether the belly was obvious or not, if was definitely there.

I found the rubber-band-around-the-button method of extending the wear of my regular pants to be annoying, even though it did extend the life of my regular wardrobe a little.  But since I was planning on having at least two kids, I figured investing in a few pairs of wearable pants would be a good idea.  Of course, I’m nothing if not frugal, so I did check out local thrift stores first.  That was a complete dead end.  The maternity pants I found were all very, very used.  The elastic was overstretched and twisted, the fabric panels were faded and pilling, and the styles appeared to be as old as me.  I barely wanted to touch them, let alone purchase and wear them.

In the end I wound up purchasing five pairs of maternity pants from four different stores.  First I went to a Motherhood Maternity store and bought a pair of Secret Fit Belly Boot Cut Jeans that were regularly $25 but on sale for $22.  I also got a similar pair of Crop Jeans (capris) that were, I think, the same price.  I bought a size small for the regular jeans and medium for the crops, but for some reason the latter always fit better and the former were a little loose for many weeks.  I find the adjustable belly panel to be frustrating.  When it’s pulled all the way up, I tend to get warm, or itchy, and after a few washes the fabric of my shirts was getting stuck on the full panel.  Plus it’s a dark color and visible though many shirts.  I prefer to wear the pants with the panel folded over, but I find myself often pulling up the pants every time I stand up from a sitting position and constantly adjusting the folded-over panel.  Overall, they’re both comfortable, but I don’t wear them unless my favorite jeans are dirty.  Oh, and because it’s winter, otherwise I’d wear the crop jeans more often – even with adjusting the band, they’re still comfy.

I also purchased a pair of khaki pants, probably boot cut, with an under-the-belly elastic band that are Motherhood Maternity brand retailing for $30, but I got them at Burlington Coat Factory for $12.99.  I’m short and they’re a little long, so when I started wearing them I folded up the bottom cuff, but as my belly’s grown, I can just barely get by without folding them up.  They’re comfortable, but the elastic band usually twists a little when I sit, and so I adjust them every time I stand.  It’s an easy adjustment, though, easier than the aforementioned jeans, and quick.  And they look very nice.  I’ve worn them for just about every formal occasion lately, from Christmas dinner to church services, but they’re still casual and comfortable enough for everyday use or office attire.

I bought a pair of black slacks with under-belly elastic and a matching shirt from the New Recruit brand, which is sold at the Army and Air Force Exchange.  It cost $30 for both, but I haven’t worn the shirt yet as it’s polyester and a little warm.  The pants, though, I’ve been wearing.  I haven’t been wearing them in public much, even though I bought them to have something dressy, but they’re so incredibly comfortable that I often wear them around the house.  They’re mostly polyester with just a touch of spandex and they’re loose and flowing and light and I almost never have to adjust them.  And they look much nicer than sweatpants, so I don’t feel like a bum even if I’m just hanging around the house in them.  I really like wearing them.

Surprisingly, my favorite maternity jeans are the Old Navy Low-Rise Boot-Cut Jeans that cost $36.50 but that I bought for sale on their website for $25.  Actually, I was pretty mad at Old Navy because I had to order these pants online instead of buying them in the store.  I know that Old Navy used to have maternity clothes in their stores, but once I got pregnant, I could no longer find a store that still had a maternity section.  I hate buying normal clothes online since they often don’t fit as well as I’d hoped, and so I was extra wary about ordering pregnancy pants.  I measured myself twice and checked it against the online size chart three times and read all the reviews before placing the order.  When the pants arrived I was happy with how they looked, except that they sent me the wrong size.  I ordered the size I wanted, but they sent the wrong one.  This was days before we moved and now I had to go out of my way to FedEx the pants back to them after hours of struggling with the utterly uncooperative return label I had to print off the internet, which only successfully happened after some inventive finagling – and then they shipped the new pants to the wrong address!  I was in hysterical tears twice (Thank you, pregnancy hormones) before the whole mess was worked out.

So, many weeks after ordering them, I finally had the correct pants and was able to start wearing them.  Because they’re low-rise, they have an under-belly elastic band sown into the jeans instead of a full belly panel and this had made them much more comfortable then the first pairs of jeans I had purchased.  I wear these Old Navy jeans all the time.  They’re a little tight just after they’re washed, but they’re still as comfortable at 31 weeks as they were at 25 weeks.  I do have to pull them up sometimes when I stand, but that’s about all the adjusting required.  So even though I swore up and down that I wouldn’t order clothes again from Old Navy after all the frustration they caused me, and because I’m still upset that I can’t buy maternity clothes in their stores, I know it’s not true.  I have some shirts from them, too, and their maternity line is comfortable and more than stylish enough for a jeans-and-t-shirt kind of gal like me.  I’m a casual person; their clothes are casual.  We work well together, whether I like it or not.

Incidentally, I would also like to mention that for around-the-house attire, I really, really like wearing Target pajama pants.  In a size larger than I would normally wear, there’s more than enough stretch to the elastic to fit comfortably, and they’re lighter than sweatpants, which is good for Florida weather.  I wouldn’t wear them out in public (I’m not that casual) but I love wearing them all day.

I’m not sure how I’m going to feel about going back to regular pants.  I’ve gotten incredibly accustomed to wearing sweatpants-like attire and I’m not sure I’m going to like going back to normal jeans and pants and letting go of all my stretchy, elastic bands.  I know I’ll need the maternity pants for a little while after the baby arrives (during the infamous “fourth trimester”) and I’m certainly looking forward to losing the baby weight and getting back into my old wardrobe, but – and I can’t believe I’m saying this – I think I’m going to actually miss the maternity pants.  Well, maybe that’s not true, but I’m certainly going to miss having an excuse to walk around in pajama pants all day and jeans that expand with me.

Because some things are just too weird not to share, here’s a photo of a two-headed lettuce leaf that held an honorary place in our salad tonight. Creepy but curious.

Then again, my husband’s comment was, “It’s just produce.” Nothing special.

Maybe.  Maybe not.

As I’ve now hit 31 weeks of pregnancy, I’ve received more and more baby gifts and the impending arrival of the baby is becoming suddenly very real, what with all the baby stuff lying around. I can’t believe we’re down to single digits when counting down the weeks! But we find ourselves still living with relatives, which means I still don’t have a nursery to decorate yet and can’t really be buying big things for baby. This means that perhaps I’ve been a little too overcome by the adorableness of onesies – something I can still buy, even if I try to limit most of that shopping to window shopping! I do have to remind myself that a single baby can only wear so much clothing and I’m bound to receive quite a few more outfits as gifts – which I think is great … I just have to limit my own purchases right now. Not an easy task.

But at least I can still look! And I’ve been browsing the stores online, too, which is where I found these totally adorable and sweet – pun intended – onesies by the Baby Bunch (pictured at left). They’re packaged to mimic cupcakes and they look completely delicious! My eye is drawn to the pink and white ones, since we’re having a girl, but they also come in blue or yellow colors, which makes them a fabulous gift for any expecting mom. Maybe the overload of hormones increases the cuteness of these, but either way, they are far too cute not to post!

I’ve noticed that all the recipes I’ve posted thus far have been deserts, and since I’ve made soup today to counter the chilly weather streak, I thought I’d post it. This is a recipe for Goulash Soup that I originally got off another website years ago, but have changed to suit our tastes. There seem to be quite a few versions of Hungarian Goulash soup and a few disputes as to what goes into Hungarian Goulash. Either way, this recipe works great for us.

Mostly, as I’ve played with the recipe over the years, I took out some stuff – like noodles. For all the many times I’ve enjoyed some Goulash at a little, mom and pop restaurant in Germany (and once in Austria), I don’t ever remember there being any type of noodle in the soup. So even though I’ve seen recipes with noodles or dumplings, I leave them out because that’s not how I like it. Some had green peppers, but I don’t really like peppers, so I leave them out, too. And I adjusted the amounts of veggies and meat a little.

Everything in the soup, from the meat to potatoes to veggies, I cut into tiny, bit-sized pieces, so you get a little of everything in each spoonful, and also so everything is cooked through and tender. Chunks about a half inch for the meat and potatoes, and for the veggies even a little smaller.

Incidentally, if you’re interested, even though this recipe calls for beef, I have also made the soup with venison. I don’t really like venison, but when you have a freezer full of it, well, you adjust. Anyway, because the soup cooks for awhile and any meat you use gets tender, you could probably use whatever you’ve got on hand.

I find that the most labor intensive part of the preparation is cutting up the meat, since you can put most of the veggies in a food processor to save time, but you can also cut up the meat ahead of time if you want to throw the soup together more quickly.

It goes well with some cold German beer and I usually serve it with a salad.

Goulash Soup
Prep Time: about 30 mins.
Total Time: 2 1/2 to 3 hours

Olive Oil
2 to 3 pounds chuck beef, cubed
1 large onion (I prefer a sweet onion), diced
3 to 4 garlic cloves, finely diced (I actually use a garlic press)
3 to 4 carrots, diced
3 to 4 stalks celery, diced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, with juice (I use petite diced)
3 to 4 potatoes, diced
3 to 4 tablespoons paprika
4 beef bouillon cubes
Salt
Pepper
1/2 to 1 cup sour cream

In a large pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and cook onions over medium or medium low heat until they are translucent and just starting to brown, at least five minutes. Stir in the paprika; if it’s too dry, add more oil – the mixture should be very red. Then add the meat and garlic to the pot. Sprinkle a little salt (not more than a teaspoon as there’s salt in the bouillon) and a couple teaspoons pepper over the meat. Brown the meat on all sides. Then cover the meat mixture with water, about 6 to 8 cups and add the bouillon cubes. Let simmer on low for an hour.

Add the carrots, celery and tomatoes and let cook for a half hour. Then add the potatoes and allow to simmer on low for another half hour. Check to make sure things are tender – for example, if you can smoosh a potato piece with the spoon, things are probably done. At this point stir in the sour cream. Start with a half cup of sour cream, but add more if you like, and don’t worry if the top of the soup looks a little red as some of the paprika floats to the top. Once the sour cream is stirred in, allow to heat for a few more minutes before serving. It makes about 8 to 10 servings.

There’s been a barrage of emails in my inbox talking about pregnancy nutrition and eating healthy. Even considering my intense cravings for cookies and baked goods, I’m probably the healthiest I’ve ever been, but there are still things I’ve had trouble incorporating into my diet. For example, I’m not a big fish eater – in fact fish often makes me sick, with a few small exceptions.

But there’s this huge push to consume omega 3s. Sure, I use Smart Balance Omega, but consuming large portions of a butter substitute just to obtain omegas is probably not all that smart. Plus, I mostly only eat fish when there’s the same amount of mayonnaise as tuna fish in my sandwich – again, not the healthiest option.

Fish oils and omega 3s, all the studies (or at least the journalists) proclaim, are super important for pregnant women to get so that the babies will have big, healthy brains. The studies seem genuine, and, at the very least, I’ve heard nothing negative about them.

So I’ve started taking a fish oil supplement. I have pills, but they’re so huge, and I have so much trouble taking normal sized pills already, that I just choke on them and can’t manage to get them down at all. I hate pills. Pills hate me.

So I headed over to the Vitamin Shoppe and browsed the shelves, reviewing the variety of fish oil, omega 3, 6, and/or 9, salmon oil and cod liver oil. I just couldn’t tell how big the pills were in any of the jars, though, so I started looking at alternative options. There was an omega gummy, but they provided only a fraction of the supplement that came in pill form, and they were kind of pricey for the amount of omegas they contained.

Finally, I settled on something called Coromega Omega 3 Squeeze. It’s a box full of little packets of smooth, thick liquid that’s about the consistency of cupcake icing. I bought the orange flavor and I find it to taste just like a hard candy that’s flavored like an orange creamsicle.

I already know, from the years that my parents owned a GNC and I worked with them, that liquids are a better way to absorb your vitamins than pills. According to the Coromega website, this product that was developed in Norway years ago has been clinically proven to have a 300% better absorption of the supplement than softgel pills. Either way, it’s easy to take, it tastes pretty decent, and I’m finally getting more of those omegas that my husband insists I absolutely, without question, need for the health of the baby.

The Omega 3 Squeeze is made with real fish oil, in fact it’s the main ingredient, but I have to say that it doesn’t have a funny taste that reminds me of fish in any way. Which is good, because I just don’t like fish. At all. And whatever I eat has a good chance of repeating on me (just another fun side effect of pregnancy), but I find I don’t mind so much with this supplement because it tastes like candy. Although, when I chase it with one of those little shots of DanActive yogurts, which I often do so that I remember to get in that extra calcium, then there’s definitely no problem of the oil repeating.

Luckily I can manage to swallow those horse pills the doctors call prenatals, so I’m already healthier than my normal self, but I figure those extra boosts of omega supplements and then the yogurt and a daily glass of calcium-fortified orange juice go a long ways toward improving mine and the baby’s health. I’m by no means a nutrition nut, but at least I try to incorporate all the food groups and various nutrients now. At least being pregnant keeps it forefront in my mind. And, at least there are healthy options out there that don’t have to be taken in pill form.

I’ve always loved Mark Twain’s sense of humor, but then I’m a satirist myself, so I suppose that’s no surprise. So here are some of my favorite Twain quotes, and a few that have made me laugh. I may add to this list later, though, as all my books are still packed away in storage and I don’t have access to them right now.

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.”

“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.”

“When I find a well-drawn character in fiction or biography I generally take a warm personal interest in him, for the reason that I have known him before–met him on the river.”

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

“Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

“A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.”

“I am dead to adverbs; they cannot excite me. To misplace an adverb is a thing which I am able to do with frozen indifference; it can never give me a pang. … There are subtleties which I cannot master at all, — they confuse me, they mean absolutely nothing to me, — and this adverb plague is one of them. … Yes, there are things which we cannot learn, and there is no use in fretting about it. I cannot learn adverbs; and what is more I won’t.”

“Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.”

“Familiarity breeds contempt – and children.”

“Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable.”

“Man is the only animal that blushes – or needs to.”

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”

“Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it.”

“It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly American criminal class – except Congress.”

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.”

“All generalizations are false, including this one.”

***

(Both images are in the public domain, but can be found at Wikipedia Commons, if you’re interested.)

Well, I’ve never been one for Resolutions, but I still always find that the New Year is a great chance to view things with fresh eyes.  It’s a strange New Year for me, if only because I went to bed sober last night.  Pregnancy does change things (like keeping me up half the night with heartburn).

But this year really is a new start for us.  My husband is officially out of the Army now – his last day of active duty was Christmas Eve.  And this year is a new start in many ways:  a new home (we’re not in one just yet, but that’ll happen soon enough), a new baby (the March due date is right around the corner!), and a new life in general:  new jobs, new projects and new priorities.

I’m excited about 2010.  Here’s hoping this year is better than the last few.

***

And back to those Resolutions, here’s a New Year’s quote and t-shirt for you:

“New Year’s Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”  – Mark Twain

My New Year’s Resolution – 1024 X 768 by scribbleprints
View more New year’s resolution T-Shirts

We spent our wedding anniversary at Madeira Beach – a beautiful, quaint location that has a lot of history for us. There was shopping and sunsets, ice cream and dolphins, and we had a fabulous time!

It was totally romantic, but also very peaceful and refreshing. Check out all the photos on my Travelblog!

On a not-too-chilly Florida evening, my husband and I find our seats in a darkened stadium that slowly fills to capacity.  After an announcer welcomes us and tries not to burst with excitement, promising us a special surprise and insisting over and over that we “not leave early,” everything goes black.

There’s a misty blue light clouding onto to the stage and as deep bells ring out and a rumble slowly crescendos, silhouetted figures become visible and then with a burst of quick, colorful lights and a heavy bass of drums and electric guitars a chorus of voices explodes into the stadium.  There’s music, loud and passionate, and lights, swift and pulsating, and at one point I see a guitarist, his long, blond hair whipping about because he’s headbanging as he jams out to “Joy to the World,” and I find myself thinking, hey, these are my kind of people.

Somewhere between the keyboard and electric guitars, the long, feathered hair, the ballad-like lyrics and the vibrant laser light show, I feel like I’m in the middle of an ‘80s metal music video.  It’s pretty cool.   Of course, I’m a child of the ‘80s, so I can’t help it:  metal’s in my blood.

But this isn’t your normal rock concert.  It’s the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Winter Tour 2009 performance at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida.  We attended on 06 December, buying the tickets kind of in celebration of my birthday, which was the day before, and our wedding anniversary, which is next week.  We though it would be nice to do something a little different, which is what the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is:  a little different.  It’s a mini-orchestra but it’s a rock band, too.  They play Christmas music and pieces from traditional operas, as well as their own works.

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has been around since the release of their first single, “Christmas Eve in Sarajevo 12/24,” fourteen years ago.  They’ve sold over seven million copies of their first four albums, but they are best known for their concerts, playing to over 5 million people in over 80 cities by 2008.  Their concerts are presumably memorable because creator Paul O’Neill was not only trying to build a progressive rock band that would push existing boundaries, but, according to their website, he was determined to have “people to walk out of our shows speechless and…still not believing what they have seen was possible.”

It was certainly impressive, but I also can’t say that it was the best concert I’ve ever seen – especially since the last concert I saw was Paul McCartney, and I don’t think anyone will ever top that.  The band was certainly talented, most of the vocals were well executed, and the light show was well arranged, but there was something a little off.  I think that perhaps it was a bit unbalanced.  I thought the narration was nice and provided a fairly appropriate break between some of the songs, but some segments were a little overly-lengthy.

Also overly-lengthy was the slow song sang by a singer portraying a drunken homeless man to only the background on a single acoustic guitar.  It’s not that I can’t appreciate a good message or a temporary slow pace while attending a rock show, it’s just that it’s so darned hard to me to make out what people are saying through a microphone when I’m not familiar with the material, and it’s just as hard for me to be entertained by what I’m only able to interpret as gibberish.  It’s not their fault – I’m a bit hard of hearing these days, but I can honestly say I mostly enjoyed the loud music and psychedelic lights and the energy of the passionate band members, like the crazy, headbanging violinist who kept swinging around her bow.

After what I’ve just said, however, I still feel it’s important to mention that one of my absolute favorite parts of the show was a single man soulfully singing “O Holy Night.”  I took over 30 minutes worth of video of the concert, but didn’t tape this – and wish that I had.  It was a very powerful performance.

I also have to mention that we did not have good seats.  I can’t complain too much since we didn’t even buy the tickets until a week before the performance, so we already knew our choices would be limited.  And maybe it was just the venue, since there were these gigantic posters hanging from the ceiling of the stadium to brag about the Tampa Bay Lightning’s past accomplishments just to the left of where we were sitting and there was this massive structure, presumably to hold lights, that was hanging very low and just above the stage, and thus obstructing our view.  I would see this concert again in the future, but only if I had the money to spring for the best seats:  either on the floor in front of the stage or at least in the first level.  We just really felt that the show would have been much, much better if you could look directly at the stage and not down on it from the nosebleed section.

As a special treat, instead of a traditional encore, the surprise the announcer had promised turned out to be a guest appearance by Joe Walsh (a former Eagle), who sang the last two songs of the evening.  It was a completely different atmosphere, and one that was purely fun – even the TSO band members were having a blast onstage.  He did an eight-minute performance of “Life’s Been Good” and then “Rocky Mountain Way,” complete with talk-box sound effects.

Incidentally, this completely unexpected turn of events – Joe Walsh’s appearance – means that in this year of 2009, my husband and I saw live performances from one of the Beatles and one of the Eagles.  Just one of each, but that makes it a memorable year nonetheless.

And now to leave you with a quote from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra:

In the moments of our lives / Both the joyous and the tragic / If the truth is to be told / We are all pursuing magic. / And the magic that we seek / As we’re sure you have discovered / Can be found in certain places / Far more easily than others.

In the sand beneath the Sphinx / In the dreams of candlelight / But the surest place of all / Is the forgiving world of night. / And of all the nights throughout the year / That come and gently leave / None hold the dream of magic / Like the evening, Christmas Eve.