Necessity, the mother of invention

So I had some baking adventures this weekend. The picture here is of the "manta ray" pancake that we managed to create Saturday morning. How are we ever going to teach kids not to play with their food???

Making pancakes here was pretty awesome. Of course, the pancake batter really makes something between a crepe and a pancake, so it was more challenging than normal. Then there is the metric system of measurement for all the ingredients--I just had to punt. And this was the last one--it just took the shape of the pan. We added the tail and the horns to make it look more like a manta ray. Breakfast is a pretty exciting affair at the Koogler house.

I also had to get creative when making some apple pie for a get-together today with some of the ex-pat families. We all are bringing American-type stuff, and there's nothing much more American than apple pie, is there? Of course, finding ingredients here is a challenge. As well as finding baking implements in a rush. The pie pans here are basically for tarts--very thin and wide. So it remains to be seen how that will affect the pie in the end. (We head over to their house at 3PM) In the absence of a pastry cutter, I had to use a large whisk. This worked very well. With no rolling pin for the pie crust, I used a very tall can of processed peas (who would actually eat that??). All in all, I think it will be a general success. The crust never turned the right color, but that might have to do with the different butter. Certainly it will only get better!

Today is New Year's Eve. If you read your Chronicle, you might have seen our comment in Ken Hoffman's column. If not, take a look here: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/hoffman/4431598.html Scroll down, we're in the middle. This is actually an e-mail that John sent from my address after listening me complain about how infrequently KH writes him column. I usually find it rather entertaining, and KH is a dedicated MS150-rider and fellow lover of all things fast-food, so he can't be too bad. But doggone it if he didn't write a column for over a week! John sent him this little note from me as encouragement to keep foreign-Houstonians in the loop. Who knew it would end up in the paper? This tells us one thing: KH gets a lot less mail than we imagine and he must have been desperate for material.

The most amazing thing is not just that I was in the Chronicle today, but that our friend Dana (he was in our wedding) was ALSO in the paper in the article about getting your booze before the liquor stores close on Saturday night. A reminder to all: if someone wants to interview you in a liquor store, just decline. Really, anything you say can be held against you. John has some serious razzing to do.

And, finally, a few notes about the craziness of the second trimester of pregnancy. . . they say you trade the morning sickness for heartburn. Check.

And that you have more wild, vivid dreams. Check. (I dreamt we had SEPTUPLETS last night. That's SEVEN babies! And we ran out of cool names so we had to pick some crappy ones. Like you get to term without knowing there are seven of them in there that you have to eventually name and take care of!!!)

Then there's the whole getting your energy back. . .um.. . .I actually was productive at the gym and did more than plodding along on the treadmill for an hour--I guess that counts, so, check.

And finally, you start to show. Not so check. I can still fit into my jeans, although they are so low that I look like a plumber any time I squat down (forget about bending over--it kills my back). But I did discover that I fit into one maternity item--this awesome black/white sweater jacket thing. It's the most comfortable and warm item. I am so happy to discover that it fits without making me look ridiculous.

My mom sent me a magazine produced by www.babycenter.com and it had one survey indicating that in the second tri, moms start daydreaming about buying clothes while dads want to buy toys. Since I am not ready for the acquisition stage to hit, I've made a rule that I have to be wearing maternity clothes and look like I am really pregnant before I can shop for anything for baby. So maybe in a month or so. . .and then we might know if we're having a boy or girl, so that will be even more fun. (John and I now think "boy" but we would love to hear your thoughts. Overall, it has been an overwhelming vote for "girl" from everyone we know.)

That's enough rambling. The sun has come out so I am going to go outside to soak some up. Yesterday our adventure was exploring some of the rails-to-trails walking paths that crisscross the area. Great place to walk, but as soon as we left the house, the sunny morning turned into a drizzly, windy, rainy, cold day. We still got a good hour's walk in, but it was not completely wonderful.

Party safe, y'all. Drink some champagne for us (we didn't make it to the liquor store before it shut down yesterday). Ring in 2007 with a bang. But remember not to use your firearms within the city limits!