Homemade Pasta

There is other news, plenty of it, but by far the most exciting thing as of late is the fact that this morning Angelines and I have successfully made homemade raviolis! :)

Tah-Dah!!!

At the beginning of June Angelines bought me a spaghetti maker with an add-on for raviolis.  I was stoked; who wouldn't be??  Both of us have been dying to try it out, but we haven't actually sat down to make them until today.  We whipped up the dough, but there was a slight learning curve using the machienery to roll it out to the right thickness.  Angelines got a handle on that part relatively quickly while I mixed up the filling: spinach, ricotta cheese, toasted walnuts, garlic and salt all into the food processor.  After a taste test we decided something was still missing.  I added pepper, a small chunk of manchego cheese and some nutmeg--delicious!  I was so pleased with myself.  

Filling the raviolis was like playing with playdough. :) You catch the ends of two long strips of the rolled out pasta dough between the rollers, plop the filling in between and then just crank away.  Vóila, out come the completed raviolis you see in the first picture.  Now we have to let them dry a bit, then separate them.  We're actually not planning to eat them until tomorrow, but I can tell you right now they're going to be AMAZING.  I can't wait to make my own spaghetti and fettuchini, either.  What fun.

Of course as we were playing with the dough and marvelling at how it squished out into perfect little zigzag edged squares, I couldn't help thinking how much fun my daughter will have helping me do this some day in the future. :)

I Couldn't Resist...

Okay, so this might weird more than a few of you out...but I just thought it was too funny not to share.  I can almost picture a certain relative of mine throwing a similarly embarassing party for her daughter.  As a girl who dreaded getting her period and was oh so happy that it came late, I think it's particularly ammusing.  It is also true, however, that there's no shame in it and celebrating is a good thing...maybe just not like this. ;)



Enjoy!

Growing: 3-6 months

I thought it'd be fun to post some pictures of my belly's progression.  Really, I don't have any pre-three month pictures, because lets, face it...What for?!  Even the three month picture is pretty anticlimactic, and yet three months is a huge landmark for a pregnancy--the end of the precarious first trimester.  Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, I've uploaded the pictures I've been taking on my cell phone.  So here they are: welcome to the last three months of my pregnancy! ;)

12 weeks--3 months...notice I am still wearing my normal jeans without any discomfort.

16 weeks--4 months...not much change.

20 weeks--5 months.  There's a little bump, but nothing to blog about!

The inside view at 20 weeks.  Nice profile, right?

Apparently, a month ago she was still small enough to stretch out entirely.  I think she's got runner's legs. ;)

24 weeks--6 months (today)...I am shocked by how much she's grown in this last month!!  I finally have a decent bump and look pregnant!

So there you have it.  Monday we have another doctor's appointment.  Aside from the routine ultrasound, this time I'm also getting my glucose levels checked to rule out the possibility of gestational diabetes.  Fun times.  Apparently I get to drive all the way to Málaga without eating, get blood drawn, drink a super-sweet syrup, and then sit (not allowed to move) for an hour at which point they'll take another blood sample.  Sound fun?  ...yeah, that's what I thought, too.  I am wondering if I'll even feel like having breakfast by the time I can eat!  And thank goodness I'm through getting so sick if I go without food for longer than an hour and a half. ;)  It should be interesting to say the least.  I'll be sure to update all of you and of course post the new ultrasound pics.