Tuesday Tidbits
Happy Mardi Gras! This month has been a whirlwind. I started back at work after my 12 weeks of maternity leave, Ady started daycare, Ady also had her first trip to urgent care when she developed a fever, we took a family trip to San Antonio where I presented at a national physical therapy conference, we celebrated restaurant week, watched the Oscars, almost forgot Valentine's Day, and suddenly February is over! Whew! I didn't want to go the whole month without a blog post, so here are a few updates:
1. We had friends over for dinner last night for an early Mardi Gras celebration and I made my standard Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya. Yum! I ordered a King Cake from my favorite local bakery (because who has time to cook dinner AND bake in the same night?!) and over the weekend I also tried these amazing Pecan Pralines: Louisiana Praline Recipe. (Let's just say they aren't going to last very long in my house.) Laissez le bon temps rouler!
2. Restaurant Week is one of my absolute favorite weeks in Santa Fe. Dozens of restaurants participate, offering a Prix Fixe menu with some specially crafted items. We always like to try a new high-end restaurant, or return to one of our favorites. This year we went to Joseph's with a group of friends, where we enjoyed glazed duck confit with star anise and a red wine reduction, and prime rib with potato gratin, followed by the famous cloud cake and butterscotch pudding with sea salt. Later in the week the hubby and I had date night at Eloisa, where the wine was great and the food even better, not to mention the fun and artsy décor at the Georgia O'keeffe-inspired restaurant. We had chicken breast with ratatouille and cabernet sauce, and pork tenderloin with chorizo black beans and caramelized banana. Cheers!
3. Earlier this month I presented two courses at the annual conference of the American Physical Therapy Association, which took place in San Antonio this year. I've been preparing for several (stressful) months for the presentations, and even thought about postponing until next year (because committing to a major career endeavor with a 3-month old baby may have been a bit much...), but I stuck with it and can now check one of my professional development goals off my list! I presented a two-day course with a group about working with patients with cognitive impairments across the continuum of care, and another session about the electronic medical record. I'm learning to overcome my fear of public speaking and to defend what I know, while also recognizing that I still have a lot to learn!
4. Between courses, meetings, and presentations at the conference, we didn't have a lot of free time together as a family in San Antonio, but we were able to enjoy a few patio lunches along the River Walk and took a trip to the Alamo! After heading out of town we stopped to visit some of our best friends in Benton, TX. It was a fast and hectic week but nice to get away from Santa Fe for a few days, and Ady did great on her first plane ride!
5. I am participating in two book clubs now and we've already picked some great books for the year. A few of the best books I've read so far this year have been Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult, Hag-Seed: The Tempest Retold by Margaret Atwood, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, and End of Watch by Stephen King. For this coming month my book clubs are reading A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry and Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson, both of which I think will lend to good discussions!
6. We started doing Hello Fresh meal delivery to get through the end of my maternity leave and beginning of starting a work routine, and we have really enjoyed the variety of the meals! The weekly shipments come with all the ingredients needed to make two servings of 3 different meals, which really saves time from meal planning and grocery shopping. Everything has been really yummy so far and we've been saving the recipes to try to recreate the meals in the future!
7. I've been walking every day since the baby was born and I lost my pregnancy weight within 10 weeks or so, but I haven't really started working out yet. I desperately need to get back to yoga, running, and working on my core. This is the week! On Friday I start my 6 a.m. TRX strengthening class. I hope I can lift my arms the next day!
8. Ady is getting so big and is such a happy baby. She has chubby little cheeks and is a good eater. This is such a fun time because she is so interactive and observant. She's grabbing things with her hands, kicking butt at Tummy Time, drooling up a storm and ALMOST rolling over. Her first few months of life are flying by and we love every minute of it!
1. We had friends over for dinner last night for an early Mardi Gras celebration and I made my standard Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya. Yum! I ordered a King Cake from my favorite local bakery (because who has time to cook dinner AND bake in the same night?!) and over the weekend I also tried these amazing Pecan Pralines: Louisiana Praline Recipe. (Let's just say they aren't going to last very long in my house.) Laissez le bon temps rouler!
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| Beign-Yay! |
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| King Cake! |
2. Restaurant Week is one of my absolute favorite weeks in Santa Fe. Dozens of restaurants participate, offering a Prix Fixe menu with some specially crafted items. We always like to try a new high-end restaurant, or return to one of our favorites. This year we went to Joseph's with a group of friends, where we enjoyed glazed duck confit with star anise and a red wine reduction, and prime rib with potato gratin, followed by the famous cloud cake and butterscotch pudding with sea salt. Later in the week the hubby and I had date night at Eloisa, where the wine was great and the food even better, not to mention the fun and artsy décor at the Georgia O'keeffe-inspired restaurant. We had chicken breast with ratatouille and cabernet sauce, and pork tenderloin with chorizo black beans and caramelized banana. Cheers!
3. Earlier this month I presented two courses at the annual conference of the American Physical Therapy Association, which took place in San Antonio this year. I've been preparing for several (stressful) months for the presentations, and even thought about postponing until next year (because committing to a major career endeavor with a 3-month old baby may have been a bit much...), but I stuck with it and can now check one of my professional development goals off my list! I presented a two-day course with a group about working with patients with cognitive impairments across the continuum of care, and another session about the electronic medical record. I'm learning to overcome my fear of public speaking and to defend what I know, while also recognizing that I still have a lot to learn!
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| Selfie in a suit! |
4. Between courses, meetings, and presentations at the conference, we didn't have a lot of free time together as a family in San Antonio, but we were able to enjoy a few patio lunches along the River Walk and took a trip to the Alamo! After heading out of town we stopped to visit some of our best friends in Benton, TX. It was a fast and hectic week but nice to get away from Santa Fe for a few days, and Ady did great on her first plane ride!
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| Lunching |
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| Ady in the Ergo at the River Walk |
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| Visiting the Alamo |
5. I am participating in two book clubs now and we've already picked some great books for the year. A few of the best books I've read so far this year have been Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult, Hag-Seed: The Tempest Retold by Margaret Atwood, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, and End of Watch by Stephen King. For this coming month my book clubs are reading A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry and Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson, both of which I think will lend to good discussions!
6. We started doing Hello Fresh meal delivery to get through the end of my maternity leave and beginning of starting a work routine, and we have really enjoyed the variety of the meals! The weekly shipments come with all the ingredients needed to make two servings of 3 different meals, which really saves time from meal planning and grocery shopping. Everything has been really yummy so far and we've been saving the recipes to try to recreate the meals in the future!
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| Our first trial of Hello Fresh - fish tacos! |
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| Hello Fresh steak stir fry last week! |
7. I've been walking every day since the baby was born and I lost my pregnancy weight within 10 weeks or so, but I haven't really started working out yet. I desperately need to get back to yoga, running, and working on my core. This is the week! On Friday I start my 6 a.m. TRX strengthening class. I hope I can lift my arms the next day!
8. Ady is getting so big and is such a happy baby. She has chubby little cheeks and is a good eater. This is such a fun time because she is so interactive and observant. She's grabbing things with her hands, kicking butt at Tummy Time, drooling up a storm and ALMOST rolling over. Her first few months of life are flying by and we love every minute of it!
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| Tummy time |
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| Learning to reach and grasp |
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| Happy little cowgirl! |
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| Working on the head control |
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| Cutest little Gophers fan! |
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