Gator Bowl and Such

Yesterday was spent parked in front of the TV being lazy. Well, not entirely. We went over to my sister's house to watch the Gator Bowl. It was a pretty sweet game and definitely one worth watching. While there, I made a super cookie and some pineapple bars. My brain wasn't firing on all pistons for the pineapple bars, b/c they didn't come out quite like they were supposed to. I either added too much flour and not enough sugar or too many eggs. Either way, they were edible, but just not as good as I wanted them to be. I'll put the recipe for the Super Cookie at the end if you are interested.

Baby Brother was on Bertha duty during the game (Saddle Tramp tradition). This was his very last game to do it since he graduated in December. Here's a pic my folks took (yeah, they went down to Jacksonville for the game). I like how the security guard in the background has his ears covered. That's funny! Brother usually wears ear plugs (you can kinda see them). That glove is to help the blisters. He usually gets pretty blistered up from all of the ringing, but it is totally worth it. CBS never did a close up of him, but I could see him on the sidelines in the background and it made me feel good knowing he was there doing his thing. Since he's all finished up, he'll be joining the rest of us in the "real world." If things go as planned, he'll be in Houston in the middle of the month to start his training with Luby's. He hopes to be a GM for one of the stores someday. After the initial 9 week training, he'll head to Austin as an manager's assistant, an apprentice-like position. It'll be a good fit for him and he has a good sized friend base down there too. I love that he'll only be 3 hours away from me and will be another excuse for us to go down for a visit.

Baby Update

Well, we have officially crossed a major threshold. The doctor said that if I were to go into labor, they wouldn't do anything to delay or stop it. That I'd just go right ahead and deliver. It was an eye opener for sure! I now go in every week for visits and not just a typical pee in a cup, check blood pressure, weight, and measure my belly visit either. They'll be checking my cervix to see if I'm dilated. It's all so crazy. I can honestly feel her growing. Well, I've been able to feel her growing for some time now, but out of no where I'll get wiped out and just have to sleep. When I wake up, my stomach will stick out just a bit more. It's pretty cool. The nurse at the office said I had a bit of a waddle going on too. Sometimes I can feel myself doing that, especially when I have to go pee, but for the most part, I still feel normal. Well, that and the fact that even my maternity tops aren't covering as much as I'd like. I'm sticking out quite a bit more than I think I do. Good stuff!

Our First Baby

Oh and just for kicks, here's a picture of Guapo opening his Christmas bag of goodies. Yes, he literally crawled into the bag. It was so funny! He had about 6 toys in there. He tipped over the bag and pulled them out one by one. That dog sure is smart when he wants to be! LOL! He was so excited to get his gift bag. He really does know what Christmas is and he is so happy when he gets something too! We've been trying to acclimate him to baby Mari's pending arrival and I think he knows what's up. He's been responding positively and since he loves babies, this should be a relatively smooth transition. (knock on wood)

Super Cookie

1 box yellow cake mix

2 sticks butter (12 -16 tbsp depending on how buttery you like it)

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 package chocolate chips

Set oven at 350. Mix all ingredients together, adding chocolate chips last. Spread on cookie sheet. Bake for 18 minutes.