Thankful Thursday - Freshly Baked Cookies & PFTs

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I'm thankful that Peanut's staying put for at least another 2 weeks (and probably another 8)! I was, obviously, worried when I found out I was having contractions 2 minutes apart, 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. However, I am so thankful that the test showed that there is a 99% chance that Peanut won't be here for at least another 2 weeks. I am so thankful that it was a bit of a false alarm and that Peanut will be holding tight and continuing to bake.

I'm thankful for the 32 weeks I had of exercise! I have cut out any and all exercise the past couple days until I can see what my OB GYN says regarding my activity level from here on out (I have an appointment on Friday). Man, do I miss it. I didn't realize how much I loved being able to exercise until I couldn't do it for a few days. Sure it's tiring, but man I love being able to feel human and normal as I walked, ran, biked, lifted, you name it! Hopefully the doc will let me continue to work out a bit, but if not, I am thankful for 32 weeks of activity.

I'm thankful for freshly baked cookies. The hospital cafeteria now has freshly baked cookies that come out every night at 9PM. Holy cow are they good!! This pregnant momma can't resist an ooey, gooey, hot and tasty chocolate chip cookie. I could eat 300 of them, but limit it to one (GIANT) cookie a night.

Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful for my latest PFTs...again. I took my first lung function test since being in the Hole and I was rather pleased with the result. They were actually down from the week before at clinic (only 2%), but I was actually expecting worse. I felt really tight the day I did them and I generally get worse before I get better in here. I'm just so thankful that I was still able to blow a 67%!

I'm thankful for fresh baked goods in the cafeteria. Recently, the cafeteria here at the hospital has been serving fresh baked cookies starting at 9pm every single night. It's not only nice because it's quite the tasty treat, but it's also nice because it reminds me of home a bit. Mandi is quite the baker, so I've been spoiled with freshly baked cookies and muffins many times while we've been married. Anytime you can get a little "taste of home" in the Hole, it's a good thing!

I'm thankful for John Jay and Rich and their morning show. One of our hospital traditions is to hang out on weekend mornings with our Dunkin' Donuts while listening to John Jay and Rich. We listen to it online and really only listen to two specific segments called "War of the Roses" and "Second Date Update". I won't get into the premise of these segments, but if you want to get a laugh and be shocked all at the same time I suggest going to www.johnjayandrich.com and then hover over "On The Show" and the segments will show up. Prepare to have a good time.

So, what are you thankful for today?

Rondi's Recipes: The Hamburger Cake

For our cousin bake-off on Thanksgiving, Mandi and I decided to make a hamburger cake. It turned out well...if by well you mean looked awesome but not tasting great :)

The ingredients.

Any vanilla cake and brownie mix will do.

The set-up.

The cakes.

The destruction.

Fondant burger toppings.

That seriously looks like a piece of meat.

Rockin' and Rollin'.

That's one good looking burger.

Serve with french fries (sugar cookies).

My Second Near-Death Experience

- I'm so thankful that our A/C got fixed and it didn't cost us an arm and a leg. Luckily it was just a leg this time, but we still have both arms. We're fortunate to have two A/C units but the unit that went out provides the cold air for the part of the house we actually spend our time in. It's responsible for our master bedroom, living room, kitchen and dining room. Like I said though, it certainly could have been much worse. We've been sleeping in the guest bedroom the last couple of nights but will be back in our bedroom tonight!! The guy fixed it in literally less than 10 minutes as it was just a little part that happens to run the fan. It completely gave out (in fact, it exploded). Hopefully this new one will stay intact for a VERY long time.

- We road our bikes up to Coldstone Creamery tonight as a little bit of a reward for all of our hard work in the garden today. It was incredibly hot and we were out there a good couple of hours doing everything from pruning, to cutting, to raking, to watering, to pulling, to pushing. We were both sweaty messes at the end of it, so we decided to treat ourselves. We took off up the road about a mile and a half eager to get our mouthes on the pure cold goodness. We seriously couldn't wait!! Well, not sure when it happened, but the ol' creamery went out of business. No cold goodness for us. We did our best to make up for it when we went home though with some homemade zucchini muffins and whipped cream. Mmmmm mmmmm good :)

- Mandi talked a little bit about married life on yesterday's and I've got to say, I couldn't agree more. Married. Life. Rocks. It just makes everything better. I mean, I've drank 1000000 cups of coffee, but I've never shared a cup with my wife and I never knew coffee could get even better. I've cooked with others in the past, but cooking with my wife is more enjoyable and I swear the food tastes better. In fact, Mandi and I have much of the same routine in terms of our work day and shows we watch during lunch breaks, yet the time I spend with her now just seems better. I have yet to be able to verbalize it correctly, but I think I got close the other night while trying to explain how I felt to Mandi. I told her it was much like a person who has a near death experience. Everything from that point on takes on a different meaning and all of the experiences just seem better. I think our wedding day was that near death experience for me...or did that just not sound right??