Third time’s a charm.  After a 20, 24 & 28 week ultrasound the tech was pretty sure we are having a little girl!  Both me and the baby are doing great.  Now I can get started on the nursery!

June-in-Alabama

This past weekend the temp in Birmingham reached almost 100 degrees. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so hot. We are under Stage 3 drought conditions and aren’t able to water the yard, not to mention the price of electricity is going up just as we are using it more. And if our A/C problems weren’t enough, our neighborhood keeps losing power for some reason. Last night we were without power for about 2 hours. Weird! I really hope the Weather Channel is right and we’ll be getting cooler weather and rain over the next week. That’s the Alabama June we are used to!

During the hot summer months my kitchen (the oven in particular) goes into hibernate mode. Most evenings we grill out on the back deck and eat lots of salmon, shrimp, chicken and lean pork (which means Chris is in charge of dinner!). Add a quick rice or veggie side and dinner is done. You won’t find me pouring over my cookbooks, planning out new menus… nope, not inspired. This weekend, however, I did try a great new salsa recipe that I just have to share. I saw Tyler Florence’s Ultimate Taco episode on Food Network a few weeks ago, and just had to try it.

For the simple salsa:
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained, reserving the juice (recommended: San Marzano)
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
1 Serrano chile
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
2 limes, juiced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

To make salsa, pulse all the ingredients, except the tomato juice, in a food processor. Add the reserved tomato juice if the salsa is too thick. Drizzle salsa with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and set aside, allowing the flavors to marry.

My normal salsa recipe calls for several jalapeno peppers, so while shopping for this recipe I couldn’t believe that one tiny little serrano pepper (not bigger than my pinky finger) could possible provide enough heat. Luckily I had the good sense to follow the instructions first (I could always add another pepper later). The heat was dead on. Very fresh & bright salsa and super simple. This might replace my old recipe.  Here’s the link to the episode.  I hope to try the tacos and corn soon.

Chris & I had the pleasure of going to Bella Vista, AR this weekend for my sister Lauren’s wedding. Check Chris’ Flickr account for a few shots, and hopefully in the next few days some pics from Lauren’s photographer, Jason Hudson, will be available on his site.

http://www.hudsonphotos.com/2007weddings.html

When I first told people I was pregnant and due in September the first comments I received were, “Oh, you are going to be so hot and miserable this summer!” So far that’s pretty accurate, although I’m not sure how much my pregnancy really plays into it. We’ve been under drought conditions this year in Alabama with temperatures already in the upper 90’s. Our normal temps for this time of year are upper 80’s with rain every few days to help cool things off. Sunday, our fan motor in the air conditioner decided to poop out on us. Luckily it lasted through the night and most of Monday until we were able to get a technician out to fix it. Today it was 91.6 degrees INSIDE my house. Good times.

Thank goodness Chris was able to take an extended lunch and meet the A/C tech. If I had to sit around and wait on him Allie and I would be out in the yard playing in the sprinkler. And I’m sure the neighborhood doesn’t want to see me in my maternity bathing suit sitting in the yard.

And unfortunately I don’t get much relief at work either. When it gets this hot our A/C is doing good to cool down to 75, which I don’t mind at home when I’m wearing shorts and a tank top, but in my work clothes it’s brutal. Of course, this is the same company that had us all come to work after Hurricane Katrina when we had no power, so no computers, A/C or fans. Yeah, I’m not getting any sympathy here.  I’ve been lobbying for free popsicles, or renting a slurpee machine for the office (a margarita machine would be GREAT, but I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it)… yeah, boss man isn’t going for it.  I hate to say it, but I’m hoping for a mild tropical storm (nothing that would knock the power out).  We need the rain/cooler weather.

Check out this anagram creator:

http://wordsmith.org/anagram/

I entered a few first and last names of family and came up with the following:

Chris- Bronchi Weds, Birch Snowed, and, wait for it… BROWS INCHED

Jenny- BEND JENNY OW.. this is actually very appropriate in my pregnant state. The more I spend sitting at a desk at a 90 degree angle, the more my stomach and back hurt.

Daphne- BANNED DEW HOP

Lauren- A RELAY RUN (at least until next week when she gets married and gets a new last name)

Doug- HULA DOG ILLS

Sweet as Southern Tea Onesie
Sweet tea is a really big deal here in the South. In fact if you want unsweetened tea you have to be very clear when you order, then continue to remind your waiter/waitress as your glass is refilled.. “That’s UNSWEET tea, right?”

I thought this onesie from mylullabug.com was just too cute, and also appropriate since Baby Denbow will be born in the South.

Next week Chris & I are headed out to NW Arkansas for my sister’s wedding. We went through that area last year on the way to Joplin and I was really impressed with the growth and development. While checking out the surroundings in Rogers for restaurants/shopping, I noticed a new mall not far from our hotel that even has a Sephora, how uptown of them! Tulsa doesn’t even have a Sephora. I guess they have to keep all those well paid Wal-Mart execs happy. Here’s a link to an MSNBC story about the area:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19078708/