A Sunday Afternoon on a Monday Night

Forget periods and first bras. My rite of passage into womanhood is conquering fried chicken with creamy chicken gravy. The ceremony took place Monday night right here in our little kitchen. I've had a craving (pregnancy craving or homesick craving?...probably both) specifically for Mom's chicken gravy for at least 3 weeks now. And the only way to get Mom's chicken gravy is to make Mom's fried chicken, so last night, Aaron came home to the traditional Graham Sunday meal. When I took my first bite, I said, "Mmmm...tastes just like Sunday afternoon..." Aaron completed my sentence with, "...on a Monday night." Delish!

Proof, with the thumbs up from the husband.

Our other fantastic dish for the weekend was a tag-team lasagna. I started the lasagna while Aaron talked to his family on the phone, and he assembled it while I talked to mine. I especially love the cheese on top. There is just something about perfectly toasted cheese...mmm! Before I die, I want to order a cheese pizza from Pizza Hut and eat only the cheese off of it. Aaron has offered to make the pizza for me. He says it will be less expensive that way. Sounds great. As long as I get to eat all the cheese.

A meal fit for...

....a king!

We went on a couple of adventures this last weekend. Saturday morning was our first outing with our realtor Chris Zinn. We met Chris at an open house two Sundays ago. We really clicked with him because he seems like the kind of guy who wants to teach us about buying a home. I don't remember exactly how many houses we saw - 5 or 6 - but two were winners. One was a nice home with (get this) PRAIRIE in the backyard (soon to be developed, but hey, it's nothing right now!). The other was a fixer-upper in Jenks, a suburb of Tulsa. That house also had a beautiful back yard, definitely something to throw a frisbee around in. It was a relief to know that we can find a house in Tulsa with s-p-a-c-e!

On Sunday afternoon we took a trip across the river (about a 7 minute drive from our apartment) to "The Riverwalk." Since we got here, all we have heard about is The Riverwalk. It has the feel of SouthPointe Pavillion in Lincoln - subtract the clothing stores and add in a bunch of restaurants and cute little shops all along the Arkansas River. It was very quiet on Sunday afternoon, so we'll probably take another trip out there on a Friday night to see what it's like then. Below is a picture from The Riverwalk. Chris told us that the buildings in the background were built by Oral Roberts University and represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (note: Chris did not go with us to The Riverwalk. That would have been weird. He told us that bit of information as we drove by the buildings on Saturday morning.)

Since we were across the river and into Jenks, we decided to explore Main Street of Jenks. We didn't get too far when I spotted an huge antique store that I wanted to see. It was quite the place; there were rows upon rows of individual displays. We saw, maybe, only half of the store because there was so much to look at! We both decided that the next time I go there will be with my mom...and Aaron will stay home. It wasn't his cup of tea.

And the best part of the weekend...for the first time of this pregnancy I felt beautiful. Truly beautiful - like "I am doing what I am made to do" beautiful! It was a wonderful feeling. It may have had something to do with the cute maternity shirt I wore to Sunday Mass or perhaps it was the comment my wonderful husband made as he passed his hand over my stomach, "I love feeling your belly." Either way, I was able to set aside the heartburn, backaches, and perpetual trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and for once just enjoy carrying our child. I love that I love being pregnant!