16 Weeks...

Well, I am four months pregnant now! Time is flying by, for sure. I continue to be extremely tired, but not too bad if I am able to get uninterrupted sleep from 9:30 pm to 6:30 am. That's a big IF.

I am a day late posting this because....well, I just didn't get around to it yesterday. I made Stephen wake up and take this picture of me before I left for work this morning. You don't have to ask what time it is. My face has 7:00 am written all over it!

You might be thinking to yourself, "Wow, Beth, you look smaller than you did last week." I think so, too. Huzz apologized after he took the picture and said, "I think you just look bigger in person!" I think it might be that my stomach is finally not as bloated as it has been since...March. So, I'm thinking the bump that you do see might be just that: bump!

.....I'll change the subject, since now you know about my bloatation device...
The little peanut is now the size of an avocado. Now, I think that a naval orange is bigger than an avocado, but maybe they're thinking more about the length of the avocado. I don't know, nor do I really care too much. I like avocados. I love guacamole.

Here's what the book says about Week 16:

With a whopping weight of anywhere from 3 to 5 ounces and a length (crown to rump) of 4 to 5 inches, your baby is growing up fast. Muscles are getting stronger (you'll start to feel movement in a few weeks), especially the back muscles, enabling your little one to straighten out even more. Your baby-to-be is looking more and more adorable, with a face that has eyes (complete with eyebrows and eyelashes) and ears in the right spots. What's more, those eyes are finally working! Yes, it's true: Your baby's eyes are making small side-to-side movements and can even perceive some light, though the eyelids are still sealed. Your baby is also becoming more sensitive to touch. In fact, he or she will even squirm if you poke your belly (though you probably won't be able to feel those squirms just yet).

-What to Expect When You're Expecting - 4th Edition

To help my bloatation matters, Huzz and I are walking to the new Pizza Hut that opened last week here. Now, I pretty much never eat at the Hut in the US, but I am super excited about the large supreme we'll be ordering. Although, I'm sure it won't have sausage or any other pig products on it. Darn. I miss sausage.

I am having some serious food desires. I won't call them cravings because my understanding is that cravings are so strong, that you absolutely have to have it right now, or you feel like you will die.

I'm getting close. I WANT OREOS.

And Taco Bell.

And fresh milk.

And Doritos.

And a Bacon Guacamole Burger from Red Robin.

All things I can have in a mere twenty-one days, people. It makes me cry. It really does.

My Big K Gal Pals...

On the actual day that is of the woman, which was Sunday, most of the lady teachers from my school got together at this Middle Eastern restaurant, Saffran, for some good grub and socializing.


These are my nice girlfriends, here in the big K. Sonia (from Ireland), Katy (from England, with Billie almost done in the oven), me, and Narita (from Scotland).

I was miserably full by the end of eating my Hommous, Moroccan Bean Soup, and Khachapuri. But it was so delicious.


Then, on Monday, we had the day off of school because Women's Day is a national holiday here. Huzz suggested we go back to this great Korean restaurant for spicy ramen. Good choice, Huzz.

Look at all the food we got! We were only expecting the ramen, but then they brought SEVEN complimentary side dishes. There was plain kimchi, which we didn't touch, cucumber kimchi (yum), onion omelette thingy, seaweed strips, some type of warm, kimchi-tasting thing that was delish, and another kimchi thing that I liked.


And the ramen was sooooo tasty and spicy, I almost died. My ears were burning, it was so hot!

The best part of it all was we got all that food and two liters of cola (I don't want a large Farva, I want a friggin' liter of cola! -- name that movie!) for only 2500 Tenge, which at this day and age comes to about $17.


Can't beat it.


I love Women's Day. New delightfully delicious holiday!

a LOVEly week ahead...

Yesterday was my last day of school for a week and according to our HR guy, for 9 working days.
Don't even get me started on that guy.

Anyway, we went to a mandatory party last night at the school with parents. I survived and only 3 sets of parents from my class were there, so not too shabby! Then, we all went to Matt & Sonia's to hang out. I fell asleep on the couch while Matt & Stephen discussed world topics. It was obviously very exhilarating. Stephen woke me up at 1:30 to go home and go to bed.

I had everyone over late this morning for pancakes and R'iordan loved them! He ate FOUR, all by himself. Big hit.

We are going out to dinner to this Italian restaurant called Borgo Antico tonight that we're hoping won't be too busy so we'll be able to get in without a reservation. This place never has more than two other tables occupied when we go, so we're hoping it is the case for tonight.

It's a great way to start our week long vacation together, don't you think? We decided on no gifts for each other, but just do this nice dinner together.

Have a great Valentine's Day, and tell those you love how much they mean to you!

Love,
Beth

Oh, and this is my 100th post! Crazy, huh?

I May Be 28...

But I still get carded!
On my birthday, we went to lunch with my mom to Chili's. Since it was my birthday, I decided to spoil myself and get a Presidente margarita. It was delicious!

The Huzz and me. May I remind you that he turned 29 a few months ago?

My beautiful mama.

Thank you for a great birthday lunch, guys!

Cupcakes in NYC

**UPDATE** Nathan and Katrina let me know the name of the bakery is Sugar Sweet Sunshine. Next time you're in NYC, you must go!

One of the nights we were in NYC, we were able to meet up with our friends, Matt, Lauren, T'Errance, and of course, Nathan and Katrina and then later with another friend of ours, Chris. With the first group, we met at one of our favorite sushi restaurants, Cube 63. The 63 is because that's its address and the Cube, my guess, is because it's about the size of a cube. HOWEVER, you can bring your own wine....

So, we did!

Dinner was delicious and quite affordable, for NYC standards. After dinner, we walked over to our friend, Chris' apartment. He wasn't able to join us for dinner because he had to study for a big final he had the next day. But, he is pretty much the nicest person, ever, and had gone and picked up cupcakes from a bakery and had them waiting for us when we arrived.

Here is the group. There's Lauren, T'Errance, Matt (the awkward guy in the background), Katrina, me, and Stephen. Chris took this picture, so we missed him in the moment.
This is me, pretending I am James Bond, and using my cupcake as a weapon.

Sometimes, I think I'm funny when I'm not. Stephen did not have too much to drink. He just likes to close his eyes when his picture is taken.

This is me, emphasizing that the cupcakes were yummy for my tummy! And they were. I don't remember the name of the bakery...Nathan, Katrina - help me out? But, the pistacio cupcake was my fave.

Thanksgiving...K to the Z Style....

I know I'm a little late with this, but as usual, I haven't had a whole lot of time to blog lately. But, our Thanksgiving was unlike any Thanksgiving Huzz or I have ever experienced.

There was no turkey. No mashed potatoes. No gravy. No stuffing - I know, unforgiveable. No green bean casserole. No pumpkin pie.

Surprisingly, we survived! At the time, we didn't know of a restaurant that did a turkey dinner, but we later found out that the InterContinental Hotel does...for a pretty penny.

Instead, we decided, appropriately, to go to the American Bar & Grill.

Here is Stephen, enjoying the smoked cheese that they give you for an appetizer. I think it's called "suluguni" in Russian. It's like a drier string cheese that has a delicious smoky flavor. I like it.

Oh, you can see the smoked cheese on the little plate on the right. I pretty much demolished it. We also got mozzarella "steaks" and onion rings.

Stephen had a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich and fries for his main course. As you can tell, he wasn't a fan.

I had their Crispy Chicken Sandwich, which has this tangy sauce on it that I enjoy very much. This is all I could eat. I was stuffed!

I meant to take pictures before we dug in to our food, but I was distracted with all the fried goodness. It did not feel like Thanksgiving, since we both worked and didn't spend the day with family.

We ordered so much food because I said at least we should just eat too much, since that is definitely what happens at normal Thanksgivings.

We can't wait to get home to the U.S. in THREE days!!! I only have one more day of work. Thank goodness. Waking up at 7:00 am and it is still pitch black outside is just not what I call a good time.

Ciao with Friends...

This past weekend was my friend and teammate's 30th birthday. Sonia is a great person to work with and know. She is Irish and has a very strong accent. We laugh all the time because I sometimes have to ask her "What?" about 10 times before I understand what she's saying.

This is Sonia, her son, R'iordan (pronounced Reardon), and her husband, Matthew, who is British. They're a cute, little family.

We, along with other teacher friends, Narita and Katy, decided to celebrate Sonia's "big one" at her favorite restaurant here, Ciao Pizza. They really do have pretty tasty pizza, our favorite being the Ciao Pizza, with cream sauce and corn. Sounds weird, but it's delicious. I was too excited to eat it to take a picture first. Stephen and I demolished it, though. I also just realized I didn't get any pictures of Katy and Narita, but I will.

R'iordan is my buddy. He likes to wear his daddy's sunglasses. And he wanted to see "me" on the camera screen everytime I took his picture.
That's a little Matchbox car in his mouth. He drove that thing all over the back of the seat cushions throughout lunch. He was so well-behaved!

Would You Like A Straw With That?

Notice anything strange about this picture?

No, it's not that I'm drinking a beer. I've actually grown to enjoy a decent light beer, on occasion. My taste is evolving, much like my drift from drinking only sweet white wines to now preferring the dryest red wine I can find.
I'm not sure that I will ever change my beer preferences to wanting a straw with it, though. However, here in the big K, one is always placed in my pint.
These pictures were taken at a local brewery here, called Tinkoff. They have a great rooftop restuarant, where we have found delicious shashlik (remember - meet on a stick) and their beers are pretty good and reasonably priced. As seen below, Stephen sometimes enjoys the darker beers. I say, yuck.
The best part about Tinkoff is the view. I mean, seriously, people. You have to come visit sometime and see the mountains in person!
Starting tomorrow, we will have lots of room! We are moving into our new apartment tomorrow morning! You might not hear from me for a few days, as internet will not be ready tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be reconnected soon.

This has been a pretty good week of "work." I say "work" because it has included meeting for about an hour, as a whole group, and then another hour long meeting with our departments. Then, they feed us lunch. Then, we are done for the day! Next week's pace will increase a little bit, but not enough to complain about at all. Also, they are giving us a 4 day weekend to get settled in our apartments!

I am so excited, I am going to go finish getting everything ready to go tomorrow morning!

The Belgian Experience

A few weeks ago, we went out to dinner with our good friends, Nathan, Katrina, and Pablo. The point of the night: to celebrate three years in New York City (for Stephen, Nathan, and Katrina). Pablo grew up just outside the city, and well, you know how long I've been here. We decided to take everyone to the "B Cafe," which is this Belgian Beer Cafe, just around the corner from our place. We had been there a few times for beer and frites (fries) and love the atmosphere and since the frites were so delicious, we wanted to give a whole meal a try. Stephen got the Belgian traditional dinner: Moule Frites. They bring this pot of steamed mussels out and frites on the side with 3 dipping sauces. Stephen was in mussel heaven! After noticing a man at a nearby table, drinking the mussel broth from his pot, Stephen decided to give it a try. He said it was delicious! We will definitely be back to the B Cafe for dinner again sometime. This is one of the many things we love about the city -- lots of eating experiences that you can't have in most other cities.