Mmm... Dextrose Beverage...

Hurrah, I'm in my third trimester now -- the HOME STRETCH! I'm also on the two-week installment plan for appointments now, instead of monthly appointments. Yay for the slightly more imminent arrival of Tadpole-Leonard! (FYI, we finally ordered a crib and changing table for him last night; until now, we were just planning on letting him sleep in a laundry basket with a pillow in the bottom. We'll probably get around to rearranging our whole apartment to make room for his nursery within another few weeks, now that it seems like he's really actually going to be here soon.) (Oh, and I was kidding about that laundry basket thing! Haha... ha. Please don't call DSFS.)

Tim and I headed to another doctor's appointment this morning, during which I drank a delicious beverage for my glucose screening test, to check for gestational diabetes. It was a small glass bottle that said "Dextrose" on the side, which I had to drink in five minutes. I can't complain at all though, because the bottle was nice and chilled, and it tasted just like sweet orange soda, with carbonation and everything. My compliments to the bartender! (Probably some huge pharmaceutical company.) Anyway, I drank it down, and after waiting another 15 minutes, my doctor came in for a brief check-up, and then it was back out to the waiting room for the rest of the hour-long wait period before my blood was drawn.

Since I've gotten into the habit of taking belly photos in three-week increments, here is the latest installment at 28 weeks:



That belly of mine is certainly starting to fill in!! People stare at me now, I guess because I'm pretty obviously pregnant. But, really, I can't blame them, because I stare at pregnant women too. It's just so fascinating! Anyway, remember when I wanted so badly to be "showing"? Yeah... Tim and I realized this week that - y'know what? - my belly is going to be HUGE by the end. :-)

Giving Thanks, Tim and Jean-style

Tim and I have had such a fun Thanksgiving weekend so far! This year, as always, we have a lot to be thankful for -- mainly each other, but also our little guy on the way. Heavenly Father has given us a bounty of blessings, and it's wonderful to really ponder them on this holiday.

We kicked off our Thanksgiving break with a trip to Disneyland on Wednesday night. From the moment we entered the freeway, however, we knew made a BIG mistake. It was so packed!! For some reason, Tim was unaware that the day before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year, but he sure knows now. A drive that usually takes us 45 minutes took us TWO HOURS this time. And once we got there, we realized that everyone else was thinking the same thing we were, that they wanted to enjoy the night before Thanksgiving having some fun with the fam. So, it was absolutely packed. However, while we were really nervous at first (after parking on the roof of the garage, which we never do, and seieng the mega-lines at the tram, etc.), it ended up being a lot of fun, mainly because Disneyland is so well-designed and efficient that we never had to wait too long for rides. We also tried to choose our rides wisely (like skipping Space Mountain), and we ate dinner during the parade, instead of right afterwards. And because the park stayed open until midnight, we were able to get a lot of late-night rides in, thanks to the sleepy kids who motivated their parents to get going.

Disneyland is all decorated for Christmas now, and it's just beautiful. It even "snowed" at one point during the evening, where this music and sing-songy voice came on the loudspeaker, and then these jets started puffing fluffy fake snow into the air near the castle. How cool!!! Here are some photos:

A nice fellow took our picture in front of the "C" of "California," which is right in front of the entrance to California Adventure. We usually start our Disney fun with a trip to the Mission Tortilla Factory, where you watch a two-minute video about tortillas (care of the Mission corporation), and then visit the mini-factory and get a free tortilla, hot out of the oven.

Dancing reindeer during the new Christmas-themed parade.

"SANTAAAAA!!!! I know him!! I KNOW HIM!!!!" -Buddy the Elf

The purty castle with a snowy makeover.

We've been really excited for Thanksgiving this year. After 4.5 years of marriage (and four years of mooching off other people's Thanksgivings), we finally decided that we would brave the turkey and enjoy a homemade Thanksgiving meal right here. We love spending Thanksgiving with our friends and families, but we also love the joyous bounty of leftovers that a home-cooked meal affords. So, we were "up 'n at 'em" at 7:30 in the morning, preparing the turkey and getting it into the oven:

Tim washed the bird and cleaned out its inerds.

Stuffing the bird with my mom's secret recipe (two boxes of Stove Top mixed with one box of Jiffy cornbread). Delish!

We're so proud of ourselves!!

The turkey roasted for five hours, but it smelled so good in the kitchen that Tim kept sneaking in and peeking at it in the oven.

Yum yum yum!

Later on in the morning, it was time to prepare the fixin's! Tim and I decided that since this was our first real Thanksgiving, we would make it as stress-free as possible and stick with the "Basic" version (canned vegetables, instant taters, brown 'n serve rolls, y'know).

This is my "don't take a picture yet - wait until I'm sprinkling on the marshmallows" face.

As you can see, I slaved for HOURS over those rolls!

Finally, the turkey was finished, and boy, did it smell divine. Check it out, hot out of the oven:

(I'm drooling again, just writing this account of that fine turkey.)

Then it was time to enjoy the bounteous bounty of this Thanksgiving goodness. Aside from the rolls, which I burned black on the bottoms (a tradition on my side of the family, which apparently I felt the need to uphold), everything was perfect. It was a lovely meal, and I loved sharing it with my lovey. (And with our little kicker, who also enjoyed the rush of blood sugar.)

We spent that afternoon enjoying the Hitchcock marathon on AMC -- we'd never seen Dial M for Murder or Rear Window in their entirety, so that was fun. And it was fun to have a Grace Kelly-themed afternoon. This was mixed with general lounging and occasional napping, with a break for pumpkin pie-eating that evening. Sooooo relaxing.

Now, it's a tradition of mine to go early bird shopping on Black Friday. Tim has never come before, although occasionally I would call him and ask him if we have a certain DVD already or not... things like that. I find it really fun and really exhilerating to nab the awesome deals that the good CEOs of the retail industry install in order to kick off the holiday shopping season. And a good deal is, as many of us know, priceless, so I love early-birding it on Black Friday.

This year, believe it or not, Tim said that he would come along. Hooray!!! Now I had two sets of arms to carry shiny, inexpensive products, not to mention another person to talk to while waiting in those ridiculously long opening lines, or those insanely slow check-out lines. We got up at 4:00 AM and were in line at Wal-Mart by 4:45, in anticipation of their 5:00 opening. I had warned Tim ahead of time that the line was going to be insane, and he finally believed me when we arrived. (I also told him "Do NOT get a shopping cart," which he also eventually realized is very important. So often the stores on Black Friday are just traffic jams of shopping carts.)

Overall, we made out well. We weren't in the market for any massive or particularly competitive items, so it wasn't a stressful morning. But we did get a bunch of DVDs and Christmas presents, along with a couple cheap-O baby toys for the little guy. We were especially thrilled when Target gave us baggies of free stuff (including a granola bar, animal crackers, and a mini-Bullseye stuffed animal). I thought stores didn't do things like that anymore, and I was impressed. Here are some photos:

This is us leaving the house in the morning. See all the blackness surrounding us? That's called 4:30 AM, which is this ungodly hour that comes after we go to bed but way before ANY of us should have to wake up.

In line at Wal-Mart. This is way, way, way behind the actual store. Oh, and my apologies to the nice stranger standing right in front of us, whose bald spot I unfortunately captured with regrettable accuracy.

"Holy cow, this line is insane!!!"

Checking out at Target. Another line and another wild experience.

We concluded our trips to Wal-Mart, Target, and Toys R Us with a visit to Mimi's Cafe, which, unbeknownst to us, has a location in Pasadena along a stretch of Huntington that we've apparently never, ever driven before. Ha! We were very excited. We fell in love with Mimi's breakfasts in Provo, and never knew that there was a closer location here than Anaheim.

Later I dropped Tim off and visited Kohl's on my own, which was probably even busier than Wal-Mart and Target. The tiny maternity section (all three racks of clothing) at Kohl's was 50 to 60 percent off that morning, and fortunately, it was just me and this other lady browsing the items. So, I didn't have to fight anyone for anything, unlike previous shoppers in the handbag section, who apparently waged war, according to the mess and carnage that was left behind by the time I arrived at 9:00. (I've never seen so many purses all over the floor.) I waited in line for probably 40 minutes before I could finally escape, and I was more than eager for some Thanksgiving leftovers and good napping by the time I got home. :-)

Anyway, in pregnancy news, I'm now only ONE day away from the official start of my third trimester. The home stretch at last! The really long, uncomfortable, achy home stretch. Yay? Something momentous happened on Thanksgiving, by the way. Tim gave me my first "You're gettin' big!" comment. Hahaha! I asked him to take a picture of my bare belly, and I think he realized that it's really starting to stick out now. Little Tadpole-Leonard now weighs about two pounds, so he's still going to be tripling or quadrupling that weight. Whee! Bring on the fat! (I'm sure the abundant Thanksgiving leftovers will help with that process.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tim and the Master!

Recently, Tim's been in contact with one of the most notable and renowned entertainment designers in the industry, Syd Mead. He is the MAN!! Syd has been involved in numerous motion pictures (like Blade Runner, Tron, Aliens, Mission: Impossible III, etc.), books, and other media, providing futuristic designs for environments, vehicles, and props, for the most part. (He describes himself as a "visual futurist.") Syd actually attended Art Center too, and amazingly, he still lives in Pasadena! So, Tim finally succeeded in getting him to come to the entertainment design club that he started, called Working Title, just this past Friday. Attendance at the meeting increased from a handful of people in the beginning to about 35 or 40 by the end (as word spread via text-messaging that Syd Mead was on the premises). He shared stories of his own time at Art Center and of his experiences in the industry, and he answered lots of questions. He also critiqued everyone's portfolios who happened to bring them, so overall, it was a really exciting and educational experience! Even though I don't go to Art Center and I'm certainly no artist, I came along for fun, and was able to take lots of pictures. Yay Tim!! And yay for the master himself, for taking the time to come to the meeting and hang out with some up-and-coming entertainment artists and designers. :-)

Panera: La Bakery-Cafe Magnifique

I'm thrilled to announce that a new Panera has opened in Pasadena!!! I was first introduced to this scrumtrillescent bakery-cafe in Ohio, and a few years later, another Panera happened to open near my hometown in PA, which was just delightful. However, there haven't been any Paneras in this neck of the woods... UNTIL NOW!!! Tim and I went for lunch today, and it was aaaahhhh-some. How can you go wrong with trendy warm colors, plentiful seating, fresh-baked breads and pastries, muy delicioso sandwiches, soups, and salads, and free Wi-Fi??

Fortunately it wasn't too busy, but we got there around maybe 1:45, so I guess the lunch crowd had thinned. (After we ordered, we managed to score the only available booth, as they were apparently in high demand. But don't worry, the tables are fine and comfy too.) After a little bit of careful consideration, Tim ordered a tasty foccacia sandwich (which came with crispy chips), and I got a half-sandwich/half-salad combo (which came with a chunk of their warm and crusty French loaf). I also highly recommend the soup-in-a-bread-bowl, and they also make wicked-awesome bagels and spreads (I adore the French Toast bagel or Cinnamon Crunch bagel with Honey Walnut).

Anyway, in honor of this newest Panera franchise, I would like to formally set aside today as a day of MONUMENTAL CELEBRATION. Yaaaaaay Panera! If you live in Pasadena, and you're EVER considering going to Panera for lunch but you're trying to find a buddy, well my friend, you know who to call. :-)

Mad TV 300th Episode!

Last night Tim and I braved the freeways to attend a taping of Mad TV at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood. It was so fun!! We arrived around 7:30 and got in line (a line that was much less entertaining than at Disneyland), and then they finally started letting people in around 8:45. The theater was really cool-looking, and there was a DJ blasting music while we waited for the taping to start. We also had an emcee of sorts, Blas, who pretty much just got us energized and kept us excited between tapings by throwing candy, asking questions, and telling jokes.

Little did we know, the Mad TV episode that we attended was the 300th episode, so a couple former cast members (Mo Collins, aka Stewart's mom, and Debra Wilson, aka Whitney Houston) were back. Hooray!! The cast members interacted with the audience a little bit (Bobby Lee especially, and he's hilarious), but mostly we were just there to provide applause during their live sketches (which they performed on stage) and also their recorded sketches (which we watched on a big screen and laughed at). There was also a stand-up comic who performed (a friend of Bobby Lee's), and he was pretty funny too. All in all, it was a great time, and it was especially awesome to see the whole cast at the end. The only downside was that we were sitting in front of this guy who was apparently starving, and would reach over our heads and run out into the aisle again and again in order to catch the candy that Blas was throwing. Dude, calm down, they're just Starbursts. Oh, and Tim's my hero, because he caught a Starburst at one point and gave it to me. I'm in love... :-)

The 300th episode airs this Saturday at 11:00 PM! Yay!!

I Can't Say the Word "February"

I have a problem. I can't say the word "February." I've never been able to say it correctly, I don't think. But now I'm expecting a baby in February, and people ask me all the time when he's due. Usually when I say it, it sounds like a bizarre, slurred version of "Februhry." It's only when I really, truly focus on all four syllables (Feb-yoo-air-ee) that it sort of sounds normal. Apparently my lack of interest in learning the correct pronunciation when I was a child is now coming back to bite me. :-)

Just a Hop, a Skip, and a Jump Away

So, I told my superbud Lauri that whenever I neglect to carry my camera around with me, the blog sits idly by. Haha! Sorry about that. I realized that if I'm going to be a diligent blogger, I need to carry the ol' Nikon with me regularly.

So last night, I decided to bring it along for a last-minute, two-hour visit to Disneyland. (The park usually closes at 8:00 PM now, so that means we have to concentrate our super-happy-fun into just a few hours sometimes.) Tim and I have been working very hard this week on our various works and homeworks, and decided to reward ourselves with a little Disney magic.

Stupid 210!!! Okay, so the Disney magic didn't start immediately. But at least we were moving... sometimes we just sit there and inhale exhaust and stare at our fellow bravers-of-the-210-at-rush-hour.

When we finally arrived, California Adventure was set to close soon, so we ran in to the Mission Tortilla Factory and got our delicious, warm, free tortillas at the end of the mini-tour. And we spotted a couple of new annual passholders, Sarah and Chloe!! We chatted with them for a few minutes, while Chloe (19-20 months?) kept escaping, causing Sarah to have to chase her repeatedly. Welcome to the Disney obsession, you two!! You will never get away, haha. By the looks of it, we'll probably run into them regularly, because I think Sarah is already in love with Disneyland, after being a passholder for one day. Yay!

After that, we ran over to the Tower of Terror, which Tim happily rode, while I waited in the gift shop. ("Expectant mothers should not ride." The bane of my existence right now.) Note the picture of Tim on the ride, looking off to the side, slightly bemused. What a kook.

By the time we left the Tower of Terror, California Adventure was closed, so we headed over to Disneyland, bought our standard churros (although sometimes we substitute pineapple whips or those giant cookies near Winnie the Pooh), and continued with the rides. Even though it was the evening, it was actually pretty slow, so we didn't have to spend much time waiting in lines. We went on Haunted Mansion again (which is required, since it's Nightmare Before Christmas-themed right now), Pirates of the Caribbean, Mad Tea Party, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (which we like to call "Mr. Toad's Rapid and Delirious Descent into Hell"), and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. Then we watched some of the nightly super-happy-nostalgic parade, ran off to Tomorrowland, and went on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. (154,000!! Nice, Tim!!) Anyway, it was a great time, especially considering that we were only there for like two hours. Here are some more photos:

This is a totally awful picture that I took as we were walking into Pirates of the Caribbean. There were other people behind us, and I didn't want to be one of those people who stops and makes others wait while they take a picture in line. So, I tried to be considerate, but unfortunately, I'm just not very good at aiming the lens while in motion.

Pregnant Jean picture! (25 weeks) That's the Sword in the Stone in Fantasyland, with the castle in the background.

This is what I stare at every time we go on the Mad Tea Party. Tim is an insane teacup spinner, and he gets that thing to go really, really, really fast. It's awesome.

After the park closed, we went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner, and had a really fun waiter who mostly cracked himself up, but sometimes made us laugh too. I always get the China Island Chicken Salad, and it was delectable as usual. We came to the conclusion that the Rainforest Cafe would be a much more interesting and genuine "safari" adventure if they released jaguars every now and then, just to keep the diners on their toes. There would be a few maulings every night, but boy, would it be exciting!!! :-)

Monkey and D

This is ridiculously late in posting, but this year for Halloween, Tim and I dressed up as Dwight and Angela from The Office. Tim made genuine Dunder-Mifflin letterhead (which I used to make notes for the Party Planning Committee), and he also made us Dunder-Mifflin nametags. He (being the bomb) also made me a "We miss you, Sprinkles" sticker, which I wore proudly as a display of my mourning and remembrance. So, after our church's Trunk or Treat party (an opportunity for the children to collect a bounty of chocolately goodness in record time), we hit the town (aka Jacob and Tak's apartment) for a sweet Halloween party, dressed up as Monkey and D, and as it turned out, our boss Michael Scott (aka Jason) was also in attendance.

That's what she said.

She's Like a Little Person!

Here are a couple of cute pictures of my little niece Kailyn, on the ferry from Anacortes to Vancouver Island.

Canada is fun. Did you know that there's a store up there called The Real Canadian Superstore? It's pretty much like a Walmart, but they have all these Canadian candies like Smarties (the Canadian arch-nemesis of M&M), and a lot more people say "eh." It was an educational experience.