just want to write...

our computer recently crashed and we are in the process of recovering the pictures so in the meantime...i'm just gonna write...
its thanksgiving day but for me it feels like thanksgiving eve. juan and i had to work today so we convinced our friends to celebrate tomorrow. i just pulled the rolls out of the oven (mom's famous potato rolls) and they look beautiful... a little plump tho- i guess i let them rise to long. i also have the cheese ball in the freezer...ready for its nutty coating- eeee! tomorrow i am going to make spinach artichoke dip and mashed potatoes- creamy. our friends janelle and mike are baking the turkey and stuffing, and their famous green bean casserole. janelle also made some pies. aushra and rene are going to bring a fruit salad, drinks and dulce de leche. it will be quiet a feast!!
baby marcus is doing very well. he likes to disfigure my belly every 20 or 30 minutes in the day...and night. he gets a little rough sometimes- imagine feeling bruised on the inside...i can feel it. i had a doc appointment yesterday and everything is going good- baby's got a 140 heart rate, i've gained another 5 pounds and my pee is still yellow. juan is bummed cuz that means we can't have another ultrasound. ah well...i am very grateful that baby is healthy.
i could complain about a lot of little things but that is only for my hubby to hear...and he takes good care of me. i get a foot massage and back rub almost every night. he picks things up off the floor for me and gets me whatever i ask for. he already has a good relationship with baby...he is the only one that can get him to move on command. baby marcus is shy with everyone else. he definitely recognizes his daddy's voice.
these are the things i am grateful for on this thanksgiving evening. as well as my loving family- tho very far away they are. we are all over the place: england, tennessee, arizona, utah, and hawaii. i miss thanksgivings with them- i love love love love love them to pieces.

What takes 6 hours to bake and 6 hours to puree?

why a real pumpkin of course! and don't ask me why but i just HAD to do it! so i did! call it a crazy pregnancy urge/craving- or maybe its because it might be the last time that i will actually have time to do such a thing. so here is the carnage....
so the 'how to' is on my recipe blog (click here). my husband wanted to ring my neck by the time i nearly finished puree-ing all of the pumpkin chunks- i kid you not- it took me 6 hours or more to de-skin it and blend it up. but let me tell you...the pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie have been worth the back ache. i have a pie baking as i type and the aroma alone is worth it. even though i will never do it again (maybe).