Anyway! Here are some notes and links about what we're cooking:

I don't have a recipe for the beef and barley stew; I'm just sort of winging it, but it's on the stove right now and it smells great, so I have high hopes.

Tomorrow night's tostada bowls will be made employing this method via Food Lush. Except crap, I just realized that recipe is for flour tortillas and I was planning to use corn, so I may have to re-think the bowls and just shallow fry the corn tortillas instead.

I'm not sure what recipe we'll use for the chicken thighs, but Holly's Grilled Maple Mustard Chicken Thigh recipe was a hit the last time, so we may very well go that route again. Apropos of this, did you know that Holly is on a one-woman mission to make everyone in the world love chicken thighs? She is! Let's all support her in her endeavor, shall we? Chicken thighs 4 EVA.

Spinach salads pretty much speak for themselves, yes? I'll make a homemade balsamic dressing, but everything else is easy-peasy.

I've been making my own pizza dough recently, but haven't found a recipe I love. Hillary recommended Jay's Signature Pizza Crust recipe, so I'll try that this week. Hopefully my dough rises, as I've been having problems with that!

That's what we're dining on this week at Casa de Dulce Sarita. What are you eating?

First, The Prompts:

Day 1- My view today

Day 2 - Words

Newspaper clippings collecting -- it's all a part of the job!

Day 3 - Hands

Day 4 - A stranger

Day 5 - 10am

Or 9:45am, as I was probably working on my ujjaiy breathing at 10am

Day 6 - Dinner

Quinoa blackbean burgers with homemade guac and salad with blue cheese

Day 7 - Button

The button I press to escape the building when I'm working late

Day 8 - Sun

Day 9 - Front door

I think this was the original front door of the state Capitol...Maybe?

Day 10 - Self portrait

Good god, the iPh0ne's front camera function is AWFUL

A. Age: 29-in-5-daaaaaays.

B. Bed size: Cal King.

C. Chore that you hate: Emptying the compost bin and then cleaning it. Also, dealing with garbage of any kind.

D. Dogs: None. Maybe one day, when LG is old enough to deal with its shits. (See above re: garbage, my hatred of.)

E. Essential start to your day: COFFEE. Also, going into LG's room to gently wake her up, which is...Basically never, as she's usually already awake. I swear she wakes up at 5am and just LAYS THERE, staring at the ceiling.

F. Favorite color: Green.

G. Gold or silver: Both.

H. Height: 5' 7".

I. Instruments that you play: Zero.

J. Job title: Communications Director.

K. Kids: The one and only Cheeks McGee.

L. Live: Northern California.

M. Mother's name: Caren, or Queen Caren, as she's known here in the comments.

N. Nicknames: Sar-Bear.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Just once, for birthin' ol' Cheeks.

P. Pet peeves: THERE ARE SO MANY. Getting trapped into conversations I don't want to be in, people who do my crossword puzzle IN PENCIL, people who keep their animals off the leash when I'm walking around the 'hood with LG (Jive Turkey really captured my feelings to a T with her thoughts on this), and people who try to beat me to the door going into work. I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. We'll all get in the building, dude. Chill.

Q. Quote from a movie: "What would you say if I told you I haven't seen Evil Dead 2, yet?"

R: Right or left handed: Right.

S: Siblings: None, some halves, some in-laws -- my answer depends on my mood.

T: Travel favorite: What's travel? I haven't been on a vacation in for damn ever. But let's say Europe.

U. Underwear: Victoria's Secret "The Lacie." Best ever.

V. Vegetable(s) you hate: Sweet potatoes/yams. No, not even the way you make them that surely EVERYONE, even sweet potato-haters, loves. Not even that way.

W. What makes you run late: Finalizing my ensemblè, when LG poops unexpectedly.

X. X-rays you've had: Jaw, teeth.

Y. Yummy food that you make: Pizza, enchiladas, lasagna, big salads (seriously!), chicken tortilla soup, Thanksgiving.

Z. Zoo animal: Giraffes!

Your turn! (And leave me a link to your post if you do this!)

I spent the greater part of Friday morning draining my tear ducts of all their fluids as I bawled my way through both Country Strong (wasn't expecting that ending) and Temple Grandin (Claire Danes, man) but I luckily felt human again yesterday, so I was able to go to a friend's house for a ladies' night.

Of course, when I came home, it appeared I'd passed the sickness on to both Chris and LG, so that sucks. Little lady, who looked cheerful and delightful yesterday...

...Slept from 6pm last night to 9am this morning...

---And then took a nap in the crook of my arm (that never happens!) this morning....

...And then took a real nap in her crib.

She's up now and in much better spirits, so I'm hoping she's on the mend. My scientific analysis is that since she's an eighth my size, she'll get over this cold in an eighth the time. Right? Right.

In news completely unrelated to this, I decided to not drink until my birthday (thankfully in February and not, like, in December.) It's been almost two weeks and it's been surprisingly easy, although I think a lot of that probably had to do with the sickness this past week. (Although damn, I bet a shot of whiskey could have helped with the congestion.)

I also finished The Marriage Plot, the first book-book I've read in a long time. (I read a lot of James Patterson, but I'm not sure his count as book-books, since they all have the same plot, not to mention, they're not even written by him anymore.) Anyway, so I finished a book, which makes me feel all studios and shit, and I am now starting in on The Hunger Games.

As I mentioned in my 2011 recap, I am not good with big sweeping goals or resolutions, but smaller ones seem to be my jam (says the girl who hasn't even yet completed the first small goal she set for herself) and I'm hoping to, like, improve upon some areas of my life via these small, manageable goals, rather than big, impossible ones that make me want to give them the finger.

And now that I've taken this blog into some unfamiliar self-help territory, I'm going to go make my fifth cup of tea of the day and munch on some baby cheekage:

After the holidays and guests, going back work and then more guests, I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend...

...Lunch with my grandparents (The GGPs, as we call them) tomorrow...

...Yoga, a mani/pedi, and much-needed eyebrow maintenance on Sunday, followed by the Golden Globes and tamale pie (recipe from a coworker; I'll report back) Sunday night...

...Then who knows what on Monday, but I suspect it will involve a lot of LG and I catching up on our Real Housewives. Girls gotta watch their STORIES, am I right?

A few outtakes from our daily pictures, which I send to Chris in the mornings. I usually look like a total fool, making funny faces to get LG to smile, but more recently I've just been to trying to get her to not steal my phone and shove it in her mouth. So. It's fun.

What do you have planned this weekend? I hope you enjoy it!

"She might have but I think I packed them up because they don't fit. She has other socks, I thought...Yeah, here you go."

"Those are pink."

"So?"

"Pink doesn't match salmon."

So! She's almost nine months old, which, exqueeze me? When did that happen? NOT OKAY.

I think the last time I updated, she had just started to sit up unassisted. She still does that and...not a whole lot else. Everyone says she's, "So! Close! To crawling!" but, meh. Crawl, don't crawl, Mom doesn't care. (Actually, Mom does care. Don't crawl LG. Stay a wee (20+ pound!) baby forever and ever.)

She also started eating solid foods around the time of the sitting up and she still does that. OH DOES SHE DO THAT. She will (and does!) eat anything. AN-Y-THING. There's a reason she's pushing 25 pounds and it's not because she's a picky little delicate flower. No daughter of mine!

She's had green beans, peas, carrots, yams, butternut squash, bananas, apples (lovingly made with cinnamon by her dear old mom), pears, rice, oatmeal, and countless puffins, which she has become quite adept at grabbing with her thumb and index finger before taking her other hand and SHOOOOVING everything in her mouth.

She also has started holding her own bottle and feeding herself, which is basically the best thing ever. It's sort of happened out of necessity/tough love, as she used to micro-manage her feedings, holding the bottle, then turning her head this way and that way. I finally got sick of being her puppet, so I one day I propped her up in the boppy and let her figure all that out. And because it was FOOOOOOOOOD, delicious formula nectar of the baby gods, she figured it out real quick.

She got a tooth about a month ago, which resulted in the two of us laying in bed, staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night (she has never been a fall-asleep-in-your-arms kind of kid, but apparently snuggling with me made her feel better. Moms are the best, you know) and then a couple days later her gums grew up over the tooth and it...just disappeared. Which was annoying/frustrating/weird.

Then, randomly, a couple weeks ago, I noticed her bottom two teeth had popped through and they seem to be going nowhere but up, which means steak, fish tacos, and pork chops are in her future.

She laughs all the time. All the time. Over nothing. Over everything. She starts laughing before I even have a chance to put a new suit on her in the mornings, that's how much she looks forward to the inevitable tickling that occurs.

She says, "Blah blah blah!" and, "Dad dad dad!" and OMG, this is sounding so lame and I'm sorry, but she recently started whispering, "Dah dah dah" and it's the cutest, her realizing she can control how loud or quiet she is. (Quiet is good, LG.)

She will not nap long enough at school; doesn't want to miss out on the party, I assume, and starts to hyperventilate anytime she sees another kid's bottle, even if she's just eaten. The teachers have started to hide her elsewhere in the room, outside of view of the DELICIOUS Dr. Browns ("OMG I know him!") bottles.

The non or brief napping results in a usually cranky baby by the time we're all home from work and BottleWatch 2012 and it's hard for me to not be disappointed that my quality time with her is so limited. Besides her dad and a small handful of others, she's one of the coolest, most fun people to hang out with, so the fact that I only get maybe, maybe an hour a day with her is sad.

But then I have a day off work and we're home together and I'm like, damn B, you're needy 'n shit! And speaking of shit...AGAIN? REALLY?

"How are you supposed to fall back asleep if you're looking at your phone?"

"I was just thinking that. But when I get something in my head, I have to look it up..."

"...Wait, how are you supposed to fall back asleep if you're talking to me?"

"I was just thinking that."

"Remember when I use to be such a good sleeper?"

"Then we went and had a kid..."

"...And yet the kid is the only one actually asleep in this house."

2009
2010

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?
I birthed a baby!

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
No-ish and no. I didn't really make resolutions, but I did have some goals I wanted to achieve and I achieved exactly none of them. I have found I'm just not someone who responds well to people (even myself) telling me what to do. So, one day at a time, no pressure, I'm a delicate flower, etc.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I'm pretty close to myself, so yes.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Nope.

5. What countries did you visit?
None.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you didn't have in 2011?
Last year I said I wanted a new kitchen. I'd still like this. Other than that, I'd like a piece of art. Like real adult art and shit. Also some new clothes.

7. What dates from 2011 will be etched upon your memory, and why?
April 20th. LG's (and my dad's!) birthday. I don't think it will ever NOT amaze me that I was due in mid-May, my water broke April 17th, and LG held on until April 20th. Her timing, it's impeccable.

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?
Do you want to take a guess?

9. What was your biggest failure?
I don't fail. Failure is for losers.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
*I hope she doesn't talk about her birth again*

(Nope.)

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A plane ticket to Austin.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I always call Chris out for being wonderful and awesome, and that was no different this year, however, a special shout-out goes to LG for being the coolest baby. I really dig that chick.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Nobody's. Cool people all around this year.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage, probably.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Other than the obvious BABY!, I was very excited to attend The Blathering and meet some of my people from inside the computer.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
This stupid country song Chris likes to play over and over about a dad taking his daughter fishing. WEEP!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: A) happier or sadder? B) thinner or fatter? C) richer or poorer?
A) Happier.
B) Thinner! Fatter. (Ed. note: I just looked back through pictures from December 2010 and it appears I was actually skinnier than I am now. So! I look 5 months pregnant right now. Tremendous!)
C) Poorer. Daycare's expensive.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
I wish I'd gotten more spa treatments.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
I wish I'd spent less time feeling like I should want to stay home with LG even though I know I don't want to.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
At home, the three of us, watching 24 hours of A Christmas Story and eating ourselves silly.

21. Did you fall in love with 2011?
No. I mean, it was awesome, but it didn't buy me diamonds or anything.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Homeland. Are you guys watching this? SO GOOD. Claire Danes, the Emmy is coming for you.

(P.S. Does anyone else wonder if the Showtime parties are at all awkward with Claire Danes and Mary Louise Parker both (likely) in attendance? "Oh, hey, about that Billy Crudup thing, yeah...")

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Haters gon' hate. No, I actually don't hate anyone new this year. But hey, there's always next year! 2012: The Year o' Hate.

24. What was the best book you read?
Umm, I read two books this year. One was James Patterson. The other one was better. (Little Chapel on the River.)

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Always a day late, I'm loving Florence Welch.

26. What did you want and get?
I wanted a baby and I got one. I also wanted some other thing to work out and it did. (Vague, sorry.)

27. What did you want and not get?
A brand new wardrobe full of clothes that fit perfectly and don't require me to hitch 'em up every three seconds.

28. What was your favorite film of 2011?
Did I...did I even watch a movie this year?

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
We went to Sonoma for lunch and the champagnery afterwards. 28.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
ONE billion dollars. Yeah, same answer every year, but it's true. You know what would be satisfying for NEXT year, though? If we could pay off Chris's school loan and my car.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2011?
Jeggings and scarves make the lady.

32. What kept you sane?
Chris, for everything; LG, for when I got all stressed and needed to refocus; champagne, for everything; and Twitter, for parenting, especially during the #midnightfeedingclub. It was always nice to have another poor sap who was awake and feeding a baby at 3am.

33. What political issue stirred you the most?
Hotel sheets.

34. Who did you miss?
I missed LG every weekday from around 9am until I got home at 6pm.

But sometimes I got to take her to work with me and that was fun. We are very important business ladies, see?

("Step into my office."

"Why?"

"Because you're fucking fired!")

35. Who was the best new person you met?
You know who.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
You're doing everything perfectly right.

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"The party don't start till I walk in." -- Ke$ha

Here we are on Christmas day, looking like a couple-a dorks:

LG looks pissed (she wasn't), but this was the only shot where she was looking at the camera, so...

Here's a cute one of the two of us -- a little blurry -- but she's smiling and that's all that matters:

And last but certainly not least, here's a little roundup of our holiday beverages:

Holiday magnum from Domaine Carneros, a mocha with a peppermint stick (I suppose it's really a candycane, but whatever, peppermint stick sounds much more old time-y and quaint), and a duo of gin martinis, which look an awful lot like boobs here. Martini boobs!