Bruschetta, Baby, and Balancing

Tonight I made bruschetta with bacon for dinner because I have been craving this simple Italian snack for a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.

Seriously, a long time.

I have pictures to prove it!

I made a loaf of bread last night to eat with our stew, but I cut up a few pieces this evening to make the bruschetta. I had bought grape tomatoes and fresh basil from the grocery store, and all I needed was a little seasoning, some olive oil, bacon, and the mozzarella cheese. I decided to make a small batch this time because the last time I made it the tomato topping did not refrigerate well, so I concluded that the dish is best served fresh, without storage of any kind.

So to begin, I chopped up a few strands of bacon and threw them into a small pan and let them cook. 

While the bacon was cooking, I added a small bit of olive oil to a bowl, followed by a sprinkling of garlic powder and black pepper. I chopped up the grape tomatoes and added them to the bowl. 

When I was sure that the tomatoes had a nice thin coating of the oil mixture, I drained the bacon...

...and set both the tomatoes and bacon aside in separate bowls. I chopped up the basil...

...and then proceeded to lightly toast my bread slices. I did this by drizzling one side with olive oil and setting it in the pan I used to cook the bacon in.

When the bread came out nicely toasted, I added the tomato mixture, bacon, basil, and mozzarella cheese. Oh, heaven. 

Om-nom-nom-nom. 

I have no specific recipe that I used aside from living in Italy for a month and knowing that this and that put together make bruschetta. I can hardly wait to eat this again with some wine and more cheese!

BABY UPDATES: Elliot is doing quite well! The doctor told me that now I must come in for weekly BPPs, which is a safety precaution at this stage. I have five weeks left, if Elliot intends to enter the world punctually. Jeff can't stop feeling the baby bump for kicks and wriggles, of which there are many these days...more pronounced now, that the amniotic fluid is lessening and there's not much cushion to block my little ninja's blows. 

I did set up a crib yesterday in our humble dwelling--it was a vintage crib that had housed my husband when he was a baby and his father before him. Unfortunately, one of my Facebook friends pointed out that the crib has a slide-railing, a feature that has caused infant deaths and the ban of such cribs in the market. So...hubby and I have to go a-hunting for a crib. 

I also made the decision to actually have a Baby Shower, though I originally did not want one. In registering for items, I got easily overwhelmed and frustrated by all the intricate, unnecessary products out there. It took me two weeks to decide on a baby swing. 

Other than that, the pregnancy is going very well. Elliot has moved to a head-down position, cradling comfortably against my cervix, bladder, and everything else. Getting in and out of the car is uncomfortable, and until just recently, when hubby and I traded our full bed for a queen-sized, I was having serious problems sleeping. I wake up every 2 hours to use the restroom and I keep a water bottle by my bed to hydrate myself. 

The balancing act these days is knowing just what to do with myself. Obviously I have laundry and dishes on a daily basis, but now I also have my Steeped Tea business that I attend to daily, and I write a few thoughts down for novelization later. I don't get out much because I dislike the heat and my ankles swell to walrus-like proportions if I am on them too much. YouTube is my best friend right now; I love listening to music and snuggling up to a good spine-tingling ASMR video...or I just find old movies that aren't on Netflix. 

I will try to update again soon. I'm so horrible at this. :P