Did you miss me?
Well, things have been rather busy lately and all because of a little someone!
Our little bundle of joy is born. Healthy and growing. Mom is alright, I am too. We are hoping to get back into writing someo more really soon.
Miss you all, now I'm going back to sleep.
-Another great day
05 October 2012
18 September 2012
Him: Boring!
I bet everyone that has been reading my junk in the last few days is just getting bored out of their tree.
I have decided to move all the icky detailed information about my current classes to my personal blog. That way, I don't clutter up things here and we can keep on with talking about the baby and our family!
If you still want to follow what I've been doing, just find my blog at http://dailydodads.blogspot.com/. It is also linked on the sidebar of this page.
-Another great day
I have decided to move all the icky detailed information about my current classes to my personal blog. That way, I don't clutter up things here and we can keep on with talking about the baby and our family!
If you still want to follow what I've been doing, just find my blog at http://dailydodads.blogspot.com/. It is also linked on the sidebar of this page.
-Another great day
14 September 2012
Her: Do we go organic for baby?
With the days counting down to the arrival of our little one, I've been considering some specifics as to what baby will eat. I am pro-breastfeeding (as long as baby will take!), so I won't have to worry about formula. We do plan on making our own baby food; in fact, we already have some applesauce canned and ready! However, something that I read in "The Eco-nomical Baby Guide" has made me think about where we will be getting the food that baby will eventually ingest. Namely, this is the fact that babies are more vulnerable to the toxins in pesticides than adults just because of the small size of their bodies.
Wow. I never thought of it this way. Purchasing only organic foods has never really been a goal of mine, but when it comes to baby, I may be inspired to reconsider. I don't mind going to Whole Foods a little more often (yay)! Actually, organic produce can be found at most supermarkets now, so we won't have to search hard.
An alternative to buying everything organic is looking at the Environmental Working Group's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, which lists the top 10 or so types of produce with the highest and lowest pesticide residues. For instance, onions, pineapple, and cabbage top the least pesticide list, whereas apples, celery, and peppers are the worst for pesticide residues. This combined with the idea that produce that you peel (e.g. bananas, oranges) don't need to be organic can satisfy any "lazy" organic wannabe. Let's just say that I may be second guessing my non-organic apple, celery, and pepper purchases next time at the grocery store.
Another idea I've been toying with is signing up for weekly delivery of local organic produce, something like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). This is certainly something worth looking into, and I'm sure knowing where exactly your produce comes from, and the fact that it hasn't travelled thousands of miles to reach you, will make the produce taste even better!
Happy (organic) eating!
Wow. I never thought of it this way. Purchasing only organic foods has never really been a goal of mine, but when it comes to baby, I may be inspired to reconsider. I don't mind going to Whole Foods a little more often (yay)! Actually, organic produce can be found at most supermarkets now, so we won't have to search hard.
An alternative to buying everything organic is looking at the Environmental Working Group's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, which lists the top 10 or so types of produce with the highest and lowest pesticide residues. For instance, onions, pineapple, and cabbage top the least pesticide list, whereas apples, celery, and peppers are the worst for pesticide residues. This combined with the idea that produce that you peel (e.g. bananas, oranges) don't need to be organic can satisfy any "lazy" organic wannabe. Let's just say that I may be second guessing my non-organic apple, celery, and pepper purchases next time at the grocery store.
Another idea I've been toying with is signing up for weekly delivery of local organic produce, something like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). This is certainly something worth looking into, and I'm sure knowing where exactly your produce comes from, and the fact that it hasn't travelled thousands of miles to reach you, will make the produce taste even better!
Happy (organic) eating!
13 September 2012
Him: TSDM
Almost two hundred pages later, the TSDM Syllabus is jam packed with information.
Let's get to what the course has as a goal for teaching. Briefly stated the overview of the course is gear towards being able to engage in the challenging complexities of the contemporary national security environment. I will be taking this via seminar, once a week, for three hours. Some of the areas of study will be topics such as; National Defense strategies, Regional Knowledge and Cultural Awareness, Clear and Effective writing and briefing skills, and Management techniques and skills that compliment leadership skills, just to name a few.
The course is broken down into three separate sub-courses: Security Strategies, Policy Analysis, and Leadership Concepts.
A few of the objectives are:
Policy Analysis: 18 Sessions, second par of the course. This part will explain the environment within and external to the organisations that I may find myself in. The internal will focus on leadership, structure and products of the organisation as well as the impact of organisational behavior and culture. External, the influence on the organisation of the government, higher authority, and elements in the international community which generate requirements for response and action. This is where I am really going to have to listen closely. Even just reading this description I get confused. I have a long way to do in policy, let alone policy analysis.
Security Strategies: 17 Sessions, last part of the course. This part of the course will look at how national interest, strategies, and the security environment can affect how a commander reacts, plans and executes decisions.
There is also a portion of the course that is call the Final Exercise(FX). This is a group effort and to what I have read will be mostly discussion.
Marking and all those particulars are just like any other course, a few papers to write, participation, attendance, etc. This particular course will end by mid-May and I am sure I will be counting down the days for that.
Other than that, the Syllabus goes into light(150 page) details about what each seminar will consist of as well as the required readings for each week. It is a crazy list of readings, but I will keep my head up and try not to drown in the sea of words.
-Another great day
Let's get to what the course has as a goal for teaching. Briefly stated the overview of the course is gear towards being able to engage in the challenging complexities of the contemporary national security environment. I will be taking this via seminar, once a week, for three hours. Some of the areas of study will be topics such as; National Defense strategies, Regional Knowledge and Cultural Awareness, Clear and Effective writing and briefing skills, and Management techniques and skills that compliment leadership skills, just to name a few.
The course is broken down into three separate sub-courses: Security Strategies, Policy Analysis, and Leadership Concepts.
A few of the objectives are:
- Increase ability to perform effectively as a unit commander or member of a major staff specifically in a theater security decision making environment, and
- Increase understanding of leadership and management concepts that are especially applicable in today’s complex security environment.
Policy Analysis: 18 Sessions, second par of the course. This part will explain the environment within and external to the organisations that I may find myself in. The internal will focus on leadership, structure and products of the organisation as well as the impact of organisational behavior and culture. External, the influence on the organisation of the government, higher authority, and elements in the international community which generate requirements for response and action. This is where I am really going to have to listen closely. Even just reading this description I get confused. I have a long way to do in policy, let alone policy analysis.
Security Strategies: 17 Sessions, last part of the course. This part of the course will look at how national interest, strategies, and the security environment can affect how a commander reacts, plans and executes decisions.
There is also a portion of the course that is call the Final Exercise(FX). This is a group effort and to what I have read will be mostly discussion.
Marking and all those particulars are just like any other course, a few papers to write, participation, attendance, etc. This particular course will end by mid-May and I am sure I will be counting down the days for that.
Other than that, the Syllabus goes into light(150 page) details about what each seminar will consist of as well as the required readings for each week. It is a crazy list of readings, but I will keep my head up and try not to drown in the sea of words.
-Another great day
11 September 2012
Her: One month to go!
Oh my, how the time has flown by. Only one month to go (give or take a week), and baby will be here! Even though I've been pregnant now since mid January, I still get surprised at my profile in the mirror (yup, there definitely is a belly there) and forget that I can't do some things. Take, for example, the fact that the beautiful cooler fall weather we had here yesterday made me want to go for a nice (long) bike ride. This was something we had done last year around this time, and the slight change in weather had made me long to do it again. However, I forgot that biking at this stage in the pregnancy would be uncomfortable, to say the least. My husband very patiently convinced me that going for a walk would be a better, and safer alternative. We still got to enjoy the beautiful afternoon in the end. What surprised me further was the fact that I had to stop or slow down several times during the walk because of the position of the baby.
That's another thing that's changed - the position of the baby! He/she's been finding different positions and areas in there ("Haha... there's your bladder, haha there's your ribs"). We've seen my belly contort into some rather odd shapes lately, and it's all part of the fun! It must be getting kinda squishy in there...soon to run out of room!
I've also had a sudden change in palate concerning the temperature of the copious amount of water I drink everyday. I no longer want the super ice cold water that I've been downing the last few months - it's too cold for me now! I'm not sure if this is weather related or baby related, but it could easily be both.
So far, so good, and counting down the days!
That's another thing that's changed - the position of the baby! He/she's been finding different positions and areas in there ("Haha... there's your bladder, haha there's your ribs"). We've seen my belly contort into some rather odd shapes lately, and it's all part of the fun! It must be getting kinda squishy in there...soon to run out of room!
I've also had a sudden change in palate concerning the temperature of the copious amount of water I drink everyday. I no longer want the super ice cold water that I've been downing the last few months - it's too cold for me now! I'm not sure if this is weather related or baby related, but it could easily be both.
So far, so good, and counting down the days!
10 September 2012
Him: Back to Class?
What does this mean? I have to go back to school now? Well, not exactly, but it is going to be just as demanding or more.
This week I start my classes in the FSP. My first class being TSDM, Theatre Security Decision Making. Tons of reading, immense amounts of learning, and even more note taking so that my brain can comprehend at least half of what I am packing into it. Fortunately, there is someone else from my work that will be taking the class as well. I hope that we will be able to discuss things together a little bit and maybe learn from each other so that it is a little less hard for the both of us.
My classes run once a week, for three hours. Doesn't seem like a lot, but for a course that has a hundred and fifty page syllabus, I'm a little intimidated. Though after going through it, not in its entirety, I can see that the course is superbly organised and as long as I keep up with, at least, what is required, I should be fine.
I believe that one way for me to better understand and absorb the information that I will be learning is to write about it. For one thing, I need to work on my writing skills, and blogging is an awesome way to do that. Plus, if I can put what I've read into words on paper, then I at least can see what I've learned and work towards having a more complete understanding of the subject.
Since the first class will be this week, there were only two required readings to prepare for. The first was to get through the Syllabus, and second was "Levels of Analysis: A Conceptual Approach to Understanding National Security Affairs."
Don't want to bore too many people in one day, so I will leave it at that. But so far, things are going to be crazy busy in the coming few years.
-Another great day
This week I start my classes in the FSP. My first class being TSDM, Theatre Security Decision Making. Tons of reading, immense amounts of learning, and even more note taking so that my brain can comprehend at least half of what I am packing into it. Fortunately, there is someone else from my work that will be taking the class as well. I hope that we will be able to discuss things together a little bit and maybe learn from each other so that it is a little less hard for the both of us.
My classes run once a week, for three hours. Doesn't seem like a lot, but for a course that has a hundred and fifty page syllabus, I'm a little intimidated. Though after going through it, not in its entirety, I can see that the course is superbly organised and as long as I keep up with, at least, what is required, I should be fine.
I believe that one way for me to better understand and absorb the information that I will be learning is to write about it. For one thing, I need to work on my writing skills, and blogging is an awesome way to do that. Plus, if I can put what I've read into words on paper, then I at least can see what I've learned and work towards having a more complete understanding of the subject.
Since the first class will be this week, there were only two required readings to prepare for. The first was to get through the Syllabus, and second was "Levels of Analysis: A Conceptual Approach to Understanding National Security Affairs."
Don't want to bore too many people in one day, so I will leave it at that. But so far, things are going to be crazy busy in the coming few years.
-Another great day
03 September 2012
Him: Newest Vlogs
I know these are a little late, but nonetheless they are here. Been ready for awhile just never got around to putting them up. So please enjoy our newest videos!
Stroller Fun:
Canning Fun:
Crib Fun:
-Another great day
Stroller Fun:
Canning Fun:
Crib Fun:
-Another great day
31 August 2012
Her: Freecycle!
So, I've had my first successful experience with freecycling. This is a term I was unfamiliar with until just recently - somebody had mentioned that they had acquired a table through Freecycle. I was intrigued (particularly about the name, a combination of two awesome things, "Free" and "Recycle"), so I looked it up.
The main idea behind Freecycle is the saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure." You can almost think of it like the "free" section off of craigslist. Freecycle networks are set up locally, either by city (or county where we are), and you join as a member to be able to see/make "OFFER" or "WANTED" posts on your local freecycle site. The idea of it is really simple. A member who has something that she/he doesn't need anymore (it can be anything, really, because you never know what can be of value to someone else... clothing, furniture, even cardboard boxes) will make an offer post to the local site, and waits for others to reply if they want it. In many cases (depending on the item), the giver will be bombarded with replies, and will have to choose a recipient. After that, the giver and receiver set up a pick up time, and the rest is history! Repeat! Everything must be free on Freecycle.
Not only does this save a lot of perfectly used items from going to the landfill, but, quoting from the Freecycle website, "members of The Freecycle Network help instill a sense of generosity of spirit as they strengthen local community ties and promote environmental sustainability and reuse." Yes, you could just bring your unused items to a thrift store, but with Freecycle, you can truly feel this sense of helping out your community, one member at a time!
I think Freecycle is such a simple and wonderful way to de-clutter and even find treasures of your own, all while saving garbage from the landfill. Brilliant!
Join your local Freecycle group!
The main idea behind Freecycle is the saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure." You can almost think of it like the "free" section off of craigslist. Freecycle networks are set up locally, either by city (or county where we are), and you join as a member to be able to see/make "OFFER" or "WANTED" posts on your local freecycle site. The idea of it is really simple. A member who has something that she/he doesn't need anymore (it can be anything, really, because you never know what can be of value to someone else... clothing, furniture, even cardboard boxes) will make an offer post to the local site, and waits for others to reply if they want it. In many cases (depending on the item), the giver will be bombarded with replies, and will have to choose a recipient. After that, the giver and receiver set up a pick up time, and the rest is history! Repeat! Everything must be free on Freecycle.
Not only does this save a lot of perfectly used items from going to the landfill, but, quoting from the Freecycle website, "members of The Freecycle Network help instill a sense of generosity of spirit as they strengthen local community ties and promote environmental sustainability and reuse." Yes, you could just bring your unused items to a thrift store, but with Freecycle, you can truly feel this sense of helping out your community, one member at a time!
I think Freecycle is such a simple and wonderful way to de-clutter and even find treasures of your own, all while saving garbage from the landfill. Brilliant!
Join your local Freecycle group!
30 August 2012
Him: Yessss, Master(s)!
I suppose I don't have to sit on the edge of my chair anymore. I have been for the last three weeks; wondering, thinking, pondering, just wanting to know!
If you don't know what I'm talking about, I will explain. As I am currently serving in a Navy Personnel Exchange position here in the US, I have been keen to take any unique opportunities that I can. One of these has been to enroll myself into the US Naval War College. Now, I of course cannot just up and leave my work for classes, but they have a Distance Learning section in which I have applied for the Fleet Seminar Program. Applications were due 30 June 2012. I submitted mine and [im]patiently waited for an answer. Took them long enough! I was getting nervous. Thus, I was accepted.
What is this degree then, you ask? Right now, I haven't been fullly accepted into the Graduate Degree Program, which offers a Master of Arts Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. I first have to complete one of the three elective courses before being offered eligibility. That means work hard and... keep working hard.
This is an opportunity of a life time and I can't believe I actually got accepted. The weird, or odd part about this that I have an undergraduate degree in Mathematics, and now I will be working towards a Master of Arts Degree. What a change, but I look forward to this as I know it is going to help me greatly.
-Another great day
If you don't know what I'm talking about, I will explain. As I am currently serving in a Navy Personnel Exchange position here in the US, I have been keen to take any unique opportunities that I can. One of these has been to enroll myself into the US Naval War College. Now, I of course cannot just up and leave my work for classes, but they have a Distance Learning section in which I have applied for the Fleet Seminar Program. Applications were due 30 June 2012. I submitted mine and [im]patiently waited for an answer. Took them long enough! I was getting nervous. Thus, I was accepted.
What is this degree then, you ask? Right now, I haven't been fullly accepted into the Graduate Degree Program, which offers a Master of Arts Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. I first have to complete one of the three elective courses before being offered eligibility. That means work hard and... keep working hard.
This is an opportunity of a life time and I can't believe I actually got accepted. The weird, or odd part about this that I have an undergraduate degree in Mathematics, and now I will be working towards a Master of Arts Degree. What a change, but I look forward to this as I know it is going to help me greatly.
-Another great day
28 August 2012
Her: Late bloomers... literally.
One of my attempts of beautifying our garden this year was planting morning glories and sunflowers along the side of the garden that faced the road. I've always thought morning glories were so pretty, and so special because they only bloom in the morning. My mom would always have a crop growing, so I picked up the idea from her. Plus, sunflowers are always so happy looking!
So, the seeds for each all sprouted and started to grow magnificently. I would carefully train the morning glory vines to grow up the side of the lattice fence of our garden. Soon, the sunflowers reached over 6 ft tall and bloomed in several colours. The sunflowers certainly flourished. One stalk even had 10 heads on it! I've saved a few heads so we'll have seeds for next year.
The morning glories, on the other hand, just would not bloom. However, the vines and leaves grew like crazy. We had trouble keeping the vines off of the sunflowers, actually, and they grew so thick and strong that it ended up being a bit of a mess with the sunflowers. The morning glory vines almost choked out the sunflowers! It required a bit of maintenance, and there was still no sign of any flowers... until about a week ago. Now we have beautiful morning blooms of deep purple and royal blue, spotting the fence with colour.
Now, why did they wait all summer to bloom? My guess is that it was the heat which prevented the vines from producing flowers. (I think the heat also made our marigolds grow 4 ft tall... unless I planted mammoth marigold seeds?!) We've had a pretty hot summer down here, but the last few weeks have been manageable, and at least 5 degrees cooler. What a difference a few degrees makes, not only for Canadians stuck in hot Maryland summers, but for morning glory blooms as well.
Look at the pretty flowers! :)
So, the seeds for each all sprouted and started to grow magnificently. I would carefully train the morning glory vines to grow up the side of the lattice fence of our garden. Soon, the sunflowers reached over 6 ft tall and bloomed in several colours. The sunflowers certainly flourished. One stalk even had 10 heads on it! I've saved a few heads so we'll have seeds for next year.
The morning glories, on the other hand, just would not bloom. However, the vines and leaves grew like crazy. We had trouble keeping the vines off of the sunflowers, actually, and they grew so thick and strong that it ended up being a bit of a mess with the sunflowers. The morning glory vines almost choked out the sunflowers! It required a bit of maintenance, and there was still no sign of any flowers... until about a week ago. Now we have beautiful morning blooms of deep purple and royal blue, spotting the fence with colour.
Now, why did they wait all summer to bloom? My guess is that it was the heat which prevented the vines from producing flowers. (I think the heat also made our marigolds grow 4 ft tall... unless I planted mammoth marigold seeds?!) We've had a pretty hot summer down here, but the last few weeks have been manageable, and at least 5 degrees cooler. What a difference a few degrees makes, not only for Canadians stuck in hot Maryland summers, but for morning glory blooms as well.
Look at the pretty flowers! :)
27 August 2012
Him: Duh-iaper?
Fact: Babies will make a mess all over you, don't think you can avoid it!
Fact: It smells, it's messy, it's going to be fun!
SNAP!
Yes, the diapers will be a-flyin', or hopefully they will be well secured on baby when the time comes. And on that note, this what I wanted to talk about. Mommy has already talked about this, but I wanted to have a go at what I think of the topic as well: Cloth versus Disposable diapers.
We will be using cloth diapers, if it isn't already obvious enough. For what reasons? I believe that from our point of view the biggest benefit of the cloth diaper is the enormous amount of waste you prevent. Other perks include them costing significantly less, and another great one is that baby will love the fact that it's not a crappy piece of rubber/plastic scratching up against baby's back side. That means less rash and more happy baby! And we want a happy baby at all times.
One of the things we have been debating is getting a diaper service to clean the diapers or not. Yes, it would be much easier to just have to change baby and then toss those dirty suckers in a bucket and have someone else clean them, but then again we aren't unable to do it ourselves. It's just washing, nothing special.
Which brings up another key point. Our washing machine, well not really ours, is not the greatest on the land. So, do we buy a new washer, or get a service? We will still need a washing machine in the future, thus I don't think it is a waste of money to buy a new one while we are here. And it would be nice to have our very own and not have to worry when the current one doesn't quite do its job right.
I think that baby will be happier with some nice clean diapers, washed by mommy and daddy no less, up against them.
And more spending ensues!
-Another great day
Fact: It smells, it's messy, it's going to be fun!
SNAP!
Yes, the diapers will be a-flyin', or hopefully they will be well secured on baby when the time comes. And on that note, this what I wanted to talk about. Mommy has already talked about this, but I wanted to have a go at what I think of the topic as well: Cloth versus Disposable diapers.
We will be using cloth diapers, if it isn't already obvious enough. For what reasons? I believe that from our point of view the biggest benefit of the cloth diaper is the enormous amount of waste you prevent. Other perks include them costing significantly less, and another great one is that baby will love the fact that it's not a crappy piece of rubber/plastic scratching up against baby's back side. That means less rash and more happy baby! And we want a happy baby at all times.
One of the things we have been debating is getting a diaper service to clean the diapers or not. Yes, it would be much easier to just have to change baby and then toss those dirty suckers in a bucket and have someone else clean them, but then again we aren't unable to do it ourselves. It's just washing, nothing special.
Which brings up another key point. Our washing machine, well not really ours, is not the greatest on the land. So, do we buy a new washer, or get a service? We will still need a washing machine in the future, thus I don't think it is a waste of money to buy a new one while we are here. And it would be nice to have our very own and not have to worry when the current one doesn't quite do its job right.
I think that baby will be happier with some nice clean diapers, washed by mommy and daddy no less, up against them.
And more spending ensues!
-Another great day
24 August 2012
Her: Green Baby (Part 3) - Cloth diapering con't
My husband and I went to a cloth diapering session earlier in the week, and wow, did it ever get us motivated and excited! We learned all about the different types of cloth diapering systems out there, which are several:
- Prefold with (a snappi and) waterproof cover. This is essentially a somewhat quilted rectangle of cotton that gets folded into thirds (prefold) that you can either lay in a waterproof cover or secure it on the baby with a snappi or pin. (I finally found out what a snappi was!) Close alternative: Using a fitted prefold (i.e. prefold with snaps or velcro) instead of a snappi/pin.
- All in One. This is a complete one-unit cloth diaper that has the soakers attached to the waterproof diaper cover. Very much like a cloth version of a disposable. We were told that these don't dry very fast because of the extra bulk.
- Pocket Diaper. This is like an all in one, except that the soakers are removable and sit in a pocket between the waterproof cover and inner lining.
- Hybrid. This is the idea of putting a flushable disposable liner in a waterproof cover. In this case, the cover may have tabs or a shell to keep the liner in place. Hybrid means that you could opt to use a prefold in place of the disposable liner, which then makes this like the first type.
To my husband and I, the prefold with the waterproof cover is the no brainer winner. It just makes the most sense in terms of how much laundry you need to do, and the amount of covers you will need. Yes, the pocket diapers are more convenient, but the whole thing can only be used once before needing to be washed, whereas the waterproof covers of the prefold system can be wiped and then reused over again if not heavily soiled. Not only is the prefold-cover system the most green, but is also the most economical. However, one problem we might run into is the fact that apparently, prefolds become "stiff and crunchy" when line dried. Yum! We'll have to figure out a method to reach the desired softness without only using the dryer (fluff then hang, or hang then fluff?)
We're getting ready to sew our own diaper covers. We've already bought the waterproof fabric, and we can't wait to get started. Next up for debate is whether we buy or sew the prefolds themselves... we'll see!
One thing that was extremely helpful from the diapering class was the suggestion to spend the extra money on GOOD detergent, particularly designed for cloth diapers, to get the best washing results and keep the stink out. The instructor only used cold water, but with good detergent, and never had a staining problem. Wow! This gives us confidence that we can do the same, and that cloth diapering isn't as hard as it seems after all.
Gearing up to wash lots of poopy diapers!
23 August 2012
Him: Showering of Baby
I know this is a little after the fact, but two weekends ago my parents held a baby shower for us, and what a baby shower it was. To start, I need to say an enormous THANK YOU to those that helped set-up, organise, and make everything happen. I will not name any names, but if you are one of those people reading this, you know who you are.
First off, I already wrote about how long the trip was, thus I will explain to you the rest of how the weekend went.
Of course, things don't always go as well as you want and plans have to change and we are no different. Mom and dad and a few others had planned to go and decorate the hall on Saturday afternoon but, of course, a last minute change in the schedule happened and the Firemen's Ball was to be had on Saturday night. Two sides to this, the good being that we all get to relax together for the whole day, the bad being that everything will be much more rushed for Sunday morning.
Time passed quickly. We swam and talked and enjoyed the nice weather. That evening, our time was spent actually opening up a few gifts: the ones from those that said they could not attend. Boy, had we ever got a lot of stuff already! We opened about six gifts, and already had a numver of outfits, some picture frames, money, and blanket! I was getting nervous for the amount of people that would be attending the next day and couldn't fathom how many more there would be.
A good night rest and a fresh start to Sunday. We went to Church and then not long after we headed to the hall. Just to compare orders of magnitude, the night before we had six gifts from six people, now there were nearly a hundred and fifty people sitting in front of us. Needless to say, the stage was not where we sat, as it was already occupied.
As there were so many people there, we tried our best to say hello to everyone and to thank them personally by going from table to table. Half way through the thanking we attempted to open a few gifts. I believe we got through five and then started to go around again as some people were starting to leave already.
The Special Guest
There was rumour of a special guest arriving sometime in the afternoon. Thus, without disappointment, down came the stairs, none other than Zwiebel! Yes, that is my dog and that is her name, Onion. Don't mess with my Onion though or her 105 lbs of Rottweiller will not be impressed. She came bearing gifts on a cute little handsewn backpack. Inside, as I was explained, were gifts coming from all the different dogs that I have had over the years. We had little handmade doggy-bears, which came from Barkley, Molson, Jake, and Jessie. And a huge, turtle shaped, blanket from Turtles. What an awesome idea, my mom had sewn all of these and they were just wonderful. The blanket was more of a mat to lay baby on the floor to play on, and it was simply beautiful.
After that, most people were leaving and we hadn't opened any other gifts yet! It was decided that we head home and open the rest on the couch. It only took both vehicles to fit everything, along with the left over food from the luncheon. A few hours later, we had everything opened up and accounted for. Such wonderful and amazing gifts. Couldn't have dreamed for more, there was so much stuff!
The only issue we were concerned about was getting all of this stuff through the border on the way back home, but we didn't have any issues as we told the border agent what all the stuff packed to the roof in the truck was and she smilled and told us to have a good trip home.
-Another great day
First off, I already wrote about how long the trip was, thus I will explain to you the rest of how the weekend went.
Of course, things don't always go as well as you want and plans have to change and we are no different. Mom and dad and a few others had planned to go and decorate the hall on Saturday afternoon but, of course, a last minute change in the schedule happened and the Firemen's Ball was to be had on Saturday night. Two sides to this, the good being that we all get to relax together for the whole day, the bad being that everything will be much more rushed for Sunday morning.
Time passed quickly. We swam and talked and enjoyed the nice weather. That evening, our time was spent actually opening up a few gifts: the ones from those that said they could not attend. Boy, had we ever got a lot of stuff already! We opened about six gifts, and already had a numver of outfits, some picture frames, money, and blanket! I was getting nervous for the amount of people that would be attending the next day and couldn't fathom how many more there would be.
A good night rest and a fresh start to Sunday. We went to Church and then not long after we headed to the hall. Just to compare orders of magnitude, the night before we had six gifts from six people, now there were nearly a hundred and fifty people sitting in front of us. Needless to say, the stage was not where we sat, as it was already occupied.
As there were so many people there, we tried our best to say hello to everyone and to thank them personally by going from table to table. Half way through the thanking we attempted to open a few gifts. I believe we got through five and then started to go around again as some people were starting to leave already.
The Special Guest
There was rumour of a special guest arriving sometime in the afternoon. Thus, without disappointment, down came the stairs, none other than Zwiebel! Yes, that is my dog and that is her name, Onion. Don't mess with my Onion though or her 105 lbs of Rottweiller will not be impressed. She came bearing gifts on a cute little handsewn backpack. Inside, as I was explained, were gifts coming from all the different dogs that I have had over the years. We had little handmade doggy-bears, which came from Barkley, Molson, Jake, and Jessie. And a huge, turtle shaped, blanket from Turtles. What an awesome idea, my mom had sewn all of these and they were just wonderful. The blanket was more of a mat to lay baby on the floor to play on, and it was simply beautiful.
After that, most people were leaving and we hadn't opened any other gifts yet! It was decided that we head home and open the rest on the couch. It only took both vehicles to fit everything, along with the left over food from the luncheon. A few hours later, we had everything opened up and accounted for. Such wonderful and amazing gifts. Couldn't have dreamed for more, there was so much stuff!
The only issue we were concerned about was getting all of this stuff through the border on the way back home, but we didn't have any issues as we told the border agent what all the stuff packed to the roof in the truck was and she smilled and told us to have a good trip home.
-Another great day
21 August 2012
Her: Green Baby (Part 2): The big "nappies" debate - plastic or cloth?!
I wanted to start this blog by saying that in fact, this topic isn't a debate for my husband and I - we are 100% on the side of cloth (that is, at least pre-baby). For me, this is a no brainer because of the sheer amount of waste that disposable diapers create. Can you even fathom how big a pile of 6000 dirty disposable diapers looks like? Because this is how many diapers a baby will go through (on average) from birth to being potty trained. (Okay, if a dirty disposable is approximately 15 cm cubed, then 6000 would take up 90 000 cm cubed, or 90 m cubed. That's one big pile of smelly plastic on your driveway... and spilling over onto your neighbour's. And multiply that by how many children born every year worldwide... YIKES! Mountains and mountains of dirty disposables, which won't decompose for 500 years. Those 1970s disposables are still fully intact today. You can see why this argument is enough for me to run for the cloth diapers).
Did you know that about 60% of a disposable diaper is derived from crude oil? Cloth diapering, then, is one way to release yourself from the world's harmful addiction to oil.
Okay, cloth diapering cuts on the waste, but what about cost? Joy and Rebecca of "The eco-nomical baby guide" estimate $900 for the cheapest disposables (approximately $0.11-0.19) for 6000 diapers, while only $200 for cloth, including supplies and washing expenses. One, however, has to keep in mind that their estimate for washing expenses (only $50 for 2.5 years), is calculated based on using cold wash in a front loader, and only hanging to dry. That might be a little unrealistic for most, so I would say tack on another $100-200 there. Still, in the end, cloth ends up being cheaper than disposable.
But what about the "yuck" factor? Who wants to wash dirty diapers? I know this is probably the factor that throws most parents towards disposables. For me, it can't be worse than what you're already dealing with as a parent... being puked/peed/pooed on!
Obviously, we will be loving the convenience of disposables while travelling, which will be a must. Like I had said before, it's really hard to be perfectly green, 100% of the time, but any amount counts, as far as I'm concerned!
Gooooo cloth!
Did you know that about 60% of a disposable diaper is derived from crude oil? Cloth diapering, then, is one way to release yourself from the world's harmful addiction to oil.
Okay, cloth diapering cuts on the waste, but what about cost? Joy and Rebecca of "The eco-nomical baby guide" estimate $900 for the cheapest disposables (approximately $0.11-0.19) for 6000 diapers, while only $200 for cloth, including supplies and washing expenses. One, however, has to keep in mind that their estimate for washing expenses (only $50 for 2.5 years), is calculated based on using cold wash in a front loader, and only hanging to dry. That might be a little unrealistic for most, so I would say tack on another $100-200 there. Still, in the end, cloth ends up being cheaper than disposable.
But what about the "yuck" factor? Who wants to wash dirty diapers? I know this is probably the factor that throws most parents towards disposables. For me, it can't be worse than what you're already dealing with as a parent... being puked/peed/pooed on!
Obviously, we will be loving the convenience of disposables while travelling, which will be a must. Like I had said before, it's really hard to be perfectly green, 100% of the time, but any amount counts, as far as I'm concerned!
Gooooo cloth!
20 August 2012
Him: Baby Brain (Patience)
Less than two months to go! Mommy's tummy is starting to move and squirm and contort into the oddest shapes. If you read her earlier post, you would have learned that she's having a grand old time being forgetful, indecisive, tired, and just plain duhhhhh.
On my side, however, things have been also a bit different. I'm sure her baby brain hasn't helped in my quest to be ever so patient with her, but I am trying my hardest to be the best. Some days just aren't as good as others; the fuses just aren't as long and slow sometimes. There are a few things we can't agree on and it has been picking at the both of us for a number of weeks now. I know we will come to a common ground, yet getting there has been a very difficult and treacherous. Things sometimes get a little vocal. Yet, we will get there, no matter what.
The other side of the coin is that I've been much more alert and reactive to when I see she needs help in something. This has not happened a whole lot, or I'm sure it is not even noticeable to her, yet I feel a lot different when it comes to her asking of me for something. Not that I didn't help before, though much less I'm sure, my brain seems to have kicked in to tell me that she needs more help righ now and in the future. I've most noticed this at night, when we both are tired and not wanting to move anymore, I still have some energy left to help her out if she needs something. She's obviously a little more awkward than before with that big lump in front of her and I want to do the most to keep her comfortable.
Getting anxious for the little one to arrive! Can't wait to say hi and be a dad of course.
-Another great day
On my side, however, things have been also a bit different. I'm sure her baby brain hasn't helped in my quest to be ever so patient with her, but I am trying my hardest to be the best. Some days just aren't as good as others; the fuses just aren't as long and slow sometimes. There are a few things we can't agree on and it has been picking at the both of us for a number of weeks now. I know we will come to a common ground, yet getting there has been a very difficult and treacherous. Things sometimes get a little vocal. Yet, we will get there, no matter what.
The other side of the coin is that I've been much more alert and reactive to when I see she needs help in something. This has not happened a whole lot, or I'm sure it is not even noticeable to her, yet I feel a lot different when it comes to her asking of me for something. Not that I didn't help before, though much less I'm sure, my brain seems to have kicked in to tell me that she needs more help righ now and in the future. I've most noticed this at night, when we both are tired and not wanting to move anymore, I still have some energy left to help her out if she needs something. She's obviously a little more awkward than before with that big lump in front of her and I want to do the most to keep her comfortable.
Getting anxious for the little one to arrive! Can't wait to say hi and be a dad of course.
-Another great day
17 August 2012
Her: Parent musings
Just the other day, a picture of me as a 3-year-old sent by my parents really got me choked up. With just weeks to go before the arrival of baby, making the big step of becoming a parent has really been on my mind. Am I ready? Will I know what to do? I am a true believer that one's parental instincts (i.e. hormones!!) will kick in once baby is born, but right now, it is a little overwhelming and worrisome (will I be one of those who just doesn't have a parental instinct?) I know that most first-time parents think of these things, and everything does turn out in the end. YouTuber ShayCarl's advice for parenting sets me at ease, because it's simple and is aligned with my values: 1) Do everything that you can do to ensure that your children know that you love them unconditionally, and 2) With regards to parenting situations, do your best with the knowledge you have at the time, and don't worry about it in hindsight.
New parenting fears aside, the reason I got choked up at that picture of me as a 3-year-old has to do with the fact that for the first time, I looked at that picture through the eyes of my parents. I like to think that I tried my best to make sure my parents knew how much I appreciated everything they did when I was growing up. However, like all children, of course there were times when things they did for us went unnoticed, unappreciated, and even unwanted. I guess it really is true that you don't really truly appreciate what your parents did for you until you become a parent yourself. So, THANK YOU so much, Mom and Dad! I can only hope to be as good of a parent as you both are.
On the other side of things, even though my husband and I will of course be consumed with the precious miracle of life we have created, I believe that we must look forward into the longterm as well. What I mean by this has to do with the saying that "children are only borrowed." I believe my husband and I should always have in mind that we will raise our children to grow up and lead their own lives - in other words, we need to be able to let go of them so that they can go forth and flourish in the world. Our children, no matter how many we have, will always be a part of our lives, yes, but they will not BE our lives. What came first was the love and joy of the relationship between my husband and I. Thus, this relationship needs to be nourished even through the tough days and nights of parenting. This nourishing is crucial because once we have an empty nest, we are left with each other. I don't want to neglect our relationship over the parenting/welfare of our children. Having this in mind will make the separation easier, when the time comes.
Ready or not, here we go!
New parenting fears aside, the reason I got choked up at that picture of me as a 3-year-old has to do with the fact that for the first time, I looked at that picture through the eyes of my parents. I like to think that I tried my best to make sure my parents knew how much I appreciated everything they did when I was growing up. However, like all children, of course there were times when things they did for us went unnoticed, unappreciated, and even unwanted. I guess it really is true that you don't really truly appreciate what your parents did for you until you become a parent yourself. So, THANK YOU so much, Mom and Dad! I can only hope to be as good of a parent as you both are.
On the other side of things, even though my husband and I will of course be consumed with the precious miracle of life we have created, I believe that we must look forward into the longterm as well. What I mean by this has to do with the saying that "children are only borrowed." I believe my husband and I should always have in mind that we will raise our children to grow up and lead their own lives - in other words, we need to be able to let go of them so that they can go forth and flourish in the world. Our children, no matter how many we have, will always be a part of our lives, yes, but they will not BE our lives. What came first was the love and joy of the relationship between my husband and I. Thus, this relationship needs to be nourished even through the tough days and nights of parenting. This nourishing is crucial because once we have an empty nest, we are left with each other. I don't want to neglect our relationship over the parenting/welfare of our children. Having this in mind will make the separation easier, when the time comes.
Ready or not, here we go!
16 August 2012
Him: Travelling
Once again, a weekend spent travelling a huge amount for a very short stay.
Our trek began last Friday morning. It was a sombre day, making it perfect for driving as I didn't need to worry about having the sun in my face at one point or another. The drive is usually quite long, being near a thousand kilometres. As before, we were ready for anything between nine and eleven hours on the road. This time, however, was going to be different! We were driving for three and mommy made sure that we were aware of that. Yes, with baby on the way, we did need to stop much more frequent to ensure bladders did not explode. I had been expecting this and wasn't in any extra rush to get home from the lost time stopping for the bathroom. In all, the trip up would have been probably near the ten hour mark if it hadn't been for construction. We lost about two hours just sitting in traffic.
The trip up: Thirteen hours.
We had a wonderful weekend, filled with the meeting of tons of friends and family. I won't go into too much detail of the events of the weekend, as that will be explained all on its own. It ended as quickly as it began, and Monday morning we began our trek home.
The trip down: Eleven hours.
Coming back seemed to take much less time. Though it started out as if it were going to take a lot longer. I seemed to have drank too much in the morning and needed to stop three times in the span of a couple of hours! But that quickly ended and we made our way back to the states. We did not stop for dinner, as we had on the way up, which I suppose took off a bit of time.
All that travelling and such a short span of time in between. Still completely worth it. Got to see some friends, family, and enjoy some genuine quiet time. I've never really hated travelling, be it flying, or driving. If the destination is worth it, I will be there!
-Another great day
Our trek began last Friday morning. It was a sombre day, making it perfect for driving as I didn't need to worry about having the sun in my face at one point or another. The drive is usually quite long, being near a thousand kilometres. As before, we were ready for anything between nine and eleven hours on the road. This time, however, was going to be different! We were driving for three and mommy made sure that we were aware of that. Yes, with baby on the way, we did need to stop much more frequent to ensure bladders did not explode. I had been expecting this and wasn't in any extra rush to get home from the lost time stopping for the bathroom. In all, the trip up would have been probably near the ten hour mark if it hadn't been for construction. We lost about two hours just sitting in traffic.
The trip up: Thirteen hours.
We had a wonderful weekend, filled with the meeting of tons of friends and family. I won't go into too much detail of the events of the weekend, as that will be explained all on its own. It ended as quickly as it began, and Monday morning we began our trek home.
The trip down: Eleven hours.
Coming back seemed to take much less time. Though it started out as if it were going to take a lot longer. I seemed to have drank too much in the morning and needed to stop three times in the span of a couple of hours! But that quickly ended and we made our way back to the states. We did not stop for dinner, as we had on the way up, which I suppose took off a bit of time.
All that travelling and such a short span of time in between. Still completely worth it. Got to see some friends, family, and enjoy some genuine quiet time. I've never really hated travelling, be it flying, or driving. If the destination is worth it, I will be there!
-Another great day
14 August 2012
Her: I'm an Aunt!
For just over a week now, my husband and I are uncle and aunt to a beautiful niece! I think our uncle/aunt senses kicked in at the same time, because early on the day she was born, before we were told anything, we both independently had the feeling that this was the day. Sure enough, when we decided to call and find out, she was on her way!
Both of us were so proud when we did get the final call from my brother. I think we jumped up and down a little and then had to run over to the neighbours and tell them. Baby news is just one of those things that especially gets spread like wildfire - everyone who is related or close to the new parents are just so proud they can't help themselves but exclaim it to the world!
I don't think I'll ever forget that call from my brother. You could just hear the joy in the way he talked about both his wife and new daughter. It certainly gave us a taste of the reality that our baby will be here soon too!
I know that the distance doesn't help, but I really hope that the two cousins will be able to form a close bond as they will be only a few months apart. We will certainly make an effort to for that to happen! Even though we've seen several pictures of her (which I've caught myself gazing lovingly at a few times), meeting our niece for the first time will be so special, even though it won't be for a few months. What a wonderful thing to look forward to!
Both of us were so proud when we did get the final call from my brother. I think we jumped up and down a little and then had to run over to the neighbours and tell them. Baby news is just one of those things that especially gets spread like wildfire - everyone who is related or close to the new parents are just so proud they can't help themselves but exclaim it to the world!
I don't think I'll ever forget that call from my brother. You could just hear the joy in the way he talked about both his wife and new daughter. It certainly gave us a taste of the reality that our baby will be here soon too!
I know that the distance doesn't help, but I really hope that the two cousins will be able to form a close bond as they will be only a few months apart. We will certainly make an effort to for that to happen! Even though we've seen several pictures of her (which I've caught myself gazing lovingly at a few times), meeting our niece for the first time will be so special, even though it won't be for a few months. What a wonderful thing to look forward to!
13 August 2012
Him: Let the spending begin
Oh boy, it has actually started. Suppose we couldn't wait forever to start buying baby things; you have to start somewhere.
It isn't hard to spend a lot of money these days, and from the comfort of your couch no less! Ordered our stroller and crib. By ordered, I mean we went online and purchased it through Amazon. Will most likely purchase a lot of items through amazon as their prices are very reasonable and in most cases cheaper than at the store, but the best part about it all is that it gets delivered to your door!
As an Amazon Prime member, I get to enjoy the luxury of having free two-day shipping of all my items! Now, they don't have everything prime eligible, but for the most part they have what you need and it is here within a couple of days, if not earlier!
With the crib and stroller ordered, it has now burst the bubble of confusion: when do we start buying? Now we have one thing, we need others, and more, and more! Not going to buy a whole lot yet, of course, since my parents are having a baby shower for us and I am sure that we will get one or two things out of that, which is always amazing.
We will most likely film the putting together of the crib, as well as the stroller, so I hope to have video of that to be able to post in the near future. The nursery video is already up, and if you've missed it you can find it on my Youtube channel!
-Another great day
It isn't hard to spend a lot of money these days, and from the comfort of your couch no less! Ordered our stroller and crib. By ordered, I mean we went online and purchased it through Amazon. Will most likely purchase a lot of items through amazon as their prices are very reasonable and in most cases cheaper than at the store, but the best part about it all is that it gets delivered to your door!
As an Amazon Prime member, I get to enjoy the luxury of having free two-day shipping of all my items! Now, they don't have everything prime eligible, but for the most part they have what you need and it is here within a couple of days, if not earlier!
With the crib and stroller ordered, it has now burst the bubble of confusion: when do we start buying? Now we have one thing, we need others, and more, and more! Not going to buy a whole lot yet, of course, since my parents are having a baby shower for us and I am sure that we will get one or two things out of that, which is always amazing.
We will most likely film the putting together of the crib, as well as the stroller, so I hope to have video of that to be able to post in the near future. The nursery video is already up, and if you've missed it you can find it on my Youtube channel!
-Another great day
10 August 2012
Him: Olympics
More of a rant than a blog, but I needed somewhere to vent some frustrations about this years Olympic Games.
I've never been a huge fan of the Olympics, but have always enjoyed watching events and cheering on the athletes, be they Canadian or not. Of course I am super excited to see the Canadians excel, if another country has outstanding athletes I will cheer for them as well. Such is the case for China and their divers, good for them!
I want to point out though that only watching for a few days, on NBC of course, as I am living in the US. What about the other countries! Seems that every second I watch it is of the US teams doing their thing. Yes, I did get to see some Canadians, and Brits, and Aussies, but only because they were competing at the same time as the US. Yes, I agree that the US should focus on their athletes since they want to show support and pride, but there are other events and people to see too! I would love to see events that don't involve the US sometimes. Yes the US are in the top three, and they are doing great, but they aren't the only ones winning medals.
It's nothing horrible, but I seemed to have spend the better part of two hours the last night watching US athletes perform in preliminary matches instead of seeing a medal match that doesn't have any US athletes in it.
In all, I am enjoying the Games, and I hope that all athletes enjoy their time and push themselves to the limits for their country, just wish I could see more of the Games as a whole and less of the US only parts.
-Another great day
I've never been a huge fan of the Olympics, but have always enjoyed watching events and cheering on the athletes, be they Canadian or not. Of course I am super excited to see the Canadians excel, if another country has outstanding athletes I will cheer for them as well. Such is the case for China and their divers, good for them!
I want to point out though that only watching for a few days, on NBC of course, as I am living in the US. What about the other countries! Seems that every second I watch it is of the US teams doing their thing. Yes, I did get to see some Canadians, and Brits, and Aussies, but only because they were competing at the same time as the US. Yes, I agree that the US should focus on their athletes since they want to show support and pride, but there are other events and people to see too! I would love to see events that don't involve the US sometimes. Yes the US are in the top three, and they are doing great, but they aren't the only ones winning medals.
It's nothing horrible, but I seemed to have spend the better part of two hours the last night watching US athletes perform in preliminary matches instead of seeing a medal match that doesn't have any US athletes in it.
In all, I am enjoying the Games, and I hope that all athletes enjoy their time and push themselves to the limits for their country, just wish I could see more of the Games as a whole and less of the US only parts.
-Another great day
09 August 2012
Her: Baby brain! Duhhhhhh
I didn't think that this would be a problem for me, but depending on the day, I've been plagued with bad baby brain. For those of you who don't know, it is common for pregnant women to get, in the nicest words, forgetful due to the raging pregnancy hormones. In fact, MRI studies have shown that in the third trimester, the brains of pregnant women actually decrease in size, only to return after birth (thankfully)!
For me, it's been a little more than forgetfulness. Depending on how tired I am, I have trouble following conversations, putting together sentences, and just plain missing chunks of what's going around me. (I've come up with some really winning sentences lately, wow). What a blow, since these things are not my strengths even when I'm not pregnant! There have been several instances where I ask questions that have just been asked, or am completely unaware of things that happen or words that are said right in front of my face. And the weirdest thing is that I will be totally convinced that these things didn't happen or were not said! Let's just say it's been slightly frustrating for those around me at times. Maybe I should carry around a recording device so that I can instantly replay what's been said, haha!
I guess my body is just throwing everything it has into the creation of the new life inside me, which is the most important of all. I will gratefully take the blow to the brain all for the growth and health of our baby. People around me will just have to get used to a less eloquent, less perceptive Lisa for the next little while (not like these were my strengths in the first place, haha)! Patience please!
For me, it's been a little more than forgetfulness. Depending on how tired I am, I have trouble following conversations, putting together sentences, and just plain missing chunks of what's going around me. (I've come up with some really winning sentences lately, wow). What a blow, since these things are not my strengths even when I'm not pregnant! There have been several instances where I ask questions that have just been asked, or am completely unaware of things that happen or words that are said right in front of my face. And the weirdest thing is that I will be totally convinced that these things didn't happen or were not said! Let's just say it's been slightly frustrating for those around me at times. Maybe I should carry around a recording device so that I can instantly replay what's been said, haha!
I guess my body is just throwing everything it has into the creation of the new life inside me, which is the most important of all. I will gratefully take the blow to the brain all for the growth and health of our baby. People around me will just have to get used to a less eloquent, less perceptive Lisa for the next little while (not like these were my strengths in the first place, haha)! Patience please!
07 August 2012
Her: Update on the canning front
As I sit here writing this blog, I'm waiting for the pressure to go down in my pressure cooker so I can take out my 25 jars (totalling 14 pints) of various apple preserves (applebutter and applesauce from the trees in our yard). It was a bit of work peeling and coring those apples (the standing caused my ankles to swell), but it will be well worth it down the road when we want to feed some applesauce to our baby. We know what's in it, plus it's naturally organic! Yay for DIY baby food!
Other than our apple preserves, we've done 6 quarts of peaches, 5 pints of zucchini marmalade (with zucchini from our garden), and 3 quarts of pickles (also with cucs and dill from our garden) recently. I'm kinda in a canning mood these days, so I'll probably do some more spaghetti sauce, soups, pumpkin butter, and chili soon, plus way more pickles. I really do enjoy the whole process, but I think we're going to run out of room in our pantry soon (haha)! We've got to do some rearranging, but this is not a bad reason to do so.
I just took the lid off of the canner. Is it weird that the sound of sealing lids is music to my ears?
Yay for canning season!
(From the left, zucchini marmalade, applebutter, pickles, applesauce, and peaches).
Other than our apple preserves, we've done 6 quarts of peaches, 5 pints of zucchini marmalade (with zucchini from our garden), and 3 quarts of pickles (also with cucs and dill from our garden) recently. I'm kinda in a canning mood these days, so I'll probably do some more spaghetti sauce, soups, pumpkin butter, and chili soon, plus way more pickles. I really do enjoy the whole process, but I think we're going to run out of room in our pantry soon (haha)! We've got to do some rearranging, but this is not a bad reason to do so.
I just took the lid off of the canner. Is it weird that the sound of sealing lids is music to my ears?
Yay for canning season!
(From the left, zucchini marmalade, applebutter, pickles, applesauce, and peaches).
06 August 2012
Him: Feng shui
It seems we are always moving things around in the house. Put this piece of furniture in that room, move that picture over there, let's make this room do this!
I suppose it is all about getting settled in and feeling good about where you are. Thus far, all the moving and re-arranging has been very healthy and the whole house feels much more comfortable. Each room has its own feel and purpose and we are starting to use the empty spaces to our advantage.
This past weekend was the nursery. It has been completely emptied out save for the rug on the floor and the blinds on the windows. We went out to the hardware store and chose the paint that we wanted. We washed down the room and prepped for paint! Saturday consisted of painting, painting again, taping, painting again, and tearing off all the tape! If you want to see the process, just check out the video.
So now we want to put some decals on the walls. It seems these will be the easiest thing to do since they are removeable! Stick it on, you don't like it, pull it off. Can't complain one bit. And lastly, we went to the fabric store and picked up some nice print for curtains. They will be made this week and all that we will need are curtain rods.
We'll turn this house into our home before we know it! Then we'll be moving out again and starting all over in another house.
-Another great day
I suppose it is all about getting settled in and feeling good about where you are. Thus far, all the moving and re-arranging has been very healthy and the whole house feels much more comfortable. Each room has its own feel and purpose and we are starting to use the empty spaces to our advantage.
This past weekend was the nursery. It has been completely emptied out save for the rug on the floor and the blinds on the windows. We went out to the hardware store and chose the paint that we wanted. We washed down the room and prepped for paint! Saturday consisted of painting, painting again, taping, painting again, and tearing off all the tape! If you want to see the process, just check out the video.
So now we want to put some decals on the walls. It seems these will be the easiest thing to do since they are removeable! Stick it on, you don't like it, pull it off. Can't complain one bit. And lastly, we went to the fabric store and picked up some nice print for curtains. They will be made this week and all that we will need are curtain rods.
We'll turn this house into our home before we know it! Then we'll be moving out again and starting all over in another house.
-Another great day
03 August 2012
Him: Crossfit/Healthy Living
I just read an overwhelmingly hate oriented blog about how some people have problems with Crossfit. Of course, with anything that is doing well in this world, there needs to be haters. To even prove that point, within the comments, someone posted about how the blogger may even get to meet Justin Beiber with the popularity they get from their blog - One popularity hate relating to another.
Everyone has their opinion(s) and they are most certainly entitled to it. However, if you are going to have an opinion, you may want to have more than one side of the story before you go charging into battle.
I am a 'crossfitter' and I must say that Crossfit is not a workout for everyone. It is not a specialised regime that is guaranteed to get you into shape and be the best at <insert activity here>. Crossfit is a workout for the all around - all encompassing. You will get out exactly what you put in. Just like any other workout, if you try hard you will have results, if you only do it for the sake of going through the motions, you won't see any results. Crossfit does not focus on any one aspect of fitness, thus why it is called 'cross'-fit.
I find that a large number of people that want to be fit do not want to put in the effort to reach that goal. Or, their goals are so fantastical that they can never be acheived. Yes there are shortfalls to Crossfit, but there are also shortfalls to P90X, Tapout, Shape, Weight Watchers, etc.
Getting 'in shape' is not something that can happen overnight. And to some, it is a long and difficult journey. For one thing, you don't need to follow some workout regime that you need to pay into. One prime example that I know of is ShayCarl. He documented his journey from a 280 pound, thirty-two year old father of four, to a 175 lb running a full marathon in a year. Yes the family is a little different, but he was able to do it, with the help of his family and friends.
Exercise is a large part of being fit, but you always have to remember that eating well and leading a balanced life are a must as well. You can run all you want on that treadmill, but those four cheeseburgers and large drinks per day are not going to just melt off your hips. Nor will that nagging boss and the twenty hours of overtime that you did last week help your stress level and sleeping habits.
Everything has to fit. Crossfit, right now, has a lot of hype surrounding it. The Crossfit Games, claim to have the Fittest Man/Woman on Earth. Nothing wrong with claiming that, these people focus their workouts for the events at these Games. They are not saying they are better than every Olympic athelete, they are simply trying to be the best all around, tested in their own ways.
Being healthy is a way of life and it demands a lot of attention. If you are not willing to put in the effort then you will not get the results. Yes, people will hate, and haters are always the most vocal because it is easy to pick out faults and criticise them than it is to see the good and praise.
I will say that personally I tried Crossfit about six years ago and did about 2 workouts and said to myself they were crazy. I had nor the time or the energy to keep up with it. Now, a few years later, a few years older, I have come back to it. Both myself and my wife are enjoying the workouts. I read a lot about them, learned how to do them by either scaling weights, lowering the amount of repetitions/sets, or just taking a day off when I am tired.
Any <named workout> programme has its shortcomings. But you make of it what you will. If you become dedicated enough to your mental/physical health, you will learn exactly what your body needs. You will not only be doing Crossfit, but also something else to supplement it as most people do. Just don't be afraid to try something new, and most importantly get all the facts before you make a decision.
-Another great day
Everyone has their opinion(s) and they are most certainly entitled to it. However, if you are going to have an opinion, you may want to have more than one side of the story before you go charging into battle.
I am a 'crossfitter' and I must say that Crossfit is not a workout for everyone. It is not a specialised regime that is guaranteed to get you into shape and be the best at <insert activity here>. Crossfit is a workout for the all around - all encompassing. You will get out exactly what you put in. Just like any other workout, if you try hard you will have results, if you only do it for the sake of going through the motions, you won't see any results. Crossfit does not focus on any one aspect of fitness, thus why it is called 'cross'-fit.
I find that a large number of people that want to be fit do not want to put in the effort to reach that goal. Or, their goals are so fantastical that they can never be acheived. Yes there are shortfalls to Crossfit, but there are also shortfalls to P90X, Tapout, Shape, Weight Watchers, etc.
Getting 'in shape' is not something that can happen overnight. And to some, it is a long and difficult journey. For one thing, you don't need to follow some workout regime that you need to pay into. One prime example that I know of is ShayCarl. He documented his journey from a 280 pound, thirty-two year old father of four, to a 175 lb running a full marathon in a year. Yes the family is a little different, but he was able to do it, with the help of his family and friends.
Exercise is a large part of being fit, but you always have to remember that eating well and leading a balanced life are a must as well. You can run all you want on that treadmill, but those four cheeseburgers and large drinks per day are not going to just melt off your hips. Nor will that nagging boss and the twenty hours of overtime that you did last week help your stress level and sleeping habits.
Everything has to fit. Crossfit, right now, has a lot of hype surrounding it. The Crossfit Games, claim to have the Fittest Man/Woman on Earth. Nothing wrong with claiming that, these people focus their workouts for the events at these Games. They are not saying they are better than every Olympic athelete, they are simply trying to be the best all around, tested in their own ways.
Being healthy is a way of life and it demands a lot of attention. If you are not willing to put in the effort then you will not get the results. Yes, people will hate, and haters are always the most vocal because it is easy to pick out faults and criticise them than it is to see the good and praise.
I will say that personally I tried Crossfit about six years ago and did about 2 workouts and said to myself they were crazy. I had nor the time or the energy to keep up with it. Now, a few years later, a few years older, I have come back to it. Both myself and my wife are enjoying the workouts. I read a lot about them, learned how to do them by either scaling weights, lowering the amount of repetitions/sets, or just taking a day off when I am tired.
Any <named workout> programme has its shortcomings. But you make of it what you will. If you become dedicated enough to your mental/physical health, you will learn exactly what your body needs. You will not only be doing Crossfit, but also something else to supplement it as most people do. Just don't be afraid to try something new, and most importantly get all the facts before you make a decision.
-Another great day
02 August 2012
Her: Pregnant and clumsy
Today has just been one of those days where everything I do or touch seems to go awry. What a mess of a day! First, I screw up a recipe (so much for experimenting). Next, I make a few blunders in my current sewing project. Repairing a hole by hand turned into folding and sewing over with the sewing machine, which turned into taking out the seam entirely, cutting, resizing, and sewing the seam back together. That was my last resort before completely redoing a section. After that fiasco, I proceeded to trim excess fabric off. In doing so, I succeeded in cutting right through the good side of my project! Ack!
I decided it would probably be a good idea to take a break from sewing, so I proceeded to wash some dishes, only to cut myself on the blade of the food processor. And (it's not over yet) as I went to open a bandaid to cover my cut, it ripped in half! Goodness! I better not pick up anything glass today, because know I'm probably bound to drop it (just ask my husband). I know these are just small details in the scheme of things, and not really that bad in the end, but it's just funny how things like this can all accumulate on one day.
I'm not sure whether I just wasn't paying enough attention today or what, but I think I will attribute this clumsiness of mine today to the pregnancy. In fact, this is a common occurrence, according to "What to Expect When You're Expecting," which states that the extra clumsiness is caused by loosening joints, water retention, loss in concentration (yup, got that one), and change in centre of gravity. At least I have an excuse these past 7 months for my clumsiness, but I can't say the same for all the glass I've broken before that... hehe!
Steering clear of glassware...
I decided it would probably be a good idea to take a break from sewing, so I proceeded to wash some dishes, only to cut myself on the blade of the food processor. And (it's not over yet) as I went to open a bandaid to cover my cut, it ripped in half! Goodness! I better not pick up anything glass today, because know I'm probably bound to drop it (just ask my husband). I know these are just small details in the scheme of things, and not really that bad in the end, but it's just funny how things like this can all accumulate on one day.
I'm not sure whether I just wasn't paying enough attention today or what, but I think I will attribute this clumsiness of mine today to the pregnancy. In fact, this is a common occurrence, according to "What to Expect When You're Expecting," which states that the extra clumsiness is caused by loosening joints, water retention, loss in concentration (yup, got that one), and change in centre of gravity. At least I have an excuse these past 7 months for my clumsiness, but I can't say the same for all the glass I've broken before that... hehe!
Steering clear of glassware...
31 July 2012
Him: Want vs. Need
I know the topic is a little broad, but I actually have something fairly specific in mind. What is it that we want, and what do we really need.
I've been thinking about this for a few days now with respect to our newest addition to the house: the pool table. I have been super excited about the fact that we have a pool table, no doubt it was even better when it arrived for free! In order to have a workable game, we needed to buy some cues, balls, and rack. Also bought a cover to keep the dirt off. In all, it only cost us about fifty dollars.
So now the table is there, we've reorganised the room so that it fits, mostly, and I have yet to level it as it is a little crooked. But now, after looking at it for a few weeks and seeing the utility of it, I might have better used that space for something else. Maybe use that room as a space for the baby to play? It takes up a huge amount of space, which I'm sure could be better used. The room was previously a dinning room, but it doesn't really fit in the way we have the house set up, and we have decided that the room as a whole be used as a rec room. We have the gym on one end, and the pool table on the other. It just doesn't seem to be working though.
Did we need the pool table, of course not; did we want one, sure. Now I sort of feel like I believe a dog would once it catches a car. I'll give it a little more time, maybe it will grow on us and start to get used more, but right now it is just not serving it's purpose, or of any benefit to us. We'll just have to see how things work out. I'm not the only one, I'm sure, that will have an opinion about it.
-Another great day
I've been thinking about this for a few days now with respect to our newest addition to the house: the pool table. I have been super excited about the fact that we have a pool table, no doubt it was even better when it arrived for free! In order to have a workable game, we needed to buy some cues, balls, and rack. Also bought a cover to keep the dirt off. In all, it only cost us about fifty dollars.
So now the table is there, we've reorganised the room so that it fits, mostly, and I have yet to level it as it is a little crooked. But now, after looking at it for a few weeks and seeing the utility of it, I might have better used that space for something else. Maybe use that room as a space for the baby to play? It takes up a huge amount of space, which I'm sure could be better used. The room was previously a dinning room, but it doesn't really fit in the way we have the house set up, and we have decided that the room as a whole be used as a rec room. We have the gym on one end, and the pool table on the other. It just doesn't seem to be working though.
Did we need the pool table, of course not; did we want one, sure. Now I sort of feel like I believe a dog would once it catches a car. I'll give it a little more time, maybe it will grow on us and start to get used more, but right now it is just not serving it's purpose, or of any benefit to us. We'll just have to see how things work out. I'm not the only one, I'm sure, that will have an opinion about it.
-Another great day
30 July 2012
Her: Green baby (Part 1)
I think it's about time that we actually address the title of this blog, that is "Plastic or Paper." In essence, this statement, which we often hear at the grocery store, represents the personal choices we make that affect the environment. My concern for protecting the environment and living as green as I can stems from more than just my two degrees in Atmospheric Science; I would not like to leave my children in a uninhabitable world due to pollution.
I am currently reading "The eco-nomical baby guide" by Joy Hatch and Rebecca Kelly, mostly for it's section on cloth diapering (more on that topic later). Joy and Rebecca raise an interesting point throughout - living more sustainably can actually save you money, if done right. I know that many naysayers to living green will argue that it costs more to do so. It is true, yes, that electric cars cost more than gas (don't even get me started on that one), but there are many money saving activities that are at the same time green. One good example of this is what the book dubs as a "solar-powered dryer" (i.e., clothesline) - hanging out your clothes on a line outside without a doubt saves you money on your electricity bill.
One of the first points that Joy and Rebecca bring up is good advice to all, whether you are having a baby or not - the difference between needs and wants, or what they call "necessities and niceties." As they say, a really easy way to be green is to just buy less stuff. Everyone remember their three "Rs"? Reduce, reuse, and recycle! With all the crazy baby gadgets they have out there (wow, was it overwhelming to walk through a Babies R Us for the first time), which advertising tells you are "must-haves," it's easy to forget that right at the beginning, the baby you bring into this world doesn't have a need for a lot of stuff. As Joy and Rebecca state, all parents really need to prepare before the baby arrives are a place to sleep, a diapering method, a feeding method, a few garments to keep baby warm, and a car seat. I think this simplifies things so much for first time parents who are bombarded with a million different choices and a desire to do the best for their baby (just because something costs more doesn't necessarily mean it's better quality)!
By the way, I love their point that babies often love to play with regular household items, such as tupperware, spoons, pots, pans, and cardboard boxes, more than their plastic gadgets.
So, how are we doing so far? Well, we've already dipped into the "nicety" of painting the nursery, and plan on getting a stroller, which we do consider a necessity. We've mostly just stuck to holding off buying everything right now, since we've found that people are very generous and more than willing to pass on used baby gear when they find out you're expecting. We'll probably get most of our necessities closer to when the baby is due.
All in all, being as green as we can be is very important to my husband and I, and we hope to continue and even increase our eco-friendliness with the arrival of our baby. True, it is really hard to do absolutely everything green (yes, we still fill up our car at the gas pumps, fly home to visit family, and wash our dishes in warm water), but in my books, every little effort counts.
Trying to avoid a plethora of new plastic baby gizmos!
I am currently reading "The eco-nomical baby guide" by Joy Hatch and Rebecca Kelly, mostly for it's section on cloth diapering (more on that topic later). Joy and Rebecca raise an interesting point throughout - living more sustainably can actually save you money, if done right. I know that many naysayers to living green will argue that it costs more to do so. It is true, yes, that electric cars cost more than gas (don't even get me started on that one), but there are many money saving activities that are at the same time green. One good example of this is what the book dubs as a "solar-powered dryer" (i.e., clothesline) - hanging out your clothes on a line outside without a doubt saves you money on your electricity bill.
One of the first points that Joy and Rebecca bring up is good advice to all, whether you are having a baby or not - the difference between needs and wants, or what they call "necessities and niceties." As they say, a really easy way to be green is to just buy less stuff. Everyone remember their three "Rs"? Reduce, reuse, and recycle! With all the crazy baby gadgets they have out there (wow, was it overwhelming to walk through a Babies R Us for the first time), which advertising tells you are "must-haves," it's easy to forget that right at the beginning, the baby you bring into this world doesn't have a need for a lot of stuff. As Joy and Rebecca state, all parents really need to prepare before the baby arrives are a place to sleep, a diapering method, a feeding method, a few garments to keep baby warm, and a car seat. I think this simplifies things so much for first time parents who are bombarded with a million different choices and a desire to do the best for their baby (just because something costs more doesn't necessarily mean it's better quality)!
By the way, I love their point that babies often love to play with regular household items, such as tupperware, spoons, pots, pans, and cardboard boxes, more than their plastic gadgets.
So, how are we doing so far? Well, we've already dipped into the "nicety" of painting the nursery, and plan on getting a stroller, which we do consider a necessity. We've mostly just stuck to holding off buying everything right now, since we've found that people are very generous and more than willing to pass on used baby gear when they find out you're expecting. We'll probably get most of our necessities closer to when the baby is due.
All in all, being as green as we can be is very important to my husband and I, and we hope to continue and even increase our eco-friendliness with the arrival of our baby. True, it is really hard to do absolutely everything green (yes, we still fill up our car at the gas pumps, fly home to visit family, and wash our dishes in warm water), but in my books, every little effort counts.
Trying to avoid a plethora of new plastic baby gizmos!
27 July 2012
Him: Polyphasic Sleep
I know this is probably a really random topic, but it has been something I have always wondered about ever since reading an article a few years back.
Polyphasic sleep is the practice of sleeping multiple times in a day, more than two, vice the one that most people are accustome to today. There are not volumes of research in this method of sleep, but doing a quick search can get you some pretty interesting facts.
From Wikipedia, there are a number of generally known methods of sleep:
The goal of these being a more effective wake to sleep process, ranging from our common eight hour sleep once a day to four or six naps with only two. I found the article I had read a few years ago, here. It is a blog of a man who tried the Uberman sleep schedule. He conducted the study over a four month period. At the beginning, he struggled to teach his body to sleep for only twenty minutes. After a few weeks, the body learns to fall asleep much faster to ensure quick recovery.
Another difference in polyphasic sleep is your eating paterns. How would you eat in such an interesting schedule. Since you are only awake at most for four or four and a half hours, you can't expect to eat large meals every time. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner become relative meals and you begin to eat multiple times per day, of course much smaller meals.
With a baby on the way, I have been thinking of all this sleep schedule stuff since I know that the first few weeks or months are very sporatic with respect to getting a full night sleep. I am a big fan of taking at least one nap a day, though I have problems sleeping during the day currently, as it can help with mood, mental, and physical health which will be crucial with a baby.
Maybe today will be a good day for a nap. I believe I can get way more done in a day from that little bit more energy from a decent nap.
-Another great day
Polyphasic sleep is the practice of sleeping multiple times in a day, more than two, vice the one that most people are accustome to today. There are not volumes of research in this method of sleep, but doing a quick search can get you some pretty interesting facts.
From Wikipedia, there are a number of generally known methods of sleep:
| Monophasic | 8 hours major sleep episode. | |
| Biphasic | 6 hours major sleep episode and one 20 minute power nap. | |
| Biphasic (90-minute nap) | 4.5 hours major sleep episode and one 90 minute nap. | |
| Everyman (with 2 naps) | 4.5 hours major sleep episode and two 20-minute power naps. | |
| Everyman (with 3 naps) | 3 hours major sleep episode and three 20-minute power naps. | |
| Everyman (with 4 - 5 naps) | 1.5 hours major sleep episode and four to five twenty-minute power naps. | |
| Dymaxion | Four 30-minute naps (every 6 hours). | |
| Uberman | Six 20-minute naps (every 4 hours). |
The goal of these being a more effective wake to sleep process, ranging from our common eight hour sleep once a day to four or six naps with only two. I found the article I had read a few years ago, here. It is a blog of a man who tried the Uberman sleep schedule. He conducted the study over a four month period. At the beginning, he struggled to teach his body to sleep for only twenty minutes. After a few weeks, the body learns to fall asleep much faster to ensure quick recovery.
Another difference in polyphasic sleep is your eating paterns. How would you eat in such an interesting schedule. Since you are only awake at most for four or four and a half hours, you can't expect to eat large meals every time. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner become relative meals and you begin to eat multiple times per day, of course much smaller meals.
With a baby on the way, I have been thinking of all this sleep schedule stuff since I know that the first few weeks or months are very sporatic with respect to getting a full night sleep. I am a big fan of taking at least one nap a day, though I have problems sleeping during the day currently, as it can help with mood, mental, and physical health which will be crucial with a baby.
Maybe today will be a good day for a nap. I believe I can get way more done in a day from that little bit more energy from a decent nap.
-Another great day
26 July 2012
Her: Humidity
Yesterday brought great relief to us Canadians in the midst of the notoriously sweltering and muggy Maryland summers. We noticed it first thing in the morning, as we took our first step outside - "Holy crap, we can breathe! And we're not instantly sweating!" To translate, we stepped outside into a beautiful, low humidity summer day (average relative humidity of about 40% as opposed to the proceeding weeks of about 70-80% humidity). This made the entire day much more pleasant, and we found that we had so much more energy and willingness to do activities outside.
What a small and odd thing to make so much of a difference, this relative humidity. Personally, I do prefer drier climates, having been born and raised in Alberta, where umbrellas are just one of those things that you never really use and just end up collecting dust in your front closet. (Honestly, I don't think I ever regularly used an umbrella, or saw the importance of one, until I moved to Montreal, HA!). Of course, spending two summers in Alert, which you could almost call a desert (at least, before climate change), also helps to skew my opinion of this lovely weather modifier. I love the fact that you can move into the shade to find relief from the heat in Albertan summers, just open your windows at night to cool down the house, and have no real use for A/C.
I think we were laughed at when we thought of doing the same thing down here in Maryland. I think we've only opened our windows a handful of times since May, when we turned on our A/C (Ack!). We do have a patio furniture set outside, but it doesn't get used too much (I know it seems absurd to our family back in Canada that it is just too uncomfortable to eat dinner outside). Even though we're getting more acclimatised to this weather, I think we will always prefer the cold and dry over extreme heat and humidity (so Canadian of us, eh?).
Today, we're back into the standard muggy conditions of Maryland summers. Even though our relief from the low humidity of yesterday was short lived, I wanted to make sure it didn't pass without being appreciated (almost like a visit from an old friend, haha)!
Stay cool (and dry)!
What a small and odd thing to make so much of a difference, this relative humidity. Personally, I do prefer drier climates, having been born and raised in Alberta, where umbrellas are just one of those things that you never really use and just end up collecting dust in your front closet. (Honestly, I don't think I ever regularly used an umbrella, or saw the importance of one, until I moved to Montreal, HA!). Of course, spending two summers in Alert, which you could almost call a desert (at least, before climate change), also helps to skew my opinion of this lovely weather modifier. I love the fact that you can move into the shade to find relief from the heat in Albertan summers, just open your windows at night to cool down the house, and have no real use for A/C.
I think we were laughed at when we thought of doing the same thing down here in Maryland. I think we've only opened our windows a handful of times since May, when we turned on our A/C (Ack!). We do have a patio furniture set outside, but it doesn't get used too much (I know it seems absurd to our family back in Canada that it is just too uncomfortable to eat dinner outside). Even though we're getting more acclimatised to this weather, I think we will always prefer the cold and dry over extreme heat and humidity (so Canadian of us, eh?).
Today, we're back into the standard muggy conditions of Maryland summers. Even though our relief from the low humidity of yesterday was short lived, I wanted to make sure it didn't pass without being appreciated (almost like a visit from an old friend, haha)!
Stay cool (and dry)!
24 July 2012
Him: Gearing up for Baby!
It has been a lot of fun going to all the different department stores checking out the selections of baby items. We've been to Babies R Us, Target, Sears, and The Exchange. Many of these stores have a very similar selection and varying prices. We did make a short video of our trip to Sears, which you can find here, but the store we went to had practically nothing in store.
Shopping online is obviously much easier and gives you less of a headache, but the downfall is that you can't get to physically inspect the items. Items such as a crib, or changing tables, tubs, toys, and mattresses. If I'm going to buy a night light, I don't really need to touch it, but I want to make sure that what will be used to support, hold, carry, transport our newest addition will be sufficient and stand up to the elements. Since we are Amazon Prime members, we've been looking closely at how economical buying things from them is as well. Nothing like having the items delivered right to your door for free!
Of course we haven't bought anything yet as we will be having a large baby shower in August. If we buy something now, we are liable to get that same thing, or something similar at the shower. So shopping has been a bit monotonous as we haven't really bought anything yet, but we see all kinds of things we'd like!
We currently have a registry made up at Babies R Us, found under my name. That list is more of a shopping guide to help us know what we like and somewhere people can see the things we want/like. Babies R Us had the most extensive selection, no doubt because that is all they focus on, but it is still hard to decide what you want or what is best.
No one place is going to get all our business, that would be crazy. There are so many options out there and such range in prices that making a final decision becomes more quite complicated. Of course, we only want the best for our little one, so everything will be Porsche brand!
-Another great day
Shopping online is obviously much easier and gives you less of a headache, but the downfall is that you can't get to physically inspect the items. Items such as a crib, or changing tables, tubs, toys, and mattresses. If I'm going to buy a night light, I don't really need to touch it, but I want to make sure that what will be used to support, hold, carry, transport our newest addition will be sufficient and stand up to the elements. Since we are Amazon Prime members, we've been looking closely at how economical buying things from them is as well. Nothing like having the items delivered right to your door for free!
Of course we haven't bought anything yet as we will be having a large baby shower in August. If we buy something now, we are liable to get that same thing, or something similar at the shower. So shopping has been a bit monotonous as we haven't really bought anything yet, but we see all kinds of things we'd like!
We currently have a registry made up at Babies R Us, found under my name. That list is more of a shopping guide to help us know what we like and somewhere people can see the things we want/like. Babies R Us had the most extensive selection, no doubt because that is all they focus on, but it is still hard to decide what you want or what is best.
No one place is going to get all our business, that would be crazy. There are so many options out there and such range in prices that making a final decision becomes more quite complicated. Of course, we only want the best for our little one, so everything will be Porsche brand!
-Another great day
23 July 2012
Him: Technology Woes
I spent about two hours yesterday trying to figure out what was wrong with our new camera, to realize that nothing was wrong at all.
To get the whole story in, after uploading our first Youtube video we watched it to see if it actually would work, etc, before we shared it with others. The video isn't anything special, it's the first one we've put up and of course there is a long way to go with respect to video editing and such. But you have to start somewhere! After we watched the video a few times, seeing how/if things changed after it was uploaded, we both noticed that there were horizontal lines running on the screen of my computer while we watched the video. They were of course faint out of full screen, but rather visible when watching any of the videos that I had edited while in full screen.
I started doing some searching. Google searches and youtube searches revealed that perhaps the videos were/not de-interlaced. I'm no video guru so I haven't the slightest idea what that really means nor do I know how to change that. So I took to finding the how-to for FCPX and hoped to see a difference. Turns out that de-intelaced/interlaced video is not the horizontal lines I was looking for. So I still had the same issue: A horizontal line that tracked upwards on my screen.
I couldn't really find anything else referrencing these symptoms, so I was a bit at a loss for solutions. I had concluded, so far that the problems were not coming from the camera, but that perhaps FCPX or other editing softwares were causing the issues. I had even made some short videos using different settings with the camera to see if the camera had issues. Since the camera is new, I wanted to make sure it did not have a defect or something. Knowing me, I would not think of that and the warranty would run out and then I would never get it fixed!
Last thing I did, with success, was to watch the videos over the projector as well as the monitor, as I started playing with the resolution of each output. I had a thought that perhaps it could be that the resolution of the outputs were not right and thus the video was working right, but the output source couldn't handle it. This is where, if you were in the same room as me, you would have heard the sound of the biggest facepalm. The video worked flawlessly on the projector, yet still had the line on my screen. Just so you know, I run both monitor and projector from my Mac Mini as a dual screen, this is done with the one HDMI port and Thunderbolt port. Seems my problem was right in front of my face; the projector worked fine, which was running on HDMI, but the monitor was not, which was running on DVI.
The DVI monitor could not process the HD video fast enough, and thus was causing the horizontal line in the video. The projector had no issues at all. Something to do with the DVI converter connecting to my computer that was doing it! No monies involved in this solution since there was nothing technologically wrong, other than the fact that perhaps I should get a better DVI converter for my monitor.
So now I am no longer concerned about seeing that awful line on my monitor's screen and after my videos are uploaded I know that they are working just fine.
-Another great day
To get the whole story in, after uploading our first Youtube video we watched it to see if it actually would work, etc, before we shared it with others. The video isn't anything special, it's the first one we've put up and of course there is a long way to go with respect to video editing and such. But you have to start somewhere! After we watched the video a few times, seeing how/if things changed after it was uploaded, we both noticed that there were horizontal lines running on the screen of my computer while we watched the video. They were of course faint out of full screen, but rather visible when watching any of the videos that I had edited while in full screen.
I started doing some searching. Google searches and youtube searches revealed that perhaps the videos were/not de-interlaced. I'm no video guru so I haven't the slightest idea what that really means nor do I know how to change that. So I took to finding the how-to for FCPX and hoped to see a difference. Turns out that de-intelaced/interlaced video is not the horizontal lines I was looking for. So I still had the same issue: A horizontal line that tracked upwards on my screen.
I couldn't really find anything else referrencing these symptoms, so I was a bit at a loss for solutions. I had concluded, so far that the problems were not coming from the camera, but that perhaps FCPX or other editing softwares were causing the issues. I had even made some short videos using different settings with the camera to see if the camera had issues. Since the camera is new, I wanted to make sure it did not have a defect or something. Knowing me, I would not think of that and the warranty would run out and then I would never get it fixed!
Last thing I did, with success, was to watch the videos over the projector as well as the monitor, as I started playing with the resolution of each output. I had a thought that perhaps it could be that the resolution of the outputs were not right and thus the video was working right, but the output source couldn't handle it. This is where, if you were in the same room as me, you would have heard the sound of the biggest facepalm. The video worked flawlessly on the projector, yet still had the line on my screen. Just so you know, I run both monitor and projector from my Mac Mini as a dual screen, this is done with the one HDMI port and Thunderbolt port. Seems my problem was right in front of my face; the projector worked fine, which was running on HDMI, but the monitor was not, which was running on DVI.
The DVI monitor could not process the HD video fast enough, and thus was causing the horizontal line in the video. The projector had no issues at all. Something to do with the DVI converter connecting to my computer that was doing it! No monies involved in this solution since there was nothing technologically wrong, other than the fact that perhaps I should get a better DVI converter for my monitor.
So now I am no longer concerned about seeing that awful line on my monitor's screen and after my videos are uploaded I know that they are working just fine.
-Another great day
20 July 2012
Her: Olympics
It's one week until the London 2012 Olympic Games begin, and I can't wait! To some, this isn't a big deal, but to me and many other spectators, we've been waiting for this since 2010! There's just something amazing, beautiful, and inspiring about watching Olympic athletes push their bodies to the limit. Not only that, but the fact that the Games represent a positive, peaceful, international collaboration truly make the Games exceptional.
Perhaps my enjoyment of watching the Olympic Games stems from the fact that competing in them was once a dream of mine, like many young athletes. However, you certainly don't need to be an athlete to enjoy the Games. It all starts with the Opening Ceremonies. This year, the theme is "Isles of Wonder;" look forward to seeing live farm animals in the stadium! Each Olympic Ceremonies seems to outdo the ones before it in terms of artistry or pyrotechnics, so I really look forward watching it. It can get a bit long during the parading of the athletes, but it's still fun to watch, especially when your country comes in.
After that comes two solid weeks of the sporting events. Personally, I love getting into it, cheering your country or favourite athletes on. I can still remember watching Donovan Bailey win gold in the 100m sprint in the 1996 Atlanta games. What a moment! I'll never forget that one. My favourite summer Olympic sports to watch, in no particular order, are diving, synchronised swimming, gymnastics, rowing, track cycling, equestrian, and of course, athletics (i.e., track and field). Canadian athletes I'm excited to see include Clara Hughes on the bike (and not on the ice!), Simon Whitfield in triathlon, and Alexandre Despatie in diving (who may or may not have been my Olympic crush since 2000...hehe).
Someday, I would love to go and watch the Olympics live. Missing the Vancouver Games was sad, since it'll probably be awhile before another Canadian city hosts (probably another 20 years or so), but travelling to see the world and the Olympics would be amazing too. I would probably like to see the winter games over the summer games, but really, I wouldn't care which when the opportunity arises.
Go Team Canada!
Perhaps my enjoyment of watching the Olympic Games stems from the fact that competing in them was once a dream of mine, like many young athletes. However, you certainly don't need to be an athlete to enjoy the Games. It all starts with the Opening Ceremonies. This year, the theme is "Isles of Wonder;" look forward to seeing live farm animals in the stadium! Each Olympic Ceremonies seems to outdo the ones before it in terms of artistry or pyrotechnics, so I really look forward watching it. It can get a bit long during the parading of the athletes, but it's still fun to watch, especially when your country comes in.
After that comes two solid weeks of the sporting events. Personally, I love getting into it, cheering your country or favourite athletes on. I can still remember watching Donovan Bailey win gold in the 100m sprint in the 1996 Atlanta games. What a moment! I'll never forget that one. My favourite summer Olympic sports to watch, in no particular order, are diving, synchronised swimming, gymnastics, rowing, track cycling, equestrian, and of course, athletics (i.e., track and field). Canadian athletes I'm excited to see include Clara Hughes on the bike (and not on the ice!), Simon Whitfield in triathlon, and Alexandre Despatie in diving (who may or may not have been my Olympic crush since 2000...hehe).
Someday, I would love to go and watch the Olympics live. Missing the Vancouver Games was sad, since it'll probably be awhile before another Canadian city hosts (probably another 20 years or so), but travelling to see the world and the Olympics would be amazing too. I would probably like to see the winter games over the summer games, but really, I wouldn't care which when the opportunity arises.
Go Team Canada!
19 July 2012
Him: Vlogging
Starting a blog has been a really great way to voice opinions and to have somewhere to jot down our ideas and concerns. It is also a place to put down in writing what we are learning about each other and the little one, when he/she comes along. We hope to be able to keep a relatively constant pace with these blogs when baby comes along, most definitely we will not be stopping them, because this was the whole point of starting.
What looks really fun and interesting is being able to instantly show you what has been happening with us (three) on a daily basis. Not that we want to have our lives out in the world for everyone to see, but doing video diaries of memorable, exciting, or just regular on-goings of life sound like a lot of fun. I haven't quite figured out how this is done, or maybe it is just that I don't feel comfortable filming myself/ourselves, or knowing when is a good time to turn on that camera.
Vlogging is not a new concept to us as we've been watching people vlog their lives over the last four years or so. Most notable people are the SHAYTARDS, CTFxC, Breaking, and PhilipDeFranco, just to name a few. All of these vloggers are well established and have a solid following which is not really our goal, we want to be able to share this mostly with family and friends so that they can feel a little closer to us while we are unable to see them due to distance between us.
Need to learn how to use FCPX, and maybe a number of other little programmes, to have smoother and nicer looking vlogs. As well, going to need to learn what to film and how to film it. It is going to be an awesome learning experience and I can't wait to be able to say that I am doing it!
I hope that you are just as excited with this as we are and we hope to be able to continue to grow and have fun.
-Another great day
What looks really fun and interesting is being able to instantly show you what has been happening with us (three) on a daily basis. Not that we want to have our lives out in the world for everyone to see, but doing video diaries of memorable, exciting, or just regular on-goings of life sound like a lot of fun. I haven't quite figured out how this is done, or maybe it is just that I don't feel comfortable filming myself/ourselves, or knowing when is a good time to turn on that camera.
Vlogging is not a new concept to us as we've been watching people vlog their lives over the last four years or so. Most notable people are the SHAYTARDS, CTFxC, Breaking, and PhilipDeFranco, just to name a few. All of these vloggers are well established and have a solid following which is not really our goal, we want to be able to share this mostly with family and friends so that they can feel a little closer to us while we are unable to see them due to distance between us.
Need to learn how to use FCPX, and maybe a number of other little programmes, to have smoother and nicer looking vlogs. As well, going to need to learn what to film and how to film it. It is going to be an awesome learning experience and I can't wait to be able to say that I am doing it!
I hope that you are just as excited with this as we are and we hope to be able to continue to grow and have fun.
-Another great day
17 July 2012
Her: Neighbours
Looking back at our first year in Maryland (to the date!), I can truly say that what I am most grateful for here, other than my wonderful husband, are our neighbours. I don't know if this is due to cultural differences between Canada and the US, or if this is just an isolated happy coincidence due to the specific group of people that live around us, but this is the first time in my life that I've personally gotten to know and befriended not only one, but several families in our neighbourhood.
We regularly share meals, play games, celebrate, go shopping, and even workout with our neighbours. We've helped each other with yard work, and have had block parties (next one in August!) We haven't had to worry about our house or garden when we are away, because we know there are several pairs of eyes, ears, and hands looking out for us. We, of course, are more than willing to return the favour if need be. Our neighbours are more than just that - they have become friends and even family who happen to live next door.
After experiencing what it truly means to have, and be, neighbours, it will be hard to go back to Canada in a few years where this kind of behaviour is extremely rare (at least in my experience). Why shouldn't you personally know your neighbours? I believe that this is the way it should be. It is so unfortunate that the culture lends itself to keeping to yourself and not developing relationships with the people who live next to you. This "keep to yourself" idea is so absurd when you consider what life was like 100-150 years ago, where members of a community truly depended on one another for not only friendship, but for survival. Our growing technological connectivity has actually seemed to reduce true connections between people that live in close proximity to each other.
Lamenting aside, I am just so grateful for the wonderful neighbours we have been blessed with here, and I can only hope that we will spread such neighbourly love to those living around us in our subsequent moves.
We regularly share meals, play games, celebrate, go shopping, and even workout with our neighbours. We've helped each other with yard work, and have had block parties (next one in August!) We haven't had to worry about our house or garden when we are away, because we know there are several pairs of eyes, ears, and hands looking out for us. We, of course, are more than willing to return the favour if need be. Our neighbours are more than just that - they have become friends and even family who happen to live next door.
After experiencing what it truly means to have, and be, neighbours, it will be hard to go back to Canada in a few years where this kind of behaviour is extremely rare (at least in my experience). Why shouldn't you personally know your neighbours? I believe that this is the way it should be. It is so unfortunate that the culture lends itself to keeping to yourself and not developing relationships with the people who live next to you. This "keep to yourself" idea is so absurd when you consider what life was like 100-150 years ago, where members of a community truly depended on one another for not only friendship, but for survival. Our growing technological connectivity has actually seemed to reduce true connections between people that live in close proximity to each other.
Lamenting aside, I am just so grateful for the wonderful neighbours we have been blessed with here, and I can only hope that we will spread such neighbourly love to those living around us in our subsequent moves.
16 July 2012
Him: What you will do for them
It is definitely getting closer! We just had friends over last night that have a little one. He's about a year and a half old, such a sweetheart and a busy one!
We had a great afternoon/evening with them. They came over later in the afternoon and left around eight. There were a few things that I expected with having a little one in the house: Clearing off the coffee tables of small objects, cleaned the floors up just in case there was anytyhing he could pick up and nomnom on, close the doors to extra rooms to save us having to run around all over trying to find him. These are rather simple things, and I expected to have to 'kid proof' the house to ensure he wouldn't get hurt and we could keep an eye on him easily.
One thing that I did notice however, and it was more of a realization than a precautionary measure was where the grown-ups ended up mingling. Since we finally have got our house organized enough to be able to entertain successfully in most rooms, everyone was in the kitchen, preparing the dinner; baby walking about having fun. We went outside for a bit, though warm, to let him run around and see the yard, look at the garden, etc. We all ate at the table and enjoyed a good meal. Afterwords is where it hit me, we had sat in the living room to eat some snacks before the main meal, but now the way the house is designed to see the little guy most effectively the whole time, everyone sat around the stairs. One on the stairs to go upstairs, the other on the step down to the living room, and the rest of us just in the entranceway. It was, I suppose convenient for the baby, and parents just have to work around those types of things. We just sat or stood there, in the middle of the house enjoying our conversation and watching the baby run around.
Why do we even have a couch now, maybe we can get rid of it and make more space for some toys, or some more gym equipment... But all kidding aside, it was really neat to see what people will do for their children so that they can enjoy themselves,at the cost of their own comfort.
-Another great day
We had a great afternoon/evening with them. They came over later in the afternoon and left around eight. There were a few things that I expected with having a little one in the house: Clearing off the coffee tables of small objects, cleaned the floors up just in case there was anytyhing he could pick up and nomnom on, close the doors to extra rooms to save us having to run around all over trying to find him. These are rather simple things, and I expected to have to 'kid proof' the house to ensure he wouldn't get hurt and we could keep an eye on him easily.
One thing that I did notice however, and it was more of a realization than a precautionary measure was where the grown-ups ended up mingling. Since we finally have got our house organized enough to be able to entertain successfully in most rooms, everyone was in the kitchen, preparing the dinner; baby walking about having fun. We went outside for a bit, though warm, to let him run around and see the yard, look at the garden, etc. We all ate at the table and enjoyed a good meal. Afterwords is where it hit me, we had sat in the living room to eat some snacks before the main meal, but now the way the house is designed to see the little guy most effectively the whole time, everyone sat around the stairs. One on the stairs to go upstairs, the other on the step down to the living room, and the rest of us just in the entranceway. It was, I suppose convenient for the baby, and parents just have to work around those types of things. We just sat or stood there, in the middle of the house enjoying our conversation and watching the baby run around.
Why do we even have a couch now, maybe we can get rid of it and make more space for some toys, or some more gym equipment... But all kidding aside, it was really neat to see what people will do for their children so that they can enjoy themselves,at the cost of their own comfort.
-Another great day
13 July 2012
Him: Smile!
Not much to say today, but Yay!
New camera arrived, ready to start filming little snippets of baby and mommy, and me of course. Did a bit of shopping around, and decided on this one: Canon VIXIA HF M41. It's small, light, and does amazing video!!
OF course, it is going to take some getting used to and we will learn how to work it as we go. But so far I love it. So I will end it here as I suppose I can just show you what we did with it!
-Another great day
12 July 2012
Her: Being domestic
To some it may seem cliché, or backwards, but I really, really enjoy being domestic. By domestic, I mostly mean cooking, baking, sewing, and other activities that in the past were associated with being a housewife (notice I didn't include cleaning in that list...HAHA). Doing these activities give me great satisfaction and fulfillment.
This week, I've baked 2 batches of cookies and 1 batch of muffins. In addition, to go with dinner tonight, I whipped up a batch of bannock (a quick flatbread). Tomorrow, I will be canning peaches with 2 friends. I am grateful that I have the time to do these things. It's not only about the satisfaction I get from cooking and baking - it's also about being able to eat healthier and knowing exactly what goes into your food. There is just WAY too much processed food out there today (case in point, the ready to eat frozen PB&J sandwich, Uncrustables... when did it get too hard to slap peanut butter and jam on 2 slices of bread?!)
I actually didn't start baking a lot until after I moved out. I had no need to, actually, because I grew up with parents who were amazing cooks. I know I'm really lucky to have had these role models, because many people nowadays don't even know how to boil water on the stove. To quote a friend, being domestic is truly a dying art. The rising obesity rates are certainly related to this "grab and go" society we've created, where people eat out more than they go to the grocery store. I believe a resurgence of such domestic activities could really help society in the long run.
Slow down and make some cookies!
This week, I've baked 2 batches of cookies and 1 batch of muffins. In addition, to go with dinner tonight, I whipped up a batch of bannock (a quick flatbread). Tomorrow, I will be canning peaches with 2 friends. I am grateful that I have the time to do these things. It's not only about the satisfaction I get from cooking and baking - it's also about being able to eat healthier and knowing exactly what goes into your food. There is just WAY too much processed food out there today (case in point, the ready to eat frozen PB&J sandwich, Uncrustables... when did it get too hard to slap peanut butter and jam on 2 slices of bread?!)
I actually didn't start baking a lot until after I moved out. I had no need to, actually, because I grew up with parents who were amazing cooks. I know I'm really lucky to have had these role models, because many people nowadays don't even know how to boil water on the stove. To quote a friend, being domestic is truly a dying art. The rising obesity rates are certainly related to this "grab and go" society we've created, where people eat out more than they go to the grocery store. I believe a resurgence of such domestic activities could really help society in the long run.
Slow down and make some cookies!
10 July 2012
Her: Recovery
I often have to remind myself how important recovery is in order to be healthy and happy. I'm not talking about recovering from an illness or injury, which of course is crucial, but rather a broader definition of recovery that involves mostly mental and sometimes physical healing.
I've noticed that I've recently fallen into the habit that millions of people do, or fail to do, every day: truly and honestly taking time for oneself. If used wisely, recovery time need not be long - even 20min will suffice. Easy excuses to not taking this time for yourself ranges from believing you are too busy to believing that resting is a sign of weakness. I believe many workaholics out there easily make these excuses and thus fail to value recovery. Moms are especially notorious for this, actually, always giving of themselves to their children to the detriment of their own wellbeing. With a little one on the way, I know I have to be disciplined in setting time aside for myself once the baby arrives.
The act of recovery from your everyday activities is, of course, dependent on the person. For some, this recovery could be physical activity, praying or meditating, or even taking a bath. Essentially, this recovery needs to be something that you consider rejuvenating and mind cleansing. My personal favourite is swimming; there's just something about doing laps that really makes my worries melt away. From my experience, however, whatever your chosen activity is, a quiet mind is essential in order to fully benefit from it. I don't mean shutting off your brain, but really focussing on what you are doing in the present and nothing else. I think this is the crux of the matter, and is what provides the mental healing and leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to go again. This focussing only on your recovery activity is rather difficult, at least for me! Most of the time, I only skip in and out of that "zone," but the more I manage to do so, the better I feel.
So what are you waiting for? Take some "me" time!
I've noticed that I've recently fallen into the habit that millions of people do, or fail to do, every day: truly and honestly taking time for oneself. If used wisely, recovery time need not be long - even 20min will suffice. Easy excuses to not taking this time for yourself ranges from believing you are too busy to believing that resting is a sign of weakness. I believe many workaholics out there easily make these excuses and thus fail to value recovery. Moms are especially notorious for this, actually, always giving of themselves to their children to the detriment of their own wellbeing. With a little one on the way, I know I have to be disciplined in setting time aside for myself once the baby arrives.
The act of recovery from your everyday activities is, of course, dependent on the person. For some, this recovery could be physical activity, praying or meditating, or even taking a bath. Essentially, this recovery needs to be something that you consider rejuvenating and mind cleansing. My personal favourite is swimming; there's just something about doing laps that really makes my worries melt away. From my experience, however, whatever your chosen activity is, a quiet mind is essential in order to fully benefit from it. I don't mean shutting off your brain, but really focussing on what you are doing in the present and nothing else. I think this is the crux of the matter, and is what provides the mental healing and leaves you feeling refreshed and ready to go again. This focussing only on your recovery activity is rather difficult, at least for me! Most of the time, I only skip in and out of that "zone," but the more I manage to do so, the better I feel.
So what are you waiting for? Take some "me" time!
09 July 2012
Him: Friends
What ever happened to those people you knew in high school? I can clearly remember saying to myself and others that I would always keep in touch with so-and-so and that we would never not know what was going on.
Well, ten years later and I can count very easily on one hand the number of people I have kept in touch with from then. And to be honest, it has only been very recently that we have caught up again. I've begun to realize that those friends you make in high school may not be there forever. Not that they aren't still good friends, but thinking that they will be as close to you now as they were then is a huge overestimation. I have grown much closer to friends met outside work or school than before. Even those in university that were great friends; I have not talked to in four or five years.
After moving around a bit on this little rock, I've started to meet some people that seem to stick a little more solidly than those ones when I was a teenager. We share many more things in common, and we enjoy each others' company. Most likely they are some of the first to be reading this and that's just great.
I can't say that those friends from high school are any less my friends now than they were then, but we just haven't kept in touch and I don't even know where most of them are. I am almost certain they haven't the slightest clue where I am. I hope they are well, and I miss them of course, and if they ever stumble upon reading this maybe they will give a shout out and let me know how they are doing.
So, best friends forever? It exists, but I believe that those relationships may not all start on the playground at school, some start in the weirdest places on earth, when you least expect it. I am thankful for all the friends I have now, and those that I have not been in touch with in a long time. I'm sure as time goes by, I will meet some again, and of course meet new people as well.
-Another great day
Well, ten years later and I can count very easily on one hand the number of people I have kept in touch with from then. And to be honest, it has only been very recently that we have caught up again. I've begun to realize that those friends you make in high school may not be there forever. Not that they aren't still good friends, but thinking that they will be as close to you now as they were then is a huge overestimation. I have grown much closer to friends met outside work or school than before. Even those in university that were great friends; I have not talked to in four or five years.
After moving around a bit on this little rock, I've started to meet some people that seem to stick a little more solidly than those ones when I was a teenager. We share many more things in common, and we enjoy each others' company. Most likely they are some of the first to be reading this and that's just great.
I can't say that those friends from high school are any less my friends now than they were then, but we just haven't kept in touch and I don't even know where most of them are. I am almost certain they haven't the slightest clue where I am. I hope they are well, and I miss them of course, and if they ever stumble upon reading this maybe they will give a shout out and let me know how they are doing.
So, best friends forever? It exists, but I believe that those relationships may not all start on the playground at school, some start in the weirdest places on earth, when you least expect it. I am thankful for all the friends I have now, and those that I have not been in touch with in a long time. I'm sure as time goes by, I will meet some again, and of course meet new people as well.
-Another great day
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