The Little Things

~ Hearing the painters painting the nursery in the room right next door. Oh, I can't wait to see it....

~ Crossing items off of my Nesting List and knowing I'm getting there.

~ Getting to know my new laptop: although I still have to figure out loads of things (like loading photos, etc). Pardon the photo-free posts for a little while. When it comes to technology, I am a total dunce. It's beyond frustrating.

~ Feeling sensitive and more emotional than normal....which is par for the course at 35 weeks pregnancy, I think. I am moved by the simplest things, especially certain songs.

~ On that note, songs with male backup singers. I love this. Think "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack and "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence.

~ The song "In My Daughter's Eyes" by Martina McBride. It makes me cry even on my best non-pregnant day but yesterday it left me weeping. It's so very beautiful!!!

~ Hearing Atticus and Scout tweeting downstairs as I'm writing this. (and no, not the Anthony Weiner form of tweeting!!!)

~ Choosing a baby announcement. I adore all things paper so it was very hard to choose just one. Aaahhh, but the looking and choosing is SO MUCH FUN!!!

~ It took about three weeks but I finally completed the new flower bed. This morning, as I was watering, I noticed that two of the plants have sprouted new flowers. Relief!

~ The zucchini blossoms on my zucchini plant. WOW! They are humongous.

~ SPELL CHECK. Because it just caught my misspelling of "humongous". I am a stickler for proper spelling....

~ I am reading Xinran's book "Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother". Wow. That's all I can say. It's a hard read but an important one, I think. Heartbreaking. But a very important work. I intend to read all of Xinran's books once I finish this one.

~ Being a female, I've always considered myself damned lucky to have been born in this time and in this great country. After reading Xinran's book, I only feel this more strongly. It's a good feeling. I'm very fortunate.

~ Sophie's baby photos and videos. I guess I've been looking at them more often because of the impending delivery of my second baby girl. Anyway, they make me feel soft and gooey in the middle. She was so precious and a very good, good baby. We were lucky to have such a good baby on the first go round.... Fingers crossed for a repeat!

Little Soph at 5 days old

~ Knowing that I'm getting caught up on the 52/52 Challenge this afternoon. Yes, I finally fell a little behind!

~ This video. Someone sent it to me about a month ago. I've watched it countless times and shared it with some friends. I just love it. It's so much fun! She is so fabulous.....

The Little Things....

~ Blogger is back up and working. Whew! (Smile)

~ With regard to the 52 Week/52 Letter Challenge, I've been keeping up. I really enjoy taking the time to handwrite a note to my friends and/or family. In most cases, I'm sending a birthday card or a thank you card but I take the time to write out updates, etc. What goes around does come around. In most cases, I get a nice email in return. But I've also reconnected in such a beautiful way with my friend, Jen, the recipient of my first letter. The challenge also prompted one or two folks to beat me to the punch and write to me first. How nice.... So glad I signed up to do this!

~ These gorgeous Gerber daisies that I purchased last weekend and potted in an old container I had around. This shade of pink is DIVINE! And I rather like the fringy petals....

~ Having a lovely, peaceful dinner with Alain on Saturday night, at one of my all-time favorite restaurants. We were celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary. Thanks, baby!

~ The song, "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" by Crash Test Dummies. I just love it.

~ Having fresh lettuce whenever I want....(it's so yummy!)

~ Spending almost an entire weekend at home. This barely ever happens. It was very relaxing and we enjoyed a few delicious homemade meals. Our backyard is really lovely and, pretty soon, Charlotte will be too hot to stay outside for long (sniffle).

~ This photo of one of my cabbage plants. For some reason, I LOVE growing cabbage. I love the humongous leaves and the colors of the plant ~ the reddish-purplish veins running through the gorgeous green leaves. I measured last week and one leaf is over 12 inches long!!!

~ The first three Mother's Day messages I received on Sunday (aside from my immediate family) were all from guy friends. I love that! Those guys are the BEST.....

~ Spending four hours alone last Friday browsing at the International Collectible & Antiques Show. Too fun!

~ My new Delphinium plants. This photo speaks for itself. They are divine!

The Little Things...

~ The sound of a honking goose as it flies overhead. One of my most favorite sounds.

~ Chive blossoms. They're so beautiful that I don't want to trim the plant....

~ A free iced green tea from Starbucks in celebration of Earth Day.

~ Using my own coffee mug for the above so as to avoid their #6 plastic lids!! Ahem.

~ Seeing the doctor on Monday and having her tell me that the baby is now head down (at least for that moment ~ fingers crossed!).

~ Hearing my baby girl's heartbeat.....I could listen to that all day long....

~ This container that Sophie and I planted about a month ago....

~ All of the donations we made to Goodwill and the library over the weekend as we make room for the new nursery!

~ Breathing room now that our house is a little bit more empty!!!

~ Sophie's expression as I attempt to blow out my birthday candles....totally priceless!

~ Sweet birthday wishes....thank you to everybody...!!

~ Watching Mary Poppins with Sophie for the first time and seeing her face during the more magical scenes!

~ Yellow Snapdragons....

~ I mailed Letters #6 & #7 in the 52 Week/52 Letter Challenge.

~ Adele's latest CD, "21" (my birthday gift to myself).....I am IN LOVE with this CD. (add this to my list of ALL THINGS ENGLISH!)

Image via Amazon

~ Hearing Sophie singing "Rumour Has It" from the backseat. "Rumour Has It....ooohhhh."

~ THE baby bump. Well, on second thought, there's nothing little about it!!!

Randomness

I've been a busy little bee lately. So much going on. So much on my mind. Here goes....

*** With regard to the 52 Week, 52 Letter Challenge, I mailed #4 today.

*** I'm making a huge effort to de-plasticize my kitchen. After reading articles (such as this one and this one) and research and books for what seems like ages, I decided there's no time like the present. About a month ago, I was reading a magazine (can't remember which one) and this really caught my attention:

about #6 plastic (PS) --

"Made of petroleum byproducts, commonly used for meat trays, foam food containers, and Styrofoam. PS can leach carcinogens and hormone disrupters, contributing to infertility and cancer, and its production requires carcinogens and ozone-layer depleting compounds. Because PS is so light and unsinkable, it' s easily carried by wind and is a main component of marine debris."

That last sentence immediately made me think Chris Jordan's photos of dead albatrosses with stomachs full of plastic. I don't understand how anyone wouldn't be moved by this.... We are all responsible.

I was particularly interested in #6 plastic because its not recyclable where we live. After reading the above, I came home and tore apart what I have in the frig, etc to see what #6 plastics I could find. Luckily only one but a very concerning one. Hmmmmm. So is anyone familiar with Danonino yogurts for kids? Normally I would never buy these because they're not organic but my daughter is very attracted to them in the store and I've bought them for her on a few occasions. Yep, you guessed it, #6 plastic. Not recyclable and potentially harming my child. I was angry. Since then, I check products in the store before I buy them. No #6 for me.

Last week I almost passed out when I realized that the to-go lid for my Starbucks latte was #6. WHAT? Call me naive but I expected a bit more from Starbucks. So not recyclable AND I'm also ingesting whatever toxins leak out when my EXTRA HOT drink pours through the lid to land right in my mouth. Swallowed and right down to my unborn child potentially. I was pissed.

In my research (and who knows what to believe), I know that this form of plastic is FDA approved. Does that make me feel any better? Hell no. I don't trust that. All the evidence seems to point to the fact that PS can leach potential toxins into food/drink. And, honestly, why take a chance? I'm so glad to know all of this now. I thought I should pass it along so that others might know as well....

This week I finally went out and bought a whole bunch of glass containers of varying sizes. And all of my plastic Rubbermaid, etc went into the recycling bin. Already I feel better. AND, as a bonus, I was able to buy Anchor products which are still made in the USA.

*** I just finished the book "American Wasteland" by Jonathan Bloom.

I discovered this book on The Non-Consumer Advocate blog. I thought I'd have a hard time getting into a book about food waste. WRONG. It was actually quite fascinating. By the end I realized I already do more than most as far as this topic is concerned. I compost all of my fresh fruit & veggie remains and I use my own compost in my garden. Still, I've renewed my other efforts to reduce food waste:

1. Plan meals in advance. This is hard for me because I don't enjoy cooking AT ALL but I'm working on it.

2. Shop smarter. See example below.

3. Be better about using/eating leftovers (also not easy for me). See sites below...

4. Store food properly (working on this) and understand expiration dates.

5. My store already donates produce that is "going bad" and offers a sale rack so I'm making a bigger effort to check out the "sale rack". Today is a great example:

There were 2 very large tomatoes in a bag, a little soft but otherwise looking great and they were priced at $1.58. Way too good to resist! I can use them for dinner tonight (Caprese salad anyone?) so they're perfect. When the cashier was ringing them, he didn't realize they were "on sale" so he just punched in the number on the little label on the tomato. $6.38. I pointed out his mistake and he immediately corrected it. I saved $4.80 and saved these 2 tomatoes from the possible dumpster. I was so proud!

The book also turned me on to two great sites:

1. Love Food Hate Waste (as it turns out, the English are putting the US to shame as far as efforts to reduce food waste go!)

2. The "Green Granny" videos. Love these!

*** I've been wanting this book for a long time. This morning I stopped by Borders to pick up a book for Sophie and I found it in the Clearance bin for $5.99. I was SO STOKED. I can't wait to make things with these vintage patterns. I'll share when I do. I love this book...

*** Guess how many pillows I'm sleeping with these days? FIVE!!! Yes, the belly is getting quite large these days and I'm just starting to get a little uncomfortable during the night. All those pillows help a lot. The baby is moving around a lot more now and I can feel that she's much bigger. Sometimes she kicks so hard I feel like her foot will pop right through my belly.

*** With regard to My Nesting List, I've made plans for the Mommy/Daughter trip. Sophie and I are heading to Hilton Head Island for part of next week. She LOVES it there (she calls it "The Turtle Beach") and I know she'll be so happy when she finds out we're going. I'm also excited just to be at the beach for a little while when it's not yet really hot out. I have all kinds of plans for us while we're there ~ mini golf, ice cream, playground, biking, nature walks on the beach, etc. I'm really looking forward to my first vacation trip alone with my girl.

Happiness is.....

~ Having my 24-week checkup with the doctor Monday morning and seeing my baby girl wiggling around on the ultrasound. Normally, there wouldn't have been an ultrasound during this appointment but my doctor had some concern because this baby girl hangs REALLY LOW, ALL THE TIME. The nurse had a hard time finding her heartbeat, even after I'd warned her that the baby was extremely low. As it turns out, everything is GREAT, GREAT, GREAT. This baby is currently in breech position, sitting on my bladder, and her feet are right around my hoo-ha (which is where I feel all of her movement and kicks). There is absolutely zero sign of any pre-term labor. Her heartbeat is very steady at 156 bpm. I was amazed at how large she's become and how she's starting to fill out my entire uterus. Wow. And I almost fell off the table when my doctor said we'll start the 2-week checkups after next month's appointment. WOW. This pregnancy is flying by and that was my wake-up call. So...very happy appointment!!!

~ Receiving a lovely, lovely handwritten letter/card in the mail, from my wonderful sister-in-law, Bianca. (I am blessed with two wonderful sisters-in-law actually and consider myself quite lucky!) She saw my blog post about the 52 week/52 letter challenge and decided to beat me to the punch by sending me a handwritten little sumpin', sumpin'. While she apologized for the picture on the front of the card, I LOVED IT. It made me giggle because I thought it was more than appropriate given my current "condition". What do you think?

~ Also, with regard to the 52/52 Challenge, I mailed letters #2 and #3 today! And, see, you thought I'd already forgotten....

~Fresh flowers in the hooouuuussseeeee. It's been my splurge lately. And it really does make me happier....

~ Planning our next family trip to New York City. I'm working on my current wish list (here's the wish list for my solo trip last August) and it makes me so very excited!!! I can hardly stand it....so much to do there and so little time always.

~ Watching and singing The Sound of Music with Sophie. Last weekend we planned a family movie night to let Sophie watch The Sound of Music for the first time. What a great idea! She LOVED IT and now asks to watch the "Music Machine" (a special feature showing all the songs from the movie) almost daily. It's very fun to watch and sing along with her. It's also so heart warming to listen to her sing and dance from the next room!

~ Sophie's art work brightening up the kitchen.

First Letter Down!!!

On Monday I mailed my first letter. I decided to write one of my college suitemates, a good friend of mine through the years. We fell out of touch during the summer of 2009 and it was TOTALLY MY FAULT! To make a real statement and apology, I decided a handwritten letter would make a stronger impression. I keep thinking that she'll receive it today and I imagine her surprise and, hopefully, joy. I think I'm going to like this challenge....

Image via this Etsy shop.

52 Weeks, 52 Letters

Today I was so thrilled to come across this "challenge". (Hey, I've always warned you that I arrive a little late to the game sometimes.) Even though I appreciate today's technological advances (I try, I really do!), I can't help but keep feeling that we're losing something. A heartfelt email is nice but nothing warms my heart like handwritten correspondence in my mailbox. I literally want to do cartwheels each time I get a handwritten letter, postcard, invitation......well, anything really. I have ridiculous amounts of stationery that I've accumulated over the years and this will give me the perfect opportunity to put some of it to good use. What's one skipped TV show if it means putting a smile on someone's face? I'm actually looking forward to doing this, at least for the moment. It might get a little challenging this summer with a newborn but, according to the rules, handwritten thank you cards and the like should count. :-)

Anyone care to join me?

Be sure to check your mailbox!!!