There's something beautiful about my new morning routine. My alarm shatters my ear drum at 5:45, 5:50, and 5:55. I roll out of bed, groggily brush my teeth, put on deodorant, and dress in my workout best. I head out the door and instantaneously my grouchiness recedes.

The air is crisp, just the way I like it. It's heading towards fall, and I am ever so grateful. Fall is my favorite time of the year. The sun peeks up over the trees and hills in the distance. A bird caws, another chirps, and another breaks out into morning-drunken song. A steady hum envelops the background, perhaps from crickets, or cicadas, or frogs. One or two leaves slip from the branches of the tree and float down towards the ground. A walnut drops with a loud CRACK and lands near my feet.

A few steps down the block and I pass the house with the ivy completely covering it. The hum is really noisy here, and I wonder if the crickets climb up the ivy to serenade the open windows of the house. They have a few limp hostas, and the potential for a very beautiful house. It's sagging a little now, but perhaps they'll make something of it. Their dog is normally out, barking at me, on its leash. Today it is absent. I hope everything is okay.

A few more steps and I pass the house with the tall screening bushes that are encroaching on the side walk. I skirt into their yard and just wait for the day that they get mad that people are walking on their grass. Perhaps they should trim their bushes.

I cross a few streets, looking both ways, wondering if anyone else who is up this early in the morning driving to work knows who I am. I hope that I look industrious in my oversized t-shirt and skin tight pants, heading for the gym.

The roar of the car mufflers overshadows the hum of the insects. I'm a little saddened by this, as I enjoy the sounds of nature. But, it doesn't matter anyway, because I am there. I slip in my earbuds for iPod and walk up to the stationary bike.

Thirty minutes from now I will be pleasantly tired, and will walk home. The scene will be nearly the same, except now the sun will be over the trees, and will provide a different perspective on the same exact walk.

Labels: random

An example of one of the many reasons I married this man.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Aaron

Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 1:52 PM

To: Jennifer

Subject: Here ya go

Thought maybe you could use a little pick-me-up. :)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnzXTGn3i58

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jennifer
To: Aaron
Subject: Re: Here ya go

Oh god, I love you so much. It's a little hot in here!

Labels: random

Countdown to August 15th.

1) Massive Slideshow for Reception
2) All music picked and burned on to DVDs for Reception
3) German Assignment 7
4) German Assignment 8
5) German Assignment 9
6) German Assignment 10
7) German Final Exam
8) Any other reception duties I'm asked to help with.

Plus all my regular duties such as working in the psych lab, taking care of the children, cooking, taking care of the garden, etc.

I'm hurting. Badly. Does someone want to do my German homework for me?

Labels: random

Sammi sure sleeps funny. Either her bum is straight up in the air, or she's half hanging off the bed. Always, the covers are over her head (and her head only).

Labels: random

Tonight we had a wonderful dinner. Aaron and I split a sirloin steak from Grass Run Farms and we had some zucchini fresh out of our garden. First I sliced the zucchini rather thick - about an inch. Then I poured some olive oil in a 13 x 9 dish, and added salt and pepper. Next I slid the zucchini around in the 13x9 dish, coating it. Aaron grilled it up. Then we covered the zucchini slices in marina and topped it with provolone. Wow, I think I drooled all over the table.

I discovered that our health insurance plan reimburses us $20 each if we both make 12 workouts a month towards a gym. We found a local gym that we think participates in the program, and signed up. (The manager didn't seem to know what we were talking about, but he's new, so hopefully we'll get it straightened out.) The really nice thing is that the gym is open 24 hours, located three blocks away, and has free daycare while you work out from 7 am - 6 pm. Mmm.

I had my first work out today, and I started a twitter account (on the sidebar, right) to chronicle my workouts. I want to eventually move up to 6 days of cardio and 3 days of weight lifting. We'll see how that goes. (Edit: I'm trying to get the twitter thingy to work so that it automatically updates and shows you the last 5 posts, but I'm having difficulty.)

Labels: cooking, random

I had my hair cut last week, and I really like it.

I was sitting on the couch, curled up against my husband, when he offhandedly asked me, "When are you going to cut your hair again?" I shrugged, then paused and thought about it. I don't recall him ever asking me that question before, or any question about my appearance. A lightbulb went off that while I'd been trying to grow out my hair because I thought he likes long hair, he actually likes short hair on me!

I'm glad, because my hair is so thick that in the summer time the hair smashes against my skin and suffocates me in sweat. (Gross, huh?)

Labels: random

This morning as I sit in my computer chair with a diet coke and an extremely warm bowl of oatmeal topped with brown sugar and fake maple syrup, I remind myself that I get into these funks sometimes. My stress level goes up and up and up until I can't contain it anymore and then I retreat into myself. Lately, the culprit has been school and the escape has been an unhealthy dose of Stargate SG1 and World of Warcraft.

A few months back there was a huge sale on Stargate SG1 thinpaks. I had already owned seasons 5-9, and with a bit of arguing with myself, I went ahead and purchased season 1-4 and 10 for half off. Aaron has not been thanking me for this recently. I went through seasons 1-4 in the past week and a half. I wake up and watch an episode, I change diapers and come back to an episode, I read textbooks for school and work on homework while watching an episode, I actually fall asleep while watching an episode. I've been having insomnia lately.

Even worse - my new guilty pleasure is playing World of Warcraft (I've been playing for over three years now) while watching Stargate SG1. I know what you are thinking. Does she have no life?

Well, see, that's the whole purpose of retreating into myself. I do have no life at that point. And then after awhile I wake up from my self-induced coma of escapism and I become productive again.

At least, so we hope. So, today I am going to do a crapton of schoolwork and go through the pictures from the honeymoon and give you an update. Right now, in fact. I just had to get this out of my system first.

Labels: random

I'm in the middle of changing the template of our website to be more personalized to us. Some of the design things such as text color on headings has not been fixed. This will happen as I get a few minutes here and there. Some aspects of the site design may change even more as I play around.

Additionally, I'll be changing the available pages, consolidating and expanding. All of this takes time, but it is an ongoing process. If there are any suggestions you have, or comments, please let us know. This is a work in progress.

If anyone knows how Blogger works and can explain to me how to put "last page, next page" type links on the bottom of each page of blogs, please let me know.

Labels: random

For some unknown reason, Blogger has not been working on my computer for the last few days. Talk about frustrating! It appears to be working right now, so we'll see how this goes...

Aaron and I have been slowly updating the pictures in our St. Lucian Honeymoon set on Flickr. We write in little stories about the picture on most of them. We have a lot of pictures to go through, and very little time. Some of them are really beautiful though, so if you get incredibly bored, take five minutes to pretend you were there!

We could even Photoshop your body into this one right here.


Wouldn't that be nice?

Being married is one of the best feelings I've experienced in a long time. I was talking to my friend, Lowell, on the phone the other day and I explained that for the first time in years I feel like I truly belong somewhere and to someone. Growing up with the uncertainty of my childhood with a very busy and slightly disturbed single mother divorced from my alcoholic father, I never really felt like I belonged anywhere. I shuffled from house to house as I was kicked out of my home nearly every other month, and just tried to make it until I could find my own source of stability.

Aaron gives me that. Being married to him helps me realize that I truly do belong here, with him and my children in our fabulous house, in a way that I've missed out on for years. I don't really know how to explain it, and unless you've experienced that wild and constant shifting within your own being, you probably can't understand. I have a sense of peace now that I lacked for a very long time.

Two days ago, someone told me that I'm a very calm person. I snorted out a major laugh. I don't think anyone has ever told me that before.

I like the new me. And, I love my husband. Oh, boy. My husband.

Labels: random

Aaron and I are pretty wiped from our airport journey right now, but we will be posting and updating pictures of the next few days. Instead of leaving you hanging, I wanted to give you the link to our beautiful wedding photos taken by Mikael Lamber.

www.mikaellamber.com

Please click on "Recent Photos" and then "Jennifer & Aaron."

Enjoy.

Labels: random

I thought I would have nice pretty posts for you while I was gone (time delivered). I thought I would have nice pretty posts for you over the past few days.

I was wrong.

We're heading out to the Caribbean today, Aaron and I, for a glorious honeymoon/marriage. It's the dawn of a new day (or a little past), and boy am I excited.

We're leaving behind a state which has over the last month been struck by quite a few tornadoes. We're leaving behind a state which is flooding, badly. Enough to rival the Flood of '93, which we always say in a reverent hush. The flood where Des Moines was without potable water for 18 days. The flood where we had to gather the ever-coming rain water to flush our toilets and take a bath. Water is breaking levees and going over spillways, and its coming baby. But not for me. Not for us. We're heading for calmer seas and beautiful winds.

I'm going scuba diving (hopefully- if I can't pass the physical etc, I'll be snorkeling). I might go horse-back riding. I'll be laying on a beach on beautiful sand. I'll most likely get sunburned.

And I'll be with the love of my life.

(I will start posting again after we get back, some time after June 19th. And hey, thieves, we've got someone staying in our house. Nice try.)

Labels: random

Sorry, I've had a very busy day today and haven't gotten my post up like I thought I would. I'm going to try to post pictures of our garden tomorrow.

Meanwhile, you should listen to this song. It makes me giggle deep down inside in mild hysteria.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGoi1MSGu64 (NSFW: Some cursing.)

Flight of the Conchords "The Humans are Dead"

Labels: random

Ever since I heard about via Garden Girl's website the wonderful benefits of rabbit poop, I've been wanting to raise some rabbits. My full intention is some day to then use excess rabbits for a sustainable food source, but I have no idea if I'll be able to do that. I tend to get really attached to my animals, and the first few times I had to feed pinkies to my bearded dragon, I cried. And cried. And cried. My dad raised rabbits as a child, and he ate and showed rabbits (separately of course). I think it would be an interesting way for our children to learn about responsibility (feeding, brushing, and taking care of the rabbits) as well as the cyclical nature of life (if people are going to eat beef without a thought, then we cannot get angry about eating rabbits).

On a related note, two of our friends (Jake and Julie) are moving from their current home which is two hours away, and will now be living within twenty minutes of us. We're very excited about this, but unfortunately for them, their new abode only allows cats. They've had to get rid of a passel of cockatiels and now their two rabbits. Luckily for us, we were the first people they thought of when they decided to find a new home for their rabbits.

We are very excited for several reasons. First, I love animals (more than I love humans, really). Second, I have been wanting rabbit poop for my garden. Third, I've been wanting to learn more about rabbit care and what is better than hand on experience? Fourth, I've been having a hard time locating rabbits locally.

These rabbits are beloved pets and would never be used for human food. I'm making that very clear. Instead, these are indoor house pets (and manure makers, yeeess!).





Jake made this rabbit cage. I want him to make the rest of my furniture, because his work is beautiful. They gave this beautiful piece of furniture to us for free.



Nate is already very excited about having two new pets, as can be seen here where he tries to kiss Teyla.



Trixsy is constantly grooming and seeking attention. Aaron has nicknamed her A&W (for attention whore). I wouldn't let him call her by his version of her full name around the kids. ;)



Aww, they are so cute.

Labels: random

For my son's birthday last year, I made him a train table.



I designed it after looking through a Pottery Barn catalog and then went out and bought the wood. Aaron and I created it together, although I did at least one part of each step myself. I'm not 100% comfortable with power tools, so I'd have him start and show me how to do it with his tool, and then I'd finish.

This year for Nate and Sammi's birthday, I have designed two carts to go under that train table with locks so that they can't get into them unless I open them. They will hold their Little People toys and their train toys.

I have also designed an easel that is adjustable to their height, with two sides so they can play simultaneously, and two double-sized boards. Board one will be a white board and chalk board. Board two will be a felt board and magnet board. On top with be a roll of paper that can go down either side (but only one side at a time). The boards will be interchangeable as well. I can also add more boards - I've thought of one side for a board, but not the other. I'd like to glue a bunch of pieces of fabric to a board and then have zippers, buttons, fish eye clasps, ribbons, etc to practice braiding, tying, buttoning, zipping.

My sister had the brilliant idea of trying to find some magnetic clips so that the magnet board can be turned into a way to hold on to the paper on the roll. I asked my mom to make the kids for their birthday a castle or fantasy-themed felt set to play with on their new easel.

I just finished drawing out the plans, so soon I'll have to go purchase the wood and try it out. I'm shaking in my boots.

Labels: random

My beautiful daughter just loves to get ready to go outside.

This time, she pulled her dirty shirt on her head for a hat, grabbed a mitten from the bin (but just one!), and grabbed her sandals. She then stood at the gate to the office repeating, "Pweaaaase! Weeease!"

Man, she's got me wrapped around her little finger...

Labels: random

I wonder if this is what I look like right now after driving for hours and hours and hours and hours...

Labels: random

Tonight I leave to go to Des Moines to meet up with my dad before we take a week long trip through various regions of Colorado. I hope to be able to post while I'm on the road, but if not, I've made sure to put a couple drafts up. Hopefully Blogger will cooperate and post them on time. If not - I'll see you guys on May 28h!

Labels: random

On this past Saturday we dropped off the kids with their Aunt Christa and her boyfriend Javi in their new apartment, which of course meant the kids had a wonderful weekend of debauchery with much spoiling. Meanwhile, Aaron and I plus our friends Jake and Julie, Paul and Patti, and Brent went off to celebrate Aaron and I's upcoming marriage with a joint bachelor/bachelorette party. First, we saw a matinee of Iron Man. I really liked the movie although I think it is a typical comic book-to-movie type of flick. Next, we ate at a restaurant in Ames of Aaron's choosing. Aaron went to college in Ames, and that is where we held the majority of the bachelor(ette) party. Unfortunately, this particular Mexican restaurant no longer gives you a t-shirt if you drink their two of their mega-humongous margaritas. It would have been nice to get a couple of commemorative shirts... We followed up the food by visiting Aaron's favorite Ames bar, where we played darts. My favorite memory of that was when the person who was kicking all of our butts (Patti) accidentally threw the dart OVER the dartboard, and her and Julie had to crawl around on the floor trying to figure out how to get behind the machine. I think that cost her her lead, because Brent ended up wiping the floor with all of us. We finished off the night by driving 45 minutes to see one of our friends play in a band in some obscure bar, where my friends Sara and Eric met up with us. All in all it was a smashing good time, and I'm glad I had such wonderful company at our party.

The next day was my day, and I chose to spend it at Living History Farms. I can remember visiting the outdoor museum when I was in elementary school. We were instructed on how to make brooms and set type for newspapers. Even though Nate is not yet four, and Sammi is not yet two, I thought they might enjoy it and maybe have some memories in the future. Also, Aaron had never been, having grown up on the eastern side of the state. My sister helped us out and came along with us, and we all had a lovely time (I think).

Living History Farms has two major parts. The first is the "Farm" section where you go on a tour of an Ioway site with a bark lodge, tepee, and winter lodge. They tell you how the Ioway farmed and talk about how they went on the great buffalo hunt in the summer months. They show some of the utensils they used and how they lived. You walk on a trail through some nice woodlands to an 1850's farm complete with a log cabin, barn, smoke house, and other exhibits. There are real people completing tasks that would be done on such a farm such as wool spinning, field clearing, etc. It's a working exhibit. Next up is the 1900's farm with a barn, house (hey, our house was built in 1900...), animals, and all the necessary buildings. You end this section by seeing an exhibit of today's agriculture. The second part is an 1875 town with over ten different buildings, each manned by someone talking about how people lived and worked in that time period. The entire trip is extremely fascinating and one of my favorite places to go.

You can see all of the pictures at our Flickr site, but I'll highlight a few here.


Sammi's very first drink from a water fountain. She succeeded in getting a lot of water on her face and very little water in her mouth. Maybe next time?


A creek on the walk between the farms.


Some fencing at the 1850 Farmsite.


Aunt Christa & Nate, walking the trail. Someone is getting spoiled rotten...


This duck looks like he is drooling all over, but really it is water from the trough below.


Daddy & Sammi having a good time.


Windmill at the 1900 Farm.


The kids on the drive back home. I think they had a good weekend - and they are definitely exhausted!

My favorite part of the entire trip, however, had to be near the end of Sunday when Aaron went to change Nate's pull-up and the surprise he found. Nate had not been changed for nearly seven hours, and he was dry. That's right: I think my boy is finally toilet-trained. I asked Nate what he wanted to eat for celebration. The answer? Pizza. Num, num.

Labels: random

Why is it that stuffed animals are so prolific in my house? Are they running around doing the nasty and having babies? All I know is that everywhere I look, I see stuffed animals, and currently I have no way to corral them. For over a year now I've wanted something similar to Boon's Animal Bag. I've scoured ebay on a sporadic schedule, searching for the elusive "cheap" animal bag. Alas, I have not found anything. I've searched via google for a cheap knockoff, and that too has not gone well.

Now I'm asking you, yes -- YOU, to help me. Have you heard of another version of the stuffed animal bean bag chair? I think this is the best solution, as the children love to steal any of chair or pilates ball they can get their hands on to lay and sit on, we have plenty of space in the playroom for two bean bag chairs, and yet I don't like the stuffing they put in those chairs. I have too many stuffed animals (and I've pared down the pile many times), and nowhere to put them.

Do you know if it would be cheaper to make this chair by hand? Would it be hard for a novice to make? (I don't even have a sewing machine yet, but I could purchase one for less than it'd cost to buy two of these chairs). Do you know of anyone who makes these chairs for cheaper than the Boon price?

Help a woman out, here. Please.

Labels: random

I have a love affair with the color blue. The more bright and nearly electric-like, the better. When I was a kid (probably around 10 or so), my dad built a room in the basement for me. He asked me what color I wanted the walls. I'm sure my parents expected pink or some other fluffy bunny color, but no, I wanted electric blue. I think my mom was not in favor, but my dad argued on my behalf that a girl should have what a girl wants.

When Aaron and I bought our house, I took pictures of every room.


This is our bedroom when we bought the house.


This is our bedroom now. Eventually, the nightstand will go and be replaced by something else, or at least moved over next to the bed. Right now we have a rickety old ceiling fan that shakes and wobbles and makes me scared it's going to fall down. We are going to replace it and then we won't need the monster fan at the foot of the bed. There is a book on the left side of the picture, laying on the floor next to the bed. That's Calvin and Hobbes, volume two. Aaron reads it to me sometimes before we go to sleep. It took us over a year to get through volume one, so I have high hopes of lasting entertainment for the next year and a half or so. The glow-in-the-dark star hanging from the ceiling is my way of creating a pull for the light. The light switch is BEHIND the door when you open the door, which is exceedingly annoying. We leave the switch flipped up and we pull the star to get lights.

The white spot on the wall is where Sammi and Nate got into the paint cans and poured paint all over Sammi and the floor, then left perfect brown foot prints on the carpet all the way to the bathroom as well as a perfect Sammi hand print on the wall. I'm keeping that sucker on the wall and framing it in some color of paint. No, I'm not kidding.


This is the other side of our bedroom when we bought the house.


And after. Eventually I'll be redoing the closet to the point that we will have no dressers at all. So that will move out of this area, and in its place I want to put a rack for hanging used-once suits or other clothing items we plan to rewear, so that they don't get wrinkled laying on the floor or use up my chair space. I am also crocheting an afghan that is the color of the walls that will be over that chair for when I want to read in the winter. Last, I need to put a floor lamp in that corner.

Once I get a sewing machine, I want to create curtains for all the windows that are the brown color with a matching blue lace over the top.

Apparently our closet was too hard to get a picture of, but it was the same color scheme with absolutely nothing on the walls.


When you stand at the door and look in. Aaron built that shelf for me and there is a closet rod smack dab in the center of it for hanging clothes. Right now all of our blankets are on the floor, but I want to build a blanket box/window seat that will stretch along the left wall (from this picture). Then those blankets will go in that box, which will double as a cushioned place to lay down, read a book, and look out the window. Or a place to sit to try on shoes, etc. Under the clothes will be an open-faced shelving unit with baskets of clothes. On the shelf housing the closet rod will be more baskets of clothes.


This is the wall you see on the right side of the above picture. The two (originally shoe holders) wall containers are housing my socks and other delicates. Between them are hooks for jewelry and a ribbon which I've put my earrings on. Smack dab in that middle area there will be a long and tall mirror to see what we're wearing and how it looks. A last check before we walk out the door to go to work, if you will. On either side of the mirror will be hooks for belts. This utilized that space the best way I could think of, beacuse it lies flat against the wall which is good because the doorway is nearly flat against that wall, and we didn't want anything we'd bump into when we walked into the closet. (Also, I have no expensive jewelry or earrings, so don't get excited.)


Here's the doorway and wall leading back into the bedroom. There is a dresser there which will eventually go to make space for more open faced shelves with baskets of clothes. Also, the blanket box will stretch all along the base of the floor and wrap around. (In this picture, the window is on your right.) On top of that dresser is my prized coca-cola lite bottle that I brought home from Germany. :D

So, now you've had a tour of Aaron and I's bedroom and how we've changed it and plan to change it more since we bought our house a year and a half ago.

Labels: random

I'm a wet blanket, lately, so I'm going to clue you in to posts that I hope to make soon.

• Taking the kids to the ren faire
• Aaron and I's joint bachelor/bachelorette party
• Faces my kids make
• Living History Farms
• Updates to my garden (filled out all the beds with compost, things have sprouted, and plants are being planted)
• Updates to my yard (fence is finished on three of the four sides, want to put in natural prairie grass near AC)

They don't sound very interesting, but I'll try to make them interesting. After all, I'm sharing my life with you, and sometimes my life just isn't that interesting. Right now it's nearly finals week and I'm struggling to stay afloat with school, work, and life. I've got massive writer's block, too. So I think this week I'll be leaving you with lots of pictures of things that we've been doing lately, while I work on getting the above posts fleshed out, thought about, and written. Maybe I'll even pester Aaron to get on and write one of his extremely witty posts.

For now, though, I'll leave you with pictures of Mount Vernon's Chalk The Walk Festival, held this past weekend. Once a year they close down main street and let a bunch of artists chalk up the street. It's supposedly the largest Madonnari festival in Iowa, and it is lots of good fun.

I apologize for being too lazy to straighten, boost, and crop them. However, you can click on them to see bigger shots. :)

Here the community is given squares to create this huge painting replica.

Labels: random

I think that I would like to blame this on my sister. You see, she and I wear the exact same kind of socks. The kind that come from the PX (What is it in the Air Force? BX?). She lived with us for a few months after she was medically discharged from basic training, and we did our laundry together. This caused problems as I had a gazillion and a half pairs of black boot socks and a gazillion and a half pairs of white PT socks. She also had the same kind of socks.

Before she came, my socks did not have holes. They didn't. I swear. Okay, I should probably admit that I'd had some of these socks for close to six years. However, before she arrived, these socks did not have holes.

Then, she came. All of a sudden our laundry got mixed up and somehow, many ragged holes started appearing in my socks. I know that I didn't suddenly acquire some massive foot acidic-sock-eating bacteria. You'd think I'd notice if I had, right?

My theory is that Christa shoved all her holey socks into my laundry basket, thereby getting new socks without having to pay for them. It's just a theory, mind you. (If she's reading this, she's getting up-in-arms about now. She's denied it vehemently. All I've got to say is, "I think the lady doth protest too much.")

Of course, it could also be that some of my socks are six years old. But shh, you didn't hear that.

I went through our laundry recently and pulled out all of the holey socks: Aaron's, mine (Jen), Nate's, and Sammi's.--

Look! Our names are in alphabetical AND age order! Aren't we cool?

--Anyywaay. So, I pulled out all the holey socks.





The above is the holey sock pile, if you can't tell. The little toy truck is in there so you can see how enormous the pile is. Additionally, I had to go grab that truck from one of the toy bins in the playroom. You'll never be able to find toy trucks, books, or puzzle pieces just loitering in my living room. Nope. Really! (Please don't test me on this; just take my word!)

We were already planning on going into The City (you know, the one I live twenty minutes away from, the stinkiest city in Iowa) for some sandals for the kids, groceries, and other minutiae. We added socks to the list.

I got a wild hair up my-- err, anyway, I decided that I wanted some COLORED socks. You know, ones that aren't white? (Did you notice that there is only one non-white sock in that pile? Yeeaah.) I'm branching out in my wardrobe. My socks are no longer required to be white.

When we got to the store(s), I looked everywhere for some cool mismatched colorful socks. Why? Because when I go out, I go aaall out. I wanted some spastic socks. I wanted some colorful, cheerful, jump up and shout, "HALLELUJAH, WE ARE ALIVE," socks. Like these ones. But, you know, not $2.66 a sock (plus shipping and handling).

...

...

Do you think I found any shocking, eccentric socks?

No. No, I didn't.

So now my plan is just to go barefoot for all of eternity. At least until I find some amazing COME TO MAMA socks.

You know. Because I'm stubborn like that.

Labels: random

I have run out of things to do to avoid homework. Thus, this was born.

Labels: random

Sorry guys, but you may want to "x" out now.

A few weeks ago I ordered a Diva Cup and some Lunapads from Lunapads. They arrived yesterday, and just in time. So far I've found that the diva cup is just as comfortable, if not more so, than the typical tampon. The Lunapads kind of remind me (now, before use) of my Victoria's Secret underwear. Comfortable, brightly colored, and confidence-inspiring. They aren't as bulky as pads and they have great designs on them (more to hide, you know, what they're really for than anything else), so I feel kind of happy wearing them. Much more so then when I slip on some Always (you know, "Have a happy period"?).

What I really like is that I'm reducing the impact on landfills and sewage treatment plants. Another good benefit of the Diva Cup is that it does not cause TSS. :)

Three cheers for reusable medical products for women's cycles!

Labels: random

Oy, that was a bit of a dry stint. I'm really busy right now trying to catch up on school, working on starting up my honors project for graduation, and trying to make sure I can fit in all my classes by December. Then I have those kids and that amazing fiance, and a wedding in less than 6 weeks. Oh boy.

Aaron and I took the weekend off from stress and spent Saturday touring four local wineries from the Iowa Wine Trail. We hit up Tabor Winery first, followed by Park Farm, Daly, and Sutliff. (We absolutely love Sutliff's hard cider. So much so that we have a case of it in the basement.)

Tabor was my favorite winery with the nicest people and the most down-to-earth yet beautiful facilities. Sutliff was of course my favorite cider-making-place with also very nice people. I think I'll be frequenting product from those two places quite often. Paul, from Tabor, informed me that if I come out for some of their activities, or just to visit, I can take as many pictures of the grape vines and grounds as I want. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten my camera at home that day.

I don't think I've really talked about this before, but I put my foot in my mouth a lot. Really, I do. Things come out of my mouth before my brain has a second to catch up. It's a horrendous embarassing disease.

Background: One of the men at Tabor Wineries was showing Aaron their bottling facilities. We were talking about speaking German because one of the labels on the machine was in German. The man then asked us if we went to Iowa State, since Aaron had an Iowa State shirt on.

Jen: Aaron went to Iowa State, but I am going to the University of Iowa with an end goal of social work.
Man: (Asked something, I don't remember what.)
Jen: Oh no, Aaron does the sciences. I do the people.
Jen, blinking rapidly and thinking, "Oh shit."
Jen: I mean, I don't do people... Oh hell.
Man: I think you need more wine!

Yeeeaaah....

Labels: random

I often spend time looking at new websites that I've been linked to through other blogs, e-mails, and forums. This website I found via a calendar. An actual, real-life, non-electronic calendar. I know, I was shocked too.

Green Hour is a program by the National Wildlife Federation. Their goal is to give children one hour of "unstructured play and interaction with the natural world" (Green Hour > About Green Hour). What a cool idea! Instead of just preaching about why its a good idea (although there is some of that, thankfully), they include activities that you can do with your children during your green hour!

The latest talks about dancing in the rain, or having spoon races where you see whose spoon fills up the fastest. There are many other ideas as well. They have links to information to read to further your knowledge on nature-themed ideas. All in all, I just think its a really cool site.

Tell me what you think!

Labels: random

Spring has truly arrived, and with it, we've got mushrooms!



I love mushrooms, for some reason.

This weekend was another busy one. On Saturday, my sister came in to town to pick up the rest of her things from our basement. We enlisted her help in getting the last load of concrete block for our raised beds, and Aaron also grabbed another load of compost. We've figured out that we need approximately two more truck loads and we'll be done building the raised beds.



As you can see, there are now two levels of block on the beds. The front three and the back left bed still need more compost, while the back two that are covered with plastic are full of compost and have been planted (seeded?). They are currently covered with some plastic which will be going up on those hoops to create mini-greenhouses. All of the parts are reusable so we can use them next spring, and the one after, and the one after.



The pipe goes into wooden blocks cut to fit into the concrete blocks (go Aaron!) in order to make them more sturdy. The wood was scrap lumber, but the pipes had to be bought new. They will be used again (as I mentioned), so at least it isn't a complete waste. We need to buy some sort of t-fitting and stick some rigid pipe in between the two hoops and then place that plastic over the top.

I'm hoping when I design the rabbit hutch, I will be able to utilize round poles or dowels that will go into those blocks in order to keep the hutch steady. Unfortunately, I think the size difference from bed to bed in the way the holes were cut will make that impossible. I'm still trying to come up with a good flexible system.

Oh, I've companion planting planned all of the beds and the holes around the beds will be host to marigolds, nastartium, herbs, and other great companion plants.

Fortunately, the weekend wasn't all work (although I did lose two pounds just from all the shoveling of that compost).



Aaron and I enjoyed some time in our hammock. Aaron & Jen trivia - I bought Aaron this hammock for father's day last year, and it is where he proposed to me.



Nate also got his first ever bike ride. He was extremely excited and refused to get off. Unfortunately, we don't have training wheels, so it meant that Aaron had to wheel him around for quite a bit of time. They both had a blast!

How was your weekend?

Labels: gardening, outdoors, random

I realize that I talk about myself, my wonderful kids, amazing fiance, and our life a lot. Mostly the somewhat boring day-in day-out sort of things. (Hey, by the way, if you have any questions - please ask them! I never know what to post about on the days when I don't have a burning desire to talk about how I potted a plant.) I started this blog because I feel better after I write a post and push "publish." It gives me some sort of release. Also, I can look back and remember what I did and why, which helps when I go to scrapbook something four years after the fact.

Oh, what was my point?

Yes. I don't talk about my extended family very much or even my friends. So, I thought I'd tell you a little about my parents.

My mother and father attended the same high school over twenty years ago. I don't actually know how or why they met, but it could have been at a sports event as my father was the quarterback of the football team, and played basketball and baseball, too. He was a little bit of a jock. He is the youngest of his family, so his three other siblings had already paved the way into the social life. My mom was quiet and shy (or so she tells me), and didn't hang out with the popular crowd.

Somehow they met and fell in love. I think Mom told me once that she just liked the way he filled out those jeans of his. I could be completely making that up, though. I'm not tellin'.

She told me a story about how they went on some bible camp or church trip or something together, and there was this event where they were all in a cave. Blah, blah, some elaborate story, but then when my dad was asked who should go out of the cave to get "help" if they were stuck (or something like that), my dad said he should go because if he died, he'd go to heaven. But my mom wasn't saved, and he didn't want her to die because she wouldn't. Or something like that. Okay, do I seem a little fuzzy on the details? I am. But, the key is - my dad was willing to sacrifice his life for my mom's, based upon his faith. Pretty suave guy.

So, that night my mom and dad conceived me... No, no, I'm just kidding. I don't know what night it was. (But I do know where it was, because they decided it was important that I know. Yuck!) Really, though, my mom became pregnant with me in high school, when she was but seventeen years old. It was her senior year. My dad was nineteen and I think he was in college. They broke up for awhile, and dated other people, but they ended up getting back together. They married in 1987, promptly had my sister (the next year), and four years later had my brother.

So, there you go. My mom and dad also had their children young (although I waited an extra two years), and I have a brother and a sister.

Labels: random

I've been going through old pictures, getting ready to scrapbook them. I have over 7,400 pictures in Elements, and that doesn't include all of my hard copy pictures which I haven't scanned. I go through about one hundred pictures at a time, checking the date, categorizing them to make it easier to find them, and marveling over how I've changed (for the better, I think).

However, I'm still wondering "When can I start looking like THIS again?"


Or, thoughts pop up into my head such as, "Why did I ever cut my beautiful hair?"



Also, "Wow, Nate had pointy ears."



I think about how gorgeous all the places I've been to have been. In particular, San Francisco...



...and Germany.



And then when I close Elements to go on to something else, I give a quick sigh of thanks that I am where I am with who I am. I'm glad of everything I've done, all the people I've met, and the places I've seen along the way.

Yet, I'm still ready for more adventures. I'm ready to meet more people, see more things, go more places. I'm ready to change (hopefully, for the even better).

Labels: random

My dad was not really an affectionate kind of guy. He's argumentative, a little rough around the edges and a little too concerned sometimes with being "tough." He's also an alcoholic and has too often put himself and his drink(s) in front of his children. He'll never admit that, though, because he prides himself on being there if we ever need him. I can't say that he's always been there, but he does try within the limitations of his problem.

Since I was really young, he has told me that one day he will take me to Colorado and we'll travel the entire state. It was almost a mantra. One day, my daddy and I would travel to Colorado and do something together. I looked forward to it with all of the fervor that a little child can. The years slid by in a frantic blurred motion, and that day never came. That trip never came.

Approximately three to four years ago, I took the planning out of his hands. I called around to a bunch of different places and had brochures sent to me from the travel bureaus and visitors centers of Colorado. I got rates and good travel dates. I asked him if we could talk about it, and plan a trip. I told him I had the money saved up and I wanted to go before it was too late, and he was gone. He told me he'd tell me when he had enough money.

The years slid by, that frantic blurred motion still keeping pace. He didn't call. If I brought it up, he changed the subject. You see, my dad never had enough money and he couldn't save it up. How could he, when he spent all of his money in the bar and on child support?

Last year, I started planning a trip to South Dakota with my friend, Jonathan. I invited my dad and my brother to come along. My sister would be in Air Force training when we planned to go. It'd be my family (Aaron and the kids), Jonathan, my dad, and brother. My dad turned me down and said he just didn't have enough money (mind you, we were tent camping and the entire trip was so cheap compared to what he spends in a month at a bar).

I found out six weeks before we left for our South Dakota vacation that he was taking my younger sister and brother to Colorado for a week. He didn't even invite me.

I felt betrayed; I cried. I reasoned it out in my head and tried to figure out why he didn't invite me. I felt like a toddler whose sucker had just been taken away. And, if he didn't have the money to go tent-camping in South Dakota, then how the hell did he have the money to take my brother and sister to Colorado for a week and stay in hotels and go on elaborate tours?

Finally, I worked up the courage to ask him what had happened. He told me that when I'd informed him of the trip (late Spring), he didn't have the money to go to South Dakota. Then he got money and decided to take my sister and brother to Colorado. He didn't invite me because I have kids, and he wasn't going to pay for me, my two kids, and my fiance to go to Colorado. He also didn't have the space. I informed him that we would have been happy to take our own vehicle and pay for ourselves, not to mention the fact that I could have went by myself, and left everyone else here in Iowa. He just grumbled and said he didn't understand the big deal, that I'm all grown up now, and I shouldn't be unhappy.

I persisted in being unhappy about it. We've never really done anything together, and this was a promised trip that was talked about my entire childhood.

Recently, I think he gave up on trying to understand how I felt and just decided to give in. He and I are going to Colorado next month for a week.

Any suggestions on things I just have to see?

Labels: random

I officially fit in my pre-pregnancy size 10 jeans. Before I had Sammi I wore some stretchy size 8s and solid size 10s. When I was having The Bloat, I wore size 12s. After I had Sammi, I fit in stretchy size 12s and solid size 14s. This means that I've dropped TWO WHOLE SIZES along with my weight.

I don't think my goal of 145-155 is unreasonable. For my height, I am supposed to be around 130 pounds. I have not weighed that little since high school. When I was solid muscle I weighed 145. That's my goal. I'm within 20 pounds of that goal, but I'm noticing that while I'm not dropping weight (very much) right now, I'm dropping sizes. This must mean that I'm building up muscle (finally)!

I can now do my 75 abdominal exercises (25 sit-ups, 25 declined oblique turney things, 25 declined crunches) without stopping. That doesn't seem like such a big deal considering I used to do nearly that many full situps on my PT test, but a year ago I couldn't even do 25 situps without stopping. I'm going to keep working on this, as my stomach is still a jiggly mass of jello.

I'm happy to report, though, that I am now able to work outside and play with the kids without getting too tired. I could now play a game of football with Nate, or run around the yard with Sammi. That was part of my goal, and I'm happy to have achieved it. Of course, I can always work on and refine that so that I'm even more fit (as I will do).

All in all though, I must say that I'm extremely happy with where I'm at right now. I finally accepted myself for who I was, and my body for what it was, and thought to myself, "You know, if I never change from this shape, it won't matter. I'll still be loved by Aaron, by my kids, and most importantly by myself." And that's when the weight started shedding. I'm happy where I am, and I will be happy if/when I hit 145-155.

Above all, besides health reasons, it really doesn't matter though. I am loved for who I am and not for what I look like.

Labels: random

Yesterday, we ran over to Aaron's grandparents farm for their (big) easter celebration. The kids had a wonderful time looking at the cattle and running around in the yard.



(I have officially stopped caring about the line going through my pictures until I have the time to fix it.)

One of the easter traditions is apparently beating the everliving mercy out of a man strung up from a tree until he gives up his candy. Well, at least this year they had a man. Our children are too small to partake in such brutality, so instead they beat the tar and stuffing out of a star.



Sammi's the youngest and she had a wonderful time swinging away like a pro. See how seriously she grips that stick?



Nate swung away as well, and I think he might have actually hit the star a time or two. Of course, he's not a very aggressive boy (as of yet) and it was more like a lovetap. The older of the younger kids didn't mind too much, though, because that just meant that they might be able to break the pinata.

The big boys (and girls), though... Well, they persisted in beating up the poor man. Sadistically, he had a smile on his face the entire time.



Last, I'll leave you with a picture of this beautiful animal.



Moooo.

Labels: random

Last night, we packed up everyone to go over to Indian Creek Nature Center. They were having a frog walk which I thought the children would just have a blast with. Unfortunately, when we left to head over there it was sprinkling a little, so I was hoping we weren't going to have another rash of bad weather that had us hanging out in basements and interior hallways like the night before. When we arrived, there was only two other people there for the walk (and the guide), but we were assured it was still on.

Nate was so excited about seeing the "froggies and fishies" (as he persisted in calling the tadpole). The guide had a small tupperware container of tapioca (bead-like things) in a gelatin-like mixture. Nate stuck his finger in it, "Gross, slimey!" The guide laughed and explained that it is supposed to feel like frog eggs. A while later some other people showed up, late, and she passed around the faux frog eggs again. Nate wandered up to her with a pleading look on her face. She responded, "But you didn't like it last time!" She handed them over and Nate stuck his finger in there gamely. "Slimey!" He wiped his finger on his pants and everyone laughed.

She had one reversible puppet showing how a frog changes from a tadpole to a frog. Nate seemed interested in that. I thought it was pretty neat. After that we all listened to frog calls and ways to remember what they sound like. The spring peepers sound like jingle bells, the western chorus frogs sound like running a finger over a comb, and the leopard frogs (?) sound like a wood pecker.

The trails were flooded so we didn't get to do the "walk" part of the program, but we drove over to the wetlands to hear the frogs in person. Nate was fascinated by the train nearby, but he also loved listening to the frogs. Sammi was, I think, just happy to be doing something other than sitting around the house.

I think one of the more important things she mentioned was that with the way frogs operate - taking in moisture through their permeable skins, etc. - it is really easy for them to become sick from all of the pesticide run-off from people putting chemicals on their lawns and from farmers. She said that frogs are sometimes called the "Barometer of the Environment." She also mentioned that this year has been declared, internationally, the Year of the Frog.

From the Year of the Frog website: "The IUCN has classified four amphibians in the U.S. to be critically endangered, the Mississippi gopher frog, the Chiricahua leopard frog, the mountain yellow-legged frog, and the Wyoming toad. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed thirty-seven amphibian species under the Endangered Species Act. AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums may be their only hope for survival."

---

Last week, sight unseen, I had talked to one of the women that work at the center about volunteering for them. Aaron, myself, and the kids had so much fun last night that I'm really glad I'd had the faith to do that. I go in on Monday to talk to - ironically - the guide that we had last night about what I can do and where. Meanwhile, tonight they are having a talk by one of the local CSA farmers about her thoughts on why "Food Matters." I'm looking forward to it.

Right now, though, I get to go work on a farm for Local Foods Connection. I'll be honest. My life has gotten a lot more interesting now that I'm volunteering actively in my community. Before I just sat at home watching kids and doing homework. I am enjoying how I'm getting out and doing things (for free!).

I hope your weekends are all doing as well as mine!

Labels: random, volunteering

I've lost twenty to twenty-five pounds (thirty if you go all the way back to the month after having birth). Can you tell?





I think its really hard to tell, but I've still got another twenty to go!

(Sorry that my pictures turn out so crappy. I resize them in order to get them to fit on the blog, and they get all pixelated. I'm going to try to fix that this weekend by making the blog space bigger so I don't have to resize them. :)

Labels: random

My sister and I have a great relationship. When I ask her not to do something with my kids, she remembers it a year later and respects me so much that she just doesn't do it! She even ignores those niggling auntie vibes that tell her, "Do it, do it, do it, spoil those kids!" She's so wonderful. You know, it took us many years to cultivate this relationship that we have now. I just love her to death.


She's great with my kids, too. They love her so much. After she leaves from a visit, they run around yelling, "Aunt Christa! Aunt Christa! Where are you?!"


Oh, hey, Aunt Christa... she's trying to steal a bite of your cake.

...Wait-a-minnut.


What's this?!


Oh ho ho - I see now. You thought you could fool me, eh? It's alright. I can see that you are honestly ashamed of yourself. I forgive you.


And then as soon as I turn my back... You know what? I don't think she's really abashed. Not in the least.

Labels: random

Sammi got to visit her great-great-grandmother on Easter, and she promptly picked up her hat to wear. I think she looks amazingly cute.