Yesterday, it was announced that the FDA wants to limit the number of antibiotics given to farm animals due to concern over the overuse of the drugs. The agency is worried that pumping these animals full of antibiotics is spurring bacteria to evolve and become resistant to the drugs. Then when humans take antibiotics to counter an infection, they no longer work. While the guidance issued by the FDA is voluntary, hopefully enough comments come in from concerned citizens and groups urging the FDA to enact real rules and regulations on this topic.
I know that I will be submitting a comment into the FDA. I believe that the FDA and USDA need to form an interagency agreement and work together on making farm animals more healthy by changing the environment in which they are born and bred. If animals are in better environments (i.e. not squeezed together in a small building or standing in their own poop all day) then antibiotics are not even necessary.
Want to submit a comment? Any citizen may do so by going here. Put FDA-2010-D-0094-0001 into the search box and comment away! Don’t be shy! Employees from the FDA will read every submission and every voice counts! If you want to read the short Federal Register entry, go here.
6.29.2010
6.28.2010
Running thoughts
So many pregnancy thoughts running through my brain. I mean, I don’t expect us to conceive in the first month, but I will be disappointed if we don’t.
I KNOW that at our age it could take longer to get pregnant. I KNOW that even with the healthiest and most fertile couples it can take a few months to get the timing right.
I KNOW that there are things that we could be doing, but for now we are not. CP and I are not taking my temperature or using other methods to figure out when we should be hopping into bed. Frankly that doesn’t sound very sexy. I did download an app onto my iTouch where you can chart your period. It tells you based on your cycle when you could be ovulating, but obviously it is just a guess. I mainly downloaded it because without the pill to know where I am in my monthly cycle, my period would probably just sneak up on me!*
I KNOW in the back of my mind that I could be infertile for no reason at all, or that CP could be shooting blanks. But I don’t expect that to happen to us. We joke about buying the house and then not being able to have kids…then just getting a bunch of dogs and they each would get a room. But I would be pretty devastated if that happened. For something that I haven’t wanted until fairly recently, it’s something that I really want.
I KNOW that there are only really five days when a woman is fertile and once those days are up, you have to wait another month to try again. It’s just such a short window. If it doesn’t happen this month, the wait until the next month will be arduous (not the practice though! :-) ). And I wish that I could talk to a friend about it, but I understand CP not wanting to broadcast to the world that we are trying. I feel a little crazy about some of the thoughts that are running through my head.
I KNOW that part of the reason that I am hoping that we get pregnant on the first try is because once I have made up my mind on a path I am taking, I go for it. It’s my personality. Once we decided we were going to scrap the move to Denver, I went full force into finding a place in CT. And now that it has been over a month since I stopped taking the pill, it’s time to get pregnant. NOW. I wouldn’t say that I am necessarily stressing about all of this, but it is definitely on my mind.
Despite only having five days of fertility a month, I have to have hope that if people in drunken one night stands can get pregnant, so can we! Ha!
Sorry if this post is all over the place. Just various thoughts running through my mind.
*And yes, I realize that it is sad that a 31 yr old woman forgets these things, but remember that I have been on the pill since Sophomore year in college. I haven’t had to think about it in YEARS (and before that I would forget all the time too).
I KNOW that at our age it could take longer to get pregnant. I KNOW that even with the healthiest and most fertile couples it can take a few months to get the timing right.
I KNOW that there are things that we could be doing, but for now we are not. CP and I are not taking my temperature or using other methods to figure out when we should be hopping into bed. Frankly that doesn’t sound very sexy. I did download an app onto my iTouch where you can chart your period. It tells you based on your cycle when you could be ovulating, but obviously it is just a guess. I mainly downloaded it because without the pill to know where I am in my monthly cycle, my period would probably just sneak up on me!*
I KNOW in the back of my mind that I could be infertile for no reason at all, or that CP could be shooting blanks. But I don’t expect that to happen to us. We joke about buying the house and then not being able to have kids…then just getting a bunch of dogs and they each would get a room. But I would be pretty devastated if that happened. For something that I haven’t wanted until fairly recently, it’s something that I really want.
I KNOW that there are only really five days when a woman is fertile and once those days are up, you have to wait another month to try again. It’s just such a short window. If it doesn’t happen this month, the wait until the next month will be arduous (not the practice though! :-) ). And I wish that I could talk to a friend about it, but I understand CP not wanting to broadcast to the world that we are trying. I feel a little crazy about some of the thoughts that are running through my head.
I KNOW that part of the reason that I am hoping that we get pregnant on the first try is because once I have made up my mind on a path I am taking, I go for it. It’s my personality. Once we decided we were going to scrap the move to Denver, I went full force into finding a place in CT. And now that it has been over a month since I stopped taking the pill, it’s time to get pregnant. NOW. I wouldn’t say that I am necessarily stressing about all of this, but it is definitely on my mind.
Despite only having five days of fertility a month, I have to have hope that if people in drunken one night stands can get pregnant, so can we! Ha!
Sorry if this post is all over the place. Just various thoughts running through my mind.
*And yes, I realize that it is sad that a 31 yr old woman forgets these things, but remember that I have been on the pill since Sophomore year in college. I haven’t had to think about it in YEARS (and before that I would forget all the time too).
6.25.2010
Still waiting...
I swear I will NEVER do a real estate deal with someone who is working through a relocation company again. This is ridonkulous! I know that they are just covering their butts by having us sign all kinds of blank paperwork saying that they never occupied the house and therefore have nothing to add to the seller's disclosures, but COME ON.
AND they are wanting a huge chunk of cash for the first deposit instead of the second deposit (usually it is the other way around). This is a bit difficult as we are now sort of scrambling around to get the money, using a post-dated check, etc. I'm whining a bit here but they sure aren't making it easy to buy this darn house!!
Anyway, our realtor is headed over to the other realtor's office to hand her the first part of the deposit check and hopefully that is enough to take the house off the MLS. Our realtor is also sending over all of the documents that we signed last night to the relocation company in the hopes that they will sign the documents before this weekend (at this point? Probably not).
The whole thing is stressing me out. I had two beers last night to calm myself down and CP and I even got into a bit of a fight because I am stressed out that the deal might not go through. I hope to not stress too much this weekend and have good news for you on Monday!
To be continued.....
AND they are wanting a huge chunk of cash for the first deposit instead of the second deposit (usually it is the other way around). This is a bit difficult as we are now sort of scrambling around to get the money, using a post-dated check, etc. I'm whining a bit here but they sure aren't making it easy to buy this darn house!!
Anyway, our realtor is headed over to the other realtor's office to hand her the first part of the deposit check and hopefully that is enough to take the house off the MLS. Our realtor is also sending over all of the documents that we signed last night to the relocation company in the hopes that they will sign the documents before this weekend (at this point? Probably not).
The whole thing is stressing me out. I had two beers last night to calm myself down and CP and I even got into a bit of a fight because I am stressed out that the deal might not go through. I hope to not stress too much this weekend and have good news for you on Monday!
To be continued.....
6.24.2010
Waiting.....waiting....waiting....
So I wish that I could tell you that I have a seller-signed purchase agreement for the second house in my hot little hands. But I don’t. You see, we found out that the seller is now with a relocation company so that just adds another layer of paperwork. The verbal agreement is settled on both sides, the closing date is set and CP and I have signed everything and sent it over to our realtor. Now we just have to play the waiting game for the relocation company to sign the darn paperwork!!!!
Our realtor did tell us something that made us feel a bit better- the open house that was scheduled for Sunday has now been cancelled. So at least in the other agent’s mind, this is a done deal. HOWEVER, it would make me feel 10 MILLION TIMES BETTER if the damn relocation company would just sign the purchase agreement!!!!!
Hopefully tomorrow…..
Our realtor did tell us something that made us feel a bit better- the open house that was scheduled for Sunday has now been cancelled. So at least in the other agent’s mind, this is a done deal. HOWEVER, it would make me feel 10 MILLION TIMES BETTER if the damn relocation company would just sign the purchase agreement!!!!!
Hopefully tomorrow…..
6.23.2010
Garden growth
After only about a month, our garden is flourishing!!!
Mmmmm our first sweet red pepper (it will change color at some point). Who knew such a small plant could hold such a large vegetable?
CP is very excited that we will have a bunch of pablanos this year. The two plants have tons of flowers on them....
The cucumbers are starting to grow up our homemade trellis. They have also started to flower which means the beginning of yummy cucumbers!
On the left, romaine lettuce and red leaf lettuce (started from seed). Friday night we had a big salad of these greens with parmesan cheese and dressing. DELICIOUS. 
Our cayenne peppers are also starting to grow. Yay!
The zucchini is starting to take off!
Mmmmm our first sweet red pepper (it will change color at some point). Who knew such a small plant could hold such a large vegetable?
CP is very excited that we will have a bunch of pablanos this year. The two plants have tons of flowers on them....
The cucumbers are starting to grow up our homemade trellis. They have also started to flower which means the beginning of yummy cucumbers!
On the left, romaine lettuce and red leaf lettuce (started from seed). Friday night we had a big salad of these greens with parmesan cheese and dressing. DELICIOUS. On the right is our swiss chard. We have already harvested some THREE TIMES. It is fantastic how fast it grows back!
Our cayenne peppers are also starting to grow. Yay!Check out the before pictures taken back in mid-May.
6.22.2010
Taking the plunge (again)
We are taking the plunge again. We went out with our realtor last night to check out houses. Our first (and turns out only) stop* was a house that CP and I had seen previously through an open house. It is located on the same street as the house we offered on last week (and thus the same great neighborhood). I discounted it after seeing it because it is a cape- which means that it has two bedrooms on the second floor, one bedroom on the first floor.
My thought was that despite the fact that cape houses are popular in the Northeast, I was worried about the layout. CP and I are planning on two kids. I thought that we would have to have both of them upstairs, with our bedroom also located upstairs in case there was a problem. So despite thinking that the kitchen was beautiful, the yard weirdly-shaped but nice and big enough for a garden, more square footage than that last place and two full bathrooms as opposed to one, I was not interested.
CP kept talking about the place, and I decided to ask my parents and others if there was a problem with the layout. Friends, parents and even our realtor said that it wasn’t a big deal. Of course you are not going to have an infant located on a different floor from you, but for the most part as the older kid ages, you might want to be a bit farther away from their room for some space.
After our walk through yesterday, I had officially changed my mind. An open house is scheduled for this Sunday, so we felt like we needed to pull the trigger. The house is empty so we put in a bid with a shorter closing date (beginning of August) in hopes that they will take it, even though it is a little less than their asking price.
I am sick of looking at houses and really want this one to go through. *crossing fingers*
*Supposedly, our realtor had scheduled another showing last night but it’s possible that she wasn’t even planning on going to it. CP secretly emailed our realtor on Saturday telling her that he was pretty sure that we were going to put a bid on this place after seeing it again. After checking the place out, I asked the realtor if she happened to bring along neighborhood comparables and she replied, “Actually I do. Sometimes I have my act together.” CP was laughing inside because our realtor made it seem as if she was reading our minds ahead of time, when really he had alerted her to the probability of the offer.
I have to give it to him. I had no idea and he waited until I brought up making an offer. He then waited to tell me about the email until we got into the car to head home. SNEAKY CP!!!!
My thought was that despite the fact that cape houses are popular in the Northeast, I was worried about the layout. CP and I are planning on two kids. I thought that we would have to have both of them upstairs, with our bedroom also located upstairs in case there was a problem. So despite thinking that the kitchen was beautiful, the yard weirdly-shaped but nice and big enough for a garden, more square footage than that last place and two full bathrooms as opposed to one, I was not interested.
CP kept talking about the place, and I decided to ask my parents and others if there was a problem with the layout. Friends, parents and even our realtor said that it wasn’t a big deal. Of course you are not going to have an infant located on a different floor from you, but for the most part as the older kid ages, you might want to be a bit farther away from their room for some space.
After our walk through yesterday, I had officially changed my mind. An open house is scheduled for this Sunday, so we felt like we needed to pull the trigger. The house is empty so we put in a bid with a shorter closing date (beginning of August) in hopes that they will take it, even though it is a little less than their asking price.
I am sick of looking at houses and really want this one to go through. *crossing fingers*
*Supposedly, our realtor had scheduled another showing last night but it’s possible that she wasn’t even planning on going to it. CP secretly emailed our realtor on Saturday telling her that he was pretty sure that we were going to put a bid on this place after seeing it again. After checking the place out, I asked the realtor if she happened to bring along neighborhood comparables and she replied, “Actually I do. Sometimes I have my act together.” CP was laughing inside because our realtor made it seem as if she was reading our minds ahead of time, when really he had alerted her to the probability of the offer.
I have to give it to him. I had no idea and he waited until I brought up making an offer. He then waited to tell me about the email until we got into the car to head home. SNEAKY CP!!!!
6.21.2010
Counting my chickens before they hatch
Sooo funny story. Remember how I posted on Friday that I will be moving down to CT because our offer was accepted? Well…..I might have jumped the gun a bit.
At the time I wrote the post, we had come to a VERBAL agreement with the sellers on everything- price, closing date, deposit, etc. A few hours later, our realtor called back and said that she had received a call from the other agent. I knew that it couldn’t be good. The sellers now wanted some sort of assurance that we were going to close by the end of July. Either a “time is of the essence” clause in the contract (which you NEVER want to put in) or a clause where we agreed to a higher sale price if we didn’t close on July 30th.
Ummm what?? There are so many variables in buying a house. Most of the work is done not by the buyers, but behind the scenes by the lender, appraiser, inspector, etc. CP and I would NOT have been okay with paying more simply because someone else dropped the ball. We already have most of our lending documents into our broker so there is no way that it would have been our fault.
So, our realtor kept trying to get a hold of the other agent to let her know that we would not accept that new clause. Most of the night, CP and I waited to hear something from our realtor, thinking that the fact that this contract might fall apart on that clause is ridonkulous. The sellers already have another home so they are paying two mortgages, they don’t have any other offers because the Hubbard clause buyers went away and we assured them that a late July closing date was fine with us.
Finally at 9pm on Friday night, our realtor called to tell us that another offer was going to be submitted the next morning. And that the other agent was confident that it would be better. CP and I decided to wait until the morning before making a decision. CP was not upset that we had potentially lost the house….because I was tired I was the complete opposite. I am ready to get out of our current small town. I am ready to shorten my commute. I am ready to live around people our age. I am ready to have more than 5 restaurants to go to that aren’t chain restaurants. Getting a purchase agreement signed would have signaled an end date to living in the sticks.
But, it was not to be. We got a call Saturday morning from our realtor who said that the sellers were going to accept the other offer by noon if we didn’t counter with something higher. CP and I then decided to walk away. The house wasn’t perfect. It was a bit small, needed new windows, had oil heat and a few other things that needed to be changed. In the end, we didn’t feel as if it was worth getting into a bidding war.
Needless to say, we are pretty sure that the sellers were stalling in signing the purchase agreement with us because they knew that another offer would be coming in. It’s disappointing, but I am confident that we made the right decision to not increase our bid. We are technically in no hurry to move, so it would be better to wait to find a new house instead of potentially overpaying for one. Especially now because it is a buyer’s market.
The search for a house in CT continues tonight…..
At the time I wrote the post, we had come to a VERBAL agreement with the sellers on everything- price, closing date, deposit, etc. A few hours later, our realtor called back and said that she had received a call from the other agent. I knew that it couldn’t be good. The sellers now wanted some sort of assurance that we were going to close by the end of July. Either a “time is of the essence” clause in the contract (which you NEVER want to put in) or a clause where we agreed to a higher sale price if we didn’t close on July 30th.
Ummm what?? There are so many variables in buying a house. Most of the work is done not by the buyers, but behind the scenes by the lender, appraiser, inspector, etc. CP and I would NOT have been okay with paying more simply because someone else dropped the ball. We already have most of our lending documents into our broker so there is no way that it would have been our fault.
So, our realtor kept trying to get a hold of the other agent to let her know that we would not accept that new clause. Most of the night, CP and I waited to hear something from our realtor, thinking that the fact that this contract might fall apart on that clause is ridonkulous. The sellers already have another home so they are paying two mortgages, they don’t have any other offers because the Hubbard clause buyers went away and we assured them that a late July closing date was fine with us.
Finally at 9pm on Friday night, our realtor called to tell us that another offer was going to be submitted the next morning. And that the other agent was confident that it would be better. CP and I decided to wait until the morning before making a decision. CP was not upset that we had potentially lost the house….because I was tired I was the complete opposite. I am ready to get out of our current small town. I am ready to shorten my commute. I am ready to live around people our age. I am ready to have more than 5 restaurants to go to that aren’t chain restaurants. Getting a purchase agreement signed would have signaled an end date to living in the sticks.
But, it was not to be. We got a call Saturday morning from our realtor who said that the sellers were going to accept the other offer by noon if we didn’t counter with something higher. CP and I then decided to walk away. The house wasn’t perfect. It was a bit small, needed new windows, had oil heat and a few other things that needed to be changed. In the end, we didn’t feel as if it was worth getting into a bidding war.
Needless to say, we are pretty sure that the sellers were stalling in signing the purchase agreement with us because they knew that another offer would be coming in. It’s disappointing, but I am confident that we made the right decision to not increase our bid. We are technically in no hurry to move, so it would be better to wait to find a new house instead of potentially overpaying for one. Especially now because it is a buyer’s market.
The search for a house in CT continues tonight…..
6.18.2010
I'm going down to Cali....Cali...Cali....oh wait wrong state
Screw my Friday weekly wrap-up. There was a counter-offer made last night. So we countered back and it was accepted! My law school friend is already joking that I am going to become a Stepford wife in no time (yeah right!).
Needless to say, I am exhausted but excited. We close before the end of July so this is going to be quick!! I think that we might keep the house in MA for the month of August while we have new energy-efficient windows installed in the new place. Having both places will also help lower the stress of moving. I could pack stuff up in my car every night, head to work for the day and then drop the stuff off at our new place. Plus we have to paint.
I will now move from being a Masshole to someone from the Nutmeg state. Also known as a “Nutmegger”…..which makes my mind automatically think “Nuthugger.” In addition, CT is a state who named their health insurance program for lower-income kids the “Husky” program. And despite knowing that UCONN’s mascot is a husky, I always want to think that they are ripping on the obese kids in the program.
So yeah. Moving to CT.
Needless to say, I am exhausted but excited. We close before the end of July so this is going to be quick!! I think that we might keep the house in MA for the month of August while we have new energy-efficient windows installed in the new place. Having both places will also help lower the stress of moving. I could pack stuff up in my car every night, head to work for the day and then drop the stuff off at our new place. Plus we have to paint.
I will now move from being a Masshole to someone from the Nutmeg state. Also known as a “Nutmegger”…..which makes my mind automatically think “Nuthugger.” In addition, CT is a state who named their health insurance program for lower-income kids the “Husky” program. And despite knowing that UCONN’s mascot is a husky, I always want to think that they are ripping on the obese kids in the program.
So yeah. Moving to CT.
6.17.2010
Good news vs. Bad news
Good news: It was confirmed that I have a job here in CT. Yay!
Bad news: I hate my job. I still hate how they treated me, putting me in limbo for the past couple of weeks. And I still will be screwed out of the promotion. Needless to say, I will be trying to get another job.
Good news: My friend from law school has a semi-law job that he is leaving in mid-August. I will be giving him my resume, writing samples, etc. and hopefully I can move to that job with his recommendation.
Bad news: I have to be careful as to when I start the new job as I can’t leave my current job until we close on a house.
Good news: Our two favorite houses from this last weekend are still on the market.
Bad news: The four houses that we visited last night were not added to our favorites list.
Good news: We have made a decision between our two favorite houses. We asked for advice from our parents, our realtor and our lender in trying to make a decision. We literally changed our minds daily as we truly would be happy in either place. There is a price difference of $73K between the two places and even with a 30 year mortgage, that is still a bunch of money a month.
· House A (the less expensive house): Smaller square footage. Updated kitchen. Three bedrooms, one and half bathrooms. No family room/den, just a living room. Finished basement. Windows are as old as the house (60+ yrs), so we would need to install energy efficient windows. Older roof. Oil heating. Great backyard for kids, the dog AND a large garden. Cute neighborhood and within walking distance of both the elementary school and the middle school.
· House B (the more expensive house): More square footage. Updated kitchen. Three bedrooms, two and half bathrooms (no master bathroom, just a full bath downstairs in the basement???). Large family room/den with a beautiful fireplace. Finished basement. New windows, roof and furnace. Natural gas heating. Backyard is okay, but too shady for a garden. Nice neighborhood.
Most of the advice we received was to go with the bigger/more expensive house. We will probably grow out of the smaller house in 5-7 years and have to move again or put an addition on the house.
After dismissing the other houses in our price range, CP and I took a drive through the two different neighborhoods around 6:30pm. In the more expensive house’s neighborhood, it was quiet. No one walking around or outside. In the less expensive house’s neighborhood there were people walking with their kids, people walking dogs, neighbors crossing the street to talk to other neighbors and even a sign for an upcoming block party. The short drive through the neighborhoods was what sold it for us. We WANT a neighborhood. We don’t want to be closed off from our neighbors. Neither house was perfect, so we are going with the better neighborhood and the lower mortgage.
Bad news: So while it is great that we finally made a decision and we are excited about it, there is a potential snag. The less expensive house has a Hubbard clause on it. Meaning that the sellers already have a buyer, but the buyers need to have a contract on their current place before a closing date can be set. The clause allows the sellers to continue to market the property (they just dropped the price another $10K last week) which is how we were able to see it. So when we put an offer in, the buyers can try to get a contract on their current house within the offer timeframe (which I think is usually 3 days?) OR try to get extra financing in order to get two mortgages. My money is on the buyers not being able to obtain financing for a second mortgage- especially in today’s credit climate. However, maybe they have received an offer on their other house recently?
My stomach is tightening up just thinking about not getting the house. I know that I SAY that we would be fine in either house, but after seeing people out and about on a random Tuesday night I’m getting all excited about the smaller house.
Stay tuned!
Bad news: I hate my job. I still hate how they treated me, putting me in limbo for the past couple of weeks. And I still will be screwed out of the promotion. Needless to say, I will be trying to get another job.
Good news: My friend from law school has a semi-law job that he is leaving in mid-August. I will be giving him my resume, writing samples, etc. and hopefully I can move to that job with his recommendation.
Bad news: I have to be careful as to when I start the new job as I can’t leave my current job until we close on a house.
Good news: Our two favorite houses from this last weekend are still on the market.
Bad news: The four houses that we visited last night were not added to our favorites list.
Good news: We have made a decision between our two favorite houses. We asked for advice from our parents, our realtor and our lender in trying to make a decision. We literally changed our minds daily as we truly would be happy in either place. There is a price difference of $73K between the two places and even with a 30 year mortgage, that is still a bunch of money a month.
· House A (the less expensive house): Smaller square footage. Updated kitchen. Three bedrooms, one and half bathrooms. No family room/den, just a living room. Finished basement. Windows are as old as the house (60+ yrs), so we would need to install energy efficient windows. Older roof. Oil heating. Great backyard for kids, the dog AND a large garden. Cute neighborhood and within walking distance of both the elementary school and the middle school.
· House B (the more expensive house): More square footage. Updated kitchen. Three bedrooms, two and half bathrooms (no master bathroom, just a full bath downstairs in the basement???). Large family room/den with a beautiful fireplace. Finished basement. New windows, roof and furnace. Natural gas heating. Backyard is okay, but too shady for a garden. Nice neighborhood.
Most of the advice we received was to go with the bigger/more expensive house. We will probably grow out of the smaller house in 5-7 years and have to move again or put an addition on the house.
After dismissing the other houses in our price range, CP and I took a drive through the two different neighborhoods around 6:30pm. In the more expensive house’s neighborhood, it was quiet. No one walking around or outside. In the less expensive house’s neighborhood there were people walking with their kids, people walking dogs, neighbors crossing the street to talk to other neighbors and even a sign for an upcoming block party. The short drive through the neighborhoods was what sold it for us. We WANT a neighborhood. We don’t want to be closed off from our neighbors. Neither house was perfect, so we are going with the better neighborhood and the lower mortgage.
Bad news: So while it is great that we finally made a decision and we are excited about it, there is a potential snag. The less expensive house has a Hubbard clause on it. Meaning that the sellers already have a buyer, but the buyers need to have a contract on their current place before a closing date can be set. The clause allows the sellers to continue to market the property (they just dropped the price another $10K last week) which is how we were able to see it. So when we put an offer in, the buyers can try to get a contract on their current house within the offer timeframe (which I think is usually 3 days?) OR try to get extra financing in order to get two mortgages. My money is on the buyers not being able to obtain financing for a second mortgage- especially in today’s credit climate. However, maybe they have received an offer on their other house recently?
My stomach is tightening up just thinking about not getting the house. I know that I SAY that we would be fine in either house, but after seeing people out and about on a random Tuesday night I’m getting all excited about the smaller house.
Stay tuned!
6.16.2010
More natural
Yesterday, my post focused on chemicals in beauty products. Chemicals that I have now entered into my phone so that when I am at the store and looking for a product, I can easily check to make sure that the ingredients are not on the list of harmful chemicals (I did the same thing with the fruits and vegetables that are high in pesticides).
The point is, this is yet another instance where consumers can vote with their money and buy products that are safer for their bodies. I remember being at a Mary Kay event and the woman next to me asked about the chemicals in the various face and skin products (her father had cancer and she tried to stay away from chemicals). The women assured us that Mary Kay only uses “natural” and “safe” ingredients and I took their word. Except I probably should have paid attention to the fact that they didn’t know quite how to answer that question without looking uncomfortable. Recently, I tried to look at the ingredient list on the various MK bottles I have at home, but the list is on the packaging, not on the actual products (long since thrown away). I even tried looking it up online, but to no avail. Maybe I should have questioned the woman sitting next to me about what she knew and what to avoid?
It’s clearly too late to ask her now. But as I run out of beauty products, I will be searching out products that are more natural. With less chemicals. Because even if the products are completely safe (something that I don’t believe to be true anymore), why do we need to use products with lots of chemicals? The processing alone could harm the environment. Just because we can stick a bunch of chemicals into a product doesn’t make it better.
What kind of products do you use? Do you read labels on the back of your beauty products?
If you are interested, go here to get involved with the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families campaign.
The point is, this is yet another instance where consumers can vote with their money and buy products that are safer for their bodies. I remember being at a Mary Kay event and the woman next to me asked about the chemicals in the various face and skin products (her father had cancer and she tried to stay away from chemicals). The women assured us that Mary Kay only uses “natural” and “safe” ingredients and I took their word. Except I probably should have paid attention to the fact that they didn’t know quite how to answer that question without looking uncomfortable. Recently, I tried to look at the ingredient list on the various MK bottles I have at home, but the list is on the packaging, not on the actual products (long since thrown away). I even tried looking it up online, but to no avail. Maybe I should have questioned the woman sitting next to me about what she knew and what to avoid?
It’s clearly too late to ask her now. But as I run out of beauty products, I will be searching out products that are more natural. With less chemicals. Because even if the products are completely safe (something that I don’t believe to be true anymore), why do we need to use products with lots of chemicals? The processing alone could harm the environment. Just because we can stick a bunch of chemicals into a product doesn’t make it better.
What kind of products do you use? Do you read labels on the back of your beauty products?
If you are interested, go here to get involved with the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families campaign.
6.15.2010
Toxic chemicals
Along with moving towards eating organic foods and staying away from processed foods, I have been doing some research on chemicals in products that we use daily. Once again, I have been shocked with what I have found. You would think that most products you would use such as hand soap, shampoo, toothpaste, sunscreen, etc. are safe enough and although they are full of chemicals that you can’t pronounce, they have been tested and they are safe, right?
Well considering the information that I have found, not only do you have to worry about what you ingest, but you have to worry about what you put on your skin.
Makeup Unmasked: Five Chemicals to Avoid in Cosmetic Products (from the Women's Health Resource)
Well considering the information that I have found, not only do you have to worry about what you ingest, but you have to worry about what you put on your skin.
Makeup Unmasked: Five Chemicals to Avoid in Cosmetic Products (from the Women's Health Resource)
- Phthatale Family: Also known as di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and di(2-ehtylexyl) phthatale (DEHP). Use: these chemicals are used to make plastics supple and pliable and are found in nail polish, body lotions, hair-straighteners and sprays. Risks: phthatales are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) as well as carcinogens which have been linked to a variety of problems such as damage to the reproductive organs, premature breast development, lung, liver and kidney cancer. They have also been linked to lowered sperm counts and testicular injury.
- Lauryl Sulfate: Also known as SLS and Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES). Use:a foaming agent and emulsifier, this chemical is derived from petroleum and is usually deceptively described as being extracted from coconuts. These chemicals are found in shampoo, body and shower gels, bath salts and toothpaste. Risks: lauryl sulfate is believed to be a carcinogen which has been linked to kidney and liver damage. Other health risks associated with this chemical include nervous-system disruption, eczema, dermatitis as well as skin inflammation. It can also cause eye damage, notably cataracts. [NOTE: Check out a couple of your beauty products at home. This chemical is in EVERYTHING.]
- Amine Family: This chemical family includes Diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine (TEA) and monoethanolamine (MEA).Use: these ammonia compounds (amines) function as a preservative, emulsifier, pH adjuster and foaming agent added to coconut oils. They are used in face powders, shaving creams, hair-coloring products for both men and women as well as hair sprays. Amines are also used in soaps, sunscreens, foundations, concealers, eyeliners, talcs and face powders. Risks: amines can form cancer-causing nitrosamines when they come upon contact with nitrates and are toxic when absorbed on a long-term basis. These chemicals found in common cosmetics have been linked to kidney and liver cancer. They are also irritants to the hair and skin and damaging to the eyes. They also cause contact dermatitis.
- Formaldehyde: Also known as Diazolidinyl urea, 3-diol Imidazolidinyl urea, DMDM Hydantoin, Quaternium-15, Nitroopropane-1, Formalin, Methanal, Methyl aldehyde, Methylene oxide, Morbicic acid, Oxymethlylene. Use: functions as a preservative, defoamer, germicide, fungicide, disinfectant due to its inexpensive nature and the fact that it mixes easily with water. Chemicals found in this family are used in a variety of makeup products and other personal care products, including shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, nail polish, mascara, mouthwash, makeup remover, bubble bath, hair-care products, anti-perspirants and talcs. Risks: chemicals of the formaldehyde family are carcinogens which can cause depression, headaches, fatigue, dizziness and immune dysfunction. They also cause allergic reactions, contact dermatitis and irritate mucous membranes. Formaldehyde can also lead to joint and chest pain.
- Paraben Preservatives: Also known as alkyl-p-hydroxybenzoates (methyl, propyl, butyl and ethyl. Use: parabens are found in nail creams, foundations, concealers, mascara, facial masks, deodorants, sunscreen, hair-coloring products and conditioners. They function as a germicide and preservative. Risks: parabens can disrupt hormones, namely estrogen, which can lead to cancer. They have also been linked to breast cancer. Parabens also cause skin rashes.
Green living online has a list of companies that don't use these chemicals if you are feeling lazy and don't want to read labels....
In addition, that sunscreen that you think is protecting you from skin cancer? Almost half of the sunscreens on the market contain retinyl palmitate, a form of Vitamin A that may ACCELERATE skin damage and elevate your skin cancer risk. Not to mention that more than half of the 500 sunscreens tested have a chemical called oxybenzone in it- a hormone disruptor that enters the bloodstream. The full report from the Environmental Working Group can be found here.
As someone that will be trying to get pregnant in the near future (once I figure out if I have a JOB), articles like this one from CNN that talks about chemicals found in cord blood scare the heck out of me!
Crunchy Domestic Goddess also did a great post on this….check it out here. More tomorrow…..
6.14.2010
Frustration
I am so frustrated that I could scream right now. CP and I had a productive weekend visiting a bunch of properties with our realtor. We will be checking out houses tomorrow night, but if we don’t find anything then we have two from this past weekend that we love. There is a big price disparity between the two houses though- one we would have to do some work on. Not necessarily as soon as we move in, but we would need to add on a family room/den once we have kids. The other one is move-in ready, new windows, roof, furnace, etc., updated kitchen, and has plenty of room- without being a McMansion.
HOWEVER, even if we wanted to, we can’t put an offer down on either house. Before I left the office last week, my boss advised me to not make any offers. Because I might not have a job come August. Scratch that- I would have a job at my company, but it might not be in CT. UMMM WHAT??!??? They potentially could tell me that my job is across the country in a state that I don’t want to move to “because that is where they have the need.”
The whole thing is utter bullcrap. They wouldn’t move me to Denver, so CP and I decided that we would stay here in the Northeast because that is where we had jobs. Now that we are ready to buy a house and start trying to have a kid they suddenly tell me that my job might be located elsewhere? RIDONKULOUS.
Not to mention the fact that I was told at the end of last week that the promotion that I am eligible for in September? Is not going to happen. Now before you say anything about the hard economic times and how I am lucky to have a job (or not considering the news above), the promotion is built in to my program. So it is complete crap that they suddenly are like, well, you are no longer eligible. My new salary was built into the budget so it’s not like they don’t have the money.
I’M SO FRUSTRATED WITH MY COMPANY. This is NOT how you treat employees. Guess it is about time to update my resume…..
HOWEVER, even if we wanted to, we can’t put an offer down on either house. Before I left the office last week, my boss advised me to not make any offers. Because I might not have a job come August. Scratch that- I would have a job at my company, but it might not be in CT. UMMM WHAT??!??? They potentially could tell me that my job is across the country in a state that I don’t want to move to “because that is where they have the need.”
The whole thing is utter bullcrap. They wouldn’t move me to Denver, so CP and I decided that we would stay here in the Northeast because that is where we had jobs. Now that we are ready to buy a house and start trying to have a kid they suddenly tell me that my job might be located elsewhere? RIDONKULOUS.
Not to mention the fact that I was told at the end of last week that the promotion that I am eligible for in September? Is not going to happen. Now before you say anything about the hard economic times and how I am lucky to have a job (or not considering the news above), the promotion is built in to my program. So it is complete crap that they suddenly are like, well, you are no longer eligible. My new salary was built into the budget so it’s not like they don’t have the money.
I’M SO FRUSTRATED WITH MY COMPANY. This is NOT how you treat employees. Guess it is about time to update my resume…..
6.09.2010
Names
With our recent turn of events towards having kids, I have been thinking more about baby names. Mainly to myself, but CP and I have briefly talked about the fact that some of our friends are going crazy with baby names. As in, very unusual. And while we both have very common names and might want something a little different, we won’t be flying off the deep end.
A smattering of names recently given to kids that we know:
Boys
Bennett
Cedar
Tate
Senan
Girls
Zoelle
Maeve
Betti
Teagan
Resa
Ciera
I am not trying to judge any of the above names. Parents can name their kids whatever the heck they want. (Sidenote: I WILL continue to make fun of a girl I knew back in my Philly days. She named her little girl Aurora Bourealis Lastname (I think her last name was Smith?). I mean COME ON.) I’m just making the point that CP and I will probably tend towards something a bit more common when picking a name.
What are your favorite baby names?
A smattering of names recently given to kids that we know:
Boys
Bennett
Cedar
Tate
Senan
Girls
Zoelle
Maeve
Betti
Teagan
Resa
Ciera
I am not trying to judge any of the above names. Parents can name their kids whatever the heck they want. (Sidenote: I WILL continue to make fun of a girl I knew back in my Philly days. She named her little girl Aurora Bourealis Lastname (I think her last name was Smith?). I mean COME ON.) I’m just making the point that CP and I will probably tend towards something a bit more common when picking a name.
What are your favorite baby names?
6.08.2010
Yoga help
I know a lot of you do yoga out there, so I need some help. I really really really want to get into yoga. I know that it would be great for my body as stretching is always helpful, and it is a good workout for the days that I don’t run. My problem is that I have never taken a beginners yoga class (something that I plan to do after we move down to CT and I am able to join a gym) and the one yoga DVD that I do have makes me want to blow my brains out.
As you can probably tell from my writing, I am not one for lots of introspection and mediation. That’s just not how I work. So the hippy dippy yoga instructor on my current DVD (Yoga Zone- Yoga Weight Loss for Beginners) is simply NOT for me. However, I came across a review recently on the YogaWorks for Everybody: Yoga Slim that sounds more up my alley.
As you can probably tell from my writing, I am not one for lots of introspection and mediation. That’s just not how I work. So the hippy dippy yoga instructor on my current DVD (Yoga Zone- Yoga Weight Loss for Beginners) is simply NOT for me. However, I came across a review recently on the YogaWorks for Everybody: Yoga Slim that sounds more up my alley.
Has anyone tried YogaWorks DVDs? If so, what are your thoughts on it? Or do you have another DVD that I should try?
Or should I just wait until I can take a class where an instructor can make sure that I am doing the poses correctly?
6.07.2010
House hunting
Boy, I forgot how tiring house hunting is! The places really start to blend together after a while.
Saturday CP and I got up early to check out six houses in one of our top two towns with our realtor. She was helpful in pointing things out, answering questions and then also asking us questions to get a feel of what exactly we were looking for. We had two houses that were maybes, but overall we were very disappointed. The houses all had a lot of acreage (more than ½ an acre so that CP can have a BIG garden, the dog has room to run, kids have a place to play, etc.), but they were hilly and mostly woods. So, no usable land. How silly! And we don’t have the money, time or desire to cut down a lot of trees in order to plant grass.
Feeling a bit dejected after not seeing anything great, we made a wonderful ceviche and drank two bottles of wine while watching Avatar. Boy did that movie stink. CP was the one that put it in our queue and then he proceeded to fall asleep with 45 minutes left in the movie! I was very unhappy that I had wasted 2.5 hours on that dud.
However, on Sunday we checked out open houses in our other top town and had MUCH better luck. In fact, out of the six houses we saw, we could see ourselves in four of them. :-) I think that convinced CP that it was the better town for us. More neighborhoody, small lot sizes- but all usable land, more amenities (aka restaurants, shopping, grocery stores, etc) and still a short commute to work for me. A big win all around.
We are headed back to the second town on Saturday to check out some more houses with our realtor. We have a meeting with a mortgage broker tomorrow during lunch. It’s all coming together….. :-)
Saturday CP and I got up early to check out six houses in one of our top two towns with our realtor. She was helpful in pointing things out, answering questions and then also asking us questions to get a feel of what exactly we were looking for. We had two houses that were maybes, but overall we were very disappointed. The houses all had a lot of acreage (more than ½ an acre so that CP can have a BIG garden, the dog has room to run, kids have a place to play, etc.), but they were hilly and mostly woods. So, no usable land. How silly! And we don’t have the money, time or desire to cut down a lot of trees in order to plant grass.
Feeling a bit dejected after not seeing anything great, we made a wonderful ceviche and drank two bottles of wine while watching Avatar. Boy did that movie stink. CP was the one that put it in our queue and then he proceeded to fall asleep with 45 minutes left in the movie! I was very unhappy that I had wasted 2.5 hours on that dud.
However, on Sunday we checked out open houses in our other top town and had MUCH better luck. In fact, out of the six houses we saw, we could see ourselves in four of them. :-) I think that convinced CP that it was the better town for us. More neighborhoody, small lot sizes- but all usable land, more amenities (aka restaurants, shopping, grocery stores, etc) and still a short commute to work for me. A big win all around.
We are headed back to the second town on Saturday to check out some more houses with our realtor. We have a meeting with a mortgage broker tomorrow during lunch. It’s all coming together….. :-)
6.04.2010
Wrap-up Friday
Hey look I actually remembered my new weekly post! Amazing!
Workouts
· I am a bit disappointed in myself this week. Saturday we were busy all day cleaning, gardening and looking at potential houses on the internet so we didn’t even get a walk in with Fuzzy Britches. Sunday was great- 1.5 hours out on the kayaking and then 9 holes of golf. Monday was a wash with the parade, BBQ, and then passing out on the couch once we got home. Tuesday I was in training off site all day and when I got home for our walk, it was pouring rain. Booo. Wednesday I was good and ran two miles, then walked that night with CP and Fuzzy Britches. Yesterday I flat out was lazy. I brought my stuff in to work to go to the gym, but before I knew it, it was 1pm and I didn’t want to go to the gym and then eat lunch at 2pm. LAZY. Today I am having lunch with a friend so I can’t do my lunchtime workout, but hopefully will walk tonight.
· I was thinking that because it is brighter out in the mornings I would start to TRY to wake up early to do 30 Day Shred before heading to work, but I really can’t start it this coming week because I have to travel to far away trainings Weds, Thur, and Fri. Wow just saying that makes me want to slap myself. Maybe the best thing is to try to start the habit Mon and Tues and see how it goes. I would potentially like to start doing it every weekday morning as it is not too hot out (we don’t have central air) and then CP can’t make fun of me because he is still in bed. :-)
Food
· I probably shouldn’t even discuss the weekend. You don’t want to be the guest that shows up to a friend’s house and has all kinds of dietary guidelines. So CP and I didn’t worry if the burgers we ate were from a grass-fed cow, we didn’t worry if the buns we were eating were whole grain, we didn’t worry if the ketchup had high fructose corn syrup, etc. We simply didn’t want to be THOSE people. It was in the back of my mind as I ate things though…..
· The rest of the week was really good. I found two organic/non-antibiotic whole chickens at our local grocery store and CP threw them on the rotisserie and made up the Peruvian aji sauce I talked about earlier in the week. Delish! He also put together a curry quinoa side dish. We had the chicken, quinoa and a side salad for dinner almost all week. Lunches for me were pretty good too- although I do want to buy some Pyrex dishes to take into work to be able to reheat food. I keep reading about chemicals leaching into food from the plastic containers. Gross.
Replies to Comments
· Because I was too lazy to post on Monday AND Tuesday, I didn’t post much this week (whoops). But to the question as to where I buy the charcoal pills that I talked about in this post, I buy them at my local drug store. For me it is CVS, but I’m sure that you can get them at Walgreens or other pharmacies. They are usually in the antacid/gas section. My mother-in-law has had some acid reflux lately and I gave her some of my pills- they worked great for her too!
Misc.
· This weekend I am looking forward to house hunting with our realtor!
Workouts
· I am a bit disappointed in myself this week. Saturday we were busy all day cleaning, gardening and looking at potential houses on the internet so we didn’t even get a walk in with Fuzzy Britches. Sunday was great- 1.5 hours out on the kayaking and then 9 holes of golf. Monday was a wash with the parade, BBQ, and then passing out on the couch once we got home. Tuesday I was in training off site all day and when I got home for our walk, it was pouring rain. Booo. Wednesday I was good and ran two miles, then walked that night with CP and Fuzzy Britches. Yesterday I flat out was lazy. I brought my stuff in to work to go to the gym, but before I knew it, it was 1pm and I didn’t want to go to the gym and then eat lunch at 2pm. LAZY. Today I am having lunch with a friend so I can’t do my lunchtime workout, but hopefully will walk tonight.
· I was thinking that because it is brighter out in the mornings I would start to TRY to wake up early to do 30 Day Shred before heading to work, but I really can’t start it this coming week because I have to travel to far away trainings Weds, Thur, and Fri. Wow just saying that makes me want to slap myself. Maybe the best thing is to try to start the habit Mon and Tues and see how it goes. I would potentially like to start doing it every weekday morning as it is not too hot out (we don’t have central air) and then CP can’t make fun of me because he is still in bed. :-)
Food
· I probably shouldn’t even discuss the weekend. You don’t want to be the guest that shows up to a friend’s house and has all kinds of dietary guidelines. So CP and I didn’t worry if the burgers we ate were from a grass-fed cow, we didn’t worry if the buns we were eating were whole grain, we didn’t worry if the ketchup had high fructose corn syrup, etc. We simply didn’t want to be THOSE people. It was in the back of my mind as I ate things though…..
· The rest of the week was really good. I found two organic/non-antibiotic whole chickens at our local grocery store and CP threw them on the rotisserie and made up the Peruvian aji sauce I talked about earlier in the week. Delish! He also put together a curry quinoa side dish. We had the chicken, quinoa and a side salad for dinner almost all week. Lunches for me were pretty good too- although I do want to buy some Pyrex dishes to take into work to be able to reheat food. I keep reading about chemicals leaching into food from the plastic containers. Gross.
Replies to Comments
· Because I was too lazy to post on Monday AND Tuesday, I didn’t post much this week (whoops). But to the question as to where I buy the charcoal pills that I talked about in this post, I buy them at my local drug store. For me it is CVS, but I’m sure that you can get them at Walgreens or other pharmacies. They are usually in the antacid/gas section. My mother-in-law has had some acid reflux lately and I gave her some of my pills- they worked great for her too!
Misc.
· This weekend I am looking forward to house hunting with our realtor!
6.03.2010
Pills
Necessary pain pills aside after surgeries, I hate hate hate having to take prescription medicine. I wasn’t a huge fan of birth control pills, but deemed them absolutely necessary (at least until about two weeks ago). :-) When I first started law school, I started to get awful heartburn and weird belching issues. Sometimes the only thing that would help would be for me to make myself throw up (no I was never a bulimic). I went to the doctor and was told that I had GERD (acid reflux disease). It was most likely due to the stress that I was under and the extra pounds that I was packing on.
So after making sure that I didn’t have any ulcers in my throat, I was put on Prevacid and Pepcid. The pills worked throughout law school and after the bar I decided to try to lower my dosage to one pill every other day. As in, I would take Prevacid the 1st day, Pepcid the 2nd day, Prevacid the 3rd day, Pepcid the 4th day, etc. That seemed to work okay too. Then my prescriptions ran out and I didn’t feel like going back to the doctor. So I started to buy the over the counter medicines and take them every other day. That made me feel a bit better as I knew that my dosage was at least getting smaller.
A few weeks ago, my over the counter pills ran out and I decided that I was going to fully quit the drugs. My stress levels are lower, I am eating healthier, and if an attack comes on, I find that taking charcoal pills eases the acid attack. The first couple of days were ROUGH. Going from fully reducing stomach acid to suddenly allowing it back in your system is not fun, despite the fact that I thought that I “weaned” myself from the drugs in a reasonable manner. One day while at work I tried everything to relieve the acid. I ate an apple. I ate some almonds (which I hate). I chewed some gum. I drank tons of water. Eventually, I felt a little better but it was bad enough that I almost thought about going back on the over the counter drugs again.
But, I persevered through a couple of awful days and gradually it has gotten better. I have had a few times when I have had to take two charcoal pills, but for the most part I am pretty amazed.
So after making sure that I didn’t have any ulcers in my throat, I was put on Prevacid and Pepcid. The pills worked throughout law school and after the bar I decided to try to lower my dosage to one pill every other day. As in, I would take Prevacid the 1st day, Pepcid the 2nd day, Prevacid the 3rd day, Pepcid the 4th day, etc. That seemed to work okay too. Then my prescriptions ran out and I didn’t feel like going back to the doctor. So I started to buy the over the counter medicines and take them every other day. That made me feel a bit better as I knew that my dosage was at least getting smaller.
A few weeks ago, my over the counter pills ran out and I decided that I was going to fully quit the drugs. My stress levels are lower, I am eating healthier, and if an attack comes on, I find that taking charcoal pills eases the acid attack. The first couple of days were ROUGH. Going from fully reducing stomach acid to suddenly allowing it back in your system is not fun, despite the fact that I thought that I “weaned” myself from the drugs in a reasonable manner. One day while at work I tried everything to relieve the acid. I ate an apple. I ate some almonds (which I hate). I chewed some gum. I drank tons of water. Eventually, I felt a little better but it was bad enough that I almost thought about going back on the over the counter drugs again.
But, I persevered through a couple of awful days and gradually it has gotten better. I have had a few times when I have had to take two charcoal pills, but for the most part I am pretty amazed.
I take the pink pills on the bottom (FYI- I was not asked to review this product or paid to put it on my blog. Many people that have acid problems do not know about taking charcoal to relieve their problems. My doctor suggested it and it has worked out well.)
And boy am I glad that I have weaned myself off the drugs. Especially when I saw this on NPR.com today: FDA Warns About Bone Breaks and Heartburn Drugs. 1 in 20 (!!!) people use these drugs to reduce stomach acid. And the higher the dosage/ the longer you take the drugs, the higher the risk.
I may have dodged a bullet here….4 years of these drugs was quite long enough for me.
6.02.2010
Memorial Day weekend
We had quite the busy weekend….
-Had dinner at a new restaurant in our small town. My bison steak was delicious, albeit expensive. I had an interesting cucumber and basil martini too.
-Placed cloth covers over the zucchini plants to keep bugs, slugs and other insects off the plants while they grow. And boy are they growing quickly!
-Placed weed covers between the rows of veggies so that we don’t have to weed as much.
-Made two whole roasted chickens with Peruvian aji sauce. Delicious! CP also put together a curry quinoa dish. Yum!
-Cleaned the house.
-Went kayaking with friends.
-Played 9 holes of golf. On the 7th hole the women’s tees were only 94 yards out. I thought that it was a waste of the hole if I didn’t tee off from the men’s tees about 100 yards back. My drive was awesome, I had a great chip shot to get onto the green and then sunk the first putt to make par. Yay! Not too bad for a two year absence from the game. Although, the rest of the day I wasn’t as successful…..
-Fuzzy Britches managed to eat ¾ lb of cheddar cheese and two English Muffins without our friends realizing it (we were kayaking and golfing while they watched her). Needless to say, FB stayed on a leash for most of the day on Monday when she was outside as we didn’t trust her around all of the kids and the dropped food.
-Monday we watched a small parade in our friend’s town with about 20 adults and 20 kids. The kids LOVED the parade as most of the people that walked by threw candy for them.
-Our friends then had a BBQ after the parade. CP and I felt a little weird as we were one of two couples that didn’t have kids so it was sometimes hard to talk to people as they were running around after their kids, consoling them after they cried, etc. It was an exhausting day and we only had to watch over Fuzzy Britches! On the car ride home, I asked CP if having to be around all of those kids all day changed his mind about trying for our own. He replied that he is already at peace with how much our life would change once we have kids. So no backing out by either of us……yet. (just kidding)
-Used the Margaritaville machine that some of our friends got us as a wedding present for the first time. We made mango daiquiris and lava flows (my favorite drink from Hawaii). They were a huge hit with everyone at the parade and BBQ.
What was your favorite thing you did this weekend?
-Had dinner at a new restaurant in our small town. My bison steak was delicious, albeit expensive. I had an interesting cucumber and basil martini too.
-Placed cloth covers over the zucchini plants to keep bugs, slugs and other insects off the plants while they grow. And boy are they growing quickly!
-Placed weed covers between the rows of veggies so that we don’t have to weed as much.
-Made two whole roasted chickens with Peruvian aji sauce. Delicious! CP also put together a curry quinoa dish. Yum!
-Cleaned the house.
-Went kayaking with friends.
-Played 9 holes of golf. On the 7th hole the women’s tees were only 94 yards out. I thought that it was a waste of the hole if I didn’t tee off from the men’s tees about 100 yards back. My drive was awesome, I had a great chip shot to get onto the green and then sunk the first putt to make par. Yay! Not too bad for a two year absence from the game. Although, the rest of the day I wasn’t as successful…..
-Fuzzy Britches managed to eat ¾ lb of cheddar cheese and two English Muffins without our friends realizing it (we were kayaking and golfing while they watched her). Needless to say, FB stayed on a leash for most of the day on Monday when she was outside as we didn’t trust her around all of the kids and the dropped food.
-Monday we watched a small parade in our friend’s town with about 20 adults and 20 kids. The kids LOVED the parade as most of the people that walked by threw candy for them.
-Our friends then had a BBQ after the parade. CP and I felt a little weird as we were one of two couples that didn’t have kids so it was sometimes hard to talk to people as they were running around after their kids, consoling them after they cried, etc. It was an exhausting day and we only had to watch over Fuzzy Britches! On the car ride home, I asked CP if having to be around all of those kids all day changed his mind about trying for our own. He replied that he is already at peace with how much our life would change once we have kids. So no backing out by either of us……yet. (just kidding)
-Used the Margaritaville machine that some of our friends got us as a wedding present for the first time. We made mango daiquiris and lava flows (my favorite drink from Hawaii). They were a huge hit with everyone at the parade and BBQ.
What was your favorite thing you did this weekend?
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