Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Pinterest Inspired Me

I do not like to cook or bake.  I did like to bake once upon a time in college but ever since then, I have just hated to be in the kitchen. 

Then I saw this picture of a brownie pie on Pinterest.  Brownies are okay but I'm fine with or without them.  They're not something I ever crave but if my mom makes a batch, I'll eat some.  However, I saw this pie and thought that it looked very delicious and the recipe is super easy.  So I told my family that I would make one for Thanksgiving and I did.  Tomorrow, we'll see how it tastes and if it lives up to my expectations.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Toy Clutter

I decided that we need to downsize Julian's toys before Christmas rolls around.  I know that he's getting new toys and he has a lot that he doesn't really play with. 

Right now, Julian's three main categories of toys are cars, trains, and tools.  Those are the things that he constantly plays with all day long.  So I figured most of his other toys can go.  I loaded up one grocery bag so far and will probably go through some more tomorrow.  There are plenty of other toys here for him to play with since my parents have a playroom fully stocked with all kinds of stuff.  I think I might help them cull a few things from there too. 

Julian has a few other special toys that he likes and I'll just put them away in a drawer for now to be rotated out later.  I keep thinking about all the toys we have in storage that he doesn't remember and doesn't need.  Most of those will be donated as soon as we get the stuff out of storage.  There are a few I'll keep for Mati but I really want to keep toys to a minimum so my kids will really enjoy the toys they do have.

Monday, November 21, 2011

I Am Not Patient

I am horrible at waiting for things.  I never wait until Christmas or my birthday to see if I'll get a gift that I've been wanting.  I just buy myself things when I want or need them.  Patience is not my strong suit.  Right now, I'm waiting to hear if our mortgage loan got approved.  My lender said the process would probably take 3 days.  It's been a whole week now (okay, I know the weekend doesn't count but still).  I've been trying to keep myself busy doing other things but the waiting is driving me crazy. 

At the same time, I'm waiting for Brian to call.  So right now is not a good time for me since my patience is being tested from all sides.  Hopefully I will learn something from the experience.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Sometimes You Just Have to Laugh

Today I was changing Julian's diaper and he started to pee but he managed to pee in his own face before I realized what was happening.  So I quickly blocked the flow but it just kept coming.  By the time he was done, he had to go straight into the bathtub because he had pretty much soaked himself.  I was laughing the whole time (mostly for the times he peed on me when he was an infant).  It wasn't really funny but if I hadn't laughed, I would have probably cried.  There are so many moments as a parent where the situation is crazy or overwhelming and you could just lose it so you have to laugh to release the stress and the tension.

Later in the day, I heard a strange noise from the dining room where Julian was playing.  I went in there to check on him.  He had discovered a canister of oatmeal on the table and emptied the entire thing into an empty Tupperware container that happened to be on the table next to it.  He had spilled hardly any of the oatmeal on the table and he seemed like he was having fun.  I walked into the living room and laughed before going back to help him return the oatmeal to its canister.  He's always getting into everything.  This time, he hadn't destroyed anything or found anything dangerous, he was simply having fun with oatmeal.  I figure maybe that's a new activity we can do together next time.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Not My Day

I went to the doctor today to get some things checked out.  You never want to hear a doctor say, "It's worse than I thought."  It's just not good.  The procedure that followed was even worse.  It was not a happy day for me.  But hopefully everything will be good now.  That's all I have to say.

Gift Giving and Receiving

This is a topic that has been on my mind a lot lately, mostly because of the amazing amount of gifts that people have given to Matilda.  Also, my friend Jen's recent blog posts.  Check out her post from today.

We did not have a baby shower for Matilda.  I didn't want one because we didn't need any baby stuff and the primary purpose of a baby shower is to get stuff. 

My friends in El Paso surprised me with a few baby gifts the week before we left while we were having a Girls' Night Out at Olive Garden.  I really appreciated their thoughtfulness.

Here in Tacoma, my mom decided to host an open house so everyone could come and meet Matilda and hang out with the whole family.  To me, an open house is not a gift giving occasion.  Everyone brought gifts.  And not just for Mati.  Almost everyone also brought Julian a gift and several brought gifts for my niece and nephew too.  This was very generous but I didn't want people to bring gifts.

I know that sounds horrible but I'm not a good gift receiver.  I'm just not and never have been.  You can ask my mother.  I returned many a gift throughout the years.  Since Mati is only 2 months old, I am the one receiving gifts on her behalf.  I have to write the thank you notes (a task I absolutely detest) and I have to be gracious and polite about the gifts. 

Now it's not that I don't appreciate the kindness that people are showing.  It's just that I am extremely, extremely picky.  Especially when it comes to anything for my children. 

Here's an example:  I only buy 100% cotton pajamas for my kids, ones that have not been treated with flame retardants.  Natural fibers are not as flammable as polyester and other synthetics so they don't have to be treated with flame retardants (which are nasty toxic chemicals that children should not be exposed to).   Infant sleepers are not treated with flame retardants but I still don't want my baby wearing polyester fleece.   We were given lots of fleece (and not a single gift receipt).   So I donated the gifts to several other needy families. 

If you want to buy a gift for a baby, do not buy clothes.  Everyone buys clothes and the new parents don't get things they really need (like diapers, wipes, babysitting and a night out).   If you absolutely must buy some totally adorable outfit, then at least give a gift receipt so they can exchange the outfit for something they really need.  That might sound tacky but a baby grows so quickly that often they don't have time to wear all their new clothes so other gifts are way more practical.  A new baby really only needs a few onesies and sleepers in each size for the first several months. 

So please don't buy anything for my kids.  Seriously, don't buy them anything.  They don't need it.  If they do need something, their grandparents will get it for them if I haven't gotten it fast enough.

For me, I don't want candles, lotions or bath products, jewelry, clothing, or anything that will take up space in my home.  If you love me, don't give me anything.  If you must give me something, make it a Barnes and Noble gift card so I can download new books to my Nook and there is nothing more to clutter my house.  (Amazon gift cards are also fine because I buy a lot of music from there and I find other obscure things that I can't get elsewhere.)  Someone please tell my husband this.

I have always loved the other side of the equation - gift giving.  For many years, I have tried to put a lot of thought into what the recipient needs or wants.  I always ask my family members what they would like for Christmas and birthdays and I make a list.  Sometimes I end up giving gift cards but only ones that I know will get used.   Gift cards aren't always a great gift.  I have a $50 WalMart gift card just sitting around in an envelope because WalMart is not convenient here and even if it was, I am not a WalMart shopper.  I am a Target shopper.  It was a generous gift but if it's not being used, it's not a good gift. 

I used to travel a lot and I would buy gifts for my family and friends on every trip.  I didn't just buy whatever touristy crap I could find though.  I had fun finding beautiful scarves, tasty snacks, cookbooks, toys, wood carvings, etc.  Each item was lovingly selected by me for each individual.  Gifts are definitely one of my love languages but now I've realized that people don't need (or want) the stuff.  The best gifts I have received lately are those of service. 

So don't buy gifts for Christmas this year, give of yourself.  Make a meal, babysit, clean someone's house, send a nice handwritten letter to let a friend know you're thinking of them.   If you don't get any gifts, be happy that you don't have to spend time taking care of that stuff. 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Posting From My Phone

I posted yesterday about my addiction to my smartphone (a Droid 2 if anyone cares) but I had never written a blog post from my phone.  So here it is, a post from my phone.

*So the above was written from my phone and then it went all crazy on me so now I'm on my laptop and there will probably be no more posts from my phone.  The kids kept me up all night and I'm barely coherent so this is it for today.

Monday, November 14, 2011

I Love the Internet

The Internet is amazing.  It really is.  I was just thinking about all of the things we used to have that the Internet has replaced.   These are all things I no longer need because I can just use the Internet: phone books, TV, DVDs (for the most part), CDs, radios, books, stores (I do 90% of my shopping online, except for groceries), even phones. 

I'm not saying I've gotten rid of or stopped using all of these things because I haven't but I do use the Internet as a replacement most of the time.  I'm addicted to my smartphone because it has the Internet.  I can read all of my favorite blogs, check my email, update my Facebook status, read books and magazines, send pictures to my friends and family, and add things to my Amazon cart, all from my phone. 

The one thing I haven't done with my smartphone is write a blog post.  Maybe I'll try that tomorrow.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

You Know You're a Mom When...

  • You have entirely too many conversations about bodily functions.
  • You are always the last one to eat dinner.
  • You frequently have uninvited company in the bathroom.
  • You clean out your purse and find toys and/or crumbs.
  • You wake up in the middle of the night with the alphabet song or the potty song (or possibly a cartoon theme song) stuck in your head.
  • You have spit-up on your shirt and so you throw on a sweater to cover it up (since there are no other clean shirts).
  • You are constantly evaluating the "childproofness" of an item before buying it.
  • Your alarm clock has two arms and two legs and has been known to headbutt you to wake you up.
  • You wonder if animal crackers and organic fruit snacks constitute a balanced meal.
  • You dream of someday getting out of the house in under 30 minutes.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Saturday Fun

Today was a gray, rainy day here in Tacoma.  But we had a fun day anyway.  My parents and I took the kids down to Freighthouse Square where we had lunch.  I had a yummy Vietnamese mango salad and some noodles. 

After lunch, we rode the Link "train" to the end of the line and back.  Julian was very excited to ride the choo-choo and he didn't want to go home afterwards.  He wanted to ride some more (or jump in puddles). 

Mati just chilled in her sling for most of the trip.  I wish I had taken some pictures but I was too busy having fun with my family to get out the camera.

Friday, November 11, 2011

I'm An Army Wife

I have been married to Brian for almost 5.5 years now and we have been separated for almost 3 of those years.  I knew when I married him that deployments were likely but the reality is much harder than I imagined it would be.  We are nearing the end of his third (and final) deployment.  I am happy that we won't ever have to go through it again.  Even though the deployments have been very difficult, I know that both of us have become stronger, both individually and together, because of them.

I am proud to be the wife of a soldier and I wouldn't change it for anything.  I will always be proud of Brian for the many years of service he has given to our country. 

Happy Veteran's Day!

It's the Small Things

This month, I find myself appreciating the little things.  Here are some things I'm grateful for right now:

  • Hot showers
  • Shirts that are stain-free (I'm finding these hard to come by these days)
  • Julian's ever-expanding vocabulary (I love every new word)
  • Chocolate
  • Cloth diapers (I never have to run to the store because I'm out of diapers)
  • Phone calls from my husband
  • Baby smiles and giggles
  • Pretty burp cloths
  • Lemonade (I could seriously drink it by the gallon)
  • Being organized (I was able to easily find the papers I needed for the mortgage application)
  • My family and friends (even if I only see them on Facebook right now)

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Decluttering Update

I started this blog when I was in the midst of a major decluttering project.  We were preparing to move and put most of our stuff in storage for a while.  I originally kept track of everything leaving our home but then it got to be too much because we were so busy. 

We had to be out of our apartment at the end of July and we ended up living in a hotel for a week as we emptied our apartment and then waited for Brian to deploy.

Here's all of our stuff in the POD.




We had some awesome friends come and help us get all the stuff out of our apartment and figure out how to make it all fit in the POD.  We rented a hand truck from Home Depot since we lived in a second floor apartment but the guys who helped us never even used it.  I was very impressed, especially when they moved our washer and dryer.

Here's the POD closed up and ready to go.  I can't believe all our stuff fit in there.




 At the end, we had a hard time deciding what to do with a bunch of stuff.  Should it go to storage or should it be shipped to my parents?  Since we weren't sure, it ended up in our hotel.  There was so much stuff in our hotel room that there was barely room to walk.  Most of the stuff ended up being shipped to my parents' house.  There were about 20 boxes total shipped starting in July until the day we left El Paso.  Some of the stuff probably could have gone to storage but we just weren't sure about a lot of it since the next year of our lives was so up in the air.  So we shipped my clothes and personal things; Julian's clothes, books, and some toys (including his tricycle); lots of baby stuff; most of Brian's clothes; and other miscellaneous items we didn't really want in storage. 














Embarrassing photos of our hotel room with all of our junk.





We also had as much stuff as you could possibly fit in our car while there were three people riding in it. 

When I arrived at my parents' house and saw all the boxes, it was pretty crazy.  Fortunately, my sister was totally awesome and helped me unpack them and get everything put away somewhere before the baby came.  At 8.5 months pregnant, I definitely needed the help.  Now, you'd never know that we brought that much stuff with us because I've hidden most of it away in dressers or in Julian's closet. 

This is what my room looked like shortly after arriving in Tacoma.

I found so many bizarre things that we brought with us that should have ended up in storage.  Two salt shakers (but no pepper), the cord for my Shark vacuum, random magnets that are part of one of Julian's toys (that's in storage), and other fun stuff.  I just took an empty suitcase and filled it all up with this random stuff and shoved it in the back of the cloest.

I realized that I still had a lot of decluttering to do so I've continued to get rid of things pretty much every day (inspired by 365 Less Things, one of my absolute favorite blogs).  Things that have been leaving lately: maternity clothes, baby clothes that Mati has already outgrown (or hand-me-downs that are not right for this season), and toys.  My mom has a free table at work and several of her colleagues are pregnant so everything has quickly found new homes.  I love knowing that stuff I don't need is being used by someone else who appreciates it.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

My ABCs

I've seen this on a few other blogs lately and thought it was fun, so here goes.


Age: 36

Bed size: Currently full-size but my bed that's in storage is a queen-size and I'm longing for a king-size once we buy a house.

Chore I hate: Anything in the kitchen.

Dogs: None.

Essential start to my day: Getting out of bed.

Favorite color: Green.

Gold or silver: Definitely silver.

Height: 5'6".

Instruments I play: None currently but in my youth I played piano, violin, and ukulele.

Job title: Mommy.

Kids: Two - Julian, 2.5 and Matilda, 2 months.

Live: Tacoma, WA (previous addresses: Sarasota, FL; Bellingham, WA; Arlington, VA; New York City; Pusan, South Korea; El Paso, TX)

Mother's name: Susan

Nicknames: Beth, Bethy.

Overnight hospital stays:  After giving birth to my babies (and also a few days before in Julian's case).

Pet Peeve: Hand towels that are damp so you can't really dry your hands on them.

Quote from a movie: "I feel like I'm babysitting, except I'm not getting paid."

Right or left handed: Right.

Siblings: One younger sister.

Time I wake up: Whenever Julian starts yelling in my ear or sticking toys in my face, normally much earlier than I'd like to be awake.

Underwear: Always.

Vegetable I hate: Celery.

What makes me run late: A toddler who argues about everything.

X-rays I've had:  My hand when I was in 4th grade.  A gazillion dental x-rays plus some of my back and probably a few others I don't remember.

Yummy food I make: Borscht (but only I think it's yummy).  I really hate to cook.

Zoo animal: Elephants.

Monday, November 7, 2011

House Hunting

I thought that it would be fun to look for a house.  It's really not so much fun.

Here are some gems that I've seen:

1. Neon green basement and the exterior of the house covered with graffiti
2. Huge indoor pool but the rest of the house was completely gutted
3. Two huge bathrooms but three teeny-tiny bedrooms
4. Little old lady house
5. Master bedroom was actually a hair salon and the hallway was covered in scenic tropical wallpaper
6. Stairwell painted to look like an aquarium
7. Cedar shingles and faux brick on interior walls plus wallpaper borders stapled up in the bathroom
8. Cat pee house
9. Crazy layout with small rooms but a twisty slide connected to a shed in the backyard  (My realtor actually went down the slide just for fun.)
10. A place that should have been on Hoarders
11. Cigarette smell and a weird room over the garage

Out of all the houses I've seen so far, there were only two that I sort of liked.  One definitely has more space but only one bathroom and no garage.  The second house had 1.5 baths and a garage but much less square footage. 

I don't have a large wish list for a house.  This is it:
One bedroom large enough for a king-size bed (we don't have one yet but we want one in our new house), 2-3 other bedrooms, a decent-sized bathroom and kitchen, a large living area, and a fenced yard. 

I just want space for the kids to run around and space for me to relax.  The house doesn't have to be updated and modern but it has to have the potential to look good with not a lot of work. 

I keep searching the listings hoping for something new that looks promising.  I'm sure our house is out there just waiting for us to find it.

NaBloPoMo vs NaNoWriMo (and the art of letter writing)

NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month and I didn't read the details of it until tonight.  It started November 1st and involves blogging about a specific theme every day for the month of November. 

Since I got in on it a little late, I'm not exactly going to follow the rules.  Instead, I am just going to try and blog every day in November.   Since I missed a few days, I will write some extra posts so that I eventually have 30 posts, one for each day of the month.

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month.  It also occurs every November.  The rules are that you must write a 50,000 word novel between midnight November 1st and midnight November 30.  No one ever reads your novel unless you want them to.  To get counted as a participant who completes a novel, you just upload your writing to the website and if it's 50,000 words or more, you get a little certificate.  I participated in 2002 and 2004.   I doubt that anyone will ever be allowed to read either of my novels.  I'm not sure that I ever want to reread them.  They were both completely awful.  But I'm proud of myself for having participated and I'll probably do it again someday.

So writing 30 blog posts in a month is a piece of cake compared to putting out 50,000 words. 

Blogging and writing novels is something I never imagined doing when I was younger.  I hated writing.  I actually chose my college major, mathematics, because I figured it would have the least amount of writing assignments.  Seriously.   I did actually like math but I disliked writing more.  My university did require a writing class specific to every major so I had to write several papers about math but I'm still pretty sure that I wrote less than most other majors. 

Somehow as I got older, I found that I liked writing.  It's a way for me to vent my feelings when I'm mad or frustrated but also for me to express when I'm happy and grateful. 

Right after Brian and I started dating, I came back to the States while he was in Korea.  Each week that I was gone, I wrote him a long letter.   After we got married and he left for his first deployment, I wrote to him every day for the first several months.  On weekdays, I would just write a postcard (I had hundreds collected and so I'd just pick one at random each day).   Then on weekends, I would write a two-page letter each day on some funky Korean stationery that I had been given as a gift.   I learned to write letters from my mom who wrote me once a week while I was in college and then every day for over a year while I lived in New York.   My mom's letters got me through a very hard time when I first started teaching and I hope my letters to Brian helped him while he was in Iraq. 

On his second deployment, my letters to Brian were very scarce.  I had a new baby and rarely found the time but I managed to send a few.  This time, I didn't send a single one and I feel horrible but with two kids, things were crazy right after he left.  I have time to write now but they have no more mail service so I can't send him anything.  Hopefully he knows that I still love him anyway.

Someday when my kids go off to college or move away to a different city, I'll write them letters occasionally to let them know that I'm thinking of them.  If I'm lucky, they might write back.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

9 Weeks

I can't believe that it has been nine weeks since I gave birth to Matilda.  It seems like just yesterday and yet at the same time, I feel like she's been with me forever.  My life is so much better (and more difficult) with her in it. 

September 4th started out like every other day.  I really didn't think that it was going to be "The Day."  At 9:07 am, I felt a contraction.  I had been having contractions for weeks, so no big deal.  For some reason, I took note of that one though.  I started to keep track and they were coming about every 15 minutes.  They weren't painful or even uncomfortable.  After a couple of hours, I realized that the contractions were the real thing.  I called my sister, Amanda, to give her the heads up since she would be the one going to the hospital with me.  I wanted to labor at home for as long as possible before we left so I finished packing my hospital bag and spent some time playing with Julian.  Then I took a shower and even shaved my legs.  I decided to braid my hair in two braids to make sure it wasn't in my face during labor (I hate my hair getting in my face).  My contractions were getting closer together, about 8 minutes apart, and they were getting uncomfortable.  I was sitting on my bed talking to Amanda when a contraction hit.  I felt like getting on the floor and kneeling while leaning on the bed to try and get more comfortable. 

All of a sudden, I felt a pop and I realized that my water broke.  A few days before, I had told someone else that they shouldn't worry about their water breaking at home because it happens to less than 10% of women.  Well, it definitely happened to me.  At that point, the contractions came quicker and harder.  I told Amanda we needed to leave for the hospital.  It was right about 2 pm.  The ride to the hospital was painful.  I felt every bump in the road and my contractions were coming every 4 minutes.  When we got to the hospital, Amanda parked near the ER and ran in to have someone come get me with a wheelchair.  It took several minutes for me to manage to get out of the car and into the wheelchair.  The elevators are on the other side of the hospital so it was a long ride and very uncomfortable. 

When I got up to Labor and Delivery, they put me in a triage room where I stayed forever.  They had several people asking me the same dumb questions over and over again.  I was so frustrated and the triage nurse kept moving the monitors on my stomach and it was driving me crazy.  I was 5 cm dilated when I got there and by the time they moved me into a delivery room, I was 8 cm dilated.  The only reason that they finally moved me out of triage was because I said I felt like I had to push.  I would've said it earlier if I knew they would move me.  There was a shortage of L & D nurses so the Triage nurse stayed with me the entire time.  They let me have my way with most things (I wore my own clothes, had only a Hep-Lock, delayed cord cutting, and no Pitocin ever)  but they kept those flippin' monitors on me constantly and the nurse kept moving them trying to find the baby's heartbeat.  I know I yelled a few times in frustration but I really wanted to cuss her out and rip those monitors off. 

For most of the time I was in labor, I just kept my eyes closed and squeezed my stress balls and tried to manage the pain however I could.  I wanted to get through it without drugs and I knew it was almost over but it was so intense.  Finally the nurse thought I should get up to go to the bathroom.  I didn't think it was a good idea but she and the doctor said that I needed to get up.  After several minutes, I managed to sit up and get my legs to the edge of the bed.  At that time, another nurse walked in and asked what was going on.  They told her and she said I would have the baby in the toilet if they made me go to the bathroom.  That's when they all realized that I was already pushing so they swung my legs back up on the bed and about a minute later, Matilda was born at 5:20 pm.

I felt like I had just run a marathon and won a medal.  It was exhilarating.  Matilda was placed on my stomach and I just couldn't believe that I had given birth to her so quickly and without any pain medication.  I wanted them to wait to clamp the umbilical cord but the cord was kind of short so for the first minute or so, I just looked at her lying there and touched her head.  Once the cord was cut, she was put on my chest and I wanted to cry at how beautiful she was. 


The pediatric nurse was impressed at her size and asked me to guess how much she weighed.  I think I said 8 lbs 12 oz.  She said that was probably close.  It was actually 8 lbs 15 oz (1.5 lbs more than Julian when he was born).  I knew she was going to be big but it was still surprising.



In these last 9 weeks, she has grown so much (in fact, she has outgrown two sizes of clothing already).  She is amazing and when she smiles at me, it makes my whole day brighter.  I can't imagine my life without her.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

My Bucket List

I finished writing this list a few months ago and have been meaning to post it ever since.  I finally got around to it today.  The items in bold are things that I've already done.  Not sure what I'll finish next.

1.       See penguins in New Zealand.

2.       Walk on the Great Wall of China before I turn 30.

3.       Ride an elephant in Thailand.

4.       Take a photography class.

5.       Get a master’s degree.

6.       Become a mom.

7.       Visit the Egyptian pyramids.

8.       Learn to sketch.

9.       Have high tea and take the waters in the Pump Room in Bath, England.

10.   See the Grand Canyon.

11.   Watch at least 10 Broadway shows.

12.   Live in another country for a year.

13.   Rent an apartment in Venice for a month and learn to live like the locals.

14.   Kiss the Blarney Stone.

15.   Learn to ski.

16.   Take a Hebrew class in Israel.

17.   Stand on the shores of Loch Ness.

18.   Relax on a beach in Hawaii.

19.   Take my kids to Disney World.

20.   Visit at least 15 National Parks.

21.   Go on a Caribbean cruise.

22.   Learn to drive on the “wrong” side of the road.

23.   Ride the Orient Express. 

24.   Stay in a yurt in Mongolia.

25.   Spend a night in a treehouse.

26.   Visit the Statue of Liberty.

27.   Ride a double-decker bus in London.

28.   See Stonehenge.

29.   Visit the home of Jane Austen.

30.   Eat a baguette in Paris.

31.   Stay overnight on a boat in Halong Bay.

32.   Read 100 books in a year.

33.   Gamble in Las Vegas.

34.   Stay in a Tuscan villa.

35.   See the Parthenon and the Colosseum.

36.   Ride the subway in New York City, London, and Tokyo.

37.   Visit all 50 states.

38.   Travel through India by train and bus.

39.   Grow my own vegetables.

40.   Walk the Coast to Coast walkway in Auckland, NZ.

41.   Live with my family in an RV for a summer.

42.   Go camping for a week.

43.   See Niagara Falls.

44.   Attend a music festival.

45.   Take a volunteer vacation.

46.   Go on a round-the-world trip.

47.   Ride a camel in Morocco.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

5 Years (and counting)

Today is my 5th wedding anniversary.  Some days it's hard to believe that it's been 5 years, it seems like it's just been a few months.  Other times, it seems like we've been married forever and I can't really remember what my life was like without Brian.  This will be only the second time that Brian and I have been together on our anniversary and hopefully we won't have to spend any future anniversaries apart from each other.

These past 5 years have been crazy and amazing all at once.  Our wedding was fantastic, a small affair with just family and a few close friends.  We got married at the Tacoma Nature Center in Tacoma, WA which happens to be right across the street from my high school.  A good friend of ours performed the ceremony.  My sister was the matron of honor and my 11 year old stepson was the best man.  During our reception, we had a great time just hanging out with everyone.  Brian and I left to spend our wedding night in a lovely hotel on the waterfront then the next morning we picked up my stepsons (aged 8 and 11) from my parents' house and set off down the Oregon coast.  We played on the beach, dressed in jeans and hoodies since it was cold.  We flew balsa wood airplanes from the Astoria Column.  We checked out all the exhibits at OMSI.  It definitely wasn't your typical honeymoon but we had fun. 

A day later, Brian flew with the boys back to Virginia.  We met in El Paso the day after that to find that our recently rented apartment had been burglarized and the management had changed the locks.  It was after business hours so we couldn't get into our apartment.  We ended up sleeping in Brian's barracks room on a twin bed.  It was not my idea of fun or comfort.  Needless to say, I shed some tears that night. 

Fast forward to October.  I had a teaching job at at local high school and Brian was leaving on his first deployment to Iraq less than 4 months after we got married.  Communication was difficult because I would go weeks without getting any phone calls or emails, then we'd get to talk for a few minutes and only get to discuss something about our finances or family, etc.  It was very hard on our relationship.  Brian came home in April 2007 for his R and R leave.  While he was home, we found out from the news that his tour would be extended for 3 months.  Fortunately part of his leave coincided with my spring break and we got to spend a little time together.  He went back to Iraq. 

Since he was deployed, I decided to spend my summer vacation traveling in the UK and Ireland for a month.  It was a fantastic trip and I was joined by a couple of friends at different points.  On my first wedding anniversary, I happened to be in Ireland in a hostel with no electricity and my rental car got stuck in the mud on the way there.  I had a pay-as-you-go cell phone for the trip but for some reason, the calling cards that Brian was able to get wouldn't let him call my international number.  So we emailed each other but ended up not talking on the phone for 6 weeks.

Brian came home that December, shortly before Christmas.  That was our first Christmas we spent together and I spent away from my family.  It did not turn out well.  2008 was a better year for us since we were together for most of the year (except for our anniversary, I was in WA taking care of my grandmother while my parents were out of town) and in September found out that I was pregnant with our son, Julian. 

In 2009, we found out that Brian was going to deploy to Iraq for a second time.  He left less than 3 weeks before Julian was born.  The day after he left, I flew to WA to be near my family when I had the baby.  Brian was able to take his R and R leave when Julian was 6 weeks old and we were able to spend a great two weeks together. 

Julian and I returned to El Paso in March 2010 to prepare for Brian's return in May.  That next month, we were able celebrate our 4th anniversary together.  It ended up being a quick dinner at Olive Garden because we were worried about leaving Julian with a babysitter for the first time. 




Now on our 5th anniversary, we are preparing for our second child and Brian's third deployment to Iraq followed by his retirement from the Army.  We're also packing up everything to move to WA.  Ideally this will be our last move since we'll be buying a house later this year. 

No matter what, it has all been worth it.  I have a wonderful husband that I love dearly and I wouldn't trade him for anything.  I hope to have at least 50 years with him.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Garage Sale and Road Trip

So I've been decluttering for a few months in preparation for our move and we finally had our garage sale last weekend.  My friend had told me what it would be like but I was still totally shocked.  People started arriving at 4:30 am and we were done by 9:00 am.  At one point, there were so many people there at once that we couldn't pay attention to them all and some stuff walked off.  Fortunately it wasn't anything worth much.  We never even got to unpack all of the boxes and bags, people just rummaged through them in the middle of the driveway.  

We ended up making $422 from the garage sale, then $85 later in the day from Craigslist and the pawn shop for a total of $507.  Yay for us.  Right after the sale, we took a bunch of stuff to the women's shelter and other stuff to Goodwill.  We still have almost all of the books left since they're all in English and everyone who came to the sale spoke Spanish.  I'm just going to Freecycle them this weekend.  We also have the CDs and DVDs to deal with.  No one was interested in them at the sale.  I'm going to try them on Craigslist but if I don't get any hits in a couple of weeks, then I'll just Freecycle them.  I basically just want to be rid of them at this point.  The only other thing left is some costume jewelry.  I never got a chance to put it out at the sale since things were so crazy and I didn't want it to get lost in the midst of everything.  My goal is to have everything out of here by the time I leave for Montana in July.

Yesterday, we got back from our road trip to San Antonio and Killeen.  It was fun but exhausting.  We got to visit with family and friends plus go to some fun places like the zoo and the Children's Museum.  We also went to the San Marcos outlets.  It wasn't in our original plan but my friend told me about them and even though we didn't actually need anything, we went anyway.  Our baby will be showered with plenty of hand-me-downs but I did want her to have some new clothes all her own when she joins our family.  So I bought her a few outfits in each size through 18 months.   Then of course I worried that I bought all these girly clothes and somehow it would turn out to be a boy but I had another ultrasound today and the tech agreed that it was a girl so I felt better.  I was planning not to buy anything for the new baby but I was having such a hard time preparing for her since I can't decorate a nursery or anything like that so buying her some clothes was my only way of getting ready for her and now I think I got it all out of my system.  I know that Brian really wanted her to have some things of her own too because he has a thing about hand-me-downs.  I made sure that several of the outfits had something about Daddy on them since he won't be around those first few months but I can take pictures of her and email them to him everyday.

It was good to get rid of all our excess stuff to make room for our little girl.  I'm still not sure Julian what Julian thinks when we talk about the baby but he realizes that something is going on and he sees that my stomach is getting huge.  He pokes my stomach and says baby but we'll see what he thinks when there's a a real baby.  I see him making all these connections lately with his 2 year old mind and it's awesome but I still don't know how much he understands when we tell him things. 

After traveling so much this last week, I'm glad that Julian and I will be flying to Washington instead of driving.  Ten hours in a car is a long time when you're pregnant and have an active toddler.  Fortunately, Brian did most of the driving and I could rest a little or catch up on blog-reading with my phone (or feed Julian snacks constantly).

I'm happy to be home again and even happy to get back to packing and my to-do list.  I just want to get everything finished and be finally done with it all so I can relax and get ready to meet my baby.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Feelin' Artsy

I don't consider myself a very artsy person but occasionally I like to paint.  The first painting I did was about 7 years ago and it was big and bold and I was getting tired of it.  I just didn't like it any more and I had another painting that's been in my head for a few months waiting to get out.  Instead of using a new canvas, I decided to just paint over the old one that was bugging me. 

Several months ago, Julian fell in love with Mickey Mouse and one night, I decided to make him a Mickey Mouse painting for his room.  I did it very quickly and it was sloppy and the colors were off.  So I've also been wanting to redo this one. 

Things have been a little crazy with Brian gone and a lot of stuff has gone undone because I've just wanted to nap when Julian naps.  I finally decided that I needed to do something creative and get my mind off all the things that have been bugging me.  So naptime was a perfect time to paint. 

I've included the before and after shots.  I find the yellow painting to be much more calm and serene than the pink and brown stripes.



While I was painting, I noticed the photos I had hanging on the wall.  They were three black and white photos of waves and I liked them but they weren't anything special, I bought them at the store when I bought the frames.  It occurred to me that I've taken some beautiful photos of beaches that I really like and I could just change them to black and white and put them in the frames instead.  So I went on my computer and found three photos that I liked and changed them to sepia tone (it looked better than b & w), printed them out and replaced the store-bought photos.  It's my new goal to have the art/photos displayed in my home be meaningful to me.  I only have a few store-bought pieces left but I'll replace them slowly or just give them away when we move.  They're pretty large pieces and I don't want big blank spaces on my walls right now.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Aaaahhh..... (my sigh of relief)

On Tuesday, I took my second truckload of clutter over to my friend's garage for our upcoming garage sale.  (Thanks, Morgan, for all your help.)  I never would have guessed we had two truckloads of stuff we didn't need stashed around our apartment.  There's not a huge difference in how things look in our apartment but it feels lighter to me.  I feel more relaxed now.  The decluttering is slowing down a bit for the moment.  I think I did too much too quickly and I'm kind of burnt out but I still have two boxes in my bedroom (one for the garage sale and one for Goodwill) that I will occasionally add to until they're full.  Yesterday, I decided to look at some of my sentimental clutter.  I've already gone through most of this stuff once but I ignored some of it so I decided to revisit this area.

I keep all of my sentimental stuff in a wooden chest (like a hope chest).  A few months ago, all of my stuff wouldn't even fit in the chest but now everything is in there and it's not even full anymore.  I had some t-shirts in there that I was saving but I took them out and my friend is making a small quilt with them that I can put on Julian's bed.  So I didn't really get rid of them but this way, they'll be useful instead of just taking up space.  In the chest, I have two boxes of photos.  One is from our wedding and the other is all other photos from my life before I got a digital camera.  I'm not doing anything with these because I feel that it's a reasonable amount and they're organized in the boxes.  My wedding dress is also in the chest and it takes up very little space. It's wrapped in tissue and rolled up in a travel shoe bag. 

The things I really need to deal with are the paper items.  The ones I decided to address first were yearbooks.  I had 8 yearbooks, 4 from my own high school years and 4 from when I was teaching high school.  That seemed pretty excessive to me.  I looked through the yearbooks from my freshman and sophomore years in HS and decided they could go (I scanned about 5 pages that were meaningful to me).  The yearbook from the last school I worked at instantly went to the recycling bin (it had no special meaning for me and was a complete waste of $50).  I'm also going to get rid of the one from the first school where I taught.  It has a few special memories but I'll scan those pages and I won't miss it. 

For now, I'm keeping the other four yearbooks.  I'm finding that the farther I get away from my high school years, the less important those memories are but I think it would be sad if my kids didn't see anything from those years (I don't have a lot of photos).  I taught at another school for two years which were two of the best years of my life (when I lived in Korea, met my husband and made some great friends).  Those yearbooks document some great memories and they'll be sticking around. 

I've also been tackling my digital clutter this week.  I deleted close to 3000 emails this week and got rid of most of the folders in my email accounts (yes, I have several but that's something for another day).  I signed up for an internet backup service last week because we've had too many computer problems in the last few months and I wanted all of our pictures, music, etc saved in a more secure location so I wouldn't have to worry anymore.  We're trying to go digital for most of our paperwork, music, and photos so I especially wanted the backup if we don't actually have the physical copies anymore.  I've been going through a lot of folders on my computer and deleting the old files and blurry photos that I've never dealt with.  It's going to take a long time to get through everything but I feel like I've gotten a good start. 

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Sunday, April 10, 2011

Toddler Lessons

I find it fascinating to see Julian learn something that I didn't even know that I taught him.  On Thursday, we went to Toys 'R Us.  We don't go there very often but he's been there a few times.   Typically when we go there, we'll let him sit in the cart and play with some toy that he finds interesting and then we're leaving, we put the toy back on the shelf.  But this time, we were actually there to buy him a toy.  That night, Brian was going to leave for California and he'll be gone for 30 days.  So I thought Julian could have a new toy to play with while Daddy is gone.  After being in the store for a few minutes, Julian saw a Duplo set that he liked and so I gave it to him to hold.  Pretty soon after, he saw a small train that he liked and handed me the Duplo set so he could hold the train instead.  Somehow he knew that he was going to get something while we were at the store but also that he could only get one thing.  I was very amused by the fact that he traded a $20 toy for a $6 toy.  Then we moved to look at the Cars aisle.  He is obsessed with the movie Cars and carries his toy Mater everywhere we go (I think it has taken the place of his binky).  He saw a car he wanted (for $4) and gave me the train so he could have the car.  As we were going to checkout, he then saw a package of Cars stickers ($2) that he wanted instead, so he gave up the car. 

The whole experience was very eye-opening for me.  First of all, kids don't care about the price tags on their toys.  Julian would have been just as happy with the package of stickers for $2 as he was with the $20 set of Duplos.  He loves stickers more than anything right now and he'll entertain himself for quite awhile just decorating the house with stickers (fortunately they come off easily).  Second, Julian has learned that he doesn't get a lot of stuff.   He has plenty of toys but compared to most kids we know, he doesn't have that many.  His 2nd birthday is next month and it won't be a big deal.  We bought him a wooden toy kitchen as his present (he already had the wooden food and the toy dishes).  He got it early because I wanted him to be able to play with it for a little longer before it goes into storage while we live with my parents.  On his actual birthday, he'll probably get a new book and 2 or 3 cars and that's it.  We'll probably have some cake and maybe go out to dinner.  We won't have a party because he's still too young to care.  I think parties and holidays are overrated (just ask Brian, he calls me the Christmas Nazi but that's a post for another day). 

In case you're wondering, we bought the stickers, the car, and the train.  I figured spending less than $15 wasn't that big a deal (I would've spent more on a single larger toy if that's what he had wanted).  Julian got the car that day and I'm saving the other two for later in the month while Daddy is still gone.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

My 50 Things

I've been reading several minimalist blogs lately and in the "minimalist world" when you refer to 50 or 100 things, that's typically the amount of things you own.  Many people have pared down their lives so much that they can easily count the number of things they own.  Well, I find this concept very interesting but I'm nowhere near a goal of owning such few things.  For me, it's unrealistic, especially when I'm about to have two kids (and I have a husband who likes stuff).   Even for just my personal stuff, it's not a goal I want to achieve.  I like some variety in my life and I like to have beautiful things around me.  I'm not comfortable with bare walls, I like art and photographs to brighten up my life.  I appreciate having more than three shirts and two pairs of pants because I get bored with my wardrobe quite easily. 

I do, however, want less stuff in my life.  Our 3-bedroom apartment is constantly cluttered with piles of stuff everywhere.  I know adding an infant to the mix won't help things so I need to pare down before the baby comes.  My goal is to eliminate as much stuff as possible before September (when baby is due), maybe August if we move to Tacoma before the baby comes.    The two kids and I will be moving in with my parents in Tacoma for several months while we search for a house there and Brian is overseas.  That is another reason to downsize, because we will be sharing my parents' house and don't need to bring a ton of stuff with us for those few months and I don't want to pay to store stuff that I really don't need in my life. 

So my 50 things refers to what I've gotten rid of so far.  None of it is actually gone yet, just set aside in my friend's garage for an upcoming garage sale, but I know that nothing will be returning to my life.  If it doesn't sell, it will go to the women's shelter or Goodwill immediately after the sale. 

The book I've been reading, "Throw Out FIFTY Things", has you keep a list of items that you are getting rid of as you go through each room.  Each category of items counts as one thing (eg, 5 lipsticks, 10 shirts, 17 magazines all count as one thing each).  Since I didn't do one whole room at a time and just did one piece and another piece there, my list was very haphazard.  It took up 8 pages in a small notebook.  I condensed it today and combined a lot of categories to keep it down to 50 things.  I love making lists and counting things (what can I say, it's the math teacher in me) so I liked keeping track of everything.  But I was shocked to find out how much stuff I had that I wasn't using and didn't need to keep around.

Many of the items I'm getting rid of are small and don't take up much room, so it didn't seem too bad around here, but it was still crazy to think I've been keeping all this stuff for no good reason.  In most of the categories, I'm still keeping the same amount of stuff that I'm eliminating.  There were a few things that are gone for good (like the enormous amount of bubble wrap that I had been saving - it was Freecycled to someone who was moving).  In my list, I didn't include all the piles of paper and magazines and most other things that have gone straight to the garbage or recycling.  I also didn't include any of Brian's personal items but I did include Julian's stuff (since I was the one choosing to get rid of it) and shared belongings that Brian and I both agreed could go.  The hardest thing about sorting through things with a toddler is that your piles frequently get moved to places all around the house where you didn't want them to be.  Julian thinks that he has found dozens of new playthings as I empty out the closets and drawers so he moves them to where his toys are or puts them in a drawer or something so I have to rediscover them later. 

Here's my list (which will be updated as I continue to finish my decluttering process):
1. 52 shirts (regular, maternity, and nursing)
2. 12 prs of pants
3. 14 sweaters
4. 12 prs of socks
5. 7 nightgowns/prs of pajamas
6. 9 skirts and dresses
7. 159 items of kids' clothing
8. 17 prs of earrings
9. 17 bracelets
10. 7 rings
11. 3 watches
12. large trash bag full of bubble wrap
13. 12 pieces of furniture
14. 70 toys and games
15. 13 things from my underwear drawer
16. 22 hair accessories
17. 16 makeup items
18. 60 other things from the bathroom (mostly travel size toiletries)
19. 400+ postcards
20. 8 pkgs of stationery
21. most of my rock collection
22. 166 items from when I was a teacher (pens, rulers, scissors, protractors,etc)
23. 71 things from the kitchen
24. 3 prs of eyeglasses
25. 224 CDs and 2 CD binders
26. 9 pillows and 3 pillowcases
27. 18 bags (includes backpacks, purses, wallets, etc)
28. 3 candles
29. 22 misc. plastic containers
30. 12 scarves/sarongs
31. 13 misc. kid items (baby carrier, pacifier straps, etc)
32. 2 DVD players
33. bag of sewing supplies
34. 25 misc. electronic accessories (cables, chargers, adaptors)
35. 219 books (incl. some of those expensive souvenir guidebooks from tourist destinations)
36. 13 prs of shoes (both kid and adult)
37. 15 necklaces and pendants
38. 104 knickknacks and home decor items
39. 10 small electronic items
40. full-length mirror
41. 10 seasons of Friends on DVD
42. 2 tablecloths
43. 2 swimsuits
44. 6 blankets (adult and baby)
45. 1 hat and 1 pr of mittens
46. 4 prs of knitting needles and 10 skeins of yarn
47. 3 blankets (adult and baby)
48. 2 prs of sunglasses
49. 22 holiday decorations
50. 39 random items

***List updated as of 6/12/2011

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Extreme Couponing

I like to watch TV, but typically only a few specific programs.  I rarely sit and watch just whatever is on but that's something Brian likes to do.  Last night after I put Julian to bed, I came out to the living room and Brian was channel-surfing.  He stopped on TLC's program "Extreme Couponing."  I'd never seen this show before but I used to watch TLC quite a bit and I'm familiar with a lot of their other programs.  This show was both amazing and appalling to me at the same time.  Basically, the people on the show spend the majority of their lives finding coupons and ways to double and triple them so that they pay little or nothing for groceries and other items.  The first family we saw had 5 kids so they needed a lot of groceries.  They got about $1100 worth of stuff for less than $45.  Wow!  To me, that was impressive.  But I was not impressed by the products they were buying.  This happened with all the people I saw featured on the show.  We ended up watching almost 3 episodes, so saw 5 different families. 

These people saved thousands of dollars and had enormous stockpiles of stuff (that would last them several years) but most of the stuff they bought were things that I don't use or want in my home.  Okay, I'm picky about the food I eat and the toiletries and cleaning products that I use.  This doesn't mean that I need name brand products and have to buy expensive stuff but I care about what's in my food and what chemicals I use on my body and in my home. 

One of the guys on the show had 1000 bottles of body wash in his garage and bought 60 bottles of hand soap in one shopping trip.  Apparently he doesn't care about the toxic chemicals in those products that are harmful to his health and the environment.  It just disgusted me.  Also,  pretty much everything these people purchased was packaged in plastic and I'm sure most of it was going to end up in the trash. 

To me, most of these extreme couponers are just wasting their time (up to 5 hours a day) finding coupons for things that are wasteful and even harmful to them and especially to the environment. 

Bye Bye Binkies (and a truckload of clutter)

My son Julian is 22 months old and up until last week, he was still very attached to his binkies.  Brian (my husband) and I were at a loss as to how we were going to convince him to give them up.  Then last Sunday, I noticed that Julian was extremely congested and getting a cold.  He still tried sucking on his binky but it was difficult for him to breathe well since his nose was all stuffy.  As soon as he fell asleep that night, I took it away so he could breathe a little easier overnight.  Well, the next day he still had a cold and so I didn't give him a binky all day.  My parents happened to be visiting us at the time so Julian had some distractions and he didn't seem to miss his binky too much.  There were a few times I know he wanted one (he's not very verbal yet) because he kept pointing at certain places where I normally put the binkies and he was constantly digging through the diaper bag.  After one day without any, I decided we would just keep going without them (basically cold turkey).  So I hid them all really well for a few days and after a week (my parents were here that whole time), I threw them out.  Brian told me to keep one for Julian to throw away (and I did) but I won't give it to him yet because I know he still wants one and would just pop it in his mouth and not give it up without a big fight.  For now, it's sitting in the back of my dresser drawer waiting for Julian to get a little older.

The other thing going on in our home lately is decluttering.  I started reading the book "Throw Out FIFTY Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life" by Gail Blanke.  She talks about why we hold onto stuff and why we don't need it and says to start clearing out your life by getting rid of 50 things.  Her "50 things" is actually way more than 50 though.  Each category of things only actually counts as one thing, so getting rid of 20 shirts and 5 magazines only counts as 2 things.  Her book is divided into 2 parts: physical clutter and mental clutter.  I've finished reading the first part but not the second.  My physical clutter was my primary concern anyway.  (Normally I read books very quickly but I also tend to read 6-8 books at once and finish the ones that I find the most interesting.  If I get a little bored with a particular chapter, then I switch to another book for awhile.) 

Brian wasn't really on board with the decluttering process.  He is attached to his stuff - I was too but my perspective is changing.  So he was not excited when I started telling him about the book and what I was reading.  Eventually, he decided he could part with a few things and I found that I could part with a lot, including Julian's stuff that he had already outgrown.  I started talking to a friend about my decluttering and how I wished I could have a garage sale (we live in an apartment so that's not really an option).  She said that her family has garage sales a few times a year and that I could put my stuff in the next one they had.  She also offered the use of her garage to store all of my stuff until the sale so it wouldn't be piled up around my apartment  (I had company coming so I was really excited about this part).   After Brian and I had gone through most of our closets, drawers, etc and found everything we thought we could part with, we called a friend with a truck to transport it for us.  We filled up the truck, not jam-packed or anything, but it looked full.  The only large thing we had was a desk.  Everything else was in boxes or trash bags.  It kind of shocked me to know we had that much extraneous stuff lying around the house.  Especially when you look around now and we still have too much stuff.