Warning: This post is only for you if you seriously care about our future nursery plans. It has ended up being a good way for me to compare things that are on our official registry and their cheaper counterparts that I really want as well as a gripe against BRU. So read on if you dare!

After we found out that we are having a boy we were so excited that we decided to go to Babies R' Us to do some registering. I know that it is common to wait until a little bit later to do registering, but we wanted to do it before Christmas because I think my brother and possibly my mom will want to get us some "Baby Crap," (as my brother Andy calls it) for Christmas in lieu of presents strictly for us. Also, we need to begin looking for things and budgeting for our little bundle of joy's arrival, which should be accompanied by the arrival of some bills.

When we got there, they were ready and waiting with an eager look in their eyes. First Time parents! The look said. Easy marks. We can get them to buy whatever we tell them that they "need." We were given a scanning gun a large booklet and a list with hundreds of items that we needed to register for. Thankfully both Jim and I were wise to the fact that a retail outlet might have a conflict of interest when it came to advising new parents on necessary baby items. We also knew that this was just a preliminary trip, and as we looked at parent reviews and made other decisions we could easily alter our list online.

After we were done with what ended up being over an hour worth of scanning we came back and received, "Forget Me Not," cards cutely displaying babies and commonly forgotten items that we could scan right then and there. After our list was printed, we also got a sheet of "Missing Items" that the computer was sure we needed to put on our list, posthaste. But really, a play yard? A-- we don't have a yard. B-- the baby can't move very fast. In fact, he will be pretty stationary for perhaps even the next year (including gestation and early life) and then it will be snowing again. :( They even indicated that we needed play yard sheets. Whatever happened to an old quilt that grandma made or a sheet that isn't used on a bed anymore?

There are a few items that I am giving in and joining the crowd and registering for-- such as The Boppy. It is basically a moon-shaped pillow, but it is specifically shaped to cradle the sitting baby, help with tummy time and curve around mom's abdomen as she breast feeds. And it has washable slipcovers that are really cute. I know, I really caved. However, if someone wanted to make me a Boppy- either by cannibalizing a regular pillow or by making one, I'm sure it would cost less than the $29.99 Boppy and I'd be just as happy. We also indulged in something called a Weeblock which covers a little baby boy like a cup and prevents accidents while being changed. One even says, "Tinkle, Tinkle, Little Star." Necessary item-- of course not, but awfully funny and there is a serious lack of cute boy items in babyland.

Another thing that we noticed was the price disparity of items at BRU. Why would we pay $400 for a crib? Some of those don't even convert to a toddler bed or twin bed later on. We didn't even pay that much for our bed, which will be in use for many more years than the crib will be. How we wish IKEA had a registry, where the Hensvik is $139 and can turn into a toddler bed later on. Other deals--

Crib mattress-- $49.99-$59.99 instead of $100
Crib sheets-- $8.99 for a set of 2 instead of the same price for 1 (and on sale.)
Changing Table Pad- $8.99 for an inflatable one that can be easily taken on trips instead of $22 for a foam one that is said to scar the dresser we're thinking of setting it on.
Changing Table Pad Cover-- the Gullunge cover is $5.99 for 2 instead of $12.99 at cheapest for 1
Crib Bedding-- $14.99 for a crib duvet cover and pillowcase instead of $179.00 for a 4 piece set which includes a bumper pad, which you are not supposed to use because it increases the incidence of SIDS. Yes, we still have to buy the duvet to go inside (14.99), but at these prices we can afford to get a couple spares and change out the room when we want to. Like I also like the Barnsling Dans set, and it matches a lot of the cute stuffed animals that we like.

We also like the baby bath, Lattsam changing table baskets, and the Sniglar changing table, but I am undecided if it will be strong enough for our rambunctious baby boy. Since we are planning on having our little boy sleep in the same room with us for a while, what we may do is buy an extra dresser that matches the ones we are planning on buying in the near future for us and using the top of one for a changing table until our little boy gets his own room and needs a separate table. Mmm-- 2 or 3 Malm dressers all lined up. However, if we do that we may need more storage and I'm unsure what putting shelves into our wall will do to our deposit. We can always put some baby stuff in here and keep the crib in our room.

This whole post is proving very useful for me to really look at what we need and what we want and what we will actually need. It is tempting to turn the office (which I am currently in) into a deluxe baby room, but we really need the office space and the guest room and the truth is, a newborn baby just doesn't need an entire room of his or her own. What, is he going to have friends over to play video games? As long as he has a place to sleep, poop and eat, he should be a happy little boy. But they do make baby rooms look so cute online with all of the storage and matching switch plate covers and curtains.

Our new apartment has been a blessing in many ways-- it is so much more spacious than our last place, it is in a beautiful location where we overlook a nature center, but also have a Sam's Club, Bachman's Wal-Mart within walking distance (if it wasn't 2 degrees and I wasn't pregnant) and a mall, Target, restaurants and several grocery stores within a 5 minute drive. There is even a Little Caesar's nearby, which is a rarity up here. There is a pool and workout room one building over, and it is only 5 minutes more drive than our last place to Jim's work.

One further way it has been a blessing has been for our utilities. We were afraid that with the increased space, and a few more utilities we were responsible for, that it would be a lot more expensive for us. However, our location in the building (almost on top of the boiler room-- kind of kitty- corner) and next to the 2nd floor laundry room, we have access to a great deal of free heat. If you feel our wall that we share with the laundry and someone has the dryer's going, you can feel ambient heat coming through, and for some reason our hall closet floor is always warm-- we think because of duct work or hot water pipes. we'll take whatever we can get.


However, just recently with the wind chill in the -30s and lower lately, especially at night, things have gotten colder and we are finally feeling the need to use at least some our heat, some of the time. I also recently noticed a phenomenon from our last place that I was hoping we could avoid-- the snow and ice are following us indoors. Pictured is Honey trying to close the second door of our apartment last year in February (Don't you love the outfit), which had been left ajar and let in some of the bitterly cold air. eventually we resorted to using the hair dryer to thaw out the doors enough to close them, but it was still like a fridge over on that side of the apartment.





This year it hasn't been as bad so far, probably because of the way our doors close in this home, and because we haven't hit the really cold portion of the winter yet, but we have had some ice build up, even on the side of our French doors that don't open, which is really strange. Our windows have had some of this as well. We're debating getting some of those clear plastic protectors (never thought I'd use those) and insulate the windows that way, but we don't want to cause damage that will impact our deposit. However, we also don't want the window frames to suffer damage from the water seeping in and expanding and contracting as things melt.





What we really want is to be in a house of our own where we are free to insulate and repair and do whatever we want, but that is still a ways away. House prices here are going down, a house in Kalamazoo that would go for $50,000 now only costs about $120,000 here! The good thing is that it is a great time to be thinking of buying and looking and saving because the market is so poor and the Fed. just lowered rates. Also, Honey got word that he is getting a raise next year, which is such a welcome blessing.

I have a theory, and it is probably one of the those first time pregnancy fantasies and sound totally irrational to anyone who is not going through the same feelings and sensations that I am. I really know that it probably has no foundation in reality.

This morning during church I was fretting that the baby had been really still during that morning's service, and when I had been updating our newly-formed baby registry online that he hadn't been hitting me, spinning, mowing the lawn, swimming, or doing baby yoga as he usually does when I am sitting at that time of day at the computer and typing. However, this morning was different from typical weekday because Honey was at home and I didn't have on the radio like I normally would.

During church I was distracted from my unreasonable worry (I know perfectly well that it is entirely normal for me to not feel the baby for days after feeling him) by the baptism of two little babies. Faith does something that I really enjoy when babies are added to our bunch-- during offering they play a slideshow of the lives of the new little ones. Suddenly, as the music began playing I felt a small punch, just below my belly button. As the song progressed our little baby boy hit and kicked regularly and generally seemed to really be enjoying himself.

The odd thing was that after the song concluded he stopped moving and was silent until the end of the service. This was rather striking and made me wonder-- could he really love music and be doing some sort of baby dancing inside of me when he hears a song that he likes? I know this is all a fantasy, and that according to my logic he might just as well hate music and be punching me to let me know of his disdain for the stuff, but I prefer my way.

He was moving after church as we were eating lunch, and just now as I have been sitting at my computer once again, but that could be due to the root beer (no caff.) that I am drinking, rather than the Christmas music playing on the radio.

Out of everything I found-- all of the stuff I thought of that my Jimmy would want, I completely forgot the thing that he has been looking at every time we are in Target. He would LOVE to have a waffle iron-- one of those that rotates while it cooks-- like the have in hotels with Continental breakfasts.

Whoops!

I have removed this post becasue leaving it up is self-indulgent and we were so blessed by things that people have given us for the holidays this year that were far beyond what we could have ever expected.

I hope that you had a wonderful and blessed anniversary of the birth of our Savior.

Blessings!

Due to something important going on at Jim's work on the date that we were originally going to have our "Big Ultrasound" where we find out that everything is proceeding as planned and hopefully find out the sex of the baby-- instead it is happening TOMORROW!

December 11 at 8:15 in the morning we will be bright-eyed and big-bellied waiting at the doctor's office and will get to see our little one. Any last minute bets on the sex of The Bean? I'm still not sure how we'll go about the telling of everyone, and maybe we will wait until we are back in MI if we decide to be really mean about it, but I don't know if I'll be able to wait that long.

I think that the moving up of the ultrasound has made things a lot more real to me. I have always held up this date as a very important one in the course of other pregnancies I've known of friends and relatives, and this combined with the fact that the baby is turning into quite the little swimmer in there (those kick turns are quite the feeling) it is really becoming real. Just the fact that it IS a boy or a girl already is shocking. I have been looking at the ultrasound pics of women on my "May '09" mom's board at Whattoexpect.com and it is amazing to see the detail and the every finger and arm and little leg. And now its our turn in less than 24 hours. Wow. I still kind of wish we could get a 4d ultrasound, where you can really see what the baby looks like down to whose nose he or she has, but that is typically an extra expense that the insurance won't cover. Some doctors do 4D just as a rule for this ultrasound, but I don't think that will be us.

Because it is getting so much more real, Jim and I made another trip out to Babies 'R Us to look at strollers and other items we may want. We really like one in particular, which is a convertible stroller/jogging stroller combo that has a single front wheel which can be locked or move depending upon what you are using it for. From my nannying days, I know that I really prefer the single front wheel, even just for walking on sidewalks and trails, so it really makes sense to us to get one with this feature. We also like the ease of the car seat to attach to the stroller and seat apparatus, how snug the baby would be on rainy days with the car seat hood up, and the stroller hood up (a lot of them let in a lot of air and possibly rain) We enjoy the adjustable handle to the stroller-- for mom and dad, that it has a cup holder (another nannying bit of knowledge) the handle of the car seat, how easy it is to fold down and even the colors.

The car seat looks snug as a bug, but when you get to the stroller, that is where we have our one dislike. Jim is really the one who this bothers the most I think. The backrest of the stroller is not very cozy looking at all. It would be more like the baby would be resting against a hammock than a mattress. So my question is this to you experienced parents out there-- how important is this? If we like everything else about the travel system, do you think the baby will somehow hate the feeling of riding in the stroller? And can't we just get an extra pad to make the experience more pleasurable?

I just don't want to have a 1 year old someday who screams every time I say we need to go on a walk because it is so uncomfortable.

Okay, I was re-reading a couple of my previous posts and realized that I needed to update you on a couple things:

1-- Jim did win the award for the most orders written in Las Vegas! It is a small monetary award that we are intending to use on something really celebratory. We thought of buying a small deep freeze now that we are members of, and practically right next to a Sam's Club, but what may win out is going to some sort of holiday play in the Hennepin Theater District in downtown Minneapolis. We talked about a small "Babymoon" vacation for us, but we kind of want something that will last. We have also discussed getting the boxed set of MASH, but we'd still have to shell out a chunk of our own change, which we are trying to save right now. I just think that it is cool that he won. He found out on the day that he got a really good yearly performance review. In a year where everyone is tightening budgets and removing staff that are under-performing, all of these things mean a lot to us.

2-- I have definitely felt the baby move now. I didn't think that I would this soon, but I feel him or her swimming or punching pretty much every day. It is the oddest feeling, and one that I have tried to get Jim to feel, but it just isn't strong enough or regular enough yet. Soon enough it will be really apparent. The baby seems to move more when I am at the computer typing in the mornings. I don't know if this means that the baby likes or dislikes my writing, or if it is trying to tell me that when I sit up I squish its soft watery home and it wants more space, or maybe it is just that the baby is moving more often, but sitting up puts it in the proper position for me to feel.

This Thanksgiving was our first major holiday since we moved to MN that we have not made the journey back to Michigan to be with friends and family. We have stayed for holidays like Independence Day, Memorial Day and such, but for Easter and Christmas last year we made the trip back to see people. However, this year it simply didn't make financial or time sense for us to make 2 trips of this length in the car within a month. Also, with the baby on its way sitting for long periods of time in the car makes me uncomfortable. I am already dreading the inevitability of having to pee horribly somewhere between Eau Claire and The Wisconsin Dells and having no where to go. Would I still get charged with indecent exposure if I explained to the officer that I was going to the bathroom beside the car because I am pregnant?

Yesterday was the first anniversary of The Weston's wedding. It is amazing to me-- it seems as if it were just yesterday at times, and at other times our wedding seems like years and years ago. Our anniversary is also the close anniversary to us being out here in the Twin Cities for a year.

One year ago yesterday I had: Never been married, never had a positive pregnancy test, never seen an ultrasound of a life inside of me, never heard a heartbeat coming from my abdomen, never lived outside of Michigan, never filed joint taxes, never moved away from family and friends, never had to plan a life for two-- and now 3 of us.

I am still so thankful for how everything worked out for us to be able to move here together, and I am so thankful for the wonderful first year that we have had. It hasn't been without its ups and downs. Money is tight now that I am not working and won't be for a while-- especially our housing budget, it is difficult and at times lonely not being around friends and family who we've known our whole lives, it is difficult to have to share a car now that we live in Fridley and farther from downtown (sometimes I get a little stir crazy) and the weather will soon be back to its stereotypical Minnesota winter weather.

However, I cannot imagine what life would have been like if we had been too afraid to make this step. If Jim had told his company "No," instead of us stepping out in faith to move here, and the faith that this was God's way of having us get married in His timing. I think that I mentioned that shortly after we moved out here, Jim's company reorganized his old team, a move which could have resulted in Jim losing his job, and if not that, it would have meant that he would have been out of town 2 or 3 weeks out of the month.

It is wonderful to see how he has been blessed with his job-- a job that he excels at, and one that he enjoys most of the time. I hate when he has to travel for work (like he just did to Las Vegas for several days) but I am honored at the trust and enthusiasm his company has for his abilities. He may even win an award for the biggest order at the last show he worked.

It is also wonderful to see how Jim has taken to the role of expectant father. He really wants to be the sort of man who instills love in his child-- even before his future baby has the ability to hear. He talks to my growing belly all of the time and tells the baby we love it, and prays for our future child and for my safety and comfort during this sometimes trying time. Nearly every morning he gets up for work early enough to prepare me breakfast so that I will not feel nauseous and throw up. Some mornings it is cereal or toast with butter, or bacon, but this morning and many others it is french toast-- since eggs make me feel ill sometimes, but he wants me to get the protein of eggs.

I have joined a group of expectant May mommies online and I am amazed at some of their sad stories. Some of them have husbands who have asked them to end their pregnancies, who have been uninterested in the process, or who are resentful that they do not get dinner prepared for them every night. I am blessed to have a man who will pray over me and tell me that I am "working so hard, all so that we can be a family."

In return I am sometimes cranky for no apparent reason, weepy, nauseous, bloated, crampy, sleepy and frequently have to pee at the most inconvenient of times. I take up the whole couch, I sleep cuddling pillows instead of him now and don't look like the woman he married. And yet we are really, really happy. I wish that those of you who read this could see us more often. I know that Jim's dad reads this (when there is something new on here) and I just hope that I am the sort of daughter in law who a father is happy to have his son saddled with. I'm trying my best to take care of him!

Love to you all! And we will see you soon enough! We are planning on leaving for MI on Dec. 19th and will be there till several days after the holidays. Last year we had to drive home on Christmas and we vowed to never again have to do that.

I am sorry that this is so short. I think that Honey was so excited to actually hear the heartbeat that he pressed the stop button after only a few seconds. This was the first time the doctor and PA student tried to hear the heartbeat. Here I am 10 weeks along, and many people do not get to hear the heartbeat that early, either because of the position of the baby or the placenta or the baby is just too small.The PA student couldn't find it (more than a little frustrating) but my doctor literally set the reciever on my abdomen and heard that sweet sound.

This time at 14 weeks the beat was much stronger, but we forgot to record the sound.

Here I am at 14 weeks. We had our third prenatal apprt. yesterday and during the appointment we got to hear the baby's heartbeat with a doppler. It is still surprising somehow that it is still there-- but there it was, beating at about 145 bpm. In 6 weeks, on december 15 we get to see the baby on an ultrasound again and will likely get to find out the sex of the baby.

I am feeling better than I was with morning sickness and fatigue, although I still tire very easily and this morning I threw up. I am so blessed to have such a supportive husband in my life. Nearly every morning-- unless I get up first Jim makes me toast and serves me in bed, and some days I even get french toast. Yum. He has been trying to fatten me up because between our first appt. and the last one I had lost 5 pounds and he wants to insure the baby will be nice and healthy. By this last appointment I had only gained .4 of a pound, although I don't look it, and thankfully the doctors say this is normal in the first trimester.

I will be updating a video soon and probably a photo post, but we will have to see how long I last.

I'm sorry it has been so long for me to update this blog. I will try to do better becuase I realize for many of you Michiganders and those in Missouri and California, this is your only way to stay updated on us.

Blessings!

I have been selling on etsy for a while, but through circumstance and budget haven;t bought anything on the site, until a few days ago. I decided that it was silly of me to have not bought anything from my fellow artisans and crafters. I wanted to purchase something and give someone else their first sale. I searched around on the "Pounce" option for buying and some of the selections were great, and some were obviously someone who just had one thing to sell, and when no one jumped on it simply forgot about etsy.

Finally I found the seller, Illustrationsoflove, who is an illustrator and fiber artist. I knew I had the right person when I saw her theme. She has a large Ball jar that throughout this year she is filling with scraps of paper upon which she has written something she is thankful for. Each day she draws a slip from the jar and creates a small illustration of that thing and posts it on etsy.

I purchased a small illustration that not only is cute and simple, but features my name! You can find it by going to her etsy page and looking under sold items, or I will post a picture when I have received it and have hung it on the walls of our home.

Last night after Jim came home from work we decided to run down to this little Chinese restaurant that we like along the Hiawatha near Minnehaha Falls and had dinner. Of course, I brought along my camera, and despite clouds looming nearby and a few rumbles of thunder we decided to make a quick stop at the falls to see how low the water was and to allow me a chance to practice with my Neutral Density filter.

I have a new love-- aside from writing and photography and camping and biking and home decorating and reading and film and travel and all of the other things that I have used to occupy my time-- I am now in love with my pasta machine.

I am attributing this love at least in part to my time as a preschool teacher who played with play-dough and still loved the feeling of squishing it and molding and cutting it. We were originally going to purchase the Kitchen Aid version that would attach to our stand mixer. However, the set of three attachments retails for $129 on amazon and is seldom seen in stores. Also, the rollers must be switched out from the receptacle on the mixer to be used, whereas with the table versions a crank merely has to be moved. What we ended up purchasing was a mixer very similar to the one pictured here, however, our machine cost less than this. We actually feel pretty fortunate because we think that the one on Amazon was made by the exact manufacturer, but sold under another name.


For my initial trial I decided to do a simple lemon basil recipe that was in the booklet that came with the pasta maker. I wanted to make one that seemed to be foolproof and that one had just a few ingredients. My fear was that somehow I wouldn't be able to successfully make anything close to resembling noodles, which I realize is a ridiculous fear considering the relative simplicity of making pasta compared to driving a car or editing a photo in Photoshop.


Pressing and cutting the noodles was fairly easy. The only even remotely complex parts were catching the dough in such a way that it didn't fold and insuring that the crank didn't fall out while in use or as I was moving the pasta.


Drying the pasta was another task. Some stores sell racks of rods to dry pasta on, and Jim and I will probably purchase some dowel rods which we will cut and sand, but for my first try I decided to put them on a cooking spoon over a pot and flour canister. I also laid a few out flat on a plate, but eventually found that it was easiest to place some butter knives between the pages of one of my favorite cookbooks-- which is also one of the biggest and hang them there. The only issue with this was that as the pasta dried it left creases in the bends that were easily broken. However, once the strands were in hot water these evened out.


For dinner tonight we ate the pasta and I made a butter and cream sauce with mushrooms and parm. and we had a Cornish game hen with juniper berries, bay leaves and peppercorn. Yum.

Honey is excited to try the process out himself and tomorrow we are planning to make spinach noodles and whole wheat pasta. We are also going to try using the rollers and a tool that I once devoted to crinkle soap slices as I cut them to make the edges of bow-tie pasta and ravioli. we are also hoping to find a good recipe for won ton and egg roll wrappers that we can roll out.


We are not going to only eat organic, and we are not going crazy with health food (I just used half a stick of butter and a cup of cream in a sauce) but we are trying to get more connected to what we are eating and purchase more staples and fresh ingredients and use those for cooking. This will lead to less preservatives and more frugality. We still have a love for pre-made and frozen Cordon Blu chicken breasts, and a good frozen pizza, but this is a simple way to eat food because it is really what we want, not because it is the sauce on sale.



My next culinary purchases will hopefully be a food mill and the tools that I need to do some canning when fall arrives. We just got a large stock pot from the free section that we can use for this, but I need the jars and the tongs to grab the jars. We would like to find a good farmer's market, but that can be hard in the city. There are a couple that operate downtown in places like the Nicollet Mall, but that is a main thoroughfare for city buses, and Jim is worried about the smoke when he has seen it on his lunch breaks. Hopefully at the State Fair we will find some good farmers who sell there wares, or at least some ideas for small stores that have what we want and don't charge you $5 for a squash.

I recently posted about my new freelancing work in stock photography and selling my creative photographs on Etsy.com. This is all part of our plans as a couple for our future. Our ideal is that after we have children I will be able to stay at home, being a mom and writing and doing stock photography as much as is reasonably possible. Right now I am not making enough to warrant staying home before children, but we are working so that at some point in the future I can make the transition reasonably easily.

Initially after becoming a mommy I will need a break from working just to focus on the wonderful changes in my life and to learn my new little one's personality, but eventually I would like to go back to working, even if only 15 or so hours a week. (And no, as far as I know, I am not pregnant right now)

I am currently looking for work outside the home, but am also expanding my freelancing from articles into the business world. This is more in line with my education. My major focused on writing in the business world-- specifically marketing and fund-raising. It is my hope to take my experience in teaching and childcare and bring this over to my professional life. One of the biggest complaints of the parents we served were the lack of communication (often merely their perception) but this is something that there are simple tactics to remedy, but that many childcare directors do not have the time or knowledge to fix.

I recently bought the URL-- http://www.comprehensivecommunications.info/ and I am currently developing the website. It is still very much under construction and it has been hard lately to find the time to work on it, but I am slowly making progress. Hopefully soon I will be writing website copy, parent handbooks and daily communications for small childcare centers. I would also love to work with small non-profit organizations. I hope that I can use my skills to help organizations that I feel passionate about their cause in addition to simply looking to help support our family. So check it out (I seem to be writing that a great deal lately.) Blessings!

For quite some time I have been writing online for sites like Suite101, and have made some, but not a ton of money from this writing. It has been a good way to keep my name out there and to begin to write about things that interest me, things that I am interested in learning more about and things that I want to advocate. As I have learned more about photography and increased my skills with visual communication I have looked for ways to incorporate this into my freelancing life. I am not a professional photographer in the traditional sense, but I have been fortunate enough to use my photographs with things I have written for Kalamazoo Weekly and to enhance my online articles. I've also recently begun submitting my photos to stock photography websites like bigstockphoto.com and shutterfarm.com. I've included one of my recent stock shots that isn't the most exciting, but can be very useful.

I have wanted to explore more of the purely creative side of photography, so I recently began selling my photography on Etsy.com. This has been challenging and at times, frustrating, but it has been wonderful to be the sole gatekeeper for an online project as I am here for what I blog, and to determine my own success or failure. So far I have not devoted the time that it deserves and I need to devote more time to advertising and marketing myself if I want to be successful at it, but have been occupied with other things.

I hope that those of you who read this blog will explore my etsy store and give me your input via comment or email and tell me what you think. What can I do better, how can I market myself so that people will come upon my store. Also note that it is still in development and I am planning on adding more photos and perhaps cards that incorporate my photography and would be at a lesser price. I'd appreciate anyone's help!

Thanks!

P.S. My Featured Photo (on the right side of this page) right now is one of my favorite etsy shots that I took on Jim and my recent trip to St. cloud to practice with my new telephoto lens that Honey gave to me for my birthday.

It has been far too long since I last posted. I'm sorry Michigan family members and friends. I know that not all of you can access photos posted on facebook and flickr. I realized that I never posted about my birthday, or our recent trip to Michigan, our day trip to St. Cloud or our recent trip to Wisconsin or my new website. I guess life and stress have just caught up with me. I will try to address general things now and then get to specific events and photos soon.

Jim is doing really well with his position-- in July he met last year's sales numbers within the first week and is on track to do really well this month too. Later on in the year he is probably going to have to go to Las Vegas for a show for work and is probably one of the few people for whom this is not exciting. He has said to me, "Now I will not be able to say with pride that I have never been to Vegas." Jim isn't interested in gambling and if he was going to go just for the entertainment he would like me to be there with him.

I finally made the decision to resign from my nannying position. I do not have anything lined up at the moment, but the stress and negativity in that household were affecting me emotionally and having negative consequences for my health, which are already disappearing. Jim has already noticed that I am much more filled with joy and peace then I was before this decision was made. I will really miss Liam, but the family and I differed on several important child-rearing issues and ultimately it came down to my wanting to work in a position where I am really needed and fulfilling my purpose. I will not discuss everything having to do with this family on as public a format as this out of respect for Liam. Occasionally I have read friends' and acquaintance's blogs where I have thought-- "Ooh-- that is really juicy, but sharing that may come back and bite them in the butt later."

We are looking for a larger place-- preferably a townhouse for while we are looking for a house. We thought that we had a place to rent lined up, but recently got a phone call from the office saying that because the previous tenant had been there for so long the pipes need to be updated to meet current code restrictions, which means that it wouldn't be ready until after our lease is up here. Our current building is nice-- it is so convenient to town and there are sari shops, a couple non-profits and other businesses on the first floor and restaurants within walking distance and target and grocery stores within biking-distance. However, we think that part of the reason we have been so anxious for a home (aside from that once we have a house we are planning on trying to get pregnant, which we are both eager for) is that this place is limited on space and being up so high is somewhat disconnecting from the neighborhood and from nature.

Jim's old place before we got married was so wonderful-- two bedrooms, laundry room, built in cabinets and shelves with mirrors in the dining room, attic and convenient outside access. We fondly remember sitting in the living room in the fall and carving pumpkins with the screen door open and the rain falling outside. Or hearing the birds in the trees outside as we ate dinner-- everything combined to make it feel like a small house. To then move here to a one-bedroom apartment high up in the air and to add my possessions to the mix has made for some confined feelings. That is not to say that our living space is horrible. we have been able to decorate inexpensively and comfortably. Thankfully our taste in furniture and thrifty natures are in sync. Things like our new TV, our couch and other post-matrimonial purchases has made our home as cozy as this space can be.

We are trying to ride our bikes more, and to go on more long walks, but the humidity of late has made that really difficult. I didn't think it was possible, but MN has even more humidity than MI. The weather gauge on one station regularly classifies the weather as, tropical. The Cities are also an island of heat because of all of the blacktop, so we have tried to get out of town more often.

One thing we are anticipating eagerly is the MN State Fair, which is a BIG DEAL out here. I don't even know of a Michigan State Fair, so we are excited for such an uniquely MN and agri-centered event. The Twin Cities are very urban and have so much culture and modernity, but as we have explored more we have seen how the cities are an island almost separate from the rest of the state. Occasionally we see reports of cattle or horses being stolen, and increasingly reports of people releasing their horses to wander because they are unable to care for them in the current economy.

I will try to update soon with photos and individual posts about trips and events.


Blessings!

In Luke 19 we are told that even the rocks will cry out if we keep silent and do not worship Jesus. Today I read an article that gave evidence that not only will the ROCKS cry out, but that the entire earth is crying out into space. It turns out that the earth is emitting a sound of its own that is a series of high-pitched clicks and warbles. This sound occurs far above us as solar winds pass by, and is popularly commented on to possibly be listened to by aliens-- I don't know about that, but I think that it is amazing that there is continually more evidence for what we hear in scripture. It is possible for the rocks-- even our big round rock of a planet to cry out in such a way that God will hear, even if we cannot.


I have also heard that the earth emits sound in a series of seismic waves that are just too quiet for us to hear.

My cousin, a wonderful, intelligent woman who is currently on summer break from Divinity School at Duke, recently posted a blog about things that she has learned from her first year of intensive study at Duke, as well as things that she has only learned now that she has stepped back for the summer and can see clearly through the lens of time.

I wanted to post a link here to her post for those of you who are still in college, as well as for those of us who are endeavoring to being to live in the "Real World" that exists after college and to try to synthesize everything that we have learned and what our college life meant for our identity.

Enjoy!

Meghan's post.

I wanted to have a surprise ready for Jim when he got back from his trip because he hates being away for so many days in an uncomfortable hotel room, staying with someone who may snore or have volatile gas or something. So inspired by Angie and her recent post for her husband for Father's Day I have decided to also do a "101 Reasons..." list. I thought that I would share with you because I wanted those of you who may not know him very well how wonderful he is, and for those of you who are his family I wanted to share how wonderful he is at this whole husband thing since you can't see it in person here in MN. So here is my list that I will be giving to Jim when he gets back tomorrow. (Oh and I've edited out the really personal ones.)


1. You love the Lord more than me
2. You miss me when you are gone
3. You kiss me fervently
4. You play Klax with me and other video games that I enjoy watching you play
5. You do the dishes (even the utensil tray sometimes.)
6. You cuddle me when we sleep.
7. You don’t snore too loudly.
8.
9. You listen to stories about Liam
10. You acknowledge that my job is difficult.
11. You eat the food I cook with enthusiasm
12. You encourage me in my writing
13. You enjoy food from around the world.
14. Your mom cooks wonderful food that she has taught you to make.
15. You respected me from the beginning.
16. You were my friend before you were my boyfriend/fiancee/husband.
17. You appreciated all of the cards and gifts I’ve given you
18. You love the gun book I got you
19. You love the Simpsons.
20. We have $1.00 bets and I get to win sometimes.
21. You love the way my face lights up at a good camera.
22. You love my skip-hop.
23. You want to impregnate me.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30. You adore my body
31. You try to be comfortable when I take pictures of you so many times.
32. You take me places just to take photos.
33. You take me to Ft. Snelling
34. We go on walks together.
35. You make an effort to keep physically fit.
36. You bought a bike to ride with me.
37. You follow through so that we can accomplish our goals.
38. You work to be financially responsible.
39. You balance the checkbook.
40. You insist that we tithe in order to honor God.
41. You want to find a church where we can be involved.
42. You want us to be involved in a small group.
43. You enjoy doing things, not just talking about things.
44. You want to be the man that God wants you to be, not that the world wants you to be.
45. You want to be involved with friends.
46. You want to find a house and build a life together.
47.
48. You are a great uncle to Joey and Samantha.
49. You are invested in your family.
50. You work at your relationships with your family.
51. You cook me coffee in the mornings
52. You respect those older than you with wisdom to give.
53. You want your children to experience parents who stay together forever.
54. You want to adopt children.
55. You have thought about what our children will look like.
56. When we argue you acknowledge if you are in the wrong.
57. You get excited about free things from work.
58. You get excited about a good deal.
59. You pinch my bunu when we walk up stairs.
60. We have adopted bunu as the word for butt.
61. You want to name our future dog “Bunu”
62. You want ducks
63. You are honest.
64. You are loyal.
65. I can trust you
66. You couldn’t have come out here without me.
67.
68. You are a hard worker
69.
70. When you learn something you learn all you can about it and remember it.
71. You keep our car in good repair.
72. You want me to be safe driving around the big city.
73. You tell me to be safe out taking pictures without you.
74. You believe that I will make money with my words and photos.
75. You make me dinner.
76. You take me out to dinner in interesting places.
77. You take me to IKEA
78. You buy me wonderful Christmas presents
79. You showered me with love for Valentine’s Day
80. You take out the garbage
81. You sweep
82. You enjoy good movies
83. You can quote movie lines verbatim
84. You smell great.
85. You were willing to attend premarital counseling in preparation for engagement
86. You made our wedding special despite the short notice.
87. We can ride in the car from Michigan to Minneapolis and not fight.
88. You write thoughtful notes to people for our gifts.
89. You were excited about getting presents for my family in addition to yours for Christmas.
90. With you, I finally have someone to join me looking at the luminaries in the Winchell Neighborhood on Christmas Eve
91. You love the way I look
92. You tell me I am beautiful..
93. You thought of saying, “That looks good on you,” instead of “you look good in that.”
94. When I feel bad you rub my back.
95. You pray with me at night before we go to sleep.
96. You try to eat healthy food for your body.
97. You buy me dark chocolate.
98. You like “Animal Adventures.”
99. You are silly.
100. You take first shower so I can sleep in the mornings.
101. You make me bacon.

He is so wonderful.

Today I went to work with Liam and, as usual we went to the park, which is under the landing flight-path of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport. Today, however, I found myself taking a closer look at each of the planes as they passed by, many close enough to see their landing gear and read to which airline they belonged. I was preoccupied with flight today because today Jim flew down to Chicago for his company's yearly sales meetings. The downside is, since he transferred from merchandising to sales this year and they have different meetings, this is his second yearly meeting of the year. I am so thankful for his job and that he gets to do so many cool things, but it does make me lonely when he is out of town. Today I made the mistake of telling him that this middle-aged guy flirted with me in the elevator of our building and it made him worried and he made me promise to be careful and watch out for myself while he is gone, as well as on a photo walk I am planning on taking while he is gone. He said that he is worried because if I were robbed he wouldn't be able to get back in time to help me. It really makes me realize just how different my life is out here to have someone to care that much, and to not have the network of friends and family that I did in MI. How cute is Jim though to be so worried!

Less than a month ago he was out of town in Virginia (where it was 80 degrees and sunny) while I was here in MN, cold and horribly sick. That was far worse than this where I feel fine and the weather is in the 70s. Thankfully after this he has no out of town conventions or sales meetings planned until December, although he has several shows in Minneapolis and St. Paul. He is excited about those because at one he gets to work selling tools, which he hasn't done since he moved from merchandising. We still occasionally pop into a Sears and he inevitably straightens something to the way it is supposed be, and laughs when the salespeople want to tell him something about a power tool that he likely knows far better than them.

My work is going well too-- the little boy that I nanny for is growing by leaps and bounds. It seems like every day he learns a new word that he can proudly and loudly state. The most recent additions to his vocabulary are "Quack," "sock," and his new phrase, "Oh boy." Another recent obsession is the bridges that span the creek on the Minnehaha Parkway. It has been a new adventure for him to see the water flow under the bridges and watch as the Cheerios he drops between the stained wooden boards flow away from him. Until recently I have driven him across the bridges in his stroller on our way to the library, but with his increased walking abilities it seemed only natural to let him out to walk to the "top" and practice his hill climbing and descending skills-- now I can't get him away from the things.

He is such a sweet and good-natured little boy. Today, after story time before nap I told him that we had time to sing. Some days we only have time for stories, but I've discovered that he loves to just sit still and listen to me sing before he sleeps, and today fell asleep leaning on my chest to me singing, "You Are My Sunshine." Is there anything sweeter than rocking a child and smelling soft baby hair. I'm honored that children like me and that I can get outside and see more of this beautiful city that we call home.

I'm realizing that this is sounding like a Christmas Letter, but I wanted to keep all of you updated on our lives out here and not just talk about how cool our transportation system is.

As a child we had this old Richard Scarry book, "Best Storybook Ever," and one component of it was different types of transportation. My personal favorite was the story, "Is This the House of Mistress Mouse?" because it was a romance, but the transportation page was decent as well, due to the inventive and detailed illustrations. Now, at times, I feel as if I were inside of one of the pages of this book. We regularly see around the city the typical cars, SUVs, hybrids, vans, trucks and buses. We also have a variety of transportation vehicles out of the norm. We regularly see people riding on their "commuter" unicycles, some complete with headlights, both the smaller-wheeled as well as large wheel ones. There is the light rail, numerous planes (military and commercial) many many many many bikes, including a 6 foot tall one that is NOT like the old ones with a the large front wheel-- it is more like a regular bike with the seat and pedals on stilts. Rollerblades, heelies, barges, steamboats, cruis-ships, scooters, motorcycles, skateboards, mini-cars help to round out the experience. I really enjoy seeing how a multi-type vehicle transportation system works and to think about what the system could be if even more care was taken to give bikers/rollerblades/etc. a complete seperate roadway, at least a lane. I suppose that this is only feasile in a city of our size, because I know that I needed a car when we lived in Michigan, but it is a lovely thought.

Other food for thought-- Asphalt Nation is a book that I own, but have not read all of and gives a historical and economics-centered approach to why the train-era of America faded and the idea that the automobile magnates influenced the government to make our nation's transportation system car-centered. I was wondering if anyone else has read this book and what your thoughts are on this.

The conservatory stretches far beyond on either side and a pond in front.

This is from an article that Forbes published recently published about the best urban areas to experience the outdoors. Minneapolis was also recently named on the list of "Best Places to Raise a Family" in a piece featured on the Today show. It is so sool to live in a place that has so much to offer. Now if only winters were warmer! It seems as if this place is kept intimate and fun and welcoming because of the cold winters. There would just be too many people moving to The Cities if the winters were balmy and it would lose some of its appeal.


"Park Perks

In Minneapolis, which ranked seventh, high per-resident spending and efficient management have served residents well. Though the city endures 154 days of the year with low temperatures 32 degrees or below, 15% of the city's land is devoted to parks. (The average for cities on our list was 10.5%.)
The 5,400 acres of park land are put to efficient use: There are activities for every season, including sailing lessons and kayaking at Lake Harriet in the summer and trail walking and cross country skiing at golf courses during the winter. The city also maintains a bandshell venue for summer concerts, a wildflower garden, bird sanctuary and 29 outdoor skating rinks."

http://www.forbes.com/2008/05/12/outdoors-health-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_0512realestate.html

We recently made another trip to Minnehaha Falls as a stop-off from our ride on the Light Rail. We were delighted to find that the falls were in motion. The spray hit our faces, which was enjoyable on the first day in Minneapolis over 60 degrees.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have begun working as a nanny and on these days I have a lovely drive to Jim's work to pick him up.

My trip ends at Jim's parking garage where we can view Target's Headquarters and the University of St. Thomas.

I am so thankful that after a busy day working with a toddler I have this time to drive back to Jim's work and that I was able to find a job that allows us to share a car for however much longer we need to do so. We're not sure when we will be able to buy a second car because we are also trying to save up for a house, but we have been looking at cars as we drive around town and are leaning toward something that would not be as large as an SUV, but would allow us to carry kayaks and bikes.

Speaking of which, we recently bought Jim a bike using our rewards points that we recieved for singning up with our internet carrier. Not a bad deal. Now that my camera is working again I will take some photos of us on a ride soon.

Last weekend Jim and I took advantage of the first 60 degree day since we've been in Minneapolis to take a ride on the light rail system donw to the Mall of America, past the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport with a stop over at the now flowing Hiawatha Falls.

I am trying to use the video feature of our camera more so that those of you who can't be here can see a little bit more of our life here. This video is a little bit long, but it shows some good footage of one of the tunnels of the light rail leading into the airport. The system is primarily above ground, but because of the wiring and the runways and such the trin goes below ground at both terminals of the airport.

This next video is also us on the train, but it is us above ground. On the left will be the airport and on the right you will see a portion of the National Cemetery at Ft. Snelling.