These newfangled cameras

There are several of you who have recently upgraded to digital SLRs, so I thought I'd pass on an article I ran across yesterday. It's got a lot of good, basic information about SLRs.

What are you doing to lose it?

We've been doing Move It and Lose It for about a month now, and everyone participating has lost weight! I'm so proud! And let me tell you, it's quite a motivator to know I have to put my weight up for everyone on Fridays. I've already lost 6 pounds!

Because I work at home, I manage to stay VERY sedentary. I sit at the computer, get up for lunch, eat at the computer, and now I get up to get Caleb. But mostly I'm sitting at my computer all day, without even the walk from my house to the car, or the walk from the parking lot to the building. VERY sedentary. So for the weight loss challenge, I have committed to being outside any time it's over 60 degrees. Which will probably be most every day from here on out. Caleb and I go to the park after work, and it's a lot of fun. And ANYthing is more activity than I've been doing, and my body appreciates it!

What are YOU doing for Move It and Lose It? Even if you're not participating, what do you do to stay active?

Beautiful Sleep

Can I just say that I have a wonderful husband? Yesterday was a very long day. I had only slept a few hours the night before, and then it poured down rain all day. And it was my day to spend 3 hours round trip on the highway. It was awful. White-knuckle the whole way there and the whole way home. And because of the time change, the morning drive was dark for awhile. Thankfully Caleb slept most of the time, but having him in the car just made me more tense. For awhile I even moved to the access road to get away from awful semis and just to slow down for a bit.

The last 10 miles or so home, Caleb had been fussy for awhile, and I'd sung The Wheels on the Bus and The Ants Go Marching Two-by-two more times than I could count. I was so tired, and I couldn't keep coming up with new verses any more. I called Jon to keep me awake and let him know I was almost home. Normally, Jon's not a talker on the phone. He'd prefer I let him know the facts, then I can hang up and call someone else to chit-chat. But yesterday he listened and chatted with me, and I could tell he was starting supper, too!

When I pulled into the driveway, Jon was there to meet me in the pouring rain to help me bring in Caleb and all my work stuff. When we got in, Jon sent me to take a short nap. When I woke up, dinner was ready, Caleb was happy with a clean diaper, and my day was 100% brighter.

After dinner, Jon suggested I feed Caleb, then spend no more than 10 minutes on the computer, then off to bed with me! And I did! I was in bed by 9:30, and it was awesome.

Jon made a nerve-wracking day so much better!

Photog Fun

A couple weeks back, Leanna and I went on a photogging adventure downtown. She's the proud new owner of a Canon Rebel Xsi (the upgrade from my Xti), so we were going out together to try it out. I'm part of a photography Meetup group here in the area--we post stuff online and get together for stuff every month--and our meetup was to shoot architecture downtown, so Lea and I decided to do just that. We had a blast!

Lea working on her skillz

I'm jealous of how cute she looked that day!

We found a great spot for photos!

This was my favorite photo of the day

I think this would be a perfect spot for couples portraits! We tried out a few poses....

We headed to another spot downtown where I got this shot.
The photos with the black borders are the ones I submitted to the Meetup group for comments and critique. Overall I got a good response. I got a few suggestions that would help them out. I, myself, was very happy with the photos. When I look at them, they look like something I'd like and wish I could do...and I did!

Move It and Lose It!

After much discussion with friends and family, it seems that there's a general discontent with our health and weight. Jon and I decided to start tracking our weight and making more efforts to lose it. We set up a cool little chart to show our weight loss. But, to engender a bit more accountability and competition, we'd like to open up the challenge to everyone!

So here's the deal. If you'd like to lose weight (more than 5 pounds, please) and be involved in our little Move It and Lose It challenge, let me know in a comment! I'll set up a chart with the participants' names, and you can do a personal "weigh-in" every Friday and log it on the chart for all the participants to see. (It won't be up here on the blog.) AND, if everyone who participates will send me $5, then whoever loses the most weight (or gets closest to their goal weight, or something like that) will win the money collected in the form of a gift card to his/her favorite clothing store, since we'll all need new clothes to fit our new selves! (Or, if you're like me, your closet full of clothes will fit again.)

Our first weigh-in will be tomorrow, but you can sign up through next Friday, February 27. The challenge will last 6 months, to the end of August. The more the merrier! (And the better the prize will be in the end!)

Yummy chocolatey-ness

So the other day I got a hankering for Jason's Deli chocolate mousse. You know, the one on the salad bar. Anyway, not only did I end up going to Jason's Deli, I also found a recipe for something similar. Then I got the wrong sizes of ingredients and a little bit extra and came up with my own recipe, purely by accident. That being said, it's pretty dang good!

So here it is, Chocolate Mousse:

Ingredients:
1 lg. pkg (5.85oz, I believe) instant chocolate pudding
2 1/4C milk (I had skim)
8 oz. extra creamy cool whip, thawed
1/2C semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Mix the pudding and milk. Fold in cool whip. Add chocolate chips. Chill in fridge (I waited overnight, but I bet it'd be good in an hour or so). Stir and serve! Garnish with chocolate chips, if desired.

The second time I made this, I used 16oz cool whip, which is what the original recipe calls for. It's not as thick or rich, but still good, and goes further at parties. I'd still go with 8oz, but Jon recommends 16, hence this paragraph.

And um...yes, I did have seconds just so I could take the photo.

Twenty-Nine

To my husband,
Twenty-nine things I love about you:

1. You make silly faces at the camera.
2. You encourage my photography.
3. You talk to our cats.
4. You are always learning.
5. You change dirty diapers.
6. You ask forgiveness if you're wrong.
7. You come up with recipes to make for dinner...and make them!
8. You make conversations count.
   
9. You make sure my gas tank is full before I go to the office every week.
10. You make sacrifices for the sake of relationships.
11. You are generous to those in need.
12. You can always answer questions about the Bible.
13. You save money.
    
14. You are all bark and no bite.
15. You call me every day from work.
16. You understand my need to get out of the house at the end of the day, and will get out with me even though you just want to be at home.
17. You wash diapers every night.
18. You think my postpartum self is beautiful.
    
19. You always have good advice.
20. You make me feel safe.
21. You appreciate a good musical.
22. You get groceries, and always come back with a surprise.
23. You can have a good conversation with anyone.
24. You are my news reporter/interpreter.
25. You tolerate my meddling in your routine.
26. You came to every prenatal appointment.
27. You are romantic.
28. You balance the check book.
29. You love me!!

Happy Birthday!! I love you.

Recipe for Wellness

In line this morning at the grocery store:
Both in front of and behind me, people whose only purchases were boxes of Nyquil. My purchases? Zinc, Vitamin C, and orange juice.

Looks like shorts yesterday and coats today wasn't kind to anybody!

Slow-Mo

We're all iced up here! I love interesting weather because it means that all that's on tv is weather. NBC's cameras have happened upon one of the ramps of the Mix Master, and they've kept the cameras there for the last 30 minutes...and I've been glued to it! It started with about 6 cars sloooowwwwly sliding along, and even the news anchors are sucking in their breaths with the expection of an accident. However, no accidents! Now, a few cars have made it past the ramps, but the others are at a standstill. Someone in a Jetta is waving at the camera. He's really the one holding things up. But wait...if you look closely, you'll find that all these cars have traveled about 10 feet in the last 30 minutes.

Ooh, here comes a daring El Camino trying to pass some of these sitting ducks. A large van trails him, and a black mustang in the back. Will they make it?

The El Camino is successful! Other people have started out of their cars and are walking around.

Ha! The El Camino stalled out at the bottom, got out and waved at the camera. It seems that the camera might be a distraction.

Oh my gosh. The 18-wheeler is trying to push past another sitting duck, the Thunderbird.

The news anchor has started to give a running commentary with a little humor. It's got me laughing, at least. I'm sure the guy in the Jetta--he's waving again--is not laughing. Ooh, what's happening now? The sand truck has arrived! He confidently maneuvers around the 18-wheeler...can he make it? Yes! Past the Thunderbird...and the Jetta!...The Jetta's making a move! No...he's stopped. The news anchors have started cheering him on.

Here comes the 18-wheeler, others are gaining courage. The Thunderbird is now headed in the right direction. And...at last! 40 minutes later and everything is clearing up.

But what's this? After all the drama, all the cars that just got free are now stuck only 100 yards away. And the cameras keep rolling! Ah...I love weather.

And where am I? No, I did not go into the office like a normal Wednesday...my car is right where it's supposed to be!

Kitten Surprise!! (how to break up a cat fight) THE ORIGINAL

The element of surprise just cracks me up. This will be all-too-familiar for you cat owners.

Why I like cats

Cats are just so random. They have as many quirks as we humans do. And I think the guy's voice sounds like Wilson on House.

Check out this dish!

For our anniversary, our parents gave us a new set of dishes! I love them! My first meal was a breakfast of champions.

ConGRADulations

If you didn't know, I'm now married to a master! Master of Divinity, that is! Jon has officially finished his seminary education. I'm so proud of him! Every semester there were hard classes, useless classes, inspiring professors, challenging reading, and grueling papers. I was so impressed to watch Jon pace himself throughout the semesters, starting his research for papers well before the due date, and working daily on his languages. Tests never (okay, rarely) took him by surprise. For a procrastinator like me, all of these things were an inspiration.

And, to top it all off, Jon was honored at the end of his last semester regarding a paper he'd written. His history professor submitted Jon's paper discussing the British East India Trading Company and it's effect on missions during the Enlightenment period to the Baptist Historical Society, and it was one of five chosen to be presented at a symposium! It was Caleb's first official outing, and we got to see Jon read his paper before a panel of society members, and then answer questions from that panel as well as from the audience. I was so proud of him!

Jon, your quest for knowledge is inspiring. I know that this degree is not the end of your pursuit, and I look forward to watching you continue to grow and learn. I love you!

I didn't get to take many pictures of the event, but here is what I have....

Four generations

Grandad with Caleb

Travis Avenue

All the professors wore cowboy hats in honor of the seminary's 100th anniversary!

How to find Jon? The tallest one in line, of course!

Jon after receiving his degree

Great Aunt and Uncle with Caleb

A great celebration lunch

Great Grandpa with Ian

Great Uncle George holds Caleb

Grandpa and Caleb at the end of a busy day

Feeling a little Scrooge-y

It's 10 days before Christmas, my family was here this past weekend celebrating, and I don't have a shred of a Christmas decoration up! The plan was to put it all up mid-November, before Caleb came, but that didn't happen. Then I was on bedrest until Caleb's birth, then I was healing up, and now, well, I'm doing good to get a shower before noon. I love decorating for Christmas, so it feels very weird in my house. That said, I do not regret it! It's a crazy time of year, and I've had to rearrange my priorities a bit to stay sane.

I'm making up for it by playing my Christmas music--almost 200 songs!--all day long. With that many songs, it makes for a pretty good mix!

Hiatus

Stuff I want to post about:
State Fair
Sale of company
Advertising budget and award
Latest photo shoots
Jon's job hunt
I love fall and Christmas is coming!

Reasons for not posting:
Sale of company => all new branding for our company, which is my job
Baby due in a week

I don't foresee getting much of a breather between now and Baby Day, so I'm going to take a blogging hiatus for a bit. I'm sure I'll keep you updated on baby news on the Newbie blog, but nothing else here. See you on the other side!

Check the pigs for wings!

Well, it's finally happened. Jon has come out of his 6-month blog hiatus! It's common knowledge that getting the two Jo(h)ns of the family together will inevitably lead to a spirited debate. My brother (John) has been working on a paper for class about Darwinianism and its effect on the church. I'd be very interested to read the paper. In the meantime, John posted some questions on his blog to initiate discussion. I left my meager response in his comments, but Jon wrote two posts on his own blog in response. So check it out! And then add your own thoughts!

Hm...not a bad idea....

As I try to finish up my large list of to-dos for work, I'm feeling a bit like this.

(There should be three panels to the comic. If you don't see all three, click on the strip to see the rest. Though, in my opinion, the first two are the funny part.)

And on the sixth...

So, here's the deal:

Open your pictures folder

Go to the SIXTH folder

Go to the SIXTH picture

Publish it to a NEW POST and tell the story of the photo.

Technically, this is the third photo in that folder, but it makes for a great story. This was March 16 of this year, my birthday. We were all at John and Karen's house to celebrate birthdays (their birthdays are right before mine). Jon and I had a little secret (and a big announcement) that day. Holding our then-one-month-old nephew, Ian, Jon's winking because no one knows that we'll be returning the favor of a nephew before the year is out!

And, to satisfy my obligation, here is the sixth photo:
Though it does slightly look like a method of torture, this is how to burp a baby when he can't yet hold his head up. John's cradling Ian's head while patting his back.

The Good and the Bad

I love my cats. I know it'll be different when Caleb comes, but Bonnie & Clyde are my babies. In lots of ways they act like children: They love keys, they pull hair and jewelry, they barge into the bathroom unwanted, they whine at the door when it's closed, and they make me laugh. They really are the best.

Sometimes I wish I were more like Bonnie. She sleeps all the time. Occasionally, I can't resist the urge to pet her while she sleeps. Which of course wakes her up, but she never seems to mind. Unlike my crabby self when awakened, she just stretches a bit, lets out a little purr, and drifts right back to sleep. Sometimes she wakes up as if reminded of the possibilities, and moves to my lap for better petting. She's never upset, but accepts the unasked-for gesture for what it is: a gesture of love. Sometimes she's fast asleep and Clyde pounces on her. She leaves (understandably), and he steals her spot. What a punk Clyde is. But Bonnie just wanders to another favorite spot and goes right back to sleep. Yep, I should be more like my kitty.

1: Bonnie Girl sleeping

2. The Clydester attacks!

3. Now who's got the nice warm spot?

I really think cats are the greatest. As I've listened to the stories of other cats, or of dogs and puppies, I've been a little smug about the fact that I have cats who are so great and adjust to things so well.

All of that came to a screeching halt Friday morning.

Jon was cleaning out the litter box. He moved it from the storage closet where it resides out into the room for better cleaning. Clyde promptly went back into the storage closet and started peeing where the box should be. Not just a little pee. A LOT of pee. I hear yelling from the back room, and Clyde comes flying out. Jon's asking for the old towels, which we'd conveniently put away in the garage when we were organizing. Convenient only when not needed. (Our garage doesn't have a door connecting from the house, so you have to go outside and go through the large door on the front.) So Jon does his best with paper towels, but eventually we have to go get the towels from the garage. As we are moving back and forth around the house, I notice that Clyde is very busily cleaning himself. Poor guy was probably still peeing when Jon shooed him out, and made a mess all over himself (though I didn't find any in the rest of the house).

As Jon was spending this extra bit of time on the floor of the storage closet, he came across a discovery. We had put an open box full of kitchen towels on the bottom shelf of the closet. I don't go through towels that often; I usually just wash the ones I have out and put them back in rotation. So we hadn't accessed this box since Labor Day. What Jon found was towels soaked in ammonia-heavy pee...with piles of poop scattered on top. PILES of poop.

GROSS!! Nasty!! Disgusting!

The whole box went straight into the trash can outside, and all the rest of the towels (all the normal bath towels are on that same shelf) were given a nice long run through the washer! The litter box was moved out into the living area, and the storage closet door firmly shut forever to the cats.

The only thing I think could have happened is that one of the cats got picky about the state of the litter box one day, and decided to try somewhere else. Since we didn't notice it, the scent remained there, and it became a permanent litter box from that point forward.

Moral of the story: rotate dish towels out more often, clean litter box more often, and don't feel smug about other people's pet woes.

Lesson learned!

Clyde was in the dog house for a couple of days. Bonnie probably should have been, too, but Clyde started the incident with the pee on the floor, so he had to take the brunt of the blame. But then, how can we stay mad at such a handsome kitty??

Following

My in-laws just started up a blog! On it, they had an interesting gadget in the sidebar called "Followers." So I looked into it, and added it to mine, as well! If you read this blog a lot, you can add yourself as a follower. Then my blog will appear in your blogger dashboard like an RSS feed, I guess. And your picture shows up on my blog! How fun is that! Anyway, check it out, and become a follower! :)