Honung

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The title is honey in Swedish. Pronunciation: Ho-Noong, FYI. I love honey; I think it's delectable. When others take brown sugar on their oatmeal, I take honey. When we read The Secret Life of Bees for our now-nonexistent book club I really thought it was such a dreamy thing. There are honey scrubs, washes, candles, etc... and they all smell divine. When we were in Oregon for Thanksgiving we went to this great store called Winco. Everything is dirt cheap, you bag your own groceries, and there are approximately 600 aisles of everything you could ever imagine. (Except for organic cheese, hormone-free milk, etc... but let's be honest, they're not trying to compete with Whole Foods) Not to mention the bulk food. I love bulk food. You can get a little sample of a snack for like 20 cents and call it good. Or you can 20 cents worth of organic lentils and 30 cents worth of organic thick rolled oats for Boozie to eat while in Oregon.

I digress. There was a grinder to make your own peanut butter. Seen those before. Then next to it was something I've never seen: a make your own honey contraption. There was a sign attached that said, "Live Bees Inside. Please don't open." What?!? It was a beehive right there in the store. Actually 2 of them that apparently had used different nectar to make different honey. This raised a few questions in my mind:
1. There must be people that are just curious and open it. I almost did. Do the bees all fly out and they have to evacuate Winco?
2. Where are these bees getting their pollen to make the honey? There aren't any flowers in Winco that I saw. And if there are, no one's opening the hive to let the bees out.

Maybe this shows my ignorance regarding honey-making. Perhaps bees just need to stock up on nectar and then they work for awhile in their hive without needing to restock? No clue. I was visiting the world's best website, Tastespotting, and found a recipe for Honey Cake. I think I must make it. Too bad I can't get my honey from those busy little bees in Winco.

love/hate 26.2

I ran my 2nd marathon last Saturday in Memphis and it was a great time. There were bands/DJs at every mile marker and even Elvis impersonators! And when you're running 26.2, any entertainment is good. T and Boozie drove around and met up with me at certain mile markers to cheer me on. From about mile 6 to 19 I didn't see them and it was because they had to make an emergency run to IHOP. Boozie woke up from his nap and hunger was calling. He was a big fan of the pancakes.


At around mile 17 or so, there was a table set up with candy and beer. I almost gagged just thinking of just the smell of beer after running, but it was a big hit so apparently it's the added boost that some need; I guess the PowerAde just wasn't hitting the spot. It's an interesting distance because it's so mental. Your mind keeps saying, "Let's be done now" but the body keeps pressing on. Around mile 20 or so you say to yourself, "This is my last marathon ever; this is insane." But somehow at the finish line you say to yourself, "When can I start training for the next?" For anyone who hasn't ever run a race before, I highly recommend it. It's addicting. Just ask Doge.

i heart the maya wrap

Pretty much everyone who knows me knows I loove the Maya Wrap; I could be their spokesperson. Everywhere I go peeps ask about it: if it's comfortable, how heavy the baby can be to be in it, if he likes it, etc... Boozie lives in it. He loves it more than I do, I bet. He used to lie down in it and take naps while I went to church, went to Sam's Club, went shopping, etc... Now he's too big to lie down, and also he doesn't catnap every hour like he used to, so he sits slung on my hip and gets to see and try to grab everything. He even uses it as his lovey sometimes. And I just found this giveaway on SafeMama so everyone who doesn't have one should enter.

He'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain

La Hacienda = delicious!

T ran a 10K last Saturday. His first ever 10K. He was a little nervous because it is up a mountain in Hot Springs National Park. I (and a much smaller version of Boozie) ran it last year and warned him that it's not an easy race, but he decided last year that he wanted to do it so he trained and did it. It was freezing cold (28 degrees at the start) but so much fun. We stayed in a great condo on Lake Hamilton and enjoyed good food at the same Mexican restaurant we did last year. We decided that we're fans of Hot Springs.

We ate some oatmeal while we waited for him to finish.


He made it! (and even 10 minutes faster than he thought possible)

Boozie Boy

Having a baby is a weird phenomenon. Random strangers love him so they always talk to him, look/smile at him, touch him (not a fan of that--watch out for mama bear), etc... People say the oddest things. We recently returned from a trip to Oregon and Boozie was playing on the ground on a blankie while we were in the Little Rock airport waiting for our flight. A mom and her 2 daughters were looking at him and smiling at him as they ate their McDonald's food. The mom then said, "He's big. He doesn't miss a meal." What? Do babies miss meals? Are there anorexic babies that are body-conscious? Not that I know of.

They kept talking to him and he was oblivious and just playing with his toys. Then the little girl came over to see him and at one point was telling me about the rash she gets on her thighs. Her mom wasn't really paying attention or I picture she might not have wanted her telling me that. Then the mom starts telling me a story about how they used to call the little girl "Finger Sucker" because they were at some dude's house and he was playing the guitar and the little girl fell asleep so they moved her to another room. Then they heard loud sucking and she was sucking her finger. Surely if Boozie wasn't there, I might have smiled at the family as I sat down to wait, but wouldn't have learned any of the things I learned. For better or for worse.

Today we were at Sam's and this lady in front of us said, "That's a big boy to be carrying around in that sling. I bet he loves it." "Yep, he loves it," I said. "I'm sure he does. He just loves being lazy." What? Lazy 9-month old baby? Because if he was sitting in the E. coli section of the shopping cart, he'd surely be burning calories. Or maybe if he crawled yet, I should've let him crawl around Sam's to burn calories. Makes perfect sense. I should've said, "Actually lady, he jumped in his Jump-N-Go for like an hour today. I bet it's more than you did. Now who's the lazy one?" No wonder we all grow up having issues...

Oma

Oma Belt (or Bolt, whichever you prefer) came to visit and we had a fabulous time. She spoiled us all, especially CB. She even brought 2 big Costco-sized jars of T's favorite sun-dried tomatoes, risking that the tomato-infused oil spill all over her suitcase. What a mom. Here are a few pics of us on the bridge overlooking the Arkansas River.

Peek-a-Boo

Boozie's new favorite game:




Peek-a-Boo

Hibernation

Boozie finally got his first real cold. So sad. I guess it's inevitable eventually but still sad. He couldn't sleep well because he was coughing and congested. One night he even woke up almost every single hour. We were all beat. After a few nights of the humidifier, miracle Eucalyptus oil, and the dreaded nose suction, he seems much better. Last night he slept from 6:30 pm til 5:45 am and I fed him and then he slept until 8 am! We all loved it. Now he's full of energy to use up on his new jumper toy. Thanks Opa & Oma Belt for the great early Christmas gift.

More Halloween Fun

T had so much fun carving his butternut that he thought he'd carve another. The second was even better than the first. And Boozie thought he was feeling left out so we saved the inside of the squash and cooked it up for him for dinner. Our neighborhood goes all out for Halloween and we were definitely the duds last year, so this year we stepped it up. We still didn't come close to the neighbors but we were definitely festive.

Bl.a.

The title of this post is a Swedish phrase that basically means among other things. It's what the Swedes say when there is a list of random things and some are left out, if that makes sense. Translating language is hard. But it means that this post has a few random unrelated things.

Anyways, we carved pumpkins last night but T was inspired to carve a butternut squash instead. We read it about on a friend's blog who found it here. It said he would need an apple corer. Easy enough. Wrong! They don't exist anymore. All apple corers now are the fabulous gadget that also slices the apple into little wedges or else they're flat and blunt on the end. That wouldn't work for hollowing out a rock hard butternut. So after calling many stores and looking online, we decided they are impossible to find now. He said he'd make do. I kept warning him that butternut squash are not soft like pumpkins. He was up for the challenge. He tried many tools and found the ice cream scoop to work best. It was hard work and he probably has sore biceps and a blister today. But the finished product was worth the work.





Also, Boozie's famous. He hearts these wood teethers I bought for him awhile ago and I told the girl that makes them and she put him on her business' blog. Check it here.

And lastly, last Saturday T ran in a 5K-ish race called the Mud Run. It's always the Saturday before Halloween so everyone dresses up, runs around 3 miles through this great park we love, do a random obstacle course along the way, and then frolick through a big freezing cold mud pit. It was very entertaining. There were 2 dudes dressed up as Michael Phelps wearing only black swimsuits and goggles and they dove into the mud pit together. They won for best performance in the mud pit. There was blasting music to inspire the participants to dance and have fun in the mud. Boozie slept on my shoulder through the whole thing. Maybe next year.

Happy Halloween

Last night we went to the Church for a Fall Festival. We bought a monkey costume for Boozie but it was too big so we went with clothes he has in his closet from Aunt Susie and he was a farmer straight out of Salina, UT.

The Two-and-a-Half Hour Raisin

For breakfast today Boozie had oatmeal, raisins, and Cheerios. After that he played on the floor with his toys for a bit and then went down for his nap. He woke up about 1 1/2 hours later. I went up there to get him and change his diaper and was tickling his tummy and when he was laughing I noticed something brown in his mouth. It was a very hydrated raisin! I was dying laughing. It had been in there while he played and stayed there during his entire nap. So I calculated it was roughly in there for 2 1/2 hours. After he started laughing, I think he realized it was there because then he shut his mouth and started chewing it up. Priceless.

Pig Licker, Anyone?

Fun times ahead...

We went to the Arkansas State Fair on Friday and were completely amazed by what it had to offer. Boozie didn't love the loud noise and bright lights on the Midway so we hung around the barns instead. It was his first time seeing live animals and he was definitely fascinated. We saw some of the biggest cows I've ever seen. There was one white one that was so huge it could barely even sit down. Arkansans don't mess around with their beef, I guess. The pigs were gigantic too. We also saw tiny baby ducklings and chicks that were adorable. Growing up in Fresno I kept asking where the display of the big gourds, grapes, etc... but the only agriculture we ever saw was in one corner of a barn and it was merely 4 things: 2 giant pumpkins and 2 giant watermelons. We did learn that Arkansas is one of the states that produces the most chicken and eggs so that explained the lack of agriculture displays.

And then of course, there's the crazy food. T decided his consumption would include a deep-fried Zinger, vinegar fries, a big-as-your-thigh turkey leg (what kind of turkeys do those come from anyway?), and a chocolate-covered piece of bacon. Yes, they do exist. CB & I shared a piece of cheese pizza. Boring, I know, but there's not much at the fair that appeals to us non-meat eaters. It was a fab time.


This was Boozie's face while he looked at every animal, especially when they climbed up on the cage and stared him down.


Documentation of the pig licker

Yee-haw.

Quizirk Tizag

I've been tagged by my friend, Heather

Here are the rules:

• Link the Person who Tagged you.
• Mention rules on your blog.
• Tell about 6 quirks of yours.
• Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same.
• Leave a comment to let them know.

(This is very hard because they're only quirks to others so I had to ask for help)

1) I am very particular. very. very. I only like certain clothes and I want them to fit a certain way, I like the pillows on the bed to be at just the right spot and angle, etc... Just ask T.
2) I can fall asleep anywhere. Not as much since Boozie came along since he keeps me awake, but when someone asks me if I've seen a certain movie I usually say, "Um, I think I've seen the beginning..." Therefore, it takes weeks and weeks to watch our Netflix movies and even then I only see half.
3) I can't stand any kind of hassle i.e., calling stores, calling banks, taking my car in to get anything done, getting a new driver's license, basically any kind of problem is very annoying to me. When I was younger I used to ask Doge (who was like 4-years old at the time) to do it all and she willingly did. How about you move in, Doge?
4) I do not like to make more than one trip from the car to the house or vice versa. It drives T insane. He can't even begin to understand why. My best victory yet is one time we were having a baby shower at work and I got the gifts for the girl. I got to work at 4:45 am and carried in a Sam's-size box of diapers (292 count), a huge Sam's-size box of wipes, 12 cupcakes, my purse, and a gift bag. The hospital security was following me the whole time in his van, most likely waiting for me to drop it all. Little did he know that I wouldn't.
5) I love Cheerios. Sometimes I try different cereals but I always come back to the classic. It's all because of Pops. He loves them too and eats them pretty much everyday and always has. I guess I followed in his footsteps. Sometimes when we're at the store I ask T what kind of cereal he wants. He always says "Why do you even ask, just get your Cheerios". Now that we're on an oatmeal kick I've been missing the Cheerios so I have them for a snack instead :)
6) I am a feng sui nut. When we moved into our house I was pregnant so I couldn't lift and move the furniture. Alitris and T would move the couch to a corner at an angle and I would stand back and say, "Nope. Let's try the other wall." It was all moved around many times until we finally reached the point of good qi.
7) After T got home tonight he told me that #6 is not actually a quirk and he thought I should include how excited I get when it's time to go to sleep. I usually do a barrel roll flip into bed and then lie there anticipate the sweet slumber. I heart sleep

I tag anyone who wants to share their quirks cos we all love to read them so we know other peeps are weird too :)

Just couldn't pass it up

How cool is it to have a smiley-faced cheese named after you? I just couldn't pass it up!

Eco-friendly tips

I keep hearing reports on NPR about BPA and all the harm it causes i.e., diabetes, heart disease, etc... so I decided we're not supporting BPA anymore. I am giving the old hand-me-down sippy cups to Goodwill and buying a BPA-free one for CB. He still doesn't drink water or juice or anything from it but he likes to play with it and someday he will. I'm very tempted to buy a stainless steel one, but for now the near $20 price tag is keeping me from doing that. I'm also getting rid of our Rubbermaid storage containers and am replacing them with glass. They have some cool ones here and here.

The second tip is probably obvious to most but for some reason I had never thought of it. When I am going to give Boozie a bath I always let the water run until it gets warm and then start filling the tub. The other day I thought, "why don't I just plug the tub right when I turn the water on and then when it gets hot it will just mix in the tub and be warm without wasting any?" So I did that and told T and he said "ya, I always do that". And he thought everyone did that. Maybe everyone does but me. But I'm glad I'm on the bandwagon now, too.

The one I'm having a problem with is a nonstick pan. I keep reading that Teflon is carcinogenic so I'm looking for a safe nonstick pan but haven't had any luck.


Boozie after bathtime

Korto + YouTube

Yesterday was a great day. The morning was the Susan G Komen Race which I love running in every year. This year, Little Rock was officially the largest race in the nation with 46,000 women participants! It was crazy but fun. After the race there are always tons of activities around town like discounts at stores, lunches, etc... One of the things was a meet and greet with Korto Momolu from Project Runway. It was at this fabulous store called Box Turtle that has all kinds of home decor, clothes, jewelry, and other stuff from local artists and smallish names. I went and got to talk to Korto and take a picture with her. She was so cool and now I can't wait for the PR Finale. Most of her collection that was for sale was super expensive (like $550 for a purse, $450 for a dress) but they were selling these cool tshirts for $25. So I bought one. The problem is they didn't have my size so I bought the next size up thinking it'd be fine. I tried it on today and it's a tent. Boo. It's so cool. So I thought, I bet I can alter this somehow to make it smaller. So I type in "t-shirt alteration" into google and what do you know, there are like 20+ YouTube videos on how to make my "large, boxy" t into a fab fitted t. I'm just amazed at how many things are on YouTube. This one video was a chick in her bathroom with her sewing maching because they "don't have a kitchen table and the bathroom counter is the only large flat space for her to work". Some other chick made one with lacing up the sides. Not really my style. But there were a few easy ways to make it fit better. Can't wait to get started.

3, 2, 1... Blastoff!

While driving home from work this morning I heard yet another unbelievable story on NPR. This dude is the son of an astronaut and he makes video games. He's made millions of dollars and so, in this recessed on-the-verge-of-depression economy, he finds nothing better to do with 30 million dollars than to pay the Russian Space Agency for a trip to space. I guess I'm more on the socialist end of the spectrum because I find this absolutely unbelievable. But I guess this is America, the land of opportunity, and so from hard work sometimes comes tons of money with which one may do what he pleases.

Other wealthy space visitors? Dennis Tito (Businessman- paid $20 mill), Mark Shuttleworth (Businessman- paid $20 mill), Gregory Olson (Entrepreneur Scientist- paid $20 mill), Anousheh Ansari (Businesswoman- paid $21 mill, Charles Simonyi (created Microsoft Word & Excel- paid $25 mill). And yes, Lance Bass of N'Sync wanted to fly and had it planned and was trained, but he failed to produce the $20 mill so he didn't get to.

And in case you have an extra $30 mill lying around and also wanted to do this, flights are sold out through 2009!
If you want to read more, check out Anousheh's blog on the experience.

Purple

Who does Boozie love? Cougs or Utes? The verdict is...




He bleeds purple. And yes, T is dying over the Coug gear.


Oh yes, and he also loves those Hogs. Woo Pig Sooie.

10-year

BDogg & Mike are getting ready to have a baby in a few weeks so he got to practice with CB

BDogg sent me some pics from the 10-year reunion so due to many requests, I thought I'd post some. We didn't take many at the actual event, but we should have. I picture a Nelson Reunion picture would have been totally fab. Oh well. There's always the 20-year. :)

Getting ready is always the most fun part!

Chipmunk Cheeks

My sister just posted this pic of Boozie and a comment about how he's storing nuts for winter. It reminded me of two hilarious stories that happened recently. One was when we were in North Carolina for the Annual BBQ. It was Owie's first time meeting CB and with his darling little lisp he said, "Emy, Chuck-th chubby". We still quote it and laugh about it today. Yeth Owie, Chuck ith chubby.

Second story: The other day T was out running errands for work and one of his errands was to find a pink tie. I told him that we were going to be at TJ Maxx in a bit and he said he'd meet us there to look for his pink tie. Boozie was in the sling and I was just wandering around making sure no screamin deals were passing me up. T arrived and came over to us to say hello. "What's in his mouth?" he asked. "Nothing should be," I said, a little alarmed as I imagined what he grabbed from a shelf at TJ Maxx and put in his mouth. "Yes, there's something green in there." We pried open his mouth and found a pea. I started laughing. It was what I had fed him for lunch about 2 hours earlier and apparently, he was storing it for a snack for later. So in case you were wondering what he's storing in those chubby little cheeks, it's peas. He's such a funny little chipmunk.

Tainted Milk

I was driving home from work the other morning and heard the most outrageous NPR report ever. Apparently in China the dairies test the milk from smaller dairies to see if it meets their standards and then they'll buy it. The standards are protein content, vitamin content, etc... The standards are very high and almost impossible to meet, dairy farmers claimed. So for years dairies have been adulterating the milk so it would pass the inspection and so they would get paid more for it. Some of the additives discovered are formaldehyde (!), fat powder, antibiotics (!!), whey powder, etc... Unbelievable. Tens of thousands of kids have gotten sick from the milk. Surprisingly, ingesting formaldehyde would make one sick. I wonder if that ever happens in the States. Hurray for soy milk.

Angels Among Us...

Saturday night was my 10-year high school reunion. I couldn't believe it had already been 10 years and was so excited to see everyone. Unfortunately, my parents decided to leave our fab house in Fresno and move to Highland, Utah so we didn't have a place we could stay for awhile. Brooke said we could stay with her & Mike at her mom's so we decided to make the quick trip out there. CB was a trooper. We flew Friday from here to Atlanta (yes, we did go backwards) and then on to San Jose, CA. It was about 7 hours of flying and we got there at 9pm which was 11 pm our time. CB was exhausted; he didn't sleep on the plane either so I spent a lot of time walking up and down the aisles, standing in the back with the flight attendants, etc... so he wouldn't get fussy. Luckily he's very content and didn't fuss a minute. Once we landed we drove to Fresno which was another 2+ hours so when we got there, CB was so wired he wouldn't shut his eyes. After a bit of me holding my hand over his eyes to help them shut (oh, the tricks you learn), he fell asleep only to wake up at 2am and 3am and then 5:30am for good. Joy.

Saturday he took a few naps and we went shopping (Little Rock is a little lacking in the great shopping) and that night was the reunion. CB stayed home asleep in bed with Brooke's mom and we went and saw tons of old friends from Nelson Elementary and on up through C-dub. It was a trip. Everyone looked the same but a little different (some a little older, some a little rounder, some a little thinner, etc...) and it was like the same as it was 10 years ago but we were all in different places and stages of life. It was so fun.

Then Sunday we headed back to San Jose and back through Atlanta and home. CB was just dead. He started crying a bit on the flight to San Jose so I put him in the sling (thanks heaven for the sling) and he went right to sleep. I was stressed out because he likes to scream happy screams to hear his voice so I was trying to keep him quiet and entertained. I kept the in-seat TV on the countdown and the minutes until we landed couldn't go fast enough. At one point I had to change his diaper (an impossible feat in the tiny airplane bathroom with the toilet seat cover as a changing table) and this sweet grandma asked if I was traveling alone. I said, yes. She said, "I'd be happy to hold your darling little baby if you need a break. I'm sure you can't go to the bathroom with him and I know it gets overwhelming". I almost started crying right then. What a blessing. Unfortunately he needed a diaper change and then was the sling nap so I never took her up on her offer. When we landed everyone around us kept saying "What a good baby" "He's so darling" "That's the best baby I've ever flown with", etc... Even if they didn't mean it, it made me feel so much better knowing that he hadn't been bothering anyone. All the comments gave me the strength to face the next leg of our flight.

We ate our dinner (avocado sandwich which CB loved) and sat at the gate waiting for the next flight to depart. They announced that they were overbooked (surprise, surprise) and they needed 5 volunteers "with flexible travel plans" to stay over in Atlanta and they'd pay for hotel, food, etc... plus a $400 Delta voucher. Technically, I had very "flexible travel plans". I didn't have to work, T could pick us up the next day instead, I didn't check anything so we could just go hop on an airport shuttle and stay in a hotel, but I was just too exhausted to even think about unpacking and repacking that suitcase again. So we didn't take advantage. I still think maybe I should've done it, but since CB & I both slept in until 9:30 am this morning, I'm pretty sure we both just needed to be home.

The last angel was on our flight to Little Rock. It was a very kind man named Mr. Tebow. He was so sweet to CB so I asked him if he had children. "Just 5" he answered. He showed me his family and his grandchildren and told me a little about his work. He was to speak at 2 events in Little Rock about his family, the Gospel, etc... He told me his sons played football and one was pretty good at U of Florida. Timmy Tebow is his name. It seemed to ring a bell but I don't know much about football. "He won the Heisman last year. Have you ever heard of the Heisman?" he asked me. "Oh. Yeah, I've definitely heard of the Heisman but I don't keep track of who wins it each year." Mr. Tebow just laughed.

Almost the whole flight he entertained CB with me. He let him play with his shiny silver watch, he held him and let him look out the window at the city lights, he played peek-a-boo, showed him pictures in the Delta magazine, etc... I was so grateful for all the help. It makes me want to always be helpful to strangers along the way.

What in the Soapnuts?

How to launder cloth diapers. It is the eternal question. You can read hundreds of forums, blogs, etc... about different people's opinions. You can add vinegar, do an extra rinse, add baking soda, use this detergent or that detergent, etc... It's complicated. And then it's a whole new system if you have a HE washer like we do. (Highly recommended, by the way). I've tried various methods and found this detergent on etsy that I liked. It has little suds (good for HE washer) and is organic and vegan so it doesn't leave residue on the cloth diapers. So I was satisfied with the system I had.

[Enter Soapnuts.] They are so fabulous. They're basically a fruit from a tree found in Indonesia, Nepal, and India and the outside of the nut is saponin which is a natural surfactant (the technical term for what soap does by breaking down carbon bonds of organic material). They don't have a scent so they are ideal for anyone with eczema, sensitive skin, etc... and are very ideal for cloth diapers which you don't want to have a weird scent anyway. I love them. If you use them for regular laundry you can put some essential oil on the cloth bag that they go in and it works great. I've used eucalyptus and tea tree oil and it's very mild. So I've converted from the etsy soap to these soap nuts. For our laundry, I'll probably still use the etsy detergent, but for cloth diapers they're the best I've found.

Free Museum Day

Next Saturday is free museum day sponsored by Smithsonian. How fun is that? There are different museums in every state that are participating. Here in Little Rock, for example, you can go to the zoo for free or to the Arkansas Historical Museum. Check out this link to see what museums in your area are free and enjoy!

Green Tip

I'm always looking for ways to conserve energy and water, recycle more, waste less, etc... This year we have made significant steps forward with these goals. We started a compost, we use compostable/flushable gdiapers for CB, etc... Those are the big things but I've found that there are tons of small things everyday that can make a big difference, so I thought I'd share the tips I found.
1. I read that a dishwasher uses much less water than filling a whole sink with water to wash pots, pans, etc... so we started putting anything that will fit into our dishwasher. We run it more often, but we rarely fill the sink. Once in awhile, there is something that just won't fit, or something I don't like to wash in the dishwasher (like my knives). So when we need to hand wash something, we wait until the dishwasher has started to turn on the water for the dishes. That way, we're not letting the water run down the drain while waiting for it to heat up. The dishwasher waits for it to heat before it shoots any out so at that point, if we turn the water on, it'll be hot for sure.
2. Thanks to Gustav & Ike, we haven't had our sprinklers on for over a month. That's one thing that is sometimes hard to remember, but makes a big conservation difference. I get so annoyed when I see people watering their lawns while it's raining or when it's 2pm and it's 90+ degrees outside.
What are your eco-friendly tips?

Lucky Chuck

In Little Rock there are 3 children's consignment sales twice a year. It's such a great idea. Basically, people from all over the area consign their toys, books, shoes, movies, clothes, etc... for babies up through teens and even maternity clothes. It's all put in one place for a few days and then it's open for the public to buy stuff. If you're ever looking for anything that you don't really want to spend much money on, this is the place. It's all pretty high-quality and after much searching and digging, you can find fabulous stuff. This year I went to 2 and found such great stuff: a Bumbo seat for $14, a play table for $7, a darling mini crib, a few toys, 2 pair of shoes, and some great clothes. Most of the stuff is for when he's much older, but it's still fun. Here's a sample of CB's loot:

Legal Mumbo Jumbo

Ever since we got married, we've talked about how we need to make living wills and a trust, etc... Just in case. After following the story of Christian & Stephanie Nielson and after receiving the Quicken WillMaker from T's parents, we decided to really get it going. So last night for our FHE activity, we made our living wills and our AB Trust. It was very helpful to have this little program because otherwise, I'm pretty sure you'd have to hire a lawyer to know what any of the legal wording means. Even with the program, sometimes we had no idea what the questions were asking. Nevertheless, it is a relief to know that if we die, (heaven forbid) our wishes will be granted regarding CB and our large and vast empire (lucky family members). Also, the whole process of making both of our living wills and our trust only took about 1 hour--time very well spent, in my eyes.

So I just want to encourage everyone who reads this to take the time to make their own legal preparations. I know it's very sad to think about, and some people think it's going to jinx them or whatever, but it can be a reality and it would be very sad to have all kind of legal hassle for family members at such a devastating time. Just my two cents.