Friday, August 27, 2010
Fall Favorites & Monster Pants
So after a year of Jon asking me to make him monster pants I am finally doing it!! If you don't know what I'm talking about see here. These pics are of the pair I made last year. The original is infant sized for a 6 - 8 month old and Jon just loved them when I finished them and really wanted a pair for himself. I thought he was crazy but after a year of still asking for them I suppose he does really want them! I've saved the first pair for when our little one eventually comes along, and I do have to admit that I love the idea of Jon and our little one having matching pants. Cute! Hehe... That and the fact that now that the weather is cooling off a bit and I can totally feel fall coming I'm dying to get back in to my knitting but don't really have a project in mind. I'll post pics as the new pair comes along. For now, I'm just trying to decide if he'll be too warm if I do the pants in a bamboo/wool blend. I love that type of yarn, but it is rather warm and Jon likes to be on the cool side. I'm thinking 100% cotton might be a better choice... I'll keep you updated on how things go with this project! I think I'll be needing bigger circular needles... Hehe...
The Cotton Anniversary
I have to start off again apologizing for my slight absense... My computer has really had a case of the sickies recently and spent another two weeks at FutureShop. Hopefully we're all resolved now though... :)
So a few weekends ago Jon and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary, which is apparently "The Cotton Anniversary". Luckily, we did not exchange any cotton. Hehe... Instead we headed up to Cape Breton for the weekend, and two nights of camping! It was so much fun!! I have to say we've been really lucky with how much camping we've gotten in this summer.
We started out towards Glace Bay, N.S. for the Cole Miner's Museum and were lead down into the caves by an ex cole miner who told us some stories of what it was like growing up in Canada during those times, and then growing up to follow a long family tradition of cole mining. It was very inspiring. After the 6 hour drive up there, and spending about two hours at the Cole Miner's we were very anxious to get to our Campsite and relax!
After a nice swim in the pool, two bbq steaks and some relaxin by the fire we rested and hit the road again the next morning! We went on to the Cabot Trail which I completely fell in love with. I have no idea how I've been living in Nova Scotia for 9 years now and have never been to that end of the province!! The scenery was unreal, the pictures really do not do it justice at all!!
The second night we camped just at the end of the Cabot Trail in the Highlands National Park. The second night wasn't as relaxing as we were exhausted and it was seriously freezing!! We then headed back home and stopped at the Glenora Distillery for a tour of the only single malt scotch distillery in canada. And at the "Red Shoe Pub" which is run by the Rankin Sisters. All in all, a wonderful anniversary trip. The more I see of this province, the more I fall in love with it. Funny thing, I feel the same way about my husband.
So a few weekends ago Jon and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary, which is apparently "The Cotton Anniversary". Luckily, we did not exchange any cotton. Hehe... Instead we headed up to Cape Breton for the weekend, and two nights of camping! It was so much fun!! I have to say we've been really lucky with how much camping we've gotten in this summer.
We started out towards Glace Bay, N.S. for the Cole Miner's Museum and were lead down into the caves by an ex cole miner who told us some stories of what it was like growing up in Canada during those times, and then growing up to follow a long family tradition of cole mining. It was very inspiring. After the 6 hour drive up there, and spending about two hours at the Cole Miner's we were very anxious to get to our Campsite and relax!
After a nice swim in the pool, two bbq steaks and some relaxin by the fire we rested and hit the road again the next morning! We went on to the Cabot Trail which I completely fell in love with. I have no idea how I've been living in Nova Scotia for 9 years now and have never been to that end of the province!! The scenery was unreal, the pictures really do not do it justice at all!!
The second night we camped just at the end of the Cabot Trail in the Highlands National Park. The second night wasn't as relaxing as we were exhausted and it was seriously freezing!! We then headed back home and stopped at the Glenora Distillery for a tour of the only single malt scotch distillery in canada. And at the "Red Shoe Pub" which is run by the Rankin Sisters. All in all, a wonderful anniversary trip. The more I see of this province, the more I fall in love with it. Funny thing, I feel the same way about my husband.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
PolaDroid
One of my new favorite blogs, Hey Lady Grey recently blogged about this very cool program called PolaDroid. It's a desk polaroid camera for your computer. I LOVE everything picture related from scrapbooking, to albums, picture collages... you name it. I'm probably the last person on the planet still printing out my digital pics, and keeping photo albums, but I love it. There's just so much more emotion, and something so much more meaningful about a picture in your hand than one on a computer screen.
That being said, I do love technology from time to time when it's cool like this! The camera even takes time to develop and makes the cool old school sounds when it spits out your polaroid, and they come out looking a little aged. It just throws the pics on to your desktop and then goes away when you close PolaDroid but if you hit "print screen" on your key board you can arrange them and make .jpeg files for you to keep, or print or do whatever with. I thought it was cute... Enjoy!
That being said, I do love technology from time to time when it's cool like this! The camera even takes time to develop and makes the cool old school sounds when it spits out your polaroid, and they come out looking a little aged. It just throws the pics on to your desktop and then goes away when you close PolaDroid but if you hit "print screen" on your key board you can arrange them and make .jpeg files for you to keep, or print or do whatever with. I thought it was cute... Enjoy!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Misconceptions
As I've been slowly getting through my reading for my Post Partum Doula certification it's really gotten me thinking about what type of mother I want to be when the day comes, and what type of birth Jon and I are going to want for our child. I have to say that overall, I have been loving my reading, and coursework. I think it's going to be very interesting to come back to some of these books after I do become a mother and see how my perspective on them changes.
One book that I've read that really got me thinking is Misconceptions - Truth, Lies, and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood by Naomi Wolf. I don't think I've ever been so angered and yet so pleased with a book at the same time. This is a very insightful look at one woman's journey through pregnancy and delivery, her experiences, and the sometimes hidden, and not so hidden agendas of doctors, hospitals, children's product companies and more.
Wolf details her experience of her first pregnancy with her husband, which was not planned. As I mentioned parts of the book were enraging for me to read, and the reason for this is that I feel there is a distinct difference between a woman who accepts and deals with a pregnancy, as opposed to a woman who desperately wants it. In one instance Wolf describes a feeling of not understanding pregnancy as linked to birth since in her mind it was so closely linked to death - that is a death of the woman she was before, and the woman she felt she would never be able to fully be again once her child was born. While I do fully agree with the sentiment that you are likely never the same person once your child is born, I have a very hard time seeing it as a death. To me it is more of a re-birth. One of my favorite quotes is from the Johnson & Johnson ads "When a baby is born, so is a mother." This is my approach to pregnancy and motherhood now... As I said, I'm very interested to see how this will change once we do have a child, and I experience my own birth. I'm sure there are things about myself now, and my child-free life with Jon that I am going to miss, and am going to look back on and think "Oh wasn't it nice when we could ..... ?" By the same token, I'm sure there are a million joys and emotions that children will bring that I can't even imagine yet.
All that being said, I could NOT put this book down! I had to keep reading - partially because it's required reading for my Doula certification, but much more so because Naomi Wolf, while I didn't always agree with her stance, is such a captivating and beautiful author. The writing in this book is almost poetic, without being overly flowery... and some how had the perfect amount of sentiment, without being mushy.... definitely not mushy. It was truly captivating.
While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book for a couple actively trying to get pregnant, I think it would be an fantastic read for someone who is pregnant, and a mandatory read for parents! It truly is just brilliant.
I'll leave you with a quote from the book.... "Birth is viewed through a softened lens of pink haze: the new baby and radiant mommy in an effortless mutual embrace, proud papa nearby... I want to record and do honor not to the fantasy but to the real thing. Real mother love is more impressive than the fantasy of it. That actual, specific, fierce maternal love that grows in the wake of that immense psychic and physical tremor that is pregnancy and birth should inspire awe, not sentiment. I wrote this book to explore the genuine miracle, not the Hallmark card; to trace the maternal bond as it forms, heroically and poignantly, in spite of, rather than because of, the obtuse and unnatural ideology of motherhood under which we labor." ~ Naomi Wolf
One book that I've read that really got me thinking is Misconceptions - Truth, Lies, and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood by Naomi Wolf. I don't think I've ever been so angered and yet so pleased with a book at the same time. This is a very insightful look at one woman's journey through pregnancy and delivery, her experiences, and the sometimes hidden, and not so hidden agendas of doctors, hospitals, children's product companies and more.
Wolf details her experience of her first pregnancy with her husband, which was not planned. As I mentioned parts of the book were enraging for me to read, and the reason for this is that I feel there is a distinct difference between a woman who accepts and deals with a pregnancy, as opposed to a woman who desperately wants it. In one instance Wolf describes a feeling of not understanding pregnancy as linked to birth since in her mind it was so closely linked to death - that is a death of the woman she was before, and the woman she felt she would never be able to fully be again once her child was born. While I do fully agree with the sentiment that you are likely never the same person once your child is born, I have a very hard time seeing it as a death. To me it is more of a re-birth. One of my favorite quotes is from the Johnson & Johnson ads "When a baby is born, so is a mother." This is my approach to pregnancy and motherhood now... As I said, I'm very interested to see how this will change once we do have a child, and I experience my own birth. I'm sure there are things about myself now, and my child-free life with Jon that I am going to miss, and am going to look back on and think "Oh wasn't it nice when we could ..... ?" By the same token, I'm sure there are a million joys and emotions that children will bring that I can't even imagine yet.
All that being said, I could NOT put this book down! I had to keep reading - partially because it's required reading for my Doula certification, but much more so because Naomi Wolf, while I didn't always agree with her stance, is such a captivating and beautiful author. The writing in this book is almost poetic, without being overly flowery... and some how had the perfect amount of sentiment, without being mushy.... definitely not mushy. It was truly captivating.
While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book for a couple actively trying to get pregnant, I think it would be an fantastic read for someone who is pregnant, and a mandatory read for parents! It truly is just brilliant.
I'll leave you with a quote from the book.... "Birth is viewed through a softened lens of pink haze: the new baby and radiant mommy in an effortless mutual embrace, proud papa nearby... I want to record and do honor not to the fantasy but to the real thing. Real mother love is more impressive than the fantasy of it. That actual, specific, fierce maternal love that grows in the wake of that immense psychic and physical tremor that is pregnancy and birth should inspire awe, not sentiment. I wrote this book to explore the genuine miracle, not the Hallmark card; to trace the maternal bond as it forms, heroically and poignantly, in spite of, rather than because of, the obtuse and unnatural ideology of motherhood under which we labor." ~ Naomi Wolf
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Caffeinated Cool
This summer seems to be bringing a crazy heat wave every where from Jersey, Toronto, to Halifax and every place in between! Jon and I have really been trying to eat healthier especially focusing on eating local organic and cutting out... cutting down refined sugars. (Well, trying anyways...) Neither of us have much of a sweet tooth at all, but it really is crazy the places you'll find refined sugar! On top of which, with all this heat we've been finding ourselves on mid-night ice cream runs much more than we our waist lines would like!
Thankfully my sister turned me on to this amazing foodie blog that I am loving! This post about making home made Frappuccinos from coffee ice cubes got me thinking... Jon and I love coffee, and I have always had a strong nostalgia for homemade freezer icey molds being that I was practically raised on these in the summers, growing up in Jersey as a child.
Enjoy! Stay cool!
Additional Note: After posting this a friend of mine read it and told me she does something similar but before pouring the coffee into the cups, pours a bit of Hershey's syrup into the tip of each cup so it's a Mocha pop. Must try this for our next batch!
Thankfully my sister turned me on to this amazing foodie blog that I am loving! This post about making home made Frappuccinos from coffee ice cubes got me thinking... Jon and I love coffee, and I have always had a strong nostalgia for homemade freezer icey molds being that I was practically raised on these in the summers, growing up in Jersey as a child.
Seriously... even just the empty cups make me think of the care free summers as a kid. Love it....
So I made up about 4 cups of coffee, mixed in about 1 cup of milk, a bit of natural brown sugar, roughly 4 tbsp into the whole batch. Blended with a milk frother. (I think it would have been the same consistency if I mixed it with a spoon...)
Poured into the cups, and let set a few hours in the freezer... The plan was to let set overnight, but we couldn't resist! They were delicious! A perfect summer treat, not to mention our waist lines love it as much as we do, and it's super cheap and easy!
Enjoy! Stay cool!
Additional Note: After posting this a friend of mine read it and told me she does something similar but before pouring the coffee into the cups, pours a bit of Hershey's syrup into the tip of each cup so it's a Mocha pop. Must try this for our next batch!
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