Our active weekend

I wrote this last week but lost my connection and couldn't get it posted. ANYWAY, I've decided to go ahead and post it because if I added in lots of housework/projects and some homemade veg sushi on Sunday, this last weekend included pretty much all of the below again too - HA!

This last weekend was an active one with most of it spent outside which I just love! There was some really fun tennis and swimming on Friday evening. Gardening, basketball, rollerblading, and park playing on Saturday. Then Sunday there was alot of hiking and creeking for the August family birthday party! So FUN! Yes it's hot here (very hot) but as long as you have a pool, creek, or any body of water to cool off in, it's bearable. :) These shots are from all different parts of our most enjoyable family weekend...






I already can't wait for the weekend with my lil' family all together again...Hope you all have wonderful weeks!

A fall weekend

Last weekend (yes, LAST weekend...I'm catching up) truly felt like a fall one. It was pretty cool out and we had to bundle up, leaves were falling, and it was just lovely. I had a 10K race on Saturday and actually thought it felt "cold" that morning but it went really well once I got warmed up. After a quick trip on the way home to a new-to-us natural cafe/bakery, the rest of the day was spent hanging out all cozy in our nest which was truly delightful.


The weekend also included our first batch of hot apple cider which certainly makes fall feel here! I love me a cup of warm cider on a cool day.


We made the cider and the below yummy carrot spice cake for my family's final gathering at our longtime house (the "Compound" as we call it). Not everyone made it unfortunately (there's alot of us:), but those of us that did, had a wonderful time.


Being the photographers that my sisters and I are (BTW, I'm so happy the 3 of us are reunited in the same country/area for now!), there were LOTS of pictures taken, but the most persistent photographer was by far this little gal...




She was moving all over the place in different positions and spots. It was hilarious! Hmmmmm, wonder where she's seen that?! She has become quite the photographer and makes all kinds of things her "camera", including this old kitchen timer of my mom's :). She now has a couple vintage Fisher Price ones I won on Ebay last week, which makes her seem more official when she's snapping away!


I'm so pleased fall is here...I really love summer but it's certainly a nice change. I'm incredibly excited by ALL that is going on in my head for the upcoming holidays, Lovebug's 2nd birthday, and for our nest! I'm so looking forward to the things we have planned! I feel like I need to give an official goodbye to my beloved summer though...more on that to come.

SO does it look and feel like fall yet where you are?

The Future of Handmade Toys

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend...we sure did! The 10K went great and I was very pleased with my time...and Lovebug's birthday went perfectly! I'll share details, pics, and all of that later this week once I download and go through the ridiculous amount of photos that were taken :)...

I wanted to pop in today though and bring your attention to this in regard to handmade toys. Many of you probably already have heard about it, but it's called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). It does ALOT of good like banning lead and phthalates, and requires certification and thirty-party testing on all toys. Which sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Except for all of the WAHMs, WAHDs, and artisans that lovingly handmake beautiful toys within their homes and sell on sites like Etsy...Their toys would be "illegal" unless they send out their toys for third-party testing which apparently costs quite alot per toy! It also affects textiles and clothing for children as well!!!!

Nearly all of the clothes, shoes, slings, toys, etc. etc. we buy for Lovebug are from artisans off of Etsy using natural, organic, and recycled materials...are these wonderful sellers no longer going to provide us with all of these beautiful handmade products??!!! I'm VERY concerned...

There is alot of info at the Handmade Toy Alliance, and then some posts here, here, here, and a page of links on the Etsy forum page...and then some good info at National Bankruptcy Day. This law goes in affect after February 9th and it's already passed and been signed...but people are calling their Congresspeople, calling and emailing CPSC officials found here, and signing petitions here, amongst other things to have the bill altered. This also is affecting brands like German-based Selecta (love them), whom says they are no longer going to be distributing toys to the U.S. because of the new high testing costs!

I love this paragraph from Z Recommends:

If the first major consumer legislation to pass Congress in decades pushes the safest toys out of the market, leaving only those companies that have cared the least about chemical safety and thus are in the most robust financial position to undertake new expenses, we will all be poorer for it.

and this one as far as what should be done:

We believe the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Congress should immediately issue more detailed and targeted guidelines and clarifications which protect reputable natural toy companies as well as offering intelligent ways for small, independent manufacturers to continue producing and selling their products.

Obviously, we want the toys and clothing we buy for Lovebug to be as safe as possible! However, we ALSO want to support small artisans/companies making natural/organic/recycled products before we support large ones! I am just so confused as far as what needs to be done. It really seems that small companies are going to suffer with all of this even though the biggest offenders are typically the large ones.

We just bought a set of these beautiful wooden keys for Lovebug's birthday and they are adorable!! The seller, Mamaroots, was so wonderful and customized them for Lovebug, used non-toxic watercolors, and then sealed them with beeswax. Have the keys been tested by a third party to ensure all of that?? No. There is a trust that is out there within the community of Etsy...which I know, isn't always justified, because I'm sure there are sellers NOT using safe materials and NOT being honest about the materials used in their products...BUT that is why you convo with the seller, you read their feedback, you research, and you make sure you're comfortable before ordering from someone.

I just don't know...I'm really at a loss here. I am going to sign a petition for sure...but as far as the answer to all of this, I just don't have one...

What are your thoughts?? Any new info anybody has or had you even heard of this before now? How much do you think this will actually affect you? I'd love to hear from everybody...

Some Weekend Loves

Some things I am loving from this last weekend...

This creamy outfit her Daddy dressed Lovebug in yesterday! I'm adoring Baby Legs right now because they keep her legs warm without having to wear pants. Skirts and dresses are much preferable on Lovebug because pants are annoying (and bulky with CD's) and she doesn't love getting her dipes changed right now, so they make the whole process much quicker. They have some organic ones (their wool ones as modeled by Lovebug are so soft!) and they're cute!


My wonderful Gramma and family gathered to celebrate 80 years of her life!

The new album from Ray...this guy is good. No, he's great! He's one of my all-time favorites and this new album is beautiful. Same gorgeous music but some new sounds and instruments in there. I love me some banjo and steel guitar.

These pumpkin spice cookies from Rachel that I vegan-ed up along with a maple syrup icing inspired by Jessica. They don't look nearly as delicious as they are!


The cold front that came in last night. It felt absolutely beautiful out on my long evening run, and paired with Ray's new album playing in my ears, it was downright fun!

This cool website where those of us with no TV can watch the occasional show FREE as a special treat. Aren't Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin just genius together in this show? And gosh, why did Arrested Development ever get canceled? And aren't Holly and Michael perfect for each other?

These two. They are so sweet and funny together, and I love them more than anything.


Lentils, kale, and veggies together in a delicious winter soup my Love made.

The new deodorant, lotion, and soaps made yesterday. For the deodorant, I took the Angry Chicken's recipe and made it my own with lavender and peppermint EO's. The lotion is delicious which I posted about awhile back, but this time I added just peppermint EO and it smells divine - I could almost eat it!

Hope each of you have lots you are loving as well (please share!). Mondays are tough because I miss the weekend, but they're also a fresh start to another week which I also really enjoy. Lots to do - have a good one!

Recycle your worn out shoes

We love to run and be as active as possible, and thus tend to wear out our athletic shoes every 9-12 months or so. The question then became awhile back - what do we do with our worn out shoes??? Just sending them to the landfill isn't an option for us. However, we could give them away to a charity store to be re-sold or given to someone in need, which is always the first thing we do with everything else, but they're REALLY worn and kind of smelly :). Thus, our athletic shoes have been collecting over the past couple of years awaiting some action and it was way past time to do something.

I had read somewhere about Nike taking worn out athletic shoes and indeed they do. They have a program called Reuse-A-Shoe with which they collect ANY brand of athletic shoes and recycle them with their partner Nike Grind, then turning the material into playgrounds, basketball courts, running tracks, etc. etc.! Isn't that beautiful? - worn out shoe material into surfaces that people get tons of enjoyment out of! That's the way everything should be - everything always recycled into something else.

There are a couple ways that you can go about doing this...Drop them off at your local Nike store or go to their website here and hopefully find a dropoff location in your area. There was only ONE in all of Texas which is pretty sad and it's not at all near us, so we're mailing ours in to:

Nike Recycling Center
c/o Reuse-A-Shoe
26755 SW 95th Ave.
Wilsonville, OR 97070

They only have a couple limitations:
No cleats, dress shoes, or shoes containing metal, and no wet or damp shoes

Pretty easy! OH a little shoe buying tip - go to a specialty running store (like Luke's Locker locally) as they will do a custom shoe fitting for you (even make you run on a treadmill and watch your form) and make sure you get the perfect shoe for your feet and the way you run/walk. Having the right fit and type of shoe really makes all the difference! Buy from them the first time, and then after that, you can find "your" shoe online at different websites for MUCH less!

Have an active weekend.

Spring Day Highs and Lows

Yesterday was a wonderful spring Monday full of many highs but it had a couple lows too...


The rain and thunder were beautiful to listen to and watch, and the rays of sun that followed were gorgeous - High!...


But I realized that the bamboo floor was dirtier than usual (see above) because pollen from the tree's catkins was coming in through the open windows - Low!...


One of my favorite workout videos (yes a video!) got messed up in the vhs player - it was a sad sad day as I've been working out to it for 10 years :( - Low! - so it's off to Recycle for Breast Cancer for it!...


But then a new spring/summer hat I ordered off of Etsy (LOVE LOVE Etsy!!!!) arrived for Lovebug - it's adorable with beautiful colors and she looks so pretty in it - Big High!!...


We went on a wonderful family run last night enjoying the weather and my Love made delicious black bean burgers and sweet potato baked fries for dinner - Big BIG High!!...


It definitely had more highs than lows...and now I'm ready to see what today holds!

Baby Lovebug

Well hello! Yes I am VERY behind on blogging – it’s been gosh forever…but a lot has happened since the last (only:) post…I gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Isabella (Lovebug), intervention-free and naturally on December 11th at 4:54 AM at Inanna Birth Center in Denton, with about a 6 hour labor. She weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces, was 21 inches long, and as healthy as can be…Today is her 1-month birthday – WOW, how time flies when you’re having fun!

Pic taken day Isabella was born - December 11, 2007

SO, here is my account of Lovebug's birth (and yes, it's long - I promise most posts won't be this long :):

It was an absolutely incredible experience that I will never forget. The night prior to the birth, I went and worked out at the gym, went to yoga class, and then came home where my Love and I enjoyed some yummy winter soup and decorated our Christmas tree. As I started to get ready for bed, I started having contractions, around 10:45 or so. They started off pretty intense – I tried to go to sleep but couldn’t so we began timing them, which we did for an hour. They were already 2.5 – 3 minutes apart and lasting about a minute so we called our midwife, Jean, who told us to get up to Denton.

We finished packing up some things and my Love loaded up the car and off we went – it was about 12:30 AM or thereabouts at this time. I don’t remember tons regarding the drive as my contractions were coming very fast and I was very focused, but I do remember it being extremely foggy out and I think in between contractions I remember my Love running a red light or two and passing some cars :).

Pic taken December 12, 2007

We got to the birth center around 1:15 and Jean checked and saw that I was already dilated to a 9! So that was pretty crazy…it got more intense after that…I stayed vertical to allow gravity to assist in the process so I did a lot of pacing to get through the contractions and I remember doing a lot of hip swaying and rocking while squatting on the birth ball. It was just so serene and peaceful at the birth center and I can’t imagine having my baby anywhere else (except maybe my own home – next one hopefully:) as I was so comfortable…It was so incredibly quiet and dark and very intimately beautiful…Jean had lit some candles in the room prior to us arriving so there were no lights on…and we had brought our oil diffuser so my favorite essential oil of lavender lingered lightly in the air.

It was just my Love and I alone together in the room most of the time with Jean coming in occasionally, which I loved. It just seemed so surreal as it was happening so fast. After some time, Jean checked me again and my water broke…it was clear – no meconium – so I decided to get into the birth tub sensing I would start pushing soon. I did indeed get the urge to push not too long after being in the tub and did that for maybe 30 minutes or so before I decided to get out and do the remaining pushing on the bed. I never had any back pain during the labor so that position felt fine thankfully…

Pic taken December 17, 2007

I pushed for maybe another 30 – 40 mins, while Jean, her wonderful assistant, Lynne, and my amazing husband encouraged me…I remember my eyes being closed nearly the whole time – just focusing and concentrating on listening to my body. I remember thinking how serenely quiet and beautiful it felt – I remember moaning a bit but there really wasn’t much noise or talk during the process at all, except some light music in the background.

I pushed Lovebug’s head out, and the rest of her body came quickly and then my Love caught her and laid her on my chest…Her eyes were wide open and she was as alert as can be…The moment Lovebug and I locked eyes was life-changing…We wiped her off a bit and I just held her and was amazed that I had just given birth to this beautiful little human being – it still felt so surreal. Once the cord stopped pulsating, my Love cut it and I then delivered the placenta, which wow, is amazing as well – to see what sustained our baby for 10 months – incredible. Then I nursed our little daughter for the first time and we called our families, which we had not done at all since it had been such a fast labor…Lovebug was never taken away from us for a second and the 3 of us were left to bond together as a family – and oh how wonderful it was!

Pics taken December 24, 2007

Anyway, that’s my account and the past month has flown by and has been tons of fun and work of course, but fun work… Lovebug has already changed so much in the last month…she is so precious and when she smiles my heart just melts. She looks so much like her gorgeous Daddy did when he was a baby. Speaking of, I always knew my Love would be the best Daddy, but I am still so in awe of how amazing he is! Lovebug loves her Daddy so much! I LOVED being pregnant and now I LOVE being a Mommy and I have the most incredible husband and baby daughter whom I LOVE more than I could ever express. God has truly blessed me!

Pics taken January 5, 2008