In the past month, I have blogged about some of my favorite things: Pictures and Holidays. With Christmas coming up and a new baby in the family, Rob and I are planning on sending our first ever photo Christmas card. We had a great photo shoot with the whole family last Sunday and look forward to using some of those pictures for our card.
The concept of photo holiday cards immediately makes me think of the Friends episode – The One with the Creepy Holiday Card. In the show, Ross starts to panic when Mona gets an idea to send out a holiday card for the two of them, thinking that their relationship is starting to move too fast.
Perhaps the Christmas card is overdue in our case. We’ve been married now for almost three years and have never done a photo holiday card. Last year we received several of them from family and friends, and they are still decorating our refrigerator. Holiday cards are a great way to share your updated family picture with your friends and family, which is especially important with a growing, changing boy in our family now.
Shutterfly has always been our “go-to” printer for photo books and birth announcements.
• When Rob and I had our first dating anniversary before we got married, I made him a photo book that showed all the things we did during our first year together.
• For our wedding, we used Shutterfly to create our guest book. I put together a book showing each of us separately from birth to when we started dating, added the story of how we met, and included pictures of us while we were together. At the end, I had lines where guests could sign and add comments for us. It is such a great keepsake now, and I will probably pull it out to use again as a guest book for parties on our significant anniversaries (like 20th, 30th, etc).
• When Alan was born, I created our birth announcements using Shutterfly.
With a history like that, we will probably use Shutterfly again for our holiday cards. They have a wonderful selection of designs, and I know their products are great quality products. I particularly like this card because it is a 5x7, which is a normal photo size that we could put in a frame. It also allows for two pictures and has the year in the top corner.
If you didn’t get a birth announcement from us, it is probably because we don’t have your most current address. If you’re interested in getting a Christmas card from us, please send me your address!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Hole in the Ground??
Today I am thankful for pumbing and running water.
One of the great things about living in America is that we have modern plumbing.
I went to China in March of 2009, and was completely shocked at the bathrooms there.
Me at the Great Wall of China. No toilets there!
The hotel was nice and modern, but outside of that, the bathrooms consisted of a hole in the ground. I suppose it wouldn't be too bad if you only had to pee and if you were a guy. But as a girl, I was not about to try to figure out how to squat over a hole and attempt not to pee all over my pants. I held it all day until we were back in the hotel. I'm surprised I didn't get a UTI because of holding it so long.
I've also been on a mission trip with the youth choir where a hot shower was nowhere to be found. That has absolutely no appeal to me. I seriously feel sorry for people who have to live in those conditions on a regular basis.
I will go camping and sleep in a tent or on the ground if there are facilities that I can shower and use the bathroom in. Otherwise, you will not find me at a campsite.
Everyday during the winter, I love standing under the hot water of a good shower, and dread getting out into the cold air.
I am thankful for toilets. I am thankful for hot showers. I am thankful that I live in America.
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
One of the great things about living in America is that we have modern plumbing.
I went to China in March of 2009, and was completely shocked at the bathrooms there.
Me at the Great Wall of China. No toilets there!
The hotel was nice and modern, but outside of that, the bathrooms consisted of a hole in the ground. I suppose it wouldn't be too bad if you only had to pee and if you were a guy. But as a girl, I was not about to try to figure out how to squat over a hole and attempt not to pee all over my pants. I held it all day until we were back in the hotel. I'm surprised I didn't get a UTI because of holding it so long.
I've also been on a mission trip with the youth choir where a hot shower was nowhere to be found. That has absolutely no appeal to me. I seriously feel sorry for people who have to live in those conditions on a regular basis.
I will go camping and sleep in a tent or on the ground if there are facilities that I can shower and use the bathroom in. Otherwise, you will not find me at a campsite.
Everyday during the winter, I love standing under the hot water of a good shower, and dread getting out into the cold air.
I am thankful for toilets. I am thankful for hot showers. I am thankful that I live in America.
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
Monday, November 22, 2010
What Smells?
Today I am thankful for my sense of smell.
It rained last week, and as I was running shortly after the rain, I caught a whiff of some freshly cut wood. With the smell of the rain lingering in the air and the fresh wood smell, my run was so pleasant.
I was once told that how we tasted food was determine mostly (like 80%) by our sense of smell. So if you were blindfolded and given something to eat, but someone put an orange right under your nose for you to smell, whatever it was you were eating would taste like the orange. So between smell and taste, smell is the dominant sense.
My dad has lost his sense of smell completely. My husband's sense of smell is not the best. I think my sense of smell is one of my stronger senses, and most of the time, I'm thankful for it.
During my pregnancy, my sense of smell increased. I could smell things before they were close enough to see.
My favorite smells are probably strange to most people. I like the smell of a musty basement. I like the smell of skin. I like the smell of the dryer. I like the smell of leaves burning in the fall. Then there are the normal smells that almost everyone likes: baking cookies, flowers, etc.
It's so nice to be able to experience life to the fullest through our senses.
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
It rained last week, and as I was running shortly after the rain, I caught a whiff of some freshly cut wood. With the smell of the rain lingering in the air and the fresh wood smell, my run was so pleasant.
I was once told that how we tasted food was determine mostly (like 80%) by our sense of smell. So if you were blindfolded and given something to eat, but someone put an orange right under your nose for you to smell, whatever it was you were eating would taste like the orange. So between smell and taste, smell is the dominant sense.
My dad has lost his sense of smell completely. My husband's sense of smell is not the best. I think my sense of smell is one of my stronger senses, and most of the time, I'm thankful for it.
During my pregnancy, my sense of smell increased. I could smell things before they were close enough to see.
My favorite smells are probably strange to most people. I like the smell of a musty basement. I like the smell of skin. I like the smell of the dryer. I like the smell of leaves burning in the fall. Then there are the normal smells that almost everyone likes: baking cookies, flowers, etc.
It's so nice to be able to experience life to the fullest through our senses.
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Say Cheese!
Today I am thankful for pictures.
I don't have the best camera, and I'm not the best photographer, but I love pictures. I love taking them. I love getting them taken. I love hanging them around my house. I love posting them on facebook.
Today, we are taking Simon family pictures, so it seemed appropriate that I blog about pictures. We are going to Portrait Innovations to get a picture of everyone in Rob's family (parents, sister and her family, and our family). We are also going to take our family picture that I hope to use in our Christmas card this year.
Pictures capture some of life's most precious moments. They are the only thing (other than the marriage itself, of course) that is really left over after the big wedding day event. They show how much a baby grows and changes over the first year of life. They allow others to participate in your life when they are far away.
If there is one thing that I could save if my house went down in flames (other than people and dogs, of course), it would be a box of CDs with all my digital pictures on them.
Unfortunately, my husband doesn't feel the same way, and is often reluctant to have his picture taken. I have to fight sometimes to get some good pictures of us and the things we do together. He's always saying that the camera steals your soul. But when he does manage to cooperate, we get some great shots! I'm hoping today's session will have some great results.
Here are some of my favorite memories:
Steak n Shake (my favorite restaurant) after dancing during ATLX 2007
We're engaged! 2007
Wedding on Sand Key Beach in Clearwater, FL, June 2008
Hiking in Alaska during our Simon family cruise 2008
Graceland with my best friend, Lisa, during Liberty Bowl weekend 2009
One of our many Braves vs Mets games
Oregon vacation 2009
My dad and me after the Richmond marathon, where I finally ran a sub-4 hr marathon!
Maternity picture while pregnant with Alan
Rob and Alan during Alan's first college game day
First picture capturing a reactive smile from Alan
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
I don't have the best camera, and I'm not the best photographer, but I love pictures. I love taking them. I love getting them taken. I love hanging them around my house. I love posting them on facebook.
Today, we are taking Simon family pictures, so it seemed appropriate that I blog about pictures. We are going to Portrait Innovations to get a picture of everyone in Rob's family (parents, sister and her family, and our family). We are also going to take our family picture that I hope to use in our Christmas card this year.
Pictures capture some of life's most precious moments. They are the only thing (other than the marriage itself, of course) that is really left over after the big wedding day event. They show how much a baby grows and changes over the first year of life. They allow others to participate in your life when they are far away.
If there is one thing that I could save if my house went down in flames (other than people and dogs, of course), it would be a box of CDs with all my digital pictures on them.
Unfortunately, my husband doesn't feel the same way, and is often reluctant to have his picture taken. I have to fight sometimes to get some good pictures of us and the things we do together. He's always saying that the camera steals your soul. But when he does manage to cooperate, we get some great shots! I'm hoping today's session will have some great results.
Here are some of my favorite memories:
Steak n Shake (my favorite restaurant) after dancing during ATLX 2007
We're engaged! 2007
Wedding on Sand Key Beach in Clearwater, FL, June 2008
Hiking in Alaska during our Simon family cruise 2008
Graceland with my best friend, Lisa, during Liberty Bowl weekend 2009
One of our many Braves vs Mets games
Oregon vacation 2009
My dad and me after the Richmond marathon, where I finally ran a sub-4 hr marathon!
Maternity picture while pregnant with Alan
Rob and Alan during Alan's first college game day
First picture capturing a reactive smile from Alan
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Happy Trails to You
Today I am thankful for trails.
Running is made much easier when there are good trails to run.
My favorite is the Cochran Shoals river trail along the Chattahoochee River. The trail is a 5k loop, but it also has some roads at either end that can extend the run to a 10 miler. Columns Drive is a straight, flat road at one end of the river trail that goes 2.5 miles out to a light. On the other end, if you turn left out of the river trail parking lot, the road goes up a big hill a mile to a light. This is my favorite place to do my 20 mile runs. If I put a water bottle somewhere along the course, it gives you plenty of opportunities to hydrate as you pass it. It is partially on packed gravel, so your joints don't wear out too badly. It has nice houses and scenery to look at as you go, and it is marked off by the quarter mile, so you know how long you've run.
Cochran Shoals river trail
During the week, I've started running on the Big Creek Greenway after work. It is a half mile to the greenway from the office, and the greenway spans eight miles from Roswell up to Alpharetta. I run to the greenway, run half the distance I want to get, and turn around and come back. It is very well maintained and is a beautiful, peacefull trail.
Big Creek Greenway
Aside from running, I love to hike. I try to get at least three hikes in each summer. The three that I typically do are: Stone Mountain, Anna Ruby Falls, and one up in Clayton, GA. I've also gone hiking in Big Canoe with my in-laws the past two years.
Hiking in Blairsville, GA 2005
Clayton hike 2006
Clayton hike 2007
Anna Ruby Falls hike 2008
Big Canoe 2009
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
Running is made much easier when there are good trails to run.
My favorite is the Cochran Shoals river trail along the Chattahoochee River. The trail is a 5k loop, but it also has some roads at either end that can extend the run to a 10 miler. Columns Drive is a straight, flat road at one end of the river trail that goes 2.5 miles out to a light. On the other end, if you turn left out of the river trail parking lot, the road goes up a big hill a mile to a light. This is my favorite place to do my 20 mile runs. If I put a water bottle somewhere along the course, it gives you plenty of opportunities to hydrate as you pass it. It is partially on packed gravel, so your joints don't wear out too badly. It has nice houses and scenery to look at as you go, and it is marked off by the quarter mile, so you know how long you've run.
Cochran Shoals river trail
During the week, I've started running on the Big Creek Greenway after work. It is a half mile to the greenway from the office, and the greenway spans eight miles from Roswell up to Alpharetta. I run to the greenway, run half the distance I want to get, and turn around and come back. It is very well maintained and is a beautiful, peacefull trail.
Big Creek Greenway
Aside from running, I love to hike. I try to get at least three hikes in each summer. The three that I typically do are: Stone Mountain, Anna Ruby Falls, and one up in Clayton, GA. I've also gone hiking in Big Canoe with my in-laws the past two years.
Hiking in Blairsville, GA 2005
Clayton hike 2006
Clayton hike 2007
Anna Ruby Falls hike 2008
Big Canoe 2009
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
Friday, November 19, 2010
Holidays
Today I am thankful for holidays.
Today is my Name Day. A Name Day is similar to a birthday (with cake and presents), but everyone with the same name celebrates on the same day. It is a Czech tradition. I'm 3/8 Czech, so I claim it as one of my traditions. My name in Czech is Alžběta, and everyone with that name celebrates today.
Generally your parents will name you something that has a name day about six months after your birthday so you can have a celebration twice a year. I just found out that if we had done that with Alan, his name would probably be Peter Simon because Petr's name day is February 22nd, which is six months after my due date. I find that funny because most people were calling our little unborn baby "Simon Peter" before he was born.
They also say that if your parents named you something that made your name day be close to your birthday, they didn't like you. It just so happens that Alan's name day is August 14th, just a mere three days before his birthday. Rob's name day is April 29th, which is six days after his birthday. Of course the saying doesn't hold true in our family, because both Alan and Rob are well loved by their parents.
Most people think of Thanksgiving and Christmas when they think of "the holidays." That time of year is the most wonderful time of the year when it comes to seeing family and giving thanks for what you have. I love my family, and we are not able to get together as often as before, so the holiday season is very special to me now. I will have 19 people at my house this year for Thanksgiving, and I can't wait!
Christmas has become a little too commercialized for me. It has really taken away from the true meaning of the holiday - the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But as long as the family keeps the primary reason front and center (we always read the Christmas story from Luke at breakfast on Christmas day), I do love buying and giving gifts, decorating, and eating all the delicious Christmas cookies.
I also love Halloween. This holiday is the opposite of Christmas; the commercialization is a good thing. As a Christian, I don't like the origin of the holiday, but I love seeing the kids dressed up in their costumes, carving pumpkins, and handing out candy.
With the spring comes birthday season. Between mine and my husband's family, we have at least one person with a birthday in every month from January to August. Getting together to celebrate is the highlight of each month.
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
Today is my Name Day. A Name Day is similar to a birthday (with cake and presents), but everyone with the same name celebrates on the same day. It is a Czech tradition. I'm 3/8 Czech, so I claim it as one of my traditions. My name in Czech is Alžběta, and everyone with that name celebrates today.
Generally your parents will name you something that has a name day about six months after your birthday so you can have a celebration twice a year. I just found out that if we had done that with Alan, his name would probably be Peter Simon because Petr's name day is February 22nd, which is six months after my due date. I find that funny because most people were calling our little unborn baby "Simon Peter" before he was born.
They also say that if your parents named you something that made your name day be close to your birthday, they didn't like you. It just so happens that Alan's name day is August 14th, just a mere three days before his birthday. Rob's name day is April 29th, which is six days after his birthday. Of course the saying doesn't hold true in our family, because both Alan and Rob are well loved by their parents.
Most people think of Thanksgiving and Christmas when they think of "the holidays." That time of year is the most wonderful time of the year when it comes to seeing family and giving thanks for what you have. I love my family, and we are not able to get together as often as before, so the holiday season is very special to me now. I will have 19 people at my house this year for Thanksgiving, and I can't wait!
Christmas has become a little too commercialized for me. It has really taken away from the true meaning of the holiday - the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But as long as the family keeps the primary reason front and center (we always read the Christmas story from Luke at breakfast on Christmas day), I do love buying and giving gifts, decorating, and eating all the delicious Christmas cookies.
I also love Halloween. This holiday is the opposite of Christmas; the commercialization is a good thing. As a Christian, I don't like the origin of the holiday, but I love seeing the kids dressed up in their costumes, carving pumpkins, and handing out candy.
With the spring comes birthday season. Between mine and my husband's family, we have at least one person with a birthday in every month from January to August. Getting together to celebrate is the highlight of each month.
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Home is Where the Heart Is
Today I am thankful for work-from-home days.
This is obviously not me, but I thought it was a good picture of a home office
In the past I blogged about how I was thankful for my job and thankful for my boss and thankful for technology. Well, all those things come together to allow for today's topic. I have a job where I sit in front of a computer all day long. Because my boss is so awesome and technology is available, one day a week I work from home.
I get a lot done, both personally and professionally, when I work from home. I love that I can throw a load of laundry in and then go back to working. I love that I have very few distractions when I'm trying to get something done for work. But most of all, I love that I can be with my son all day long when I work from home.
I also get way more milk when I'm at home and around him than I do when I'm at the office. On weekends and on my work-from-home days, I can easily get 5+ ounces in a pumping session. When I'm at work, I'm lucky if I get 4 ounces.
I still have conference calls to get to and work to get done, but when I'm at home, I can cuddle with Alan in front of the computer while I'm doing those things. The only time I really can't do any work is when I'm feeding him. The rest of the time, he is content to hang out in his vibrating chair or under the activity gym or on my lap while I work.
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
This is obviously not me, but I thought it was a good picture of a home office
In the past I blogged about how I was thankful for my job and thankful for my boss and thankful for technology. Well, all those things come together to allow for today's topic. I have a job where I sit in front of a computer all day long. Because my boss is so awesome and technology is available, one day a week I work from home.
I get a lot done, both personally and professionally, when I work from home. I love that I can throw a load of laundry in and then go back to working. I love that I have very few distractions when I'm trying to get something done for work. But most of all, I love that I can be with my son all day long when I work from home.
I also get way more milk when I'm at home and around him than I do when I'm at the office. On weekends and on my work-from-home days, I can easily get 5+ ounces in a pumping session. When I'm at work, I'm lucky if I get 4 ounces.
I still have conference calls to get to and work to get done, but when I'm at home, I can cuddle with Alan in front of the computer while I'm doing those things. The only time I really can't do any work is when I'm feeding him. The rest of the time, he is content to hang out in his vibrating chair or under the activity gym or on my lap while I work.
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
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