bah

My computer is on the fritz, thus the lack of posting. I am still alive though.

The Girl Effect

my weekend

I love having classes three days a week. It makes for a lovely long weekend every single weekend. I know that starting this week I will need to use that weekend for productive things like homework and group meetings, but this past weekend I got to enjoy friends.

It started with a breakfast date and then thrifting with these two lovely ladies. Bean is learning how to sit. She can sit unsupported if she is folded in half. It is super cute!

She is also just starting solids. It makes for yucky poops, but watching her eat is oh so adorable. Check out her little forearms in the picture below. They are my favorite! They look even bigger in person so I call them her popeye arms.

This weekend we were also blessed with the unexpected and much appreciated gift of a blender/food processor and a little deep freeze!! The blender is glass (hurray!) and the deep freeze is w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l. Guess where my plums are going. And hopefully a deer that Sawyer's daddy is going to hunt for us.

We also had the pleasure of going to a concert. Our friends from college were in town at a little cafe playing. It was so good to see them again and to meet their son, Henry. He's 5.5 months and he sat through the entire concert! He even be-bopped to the music. It was so fun to watch how they interacted with him while they were singing. He was sitting with me in the front row for the second set and he was loving their attention. I may have had some tears in my eyes while they sang one of their songs and they were both focused entirely on him.  I felt like I was imposing on an intimate family moment.

Erik adored Henry. Probably cause he didn't cry or smell bad. Not that Erik discriminates against crying or smelly babies, but he does seem to prefer the happy ones.

And I got to spend one evening with my little miss. Her and her mama were sick so I came to snuggle with her in the evening. Poor little girl was congested, but she was mostly happy. Look at how exhausted she looks! Poor thing. Apparently she slept well after I left. I'm so glad! Her mama definitely needed some sleep... so did papa cause he had to work in the morning. I don't want to give the impression that he isn't helpful at home because he definitely is.  

 

peaches, plums and case workers

It has been a productive day in the Olson household. Now that is something you don't hear every day!

I had class today. Then I came home and canned 20 lbs of peaches. Then I prepped for making some peach jam tomorrow. And I picked plums. Lots and lots of plums.

Erik got a new job!!!! My beloved husband is now a case worker. Well... he starts Wednesday. This is very exciting for him.. For both of us actually. It means he will be home every evening and that we may actually see each other every day! It will be a bit of an adjustment for me because I am used to being able to go see my babies any time I want, but I'm excited to spend more time with my husband.

I counted up the days we were together this summer... we were together for 40 of the last 95 days. And that's including days that we saw an hour of each other because of our work schedules. 40 days!!! That's it! Oh man, we are so thankful to finally have each other back. This will be the first time in our married life that we have been on similar schedules. It will only last four months so I am going to enjoy it!

(I say only four months because then I'm going to be in practicums again, then I graduate and who knows what work will be like after that).

Why not?

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Letter of Intent

Not going so well. My computer keeps shutting off on me and then I do silly things like go on facebook or check blogs over and over in case someone updated. So much for getting into the swing of things quickly. I am about half-way through my letter and it has been ok so far, but the rest is not as interesting. My goal is to be done in two hours. Which would be amazing because it took about 14 hours of sitting here to write the first half. Here's to hoping.

Update:

It's only 7:30pm and I am done!!! Well, my hubby is hopefully going to edit it tonight, but I am done! One read over tomorrow am and I should be good to go... If I'm accepted that is. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.

Transit and Africa - though not related.

The bus routes in town changed and my ride to school is now absolutely painful!! Instead of taking a fairly direct route from my home to the mall to the school I now have to go through Rutland. This means nothing to most of you, but Lauren understands. Rutland = Stopping every 30 meters. Like I said, painful. More stopping equals more people. Many more people. The driver had to skip the last 10 stops because there was no room on the bus to pick up the waiting students. They didn't even think to pull out the double decker for the occasion of school starting. The ride home was even more painful because I wasn't lucky enough to grab a seat. I think I'm going to have to suck it up and transfer to a different but even though the whole trip will take a bit longer. I refuse to take that bus again.

Tummy Time during our Sleepover

Now the more exciting part of the post (for me at least). I am currently in the early stages of writing my Letter of Intent for an international practicum in Africa!!!! The letter is due on Wednesday so I really need to get on it, but I have been so busy (excuses, excuses). I am so excited!!! I'm fairly certain I won't be rejected, but you never know so I'm trying not to get too excited. Also, I need to save up a whole lot of money to be able to afford the trip. Some of you may remember that Lauren went on the same trip last year. It's 6-7 weeks in Africa and I get credit for it! Who would pass that up??? I don't know where I want to go yet - the options are Zambia or Ghana. It kind of depends who I'm going with. I know that's selfish, but it's true.  I'll write more on this later, I'm sure. For now I should get back to writing my letter of intent. Woohoo!!!

Someone's teething so she chomps on everything!

Fiber Arts: my shawl and attempting dpns

I have a bit of a confession to make: I love shawls. Hence this little beauty I made a couple weeks ago. I thoroughly enjoyed this little project. It was simple and I could change my stitch whenever I pleased.

I hope to make another one soon out of all sorts of stitches that I have yet to learn. It will be nice to get some practice in and I think it would make a wonderfully textured effect. I can't wait!!

A couple days ago I attempted double pointed needles for the first time ever. Talk about intimidating!!! And confusing at first. There is so much more to keep track of when you have five needles in play rather than two, but I held my own and picked it up quickly.

As you can see, I managed to get out of my housecoat this day and actually got dressed... but I didn't get far from my computer.

I made two little hats. I'm starting to store up a little collection so I can sell some of my stuff at one of the hospital christmas craft fairs this year. We'll see if I actually have enough to set up a little table. I'm not holding my breath as I tend to give away everything I make before it is even finished.

As you can see... there are a lot of needles to keep track of!

ps. I did can those peaches.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

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take a listen

I first heard this song on SYTYCD and loved it. I somehow stumbled across it again a couple days ago and am still loving it.

convertibles and helmets

Am I the only person who feels that people in convertibles should be wearing helmets? Every time I see someone driving one I feel like they legally need to wear helmets. I have a visceral response to seeing them, especially with children in the car, and I feel as though helmets are necessary precautions. I feel like they need to wear helmets... until I remember that they don't. And then I shake my head and think they should wear them anyway.

lazy to the power of seven

I am so lazy.

lazy lazy lazy

picture this:
me sitting at my computer
in my housecoat
with my feet up on a chair
watching tv online
and knitting

times infinity.

seriously times infinity.
or at least times lazy to the power of seven.
or nine.

my friend was over yesterday and i wanted her to leave so i could go back to sitting on my derriere watching prison break.

prison break = vile human being 
  friendship

ok. so i may be exaggerating a tiny bit, but you'd be surprised by how little.

what's my deal??

on the list for today: canning peaches.
here's to hoping.

New Mom's

There is nothing like watching a new momma navigate motherhood. Ok. Watching a new baby is pretty special too, but I LOVE new mommas. I love all mommas, but new momma's are just something else.

It's like watching a young'n play. You know what I'm talking about... when they are finally interacting with the things around them. Every sound is fascinating to them. Every new texture or smell. The simplest of things are awe-inspiring and each new discovery requires their undivided attention.

New moms are kind of like that. They delight in every new sound their baby makes. They stare at each little feature in complete awe and amazement. They can spend hours munching on little baby toes and kissing little baby noses. Every little thing is deserving of an 'ooh' or an 'awwh'.  

New moms are charmingly overprotective and lovingly hesitant with their babes. They are often uncertain, but quickly learn how to comfortably hold their newborn and how to calm them. It doesn't even matter if they have had a lot of experience with other people's children because this is their baby. They are the momma instead of being the auntie or friend. The momma. And there is something special about momma's.

Another thing I love is how they marvel at the perfection of their child. They are deliriously happy and cannot believe that they could take part in creating such a perfect little being. They radiate joy and pride even when they are more exhausted than they could ever imagine.

It's really something wonderful.

Barefoot Skiing

I had heard of barefoot skiing prior to camping a couple weeks ago, but I had never seen it done. One of our church members is quite skilled in the sport and we were able to come along for a ride and watch him. Wow. It was amazing. As you can see in the first photo, he would start face down with his feet in the rope. Then, the driver would gun it and he would eventually somehow manage to pop up onto his feet. Talk about a sinus flush!

It was incredible (and terrifying) to watch him because everything looked so easy - even recovering from losing his balance and being dragged by his feet.

Erik even got to try it out, which he was pretty pleased about. When you're a beginner you just use the boom and you start by holding on and being dragged with your feet in the water. You then have to rotate your hips while the boat is going fast and somehow get your feet in front of you before slowly standing up on them. Then it's pretty much just like skiing, lean back with your arms straight, but you have to keep your toes curled up so that you don't lose one. Erik managed to get up and actually ski on his first attempt, which surprised all of us. So much so, in fact, that he hadn't been taught how to fall when we got to the end of the lake. We were quickly approaching the shoreline so Dan was yelling at Erik to sit down and let go. Erik only heard the let go part so he stood straight up and let go... it was funny and a little bit painful to watch as he bailed hard.

Even managing a smile for the camera.

His thigh was so bruised the next day... and the bottoms of his feet hurt (understandably). They were a bit swollen and were very sensitive. But I think it was worth it.
This is a video of the end of Erik's last run. The quality on these blog video's isn't so good, but you'll get the point.

HA

Seriously. Try looking at this photo without chuckling... it's impossible.

Two Years

Our second anniversary was last week. We celebrated in our usual fashion... apart. Erik worked and I drove down to visit my SIL.

august 24, 2008

The past two years have f.l.o.w.n by and I have loved every minute of it. I often marvel at how blessed I am to have Erik as my husband. He is pretty special. I often laugh because he is not the man I "wanted" to marry; he's not the man of my dreams. God knows better than we do though (thankfully) because Erik far exceeds any expectation I had of a husband. Before I met him, I did not know people like that existed. He is by far the most genuine man I have ever met. He is joyful, compassionate, loyal, supportive, sensitive, hilarious, hopeful, and patient. He never fails to tell me I am beautiful, but more than that, he makes me feel beautiful. He is nonjudgmental and forgiving. He makes me feel safe and loved. I know that there is nothing that would make him love me less. He sees the best in me and encourages me to become more than I already am. He communicates so well and his emotions do not alter his judgment. He knows me and he still loves me. He loves me even more because he knows me.

august 24, 2010

We celebrated our anniversary on the 29th by what has become a bit of a tradition... we read our vows to each other and reminisced about the year. We also went to Cirque Du Soleil which was amazing! We will definitely have to do that again sometime.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

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