Ah, shopping

Unlike most women, I don't generally like shopping. Oh, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy perusing department stores by myself from time to time to see if there's anything cute on sale, but I probably do that as often as I see the dentist (and yes, I'm a good girl and visit my dentist twice a year :-D) As a rule, I like to go into a store with a shopping list (or at least, a set idea of what I intend to buy, such as particular household goods), get all the items, maybe allow myself a few detours by well-placed, marketing-approved display items, and get out. An exception would probably be bookstores, as I do like to just wander the aisles without any agenda and see what's new. But even that is a rare occasion, as I do most of my book shopping online through used-books outlets. The last time I bought something brand new at a physical Borders store, it was only because 1) it was a compilation-- seven of C.S. Lewis's books in one tome and 2) I had a 40% off coupon, making the net price of each of the individual titles quite cheap.

And so it is with amusement and general amazement that I read about folks like Joe and Tabitha braving ungodly hours on Black Friday. What fortitude! What determination! What bargains to be had! :-) My parents themselves hit the stores on Friday, but went later in the morning, thus avoiding the mad crowds... and all the terrific sales :-) Not me. My days of getting up at ungodly hours are over-- 8 years and counting (wow, it just dawned on me that I've finally been out of the Army, post-discharge, than I've been in!), and I wouldn't trade my warm blanket and pillow for anything.

Still, Black Friday or not, there is always holiday shopping (and its accompanying madness) to contend with. I had blogged earlier about how grateful I am that Allan has a small family, making our holiday celebrations nice and calm and low-key. That also comes in handy when it comes time for Christmas shopping! We all tend to get each other the same things every year, and to be quite honest, I rather like the predictability of it. It makes shopping each year a snap.

Best of all is when it can all be done online. Save for actually placing the orders, I've already finished my Christmas shopping this year. I've picked out what I want to get each family member, and logged it all in my Kaboodle.com shopping list. A few clicks of a button and it's done. No long lines. No antsy customers. No harried cashiers. No traffic to fight. No parking spots to vie for. No fidgety kid to drag along. No crowded aisles to squeeze through.

It doesn't get any better than that... does it?

All settled in

It's been a few weeks since we moved into the new place, and this weekend we finally got around to cleaning up the last odds and ends. We'd had everything stuffed willy-nilly into closets and lying around unused floor spaces, until a last-minute plan for my parents to come visit us on Saturday threw us into action on Thursday and Friday :-)

We spent most of those 2 days tidying, sorting, organizing, re-arranging, and finally, when everything was put away where it belonged, we were able to do our weekly cleaning of dusting, mopping and vacuuming. The house was spic and span in time for my parents' visit. If they hadn't decided to come up this weekend, we might have found excuses to postpone it even further, especially since a lot of the mess was simply out of sight, tucked away in closets, an unused desk and the balcony outside. But now I feel better that we actually got our butts kicked into gear and just got everything out of the way this weekend. Now we can truly put up our feet and enjoy the new place :-)

The rest of the weekend was pleasant-- Saturday we all ate lunch together and went downtown to the courthouse to climb up to the bell tower and get a grand view of Santa Barbara. The winds had pushed most of the clouds away, so it was a gorgeous, sunny, blue-skied day, and we could see for miles in every direction-- from the ocean to the mountains and all the landmarks in between.

Anyway... yes, we're all settled in now and I'll have to find my camera and take those "after" pictures soon. Hmm... funny that we put everything away neatly and I can't seem to remember where the camera is ;-)

So what motivates you? When you're dragging your heels and procrastinating doing something that you know you should be doing-- what gets you off your duff?

Return Codes

Hubby ordered some clothes from JCPenney, which arrived in the mail today. I was looking at the invoice that came with the shipment when I flipped it over and noted the return instructions, which included various codes to choose from indicating the reason for return or exchange.

Amongst the codes were:

• Damaged or soiled


• Defective material, workmanship


• Poor quality or poor value


• Parts missing


• Not as ordered or advertised


• Just did not fit


• Did not look good on (me)


• Changed mind/did not meet expectations


• Style not right

All of which made me giggle, because they sound like reasonable codes that could apply to the return/exchange of a husband. Although I guess it's really more "returns only", because honestly-- once you've been married, would you want to do it all over again and simply trade in your husband for another one? ;-)

Hello World! (aka New Beginnings, part 2)

It was August of last year that I posted an entry called "New Beginnings" on Blogger, when I made yet another major migration of my blog-- this time from Myspace to Blogger. That has lasted a little over a year, and since then, Wordpress has made some nifty new features available-- features that it didn't have when I started comparing blog forums last summer.

This time the change is largely transparent-- most people who read my blog either read it through an email subscription or via the RSS feed which feeds into Facebook's Notes. However, I chose to move for 2 reasons:

1. I liked Wordpress' ability to password-protect individual posts, rather than having to lock the entire blog as Blogger does. Oh sure, other forums such as Livejournal or Myspace offer that ability too, but you have to be a member to read those protected posts. The protected posts also get published as part of your feed-- with a placeholder to enter your password, so those who wouldn't otherwise visit the blog site itself would see it.

2. I felt it was time for a change in the blog name. Every site I've ever been on, my username has been pretty predictable-- first and last name. Given the uniqueness of both names, it was really easy to find my various public profiles just by Google-ing my name. I didn't really want the folks to someday think of this and come across my blog. Many of you have no qualms with sharing your profiles and blogs with your folks, I envy you. Mine just wouldn't understand. But more than that, I once had an ex with stalker-ish tendencies find me that way-- must've searched for my name, come across my blog (actually, Todd's diary) and emailed me a message with a thinly-veiled guilt-trip. It was a bit creepy, to say the least!

So... I'm sure you're wondering: why "Heckled Trio"? Well, my friend Tabitha introduced me to a website that makes anagrams of whatever you input. I put in the German word for my favorite animal (and if you're reading this, you should know what it is) and "Heckled Trios" was the first result that came up. It caught my fancy, and seemed appropriate, not only because of the favorite animal, but because there are three of us in my little family-- we're a trio, and we heckle each other. A lot. Very fitting, and easy enough to remember :-)

Anyway...*clinks glass* here's to new beginnings... sort of. I think the only who's going to notice anything new is me, with a new interface to get used to ;-)

A quiet, simple Thanksgiving

I am exceedingly grateful that Allan's family is very small, and that my family doesn't care about celebrating the holidays. Christmas and Thanksgiving are always very low-key: we meet up with Allan's family, which consists of his sister and her husband (and their dog), his dad, and his mom and stepdad. No myriad of people to keep track of and mingle with. No maniacal kids running around wreaking havoc (one little man can cause enough, thank you!) I remember when I was single, watching movies with such scenes and feeling a twinge of envy that I didn't have a large family like that to gather with. But then I got married and joined in on the Knight family traditions and discovered that I was *really* glad that I would never have to deal with gatherings of that magnitude-- small wonder the holidays are so exhausting for so many.

Then this year, we shrank it even further. As I mentioned in my previous post, we spent this year's Thanksgiving in Santa Barbara-- just the three of us. My boys and me :-)

We started off with a swim in the pool at noon-- the weather was so nice and warm and the pool was heated comfortably, too. Todd and I splashed around in the pool and jacuzzi while Allan played on his laptop in a nearby patio chair. It was also a good way for me to get some much-needed exercise after being under the weather for so long.

For dinner, Allan glazed a ham and made dressing as well as mashed potatoes from red potatoes instead of the traditional Russet. And they came out delicious! Sweet and creamy and, because we couldn't find the potato masher, even more yummy with a few hints of solid pieces in the mix. We finished a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling cider and had sweet potato pie (well, I haven't had my slice yet, I was too full from those delicious potatoes!) Todd's art creations from school adorned the table as centerpieces: a turkey made out of a pine cone and a plain paper cutout.

All in all, the meal was a resounding success-- even Todd seemed to think so-- he ate faster than he usually did :-) And we really liked how the potatoes turned out-- red potatoes are definitely a winner!

Relaxing evenings with family-- whether it's 3 or 8-- such a nice way to ring in the holidays!

Unexpected free day

There I was, working away in my cubicle, when, at around 11:00am, my boss's boss came roaming around the hallways, chasing everyone home early for Thanksgiving. Todd was starting to get bored (I didn't realize he had a day off school today) so I wrapped up my work and jetted out at lunchtime. Apparently Allan's bosses were downstairs doing the same thing-- shooing their minions home early for the holidays, so the entire family took off and headed to Zodo's for lunch and bowling. Todd won. He was the only to score in the triple digits-- he got exactly 100, while Allan came in with 86 and I trailed with a measly 69. Hey, I'm just happy to have broken 50!

We had originally planned to do our usual Thanksgiving tradition-- go down to LA and celebrate with Allan's family at his sister's house tomorrow. But this year, with his father still recovering from his recent surgery, and Todd and I both a little under the weather (and probably still contagious, esp with my persistent cough) we all felt it was best not to risk exposing his dad to anything. So, for the first time EVER, the little Knight family is staying home and celebrating ourselves. We're actually looking forward to cleaning up the apartment a bit and then having some ham and mashed potatoes followed by sweet potato pie. Just the three of us. We've never done anything like that before, so we actually had fun shopping for Thanksgiving-related items after we went bowling.

We capped off the evening with a trip to the apartment complex's clubhouse, and enjoyed watching "Wall-E" (yes, I know, for the umpteenth time) on the big-screen TV and comfy leather sofa. My only regret is that I never got to see Wall-E when it came out on the real big screen-- the movie theaters-- now THERE would've been a really great experience!

So, although we'll miss seeing Allan's family (Aunt Debbie owes Todd some long-awaited belly kisses, and vice versa!) and catching up with them, and will miss seeing my family (we'd planned to stop by afterward and spend the night), we're looking forward to another way to celebrate Thanksgiving :-) And we already have a centerpiece lined up-- a turkey made out of a pine cone, that Todd brought home from school! :-)

Seasonal illnesses

You know, it's strange-- last winter I didn't get a flu shot, and was laid up nearly every single month for a couple days with the flu-- fever, chills, nausea, the whole nine yards. It always came in cycles-- Todd would come down with something, he'd bounce back in a day, and a day after that I'd get sick.

This year, I thought I'd be smart and get a flu shot. I figured that even if my skepticism about its effectiveness proves true and it doesn't work, I'm no worse off than I was last year. Besides, they were offering them at work for free, so, why not? Well, so far so good. No flu.

What I *have* been hit with in waves, however, are some nasty COLDS! Started with a sore throat that morphed into a cough, congestion and some minor aches and pains. And you know how those coughs go-- they always linger for a couple weeks. And no sooner had I recovered from that when I was hit yet again with another cold. The coughing and congestion haven't fully subsided yet, but I started doing a bit better (and the phlegm was green). Then last night Todd wasn't feeling well, and now I'm back to feeling more "ick" than "blah". And this is now my 3rd week of still-productive coughing and congestion. I'm making an appointment first thing Monday morning if things don't improve by the weekend.

Marvelous, isn't it? I took preventive steps and got a flu shot, only to be beat down by colds instead. At least last year, with the flu, I'd be sick for a few days, and then healthy for a few weeks before getting hit again. This time it's just one long progression of the blahs, with occasional waves when it gets worse, but no return to full health along the cycles.

Sigh... I'm really looking forward to the long weekend!

The fun with neighbors

I'm listening to my neighbors talk as I type this post. Every single window and door in our apartment is shut tight-- and this is good quality dual pane stuff! Yet it's still not enough to block out the sounds of my neighbors prattling from across the street! If my windows were open, and if they were speaking English, I'm sure I'd catch every word of it.

Nearly 4 years ago we moved into a 1-bedroom apartment in UCSB's family student housing, and had all sorts of fun dealing with noisy upstairs neighbors there. You can read more about it here:

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=28049135&blogId=102838529

(warning: don't read the comments section if you're at all squeamish or prudish :-P)

And now, with our new apartment facing some other buildings across the small lane that winds through our complex, we're greeted with the sights and sounds of one particular family-- partying till late at night. When we first moved in here, we were greeted to the sounds of loud music in the afternoon. We peeked out the window and noted what appeared to be a party on the neighbor's patio, so we figured, no big deal. Parties don't happen every day, and it IS still daytime.

Cue to last night. A Sunday night. A night before a Monday, otherwise known as a weekday, when most people wake up early to go to work and/or school. Regardless of what day of the week, it got really ridiculous when the sounds of their loud booming voices carried on till almost midnight. Fortunately I was still up late last night (especially since I had laundry to wait for), and fortunately my son can sleep through just about anything, so he wasn't disturbed when I had to open the bedroom window for some fresh air.

Tonight they are at it again. What I don't understand is why their immediate neighbors, i.e. the people who actually live in the same building as these people, and share walls with them, haven't complained.

I know this is not the first time I've seen a bunch of folks sitting out on their patio, talking. We always passed by their patio on the way to our old apartment, and so I know this isn't the first time they've carried on raucous conversations outside, disturbing the peace. So why hasn't anyone else put a stop to it yet? My best conjecture is that since it looked like a clown car had vomited its contents into the patio and apartment, all those people must live in the same building, and all converge onto that one on the ground floor every time they want to get together. Because I know I'd be complaining first to the noisy neighbors, then to management, and finally to the police if I lived that close to them and had to be subject to such noise. We're all the way across the street and it's already bad enough. There are quiet hours for a reason, people, and even though it doesn't start until 10pm, have a little courtesy!! Is that too much to ask for these days?

Apparently it is, for some...

Another lazy weekend

This weekend finally allowed the whole family to catch up on some much-needed rest. We turned in our keys to the old place on Friday afternoon, and what bliss it was, coming home on Friday evening and not having to rush off to clean it! We had full intentions of tidying up the new place this weekend-- most of the stuff is put away in cabinets and closets, but more in a cram/jam style without any semblance of order.

But, of course, the best-laid plans never came to fruition. At least today was fairly productive-- Todd and I went shopping in the morning (I finally got a Snuggie!) and hit the library after lunch, and looked at a few open houses together. Todd especially likes exploring the back and side yards of a house.

When we got home, Todd plowed through almost the entire stack of books we'd brought home from the library. Thankfully he doesn't mind re-reading the same books again and again, so they will be enough to tide him over until we can hit the library again next weekend.

And so here it is, 11:00pm and I can't take my shower yet because the towels are in the wash. I figured I'd use the time to cap off my week-long streak of blogging every single day. I think that is a first, or at least, a first in a very, very long time.

I'm left with one question: why are children's books so expensive? I'm looking at a large, glossy hardcover with only about 20 pages in it, and its price tag reads $16. I couldn't imagine shelling out $16 for a book my son is only going to use for a little while. It's not like it's a classic that he can treasure for the rest of his life (such as the "Little House" books). Why does it cost as much as a normal hardcover adult nonfiction!? And *more* than an adult fiction book? Maybe I should take up writing children's books... seems to be good money in it, if the stock of library shelves in the children's section is any indication ;-)

Brush your teeth or you're going to hell!

A couple of months ago, a co-worker and I were discussing religion, and man's tendency to twist religious concepts and invent rules and regulations of their own making. To paraphrase his example: "Muhammad told people to brush their teeth. That doesn't mean they're going to hell if they don't, or to heaven if they do. It's simply a matter of hygiene: your rotten teeth stink!"

That's the way I view a lot of the biblical teachings: the majority of them are guidelines for good, healthful (both spiritual and physical) living. Quarantining sick people and cleansing yourself thoroughly after handling blood are good health practices designed to keep yourself and the general population healthy. That doesn't mean you're a hell-bound sinner if you don't.

I was reminded of this discussion while reading Tabitha's blog entry about a small group study our church is conducting, a study based on the Beatitudes (Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount-- you know, "blessed are the peacemakers..." or cheesemakers, if you're a Monty Python fan) My comments centered around one chapter of the study I particularly took issue with: the accountability factor.

Basically, the idea is to find a trustworthy friend and bare your soul to him/her, enabling you to make a fresh start of sorts. I even read a whole book (unrelated to the study) that was dedicated to this very idea.

Now, I firmly believe that to make any sort of spiritual progress, it IS important to come clean with God about all the hurts and hangups in your past and ones you're struggling with. I believe it's important to take stock of what you've done with your life so far in order to make a determined effort to move on. It's a little bit like twelve-step programs: the first step is admitting you have a problem.

I *also* believe that if you indeed have a close friend who is trustworthy enough to share your deepest, darkest secrets with, it can be a healing experience. I absolutely agree that it can be beneficial to be able to talk to someone about it, rather than have a "one-sided" conversation with God.

So far, so good. I'm on board with the whole idea of sharing with someone...

... IF you actually know someone whom you trust enough. Ah... that can pose a challenge, right? But that shouldn't be a big deal, should it?

Not according to the study and to the book that I read. Their point of view is that it's IMPERATIVE that you go through this accountability exercise before you're free to move on and progress spiritually. Not just with God (which, as I said before, IS imperative, in my opinion), but with another person.

Now hold on. You're telling me that just because I don't happen to have a close and trustworthy enough friend to share this sort of thing with, I'm going to spiritually stagnate? I can't make progress in my own relationship with God until I find a fellow human to share with? I'm sorry, but I take real offense to that. It can take years to cultivate that sort of friendship, and to be told that that means I'll be treading water throughout those years is ridiculous.

One of the points the study uses to "prove" that this is the only way to go is, of course, Scripture. Specifically, James 5:16: "Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed".

Which goes back to my first point. Again, I absolutely believe that line of Scripture is meant for our benefit. I do not doubt that it can be incredibly healing and helpful to be able to share with another person. I do not doubt that it's a totally different experience than just admitting your faults to God and praying by yourself. Again I am reminded of twelve-step groups and their atmosphere of complete acceptance, non-judgmentalism and "no excuses allowed". I can't emphasize enough that I do believe in it and am in no way denigrating the notion expressed in James 5:16.

However, I don't believe that NOT doing so is going to hinder your spiritual progress. I believe that there are a number of ways to come to terms with your past, learn from it, and move on, and while involving other human beings (a la "group therapy") is an excellent way to really be honest with yourself, I don't necessarily believe that it's the ONLY way. Brushing your teeth is not going to get you into heaven, and baring your soul to a friend is not a prerequisite for having a close relationship with God.

All this blathering and nary a conclusion in sight. I guess I just wanted to rant a bit about how this study and line of thinking is just another example of human beings making their interpretation of the Bible the ironclad, singular way to go. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Ah well. Just a couple weeks more and we're done with this study. And despite my vehement disagreement with this particular portion of it, I have to admit that the study itself *does* have a lot of good, general guidelines. I just don't appreciate feeling like I'm being punished because I haven't yet formed such a close, trusting friendship with someone else. It's hard enough as is without being pushed toward it by a handful of well-meaning "Bible thumpers"!

On movie theaters and a movie-themed Friday Five

About a month ago our church decided to pull up its roots and move to another venue, with the notion of expanding. The idea on the whole is both scary and exciting, and all-around rather positive... except for the current venue. A movie theater. While at first glance that may sound really cool, and while it IS kinda cool for special, once-in-a-while occasions, it's really not all that it's cracked up to be for regular, weekly use. The one we rent every Sunday morning is really poorly suited for something like a Sunday service. It's too dark, it's too difficult to move in and out of your seats (because there is no center aisle), the floors are sticky and nasty, and it just feels plain awkward to be looking down on the stage at the pastor. And the more I go, the more strongly I feel that a theater, especially this one, is not a really ideal venue for church, especially not longer-term.

The upside is that it's close to our home, and the kids really love having Sunday school in a theater, so Todd enjoys it more than usual. That keeps me going (otherwise, I'd just stay home and listen to the sermon mp3s once they're posted on the website).

... and then I came across this post in LiveJournal's customers_suck community, and am even more convinced than ever that I *really, really* don't want to attend church in a theater... or even see a movie in it!

http://community.livejournal.com/customers_suck/28167874.html

Egad!

And if you're not too grossed out, here's a long-missed Friday Five to cap off the week of daily (weekday, anyway) posting-- woo hoo! Let's see if the trend holds ;-)

1. What’s your favorite sports movie?
2. What’s your favorite romantic comedy film?
3. What’s your favorite animated Disney movie?
4. What’s your favorite non-Disney movie musical?
5. What’s your favorite stranger-in-a-strange-land / fish-out-of-water movie?


1. Considering I don't have much interest in sports, period, I can't really think of any sports movies I've actually *watched*! I did see "Remember the Titans" on TV a couple times, and that was pretty good. Or, if cheerleading counts, then "Bring it On" is definitely one of my faves :-)

2. So hard to choose a favorite, but among my most-loved are the Meg Ryan romance comedies-- "When Harry met Sally", "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail". I'd have to pick "You've Got Mail" as my number one. I adore the characters, it really romanticizes New York City, and has an awesome soundtrack!

3. Oh this one is easy-- "Wall-E"! :-) I think I've watched it well over a dozen times just in this past one-month span :-D I'm thoroughly enchanted by M-O, the little cleaner bot.

4. Ugh. I can't stand sports, but I abhor musicals even more. I absolutely hate having the movie interrupted by a bunch of silly singing and dancing. Like that ever happens in real life. Just get on with the damn plot, already! I want to know what happens! Funny that the question asks for "non-Disney" musicals, because just about the only musical-type movie I can remotely stand ARE the Disney movies, and even then I don't find the interruptions any less annoying.

5. I'm not really sure what type of movie that is supposed to describe. But one of my number one all-time favorite movies is "The Negotiator", and I suppose it kind of fits the bill, with the negotiator assuming the role of the hostage taker in a daring effort to clear his name. Does that count? :-)

How about you?

The Great Inconsistent Sizing Conspiracy

Men have it easy. They don't succumb to female hormones. They don't deal with monthly visitors. They can pee standing up! And they can buy clothes (be it online or in a store) without having to try them on.

Unless it was for a pretty standard, no-frills piece of clothing like a plain T-shirt or sweatshirt, I dare not buy clothes online, where I do not have a chance to try them out. Allan, on the other hand, has it easy. He can buy pants because they are sized by waist and inseam, and he knows his measurements. He can buy shirts based on neck size and sleeve length. If those standard sizes don't fit, more often it's because of a change in his own physique, not because of a particular manufacturer.

Not so with women's clothing. It boggles the mind how widely and inconsistently women's sizing varies from one manufacturer to another. I can run the gamut from Small to Large, from size 4P to size 10, depending on the item of clothing and on the manufacturer. One company's size X is another company's size Y, which prevents me from ever giving a blanket answer to the question: "what size are you?" The answer is, quite honestly: "it depends". It's a tiny bit easier to estimate sizing when it's in terms of actual numbers instead of S/M/L/XL, but not much. And some brands even use ODD-numbered sizing instead of even (like Bongo jeans), giving me yet another range of numbers to keep track of :-/

Some clothing lines even accommodate differing stature among women, which is great because pants are a source of frustration for me: they either fit well but are too short, or are the right length but too loose. But even then, their versions of "tall" are inconsistent. Some are longer than others. I found this out when I ordered a pair of "tall" jeans from JCPenney, only to find them bunching around my feet, whereas the "tall" sizes in Bongo and Gloria Vanderbilt are a perfect fit.

This is true even of bras! You would figure that since bras are sized almost like men's clothing (by chest girth and cup size), it should be fairly consistent. Nope. Among varying brands I've also run the gamut from a 32 to a 38. And of course, cup sizes are never consistent because they hinge on the chest size. A 32A is not the same as a 38A (that is, assuming the latter can even be found!) There's another point: why do bra manufacturers assume that larger chest girth = larger cup size!?!? Not every flat-chested girl is a waif. Not to mention the fact that most women are asymmetrical and may need two different cup sizes at once! But that's for another rant... oh wait, I already did: http://blogs.grab.com/hellykwee/380443

So, what IS the deal with this vast inconsistency in sizing women's clothes? Is it just a conspiracy to get women to come into the stores to try on new clothes, thereby enticing them into purchasing more when they actually see it in the stores? Kinda like the impulse-purchase reason behind all the candy stocked at the checkout counters.

It is annoying, to say the least. I envy Allan's ability to pick up a shirt or pair of jeans, examine the label and then throw it into his shopping cart. No wrestling out of his clothes and shoes in a dinky little dressing room. Sigh... it's not penis envy, it's clothing-shopping envy! ;-P

It's all relative

Wasn't it Einstein who coined this anecdote to describe relativity: "Sit on a hot stove for a minute and it feels like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it feels like a minute"?

We're certainly feeling it now! For a 1-bedroom apartment, 750 square feet is nothing to sneeze at. But no matter what kind of unit, a 750-square-foot living space really isn't all that large, especially for a family of three.

Still, it took moving out and then dragging all the little things out of the apartment, plus cleaning up every nook and cranny (including stuff we don't normally touch during our weekly cleaning!) to make the place seem very, very large indeed. There seems to be a vast array of items to clear out of shelves, closets and cabinets. And the cleaning seems endless.

Nothing quite like clearing out a place completely and scrubbing it from top to bottom, to make it feel so spacious and vast and... endless.

Just a few more days, and it'll all be over, then we can relax... until it comes time to move out of and clean our new, 1000+ square-foot apartment in the distant future-- eep! Really makes me rethink the idea of getting a 2000-square-foot home, when we can barely handle living spaces half that size! ;-P

Wardrobe staples

Today's post comes from Plinky.com, a great source of little ideas for posting whenever I feel like writing but can't think of what to write. They're not always deep, thought-provoking questions, but even a short post keeps the writing juices flowing, right?

And the Plinky question I've picked for today is:
Share your wardrobe staples.

Well, anyone that knows me knows that I'm not really much for fashion. I wear what is comfortable and looks nice on me. If I'm going to fuss about something, it's going to be my hair... and even then, only because it's so unwieldy and difficult to manage.

Jeans are always good. In different colors: blue, black, brown... they are comfortable, wear well, and (the darker colors especially) can be matched with just about any top: t-shirt, polo shirt, sweater, business casual blouse; or any shoe: boots, sneakers, flip-flops, high-heels.

Another staple is a good, warm vest. They are such a nice way to keep warm without having to deal with the bulk of a jacket or sweater. Now... if only I could convince my son of the same thing! :-P

One staple I've recently discovered is a skirt. I picked up a nice black skirt over the summer to wear at Old Spanish Days Fiesta. And while it fits the "Old Spanish" theme nicely, it is also generic enough for me to wear every day, not just during Fiesta. The material is a nice, thin cotton that breathes really well and stays surprisingly cool in the summer, yet keeps me fairly warm in cooler weather. I've never been much for wearing skirts before, but this little piece is really turning me on to wearing it more often! :-)

And finally, I always have to have a nice comfy pair of sweatpants to wear around the house. Jeans may be comfy enough for wearing to the office all day long, but not comfy enough to lounge around the house in.

With this cold weather descending on us, and the new apartment staying as cold as it does, I'll have to soon add "Snuggie" to my list of essentials. Wait-- does that actually count as part of my "wardrobe"? Hmm, considering that I'll probably be using ("wearing"?) it frequently, maybe it does ;-) Time to go shopping this weekend!

How about you? What are your essentials?

Internetless weekend of moving and other things

Despite being internetless all weekend (we won't get hooked up at our new place till Wednesday), I surprisingly haven't undergone too many withdrawal symptoms. I was too busy this past weekend enjoying the new place and reading quietly.

Ah yes, the new place. Saturday morning the movers arrived to haul the furniture and other heavy stuff from our old apartment (including the computer) to the new one. We spent the rest of the day arranging it and putting other little stuff away. And we got to spend our very first night in our new place!

First observation: it gets COLD in there. Whereas our old apartment usually stayed at a comfortable 78 degrees and never dipped below 70 unless you left the windows wide open all night on a winter night, this new place barely got *above* 70... during the day. When we woke up on Sunday morning, it was a shivering 61 degrees, and every window and door had been shut tight all day! The good news is that come summer, it'll be nice and cool. Unfortunately, Santa Barbara gets more cold days than it does scorching hot days, so our gas bill is certainly going up :-/

As I said, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I didn't really miss not being able to get online. I was either too busy to worry about it, or found myself enjoying being able to relax on a real couch (not a futon!) for the first time since Allan and I have been together, and just reading quietly while Allan watched DVDs on his laptop in the other room. Bliss!

Sunday was a lost day, as we were in church in the morning and then off to a baby shower in the afternoon. 3 of the couples in our small group are expecting babies within a month of each other, starting in January. Today was the first baby shower. Having just had Todd over 5 years ago, I knew that practical items would be the most useful when the baby actually arrives. So our presents were the most boring, unglamorous of them all: packages of onesies, a pack of diapers, and a basket of bath items. More than that, I remember the one thing I really appreciated about my sister-in-law's baby gifts: she had thought ahead and gotten us *bigger* clothes. Figuring that the expecting couple would be lavished with all sorts of newborn outfits, I made sure the onesies and the diapers were larger, so they'd have something onhand when the baby outgrew them.

Of course, with my usual unimaginative self, I got all 3 couples the exact same thing. Now that the first shower is done with, I guess the next two couples won't be surprised when they see my present :-/

It's funny how people react when they learn that your friends and peers are having babies. This led to a lot of queries to the other couples in our small group who do not yet have children: When are you going to have kids? One of them even received a box of his old children's books from his mother-- a hint? ;-) And although Allan and I already have a kid, we aren't spared from the questioning, either. It's just that the question is slightly modified: When are you having a *second* kid? ;-)

Back to the grind. We still have stuff to move out of our old apartment-- mostly bathroom stuff, kitchen stuff, and miscellany stuffed into the closet throughout the year. Then there is the cleaning of the place-- gotta make sure it's in tip-top shape before we turn over the keys by Friday! I can't wait for next weekend-- we can sleep in and do NOTHING, now that we don't have to worry about hauling stuff and cleaning :-) That's the kind of weekend I like!

Resolutions

So, Tabitha is starting a bucket list of her own-- the fad in question happens to be "101 things to accomplish in 1001 days". Much too ambitious for me-- by the time I could come up with 101 things to do, I'd be halfway through my 1001 days ;-P

But I have decided that there is one thing that I would like to start getting in the habit of doing (and no, it's not blogging more often-- I think I've beaten that one to death, and hey-- so far, not so bad. Not quite everyday, but maybe I'll get there. And even a constant few times per week isn't too awful, is it?)

Go to bed earlier.

I hear my fellow internet-addicts laughing out there.

Now, the thing is-- I normally don't go to bed till around midnight. And that means getting settled INTO bed at midnight, reading a book for a little while and then conking out, usually at 1:00am. The main reason for this is Todd. It's a twofold reason:

1. He isn't dry at night yet. So he wears diapers to bed. But he urinates enough during the night that he'd fill up a regular diaper to overflowing if left on for the entire 10 hours he's in bed. So, about 1/3 of the way through the night I have to change him. Since I typically put him to bed around 8:30pm, this means changing him around midnight. You get the drift-- change him any earlier than that and it does no good, as the diaper is still fairly empty, and whatever I put on him will be the one to overflow.

2. Todd never gets enough to drink at school, and this is compounded by the fact that he's away from us from 8am to 5pm everyday. By evening he is clearly dehydrated. So the only times we can really make sure he gets enough to drink is in the evening. Well, if he goes to bed by 8pm, that really only leaves 2-3 hours within which to pump him full of his daily allotment of liquids. Which, going back to #1, means a fuller diaper at night because we can't always get him to drink it all early enough before bedtime that he would be able to let it all out in the toilet before going to bed.

Anyway... it makes it really hard to go to bed much earlier than midnight.

But now Todd is starting to get by on less sleep, so I can put him to bed an hour later than I usually do. This helps us regulate his "catch-up" drinking in the now-longer evening. Plus, I normally wake up about 3-4 hours after falling asleep, anyway. I shuffle to the bathroom, get a drink of water, and check on the boy, who has usually kicked off his covers by then. Now this "midnight shuffle", as I call it, can coincide with the time I normally have to change Todd's diaper. Which means I can get to bed earlier.

Nothing drastic, mind you. I'd be happy with going to bed just one hour earlier, say, by 11pm, and winding down with a book and falling asleep just around midnight. That's a whole extra hour of sleep, and that can make all the difference in the world!

So... let this be my "1 for the rest of my life" little drop in the bucket list-- to get to bed early each night.

It's 10pm now. Most of the evening chores are done. I can even relax a little, provided I pry myself away from the computer ASAP! Let's see if I can keep up this trend! And let's see how that translates to my overall health and productivity during the day! :-)

Moving, part 2

Okay, so my attempt at writing more frequently isn't off to a good start, but this time I have a good excuse-- my computer is sitting on the floor, and that isn't very ergonomically correct. Why is it on the floor? Because this weekend we took apart the desk that it normally sits on and took it to the new apartment.

Hard to believe that it was only a summer ago that we first moved from our cramped, 400-sq-ft 1-bedroom apartment in family student housing (which was built in the 1950s) to the spacious, modern, 750-sq-ft 1-bedroom apartment (built in 2003) near work. I blogged about it here not long after we moved in. It was exciting to be able to stretch out in our new place and have room to move about it, especially in the kitchen!

Since then, Todd grew and we added a twin bed to the bedroom, moving the queen bed closer to the wall to make room for it. Other than that, the original layout has changed little.

After a while, though, things started feeling cramped again, and after resigning ourselves to waiting a while longer so we could save up more money after our toe-dipping into the house-buying pond, we decided we might as well stretch out a little more and upgrade to a 2-bedroom in the same complex. We ended up scoring a really nice deal on a unit that's in the building right next to ours. According to Allan, the front doors are only 100 steps apart.

This marks our 5th in-town move together, and as we always do with such moves, our leases overlap by about a week or so, allowing us to gradually move into the new place-- taking a few boxes of things from the current place to the new place, and then bringing the handful of empty boxes back to be reused for the next trip. It's really convenient to be able to spread out the moving in several short trips-- and it's handy not to have to hunt around for dozens of moving boxes. It also makes the rest of the move cheaper-- for when we hire movers to move our big furniture, that's ALL they are moving (no boxes of little stuff) and it goes much faster.

We spent this weekend hauling stuff over. All the desks are at the new place. Half the clothes and almost half the books are, too. A few more storage boxes and the rest of the books and other odds and ends lying around the house and we'll soon be ready for the movers to haul our beds, TV, bookshelves and washer & dryer from one building to the next.

And, as we always do with our moves, we take the measurements of the floorplan of the new place and then arrange our furniture on it to best optimize the space. Last year I discovered we could do it online instead of painstakingly drawing it out on graph paper. This year I discovered that you could simply upload a picture of the floorplan, set its scale and stick furniture on that image. Here is our current plan for laying out the furniture in our new place (as you can tell from comparing it to the old one, we've since acquired a dining table and are expecting delivery of a new couch and extra bookshelf tomorrow):



Click on the image for a larger view.

Oh yes, and THIS time, I finally managed to take pictures of the apartment empty. Now I just have to take pics of the place when we're all settled in, and I can post a before-and-after series.

When don't kids wear you out?

It's the darndest thing. Yesterday morning Allan left to go see his Dad in the hospital in LA. Which meant that I was on my own that evening and this morning. Normally I'm already pretty worn out by 9pm, just getting everything done: shower the kid, feed him, get his homework done, do reading, practice karate, put him to bed, plus getting his lunch and uniform ready for the next morning, tidying up the kitchen, taking my own shower... and that's with Allan helping with some of the chores.

Not last night. Nor the last time, 2 months ago, when I had Todd to myself while Allan spent the night in San Bernardino. Oh, I was tired, but strangely enough, not only was I not MORE tired (because I didn't have hubby around to divide the work), but I actually felt LESS tired than I normally do on weeknights. Why is that?

Well, I've observed that when Allan is around, Todd goes nuts. He's a pretty active kid to begin with, but for some reason, he seems a lot calmer when he's just with me. There have been many a time when I've spent a nice (relatively) quiet day with him, only to have Daddy come home and the energy levels ramp up about 1000%. Whereas we often have to remind him about ten times to do something, when he's just with me it seems like I'm only repeating myself 5 times. And it's no wonder I'm so worn out at the end of the day-- it gets tiring, chasing after a human cyclone that could give the Tasmanian Devil a run for its money!

But then that begs the question of WHY Todd gets more hyper when Allan joins the fray.
Here's my theory: testosterone poisoning. Yes, yes, I know-- all men suffer from it, but I think those hormones waft through the air and get absorbed. You know how women who live in close proximity to one another tend to have their monthly cycles sync up? Well, I think it's a similar effect, only with testosterone. Why else would Todd go nuts everytime Daddy arrives on the scene? ;-)

The upside of all this is that I actually get to enjoy having my little boy to myself at times, rather than being too worn out to have fun with him. Hm, perhaps I should send Allan away more often ;-)

Does anyone else notice a similar effect with their kids/kids they've observed?

Okay, trying again...

Back in September I had every intention of blogging more often. I was feeling inspired, had some ideas of what I wanted to write about beyond the usual "Helly's monthly updates" and was only lacking in time. Before I knew it, October had flashed by, and here I sit, over a month later and nary a blog post written. Even Todd's baby diary is woefully out of date (but at least I have all the notes jotted down on a sticky, waiting to be transcribed onto electronic form!)

I realized that it had turned into a vicious cycle. A few days after I posted my last blog entry, I was teeming with ideas, and put them aside because I couldn't find a chunk of time to write. When I *did* find some time, I realized that the mood had passed, and that I would have more to make up for it, which in turn only fed my reluctance to actually *start*. And there started the cycle-- stop writing, feel guilty about it, feel overwhelmed by all the updates I want to post, postpone writing, begin cycle anew...

There is some truth to keeping the "wheels oiled" by writing everyday, or at least with frequent regularity, even if I don't think I have anything to write about. It gets (and more importantly, KEEPS) the creative juices flowing.

So, here I am, trying to start afresh. Maybe I should start some kind of "blog accountability" group with one or more folks, kind of like people do with diets and exercise-- keep each other accountable for writing regularly. Anyone interested? ;-)

And, to cap it all off, another one of my "postponed for so long it's crammed into one long rambling entry" updates:
Todd is adjusting well to first grade. He's enjoying school and even his after-school care program has so few kids that he gets pretty individualized attention. He and I visited my parents over Halloween weekend, where he dressed as a pumpkin and got to enjoy his first-ever trick-or-treat adventure, casing all the houses I used to visit when I was a kid. It was great seeing all our old neighbors again and catching up.

We took a venture into the housing market in October, working with a realtor and looking at homes. Next thing we knew, we'd put in an offer on one, but then financing didn't work out as well as we'd initially hoped. So now we're upgrading from a 1-bedroom to a 2-bedroom in the same apartment complex. Gives us room to stretch out and still save money.

Our church decided to expand from its building to a bigger venue, so right now we're meeting at a local movie theater. I don't really like it-- I think a theater (especially the one we're in) is a poor setting for something like a Sunday service-- hard to see, hard to move around in, too dark. At least it's just temporary, or so I hear, anyway. The upside to it is that this theater is much closer to our apartment! :-)

Santa Barbara is truly a small world-- a couple weekends ago we enjoyed a "Parents' Night Out" which our church sponsors every month. In October the kids enjoy a Harvest Party while the parents go out to dinner. Last year it was all church parents. This year, since we've opened a preschool, it was mainly preschool parents, the majority of which don't go to (our) church. So it was nice getting to meet some new parents... including one that works at Citrix Online, too! How about that! ;-)

Allan's uncle unfortunately passed away a couple weeks ago from complications due to the H1N1 virus. The media may overhype it (as it tends to do), but when it hits this close to home, you gotta admit that maybe all that attention is warranted. Our little family has gotten over its own bout with colds/seasonal flu last month.... just in time to get well and get free flu shots at work. So far, so good! Fingers crossed it stays that way the rest of the winter.

The remainder of this month promises to be busy. We pick up the keys to our new place on Friday, and two weeks after that we have to vacate our old place, so the next 2 weeks will be a flurry of moving (since we're moving to the building next door, it should be relatively easy to move a few boxes of stuff each day-- Todd's wagon should get plenty of use!) and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning! Then comes the Thanksgiving holiday and wouldn't you know it-- the last month of the year shall soon be upon us!

Let's see how many entries I get written between now and then, eh! ;-)