tuesday {or wednesday, rather, but it felt like a tuesday}

Apparently Will & Tuesday are permanently attached to one another in my mind.
I labelled this post Tuesday.
But it wasn't.
It was Wednesday.
Boy, I'm easily thrown off!

----------------------
today i started reading Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano
i ordered it online
used, because that's greener, right?

i'm totally hooked. i love Sophie's style
her approach to going green
it doesn't have to be all or nothing
every little bit counts
we can all find ways to reuse, recycle, buy greener, be healthier
[without living on 100% solar power, wearing our hemp clothes that we handwash and line dry three times a year]
there's a happy medium
start slowly
maintain
be mindful

it fits in with what i'm doing with Be-Fit
feels like a lot of things are coming full circle right now
good stuff!

this quote totally rocked my world this morning
i felt like i was reading something i had written... or had thought and somehow it had leapt out onto a page:

this would be a good mantra, a manifesto:

"I want to walk around with my head high, feeling proud of all the choices I am making. I want to be a woman who takes care of myself and the world around me. I want to have self-respect and a great body! I want to live my deepest core values and look totally gorgeous. I want each year to get even better as I grow older. I want to become kinder, wiser, and more beautiful, and I want to see this reflected in the world around me. I want my hair to shine, my skin to glow, and my heart to sing. I want it all."


well, here's one bit of my life that makes my heart sing

love that smile
those cheeks! he's the cutest

shirt says-
little kid
big noise

so true
although he's very willing to play the whisper game. if you whisper, he'll whisper back. mucho cuteness




the fishy face is still fairly new and he's totally hooked on it
i tried to do it with him a few times and my cheeks are still sore
guess he's got young, fit muscles!










here's my attempt
managed not to laugh
which, amazingly is much easier with no one watching us
unlike when i tried this with his mom on new years eve
right guys? ;)













even while jumping, and dancing, and bopping his head around....
still with the fishy face
think its a sign that he's ready for pool season!! :)








another favorite lately
pulling
on
my
hair

he loves it
most of the time he doesn't pull too hard
which is why he can get away with it



silly times :)


a new toy!! uncle danny donated his old work cell phones to will's play stash he liked it we were saying "lalalalalalala" into the phone he was pretending to talk :) its all about mimicing these days!

shoes
and
feet

he loves them
he was thrilled to get his hands on my new sneaks
in fact he rolled all the way across the livingroom to get his hands on them

yep,
you're busted little dude :)




and probably the ultimate game right now
patty cake
he especially loves
ROLL IT












{{still rolling}}}















and PAT IT

photo overload

but you don't mind. right?

we finally have doors
such a small thing
makes such a big difference

this is the spare bedroom
finally it was worth taking a picture in there
for months and months it has been nothing but yellow paint and floors in there


even more exciting
the closet is DONE
dan worked his butt off
and you can totally tell

the left side is mine
marked by the shoe rack on the bottom
it looks small but a lot of my flats will fit under there and be tucked away
taller shoes will find their home on top
now, what may you ask will i do with the rest of my shoes? {yes, boys, we girls always have far more shoes than will fit on 2 measly shelves} well, see the large bottom section of the space between our 'sides'? that is where my basket-boxes of shoes (yes, 2 of them) will live. right now i have those containers live on either side of my dresser and they hold flip flops, sneakers and crocs. shoes that can be tossed around and not look any worse for the wear. the system works, and they're hidden from view. figured i'd stick with it.

now to the kitchen

small changes here

but if you look over the microwave and those cabinets

where there was once a tube-like thing snaking out through the roof, there is now a nice little box of wood to conceal it.

here's the close up

*** New Riley Picture Alert***

i visited on sunday {april 27}

riley slept most of the time

but we rocked and hung out

when she woke up she was hungry

so as much as jeff was trying to play

and i was trying to take pictures

you can't get in the way of nature :)

hungry little girl

and last night, riley got to meet grammy {her great-grammy} for the first time

she flew in from florida and headed right over

this is riley

with gram

and great-gram

so sweet

i think gram only gave her up to let her feed! :)

riley seemed just as interested to take a look at this new lady in her life
scoping it out

learning new faces

it was a nice night

watching baseball

and american idol

playing with the baby

and catching up

my vacuum sucks

and i love it!!!
i bought this beauty on friday afternoon
got me a killer deal at kohls
{which has landed me $90 in kohls cash
to spend on other things this week}


i carted it around in my trunk
showed it off to krissy and will
the boy literally squealed as i opened the hatch
coincidence?
perhaps.
either way. i was excited enough to squeal too :)


i hoofed it up the steps to my apartment
and marveled at it for a few minutes late on fri night
but was resigned to the fact that i didn't have time to open it up
or read the manual
or (dread) put it together
so there it sat
waiting patiently for me
like a present on christmas


saturday i spent the day at the Crop Shop
doing demos for eager scrappers
at a-week-early National Scrapbooking Day event
then i spent the afternoon and early evening
working on some fun projects i haven't had time to do lately


sunday was the day
to open up that box
{but first i had to exercise and get coffee- which seemed like
a no brainer combo
only 20 minutes of walking, but hey it was raining on me.
at least i got outside}
i threw in some laundry, cleaned up some of the excess clutter so i could actually SEE more of the carpet than normal
and then i tore in


at first i was worried that i couldn't figure it out. that handle/nozzle thing is tricky
but really freakin' cool once you figure it out
i vacuumed the livingroom and marveled at the dust and gunk that came out of the carpet
really cool
really nasty
really fun


i got through the livingroom and bedroom
took out the laundry
and took a break

i went to visit little riley
almost 3 weeks old
still a peanut of about 7lbs

we rocked for about an hour while i chatted with jeff
she woke up to feed and i tried to snap a few pictures
but she wasn't too thrilled about that
so we called it quits and i headed out


headed to the house to help dan with some cleaning
the doors to the cellar, bathroom and bedrooms are all hung
but need to be poly-ed
so i vacuumed there
shop vac
so old-school
far less thrilling
but it needed to be done


at home sunday night i actually managed to clean up and vacuum
the spare room /
dan's room/
scrap room
there must have been 1 million pits of paper on that floor
but no more!!! it looks great

all in all

a great weekend

hope you had a good one too!

lunch break

a few more reasons why walking outside at lunch is a wonderful idea
{a glimpse of the scenery along the Charles River}




have a great weekend
get outside and take a walk
enjoy the sunshine
breathe in the fresh air

speaking of all things green

Continuing with my ongoing Green Theme (and trying to make up for my lack of earth-conscious posting on Earth Day), here are some links that I've found useful in trying to make my own life a little more Green.

Laundry

article on store-bought green laundry detergent and high efficiency washers http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2007/09/24/index.html

laundry detergent- homemade http://modcottage.com/?p=117

Mail/shopping

take your name of catalog lists- this is great, I just did this this week
https://www.catalogchoice.org/dashboard

to stop the delivery of phone book (who uses it anyways?!)
http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/index.html

info on buying from places that are environment friendly
http://www.betterworldshopper.org/

link to their book:
http://www.amazon.com/Better-World-Shopping-Guide-Difference/dp/0865715769/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208881739&sr=1-1/http://www.amazon.com/Lorax-Classic-Seuss-Dr/dp/0394823370/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208881583&sr=1-2/emilyfalcobri-20

Cleaning

green cleaning recipes
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/8088/clngrn.html

a cool starter kit {but I think its just overpriced because its cute}
http://store.eco-me.com/echoclkit.html

articles and studies on green cleaning/products/environmental issues
http://www.grist.org/topic/green_cleaning

review of green cleaning products: http://grist.org/advice/products/2008/03/25/index.html

7th Generation Coupons- http://www.seventhgeneration.com/coupons

General

I have only peeked at one or two of these, but could be interesting
http://www.bestgreenblogs.com/

I hope to keep adding to this list. Hope its helpful :)

sunny thoughts

things that make me happy this morning--

*not rushing to get ready for work this morning
*dunkin donuts latte from "my" store, finally open after about two weeks of renovations
*my mp3 player was selecting some of my favorite tunes this morning for my T-ride to work. sometimes shuffle really works to my advantage
* the sun pressing its warmth on my face
*wearing clothes i remember wearing within the past few weeks and knowing they are bigger

other fun tid-bits from the week--

• kim and i are working hard at the gym. three days of weights behind us. training w/ steve for the second time this week. legs. ouchie.
• splurged last night and met matt, krissy, will and rachel at the border cafe in cambridge. only had 1 fajita but extra chicken. mmmm. got to play with the little dude, since kris has vacation and i didn't babysit on tuesday. great convo. great friends. great food. great night.
• need to book our airfare to Daytona for July. leslie emailed me this week to say that Cheryl's husband and kids have offered to teach us to surf while we're there. for some reason i'm obsessed with the idea {yes, me, who cannot get her ears wet}. totally motivating me this week to Be Fit. Eat Healthy. It's my choice. And i'm trying to choose right :)
• went to jordan's on monday night. bought lots of furniture. so now its time to cheer harder than ever for the sox. if they sweep the world series we get everything but the ottoman and entertainment center for free. zero. zippo. cross every limb you've got.

inspiration

on an-almost daily basis i check various scrap/creativity blogs

i love it

its the best part of my day somedays

so here's a little shout out to the things i peek at

for inspiration

for a smile

a pick-me-up

these beautiful bits of creativity belong to:

• ali edwards
• jamie waters
• elizabeth kartchener
• tracy austin
• kal barteski
• donna downey
• layle koncar
• kelli crowe
• keisha campbell
• elsie flanagan

not that i've scrapped lately, but i enjoy keeping my brain active! i love finding new ideas, new color combos, new topics and storylines.

thanks for the inspiration ladies.

fuzzy furniture

ok the furniture's not fuzzy- the pictures are

for some reason i always think i'll get yelled at {or looked at funny} if i take pictures in a store
so this is me undercover at jordan's

this is the bed for our master bedroom

i love love love it!

very simple

love the tone of the wood

and the best part

which of course i failed to take a picture of

on the left side there are 3 HUGE drawers

(think blanket & pillow storage)

on the right side there are 6 drawers

(think sheets, towels, pjs and my book)

love this bed!!

now for bed #2

spare room

this headboard/footboard

not in this color

in this color

with these brushed nickel knobs

that i like much much better

than....

these ugly, shiny knobs

two drawers on each side

= lots of storage for guest linens

AND less places for dust bunnies to get caught

me= happy camper

and now to the livingroom

this is the ottoman

not in this color

the color we're getting is called cappucino

somehow i forgot to take pictures of the sectional

oops

tonight we're supposed to go back to pick out a mattress and actually PURCHASE this beautiful furniture! :) hooray

show and tell

not a lot of show and tell lately

but here's a little bit

outside, the trees set to be cut down

all 19 of them

are tagged with orange paint

the crew should be in this week to chop them down

this is one of those things i simply can't picture

its going to look a LOT different but beyond that

i can't even imagine it

let the sunshine in

inside the major project has been

the master closet

dan and i spent hours trying to

design them online

and then he drew a few out on paper

until it finally felt like we had it right

but it so cool to actually see it coming to fruition

talk about craftsmanship

the cedar is beautiful

not quite as orangy as it looks in the photo

my side on the left

his on the right

i can't wait to fill it up!

the other exciting part of the weekend {for me} was the research and purchasing of some new cleaning supplies. yes, you read that right. no, i don't thoroughly enjoy cleaning. yes, i do procastinate quite a bit sometimes, but at least for now i'm psyched. i've decided that now that we have the space and opportunity i'm taking advantage and going green. its time. way overdue. i've been talking about this since i was 12 (maybe younger). and there have always been a million reasons why recycling and doing my part just haven't been convenient. but that stops now.

i've done a ton of research {and enjoyed every minute}
i'd like to make at least most of my own cleaners but i'm not quite there yet, only because i haven't had the time and stuff needed to get cleaned. but i've found some great, not too expensive, effective, all natural, chemical free cleaning products that have worked really well on the construction zone of a house i set out to clean on saturday morning. i even found dye-free, all natural laundry detergent that works well in high efficiency washing machines! jackpot!

the way i figure it, even for purely selfish reasons, it only make sense. everything that goes down the drain ends up going through the septic system and out into the land. i don't need to send chemicals flushing right along when there are easy alternative. nor do i need to breathe in those fumes or let it seep into my skin while scrubbing. and then of course there are the millions of reasons why we should all be doing our part to make sure we don't totally destroy this beautiful planet.

good information:

green cleaning articles http://www.grist.org/topic/green_cleaning

green cleaning recipes http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/8088/clngrn.html

green cleaning kit http://store.eco-me.com/echoclkit.html

(still debating whether to purchase this or not. a bit hefty, though i do love those easy to use, cute bottles)

sick of getting a phone book when you know full well you're never going to use it? take your name off the list! http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/index.html

Update time

update time
its been awhile
I'm long overdue

be fit...
is going well!
mid-week 7
the stats (as of week 6):

I've lost almost 6lbs

I've lost 2" off my waist & 1/2" off my hips

I've lost 2% body fat

I feel like its finally noticeable- in my face, my stomach… my arms, legs and abs all feel stronger. Kim and I are in a good groove for lifting weights, motivating eachother, walking, eating right. Even more incentive now that its spring. I'm really enjoying the program and will be sad when it ends (even though I certainly will continue on). Just think how thin I could be after another 10 weeks! :)

difficult aspects of be fit that I'm feeling now- finding the time. there are rarely enough hours in the day. I'm trying to find the mix of what's reasonable and sustainable while also really pushing myself to do more, become stronger and try harder.

the house
dan has been doing a fantastic job on the house (of course). the new potrack has been installed above the island, and the new shampoo/soap dispensers went up in the shower. next he's starting on the master closet (after many hours of planning and design).

19 trees are due to be cut down very soon
making way for a lot of lovely sunshine to fill the house with warmth
and making way for the well that needs to be installed

we need to buy some furniture this week, or we'll be enjoying the sunshine that floods through the windows on the hard, wood floors :)

and I've been scouring the internet looking for all natural cleaning recipes and organic, green cleaners so that we can start fresh in the house. this is one of the things I am most looking forward to. I'll update later with some of the great things I've found, but there are so many easy ways to use all natural products instead of filling our house with chemicals. I'm all for that.

work
haven't talked about work in awhile
I am loving my job in the systems improvement department
I've started taking on new projects that are really interesting and challenging
some stuff I'm working on
-coordinating the installation of ceiling lifts in the patient care rooms
-working on noise reduction efforts. its really noisy here, that's no secret, but we have to do something about it. this is a big challenge, but I'm up for it
-improving communication between nurses and other clinicians and support staff
-and of course some more CBeds stuff. new technology as well as how we can make the most out of the technology we have.

a baby kinda day

what a good day today work was good productive energizing i managed my first ceiling lift installation plan on the fly all in one afternoon, and still left in time to get home to babysit

i walked out of work right at 3:30 the sun was shining and after the 27 degree temperatures this morning the high 50's felt wonderful i left thinking, 'thank goodness its beautiful outside. i'm going to call krissy and ask her if i can take will for a walk today'

i walk up to the T platform
and i have a voicemail
its kris saying
'its beautiful outside
would you like to take will for a walk today?
i think you don't get to go to the gym
on tuesdays because you're here
so if you want to take him out
i'm sure he'd love it too.
let me know and i'll take out the stroller'


and this is why we're best friends
great minds think alike
i love you kris!


so will and i set out for our first walking adventure
it was a bit chilly
and i forgot how much the sidewalks around their house
stink, thank goodness that jeep stroller
is all terrain!!
i didn't think will was enjoying it all that much
but looking back
i think it was just that he was falling asleeeeeeeeeeeeep
by the time we got home, he was completely zonked out
so cute
red sox jacket scrunched up
red sox hat down over his face
in total dreamland

he woke up and wasn't quite sure whether
he was still sleepy or ready to play
so he did a little of both
and of course he had to ham it up for the camera
he's a total pro
i whip out the camera
he whips out that stellar smile :)

we sang
we snapped
we clapped
we played patty cake
when he wants to play again
he'll clap my hands together to get the ball rolling
smart kid!

i left around 7:00
picked up salads
from Abington House
and went to Jeff and Melissa's
for the second stop on my
South Shore Baby Tour

Riley is doing well
she had an appointment today
to make sure the jaundice
was clearing itself up
and thankfully it is

She had just eaten when I arrived
and was sleepy
Jeff and I tried to get her to wake up a bit
but she wasn't having too much of it
so we just hung out
love cuddling with that little soft ball of pinkness

stark contrast to mr. rough and tumble here --->
bringing a little balance to my life
or at least my tuesdays!

night kiddies

Welcome Riley! Sox Home Opener! Good Day! :)

Riley Rose Lassonde

my first niece

was born on Tuesday April 8th 2008 at 2:30am

weighing 6 lbs 12 oz

measuring 19 inches long

and cute as can be

so tiny

so beautiful

welcome to this crazy world little one


there are so many people who love you
including me

i'm auntie jen

we'll teach you how to say that in a few months
until then you just chill
grow up big and strong
and give us lots of hugs and kisses



this is pepere and grammy

look how happy they are :)

it must be said that you were born on Opening Day of Fenway 2008

your dad's got his Daisuke tshirt on

we'll get you your gear very soon

don't worry about that!

and none of that pink nonsense

you'll have enough pink in your life

you can wear true Red Sox colors

like the rest of us

gotta start you out on the right foot

it was great watching the beginning of the game with you

and now to a little guy who was all geared up for the game

i watched the second half of the game with my nephew

what a great day!!!

oh- and the Red Sox won!

ok technically you're not even allowed to watch the game

but it worked out well

we were having so much fun

that you didn't even care

that the television was on

i think this was the one peek you snuck

guess you like Sweet Caroline!

good taste little man

happy first opening day

to both of you!

love,

auntie jen