We’re pregnant!
March 2009 we will be welcoming our second baby. After Ace’s first birthday we decided to start trying for numero dos. We asked Ace if she wanted a little brother or sister and she said “Bwa bwa, cat, mama.” That means “Yes!”
Amanda’s about six weeks along and is already getting her preggo super powers: faster than a speeding locomotive as she goes to the bathroom for the 20th time, can go from zero to nauseated in four seconds flat, able to smell what the neighbors are cooking for dinner - four houses down.
(We are praying that this time around the powers will fade before week 20)
An eventful weekend:
- Amanda ran a 5K on Saturday, and we filmed another episode of The Mom Crowd Show (out tomorrow)
- Mom and Dad start RFCK today. Mom’s the “camp nurse” and Dad’s a counselor.
- “Hi, my name is Daniel and I play WoW“. “Hi, Daniel”. Last week Barb was over and mentioned JD was probably home playing WoW. I’m a Warcraft/Starcraft fan from way back, and when JD told me that the game has a Mac version, I couldn’t resist. I was up playing till 2:30 a.m. this morning…..Old obsessions return easy and with vigor! I once lost a college semester to Starcraft II, let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself
Over the past week Daniel and I have been collecting free and cheap stuff. All of it we either wanted or have been needing.
For example, our dishwasher broke about 9 months ago. Instead of spending money on new one we bought a $12 drying rack at Ikea. However, our dishes usually look like this:
Late one night I was looking at the free stuff section on Craigslist and I saw that someone put out a working dishwasher in front of their house about three minutes away. Daniel hopped into his car and found that it was still there. Unfortunately, he couldn’t lift it by himself nor fit it into the trunk of his Mustang convertible. So Daniel called his Dad at 11:30 p.m. to drive out with his truck and pick up our new-to-us dishwasher.
Hopefully with a little cleaning the dishwasher will work and Daniel can get a break from the dishes. I help dry and put away, but he does most of the dishes. I am totally spoiled.
Earlier in the day our neighbors across the street put out a fan. Daniel went and got it and knocked on the door to find out if it worked. Apparently, they just upgraded but nothing is wrong with the fan. It will go well in our guest bedroom, where in the past we have had to bring in a box fan for guests. This one will be nice when it is up.
You may notice the wood in the background of the photo above. Daniel has plans to build a box to keep under the deck in the back to store the lawnmower. He got a lot of free scrap wood from a lady on Craigslist that was moving. His parents brought him more wood from a dumpster at a house being constructed in their neighborhood. Hopefully, all this wood will turn into something useful. Daniel organized it all after I took this photo.
Last week I also got this toy shelf on Craigslist for $12. With all the bins this shelf retails at $60. We want to transform our “library” in the front room into a toy room for Annabelle.
On Friday I came across this jogging stroller at a garage sale in my neighborhood. I have really been wanting one, but just couldn’t justify the cost. The sticker on it said $30, but I only had $20 in my purse and Daniel encouraged me to haggle. So I went up to the lady and asked if she would take $20 and her response was “Sold!” The inner tubes needed to be replaced and that cost us $12 for all three tires and Daniel fixed the brake for me. We tested it out tonight and it worked great!
Finally, my most favorite find on Craigslist. I would like for you to meet “Jane.” She is an older iBook G4 and she is beautiful. We found her for $450 from a guy about 30 minutes away. She wasn’t being loved and needed a good home. Now I can work downstairs while Annabelle runs around and plays. Also, I am not bugging Daniel in the office while he works. It is very difficult for Daniel to work while Annabelle is pulling on wires and being really dang cute. (According to the guy in the TED video women have more connectors in their brain that enable them to multi-task and men are missing those extra connectors and can’t multi-task.) He says this is the best $450 bucks he has ever spent.
For $494 dollars we got a used Apple laptop, dishwasher, ceiling fan, shelf with toy bins, jogging stroller, and bunch of wood. Not too shabby.
Today is the release day of the iPhone 3G. The Apple store touts the phone as “Twice as fast, half the price.” Now I am an Apple fanboy and we now have 3 Macs in our house (I’ll let Amanda share her news). I do know that having an affinity for things Apple comes at a price. Entry level for a Mac is considerably higher than for a Windows machine. This being the case, when Apple proclaims “half the price” the frugal gland in me starts spasming (sorry for that mental image).
Half the price? Really? If you remember the phrase, “There is no free lunch” you will go far. Whether it’s that “free” TV you get for going to see a condo, airline miles, brownie points, or whatever it is, nothing is free.
The same is true with the iPhone. Although the entry point for the 3G is $199 where the first-gen iPhone was $399, there is no pricing renaissance happening here. As Gizmodo points out, the new iPhone is really more expensive than it’s predecessor:
For us, we would have to go with the cheapest family plan, which would raise our monthly mobile phone budget from $100 per month, to $160 per month! Plus, we would loose our unlimited text messaging. Where did all that savings go?
The Joy of Tech came out with a humorous yet thought provoking comic about this topic (click to see it):
The financial adviser in the comic points out the power of compound interest and the effect that seemingly small amounts of money have over time. The numbers in the comic are a little far fetched, but the message is still solid.
The point of all of this isn’t to bash the iPhone. (Our contract with T-Mobile is up in a month, and we will consider switching when we have our August budget meeting.)
The point is that we shouldn’t get caught up in marketing hype or gadget envy. Your thing may not be tech gadgets, but what about clothes, housewares, or things with a motor?
Before making big purchases we should not think “how much a month”, but we should think “how much”.
Since Netflix knows we love documentaries, it put this documentary, “The Future We Will Create: Inside the World of TED” on our queue. We haven’t had a good run of movies lately with “Into the Wild” and “Rocket Science” being total duds. This, however, was a nice change.
The documentary is hosted by Daphne Zuniga (you may remember her from Melrose place or Princess Vespa in Spaceballs) who attends the 2006 TED conference and reports on what it’s all about and who is there. TED.org states “The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).” I can’t even begin to list who attended, but if you’re a techie/geek you’ll know all of them and be wowed.
When I was in GT class in elementary school we were given an assignment that was something along the lines of: Design a “future city” complete with housing, public services, transportation, recreation, and work areas and describe how the people will live in your city. We didn’t have to worry about being graded or fulfilling a checklist, but simply think and be creative without bounds. I remember this assignment because I had a blast brainstorming my city and building a model of it. My classmates and I had a sense of excitement and motivation that was unencumbered by those hurdles we place around ourselves as adults - being practical or realistic. Just make the future as you see fit.
As I watched this documentary, I recalled those childhood feelings in a sort of vicarious way through the lecturers and attendees as they envisioned what the future would be. But these are not children making models, they are adults with the talent, resources and drive to make their visions reality.
Amanda pointed out that to the viewer, this documentary is encouraging because it empowers you with the truth that one person can make a difference.
Here’s one of the talks on the DVD, and a superb example of the conference content. Sir Ken Robinson talks about the current public school system. There are many things in the talk that could be discussed and debated (If you watch it and are intrigued I’d love to hear from you).
Go checkout more of the talks at TED.org.
Come on Washington! Get your act together. Forget global warming, this is a SERIOUS problem.
Annabelle got to see her good buddy, Brielle, last Friday. They have practically grown up together, even though Brielle is 5 months older. Now that Annabelle is walking they are having the best time together. Brielle taught Annabelle how to twirl while dancing and how to color. Annabelle colored her first picture! Here are a few photos from our visit. I thought it was hilarious that they both individually came right up to my camera and gave me a smile.
I lost my vote after picking ‘Into the Wild’ in our netflix queue. We watched it last night and we didn’t agree with anything in the movie. I knew it was a story of guy going to the Alaskan wilderness and his journey along the way, but it moved far slower than I imagined it would. The protagonist ‘Alex Supertramp’ said he had ideals, but ultimately the movie is about rebellion, stubbornness and unforgiveness. He gives a substantial sum of money to a charity and burns money, but he should have spent it on some counseling.
It was nice seeing Jena Malone in the movie, but I wish we could have seen more of her character. I have liked her as an actress ever since I saw her in ‘Saved.’ Vince Vaughn is in the movie and he plays the usual laid back character he always plays. Even with the good acting, this Sean Penn project could not be saved from the selfishness of the main character. The movie gets a thumbs down from us.
It is Tuesday and time for another writing prompt from San Diego Momma.
Here are PROMPTuesday’s rules:
You must write your entry in 10 minutes. This encourages top-of-mind, primal thinking before the ego and judgmental brain kicks in. Just set a timer, make your kid count to 600 slowly, whatever. It’s an honor system. And I trust you.
- Keep to 250 words or less.
- Please have fun. Don’t put pressure on yourself. Together, let’s rediscover the simple joy in the writing process.
- Post your submission in the comments OR post in your blog and leave a link to your blog in the comments.
The Prompt:
You’re in a bookstore. You see stacks and stacks of books, but one in particular catches your eye. Something about the title. You’re intrigued. You pick the book up, open it, and read the first paragraph. Now you’re hooked. What is the title of the book and what did the first paragraph say?
My Response:
The Roman Indiscretion
Jane asked her cousin Catherine, “Did you pack the new ribbons we bought at Hennesy’s this morning? I don’t know if they will be in fashion in Rome but Mr. Hennesy did say that they were Italian ribbons. ”
“The Italians are so far behind the London times. I am sure we will be looking to us for the latest in silks and taffetas. I did pack the ribbons and the new green silk gown for all the balls we will be attending.”
“Really? Do you think that we will be invited to balls? I can’t wait to dance with the Italian boys.”
“Yes, Jane, of course we will be asked to balls and dinners. My mother’s old friend, Countess Girotto lives there. And don’t be in such a hurry to meet Italian boys. You have heard what they do to us nice English girls. Keep your eyes on the English men, is what I say.”
The cousins boarded the ship to Italy early the next morning with Catherine’s mother, Mrs. Adams.
Mrs. Adam’s warned them on the boat ride, “Be careful not to fall in love with an Italian men. It is not respectable in our little English corner of society. Do keep your propriety and modesty in check ladies or I will be forced to send you back to London.”
