Baby furniture, Cloth Diapers, and Cleaning...Oh My!

Again...I guess I can't update my blog more than once every 6 months or so. Whoopsie! I am currently 34 weeks and 3 days pregnant! For anyone that doesn't understand why pregnant ladies add the days to the number of weeks pregnant (aka, 34 weeks and 3 DAYS)... because EVERYDAY matters when your pregnant! Just one step closer to the finish line in which a beautiful baby will be waiting for you in place of a trophy, snacks, or bottle of water...all which are, at times, equally enjoyable I'm sure. Back to the topic at hand... pregnant, that's what I am! I'm currently in the third trimester and I must confess, I think I've had one of the easiest pregnancies known to man...pardon me... known to woman. Although uncomfortable and sleep deprived at times, I've had no nausea, major insomnia, terrible back pain, or any other disgusting and annoying pregnancy ailments. In fact, expect for a little bit of finger and foot swelling, and some shortness of breath when going on those 30 minute walks with the dog...I'm doing pretty awesome! In fact, just today I painted our changing table that we picked up on craigslist...and yes...I wore a ventilation mask for the fumes and made sure I did it outside. I'm just as crazy as the next momma when it comes to baby's safety. I was getting so tired of everyone saying how many things pregnant women couldn't or shouldn't do that I decided to just listen to my instinct and take precautions! I sort of made this changing table my little awakening project to the fact that I am now, more than ever, a strong and capable woman! And plus, I figured that if I can clean the house, wash the floors, and bend over a bazillion times to pick things up off the floor...then I'm probably capable of refinishing furniture too! Okay, Okay, stepping off pedestal now.

There is still so much to do before our baby arrives but slowly and surely it is getting done. My list (which is 2 pages long) is one line at a time shrinking. After hours, literally hours, on the computer researching cloth diapers I finally have a plan and we currently have 3 different brands of cloth diaper in the mail on their way to us! We are very excited to be part of the cloth diaper club and realize that it may take us a few weeks to figure out which ones work best for us... and her! We are soooooo excited to meet our baby girl...which might be news to some people...but YES we are having a baby GIRL! I LOVE feeling her move inside me, even when it hurts! It's weird to think that I haven't even seen her yet, but I feel so close to her. I feel like I already know who she is! We can't wait to meet her and give her millions of kisses!

The other members of the Miles family are doing great too! Mike just recently accepted a position for a new job selling solar panels and he really likes what he is doing and loves being a part of a green company. Our poor puppy Eva had surgery over a month ago to fix her torn ACL in her left hind leg. She is doing MUCH better now and still has a few months of physical therapy at home before she will be at 100%. Our kitty Lucy is as fluffy and cute as ever and she loves laying on my lap and cuddling with my belly!

We are also hoping to buy our first house soon. We have an offer in on a house that we love with a large backyard, spa, and tree house, but we are just waiting for the painstakingly slow process of the dreaded short sale! We will be sad to leave our neighborhood and neighbors around the block (which we also LOVE!!!) but are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives.

That's all for now! By the time I update again the baby will probably have been here for a while! ;)

Love

P.s. Here are some pictures of the trip Mikey and I took to Stinson beach, the changing table I refinished, and me being huge at 34 weeks!

Oh Baby, Oh Baby

Such a lot has happened since I graduated from Humboldt State in May! Life hasn't exactly been going according to plan, well, at least not according to my plan. But does it ever really? I thought that after graduation I'd be a shoe-in for some environmental company or department somewhere in the area, but my ideas of what life has in store for me must have been completely off. I've spent my time *complaining* enough about not having a job by now and I am on to bigger and better things.

First of all, let's get on with the big news that most of you already know by now....Oh, baby, we're having a baby!!!! Yup, not exactly the "get a job first, then have a baby" plan that we were aiming for. But honestly, we couldn't be happier and the timing actually seems pretty perfect right about now. I am currently 16 weeks and 4 days pregnant and loving every second of it. I've been very luck so far "cross fingers" because I've had it pretty easy. No morning sickness, no major fatigue, no food aversions (or at least none that have stuck!). Honestly, most days I don't even feel pregnant except for my slowly growing belly and pants that won't close anymore. This week at our Dr.'s appointment it really struck me that I was pregnant when we got to see out tiny peanut kicking it's chubby little legs all over the place. And considering that my tummy actually feels more like there's a baby in there and less like I've eaten too many corn dogs in the last few months, I'd say this is the start of realizing that, yes, I'm pregnant! Of course for Mike it's a little different, and overwhelming. He can't feel what I feel, so he is going to have to find other ways to realize that we're actually having a baby. He swears that it's a girl, but lately has been having cold feet....especially when I tell him that he is going to feel dumb if it's a boy. LOL. The Dr. tried to see if the baby was a boy or girl at our last appointment, but considering that I am only 16 weeks it was too hard to tell. After seeing the ultrasound however, I actually think it's a girl now. I had a sneaking suspicion before that it was a boy, but after seeing that image on the ultrasound I've changed my mind. we will find out with some degree of certainty on January 11th (unless I can weasel my way in for an earlier ultrasound), so I guess until then we wait!!!!

On other notes, considering that my life has taken a detour from my original plan, I've decided to challenge myself with some new goals. Since I have quite a bit of time on my hands, and I am currently a stay-at-home mommy-to-be, I see this time in our lives as a perfect opportunity to do what we have always talked about. BE GREEN! We have always thought that to be green we had to have money, considering that the coolest eco-clothes and organic food is usually the most expensive. But I a challenging myself to make our life a healthy, natural, and affordable one. I truly beleive that we can be green and frugal at the same time. So here goes my journey to being green, some might say that it is the road to sustainability. I see it as a challenge!!!

Along with my new enviro-goals, I've also decided to start up another blog so that anyone who so desires can follow our road to greenification. I've also started writing a book, the topic is somewhat ify...it could go two ways. But I've written one paragraph and I think it's pretty dang good! I figure I have to do something with my time, and making list of baby stuff and walking the dog just isn't fulfilling my goals anymore! Blogs, books, green challenges.... sounds like a pretty good life to me!

Stay tuned for more!

<3

I'm a Master....Graduation from Graduate School!

Long time no post! Hola! I am so very excited because this weekend I graduate from my Environment and Community program at Humboldt State University! I did it! My rather lengthy thesis has been edited, formatted, read, re-edited, re-formatted, copied, sent in, and accepted! Along with the thesis, the dreaded signature page (which was sent to Washington D.C., back to Sac, driven to Humboldt, and then sent again back to D.C., and then back to Humboldt) has safely arrived at it's destination in the graduate studies office with some minor changes and the same old signatures! I am so happy to finally be finished with this massive thesis, but also sad because it's all over. Mike and I moved so quickly from Humboldt that I feel like I missed out on my last semester of enjoying the beach, plaza, old-town Eureka, and redwoods. Although our move back to Sac and the job that was responsible for it was definitely a blessing, I still miss and sometimes ache for Humboldt. I keep thinking about the field trip that I took to Orleans to visit local farms. During that field trip I dipped my feet into one of the most beautiful parts of the Trinity river. Reminiscing on the last two years makes me happy, but I am also glad to have moved on, glad to have found my way back to myself again, glad to have grown into the strong, confident woman I am today. I am not boasting, just simply rejoicing in the fact that the last two years have put me and Mike through many trials, and we have emerged as stronger individuals and a stronger couple. Maybe I will finally get that career, maybe I'll go for my PhD at Santa Cruz, maybe we'll have babies. Who knows where we will be in two more years? Rumor has it that once you have touched the waters of the Trinity river you will find your way back sometime later in your life. Maybe that trip to Orleans was fate.

Wrapping it Up

Happy New year, 12 days late! Next week will start the last semester of my graduate program. I will not be attending any classes but I will be working on my thesis and working for my Professor studying hydroelectric power plants. Mike has been searching for careers in Sacramento and surrounding counties like a mad man these last two weeks and we can't wait to leave Humboldt, after-all, we have worn out our welcome and I think the county is starting to tell us that. As much as we have tired to make our little place a home, we are waiting for something better to come along. The thought of having jobs and being done with school is a thought that is unmatched in my brain right now. I am prepared to stay here until I graduate in May, and I still have prior commitments here such as a thesis defense hopefully sometime in April, meetings with my boss/professor, and meetings with my committee. But overall, I would be thrilled if we moved in May, April, March! Lately, I feel like there is no world outside of my little cave of an apartment. The table and the couch have become my office, and the only words that seem to drift into my mind are about the convenience of food, quality, price, organic, expensive, local, hydroelectric power, energy usage, small hydels, India, Nigeria, China, ah! I used to have hobbies. I used to talk to friends. I used to watch movies and think only about the images on the screen and not about the loads of articles I still have to read! But that was before graduate school. The other day Mike mentioned that he might want to get his graduate degree, maybe online, and all I could do was smile and nod, while really I was thinking, NOOOOOO! Haha, in all reality, if he wanted to get his masters that would be fine, but I think we both just want stability. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...it's so close that I can feel the sun, in this case it's not a metaphor for death but a metaphor for returning to life!

Running....I love you....I hate you

About a month ago Mike broke his foot and thus started out crazy worldwin of a schedule with me driving Mike to work, doing most of the "on-the-feet" house stuff, and of course continuing with school and work. Needless to say all form of exercise had stopped but now that Mike is mobile again it's time to get back into the swing of things. I have been literally CRAVING a run for the past few weeks now....I mean like an actual craving for chocolate or ice cream. The feeling of flying down a hill with the music going and your heart racing makes me happy! So I have started up again and of man it feels so good! The second day I was so sore I felt like a bus had run over me...but I went back out and worked through it and now I am flying!!! I was pretty happy that after a month of no physical activity I could still run 1 mile non-stop....so now I'm up to 2 miles and I think I am going to stay there for a while! Feeling good, strong, and relaxed!!!

Organic, Natural Beauty and Rich Hippies!!!

The old Liz is back! After a weird and uncertain period of experimenting with mainstream beauty products I have decided to go back to natural and organic products! Maybe it was just me rebelling against the incredibly environmental population of Arcata, CA... but whatever it was I have realized again that products that I put on my skin, hair, teeth, face, etc, that contain parabens, sulfates, and other harsh and nasty chemicals are not for me! Now with that said....I am not a waster!....mainly because Mike and I are poor....but I will not be simply throwing out all of my mainstream chemically enhanced products. Instead, I will use what we have until it is gone while slowly replacing those products with natural and organic ones. I hope this process of changing over doesn't take me more than a few months because I have an itch to try some new organic beauty products and I have it right now! I am not a very patient person...something I am going to start praying for in my life. Although I love my beauty products, I hate to have a lot of them.... meaning I don't buy cuticle creme and foot creme, and elbow and knee creme (ok I hope they don't really make that!), but I do buy the essentials for me to look pretty! Here are some natural brands that I am loving now and have loved in the past... Burt's bees, Alba, YES to carrots, Tom's (except they were bought out by crest...lame), Avalon organics, Kiss my face, and my most recent OBSESSION....LUSH!!!!!! A few Christmas's back Mike and I got lush solid shampoo bars (shampoo in a solid bar form that you rub on your head) and fell in love with them! After moving and packing and kitties and puppies we must have just forgot about them. But recently I re-discovered these bars under my bathroom sink and have been loving them again! They do expire...which explains why mine was a slightly dull puke color... but it still smelled good. But remember that if a product expires...and rather quickly after you buy it all it means is that it contains very natural ingredients. The deal with LUSH is that they make all their products with natural and organic ingredients...and very little packaging. Although they still contain some parabens and sulfates, the amounts are very very low, and the products are incredibly environmentally friendly....and handmade!!! Now, LUSH is NOT cheap...but for what you get...it's worth it. I asked Mike if we can take a trip to LUSH in SF for my birthday this year...I'm really just excited to try some organic and handmade shampoo's, lotions, face cleansers, and all things pretty! I hope I run out of my deathly chemical cocktail beauty products before we go, or I might be less inclined to spend money on something we don't need just yet. I am so very excited to alter what we use and make our cleaning/beautifying routines healthier, safer, and better for my beloved little planet. Mike of course is all for it too....although it took a while for him to like natural toothpaste and I don't blame him...pasty!!!! This is our new endeavor...one product at a time....hopefully soon we will move onto foods! Let me know if you want any suggestions for good products, or if you have any suggestions for me! I am anticipating myself becoming a LUSH junkie...and I'm okay with that. The goal that I am trying to obtain here is not buy buy buy, but instead buy sensible, good-for-you good-for-me products that will last. Mike asked me....who do you want to be and I answered...a rich hippie! Now don't take that the wrong way....I don't mean I need to be a money hungry person....my definition of a rich hippie is someone who can afford to buy local, organic, natural, and healthy products without worrying if it will make a huge dent in their wallets. I want to be able to purchase a car that will save us gas but might be expensive, or a kayak that will give us years of fun on the river. When I say rich hippie I mean a woman who is wealthy enough to shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and REI....but conscious enough about the planet to only buy what she needs. Sensible yet environmentally aware! I've rambled enough for today, hope you all enjoy! Loves!

For the Love of Labs

Meet Eva.... She is our lab




As a proud owner of a black lab puppy, I have learned to be tolerant of dirt and mud paw prints, slobber, nips, sharp claws, holes in the backyard that are 2 feet deep, rampant orbiting through our tiny one bedroom apartment, the death of not one but two left flip flops, and stolen bits of dinner from the counters.

Overall, here are the little joy Mike and I have experienced from out little labby girl Eva.

1)Barking....because she doesn't want to be left alone in the backyard anymore than you do!
2)Stolen chocolate kisses from the counter...as well as spinach, apples, granola bars...
3)Chasing the cat....and being chased by the cat...through out small apartment that was designed for one person, not two people, a fat cat and a 70 pound puppy
4)Guard dog howling in the middle of the night.... normally this type of guardianship would be a good thing, except that if we ever had an intruder or burglar....Eva would simply lick them to death
5)Chewing on my shoes, my rug, my coffee table, my hand!
6)Digging, digging, digging, filling holes, digging them up again, throwing balls ver the neighbors yard, digging them out of the neighbors yard
7)Poop...yes poop...on our jogs....smelly poop in a bag
8)Pulling on the leash when another dog comes in sight
9)Pee for a while...in the house..thank God that's over with
10)$$$ on everything doggy under the sun....collars, leashes, training collar, dog food, brushes that she is deathly afraid of, toys, blankets, dog dens, beds that she hates so she chews them up and leaves all the little pieces all over the backyard for me to pick up one by one....
11)Energy that comes with a 7 month old puppy....immense energy...
12)Whines, howls, and sobs when she wants to play but it's bed time...

I'm sure there is more....too many to even consider writing down


I have also got to experience extreme loyalty, love, admiration, and joy. All it takes for Eva to be happy is a pat on the head and a little bit of attention. When I say the words "walk" or "treat" she acts like I just told her she won the lottery. Here are some of the benefits of owning a lab....or as the movie Marley and Me states.... labradoodle....

1)Affection...a lick...bump....nudge....or look
2)Warmth of a puppy laying next to you on the couch
3)Admiration....Especially when she looks at you like you are the best thing in the entire world
4)Exercise buddy- running around the neighborhood or in the backyard with this massive beast
5)Protection....or at least the appearance of protection....she looks pretty intimidating even though she is a chicken
6)Laughter....especially when she is laying on her back....head to the side arms ad legs in the air...completely asleep
7)Adorable-ness.....when she is letting out little puppy yelps or running in her sleep
8)Excitement... any raised tone to your voice or sign that you want her near you brings her...and me....joy and excitement
9)Wagging tails....and the best part is....she can't fake the excitement...as soon as you say her name the tail gives it away
10)Training...there is nothing better in the world than putting time and effort into training your lab and having her actually respond and obey your commands....sit, sit pretty, down, leave-it...
11)Speaking of leave-it... putting a treat on your puppy's hand and having her ignore it until you say she can have it must be tough for her....but extremely rewarding to me...
12)There is nothing better in the world than a 70 pound puppy licking you on the cheek, sitting in your lap, and wagging her tail.... happiness <3

Yes, they are a lot of work....but if you don't have a dog....or a cat...you are missing out.

p.s. Our cat Lucy is a joy too, she loves to sleep on my head...whack at the dogs tail....and play ninja warrior to Eva as she runs down the hall....