Crafts Meet Pay It Forward

I was over at my friend Lisa's blog and saw this idea there. It sounded like a good idea (because none of us have enough to do, right?) and a funky way to get me back into the crafty end of my life, which has sadly taken a backseat to the kids and my business of late, so I thought why the heck not.

Here's how it works....The first 5 people to respond to this post will get something made by me, especially for you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make but I hope you will.
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- I have a year to get it to you.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It’s a surprise to both of us at this point.

The catch? You must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

No Pigs were Harmed in the Making of this...

Flu!

I looked it up, and the swine flu (H1N1) has the following symptoms:

• fever, which is usually high, but unlike seasonal flu, is sometimes absent
• cough
• runny nose or stuffy nose
• sore throat
• body aches
• headache
• chills
• fatigue or tiredness, which can be extreme
• diarrhea and vomiting, sometimes, but more commonly seen than with seasonal flu

I am pretty sure that it was a regular, run-of-the mill flu that I had. Ray is starting with the sore throat now. Oh happy day.

And yes, I am pretty sure I am NOT pregnant either. The 9 month version of the "flu" generally doesn't involve a sore throat and achiness. But thanks so much for asking.

Activities for Liam

Liam had his 18 month check up last week. It was about 10 days early, but our regular doctor is on maternity leave, so we had to take the spot we could get with the fill-in doctor. The new doctor seemed very nice and she was quite thorough. We've determined that Liam has grown an inch and put on almost 2 pounds. He's a bit slower to gain and grow than his big brother, so this was welcome news. He is a bit behind on his vocabulary, but we have him on the waiting list for evaluation (likely he will be seen in the next month or so) and he is obviously understanding us and engaging us regularly. He loves to run little errands and tickle his brother best!

But I had the laugh of my life when she said, "So, what activities is Liam in?"

Come again? You realize that this child is not even 18 months old? I ask you: why oh why does an 18 month old need scheduled activities (other than to make money for an entire industry geared towards the entertainment of small people)? Is life and sauntering around after a big brother not enough?

So here are a few of Liam's "activities". (And yes, I am still laughing.)

Running:

Hanging with friends...
And playing in the backyard with Xander:

"I know he is here somewhere..."



Two Cute Monkeys:
What does this thing do?
"Hey Mom, did you know you can go down this thing this way?"

Because I know you are all waiting with baited breath...

I did buy the Garmin 305 today. And I do love it, already. Best of all: it came with a spare strap! (Yes, the very one that my old watch just had break the other day.) I'm taking it as a sign that the Garmin was meant to be mine.

I was afraid that it would be too heavy and big to take with my while I run, so I went to the Running Room to try one on. They had the 205 and the 405, so I tried on the 205 (same size, no heart rate monitor). It was feather light! I noticed that the price tag was $207 at the Running Room for the 205; and well over $400 for the 405, which I have heard mixed reviews on from the runners I know. I went over to Costco, believing that the 305 would be mine for $199. A steal! Turns out I was wrong: it's on for $179!

Gotta love a deal.

A Decision Made For Me

Interesting how life goes sometimes. I've been pondering a Garmin for running, but have a perfectly good Timex that does a great job of keeping the time and telling me what intervals I am at. The Garmin seems excessive, if a little on the cool side.

Today I went for a run, came home, got ready to shower, and took my watch off. Or rather, it FELL off me. Yeah, the strap broke. Which wouldn't be a big deal in a normal watch, as I would just go and get a new strap. Except this watch's strap is integrated. There is no way to replace it.

I'm a little irked, because I loved that watch and it ticks me off to find that I have to give it up for a strap. And it wasn't a cheap watch either.

All that said, I am going to take this as a sign that the Garmin is supposed to be mine.

Running and the Geek Factor

Yes, I am a bit of a geek. I am a word geek; you know the kind of person who knows more than just the difference between their/there and two/too/to. I also know when to use which and that & who and whom (email me and I will clear it up for you if you want to know). I also know how and when to use a semi-colon. And I know the difference between an em-dash and an en-dash.

But these days I am also becoming a technology geek. The computer, the internet, and our miscellaneous gadgets have become a part of every day life. I hardly notice them anymore. We are talking about getting an e-book reader, but are not convinced of the Kindle and there are a few more that are interesting, but do not have us sold yet. I am shopping for a new digital camera.

But one place where the geekery (Ray's favourite word) has remained at bay, for the most part, is in running. I strap on my shoes and run. Two years ago my husband bought me an MP3 player and I've been enjoying that too. And so it began... A few years back I discovered online logging. I use Running Ahead, though I have tried a few others. And long gone are the days of running, then taking the car out to drive the distance afterwards. Now I use gmaps. But my very last holdout is my watch. I have a pretty basic Timex Ironman watch. It has a chronometer, so I know the overall time of my run. I can get it to do "laps" or "splits", if you prefer, but I never do. It also has a timer that can be set to count down or up and it can do repeats or stop and has 2 settings. I use it to time 10 minutes of running and 1 of walking. And it is the simple version.

I've been holding out.

But geekery and running are egging me on and trying to meet up. I would like a Garmin:
It not only tracks the time and splits and such, but also has GPS, so it will tell you the distance you have run (while running) and the speed you are going. It has a heart rate monitor (I have one, but ditched it a while ago). And let us not forget how many calories you have burned. Plus, you can upload it all to your tracking software and obsess endlessly over your stats.

Part of me wonders if this is not too much information. While the other part of me drools endlessly over it.

So much for a "simple" sport.