This Moment

Sitting here with my sleeping babe
Sun streaming in the window
Diapers drying on the rack
Breakfast dishes on the table (Irish Oats)
French Press coffee freshly made

I never knew my life could be so wonderful. This moment of peace fills me for the rest of the day.

Camping Trip

So we left off last week on our way to the campground in the pouring rain. The family that was going with us had a little girl so they weren't so sure they wanted to brave the elements. Well we turned into the state forest and it stopped raining. Wondering if it was just a beneficial fluke we quickly set up camp, worried that it would start raining again. We got the camp set up in record time and the weather held for us. Our friends ended up meeting us a few hours later with their little girl. It was so nice being out in the woods again hearing all the bugs and frogs. I really miss how loud nature can be :)

one of the gorgeous wooded paths

We were pretty much alone at the campsite that night, there were a couple of other campsites filled up but not really anyone that we even saw or heard. It was great spending a quiet night by the fire playing Phase 10, talking and making some smores. We woke up pretty late on Saturday and just spent the day walking around and playing on the playground.

The hubs and his good friend were "super" excited to play on the playground

The hubs caught the fishing bug while we were there and is so ridiculously excited to get back out with his pole.

My hottie

That night was another campfire, more games, more smores and more talking. This was probably one of the most relaxing camping weekends I've had in my life.

There's fish in that there water

A great bonus was how cheap it was, we stayed at the state park so it was $20 a night split by the two couples it was just $20 for the weekend. The campground allows 6 people on a site so it could be even cheaper if we split it three ways. We did pretty frugal meals; Hot dogs and pasta for dinners; eggs, bacon and pancakes for breakfasts and sandwiches for lunch.

Oh boy I love him :)

Raw Smoothie Week

So I've been catching up on some books that I've wanted to read lately.  I just finished Green for Life and I'm about midway through Gorgeously Green. Between those two books and some conversations with Mama K I'm inspired to try going Raw for up until dinner this week.  Being the ridiculously supportive husband that he is the hubs is jumping on the bandwagon to help me.  I just spent about an hour blending all the smoothies for us for tomorrow.  We have a Chia Seed, Apple, Lemon, Kale blend; a Blueberry, Banana, Celery Blend and a simple Banana, Spinach blend.  I tasted them all and they are pretty good.  We'll see how filling they are as the week goes on but I'm excited to try it at least.  

Its been pretty interesting reading in depth in Green for Life on some of the points brought up in the book about PH levels in your stomach and stomach acid in regards to how you absorb nutrients.  Also the comparison to a typical American diet to that of the closest animal to us in genetic composition the Chimpanzee, was pretty intriguing.  Gorgeously Green has some great tips on finding health and beauty items that are good for you, some great tips on getting my body moving and I'm sure alot more but I'm only halfway through that one.  Being a part of a local coop has really helped me switch most of our bath and body products over to healthy choices but there are some holdouts (deodorant is the big one) that we just haven't found a good alternative for.  Its been inspiring me to examine that a bit more. 

As far as getting moving I got my butt kicked by Leslie Sansone's Walk and Fit which tells me that I need to do it some more. I threw in some pilates beforehand but only got ten minutes in before I had to call it quits on that.  The hubs and I have made a promise to each other to do some type of workout three times a week together as I realize I'm less likely to quit doing it if he's doing it with me and he feels the same. 

I literally feel like a page is turning in my life and there is a gorgeously blank slate set before me.  Everything in my life has changed recently but for the first time in weeks I'm kind of seeing some good come out of it.  

All Is Quiet

As you are probably realizing this blog has been pretty quiet.  I've been holding my cards close to my chest as it seems to be the best thing to do right now.  Things are turning around though and I'm feeling a bit better.  I signed up for a cake decorating class that I'm really excited about.  As you probably know I love baking cakes and I think my imagination is great as far as that goes but my skill level is what holds me back.  I can't wait getting some technical skill to throw in with my crazy imagination, Ace of Cakes better watch his back!  I am also starting the process to be a substitute teacher.  I was toying with babysitting but this seems like a better choice for us right now.

I also joined Spark People to work on my weight. Thankfully I have a friend for the journey. I'll keep you updated every once in awhile on the progress.

Big Day

Sunset from the other day

Sorry that I've been quiet around the bloggy world this week. There is just so much going on. I'm trying to tie up any loose strings at work and get some projects done around the house. My last day at the office is today, AHHHH! I am looking forward to being home and to having the twins when they come (Wednesday!), its just such a strange thing to think that tomorrow I won't have a leave the house type of job. Although I would have loved to not leave the house this morning when I was cleaning SNOW off of my car and driving to work. The hubs and I have been cleaning (actually mostly laundry), winterizing the house and reorganizing to make room for the two little ones.
As far as the twins go, things are moving along. My poor niece has been running around getting everything in order (power of attorney, medical power of attorney, military id cards for them, doctors, toddler car seats). There is just so much to do with the twins moving up here and her moving down to Southern VA. Please say some prayers for her as this is a really difficult time, I just can't even imagine what she's going through.
As far as our house goes we just put the shrink wrap plastic stuff over our windows and I think I already notice a difference. Yes, we're due for some new windows sometime soon. I'm going to be paying attention to our electric bill and comparing to last year to see if there is a difference in our usage. I also want to insulate our laundry room door (to the outside) more too as its always so drafty in there. We have the twin's room all set to move in the cribs, with a bed in there for my niece for when she's up visiting. There is still a huge to do list but I think I'll be able to get the house in order by the time the twins come.

Our first snow of the year from this morning!!

Election

Here is a great article about how, as Christians, we should be looking at the outcome of this election.

Thats about as much as you'll get out of me, I try not to go to far into politics with people I don't know and most of the time even with people I do know. I will be praying for our future president the same as I pray for the current one and I encourage you all to do the same. I will enjoy the blessed silence of all the political ads!

Go VOTE!!!

Line to vote 11/4/08

Todays the day, get out and vote!

We have a great responsibility to vote for who we feel is the best for us now.

The hubs and I have already gone early this morning and were happy to see a nice long line.
Buut we didn't get a sticker, I think with all my taxes I should at least get an "I voted" sticker!!
Now to pick up my freebies:
Starbucks-Get a free tall brewed coffee when you tell the Starbucks barista that you voted
Also I heard Ben and Jerry's are giving out free ice cream 5-8pm, Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts and Chick Fil A is giving away free chicken sandwhiches.

I'm only rocking the starbucks but you should get all the voting freebies you can!

Update: hawaii and election

So, wow, I just printed my boarding passes. I'm kind of in a state of shock that we're actually going to Hawaii. I made a list of stuff to pack and stuff that needs to get done before we leave. I have all my laundry done and changed the sheets on all the beds for the house sitter (well except for the master bedroom will do that tomorrow morning before we leave). I'm tying up the loose ends at work so my mind won't wander to the things that need to be done as I'm sitting on the beach.
I will be bringing my computer and probably blogging the trip so you can pretend its you sitting in paradise.

I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to do this, its frightening though in this economic climate to spend so much money.

I'm politically burnt out. After watching all the ads and reading up I'm realizing that I don't agree with either canidate or either party. In the past I've strongly aligned myself to one party so this kind of comes as a shock to me. I think we need a drastic change and not one that can be brought about by Republican or Democrat. I think we need to get back to our roots as a country and start pairing back the government to what it was set out to be. I encourage all of you to do your research as to how our government started out. I will be voting but it won't be for one of the two major parties. Maybe my vote won't get someone elected but at least I can vote with clear conscience that I stand behind my vote and don't feel like I'm choosing the lesser of two evils.

Interesting Article on BPA's

Click here to read. Article links plastic bottles to Diabetes and Heart Disease, two things that run in my family already! There are also some other scary things linked to it in the article.
This is why I always use my Klean Kanteen from Non Toxic Tots.
I recently renewed my dedication to not use plastic bottles its amazing that I don't generally get drinks while I'm out but I still accumulate a good amount of plastic bottles. I just have to remember to ALWAYS bring my Klean Kanteen!

Vacinations

New Jersey recently passed legislation to make vaccines mandatory for those attending schools or day care. One of the mandatory vaccinations is for the flu. Personally I have never had a flu vaccine and probably will never. There is a good amount of debate flying around on vaccines and the links to autism and also just some of the questionable ingredients found in some. The legislation and debate troubles me, I feel like I'm forced to do something that I'm not sure is right. Without having researched to heavily on the subject I feel I would probably space out the vaccines with my own children and I would probably delay them until my children are a little older and there systems more able to handle outside stimuli. I know that a vaccine is basically introducing a small amount of the disease so that your body makes antibodies to fight off future attacks. It just doesn't seem right to do this to infants, but thats just my opinion.

So anyway there is an exemption that has made its way to New Jersey Legislation and I want to put the link up that if you feel so inclined you would sign the petition in favor of Conscientious Objection.
Link to Petition
No, you don't have to live in New Jersey to sign.

General Rambling

So I'm still here, there are a few things running around in my brain.
One of them is this store the clothes look so neat and she will make them according to your measurements. Serious clothes ogling going on by me.
The second thing running around in my brain is all the interest in Sarah Palin's daughter, seriously she's not running for VP. It is so annoying that any time in this election is taken to disect this poor 17 year old girl. I have heard so much about this that honestly I have no idea what her stance is on most issues. Well, I do know she's a babywearing mama so thats a positive anyway.
The third thing is the commercials for high fructose corn syrup. Seriously?!?! With a nation that struggles so much with obesity and its related problems why would anyone actually push the use of high fructose corn syrup.
All three of these things really deserve their own post so well thats something you can look forward too! In other news I had another birth I attended on Saturday as a doula, it was just beautiful! I'm such a sap I wonder if I will cry every time I act as a Doula because thats the trend so far.

So Proud!

So the hubs got a job he went up for a couple of weeks ago. There were a few of his co-workers that also applied and he was worried that he wouldn't get it. I'm so proud of him and his super smart brain.

Weekend Update: Pt 1-Michael Phelps

This weekend was just fabulous. The hubs and I went up to Connecticut on Friday and ended up spending some time with out of town relatives. We then headed out to an Irish Pub for a birthday dinner with my brother and his wife. We had a good time listening to the "band", it was just two guys but they did alot of good covers. My favorite part of the evening was when Michael Phelps was swimming for what would be his 7th Olympic Gold. All the small rooms in the pubs emptied as everyone gathered in front of the TV to watch as the music got turned off and the sound was up as high as it would go. It was amazing to watch this boy, a boy that many would have labelled and dismissed living up to such an amazing potential. Its amazing to me how different we all are, how if you try to put everyone in the same box that there will always be those who don't fit and aren't able to do some of the things that others find so easy. However, if you allow people to show you what they are capable of they can astound you. Michael Phelps proved this to me as I sat in that little pub and watched this young man who was diagnosed with ADHD accomplish something that no one has ever done before. Simply amazing.
More to come tomorrow on the wedding. :)

Hey Internet!

How are you doing?
I'm doing good, sorry I haven't been around much. I know, I know I don't call I don't write; but honestly I do care about you... I do. I thought about you often as I was climbing Mt. Clean Laundry that I had to put away, or while swimming through Lake Dirty Dishes that need to be cleaned (seriously I have a dishwasher how is it so hard). Once or twice I got lost in the Oh my gosh my car is a pit Forrest, but with the help of the hubs we have scaled these formidable foes and we are in the home stretches of digging ourselves out. How did keeping on top of things get so hard this summer, seems like I haven't been home all summer and I know for the most part thats pretty much true. Things are starting to settle themselves down and I should be home (for the most part) till October when we leave for Hawaii! We do have a few little side trips till then, a couple wedding weekends away but nothing that should force my house into the land of the lost again.
There is someone you simply must meet. He's invaded my heart and although the hubs wouldn't quite admit it I know he adores him too.
Meet John Cougar Melloncat or kitten-cat snugglepants as I like to call him.

Oh I know he is Soooo cute!

As you might remember the hubs has an allergy to "some" animals, its so weird! He was fine with our first cat but had a horrible allergy to the two kittens I brought home later; so we've been a cat free household for more than a year. We literally rubbed our new cat on his face before we brought him home to see if the hubs would be ok. He was fine and Cougar (named for his similarity in looks and swagger) is literally the best cat I've ever known. So yeah things are looking up in the Dirkey household as we can now see our floors again and now we have a good reason for keeping it that way.

and it burns burns burns

So this is the view from the stage, notice the HUGE fire behind. Prayers would be appreciated. You can click on the picture to enlarge.

Below is the story on the Seattle Times

The human-caused fire was burning near the Eaglerock Subdivision in the Warm Springs Canyon area, about three miles northwest of this central Washington city.

Winds gusting to 20-30 mph were pushing the fire to the north and east, away from houses, Isaacson said Sunday evening. There was no estimate when it would be contained, he said.

At least three outbuildings were destroyed and several houses were damaged, Isaacton said.

The fire was reported about 2:15 p.m. Saturday near the Highline Canal.

Chelan County Sheriff Mike Harum told The Wenatchee World that a man playing with fireworks may have sparked the fire, and could be arrested for investigation of reckless burning.

Roughly 200 firefighters were battling the blaze, supported by 30 engines, four helicopters with water buckets and three retardant-dropping tanker planes.

-Seattle Times

Breaking the Law.. Breaking the Law

Soo today is the day that I face "the man" for my recent transgression. Totally feel like an idiot on this one. My brother was kind enough to give me an FOP card so I'm going to plead the mercy of the court with it for my stupidity. Seriously as if driving is not expensive enough right now, I went and added more cost on. D'Oh!
Sooooo not very frugal of me...

Creation Recap and Detox

So you all know that last week I went away for work and it was an amazing week. There were alot of highlights for me. The most noteable probably was Melody Green talking about her and her husband Keith's ministry. I had read No Compromise about 10 years ago, which is a book Keith Green had written that made a tremendous impact on me and on my faith. Other highlights were seeing friends that I only get to see once or twice a year (boo geography for keeping our states so far away!), seeing new to me artists (I now love Skillet and Flyleaf), and also just seeing a years worth of work come to fruition and see God use what we put our hands to for His glory. For all the fun involved it was also was a tremendous amount of work with most of us pulling at least 17 hrs a day (my boss was easily doing 20+). We all drove home on Sunday and thankfully the hubs had met me up there on Thursday night and was able to drive our car home. I literally slept 80% of the car ride home then promptly fell asleep on the couch and slept until 10 am Monday morning. The no sleeping came with a side of crappy eating (lots and lots of coffee and free access to fair type foods). I did try to grab veggies when I could but it was maybe a handful a day. Needless to say my body is not too happy with me, it feels as if I have a sinus infection, and I think I could sleep for another 3 days easily. So I've decided that I'm doing the whole Vegan thing again for at least the next two weeks until west. Hopefully it will clear out of my system a good amount of the junk that has accumulated there and kind of get me back on track with my eating. I feel like I've been treading water with my weight for the past year despite working at it and following weight watchers most of the time. I'm going to use this time to really focus on this and changing habits. I know its going to take awhile but I also know it can be done. I just pray that I would have the strength and endurance needed to finish this race.
I went on my lunch break to Whole Foods and picked up about $80 worth of veggies for my veggie/juicing blitz. I'll be breaking out my Christina Pirello books and my imagination to cook up some yummie treats for us. As a change from last years Vegan August I will not be incorporating any soy into our diets as soy and I are not friends. I will be relying heavily on my friends, the Legumes. I'm going to try to cut out any processed Vegan foods (except whatever I bring for west if I decide to do it while I'm there). I'm also going to add in the juicing as I've discovered that I love me some beet juice in the morning. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll start harvesting my garden as well.

My thoughts on the AMA and ACOG

Apparently the AMA and ACOG aren't too happy about The Business of Being Born; you know the movie that Ricki Lake put out about how birth is viewed in the US, and which also casts a positive light on home births. You know what I'm not so happy about, the Cesarean Rate in this country that is more than double what is recommended by the WHO.
According to a study by the CDC
"The cesarean delivery rate rose 4 percent in 2005 to 30.2 percent of all births, a record high for the nation. The cesarean rate has risen 46 percent since 1996."
So the U.S. has a C-section rate of above 30% while the WHO states that no region in the world is justified in having a cesarean rate greater than 10 to 15 percent.
Its amazing to me that the countries that honor birth as a natural occurrence in life have lower c-section rates and a lower maternal morbidity rate. You would think instead of attacking the idea that birth is not a medical condition the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists would see that our country is lacking in this area and try to learn from those who are doing better. It angers me that many of my friends and family are recovering from surgery's that they didn't need to have because these institutions will not admit that we are below par in these areas.


As you can see from above, we're not the worst in the area of Maternal deaths but we're also not the best. Why not learn from countries that are doing better than we are in this area.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!


By the way-I've scheduled posts that I've already written to be published both this week and next. I will not be checking up on everyone else's blogs or commenting till probably the beginning of July. So I didn't abandon you :)

So Sad

I can't even fathom this, so young..
What kids are doing in school