I did it!

So I’ve been in search of reusable grocery bags for several weeks now, and I finally bought some!  I’m very picky, so there were a few conditions the bags had to meet:

     1) affordable, meaning no more than $10 each
     2) durable
     3) washable
     4) long enough handles to carry on my shoulders
     5) and cute, which these ones definitely are!

I got the recommendation from Annika (a post my sister actually pointed out to me).  I’m waiting on their delivery, which they said would take up to 7 days, but I’m very excited   I’m trying to make a genuine effort to become more environmentally friendly, and this is one of the first steps I’ve taken.  I also picked up a recycle bin yesterday (I’ve been terrible about recycling). 

My next step is to stop buying disposable water bottles, so I am now in search for good reusable ones.  I did see the SIGG bottles, but they are a bit on the expensive side ($23 each).  If it were up to me, I would buy them, but it’s convincing my husband that they are worth it that is a problem.   I’m of the opinion that we would spend more than that in two months of buying the disposable kind at the grocery store, so why not?  But he thinks we should go down to WalMart and buy the $3 ones.  I’m just worried that they’ll make the water taste funny – I am very picky about the taste of my water!  If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

back to real life

I’m back from vacation in California, where I visited my sister Crystal and her husband Joe, and of course my adorable nephew Jack (in the video from my last post).  It was an awesome trip!  My sister and I went to a spa the day after I flew in, where we got a half hour in the sauna and then an hour massage – verrry relaxing indeed!  After the massage, neither Crystal or I wanted to get up from the tables, so we just layed there for a few minutes trying to get up the strength   On Saturday, we had a party for Jack’s first birthday, where he got a taste of his first ice cream and pumpkin cake.  He was making some hilarious faces!  Every time he took a bite of the ice cream, his face would pucker up from the cold.  He seemed to like it, though.

The day I was supposed to leave (my flight got delayed), I had Jack all to myself for the first part of the day.  Both my sister and her husband had to work, although Crystal was able to take off from work early.  That was the first Jack and I were alone with eachother for an extended period of time, and I have to admit I was a little nervous at first.  I’ve never taken care of a baby, so I know very little on the how tos of it all.  But it’s went well.  We played with blocks – which consisted of me building them and him knocking them down -, I read him a few books, and then we made pancakes together (well, I carried him on my hip while I made pancakes with one hand – I was impressed with myself).  When he was having a hard time napping, I put him in his Ergo baby carrier and went for a walk, which quickly did the trick.  He’s was very good for me, thank goodness!  He’s teething, so there were time when no one would do except for “maaamaa”.  The teething must not have been too bad the morning I had him

It feels good to be home, where I can sleep on my comfortable pillow top mattress instead of a couch, but I miss my family already.  I think my nephew made me realize more how much time matters.  The last time I saw him was when he was about 6 weeks old, and it’s amazing how much he has grown since then.  He’s starting to take steps on his own, he’s talking a little – he says “mama” and “dada”, and I’ve been trying  (unsuccesfully) to teach him how to say ”Aunt Holly”   It truly amazes me how much personality he has.