i still wonder…

I’m not sure if I mentioned it here, but my endocrinologist officially diagnosed me with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. I wish I knew when it all started; that kind of makes me crazy. It had to happen since Jake was born. When I was pregnant with him, I had blood drawn for a life insurance policy we were purchasing, and my labs came back fine. They tested for so many things, I’d imagine thyroid levels were on there too. It’s just so weird. Well, there’s nothing I can do now, really. Or then. It’s not like I brought this on myself. I now take my pill every morning and that’s pretty much that. In October I’ll go for bloodwork again and see how things are shaping up. I’ll be curious to see.

fall style

The past few days, the weather has been SO hot. And I’m SO ready for it to be over. Tomorrow it should be around 80 and the weekend will be temps in the 70s. Ah! Perfect. I’m ready to get out my fall wardrobe: jeans, long-sleeved T-shirts, scarves, sweaters. I bought a new pair of clogs but I need to look for a new purse. Maybe I’ll check out Rebecca Minkoff handbags. This fall I’m really into purple and gray. Last year it was brown and teal, and I still like those colors a lot but… I think I’m looking for colors that are cooler in general. I’m also still looking for some fall jewelry. I’d love to get an antique-looking necklace with some birds and beads or flowers. I’ve been shopping for one for a long time, and have not found just the right thing yet. What about you? What are your fall must-haves?

a relaxing vacation

I really hope that Hurricane Earl takes it easy on the North Carolina coast! I’ve always wanted to visit the Outer Banks and I’d hate for the region to sustain much damage. There are some gorgeous Outer Banks vacation rentals, like the one in this photo. It’s called the Seahawk by Carolina Designs and it would be so perfect for our whole family to get away next year. My parents are now at a place where they can easily take off for a week and it would be really fun to go somewhere with them and the boys. My brother’s family might even want to come too. There is certainly enough room in this amazing house! I can just imagine relaxing in the morning with a latte and a muffin, enjoying the ocean view. My husband and brother would love to do some golf down there, too.

I imagine that OBX is a very laid-back place to go on a vacation and I know my entire family could benefit from a little R&R!

ear plugs review

Disclaimer: I was sent several pairs of ear plugs, at no cost to me, from Care Cleaning & Protection in exchange for a review on this blog

Ear plugs are a handy thing to have around the house. Back when we had an apartment in CT, they would have been used when our noisy upstairs neighbors had a party. My last Somerville apartment was right near a fire station, so I could have used them back then, too. Those sirens are awfully loud. But now, as a homeowner, they’re useful when you have to finish tasks like mowing the lawn, weed-whacking, or using the snowblower. Hearing loss isn’t something I want to deal with, so it’s really important to protect my ears.

These Moldex® Sparkplugs® Multi-Colored Foam Ear Plugs retail for about $36 a box. That might seem expensive, but a box contains 200 pairs, so that should cover many uses. It averages out to 18 cents per pair. I thought these ear plugs worked really well. They were easy to insert and did a great job of reducing noise. They make everything sound much quieter, but don’t block out the sound completely. Here’s a quick video I made about them:

Vimeo.

They were definitely nicer than other disposable ear plugs we’ve had around the house, and fit better than others, too.

feeling a little dirty

Last month we were celebrating a full year without cable or satellite TV. It was pretty easy giving it up and even the boys had an easy time with it. However, due to some rather unfortunate circumstances, we had to switch around some of our utilities. And instead of handing Verizon $50 a month to screw us over on our phone bill (after baiting us with DSL and then telling us — oh wait, sorry, now that you’ve signed up you can’t get it) and another $50 to Cablevision for the high-speed internet we require, we figured we might as well go for their Triple Play for $100 and get cable for “free” so to speak. So for the last few days, we’ve all been in a TV coma. It’s weird having all these shows. And commercials! Oh, I didn’t miss the commercials. Everything from disability insurance to craft supplies to as-seen-on-TV gadgets. It’s kind of nice having the morning news when I wake up with Laura, though. So we’ll enjoy it over the fall and winter and re-evaluate our situation next summer.

eight is great

My oldest son turns eight tomorrow. Eight! Eight years ago around this time I was starting to feel my contractions and started to get the idea that a “birth day” was imminent. I had a difficult labor with Jake, one that resulted in a c-section. His heart rate started dropping and as it turned out, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. When he was born we weren’t concerned with handing out Davidoff cigars, just that he was healthy. And he was! He’s a crazy, creative boy. It’s hard to look at those baby pictures and realize that it’s the same little boy who is now reading “The 39 Clues” books and playing games on the Wii.

Time goes by much too fast. But even though birthdays bittersweet, I love them just the same. And I will do everything I can to make it a super-special day for him.

not in my job description

I had a surprise phone call this afternoon with a lead for some possible editing work. I was super excited because while I like writing, I miss editing. It just comes easier for me, and I’d love to get back into it. This is a freelance gig, too which is great. Gone are the days when I’d be shopping for briefcases to take to the office. My “office” is wherever I have my laptop. I’m hoping I can keep this up after all of the kiddos are in school. I’m not sure I really want to go back to office life. Maybe I’ll be able to swing it as a full-time freelancer after all.

college memories

When I was shopping at Target the other day, I got a little nostalgic amongst all the dorm supplies: trunks, mini fridges, toasters, coffee makers, shower totes, flip-flops… It doesn’t seem like it was all that long ago that I was shopping for these things, but it was. (I won’t say how long though). However, I don’t miss the expense of those college textbooks. Our book annex allowed us to sell used books, which helped a little. There was no online book shopping back then, so really — how could you compare prices? You couldn’t. The price was what it was. These days I can rely on a great inter-library loan system for the kinds of books I’m interested in, thankfully. But I’d do it all again if I could. Man, I loved my years in school.

back to school

All the stores seem to be advertising back to school sales already, though around here we don’t start until after Labor Day. Yesterday I finished purchasing their school supplies for the year. Now they’re in Kindergarten and third grade, but they’ll be graduating before I know it. I know from my oldest that time flies once they’re in school. I wonder if when they’re college-age brick-and-mortar colleges and universities will still be the standard? Maybe by that time it will be typical for a student to “attend” an Online College. (Sure would save on room & board!) It’s so cool seeing what our kids are interested in and how their tastes change over time. It’s an interesting ride… that’s for sure!

breathless

So we’re currently watching “30 Days of Night” and it’s one of the creepiest films I’ve seen in a while. I didn’t have high hopes for it, but it’s pretty darn good! It has both of us on the edges of our seats. I’m finding myself out of breath, waiting to see what will happen next. (Wonder if a respironics oxygen concentrator could help?) But seriously, although I am generally not big into vampire stuff (I prefer zombies), watching this movie makes me want to read the comic book. I think I might be checking that out.