Something New

Whenever I find something new I like to share it and this new discovery is definitely worth sharing . . .

If you know me at all you know I am very organized. I like things neat and clean and I like my stuff accessible. And I hate having junk around that I don't need. This has become more of a thing for me lately since we have had to make room for Nathan's stuff. And so I have been on a mission to get rid of it and make room for toys and just space in general. Last year or so I found Paperbackswap.com. You post books you want to get rid of and when someone else wants it you send it along. You pay media mail postage for it and get a credit for each book. When you have credits in your "account" you can then request what you want from other members and you get it free! This is awesome for me as I love to read and pass along books to others. They have one for DVD's too and you can do this with audio books.

The thing I found most recently is freecycle.org. I knew about it but never looked into until I got into this new kick of cleaning out the junk. This is way cool. You post stuff you don't want but someone else can use. Like my old vacuum. I got a new one for Christmas (thanks Truck!) and the old one works but is not needed. I probably couldn't sell it so I offered it on the Wake Freecycle boards. Not a day later and it will be taken this afternoon. I think I got around 5-7 messages from people that wanted it! I put all my CD's in a carrying case and wanted to get rid of the jewel cases. Instead of tossing them in the trash I posted them and - viola! - these too will be taken by someone this afternoon. I have more space and I feel good about recycling stuff! You can also go on there and see what is up for grabs. You can request stuff too. How cool is the internet?!

And so the mission to reduce, reuse, recycle continues. I wouldn't consider myself "green" or anything, but the more I think about how much junk we put into the world the more I want to make less of it. Especially if I can make more closet space for myself. Next stop . . . the kitchen drawers and the hall closet. Blankets anyone?!

PS - If you were hungry for Nathan stuff, here is a pic for you to enjoy.

Christmas

We're having a great Christmas. See the Picasa Album for more pics! Here's the 9 Month pic . . .

Mid-December Relaxing

It is finally mid-December. A time when the house is decorated, presents are bought /wrapped/ shipped/ tucked under the appropriate trees, cookies are made. . . much has been accomplished and now we can relax a bit. I was hoping we could do so with snow on the ground. The storm hit us just a little bit Friday night. We had snow on and off and we got a nice covering even. But we went out that night for a holiday party and returned to mostly rain. By morning the white stuff was wet stuff. Boo . . . Hopefully we'll get another chance at it this winter.

Our holiday party was fun. We get together with the same group of people and bring food and silly gifts to exchange. The food was amazing and plentiful. For me anyway. Leo has waffles. No really. There wasn't anything he was interested in so our host offered waffles. What good friends we have. We also seem to have been talked into having a New Years party. Leo is happy about this since he seemed a little disappointed we hadn't made plans yet. But we will probably have a small gathering and have a low key celebration. I guess Nathan had better get used to the noise of our parties!

Speaking of the little boy - have you gotten our holiday postcard yet? He was too cute looking out that window, I had to share it with everyone. I had been searching for a smile to capture - but what came out was even better I think.

I hope you also saw the video of Nathan dancing. He's the cutest thing shakin' his bon-bon to Cypress Hill. I watch it often to get a giggle. I hope you have too. If not, you can see it here. The kid is adorable. He dances all the time, everywhere. I hope he continues to have a free spirit and dance as he gets older. I love it!

What else . . . we (as in me of course) have been building a fort in the dining room. With large boxes that have been collecting in the garage I rigged up a nice little place for us to play. It has windows and doors and the start of a nice interior as well. Daddy drew him an entertainment system and I plan to add some furniture. Hey, I have to entertain myself somehow. A nine-month old can't exactly interact a whole lot right now.

Oh yes, we also had a surprise this week. I was on my way out to the store when there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find myself speechless. A friend of mine who has moved to WA from Raleigh was standing there with her husband. She was here for a short visit and on her way to the airport back to WA. It was so unexpected and awesome. Thanks Meredith - it was so good to see you!

And now it's close to bath time. Nathan was sick last week and he still has some left over runny nose stuff going on. Poor thing has boogers crusting up all over the place (and so do I!). GROSS! Hopefully I'll have time to update everyone on the celebrations here but if not - have a Happy & Merry everyone!