Friday, August 28, 2009

What's that smell?




... That's something that my two year old niece says every so often when she encounters something olafactorily offensive.

With this new deodorant that I found on etsy, she'll hopefully be less inclined to say it around me. I know, I already posted about etsy deodorant, but it turns out I have sensitive pits (or maybe it's just pregnancy hormones) and I was itching up a storm.



So I tried some of the "No Offense Deodorant" from Mum Mum's Crafts in the plumeria scent. This stuff smells delicious. Seriously. Every so often since I've started using it, I'll think, "What's that lovely smell?" And, well, it's me! The plumeria is gently floral, clean, and a little tropical. And in the past week since I started wearing it, my husband has not once said "You kind of stink," as we've climbed into bed. Either we're really making progress in our relationship or this stuff really works. The only downside I've come across is the one day that I put it on with a black tank top -- some of the white stuff showed up. But I'm also pretty careless about that sort of thing -- and, besides, tank top season is almost over. At $7 for 3 oz, it's quite a bit pricier than any store bought stuff, but I don't mind paying extra for handmade and the stuff is so thick that I'm confident it will last me a while. Although, I might be buying before I run out just so I can check out some of the other scents!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Fence Building 201

The adage (or perhaps it's just a poem) goes "good fences make good neighbors." Our last couple of weekends of working on the fence beg me to ask "do fences make good families?"

Unfortunately, I only have pics from a few weekends ago when our mission was to finish getting the rails up and start placing the pickets on the first panels. Since then, we've (by which I, once again, mean "Eric's family") finished all the pickets and the three gates.

It basically went something like this:

Eric and his dad discussed the plan of attack: a conversation which I'm sure involved Loren offering all sorts of sage advice but then reassuring Eric that "it's his house" and that they should do it the way he wanted to. At which point Eric mulled it over for about two seconds before agreeing with his father. (Although to be fair, Eric did pretty much all the designing.)

Eric did most of the measuring and the math because he's supposed to be good with numbers, although, honestly, the calculator his mom carries in her purse (and gets teased for doing so) came in handy.

Dane did lots of cutting because he's meticulous.

Lu and Loren put the pickets up. I hope this fence didn't come between them.

That's supposedly that guy's middle name, but....
... it was Loren who was taking the real risks by ripping boards so that they would fit precisely at either side of each panel using a guard-less table saw.

But not to worry, the only major injury was incurred when Loren drilled into his own thumb.

A few weeks later, the crew reunited along with youngest brother, Tyler, who took on much of the drilling because, well, he's tall. Sorry, Ty, no pictures from this weekend. Loren's thumb had healed quite nicely.

I did a little measuring here and there, since I do so much when I'm sewing anyway, but mostly I found inventive ways to use my pregnancy as an excuse to not do much of anything at all. Or, as my five year old nephew pointed out his weekend when he dropped by with his mom and siblings to see the fence, "Let's leave the men to the work and go inside where the ladies are lounging." 'Twas true. We were lounging.

I'm still not entirely sure that good fences make good families. At least one member of my family is already jealous that I married into a family that is so handy, not to mention a little obsessive compulsive when it comes to home renovation. So I guess at the very least "good families make good fences."

Next time in the fences trilogy: pictures of the final product (we still have a few more finishing touches to put on) and the pros and cons of having a puppy running wild in the backyard.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Pardon the absence, but the beach comes before bloggin

Sorry for the long silence. I was busy doing this:

Which is to say, posing for photos with my family on the front steps of beach houses. Not really. Mostly we were:

Hanging out with family at the beach house. (Lest you feel like you might nee to call child protective services, that's a mosquito bite over Addie's eye.)

Picking (and eating) A LOT of Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab. We are probably mostly responsible for the decline in the population. Sorry, crab lovers. (Also, turns out that sitting in a chair picking crab for three hours is NOT a great activity for a pregnant lady's feet.)

Laughing with our siblings. (Most likely at the expense of another sibling.)

Hanging out in the water.

And learning to boogie board (and how to dodge jelly fish).

Taking lessons on how to make a train whistle sound from Granny.

"Reading" on the beach. (And, yes, Ladies, he's single.)

Trying to look glamorous in the sand.

Lying around with siblings (and looking wistful).

And spending a lot of time "upseedown."

I spent a good portion of each day enjoying being buoyant in the salt water and eating ice cream.