G is for...Geocaching!

It's been a year this past month that I officially started geocaching.  For those of you not familiar with this popular pastime, it is usually described as a worldwide treasure hunt using GPS technology.  Not sure how I initially became involved with it, but after hearing about a friend of ours who had been "taking walks in the woods" to find "boxes", my curiosity kicked into overdrive.  I read everything I could about it and visited the most widely recognized website for the hobby here. This website is chock-full of information about getting started with geocaching and even has reviews on the best GPS units out there.  I quickly bought a handheld GPS and told my family I'd discovered a way for us to have fun and get exercise in the process, and that it didn't cost anything to participate (after the initial GPS expense).  My oldest was on board from the get-go.  It took a little more coaxing for my youngest daughter, Leena, and Mohammed to give it a shot.  Neither is what you would call "outdoorsy" and Leena has the added issue of hating bugs. This past year, they have both gone along with it, though, and Mohammed has really helped a bunch by carrying Adam in a backpack carrier on our adventures.  I have even told a few buddies about it, and gotten one person in particular to go on weekday adventures with me while the girls are at school and Mohammed is working (you know who you are!). It's really worth checking out if you like to hike.  In fact, you don't even really have to like to hike because many of the hidden caches are in urban areas hidden in plain site.  Caches are rated according to difficulty of the hide, as well as difficulty of the terrain.  Ratings go from 1(wheelchair accessible and easy to find) all the way to 5 (nearly impossible on both fronts).  Our family outings are usually a cache difficulty of 1-3 and a terrain difficulty of no more than 2.  It's a great family/couple/individual activity and you should check it out! Here are some photos from several of our adventures:

Leena's first find all on her own!

 Adam getting a free ride:

 Yasmeen's first find on her own:

 Adam napping in the distance while we made the find:

 They pop up in unexpected places:

 The goods inside:

 One of Mohammed's recent finds--this one was hard!

 An urban cache near home:

 My caching pal, Brenda and I with the neatest cache container yet--a tree branch!

Finding a travelbug-and I don't mean my napping son!

 Well-hidden:

 On our way:

 Caches are EVERYWHERE:

 Sometimes you have to reach up high and savor the sweet taste of success:

Thanks for stopping by...now get out and geocache!!

F is for...Favorites

Thought I'd post a fun list of our family favorites based on the list below.  We often have random conversations about our favorite "this" or "that", so now I've got them down to refer to anytime!

Janet: age 40

• color-orange
• food-breaded chicken cutlets (not changes since I was a kid)
• snack-chocolate (same for favorite dessert & candy)
• tv show-anyting on HGTV (although I love Army Wives and Private Practice, too)
• season-summer (for the easy going schedule and girls home from school)
• beverage-coffee
• restaurant-Olive Garden
• day of the week-Saturday
• thing to do-scrapbook
• gift to receive-a compliment

Mohammed: almost age 40

• color- blue
• food-Fetah (Middle-Eastern dish)
• snack-Raisinets
• tv show-30 Rock
• season-spring
• beverage-soda
• restaurant-don't have one
• day of the week-Monday (start of a new week)
• thing to do-spend time with family when we're not arguing
• gift to receive-peace & love

Yasmeen: age 11

• color-green
• food-french fries
• snack-chocolate
• tv show-Cupcake Wars
• season-Fall (not too cold and you can go outside--in Spring sometimes it's too hot already)
• beverage-Iced Tea
• restaurant-White Rose System (in Woodbridge, NJ)
• day of the week-Friday (she has her private music lesson that day)
• thing to do-read (anytime, anyplace)
• gift to receive-money

Leena: age 9

• color-fushia pink
• food-Salisbury Steak "balls" (new recipe I tried this week)
• snack-lime tortilla chips
• tv show-Victorious
• season-Fall (mixture of hot and cold and no bugs like spring)
• beverage-water
• restaurant-Rainforest Cafe 
• day of the week-Monday (the start of a new week)
• thing to do-write
• gift to receive-money

Adam: age 2 (according to Mommy)

• color-red (when asked what color something is-its always red)
• food-soup
• snack-lollipops (or pops as he calls them)
• tv show-Thomas and Friends
• season-Spring so he can get outside
• beverage-milk
• restaurant-McDonalds for "papas" (french fries)
• day of the week-no preference as long as his sisters are around to play with him
• thing to do-line up his Matchbox cars
• gift to receive-having a playdate with a "nene hoy" (boy today)

E is for...Everything

I can't focus today...I keep starting this blog post and then stopping, backtracking, erasing what I just typed, and restarting again.  I was going to write about education, or embrace or emotions, but I couldn't wrap my head around any of those topics, so instead, I am choosing to write about everything.  Everything that is on my mind these days, everything that keeps me busy, everything that stresses me out...well, just everything.

Call it the Winter blues, but getting through a long, gray winter here in NJ puts me into a sort of sloth-like funk.  Even though we are officially in spring now, and even though April is a relatively calm month for me, I find myself thinking a lot about things that have to get done, and aren't necessarily getting done.  Appointments to reschedule. Letters to be mailed. Calls to be made.  CME to complete. Tables to be cleared. Laundry to be washed. Clutter to be put away.  Homework to be checked.  Playdates to be had.  Layouts to be made.  Seems that when I have a bit of a breather from the stress of work overload, I become paralyzed with inaction. It doesn't help that it's so cold out (and in!) that all I want to do is stay curled up in bed in my jammies.  Yes, the basics get done around here, but I find it very hard to get a lot accomplished and have a really productive day when there aren't deadlines looming in the very near future.  Of course, I've cut myself some slack these past couple of years since I had Adam...he certainly does his share to ensure that my attention is not distracted away from him for too long.  He's a busy toddler and a mischievous one, so I can't leave him alone for long before I hear "uh oh" from the next room.  So its usually me flying by the seat of my pants to get things done.   Not sure why this is, but at least I'm recognizing it. It's been this way as long as I can remember.  Even before Adam came along :-) In school, I waited until days (sometimes HOURS) before a project was due before starting it.  At work, I would rush to draw up a treatment plan just as I had to present it at Grand Rounds.  At home, I start thinking about dinner (let alone cooking it) close to when we should be eating.  And it's not like I didn't THINK about it up until that point--I have, and maybe even prepped for it in some way mentally--but to actual DO the thing that needs doing, well, for that I will wait.  Thing is, it's worked for me so far...I got A's in school, I worked hard and earned recognition at work, and at home, well, most days I can whip up a dinner in less than 30 minutes.  Unfortunately, although I work well under pressure, I don't enjoy the amount of stress such procrastination places on me. This year, my hope is to try to organize myself a little better--maybe start making lists--those tend to work for me, too...and there's the added benefit of checking things off the list that I get done and seeing with my own eyes what I've accomplished that day.

Of course, there are also the self-imposed things that are stressful and keep me busy, too.  Like this A to Z challenge.  It's my way of holding myself accountable so that I actually get something worthwhile completed each and every day.  Something I can look back on, something that STAYS DONE. I can spend a whole lot of time checking emails and looking at various websites on the computer while Adam plays or while dinner is cooking, but that doesn't always accomplish much.  By picking a challenge and making myself do it, I feel like something has actually gotten done!  That's why each February, May and October I take part in LOAD.  It's the LayOut A Day challenge that I commit to so that my beloved hobby of scrapbooking doesn't get lost in the busy-ness of life. Self-imposed stress?  Yes, but it makes me happy to see that "load" of layouts at the end of the month! Maybe I should impose a daily "clear the countertops" challenge in May? Nah, that wouldn't work...these self-imposed challenges need to be FUN--and besides, that's a LOAD month!!

Thanks for checking in...now I'm off to clear my tables in the scrap room since I just wrote about (and remembered that) LOAD is starting next month! SEE?  I'm getting ahead of the game already...

D is for...date night

While I was planning my blog post for this letter, a lot of options came up starting with D...daughters, degree, diet, etc...then I thought about date night. I thought about how much I have enjoyed spending time with my husband...just him and I, getting to know each other better and reconnecting after all these years. We've been busy raising our family and its hard to make time for each other. So today,  I want to devote this blog post to my dear husband, Mohammed, and let him know that even though we don't get to spend a lot of time without the kids around these days, I am hopeful that we will someday have our date nights back on a regular basis.  I love spending time with you and all of us love you very much.  No, it's not our anniversary, and no, you didn't know I was going to dedicate today's post to you, but you are so special to me and you make our lives so much happier by being a part of it. Despite the lack of sleep and ensuing crankiness (on my part), I still look forward to seeing your face come through the door at the end of every day. Here's to some awesome date nights ahead in our not-too-distant future!  Love you, baby...

C is for...Camera!

I am a scrapbooker...which means I need photos...and therefore, a camera is essential! After our recent trip to DC, my handy point and shoot decided it had fulfilled all of its dreams and was fine to leave us before its time.  When we returned home, I dutifully downloaded the last of our pictures off the SD card and when I tried to reinsert it, she'd had enough.  I even took APART THE CAMERA to see if I could fix whatever was ailing the poor gal (mind you, I know NOTHING about camera repair, but how much could it hurt?).  No luck, and no warranty, meant it was time to let her go.  Hence began the research on a new camera.  Luckily, I did have my trusty Canon DSLR to keep me company while I searched, but there is nothing like the convenience of a handy, little camera that you can just throw in your bag and go around town with.  I looked at dpreview, cnet reviews and even consumer reports.  For the budget I was working with, the Canon ELPH (SD models) kept coming up as a good value.  Now, I know that the picture below is NOT of the current model, but turns out I got a killer deal on this one and the reviews didn't really put the newer model that far ahead of this one from last year.  So it arrived safely into my arms this past week and I quickly charged the battery so I could play.  Here is a picture of old faithful taken by the new camera.  And one taken by old faithful of the new gal in town. Now I have options, people! Works for me.

B is for...BB's Closet Consignment Sale

Ok, so maybe you're reading this from the comfort of your home many, many miles away from New Jersey, but I just had to mention the local consignment sale that comes to this area twice a year.  I started shopping there several years ago when my daughters were much younger and found that they carried very gently used "stuff" that was waaaaay below retail price.  After spending quite a bit of money on my great finds, I decided I should also try becoming a consigner myself to make up some of the money I spend each year.   Well, I have been doing so the past 4-5 years.  So what does this have to do with anything worth blogging about?  Well, it makes me happy that I am doing my part to live a greener lifestyle.  Not only am I saving tons of money on things that I need for the kids, but I'm also able to "splurge" and let them get something frivolous that I never would have allowed at full price.  Case in point, the 3D Pictionary game that my daughters just had to have this time around.  No way would I have agreed to it at the retail price of $35, but for $12, I let it slide.  And for the boy?  Well, he got himself one, rad kitchen for a mere $15.  Hopefully, he'll learn to cook for real someday and make someone very happy!

So there are probably some new Moms out there that wouldn't think of buying anything "used" for their new, bouncing, bundles of joy (hey, that was ME just a mere eleven years ago), but let me tell you, by the time kid #3 rolls around, you get over that really quick!  When DS was born 2 years ago (7 years after my youngest at the time), I made out like a bandit when it came to getting the essentials like playpens, bouncy chairs, high chairs, exersaucers (YES-they are essential) and toys.  Everything I bought was in perfect condition and the best part was that when dear 'ol Adam outgrew it, I could sell it BACK at the next consignment!  And wouldn't you know it, the Grands wanted to get us the "big" stuff, like our crib and dresser, so that worked out for us, too.

So, if you're looking to lead a greener lifestyle and aren't quite ready to take the plunge in a major way, then consider visiting a local consignment store for some of your family's necessities.  You'll find great deals and save a boatload of cash to boot. Wow, after typing that sentence, now I'm thinking I could have blogged about boats or boots.  Oh well...

Now, before I go, I can't help but give out a BIG shout out to my daughter, Leena, for BLASTING her science fair project right out of the universe last night.  Way to go, baby.  You worked hard and we're all proud of you!

Until tomorrow!

A is for Appalachian Trail...

Thought I'd start out the A to Z Blogging Challenge writing about something unexpected (after all, I could have gone with Adam, my son's name), but decided to go with this instead.  About a year ago, I came across the book "A Walk In The Woods" and became interested in the Appalachian Trail (AT for short).  I'm not much of a hiker (or exerciser for that matter), but I got this desire (white blaze fever, as its sometimes referred to) to try to hike parts of the trail some time in the not too distant future (seeing how one of the trailheads for the New Jersey portion of the AT is not that far from where I live).  I started reading everything I could get my hands on, including trail guides, and recently finished another book called "In Beauty May She Walk", about a 60 year old woman's "through hike" (a hike of over 2,000 miles within the same year).  I thought to myself, heck if she can do it, I could certainly attempt to hike some of it.  I've got a couple of decades on her and time to condition myself for the trail ahead.  Well, my goal this spring, is to start some serious training. By serious, I mean actually get out of the house to do some regular hiking on some local trails and see if my wanderlust of the trail via reading matches my desire in real life! Maybe I'll even attempt a small section of the AT next fall...even my daughter is interested in joining me, although I'm not sure how serious SHE is.  Just one thing, though...first I gotta figure out how to get over my squeamishness about mice, and let's not forget the bears!