November in Florida

Fall is here, I have even seen a few trees change color. This passed weekend we went to the beach a few times. The weather was amazing. Mild temps in the 70s and not a cloud in the sky made for some great beach days. Sunset on Friday, and midday sun on Saturday. It is hard to believe that it is November. Had we been up in Chicago we would be preparing for winter, instead we are enjoying a little sunshine.

Here I am with a big belly shot with the sun. Yes, I have a jacket on, it was only about 65 degrees!
M tries out the water, but it has gotten very chilly since the last time we were at the beach. Not really swimming weather.

Help is always available

I remember back when I was in high school having a tutoring session almost weekly. I was one of those students that needed math help, and the way to get that was through a math tutor. However, it was a scheduled event weekly, that usually cut into the time when I rather be playing soccer, or tennis or anything for that matter other than math.
Now in the age of technology online math tutoring can replace your weekly tutoring session with the local tutor, and put the online math help at your fingertips 24 hours a day. I know that getting a teenager to do anything can sometimes be difficult, but this is on the computer, and I think that is something the kids can get behind. The online math tutor can be a valuable tool for the struggling student. You can type in your questions and get the help you need. I think this would have been great for me when I was in school. I hope that the students of this fantastic online generation take advantage of all the benefits that the internet has to offer.

Tubs of all sizes

With only a shower stall in our bathroom we long for a luxurious bathtub. I want one that is big with jets and easy to get into. I recently saw some walk in tubs that provide all of those wants in one! The existing shower stall would be easily replaced with the tub. The tub has 16 power jets to help your sore muscles! What could be better?, the fact that the side opens and allows you to get in easily without the fear of falling or slipping. This is an all in one, so the shower is built right in too. No need to have a separate tub and shower, I can just replace my shower stall with this walk in tub. I think my muscles would thank me!

Digital Revolution

We have been in the market for a new pocket digital camera. Long time fans of the Canon Elph, I did my research on the new models that are out. I really liked a few of them. After seeing the Canon sd780 in the store I went back to the computer to do a bit more research and compare it to the SD940is. Two of the cosmetic differences between the two is that the SD940 does not have a view finder! Who uses it anyway, the image that you see in the view finder is not what comes out on the screen most of the time. The SD940is also has a bigger LCD to view your photos. The SD940 was not in the store to play with, but since it is the latest model, I figured it was about the same in body shape and style, and that I could purchase it online for less! I found it on Amazon.com for a great price, and got it with next day shipping. I had to have it NOW! It arrived today and boy is it small. It makes my SD500 look like a behemoth.

After a charge on the ultra small battery, I went to the back yard to see if I could snap a few pictures. My first impressions, since they are priceless, is that the camera was great. The weight the size, easy of menus, everything was nice. It helps that the menu system is similar to previous models of the elph, but this one has so many more options when it comes to manual settings. By no means does it have the control of my sony alpha DSLR, but it has some really fun menu options from color accent, color swap, digital macro, and a plethora of scene selections. One of the main reasons we settled on this camera is because of its ability to shoot video in HD. Who wants to lug around yet another item in the camera bag when this great little camera does it all. Quick video shots, which really who wants to sit through 3 hours of video, depending on the size of your SD card you can shoot 10 minutes or more.
Here are my first shots, the newly emerging brussel sprouts and of course the dog.

New wheels

M's car has seen better days. The laundry list of things that are non-functional now is getting longer. Starting with the antenna that is no longer going up or down, just making noise to the air conditioning fan that has stopped working except on high. That is not really a big deal, because if you need the air on here in Florida you want it to be cold. I just hope this winter is not too chilly for his short commute.
Since we are seeing more and more things that work less than perfect, we have been looking into some new wheels. We are going to try and hold off as long as possible, but it can't hurt to look, right?
I am really partial to the Volvo with its great safety record I would love to have the XC90 with plenty of room for our dog and for the new baby the XC90 would be ideal! Of course there is the tiny item of price that will ultimately be the determining factor. It is just a vehicle to get from A to B, so we don't really need to get something that is super fancy. I am also checking out the reviews on a few of the Honda cars. They too have a great safety record, but the price on these is still a little higher than we really want to spend on a car. I do like the options for green vehicle by Honda, the Prius is oh so tempting! One brand that is a little easier on the budget is Kia. Some of their models look great, and the price tag is a little easier to handle. We will have to do some research to see how the safety record compares to Honda and Volvo. Since we are going to drive M's car until it literally falls apart, we will have some time to do the research necessary when making such a big investment in a new car!

GroBaby

I was just reading my Facebook page when I saw that GroBaby's at Kellys Closet were buy 6 get one FREE! That is a pretty good deal, anytime you can get one for free is good. I am not sure how long this will last so hurry over and pick which of the cute little GroBaby cloth diapers you want. If you just need a few, maybe you could go in with a friend and split the pack, and the price. Anyway you divide it everyone wins.

Get on the Bandwagon

Great news in Buenos Aires, they are in the process of getting rid of plastic bags! Check out this great article on the ban from Seashells and Sunflowers. The blog writer is an American living in Argentina, with a great perspective on life abroad!
Way to go Buenos Aires, now lets all follow suit and reduce the number of plastic bags we use. We can all make a difference, start with one bag, then your stash will grow as you get intouch with the fashionable side of bagging groceries!

The Potty Pail

Yesterday was a good mail day. I got a few packages one contained a fantastic quilt made by my mom for "baby boy", and the other was a gift from my SIL of the Potty Pail. M was so excited that it arrived, that he promptly stopped what he was doing to go set it up in the "men's room" (that is what the upstairs bathroom is now called). The box was nicely packaged, and the one sheet of instructions was easy to follow! The pail itself is a large bucket with a hole at the bottom for the water and other spray off to go directly into the toilet. The quality of the fasteners was unbeatable they were all brass fittings that worked perfectly with our toilet. Within minutes he had the sprayer attached and the potty pail in position on the toilet. The pressure of the spray from the nozzle was incredible! This is going to be great in our cloth diapering adventure! If you have never seen the Potty Pail check out their website for details. If you are ready to buy click the link on the side bar to go straight to the site! Once we use it I will let everyone know how it works, but until then the set up was a breeze.

An unlikely find

I was going through a few unlabeled boxes the other day, only to discover that it contained a few gold coins! It was my lucky day. The one gold coin that caught my attention was so shiny, and in great condition. I needed to research what the value of such a coin would be. I scoured the Internet for some info. It is hard to decipher all the numbers, and graphs that I found, but one site that really was helpful was all about gold coins and gold bullion coins. The information was easy to find, and easy to understand. I was really glad to get some much info on one site. Of course I took my coin to a local dealer and got top dollar for it, since I did know what it was worth! I guess it is good to do your homework, before you sell your coins.

Shopping Smart online

It is easy to search for something online, but you have to find a place that will give you all the buying options for your product. I have finally made it to the last month and half until the baby is born, but I need some last minute clothing, especially some jeans. It is not easy to find a good looking pair of maternity jeans, but it can be done with a little effort. Fashionable maternity clothes is almost an oxymoron, but with a few tips you can have a fashionable wardrobe without breaking the bank.
Since I only have a month left though I don't want to invest in a ton of clothes. I need to think about the holidays when the baby is a few weeks old and we have some people to visit and places to go. I will want to have something festive to wear. The internet will save the day. I can search for some holiday clothing favorites like a great cashmere sweater. It can be dressed up with accessories, or be wore everyday with jeans, and the best part is that it will hide some of that baby fat! I can't wait to get shopping online!