Revelation of the Morning

I (Dan) had a revelation this morning, and without going into the story of how it came about here it is: There is no such thing as a dumb question. There are however dumb people who ask questions.

Time to let the barf out of the bag

For those of you who haven't been able to tell from all my mad dashes to the bathroom or the nearest bush; its time we let the barf out of the bag. I have the 9 month flu. That's right!
WE'RE PREGNANT!

Our little baby is 4.2cm long and about 11 weeks old. To save you all from having to make the calculations yourself, that puts our due date at December 10th.

We don't know the gender of our baby (not that you can tell yet anyway but looking at the above picture, our baby does look well endowed!) but we will NOT be finding out until the baby emerges into the world. So save yourself the trouble of asking, cuz we're not telling since we won't know!

Yes, its true. I do suffer from the 9 month flu. Let's hope that the "morning" sickness doesn't last much longer because I am tired of being sick morning, noon and night. And for the record, I'm sick of being tired. Oh the joys of being pregnant. Who knew that such a small little thing could wreak such tremendous havoc on my body? Dan has been super fantastic while I am sick. He loves to ask while I am in mid-puke, "Are you okay?"
Gee, honey! Come a little closer and I'll give you the answer right on your shoes! He also loves to ask, "Is there anything I can do for you?" I respond with a gag and then my wish that we were seahorses (since the males carry the babies). Seriously though, Dan is super fantastic while I'm sick. He has picked up the slack around the house, makes meals that I get to puke up later and cleans up after me. It makes me love him so much more!

Virgin Bed

Dan and I have this term that we use for when our bed is freshly made with clean sheets. We call it a "Virgin Bed." The best virgin bed is made with sheets that have been hung outside on the line and have that "fresh air" smell.

We often fight to get into the Virgin bed first. We trick each other, promise to wait and jump in. Then we spend the next few minutes sniffing the fresh air out of the sheets. (okay, lame! But it just smells sooooo good!)

One day, I caught Dan sniffing a line out of the bed. It was like a cocaine high, except with a fresh virgin bed.

He got quite a high out of it and had a slightly crazed look to him. Folks! This is what fresh air does to a man! Inhale at your own risk. You've been warned!

Amy please don't kill us!

This is Amy, slightly bummed, after losing another game of tug of war with her husband Dan. Not much else to say, this picture says a thousand words.

PS. Amy, please don't kill us....we really mean it.

Viking Festival: Picture Edition

Viking Festival

Last Saturday, we met up with Dan and Amy at the Viking Festival in Abbotsford. We shared a lovely picnic at Mill Lake before heading over to the Trethewey House for the festivities.

The boys, in true peaceful Mennonite fashion, took to a sword fight and proceeded to beat each other up with foam swords.

They both lost limbs in the battle, as you can tell from the one legged dance that they are performing.

In the end, both succumb to their injuries. Yeah peace!

Grocery Shopping: How we do it without a car.

People often ask us, "How do you do it?" in the context of living without a car. Well, folks! Here's a glimpse into the illusive world of car-free living. It takes a little bit of hard work. A lot of sweat, tears and the odd swear word. But eventually, you make it. Sometimes cursing yourself for buying so many groceries in the first place.
Dan: I mean, who really needs to eat that much?
Amanda: Well, we do, after hauling it all home!
Now you may say to yourself, that cart doesn't look all that full and she's only carrying three bags of groceries! How hard could that be? Well, little do you know that the cart, full of groceries, weighs upwards of 100lbs that we had to haul up two very large hills! And Amanda is carrying another 40lbs divided between three bags! Folks! It gets heavy and cumbersome. But, we continue to do it.
Why?
We are stubbornly bound and determined to make it as long as we can without a vehicle.
Again, Why?
We don't really know. Perhaps, we trauma block these incidents. Okay, really. We rarely do such large trips anymore. We've gotten a bit smarter in our old age and have begun to take weekly trips to the grocery store. This lightens the load a bit....okay, a lot.
So, how do we do it? We put one foot in front of the other with a bag in each hand, and a heave-ho on the cart handle. Somehow we make it home, with a (slight) smile on our face!

Cursed Bike

I (Dan) have a bike that I got from my work a little less than a year ago and in that time it has given me very little trouble.... until this last month. In the last 4 weeks it has been disaster after disaster. It starts with one spoke breaking, then two days later another one gave out and it got bad enough that I had to take the tire off and get it fixed. Then the day after I got the tire fixed I got a flat and a big one at that. So off to get the necessary parts to fix a flat. Okay, so I get the flat fixed and now I lost my front derailleur cable, so this is my next project. All this inside of a month... I'm beginning to think my bike is cursed. Here's hoping that nothing else goes wrong in the next month.

Something to celebrate!

In 6 weeks, we have both lost 12 pounds! We have started to exercise more (good old bike rides), eat smaller portions and stop the night snacking. All in all, we're just trying to embrace a healthier holistic lifestyle. And we certainly are proud (and a little lighter to show for it!)

Car-free and loving it

People often question us about how we make it through life without a car. And how we will have a family without a car. To those with the question, it seems impossible to live without a vehicle. Perhaps because they are attached to their car, or cannot fathom the change in lifestyle that it brings.
But to us, the answer is simple. We just do. When life without a car began, it was difficult and we often asked the same question. How are we going to make it? But as life went on, the question changed. Why do we need a car? As long as you live in a "walkable" area, living without a car is easy. Yes, it takes a few more minutes to get places via two feet and a heartbeat or public transit. Both are far better options on a personal level (free exercises program) and an environmental level. We have also found that walking enhances your relationship, as you are less prone to crank the stereo and sit side by side in silence.
People often encourage us as a couple that living our life this way when its just the two of us is easy. They commend us for our efforts. But they always seem to point out that when we have a child, life changes and we will no longer have the determination to walk anywhere. The reality is that yes, it will be difficult. Our child will probably scream and it will be a long way from home. But they do that in a car too don't they? At least there are a lot more environmental noises to block out the screams! We do wholeheartedly admit that it won't be easy to go car-free with a family. But we are willing to try. Plus, the benefits that we can envision for our children, seem to outweigh the consequences. They will be fit, able to walk long distances, and learn patience (things aren't always instantaneous). They will get to enjoy nature, chase birds, and explore the world around them in a way that a child strapped to a car seat never will. They will get to interact with people of all sorts, ranging from kind elderly couples out for their daily walk, to strange and creepy weirdos wandering the streets. They will get to meet other children, talk with the marginalized, and visit with under appreciated bus drivers. We have seen the benefits of walking with Cypress and River already. Benches have become playgrounds, sidewalks are school yards and safety lessons. They have spotted the white cat in the house down the street and run to say hi through the window. They have learnt their numbers by watching the buses go by. (That is the #1 Amanda!) They know bus drivers by name and wave hi to the man who waves his tongue at us every day. They know Charlie, the blind man who delivers newspapers, and his mom who walks with him. They know the shoe-less man who walks everywhere getting numerous coffees from various places throughout the day, and they know that he "not pay attention." They know the neighbours dogs by name and how to cross the road safely.
When you look at all the things we've noticed just by walking, it surprises you how many people you know and what you know about them. Walking has built relationships with our neighbours and within our family. Not having a car causes us to rely on other people for things we cannot provide for ourselves (like a ride to Langley). We have learnt to ask for help when we need it and quite often you realize what you are capable of doing without needing help. It has shown us inner strength, physical stamina and humility. Or in the immortal words of Great Big Sea, "Courage, patience and grit."
Can we do it? We will give it our best shot. In the meantime, we'll save the planet, one car at a time (and our pocket book, one gas fill up at a time!).