Kiersten’s Blog

We planted our garden a couple of weeks ago.  Okay, we planted zucchini and a tomato plant a couple of weeks ago.  I wasn’t sure exactly how to plant the zucchini.  I’ve always seen it planted in a hill but that’s not what the directions said on the package of seeds we bought.  So I planted them in a short row right outside my dining room window.  I’m guessing I planted about 14 seeds in a row about 18 inches long.  I didn’t expect them all to germinate, but now I have 14 little zucchini plants that are really close together.  I guess I better thin them out pretty soon.  It’s exciting to see them growing!

I rode the trolley downtown today.  Sometimes I wish that I had some sort of camera attached to my eyes permanently so that I could take pictures of things that I see without being noticed.  Riding the trolley gives a person lots of opportunity to people watch.  Today was no exception.  In my observations, I have compiled a list of ways to fit in better on the trolley and to look like a seasoned rider, instead of a tourist.

1. If you are a man and have lost the hair on the top of your head, definitely grow out the rest and put it in a ponytail.  But don’t forget to put a ribbon around the ponytail before leaving home.

2. It’s always a good idea to carry strange objects onto the train, such as a large handful of wire hangers, a small dog in your jacket, or a bag of bottles or cans.

3. If you must sit down, make sure that there’s nobody sitting next to you or across from you facing you, so that you have your clean air and bench.  And don’t forget to wipe the seat off before sitting down.

4. Switch seats at every stop.  Again, don’t forget to wipe the seat off.

5. Whistling and conducting music in your head is okay to do.

6. It’s okay to wear all black (beanie, dark glasses, sweatshirt, pants, boots) as long as you have your American flag cape.

7. Since you can’t smoke on the train, put your cigarette out right before stepping inside, but keep it in your mouth, ready to go so as soon as you step off the train at your stop, you don’t miss a breath.

There you have it.  Don’t forget to HAVE FUN!

I spent the day today volunteering for CPR Saturday here in San Diego where over 2000 people were trained in CPR.  I left the kids home with Taylor and spent the day downtown.  I definitely got more out of it than I put in.  I heard about it through the Hands on Network, which is working with Disney this year to provide volunteer opportunities to people to receive their free Disney day.  I planned on doing this for a free ticket to Disneyland.  I kind of felt weird about it though.  I guess I felt a little sheepish saying that the only reason I was volunteering was to get a free ticket to Disneyland.  But let’s face it, most people were in the same boat as me.  It was such a worthwhile way for me to spend my Saturday that I don’t feel like I should get anything out of it.  Instead, I get a free ticket to the happiest place on earth and I’m now CPR certified.  That’s one thing I’ve wanted to do for a long time.  It’s nice to finally have it done.

I came home to a clean house and sleeping children.  I think I need to leave for the day more often.

It’s a good thing I’m sure that the church I belong to is true, because today might have been one of those days that would make me decide to not go anymore.  Wow.  Now that I see that in writing it looks kind of harsh.  Let’s just say that I was really annoyed at church today.  That shouldn’t be how I feel while I’m there.  I’m pretty sure I go to feel the Spirit and be uplifted.  I’m sure it was partly my attitude and my choosing to be annoyed, but that’s how I felt today.  Plus, if any of you have ever gone to church with a crazy 11 month old and an emotional 4 year old, you might have some sort of idea what I’m talking about.  But that’s just part of the problem.  My main annoyance is our new ward (congregation).  I really like everybody I have met, as individuals, but as a whole, I’m kind of struggling with the ward.  The main reason is, it’s SO big.  I don’t think we’ve ever been late, but every week, it’s a fight to find a seat.  We sat down on the back row today because that’s what was left, and an old man walked in and said, halfway joking, “Don’t you know that you have to be older than 70 to sit on the back row?”  I told him that we would be happy to move if he could find us another place to sit.  We moved anyway.  I also noticed a pew closer to the front that was empty.  I walked up there and, of course, somebody had left their jackets and scriptures there to save the seat.  It was still empty when the meeting started.  It bothers me that people do that.  If they want that seat, they need to be there, keeping it warm.  These scenarios happen week after week.  I know I need an attitude adjustment and none of these things are what the gospel is about at all.  They’re just small things that make this already difficult transition a little bit harder.

I don’t nap.  I don’t like the way I feel after a nap.  I’m always groggy and yucky feeling.  It’s especially bad if I decided to fall asleep with my contacts in.  Then my eyes are dry and irritated.  Furthermore, I feel like napping is a waste of precious daytime hours.  Today was different.  We got home mid-afternoon.  I put Ashton to bed.  Quiet time for London was a necessity, especially in light of the way she was acting all day.  Once the kids were down, I decided to lie down for a bit.  I took my contacts out because they were really bothering me and I just planned on resting for a minute.  I woke up a half hour later, rolled over, and fell asleep for another half hour!  It’s a good thing we had leftovers that we could have for dinner.  I was awakened by a baby, ready to eat.  It was nice to sleep, but I’ll have to say, that I’m still tired.  I can’t imagine I would be any more tired if I hadn’t slept.  The good news is, London slept too!  And she napped yesterday!  One day of napping for her is a miracle, but 2 days in a row?  I don’t even know how to explain how lucky I am!  Both days we have had to wake her up because we want her to go to bed at night.  And right now it’s 9:30 and she’s still not asleep, but she’s been in bed for an hour.  The bad news is, she wakes up from her naps really cranky.  Once she’s totally awake, she’s great, but by that time, it’s bed time again!  Then we start over with the grump in the morning.  Here’s to hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

On another sleep note, last Monday I woke up too late to go jogging before I took London to school, so I dropped her off and came home to go on my morning jog.  Of course, I had to push Ashton along in the stroller.  He had fallen asleep in the car on the way home from dropping off London, so I wasn’t sure how the jog would be.  On top of that, just as I was about to leave, it started to drizzle.  I grabbed a blanket to use to cover him so he wouldn’t get wet (if needed) and headed out anyway.  It drizzled a bit, the wind blew, then the sun poked through.  Through it all, Ashton slept.  Once we got home an hour later, I pushed the stroller into the house and showered and got ready, while he kept sleeping.  Amazingly enough, he woke up just in time to eat and get back in the car to go pick up London.  Somehow the stars were all aligned and I was able to make sleeping work in my favor that one morning.  It’s the little things that make me happy.

Last week I went to a Relief Society activity where they talked about couponing.  A couple of women were there to show us some of the tricks of the trade.  I’m definitely a bargain shopper.  I get really excited when I find really good deals.  For this reason, I can see myself getting really excited about saving a lot of money by couponing, but I won’t do it.  Sure, I use coupons when I can find one for something I usually buy, but I don’t go out of my way to find coupons or deals on everything I go grocery shopping for every week.  And I’m not willing to buy 20 jars of peanut butter just to get $10 back.  This new-to-me idea of couponing also seems WAY too time consuming!  I can’t imagine trying to sort through all of those coupons, as well as taking so much time at the store, just so I could save a few bucks.  And the multiple transactions?  It reminds me of being on WIC and I would rather not go back there.  I was finished with that when Taylor got a real job.  So in case you were wondering, I won’t be clipping an outrageous amount of coupons any time soon.  And I won’t be taking pictures of the 20 jars of peanut butter I just bought for 50 cents.

I bought a new stroller on Tuesday. It’s not just any stroller. It’s a Phil and Ted. I was planning on buying one long ago. When we lived in Pomona, I had a really good group of friends who I walked with every morning. People in town called us the stroller brigade. We all pushed a stroller. Eventually, we all got pregnant again, and were in the market for buying new strollers. Amanda settled on the Phil and Ted. Rachel already had one and we were all envious. She was smart enough to buy it as her first stroller. Sarah went with the B.O.B. Revolution Duallie. She had just given birth to her second child and wanted to start jogging again. I had just started jogging and wanted to keep it up. I did a lot of research on the stroller that I would buy. It was kind of a big investment (on a small budget) and I wanted to make sure I was buying the perfect stroller. I finally settled on the Phil and Ted. Then, after a bit more research and field tests, I decided the Valco Runabout Tri-Mode would be the best option for me. It is meant for jogging and the Phil and Ted is not. Plus, when I tried out the Phil and Ted with the doubles seat attached, my knees hit the seat as I walked. Soon I miscarried and didn’t need an expandable stroller, but I bought the Valco anyway, knowing that I would use it, and someday be able to add a toddler seat to it, if needed.

The Valco served me well for almost four years. After I had Ashton, though, it became a lot more difficult to push. The added weight, along with the placement of the toddler seat right over the front wheel made it really difficult to turn, unless I was going fast. I got used to it, though. Then recently, the bar in the back that goes between the two wheels to make it more stable, broke. Now it’s near impossible to turn if I’m pushing two kids, not to mention unsafe. I did, however, take it on my jog on Monday, while pushing just Ashton in it, and it worked like a charm. I loved it! I called the company to see what it would take to repair, and I would have to buy a whole new back end frame, which would cost $7o. I’ve also been looking into getting it welded, but haven’t found anybody that can do it yet. Apparently welding aluminum is kind of a difficult task and there’s not much market for stroller repair. In the mean time, I found a Phil and Ted on Craigslist for $60. How could I pass that up? It’s an older model. I’m guessing it’s about the same age as my Valco. Recently I’ve been wondering if I should have gone the Phil and Ted route in the beginning. Now I have them both and I can compare them side by side. I really like the design of the Phil and Ted, but my initial suspicions proved true when I took her out on her maiden voyage today. I kept hitting my knees against the back seat. It’s not a big deal when I’m walking, but if I was jogging, I think it would really bug me. I do like, however, that the Phil and Ted is much easier than the Valco to maneuver around a store. It’s narrower and easier to turn with two kids riding along. Have I found the perfect stroller? No. But I have two really good ones and I’m thinking that the perfect stroller doesn’t really exist.

Anybody know how I can become a stroller critic?

We’ve been really busy lately. I guess I could probably say that at any time in my life and it would be relevant, but I feel it more so now. We had a small housewarming party on Saturday for just a few friends and right after that was over, I headed out to the airport to pick up my grandma who’s visiting from Alberta. We don’t see her often because she lives so far away, so we’re really excited to have her for a week. Because of these two things, we have really wanted to finish up on our projects with our new home. I am blessed to have a husband who’s a hard worker. He’s been working like crazy to get things done. He goes to work every day and comes home just to do manual labor for the rest of the day. Today he finished the baseboards. They look really good. I still have pictures to hang and decorating to do, but for the most part, we’re done, at least with the worst of it. It’s nice to see such a beautiful finished product. I’ll post pictures one of these days. I lost the charger for my camera battery, so once my new one comes in the mail, I’ll take lots of pictures to show off.
As I mentioned before, my grandma is visiting. It’s fun to have her around. She keeps the kids entertained, which is always a nice thing. London always has someone to chat with or sing to or play games with or read books with. Tonight we put the kids to bed and then Taylor and I were able to go out and run some errands all alone. It was great! I can’t believe how much easier it is to get things done when you’re not toting two kids along. And now for a funny story. Yesterday, my grandma told London that she had to go wash her face. When she came back, London said, “Grandma, you forgot to wash the wrinkles off!” That girl is hilarious.

I can’t remember the last time (if ever) I have done one of these so I thought I would, just for fun today.
A-Age: 31
B-Bed size: Queen
C- Chore you hate: dishes
D- Dog’s name: I’m thinking we won’t have pets. Ever. But my dog’s name as a child was Sasha.
E- Essential start your day item: getting out of bed. That’s the hard part
F- Favorite color: Green, sometimes Blue
G- Gold or silver: Silver
H- Height: 5’3”
I- I am: tired
J- Job: Wife, Mother, Cook, house keeper, Preschool Volunteer (wow, I didn’t have to change any of Christina’s answers!)
K- Kids: 2, a girl and a boy
L- Living arrangements: newly renovated town home with my husband and two adorable children
M- Mom’s name: Marilyn
N- Nickname: Kierst
O- Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None for me, but I stayed with London when she had her cleft palate repaired.
P- Pet peeve: I have a lot so I won’t even start.
Q- Quote from a movie: “Spit spot.” –Mary Poppins
R- Right or left handed: Right
S- Siblings: 2 brothers and 2 brothers in law, and 2 sisters and 2 sisters in law
T- Time you wake up: 6 if I want to exercise, but later if I don’t.
U- Unique thing about your car: My daughter named it Commancho
V- Vegetable you hate: mushrooms and olives
W- Ways you run late: getting kids ready
X- X-rays you’ve had: wrist
Y- Yummy food you make: cookies
Z- Zoo favorite: San Diego
Don’t worry, I won’t tag any of you.

I recently listed an old toilet of ours for free on Craigslist. We got a new one. This one leaks and it’s pretty gross. I’m fairly sure we’ll have to try other means of disposing it, but in the mean time I’m getting some great spam. Here’s the one I got this morning. Now remember, I listed the toilet for free.

Hello,

Why are you selling your toilet?

Are you getting rid of it because you need cash?

You do not need to do that! I am going to show you how I went from making absolutely zero to making a lot of money from the convenience of my own home!

Now you can keep your toilet!

Check it out here

To your success!

-Jose

I’m thinking that if I really needed cash, I would not have put the toilet up for free. But more than that, I think that my toilet would be the last thing I would sell if I was really strapped. I mean, I would have sold my computer long before my toilet so I wouldn’t be able to post things on Craigslist.