After being in the big city of New York, home in Suburbia seems a little, well, boring.  It is indeed true what they say that New York is the city that never sleeps.  And apparently BeachMama had a hard time sleeping in the big city.  I am not sure if it was being away from my family or just the noises everywhere (car horns go all night long) but I did not get my best sleep while in New York and I was never so thankful for my own quiet bedroom as I was last night.

I have been trying to decide what to write almost all day.  I have done laundry, wrote a few lines, made lunch, wrote a few lines and downloaded pictures then wrote a few lines.  Then it all didn’t make sense so I started all over again.

I went to BlogHer and I loved it.  My partner in crime and roomie, A Crafty Mom made it to NYC only to come down with a tummy bug that saw her spend a day and a half sleeping it off in bed. I would have rather that hadn’t happened so I could say that the trip was perfect from beginning to end, but it did and we have to acknowledge it.  We did agree that it was probably the best place to be for her to get sick as she could spend the day and a half in bed getting better instead of trying to take care of her children while sick.

While A Crafty Mom was getting better, my other roomie, Barbara, was helping me get around NYC and keeping me encouraged to do stuff by myself.  I had registered for the BlogHer 5k Tutus for Tanner along with A Crafty Mom and thought about bailing out.  Why would I run around NYC by myself in a tutu? Why?  Because I can and Tanner can’t. That is why. With everything that went wrong for Tanner to make it NYC, surely I could put on my running shoes and run around the streets of Manhattan with my tutu flying in the breeze.  Shannon was live Tweeting the run, so she caught me bright and early in my tutu.

I made it.  Imagine that. I am almost 40 years old and I managed to run a 5km square through Manhattan with strangers staring, laughing and me singing, taking pictures and crying.  Yes, crying.  Running is emotional and when you do it for someone else that makes it worse.  Add to that I was tired and the song “Forever Young” by Alphaville started playing as I was pushing the last few blocks. It was all I could do to not break down and sob.

With the run behind me it was officially time to start attending BlogHer.  I made it to the opening speeches and the first round of sessions and was having a great time.  I did expect a little more from the opening, a chance to meet others or something, but we were a large group so there were other ways to get out and meet others that I had to make use of.  The sessions I attended were great.

After listening to others talk about their experiences, good and bad, I have come to the conclusion that BlogHer gives you what you want to take out of it.  I went there with very little expectations.  I have a teeny tiny blog, it isn’t even small to me, just teeny tiny and all I wanted was to either confirm what I was doing was right or should I be moving in a different direction.  And that is what I got.  I got to hear others share in their experiences of writing, photography, small blogs, fitness blogs, environment and activism.  And all of it was great.  Even if all I took away was that I was doing the right thing,  I am happy.

I did not go to Blogher expecting to walk away with sponsors or book deals or even to be recognized. I went for the community and the sharing and that is exactly what I got. Were there sponsors onsite? Sure, did I talk to any, nope.  Did I try, nope. I went to a few parties and built more of my community and it was fantastic.

Was I recognized?  You bet. I met two fabulous ladies whom I have known for a few years now, Emily and Cooper from the Motherhood.  We tweeted with each other and Emily was certain we would meet, I on the other hand wondered.  Then I stepped into a very full elevator and who was right in front of me?  Emily.  And we were going to the same floor.  After years of emailing and talking through blogs and comments I got to give them hugs and share for a few minutes.  And that for me, was fabulous.

I also got to meet Kathy Buckworth, whom I did a book review for and that was really lovely as we were dancing it up on the dance floor and I saw her and knew I just had to say hi as we had tweeted that we should meet up at some point there.  I ran into Erica and Sharon from the Yummy Mummy Club, whom I had met at Winterlude. And Candace from Best Tools whom I volunteered with at the Food Bank. It was a little like a reunion of sorts, but a good reunion, not an old High School reunion.

I also got to meet another special lady, but I must include a photo and really it is a post of its own so I will save that for tomorrow.

So yes, I loved BlogHer10.  I loved the women that made it wonderful for me Shannon, Lara, Brie, Barbara, Shannon, Andrea, Julie, Sherrie and Cheri-Lynn.  And a huge shout out to Chevrolet and Adria for making out drive there and back quite lovely in our fabulous Chevrolet Equinox for our #ChevyBlogHer Roadtrip.

And yes, I would love to attend BlogHer11 in San Diego next year.

I will state for the record before I even begin.  I have NEVER owned a Toyota.  I do not work for Toyota nor do I have any association wtih them and the following is my opinion and my opinion alone.

For eight years I drove a Geo Metro Convertible LSI in white.  This is not my car, I have only film copies of me and my sweet ride and they are in Apples room and she is asleep.  This photo is courtesy of Wikipedia .

As much as I loved my sweet convertible and the fact that it only cost me $15 in gas for two weeks worth of driving, it wasn’t without it’s faults.  For a three cylinder I quite often found myself driving on only two.  The locks would freeze up for most of the winter, causing me to have to crawl in through my trunk to unlock the doors. But, in the summer when the roof was down and I was tanned and loving my ride all the winter faults were long forgotten.

With all the recent talk about Toyota and their stuck gas pedals, I feel that I should come out and share my experience with stuck gas pedals.  It used to happen to me with my Geo, all the time.  Yes, ALL THE TIME.  Mostly in the wintertime when the throttle would get frozen. But, there is a safe way to get yourself out of this situation.  Turn your car off.  It didn’t matter if I was still in the driveway or on the highway when my gas pedal would get stuck and the engine would redline, I would turn the car off, coast to safety and put on my hazards.   I am not saying this is fool proof, but when your car is speeding out of control, instead of going into panic mode and trying to beat red lights, just cut the gas to the engine and coast yourself to safety as best you can.

Too many drivers these days don’t know how to get themselves out of situations.  I am not sure if it is because they grew up driving new cars or what but, my Dad always had beaters and us kids learned how to drive in them.  Over the course of the last 23 years of driving I have had my share of strange situations.  Stuck gas pedals are just a small part of it.  I have had to change my alternator on the side of the highway, too many flat tires to count, open the hood to spark the starter, timing belt blow out on the 416, power steering cut out on me, clutch cable snapping (Downtown in Winnipeg and yes, my Dad can drive without a clutch) and many more that I am sure I am forgetting.  Back in High School my Sister and I were known for the beaters we would show up with, but it never stopped anyone from asking for or taking a ride. Just remember not to panic and you can usually get yourself out of a situation.

So be gentle on Toyota if you own or were thinking of owning one of their cars.  And remember that the company that makes those apparently faulty gas pedals??  They don’t just make them for Toyota.

When you add in the car repairs from Hubby getting side swiped. Very, very expensive.

I could take the blame because I forgot to get milk today when I was out. But, actually going out these days is becoming so difficult that I am lucky to make it home at all. And no, it isn’t only Apple. J too is now adding fuel to the fire of going out in the car. Even though Apple has been much much better she still has her moments. But, J, my faithful traveler never wants to go out anymore. Even though I have explained that it is Christmas and we are doing things for others, nope he does not want to go anywhere. Argh.

So, I forgot milk. Dinner was ready and Hubby got home. J ran to tell him we forgot milk so he decided to go. I actually pleaded for him not to go and I would go after supper. But, he really really wanted his milk with supper so off he went. The snow started coming down really hard and Hubby pulled out of the grocery store, thinking he had lots of room. Which he did, if the roads were dry. He fishtailed (this is not making me feel good about the new car/truck) and spun sideways, with nothing he could do the guy that was coming around the corner slid into him. Hit mostly the back passenger door, with a small ding in the drivers door and the back hubcap. Nice.

Hubby actually said it didn’t make him feel good to not have control and that left me feeling less confident about our new purchase too. If he had been driving the actual car with the stick shift he could have braked and shifted his way out of the spin, but in this case, there was no shifting, just the locking of the brakes and the automatic switch into AWD. I guess I have more reasons not to go out in the snowy weather now.

Ahhh… off I go to pour a glass of milk.

edited to add: Yes, Hubby was not hurt it was just a minor accident. So minor none of the side airbags deployed. I am just thankful it is only a few irritating dings, but had to make light of the situation by posting about it. It took Hubby longer to get to the police station in the bad weather than it did to get the milk. They got there just in time though because the line up behind them was ridiculous. And I was also thankful that the guy that hit Hubby was a nice friendly guy. The two of them had a little too much in common, it is scary.

Yes indeed folks we got the confirmation that we are still indeed having a girl! I was more worried that J would be devistated at the baby being a boy than Hubby or I.

All in all the ultrasound went well. My placenta is no longer low-lying (very important for a home birth) and the baby was only measuring one week ahead. My belly on the exterior is measuring three weeks ahead so we (my Midwife and I) were worried that I was carrying a big baby, but she seems to be close to target and will most likely be the same size as J was when he was born (8lbs 5oz). And I didn’t have an overly large amount of amniotic fluid, which was another concern. So all in all everything looked great. That’s not to say that something might show up in the detailed report sent to my midwife, but for now I was breathing a bigger sigh of relief.

I will say that I am entering the tired zone and our week at the beach couldn’t come sooner (this time next week I will be soaking in the sand and surf). Any later and I don’t think I would be able to make the trip. As it is I do think that I will be slower than I previously thought. Vacuuming is now out (unless I want to start the labour, I may start vacuuming again in August) due to a pain on my side everytime I pull that sucker out. Cleaning bathrooms is out, due to not being able to bend over properly and clean the tubs and showers. Pretty much I am good for laundry and kitchen duty and that’s it.

Hubby is working away on the new basement, A’s room is almost done then a well deserved break will taken. All that matters is that A has a place to sleep the rest can be done a lot slower.

The new car is still a riot, I think this first tank of gas is a write off as Hubby insists on driving it every day (he drives like twice a week normally). We tested out the luggage in the trunk space and are ready to roll. I will say though that I am having a very difficult time changing from standard transmission to automatic. I have been driving a stick for 20 years (TWENTY YEARS!!!!!!) so I find myself pressing the phantom clutch and shifting into neutral a lot. The biggest test will come in the wintertime when I can no longer laugh at people spinning and sliding while I drive by in first gear, or when I can rock myself out of a snowbank with my clutch, those will be hard days and most likely I just won’t go out.

Exhibit A: Which was accidentally taken last week during my self-portrait day for Whoorl. I am wearing Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara in Black. This is the one I have made do with for the last year or so after testing many, many different brands (some drugstore brands, some cosmetic counter brands).

Exhibit B: I took today. Wearing my Yves Saint Laurent Faux Cils in Black. There is definately a difference.

I ususally give Mascaras a week before I pass judgement, but I know some of you are eagerly awaiting the results of my testing, so I am posting a mere three days into using it. My overall rating is going to be a 7 out of 10.

Day One: At first I was not entirely impressed. The mascara brush is great for brushing long lashes, but not for adding any volume at all. That is one of the differences with the Dior brush. It was flat througout with a round end, no one has had a brush like it since. This brush is round throughout and has lots of bristles, this type of brush is usually called a teddy bear brush which ads thickness to lashes without too much legnth. In this case I think they made the bristles shorter so you get a bit more legnth and not as much volume. I like to have both.

In order to achieve the look that I enjoy, I had to coat my lashes about four times when normally I do it only twice. This might change in a week or so when the mascara gets a bit of air in it and thickens up. I find most mascaras annoying for about a week until they aren’t fresh from the tube.

The mascara stayed in place all day but, I will say that by the end of the evening the tips had flaked off a bit, which is something I do not enjoy. I want a mascara that I can rely on from morning until night, just in case.

Day Two: The wash test. After washing off my mascara, I had to pull out the eye make up remover to get the rest of the mascara that did not come off with the soap. Both Dior and Clinique come off with soap or just plain water if you need to. So in the event that you go swimming with your mascara on you know within a few good underwater wipes you have no residue. Not the case here, I won’t bring this one to the beach.

Day Three (today): I found today easier to put on and only required three coats. But, as you will notice in the photo it looks a little clumpy today. It didn’t look clumpy on Saturday and Sunday so we will have to see again how the rest of the week plays out and if I can get away with only two coats.

This is why I am giving it a 7 out of 10. Dior was a perfect 10 and this is missing a few key ingredients to get that full 10 points. Is is worth the $42 a tube? That I will have to decide at the end of my week of wearing it.

p.s. I will say that my eyelashes looked awesome while I was driving around in my new vehicle this weekend. Hubby thinks this is the coolest I have ever looked in a car, I think it comes a close second to my convertable.

I can’t believe I went awol again, it has just been too busy around here. I thought I would post some random bullets of fun to catch up on things.

• Starting with cute things that J has said over the past few days. “Mommy, when my baby Sister is born will she be in an egg?”, “Mommy will your belly crack open when my baby Sister is born?”, “Mommy will your belly go back to the way it was after my Baby Sister is born?” Apparently J has it in his head that babies arrive in eggs, just like chickens. And he is very concerned that my belly will be too big to cuddle with forever, somedays I wonder the exact same thing.
• It has been HOT! Hot, hot, hot. I love it. We have been using the pool and J is doing some great dog paddling with his new ‘muscles’ or floaties or water wings. It seems that his fear of the water and pool are definately over, which makes for much more fun for us, except for the fact that I have to go in the pool sometimes when I don’t really want to.
• A’s room is looking good. The framing in the basement is almost complete with the wiring next and the gyprock with be next week. It is looking like a real basement now and I am getting excited for baby’s room.
• Hubby is running ragged. I feel badly that I cannot help more, but somehow mowing the grass in +30 degree heat and building a basement just don’t seem to fit with being 29weeks preggers.
• Dinner with the girls. Myself along with a bunch of other Ladies went out for dinner without the kids!! Shocking and fun it was, we had a brief storm move in while we were dining on the patio, but the awning was good and the night was great. Nothing like a little girl time to rejuvinate yourself for a good long while.
• We have made our final decision on a vehicle. And Nissan, if you are reading, we love you so much we decided to go with a Murano. No, not a new one, we will wait for your Baby gift to arrive in August. But, we are thankful that your Murano offers a huge backseat that we can comfortably fit five people, with two carseats (yes, thanks Brian for being so patient while we moved carseats in and out of the vehicle). And as an added bonus the backseats also recline! We were really flipping between the Quest and the Murano, but the Quest available was a basic package and the seats were a not so nice cloth, and truthfully ranked in comfort with our ‘91 Ford. So Murano it is! And quite frankly, I am not a huge van person, I would rather an SUV anyday. And this one matched my colouring much, much better than the van.

So, this has been our week since the Sens lost the cup. Not too exciting for everyone, but lots of excitement around here for us. What on earth are we going to do while on vacation at the beach? It just won’t seem right to have a week with nothing to do but watch the waves.

The letter K for Kellogg’s. J loves Rice Krispie Squares, but he usually has store bought ones. When I told him we could make our own it was like Christmas in May! He talked about it all the way through the grocery store, all the way to the mall to pick up more shorts for him, and all the way home again. He even talked about it while I put all the groceries away and set everything up.
And for the record, he is not stirring a hot pot of melting butter, he was getting ready to help and pretended for the photo op. On with our show… I love to bake, but haven’t made Rice Krispie Squares in many years. I forgot how annoying it is when the marshmallows are melted and you have to add the Krispies and it gets hard to stir. Argh. I was having flashbacks of burning the marshmallows way back when (I was maybe 13) and Mom running around fanning the smoke detectors. I stirred and stirred and J bounced and jumped on his stool and added a marshmallow here and a Rice Krispie there. Then they were done.

For some reason today, he wanted to be Santa Clause. He was so excited for his Rice Krispie Squares and took a bite… an hour later took another bite…. and an hour later… you get the idea. Usually he eats them three at a time, but apparently only I eat them that fast when they are homemade. He didn’t say that he didn’t like them, he just keeps going back and taking a little bite at a time.

And brought to you by the number 3. It just made is sound all the more Sesame Street like. J’s favourite number is 3 so it sounded good.

And a little update on the car thing. Well Hubby seems to think we have been driving with bad bearings for at least a year if not longer and doesn’t see or feel the same as I do about it breaking down. That being said, he takes a bus to work everyday and I drive the car everyday (or almost everyday) so I still feel a little nervous. It does sound much better after our visit with the mechanic yesterday and our search for a new vehicle continues. It looks like the beach vacation may still be a go and we will firm up vehicles later in the summer or early fall (A can squish for a little bit). And Silver Creek Mom, I have taken your advice about your van and we don’t have the Caravan on our short list at this point. Will see what the fall brings though. If Nissan is out there reading my blog (not bloody likely) we would love a nice Pathfinder for a Baby gift, I would talk about how wonderful you are all the time on my blog and post many photos of us enjoying the lovely Pathfinder. I’m just saying is all.

I wish I could draw on the computer. Then I would draw a picture of my oh so sad car. I love my car, I really do. But…. and yes there is a but… things are starting to go wrong. When this happens, I don’t want to drive them anymore.

I don’t mind fixing cars when they need fixing. But when you have been driving a car for almost eight years and know that there is possibly a (almost) new one that will fit your whole family in the near future I don’t want to fix it. On the other hand, if we don’t fix it more could go wrong.

Ack! I want to pull my hair out!

We have two vehicles, a wonderful ‘92 Ford Aerostar (total age = 15 years) that costs more to put gas in it than anything else. Hubby no longer drives it to work so it sits in the driveway for occaisional use. My Dad has actually been driving it for his work this past couple of months. This is the vehicle that we intend to not own anymore. It was given to us and has served us very well, but really without shoulder belts it isn’t useful to us anymore.

Then we have my old car, a ‘98 Nissan Altima (total age= 9 years), oh how I love my car. With it’s five speed manual transmission and leather interior, I truly love it. But, the plush comfy seats in the back aren’t condusive to two car seats and a fifteen year old. I can certainly cram the carseats in, no problem, but adding a teenager who never really complains but asked how he would fit with his new Sister joining us (I already drive with the seat leaning back into his legroom, it doesn’t always pay to be tall) it’s time to look for something newer.

Last week was the start of the car troubles. Hubby hit a pothole (one of too many in our beautiful city) and broke the linkage bar on the right side. Our mechanic ( a wonderful man from Mexico, José, nothing like a good mechanic) found an oil leak and some lose ball joints. We left the ball joints for now, but today when I took her in to get a bracket installed on the muffler he saw that the transmission fluid was leaking out too! Further inspection revealed that the bearings are gone in the transmission (and probobly have been for a while as I drive it pretty hard) . José did say if we don’t mean to drive it much anymore then he could probobly fix up the leak and leave it, but if we were going to keep it for a couple of years for our soon to be driving teenager, we should really fix it. Ack!!

The thing is, now I don’t want to drive it anymore. I don’t care when it’s just me in the car, but with J I hate when things go wrong. And with Hubby taking the bus he can’t just leave work and get me if something happens. I have to rely on my Dad to leave his work and fetch us, which he does with Love, but still.

So now I am on the search for a new used vehicle. We were hoping to wait until the fall when all the sales are on, but it looks like we might have to forego our annual trip to the beach (Double Ack!!) and get something sooner.

I hope that we can find a solution to our car troubles soon, this is beginning to stress me out.