Little Snippets

1. As a follow-up to the cloth diaper discussion, we've had several people ask a couple questions that I didn't address.
a) How are you planning to deal with the dirty ones? Answer: We have a wet bag (versus the pail system). It's washable, too, so the plan is to throw it in the washer with the diapers when laundry days roll around.
b) Have you seen the sprayers that attach to the toilet tank so that you can spray the dirty diapers down before washing them? Answer: Oh, yes. We think those sprayers are awesome. However, they are on our "want, don't need" list. Until we have everything that is absolutely essential (i.e. the crib, all of the actual diapers, the baby herself) and then find ourselves with a discretionary baby-stuff fund, we'll just rinse the old-fashioned way.

2. The snow is getting ugly and inconvenient now. Most Southerners who haven't lived/visited other places that get massive amounts of snow probably aren't terribly familiar with the brown/black mountains that the snow morphs into really quickly. Once it gets plowed, shoveled, and pushed to the sides of the roads and walkways, it solidifies into rock-hard ice mountains (glaciers?) and turns a gross browny-black color as it gets dirtier. It's really unattractive. Also, parking is a straight-up nightmare. On a good day (i.e. a regular day that doesn't involve snow), Brad can easily circle a mile or more radius for close to an hour, searching for parking (I've timed it on several occasions. Two weeks ago, it was literally 57 minutes. He walked into the house as the Downton Abbey theme song was coming on. I didn't think he would make it in time!). Now, we're pretty confident that we're not moving the car for anything short of a medical emergency. We did learn that during snow emergencies (which we're currently experiencing), you're allowed to use a space holder for up to 48 hours. Apparently, people will put large items (like coffee tables, trashcans, patio tables with umbrellas, strollers) in the spots that they've dug their cars out of so that they'll have a guaranteed place to park when they return. Cultural differences, y'all.

3. Last night at our church small group, I had a cute interaction with another gal. She's (surprisingly) a Massachusetts native (in this very student-heavy part of town, you don't run into tons of natives) who did her master's degree at Wake Forest. She loved living in North Carolina and had a really great experience. We've talked before about how she really enjoyed the food and had several favorite brands of sweet tea. Last night, another girl in our group was asking me if I've been drinking caffeine while pregnant. The answer is yes (and if you feel strongly that I'm damaging my baby, please don't talk to me about it until she's born. I'm way too emotional these days to handle criticism.). I drink caffeine very moderately, but I do drink it and usually in sweet tea form. Well, Wake Forest friend heard me say that, and she piped in with, "Oh, where have you found good sweet tea here??" I was a taddy bit confused at first. Confused because I just make it at home. So, my first thought was, "well, I just buy a box of Lipton..." I think she realized from the look on my face that I wasn't referencing purchasing sweet tea and seemed rather impressed that I make it at home. Maybe I should make her a pitcher next week. :)

4. Today is Ash Wednesday. We'll be participating in the Ash Wednesday service at church tonight. I'm sure I'll write about it soon; I've tended to do that for the past few years. Also, no worries- I won't be fasting from food during Lent. Don't want anyone thinking that I'm not getting proper nutrition.

Just some snippets from our life right now. Nothing too terribly exciting going on, but we like to think it's interesting nonetheless. Happy Wednesday.