Running thru life.... to Ipad 2??? Continues

To follow up from my Ipad 2 thoughts.

...... we will be purchasing the Ipad 2 much to my husbands delight. 

Joe currently has a computer that is bigger than most computers that he uses for school
and I have a netbook which I hate!! Joe's computer is a laptop but really is more like a desktop because it is so big.  He rarely moves it off his desk.  I have a netbook- Do not buy a netbook- worst idea every. 
My husband hates it more than me...which is actually kind of funny to watch.
Fortunately for me- I did not spend a lot on it.   

So his thought is..
Lets get the ipad2 and then use his computer for our everyday things like finances/taxes, piscasa, etc. 

However, before I put any money into Apples hand I wanted to do a little research.
My hubby and I took a trip to Bust Buy to play with all the tablets. 
Here is my novice assessment...

Blackberry Playbook-  TOO SMALL.  My Droid is almost as big as this thing.   Instant turn off.

Samsung Galaxy-  AGAIN TOO SMALL.  The product itself was easy to use.

Motorola ZOOM-  Pretty cool.  This works on the Android system so it was easy for me to use because I am use to my droid.  It just feels like a bigger droid in some ways.  However, in reviews people said it was very similar to the droid.  i.e Having to shut the machine down and restart it all the time.  Pain in the butt.  It is a nice try but all the reviews stated it feel a little short of the ipad2.

ASUS Pad-  I looked into this because one of my patient's husband had it when I was up on the labor deck.  He let me play with it and it said it was great that only thing he did not like was sometime the Apps are not as cool as some of the offered on the Ipad.

Ipad2- pretty cool.  I have now played with the one in the store, 3 others thru friends, and 2 of my patients. 
I am in love ... why you might ask

1) Netflix- I can stream the movies to the ipad to watch while I am running, or on vacation or really anywhere
2) IReader- why buy the Nook or the Kindle separately when it is a feature on the ipad.  True it does have backlighting so it may be a little hard to read in direct sunlight.  But I would rather have 1 product I use a lot than three products I only use every now and then.
3) Calendar- With both of us have busy schedules it will be nice to have a central schedule for both of us to reference
4) Itunes... I am runner.. Do I need to say anything more. 
5) Dropbox- allowing me to access files when needed. 
6) To do list.... I love organizing..
7) It is small and portable but still big enough to watch movies

So now we are on our quest to find one... wish us luck!!

Running thru life... Weight gain during pregnancy

Many people have started to bug me on why I do not blog about my career as a midwife.

Let me start out by stating that I truly love my career. 

It can have its ups and downs- but I LOVE what I do.  

So I have decided to start incorporating items from my patients into my blog.

Today's item:  Weight gain during pregnancy

Pregnancy can be an exciting and fun time but for some it can be stressful. 

Today I want to discuss one of those stressors for pregnant women that I deal with almost every day- Excessive Weight Gain during pregnancy.

I constantly walk into rooms with patients crying or visibly upset with their weight gain during pregnancy. 

This is what I have learned in my short career to 1)BE REAL WITH THEM and 2) Set them up to succeed. 

I do this in my practice in many ways.  The first most important step is laying the ground rules.  So at my first visit with a patient I layout their expected weight gain and break it down according to trimesters.  Often people think when women are pregnant they are eating for two - WRONG.  You actually only need about 300-500 calories extra a day if you are of average height and weight. (That is a granola bar!!!)

Here is a chart with recommended weight gain during pregnancy

according the ACOG (Americal College of OBGYN).  On average plan to gain about 25-35 pounds.

On the first visit I explain where this weight will go and what it will do. 

See below...

I go on further to explain that by 20 weeks you should gain about 10 pounds total, followed by a pound a week for the remainder of pregnancy (for an average person.). 

At each visit my patients are weighed and I review their weight with them.  I look to see they are staying on their course and if they are not I get real with them- what are we eating, are we walking, and trying to exercise.  But most importantly I try to give positive reinforcement because it works the best! 

It can be hard when addressing the idea of weight with pregnant women. 

The answer is "Lifestyle change." 

It is not just one thing but a way of life. 

This is what pregnant women need to realize-  Pregnancy nutrition is a lifestyle change.  It means eating health, exercise, and splurging when you need to.  You could read a thousand pregnancy books and all will give you probably different advice on what to eat versus what not to eat. 

 For my patients the answer is simple-  Live a  healthy lifestyle with occasional splurges.   

To be honest- all women can benefit from this idea. 

So start today by changing your lifestyle. 

Running thru life... Planning Vacation Cont'd

My hubby and I decided on Greece!!!!

I started researching via 2 co-workers who had previously been, a couple travel books, and trip advisor. 

After talking with my hubby we decided the following. 

If we are going to Greece... we are going to do Greece. 

Meaning we want to see different areas. 

We decided 3 areas would be ideal. 

We picked:

1) Athens - I love Greek Mythology and have always wanted to see the Acropolis. 

2) Mykonos-  A Greek Island known for the beautiful beaches and fun town.

aka... Relaxation Town!

3) Santorini-  Greek Island which is know for the wineries, beautiful sunsets, and blue topped buildings. 

After deciding all of this I made the conclusion that we were going to do this thru a travel agent. 

With three different locations with hotels, flights, ferries, etc to worry

about I wanted someone who does this for a living. 

I first contacted a couple travel agents in the area and also two that were known for Greece trips. 

I was met with either 

1) No reply 

2) Outrage when they heard what we wanted to spend on our trip. 

Both of the Greece specific travel agents told me we would not be able to do Greece on the budget we wanted. 

Let me say it was very frustrating. 

Then our neighbor mentioned a travel agent they had used and had great success with. 

So I emailed her in detail with what my husband and I were interested in:

2 week trip to Greece with stops in Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini.  
(Spending on two nights in Athens and then more time on the islands). 

Each room must have a balcony, and include breakfast.
(This is something that we had on our honeymoon and we consider it a must!  Breakfast included means it is one less meal to eat and most of the breakfast services go to 10 or 11am so you can really make it breakfast and lunch which means you just need to eat one other meal.)   

Budget XXX

Time of year we were looking to go  XXX

She replied a couple day later with a tentative itinerary, three hotel recommendations with pricing for each stop, airline prices, etc.   (Staying with our budget). 

I then used tripadvior to help with out decision in the hotels.  We will not be going till later this year.

But I am so excited!!!!!

Where are you going this year that will be fun? 

Running thru life... Planning a vacation!!!

I have made it tradition as long as Joe and I have been together that each year we take a vacation. 

Some years it is small. 

Some years it is big.  

We have been together for now 6 + years and our vacations are as follows:

2005-2006   Carinval Cruise to Key West and Cozumel

(We were both in grad school at the time so this was definitely a poor students trip but we had a blast.)

2006-2007   Week in my parent's Condo in St Augustine, FL

 (This was right after Joe's Graduation from Grad School-such a blast)

2007  Carnival Cruise to Mexico

(Right after Joe proposed, I finished grad school, and passed my boards!!!)

2008  Vacation again at the Condo in St Augustine FL

2009   Our HoneyMoon in Maderia

(The trip of a lifetime!)

2009-2010   1 year Anniversary in Napa, Ca

( A long weekend trip)

2011 ????

After we come home from one years vacation I start planning the next.  It helps keep me motivated!

So after coming home from Napa we started to think of the possible places we were interested in going. 

We decided since Napa was not a big trip this year we wanted something BIG!!! 

Our list was made up of:

1) Croatia

2) Greece

3) Hawaii

4) Bermuda

5) Austraila

6) Europe

We started by ruling a couple out: 

Australia was just too expensive and to do it the way we wanted we would need more than two weeks. 

Bermuda -we decided is was close and we really could go there anytime. 

Croatia - we ruled it out as we started to look into it and found the transportation between the cities would be a little more difficult (at least for the cities we were interested in going).  Also, we have had a lot of friends that have recently been there and we wanted to do something different.

Europe- we ultimately ruled out because we will be doing that next year in 2012 to visit friends in Scotland
(Yes I know be very jealous... I get to look at Castle and Drink Cider- Life does not get any better.)

That left Greece and Hawaii- both of which we wanted to go to. 

So where will it be???

Running thru life... Breaking down

My hubby and I went to dinner with some friend a couple weeks ago and they were surprised to learn that we do not have a house keeper who comes in t our house to help us clean.   Up to a couple months ago this thought had never crossed my mind because up to this point my hubby and I have been able to manage it.   We had split up the household chores. 

However, with some recent changes- i.e Joe going back to school while still working full time, me become more active in a running schedule, and also finding myself taking more on at work with longer hours- I need help!!! I could manage the everyday things but the hard things are the big things like waxing the floors, cleaning the bathrooms, etc.

I brought this up with my husband a couple months ago and he laughed at me stating it was not necessary.  But now thanks to the helps of my friends and also my mother-in-law, who gave my husband a hard time, we will be having someone come in to help me.

We will start using her in June once a month since Joe will be home more this summer since he will just being taking a couple hours of research.  In the fall, if I am happy, I will probably start having her come once a month.

So I sat down and make a list of things that I really want a cleaning helper to do.
Here is my list:
Clean bathrooms
Clean windows
Wax the floors
Dust

The price of it once a month is equal to one nice dinner out.  After discussing this with my husband we decided it is both worth it so when we do have time we can spend it together and not cleaning.
I will let you know how it goes.

Running thru life... The Mojito

A couple years ago my future in-laws introduced me to the Mojito.

I was instantly in love.

Let me start by stating that I do not drink a lot mostly because it only takes one drink for me. 

I can not drink heavy liquor drinks because my body just does not handle it.  

I do not drink most beers because I just do not like the taste. 

This makes it hard for me.  But not with the Mojito. 

It is a wonderful refreshing drink.  That is part alcohol and juice/sparking water.

This is my husbands recipe which I think it perfect.

 Ingredients:  Limes, Mint  Sugar, Bacardi Run and Lime flavored Seltzer Water

Step 1:  Cut limes in half
Step 2: 2 tsp of sugar in to each glass
Step 3:  Squeeze one lime in to each glass. We use a lime squeezer for this which rocks!
Step 4:  Add Mint leaves to Taste.  We like mint so we are heavy on it.
Step 5:  Take the squeeze lime peel and cut into small pieces.  1/4 peel per glass
Step 6: Muddle with Muddler
Step 7: Add 1 shot of Bacardi Rum
Step 8: Stir to make sugar dissolve
Step 9: Fill glasses with ice
Step 10: Fill remainder of glass with Lime Flavored Seltzer water and stir.
Step 10: repeat steps as necessary!!!

Enjoy