Spring Forward

This weekend, in the dead of night, in between Saturday and Sunday, we are going to lose an hour.  In the morning, everything will be happening an hour earlier than our circadian rhythms expect.  We will be getting up before we are ready and going to bed before we are ready (if we are smart).  Did you know, the Monday morning after the spring time change, there is an increase in traffic accidents?

The only nice part is that we also get to leave work an hour earlier in the day, which makes the daylight last one hour longer in the evening.  I think now is the time for me to start doing some walking in the evening.  I might even be able to talk Bruce and Sarah into joining me.  (Especially if we are playing Ingress.)  It's still plenty cold out there, but the light on my face might just be worth it.  Not to mention the exercise.

Here is a great article by Sarah Ballantyne, "The Paleo Mom", about the benefits of sun exposure.  Goodness knows we haven't had much of it this winter!

So, this weekend let's all try and get a little extra sleep, a little extra sunshine and pay a little extra attention on the road.

In other news...

As a special treat for his birthday last week, Bruce got...  a midterm exam!  Lucky.

Yes, Bruce turned 50 this year!  We had planned a party for this weekend,  but now, because of his school workload and deadlines we have moved it to the end of March.  But don't feel too bad for him, he is still getting plenty of birthday perks. We had a nice visit with Bruce's Mom and Dad last Sunday, and my parents for brunch last Saturday, followed by a small birthday celebration at Liana and Rob's that evening. And check out this cool 4th Doctor hat and scarf I gave him!

Looks just like the real Doctor, dontcha think?

Sarah is back into Girl Guides full tilt, after a few months of indecision on whether or not she wanted to continue.  This is her last year for Guides.  If she sticks with it she will be a Pathfinder next year.  This week, her unit hosted some girls and leaders from Pathfinders at their meeting, and I think Sarah is finally excited about the idea of "flying up" to Pathfinders this year.  

She has also decided to go for her Lady Baden-Powell pin.  It will mean finishing all the program areas of Guides, working on an independent service project, as well as doing a presentation on the life of Lady Baden Powell.  There is another 3rd year girl in Sarah's unit, and the two of them are going to work on it together.  I think they also have to do a camping trip where they are responsible for doing their own planning, set up, cooking, etc.  Under the supervision of a Guider, of course.

She went snowshoeing last week, and also participated in International Night, so it has been a Guiding-filled fortnight!  In May, there is going to be a province-wide Guiding event at Canada's Wonderland, and a camping weekend.

As for me, I've been using my new Stampin' Up goodies to create cards in my spare time, like this one I gave to Lorraine for her birthday.

Lorraine and I also went to a Stampin Up class where we made 10 cards and a box in which to put them.  So cute!

The same evening, we took a second class and made these 4 cards.

With all the running around we've been doing,  there hasn't been much time for cooking.  I'm excited to start trying some of the recipes out of "Fermented" by Jill Ciciarelli.  Hopefully, this time next week  I'll have a big jar of sauerkraut fermenting on my countertop.

Speaking of veggies, I got an email from the farm I bought from last year, that it is time to sign up for this year's CSA farm share!  This year I am challenging myself to preserve as much of the summer's bounty as I can, by freezing, canning and dehydrating.  I am also signing up for a meat share this year.  I will be paying for the shares up front, and then I will hardly need to go to the grocery store all summer!

Until next time!