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1 year ago
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Saying goodbye to Blogger
This blog is moving! I started a new blog http://sashastephen.wordpress.com/. I was able to transfer all my posts and comments to the new blog. I am still trying to figure out how to move my blogroll etc. I am going to be posting on the http://sashastephen.wordpress.com/ from now on. So please come visit and leave a comment!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Dillard House - More Pictures
Believe it or not, I have more pictures to post from our trip. In fact, I have so many, that I decided to create collages, otherwise it would take me many more posts to finish our trip diary.
Here are some more views from around Dillard House:
I had to post this picture separately. Dillard House has a famous Southern restaurant. They serve food "family style" which means they bring EVERYTHING on the menu to the table. It is a little different from the Texas-style Southern food that I am used to eating at my in-laws house. But it was still great. The only disappointment for me was that they did not have mac-n-cheese :( I am a huge mac-n-cheese fan! :) (By the way Krystal, I do not remember if I ever told you, we LOVE your mac-n-cheese recipe, I make it all the time!)
There are stables and a petting zoo at the Dillard House. Daniel was not so sure about the animals. He was curious and would stay calm as long as one of us was holding him.
We came across this absolutely gorgeous waterfall that you can drive under! It was so beautiful! Click on the collage to see the pictures larger. The sky blew out in some of the pictures but you still can see water in some of them.
We rented a canoe. We bought a Body Glove for Daniel, he looked so funny in it with the huge body and skinny butt! He was a little nervous about all that water in the beginning but soon started trying to move around the boat, which was not OK with us since canoes are so tippy. So to keep him still, we fed him a whole banana, part of an apple and he ate almost the entire contents of his Snack Trap! That did the trick. I know you are getting tired of reading the same words over and over again, but it was absolutely, incredibly beautiful!
The last installment of our trip pictures to follow shortly...
Here are some more views from around Dillard House:
I had to post this picture separately. Dillard House has a famous Southern restaurant. They serve food "family style" which means they bring EVERYTHING on the menu to the table. It is a little different from the Texas-style Southern food that I am used to eating at my in-laws house. But it was still great. The only disappointment for me was that they did not have mac-n-cheese :( I am a huge mac-n-cheese fan! :) (By the way Krystal, I do not remember if I ever told you, we LOVE your mac-n-cheese recipe, I make it all the time!)
There are stables and a petting zoo at the Dillard House. Daniel was not so sure about the animals. He was curious and would stay calm as long as one of us was holding him.
We came across this absolutely gorgeous waterfall that you can drive under! It was so beautiful! Click on the collage to see the pictures larger. The sky blew out in some of the pictures but you still can see water in some of them.
We rented a canoe. We bought a Body Glove for Daniel, he looked so funny in it with the huge body and skinny butt! He was a little nervous about all that water in the beginning but soon started trying to move around the boat, which was not OK with us since canoes are so tippy. So to keep him still, we fed him a whole banana, part of an apple and he ate almost the entire contents of his Snack Trap! That did the trick. I know you are getting tired of reading the same words over and over again, but it was absolutely, incredibly beautiful!
The last installment of our trip pictures to follow shortly...
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Artistic Attempts - Flowers
WARNING - Lots of pictures!
I have been trying to learn photography and flowers are my latest project. I got really excited when I saw many different flowers at the Dillard House, here are some of my more successful attempts of photographing flowers.
I have been trying to learn photography and flowers are my latest project. I got really excited when I saw many different flowers at the Dillard House, here are some of my more successful attempts of photographing flowers.
Dillard House - Our room and on the way to dinner
The Dillard House in Dillard, Georgia has been open as a restaurant and hotel for almost 100 years. Many famous people, including a few presidents have stayed there in the past.
Our room was HUGE, Daniel had plenty of room to run around:
There were rocking chairs on the balcony out back, Daniel really enjoyed them:
View from our back balcony:
View from our front door:
On the way to dinner, Daniel was not sure about all the animals at the Dillard House. He wanted to look at them as long as Stephen or I were holding him :)
Our room was HUGE, Daniel had plenty of room to run around:
There were rocking chairs on the balcony out back, Daniel really enjoyed them:
View from our back balcony:
View from our front door:
On the way to dinner, Daniel was not sure about all the animals at the Dillard House. He wanted to look at them as long as Stephen or I were holding him :)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
On the way to Dillard, Georgia
We really wanted to get away for the long weekend. Stephen and I went on our last vacation when I was about 3 months pregnant with Daniel, so it has been almost 2 years. We needed to get away! I really wanted to go to the beach, but all the decent places that still had openings were ridiculously expensive.
Stephen, on the other hand, prefers mountains to the beach and somebody told us about a resort in the mountains only about 2 hours away from Atlanta. I was not too excited but decided that something is better than nothing and that a weekend away with my boys would be great no matter where we went. I loved it! I want to go back! It is so incredibly beautiful! If you guys ever have an opportunity to come to the Dillard, GA/Highlands, NC/Gatlinburg, TN area we highly recommend it! So breathtakingly, incredibly beautiful! But enough talking, here are pictures!
On the way we stopped at a little trading post at Tallulah Falls. Here are the views from there:
They had this chair on the porch, Daniel really seemed to enjoy it:
It was getting close to lunch, so we gave Daniel his Snack Trap to postpone feeding him for a little while. Here is what we saw after a few minutes. If you enlarge this picture, you will see his face, chest, and car sear covered in crumbs. Even after falling asleep he did not let go of his Snack Trap. Funny boy! :)
Stephen, on the other hand, prefers mountains to the beach and somebody told us about a resort in the mountains only about 2 hours away from Atlanta. I was not too excited but decided that something is better than nothing and that a weekend away with my boys would be great no matter where we went. I loved it! I want to go back! It is so incredibly beautiful! If you guys ever have an opportunity to come to the Dillard, GA/Highlands, NC/Gatlinburg, TN area we highly recommend it! So breathtakingly, incredibly beautiful! But enough talking, here are pictures!
On the way we stopped at a little trading post at Tallulah Falls. Here are the views from there:
They had this chair on the porch, Daniel really seemed to enjoy it:
It was getting close to lunch, so we gave Daniel his Snack Trap to postpone feeding him for a little while. Here is what we saw after a few minutes. If you enlarge this picture, you will see his face, chest, and car sear covered in crumbs. Even after falling asleep he did not let go of his Snack Trap. Funny boy! :)
Vegetarian Moussaka
My maternal grandfather was Bulgarian and I was raised eating Mediterranean food at home. I still like to cook it once in a while. So the other day I decided to make some Moussaka with Eggplant and found this great recipe. Stephen, Daniel and I all highly recommend it. It was a little labor intensive, but the result is totally worth it!
I am still sorting through almost 400 pictures that we took in the three days that we were upstate. Wow, this is not easy! I am uploading all of the pictures to our picture archive. I think I will have to separate the trip into a few posts! Coming soon...
I am still sorting through almost 400 pictures that we took in the three days that we were upstate. Wow, this is not easy! I am uploading all of the pictures to our picture archive. I think I will have to separate the trip into a few posts! Coming soon...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The post in which I b*&%h and moan...
There have been a few different posts recently that have struck a cord with me and I am going to moan and complain and b$tch about it here and now. Normally, I would probably skip this discussion, but I guess my hormones are making me less complacent right now. I have to get it out.
I read a post a few days ago by my cousin Krystal about potty training her son. She takes a great attitude about it. Her son is 23 months old and whether he decides that he is ready to go on the potty now or not, she will be fine with it. That is the attitude that I would love to take too. However, there are a few people in my life who will not let me rest until they make me feel absolutely horrible. Because, I was potty trained by the time I was 12 months and my son is 14 months already and still in diapers!!! Ohmygod, right!
What those people completely forget is this: 29 years ago when I was an infant there were NO disposable diapers available in the Soviet Union AND 99% of households did not have a washing machine. Which meant daily hand washing of stacks upon stacks of diapers, swaddling cloths, diaper covers, sheets, blankets, etc. You cannot even imagine what that washing was like. The water heater could not get the water hot enough to wash poopy diapers well enough. So before starting to wash the diapers by hand , they had to boil them. I mean we had a huge boiling pot, that covered the entire stove top and took all 4 ranges to warm up. They would put all the diapers, etc. and water in there and set it to boil with some chemicals that helped get rid of the poo stains. Then, they would transfer the diapers to a bucket and carry them to the tub and dump them in there to start the actual washing and rinsing. After that was done, they still had to be wrung out and hung. They used to hang all that stuff out around the apartment, balconies or between buildings. Plus, the doctors strongly suggested that everything needs to be sterilized, so after everything was dry, they ironed everything on BOTH sides! Grandparents visits were not to hang out with the babies, but to help with all the washing. We lived with my grandparents for a while when I was little and my grandma would come home from work and start on the diapers, etc., then wake up at 5am to iron them. Can you imagine such a life!!!
So it probably comes as no surprise that they started to stick babies on the potties as soon as the babies could sit up. I mean I would too, who would not!?! Plus, it was easy to tell how often the child pees since the diaper would get soaked right away. I still do not know how often my son pees, I am down to about 6 diapers a day now and he seems fine. Some people tell me that I am lazy and that is why I do not put him on the potty. I did put him on the potty a few times and he does not mind it, but he is NOT ready to tell me when he needs to go since he does not mind being wet or soiled. He never did. Some babies cry when they need to be changed, but not Daniel, his diaper does not bother him EVER! And never did.
Yesterday I went out for a dinner with my girlfriend and forgot to change Daniel's diaper on time. When I got him out of the high chair his pants and legs were soaked. But he did not care, in fact he objected to the diaper changing!
OK, I am actually gonna stop now. This post started with me complaining and turned into a cultural comparison of diapering babies. I have a few other things that I want to talk about but I am going to save all that for another post.
I need to go to bed now, we came back from Northern Georgia today after three nights in the foothills of Smoky Mountains. I have a million pictures, will post soon.
I read a post a few days ago by my cousin Krystal about potty training her son. She takes a great attitude about it. Her son is 23 months old and whether he decides that he is ready to go on the potty now or not, she will be fine with it. That is the attitude that I would love to take too. However, there are a few people in my life who will not let me rest until they make me feel absolutely horrible. Because, I was potty trained by the time I was 12 months and my son is 14 months already and still in diapers!!! Ohmygod, right!
What those people completely forget is this: 29 years ago when I was an infant there were NO disposable diapers available in the Soviet Union AND 99% of households did not have a washing machine. Which meant daily hand washing of stacks upon stacks of diapers, swaddling cloths, diaper covers, sheets, blankets, etc. You cannot even imagine what that washing was like. The water heater could not get the water hot enough to wash poopy diapers well enough. So before starting to wash the diapers by hand , they had to boil them. I mean we had a huge boiling pot, that covered the entire stove top and took all 4 ranges to warm up. They would put all the diapers, etc. and water in there and set it to boil with some chemicals that helped get rid of the poo stains. Then, they would transfer the diapers to a bucket and carry them to the tub and dump them in there to start the actual washing and rinsing. After that was done, they still had to be wrung out and hung. They used to hang all that stuff out around the apartment, balconies or between buildings. Plus, the doctors strongly suggested that everything needs to be sterilized, so after everything was dry, they ironed everything on BOTH sides! Grandparents visits were not to hang out with the babies, but to help with all the washing. We lived with my grandparents for a while when I was little and my grandma would come home from work and start on the diapers, etc., then wake up at 5am to iron them. Can you imagine such a life!!!
So it probably comes as no surprise that they started to stick babies on the potties as soon as the babies could sit up. I mean I would too, who would not!?! Plus, it was easy to tell how often the child pees since the diaper would get soaked right away. I still do not know how often my son pees, I am down to about 6 diapers a day now and he seems fine. Some people tell me that I am lazy and that is why I do not put him on the potty. I did put him on the potty a few times and he does not mind it, but he is NOT ready to tell me when he needs to go since he does not mind being wet or soiled. He never did. Some babies cry when they need to be changed, but not Daniel, his diaper does not bother him EVER! And never did.
Yesterday I went out for a dinner with my girlfriend and forgot to change Daniel's diaper on time. When I got him out of the high chair his pants and legs were soaked. But he did not care, in fact he objected to the diaper changing!
OK, I am actually gonna stop now. This post started with me complaining and turned into a cultural comparison of diapering babies. I have a few other things that I want to talk about but I am going to save all that for another post.
I need to go to bed now, we came back from Northern Georgia today after three nights in the foothills of Smoky Mountains. I have a million pictures, will post soon.
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