Things I Miss About Summer: Blue Skies
One of the things I start missing about summer this time of year, is the deep blue sky. We don’t get a lot of sunny days here in Northeastern Ohio during the winter months. We do get a sunny day occasionally, but the sky just isn’t this blue, it’s kind of gray.
Since I was missing the blue skies, I looked through all of my photos from the summer and thought I’d share some blue skies to brighten everyone’s day. Enjoy!
I miss working in the gardens with the warm sun on my back. Soon enough it will be that time again, and I’ll make sure to take notice of the deep blue skies!
What do you miss about summer this time of year?
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Enjoy the Little Things
Take some time today to stop and smell the flowers. I know for many of us there are no flowers blooming during the cold winter months, but we can still take some time to enjoy those little things in our lives that often go unnoticed.
Today I’m thankful for all:
the smell of my morning coffee
the comfort of an old relationship
the books on my shelves waiting to be read
the warmth of my home
the food in my pantry
and the simplicity of my life.
What little things are you going to take time to enjoy today?
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What’s Your Day Job?
I love reading all the comments you all post here on my blog and I also love reading comments on all the other blogs I read. Sometimes though, curiosity gets the best of me and I really want to know what you do, where you live, what you look like, etc. So I figured I’d go first and introduce myself for those of you who don’t know me.
Mr Chiots and I got married back in 1998 (I can’t believe it’s been almost 11 years). Mr Chiot’s used to be a youth minister and we lived a few different places (Cincinnati, OH & Doylestown, OH) before settling here in Malvern, OH. Six years ago, we started a videography company (2nd Mile Productions). We do wedding videos, commercials, corporate videos and websites. Mr Chiots does the website work and most of the video editing and filming. I also film and do most of the office work and accounting for the business. Here are two short examples of our work. This first one is a recap from a wedding we shot last summer (2 min).
[flv:/video/scott_lana_recap.flv 480 270]
This is a short video we made for a church to introduce a new series (1 minute). And yes, that is Mr Chiots you see hiking through the video.
[flv:/video/Orrville.flv 480 320]
I also have another day job; I am a forwarding agent for my parents mission (The Colombian Christian Mission). Most people give me a funny look when I give them my job title, so I’ll explain. My parents are missionaries in Colombia, South America. I take care of most of the work here in United States, which means; accounting, donor relations, fund raising, newsletters, publicity, etc. I’ve been doing it for 10 years now and I enjoy it. Working for a non-profit won’t make you your first million but it is truly rewarding work.
My sister and I looking at a little coati in Colombia.
Since my parents are missionaries, I was born and raised in Colombia. It’s kind of funny because it’s completely different than Ohio, especially this time of the year! Growing up in another country was quite an experience, particularly one as exciting and diverse as Colombia.
My parents walking through the market in Colombia (that’s my older sister on my dad’s back and those are plantains on the ground).
So if you don’t mind sharing, what’s your day job?
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Happy Valentine’s Day from Chiot’s Run
Mr Chiots and I aren’t big celebratory people. Last year Brian and I were working in the office unaware that it was our 10 year anniversary. My mom e-mailed me a Happy Anniversary message and I looked at Brian and said,
“OH, it’s our anniversary. Happy Anniversary.”
He looked at me and said,
“Oh, it is isn’t it. Happy Anniversary.”
Then we went back to work. So naturally we don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Mr Chiots thinks it’s a holiday dreamed up by the card companies during a dead zone between other holidays (he may be on to something).
I know many of you celebrate this holiday of love, so I thought I’d share a few photos of love-themed goodies I spotted on my recent trip to West Side Market in Cleveland. I got a great variety of things to make sure to cover all the bases.
If you celebrate with chocolate, here’s some chocolate for you.
For those of you who like cookies and other delights, I thought you’d like these.
For those of you who prefer something sweet but not of the chocolate realm, some beautiful little cakes for you.
If you prefer something a little different, how about some dark chocolate Guinness stout cake?
If you like flowers I’ll give you some from my gardens.
For those of you who just want some time to relax, take a cue from Dexter and enjoy your Saturday.
My all-time favorite, “A Bunny for Your Honey”. Now that’s right up my alley, who needs chocolate bunnies when you can eat the real thing!
How do you celebrate this day of Love? Do you do anything exciting, over the top, romantic, not so romantic, boring?
(take the new poll)
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Houseplants and Clean Air
Many of us spend a lot of time indoors, particularly this time of year. We know that the air in our homes can often be more polluted than the air outside, due to cleaning products, chemicals released into the air by furniture and building materials.
One potted plant per 100 square feet will clean the air in an average home or office. Without a doubt, the most important job of an indoor plant is its air purifying abilities.
Formaldehyde is found in virtually all indoor environments. It is used in particle board or pressed wood products to make office or household furniture, in many consumer paper products, in carpets, permanent-pressed clothes, water repellents, and fire retardants. Other sources of formaldehyde include natural gas, kerosene, and cigarette smoke. Formaldehyde irritates the membranes of the eyes, nose, and throat and can cause headaches and allergic dermatitis. It is suspected of causing a rare type of lung cancer in cases of long-term exposure.
So what are we to do? Get a few house plants. One potted plant per 100 square feet will clean the air in an average home or office. Without a doubt, the most important job of an indoor plant is its air purifying abilities.
Certain plants work better than other at cleaning the air in our homes. Here’s a list of a few plants and which chemicals they clean out of the air.
Boston fern, golden pothos, philodendron, and spider plants reduce levels of formaldehyde.
Areca palm, moth orchid, and the dwarf date palm can remove xylene and toluene.
Gerbera daisy, chrysanthemum, spider plants and peace lily can remove benzene.
Other beneficial houseplants include: bamboo palm, Chinese evergreen, English ivy, indoor dracaena species and the snake plant (also known as mother-in-law’s tongue).
All plants produce oxygen through photosynthesis, so any plant you choose, in addition to these varieties, will increase the concentration of oxygen in your home.
I have always had houseplants (probably because I grew up in a jungle of houseplants). The pothos above was on the stage at our wedding, and it’s been cleaning the air in our homes for the past 11 years. I also have a dwarf citrus, a few other pothos, baby tears, mother-in-law’s tongue and few other plants. We have houseplants not just to clean the air, they also provide much needed green in the our home during the dark snowy winter in Ohio.
Do you have houseplants? Are they for cleaning the air or for enjoyment?
