tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62513922011-12-14T21:54:54.591-05:00the weblog of Kristen Zoetewey, mother, friend, social workerKristennoreply@blogger.comBlogger311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1152567486528713772006-07-10T17:20:00.000-04:002006-07-10T17:38:06.540-04:00

With this being summer in Grand Rapids, one of the very enjoyable activities is going to the Fulton Street Farmers' Market. I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorite vendors:Trillium Haven Farm--An organic farm based in Jenison, MI. A couple from our church owns it, and while it's a Community Supported Agriculture farm, they sell their produce at the Farmers' Market. I have eaten the

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1149702750678375972006-06-07T13:08:00.003-04:002006-06-10T21:13:03.316-04:00

We live on the southeast side of Grand Rapids. Our house is in a relatively calm and peaceful neighborhood, save for the occasional loud parties at the house down the street from us. We have lived on the southeast side for 11 of the twelve years of our married life, and woudn't live anywhere else. There are two churches a block away from us in different directions, and we are walking and

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1138760127694632742006-01-31T20:58:00.000-05:002006-01-31T21:15:27.743-05:00

When I decided to try to start a private practice, I talked with a few people who were also in the throes of beginning their practices too. One thing someone mentioned was that they would not be participating with insurance companies for some pretty good reasons, but just charging really reasonable rates. I know there are some therapists who do this, and they do pretty well with this approach.

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1138331380984190782006-01-26T21:55:00.000-05:002006-01-26T22:09:41.036-05:00

About a week ago, Abby, who is about to turn five, mentioned she would like to have a birthday party with some friends from school. I went and bought some invitations. Abby decided whom she wanted to invite. She immediately came up with names with not a whole lot of prodding from me. Normally I would want her to invite all the girls in her class so no one would feel left out. However, Abby is

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1130909831352412602005-11-01T23:58:00.000-05:002005-11-02T00:37:11.403-05:00

This past Sunday, I completed my third marathon. I decided to stay home this year and run the second annual Grand Rapids Marathon. I've done Chicago twice, but thought I'd save us the drive and the waking up at 4:45 AM to catch the train into Chicago from Westmont to get there in time for the 8:00 start. I thought this year would be different--I was sleeping in my own bed on the night before

Kristennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1130612514352535372005-10-29T14:35:00.000-04:002005-10-29T15:01:54.410-04:00

After training for roughly 22 weeks, I will be running the Grand Rapids Marathon tomorrow. I'll be taking advantage of the early start time, 7:00 AM and anticipate finishing in 4 1/2-5 1/4 hours. I run REALLY slow, like 10 1/2-11 minute miles. I took my family down to the race expo yesterday, and happened to run into one of my favorite musicians, Deborah Henson-Conant, a harpist who is currently

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1126136524547676212005-09-07T19:31:00.000-04:002005-09-07T19:42:04.553-04:00

After considering trying to set up a private practice based on home visits, I happened to talk with a woman at my church (who is also a social worker in private practice) who is trying to figure out what to do with her office space while she travels out of state for a couple of months. It's in a really great part of town, close to a freeway exit, so it's really accessible, and the rent rate is

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1122949986780071602005-08-01T21:48:00.000-04:002005-08-01T22:33:06.813-04:00

I haven't written anything in a while, we've been busy this summer. Here are some highlights:About a month ago, Jim and I went to Applesauce Inn Bed and Breakfast in Bellaire, MI (which I can't say enough good things about). It is close to Traverse City and Charlevoix and near good hiking, beaches, and wineries, plus charming small towns. The rooms are well-appointed and the gourmet breakfasts

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1113411310084860772005-04-13T12:40:00.000-04:002005-04-13T12:55:10.086-04:00

I learned today that Rogers Department Store is closing. Rogers has been an icon for many years in Wyoming, MI where I grew up. My mom took us there when we were growing up to purchase much of our school clothes. I feel as though I practically grew up there. I have a lot of great memories from going there with my Mom, as small children, we looked forward to picking a plastic ring out of a

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1105936103034662602005-01-16T23:00:00.000-05:002005-01-16T23:28:23.033-05:00

I haven't written much this past week in this, but I've been up to a few things lately. Last week, I recieved my first mystery shopping assignment, a mission to visit a local college bookstore and evaluate them on their store layout, service, cleanliness, and ease of use, among other things. I was able to complete the actual shopping assignment over a lunch hour, though the evaluation survey (

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1105240260409044822005-01-08T22:02:00.000-05:002005-01-08T22:11:00.410-05:00

I have decided, that I must schedule an eye exam and obtain either new glasses or contacts. I'm a little on the fence about what to get...I like the convenience of being able to just whip my glasses off before going to bed and not having to deal with cleaning off and storing contacts. The downside to new glasses is that when I go out running and it's raining, it gets really difficult to see

Kristennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1104882082357550012005-01-04T18:38:00.000-05:002005-01-04T18:41:22.360-05:00

Jim finally took the boards that went to the old-broken down bookcase out of the garage and put them into the trash. Now I can finally park the Saturn in the garage! Yeaa!

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1104704651998908282005-01-02T16:50:00.000-05:002005-01-02T17:29:19.353-05:00

We had a mostly enjoyable New Year's Weekend. I had a personal day to use up from work, so Jim and I were both home with the kids on Thursday. Friday night my dad had bought us (my two sisters, my brother-in-law, my dad, Jim and me) all tickets to the Grand Rapids Symphony for their performance of various appropriate New Year's Eve selections and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, so we had a sitter

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1104212035576495552004-12-28T01:30:00.000-05:002004-12-28T00:33:55.576-05:00

I will be running in the 2005 Resolution Run this Saturday, New Year's Day. I've done this run before and the course goes around the East Grand Rapids/Reeds Lake area, one of my favorite training haunts. I am getting adjusted to running in colder weather, something I'm not used to doing much. I don't go out if it's below 15 degrees, though. If you're awake at 8:30 AM, come on down and cheer

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1104211399444122952004-12-27T23:48:00.000-05:002004-12-28T00:23:19.443-05:00

Our Christmas this year was divided into 3 separate celebrations--our own family gift exchange on Thursday the 23rd, my family's on Christmas Eve and traveling to Holland to be with Jim's family on Christmas Day. The kids were more into the opening of their presents than they were in previous years. Becca and Abby were both very excited about the presents we gave them, a talking vacuum (given

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1103772342435991502004-12-22T22:25:00.000-05:002004-12-22T22:44:42.323-05:00

In the next couple of weeks, life will be taking a few major changes. Due to a reduction in work hours at Jim's regular job after January 1st, we will be having Abby and Rebecca in daycare only 2 days a week instead of every day. Jim will be a stay-at-home dad for the other 3 days of the week. The two days they will spend in daycare will allow Jim to go out and troubleshoot computers,

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1103772325610509252004-12-22T21:54:00.000-05:002004-12-22T22:25:25.610-05:00

I took this week off from work and have been spending time taking the kids on various activities--we met my friend Kristi and her son Alex at the Woodland Mall indoor playground yesterday. Today I took Abby to see The Polar Express, while Becca stayed with Jim. Abby assured me that she knew about the Polar Express as they'd read the book in daycare. Abby was quite excited to see a movie about a

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1103066401928248602004-12-14T18:15:00.000-05:002004-12-14T18:20:30.626-05:00

I make a lot of microwave popcorn. It's overall healthier than a lot of things I could choose to eat. This past year, we bought a new microwave and it had a button on it dedicated to microwave popcorn. All well and good. Now, however, I look at the preparation instructions on the bags or the boxes of microwave popcorn and there are now very specific warnings: "Do not use the popcorn setting

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1102897182912940992004-12-12T18:50:00.000-05:002004-12-12T19:58:06.510-05:00

I've been busy, and I didn't realize the last post I'd made on this was 7/30! It occurred to me that friends and family who live far (and not so far) away might want to read this just to keep up with my family and me. My husband's blog, http://jim.puddingbowl.org also links to this, my apologies to anyone who tried to look at mine and was disappointed with with the lack of recent posts. I

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1091243300106901602004-07-30T22:49:00.000-04:002004-07-30T23:09:40.690-04:00

Our church had a week of 24-7 continuous prayer this week. Members were encouraged to sign up for an hour during the week to come to church and pray. There was a special prayer room set up, beautifully decorated and well appointed with inspirational books and food and beverages. I was a little resistant at first to signing up to be part of this. I didn't think I was actually capable of

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1090551118297221092004-07-22T22:46:00.000-04:002004-07-22T22:51:58.296-04:00

I was in our local grocery store after work, and was getting ready to pay for my purchases. I was perusing the selections near the checkout counter (looking for small amounts of chocolate, but didn't see any I was interested in) when I came across a box full of breath mints for cats! There were dog treats for sale too. When was the last time you saw a cat in the checkout lane at the

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1089290780969217892004-07-08T08:14:00.000-04:002004-07-08T08:46:20.970-04:00

This week, we decided to take a vacation. In figuring out what we wanted to do, we purchased a family membershhip to teh Frederik Meijer Gardens. They've put in a new Children's Garden where kids can do all sorts of fun stuff--float toy boats in pools shaped like the Great Lakes, play in a giant sandbox, sit on concrete "eggs" in a giant nest among other things. The membership has mostly paid

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1083809296079568752004-05-05T21:59:00.000-04:002004-05-05T22:14:47.593-04:00

I'm still following the "spring training" running schedule beofre I begin the 18-week marathon training schedule. Most mornings now it's anywhere from 2-3 miles, with anywhere up to 5 and 6 miles on the weekend. It's nearly the second week of May and I am still having to wear a hat and mittens when I run at 5:45 in the morning! I'm looking forward to shorts weather. I really can't complain,

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1080274083769624642004-03-25T22:51:00.000-05:002004-03-25T23:11:33.623-05:00

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I would like to train for my second marathon. I ran my first marathon nearly five years ago, which I decided to do that at the time because I had lost a baby at 22 weeks of pregnancy, and discovered that the Chicago Marathon fell on the one-year anniversary of the loss of our son, Jacob Andrew. I had been doing some distance running at the time, and had

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1078704998627681862004-03-07T18:49:00.000-05:002004-03-07T19:20:00.610-05:00

I have been for most of my life, anywhere from a little bit to moderately overweight. Being of a more petite stature and having a slower metabolism than most people, this has been quite a struggle. However, over the last 15 months, I have managed to lose around 40 pounds, many of then having been put on from pregnancies. I am only a couple of pounds shy of my goal weight, and am wearing petite

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1078703363447115652004-03-07T18:15:00.000-05:002004-03-07T18:52:27.983-05:00

One thing I didn't know about before I had children is how side-splittingly funny they can be. Although in my day job, I've worked with lots of families with children around, lots of those families are under huge amounts of stress so its very likely I'm not seeing those parents and children at their very best. However, my own children are both now toddlers and have very active imaginations.

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1076897710805131212004-02-15T21:01:00.000-05:002004-02-15T21:17:46.983-05:00

Last week we had the privilege of celbrating Abby's 3rd birthday. We had my parents, Jim's parents, and both my sisters and their fiances, as well as Jim's sister and Grandma over to our house on Sunday afternoon to celebrate with cake and ice cream. When Abby turned two she didn't quite get the concept of having a birthday and getting presents, but this year, she was quite excited about

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1074835042983227202004-01-22T23:53:00.000-05:002004-01-23T00:20:26.153-05:00

My husband and I recently attended a dessert social for our parish group at church (our church membership is divided up into several geopgraphic areas called parishes, and occasionally each parish gets together to share a meal or social event). One couple in attendance there we had known for a few years and had gotten to know them as their daughter had my husband's father for a professor in

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1074043628880979032004-01-13T20:06:00.000-05:002004-01-13T20:30:44.060-05:00

Last night, Abby, our soon to be 3-year old, began Preschool Ballet, Level I. Preschool Ballet is offered through our city's Parks and Recreation Department and I signed Abby up for class with the intention that maybe it would help her channel some of her boundless energy. Parents were allowed to observe the class for th first night. There were about 12 young girls in the class ranging from

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1073525843956907602004-01-07T20:02:00.000-05:002004-01-07T20:39:16.470-05:00

My mom gave me this book for Christmas, as she'd perused my Amazon.com wish list, and I spent part of the New Year's holiday weekend reading it. The book is very well written, but intended for a British audience though it was possible to figure out the British-isms in the context. The main character is Kate Reddy, a wife and mother of two children who works as a hedge-fund trader for a

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251392.post-1072499790752912662003-12-26T23:02:00.000-05:002003-12-26T23:36:47.090-05:00

Reflections on Christmas 2003 This is the first Christmas that our daughter Abby, who's almost three, began to really have fun with the idea of Christmas. Though we don't try to encourage the materialism around toys and things, she was nonetheless excited about her presents, and about seeing grandparents more often than she might otherwise. Our other daughter Becca enjoys the presents too, but

Kristennoreply@blogger.com0