Nathalieland Update - Anniversary/Birthday/Bed/Braces

24 Years. Yesterday Steve and I celebrated 24 years as a couple! That's a long time to be joined at the hip, but I can't imagine it any other way. We marked the occasion with kisses and cake.

Favourite daytime activity with Steve: workout & sauna!

Grand-Maman & Family. Speaking of celebrations, earlier this month it was my mom's birthday, which included the gift of updating our family pictures -- one of my favourite traditions.

New Master Bed. Speaking of updates, Steve and I hadn't been sleeping well lately, so we made a few improvements to our bed. A new mattress for the aches and pains, a BedJet for my night sweats and hot flashes, and a new (DIY) bed frame for better air circulation around the mattress. The frame isn't quite done yet, but so far so good on the other improvements.

Mattress in a box

BedJet Cloud Sheet

Mommy Gets Braces Too. And speaking of improvements, Emily and Jessi are not the only ones getting orthodontic treatment in this house! My teeth have become more crowded as I've aged, making them harder to keep clean. I've also noticed the crookedness more over the past couple of years, probably due to Emily's teeth getting nicely straightened. I had my consultation this month and decided to go ahead with the plan: one tooth extraction and fully fixed braces for 21 months. Emily is so excited for me and plans to keep me company at my big appointment in mid October. I'm excited too! Check out this simulated before-and-after shot of my teeth.

Jessi Gets Braces:: Step 2: X-Rays & Spacers

On Monday last week Jessi officially started her orthodontic treatment. The appointment included getting 'before' pictures and x-rays done. Then they put four spacers in between her back top teeth, to make room for the expander. It was a déjà vu for me, having watched Emily go through the same process from my chair in the waiting room.

The appointment went off without a hitch, until we were driving home and one of the spacers broke and fell out! We called the orthodontist's office from the grocery store parking lot (we were there to buy ice cream for Jessi's eventual sore teeth), but they said we didn't have to worry and they'd put a new one in at her next appointment. It turns out that spacer wasn't fitting properly in the first place, so it was likely to come out anyway.

At home we took our own set of 'before' pictures. We look forward to seeing the transformation!

September 16, 2024

September 16, 2024

Jessi Gets Braces:: Step 1: Referral & Consultation

It's Jessi's turn to get braces! While Emily is just a few months away from being done the process, Jessi is now getting started. She got a referral and consultation for orthodontic treatment at the start of summer, where Dr. Smith evaluated her teeth and drew up a plan.

Filling out the registration form

And here's the interesting part: Jessi's treatment plan is the same as Emily's, minus the four front brackets at the start! I guess they both inherited that narrow palate and overbite. So altogether, the steps will be:

1. A Palatal Expander
2. A Clark Twin Block appliance 
3. Fully fixed braces on both dental arches

The length of the treatment will be 24 months from start to finish, just like Emily.

Jessi finally had her first appointment (x-rays & spacers) on Monday, and so the blogging begins!

N: How are you feeling about it all, Jessi?

J: It seems like a lot. I don't know.

N: I know it must feel overwhelming sometimes. I'll be there for you! And I'm sure your big sister will have some tips and insights too.

Building a Sauna:: Recap & Thoughts

This is it! The final Building a Sauna post. When I first started dreaming up this idea, I wouldn't have guessed it would take this long (one month of research and two months of building -- early April to early July 2024). In the end I think all that time spent was valuable, especially between steps, to make sure we completed everything as best we could. 

Below are the 12 steps of building our sauna, a cost breakdown, and final thoughts after two months of consistent use.

Step 1: Planning & Pricing

Step 2: Designing a Floor Plan

Step 3: Replacing the Ductwork

Step 4: Purchasing a Heater

Step 5: Purchasing a Door, Light Fixture & Vents

Step 6: Framing

Step 7: Wiring by an Electrician

Step 8: Installing Insulation & Foil Vapor Barrier

Step 9: Wood Strapping, Paneling & Door

Step 10: Final Connections by an Electrician

Step 11: Building Benches

Step 12: Finishing Touches

Cost Breakdown:

After doing some initial research for our DIY sauna, we budgeted about $5,000 for materials. But once we realized that the heater we wanted was 4x the price that we had expected to pay, we adjusted our budget to $7,000. We came in slightly over, at $7,800 including taxes, for all materials and tools -- not too bad! This doesn't include the cost of the electrician, however, which added $1,600 to our total expenses. Altogether our sauna build cost $9,400 (CAD), which I'm still happy with when I compare it to the other options we considered.

Here is a visual of the cost breakdown. The big-ticket items were by far the heater, the electrical work, and the wood paneling.

Functionality:

The initial plan was for Steve to sit on the upper bench, at a higher temperature, while I sit on the lower bench, at a slightly cooler temperature. After just a couple of sauna sessions, however, we realized that slightly cooler was an understatement. The temperature difference between his head and my head was more like 30-35°C, which surprised us and didn't make for a very pleasant sauna experience (for me). 

Fortunately, we noticed that we both (just barely) fit side by side on the upper bench. So that's how we've been sitting since those initial sessions and it's been great! Though it does mean that our sauna is not as flexible as we had planned, since it can only comfortably fit one person or a couple like us (skinny; one tall, one short). Thank goodness we replaced the ductwork to give us that extra head space.

We're happy with the HUUM Steel Mini 3.5 heater -- it fits the space perfectly, is easy to use, and provides a comfortable, consistent heat. Our only concern so far was that recently I removed some rocks to peek at the heating elements and noticed that some metal parts were bent and discoloured from the heat. I contacted the distributor to make sure this was normal, and he reassured me that it was ok and shouldn't cause any problems.

I think saunas are notorious for having faulty heaters (saunas are often "closed for repairs" at our local gyms and pools), so part of me still worries that the heater will one day stop working properly, in spite of its high cost and 5-year warranty.

I should mention there was another enormous ball of stress related to the heater, just two days before it was installed. I was looking through the manual while writing the blog post about the heater, to get the details right, when I noticed two discrepancies: my receipt said we purchased the "Steel Mini 3.5" but the box and manual said "Steel Mini 4", and the electrical requirements were different for the 3.5 (HUUM website) compared to the 4 (Bsaunas website). 

So based on the information I gave our electrician, there was a chance the wiring was wrong and the whole project was f-----. Mercifully, our electrician installed the correct wires and breaker for the heater we had (Steel Mini 4!?) and all was ok. It turns out the manuals on the HUUM website are out of date (the 4 is the updated 3.5), which would have been a total disaster if our electrician had gone with those old numbers. We really dodged a bullet there! But not before I had a huge cry, balled up on the floor, thinking all that time, money, and effort I had put in was for nothing. Yikes.

Back to notes on functionality: we've tried pouring water on the rocks twice so far for a burst of steam, but find that the heat it gives off is a little too intense, and we enjoy the dry heat anyway. I imagine we will only use steam when we have guests who want to try it, or during the particularly dry winter months?

I'm super happy with our benches. They are comfortable, solid, and the cedar feels, smells, and looks great. We've noticed a bit of staining in the areas that get a lot of sweat, so Steve has started putting a towel down by his feet to prevent too much moisture from seeping in.

Overall, we love our sauna! We typically set the thermostat to 90°C and sit, chat, and sweat for 15-20 minutes per session. It's currently tied to our workout routine, 3-4 times a week, but I could imagine us using it in the evenings too as we get older. I'm so glad we built it and plan to use it for years to come.

Getting a nice sweat on

Maintenance:

So far we've gotten into the habit of scrubbing the sauna benches with a damp brush after each use. This helps to dissipate any puddles of sweat and reduce staining. We also plan to do a bigger clean every two months, where we remove the benches from the sauna, lightly sand away any stains, vacuum the floor, and wipe down every surface with a wet cloth. We've done this cleaning routine once and it went well.

What I Would Do Differently:

If I had to rebuild this sauna, there's only one minor change I would make: I would choose a light fixture with fewer lumens. Our current one is 800 lumens, which even at its dimmest setting is a bit too bright. I'd love a darker sauna room (we sometimes leave the light off entirely). It's an easy fix and perhaps something we'll change at some point in the future.

If I had to build a second sauna, I would definitely just make it bigger, with enough high benches for 3-4 people and space to lie down. But that would be in a different house entirely. I'm thrilled with the one we have now.

Thanks for following my sauna-building journey!

Now it's all about enjoying it and hoping it stands the test of time.