All the cool bloggers are doing it and I'm one of them now! My page is still very basic but I'll work on it. Hopefully it will be an outlet for "what's for dinner?" type posts as well as things that I think wouldn't make a full blog post.
Busy Saturday here. Didn't get a chance to garage sale but I am participating in a sale today (at least my stuff is) so hopefully I'll make some money.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Eating an elephant one bite at a time
I'm feeling overwhelmed this week. It's not that I'm doing that much, it's just a combination of having been sick + keeping a to-do list with 100 tiny tasks on it.
I know moms are supposed to be blessed with superhuman multitasking ability but I guess that superpower skipped me. I would much rather work on one thing until done and then start another. But life doesn't give me that luxury.
So today and hopefully by the end of this weekend, my elephant consists of the following:
1. Finish my sister's housewarming present and mail
2. Sew in a million ends on a scrap yarn afghan I made for church
3. Frost cupcakes
4. Pack a picnic lunch for tomorrow
5. Do something with the flowers that I brought home from the garden center well over two weeks ago. Fortunately we've had enough rain they have been thriving in their pots.
6. Go to the grocery store and replace the tomatoes, cottage cheese, and whipping cream I need for meals this week that molded when left in my 80+ degree van overnight.
7. Pick up an item I bought on a Craigslist-ish Facebook site
8. Put out an item I sold on the aforementioned site for pickup
9. Make lemonade (since life didn't give me any lemons, I had to buy them at the store)
10. Have my husband bring in the huge bucket of joint compound I bought and patch the dining room walls (round two).
11. Fill out paperwork for an upcoming doctor's appointment
12. Mix up a batch of homemade Pamela's baking mix*
*after declaring my undying love, I found a copycat recipe online that, while good, is not the original. However, I can't beat the 75% off price and will continue to mix my own since I bought all the ingredients already.
On the plus side, today I have already:
1. Bought joint compound
2. Baked cupcakes
3. Mopped the kitchen floor
4. Finished grocery shopping for the week (at least I thought...)
5. Procured a couple of addresses I've been needing
6. Helped Big Girl clean her room
7. Washed two loads of laundry
8. Played with the kids on the swingset
So if I'm not around much this weekend I'll be busy eating my elephant.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Baby fever
I don't have baby fever. I wonder if that's normal. I fully expected to, and tonight as I was rinsing the shampoo out of Little Girl's hair while attempting to keep her from standing up in the tub, it hit me that I have a toddler.
The second child has been so easy compared to the first. I guess it's different for everyone and a lot depends on the child's personality but Little Girl has been a nice surprise after the challenges I overcame with Big Girl.
Not to say it hasn't been hard, especially the last five months of waking up at least twice in the middle of the night to rock and nurse back to sleep. She's a messy eater and a 19 pound chunk that has no interest in walking. Plus, I'm starting to question the wisdom of raising a baby in a two story split level house which will need, by my estimation, approximately six baby gates.
Maybe it's because I'm a seasoned parent or maybe it's a combination of many things, but this past year has been just a flicker on my timeline. Nursing was such a challenge the first time, and I honestly think it was both our stubborn personalities put together that helped us fight our way to what I determined was the "finish line". Sleep was insane. I think I could count on one hand the number of times Big Girl slept through the night that first year. And that's with a very liberal definition of sleeping through the night. I missed my life at work like crazy and many days thought I would go insane with no adult interaction (or interaction with anyone who had a vocabulary of more than 12 words).
So why don't I have baby fever? Maybe it's because there are still a few challenges with raising children that are still fresh in my mind but I think it's because I feel a sense of peace and contentment. I look at the future and see our family of four and it just feels right.
I guess I do have baby fever in a sense though. Not for an 8 pound newborn but for a 2500 square foot house. I love the anticipation of pregnancy and watching the creation of something new. I'm expecting a new house.
The second child has been so easy compared to the first. I guess it's different for everyone and a lot depends on the child's personality but Little Girl has been a nice surprise after the challenges I overcame with Big Girl.
Not to say it hasn't been hard, especially the last five months of waking up at least twice in the middle of the night to rock and nurse back to sleep. She's a messy eater and a 19 pound chunk that has no interest in walking. Plus, I'm starting to question the wisdom of raising a baby in a two story split level house which will need, by my estimation, approximately six baby gates.
Maybe it's because I'm a seasoned parent or maybe it's a combination of many things, but this past year has been just a flicker on my timeline. Nursing was such a challenge the first time, and I honestly think it was both our stubborn personalities put together that helped us fight our way to what I determined was the "finish line". Sleep was insane. I think I could count on one hand the number of times Big Girl slept through the night that first year. And that's with a very liberal definition of sleeping through the night. I missed my life at work like crazy and many days thought I would go insane with no adult interaction (or interaction with anyone who had a vocabulary of more than 12 words).
So why don't I have baby fever? Maybe it's because there are still a few challenges with raising children that are still fresh in my mind but I think it's because I feel a sense of peace and contentment. I look at the future and see our family of four and it just feels right.
I guess I do have baby fever in a sense though. Not for an 8 pound newborn but for a 2500 square foot house. I love the anticipation of pregnancy and watching the creation of something new. I'm expecting a new house.
 |
| Original color of walls: yellow Joint compound: white patches Sample paint: various shades of brown Ultimate paint color choice: blue |
 |
| Please don't judge...not only am I repainting, this seems to have become a catch all spot for random junk. I guess the before and after will be really satisfying this way. |
Sunday, June 16, 2013
The best cookie I've ever eaten...
I made the walnut spice cookies on the back of the Bob's Red Mill Brown Rice flour initially for a play date that didn't happen. So we were forced to eat them ourselves. They were so incredible I made a repeat batch for Father's Day. My husband (our token male and also our token non-GFer around here) loved them and said they tasted like "regular cookies."
And my reaction? I think you can pretty much surmise...
http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes.php?recipe=1923&print=true
Friday, June 14, 2013
New clothes?
 |
| Say what you want about me: I know what I like! |
I usually don't buy clothes for myself at places that don't contain one of the following words: thrift, resale, will, or salvation. I think the last time I actually purchased something at a "regular" store was during the Bush administration. Does it help if I specify that it was the younger Bush?
So tonight I began my great adventure. To explain the reason a cheapskate like me is shopping in a fancy schmancy store, here's the background: I have been looking for a maxi dress for quite awhile, but since the trend is still ongoing, I haven't had much luck at secondhand stores. Making my own was quite a failure too, and I will post about that later.
I had to calm myself down to walk into the first store. Whenever I would watch What Not to Wear, I never understood the anxiety. Let's just say I learned my lesson tonight. I kept hearing Stacy and Clinton in my head, nitpicking my choices.
"Those pants are a cute pattern but they make you look three feet tall."
"A thirty year old mother of two should not wear pink pants."
Actually, I'm not sure of the rule on age to pant color relationship but my overly critical inner voice advised me against it.
Oddly enough, while there was less selection than Goodwill, I found it way more overwhelming.
Ultimately, I spent 52 cents on my evening out (on a non-clothing item at--wait for it--Goodwill!) My wardrobe will remain boring for the time being but I remain optimistic.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
I smelled some bread the other day...
...and it made me a little nostalgic.
Disclaimer: This is a really mushy post without much riveting content.
Growing up, we used to drive down this certain street that was home to a bakery. We would always roll down our windows (anyone else miss those hand cranked windows of the late 80's? Yeah, me neither. Though they would have come in handy the time I was in college and the fuse or whatever that controlled my electric windows went out one day in July on the freeway and I also had no air conditioning so I had to get off at each exit ramp and fan myself with the door. This was the same car whose windshield wipers went out in a rainstorm so I drove with my head sticking out the window. Mom and Dad, I may have given you heart attacks every time I drove anywhere but on the bright side at least I found all the holes in the driver's ed course so you were better prepared to teach my younger siblings a few years later and include random worst case scenarios.)
Wow. Anyway, back on topic: We would always roll down our windows and smell the bread and beg my mom to stop at the outlet store. If you were under 10 you got a free treat and I always chose a snowball but ironically I never ate the chocolate cake.
I was thinking the other day how much bread is a part of my childhood memories. I remember summer nights eating ice cream cones and cookouts eating hamburgers sandwiched in buns. I remember my mom baking every single one of my birthday cakes. I remember baking muffins as part of my homeschool curriculum and selling them at my dad's work for some ridiculous amount that didn't even cover the cost of ingredients. I remember winning second prize in the state fair for my chocolate chip cookies.
When my kids look back, I wonder what they will remember. Their memories won't be of whole wheat blueberry muffins and snowballs and I sure hope they won't be of my rubbery pancakes and crumbly cookies. The food of their memories will be different but I hope it will bring back nostalgic feelings of love and security and family.
Disclaimer: This is a really mushy post without much riveting content.
Growing up, we used to drive down this certain street that was home to a bakery. We would always roll down our windows (anyone else miss those hand cranked windows of the late 80's? Yeah, me neither. Though they would have come in handy the time I was in college and the fuse or whatever that controlled my electric windows went out one day in July on the freeway and I also had no air conditioning so I had to get off at each exit ramp and fan myself with the door. This was the same car whose windshield wipers went out in a rainstorm so I drove with my head sticking out the window. Mom and Dad, I may have given you heart attacks every time I drove anywhere but on the bright side at least I found all the holes in the driver's ed course so you were better prepared to teach my younger siblings a few years later and include random worst case scenarios.)
Wow. Anyway, back on topic: We would always roll down our windows and smell the bread and beg my mom to stop at the outlet store. If you were under 10 you got a free treat and I always chose a snowball but ironically I never ate the chocolate cake.
I was thinking the other day how much bread is a part of my childhood memories. I remember summer nights eating ice cream cones and cookouts eating hamburgers sandwiched in buns. I remember my mom baking every single one of my birthday cakes. I remember baking muffins as part of my homeschool curriculum and selling them at my dad's work for some ridiculous amount that didn't even cover the cost of ingredients. I remember winning second prize in the state fair for my chocolate chip cookies.
When my kids look back, I wonder what they will remember. Their memories won't be of whole wheat blueberry muffins and snowballs and I sure hope they won't be of my rubbery pancakes and crumbly cookies. The food of their memories will be different but I hope it will bring back nostalgic feelings of love and security and family.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Books I read this month
In late April and May, I read a lot of thought provoking books (especially on our 12 hour each way car trip to visit my parents) but wanted to touch on one of them in particular. My non-fiction book was this one:
This book was a memoir more than a set of rules to emulate. The author went a little over a year forgoing all beauty and fashion related products and stuck to simple hygiene (her grooming routine was similar to that of her husband). Her goal was to find true beauty within.
A lot of this book resonated with me. If anything, it was justification for those days I can't bring myself to wear makeup or go beyond a ponytail. However, I think that a lot of her experiment didn't need to be done so exclusively. I find that when I'm feeling ugly inside, I need to rethink my priorities and attitudes, not necessarily give up nail polish. I think there is room in my life for both.
I thought this was an interesting experiment, just not one I'd necessarily want to try myself.
Warning: this book is blunt and there is some profanity which caught my attention. Still a good concept for a book.
I also read this book:
I really enjoyed the first of the Blossom Street series (The Shop on Blossom Street) because it's about a yarn shop and, well, let's just say I'm a little knitting obsessed. The characters were true to life and likeable. I won't review the above book in depth because there are some who haven't read it yet (hi, Mom!). It was good before bedtime reading material, though a little too reminiscent of the previous books in this series. Let's just say the first one will always remain my favorite.
 |
| Link to this book on Amazon |
This book was a memoir more than a set of rules to emulate. The author went a little over a year forgoing all beauty and fashion related products and stuck to simple hygiene (her grooming routine was similar to that of her husband). Her goal was to find true beauty within.
A lot of this book resonated with me. If anything, it was justification for those days I can't bring myself to wear makeup or go beyond a ponytail. However, I think that a lot of her experiment didn't need to be done so exclusively. I find that when I'm feeling ugly inside, I need to rethink my priorities and attitudes, not necessarily give up nail polish. I think there is room in my life for both.
I thought this was an interesting experiment, just not one I'd necessarily want to try myself.
Warning: this book is blunt and there is some profanity which caught my attention. Still a good concept for a book.
I also read this book:
 |
| Link to this book on Amazon |
I really enjoyed the first of the Blossom Street series (The Shop on Blossom Street) because it's about a yarn shop and, well, let's just say I'm a little knitting obsessed. The characters were true to life and likeable. I won't review the above book in depth because there are some who haven't read it yet (hi, Mom!). It was good before bedtime reading material, though a little too reminiscent of the previous books in this series. Let's just say the first one will always remain my favorite.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
A Tale of Three Baseboards
Or: Why it's a Good Thing I Really, Really Like Menards.
I've been to Menards a lot this week to buy baseboards. Last weekend I went with a sample piece of our previous, bright yellow baseboard and attempted to match it. After six aisles of baseboards, chair railing, and quarter round it all started to look alike. I bought the closest match I could find to the old stuff and brought it home.
That one was my fault. Turns out we needed 9/16ths instead of 7/16ths and I was a quarter inch off on the height as well. Close enough is not good enough.
So yesterday, I loaded the baseboards back in the van and trundled them back to Menards, this time armed with a SKU number and profile number. I found the aforementioned numbers on the shelf and proceeded to load five 12' lengths into my cart. Well, technically the Menards guy did this but I'll take all the credit I can get.
That one wasn't so much my fault. One of them was right and four of them had either been put in the wrong slot or the slot was mislabeled. Even though they were the right thickness they had a beveled edge instead of a rounded one. Of course, it WAS my fault for not checking each piece and just assuming they were all the same.
Which brought me to my third trip to Menards, roughly two hours after the second. After having a nice reviving lunch and determining that Little Girl was planning to boycott her afternoon nap as well as her morning nap, I loaded her up and the two of us made the familiar trip. This time, I figuratively followed the advice to "measure twice, cut once" and ended up with some lovely baseboards. I can't wait to get them painted and put down.
Although my husband just came and notified me "One of those pieces is pretty warped and I'm not sure we can use it."
It's good to keep a sense of humor sometimes.
 |
| My mission: Purchase five lengths of this. |
I've been to Menards a lot this week to buy baseboards. Last weekend I went with a sample piece of our previous, bright yellow baseboard and attempted to match it. After six aisles of baseboards, chair railing, and quarter round it all started to look alike. I bought the closest match I could find to the old stuff and brought it home.
That one was my fault. Turns out we needed 9/16ths instead of 7/16ths and I was a quarter inch off on the height as well. Close enough is not good enough.
So yesterday, I loaded the baseboards back in the van and trundled them back to Menards, this time armed with a SKU number and profile number. I found the aforementioned numbers on the shelf and proceeded to load five 12' lengths into my cart. Well, technically the Menards guy did this but I'll take all the credit I can get.
That one wasn't so much my fault. One of them was right and four of them had either been put in the wrong slot or the slot was mislabeled. Even though they were the right thickness they had a beveled edge instead of a rounded one. Of course, it WAS my fault for not checking each piece and just assuming they were all the same.
 |
| Which of these things is not like the other? |
Which brought me to my third trip to Menards, roughly two hours after the second. After having a nice reviving lunch and determining that Little Girl was planning to boycott her afternoon nap as well as her morning nap, I loaded her up and the two of us made the familiar trip. This time, I figuratively followed the advice to "measure twice, cut once" and ended up with some lovely baseboards. I can't wait to get them painted and put down.
Although my husband just came and notified me "One of those pieces is pretty warped and I'm not sure we can use it."
It's good to keep a sense of humor sometimes.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Saturday feature: Garage Sale Bargains
Garage sale season seemed to start late this year so I was more than ready to go today. I drove by four neighborhood sales within a quarter mile but I had to pick one.
Here's what I got for the (low, low) price of $9.95 (seriously, that was the total!)
I got:
--a package of clothespins (on my GS wishlist for awhile. I was so excited by these.)
--about 100 greeting/birthday/Christmas cards. Dear friends and family, while the cards I give out may be 95% off, be assured my Christmas and other holiday wishes are full value.
--a Thirty-one tote bag (techincally a Keep-it-Caddy according to the website)
--three Yankee candles in various scents
--a tiny Hershey mug that will probably hold toothpicks or matches
--tongs (have YOU ever tried to drain water from corn on the cob without them? Enough said.)
--queen fitted and flat sheet. Pillowcases were missing but I have a couple of sets my grandma embroidered that will mix and match.
--a changing pad cover.
--one other item that I can't picture because I think the recipient might read my blog and it's a new in package item that I plan to gift them.
I also got a lead to a lady who has tons of Dick and Jane fabric which I'm using for Little Girl's new decor. I found some online but the shipping killed me! I would love to find it locally.
Here's what I got for the (low, low) price of $9.95 (seriously, that was the total!)
I got:
--a package of clothespins (on my GS wishlist for awhile. I was so excited by these.)
--about 100 greeting/birthday/Christmas cards. Dear friends and family, while the cards I give out may be 95% off, be assured my Christmas and other holiday wishes are full value.
--a Thirty-one tote bag (techincally a Keep-it-Caddy according to the website)
--three Yankee candles in various scents
--a tiny Hershey mug that will probably hold toothpicks or matches
--tongs (have YOU ever tried to drain water from corn on the cob without them? Enough said.)
--queen fitted and flat sheet. Pillowcases were missing but I have a couple of sets my grandma embroidered that will mix and match.
--a changing pad cover.
--one other item that I can't picture because I think the recipient might read my blog and it's a new in package item that I plan to gift them.
I also got a lead to a lady who has tons of Dick and Jane fabric which I'm using for Little Girl's new decor. I found some online but the shipping killed me! I would love to find it locally.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Project updates: May
So good news first.
Remember this?
No? Maybe because I never showed it to anyone unless I had to. Well, I remember it well. I lived with it for well over a year. This is two walls in the same room (former home of the rust colored indoor/outdoor carpet). One is a weird mottled white and the other is orange with sponge painting and white residue (wallpaper? joint compound? No one knows for sure.)
Well, that bit of strangeness now looks like this:
It still needs baseboards and furniture, but it feels good to cross 95% of this room off my list. That little bumped out place in the first "after" picture was water damaged so that had to be replaced. And that door in the background of picture two was completely messed up. It was painted a bright yellow and was cracking at the insets. It took me a good four hours to restore it to a plain old white door.
I'm a little embarrassed that it took six months to get this far but that's what happens when you have two kids, one full time job, church stuff, car trouble, holidays, and other house repair issues cropping up. We have learned to work in spurts with a few weeks off in between to catch up on life.
More good news: The planting is about half done. I have done two of the four flower beds and semi-landscaped the hill (it's kind of a terrace, I guess?) I still have the one big flower bed in the back of the house and a little one behind the garage. I'm transplanting some hostas that overran one of the flower beds and finishing up with some bright colored annuals.
Okay, so the bad news and it's really not that bad. I didn't organize the medical records. At all. I took a handful of folders up to my bedroom one night and left them on my nightstand for a couple of days. After which I returned them to the file cabinet. This is why I go easy on myself when I set goals.
So June: finish the gardening stuff, organize the medical records, and start a new big project. Not sure what yet. Obviously I'm very concerned.
Oh, and I did read two books this month but I'll write about those in another post.
Remember this?
No? Maybe because I never showed it to anyone unless I had to. Well, I remember it well. I lived with it for well over a year. This is two walls in the same room (former home of the rust colored indoor/outdoor carpet). One is a weird mottled white and the other is orange with sponge painting and white residue (wallpaper? joint compound? No one knows for sure.)
Well, that bit of strangeness now looks like this:
It still needs baseboards and furniture, but it feels good to cross 95% of this room off my list. That little bumped out place in the first "after" picture was water damaged so that had to be replaced. And that door in the background of picture two was completely messed up. It was painted a bright yellow and was cracking at the insets. It took me a good four hours to restore it to a plain old white door.
I'm a little embarrassed that it took six months to get this far but that's what happens when you have two kids, one full time job, church stuff, car trouble, holidays, and other house repair issues cropping up. We have learned to work in spurts with a few weeks off in between to catch up on life.
More good news: The planting is about half done. I have done two of the four flower beds and semi-landscaped the hill (it's kind of a terrace, I guess?) I still have the one big flower bed in the back of the house and a little one behind the garage. I'm transplanting some hostas that overran one of the flower beds and finishing up with some bright colored annuals.
Okay, so the bad news and it's really not that bad. I didn't organize the medical records. At all. I took a handful of folders up to my bedroom one night and left them on my nightstand for a couple of days. After which I returned them to the file cabinet. This is why I go easy on myself when I set goals.
So June: finish the gardening stuff, organize the medical records, and start a new big project. Not sure what yet. Obviously I'm very concerned.
Oh, and I did read two books this month but I'll write about those in another post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)