Let there be light, dammit.

I have a loose tradition of putting up Christmas decor the day after Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if I've done it every year, or for how long, but it makes sense and I usually have some free time over that weekend, so it's convenient. This year the hubs had to work but The Cupcake was being semi-accomodating so I was able to sneak downstairs  and wrestle the medium sized tree up the stairs from storage. It's a partially collapsable 6 footer or so, and usually we just leave it set up in the laundry room during the off season. I take off the decorations but not the lights, since that seems like a waste of time just to put them back on again and it they don't fall off like ornaments do.

Last year I used a new set of lights for the first time, some fancy-schmancy LED ones I scored at Target on clearance the day after the prior Xmas. Red & white. I was happy to see that the tree would fit perfectly on top of a desk we have in front of the window right now, keeping more of it up and away from TC and showing off the lights out the window very nicely. I set up a sparkly tablecloth, plugged in the tree and...nothing. Well, 3 of the 4 strings were nothing. Dead.

Guess these weren't the kind that stay lit when one goes out. Sigh.

Next step: unwrap all the stupid lights, and try to keep them untangled.

Worst step: pretend that in jiggling and removing all the bulbs and putting them back in that I will somehow know what is wrong and make them work again. Ha. Ha Ha. Repeat for all 3 strings. Ha.

Actual worst step that I hadn't even anticipated: flinging TC into quarantine in the hallway when she whips one of the dead strings off the table and smashes one of the (apparently glass) bulbs on the floor, sending glass shards everywhere. 20 minutes sweeping and vacuuming ensue. Possible obscenities muttered. All lights end up in the trash anways. Lose 1 day + a few dollars. Spin again.

And the story concludes with a trip to Target for new lights, a pondering of the LED ("greener" but expensive) vs. traditional lights, hubby requesting they blink, and an eventual decision to get the cheap Earth-killing lights (in multi-colored "twinkle" variety) because the rest of the string will stay lit when one goes out, and thus in theory shouldn't need to be replaced for a few years. The LED ones could last longer, but if one goes I'd have to figure out which one or end up in the same place as this year. Also, after winding them on, I found I only needed 2 sets instead of the 4 I used last year, so the whole tree is done for less than the cost of replacing one of the broken LED strings. Works for me. I even found the adaptor so I can use a remote to turn them on and off instead of digging behind the furniture. Super productivity points.

Yet to come: deciding which ornaments to risk with the cupcake...

I could get used to this...

When I daydreamed my life as a stay at home mom, it was days like yesterday that came to mind. What a lovely morning we had! The Cupcake managed to sleep in (aways a good start), I had Taste of Scandinavia turtle torte (a wickedly delicious cake) for breakfast, and then my sister came over and we set out for adventures with TC. The weather was gorgeous so we walked up to Subway and then over to the city zoo. We walked and walked and walked, and when we got back TC was ready for a nap and ACTUALLY WENT DOWN THIS TIME, PRAISE WHATEVER!

Organization wise I was able to pass on a beautiful dress to my sister that fits her perfectly, which is so much better than putting it on the yard sale rack for $1, and I also handed off a bunch of stuff for some of her upcoming craft projects. In between I continued to sort out stuff to get rid of and streamline throughout the rest of the house.

I got a good deal done in the kitchen as far as organizing my utensils - there is a lot of stuff I want to keep for when I do throw parties, but don't need to be digging through on an every day basis, so I packed up all the spare ladles and tongs in Ziploc bags and they will hang out in the attic till I'm in need of them again.

I completely hauled out the linen closet and made it more child friendly (though not exactly child proof) by moving all the poison cleaning stuff and glass vases up above TC's reach, and sorting out the 10,000 bobby pins and hair binders that show up in every corner of the house. I use a garage organizer meant for screws and nals to keep all my hair stuff and cosmetics separated, and it works pretty well if I keep up with putting stuff back, so it was good to reset everything. I also found 3 pillow cases wrongly put away in the closet (I know, we don't really keep linens in the linen closet) so I was able to add back in to the rotation, which really helps!
And in TC's room I started pulling the tags off and washing all her 24 month clothes (from the JBF sale - I don't wash new stuff, but I can't deal with the smells of other people's clothes ). She's still wearing 18 month but some of the shirts and dresses of 24 month would work now too, and I want her to get the most wear out of it all that we can and not miss any great things (which I have done before and learned from!).

As I look ahead I think the best use of my time would really be to price all of the yard sale stuff right now as I box it up, so I should try to do that before I get too much set aside (that's my least favorite part!). I managed to find some masking tape and permanent markers, so I have no more excuses. Then when I can figure out a date, I'm MUCH closer to actually making it happen than just having a pile of stuff to sort through again...so I'll get on that.

Also - guess who got a sunburn today?!?!? Nooooooooo!

(Clarification for Grammy - it was me. Cupcake is still porcelain pale).

Post-Discardia

I finished Discardia in 2 days and it was good. Worth $2.99, but there is definitely a lot I don't agree with too - for example, the author really seems to hate on TV (especially cable), car ownership, the suburbs, and a few other things that I find freeing, relaxing, and overall joyful. There's a bit of a hipster bend overall (not having kids in order to lessen your carbon footprint, everyone should live in a city, and eating organic/exercising makes everyone feel better all the time - um, no thanks), and the idea of the specifically timed "holidays" to build your "Discardian Lifestyle" around strike me a little bit cult-like, but there is definitely some good to be found.

The focus is pretty broad, and there are a LOT of areas covered - everything from physical junk to electronic and even mental or emotional. Not all of it will apply to everyone - for example, email has never been a source of trauma for me but a LOT of time in the book is devoted to ways to organize your inbox. Likewise the suggestion to let go of bias or preconceived notions of people was kind of off base for me - and seemed out of context with the rest of the book which encourages snap decisions, and empowering the individual to make those decisions on the spot without a lot of guilt/worry about missing out. I feel no need to watch Fox News or read Tea Party propaganda, and that is basically an organizational tool I find easy - a way to narrow options early in the process.

I like the ideas regarding freeing yourself from obligation (which rarely is obligatory other than in your own perception) and focusing your time on being with people you want, doing things you want, and I've been working on that this past year. One area this concept also manifests is my blogging - I have this idea that I always need a photo with a post, so I get behind or sidetracked when I can't get a photo (or get it uploaded) and end up not posting at all - but who said every post needs a picture? Created somewhere in my mind I think.

I also appreciate the analysis of what to do with what you are discarding - for many people the time spent Ebaying or yard selling it doesn't add up to the profits (especially if you have to take time off work to get it done), however in my new life of poverty, I will have more time than funding, and will need to make every opportunity count, which means using all my assets in the best way. I'm hoping to have a yard sale this summer and to that end have packed up several boxes of stuff already. Sure, tagging and organizing is a LOT of work, but even $400 would keep The Cupcake and I entertained for most of the summer (or pay a bill).

I'm not sure I learned a lot, and I still haven't figured out my life goals (or how to even discern them). There's a lot of cute (if randomly assembled) quotes and mantras, and it was inspiring if nothing else - today I cleaned out  my underwear drawer ("You deserve nice underwear!"), and filled up a plastic tub with my closet discards in under 20 minutes. One of the better tips was to attack your closet when you are badly in need of doing laundry - then you can see what you still don't wear even when you are fairly desperate. As I mentioned before, I've been working on my closet for a while now, and with a major change in my daily fashion requirements, it's a good time to make some big changes, but at the same time I won't have money to replace anything I give away too fleetingly, and any money I'd get at a yard sale for clothing is a pittance compared to replacement costs, so I really need to proceed with caution.

I like having "the perfect thing" for any occasion, but unfortunately I just don't have time/am not able to prioritize keeping the house in a functional state with all those perfect things. It's nice to be able to bring serving utensils, platters, and punch bowls to a banquet - but then it takes me months to do the extra dishes and get them back into a storage type area, so in the end I'll have to decide if just serving pop from the bottle or juice from the jug might have brought  me more happiness...and I'm not sure yet.

But it has me thinking...

Spring Cleaning (my whole life)

I have sort of a "trial run" for my new life this week as I'll be home with The Cupcake every day. It comes at a good time as I just wrapped up a lot of obligations with my part time job, and I can actually "relax" a little and not worry about getting a million other things done...in theory...

My house is out of sorts and has been for some time. We've never really been daily cleaners, more a "panic the hour before people are coming over" variety of housekeeping. And then of course post-TC life has been all about survival. I've come to accept a lot of it, which shows a good amount of growth on my part, since despite being a terrible cleaner I was also really paranoid about people seeing such things, and would fret and freak out and generally make everyone miserable as I tried to get it done.

So now my house is messy, and I can accept that, but still hope to change it. And soon, with my house being my primary surroundings 24/7, I think I will attempt to take some action. I want to get into a routine of covering the basic household chores so things don't pile up and feel so overwhelming to tackle at their boiling point. I want to organize and find procedures and short cuts that work for our lives.

In furtherance of this quest I'm currently reading a book I found via NotMartha called Discardia: More Life, Less Stuff. It's pretty good so far, nothing real ground breaking but a few helpful tips and a lot of reaffirming stuff I already do, which makes me feel smart and important. Yeah, I just admitted that. It's both about streamlining your life and making room/energy/priority to find and do the things that make you happy.

This comes at a very opportune time for me.

If I had an iPhone I'd definitely get one of those apps that gives you gold stars (or points or whatever) for doing household chores and checking off to-do lists, because I thrive on those tiny victories, but until then I'll just have to post my accomplishments here (sorry!). Per Discardia I'm doing small things to build up good habits, the important thing being to do "something," even if it is the wrong decision at least it is momentum and it is easier to correct the route of something in motion than to get it started in the first place.

Today I went through the refrigerator and dumped all the outdated food (we suck at leftovers). I didn't worry about scrubbing down all the surfaces, because if I had to do all that too I probably wouldn't have done any of it. Starting small, with  accomplishable mini goals that eventually lead to good habits. And I also love the idea of not punishing yourself for all the stuff you don't get to or don't choose to do - I'll work on that. I also ran 2 loads of dishes, took a 3 hour nap (YAY!) and picked up a bunch of plastic storage tubs at Target for further organizational fun. Yipee!

To sleep, perchance to dream...

I was a sleepy baby, or so I'm told. While I can't vouch for the accuracy of the legends, I've been told that my mother went as far as to wake me up as an infant for visitors who swore that all I did was sleep. I've always enjoyed sleeping, and it was not uncommon for me to get 10 hours of sleep a night before I got pregnant.

Lord how the world changes.

I went into labor in the evening and despite the best efforts of my nurse, I didn't sleep a wink that night. Despite sending the kid to the nursery during our hospital stay, I never got more than 15 minutes of sleep in a row, and our first night home was completely awful, especially since we had to be back at the pediatrician the net morning. I don't believe I slept a wink. That meant from Monday - Friday I was operating on less than 5 hours of sleep, TOTAL. On the way home from the doctor, while sitting in the back seat next to the carseat, I had a conversation that didn't exist, and not just talking to a baby who couldn't talk back, I was hallucinating.

I completely understand how sleep deprivation is an effective torture technique.

The Cupcake is 3 1/2 months old, and this is a delightful age. It's a hopeful age. For me, I feel hopeful. I feel so much better than I did in those first two months, when everything was hard and frustrating and potentially impossible, when I was so entirely exhausted that I wondered each and every day if the lack of sleep would just erode my sanity completely like water carving canyons and valleys out of rock.

When The Cupcake sleeps, everything seems possible again. The night before last, she slept from 5:30pm until 8 the next morning with just a few sleepy bottles in between. At first I held her and watched TV, checked my email. Then as the hours added up I started to poke her and study her, feel her temperature, contemplate what was surely wrong...but she was just very peaceful. At 11 the hubby and I woke her up completely to re dress and swaddle her for the night, and she cooed and sang and smiled like never before. She was utterly delightful, and then went right back to sleep. And I did the same. And it was wonderful.



And it made all the difference in the world.

Yesterday all things seemed achievable. I must have slept for 7-8 hours, not straight through the night but with short enough breaks that I felt almost rested in the morning. And the idea of feeling rested was energizing in itself. I awoke re-calibrated to my life, and somehow, the kid was STILL in a great mood. She lounged in her swing while I loaded the dishwasher, watched and cooed as I cleaned the bathroom, listened to the dishwasher swish while I folded laundry...

It may have been a very isolated incident, and indeed last night TC was much more fitful, fighting sleep until she melted down in tears and frustration sometime after 10, and she woke up three times between midnight and 4am, but just the idea...the experience...the light up ahead...

It's the same feeling I had when I attempted my first post-partum craft project. Cupcake was snoozing in her swing, and I attempted to cut out pieces for some paper crafted invitations. When I had finished, she was still asleep, so I started to assemble one...two...forty-three...and then I jumped for joy because for a while there I thought I might never get to finish another project again, heck, I might never clean off the dining room table again, and here I had sat down and done crafts. Awesome ones that I can't wait to share next month after the bridal shower, so I don't ruin any surprises.

So much has happened in the past 3 1/2 months. Every time I bend over I get excited at how easy it is to squat and reach my feet now, compared with the chore of late pregnancy. I can put away groceries and not have to be helped back up from the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. That's not the only thing that has gotten easier. Not only did I lose all of the limited baby weight I gained, but I'm down nearly 20lbs more (thank you breastpumping) and all of my clothes are falling off, including my wedding ring. What a delightful problem to have, one to be solved with a shopping spree eventually. Speaking of pumping (long story short: Cupcake wouldn't play along with breastfeeding, and after listening to everyone and their mother tell me what I "HAD" to do in order to raise a happy healthy daughter, I did what MY mom told me - "whatever works for you." So Cupcake is getting breastmilk, just not from the tap), operations at the dairy are almost old hat. I'm only chained to THE MACHINE 5 times a day now, and at work it's even a nice break - I look forward to sitting down in solitude with my Kindle for those two 20 minute stretches. My emotions are still slightly wacky, and I may have teared up this week while reading cards at Walgreens AND Tina Fey excerpts on Facebook, and let's not even discuss how I react to diaper commercials like the Pampers one about new moms...but I'm starting to get it.

Or at least believe that I will, eventually.

We even packed up our bags and went out to LUNCH yesterday with Dad/Grandpa, and babies + restaurants = MAJOR ANXIETY for me, so that was a HUGE step, my first time taking her to a restaurant all by myself and on purpose, and she was a perfect peach the entire time.

I have stories to share. I've probably forgotten more of them than I'll remember already, but I'll get back to it.

Someday she'll sleep through the night for real. Someday she'll even do it in her crib, and maybe I'll go back to sleeping in my own bed. And she will continue to smile and coo and laugh, and one day she'll talk and tell me what a great job I'm doing and thank you so much for all of the effort...

Or maybe not.

But she will sleep. And I will sleep. And that will heal so many things.

A dirty schizophrenic hermit

The Cupcake hit 2 months old yesterday, by which time a lot of kids are in daycare and their moms back to reality, going about their daily lives as a part of society.

Reality? Huh? I think our paths diverged somewhere and you are nowhere in sight.

If I were a good little mommyblogger I would have shared a million funny stories with you by now, we would have bonded over the trauma and truth of birth (and afterbirth), or at the least bored you with endless photos of my child doing cute things. Like this one:


(Olivia Wagner Photography)

But I haven't made it there yet.

It's 4:30am and she's fast asleep (miracle).

But I'm not (d'oh).


(so peaceful when she is sleeping)

I woke up with a rock hard chest. Like an elephant was sitting on me, or I was buried under rocks. I tried to ignore it, flip over, burrow back in - to no avail. So I'm pumping and praying that she's still asleep when I finish, and that we both get a few more hours of rest. Especially since today is my first adventure out with the girls (the ADULT girls), like a real grown up and not a dirty schizophrenic hermit.

Yeah, that's right, I'll admit it - I'm sort of a dirty schizophrenic hermit these days. It's the new reality I guess. I shower...sometimes. When I have a reason. Otherwise it just doesn't rise far enough up the priority list. Other "necessities" I don't have/find/make time to do anymore:
-anything with my hair beyond a messy pony tail
-cleaning my glasses till they are completely opaque
-cleaning the house
-going to the bathroom
-eating anything requiring more prep than Girl Scout Cookies and Goldfish Crackers
-leaving the house unless absolutely necessary
...and so much more. Priority #1 is keeping the kid alive & content (the latter is a pretty distant 2nd, and only done if possible). After that it's sleeping, AKA keeping myself alive. Luckily you can totally live on cookies & crackers, and if you are breastfeeding/pumping you can even lose 30+ lbs that way. Who knew?


(jewelry? clearly this was a planned photo op. My usual accessories are burp rags. They're cute and multi-colored, but not exactly red-carpet).

The "dirty" part is also furthered by my vomit volcano of a baby who keeps me covered in partially digested breastmilk most days. Mmmm, nutritious. We're generally both damp and sticky, it's become our natural state of being. This is admittedly gross, and should probably elevate the quest for a shower a little higher up the priority list, but why take the time to hose it all off when you'll just add another coat moments later? Better to use that time for a nap, or a sandwich, or more likely it just gets used up between holding and changing and pumping and feeding and otherwise surviving day by day. It's the same attitude I've always had towards shaving my legs. Shaving is annoying and cumbersome and a lot of times I just don't do it if my legs won't be showing. Especially from, say, November - April. I don't particularly like having fur or looking like a yeti, and it's not some feminist statement, but seriously, who likes to shave? And I figure it's only gross if someone sees it. Since we don't leave the house much, nobody does :)

She's awake now by the way. And just spit milk out her nose.

Being a hermit is also a matter of choice/priorities, and one of my best coping mechanisms. And I really don't mind it much at all. I've heard a lot of stories of moms dying to get out of the house with their little ones...it all seems like way too much work for me. When we leave, there's the juggling of schedule for eating and pumping. There's the luggage - diaper bag, baby carrier, bottles, stroller... My pump if we could be gone longer than 4 hours and all the parts I need with it. Extra clothes for her AND me, since she likes to "share" her food after the first time down her gullet... Trips out of the house really do seem to sack her out (LOVE that carseat), but they also sack ME out, so the benefit is negated a bit. It's so much easier to exist within the walls of my house. I like my house. I have cable, DVDs, radio, and now FINALLY fast Internet. I have her magic swing and laundry available without hauling it around. I've never really been an "outside girl" anyways :)




And as for schizophrenic...happens to the best of us. I engage in conversation with the baby, of course. Most people can understand that. I also engage in conversation with the swing, the lamps, the radio... I swear the rhythmic sound of my pump is a secret language and I hear mechanical words when it's running. I forget things, mostly due to the sleep deprivation, and can rarely tell you what day it is because they're all somewhat the same. When the house is actually quiet and I try to run to the bathroom, or even when someone is watching her and I take a shower, I always think I hear her crying even when she's not. Voices in my head I guess :)

It took me another day to finish this post, because it takes me twice (or 10 times) as long to finish anything these days. In between, I went out with my friends. It went way too fast, and I had to ditch out early to race home and pump, but I made it. And honestly, I didn't even have time to sit and worry about The Cupcake, it all went by to fast. I splurged on two cherry cokes (which I coveted way more than alcohol after almost a year), caught up with some great friends, sat down to eat a meal with both hands at a table, and was completely distracted oogling the sparkly drag queens on stage. I still appreciate sparkles, and I even managed to wear some of my own. I even showered. Maybe I'll only be a part time dirty schizophrenic hermit.

Cupcakes & Christmas Trees

Last year I had a total of 5 Christmas trees decorated for the holiday season. One was huge, three were very small, and the medium one is the only one I decided to deal with this year. I love decorating for the holidays, and feeling the glow of Christmas lights in our living room has seemed magical ever since I was a kid, but I just know with Cupcake's impending arrival (4 weeks?!?!) that I can't count on any time/energy to pack everything up later on, so I'm scaling back now. I'm also not hosting a cookie exchange this year, which I'm kind of sad about but not sad enough to deal with all the baking and dishes, so I'm glad I was realistic about that months ago and begged off. That said, I had to put up at least ONE tree:



I need to pull out the tree skirt to finish it off, but I finally found all of the "sweets" ornaments I bought after last season! I love them. And there are a few more picked up along the way, but not too many. I've had a hard time resisting buying more, especially since everything is going on sale now, but I'm trying to keep my priorities in line :) Maybe after Christmas clearance though, if I can still waddle...



I did let myself splurge on ONE special ornament for this year though:

(Cupcake's real name masked)

I cannot believe that Christmas is just 2 weeks away...I'm WAY behind on my shopping, though I'm definitely looking forward to a few days off work. Cupcake has been STRONGLY cautioned to stay put until her due date, mostly due to my hangups about holiday birthdays (I only want the best for her!), and though I'm slow and waddly and still suffering with heartburn, I'm excited to finish creating her room and catch up on some other projects before she crashes into our lives. Won't be long now...

Feathering the Nest - Dining Room

Somehow the list of things to accomplish before the B-bomb (aka, infant) drops into our lives is getting longer each day, and both my funding as well as energy to complete them are dropping drastically. Ruh-row, to quote the great Scooby Doo. I'm beginning to think I'll never finish another project again...

But that doesn't stop me from starting them :) Last week I ordered a cute little dining room table set, nothing elaborate, but it met my lean criteria of being 1. cheap, 2. counter height (aka - above the dog's tongue...until he jumps), and 3. $0.97 shipping (meaning I didn't have to wrestle it into my car).



I sat down to put it together this weekend, and once I had pried open the box of course I found all the hardware spilled out loose and bouncing around the gigantic carton, which also had some major holes and punctures. I was sure half of it had fallen out along the way, so I started counting up screws and washers, and somehow, everything was still accounted for...except the table top had a huge crack around the apron where the wood had clearly split when the holes were predrilled. Boo! Fail! Daggnabit!



I snapped a few photos and sent them with an email to the replacement parts department right away, but they're only open M-F and on Pacific time, so no word back yet. Hopefully they are cool. I still put together all of the chairs (got to strike while I have energy!), and I really like them, so hopefully they'll send me a new table top ASAP!

One of our goals with the B-bomb is to cook more, and eat as a family, so getting a dining room table was a big first step towards that. The hubby and I actually have never had a dining room table that we sat down to eat at in our 10+ years together, but lounging on the couch in front of the TV is not the example we'd like to set if we can help it. The research on family dinners and healthy kids (both physically and mentally/socially) is overwhelming, so this was pretty high on the list.

Now I just have to learn to cook. And like more than 4 foods myself...

Home Makeover: Craftastic Edition

Well, it took most of the weekend, but I have nearly fulfilled my organizational goals. I spent over 9 hours on Saturday and more on Sunday and Monday locked up in "the witch's tower", watching the entirety of True Blood Season One, and forcing myself to clean up the giant mess I'd let get way out of control. I'm happy to say, it is finally functional again! I have some pictures of the transformation, but first, a disclaimer - there are things in my craft room that will defy explanation. I can only say that a big part of my crafting is party planning, be that a holiday party, bachelorette, Halloween - there are remnants of each including a very bawdy "ring toss" game that the nuns are watching over. Not to draw too much attention to it, but don't judge me when you "find waldo." You have been warned. :)

So, to start off, I have to acknowledge the disaster that I had let this room become. Remember, this was all clean at Halloween...but when it came time to pack away the Halloween decor, I got busy...it made it up the stairs, but not back to storage. Thanksgiving, craft fairs, Christmas, a funeral, and several other events later, the carnage had stacked up and you couldn't even see the floor any longer! For example,

Before:


And after a little TLC:


A couple of neat notes here, that TV weighs about 200 lbs, and I thought hubby might die dragging it up the stairs. But the rectangular base it is sitting on is a lazy susan I found at the goodwill for $5, it was SUCH a deal! Now I can turn it to any angle depending on what I am doing or where I am working in the room, without any effort at all. The coffee table holding both is very sturdy, but again was about $10 at Goodwill. Score. The wire stand to the left of the TV was on clearance at Marshalls for $20, I got it thinking I'd use it for a craft fair of some sort but recently discovered it's the perfect size for DVDs.

Here's the other side of the room -
Before:



After:


This was really just a matter of taking the time to sort things back into where they are supposed to go. My key is having a home for everything - a clear plastic box with a lid, clearly labeled via my P-Touch:



The other end of the room was just as bad, and basically covered with giant boxes.

Before:


After:


I was actually hoping to get a couple more bookshelves to match the ones I already had lining both walls, but Target only had them in black and dark brown. Instead I picked up two of these square units in a similar color, which still worked pretty well:



These now hold all of my serving pieces and cake plates, as well as cake decorating equipment, cake pans, and other dessert tools.

I do have one big project left up there before I can say I've entirely re-organized:



These boxes are all of the receipts, product manuals, and other records that I need to sort into their proper files or shred. But now I actually have room to spread out and dig through all of that at my leisure. It had gotten totally out of control, to the point I had to struggle not to kill myself when reaching for the light switch:



But now look at all this luxurious work space -



Ahhh, crafting becomes fun again! And look, you can see my file cabinets, so I'll be able to sort out that mess above soon enough. To the left of the files is my sewing desk, also finally uncovered. And to the left of that is my new work bench, look Dad, I finally got that up too! My saw is sitting underneath it waiting for its first project :)



It feels pretty good to have gotten all of this sorted out, now let's hope I can keep it that way for a while :) I have a craft gathering coming up this weekend, and I'm excited to be able to access all my toys and get back to making pretty things!

Tree #4

This is the final tree I got up this year, I promise :) It's the twin tree to #3 from the previous post - we inherited it from hubby's grandmother, and it is completely decorated in her ornaments.



There are no lights, because it's set on a wall with no outlets. The garland is wooden and has a retro feel, and the angel is definitely old, but I honestly don't know the stories behind most of the ornaments yet.



A few of my favorites are the red wooden lobster, and the wire lobster trap that I do know symbolize Gloria's childhood home in Maryland. Her father, Captain Riley, was actually a lobsterman himself.

Tree #3

We inherited two small trees this year when Gloria passed away, and I really wanted to be sure I got them up this year in her honor. So in the hours before my cookie exchange I trimmed them up using all of her decorations.

Tree #3 was the one I admired since I came into the family 10 years ago (yup, 10 years ago next month - more than 1/3 of my LIFE, can you believe it?).



She had the most unique take on ornaments - silver frames with photos of her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids hung by red ribbons:



These are so precious to me. Though Gloria did the tree up slightly differently, I knew I just wanted to showcase the frames, so I stuck with simple white lights, a little silver snowflake garland, and her retro lighted topper. I think it came out really simple and elegant.



I can't wait to carry this tradition on, and add photos of my family to the mix. I think it's a really beautiful reminder of what I find important during the holidays - family, memories, and history.

Let your heart be light...

I love how Christmas lights look in the dark. Ever since I can remember I used to sneak out to the living room in the middle of the night and just stare at the tree all lit up, or twirl and dance in front of the glow.



Happy twirling :)

Tree #2: "The Mean One"

AKA "The Unwieldy One" or "The One That Makes Me Hate Christmas."

This is a big tree. I inherited it from my mother who must have laughed and laughed when passing on the task. (Don't worry mom, I seriously appreciate it. But you know this sucker is brutal!) First warning bells should have gone off upon seeing where it lives in the off season - not one, but TWO of these casket-sized Rubbermaid tubs:



Now I love Rubbermaid tubs, but these are too big to even carry. They don't fit through doorways, you have to carry them out in front of you 6' and the laws of physics don't permit that. It's the same principal that says if Barbie was real, she couldn't stand upright with that rack. It's impossible. And then there is the fact that this tree requires not only directions, but a WHOLE FREAKIN' MAP! No, seriously:



Each and every branch needs to be individually "fluffed" and arranged, and then attached to the center pole. There are somewhere around 2bazillion of these branches. And they are all color coded as to their various tree placement - thus the map. Thank god my mom is all crazy like and kept that thing, or it would be an exercise in futility. As it was, I occasionally skipped a row and had to take them all off and start over when I realized it.



Slowly but surely, I got all of the layers fluffed and assembled. I did this by holding the metal end against my stomach for balance while I arranged the branches out, not noticing that they left a huge rusty stain on my otherwise white sweater. Oops. Then the lights (4 strings of red, white, and green jumbo bulbs - also inherited with the tree, thanks mom!). I let hubby help when it was time for ornaments - and I think we did a pretty good job! This tree reminds me of a circus with all different jewel toned bulbs and Mardi gras beads.



BTW, these are "new camera" shots you're looking at - I'm starting to figure it out, though the lighting is confusing. This is the tree that has all of our "special" ornaments, such as the menagerie of straw animals from our first Xmas together, the ceramic bulb I made for 2005 saying "Almost married!", and last year's "New Home 2008" ornament.



Did I mention Muhammad Ali? Hubby is a fan. And the wedding dress & tux for 2006. The blue glittery star in the lower left is from Target, but it reminds me of ones on my tree growing up. I really like collecting ornaments from trips and special occasions - we have a couple Disney ones, a "Big Apple" bell from NYC, and of course gifted ornaments. The tree topper is new this year, I picked that up at Michael's yesterday - I really wanted something lighted, and this was the last one left - perfect!



I feel very relieved to have gotten this big guy up and finished, WHEW!



It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Winter Wonderland?

Now I remember why people hate winter - I'm exhausted and it's barely 9am! Egads! We had plenty of warning about the storm, so I was sure to unpack the new power shovel and make note of where the standard ones were hanging in the garage, I took in the archway and Halloween cauldron that were lingering in the yard, but I totally struck out on the patio furniture and now it's staying put - because it's buried!

We must have gotten at least 8" of snow, which is now blowing and drifting at high rates of speed. This makes it hard to critique the first running of the Toro Power Shovel. On one hand, it did crunch through the mounds of snow in my driveway, even the burm left by the plow, but on the other hand I ended up wearing much of it. I can't tell if that was due to the design of the Toro or just the high winds - so I'll reserve judgement until the next go round. I thought it was easy enough to maneuver, though with this deep of snow you do have to go slowly, and you don't have any control over the directionality you blow everything - it's supposed to go straight forward, but I got a ton of it back in my face. I actually had snow-crusted eyelashes, and half a snowman in my hood when I got inside. I kept holding down the wrong button which made things difficult, but it's not that hard. Avoiding the cord required a little maneuvering, but nothing worth complaining about. I got through enough to get my car out in less than an hour - by comparison my neighbor was out shoveling well before me and still out when I left, so I guess it is quicker :) I still had to use the traditional shovel along the line next to the garage door (or I would have blown it all INTO the garage) and some around the edges, but again, I blame the wind for a lot of the control problems. A lot of what I blew away just repositioned itself on other areas of the driveway, but it was enough to get our cars out and my car is EXTREMELY wimpy on snow.

Smart things I did this morning: had the power shovel ready to go, knew where my boots were, found a pair of decent gloves and a hat, put in my contacts, and put on old clothes and waited until afterwards to shower, rather than getting dressed for real.

Not-so-smart things I did this morning: wore my green coat to plow - that's totally soaked, I had to resort to the back up jacket which isn't nearly as cute, and I should have made the hubby snap some pics of me in action but I was tired and it was early. And I was very not cute, other than the nice jacket :)

And then there was the drive, which you can imagine was un-fun and slow...and now here I am sleepy and exhausted and still a little chilly, thinking of all the winter things I'm not ready for yet - slipping on ice, navigating the dummies in my parking lot who can't figure it out without the lines (despite the two clear poles marking the center lines), and getting to do it all again when I get home! Dear wind: if you could stop, that would be excellent!

Tree #1

AKA "The little one," or henceforth, "the manageable one."



This happy little tree sits atop my Department 56 table, very whimsical, with a silver and white tree skirt. I like it because it's light and mostly pre-assembled, I can actually carry it downstairs totally assembled if I want and store it with the lights on (which I think I'll start doing!). This year I did it up in all red and silver ornaments with white lights. I think it turned out quite pretty - nothing eye popping, but quite pretty.



The red glass bird with real white feathers might be my favorite on this tree, though the silver arctic snowglobes are fairly cool too. I'll have to figure out the lighting on my new camera to come up with a better shot.

Prize #7 - Baby, it's cold outside...

It sounds like I'd better hurry up and get this package opened before tomorrow, when I just might have an action shot for you (6"-12" of snow? I'm so not ready...warm fall, you've spoiled me...)

Here's our new handy-dandy Toro power shovel! This was my one "responsible" purchase with my whole gift card, and it was practically the cheapest one :)

We have a relatively small yard and not a ton of shoveling to do, but there is a logistical problem with piling the snow. In the back of the house we have a little driveway off of the alley, maybe 15' x 10'. It's not too bad to clear, but the problem comes in having to lift each full shovel 3' in the air to dump it over our fence (the only place we can pile it safely/legally/on our own property). That'll kill your back MIGHTY FAST.

Enter Toro Power Shovel!


This little guy is like a mini snowblower on a stick - it sounds PERFECT for our situation. It'll propel all of our pesky snow up and over the fence with ease. It had great reviews and I'm really optimistic. It's electric, which should be easy enough since we have lots of outlets on the garage and several long extension cords. It's fairly light weight, and I should be able to manage it on my own (as opposed to "real" snowblowers, which I often have trouble starting and turning).

I'm perfectly happy we got to wait so long to use this, and I'll gladly wait a few weeks more, but it's really nice to know that if we need it, this little puppy will really help!

Excellent Product: Krylon Snap and Spray Aerosol Spray Can Adapter

I might have complained before about how I'm too wimpy to handle large spray painting jobs, I have to constantly switch off fingers and thumbs and hands to keep pushing down the nozzle, and I always end up painting half of my fingers. Part of my problem is I don't follow the directions and spray in short spurts (sorry, that's just too annoying, sometimes you just need to do a larger area in one burst, even if that means you create drips and messes). The other part of the program is that I'm weak and it's an awkward movement - does anyone have super buff fingers that don't get fatigued spray painting? Never something I've worked on.

Well, that problem is now a thing of the past, as I recently stumbled on the Snap and Spray Aerosol Spray Can Adapter by Krylon!



So simple, yet so helpful, I grabbed this at Michael's for around $6 (I think - I see them online for a lot less too). It's super easy to work, you just snap it on the top of the can and then you can use the much more friendly shooting motion rather than the awkward pressing.



I love it! It feels much better, meaning I can paint longer and get things done quicker, and it keeps me from getting paint all over my fingernails. It comes back off easily and you can re-use it again and again.

EXCELLENT job Krylon, kudos to you!

Yay for Poison!

We're winning the weed war!

FINALLY.


Remember it looked like this when I finally gave up on the "natural" remedies and dumped on the weed kill:





Then a week or so later it sorta started to yellow and fade:





And now, this week, I'm proud to say the tides are turning and we appear to have the upper hand! Check out this shriveled mess:
Whoo hoo! TRIUMPH!

I'm not sure yet if I'll still have to rip out the carcases by hand, or if they'll just shrivel to dust and blow away (clearly my preference, though I'm not very hopeful) but at least they're no longer growing and forcing my concrete apart. I think the "bush" in the middle of the driveway was starting to be a driving hazard.

Yay toxic sprays!

Here's another little handy-dandy product review, courtesy of my weekend at the Radisson LaCrosse: Sleep Number Beds.

I abhor these things.
Detest.
Might avoid Radissons for this sole reason.

Don't get me wrong, our hotel was LOVELY. It was in a GREAT location, had plenty of free parking, nice rooms, and great staff. But these beds are way more trouble than they are worth, and Radisson seems to be using them exclusively now.

Our first night we arrived home late from Groom's Dinner festivities and the bed felt a little funny. My side was stuck on 100 (ROCK HARD) and hubby's side wasn't registering at all - the remote just showed "--" over and over. Hmmm. That's probably not good. But we were tired and the prospect of packing everything up again and moving to another room was daunting, so we decided to just live with it.

Never decide to just live with it.

Hubby slept in a trench. Seriously. His side of the bed completely deflated so that there was a concave tube with zero cushion. At some point he stole all of the pillows and laid them in the trench to try and cope - but we both slept awfully. Around 7am when my day started, I was torn about what to do - I had to run around doing wedding stuff all day, and wouldn't be able to come back and re-pack/move stuff, so hubby would just have to deal. Hubby who could barely stand up straight after a night of twisted sleep. Sigh.

At 7ish I went downstairs to explain our problem, and was told there were no managers on duty (apparently managers are the only ones who can take action on broken beds?). I told them I had to leave and they said they'd pass it along.

Ugh.

At 10am I stopped back (to pick up the hair accessories I had forgotten)and hubby hadn't heard anything from the hotel, but had at least moved to the flat (if rock hard) side of the bed.

Sometime between 11 and 12:30 housekeeping came and said someone was on their way, hubby went to lunch and when he returned there was a note of apology. Apparently a "hose had become unattached" so the bed deflated.

We had hardly SAT on the bed, it wasn't like we were jumping like monkeys or anything. Just so you know.

Can you imagine what a pain that must be for a whole hotel to have those beds? It must happen all the time! And if so, why on earth would we have to wait for a MANAGER to dispatch the repair? UGH!

So sleep number beds get a huge thumbs down, if only for the annoyance factor. I know beds are a pretty personal choice and some people prefer softer, some harder, but I'm pretty sure everyone prefers a functional, semi-padded bed. Not a hard trench. And sleep number beds are hella expensive!

To the hotel's credit, once I expressed my dissatisfaction we came to a mutually agreeable discount on the bill, and they were fair about it. But they wouldn't have done anything if I hadn't pushed for it. There's another lesson - corporate America won't give you anything if you don't ask for it - but if you do, they generally want to come to an arrangement that makes you happy and likely to return, or at least not to tell your friends not to patronize them.

The hotel overall (and aside from the bed) was LOVELY and we're considering going back again for a little weekend trip - we didn't get to see much of the cute little downtown area and there appears to be a lot of shops and restaurants. I just don't know that I'd be excited for those beds again...

Now the Sheraton "sweet sleeper" beds on the other hand, are HEAVENLY...

Whistle while I work...

I find lists very comforting. Sometimes I make "to do" lists and include things I've already done, just for the satisfaction of crossing them off. I don' expect a gold star or dozen roses, but man, I feel like I've accomplished a ton since I got home last night!

1. hunted all over the house for hidden cinnamon rolls, and I *think* I got them all...

2. vacuumed & swept up all the big chunks off the furniture, then oxy-cleaned the sticky residue left behind.

3. vacuumed and lint brushed all the furniture, and covered the big red dog hair magnets (I mean chairs) with throws.

4. Swept & vacuumed the living room and hallway.

5. Removed the sticky throw pillow covers and threw them in the wash.

6. Replaced the bag on my mini Oreck - it was so full it exploded when I opened it, and I had to re-vacuum all the previously vacuumed stuff back up.

7. stripped the bed and pillows and changed all the linens (necessary before I could even crash, since there were cinnamon rolls mashed into the sheets.)

8. moved all the furniture in the bedroom to find cinnamon rolls he had actually shoved under and between furniture. This also involved scrubbing said mash off of walls.

9. dusted, vacuumed, and de-cluttered bedroom (it looks so foreign right now!)

10. unloaded and re-loaded dishwasher

11. stripped the cover off the dog bed (this had to be done outside because there was so much mashed cinnamon roll it was practically a cake) and tossed it in the wash.

12. 2 loads of laundry so far, many more to come...

13. emptied and sprayed down the shower with scrubbing bubbles

14. watched a few episodes of "True Blood" re-running on HBO

15. had a dream Alison served grilled cheese at her wedding (fine by me!)

16. took out 2 bags of garbage

17. wiped down the kitchen walls

I still need to finish the kitchen and bathroom, and head up to make sense of the craft room before a friend comes over to work on wedding stuff...but first, I think I've earned a Maverick's roast beef sandwich as a reward for all my hard work.