Thirty Days!

90.  Give up soda for a month (3/24/13)

I simply cannot believe that I managed to pull off this one.  I love soda.  But honestly, most of the time it wasn't too difficult.  I got through every day by telling myself "I won't have it today."  NOT "I'm giving this up forever," because I know myself and if I said that I'd want it more and eventually cave and have to start over.  Once I was over two weeks I had no desire to start over, right?   I had iced tea or sparkling juice for lunch every day, and I drank a lot more water.  At first, the caffeine withdrawal every day after lunch was a bit much, but I got through it.

I didn't lose any weight.  I think that's because I didn't drink it all the time when I started.  Ten years ago, I'd nurse a 20 oz bottle of coke all morning, have some more for lunch and drink even more at home.  Nowadays we don't keep it in the house much unless company's coming, and a can at lunch.   Interestingly enough though, my pants fit better.  

What surprised me was when it was hard....we're in the middle of doing a lot of house projects to get this place sold.  Apparently, I drink a lot of Coke when I'm working on things like painting.  I was used to drinking two or three cans during a remodeling project.  THAT was tough.  But I didn't crack, and I'm proud.  Apparently soda is a "stress thing" for me, too.  I drink more of it when I'm freaking out or obsessing about something.

So, where to now?  Well, I had no intentions of giving it up forever.  But now, I'm not going back to it every day.  Only when I really, really want it, will I have it.  And I think that'll make it taste that much sweeter.  :)

Tale of the Cookie Thief

Since there aren't enough nice stories out there in the world, I bring you one from work.  You're welcome.

It doesn't start out very nice.  A few weeks ago I opened the freezer door at work to put away my lunch and discovered that someone has been pilfering cookies from the Entemann's boxes I had put there after coffee hour the week before.  One frozen cookie at a time.  I may have thought something mean along the lines of "Hope you broke a tooth, Cookie Thief!"  After a resident meeting a few weeks later, I put two leftover mini cupcake trays in there, with the intention of defrosting and serving them for the next meeting.  Next day, the cupcakes had vanished.  Not only that, all the cookies were gone.  Not just gone....the Cookie Thief had left the empty boxes in the freezer, along with some frozen crumbs.

I was incensed.  It's not like I haven't seen this problem at other sites before, I know of one place that had to buy a bicycle lock for their fridge in order to keep people out.  That looks unsightly though, so I settled on a sign.  I knew it wouldn't be very effective but it if I caught whomever was pilfering frozen goodies, I could say that there was a SIGN so you had clear INTENT to eat treats without care.  The sign was on gold-colored paper with huge block capital letters;  "PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE MANAGEMENT OFFICE."   Say it like you mean it, 'cept I will never be able to be a badass, because even when I'm telling you off I'm polite about it.  Some tact is required though, after all this is work. Had it been elsewhere it might've read differently.

Imagine my surprise....I came to work last week and opened the freezer to put away my Healthy Choice frozen dinner (blah) and there were two bags of walmart-brand chocolate chip cookies.  That's strange.  The next day:  two trays of mini cupcakes from the local grocery, one chocolate and one vanilla, decorated in fall frosting colors like the ones that had disappeared.

I often say that nothing surprises me in this business, that in twelve years I've pretty much seen it all.  But I was surprised, and I'd never seen anything like it.  So thank you, Cookie Thief, for either having a conscience or being terrified by my totally righteous sign.  I take back what I said about breaking your teeth on frozen cookies.

Same Old Song.

In reference to the last blog:

1.  Leaky toilet may have caused damage to the bath floor, or subfloor, I should say.  There are two doors to the bathroom, and one is a real pain to open and close because of the swollen floor.  Hoping as it dries out over the next couple of weeks the floor will stop swelling and go back to it's regular size.  If not, well....things are really going to suck.  I'm not going to sugarcoat it, it's going to involve ripping up the flooring and (GULP!) cutting into one of our bedroom walls to get at the subfloor and replace it.  Seems like a good time to start re-doing the bathroom like we wanted, right?  No.  No time.  And no money for new fixtures and painting, replacing the ceiling tiles and all that jazz.  Cross your appendages please, dry floor=no destruction of the bathroom and bedroom!

2.  Car continues to overheat.  It appears to only do it when driving around town and not on the highway.  No lights are coming on the dash or anything, the thermostat is just hotter than normal.  Brian found a blown fuse, replaced it and it blew again.  Not good.  Not looking forward to the call from the mechanic today.

3.  Zyliss chopper replaced!  After kindergarten screening yesterday Will and I took a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond to get Daddy a little something for Father's day, and I replaced the chopper for $15.
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Wow, that is a lot of crap to deal with in the past week.  To balance it a little bit, how about I tell you three things that I'm grateful for?

A.  Ran out of yarn while working on my friend Tracy's grandaughter's sweater for her first birthday.  (NO, that's not the good thing.)  It was a hand-dyed wool that I bought two years ago at Webs that I've had kicking in my stash.  It's gorgeous, pinks, purples oranges and yellows, reminds me of a sunset.  I got to the armholes and ran out.  Luckily, I scoured the internet and found another hank of it on Ebay.  It came yesterday and unfortunately is more yellow-orange than the previous two hanks which were more purple-pink.  But I can cut it and use what I need and save the rest for mittens that I knit for charity.

B.  I have a sweet husband who brings a cup of coffee to me every morning while I am in the shower.  He knows that I have a rough times with mornings and has caffeine at the ready.  Coffee=love.

C.  Will and I came up with a really great Father's Day gift yesterday.  I can't wait til Sunday!  Will has also proven that he can keep a secret, I'm pretty proud of him.

So there you have it.  The House of Crafty Mama is experiencing some troubles, but I can still find things to be grateful for.  Not that I had any doubts.  :)

One Fun Saturday

Saturday....ahhhhhh.  It was a completely chaotic week and I wasn't sorry to have it end.  We all woke up around 8:30am, which is certainly sleeping in!  I am so lucky to have kids that like to sleep.  After a fantastic breakfast of omelettes and potatoes, we were looking for something to do to get out of the house for a bit.  Ikea!!!!

With Sean going into a toddler bed and the boys sharing a room, we'll be finding ourselves with an "extra" room. Look who's getting their office/craft room back!!  And by craft, I just mean yarn stash because under the desk is where it's stored.  We'll send the crib and changing table to the basement for now, take down the Winnie the Pooh border, re-paint the walls a summer sky blue (leftovers from the nursery) and move the desk in there.  Then with the desk out of the family room, we'll be able to turn the whole room into a playroom.  Which is perfect, because that's pretty much what it is already.  Perhaps a little more space can make it so all of these toys are easier to organize.  A Mom can dream, right?  :)

So to Ikea we went, and spent a few hours looking at storage solutions.  We ended up purchasing a new TV stand with lots of storage, and a bookcase.  And all of it was way too big to fit into our car with the boys and their carseats, not to mention the double stroller too.  So it's all being shipped tomorrow.  

After Ikea the boys fell asleep in the car, and Brian suggested that we stop at this place that has cup singles for Keurig machines.  We recently became the owners of a secondhand Keurig, after mulling it over for some time.  Neither of us had ever heard of this place and were pretty intrigued.  As we pulled up in front of the plaza, I went absolutely bonkers.  Not only was there the coffee place, it was next door to a yarn shop!!!!!!  Brian wasn't entirely pleased to stay in the car with the two sleeping princes, but he was a good sport about it.  For his efforts I brought him a cup of coffee, and we got a whole bunch of new coffee cup singles for our Keurig.  The yarn shop was cute, small but lots of gorgeous yarns.  I came out with a couple of skeins to make a cabled winter headband for myself and a hat for Hubby.

I'd defintiely say that our weekend of "Nothing" is certainly off to a good start.  And mine is going to be three days!

Wicked Random Thursday

1.  I still feel sick, and it's been a week.  But I'm still pushing myself to do everything that needs to get done.  If it wasn't for this rent-up and the resulting mound of work, I think I'd stay home today.  And we're out of cold meds.

2.  Regarding the cold meds, I seriously considered for a minute this morning taking an expired Advil Cold and Sinus.  (I didn't.)

3. Last night my friends at knitting tried to convince me that the hat I was knitting for Hubby for Christmas was just too big.  I stubbornly refused to believe it.  I brought it home, put the little bit I had done on top of his head, and it's too big.  Dammit!  My friends were right.

4.  I am not starting a new hat ten days before Christmas.  Hubby will not suffer if he doesn't have a hat on Christmas Day.  And neither will the boys....the little monsters that I started knitting for them can surely be a "just because" gift during the winter doldrums.

5.  With that decision made, I am DONE with Christmas knitting. .  And now I will make a few things for myself.  I deserve it, right?  :)

6.   Later on, I'll pick that hat back up and knit it for charity.  Some man with a big Sasquatch head is going to be thrilled to get a hat in his size!

7.  We have a big surprise planned for the boys this weekend.  It involves a 90-minute drive, lots of Christmas lights and the boys' first train ride.  Hope I'm feeling better by then so I can enjoy it!

The Advent Calendar

Will and I were recently in a Hallmark store, purchasing the newest member of the Snowman Band.  While we were at the counter to pay, he spied a cheap Advent calendar featuring the cast of Peanuts.  Having read "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" recently he begged for the calendar, and I relented.  

This little cardboard calendar has turned into a wonderful Christmas activity.  In the mornings, he asks to open that day's flap  to see what we're going to do today.  So far, Nana has made paper snowflakes with him, he's gotten to bake cookies with Daddy, we've sung Christmas songs and learned how other countries celebrate Christmas.  But I think my favorite was when Will and I set out last weekend to pick out toys for charity.  He was especially excited to go out to Target with Mommy, and get two toys to donate to Toys for Tots.  The only activity that I put the kibbosh on was making treats to feed the birds.  Because in our backyard, it would be the squirrels and frankly those nuts have plenty.

I find myself looking forward to each morning's unveiling, too.  What will tomorrow bring?  And who knew that a little cardboard "toy" would bring so much fun to our home?

A Fine Line

One lesson that we have to stress with the Big Kid is about strangers.  He is quite outgoing, and for a long time he would have no problem just approaching anyone with a big "Hi!  My name is Will!  What are you doing?"  It could be a bit unnerving, because you want to teach your kids that strangers are bad, but you don't want them thinking that everyone around them that they do not know is someone wishing them harm.  School has helped a bit with this, but still, there have been times where we have been shopping in Target and Will begins to announce "There's a stranger in this aisle!  Mommy....stranger!" While I applaud that he is realizing that his world can be a dangerous place, I don't want him afraid of everyone.

The dog had a grooming appointment, and Will begged to go with me to drop him off.  Afterwards, we wandered off towards Michael's, where I could spend hours by myself.  :)  We headed to the yarn aisle (naturally) to look for some yarn for a swap that I am participating in on Ravelry.  

There was a woman in the yarn aisle, older than me and wearing jeans and a pink cardigan sweater.  She sees us looking at the yarn and Will asking for me to teach him to knit, and says    "Excuse me....could I ask your opinion on this yarn?" This is not the first time that this has happened to me, I enjoy talking to other yarn lovers in places like this.  We got to talking, while Will hid behind me a little bit.  Her name was Debbie, and she is a bus driver in a town nearby.  She was going to make a pink and white blanket, and wasn't sure the two yarns that she picked out worked together.  (They didn't.)  We were in the baby yarn aisle and I suggested a brand and asked if she was going to make it for a baby.  She said no, that she was crocheting it for her daughter-in-law.  Then the bomb dropped---the daughter-in-law is 23 years old and has recently been diagnosed with ALS.  (Lou Gehrig's disease.)  She said that she hadn't crocheted in years....but wanted to do something to think about something other than the awful cards that the family has been dealt. I can understand that.... as I often turn to my knitting and yarn when I need some soothing.  

I recommended a yarn to her for her project, Lion Brand "Pound of Love," because it is durable, soft acrylic and can be tossed in the washer and dryer.  And hey, look at that, it's on sale!  However, there was plenty of pink, but no white.  I suggested that she ask if Michael's has some in the back room, and she thanked me.  Will and I made our way to the other yarns.  We ran into her later, and she said that they had no more white.  After a second to think, I handed her my business card and told her that if she still wanted to make it in pink and white that I had a big ball of white Pound of Love at home that I wasn't using.  She almost burst into tears, and probably didn't believe that this stranger in the yarn aisle could be so nice.  She took the card and said that she would call.  

When we got to the car, Will of course called me out for talking to a stranger.  (He did warm up to her, by the way, and tell her that his name was Will.)  I explained the exact thing that I have been thinking what our teaching about strangers has been missing.  "Sometimes you have to show a stranger a little kindness, if that's what they need."

Baggin' It

Finished Object:  The Christine Bag!

This was my first choice as my first cabled project.  But after trying it a few times in two different yarns, I realized that at the time, I didn't know how to count.  So I gave up.  Now, apparently I DO know how to count, 'cause here she is!

This is a birthday gift for a friend, who requested a bag for a birthday gift.  I chose the color (amethyst) 'cause I know she's a purple-lover just like me.  The original pattern has the bag with a big, floppy bow.  My friend is NOT a floppy bow-kind of gal.  So there's no bow, and that is that!

Eventually, I am going to make one of these for myself.  In fuchsia.  And yes, I already have the yarn in the house.  And I may or may not be a floppy bow-kind of gal, we'll just have to see.

There's No Prep for a Morning Like This....

I knew that being a working mom of two kids would have it's challenging moments.  But the (crappy) situation that I found myself in this morning....no amount of "There's gonna  be days like this" would prepare me for it.  And of course, while it was happening I was thinking "This will be funny later....on my blog!"

Preface:  Sean is a grumpy kid in the morning.  First, he doesn't want to get out of bed.  Then like any part of the day...he does NOT want to have his diaper or clothes changed.  

It is 8AM and I am dressed to work, with makeup applied and hair drying in its usual mess.  (If I ever had time to dry and style my hair in the morning, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.  There was a time in my life where I would have chosen beauty over breakfast, but the Older Crafty Mama knows better.)  I enter the nursery to rouse my favorite cherub, and for a second, he's happy to see me.  His face changes as I am lifting him out of the crib, as he's realized that we are (again) headed to the changing table and he is bawling even before we've begun.  I remove his Cars pajamas and he screams in frustration and is kicking like he's in the World Cup. Open the messy diaper and yeah....it's really messy.  In frustration, Sean is grabbing at my hands and instead....grabs...well, to put it delicately, the mess.  I'm trying to calm him down and keep him from spreading poop everywhere.  And I'm failing miserably.  I'm frantically going through the baby wipes but it is a lost cause as the poor kid is now not only screaming, he's covered from neck to toes.  I look down at my nice clean navy blue sweater, sign and (possibly) curse out loud.  I have like 20 minutes before I need to be at work, and clearly the only solution is a bath for the boy.  And that is what we do.  I shuck off my (still miraculously clean) shirt and fill the tub.  Sean usually enjoys baths but not this one, since he's hungry.  A very fast bath land fresh clothes later and he is then in the kitchen, having a breakfast of Cheerios and blueberries.  

I head out to the family room to check on the Will while this is going on, and he is playing quietly, which is good.  I then realize to my horror that my neighbor is smoking on his deck, and he can see me.  In my pants and bra.  Oh well, there are worse things than that, right?  Yes....like when I realize that Sean is smashing his blueberries instead of eating them, all over his nice clean shirt.  So that is Shirt #2 for him. and now it is time for the World's Quickest Breakfast for me.  

After breakfast it's toothbrush time, load-the-car time and finally, GO TIME.  After dropping off the boys at their respective Tuesday places, I commute to my job for the day, helping out another property manager with her rent-up.  I pull into the parking lot, let out a huge sigh and say out loud something that I haven't said in a long time:  "Boy, I am so glad to be at work now!"  Because honestly, I don't think that work can sling any crap today that I haven't dealt with already!    :)

The Joke's on Us

Thanks Mother Nature...very funny!  Now, please bring back some spring weather.

I'm thankful, like everyone else, that instead of 7-14 inches of white stuff there's like two.  Though I must admit, the coating on the trees is beautiful. 

Single parent this weekend.....Hubby is golfing.  Yeah, golfing!  Where he's going is just raining so they'll be able to play, no problem.  The boys and I are going to enjoy tortillas and chicken and cheese tonight (separated and not like a burrito, right Mommy?  -Will)  and we'll have a fun visit with Nana and Papa tomorrow. 

Happy April, everyone!

Tastebud Turnover

Since 11/12/10:  I am now down a total of twelve pounds.  I can take off some of my pants without unbuttoning them, and a sweater that used to fit is now getting loose at the shoulders.  (And leaving more bare skin than desired, so no more wearing it to work!)  I feel really, really good.  Radiant, almost. 

I'm more than halfway through the exercise module of the program, and I'll admit it, it hasn't been my favorite.  We were introduced to strength training and I enjoyed that, but didn't like the soreness the next day in my neck and left shoulder.  Let's face it though, if you don't exercise and then start one day, the first one or two times might not feel so great in the morning.  I'm finding it difficult to schedule exercise time in an already busy day, but it IS possible. 

The big surprise in all of this lifestyle change, non-diet stuff is my tastebuds.  I find that when I do indulge in the sugary stuff I used to love, I want less of it.  I'm totally fine with not having ice cream every night while watching TV, which I thought I would never be able to get past.  I drink only diet soda for the most part, saving regular for a special occasion.  For example, I was at a get-together on Saturday night with some girlfriends, and I had two cans of Coke.  (After all, I was driving.)  It tasted good, but it certainly didn't make me FEEL GOOD! 

Then there's the simple joys in food that I never found before.  Like, I just had the sweetest Minneola orange.  It was perfect, the ideal balance of sweet and sour citrus.  Now THERE'S something I never thought I'd say, either!

Fabulous Birthday Weekend!

It was my birthday this weekend and guess what?  It didn't snow, and nobody was sick!  It was a fantastic weekend, with lots of cheer and lots of plans.  On Saturday night, Nana came over to watch the boys while Brian and I went on a date night.  We had dinner at one of my favorite seafood restaurants in the city and then caught a movie.  (Love and Other Drugs....eh.  We did see previews of Natalie Portman's "Black Swan" and it looks creepy and intriguing....adding to my list)

Yesterday morning brought a fabulous bagel and cream cheese, then playing with the boys, opening presents and furiously working on my last knitted Christmas gift.  Then I took myself out and treated myself to a pedicure, manicure and blowout.  The weekend was capped off with dinner with my parents, brother and sis-in-law and hubby and kids at Longhorn Steakhouse.  I wasn't exactly good with the caloric intake, but isn't that what birthdays are for?

In short, it was a simple, happy birthday and lots of small things made me very happy.  Happy Birthday to me  :)

Sending out Birthday Surprises

I signed up at the beginning of the year on Ravelry for a Birthday Swap. The concept behind the swap is that everyone loves surprises for their birthday!  Seriously, there's nothing like coming home and finding a package full of goodies like yarn and handmade items.   Since my birthday is in December, I had a looong time to wait for my turn!  In October I was assigned a partner who also is a December baby and we are supposed to swap birthday packages.  The requirements included that we had to send one food treat, at least one skein of yarn and one handmade item.  The rest of the package was up to us, after some "stalking" to find out your partner's likes, dislikes, favorite things, etc.

My package was sent to the Northern Maine Coast this week.  Here is what my lovely Birthday Partner will be receiving:

-Tazo Chai Tea
-Hershey's Chocolate Covered Pretzels
-sm container Jelly Belly/Coldstone Jelly Beans
-one skein Stroll laceweight yarn in Ultramarine
-Yankee Candle ramekins
-Froggy stitch markers and row counter from Etsy
-two skeins of Specialty Alpaca sockweight yarn from the New England Fiber Festival (I'd call the color Peacock green)  I have no idea which booth I bought this, but it was a farm in upstate NY that dyed and spun it)
-two scented pencils made from recycled newspapers
-"initial" stationery



And my favorite thing in the whole package....

Old Shale Lace Scarf (made by me!) in blue Jojoland Melody fingering yarn.  This is the same yarn and pattern that Baby mangled on our way home from PA.  LOVE IT!