NaBloPoMo Review

So maybe I didn't post on every single day during the month of November, but I did post for every single days in November.  For me I think that is going to have to be considered a real win.  I probably won't be eligible for any of the fun prizes that get drawn at random but I feel really good about having made sure I stuck it out to the end. 

I need to look into the history of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month for those who don't know.)  I am really curious how November ended up being the month.  It really isn't a great month for having time with all the holiday nonsense that comes up throughout the month.  I know that was definitely something I struggled with this month...time. 

Hopefully, I can keep up the momentum and still post multiple times a week during the next month and beyond.  Thanks for coming along for the ride.  I hope you enjoyed reading a little from me more often.

Thats Sew Lin Designs

I finally updated my Etsy shop with some new goodies just in time for Christmas shopping. Check out the new items...and remember that I am always happy to consider custom orders too!

Nap

My nap on the couch this weekend was a little less than restful but more than enough snugly. I started with Eddie as a pillow. Then Mason jumped up to lay across my legs. Finally Ian crammed in for a snuggle too.

Instagram Photos

Six Word Saturday

So thankful for the long weekend.

Thankful

I am thankful we already put up the Christmas tree and will not have to do that this weekend like we usually do.

I am thankful that we can afford to give Ian a really fun Christmas with plenty of presents to open Christmas morning.

I am thankful for all the help cleaning up after yesterday's big feast.

I am thankful that I don't feel like I HAVE to get up at the butt-crack of dawn on Black Friday to get good deals on gifts.

I am thankful for online shopping and handmade gifts so I can enjoy the holidays instead of stressing out in stores and having a panic attack in the middle of the toy aisle. 

Thank you for following along in my five days of being thankful.  I hope that you have had an amazing Thanksgiving week.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful that my family is coming to us today!

I am thankful for the amazing meal we are going to eat today.

I am thankful there are pumpkin desserts in my future (my favorite!)

I am thankful for the traditions I cam pass down to my son for the holidays.

I am thankful for you!

Thankful

I am thankful that I live in a country where I can be free to believe in what I want to believe in and will not be jailed, beaten or killed for doing so. 

I am thankful to have the freedom to say and write my opinion.

I am thankful for the right to vote for the people I feel will better the future of this country.

I am thankful for being a mom, and having the most amazing honor of shaping a little person's life.

I am thankful for being a wife and being one part of a partnership that makes us both better everyday.

Thankful

I am thankful for my friends, and for their support and love.

I am thankful that I live in a time and place where keeping in touch with those that mean something to me is just a click or dial away. 

I am so thankful for my dear friends Sarah, Beth, Isabella, and Kerry's healthy pregnancies and for the little babies they are bringing into the world. 

I am thankful for my little pug babies and the snuggles they bring to my life.

I am thankful to have people who care enough about me and what I say to read this blog.

Thankful

This week I am going to dedicate my posts to things I am thankful for.  Five thanks on each of five days this week.

I am thankful for my family and most especially for my little miracle, Ian. 

I am thankful my family is mostly healthy, happy enough, and safe.

I am thankful that, while Chris and I do not enjoy 100% perfect health, we have amazing insurance that does not leave us worried about how we will get by with our medical bills and prescriptions (like the insulin that keeps my husband alive.)

I give thanks that my son is growing up happy, healthy, safe, and he will never have to know the day to day suffering that happens is so many countries.

I am thankful for the roof over my head and that we can afford the mortgage payment each month.

Breaking Dawn: missing something

I went to see Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 with a friend. With out spoiling anything for anyone who might not have read the books I will just say that the movie was all I hoped for, except there was a scene from the book I missed desperately.

It was a scene where Rosalie brings Jacob, the werewolf, a bowl of food. It was my most favorite image from the book, and if it isn't in the deleted scenes when it hits DVD I may weep a little on the inside.

“It had once probably been a big mixing bowl, but she’d bent the bowl back in on itself until it was shaped almost exactly like a dog dish. I had to be impressed with her quick craftsmanship. And her attention to detail. She’d scratched the word Fido into the side. Excellent handwriting.”

Six Word Saturday

I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving! and That means Christmas is almost here!

Wordless...Friday

Sick Pug

This morning I stayed home from work to take care of my sick baby, my first baby, Mason. It is true that Mason is a dog, but he is still my first baby and he needed me.

He was not right from the moment he got up. Still and trembling. No spunk and fear in his big, dark eyes. All I could do was collapse on the floor next to him and try to comfort him.

He trembled for hours while we waited for our vet appointment that I made the moment they opened. I pulled Mason onto my lap and he finally relaxed enough to sleep the last hour before we had to take him in to be checked out.

Our veterinarian checked Mason over and did her best to determine if he had pain anywhere. Beyond running blood work he seemed fine and was slowly returning to himself. We were told we could take him home under supervision or he could stay there. It was no question he would be happier with me.

As the day went on Mason slowly returned to his usual self. He even ate dinner with his usual gusto. I can't even tell you how relieved we are that he is ok. We still don't know what was or is wrong but he seems to be ok. It could have been anything from pain,or nausea, to a seizure.

While my dogs drive me crazy some days, and I get frustrated with all the chores that go along with them, I love them both like my babies. To me they are family. Today was a scary reminder of how much my little furbabies mean to me. I am so thankful Mason is ok.

Tree time

Yeah, that's right! We put our Christmas tree up today. What of it?

Bits and Pieces

1.  I already orders and shipped a Christmas gift to someone.  This would be the earliest I have EVER shopped for Christmas.  EVER. 

2.  This weekend I gave Ian some yogurt bites (freeze dried yogurt) as a snack to hold him over until breakfast.  While I was in the shower he finished them and asked his dad for more.  After Chris poured another helping into the little bowl, Ian looked up at him and said in his best impatient voice, "That's not enough!"

3.  My experimentation with the oil cleansing method is going pretty well.  I don't think I have the right combination for my skin yet, but I have been pretty happy with the results so far.  Happy enough to keep trying but not happy enough to rave about how awesome this method is yet.  I will keep you posted on my progress.  

4.  Last night I tried cleaning my hair with baking soda for the first time.  I have read there is sometimes a period of adjustment for your hair after changing over to from shampoo, because your scalp is used to producing more oils to make up for what shampoo strips away.  Because of that, I won't say it is a complete failure for me.  My hair is pretty oily this morning, and does not look very good.  The part that I am not sold on is that my scalp is very itchy today.  I am going to try it a few more times and just go with how my scalp feels. 

5.  I think that it is time to start breaking out the holiday movies!  My favorites are Mixed Nuts, Home for the Holidays, Love Actually, Last Holiday, Holiday, and A Christmas Story.  I can't wait to start watching my way through my favorites.  Do you have favorite holiday related movies that you love to watch every year? 

6.  The book club I am a part of decided to exchange Christmas gifts and I am more excited about this than I probably should be.  I can't wait to share a little something with the ladies!  We have such vastly different backgrounds, different taste in books and yet we all get along so well and (so far) have enjoyed all the books we have read together.  Book club is one of my favorite things these days.

7.  We are hosting Thanksgiving again this year.  We bought the turkey this weekend, and thanks to an awesome sale at the store Tommy was really cheap too!  (Meijer is discounting turkeys $9 off turkeys over 10 lbs, and $16 off for turkeys over 16 lbs. this week if you are in the area that has that store.)  Now I have to come up with the rest of the sides and start getting items.  I can't believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner!  

Weekend Review

This weekend my friend Sarah came to visit on Saturday.  My best days lately are when Sarah and I can get together.  It may be corny but she really does complete me, and we can just be happily around each other without feeling like we have to entertain each other or do fancy things to have fun.  (Thank you Sarah for making it the best weekend!)

We went out to a craft fair and ended up only buying food items, including a bunch of dip and cheese ball mixes that should be really delicious for the holidays.  Sadly most of the crafts were either not our style or grossly out of our price range (and in some cases very over priced for what they were selling.)  It was still very fun to walk around among the booths chatting away.

Later in the evening we were joined by my friend Chantel and the three of us went to Ladies Night Out downtown.  It is an event that raises money for a women's initiative organization and helps to promote shopping in the local shops downtown.  We started at the old Broadway Theater where we made our donations in exchange for t-shirts and bags of goodies and coupons from the shops downtown.  Then they did some giveaways for gift cards.  Chantel was ONE NUMBER OFF from winning the largest prize.  Go figure. 

We three ladies shopped around downtown and ended out evening at a salon that was doing some services for free.  We all chose a paraffin wax dip for our hands...and it was amazing, leaving our hands soft.  I would definitely do that again.  

After Sarah headed for home on Sunday Chris, Ian and I went to Sam's Club and took in the samples.  Ian ate like a horse!  I couldn't believe how the kid that hardly eats was putting away the sample items that interested him.  Whoa!  After that we went to Menards and got new Christmas lights for our front window and tree.  I have wanted to upgrade to LED for the last couple of years and this year we are making the leap.  The lights I picked for the front window are AWESOME!  They are the usual icicle lights, but they have what looks like a real icicle every foot that has lights inside, that when turned on make it look like it is dripping.  I am in love with them and would love to deck the whole front of the house in them! 

Our final act for the weekend was raking leaves in the back yard.  My arms still feel a bit like jelly from that and we didn't even finish because it got too dark to work.  I do not look forward to completing that task.  The one thing about fall that I really just don't like. 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too! 

A day raking leaves

The leaves fall, wind blows
Busy raking. Hours gone.
Jump in! Rake some more.

Six Word Saturday

Ladies day out with my BFF!


Today I have a whole day planned with my best friend, Sarah. We are going to a craft show and then downtown for their annual Ladies Night Out event. I can't wait!

Friday Favorites

I thought I might try out doing a little summary of a few things I happened across on the web recently that caught my attention or inspired me. 

A round-up of 25 DIY Gifts for Little Dudes at Prudent Baby has me inspired to make some fun new toys for Ian this Christmas.  I am specially interested in the little rubber band car launcher.

On Pinterest I came across this idea to grow a pumpkin plant by putting soil inside a cut open pumpkin.  I want to try this next year in an attempt to grow our own pumpkins!


Another find from Pinterest are they adorable little animal ornaments from Red Marionette on Etsy.  I want one of each!  It kills me that each critter has a name, that is totally something I would do.  I love them!

I would love a print of this, but alas I found it via Pinterest and it only traces back to a Facebook page.  If you know the source please let me know and I will credit appropriately and thank you profusely.

Have you come across anything really cool on the interwebs recently?  Please do share in the comments.

Bits and Pieces

1.  Ian was playing with a stick a while back, so I taught him to swish and flick while saying "wingardium leviosa."  It was so cute!  I can't wait until he is big enough to introduce to the world of Harry Potter.  (My husband is rolling his eyes reading this, I can assure you of this.)

2.  Speaking of Harry Potter related stuff, I happened across a great channel on YouTube. (I just recently started really exploring YouTube for those people who use it as a social media platform. I had no idea what was out there! No idea!)  Anyway, she goes by Nanalew and her series called Growing Up Granger is hilarious (she sounds JUST like Emma Watson!) , as is her music video Sail.

3.  I used a semi-permanent box of hair color I had in the cabinet from some time I got it on sale to attempt to remedy the red situation.  In short, let's just say it was not a success but a small, baby step, of improvement.  Why do I do these things to myself?

4.  After reading this post about Pyrex, I am going to use cation when baking with my 10 year old Pyrex.  I love it and haven't had any problems in all these years, but you can bet after reading this I will stop recommending it to others.  It was always my gift of choice for wedding showers and whatnot.  So if I gave you advice about or gave you the gift of Pyrex please don't hate me and please don't explode your dishes.

5.  My most favorite show is NCIS and I am a bad fan, a really awful fan.  I am weeks and weeks behind on episodes.  Someone needs to sit me down and just make me watch them because I am seriously having anxiety about how far behind I am with keeping up with my favorite characters on TV.  Up until the end of last season I had seen every single episode of NCIS since season one.  What is happening to me? 

6.  I actually know the answer to that last question in number 5 = Pinterest.

That Bites

Tuesday morning I woke up with swollen and painful gums in one area of my mouth.  At first I thought that I must have chipped off a part of my tooth grinding my teeth in my sleep, because when I ran my tongue over the area I felt entirely too much gum and not enough tooth.  When I examined my teeth in the mirror using the tiny mirror in a blush compact to see into my mouth, I saw that my gums were swollen up around the edge of one tooth.  This came out, seemingly out of nowhere with no real pain before hand.  Surprise!

So, of course, the first thing I did was call the dentist and beg them to fit me in to get it checked out.  The dentist office was very accommodating and got me in right away.  (I love them!)  So I rushed off to my appointment and was examined, x-rayed, poked and prodded.

Quick back story: when I first starting seeing this dentist (which was in 2002, as they reminded me of today) my dentist picked on me and giggled (a very manly, but Chinese, giggle) over the fact that I have two baby teeth left in my mouth.  He has been endlessly amused by this all these years.  No adult teeth ever came through in those positions so they never fell out.  Simple story, but apparently in dentist it is a comedy.  I actually have a filling in one of them already in our attempt to reserve them so I don't have to get a bridge or implants, or have a gap because I can't afford a bridge or implants. So yeah, I am the freak with the baby teeth.

So back to my gums, my dentist comes in and explains to me in his broken English that there is an infection around the baby tooth.  My body is trying to expel my youth the baby tooth that does not belong!

So we are going to try a course of antibiotics to see if we can push out the infection and have things go back to good for a while.  Thankfully my dentist isn't into doing dental work that isn't necessary so he is all on board with trying to save my little tooth, probably so he can giggle about it some more.  (Again, I love my dentist, even with the making fun of my baby teeth!)

Sadly, if the antibiotics don't take care of the problem the next step is to remove the baby tooth (and I will have to change my name to Mindy Sue and learn to play and banjo.)

So that is where I am: please send good thoughts to my youth baby tooth.  My body might not want it, but I do!

Ten on Tuesday

1. What’s your favorite television show for each day of the week?
I only watch TV on Tuesday, and I watch Glee and New Girl. I also watch NCIS but I watch that online when I can and I am very behind on watching episodes right now. Most of the TV viewing in our house is cartoons, but I like to reserve just one night to enjoy a show for myself.

2. How many times do you wear your jeans before you watch them?
Usually only once because they stretch and then don't feel as comfortable anymore. If I have a well made pair that holds their shape I will wear them twice, or maybe three times if I don't do anything that dirties them. However, since having a child I can't afford those nice jeans, and I usually get everything I wear dirty anyway thanks to sticking fingers and a kid who loves to use me as a napkin.

3. What is your favorite pasta shape?
Rotini (the little spiral ones) and tortellini filled with cheese. Ok now I am hungry. Who am I kidding, I am half Italian, I love all the shapes of pasta.

4. Do you read newspapers?
I use to read my local newspaper online but their website gave my computer a virus so I refuse to read them anymore. If someone drops a campus news paper on my desk I will take a look through that, but besides that I don't read the newspapers anymore. I like to get my news in little bites via Twitter now. Most of it is bad news anyway and that makes me upset and I don't like being upset.

5. Do you sleep in socks?
No way. I can't have anything on my feet when I sleep. Besides if I did I would rip them off in my sleep. In fact, I rarely wear socks around the house unless I am really cold. We have dogs and when they drink they leave little trails of water away from their bowls. I can't think of anything more annoying than a wet sock. Ick!

6. Favorite genre of movies?
I like comedy mostly, but will watch just about anything except scary, suspenseful stuff. I have enough anxiety just being, I don't need any extra from the movie thank you very much. Some of my favorites are Mixed Nuts, Empire Records, Spanglish, Bride and Prejudice (bollywood version), and  The Harry Potter movies (obviously!)

7. How do you feel about wrestling?
It is just one of those things I just don't really care about. I hope my son has no inclination to wrestle because I don't think I would like that. In my high school I saw the guys doing awful things to their bodies to get into to stay in a weight class. I don't want my son doing that to himself.

8. Should men pluck their eyebrows?
Only if they want to. If it would make them feel better to pull a few strays, then more power to them.

9. Do you have dimples?
None that I wish to disclose. This reminds me that I wanted to go check out a new gym in town that is having a deal on membership that I might actually be able to afford.

10. Do you like to camp?
Yes, I love to camp. The relaxed pace, the smell of the camp fire, s'mores! I love it all! We actually recently consolidated out debt so we can pay it off faster with the hopes of buying a camper in five years. I don't mind tent camping, but let's face it, it is so much nicer with a camper!

Red

I dyed my hair red last night. The color is somewhere south of fire engine red, and north of auburn brown. Not quite obnoxious but definitely not occurring in nature.

Today when I picked Ian up from day care he declared, "Mommy, I love your hair!"

So I asked him what color it was.

He looked at me and grinned mischievously, "blue!"

"No, it's not blue" I said.

"Purple, it purple!" he declared proudly.

Oh man, maybe I should go back to brown.

Wind farm

On our trip to my in-laws yesterday we got a nice close look at the progress of the wind farm in their area. Those windmills are so amazingly huge and graceful. I'm amazed that something so big and heavy can spin with wind to collect energy. Amazing!

Six Word Saturday

Impromptu day trip, brought home sausage.

Castor Oil

In my last post I mentioned that I am going to start using castor oil to wash my face.  I have received a couple comments about this, and thought I would share where I got this idea from.  Recently two blogs that I follow had posts about this same facial method and it peaked my interest.  First Ashley posted about her experience going shampoo and cleanser free.  Then just days later Liz posted about the same method solving her complexion problems.  It couldn't just be a coincidence that two people I admire were both having good luck with castor oil, could it?  So this weekend I embark on the oil cleansing method, that the two ladies above used. 

So here is the break down of how this is suppose to work:

1. Mix your oils.  For this you are suppose to mix the castor oil with extra virgin olive oil because it is very thick on it's own.  From what I have read you have to work to find the best ratio for your skin but the general guidelines call for one to one for normal skin, more castor oil than EVOO for oily skin, or more EVOO than castor oil for dry skin. A small amount goes a long way.  Ashley, reuses a little trial size bottle to store her oil, and I will probably do the same since I have a small travel lotion bottle that is just about gone.

2. Before bed use just a small amount of your mixture and massage it into your dry skin for about a minute.  You can use it to remove your makeup too!

3. Wet a washcloth with hot water (not hot enough that you burn yourself and sue me though.) Place the washcloth over your face to steam and open your pores.  As a bonus you get a minute to relax.

4.  Once the wash cloth cools down (about a minute), rinse the cloth off and then use it to gently wipe the oil from your face.

5. Enjoy your softer, clearer skin, and save money & the planet while doing so.  (Cue birds and angels singing)

So we will see how this works for me.  I am going to start tonight so that I have the weekend to see how I like this just in case it does not turn out well.  After a few weeks I will post again and let you know how it is going.  If anyone wants to give this a go with me let me know.  I would love to hear your input and possibly post how you are liking it as well.

Note:  It took me a while to find castor oil at the store because I had no idea where to look.  So to save you some time, try checking in the laxative section.  Yeah, you can use it for that too.

Bits and Pieces

Just a few bits and pieces today.

1. My work computer was infected with a virus that came from a local news website. Said newspaper just so happens to be an ex-employer of mine. As if my opinion of them could get any lower.

2. My son woke up in the middle of the night last night. Chris tried to soothe him back to sleep but Ian wanted me. When his daddy would not get me, Ian started asking the dog, Eddie, for me. He loves me! But seriously, go to sleep!

3. I've been reading a lot about using castor oil as a facial cleanser and I am intrigued. So I went out and bought some to give it a try. Hopefully it will be the complexion miracle it has been made out to be.

4. Have you had the Limited Edition PopTarts in Pumpkin Pie yet? Oh my goodness they are amazing! They should keep them around for all time. I just love pumpkin!

5. I might love to eat pumpkin but I really hate carving them.

6. Gghjytrewqwertyyhhh (Ian had something to add as well. I don't know what it means but he asked to write it.)

Playland

A couple weeks ago we took Ian to McDonalds for dinner with the intention of having him play in the playland.  We made him eat his food before he could play.  It was really hard to get him to eat but he wanted to play so that was good motivation.  Once he ate enough we let him go, and all he did was stand there by the entrance looking excited and nervous of the other kids.  A little girl, about 5 years old, lead him up into the playland and once he got to the top he went bonkers.  It was so cute watching him up in the robot at the top of the playland, so victorious for making it to the top.  He and the little girl went around and around; up and down the slide, giggling and squealing.  I wish that we could take him to play more often but it is hard to find a time when there are few kids playing.  Ian doesn't like a crowd. 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

We went trick or treating with our friends Dan, Chantel and their daughter Isabelle.  It was Isabelle's first time trick or treating (she is a year younger than Ian.)  They had a blast.  We had a tag along as we went house to house...the neighborhood cat, Zooey.  I am beginning to think of her as the block mascot, she is always running down to visit when she sees you outside. In the lower right of this collage is a picture of Ian and Polly; she runs his day care. 



Ian loved knocking on doors and was really disappointed when people were waiting for him.  He kept saying "I want to knock knock."  Also, he kept mispronouncing "thank you" as "can I have more?"  I was so embarrassed but I don't blame him when his dad kept joking around about taking all the candy. The neighbors on our block were so good to the kids!




The aftermath was a sugared up little devil, who had a blast on Halloween. He even enjoyed seeing the costumes of kids that came to the house after we got back home. 




The last little nugget is a video of Ian saying thank you to his great uncle and aunt, Jim and Grace for the cool card and stickers.  He loves playing with stickers!