tired

I am exhausted...just wiped out.  I never felt super tired or like I was functioning in zombie-mode when the Grey baby was a newborn...or even when he was a 5 month old, but now...on the cusp of his 6 month birthday...I.am.pooped.

No, I didn't decide the Pilates Reformer class sounded fun or that I wanted to train for a half marathon (even in make-believe-land I cheat myself out of a full marathon). I didn't decide walking to work was a good idea because it is lighter out in the morning or that I would reserve Sundays for cleaning the entire house top to bottom.  I wish I was doing something different to justify this tiredness, but I'm not.  I need a vacation. 

Maybe I need more than a vacation...maybe I need a bigger change! Another baby? A different job? The inevitable move to Bainbridge? Medication? That last one was supposed to be funny.

When I say tired/pooped/exhausted what I really mean is that I feel like I slept in a chair with water dripping from somewhere in the background and a person with a bony finger just kept poking my head saying "are you awake?". Does that paint the picture for you? Here is what I fear I look like through all of this:

getting my craft on

I bought myself a sewing machine because I wanted to learn and I knew if I didn't literally jump right in...I would never learn.

I bought a brother and so far it has been great. A lot of trial and error, but great overall.

My first project: a size 3 dress - and here is my first attempt.

It is clearly not finished as I have yet to teach myself how to sew the zipper on, but overall I think my first ever project isn't half bad! Those armholes were a BITCH!! Now all I need is a little girl who wears a size 3 to model my dress. Any takers?

My other project (patent pending) are these baby cuffs made from terry cloth! The first one is enormous and totally silly, but if it were smaller it would be fantastic for my drooly baby who wants to chew on his hand all the time! My second attempt was the smaller one and felt flimsy and less than cute. I made an ADORABLE third one for a girl that had a slight glitch with the snaps, so it is currently in the ICU getting fixed, but will soon be done and also given to a friend with a girl. Any more takers? I swear it's cute!

You can see how badly I fucked up the snap on the giant cuff...I was using the wrong side of the snap tool and cursing it because it wasn't working. Once I realized my error, I apologized and attached it properly. Tonight, as I was making the cute girl cuff, I went back to cursing that stupid snap tool. I think I'm moving on to Velcro (thanks Katie).

I love feeling crafty! Now...give me your constructive feedback so I can adjust and make millions. PATENT PENDING people! : )

do the bad guys always win?

As I sit here listening to Make A Noise on repeat, I can't help but feel like bad always wins (it has nothing to do with the song...I just love it right now).

I know I watch too much TV, that is a given, but something that The Husband brought up while watching one of our we-are-too-old-to-be-watching-this-shit shows was that a lot of the "bad guys" really seem to get away with everything they do. Is this the message that we're teaching our children...teens...young adults...sad older people like me?

Gossip Girl is a cold-hearted bitch who likes to expose secrets and ruin lives. Terrible.

Regina/Evil Queen is an evil queen. ; )

A has terrorized my pretty little liars for far too long. Move on!

The Graysons took down David Clarke to cover their ass and he died in jail.

So these are just a few examples, but think of your own life. How many people that bullied you got what was coming to them? How many people that walked all over you ever had a taste of their own medicine? It makes me sad. When I'm sad I like to do something that will make me happy. That is why I'm listening to Make A Noise. I thought I would share. Love her, buy her shit on iTunes, pass her along. Maybe she'll be at the Grammys next year!

WATCH THIS VIDEO (it is more about the song than the video)

omg

The Husband has never heard of The Borrowers.

I loved The Borrowers.

pet peeves/things I hate

I feel like I've posted about this before...but I'm far too lazy to scroll through my short list of blog posts and see, so you're getting another post about my pet peeves...because you give a shit.

Skinny Jeans - I hate them. I will admit I own ONE pair and I only wear them with boots that end slightly below my knee, but I still hate them.  I feel like the people who love skinny jeans the most are fat girls and guys...both should NOT wear skinny jeans. I'm talking skinny jeans with shoes. When you pair some flats (cute, stylish ones or converse-ish flats) with skinny jeans you always look fatter than you really are...always. I hope skinny jeans go away.

The volume of TV Commercials - Why oh WHY are they always loud enough that my neighbors can surely hear them? I feel like Jennifer Hudson is yelling at me to lose weight or that stupid girl rapping is yelling at me to go back to college. The Husband told me they were passing a law to make commercials the same volume level as the show you're watching. That would be great, but does it need to be a LAW?

Hella (or worse, Hecka) - Stop saying "hella" people...just stop.

I cannot read your mind - Please don't assume I know that you want me to do something or go somewhere. My brain is filled with still shots of my baby, craft ideas, my dream home on Bainbridge, coffee, red wine, the perfect date with The Husband, etc...I don't have room for complicated puzzles like "what did that passive aggressive email/statement/remark/voicemail mean?". Spell it out por favor.

Mean Women - this is the grown up version of Mean Girls. Enough said.

OK, for now that will do. 

pinterest

How on earth did I get sucked into this alternate universe known as Pinterest? The Husband hates this website, but I think he secretly loves it because I'm not just a passive pinner...I make and buy shit because of this site.

I think my friend Cassie actually said this site makes you think you're more stylish than you really are...have better taste than you really do...and that you're more creative than you really are. I might be giving the wrong person credit for that, but either way...it's true.

Here is a review of the items I have made/purchased.
http://pinterest.com/pin/41658365272861213/
Review: Um, if you really like orange juice...this is the recipe for you. Personally, I thought the OJ was overwhelming and the leftovers smelled a little bit like barf. So...you decide.

http://pinterest.com/pin/41658365272826039/
Review: Terrible. Followed the recipe exactly and couldn't even eat one. I think the Panko needed to be mixed with a ton of other spices to make this edible. No thank you, yuck!

http://pinterest.com/pin/41658365272807347/
Review: Good, but we're trying to find the right balance of jalapenos to cream cheese. You don't need very much cream cheese at all. We've made them twice if that tells you anything. It gets my approval.

http://pinterest.com/pin/41658365272854436/
Review: I bought the whole look in a medium, because I wear a medium. The skirt has an elastic waist so from behind I look like a fat chick (no offense to fat chicks), but a large elastic waist is not flattering. The shirt is great and can go with other skirts or jeans. I'm still deciding whether or not I keep the skirt. Maybe after I lose the 15-20 pounds that I need to lose this skirt will kick ass. OK, I think I've convinced myself to make this my "goal" skirt.

http://pinterest.com/pin/41658365272855068/
Review: Made it...love it. It was easy and a little messy...overall a fun craft to do with students at my school.

http://pinterest.com/pin/41658365272890181/
Review: Bought them for the Grey baby, but haven't received them yet.  I think I will love them.

http://pinterest.com/pin/41658365272921782/
Review: Bought one for the Grey baby and one for my favorite little guy, Patrick! We haven't received them yet, but I love the idea and I love that Patrick will get to remember where his roots lie.

So...I've pinned a million more things than this, but this is good start, yeah?  My mom gave me my first sewing lesson today so just wait until I start making little girl dresses! I'll kill it! I decided I should make little girl dresses because I don't have a little girl and therefore won't feel the need to keep everything I make. If I know you and you have a little girl...maybe I will give you one of the adorable dresses that I'm going to make.

So, Pinterest...you are my amazing, legal crack. Thank you!

snow day #2

So this is the second day of working from home for both me and The Husband (yup, he's making his first real 2012 appearance in the blog) and this shit is hard.

For some reason (maybe because he makes way more than I do) his job trumps mine. I have to work AND watch the Grey baby and he gets to pop in every once in a while and hold the baby for 15 minutes while I grab a snack, drink and maybe listen to a voicemail or two.  Don't get me wrong...I love spending time with the Grey baby, but lets be honest for a few moments...babies are not always cute and perfect.

People post adorable pictures of their baby or videos of their baby doing something adorable like eating or sleeping or smiling...but where are the REAL videos. The one of the baby who will not stop crying? The one of the real tears rolling down their face because you can't make a bottle fast enough? The one of the nasty green, grainy poop that has somehow escaped the diaper, saturated the onesie and made its way up into their hair? Or the best one would be the time elapsed video of your nighttime routine, including tripping on the baby bathtub that is sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Whenever the Grey baby is inconsolable I think "why is this so hard?..._____ seems to have such a great kid or _____ never seems to cry like this". The Husband has to remind me that people don't talk about the hard stuff or the fussy stuff, so ______ and ______ probably have their terrible moments, too, but it's kept private. 

So here it is people, the Grey baby might be the cutest thing around (seriously), but he is like any other baby and cries for no reason, enjoys activities for about 10 minutes before fussing like a mad man, poops way more than something so little should, has massive blow outs, wakes up in the middle of the night crying (although most of the time he's a great sleeper, sorry). There, I said it...he is NOT the picture perfect baby that we portray on Facebook.  I wish everyone else would own up from time to time so I didn't feel like I was doing it wrong.