To-Do

My life has been a giant to-do list lately. Mostly move related.

Finally, our condo is rented to a lovely couple who is getting married in the fall. They’ll be moving in shortly after we move out! We listed the property on Craigslist and utilized a free web program called V-Flyer to make a professional looking listing. It took 8 days to rent the place- and we didn’t have to spend any money for classified ads!

So now it’s full steam packing ahead. Stumbling over boxes, not being able to find anything. I’m sure you can relate.

And a little decor planning for the new place.

I found this cool site through Better Homes & Gardens that allows you to virtually arrange your furniture in your house. You input the room’s dimensions, add architectural elements like windows, doors, etc., and then add the furniture you have. Very fun. BHG has a variety of web programs to try out new color schemes, arranging your deck and yard… it’s quite easy to spend way to much time on there.

I get to buy appliances for the first time in my life this week! A fridge, stove, and hood. I just need to find someone who can install the hood. Is it complicated to put a vent through brick?

I’m researching dog-containment systems (aka the invisible fence type deal) for Mercy, but we will probably be doing some cheap snow fencing for the first year. I just like to plan ahead… logistically and financially.

I’ve been weeding through the different things we want/ need to do to the house and phasing it out. We need to paint NOW, but we don’t need new bedroom linens immediately. Unfortunately, the linens in a bedroom affect the wall colors, so it looks like we’ll be going quite neutral for now. The bathroom needs some work but it works until we have a influx of cash to redo it. The floors should be refinished but that may or may not happen based on how quickly we paint.

In the midst of the above mentioned chaos, I’ve been enjoying walking to the gym as often as I can, since we are currently only a block away. Once we move, we’ll have to drive 2.6 miles to get there. Working out has been my sanity.

What helps you keep your sanity?

Consequences of Polygamy in Knitting

When knitting a baby project, BE MONOGAMOUS!!! Do not fall into temptation and dabble in other projects. The resulting consequences can be devastating…

That said, I have very little time to complete the Cabled Coat with Hood, as spring is coming and Sweet Pea is growing. She will be 6 months May 10th…….. is it possible to finish by then? If I tarry much longer, it will be too warm outside for her to wear! I am just starting the sleeves… I’ll be back when I can!

Flight of the Yorkie

We took Mercy with us to California again this year, citing boarding costs as our “reasoning.”

Truthfully, we didn’t want to leave her home and since there were two of us, we figured that one could handle the dog, and the other take care of the baby. We were quite the hit in the airport- all the adults oooed and ahhed over little Sweet Pea and all the children oooed and ahhed over Mercy.

By the way, has anyone ever seen a family travel with their baby AND dog? I’d like to think that we aren’t the only crazy ones…

Mercy flew in her “little kennel,” the FAA approved kennel that can fit under a seat. Dogs under 15 pounds can fly in the cabin with their owners provided their kennel fits under the seat. Flying with your pet will cost you, but it was less expensive than boarding her while we were gone. We use Mercy’s “little kennel” whenever we travel with her, by car or by air. She knows the command and gets very excited when the kennel comes out. The day we left, our flight was at 5 pm and her kennel was in the front hallway along with the rest of our luggage and Mercy just kept going in there, as if to say “Is it time to go yet? Is it time to go???”

She was not sedated and she was perfectly fine. On our way to California, we had a longer layover and Keith was able to sprint out to the outside of the airport and let her out for a potty break before our second flight. On the way home we didn’t have any time between flights, but Mercy didn’t seem to mind.

These are a few tips I have found helpful in traveling with a dog:

- Have your dog’s shots up to date and carry that documentation WITH your dog, we stored the paperwork in a small compartment in her kennel. We’ve never been asked for proof of vaccination at the airport, but you never know…

- Do not feed your dog 12 hours prior to the flight to prevent airsickness and also to make sure that your dog won’t have to do a “doodle” during flight.

- Make sure your dog’s collar is secure. Check for wear on her collar to ensure that it will not break at an inopportune moment. Collars with plastic buckles can break and I don’t recommend traveling with these on your dog.

- Bring a 4 foot leash for use in and around the airport. It’s easier to control your dog when on a shorter leash. Some airports let you take your dog out, some don’t.

- Bring a few days worth of food for your dog IN YOUR CARRY-ON luggage. If you get stuck somewhere, Fido’s gotta eat and you definitely don’t want to change his food while stuck in a strange city. Some dogs get diarrhea when they change food.

- DON’T let anyone put their fingers in your pet’s kennel. Fluffy may have never bitten anyone in her life, but when placed in a stressful situation, she may react differently. Mercy has growled at well-meaning people in the airport before.

- Know a name of a vet near where you will be staying.

Happy travels!

Confessions of a reformed Afrin addict

Yes, I used to be *addicted* to Afrin. I had no less than 3 bottles of Afrin, or various products, in different places in the house. One in a purse, one in the medicine cabinet, one in a drawer next to my bed. I have always seemed to have some sort of congestion throughout my life, be it allergies or a cold and so often turned to the over-the-counter congestion sprays for help. During pregnancy, I had even WORSE congestion but the use of the OTC drugs were frowned upon. So I pretty much went cold turkey and quit.

I never really knew of the addictive qualities of Afrin until I recently did a little research…

Did you know that if you use decongestant nasal sprays for more than 3 consecutive days you actually CAUSE more congestion? When you use the spray, you get instant relief, which is the psychological reason why they are so darn addictive. The physiological reason that they are addictive is because use of decongestant nasal sprays cause rhinitis medicamentosa, or “rebound congestion”. And round and round the vicious circle we go.

I am at the tail end of a sinus infection that has knocked me out this past week. I visited my doctor and expected the regular course of treatment- Zithromax. NOW I have come to learn that antibiotics do not help sinus infections, according to a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association in December 2007 (read the abstract for yourself here). Unbelievable! The things that we thought were making us well really weren’t helping us and were in fact adding to the overuse of antibiotics. Overuse of antibiotics is linked to antibiotic-resistant super-bugs, like MRSA.

Newsinferno.com has a great article explaining the findings in lay terms, Zithromax, Amoxicillin, Other Antibiotics Don’t Help with Sinus Infections.

So what’s a girl to do? Not to mention that I am nursing my 4 month old baby and have to be mindful of what I put into my body! It seems like every decongestant type medication wasn’t that great for nursing mothers, as the medication either was secreted into breastmilk or could reduce one’s supply.

I had to stick with homeopathic remedies. The following is a list of things that have helped me and that I highly recommend:

1- Sinucleanse- a nasal wash that irrigates your sinuses. It saved me during pregnancy and it is helping a lot now.

2- Hot water with Lemon & Honey

3- Warm air humidifier

4-Lots of fluids

5- Sleep

Well, I sure hope none of you get sick and have to use any of these!

Nursery Progress

Isn’t it nice when your hard work comes together and you just love the finished product? I’ve been working for weeks on finding fabrics and patterns for our baby’s nursery, and have been sewing and putting together things that have been waiting to be hung.

 

The crib quilt and bumper from Simplicity 4504! The only modification I made to these two was skipping the contrast piping on both the quilt and top of the bumper. I didn’t think piping would add anything to these fabrics.

The curtains required a wee bit more modification, because the pattern made a shade that was 40″ x 50″ and I needed 33″ x 66″. We still need to trim the dowels on the bottom and slip stitch them into place, but you get the idea.

Now, the only problem I have is with the crib itself. We purchased the “Nursery in a Box” by Rockland from JC Penney’s that included a crib and changing table for 199.99. My grandmother wanted to buy us a crib, but kept having a stroke over how much they cost (she thought we could get a crib for like 50 bucks or something). I made the mistake of believing my 83 year old grandma on how much things should cost and now we have a cheap crib that I don’t like. It’s not easy to adjust the rail and I can’t imagine how much tougher it will be with a screaming baby in my arms. It’s super light and I feel like it’s not sturdy enough. We didn’t put the changing table together but I am sure it is the same quality of the crib.

UGH! All the time Keith and I spent putting it together last night!!!!!!!!!!! My mom’s coming over today to help me decide if I should keep it or return it.

Happy Birthday

Belated, yes. But Happy Birthday anyways to our little furry bundle of joy: Mercy!!!!

She’s 2 years old- and as fiesty as ever! 6.3 pounds of pure energy- she isn’t a lapdog, that’s for sure. More like a marathon training dog.

Mercy’s Sweater for Project Spectrum

Cute huh?

Gray days and silver lining in the mail

What a day! My MRI consult was supposed to be yesterday (yes, please remember *supposed to*).

I arrived promptly at 2 pm for my 2:10 appointment. In case you didn’t know, I am punctual to a fault.

I proceeded to wait for almost 2 hours because of various emergency injuries that came in, which I am fine with. If I had a broken bone sticking out of my leg, I would want to go ahead of the knitting lady who needs her MRI read so she can run again. So I have no issue with waiting… I brought my yarn to finish embroidering something but I should have brought my DPN’s because I could have knit the entire waiting room matching socks by the time I was *seen.*

I am finally called back… and I sit and wait some more. The doctor comes in, says a few things, looks at my chart and MRI report… and tells me that he didn’t think that he was the doctor I was supposed to see- that another doctor was the ordering physician and I should see him. GREAT. I drag myself back up to the front desk and the doctor I need to see is out of the country on vacation until next week.

“You’re kidding me.” I said.

“No, I’m not. I can reschedule you for March 5th.”

“Why didn’t somebody figure out this before I waited for two hours?”

“We have a meeting on Monday to address some administrative issues and I assure you, I will bring this up.”

Apparently there was an administrative meltdown in the office and the person scheduling wasn’t supposed to be scheduling, but there was no back-up person available, blah blah blah.

Which leads me to my conclusion that secretaries run the world. Because if we mess up or are sick, the whole place is in shambles.

So I wait until March 5th. And I am calling to verify that the correct doctor will be there.

Then I came home to find this on my doorstep:

Mt Hearts and Roses Swap gift! Isn’t Susan amazing? What a wonderful package! The yarn is Lorna’s Laces in a stunning pink and orange colorway. I have never worked with this yarn and I feel so professional to have it! There is a beautiful needle case that I need to start using TODAY so my needles aren’t haphazardly all over the place. I wouldn’t want anyone to sit on them! My package also included Knitting Rules, by the Yarn Harlot. Candy, tea, candles, bookmark, and beautiful cards. Thanks Susan! And thanks Lynne, for organizing. I can’t wait for the next theme!

Also in the mail yesterday was my long awaited Kare Kingbury book, Forever. I have to get all my work done before even cracking that book open, because once I do… I won’t put it down until it’s finished! I will be getting a cardio working as a rush around the house cleaning and doing laundry so I can read my book!

Mending and quilting…

Mending mistakes…

I went from this:

to ripping back just the cable section…

To reknitting the cable section…

And it worked!

The goofy sleeve is goofy no more and there is hope that I may leave Sleeve Island someday after all.

I’ve long been wanting to try my hand at quilting and since I have been at Joann etc no less than 3 times in the past week, I picked up a cute “Cuddly Quilt Kit.” There is some cutting and use of a rotary cutter, which I found quite fun, and some beginner quilting.

The quilt is for a new mom & baby- I thought I would break the mold of pastels and make them somthing funky. And for 20 dollars it’s quite an economical gift as well. I just hope there isn’t some crazy thing about babies not being subjected to bright colors until a certain age….

This pattern did not call for it and was backed by heavy flannel- but I wish I had thought ahead and done batting anyway. The next quilt I make will have batting in it. I have my eye on the patchwork quilt from Amy Butler’s book, In Stitches. It will be a task to find coordinating fabrics- but I think that is part of the fun of quilting. The quilting section of fabric stores have walls and walls of different shade and patterns of color…. a true view of the spectrum. I can hardly wait!

We had some visitors last night… some suitors for Miss Mercy. They got along pretty well, although there was a squabble or two over the position of the couch and the possession of a rawhide. Makes me wish we had two dogs! But then again, Mercy is more than enough excitement for us!

I did it!

I have completed a sewing project. Successfully!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ta Daaaaa- Pajama Pants!

I decided to take a sewing class this year since to learn to do things the *right* way. Our class project was pajama pants, which I am supposed to be 2/3’s done with as there is one more class session. BUT, on the side, I have been making my dear hubby a pair of his own. Seeing as how confident I have become in this new sewing gig, I decided to read the directions and try to finish the waistband and elastic on my own.

And it worked! Now, onto the matching top. This one may require a little more research, as there is interfacing involved, buttons, button holes, and a pocket. Stay tuned.

Thuja Sock Progress

 

At long last, I have turned the heel on Thuja Sock # 2. The finish is in sight!

 

Now, onto Project Spectrum… February/ March colors are blue, white and gray. I think I have a few ideas!