Adventures in Sewing

We had a bit of a sleepy start today so we haven't gotten anymore painting done in the nursery yet. It'll probably have to wait until the weekend. However, I still feel like I need to be making forward progress with the whole thing, so I've started a couple of sewing projects.

Last night while the boys were watching Battlestar, I went down and raided my little fabric stash to see what I had on hand that would work for the baby's room. (Nothing against Battlestar, but I find I really have to be in the mood to watch it. And after watching it once with Patrick, and then listening to him re-watch it again before starting it over with Trevor--I don't think I'll be in the mood to watch it for myself for several years.)

I found about 5 yards of white eyelet that I decided to make into a dust ruffle for the crib. So I measured and cut out the pieces and finished doing rolled hems along the sides last night before I went to bed. I decided as I was going along that I wanted to serge the eyelet to the muslin piece that will lie under the mattress--so that will also have to wait for the weekend when I can go to Chrissy's and borrow the use of her serger. But I still had a fire lit under me when I woke up this morning and wanted to keep going...

So I began the epic undertaking (to me, at least) of slip covering The Awful Chair.

I am doing my best to take pictures of the process as I go along, but--once again--I am unable to post them yet for technical reasons. (I need to just find out which stupid cord I need to hook my camera to the computer so I can post the dang pictures...Remind me to look into that when we get our next paycheck...After all, I know I'm going to be posting pictures more regularly once the baby arrives, so I may as well sort it out now, right?) Anyway--

I watched a bunch of different slipcover tutorials this afternoon and then I decided to just jump in with both feet and cut out the fabric. Most of the tutorials say you should make a pattern template out of muslin, bed sheets or butcher paper, but I don't have extras of those things lying around. And, quite frankly, it sounds like an absolute drag to complete a "practice" slipcover when you could just make the actual slipcover and enjoy your achievement that much sooner.

I had a bit of a panic attack before cutting into my fabric and had to call my sister--whom I consider to be an  expert in all things sewing, despite the fact that she's never made a slipcover either--in order to calm my nerves. That being said, I think I made a pretty good job of cutting everything out and making sure the fabric would line up correctly and still have adequate seam allowance. Now I am very patiently and cautiously pin-fitting the pieces together wrong side out--just like the tutorials say. I don't know how long this particular part of the process will take, but I am doing my best to stay calm and not allow myself to get overly frustrated and start cursing. Maybe I'll have something to show you all when the weekend rolls around!

In the meantime, I'm going to get the most work I can done today, since I'll be working three long shifts in a row again. Wish me luck!

"Barbs. Babies. Battlestar Galactica..."

So sorry for the "radio silence" these past few days, but I lack the technology to blog from anything but a PC at the moment. You can see what I was up to here on Chrissy's blog.

Today has been an interesting combination of mellow and productive...Patrick took me in for my three hour glucose testing early this morning. (I am sooo grateful he had the day off and could go with me. For whatever reason, this particular test has had me pretty stressed out and I'm glad I had his support to get through it.) One of the perks in working where I do, is that I know which lab techs are really good at drawing blood--not just getting the vein, but also making it as comfortable for the patient--so I made certain that one of "pros" was there to do mine. Everything went pretty smoothly until it was time to wait for my second hour draw, then I started to get pretty nauseated, so they had me lie down in one of the rooms for the rest of the test. We watched the BBC show Sherlock in between pokings and I was glad when it was over and we could finally go eat.

I told Patrick that I felt like I deserved a reward after surviving my test with my dignity intact (aka: not letting my coworkers see me shed a few tears and moan while holding back the urge to vomit up the nasty sugar water they gave me), so we had a late breakfast at IHOP. It was one of the tastiest meals I've ever eaten. It's amazing how hunger improves the quality of food.

After eating, we both got a jolt of energy and went to run a few errands. On a whim, we stopped by Home Depot to price out some chair rail molding that we'd like to put up in the nursery--and since we found it was discounted, we got it! Patrick had surprised me by picking up the paint for the baby's room while I was gone, so it feels like we're finally making progress in that area of the house.

We got back and Patrick helped me out by doing all the icky, smelly jobs like scraping off cookware and emptying the fridge of expired stuff and taking out the trash. Then I put in a good hour of housework while he put the crib together and started prepping the walls for paint. We installed the molding, and he was able to get most of the top half of the walls painted before his friend Trevor came over for dinner and a Battlestar Galactica marathon.

Since neither of us work until late tomorrow, I'm excited to see what kind of progress we'll make in the morning! (By the way, I'm doing my best to document the nursery's progress as requested, but I still think I'll hang on to the pics until we're ready for the big reveal.)

Something had to be done...

Today I had a day off. I slept in. I watched PBS shows and knitted. It was great. Until about noon when I walked into the bathroom and took a good look at myself in the mirror.

About six months ago I decided to cut my hair short. It was great. I loved it! It was super easy to do in the mornings and I was amazed at my shampoo savings. However, I didn't bargain on how much upkeep it would be in terms of getting it trimmed frequently. I don't remember things like that very well anyway, plus it often feels like I'm being extravagant when I go to a salon to get my hair done. So, since we've been budgeting more carefully, I've usually just had Patrick clean up the back and sides when it starts to get unruly.

And then I got pregnant. And my hair starting to grow much faster. Not even my sweet husband could do much...beyond make me look like some kind of die-hard Beatles fan...So this afternoon as I stood and stared at my pseudo-bowl cut/ imminent mullet I decided that something had to be done. I just couldn't take the shagginess anymore!

Accordingly, I got dressed and took myself down to the salon in the mall hoping to find the woman who originally gave me the pixie cut. No such luck, but an equally talented co-worker of hers took me in hand and I'm very happy with the results. (I also felt so grown up as I explained what I wanted to the stylist. Usually I just give them a general idea on length and let them have at it; but I decided to put on my big-girl panties this time and get really specific on what I did and didn't like about the cut as it was. I can't believe it took me so long--I like the new, more assertive me--plus I definitely got what I asked for.)

So....what do you think? (I was unable to convince Patrick that taking pictures of my hair was more meritorious than relaxing on the couch. Please pardon my somewhat vacant expressions--I was concentrating really hard on not covering my face with the phone--without actually looking at said phone. It's harder than it seems.)

Hopefully, the shaping she did will allow my hair to grow more gracefully into a bob-style cut. Both my pocketbook and hormones demanded something that requires slightly fewer haircuts and I think this will do the trick...

(P.S. I have a random question: Does it look like my hair has been dyed? I've had several people at work ask me if I've colored my hair in the last few days, and even Patrick recently mentioned that it seemed darker...Now, I know I haven't dyed my hair--because every time I think about it I remember that "root touch up" scene from Baby Mama--but is it normal for your hair color to change during pregnancy??) 

The Best and Worst of Days

Today was the best because:

1)      We had visits from three separate drug representatives today. We got sweet rolls and breakfast pastries from Sills Café, followed by comfort food from Maddox for lunch (even better because I didn’t get traumatized driving to go get it), and assorted fruits and dips for a late afternoon snack.

2)      We have a wonderful provider at this clinic who believes in employee morale; so he has arranged for free 15 minute massages from professionals every Wednesday for the next several months. How awesome is that?!I melted into a (not so) little puddle of happiness after my turn. This is the best my back has felt in weeks! (Particularly after I took a tumble trying to get out of my car and up my porch steps the other night…no serious injury to anything but my pride, but I’ve been extra stiff/sore for a few nights now.)

3)      Three separate people here have birthdays this week, so we were also surprised with free chocolate cake and ice cream.

4)      I had a very mellow workday with my exams evenly spaced out so that I had time to digest all these awesome foodstuffs people kept bringing without feeling like I was going to burst; Yet not so slow that I was afraid of falling into a food-induced coma (aka: the afternoon nap).

Today was the worst because:

1)      I got a phone call from my OB’s office to confirm my lab test results from my visit on Monday—I’m slightly anemic and have to start taking iron supplements with my other vitamins. (Okay fine. Yet another pill to remember, but no big deal, right?) And…

2)      I failed my glucose tolerance test by one point. Normal is considered to be anything in the range below 135. Mine was 136.

3)      Now I’m scheduled to have the three hour tolerance test on Monday the 18^th. Whoopee. Just what I wanted—to get stuck repeatedly in the arm while not being allowed to eat, and having to drink more of that nasty sugar water—I’d rather chug a couple bottles of barium.

4)  Our Thermostat up in the lobby was broken so I was sitting and sweltering in 80 degree heat trying to fan myself with interoffice memos.  

I guess I’m just going to have to treat myself while I can this coming weekend. I’m terrified of the thought of gestational diabetes…no sweets, daily finger sticks, and typically bigger babies to push out…I really hope I pass this next test. Oreos have been one of my biggest cravings—please don’t take them away!

Knitting in Public

Tonight after work I walked next door to a local grocery store to wait for Patrick to come get me. (We are only able to use one car at the moment and it has caused us to get creative in managing our work schedules.)

I was off at 8 pm and Patrick wouldn't be there until about 9:30 pm. So I found an unoccupied bench near the pharmacy window and pulled out my knitting to while away the time. I was back to working on my fluff puffs today, so I was able to make about three of them while I was waiting. Several small kids walking by with their parents would marvel at my little collection of knitted puffs and ask me what they were for. 

One particularly adorable little girl who was toting around a Barbie doll fell in love with a puff made of soft, speckled purple yarn. She must have been around three or four and she reminded me so much of my own nieces as she exclaimed over "my cute little dolly pillows" and asked if she could touch it. Her mom just smiled at our little interaction up until her daughter asked me if she could keep it--then she got this strained sort of look on her face and began to explain how that wasn't a polite request to make of a stranger. 

I felt for this woman, but something in me melted as I watched this little girl rub the puff along her own cheek and then her doll's, and I told her she could have it--as long as it was okay with her mommy. Her mom looked at me with surprise and I just said, "It feels nice when people appreciate the things I make. And I think it would make an excellent doll pillow."

They both thanked me and continued on with their shopping trip and I went back to my puffs. 

And maybe it sounds odd, but I feel good about myself knowing that a much loved doll will sleep on a handmade pillow tonight because of me.  

Re-evaluating Life at Home

As the title of this post implies, I have been doing some thinking about some of the stress-inducing things in my life. I learned in a high school health class once that there are two kinds of stress: good stress that motivates us to achieve our goals, and bad stress that distracts us from our goals. I think I have experienced a healthy amount of both this weekend.

Good Stress Example: I love my family and friends and wanted to show them that love by taking the time and effort to create personal, handmade items for them.

Result: I was able to knit a cabled pair of men's dress socks and a beard-beanie in three days (that's over 100,000 individual stitches y'all)--and this was after I had completed assembling a recipe collection and custom designed recipe box for my friend's wedding. Boo. Ya.  However, this also meant that I ended up knitting  in every spare moment I could find on her wedding day; and crashing on the couch for almost two hours while everyone was gathered for the combined birthday celebration on Sunday because I had replaced some of my sleeping time with knitting time--and I therefore missed out on some of the funnest moments of the party. (Or so Patrick told me when I woke up. Oops.)

Bad Stress Example: I struggle with time management when I'm home alone. (Or, more accurately, I struggle with budgeting my energy across a spectrum of necessary tasks/projects. I tend to exhaust myself doing one thing from start-to-finish rather than allowing myself to take the time to make gradual--and more effectual--headway with all my projects.)

Result: I didn't do anything in my house (except make more messes) after my sister came to help me move stuff around for my craft room because I was feeling the time crunch of poor planning on the whole presents front... So today when Patrick and I got home, I had a hard time not having a bit of meltdown as I looked around. I felt overwhelmed by the prospect of cleaning it all up and berated myself for being surprised at how messy it got in a week...I was on the verge of frustrated tears when I took a step back and decided to think about why I was actually upset in that moment:

Re-evaluation Conclusion: In order to me to feel happy and peaceful in my home, I need to find a more concrete maintenance routine. (I.E. Certain tasks must be done daily at certain times in order for me to feel like I have accomplished something meaningful.) The challenge I face here is our unpredictable work schedules. I am working with my boss to create a set schedule for myself, but Patrick's is still very up-in-the-air at times... Bottom line, I get nervous about how we'll be able to handle adding childcare into that mix and my anxiety manifests itself in my ability to exert control over my environment. When I'm stressed, I can't seem to focus on my normal tasks and my house starts to reflect my chaotic state of mind.

I don't like being unhappy or dissatisfied when I come home. The way I see it, there are already so many other things outside my home that put stress on me or Patrick; I just want to feel like my home really is a place of rest apart from the world. And I wish I had the answer to my conundrum right this moment, but I don't. However, I do think I'll be able to find it after I'm able to talk it over with Patch. After all, it's really our home, not just mine or his...I think if we work it out together, we'll be able to find what works for us as a family. I think maybe where I've stumbled in the past is trying to take it all on by myself without really consulting Patrick. And I'm rapidly learning, I can't do it all by myself. Not anymore. And at first I found that kind of scary...but now...I think it'll actually be enriching for me to be more reliant on my husband in this aspect. (I just hope he finds it enriching, too!)

In the meantime, I elected to do three tasks tonight, and let the rest wait until morning. I loaded the dishwasher, switched over some laundry, and Patrick took out the trash. The house isn't where I'd like it to be, but it's closer than it was...so I think I'll take that and run with it. :-)


  

Survivor

I have made it through my last straight 12 hour shift. I have finished another birthday gift. And I am tired to the bone. Sweet dreams, everyone, because I don't plan on waking up for a while...