Hiatus…

Hello there!

I know I’ve been gone for awhile,  but I have an excuse. I would like to report that I have been doing some de-cluttering and not JUST sitting on my butt on the couch (though, I have been doing my fair share of that too). My son will be turning 8 months tomorrow and he is rapidly changing before our eyes. Today, he stood without any help for about 10 seconds before sitting down on his butt. I knew that it was bound to happen, this standing and walking business, but I think it’s going to be sooner than later.

Now for the excuse…I’m pregnant!I just hit 10 weeks yesterday. The little peanut is doing very well and seems to be enjoying his/her space in my belly. I found out the day before I left for California so I spent another Disneyland trip not getting to ride Space Mountain. It’s all worth it for the little pumpkin. It’s still early so we are not telling the world the news, except for family and good friends. I’m excited to announce it and will be using a cute idea that I saw on Pinterest (I’ll post the picture here too). This pregnancy has been far worse than with the first, but each day closer to the 2nd trimester I seem to be getting more energy and feeling less like I want to vomit. My poor husband has got the worse of it…I’m not that pleasant of a pregnant woman during the 1st trimester. He’s counting down the days till the 2nd trimester starts. Hoping Pink, but pretty sure I’ll be a momma of 2 boys (just me and Nadia the cat).

So, that is what has been going on in our world.

The de-cluttering will have to go into high gear in the next few months since our nursery/office/guest room will have to become JUST a nursery/playroom. I’m excited to paint and get ready for the new and last addition. I’ll keep you posted!

Happy Friday!

The night stand and other scary places…

A lot of pictures going on, but I wanted to show you that I ACTUALLY went through all four of them. It’s soooo nice to go into a drawer that is not stuck due to it being overrun by things I haven’t worn in years. I filled up a garbage bag full of stuff and I hate to admit this… Some of it was little pieces of paper and what not (movie tickets, maps, coin currency from past adventures, and things for baby that were shoved in there while I was pregnant that he’s now too big for).

I had a much needed girls night last night. We saw “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and went to this yummy Middle Eastern place after (I love NYC). The movie ended and both of us looked at each other with a slightly perplexed expression. What!?!? I thought it was interesting, but there was a lot going on. We came to the conclusion that the movie just might have been above our heads (I’m going to have the read the book, providing there is one) and we should have seen “This Means War”.
By the looks of it, we weren’t alone.

Okay, on to the next project… Night stand!

Since having a baby, I don’t have a lot of time for reading magazines. I subscribe to two that I LOVE, Sunset and Real Simple. I love them for different reasons. Sunset, because it brings me a piece of home every month ( great recipes, getaways, wine suggestions) and Real Simple for recipes, trends, new beauty stuff etc…
The photo shows magazine filled drawers, I try to go through them and dog ear stuff I want to try… Clearly, that’s where it ends. This week I will tear out pages and organize them. Whew!
Happy Monday!

Uninvited guests and my missing ceiling…

Sorry for my week long plus absence. I’ll fill you in…

I began the work on the cubby holes and realized just how big a mess it is. We left for a few days to visit with my husband’s mom in Wisconsin  and visit a few friends in Chicago. We’re back, and I’m still working on them; pictures to come. Now on for the fun stuff… HA!

Currently,the background noise I’m listening to is more of my bathroom ceiling being jack hammered away and the sound of falling debris. I will, of course, update this post with a large picture once I can get in there. It seems to be that they have found the problem with the leak from our upstairs neighbor. However, there is more than one reason being thrown around and it is dependent on WHO you talk to. ” I don’t really care what the problem is people, I want it fixed”! So, I sit here waiting for them to finish, two cups of coffee into my morning…

And now we get to the uninvited guest part. I grew up where you called people before stopping by. You did not stop by unannounced and I feel like this was the norm with my friends. I think it’s rude. You don’t know what people are doing or wearing and frankly, they just may not want to see you at the door. My husband on the other hand grew up with the exact opposite, which is fine. Now, there are always exceptions for surprises; friends coming into town to visit, romantic gestures, and emergencies. And then, you have friends that are always welcome at any time of the day. These friends that I speak of, KNOW beyond the shadow of a doubt who they are and frankly, they would still probably call in advance. This has been a discussion a few times over the years, but recently was brought up again with all the problems of the ceiling. The woman upstairs who is running a hostel for students and lies about it as well as the super of the building think it’s fine to ring the doorbell at all hours. I open the door, baby in one hand and a bottle in the other hand standing in my nightgown (this happened three times over an hour time). How hard is it to pick up the phone, or text me, it’s 2012 people! I just don’t understand it, we are not in college, living in a dorm room; we are adults living in a big city in an apartment that is our home. My opinion of this may change if we moved back to California and lived in a small beach town and one of my best friends lived five houses down (this is a possibility and I dream of it often). Until then, I stand by my statement.

Happy Friday!

P.S. I’ll let you know what the next de-clutter project is very soon. I still need to finish the cubbies. )

Snail Mail…

One of my oldest and dearest friends lives in San Francisco and is SUPER talented. I’m only going to be talking about one thing in this post though.

Below is one of his owl drawings that I love and asked him to use it to design cards for me.  I love writing letters to friends and family and when doing that it’s nice to have stationary that is unique. I included the link to his cafe press site… Head on over and check it out. He makes some awesome t-shirts, sweatshirts, magnets, note cards,  AND has a baby line ( I’m sure I’m missing something… which is why you should click on the link below).

Happy Tuesday!

Take a few minutes and write to someone that you love, it will make their day.

http://www.cafepress.com/owl_henry

Cubby madness!

This de-clutter project is getting serious… I’ve moved to the giant cubby filled bookshelf we have in the nursery that separates the office from the nursery/guest room.
It is filled with crafts, books, toys, baby shoes, baby clothes,stuff that should have been thrown away years ago, and books that I have out for guests to read( why I’m trying to pretend we’re a cute little bed and breakfast I will never know).
I started the project yesterday to get a jump start since we leave for WI for a few days on Wednesday. Thomas is growing out of clothes lengthwise, but still can wear 3 month around the waist (long and lean baby). I have NO idea where he gets that from.
Anyway, out with the high waters and in with the pants around his knees! He may have to wear overalls until further notice.
So, his dresser is once again organized and the clear tubs are filled and ready for storage. I’m keeping everything until we have baby number 2 and know what we are having. I’m pretty sure we’ll be a two boy house, but you never know.
Tomorrow I’ll begin to tackle the cubbies and hope to throw out quite a bit. I’ll post some pictures of the madness.
Happy Monday!

***Just to clarify, we are not pregnant yet :0)

C25K

That’s right… I’ve signed up for my very first 5K and I’m doing it with my hubby.

I was reading one of my parenting
magazines and they were talking about Apps for the iPhone and one of them was C25K (couch to 5k). I thought, what a great idea and I immediately got my phone and installed it. It’s an 8 week training session where you have a 3 workouts per week. It starts you off slow… 5 minute brisk walk, 60 second run, then 90 second walk for 20 minutes then a 5 minute cool down. Every week it increases till you’re running a 5k.

It sounds easy right? I did my first day of my first week tonight, it was doable, but boy was I sweaty. I’ll keep you posted as I go. I’m excited about the race… I even get a t-shirt!

P.S. Our bathroom is still missing a good portion of the ceiling. We’re hoping we can get it fixed in a week. I was able to de-clutter so overall I think we’ll be able to look back on this with some positivity.
Happy Friday!!

REALLY!?!?!??

Soooo… I ended up receiving my de-clutter project for the week by way of a mini-disaster. It’s been an issue in our bathroom for a couple months. Our upstairs neighborhood who doesn’t live there but says she does and has students moving in and out almost as quickly as a motel that rents by the hour has a shower door that doesn’t seal when closed so when people shower it leaks. Should be a no- brainer right!?!?…. Wrong!
Anyway, long story a little shorter she came down today because once again it was leaking on my poor mat and I was done.
The above picture should explain most of the problem except you can’t see the thick layer of very fine dust that had landed over EVERYTHING! I spent about 2 hours so far cleaning and (here’s where the de-clutter project comes in) getting rid of stuff. I have about 2-3 hours left, but that will have to wait till morning. Thomas just went to bed, thanks to my amazing hubby and I’m going to enjoy my sprite zero and a bag of Bugles while deciding what movie we are going to rent from on-demand.
Happy Monday to me!!
XO

It’s a quiet thing…

A Quiet Thing

When it all comes true
Just the way you’d planned
It’s funny but the bells don’t ring

It’s a quiet thing
When you hold the world
In your trembling hand
You’d think you’d hear a choir sing
It’s a quiet thing

There are no exploding fireworks
Where’s the roaring of the crowds
Maybe it’s the strange new atmosphere
Way up here among the clouds

But I don’t hear the drums
And I don’t hear the band
The sounds I’m told
Such moments bring

Happiness comes in on tip-toe
Well what’d'ya know
It’s a quiet thing
A very – quiet – thing…

From “Flora, The Red Menace”

I realized as this song came on my IPod today that I had not shared my experience with Patti and Mandy. It was amazing! There are some talented people out there, but to see these two veteran actors command the stage, was for me, a once in a lifetime moment. They still had it and to watch them move with such ease across the stage and with each other I found myself holding my breath at times. They sang a great song list, the above lyrics was just from one that brought me to tears.

I moved to New York 11 years ago to attend a musical theater school and that first day I stepped off the plane was February 14th, 2001. Of course, like most girls I loved the movie “An Affair to Remember” and “Sleepless in Seattle”, it was very fitting that the first day of school was this day and to this day I still believe that a heart lit up the Empire State Building. My first semester I heard this song and I’ve loved it ever since. My life since that day seems to have been a whirlwind though not always when it was in “real time”.

The last almost 6 months being a mommy has been the most amazing, scary, emotional, exhausting and life changing experience. The lyrics really speak to me especially when thinking of parenthood. Some of the most magical moments for me are early in the morning when I’m feeding Thomas and the only noise is the coffee brewing and when I’m rocking him and singing “Baby Mine” quietly in his ear. These are the moments I will take with me forever.
Happy Sunday!

P.S. I still have a little more work on the cupboards that I will finish today and post the final project with the new project tomorrow. But first, I will finish my coffee.

Cupboards and Calories

Week 2 down and 50 to go. I’m not sure if this project is going to make the year go by faster or slower. So far, it’s gone by at lightening speed. I’m hoping that it slows down to a normal pace because I’m not ready for my baby to grow up. He’s going to be 6 months in just a couple weeks!!!!

It was really interesting going through the cupboards this week. I found THREE bottles of apple cider vinegar… I’m not really sure why, but there was a time I was really into coleslaw and I felt I perfected coleslaw dressing and I’m guessing that I kept buying it thinking I didn’t have a bottle at home (I think I’ll make some this week). I was able to organize the spices into categories and alphabetize, we’ll see how long that lasts.

Another goal I’ve taken on for the year is getting to the gym at least 4 times a week for at least 30 minutes. The first week I made it 4 times and felt great. This week I must admit I only got to the gym 3 times. I have been alternating the treadmill on a steep incline and the elliptical. I know that I’ll need to start incorporating some strength training which will happen this week. Thankfully, my gym has some great classes that do just that. Classes help motivate and make me work harder than I would on my own.

Week 3 is going to be cleaning out and organizing the other side of the cupboards. I can hopefully make room for the Keurig so I can proudly display my new Kitchen Aid stand mixer.
I’ll post pictures at the end of the week of before/after.

Here are the “after” pictures of week 2…

Happy Monday!!!!

Progress While Napping

Some may think I’m kinda hardcore with my napping schedule, myself included at times. However, it allows me to get some things done around the apartment or sit on my butt and watch something I DVR’d. 9-10 am, I get to drink hot coffee and catch up on news, this has decreased some due to the fact that every time the news is on it’s about some horrible murder, abuse to a child or animal, or Beyonce’s new baby who apparently has a new song. BLAH! Noon-2pm-ish, I get to work on the de-clutter projects, do laundry, clean apartment, write post on blog, shower/brush teeth… okay you get the picture. 4:30-5:15pm, I prepare dinner and pick up a little. These are things that allow me to enjoy the weekends with my husband and son.

Today, I got done two of the three cupboards in the project for the week and they look pretty good. I do need to plan a trip to “The Container Store” to pick up some shelving that will allow me to use vertical space (my husband is a fan of this). I showered AND got to use lotion, pretty luxurious I know and had a bowl of Cheerios for lunch. I’m going to finish this post up and make  an easy dinner for the hubby to heat up later because I’m going to have a much deserved night out on the town with a friend. We are going to have drinks and see Patti and Mandy on Broadway. See the link before for more info.

Hope you all are enjoying your day and working on your own de-clutter projects if you are doing it. I think it’s pork chops, polenta and broccoli for dinner tonight. I’ll let you know how great the show was tomorrow.

Happy Thursday!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/23/patti-lupone-mandy-pantinkin-broadway_n_1111133.html