Deal or Disaster?

Mutti (my grandmother) and I made scarves for a few family members for Christmas this year.  I have been wanting to spend more time with Mutti ever since we moved back to ATX, and sewing seems to be the perfect fit!  That said, after we finished the scarves, I decided that we needed another project to get to work on...CURTAINS! One of my 30 Before 30 goals is to have curtains for our the entire downstairs of our house.  I went ahead and bought some Target curtains for our dining room as the whole world can just peak right in if they are curious, so that one was a need.  

However, I want to flex my creative muscles for the kitchen and the living room.  For the kitchen, I simply decided to create a straight valance for each of the three windows.  The tutorial I found is simple, so I went ahead and dove in for some fabric!  I found this little number 50% off at Joanne's Fabric, had a 10% off coupon, and the last part was a remnant so that 7/8 of a yard was another 50% off!  With the rings and the fabric it came out to $34.67!  I told the lady at the register that this could either be a super deal or a disaster!  She said she had good feelings about my project, so hopefully she is right!  

Window #1.  This one may be a little difficult because the window is wider than the width of the fabric, so we may sew on some blocks of solid fabric on either side.  That was Mutti's idea.

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Windows #2 and 3.  I love these windows and I can't wait for them to be dressed!

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*I would apologize for the mess in our kitchen, but I'm not going to.  I am, as the Pioneer Woman says, "keeping it real."

30 Before 30 Update #1: Go into my 31st year with no back pain.

Chiropractor.  Did nothing.

Acupuncture.  Did more nothing.

Spine Clinic.  Told me to come back when I need pain management (ie: shots/surgery)

X-Rays. This was my second round just to make sure there were no broken bones, which their weren't

Physical Therapy- I have been going since September!  We have been going at the problem like it's a disc that had slipped.  Today, my therapist was working with me and she tried something new!  It sure did tweak my hip/back pain and now I have a new exercise.  We are now working toward relief of nerve pain.  It's not quite sciatica, but we think there is a nerve out of line in my back and hip.  I have to do my new exercise four times a day for 4-6 weeks!  I just made myself a check list to make sure I check it off everyday.  I hadn't been super motivated before because I hadn't seen any results from any other exercises they gave me.  So I would do the work for about four or five days and then quit.  I am really hoping that since I really notice the work that I'm doing this time, maybe I can stick with the program.

I'm supposed to keep exercising, lifting Kai, and doing all my normal chores (can't I get out of those?).  I did tell my therapist that it is on my list of goals to have this figured out by my 30th birthday (July 25th) so she does have a deadline.  She laughed.  She did tell me however, to not stress too much about getting pregnant (which is always something in the back of my mind, we are waiting a few years, but you never know people!) Also, she said to try not to think about my future with back pain like the expense of an MRI, shots in my back, and or surgery.  My problems are not to the point that she is super worried about me. I guess that is easy for her to say, but it at least made me feel a little better for now.

Quitting nursing.

This is on my 30 before 30 list.  It was kind of one of those things that I put on there just so I could cross it off.

We are right in the midst of quitting!  I read a lot about quitting but in the end it's another one of those nebulous things that can't be explained in a checklist.  Everyone does it differently and from what I have found there is no perfect way.

A few notes:

I HATE the word wean.  Cici hates the word panties.  What word do you hate?  This is why I'm just saying quitting nursing.

I started quitting with 3 nursings spread through the whole day (6am, 12:30ish, and 7:15pm)  I left the 12:30 in the dust first last week.

We have been doing sippy cups with straws, which he likes... but he still hasn't mastered those so we are reverting to the bottle for a week or two so that I can make sure this kid is getting his daily need.

Going with cold milk.  Doc said to try that first and hopefully he would take it, and then we wouldn't have to warm our milk.  He's doing well with this especially since we changed back to a bottle today.

I'm slightly uncomfortable.  yikes.

I thought it would be hard to let go, but Kai has been sick this week so we have gotten a lot of good cuddle time!

I'm also hoping that this may help my back pain a little.  Being a nursing mom keeps your hormones out of whack so keep your fingers crossed that this strengthens and heals me some!

Lastly, I'm ready to not have any dietary/medicinal/adult beverage restrictions.  I'm not some crazy indulgence type of person, but just having freedom back is a great feeling.  I found out I was pregnant in January of 2011 so almost two years of being restricted.

I should be done by 10/27 and at the very least by Halloween. 

thwarted!

I was going to have a garage sale yesterday, but the impending doom of rain made me believe that it just wouldn't be possible.  I really wanted to get rid of some of our stuff, but I guess the skirt I wore twice in 10 years, and the 18 baseball caps that Scott doesn't wear any more will live to see another day.

thwarted!

We DID get to go see Rock of Ages last night.  One side of my brain says, "that was a fun show, and I'm glad we got to sing along to some rockin' 80's tunes..." the other side says, "yikes, there were a lot of jokes that I'm sad to say that I laughed at..."  All in good fun I guess!  The third side of my brain still wants to yell, "shut up!" to the losers that were sitting behind me and Scott who were talking/singing/drunk/explaining the show/INTERACTING with the characters and poorly chosen times. 

The Long Center was pretty neato, and Scott got us amazing seats (they were a present from my FIRST 29th birthday back in July) that he was worried wouldn't be great.  Middle mezzanine toward the front is always good, my love! We ate at ZAX beforehand, which was delicious.  I had tilapia and he had beef skewers, but the most important part was the yummy margarita I had.  Mmmmmmmm.

p.s. I started a sewing project yesterday.  whew! That stuff is complicated.  I'm trying a pattern, so that I can learn to read them and use them.  It's a half apron, and I'm already confused.  Way to go Jane. 

Describe (in words or photos) your favorite reading space.

No photo for this post, because I love to read in our closet!  I don't really want you all to see our mess of clothes and shoes in there.

We moved into the most amazing house this year, and the master closet is super spacious.  I found out the other day that sitting on the floor in there is the perfect spot to read.  I am situated nicely under the windows so I get good natural sunlight,  I nurse my baby in there sometimes after his bath, so our extra boppy pillow is in there (also good for an impromptu nap on the floor, which is how the mister found me the other day...drooling, I might add....) and there is nothing to distract me really!  I find when I sit down to read downstairs I see the laundry or the dishes close by and get off track.  If I'm secluded upstairs I don't see the things I need to do as much and will actually enjoy my good quiet reading time.  Everything gets a little neglected, but when you are reading a book like Pride and Prejudice, it's worth it! Am I right, or am I right?

Day Twenty-nine: Something I Never Get Tired of Doing

Reading!  I love to read.  I could read all day every day.  But then I would ignore my family...and get fat...and generally be boring.

Right now, I'm reading, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!  I realized as I started it that I had never read it before.  I thought I did in high school, but alas now that I really think about it, I know I didn't.  Anyway, I'm collecting a very pretty set of books, and my sister-in-law gave me P&P.  It looks like this...

My mom bought be Wuthering Heights a few weeks ago, so that is next!  That would be the two classics I needed to cross of my 30 before 30 list.

Eventually, my set will look like this!

30 Before 30

Today is my 29th birthday. This means that I will follow the trend out there and create my own 30 before 30 list.  Keep in mind, I'm a stay at home mom right now, so this won't be terribly thrilling for some people.  These are just small fun ideas that I have wanted to do for a long time.
Many that I can do at home!

1. Go into my 31st year with no back pain. Done!
2. Go through at least one devotional book on my own.  Started one, Max Lucado's "Romans" I'm also in a Bible/book study going through Soul Revolution with my church.
3. Go to 5 concerts/live performances. Rock of Ages, Aerosmith, Mumford and Sons, 
4. Interview my grandmother
5. Learn 3 songs on my guitar to play for Kai
6. Read 2 classic novels. Finished Pride and Prejudice! 
7. Read 5 education related books. Love and Logic. On Common Ground (PLC's), How to Assess Higher Order Thinking, Reading: The Daily Five
8. Book or actually take trip to London and Scotland. Not happening...
9. Vegas trip. planned!
10. Curtains on the bottom floor of our house. 
11. Go to Sea World with the Frittses
12. Do dancer's pose in yoga with both hands holding my foot (Back injury...so I'm replacing this with, learn all 196 countries of the world on a map! Okay, both of those were insane... Mow the yard for the first time, EVER.  Done!
13. Host a large group of people for a meal once a month. This is not going great, but we have definitely had families and friends over at least once a month since this started, so they aren't large groups, but it's something!
14. Quit nursing. Done!
15. Give up fried food for a month
16. Go stand up paddle boarding
17. Volunteer at our church food pantry
18. Wear clothes that I own but don't wear very often...This is not very measureable, but I've worn a couple of outfits that have been sitting for a while! 
19. Figure out a schedule for dying my hair (grey's people!) My sweet friend, Megan, dyed my hair, and now I'm just watching for those grey's to pop out so I can see when I would need to do it again.
20. Make a pie, with Mutti's crust!
21. Decide on the (ONE) tattoo I want to get, but wait a year after I have decided, just to make sure! Scott and I are talking about getting the same one, a little homage to Kai-dude.
22. Learn how to take good clear pictures with my camera (inside and in full sun)
23. Complete four sewing projects. I'm thinking stockings?!?!
24. Tour Austin like a tourist (segway tour or pedibike tour, ACLive, capitol etc.)
25. Finish out our FULL emergency fund. Done. I'm not going to detail that...personal financial details.  BUT we do follow Dave Ramsey's plan, so if you are curious, check him out!
26. Learn enough on Photoshop to design Kai's birthday invites and our Christmas Card/email. I need to send the birthday invites out tomorrow, they may look a little special, but they are done!
27. Get a gig teaching for fall 2013
28. Pay for another person's Starbucks/drive thru meal behind me
29. Teach a kid's dance class (I think I would be really good at this, but I'm beyond nervous to try!) OR take voice lessons.  I honestly couldn't decide between these two.
30. Go to a parenting conference with the mister