Hangovers and Homesickness

It's a cruel twist of fate that I end up MORE homesick directly following visits from my family. I guess it's really just an issue of realizing (or re-remembering) what it is I'm missing out on. I have a pretty fabulous family and would so love to be able to see them all more often!

Cousins' Weekend was last weekend and we had a blast. A couple key personnel were notably missing from the weekend festivities (eh um, Erin and Josh, and of course Nick away at school), but it really was wonderful. With that said, I learned a couple valuable lessons throughout the weekend:

• I am not 23 anymore. (As much as I like to convince myself otherwise.)
• Hangovers as a parent suck REALLY BAD!
• Dieting (aka. salad) before a big night of drinking is NEVER a good plan. And did I have a RedBull? Ugh, never a good idea.
• Dry heaving in your backyard (because all bathrooms are full) is actually not glamorous.
• Early 20's is REALLY YOUNG (yet adorable, innocent, fabulous and completely enviable).
• 9 adults, 2 kids, and 1 dog in this small house might just be pushing it. (Beach vacay next year?)
• The best cure for a terrible hangover is definitely sweat pants, mindless TV, and lounging with your equally-lazy loved ones!

I love all of you and am so lucky to have such fun, crazy, intelligent, like-minded cousins who I genuinely enjoy hanging out with. Now if you all could just move down here...

please?

Knob job

It took a good bit cursing under my breath, a very sore forearm, and an instance of locking Annie, Violet and I in a bedroom (to which I had to crawl out the window to rescue us); but 12 gorgeous new black doorknobs have successfully been installed, by yours truly, throughout our entire house.

Big difference or 6 hours not so well spent?

BEFORE:

AFTER:

wallowing wednesday.

I was the lucky one who never really had those girly time of the month problems. PMS was something people joked about, but not anything I ever understood.

And then I had kids.

I don't know if it's the changes in hormones, new meds I'm on, a change in birth control, or what, BUT holy hell I am a mess!

I'm sitting here feeling weepy, defeated, fat, tired, grumpy, and guilty (for all the things I want to do but haven't gotten around to, and all the things I should do but probably won't ever do). And then it occurred to me, the last time I felt this way was exactly one month ago. God, this shit is no joke!

These are the days when co-workers would be helpful. I need someone to pull me out of my misery and  put a halt to my wallowing. (Of course, it may well be a good thing that there is no one that has to deal with me today.) These are the days when getting out of the house would be lovely. I need a distraction. And, frankly, these are the days when I probably should have just stayed in bed. (If only...)

Today in fall micro fashion

Why ya gotta be a bitch?

Be nice, people. It really goes a long way.

We had folks over to the house recently and some of the conversations I had with one lady in particular has been making me crazy. Seriously, some people...

As background, I am doing a 'Biggest Loser' competition with Brad's brother's girlfriend, Brittany. And, although I have a long way to go still, I am working really hard and have managed to lose 10 lbs in the last month. My body so doesn't cooperate the way it used to and I am totally like the cartoon commercial chick who eats nothing for weeks on end and loses 1 lb, but I am really really trying. You would think people would be supportive. Insert "Sally".

"Sally" is a middle aged family friend. She is thin and always has been. Wonderful for her. And maybe she really just doesn't think, but these were a couple conversations we had. Note that she knows fully well that:
1) Brittany and I have been doing this competition for a month
2) I am trying hard to lose weight
3) I have PCOS and it makes this process hard (no pity requested, just sayin)
4) I have already lost 10 lbs.

Anyway, this was my day:

Conversation 1:

Sally: Your friend Bramble looks really great. Has she lost weight?
Me: Yes, she has. She does look awesome.
Sally: Oh to be young. Losing weight is always so easy when you are young.

Bramble is my age. No mention of me or anything having to do with the weight I lost. Between the lines of this conversation is 'you do not look great', 'you do not look like you have lost weight' and 'losing weight at your age should be easy'. I swear to God, it was either completely intentional or she is just crazy clueless.

Conversation 2:
Me: (being nice) I really like those pants (I didn't, I was just being nice.)
Sally: Oh, thanks. I got them at the Gap. They are a size 8. I normally wear a size 6, but with the fit of these I thought 8 was probably better. They are definitely too big though.

OK, great.
A) I didn't ask.
B) I don't begrudge anyone their size. But c'mon!
Frankly, it's not like I'm a gazillion miles away from those sizes, but bringing up her obviously smaller-than-me size just seemed so intentional and pointed. It was almost like a 'nanny nanny poo poo, I'm a size 6 and you are not'. I mean seriously.  It's like 6th grade mean girl shit.

Conversation 3:
Sally: I saw Brittany last weekend and she looks really good. I could definitely tell she has lost weight.

The end. That was it. Nothing further. Not even a thought to add me to that statement... Isn't it just chick code to compliment someone if you have heard they lost weight? Even if someone doesn't look insanely different, if you know they lost 10 lbs, don't you say something!? Well, I do. And that's how I was brought up. Of course, I am nice. "Sally" on the other hand...

At the end of the day, I feel good, so fuck it. I have lost weight. I will continue to lose weight and frankly I don't need compliments to keep me going. With that said, a kind word really does go a long way.

Be kind whenever possible. 
It is always possible.
~Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

Bite me, "Sally". 

Dreary Monday morning

It's kinda one of those days. It's rainy and gray. The insane news of shootings at the Navy Yard in DC have me reeling (God, I freaking hate guns so much), and I'm wishing I didn't have to work and I could just go pick the girls up from daycare and cuddle all day. ...One of those days!

Hail to the Redskins

Opening game tonight and the girls are representin. Go Skins!

More time, less time...

Day care is working out great. The girls like it. I like it. And I all of a sudden have time on my hands! Of course, the more time you have, the more you try to do, so in the end, I'm as frazzled as always. But, at least it's good frazzled and I'm getting things accomplished!

On top of my list since we moved is has been our entry way. It's small, and since we have no mudroom or entry closet, it needs to do double duty and hold our shoes, jackets and walk-in-the-house-castoffs. We had tons of hooks and baskets, but no matter what we did, it looked crappy and crowded. I knew we needed an 'entryway system', but they are pricey (and I am cheap). The 1st pic below is the Pottery Barn set that I wanted, but, even on sale, it's $600 (plus shipping). So I set out to do it cheaper. AND I DID!

I found the cubby shelf and bench on Amazon. It's MDF (a.k.a. not real wood), but it looks good and definitely does the trick! Both pieces, including shipping, were $200.

Then, I bought foam and burlap to make the bench cushion. ($5 for burlap, $9 for foam, and it couldn't have been easier. I am not much of a sewer so I did the quick/easy staple method and it worked out great. Took about half an hour.) I got the baskets 50% off at JoAnn's Fabrics and I found the throw pillow on clearance at Target. All said and done, I spent $45 on accessories, making the total cost of my awesome and functional new entryway system a meager $245! Not too shabby, especially considering the $600 pieces at Pottery Barn didn't include baskets, pillows, or a bench cushion!

And voilà... Finished product. I LOVE IT!

Next Project: DOOR KNOBS! This entire house has ugly shiny gold lever door handles and I hate them. Time to make the switch...

1st day of pre-school!