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Burlap Laundry Sign

I didn't have freezer paper and I'd be damned if I was going to make a run to the Wal*Mart with the baby in tow, deal with the idiots that I inevitably run into whilst shopping, and then have to stand in a ridiculous line while the only register out of fifty slowly rings up the line of people ahead of me. All for freezer paper. Nope. Not I.

So I pulled out my trusty LocTite spray adhesive and applied a coat to an 8 1/2 X 11 inch piece of printer paper, laid it on my burlap, and cut the fabric down to size.

I opened up Word and because I'm a terrible copy cat and didn't have the patience to look up my own definition of "laundry" I copied Maryann's definition and found a font that I liked (Poor Richard). Once I got everything sized up the way I wanted I hit "Print" on our HP Photosmart e-All-in-One Printer - D110a.

Paper Jam.

So I started fiddling with the printer settings and changed them so the printer thought it would be printing on photo paper instead of regular printer paper (did I say "printer" enough?). I hit "print."

We're in business. And it looks great.

I took the glass and matte out of an old picture frame and laid the whole thing on the matte to see how it would look.  The color of the backing paper was just a fluke (I'd pulled the paper from my scrap pile in case this was a disaster), and I happened to like it so I kept it, but it would have easily peeled off without any mess if I hadn't liked it.

I glued the edges down on top of the matte. The matte didn't have the depth for the nail head pins so I cut the points off with wire cutters, leaving just the nail head and hot glued them to the corners. I then made a couple of flowers by cutting circles of scrap burlap, stacking them and embellishing with buttons before also hot gluing them to the piece. Put it all back into the frame, sans the glass, and that's it.

I turned my Word document into a jpg so I could share it here:

This was a fun, easy project and I'll probably be doing some more burlap printing in the future.

"...still panting through Level 2..."

Day 23. I failed to do the DVD yesterday. I did my 5K training in the morning, but after that the day got away from me. Between running errands, cleaning the house for guests, and keeping a little grumpasauraus rex entertained, it just didn't happen.

And no, I did not sit on the computer for hours and not accomplish anything. I didn't even touch the thing until late in the afternoon and missed a response to an ad I posted on craigslist and therefore missed a sale. Pretty frustrating.

I'm getting back onto it today and will probably do something extra to try to make up for yesterday. I'm pretty mad at myself for not getting to it yesterday, but it is what it is and life will go on.

I thought that by Day 21 I would have moved on to Level 3, but I'm still panting through Level 2 at this point. It's hard! I can't quite keep up yet so I'm not moving on yet.

The great thing is that all this exercising is paying off. I'm down 11 pounds and have lost three inches in my waist. My tummy is flatter, still not great, but better than it's been in a very, very long time. At this point, I'd say I'm about to where I was when I got pregnant. Now it's just a matter of pushing to get to where I was when I met PB. That's the ultimate goal.

"I hate planking."

Day Thirteen. Lucky Thirteen. I am officially on Level Two of my 30 Day Shred and I feel like I'm starting from the beginning. This level has brought with it its own set of challenges.

Good God, does Level Two have a lot of moves that involve The Plank. Ugh. I hate planking. It makes my shoulders burn. But I guess that's the point, isn't it?

The first day was absolute hell. The second day was still pretty hellish. Today was still rough. I wouldn't say easier, just less hard.

I'm not seeing a huge drop in weight like I did during my first week, but I am most definitely noticing how my clothes fit. My energy level has improved greatly. Even my skin has gotten better. And I might be a little bit crazy, but I think my hair is a little shinier and healthier.

I'm still not taking anything; don't really have a lot of desire to. I am, however going to talk to the doctor about weaning at Branflake's next appointment (did I mention I have a nine-month-old now? WOW!). We only nurse regularly in the mornings now, only occasionally in the afternoon or evening. He has no interest. I try, believe me; I still get engorged and have to pump, which is good for my freezer stash at any rate.

I've done two days of 5K training so far. Twenty-five minutes of walking for four minutes, jogging for one. I'm breaking it up into every other day, as the program suggested. The exercise isn't so bad, it's the getting up at 5:30 in the morning that kills me. It's the only time I can go for a run without the stroller because PB hasn't left for work yet and we are still doing our after-dinner neighborhood walks together. It's just a habit I'm going to have to make, I guess.

"...how dare we ask him to do his job..."

I'd like to take a moment to bitch about our refrigerator.

We purchased our Whirlpool 26 cubic foot side-by-side refrigerator the evening we closed on the Bird House. So...June 17. It was delivered on June 19. On June 20 I was enjoying my first stainless steel refrigerator and contemplating which Whirlpool appliance I would buy next (dishwasher or stove?).

Fast forward to July 29. I put a bunch of Coors Lights, you know, the ones with the mountains that turn blue when they're cold, into the fridge for a group of friends that were coming over that evening for some beer and wings (this was before I started my diet so shush). A few hours later, the mountains still weren't blue. 

hmmmmm

I'd been in and out of the fridge a lot that day, getting ready for the gathering, maybe that's it. So I let it be.

By the next weekend, after being very meticulous about keeping the fridge door closed and turning the temperature as low as it would go, PB and I decided that there was something wrong with the fridge.  Things were cool, just not cold. We called Whirlpool on a Saturday. Their offices were closed. Obviously, we're not getting any help from the manufacturer. 

We called the Hollister, MO Lowe's where we purchased the refrigerator.

We were transferred to appliances where "Brian," his voice dripping with attitude for having bothered him, gave us a phone number, not telling us who we were calling. We called; it was Lowe's corporate. We explained the problem, the girl on the phone said she could get a technician to us in three days, but we would have to have our receipt. We just moved into the house, with an infant, that receipt was long gone. She couldn't pull it in her system and told us to call the store back.

We called the store again and got Brian, again. This guy was a jerk. Plain and simple. His tone of voice was just plain nasty and he got so huffy when we asked him to pull the receipt.  I mean, how dare we ask him to do his job, right? There was also some huge debate about the model number versus the item number and he can't look things up without one or the other or both. I don't know and I don't think he did either. I cannot even begin to describe how incensed I was by the end of that phone call. It would just be a long string of profanity that isn't safe for even the internet. He did eventually find the receipt and faxed it to PB's office. It was tiny and unreadable, but it would have to do.

Meanwhile, our food was rotting and spoiling in the fridge that wasn't even all that cool anymore, much less cold. 

When the technician showed up he determined that the valve that allows cold air into the fridge from the freezer had frozen shut from the condensation that forms when the fridge door is open. So, apparently, you can't open your fucking refrigerator door for fear of condensation build-up. What the fuck? The technician said he would have to order a new part and it would be there by Friday. He took the broken part and said the fridge would get as cold as the freezer.

Friday is here; we had to call the technician, who said he didn't get the part and didn't know when he would get it. I wasn't satisfied with that answer and had PB call him back. This time we're being told that it is a "specialty part" and they won't get it for another two weeks. So we have a fridge full of frozen, spoiled, rotten food and cannot use our refrigerator for the next two weeks on top of the week we've already waited.

Sure, the fridge is cool now (frozen, actually), but we still can't use it for things like milk, eggs (have you ever frozen an egg and then cracked it open? It's pretty nasty), lettuce; all things that we usually consume a lot of in our home, but need a refrigerator to keep from spoiling. Oh, we also can't use the water dispenser because it, too, is frozen.

Now we're battling with Lowe's to get the entire fridge replaced. I am not living two more weeks without a refrigerator.

As of now, I'm pretty sure I'm never buying another Whirlpool appliance (fuck having matching appliances, right?) and when I do replace our dishwasher and stove, it's very unlikely to be through Lowe's.

What a fucking clusterfuck.

"This is so unlike me."

I think I was hit by those mythical endorphins yesterday. I had energy; lots and lots of energy. 

I got up with PB in the morning. He had a minor outpatient surgery scheduled so we packed up Branflake and some toys. At the doctor's office PB went back to get poked and prodded while Branflake and I hung out by the toys and books the office kept out for kids. 

Branflake wanted to crawl all over the lobby and explore so I had to keep wrangling him back into the toy corner. The only time he didn't want to leave was when a group of three older children (probably between ages six and eight) attacked the toys while their parents checked out. Branflake seemed determined to show them he was a big boy too, standing the whole time with only one hand on the toy box for support. He just stared and smiled the whole time. The big kids didn't pay any attention.

After the surgery, we stopped at this little Mennonite-owned deli for sandwiches before heading home.

After lunch, I packed a wreath and laundry sign I made along with a birdhouse PB made to ship off to the in-laws. I'd been meaning to ship it off for the last month, but you try carting an 18X18X18" box into the post office with an infant. I left PB with the baby and went to the post office. Glad to check that one off the list.

Back home I fed Branflake, put him down for a nap, cleaned the kitchen up, emptied the grease trap on the grill, and cleaned the cat litter box (then dumped the grease from the grill into the cat litter; great way to dispose of grease), and even had a bit of afternoon delight with PB. Then I did day eight of my 30 Day Shred.

After all of that, I still had energy. Knowing PB won't be able to go on a walk with me for the next few days I opted to stay home and do some additional strength exercises. In the sun room, dodging the baby and his toys, I continued to exercise (okay, who is this person, and what happened to Dee?).

At some point I was surfing around on SparkPeople and found their 5K My Way training program, googled 5K races in the area, found one in Branson scheduled in mid-September and decided that I would do it. So now I'm training for a 5K, I guess.

Then I cooked dinner, made a couple of purees for Branflake. We all ate together, then PB wandered off to watch television while I bathed Branflake and put him to bed. Then I cleaned the kitchen (again, it's amazing how quickly I can make a mess in there!). By then PB was whining that I needed to come to bed so I finally settled down for the night.

This is so unlike me. I'm pretty amazed, just sitting here typing it all out. I swear, I'm not on anything. I can't take anything because I'm still breastfeeding.

The good news is, as of completing day eight of the Shred I am down nine pounds. NINE pounds. I look better, I feel better, my clothes fit better. I'm so excited. I have to keep this up!

The program is getting easier every day. At first I could barely keep up, stopping for breath or a sip of water between or even in the middle of every move. Now my stamina has built up and I can do the whole set and rarely pause for breath. Tomorrow will be my last day on Level One and I will move on to Level Two on Thursday; by day 21 I'm hoping to feel ready enough to move on to Level Three. I wonder how much I will have lost by the end of this Shred?

"He could definitely take a couple of fingers off."

Introducing the newest addition to my sun room:

My $10 yard sale find is an Emerson Electric fan. 

Type 79648-AT; 115 Amps, 60 cyc, 110 volts, 16 inch diameter, circa 1948.

I just happened to look out the window like any bored, nosey housewife would do on a Saturday morning and saw it in my neighbor's front yard. Never mind all the stuff she had surrounding it. My eyes immediately gravitated to this gorgeous fan and I had to have it (if it worked because PB would have a fit about me adding junk to the house if it didn't).

I got Branflake up and dressed and dashed across the street, terrified that someone else would snatch it up before I got there. 

First I asked if it worked so we hauled it (yes, hauled, it's not a cheap-o Wal*Mart fan) to an outlet and plugged him (it's definitely a male) in. Oh yes! He could definitely take a couple of fingers off. I love it! It even oscillates! Who knew I could get so giddy about a big hunk of metal that oscillates?

It's not often that I want something so badly that I crawl out of my shy shell and talk to the neighbors and haggle. Yes. I even haggled on the price. She wanted $25. I offered $10. Deal.

I happily found a place on top of my bookshelf (because I don't really want him to take off any fingers), plugged him in, and the sun room is just a little more fan-tastic.

Now, I just don't know if I should restore it or leave it be.

"...just bloat and water weight..."

Working out has gotten in the way of my internet time. That's right, folks, I bit the bullet and decided to get my 162 pound ass up and moving in an effort to lose weight.

The main motivation is our long-awaited honeymoon. With all the craziness that was our life when we got married, the last thing we could do was skip off into the sunset for a few days of romance. We're planning on going right after Branflake's birthday so that gives me three months to lose thirty pounds. Think I can do it? I do.

Our budget doesn't really allow for P90X so I went with the discount version: Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I'm on day 4, level one, and it's kicking my ass. I love it. I'm also taking a walk around the neighborhood every night after dinner.

I also joined up on SparkPeople to track my calorie consumption, water intake, and exercise.

I'm keeping my calories between 1200 and 1500 a day. It's not too difficult, really, using the nutrition tracker is just forcing me to pay attention to what I'm consuming and not to just eat mindlessly.

I never knew how hard it was to get eight glasses of water down a day until I actually started tracking what I was drinking. It's a wonder I wasn't always dehydrated because I was rarely stopping to drink anything, much less water.

Every day I feel like the DVD is getting easier to follow and the walks are getting better. I'm also sleeping better at night, which is a huge plus because I have such a hard time shutting my mind down.

AND...Here's my favorite part: I've lost three pounds so far. I know it's just bloat and water weight, but I'm tickled pink just the same.

Because I'm busy working out while Branflake is napping, I don't have as much time to dick around on the internet, but I'm going to try my best to write about this effort, not because I think anyone out there in blogland cares, just trying to keep myself accountable.