Month: February 2012

This post is about how I managed to successfully do some of the projects on my list and also finally made a decent smoothie, but any title I could come up with sounded like a tag line in a laxative ad. So.

I managed to successfully do some of the projects on my list! I cleaned off both my craft desk AND my computer desk, but I didn’t stop there: I moved my whole computer to the kitchen so I can finally repaint the top of my desk (something I’ve been putting off for literally months).

Once it’s all done I’ll be able to set up my new computer, hooray! Less exciting, but I also got completely caught up on the dishes, and since Taylor is starting to feel better he took out all the garbage and recycling, so that’s like, FIVE things off my list.

I finally made a decent smoothie! Last year I was really into making smoothies, or TRYING to make smoothies. Unfortunately I had a terrible blender that sucked and I hated it and everything it made was more lumpies than smoothies. Whatever.

Anyway a few months ago I had some sort of blender-induced rage blackout and threw it away, so since then we’ve been blenderless. In January I started ordering the smoothie fruit assortments from Spud* so Taylor bought us a new, better blender. This one still leaves some lumps but I solved that problem by buying GIANT JUMBO BOBA TEA STRAWS. I got like, 100 of them for $1.20.

The straw & angle make it look tiny but it was 16 ounces of blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, a cherry popsicle (homemade, I added it for sweetness), chia seeds, coconut oil and orange juice. Everything but the juice was organic as well. The coconut oil made the giant straws especially great because I could chug the whole thing down before I got grossed out (it’s not bad, but it’s a solid when it’s cold and there’ve been lumps). I’d never tried putting chia seeds in a smoothie before but I did some research and gleaned these tips:

1. Use 1 tbsp of seeds per 8 oz of liquid. Apparently the seeds can absorb a ton of liquid and they’ll form a gel if you use too many O___o
2. Soak the seeds in the liquid for an hour before making the smoothie (easy, if like me you have a blender that can’t deal with frozen fruit and you need to defrost them first. Defrost and soak at the same time!).
3. Don’t leave it sitting around for too long or the seeds will cause it to gel, even if you’ve followed tip #1! Again, this is where the giant straws came in handy.

*idk about these smoothie fruit assortments. The first time I ordered it I got an INTENSE amount of fruit: a pound and a half of blueberries, four mangoes and twenty-one bananas. For $10! It was way too much for us (since only Taylor likes bananas and mangoes) so I made arrangements to go halvsies with Sym’s dad, but then the next time I ordered it I just got 6 ounces of raspberries, one mango and six bananas. WHAT GIVES???? I even checked my old invoice to see if it was a mistake that I got so much the first time but it wasn’t.

For the past couple weeks my house has been a den of disease- coughs, colds, runny noses, sore throats, fevers and sneezes. When you’re sick, it’s nice to be able to take some time off work to recover, recuperate and regroup, so that when you do go back you’re refreshed and ready to tackle everything that piled up while you were ill. Unfortunately, I’m barely sick and can’t justify skipping work (taking sick days costs me $150-$200) so I’m slogging through it all while Taylor sleeps for 19 hours a day (although last night he very gallantly offered me “flu sex.” I declined.).

To be quite honest, what I really need right now is a mental health day, a catch-up day. A day that isn’t the weekend where I can finally finish cleaning the house and get my etsy stuff organized. My shop is actually doing really well- all the people posting their banners on tumblr, the ad I took out, the giveaways and discount codes I’ve done, they’ve all combined to form something that looks like it might well become a success! I’ve been selling quite a few banners each week and it’s great, but when I was promoting my etsy I overlooked one important detail: while I’m making banners and bunting I still have to do my regular job. You remember that one, the daycare thing that I do fifty hours a week.

I can actually do both- I work on banners when the kids are doing an activity, or napping, or in the evenings when they’ve all gone home. Unfortunately this doesn’t leave me with a lot of time for stuff like blogging (hence my weak posts recently) and cooking (hello, takeout menu!) and cleaning. Right now I’m maintaining the absolute minimum level of cleanliness in the daycare areas of the house, but everything else? SQUALOROUS. And Taylor being sick and unable to help doesn’t, well, help!

Yesterday I spent all my free time rushing to finish the last four orders I had so I could get them to the post office, and when I was all done and they were all shipped I heaved a huge relieved sigh and said “Now I can finally get my house clean and start working on all these other projects I’ve been putting off, like refinishing the bedside table I found in the alley and painting a backdrop to photograph my banners against!” but before I even sat down on the couch I got another order. Obviously I’m not complaining- I love making banners (and I love making money), but it’s a little overwhelming. A few weeks ago Taylor and I had a discussion about how much money I’d have to make off etsy sales each month before I could quit my job and become a full time crafter (I’m about 1/6 of the way there and not holding my breath) but like… even if I did have enough sales each month I would never have the time to finish them all!

Anyway, my latest order is fortunately a small one, so before I get started I’m going to take today to clean up around here; mostly my workspaces (since right now I don’t actually have anywhere to make anything!).

…but I really need to do the dishes and some laundry and Oh My God clean the bathroom. And who knows, maybe I’ll also find time to paint that backdrop, start refinishing that table, repaint the top of my desk, clean out my old, dying computer and transfer all my files to my new computer (I bought a new computer and I haven’t even taken it out of the box yet because everything is such a mess!),

… take out all the recycling,

… sort through/organize/put away all my boxes of non-Christmas holiday decorations,

… sort through/organize/put away all my boxes of random arts & craft supplies,

… paint my bedroom/bathroom/kitchen, work on some designs for new etsy items I’m planning, and while we’re at it, organize all my receipts & papers so I can find go see my accountant and file my taxes.

Yeah. That’ll happen.

It’s here it’s here our new bed is here!!!

It was delivered yesterday afternoon but we weren’t able to set it up until almost 8 o’clock and let me tell you, the wait was A G O N Y. But do you know what ISN’T agony? My back. Yes, one night of sleeping on the new bed and my back already feels 75% better. AMAZING.

The new mattress is about fifty times thicker than the old one so one thing we need to do is buy some new sheets, since we only have one that really fits. Luckily, it’s my favorite one from my favorite bedding store, Bed. I’m bored with my current bedroom colour scheme so I already ordered a new duvet cover so I’ve been looking for colours that will go with it. Right now I’m looking at rhino, taupe and aqua.

The dogs have also been enjoying the new bed, but I think Georgie’s favorite was when we pulled the old mattress out and leaned it on the couch. She climbed up and slid down over and over, it was adorable.

So intrepid!

Normally I try to only talk about nice things that I like, but I’m not feeling it today so here are some things I’ve tried recently that I didn’t like.

1. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Oreo Brownie Bars I made for my birthday.

That looks good right? Well in all honesty they were just okay. First of all, even though I baked them for less time than the recipe specified, they came out not quite burnt, but definitely overcooked and therefore really hard. Secondly, the recipe said to line the baking pan with wax paper. WHAT. This seemed insane to me, and I almost went with parchment paper instead but at the last minute decided to follow the directions since ironically, I didn’t want to mess them up. Once the bars were completely cooled they were okay, but we first tried them when they were still slightly warm and there was a total wax odor to them! GROSS. I think if I made these again they would be better since I’ve learned from my mistakes.

2. Moroccanoil Luminous Hairspray

I used this hairspray when I was curling my hair on New Year’s Eve and it works great as a hairspray, but it has an unfortunate fragrance. It’s a kind of weird, sickly-sweet baby powder and also antiseptic smell, and it’s the exact same smell as a Diaper Genie. Luckily I got this as a free sample and don’t feel like I wasted money on it, since I won’t be using it again. The last thing I want to be reminded of when styling my hair is anything to do with diapers!

3. Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes Mascara

Lancome Hypnose is my FAVOURITE mascara, but the last time I needed a new tube I thought I’d try something new and I bought the Doll Lashes version. It was a huge mistake. Now, if you can get this mascara on properly it DOES give you really nice looking lashes, but the problem is that there is some kind of design disconnect between the formula and the wand. When you pull it out there is SO MUCH mascara glooped into the brush that if you don’t spend a million years carefully wiping it off you end up with the heartbreak of flylashes. It sucks because I did buy this so I DO feel like I wasted money, and I can’t justify spending another $28 on a tube of mascara when I have a sort-of perfectly good one already.

4. Real Steel

I know right? Like WHY would I even watch this movie? The answer is a certain husband (who has lost movie-picking privileges for a month) heard that the robot effects were really well done. And that’s true; the robots are very well done. The problem is with the people: every single human character in this movie is a terrible, unpleasant, nasty waste of oxygen. The dad is a horrible person, the kid is an insufferable brat, the semi-love interest, the aunt and uncle, the owners and promoters and spectators of robot boxing are all disgusting, awful people and watching the robots forced to destroy each other for the pleasure of these cretins was…. literally the worst movie watching experience I’ve had in a long time. I kept hoping the robots would become sentient and self-aware, then rise up and crush their human oppressors. I wanted Skynet to rain down nuclear destruction on them all! I read online that they’re already planning a sequel to Real Steel and in my mind the only way it would work would be if it was also a prequel to The Matrix.

Take that, Hugh Jackman!

It was my birthday on Sunday, and we celebrated (sort of) all weekend. Unfortunately even though I’ve made a habit of bringing my camera with me everywhere, I haven’t exactly made a habit of USING it, so there aren’t many pictures.

Friday Night
We were supposed to have dinner and watch a movie, but I felt really sick for some reason so I skipped dinner. We watched the original Hairspray and I got to teach Sym about racism, segregation, and the Civil Rights movement!

Saturday
Sym wanted to make me breakfast in bed, but eating in bed with three dogs is problematical, so I settled for breakfast in the kitchen. Taylor made birthday pancakes, including a unicorn one for me.

After breakfast Sym and I went out shopping for craft and baking supplies.

Instead of a cake, Sym and I made Chocolate Chip Cookie/Oreo/Brownie bars.

My piece was topped with a Cake Candelabra!

I enjoyed blowing out the candles.

Sunday
Jenn picked Taylor and I up for brunch at Locus, and then she and I went to the Absolute Spa for $75 pedicures (I had a $150 gift card I got as a goodbye gift from a former client). I got OPI’s Animal-istic from the Muppet Collection, it’s so pretty!.

They also gave us champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries, too bad we can’t go all the time!

Presents
From Symphony, a giant hand-made card & two bottles of Essie polish: Shine of the Times and Master Plan.

From Taylor, Dominion Intrigue. I got him the original game for Christmas and promised to play it with him when I thought it was a board game, but as it turns out it’s a card game. At first I was worried it would be too complicated or boring or nerdy, but it’s actually really fun!

We played using some of the cards from this game on Saturday and I DECIMATED him.

From Jenn, a sweet little Rebecca Minkoff pouch.

She gave it to me at brunch and I STUPIDLY left it at the restaurant, so when we were on our way to the spa we kicked Taylor out of the car to go back and get it and he had to take the train home. I’M SO MEAN.

I also got some giftcards and money, which are always appreciated, as well as an absurd about of “Happy Birthday!” posts on my facebook, so thank you everyone! Turning thirty-five was actually pretty good!

Georgie and Claire were being extra cute and playful last night.

Yesterday I noticed Geogie was scratching herself a lot, and she’d actually started pulling out clumps of hair and the skin on her shoulders was all red and bothered. Poor thing! So of course I FREAKED OUT and woke Taylor up to take her to the vet. Thankfully it turned out to be nothing serious, which is great because WOW I can’t afford any more crazy vet bills after Claire!

No, this is not a post about quitting my job to live a life of leisure. I WISH. It’s about quitting something I love: coffee

I don’t actually mean to quit coffee, it was sort of an accident. See, on Saturday afternoon I was very sleepy, so I had a coffee. I didn’t think it would keep me up late, because it wasn’t that late in the day, I was planning on having a couple beers, and I usually stay up pretty late on Saturdays anyway. HA HA JOKES ON ME because I could. not. get to sleep, and when I finally did I tossed and turned like mad. I was still feeling jittery when I woke up on Sunday so I skipped coffee in favour of tea, but I had trouble getting to sleep that night as well.

On Monday I decided to just have a decaf in the morning and it was not a good day. I was EXHAUSTED, I almost fell asleep at work a couple times, and in the evening I got the worst caffeine withdrawal headache in the history of the world. My facebones hurt. I felt like I was gonna throw up. It SUCKED, but of course I couldn’t do anything about it because the only cure (coffee) would keep me up all night!

By Tuesday morning the headache was mostly gone, and I figured that since I’d made it that far I might as well stick with it! I’ve only had decaf coffee and herbal tea all week and other than a few mild headaches I’m not feeling too bad!

Praise tha Lord, January is over. What a total crap of a month! I’m happy to see it go and here’s to hoping February is better (even though it’s off to an inauspicious start as NONE of my clients have paid their fees yet, so I can’t pay my rent).

Here’s a couple of reasons why February is BOUND to be better than January:

1. I’m like, 99% sure we’re getting a new mattress, which I’m also 99% sure will solve 99% of my back problems. Right now we’re sleeping on an old Ikea mattress, which is on top of another old Ikea mattress. It was really comfy at first, but now both mattresses have caved in as I’m sure they aren’t meant to be Princess-and-thePea’ed like that. Anyway today after work we’re going to go test out this one that is on sale for three thousand dollars off the regular price. I’m 99% sure it’ll be like sleeping on a cloud made of angels and money.

2. It’s my birthday this weekend! Since I am lame I’m not having a big party or anything, but I do have some fun activities planned, like brunch and pedicures and baking chocolate chip cookie-oreo-brownie bars instead of a cake.

3. Giveaways galore! Okay, two giveaways. Later this month there will be a fun giveaway on I Love Pugs for all pug enthusiasts, and right now RIGHT NOW only until Friday, you can enter to win a 15-letter custom ombre banner on Sometimes Sweet.