Jewelry Update

As I promised with my cyber Monday sale ('like' my facebook page to get the coupon code!), I've been listing new pieces in my Etsy Shop: Innisms, including one of my favorites. I waited to list this one, trying to come up with a better, more creative name for it, but decided to just put it out there anyway!

I've been excited about the birthstones & other natural stones I got recently. I'm hoping to buy some more, but I need to sell some to be able to afford another purchase.
I made this one with real garnet chips (her birthstone, January) & Baltic amber as a thank-you for taking care of our daughter, Amber, while we were on vacation:

Here's another piece with natural stone that I made a while ago for one of my craft swaps:

Cyber Monday

If you haven't already liked my facebook page for my Etsy site, now's your chance to get a coupon code for 30% off everything in my shop for Cyber Monday! LINK

Thanksgiving & Lake Geneva Trip

I'm on vacation right now w/hubby. Along with some other circumstances, Amber's going to be staying FIVE nights with my mom & step-dad. We've never been apart more than three nights, if that. I teared-up a bit Thanksgiving night when they left.
I've taken very few pics on the trip so far, just been trying to enjoy some time, just hubby & me. Maybe I'll take more later, but I have plenty to catch up on.

Here's Amber working on our leaf project I mentioned in the last post.

We've noticed lately that she always does this when she's thinking & concentrating on something & sometimes just licks her lips incessantly. During a Skype session with Paul's mom, she noticed it & commented that it was just like when she was a kid. Apparently the habit skipped a generation. :P

My finished projects & one of Amber's paintings.

Our mutual project. :)

Tables are all set! Amber helped. ;)

Amber's ready to eat!

Paul cutting the turkey!

Amber playing under the table after dinner & the family reacting to her.

My mom's selling these scarves & had me & Paul's cousin modeling them for her facebook page.

Lake Geneva at sunset last night.

We haven't had the greatest service at our hotel... I called last night when there was a stink bug flying around our room. While I was on the phone with the front desk, Paul caught it in the ice bucket & they said they'd send housekeeping right up. This picture was taken about 20hrs later... we put it in the hall. We haven't been brave enough to see if the bug's still in there, but it doesn't look like it's moved much.

I made earrings for myself. That's something I haven't done in a while because my ears are so sensitive to metals. These posts are titanium, so here's hoping! *fingers crossed*

Also hoping our neighbors are quieter tonight. :/

Progress

Well, we've made a lot of progress, though not quite as much as I'd hoped (against hope) to make by this point.
Yesterday, we moved a ton of stuff out of the living & dining rooms. There's still a pile of ads on the couch & some random stuff on the coffee table w/my computer. There's a pile of receipts & random stuff on one end table & a few misc. things & old newspapers that need shredded for composting on the dining room table. Some progress was made on the kitchen counters & the basket of randomness was sorted out. We need to sort through our growing collection of incomplete sippy cups & decide whether to pitch or hold on to them and get them off the counter.
We've had a rather crazy day so far, but I think I prefer it that way... it's kept me from dwelling on the fact that, had he not passed away over 5yrs ago, today would have been my dad's 60th birthday.
not a day goes by that I don't think about him & what everything from May 23rd, 2007 onward would have been like had he not passed. Our wedding, where we'd live (we were able to buy the house because of my inheritance), what education & career decisions I/we might have made differently, our kids. I had been really looking forward to seeing him as a grandpa. -Ok, I need to think about other things before I break down...

So, what's happened so far today?
I clogged & overflowed a toilet. Go me. BUT! I also unclogged it & dried up the floor in the bathroom and even managed to get most everything that could be water-damaged out of there before it happened & it wasn't the nasty stuff that overflowed... So, yay for small victories.
Right after I got done dealing with that, I was trying to get dressed when the carpet cleaners showed up. I just yelled out my window "Just a minute!" and finished getting myself dressed before I went down. Then we had the fun of moving the rest of the furniture and getting the carpets cleaned on the main floor. They're almost all dry now & look SO much better! Hope we can keep them this way at least until Thursday!
While we were waiting for them to dry, I took Amber for a walk down to the park & watched her play for a while there. Met a nice lady & her 19mo old son there. Noticed he had on a cloth diaper, so I asked her a bit about that. Still have to win Paul over on that one.
On the way back, we collected some leaves & I did some art projects with Amber (pics later, if I remember) with them. We did crayon rubbings of the leaves & then painted over those with water-colors. She didn't quite get the idea of creating a washed out background with the paint. She just wanted to paint a picture, so we did one big one together & then I did a couple little ones on my own while she did three paintings of her own.
Edit: In the middle of writing this, my friend who helps clean my house came over, so I went & did some more work trying to find the kitchen counters & table for her, so the art proj. stuff is all cleaned up now.
After the art projects we took a little down time & I let her watch her new favorite show, Poppy Cat. Then we ran to meet up with this lady who sold me her used Mei Tei baby carrier. :D I went in Target & got myself some more eggnog & some fruit snacks so I could get cash back (& those items, of course) & pay her cash. I wanted to get the half-gallon eggnog, but they only had two & they both expire on Friday! Not a chance I want to take while pregnant TYVM. :P
Then we went to Gordman's. I'd gone on Saturday with my friends & had found a 20% off one item coupon that I let my friend use. So, I went to print another one today & the entire Gordman's website was down. I'd noticed you could also get a coupon like that by signing up for their e-mails, but that wouldn't work either. So, when I got to the store I asked about it & was basically told the first one was a fraud (It sure didn't look like it & it worked fine for my friend!!) and that the e-mail one only gets you 15% off one item. Ugh... so they had me fill out the paper form for the e-mail & wrote on it that I could get 15% off one item. Amber got her stuffed monkey she was pitching a fit over on Saturday (with her money - earned for accident-free days) and I found the maternity clearance section & was able to get a couple more tank-tops for layering! :)
We got back over an hour later than Amber's usual nap time, but she did fine & is sleeping soundly now. As I mentioned above, my friend came to help clean the house & has been working on the bathrooms. She gets an extra hour tonight to help us get everything in order. :D

New Challenge!

Yeah, I need to get the house ready for Thanksgiving... the basement is not a priority right now.
I did my laundry yesterday & got most of it put away today (a few sweaters were still damp.) and helped hubby with his a bit.
One of my friends who lives out of town (just out of state, actually) is visiting this weekend, so I hung out with her & another of our friends the last two evenings.
We've gotten most of the trash & recycling taken out. I clipped & sorted coupons this morning.
I also finished a jewelry Christmas present. I can't wait to share it online! I'm excited with how it came out. I got a good start on another one yesterday. Hoping to finish it today & get my jewelry stuff put away... though I have some other ideas. Anyway...
I did find the missing library book, but haven't gotten it returned yet. Our grace period ended yesterday, so we're starting to rack(sp?) up the dimes we'll owe. :/
I don't think there's much else to report.

Day 15 (post)Update

I don't have many successes to report for yesterday, but I do have some. I didn't read the chapter, I didn't do much towards the challenge and I didn't get many more toys picked up, but I did get some put away. I did do a load of Amber's laundry & get it all folded & put away, and I did have a pretty good reason for having such an off day.
As if sleeping weren't challenging enough these days... I woke up around three & managed to get back to sleep before too long, but knowing that hubby's alarm was going to go off at 4:30 didn't help. So, then his alarm went off & we hear a "ker-thunk!"
"What was that?" I asked... Paul put on his glasses (& I think his coat) & peeked out the window & didn't see anything. I had a feeling I heard it from the other direction, though. I said "I think Amber fell out of bed."
So, he went downstairs & we didn't hear any more. I texted him & asked if everything was alright. Just as I got his reply of "yes" Amber started crying for Daddy. He was already in the basement, so I went & got her. Sure enough, she'd fallen out of bed. I later found out that Paul had seen her climb back in & lay back down, so not sure what the delayed reaction was about, but at any rate, I brought her back to our bed & laid down with her. She was sweet & cuddly & showing signs of actually going back to sleep when one of the cats came up & laid down on top of her. She thought this was hilarious & giggled, but laid still. Then the other cat joined us & everything went downhill.
The cats started playing/fighting and found a plastic bag. I kept trying to chase them off and I kept thinking they were going to let up. I texted Paul & told him they were going nuts, but got no reply. I debated about asking him to get them & lock them back in the basement, but they seemed to be calming down. It took a bit to get Amber settled again (& her brother kept going nuts en utero[sp?], too!), but she was calming down & they started up again!
Then, around 6, she announced that she was hungry, so I gave up & texted Paul that "it [was] going to be a loong f-in day." He came upstairs & met us (I think before he got that last text.) and one thing led to another & I just broke down crying. I was so exhausted!
I stayed that way most of the morning, other than a quick visit from the carpet cleaners for measuring I just tried to doze while Amber played. Thankfully, a friend was able to join us for lunch & played w/Amber a bit outside. I was surprised we made it to 2:00! Then we both napped... I for one hour & she for three!
So, most of what little productivity I had was in the evening.
I didn't sleep that great last night, either. I got enough sleep cumulatively, but I woke up frequently & had a lot of anxiety-ridden dreams.
Today Amber had an all-out fit after we got home from moms' group. Thankfully, little boy took his nap w/no trouble & she eventually started eating her food.

Day 14 Update

Today's chapter talks about avoiding excuses, planning ahead and, more specifically, finding the best time of day to be productive.
I already know my best time of day to work on these projects is during Amber's nap time. It's hard to get much done any other time. I'm not a morning person. It's good for me when I do have something to get me up, dressed & going in the morning, but this challenge isn't that. Not for me. This is about getting the house together. So, I can focus well, without distractions, during nap time. No kiddo, no TV, and I go down to the basement so I'm away from my computer and all the distractions it represents. :)
It's just a matter of getting her to sleep, losing a half hour of that time if I need a shower (like today) and getting off the computer!
I'm happy to report, however, that I did get my shower & I did work some more on the desk - which I'm counting for my challenge now. ;)
i cleaned out one of the big file drawers that was stuffed full of CDs & cassette tapes. I got all of them & their cases & whatnot into one box. I can't actually close it, but that's ok... it's just temporary... hopefully.
I got some of the toys cleaned up. There's a ways to go yet, but at least we made more progress than what Amber has messed up since!
I did also go bead shopping online. I didn't get anything yet, but I picked out a bunch of stuff I need/want.
I think I'll have to earn some money to justify spending any more on beading though. So, now I'm motivated to list some of the pieces I'd made a while ago & just didn't get on my Etsy site.

Earlier today I got a deal for carpet cleaning & got that all scheduled for next week. :D
I also got on the Icovia website & played around with layout options for the craft room when we move the guest room furniture down there. Here's a couple more ideas(click on them to get a larger view):

Now I have plans to meet up with my friend & her babies(twins) for dinner & a trip to the library. :)
Paul & Amber are looking all over for the library books. I think we've found all but one now.