Life Sure Get's Put Into Perspective Sometimes...

So as you know (you know, all of the NO ONE that reads this blog) Crinkles' sitter has cancer and surgery to remove some of that.  We have been on the fence about whether to move Gavin but we love Sandy so much we really wanted to make it work.  Well, as with most things, they unfolded in such a way which let's me know the right time to take action.  What was my sign?  The fact that Sandy specifically said that it would be a good idea.

What changed in the last week?  I guess her situation is a little more severe than first thought which will change the course of her treatment.  I definitely cried this morning (and am tearing up now as I write this).  It's so so scary everything that can happen to you in the blink of an eye.  The thing is though, you can't worry about it all the time otherwise you'd go insane and NEVER live your life like you should.

She told The Bage this morning when he dropped Crinks off.  He called me on his way to work to tell me.  He just said it really puts your life in perspective and all he wants is to be near me right now.  I really truely believe that if we grow to be old together we're totally going to die Notebook style (aka there's no way I'm surviving a day past when he dies).  I tell him all the time that he can't die before me because I seriously won't be able to handle it.  I love him more than anything in the world (tied with Crinks for 1st) and I tell him that all the time.  It really is so scary and if anything for me, it makes me want to go out there and live my life!

I get on this high when thoughts like this come up.  Like, I'm not going to worry about money and I'm going to travel and have fun and do whatever.  But then I realize, without money, how would I be able to travel?  The Bage doesn't go camping so yeah.  Life really is messed up.  You've got the good people of the world who get hit by cars, or gunned down by crazies because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Then you have the child molesters, killers, and rapists sitting in jail taking up space.  It truly is mess up and makes me kind of sick.

I read an article title where this guy (I think he murdered someone) was protesting his life sentence in jail because it goes against his rights as a human to be locked up for the rest of his life.  ARE. YOU. FUCKING. KIDDING ME?!?  Dude, you lost your rights when you FUCKING KILLED SOMEONE ELSE!

And my mother wonders why I have little faith in society and am so cynical about it.  I know it's not healthy to be so I try to be nice but when you have the good people dieing of cancer and then you see stuff like that, it puts your life into perspective.  You really have to wonder if I found out I was going to die in a couple days, months, etc would I be happy with what I've done?

*sigh*  I know this whole topic is so rhetorical and it could be discussed for hours on end going round and round with no end or solution.  I guess that's why I try to forget about these things sometimes.  It's not worth getting scared, worried, and worked up over something I (you, we) have no control over.

Man, sorry for being so depressing this morning.  I just need to say these things 'out loud' get them out of my mind.

Okay everyone, go live your life and be happy, tell the people you love that you love them.

Pace,
Megan

Craigslist...

Have you heard of it?  If not, you probably live under a rock.  Okay, so maybe some people just haven’t heard of it, fine I accept that!  Anyway, lately I’ve been addicted!

    We’re in the process of getting ‘new’ furniture and redoing our bathroom.  So whereas some things will be brand new and some will just be ‘new’ to us, why pay full price?!  If you know me, which no one reading this will, you know I DO NOT pay full price for anything.  Well, almost anything.  Some things you really don’t have an option on.  Anyway, anyway, this is where Craigslist comes in.  It is such an awesome place to go to find new or used things for SO MUCH CHEAPER than stores.  Here is a list of some items I’ve recently purchased and their AMAZING prices:

1)  Modern Section Couch:  This sucker is about 9'x9' so a nice size.  Granted it is 5 years old but I checked it out before buying.  The cushions feel sturdy, it's scotch-guarded, and clean!  I suppose there could be bed bugs (ewww) but I didn't notice any signs of them.  And best of all, I bought it for $420!  Compare that to around $1,000 + for a nice couch that doesn't even include tax and deliver!  Boo Yah!

My 'new' couch bought for $420!

2)  Plain rectangular mirror:  This is a 2' x 3' mirror that I plan to hang in our bathroom (getting rid of the medicine cabinet clunker currently in there).  I will probably get my own frame or border for it so ultimately it will cost a little more than the $30 I paid for it but still, it's cheaper AND it will be something I totally love :)

Those legs belong to the previous owner :p

3)  Ottoman - Now I'm not 100% committed on this yet as I haven't seen it in person and want to bring my couch cushion to see if it would match but I'm about 90% this will work!  It's listed at $60 but I'm hoping to talk the guy down to $50 or $55.  I think it would be a cook funky fabric that would nicely compliment the couch!

You can't quite tell from this picture but there is some blue in there

4)  DIAPERS!  Last but not least.  Again, I haven't bought this yet but I'm going to go check them out and possibly buy today.  It is always great to find a good deal on something that we 'need'.  Even though I don't need diapers per se, they don't hurt to have and it's always good to have some in rotation.

Now with all my lovely purchases here are some tips I would give while Craigslist shopping:

1) Make sure there is a REAL picture, not some stock photo from the website.  If you don't get a real picture how are you going to see that it doesn't have any problems?  Plus, there could be some slight variations.

2)You are NOT committed to buy if you go to look.  Obviously you don't want to frivolously waste someone else's time (you'd be pissed if it happened to you right?) but if you really don't like it or it's not what is advertised you don't have to buy it!

3) EVERYTHING is negotiable.  The worst someone can say is 'no'.  I haven't always negotiated if I really felt something was already really cheap and it's a lower priced item... but you can always ask.  

4)  If you do negotiate though and you're asking for a lot off, have a reason.  For example, I asked for $30 off the listed price for the couch.  I might have been able to get more but I noted the exact price of renting a cleaner to clean it and the cost of travel/gas to get it.  The seller understood and accepted that.

5)  If at all possible go with someone to another person's house (or have someone with you at yours).  If that isn't possible suggest meeting in a public place.  Yes, I've gone to people's houses on my own before but they were women with whom I'd spoke with previously.  It just depends on your comfort level.  But you just don't know who is out there these days.

6)  Pay with cash.  It's courteous and most people prefer that anyway.  Then there is no question on if your check is valid or going to bounce.

7) Be patient.  Because these are individual people they're not going to have a whole warehouse of things to chose from.  Chances are you're not going to find what you want right away.  Start looking some time in advanced of when you NEED something so you don't end up settling.

Those are just some of my thoughts regarding Craigslist, I had more thoughts than I thought I did!  Ha!

Have fun shopping people :)

Pace,

Megan

The Name of the Game...

...is stress.  Seriously.  I know I get stressed out easily but this is something that anyone would be stressed about.

Originally we thought Sandy would need 3 days off every other week while she gets chemo treatments.  For those days my mother would watch Crinks.  I just found out yesterday that my mother is having foot Surgery May 16th and won't be able to put any pressure on her foot for 8-10 weeks.  *sigh*  Talk about a wrench in the plans.

Now, I have the horrible task of letting Sandy know that we need to find an alternate solution for Crinks.  I feel bad from the income stand point as I know she needs it due to upcoming medical bills but I also feel bad 'taking' Crinks away from her.  She loves him and I can tell.  It's not forever I don't think but the current situation is just not working.  I think, being a mom herself, that she'll understand but I know she'll be upset.

This is why I don't ever want to be a manager.  I just don't think I could discuss 'bad' things with people on any sort of regular basis.  I want to make everyone happy (which believe me, I know isn't possible) so yeah.

That is what is going on today.  And it sucks.  On top of all of that, we're thinking about sending Crinks to a daycare.  This is not something I wanted to do until he was 2 or 3.  But, I need to do what I need to do.

The bright side is that the daycare we're looking at has webcams so you can login and watch your baby throughout the day.  I have a friend that is an assistant director there so I completely trust her and know she wouldn't tolerate any shit going on.  It's a clean place, really new (less than a year old), and the cost includes some cool things.

I know this is for the best in the long run and everything will work out.  I just need to keep reminding myself of that.

I'm looking forward to lunch today.  Not so much where we are going, Olive Garden, but it'll be a team lunch which are always fun.  Okay back to work!

Pace,
Megan

You Know You're Addicted to Cloth When...

Your favorite place to buy cloth diapers (and yes, you have a favorite) and accessories from says they're 'closed' from the 19th to the 23rd and you freak out a little because you want need to buy something now!

I even love their logo :)

modernclothdiapers.com ....whhhhyyyy are you closed??

 Okay, okay so you don't cater my my every whim.  Well have fun on vacation or whatever you're busy doing taking a break :)  You'll see my order by Monday hee hee.




You see this title on Craigslist:

Hundreds of CDs for Sale! - $5 (West Chester)

and think OMG what kind of Cloth Diapers do they have that I will want?!?  ...and you're dissappointed when you click the link to find out they're music CDs.  Sad.

Pace,
Megan

A Revelation

                So after being off for a full week I realized why I struggle through the day.  It’s not that I don’t like work, because I really do.  It’s because I’m mentally exhausted from being there all day.  I’ve never had a side-by-side comparison like this before.  I found that after watching Crinks all week I was physically tired at the end of the day but mentally satisfied.  After work, I’m mentally exhausted and my eyes hurt from starting at a computer all day.  So when my son is crying or screaming at night, I’ve found it’s a lot easier to handle when my brain isn’t fried.

                That was a little revelation I’d had yesterday evening.  It really is unfair that this is even a problem.  I want to work away from home but I want to stay at home too….meehhh.  Yes, that was me whining.

                 There are worse problems to have in life I guess though.

Pace,

Megan

I'm Back!

Ahhh, so I’ve been gone for over a week now.  I’m not sure how long and don’t feel like checking for such a minute detail.  I took last week off to stay at home with my little man.  Since his sitter went into Surgery a week and a half ago, in order to lessen the amount of other people I’d have to find to watch Crinks I decided to take some time off. 

I thought I’d be ready after a day or two to go back to work and get my ‘me’ time back…but I wasn’t!  I loved being home with him.  I got some ‘me’ time during his naps and that was enough.  I loved just doing things with him and playing with him but also watching him play on his own.  Maybe down the road after another kid I’ll stay at home for a while but I don’t know. 

I definitely give props to stay at home moms.  Not that I didn’t realize what hard work it was before but by the end of each day, I was more physically tired but emotionally satisfied that I have been at my job.  I think things will turn around with my job when I get more responsibility though.  I’m still in training so I can’t be trusted :p. 

Another benefit of staying at home meant I was moving around a lot more and eating healthier.  I managed to lose another pound and a half last week alone!  I was pretty pumped.  I’m officially 10lbs down from January 1^st!  10 more and I’m at my pre-pregnancy weight.  My goal is to lose 20lbs more by the end of the year.  I’m also hoping baby #2 is in the works by the end of the year as well ;).

I think that’s all I have for now.  Maybe I’ll write more later but we’ll see.

We’re planning on re-doing our bathroom so I’ll have to put up some before pictures and talk a little about what we think we’re going to do.

Pace,

Megan

Cooking with Pinterest

I have a really hard time staying focused when writing.  As previously mentioned I tend to think of things I need to elaborate on before continuing with my current thought.  So, I’ll try to be better about that.

I love Pinterest.  Seriously, best invention ever!  I’m such a visual person that for recipes and the likes I prefer pictures.  If a recipe doesn’t have a picture, I will choose something similar that does.  So with Pinterest I pin so many recipes and unlike many things that you book mark or make note of, I actually go back and use them!  So today I’m dedicating this to 5 of my top yummy Pintrecipes.  New popular term in the making??  I think so!  ...either that or Pintripees.  Yes, double 'e's because if I wrote 'Pintripes' it would read as (pin-tr-eye-ps).

2 Minute Mug Brownie:

http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/09/13/two-minute-mug-brownie/

2 Minute Mug Brownie

So this one is pretty good.  Especially if you're like me and want a brownie but are too lazy to go out to the store or make a full blown recipe.  All the ingredients are things you will most likely have around your house so it's nice for a last minute treat.  My only complaint is that it could be a little sweeter, if you're eating it sans ice cream.  One thing I did add to this was a little hot fudge to top it off.  Pair it with a cold glass of milk and you're in heaven!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars:

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/09/caramel-apple-cheesecake-bars.html

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

I've only made this once but you can sure as sugar bet I'm making this again!  It was a slighty more involved recipe with all the layers but it turned out AWESOME!  I definitely feel it's a very 'Autumn' dessert with the caramel and apple but I wouldn't say no if someone offered it now :)

Homemade Apple Chips:

http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/09/16/real-healthy-snacks-apple-chips-recipe/

Homemade Apple Chips

This is a really good, healthy, and natural treat.  I used my mandolin slicer thing which helped me get some thinner slices.  Probably the one down side is that making a lot at once would be time consuming as you can only fit so many on a cookie sheet at a time.  Plus, you'd need to slice the apple fresh each time so they don't start to brown while waiting to be cooked.  I highly recommend this, it will be a perfect snack to pack in my little boy's lunch!

Fruity Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip:

http://www.thewannabechef.net/2011/05/11/fruity-peanut-butter-yogurt-dip/

Fruity Peanut Butter Dip

Another delicious and quick snack item.  There are literally 4 ingredients but 2 are probably some that you don't just have in your pantry.  I loved the subtle hint of fruit that came with using strawberry Greek yogurt (I use Fage or Yoplait) but I think honey would be really good as well.  In lieu of fruits I used Stacy's Cinnamon Sugar and Original pita chips which I thought were really good.  Even though you have to get specialty peanut butter, there is plenty left over to make more!  It also stores well.

Chinese Lemon Chicken

http://blogchef.net/chinese-lemon-chicken-recipe/

Chinese Lemon Chicken

Yum, Yum, and yum!  I guess this would save you money vs going out to buy it but it is for sure waaayyyy healthier!  I skimped a little on the pepper and spice (in that I didn't put any in) but it would have definitely been good with a little kick too.  I think also serving this with some stir-fried veggies would have added to the tastiness and variety of flavor.  We have a small deep fryer so I had to make this in two batches but it turned out really good and it's really easy!

So seriously people, don't just pin, do!

Pace,

Megan

Here's a little plug but feel free to follow me on Pinterest: warnckms

A Day of Updates

Day 3.  Wait, but what about days 1 and 2?  And what are we even talking about?!  Yeah well, it was over the weekend when I started this so I didn’t write anything about it on here.  I don’t blog at home, remember?  Maybe one day I’ll start.  Mainly just because I need to get some photos up on here and I don’t really have many at work.

So, day 3 of me trying to STOP BITING MY CUTICLES!  I’m doing pretty well too!  I haven’t put anything on them and have just been trying to be really conscious about it.  Yes, they creep to my mouth still but that will take time.  The main thing is, when I notice it, I force myself to put my hand down.  I don’t beat myself up over it.  Also, if there is a hang nail or whatever, I pick it off with my fingers or use a nail clipper.  Yes, that is still peeling skin off but a) it’s not biting and b) I don’t take nearly as much off in such a compulsive manner.  There were times I’d bite even though there was nothing to bite and my skin was raw and sometimes bleeding. 

So yeah, I’m pretty proud of myself for the will power and progress I’ve made so far.

Update #1…weight loss!  I’m down about 9lbs right now!  This is from January when I really started to diet and exercise and keep track.  My son was born in August and whereas I did work out and *try* to eat healthy, it wasn’t the big effort I should have been making.  Here are the stats so far:

Starting weight: (after Gavin was born and water weight lost): 277lbs!

Current weight: 266lbs

Goal weight: 230lbs

Ultimate goal weight: 170lbs

Yeah, I weigh A LOT but let me just say something, I can’t remember ever being below 170 and being healthy.  I remember weighing about 160lbs at one point and my hip bones were jutting out.  Not anorexic looking but not healthy looking either.  Anyway, I’m a heavier girl but I’m also very muscular.  I’m in no way justifying what I weight right now but I’m explaining why my ultimate goal weight is higher than what most people would think is ‘healthy’.

I’ve hit speed bumps here and there (who hasn’t) but the main thing is, I’ve been making much healthier decisions, indulging from time to time, and taking it easy.  I realize 100lbs isn’t going to come off right away but it is coming off! 

I want to weigh at LEAST 230 by the time I get pregnant again which I’m thinking/hoping will be at the end of this year or Spring of next maybe so that definitely gives me some time to work hard. 

I’ll have to find some pictures.

In other fun news, Crinks is getting his first tooth in!  I think he looks super cute without teeth but they have to come in eventually.  It does make him a little cranky to say the least.