A New Journey: Going Back to Work

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind... a stressful whirlwind at that. And a whirlwind of emotions. It’s been wild, to simplify. My husband and I had many hours of talk, and we decided I would go back to work.

When I started staying home, it made sense at that time. We were moving from one state to another with an 18-month-old. He had received a job offer, and even though I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to quit working, we both knew that it would be easier for me to stay home with our boy at first (or at least until I had decided what I wanted to do). Financially, it worked, it was tight, but we were able to survive and still have money for savings or fun. 

I’m glad I didn’t go back to work at that time because we ended up moving to Colorado after only being in New York for a few months. And again, it just made sense to stay home with our boy until we got settled AND until I decided what I wanted to do.

5 Little-Known Ways to Relax

Ugh! Life can be overwhelming & stressful. Add in responsibilities... job, wife, mother, dishes, food... and it can be too much sometimes.

Everyone has heard of meditation, hot showers, petting zoos and more to relax. Today I'd like to share 5 Little-Known Ways to Relax. They work for me, and I know they will work for you too.

I love New York... and I will miss it!

Big thanks to my hubby! He took a few of these pictures!

We lived in New York state for a hot minute. And it was great. 

We moved up there because my husband was transferred within his company from our Florida location to an Upstate New York office. I was very excited to move from Florida because I really did not like Florida. I’m a delicate flower (go ahead, laugh) and I was withering in Florida. It was so damn hot… all of the time. I lived in Northern Florida and it took a while to get to an ocean. And even when we got to the ocean, it was so hot on the sand that I didn’t want to be out there. I’m not a fan of water activities (it’s because I’m a Taurus… we like to be on solid ground), so swimming in the big, scary ocean wasn’t my thing. I’m okay with sitting on the beach if it wasn’t a million degrees out… but I’m getting off track. What I’m trying to say is that I couldn’t get out of Florida fast enough. 

How I Meal Plan

Life can be crazy sometimes. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that. Add in kids and/or a job and life gets even crazier. I know it's hard enough to take care of myself and make sure I eat a healthy meal, then add in that I’m making meals for other humans (big and small) and meals can get hectic. 

For years now I’ve been meal planning and it has made a huge difference in daily life. First, I don’t have to worry about what we are having for dinner. And I don’t have to worry about if I have all the ingredients for the planned dinner. Plus, I am saving money because I’m not running to the grocery store (or drive-thru) at the last minute. An added bonus is that if I plan well enough, I don’t buy multiples of items. If I ever get lax on my planning (which does happen, I am human) I always seem to end up buying too many bottles of soy sauce or jars of peanut butter. 

Alright, let’s do this!

How I Went Cruelty-Free... and it was easier than I expected!

I don't specifically remember what I saw that gave me my "a-ha" moment, but I remember it was a pin on Pinterest. This was about a year ago and after I read the entire article associated with the pin, I was in shock.
I have always been an animal lover, I've always stood up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves and I've always been conscious of my choices and how they impact the world. But for some reason, I never paid attention to whether the products I used were cruelty-free. This Pinterest pin brought me into the light.

Honestly, at first, I was a little pissed at myself. I could've made changes in my purchases YEARS and YEARS ago! But I had to let that go and make better choices moving forward.
Cruelty-free means that cosmetics and other household products were designed and manufactured without harming animals. I'm not here to convince you to go cruelty-free. I do believe that is a personal decision (much like veganism), but if you are interested in more info about what companies often do to animals, you can Google it.

If you have made the decision to go cruelty-free, like myself, but aren't sure where to start then I am going to tell you what I did after my "a-ha" moment.

Easy Crochet Review: Awesome Washcloth pattern by Mama in a Stitch

This post contains affiliate links, which means we receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. 

It does not change your cost but helps support the work on this site.

I'm crafty by nature. And I always say that I was crafty before crafty was cool. TRUTH
And even though I have a crazy-eyed toddler running around, I still love to DIY and craft new things. Really, I have to craft every once in a while or else I start losing my mind.
But, like I said, I have a toddler and it's hard to work on some items:

• beaded necklaces (are you crazy?! Do you want beads everywhere?!)
• sewing (well, if you don't mind a toddler on your lap the entire time or trying to keep tiny hands from sharp things)
• mod-podge (are you crazy?! Do you want mod-podge on everything?!
• crochet (but so many stitches, so many rows)

But I've been desperate lately. So I searched and searched Pinterest for an easy crochet pattern... something I could finish in a weekend (because of my short attention span, not my toddler's) and something that wasn't too complicated in case I get interrupted in the middle of a stitch.
I found a couple that looked worthy. I started one and I couldn't finish. It wasn't too difficult, but I knew I couldn't put it down (to wipe sticky hands) and easily pick it back up right where I left off. So I pulled that one apart after a few rows.
I then started the Farm House Washcloth crochet pattern by Mama in a Stitch. And it was SO easy. I was able to complete it over the weekend, putting it down at least a few dozen times to chase my kiddo or eat a meal. When I picked it back up I was easily able to start again.

Company is coming: Speed-Cleaning Tips

This post contains affiliate links, which means we receive commission if you make a purchase using these links. It does not change your cost, but helps support the work on this site.

Generally, my house is decent. In my world, decent means that there are only a meal’s worth of dishes in the sink, a few handfuls of toys around the living room, a small pile of papers on the table, and dog hair (damn that dog hair). 

I have my usual cleaning tasks to help me stay on top of the muck that can build up in a well-loved home full of people and dogs. But even I dread the extra cleaning needed because company is coming over. I don’t know why, but it can cause me to panic and start doing a million unnecessary things. Next thing I know, I’ve cleaned out all the closets, repainted the foyer, bought new throw pillows, and I’ve worn myself out to the point of not enjoying myself when they are here. 

Craft Room Unpacking - Organization

I'm super lazy. And I just now (three weeks after moving) started emptying boxes. Well, that's a slight lie... when I was in a frenzy looking for something that I hadn't seen since before we moved, then I would open a box (or three) and throw junk to the side. So if that counts as "emptying" then I guess I'm not that damn lazy.

Anyhow...

My first big project is my craft room... craft space. A little back story; I used to have a whole craft room to myself, but in this new house we decided to use one of three bedrooms as a guest room (just in case). So the other spare room will be split in half... my craft space on the left and my husband's office space on the right. Let this prove that I am nice and I can share!

So... only having space and not a whole room adds some challenges to my project. You don't know how much stuff I have, but you will soon see!!

This is post No. 1... I will probably post one more final look, but this one will focus mainly on organizing solutions I've come up with. 

So, without further ado... the BEFORE shot!

BEFORE! A damn mess in my craft space!

First and formost, I put two shelves above the sewing table. I mainly do sewing, so I want those bits & baubles to be very close!

I put the top shelf VERY high up (where I'll put things I won't access as much) and the one below will hold zippers, trims and machine cleaning tools. The bottom shelf will also hold a wooden dowel that I thread ribbon spools on to it.

Two basic shelves... I noticed later that one of my brackets was a little off.

Shopping time! I bought the shelves at Lowe's a long time ago. The plastic jars are wonderful! They hold my various zipper sizes (6", 9" and 12") and fit at least 20 at a time. I purchased them super-cheap at Oriental Trading (set of 3).

The next item was a little DIY project. You need the following:

Steel Sheet 8"x24" (bought at Lowe's)

Neodymium Magnets - 48

E-6000 Glue - Small Tube

Short Jars - 12 (Plastic 4.5")

Four Screws to Hang It!

Total should be less than $35 (I already had the glue and magnets, so at the time I just needed to buy the jars and the steel).

I had friends in high places, so I took my sheet of steel to a sign shop and had them round the corners and poke holes in each corner. This shouldn't cost you anything at most shops, but at the least prepare to pay a few dollars for their work (which took my shop 5 minutes).

Steel sheet with rounded corners & holes!

Next... you need to take the E-600 and carefully glue four magnets on the bottom of the plastic jars. I have a few tips to make this successful for you!

1. The magnets are very, very, very strong!! So carefully separate one from the stack at a time. See this website for more info. I'm not kidding on the strength... if you're not careful you can hurt yourself! But trust me, you need these magnets and not the usual black ones you see in the world. These need to me strong to hold the weight of what is going in the jars.

2. Make sure you put four per jar! Again, this helps hold the weight of the jar's contents.

3. Just a small pea-sized dab of glue will do per magnet.

4. Let the glue dry for 24-hours.

5. Do all of this in a well-ventilated area... the glue has a very strong smell.

Four magnets per jar... no more, no less. Love my decals?

After you glued the magnets and let dry for a day, attach the sheet to the wall (vertical or horizontal, I've done both) and attach the magnetic jars. I've put some very heavy magnetic snaps in the jars and it holds perfectly!

dsfsdf

All done! And looking fine!!

I prefer putting this near where I seat, so I can grab button and snaps easily! 

Okay... what's next? Oh! Yes, more holes in the wall!

Poor wall.

Next, under the steel sheet, I put up a very tiny shelf with hooks. 

The shelf is only 5"x16" and really can't hold much EXCEPT these little plastic jars (about 3" tall) I got from Oriental Trading. They are perfect for small things like key rings & hooks. 

I will use the hooks underneath for something later (check back).

So small, yet so useful!

Doesn't it look great so far! Except for my crappy labels... I'm gonna redo those!

A big thumbs up for getting these level!

Okay! Two last things.

The item on the left is a plain ol' peg board that I spray painted purple. I use this to hang tall/long things (like yard sticks) and sort tools I don't use too often.

The item on the right is a thread rack. It's meant to sit on a table, but because I'm a rebel, I drilled two holes through the wood and screwed it to the wall. BAM!

Don't worry... I've got plenty of stuff to fill these up!

Alright... I'm done for now. This is the organizing part of my craft space. 

Note how it's ALL on the wall! That's important because floor space is sacred here. 

Yes, there are a ton of holes in the wall now, but those are patchable. I've even considered putting more shelves up above the peg board if the closet sorting doesn't go well (and I need space).

After... for now!! It already looks better.

Next up on the menu, is finding all my damn stuff. I'm not sure where my thread is... or my scissors. So once I find all my stuff I'll show you what this looks like filled up. 

Also, I'm gonna organize the closet in the room for the other craft stuff (I don't just sew, you know). I'll post more details then!

Boxes of Junk

We are almost done moving into our new house (same town, different house).

 

Is it just my mess, or does it seem like the very last load is always a bunch of junk. I swear it's weird things/belongings I didn't care about in the first place... and I'm so desparate to get the moving done, I'm just shoving this junk into a box (appropriately labeled JUNK) and stuffing it in the back of the truck.

 

These boxes seem to live forever too, like a cockroach. I moved a box from House B to House C that I originally packed when we moved from House A. I have no clue what's in there. I opened it for a few seconds, realized it's contents and taped it back shut. Yes, the junk is still junk we want to keep... I think.

 

Which I guess leads me to my next thought... do I really want this damn junk?! I say no. So as I've been unpacking, I've been moving unwanted items to boxes & bags for Goodwill. Some stuff, like old makeup, I've been throwing away. It may take a while, but everything I throw out releases the junk weight off my shoulders. Ah! It's refreshing!

We're Moving (again)!

New House!

Finally! The one we live in now is ok... but super small and has a few issues (like mice). So I'm excited to move into this bigger house, that's better built.

This is the first time I've been excited to move in about 8 years... normally, I hate moving... for all the obvious reasons (it's too much damn work)!

We get the keys tomorrow and since my hubby is working crazy hours, we'll be moving things sporadically. This works for us since the new house is in the same town and is only a little ways from work.

That's about all right now.

Check out my YouTube videos... I have a lot more going on there.

Ekeko Better Work His Mojo

Recently, my husband reveals that if I really want a baby then I need to find a miniature baby and give it to Ekeko along with an offering.

I was thinking the same thing you are readers... "what?"

He then points out the little porcelain man-doll-thing that his father brought to us when he visited this past December from Bolivia. I remember both of them explaining Ekeko way back then, but I had completely forgotten. In the past few weeks, I've been unpacking boxes from our recent move and Ekeko finally came out of the crumpled papers and into a place of honor in our home.

Señor Ekeko with my offering in his mouth.

So before I tell you what happened next, let me explain our little friend.
Ekeko is an icon of prosperity from South America. It's really popular in Bolivia and Peru and the way my father-in-law explained it, pretty much everyone has one in their home.
Ekeko has all kinds of things tied to him (money, food, a little house) and these things are suppose to be abundant in your home... IF you give Ekeko an offering. Yes, you have to suck up a little bit before he'll help you out.

So, back to my conversation with my hubby... he says I need to find a tiny baby to attach to Ekeko and then stick a cigarette or money in his mouth.
"Can it be a little print-out of a baby?" I asked.
"No, that doesn't count. It has to be a miniature baby."
I pressed on... "so if the baby is too big we might get a giant baby? That's not ok."
"Well I suggest you go to Dollar Tree and see if they have any babies."
"Yeah! I bet they have some that can be put on cakes for showers or something!" I now had a plan! If giving that little porcelain doll helps me get pregnant, then what was I waiting for!

The rest of the Caucasian babies.

It took a few weeks and a few stops but I eventually found a little bag of fair-haired Caucasian babes at Wal-Mart (my least favorite place in Hell). There were six in a bag for a $1 and even though they were really White, I knew I could take them home and darken their hair with a permanent marker.
So as soon as I got home, I found a brown marker and made one of the babies Hispanic. When you look close, you can tell this babe has had a bad hair-dye job.

I want to put some "Baby Got Back" message here... can't help it, I'm a jokester.

There wasn't a good place to attach the mini baby, so I just squeezed it in near the house Ekeko carries on his back. I also went to great measures to make sure that Ekeko only saw one baby. I don't want him to get the wrong idea and give us six babies at a time (or really six babies total). So I hid the other babies out of his sight... hopefully, he doesn't get wind of this blog post.

After strapping that baby on I put a $100 bill in Ekeko's mouth (we don't smoke) and looked him straight in his painted-on eye and said "Alright dude, I gave you a lot of money, so do your thing and give me a child!"

If you're laughing right now, that's okay. It's hard to tell how Ekeko is gonna spin this. At the worst it will be a waste of $101 dollars and the time it took me to shop for plastic babies and color their hair brown. Somewhere in the middle, Ekeko could have some fun with me and give me sextuplets with ginger hair.

And there is the best-case-scenario... Ekeko could come through (and my husband would be correct) and we can have a sweet little Hispanic baby just like I asked.

Two days away from testing... we'll see if he comes through.

What's Happening?

Howdy!

I haven't posted in a while and I figured it's time to wax into some poetry or something. Or not.

Well if you're following my TTC videos on YouTube then you know the gist of what I've been up to. We're trying to make a person! I will upload another video tomorrow so you can see where we are. Check out the videos if you're still behind!

Also I've been cleaning and organizing. We moved into this house in June and right after that we went to Nebraska for my cousin's beautiful wedding... so I didn't start any unpacking until after we got back.

My cousin and her new husband!

So I unpacked the basics and now I'm getting into a cleaning routine and organizing along the way.

We live in a small house. It's a three-bedroom brick and it's set on some nice land in the country... but it's small.

So I'm pulling out all the tricks for making it efficient and clean.

I've been tracking these improvements and over the next few weeks I'll share them here!


Otherwise, I'm just going to my doctor's appointments, cleaning, organizing and trying to conceive (again).

My two dogs (left to right) Hal the Shar-Pit and Cy the Bassett Hound. This is what we do every day... take a long walk to the mailbox & back. They love to go out and run around the place sniffing out critters.

 

Honey-Do Printable

I'll admit... my hubby needs a little prodding to get stuff done around the house. And I'll admit... I forget what all he needs to do sometimes.
So I made this printable list for both of us. It's good for me so I can write stuff down as they come to me and it's good for him so he knows what I need and roughly when I need it. I'll still have to push him a little to actually look at the list (and not ignore it... ha!) but at least we have the springboard for getting tasks done around the house.

I've put a link on my DOWNLOADS page for this printable. It's a PDF and it prints with two lists per sheet.

ENJOY!

Yum

Honey & Vanilla Granola... I also affectionately call it "Yum-Nola"

Confessions of a Stay-At-Home Wife

Well... this is it. This is my new life.
I don't work outside the home. I am now a stay-at-home wife.

And that new role is very strange and difficult for me to get used to living. Prior to the wedding, I used the excuse of the "wedding coming up" to not get into a routine. And last week, I used the excuse of needing to "rest" after our trip to Nebraska for the wedding. But, I can't make excuses any longer. This is my new life... I have to get the hang of it.

So today I spent a good deal of time researching and brainstorming to finally develop a schedule for myself.

In my research, I came across so many great posts from women who were in the same situation and I felt some relief when I learned that they, also, had trouble settling into their new role (especially since I've worked my whole life so far).
If you think about it, when you work for a living (outside the home) you are working on someone else's schedule. You're suppose to show up at a certain time and accomplish certain tasks throughout the day before leaving at a certain time. The next day you do it again.
I got used to that.
Now, I can wake up whenever I want and do whatever I want. It's so easy to go crazy and, in the end, not get a damn thing done. I'm a smart girl... I could see how this much freedom can cause trouble!

So, I've created myself a system to follow. I'll be honest, I have no idea if it will work. Trying it for a while will help and I can always adjust and reformat this system to better fit.

First, I reviewed why I am staying home/what my purpose is in staying home. Then I made goals. Lastly, I worked out the details (mapping out my available time). I figured this out using this blog post from Pursuing Titus 2.

After realizing what I needed to do, I created a few ways to organize my days. I made myself a daily agenda (with checklists) to fill out everyday. I found SO MUCH inspiration for this checklist on Pinterest & other great sites.
I included a morning, afternoon and before bed checklist, menu planner, appointment reminder, exercise log and water intake log. A lot of this is necessary to remind me to do certain things in order to achieve my personal goals (having a clean house, taking care of myself inside & out and saving money).

And I updated a cleaning checklist (the older one was used when I worked full-time... now I do all the cleaning myself) to coordinate with my daily agenda.
Lastly, I made some goals for creating bags and accessories for my Etsy shop... which I'd like to open back up by the end of this week.

So, all in all, I think I'm ready to take this new life on. Again, I'll just see how my new tools work for me and make adjustments as needed. 

DOWNLOAD a PDF version of my daily agenda by clicking on the DOWLOADS tab.

LOVE MY DAILY AGENDA but want a customized one?
E-mail me and we'll work out all the details, including cost.

Today I'm Gonna Sew

Today I'm gonna sew... because I finally have my craft room setup!

Yay!

So far, this is the third room that's fully functional. The others are just gonna have to freakin' wait... I've got some sewing to do.

Getting My Sh*t Together

Well... we've been in Florida for three weeks. And I'll admit, I'm going a little crazy.

Just ask my poor husband (there has been a lot of crazy-woman ramblings & screaming).

And I really think it's an aftershock to all the crazy that was happening during the last week in NC. I worked overtime all that week... and I was packing the house all week... I was trying to uproot our life (we didn't know we were leaving so fast... honestly, I wasn't ready). I was running around like a lunatic that last week.

And now that we're here in our new house it just so, so quiet. And I don't have a routine yet. I'm just waking up... shuffling here and there... tidying and unpacking...

bleh...

So now, I'm looking forward to my cousin's wedding on June 23rd. I have to fly to Nebraska and I'll be there for a week. It'll be nice to get that done, fly back to my new home and then I can really start my new life in Florida.

The plan is to start sewing again and blogging. And really, just to get my sh*t together. I'm ready to start my new routine, whatever that may be.

I'm ready.

Yep, We're Moving

“It doesn’t matter where you are, you are nowhere compared to where you can go.” -Bob Proctor

It's true... we're moving. We love it in Western North Carolina but my husband is taking a job offer in Northern Florida.

I don't have anywhere to work... but I'm okay with that (remind me that I said this when I'm wanting a new blouse or makeup from Ulta but I'm living on only my husband's income).
I'm gonna focus on emptying boxes and sewing. And hopefully, we can start TTC again... and I'll have an even more important reason to stay home.

We do have a new home already... it's smaller than our current home, but it's quite charming. There is a huge yard that I'm hoping will be easy to garden. Furthermore, I hope I can start growing some of our food (since we are on the one income). So we'll see how that goes.

I'm excited. My husband is excited. Again, we'll miss our WNC home, but we love a change and we're gonna make the best of this change.

Stay tuned... I'm gonna have more time to blog.