Posted by beth on November 5, 2009
years that is. My dear Matt turned 33 and we have been married a wonderful 5.
We decided a fancy dinner at home was the best way to celebrate. I decided on a menu of Rosemary bread,
Braciole:
and roasted brussels sprouts braised in butter and bacon.
For dessert was an ugly but yummy Espresso Cheesecake:
Here’s how I decorated the table:
I made up a cute little menu and put it on a small plate stand and then scattered some little fall decorations I found and I couldn’t leave out taper candles.
It was a lovely and delicious way to celebrate!
Posted by beth on
I have had technical issues posting to my blog lately and also a lack of desire to do so. So, I’ll try and do a little roundup of what’s been going on around here.
In shoulder news, the outlook is pretty shiny. My pain is still under control and slowly, very slowly, I am regaining some flexibility.
In workout/fitness/weight dropping news, I have lost 15 pounds and am working out very regularly, other than a week that I flirted with some sort of virus. I joined a Team class at my new gym and that has proven to be highly motivating to me. I find the nutrition advice to be really outdated and overkill, so I am doing my own thing there. However, it does keep me accountable to logging my food intake and that has been a really good thing. We also work out one hour 3 times a week and that has been challenging and educational. I feel marginally confident that I’ll be down another 15-20 pounds by Christmas which will really rock.
All in all, life is good. I do feel incredibly blessed and like I’m in a really good place.
Posted by beth on September 29, 2009
I joined a new gym today! I belonged to a chain place that had 3 locations close by but they were getting increasingly scary to work out in. My swim partner and I had gone through some intimidation in the lap pool a few weeks ago and there has been an increase in security guard presence there.
The last straw was that I took Lil’s with me recently and the workers in the childcare center were pretty jerky. If you don’t like children, I’m not sure why you would actually seek out a job caring for them, but whatever.
So, I decided to check out a gym in a town south of me that a bunch of my friends were raving about.
Wowie!! It is almost like belonging to a swanky country club! They have fancy lockers that you put your membership card in a little slot in the door and it releases the key. They have pristine, fluffy towels all over for the use of anyone. It has a full service spa. The kid’s club is incredible. They have a huge climbing wall and indoor and outdoor pools with plentiful lap lanes!!! The cardio floor has so many machines I am certain I’ll never have to wait in line for one. The fees are obviously more, but I think it will be a wonderful place to call my fitness home.
Now, I just have to actually go and workout! That’s the one thing they can’t do for you. =)
Posted by beth on
As usual, I haven’t been feeling particularly bloggy, so I haven’t found the time to do so. Often, I will think to myself, “I should blog about that” but I never seem to get around to it.
In general, life is good and I have very little to complain about. Lately, I’m trying to counteract any negative thinking with joy and thanksgiving to God for all He has given me. Even the rough stuff, He has allowed for a purpose, so I really should rejoice even in adversity.
The two bits of adversity of late are that we had to give up our beloved dog, Zeus, and that my shoulder isn’t healing as well as we thought.
First, the dog. He had been a member of our family for 4 1/2 years. For the first two years, he was the best pet I’ve ever had. Sometimes, I would lie my head on his chest and cry for the day he would leave us. He was a wonderful friend and companion to all of us. Then, things started to get complicated. He would become anxious in his crate and jump up on the fence outside. He became so agitated that he would injure himself. He managed to sprain his leg, cut open his foot, and finally in a total fit of panic, he broke out of his METAL kennel and broke his tooth and lacerated his face. We stitched him up and he got a root canal. We vowed never to kennel him again and Matt started working from home more often and we put him on doggy Prozac.
Then Lily was born. I was home with him all the time and he seemed to accept her just fine. He basically ignored her. So, we thought since we were home with him, he would be fine. Then he started to have pain with elimination. He would PANIC every time he had to have a bowel movement. So, we took him to vet after vet. We tried laxatives, muscle relaxers, pain medications and dietary changes. Nothing worked. We spent a fortune on a specialist to do an ultrasound. It showed nothing. We tried a round of steroids and it helped slightly, but not enough. We were being given very little option and very expensive diagnostic test options.
So, we called the shelter we adopted him from, per our contract and they agreed to take him back and re-home him. I cried a river and sometimes really miss him, but I feel good knowing that they will be able to get him the help he deserves and that Lily will be safer now.
Here’s a picture of our boy, Zeus with his reluctant companion, Griswold:
Then it came time to face the music on the shoulder. I went to see the surgeon and he has diagnosed me with adhesive capsulitis or “frozen shoulder.” So the recommended treatment was a shot of cortisone directly into the capsule. Big needle. No fun.
I am very happy to report that the shot has provided quite a bit of pain relief and that I have spend the last four nights in an actual bed.
I’m just now holding my breath that the relief lasts and that I’m not one of those people whose pain returns in a couple of weeks.
Posted by beth on August 27, 2009
on my cloth diapers!
Lily got a yeast based diaper rash, and I decided it best to buy disposables to be able to treat the rash without worrying about ruining the cloth. It KILLED me to buy that package of diapers, but it was more important to be certain we got that rash treated.
Not too long after, we were going to take a trip to my folks house, and she still had a bit of the rash, so we bought some more. And then, while we were there, we got locked out of the car so we had to buy yet another package.
Of course, we weren’t going to let diapers go to waste, so we used them.
I started to really like it. I was actually caught up on laundry, because the machine wasn’t taken up with diapers all the time. I loved that she didn’t reek of ammonia in the moning. I loved that a stinky diaper got promptly wrapped up and taken outside. I loved not having to worry about wetbags and covers and triple stuffing diapers for nighttime and not having to lanolize wool.
But, the eventual end of that last package came, and I just couldn’t buy another. I love that I use cloth on my daughter. I love that they are cute! I love that they are so much better for her skin. I love that I’m going to be able to pass on her diapers to another person and thus be a little kinder to the earth. I love that I don’t have to go to the store in the middle of the night and shell out a ton of cash on something my daughter pees in.
So, sposies: you were fun and I had a good time, but I’m going back to my first love.
Posted by beth on
Wednesday was my final day of freedom babysitting for the grand spring cleaning adventure, so I thought it best to do a good cleaning throughout to prepare for the professional carpet and tile cleaning.
I tackled the kitchen first by doing the few dishes that were hanging out. I wiped down all of the counter tops and refrigerator handles and fronts of appliances. Then I cleaned the sliding glass door and then used the vacuum to clean the door track and the cobwebs and dust on top of the vertical blinds. I cleaned the mirror and then wiped down the table and chairs, including the legs.
I then moved on to the dining room. I cleaned the light fixture, wiped down the switches, art on the walls, and the doors. Then, I dusted the tables and bar and the window blinds. Then I cleaned the windows and cleaned the a/c unit. I did a quick dusting of the inside of the bar.
Next, I moved upstairs and stripped all of the beds and dusted all of the furniture in the 3 bedrooms and also dusted all of the blinds and cleaned the windows, and any mirrors. There was a bit of picking up to do so I did that, and then ran the vacuum on the carpet and floors, and then moved down to the kitchen and dining room to vacuum the floors down there.
I started a load of laundry and then made up the beds. Then I went to the basement and picked up the toys and sorted the clothes on the laundry room floor, and then vacuumed the carpet, laundry room floor and stairs.
I am so proud of all I accomplished during this time! I feel quite blessed that I had the resources to be able to do this. It is so wonderful to have the house so clean and organized!
Posted by beth on August 25, 2009
I had the pleasure of going to the Denver Botanic Gardens today and it was truly wonderful! The lovely Jenna and her daughter Laina, met me and Lily there and they have a free pass for visitors, so that was such a blessing!
It was so peaceful and beautiful there. The girls were quite well behaved and really seemed to enjoy looking at the flowers and listening to the fountains and seeing the many bees. Lily seemed to enjoy the koi the most that were in the Japanese garden.
The conversation was great, as always and I had a truly wonderful experience. Here’s a few more pictures for fun:
Such a brilliant red!
Water Lilies
Funky bark on a pine tree.
Lily and Laina
Posted by beth on
Weeeelll, this day wasn’t nearly as productive as I would have liked. I had to make a trip to the ER on Saturday for a scratched cornea, and was still in pain and tired from the lack of sleep.
I did, however, get the bathroom deep cleaned and organized, which was an acceptable level of accomplishment, all things considered. (Do I use too many commas?)
I did the top down method again, and started with the light fixture and shower rod, dry dusting. The exhaust fan had been recently cleaned, so I didn’t need to clean that. I sprayed down the shower with cleanser and let that sit while I worked on the mirror.
Next, I emptied the little organizer I use for makeup, and threw out any old makeup, (there was a lot!) and then wiped the drawers out. I did the same with the bin I use for hair products and the little decorative basket that I keep nail clippers and tweezers and stuff like that in. Then I cleared the counter top and wiped it down. I didn’t bother doing too thorough of a job because I am having the tile and grout professionally cleaned later in the week.
I wiped down the shower and then cleaned the tub, and put cleanser in the toilet bowl.
Next was the cabinet. I emptied, tossed old bottles, wiped out and reorganized.
Then I cleaned the toilet, wiped down the towel racks, light switches and cleaned the sink, and wiped the baseboards and then finished by vacuuming the floor. Again, no need to scrub floors since they will be done later in the week.
It was so nice to have my bathroom all cleaned and organized!
Posted by beth on August 21, 2009
I dropped Lily off again at the sitters this morning and rushed right home to get to work on the kitchen. I knew that it would take me every second and then some of the 4 hours I had, so I wasted no time getting started. I decided to work in sections and do the top to bottom approach again.
Today was really quite physical work! I had to get up on a chair and then stand on the counter top to reach the top of the cabinets. Let me tell you, like other things in the house, these had not been cleaned since we moved in and let me say, ew. I have made quite a few resolutions to keep on top of this in the future because it should never get that dirty. Then, in each section, I would work my way down emptying each shelf of its contents and then wiping the shelves clean and finally the insides of the doors and then out, or emptying drawers and then wiping out and replacing everything. I also cleaned all of the appliances that sit on the countertops and wiped the ledges and walls behind the counters.
Then I moved on to the window and the back door and cleaned those.
I also did a quick purge of the pantry. This is something that gets done pretty frequently, so I didn’t waste a lot of time on it. I just got rid of a couple of expired items and found some things to donate to the food bank at school.
During the whole time I was cleaning the cabinets, I ran the clean cycle on the oven. Eesh! Reminder not to do that again; it made the kitchen unpleasantly hot.
The top of the fridge was a difficult and yes, disgusting, task. Not something I can reach without a chair, so it doesn’t get attended to enough. Threw out ancient cereal boxes that sit atop it, and then wiped it all down.
Lastly, I cleaned the microwave and the ceramic top of the oven, which thankfully, is something that wasn’t bad at all because I am pretty good at staying on top of those things.
My time ran out at this point, so now I’m eager to send Matt on a long errand with Lily at some point this weekend so I can finish with the cleaning. I still have the glass door, the small cabinet that stands in the corner, the mirror, wipe out the oven and the table and chairs to clean thoroughly before I’m finished.
Posted by beth on August 20, 2009
I received a card in the mail a few days ago. Nothing fancy. Cute cover. In it contained an apology. A too quick apology. The wounds are still too fresh and I am not open to it, apology.
I was raised quite well, and because of my upbringing, almost in every hour of every day since receiving this piece of mail, I find myself at odds over what to do. My upbringing would tell me to nicely and graciously accept said apology and forget it.
My pretty newly acquired self who has gone through the trenches and has had long bouts of depression because of desperately trying to please others and has gone through extensive hours of therapy because of it, says a polite, “No thank you.” to this apology.
It isn’t that I haven’t forgiven the horrible things that were done. I pretty much have. But accepting this apology seems like opening up the fortress I’ve built around my heart where this person is concerned. I fear that by actually acknowledging this apology that I somehow leave a chink in the armor to get speared again, and that isn’t acceptable.
So, for now, the note sits, and the voices of my upbringing still ring in my head and I continue to wrestle.
Celebration of 5 and 33