Getting Crafty with a Framed Wreath

Gather round kiddies, it's craft time. I am going to tell you the story of these two lovely decor items. Which I think came out pretty cute if I do say so myself. This is my first attempt at a craft tutorial, please bear with me and I hope it makes just a little bit of sense.



The purpose of these framed "pictures" was to cover the accent windows in my master bedroom. I think the windows are nice and let in lovely natural light but my vampire husband wants them covered. And not because the sunlight makes him sparkle.




I tried to buy something to cover the windows. We used to have pictures from Cost Plus but we painted the bedroom Tiffany blue and I could not find anything that coordinated well with the color. So I decided to craft something up.

I started with two 16 x 20 open back frames from Michael's. I purchased unfinished ones and then painted them with espresso brown spray paint. The frames were on sale and I got both for $20. 16 x 20 frames are pretty pricey but the open back ones are less costly and I didn't need the glass since I was framing a wreath.

I took a piece of foam board and cut it to 16 x 20. Then I covered it with fabric and hot glue gunned the fabric around the back, making sure to pull tight so that the front was smooth.



You end up with a pretty fabric covered board to pop into the frame.

Ok, I know yarn wreaths are so 5 minutes ago on pinterest but I had a couple laying around and the color happened to be perfect. I removed all the little accessories which I had pinned on with straight pins (making for very easy removal).

To make new adornments for the wreathes, I cut a bunch of circles out of a linen type fabric and folded them in half till I had little rose looking things. I definitely did not invent this technique and I have seen it a million places. One place I did see it was on The Heir to Blair. That link will give you a much better description of how to do this.

Oh Lord my thumb looks terrible. I could really use a manicure. Husband - make that happen.

I used straight pins to fasten my roses to the wreathes and strategically wrapped some grosgrain ribbon for a little extra cuteness. Can I tell you how much I love grosgrain ribbon? It is girly and sweet and just so lovely. There is certainly nothing gross about it. See? See? I'm crafty and funny. My husband is so lucky.

To fasten the wreath to the board I looped some ribbon around the top of the wreath and hot glue gunned the end of the ribbon to the back of the board. Then I put the board into the frame securing with more hot glue gunning. In addition to gross grain ribbon, I also love my hot glue gun. My mom always hot glue gunned my girl scout badges on to my vest or sash. I was the girl with weird strings coming off her badges.

The wreath did not lie completely flat so I put a dab of hot glue on the back of the bottom part of the wreath to attach it to the board.

And there you have it, covered windows with something cute. I am still trying to figure out what to do, if anything, for the center above the headboard.

Another Week of Meals

Last week my meal planning went to hell. We had been out of town the weekend before, I was in trial and the grocery shopping just really didn't get done. We ate out way too much. I ate McDonald's breakfast way more than I would like to admit. It all just felt a little gross.

I tried to reign it in a little this week and actually plan some meals. This weeks recipes are as follows:

- The Pioneer Woman's lasagna. I used Rachel Ray's meat sauce in it. Just a little note, Rachel Ray's sauces always come out so mother-trucking watery. Homegirl puts way too much chicken stock in her sauces. There is no way that shit cooks in 30 minutes. You would have to cook it for 2 hours to not have a runny mess. Wow, I just got really worked up about Rachel Ray and chicken stock. It happens.

- Crock pot bbq chicken. I didn't really use a recipe for this, just chicken breast and a bottle of bbq sauce in the crock pot.

- Cat Cora's broccoli slaw.

- Skinny Taste's mac n cheese.

Here is the breakdown of prep and eating for the week:

Sunday: I made the meat sauce and assembeld the lasagna throughout the day. I didn't use mushrooms in the sauce, instead I put in zucchinni and carrots. Then I popped in the lasagna about 40 minutes before dinnertime and dinner was served. I love this lasagna but Leo didn't really eat it. I had random stuff in the fridge for him but it was a bummer having to make a separate meal.

Monday: As soon as I got home from work, I threw the chicken in the crockpot. It should cook on high for about four or five hours. I usually go to be around 11pm so this works out. We had leftover lasagna (Leo ate random stuff again). Tonight I will also cut up sweet potatoes to bake fries tomorrow and prepare the broccoli slaw dressing. For my sweet potato fries I toss them in olive oil, paprika and sea salt. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. They are good but don't come out very crispy. I'm still trying to perfect this technique.

Tuesday: We'll have bbq chicken, sweet potato fries, and broccoli slaw. I have one more day of trial on Tuesday so I know I'll be tired and won't want to do any additional meal prep.

Wednesday: Leftover bbq chicken. I might use it to make quesidillas. I'll throw together a veggie side. Probably just steamed broccoli or sauteed zucchini. Something easy. I'll prep the skinny mac n cheese. I will probally cook the whole recipe and get it ready to bake the next day.

Thursday: Skinny mac n cheese, broccoli or zucchini as a side (whatever is left over from Wednesday). I have not tried this recipe so I hope it is good. I love mac n cheese but I usually use a Paula Deen recipe where I double the cheese. It is like a cheesy, delicious heart attack in a casserole dish.

Friday: Leftovers baby! We gotta eat up whatever is left over in the fridge so I can start the whole process again on Saturday.

Saturday: The husband better take me out to dinner for all my hard work cooking during the week.

The Thoughts of a Working Mom

It is not secret that I think a lot about being a working mom. I mean, I kind of talk about it constantly. To the point where my sister says that I need to just realize my kid is awesome and get over myself. While she has a point, there are a few things that have been floating around in my head for a while about being a working mom.

First, I'm pretty damn proud about being a working mom. Of course I have my moments of self doubt and I will get upset if people say rude things to me about it or if I read stupid things about it (for example the comments on babble.com are a sure fire way to get me spitting mad), but for the most part I am proud of what I do and confident in my decision to work. The one thing that really makes me question everything is when I see working moms with grown children who are complete fuck-ups. Like can't hold a job, dropped out of school, drug problems, relationship problems, etc. I'm a very "the proof is in the pudding" kind of person. I know that me being a working mom is right for my family because we are all happy, healthy, and thriving. But when I see grown children of working moms all screwed up, I always wonder if they got screwed up because their mom worked too much. I realize this wondering is stupid because there are plenty of grown children of stay at home moms who are also big fuck ups. But still it always makes me wonder what went wrong.

Second, at Leo's daycare they have little figurines of people dressed for different professions. There is a doctor, firefighter, chef, and such. One of the figurines is a woman dressed in a black suit with a cell phone and briefcase. The other day when I dropped Leo off, he was playing with the figurines and his teacher held up the woman in the suit and said, "here's a lawyer, just like mommy." I have to admit, my heart swelled with pride. My son was playing with his teacher and hearing about how his mother is a lawyer. My son will grow up knowing that women can be anything that they want, including a lawyer. This made me very happy.

Third, one day this past week I was walking up to the daycare to pick up Leo. I ran into my very good friend from law school who was also picking up her son. She asked me about the trial I was in and I asked her about her arbitration. For a split second I thought, look at us in our cute suits, talking like fancy lawyers, on our way to pick up our adorable sons, we kick ass. I have to say the working mom gig can bring about many moments of questioning the choices we have made so I will definitely take the moments were I feel like I'm kicking ass and cherish them.

Now you know the working mom thoughts that have been floating around in my head this past week. There has been a little bit of questioning accompanied by feeling very happy about what I do.

Fat Tuesday

After a three day weekend full of Mexican food, chocolate, and a breakfast consisting of cheese covered biscuits and gravy, I stepped on the scale.

162.8

Fuck.

Two pounds more than two weeks ago. I'm supposed to be losing a pound a week. I'm 5'4, 162.8 is not ok. Maybe I should try it again, maybe it was out of whack the first time. I watched the digital numbers spin around. Still 162.8. Ugh. I started to dig through my closet to find my flattering brown pin striped suit. Of course my brown tights were not clean so I was forced to wear my very unflattering black pin stripe suit. Hey, I'm a lawyer, I don't have a lot of options for my work wardrobe.

I'm over groaning every time I step on the scale. I'm tired of picking out clothes I don't want to wear just because they fit. I've been talking about getting healthy for months and I have done nothing. I'm frustrated by my lack of desire and motivation to do better for myself. My weight is unhealthy. It is making me feel unhealthy. This isn't about how I look. I look fine. This is about how I feel.

I know I can be healthy. I've done it before. I was on weight watchers before I got pregnant and it worked wonders. I was also working out at least three times a week. I was so motivated back then. And my will power? It was ridiculous! I could go to a Mexican restaurant and not eat any chips at all. I try to do my fitness pal. I make it through half the day and then just kind of forget about it.

So do I make a pledge to work out every day? Eat only 1200 calories a day? Say I'll blog it all out so I feel like I'm being held accountable? I was going to try to reach some kind of conclusion with this post but I'm actually sick of listening to myself whine. Plus I need to write some witness questions for trial tomorrow.

The Freaking Weekend

Last week the lovely Alicia posted at Liberating Working Moms about how her coming home after work was a double-edged sword (sidenote: working mamas or whatever-you-do mamas, please check out this site. It is a very supportive community of mamas with posts that ring so true for many of us.)

The post set off a chain of thoughts in my head that made me realize that my working mama double-edged sword is the weekend. I cherish the time that I get with my family but the weekends can bring oh-so-much anxiety as well.


These pictures are from this past weekend where we went to Lake Arrowhead and played in some snow and then went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Sometimes living in Southern California is all kinds of awesome.

When Leo was an infant my weekends were centered on spending as much time as possible with him. I felt compelled to spend every single minute engaged with him, reading, playing, and nursing. I would not leave him for anything. If I had errands to run they happened after he went to bed or he went with me. I cleaned during naptime. I didn't get my hair done. I didn't grab coffee with girlfriends or go on dates with my husband. I had an almost psychotic obsession that I must spend every waking breath bonding with my son.

Now I'm not trying to be a mommy martyr. This is a stupid way to live. It left no time for me to be by myself. I was quick to snap at my husband because I wasn't allowing myself to relax and rejuvenate on the weekends. Yes I spent a lot of time with Leo, but time with Leo at the cost of my sanity doesn't benefit anyone.



I wish I could say now that Leo is a toddler I have found a happy balance to my weekends. But I have not. Once he became a little more independent and did not need my attention every second of the day my focus shifted to spending the weekend getting everything ready for the upcoming work week. I obsessively clean, do laundry, meal plan, grocery shop, etc. To the point where I am exhausted and snapping at everyone.

The meal planning seriously saves my sanity during the week and I'm getting better at it so it does not take up as much time. But I am still running myself ragged with trying to get everything done and trying to fit in fun, engaging activities with Leo. Sometimes I get so focused on chores that I feel like I don't spend quality time with Leo. And while sometimes there may be enough hours in the day for me to clean and spend time with Leo, there are not enough hours to do all that and have the much needed me-time and some time with the husband.



This has all lead me to a point where sometimes I actually dread the weekend because it can be so stressful for me. And that is crazy. I've said it before and I'm pretty sure I'll be saying it till the day I die, but I need to find balance. We have hired a housekeeper to help with the cleaning (just once a month, nothing drastic). I am trying, trying to put down the swiffer/vaccuum/random cleaning tool and just sit on the floor with Leo and play blocks. And when I do need to clean I am trying to incorporate Leo into the chore so it is more of a fun game. He gets to push the button to turn on the vacuum cleaner. He gets his own swiffer when I dust. So far that has been working but I'm sure it won't take him long to figure out that cleaning is most definitely not fun.



This past weekend was great. The house had just been cleaned by the housekeeper and we had Monday off due to President's Day. Now if every weekend could be like that I might just find my much-needed balance!

Valentine's Day

I'm in the cliched group that dislikes Valentine's Day. My icy cold heart isn't one for romance. I find the whole thing cheesy and there is always a great potential for build up and disappointment. Plus my whole inability to effectively express my feelings.

Anyways, today was the most simple and most wonderful of all my Valentine's Days.

First, there was this happy little baby. His shirt says "mama's boy." I will be explaining to future girlfriends (or boyfriends) that he is most definitely a mama's boy and no one can compete with the mama.



Then there was the greatest daycare drop-off in the history of drop-offs. One of Leo's teachers went on and on about how much weight I've lost. I haven't lost any weight in a long time but whatever, I'll take the compliment. Then when I took Leo to his classroom, he sat down at the little table, started coloring, gave me a kiss, and happily waved "hi" to his little friend. It was so peaceful and sweet. I wish every morning was like that.

I had a relatively productive morning at work. I was out of the office all morning, when I returned in the afternoon I had these flowers waiting for me from the husband. They are the same roses we had in our wedding.



Husband got home for work early and we gave Leo his present.



He is so obsessed with "fooball" right now! Needles to say, he loved it. I made him take notice of the card. Remember how your mom always made sure you read the card before you got to the present?

We made homemade pizza for dinner. By homemade I mean the pizza crust came from a Pillsbury tube. It was all just so nice and simple. Just nice, simple family time.