Snowed In

There is a winter storm bearing down on us and we are expecting 12-18 inches between tonight and tomorrow. Hubby has to work tomorrow which suck-diddly-ucks but it gives me the opportunity to have some snow day projects of my own.

I think I will take a crack at making sourdough starter again. I tried Candy's recipe before and it worked I think, but this recipe from Naturally Knocked Up seems more promising.

Maybe I will make Pioneer Woman's Pecan Scones or maybe these Starbucks clones.

I need to order some prints from Shutterfly.

I will catch up on posting pics to Nate's blog.

Of course, Nate and I will also be playing with choo-choos and Buzz Lightyear, doing puzzles and valentines crafts, tackling the laundry and letting the dogs in and out 1,000 times.

Have a great weekend!

Full Stop.

So let's talk about menstruation.

[if you don't want to hear about all of the gory details of periods, bleeding, cramping, etc... I'd stop reading right now if I were you]

So periods... they are really funny things aren't they? I don't know about you but by the time I think I have them all figured out something happens and they change again. For example, I had a pattern of bleeding light on certain days and heavy on others, tapering off on day whatever. Then I went and had a baby and breastfed for over a year and everything went pear shaped. Seriously, I couldn't get a handle on what was going to happen when.

I went from being able to tell you that my period would start on Tuesday at 11 am to not knowing if I was going to get a period at all... I bought a LOT of pregnancy tests.

So this was causing numerous problems not the least of which was what type of "feminine protection" to use. Tampons were kind of out since my flow was heavy in the morning, light in the afternoon, then the reverse the next day. That left me with pads... not my first choice obviously. They are hot and sticky and always stick to the wrong things and not your underwear. They feel all plastic-y like you are wearing a disposable diaper... I was not happy at all, but what other options did I have.

That is when it dawned on me... maybe I needed to look for other options beyond tampons and disposable pads.

Years ago there was a product called Instead which looked like a disposable diaphragm. Apparently it is back, so you can see it here. I tried it years ago when I was in college and could never get it to stay in place. Ok, so that was out.

Then I read a blog post about the Diva Cup. It sounded interesting, could be worn longer than a tampon, was reusable so better for the environment... so I ordered on. Let's just say that I couldn't ever get it in despite numerous attempts. Ok, so that was out.

What did that leave me??? Really only one thing, the thing I was truly dreading the most... Cloth Menstrual Pads.

Really? Is this really an option? Haven't we come too far to go back to this?

But then I started thinking... I use cloth on Nate, why not cloth on me? I use cloth napkins, why not cloth "napkins"? It would be green, it would reduce my carbon footprint, in the long run it would be cheaper... so I decided to give it a try.

So I started looking around on Hyenacart and Etsy to see what I liked. I figured if I was really going to try this I had to LOVE the way they looked. There are lots of options out there and you can design your own at some places but when I found Homestead Emporium I knew I was in the right place.

I mean look how pretty they are:


They came in all shapes and sizes, so I ordered an assortment.

They came I washed them and but them in the bathroom until the next month.

Then I started to get nervous. Why did I buy these? What if they leak? They are going to be so bulky. I can't wear them to work. Maybe I'll just use them on the days when I don't leave the house. Maybe I could sell them on diaperswappers.

I had to get stern with myself. I have this habit of talking myself out of something before I have even tried it. So I said "self... try them." Don't make a decision until you have tried them... end of discussion.

So I did. I tried them... and you know what... I LOVE THEM!!!

They are so incredibly, worlds away from disposable pads different that I can;t even describe it.

They are comfortable and soft. They don;t feel hot or sticky or plastic-y. There is no adhesive so nothing gets stuck to anything else. They don't slip, they don;t leak, and as far as I can tell (even the "light" ones) are more absorbent that disposables. I even used them at work (the ultimate vote of confidence). I rinse them off when I am changing them, put them in a wet bag, and wash them with my towels. Easy Peasy!

So, seriously girls, if you are thinking about greening your period routine, looking for a way to reduce your carbon footprint, or just looking for a more comfortable alternative to tampons and disposable pads, I really do recommend that you give cloth pads a try. You might seriously surprise yourself. I know I did.

Amelia's

Oh how I love the grocery outlet... its like going on a treasure hunt. I went yesterday at lunch and this is what I got.


2 Bottles of White Grape Juice
2 Bottles of Pear Nectar
1 Box Organic Clifford Os (like Cheerios)
2 Cans Bush's Chili (for uhbby)
2 Cans Organic Sliced Carrots
4 Jars Marinated Artichoke Hearts
1 Box Organic Beef Broth
1 Box of Organic Cake Mix
2 Cans of Vanilla Prosting
1 Bottle of Dried Oregano
2 Cans of Whole Button Mushrooms
2 Cans of Cut Green Beans
2 Jars of Organic Apple Sauce

Not Pictured:

1 Kids Cuisine Frozen Dinner (a treat for Nate)
1 Bag of Organic Sugar Snap Peas
1 Box of Frozen Shrimp
1 Diet Iced Tea (treat for me)

Not bad for $34.86!

Crafting

I am skilled in many crafts... sewing, beading, card making, cross stitch, ribbon embroidery, and probably some others too. My problem is that I don;t really seem to have the time. Work takes up an awful lot of time... weekends are for family activities and pesky things like laundry and cleaning. By the time Nate is in bed on weeknights and dinner is made, cleaned up from, lunches are packed for tomorow, etc. I am too darn tired to do much more than flop of the sofa. So, I have found myself taking days off from work and hitting one project hard. This was the case with my denim skirt.

I was able to get mt tan skirt (from the same pattern) cut out while I was on winter break, but I fear I will have to take another day off to actually get it sewn together.

ALl of this makes the fact that I created something that is super cute and functional in one night from things I already had in the house all the more amazing!

Behold... my first coffee cozy!



The fabric is a batik that I had in my stash (love me some batik!). I used felt instead of batting for the inside which is trimmer while still insulating and was what I had in the house. The loop on the left is a hair elastic and the button is vintage and came out of a bag of buttons my mom found at a thrift shop a few years ago. It is fully functional and I love it.

The pattern I used was free online and can be found here.

New Blog to Read!

A friend of mine has put on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy (with twins) at something like 23 weeks. She decided to blog about her experience of being sofa bound at:

http://thebedrestchronicles.blogspot.com/

Check it out, its pretty funny... oh yeah, and I make several appearances ;)

As Time Goes By

Week one of my break is over and I really haven't touched anything on the list I made. I was able to get my ironing done, mop the kitchen floor, and get my tan skirt pinned and cut out... Now just finding the time to sew.

On the list for this week:

- make pumpkin bread
- make low carb bread
- condition the leather furniture
- go to Michaela and have picture frame
- buy a 2010 calendar

Hubby was off this week as well and it has been really nice being all together. All of our holidays were VERY low key which wad SO nice.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday season and accomplished some things on your lists too!

Happy New Year!