get crafty: an online workshop

People frequently ask me about helping them put their scrapbooks together. If they could see the mess that I went through this morning, they would scoff at the idea. Granted there were a few scrapbooks in the large bin of "treasures" at my mom's house, but mostly I just found shoe boxes filled with high-drama and silly notes.

Most of my notes were back and forth with Corey. That could also be considered the case now many, many years later with blogging and comments. Very funny how we come full circle... Instead of attempting to make a scrapbook, I decided to throw away the trash (yes, trash) and save the notes in one better fitting box. My goal is to also fit my wedding memories and adult memories into the same memory chest with those going back to kindergarten. For me, editing is the key; aesthetics are not. It's now or never people. Please pray that I can persevere through organizing this crap.

But for you have things under much more control OR love scrap booking OR have a much more contained project than high school blending into college, check out Elise's online workshop. For $20, you can learn lots of great tips and activities to help your creativity to leap out of you into something you will be proud to keep for years. She also answered a few more questions about the workshop here.

The most laugh-out-loud note that I found this morning was to Tony Castleberry. Apparently I was in the 10th grade and asking about a junior I had briefly met. In fact I had just read a note rumoring about someone receiving his class ring just before. Clearly I wasn't impressed. (I am going to withhold the names.)

Me: "Are there two ___ ______s at this school? Everyone is always talking about cute he is, but I think that he is ugly. What's wrong with these people?"

After a few laugh out loud moments, I decided to save anything written and folded up for a later time. I have them down to one small bin size. Maybe when I become an empty-nester, I will pull out those memories for a good laugh.

In Case of Emergency

Henry was excited to receive the following article in the mail this week. Tony, his big brother, has some key advice on how to handle emergency situations. Always a good thing to know.

I asked Henry if he thought he would give us a refresher on baby CPR. Henry promised that he know all of that stuff. I am not so confident - not in his memory, nor in mine. I did in fact receive Baby Sitting Certification from 4-H and the American Red Cross. I told Henry this and he asked if that meant I could demand a higher rate. I never did. However I ran across my certification this morning while cleaning out all of my treasures at my parents' house. I was certified the summer of 1987. Only 22 years ago. I think that I had guessed 23. Maybe my memory is not so bad after all.

Congrats, Tony! We are proud of you.

Your Worst Nightmares and How to Survive Them
by Brenna Fisher

Medical Emergencies
Your best friend has a heart attack during dinner. Your child swallows a bottle of poisonous liquid. What do you do after calling 911? At Palm Beach Community College, Tony Armijo, lead EMT instructor, teaches students how to handle such situations. Check out his first-response tips.

Having a Heart Attack
1. If the victim is still awake, keep him/her calm. “The last thing you want to do is increase anxiety in the person experiencing a heart attack.”
2. If the victim looks like he/she might faint, lay him/her down on the floor.
3. If the victim is unconscious, quickly check the pulse and breathing.
4. If you cannot detect breathing, check the airway for obstructions such as vomit or the tongue on the back of the throat.
5. To remove vomit, roll person onto his/her side and finger sweep vomit out of the mouth.
6. To elevate the tongue off the throat, put one hand on the victim’s forehead and one hand on the chin, and tilt the head back.
7. If breathing does not resume and you cannot feel a pulse, start standard CPR chest compressions and breaths. For adults and children older than 1, the ratio is 30 compressions for every two breaths.

Bleeding Profusely
1. Apply direct pressure to the site of the wound.
2. If possible, elevate the wounded area above the level of the heart.
3. If it is a limb injury, you also can apply pressure to the artery supplying blood to that area. For an arm injury, apply pressure to the brachial artery on the underside of the upper arm. For a leg injury, apply pressure to the femoral artery on the front of the thigh between the leg and the groin.
4. As a last resort, apply a tourniquet. This is not recommended, however, because it will cut off all circulation to that particular part of the body and kill living tissue, which can lead to limb loss.

Seizing
1. Move furniture and breakable objects away from the person having the seizure or lay him/her down in a safe area.
2. Let the patient have his/her seizure. Do not put anything in the mouth. You don’t want the victim to accidentally swallow something like a bite stick.
3. Once the seizure is over, check the patient’s airway to make sure he/she is breathing. Tilt the head back to elevate the tongue off the throat and open the airway. As the patient regains consciousness, his/her condition should improve.

Poisoned/Overdosed
1. If the victim is conscious, sit him/her up in a position that allows vomiting.
2. Stay clear of the vomit so that it does not come in contact with your face or any area where the poisonous substance can enter your body.
3. If the patient is unconscious, lay the person down and roll him/her on his/her side.
4. Check for breathing and clear any vomit out of the airway with a finger sweep.
5. Try to determine what poison or medication the victim has ingested, how long ago it was ingested and how much. This information will help the paramedics and physicians proceed with the appropriate treatment.
6. If breathing and pulse cease, turn to standard CPR compressions and breaths.

Electrocuted
1. Don’t become a victim. If you think the electrical lines are still active, avoid the situation.
2. If the incident is inside a household, shut off the power to deactivate the electrical current.
3. The most common problem associated with high-voltage electrocution is cardiac arrest. Once the victim is safely away from the electrical current, follow the steps for a heart attack.

Reprinted from Boca Raton Magazine, March 2009
The article also includes, some of which are primarily useful for your next trip to Florida:

How to Survive an Alligator Attack by Rick Kramer, alligator trapper
How to Break a Front Chokehold by Rick Seid, self-defense instructor
How to Escape from a Sinking Car* by Lt. Mike Wise, dive team coordinator for Delray Beach Fire Rescue
What to Do in a House Fire** by Frank Correggio, public information officer for Boca Raton Fire Rescue
How to Survive if Your Dive Tank Runs Out of Air by Tom Muscatello, owner of the Boynton Beach Dive Center
How to Deal with an Aggressive Dog by Ginny Feldmann, animal control officer for the City of Delray Beach
How to Escape Killer Bees by William Sklaroff, aka “Willie the Bee Man”
How to Save a Drowning Victim by Capt. Tim Fry of Boca Raton Ocean Rescue

*my greatest fear, after a girl from my hometown drowned in her car on prom night
** my second greatest fear, due to an episode of Little House on the Prairie, where Mary goes blind and sets the house on fire by knocking over a lantern, which was also right around the time I received my first pair of glasses

Bella's bed

Nope, we are not naming our daughter Bella. Sweet name, but this is
the story of how we came to find this bed in our nursery.

A week or two ago, I started second guessing almost everything on my
registries. One of my main concerns was the mini crib that I wanted
since a traditional bed felt too big for our room. If we didn't have
that crazy diagonal wall for the back corner, we might could have
pulled off today's conversion cribs, which will become a beautiful bed
frame once she gets old enough for a big girl bed. But that is not the
case. Plus there would not be enough room a twin-sized inflatable bed
for when Grandma comes to visit. That space is valuable.

I've discussed the mini crib before; it is on casters and can even be
rolled down the hall to watch football with Rocky. But one thing was
never clear to me. How long would she fit in the bed? Could she make
it to two years or to be a big sister? If not, then what would we do?
Buy another larger bed sooner? Seems like that defeats the purpose of
a small crib. Plus according to the Baby Bargains Book, which Is the
baby gear bible, the manufacturer had a poor score. Not because of the
mini crib, but just in general. I'm talking a C or a D here. And on
top of that, I had never actually seen a model of the bed in person.

Late January, when Ike and Laura took us stroller test driving, I
realized that I really did want a Stokke crib. But with the economy,
how could you ever justify the price? I lingered a little too long as
Ike proceed to enjoy registering me for everything from a princess
table and chair set to multiple bedding sets for the Stokke Sleepi.
The bumper pads are a pretty penny alone. Thankfully I was able to
delete Ike's additions via the Internet. Why would we ever need five
Baby Bjorn carriers?

Then a couple of weeks ago, I grew addicted to the iPhone craigslist
application. And I found a crib. I lost the first Stokke crib, which
was a little closer to DC and a little less money. But I was
persistent in crib number two. I was not going to miss this
opportunity for a great deal. Unlike the Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair,
the cribs do not pop up very often. I was worried about finding
another before June. Much less, before the end of March in time for my
baby shower, a perfect to receive sheets and such.

Last week, Taylor and I went to some massive baby store in Maryland.
This trip and her new mom knowledge was incredibly helpful. They have
lots of discount furniture, which I don't really need any furniture.
So I wasnt really sure why we were going until I got there. The best
part of the trip was walking around the store and having her point out
bottles and pacifiers and all of those teeny tiny overwhelming things
I had never considered a year ago. And, of course, hanging out with
Taylor and Silas!

While there, we looked once again at standard cribs and then at the
Stokke. There was a noticeable size difference. The Baby Bargains did
give the Stokke Sleepi an A- minus for those who are space deprived.
The minus was for the cost, but thankfully I had found the deal on
craigslist, which also included the mattress, pads and sheets. Yes,
this was my crib.

So last weekend I borrowed Ben's Jeep and headed off to Fredricksburg
by myself, which also coincided with the ACC Tournament. There was no
point in asking anyone to join me for the hour-long jaunt, and that
was only one way.

I finally made it despite a missing driver's side mirror, traffic on
95 and a general drizzly day. When I knocked on the front door, Bella
was sitting on the couch watching Pippi Longstickings. She told her
dad that I was there. When he came to the door, I asked if he had the
crib. He did, so we went upstairs to check out the bed, which was now
waiting in the hallway.

As the three of us stood there, Bella leaned over into the open panel
of the crib, which is converted for the three-year-old-plus stage.
"Why is my bed in the hallway?" Uh-oh. Her dad mutters, "I didn't want
to do this." He replied, "Your mother is out shopping for you a new
bed right now."

I looked down and said, "I heard you're getting a big girl bed and so
is your littlr sister." Then I asked if she liked her bed. She said
yes, as she rolled around a little bit one more time. Then I said,
"Well, I have a little baby in my belly. Would you let her sleep in
your bed?" She replied yes, very sweetly. And then the question I
should have anticipated... "How did that baby get in your belly?"

Maybe I could have phrased my request a little differently. Maybe she
didn't notice the bulge protruding from my abdomen. And maybe she
completely forgot the whole experience of her mom being pregnant just
over a year ago.

And without blinking an eye, I gave the most appropriate response
anyone can give to a complete stranger's child when they ask you about
the miracle of life: "Magic." Her father quickly followed up with a
"You can ask your mother when she gets home."

About that time, her little sister woke up from her napped and
appeared from behind a waist-high door. Together they explored the bed
in the hallway, as I inspected it for wear and tear. Looks good to me.
As we started to go down the steep stairwell, Bella followed up with,
"I think I've got a baby in my belly, too." Oops! How long is she
going to remember that and where will this new fact pop out of her
mouth? Sunday School, play school or in line at the grocery store?

When I took off to pick up the crib, I never considered that the most
dramatic part of the day would be taking a child's beloved bed and
facing some really tough questions about life. At least I have a few
more years before I can expect those same questions to start spilling
out.

It was somewhat of a relief to return to a group of guys, who took
time out from the games to unload the Jeep. Rocky called it a hamster
wheel and Hart said he could fit in it. We discovered from the
internet that there is a 176 pound limit, but I wouldn't let him test
the limits. But it was easy peasy to wheel the crib right in through
the lobby, down the narrow common hallway and into our bedroom to test
the space, before finally resting in the nursery. No assembly required.

In Need of Hot Pink

Yesterday I went to the mall and found that I could not keep my eyes off of hot pink. I went straight for a hot pink maternity dress, which I got for Shannon's rehearsal dinner. Then I picked out the same color sweater and a white blouse in the forbidden Pea in the Pod. I know. I know. The dress was a steal; the sweater and blouse were not. But when I went back, I did not have the energy to say that I did not want the sweater. And I wanted that pink more than I wanted clementines this winter.


Nursery in Progress from Caroline Armijo on Vimeo.

Now that I look at this video, I know why I want the pink. It is totally missing from my nursery. So after many requests to see where I am, this is the bare bones of my nursery. I have a long list of things that I still need to do.

Nursery To-Do's
Spread out the baby lanterns in the closet
Paint the small dresser
Attach the mobile arm to the crib
Make the lamp shades for the two lamps
Reframe the alphabet print
Hang the curtains and the curtain rod

I am having a baby shower on March 29th. As some of you may remember, this date is also the big 3-5 for me. So I wanted to have the nursery set up so that we would be ready to put all of the items in their place once we return. My plan is that these pieces will really add a punch of color to the room.

We are also having one of our favorite friends come to visit us that same week. So I have a day or two to hide everything away. Sturge has kept company with Quentin Tarantino and the Wilson Brothers on quite a few occasions. Needless to say, I am a little nervous that some of these delicate objects, like the paper lanterns, could become target practice late one night. He does know that I will be eight months pregnant. At this point, our plan is to have him push me around the Mall in a wheel chair. I'm kidding!!! Or maybe not.

I am seriously having second thoughts about the rug. That is until I step on it. It feels like heaven beneath your feet. And Meredith identified this room as the Arctic Circle when she visited in January. It gets freezing cold in there. There are many nights that I worried my baby will freeze to death in here. So you need an animal skin on a cement floor to hold a little heat.

But the rug reads really yellow. Especially between the pale blue chair and the pink sheets. You should have seen it before with the pale yellow sheet on the crib. It was pretty much the same color, just a different texture, a la The Pointer Sisters outfits. I am also nervous about cleaning the rug. I did a search to read how. Sounds a little difficult. But Henry didn't seem phased. Maybe he can take that on as his pet project.



I sort of want this Dream Menagerie Rug rug from Anthropologie instead... I am not 100% sold and Henry doesn't like it. But I think that it is fun. And we aren't doing a bedding set, so there is room for fun. Right? There are lots of little animals to discover in the pattern. Perfect for a nursery!

But for now I will wait until after the 29th. We have more immediate need of resolving the failed attempt of creating a new office space in the living room. A small shelf seemed like a good idea as a way to use my Container Store credit. But a real iMac weighs a lot more than the plastic fake computer in the store, even if the weight limit reads 80 pounds... Now there are two giant holes in our wall and I am sitting on the floor typing this blog entry.



We are meeting at West Elm over lunch to find the world's tiniest desk. I really want this acrylic console from CB2, but I balk at the $80 shipping fee. At least with West Elm, I can roll it back to our apartment in my grandma cart.



But I also just discovered these clear nesting tables. And new reduced shipping fees. Huh... this changes things.

Like Clockwork

A few weeks ago, I faced the stark reality of my third trimester. I didn't even know that I had started my third trimester until I checked out my pregnancy handbook. But my body certainly felt it. And so are my faithful blog readers... I am sorry for not posting in over a week. I certainly have experienced many blog worthy moments that just haven't made it to the web.

The last weekend of February, I was hosting a bachelorette party for Shannon. My parents were also in town for the Kris Kristofferson concert. (No, he didn't sing "Sailing;" that is Christopher Cross.) Sarah and I were at the grocery store around 4 pm and I thought that I might die. I told her that if I fell out on the sidewalk to just pour the grapefruit juice down my throat. At around 12:30 am, when our last guests were leaving, I told Margaret and Renee that I might do a strip tease for them. I need to take my bra off at that very minute. I held out, but I was in the bed within five minutes of the door closing. Sorry, Sarah!

What happened to all of that manic energy that was keeping me up at night? Just a week before I could easily have cleaned out my parent's attic and basement, if I had only been in town. But now I was crashing and burning pretty fast. A ha! I had passed 26 weeks on that Thursday. Technically I think that the third trimester had just started.

The whole "What month/week" thing are you has been very confusing to me. Not until my sixth month have I told people how far along I am in terms of months. I typically just tell people the weeks. Are you six months pregnant at the beginning of the month? I just don't fully know. I guess I will feel more confident on Baby Dos.

I did confirm that I had began my third trimester when I talked to Lauren's dad, Allen, who is one of the world's leading reproductive epidemiologist. If anyone knows, it is him. I called to check in on Ziggy and he answered the phone. I was curious about how your body makes a shift just like that because a certain week had started. I guess all of these baby books know what they are talking about. The honeymoon is over.

When I first met Lauren, she told me that her dad had discovered there are only x number of days that you can actually get pregnant. She also said that he had been quoted in magazines like Glamor and Vogue. Plus, she said they rarely discussed his work where it might apply in her life. I guess it was all a little too close to home. Good thing my dad is just a small town lawyer.

My funniest/most shocking use of telling people how far along I am occurred at the NE corner of 7th and H Streets NW. This is the home of the old CVS, and this corner has been called DC's Times Square. Granted a teeny tiny Times Square. I was about to cross 7th and two young couples were about to cross H. I noticed this woman in her white pants with a black zipper, high heeled boots on top, and quite curvaceous body. I was thinking, wow.... will I look like that post-baby? Maybe I shouldn't have noticed her, because she certainly noticed me when I walked in front of her.

Caught by the light, she said, "Are you pregnant?" I nodded quietly and said yes. Then she asked how far along I was. I told her "six months." Her eyes sort of bugged out of her head. Right then she just reached down and made a big swirly rub on my belly, which I have been told is pretty small. The two guys behind her were dying laughing. The light changed and I took off. I overheard one of the two girls telling the other, "She's going to blow up all at once." I thought I would die. Needless to say, that was an immediate Facebook status update. I WISH I had their picture for the blog!

And for the point when I completely became unraveled this trimester... this past Friday, the 13th. I had a Physical Therapy appointment before working at Paper Source. I was running late and wanted to catch a cab. Seems easy, right? Well, they just kept driving by. I walked up to Mass Ave and thought that I had a cab as I waited for the light. As the light turned, so did the cab. Ughh... I should have walked down H Street instead. So I continued trying to catch a cab and made my way to the Renaissance Hotel.

Something has happened to my ability to walk. I can't. Every time I have to walk at a hurried pace, I get a huge stitch in my abdomen. All other parts of my body want to walk at a normal pace - my head, my legs, everywhere. But this baby says no. Slow down. So I just don't want to walk anymore and the aimless search for a cab was not amusing.

Already frazzled with my appointment time encroaching, I approached the front cab of the taxi stand. He said no, he wanted to go to the airport. The next cab, no, you have to go in the first cab. At that point, I lost it. I started screaming (Sorry, Mom!) "I don't know what the f*&# I'm supposed to do!!! I am late and no cab will take me." The guy at the door blew his whistle, calling a cab and tried to calm me down. At this point, I was crying. I explained to him that I was sorry but I couldn't help it. "I'm pregnant." The airport cab took off and another pulled around for me. I collapsed in the cab and really wished that I was at home on my bed where I could sob. (Sometimes once you start crying, you just want to let it all out.) The cabbie tried his best to calm me down. With a heavy foreign accent from some African country, he said "Don't cry, you'll hurt the baby." Then pointed out the kids on his dash board. "Look at how beautiful." It was very sweet and I did manage to pull it together. I was also amused that my crying would hurt the baby. I guess that means screaming will, too. Hmmm... I was somehow comforted when I realized that it was Friday the 13th.

So with all of that, I am sorry for being so lax in my postings. I am planning to catch up this week, especially now that my nursery is starting to take shape. We made major headway last night. Plus Thursday night, I am leaving for NC for over a week. So I will have lots to share via my iPhone. Please pardon misspellings and lack of links that are inevitable with on-the-road blogging.

BookWorks is in the works

paper sculpture by Ati Gropius Johansen

This fall I decided that instead of taking another full semester class at the Corcoran, I would pick out a short intensive workshop instead. I had my eye on Readable Gallery Books with Rory Golden at The Center for Book Arts in New York. In fact I have wanted to take this class since last summer when it first appeared on the schedule. I love the idea of creating large pieces that are more sculptural than a refined, precise rectangular book.But I ended up going to Penland instead. (And I was lucky enough to meet someone who teaches at The Center for Book Arts, Roni Gross.)

Sometime this winter, I received a newsletter from Asheville BookWorks. Once I saw the picture of the paper sculpture above, I gasped and got really excited. I would LOVE to learn more about sculpting paper. In cleaning up my studio last week, I found a lot of evidence of my failed attempts of creating some sculptures out of paper. But maybe I was just missing a key piece of infrastructure - wire!

Plus the description sounds amazing... and like a once in a lifetime chance.

This two-day workshop, taught by Ati Gropius Johansen, is based on the legendary Bauhaus foundation design course. Using simple materials like paper and wire we’ll create dynamic new forms. Ati is a graduate of Black Mountain College where she studied with Josef Albers and is the daughter of Walter Gropius, founder and director of the Bauhaus School of Design in Germany.

I studied Black Mountain College when I was in graduate school. Black Mountain College was a radical learning experience based on John Dewey's philosophy on progressive education. According to the workshop's co-sponsor Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center:

Legendary even in its own time, Black Mountain College attracted and created maverick spirits, some of whom went on to become well-known and extremely influential individuals in the latter half of the 20th century. A partial list includes people such as Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Josef and Anni Albers, Jacob Lawrence, Merce Cunningham, John Cage, Cy Twombly, Kenneth Noland, Ben Shahn, Franz Kline, Arthur Penn, Buckminster Fuller, M.C. Richards, Francine du Plessix Gray, Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, Dorothea Rockburne and many others, famous and not-so-famous, who have impacted the world in a significant way. Even now, decades after its closing in 1957, the powerful influence of Black Mountain College continues to reverberate.

Wow! Needless to say, I am pretty excited to have this opportunity. Plus the chance to spend the weekend with Alex. We need a little one on one QT before the baby comes. So I have purchased my train ticket and asked for hotel recommendations. My trip is starting to shape up. As long as the trip to Asheville also involves a few good meals, I am sure that we will have a great trip.

little polka dot boxes

Last week, I read on Elise's blog that the Georgetown Paper Source has an exciting new feature, an outlet section. Until Friday, I had not worked in quite a few weeks, so this news intrigued me. Needless to say when I went to work on Friday, I spent most of my time browsing the outlet section, which just so happens to be part of my section.

The outlet section is broken down into price groups - $5, $10, $15 and $20 sections. Plus a huge array of Arturo stationery at 75% off. This is a steal and one of Elise's readers even came in just to check out the selection of fine Italian papers. The outlet section is a new permanent feature on the second floor. So we will continue to receive a wide array of merchandise on a daily basis. For me, this means trouble. I love a bargain.

I started out with a huge pile of baby books, including these two super cute books.


Little Hoot illustrated by Jen Corace


The First 1000 Days: A Baby Journal by Nikki McClure

But by the end of my four-hour shift, I had put back all of the baby items and stuck to my first love, paper, a Kolo album, and the set of five nesting boxes seen above. I have a few baby showers coming up and I thought maybe I should wait before buying lots of baby stuff. Plus I could not have a net negative for the day. I needed to at least break even.

But these nesting boxes are a great deal at $10 for all five. They are typically sold separately. I knew that we were planning on picking up the Ikea bookshelf for the nursery. It's a great shelf, but sometimes the containers to hold smaller items in the shelf can be quite expensive and add up quickly. These little boxes were a steal. And there patterns are more available, if you have a nesting urge, too. But not in this pattern, at this point. But who knows about next week. And that is very exciting news.

Getting Closer

I'm typing this with paint-stained hands with 30 Rock on in the background. We are taking a break. I think that somehow unintentionally we are going to finish most of the nursery this weekend. Granted, we are missing a few important pieces of furniture, namely the crib. But I am not worried in the least. I have three months to go. And even if she comes a little early, I feel okay.

I hate to admit this, but I love nesting. In fact if I could stay in my second trimester forever and truck through a bunch of attics, I would seriously consider it. Maybe that is why I watch Clean House over and over again. I have a purging/reorganizing/decorating disease. Seriously. I came very close to knocking on Rocky's door tonight to see if he wanted me to touch up the paint on his trim. But I decided that I could save that as a surprise if we watch the Duke game in his apartment while he reunites with his friends in Vegas this weekend. Rocky, I hope you're not reading this! Granted it might just be a fleeting idea.



I think that we were prompted to start painting because of IKEA's tax free weekend sale. I took all of my fabric samples and old paint cans over to the Benjamin Moore Street at 5th and K. A gentleman came up to help me. I was a little swayed by the paint color in Little P's room on ohdeedoh. When I pulled out the swatch for Benjamin Moore's Robin's Nest (#618), the guy immediately created a color spectrum from my fabric. He gently steered me towards Forget Me Not (#2049-60) instead. As he looked at the colors, he said "I sure hope this is a boy." I told him it was a girl and I have some pink and orange items for the room. Then I said that I originally intended to get a green paint. But I considered that the blue could be like a sky and walked to counter to place my order. Then I decided maybe I should email a picture to Henry. Good thing I did.

Henry, on the other hand, was not so keen with an idea of a blue closet. It took me a couple of calls to get it out of him, but he finally said that he wants a green. Plus he didn't want the baby to be all Tar Heeled out. I can accept that. So I went in and picked out a green one. I tried to confirm that the Wales Green (#2028-50) didn't look too bad with my fabrics. I finally admitted that my blue chair was fabric that I bought for a bargain and you wouldn't really even see the two together in the same view. The green certainly makes the pale blue look more gray. (But I have always liked the color gray, because it is in fact my middle name.) I can't decide if he just sold me this green paint because that was what he thought I wanted or if it really works. But let's get real. It is just a closet - a closet with the changing table inside. But none the less, a closet. Do I love this color? Not yet. But we will see. I guess I should at least wait until it is all pulled together.

So I taped the trim and patched the holes. Henry said that he was so proud of my momentum that he thought we should go ahead and start painting. This apartment is a complete disaster zone with fifteen unfinished projects, including dirty dishes from dinner, unfolded laundry, papers from a frantic call to check on my dental insurance and just piles and piles of other things. But we dove right in. And I think that we may pull it off tonight. Well, that will be if Henry pulls it off tonight. I still have to make my invitation list for my shower, which will be here in three weeks! Yikes. Now that is where I have been seriously procrastinating.

Change is coming

Many congratulations to a few lovely ladies on the internet...

to future bouquets of camellias on the kitchen table


to two future wise old owls


to a trip around the world to complete her family


to a new call


to the home stretch


Yep! The last one's my belly. I officially start my third trimester sometime this week.

Share your good news, please.