A Handbag Free Year

I have a handbag obsession.  Mostly Kate Spade, 2 Banana, 2 Hobo and 2 Coach.  I am taking a 12 month hiatus from handbag purchases and will just be using the ones that I already have! 

*I did get an iPhone at work and HAD to get a KS cover....but, technically that is not a handbag ;)

Groundhog's Day

I am certain that we will have some fun with the fact that it is Groundhog's Day for many of Trevor's upcoming birthdays.  Well, maybe...?  If the PGA Golf Tournament in Phoenix continues to always be the beginning of February we may never actually celebrate Trevor's birthday on his actual birth date!  Can't have a birthday party without Dad.  But, it did get me wondering about the day and where it comes from.  The tradition seems to have many origins.  The Scottish say:

As the light grows longer
The cold grows stronger
If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas be cloud and rain
Winter will be gone and not come again
A farmer should on Candlemas day
Have half his corn and half his hay
On Candlemas day if thorns hang a drop
You can be sure of a good pea crop

But my favorite explanation for marking Feb. 2nd as a day that determines the beginning of Spring is that it is the day:

"when daylight first makes significant progress against the night"

I can, of course, see this as a metaphor to me having a baby on this day.  Trevor truly is the light of my life.  Don't even get me started on this as a prophecy...Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker better make way for Trevor Williams!

102 + fever...day 3 and counting!

I really hate when he is sick. I can honestly say I have never seen him this sick before. Running a 102 fever most of the time an got up to 103.8 last night. He lays on the couch really out of it. He is still drinking milk and water but refuses all food (even fruit snacks)...you know he is sick then. He even asked me to turn off Thomas so that he could go take a nap. Let's hope this virus runs it course soon and that I am immune. I really can't miss anymore work!

Train Storage- New Use for an IKEA Bookshelf

I am a type A Mother.  I have recognized it, dealt with it and must embrace all that comes with that.  I have been known to clean and organize Trevor's room once he has fallen asleep. (Women who go through infertility treatments are 4X more likely to develop PPD and I am type A...I didn't have a chance!)  He probably thinks there are cleaning Fairies!  It is clear that my Type A personality is shaping Trevor for the good and not so good.  What Kind Of Mom Are You?

I digress...the point is to explain exactly why I came up with using an IKEA bookshelf as a "Train Depot".  Trains all over the place drive me nuts!  Trains piled into containers seem to be a slap in the face to the $15-20 price tag on these darn things!  And, last but not least...these trains are people to Trevor, they are his friends...I swear he learned his numbers thanks to Thomas and Friends.  Luckily, we have generous friends who have passed down their Train Table and tons of tracks and trains.  This means (because I cannot resist a Train and the look on T's face when he gets a new one) that we have a lot of trains.  Enter IKEA bookshelf!  Easy to install, cheap and the exact same length as the train table.  You can store about 60 trains if you "double park" them behind each other and still see at least 1/2 of their smiling little faces! 

ps. Bert and Ernie earn extra money on the side, policing the train depot for the night shift.  They are fierce security guards!

 

Giggling Troublesome Trucks might be my favorite things, ever!

Potty Prizes

Trevor is making us look more and more like Tiger Woods' parents, each day.  He loves golf so much that he could hit buckets of balls all day and now he will go poop on the potty, on his own, for 2 golf tees.  He has accumulated 12 new tees in the last 2 days!

We floated the possibility of getting brand new golf balls if he tries a new food.   If that works, golf will be my favorite sport too.  At least tees are cheap!

REPOST: French, Black and White and Silent....

I am RE-POSTING because you really should see this movie, it opens in more theaters this weekend.  I am going to see it again!

...and it's by far the best movie I have seen all year, maybe in a long time.  I totally fell in love with these actors!  The Artist - don't miss it!

Beachy Curls Trend

I bought this non clamp curling iron to do those fabulous effortless (takes effort and burn cream...BTdubs) curls.  Love it but started thinking of getting a bigger diameter iron for that "I rolled out of bed looking this  fabulous" style.  Now, that is just silly.  I already own 2 regular curling irons, this new one on the left of the picture and my trusty Glam Palm straightener.  Just modify any good iron that you already have with a screw driver and remove the clamp.  Put, the screws and rest back on so you don't burn your counters.  Wrap your hair around the barrel, away from your face, hold for a bit and BINGO!  Saving pennies!  Put the clamp in a safe place because what ever you used it for on your hair will be back in style soon!

Jane Eyre

I have never been much of a reader (or been referred to as feminist)...so the fact that I haven't read Jane Eyre doesn't really come as much of a surprise.  I have seen Pride and Prejudice more than once and always get who wrote what a little mixed up in my head.  Well, not anymore.  Seems pretty tame these days, but what would I have thought in the 1800's...steamy stuff...that's what!!  And, she still blows Belle out of the water (Don't get me started on how I feel about Twilight)...Jane Eyre is a strong, smart, moral and interesting character.  Maybe I really should start reading more, thank God for well made movies!  And, the hot guy from Inglorious Bastards was the cherry on top.

ps. I am super grateful to not be living in a drafty stone estate where 1/2 of my siblings die from Typhus or Tuberculosis...that and thanks to feminists I can pretty much do whatever I want with my best friend on a Friday night!

Hip Surgery Update

I am one week out and I am happy! I doctored this photo just in case people are super squeamish...but you can see that the Frankenstein factor is truly minimal and I don't bruise easily (dodged the bullet of a trailer park wife but that could have come in handy). It is funny to me that such a big deal was made about my "bikini" C Section incision and now have 3 "bullet" holes in my leg! *Yes, I am in a swim suit here...not my undies!! This is about as close to body modification surgery I am ever going to get. It will allow me to keep running, which means I might want a boob job in 10 years but the rest of me will be looking pretty damn good!

I injured my hip on a hike at the Allegany State Park over 15 years ago. I was diagnosed with dislocating my hip and tearing my gluteus minimus, which was 2/3 correct. They were just missing the part where I tore the cartilage in my hip socket as well. The initial cortisone shot in my butt made me feel better and I went about my young, carefree life! I started running in earnest again when I turned 30 and the wear and tear brought the lingering injury to the forefront of my mind after walking 14 miles in Paris in 2004 and not being able to walk the next day. I blamed all sorts of things and my ITB band took most of the blame for my misery. Poor ITB band...shooting the messenger seems an appropriate analogy.

I ran my last 1/2 Marathon in November of 2010. I was in misery, every step hurt but I kept going. I knew I would not be able to challenge the 2 hour mark and said I would be happy if I finished with the 2:15 group, ahead of 2:30. I did that but truly thought my running days were over after that race. I had to take Medal Monday (Renee Gibson term) off from work because I was too sore to get out of bed.

Then....my Fairy Run Mother came to visit me in December, a friend who is an orthopedic surgeon in Florida. I told him about the race and my darn ITB issues affecting my hip. He seriously took not more than one look at me and said, "sister, that is not your ITB band...it's your hip...you need a surgeon...you probably have a labral tear and impingement". $300 MRI and the best referral in Dallas (Thank You Fairy Run Mother Eric Bonenberger!) and he was EXACTLY correct. I was honestly so relieved that there was something wrong with me that could actually be fixed that I was EXCITED about the prospect of having surgery.

I chose not to read a lot of the things on the Internet about this injury for a few reasons. Medical Science is just catching on to correcting this type of injury in younger, athletic people. The technique used in my surgery is less than 10 years old. 10 years ago I would have hit my 50's and needed a hip replacement as a runner.  There are only 2 doctors in Dallas that specialize in doing this *WELL*. I have heard a few horror stories of people being cut open, not arthroscopic surgery etc. The whole point to doing this is being able to get back to better than what your 100% was with the injury so arthroscopic is the only way to do it. My Doctor, Mark Muller and the Carroll Clinic are the best of the best! Who doesn't want fresh baked cookies when they come out of anesthesia? Well, turns out...I don't but they were yummy the first time I tasted them.

2012 DRC 1/2 Marathon in November...that is my goal. I can't wait to start running again! It will be a happy summer.  Here's to staving off broken hips or joint replacements in the future!!!

ps. I am already back to work, less than a week later.  Still on crutches for one more week but stopped taking prescription pain meds within 3 days of my surgery.

Hard 8 BBQ & Sprinkles Cupcakes

If you want to take people to the best BBQ in Dallas, THIS is the place to go.  It is delicious.  Unlike some of the other places in Dallas that use a lot of smoke, they use open pit-indirect heat.  Ordering a steak at a bbq place seems silly, but it is one of the best steaks I have had in a while.  Just another reason to venture to Coppell, TX...that and there is a Dairy Queen there.  You can't do both in one visit though...you would explode!
The other fun thing to do when out and about with guests is to be close to Sprinkles for the whisper of the day.  Today was "sweet cause" for a S' Mores cupcake.  D-Lish!  If I don't do these things with you when you come to visit....take it as a sign that I don't love you very much.