After several days of go-go-go, today is a stay-in day...
I'm puttering, working on these:

These are going to be THESE, fabulous, EASY felt bows that fellow crafty mama Melinda K. linked on Facebook (Thanks, Melinda!!)

(no finished pic yet, sorry!! But they're on their way to completion!)

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And Noah is working on this:

Play-Doh, felt scraps, and New Mai... And LOTS of imagination!

 

It's been a good day, so far. And I'm still in my jammies, so THERE. Ha! 

Also, I must report that I am improving a LOT, painwise. I still have tough mornings as I get this ol' body moving... and by the end of the day, it shuts down completely again... But in the middle, I almost feel like my normal self, functionality wise. What a blessing!! I am grateful for improvement. 

Hope you all are getting some down time in the next day or two as well--- we all need "stay-in" days, afternoons, hours.... Take some for yourself! 

Merry Christmas, if I don't check in before then!

Little Things That Make Me Smile...

We got our Christmas tree by December 4th this year... Fresh, cut, yummy-smelling, from the Ted Drewes lot that reminds me of days gone by:

("Hi, Dawn! Remember me?")

Peace... Loving the peace of an early-dark winter's afternoon, tree lights on, pine-y smell lingering... Noah napping... Me, with a quilt and book.... Quiet. Peace.

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Treated myself to ULTIMATE baby-girl-to-be indulgence: sparkly shoes. I mean, who could resist these tiny, bling-covered moccasins??

They're literally tinier than the palm of my hand. Silly, frivolous, and making my heart melt every time I look at them. We have a baby girl coming!!

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Joe has a BFF-since-birth, practically, who married a most excellent lady. This most excellent lady just sent Noah the most AMAZING birthday gift last month. I still die every time I look at it. I ADORE it. I want to LIVE in it. And then I want to attempt to make one (or three) of my own. Please check this amazingness out:

Seriously?? Hand-sewn, itty-bitty animals with AMAZING details... A complete felt HABITAT... Soft, portable, and inspiring to all imaginations... And the ripple-circles on the pond? LOVE that part. I adore this! And rumor has it, she has been crafting more than one type of these habitats for her own kids... A desert. A volcano. A snow-capped mountain... Seriously SO great. I love it. And Noah does too. When I let him play with it. Ha!

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Lots of little things making me smile over here, beyond the ones I managed to take photos of:

* gorgeous-smelling homemade soaps from Sarah

* chocolate Whoppers candies when I edit

* fake UGGS holding my poor sore feet together from sunup til sundown.

* Getting client orders in the mail and ooh'ing and aah'ing over them before I wrap them up for them

* Noah's grandparents being here, lavishing him (and us!) with love

* spaghetti and Caesar salads--- my current pregnancy cravings

* finding energy to make things/sew things again

* foot rubs and back scratches

* my online girls

* a newly-organized, cleaned sewing corner

* The Sing-Off-- Joe's and my current guilty TV pleasure

* getting presents I've bought for others in the mail and ooh'ing and aah'ing over them before I wrap them up for them

* My squishy, cloud-soft body pillow I've been sleeping with... SO good for this preggy body!

* Not taking Tylenol 24-7 anymore... Just once a day, maybe.

* Getting my Civic fixed, finally. I have blinkers again! I'm SAFE!

* Candy Cane Joe Joe's from Trader Joe's

* Homemade marshmallows from Erin. Gonna try to make some of my own, soon!

* little baby girl bumps and wiggles, usually late at night...

* Noah's singing of Christmas Carols

* Christmas miracles from a small business in Minnesota

* Dinners offered, made, delivered from beloved friends in my ward.

* Christmas music.

And on and on.... and on and on..... LOTS to keep smiling about.

What about you? What's making YOU smile?

Nine Questions:

Posed by my pal  Jamie Siever of Jamie Siever Photography:

1. What is the worst job you've ever had?

Sears Repair Service, my freshman year of college. It was an endless drab office of cubicles and the shifts were endless shifts of answering phone calls and reading set dialogue to steer customers to schedule their repairs on appliances. Drab. Monotonous. And my supervisor was a witch who hated me and recommended I not be eligible for re-hire after the summer break. At the time, I was so offended... but it was a blessing in disguise. I might have gone back again and again to work there. ICK. 

2. What book are you reading right now?

The Life of Pi, by..... ? Forget. I am not getting into it yet, though. Will it get more gripping? Anyone?

3. Keep in touch with a bunch of friends from high school (other than on Facebook) or just a few?

One very best friend from high school, and a really only one other, if I can't count Facebook.

4. What is your favorite vacation spot?

Italy, Italy, Italy...... Ahhhhhhhhhh!! I ACHE to go back!

5. What did you want to be when you grew up as a kid?

A rock singer, or a teacher. 

6. When you text, do you write out You or do you use U?

Both. Honestly, I really do switch between both. No reason.

7. What is the last thing you did out of your comfort zone?

Wide-awake surgery. Or maybe allowing people to keep helping me, when I feel I should be better by now... (Thanks, beloved friends!)

8. What is something you are really good at?

Singing. I miss using it like you wouldn't believe. For now, though, Noah gets the full force of it. He's my lone audience member. :)

9. What is something that you see as something you need to work on/not a strength? 

Routines. Specifically in regards to chores, financials, scripture study... I get things done, but there's no consistent SYSTEM, and I think life could only improve if I had a better rhythm and routine for these things. 

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So I am sorry for being so M.I.A.! You can probably guess, but it's just been a time of maintaining my little life as much as I can, despite little improvement in my physical health. The pain ebbs and flows, I have great days and crippling days... And I've been realizing that as much as I thought I knew how to simplify, this era has taught me how much more I can afford to let go of and still function... That truly RESTING, and SLOWING DOWN so I can heal, means letting go of fun things, too... Like outings, like art time with Noah... Like blogging. Even dashing to the store for a Redbox movie to veg to... I have to let that go, too, because even small errands cost a lot, physically. So. For now, I am hunkering down. We're in survival mode. And I am learning to love even THIS version of life. The calm of sitting in my now-infamous spot on the couch, under my Katie-quilt... The letting go to nap more... The treats I can enjoy when I am finally hungry. The smell of our Christmas tree, something I am delighted we managed to accomplish, even in this "new normal". Cheap novels, read a little here and a little there... hot baths. Christmas music. I look forward, even more now, to Joe coming home each day... A breath of fresh air from a day that really wasn't very interesting. Day after day. 

I feel badly for Noah--- maybe he is bored? 

But he seems okay. Somehow. He plays, we laugh, we read lots of books... He watches too many Mickey Mouse Clubhouse reruns some days... but we seem okay. He gets excited at even the smallest things, so I try to do SOMETHING every day to see him light up... Bring out the Play-Doh, resurrect an old toy, let him have a marshmallow for dessert... 

And we carry on. 

My in-laws come next week. I cannot WAIT. I know Noah will thrive under their attention, and they will get him back to the adventures we were having before--- the Magic House, the train exhibit at the Botanical Gardens... Fun things for him to do. I am excited to have company while I sit on this couch. I am excited for my mama-in-law to help me do some Christmas baking... Some present wrapping. I am excited for her foot rubs. It feels like when they arrive, Christmas will really be coming.

So. 

We carry on. And all is well. :)

I have some random photos to post. Maybe tomorrow? Sunday? I'll try not to be gone so long again.