Novemblur

I have posted one time in November. That is an all time low for me!

I have taken even fewer photographs. I don't know why I don't think to take more. I have to get better at that again! I used to love to take pictures.

Anywho, here's a run down of what we've been doing this month:

• November is a big birthday month. Evan, my Mom, my Stepmom, and my Mother-in-law all have birthdays in November. We ate lots of cake.
• We hosted Thanksgiving. I cleaned house for 2 days and Bart did 99% of the cooking. It was a nice day. Food was delicious and everyone was happy.
• Evan played futsál every weekend.
• I continue to go to the chiropractor several times a week. My back is feeling pretty good...now if I can just get my neck to co-operate then I will be great!
• Leaves. Lots and lots of leaves. At our house. My dad's house. My mom's house.
• My etsy store has been busy! I have been knitting pretty constantly to have items in stock.

Add in all the other everyday stuff a mom does, and it's been busy around here, but not too crazy. I like November for it's pared down schedule.

Less than a month to Christmas. Holy Cow!

five good things: October 2011

Ack! Once again November has snuck up on me. A whole week flew by and I'm staring at the second week of November. Seriously? STOP MOVING SO FAST!

And I haven't felt like posting anything in forever, so now I have tons of things circling thru my mind that I will never get around to saying.

So here is my list of 5 good things from October!

1. The end of the soccer season. This is not actually true. Practices started right back up this week. However, I no longer am driving to Canton a few times a week, nor are there any regular games scheduled for either kid. Evan's team is playing futsal, while Emma's team is not doing anything as of this moment. She will be training and conditioning for high school tryouts over the winter. I suddenly have free time again!

2. My Chiropractor. 2 weeks ago, Sunday morning, I woke up fine. An hour later, after vegging on the couch reading, I was unable to move my legs. Monday morning was no better, so I called a local chiropractor to see if I could get an adjustment. They took tons of X-rays, which showed all sorts of painful things going on in my body.

Luckily I am able to reverse many of them and eliminate my pain. I love this doctor. I should have gone years ago, with all the headaches and neck pain I have. I am a believer!

3. Lunch with friends! I was lucky enough to find time to meet up with three friends this month...Lisa, Judy & Kirsty. I want to try to meet up with someone every week this month, if I can.

4. Emma made the Freshman Select Choir. She was very nervous and didn't think she stood a chance, but was chosen over many girls with vocal training and who perform other places. We couldn't be prouder of her, and can't wait to attend her first concert!

5. October TV. It's no secret that I love TV. It's a big part of our lives. Two of my very favorite shows returned this month, Dexter and The Walking Dead. And just in case you weren't clear that we like freaky tv shows, we've added in American Horror Story, which is the weirdest of them all! Sooooo good it's scary. Disturbing. I love it.

6. Michigan State besting U of M. Again. Enough said :)

7. Fall splendor. October was a gorgeous month, with lots of warm days and cool nights. Fall is my favorite season...I just wish it would last a little longer. This October has probably been the best weather wise in many years. Almost makes the onslaught of winter tolerable. Almost.

Dem Bones

Last week my bones revolted and overthrew my body.

I didn't do one thing in particular to cause the revolution; it was more of a progressive slide into total unhealthiness that did me in. When I woke up on Sunday, I was fine. An hour later, I couldn't move my legs without great pain.

I have been wanting to check out a local chiropractor for a few months now. I sleep poorly, and am always throwing my neck out of whack. And with all the knitting I do, I have been having a lot of pain in my elbow and shoulder, to the point of hardly knitting for weeks on end. I wanted to see if I could get an adjustment and help prevent further occurrences like these.

Obviously, the need became urgent on Monday when I could still hardly move.

I called the doctor in the local phone book, and they were able to get me in right away. He did x -rays, moist heat, traction, and finally an adjustment. Pure relief.

The x-rays showed that I had several lumbar vertebra out of alignment, and that my pelvis was torqued to the left. I have some degeneration in my neck, and bone spurs that are aggravating the nerve.

The good news is, that most of this can be reversed. I am continuing to go in for 14 adjustments, and in the meantime working on strengthening my core. So, crunches. Lovely.

The other thing I have to do is try to sleep on my back, which is a lot harder than you would think. I flip flop all over, 30 times a night. Laying flat on my back is unnatural to me. I'm hoping a new core pillow will help.

So friends, treat you back nicely and strengthen your core!

The Reveal...Emma's room

Sorry to keep you waiting for the 'money shot' as my husband so lovingly called it. Between cloudy, rainy days,and teen messiness, the room was not suitable for photographing.

Here is the finished room!

The blinds will be replaced soon, hopefully. Emma keeps looking at curtains. She likes the expensive ones, naturally.

The rug took over a month to arrive, because Pottery Barn kept sending the wrong color. Like 3 times. Every time they messed up, Bart would call and they'd offer another discount. Hey, we like discounts!

The floor photographs very dark, but there is a lot of tonal variation throughout. I really like the dark wood...the main problem being dog hair. I vacuumed the room to take this photo and already I can see white hairs all over.

Lola thinks the rug is cozy! It's perfectly placed in a late day sunbeam :)

Thanks for all the kind words about our DIY project!

This is Halloween

My friend Sharyn posted this today, and I have to steal it because it's the coolest thing I have ever seen. I wish I was cool enough to do this to my house. Enjoy!

Emma's room redeux part 2

Here's the stripped down bare floor

Bart and my dad laying down the underlayment

Working across the room

Working in the closet

The finished floor

Evan & I went to his soccer game in the morning and by the time we came home, Bart & Emma had ripped up the carpet, pad and staples. Time to do the hard work!

The underlayment was tricky to work with. It is basically a moisture barrier, and only has one sticky edge on it. The trick is to lay it down and not overlap it, or to have any wrinkles, which was nearly impossible considering we had to walk on it.

Bart, Greg & my Dad started in front of the closet, alternating long & short boards, marking what needed to be cut. Emma was the runner, running pieces out to Bart's Dad who was manning the circular saw. I watched for awhile, and then Bart let me do the majority of the room. For anyone who knows my husband, this is a big deal. He never relinquishes control, and I usually just stand around. Not on this project! Of course he came back and finished it off and did the closet, but I was happy that I got to do some of the work too!

Emma's room redeux part 1

Sometime in the last 2 years, my 14 year old daughter has been bitten by the decorating bug. She watches all the shows on HGTV with her dad, and has very specific opinions about how things should look.

As if 14 year olds didn't have enough opinions.

She started nagging us for hardwood flooring in her room last year. We pretty much ignored her for as long as we could. Hardwood flooring is expensive. Time to install the floor was nonexistent. She kept on us though. Her Dad caved.

Here are some before pix of her room, with (according to her) the world's nastiest carpet. Girl, you sadly were too young to remember the really nasty stuff that was in this house when we moved here!

Tomorrow I will post pictures of the new and improved bedroom!