52 Weeks of Me- Week 9

This week we are tackling shadows. I kept it simple and of course waited until the absolute last minute. My goal for next week is to get the photo before Sunday evening.

Peace out.

Sidelined

After dealing with my hip pain for several weeks, I finally decided to go to the doctor last week. They ordered a MRI to rule out a stress fracture or labral tear. It was a whirlwind of a day. My thoughts were all over the place with fear of surgery or weeks of crutches. Fortunately, the MRI showed no fractures or tears. My bursa sac was swollen and inflamed so he put me on steroids and ordered physical therapy. He also said no running for 2 weeks. It was probably the best case scenerio really, but I am not sure how this is all going to impact my half marathon training. I am still planning on running, but I guess I will just see how things pan out.

I know in the whole scheme of things my minor injury is not a big deal, but it really has thrown me for a loop. I feel like I have worked so hard to get to a certain point with my running. I am afraid I am going to have to start all over again. Running has become such a stress reliever for me. Without it I have been a little (or a lot if you ask my husband) cranky.

I have my first physical therapy session today so hopefully I will be back in action soon.

The June Bag

It's a good thing that I had to wait to show you this bag because I have not done one crafty thing all week. I have been preoccupied with thoughts of home improvement projects. We are very slowly trying to tackle our very long list of things that need to be updated in our house.

I used this pattern to make a purse for my mother in law's birthday. I was pleased with how it turned out. Cutting out the pattern pieces took way more time than the actual sewing.

There's a pocket on the back that I forgot to photograph.

I made a little zipper pouch to match.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.

52 Weeks of Me- Week 8

This week's theme is Zero In. I was excited about this week because I thought it was the perfect opportunity to photograph something besides my face. Woohoo. I didn't even have to shower or put on make-up. Instead I dug in the dirt a little bit. I have a head start on my herb garden now. I can't wait for Spring.

Team-Up Thursday- Blue

This week our theme is Blue. I sure would like to know what is or was in Cara's blue bag. When I think of blue, my little guy's eyes come to mind. I was trying to get a good shot of his eyes and for some reason he decided do to do this funny wink face at me. I thought is was cute, but his eye color didn't really pop. That's when I decided a little selective coloring would solve that problem. I admit it is a little over the top, but it was fun to play around in photoshop.

Join in on the fun, over at Mental Inventory.

Valentine's 2011

I did a little sewing last week, but I will have to wait to show you. Today is my mother in law's birthday. (Happy Birthday Grammie!!!) I don't want to ruin any surprises, you know?

So instead I will show you what I did this year for the kid's valentines. It really isn't that crafty, but it's all I have to show. It was cheap, easy, and I thought they turned out cute.

I found the design on Eighteen 25. They have such cute ideas.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. My Valentine surprised me with a date night Saturday night. We went to a swanky wine bar and then a very nice restaurant. It was the perfect way to celebrate Valentine's day.

52 Weeks of Me- Week 7

This week we are tackling profiles. Today it is 60 degrees and sunny. So I embraced the awesome weather and took this shot while the sun was beating down on my face and wind blowing my hair. The background seemed distracting so I decided to get rid of it for a more dramatic effect. It sure would be nice if this weather stayed around for awhile, but I am not getting my hopes up.

A Day in the Life- February 8, 2011 {lunch break}

This week I decided to document my lunch break at work. I try to go for a run a couple of days a week on my lunch break. Yes, it means I am kind of nasty the rest of the day, but I have come to terms with it. I will probably start running in the evenings again once it gets warmer and isn't dark so early.

I officially start my half marathon training this week. I have been training for my training the last month or so. I was having some foot issues so I went to a specialty running store and bought some shoes. I desperately needed new shoes. The new shoes felt great and my foot issues seemed to be better. I ran my longest run- 5.8 miles. Then my hip started killing me. Man, oh man. I really feel old. I took about a week off from running. It started feeling better, but after today's run it is very sore again. Ughhh.

Anyway back to my lunch break. At 11:30 I changed clothes, stretched, and got all ready for my run.

I felt pretty good during my run. My hip was hurting, but not too bad. I ran 3 miles in just under 30 minutes. I headed back to the office, drank some water, and cooled off a bit. I took a couple of calls. Then changed back into my work clothes.

I grabbed some homemade gatorade, some ice for my hip, and my lunch.

I ate my lunch while I worked. Exciting stuff, huh?

Bit of Whimsy Doll and Quilt

After last week's shoe fail, I knew I had to redeem myself. So I decided I would make my friend who just had a baby a doll and doll quilt. I used this pattern from Bit of Whimsy Dolls. It was on sale last week, but doesn't look like it is any longer. I had all of the materials on hand so I was able to use up some of my stash. I used a pattern from the Wee Wonderful book for the doll quilt. This was my first attempt at quilting so I pretty much winged it.

I also used this tutorial to create a pretend binding. It worked perfectly.

Now I just have to mail the gift, which seems to be harder than all of the sewing.

Happy Crafty Tuesday.

52 Weeks of Me- Week 6

This week we are doing at arm's length. I really need to figure out how to look happier. Even though I look a little angry, I was pretty happy with this shot. Miller told me I looked like Michael Jackson. Hmmmm. Maybe it's the curly hair.

It's never too late to join in on the fun.

A Day in the Life- February 1, 2011 {evening}

I want to preface this by saying this is not a typical evening at our house, but as the kids get involved in more activities it will probably become the norm. I also will apologize in advance for the photo quality. I had to snap the photos fast and there are iphone photos mixed in there too.

Miller had his first swim lesson tonight. He was so excited. I couldn't get a photo of him that wasn't blurry because he was moving around so much. This is a huge step for him. He is terrified of the water. We finally convinced him that he really needs to know how to swim. Mitch took him because I am a softie and Miller knows it.

While the boys were at swim lessons, Harper did some homework and I made some soup.

Then I ate some of this yummy soup (Red Lentil Potato Soup with Kale). Harper was not impressed. She opted for a banana. In my defense she ate some rotisserie chicken earlier.

After dinner and homework, I picked out some fabric for a baby gift I am planning. Harper decided to write the answer to every one of her math flash cards. She answered every single one correctly.

Miller and Mitch arrived home. Lessons started out a little shaky, but he did it. He was very proud of himself. I told him if he did what the teacher asked him to do he could play Wii Mario Kart when he got home. That motivated him. That is all he cares about these days. Mitch showed us some photos and videos of Miller in action.

The boys ate some dinner. Harper and I loaded up for basketball practice. Miller took a shower.

I did a little reading and basketball practice watching. Then we headed home. Harper brushed her teeth. Miller was already in bed.

Harper lost a tooth at school today. Well, actually the nurse pulled it for her. It was just hanging there. Harper kept visiting the nurse about her tooth, so I am sure the nurse was happy it finally came out. She made sure the tooth was tucked into her tooth fairy pillow. Then we read a book.

Time for bed.

Did anyone play along this week?

Shoe Fail

I am not sure how it happened, but I became obsessed with making my own shoes. I saw the patterns from Shoeology and could not stop thinking about them. Finally I broke down and bought the pattern. The first pair were in process for a couple of weeks. Then I finished one shoe. The other sat there for another week or so before I decided to actually finish it. They were too big so I kept trying to make adjustments. It just ended up all wrong. So I cut out another pair and tried again. I found this extra large wool skirt at Goodwill so I still had plenty of fabric. The first shoe looked ok, but the second shoe just never looked right. I tried adding some insoles from an old pair of tennis shoes, which helped but they are still not right. I may give it one more go, but I think I need to do something else first. I am tired of shoes.

I hope everyone else has a happier Crafty Tuesday.