Free Music!

Do you guys use NoiseTrade? You can legally download free music in exchange for giving the artist your email address and zip code. Though not mandatory, you are also encouraged to give them a tip (of any amount you choose) for sharing their music -- and they end up getting way more money this way than if you bought the songs from iTunes.

Love it.

One of my favorites, Madi Diaz, has a three-song sampler on NoiseTrade right now that I highly recommend you download! She's kind of folky and poppy, with a hint of twang now and then. (And she grew up in Lancaster PA, so she gets extra love points for that!) "Let's Go," which is on this sampler, has been a favorite the past few months.

I discovered Madi about 5 years ago I guess, during the short stint we lived in Boston and I listened to WERS (the indie station out of Emerson College) during my commute. She was still a student at Berklee College of Music and playing small shows with Matt Pond PA. Good stuff.

Incidentally, when I feel like discovering new music, I stream WERS to this day. Isn't the internet grand? WERS is how I originally discovered probably the majority of the artists I listen to.

Anyway, William Fitzsimmons, the Civil Wars and Rosie Thomas all have free music available on NoiseTrade right now as well. More great things than my ears can handle!

What are you listening to these days?


NOTE: I haven't been paid or perked by NoiseTrade, WERS or any of the artists mentioned.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

Ah, these two. The only way I'd love this sight more is if they made some room for me.

This weekend we rearranged the entire upstairs. It was supposed to just be a quick swap of a few baby things (moving the pack 'n play out of Johnnie's room to bring in the crib) but it ended up being a big to-do involving dismantling the crib in the guest room and reassembling it in Johnnie's room, after switching everything else around to accommodate it. The guest bedroom door has still not been rehung, since we had to take it off the hinges. Babies... always more work than you anticipate!

No wonder they needed a nap this afternoon.

I'm so happy that my girl loves books

I have tons of very nice photos on my very nice camera ready to download and share... just haven't had a chance. Been too busy reading stories with my little bookworm. (Hence another phone post, composed while pumping.)

She'll be 5 months old next week and is now able to sit unsupported for amazingly long periods without toppling, and in another few weeks she'll be starting solid food. Instead of the gentle coos she used to use to tell me stories, she's now very into the sound of her own shrieking and also a very slobbery "thhh" sound she's recently discovered. It's almost as if she's trying to say, "Ttthhhhhanks for being so awesome, parents!"

The time is going so fast, but I love all her little discoveries, her clearly emerging personality and her newfound talents.

Where's Johnnie?

A certain baby fussed her way into our bed the other morning, as we hoped tucking her in with us would allow us to grab a couple extra winks on a Saturday morning. No such luck. This was her preferred sleeping position, pushing both of us off the edges and into our weekend To Do lists.

(For a kid who has demonstrated that she can roll over but just prefers not to, she sure can wiggle her way into some uncomfortable-for-everyone-else positions. But since her teeth have been bothering her a lot lately, we forgive her.)

So... I'm just going to come right out and say that working moms who find time to exercise, blog, shop, date their husbands and/or do crafty things are my newest heroes. How do you do it? I demand to know! I feel like an athlete in a neverending decathlon, where, instead of throwing heavy objects, the events are ordinary things like washing pump parts and having pseudo-intelligent things to say at meetings.

But we got this. We're learning, getting more efficient and figuring out our priorities. S continues to make progress on important renovation things when he can (with something particularly exciting in the works as I write this), and I continue to breastfeed and keep the filth from overtaking the house the best I can. I appreciate your patience and support as my blog posts are definitely erratic and completely focused on baby things, as I'm positive I previously promised they would not. Whoops. (What can I say? I love my girl.)

In the meantime, while my blog is suffering, I've taken to posting on Twitter (@thirtyeight20) a lot more as it's quick and easily updated via phone with one hand while I'm nursing or pumping. So if you are really missing reading about the residents of 3820 on a regular basis, there's your consolation prize.

Also, I'm serious. If any working moms can share any time management/sanity tips, I'm all ears.

Right Quick

Some things that are happening and/or have happened of late...

                                                       ...in bullet format because I'm completely frazzled:

• We have only had running water sporadically for the past 5 days. Flowing full force, however, is my desire to cry about it.
• During one of the attempts to fix the water problem, S and my father-in-law installed a water filtration system. No more brown water! Totally drinkable and awesome! (If only it would come out of the faucet and into my cup when I turn on the tap...)
• Fridge and baking table have been moved out of the living room and into the kitchen. Finally! The living room seems so much more inviting. Go figure. Pictures to come!
• Our normally easygoing baby has been CRAZY the past 5 days. There has been unprecedented random squawking, night waking, drooling, and clinginess going on. Little teeth moving around under the gums + 2 shots at the doctor's office = misery for the whole family. She does have cute little purple and yellow band-aids on her chubby thighs though, which are adorably sad.
• We got the go-ahead from the inspector to finish the dining room and entry, plus to insulate the master suite. Thank God! I couldn't care less about the dining room right now... but in order to be able to fully use the kitchen on a daily basis, the dang heat has to stop escaping out of the second floor! (So, while we have some things set up for cooking, that side of the house is still basically barricaded off to keep the heat in the finished areas. Until we insulate, that is.)
• After we insulate and use up the materials we have for finishing the dining room and entry, no more major purchases for awhile. Whew. I won't even buy a candy bar from an adorable little leaguer raising money for uniforms outside the grocery store. (Okay, I might... but only one.)
• I can't wait to read this. Aside from my trusty breastfeeding manual and the Very Hungry Caterpillar, I haven't read any books since our little screaming eaglet was born. I think this will be my first one. I was a dutiful English major who studied Derrida, Jane Austen and George Eliot and fell in love at cafés on College Hill! Also, I love Jeffrey Eugenides. This is a recipe for pleasurable reading, I do say.

OK. That's all I can muster for now. Happy Friday, one and all!

Monthly Goals for January

Before we begin, let's rehash last month's goals:

1. Make a wreath for the front door. FAIL. I didn't even manage to get the hook put on the door to hang up my ornament wreath. At least I finished the sweater pouf.

2. Exercise 2-3 times per week. FAIL. I ran 2 or 3 times total.

3. Maintain (and stick to) a realistic To Do list. SUCCESS! This kept me sane.

4. Go on at least 2 dates with the hubster. FAIL. Sigh. We did manage to have coffee together, just the two of us, for 15 minutes in the hotel lobby while in Chicago last week. I guess that's half credit?

So my first month was a bust, but I'm willing to try again and encourage myself with the fact that the holidays were busy and I'm doing my best.

*

Now onto January's goals:

1. Stick to the One-Year Bible reading plan. Easy enough to be a challenge every day.

2. Exercise 2-3 times a week for 20 minutes. Johnnie is 4 months old now, so I'm not allowing excuses for myself anymore for being out of shape. You can accomplish a lot in 20 minutes, and there's no time like the present.

3. Use the stove (for good not evil). After 3+ years of takeout and toaster oven meals, we can boil, saute and pan-fry all we want now! Cooking an elaborate meal every night is not realistic but I'll do my best to make sure we have healthy, homecooked food on the (coffee) table as often as possible whether I cook it or S does. (He's the family chef.)

4. Invest my time wisely. That's a vague and all-encompassing way of saying, "spend less time doing things that are unnecessary or unfulfilling so that I have more time to spend doing the truly important and most enjoyable things." So, when I find myself reading blogs or watching a lame TV show when I could be hanging out with S and Johnnie or paying the bills, I'm going to make a concerted effort to switch gears on the spot. That will make my "realistic To Do list" goal from last month a little easier to accomplish.

So that's it, and again I think that's enough considering my shameful performance last month. And since Johnnie just woke up, I'm going to sign off so I can work toward accomplishing goal #4 right now. ☺

Kitchen -- the "Before" photos

Not everyone who reads this blog has been fortunate (ahem) to have started from the beginning, so as the kitchen is unfolding, I wanted to pull out some photos from the archives to show you how things got started.

This is what the kitchen looked like when we bought the house. It was divided into two rooms. The log wall along the left side (which is now home to the sink) can give you a sense of the layout compared to what it looks like now.

That beam contraption in the center of this photo is literally holding up the extremely bowed floor above. (And only gravity was holding those timbers in place -- there wasn't a single lag holding anything together.)

The second photo shows the former entrance-slash-kitchen sink area. Yep, this was the first impression you got when entering the house.

And in this final photo, you can see how the fireplace used to be covered with plaster. (It's hiding behind that area with the 3 cabinets going across the top.) We had to have it rebuilt as the bricks were dried out and crumbling.

I can't believe people lived here. And I don't know what possessed us to buy this place... I guess it was a combination of the exposed log walls and the ridiculously low foreclosure price. After a total gut (down to the dirt beneath the floorboards) and a long three years, we're not done yet but we've come a long, long way.

Kitchen Update

Oh yeah! There's some stuff happening and I like what I see.

Now, things are definitely in a state of flux; the placement of all the tables is just temporary and the rangetop is just sitting on top of an old IKEA dining table for now. But do I care? No I do not. Because the stove is officially open for business! Let's boil something! 

Next steps include:

• Cutting down and installing the steel backsplash (which we got for free!) behind the stove
• Hooking up the pot filler faucet
• Finding a temporary solution for the wall oven (until we build it in to the left of the stove) 
• Finishing the chinking between the logs. 

Oh yeah, and finally moving the fridge and baking table out of the living room!

And clearly there's a lot to do in this corner... and up the stairs. We're not there yet, but we're well on our way.

My favorite things are the planked walls, the big window and the ceiling beams. Actually, I think I'm going to love most everything about it once it's done someday. For now, I'm just thrilled to be this far along and to have a STOVE THAT ACTUALLY WORKS! Until it was hooked up yesterday, we'd been stoveless for 3 years, 3 months and 13 days.

Post script: In case you are wondering, yes there's a distinct line running down the middle of the floor. Half of the floor had been covered by plastic and barrier paper for protection, and the other half had just been covered by the paper. The plastic held some moisture underneath it which darkened the concrete, so when all the protective layers were removed, that half was darker than the other. Over time, it should even out. But clearly we were distressed when we first made the discovery!

So, what do you think? Are you starting to see the vision come together?

DIY Sweater Pouf

I did something from my To Do list! It was not a disaster and it only took about an hour. (Well, a month plus an hour.) I'll chalk it up as a success. Before I tell the story, here's the final product:

For a grand total of maybe $7, I'll take it. It makes for a nice footstool in front of the rocking chair in Johnnie's room.

Here was the plan: Go to Goodwill. Browse around for a couple discarded plum or, preferably, coral-hued sweaters (so I could make more than one if the first was a bust). Preferably in size XXXXXL so it would be big. Look for stripes or designs that are too ugly to wear, since that might actually work perfectly. (Our Goodwill here is a haven for the most generally unwearable clothes -- piece of cake.) Bring it home, wash it, cut it, stuff it, sew it and see what happens.

Here's what actually happened: I went to Goodwill. Johnnie took one whiff of the funky stale coffin smell and started crying as soon as we got inside. I whisked her back to the sweater section. She sneezed. I grabbed the first sweater that was remotely somewhat related to the color family that I was looking for. (It's neither purple nor orange... I guess you'd call it cranberry aka "good enough.") I dashed to the register and paid my $3, apologizing about my fussy baby to the girl behind the counter, who couldn't have been older than 17 or over 100 lbs. but said that her three-year-old always fusses when they shop. My mind was blown and my heart felt heavy. We had to get out of there.

Then I went home, and the sweater sat around for like two weeks until I located a needle, some heavy quilting thread and a pile of clothes bound for the donation bin. (And since I only had time to grab one sweater, I needed time to build up courage because I figured this was an all-or-nothing scenario since Goodwill + Johnnie = incompatible.) Finally I got my act together, put the baby down for a nap and got to work.

There might be better ways to do this, but in case you're interested my assembly process went like this:

1. Prepare the sweater. I chopped off the sweater's sleeves and cut straight across the top, lopping off the neck and shoulder seams so that it was sort of a big cylinder.

2. Sew the top of the sweater closed to form the bottom of the pouf. I just started gathering the cut edges toward the middle, as evenly as possible, and just sewing them together. (This would be the bottom, so I wasn't terribly worried that it was 100% perfect.)

3. Stuff your pouf. I used 2 old pairs of jeans (since they're heavier) on the very bottom. (Size 1, which I will almost certainly never fit into again.) Then I used a regular old IKEA down throw pillow insert that I had lying around. Then I rolled up some some t-shirts and tucked them around the edges to make sure the pouf would stay round and be firmer around the edges. You could probably do a more careful job than I did at making sure there are no lumps. Then I firmly tucked a fluffy fleece baby blanket down around the whole pile to sort of "unite" everything and keep it from shifting too much.

4. Close your pouf. I closed it by sewing opposite sides of the opening together, very evenly. The bottom of the sweater had a nice finished hem, so that's how that little detail at the top was achieved. Then I let it sit around untouched for another two weeks (procrastination is the key to success) before I finally bought a button from Amazon because it nicely completed my Super Saver Shipping order.

5. Make and attach your button. I used a 2.5" half ball cover button and two circles cut from the sweater's sleeve (to make a double layer of fabric so you couldn't see the metal button through the sweater's holes) to make mine. I must warn you though, sweaters are too thick for the button to work properly. (I improvised in the most hillbilly fashion. It involved the broken-off prong of a plastic fork...) You could just as easily use the lid from a jar or anything else that's round, sturdy and the proper size to cover the ugliness of where everything meets in the center. Sew the button to the top.

Voila! Pouf!

That's pretty much it. Obviously we all knew this project was not going to be all that special or technical, and I made it up as I went along. I do wish the center would indent more, but I have yet to come up with a good solution for that since the pouf is about 12 inches high, so it would be hard to thread anything down through the center of all the stuffing. If you have ideas, let me know. (But let's face it, for $7 and maybe an hour of work tops it does the job for Johnnie's room, so I'm not about to disassemble it and try again.)

Also it's funny how your perceptions and preferences can change when you have a baby... I wasn't going to go all girly in Johnnie's room. Now look at these colors! All that sugar and spice hurts my eyes, but I can't stop myself.

What do you think? Should I quit my day job and just make poufs all day? Anyone else making anything out of their tiny old jeans? Can you believe I have a daughter named Johnnie whose belongings are all pink?

Checking in

I wasn't able to take photos this weekend, but here are some updates:

• The kitchen is about 90% painted. I love it. (There is still some cutting in to do, and some trim.) Hopefully S will have some time this week to finish it up, but it's a busy time of year at his job so let's not pressure him too much.
• I found a 5' steel prep table for our center island on craigslist for a pretty good deal, so S went and picked it up on Saturday. Ideally he'd like a longer one -- 6 or 7 feet -- since we have the space, but we can always sell this one if we find a bargain on the one he really wants.
• We had to take down and return our range hood to have it replaced (doesn't it just figure?), as there was an issue with the electrical panel. However, the folks at Proline were super helpful and shipped a replacement almost immediately. Can't beat good customer service.
• In addition to two big pendant lights over the center island, we have electricity all set up for a single pendant over the baking table (in front of the big front window.) Here are the two final contenders, the first very industrial and the other very rustic:

They're both about the same price, so I'm torn... The two lights that will hang over the workstation in the center of the room look a lot like this white one with the cage:

Source

Which light do you like better for our kitchen -- the industrial one from Barn Light Electric, or the rustic one from Junkyardlighting's etsy shop?