I like to think that I am pretty handy. Given the right amount of instruction, the right tools, and a fair amount of time, I can fix/install/build things as well as any guy. Now, given the wrong tools, no direction and a few glasses of wine, I can still get things done. I just may need a little more time. You can read more about my awesome handimanliness here. Oh yes.  But today…Today, I reached new lows…Contact Paper kicked my ass. I’d like to blame pregnancy hormones, or lack of food, but I don’t think that is enough to explain the epic fail that I had.

First, let’s make sure you know what this EVIL (yet lovely) product is:  Its the sticky backed paper stuff that you put in drawers or in cupboards to make them look pretty. At first glance, it’s pretty innocent looking. When I first opened the roll, I saw a ton of directions, and I thought “who the hell needs all these directions???

Isn’t it just measure, cut, stick?  Apparently not (and no I didn’t read the directions)…

I got as far as measure and cut, but the only sticking happening was me to the paper, and the paper to itself. So after running out of hands, and making grunting noises, I hear from the front room, “Baby… um…do you need help?”  It’s contact paper, I am pretty sure I’ve got this!  So I holler back that I’m good, and try to lay the sheet into the drawer.

And fail again. At this point, I am grumpy that contact paper is kicking my ass, and it’s stuck to itself and I’m out of hands. So, I do the next best thing – I use my mouth to hold one corner while I pull the other areas apart. This is all sorts of brilliant, until I go to remove the paper from my lip.

At which point, my skin goes with the paper. Sigh.

It’s right around this time that Nick comes around the corner to see me covered in contact paper, bleeding from the mouth, with eyes wide open in awe – as I mumble with a drippy lip, “Contact paper kicked my ass!!”. He holds back his giggles reminds me about setting myself up for success (again, see the blog above), and gets me tissue, which promptly soaks through and he sets to work lining the drawer.   Sigh. Apparently, lining drawers is a two person job, and having a box cutter for trim work makes the job run smoothly.

I now have three nicely drawers, a fat, tingly lip and a guy who held back laughing too hard at me as I tried to talk with a wad of tissue stuck to my face.

So lesson learned? Read the directions, and don’t underestimate the power of paper to whoop on you something fierce. Oh and don’t use your mouth when sticky paper is involved.

What projects (good or otherwise), have you been up to?

Raina “I’m definitively not Bob Villa”

I just wanted to post a quick blog to say “thank you” to all of my readers. When I look at my “audience”-i.e. the list of what countries people are visiting from, I am amazed!  Sweden, Latvia, Italy, the list goes on. It’s nice to see people stopping by, and reading about my little world, it sure makes me happy!

Please feel free to follow me via the site, or stop by any time. I’ll have more recipes and fun crafts, soon.

Best to you, dear reader!

Raina

That is what little girls are made of!

Today, I found out that Noodle is a girl. I had been willing to put cash down that I was having a boy, but the ultrasound looks to be a girl!

We showed up early, after drinking a ton of water, just to wait for 45 mins. Sigh.  Noodle was quite active, as she tends to be around 3:30-6, and this appointment was no exception.

The radiology technician chased Noodle around for over an hour, trying to get the shots that were needed, and to try to see what we were having; mentioning, “If this is any indication of what your baby will be like after it’s born, good luck!”.  I could only laugh. After feeling her do dance routines all day, and then stepping it up into a full bore tiny martial arts contest for 3 hours in the afternoon, I am impressed the gal got any of the shots she needed in.

She clarified, “your baby doesn’t sit still much, huh?”  This is clearly my baby!  🙂

So, without further adieu, I introduce you to Isabella Grace Anderson-Webber, my little baby bear. As you can see, she wouldn’t sit still long enough for this picture, either!

Here’s to all the adventures this tiny monkey will lead me on!
Raina

Hmmm…So I am pretty sure there’s a lot of ways, but I am pretty easy going, and quick to forget, so for right now, there’s only one thing…Ok. Two, the other being withholding bacon. But I don’t think anyone I know would ever do that to me, so I am pretty sure I can scratch that off my list.

Which leads me to a quick blog on stupidity.

I’m not a thick girl. I never have been. I eat like a wildebeast, but I also try to do things in moderation. I am also pretty awkward and don’t like a ton of attention paid to my body, especially by random strangers.  All this to say, that at even 5 months, I don’t have a big belly. I don’t show a ton, so unless you know me and my normal build, you may not guess that I am pregnant.

This week alone, I have had numerous strangers offer their gaffaws, opinions and thoughts on what I should be doing or how I should look.

“Are you sure?”
“Is your baby ok?”
“YOU’RE ONLY 5 MONTHS?!?!  You’re so small!”
“Are you eating?”**

Let me pause here, and go through the check list I use to ensure, that I am, uh…yep. Pregnant.
-Lack of period for multiple months? Check.
-Weight gain? Eh.
-Body changes? Check.
-Initial, monthly, AND MD regulated tests indicating that I am indeed a host? Check, check, and check.
** This is my fave, as it usually comes at a time that I am eating something covered in gravy or made of a slab of meat.

I don’t know why, or if I should even be defensive, but holy crap people. How would you like if I came up to you, or butted into your conversation, and offered my two cents on you, your body type, or how you are doing something, etc.
“Wow, you sure don’t look smart, sure you should be using that steak knife?”

When I hear these statements, someone getting judgy, or just talking with their unsolicited words… this is what I imagine the person looking like:

Yep.

People…do women a favor. Don’t make stupid comments. This also goes for any comments on “normal”, “subnormal”, or higher than “normal” weight gain, or any of the other random things that come with pregnancy. Chances are that person you’re talking to is already feeling awkward and questioning if they’re doing even the smallest of things right. They don’t need a stranger adding to that crazy insecurity.
Cool?  Cool.

Well, thanks for your time 😉 On tap tomorrow??  A recap of crafty goodness!

Raina

Today my house smells like coffee, bacon, and pancakes, and am relaxing after a fun night celebrating my friends birthday last night. I have been trying to make a point of getting out, and seeing friends more. It feels good!  My friends Brian and Heather have been pretty busy with work and law school, so after 3 years of chatting on Facebook, it’s nice to see them in person!

The week also brought a rousing game of mini-golf (I totally won), a lot of work projects completed, and the realization that I need to get off my bum and get working on the house in preparation for  the baby!

Originally, I had planned to start the nursery and some projects in about 6 weeks, giving me plenty of time to finish gutting my house, setting up a nursery and prepping for baby. But then the stuff started coming, and it was no longer an option. In the next week, I’ll have a crib, a bassinet, and a mattress with no where to go, which means it’s time to trim down what I have!  My mom, awesome as she is, decided to buy a few essentials for the nursery since base had a crazy good deal AND a 20% off coupon. So between that, and freakishly short shipping time, stuff is on its’ way!

Speaking of baby…I started having round ligament pain. Which, if you’ve never had it…holy crap. This is the reason people need a baby class at, I don’t know, week 2. Your stomach/womb/middle of your entire baby storage area starts making these odd pokie pulling motions, and you think-oh holy shit, this isn’t good. After a call to the nurse, and a nap, I am feeling much better. Sigh. There’s other things that no one seems to mention when you get pregnant, and I’ll get to listing those one of these days too. 🙂

Last weekend, I went to a baby shower for my bestie Jen-Here’s a couple quick pics:

This is now one of my favorite pics!  Jen is over 8 months, and I’m just about 5 months. I love that I can go through this with her, and that I get a sneak peek into what I am going to go through.  It’s also much easier, when you’re main drinking buddy is on a hiatus, too.

This is us again, with a quilt that I made her. I am making myself a matching one as well. SO soft and fluffy!!!

I have decided that Saturday’s will be my relaxing and craft/canning days. Nick generally works at least one weekend day, so I get to have some time to play and clean and do the things that most guys aren’t super keen on.  Today, I’m debating whether to start cleaning, or do some sewing. It’s nice that these are the issues that I am now facing.  I have my other dog Barkley over this weekend too, so a trip to the Dog Park will be in order.  I also have a book release party for a friend later tonight. So, all in all, it will be a good and busy day.

Sunday will be a hike to tire Barkley out before returning him to his Daddy’s house. It’ll also be good to get out and stretch as well!

Here’s to a good weekend!
Raina

Yesterday, I made the hard decision to put my fur baby to sleep. I had no idea that there was a big time bomb in her belly waiting to explode. By the way she was acting, no one would have known. She was the happiest, sweetest, most gentle pup I have ever met, and I am heart broken.

A few days ago, Mia developed a UTI, and I had her started on a course of antibiotics.  Even though her little bladder wasn’t working so well, and it was clear she wasn’t feeling well, she was still playful and snuggly-her normal self, with a giant smile and a whip-like tail that could clear the coffee table in one fail swoop.

Friday, we planned to go camping, only to find that Chicken Little was sick and looked like she may not make it through. Now, this isn’t the first time that Little had been at death’s door. We fed her some apple cider vinegar through a syringe and gave her snuggles. It was clear that she wasn’t going to be with us much longer. It turns out that was the case-she passed while we were away.

We left to go camping-after all that has been going on the past few months with my Dad dying, I needed a break, mentally and physically. Mia seemed a little tired, but that changed pretty quickly when we let her know it was bye-bye time. Over 7 hours later, we still weren’t at the camp ground-traffic had been hellish. Mia feasted on fries, her food and water. She was happy to be out of the car and into a hotel room.

Saturday, we started back out to get to the campground, stopping at Ruby Beach to play. She romped through the waves and played on the beach, wagging her tail and smiling. I had no idea that less than 24 hours later, I’d be making a horrible decision. We met up with friends, and headed back to the campground and we went to hike along the river. She walked the trails, leading the way and played in the water, and laid on the rocks, relaxing while we all hung out. Later that night, we knew something wasn’t quite right. She was lethargic and wouldn’t eat, and just wanted to sleep. We put her in our tent and let her rest. She came back out a little later to sit with us and rest, but it was clear she wasn’t well. We thought that she had been reacting the antibiotics and still had her infection from eating everything in site, but I still worried. That night, we pulled her into the camp bed with us and snuggled her. This was our favorite part about camping with her. It was the rare time that we let her sleep with us. She was restless most of the night, and we kept waking to check on her.

That morning, I woke up early, and it was clear we needed to do something. She couldn’t walk, and she seemed confused. We broke camp quickly, and I drove 50 on forest service roads and sped my way to the nearest town to find a hospital. We ended up driving to Olympia, where she ended up collapsing on their floor, too weak to even stand on her own. They rushed her in back and started running tests and hydrating her. A little while later, the doc came in with news. It was just like a shitty dream. You’re there, but not 100%. Words were thrown out-cancer, rupture, surgery. And just like that we knew it was bad. I snapped back to reality to see what could be done. She had a tumor in her belly that had ruptured, and she was bleeding internally. It would have happened no matter what.

What did we want to do? I told the doc I have a credit card with a high limit. Do you what you need. More tests were run. More bad news, and I remember Nick and I saying, do whatever it takes. Make her better. The decision was made to get her as stable as we could and drive her to a hospital in Tacoma, as the doc put it, “We are like Community Care, this place is like Harbor View”. Traffic was almost at a standstill. Didn’t people get it? We were crying, and Mia was in shock, but on pain killers. I drove as fast as traffic would let me, weaving in and out of cars, trying to go faster. We made it to the hospital, where they carted her off and tried to save her. Shortly after, the doc came back in and gave us the news. IF they could stabilize her, and IF they could get her through anesthesia then she MAY make it through surgery. The cancer would come back, based on what they were seeing. She was riddled with illness. The doc gave us an estimate that if we could get her through, she’d be back in this state in 3-6 months, IF we were lucky. So many if’s. It came down to if she was in pain. She was medicated, but in shock. She had no idea what was going on, but was clearly scared. We asked to see her and she was in such bad shape. She was huffing instead of breathing, and she wanted to lay next to me, but was too weak to push herself closer. It was clear that we couldn’t do this to her. I couldn’t do this to her over and over. It wasn’t fair to either of us. We made the decision to put her to sleep, and I held her and explained what was going to happen and that we loved her and told her all of the things that a good momma and Daddy should. The doc came in and I held her head and Nick and I whispered into her fuzzy, soft ears. And just like that she was gone. We stayed with her for a long time after that, putting her and holding her, not believing that she was actually gone.

We made our way home, with her collar in hand. The house was and is still so quiet, no toe nails clacking on the hardwoods, or happy grunts, as she took over the couch, or the chair. For the first time in years, I ate a snack without sharing it. Last night, I didn’t have a dog come try to tell me that it was time for bed. I didn’t have my couch buddy while watching a movie. Such a huge part of my life is gone. I am so lucky to have had one last adventure with her. We had fun, and she got to play in her favorite places. I got to hold her close, and smell her, and tell her that I loved her more than anything in the world. For that, I am so, so grateful. She was truly an amazing pup, and I am so happy that she was given to me, and that I was able to do so much with her.  It’s hard to believe this pic was just over a day ago now. To you, Meepers, I miss and love you so much.

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring–it was peace.” 
―Milan Kundera

Hold your fuzzies close, all.
Raina and Nick

Just can’t wait to get on the road again…Yep. Now you’re signing it. Sorry (ish).

I am in dire need of an escape to anywhere that isn’t Seattle or Tacoma, or my house (which technically falls in that Seattle bucket). This weekend, I’ll be doing just that!

Every year, I see ads for the Barn House sale (http://www.barnhousebh.com/). Tons of pretty, soft things and antiques, doo-dads, and what-not’s. And every year, I wake up and say meh. Not this time, oh no! I’ll be waiting up at the crack of dawn (ok, probably later than that) and hitting the road to Battle Ground, Washington, just off of the I-5 corridor, and close to Portland, where I will ooh and ahh over lovely things. I have to admit, I am pretty excited to go after all these years. From there, I’ll be heading to Portland to go to Powell’s books to feed my literary love and then to Fabric Depot for a sale that they are having.


Sunday, I’ll be heading to the East Side (Bellevue, no E WA) to see a good friend, to gab about babies and to pick up some baby goodies from her fast-growing, beautiful little girl. 


I’ll definitely try not to make this blog all about baby, but I do want to give a quick update!  I went in for the results of my genetic testing quad screen thing and to do a baby check up…Noodle’s heart is strong, healthy and loud, and the doc said it sounded like he was just moving all over the place. My test results scored really well and my likelihood of having a genetic disorder is 1:5000. Yes, pretty much nil. Insert sigh of relief here. For my age, the risk of having a baby with Downs Syndrome is 1:1342 apparently. Take that odds. 


So, overall, things are good .I continue to clean and organize the house, and am trying to trim down the 35X35 list…slowly, but surely, things are coming together!  Now, to wrap up a workday and start making some boysenberry jelly! 🙂

Here’s to good weekends, good times, and getting on the road!
Raina

“On the road again –
Just can’t wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
On the road again

Goin’ places that I’ve never been.
Seein’ things that I may never see again

And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
On the road again –
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We’re the best of friends.
Insisting that the world keep turning our way […]” ~Willie Nelson

I love weekends where the only thing I have to accomplish is getting out of bed. It’s been a good weekend, full of running errands, being outside, doing crafts, and making jelly and pickles. Here’s a few shots. You’ll have to pardon the messy lawn and plants that are in progress  of being trimmed. Normally, my pots look much nicer! The girls are getting so big!  The darkest one is Chicken Little, the one with the black collar is Fern (check out her fuzzy feet!), and the big one is Garbanzo 🙂

I had a lot of fun making pickles and jam, too. Here’s a little before and after from yesterdays veggie and fruit shopping:

Here’s to good weekends!
Raina

Step 1 of things not to do in early pregnancy:

Go to Babies R Us.

Whole. Lee. Crap.

If you haven’t ever been there, this is a giant warehouse of baby crap. It is literally floor to ceiling stuff. Its like a hoarder lived in a warehouse and collected so much baby stuff that you need heavy machinery to bring things down.

Step 2 of things not to do in early pregnancy:
Go to Babies R Us, hungry.

I went to the registry desk thinking, sweet….I’ll go in, register and get out.

Oh. No.

They gave me a gun!  Now, before you think-yay!  stuffed animal target practice!!  Pull back a bit. This was a little shopping scanner thing that you walk around with and click on things that you may want.

The gal gave me good advice-“here’s a list, and don’t just get new born items. You’ll have more crap than you’ll need”. Best advice I heard that day.

I roamed around Babies R Hell, scanning myself into a frenzy, seeing how many dance moves and James Bond style scans I could get in. A girls gotta make this fun, right?  And it kept other people away from me, as I am sure they thought that I was nuts. Meh.

I now have close to 100 things on a registry, most of which are functional and most of which were cute. The best part? Some nice guy saw that I was clearly not having fun, and gave his voucher for a $10 gift card. Score. I got to dance, wave my scanner around like James Bond AND I came out ahead. Not a bad way to spent a Saturday.

Speaking of scores…of sorts…My Grandma got me maternity clothes. Please note: My grandma is, well, a Grandma. She knows I love vintage things, and she knows I am not quite sure what I need. She got me some things that aren’t quite my style, but the thought behind it was pretty awesome. She did get me a pant suit made with glitter fabric, that she initially bought for herself.  I’m curious to try this one on, as my Grandma is itty bitty these days.  Here, for your gawking pleasure: the one thing I will be donating (and letting her know that I donated)…While it may look like a skirt/sweater combo with a bacon print, don’t be fooled. The pattern actually looks like microtubules:

So how does this story wrap up? I eventually go home, after stopping at 5 more places, which results in patterns for baby clothes and diaper covers, decaf ginger peach tea, stamps for baby shower and announcements, and a car full of bell and hot pepper plants; a flat of raspberries, a 15 lb box of green beans and a case of strawberries.

Lesson learned?  When you go to Babies R Us, you have to locate more awesome things as fast as possible to get passed the craziness that is that place. Mission accomplished.

Here’s to finding your bit of crazy and a way through it!

Raina