Imelda of Handbags?

I gravitate to the same sorts of things when I shop. It's no surprise that many of the items I own are similar. How many pairs of bootcut jeans does a person need, anyway?

In that vein, I decided to pare down what I own to only the things that are of the best quality I can afford, and that I really enjoy using.

I attacked my closet recently and realized that I had more than one handbag for certain situations. As a stay at home mom, do I really need to keep more than one work tote? I am no longer a student, so book bags can be repurposed, resold, or donated..., and how about party purses? Unless I absolutely love it, why hang onto it?

So... I started listing them on eBay. Perhaps they will actually be worn soon. :)

P.S. I sold the bouncy seats already. Whooo!

Hand Me Downs

It's amazing when you have babies. They need a lot of stuff. Then, the stuff they need, doesn't last very long. When I was a kid, I really didn't like hand-me-downs. Honestly. I would get a bag of stuff from people and didn't want to wear a thing.

But B received so many clothes as gifts, and she didn't get to wear much of any of them... I started offering them to moms of new babies born after her. The baby won't notice the difference, and they are still in good shape, right?

I rationalize it this way:

- I give the moms the option of taking the hand-me-downs, letting them know that I won't be offended if they say no, and that they shouldn't feel obligated to keep them if they don't like them. They can simply be donated.

- It is nice to give these clothes to someone that will actually use them, instead of them collecting dust in a paper bag at Goodwill, or worse, get thrown out.

- In a way, it is saving my friends a bit of time and money, so they don't have to go out and buy more clothing (every bit counts, right?)

- It makes room for the many hand-me-downs that B receives from her cousins as well*.

I keep the hand-me-downs that I like for B, the rest, I either donate, or pass on to others. Like I tell my friends, I don't feel obligated to keep or use something just because it was given to me. :)

Progress on Summer Goals

Since my post regarding my summer goals, I'm happy to report that I have not yet purchased a coffee drink of any kind, or even a snack at a Starbucks. Hooray! I make delicious iced coffee at home, and don't miss a single thing. It also helped that I received 2 lbs. of coffee from Hawaii from an old friend. Thanks, Marilou!

Also, I have had lunch at home every weekday since. Not so bad, I daresay.

Aside from this, I wanted to add, the final item to my summer goal list: to get rid of all the clutter in our house.

Made some progress on that too:
I already sold B's swing (she never really liked it, and now is big enough to almost flip it over while sitting in it) through Craigslist. I listed a few other baby things on there as well. Anyone want a Fisher Price bouncer?

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/bab/1240128460.html

Successes of 25 June 2009

1. Sent two thank-you cards
2. Listed 3 things on Craigslist
3. Listed 1 thing on eBay
4. Sold a few items to Once Upon A Child
5. Realized I don't want to do that anymore as they pay practically nothing
6. Made iced coffee at home
7. Had lunch at home
8. Made a hair appointment for myself
9. Made eye appointment for B
10. Exchanged gift at the mall (wrong size)
11. One load of B's laundry
12. Returned a friend's call; left voicemail
13. Wished a good friend happy birthday
14. Emptied the dishwasher
15. Made dinner
16. Took my vitamins
17. Micronap
18. Sent a package to a friend
19. Cleaned items I am selling on Craigslist
20. Transferred subscription of a magazine I don't read to my mom because she likes to read it and has the time
21. Decided to no longer be pushed around by an acquaintance
22. Decided to resell any baby gear that B no longer uses without having seconds thoughts. If we have another child, we'll just buy stuff again. I don't want to hold onto stuff for no reason.
23. Called an acquaintance to thank her for a lovely gift
24. Called my parents
25. Put away clean laundry

Goals for the rest of the summer

1. say no to Starbucks every day
2. have lunch at home during the weekdays

More to follow.

Praying For A Miracle

At 4:00 AM this morning, while nursing B, I received this e-mail from my childhood friend:

"Hi All,

Lily was rushed to the ER at 5:00 pm today because she became unresponsive upon waking up. They did a CAT scan on her brain and found a mass on her right side and needed to do surgery immediately because it was being bled into. They removed 80% of the mass but they did a preliminary biopysis and it is stage 4 malignant glioma, which is a cancerous tumor. It doesn't look good but we are praying for a miracle. She is sedated as I type this at 2:00 am and her vitals are good but her blood platelets are low so they are running a transfusion on her right now and she is under a paralytic and pain relievers to keep her comfortable.

Sorry for any confusion if I didn't use the medical terms right, I am still trying to process everything.

Right now it is a wait and see from day to day. So please keep Lily in your prayers that God's will be done and we have the peace to accept it.

Christine or Derek will probably send out an update when we get more information if I can't access the computer again.

- Gennie"

We are devastated by this news. Lily is not yet 6 months old. This type of cancer is not treatable through chemotherapy--only radiation. And at this age, and given her size, statistics aren't on her side. We are praying for a miracle. Please send up your positive thoughts for baby Lily Lindgren.

Chicago Botanic Garden

Baby Boom

So many friends of mine are having babies. It may be the time in our lives, or something in the water. This week alone, we welcomed the following bouncing baby boys to the world:

Arlo, son of Bianca & Willi
Graham, son of Miranda & Eric
Max, son of Mariann & Jacob
Xavier, son of Booker & Lori

The babies are doing very well! Congrats to their parents!!!

But she hardly has any hair

... you may point out. True, but it didn't stop me from getting B hair clips by Giddy Giddy. They are super cute, handmade felt barrettes that snap tight. B received her first one a few months ago and we haven't lost it yet.

There was a recent sale at The Mini Social, so I bought her 4 more. I know, now what she NEEDS, per se. But I was irritated the other day when someone referred to B as 'he'. I think a girly clip in her hair will set them straight without me having to break out with some krav maga.

Cupping

My dear husband gave me a gift certificate to a massage therapy studio. It was such a great idea, and I went today. Overall, I thought the massage part was good. However, the therapist is also an acupuncturist and decided to use cupping techniques to loosen up the knots in my shoulders.

I never did this before, and until today, was not so familiar with the technique. Basically, he heated two glass cups and put them on my back to create a suction on two parts of my shoulders then sort of drag the around while maintaining the vacuum. The acupressure should relieve my pain. It did!

But... Now I have horrible dark purple welts on my back and shoulders. I am pretty bruised, and those areas are ridiculously sensitive. I feel like I was beat up, although it's not as bad as it looks. And it looks awful. I will be with these marks for at least a week. Joy!

For now I can honestly say I am not going to see that guy again, or do that cupping crap.