{this moment}
- A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Inspired by SouleMama

Back in October I was looking for a felted purse pattern to make for a friend for Christmas (pictures when I finish...if ever).  I came across this cute little felted pocketbook pattern that I printed.  I made the first one exactly as the pattern stated.  I can't tell you how I came across the pattern.  I've tried to re-create my steps because I want to credit Claire Fairall whose pattern it was, but I simply don't know where I got the pattern.  This is the link to the addy on the bottom of my printed page http://www.clairefairall.co.uk/. Since then, I have changed the pattern a bit just to see what happens.
It knits pretty fast.

I struggled with Christmas this year.  Not in a bah humbug sort of way either.  We decorated the house and the yard.  Sometimes I think my husband wants to give the Grizwalds a run for the money in the house decorating!  We put up a tree and decorated it with non breakable ornaments.  It was Corrine's first Christmas.  She is young enough that she doesn't understand what Christmas is.  I don't want her to become so materialistic about Christmas either.  I would like to teach her about the spirit of the season.  We only bought her one present.  We knew that the Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins would take care of her and we didn't want to over do it.  Her birthday is three weeks after Christmas and she'll get more stuff.

Christmas Eve, we went to my aunts house for a buffet dinner and a gift grab.  For the gift grab we draw numbers and then take a random present in that order.  When it is your turn you can either take a new present or take one that has already been opened and then that person can get a new present.  The first year we did the gift grab, we were very hesitant about taking presents.  Fast forward three years.  We are much better about taking the gift we want from someone else!  Plus we get to hang with family we haven't seen since last Christmas since we are all busy and not everyone lives in Colorado!
Corrine loving on her new toys!

Christmas morning we went over to my parents for brunch and more presents.  My parents gave to me a book called "Secrets From My Grandma's Garden" by Don Eversoll.   I have already read it cover to cover and am now ready to dig in the dirt.  Except I have to wait for months...Ugh!
Corrine reading some Christmas stories.  That book she is holding, The Christmas Puppy, was Grandpa's book!  From The G's house we drove up to Winter Park to Grandpa Ray and Grandma Joann's house. This is the view along the way!  This is why we live in Colorado!
We ate again that afternoon.  B and I said we didn't need to eat for a week!  We made the rounds in Winter Park to see friends and family.  We drove home that night, got the car unloaded and went to bed.

I was in kind of a withdrawal yesterday.  You prepare all month long (or in my case wait until the 23rd to shop) and then BAM, it's over.  And you're left with the clean up.   I don't know why I had such a hard time with Christmas this year.  I'll say it again this year...next year, I'll start shopping/creating much earlier!

Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing ever a child to to.

Two weeks ago Corrine and I walked down the park to the swing.  The park is a little over a mile from our house and I wanted to kill two birds with one stone, so I put her in the stroller, put the leashes on Buffett and Henley and away we went.

Two weeks ago, it was unseasonably warm.  It was a sunny, clear blue day with temps in the mid 60's.   Since then it has been unseasonably cold!  Today when we walked to the park it was 35 degrees.  The sun was out, but it was a hazy sky.  So no real warmth from the sun.

The boys don't care what the temperature is.  They are just happy to get a walk in.  And a long walk it was!  Corrine LOVES the swing.  She's not happy with a gentle push.  She likes to really swing.  And her laugh is contagious.  She laughs, I laugh, we all laugh!
Luckily we bought the snowsuit before it got too cold!

{this moment}
- A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.


Inspired by Soule Mama

Saturday night I went to the December food swap of the Mile High Swappers at the Savory Spice Shop in Boulder. The theme for this swap was soup. And what a perfect night for soup. It was about 20 degrees out and it had snowed earlier in the day. Of course you could bring anything homemade or homegrown to swap.

I took Broccoli Cheese Soup to trade and brought home a jar of Delicata Squash Soup, a jar of Butternut Squash soup, a container of Mulligatawny Stew, a container of homemade chicken stock, and a bag of dee-lish cheese crackers. Corrine had the Delicata Squash soup for dinner the other night and loved it.

The idea of the swap is to bring homemade items (tasters are good), mingle and check out what others have brought. Then "bid" on what you want to trade...my soup for your soup. At the swap moment you can begin trading to get your hearts desire. Cash is not allowed...all items must be traded.

The first swap I attended was in October. I took my homemade tomato sauce, tomatilla salsa and some jams. I came home with a plethora of goodies...jams, pickles, and salsa. Oh and some Bourbon Salted Caramel Sauce! Dee-lish!

Here's a picture of the Redhead's jams!
On another random note...I haven't been running in about a week. I got sick again. I'm not sure, but it might have something to do with standing outside for three hours in 20 degree weather.

Or at least it was this morning at 5AM! My husband, Bryan, and I were standing in line outside at 5AM for a limited edition CD that goes on sale at 8AM. KBCO radio puts out a CD every year at this time that is benefits the Boulder County Aids Project and The Food Bank of the Rockies. The artists that make up the CD have performed live on the radio throughout the year when they come through the Denver area. This is the 23rd year that KBCO has put out this CD and it is a collectors item. The idea is to get there early and wait in line (some people even camp in tents to be the first in line!) and get the CD. If you go later in the morning you still have to wait in line and there is no guarantee that CDs are still available. It is a tradition that we have every year. This year, however, was 20 degree, a tad on the breezy side and snowing. Yuck. But, we got our CD!

Earlier this week is was in the upper 50's. We were able to hang our Christmas lights and decorations outside wearing t-shirts. It was a clear, blue sky day! Gotta love living in Colorado.
Today:

{this moment}
- A Friday ritual.
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by Soule Mama

My sweet baby Corrine is not a cuddler. I can console her for a moment and then she wants down. This morning when she woke at 3AM I silently cursed her for waking when she normally sleeps through the night. I hugged her and wrapped her back up in her blanket and laid her back down. No go. She screamed. I picked her back up and we swayed back and forth for a few minutes (mostly because mama was sleeping on her feet). I laid her back down. Didn't work. So we sat in the rocking chair and cuddled. We rocked for about 15 minutes, she sucked her thumb and fell asleep. I love that she is independent enough to want to do her own thing, but I really like those moments when we can cuddle up even if it is at 3AM.

Corrine is also not a napper. Or rather she wasn't a napper. She was a cat-napper. Now that she is mobile we are getting one GOOD nap a day. And by good, I mean longer than 30 minutes. She can go now from an hour to three hours! Imagine the things I can get done in more than 30 minutes.
I'm not complaining. This is what make my daughter her own person. And that is what I want her to be.

My life with Type 1 Diabetes started a week before I turned 34. I had Lasik surgery the year before and when I woke up and everything was blurry I got concerned. Turns out my blood glucose was so high it was effecting my vision. I went to the doctor and got the life altering news. I then spent the next two weeks going to the diabetes center every day so they could adjust my insulin levels for that day. I spent several weeks in denial, but mostly accepted the diagnoses. I also have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis which is an auto-immune disease. Turns out if you have one auto-immune disease it is easier to get another...your body attacks itself. In the grand scheme of auto-immune diseases diabetes is inconvenient, but if I take of myself it is livable and not debilitating like multiple sclerosis, lupus, or rheumatoid arthritis.

Fast forward nine years. As a diabetic of "advanced maternal age" I had a pretty easy pregnancy until 32 weeks. I had a wonderful team of doctors who I saw every two weeks to adjust my insulin levels and monitor my pregnancy. I took such good care of my blood glucose levels that my A1C (a three month blood glucose test) was 7 (which is really good). However, once Corrine was born, my numbers are all over the place. I forget to eat and I've already bolused (take my insulin via insulin pump). Or I eat and forget to bolus. Neither of which is good.

Take today for example...my pump ran out of insulin this morning after breakfast. I forgot to change it. Basically I've been without insulin all day. The pump is always giving little bursts of insulin throughout the day based on individual settings. I'm scared to check my BG because I know it is really high. Today I'm in denial.

I would like to live long enough to see my daughter grow up so I need start (again) checking my BG at every meal and a few hours after to make sure my insulin dose was correct. Maybe this blog will help?

I am not a crafty person. I want to be a crafty person. I look to books and the internet for inspiration. Some days it strikes. Usually that happens in between paychecks. I am learning to sew and quilt. My mother-in-law bought me a 1940's Singer sewing machine at a garage sale. And it still works. I know there are a lot of things the machine can't do compared to modern machines. But at this moment it does what I need to it to do. I found a quilt pattern that I would like to make. Only I would like to make the quilt top and the attach it to a duvet that I've had for years and don't use anymore. I'm not sure if it would work. In my head it works just fine. We'll see once I get going on it!
I knit. I learned when I was 5 or 6 and in 4-H. However, I can't read pattern. Mostly because I never learned that part of it. I make stuff up. I make blankets for the Linus Project . Now I am wanting to branch out from the easy projects like blankets and scarves to more challenging ones. I have a folder of patterns I've printed from the internet as my "someday when I have time" projects. It is a matter of time and money. No time and no money! I've been working on the felted handbag project since mid October and I'm only halfway finished.
Maybe now that I am a semi stay at home mom I can tackle more crafty projects!

We are all still feeling the effects of this head cold that is going around. I did manage to make it to the gym twice this week. I jogged on the treadmill for two miles and then was so winded I had to walk another mile. At least I tried, so it's not the set back I thought it would be.

On the other hand, I did have time to work on the felted handbag I'm knitting for a Christmas present. It is the first time I've felted anything. I love that it is knit on big needles. It knits up so much faster which is good considering I've got 168 rows total to knit and Christmas is rapidly approaching! We'll see how it turns out. I'm pretty excited about it.

A nasty head cold has settled into our house. All three of us are sick. My husband first thought it was his allergies. Then the baby got sick. Saturday night or rather Sunday very early in the AM (12:35AM to be exact) I woke up and couldn't breathe through my nose. Two nights of no sleep has left me worn out. I don't even want to think about running. I hate to use it as an excuse, but the thought of getting dressed and lacing up my running shoes tires me. Corrine and I did manage to walk to dogs today, but that has left me wanting to curl up under a warm fleece.

11/8- treadmill jogging
11/9- elliptical
11/10- treadmill jogging & walking

My first blog. Where to start? A little background perhaps? I am a new mom to a 10 month old, beautiful baby girl. I am a Type 1 Diabetic. I am a runner. I was a runner? No. I am a runner. I just haven't run in a long while. I ran the Bolder Boulder 10K in May 2010 and then found out I was pregnant. Between full time work and creating a human being, I was exhausted. I didn't run much. I didn't even work out much. I did manage to walk the dogs several times a week for a couple of miles a walk. I walked the dogs until I got put on bedrest. Baby girl was born January 2011. Let the sleepless nights begin. I couldn't run then. I could barely get through the day. Sleep when the baby sleeps leaves not time for a run. Even the dogs got neglected. Next thing I know it is May 2011 and the Bolder Boulder is coming around again. Should I run it? I hadn't run in a year. But I do this race every year. I couldn't let my streak end so I "wogged" it. I couldn't run it all, but I jogged and walked it. Now I should say I'm not a good runner, but the thought of not even trying the race bothered me. WORST. TIME. EVER. I am competitive with myself. I needed a goal to get myself back in the mindset. All of my running friends were running in half and full marathons. That is what I needed to do. Find a race to enter. Give myself time to get back into shape, but with a goal of a race to run.
I googled half marathons for the March/April timeframe to find a race to enter. I have previously run the Race for the Roses http://www.facebook.com/race4theroses in Portland Oregon. It is in April. That would be my race. I mentioned my goal to my good friend Tina who runs half marathons. She said she would run it with me. We pinkie swore. I can't let her down. I can't let myself down. I stared jogging on the treadmill at the gym. On TU 11/8 I jogged and walked a total of 3 miles. I even felt pretty good afterwards.
I decided to blog about my training. In my head, I thought if I put it down on paper (computer) where anyone could read it, I would be held accountable. So here it is...a blog and a pinkie swear and I'm on the road running again. Thanks.