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I gotta be honest, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll keep this blog going. I’ve been feeling like it’s time to move onto something else. Maybe the pregnancy blog is it, maybe not, or maybe I’ll shift gears here once my brain isn’t so bogged down with baby things. Whatever the case, thanks for reading.

I had fun digging through my fabric scraps. I forgot how much I love this cute pattern! It makes me want to make a baby quilt if I ever have a girl.

It’s a headache pillow, or as I like to think of it, a whatever-ache pillow of hot fabulosity. I first saw the project here, then grabbed the instructions here. I love how the first blog led me to a brand-new-to-me blog. Fun!

Instead of adding tea leaves to the rice, I used lavender flowers since I just so happened to have them on hand. All in all, this probably took me less than 30 minutes. It took longer to set up the sewing machine! I pop the pillow into the microwave for a minute or so and kick back while the heat relaxes my pains away.

It was such a fun, quick project, and I’ve found it’s a great substitution to the broken heating pad I never got around to replacing.

With Peanut, she hated her kennel from day 1, but she was 1 1/2 years old when we rescued her and had an abusive past. I can understand why she doesn’t like to be restrained. She’s finally at the point where she’ll go in her kennel and sleep and be happy as long as we don’t latch the door.

Upon rescuing Lucy, I thought we’d be starting off more or less fresh since she’s so young. We do everything by the book. She eats and sleeps in her kennel and is in it anytime we can’t be watching her. It’s supposed to help with housetraining, apparently. Maybe it is, but wow, can the puppy scream when she can’t see me in the room. It’s heartwrenching! I feel bad for keeping her in the kennel, but I know she’s not yet ready to have freedom in the house or even a room.

And, what’s all this about dogs learning not to cry based on the owner’s reaction? The books say to ignore the bad behavior and reward the good behavior, so that’s what we do. But then the praise for the good behavior makes her go crazy and start right in with the whining and craziness that we’re trying to discourage.

Patience is the name of the game.

I had a moment of weakness. I went in for a normal trim. My hairdresser was busy with the client before me, so I had a few minutes to browse the magazines. (Why, oh, why did I have to choose the one hairstyle magazine on the table? Why not Florida Design? Why not Women’s Health?!?) I saw a super-cute style on a super-cute model and asked my hairdresser what she thought of it. I thought it was modern and fresh and would look good on my 20-something self. She thought it was GREAT and would look FABULOUS on me and CHANGE is GOOD. I took the plunge. Five minutes into the cut I knew I was doomed.

It looks like a boy haircut. A boy’s shaggy, long mop of a haircut. On my head. I traded in a sleek, sophisticated bob for a boy mop.

I know this isn’t the first Worst Haircut Ever (it’s sort of a rite of passage for all women, isn’t it?), and it won’t be the last. But, gosh, it’s painful right now.

I’m off to go take my vitamins and buy some headbands.

We got a puppy a little over a week ago. She’s a beagle mix. The vet thinks her other half is dachshund or terrier. Everyone else has said she has the coloring of a rottweiler. !! (We don’t exactly know since we got her from a rescue.) I whisper to her, “please don’t be a rottweiler.” Nothing against that breed–I knew a very sweet and lovable rottweiler and know they make very good pets. Just not for me. I want a petite, dainty dog. The beagle/dachshund idea pleases me because that’s what Peanut is and hopefully that’ll keep Lucy on the smaller side. Time will tell.

She’s a good dog. Puppies are hard, don’t get me wrong, but she’s cute. She can scream bloody murder, let me tell you. She’s getting better, though. She doesn’t scream every single time I leave the room. Just 70% of the time now.

So far the two dogs get along great. They’re very interested in each other and can wear themselves out playing and chasing each other through the house. I wish I could get a video of that, but they move so fast!

I’m probably jinxing myself here, but the housetraining has been going extremely well and Lucy didn’t make a single peep all night last night. Woohoo!

A few things here and there have been going on. I haven’t completely finished my lapghan, but I did replenish my yarn supply and I completed two rounds of edging. I started the third, but promptly set the project aside after 10 or 15 stitches and am contemplating undoing those and calling the lapghan finished. See, the third and final edge is supposed to be stitched backwards. Backwards?!? I definitely do not have the hang for that, or the patience to struggle through it. I think no one will be able to tell the difference and the lapghan will look fabulous. But finishing that is on my to-do list.

We walked into a furniture store fully expecting to buy two black, leather swiveling bucket chairs for the sad, bare area in the living room behind the couch. They were going to be perfect. I was in love with them and super excited. And did I mention they swiveled? Swoon! Apparently the chairs were discontinued, though, and there weren’t any available. At all. Anywhere. Boy, was I bummed. Until we saw this and came home with it:

The “bare” area I’m referring to is the one where the Christmas tree and bench are in this pic. The bench is staying there, but obviously the Christmas tree is not. We still have a sorta bare area there, but that’s where the coordinating chair to the sectional comes in. We ordered it in beige (it’s on back order, wouldn’t you know it?), and will place it across from the sofa and move the chair that’s currently there to the corner where the Christmas tree was. I’m not convinced the chair/bench thing will work there, but it’s a start. I’m sure tinkering will be involved, including repositioning the current artwork and adding more as pieces continue coming together. I’m happy, and the whole sectional/chaise thing is genius!

We painted the master bedroom and got new bedding. I’ll take more pictures as the room progresses (I’m thinking a DIY headboard, new nightstands, drapes, and one of those large mirrors that leans against the wall). We have one accent wall, which you can see in this pic. The other walls are a light putty color.

This room has been interesting. During one of our many late-night discussions about what to do with the room, we realized we had two very different visions for what we wanted. I don’t think that’s happened before! I wanted light, fresh, crisp, clean, and airy. He wanted a bold, dramatic, high-impact look. How the heck do you combine those two visions? I think we’re on the right track. The orange, white, and neutral wall color are definitely fresh and crisp,while the teal is high-impact for sure. We’re brainstorming artwork ideas now and looking for some nightstands we can refurbish. And of course I have two table lamps already staked out at Ikea.

Next up, besides forging ahead with the bedroom stuff, is replacing the half bath hardware and painting. If we can ever agree on a color.

P.S. I had two great-looking tomato plants on the brink of flowering, then we had over a week of cold weather (I don’t know if it ever officially froze, but my tomato plants are not happy). So not what I signed up for when I moved to south Florida.

I’m happy with the size of this lapghan. It’s definitely not enough to cover a person head to toe, but it’s enough to be cozy while sitting.

I’m not crazy about the table setting and the drapes, but I’m not sure what to do differently with either of those things. Wait. I do know what to do about the drape situation, but the ones I want gave me sticker shock. Maybe they’ll go on sale…

Life has been consumed with other things lately. I had another miscarriage and now we’re looking into some testing to try to figure out why it keeps happening (third time is *not* the charm). I’ve been overwhelmed and sad and pessimistic and frustrated, all things that bother me endlessly. Bloodwork to test my thyroid came back a tad borderline for subclinical hypothyroidism. Our research shows that there may be a pretty strong correlation between this issue and recurrent pregnancy loss (or, could have nothing to do with it…cue despair). I started medication and we’ll see what happens. In several months, I’ll have a complete blood panel to check for chromosomal and autoimmune disorders. I’m not sure what to hope for with this. I want something to be wrong, but only if it’s something we can easily address. Beggars can’t be choosers, though, can they? (Cue more despair.)

I’m grateful for the support my husband has given me, even though he’s grieving, too. I’m also grateful for my doctor. I had such a hard time with doctors before I found her, and her compassion and expertise has made this whole struggle more bearable. We keep praying something will work out. We also decided to be very open when we feel like it, because we don’t want to pretend this isn’t happening. Pregnancy loss is usually so taboo and it isn’t fair.

But, I want to end this post on a positive note. I’m very much looking forward to Thanksgiving. We’ll miss the huge portion of our family we won’t be with, but will thoroughly enjoy the time we’ll spend with the few we will see. I’m excited to decorate for Christmas. I’m gathering ideas for things that will work with the structure of the house. I’m especially looking forward to buying a new “our first home” ornament for this year.