Confessions: Pt. Happy

Okay, time for another "Confessions" post.  I love doing these, but thought I'd put a spin on it and post about things making me happy as of late.  Cause that's just what I feel like doing.  And for goodness sake, I better write it down for the moment is fleeting!

Confession #1: I am writing this from the laptop!  As in, it's presently in my sole possession!  This is a big deal because Jacob uses it so much for his round-the-clock film editing/writing (he is ALWAYS working on something, or some several things, time card or not) it's very hard to get some private time with the Mac.  For some households, it's he who holds the remote control who holds the power, for us, it's he who holds the laptop.

Confession #2: I'm typing on my laptop on our new-to-us desk!  AGH!  This is such an upgrade!  We've been doubling our all-purpose leather ottoman (and I do mean all-purpose--I can spit out at least 4 functions we use it for without even thinking) as a desk, and with a nearly walking baby who can easily reach anything resting on top of it, that had to go.  So here we are!

We needed a chair for it, and one appeared in the alley behind our place.  How lovely!  So we took it home, and maybe we'll get around to painting it!  Maybe.

Confession #3:  We have been doing some home improving and furniture rearranging!  I LOVE WHEN THIS HAPPENS!  Last time Jake had a break from work I emailed him a long list of things around the house I would love his help with (and when I say help, I mean he does 85% of the grunt work), and we got, like, none of it done before he was a working maniac again and he really didn't have time.  So, during this break, he's made good on it.  Sometimes begrudgingly, but he is really trying, which thing he points out, and which thing I do my best to applaud him for beforehand so he doesn't have to do it for himself.  Jake, my reluctant handyman, I love you SO much.    

Here are some of the fruits of our/his labors:

Out with the filing cabinet (one of them), over with the piano, and in with the desk!  And a spot for our temple picture!  Took me 11 months to hang that thing, but I did.  All by myself even!  And I may be flip-flopping the piano and the desk.  Still trying to find the best way to break that to Jake...

Out with the entertainment center tower and in with one of the filing cabinets doubling as an end table!  We have a place to set our drinks now!  Another function we can divert away from the (wobbly-surfaced) ottoman!  Thank goodness for our little garage that further enables the constant shifting and recycling of our furniture.

And another BIG accomplishment in the home decor department was this:

Confession #3-A:  This little sucker, which was another project 11 months in the making, is FINALLY finished!!  This wall decoration took the physical help of three people (myself, two assistants: the handyman and my mother); the emotional support of several others: my sister, the upstairs neighbor, my mother-in-law, I believe, to name a few; three cans of spray paint, two stencils, one set of stickers, two letter "J"s, four (yes, FOUR) letter "S"s, and more trips to Michael's than I can count on one hand.  Yes, folks, all for this ONE little project.  I am happy with how it turned out (although I think I may swap out the orange ribbon for a thicker green one?  And possibly swap out our baby pictures so they're all Jasper...) but I am not yet to the point where I sigh a deep breath of satisfaction and fulfillment when I look at it.  The wounds born during its inception are still too fresh, but I have faith we'll eventually get there.

Hence, I am not making any promises about painting that new chair.  

Confession #3-B:  We have a new, little shelf in the bathroom (that also took months to hang--noticing a theme here?) whereon I can put my endless toiletries!  This is how things usually go: I identify a problem (I'm really good at doing this), I think up a solution that would minimize or eliminate the problem, I go to Jacob with my always well-thought out and sensible plan, and he proceeds to talk me out of it.  I then rethink my solution to determine if it is in fact necessary, which I nearly always determine it to be, and then over the course of the following weeks/months, I point out every circumstance as it naturally unfolds where said solution would be to our benefit (i.e. when the blowdryer repeatedly falls off our tiny sliver of a vanity and breaks not one, but TWO wastebaskets) until my long-suffering husband generally, when best appropriate, acquiesces.  I am persistent.  He is a saint.  But don't you worry, I am really good to lavish him with praise over his execution of said solution (i.e. hanging shelf, arranging desk, etc.) when it does eventually materialize.  So we're square.   ?

Confession #4:  I am so proud at my cleverness for finding a new storage spot for my broom and dust pan.  I am now sweeping several times a day, thanks to my food-flinging toddler, and was growing weary of trekking to and from the hallway closet to retrieve and then replace the broom.  (In our 800 sq. foot apartment, I was practically fainting from fatigue, as I'm sure you can imagine.)  The ever-so-clever solution?  You're looking at it!   

Look harder!  Easily accessible and out of sight!  Just call me a domestic genius!

Confession #5: Speaking of domestic genius, as of tonight I have (nearly) single-handedly whipped up two, consecutive, home-run, off-the-cuff dinners for my family and our lucky dinner guests of yesterday, the Crowes.  I'm super proud of myself and I don't care who knows it!  (Jacob also deserves an honorable mention here because it takes him a WHOLE LOT of self-restraint to allow someone free rein working in his kitchen that isn't him--hence, why this occurrence doesn't happen more often.  He loves cooking that much.  AND he offered well-placed encouragement where needed from the other room.  Well done, love.  We'll consider it a point for both of us.)  

Confession #6:  This mat has bought my tired feet happiness!  It was a sort-of impulse purchase (I almost never have a true impulse purchase, because there's hardly an item I can buy in the universe that I haven't already dreamed up to be a solution to an existing problem) and it is, by my toes, already WELL WORTH THE INVESTMENT.  After all, if I ain't standing here for hours making dinner, I'm surely doing so washing the dishes!  Plus, I think it's pretty.  Win win.

Confession #7:  I finally mustered up the gumption tonight to bathe my very squirmy baby in the grown-up bathtub ON HIS BELLY and to my utter surprise, it was a huge success!  My sister has been telling me for weeks to do this, (but evidently for sake of convenience or habit I was bent on eking out every possible day of bathing him in his newborn tub in the sink, which I assure you I did.)  My mother and husband also believed this bathing on the belly in the tub thing to be feasible, and low and behold it was!  Feasible and awesome!  At least five whole minutes of prime dimpled-baby-bottom viewing.  I mean, what is not to love?  

Confession #8:  Two new and major improvements in this diva's beauty regimen!  

1.  For several months after the baby was born I considered an ideal day to be one where I could exercise at least 30 minutes, shower, apply make-up, blow-dry and curl my hair all by the time my baby rose from his morning nap.  And for several months (SURPRISE!) I was falling short of this impossible, self-set expectation.  I was fine with everything but the hair.  I could get through everything, but then as soon as my makeup was set, I was plum tuckered out!  The hair was too much to tackle.  (And suddenly I was seized upon, as I believe every new, exhausted mother is, by the undeniable and powerful desire to chop the hair off.)  However, as I believe some people are mountain people and some are beach, some people are short-hair folks, and some are long.  I am the latter in both cases.  So, with a little inspiration and encouragement from some very stylish friends, (special thanks here to Alli Spencer and Sarah Champion) I've gone air dry!  My hair takes 3 minutes or less.  Not kidding.  I cannot even begin to tell you...this is life changing.  I can save curling or round-brushing for special events, hair is less damaged, and I actually like how it looks.  Super, super happy thing right now!  

2.  You're welcome in advance for my telling you about this last and final installment of tonight's happiness confessions: I have found a lip color product that lasts ALL DAY, (no joke) and does not suck every drop of life and moisture out of your lips immediately after application!  It is this pictured Revlon ColorStay Overtime lip gloss!  One application of color PER DAY and one or two applications of gloss PER DAY and that's it!  Red carpet ready all the live long day.  And I've found three colors so far in shades I love.  Four stars.  Happy, happy, happy!    

And now, I confess, my hubby's long gone to bed as it takes me far longer to write posts as detailed as my thoughts than any amateur writer should care to admit, so let me say this one and only thing briefly: good night!