socially

I have spent the majority of this week alone. 

Am I lonely yet? Nope. 

Do I want to socialize yet? Nope. 

I'm perfectly happy with all this me time. I did go visit customers a few days, so it's not like I didn't have any human interaction.

This week I've also been eating whatever I want and drinking a lot of wine. I like this new softness in my body but I've gotten to the point where I'm feeling gross and sluggish and ready to shift in a healthier direction. More veggies, less desserts. I know FG feels the same way so maybe this time he'll be on board. I'm hoping that the time change will motivate us to go on evening walks or MAYBE even go to the gym. I'll believe it when I see it, but summer is coming and sweaty fat rolls are motivating.

I've been watching a lot more tv this week. There's a show on Netflix about vacation rentals that has my wanterlust FLARING. I'm pinning all of the places they go because they all look so amazing. I may be anti social but I'm ready to start traveling again.  

"Our" lake house still hasn't closed yet... and it should have. I'm not hoping that the sale falls through because that's bad karma, but if it does, we're ready to snatch it up. I still feel like that's our house. 

it's only tuesday

First order of business. FG is on Day 3 of a cruise and at first I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I used to live alone and I loved it! What did I do?? (Psst. I drank a lot more than I do now)

So far I have spring cleaned the house, including windows, ceiling fans, floors, and baseboards. I've done all the laundry, including rugs, throw blankets, dog beds, and pillows.

I've also started painting my desk and have moved my office into FG's office in the meantime. I feel like Ron Burgundy working from that huge desk with 3 monitors, 2 keyboards, and several mice.

My taxes are done, I baked a bunch, exhausted social media, watched some tv, and should probably schedule some work stuff for the rest of the week.

I do miss FG and his company and I will be happy when he is home...

But, I do enjoy being able to fart at will, cooking only when I feel like it, having control over the remote. and snuggling with Pumpkin at night. She is so much more calm during the day when she's not locked up at night.

I already knew that I would hate a cruise, but that has been confirmed. FG said that you can feel the boat moving, and the dining options are plentiful and gluten-ful. Not exactly my cup of tea on either account. 

Happy to be on dry land with my own kitchen, embracing the solitude. After feeling so burnt out socially, maybe a week of me time will set me straight.

Oh! This morning I was asked out on a date. A guy who used to be a customer, then worked for us, but went back to being a customer, texted me asking me out to dinner. Obviously not going to happen, but it's always nice when the ego gets boosted like that. *still got it*

Chair makeover

I finally got around to updating this chair. (Fun fact, I still have and use all of the items I bought that day. Except the oil can.)

The fabric had worn and it was looking a little gross and shabby, so I started slowly taking it apart. I took a ton of pictures of small details as I took it apart, so that I would have that as a reference for when I put it back together. It was basically staples and glue, but there were several times where I went back and checked the pictures to make sure I had things positioned properly.

I couldn't re-use anything because the foam had dry-rotted and basically disintegrated as I pulled it off. Messy and gross. I oiled the springs so now it doesn't squeak when I sit down, and I painted it a glossy black.

I upgraded to a much thicker foam for the seat, and found some fun fabric. For the trim I was going to use matching double cording, but then I saw the fun braided kind and I like the way it looks a lot. Here it is now:

I love it. Of course now that the chair has been updated, my desk looks shabby...

quickie

I am so annoyed that the A/C is on. Ugh, so it begins.

We just finished season 2 of Love is Blind and I normally hate tv shows like that, but it's SO GOOD. Plot twists everywhere!

I have been so socially drained lately. I have a few theories, but I'm not entirely sure why I'm feeling so burnt out. Choosing to listen to myself and not schedule anything over the next few weeks.

Watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Such a good one. Why can't I be invited to a party where I get to "frost myself?"

Just got wind of a humongous project with work that will make this summer super busy and most likely miserable. Officially not worried about work being slow anymore.

oh yeah it's Valentine's Day

Welp. That "happy belly" phase didn't last very long. I got a few weeks of glorious eating before food didn't sit right again. It coincided with trying a different brand of digestive enzymes and they did NOT do the trick. I switched back, but since then it's been iffy. Back to reality. It's okay. I haven't eaten a salad in a long time and my body was bound to bitch about it.

Speaking of my body revolting, the itchy skin scenario has also flared and as a result of the scratching I look like a crackhead. I plan to beg the dermatologist for anything that will calm the beast. And, since I'll be there, ask about further lasering the spots off my face.

This weekend I trimmed the rose bushes and cleared all the dead plants out of the flower beds. It was a lot of work but now it looks so clean and bare and ready for some more flowers. I always get excited about that. 

Leadership at work has outlined a plan for us to have a better work/life balance and part of that plan involves encouraging us to take all of our PTO this year (we all often lose hours at the end of the year). I've been kind of wanting a girls trip... and also work has been really slow so we could all use a better balance in the other direction. Example: I didn't get out of my pjs today. Hm.

This morning I cut the strawberries into hearts and this evening I cut the carrots in the salad into hearts and FG did not notice either one. Haha. I hate the idea of making a big deal out of Valentine's day in the traditional way, but I love the idea of celebrating love all around. So while I actively reject flowers and chocolates today, I am lucky enough to enjoy them, and other random acts of schmoop, randomly all the time.

I'm pretty used to my cup being filled on a daily basis. Seriously, tell me I'm pretty every day and do things like put air in my tires, and thank me for making dinner every night, and every damn day is Valentine's day. 

hump day

It was a long day. 

It was a good day, but a long day. Lots of standing, walking, and numbers.

I had a good dinner and now I'm full and so tired that I don't even want to finish my wine.

Working in northern Louisiana, in a hotel that's decent enough but the shower pressure is so low that I skipped it last night in favor of a sink whore bath.

It's really dry here, too. Even with the travel humidifier next to the bed, I've been waking up with dry nostrils and eyes. 

I'm always happy to travel for work, but sometimes the comforts of home can't be beat.

Started my period, my hip is sore, my head hurts, I'm itchy, and all signs point towards going to bed early. I don't want to wake up at 4am, though, so I'm powering through for at least another hour.

Turning a flat sheet into a bedskirt

Have you priced bed skirts lately? I was finding it difficult to find a bed skirt to fit an 18-inch tall California King frame. I'm not paying $100 just to hide the crap under the bed.

Fortunately, I'm resourceful. I found a flat sheet in the right size (for $20) and here's how I tailored it:

First of all, IRON the sheet. It will look so much nicer. Wrinkles don't fall out over time, no matter how much you try to tell yourself that they will. 

Next, drape the sheet over the bed frame, wrong-side up. Line everything up where you want it. Mine happened to be the perfect size so that all the edges lined up with the floor.

On each corner, pull the bottom corner of the sheet out and pin the sides of the sheet together along the leg of the frame. Make sure the bottom edges line up.

Trim the excess, leaving a few inches of fabric to work with.

Remove the sheet from the bed frame. One at a time, lay each corner flat. Mark where the top and bottom pins are with a pencil. Move the pins over and use a ruler to line up with the marks. Draw a line, to mark where the pins were. Baste along the line. 

(Since the initial measurements were eyeballed, I felt more comfortable basting first. If you're confident in your pinning abilities, go for it with a regular stitch.)

Put the bed skirt back on the bed and, if necessary, make adjustments. Once you're happy with the fit, take it back off and sew using a regular stitch. Trim the excess fabric, then use a zig zag stitch along the raw edges to prevent fraying. Turn the corners right side out and press with a hot steamy iron.

I also added 4 ties (ribbon I had on hand) to the top of the sheet, so that it could be tied to the head of the frame to help keep it in place.

Look at how nice those corners look.

(I still needed to adjust that one corner when I snapped the picture.)

Stick the mattress back on the bed, adjust if it shifted, and you're done.