Have you ever made a pattern and realized that you horribly messed it up by choosing the wrong fabric?

I have!

That's the story with this pattern. Well, actually patterns. Today is a two-for-one deal where I'm actually reviewing two patterns.

So we all know that exercise clothes can leave a lot to be desired when it comes to fit, colors, patterns, and most importantly pockets!

I do love that more and more styles of leggings are coming in longer lengths and we're seeing more and more pockets, but (isn't there always a but?) the only leggings that come in long lengths are the ankle length leggings. Don't get me wrong, it's great that I can finally get leggings long enough so that I don't have to layer socks over my ankles to keep them warm, but the problem I have is that they don't make capris in long length. It's so awesome to buy capri-length leggings and have them hit me just below the knee. I know, I know, capris are supposed to hit below the knee, but let's clarify - they're supposed to hit several inches below the knee not right at the back of my knee, would it kill a store to make some long length capris? So there's the crux of my legging problem. I want me-length capris that are cute.

Look at all the options!

Enter the first pattern I'm reviewing - Simplicity 8560

There are a couple of looks to choose from on this pattern, but the one I was interested in was the view with those killer deep thigh pockets. POCKETS! Can you guys feel my excitement over these pockets?

So now that I'm done gushing about those killer pockets, it was also nice that the inset was finished off with some fun twists at the end.

Unfortunately the first time I made this pattern I used a super fun contrast fabric for the inset, and that fabric was perfectly fine. Just a lightweight athletic knit that I found on fabric.com. Luckily, I ordered enough of the fabric to get a few things made out of it. The main fabric, however, was a different story. It had some lateral stretch, no vertical stretch and I would definitely not classify it as a suitable knit for athletic wear, but that's where I found it - listed under athletic fabric. Oh well, that's the danger of buying fabric online. I much prefer visiting a store and being able to feel the fabric and see how it moves, flows, and stretches.

Even though the fabric choice was less than stellar for both patterns, I knew that these patterns were gonna be great, so a trip to Jo-Ann's fixed my main fabric woes. They have this great black refined Ponte (pon-tee) knit. It's so great that I've gone back and bought more of it. I really love this fabric. Jo-Ann's does carry a couple different types of Ponte knit, but this particular one is thicker than some of the others, but it's not as thick as a scuba knit. So now that I have the proper fabric, I'm super excited to get these patterns made again.

As with most knit patterns, cutting it out takes as long as sewing it up. Actually, altering the pattern to be the proper length for capri-length leggings for me is the most time-consuming part of this process, and I will admit that I was a little over-zealous with the lengthening. I think I should have only added 3" instead of 4", but c'est la vie!

Look at those twists!

So the guide sheet is straight-forward and offers some tips/tricks for knits and athletic wear. Most of the pattern can be sewn up on the serger which makes it super quick and easy. I topstitched most of the seams with a zig-zag stitch. The most complicated part of this pattern are the twists at the bottom of the leg. I would say to double-check which way you twist those things because there may or may not be a twist on my leggings that isn't going the same way as the other 5.

For once, I was really smart and cut out several things at once. So once I got the leggings done, I could move right on to the sports bra, Simplicity 8561.

The first time I made the sports bra I was nervous because other than bathing suits, I've never made a bra and let's be honest a sports bra is not the same thing as a bikini top. I am glad I had the practice on the terrible fabric while making the bra. The inset on the bra took a bit to finagle and get it right, but the second version came out much better. Of course, having the new perfect fabric was also a huge help.

Even the back is fun!

So the bra is super simple to assemble. All of the pieces are sized just like the bras you buy in the store, so it's not like you need to know an alternate size like you do for regular patterns. I was nervous when I remade the pattern because the first bra was so tight and uncomfortable, but I knew it was because of my horrible fabric choice. So the 2nd one was much better, but definitely not a running sports bra. I think when I make this bra again (and I will) I may make it a size smaller. I should have probably done that from the get-go. Just going with a smaller band size might work too.

I took a class a while ago about designing your own exercise clothes, and the teacher advised that you could/should make the clothes a size smaller if you want the clothes to be more form-fitting and have a more compressive feel. I do love me some compression tights, but for the legging pattern, I'm perfectly happy with how tight they are, especially since I have gained a little bit of weight back since the surgery. Not a whole lot mind you, but enough to where I notice that my clothes are fitting slightly different. I would go with a smaller size for the bra though. There is a bit of wiggle room and while that might be ok for yoga, I will be running again and I don't really feel like getting whacked in the face by my own bosom.

You can't even tell which is the busted leg.

I would definitely suggest this pattern to someone who is ready to branch out into knits and/or exercise clothes. I get it. Knits can be scary, and so can exercise clothes, but these two patterns are well written and easy to follow. I don't know that I'd recommend these patterns to an out-of-the-gate novice, but to someone who has sewn for a bit and is ready for a new challenge. I would recommend though that if these patterns end up being your first foray into sewing knits then make them in a cheaper knit. I wouldn't go with a slub knit, but maybe a decent cotton interlock, because the athletic knits can get pricey and you don't want to go experimenting on expensive fabric only to mess it up.

I couldn't resist sharing this goofy pic!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Man, it's been a hiatus!

I apologize for the unintended break in posts. It's not for lack of posts, it's me. Man, that sounds like a terrible line, but it's the truth.

I spent most of August reclaiming summer. I took the kids to the pool, went to PT (a lot), and learned to walk again. Well learned to walk properly. Who knew that I didn't know how to walk properly before busting up my knee?

I will say before I get to the goods, and how today's post came about, that everyone needs to visit PT once in their life just so they can be told how bad their posture is and the steps to correct said bad posture. Don't get me wrong - I love PT. I love going and I love my girl, but she takes up 1.5 hours (at least) 3 times a week. It's a time investment, but I've improved by leaps and bounds. My flexion has improved to 132° and the front of my leg has passed the pencil straightening test. The back of the knee is a different story, but we're seeing improvement every day. Suffice to say the knee is functionally straight, it's just not symmetrically straight with my other leg.

So now onto the delicious coffee goods. Back in April, when I visited Dana we stopped by many, many, MANY coffee shops and one of them, forgive me I don't recall which one (Dana is informing me that it was The Well) had the uber-delightful latte. It was a Juniper Rose latte, and it was so very good. Unfortunately, it only came in one size. Small. That stinks. I drank that cup of coffee so fast, that Dana was still eating and only halfway through her own latte.

Fast forward to Dana's visit in August, we had a great many plans to experiment with lattes and various flavors. We failed. I didn't try out crap, but Dana did manage to pull out one Honey Rose latte the day she left because Wegman's (the greatest grocery store ever) carries rose water.

This post isn't about her Honey Rose Latte, but it did lead me to start remembering about the Juniper Rose Latte. Dana is going to be so pleased that I have created a not lazy girl latte. I mean, they are kind of my thing, but this magnificent creation deserves some effort. Not a lot of effort, mind you because let's not go crazy. This is me after all.

So after a quick web search to confirm what my thought process was brewing up (Ha! You see what I did there?) it was time to get cooking. By the way, this is a hot latte. I suppose you could make it up as a cold one, but why would you?

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs Juniper Pods (culinary ones, please don't get some from your garden)
• 1/2 C Sugar
• 1/2 C Water
• 4 or 8 oz Espresso or Strong Coffee
• 1 C Milk
• 1/2 Tsp Rose Water

Directions

This recipe has made several appearances on this blog, and there's a reason for it. It's so dang good! You can visit those posts {HERE} and {HERE}. Dana had a bit of fun at my expense in the 2nd appearance of this delicious latte.

It is my go-to latte for when I make them at home. Mostly because I don't need to make any special syrups or anything for it. I have all the ingredients for it all the time. That's not to say that I don't love the lattes that need syrups, but I'm lazy. I should call this my Favorite Lazy Latte.

As time has gone by, this recipe has evolved a little so here's how I am currently making this deliciousness.

Honey Almond Latte (aka Favorite Lazy Latte)

• 1/8 tsp (or just a really quick small pour) Almond Extract
• 3 good squidges Honey
• Cinnamon, for sprinkling on top

I had grand plans to write this post at exactly 4 weeks post-op, but that didn't happen because I'm lazy. Well, not really, I'm feeling pressed for time at times, because it takes me longer to do everything now and I'm having to prioritize and schedule my day down to almost the minute so that I can get everything done that I'd like to get done, and that wasn't writing this post - until now.

In the 9 years we've lived here there's one room that has never been painted and it was our basement bathroom, which our oldest now shares. The latter bit of information threw a wrench into my plans, because don't you know that he has an opinion on what he'd like the bathroom to look like?!

I mean he is my son, so it stands to reason that he'd have an opinion, and in my mad dash to get projects done before surgery his bathroom was on the list.

I've known for a while that I wanted to do this buffalo plaid paint treatment that I saw on BH&G {HERE}. They did theirs in a calm set of colors, but I had no such plans. A few years back, Big Guy and I agreed on a rug and this rug was not allowed to be removed in the update. Big Guy really likes this rug, or maybe, and more likely, he hates change. So inside this rug was a lovely dark red, and that was going to be the color for my plaid wall treatment. The rug also included several greens, which would be the Big Guy's fave color.

So I started on this project by taping 6" stripes all around the walls. This took far more time than I figured it would, but I knew it was going to be great. I marked each stripe that I was going to paint with a small "x" inside it. Otherwise, I would be getting confused with all of the lines going on.
Then it was time for paint. I didn't follow the directions that BH&G had. My glaze to paint ratio was 2:1. I bought a pint of glaze and then got a sample size of my paint color, and it only cost me $15. I was very excited about this economical paint treatment. It'd probably cost a lot more if I was doing a larger room, but this itty bitty bathroom did not have a lot of wall space. There is a bit of a technique when working with glazed paint, but I didn't take me long to get it. Using a roller probably would have been the better choice, but I'd already committed to my brush so that's what I continued to use.
You can see where I drew the very faint vertical 6" stripes over my horizontal stripes. I let the horizontal stripes dry overnight before embarking on the vertical stripes, but I have to say I was really worried about my decision at this point. I hated the stripes. Big Guy really liked them. It was too late to back down now, the vertical stripes needed to go on so I could get a good picture of just what I'd done.
After I got the vertical stripes done, and pulled the tape off I was in love! Big Guy liked it, but he kept calling it a tablecloth. Hubs was not as sure, but I was really happy, and I even managed to match up some of my stripes with the grout lines in the tile. I'm just that good (I'm not... it was a coincidence). I could not wait to get the bathroom accessorized!

Unfortunately, accessories would be where the child and I disagreed. I wanted the bathroom organized, but the boy likes things the way he likes things. He's also picky and opinionated. There may have been more than one argument about how to organize his counter clutter. Not that what he had on the counter wasn't needed, it absolutely was, but it doesn't need to be spread out all over the entire counter. Luckily a trip to Walmart saved the day. Sorry Target, you know I love you, but you didn't have anything that he liked.
The macrame glass containers were just the thing to solve our argument. The glass soapdish was something that we had upstairs in our bathroom, but I was more than willing to donate it to hold all of his various things for his braces and their care. I'm still looking for a towel holder for the hand towel, and none of the artwork is back up, but I figure those are things that I can do as I get stronger. Gives me a goal. We also got a new shower curtain that had all of our colors, and new towels.
I'm happy that my boy likes his bathroom, and I'm extra happy that I won't be embarrassed over the basement bathroom anymore.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Happy July, friends! Dana here. I'm not gonna talk about how friggin' hot it is because we're probably all painfully aware, and that's all I'm seeing online of late. I feel, y'all *sweats profusely*. Let's try and bring ourselves some relief, shall we?

I used this recipe as a guide, with (as usual) some changes. Specifically, no rosewater. I like rosewater, but 1) I have no idea where to find it 2) I already had all the other ingredients in my house, and why am I gonna change out of my jammies if I don't have to? The original recipe tells you how to make a cold version, whereas mine is hot, though you could easily make this version cold too (see recipe below).

Ingredients
30 whole green cardamom pods
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Combine cardamom pods, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Turn burner to medium-high and bring to a light boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Once the mixture is bubbling, turn off the burner and let the mixture sit for at least fifteen minutes. This will give the pods more time to steep and infuse the syrup with their flavor. Add vanilla and stir again. Then strain (if desired) into a jar. I personally like leaving the pods in because I think it looks kind of fun and reminds me of what's in the jar. They're big enough to not really cause an issue too. When I make syrups with any kind of bitsy flavorants, though, like zest, I'll filter. It's up to you. Then just flavor your coffee as desired. I personally don't like my coffee too sweet, so I use two tablespoons in a standard coffee cup.

For a hot latte, use Heather's Mason Jar Latte recipe here, sans the sugar. Or you can be lazy like me and just combine coffee and milk and zap in the microwave to heat it up.

For an iced latte, I recommend using my aforementioned lazy method, but add some ice cubes instead of zapping it in the microwave. Easy peasy!


Here you can see my ingredient layout. Anyone else listen to audiobooks while they cook? I use a great app called Librivox. It has loads of classic literature. Currently listening to the leviathan that is Moby Dick. There's a geeky reference in there. 😉 If you've read other guest posts from me, you may notice I make pretty easy recipes. Yeah, because I don't like to have to work too hard for my food! Especially first thing in the morning when I'm stumbling around like a zombie.



I think I did a load of dishes while this baby was doing its thing. It really doesn't get much easier. And you can see what I mean about seeing what's in the jar. I use raw sugar, so my syrups always resemble maple syrup, meat juice, broth, etc., and I am not looking to mix any of those into my coffee. Well, the maple syrup is actually really nice in coffee, but you get my drift.



Once your coffee is ready, it's time to settle in with another book. Yes, more books! I always have at least three going at a time: an audiobook, one on my Kindle, and a physical one. The resulting concoction has a warm, spicy flavor. It's almost got a whisper of something that reminds me of mint and cumin, but it's not at all minty or cumin-y, if that makes any sense. Anyway, it's absolutely delicious. Give it a try and let us know what you thought in the comments below 👇.

I finished reading the book pictured above, Chasing Shadows by KN Salustro, before writing this post, so feel free to have a look at my spoiler-free review over on my blog.

Thanks for reading!

Or as I wanted to call this post - SQUATS, SQUATS, SQUATS!

So last week, I shared how my first 8 days went. You can find the post {HERE}. I will say that this week was much better in both terms of my recovery and how I spent my days. I really am not one to lay around and do nothing. It drives me crazy which, in turn, drives my family crazy. I can't not do things. True, I've been making great progress on my colorful cow, but there's only so much cross-stitch that I can do before I go all blurry-eyed. Pulling out the computer is ok, but I really need to be active. I miss my endorphins! Luckily, these last 6 days have found me actually working up a sweat while doing my daily PT exercises.

So my last update was right after my first PT visit since then I've had 2 more visits and they've added more exercises to my repertoire! Squee!

First things first, however, Thursday was my first day doing my exercises at home. It was painful for everyone in the house. However, before I woke the hubs so we could do the exercises, I went downstairs and made myself coffee, well two cups of coffee. By myself! Who knew that making yourself a morning cup of coffee would be so liberating? After enjoying both cups of coffee, I went back upstairs to get the real work done. I decided that I wouldn't eat breakfast until my exercises were done. We went through the exercises the way that my PT told me to do. Hubs was super awesome and did his spotter job admirably. The leg lifts were difficult, the knee bends were agonizing, but the quad sets weren't bad until the kids asked my right leg wasn't doing as much as the left leg. It's working children! You just can't see it. The left leg doesn't have to work as hard. There were definitely tears involved. There wasn't pain, but the effort and the newness of moving the leg took its toll. I don't know if I mentioned in my last post, but the ice therapy machine that I got is worth at least 4 times it's water-weight in gold. The ice machine after my exercises is one of my favorite parts of the day.

Friday was day 2 of PT and my therapist was on vacation, so I had a substitute therapist. She was quite nice and competent if a little hesitant to adjust my brace. I was disappointed that my brace wasn't adjusted, but there was improvement during my leg lifts and the addition of side leg lifts was fun. She barely had to help me get my heel off the table during both exercises, which was exciting because that is what I struggled with during those same exercises on Wednesday and Thursday. Also, I discovered that I can walk down the stairs without my crutch. I'm still holding onto the railing, but I managed those stairs by myself!

So I woke up early both Thursday and Friday but didn't think much of it. Then it happened again on Saturday. I mean I didn't have an alarm set, but 6:14 came and my eyeballs were open. Weird, but maybe my internal clock was just resetting itself, but this is 3 days in a row where I've awoken between 6:12 and 6:14. It's just curious. So anyways, I'm awake which means coffee! I walked all the way downstairs, made my coffee, and then enjoyed it without touching my crutch once! Woot! That was pretty amazing. The house woke up fairly early, and we got my exercises done. I didn't need help with any of the leg lifts, and the hubs was duly impressed. It was nice to show off a bit. Afterward, the hubs went downstairs to start working on the garage, and I had the Big Guy bring up the new shower shelves so I could get them built. Building those shelves was a little job, but it was big for me.

Sunday found me waking up early again, and as has become my habit, I wander downstairs for coffee and me-time. The early morning routine has become one of my favorite moments. Its just me, usually, and I can get myself prepped for the day. I write in my journal and organize my bullet journal. I work on little crafts with Baby Girl. I sip my coffee and just enjoy myself. We pick up Small Fry from camp, and then after we get home he gets to see how much I've improved. He's a pretty good cheerleader. We then moved me out of our bedroom and back down into the family room. No more convalescing in the bedroom! The afternoon found me going to my parents' house and visiting with them and my grandparents. It was a lovely day.

6:12 and my eyeballs are open. Hello Monday. Why do I even bother setting an alarm at this point? I make my coffee, and spend some time with the Big Guy. We head to PT just before 8. I get to warm-up on the recumbent bike. I was supposed to be on there for 10 minutes, but somehow it ended up being 12. Oops. Not sorry. I also kept asking for resistance, because it was easy. The knee felt good and wasn't fighting the movements at all. My therapist was fussing at me for pushing more, but it was easy. She almost threw my protocol at me, well not really, but she did bring it over and told me we were following it and not going to deviate. She then told her assistant that I was going to have to be reigned in. I don't know which is worse in the world of PT, having a patient that doesn't want to do or having one that wants to do too much. Both probably have their own sets of headaches. After the time on the bike, I got to walk across the area to the barre. It was scary, and they had to fetch me a cane. Then we had to keep lengthening the cane because of tall people problems. I make it to the barre, and I didn't fall. I got to do mini squats, only bending the knees to about 30° and then it was on to calf raises. Love calf raises! So after that, it was onto wearing the brace again and all the leg lifts. We upped my reps to 30. I was working up a definite sweat during this visit, and it felt marvelous. The ice compression machine felt amazing. I took the kids to the pool and let them play for about 90 minutes. The heat took a toll on me, and after we got home I took a shower. My knee felt unstable in the shower after trying to pick the soap up off the floor. That was not very fun, so after I got out of the shower I laid on the couch and proceeded to take a nap.

Today has started just like the last 5 days. 6:12 and I'm awake. I take my time over my coffee this morning though. Baby Girl and I made a perler bead cupcake, and then I head back upstairs to do my exercises. The hubs was nervous for my exercises today because of the addition of the squats and lifts, but it was all good. The knee aches a bit today, probably from all the use and abuse and I've put it through, but it's not terrible.

SQUATS! SQUATS! SQUATS!

So overall week 2 has gone much better and I'm excited to see what the next week brings. I'm still working towards not sleeping with the brace on and being able to drive, but every day I see improvement so I am quite pleased with how everything is progressing.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

When we bought the house 9 years ago, the first thing we did after closing was to paint the family room a lovely pumpkin orange. It was my favorite room in the house for a very long time, but then I started getting more adventurous in my paint colors. Painting our master bedroom navy blue was bold and scary for us, but I love how that turned out. So then we started talking about what color to paint the family room. It needed to be refreshed, and I wanted something dramatic. I found this color scheme from Sherwin Williams called Global Spice and it has all the colors I love in it. So it has formed the basis for the new color scheme on the main level of the house.

We started thinking about the colors that we liked, and we settled on a dark purple. We had several shades, but in the end, Sweet Currant by Valspar won the color race. So the next weekend, we started cleaning and clearing out the family room.

It was probably the best cleaning the room had received in the last 5 years. Everyone chipped in. I vacuumed the walls and removed all the cobwebs. The littles scrubbed all the window sills and baseboards. The Big Guy was our gopher and ended up cleaning the trim work that the littles couldn't reach. After all of that, it was finally time to paint, and it was amazing! While the new color is dark and dramatic, it's not overpowering. Not with all of the white trim and curtains. Luckily, the new fabric I bought for the pillows has all those same colors and they really pop off the gray of the couch. The dark purple also allows our artwork to pop.
Speaking of which, we needed some new artwork. I love the lily picture above our fireplace, but it wasn't right for the family room anymore. So I moved it up to our bedroom, where it fills the space above my dresser much better than the art I had up there. Michael's then had a sale for 70% off their canvases so the hubs and I picked up a 36" square canvas for $21. Then $3 worth of paint from Walmart and we were going to have some new abstract art.
The kids and I laid the canvas on the driveway and started throwing paint on it. I tried scraping the paint in straight lines off the canvas, but it muddled the paint too much. So we squirted more paint onto the canvas and then made sweeping arcs with the squeegee and we liked that much better. We just continued to add paint and make sweeping arcs until it looked done.
The art project was so much! I love that it was a group project. I also love how the whole room came together and how well it works with the rest of the main level of the house. Even the messy kitchen table looks right at home.
 All of the new pillows look fabulous on the couch. I may or may not being a bit precious with the striped pillows, because that fabric is a really nice upholstery chenille that can't be washed, dry cleaned only. I love how the gray allows everything to pop.
I figured I'd leave the comparison to how the room used to look to what it looks like now until the very end. I really did love the orange, but the purple is just so much more dramatic and a little more grown-up.

Just one room left for the main level to be done. The dining room! Thanks for stopping by!

Yesterday marked one week since my ACL/meniscus repair surgery and it has been a week.

It started off innocently enough, but then it got hard, went to ok, and finally ended on terribly wonderful. If you follow me on Instagram {HERE} then you'll have seen some of what my first week was like.

So the surgery went well, but coming out of anesthesia took ages, which seems to be the norm me, but it did prompt one of the recovery nurses to ask if I was still breathing. Yep, just want to go back to sleep, but I'm still here.

Getting home was a bit of a trial. The movement of the car plus the meds made me a bit car sick, which I don't know that I've ever suffered from. I do not like it.

Home from surgery.

Once home we settled me on the couch, and then I proceeded to flit between being awake and asleep for the next several hours. Getting up to go the bathroom was awful. The downstairs bathroom is not great for a person whose leg needs to stay fully extended. We made it through the day, and I hobbled my way upstairs at the end of the night.

The 2nd day was much the same, I was feeling quite accomplished at getting dressed and then heading downstairs. I even made it outside to watch the fireworks since it was the 4th of July. Getting upstairs was agonizing.

Watching the kids play with sparklers on the 4th.

The 3rd day was almost identical to the 2nd day. I enjoyed the time I spent with the kids, but getting up off the couch and into the bathroom was hellish. The trek up the stairs on the 3rd day was the worse one. I was exhausted and there were so many stairs.

Day 4 dawned and I decided to stay upstairs in my bedroom. The kids brought up my computer and cross stitch. The hubs brought up a TV, and while mentally it was the toughest day because I felt like my leg had won, it was really the best decision. Our bed is quite high off the floor and it makes it so much easier for me to get in and out of it. Our bathroom also has a nice half wall next to the toilet so it made a great handrail for me. I was really grumpy about my decision to stay in the bedroom, but it really was the best decision.

Wearing cute socks while locked in my Ivory Tower was my coping mechanism.

Days 5 - 7 were spent lounging in the bedroom. The kids played the switch, and I got an education in Splatoon 2 that I didn't know I needed. I caught up on computer stuff and made some great progress on my colorful cow cross stitch. I also ventured out to see my parents on Sunday and spent a lovely morning with them. Staying in my bedroom seemed like I was letting the injury win, but in reality, I think I allowed me to heal and rest more comfortably.

Hanging out with Momma!

Watching the men talk about building plans.

Day 8 or Post-Op Day - I couldn't sleep. I was like a kid at Christmas. I couldn't wait to unwrap my leg and see the damage. I must've woken up 3 or 4 times, and each time it was a fight to get back to sleep. Finally, it was actually time to wake up and get ready. We still made it to my doc appointment 20 minutes before my scheduled time, and then my doc ended up running 20 minutes late. ARGH!

I'm finally called back and the nurse tells me they're gonna take x-rays, but first, we're taking off my bandages! I was still like a kid at Christmas. I was so excited that I was sweating. Seriously the sweat yesterday was bad. I mean I know I'm a sweater, but stress sweat is awful. So she opens up my brace and cuts off my bandages. It's not as bad as I would have thought. The knee is understandably tender, and there wasn't much bruising. So she helps me put my brace back on, and its time to hobble down to x-ray. Laying on the x-ray table is the best thing so far about this whole thing. Being able to lay down on my side! It's wonderful! The tech tells me that most people don't like to lay on their side after surgery. So the x-rays get taken and we're back to the room. The doc comes in and reviews how the surgery went. He goes over the pictures from the procedure and answers my questions. I had no idea that 1) it was even possible that what remained of my ACL scarred itself to my PCL or that 2) it was quite common. We also rehashed that there is some arthritis in my knee cap, but not much. The outside meniscus is quite healthy, but he had to remove a largish chunk from the other. I will say that the meniscii (meniscuses?) look like white fish flesh. There was a surprising lack of blood in the pictures. We reviewed the x-rays and I got to see all the hardware that was installed. 2 screws and a clip. One of the screws will turn to bone in about 2 years, but the doc kept calling them wood screws and now I can't get that out of my head.

What's up evil face?

The doc then examined my leg. We debated whether or not my leg was stained or bruised. We talked about my aches and pains and whether I needed more Percocet (I did not get another scrip, went a step-down because I hate taking narcotics). Also talked about my PT visit the next day, and then onto checking the ligaments. That was not fun, but he said it all felt good. He also told me that I didn't need my crutches anymore. I got very excited about that until I realized what that actually meant. He said that at my PT visit they'd unlock my brace and that until I could raise my leg more easily I would continue to have to wear the stupid thing while sleeping. Oh! Yea, so trying to lift my leg without my brace was the most difficult thing. I was more focused and determined than I have been in a long time on that single exercise and I managed 4". I was proud of myself, but at the same time disappointed that it wasn't enough. That's the next goal. The nurse came back in and put on steri-strips and told me showering was allowed, but I couldn't scrub that leg until the strips came off. So then I was done with the visit and it was time to go home. I "walked" out, using two crutches and applying as much weight as I felt comfortable with on the leg. By the time I got home, I was down to one crutch. I was done with those damn crutches. I almost forgot I am not a crier. I don't cry, but when I got into that car after the doc's visit that was the first thing I did. I burst into tears and I couldn't tell you why, but I felt better after the fact. 

I didn't realize what a toll the day would take on me, but it came down to taking a shower or taking a nap. The nap won. I don't know if it should've because when I did take a shower after my nap those clothes were rank! Ugh. I'm so sorry if I actually stank that bad while out. On my way up the stairs, the hubs says he found my bruise and why the back of my knee has ached so much. 

Yep, that would do it.

 After the gloriousness of my nap, taking a shower was a very daunting thing to do, but it got done, and unfortunately, it was not as miraculous as I wanted it to be. I mean, it felt good being clean, but I was exhausted again. Mostly emotionally exhausted, but exhausted nonetheless. Cue more tears and my Big Guy is the one who held me and calmed me down. Thankfully the rest of the day was more lowkey.

Day 9 or PT Day 1 - I slept much better last night, but I'm still awake at 5am. It is not Christmas! Luckily, my PT appointment is much earlier in the day than my doc appointment so that was good. I got myself ready and actually ate breakfast downstairs. That was a nice change, and then it was time to dash after another short cryfest. We get to the office with plenty of time to spare. The hubs tells me that while he's waiting for me, he's going to meal plan. Is there any question as to why I love him? He's been amazing this whole week. So I hobble back to the PT area of the office, where I meet my therapist. She's a nice lady who is almost as tall as me, and we're wearing the same Brooks' sneaks. I instantly like her.

The visit was difficult but rewarding. She worked my knee and we got it bent to 70* which was not painful, but it was so tight and uncomfortable. I had to close my eyes during some of the exercises, because she told me I was fighting her, which I didn't know I was doing and didn't mean to do, but I figure if I can't see what she's doing and then work solely by feel then maybe it'd go better. The trick worked and I did loosen up while she continued to flex my knee and make it work. She had me go through a series of exercises and then we finished up with ice, compression, and these little electrode things. By the end of the session, I was in a bit of pain, but not to bad. She wasn't going to unlock my brace, but in the end, decided that 10* was enough flexion. She also taught me how to correctly hobble on my one brace. She told me that I wasn't walking great and maybe I should be on both crutches. Well that wasn't going to happen so I tried to "walk" better, and apparently changed my gait and she was quite happy with it. She also adjusted my crutch so that it was better suited to me. Then it was over. I get to go through this happy hell 3 times a week for 6 weeks. Once we get back in the car, cue more tears. These might've been triggered by a little bit of pain, a little bit of emotion, and a little bit over whatever is left.  I did end up taking another half a Percocet today. The pain from the work this morning was just too much. I'm not really happy about it but I also need to be realistic.

So there's my week and a day. I go back to PT on Friday, and on my off days, I have my exercises to work on. Thanks so much for stopping by today.

So my girl is turning 5 this year, and as we've done with both of her brothers, 5 is the year they get their "Big" bedroom. Baby Girl is no different. We've been working on her room, and converting it to her Big Girl room for a few weeks now, but she also wanted to do her bathroom, so I gave her carte blanche with her bathroom.

She told me she wanted a mermaid bathroom, so we hopped on Pinterest and start looking at various renditions of mermaid bathrooms. Most of them are blue or green, but my girl wants a pink/purple bathroom. Of course, she does. You know fate is on your side when you're at Lowe's and the mistints are on sale, AND you find the perfect shade of pink for your girl's bathroom. $5 for an entire gallon of paint. That's a steal!

So we had the paint, and we'd just painted the family room, so all the paint supplies were still out and what better time to paint than when everything is out and about?

The hubs helped me take everything down in the bathroom, and then it was time to slap some paint on the walls. Painting it went pretty easily, you know on a bum knee and everything. The hubs wasn't overly happy that I was doing so much, but I am nothing if not foolish and full of blind determination.


Once the paint dried, Baby Girl and I started putting her bathroom back together, but there was something missing. The linen closet creates an almost perfect accent wall in the bathroom, and another quick Pinterest search solves my dilemma.


After buying a quart of the perfect purple, Plum Dandy for those of you wondering, I mixed it with some glaze that I had. It ended up being a 1:1 ratio paint to glaze, and then I rolled it onto the wall. I did one side and then drug my small corn husk broom through it. Vertically then horizontally. I then did the same thing on the adjacent wall. It's not perfect, but I love it and for my first attempt I'm really happy with the whole effect.


Baby Girl decided that she wanted to change up her toothbrush holder. We'd seen on Pinterest some glittered mason jars, and she wanted to do that for her mason jars. So that's what we did. The hubs is not a fan of the glitter, but this was important to the girl.

So then it was just finishing touches, and now my Baby Girl has her big girl mermaid bathroom.


 We found this starfish dish while at Home Goods, and it was on clearance for $3! Baby Girl gingerly carried it around the entire store. She loved that she could pick something out for her bathroom. We added the bag of baubles which I got from Pottery Barn years ago.

We used the old towel rack and turned it into a fun lantern wall. I still need to add fairy lights to it, but I figure when she's older and wants to take a nice relaxing soak, the fairy lights will add a nice ambiance. I kind of want a lantern wall in my bathroom, if I'm being honest.


I'm really happy that she's happy, and that another project is off the list. I'm also happy to report that she's taking care of her new bathroom the way a big girl should take care of her bathroom. I mean there are still towels on the floor, but the days of painting the cabinets in toothpaste seem to be behind us. She takes a lot of care to make sure things are put away, at least on the counter.