Up To Date

It's hard keeping you all up to date on things I've talked about on here. So, occasionally I just have a big up-to-date post where I can attempt to tie up loose ends. The last time I did this was December 25, 2010 (I blogged on Christmas?!), so I have almost 2 years worth of questions to answer.

Also, sometimes when a question is asked in the comments I'll use Blogger's semi-new reply feature to answer it. Only, I tested that out this week and the stupid thing doesn't send a notification to the commenter that you replied. I highly doubt anyone goes back to blogs they asked a question on to check for replies. Nice try Blogger, but per usual, you fell a bit short. Another reason why I am doing this update.

• So, if you recall, I was trying to share my Instagram pictures with you on a weekly or bi-weekly basis for a while there. I quit doing that. But, I haven't quit Instagramming. Also, I always always always seem to pick the 'Rise' or 'Earlybird' filters. I'm just drawn to them every time. And just once I'd like to have a chance to use 'Toaster', simply because I like it's name.

Laceyloo22 if you'd like to see a million pictures of my bald beauty.

 

• I got a lot of questions about my clothing spreadsheet and closet the last time I talked about it. I have a BIG update about that, but let me answer questions first.

Jess asked if Charley also had a spreadsheet and if I had to update it every time she changed clothes halfway through the day. Charley does NOT have a spreadsheet though. I do try to remember the last time she wore [outfit A] and if it's been too soon then I put her in something else, but it's not officially tracked. However, I do rely on my memory for this method which is less than stellar so it's not a foolproof method.

Trisha asked how the spreadsheet worked exactly and if I assign numbers to each article or descriptions or what. [Also she used the word 'blouse' in her question which makes my skin crawl. I have no idea why I hate that word so much; it's up there with the word 'panties'. Blech. Sorry for the tangent.] I do assign a number to each shirt, pant, skirt. I have separate tabs for pants, shirts and jackets, and this is where they are assigned their number. To differentiate between several black shirts I may have, I add a brand, sleeve length, or special feature to the description. Like, black 3/4 length ruffled shirt versus black cowled neck short sleeved shirt. Then a separate tab keeps track of the calendar and only uses the numbers to identify the pieces of the outfit, which is linked back to the pants/shirts/jacket tabs. Make sense? So then a COUNTIF formula is used to count how many times number 37 shows up in the calendar year to help me keep track of how often each thing is worn.

Heather asked to see a picture of my closet. John and I share a closet, and it's really tight getting all of our stuff in there so I no longer organize by sleeve-length and color like I used to.

I get the top row. Stuff is packed in there like sardines for now.

And finally, Haley suggested I wean myself off. This is the BIG update: I did. I finally quit the ol' spreadsheet back in May. It was hard, but I needed to change my outlook on clothing to a more quality wardrobe versus quantity, and stopping the spreadsheet upkeep was the first step. I am getting rid of a ton of cheap Kohl's and Target clothing that I've kept forever just so I'd have a large QUANTITY of clothing, and instead I am now buying nicer quality clothing (slowly, this stuff a'int cheap!) to replace it all. I did consider starting some sort of spreadsheet for my new quality wardrobe to try and show me the many different outfits I could do with just a few quality pieces, but I stopped myself. (And a friend recently told me there is now an app for that. I'm holding myself back from the iTunes store for now.)

Instead, I'm now using a spreadsheet to track how many millimeters my hair grows each day by plucking one hair a day and measuring it.

[That's a joke, by the way.]



• About a month before Charley was born, I posted about what our house looked like pre-baby. It really wasn't too bad post-baby for the first 6 months or so. And then this happened to my living room:

This picture was taken in July, and it has gotten a little better since then. The big stuff has gone away, and I got rid of the foam mat too. In the new house we have a dining room and won't have a dining room table for a while, so I'm considering letting Charley have that room for her stuff for a while so I can have a proper living room again. There's just no room for anything like that in our current house.

• Speaking of the new house... I know you are all dying to know about the house updates. This is quite possibly the slowest house building process ever, so there really isn't much to update yet. The land is clear. We changed house plans. (Wahhh! I knew I was jinxing it when I shared them with you!) But, the new house plans/layout is almost identical to the old except it's 463 more square feet - not including the basement and this one is way cheaper to build so win/win.

The old: 

The new:

Currently, we are waiting on the county to approve plans and the bank to finalize everything they need for underwriting, and we can finally move into the construction phase. But I'm still extremely anxious about the whole thing and have not updated you because I just know I'm going to jinx it and have to eat my words. Puh-lease let this go smoothly.

And, regarding our current house, we've got until November 20th to move out. New house will not be done by that point, so we are spending the holidays with my parents! We could rent something for a couple months, but my parents graciously offered and we graciously accepted.  

& yes, we are losing the $850 we spent on the first set of plans we bought. Anyone in the market for house plans? I'll sell them to you for a great price! Oh well, you live and learn.

•  Of the two gifted movies I received on March 6, I have watched one of them. Mean Girls. Man, that was such a good movie! I should maybe catch up on the last 5 or so years of movies I've missed.
• CAPTCHA still annoys me. Turn yours off, please!
• I'm still bitter about the lack of participation
• The neighbors. They are still gone for the most part. They very rarely come back except sometimes on the weekends to gather more of their things. We avoid eye contact at all costs and peek out of our blinds to watch them because even when they only come back for 2 hours, they spend 1 hour 45 minutes of that time in the parking lot. Arguing. 

What did I miss? Any updates you were looking for that I left out?

Square Pictures

Okay. In the past I have called this the photo dump, but, I'm afraid that I absolutely loathe that title. Anything with the word "dump" in it just sounds dirty. Unless of course it's dump truck, but, then again that's dirty too but in a different way. Dump = dirty, basically, and none of the square pictures are dirty. So, 'Square Pictures of Happiness'? Or maybe 'Instagrammed' as a play on the app that takes them Instagram. I don't know. I'm not feeling very creative today at all so Square Pictures it is. Someone please give me a better name for this.

Anyways, here are the last few weeks.



All photos taken by Instagram. Follow me: Laceyloo22


A. Charley isn't a fan of jackets.

C. A little memorial in my cube for a baby Zachary that is no longer with us. He was the same age as Charley and it just breaks my heart that he's gone.

D. Stripey socks for baby, and...

E. ...patterned tights for Mama!

G. Chips and salsa for the baby?

H. I just love my umbrella. And, note to self: you shouldn't not wear make-up.

J. Ahhh! I love going on walks!

L. The sparkly chandelier in Charley's room.

M. 70 degrees in January warrants an open sunroof.

N. What we do each night in bed before going to sleep. Based on the number of turns that are taken by my friends in Words with Friends and Scramble with Friends, I think that this is a common thing these days.

Phone Dump

Two week's worth this time:



All pictures taken with Instagram. Follow me if you'd like: Laceyloo22


A. Playing with Daddy.
C. Napping with her new baby doll.
D. My New Year's Eve nails.
F. MAMA! I'm NAKED here!
G. My first and last shot of the year.
I. Mmm, Sophie.
M. Sleeping Beauty.
N. Disc golfing.
P. Grandaddy loves Charley.

Banned!

Maybe I should take a hint, but I was banned from Facebook today. Had Facebook banned me for spending way too much time on there, then fine. They have a pretty decent case against me. I mean, what else is a girl to do while she's nursing her baby? But no, that was not their reasoning. I was banned for "suspicious behavior." Meaning, they thought I was trying to hack into Facebook or maybe thought I was posting too much of the same thing over and over. [Not unlike the millions of people that post stupid game stuff over and over and over, yet nobody is banning them.]

But the dumb thing is that I never actually posted anything at all. Stupid Facebook wasn't working and wouldn't post the link to the blog I wrote earlier, and I maybe tried hitting the share button one too many times for Facebook's liking. I mean, it wouldn't post so I kept trying to get it to work! What's the harm in that!? & then I got served a 24 hour ban. No posting on anything for a full 24 hours, and there is no way to complain and get the ban lifted. I'm able to see everything, but I'm not allowed to tell you that your baby is cute, or laugh at a witty status you posted. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but darn it, it's a big deal to me. You don't just take the pack of cigarettes from the smoker and make them quit cold turkey, do you??

Anyways, it's time for my weekly photo dump. And this week, there are explanations for some of the pictures. Please, try to control your excitement.

This was my week:

All pictures taken with Instagram. Feel free to follow me: laceyloo22.

A. Charley has a new best friend: Mr. Bear. He's a little blanket with a bear head, and she was hanging out with him at all times until she tried to smother herself with him a few times. They are now taking a break.

C. A pretty church I walk by every day.

D. I went and assisted Mr. Claus in the wrapping of my niece's Christmas presents this year.

G. This is the "mother's room", or the pumping room at work. I spend a lot of time in this super accommodating room. It includes: a table, a window, a cushioned bench, and a tub of Lysol wipes.

H. I was working in the clouds on Thursday.

I. I went shopping with my sister and nieces so my nieces could buy everyone a gift for Christmas from the dollar store. This was Lori during our trip.

J. Who's that cute baby with a bow in her hair on her bald head?

M. Santa brought Charley a hobby horse!

N. Piggies on the little piggies.

Phone Dump

I used to periodically share pictures with you from my iPhone. They were funny, random things that I really had no business taking a picture of in the first place. I believe the last time I posted one of those blogs, I had 496 pictures on my phone. Since Charley has been here, the phone picture taking has gotten out of control. I currently have 1,170 pictures on my phone, and it's showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Since the phone is so quick and easy to use, I find myself grabbing it first before grabbing my big camera when Charley is doing something cute. All of her first smiles were caught on my iPhone camera, and just yesterday I caught the tail end of Miss Charley holding her head up during tummy time for the first time.

And now, I've downloaded the Instagram app. It's basically the same thing as the regular camera, but it takes square pictures which I love, and then has tons of different filters you can put on your pictures. I'm slightly obsessed. Which is why I'm going to have to start sharing these with you weekly or every other week or something.

Anyways, here are the instagram photos for this week. Everything from Christmas cards, to waffle fries, to Charley Jane. It's a quick summary of my week from the lens of my iPhone camera:


(P.S. I'm Laceyloo22 on Instagram if you'd like to follow me! Share your instagram name with me too!)
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