Nesting

I'm going to have a little downtime in a few weeks. While some may welcome it, I equate it to clipping a bird's wings.

I'm not one to sit still. If a movie or show we love is on, I'm sewing or cooking or painting or drawing. I'm riding my exercise bike.

I'm a natural multi-tasker and I am good at it and thrive on it.

So, the idea of lying on a couch for a few days, maybe even a week, has me a little freaked out.

To help me with my vegetative state, I treated myself to the entire DVD sets of Ghostwhisperer and Absolutely Fabulous.

And, because I'm going to be looking at our house more than usual, I've been nesting.

Steinvic gave me his Kohl's cash from Christmas, and so did my Mom. I used these to buy new sofa and love seat covers for our living room. Our throw pillows looked tired, so I broke out the sewing machine and whipped up eight new ones.

Then, I won $104 from a $10 bet in Keno last week, so I used that to buy new fixtures, tile and paint for our master bathroom...total cost, $132.

So, we're having a little mini home makeover, for about $38 out of pocket.

The bathroom has a "city" theme that I liked when I first moved here, but since Steinvic moved down from C-bus, I've spent the last three years wishing to make it a more elegant, grown up bathroom. So, I'm painting over the funky skyline mural I'd created with warm browns and tans and burgundies. And I'm pulling up the floor to replace the crappy linoleum (that never looks clean) with awesome Armstrong peel and stick that looks like the Grand Canyon. Last weekend, I painted the vanity chocolate brown, replaced the tired cabinet handles and t.p. holder with new, modern silver ones. I managed to get the medicine cabinet door off, taped off the mirror, and spray painted the old, blue frame a metalic silver.

I am so excited...

And scared. I'm having surgery. It's my second surgery for endometriosis. I'm stage four, and about six years ago, had a laporoscopy so the doctor could biopsy the mass that had grown on my right ovary, and to excise the endo tissue that was wreaking  havoc on my system.

In the last six months, I've been able to tell that the mass had grown back. I've felt the same pain, lethargy, nausea...all the symptoms that make some days and nights pretty tough.

When I went to the doctor (this is a way better doctor than I had for the first surgery) in November, I pointed to my abdomen exactly where I felt the most discomfort. In my exam, she could feel another mass. An ultrasound showed that my right ovary was huge and that I've also got a fibroid mass in my uterus.

She recommended a full hysterectomy. But I don't want to be in menopause at 41.

I suggested a compromise - since I'd gotten about 5 years out of the last "tune up," how about yanking the "bad" ovary, repairing the fibroid and seeing if I can get another 5 years of relief? By then, I'd be closer to natural menopause anyway, and maybe ready for the hysterectomy.

She agreed. I was so glad Steinvic went with me to talk everything over. Him being there gave me the confidence to whip out my amateur M.D.  degree. :) He has been amazingly supportive and wonderful, both about the process, and through all the episodes of pain and nausea and general bleh.

The down time is about 2 weeks (plus 4 more weeks of non lifting) instead of 6 weeks for the full deal.

So, I imagine I'll be here a little more. I'll have time. I do spend time every day on myfitnesspal, and I have a rockin' blog over there with lots of readers. I still love this place, but it's always been a little lonely here.

I'll post pics of the makeover soon...I've got painting to do today!

Slipping Away

Occasionally, we have friends or family over to stay. Whenever this happens, I go into a frenzied panic, trying to make our place better than it’s ever been.

I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to say “friends and family understand that you and Steinvic both work full-time-plus jobs and that he’s gone a chunk of every week and that it’s tidy and sanitary so it doesn’t matter and they won’t mind if your closets are cluttered.”

Thank you. That is kind of you. But it doesn’t help my pride! My senses of pride and hospitality make me deeply desire a wonderful visiting experience for all of our guests. I can coast along with the status quo – clean kitchens and bathrooms, laundry done, floors swept and vacuumed – when it’s just Steinvic and I, but once you throw someone else into the mix, be it friend, family or repair person, I go nuts.

But nuts for me equals productive. It’s how I roll.

I once had the experience of buying new furniture. I left it – with most everything else I ever owned – where I used to stay. (It seemed a fair trade...I got to leave on my own accord, vertical instead of horizontal. To hell with new furniture and other material ties!) So, my sweet folks gave me their couch and loveseat when I set out on my own. I somewhat expertly recovered it with remnants I found at a fabric store. But then I had a kitty who thought this furniture was for claw sharpening. While she passed away several years ago, her artwork remains. I’ve trimmed and tucked the stray bits and strings here and there, the couch and sofa embarrassed me. (And we for some reason didn't think we needed to keep Steinvic's couch and sofa when he moved to Cincinnati. I don't know why! They were pretty! But didn't really match our decor...I guess that was why.)

No one who has visited has ever given our furniture the side-eye, but I do. And I’ve hunted for slipcovers, but since we got Houdini, they didn’t seem like a good option, since many have little ties or strings. These would be dog toys for him…I can envision him pulling on them over and over, yanking away like he does to us with his pull toys. Also, slipcovers can be really hideous and expensive.

But, as I discovered this week, they can also be quite lovely and fit nicely. And when accented by a few cushions, not bad at all. (Pardon the tags…I left them on so Steinvic could give the thumbs up first.)

I found these at Old Time Pottery for about a third of what they cost everywhere else. The pillows were a perfect match, too. Total bill - $100.

What do you think? Thumbs up? The rest of this mini-makeover resumes tonight…stay tuned.