Bumper Pads

Picture from Google Images

The above image is adorable.  I love owls.  And a nursery with owls?  That's great.  But what concerns me is that the crib has bumper pads.  The American Academy of Pediatrics had recommended for years that parents not use bumper pads in cribs due to the increased risk of SIDS.  In 2010 they came out with their official ruling mandating that there should be nothing extra in the crib, including bumper pads.

For the last three years I've worked with low income families with children aged birth to three.  My job is great because I get to do a lot of education, especially with teen moms.   Even though my job is to educate, I think I do a pretty good job of turning it off when I'm with family and friends.  I don't tell my friend to stop using flashcards with her one year old or make judgment calls about how another disciplines.  I just smile, because I know everyone has to figure out what works for their family on their own.  It's not my business.  But when I see my friends and family practicing something that could be potentially fatal, it scares me.  I worry.  I want to call people outright on it, but I don't know where the line is.  So that's why I'm blogging about it.  :)  And I did post on Facebook, haha.

If in doubt, please take out your bumper pads.  According to the AAP, "there is no evidence that crib bumpers protect against injury, but they do carry a potential risk of suffocation, strangulation, or entrapment because infants lack the motor skills or strength to turn their heads should they roll into something that obstructs their breathing."  I know it seems trivial or pointless, but I think it is a small thing someone can do to make sure they have no doubt about the health of a child.

Blogs are like Journals

Sometimes I critisize myself for my lack of blogging.  Other times I want to delete the whole thing and start over.  Or set myself a schedule that has me posting a minimum of three times a week with a carefully selected variety of topics.  I'm currently home sick, mulling over life from my king sized bed, sipping my husband's Mt Dew and watching wedding shows on Netflix.  I was debating about what to blog, if I should blog, if I should erase it all and hide myself in shame for terrible blogging. I realized that my blogging habits perfectly mimic my journaling habits.  I hate going back to read my own journal entries.  I find myself annoying, immature, and vapid.  I would journal for a few days and then not touch it again for a few months.    Then I usually throw my journal away, burying it in the trash can before anyone else can see it.  Hello, that's exactly what it's like when I blog.

And that's ok with me.  I don't (overall) blog for others.  Yes, I love it when people comment on my blog.  I think it's fun when I can pass on something to another because of my blog.  But at the end of the day, I blog because it's therapeutic.  I blog so I don't forget my own life.  I blog because it's constructive.  Because typing out my fitness routines encourages me to be better.  I blog because then I can read and comment on other blogs and not look like a creeper.

Speaking of other blogs, I thought I would give a list of some of my current favs:

Girl's Gone Child (also check out her book Rockabye, From Wild to Child- it's wonderful)

Love Maegan (Her DIYs are fun and easy, her engagement ring is gorgeous, and I like her hair tutorials)

Cotter Crunch (probably the blogger I would most like to meet in real life)

What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear? (because I would dress just like her if I could)

Skinny Runner (I adore this blog.  And I have two Skinny Runner shirts.  So comfy and cute.)

These are the five blogs I try to read with any consistency.  I have close to 60 on my feeds list that I read often, but the five above are probably my favorite.  I am always on the lookout for new blogs, especially any that deal with the topics I am most interested in (running, cooking, crafting, being dairy free, high heels, makeup, Jesus), so feel free to let me know of any of your favorite blogs.

Why do you blog?  Do you also keep a journal?

Bedroom Makeover

While Lee was at technical school, his aunt and cousin helped me do a bedroom makeover.  We needed one DESPERATELY.  Two days before he left for basic training we got a king sized bed from his parents.  Which was awesome...except a king sized bed didn't fit in our bedroom.  So Lee built us a frame and we put it in the craft room/ office room/ whatever else we could shove in there room.  His grandparents gave us a comforter and a set of sheets, and we were good to go.  Right?  Except no.  Aunt Debbie and Danielle (his oldest cousin) are amzing with home decorating.  Like it should be their jobs.  Let me prove it to you.

Here is the "before":

 You like our lovely green paint?  When it was our random room, a friend gave us her leftover nursery paint.  We figured it was good for a craft room.  Who knew it would look so super special with the green paint?

The shelves in the pictures are actually made from the walls of the sauna/ old baptismal pool from my church.  From waaaay back in the day.  Lee had made them for me and I loved them.  They got relocated to our living room during the makeover.

 I sleep with a silk pillowcase.  Anyone else?



The "during":

I adore the paint color.  It is one of my favorite things in the room.  Lee's cousin Derek and his wife came over to do the paint.  Since we were just doing the two walls, it went super quick.

 I don't think there's a thing that I don't like in the room.  The mirror, the chandelier pictures, the sparkly lampshade....  They even made the headboard on their own.  Derek supermelded it to the wall, so it may be there if we ever move.

 The "after":

I LOVE MY NEW ROOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have the best in-laws.  I am incredibly blessed.  The best part of this whole thing is that we got to surprise Lee with it after he had been gone for six months.  Awesome.

Thank you, Aunt Debbie and Danielle (who even went shopping in Texas for me), as well as Derek, Molly, Cory, Danae, Sue, and Gary.  It's perfect.

Sparkly Headband Run

I went for a run after work today. The goal was 4 miles, but my incredible slowness made it so that only 3 happened before I had to meet my sister at the grocery store.

My legs were leaden as I began the run, and didn't ever soften too much. It is difficult to balance running with my new weight lifting plan- I'm always sore somewhere! I walked some, but jogged more, so I'm on my way to being super again. :). Here are today's stats:






I told you I was slow! I need to pick it up. And get a good snack in at the right time, and drink more water, and have a recovery drink or snack when I'm done. So now my poor run looks obvious- of course!

Today I ran in shorts and a tshirt. I was colder than expected since it was supposedly 63 degrees outside. I did have on the cutest headband though.






My friend Tara and I found it at a local boutique called On the Corner and it was worth every penny of the $5 I spent.






After my run (and stretching, I got one thing right anyway), I sat back in my car. You like my passenger seat? What, you can't see my passenger seat? Me either!

We should play a game called "What's Hiding in Katherine's Car?". You might think I have the advantage, but the truth is I have no idea what's in there either. I know a banana and a jar of peanut butter are under my gym bag. A People magazine is in there, a tub of soy protein powder, two coats, a headband that's a gift, a bottle of water, and my giant purse.... Wait, there's more- my weight lifting gloves, iPhone armband, gym pass, headphones, pair of socks, pair of pants, a novel entitled Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl.... That may be all. :)

And I'll leave you with a funny from Pinterest:







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Time to Get a Gun

I know gun control is a hot issue in America.  Where I live, hunting is common, guns are common, and many of my friends have their Conceal and Carry licenses.  I didn't grow up with guns.  Actually, it turns out that I did grow up with guns in the house, but I wasn't aware of it....yikes.  Thanks, mom and dad.  My husband comes from a family that hunts.  He learned to shoot and about gun safety when he was five.  I am pretty scared of guns.  I hate the thought of what could happen accidentally.  But I also can't stand to think that someday the awful thing could be that I don't know how to use a gun.  I asked Lee to start teaching me how to really handle a gun.  I've gone skeet shooting or target shooting a few times for fun, but I want to be able to defend myself if the time ever comes.

My brother and Lee and I went to Lee's family land over the weekend and did some target shooting.  I have to say, it is extremly satisfying to shoot a can of soda off the target and watch it explode.  Who knew?  We made our own target out of a box Lee had originally planned to make into a plyometrics box.

Did you grow up with guns?  Do you have them now?  Do you have any advice for me?

***A gold star for you if you recognized the post title as Miranda Lambert lyrics.

First Run of 2012

RUNNING:

Lee and I were at the gym today when I got a text from Stephanie asking if I wanted to run.  I was a little nervous because the last time I ran was over a month ago, and it was inside on my home treadmill.  After a brutal Shoulders and Abs workout (more on that later), I met Stephanie at the softball field.

Our stats were pretty dismal (due to my frequent stops and us walking the whole first mile), but we ended up with 2.36 miles (3 laps at the softball field) in 36:49.  But I just keep thinking of this post I saw on Pinterest:

We are going to run in the morning and hopefully that 36 is going to turn into a 33!  It amazes me how quickly my body "forgets" how to run.

SHOULDERS AND ABS:

For the past few weeks I have been following the Jamie Eason Live Fit workout plan on bodybuilding.com.  It is my first time to go on the "boy side" of the gym and use weights.  It's been hard and also incredibly fun.  Every day has been a new challenge.  I have discovered that I am a weakling!  I haven't advanced past ten pound weights on most of the exercises for my arms.  Today I did my first Shoulders and Abs workout and it kicked my booty!  I had to use five pound dumbells and some of the exercises were still too hard.  I love the website because it is free and it has a detailed video on how to do each exercise.

Have you ever lifted weights?  Did you enjoy it?  If you are a girl, was it hard to go onto the side more heavily populated by men?

No New Things

So today I was going to blog about the wonderfulness that is my Kose Softymo Cleansing Oil from amazon.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I am so often entranced by things.  I am such a typical American consumer, caught up in the world and the things it tells me I need.  I read about something on a blog or in a magazine, and I'm to the store or purchasing it on Amazon before I even realize it.  And I'm often giddy with the chance to try something new.  I love the experience of exploring a new beauty product or making a new recipe.  If I'm sad, I buy some lipgloss.  Going to a party?  I need a new dress.

But at the end of the day, those things are only things.  Things that I let get in the way of my relationship with God.  Things are ok when I remember that they are only things.  But sometimes I forget.  I choose to forget.  How terrible!  How seriously wretched am I! 

So for the next 30 days, I am committing myself to buy no new things.  I have more than enough.  If I run out of something, that's different (if I actually run out of laundry detergent or something practical, not like I'm "almost out" of mascara).  Just to challenge myself to stop being so materialistic and give the focus back to God.  What if instead of walking around Target for an hour I meditate upon His words?  Sit down and just soak in His goodness?

This will be hard for me.  Harder than I even realize yet.  But it needs to happen.  Has to happen.  I need to get out of my own way for once and let Him in.