Currently 1.1

Loving. 
My new planner.  I have seen a lot of the "Glamour Planner" stuff out there on Pintrest, and even built a beautiful planner set up on Erin Condren's website.  But, I just couldn't bring myself to drop $50 on a planner  no matter how awesome it was.  Then I discovered PlumPaper.  Admittedly, $30 still seemed a bit steep to me, but after going back to work 5 days a week I realized I could use it.  So I asked for it for my birthday.  Then I found sticker shops on Etsy.  A merge of my two favorite things - being organized and stationary?  Count me in!

Feeling. 
Completely warn out if I am being honest with you.  I don't really know what changed, but this past week has been really hard for me to keep up with.  I wake up just as tired as I did when I went to sleep.  I am sure a better diet and a little exercise would help.  I also have a ton of things going on (hence my need for a planner).  After my this next week, my commitments will be spread out more, so I am hoping I can recoup a bit then.

Eating. 
A bunch of junk.  Which I am sure is responsible for my lack of energy.  It really is time for an overhaul with my diet.  I am just looking for budget friendly options that will not have me eating rice and beans everyday.  Not that there is anything wrong with rice and beans.  I just like a bit of variety in my diet is all.

Listening to.
Right now this very second - nothing.  It is beautiful.  I have some things to do, but I really want to sit here and enjoy the nothing for a while.

Drinking. 
Coffee coffee and more coffee,  Have I mentioned that I am tired?

Smelling. 
The last of my Winter Candy Apple candle stash.  I had an awesome coupon this past December and bought about 5 of the 3 wick candles from Bath and Body Works.  I have a small obsession with Winter Candy Apple so I buy as much as I can around Christmas.  Obviously I need to buy twice as much this year cause I only made it half way through the year.

Reading.
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini.  I was a little hesitant to read another book about Scientology after finishing Jenna Miscavage's autobiography.  However, this book is a lot easier to get through.  I feel like Leah and I are BFFs now even though she has no clue who I am.  I also have a completely different view of Tom Cruise.  You should read it.

Cooking. 
One batch of Skinny Mom sour cream enchiladas for a friend that just had a baby and spinach and tomato quesadillas with pesto for my family.  Yum.

That Time I Accidentally Spent $50 on My Hair

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am pretty frugal.  I have a hard time spending more than $12 on a new outfit (including shoes).  There are always exceptions to my penny pinching (I have recently fallen down the pretty planner rabbit hole for example), but for the most part I don't like opening up my wallet if I can help it.

With my hardcore frugality (which spell check is not correcting so frugality must be a real word), it comes to no surprise that I rarely go to get my haircut professionally.  My sister-in-law is a hairdresser (and a pretty darn good one at that).  So, I generally end up having her cut my hair every third visit or so.  This would be great if she didn't live 5 hours away.  With the current set up, I get my hair cut about once a year.  This was fine before I had Paisley, but my postpartum hair is a wreck!

Last week I got sick of my frizzy, unmanageable lion's mane and decided to suck it up and pay for a hair cut.  I decided to go to a local chain that advertises walk-in cuts for under $20. I walked in, put my name down for a cut and an eyebrow wax (it had been about a year since a wax too).  The 12 year old looking hair dresser took me back, washed my hair, asked if I wanted conditioner, and got to work.  She listened to everything I wanted and did a great job.  When she was done she asked "would you like me to blow dry it for you?".  "Yeah, sure" I answered thinking about the few stores I needed to stop in before I went home.  It took her about 20 minutes to blow dry my hair, which seemed like a long time to me, but I was really enjoying the alone time, so I didn't question it.

I walked up to the counter thinking I actually looked good for once (if you didn't count the peanut butter Paisley affectionately left smeared on my shoulder).  I was trying to decide if giving her the $40 cash I had would leave her with too big of a tip when I was interrupted with "your total comes to $53"  I just kinda stood there for a second before handing her my debit card.  I was too dumbfounded to question it.  When I got back to my car I looked at the receipt.  "The works" package includes a wash, cut, wax, and blow dry for $49 and condition was $4.  Needless to say, I won't be going back there, even if I looked fabulous in the end.

The Working Mom Post

One year a go today I stuffed my postpartum body into some dress pants, changed my top three times because of spit up, kissed my tiny 2 month old goodbye, and went back to work a job I tolerated with people I loved.  I made it through the day with surprising ease and at 4:30 (I really couldn't wait until 5) went home to snuggle my love again.  Since that day I have worked full-time, part-time, and not at all.  I have concluded that even if we were to win the Mega Millions tomorrow, I would still want to work.

I have learned many things about my self since I became a mom.  One of those things is that I need to work for my sanity.  When I was working full time I cherished my weekends.  They were my time to get things done and hang out with Paisley.  I wouldn't trade them for the world.  I had my moments of course.  There were a few times that I cried to Dean saying I missed my baby, but for the most part our weekly routine worked for us.  Then I was laid off.  At the time, Paisley was 7 months old.  I was thrilled to have more time to spend with her. I also used the time to get a lot of things done around the house.  I was loving my time home, but we just weren't making ends meet.

When I went back to work part time it was the perfect balance!  I had time with Paisley, my house was still clean, I didn't have to buy groceries on a Saturday, and I was bring in enough income to make ends meet.  Then I was laid off again.  I thought I would enjoy my time off as much as I did the first time, but that was not the case.  To be frank, I was bored.  I did what needed to be done, and I enjoyed my time with Paisley, but I needed more structure.  I blew through about 6 seasons of Gray's Anatomy on Netflix in just a few weeks.  I needed to work again.

So, that's what I did.  Granted it is part time, but that is perfect for us.  I love the balance it brings to my life.   I love that each day brings something a little bit different.  I love the structure that is created by a weekly routine.  I love that I have a reason to wear cute clothes and get out of yoga pants more than twice a week.  I love that Paisley will grow up seeing the benefits of hard work.  I love that working part time forces me to focus on the quality of our time together instead accepting the quantity.  Working actually makes me a better mom.

I understand this is not for everyone.  I will admit that I still have my moments where I feel like I am missing out.  I occasionally still get the "it's so sad you have to leave her" comments.  I do my best to brush them off, but I would be lying if I said they didn't sting.  I get sad when Dean tells me how cute she was at Story Time or hear her cry when I leave.  I  know that staying home would have equally hard moments because that is what parenting is.  So, I take them in stride.  Maybe down the road things will change, but for now, this works for us.