Jennifer's Junky Life ~

Jeanne Oliver :: The Journey of Letting Go {creating beauty from ashes} Art E-Course

I started working on art again last year after not doing much of anything (other than painting furniture and the occasional small craft) for many years. The kids and I don't work on art nearly enough! I took two years of art while in high school my junior and senior years (that was 18 years ago. eep.) and wished so badly at the time I'd taken it all four years! It was my absolute favorite subject in school and through it I discovered a new passion.

{Source}

I have always wanted to paint and I finally started painting last year. But I didn't get very far. It seems like the days just fly by and I just don't take the time to do it.

Granted, things are busy with homeschool and working on the shop but art is important to me. It's relaxing, inspiring, motivating, therapeutic. All around us. And I really want to take more time to work on it. So I was absolutely thrilled to have the honor of winning a coveted spot in Jeanne Oliver's new online e-course, The Journey of Letting Go {creating beauty from ashes}! I've been grinning from ear to ear about this.

I've wanted to take art classes over the years but haven't known where to even begin and worry about finding the right one locally that feels compatible. Everyone's style of art can be so different and you really need to feel that connection in order to truly benefit from a class. I'm a visual person, by nature, too, so it's really difficult to read a description (in a flyer) of an art class and feel connected to it without any photos to go on.

{Source}

When my mom encouraged me to enter the drawing for this one, I took one look and knew it was something I would enjoy and it really spoke to me, the whole 'letting go' part. I just felt it was right up my alley! With everything life has thrown our way and all of this crazy skin stuff, this will be such a therapeutic endeavor, I've no doubt. And I'm so excited for it to begin.

Ah!! I get to work on art again! To learn some new things and see where it leads me!

{And who am I kidding? This is the perfect excuse to pick up some more art supplies! As if there needs to be an excuse...}

Adding icing to the cake, I was given the opportunity to gift this e-course to a friend so I emailed my family and my sister, Kaitlin, is going to take it, too!

Everyone deals with stressful, hard things. And everyone has things that they may benefit from 'letting go' of. If you enjoy art or are interested in simply beginning(!), come join the class so you can join in on the fun, too! Class begins April 8 and is self-paced. Click here for details.

{As a fun little aside, my mom recently took the Creatively Made Home E-Course from Jeanne Oliver and absolutely enjoyed it. I can't wait to go 'home' next to see all the things she was inspired to do in the class. She happened to win hers as well in a drawing on Post Road Vintage! What are the odds?} (:

Little Climber

I've never had to deal with these before...

...and the boys (and I) thought their Legos were safe from tiny hands and an even tinier mouth when they put them up on the steps!

Luckily, she doesn't remember them every day. Yet.

When my other kids were babies, we were always living in one rental or another and none of them ever had stairs. So, it's a whole new world dealing with a climbing eleven month old!

Mark's planning to build a gate to go across the steps here. We just didn't think we'd need it so soon!

She pulls herself standing on everything these days and giving her a bath requires a course in Wrestling 101. Just this week, she discovered that she can pull herself standing in the tub, as well! It's a constant battle trying to get her to sit or lie down during tubby time because standing in a slippery tub is so much more fun than getting cleaned up.

She's at a fun age, soaking up more and more things every day. She says 'boo' when playing peek-a-boo. Mama, Dada, Dah (Nikayda), bah (for balloon. We still have helium balloons floating around from Valentine's Day), buh-buh (buh-bye), and I'm sure a couple of other things but my mind's drawing a blank at this late hour.

She points at everything all the time with her tiny little finger and waves at everything, as well, from strangers at the grocery store to the fan on our ceiling. She loves to wave her little hand.

She hasn't figured out that I like to be as discreet as possible (with four kids in tow) while we're out grocery shopping or thrifting, yet. She waves at every single person she sees whether they walk by her or at the end of an aisle. And, of course, so many people will come up and start talking to her because of it.

We haven't been out much this winter but I sure have enjoyed our outings lately on the days when I've been feeling better. We still have a ton of snow but I'm getting excited for spring. It'll be here before you know it and all the snow will be gone so for now I'm continuing to enjoy the beauty of it! Nothing prettier than a freshly fallen snow on the pines out here in the woods.

{As an aside, the treads are on and the stairs skirt is up! We're planning to do a bunch of painting in here this spring. - Freshen up the walls on the first floor and at the same time, paint the stairs. On Aria: Shirt, Old Navy, thrifted. Pop Color Skinny Pants from Old Navy. Moccasins, Kaboogie.}

Looking for Answers :: Steroids

{Daily read-aloud to me with a vintage Dick & Jane book. (I was sitting in the chair.) I love coming across them at garage sales and thrifts for this purpose!}

My skin flared up something crazy again this weekend. This time after I had coffee (and possibly the salsa and the red pepper hummus I ate, as well). But I know I flared up after having coffee other times in these past three months because I've only had it about three times during that time and every time I got worse. Yet, on Sunday afternoon while Mark as enjoying his usual Thermos of coffee, I just thought it looked so good and drank two cups. And it was! But my body didn't agree for some reason.

This thing is quite bizarre in that I've been noticing that certain things I eat are causing it to flare up. And it's not just one thing like I was suspecting in the beginning.

I started using antihistamines a few weeks ago and I've needed them nearly every day since - except last week my skin finally began to clear up and was the best it's been in weeks and weeks and I was able to go a few days without them - until I had that coffee/salsa/hummus (?). I'm sure more than anything that it's food-related but 'why' and 'what' are still the questions.

I was tested for fungal and candida infections and I have neither of those. A rash can be a sign of each of those and several people have mentioned them to me so I made sure to ask when I was in. Speaking of, I just want to say thank you again to everyone who has taken the time to message me with suggestions and their own experiences. It really means a lot to me! And I feel like one way or another, it will lead to a resolution of all this - because each of you who offers suggestions/experiences gets me thinking about different things that may be the issue here or even may not be (like candida and fungal infections). It also helps knowing I'm not alone because I do sometimes get all that emotional stuff from feeling so itchy or uncomfortable on the days when it flares up bad. But I'm still optimistic that we'll figure this out eventually! Nothing lasts forever, right?

Because it flared up again this weekend, Mark and I did a lot of discussing and reflecting and I am now taking the heavy-dose steroids for relief. Albeit temporary as this thing seems to come and go... but I'll enjoy it while I'm getting it! Today is Day 2 of a 5 Day dose of heavier steroids and it's already dramatically different - inflammation is way down and it's barely itchy at all! Never mind that I was acting all crazy emotional/crabby today right along with my baby who is getting them with me (because I'm nursing). She goes from a happy baby to a monster baby, on steroids. (; But at least we get more snuggle time that way (she is normally not a snuggler, this one).

I wouldn't bat an eye about taking them at this point if it weren't for that... I'm not happy that she's getting such a strong dose of them with me. But our doctor (chiro) reassured me that short-term like this is okay. So, that made me feel a little better about doing it. (I know some will get it and some won't - but I don't even take acetaminophen ever, whether I'm nursing or not. --Although, since cutting out sugar and most grains/wheat and dairy and processed foods, I don't get headaches like I used to. I used to get them all the time.)

This whole hives thing really makes me realize how important it is for me to keep working on getting healthy. I have a long way to go but I'm not giving up! I wasn't working out in the past two months because of discomfort but when things calmed down the first time, nearly three weeks ago now, I started working out every day again (taking Sundays off to rest my muscles) for 30 minutes doing cardio (with some stretching and yoga, too).

I didn't work out at all last year. And in December I worked out the entire month and it felt so good to get back at it, both physically and mentally. (And then I started getting these hives so I hit a little road block for a bit.) I need to work out for my mental health just as much as the physical. It's just making it a habit that I always struggle with.

I'm not a fit person by nature (but, by golly, I'm going to get there!) and I have never exercised consistently my entire life until recent years and I would love to lose (more than) a few pounds but weight loss itself has never been my main goal. It just doesn't motivate me even though I would love to be back in my pre-pregnancy jeans from when I lost the weight just before I got pregnant this time around.

My goal is to feel healthy. That's what keeps me going and what motivates me to exercise. And feeling the difference in my endurance from barely being able to do a rep of jumping jacks in the beginning of December to being able to do them the entire time with the trainer on the video I'm following is a reminder that something is happening even if I don't feel it in my jeans yet. So, that's what keeps me going right now.

Working out is hard. But I've discovered that it's also something I enjoy doing. Mark's so good about giving me tough-love when I start to feel like giving up (because as I said above, it's not natural for me and I am the pro at making excuses not to do it!). He knows how much I want this - and reminds me that I can do it and I can't use excuses like there's no time in the day because I home school or want to work on my shop. (Because working on my shop is way more fun than exercising once school is done for the day!) If I want to be healthy, I need to fight for it.

Now, after a few weeks, it's beginning to feel nearly routine again. I actually look forward to it. I did a workout video (on YouTube) that had kick-boxing recently - a first for me. So many of my friends have done kick-boxing over the years but I'd never done it before. I got a lot of suggestions on Facebook recently from friends, too - and I'm looking forward to trying different things to keep a variety going. If you have a favorite workout suggestion, I'd love to hear from you, too!

Stand Up

At 10 1/2 months old, about a week or two ago, Aria learned how to pull herself standing. These were taken a few days ago, the first time I'd ever seen her do it, but the kids told me she had done it before! (And no one told me!) She still hasn't figured out how to get down once she does it so after she tires of feeling like the big stuff, she usually starts hollering and someone runs to help her. She also learned how to put herself sitting up on her own about the same time. She just sort of scootches backward/upright from laying on the floor.

She recently started pulling her knees up under her in a crawling stance, as well. She hasn't moved too much doing that yet, though. She's still doing the inch worm type crawl she graduated from the army crawl to.

I think she may have figured out the standing thing a little sooner, as well as the crawling stance, if it weren't for our wood floors. She has slid anytime she's attempted it in the past but I think she's finally figuring out how to get a grip - yet her knees still slide out from under her when she tries to crawl!

I have no idea what ages my other kids were when they reached their milestones. (Although, I have it all written down somewhere.) I've a terrible memory for those types of things but I know Carter was my latest walker - sometime around 13 or 14 months old. I kind of feel like Aria will be the same. She's in no hurry to do anything - which is fine by me! I want this baby phase to go as slowly as possible because I'm treasuring every moment after all these years and I know full well how fast they grow.

{She has her mittens on because we had just gotten home from thrifting - and it was a 'warm' winter day so she's wearing a more lightweight sweatshirt with them. Mittens from Fawn Vintage on Etsy. Sweatshirt, thrifted.}

Random Miscellaneous Mind:

I have a virus on my laptop (that I'm using right now to type this) so Mark's planning to drop it off to get looked at on his way to work. Hoping it's an easy fix and it'll be good as new by Tuesday or Wednesday because I have new things to list in the shop (and won't be able to with this gone since all of the photos are on here)!

I made an appointment with a chiropractor, who comes highly recommended, for my hives issue going on. He does a lot of testing for things like this so I'm hoping we can figure out how to get rid of it (without the use of all sorts of strong drugs) - but I couldn't get in until July(!!!).

I started working out again a couple of weeks ago after not working out for two months because of this rash/hives. It has felt so awesome to get back at it! And even though I flared up again this weekend, I've kept at it these past few days. I'm determined to get healthy and fit. It's been a battle for years but I haven't given up since I really started changing things a couple of years ago. I may get sidetracked here and there... But I haven't given up.

I'm hoping to get an area rug in the living room some day but it's not on my list of priorities at the moment. (Kind of wish I'd had one all this time for Aria.)

I can't remember if I've mentioned it on here or not, I feel like I'm always repeating myself because I forgot what I write all the time - but I'm saving for a DSLR. I'm really excited to finally be working towards one instead of just dreaming of one after all these years! I've been wanting one for about five or six years!

Favorite Things :: A Teething Necklace

I'd never used a teething necklace with any of my babies until I tried one with Aria starting at about four months.

Four kids and eleven years later and I wish I'd known about them the first time around. Now they're not a cure-all perfect answer to teething but the lack of drooling alone is enough for me to love them and highly recommend them.

If you are familiar with babies, they're kind of a messy bunch.

And they're super cute but they drool.

A lot.

A

lot.

Like, really a lot.

After caring for four babies, I'm no pro at this mom thing and by darn if one of them has yet to arrive with a pretty little instruction manual explaining all of their bells and whistles and hollers and cries but I have discovered that baltic amber teething necklaces stop drooling.

And that is almost as good as a manual for all of the clothing changes that has saved me with this one baby alone.

I've worn bibs on every single one of my babies. except for Aria. She'd just started drooling enough to wear one about the time I put this necklace on. So I was able to see a drastic change within a few days and she's never drooled enough to need a bib since. (She is and always has worn the necklace around the clock.) Totally worth it.

When the necklace isn't enough, I also like these.

Photos:

1. 4 months old - we began wearing ours. (Recommended age is three months but that's just when we got ours.)
2. 6 months old. We like music.
3. 7 months old - Teething necklaces are *not* for chewing on. But she doesn't care about that so that's why I'm glad that every bead is individually knotted for safety. (The baltic amber warms against the skin which in turn releases whatever it is it releases in order to soothe the discomfort that comes with teething. (That's my super technical explanation.) They're intended to be worn against the skin at all times. I'm completely comfortable with that but everyone has to make that choice themselves whether or not to wear it 24/7. We do. And always have. It only comes off during her baths. It has to warm up against the skin again each time you remove it in order to do its job. And you want to keep it clean of lotions and oils so they don't inhibit its efficacy... admittedly I'm not very good about that - but it still seems to be working just fine.

eta: One of my friends said on Facebook that she wraps it twice around her daughter's ankle during naps/sleep time so it's still in contact with her child's skin. Thought I'd pass that on as well for anyone who is concerned about wearing it around their child's neck during those times. Also, I never fully explained why I feel so comfortable wearing it during sleep time... and that is because the necklace isn't long. So, I feel personally that it's not long enough to get pulled under the child in order to get tight enough for choking. But, as I mentioned above, each parent needs to make that call for themselves! end of edit.)
4. Our 'tiny' baby.
5. See, she really is wearing a diaper.
6. Still not listening with the chewing... That's why I'm also glad the necklace has a twist closure for extra security so she can't yank it off.
7. 9 months old. Eating a troll.
8. 9 months old. Ready to go.
9. 9 1/2 months. Chicken pox.
10. 10 months old. Busy girl.
11. 10 months old. Baskets are really fun.
12. 10 1/2 months old. Getting everywhere.
13. 11 months old. Boy clothes make good pajamas.

I hunted through all of my photos and these were the best ones. I have relatively few that show the necklace well - and that's because it's always under her clothing, against her skin, as it's intended to be. If you use them, or are planning to, I hope you like them as much as we do!

Shop Name Change Announcement and New Facebook Page! :: Willow Moon Vintage

Last week, on Facebook I announced that I have officially changed the name of my Etsy shop from Whimsical Junk to Willow Moon Vintage. I'm really excited about the change and the new direction I'm taking things this year!

{1980's Toddler's San Francisco Sweatshirt.}

I've been working hard at sticking to my goal of doing something, however small, nearly every day for the shop! And I've been consistently adding new items, working my way slowly toward having 100 items in the shop. (My goal is to get to 100 and try to stay near or around 100 items at all times.) Things go a little slower than I'd necessarily like but I expected it to be that way during the school year (as we home school).

{Tapestry Handbag / Clutch.}

Also, I have opened up a new Facebook page for Willow Moon Vintage! Please come on over and 'like' the page to get shop update info. and other posts about vintage related things! I opted not to go the route of bombarding everyone's email with an invite in the hopes that those who would like to follow along on Facebook, will see this and come join up!

{Swiss Dot blouse.}

Self-promotion is not my forte but I would love it if you'd join me! You can click on the links here or search Willow Moon Vintage.

I will be doing all of my shop update notifications there from now on (and on here) but I will no longer be posting newly listed items on my personal Facebook page.

{1970's Striped Sleeveless Tunic.}

One more thing of note - In addition to Paypal, I've now enabled my shop to accept credit cards and Etsy gift cards! (Previously, I'd only accepted Paypal.)

Thank you to those who have joined the Facebook page and to those who are helping to promote it for me! I really appreciate everyone who is willing to help spread the word so those who are interested know it's there!

It's a beautiful sunny day here in the north woods - hope your day is equally as gorgeous! (: Time change this weekend - can't wait. The days are getting longer and longer - spring is near!

Looking for Answers :: Blood Test Results

I got the test results from the blood work I had done last week on Friday afternoon to a mixture of relief and disappointment. They all came back negative. So we're back to square one, with no answers yet.

I was told that I'm not allergic to eggs, hay, straw, and chickens (the latter three, they tested for in spite of the fact that I told them I never spend time in the coop or gathering eggs (the kids are in charge of that) but they knew I had chickens so tested anyway). Also told I'm not allergic to nuts, including almonds, peanuts, walnuts and coconuts.

The house dust came back positive but I already knew that one! I get all sick and miserable when house dust starts flying and have my whole life. And that's not the issue since that normally just causes a super itchy, runny nose and sneezing with itchy watery eyes. My hands get a little itchy and sometimes a little red from it, too, but it stops as soon as I wash them. {Which would make one wonder why I wasn't better about keeping my house dusted!}

So... Where to go from here...?

Allergist, Dermatologist, and Naturopath appointments are all in my future. Two of which I have yet to make but plan to soon. (I was going to make them last week but wanted to wait for the blood work.)

I was reminded, when I shared the news on Facebook on Friday, that blood work isn't always accurate in testing for allergies, not to mention the fact that I'd taken that generic form of Benadryl (an antihistamine) five hours prior to the blood work. And, of course, there is still a long list of foods that we can continue to test for, as well as, chemicals and environmental stuff.

It's all a bit overwhelming and that's where an allergist might come in handy. I'm not able to get into the Dermatologist until the end of the month, as I mentioned in my last post, but one of my friends recommended one that I may be able to see sooner. So I plan to look into that, too.

I can't see waiting another month with this discomfort... It flared up again on my neck, hands, and forearms Friday night in spite of the generic Claritin. It never reached that unbearable point but it was inflamed and pretty uncomfortable that night. Thankfully it felt better by Saturday afternoon - just a little uncomfortable but it was no longer inflamed (at the time). I'm just so reluctant to take the super powerful steroids I was prescribed last week because I'm nursing. (And Mark also feels I should stop nursing if I decide to take them.) I'm putting it off as long as I can in the hopes of avoiding them - but it helps to know they're there. (Albeit only a temporary fix.)

From what I can tell, so far, I may have to alternate every couple of days between types of antihistamines because they seem to lose their efficacy every three days as my body gets used to them. Although, in continuation of the oddity of it all, I was able to go most of the weekend without them. I only took one generic Benadryl each night (a relatively small dose) and it helped because it was only slightly uncomfortable at the time of taking it and I didn't need anymore during the day.

I get that guilty feeling when I start feeling too emotional about it or too overwhelmed because so many people around me are dealing with far worse. (And, I've been more emotional and overwhelmed, at times, than I've even let on here...) It's a complicated thing, these emotions and feelings. I just keep praying we'll have answers soon. The unknown in any situation can feel more difficult than when you actually have answers and know what you're dealing with... Answers can be overwhelming, too, but in so many cases I keep reminding myself, they're not. And it helps you to know how to progress. What to do from here. And how to treat something.

I feel frustrated because I don't know if I should stop eating something, avoid something I'm using, or if it's something completely out of my hands (like something environmental). It could be anything right now! But Mark reminds me it can't last forever. {Three months only feels like forever...}

{On Aria: Polka dot elephant romper from Target. {No longer available. I just checked.} A rare 'unthrifted' outfit. One of her Christmas gifts from Mark and me. I couldn't pass it up because of the colors (I love the neon pink stripes contrasting with the blue and white polka dots!) and the fact it had an elephant on it. Teething necklace from Amberizon. Moccasins from Kaboogie. I'm planning to share my thoughts on teething necklaces one of these days and why I now recommend them.}