Hitting the Reset Button

Since Friday I've been working on getting my mojo back. I was not prepared for how much I would miss Howard and how sad I would feel not having him around. That being said, Saturday was pretty awful. I missed him so much and everything was a reminder that he wasn't here. The house felt so quiet and empty without him. I must have been convincing myself all along that it was just going to be like when we dropped him off at the kennel for vacations, but the finality of it hit me hard. I was just down and I didn't feel like doing anything. 

I felt like this:

She wasn't herself either. These tears were because she was sitting on the couch and her toy was on the floor. Seriously.

My house looked like some variation of this:

Saturday night Chad and I talked about it after he discovered me bawling in the kitchen by myself after looking out the window and seeing Howard's old Frisbee. Not my best moment. Definitely not. And so we decided that it was time to stop moping and being sad and start getting back to being active, happy people. Basically, fake-it-til-we-make-it. It works, for real. 

So we started on Sunday by going shopping (retail therapy, when done sparingly, works). After that we had lunch, then dessert (dessert therapy? Also works.) and then discovered this little greenhouse/garden place nearby called Miller Nature Preserve. It had an indoor garden display and an outdoor area that was connected to a whole park and woods. We spent most of the time inside, since it was still pretty cold and windy out (also not helping my mood). 

Since then, despite still feeling a little down at times, I've definitely been getting my mojo back. I started sewing again and have a bunch of new projects planned. Yesterday I made this:

I don't know why the blues look so different between the two photos, but the most true representation is  the photo directly above. 

And I have since removed my child from the dining room table and replaced her with this:

This is the beginning of a patchwork tote bag I'm making. I made my sister-in-law one for Christmas in a different fabric and her co-worker really liked it, so she asked if I'd make her one in this line (which is called Honey Honey by Kate Spain for Moda). 

It's good to be back :)

And I got an update on Howard yesterday that he loves his new family, has basically taken over at least one floor of the house as his own, has discovered the healing effects of aromatherapy (in that he falls asleep almost instantly when someone pets him after applying lavender scented lotion), and finds the Newfoundland down the street to be his new enemy. I hear he's also been playing lots of ball and Frisbee, which is probably the most important!

Oh, and this is feeling better too:

Look at that hair! It's growing, slowly but surely...this is the closest I can get to a ponytail. It's longer in the back, but the sides haven't caught up yet--they're still pretty wispy. Maybe she'll be ready for pigtails for her 3rd birthday? :)

I hope you're having a good week.

~Stacy