Project Garden

So the squash and zucchini plants died, which isn't the worst thing in the world, because the plants were taking over the whole garden, dwarfing the peppers and eggplants, and producing little fruit. My plan for next year is to plant them in separate containers. Have you ever grown squash & zucchini plants? Those suckers SPRAWL. The tomatoes are really taking off, and I have tons of little green ones on the vine - just waiting for them to ripen. I'm toying with the idea of replanting my lettuces, since we go through a ton of that here, and Maryland stays pretty warm through the fall, so it will probably grow through Thanksgiving.

We've lived here for years, and we've tried very hard to grow grass in the front yard, but we get nothing but clover. I'm going drastic. The plan is to kill the whole front yard, and Operation Kill the Weeds is well under way. I'm mixing together vinegar, salt, and dish soap and spraying the lawn down with it, and it is pretty effective, which is great since I didn't want to spray poison on the lawn - with with the children and all. I'll rake up the dead stuff once it is all dried out, put down soil and grass seed, and see if I can't finally grow some grass out there.

Read Anything Good Lately?

I know what you're thinking: She hasn't posted in MONTHS, and she's just going to jump right in? No explanation, no nothing? That's right. Nothing. I'm pretending I can't hear you.

Right now I'm reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. What a wonderful opening sentence: "Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again." I haven't gotten much past that point, but the book goes back to the library in 3 weeks, so I'll try to take time off from watching back episodes of Dr. Who to finish it up. Do you think that when Daphne du Maurier's parents named her they were all "when this kid grows up she is going to RULE the gothic romantic novel genre?" because I'm pretty sure that with a name like Daphne du Maurier, that's what you were intended to do.

Notice that Dr. Who reference? That's right. I'm a Sci-Fi geek. Battlestar Galactica, Dr. Who, Stargates Atlantis & Universe (never much got into the original), The Stars (both War & Trek) Buffy, Angel...really anything Joss Whedon has ever done, and OMG Neil Gaiman, who is such a rock star and who is set to write his second episode of Dr. Who. 

Speaking of NG, I spent a couple of weeks this summer re-reading all of the Sandman graphic novels. Totally brilliant. I had to hide them from El-D because he's fascinated with comics and can't understand how something can be both cartoon and inappropriate for 6 year olds at the same time. I sort of get his point.

Since we spent our vacation in Ithaca, I also re-read Fool on the Hill  by Matt Ruff while I was there, for nostalgia's sake. Fun read, nothing life changing. Definitely a bit on the immature side (written by a Cornell undergrad), and read by me originally when I was an Ithaca undergrad).

Did I mention that I read Stephen King's 11/22/63? I can't remember exactly what I have and haven't read since I last posted, but that was a good one, and despite being epic in length, was actually an entertaining, quick read. I haven't read Stephen King in YEARS (like since junior high, I think), and all of a sudden, I realized that my nerd cred was incomplete because I haven't gotten to the Dark Tower series, so I cruised through the first book in that series and plan to get to the others...eventually.

There's more, but I need to look at my Kindle to see what I've read this summer, but I've basically blown my "read a book a month" resolution out of the water, so I'm pretty happy - especially since other resolutions are not going as swimmingly.

Life on the farm

I'm so loving having a garden. Isn't it just so pretty? The lettuce, while not as abundant as I'd hoped, is still yummy, and my 2 tomato plants on the left end are starting to produce fruit, the peppers have little pepperlets, and the squash & zucchini have big yellow blossoms. I just put in 4 more tomato seedlings, plus a butternut squash El-D got on a visit to a farm last week, and I'm just so excited to see how it all turns out. Also, the rectangle container on the right end has basil growing. I'm thinking of doing away with kale next year and just doing romaine, arugula, and spinach instead. I'm still filing all my gardening blogs under "be creative", because I'm creating LIFE here.

Pretty, pretty

The above picture is of my fence - flower pots mounted to my side fence, over my wildflower patch. I got the idea off of Pinterest (duh), and thought "that looks so pretty, and so simple". Here's what went down:

1. Buy pots. Those are from Goodwill - they had a jillion of them, and they were $1 each. Drawback: no drainage holes
2. Go to store to buy drill bit to drill holes in ceramic pots. Buy the masonry bit that the salesman suggests
3. Realize a masonry drill bit won't do the job
4. Let a few weeks lapse
5. Return to store, and buy ceramic & tile drill bit, along with a roll of the metal strip stuff you use to clamp your pipes to your laundry room wall
6. Start drilling holes in pots, and realize it will take FOREVER. The project lasts 2 days. Only one minor burn on fingers (drill bits get HOT)
7. Plant flowers in pots and let them sit on table in back yard for several weeks because you need a tool to cut the metal strip stuff
8. Finally make it back to store, buy metal strip cutter. Keep wits about self when the gentleman suggests a hacksaw for the job, then tries to talk you into an expensive metal snipper. Cheap'll do ya.
9. Choose the hottest day EVER to drill into back fence and screw metal stripping into place. Do all of this while swearing a lot and sweating profusely, because of course your measurements will look wonky once everything is hung, and you'll keep dropping the damned screws
10. Resign yourself to the fact that it isn't 100% straight, and that some of the brackets aren't tight enough, and you couldn't get all of the screws flush with the planks from the fence, but feel happy that the project is FINALLY finished, and that if you take a step or two back, it looks pretty darned good.

And that's it! Simple, right?

The wagon? I can't even see it from here.

ZOMG. My resolutions aren't going well. I'll start with my WORST transgression. You see, I go to the library once a week, because Nathan & I take a baby class together every Wednesday morning. The problem is that there's been no class for a month, so I'm off of my schedule, and clearly this isn't my fault, because videos, when they are returned late, are $1 a day, and we rent a lot of videos because El-D likes variety. So the damage was $17.40, but I bargained with the library lady and talked her down to $12.40, but only if I paid all at once, instead of in teensy installments to take it down below $10 so I can still library online. I even had to write a check, because who carries THAT MUCH cash around? So I told Chad that I'd paid off my debt, and he's all like "How much did you owe?" and I'm all like "How much do you think I owed? Here's a hint: IT WAS A LOT", and he's all like "I dunno $9?" and I'm all like "STOP JUDGING ME". So I finally told him that it was $12, and he's all like "Yeah, I owe $1", and I still left off the last 40 cents, so now I'm lying to my husband about my library spending habits again.

So there's that. THEN I was doing really well and watching everything I ate, but the past few days I've been eating like a trucker. I don't really know how truckers eat, but what I'm implying here is that I'm not eating like I'm a delicate flower.

Plus I threw away a brand new package of turkey meat today because the "use or freeze" date passed a week ago, and I forgot it was in the fridge.

And patience with El-D? So get this - he didn't have school last week, and we had playdates and lots of plans all week long - tons of fun stuff. We had a blast, but by Thursday we were on each other's nerves. Here's something I've learned about myself: too much auditory input makes me crazy - I seriously can't handle it. Typically, the baby is shrieking about something, El-D is conducting a running monologue that is always directed right at me, and Chad is asking me where something is, and smoke just starts to come out of my ears, because I can't handle that much at once. Not a multitasker, I.

Obviously, I've neglected my blogging, I've done nothing significantly crafty in Hades knows how long, and I'm just in this shame spiral here! Someone throw me a line.

What I HAVE done is read - voraciously. A Tale of Two Cities, Fifty Shades of Gray, Good Omens, some Kindle Daily Deal book I can't remember the title of, Life of Pi, and now the first book in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, because I need to solidify my nerd cred.

And there you have it! I feel much better now that I've gotten that off my chest. Whew!

May Reading - DONE and DONE

I polished off A Tale of Two Cities a couple of days into May, which is fine because I'm already a book ahead in my book-a-month plan anyway. Stockpiling, if you will. Once I got past the very beginning where Mr. Lorry is trudging up that interminable hill, and I felt like I was trudging up it with him, I really liked the book. Something I like about Dickens is how he ties it all together in the end. No scene is a throwaway, and you'd better pay attention because that minor character is really a key plot point in the end.

As of today, I also completed Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. This one was kicking around my "to read" list for the better part of a decade, because I'm a fan of NG from way back - since his Sandman days. I even had a Sandman t-shirt back in the mid-90's, and I don't think I'm going to forgive myself for getting rid of it, because I'd totally rock it with skinny jeans, flats, and a scarf. Sigh. Never listen to the experts who say to get rid of anything in your closet that you haven't worn for a year. That's the worst advice ever.

Anyway, Good Omens was a totally fast, fun read about the apocalypse.

I can't believe I'm publicly admitting it, but I'm reading Fifty Shades of Gray next. I have 3 reasons why:
1. Both my mother and my sister read it, and I can't stand to let them have a thing together without me
2. I want to be part of the pop culture moment
3. I'm expecting to get through it quickly, which will put me another book ahead in my "read a book a month" resolution

I'll let you know how it goes!

Parenting FAIL

Ok. So in my defense, I got almost NO SLEEP on Tuesday night, making me a teensy bit grumpy on Wednesday morning. El-D was his usual self on Wednesday. You know, not listening, arguing, and pretty much driving me nuts before school. Usually I manage it, but as I said, I was grumpy.

Then, on our way out the door, he asked why I yell at him all the time. I. Felt. Aw. Ful. I immediately apologized, and on the way to school told him that I'd stop yelling at him, and that I'd appreciate it if he'd listen to me and stop arguing with me all the time, and that we'd be nicer to each other. Then I asked him if I hurt his feelings when I was yelling at him, and he said "Is it ok if I say yes?". Holy Hades. The kid was worried about telling me the truth. I almost turned the car around then and there and bought him a puppy.

Here's the thing - I really want El-D to feel like he can always talk to me. He isn't very communicative about his feelings, being more a man of action, but if there's ever something really bothering him, I want him to always know he can come to me. Maybe getting no sleep and yelling at him over the course of an entire morning isn't the best way to achieve that.

Long time no blog

Here's the problem - my camera broke. Again. This time it wasn't dropped, but for some reason the LCD screen is totally smashed, and the focus is all off. I need to send it in to Nikon again, and because I just got it back after the last repair, and because the camera was a pretty expensive investment, and because I was just getting into taking more photos, every time I think about the camera I feel a little sick, so I'm opting not to think about it, which is getting in the way of blogging. The next few posts will probably be photo free.

My big creative push for the weekend was project garden. I put in all of my plants, and most of my flowers. I still need to plant a few more flowers, and on my mother's suggestion, I'm going to put marigolds in the vegetable garden to keep bugs away. Does this really work? I have no idea. All I know is that the plans have been in the ground for 24 hours, and I can barely sleep because I'm so worried about squirrels and slugs. How do people live with this kind of stress? I really do want to post photos, but luckily in this case waiting awhile isn't a big deal, since I'd like the flowers and plants to fill out a bit anyway. So excited to have the bulk of this done.

Confessions of a Sugar Junkie

I'm a sugar addict. I challenge...no I DEFY anyone out there to eat more sweets in one sitting than I can. I promise you I'll win. I've been known, in times of desperation, to take the stuff straight from a dixie cup. 

AND...I'm on a sugar fast. 2 days, no sugar, and I'm already in a tailspin. I want cake. Scratch that. I want icing. Here's how it all began:

My friend B and I were discussing the reports out about sugar being toxic and deadly and cancerous and awful. (Full disclosure -I know this is a hot news item right now, but I haven't read anything about it because I'm taking the typical Hilary approach - if I didn't hear about it, it isn't true). Anyway, B read that when you eat sugar it lights up all the places in your brain that also light up when you take addictive drugs. To me, this makes sense. Once I have a taste of something sugary, I turn into cookie monster and devour everything in sight. 

A few days later, my friend, D and I were talking sugar, and how she's trying to cut down, or cut it out entirely. We decided to do it together. D suggested a week. I suggested a day, and that we start after Passover because if you take bread and sugar away from me all at once, my brain will EXPLODE. Then we settled on 2 days, starting on today.

I think D is going all out, and avoiding hidden sugars, which according to her are THE MOST INSIDIOUS KIND. I'm not as hard-core - I'm cutting out all the stuff that is obviously sugar-filled - the desserts, candy, nips of brown sugar, tablespoons of honey... the stuff I can't believe I'm admitting to in a public forum.

Sugar aside, my diet is pretty healthy, I work out regularly, and chase 2 kids around with great frequency. I go off the rails with the desserts, so my hope is that getting the sugar under control will help me with that pesky weight loss resolution - Wedding Weight by (gulp) 40.

Hopefully I'll make it through 2 days of sugar detox, and then maybe another day, then another more. My end goal is to think differently about sugar - instead of snacking on sweets throughout the day, see it as a treat to have and savor for  special occasions.

Wish me luck!

Bringing Tears To My Eyes

So far this week I've gotten teary-eyed over a couple of things:

1. That golfer and his wife who spent 4 years trying to adopt and finally adopted a baby. Then he had to go play in the...Masters? Whatever, some golfing tournament, and his wife stayed behind in Florida, where they adopted the baby, because you can't take the baby out of the state where he/she is born until the Interstate Compact Agreement is finalized. Then he won the tournament, and I'm getting all teary again just writing about it, because I'm JUST SO HAPPY FOR THEM. Also, I remember what a total PITA the Interstate Compact Agreement is. I was lucky enough to have my in-law's house to stay in while waiting for this, and not to have to stay in a hotel room with a newborn, but still. My MIL, who is a very sweet lady, still doesn't realize that she almost didn't survive the week because I WAS GONNA KILL HER SHE WAS MAKING ME SO CRAZY.

2. The adorable 9 year old boy in LA who built an entire arcade out of cardboard boxes in his father's garage, and how his video about the arcade went viral, and a flash mob decided to come by and check it out making him the happiest boy alive. Plus, now he has a very well padded college fund in place. This child is after my heart.

With all the crazy-awful things you read about, I love a good emotional happy cry over something wonderful.

Also in the news the past couple weeks is how one of the 3 winning tickets for the Mega-Millions Lottery was sold in MD, and this total nutter of a lady came forward saying she won, and there was controversy over whether the ticket was hers, or was group-purchased, and then she said she hid the ticket SOMEWHERE IN THE McDONALD'S WHERE SHE WORKS, and then she said she lost the ticket, and then it turns out she didn't win at all, but a trio of lovely-sounding teachers won. A bunch of my fellow Baltimore Facebook friends are lamenting that this kind of crazy is making their city look bad. I disagree. I have thoroughly enjoyed this woman's crazy. I think she is a DELIGHT. I wouldn't want to have a conversation with her or anything, but there's something so specifically BALTIMORE about her brand of crazy. As I read her crazy story, in my mind I can hear what it sounds like coming out of her mouth and see the utterly nutterly look in her eyes. I feel like I know her - like I've probably worked with her before.

A Tale of Two Cities

April is a Dickensian month for me. Can you believe I've never read this? I made it though high school and college as an English major and still, I've never read ATOTC. So I'm on like, p. 6, and I think I'm in over my head. So far some guy is trudging up a hill, I think. I might need to hire a tutor who is also a sophomore at the local high school to guide me through this. How sad. My friend Alison, who suggested the book for my April read promises me that while you have to slog through the first part, the rest is a great read. I'm holding her to it.

Here's a thought - "Read More Classics" on my 2013 resolution list?

In a complete mental reversal, I'm thinking of 50 Shades of Gray for May - mostly because both my mother and my sister have read it, and I can't let them have a thing together without me getting in on it too, because I'm childish like that. In the meantime I'll pretend I'm WAY above reading trashy novels and act all high-brow because I'm reading Dickens. This from the girl who read the entire Hunger Games series during 3am feedings last year. Also? I will neither confirm or deny that I listened to the entire Twilight series while driving around the state of MD during my sales rep gig.

Paper Flowers for Spring

Paper flowers are my thing right now. Well, they will be, when I get around to making more than 2. I'm cutting up old Highlights magazines - we have a 2 year stack in the basement, and I find they're great for paper crafts. Free too, which is a plus.

I found a paper flower tutorial on Pinterest: http://whimsicalworldoflaurabird.blogspot.com/2011/03/paper-flower-tutorial.html. They're relatively easy to make, and pretty forgiving too - even if your folding and gluing isn't perfect, they still look great:

The plan (and I do  have one) is to embellish a bunch of pictures I've just hung up in my dining room - I've had these frames forever - they're all different, were all white, and all REALLY cheap. I spray painted them different colors, and now I'm going to glue paper flowers on them in bunches. If I ever make more than just the two. Here's my first sample:

Spring Break is Kicking My A$$

I'm exhausted. J doesn't have school this week, so I have both kids, a REALLY HEAVY freelance workload, and a bunch of things to cook for Friday to help my mom (Passover dinner). I love having work come in, but I'm afraid to turn anything down because I don't want to get passed over for a projects, so I say yes to everything. Just like high school. (A little "teenager with low self esteem" humor for you. At my own expense though, so that's ok, right?)

On Monday, which seems like AGES ago now, my friend Barbara brought her two boys down and she helped me start my garden planting. Thanks to her, the strawberry pot has strawberry plants in it, the basil was potted, and the seeds for my lettuce, spinach, and kale are in the ground. Added bonus: she put in my gladiola bulbs and zinnia seeds in the front. Now I just need to wait for May 1 to buy my plants for the garden and flowers for the pots. Can't wait.

I'd fill up our week with crafts, but we've been outside almost constantly because the weather is so nice and there are so many kids in our neighborhood. That's been a lot of fun, and having close friends who live just yards away makes me really happy for El-D. Also, he's been doing a lot of coloring on his own, which has me completely surprised and thrilled. All of a sudden he's my little artist. Right now the theme is Angry Birds. He was drawing the red one today and was getting upset because it looked sad, not angry. I had to show him how to use eyebrows to turn a face from sad to angry. There's a trick that will serve him well for years to come. Baby N crawls around the house with crayons clutched in his little fists.


So this photo is of El-D's Angry Birds. Note the eyebrows on the red one.The green ones are evil pigs. Are evil pigs a thing? I'm not very Angry Birds literate.

The Adoption Option

So I'm a big believer in going out and making your own happiness - not such a fan of the "what will be will be philosophy". Almost everything I have in this life worth having I've fought for. That probably sounds very dramatic, and like I'm leading a brutal existence, but that isn't the case. I have a great life - I've just fought for and earned every bit of it.

I love having children but trying to create them was a horrific experience fraught with peril. The first time around took 2 years, and we were beyond lucky to get pregnant with El-D - with a little bit of medical intervention. He's our lightning in a bottle. The second pregnancy never happened at all. That took 3 years and 6 rounds of IUI. At that point I was physically exhausted and emotionally depleted, and ready to give up completely. My husband always considered adoption, but I just couldn't imagine going through such a long process, spending so much money, and getting past the desire to have another biological child. I'm so very glad I did.

On an airplane coming home from a business trip, I read an article about a family who couldn't get pregnant. They adopted a baby boy, and since they knew they wanted more, started with a surrogate almost right way. The mother and the surrogate got pregnant at the same time. So, within 18 months, they had 3 children, each of which came to them via a different avenue. They were overwhelmed, but happy and complete and fulfilled. Meanwhile, I just knew that our family was missing a person, and that I would never get over not having a second child. I felt like I'd be 80 years old and still sad about it. Reading that article was a "eureka!" moment for me.

Chad & I started looking into adoption right away. The process - especially in the beginning - is daunting. There's more paperwork than you can even imagine to fill out, and we were told the waiting period was 3 years. I'd alternate between being excited and desolate.


It took 7 months from the moment I read that article to the moment I held Baby N in my arms for the first time. To quote many an infomercial, our results are not typical. All of our friends knew (and by friends I mean people we actually speak to, vs. Facebook people) we were adopting, and we also had our parents spread the word at synagogue, church, etc. The church connection paid off big-time. My mother-in-law told fairy godmother B, who is a judge in the family court system in VA, a member of their church, and an adoptive parent that Chad & I were looking to adopt. 5 months later, fairy godmother G, who is Baby N's biological Aunt approached fairy godmother B about her sister, who was pregnant and looking to make an adoption plan for the baby. A few weeks later we knew Baby N was to be ours, and 3 weeks after that, we were at Winchester Regional Medical Center waiting for Baby N to arrive.

They brought Baby N out to us immediately, and Chad & I were the first people to hold him. We were even lucky enough to spend that first night in the hospital with him, and it means the world to me that he had a family from the moment he was born. In the hospital people kept asking me how I felt - especially compared to how I felt when El-D was born, and here's the thing: I can't answer that question. El-D was a c-section after a long labor who never got the hang of breast feeding. The hospital experience with him was a bit harrowing. Baby N was also a c-section, but I was physically 100% fine, and just had to give him a bottle every 3 hours and change his diaper - it was kind of easy. Emotionally, I'd classify myself as overwhelmed and freaked out - both times - for different reasons.

One of my biggest fears about adoption was that I wouldn't feel the same about an adopted baby as I did about my biological child. I looked at El-D, and felt unmistakably that he was MINE. Would holding an adopted baby feel that way, or would it feel like holding a friend's baby, where sure, you like the kid, but you can also give it back no problem. I'm happy to say that both boys are MINE. I remember looking at El-D every day and feeling more and more in love, and it is the same with Baby N. 

Sharing an adoption story is pretty personal, but I'm very open about our experience for a couple of reasons - first, Baby N's adoption won't be a secret - I even plan to pull together a children's book for him about our personal experience (I've been saying this for a year. Please shame me into starting.). Second, we are unbelievably lucky, and if I can help anyone else struggling to build a family by sharing our experience and answering their questions, then maybe I can in some small way help another family find each other.

Boxed In

Whenever we get a good box around here, we'll craft it up, play with it for a few days, then recycle it (secretly - El-D will never know it is gone, but if he sees it going, uh-oh!). Here are some recent projects:

Quick & dirty grocery store/storefront (not much of a fun factor here - less than an hour of play):

Race car: When we ordered a new vacuum cleaner, it came in a HUGE box. We transformed it into a race car. The fun factor on this was slightly higher,and we kept it around for a couple of weeks. Also, Baby N enjoyed playing in it until he started pulling up and tipping the whole thing:

We never decorated these, but they made fun stock cars for both of the boys:

Ghosts of Halloween Past

We're BIG into Halloween around here. El D starts talking about the next Halloween on November 1st, and is RELENTLESS with his requests for new/bigger/better costumes. Poor kid ALWAYS gets sick on Halloween too. He's the child who is ALWAYS in some sort of costume/get-up. For example, on a typical day he'll run around the house in underoos, boots, yellow rubber gloves, a helmet, and safety goggles. Just because.

So we're costume people. Here's a costume retrospective from the archives:

El-D - Halloween 2011 - Optimus Prime. As he gets older, the costume requests are getting more specific, and MUCH harder:

Baby N - Halloween 2011 (his first) - Owl - He's still a baby, so Mommy gets to choose something sweet and soft and cute. I'm enjoying that while it lasts:

El D - Halloween 2010 - The Astronaut

El D - Halloween 2009 - The Robot


 


















El D - Halloween 2008 - Dragon (photos leave a lot to be desired - sorry)

El D - Halloween 2007 - Lion (Photo coming soon)

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

I'm really doing it this year - after 7 years of threatening, I'm putting in a garden. Last weekend my wonderful friend Bob came over and helped C & I dig out a garden bed. I was going to plant seedlings this year, but I think for this first-timer, putting in plants the first year will be a mercy. I have big container plans too, and there's a potting table in my near future as well. Here are a couple of photos of the lovely new bed:

Also? I'm filing this under the "do at least 1 creative thing each week" resolution, since planning and plotting this garden is taking up TONS of time.

Natey's Owl Party

Owls were the theme for N's first birthday. The cake/cupcake display is based on something I saw on Pinterest that originally came from the Family Fun web site:

Aren't they cute?

I made paper owls and hung them all over the house:

And even made a happy birthday garland out of old Highlights magazines:

All for my little Owlet:

The hat, if you can't tell is an owl hat that my friend Becky crocheted for N. He won't suffer it on his head for more than a few seconds.

Thrifting Holy Grail

So awhile back I found what is (to me) the thrift store holy grail - a really big, ornate mirror that was on sale for almost nothing ($6.90). Then I painted the frame raspberry and hung it up above the fireplace against an orange wall. I'm really into raspberry hues these days - which is a new color for me, since I'm very anti-pink, and raspberry is very...pink adjacent.

So here's the finished project, which I'm going to upload to Pinterest as well. The frames are from Ikea - white plastic, spray painted (of course) blue, with scrapbook paper.

UPDATE: 45 Pins! I'm practically famous!!!

Spray Paint It!

This is totally my version of "Put a bird on it!". I think everything should be painted brilliant colors. I took a day about 3 weeks ago while Natey was napping and painted tons of picture frames, flower pots and pretty much anything I could get my hands on until my spray finger was raw and I'd inhaled enough fumes to turn my lungs rainbow.

Pictures of flower pots coming soon

March Book - The Island Beneath The Sea by Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende is one of my favorite authors - In the House of the Spirits is magical and poetic, and while her other books are good, none of them have moved me the way ITHOTS did. So far I like TIBTS - it isn't changing my life, but the book is good enough to keep me coming back, and the story about slavery in the Dominican Republic is heartbreaking and compelling. I read WAY past my bedtime the other night just to make sure everything ended up ok for some of my characters.

Yeah, it really has been forever

In all honesty, I've been busy, but here's the thing about me. If too much time passes and I feel guilty, I'll just let more time pass and hope the problem goes away. I do this with responding to emails, scheduling doctor appointments, EVERYTHING. I'm thinking there might be a new resolution for 2013 in this...

So in my defense:

• I've taken on more freelance work
• I had Natey's first birthday to plan
• I've spent a lot of free time planning out my VERY FIRST GARDEN. So excited about this.

February Book - His Last Dutchess

Meh. I think this one was a Kindle Daily Deal.

Creativity Update - week ending 2/12

This week I finished the Valentine's ornaments for J's class:

Learned how to alternate between knitting and purling (this was supposed to come out as a rib knit, but because I'm learning, I accidentally added on a few stitches. This left me with an odd number, which throws off my rows. I'm actually kind of digging the way the stitch is coming out, so I'm going with it.

Also, I broke in my brand new waffle maker this week! I've been dying to get one because all the boys love waffles, and I like the idea of putting healthy ingredients into yummy waffles. I found a basic recipe online that I can keep modifying (switching out whole wheat and flax seed for regular flour, applesauce for oil, adding in pureed fruit, etc.). None of the batches were a bust, but learning how to use the waffle iron was a process. First lesson - DON'T OVERFILL. Drippy waffle batter everywhere.

January Books

I read 2 books in January:

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay - I really dig all things ballerina. I'd watch Center Stage over and over if I had the chance, and rock ballerina style if I could pull it off. This book, which is about a ballerina, has really nothing to do with those things. I just wanted to put that out there. The book was ok, held my interest throughout, but the ending was really rushed - to the point of abruptness. Neat bow on top, THE END.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - really lovely book with beautiful descriptions and a satisfying story. My book club is reading this right now, and I'm really happy about having a discussion about it over a nice dinner with friends.

2011 - The resolution that started them all

Do you know about The Uniform Project (http://www.theuniformproject.com/)? The woman behind the project wore the same dress (she had 7 versions made) for an entire year, and dressed it up differently every day. She's incredibly creative, and her artsy awesome aesthetic really appeals to me. While I don't think I can carry off most of her looks, I'm completely inspired by her.

I decided to try my own challenge - I got my first sewing machine in 2010, I have a decent creative streak, I have TONS of clothes and accessories already, and I work from home, so I can dress however I'd like. My challenge to myself was: NO BUYING ANY NEW CLOTHES OR ACCESSORIES FOR 1 YEAR - NO EXCEPTIONS.


AND, I kept my resolution. However, the focus of the challenge definitely evolved. What started as more of a creative adventure very quickly became something else because in February we found out we were having a baby - IN A MONTH. We adopted our precious baby boy N the day he was born on March 10. The wonderful, amazing story of how baby N came into our lives is the stuff of another post. For the purposes of this post, let's just say that I found myself with a lot less time for creatively outfitting myself - clean yoga pants were the priority.

I won't say I didn't have time to shop, because believe you me, I can always find the time. Malls were made for sleeping newborns in strollers. However, I started thinking more about having what I need, consuming less, and living simply. This isn't to say that I don't love stuff and love clothes and fashion - because I definitely do. I just became very aware of how much I have and need vs. want, and how I can restyle and reuse what is already in my closet to recreate newer looks. Another trick is that when your mother asks you what you want for your birthday, and your mother happens to work for Nordstrom, just ask for something specific that you really love instead of making the poor woman guess and then having to return it anyway. You'll make everyone's life easier.

Now that my year is over, I haven't gone out on any major shopping sprees - I went to Target and replaced every sock I owned on January 1 - mine were woefully threadbare - but other than that, no new clothes yet. I got some great things over the holidays, and I'm still enjoying their newness. I definitely see the way I shop changing - I see more of a value in purchasing one item I really love and getting lots of use out of it instead of going out and buying "more shirts" because I feel like shopping.

One thing I really enjoyed about my year of not shopping is that I was free of pre-season anxiety. Does anyone else do this to themselves? I'll anticipate the coming season by fretting about all the new clothes that I need/must have/can't live without. I actively worry about the wardrobe items I want. Because I couldn't shop, I just didn't feel that (admittedly INSANE) pressure I've put on myself. What a relief!

Resolution #10 - Do at least one creative thing each week

And last but not least - do one creative project each week. I posted this last, because a lot of my other resolutions dovetail very nicely with this one - knitting, doing things with J, those count! Really I can fulfill this resolution while doing the others. Perfect! I need a little help keeping honest about this though, so I plan on posting weekly project updates. I'll even take pictures, although because I have a "wing it" philosophy, my finished products never turn out as lovely and photographable as the projects posted on the super-mom blogs that end up on Pinterest.

Speaking of Pinterest, I'm one-million percent obsessed. If I spent a fraction of the time doing the stuff that I find on that site, instead of the endless perusing, I'd be a very accomplished person indeed. So far my greatest success has been creating a green blob of goo that El-D and his friend E played with for hours. Also, I once pinned a really yummy looking enchilada bake casserole recipe with weight watchers points, and had 919 repins when all was said and done. That kind of freaked me out, honestly - sort of like when Johnny Fever from WKRP told all his listeners to dump their garbage on the steps of city hall, only to have tons of listeners comply, and then he couldn't go on the air anymore because he was suddenly aware that people out there were listening to him. Totally. Freaked. Out.

Resolution #9 - Learn to crochet

I'm committed to learning how to crochet, but I might save this one for 2013, and really take the time to learn to knit this year. Let's stick a pin in this one for now.

Resolution #8 - Learn to knit

I spend a lot of time watching TV. All the SyFy available on Netflix isn't going to watch itself. I know, not time very well spent, BUT if I were knitting while watching all this television, that turns wasted time into PRODUCTIVE time. Right??? Also, if I develop mad knitting skills, I can make things - don't you want a hand-knit item from me for the holidays in 2012?

I'm learning too! I can cast on, knit, purl, and cast off. Right now I'm limited to long, skinny items. I've even joined a knitting club - the Columbia Sip & Knitters (I call us the "Snitters"). We meet on Saturday mornings, knit, and talk about our cats. I have no cats.

Resolution #7 - Do more homework and crafts with El-D

This one kind of explains itself. El-D doesn't love crafts (all I ever wanted was a kid to do crafts with), and he fights me on learning activities, but we're going to do more of this stuff together, we're going to enjoy it, and we're going to create post-able memories together. Even if it kills us. If he REALLY fights me, Baby N better step up to the plate and start appreciating art early.

Resolution #6 - Have more patience with my eldest child

I adore him - I really do. For the sake of this blog, we'll refer to him as El-D (short for El Diablo). If you knew him, you'd understand that this nickname is HILARIOUS - shout out to my husband who came up with it. El-D has the reddest hair I've ever seen, which is representative of the fire in his soul, and he operates in 3 modes: awesome, awful, and asleep.

El-D requires a lot of patience - a virtue I'm woefully short on. I think that's a big part of the problem. We're a lot alike, and sometimes we just clash. For example - El-D's frustration level tolerance is a negative 5. He goes right from playing happily to "hulking out". I've already noted that I'm an impatient witch, with an equally low frustration tolerance level. The sound of a "hulk out" sends electric sparks up my spine, zapping the crazy parts of my brain. Can you see where this is going?

More than anything I want my sons to have an idyllic childhood. I want them to grow up knowing they are loved and cherished - the stuff we all want. I'm pretty sure that won't happen if El-D's earliest memories are of mommy shrieking at him to stop shrieking. In my defense a huge part of the problem is that El-D doesn't hear the sound of my voice at normal volumes. Often I must shout so he can hear me over the din inside the brain of a very active, imaginative 5 year old boy.

Resolution #5 - No wasting food

It drives me batty when I forget that I have raw chicken in the fridge, and it goes bad, or I cook something that barely gets eaten. I'm doing my utmost to minimize waste. This means being a little more creative with leftovers, making sure food gets cooked in time, and freezing portions of food for later consumption instead of leaving it all in the fridge.

I definitely see more food-related resolutions in 2013. Stay tuned.

Resolution #4 - Read at least 1 book a month

This one shouldn't be hard. I'm a voracious reader, but sometimes life (or a dull book), gets in the way and I put down my Kindle (love you!), and don't pick it up for a couple of weeks. I have a ton of books loaded already (from must-reads to mediocre picks that I only have because Amazon Daily Deals exists), and a HUGE wish-list already picked out online.

Also, I went through this really weird phase when my older son was born - I just couldn't read a book where anything bad happened to anyone. It touched such a raw nerve with me. It actually extended well beyond books into TV, movies, news, everyday conversations. I just couldn't bear to hear about it. I'm a little better insulated these days, but still can't handle anything where something bad happens to a child. My point (and I do have one), is that I stopped reading all together for almost a year - I just couldn't bear it. I watched a lot of Project Runway and What Not to Wear instead. It was a weird time.

My plan is to post when I've finished a book. Also, I go through books pretty quickly, and sometimes can't even remember what they were about just a few months later. Writing a bit about what I've read might help me in the memory department.

Resolution #3 - Wedding weight by 40

So this year I have a big birthday coming up. I'm gonna be honest - I'm pretty freaked out. I'm fit-ish, have a youthful outlook and attitude (read: WAY liberal), and I'm told I look young (no sun - EVER). I just can't reconcile how I look and feel with this...NUMBER. Vain, shallow, just an age, everyone goes through the exact same thing, blah blah blah. It doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who ever turned 40 in the whole history of time with an accurate sense of the horror of aging in terms of what it will do to my face and what it means to ME. ME ME ME ME ME. Yes. I know how I sound. Crazy. And like not such a great person with not such a great perspective on things. I swear I'm usually more...Oh hells bells. I'm an utter nutter.

Anyway, back to the resolution thing. I'm about 10 lbs up from my wedding weight, which was my skinniest EVER. Totally not maintainable, but still. I'd like to get back there for at least 1 glorious moment before I turn...23. (See, I can't even bear to type the number again)

I've also had some EUREKA moments about weight loss in the last few months. You know that actress Ginnifer Goodwin? With the short hair and the really pretty face? Well, she caught holy Hades a few months back for saying that she's been on Weight Watchers since she was 15, and that she's genetically predispositioned to be a much larger woman than she is presently. I think the issue people had was with her body image and admission that she is perpetually on a diet. I disagree. I think she needs a formal program like WW to help her understand what she can and can't eat in a day. I think this because I too need a formal program telling me what I can and can't eat in a day. Without said program, I'm likely to eat my own body in UTZ chip form. (If you don't know what UTZ chips are, please visit the Mid-Atlantic region immediately and buy yourself a bag. Start with the regular chips, work your way around to the Honey Barbecue, and then finish up with the Crab chips. No chip will ever be the same to you again).

Ok. so I have a lot more to say about weight and body image but I'll save it. No one wants to read a Unibomber-style manifesto disguised as a blog post.

Resolution #2 - No library fines

I so love our local library. I take my boys there all the time, participate in the kiddie classes with them, and check out a ton of books and videos. I also give the library a staggering amount of money in overdue fines (videos are $1/day, and the rental time on them is a week). Since we can walk to the library from our house, there is just no excuse.

Part of me doesn't mind paying them for overdue books here and there - I figure my cash is supporting a great cause. However, the fines were getting out of hand, and I found myself lying about how much in debt I was to the local library. Seriously - when you display addict-like behavior over your library debt, you should re-evaluate your choices.

So far this year, I've owed a total of $4 to the library. Here's the breakdown:

•  $2 was totally my husband's fault. I asked him to round up the videos and he left 2 out of the pile. I made him pay the fine
• $.40 was a fine that the very nice librarian waived, but I'm reporting for the sake of keeping honest
• $1.60 two days ago. I paid $1.10 (all the cash I had on me at the time), and the very nice librarian waived the rest

Imagine how bad the problem was - it is only February, I've accrued $4 in fines, and this is a huge success, in my mind. I've also managed to place the blame for 50% of the above fine on another person. There's probably a moral issue I should think on somewhere in there.

Resolution #1 - Write More

Stringing a few sentences together with some degree of skill has always come easily to me. Ideas, not so much. "Write a book" is a permanent item on my bucket list, but since I haven't written a darned thing that wasn't for professional reasons or in the form of an email or status update in eons, that isn't looking likely.

Honestly, I've already written enough on this blog to allow myself to scratch "write more" (more being a relative term) off my resolution list, but I'm hoping to add to that. Get myself in the habit of writing for my blog, start dabbling in fiction, allow another human being to READ my stuff... I don't need to write the great American novel or anything - heck, my name on the cover of one of those baby board books with one word per page under a huge picture will do. 

AND I'm getting ahead of myself. The resolution is "write more", not "get published". There's always the 2013 resolution list for that! 

My life as a Resolutionista

Hello there. So if you're reading this, you're wondering what "Being Resolutionary" is all about. Here's the deal-io -

I love a good New Year's Resolution - and closely behind that, Monday morning resolutions. I go to sleep every Sunday night promising myself I'll stop eating come morning. The idea of a fresh start is just so appealing to me. You wake up on a new day with a can-do attitude and fix all the things you don't like about yourself, try all the things you want to try, and learn what you want to learn in the coming year. I suppose you can do that on any day of the year, but something about a new beginning with a new calendar is so right. Am I right?

For 2012, I have 10 New Year's resolutions. That's a lot of stuff to work on, and I'm always thinking of more to add to the list. (The 2013 preliminary list is already in work). 

Some of my resolutions have weekly and monthly checkpoints, and I thought the blog was a good forum to log my efforts and keep myself honest about what I'm really accomplishing this year. I also plan to use this as an online journal of sorts - to post new ideas, things I've tried, the stuff that's on my mind, but mostly this is an exercise in self discipline, and whether I can stick to the 10 resolutions I've set for myself. 

-H