Week 45: Quality Time

Keeping it short and sweet this week. 

Plenty of Week 45 Newness to report, hailing from the great Pacific Northwest, 

of which I am not ready to leave...

• New local tea shop: Ruby Sue's Tea Shop (La Connor, WA) on a momma-daughter date with my Momma! Cute, local tea shoppe with a legitimate variety of really nice teas (which they seemed really knowledgeable of),  rather than posing as a tea shop and mostly selling over-priced, kitschy gift shop items like many do. 

• New Beer: Interurban IPA (Fremont Brewing Co). Shared a big bottle of this with my little brother to celebrate the arrival of his first baby and his amazing construction work on the restoration of his old house, just in time :) His sweet little baby, #7 of the nephews-only clan, has some of the longest fingers on a baby that I have ever seen, and he is already a self-soother and a seemingly patient little fellow, much like his mom and dad. Oh yeah, and the beer - Well, I am not much for IPAs because all I can taste is a bottle of perfume, but this one was well-received, sipped while watching a sleeping baby. Next time I have an IPA, I have decided there must also be a sleeping baby in the room.

• Old movies (with my Dad, of course): Stagecoach and Sargent York. Loved them both, especially Sargent York, which is a true and very sweet story of a hero who never had any intention of fulfilling such roles. Beautiful story. 

• New book - The Hit by David Baldacci: Gratuitous grocery store thriller of 2 snipers trying to outsmart each other and therefore kill each other. Entertaining...not necessarily award-winning literature, but the perfect book for 20 minute specks of reading time throughout the day :)  

Week 38: Our Brains Are Alive (and Melty Is Too A Word)

What's new?

Oh, how I missed you, Wally Lamb. Reading favorite authors is like stepping into a nice, hot bath. You can confidently just let their words completely absorb your melty, porous brain because you're not tripping over their shitty, cliche, underdeveloped characters or bored out of your mind or disgusted because once more, someone mistook a pessimistic point of view for good writing. It is like knowing in advance you are going to get a brain massage and a good laugh and your imagination is going to come alive and be free. The Hour I First Believed is a similiar style to I Know This Much is True, where he ties deep, historical roots with regard to the protagonists family history into the current day. This story centers around a couple going through marital problems who deal with the after-effects of the Colombine massacre. Deep, complex, believable, and thought-provoking.

Week 38 New Stuff:

• Henry has given up naps. Oddly, he seems SO much happier and content on this schedule. No more spending 2 hours a day fighting him to take a nap, then fighting him to eat, then to go to bed. He sleeps from 7:30-7ish; eats more; talks more, is more affectionate and playful. I think this is actually working! Quiet time for an hour in the afternoons is a must, and I am learning as I go. Time Management...this is something that is being quickly readjusted :) Not sure if I will ever crochet again!

• Cod liver oil - A lot of great research exists on the benefits of cod liver oil on brain development, the prevention of learning disabilities, and even various disorders of the Autism Spectrum, not to mention nerve disorders. I just don't think it can hurt, especially since our boy is such a picky eater!  

• I signed up for a half marathon on Post the first weekend in October. One of my girlfriends offered to come hang out with Henry that morning, and having that possibility made me more excited than waking him up early to take to someone else's house while also trying to get ready for a half marathon. While I am no stranger to half marathons, it has been a year since I have run one!

• New green smoothie recipe from Green Smoothie Revolution. I had been wanting to try this one for a while because it only had 2 ingredients and looked extremely refreshing; 3 cups of cubed cantelope and 1 bunch of parsley. That's it! I add a little water to mine every time just because I have a blender from 1994, but you fancy VitaMixers need not add water. I THOUGHT this was going to be good. I am obsessed with parsley. I love anything with melon. I had both ingredients handy. However, it didn't really sit right with me. The flavor combo was not doing it. Green apples, sour berries, lemon, other greens...those are things that work with parsley. Cantelope is too sweet or too melon-y or something. Blech. Like all of those fruit and mint candies and gums? Those also gross me out, and this was kind like that (1/5 stars).

Week 26: The Halfway Mark!

image source

We are about to be 50% of the way through the year, people! How are you doing with your 2013 goals, up to this point? Are you where you envisioned you would be? Or have you become a little lost (either by accident or on purpose) and you are now brushwacking a new pathway somewhere? Perhaps you have found a really great view somewhere, and you aren't moving at all - You are just sitting, enjoying the spray of the waterfall. Maybe you didn't even make it up the mountain because you became so distracted by that amazing new pub near the trailhead, and you got to talkin' to some other distracted person, and the sun started to set...

:) 

We have tried may new things this year, and in honor of our halfway mark for Allbrandnewin52, here are 50 more new things Henry and I would like to do/try for the remaining 26 weeks:

1. squaw creek national wildlife refuge
2. potty training completion
3. KS/MO bug collection (pins only, nothing in vials, which means no spiders)
4. ditch the sippy cup/switch to full big-boy cups only
5. begin regular Pilates routine
6. begin training for The Great Wall of China Marathon (May 2014). This is kind of a big one since I have only run 3 previous full marathons, the last one being in 2008, when I developed bad Plantar Fasciitis. I really don't want to run TGWC half marathon. C'mon.
7. Oh, I don't know...maybe PASS the PRAXIS??! EEEEK!
8. finish current crochet project and complete about 5 more 
9. finish current book
10. finish the rest of current book pile...about 8-9 of them, not counting the teacher resources now on my list
11. finish writing current short work of fiction
12. finish writing current children's folktale series
13. start preschool
14. not sit in the parking lot and cry for 3 hours on the first day of preschool like a total loser
15. seriously. get a life
16. learn all of the species on the ceiling at T-Rex
17. say "please" and "thank you" consistently
18. make it through a playgroup session without trying to leave the building
19. Wonderscope
20. call my grandparents more regularly
21. learn new tree identification (list)
22. try one new beer per month
23. try one new smoothie week per week
24. try about 40 new recipes
25. teach my son to catch and throw a football
26. teach my son to hit a ball off of the T
27. teach my son to ride his bike
28. actually take my son to the pool, even though I am not a fan of pools
29. find a place to live in VA
30. successfully find a preschool in VA before we move there
31. apply to Educate VA (after hopefully passing Praxis)
32. meet new nephew/cousin
33. get my child to willingly eat a vegetable/food in general :)
34. complete a half marathon on Post before we leave
35. convince my neighbor that she likes running and is going to be a total badass at it. I am really good at this (convincing people of their secret badassness). It's like my secret talent.  
36. learn the second verse to "America the Beautiful"
37. learn the real words to "This Land is My Land/This Land is Your Land"
38. pick peaches from local orchard and freeze enough pie fillings for peach pie until the end of the year. Peach pie is one of my favorites!!!! And last year the peaches didn't do well due to the drought.
39. get a good juicer and begin juicing for preschooler
40. get rid of TVs
41. take Henry to an outdoor jazz festival
42. take Henry to the Renaissance festival
43. take Henry to Branson, MO
44. take Henry owling and to a local owl lecture at a nearby nature center while he is still obsessed with owls
45. Kansas City zoo! We've been to Omaha a few times now, but have yet to visit our own KC zoo!
46. get a cute grow chart for Henry's room
47. crochet pennant for H's room
48. make sure he can recognize his name (written) before he gets to his first day of preschool
49. visit Foucakes in town (local fancy bakery)
50. visit the Atchison farmer's market...

Week 12: Precious Life

“It is nothing to die. It is frightful not to live.” 

-Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

In Week 12, we experienced many new things, among which was some very happy news! First, Ted and I found out that one of our very closest friends suffered from a bi pulmonary embolism comprised of several blood clots in the lungs. He originally thought he was having a heart attack because the symptoms were essentially the same, so he thankfully called 911 in time. This man is in his mid 30's, does not drink or eat junkfood, is a former gymnast, for goodness' sake, and does not otherwise fit the bill for this condition at all. I was obviously so happy to hear he was okay and well-taken care of, but the thought crossed my mind that, if this man had not made it, he would have lived a very full and purpose-driven life; one that he should be proud of. And the older and more grouchy and cantankerous I become, the more I realize that I don't want to be close to people who I am not truly proud of. Who has time? Vince, if you are reading this, Ted and I love you, and friend, we are damn proud of you.

How do you spend your numbered days? Are you proud of them? Do you think God is proud of them?

We also received the news that my baby brother (Brother #3) and his wife are expecting their first child! Could this be the 7th boy, or will we finally have a little girl in the family? I can't wait to find out! Will and Whitney are going to make excellent parents. 

Other new things to report for Week 12:

• I finished East of Eden and began a non-fiction (memoir): Reading Lolita in Tehran. I am inhaling every word like a crack addict. Not only does Nafasi write BEAUTIFULLY, but if ever words had meaning, this compilation is indeed a powerful source of it! Regarding East of Eden, I loved it and am so glad I read it, but I was not crazy about the way he ended it. I guess it had to end, sometime. Perhaps I just don't like endings.

• Henry and I went to the Crayola store in downtown Kansas City. It was so much fun! We got some new triangle crayons with 24 colors (not the huge, chunky box of 4 colors you see at the store). Henry loves it when I color pictures of the Thomas the Train characters. Luckily, trains are easy :) I am otherwise a terrible artist! One day, he'll realize that :)

• My 2-year old actually, willingly, tried a "new" fruit, ate the whole thing, and asked for more. This is HUGE because at 12 months old up until now, he started refusing any food with a slimy or wet texture. He has only willingly eaten bananas, raisins, and apple slices (but rarely apple slices). I continued to offer him fresh fruits (and veggies) the entire last year, which I am now glad of!

• Henry also has started sharing with me. He is NOT a good sharer at all, so this was awesome to see. And he shared his stickers, no less. Pretty big time :) He's getting so grown-up! 

• Okay, one more new Henry thing and I'll stop: Naps...He has started not taking one 1-2 days per week. On those days, he sleeps for like 11-12 straight hours and wakes up a very happy boy, so I don't mind (too much).    

Week 6: San Diego with a 2-Year Old, a New Book, and Licking Sand

Week 6 was basically all brand new, in a sense. The last time Henry was here, he was between 3-11 months old, so through his 2-year old eyes, everything we have done this past week may as well be new. This and seeing the look on his face when he saw his Daddy for the first time in over a month made the 3-day road trip here totally worth it. Henry is such a great traveler. I am more and more impressed by him the older he gets. My favorite moment though, beside reuniting with Daddy, meeting my newborn Nephew #5, and getting in good, quality girl talk with my best girlfriends, was taking Henry to the beach in the early morning and watching him chase sandpipers, and then, when I told him that they were eating bugs out of the sand, seeing him get down on all fours and lick the sand. He's such a character and a good pretender! On the flip side, he has also been much whinier than usual and has not been wanting to go down for naps or to bed. I think he is officially over traveling and ready to get back home to our routine and to his bed. I predict that he is going to fall madly in love with the beach, and the two of us are just going to become beach bums and live in a surfer van in the south Mission Beach parking lot and write poetry and play with dump trucks and live off of carnitas burritos and homemade tomatillo salsa.   

Other new things we tried in Week 6:

• East of Eden (John Steinbeck). I just have to say: Thank Goodness for this great work of fiction. My soul has been restored, and so has my love of reading. I just got done telling Ted that my new rule is that I am never going to read new fiction again unless a) the author comes highly recommended by someone I trust, or b) it is from an author I already know. I just don't have time for crappy reads anymore, people! I have a 2 year old! Time is-a-wastin'! My BFF and sister-in-law recommended East of Eden to me when she was pregnant with Nephew #3, and it is with great sadness that I am just now getting to it (because I stole her copy). I adore Steinbeck's writing. I want to bathe in it and drink it and imprint it on my brain to replace all of the complete shit that I have read over the last year and years past.

• Hemp milk

• watching cartoons in bed in the morning

• oatmeal raisin cookies for breakfast

• first playdate with a girl

Week 5: Play-dough Worms and My Quest for Riveting Fiction

We spent the majority of Week 5 getting ready for our road trip to San Diego to spend the month with our other third and to meet Nephew #5, and then actually road-tripping; thus, this will be a short post (and also because I am writing this late and from my iPhone while drinking beer).

New for Week 5 is playing with Play-dough! I broke out the stash one day after a good, long hike, made some bugs and cars, which all looked like globs (and he was just as impressed), and it was all over! Henry loves it! It kind of went perfectly with our recent found love of pretend play, not so much that he cares about the art portion of things. Personally, I love Play-dough. I like working with anything hands-on, so I never outgrew this toy. I could not be more thrilled when he goes to get the bright little yellow cans, which I suspect, he has caught on to. What a sweet boy he is.

So...ugh. I started and stopped 2 books in Week 5. Life is too short to waste your time with fiction that doesn't grab onto your heart strings! Please, please, please someone recommend an amazing work of fiction to me before I start going back through my old favorites list. The last of my favorite works of fiction were The Art of Racing in the Rain, The Hunger Games trilogy, Shutter Island, The Green Mile, and Mystic River. I will admit, I mostly read non-fiction, but I always am on the lookout for amazing works, including short stories! I also read quite a bit of poetry. I will not waste my time if I am not drawn in within the first 5 chapters or 1/4 of the book. Also, while I am not one to shy away from difficult subject matter, I have zero desire to read about pedophiles or child abuse or ickiness involving children. I strongly believe that anyone who harms a child should have the most capital of punishments. I know it is harsh, but I have zero tolerance on the matter, which is why I am probably not a very good Christian and why I could never be a social worker or a foster parent. In any case, I don't want to read about it for fun. Please send me your recommends.