i'm very lucky to call pixie campbell a friend. she pushes me to examine what's sacred, reminds me that it is important to make time for me, and provides the most soul-searching prompts about deep, deep things. she pushes me beyond my comfort zone, allowing me to come into my own. she's my mentor and my creative support system. i can call her when i have questions about breastmilk, or about acrylic paints. now that's a good friend.
1. what are the things that you have next to your bed/on your nightstand?
Oh dear. I wish I'd cleaned it before you asked! Kleenex, a little leaf dish full of varying types of lozenges, infant tylenol, a gigantic lamp much to big for the table, The Not So Big Life, my journal and many pens.
2. what are some things can't you live without?
My peeps. Baby bums. Strong coffee and real cream. Laughter. My husbands ridiculous jokes. Rain. Color all around. Ecover lip balm. I have a lot of creature comforts-bit of a princess and the pea that way.
3. if you had one hour to take yourself out on a date, where would you go?
Art supply store.
4. show me three pictures that sum up what an average day for you looks like.
5. what are five new websites/blogs that are inspiring you lately?
although i haven't met mccabe from dancing mermaid face-to-face yet, i can assuredly say that without her creative influence:
1. last summer with three kids stuck in the house would have been a lot more miserable (we took her mini mermaids class and followed all the project prompts)
2. i would not feel as comfortable undertaking my own creative projects (i took her creative class for adults, too)
3. my daily clicks would be less colorful.
what i love so much about mccabe is that she listens to kids. i don't need to have met her to know that this much is true. and listening to kids is powerful. and i like that.
so here we go!
1. what are the things that you have next to your bed/on your nightstand?
heating pad, ginger tea, nibs, at least 8 books, current candle
2. what are some things can't you live without?
my friends, animals. cowgirl boots, peace in my heart, paint, my camera, my laptop, bread with olive ill and balsamic vinaigrette, a good bra, brightly colored scarves, the sea, wine, teaching, learning, playing, dreaming, and netflix (i mean i could but why try?...)
3. if you had one hour to take yourself out on a date, where would you go?
toss up between a good wine at my favorite italian restaurant in a little black dress or a trip to the art store. can i have more than an hour?
4. show me three pictures that sum up what an average day for you looks like.
5. what are five new websites/blogs that are inspiring you lately?
well these are not new (to me) but here are some daily reads:
i've been a little internet-overwhelmed lately...call it interwhelmed if you will. and then it struck me...i should interview some of my fantastic blogging (and real-life) friends about what makes them tick...and what's inspiring them.
1. what are the things that you have next to your bed/on your nightstand?
Well, our mattress is on the floor so we don't have nightstands. Initially we put it on the floor so baby Satch wouldn't have far to fall if he rolled off. Now he's 4 1/2 and we keep it on the floor because it makes the perfect trampoline. I have two little antique foot stools as nightstands. Upon them, a rotating stack of books, a book light, and a water bottle. Beneath the footstool is a basket of vintage hankies because you never know.
2. what are some things can't you live without?
Love, Love, Love.....and sunshine, and music, and good food, and art supplies.
3. if you had one hour to take yourself out on a date, where would you go?
I would go to a thrift store. The town I live in is void of thrift shops and I really miss them.
4. show me three pictures that sum up what an average day for you looks like.
all around the town: big ball races in tumbling class.
outside: growing fairy population
inside: the daily tide of play
5. what are five new websites/blogs that are inspiring you lately?
it's been kind of snowy here, so we've been doing lots of painting and crafting and movie watching. there is also a healthy dose of reading and writing and cleaning. and cleansing. and hibernating. and tea drinking. and gathering with friends. there's always that...and i'm afraid that without it, i wouldn't be a sane person. or even close to a good person.
there was also a date this weekend (thanks mom!). a real live date. and i stayed up until 11p! and we went to the movies! and (gasp!) we sat down for dinner at 10pm. it was kind of surreal and we barely had the energy to converse, but we got out of the house together, and that's what counts when you have three kids six and under.
today we're sprouting and getting rid of old kitchen stuff (i'm new to this "stuff has expiration dates" phenomenon). and i actually get to get out of the house alone (gasp!) to work (thanks dad!). work=quiet. mama=happy.
* a house full of friends this past week lifting me up
* four new paintings finished and ready for the world
* a surprise quilt completed and gifted to a dear friend
* new friends that get my parenting style
* endless cups of green tea
* liver cleanse! and wine!
* black bean pie
* starting a new quote book
* lulu has started to run- and it's kind of the most funniest and incredible thing ever
* letting go
* accomplishing 2010 goals
* the upcoming weekend
* my lovely new business cards that my boss gifted me for christmas
* taco night! i need taco night!
* art magic swirling around, and painting with joey
* lulu's upcoming birthday------what!?! how is this possible that she's turning ONE! guess i can't call her a newborn anymore!
* ariel gore's book "whatever mom: hip mama's guide to raising a teenager". and yes, it's saving my life. and yes, i'm reading it and applying it to my SIX year old
"I thought of you today when I saw this picture: Actually, I thought of (insert: name of someone we used to know) for some strange reason but then I thought of you and how much fun we used to have in Tatnuck (our old bookstore) meowing like cats and making our own clothes. -Johnny"
it's very cold here today. my hands are cracking open from being so dry. we've already made our trip out to the grocery store. so now we have milk, bananas, apples, and kefir. i want to hibernate and create. but it's icy in my craft area. so it looks like i'll have to move some things inside.
that's all i have today. a quiet cup of tea steaming beside me. a banana peel. some socks on the floor. nothing special...but it makes up a day.
happy january 8th, everyone! the perfect day for a sale of eights in the shop. most everything is eight dollars, and everything has an eight in the price! making room for the new...
how can one tiny person drive me so completely insane, bring me to my knees, make me sob...
but yet i could not live a moment without her?
how is it that she drives me bananas but i wouldn't change a thing about her?
(i found the note below on the fridge: "i love mom...she poops (poop's!) in my face. i love dad. hey does tommy dad (a family joke- joey is tommy the sloth and johnny is tommy dad the sloth). love grace). for the record, i don't really poop in her face. although now i'm tempted.
well hello there, 2010 peeps. for 2010, i'm vowing to be creative every day, and to spice up this corner a bit. so we'll see where that takes us! looking back on 2009 was a really rewarding process for me. i sat at my computer and looked through all my picture files (i usually upload my pics about once, max two times a month and label the folders and put them on an external hard drive to be forgotten about). this year, i sat and made a folder entitled "best moments of 2009" and then printed them all out. and there were 307 priceless 2009 moments that i absolutely had to print out. and i just sat there with johnny, looking through the huge stack of photos and felt so blessed for all the tiny beautiful moments of our life.
when hanging out with a dear friend for the first time in many weeks, she asked "what have you been up to lately?" and i found myself saying "not much" like i always do. but when i look back through the months worth of pictures, i realize that saying "not much" is just a cop out. it's easier. there's just too much to put into words. lots of little moments that add up to "too much to say".
one big part of my 2009 was all the great books i had the opportunity to read. some friends ask how i have the time to read with three little ones underfoot, and my answer to that is...3am. i go to bed super early every night (like 7pm) and then wake up around midnight and read for a good 3 or 4 hours. i love looking back on my lists of books for the year. i feel like all the characters are good friends that i collected over the year. i don't know what i would do without books. it would be a sad life, i think.
so here's my 2009 list! (clearly i went through a little francesca lia block craze!)
Books 2009:
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
All The Fishes Come Home to Roost:An American Misfit in India by Rachel Manija Brown
Searching For The Sound:My Life With The Grateful Dead by Phil Lesh
Revenge of the Paste Eaters:Memoirs ofa Misfit by Cheryl Peck
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
You Can’t Get There From Here:A Year On The Fringes Of A Shrinking World by Gayle Forman
A Cook’s Tour:Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines by Anthony Bourdain
No Woman No Cry:My Life With Bob Marley by Rita Marley
The GlassCastle:A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
High Voltage Tattoo by Kat Von D
Jewel by Bret Lott
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Labor of Love:A Midwife’s Memoir by Cara Muhlhahn
The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Are You There, Vodka?It’s Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
It Sucked and then I Cried:How I Had a Baby, A Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita by Heather B. Armstrong
Dumbfounded:Big Money.Big Hair.Big Problems.Or Why Having It All Isn’t For Sissies by Matt Rotschild
True Mom Confessions:Real Moms Get Real by Romi Lassally
Wetlands by Charlotte Roche
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
This Is All by Aidan Chambers
The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Without a Map:A Memoir by Meredith Hall
My Horizontal Life:A Collection of One-Night Stands by Chelsea Handler
SalemFalls by Jodi Picoult
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro
Untamed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Blood Roses by Francesca Lia Block
How To (Un)cage A Girl by Francesca Lia Block
Psyche In A Dress by Francesca Lia Block
Ecstasia by Francesca Lia Block
Primavera by Francesca Lia Block
Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block
The Waters and the Wild by Francesca Lia Block
A Homemade Life:Stories and Recipes From My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg
Nighlight, A Parody by The Harvard Lampoon
Push/Precious by Sapphire
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Night World (Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Spellbinder) by L.J. Smith
