some important things

silliness
humor
family
hot cocoa
apple cider donuts
kale
warmth
treats
friends
imagination




love. xx

i'm dreaming...of a...bath.

thoughts of a bath, alone, when the kids are in bed tonight are what's getting me through this crazy witchy hour right now! a beer, my patti smith autobiography, and a nice scalding bath with my new bubble bath. i loved my little weekend vacation more than i can express here, but this monday is payback! and a little someone turns two this week and is making sure to cause as much mischief as possible before it happens.

there are about 10 vintage headless barbies laying around that didn't know who they were messing with.

snow reset button

today is another snow day. snow is like the ultimate reset button. we woke up this morning and all that poopy snow was covered with pristine snow and it felt like a new start. there is no school today, so it's just another day of drinking hot chocolate, eating english muffins, making something in the crock pot, and watching that new owl movie. we are feeding the birds on the deck outside and have set up chairs and watch which ones come to visit. right now there are a bunch of tiny little birdies eating the leftover dried stuffing from thanksgiving. then a bright cardinal lands, and it's a pop of red. these little moments of beauty are going to get me through the day.

and for lulu, it's just another day to eat the tips off a couple hundred markers.

want to know what else is going to get me through the day? thoughts of my mama retreat vacation tomorrow with my sisterwife! we are going to a beach house in CT to drink wine, read magazines, and do nothing. yeah...that's kind of the ultimate motivation to get through today to get to TOMORROW! fun. xx

friends&gifts, gifts&friends

the other day i was sitting around when a nice package wrapped in a red bow arrived on my doorstep. when i opened it, inside was this gorgeous wool viking hat, gifted to me by two awesome friends. with it was this note:

um, hello? "ring in the new year as a viking goddess"! love. love the hat, love my friends, love that as soon as i got the hat we got over two feet of snow. love.

also, my friend pat also gifted me with a METHUEN hoodie! i've been eyeballing his hoodie for a while now, and never got around to getting my own after he informed me THAT THEY HAVE A WHOLE SECTION OF METHUEN GEAR AT RITE AID. a little bit tongue in cheek and a whole lot of dead serious (most of you know how obsessed with methuen i am). last week, he came over to conquer a million mario worlds for us on the wii and brought me my own sweatshirt. it was seriously one of the nicest things that a man that i'm not married to has ever done for me. thanks pat! i'll wear the sweatshirt with pride!

also, daily emails from this mama keep me sane!

and finally, my friend C. left me the best message on my phone the other day- which was something like "hi, i'm going through my old shit from college and found a whole bunch of hippie clothes...and i want to give them to you!". best.message.ever. can wait to get my mitts on some new hippie digs! because according to the kids "mom, you wore that yesterday. actually, you wear that EVERY day."



have you been the recipient of any random acts of kindness lately?

best.

we've been snowed in for a couple of days. so there's been lots of superman. lots of hot cocoa. lots of lentil soup. lots of super mario. lots of shoveling and lots of snuggling. pretty much the best week ever.

"normal" life

it's so awesome to have a "normal" life finally!

right now johnny and i are sitting here, listening to gansta rap on our computers. we are drinking cup after cup of french press coffee. two kids are at school and lulu is sleeping. we are sitting here on a monday, just being in each other's company, being married! it's weird and cool. john being gone for five months was whacked and hard, but also the ultimate lesson in being completely independent and self-sufficient. and the best part is that now that he's home, everything is a bonus! i can just sit back and appreciate these little moments of normalcy, when i look over and ask him what he wants for dinner, and then when dinner time rolls around we all sit around the table and eat as a family. i am so proud for johnny making the leap, changing our lives, being brave, and thinking big. even though we have the most crazy, unnormal life around, it's the closest thing we've ever come to normal and i love it!

now off to dance to rap songs about dungeon dragons!

xx

my message to the universe

or send me to bed, thank you very much.

xx

reminder to myself

dear nina,

love,
nina

well filling, fanny cheeks, and hippie perfume.

i'm totally digging the vibe of the new year! i've been painting like a mad woman (although my front porch studio is COLD!), reconnecting with friends, and filling up my well. now that johnny is home (more than ever!), i actually have time to go out to dinner with friends like sweet mama al. we were like total grownups and sat down for a real dinner and drinks WITHOUT OUR SIX CHILDREN. it was incredible. and you know you have a real friend when you can go shopping for seaweed and sponges and rub and spray every hippie perfume in the whole place on yourself. and we wondered why we were getting the stink-eye!

how random is it that my only goal for 2011 was to buy and use a french press? seriously, i've been wanting one forever and they are so cheap so the other day (after spending some time with some other friends and their precious baby boy) we went to the store and bought one, along with some yummy beans. so now it's smooth sailing for the rest of the year- no goals, nothing to do! ;) just kidding--- 2011 is going to rock the fanny cheeks, i just know it.

i am looking forward to having somewhat of a real life again- the five gilberts reunited, mama with free time. so if i haven't seen you in the past 6 months, hit me up to hang out! you know i miss you.


so what's been filling your well? do tell. xx

the important things for the new year

taking the time to notice

clearing out the old

listening

sitting still

breathing deep

meditating

perspective

creating art

voracious reading

family

sacred moments

nourishment

naked fannies.

xx