Mini Saga #2 -- Baby "Six"

Baby "Six"

Little Sis opened the Christmas package to find a new baby doll. Nana asked what the baby's name was. "Six," said Sis and the name has stuck. Big D commandeered another baby doll that he insists is "Seven." Where are "One," "Two," "Three," "Four" and "Five?" No one is talking . . . 

Happy, Happy Camera Day

My first photography class was this Wednesday at the local community college. I was terribly intimidated by the first rate digital cameras and the aspirations (mostly professional) of the other students. We introduced ourselves and our camera. My poor baby camera . . . I felt like I needed to apologize for its simple point and shoot functions. And whereas the other students wanted to "improve" their photography skills and ultimately use them professionally, I just want to take beautiful pictures of my family, develop a more creative/design -orientated eye and use my photos in various media projects (blog, albums, print, etc.). It's about enrichment and personal satisfaction for me. Rebutting the story I have of myself as an inept artistic soul. 

The teacher is an older man who has been a professional photographer for decades. He is kind and understanding and optimistic that we can learn what he has to offer. I was excited about all that I could learn and disappointed when I realized my camera could not keep up with the assignments and projects. It has no manual functions whatsoever so I can not adjust shutter speed, aperture, etc. all of which were crucial to the very FIRST assignment. When I came home, I'm embarrassed to say, I sat at the table and when asked how class went, cried. My poor baffled husband. It seemed that my options were to drop the class, take the class and muddle through as best as I and my camera could or . . . and I was afraid to admit this was the solution I wanted - badly! Get a new camera. 

My hubby's response was immediate and unwavering -- get the camera. I love him! It is hard for me to ask for things I want for myself, especially if they are not "functional" and necessary. On his way home from work last night, he picked up a Nikon D60 at Costco and it was waiting on the kitchen table when I got home. I have been pouring through the manual and fiddling and can't wait to begin working  on this week's assignment.  Pics to come soon:) 

Resolutions

Finally, my first "scrapbook" page using Elements. I know you can't actually read it . . . that'll be the next step. Making it bigger without it being "too" big to load. 

I know making resolutions is supposed to be taboo and really, it is. What's the point of resolving to do all these wonderful things for ourselves and others only to fail? Except we never plan on failing! We expect that we will accomplish at least some of the things on our list and if the gods are kind, we'll forget about the others. Fortunate for me, I can already check of #1 and the list itself is proof that I'm working on another. 

Which will be the most difficult for me? The last. I think that feeling rotten about the aesthetics of my body (vs. its relative health) is my "burden to bear." Some sort of self-righteous flagellation. I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy . . . turn away from my horridness. What would happen if I chose to give up this idea of my body as flabby and unattractive and embraced it? God, the earth would quit spinning on its axis! Maybe this is the year the earth will stand still:) 

Mini Saga #1 -- "Pets"

Going back to the book I discussed yesterday, A Whole New Mind, and the 6 senses the author describes . . . You're on the edge of your seat, aren't you:) He describes "story" as an integral means of understanding our world and our experiences. He makes the case that "facts" and "details" are easily managed in our electronic age but that narrative still relies upon our human creativity. Story is not merely objective but also subjective, putting the details into the context of emotional experience. This harkens back to the idea of universal myths -- hero stories and the like. 

This strikes a chord with this defunct high school English teacher and I am inspired to try the exercises he recommends for developing my own sense of "story." Well, I should add the "story" is integral still in my profession -- I listen to and help clients rework their own personal narratives, discovering their strengths and innate abilities to craft a life that is whole and healthy and happy. But I think I am ready to explore more of this "story" ability by writing my own little, mini actually, stories. 

The goal is to write an entire story in 50 words . . . . so here goes my first!

"Pets"

Big D found two adventuring earwigs and made them his pets, dubbing them Charlie and Crystal. He fed them applesauce and stared forlornly at them in their glass cup, complaining, "Mommy won't let me have a dog." Reluctantly he freed the near dead bugs into the backyard grass. Farewell bug pets.

Exploration

The crazy of the holidays is falling behind us and after three long weeks, the tots go back to their normal school/daycare schedules. "Arctic Blast" '08 hit our area the week before school let out for the holidays resulting in a full week of snow days . . . turning a two week break into three weeks. It's beginning to wear a little thin around here. Big D is trying to establish some sort of control over his environment and Sis is just being her 2 year old self. It'll be good for all of us to get back to a routine. 

Despite travel, family and all that comes with Christmas, I managed to read a book that has inspired me to try new things. It is entitled A Whole New Mind: Why Right -Brainers Will Rule the Future by Pink. You  may have heard of this book in an interview that Oprah did with the author both on her program and in the O magazine. His basic premise is that for some time, left-brainers (knowledge workers  such as engineers, programmers, professors, accountants, doctors and lawyers) have been at the top of the food chain but now with automation and outsourcing, these professions (at least in part) can be managed overseas for less. He challenges readers to rethink the value we put on right-brain attributes and strengths and to find ways to develop them, ultimately so that we can find a new place in the changing economy. He makes a compelling argument and fortunately for me, I am in a right-brain field which are defined as those that are service based, help others seek meaning/happiness, creative, design-based and able to synthesize apparently disparate ideas into something new or original. This is not an adequate explanation of the book so I would recommend it -- to anyone, really. It is making me think about what I want to see emphasized in the education of my children, how I want to conceptualize my own private practice (when I get around to getting that started!) and challenging myself to develop more of the right-brain senses which Pink defines as design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning. 

More to come!

Holiday Whirl

If my last blog was a wee bit long in coming, this one is inexcusable. However, I know you'll pardon my slackness since certainly you've been caught up in the chaos that commences with Halloween and barrels on through the New Year festivities. Is it just me, or does it seem as if there is a shorter period of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year? I thought I was being surprisingly proactive by beginning my holiday shopping before T-day and lo and behold, I still feel as if it's possible to be dredging the malls for last minute buys. YUCK! Don't get me started on the sheer hell that it is, at least to me, to be shopping in the last week or so before Christmas. I seriously considered postponing Christmas, or at least the gift opening part of it, until a couple of days AFTER the 25th. Just think of the bargains? But I digress. In brief, let me hit the highlights thus far for holiday season . . . . 

Halloween -- I believe I mentioned in my last entry, a birthday costume party. A long night of frantic and not so skillful sewing produced a cute cowboy uniform for Big D. Hannah wore a recycled chicken costume. They were ADORABLE. Being the graceful and adept family that we are, we were the only ones to be swarmed (maybe not "swarmed" but certainly attacked!) by hornets while out in the field watching the horse . . . Yep, I took two stings for the team but we successfully prevented the kiddos from being stung. On Halloween itself, we had all sorts of unplanned events, including a trip to the pediatrician, so the kids hit a couple of our neighbors' houses and we called it good. 

Thanksgiving -- The big meal was at our home and besides my spouse and offspring, my parents in law were in attendance. It went well -- everything was cooked through, tasted good and seemed enjoyed. AND I don't think I was a complete terror of stress and irritability. Though it's possible that I contained it so well that it was manifested in hives that evening. There could be a totally less psycho explanation:) 

Christmas (the beginnings of) -- Our ritual is to break out the Christmas carols and decor immediately upon stashing the Thanksgiving leftovers. True to form, we had the tree up and the lights on the house by Friday night. On Saturday we took the kids to the Zoo Lights, another tradition, complete with a train ride. And Sunday found the kids building and decorating their first Ginger Bread house with the grandparents. 

Being "crafty" -- as in making stuff -- is also a Christmas ritual for me. I long to be like some of the talented women whose blogs I follow! For example, I love the photos and inspired ideas on Meg's page. Makes me drool! In her entry today, she mentioned wanted to make felt garland so of course I googled that curious idea and found wonderful ideas. The debate is now whether I make my little heart happy cutting and sewing felt circle even though I'm unlikely to get much done before packing up and heading south for Christmas or do I save the idea for next year? I did do a little crafting . . . I made some stockings for the mantle. I really liked these from Pottery Barn Kids, but come on, who can buy these things? So I did my own thing and I'm liking the results -- just need to add some pom-poms to the blue and green stockings. 

On a related note, did I mention my birthday fell during Thanksgiving week? Yes, it did and I was pleasantly surprised to find that all year I had mistakenly believed myself to be 33 years old when in actuality, I just turned 33! I got a whole extra year, people! I mention this because my husband bought me Photoshop Elements for Mac. A whole new level of craftiness is about to commence. I'll post my first attempts at scrapbook pages for your humor:) 

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

My public has been clamoring for an explanation for the long silence on this blog. Well, not really but it kinda makes it more fun to pretend:) 

The explanation I have to offer is LIFE. Just the day to day routines and the few exceptional events that keep one a bit too busy to reflect, at least in blogs. So in a nut shell, here's a few highlights:

1. Since the ill attended garage sale, we have been unable to park in our actual garage as we are storing a crib, couch and various other items there for an indeterminate amount of time. Ideally, we are waiting for prego coworkers to come get some of it and for Goodwill to get the others. Meanwhile, our cats clamor at the backdoor as they have been banned from the garage as well. In retribution, they are leaving furry, muddy paw prints on our vehicles. Fair is fair. 

2. Major overhaul of book storage -- meaning they are no longer in boxes on our bedroom floor and mostly in a new bookcase on our landing/library. Still need to unload a few boxes at Powells and at the academy where I used to teach. Then we are not allowed to purchase any new books as our bookshelf is already FULL. 

3. Finally got around to printing and framing some of the photos taken by our dear friend and professional photographer . . . yesterday when I picked them up at Costco, they had me sign a waiver because CLEARLY, I didn't take these pics.  Should I be flattered or insulted? :) 

4. My parents visited this past weekend for annual pumpkin patch trip and other assorted fun. This was followed by a day off from school for Big D. These two events are paired because MAN, it was a lot of work! Devin had a little buddy spend the day with us as his parents had to work so exit grandparents and enter 5 year old bundle of energy. 

5. This past week at work was INTENSE (I seem to be relying heavily on caps today . . . ) with a very vulnerable, at-risk client. Fortunately by week's end, this client was transferred to a higher level of service. Whew. 

6. And for heaven's sake, my body/hormones are going bonkers. I'll spare you the details except to say perpetual PMS is not a good state to be in!

7. Finally, this little space in which I write this entry, is the calm before the storm. Tomorrow we have a birthday/costume party (still have to make Big D's cowboy costume but don't get me started on that), Harvest Festival and TWO days off from school for Big D and dentist appointments for both kids. Fun, fun, fun. 

I've been wondering, again, what I want to do with this blog. Clearly it is written for myself and my need for self-expression, ya-da ya-da ya-da and etc.  Likely my diligence will come in go in spurts. My family blog and photo albums have been taking precedence as my children race through milestones. I used to scrapbook, pre-children, but since my little rug rats have come along, I simply have not had the time to drag out all the papers, etc. though I still like the overall effect and hands on component of creating pages. I'd like to learn more about computer scrapbooking though for now, I'm happy to create simple photo albums and blogs and have them printed as books. 

Muffins have come out of the oven and this little reprieve is over for now. Adios.