The Internet Gripith

So this is what has happened...I finally joined Facebook about two weeks ago after resisting with every ounce of marrow in my core. For those who don’t know (“Hi Dad!”) it’s that social networking site that, without warning, shoves you right back into ones childhood of passed notes (“Will you go with me? Yes…no…maybe. Check one.”), roller skating with your crush, science fair mishaps, skipping school to swim in a boyfriend’s pool, weekend campouts, high school days, college days…you get the idea. Thankfully my rendezvous with Facebook was like a summer romance. Initially I was wooed, excited and smitten. I hadn’t seen nor heard from SO MANY PEOPLE from my past and it’s been amazing to reconnect but, as I hoped, I don’t feel the need to constantly lurk and post comments and such. I am grateful to now have this huge virtual rolodex and a way to reach out to everyone, make plans for visits and catch up on the last 20+ years. It is remarkable to see how everyone has aged, how some people changed so drastically and some barely at all. And let’s not forget their own children, the offspring of tin foil apple core bong makers and once drunken water skiing slalom competitors.

Oh, and I just joined Twitter last night. Let the wild rumpus start!

Yesterday was a much deserved day off after the success of a huge Mardi Gras condo topping off event I coordinated in downtown Austin the day before. I decompressed while doing yard work and W deemed it warm enough to do this…























Love Texas in February.

Topsy Turvy

Hello. Sorry to leave you with a week and then some of Har Mar but it has been cah-razy up in here. What I need is some serious balance, a notion so eloquently mentioned recently by Karla May. Reading her post made it clear to me that I, too, need some balance ‘cause lately it’s been like this…



I read the Wall Street Journal most days but lately it’s been difficult because I’m completely distracted by all of the doom and gloom headlines that riddle each page. Here is a short list from today…

-job losses soar
-explosives proliferate
-steep drop in demand
-hopes against hope
-boom falls hard in global crisis
-posts record drop
-losing streak
-more plants at risk

Makes it challenging to take on the day with a spring in your step knowing the road to success is seriously eroded right now. At least the Hubs and I have no fear of losing our jobs because we are self-employed but our risks are great ones and the task every day is to gain new clients (in my case) or book another strong gig (in his case). Creating some balance is essential so that in the midst of our hard work no one is left out, we don’t overlook our own personal needs and the needs of others and we focus on what matters in our little world. Yes, balance it is.

And for the extended family, here are some pics of the sprout in all his growth spurt glory...

Har Mar

Y'all, the Hubs just called to say he wrote a song with Har Mar Superstar today. "Har Who?" I asked.

Check it. He's my new dance partner. Rowr!

Catching My Breath

Spent a long, relaxing weekend with family outside of Big D. Mucho fun-o until the rancid jalapeno hot dog weiners invaded the bodies of my mom and her boyf. Ugly scene, folks. My little bro, who is an EMT, made the living room look like an ER with mom hooked up to an IV and meds scattered about. Yikes. Those weiners were the only thing the kiddo and I didn't eat. Whew!

Today. Today it was very quiet in the house. Eerily quiet. The tot spent the day at school, the Hubs is out of town. My brain, however, was not quiet. It was a whirly dervish of activity, concerns, ideas, chaos. If you could mic my brain matter it could easily be mistaken for a morning on Wall Street. The new event planning business is great but I never leave the office. Never. And thanks to my iPhone, I, again, never leave the office. I work constantly, at all hours because I can, because my office is in my house or on my phone wherever I am and I can’t help but look at my emails 5,000 times a day. I like my boss though. She’s cool with watching taped episodes of Bourdain in the morning while drinking carrot juice in her pajamas and tries her best not to check email and send out inquires and other correspondence for 5 freakin’ minutes. Impossible. Oh, and another small gift of being your own boss? Last minute opening at hair salon means you can get you butt in there pronto! Last time I got my hair did? October. Good-bye roots! Hello colored hair shafts that stand at attention!

(So I’ve been trying to write this for the last 25 minutes but the dog and child have been rough housing and it’s very distracting like “Godzilla in your living room” distracting. I think it’s good for both of them to play, wear each other out until…until W gets “hurt” and gets as mad as a hornet's nest and chases poor Ruby Tuesday like he’s going to skin her alive but instead gives up and breaks down in tears of frustration and exhaustion. And you know what I do? I yell at both of them because blogging is hard, people! I yell loud enough for folks in Mexico to hear me and I am not proud of myself. I have to go hug both of them now.)

Hello.

Working like a beaver here (Speaking of beaver, I remember when I was about 12 and living in far east Texas, my best friend’s dad has a CB radio in his RV. We would hang out there, drink pink champale we swiped from her mom's secret booze hiding place and eat our way to the bottom of a hot sauce jar and bag of tortilla chips. That was pretty cool but the best part was talking on the CB to truckers. We never said dirty or bad things to them mainly because we didn’t know how to talk that way yet but we did say these two things often, “Breaker one nine for a west bound, you got an east bound a-lookin.” and “Hey, any you truckers want a commercial beaver…come back.” We had NO idea what a commercial beaver was.) Seems some event planning business has come my way along with a lovely little sponsorship sales position for this sweet film fest . We are currently looking for all sorts of sponsors for the 5 day hoo-ha so if anyone is interested, drop me a line and I’ll send you one of the most impressive decks I’ve ever seen. Will make you want to jump right in pronto. The work has encouraged me to start my own business so I’m going thru the motions of getting it all set up. VERY exciting and momma totally needs some scratch y’all. Plus I LOVE planning and participating in events, parties, shindigs, whatever you got. It’s in my blood and I feel blessed to be here. The timing is perfect as well.

W is going through some super-duper hardheaded phase that makes me want to send him to boarding school. Is there such a thing as a boarding school for belligerent tots? How about baby boot camp? Seriously, his scowls, pursed lips, folded arms and defiant attitude is making momma nutters. I thought backtalk happened at 16 not 3? Much too early for this nonsense. He does have his unbearably sweet moments where he “wubs” me and says, “I want to give you a big hug” and goodies like that but, man, he’s been a little challenging lately. Please tell me it’s temporary.

Oh, the other day the Hubs and I made la bomba shrimp and corn salad. This is serious goodness with the right collaboration of flavors, textures and color. I like to add chopped tomato, too. This is not a meal we would eat with friends because we literally stuff it in our faces like participants at a pie eating contest. There's just something about it. Give it a try for sure.

Unloading

I’m unloading baby stuff these days, putting it on Craigslist and giving it away. It’s been hard to finally come to terms with the fact that we aren't going to make a sibling for W. Three is enough though and I’m finally starting to believe it. Folding his tiny clothes into little piles and sniffing his soft toys for hints of his former infant self has been a little heart wrenching to say the least. Many reasons guided us to our decision like the fact that I turn 40 soon and don’t want to put career-oriented goals on hold again AND W is finally starting to bond with the Hubs. The thought of the possibility of another 3 years of mommy-centricity like W exhibited is unbearable. And don’t get the wrong idea, this isn’t all my decision. The Hubs has some thoughts on it, too, like he’ll be on the road and I’d be the one juggling two kiddos while running a business. Ummm…no thanks. W’s just going to have to be okay with Jelly Cat as his constant and floppy sidekick. Maybe he’ll create an imaginary friend. I never had one of those. Way too many Barbies and stuffed animals around when I was a girl. Oh, and tons of pets. I mean, ridiculous amounts of four-legged, two legged and no legged creatures. So for now and always, we are 3 plus a dog.

Recently I was thinking of some of my favorite things around the house these days. I thought I’d share them. Feel free to mention your own favs.















-A giant faux black sable blanket (not my chair pictured). Love this thing. It’s huge and weighs a ton. The whole family lives beneath it when it’s cold out. Almost the perfect substitute for a fireplace, almost.
















-Voluspa Floraison Linden Blond Tabac Perfume (whew, that’s a mouthful). Have worn it for years and people often ask me about it. Smells nice without being obtrusive.

















-My black Dearfoam house shoes. LOVE them and have gone through many pairs. I have this thing where I loathe walking around the house (any house) barefoot. Never do it. Don’t like random floor crunchies sticking to them.














-Illume pineapple cilantro scented candles.

















-Favorite coffee mug that has a ghost on it that says, “boo.” That’s what my dad has always called me since I was little.
















-The pictures and W’s art on the fridge. Very special to me.
















-Cannot live with out my daily dose of SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic. I’m not aging without a fight.
















-Soft Soap Pomegranate body wash. Awesome and cheap, especially if you by it at the Dollar store.

That's all on the list for now. Twas a very long, busy day. Time to get the tot to bed and head that way myself. Goodnight.

We All Live In A Yellow Submarine

In our household I try to make an effort to speak kindly, to add lilts in my voice to convey friendliness and interest because W is always listening and learning. When my nerves are frayed and I’m about to pack my bags and take advantage of one of those Southwest Airlines “Wanna get away?” promos I really have to make the effort to be nice. I grit my teeth and say the second thing that comes to mind, not the first because the first is cranky, mean, ugly. I have noticed lately since the little fam has been cohabitating in such close and frequent proximity that the Hubs has been expressing himself sweetly and adding the lilt, too, and no longer sounding like his interrupted, mildly interested self. I listen to him talking to W and smile to myself knowing we are all trying our best in this new and unfamiliar situation of constant family-ness. Score one for the home team.

On a daily basis I am entertained by W’s three-year-old dialogue and imagination. His little brain is currently being fed by his all time favorite movie Yellow Submarine. He started watching it on YouTube this summer and then Santa brought him a discontinued copy via Russia (totally pirated and copied it seems). He will watch it three times a day if I allow and there are many random moments where he breaks out in to a Beatles tune from the soundtrack. One recent morning on the way to school and while waiting at a light I hear a small voice in the backseat sing, “All the lonely people. Where do they all come from?” Was very poignant since it’s a corner where the homeless hang and people are waiting on the bus. He usually can’t go from one room to the other without a the soundtrack sung at the top of his lungs…All You Need Is Wub (complete with his hand shaped like a gun minus the trigger and waving around like in the film), Yellow Submarine and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Cwub Band. He still sings Bad To The Bone, too, and it goes something like this…

“On the day I was born, a saw gadder ‘round, gage a white window, joy they bound, dista bow, see da (something, something), they could tell right away-yah I was bad to da bone, bbbbbbbaaauud…” and so on. It’s quite funny. Thank jeebus he’s forgotten about Who Let The Dogs Out. Loathe that song

His curiosities are what leave me completely in stitches. And he won’t let you get away without answering him. Interrogations usually go something like this…

“Mommy, do cats pee outside…yes or no?”
“Mommy, are cookies treats…yes or no?”

So you have to answer or the questioning never ends. The other day this was asked…

Him: “Mommy, what’s guff?”
Me: “Hmmmm…it means attitude” (I know! Lame answer but he caught me off guard.)
Him: “It means you’re wild.” (He has said in the past that Gogo, his grandma, gives him guff. Yep, she’s pretty wild.)

Good times in the Chaos household. It’s dang cold out today which really confuses things since it was in the 80’s on Sunday. Tonight’s menu is my favorite turkey chili recipe with unsweetened chocolate and cinnamon. Yes, it totally rules. The last batch of peanut butter “thigh thickening” cookies are in the oven, too. It smells like Mrs. Field’s up in here. Oh, and I’m on day 5 of the “no alcohol allowed” wagon ride. Yippee! Am going to totally blow it when I fall off on Jan. 11th at a formal little dinner we’re attending. Oh yes, I am.

Bring It On

Hello 2009. Sure am glad you’re here. I was just about fed up with 2008 already so good timing.

A photostream of some of our pics from 2008 have been added to the “W’s Work” link on the right. I couldn’t figure out how to make the 2008 pics their own little space. Oh well. BTW all of the images were taken with my iPhone. Damn thing is the shizzle.

I obviously didn’t resolve to blog everyday hence no January 1 or 2 write up so the pressure is off. I will however attempt to blog as often as possible and I’m sure there will be much to fuss about, much to applaud, and even more to drink to in the coming year. Since I’m not bringing home the bacon right now we’ve cut back on our snobby wine clubs and wine bar splurges so I’m considering stomping my own grapes in the clawfoot tub downstairs. Hell, the blackberry jelly many of you got for Christmas turned out fine, right? I do have a couple of irons in the fire though and some direction on a little personal endeavor so we’ll see how it all goes. I don’t think we’ll be in the poor house anytime soon. If it starts to look that way though will you all buy my homemade hooch? I think I’ll call it “Catherine The Grape” named after my toenail polish.

Ick

Nothing says Merry Christmas more than taking goodies to the elderly couple next door and realizing you've got a candy cane stuck to your ass after the fact.

True story.

Bah Humbugger

What I’ve done already today because I’m insane:

-Started packing for a trip tomorrow
-4 loads of laundry
-Painted a huge spot repaired two years ago in the breakfast nook
-Hung 3 new framed pics, one of the Hubs xmas gifts
-Vacuumed living room
-Showered and finally shaved leg forest
-Baked a loaf of bread
-Loaded the dishwasher and ran

Left to do:
-Prep food for tonight
-Bathe and flea dog
-Bathe W
-Figure out what to wear tonight and tomorrow
-Finish packing
-Oil change car

You know what I’d like to be doing? Nothing. No wait, I’d rather be hanging with friends, drinking holiday cocktails, stuffing myself stupid with foodstuffs, kissing under the mistletoe, playing board games or charades, etc. Sigh.

W is so stoked about Santa coming tonight and we’ve used the bearded fable as a way to discipline him by saying he doesn’t want to be on Santa’s bad boys and girls list, get coal in his stocking (“What’s coal, mommy?), etc. After the holiday passes I’m wondering how I’m going to get the great results I’ve been getting for the last few months? I don’t think the threat of a baby new year, a cupid or the Easter bunny will have any affect on him. Guess I’ll go back to the flyswatter.

Happy holidays y’all.

Sloth and Gluttony

I sit in the kitchen surfing the net and reading the New York Times online while the Hubs hovers in the soft glow of his laptop at the dining room table. W is on the couch watching Monster Jam clips on my iPhone. We are disgustingly high tech and fully engaged here. Jazz music plays in the background and heated dry air billows from the vents as it has once again gotten cold outside. We don’t have many plans today which is as a Sunday should be. Tuscan kale soup is on the lunch menu and tuna will be on our dinner plates later. All is well.

DO YOU EVER…

-Dress in the morning and think to yourself, “I’m looking really good…rowr,” only to pass by the full length mirror later in the day and think, “Ugh, I look like hell! What was I thinking?”

-Consider pinning a note to your child that says, “Merry Christmas, I’m yours!” and sending him/her to the elderly couple living next door?

-Think back to the time when you were pissed that you could stick one pencil between your butt cheek and your thigh and it stayed but now you can stick a whole package back there and it stays?

-Wish that all of your bras didn’t need to be padded?

-Hope that Benicio del Toro will call you on the phone because he “needed to hear your voice?”

-Think you sing really, really well…in the shower?

-Pretend you are talking on your cell phone or turn to talk to your child in the back seat while the homeless guy tries to wash your windshield?

-Hide somewhere in the house and jump out and scare the beejeebus out of a family member?

-Pop open the perfume inserts in magazines and lay them about while flying on an airplane and sitting next to someone with body odor?

-Wave to the security camera in stores or at the ATM?

-Answer a question with a question and keep doing it?

Yeah, me neither.

Holi-Daze

Thanks to the unwavering desire of my son we start each and every day watching Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. It used to be my all time favorite holiday show and now, well, let’s just say I’d love to have that little effer’ on my dinner table come Christmas eve, red nose and all. W’s seen it so many times now I can leave the sound almost all the way down. He’s pretty much memorized all of the dialogue. When the show came on several weeks back I looked forward to watching it with him and the moment when the not so scary abominable snow monster roared his menacing roar and poked his head out from behind the cardboard icebergs, scaring the beejeebus out of W. Now he just yells at him and tells him he’s not so scary without teeth. He sings the theme song, adlibbing all the way through while including decorations on our tree…”you could even say it glows like the star and the red car and the purple ball and the snow man…” Too much of what was once a good thing is now as bad as fruit cake. I guess I could erase the program from the DVR listings but I really don’t want to start my day by thinking of what cocktail goes best with French toast.

Back in November I bought several boxes of gingerbread houses to give to the ankle biters in the family to take home and put together. W and I talked at length about how we would decorate our first edible dwelling. We ooohed and ahhhed over the image of the one on the box and marveled at the detailing. There was even a video we could watch online to aid us in our construction. Much to my chagrin after much waiting and dreaming I opened the box to find that both of the roof pieces were broken. We were gung ho about the operation so we both agreed we’d forge ahead and mend our roof with the more than adequate amount of icing included. W watched me put up the walls of the sugary structure but that was about the extent of his participation. All he really wanted was to eat the smaller pieces laying about. I let him eat the snowman and soon after he was sitting on the couch watching a show as I hammered away at this fading holiday moment. He showed just about as much interested while (not) helping me decorate the tree a few weeks back. He sat his tiny butt on the sofa and periodically remarked, “Hey mommy, that’s beautiful!” or “Hey mommy, that’s so pretty!” Totally hands off, totally like his dad. So the gingerbread house was a bust as you can see.
















We’ve really gotten in to hibernation mode in the purple house. Ever since the first cold snap several weeks back it’s been hard to stay out from under many various blankets thrown here and there. When the sun goes down we all eyeball the stairs in anticipation of racing up them to the snuggly nest above. We don’t encourage W to sleep with us but his tiny furnace of a body is welcomed these chilly nights. Thank goodness we don’t have a fireplace or we’d me MIA all winter’s long.

Table For One

Do you know what “bliss” is these days (I’m referring to the days that currently label me as stay-at-home mom and assistant to a very busy/disorganized husband)? “Bliss” is going to the Dollar General store ALONE and having a long lunch at your friendly neighborhood Mexican restaurant ALONE. By the way, the money saving tip of the day is to visit your neighborhood Dollar General store for many of the things you pay full price for at your regular full price paying haunts. They’ve got tons of cheap stuff, some pretty neat stocking stuffers for the kiddos and there’s usually never anyone in the place. Never mind the surly checkout girl in the blinding yellow vest or the poor homeless fella who you wished was hanging out by the air fresheners and not the trash bag isle where the low priced Hefty Cinch Sacks are that you need. I got in the habit of frequenting the Dollar General in Marfa where the tunes were great and the staff was super-friendly. Besides there wasn’t another option in town for brooms, Matchbox Cars and curtains.

The restaurant I go to has two televisions programmed to the same station. I like this because they are in Spanish and I try to keep up but mostly I marvel at the skimpy outfits these incredibly attractive Latinas are wearing as they host their talk shows. Their teeth are as white as marshmallows and their grins, huge. That’s almost as distracting as their figures and fashion choice of the day. I look past them at the other people on the set, usually some sort of fly girls in equally skimpy clothing and one or two additional male hosts, and everyone acts like this sexiness is totally normal, that a bare midriff and tatas up to there with those lipsticked porno mouths is normal and I think that’s SO rad. And if I was that hot, I’d totally dress like that, too.

There’s a feeling that almost overwhelms me when I dine alone in the middle of the day. With my book in my hand and my Diet Coke just arms length away, I am just me. I’m not disciplining anyone, not tending to anybody’s needs, not sharing a morsel and it kinda rocks. I don’t even have to look around the room. I’m in my little bubble of lunchtime glee. I switch between reading my book and deciphering what the Latina sex goddess on TV is saying about children in need or something. And that is all. When the waitress comes over to ask if I need anything else I almost say, “A hug.”

I think I need to get out more.

Good Things

W, after being run over by his Bigfoot monster truck, still tends to the needs of his tiny purple ponies and Jelly Cat. Awwwww...

Last night’s dinner and the night before: Wednesday we slurped wintry vegetable soup that the Hubs liked about at much as wearing underwear. I thought it was good but without the toasted crostini topped with goat cheese and chives afloat in the bowl it would’ve been a little too boring. Last night the Hubs pan seared some Hawaiian Orange Nairagi fillets, nuked a couple sweet yellow potatoes and we finished the meal with a beet, goat cheese and spinach salad. Very simple, very good. Tonight we’re warming our innards on rigatoni swimming in hot sausage and fennel. Add to that some crusty bread, a juicy red wine and we’ll be ready for a long winter’s nap.

Today’s money saving tip: Actually I have two…one is to unplug all appliances, etc. that you aren’t actively using to reduce your electric bill. Of course the Hubs forgets about this one and is often waiting for lengthy spells for the water to boil in the electric kettle.












The other tip is to give homemade holiday gifts this year. Yesterday my aunt who lives in nearby Oatmeal demystified the art of canning for me. We made a myriad of jams and a jelly which will be part of my gift giving collection. I am finding an irresistible urge to make goodies from the home and heart this year. Probably the only good thing coming out of this recession for me.

Random thoughts: I wondered the other night while putting a Spongebob Squarepants band-aid on my thumb after slicing it open with a serrated bread knife why, before I had my son, didn’t I ever stock my bathroom shelves with whimsical band-aids? They actually make me feel a little bit better than putting on one of the nondescript flesh toned stickies.

I’ve always wanted the smell of my laundry to be the envy of friends and family but thus far to no avail. Downey without a doubt reminds me of my Granny so I can’t use that one. I like being periodically reminded of her when I stand downwind of someone’s softened threads. I remember hearing on NPR about a recently completed documentary on wives of deceased soldiers who anxiously awaited their husband’s garments from the front lines so they could bury their noses in the essence of their flesh only to find everything had been previously washed and smelled like Tide. How heartbreaking.

W just peed on my jeans because I forgot to place his front-end business in the proper place while he pooped. Nice.

Happy Friday everyone!

iLove

Before I went to Marfa I purchased an iPhone. I needed the reliable AT&T service down in the bowels of Texas. I don’t think the Sprint folks even know that part of Texas exists because I could never get service via them with my old phone. I also needed a way to be able to keep in contact with everyone involved with the project out there while roaming the 8+ acres and neighboring towns. One of the best features of the phone is the YouTube icon which is W’s favorite. He easily figured out how to manipulate each screen to get to the YouTube option and can now waste many hours watching video after video of monster jam action. This comes in handy when meals at restaurants get too long or I have a lengthy grocery store list to fulfill. The down side is that all of the videos he likes come with really bad clips of music that have now lodged in W’s large noggin’ and he sings them all in succession many times a day. They are George Thorogood’s “Bad To The Bone”, Baha Men’s “Who Let The Dogs Out”, AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” and some horrible teen angst tune about not wanting to live. It’s bad enough that W’s vocabulary is laced with monster truck names like Grave Digger, El Toro Loco, Monster Mutt, Predator, and Backdraft (among many others) but then you toss in those little scores sung aloud by a three-year-old and I am often just inches away from that “drinking in the closet thing” I’ve written about before. In W’s room there is no less than 20-25 monster trucks and lately he’s been asking for Santa to bring him a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer monster truck. Santa better get on that one pronto.

I never owned an iPod prior to the one on the iPhone and it has just about changed my life. Wherever we are I can dial in W’s sleepy time music to ease him into dreamland. When we go walking I can stick it in my pocket or in the stroller and we’ve got theme music to move to. Of course there’s the ever-popular spontaneous dance party and when the iPod is on shuffle and kicks out a series of the most appropriate tunes I call it the “iPod del Fuego!” Grrrr! It comes in handy on long drives and I have found that I can stick those little white ear buds in my ears and successfully tune out the tot for about 100 miles at a time. Yeay!

Let’s not forget emailing, instant messaging, iMeditate, Spanish Word of the Day, Bright and Beyond Preschool Playtime Activities, iMoods, and that every popular camera feature. This is something else W has mastered on the iPhone. He has quite the eye for a knee high budding photographer and has captured some great images. Take a look here and in the top right corner of the blog. Cool, no?

Leftovers

Last night's dinner: leftovers from Friday night which was Eggplant and Spinach Lasagne Spirals. I’ve been making these since the recipe came out in 2002. It’s very time consuming but well worth the effort and the presentation is unique for lasagne.



Today's money saving tip: shop at your neighborhood Goodwill. I spent about an hour there today combing through the kids clothes. Thank goodness the music they pipe in is decent because the place has the odor of neglect and abuse and makes it hard for me to breathe. I did find some great shirts and long johns for W for about two bones a piece and scored on a Junk Food brand “I’m A Pepper” t-shirt in my size and in great shape that would normally retail for about $20. Let me say that the young girls clothing selection is the best and so are the newborn options because infants wear their stuff for like 7 minutes before they’ve outgrown it so at Goodwill that stuff is in superb shape. Take some time on your lunch break, put on some scented lipgloss to mask the stale air there and dig in. I bet you’ll find something you can’t live without.

So since I’m not working and the Hubs is now home we’re getting to spend much more time together. This is both good and bad. This morning it was nice to drop off the tot at school together and then head to town lake to walk for about an hour with the dog but you would’ve never guessed the Hubs was going to be my athletic partner in crime. He was wearing his super skinny pencil leg jeans with Doc Martins as ankle weights and his rocker looking Ray Bans. I had to beg him to leave his bajillion dollar leather jacket behind because, seriously, I didn’t want to exercise with Johnny Cash. Towards the end of the hike I was certain his hiney was going to flame up from the friction he was complaining about back there. Good times with more to come.

Here are some pics from our days in Marfa...

The Long And Winding Road

It’s time I get back to the self indulgent writing exercise known as blogging. The original intent of profiling my fish bowl existence with W and the Hubs in the beginning was to keep from forgetting all of the good, bad and funny details as they whip by. At W’s ripe old age of 3, I’m finding there’s more fodder than ever before so it’s essential that the documentation continue. I want to have bragging rights when I can’t even remember my own name and have taken up residency at an assisted living compound for rock n roll widows. Question is will I remember the blog URL when I’m 80?

To briefly recap the summer, I reorganized the family unit, abandoned the Hubs and took a job in Marfa, TX, with toddler in tow. 5 months we were gone. It was glorious and challenging and beautiful and strange. I never did get W a nanny (hard to find in a town of 2,000) thus we spent TONS of quality time together. I did get him a lovely Australian Shepherd puppy that he named Ruby Tuesday, after the little cartoon Max & Ruby and the Rolling Stones tune. I needed an additional distraction for W and a new companion for me as well. As the months zoomed by I oversaw the installation of a well, an irrigation system, enough electric to power a small town, a septic system, and demolition of the home on the property. Never did I’d ever dream I’d learn about such things, a complete departure from event planning yet I found many similarities as well. Every day was an event, a chance to learn something new and it got my gerbil on a treadmill of a brain going and growing. W embraced his new surroundings and learned about tarantulas, rattlesnakes, tumbleweeds, yurts, constellations, and all sorts of life-sized construction equipment. He had 8 acres on which to roam and explore. He was never bored. Plus the community in Marfa is a true one in the sense of the word. Everyone rallies and plays together. We constantly cooked out together, ate together, met for drinks often and energized the local grapevine with gossip. In the end though, it was good to finally get off of the proverbial “island” and come home to the Hubs and our lovely home although someday I hope to return and work with those amazing folks again. Our days now are filled with getting re-acclimated, a Tuesday/Thursday school schedule, a Wednesday a.m. art class and playing catch up with the Hubs who left for 3.5 weeks about a week and a half after we returned home from our adventure.

I guess that just about catches us up, doesn’t it? Reach out and ask questions if I’ve missed anything.

Let’s tune in now to real time, where at this very moment W is peddling for his life on this…























A Christmas gift from Gogo and her awesome sig other. It’s called a Smart Cycle and I give it 5 stars. It’s great b/c he can dial it in himself without any parental assistance and he’s getting both physical and mental exercise. Anything that allows him the chance to be independent is cool with me especially since W is still suffering from a serious case of mommy-centricity and loathes being out of my orbit. Completely exhausting.

With time on my hands I have already updated my goals for 2009 list, which I will periodically profile as the New Year approaches and beyond. Writing about the lofty personal expectations will help keep me accountable. In 2008 I proved to myself that if I dream big and put my fears aside I am completely able to navigate through various self-imposed challenges and come out the other end in a much better state than I expected. I mean, that’s all easier said than done, right? I’m ready to do that again times 10 but in a way, I’m starting from scratch with no job at the moment and technically, the Hubs isn’t employed either. His new record doesn’t come out until the spring and who knows what will come of it (but I have high hopes since it TOTALLY RULES!). This a scary place in which to begin.

In the coming blog entries, I will highlight any money saving techniques we’re practicing, kid-friendly craft ideas and what’s on the menu around here. We love to cook and that’s something we’ll always burn our cash on.

So hello to all. It’s good to be back.

Moving Forward (And Happy Earth Day)

Well, we’ve had some nice success getting W to settle in his own bed each night after we read something like 700 books to him. It’s partly my fault since I’m also trying to wean myself from our “snuggling with the Simpson’s” routine. Each book is more time spent with the funny little love bug. He awoke the other morning minutes after 5 a.m. (yeah, I was hatin’ it) talking on and on about flying on airplanes where “they give you cookies and they give you crackers and they give you toys.” Oh, how I wished at that moment he was actually on said plane and not babbling on with the sunrise two long hours away. But I’m acclimating myself as I mentally prepare for many days of very much quality time with him when we move. I mean, I’ll secure a nanny for sure when we get there but ultimately it’s just me and him and sometimes the Hubs when he can make it out. I’m preparing a photo album for him of our house here, friends from school and family members so we can talk about them everyday. I’m putting an Art Box together for him so we can have creative time often. I envision our house off Hwy 67 covered in his genius, which is purely fitting since Marfa is an art mecca. Maybe I’ll host an art opening for W’s new friends there and they can come check out his work while sipping juice boxes, munching on Veggie Booty and listening to Of Montreal sing “I Want To Have Fun”. Yeah, we’re gonna fit right in.

Tomorrow is my last day at the office. Today my officemates surprised me with a plastic bucket filled with sunscreen, bug bite meds, baby wipes, a sewing kit, a map of Texas with the route between here and there highlighted, band aids, a flashlight with a blinking “Find Me” LED and an Us Weekly. Several things I can take off my shopping list now.

Heading out of town on Thursday to go suss out the details of our journey to come. Finally get to see the state of the job site, see the house where we will be living and finally come up with a timeline for all. Let’s get this party started already.

Regrowth

Yesterday the Hubs picked up W from school and I had the chance to do whatever I wanted to do when I got off work (go to Target! shoe shopping! Sephora! read!) but instead I went home and pulled weeds until my fingers cramped. The early evening was cloudy, a bit breezy, perfect weather to hunker down in the beds and dig. But it was more than digging and tugging and cursing the gnarly roots. I was deep in thought, buried in curiosities, fears, excitement and responsibilities of the weeks to come. It was blissful and I look forward to my next adventure providing me the many opportunities to work and think, work and reflect, work and enjoy instead of being twisted up about a five mile traffic jam, a long line at the post office, or a person driving out of turn at my neighborhood 5-way stop. Yeah, that one really gets in my crawl. I will be forced to slow down and really smell the yucca (while keeping an eye out for snakes and loose dogs and scorpions). Really can’t wait.

On the home front we are trying to correct a wrong that we thought was oh so cute and convenient (i.e. we were being lazy) and get our son to sleep at a reasonable hour IN HIS OWN BED. It all happened by default, thanks to Miss Jo who came over last night bearing gifts. After dinner, the conversation spun to W’s sleeping habits and she very matter of factly said you need to put him to bed between 8 and 9 and Hubs why don’t you do it now or something like that. I cringed inside knowing W hadn’t really eaten his dinner but there’s no time like the present, right? Books were read, PJs were donned and protests were heard. The Hubs finally emerged from the bedroom as W whipped himself in a frenzy that lasted half an hour (or what seemed like an eternity for me) before he was quiet, exhausted by his efforts to get someone's attention. Miss Jo hung around until it was over probably knowing full well that I would’ve gone in to his room to rescue him and be the hero. W slept through the night if you consider “waking at 5 a.m. and ready to get the day started” sleeping through the night. But I’m committed to making this work and the Hubs is committed to being the bedtime person and I will pick up the slack when he’s not home. Besides our relationship could use a shot in the arm and having that evening time together is just what Miss Jo ordered.