Tuesday Lovin': Three of My Favorite Blog Posts EVER

Gratuitous BabyM photo,
 by Kristi Lloyd  Photography

In 8 years of blogging and Internet-time-wasting, I've read a lot of blog posts. Inspirational ones, funny ones, useful ones, not-so-useful ones. In the weird way that ideas converge, I was thinking about doing a post on my favorites, and a Facebook friend randomly mentioned one of them today, in a completely unrelated discussion. So I had to write this post - it was destiny, right?

I can't pinpoint exactly *why* these posts stuck with me over all these years. Two of these bloggers have consistently excellent posts, and the third is someone I don't read regularly, but his (?) post is just so ridiculously awesome that I have it bookmarked for when I want to laugh.

Tea & Cookies Kitchen Gift Guide

My friend S posted this link on Facebook a couple of years ago. I was home on maternity leave with BabyT so I had a lot of time to click links and read them. I now own and USE nearly every single item on her list - they are *that* useful. She hooked me with her lovely writing and all the stories that went with the gadgets. 

I think of it every time I use my fabulous green plastic spoon (and I'm thinking of buying another!).  I panicked in early 2010 when I was looking for the post, because I couldn't remember where I had seen it, and my fabulous friend S found it for me again. :)

AskMoxie: What Would Have Kept You in Your Job?

I knew once T was born that I would be happy to become a stay-at-home mama. Right as I was returning to work from maternity leave, I read this post (wistfully).  This post encapsulates the brilliance of Moxie's blog -  the comments are a goldmine of information from parents all over the world.  I read her regularly, but this particular post stuck with me, for its anecdata of what everyone would need to make their jobs more compatible with family life. A few commenters discussed why they still worked.  

A close second was the one describing the Newborn Witching Hour. I bookmarked it to try solutions for both of my babies. It didn't fix the problem, but made me feel a lot better about The Crazy that descended on our house for those few weeks each time. 

littera_abactor: I Has a Sweet Potato

This is the post that came up in discussion on Facebook today. I cannot articulate how much I love this. Anyone who has an always-hungry dog will understand. It makes me laugh out loud every single time I read it, so I keep it bookmarked. If you're not a dog person, you won't get it. Here are some cute baby photos instead.

Enjoy, and drop me links if you have a super favorite somewhere in Internet land.

Project Life 2013: Space Needle Wedding Letterpress Style

I finished this layout last night and it was hard. Nothing was coming together the way I wanted, my handwriting was terrible, and I messed up some journaling cards that I loved. Sigh. That's the way of creativity, right?

I've learned that if something is bothering me on a layout (or any creative project) that time won't fix it. That thing will *always* bother me, every time I see it. So now I know to listen to my intuition and fix it. Maybe that means I have to completely re-do something, but it also means the end result will be pleasing to me.

So last night when I was working on it, I struggled. I was anxious to get it done before bed so I could blog about it today. But I wasn't in a state of "flow". Every pocket was hard-won. But I'm fairly happy with the results.

I used the lovely letterpress invitation from Allison's baby shower as inspiration for the color scheme, then gathered up matching journaling cards from Studio Calico, the new Me and My Big Ideas line from Michael's (love those things!), and the new striped vellum paper I got at Daiso, the awesome Japanese dollar store we have downtown.  I've also been making a more conscious effort to use my stamps rather than just collecting them.

These pages cover our Big Outing to ride the Seattle Monorail and go up to the observation deck on the Space Needle, our friends M & T's wedding, and multiple trips to local parks thanks to our stunning weather.

I made some progress in figuring out my printing issues from Adobe Lightroom - I set Lightroom to manage the color instead of the printer, and now the photos are brighter and more true to what I see on-screen.  I still need to tweak the settings, but am much happier with the results now. (Click for larger images.)

Apr 22 - May 5: Wedding, Space Needle, Parks

Apr 22 - May 5: Babies & Penguins

Here's a slide show of my 2013 pages, including close-ups.  If you can't see it, click here to view my entire 2013 Project Life gallery.

We live our lives on a feeling

PaleoBaby

I think I've written this same post 5 or 6 times over the past 8 years I've been blogging.  (8 years!).  I read a post by Cathy Zielske that's been rolling around in my head.  She's struggled with the hard work of losing weight and getting healthier, and her therapist-type person told her that she:

simply keep(s) this a problem in my life because it allows me to act like a child and indulge every whim rather than do what is needed, which is to feed my body healthy, nutrient dense food in appropriate amounts and to exercise.

My first thought was "damn, she's paying someone to say mean things to her?!".  And then my second thought was "Huh, I think that applies to me too."

I'm smart.  I know what I need to do to lose weight (a staggering amount, after this second pregnancy).  I am lucky enough to even know *exactly* how I need to eat, and that I will feel *incredible* when I eat the right things and get just a little bit of exercise.  

For me and my PCOS, diabetes-family-history self, the Paleo diet works best.  Doing the Whole30 back in Oct 2011 was really transformative for me - I had a TON of energy, needed only 7-8 hours of sleep, and felt mentally clear and just *ready* for whatever life was going to bring.

So who wouldn't keep doing it, with those fabulous results? It would be stupid to stop, right?  But I did. It was a gradual process, and I've still kept some good habits, so it's not a total loss.  But it started with just one plate of French toast, and continued down the slippery slope of "I've got 2 little kids now and I'm starving and the Taco Time drive-through is easy."  

I was angry about having a restricted diet and felt that with all the transitions in my life lately, I "deserve" to eat what I want.  But I'm a grownup.  I'm in charge, and making the choices.  I shouldn't feel like "someone" is forcing me to eat healthy against my will.

I'm not a person for whom "everything in moderation" works.  I need ironclad rules.  I also HATE food journaling with a passion.  Whole30 and on a larger scale, Paleo, meets all these needs. No counting, no hunger, and all the (sustainably, humanely sourced) bacon a girl can eat.

I am starting fresh today with my second Whole30.  So if you see me in person, help a girl out.  Don't bring me cake or ask if I want to see the dessert menu.  And most definitely do not order me a diet Coke if we're meeting for lunch.  

I feel good about this.  I'm mentally ready to do what's right for me.  I know it's going to be hard, especially at weekend breakfasts out.  But I do not want to arrive at my 40th birthday (looming!) still fighting with myself about weight and wishing things were different.  So here's to DOING.

Wordless Wednesday: The Chubbers Has Delicious Feet

Crazy 8

Today TJ & I have been married for 8 years.  Our marriage is the same age as a 3rd grader.  He explained to T that an anniversary is "the birthday of our marriage".  His simple yet accurate explanations are just one of the many things I think are awesome about him.

I made a little photo collage and discovered that I don't have a single photo of us together in 2008.  (Click for a larger version.)

In true tired parent form, neither of us remembered our anniversary until a few days ago. Since my parents will be in town soon, I'm looking forward to planning our first date night since BabyM was born.  Yes, it's really been that long since we went out alone together.  It's complicated when BabyM will only nurse to sleep. At least now her bedtime is fairly predictable, and she mostly can settle herself back to sleep if she wakes before midnight so we may be able to squeeze in a nice dinner somewhere fairly close to home.

One of the things I loved about M & T's wedding last weekend was how they involved all the guests in the hand-fasting, and asked us to affirm our support for their marriage.  It was similar to the Guest Affirmation in our own ceremony 8 years ago.  

In honor of 8 years, here are 8 things I am grateful for in our marriage:

1. He is an equal partner in our home life.

2. We made some nice babies. 

3. He will watch the crappy TV shows I like (Law & Order, Gray's Anatomy, Glee)

4. We are both introverts, so we understand each others' need for alone time.

5. Babies love to sleep on him.

6. He fixes things when they break, when my "solution" would be to throw it away and get a new one.

7. He's always up for a trip to Canlis.

8. Our travel "personalities" are well-matched, ie. we're homebodies who enjoy a big trip every few years.

I still marvel to myself how lucky I am to have found someone who suits me so well. 16-year-old me would have thought it was crazy if you said she'd marry that "mysterious older guy" she was crushing on.  

Life is pretty amazing sometimes.