Not a good start/a good start

Already this morning I've had a work phone call where someone yelled at me about events that were beyond my control.  I'm not a big fan of apologizing for things that aren't my fault, but I did anyway.  The only thing under my control is how I react to the situation.  So instead of dwelling on it, I'm taking a deep breath, and posting a picture of something that makes me incredibly happy.

 

Winter CSA share

It's always a little difficult when daylight savings time ends and it starts getting dark at 5:00.  I'm not a huge fan of winter weather, the lack of sunshine, and I definitely prefer summer produce!  But again this year, we've signed up for our CSA's winter share.  And I love it.  Farmer Ted sent the following photos of the greens being harvested.

It's so nice to know where our food is coming from.  We didn't make it this year, but next year we're planning a trip up to the farm!  These once a month deliveries of fruit and vegetables, really help get me through the dark days of winter.

Salty Honey Pie

South Brooklyn Post published this recipe for Salty Honey Pie by Melissa and Emily Elsen.  I've eaten this pie at Four + Twenty Blackbirds, and it is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  I'm so excited to find this recipe online and am looking forward to trying to make it for Thanksgiving.  Yay!!

Salty Honey Pie by Melissa and Emily Elsen
Photo by Joshua Kristal via South Brooklyn Post

A year later

My grandpa, Albert Carlon Nichols, died a year ago today.  (link)  I was thinking this morning about things I am thankful for.  Having him as a part of my life for so long, was such a blessing.  And I feel so lucky that my son was able to meet his great-grandfather.  Grandpa was such a giving, caring, strong, wonderful person, and so full of life.  He was always ready with a joke and a smile.  So today I am both happy and sad.

Boy loves his bike

Avon Walk recap

Last weekend Midge and I walked 39.3 miles with the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.  We also each raised over $2000 in donations.  Today Ben, Arlo and I were walking around in Manhattan and my knee started hurting.  It was killing me last weekend.  So I found myself wondering why the heck I'm considering walking those same 39.3 miles again next year.  ;)

October 15, 2011

These first couple pictures are from the halfway mark and the finish of Day 1.  We officially walked 26.2 miles that day, although I might argue it was longer, plus there's the .9 miles that I walked from the MTA to the opening ceremonies...  We were re-routed to avoid delays with the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations.  Midge and I didn't know each other all that well, but after 2 days and 40 miles, I think she's great!  :)  It was a wonderful experience doing this walk with her.  By around mile 24, I was hurting.  For some reason I hadn't realized we were going to be walking on city sidewalks with all the other yahoos that are in the city on a Saturday!!  I had figured we'd walk the length of the city by the rivers a couple of times and be done with it.  But no.  We walked up the west side, down 9th Avenue, through the West Village, Soho, over the Brooklyn Bridge, back over the Manhattan Bridge, meandered back and forth up the east side.  There was so much pedestrian traffic and so many stop lights that I'm sure we would have been done about 2.5 hours sooner without so much stop and go.  But we made it!! 

October 16, 2011

Day 2, a little slower, and we made it!!!  :)

Finished!

Relaxing with a good cup of tea

Days like today I don't have much time to sit back and relax.  Work is busy, work is being done in our apartment (Tropical Storm Irene water repairs), Arlo needed a little more parent time at playschool coop, Muta needed some company while locked in the bedroom during apartment repairs, etc.

Whew!  Now Arlo is napping, Muta is napping, Ben is at the studio, the workers are done for the day.  I still have piles of work to do.  But first--it's time for a cup of tea.  :)

My friend Dana made this mug for me in 1999.  It's been my favorite mug since.  It's drizzly and gray today, so some decaf tea with a slice of lemon is exactly what I needed.

Weekend weather forecast

The weekend weather forecast looks good so far! 

Screen grab of local weather, from weather.com

Let's hope it holds and rainy, gray Thursday and Friday get it out of their system in time for a lovely Saturday!  I've got a long walk ahead of me this weekend, and I'm hoping this forecast is right!  :)

Walking for a cure

In June of 2002 I walked 39.3 miles over the course of two days, with the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, to raise awareness and funds in the fight against breast cancer.  The actual walking part of it wasn't incredibly difficult, although 26 miles in one day is pretty far!  But walking with a sign on my shirt that said "in honor of my mother... Patricia Lieber  June 30, 1949 - June 11, 1992" that was the hardest part.

 

I walked alone, except for the people I met along the way.  And I must say it was an incredible experience.

This weekend I'm going on that same fundraising walk, another 39.3 miles.  But this time I'm thrilled to say that I'm walking with my mom's cousin, Midge.  She also lost her mom to breast cancer.  I'll have a ribbon in my bag with the names of everyone I've known who has been affected by this horrible disease.

Here's to hoping the end is in sight, and that my child and his generation won't feel the affects the same way we did.  I'm "in it to end it!"

"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."

Jonathan Mak

I know we've been hearing a lot about Steve Jobs lately because of his recent passing, but wow, the guy has a pretty inspirational story!  Of the quotes I've read, this one really stands out to me:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.  Dont be trapped by dogma--which is living with the results of other people's thinking.  Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary."

A few days ago I was thinking of my life, what I'm doing, the big picture, etc.  I found this document that I wrote nearly 4 years ago.  At the time I printed it up and posted it around the house.

i want to be a
french speaking
yoga teacher
artist
mother
who makes extra money
doing something practical.

I still don't have my life all figured out, but a few years later, I guess I still feel sort of the same way.  I'm closer to some of these goals, further from others.  But it's time to reassess and get moving on it!  Yeah!

Look who followed us home...

On Sunday we were walking home from Ben's studio, when this cat decided to join us.

Arlo LOVES cats.  He meows at them, he meows when he sees a picture of one, he cries when he has to leave the room if there's a kitty there.  Getting him to take naps and go to bed at night was a major chore when we visited his grandparents!

So on Sunday when this very friendly cat started following us, taking him home just seemed like the right thing to do.  He is very skinny, was very hungry, and very dirty, but seems to be in pretty good health.  We are taking him to the vet at the end of the week.  We've posted online about finding him and will check for a microchip at the vet, because it would be very sad if he somehow lost his collar while escaping from a loving home.  But considering the large number of stray and feral cats in this area, I find it unlikely he really has a home to go to.

He is fitting in very nicely with us and sleeping a lot.  It must be hard to be a cat on your own in the city.

Arlo was meowing in his sleep last night.  It was the cutest thing.  And he meowed first thing when he woke up this morning.  I think Mr. Kitty Cat (unnamed as of yet) has found a good home with us.

Compost

One of my main goals right now is to reduce my family's impact on the environment and to try and make our lives a little more sustainable.  We recycle, we don't buy plastic bottles unless absolutely necessary and we try to buy used items when it makes sense.  The next step is composting! 

According to GrowNYC, 17% of NYC's waste is food scraps, which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.  Food also isn't easily able to break down in a landfill.  I realized that our garbage output would be greatly reduced if we started composting.  If I had a backyard, it would be fairly easy to figure out.  But in the city, living in an apartment building, composting takes a little more planning.

I decided that a worm bin isn't right for us (sounds like a messy plan with a toddler--and where would we keep it?).  Our apartment building tried a compost bin last year, but it was misused, and thus short lived.  So our only option is composting off site.  For now we're holding our food and plant scraps in the freezer and bringing them to the Green Market once a week.  It's not the most convenient plan though, so I'm looking into joining a local garden, someplace we can bring our compost whenever we wish, rather than on the once a week schedule for the Green Market.

If you're wondering what food items are okay to compost, or want more info about composting, please look at the list below and check out the GrowNYC website.

WHAT TO COMPOST:

YES: fruit and vegetable scraps, non-greasy food scraps (rice, pasta, bread, cereal, etc.), coffee grounds & filters, tea bags, egg and nut shells, pits, cut or dried flowers, houseplants, potting soil

NO: meat, fish, bones, greasy food scraps, fat, oil, dairy, dog or cat waste, kitty litter, coal or charcoal, coconuts, diseased and/or insect-infested houseplants / soil or biodegradable / compostable plastics

Vacation!!

Sometimes when life gets hectic I end up cutting some corners here or there.
Sometimes my eating habits suffer, I don't do enough yoga or get enough sleep (or all three!).
Sometimes I sound like a broken record, but working from home truly is both a blessing and a curse.

It's been absolutely amazing being able to be home with Arlo and watch him grow and change, being able to take care of him and be there through everything, while still having an income.  One of the major downsides, though, is that since I can work from home, I can work from anywhere.  I've worked from California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and even Hawaii.  Every one of those trips has been wonderful, but I haven't had a work-free vacation since August 2008.

So our trip to Montréal this past week was absolute heaven.  It wasn't until a few days into our trip, when we went to our friends' cottage on a lake in the mountains (no internet), that I really finally let go, unwound and realized just how much I was carrying with me.  And once I got to that point, it was bliss.  I know that being a mother is going to be a balancing act--juggling work, marriage, the needs of my boy, and my own needs too.  And this incredible vacation was exactly what I needed!

I haven't felt so calm, so settled, so determined in a really long time.  It was nice to come back to the city with new resolve.  You can bet it won't be three more years before I leave that work phone behind and take another real vacation! 

Irene

It's kind of funny that my last post was about those fast moving Midwestern storms.  At that point I didn't know that Hurricane Irene was on her way!  We were driving back from the Midwest when we first heard of the potential severity of Hurricane Irene.

Image via ABC News

Being a mother has made me more cautious.  At another point in our lives, Ben and I might have rushed home before the storm.  But with Arlo to consider, we decided to spend the weekend in Hershey, Pennsylvania, swimming in the hotel pool, going to the zoo, etc.  

There was no major damage where we live.  The roof of our building had some minor leaks, so we'll have some scraping, plastering, painting to do, and the building will repair the roof.  Water leaked in around our air conditioners and pooled on the windowsills, so some repairs will have to happen there as well.  But all in all, we were extremely lucky.  It's all just a little eerie after all those days obsessively watching CNN's hurricane coverage.  It's good to be home, and to have a safe and sound home to come back to.

Storm

There's nothing quite like a fast moving Midwestern storm coming in.  You can feel it in the air before you can see it.  It's exciting and beautiful and scary.

This picture doesn't do it justice.  The wind was incredible.  The clouds rolled in so quickly.  Seconds later the rain started.  Just a quick summer storm--perfectly exhilarating.

Summertime country time

A few days ago we left NYC, making a break for the country.  We drove 785 miles to Ben's parents' home in Indiana.  August in New York is hot and humid.  The city boils.  The garbage on the streets (no alleyways in nyc) is more noticeably fragrant.  We have flexibility right now with our jobs, so it seemed the perfect time to take off.

Driving 785 miles with a 2 year old isn't high on my list of things to do again soon, although Arlo was in good spirits most of the way.  But being here is great, being here in the house Ben and I got married in.  It's nice to think about all the adventures we've had since then, and how many more we're slated for.

Plus it's just beautiful here.  Trees, open sky full of stars at night.  A yard for Arlo to run around in...

But as much as I love being here and enjoying the open space, I think for now it just helps solidify what we're doing in the city, and that's the right place for us right now.  Someday we'll break free.  But no rush.  Not yet.

Summer's bounty

At this time two years ago I was in early labor.  I was preparing to transition my sweet Arlo to the outside world.  Two years later I find myself so profoundly affected by this amazing little person.  I am so very very lucky that he and I managed to somehow find each other across space and time, and choose each other for this journey.

Ben and Arlo went to the park this morning so that I could do yoga and get some work done.  This is our new routine, and I think it's divine!  Arlo came home and napped, and I had the most beautiful lunch, inspired by fresh baby lettuce and perfectly sweet tomatoes from our CSA share.  It was nourishing in every way, and I spent the greater part of my day reflecting on how truly blessed I am. 

I have taken Arlo's birthday off from work (and plan to every year) and we have plans to make a run for nature in the morning.  I want to commune with the earth on this important day, the anniversary of his birth.  In the future Arlo can tell us what he wants to do for his birthday, but for now we're feeling the draw of the mountains and the trees and the dirt and the water.

Bday present from Gramma and Grandpa Lieber

Mon petit ange, my little rapscallion prince, with great spirit, with great heart.  So many adventures await.  For now I treasure your kisses, your smiles, your snuggles, your expressions, your words, and sometimes even your tantrums.  For this too shall pass.

Snowclones

After an Arlo inspired hiatus I am making art again!  And it's a wonderful thing!
I recently was given the opportunity to show some artwork in an exhibition called Snowclones.  It's a really exciting show and has been a lot of fun.

And now

It's been awhile since I updated.  So much has happened!  Yoga, art, love, apartment renovations...! Months have passed, and I wasn't really sure what to post after we lost Moon.  We were very sad and everything was so crazy with renovations, that nothing seemed important enough to post as a follow up.  But now so much has changed that it's finally time to start anew.  We still really miss Moon a lot.  I often think how cruel it is that our furry friends don't stay around as long as we might like.

Image via http://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/pix/dv/CrackedMud1.html

That said, my sweet skinned, 2 legged, beloved Arlo is growing and becoming more and more interesting every single day!!  He is soaking up the world around him, and Ben and I are learning to watch our language!  ;)  My little yogi will go right into downward facing dog if one of us calls it out.  He understands so much of what we say and what is going on around him.

Our 2 month long apartment renovations were long and arduous, despite the fact that we weren't physically doing the majority of the work.  It was painfully difficult working from home, trying to take care of a toddler, and having strangers in our home making loud noises all the time!

But life starts anew (thank goodness!) and time ticks by whether we're ready for it or not. 

 

So here we are today, reconciled with the time that's past, enjoying the moments as they go by (even more so now that the heatwave has subsided) and looking forward, but not rushing it.

Moon

Image via Science On a Sphere

There was a full moon 14 years ago on the night when Ben found a little black kitten, who he named Moon.  Our Moon girl has had a good life, a life of leisure, I might say.  She hasn't had to hunt for food or look for warmth or affection.  She has had to deal with a young human cub these last nineteen months, but he has loved her and learned to be gentle with her in his adoration.  She, in turn, has been incredibly tolerant and sweet with him.  They are fast friends.  There have been plenty of scratches, but only when he deserved them.

Our Moon

I am so sad that we had to say goodbye to Moon this evening, and I am still kind of in shock.
I know I shouldn't be surprised.  She's an older cat, and has never been the picture of health.  We took her to the vet a week ago and found out she had hyperthyroidism, so I guess I thought she was getting better and would stick around for awhile.  If we lived in the country she probably would have left us a few weeks ago, and not come back.  But for some reason it's still a sad surprise.

Arlo really loves Moon, probably as much as we do.  He follows her around the house and says her name.  I really wanted her to live long enough for him to remember her.

I think we're going to be a family of two legged creatures for awhile.  I figure someday Arlo will ask for another pet, and we'll want to oblige his request.  But for now, all I can say is that I'm eternally grateful for the good times and the good love we had with Moon.  I will miss her a lot.

5th wedding anniversary

For our fifth wedding anniversary Ben and I decided to leave town at the very last minute.  Within 2 hours of making the decision, we were packed and on the road.  I think we both had been itching to get out of the city for awhile.  Pretty much every time we've gotten in the car the last month I've said "I wish we were going somewhere--I mean other than the grocery! I want to be in the woods" (or at the ocean or in the mountains, etc.)  We had numerous conversations that started with one of us asking "What if we just head north right now?  I mean we could wear the same clothes for a few days... hike, climb some rocks..."  So I certainly wasn't shocked when the moment came and we decided to get the heck out of town to celebrate our anniversary.  What a great excuse!  :) 

Ben and I both grew up in rural settings.  As a kid, I have a very clear memory of learning what the word "dusk" meant, because that's when I had to come home.  But other than that we would pack sandwiches and spend our days in the woods.  In the summer we tromped in Rocky Creek, in the winter we sledded Suicide Hill.  Ahh, sweet memories.

As a teenager I couldn't wait to escape country life and get lost in the city.  As an adult I've spent most of my time in cities, retreating to the country at every chance I get.  Having a baby in the city has cemented so many of my values, it still surprises me.  No matter whether we live here forever or end up somewhere else, it's crucial for me that my boy knows how things grow and where his food comes from.  He should know the leaves and the dirt and the sound of the birds.  He should know mud and wild onions and wild animals.  I remember with fond pride watching him pick his first (organic) apple off a tree and start munching.  He was 13 months old.

And now back to our story.

Shawangunks, NY  March 2011

For five years now Ben and I have been married.  For five years as a married couple, bound by law (!!) we've suffered each others' quirks and moods and enjoyed and annoyed.  And I'd do it all again.

We had unseasonably lovely weather for our anniversary, 2 days before the official start of spring.  Absolutely gorgeous weather, just like the day we were married.  I'm glad we were able to get out and enjoy it.  Together.

New yoga mat

A couple of months ago I got a new yoga mat.  I got a Manduka Pro-lite, and I tell you it's love.  I couldn't decide which Manduka to get, so I bought an EKO mat and a Pro-lite.  After practicing on both, I've decided to give the EKO to my husband.  Luckily I picked gender neutral colors when devising this plan.

My old mat served me well.  But it had a burn (from ear candling gone awry), cat scratches too numerous to count and sadly, two cat puke stains.  Plus it just didn't offer the same support as the Mandukas I'd tried at Virayoga.

Pic via Gaiam Life

I didn't want to throw it away though!  So I did some research on recycling and reusing yoga mats.  Here's an article that offers 50 ways to reuse your yoga mat.  We ended up using part of my old yoga mat to line the shelves where we leave our shoes upon entering the apartment and the rest as a pad under and around the cat litter.  Very useful!

We still have some scraps left, so maybe I'll try and tackle these yoga mat flip flops next.  Kinda awesome!

Stretch it out!

When I was around 16 weeks pregnant we went in for an ultrasound.  First Arlo was lazy, then he was  swimming around like crazy.  At one point I swear he was doing downward facing dog.  I looked at my husband and asked "Did you see that?  He's already a yogi!!"

Well he's still going strong.  Hands up to the sky, hands to the floor.  When I pull out my yoga mat he bends over and shows me how stretchy his little body still is.  It's beautiful.  He can even do the splits!

18 months

This child makes me feel grateful, thankful, blessed.

Patience

Yesterday I did this wonderful, short yoga sequence by Elena Brower on Yogaglo.  The description of this 10 minute sequence says "A selection of standing poses, a makeshift mudra for patience and a brief meditation that will help all moms find more strength, space and time in the most challenging moments of your day."  First of all, I felt great afterward--spacious, grounded, patient and full of love.  Little did I know how much I would need those feelings just a bit later in the afternoon!

 

My husband is an artist, and I absolutely love that he makes his ink drawings at home rather than in the studio.  I did not love it yesterday though, when he left a bin with at least 4 different bottles of ink (without lids!!) within toddler's reach.  Luckily I had just done that sweet little yoga sequence, so I was brimming with patience and love and managed to find humor in the situation rather than being too terribly upset during the 45+ minutes it took to clean up this pretty little mess.

January

January was a difficult beginning to 2011.  I had a cold/upper respiratory infection that started over the holidays and lasted nearly the whole month.  I rarely get sick, so I spent the first part of the month wondering what was going on and being grouchy about it.  Winter felt like it started early this year in New York.  It was cold and dreary before Thanksgiving!

late January snow storm

Mid-January it finally sank in that being grouchy wasn't making me feel any better, and it was time to take action.  I tried for a good 2 weeks to heal myself naturally and with nutrition and homeopathy.  My struggle ended with antibiotics, which did the trick.  This has been an interesting lesson for me.  It seems that 2011 is going to be the year where I learn to find balance, where I learn to let go, where I learn to really take care of myself, and where I learn my limits.

And now that I'm finally on the mend (still resting more to combat fatigue, but otherwise better!) I'm excited about making use of some wonderful websites that a friend introduced me to.  Yogaglo, Yoga Today and Yogis Anonymous have online yoga classes that you can watch at your convenience, from the comfort of your own home.  They offer some free classes, or you can access their whole library of classes for a fee.  The classes on Yogis Anonymous are available on a donation basis.

Discovering these websites is like a new found freedom!  It's perfect for someone like me, working from home and taking care of a toddler.  I don't have tons of extra time or energy in my day to go to a yoga class.  The beauty of these websites is that I can find a class to fit my mood at any given time, and I don't have to commute to it!  Through these websites I can access classes of different lengths, different styles and with different focuses ranging from boosting my immune system and meditation to hip openers and inversions.  There's something for everyone!

Out with the old, in with the new

We had a lovely holiday season this year.  We celebrated Hanukah at home, then went to visit family (in 2 different states) this last week for Christmas and New Year's Eve.  It was busy but fun.

I have spent a lot of time lately considering our lives, past, present, future...  I decided that I want our baby to know us for the people we are during his life time, not for the people we were before.  Ben and I made a fire on New Year's Eve, drank a couple of glasses of red wine and celebrated the future, our future, our little boy's future.

 

I burned a few old journals in this fire.  It was melancholy and sweet, and kind of a brash decision, but it served me well.  The fire burned hot.  It was hot with the passion of my youth--my heart, my happiness, my mistakes.  I was sad and also relieved to see it go.

Here's to 2011!  This is going to be a good year.