End of the weekend

So, after a weekend of catching up and cleaning up and rocking a grouchy baby and downloading music and reading books and cleaning the house and re-cleaning house after the little one throws up all over everything and running errands and buying groceries and paying bills and blogging and downloading pictures and writing and working and trying to call the insurance agency and dealing with a police report for a car break-in and drama and birthday parties and trying to figure out men in general and a few specifically and scheduling appointments and painting and walking the dog and cooking dinner and making lunches and cleaning the cupboards and unloading the dishwasher and folding laundry and fixing the computer and ironing and finding a missing shoe and buying pajamas and cleaning out closets....is it any wonder that I feel a little....overwhelmed?

Still, this little one is at the center of all my days. How can I complain?


My little chocoholic!

Gratitude Friday

A while ago, I began to use Friday blog posts as a way to take time out of my schedule and reflect on the many things I am grateful for in my life. It's been a while since I did this, so I thought I needed to get back into the practice.

First, I am so incredibly grateful for the past weekend at Squam. I met so many amazing people who are serving as terrific inspiration to fuel my creative endeavors. I can already see huge leaps in my writing and I am so lucky to have had the chance to attend this amazing event.

Second, I must offer up thanks to my amazing mother, who stepped in and took over child care duties when my other plans didn't work out so well. My wonderful sister was going to come into town to keep Riley, but her pregnancy with twins (!!) made it more important for her to stay put and see her doctor and take care of herself. Riley had a BALL with grandma, came back spoiled rotten, and learned to say "uh-uh" (great, huh?). Thanks mom! Love you!

Third, I am grateful to have some new direction and goals to work towards. Some of these are related to my writing, some are working to realize some long-held ambitions, and some are just things I want/need to do for myself. I'm a very goal oriented person, so I'm very grateful to have some new plans for myself.

Finally, I must acknowledge the new energy that I seem to have found, and be grateful for it. If you read back a few posts ago, you know that I have been feeling a littel out of sorts and on edge, and not really certain why or what to do about it. I felt like I needed some change but unable to figure out how or where. After exploring those feelings and reflecting on what they could mean, I talked to my absolutely amazing friend, Stormy, about how I was doing and what those feelings meant. Stormy, in her open, loving, honest way gave me some good advice, offered some perceptive and accurate insight, and then talked me through some of the emotions. This, plus some time away from my "real life" really helped me to sort out what I was feeling and how to deal.

As usual, once I start counting the good things in my life, I find it hard to stop. But I have things to do and places to go, so this is it for today. I am truly blessed. I am grateful.

Reflecting

reflections in Logan International Airport - Boston, MA Sept. 15, 2008


It's been a few days since I returned home from what turned out to be an amazing trip to New Hampshire. I went there to accomplish a few things: concentrate on my writing, enjoy a new part of the of the country, soak in the collected creative vibes that occur when a group of creative, soulful, inspired people gather, and push myself to reach new levels in my chosen creative pursuits (wow, I don't think I've ever used the word "creative" so many times in one paragraph. Yes, I am a writer...)


The dock off my cabin

All of those things occurred, plus a thousand other wonderful moments along the way.

Some highlights:

Meeting amazing, wonderful, talented people who are embracing their talents in writing, music, art, photography....every creative pursuit you can image. The energy that was all around was simply incredible.

A poetry class that pushed me to work this genre into my writing, even though it's not my favorite or one in which I am necessarily very skilled.

Having a writer whose work I really respect tell me that I needed to publish...very, very soon. That I was ready.

A bonfire in which the lovely, talented Jonatha Brooke performed. I have loved her music for quite a while. Imagine my delight in having her for a cabin-mate, and hearing from her the first hand accounts of "rock star life" (hint: it involves staying in and knitting) and how hard she works to get her music out there. She is a very kind person with a down-to-earth perspective on life.

Falling asleep every night, exhausted from the intense day, but knowing it was productive and took me places I would have never reached otherwise.






I came home a day earlier than planned, exhausted and ready to see my baby. But I think this picture sums it up pretty well. I left happy, inspired, satisfied with my time spent there, and ready to keep pushing myself to new levels.

Waiting for Change

We've all heard that the cheesy lines about the feeling the "winds of change" , right?

I didn't really understand what that meant until recently.

I've dealt with change my whole life. Some changes I embraced, some I struggled against. Some I accepted with grace. Some I just ignored.

Change is something that I don't think that much about. I've come to a point in my life where I accept that everything can change...people, situations, minds, beliefs. Nothing is constant.

That's not bad. It's not good. It just is what it is.

But lately, I'm really feeling "the winds of change". I feel like I should be actively pursuing some sort of shift in my life. The problem is that I don't know what this shift is or where it should happen or what it should be. There is a lot of potential for me to affect these changes, but should I do it? I can't tell.

I expressed this to a friend of mine and he pointed out that a lot in my life has changed recently...new baby, single mom, new priorities, new responsibilities, new people. His suggestion was just to let things ride and see how they go.

I can see the wisdom in waiting and watching, but I'm struggling with the idea of sitting with the restlessness, of waiting for the answer.

Does everyone feel like this sometimes?

New photos of Riley and me...

To celebrate Riley (and my) upcoming birthday, our awesome friend Carrie took photos of us.  I posted my favorites of Riley's on her blog, but wanted to post my favorites of the two of us together here.  She did a great job...I love how they turned out. 

Obviously, this isn't a photo of Riley and I, but I love how it turned out.  Goofy, silly, fun...

MORE GREAT NEWS!

The secret I've been keeping for a while....Becky and Joey are going to be parents!

The secret that caught everyone off guard....

TWINS!!!

Feeling Groovy!

Hallee and I on my Mac photobooth...she definitely is one groovy kid!

I have so much to be happy and excited about lately.  Thought I'd share a few things that are making me especially happy today....

-  Secrets that only I know....much more to come on that in the near future!

-  My daughter is growing so much every day....talking non-stop, singing, clapping, high-fives, goofy smiley faces, trying to walk, big wet sloppy kisses, into everything...I love it and it totally makes up for the two molars she has on the way. 

- Time with my family...sleepovers with my nieces, visits with my sister, late night mani/pedis with my sister in law, birthday parties, planning holiday trips...i can't get enough!

-Amazing friends, old and new...there are a lot of wonderful people in this world.  I am lucky enough to count a bunch of them as friends!  So enjoying the familiarity and security of old relationships and the excitement and anticipation that is part of making new friends.  

-  Productive, meaningful work....I mean, it's work, but I still enjoy it, look forward to it, and feel good about it..how many people can say that?

- Feeling happy and healthy and alive...between a rough pregnancy and the rather intense year that followed, it's been a while since I felt totally on top of things, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually...  But I'm getting there, feeling great, and enjoying it...and that is so awesome!

-  Lots of good writing going on...some just for me, some just for Riley, some to be published (*fingers crossed*) but it's been going really well lately.  

- Upcoming writing workshop...I'm really looking forward to this...new places, new people, new ideas...just exactly what I need right now!

I know I have taken a rather long break from blogging, but it's because I have so much to do and so much to enjoy that I haven't had time to get it all down.  Not a bad reason to be absent, but still, I'm trying to do better.  

What are you happy about these days?  Leave it on my comments so we can all enjoy!