2.12.2011
Take four?
After trying (failing) to resuscitate this blog three times in past years, I've decided to give it one more go.
I did well enough to write on a semi-regular basis in my last years of college and immediately thereafter - but something about having a new baby, and then a toddler and another new baby, that just wasn't conducive to keeping up with my personal writing. Let's be honest - it often wasn't conducive to regularly-timed showers, eating from an actual plate, or peeing with the door closed either.
During my absence here, I've spent more than six years writing about my kids in scrapbook-fashion on another site. It started as a way for the grandparents to stay up-to-date on the latest news, and has become an elaborate baby book to be printed out for the kids when they're old enough to appreciate an encyclopedia-sized account of their childhoods. But with my limited free time, I lost the opportunity/ability/inspiration/etc. to write for myself.
But now here I am, with one child in kindergarten and the other having learned the joys of playing on his own for full minutes at a time - and I feel like I'd like to find my own voice again.
I can't promise that I'll write every day, but I'd like to challenge myself to get something posted at least once or twice a week. I've always loved to write; it was always a favorite part of my education and I'd hoped it would remain a part of my life. It's up to me to make that happen.
If nothing else, I've gotten a few chuckles going back and reading posts from way back when... in another eight years or so, I'll be able to dig out these latest ramblings and reminisce some more...
6:18 PM // 1 comments
1.05.2009
happy new year everyone
so, with my first post of the new year, i thought i'd make a little note of the things i'd like to accomplish this year.
spend more quality time with my kids and my husband - all together and individually.
be healthier.
become even more environmentally conscious, making an effort to model the behaviors we wish everyone would embrace.
be more organized, and keep the house neater/cleaner.
i could go on and on, of course, but those are a few of the list-toppers. i think that new years resolutions are shit for the most part, because they get forgotten or ignored - but i do feel that the dawn of a new year offers an opportunity to reflect on our priorities and actions. there's an entirely new, beautiful year stretched out ahead of us - its up to us to fill it up with the people, places and things that mean the most to us.
so go to it!
9:58 PM // 0 comments
12.19.2008
worth every penny
when we were finishing the second floor of our house, we decided to forgo a second shower and instead installed a corner soaking tub. having grown up in a one bathroom home, the idea of having even a second toilet was total luxury to me. thinking of having a big fancy tub was like imagining we were moving into a five-star hotel or something.
the truth is that the tub gets hardly any use. we don't really have the kind of free time which would allow us to soak our hours away covered in bubbles. however, i'm still so glad we have it.
this morning, as i celebrated the successful completion of my 28th year, i took a nice, hot bath. i grabbed a book, turned on some tunes, and just relaxed.
and the fact that adam was downstairs wrestling the kiddos clean in their bath while i was neck-deep in lavendar-scented water made it just that much more relaxing.
1:00 PM // 1 comments
12.10.2008
best mispronunciation ever
not only decorative, apparently cranberries are a bounty of humor in our home when pronounced by our just-turned-two son...
"man-berries."
and it just doesn't get old. i laugh literally every single time i hear him say it.
6:32 PM // 0 comments
12.01.2008
ok, that's enough
we had our first snow of the season yesterday. the day ended with just about an inch on the ground - enough to coat everything and make it look oh-so-christmasy and pretty. the kids were mesmerized watching it fall, and while we were tucked inside, bumming around in our pajamas, i was almost convinced it was cute, too.
adam and i talked it over and decided that it would be perfect if the snow could stay just like it is until christmas. no snowblowing, messy roads, or inconvenience... just a little ambiance for the season. i could even deal with one sizeable snowfall in the next few weeks - enough for a snowman and a day of sledding. then come january 1st, it can all melt again. i don't even care if it stays cold until may as it is prone to do here in maine. just hold the snow please.
so... who do i call to make this happen?
12:28 PM // 0 comments
11.27.2008
should have mentioned this during grace
on this thanksgiving day, i have been reflecting on the many blessings i have been granted; i am a lucky girl, and i know it.
but at the top of my list is the fact that today, after our delicious and very filling dinner, my family (mother and grandmother included) all conspired together to determine the best way to trick the dog into making out with my sister, who had foolishly fallen asleep on the floor in our midst. ultimately, we decided a strategically placed piece of turkey was the best way to lure the poodle - and it worked like a charm. i'm sorry to report that i wasn't quick enough with the camera. you'll all just have to use your imaginations. i but i can assure that it was a moment of comedic perfection.
when it comes down to it, having a family with which to plot and share each other's humiliation is what the holidays are all about... right? it sure as hell makes them more fun.
9:30 PM // 0 comments
11.24.2008
lawn improvement, part three: we'll call it "winterization"
we finished our last lawn-related effort of the year yesterday when we finally got out there and raked the leaves off. we waited until the ground was frozen, which made it so much easier to rake and not worry about pulling out the little baby grass sprouts. now we just sit back and wait until spring.
let me clarify - i raked the lawn while adam changed the oil in the snow blower. although he led me to believe this would be a small chore and he'd catch up with the raking as soon as he was finished, he actually finished up just as i was carrying my last load of leaves to the woods. what a coincidence.
its ok, though. i don't mind most of the traditionally "manly" chores, but i really have no desire to sit around in the cold handling a roaster pan of motor oil that i would inevitably spill on myself. i'm happy to have adam around to tend to that duty, along with the killing of all spiders and scrubbing of toilets. (yes, ladies, you read that right. i don't clean toilets. my husband may not be perfect, but he's got it where it counts.) and in the spirit of full disclosure, adam did take care of the first batch of leaves a month or so ago. he borrowed a leaf blower to do it, which requires much less effort, but he was left with a lingering odor of incinerated plastic and exhaust fumes that required several showers and some serious laundering to get rid of, so i guess he paid his dues.
1:16 PM // 1 comments
11.17.2008
completely unoriginal
about a month ago, kt had a little celebration for reaching her 100th post with a 100-things-about-me list. i thought that was a fun idea, and checked my post count to see how close i was to that milestone. actually, it was just around the corner - so i decided to steal her idea and started prepping my own list to be used as my 100th post.
let me start out by saying that this task was surprisingly challenging. maybe i'm a really boring person, or maybe i just have a particularly shitty memory. either way, i was stumped for a few days and hence the delay in posting. not that there was anyone perched on the edge of their seats or anything.
anyway, here it is... way more info than you ever wanted...
1. i am right-handed.
2. my middle name is jessamyn; i was named for author jessamyn west - my mother never read any of her books, but liked the unusual name.
3. i married my high school sweetheart. my husband is truly my best friend, and i am his. we're very lucky.
4. i have a bachelor's degree in english.
5. i've worn glasses since 4th grade. i got contacts in high school and now split my time in glasses and contacts pretty evenly.
6. i am barefoot any time i can be and refuse to wear real shoes from may until september.
7. i graduated in the top ten of my high school class and in the top three percent of my college class.
8. i keep a subscription to rolling stone magazine. every issue goes right from the mailbox to my car and is my "on the go" reading, used for free minutes when i'm stuck waiting in the car for whatever reason - or when i pull into the driveway and both kids are asleep and i'm just not quite ready to wake them up yet.
9. i have a phobia of being home alone after dark - even when my husband is home, i often wake up so scared that i make him get up and walk through the entire house to check for "monsters."
10. i labored and gave birth to my second child without any pain medication. i wish i'd been brave enough to go for it with my first, too.
11. i breastfed both of my children until they were over 18 months old.
12. we use cloth diapers. if you have a baby in diapers - seriously look into it. we're so glad we made the switch.
13. i have never broken a bone.
14. my favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla bean.
15. i can't stand to eat meat with any tinge of pink - it has to be fully cooked or i'll microwave it the rest of the way. that said, i rarely eat meat anyhow.
16. i sing ridiculous narrations of daily life on a regular basis - all the time, whether my kids are paying attention or not.
17. i love sweater weather - october in maine is probably the most perfect time and place ever.
18. i did a lot of community theater in middle school and high school.
19. i played clarinet for 5 years in school.
20. i have one tattoo - a butterfly the size of a kiwi on the small of my back.
21. i have plans to add to that tattoo with some vines and two tiny butterflies to represent each of my kiddos.
22. i love getting mail - real, physical main in the mailbox.
23. i am a strong swimmer and love the water.
24. i read a lot. i'm always part-way through several different books at any given time.
25. i enjoy jigsaw puzzles. i don't mind if that makes me seem like an eighty-year-old man.
26. i almost never make my bed, unless i think company might see it.
27. i love christmas and get giddy like a little kid for the entire month (or two) before. i love the music, the smells, everything.
28. i prefer the generic powdered macaroni and cheese over the "fancier" kinds - although homemade is always best.
29. i sing along when i listen to music - and i know the words to an insane number of songs.
30. i got married at twenty, and i don't think we were too young, but i do think we were just different than most people.
31. that being said, i do wish we'd been more comfortable in our youth and dared to have a wedding that was more "us" and less tradition.
32. i still laugh when i remember the "its log!" song from ren and stimpy.
33. listening to ani difranco makes me want to be a better person. that's lame, but its true. lots of music makes big impressions on me.
34. i'm really not a pet person. i like animals and can appreciate others' pets, but i just don't have the urge to have my own.
35. i love candles and the atmosphere (and smell!) they bring to my home.
36. i still enjoy coloring books.
37. i am a stay-at-home mom, which is something i never imagined for myself, but wouldn't trade for the world.
38. i can't wink - at least not without looking like a stroke victim.
39. i sunburn ridiculously easy.
40. i hate wearing heels.
41. i can't whistle.
42. i enjoy physical hands-on projects, particularly outdoors. since buying our house, we've built a shed, finished three rooms and a bathroom (although we hired someone to do the drywall) upstairs, built a fence around our side yard, and built an elaborate playhouse for the kiddos. we're far from being carpenters, but we enjoy doing the work ourselves and we learn a little bit more with each project.
43. i never snuck out of my own house as a teenager, but my best friend and i left her house in the middle of the night countless times when we were in middle school.
44. my parents divorced when i was very young - i have no memories of a time when we were together as a family.
45. even so, my parents were a great example of responsible co-parents and remained friends and worked together to raise me.
46. i usually have pretty horrific penmanship because i write too quickly.
47. my ears are pierced twice in each ear. i wear two sets of small simple hoops and very rarely change my earrings, lest they attract attention and little hands.
48. when i get agitated or over-excited, i tend to swear more. particularly the word "fuck." i just love how versatile that word is.
49. i put my hair up or braid it every night before bed - i hate having it down and in my face when i'm sleeping.
50. i have a small collection of willow tree figurines even though i typically hate cutesy stuff like that. these are just so sweet - i have only the parent/family ones.
51. i like to watch the dvd commentary tracks of my favorite movies... sometimes more than once... sometimes a lot more than once.
52. i have boxes in my basement with stuff that hasn't been used once since we moved here. that was over six years ago.
53. i don't have cable. we get exactly four channels with questionable reception.
54. i have never lived alone.
55. i have had a total of 10 official job in my lifetime - the vast majority of which were in retail during high school and college.
56. i blush very easily.
57. i have never traveled outside of new england except for one school trip to quebec in sixth grade.
58. i fear alzheimers.
59. i went through fertility treatment and suffered two miscarriages before getting pregnant with my first child. it was one of the hardest, scariest times of my life, but it made the two beautiful children i have now even more precious to me.
60. i love apple picking.
61. i sleep with the radio on.
62. i buy organic when i can, but wish it weren't so much more expensive to do so.
63. i prefer buying actual cds to downloading. i like seeing the cover art, reading the liner notes, holding something physical. i also like seeing the entire collection lined up on the shelves.
64. even after a recent culling (thong song anyone?), i still have close to 500 cds in my library.
65. my left thumb is double-jointed.
66. i am the oldest of three sisters and we're each nine years apart.
67. i own every season of gilmore girls on dvd and have watched them all several times. it is hands-down one of my favorite shows ever.
68. i am married to a man who could post the previous statement in his own "100 things about me" list. and that's pretty awesome.
69. i am not a fan of scary movies. even if they're absurdly unrealistic, i get far too easily creeped out.
70. i think drowning would be the worst way to die.
71. i don't like to take medicine and usually don't unless i absolutely have to.
72. i like a lot of weighty quilts and blankets on my bed when i'm sleeping.
73. i love the smell of campfires and wood stove chimney smoke.
74. my first car was a 1991 white mercury topaz. i bought it in when i was 16 and it took me two years to pay it off. it was literally falling apart all over by the time i traded it in during college, but it was a pretty great first car.
75. i am a list-maker. i feel physically better when i'm organized and in control.
76. i'm 27 years old and still find flatulence hysterically funny.
77. i like to cook, but tend to make very simple meals on a day-to-day basis.
78. autumn is my favorite season.
79. i very rarely wear plain white socks.
80. i love pumpernickel toast.
81. i don't like to answer the phone.
82. the monster ballads mixes (i own both volumes, of course) are my 4th of july theme music. i'm not sure how the tradition developed, but its here to stay.
83. i love creating. i'm constantly trying something new - cooking, sewing, crafting, etc - if i see something i like and think i could make it myself, i figure it out.
84. i don't like to sleep with socks on.
85. i love writing with sharpie markers.
86. i have a really hard time sitting still and doing nothing. i can hardly ever just sit back and watch a movie - i have to be doing something else, too. i'm not sure if its because i feel guilty relaxing or if i'm simply too fidgety... but that's just the way it is.
87. i now love the fresh smell of the ocean, but as a kid i always thought it smelled gross.
88. i have specific organizational systems - i've even found myself re-arranging the dirty dishwasher if someone else loaded it in a different way.
89. i wear jeans almost every single day and my wardrobe is pretty simple. i do enjoy dressing up occasionally, but i'm glad i don't have to do it all the time.
90. i had chronic ear infections as a young child and as a result my hearing isn't quite perfect.
91. i have a very dry sense of humor. i think sometimes people don't understand my humor and i just feel awkward - which i guess i am.
92. i prefer warm, rich, earthy scents over anything fruity or too sweet. i love sandalwood, vanilla, any of the fall-food smells (pumpkin spice, sugar cookies, etc) and patchouli. go ahead. call me a hippie. whatever.
93. i am very opinionated - as in, i feel strongly about a variety of subjects. however, i'm very non-confrontational and don't allow myself to ever get preachy about anything, because that just doesn't help spread the message. i like to stand for something, but i don't want to be crazy either.
94. i regret not taking advantage of all the free time i had before becoming a parent. i would never trade what we have now and we are lucky enough that our life is exactly the way we chose it to be, but i do wish we'd appreciated the freedom to just come and go whenever and wherever we wanted. i don't think anyone can really understand what its like to not have that option until its gone.
95. on a related note, i have had exactly one kid-free night in over two years.
96. i love buying gifts - particularly for my family and friends i know really well. finding that perfect gift is so much fun.
97. i take a crazy amount of pictures of my kids. i have albums and albums of pictures... seriously, its like a sickness.
98. i think long car rides at night can breed the absolute best conversations.
99. i have an okay singing voice, but i have zero talent with musical instruments. i wish it were different, but believe me i've tried. its just not in the cards.
100. i try to live my life so that the world is a little bit better because i was in it. i'm no hero, but i think i'll have lived a life i can be proud of when all's said and done.
8:34 AM // 2 comments
11.06.2008
a victory that is so sweet
i didn't write about the election results yesterday because i hadn't figured out how to write about it in a way that wouldn't be a stream of conscious jumble of yahoos and weeping and phrases like "historical significance."
and i still haven't.
so i'll keep it brief. i believe the right choice was made on tuesday. barack obama has succeeded in inspiring so many, and if he can continue to do so we may have a real chance at change. nothing can get done if all we do is stand around pointing fingers and placing blame. the time has come for cooperation in the spirit of moving forward and making this country a better place for every one of its citizens. it will surely not be an easy road - but with persistence and good-will, we can get started one step at a time.
john mccain gave one hell of a classy speech on tuesday night, and hopefully all of his supporters will take his advice - we need to put the campaign behind us and stand behind the president who was chosen. this was such an electric election season; there will be many with incredible regret that their candidate did not win. but its time to move on - toward the future, toward change, toward an america that we can all be proud of - and that's something we can all do together.
8:42 AM // 0 comments
11.03.2008
if you do nothing else tomorrow...
make sure you get out there and vote.
here's a little food for thought from a recent rolling stone article by matt taibbi...
"Democracy doesn't require a whole lot of work of its citizens, but it requires some: It requires taking a good look outside once in awhile, and considering the bad news and what it might mean, and then making the occasional tough choice, and soberly taking stock of what your real interests are."
don't sit this one out, guys. step back and take that good look around - then get in there and cast a vote that can make a difference.
7:39 PM // 1 comments
10.23.2008
stunted? maybe not
adam and i were presented with the rare opportunity of going out to see a movie last friday.
in an actual theater. without cartoon characters. at night. alone.
i know, i was a little confused, too, but apparently this is how a large portion of the world enjoys their films. i'm used to catching them about a year after all the hype from my living room couch. which isn't all bad, but i welcomed the change of pace.
so after scanning what was playing at the local movie theater, we both quickly agreed that nick and nora's infinite playlist was most our speed. so off we went, grabbed seats with plenty of time to mock the horrible pre-screening ads and trivia, and sat back to spend an uninterrupted hour and a half in the dark together.
on the ride home, we engaged in our typical post-movie debriefing (two thumbs up in case you were wondering) and i asked adam if he thinks there's something wrong with me that i seem to relate best to this type of movie about teenagers. we saw a preview that night for a movie about two friends planning their weddings... the exact type of movie geared toward my age group. i had zero interest. those sorts of relationships and scenarios just don't pique my interest. i was starting to think that maybe there's something in my social skills that got retarded somewhere along the way. had i missed something crucial to maturing fully?
the more i thought about it, i decided that these kinds of movies strike a nerve with me because they feel truthful. once you get a few years into the "real world," people expect you to conform. you have to pretend to be interested in things that bore you, you have to be continuously polite to people you think are idiots, you have to feign interest in topics you could care less about. and sure, we had to do some of that as teenagers, too, but at least we got to do it while sporting that indignant you-don't-understand-me attitude and a pair of chuck taylors.
i wish that we could spend more time pursuing our interests and less worrying about being productive during every waking hour. responsible, sure. that's a no-brainer in my book. but once you've put in your 40 hours at the office, taken care of the needs of your family, and made sure you're not living in a biohazard - we need to remember to have some fucking fun once in awhile.
and most importantly, i think everyone needs to remember what it was like to be seventeen, still figuring out who we were and what was important to us... because that process shouldn't stop when we find a career and settle down. its something we should be working on for the rest of our lives, because we aren't finished yet - we're a work in progress and should always be.
7:26 PM // 2 comments
10.22.2008
poop!
as the mother of a potty-training little boy (who's not two yet, if can sneak in a little brag on his obvious genius), i find it absolutely hilarious how excited one can get over another person's bodily functions. i hadn't realized just how ridiculous i must sound until we found ourselves in a public restroom for the first time yesterday.
i hope the women in the other stalls didn't think i was cheering for myself...
8:13 AM // 0 comments
10.14.2008
are you registered?
just a reminder to everyone out there - the election is now just three weeks away. i haven't written anything about the presidential race here yet, because i'm not sure how to do it gracefully. but the fact of the matter is that this election is by far the most important that my generation has seen - and we all need to be involved.
get out there and vote. go ahead and get your absentee ballot so you don't have to wait in long lines on election day... and so that you're sure you don't forget or decide you have something better to do instead of getting your ass to the polls.
don't give the older generations the satisfaction of being right about the lazy youth of america - how we talk big, but never follow through. let's get out there in record numbers and drive the change we want.
and while i'm up here waxing political, (and in case you didn't already know where i stand and who i support) let me also pass on another way to get involved... the obama campaign has set a goal to get 100,000 new donors by friday... and to help encourage people, all new donations will be matched by a previous donor. go ahead - if all you can spare is $5.00, you're making an impact and becoming part of a movement that could change our country. and that's something to feel good about.
8:32 AM // 0 comments
10.12.2008
i SO need some of these...
i stumbled across the most excellent product on etsy this afternoon...
"You Park Like Shit" static cling parking critiques
you must click on that link. nevermind the hilarity of the demonstration pictures, which are worth the click alone, this item is a work of genius. i am repeatedly amazed by the ways in which people flaunt their inability to park properly. there have been countless times i would have happily smacked one of these babies on the windshield of an offending vehicle. i'm not one for keying cars or anything like that - but a nice little damage-free message like this could be a great way to inform (remind?) someone that they're being a jackass. plus its damn funny.
10:09 PM // 1 comments
10.02.2008
lawn, part two: the appearance of actual green
for the most part, our yard still resembles a forgotten construction site. but if you look from an angle across the ground you can see the beginnings of a green tinge out there. this is day one of any visible sign that the seeding had any impact, so we're pretty psyched. i honestly was starting to fear that the seeds were all duds and we'd have to do it all over again in the spring. who knows how it will go from here, but at least there is grass in our yard. tiny, fledgling baby grass, but grass nonetheless.
6:22 PM // 0 comments
9.27.2008
lawn improvement, part one
after watching our lawn slowly deteriorate over the past 5 years to the utter disaster it became this summer, adam and i decided it was finally time for a fix. exactly what that fix would entail, we weren't sure... but we were confident that whatever was required would be well beyond our skill level. after all, we're the morons that let it get to this point in the first place. clearly, it wasn't going to be worth our wasted time or energy to try and d.i.y. this project; it was time to call in the professionals.
our lawn was never perfect, and the contractor who built the house for us back in 2002 wasn't exactly an expert landscaper himself. being that we were both first-time home buyers (with zero experience or knowledge in this sort of thing) and poor college students (with no money to fix any problems even if the aforementioned lack of knowledge and experience hadn't prevented us from seeing them), we just kind of figured that the lawn would eventually fill in and we'd go with the old standby wait-and-see approach. for a couple of years it wasn't horrible, but never great. then last summer, things really went downhill. the yard was overrun with weeds... but with two little kids (one still crawling and inevitably putting random objects in his mouth), we really didn't want to treat the lawn with any sort of chemical. eventually, we noticed that even though there was green on the ground, we were pretty sure none of it was technically grass. things really got rough this spring when we saw that there were huge areas of nothing growing at all, not even our previously trusty weeds. not only was this absence of vegetation unattractive, but the patches of bare ground had the oh-so-pleasant effect of turning to mud when it rained. the kids' toys were so mud-splattered that it looked like the yard was slowly consuming everything that came near it.
here's an idea of how things were looking mid-summer. try to ignore our goofy daughter in the foreground and notice the conspicuously inadequate lawn we've provided her to play on...
after starting to worry that we'd eventually be visited by some kind of suburban child neglect service, we asked around a bit and got a recommendation for a lawn care company from a friend. adam called them and tried to help the person on the phone understand the severity of the situation. when the salesman actually showed up to inspect the lawn, his exact words were, "when you told me about this over the phone, you could never have convinced me it was this bad."
great. just the kind of reassurance we were looking for.
a consultation, a contract, and several hundred dollars later, we were on a path that should eventually lead to actual grass in our yard. we bit the bullet and had some weed treatments sprayed over the summer, knowing that if we didn't kill off the mutant weeds, grass seed would never be able to grow properly. we also fertilized the hell out of the place, and did lots of crossing of fingers and praying to the lush lawn gods. (ok, those last two weren't professional recommendations, but they couldn't hurt, right?) we don't even care that the grass is perfect - we just wanted some kind of actual green growth covering the entire yard.
so wednesday was the big seeding day. we spend monday and tuesday ripping up what was left of our old lawn - tilling and raking until i started to wonder whether the purchase of a mule at this point would be a sensible investment.
here's what things are looking like right now - this is the view from the fenced-in side yard, looking out toward the front yard....
i've told adam several times now that i think the yard actually looks better now. at least it looks intentional.
and now... we water diligently, do more of that finger-crossing, and just wait and see.
7:04 PM // 1 comments
9.26.2008
passing it on...
i'm a music junkie. i have music playing all the time - at home, in the car, out in the yard, and so on. i connect to music in a very real, very basic way. it moves me. different styles and artists are right for specific moods or occasions; music elicits emotional reactions and triggers memories in a way i can't explain. i enjoy a limitless variety of genres, and my reasonably extensive collection includes goodies from aerosmith to putamayo, garth brooks to weezer, tracy chapman to pearl jam, even richard marx and the bangles. (hey, everyone's entitled to a little guilty pleasure, right?) i have some albums i might only dig out once or twice a year, and others i might play obsessively for weeks at a time. sometimes i own ten (or more?) albums by the same artist, and sometimes one is all i need.
and although my musical tastes are varied and eclectic, my the core of my collection and the stuff that i will always keep coming back to lies primarily in the folk singer-songwriter realm. there's something in that style of music that touches my heart in a way nothing else does. there's a beautiful truth in setting one's stories against the simple backdrop of folky strumming. sitting in a coffee shop, hearing one dude (or dudette) and his (or her) guitar, can often enthrall me more completely than a big-time arena show.
and to get down to the point of all this rambling, i want to mention one of my most recent dude-and-his-guitar moments. this spring i had the opportunity to hear chris o'brien performing live in portland. i love discovering someone new - and hearing them live is always a great chance to really experience what they have to offer. chris, a boston-area musician, totally blew me away. his voice is pure and his songs all have the kind of clarity and beauty that makes them worth listening to again and again. i felt like i'd really stumbled upon something great that night. i immediately got his album, a 2007 release entitled "lighthouse," and played the hell out of it over the summer. i saw him play again a few weeks ago and it was just as enjoyable hearing him play alone on stage as it had been listening to the full-band tracks. kicking back with a good cup of coffee, watching the cold rain falling, and listening to a display of such talent and passion - its an incredible way to spend an evening.
since i know how much i value a good new-artist suggestion, i feel obligated to pass along my own recommendation for chris o'brien. there's so much crap out on the airwaves, and an artist like chris seems so much more deserving. go give his music a listen. if you like what you hear, order the cd or buy some downloads. and most importantly, pass the good word along to your own friends.
enter your email address in the form above to join chris o'brien's mailing list. you'll want to know when he's coming to a venue near you!
5:52 PM // 0 comments
9.12.2008
craving satisfied
for several reasons, the fact that the younger kiddo still hasn't been introduced to peanuts and that the husband and i never eat sans kids being chief among them, i've had an intermittent craving for pad thai for about a year now.
but with the help of an elaborate car-picnic for the kids, an evening pick-up of my sister, and a white castle-eque re-routing, last night found my sister, my lovely daughter, and me sacked out on the living room floor with a john hughes flick, three sets of chopsticks and one large styrofoam container of spicy tofu and noodles.
and oh, how good it was.
1:21 PM // 0 comments
9.08.2008
too wise, apparently
so i had a dentist appointment today. i will, with utter shame, admit that this was my first dental appointment since my baby was born. uh, my oldest baby. the one who's three.
i knew i needed to make an appointment, but with two toddlers my own needs are often pushed to the back burner. let me assure you that my kiddos have never missed any sort of health appointment nor is any of their preventative care in arrears; but as is the case with many moms, i tend to forget about myself.
add in the fact that i hate going to the dentist, and you can see why i've had such a lapse. i don't really have any reason for the hatrid - i've never had any real sort of dental work done, never had any traumatic experiences, never had braces, never even had a cavity. but perhaps its my lack of issues that have contributed to my unease, because it is essentially fear of the unknown.
anyhow, after having an actually lovely appointment today and learning that my teeth are "straight, white and perfect," which is apparently rare these days, i made two new appointments. the first appointment is next monday for a filling. yes, my years (that's so embarrassing to type) of dentistry-neglect earned me my first cavity. its nice and small and should be no problem to fix - and honestly, if that's all i have to endure after taking a three-year hiatus from check-ups, then i guess i'm doing well. my second appointment is a consultation with an oral surgeon.
yup, you guessed it - i need my wisdom teeth removed.
i had been told back in the day that i probably had enough room for the third set of molars to come through and be fine. apparently not so much. one of the bottom ones has actually already started coming in and i had hope that it would be ok. but i saw the x-ray today and its certainly not coming in straight. i'm less than thrilled, obviously.
do you think this could all be some kind of cosmic payback for mocking my teenaged sister last month when she freaked out about needing hers pulled?
3:34 PM // 0 comments
9.07.2008
shameless self-promotion
if you glance over to the right sidebar, you'll notice that i added a new little application to show off some goods from my etsy shop. i'll take any advertising i can get - so i might as well do it here, right?
for those of you who might be in the market for some cuteness for a little one in your life, i'd love to have you click over to my shop and browse around for a bit. i'm a work-at-home mom and do my craft in the odd quiet hours i can find (mainly late at night) and truly love what i do. i take pride in the quality of my work, i have a small outlet into the real world, i enjoy being able to contribute in some small way to our family income, and most importantly i have fun.
so come shop!
8:26 PM // 0 comments
8.14.2008
why i love summer in maine, reason #73...
freshly picked, delicious, and home-grown.
my mom has a great garden area at her place - she owns a double lot, and the house sits on one and the other lot is basically a field surrounded by trees and a pond. its an amazing place for a garden - so we decided we'd go in on a garden together this year. it was supposed to be a real group effort, but i think my mom did more than her fair share of work simply because she lives there. we've already got big plans for next year, though, having learned some lessons along the way - and with the kids being another year older, i'm hoping to pitch in more.
there's just nothing better than a counter full of fresh produce... seeing the literal fruits (or vegetables, in this case) of your labors. it sounds ridiculous and cliche, but its fulfilling; it makes you feel more at one with the earth around you. and hey, if you do it right, it saves you a few bucks, too, which never hurts.
4:32 PM // 0 comments
8.04.2008
sunday margaritas
so, the husband and i finally got an hour alone together yesterday. we dropped the kiddos off with his parents and headed off for a little mid-afternoon happy hour at tortilla flat. can i tell you how relaxing it is to walk into a restaurant and simply sit down? no cleaning a high chair, no separating the silverware into safe and non-safe piles, no doling out cheerios, no intervening with grabby hands, etc, etc. we don't do it often, but i do actually enjoy taking the kids out to eat - but its by no means a stress-free event. a 20 month old and a 3.5 year old have only so much tolerance for waiting, and they're going to find a way to entertain themselves if you don't keep them occupied. thankfully, our kids are typically just over-friendly in their excitement, but its still embarrassing to have to haul your toddler back up over the back of the booth because she's leaned her way into another family's dinner... and surprisingly not everyone enjoys eating their meal to the music of a baby yelling "hi" to every person he sees, over and over again.
so, to reiterate, it was an amazingly calm, albeit unfamiliar, feeling to sit down at the table and just relax. we were able to sit and enjoy our food and have some actual adult conversation - something we've been desperately needing. we love our kids more than anything and we're highly involved and devoted parents... but there's something to be said about needing time to recharge in order to parent even better. and i don't think you're doing any favors for your relationship if you aren't able to have any alone time with your significant other. even if its just an hour on a sunday afternoon. you need that time to reconnect and show that you are on one another's list of priorities. i feel very strongly that one of the most important things parents can model for their children is a healthy, happy relationship - and that isn't something that comes without any effort. just a reminder.
7:06 PM // 0 comments
7.18.2008
hello, my name is aimee
so, i figure that since i'm attempting re-establish things over here, it might do to have a little re-introduction, as its been so freaking long since i've written regularly. and what better way to do that here on the inter-web than a randomly selected myspace-type survey? here we go...
Nicknames?
none really, besides mama. adam and my dad sometimes call me aim, and my stepmom calls me amos.
Status?
awesome. heh. i'm assuming this means relationship status, in which case i'm happily married.
Hair color?
brown
Long hair or short hair?
just past my shoulders.
Height?
5'8"
Piercings?
two in each ear.
Tattoos?
a purple butterfly on the small of my back, about the size of a kiwi. plans to add on some vines and two tiny butterflies symbolizing the kiddos.
Its Thursday at noon, where are you usually?
probably making lunch.
What brand of shampoo is in your shower right now?
suave. i'm pretty cheap.
What are you listening to right now?
the dishwasher and some chris o'brien on the computer
Do you watch MTV?
nope. we don't even have cable.
How do you feel about your hair?
eh, its there. i guess i don't have strong feelings one way or the other.
What movie is in your DVD player?
"enchanted" from sophie.
Do you like roller coasters?
sure.
What kind of cologne/perfume do you wear?
i have some stash of discontinued elizabeth arden called "true love" that is my favorite, but on a daily basis its either some bath and body works spray or this hilarious knock-off that i found called "clique snappy" and i had to buy it because it made me laugh - and then actually ended up smelling really good. i'll be sad when that ghetto bottle runs out...
What are your plans for today?
well, today's pretty much winding down - so probably a little reading and then bed.
When was the last time you were up all night?
it's been awhile. seriously up all night - probably labor and delivery with sophie. before that, probably college.
Do you sleep with a fan on?
when its warm enough.
How often do you hold back from saying what you are thinking?
i'm pretty open - but i don't like to hurt feeling needlessly, so i keep in check when i need to.
What's on your mind right now?
not much right now, actually.
This month have you made a new friend?
i don't think so...
Do you believe in God?
there's no way i could answer that succinctly enough for this format. let's just say that i'd like to believe that there's a purpose for all of this.
Who would you do anything for?
my kids, my husband, my sisters, my parents.
What is one thing you would love to happen tomorrow?
i'd love to win the lottery... which would be really cool since i don't even play. other than that, some nice weather, horsing around with the kids, a little grilling and some simple relaxation would do the trick.
Do you bite your fingernails when you're nervous?
nervous, bored, whatever - but its more the cuticle area than the actual nails. a habit i'm trying to stop.
Do you like Mexican food?
mmm... tortilla flat...
Are you tan?
i'm pretty obsessive with the sun screen, as i burn so easily, but i do have a bit of a glow going on right now just from all the outdoor work we've been doing this summer. this is probably about as tan as i ever get.
Everything happens for a reason?
i kind of hate that saying.
What happened at 10:00 am today?
uh, a pre-playground trip to walmart, i believe.
How many hours did you sleep last night?
about 7.
What was the last reason you went to the Doctor for?
post-partum check-up last january. i need to remember to schedule an appointment, i guess.
Do you still talk to the person you fell hardest for?
every morning when i wake up, each night before bed, and when i'm lucky all day in between.
What jewelry are you wearing?
wedding and engagement rings, puzzle ring - adam's first jewelry gift to me probably 12 years ago, and two sets of earrings - little silver hoops and tiny studs.
9:10 PM // 0 comments
7.17.2008
memory lane
my 18-year-old sister is newly graduated and a couple months away from starting college. with this, obviously, comes the hunger for independence and the ever-increasing desire to get the hell out of our mother's house. she's been dreaming of her own space for years now, and the time's finally right to do something about it.
so the apartment hunting process has begun. she has a particular area she's interested in and specific budgetary requirements (as all starving students do), so the prospects haven't exactly been piling up. she did, however, find an exciting possibility after calling about an ad in the classifieds. it turned out that the apartment she called about was no longer available, but the company also owned the building next door that coincidentally had a two bedroom open at the start of next month. score.
so brianna calls me up, hopeful, and tells me that the apartment is on the same street where adam and i lived in college - our first apartment. i asked the street number, so i could try to gauge what area the building was in - and no shit, wouldn't you know it was the same building.
so last night, i met her and her potential roommate to check the place out. long story short, the super for the building never showed (cough, cough, dink, cough) and we didn't get a real good look around or any specific info on the apartment... but we did get a quick glance. when we were still expecting him to show, we decided to check upstairs and see if he was waiting up there for some reason. brianna knew what apartment number it was, and by chance the building was unlocked, so we just moseyed on up. and again, with luck, the apartment itself was actually open, too. it was mid-renovation (painting and such), and we let ourselves in for a quick peek.
it was so weird to be back in that building. we lived there for just over a year, and it was the first bit of independence for both adam and me, both having moved directly from our parents' homes. we learned a lot that year, and we had a lot of fun. there are some things we might have liked to do differently, but that's always the way with hindsight. there was a lot of nostalgia walking up those stairs, but then again, it was so oddly unfamiliar that its hard to imagine having actually lived there.
its unbelievable to me that it was nearly a decade ago. now a stay-at-home mother of two with a mortgage and a minivan, i felt completely out of place. or rather, i felt as though i would seem out of place to others; in fact, i don't feel that i've changed all that much. i've matured, sure, and have a far greater sense of self than i did at 18, but i don't really feel any older. isn't it strange how that happens?
7:00 PM // 0 comments
7.16.2008
third time's a charm?
glancing back over the past few entries here (spanning the period of over 2.5 years, if you can believe it), i see that i have professed the desire to resurrect this sad blog not once, but twice, and have yet to actually follow through.
so maybe attempt number three will actually take? we'll see.
i do want to keep this updated on a semi-regular basis, primarily just because its fun to look back and read little snapshots of what you were doing at certain points in your life... and also because its a nice little creative outlet, should i choose to use it as such. i have two other blogs that i update pretty intensively - one for each of the kids. those chronicle their milestones, our activities together, and their general growth and development. i might carry over some of my parental stories over here, but there is more to me than just being a mother. that piece of me is by far the most important and certainly more dominant right now, but it is good for the psyche to remind myself that i answer to more names than just "mama" sometimes.
8:51 PM // 0 comments
6.20.2007
lake arrowhead community... or secret nuclear waste dumping site
seriously, we have something going on around here with the bugs. i've lived in maine all my life and have seen my share of wildlife - insects included. (and yes, they absolutely count in the "wildlife" category up here.) but i have never seen bugs like we have here in waterboro. they are just crazy big. since we moved to this house, we've seen our fair share of mutant insects. spiders... dragonflies... black flies... mosquitos... all in abnormally large scale.
but the moths we've had hanging around here this weekend absolutely take the cake - in categories of both size and sheer nastiness. we always have the normal moths-around-the-porchlight gatherings after dark, but last night before going to bed adam and i noticed this huge mutant moth on the kitchen screen. in the morning, not only was it still there, but it had invited its buddy to hang out, too. these things were not like any other moth i've seen. we're talking 5" wingspans, furry bodies, and tarantula legs. it essentially looked like a mouse had sprouted wings. our two-year-old daughter thought they were adorable and insisted that we take some pictures. i, on the other hand, wonder just exactly what kind of hazardous material we're living near that creates such insect monstrosities...
12:28 PM // 0 comments
3.03.2007
check it out!
my little etsy shop is featured in jewelry by tara right now! cool, eh?
11:03 AM // 0 comments
2.09.2007
renaissance - take two
ok, so if you glance down three entries, you'll see that i had hopes to breathe a little life into things around here... and well, that was over a year ago. once again, life got busy. we added another member to our family in november - so between wrangling a toddler, being pregnant, giving birth, and having a newborn in the house again, i was able to keep up with the kids' journals and that's about it.
however, this time i'm going to try harder.
i've been really feeling a creative itch lately. in fact, i decided to finally try to sell some of my creations, and i opened up a shop on etsy.com (feel free to check it out - sobenarts.etsy.com) where i've listed some of my handcrafted jewelry and paper stuffs like cards and such. its something i can do a little at a time - a pair of earrings here, a birthday card there - and let out some creative energy. but i still want to write - and hopefully i'll post at least a little less sporadically.
9:53 AM // 0 comments
10.24.2005
"i figured out karl rove's political strategy -- make gas so expensive, no democrats can afford to go to the polls."
-senator john kerry
i would have never believed i'd be *excited* to see regular unleaded gasoline for $2.29 per gallon.
crazy.
9:00 AM // 1 comments
10.01.2005
doing my part
...of mice and men by john steinbeck...
...bridge to terabithia by katherine paterson...
...the catcher in the rye by j.d. salinger...
...the giver by lois lowry...
...go ask alice by anonymous...
...the handmaid’s tale by margaret atwood...
...a light in the attic by shel silverstein...
...the perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky...
as banned books week winds down, i took a few minutes to peruse the lists of the most frequently challenged books. this is a list of a few of my favorites.
it blows my mind that we still deal with this kind of censorship and infringement on intellectual freedom. i can't believe that there are people who think that by allowing our children to read - to be exposed to new and different ideas and perspectives - that they are somehow going to be irreparably damaged. as though exposure to and understanding of difficult and uncomfortable issues (which in turn can breed tolerance and sensitivity, heaven forbid), aren't valuable pieces to the education process.
anyway, go ahead. join in. fight back. read banned books."where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings."
—heinrich heine, from his play almansor (1821)
8:49 AM // 0 comments
