January 30, 2013

Curve Ball Trifecta

I'm pregnant.  Finally, I'm saying out loud what's really on my mind and what has been on my mind for six weeks now.  Technically, we should wait even longer to spill the beans, but since this situation colors my thoughts on most other situations lately, it's been very hard to keep quiet.  Also, often things do not feel real to me until I put them in writing (possibly the result of a liberal arts education?), and while my body gives me significant clues that this is real, it still seems murky and far-fetched.

It has been a season of surprises, pretty big ones.  We shouldn't have been completely surprised by the pregnancy, since we are people who paid attention in health class back in the day, but still.  I just never thought that I would be one of those people who would basically think about pregnancy and then become pregnant five seconds later.  So that was our first surprise, just before Christmas.

January 23, 2013

New Skirt and New Life

Many people close to me have heard me go on and on about my love for the work of Alabama Chanin, a company which not only creates beautiful couture garments using earth and people-friendly methodology, but also open sources their methods so that people who enjoy the making process, or want to get the look without the price tag, can still wear their uniquely Southern and feminine styles.

I recently completed my third Alabama Chanin garment, and I have been very happy with it so far.  It is longer than I expected, and also a little bit roomier than I expected.  This turns out to be a fabulous for me, since I also recently learned that I am pregnant.  The comfy, stretchy waistband is turning out to be exactly what I need, since slowly, one pair at a time, my pants no longer comfortably fasten.  More on that later, but in the meantime, here's the skirt:




January 21, 2013

Resolve

We are three weeks into the new year.  Into our resolutions, goals, promises and lists.  Which means that many people, myself included, have likely reached the feeling of discomfort that occurs from venturing into unknown territory and not feeling great about the results.  Suddenly we wonder if the goal was silly, or if we are not good enough, or if we have wasted our time.  And very often, we slink away to lick our wounds, letting the new goal slide off the table, no harm done.  But why do we feel uncomfortable?  And how do we build that bridge between old familiar skills and new desired expertise?

I have so far been essentially meeting the weekly goals I have set for myself, with some minor deadline tweaking, and with hints of the aforementioned disappointment.  For example, since one of my goals is to learn to bake bread, I am working to accomplish it by baking one loaf per week.  The first loaf I made went mostly according to the recipe and I was tickled when the dough actually rose, just as the recipe suggested it would.  I did, however, forget to add salt.  So, it looked nice, but tasted less than fabulous.  Then last week, I made the dough on time, but it turned out that there was no time to finish the baking process until today.  Since I'm within one day, I will still count it for last week's loaf.  And I am still required to make one this week.  So...progress, but definitely no artisanal bread just yet.  Obviously.  What we forget is that in the beginning, everything feels hard.  We have adult, gourmet expectations, but our skills always begin as elementary.  Time and patience are required.  This is not surprising, but it is easier said than managed.








January 07, 2013

When I Started Writing This Post, It Was Still 2012

But now 2012 is over, unbelievably.  Back when I started writing this, a few morsels of 2012 remained with which people could quit smoking, get skinny, top off the 401k, be better neighbors, or whatever it was they started working on last January.  And then it was over.  

I've missed writing my blog, and feel bad about my no-warning disappearance.  I have reasons for my lapse, but who cares about that.  I'm back and what's important is that this is my favorite time of year.  I love making the lists, cleaning out the cobwebs, and just generally trying to do a better job doing life.  So it seems like the right time to get back on the blog horse.


Before launching into this year's list of goals and plans, it seems wise to review my performance from last year: