“Let us pause in life’s pleasures, and count its many tears.”

I’m probably not the first person to post this video/song as a New Year’s Day post, but nonetheless, I’m feeling like you might just need to watch this. Natalie graciously put up with me listening to this version on repeat in the car today (well, by graciously, I mean she fell asleep to it — I think that counts). It’s on the album “Appalachian Journey“. Just. Love. It. So. Much.

And it seems so appropriate today somehow.

So here’s to the good times a-comin’. I hope 2011 was the best year of your life, but if it was sucktastic like I know it was for some of my nearest and dearest, may this bring you some solace, maybe a few tears and some hope.

New painting! Available as a print in the shop, and the original watercolor painting on bristol board is available, too.

My new favorite book is a cookbook. What’s happening to the non-fiction and self-help books that are piled by my bedside? I tend to fall asleep whenever I think about reading one of those these days. And, well, I’m a mama, trying to make healthy food for me and my family, that is also delicious and easy to prepare. Is that so much to ask?

Enter “Super Natural Everyday“. Thank you, Heidi Swanson, for making the book I didn’t know I was looking for. Gorgeous photos of yummy food, easy to follow recipes with a mix of my standby ingredients and a few new things I’m nervous to try. Everything (really, every single thing) I have made from this book is delicious. And seriously easy to make, entering our weekly and monthly meal roatation.

I’ve already made the Miso-Curry Delicata Squash (my photo of it above) twice already, and I just got the book from the library a few weeks ago, finally purchasing my own copy this week. YUM.

I was going to reopen my Etsy shop this weekend.

But instead, I’m going to cook, and clean, and sort baby clothes. Do yoga, share photos, send presents to new babies and friends. Buy wedding gifts and eat brownies. Pet the cat. Try to be nicer to my amazing husband. Plan a beach vacation. And maybe even watch some “Master Chef” on hulu. I am keeping busy and learning to live a little simpler and enjoy spending time with Nat and John and friends and our dog. I have been mending toys and clothes, but I haven’t made anything in over a moth. And I’m ok with that.

It’s some sort of transition and I’m embracing it.

If you had told me a few years ago, or even one year ago, that I’d be leaning away from owning a small artistic/creative business to be a “homemaker” with a part-time job in someone else’s business, I would have probably said you were crazy. But here we are. I’m trying to go on a low-stress diet, and I think it’s working. More-or-less, of course.

For now, it’s a wait-and-see, and that’s really ok. Isn’t it? I still have big things up my sleeves, and I’m not abandoning the creating or the business I’ve built, but I’m pushing it a little farther back on the shelf I put it on last month. I hope it doesn’t get too dusty up there, but I think I know how to clean it up if it does.

There’s something in the air these days.

and no, it’s not just pollen or humidity

I’m talking about the idea of stepping back, unplugging and slowing down.

I mentioned the idea of re-evaluating a few weeks ago, and the idea has been growing and growing in my mind. I need some time to think, to breathe, to make space. I need space in my house, both my physical/literal house, but also my metaphorical/sipritual house. Things are getting pretty jumbled up in there. It’s been over a year now since Natalie joined our family, and I need to take stock of how we’re living. What we’re spending our days on, how we move and grow in our home, how we take care of ourselves and each other, and seemingly less important these days (but really something I’d like to become more important again) how we make money and how we work, what we DO. Because really, how we spend our days is how we spend our lives, right? I think I read that on an inspirational magnet somewhere…. but it’s so true!

here are a few of the blog posts that resound with me lately:

Christine at Lavendar & Limes went on vacation
&
Maeg at Edison Rex went on walkabout (and won’t be back at her blog/business till September — inspiring!)

So… I’m thinking of following in their footsteps. I already closed my Etsy shop for my staycation, and I think it might have to stay closed until I either have new work to add to it, or have a new brand/business to reopen it with. I’m not making any promises or grand statements or creating any self-imposed time limits on this one. I think I’ve learned my lesson with that. But I think I will be back, and I imagine I will be looking for more accountability from y’all. This isn’t even another I’m-not-going-to-blog post, but it is something of a “get out of blogging free” card, if you catch my meaning. I’m unplugging, and we’ll see where it goes from there. I feel better already. Don’t you?

Does this idea make sense to you? Does it call to you? Then do it! Unplug! Make art! Make space! Play and create and lounge and read and do yoga and garden and cook and nap and go to bed early and stop comparing yourself with bloggers/facebook friends/famous people — just be you and enjoy your life, today. Have an average day!

being a mama is really hard work. No doubt about that. So firstly, Happy Mother’s Day to all you mamas out there! Wow, I mean… I knew it would be hard, but there’s nothing that can really prepare you for the difficulties of little sleep, not knowing why your baby is crying and separation anxiety, not to mention baby illness, bumps, bruises and even the occasional hospital visit.

And then there are the day-to-day decisions. I feel like I’m constantly making decisions, about what to do to keep her happy, well-fed, appropriately clothed, well-rested, appropriately stimulated and educated. And that’s all before breakfast. Haha, I kid. Well, not really. I think for me that is the hardest part, being always “on the job” and constantly making these decisions, weighing all the options and choices. There usually isn’t one right answer, so sometimes it’s even harder to just choose what is right at the moment. And don’t we really all know that the best is probably the one that feels best? The one where you feel at ease and confident? I try to keep in mind the best advice I got about parenting, from my maternal Grandmother (Natalie’s “Merney”), that I know more than I think I do, and that I should trust my intuition.

This is all leading up to something I’ve been doing. I’ve been diving headlong into nutrition research. I have been charged (you know, by the universe) to make nutrition decisions for my daughter, as well as for myself. For her for at least the next 10 years, if not 10 more. I paint pictures of vegetables, but I always felt like something was missing. And I think that something is the knowledge behind the suggestion to “eat more veg”! I have known for a while now that I’m not interested in feeding Natalie cow’s milk or much meat. I wasn’t really sure why, but it just felt right. And I want to know why, and I want to have the facts to back up these somewhat intuitive decisions.

So I’m reading and watching documentaries and dreaming of taking this and this course at Kripalu when I have the chance (i.e. when Natalie is weaned and I am able to take the time away from her). I am so so lucky to live in an area full of healing centers like Kripalu, the UltraWellness Center and Canyon Ranch. I can’t wait to learn from them and get involved with the work they are doing.

It’s just the tip of the proverbial iceburg, and I have just *started* reading them, but the books I’m finding the most inspirational at the moment are Crazy Sexy Diet and The China Study, and if you are remotely interested in health and wellness/nutrition, or just, you know, interested in not getting cancer or dying of heart disease, do yourself a favor and watch (and put into practice some of the information in) the documentary Food Matters (on netflix instant!). There are lots of other books and movies on the subject, some of which I mentioned in this post so long ago.

Rock on, and go make  yourself some green juice!

This poor little peanut had her first (and hopefully last?) serious injury on Monday. She fell into an evil baseboard corner and ended up with a gash on her eyebrow, with 5 stitches to put her back together. Learning to walk and trying to run! Traumatic for all involved, especially mommy and daddy. I can tell you it was so hard to “know” what to do. We saw blood, it looked deep and I made the split-second decision to pack us into the car and get her to the hospital.

It was right after dinner, so she was already getting sleepy, so we ended up just basically chilling out in the E.R. (it’s a place where you learn to be patient!) and she ended up watching her first movie; “101 Dalmations” is now her favorite thing ever. I mean, come on, there are tons of dogs, a cat and even some cows! And a fast-moving car! Awesome. She actually liked everyone there, too, and even gave some smiles after the actual stitches happened (with no apparent pain after the numbing agent was applied, but with a LOT of anger at being held down by mama, dada and an awesome nurse).

I can say it was all pretty exhausting. We didn’t get home till an hour and a half after her bedtime and even though she fell right asleep in the car, she kept waking up after she was in bed, so mama didn’t get to sleep till almost 1AM. Ugh. And not a little emotionally and mentally exhausting. I really do think I did a great job keeping it together and calm. It was pretty darn scary, though. Thankfully she didn’t even cry too long and there was much less blood than I was bracing for.

Oh, parenting, you are such an adventure.

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Featuring twelve of my original veggie watercolors, it’s now available in my Etsy shop, as well as at Emporium and Berkshire Organics in Pittsfield, MA! They will also be available at the Plum Gallery during the Williamstown Holiday Walk December 4 & 5, and at the Spencertown Academy Handmade Holiday Show December 4 to 22nd.

Also available in the Etsy shop are prints of each veggie, as well as notecards featuring the tasty green (and red and orange and yellow!) things.

(That’s almost 4 months, for those of you who prefer your dates in monthly form.)

I may have started this pregnancy journey with a bit of a belly, but not quite like this! I have also been losing weight (?), but the belly continues to grow, so… it’s a baby bump for sure. The little one is supposedly the size of a navel orange these days, but of course quickly growing. At times I feel so amazed and overwhelmed by the miraculousness of it all, and at others it feels so normal already, so much a part of my life and my every day. {And of course a part of the grand scheme of the world and one of the most natural things that can happen.} I love it! (what I don’t love is the constant I-need-to-lie-down-right-NOW tiredness, ridiculous hunger followed by three bites of food and total fullness, and the most recent development of gagging reflexes kicking in during things like brushing my teeth. Yeah, those aren’t so fun.)

I’m still having some trouble mustering the energy to do much lately besides growing a human, but I’m trying! I did a little bit of sewing yesterday and it was really nice. I am also going to do some goccoing of holiday cards soon. If you are interested in a custom holiday card design, please contact me ASAP, as my holiday-making schedule is filling up fast! See the Events page for a complete list of where I’ll be selling the crafty goods in person, and you can also now find the 2010 Birdie Calendar and some cards in the Twist pop-up store in Thornes Marketplace in Northampton, MA! Yippee!

As I write this, I’m just over 12 weeks pregnant. It’s true! A baby! Making it’s way into our lives at the end of April (2010!)!

I have been soooo tired these last few months, and thankfully that has made it a *little* easier to keep this secret, since it takes all my energy to sit down and get anything done, including this blog post. I haven’t been doing much making, and therefore not a log of blogging, but as Penny’s hubby said about her first few months of pregnancy in this post, I need to remember that I have been busy creating something completely different. I might look like I’m just sitting on the couch, but darn it, I’m working hard!

So far everything is going great with out little bean, and we will get to see much more at an ultrasound at 18 weeks. We got to hear the heartbeat a week ago, and let me tell you that was quite an amazing thing. We had an ultrasound at 6.5 weeks, too, but weren’t really able to see anything but a little blur and a flickering speck of a heartbeat. {Little flickering speck, how I can’t wait to meet you!}

I spent the last 4 days in Pennsylvania with my cousin Becky and her twin boys who just turned one on Wednesday. What a fun time that was — they are quite possibly the cutest and happiest children in the world. It was a nice for me to get some baby practice, too, even though they are technically toddlers — both walking now!

Some FAQ about the baby bean?

• No, we don’t have any names picked out (tho some front-runners, which we will probably keep a secret)
• We still aren’t sure if we want to find out the sex until the birth, but I think I would like to, as I am not a very patient person!!
• Yes, we had been trying off and on for about a year, but it finally happened when we relaxed about it and really believed “whatever happens, happens” (my hubby’s favorite mantra). And then it happened! I really didn’t believe it when I saw that plus sign on the test, and I had to wake John up at 6am to tell him! It has been so hard not telling everyone in the world, and we started telling select friends and family pretty early — at 5 weeks. I decided I didn’t want to go through any of it alone, and especially if something bad happened, you know? You know. And also wanted to share the joy and excitement as soon as we could!
• Thankfully I have been feeling pretty good. Super tired and a little moody, but I have been soooo lucky not to have any morning sickness. I am just constantly hungry, but I get full really easily and nothing really sounds good to eat. I have had some heartburn, which is not terribly fun, but I am so lucky not to have much nausea at all that I really can’t complain. I do pee about every hour, and there are lots of other “symptoms” of pregnancy that I’m not going to get into here, but I’ve got ‘em! It’s been quite a ride so far, and I really can’t believe I’m already a third of the way through!

: )

P.S. Just listed my 2010 calendar in my Esty shop! This year it’s “Birds of the Berkshires”; a whole collection of hand-painted likenesses of our favorite New England avian friends. They’re pretty pretty, if I do say so myself. I’m so happy with how it came out!