Life In Avalon

Thanks to Mom for teaching me this...

2009-11-15T10:56:00.001-05:00

I pulled out the tissue paper last night (it somehow didn't get lost in the move) and made a few tissue-paper stars to get in the holiday spirit. My mother, originally from Germany, would make these with us every Advent season. Here is a decent website, explaining the simple process: Suite 101 Another craft we would do each year, once we were a little older: candle dipping. My Mom was a

Living with a full plate.

2009-11-13T14:58:00.000-05:00

My plate, as they say, is full. I have heat again, after another call to the heating man. I have a full pantry, after running low on food for a few days. I have a peaceful moment to write this, with only the click-clack of the heaters for noise. I was feeling sorry for myself the other day because I couldn't buy a new swimsuit. Lo-and-behold, I went to the local free-exchange shop and found a

Veterans Day, November 10th, 2009

2009-11-11T08:47:00.000-05:00

"Long after they are laid to rest - when the fighting has finished, and our nation has endured; when today's servicemen and women are veterans, and their children have grown - it will be said of this generation that they believed under the most trying of tests; that they persevered not just when it was easy, but when it was hard; and that they paid the price and bore the burden to secure this

Over chocolate beer

2009-11-10T22:29:00.001-05:00

The phrase "over my dead body" is too much for this exercise. Instead, how about, "over this pint of chocolate beer" because in all honesty, that is the place this thought originated. Plus, I'm new to this. Hubby and I got a Get Out of Jail Early card tonight from boring college course and made bee-line for local pub. I hadn't seen him for about 2 days, so naturally my inclination was to

"Paralysis by Analysis"

2009-11-10T10:18:00.000-05:00

"In any aspect of life to have principles can aid in the simplification of complex scenarios. All too often, principles can be easily mislaid when the detail of a situation becomes consuming. Such micromanagement, whilst in itself not problematic, in the absence of principles becomes extremely confusing; the outcome commonly being paralysis by analysis" - Matt Wallden ND, DOI stumbled upon the

Flat living.

2009-11-05T22:31:00.002-05:00

I like the word flat much better than apartment. Why oh WHY do we say "ay-paaart-mint". So, flat living. That's what we're doing nowadays. Used to live in a 3-bedroom house with 2 bathrooms and a dirt basement. Now we pay rent (whoo hoo!) and utilities! I do like that word: utilities. Kinda like flat; it gets to the point.Things about flat living that intrigue me:1. I can hear my neighbor

Why all the yelling?

2009-11-04T20:00:00.003-05:00

I would be OK with yelling at my kids if it entailed some purpose, such as keeping them safe: "WATCH OUT FOR THE CAR!". Or if it meant I was applauding some success: "GOOD JOB!"Unfortunately, most of the yelling I do is of the tempest-in-a-teapot type: "STOP CHOKING ME AND NO YOU CAN'T HAVE COOKIES BEFORE BED AND STOP HITTING YOUR SISTER! OWWW!" The end-of-the-day type of yelling when I just

Separating Pumpkin Seeds; and Other Things that take Time.

2009-10-28T18:42:00.003-04:00

From 2:30 - 5:30 today I was standing in my husbands Crocs in our tiny kitchen, cutting, scooping, squishing, picking, and sundry other kitchen-like actions. I was also bouncing between the kids, setting them up with the pencil sharpener, monitoring proper play-dough usage, helping to string beads, and letting them draw all over the windows with 'window crayons'.During the kitchen part,

The girl and me.

2009-10-26T20:05:00.006-04:00

A trip into town is never dull with my LittleFish. Even though the library was closed (see pic below) we came up with a plan B. Rode a lion, saw some art, did some shopping, and enjoyed a lunch out.

I'm gonna downward-dog the heck outta my anger

2009-10-21T16:55:00.003-04:00

I used to never get angry... and then I had kids. Yeah, ya know what I mean?I'm not saying that having kids gave me a reason to be angry -- no way. I love my kids and they are my light. I have discovered though that having children uses all of my resources so completely that I no longer have that old energy to keep that tight lid on my anger. Now I think I lost the lid and once I feel that

Loving my small kitchen.

2009-10-09T12:00:00.002-04:00

I'm no Julia Child's, but I sure can read a recipe!It's been around 2 months since we've moved away from 3 meals a day cooked for us and into a life of providing sup for ourselves (if you're new around here, that doesn't mean I used to have servants and now live among common people. We used to live in a therapeutic community where part of our lifestyle included eating meals as a community).The

Panacea

2009-10-07T21:34:00.003-04:00

Chocolate, tea, and TV are good remedies for the short term -- remedies for the daily stresses of life. For the small moments when trying to uplift the mood.But I'm coming around in my Cycle of Motivation again and looking for some panacea more lasting. The last time around it was running. And I burned off a lot of calories and stressful days with that past-time. But it's heading into winter

Quarantine.

2009-10-03T17:08:00.002-04:00

I really hope I can post a sunny blog post someday soon. But right now, I have Strep A and am miserable. Two weeks ago I was laid out flat with some other virus too. This is what happens I suppose when one does too much. Moving, starting new jobs, starting new school... Ugh. These past 2 days I have spent flat on my back in bed which, honestly (between the retching and pain) has not been all

Warning: letting go has side effects.

2009-09-26T09:07:00.003-04:00

A week or so later, my struggling brain and intellect has taken the next logical step that might occur after acceptance: letting go. Last week came the realization that, essentially, living in the future all the time is untenable. And so the first step is to snip that thread. Ok, so I think I did that. In practical terms, this means that I admitted that I have no clue as to what sort of

Learning about acceptance.

2009-09-16T19:58:00.002-04:00

The only way to really learn about acceptance is to do it. There has come this moment in which the reality of where I stand is more apparent than the dream of where I imagine myself to be standing. And I am left with the choice: accept it now or decide to live a life pulled back and forth between reality and dream. And live that life until the lesson confronts me again. Because it will. As

Reverse-split what?

2009-09-16T13:12:00.002-04:00

I have a stockbroker. Yes, weird, I know. As a rule I have no money or assets and am a poor student and working Mom. But about 10 years ago a generous aunt and uncle gifted me around $10,ooo worth of stocks in a now-suffering very huge insurance company that has since been brought to it's knees. Good thing I sold half when times were good.Being the lamb in this story, I called my broker today

Observations.

2009-09-14T20:23:00.002-04:00

The back of our new apartment.The front of our new apartment.BigFish -- first day of early-K. Forgot to rotate pic, sorry!LittleFish "smiling" for the camera.Hubby and I -- one of the last beach days.

Humble pie.

2009-09-11T18:24:00.002-04:00

This is the first full week during which I have had to cook for my little family. Since we left our last place of employment and residence, we no longer get to go to the dining hall 3 times a day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No more looking at the clock 5 minutes before mealtimes and only then thinking of food. The week was littered with experiments gone awry: undercooked potatoes,

Pink Powerwheel now...what comes later?

2009-09-03T15:36:00.004-04:00

As an adult, I try to be good and fair and interested in people who are different than me. I think most of us strive to include people and not create cliques -- at work, in the neighborhood, etc. I learned from being the quiet, oft-teased middle-schooler just how much it can hurt to be the outsider. And henceforth, I obey the Golden Rule. But when it comes to children, I understand that they

The turning point.

2009-09-02T09:54:00.003-04:00

There's a funny thing about being at the culmination of a transition: it is decieving. For a moment, everything seems still and hushed and controlled. When in reality, it's more like being at the center of a hurricane where, if I close my eyes, it feels like sitting on the beach. But if I open my eyes, I realize the swirling before me is my life still settling down.I am home all day with

Junk in my trunk

2009-08-20T11:15:00.002-04:00

Our little CR-V has been working ovetime since last week, hauling our best junk from current residence to future residence. Back and forth we zip, eating up road and gas as we move our lives from one lovely place to another. Pleased to say, we've found the shortest route to our new apartment: 20 minutes and around 13 miles. Horray for short-distance moves!Meanwhile, our plain old junk sits in

Life phasing: here we move.

2009-08-14T15:28:00.002-04:00

As I was sifting through a small box this morning, as in a movie, I came across correspondences from my life 5 years ago. Letters from Mom, best friends, siblings... congratulating me on my graduation from college, on my 21st birthday (I graduated the year I turned 21), and of course, as a last comment in most letters, congratulating me on the biggest life-changer: impending motherhood. You

Ok, step 2 now...

2009-07-18T17:31:00.002-04:00

So as it turns out, giving up coffee wasn't that hard. Even though I have a lot of friends that think I'm losing my marbles to give it up, I was able to stick to the plan. And now, a week later, I don't miss it. The problem is that I have set myself up to do something even harder this week: give up anything containing white flour.That includes pasta, bread, baked goods... and I'm sure

Caffeine free since Monday!

2009-07-17T13:02:00.003-04:00

Did I really make it through a week of work without coffee? Yes, yes I did. And frankly, after the first day it wasn't that hard. I actually like feeling tired when I am tired and I REALLY like that I'm not dealing with coffee crashes mid morning and afternoon.I am not feeling like my heart is about to jump out of my ribcage either. That was never pleasant. In the morning, when I crave

Day 1 of me going nuts.

2009-07-13T16:06:00.002-04:00

I've always wanted to try eliminating white sugar and flour from my diet. And since I have grown dependant on coffee this past year, I thought I'd give up caffeine as well. What the heck, may as well deprive myself of all pleasures.I'm giving up caffeine first, starting today. Then next week I'll get rid of white flour. And in the third week I'll ditch the sugar. A gradual taper seemed like