Bringing Home Life & Light

On August 23rd at 2:15 in the morning my son was born. 

After nine months of pregnancy and 36 hours of unmediated labor, my life took on new meaning once again.

And now none of us will ever be the same.  

We make choices and set our intentions.  We do the best we can in the moment.  And often we are blessed by surprises.

Welcome to this life Isaac Bright Garrison.  Your family and friends are here to receive you with open arms. Teach us what you will.

Two Cleaning Tips for Instant Self Care

When I came home from the hospital with my first baby, Camilla, I rested for a bit, then hopped right back into my type A shoes and rush forth for a busy three months of holiday shipping in the retail industry.  See these pictures?  The pack'n'play IN MY STUDIO.  Permanent baby strapped to my chest.  It worked. I was happy and I felt good.  Still, I don't want to repeat it this time.  I want slower time, I want down time, quiet time, bonding time.  And it's up to me to carve that out. 

Really, what that means, is it is always up to each and every one of us to carve out our own DOWN TIME.  No one will force us to care for ourselves.  And for the self employed, and the type A's, and the working moms - well, let's just say this might not be our number one skill by nature, we have to work to nurture it.  There are a lot of pieces to the self care puzzle.  But today I am going to pick ONE concrete area where I can do a little practical work to pave the way of self care for the next few months:

Cleaning up a few little special "me" spaces to promote EASE and INSPIRATION.

• I like a clean desk. So when I move into my workspace, only work awaits me and I can jump right in.  If there is clutter in my work space I find working is harder.  Wait a second - aren't we talking about self care.   Darn work, always sneaking in :) But in truth, work is a part of our self, so any care we take there nurtures us as well. Go, clean your desk.

• Clean thing number two. I am on a roll here!  Another thing I like to have de-cluttered is my bedside table.  With a house full of dogs and kids and projects I just want to see something clear and relaxing and inspiring when I first awake.  Right now, it's not looking so good. My draw has become a catch all, there are cords and wires all tangled, a bunch of used tissues, and not ONE item of inspiration.  Okay, this is it.  I've got to move on this one today and get my morning shrine on.  I am thinking: Clean it up! Add art, a quote or two for inspiration, a nice coaster for my water glass, a drawer separator, small journal with a nice pen, a good book (quotes maybe), a new Chapstick.  What else?  

Here are a few shots form my desk area that make me smile: 

Crack (AKA Heirloom Tomatoes) & Genetics – What I Got From My Mom

They say addictive tendencies are passed down through families.  Booze, smoking, drugs, pills, meth.  Tomatoes?  Do those count?  Also passed along is the normal genetic crap – like hair color, eye color, breast size and weird toes, etc.  And then there is nurture which molds and shapes us.

From my mother I've inherited a few things:

• A severe addition to buying all the heirloom tomatoes that I can get my hands on during the last two weeks of August in the Northeast.  Seriously, folks today I spent OVER $60 on tomatoes.  And that is just ONE DAY of tomato buying.  I will eat them all.  Well, my mother is visiting, so she will help.  And my daughter (be it by nature or nurture) has also inherited this severe addiction. 
• I did not inherit my mother's blond hair, bad teeth, aversion to conflict or affinity to beer.
• I did inherit her big boobs, long legs, green eyes, and lack of verbal filter. 

All in all, I think I've done pretty well.  And if my daughter's worst addiction continues to be tomatoes, I think we will all get big pats on the back.

How to Prepare an Heirloom Tomato for Proper Consumption

1. Never, ever, ever, ever put that tomato near the fridge. 
2. Have a good, sharp knife.  And slice that ugly/beauty in thick rounds.
3. Sprinkle with good salt, preferably course, preferably sea salt.
4. Let sit for about an hour. 
5. Eat. 

So Lost the Damn Smoothie Blog Post and Then I Lost My Shit.

I suppose there are people in the world who go to sleep at night and then wake up the next morning.  That hasn't happened for me in over three years.  I was up last night (googling smoothie recipes with almond milk frozen in ice cube trays) and thinking about what this might do to my brain, this lack of sleep. 

So I got up.  And I wrote a WHOLE LONG BLOG POST about my favorite smoothies, with tips and techniques and tricks and it was so clear and awesome and then I hit the FUCKING DELETE button like an idiot. 

So, in former days I might do something like throw my computer.  But these days a I am a whole lot more in tune to the fact that the universe is whispering to me: Girl, get the eff of the computer and go live your life.   So I walked away and took some time away and come back to you now with two DOPE smoothie recipes that I have perfected in the times spent living my life OFF the computer.

Bomb Ass Not-So-Fruity Smoothie

This one will fill you up.  I swear by it when I won't get to eat for an hour (yes, I eat almost every hour.)  Also, my daughter loves it, she says it is "better than the blue one." 

1. Throw coconut flakes in any milk (almond, cow, soy). I just put it in the bottom of the blender. Add a bit of vanilla or almond extract and some cinnamon.  Then, let it sit for a bit.  I sue this time to unload the dishwasher, wipe some surfaces, make cereal for my daughter or something like that.  Efficiency, folks!
2. Then I add two whole frozen bananas (I freeze mine quartered, cut once the long way and once the short way) .  Then a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter and a bunch of plain greek yogurt.  Then a few cubes of ice and blend away!
3. Yum. 

Crunchy Fruit Smoothie

This is a pretty basic milk and fruit based smoothie.  But I decided to include it because it is a fun baseline to work with and has a couple of sweet tricks.  I think I have talked quite a bit about being a fruit hoarder, so this means I always have an ample supply of frozen fruits and as everyone knows, frozen fruit an awesome smoothie doth make.

1. Start with any milk in the bottom of a blender.  I know, I know, I am getting repetitive here, I obviously like this step.  Throw in some chia seeds (google if you don't know of what I speak).  I also like coconut flakes in here...but I just like coconut in general in the summer as it reminds me of the tropics and sunscreen.
2. Add a lot of frozen blueberries and peaches (mine I never have long enough to freeze) and greek yogurt (for protein, ya'll) and blend.  Some people choose to use a sweetener in this, depending on their fruits - If I do use something I use a spoonful of some kind of corn syrup free jelly or jam from the fridge.  Honey or agave are also fine, clearly, but I don't like agave and having a little kid has gotten me off honey.  I really like to put fresh raspberries or blackberries in this one too as it is one that makes a virtue of the drink that you must chew.

So, go make some smoothies and report back. 

 *it is fun to make jars of frozen fruit mixes and leave in your freezer.  Then dump them in to your blender in the AM and add right back to the same jar.  PRETTY THINGS!

Cranes and Cervical Effacement

It went a little like this:  

• Busted seal, cranes, replacement glass, doesn't fit, they try to make it fit, glass everywhere, 2nd replacement pane almost doesn't fit, I am praying I don't go into labor, it fits, it works, they leaves, no baby yet.

This is the building we own and currently live in.   There are five units (of which we occupy two).  I dream of the day when it is all rental income.  But in the meantime, it is mostly outflow.  Gotta love something built in 1878.  (Think new roof, widows, lead paint, old pipes and everything is uneven.)  Does this sound like work?  Is this really my hobby?  I think I need to re-define some things :)

Speaking of AMAZING house/building/project blogs.  Have you read THIS ONE?  Isn't she WONDERFUL? Her writing is hysterical and the project is fab.

Kindness (something bitches can also try)

I am kind of a bitch.  But I TRY to be a kind bitch.  Sometimes it works.  Sometimes it doesn't.  When I am pregnant or otherwise hormonal, it is even harder.

I curse a lot.  I am VERY bossy.  I am mostly right about everything, all the time. 

These are things I am striving for:

Humility, softness, receptiveness, humility.   Not being convinced that I am always right.  And just plain being nice.  Using a nice tone of voice.  Not getting exasperated. Being HUMBLE and not bratty.

If you have never, ever, ever, ever clicked on a link I posted, please consider reading This Article.  It is wonderful and will make you feel warm and fuzzy.  Kinda like this kid, who makes me feel warm and fuzzy. 

How to be Crazy Successful - And a Suggestion for Organizing your "to read" Internet Stuff

Yesterday, my site www.wearyourmusic.org had over 21K unique visitors.  It is the first large e-commerce site I have ever designed and since it only launched two days before this, it has been a pretty epic test.  It has also involved an onslaught of emails that are INSANE.

 

Some of the stuff that comes in are articles that I want to go back to and read later, and this stuff I mark with Pocket.  It helps me organize.  I need this help.

 

Here are some good collected reads that I am saving to read again once this insanity dies down a bit.  (It always does, remember ebb and flow!)

  

1. Well, first off, take care of yourself and get up early. 
2. Hone your communication skills. 
3. Work on your MARKETING SKILLS, yo. 
4. Compensate those who work with you.

Read these and inn the meantime, send me thoughts of calm and togetherness :) 

Some People Nest. I Build.

When I was pregnant with Camilla I decided to build an 8 foot partition wall.  

This pregnancy I am building a house.   Well, starting, anyway. 

Am I nuts?  Quite possibly.  But I've become adjusted (mostly) to being that way.  So send me your favorite interior shots.  I am off to buy 20-something old doors.

Homecoming - Mess on Display

I love coming home. 

I don't sleep.  I wander around and touch my stuff.  And wade thru dog fur.   

The mess doesn't bother me.  Piles seem exciting.  Inviting. I start thinking of new filing cabinets.  I want to order glass jars for my tea.  I wish my label maker did more fonts.

I take in small details.   The fat blueberries in my oatmeal.  Her blue eyes.

How can you approach something with freshnesss, with newness?   Can you do just a little today?

The Hustle. (I'm a Hustler, Baby. I Just Want You to Know)

On occasion people give me shit about NOT HAVING A JOB.  

In case you are new here: I run my own consulting business (for self employed peeps), I am co-president of Wear Your Music (guitar string bracelets made from strings of famous people with profits to charity), I make and sell jewelry on the side, I run the backend of my husbands photography business , I manage a 5 unit rental property, I am building an eco-friendly kit house in the woods, I have a two and a half year old, I am 35 weeks pregnant and I have to deal with my crazy family and friends and make a living and pay bills and eat and sleep and shit and shower. . . just like everyone else.

My whole family hustles, its really the only life I know.  Above are my "little" cousins who handcraft and sell cutting boards in the shape of fish and Block Island.  One is a recent Brown graduate, watch out for what he does next.  This weekend you can find me on Block Island, selling my jewelry alongside them at two art fairs.  

So the next time it is Monday morning and I am taking a nap or picking flowers or sitting on the beach I dare you to tell me I don't have a job.