Asher at 8.5 months.
New portraits of my family (October 2007) are on my Flikr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37914323@N00/
Supposedly there’s an easy way of “blogging” my photos from Flikr, but I can’t figure it out. So I guess you’ll have to click on the link.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot edit;
courage to edit the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Also, it would be great if you could help me ignore the inanity of the text, the boredom that comes from reading what must be my 500th guide, and the stress laid on me by multiple project editors with hot-and-heavy deadlines. Oh, and help me mother a baby at the same time without crying. Me, not the baby.
Good Strategy for a Racing Game
Drive a good (fast/maneuverable) car
Go really fast
Watch out for other cars
Brake well
Turns are hard, so do them correctly
Don’t crash
I escaped my house for 20 minutes today. I went without children, without spouse. I pondered for a long time what to do with my freedom: buy a lapdance? Go to a bar and drink? Shop for expensive jewelery? See a friend? Get something waxed? Oh, the possiblities!
I went to the pharmacy, picked up $180 worth of long overdue prescription refills and got a flu shot.
Hot damn. I’m livin’ la vita loca now, baby.
In the whole vast and glorious Universe, no sound is more musical than my baby giggling in his sleep.
Book 1: 5 chapters to go.
Book 2: 3 chapters to go. Been working on this one since JULY.
Book 3: 17 chapters to go.
Book 4: starting today sometime, maybe.
“Keeping busy is a good thing.” That is my motto this month. Hopefully it will stave off the underbreath murmurs of “I’m tired,” which is not a good motto.
Our medical terminology textbook manuscript is at the point now where we’re getting back another set of reviews from “experts.” There’s a light off in the distance that just might be the end of the tunnel, but also could be a lamppost showing us more work to do. Now we decide what changes to make and then it goes to production, I guess.
This past Saturday we all went up to RoRo’s cabin for some R&R.
Packing was kind of funny. I drew pictures of clothing items on Lucas’s blackboard with a number next to each item. He was bouncing around the house and getting into trouble until I set him on this fun task. I drew short-sleeved shirts, long-sleeved shirts, pants, underpants, toothbrush and paste, hairbrush, pajamas, socks, shoes, his Tidoo doll, etc. He dutifully packed and crossed stuff off the list. It wasn’t until Sunday morning that we discovered he didn’t actually pack pants.
There was a little bit of snow on the ground from a storm on Friday, but it didn’t stick on the roads. It surprised us, as we didn’t have snow boots with us. We took Lucas’s bike up there because the cabin is in a neighborhood with very little traffic. We felt comfortable letting him ride outside in the cul-de-sac without supervision. That made him feel pretty grown-up, I think.
Sunday and Monday were warmer. On Sunday we drove to Pope Beach on the lake and Lucas rode his bike in the deserted parking lot. We walked a loooong way while he rode and discovered a lovely bike trail. It made me want to take bikes up there next time. Asher slept comfortably in his new baby carrier (http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/), which looks like this:
Anyway, we picnicked on Pope Beach, which is gorgeous and I can’t understand why I’ve never been there before. Now that I’m older, I realize that all those trips up to the cabin were mostly about hanging out with family and friends, eating good food, and playing in the creek in summer and the snow in winter. We never really explored Tahoe much! It was a beautiful day: warm in the sunshine and chilly in the shade.
After lunch, we hiked a bit up Mt. Tallac—probably an hour and a half. This time, Asher rode in a backpack on Ian’s back. Lucas trudged up the hill and was a great sport about it. He seems to like athletic challenges. I got more exercise that day than I have in a long time. Ian cooked a wonderful pork tenderloin for dinner, which we ate with yams and caesar salad.
On Monday, we went to town and did some shopping. I bought a Christmas present—first of the year. We had all those cabin clean-up tasks to do, though, and those took up a good part of the day. On Sunday night, for various reasons having to do with snoring people and bed-hogging babies, I sneaked upstairs to the spare bedroom and slept three glorious hours. In a row. Alone. By myself. It was pure BLISS.
I worked a bit on several projects while we were there. Ian found me an ISP and a local number and I used dial-up to connect to the Internet. Man, I love my high-speed cable connection!
Although they won’t read this, I’d like to publicly thank RoRo and Nana for hosting our lovely weekend. It was great!
Today, on this 9th day of October, 2007, I finally got my ass to the gym. For a workout (not to sit at the pool and watch Lucas’s swimming lessons). Yes, you read it right: First workout in about 9 months. It was a small miracle and I’m so grateful for it.
Asher went to the gym day care for the first time. He did not like it so much. Poor baby cried off and on for 35 minutes. That’s what I got: 35 minutes on the treadmill. While jogging, it felt like someone had tied heavy waterballoons to me —two up front, two behind. Yuck.
Now I feel great. I’m getting back on the wagon. We went for a looong walk and a hike up Mt. Tallac trail in Tahoe on Sunday. It felt fantastic. I’m just going to build momentum off that wonderful experience.
I want a spiffy bike for Christmas.
Happy birthday,
. I hope you have a wonderful day! I hope my kid doesn’t drive you crazy. I love you tons and am grateful for all that you and your family do to support me and my family.
xoxoxo
I’m so tired lately. Working too much for comfort. Magazine and guide work this week together amount to little down time. I should say no to some of these RUSH RUSH RUSH projects. Well, I do sometimes say no. But I said yes to one this week. It seemed prudent at the time since other guides I’m assigned to are either stalled out or haven’t started yet.
I’m hopeful that I’ll get some rest this weekend. We’re going up to the cabin for three days. I’ll be taking work with me, but should have a nice time with my family. A change of scenery and some fresh mountain air will do me good. I hope we can do some hiking. We plan on bringing a couple of bikes too. Lucas can ride in the cul-de-sac without our worrying about traffic.
There is lots of packing to do tonight, and we’re tempted to attend a birthday party for
. We may not leave until Saturday morning. I wish there were more hours in the day and I really wish I could spend them sleeping.
I'm a busy freelance editor and writer, wife to Ian, and mother to two precious boys. I am living each day to the fullest and with as much grace, creativity, and patience as I can muster.
© 2003–2012 Please do not use my photographs or text without my permission.
"Love doesn't just sit there like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new." —Ursula K. LeGuinn
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