Yesterday I received an email informing me that my contract position with the magazine has been terminated. From the 6th of February through the 11th, I’ll work there proofreading the issue for the last time. I’m really pretty bummed about it, as I was feeling at home and secure finally—like I was really part of the editorial team there, contributing in my own circumscribed way. The editor who let me go was very kind and complimented the quality of my work extensively. She made it clear that the change was due only to budget cuts, and not for any substantive reason, which I appreciate knowing. Reading her compliments (and rereading them) has been making the blow a little easier to take, but I am very disappointed about this. I came to rely on that income each month, certainly. Yet, somehow this contract became more than a contract for me. I became friends with the people there. It was a place where I could be a professional working with other professionals in person and out in the world. That may sound like I dislike working from home by myself, but that’s not the case. I just liked having those three to four days each month doing something else. It was refreshing and I always learned new things, sometimes about AP style and journalism, sometimes about my home town. I thought the contract might someday morph into a full-time job, later on after my kids are bigger—you know, when I am ready.

I will probably still be assigned some freelance jobs here and there, when they have a special need. I will continue to write for the magazine, which I’m kind of fired up about lately. So they will probably continue to be a valued client. But my exceptionally sweet gig is at an end.

Tonight Ian and I are taking our first art class together: basic drawing. We are both very excited about it for two reasons. We get to make art, which we so rarely get to do, and learn new things. And we get to do it together without our kids along. It is a little bit of just-us time that we haven’t had in so long. We used to do things like this together before our children came along (fencing, jiu-jitsu, workouts at the gym, watercolor painting, etc.). It’s almost like a date! 

We have lovely new art supplies in a neat little box. Two of each item. 

I hope the class is cool because we’re signed up for four nights of drawing and the school has many more classes that all sound very interesting, including watercolor painting, pastels, and oil painting, which is something I’ve never done before. 

My dearest hope is that this experience will unlock and clear some of the stuffiness and frustration we sometimes experience in our daily work/family grind, and bring some more flow (of ideas, movement, creativity, romance) into our relationship. I feel giddy.

This name meme is a little too repetitive.What Lucas Alexander Means

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.
You are light hearted and accepting. You don’t get worked up easily.
Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way.
And because you’re so lucky, you don’t really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life.
You’re sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it.

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily.
You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind.
A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable.

You are usually the best at everything … you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic “Type A” personality.

You are the total package – suave, sexy, smart, and strong.
You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.
You don’t always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don’t have as much going for them as you do.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are incredibly sexy and sensual. You have a naughty vibe that no one can ignore.
You have an unquenchable desire. And you are unrestrained in your passions.
You have a tendency to be unfaithful. Whether you fight it or give in to it is up to you.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row.
You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace.
People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You’re always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You’re very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you’re likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What Asher Donovan Means

You are usually the best at everything … you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic “Type A” personality.

You are the total package – suave, sexy, smart, and strong.
You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.
You don’t always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don’t have as much going for them as you do.

You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out.
Success comes rather easily for you… especially in business and academia.
Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You’re a strong person.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You’re always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can’t handle you. You’re very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you’re likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row.
You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace.
People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.
You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you.
At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You are very hyper. You never slow down, even when it’s killing you.
You’re the type of person who can be a workaholic during the day… and still have the energy to party all night.
Your energy is definitely a magnet for those around you. People are addicted to your vibe.

I love love love names and name meanings.What my real first, confirmation, and middle names mean.

You are the total package — suave, sexy, smart, and strong.
You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.
You don’t always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don’t have as much going for them as you do.

You are usually the best at everything … you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic “Type A” personality.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You’re always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can’t handle you. You’re very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you’re likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you.
You never give up, and you will succeed… even if it takes you a hundred tries.
You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.
You are light hearted and accepting. You don’t get worked up easily.
Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It’s easy to get you excited … which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don’t stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are incredibly wise and perceptive. You have a lot of life experience.
You are a natural peacemaker, and you are especially good at helping others get along.
But keeping the peace in your own life is not easy. You see things very differently, and it’s hard to get you to budge.

You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous.
You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things.
Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times.

You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless, and you have a lot of questions about life.
You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. Youre most comfortable when youre far away from home.
You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble.

You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out.
Success comes rather easily for you… especially in business and academia.
Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. Youre a strong person.”http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyournameshiddenmeaningquiz/”>What's Your Name’s Hidden Meaning?

IMG_4323
Originally uploaded by SarabellaE

Messy baby photos available.

I love this one to pieces.

IMG_4422
Originally uploaded by SarabellaE

I believe Lucas has made a huge leap in his cognition. I see it coming through in surpising ways. On January 13 he built a huge block city with almost perfect symmetry. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him build anything with any care for that aesthetic. I took lots of pictures.

I have also been taking pictures of some of his lego creations. They have also ramped up in complexity, indicating to me a change in his spatial thinking and engineering ability. We’re talking helicopters with spinning rotors, mummy’s tombs, and—of all things—a bird. I’ll post some of those soon.

Sometimes I sit back and realize that I’m just here to provide a warm place and food so that this genius can unfold in the universe. It seems determined to do so.

Asher ate stewed onions for dinner tonight. It was the weirdest thing. I put one on his plate just to touch and he picked it up, placed it in his mouth, munched it, and swallowed. He then ate tons of them and was clearly disappointed when there were no more. Then he ate half a slice of bread dipped in beef and onion gravy. 

This morning I put on my favorite pair of jeans in the whole world. They fit.  

I love Dr. Atkins.

We are 1 month and 3 weeks into our low-carb diet. We indulged in extra carbs on Christmas day, but then went right back to it. I have lost 14 pounds. I have met my first goal. I would love to lose about 5 more pounds, but am very, very satisfied with my progress. If those last few pounds come off gradually but steadily, I’ll be thrilled. We are no longer on induction, but are trying not to eat too many carbs in any given day. 

Ian’s really done well. I won’t reveal his stats, but let’s just say they are impressive. He has really taken to our new way of eating and says he feels fantastic. What’s more, he has been inspired to try new recipes and new foods. His cooking is wonderful and he cooks for me all the time! We have recently enjoyed salmon with hollandaise sauce; scallops with leeks and spinach; omelets with bacon, sour cream, and green onions; steaks; chicken stir fry; and much more. Go Ian, go Ian!

I’ve been walking more and am thinking about investigating a personal trainer.

We just returned from a lovely reunion of the core friends of the Working Moms’ Group that I was a part of and organized for two years when Lucas was a toddler. Deidre hosted it at her place and Kelly and Ambrosia, Karen and Toby, and Crystal and Kayla attended, as well as the four of us. Deidre has a 4-year-old (Alex) and a new baby (Jace) who is 9 months old. It was surprisingly fun to get together again, perhaps it was because of the long hiatus since our last gathering, or perhaps it was because it didn’t have the obligation of being an official Moms’ Group meeting. Or maybe it was because the whole idea of the Sunday supper was Deidre’s and not mine, and I didn’t have to bang a drum to get everybody on board. It just fell together beautifully and effortlessly.