Random Thoughts Rainy Monday

Actually, now it's Wednesday, and I'm still holding onto some of this "blahness" from the rainy Monday. What is this funk, this sleepy but restless gunk? After-holiday overwhelm-ment? Wait, is there no way to use "overwhelmed" as a noun? Do I have to say... "inundation"? Ugh. Maybe it's Post-Turkey Stress Disorder. That must be a real thing.

It's like my head is so filled with ideas, projects, and beautiful landscapes to explore that my body just falls into some kind of hibernation while my mind sails away.

Maybe I'm coming down with something.

Anyway, I'm already bored with my Happy Muddled Mess site. Is that even possible? Is it just this mood I'm in? So, I decided to just import the HMM posts here, back to YMIS, my ever-faithful, always-accepting friend.

I went back to the drawing board. Since my mind is very visually-focused right now, I decided to meditate and let my "spirit guides" or "subconscious" or "higher power" or the "lords of the dance," whatever, help point me in the right direction.

Do you know what I saw? A birdhouse. Yep. Just a birdhouse, perched on a branch in a cartoony, bright, colorful scene, like a still from a Disney movie.

Ok, say this is my "sign" from the universe, the one thing that I should pursue with conviction? Does it matter? I mean, could it be anything? Could it have been a wooden toy train or a mailbox? If I pursued each of these things with conviction, would the result be the same? Is it only about pursuing something, anything, with passion?

If so, I'm scared... My passion for projects is short-lived. Though, if I could trust in this vision, of sorts, maybe my passion would last a little longer. I might feel swayed by the universe to become a master birdhouse builder.

It's all about my interpretation, really, anyway. I could see a birdhouse and decide to build boats, because birds fly over boats, or lighthouses, which equally assist in guiding different species to safety.

What if it's symbolic? What if it means that I should put together a community program that would support moms and future generations of mothers? Birds have been such a strong symbol of motherhood to me throughout my pregnancy and after. And, before my cousin had her triplets, a bird built a nest on her porch where she raised her 3 little baby birds.

Birds, birds, birds... "Put a bird on it." "Bird is the word." "Blackbird singing in the dead of niiiight..."

I yawn, rest my weary head in my hand, and play with my necklace -- which I just realized is a purple pendant with a bird on a branch. "Bird brain."

Also, do you know how many birdhouses are on Etsy? Answer: a lot.

Running to Stand Still

On New Year's Eve, we were talking about our favorite songs, and my sister-in-law, Kim, reminded me of Running to Stand Still by U2. I had to record a (very slow) ukulele version, but I'm getting faster with my chord changes! This is one of my alltime favorite songs.

That clicking in the background is the dryer, and you hear E cry at one point when she stands up in her crib and realizes she can see me sitting on the couch playing my "guh-tar." Here's to another raw, snazzy iPhone recording... Yay!

Baby's Song

I finally got around to recording one of the songs I wrote for E! It's just an iPhone recording, but at least I have it, and she'll have it!

Mark helped me with the last verse. We wrote this the first day we heard her heartbeat. This was a really special moment for us, as we hadn't heard the heartbeat for the first pregnancy. So, this song was my promise to be patient and wait for her.




And just for fun, some more ukelele practice -- cover of Paul McCartney's "Junk".

Absolutely Smashing!

Today, E had so much fun with her "glitter glues," spreading them across the page. My favorite thing about art for her, at this age, is that it's all about textures and colors -- it's rarely about how the final product looks. I love this approach.

It encourages me to do the same -- to focus less on the destination, more on the journey, to take a few minutes to just enjoy how paints spread out across the page, how the paper wrinkles, how the chalk sticks and clumps.

It doesn't matter if she's running chalk through the glitter glue, drawing on a rock she found at the bottom of her pen cup, or pasting her crayons together. It's all creativity. It's all good.

This is the page we completed today. My sister-in-law got me this great big Smash Book for Christmas, and I knew there would be no working on it without help from E, so I decided to make this another mommy-daughter collaboration, and I'm so glad I did.

Who better than a toddler to capture the true essence of what a Smash Book should be? Chaos, randomly placed paper, stickers, and quotes!

Here is our first page, and here's to enjoying the process!

To a New Year

“Whew!! I’m back!” Just imagine me riding in on a huge, horse-driven sleigh, catching air as I fly over a hill, blustery snow hitting me in the face… wearing a huge, red lumberjack-type sweater, overall snow pants, black boots, a massive knitted hat with pom-pom, and jolly Santa smile.

“Happy New Year!” I exclaim, as I hop down from my sweet ride.

I don’t even know where to begin. When I recall our vacation days, a flurry of images rush through my mind – sipping Baileys while visiting with my mom, yummy pizza dinners, my sister’s pregnant belly (she’s due in a few weeks!), and E’s happy and overwhelmed face as she opened (easily 50+) presents.

I haven’t really been buying her presents. We just don’t need them, so it was honestly really nice to replenish her supply with some toys and games that are more appropriate for her age (she’ll be 2 in less than 2 weeks!). She enjoyed every minute!

So, we stayed with Mark’s parents for Christmas Day then traveled to NY on the 26th. The snow tires weren’t great on my car, and we almost got stuck on the mountain heading into Middlebury, VT, caught in a snow squall. For about a half hour, we climbed, moving only a few inches every minute until we finally made it to the peak and headed down the other side.

Up ahead, cars swerved off the road, and a few times, we were at a standstill until we could get better traction and start moving again. Mark seemed stressed, but I offered words of encouragement. “Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?” The road curved along a mountain stream, and the trees were weighed down by at least 6 inches of the fluffiest snow I’ve ever seen.

Due to the slow progress, drivers who passed us felt it rude not to wave, as our cars were moving side-by-side, tires spinning. “Remember when travel was this slow? People actually felt compelled to wave or address each other in some way.”

And I told him, “This is what family vacation is about – trekking across multiple states, through snow and sleet, icy and clear roads, to be with the ones you love!”

He relaxed a bit, and soon we were moving again. E traveled well, and soon we were home with my family for 4 days. It was just fun and relaxing. We headed back to VT on Sunday, the 29th. We had intended to settle in at home for our last few days of vacation, but Mark’s family invited us back to their house for New Year’s Eve, and we couldn’t resist some more family time.

We packed up our bags again for one last hurrah before the New Year. Good food, good family time.

So, what does this year hold for us? A lot of “ifs” at this point, and we’re content with that.

• Most likely, there’ll be another get-together with the gaming friends.
• Mark and I are also toying with the idea of renting an RV for a road trip.
  We’d like to do a “real” vacation/adventure this year as a family!
• Also, more art stuff, more fun, more outdoor activities (come on, warm weather)!
• Guaranteed lots of laughs and love from the Strange family!

In the meantime, I’ve started participating in #365grateful via Instagram – taking a photo of something I’m grateful for, for each day of the year. There will be lots of E pics as usual, but also some reflection about all of our little blessings.

I wish you all a wonderful, happy, and blessed New Year!