The "Work"

Recently when Toni Morrison, the novelist, passed the image above went viral on my Instagram and let. me. tell you. I needed to see it. I feel like I've always struggled with loving my "life" and loving my "work" equally. And, yes some will say it's because I haven't found what I'm truly meant to be doing to earn money. But, then I argue... are we only here to do things to earn money? Aren't we more than that? I always say I really just want to go to work so I can go back home and be with my family, be a mother, be a friend, a wife, a sister, a daughter. Maybe I need a change in mentality, but it's hard when you're already a part of the hamster wheel to jump off of that. Now, yes, I did jump off the wheel in 2016 for 2 years and it wasn't easy. Now that I'm 2 years older (ha, ha) and charged with the knowledge and experience of that jump I'm a little more hesitant to do so. Ya know... adult things... insurance, 401k, employee stock, blah, blah, blah. All the things that matter and make the world turn. BUT, what are we here on this planet to really do? Should we punch the clock and find amazing extracurriculars? Or strive to turn those extras into a full time line of work? What are YOU doing everyday to make life enjoyable outside of the 9-5?

Repost : Chaos

Below is a post  I wrote on Oct 2, 2017. This is an unfortunate repost of something that has become all to familiar. I have all the same feelings and maybe even more fear for the future my son will grow up in and the one I will have to protect him against. What will change? When will the pendulum swing back to peace, love and happiness? And, what will we have to endure before then?

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That's how I feel this morning about the world we live in. What has the world come to? Catastrophic and meaningless tragedies happening all around us. Furthermore, hate. 

For what? Why? 

As I sit here, holding my child, I am actually stricken with fear and anxiety for the world he will grow up in. As I watch the news reports come in everyone is plagued with such routine behavior. Why have we become immune to tragedy and chaos? 

The feeling I have of not being able to go anywhere - concerts, malls, movies, festivals - continues to grow deeper. It's not ok. I know we need to continue to live our lives, but when will that fear go away? When will the senselessness end?

Words to remember on this Monday morning...

One Hundred

Today marks my 100th post. That doesn't actually seem like a lot when you realize I started this blog on January 14, 2015. I would call that a seriously slow burn and truth be told there aren't any more readers today than there were in 2015. But, every time I log into Blogger I truly love it. I love giving this white space a voice and tone that feels comforting and approachable. I love reading back on all of our adventures or seeing what fun things I mentioned. I love coming to this space and finding intention. Intention for me is opening up my laptop and really letting the words find their place. Its been fun and cathartic to have this little space of mine. So, for my 5 on Friday I'd like to take a look back at 5 posts that stand out in my mind and have a special place in my heart.

one | Home

two | Monday's are for MRS

three | Baby Makes 3

four | New Year, New Baby!

five | Saying Goodbye

[bonus] six & seven | Truth and An Essay: Mom Guilt

So, for those few readers... thank you for reading. Can't wait to see what the next 100 posts have in store!

music to my ears

When was the last time you discovered a new music artist or song? If you're like me I'm sure you're usually listening to the radio or XM and rarely hear anything new that hasn't already been overplayed. Recently I took a little road trip with my sister and it was one of those car rides we love - singing from start to finish. And when I say start to finish I really, really mean it. And, it's the kind of singing that literally cleanses the soul. You know that kind? The kind of singing you do driving down your favorite road on a beautiful day with windows down. A real jammer, know every word, snappin' hard kind of soul cleansing singing. Well, I'm hear to pass along the tribal knowledge of my top 5 current faves that I believe are relatively unknown to the greater population. What are your current unknown faves?

one | Higher Love - Kygo & Whitney Houston

two | Beyond - Leon Bridges

three | Falling Water - Maggie Rogers

four | Denim Jacket - Maroon 5

five | In the Blood - John Mayer

So, get in your car, find your favorite road, turn it up and sing!

Foodie Friday!

Happy Friday friends! I hope everyone has had a wonderful week and is gearing up for the weekend with some fun plans! I'm here today with a roundup of my favorite recent recipes and one's that are on my must make list. What's been your favorite go to recipe lately?

[one]

Steamed Salmon with Garlic, Herbs and Lemon

By far my favorite current recipe. So easy! So good! Very much a weeknight meal! Wins all around. I've served it along side rice pilaf and homemade parmesan cauliflower rice.

[two]

Greek-Style Potatoes

If you love the lemon potatoes you get from your local Greek restaurant - look no further! These are amazing! The first time I made them I was concerned about the amount of liquid in the dish, but just follow the recipe. It does take 1.5 hour to get the perfect potato, but don't let that deter you!

[three]

Spicy Chicken with Chickpeas

This is a different flavor profile for our home, but it was really, really good! Delicious leftovers. I would say spicy is an overstatement. The first time I made this I let it marinate twice as long as the second time and I think that might have made all the difference.

[four]

Creamy Cucumber Salad

If you're like me you probably grew up on some sort of a cucumber and onion salad. We ate so much of it growing up and over the years it slowly lost its punch. So, I've been on the lookout for new versions and this might be it. This is definitely on my must make list!

[five]

Black Bean Burgers

If you've been here awhile you know Mr. B is a meat grilling lover, but let. me. tell. you. I made these black bean burgers and they were so good and Mr. B approved! I've been trying to incorporate 1-2 vegetarian dishes into our weekly meal plan and this seriously did not disappoint. So good and satisfying!

[six]

Cranberry Orange Protein Balls

I'm always looking for quick and easy things we can grab in the morning and this might fit the bill. This has been on my must make list for a while. Might have to try them this weekend!

What's been on your must make list? Cheers to happy cooking!

Self-Care?

I think this post may not be of popular opinion, but can we talk about "self-care?" This trend of everything being labeled as self-care has really been on my mind and frankly I'm not sure I even have a full, well rounded thought about it.  If you look on Instagram the hashtag self-care has been tagged 17.1M times! 17.1! Million! And if you take a few minutes to scroll through it consists of quotes, bubble baths, snacks, selfies, products and lots of BS. This notion of self-care is for the consumer, for the mother who needs a label for taking an hour to get a haircut or needs a reason to be eating a cookie or drinking a glass of wine or reading or exercising, etc, etc. As Carrie Bradshaw puts it: maybe some labels are best left in the closest... maybe when we label people we forget to look past the label to the person. Now, clearly that is not a super direct comparison, but the point is labeling. Labeling everything as self-care versus living? Versus wanting? I wanted this so I did it. I needed this so I treated myself. I'm not saying let's not take time for ourselves to recharge and rejuvenate. And, of course we need to nourish our souls before we can do that for others. But, must we label it as self-care? All we're doing is becoming a pawn in the world of marketing. Self-care is such an empty term in my opinion. It's like people need to be patted on the back for running from one child's activity to the next or prepping food for the week or crockpotting or working 60 hour weeks. Adults have been doing these things since the dawn of time, and mind you successfully, without needing a pat or a label or a nod from the adult sitting next to you or a wink and cheers for grabbing that juice cleanse deeming it as self-care. Again, not a well rounded thought, but a concept that seems to be draining and trite in a time when I think people are really needing more than a label. After Googling around to make sure I wasn't the only one in the looney bin I came across an article in USA Today from Jan 2019 titled: Has self-care lost its way? It describes my point perfectly... "Powered by collective stress, bolstered by social media, and commodified by brands eager to exploit people's desire for self-improvement, self-care has evolved from an individual act to a mainstream movement - and market - where the lines between true wellness, social media performance and self-criticism blur." Do we agree? Of course! Ever come across a post from a friend about their "self-care" activity and think well, damn! I need that too! I should be doing that! Why aren't I doing that? Not in a comparison is the thief of all joys way, but more of a wow, they had time for that kinda why. Still with me? Anyway, I'm guessing my point is let's remove the label and let's get back to true wellness, true needs, true wants. Let's identify whether our "self-care" habits are really for the soul or have they become apart of a bigger labeling machine? Food for thought - a messy, not well round thought, but a thought!

Coffee Talk

Happy Wednesday everyone! I'm showing up here two days in a row so cheers to that! If we were sitting across from each other with a perfectly crafted coffee here's what I'd be spilling the beans about...

... I just came across these adorable number toys for George called Number Bots. Have you heard of them? Each number turns into a little robot. Adorable.

... I'm finally getting a much needed haircut and color today! Thank the good Lord. It was getting really bad. I snapped a quick before pic this morning and it's unshareable. I look like I'm 10 and stuck my finger in a socket.

... On the haircut front, are swoop/side swept bangs too circa 2008?? I was definitely on the bob train for many years. Should we bring them back? A mom friend pointed out they are very high maintenance which is true. Thoughts?

... I started Little Fires Everywhere maybe 1.5 years ago or more and I'm just getting around to finishing the last 100 pages. It's honestly a really good book and I think Resse Witherspoon is adapting it into a limited tv series? Don't quote me.

... Anyone out there a Corona, Landshark type? Then you're probably sleeping on Modelo. Yep, we're going there people. Stick a lime in it.

... Mothers! Swim diapers! Am I missing something? Swim diapers leak and regular diapers blow up in the water. What's the solution? Do we knowingly turn a blind eye to the leaking swim diapers and run with it? Also, at what age did your child do swim lessons? Is George already behind at 2.5y?

... Speaking of coffee talk, how do you make your coffee? Our coffee has had some serious highs and lows lately. Sometimes I'm drinking what actually tastes like coffee and other days I feel like I'm drinking from the bottom of the garbage can. What's your ratio?

... Anyone out there heard of Faster Way to Fat Loss? It's a program focusing on carb cycling and intermittent fasting which I'm into, but it comes with a $199 price tag. I love Whole 30 because it works and well it's free! Is the cost of Faster Way to Fat Loss worth it? I would love to learn more about carb cycling, low/high macros, etc but for free. Anyone want to share the goods with me?!

Alright folks, I'm running off to get my hair beautified. Have a great day!