Svelte-ish.

It's time to brag on myself.

I'm down to 138 pounds! The lowest I've been in my adult life is 135. (But I was kinda flabby then.)

I've gone from a size 12 to a size 6 (skinny jeans!) in three months. That's ridiculous!

And on another note, I have the most energy I've had since adolescence. And the least digestive issues that I've had, well, ever. I feel wonderful. 

Hooray, Paleo!

(If you're interested in trying out the Paleo lifestyle, let me know and I'll send you some pointers.)

Ten Months!

How BIG does this boy look?!?

"There's a belly button under there somewhere."

"Wha'sdat?"

Giving Zeb's creepy old monkey CPR.

If you think it's weird that Finn's playing with an ox hoof, that's because it IS weird. It's a mate  (pronounced mah-TAY) cup that Zeb brought back from his travels in Uruguay.

To give you an update on our boy, Finn:

-- has eight teeth!

-- likes to dance (bounce).

-- barks like our dogs (while bouncing up and down for some reason).

-- stands up by himself for a couple of seconds at a time, gets freaked out, and slooowly lowers himself onto the floor.

-- shakes his finger at me when I get on to him (which is a habit we will be breaking).

-- is a speed demon. Non-stop, this one.

-- eats pretty much anything you put on his tray, and then feeds Franklin the rest.

-- loves to pull ornaments off the Christmas tree.

-- says "Daddy," "Mama" (when he wants a bottle), "Nananana," "Heeeey!," "Bah-bah" (for "bye-bye), "wha'sdat?" (mostly while pointing at the light or fan), "dat," and "dis."

There's just so much going on in that little brain of his. It's clear that he's learning (and listening) everyday. He mimics sounds and pitches almost identically. Which means... Mama's learning to watch her mouth. :)

Bowling Pin Onesie by Margaret!

Abroad

I'm thankful that I know what Venice smells like and what cold, wet jeans feel like above water-logged wellies. I'm thankful for warm espresso in November.

I'm thankful that I had warm wool coats with hoods and knitted toboggan hats when I lived in New York. I'm thankful that our apartment was always warm and inviting. I'm thankful that the smell of hot chocolate and the sounds of friends were not strangers to us there.

I'm thankful to know what the Isle of Skye looks like on a sunny November day -- the kind of day that lets you take off your jacket and feel the freedom of just a t-shirt and a cardigan. I'm thankful that I have seen miles of beauty in the lochs and glens.

I'm thankful that I have eaten gelato on a cold December day in Siena, Italy. I'm thankful that I have walked its hills and alleys, if only for one day.

I'm thankful for travel. The smells, the tastes, the cold and the warmth. And the friends. I'm so, so thankful for the friends that accompany these travel memories.

Little Dragon (cont'd)

Happy Halloween!

Finn with cousin Isaiah the Parrot

On the go

Finn with Mama Jo and me (He liked waving his claws.)

Rawrrr!

"I don't know about that singin' gorilla, Mama."

Poking cousin Holt the Frog in the eye.

Rawrr, again. With Grandmommie, Grandaddy, and Pop

Our little dragon did great and loved his first Halloween. He especially loved the animal crackers that his Grandmommie gave him!

Wish we could've seen everybody, but I hope these photos will suffice!

Fall Festivals and Little Dragons

(I think Finn must be getting a new tooth. Hence the crooked mouth.)

To Sara

A clever (if I do say so myself) metaphor for dating:

[Inner Dialogue whilst scanning through the radio stations on my way home from work]

Eh, this song is pretty good. Better than nothing, I guess.

-- 15 seconds of listening to said song --

Yeah, it's okay. 

-- 5 more seconds of listening to said song --

I wonder if there's anything better on, though.

-- Hit scan button once. Very next station plays:





I'm not saying always look for something better. I'm saying don't settle for "okay" in a world where "Dancing Days" is playing.


Today I'm thankful for: Sara's post (which made me grateful and humbled by the undeserving love and joy in my life.)

Mares Eat Oats, and Does Eat Oats... But I Don't!

The weekend snuck past me! Funny how the weekends fly by these days and the weekdays -- well, they fly by, too.

I'll make up for missing posts on Saturday and Sunday by listing three things I'm grateful for here.

1. A pantry and fridge full of HEALTHY foods. And the money to buy them. I started follow the Paleo diet again yesterday, and I already feel better. It's really amazing to me how fast my digestive issues go away when I eat what I should be eating (or more importantly, not eating what I know I shouldn't be eating.) So I'm not eating grains, dairy, sugar, or excessive carbs of any kind. I don't feel bloated or gassy or tired or depressed. It's a lifestyle I hope to totally adopt, but for now I'm taking baby steps and committing to two full weeks of Paleo.

2. The ability to SAVE money for once. Now that we have two incomes, we can actually pay down our debt and save a little bit for our move in April. This is huge for me. Huge.

3. Alpacas, goats, mini cows, llamas, bunnies, and sheep. We went to Ole McDermitt's Farm and pumpkin patch yesterday, and while Finn was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open, I found it quite the rush to feed carrots to the llama with enormous teeth.

via PuffinArt on Flickr

Texts

"Good morning!" texts from Mr. Barnes, first thing when I wake up in the morning, have to be one of the absolute best things ever.

Gee's Bend

For my mom's birthday in August, we gave her a little overnight trip. So last night, my mom, Finn, and I drove to Selma, Alabama, stayed there overnight, got up this morning, and headed to a place called Gee's Bend in Boykin, Alabama.

Gee's Bend is a community in (very) rural Alabama where women quilt in a very distinct way. Here's an example:

And this one is my mama's favorite:

Aren't they cool? So graphic and different. I love them.

You can listen to or read a feature on Gee's Bend on NPR.com here.

We drove to what really felt like the middle of nowhere. It was kind of awesome and intriguing but also disarming/freaky to me. There weren't houses or stores or anything for stretches of about 15-20 miles. Then there would be a cluster of houses or mobile homes, and then nothing for miles. It was beautiful countryside though with poplars (I think) and spanish moss.

We didn't know what to expect when we got there, but we finally found the Gee's Bend Quilter's Collective -- a little white building that must've been a church initially. And the door was locked. No sign of anybody.

Guess word of a visitor floated through the town quickly though, because shortly after we got there, a lady drove up and let us in. She was a black woman, probably in her 80s, who took an immediate likin' to Finn. She was so fun to talk to -- so friendly -- and if the sole reason we went was to meet her, it was worth it.

We bought small wall hangings and potholders that the quilters had made (which was about all we could afford -- their quilts are art. And justifiably pricey.)

Here's a photo of Finn outside the Quilter's Collective. Preview of the Nine Month Onesie!

We had an interesting day, and I'm so glad we got to spend it with "Nana."

W.I.C.

I'm not ashamed to say that we get W.I.C. vouchers every month for Finn's formula and baby food. Today we had to go to a class which I thought would be about nutrition for babies and children. But it turned out to be about 30 minutes of guided conversations about how to enjoy your children.

I don't have trouble enjoying my child, and it was clear that the other parents in the room don't have trouble enjoying their children either. Teenage moms, a single (and very young) father, and I all sat around a table and discussed what we do with our children that's fun.

It was that simple. I can't say it's convenient to hold a squirming nine month old that long, but I walked away with the belief that, as hectic and chaotic and stressful as parenting can be, most of us enjoy it and would never take it back.

It was a reassuring assessment of humanity, I tell ya.

Lunches with Pop

Finn and I try to meet my dad for lunch about once a week. Today we tried out Max and Henry's on the Carrollton Square, and it was just like eating at the old 302 South Street from about 20 years ago. Funny how certain tastes and smells take you back so quickly and easily.

Finn and I really enjoy getting to see and spend time with his "Pop" on those days. And today Finn got to eat Pop's french fries!

This 31 days of gratitude thing is coming in handy today. All I want to do is wallow in the suckage since Zeb just left to head back to training in south Georgia. (I mean, rip my stinkin' heart out, why dontcha.)

But I have to think of something to be grateful for during the suckage, and I've come up with this: I really like to be around my husband. I mean, I really, really like him. If I wasn't married to him, I'd have a major crush on him. Thank goodness it doesn't have to just be a crush -- I get to be married to him.

I'm so fortunate to have the love of somebody so exceptional.

And dang, I miss him so much when he's not around.

Fall

The weather today actually feels like Fall! I love it. This is, by far, my favorite time of year. And today I'm very grateful to be spending this wonderful weather working on projects outside with Zeb.

Nine Months!

Today I am so, so thankful for our little fella, Finn. He's nine months old today!

Photos coming soon!

Mr. Barnes

I get to see him today! Hooray!

Pike Place Roast

It's the simple things, friends. And today, I was wholly thankful to get my mitts on a grande Pike Place Roast drip coffee (black) from Starbucks.

I was also extremely thankful to have a baby that snoozed during the whole two hour drive back to our home from visiting Genevieve and Lucy north of Atlanta. (Every once in a while Finn would snore/snort, and I was reminded that, yes, that was definitely my kid sitting in the seat behind me.)

Genevieve

I'm thankful for my good friend Genevieve! And that Finn got to meet her today.

(I tried to get a picture, but she wasn't having it... )

Sound

Last night, I was lying in bed, listening to silence. And I thought of how wonderful the sense of hearing is.

While Zeb's away, I'm slightly paranoid about being the sole protector of this home/Finn/myself. I've never been much of a scaredy cat, but now we live a little more "out there" than I've ever been, and I have more at stake than I ever have.

Zeb's a light sleeper. I guess all of those years of sleeping in a bush/sniper hide make him a little more aware of his surrounding while he's asleep or something. So for the last two years, I've slept like a rock, and he's heard every noise.

Me? Most of you know that I once lived in an apartment that was directly above about five active train tracks, and I still slept peacefully every night.

However, now -- you drop a pin in my home while I'm asleep, and I'm hunting you down for it. Mama Bear comes out swinging (and depending on the level of threat I gauge from the sound, I might be carrying my Smith and Wesson with me).

So. My point is...

I was lying there last night thinking that if I couldn't hear, I would never shut my eyes. I would watch Finn like a crazy lady while he slept. And I would never sleep myself.  So I'm thankful for sounds and that I have the ability to hear them.

(Hmm, this post turned out to be a little twisted. Maybe I should've talked about all the lovely sounds that I'm thankful for instead. Nah. Honesty.)

31 Days of Gratitude

It's been done a thousand times on blogs the world over. I'm not trying to be original; I'm trying to be grateful.

This month, I am committing to write a blog post every single day to state what I'm thankful for. Some/most days might be a short little sentence about something that particularly struck me for which I am grateful.

I'll start this month and this theme off with a link to a blog post by a close friend about the topic of gratitude. I'm so glad I read it, and I'm so glad he wrote it.

Thanks, Curt.

The Thing About Flying: When Things Go Right

Organisms (Minus The "-ni-")

(Disclaimer: I've accepted a challenge to write a post per day on my blog. The writing prompt for today is to discuss a school memory.)

In seventh grade, Mrs. Buchanan had a substitute teacher for her science class. We all had to go around the room and read paragraphs in our textbook. Eventually, we ran out of students to read, so the substitute read the text herself.

When the word "organisms" came up (of which there were quite a few occurrences), the substitute teacher pronounced the word "orgasms."

I don't think I knew, in seventh grade, exactly what an orgasm was, but I knew it was sexually, and I knew it was not "organisms."

I remember that one other kid caught the error, and we kept looking at each other every time she said it. Which, inevitably, made us laugh so hard that the teacher asked us what was funny. (But she continued to pronounce the word as "orgasm." Repeatedly.)

Eventually, she sent me out into the hallway. Of course, as a shy, goody-goody kid, I was horrified. Nonetheless, when she finally came out into the hallway to reprimand me, I was still laughing. Pretty sure I peed a little.

I couldn't bring myself to tell her why I was laughing so hard. I didn't even try to lie and make up an excuse.

For me, "organisms" = "orgasms." Always.

As I Write...

As I write this, my husband is driving away.

(Writing has always been my comfort. No matter how long I've forsaken it.)

Maybe I shouldn't sound so melodramatic.

We're starting a new adventure. It's an adventure.

Zeb was offered a job that we're both really excited about (and I'm so proud of him!). So he'll be training for six months, and then after that, we'll be our little family again in... Billings, Montana! Yes, it's cold there. Yes, it's far away, but we're excited to try a place neither of us has ever lived (or been to).

Zeb will only be six hours away while he's training, so we'll be able to visit each other occasionally, but it didn't make it any easier to see him drive away this morning.

I'm so thankful that we're around family while he's away.

My theories on repotting still stand true. So now we know -- we'll be settling those roots in Big Sky Country!

As I write this, I hear a gander of Canadian Geese flying south for the colder months ahead. When Zeb's finished with his training, they'll be heading north again.

Eight Months!

Geez, our kiddo is eight months old already! Time flies, my friends.

We enjoyed the beautiful weather today with an outdoor photo shoot.

Here are some photos!

Finn was having fun today, so I got some pretty good shots of him -- couldn't decide which ones to post!

Let's talk about this month's Acorns and Squirrel Onesie by Margaret. Definitely my favorite, MQG! I absolutely love it.

Since the last time I posted, Finn:

-- has bedtime figured out! Tonight he didn't even cry when I put him to bed, and he's been sleeping through the night for a while now. (Hallelujah.) The trick? Routine, routine, routine. (Dinner, bathtime, bedtime.) And lots of the "Crying It Out" technique which darn near ripped my heart out for a couple of nights. But it was worth it! Now we're all happier and more well-rested.

-- got a new tooth! He now has four teeth -- two on top, two on bottom.

-- grinds those new teeth together. All the time. Like nails on a chalkboard.

-- makes a silly grin. It's a hammy, teeth-showing, eyes-squinting grin that cracks me up. His humor and personality is really starting to show up!

-- is eating more and more real food. He's getting tired of the ol' pureed stuff. He wants to chew with those new teeth. Tonight's new food: broccoli. He's a fan (like his mama).

-- is so close to standing up by himself. He does every now and then, then thinks about what he's doing, and sits down.

He's such a fun little guy, and we love him so much! So thankful for that fella.