Gifts and bikes...huh?

My friend visited her hometown, Mexico City, during Christmas and came back with goodies for Maggie and I. This is one woman that is very in touch with who I am. It's handmade dark chocolate to make hot chocolate with and she got a cute little 12-mo tee for Maggie (too big-perfect for spring) with Spanish writing. Thank you Lourdes!

Which leads me to my next topic...her niece is coming to stay with her for the next 4 months starting next week. I know we have babysitters coming out of our ears, but regardless, I'm excited to see if she will want to watch Maggie while Michael and I get back out on the Auburn mountain biking trails.

Michael just traded one of his unused mountain bikes for a pretty nice full suspension bike, which in turn is replacing another cracked frame that he just tossed. He'd had that frame since he was a wee one, so it was a difficult let go. Now he's got the new bike all ready to go and in the process, he beefed up my bike with new parts and a little cleaning. All of this motivated him to sell another one of my bikes (my single speed) that I didn't plan on using anytime soon.

At one time we owned about 10 or 11 bikes together! It may seem like excess and I guess it was, but Michael and I really had a purpose for each and every one of them and it was our big hobby. Now we only have so much room and so much of that room includes kid stuff. I love shedding old stuff and moving onto the new.

Lastly, here is our cute little Magpie on her new Christmas toy/bike-thingy that will grow with her as she grows. More on this in another post. And that hand out - I think she wants to say hi or just connect with you. She does it with family and strangers. More on Maggie too in another post...

Bright

Wow, I'm impressed.

It stormed all night and was bright and sunny upon wakening this morning. Things are looking up.

Dreary

Oh dreary days, when will I see the sun?

I'm stuck in the Valley fog and it's been a bit of a bummer. That and I've been taking care of a sick kiddo. Not much sleeping, doctors visits, etc. Her cold/stomach bug is clearing up though and I'm thankful it hasn't been something more serious. My heart goes out to others who have had recent tragedies and it really helps to put things in perspective.

I could go on a rant and rave right now about doctors and the medical system but I won't. I don't have the energy and don't want to piss a lot of people off. Let me just say that mothers instincts are worth a whole heck of a lot and I am eternally grateful that I had the opportunity to birth my baby at home.

I'm thinking I need to brave 2 more months of these foggy, drippy, chilly days and then we're onto spring, right? I keep wearing the same clothes over and over and that is also bumming me out. I'm in need of a little makeover. I got my 2-month haircut last week which was nice and always brightens my day no matter what the weather is like outside. That and a pair of consigned new-to-me jeans, maybe some running shoes in my future, and I should be good to go.
Oh, did I mention Hawaii? I think it is on the horizon. I dreamt last night of flying to a tropical island and I slept like my baby, literally. Not one of us woke in the middle of the night. We had good solid sleep which was such a blessing!

Comments

Sorry for the inconsistency with leaving comments, I was trying out a few things behind the scenes. Hopefully it is resolved with this post.

Foodie reviews

Besides actually cooking, I love reading and watching TV/movies about food and wanted to share a couple personal reviews.

Garlic and Sapphires

This book is written by Ruth Reichl, who in the book is a famous food critic. I came across this author when I picked up one of her early books Comfort me with Apples. I love anything having to do with good food and her writing seemed right down my alley. I read her first book a year or two ago and liked it. It wasn't until I heard her interviewed on NPR that I decided to read some of her newer books. This is a great one because it is the story of how she became the New York Times food critic and how she took on many disguises to do her job. But it's also about a period of her life and the changes that occur. I just find her life very interesting and she is extremely honest and so I love the realness of her writing. Ruth is a very fascinating person with a varied background and she is bold in her writing and in her review of restaurants. It think it would be fun to have a meal or cook with her and cant wait to read more new stuff.

Julie & Julia

This was a fun movie to watch. I am not a fan of Amy Adams but I am of Meryl Streep, who is a wonderful actress and a fellow homebirther in real life to boot. I held off on seeing this movie because Amy Adams was in it and waited for it to come out through Netflix.

My favorite part of the movie that got a good laugh out of me was when Amy Adam's character was boiling lobsters in her kitchen and the lid on the pot flew off which scared her to pieces! Meryl Streep played a very convivcing Julia Child and I'm saying that without much knowledge of Julia Child previously. This movie has definitely made me want to read a Julia Child cookbook or two or maybe try a French recipe. I was intriuged by the real life blog and book that inspired this movie. What I found in the reviews was that the blog was good for what it was but the book was a flop. Lots of foul language, too many strong opinions on world events, and not enough talk about food and recipes. So I guess I'm willing to check out the book still but am not expecting much. I think Nora Ephron, the writer/director, did a good job in taking the good and making a hit on the big screen.

Frustrated

One of my crafty New Year's resolutions was to sell my spinning wheel...but truth be told, I'm having a hard time letting go of Lolita. I have been waffling on whether to sell her for over a year, maybe longer. I've owned her for a few years and have never fully spun a useable skein of yarn on the wheel, yet many of my friends have. Go figure.

My friend just returned the wheel to me so that I can sell it and I was looking at it last night, so quiet in the corner, and can't bring myself to be ok with getting rid of it. I keep thinking that I will take it up and join my friends but I know myself and I would probably just keep moving it around the house looking at it since it's cute but not do anything with it since I have knitting patterns coming out of my ears - so many that I want to knit in the months to come that with chasing after my mogly-crawling baby I will maybe get a few things knit and not much else done. I know I talk about this subject a lot (not having enough time) and many times I tell myself I sound like a broken record but its just how I feel a lot.

I love my knitting group and the same girls who go to spin nite but spinning just isn't for me. So I kind of feel like an outsider right now and it bothers me because I love being in the thick of things :-) The other thing that has been bothering me is how I haven't progressed in my knitting skills as fast as some of the other experienced knitters in our group. I know I'm being hard on myself because I have progressed but it's hard for me to see it when I've been moving so slowly. I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself with everything though - work, parenting, and in my craft projects - and I am constantly recognizing that and trying to give myself some slack.

I was thinking on a recent snow trip about a recurring dream of mine to live in the mountains, but hubby isn't fond of the idea. It occurred to me that if I can't live there, I could buy a cabin. Hubby was much fonder of that idea (actually excited) so then I made the resolution that I would sell my wheel (one dream passing) and put that money toward the new dream of owning a cabin in the woods. When I think about that becoming a reality for our family, it makes me really happy so I think I need to go with this. I like the idea of trading one thing in for another, something about it seems poetic.

Ok, I feel better now. Here is to everyone else's New Year's resolutions. Good luck!