Coal in my stocking

I'm gonna spill it and say that I very much dislike Christmas and all it's dumb crap; however, being in the retail business, this sentiment doesn't sit well with the clientele. Just today I selected some holiday music (never mind that it's 55 degrees today, which I love, by the way) to lull shoppers into the buying mood. I just cannot imagine spending money for the Christmas holiday while in short-sleeved shirts and open windows.
It just ain't right.

This Just In: necessary edit!

At risk of being pummelled by overworked mamas everywhere, I must interject and say that we will NOT EVER be meeting at Chunky Cheese.
That is all.

Startin' a Mama's Group. Are You In?

So due to the disappointing number of hip mama's groups (mainly, monthly get-togethers and sanity support for new and experienced mamas), I've decided to do a bit of my own organizing.

If you're a mama and would like to participate, post a comment with your thoughts (and/or send an email) and we'll get things rolling in the new year.

I'll get things started and say that I'd like to meet the first Wednesday or Thursday of every month from 6:30-7:30 or so at a location yet to be determined (something informal, a rentable meeting room or a kid-friendly, inexpensive restaurant, etc); we can discuss the direction of the group at that time. When spring arrives, we can meet up for outdoor events (walks, parks, hiking, you get the idea).

Let's do it.

Cool.

'How Do I Look In This Hat?' or 'What Day Is It? I've Been Awake Since Sunday.'

I'm lovin' this motherhood thing. Seriously.

I've never really been much of a mall-rat (well, except for that one summer with my mom when I couldn't get enough of The Limited and their uber-contemporary chrome and glass store displays); but, believe me, when there is a newborn involved, anything that makes you feel like a normal woman and not just a walking breast, you gotta get down with it.

So we're (me, Rosemary and her daddy) strolling through the mall via LensCrafters (my obsession with the perfect pair of eyeglasses continues. Why is it so damn difficult to find a pair of black-framed slightly upturned cat eye frames that don't look like I'm going to a Mardi Gras party? Pisses me off). Anyway, after spending over an hour trying on frames (Prada? D & G? Armani? Are you fuckin' kiddin' me? It'd be a cold day in Maui before I'd lay down $300 for frames, despite how desperately the sales clerk stroked my ego by telling me how 'Hollywood' and 'modern' I looked in them), we head on over to the mall pizza spot (complete with framed photos of the customary b&w shots from 1973 of open-shirted Guido and Tony holding a hand-tossed pizza and looking like they finished doing laps at the corner Rollerama to the 45 of Billy Joel's 'Movin' Out'). Then off to Old Navy to take a peek at their baby section, as Rosemary is in dire need of some sleepin' clothes and I'm attempting to clothe her in as many 'non-pink' items as possible (brown? blue? bring it on. I'll deal with the gender identity issues later).

It's gonna be a long winter.

Good Christ Almighty

Well, jumping Jesus.
It's been ages since my last post.

Flowers have come and gone in my yard (I view the seasons and overall passage of time in terms of which flowers are in bloom, ridiculous, I know) and the leaves are a' changing. As we head into my very least favorite time of year (winter, ick) I've decided to get the blog churning again.

First and foremost, my beautiful daughter was born in mid-September.
Rosemary Autumn is an absolute joy and I couldn't be more in love with her adorableness and sense of wonder. I couldn't wait to kiss her little feet immediately after she was born and I gotta tell you that, thus far, motherhood is everything I had hoped for (my opinion is likely to change in about 14 years) and the sleepless nights will be merely a memory soon enough; so I'm trying to appreciate even the difficult aspects of raising a newborn (diaper rash, sore boobies, nighttime feedings, adjusting my previously selfish schedule to allow her to come to work with me, did I mention sore boobies?). Anyway, she is joyous and will provide years of easy conversation and amusement.

Isn't she a peach?

At This Point in the Season, the Only Flower in my Yard That's Worth Photographing

Sad Little Pansies

Natasha the Sun Goddess



..and Three Seconds Later After I Asked Her If She Wanted to Go for a Walk

Mother Nature is a Schizophrenic.

Her taunting and teasing continues with unrelenting winds, cold rain, and the tornado that was reported in Indianapolis over the weekend (among other events, I'm just thinking locally).

My own personal pathetic story is that I planted red and purple pansies in the concrete pots outside our front door on Saturday and they were literally swimming in their $8 per bag potting soil by early this morning. Not to mention last night's pop-up thunderstorm that tried to dampen our chicken kebob plans (we persevered, umbrella in hand and defiantly turned our noses up at the pounding rain that pummelled our outdoor grill).

Now I love spring and most of it's quirky unpredictability, but when I stroll into work this morning to find my metal outdoor sign snapped in two because of the weekend wind, I gotta start bitchin'.

I Swim with the Fishes (and other falsehoods of a cold, shitty winter)

Today is my 34th birthday and I celebrated mid-day in my own way by taking myself out for a double-scoop birthday cone (chocolate raspberry truffle and cherry chip, kiddie scoops; I do have boundaries) before coming back to the office to work on some designs.

This will be a year of transition and of new roles; as we'll be welcoming our first baby (hence the ice cream, actually) into this fabulously wonderful world of capitalism and also into a home built in 1929 with lots of pointy things, wood floors and an over-stocked cd rack in early September.

A Virgo baby, to my delight, and I look forward to creating a welcoming and eclectic world of gum-in-the-hair, sand-in-the-socks kind of fun for the little ladybug.

Still Pimping the New Project

Okay, the actual website is up, and not just the message board. This is an idea that I've been tossing around for about seven or eight months and have finally completed it; and I'm quite pleased with the response that it's gotten so far.

Take a look at www.lafayetteart.com.

New Arts Forum! (like I needed another side project)

This bad boy is just getting started but will be a forum for Greater Lafayette artists to network, post arts opportunities and call-out information.

Check it out, sign up (it's free) and keep people in the know about your art stuff! http://lafayetteartdot.boardzero.com/lafayetteartdot.html

Art Opportunity (for you entrepreneurial types)

(or you can go to www.willowstainedglass.com for more info.
This will be a fun show!)

Two Degrees at Cumberland Park this morning! Christ!

Big Fat Liar

Oh dear.

I do so love my eight or nine readers who have continually checked in to see what I've been up to. If you're close to me at all (Chicita), you'll know that my free time is limited (who's isn't, huh?).
However, I will try to post interesting stuff periodically, but gear yourself up for the occasional dry spell every now and then.
You can always drop me an email to rattle my cage or come by myspace and say aloha at your leisure, too.

Don't be a stranger, y'all.

Changes ahead!

Stay tuned for many blog improvements (like more consistent posting, for example).

The infamous Isabella doing what she loves.















The Wabash River in winter.