buried treasure

healing

we kept joking that the island was going to heal me. well, I still came back with drop foot, but the island certainly did heal my soul.

aloha!

it's hard to wake up early, I know. especially when you have to sit in an airport. as tom petty puts it, the waiting is the hardest part.

but when you get to see big planes back dropped by beautiful mountains sunrises?

it kind of makes it all worth it. plus how can you be too terribly sad when hawaii is your destination? aloha, my friends!

{am planning a little reliving of the vacay -- I know many have been patiently awaiting photos}

holla to the sistas!

hello, today is international woman's day. and to celebrate, this week all my out-of-town sistas are going to be in town. in fact, the first one flies in today with her family. hip! hip!

I've always believed there is such power in a group of strong women. and the women of my family (both bloods and in-laws) are of no exception. I am continuously awed and inspired by their strengths and talents. so much to learn from each and every one of them.

so happy IWD, everyone. let's all rally together and help bolster up the women around us. often times we are everything to everyone else, but what are we to ourselves? it's hard being the mother/wife/sister/friend/chauffeur/maid/cook/et cetera/et cetera and still find time to just be. today let's take a moment to remember who we are. reconnect with yourself. reconnect with the women in your life. do something you always want to do but can never find time to do. as for me, I'm going to go take a hot bath.

oh, and one more reason to love the day

today is national peanut butter lovers day. hip! hip!

so go share a jar with someone you love.
{I made peanut butter oatmeal cookies to celebrate the day}

cute reeses peanut butter cup o' love via

this is fast becoming my favorite day

spring
{in my heart}
is here.

thank you, march first.

the winter felt
long and dreadful.
am glad it's finally over.

{because we all know
it can't be march
and winter
all at the same time}

all we need

so true.

you can buy this tee for your very own self or for someone you love HERE

we're gonna party like it's 1999

my baby parties too hard.

seriously. way too hard.

an ode to our requisite fifteen. {vitamin d is our long lost friend.}

sun salutations, mr miles
with living juice in hand
we walk into the world
living sun ahead
living boy beside
close to me

I can finally see the sky again
finally breathe some air

it's the freshness I imagined
walking with you now

pause to soak it in

life is growing
we are all growing

sun salutations, mr miles
sun salutations

extra virgin coconut oil: my new love.

this morning, as I was telling peter yet another use for extra virgin coconut oil, he looked at me and replied should I use some windex too? eye roll. seriously, evco is my new love and here's why: so many uses.

::cooking/baking::

::diaper rash cream that is cloth diaper safe::

::moisturizer::

::light sunscreen::

::acne treatment::

I'm sure I'm forgetting something. but this stuff moisturizes like no other and also fights rashes like no other -- even yeast. I think it has something to do with the high concentration of lauric acid (which is also found in high concentrations in breast milk, another miracle worker!). I like that it's a natural product, without any crazy chemicals that probably aren't actually good for our bodies. and it smells so great! I put it on my severely dry, rashy hands and practically want to eat it off. it's that good.

twenty-ten: it's your year.

now that january is already half way over here are a few musts for the new year. it is part of the plan of getting back my old self while finding my new self. I think that will be my focus for the year. finding that balance.

green smoothies
I've been making a green smoothie once a day for about a week now. they're easy to make and to clean up (back in our juicing days I loathed cleaning the juicer. so many tiny parts to wash. now I just use my regular old blender, nothing fancy and it's a snap to clean up.) I haven't followed any particular recipe. I'm a fly by the seat of your pants green smoothiest, I think. just throwing in whatever suits my mood. some greens, some fruit. easy peasy.

eat whole foods
this is always a goal of mine. will try to take it further this year. some tips on eating with whole foods: shop the perimeter of your grocery store. and don't buy pre-packaged stuff. this leads into my next goal.

make more
I used to make my own crackers, vegetable stock, bread, et cetera all the time. I need to get back into doing that. I feel that I have more of the motivation to do that now. and the energy. I did make some french peasant bread last week, so I'm on my way.

exercise
find what I can do, when I can do it. seriously, how do mammas fit this into their day? drop foot hasn't made it any easier. my plan was to make a come back postpartum. to become a faster, better runner because that can totally happen after giving birth. thank you drop foot, for no longer making that a reality. now it's all I can do to just find what I can do. I'm thinking spin classes are in my future. and I'm sure the elliptical would work. and I need to try swimming again now that the foot isn't as sensitive. but again, when do I find a time to do all this with the boy? wake up super, super early and go while both boys are still sleeping? I don't know. all I know is that I need to get moving -- stat!

eat locally
this year our garden will be more thought out and get planted much earlier. and I vow to visit the farmer's market this year too. I never go and I don't know why. I am going to become a semi-rawist. {because let's face it, I really do have an addiction to cooked food. and is there anything wrong with that?!}

sew more
I have a problem. I really love to sew, but hardly get around to actually doing it. I think about it all the time. dream up better ways to put my projects together. but when it comes down to it, sometimes I lack the actual motivation to go in the craft room and sew. maybe because it's so cold in there? I don't know. but I need to do it more often. it is such a great creative outlet for me.

read more
I have already read two books this year. born to run and song of solomon. now that I've ditched my laptop, I actually have the time + motivation to read books. it's a beautiful thing. I will have to do a little book club review of born to run because it was so inspiring and amazing.

less tv
don't you hate it when you just sit down in front of the tv for no real reason and it sucks your life away? I do. so I will watch my shows, but nothing more. lost, 30 rock, maybe the office...

less computer
again, ditching the laptop was probably the best thing I could have ever done. it is giving me my life back.

embrace my life with drop foot
I have been letting this drop foot control my life. no more. I can still do things. I can get around. it doesn't hamper my life that much. I should be grateful that I can walk at all. it's slowly getting better and now that it's not so painful and hyper-sensitive it is getting much easier to live with. I won't let it hold me back anymore. this will not define me!

run barefoot
once I can hold my foot up on its own again, I will get into barefoot running. I think this is just what my body needs. to re-learn how to run naturally, softly. am hoping it clears up some chronic issues with my body. my sister and brother inlaw just got the vibram five-fingers, and I'm anxiously waiting to hear how it affects their running. it could be all the rage for the running members of my family, I'm just sayin'. free the feet, free the mind. viva la barefoot!

a preview of upcoming attractions

just a little note to say hello. over the past few days I've been thinking a lot about this little man and how he came into the world. these thoughts are running deep in my mind and need to surface soon.

also, I want to delve a little further into the to-do's for twenty-ten. remember, I am trying to find my old self while finding my new self. I'm sure I can blend the two quite nicely as time goes on.

plus, maybe I will show you some of the things I have been working on. mostly for the little man, of course. and mostly for his bum.

and life would not be complete without the details of our upcoming adventure. sand + surf. a week away from the gloom. hello, paradise, can't wait to meet you.

besides the feeling of january in my life {and the fact that I never go outside} things are pretty dang good right now.

fresh start

I feel like I've lost a little bit of myself over this past year. such things as pregnancy and drop foot and being a mamma have definitely changed the way my life is and the things that I'm doing now. this coming year I resolve to find my old self while still finding my new self. I realize my life is forever changed, and most definitely for the better, but I still want to reclaim some lost bits of who I am.

first christmas

staying up for santa.

merry merry!

we hope your holiday was just as meaningful.
xoxo

darkness isn't forever

hip! hip! today is the shortest day of the year. not that I'm really excited about that (but someone in this house is). I'm excited that tomorrow the day is just a teensy bit longer. that day after day after day we get more and more light until we're actually just swimming in it. ah, how I look forward to long summer nights. and warmth. I'm just sayin'.

so today I'm going to celebrate a return to the light. have a fabulous solstice everyone.

a-deal-a-day, now for babies

man, those one deal a day sites really feed on your impulse buying instincts, no? first it was steapandcheap, for that sick addiction of cheap gear. now it's babyhalfoff, for that sick addiction of cheap baby stuff. so what was today's deal? thirsties all-in-one cloth diapers. guess who found out about it too late? anna jo. blast!


and I was really excited about scoring one of these at such a sweet price. I really love the thirsties covers over my prefolds and fitted diapers, so I was interested to see how their AIO held up. {for all you cloth diapering newbies, an all-in-one has the water-proof cover plus the absorbant layers all sewn together, so you just throw the whole thing on easy peasy. it's kinda like a disposable, but you wash it instead of throwing it away. and it's cuter.} there is so much out there in the cloth diapering world and I just want to try it all! I think you could say I have a slight obsession with cloth.

big little man

last night we went to a holiday party for pete's extended family. there was a tiny, sweet little newborn babe there. only ten days old. so, so cute and so little. it's so hard to believe little miles pj was once that small too. and that was only three months ago. he never seemed so tiny and fragile for very long. he's solid. {and now weighing in at 14.4 pounds per the bathroom scale!}

it's so fun to watch him grow. he's learning new tricks. he's such a cute, smart, happy and growing little man.

[/end mamma gushing]

but baby it's cold outside

bundling up
for an outdoor adventure
someone isn't having as much fun
as the other

{post script: the bear suit no
longer fits the bear cub. sad.}

no impact man on the big screen!

I'm excited that the university of utah's social work department's green team is hosting the no impact man documentary on campus this coming monday. I've been following colin beavan, aka no impact man, for a while now and have always been fascinated by the whole project.

what I really loved about his adventure in lessening his impact is his realization that by consuming less he was actually a happier, healthier person. it's not about depriving yourself of everything, but simplifying and learning what you can really do with out. {he has a great bell curve graph HERE for those visual learners.}

so you should go watch the documentary too. it's free. and by the looks of it, there is a free raffle and free food as well. you had me at free food.

and if you're not a local, check this list to see if there is a screening near you.

{view the film's trailer HERE. it looks good, no?}

on a mission.

ugh. remember this shirt? how it's favorite but now it's too small? yeah. let's review why it's favorite again.

1. it has the fold over mitts. love love love the fold over mitts.
2. it's long sleeved. hello, it's december and it's cold. and it's even colder in my house.
3. it's not a onesie. I really like the fact that it's just a shirt. I like to layer here people, the plain onesie goes on underneath the cute shirt.
4. lastly, I love it because of the super cute ski lift patch. but that can be put on any shirt, so I don't know if that really technically counts for the purpose of my list.

so I was out and about spreading holiday cheer today (that means spending money, I guess) and tried finding a long sleeve white shirt with fold over mitts for my little guy. I went to BRU (I had a gift card, I don't think I'd normally shop there otherwise) and target (had some other holiday mischief at target anyway) and could not find what I wanted. for one thing, they were all onesies. and secondly, if I wanted long sleeves with the fold over mitts I could only get them in one of two sizes: newborn or 0-3 month (which isn't that practically the same thing anyway? come on!) I guess they figure people only want fold over mitts to protect faces from scratches, not for keeping hands a bit warmer.

so now I'm on a mission. to either find a shirt that meets my specifications in a 3-6 month size OR make my own.

I just might have to make my own, I fear. the ski lift patch needs a new home.