Saturday

My silly goose and I spent some time at the park yesterday afternoon.  It was chilly but refreshing and we played until our hands were frozen.  I want the 70+ degree weather back!

I took some video of her on my phone, above. 

And I found another video from a few months ago.  She was reading The Lorax to me (one of her favorite books - and her Grammy's too) and didn't realize I was filming her until the end.  So cute.

I have always wanted to post videos of my sweet girl on this blog, so here goes! 

Friday

A couple of weeks ago I took a photographer around the grounds at the Museum where I am lucky enough to be employed.  It was fun looking through the exhibit halls without any visitors there, like a private show just for us.

He asked me to find some unique, sort of abstract shapes for his photos...

I shot him a look like "seriously?" because I am NOT very good at that kind of thing...

Or am I...?

This is what I found:

Thursday

I took Miss Violet to one of her favorite places today -- the Aquarium!

Sting Rays!

Starfish!

And the cutest Seal ever!

Wednesday

I woke up super early and did a yoga routine with Jason Crandell.

I followed that up with a refreshing green juice.

And then treated myself to a homemade romaine taco for lunch.

I cooked up some veggies in seasonings last night and made a cashew-jalapeno cheeze to spread over romaine leaves.  Then I cut some ripe avocado to top 'em.  SO good!

Mmmmm lunch at my desk.

Tuesday

Tuesday

New Blog Look!

Yep I totally revamped my blog! (or I just found a really cute free template when I shoulda been doing a little something called WORK!).

Today has been one of those days again - preschool nightmare/mommy guilt times a million.  So I am happy to have any ray of sunshine I can find.

My blog template source. 

Monday

Mondays have been really stinky lately, ever since my new job started and Violet has been completely against preschool.  Drop-off is bad, I dread the ordeal well before Monday morning even comes and I feel bad most of the day.  In fact, the whole week kind of stinks because my mornings are so horrible.

This morning after drop-off, I cranked up some Elton John (because he has the magic) and tried to relax.  As I sat in traffic waiting to get on the highway, lost in my own sad thoughts, I noticed a bumper sticker on the car in front of me.  It made me laugh and feel better right away.

Ha!  My mind was SO in the gutter at first and I wonder how many other people immediately think what I did too.  Sometimes little things like this, dumb as they are, really do help me feel better and I am really thankful for those moments.  I'm able to kind of snap-out of my funk, for a time.


An update on the life and times:

1. Generally speaking, commuting to work has not been that bad.  My only gripes are the cost of fuel (around $250 a month for me right now!!) and that I work so far away that I am unable to retrieve Violet from school. 

I definitely observe my share of very bad drivers, jerk drivers and tricky road situations.  I try my best to be a considerate and focused commuter. 

And I also have to listen to the radio sometimes when my CD's feel overplayed.  The radio is sooooo bad, sooooooo soooooo bad.  Katy Perry?  Really?  That is music now?   UGH.  I definitely need to invest in new music so I can avoid the radio as much as possible.

2. My weekend health-wise was really bad.  I did zero exercise and ate horribly.  I did shop for running shoes but with no luck.  I was unable to clock-in any of my goals. :(

It happened to be Maple Weekend - yum! - so I ate more than my share of comforting, sugary treats yesterday.  Today it is back to green juice and homemade, whole food goodness.

3. I have started a probiotic supplement because I think my body is going a little haywire from my diet lately.  I eat very well, then very bad.  I flush my system every week day morning with green juice, water and smoothie.  Although I purge a lot of bad from my body, the good stuff goes out too! Things get crazy and I think there is an imbalance happening.  I want to make it right.

I also need to take the time to sit down with my recipes books/binder and get back to my roots. 

For me, simple recipes and easy but tasty meals are what suit me best.  I love love love the complexity that can come from raw food cooking -- but I do not have the financial resources or time.  Simple - Fresh - Yummy - that is what I need.

4. Times with Violet have been hard.  Not to say she is a bad girl or I am a bad mommy right now.. Just that it has been extra difficult.  I have SO MUCH F*CKING GUILT all the time.  Bringing her to school/her spending sometimes over eight hours per day there, making her sleep in her own bed (when she still sleeps in Daddy's bed with him), changing her life by not being her with her Daddy right now.  It feels like I am ruining her life.  And it is a wretched feeling, let me tell you.  It hurts like hell.  She is so smart, so sensitive and *knows* what is happening.  She asks me such mature questions sometimes, it definitely brings my life and choices into focus  - big time.

I only want the best for her.  I can't help but to worry day-in and day-out that I am actually doing that.  I want her to be happy, more than anything else in the world.  I don't want to screw her up - (my biggest fear in life!)

Saturday

Today Violet had a visit with the Easter Bunny! And she attended a library Easter egg hunt too.

She had her face painted...

...like a bunny!

Then after the library party, we visited my 'rents.

My Dad totally bought Violet an ATV!  Just her size and blue no less (only her most favorite color in the world!).

Awww!

She was nervous to ride at first - but then loved it!

I totally caught the old man trying to ride it! HA!

"Grampy ride with me!"

Friday

Bike riding with Daddy!

Friday

My Social Workout and Yoga Challenge Update:

I continue to work hard to progress in my health challenge.  Some days are much easier than others.  Quite frankly, I haven't done nearly as much as I would love to -- but there are not enough hours in the day for it all!

(1) Yoga Every Day: I have done a few days but not every day.  It has felt so good to do any at all though, so I am happy.
(2) Make My Own Food:  I am doing decent at this.  It is a lot of work to make my own meals.  I thought I was short on time for this before.  Now is even worse, working (almost) full time.  If I could stuff a Lean Cuisine in my pack and call it lunch everyday, I would.  But that is gross and I won't do it.  This one is challenging to do for sure but worth it.
(3) Jumping Jacks:  I want to accomplish this so much!! Ahhh!  But I haven't had the "alone time" I need yet.  I am NOT going to do jumping jacks when others are around, it seems kinda embarrassing, so I will wait for the best opportunity and then jump my little heart out!
(4) Quieting My Mind:  I have counted time alone in the car or those few alone at home as moments of mind-quieting.  That may be cheating but it has definitely been my only time of peace that I have found so far.
(5) Having Fun: This goal has been specific to Violet because in the fray, sometimes I actually forget to HAVE FUN with my girl.  But I have made more of an effort to just let loose and enjoy her more.  Yesterday at the beach, I definitely hit my fun quota for the day -- we had a blast.
(6) Workday Stretching: Being at a desk all day long (sometimes sitting for more than 8 straight hours) has been a new thing for me.  I need these stretch breaks and I have taken at least one each day since joining the challenge.
(7) Green Drinks:  This one is easy peasy and I have done super great.  SO MUCH JUICE!  I feel like I have rocked this one out of the park.  My body thanks me. :)
(8) Cardio: No real cardio yet, although I did go for a long walk the other evening and it was very refreshing.  What I want in a cardio routine is to RUN.  I have wanted to start a running schedule for a long while now and I have a plan in place as soon as I get some decent shoes.

Thursday

Beach day today IN MARCH!!

The weather is crazy right now but in the best way -- it was 85 degrees here in New England and we took full advantage of it by going to the ocean.  It was SO beautiful and so much fun.

She got right into the water!  It was SO COLD.

V and her friend K.  Beach girls!

SO beautiful, Violet.

I had to capture her for a picture, she was too busy for me.

The Best!

They built this cool rock circle pool.

Crushing the sand pile!

Yes!

Digging beach pools.

She found a little shrimp buggie.

She loves ocean creatures but all we could find were tiny ones.

Helloooo!

We climbed in the rocks looking for little crabs...

...but could not find any today.

I love you Violet.

Tuesday

My little munchkin was sick today.

But as you can see above, she still managed to look super cool in her shades.

It just kills us when she is not feeling well though.  But it does give us time to do some extra lovin' and snuggling. 

Monday: A New Challenge

I am ready to get serious.

Because I often feel like I am losing my sh*t and need to keep myself in line, I have discovered a new health-minded challenge and I am ready to attack it head-on!  I am pretty excited too.  I first found this challenge a couple of months ago on Yoga Journal's website.  It was a yoga related, 21-day challenge for the new year and seemed like a really awesome event to be a part of.  I wasn't really ready enough to sign-up but I rediscovered the challenge recently and took another look.

Yoga Journal teamed up with Social Workout and created an overall challenge that can be personal or group themed.  There a million really cool GOALS to find and so many other people that find those goals important too.  Like yoga!  Or meditation, reading, photography, running or cooking real food.  I am really impressed at the site, although I am still in the beginning stages of figuring out how to use it.

I have signed up for some peronal goals: (for the next 30 days and beyond..)

1. Workday Stretching: 2 Breaks Per Day
2. Making My Own Meals: 2 Meals Per Day
3. Quieting My Mind: 15 Minutes of Meditation Per Day
4. 1000 Jumping Jacks: In 30 Days
5. 120 Minutes of Cardio: Per Week
6. Green Drinks: Juice 5 Out of 7 Days
7. Having Fun: 15 Minutes Per Day With My Girl, When Possible

And of course:

8. Practice Yoga Every Day!

If you want to check out the site, my progress or my super awesome page, find it HERE.

Sunday

We took full advantage of the 70+ degree weather here today (it is still technically winter!) and had a visit at a park near home.

Violet was an animal, jumping and running and have lots of fun.  She is pretty brave now, going up ladders and rushing down once-scary slides!

She went to a friend's birthday party yesterday and received a sparkly, pink crown... as you can see in the pictures below, she would not take it off! 

Man I love her sooooo much.  She makes me so crazy but my love for her just keeps growing and growing.

Sunday

Thursday

The transition from Stay-At-Home Mom to Working Mom has been a tough one.  It continues to be difficult each and every day as Miss Violet does NOT like going to preschool.

At first when she rebelled I thought, well maybe she just needs some time to get used to it.  Now that we are further down the working/preschool road, I can say with confidence that SHE DEFINITELY DOES NOT LIKE IT!  She cries and tells me every night and every morning how much she does not want to go.  I try my darnedest to make it seem cool, to appeal to every sensibility she has  -- but to no avail.

Her feelings mean the world to me!!  So I have been feeling really, really down about it all.  Thinking about whether my new job is really worth of all the sadness (that she and I BOTH share) and if I should try to find something else... something part time again and closer to home.

But on the other hand, with my job comes more money, which has given me the idea that I *might* be ready to finally realize my Yoga Teacher Training ambitions.  There is a session starting in September - about five minutes from home - and it might be affordable if I keep working full time.

SO big plans are in store for me in the coming months... whether I stay where I am or move along somewhere else.  My life is so full of bumps and bruises and I am constantly trying to figure out what the hell is going on.  I have to keep thinking good things, good things, good things...

This morning I came into work on an assignment to escort the marketing/photographer person around the grounds of the museum.  I wasn't really looking forward to it because (1) it is cold in those buildings during this time of year and (2) it is supposed to be my day off.   But now I can say I am so glad I came in because (1) I still get to leave early today and (2) I was able to see a bird's eye view of some of the museum's beautiful treasures. 

I was kind of a sneaky-pants though -- I whipped out the ol' blackberry and took a few photos for myself.  I share them here now but shhhh don't tell anyone... I am not sure if that is okay or not yet. ;)

Exhibits under wraps!  Beauteous Shaker furniture under there.

Stairs and Carriage

Simple, Lovely and Useful.

I think this is the bathroom! Hee hee.  Just holes in a bench. 

Deny Thy Temptation =  Do Not Touch!