Mulberry Street

Found this explanation on a recent visit to the Hirshorn Museum... Close to Nothing How can "nothing" be articulated in the object-based world of visual art?  The understanding of "nothing" differs strongly from one culture to another; it can suggest infinity and mindfulness or it can represent absence and loss .  Regardless of its interpretation, the expression or form of "nothing" depends entirely on whatever is actually present , and vice versa.  Artists have increasingly exploited the limits of this mutual dependency, expanding the field of their artistic expression and emphasizing the fault lines between emptiness and material representation. I taught some school kids about MC Escher recently.  It was fun to share his use of negative space and optical illusions.  Walking them through the complex layers in his artwork blew their minds.  I thought of his 1952 piece titled Puddle when I came across this image Emory shot - reflection caught in a...

Spending the day at Burke Lake riding the train and carousel then playing mini golf is wicked awesome when the weather is cool in July. Sitting on the caboose: Genevieve, Sophie, Truman Archer, Deanne and Emory (part of his forehead IS visible) Ben and I

Hollin Farms - peaches, tomatoes and blackberries

It was a gradual decline, but when I hit bottom, I hit hard. For a few months prior to my "episode," I felt a little different. I even mentioned the word depression out loud a few times, but dismissed the feelings and kept pushing forward. I was trying to get pregnant, I had five more races on the calendar, and two kids at home All. Day. Long. for the entire summer.   I didn’t have a choice, but to ignore my feelings and get on with my to-do list.   Actually, I did have a choice and I chose to ignore my feelings.   I recognize that now. It's really difficult to explain what it's like to not feel like yourself. I'm still not quite sure how to put everything into words. Perhaps that’s because I am still not 100% myself yet, even five months after the “episode.”   The good thing is, I feel more and more like myself all the time.   I’ve learned some valuable lessons about myself, my children, and my relationship with my family.   I have learned that I am not ...

Too Much Noise by Ann McGovern pictures by Simms Taback There are a lot of bad children books out there.  No joke.  I am amazed that so many bad books get published.  This, however, is a great book.  I'm not sure where I found this book, but I am sure glad I brought it home.  Each time I read the story I smile at the simple lessons within it's pages.  Peter, our main character, is frustrated with all the noise in his house and seeks council from the wise man.  The wise man teaches him, over time, that all the noise he is complaining about, isn't much noise at all.  I am just as guilty as Peter in this story.  I am.  I think my noise is unbearable, that I simply have too much of it, and that someone should magically take it all away.  This happens when I have lost my perspective.  It is hard to keep perspective when you are focused on less important things in life.  It usually isn't until I stumble a...

We witnessed a bee swarm at the park. It was frightening, not only because the swarm was literally gathered at the entrance of the park, but also because I am allergic to bees. As you can guess, we dutifully kept our eyes on the swarm at all times.  I was happy to see the swarm move on and leave the park, making our time there much less stressful. After watching the phenomenon, I decided I should do a little research on bee swarms. Here is what I found out on Wikipedia: "Swarming is the natural means of reproduction of honey bee colonies. A new honey bee colony is formed when the queen bee leaves the colony with a large group of worker bees , a process called swarming. In the prime swarm, about 60% of the worker bees leave the original hive location with the old queen. This swarm can contain thousands to tens of thousands of bees. Swarming is mainly a spring phenomenon, usually within a two- or three-week period depending on the locale, but occasional swarms can ha...

Egg Hunt at Home Note that Genvieve is a blur in almost all the photos.  It doesn't take her long to get moving when she knows there is candy to be found, even if she just rolled out of bed.  Emory hasn't quite figured things out yet, which I didn't mind.  I filled up half the eggs with crackers to minimize the sugar in-take.  The kids had a great time finding the eggs.  And, for the next week, Genevieve would re-hide the eggs (empty this time) and we'd take turn finding all the eggs. Egg Hunt at the Park Emory's real problem about collecting eggs is that he stops to see what is inside everyone before placing it in his bucket.  I am sure he thought I saw so mean, helping him collect his eggs before all the big kids got their turn. You can guess that Genevieve had no problem gathering her eggs alongside Lilly and Brielle.  Then she, quite literally, hung off Lilly for the remainder of the morning.  Genevieve really really r...

In the last month Emory has poured soy sauce into my light carpet, learned to climb up the bunk-bed ladder, positioned the stool to unlock the front door, thrown a tantrum that rivals his big sister, and broken through two child safety locks to drag out, set up AND plug in the blender.  The kid is learning too much too fast.  I think his grandparents need some good quality time with him... I saw a woman walking to the metro this morning.  She wore no socks, no gloves, no scarf and no hat which I think is crazy in this about-to-snow weather.  My rule is based on 50 degrees.  If the temperature is below 50 degrees then we wear full coats and all the accessories.  If the temperature is above 50 degrees then we wear jackets and a few accessories.  The kids are usually overdressed for the temperature , but I would much rather shed a layer or two than deal with cold kids and/or sacrifice my own coat to keep them warm.  (Like that ...

Eric and I were lucky enough to go to the ballet last night.  We saw the American Ballet Theatre's production of La Bayadère .  It was fabulous.  Even Eric appreciated all the various aspects of the ballet, and normally he saves his rave reviews for opera.  My favorite scene was a dream scene in Act II.  The ballerina's entered the stage, one by one, forming a ribbon of movement.  Between the music, the costumes, and the flow of their delicate arms - it really felt like you were in the middle of a dream and I was privileged to witness such grace and beauty.  Also, I may or may not have dreamed about signing Genevieve up for ballet class with a very stern ballet instructor.  Genevieve could certainly use more structure and self discipline in her life - maybe ballet is the answer. I was blog stalking the other night. Do you ever read Design Mom ? I like it for a lot of reasons. Right now she has a series about li...

I totally fell for it.  I bought this jug of syrup with the impression that it was in fact "All Natural" maple syrup.  Well, guess what?  It is merely "All Natural Table Syrup."  There isn't even a drop of maple in it.  Eric and I consumed almost the entire thing thinking it was 100% maple syrup.  We felt very silly when we realized the truth and inspected the label more closely.  Apparently I'm not the only one bothered by this sneaky advertising.  See this article on Vermonter's ringing the bell on Pinnacle Foods.  I'm glad to see that someone cares about fools like me.

As we get ready to fly again. I can't help but think about how to pack for two adults and two kids minimally. Yeah right! Is it funny or ironic that airlines do nothing but motivate you to carry-on luggage? I have never understood the dilemma - whether passengers check or carry on the luggage, the overall weight on the plane is the same, right? Only now the distribution is off and the time it takes to get everyone seated is terribly long. Oh, and don't get me started about bags that are very clearly too large to fit in the overhead bin, yet the passenger feels compelled to force the luggage in because well, they were too cheap to check the bag. All eyes are on them as they stuff and stuff and perhaps break another person's personal belongings, before the stewardess finally frowns and steps in to intervene. I remember the days when I could just carry on a bag (I did so back in January and was VERY grateful for my carry-on, after enduring a crazy-chase-the aircraft-down-throu...

I don't know why I feel so obligated to confess such random tidbits, but here goes... I have 15 pairs of shoes in my closet right now (and an unknown number downstairs by the front door). Eric is always reading New York Times articles and telling me about them. Eventually, I get around to reading them myself. This one in particular stands out to me. How do we end up with so much stuff? Is it accidental or intentional? Is it all necessary or just excess? Would we be happier without it all or left wishing we'd hung onto it? I feel like if we lived in any other country in the world we would have a smaller place, less stuff, and perhaps be more content. I wonder if I could break free from conspicuous consumption myself. The entire idea of living with less is very doable, but I wonder if I am actually willing to toss out all my shoes. Strobel writes here , if you want to read more about her perspective on happiness. Also, I think I want to see this documentary on happiness. I gu...

Do you know what the worst cereal ever made is? Fruity Pebbles. Don’t get me wrong, I like a little sweetness on my cereal but too much is well, too much. Against my better judgment I bought a giant bag of Fruity Pebbles and now I want to throw it away. Genevieve asks for it every morning. She asks for the “colorful” cereal, because every choice she makes is based on color. The problem is, she never finishes it probably because it tastes awful. Fuzzies in your toes? No problem. Genevieve would love to pick them out for you. Ever since she was a baby she has had keen eyesight, nimble fingers, and a love to pick tiny things out of the carpet. This skill has recently evolved to a new pastime – removing socks and searching for fuzzies in-between her toes. It doesn’t matter where we are or what we’re doing, she’ll drop everything to rip off her socks and open her toes. At least her toes are cute and mostly clean as opposed to Eric’s and my toes. I’m pretty sure she’ll offer this service t...

My sister posted the following clip of Looney Tunes. First of all, what happened to quality cartoon entertainment? Eric would argue that Sponge Bob is a worthy replacement, but there is nothing like the classic Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote conflict. I think Genevieve and I will take up looking up more Looney Tunes on YouTube instead of watching Barbie too often. On a sidenote, why didn't that silly coyote ever run on all four feet? I think he could have caught that pesky bird if he had used more than two. Second, what does "egad" mean anyway? Well, I looked it up using wikipedia and here is what it said, "A minced oath (also pseudo-profanity or expletive-deletive) is an English language expression based on a profanity that has been altered to reduce the objectionable characteristics of the original expression, for example, darn or dang instead of...etc. etc." Thank you Looney Tunes for censoring our childhood ears. You could have really taught us som...

One in 8 Million tells the stories of New York characters in sound and images. http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/index.html#/naisi_zhao

I enjoy cooking much more when Genevieve isn't around. I prepared dinner during her nap today and I could focus on the recipe and actually get it done. I should probably spend less time napping myself and more time cooking. We are all much happier when we are already fed and playing at 7:00pm rather than in the normal panic-tantrum-starving-chaotic mood at that same time, unfortunately due to my procrastination on dinner. I think I am going to dig up all my plants and do a lot of transplanting this fall. I have new plants to incorporate and I want to create space for more vegetables in some of the prime sunlight-space. I love my plants and don't mind weeding them or mowing the lawn. When I can't get "out in nature" I am content to care for my yard. My friend, Mac, is heading to Munich today. I am super jealous because she and Jason are going for two full weeks and here's the best part, without kids. Eric and I love to travel and it is a good thing we got it...

Have you seen the new Prius commercials? I love it. Something about the movement, the music, and the kids dressed up in nature really appeals to me. The marketing works because I sure want to buy a new Prius. I have a bone to pick with the individual who came up with " Self Checkouts ." I can understand the convenience of them, IF you have like one item or IF you don't want to stand in line or IF you don't have kids. Just as Genevieve and I approached the checkouts at IKEA the only cashier left us to our demise - the self checkout lines. I was ticked. Mostly because I had been carrying Genevieve around, under my arm and not on my hip mind you, for the past 30 minutes just trying to finish. So you can imagine that the last thing I wanted to do was check myself out. (Please imagine with me: One wriggling toddler under one arm - check, One irritated mom grabbing one item at a time out of the cart and fumbling around with the scanner - check, No cashier willing to help...

If you didn't know, it has been raining here in NoVA for the past five days. It has stopped raining long enough to get in a short jog, a bike ride, and a little park time but for some reason its getting to me. Out of nowhere I feel like I'm slipping into a funk because of all the rain . Maybe I need to sign up for another race to focus. Eric says it rains like this all the time in Seattle - hmm, I could probably never live in Seattle then. I like a little rain , well actually I like a lot of rain because it makes this area so lush and green. One thing I don't miss about Idaho is the fact that it only gets 11 inches of rain annually. In contrast Virginia gets 40.5 inches of rain annually. So I'll take the rain , it would just be nice to have a little more sunshine during the rainy months. I went to the dermatologist for a skin issue on my face. Didn't notice? Whew, that makes me feel better...until I look in the mirror again. I was diagnosed with Perioral Der...