Words float out like holograms

Today I decided that I really need to get Simon and I onto some sort of set daily routine/schedule. This will be difficult given the current work/life situation but I figure if I have a daily schedule established then I work around the variables, at least some pieces of the day will be the same. I think this will be good for him but also for me. The problem is, I am terrible at following schedules unless they are forced on me. I guess at almost 29 years old I should be able to put on my big girl panties and face life with some maturity instead of waiting for someone else to tell me what to do.

In addition to schedules, we need to get out more. Simon LOVES being outside, and my body needs more movement. I don't want to raise a sedentary child, so getting in the habit of getting out and doing things more as early as possible is a good idea. Too bad the colder weather is starting as I am deciding this.

My poor little buggle has his very first cold. Thursday night was very miserable, with him struggling to breathe, no matter how much I used the booger-sucker-bulb-thing. He woke up all night, like every hour, and cried a lot. Friday night went much better, I think he was extra exhausted from his bad night of sleep the night before. Last night was ok too. He has learned to mouth breathe because he is so stuffed up. All in all he is in great spirits for someone who doesn't feel good.

I wish I had extra money for baby shopping. There are so many things I want to get him right now, but we are still catching up on bills from Jeramy's missed work. I want to buy him:

~A ring stacker toy so he can chew the rings and bang them around
~Some kind of ball
~squishy or soft blocks
~more long-sleeved onesies
~a hat (with ear flaps!) and mittens
~warmer booties
~new pj's because he is about to outgrow his
~a rug for his room
~a sling carrier
~a jumper
~teething bibs
~one or two of those fleece suits for super cold days
~a real jacket (right now we use hoodies)

I guess I will just get a little here and there.

I am soooo excited for Friday when we will be giving Simon rice cereal for the first time.

He has been showing a lot of interest in food for a while now. If I try to eat while I am nursing him, he will pop off and stare at what I have and ignore my breast. He will sometimes do this if he even THINKS I have food, like if I bite my nails. If Jeramy and I are eating, he'll try to grab at our food, one day he got a hold of my Luna bar and almost got it to his mouth.

My mom bought him some rice cereal, and Friday when both Jeramy and I are home we are going to try giving him some. I wonder if he will go for it?

Today's To To:

~Go to bank
~Pick up soymilk, butter, waffles, cheese, english muffins or bagels, cheez its, apples, toothpaste, and perhaps a few other items.
~paint fingernails with yucky stuff to stop chewing
~find out about second audition for VM
~call my boss back
~cancel hair appointment
~buy hair color to do it at home
~balance checkbook
~pay bills
~fold and put away laundry
~vacuum spare room
~finish dishes and tidy kitchen
~prepare a REAL meal
~avoid procrastination

I am irritated with facebook. It should be renamed to stalkerbook. I used to have a simple page that I could check and see if friends had left me notes, and I could leave some for them. Now, it tells me what everyone is doing...who is friends with who else...who said what on someone else's wall...who is attending what party...

...and worst of all it shows who is online now. Now I realize that this is the nature of the beast. Online sites are not the best way to have a private life, and I should just delete my facebook account if it bothers me that much. However, there are some people who I would never communicate with otherwise, such as my friend Jacob who is studying abroad in Scotland. Also, I like sharing pictures with friends that I took when we spent time together. But it still sucks that I cannot have a day off from work without all of my co-workers seeing if I am at that moment commenting on my friend's page, or have the whole world know that I am an insomniac and am checking facebook at 2 a.m. Sometimes, no sooner do I decide to pop on and check my inbox, than my phone will ring.


Dear LJ, at least I can check my friend's page and communities without you announcing it to the whole world.


Anyway...I am ending this rant now.

I have been inspired and motivated lately. I have many different works in progress in many mediums. Here is a piece I started this evening, the first of a series of still lifes I plan to do.



In it's first stage I blocked in the major shapes, shadows and highlights. The table and wall are both white, and the three objects are very pale. I don't know yet whether I will tone down the colors more, or allow the painting to have more color than life. The shadows are a bit wonky, and the shape of the left bottle is off a bit. The bottles all have writing on them but I don't think I plan to include it, other than the white bar code shape on the left bottle.

I chose these three objects because they are all pale in color, but also because they are three objects of vanity. This series will all be still lifes of objects used to beautify oneself.


I also spent some time today doodling pictures for a children's story I would like to illustrate. It will probably be wordless.





I feel like I wasted my entire weekend sleeping but I guess my body needed it. I slept almost 17 hours last night, and I slept most of Friday as well. I did get out for one walk in the snow, and took a few photographs, but when I got back home I felt freezing cold and could not get warm the rest of the day. Then, Saturday I had to work at the library and had the worst stomach pains all day. I thought I might have to ask to leave early it was so bad. When I got home I spent a little time with Jeramy and then went to bed at 8. What a lame Saturday night. Thank goodness I feel better today.

I have been making art lately. I haven't really liked much of it. I have noticed that I am impatient with it, hurrying for the finish instead of enjoying the making. My work ethic is not present. So I think it is time to change mediums, or really spend some time sketching. But I am painting again and that is the important thing.

Yesterday was Valentine's day and Jeramy and I decided not to make a big production of it and just be totally relaxed about it. So we slept in a little, then got up and make breakfast together. Afterward, he dragged me back into bed and we took a nap. Yes, a real nap. Then we got up and got dressed, and drove to Portland. We did some shopping at Target and I returned some pants at Old Navy, then we went to Panera Bread for dinner. We were there very late and ended up being given free stuff. Some delicious cookies and a whole bag of free bagels. Afterward, we returned home and watched "The Holiday".

Here is Obama's civil rights plan: http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/c…

Very impressive. I still have high hopes.

I want to do some volunteering but I am not sure what I want to do. Any good suggestions? Do any of you lj friends volunteer? What do you do?

Every year I say I will donate more time to helping others, or causes I believe in...but then I never follow through. I would like to maybe get involved directly in the push for legalizing same-sex marriage in Maine. I would also like to find a way to promote art with children who may not get enough exposure to it. There are many other things I am passionate about. I suppose I need to do more research into things I can do or organize.


I did a lot of cleaning yesterday and it makes me feel so good. As the days get longer and longer I get a little more motivated and feel more renewed.

Off to babysit now...bye!

I just had a chocolate cupcake for lunch and watched the inauguration. It is the first inauguration that I have watched, and I wish I could have made a road trip to D.C. to see it in person. Although I probably would have been waaay down by the Washington Monument and unable to see anything anyway. Still, it would be something to tell the grand kids and to remember being a part of.

I have high hopes for the next 4 to 8 years.

Jeramy and I rearranged the living room completely. It looks so huge now! I expected not to like it when it was all done, but I actually think it is spacious and comfy. There is a cozy TV area, an art area, a reading spot, and a "library".

We are in a panic to get the house all clean because his Grandmother is coming to keep him company on Saturday while I am at work and he is recovering from his wisdom teeth removal. She is sort of our tidiness role model and we want her to see our place and think "Wow, these kids have it together".

So now it if almost 6pm and I haven;t showered, so I had better go do that. Then when Jeramy comes back in from snow blowing, we are going down to play Upwords with his mom and aunt.

Happy snowstorm to my fellow Mainers!