Apparently, one of the litmus tests for being a real New Yorker is having cried while walking down the street. I have never openly cried while walking down a street anywhere, but here is something I do do: I cry in my car. The car is the perfect place to cry because you’re completely alone. This is not true, of course. You’re in your car! Any of the dozens of strangers all around you, either crossing the street, walking on the sidewalk, or driving in their own car literally right next to you, would see you if they happened to look your way. But the thing is, no one does look your way. Driving is one of the most isolating, lonely experiences a person has in the States. It’s one of, if not the thing, I hate the most as a repat. Now, I have discovered it has its silver lining in that the isolation and loneliness leaves you free to cry as you drive.
In Zurich, I would sometimes take a very quiet, solitary walk on the Hambergersteig, a steep footpath in the hills above our house whenever I needed to have a moment to catch my breath, hear myself think, or formulate something I was writing. This is one of the funny things about being a mom and living in a small apartment or house with your family, and also working and not really having a lot of time alone ever: It’s tough to find time to reflect and connect with yourself. The Hambergersteig had a balcony sort of landing, which opened up and jutted out from under the tree cover about half way up the winding path. There was a bench with a grand, sweeping view of the lake. It was the perfect place to sit and watch the boats go in and out on the Zurisee. I loved sitting there and thinking. It was so quiet and intimate. It would actually be the perfect place to go have a good cry.
But there is no Hambergersteig around here. These days, I’m so busy fulfilling one role or another all the time that whenever I’m alone driving that is my me time. Often I’ll listen to podcasts. Or just sit in silence and try to hear my own thoughts. But the last few days, I’ve been listening to my old favorite albums. Air Moon Safari, of course, and also Radiohead OK Computer, which is probably the best album of all time and truly a delight to listen to on a really good car stereo at really high volume. With the bizarrely frantic exhaustion that comes with the end of the school year looming, and finding my way to turning 40 this fall, and basically having some sort of weird mid-life thing going on, it turns out it’s is the perfect soundtrack for a good car cry, too. I can’t really say what I was crying about. Mostly I think I was just tired. I love that album, and it carries so many memories and moments for me and it was so cathartic and I felt so much better afterward.
How is life for you lately? Are you feeling exhausted and overwhelmed? Do you sometimes just need a good cry?
(Photo via Shop Style/Pinterest)
Have you heard of Visible? Okaaaaay then. I have so much to say (mostly bad!) about cell phone service and buying phones since getting back to the States.
Raise your hand if you miss the old model where you committed to two years of service with a provider, and then they gave you a phone at a deep discount, and everyone went on their merry way? Drrh. Those days are gone.
I seriously started losing my mind back in September when the new iPhones were released and I needed to replace my iPhone 6 like nobody's business. Once upon a time, I thought that that 6 would be the one and only phone I would own during my American sojourn. But, those dreams were dashed, and then I decided to go get another Masters degree, and here we are. I have a brand spanking new, expensive as heck, iPhone XS as of March.
But back in the fall, all of the providers were completely changing their phone selling structure and introducing these long term loans which meant you tacked on 30 or 40 bucks to your monthly bill, ultimately paying full price for the phone and then they simultaneously jacked all their rates around and we were generally going broke on cellular service. You know what I'm talking about.
We were with AT&T for sooooo long and one day, I set aside an hour and called their customer service to get some ideas of how we could lower our bill. The person I spoke to said we could go to a 6GB plan and save $15 per month, but somehow, when I got the next bill, it was a $5 increase and when I called to fix it, they said the old 12GB plan was not available, but for another $10 per month, I could step up to the 8GB plan. Seriously, WTF?! Could they not hear what they were actually saying to me? "Yeah, sorry, we can't do that, but you can pay more and get less?" Drrh!
As if that wasn't bad enough, the taxes and fees were so high and changing all the time. Side note: Do you read your phone bill? You should. AT&T said that we could purchase new phones at a discount through their loyalty program, but only if we switched to their unlimited plan, which was going to be something like $165 per month for our two lines before taxes and fees. Ultimately, I got so mad that I switched to Sprint, which basically does not work anywhere. I had to wave my phone above my head to send a text from my driveway, or stand on my bed to send a text from my bedroom, or press myself up against the window in the living room to make a call. Even after calling Sprint and updating the carrier settings on my phone, it just did not work.
Enter Visible.
One day, I was scrolling on Instagram while waiting in line at Trader Joe's, and I saw an ad for Visible. At that point, I knew a good phone plan when I saw one. In my humble opinion, here are the top 7 reasons you should ditch your current provider and switch to Visible right now.
- Unlimited talk, text and data for just $40 per month, taxes and fees included. No more guessing how much that auto debit will be. It's just $40 per month. Flat. Pay with PayPal, Venmo, bank transfer, debit card - your choice!
- No stores, no phone number. Visible uses all online customer service through chat, text and tweet and it's actually really nice to never have to
talk to anyonelisten to someone read off of a script. I get an immediate response every time I contact Visible and they are so helpful and basically bent over backward to make sure our phones arrived before we left for Miami. - Best of all, Visible uses the Verizon 4G LTE network, so it works everywhere. Even in Spokane, and that is saying a lot.
- You can bring your own device, or finance a new one with rates as low as 0% through Affirm.
- Keep your phone number!
- Get $20 off of your first month of service if you sign up though my referral link/code: tFcCF.
- And, you'll get a $200 MasterCard gift card for switching to Visible.
We have been soooo happy with Visible. I cannot even tell you. The $200 gift card arrives after you pay for your second month of service, so we got ours last week. I have no more dropped calls or failed texts now that we're on Visible. If I'm in a spot that doesn't have WiFi, I can use the personal hotspot on my phone to connect my iPad or laptop to the internet (something you can't do on the Sprint plan we had), and I am constantly streaming music, watching videos on YouTube, or listening to podcasts on the go with no issues!
I am not a Visible affiliate, and this is not a sponsored post. I just love Visible so much, and have been so happy to find them amid a world of crappy, overpriced mobile service, and I thought who knows, maybe you are looking for a new phone plan, too? :)
Now the other thing I'm disappointed with since repatriating is INTERNET. Our Swisscom internet/tv/phone bundle was SO fast and so affordable. I miss it. Any tips for me there? Thank you for reading my mobile phone saga, and definitely check out Visible and get your $200 MasterCard gift card and $20 off. You won't regret it!
(Image via Visible/Instagram)
Have you been to the Beaches at Normandy? As an American studying in France, that was one of the most memorable day trips we took during my semester abroad. The beaches are startlingly beautiful, and quiet, with memorials and old Nazi bunkers still standing. It was profound and sobering to stand there and think of the horrors of WWII. So much respect and gratitude to those, and all, in the armed services. I can't believe it's already Memorial Day Weekend. For those of you not in the US, this is a day of remembrance for service members who have passed away. My dad served in the US Navy during Vietnam, so we always go out to visit his grave on Memorial Day.
Aside from that, I am going to get a new podcast episode up Sunday, go for a pedicure, have a Mama-Coco afternoon, and get out this book and get started ahead of summer vacation! And, here are some interesting, fun and charming links for your weekend.
Warning: You'll never quite be the same after watching this music video.
Coco is old enough for my favorite childhood road trip staple! :)
How to find a lost cat. (Very cool!)
I just ordered this oil sunscreen and I can't wait for it to arrive! One reviewer says it's better than body lotion during the summer. Yassss.
Did you already listen?!
Prescribing play. (And boredom, in case you missed it)
Theo's favorite board game as of late.
Infinite cuteness.
So intense, imaginative and colorful. I'm swooning!
Maybe this will end the sunscreen battle with Coco? ;)
I hope your weekend is lovely and filled with remembrance of those you're missing, particularly former service members. See you back here next week!
(Photo of Omaha Beach, Normandy via Mark Wesley)
One of the biggest takeaways from my Montessori training course way back in 2004-05 was the concept of benign neglect. Benign neglect describes the moment when we are just hands-off enough to give our children the space, time and freedom necessary for exploration, curiosity and learning - without it being unsafe in any way. Our lecturer gave an example of a little baby she had seen on the bus several days prior. The baby's mom was sitting with her baby on her lap, deep in thought staring out the window, and while the mother zoned out, her baby leaned forward and starting mouthing the pole just in front of their seat. Germophobes might not consider this benign neglect, but a baby's way of understanding the world is to put things in their mouth, something adults are always stopping them from doing. Most of the time, this is necessary and protects the child from choking or other harm. But in this case, without the mom's interference, the baby was able to explore and learn and it probably did not result in any harm later. Make sense?
For the last two or three months, I have had so many moms at work, or school pick-up, or at the park ask me which camps and activities we've signed our kids up for this summer. Without fail they all gasp when I reply that we haven't signed them up for any! Even other couples who are both in education and therefore are both home all summer long are amazed that we don't have our kids fully booked. "Everything is filling up!" they say, "August will be smoky and you don't want to be stuck at home entertaining your kids!" is another popular one. "Kids get so bored in the summer - save yourself!" is another common refrain.
Usually I keep my mouth shut, because I don't want to be that "Montessori mom" who deprives her children in other people's eyes, but finally I just said to a mom last week that I want my kids to be bored in the summer. She looked a little concerned, so I went on to explain that children need to have huge chunks of unstructured, unscheduled time during which adults are not facilitating and dictating their every move, or activity, or idea. This boredom is the only way a child human being can learn to listen to the whispers of intrinsic motivation inside their own brain and soul and begin to discover their own interests. Research on Theta brainwaves, the state that our minds enter into when we're meditating, or in flow, shows that children from 0-7 are almost constantly in a Theta state in their brains. That means this is the most powerful time in one's life to discover and learn and get to know oneself, a task made impossible by too much adult interference and direction.
In the photo above, J had taken Coco and Theo on a hike and set up the hammock. He lay in the hammock and read a book while Coco and Theo found themselves with nothing to do. As frequent recipients of benign neglect, they got down to business without prompting and concocted a game of sticks and twigs that, while incomprehensible to any adult within earshot, was riveting and compelling to them. They focused their full attention on their game and had a great time for nearly an hour until it was time to go and J snapped this photo.
In the article, "Why Free Play is the Best Summer School," from the June 2014 issue of The Atlantic, author Jessica Lahey writes,
Unscheduled, unsupervised, playtime is one of the most valuable educational opportunities we give our children. It is fertile ground; the place where children strengthen social bonds, build emotional maturity, develop cognitive skills, and shore up their physical health.I could not agree more. In interviews, David Lynch often credits his early childhood in Spokane, which was filled with wandering around the Ponderosas, daydreaming, as a huge source of his creativity. And he has devoted himself to transcendental meditation, which mimics the Theta brain state of early childhood, boosting creativity and imagination. This is not a coincidence.
It's not always easy to provide this beneficial boredom for children. Sometimes on the weekends, once J and I are up and have turned off the television and confiscated the iPad (parents have got to sleep, you know?!;) Coco and Theo will whine and moan and gripe that they have nothing to do. We acknowledge that it's true that they have nothing to do and then suggest that they find something to do. Sometimes the whining goes on for a long time. It feels like forever because it's hard to listen to and really annoying. But we stay the course! It's a matter of staying consistent and forcing them to push through the boredom and into flow. They find flow in drawing and clay, puttering around the garden, Legos, and blocks. Theo is a huge fan of walking around the backyard singing and looking up at the trees. Coco gets completely absorbed in dollhouse play. And once, when she was a baby, she played with a single blade of grass with such intensity and focus for over half an hour.
This is not to say that we don't do things together, like bake cookies, or watch movies, or dye Easter eggs with our kids. We do. In those activities, we are the adults in charge, facilitating and directing our children. But I definitely do not see it as my job to do those things all the time, or to keep my children entertained. Quite the opposite! This summer, my children will be bored, and it will be good for them.
What's your approach to summer - free play and boredom, or scheduled and planned-out activities? Why do you do summer the way you do?
I have this gorgeous photo of Zurich as the wallpaper on my monitors at work. My two favorite parts about it are the archway in the pink building, lower right, that I've walked through so many times. And the little tiny dock on the river in front of the large salmon colored building on the opposite bank, more or less in the center of the photo. The other day, my friend Kate posted a photo in her stories taken from that dock, showing the church towers from which this photo was taken. It made me laugh to think that I was up in the church tower waving down to her since I’ve grown so accustomed to looking at this view every day. ;) Lately I've been missing Zurich terribly. I'm enjoying Spokane and springtime and lilacs (and the lack of hayfever!) but I still miss Zurich. I really did leave my heart there.
Do you have any big plans this weekend? An outdoor pizza party we were invited to has been rescheduled due to the insane rainstorm that came through yesterday. I have never seen rain like that in the Northwest! It was on the same level as rains that caused flash flooding the summer I was in Maryland finishing up my Masters before I moved to Switzerland the first time. So, in the absence of a pizza party, I think we're going to clean all day tomorrow and make Pavlova and do a movie night!
I hope you have a brilliant weekend, and here are some links for you.
Please vote for Swiss Lark in this blog contest! And thank you to whoever nominated me. :)
A comical look at the flooding down the hill from our house. Ha!! (I love it when I see the Spokane Boat Car;)
The perfect rainy weekend recipe.
I tried this exfoliating treatment mask last night and loved it! More in my Insta stories.
Such sad news for the climbing world, and Spokane.
Although houseplants grow and require care, they are neither as demanding nor as costly as pets or children.
Motherhood. (Read her original caption - link might transport you to the middle of the comments:)
This.
I kinda think we might need to do this...
LOL!
See you back here next week!
Yesterday, my sister (who is ten years older than me) texted me this screenshot, to which I replied, "The struggle is real!" Because it is! It's bad enough that I'm turning 40 this year, but now I'm expected to somehow come to terms with being a 40-year-old Millennial?! My sister wrote back, "You Xennial! We were just saying the other day that you are more of a millennial," which sort of made me cringe, but then again, maybe there's no use in hiding it anymore? So I took the plunge and completed the New York Times quiz, and to her I sent back this photo that I took of my computer screen:
The description went on to say
As much as I do not like being called a Millennial (let alone a really old Millennial), I am totally fine with what the New York Times dubs an Xennial. They explain that "Like water on the rock," life has worn us Xennials down. We're not fully mired in existential angst like the Gen-Xers, but this also isn't our first rodeo. Caustic and ironic both sound good to me! As does being "a smidge more practical and a smidge less idealistic." I would say I "over-share a teensy bit less" and "have slightly better taste in music." Key word being slightly. We'll get to that;)but you also probably over-share a teensy bit less. Also you probably have slightly better taste in music. To know what you narrowly escaped on either side, embark on this sensory reproduction of the life of Gen X and read true millennial Caity Weaver's experience of living in 1994.
I know so many people born in 1978 and 1979 who are so boastful and proud of not being Millennials. But I'm over here writing my blog and doing tons of Instagram stories, and saying things like "totes" and I cannot deny that I am really, unabashedly in love with many a Justin Bieber (and Katy Perry) song. So how can I deny that I am an Xennial - or just a really old Millennial?! Oof.
Since posting the photo of my computer screen (seems like more of a Gen-X move than Millennial move to take a photo of a screen, don't you think?) on my Instagram stories (definitely a Millennial move!) I got a bunch of DMs from proud friends who scored as Gen-X adjacent, not Xennial. I felt a tinge of jealousy. I mean, come on! I had the cK one ad I had torn from a magazine hanging on my bedroom wall in the 90s. I actually still have that Sony phone that was used in the first photo of the quiz! I had The Bangles "Eternal Flame" on a cassingle, and I still love Temple of the Dog. I went to Lollapalooza for goodness sake!
Naturally, I did what any anxiety-ridden Millennial would do, and I went back and re-took the quiz, changing the one answer that I was on the fence about. Did they mean my parent's and my childhood best friend's current phone numbers? Or, did they mean do I remember my childhood best friend's number from childhood?! Because I do remember Katie and Sinead's childhood numbers. I'm pretty sure Kate's parents (she gave up Katie after college;) still have that number. If they still have a landline, which maybe they do - or don't. Hmmm, they did move a couple years ago...But! The point is that that one answer pushed me into Gen-X Adjacent territory and I was free to wave the Gen-X flag loud and proud!
Except that I wasn't. Because I do not, and never did, have the number for Poison Control memorized. Does remembering Mr. Yuck stickers count?! Can you young Millennials remember those?! Take a look - and while you're there, notice how easy that Poison Control number is. Also, apparently it's Mr. Yuk (no c) and should I be concerned that we're not using these with our own kids?! Hashtag Xennial.
Sigh. There's no denying that I really am just an old Millennial. Have you taken the quiz? Share your results in the comments below. And by all means, feel free to boast and brag. I'll console myself by double-screening, doing Instagram stories in front of Seinfeld on Hulu later. I would call them Seinfeld re-runs except I never saw the first run! It's all new to me. LOL! Like I said to my sister at the very beginning, the struggle is real.
No sooner did we get Goldie into his (her? Coco was convinced Goldie was a girl) tank than Goldie died. Okay, it took about a day, during which Goldie was acting very strange and basically just sitting on the bottom of the tank. The day she died, we found her sucked up against the filter, not moving. I had noticed that her skin looked fuzzy the day before. It seemed odd for her skin to be fuzzy and I knew she was going south, but I hoped for the best anyway. It did not end well. Rather than replace her before the kids could notice, J and I opted to embrace the teachable moment. Coco was excited about burying or flushing her and was not one bit phased. The lesson for her was to be compassionate and sympathetic toward Theo, who was crestfallen. Theo wept and cried and even worried that perhaps Goldie had died because he had given her/him too much food. What?! Never mind, I just let that go in the moment and hugged him. He would burst into tears at random moments and literally sob for a few seconds. It was at once touching, endearing, and so so sad to see him so upset.
Following Goldie’s watery burial down the toilet, I replaced all the water in the tank and left it to filter for a few days before Coco and I went to get more fish last weekend. Can I just take a moment to say that the people who work in Petco are ridiculously knowledgeable and passionate about fish? We decided against a betta (they just sit there) and also against another goldfish (they get humongous and produce way too much yuck) and we got a couple of guppies instead! Guppies are darling little fish who swim about actively and are brightly colored and don’t get any larger than an inch or two. Theo named his guppy Seashell and Coco named hers Violet. Guppies don’t produce a ton of gunk, which makes them easy to care for, and best of all, they eat goldfish food. At that point, we had a big container of goldfish food of which we had only used a pinch or two. Perfect!
Except that Seashell and Violet died too! They went to same way Goldie did. It took about two days, starting first with fuzzy skin, then acting weird and hanging out at the bottom of the tank. Then we found them both sucked up against the filter intake this morning. Theo and Coco were a little bummed out, but then went about their usual games. “I guess we can just get a dog now!” chirped Theo as he ran off to the basement to play camping. But I was ticked off. What a ripoff! I rifled through the car console and house looking for the receipt for the tank and all the accoutrements, but I never found it. I put the tank with the dead fish down in the utility sink and decided that this time we’ll bury them after school in the backyard.
I honestly don’t know what to do. Should I buy more guppies and ask the Petco people what’s wrong with the tank set up? Or just go back in there, receipt be damned, and get my money back and forget the idea of having a pet for now? Or should we just fill the tank with water, but not have any fish? During the days between Goldie and the guppies, I noticed that it’s actually pretty cute and decorative all on its own.
I consoled Theo when he was distraught over Goldie by telling him all about my own Goldie. When I was in kindergarten, I also won a goldfish (or maybe was given one) at the Wilson carnival! My Goldie also only lived for two or three days. I remember feeding Goldie and then using a spoon to stir her round and round and round in her fish bowl! Watching her spin around in the whirlpool I created never got old. I can only imagine how miserable life was for my Goldie. Honestly, it was probably a relief for her when she passed on.
There was just one last thing I was curious about - how had Theo managed “to pet” his own Goldie? I overheard him telling Coco about Goldie’s slippery skin and how he missed petting her. Oh dear! But, in the end, considering Seashell and Violet went the same way, I think we can rest assured it was not Theo’s fault.
Have you had fish die on you? Any secrets or insights to share? Please let me know in the comments below.
I’m baaaack (again!) and thank you for coming back, too. Life this school year has been completely insane. But, reprieve is near. With our local school district making huge, devastating cuts, J and I were both impacted. It’s going to mean a lot less money for us next year, but it also is going to mean a hell of a lot more time and you know what? I honestly, truly, 100% am so grateful for these upcoming changes. I’ve always been a person who says she values time over money, and it turns out I wasn’t blowing smoke! So, here’s to more time, more blogging, more podcasting. Yes! I’m so ready. (I wrote more about it here if you want to see.)
And here are some links for you and your weekend:
I bought these Birkenstocks (above) on Amazon and then freaked out when a friend shared this blog with me for spotting fakes! Nordstrom or Birkenstock direct from now on. Thankfully, mine are real!
Have you seen this coffee chart? I’m a 4C. When Starbucks drive-thru gives me 4B, I get so mad. I really do. But I’m super nice if I ask them to remake it. I swear.
Horrifying! I’ve spent the last 20 years trying to block these from my memory. ;)
This video cracked me up!
How delicious!
LOL. Also, not funny at all.
Can you drive a stick shift? (I learned on one!)
My new favorite face cleanser. It smells amazing.
I hope your weekend is amazing and filled with delights. See you back here next week!
(Photo via Pinterest)
A huge trend I’m noticing this spring is mixing patterns. Have you seen it around, or in catalogues and stores? I first saw it in Boden, then I noticed on the mannequins in Nordstrom that ModCloth was doing a ton of pattern mixing, and then J.Crew, too!
I’m not sure how I feel about pattern mixing. I am in love with this polka dot top from J.Crew (especially in white!), but I am so not crazy about pairing it with the dotted skirt in a different shade of blue. I mean, if pattern mixing means that we can feel less pressure to have our outfits match, I’m all for it. But, I’m not sure I would actually do it. It’s like modern art. What makes a good (mis?)match when mixing patterns? When is it actually just ugly?! LOL.
Please enlighten me, here. Are you mixing patterns? Have you always done so? Are you excited to now be able to get dressed in the dark and not worry about the results? Or is this a trend that you’re going to stay away from? All I know is that I’m ordering that top from J.Crew right now. Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below!
Every time I go on a trip, if at all possible, I buy a Dan Brown book. Go ahead. Laugh out loud. Gasp! Judge me in your head. I do not care. You can give me a little credit here because I did call it a book, not a novel. But before you write me off and get all judgey, let me tell you that I will be the happiest person on that beach.
Do you know how I describe Dan Brown books? I say they're like chips for your brain. You know the feeling when you open a bag of chips and you start chomping on them and they're just so yummy and crunchy, and if you've chosen well then they have that crack salt all over them and you're just like, more, more, more?! Well, that my friends is your brain on a Dan Brown book. It's unadulterated, page-flipping goodness and if you've read any Dan Brown at all (no, watching the movies does not count) then you know you secretly love it, just like you love Justin Bieber but pretend that you don't.
Well, pretend no more! I have no shame. I ordered Dan Brown's latest, Origin, which I have been saving for a special occasion involving air travel such as this one, and I cannot wait to read it. It arrived yesterday afternoon, and I have to say that it was a total game changer for me. I was beginning to completely freak out over leaving the kids behind. I've been losing sleep and imagining the worst. But when I held that Dan Brown paperback in my hands, our trip flashed before my eyes and I remembered how totally awesome and good for us this is going to be.
On the way there, sans children, our first flight is a 45-minute Horizon Air flight, which offers free Northwest beer or wine to all passengers. That will be the ideal way to give a toast and kick off the celebration of not only my little brother's epic wedding, but also our first vacation since having kids! Then, after a layover in Seattle, we'll be on a red-eye to Miami and I will be taking an Ambien and checking out, because again, no children. Already this trip sounds like a trip to the spa.
Once we arrive, it will be an ungodly hour on the west coast, but with no children in tow, it will be easy to get ourselves to our hotel, check our luggage if the early check-in my brother's wedding planner requested isn't available, and then go grab some breakfast. No car seats, no crying. After breakfast, I figure we'll head down to the beach if our room still isn't available.
It shall be there, on my beach chair, that I open and begin my Dan Brown
In conclusion, Dan Brown forever. Be looking for that hashtag in my Instagram posts and stories! ;) And does anyone know when Dan intends to publish his next book? I've not come up with anything in my Google searches. But he does have a Masterclass. Eeek! Should I take it?! Probably not.
Tell me your favorite Dan Brown book in the comments below. Do not even think about criticizing him. Brain chips, remember?! Books, not novels. Writing, not literature. Just to get things started, I will say that I think Da Vinci Code and Inferno are my favorites. But it's so hard to pick just one! Angels and Demons was so good, too. And The Lost Symbol. But, Paris! I'm sticking with Da Vinci Code.
Are you an out-in-the-open Dan Brown lover; or a closeted fan? You can always comment as "anonymous" if the latter.
(Photo via Hyatt Hotels)
February and March are the weirdest time of year. So I'm keeping myself going by dreaming of summer days with strawberries and rose water vanilla whipped cream. Life has been so busy and demanding lately that I haven't even really been able to get excited about Miami. But, in ten days, J and I will be in the sun and I've never needed it more!
I hope you're up to something good this weekend, and here are some links for you:
9 of the Best Alternative European Cities
A must-listen!
Do you believe in psychics?
These dinner pancakes look amazing.
The Power of No.
How gorgeous is this Swedish summerhouse?
Have better conversations.
I need to try this snail ampoule ASAP!
When you mix AI and storytelling.
LOL.
I hope your weekend is a good one! See you back here soon, my lovelies.
(Strawberry illustration via Tracey English/Pinterest)
Recently I started having the nagging thought that we needed to get a landline. So this afternoon, I'm setting up our three-handset cordless phone (with answering machine!) and plugging in my old Sony phone from high school and I am quite relieved to have a home phone. I decided that we needed a landline for several reasons, including being reachable at night, Coco and Theo being able to call 911 should the need arise, and Coco is getting old enough to want to talk on the phone and call her friends.
It bothered me that with our phones in airplane mode in the middle of the night, if someone needed to get ahold of us, they wouldn't be able to without coming over and pounding on our door. Now that we have mobile phones and apps that are lighting up our screens and setting off bells 24/7, our modern devices have set up the opposite problem to what we had 20 years ago. It used to be that none of us were reachable unless we were home. Now we're not reachable at home overnight because if we want any sleep, we have to turn our phones off!
A few weeks ago, I tried to show Coco and Theo how to get to the emergency call screen on a locked iPhone. It was so convoluted and confusing for them, I knew it would never work if we were in an emergency situation and they had to call 911 without help. So, really that sealed the deal for me on getting a landline. It's something I hope will never be necessary, but an ounce of preparation, right?
Coco is a total social butterfly and has many friends in the neighborhood. She loves running to our next door neighbor's house and to the little girl across the alley's house and asking them to come play. But she's also becoming more interested in the phone and I think learning phone skills is a really good thing, especially this day in age. But I do not want her using our mobile phones. So enter the landline! And I think she'll find it fun to answer, too.
Do you have a landline at your house? Do your kids know how to call 911 and answer the phone? These are basics we take for granted having grown up with landlines, but our kids aren't necessarily phone-as-a-talking-instrument literate the way we are. What do you think?
Are you guys watching Derry Girls?! It is one of the most hilarious, compelling, and original series I have ever seen. I love it for so many reasons. Obviously, given my time spent there as a child and as a student, I love that it's set in Ireland. That scenery! I also adore it for the Irish humor, which is irreverent and dry and surprising every time. And the music is top notch with truly excellent editing that adds a lot of depth and texture.
The show follows 16-year-old Erin Quinn and her group of friends in Catholic high school in Northern Ireland during the 90s (read: The Troubles.) But the fact that there are bomb threats and armed bus checks on the way to school doesn't take away from the hilarity of the show one bit - at least, not so far. J and I literally find ourselves doubling over laughing and I actually laughed so hard I cried in one episode. Derry Girls is outrageous in the best possible way. I love the Catholic school and angle, the show's writers have finessed the art of poking fun at the many quirks and idiosyncrasies of Catholicism and Catholic school in the most accurate and laugh out loud way! It's a delight to watch. We're about half way through the first season on Netflix and I cannot recommend it enough. The second season is airing now in Ireland and the UK, so hopefully it will come to the US soon after.
What shows are you watching right now? We don't (and can't with how busy we are) watch TV every night these days, but I do love an evening of wearing comfy clothes and zoning out on the couch. Isn't being an adult and parent so sexy?! ;) Let me know if you're watching Derry Girls and why you love it (or don't) and hit me up with your show recommendations in the comments below.
(Photo via RadioTimes)
I am so ready for spring! Even though the snow is ridiculously beautiful and we're in a veritable snow-globe-winter-wonderland, I am so over it. Spokane got over 30 inches (76 centimeters!) of snow in February. I just want to wear a pair of ballet flats and jeans. You cannot walk through 2 1/2 feet of snow in ballet flats, and even if you could, you'd slip on the ice everywhere. Not to mention the 7 Fahrenheit (-14 Celsius) temps when we walk out to the car in the morning. The cold would freeze your feet into little ice stumps. So, needless to say, this photo is like a dream to me! Speaking of, J had a dream the other night that he woke up and went outside and there was green grass all around. It was so real, he woke up and ran to the window and then he was totally disappointed. But. It was light outside until nearly 6pm today, so it's coming! Spring is coming. Thank goodness.
And here are a few links for your weekend:
Snowiest February since 1894.
Man gets arrested for epic IKEA store prank.
Best pillow for back sleepers ever!
Cool Instagram vacation idea. (It's not what you think;)
LOL!
Spring travel goals.
Workism is making Americans miserable.
Do your kids love with The Runaway Bunny? If so this McSweeney's re-write will have you in stitches.
Ditch your phone and un-break your brain.
Eight Dates (Can't wait to read this!)
I've been so jealous that spring has sprung in Zurich, but then my friend Nina reminded me that along with Zurich spring, she has Zurich allergies and I do not miss those. So there is a silver lining to everything! Even eternal winter. Hrmm. Have a great weekend and see you back here soon!
(Photo via Sugar/Tumblr)
I am dying to cut my hair. Ever since I weaned Theo nearly a year ago, my hair has become less wonderful: It's thinner, and duller, and greyer. Sigh! So the urge to go shorter came on pretty hard, and last summer I cut it into a "lob," or long bob. I instantly regretted it! This may be silly, but particularly at this weird post-baby point in my life, having longer hair makes me feel more feminine and pretty. It all goes back to when I completely whacked off all of my hair and got a super short pixie style cut, like Gweneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors, when I was a freshman in high school. While Gweneth is slender and chic and blonde, I was skinny and awkward and trying to get rid of the last of the rebellious black hair dye. I also had braces. It did not go over well. I got made fun of, and called a lesbian, which makes me laugh now, but deeply wounded my sense of femininity as a 15-year-old girl. That wound went pretty deep, because despite being able to laugh at it now, I'll never deliberately go that short again, although I have had a few overzealous hairdressers get pretty close! Drrh. Now, my hair has grown back since my lob last summer, but even with the length, it's still looking pretty mediocre. So I had to ask myself, how much is long, feminine hair really doing for me?!
I had short-ish hair off and on all throughout my life, but with the change in hair after having Theo combined with getting older and feeling less fit and toned, I just have felt weird about hair and feeling pretty. But since the new year, I have started to notice more and more short haircuts everywhere I look. Much to my delight, they are very pretty, and feminine and most certainly better than what I'm rocking at the moment. The last Boden catalogue comes to mind. And then, my gorgeous, always-ahead-of-the-trends friend, Alicia, chopped her hair off, too! I think it's settled. I'm going to go short. Now I just need flatiron recommendations to get those effortless messy waves. And don't you love the messy tie-back with the hair pins all in a row? I'm definitely swooning over here. Best of all, this look will be perfect with the over-the-top gorgeous dress I got for my brother's wedding - the actual reason we're going to Miami! I feel so sophisticated and beautiful in that dress and I do not want mediocre hair to ruin it.
Are you a short hair person, or a long hair person - or do you go back and forth between both? Hair is a pretty big thing in Western culture. I would love to hear your thoughts on hair, and how it affects how you feel about yourself, in the comments below. Thank you for being here, and thanks a million for chiming in! That is the fun part, after all.
And, if you're looking for some cute short hair styles or up-do's, pop on over to my Beauty Board on Pinterest. :)
Photo via Pinterest.
J and I leave for Miami in one month! I just ordered this swimsuit, which is a total mom suit with "compression" but also looks super hot, so I'm excited to get it. It comes in dozens of color combos, and solids, but deep greens and navy are my colors. I feel like this suit was made for me - and my mummy tummy compression needs.
We are deep in the joy of anticipating our vacation (remember this article?) and it's surreal to see the Miami forecast for swimsuit weather on my phone each morning and then look out the window and see a foot of snow all around! I cannot wait for a dose of sunshine. I'm also increasingly nervous because this will be the first time we've been away from Coco and Theo for more than an overnight. Speaking of travel, I actually wound up cancelling my trip to Zurich last month because starting in late October, Theo was just more attached to me than usual. It made my mom hairs stand on end and I could not see how 12 days apart would possibly work.
I did not feel good about putting him, or J, in that position. And, really, I didn't want to put myself in that position because when you're that far away, you're completely powerless to help should the need arise, and I'm sure in my heart of hearts that it would have been hard for him. So I didn't go. That was at once a huge disappointment, and a total relief, too. I was so sad to cancel, but then once I had done it, I realized that I wasn't really ready to go to Zurich just then. My poor heart is still so tender when it comes to missing Zurich, and yet, I've begun to find a sense of normalcy and stability and comfort here for the very first time since we repatriated in 2014. I can imagine that going to Zurich a few weeks ago might have knocked me off balance and made it harder for me to be present and to enjoy my current life. And that would be a shame, because life is pretty dreamy lately, and something I would not want to miss out on because I'm distracted by comparing it to something else.
More soon.
Photo via Summersalt.
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