WHEN SATURDAY LOOKS LIKE A FARMERS MARKET AND SMOOTHIES

I have a thing for farmers markets.  I have even more of a thing for it when my mom and daughter are going with me. All three of us can't get enough of a good market, so we were positively gleeful about spending Saturday morning roaming the South of the James market. 

If you happen to be one and a half feet tall, 38 inches to be exact (exact being a loose operative word)(and I know this because I laid her down on the floor one time and measured her with a tape measure. she looked confused but she went with it), you are at the appropriate height to get the best views of all the dogs that come to the market, and there are many. That was probably her favorite thing about the morning, that and getting to sample the fruit from different vendors. She pointed out every dog and begged to be allowed to pet them, "I touch them?" she would implore. 

And Sloane joyfully petting the baby goat was enough to make me consider getting a baby goat as pet. Watch out rusty! 

My mom has this enthusiasm for fresh vegetables and fruit that can be likened to an art critic's enthusiasm for a masterfully painted piece. It feels like a real treasure hunt, walking around the market with her. 'Look at that glorious eggplant!', we'll shout, and think of what we'll do with it (eggplant lasagna). And I can't help thinking, seeing the colors and abundance and feeling the warm morning air, that summer wins. 

  

And later that afternoon, after a nap, the girls ventured out again. This time to Cary Town and we stayed long enough to each finish a smoothie and get smothered in sun beams.

THREE WAYS TO FEEL LIKE YOU'RE ON VACATION....WHEN YOU'RE NOT

One

One morning this past week,  my mom, Sloane and I woke up extra early and made our way over to Sub Rosa, a bakery in the neighborhood of Church Hill. We got there when it first opened so it was deliciously empty and the floors were swathed in brand new morning light. There was fresh flatbread coming out of the oven, flaky croissants in the display case and the hush of dawn filling up the rest of the store.  The stage was being set for the upcoming day of the bakery, awaiting the flow of characters coming through and anticipating the conversations to be had.  Sitting at the table in these moments felt luxurious - it was both the quiet and the company I was with, as well as the chance to take it in before the usual bustle of the day. It did feel like I was in some far off place, enjoying my coffee and pastry while watching the world wake up. I had been there several times before, but not in this way. So this is what I heartily recommend   - go to your favorite cafe, bakery or coffee when it first opens, grab a seat, enjoy a cup of something hot while introducing yourself to the day's first moments. 

Two

On one of your evenings, maybe after one of those days full of unwanted prickly moments, and grab a ginger beer, lime and some bourbon and make yourself a cocktail. It can be a different set of ingredients, but make it a cocktail and even better if it's one that you've never tried before. The novelty of it may make you feel fancy.  

Three

Squeeze in time during your day to read that fun book you've been meaning to. Even if it's only for about 15 minutes, find that bench outside of your work, let your body soak in some sun and get lost. This always transports me.  Right now I'm taking mini vacations to Paris in the 1920s!


Have a great weekend you guys! Hope one or more of these types of things make your way into your weekend.

LESSONS

There are several lessons that I'm learning these days. 


One of these lessons is that my hair has a mind of it's own. When I think I have it pegged, it goes off and does exactly the opposite of what I've politely asked it to do. Once in a while, I think about chopping a bunch off, but I don't, because one, I'm pretty sure it will get even harder to manage, and two, Sloane weaves her fingers through these tresses and seems to derive some sort of comfort. Some kids have a security blanket, Sloane has my hair. I'm learning to accept all these things. 

And hey, photos! All the photos in this here post is going to be of her "working out" in our garage gym this past week. Watching her make her way around the gym is a riot. Ken and I can't get enough; I felt I should share. 

 Speaking of gyms,  I usually go to our Crossfit gym twice a week, but I've upped the dose to three times a week for August.  I've been doing Crossfit for about 9 months now and I'm starting to see real progress, so maybe that has something to do it. Not progress like physical appearance, but strength progress! So that's another thing I'm learning-  I like feeling strong. I like feeling like I'll eventually be able to do a pull up. 

 I'm learning how to be more efficient with time, like a boss. Or acting like it. One of the key elements of this acting like a boss business is planning, and a key element of planning is my bullet journal. It's getting to the point where I write everything, everything, down, and it helps me so much. I'm starting to call this journal my secretary and my secretary's name is Gregor.  Let's go with that, shall we? 

It helps that I actually like multi-tasking. I'm pleased as a plum if I can respond to an email, while I'm blowdrying my hair, while I have some vegetables roasting in the oven. Having said that, I know that I need to be more purposeful about scheduling down time.  Lest I spiral into a dark dark place.  Getting lost in a good fiction book is one of my favorite ways to unwind. Having said that, I think i'm going to start adding things like, "read two chapters" on my to-do list. I mean, I'm going to tell Gregor about it so that he can remind me. 

One more recently acquired lesson from the brain of Christine:

I heard a great things about discipline recently. The quote went like this, "Discipline is just choosing between what I want now, and what I want more."  Right? Right? 

I've been working through it, thinking about how this applies to different things in my life. Like, when I get home from work, usually the desire to hunker down with a glass of wine is strong. Real strong.  But then I have to make a choice. Do I want that glass of wine right now more, or do I want to reap the benefits of a stronger healthier body, by going to work out instead?  

I've also been thinking hard about it in regards to writing.  I want to get better at writing and if you don't know, writing is a discipline. So the question is, am I willing to give up a little of what I want right at this moment and put in the time commitment to develop the skills for what I really want?  

I could go on about how this applies to so many other things in my life, but I will spare you, and leave you with this instead:

"There is nothing noble about being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." [E. Hemmingway]

SLOANE IS TWO !! AND A BIRTHDAY IN BALTIMORE

'Oh heyyyy there, don't mind me, just a two year old making my way through the world, taking care of my stuffed animals, reminding mom to close kitchen cabinet doors, singing songs and dancing dances, giving away hugs and kisses and figuring out how to do everything on my own.'

Whaaat. Two?! I know. It's exciting and heart-breaking at the same time.   

Last week, I sat her down and said, "Hey Sloane, it's going to be your birthday in one week!" 

"Birthday?!" She said, her eyes lighting up. 

"Yes and for your birthday we're going to go to the aquarium and see a lot of fish!"

"Feeeshies?!" She hopped all around the room, "feeshies feeshies!" 

"Guess what else? We're going to have a cake and we're going to sing the happy birthday song to you,"

"Happy birthday song! Sloane's birthday!" she said, hopping around the room some more.

A few weeks ago, Sloane started requesting the "happy birthday" song to be played whenever we got in the car, or sometimes she would just start up on her own, quietly singing the song to herself.  Sometimes it would be "happy birthday Sloane", but most times it was "happy birthday, mommy". All of which puzzled us because we couldn't remember ever having sung the song with her. Turns out, whenever a kid had a birthday at daycare, they would all score 'cause there would be cupcakes and candles and the song. When you hear your baby sing the birthday song to herself over and over again, you can't help but get majorly excited about her birthday for her.

Fun fact: This was going to be the first time we were giving her cake (last year didn't count because she didn't eat any of it...), so even though she's had cake before at daycare, this felt special ... for me I guess. Sloane the fish explorer and Sloane the cake eater. 

Ken's mom came up to drive up with us and we met my mom, my sister and my sister's friend Laura at the harbor (two grandmas!) We had told her before we left that we were going to go see a lot of fishies, and maybe even a shark, and all the way up in the car, she kept asking, 'feeshies?' You know, just to make sure we knew where we were going and to keep us all on track. 

For the first few hours she was silent and wide-eyed. I'm always trying to see things from her perspective these days and it sometimes makes me silent and wide-eyed, too.

The jellyfish are my favorite part. They make me think that's what a soul might look like, if souls could be seen.  It's creepy and awe-inspiring and beautiful. 

My mom and I reminisced about how my parents had brought my sisters and I here when we were about 2, 4 and 6.  Now look at us! we said to each other.

Mesmerized by the drumming and pleased as a peach about getting to drop in some dollars in the bucket. 

On the way to the restaurant, we stopped by a Korean bakery and we let her pick the cake. If you don't already know, Sloane is quite enamored with animals but sheep in particular (thanks to a stuffed sheep from her Aunt Amy and the 'Ba Ba Black Sheep' song, which she has decided is her favorite), so when she saw this sheep cake in the display case, it was obvious what was going to go down.

The look on her face when we lit the candles and sang her 'Happy Birthday', followed by a rousing rendition of 'Ba Ba Black Sheep' in honor of the cake, was one of wonderment and happiness. It was magic.