Me in Melange

The Speed of Time

I had a thought today as I looked at my calendar thru the end of the year, and was filling in one thing after another, that time was just speeding by. It's mid September, yet it feels like it's going to be January in a blink of an eye. It's not like that for Romeo. He's 10, and each day seems to last forever, and when he has to wait for something (like Christmas), a month feels like it might as well be a year. I remember days feeling like forever when I was little too. The sensation that summer was a lifetime of time, a weekend stretched on forever.

So it made me wonder, what is it about getting older that makes time feel like it goes faster? Is it that we are busier? Is it that everything is no longer "new"? I decided to do a little digging, because I'm not down with this warp speed time thing.  Here's what I found out. In a Harvard University article, scientists postulate that in fact time DOES speed up as you age. "...Bejan posits that slower processing times result in us perceiving fewer ‘frames-per-second’ – more actual time passes between the perception of each new mental image. This is what leads to time passing more rapidly.When we are young, each second of actual time is packed with many more mental images. Like a slow-motion camera that captures thousands of images per second, time appears to pass more slowly." Basically, we process things slower, whereas when we were little our brains were working at lightening speed.

As if I didn't need more evidence that I've officially crossed the 50 year old mark, now there is a scientific reason behind why my days feel like minutes, and it's that my brain is working slower.  Not even sure how to wrap my brain around that, it's taking me too long AND I'm getting too depressed.

So is there hope? I googled that question too. Apparently meditation and mindfulness is the key. Breathing techniques help, focusing on little things helps too. The other advice was to expose yourself to as many NEW things and experiences as possible. This makes a lot of sense to me, because one thing I know is that as you get older your days can take on a very structured, regulated and monotonous tone. You pick the kids up at the same time, you do the house chores the same way, you eat the same foods. Basically you have your ruts and you stick to them.  

So here's to getting out of ruts, doing new things, being mindful, and slowing down so that we can hold onto time, and literally make it slow down.

Signed, ME {lv}

Women Helping Women 2021

My favorite time of. year! This is my very first year NOT being involved on the ground (figuratively) with our Annual Women Helping Women event, and I have to say, it's a little sad! This has been an effort near to my heart for the past 20 years, and it's such an important one for women to join together on. Our local women's shelter is called Women's Space Center For Domestic Violence, and I'm sure everyone reading this outside of the area has something similar in their community. It helps support women trying to escape situations of domestic abuse, and that means supporting them with all kinds of wrap around services. They often leave their home, with children in tow, and nothing packed except the clothes they are wearing. The clothing we gather during our event goes to help clothes these women, help them get back on their feet so they can move forward and break free. Covid has created a crisis for women in abusive situations, and this last year has been incredibly difficult for them. The increased time for people to have to cohabitat at home with abusive partners, the stressors of the pandemic, lost jobs, lack of services in the community, needless to say, it has been a perfect storm of conditions and our help is needed more than ever.

This event coincides perfectly with the annual "spring cleaning" that we all tend to do. So all of those items from your closet that are perfectly wonderful, just no longer wonderful for YOU, can happily be put to such good use. I use this time to force myself to let go of all those things that I "thought" would work, or "hoped" would work. It's only bad if you keep these things in your closer where they just gather dust and create stale energy. It's much better to let them out into the world to do good for someone in need!

Once again this year Melange is offering a sweet 25% coupon code (WHW2021) to use throughout the event. After you purge your closet you just might find that you want a new thing or two, so we've got you covered (did you see the cute new Lilla P.--ADORABLE)!  Personally I am primed for some fresh new energy in my life, and I feel like I'm ready to bust out into the world after being figuratively caged for the last year+. I know I'm not alone!

So here's to protecting women everywhere, to new energy, new beginnings, fresh starts, and the community we all need to make that happen!  I miss you all, and hope that with the sunny weather ahead, there will only be smiles and laughters from here on out!

Cheers,

SIGNED, LV

My Back To School Shopping

I'm starting school....TODAY.  Yep, my very first day of school.  I've been so excited for this day, and it's probably been at least a year in the making when I figure in all the mental planning, the lengthy application process of gathering transcripts, of finding recommendations, writing my personal essay, interviewing.  All to eventually land me in a clinical psychology masters program, that starts TODAY (did I already mention that?)     

What wasn't in my planning picture was the pandemic, or the fact that my classes would begin online (fingers crossed that this changes for second semester). So come 9 a.m., I'll be figuratively sitting in my first class. The fact that it's online has not thwarted me one bit in my back to shopping efforts.  

Don't even get me started on my deep dive at the office supply store.  I now have every color highlighter, sticky note and flashcard known to man.  My folders all have neat little dividers, and I'm already working my way thru the first week's homework.  I wanted a Trapper Keeper really bad (hello '80's), but I got the more mature, white three ring binders.  It's such a different experience than when I was charging thru undergrad and law school (both done at breakneck speed so most of it felt like a blur).  Now I get to savor each and every assignment, and appreciate the process more.  It's a means to an end, but the means are just as important as the ends for me and that's is definitely something I didn't feel in my earlier education.  

So in my back to school efforts, I did a little freshen up of my hair (cut 5" off) and had a keratin treatment done so I can pull myself together easier and make sure my color was ready for action--no roots to highlight that I might be on the "older" side of the student population.  My readers might give me away though, dang.

I snatched up an Ori London backpack, EVEN though technically I won't be packing it to go  off to school.  I figure I will cart around my books other places, and these backpacks are so perfect because they have all the organizational pockets inside so you can bring your 5 different highlighter colors, sticky notes, and pens--and they will all have a nice little home.   Besides, I'm thinking optimistically, and it will be no time before I DO get to carry that backpack to class.

Also grabbed a new water bottle from BKR for my desk (a cool looking one that can be displayed proudly on Zoom.)

I feel like I'm going to want to be spending a lot of time in comfortable tees and sweatshirts, because classes are long (3 hours), and let's face it, I'm just at home.  I adore the Fabina sweatshirts, and the Natural Life tees are easy to grab a stack of (such a great price).   My office runs on the cool side, so as the temperatures start to dip in the months ahead, I'm definitely going to be grabbing for long sleeves and sweatshirts.

I also felt like a Vibe necklace was in order, and this one in particular because the card says: "Amazonite is known as the stone of courage filling the heart with determination, helping to bring about and sustain focus."  I feel like courage, and determination are exactly what I need right now because I fluctuate between "I got this" and "This is crazy, I don't got this."  I'm also irrationally paranoid about not having the focus power to read for long hours and actually remember stuff. I've spent untold hours on the internet looking up good nootropics to try and superpower my atrophied brain. At least now I'll have a little Vibe power.

I'm reminding myself to make each step special and not focus on what's "not" happening (like in person lessons and in person study groups with my new cohort BFFS that I haven't met yet), because in the end, all we have are the moments in front of us, and we want to get the most out of them as possible.  Who knows, this virtual education may last awhile, and I can't afford to wish any of it away in hopes of something different in the future--it's all too precious.

Hope everyone is diving into Fall with something exciting on their plate, even if it's just something a little exciting and new!

Wish me luck....

Signed, ME {lv}

 

Thank You Never Gets Old

Romeo has this endearing habit.  I don't know where he got it, or who taught him to do it with such vigor.  If I did I would lavish them with praise, gifts and indebtedness.  I have tried all types of good manner indoctrination and some have stuck, but far more haven't.  Every time we eat any meal, and I mean EVERY time, Romeo thanks both John and I.  Doesn't matter who made the meal, or if we made it at all (take out warrants the same thing).  He stops and says, "thank you mommy for dinner (or insert lunch, breakfast etc.)".  He does the same with John.  Not a shout as he bolts out of the room, but a genuine, stop and look at me, makes sure I hear, type of thank you.  It's amazing.  At first I thought it was just a fad.  Like maybe he heard some other kid do it and he was copying it. But nope, he's been doing it for probably over a year and it doesn't show signs of stopping.  It never, ever gets old either.   I mean NEVER.  I appreciate his thanks every single time because number one it's genuine, and number two, I don't get thanked enough in general so when I do, it feels really good.  

So it reminds me to share my gratitude more ritually too.  Thank you all our Melange family of customers and friends, for making our world better, for supporting our business that we love, and for being overall awesome.  If I said it every day it would barely be enough and it would be genuine every time.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day and takes the time to thank those around you because it never, ever gets old.

Signed, ME {lv}

Grief Bacon, Brain Lag & Better Than a Tee Shirt

Kummerspeck.  It's a German word that means excess weight gained from emotional overeating.  Literally it means, grief bacon.  Have you ever heard of something more appropriate?  GRIEF BACON!  Yeah, that sums up the status of things right right.  I'm kummerspeck.  Or maybe it's a verb.  I'm kummerspecking.  A lot.

I'm also having massive brain lag.  As in, my brain can't seem to keep up with things.  I'm just behind all the time, thinking "what?? how did this happen?"  It's for everything too, not just the fact that it's Friday again.  I haven't caught up to the fact that it's Memorial Day this weekend.  Or that my kids are only two weeks away from being out for Summer break.  Or that my jeans don't fit anymore because of aforementioned kummerspecking.  Really, I'm not sure I've actually caught up to the fact that we have been quarantined for nearly two months and now have to wear masks everywhere. I think I need to hit the health food store and try to get some brain-speeding-up supplements.  Stat.

Today we are getting in my new answer to, "I've got to do better than a tee shirt and jeans every day."  Don't get me wrong, I love tee shirts and jeans, but I feel like I can stand to at least kick it up a little.  This new line we are getting in has a name that isn't going to win any awards (Natural Life), but, they do make an adorable top that is done in some ecologically conscious modal jersey blend that feels great. It's a tee shirt, but better.  Oh, and the even better part?  It is only $44.  Perfect right?  

Have a great Friday, hope you have a Friday evening glass of wine in your future, and a lovely long weekend ahead!

ox Signed, ME {lv}

The Coolness of Tonlé

We've just got in a small and special group from Tonlé and it has reminded me of the absolute coolness of this company.  This is a designer that we felt so good buying from because from start to finish the company cares first for the earth, and the people of the earth.  It's not about profit and convenience over everything else like SO much of the garment industry is.

They are a zero waste company. That's right. Zero.  So what does that mean?  They basically use all pre-consumer remnants for their styles, and then the left overs from that are used down to the last tiny bit (even making stuff like handmade paper).   The big brand garment industry has a staggering amount of pre-consumer fabric waste/excess that is then re-sold in Cambodia--which is where Tonlé finds their fabric and then they make it their mission to use every last scrap of it.

They use all natural dyes, and use the left over dye material to fertilize their garden (did you even know that was possible?) 

The clothing is all hand made in Cambodia, by a team of artisans that make each piece and everything about the process has fairness and respect in mind.  Fair trade, fair wages, and all kinds of programs to support the works on their team (certain health care benefits, free lunches, vacation time and cross-skill training so employees get a chance to develop skills they are interested in and can carry out into the world should they want/need to).  

Basically, everything Tonlé does as a company strives to create as little of a carbon footprint as possible, and provide the maximum amount of respect and care for its workers.  The styles are so easy and versatile, and the prices are amazing.  I'm crazy about all three tops we got in---they are so airy and breezy (slightly sheer) and perfect for summer and warmer months when you want nothing clinging to you but want a little coverage!  The kaftan is a favorite too, again, airy and breezy--perfect for anything from dinner al fresco with friends, to pool side coverage.  LOVE.

Signed, ME {lv}

Thanksgiving in May

Since the world is all turned upside down anyway, I decided to surprise the kids with Thanksgiving in MAY.  I think I was maybe more intrigued with this idea than the kids to be honest, but it was fun anyway.  I don't think I've EVER made a whole turkey outside of the holy day of Thanksgiving.  Never.  I wasn't even sure you could BUY a turkey off season.  Yep, it turns out you sure can.  It also turns out (according to the meat guy) that quite a few people make turkeys on the regular.  Who knew? 

Anyway, we had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner today.  A lower stress version of the actual Thanksgiving meal and I have to say, it was super yummy (AND fun).  I love this holiday, the food AND the spirit of it.  Seemed like a lovely idea to do a pre-2020 Thanksgiving.

So here's to changing things up sometimes! 

This will be our first week open, and we're ready to happily test the water with all our favorite people.  We are navigating this new territory day by day, and we realize how weird this is for everyone (believe me, us too).   We're all trying to figure out how to reach our toes out of our bubble, and into the world again.  It feels odd, nothing feels normal, and it's hard to get use too.  The good news is that we're all adapting together, and underneath all the new procedures, masks, and caution, are all the favorite people we love and we know we can move thru all this uncertainty together.  

Signed, ME {lv}

Meringues, Reopening & Life Stresses

First off, I made meringues today...sugar FREE meringues.  I ordered powdered monkfruit sugar, and substituted that in and it actually worked just fine.  That was a highlight of the day (also, a tiny 20 minute fraction of the day).  The rest of the minutes were filled with all kinds of life stresses.  One big one?  Ava is a month (conservatively) behind on home school assignments.  ADHD teens with no structure right now are not fairing well.  I spent five solid hours on English and Political Econ with her and we went painfully week by week, assignment by assignment.  Oh the fun. I also feel very strongly that I could barely make it thru a high school English class present day.  It certainly didn't feel that hard when I was in high school, but then again, I might have been blowing half of it off, I can't remember.

What I realized today though, as I was sitting down to work AFTER the harder work of trying to keep Ava on task, was that despite the excitement about reopening this Friday, I'm quickly realizing it brings with it all kinds of new stresses.  It's the reminder that you solve one problem and you replace it with others right?  These past eight weeks we could do nothing but lament NOT being open, and worrying about what that meant, and letting the stress of being closed be something that was going to be solved by being open.

Clearly, that's not quite true.  The stress of being closed is about to be replaced by the stress of being open, which could be better, but on the other hand, might still be really stressful.  I guess my only point is that we have to simply remind ourselves to deal with whatever is on our plates right now, and try hard not to pretend that things will be substantially different when "x" happens.  The truth is, life has more stressors than we can expect, and the only way to navigate them is to accept then, and expect more to come our way.

So bring on the reopening stress, I welcome it, as long as we get to see everyone's smiling faces.

I'm also welcoming the cutest new Not Soap, Radio line that we just got in.  Quirky soaps, scrubs and lotions, that make you smile, but also smell wonderful and feel wonderful on the body.  We all need more "little luxuries" in our life that make us happy and this is a perfect example!  They make awesome gifts too!

Signed, ME {lv}

 

People Tree and Really Cool Fabric

People Tree arrived today, and it's super darling.  I started to do a little reading about the fabrics, and it got even more darling.  The dress in particular (which I think is yummy like a sherbet ice cream cone), is made of hand loomed organic cotton.  So I wanted to break down what that mean for my own edification.  

First off, People Tree sources GOTS (Global Organic Certified Cotton) organic cotton, and uses all low impact dyes.  Their goal is to make as little damage to the environment as possible which seems like a pretty good idea since the environment seems to be dying a slow death.  I can't say it better than they can, so here is what the use of organic cotton actually does from a, "how does it help" standpoint:

So that's the cool organic cotton aspect.  Then, the second cool thing is that the cotton is then hand loomed.  What does that mean?  Instead of being loomed by a power loom (i.e. machine), people do it by hand, preserving the traditions passed down by generations of hand looming artists.   Hand looming provides 9 times the labor to produce the same amount of fabric, which means there are more jobs for people to feed their families and continue their livelihoods. People Tree works with producer groups to ensure that people are paid fairly for their work, and it in turn helps many, many people climb out of poverty and continue the skill set passed on by generations. It's a super cool concept to think that someone, an actual person, wove the fabric you're wearing.  There is a special energy and uniqueness about something made by hand.  

I'm so impressed with the commitment People Tree has made to the environment and to humanity in each and every choice they've made along the way from design to production.  They prove that fashion CAN be done right--with care and concern first and foremost for the planet and then respect for the people who live on it.  

Lastly, the people who actually run the company are awesome (but the Brits are always cool right?), and their mindset and dedication to their mission is inspiring.  It's a company I feel SO good supporting!

Signed, ME {lv} 

Yeah, It's Friday Again.

I say it every week, so I'll say it again.  Really?  Friday again?  It came so fast!  The really great news is that this might (big emphasis on might) be one of the last Fridays of quarantine.  There is at least a decent glimmer of hope that next Friday we will be coming out of quarantine in parts of Oregon.  It's not firm, and I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but there is at least hope.  We can't WAIT to open the store again, and even though things won't feel "normal" compared to three months ago, we're just grateful for whatever contact we get with the world and our dear friends and customers.  

Thursday was a gloriously sunny day here, with a beautiful breeze and blue skies.  Friday is slated to be the same, but even warmer.  I would say this is a very hopeful Friday, so I'm glad it's here despite the fact that it snuck on me again.

The one thing our governor did note in her press conference this morning was that along with the re-opening she was putting a mask order in place.  Upshot is, we're all going to need a bunch of masks for the foreseeable future.  Might as well make them darling (and comfortable). We sold out of the butterfly and kaleidoscope prints in the Anni Kuan mask on Thursday, but we did manage to beg another batch from her ASAP, so those two prints now have a ship day of Tuesday 5/12 (all other colors/prints ship Monday 5/11).

We've been waiting all week for Tonlé, People Tree and Siganka....and of COURSE they all arrived at once.  Stay tuned, there are some cuties on the horizon.

Shout out to all the Mother's this weekend, and let's face it, we're all mothering someone or something, so love to us all. Hope the day is filled with little indulgences and happiness.

Lastly, if you haven't seen this "SNL Nike Ad" skit, it's hysterical....https://youtu.be/sU55auqDD28

Signed, ME {LV}

Why You Need An Anni Kuan Mask

Here's the deal...initially I thought it was a little crazy to spend $35 on a face mask.  I had sticker shock, I won't lie.  Then Anni sent me one and I wore it.... and now I totally get it--it's worth the coin. It's super comfortable, fits over your ears without tweaking your ears out, and it stretches and moves with your face.  You can wear it over a surgical mask when you want more protection, or wear it solo.  It fits great, and the weight of the fabric is perfect--not too light, but also not so heavy that you feel like you have to scream when you talk, or you can't breath well.  

I'm definitely indulging in these for myself, I'm a bit obsessed with them at this moment. The prints are fun and whimsical, but I also love the Ying Yang combo, which is just different enough.  Then of course we've got classic black and cream, since sometimes you just need something simple.

I don't know if I need my masks to be über hip, but I think if we're going to wear them then they 1) need to be comfortable, fit really well and do what they need to do and 2) if they can be pretty at the same time, that's a huge bonus.  I think Anni pretty much nailed it. 

These arrive on Saturday and we ship them out 5/11, so put your order in early, they will go fast!

Signed, ME {lv}

9 Year Old Wisdom To Kick Off May

Romeo spent a solid 30 minutes today laying out his sales plan for the guitar deal of the century.  He outlined how for a mere $10 I could get 10 songs a day for the duration of the Coronavirus, BUT if I paid $25 I would get 10 songs a day for a year.  (I'm not sure he's totally up on current events because one of those timelines seems off).  There were all kinds of other deals for all budgets.  For $1000 marked down to $500 I could get 10 songs a day for 10 years.  When I asked him if there were any smaller packages than $10, he said for $5 I could get the national anthem played on the guitar 10 times.  At one point he told her he got a text and it "looked like there was a special promo that just started on the $50 package that brought it down to $25" (I think he realized his audience had some price resistance. I ended up going with the $10 package but I made him sign a contract for the sale.

Lesson to be learned:  When you love something, give it your ALL, shake your money maker, be flexible, know your crowd and be passionate.  (in this case Romeo's love was his desire for Roblox video game money and his money maker was his guitar).

After nightly tuck-in was done, lights were off and kids were in bed and quiet, 5 minutes went by and I heard Romeo call out.  "mommy, I think I have an idea".  He said it with such reflection, such pause....as if he'd really deliberated on this and formulated something big in those 5 minutes of quiet.  "I am going to brush my teeth every morning, except Saturday and Sunday".   (take note cavities, weekends are now your window)

Lesson to be learned: Sometimes any plan is better than no plan because it just feels so good to make a decision.

Happy May everyone!

Signed, ME {lv}

ps. grab up the COH masks, these will go quick and we know we're going to need them!

Mandolines and Musing About April

My latest purchase is a mandoline slicer, which I didn't know I needed until recently.  Now that I have it, I can't
believe I didn't have one! It's so much easier than dragging out the Cuisinart.  There is a good chance I'll slice a finger off, but other than that, it's brilliant. I sliced up some purple sweet potatoes last night with cauliflower, all drenched in olive oil and sprinkled with lots of black garlic salt--grilled on 450 degrees for 20 minutes until  caramelized and delicious.  Super, super tasty.  

It's the last day of April today, and we felt like it was a good time to recognize that 1) we survived a proper month of quarantine start to finish and 2) there were lots of nice things we could say about April (in the spirit off silver linings and looking at the bright side).  Check out our homepage!

People Tree lovelies arrive Friday, along with Citizens of Humanity masks.  That's right, tomorrow is Friday-again. Stay tuned.

Signed, ME {lv}

 

Masks, Home Schooling and The Mother of all Mother’s Days

First off, we are getting in Citizens of Humanity face masks, for any of you who need more masks--we'll have them this week!  They turned their LA factory into a mask production site and have been knocking out these simple and much needed masks. I wore one today on my grocery store outing, but wow, they take some getting use to don't they?  I still feel really odd every time I go out wearing one, not to mention claustrophobic.  I imagine we'll all get use to them as we eventually come out of quarantine and end up wearing the masks more. There will be mask mandatory regulations everywhere in no time.

While at the grocery store this morning Romeo face timed me with a "math question".  He was gunning for help RIGHT NOW, and launched into his 'instructions" without me getting a word in edgewise. The instructions were LONG, and complicated.  As he was reading I was thinking that I was super impressed with his 3rd grade reading, AND thinking I had absolutely NO idea what his math was about.  That's right, third grade math apparently is officially past my skill set.  Depressing.  I had to blame it on my grocery store location limitation and directed him to ask his dad, but really, I had NO idea what the hell he was suppose to do. Which leads me to this little funny on the right, which my sister sent the other day. So true.

Which also leads me to my last point which is that THIS is going to be the mother of all Mother's Days.  Why?  Because this has been a real hard last two months of mothering.  Even if you are one of the rare birds that didn't think it was hard, it was super weird and at the very least that has made it really challenging.  

Mother's all over have had to dig deep, REAL deep, to deal with the daily stress, kid boredom, home schooling, meltdowns, discomfort, cooking, cleaning, and oh did I mention stress coming at you from all sides? There's also all kinds of work stressors for many on top of that.  Emotions have run the gauntlet and thru it we've had to put on a brave face, and pull some semblance of routine together (all while trying to maintain a 4:30 p.m. or later happy hour which has been tough).  So whether you are mothering, or you appreciate the mothering you got, or you see someone's mothering you admire and respect, this is the year to show the love. 

The mail is a tad slower right now, so make sure you get any gifts out with a little cushion to spare.  Even if it's little tokens of adoration, they will be gratefully received (I'm just basing this on my own feeling that ANY present is pretty darn amazing).  We gift wrap and ship for free, so there's really no excuse. :-)

Oh, and lastly (for real)....I kept up my exercise goal for the second day and I'm ready to make Wednesday #3.  I definitely feel better.  It's a push to do it, but I know it's good for me and I already feel more perky emotionally.  Well, perky might be a stretch, but definitely perky adjacent.

Signed, ME {lv}

 

It Was Hard, But I Did It & Mother’s Day

Did everyone exercise today?  I did, but I'll tell you, it was hard.  I did my favorite yoga class and then I got on the Peloton for a 30 minute ride.  I tried a new instructor though and I could not STAND her.  Which sounds fairly dramatic but there is nothing quite like doing something hard that requires sweating and physical exertion and at the same time being intensely annoyed by the person who is supposedly motivating you.  Ugh, horrible.  I pushed thru though and I DID feel better afterwards though, that's the good news.  I love the Peloton, it's amazing if anyone is on the fence about getting one.  It's super convenient,  great cardio, and I love that you can tailor your rides unlike when you actually go to a spin class.  I never want to get on for more than 45 minutes (20-30 is perfect), so committing to an entire 60 min spin class sounds horrible.  The key though is finding instructors that you like, because some of them are very colorful and very stylized, so you just have to find your compatible style.  The instructor today kept making the heart sign with her two hands, and she said 'I love you' way so many times I wanted to box her.

I will note though, that forcing myself to exercise more than normal felt really good after it was done.  I'm ready to hit it again because this week is all about getting strong and pushing thru the lethargy.

Also, reminder to all...Mother's Day is coming soon (5/10).  You still have time to find something and have it shipped with time to spare.  Also, I will just note, that if you have a daughter-in-law who is a mother, YES, do buy her a gift.  No, my mother in law never does this, but I think it's an incredibly sweet gesture to honor the mother of your grandchildren so when I do in fact have a daughter-in-law, I'm definitely doing it!!  I also love to send little gifts to girlfriends because mamas everywhere should be celebrated!  Today we're doing 30% off all jewelry, so it's easy to find something small and special for the mamas you love (code: mama)--and of course we wrap and ship it for free!  Easy right?

Signed, ME {lv}

 

Moving & Meditating

I'm kicking my week off with moving in mind.  Our goal is to exercise this week, sweat a little, breath deep, stretch and feel strong.  We'll improve our bodies and our mental state.  I can't wait because honestly, I can use a little endorphin punch right now (at least enough to get me back up to normal).

I'm also going to try to meditate this week.  Pre-quarantine I utilized my yoga classes as my mediation time, but I can't get the same level of relaxation and focus from doing home classes with the kids being crazy in the background, interrupting me whenever they run out of frozen waffles or orange juice (which seems to happen ALL the time).  I think my nerves are frayed and if I ever could use a boost of mediation relaxation, it's now.

I have a couple of the Satori Rue mala necklaces that I love, but truth be told, I've never actually USED them for any mediation practice (they do make nice necklaces though).  However, I'm about to change that, and try doing some Metta mediation (aka loving-kindness mediation).  I've never done this type, and thought it wasn't really my thing, but I did listen to a podcast on 10% Happier that has changed my view on it.  If it's good enough for the skeptic Dan Harris, it's good enough for me. So my thought was to use the mala, and do a loving-kindness type chant in my head, 108 times.  I mean, how could thinking 108 loving thoughts be anything but good for the soul right?  

Happy Monday everyone!  Do something great for your body today, even if you are dragging and your first instinct is to binge watch Money Heist while eating your weight in almond butter and jam on crackers.  Uhm, not that I would know anything about such things....

Signed, ME {lv}

Home Salon & Corona Playdates

I took the plunge today, and did my roots with REAL salon hair color.  My hair dresser did me a solid and hooked me up with the real deal.  Two tubes of color to do whatever magic he does, and then the activator.  His parting words were, "equal parts color and activator, mix well, 30 minutes...and remember, this is the real permanent stuff, so don't screw it up".  Easy right?

I got out the kitchen measuring scale so I could do the exact right amount of each color tube and the exact right amount of activator, and then I mixed that bad boy up and came up with a very, VERY thick mixture. I texted him a picture and got the thumbs up and then I went to town. Of course when it came to the back of my head I couldn't do that without assistance, so who better than Gia?   My 12 year old who has yet to have cultivated an arsenal of snarky comments that I no doubt would have gotten from either of the older girls.  Gia took it to task and I think managed the whole back of my head, but the good news is that if she actually missed any spots I couldn't see it anyway. 

30 mins later I was grey root free, a miracle!!  It also looks about 100x better than last time I tried something myself which included the clairol grey root color touchup from Walgreens which while not horrible, wasn't nearly "normal".  It's pretty awesome to have my 'not natural' hair color back...I feel myself again!!

As I was sitting in my bedroom waiting out the 30 minutes while the hair color did its magic I could hear Romeo in his room having a playdate with his cousin who is also 9.  They were playing the equivalent of "house" within their Roblox game.  Remember playing "house" as a kid?  Where you basically pretend to do all the stuff we do in real life, but I guess better?  You take care of kids, make food, go places. We also played "roadway", which consisted of going up and down the long driveway, stopping at the stoplights, crosswalks etc., and trying not to get pulled over by the police (which was always my brother).  Kids love the kid version of adult things.

The amazing part is that they have managed to figure out how to have a virtual playdate on multiple levels.  First off, they are both on their computers and they are navigating around their house on Roblox together, and then they have iPads set up with video capability AND of course audio, so they can talk to each other about what they are doing.  "Go tell me it's time to go to school and then I'll grab my lunch",  "can you take me in your car to school", "pretend that your my dad".   There is also a lot of singing going on.  It was hysterical.  I need to secretly video tape it so I never forget how funny it is.   What a different world the kids have now compared to when I was 9, but that's what every generation says looking back and waxing nostalgic about their childhood.  Really though, the world is a crazy place now, even without the corona virus and every once in awhile I realize how much it's changed.  

We live in a really urban area, so Romeo's "yard" is the street where he plays basketball with his friends and rides bikes (neither of which he can do right now).   It's also the huge park three blocks away where he plays (also can't do that right now).  He's starving for interaction with kids other than his sisters and it's amazing to me that they have this whole virtual world where they can meet, interact and "play" and it actually WORKS really well. Lack of physical fitness element aside.  

Lastly, we are about to enter the LAST week of April.  The very last one...of APRIL!!!  It's blowing my mind really.  Our first full month of quarantine and for most of us when the end of the month hits we'll have been sheltering in place for 6 weeks.   Wow, that's all I can say.  Wow.

So I was thinking we might want to hit it hard this coming week with our goal, so that we can hit the ground running right into May (which hopefully will hold some lock-down relief).  We need a nice strong goal, so we picked the goal of exercise and moving our bodies to stay healthy.  I think I voted for this goal now because I've noticed in the last few days I've been dragging.  A little physically, and probably mostly mentally.  It's been hard for me to rally the energy to exercise and I've felt tired and blah.  I know I feel better when I DO exercise, especially when I feel in the aforementioned mood.  So that's it people....let's exercise next week!  Let's commit right now to kick off Monday with something healthy and strong, and to do something every single day to better our body.  No excuses, and even if you are dragging, or feeling in a mild-depressed-quarantine-state-of-mind, or feel puffy from too many quaran-tinis, let's just do it anyway because we know it'll make us feel better.  I'm in, so get in too!

Signed, ME {lv}

The Tough Decisions

A tough decision...what Friday happy hour cocktail to have (wine? whiskey? you can't make up these tough scenarios right?).  No, this post isn't actually about THIS tough decision (big sigh of relief), it's about a real one.

I'm talking about the tough decisions that lay ahead for all of us.  Coronavirus has halted life as we know it, and small businesses everywhere are wondering if they will ever open their doors again and whether they can financially hold out any longer.  Small businesses are the heart and soul of this country, and most of us would readily agree that we love and support them everywhere, and that their absence would make this country a lesser place.  When you come into a new city, anywhere in this country, it's the collection of small stores, boutiques, bookstores and restaurants that bring charm to the place.  You don't drive into Austen Texas and look to go shopping at the local Target.  No, you go to the cute downtown, and stroll thru the darling stores local to that area, the ones that give the area its flavor.  You eat at the unique restaurants (chances are you aren't searching out an Olive Garden), and you experience what that city is all about.  That's what small businesses do across this country, they bring the flavor and spirit into every single city.

Which brings me to the part about tough decisions.  I was talking to my girlfriend today, and she mentioned a cookbook she had just bought.  I asked her where she bought the book, she admitted it was Amazon she bought it from, and then we managed to launch into a discussion about how it's important to buy books from a small business (in particular we talked about a bookstore in Oregon called Powells).  You know what I realized though? Neither of us had done it. I had wanted to buy books from Powells on a couple of occasions but they were back logged and the wait was a couple of weeks  (I think they have since cleared the backlog), and because I didn't want to wait, I ordered it from Amazon.  I know, I'm almost too embarrassed to even admit that.  It's true though, I succumbed to the "right now" spirit of American consumerism.  

The truth is I "try" to buy from small businesses a lot, and I "try" to buy sustainable products, but the hard to admit reality is I mostly do it when it's convenient for me and I'm like most of Americans, I've become super spoiled and haven't forced myself to sacrifice much.  I want things FAST, I want it for good price, I don't want to have to sacrifice convenience because I'm busy and value my time.  Basically, I make up excuses as to why I don't want to do the hard work, and make the tough decisions, because I hope that I don't have to (or maybe I think that I shouldn't have to--I might as well acknowledge my entitlement here).  

Yes, when you shop in a small business, you sometimes get less selection.  Sometimes the prices aren't quite as good.  Sometimes you have to wait longer for a product. Sometimes return policies, or exchange windows aren't as good as big box stores.  It's not always the easiest choice, and that's the truth.  I know for myself personally, I need to be willing to make the tough decisions more and know that it's worth it, because if it's one thing I have realized with this whole covid-19 crisis, it's that we have a lot to lose when we lose small businesses. They are fragile, and they are in jeopardy. Do we really want to live in a country where our options are Amazon, Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Forever 21, Macy's etc,?  All the personality, the heart, soul, ingenuity and individuality gets ripped out.  None of us want that, so the question is how can we change our behavior right now to make sure that doesn't happen?  The big stores won't go out of business, but small businesses will.  Amazon is going nowhere.

So I guess what I'm saying is that even though I've worked in a small business for the last 20 years, I know I have really only made my commitment to small businesses when it was most convenient to do so, and not when it wasn't.  NO MORE, I'm going to make the tough decisions and support small businesses whenever humanly possible.  Trust me, I'm addicted to Amazon Prime too, but now more than ever, we have to choose what is most important to us and we have to stand up for that, the time has come.

I started to look today for some outdoor pillows, and found myself by routine going to the big online retailers...Joss & Main, West Elm, Crate & Barrel, and even Amazon.  I stopped myself though, and I went onto Etsy instead.  What I found was a whole world of awesome handmade outdoor pillows in lots and lots of great fabrics.  Yes, it'll take longer to get them.  I may end up spending a little more money.  However, I feel good supporting someone's small business and it is consistent with my goal.  The lure of Amazon has seduced me,  ordering something and getting it the next day for super cheap, it's very hard to resist.  I'm not saying Amazon doesn't have its place, but the ramifications for letting it take over are devastating.  The truth is I value a hand written note from an Etsy shop owner more and I have to live by that value with more integrity.

For all of you who've already had this full revelation and supported OUR small business for this very reason, thank you.   Thank you for getting it.  Thank you for making the tough decisions and sticking with us thru all the headaches that sometimes attach themselves to any small operation.  In the end I have to believe that the short comings of small business are far exceeded by the contribution they make to our country, and for that we have to sacrifice sometimes.   Actually, it's not even about what we sacrifice, it's really about valuing what we GET more than what we sacrifice, because we do get an awful lot and there's nothing like the vision of a future with significantly less small businesses to drive that point home.

Signed, ME {lv}

Getting Dressed & Wish Bracelets

I was struggling to find ways to kick it up a notch today--change my boring and predictable stuff into interesting and elevated.  It's funny, when you start paying attention you realize how MANY things you do on autopilot each day.  Tons of little things that you don't even think about, but if you stacked them all together you have quite a chunk of time.  Basically a big chunk of boring, hence the whole goal of trying to make it less so.

I kept catching myself doing something without even thinking about it and just spacing out in the process.  Like absently folding laundry, or unloading the dishwasher.  I tend to sleepwalk thru those activities for obvious reasons, but it's sort of sad to sleepwalk thru good size chunks of your day right?  I realized that I probably need to be more efficient.  You know how they have basically determined that "multi-tasking" is totally inefficient.  I think I spend the whole day bouncing around from thing to thing, trying to juggle, instead of just allotting chunks of time to respective things.  Maybe there is more sense in just doing a BUNCH of laundry all at once vs. bouncing in and out all the time, one load here and there.  I mean, maybe sitting down in the laundry room and doing laundry for two hours every 4 days while listening to a book on tape with a candle burning for aromatherapy, maybe that's not such a bad two hours?  Vs. popping in and out for 5-10 minutes 5 times a day every day, and since the chunks of time are small you can't really do anything else to "up" the experience.  I don't know, just pondering the structure of my days...wondering if I need a revamp so that I can maximize my activities better, and make them more interesting or enjoyable.  

What's really sad is my big "thing" today was getting dressed and actually doing my hair.  Like blowing drying it and everything.  I know, wow right?  I did my workout earlier in the day and then truthfully there have been many (read lots and lots) days that I've just stayed in my yoga clothes after my class, let the sweat dry, and got on with work (either Melange work, or around the house work).  Kind of gross, but I'll admit, quarantine has made me lazy in this department.  I will say, that it felt MUCH better to actually take a shower, get dressed, and do my hair.  I even put a little makeup on...and perfume.  I think it's really safe to say that I've hit an all time low when my big win is doing my hair and putting on some makeup. Truthfully no one in the house seemed to notice much, but I felt less blah, so I guess that's what's most important.

I am super excited about these new Wish Bracelets that we are getting in tomorrow.  I bought these as gifts probably a year ago (and we've finally bought them for the store), I was a little obsessed with them because I really think they are ingenious and I love the concept and the style of them.  Basically it's a bracelet that you slip on to your wrist, but the clasp is a little empty canister that comes with a tiny scroll that you write your wish, affirmation, prayer or whatever on, and then you roll it back up, stuff it into the mini canister and then you screw the clasp back on locking it in place.  I love that you carry your affirmation near you, and you hold that energy close.   I think it'll make a great Mother's Day gift (although truthfully I can't remember if I've already given my mother one so I don't think I can risk it and give her another)!   I think these will make great surprise 'pick me up gifts' for friends too!  Stay tuned...lots of cool colors too!

Signed, ME {lv}

 

Getting Ready to Hit My New Goal

Sunday has taken on a whole new vibe in quarantine life.  No more frenzied "prep" where you are getting organized and gunnin' up for the crazy week ahead.  Groceries, lists of things to do, carpool reminders, calendaring.  I miss it and then, not so much.  Now, as I hang out on a Sunday, my week looks comparatively mellow, and the roll into Monday won't nearly be as jarring as it was only a month ago.  

What I AM doing is contemplating our cool new challenge for this coming week. The challenge is simple--elevate the mundane.  There's no shortage of mundane stuff in our day to day lives, and much of it we sleepwalk thru.  Our routines tend to be fairly simply right now, so how do we make the boring moments special, and elevate all these mundane activities to make them a little interesting?

Little things like making everyone get dressed up for dinner and putting candles on the table--all of a sudden a simple, predictable dinner becomes a little more exciting.  Taking a bottle of wine and watching the sunset, putting music on while you fold the laundry (which seems like a good idea all the time, but I know I rarely do it), leaving a love note for your partner under the morning coffee cup you always pour them.   It doesn't really matter what we do, but the idea is to kick it up a notch and make it a little more special, even if it's the simplest thing.

So I'm starting to think about it today, and I'm trying to come up with some good ideas to kick it off tomorrow. This will be a fun week, hope everyone is on board!

It's the last day of our Women Helping Women event and I want to thank everyone once again for supporting the event, and for collecting all your donations for delivery in the VERY near future.  It's been a fun week for us, and we've loved all the support and involvement.  We've supported a great cause, and we are grateful for you all supporting it with us! THANK YOU!

Signed, ME {lv}

We Did It Again & All The Little Things

It's Friday....we did it!  Yet another week living in this alternate universe that we'll call covid-19.  I think it's officially been just about a month of the status quo.  I can hardly believe that.  A MONTH.  Wow.  I've been so focused on one day at a time that I didn't notice the days piling up.

Silver linings, that's what I'm focusing on today because there is no sense in complaining about all the things we miss.  What I will do instead is just note some of the things I am digging on.

 First, there is a heightened sense of awareness right now, because certain things are eliminated from your schedule and being replaced with other things.  Like time in my backyard.   I might not have spent quite so much time watering or staring at my plants and I would probably would never have noticed that my fig tree (new as of last summer), has little baby figs growing out of it's branches, but not even one leaf yet.  It's the oddest thing and so cool looking.  It's the little things that I am paying attention to right now that I love.

I also probably would have never been staring out my upstairs window long enough to notice that my neighbor across the street (who we look down on since our house is on a hill) has two small Christmas trees in their two  upper story windows.  That's right, decorative Christmas trees.  It's something I would have never noticed except I now spend some time gazing out the window in deep thought (or not) and you notice things--like Christmas trees in April.

Nightly dinners, I do appreciate that, a whole lot.  That's a quarantine condition.  Normally we try and have family dinner 3 or 4 nights a week religiously and that's hard sometimes with everyone's extra curricular activities.  No one is home at the same time.  This past month, we have dinner together every day.  No, I haven't become a master chef and I'm not cooking amazing things all the time, but dinner is pretty much a highlight of everyone's day, and the kids start asking around 11 a.m. "what's for dinner?"  I know that my days of all the kids being home for dinner are numbered.  Ava's 17, she'll be out of the house soon and it'll only be special occasions when everyone is together.   Silver lining of covid-19-family dinners.

I spent all kinds of time this week calling people I love to meet the Melange weekly challenge.  Some were amazing conversations, others a little stressful (in the same way watching the news is stressful), but it felt so good to make it a priority to reach out and actually connect with people I usually don't get to connect with.  I was virtually visiting friends all over the world this week, and that's kind of cool.  Technology is amazing isn't it?  

So here's a shout out to all of you who are plugging along with us, and who are pushing thru the rough days, finding things to be happy about, things to appreciate, people to love, people to take care of.  We have officially conquered another week with our awesomeness.  

Signed, ME {lv}

Bloxburg Mansion & Serendity of Chance

If you happen to know any 9 year old boys, you have probably heard of Roblox (the video game).  An off shoot of that is Bloxburg, where you can build your very own super awesome crib, much like you could do with Legos, but way cooler.  So Romeo has spent an untold amount of time on video gaming in the last month.  It's literally untold because I am too embarrassed to tell it.  Today he unveiled his masterpiece however, and took me into his world, which I have to say was enviable.  Backyard was huge, with an enormous pool, some very cool pool furniture, a trampoline, swings, pool toys, and even a diving board.  Main house had a white grand piano, a motorcycle on display, loads of t.v. rooms and playrooms, and a HUGE kitchen.  He's living large in Bloxburg. I'll give him this, the kid knows how to deck out a pad.  He literally can NOT remember to flush the toilet or wash his hands.  I mean he really can't, every time I hear his bathroom door shut I wait 5 seconds and then scream, "flush the toilet and wash your hands"--even then it's 50/50 as to whether either get done. BUT despite that, the kid has mad skills at house buying, building and decorating. 

I read an interesting article today that I want to pass on about one of my favorite topics, the serendipity of chance.  I've always loved fixational books or movies about it....the moments in life that nudge you one way or another, or the situation where that random encounter changes everything.  The article was on a yoga site (Sonima), and it specifically talks about opening yourself up to the possibilities of random encounters as it relates to yoga (or rather how yoga preps us for it).  The article is interesting though, and I thought a good reminder to view the world as opportunities that presents itself sometimes in hidden and seemingly random ways.

My efforts toward reaching out today were, truth be told, a little exhausting.  This is a particularly raw time in the world, and everyone seems to have heightened emotions and opinions.  It can get a little intense.  I maybe bit off more than I could handle today, because I left several messages this morning and then spent a good chunk of the afternoon knee deep in conversations that were not particularly fun, uplifting OR soothing.  Mind you, I still reached out, still connected...but sometimes people give you more than you want (or for that matter can handle)--even people you adore.  Communication is such a great thing, but it can also be kind of tiring. Or maybe I was just reminded today how nice it is to surround yourself with people who see the good in things, the positive, the silver linings vs. the opposite of that.  Or maybe I just hit everyone on a down day when they needed to vent, I've definitely had my share of those.

Can't believe it is Friday already--crazy how that happened so quickly.  We're finishing out our last few days of the Women Helping Women event and I have a super respectable pile in the garage waiting for donation.  That feels good and when I think about the piles that everyone else no doubtably collected and you combine all of them together --well, that makes me extra happy to know that collectively we can do a lot.

Happy Friday lovelies!  Any order over $50 today gets to pick out whatever lip gloss they like just as a "something pretty" for you gift.  I'm partial to the Spella pink in flirt or happy hour, but Sara Happ I adore too in pink slip (very natural looking).  You can find all the lip glosses in the gift section, under beauty!  

Signed, ME {lv}

Microplane, Masks & Long Conversations

Before I launch into my superficial new obsession, I just want to say ONCE again, THANK YOU to all of you who are raiding your closets for goods to donate to your local women's domestic violence shelter.  It's incredibly important to support these women who suffer in violent situations, and often children suffer right along with them.  Their opportunity for a second chance, for protection and for breaking the cycle comes entirely from their strength, and the generosity of people willing to lend them both hands as they are climbing out.  Each day this week I've found something else in my house to add to the donation pile.  Today I added some clothing from Romeo's closet, because kids clothing is accepted as well and needed as these women restart lives for themselves and (very often) their children.

Now on to something completely superficial.  I'm currently OBSESSED with my new foot microplane.  You know when you go to the pedicurist and they use that cheese grater looking thing on your rough and calloused feet?  That's a microplane.  I got one in a gift basket from a friend for my birthday, and I'm only just now using it.  It's amazing.  If you don't have one, jump right on to Amazon and order one fast (maybe I'm the only one that didn't have one though).  It can't be more than $10, and the thing is brilliant.  I had the feet of shoeless hobbit just back from a trail run and now they are soft like butter.  No joke. It was at least 30 minutes of fun.

I also finally ended up with a face mask today.  I've got a bunch on order (from Citizens of Humanity), but no big surprise, NONE of them have come yet.  Then last night I was walking and ran into my best friend's father who randomly had an extra box of masks and gave them to me.  So today as I went to the grocery store, I wore a mask for the first time.  Two issues to note.  The ones I have are the paper kind surgeon's use, with the elastic that goes around the ear.  I don't know if I just have weirdly shaped ears or what, but the elastic was SO uncomfortable and it flopped my ears over in the most unattractive manner.  I know, no big deal, but still, I feel like it would be remiss to not at least acknowledge.  It was also hot and stuffy (I see people running with them and I can't even imagine).  Furthermore, as I was standing in line there was a woman behind me and I turned and looked at her, and she might have smiled, but who would even know??  In a not so distant past I have paid good money to not have as many crow's feet (i.e. botox), but now if you don't have any crows feet, there's no way to even tell that you are smiling.   Which might be contributing to what feels like one big sour mood out there.

Lastly, in keeping with this week's goal, I called a friend in California where we used to live and finally caught up with her.  She's a talker, which means sometimes I put off calling simply because I don't have enough time.  However today I just rode the wave, and caught up like I had nowhere to go (which was only partially true, I actually had a lot of work to do).  It felt good to finally talk to her too.  I also learned that Sonoma county in CA just mandated the wearing of masks in closed spaces and I'm sort of guessing that this kind of mandate will be growing rapidly.

OH, and just as a last note, we chose today's gift with purchase (the YaY re-usable bags) because I have actually been using mine, a LOT more and it's one of my favorite things right now.  Not just for groceries, but for throwing stuff together to put into the car, or take on a walk down to the park a few blocks away, or even to just carry from upstairs to downstairs (like when I go down to use the Peloton I take a pair of socks, my water bottle, my lip balm, my phone, and a towel), and yes, I threw that all into a YaY bag!! 

We're officially on the downward slope of April, hard to believe.  It's been a long two weeks, but also a short two weeks in some ways.  We can do this.  Another two weeks for sure, and maybe another two weeks on top of that for good measure but this WILL end friends, and we WILL come out the other side.  Meanwhile, reach out and connect with someone, because that's really the most important thing all the time!

Signed, ME {lv}

Being Blown Off, Exercise, Feeling Awkward & Sun Worshippers

My "reach out" plan today was to call my other sister (I have a total of 3, only one of which I speak to regularly).  This sister is 6 years my junior and we could be good friends because she is super cool, but we aren't because she's woefully flaky and it drives me batty.  So we exchange texts.  Sometimes.  I usually let her call me because years ago I got sick of making the effort.  BUT, today was going to be different because I was working on my challenge to reach out and connect with people. Except that she didn't answer my call, OR my text.  So, basically my efforts were totally sabotaged and I was blown off.  I'm going to try reaching out to someone easier tomorrow, family is tricky.

I forced Romeo to reach out today too, and he had better luck, but it took a solid 30 minutes of cajoling to get him to do it.  His friend's dad had texted me yesterday to see if Ro wanted to FaceTime with his friend Brody.  So we made a tentative time for today.  That time rolled around and I gave Romeo the phone number but his response was, "I don't want to, it's going to be awkward".   I hear the kids say this a lot--the "awkward" word.  It's pretty much the universal social fear right?  Feeling awkward, not knowing what to say, do or wear.  We had to go thru all the scenarios that were possible (i.e. what if we have nothing to talk about, what if I want to go and he wants to talk, what if my iPad runs out of batteries) and eventually he managed to reach out and contact his friend.  When all was said and done he had a great chat and I think it was good for him to push thru his 9 year old social anxiety.  If he was an adult and had that fear he just wouldn't have called and he would have missed out.

I am reminding myself today to exercise, because even though I don't always feel like it, it always makes me feel better.  I try to get on my mat every day, and I try to either walk or get on the Peloton too.  There are days though that feel heavier, and I just can't shake off that fatigue/morose feeling (Saturday was one such day).  Yesterday I was dragging a bit, and didn't necessarily feel like doing anything, but I pushed myself over the hump and it felt so good afterwards.  I am writing these words as a reminder to myself.  Get up and move even if you don't feel like it!! I notice with this whole quarantine/corona crisis that I can go a handful of days and feel like "I've got this", but then I hit a wall and drag.  I think what it boils down to is that it takes work to stay upright when things are all turned around, and it can be exhausting.  You can't feel on top of it every day, but at least for me if I continue to do the handful of things I know physically make a difference, my mind will follow.

On another note, apparently the UV index has been 5 here mid day and so the older two kids have been tanning.   That's right, teens still tan.  It's like nothing has changed from my high school days of baby oil and hours outside (or trips to the tanning booth).  I've been phobic about going in the sun as long as Ava and Lucia have been alive so I'm not sure why they aren't appropriately freaked out.  Yet they are not.  Nope, they are up on the terrace, in teeny tiny bikinis, frying their nice smooth skin.  When I told Lucia she might regret it when she's my age she said, "oh by then they will have easy medical fixes, I'll be fine, I'd rather look good now".  Just as a side note, she didn't use baby oil, but she DID use coconut oil.   Watching the whole thing made me slather on twice as much sunscreen. I didn't bother giving any lectures, it wouldn't help.

Lastly, I wore my Siganka Garland top today (I have it in pink), and it was perfect.  The weather was about 70 degrees, I had on that top, with my jeans cuffed and my Birkenstock flip flops.  It was just the right amount of relaxed bohemian.  Love this top!! LOVE.

Signed, ME {lv}

Wabi-Sabi, Linen Day & Zoom Don’ts

Linen day is always my most hated day (and that would be Mondays).   Full linen day is every other week and I hate it twice as much.  It means every duvet, pillow, shame and bed throws all get washed and it's exhausting.  I only do it for our bedroom,  Romeo and Gia's.  I try to encourage Ava and Lucia to do their own but they don't  usually until it just gets so gross and I eventually "force" them to do it (and it's me helping at every step).

So today was "full" linen day and it was awful, my arms till hurt  from getting all the comforters out of their duvets and then back into them.  The point of this story though is mostly that during this dreaded process, I happen to open the linen cabinet upstairs and was tempted to shove the stuff I wasn't using back in but then I realized it looked like a mess and I had no excuse to not just clean it right then.  So I did, and I ended up with a good size pile of linens that we weren't using (and in fact didn't even have a bed to use them on--Romeo's old twin sheets were useless with no twin beds in the entire house).  So I put all of those linens aside to also donate to the women's shelter when this quarantine gets lifted.  We focus on clothing during our WHW event, but really they are in desperate need of all kinds of soft goods too.  Sheets, toiletries,  etc.  Women (and more often than not their children) leave violent homes with nothing but the clothes on their back.  They have to set up a new home, and the shelter makes sure they have not only the clothing they need, but also other soft goods they will need to get settled into a new place.  SO, just a reminder as you are cleaning out your closets--linen closets count too!

Here's something cool that I came across today, the word wabi-sabi, which is a Japanese word which means "finding beauty in imperfections".  I thought that was an awesome word and also very fun to say.

On another note, I was reminded today of all the Zoom "don'ts" which really are the same as real life "don'ts" except multiple it by 5 because anything you do on camera is magnified and worse than if you were in person.  I was in a meeting for Romeo's class today about home schooling.  It was put on by his teacher and included all the parents.  There were probably 25 parents on the call, and you could see all the little insets and I realized what a spot light this whole Zoom thing is.   It's one thing when you are on a call with a handful of your besties, drinking wine.  You don't notice anything.  However, if you are listening to a boring speech that you have already heard at least 4 times by the school district via email and voicemail, then you tend to just stare at the other people on the call and simultaneously realize how much you actually hate Zoom when it's not a fun call (you'll also wish you'd put on a cuter top and some mascara). I saw some awfully goofy things going on among the inset pics.  Hey dad of some kid I don't know, maybe now isn't the time to keep trying to fix your hair in the mirror.  Hey mom of another kid I don't know, maybe don't keep sticking your pen into your ear, it looks dangerous AND gross.   Hey other dad of another kid I don't know, itching your nose does NOT include ANY amount of your finger actually going INTO your nose.  Seriously, all true.

To keep  up with my challenge today, I called my little sister who I haven't actually spoken to in probably two months.  By "spoken to" I mean with words on the phone.  We do text periodically, but that's not really the same.  So I called her today and had a very nice conversation, and it felt good to finally talk to her.  She's 8 year my junior and we were never quite as close growing up because of our age difference, so it's just sort of carried over into adulthood.  She's great though, and I really want to make a bigger effort to talk to her so this challenge was the perfect motivator! Anyone else expand their circle?

Big thanks to everyone who has shopped the WHW event so far, and THANK YOU for consciously gathering those things that our sisters need.  Women are the heart and soul of the world, let's face it, and it's up to us to protect each other and support each other.  We can and we will! 

Signed, ME {lvl}

Tired Dog, Hu Chocolates, and Easter Bunny Mask

Our fattie dog gets tired quickly.  He's rippin' to go on a walk each and every time, but he only has to go  a few blocks before he slows down and starts panting.  The quarantine routine includes at least one walk from Romeo and I, but most often includes at least one or two other walks from other family members. Ava took him out yesterday for his second walk and he sat down at one point and stuck his tongue out at her.   He was saying, "stop, you are killin' me with all this exercise, I'm so OVER this quarantine".

Have I told you about my latest chocolate obsession?  It's called Hu Kitchen Chocolates, and a good friend of mine put it in a gift basic she made for me because it's both vegan AND gluten free.  It's also free of all kinds of other stuff you don't want to eat, and all I know is the hazelnut butter kind is so, SO good.  It's also so healthy that you feel like you aren't eating chocolate at all, which is why I polished off an entire bar in one day. If it's one thing this quarantine has done, it's brought me closer to foods I love.

When I asked Romeo how the Easter Bunny was going to make it this year with the coronavirus issues, he said, deadpan, "mom, he's got a mask you know".  Bunny is no dummy.  The kids get so excited for Easter, and it seemed like a good time to keep as many of our traditions as we could.  We'll still have "Easter Bunny basket delivery" from the mask clad bunny, then a big breakfast (Gia is making crepes this year), and then an egg hunt which will be way too easy for all of them because how tricky can you get?  Then a big classic ham dinner.  We make it every year although it's questionable how many of us like it.

Lastly, has anyone had any frightening urges to cut off their hair?  I am so starved for a haircut and a color that I considered if it would be possible for me to cut my OWN hair?  I more than considered it, I had an urge to just DO IT (as in, it's really fortunate there were no scissors handy). My hair is long right now, and I've been debating cutting it for months but haven't come up with exactly what my short hair vision was.  But yesterday as I was staring into the mirror, checking out my scary roots and my hair that now is pulled back most days because it just doesn't look good, I was fantasizing about just chopping it off. Like right then and there.  There's a phrase for that feeling of standing on the end of a cliff and fantasizing about jumping off, it's a French phrase, L’appel du vide (which literally translate to "the call of the void").  Do you think there is a word out there for staring into the mirror and fantasizing about grabbing scissors and cutting off your hair?   Other than crazy?

I also read today that you should never make any permanent decisions based on temporary feelings.  I'm not sure cutting hair can be categorized as "permanent" but it would sure be semi-permanent.   I'm going to try and control my urge until I'm safely seated in my hair dresser's chair.  I really think cutting own hair with super dull scissors from the office store that are sticky with glue seems like a bad idea. Quaranti-crazy idea.   

Instead I might just shop the sale section and find something satisfying.  Like this PJ Salvage set, because I could spend all day AND all night in this thing (and it's a steal)!

Get ready,  tomorrow is Monday and it's a new week and we're going to kick off   a new goal.  The goals is to reach out to someone new each day.  Someone you don't reach out to every day (I'm shooting for anyone I haven't talked to in at least 7 days).  I've noticed in the tightening of my physical circle, I've actually tightened my outer circle too.  The people that I talk to, I talk to ALL the time (like daily or every other day).  I think it's time to reach out a little further though, and the goal is to connect with someone every day, either via phone, text, letter or email, and check in on them, say hello, send some love....that type of thing.  I have lots of people that I adore, but don't talk to regularly and I mostly blame lack of time.  Since I've got a bit more, I feel like it's a good time NOT to use that as an excuse.  Bring on the challenge!

Signed, ME {lv}

 

Summer Is Coming

We had GORGEOUS weather today....pretty much perfect weather as far as I'm concerned.  Blue skies, crisp morning, warm day (well, warm for April that is), everything is blooming, and it feels fresh and amazing outside.  It's a reminder that this is SPRING, which means Summer is literally right around the corner.  Can you even believe that?  It feels like we just were in Winter with only the dream of Spring and there was a blur of commotion, and then suddenly it was almost mid-April, full on Springtime, and right at the time we start realizing, SUMMER is coming!

Still no idea what will happen this Summer. Whether we'll be able to travel. Whether there will be big group activities allowed.  I'm guessing we might be spending a lot of time in our back yard, and hosting dinner parties for our friends and family as the highlight.  There are certainly worse things.  

We had fun today with our Fun-NESS section for some Friday festivities, so we decided to swap up the styles and bring the fun-ness to Saturday!  Any reason to make Saturday special right?

Check out this this youtube of John Krasinski's SGN (some good news) broadcast: SGN Broadcast

It's funny (I love him), and if you stick it out you'll love the end (especially if you are a Hamilton fan)!!

Lastly, I have loved keeping my gratitude journal this week.  I mostly stuck with it too, and it felt like when I did my mood was better, and maybe it also felt like when I was in a bad mood, it helped pull me up.  It's hard to stay in a bad mood when you are forced to write down something good.  I'm sticking with the habit for sure!

Signed, ME {lv}

Cake Headquarters

Cake headquarters sounds like a good thing.  Who doesn't love cake, and wherever cake is "headquartered" has to be equally awesome, right? 

The answer is, not so much.  I will literally go CRAZY if Gia keeps baking as much as she has been.  I know it's a good activity, I know she's bored, but seriously, ANOTHER cake?  I can't deal.  She makes a huge mess, which she diligently tries to clean up, but let's face it, no 12 year old is going to clean up the way I'd want it cleaned up.  She tries super hard, but literally ever time there is something wonky going on.  Like today's cake, she only noticed half-way thru that she didn't actually have enough eggs because this cake called for 8 eggs.  Yes, you heard right, EIGHT!  I can't keep up with the flour, sugar, butter and eggs demand.  It's impossible.  So then she had to "half" the recipes, but since the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients had all been assembled already, she had to then measure out equal portions and the whole thing was chaos.  Just so you can visualize, she's making a sprinkle, 5 layer cake.  So 5 little 6 inch round pans, loads and loads of sprinkles, and more cake then anyone can realistically eat.

I'm really trying to channel my gratitude here, and stop complaining....but aaaaahhhhhhhh, it's going to send me over the edge.  All I do is clean the kitchen, buy groceries, and oh yeah, cook real food (i.e. anything without sugar) that most of them complain about.   When you can just fill up on sprinkle cake, why bother eating real food? I have more time, but not more patience.  When she asks me, "what do they mean by 4 eggs and 4 egg yokes?"  I want to snap, because not only does it seem self explanatory, I am just tired of answering baking questions (there are SO many).  How's that for being a bad mommy?  In case you are wondering, YES, I did do yoga today, and YES, I do seem strung a little tight despite's that fact...I see it too.

Other than that bit of complaining, I AM excited for Friday.  Why you ask?  Because, Friday is just suppose to be more special (quarantine or no quarantine), and even thought the schedule isn't changing all that much on the weekends, at least there are a few things I'm excited about.  One of them is that my yoga studio is doing a live class on Saturday night AND on Sunday morning.  The Saturday night class (Saturday Night Soul) is a musician playing a cello, and a teacher named Tony who has the most meditative and relaxing voice ever.  Sunday is my favorite guru teacher Alex that I rave about all the time. He's amazing and is doing his Soul Shakin' class.  The classes are free, so I'm going to post the link here: YoYo Yogi Studio  I know Sunday is Easter and the class is at 10:30 a.m. so it might be tricky for a lot of us, but trust me when I say, his classes are inspiring, so if you can swing it, fit it in.

Meanwhile back at Melange :-), we are doing a "fun-ness" Friday section, because funness isn't a word, it made us laugh, and we thought it would be well,....drumroll please.....FUN!!  So check out the section, there are some fantastic styles at 50% off that you can't resist: Friday Funness Section

Have a happy Friday, we made it thru another week of quarantine, and hopefully some of you are still drinking water, AND writing in your gratitude journal.  Any little bit is a win as far as I'm concerned!!  

Signed, ME {lv}

5 Things, Summer Excitement & Early Wake Up Call

Do you want to know how I woke up this morning?  I'll tell you right now, it wasn't in a relaxing manner.  I woke up to the sound of my phone vibrating on my side table.  My phone sound is shut off between 11-6, but it does vibrate from 6:00 a.m. onward.  So at 6:04 a.m. the phone starts vibrating, which immediately woke me up, much the way you can be dead asleep and your kid barely says your name all the way in the next room and immediately you are up.  No one calls this early, I knew it had to be something bad. 

My unconscious brain immediately feared something must be wrong.  I looked down at the phone and it was my dad's number.  So instantly I'm thinking, "oh crap, what is wrong?"  I tried to answer but no one was there.  I then texted, "are you ok??"  The response?  "Oh yeah, how are you?  Good morning."  Huh?  Turns out, my dad had butt dialed me.  Not emergency at all.  I did my sun salutations after that but it didn't quite get me in the zone like it should have.

On a totally other note, Amanda told me a great idea that I started to use today.  Her idea (which isn't her idea at all, she read it somewhere, so it's really someone else's good idea), is to go thru each room of your house and write down 5 things you could do to improve it.   I started that today, and it's sort of brilliant because I regularly walk into rooms in my house and think, "Oh, I need to do that", but then walk out and  promptly forget.  So now you have a list of things you could do, or that you might need, that will improve a room.  Thinks like "wash walls", "need new trash can", or "need bath caddy".  I don't know why this silly exercise was so useful to me, but it was.  I think because I just lack the organization or memory to actually follow thru with any of the things I need to do around the house.  I have a weekend coming up that is going to have some free time in it, and while I don't want to pressure myself with anything hugely ambitious, it would be nice to at least knock a few things off of my "room improvement" list.

Lastly, I felt such a rush of summer optimism with the new Siganka shipment that arrived today!  I absolutely love the airy cotton, and the easy styles...it just feels like sun to me!!  I love this line, and I love it because the styles are easy and I've worn them to death (some of my favorite summer travel pieces), but also because I love the designer. She's  a wonderful soul, loves what she does, and has this beautiful hybrid of a spirit....she lives in both Hawaii and Vermont (although I think more Vermont now) , and there is something about her balance that just comes across in everything she does.   It's exactly the zen, relaxed vibe you'd expect.   Anyway, it makes me feel even better supporting the line.  Bring. On. The. Sun.

Signed, ME {lv}

It Could Be Worse

In keeping with my goal of gratitude, I started out the day with three things in my journal I was grateful for.  I have to say, it set a good tone for my whole day which turned out to NOT be the easiest day.

The kids all started their respect official "on-line" schooling thru the public school districts.  The teens were annoying because as much as we bugged them to be ready for today, they weren't.  We got no less than 50 emails over the last week from each of their teachers.  I've never been bombarded with so many "urgent" emails.  All of which the girls assured me that they were also getting AND reading.  Yet somehow this morning Lucia was baffled about how to get online and what time it all started.

Annoying.  Really annoying.  Still, I let it roll off my back.  

Then John went downstairs to find the toilet overflowing in the lower bathroom.  Just when you think coronavirus is the worst thing you have to worry about, then you realize no, in fact there is something more pressing to worry about--like water rushing out off a toilet and flooding the bathroom.  It was the perfect reminder that things could be worse.  I mean yes, the toilet overflowed and it was a huge mess, BUT on the positive note, our piping system wasn't shot, there were no tree roots in our pipes (that happened once), and the mess only took about 30 minutes to clean up.  So, I was grateful that all it was at the end of the day was your pedestrian clogged toilet.  You can't complain about your problems or you just might get bigger ones right?

I think my gratitude goal is working wonders already.

I did my first group Zoom happy hour tonight, with a whole big group of friends (and their kids), and it was SO MUCH fun! I think Zoom might just save me from sliding into a full blown sloppy dressing slump.  Having Zoom dates forces you to get dressed, maybe put on a little makeup, and otherwise enjoy seeing and being seen.  Amanda has been telling me how great they are the last couple weeks, but I had yet to really see the benefit.  It sounded like a lot of work to pull myself together and I wasn't sure if it was really all that much better than just a phone date.  But it really is, SO much more fun.  It makes you feel half-way normal again. Also gives you a reason to wear something cute!! 

Signed, ME {lv}

Gratitude

I'm super excited about my pick for this weeks goal/challenge.  Gratitude.  The goal is to wake up, and before you start your day, write three things you are grateful for.  Then at night, before you fall asleep, three more things you are grateful for.

I use to do this when I was using the Best Self calendaring system which is fantastic, BUT also really involved so I would use it when I had a particularly busy 3 month period, or if I had a lot of things I had to get done in a short period of time.  It's amazing for keeping track of your time and making sure you are intentional with it.

Anyway, in that system you write your gratitudes daily, morning and night.  The theory being, the psychological benefits were BIG, and it put you in the right mindset to get things done, and be positive.  I loved that part of the system, and since I'm not using the system now, I decided I'd like to take that one habit and reinstate it.

So that's our goal this week.  Wake up, write three things you are grateful for, and then do three things right before you go to bed.  It can be anything...your soft sheets, your morning coffee, your cat, the fact that you have eyeballs!   I'm excited.  It's a stressful time, and it's so easy to see the stuff that is scary, or that is going wrong.  We need a structured plan to remember the things we are grateful for.

We're due to get some sun this week and I'm so grateful for that.  I'm also grateful for pretty new necklaces, dresses on sale, and the new Siganka that has arrived (and will be up on the site soon)!  

Happy Monday!

Signed, ME {lv}

Gen X & Hearty Flowers

First, if you aren't Gen X, then this isn't going to matter much to you, but if you ARE a Gen X'er (that's 1965-1980 babies), then you will find this article entitled "It Took A Global Pandemic, But Generation X is Finally Getting Love", quite hysterical.  Two people sent it to me before I finally read it, and I laughed out loud...it pretty much nails our generation and also makes it clear why and how we are ruling this quarantine situation.

Secondly, my flower of the day picture is of these little beauties that are outside in my front yard.  You want to know the crazy thing?  I planted those bad boys LAST September.  They survived the winter and are still going strong.  They survived some snow, some dark days, some hail, some real cold temps, but they stayed tough against the world trying to kill them and decided they'd thrive anyway.  I feel like there is a lesson there somewhere.

Signed, ME {lv}

Weren't We Just Here?

I woke up this morning thinking, "wasn't it JUST Friday?"  Actually, last Friday, I woke up thinking it was Thursday, so at least I didn't do that this week.  In so many ways the week went by in a flash, and in so many ways it felt like it was slow like molasses.  I can't figure out the dissonance.  I think the days feel long, but the week didn't I guess.

Then I asked myself what I did this week, did I do anything?  I was pleasantly surprised when I tallied up in my head what I did.  

I drank a LOT of water, much more than in any other week for as long as I can remember.  I think I also cemented down a darn good habit.  I also cooked a lot of veggies, and I'm happy to say, my fridge has no dead, wilting veggies in it anymore.  Thanks to Amanda's challenge -- it kickstarted me!

Romeo finished his 4th grade flashcards, which means we went on a lot of walks and did a lot of spelling words.  I got him to do online school every day this week, and at least got the other kids ready to start next week.

I made a gluten free banana bread and ate the whole thing. I went to the grocery store twice. I cooked most nights....except for one night of take out (plus, I think I'm doing take out tonight too).  We're doing our part to help restaurants!

I worked a considerable amount (albeit way, way less than this time last year).  

I called a lot of friends.  Drank a good deal of wine (for medicinal purposes).  Read the book, The World That We Know (by Alice Hoffman...it's great). I watched a little t.v. with John at night--eventually we'll get thru Killing Eve.  I regulated my media, and didn't let too much in.

I finished ordering things for the kids' Easter baskets.  Apparently the Easter Bunny doesn't get a quarantine hiatus, she's still expected to deliver the baskets.  

I did a reasonable amount of housework (not amazing, but respectable amount).  I kept up with the laundry, and that's always a feat unto itself.

I did yoga every day (it's a highlight of every day).

I don't know people, I think that's pretty good actually right?!  I mean, my bar is pretty low right now, but I think I cleared it without any problem.  Overall, pretty stellar week....hope you all feel the same about your first days of April. 

Signed, ME {lv}

Pet Peeves, Learning New Things & Perspective

I've got a lot of "mom pet peeves", but probably my biggest is when the kids call out "mom, come here"...and I respond "what is it?" and they respond, "just come here".  Then we go round and round....me: "no, tell me what you need first", them: "I just need you, it's an emergency".  From experience I know, it's not an emergency.  If they can stop the flow of blood with a bandaid, definitely not an emergency.

Me: "if it's important tell me what it is?" them: "no, just come here, HURRRRYYYYY".   Me: "I'm not coming unless you tell me what you want."   Them:  "mom you have to come NOW, just come, I can't explain it." Sometimes all they "can't explain" is that they spilled smoothie on their bed even though they aren't suppose to have smoothies in their bedrooms.  This interchange, happens via shouting from different rooms or different floors of the house, OR via text, which is especially annoying....and it happens ALL the time.

I haven't figured out how to eliminate this type of interchange.  It seems like it should be easy enough, but somehow it keeps happening.  And no, it's not like I actually "jump to" and validate their request by ultimately going to see what they want in person.  I don't (at least anymore).  However, that doesn't seem to dissuade them from doing it again, and again, and again.  Just saying, it's annoying, and because they are home ALL the time now, it seems to happen ALL the time.  

On another note, I learned today that "mantra" is a Sanskrit word that means "instrument of thought".  Just in case you didn't know that either, now you know.  Cool right?  

It was yet another weird weather day today here, with bursts of sunshine and brilliant blue skies (note the cherry blossom tree in my flower of the day pic--it looked like an enormous pink cloud it was so beautiful, especially against the intense blue sky).  It went from bright and sunny, to windy and rainy within the span of a walk, and dang, it was COLD when the sun disappeared.  It was a reminder that yes, Spring is here and Summer is going to come soon but, it's definitely still quite chilly.

Lastly, I woke up this morning, and stuck with my routine of sun salutations and media restrictions.  I allow myself to read a choice few articles each morning.  One such article was from New York Times (I tried to go back and find it on my news feed but couldn't), and it was editorial on why we should stop trying to be so productive during quarantine.  The upshot was that we should stop pressuring ourselves to try to be super productive and "get lots done" during this time and just give ourselves a break. Dealing with the basics is a lot right now. Maintaining a semblance of a routine (that is new, that you had to come up with on the fly), keeping your spirits up, and picking a couple of things to do is plenty. Trying to learn a language or paint the entire inside of your house, well, that might just be too much pressure.  Luckily I was never planning on doing anything quite that grand in scale, but I like the overall perspective which was to remind us to be gentle with ourselves and our expectations during this time.  There's a fine line between being motivated to do things that are good for you and you will feel good doing, and then pressuring yourself and feeling guilty for not doing stuff constantly.  So I'm not going to cross the line, and I'm going to remind myself that there is no pressure.

OH, and my water intake yesterday...well, I did get to 64 ounces, but I told Amanda that any ounces after that would be in the form of grape water (aka, wine).  Today, I did slightly better, I'd say a solid 72 ounces, which is progress.  Not sure I can reach the 100 ounces goal, but I'm at least sticking with a minimum of 64.  I also made a cabbage and apple slaw to utilize the two kinds of cabbage that came in my boxes over the last couple of weeks.  As a side note, cabbage lasts forever.  I was sort of hoping it would have gone bad so I was off the hook, but no, it was still super fresh looking.  Anyway, I made a good slaw with purple and green cabbage and a diced apple, and then used some vegan slaw dressing that was quite tasty.  I don't think any of the kids liked it, but I ate a ton so at least I stuck with my veggie goal. 

Starting to get excited....Siganka is officially on the horizon, and that will bring some clothing sunshine our way!  My Siganka pieces that I wore last spring/summer got SO much use it was ridiculous!!

Happy Friday!

Signed, ME {lv}

Hysterical Video, First Day Of Water & Window of Opportunity

I don't want to jump ahead, but Amanda's water challenge is HARD.  We decided that we needed to set a list of goals and challenges we wanted to meet each week in April.  Amanda has been talking about her increased water consumption for a couple of weeks (her lemon water specifically), and I've half listened.  I did notice however, how BAD I am at drinking water.  I just never do.  Then I read if you aren't going to the bathroom at least once an hour, you aren't drinking enough water.  Uh-oh, not good news for me.  I've also noticed my skin is dry, even with my bad ass Augustinus Bader moisturizer which is the mother of all heavy moisturizing creams.  Maybe I need to drink water?

So Amanda's challenge/goal for the first week of April (to get us all in on her new healthy habit) is to drink 100 ounces of water  a day.  I started today, filled up a carafe that was 32 ounces, and set it on my desk.  By 3 p.m. I had drank one full carafe, but that meant two more to go??  Seems impossible.  So then I googled what a safe amount of water to drink was, just in case Amanda was trying to do us in.  I found conflicting data, everywhere from 64 ounces to 100 ounces.  She's at the top of her game clearly. I'm not going to get plumped hydrated skin and increased mental performance (yes, I actually read that) unless I step up my game too. Sign up to do these challenges with us, we're going to be each other's cheer leaders, and we get treats at the end!

I started the challenge on the last day of March as a test run, and I only got to about 68-70 ounces of water.  Tomorrow I'll try for 75, but honestly today was tough enough.  I told Amanda it felt like I was being waterboarded.  Too. Much. Water.  She said that it does feel like a lot in the beginning but that when she drinks the full amount she feels less irritated, less hungry, less bloated, and has less headaches.  Jury is out for me but I'm going to stick to the goal.

I also am going to post this hysterical video (NY Post Video) for anyone out there dealing with online learning for their kids.  It pretty much sums up the experience.  For the last two weeks our high school has been saying they were going to issue assignments but basically they wouldn't be graded or counted.  To which the response from the teens was pretty predictable,  "Yeah, right, sure we'll do them" (insert smirk).  Just found out this morning though that they will start REAL graded lessons on 4/13, so that's progress.  Romeo is knee deep in Time4Learning online, and Gia has online meetings each day with her class but so far they are just talking about feelings and introducing house pets.  Not sure when the "real work" will start. Once it all starts I imagine the above video will sum up all my feelings.

I'm excited for this month, and seizing the day.  Today was a random mix of beautiful bursts of sunshine and then crazy rain (and even hail).  I missed several opportunities to take walks in the sun, and got stuck in the rain.  I am treating it as a reminder that we need to grab what we can from life as we can.  Moments of sunshine, of laughter, of fun.  Yes, I realize that sounds a little "Deep Thoughts" from retro Saturday Night Live
episodes, but it's also true right?  On my daily walk with Romeo we snapped this pic of a beautiful flower and we're finding a new one each day to appreciate because after all, it's one of the best things about April, all the beautiful blooms bursting forth!

I will end with one note. The water drinking thing...It really has to all happen before 6 p.m. because all I know is I'll be getting up to go to the bathroom all night.  Is that an age thing?  Or did I have too many kids and ruin my blatter?  Don't know, all I know is that I have another 50 ounces to drink in an hour and a half.  Is that even safe?  Can't you die from too much water? 

Here's to hoping I make it.

Signed, ME {lv}

ps.  I plan to come out of this quarantine with all kinds of things done, muscles strengthened, and good habits cemented down.  I will however, also be coming out of quarantine with some BAD hair.  Serious roots, split ends, bad highlights.  It's not going to be pretty.  Until then, it's hair ties, clips, scrunchies, hats, and hair masks.  You do what you can with what you have.

Wine & Books

Sunday is for being lazy right?  I hung out in my super comfortable Velvet sweats (from a couple of years ago...they are wide legged with a racing stripe down the outside of each leg and I love them), a long sleeve tee with a short sleeve tee layered over it, and a scarf (because it was cold today and I took two walks and ended up keeping my scarf on all day).  I read my new book and drank wine.  How's that for a productive day?  

Did I do anything else?  I did do a yoga class this morning, and I think I threw in one load of laundry.  The kids were all equally lazy, and were happy to be left to their own devices.

It's pretty unimpressive.  I'm going to gather some strength to start the week out with some purpose because it's going to be Monday shortly, AND it's going to be a brand new month in just a couple of days.

I can't stand the thought of April just going by in a hazy state, with an aimless, distracted stress existence.  I can't do the things I thought I would do, but I can do a lot in a month with extra time, right?

So I'm going to come up with some April goals.  Some quarantine goals.  I know some of us are still are working full time (some of us at home and some of us at essential jobs out in the world) but regardless most of us find ourselves with buckets of time that we normally would have allotted to other things that we now can't do.  So the question, before April arrives, is what are we going to get done during this time?  

Meanwhile, my book is good, and my loungy day was restorative.  Going to hit the ground running tomorrow.

Signed, ME {lv} 

Busy Day & Surprise Gifts

What constitutes a "busy" Saturday has drastically changed in the last few weeks.  Things I probably should do I've put off.  Like cleaning my house...I should do it, I have time, but I am putting it off until "some other time" since I'm home so much.  My house is FAR less clean than it should be for spending so much time here. Cleaning feels like too much work.

So today's big activities were grocery shopping, and doing a bootcamp work out.  First the grocery shopping.  Not terribly exciting except we found a great wine person working so we got a ton of recommendations and were able to stock up on what has now become an essential.  Forget rice and beans, wine is top of the list.  When John & I were getting checked out we asked the guy what the secret to getting toilet paper was.  He said to come at 8:00 a.m., and your chances went up. He did also tell us that some people just use catalogs when they are camping so that would probably work, and if worse comes to worse, your can just shower a lot.  Good to know, good to know.

John then made me do one of his Orange Theory boot camps and it was horrible....H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E.  I hated every minute of the 54 minute ordeal (it was live streamed from one of the instructor's basement).  He was rocking out to the theme song from Flashdance, while shouting at us to keep pushing thru the 90 second squat sequence rotations mixed with arms.   Terrible use of an hour.  Yes, I'm probably more fit, but I don't think you are suppose to dislike something that much??

After these two activities, I can pretty much tell you that I felt like I had done a LOT.  I've really become soft in the last three weeks.  I'm not sure how I could handle my normal Saturday list of stuff to do which is a  mile long when I wanted to nap after just these two things.  Although, to be fair, the notion of people using catalogs instead of toilet paper can really physically drain anyone.

My big surprise today was a gift I got in the mail from my dear friend in Seattle.  A lovely little necklace, a travel bag full of L'occitane. products and sweet card saying "we'll travel again someday, don't worry".  It was such a lovely treat, and was super fun to get something uplifting and thoughtful.  What would we do without our girlfriends?

I avoided media once again except for my short time I allowed to go over news articles.  Every time I turn on CNN for even 5 minutes I loose my sense of perspective because everything is led with "deadly" "worst ever" "crisis".  Might all be true, but when you couple that with the dramatic intonation of the newscasters it's a wonder anyone is keeping a level head.  My advice to myself every day is to deal with what I have control over, take deep breaths, put one foot in front of another and think of everything I'm grateful for.  I write about this  almost every day not because I have some amazing tips or tricks, but because the simple act of reminding myself as I write is helping me remember...it's keeping me sane and keeping me focused (or at least "more sane").

True confessions...due to having fatigued myself with the arduous first half of the day, I found myself on my computer and I clicked on a link Ava sent me showing a Tik Tok video of this teenage boy asking his dad if he could go on a drive, and then he got in his car and screamed at the top of his lungs.  I think she was maybe highlighting the fact that she also felt like screaming?  Not sure, BUT I do know that following that I managed to go down the rabbit hole that IS Tik Tok.  Wow.  Wow.  Wow.  There are just some truly random stuff on there and I don't think all of it was put up due to extreme coronavirus boredom (which still wouldn't be an excuse).  There was some stuff I just wish I hadn't seen, and alas, much of it was by adults not teens.  At least teens can blame their youth.  A solid 45 minutes of my life that I'm not getting back.  Big sigh.

Looking forward to Sunday when I'm technically allowed to be even lazier.

Signed, LV.  {lv}

Can't Blame Corona

I blame the coronavirus for the fact that I woke up this morning convinced it was Thursday, but really it was Friday.  It was not a good feeling.  I blame coronavirus for all kinds of things right now, BUT I can't blame coronavirus for the following.

For months now John  and I have been talking about our 25th wedding anniversary, which is coming up on March 30th.   We had all kinds of plans originally.  Maybe we'd go back to our honeymoon destination (Ireland).  Or maybe we should do a bonding yoga retreat together?   We brainstormed matching tattoos, or maybe having a big dinner party.  Recently with the state of lockdown, we realized none of those things would happen so we came up with brand new indulgence.  Let's get a Peloton.  YES,  it's expensive, but after all it's a big anniversary and this will be something we can both use a ton (probably the kids too).  OK, done, we have a plan!  We ordered the Peloton and were super excited.  Then I got on the phone with my best friend who I've known since I was 13.  I told her what we had bought for our "big" anniversary, and her response?  "Uhm, you were married in 1996, I'm pretty sure it's your 24th anniversary."  

Turns out she is right.  Yep, for whatever reason, I have no idea why, both John and I were absolutely convinced that it was our 25th.  Yeah, for real.  I can't blame coronavirus for my bad math or poor memory.  Darn.

Hope everyone is keenly aware that tomorrow is Saturday--it's the weekend!  Have fun!

Signed, ME {lv}

Do Nice Things

I can only speak for me but I've been pretty consumed with myself and my family lately. Everyone is busy stock piling food (and apparently toilet paper), and safe guarding themselves and family members against getting sick.  Couple that with social distancing and orders to "stay put", and we're not in the best position or mental state to be thinking outside of our immediate circles.  People feel closed off, they are sheltering in.  This won't last forever, but we need to find ways to thrive during this, not just survive.

Yesterday Amanda told me she baked sugar cookies and made 7 colors of frosting to make "cookie decorating care packages" to leave on the doorstep of her friends with children.  How cool is that?  It was a good reminder that NOW is the perfect time to do random acts of kindness for people we love.  Everyone is feeling stressed right now, and on edge, so how wonderful would it be to get a box of cookies on your doorstep?  Or get a package in the mail with a new water bottle, cosmetic case, or cute tee (we can't do the cookie thing, but Melange can help with the others).  

Today Amanda talked about her deep, DEEP frustration at not being able to find split peas ANY-where.  Without going into too much detail, it was really important for her to make a special meal that included split pea soup.  When we got off the phone I started digging thru my incredibly inefficient pantry (shelves are WAY too deep), and I managed to find a bag of split pea soup intact.  I immediately packaged it up, printed a shipping label and dumped it into a blue box.  No social contact necessary.  It was a little thing, hardly anything really (I would give Amanda a kidney if she needed it), but the point is that it felt good to just do something for someone that I knew would brighten their day.  These are some turbulent times but if we don't retain some tenderness for others AND for ourselves, then they get way more turbulent and stressful. Tenderness can be sending a box of goodies to a friend, finding yourself a new tee in a color you love, or baking cookies for a neighbor.  It can only make you feel better, and you deserve that.

Signed, ME {lv}

 

New Favorite Quote, Fruit Crisp & Real Big Problem

“We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.”  Pema Chödrön

That quote came from my yoga class this morning and I love it.  It's a variation of Amor Fati, the love of one's fate, and accepting everything in life--good and bad-as part of your miraculous life.   Acceptance vs. resistance because you know it all has to be there. Part of what lifts me up when I have tough days is just the reminder that you have to have space to accept it all, not only the good stuff, but the incredibly difficult stuff too.   I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I'm so grateful for yoga.  I continue to do my 10 sun salutations each morning and I think it really IS changing my life just a bit

I also made a glorious fruit crisp today (apple and rhubarb which I randomly saw at the grocery store and decided to grab--I use to have it a lot as a child).  I made it vegan and gluten free, but it tastes great so I don't think it's going to keep my family members from eating it which is a bummer.  Usually all I have to say is "it's gluten free and vegan" and they clear out, but this turned out TAAAA-sty.  I felt like getting dressed and making a fruit crisp qualifies me as having a very productive today.

But here's the REAL catastrophe that gripped my children today.  Around 5:30 p.m., as we were cooking dinner, the electricity went off.  John and I were in the kitchen together and used our phones to check the utility website to confirm indeed, there was a power outage to 3200 people and estimated time of fix was 8:30 p.m.  Within minutes the kids realized that they had no internet, so it was like consecutive screams of terror.  Apparently school being closed, us being quarantined, no contact with friends or grandparents...none of that scared them like this.  You would literally think the zombie apocalypse WAS starting from their exaggerated, "wwwwhhhhhatttttt IS hhhhaaappppppeeennnnniinnnnnng????!!!!"  

I had some very concerning questions asked during this time that made me think I needed to start home schooling asap..."does the t.v. still work?"  was one such question. We were without power for exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes and it was as close to a crisis as we've been in a LONG time.  When it went back on it was like they had been provided food after not eating for two weeks.  

Note to self, make sure my kids have a little perspective and that we schedule an electricity free weekend in nature this summer.  Actually, that sounds horrible.  Scratch that.  Instead, note to self.....buy back up generator. 

Signed, ME {lv}

Words to Ponder

Amanda forwarded me this quote, "We judge ourselves by our intentions, and others by their actions". I've been pondering that all day because it's SO TRUE, and such a good reminder!

I also have been pondering the offering from my online yoga this morning, "when you feel a storm rising within you, treat yourself gently". I thought this was perfect, since we're all riding the waves and storm right now, and it's so important to treat ourselves gently (and others too of course).  

I missed my old schedule ALL day today, so most of my day consisted of trying to manage my storm by giving myself a break. I told Amanda that I even missed the stuff in my schedule that I normally would complain about relentlessly.  That says a lot.  

What I can say positive is that I am loving on the new Sarah Liller short sleeve sweatshirt because I'm currently (and for as long as I can remember) obsessed with layering long sleeve tees under short sleeve tees or sweatshirt.  Anyone remember the days of C & C tees? Yep, I still think back with fondness. I loved layering those. I still layer anytime I can, it always feel sporty and fun to me. This SL top is cute solo (love the detailing on the shoulders), but ALSO cute with a long sleeve tee layered underneath.  

Signed, ME {lv}

What Day Is It? & What To Do When There Is Nothing To Do

I'm about to enter that weird state of mind where you stop being hyper aware of days/dates/time.  I just realized that I have not used my calendar for over a week.  I'm a slave to my calendar in ordinary times, and not in the negative way it sounds, but in a nice, comfortable, co-dependent way.   I have a bullet journaling type calendaring system that literally includes everything for the day (including routine things that I do every day but I put them on the list because I love to check stuff off).  Haven't used it in a week.  I saw its bright yellow cover in my office today and I felt a pang of sadness.  Poor yellow calendar, all neglected with days and days just sitting there, unstructured.  Today could have been Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday....it would hardly make a different.  Weird.

Because the current state of things is dragging out past a comfortable vacation-ish type situation, I'm starting to realize I need a list of things to do when there is nothing to do (and that I would probably not do otherwise).  So here goes:

1.  Clean Microwave.  Our microwave is hidden under a counter behind a door which means it's not used all that much, mostly by the kids, and is thoroughly disgusting.  Like frat house gross.  I only noticed it recently, then I ignored it. 
2. Clean out beauty drawer.  I'm notorious for holding on to things that are way too old, or that I'm never going to use.  Am I going to use the weird collagen cream that came in a syringe that I bought last year in Thailand for $2?  I'm guessing that I'm never going to us that.
3. Clean the vents in the house.  Never done it, probably should.  Include dryer vent.
4. Clean out the sock basket in the laundry room that currently holds 500+ random socks.
5. App clean my phone.  I could erase a LOT of apps.
6. Podcasts.  I go thru stages and it's been awhile since I listened to any.  Want to catch up on 10% Happier and Modern Love.
7. Clean the throw rugs with the upholstery cleaning machine I bought and have only used 3 times.
8. Go crazy on some self-care love.  Dry brushing, hair masks, micro needling....bring it all on because I've got time.
9. Make photo books of the kids for the last 7 years.  I'm behind, really behind.
10. Watch the academy award winners from 2019.  I don't think I saw any of them!

Might as well make myself useful by tackling some things on this list.  Who knows, maybe I'll clean my house vents, noticed the copious amount of Milo fur in them, and save myself from a house fire down the road (can fur balls catch on fire in vents??)   Here's to marking things off the random "to do" list.  

Signed, ME {lv}

Living In The Now

I'm trying to work on things to keep me de-stressed.  It's way too easy to let the news sweep you away, and the fear of the "what if" sweep you away.  Share your little de-stressing techniques with us, we can all use them.

 After I did my yoga class this morning online (with my favorite guru teacher), my big takeaway was that even during all of this, we have to be asking ourselves, "what am I doing today to push myself towards who I want to be and how I want to live".  There is no "pause" button on life while a disaster happens.  This is still life happening and we all still need to focus on the NOW.  No, none of us have days that look like we thought they would look a month ago, but they are what they are, so how can we find joy, satisfaction and hope from them despite everything?  

That's my goal.  It's not easy though, I am the first to admit it takes real work on my part NOT to dive into panic and media overload.  But what if today was our last day?  Or tomorrow?  Or this week, or this month?  Do we really want to spend our precious time waiting for "real life to start" while we ooze stress from every pore of our bodies?  Not me.  So today I did my awesome yoga class, suffered thru most of a 20 minute Peloton strength training with John (they are free for 90 days), walked outside, read my book (I'm almost half way thru American Dirt--it's very gripping).  I helped make a big family dinner, called a couple of friends, texted a bunch more, and tried to keep the offering from yoga class in the front of my mind.  

We don't know what will happen tomorrow, or the next.  That's just the fact.  What we do know is that we have right now to do the things that better us, make us happy, make us feel good, and enrich us.   Most of experience is your personal perception of it, some people are eternally optimistic, and some people eternally pessimistic.  I tend to fall in the middle, with a heavy leaning toward optimism.  What I do know is that I can perceive these weeks (maybe months) of changed life as a prison, or I can choose to make them fun in some ways, choose to make them special in some ways, and choose to work on myself, help others and enjoy the things I am able to do.

I'm concentrating on that.

Meanwhile, I've just spilled my tea, which is no doubt going to take HOURS to pull out of my cream and light grey throw rug.  How fortunate I have the time to do that right now.  Silver linings.

Signed, ME {lv}

The Good Things Around Us

In my ongoing efforts to think positively and not get pulled down to the depths with the current state of affairs, I tried some strategic things today.  One, I started my day with my 10 sun salutations and no media afterward for 45 minutes.  This was day #2 and I think this might be the ticket for me....starting out the day without being bombarded first thing.  Much better foundation for the day.

Then I had my latte, and then I did a yoga class online.  Again, that was a pretty good centering thing for me and was better than doing it late in the day I think. It fortified me and gave me strength.

The kids and I took the dog on a walk, and I enjoyed the outdoors for a brief time, and also enjoyed the heart warming signs of togetherness I saw.  I know that this is an incredibly isolating time for many people who might live alone, and my heart breaks for everyone that feels that way right now.  For other people it's a frustrating time because you are now forced to spend SO much time together in a confined space with little to do, BUT on the flip side, it also gives people the time and bandwidth to connect.  I saw, on a Thursday mid-morning mind you, a family taking a walk together, and I saw parents engaged in activities with their kids that ordinarily might take back seat because of time constraints (or jobs of course).  Don't get me wrong, I want job back, but all we can do is enjoy what we do have.

Everyone I saw was keeping a very safe distance from other people, there weren't the groups of young people that I've heard rumor of (although I'm sure that's happening somewhere near me).  What I saw was just a sense of timelessness that really only comes with a shut down like this where there are simply less options, less things to do.  There are no restaurants.  There are no stores to go to.  There are only so many groceries you can buy.  We're all getting our fill of screen time, and there are still a lot of hours in the day to do meandering and unrushed things.  I can't honestly remember the last time I walked the dog with absolutely no agenda afterwards, or set things I have to do.  Romeo and I do it daily, but usually it's after I pick him up from school, and before I pick up his sisters where we have a tight little window of about 35 minutes.   Today we strolled along, me trying to stump him with spelling words, and him content to prep for the imaginary spelling bee.  I did this in attempts to outweigh hours of Fortnite video games by the way

Anyway, I guess my point is that as much as this entire situation is beyond scary in every way (and unwanted in every way), all we can do is take one day at a time, and find beauty in the simple things that ARE happening.  I might not have a store operating right now and all the stresses of that can stack up nice and tall, but what we do have are wonderful emails from friends and customers, little notes, or even just seeing a name of someone we know and love on a web order makes us happy.  It's not about anything more than being happy for what we have, and the wonderful people we know and the time we get with the people we love.  

Plus, I will also just note that Ava & Lucia have been in sister-fighting mode for months.  It's been bad.  They fight over clothes, over friends.  Pretty much anything (this is the problem with same sex siblings too close in age).  Anyway, the silver lining of this quarantine is that they are so, SO, so bored that they are starting to talk and laugh together again.  Desperate for friend time, they are learning to be friends again.  Silver linings.

Signed, ME {lv}

 

Conscious Uncoupling, Corona Cinnamon Rolls & Sun

I'm consciously uncoupling from the media.  Well, partially uncoupling.  That's right, I'm going Gwyneth Paltrow on the media.  

I started my day with 10 sun salutations, BEFORE I looked at my phone or anything electronic.  I have to admit, it's a horrible habit but the first thing I do every morning is reach over, grab my phone off the charger and read about what is going on in the world.

Not this morning.  This morning I woke up and I thought about what my yoga teacher had said when I was doing my yoga training two years ago.  She said, "wake up and do 10 sun salutations, and I promise you it will change your life."  At the time I didn't do it....not sure why exactly, but I didn't.   Well, I started today, and I can see how it might a actually be if not life changing, adjacent to life changing.  It's essentially 10-15 minutes of deep breathing and meditation, but in an active form that for me feels easier than sitting to meditate in the morning (which I've tried to do many times and the habit hasn't stuck).

After my 10 salutations I resisted phone checking urges, and instead I went downstairs, made my latte, did my normal domestic rounds of picking up stuff in the kitchen, going down to the laundry room etc.  It was a full 30-40 minutes and I still hadn't checked any media and let me tell you, it was amazing.  Then John came downstairs full of media reports and broke the spell.  Then I realized, I'm not going to miss anything if I partially break off from media, because unfortunately everyone else is going to fill me in moment to moment.   What it might do though is quash some of the not so low stress hum that has settled into my brain and I can feel it zapping my strength.  I've got to find a way to be positive more hours of the day than not.

It's was a gorgeous day, the sun was out, flowers were everywhere, and it feels hopeful just to be outside.  Romeo and I walked Milo, and then we came back and made cinnamon rolls for my parents.  But then I had a thought, what if someone in my house is asymptomatic and we make cinnamon rolls and somehow get coronavirus on it??  Is that possible?  Can the corona be baked out of the cinnamon rolls?  So I did some googling, and basically they don't know for sure, but SARS dies off in temps of 160 degrees for 30 minutes.  Plus John said you can't "eat" the virus it'll die, you have to inhale it or touch it to your face/nose/eyes.  So We baked the rolls and then devised a plan to get them on a paper plate and covered with no touching and little exposure to potential airborne bugs.  I'm especially neurotic when it comes to my parents, who fall into that "elderly" category (I'm sure my mom wants to stab someone when they call her elderly), but nonetheless, we've got to be über careful.  Anyway, we dropped off cinnamon rolls, flowers, and a spray bottle of 409 (since it kills bacteria and viruses).  Not the most exciting care package to get, but also not the worst.  We left it on their door step, rang the door bell and dashed.

I did another online yoga class, and another couple walks.  Was very excited that we got in the Féret Parfumeur for my ravaged hands.  They feel dry ALL the time and have that weird feeling that is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I can't wait to lather my digits.

Hope everyone is keeping their spirits up!!

Signed, ME {lv}