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On this day in 1981 … I was born!

August 9, 2011 by MizMarcelle

Today I entered a new decade of life. Thirty. The big 3-0. Over the proverbial hill – though more hills await in ten, twenty, thirty more years – and am I any older or wiser? I never thought I would have a problem with aging, at least not this early in the game. Well, I can’t really say that I do have a problem. I feel like my life is pretty much what I had hoped it would be by this age: marriage, motherhood, and the end of my graduate studies in sight. That said, I would like to think that I could manage to live to the age of 90, in which case I’d have to live my entire life over – twice! - before I die. So … that’s a comfort.

30 things I’ve learned by the age of 30-

  1. Books make great companions.
  2. We all love at least one asshole. Try not to love two (or more) assholes.
  3. Don’t let above-mentioned asshole define you. In fact, don’t let anyone else define you.
  4. If you must make mistakes (and you will) LEARN FROM THEM!
  5. Spend time alone and get to know yourself.
  6. Going to Disneyland alone is amazing!
  7. Positive thinking manifests positive energy which manifests positive results. The same applies to negative thinking – so don’t go there!
  8. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Seriously.
  9. Don’t lend friends money. It just ends badly, even if you happen to get the money back (and sometimes you don’t). No friendship needs that kind of strain.
  10. Get EVERYTHING in writing. Before it happens. (see #9)
  11. It’s OK to dump toxic people. (see #7)
  12. Other people will have opinions of you, much like you have opinions of them. Guess what? It’s none of your business what they think of you.
  13. Massage is a great gift … receive it often.
  14. Spend time to experience a bit of life before you decide what you want to do with the rest of it.
  15. Life is long enough that you can be more than one thing, but short enough that you need to get to it already.
  16. Hugging trees is fun!
  17. Bodies are amazing, versatile, and can endure a hell of a lot.
  18. Travel.
  19. Keep learning. Teach yourself to do things.
  20. Go outside your comfort zone.
  21. Breath deeply.
  22. Eat a lot of greasy carbs before a night of heavy drinking.
  23. Sunscreen works!
  24. Love is going to hurt some of the time, so find someone who is worth hurting for.
  25. Food is medicine.
  26. If you ever think to yourself “Oh, so-and-so seems like a great person, but I’d hate to be on his/her bad side!” you should get away from that person AS FAST AS YOU CAN! Avoid those relationships.
  27. Nature can and will heal you, if you let it.
  28. It’s okay to say “I don’t know”.
  29. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Be gentle with yourself.
  30. I know what I know. I know that there are things I don’t know … but I have yet to comprehend all the things I don’t know I don’t know.

Posted in blog, writing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments »

May 15, 2011 by MizMarcelle

The Misty May Moon

Misty May Moon

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Taking the Real Food Challenge

April 29, 2011 by MizMarcelle

Our family has been participating in a local CSA program since August 2010 – not very long, but long enough to know we love doing it! We do get a lot of food, and there are weeks when I feel pressured to use it all (I mean, how many butternut squash is too many? I’d say seven- that’s how many we got this winter. SEVEN!), but now that little O is starting to eat solids it is even more important for us to be eating real food at every meal. I will admit that I don’t eat real food all the time. Some weeks are better than others, and a lot of it depends on my mood and energy level and motivation. And then there is the addiction factor- I know a lot of people have been throwing around the word “addiction” lately (“I’m totally addicted to Facebook!”, or “He’s addicted to music”, etc), but I think addiction can be recognized as something that creates an adverse physiological response when you don’t have it any more. I’m not talking about something you need, like water, (because yes, you will absolutely have an adverse physical reaction if you don’t consume water), but things we don’t need: sugar, fat, salt, caffeine, etc. I LOVE sugar … and fat … and salt … and caffeine. In fact, on my best (worst) day, I can have a soy caramel frappaccino and french fries and I feel that all is good with the world. Until about an hour later when my stomach starts to turn and I feel pretty shitty, and I get grouchy. On the days I don’t have these things I get a headache, and I’m grouchy. It sucks to be grouchy.

I think one of the coolest things about my husband is that he is a little bit competitive. Not in a douchey way, but in a fun way- this is a guy who will challenge me to rock-paper-scissors to do even the most mundane of tasks. We have found that the best way to motivate each other is to make is a challenge, put a little wager on it, and publicly shame each other when we slip up! That is why I’m writing this actually- we decided that we are going to take on a Real Food Challenge.

There is an awesome blog, 100 Days of Real Food, all about a family who – you guessed it – took a pledge to eat only real, minimally processed foods for 100 days. These are my kind of people! Part of their mission is to inspire people to take a 10 day pledge to do the same- eating real food. Sam and I are signing up! Starting May 1, we are eating real food. I hope to continue past 10 days; actually, it would be great to do 100 days, or even a year, but we’ll start small.

O is now eating almost everything we give him and trying to grab food off of our plates; I don’t want him to be a chicken nugget baby, I want him to have real food. We are really doing this for him.

Posted in baby, blog, cooking, CSA, food, I accept your challenge, local eating, Real Food Challenge, recipes, seasonal eating | 1 Comment »

New Blog Home

April 28, 2011 by MizMarcelle

It has been a quarter of a year since I last wrote. I’m afraid I have writer’s block, but I know that to write again I must simply sit down and get to it.

I have much to write about, but all in good time. I do not want to write about how I am too busy to write [sad but true], or how hard school is [I'm surprised I passed my classes!], or how little spare time I have with a little munchkin [babies are hard work!] so I’m getting it all out now. Just know that this is my reality. I will try not to be too whiney!

As my long time reader(s) may notice, I have moved the blog to it’s current location- everything is here, but the old posts have some strange formatting. I am hoping to write more, expand my writing, and maybe get it out there into the world a bit more than just my close friends and family … it’s a bit of an experiment for me.

Peace!

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>Wordless Wednesday

December 8, 2010 by MizMarcelle

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“One for each night, they each shed a sweet light
to remind us of days long ago …”

Posted in photography, wordless wednesday | 1 Comment »

>Attack of the Laundry Monster

December 5, 2010 by MizMarcelle

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Before I was pregnant I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers. My very good friend Tiffany was using them with her son (and later her daughter), and I had all these wonderfully noble aspirations. After that second line showed up on my pee-stick test that was one of the first real parenting decisions I made. I will be a cloth diaper mama! “They’re eco-friendly!” I said. “I can air dry!” I cried. “I am totally fine doing x loads of diaper related laundry every week!” I dutifully researched the different types, made my online registry, and had a very tidy stack of thrice washed organic cotton pre-folds neatly stacked in the nursery.
And then reality hit.
The “nursery” – once a clean haven where my pregnant self could sit, lazing about in the rocking chair, fantasizing about my soon-to-be son – has transformed into the Laundry Holding Room. The only thing that is neatly organized are the piles of dirty clothing, separated by color and texture – because I hate washing jeans with towels, and towels with shirts, and shirts with sheets. We chose our apartment largely on the fact that a washer/dryer was available in unit. In fact, I had lived in a different apartment in the same complex very recently, and the washer/dryer there was new and efficient. Naturally, our current appliance is neither new nor efficient. It is a single joint unit, regrettably small, and can either wash OR dry, but not both at the same time (!); the dryer has no adjustable heat settings. All this boils down to one simple fact: it takes four hours to dry a load of diapers. FOUR HOURS! The time I would spend on keeping up with our day to day laundry is now spent largely on diapers; not to mention every other thing I have to do.
I am now having a bit of a crisis of my faith in the cloth (diapers that is). I know that cloth is best when you consider lack of chemicals and landfill, but cloth can use a lot of water and energy to clean. Doing diapers takes up so much of my precious laundry time (again FOUR HOURS just to dry!), and I can’t imagine it getting easier once I return to my life as a full time grad student next month. We have been using disposables (7th Generation, the best disposables we can afford), and I feel terribly guilty; too guilty. It’s unwarranted!
I realized it’s not just the feeling that I’m punking out on my cloth commitment; I feel guilty because I feel like I’m being less of a mother! However, I am learning that I, as a parent, will feel passionately about things that will not always be feasible. I will not always have the time, resources, money to do everything exactly the way I want, but I will always have the time to love my child, to listen to him, to cuddle him, and talk, and help him when he needs me. I will make that time for him; that’s what makes a good mama. Besides, he’s much more lovable than a stinky cloth diaper.

Posted in attachment parenting, cloth diapers, natural parenting | 3 Comments »

>Wordless Wednesday

December 1, 2010 by MizMarcelle

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Thankful for Pie
A Feast!
Carpinteria at Sunset

Tidepool at Sunset

Posted in beach, camping, food, photography, wordless wednesday | Leave a Comment »

>Frustration!!

November 11, 2010 by MizMarcelle

>I’m very annoyed at my internet service at the moment, because it’s not working AGAIN; it’s been down all week! We are having the same problem as last time and need someone to come out to service it, but the company won’t send one. We are going to get a different provider (cheaper too!), but it will be a few days at least. Hence, my blogging has been suspended; I’m using my mom’s computer right now. I am frustrated that I’ve fallen behind on my NaBloPoMo goal, but I intend to start over when this problem gets sorted out!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

>Identity Crisis of the Blogger

November 4, 2010 by MizMarcelle

>When I began this humble weblog, I was just starting graduate school to study Traditional Chinese Medicine. I thought it would be a good exercise writing about my experiences as a returning student. Well, I was wrong! Let me clarify: I love my blog, and I love writing, but writing about school is just, well, boring. TCM is a rich and interesting subject, but as a first year student I lacked the scope of understanding to concisely describe my studies. Talking about school with my friends caused many an eye to glaze over as I continually interrupted myself to define foreign terminology, and, let’s face it, most people don’t really care about yin/yang theory. As the time passed, I began posting my thoughts on all other subjects, sometimes links and funny videos, and sometimes nothing at all (especially during midterms!).

Now, I have reached a new phase of my life, motherhood. I find my Google reader is full of the so called “mommy blogs”, I have become passionate about breastfeeding and babywearing, and I like to write about why I enjoy natural parenting. I never envisioned this space as a mommy blog, and it’s really not; it’s an eclectic collection of everything I find interesting or important, and I like it that way!
[NaBloPoMo - Day 4]

Posted in attachment parenting, baby, babywearing, blog, nablopomo, natural parenting, writing | 4 Comments »

>Wordless Wednesday

November 3, 2010 by MizMarcelle

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1st Wedding Anniversary Roses

Posted in photography, wordless wednesday | 3 Comments »

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