Favorites from around the web...

1. What I love about this is that it highlights how something so profound can occur so unexpectedly. I never thought of this part of space exploration before.

2. And to go along with the first one, these are a wonderful look at our world from a rarely seen perspective.

3. I'm not sure what the technology landscape will look like when the Pepper is older, but this is both interesting and disturbing.

4. This is funny because it is true.

5. This actually seems spot on. I'm a 5, D is a 7, the Pepper is a 4.

6. Love Actually is one of our favorite holiday movies, so I'm very tempted to try this.

7. This is such a fascinating phenomenon. It's interesting how these "fads" come and go.

8. This makes me think of how our modern world is changing the natural paths of our environment.

9. I so want to make myself one of these!

10. And while we're not at the pick eater phase, I just know there is truth in this hilarious story.

Photo via. I've always wanted to do my hair pink but now that I have a corporate job it's not really an option.

The art of the imperfect

As a new blogger I'm exploring this new medium and one of the things I think about is what and how much of my life to share. Recent blog posts by Sydney and Joy have me reflecting on this. One of the reasons I decided to blog was to feel part of the community of female bloggers. These posts by fellow moms are a perfect example.

What I got from these posts is that everyone struggles. We may not share all the details of our lives, and we may not talk about the darker times, as those are usually the most intimate. But these other woman have full lives as mothers, wives, friends, daughters, sisters, while also working in one way or another. The same things I try to balance in my life. And of course there is the time we all need for ourselves! There are days when I feel I am succeeding. And there are others when I feel I've gotten things completely wrong. Most days are somewhere in the middle.

I love being a wife to my husband. I love being a mom to my daughter. I hold my friendships very dear. And I value family. I appreciate taking time to myself (something that helps me deal with stress). I also enjoy working and being able to support my family. I try to focus on the enjoyment of these things in the moments I'm in them, and not think about what I'm missing while I'm focused on one and not the other.

When the Pepper was still very little, I spoke to a dear friend recently after I went back to work about the guilt of not being with her more. My friend, another working mom, said that guilt was just going to be part of things now. But, she also assured me that I was doing a great job and that even though I was going to feel guilt, it wasn't something I needed to feel. It was so understanding and accepting and honest. When I have moments of doubt I think back to that conversation, and to all the women struggling to find balance in their lives.

LACMA: An LA favorite

Walking through the Urban Light exhibit

This last weekend we visited one of my favorite places in Los Angeles: LACMA. It's a wonderful museum that has so much to offer, especially for a family with a little one. The Pepper loved it! We started the day with lunch (and drinks) at Ray's, a restaurant and bar with lovely outdoor seating. One of the best parts was that they have lounge seating so we were able to secure a nice big couch for the Pepper to crawl all over and roll-around on. She even flirted with some older boys (5 year olds) that were eating with their family on the other side of the couch.

This installation is something I knew would be fun for everyone. At first the Pepper was a little overwhelmed by being surrounded by all the long yellow things. But she then embraced it and walked all the way through to the other side.

The elevator at the BCAM (modern art wing) of LACMA is pretty amazing. It's huge! And a bit slow. But at least they give you something interesting to look at while you wait.

I'm a Richard Serra fan and it's always a treat to get to walk around this piece. I love that the museum gave it it's own gallery as the it allows you to enjoy the space and movement that Serra was exploring.

After exploring some more galleries we of course had to take a walk under the infamous Levitated Mass. I personally find this piece a little underwhelming but from eavesdropping on other visitors many people do get a thrill from walking underneath such a large suspended object.

It was such a lovely day. And we only experienced a small part! I want to come back for the James Turrell exhibit before it's over, and revisit the Medieval art collection which I haven't see in years. And we didn't have time to visit the Calder sculptures on this trip. But we'll certainly be back soon!

My thoughts on the "post-baby body"

 

I've seen a number of articles on the web lately about post-baby bodies. There seems to be a trend of woman posting their amazing looking post-baby bodies, and then a wave of discussion about if it's fair or if it's fat-shaming. I don't know how I feel about the trend. But I can share how I think about the female body during the changes it goes through when creating, birthing, and then nurturing a baby.

The way the body handles pregnancy and then post-partum differs for everyone. There really are 2 factors that contribute: genetics and lifestyle. One you have no control over, the other (to be honest) you have minimal control over once you also have a baby to take care of. I suppose medical issues would be considered a 3rd factor though not having experienced that I won't touch on it. To speak to genetics...

What determines success?

I enjoy reading the Free Range Kids blog written by Lenore Skenazy. While I try to to subscribe to one parenting philosophy, I like a lot of the principles of Free Range Kids. It's basically anti-helicopter parenting. It's about trusting your kids abilities, and not letting fear dictate how we parent. It's about teaching kids responsibility and self reliance. I feel I was raised this way and some of my fondest memories are of when I was alone and exploring. The Pepper is still young so I can't say yet how I'll feel as she gets older, but I will try to hold onto these principles and help them guide the choices I make as her parent.

This recent post on Lenore's blog caught my eye. A woman was questioning her free range parenting choices. She seemed to feel that kids who were helicopter parented were "succeeding" over her kids. Getting better grades, getting into good colleges, getting jobs. This questioning distressed me and I was prompted to add a comment which Lenore highlighted in it's own post today. What I wrote was:

Discovering blue cheese

I've never been a blue cheese fan. But lately I've discovered that even if it's not something I enjoy on it's own, it's a wonderful addition to a recipe. It adds a great little tang. Plus, it's always nice to do something a little different.

Favorites from around the web...

1. These kids portraits are beautiful. I love the simplicity of incorporating flowers.

2. This reminded me how much I love the movie Good Will Hunting.

3. I wonder what modern day derby dolls would think of this.

4. As an Art History major, I thought these were funny and also sort of accurate.

5. I normally don't go for this sort of thing, but this had me laughing out loud. His laugh is so genuine!

6. So intrigued by this that I went out and bought one. I love the look of lipstick but find it to hard to maintain. Maybe this will be my answer!

7. My mom is from Zimbabwe so I appreciate this refresher!

8. This is a wonderful way to have architecture interact with the vastness of the desert.

9. This plant (and story!) would be a nice addition to our home. I have to see if I can find any in LA.

10. Yummy. And fun!

Photo via. How I felt after a wonderful 4 day holiday.