Favorites from around the web...

1. I was a late Veronica Mars fan, but having discovered it last year I am so excited for this.

2. As a non-tech person who entered the technology field I can attest to this. Don't be scared!

3. I absolutely love this. Huge smile on my face.

4. And I absolutely hate this.

5. Since I'm trying to get my skin in order I'm interested to try this.

6. Loved seeing LA get a out shout-out here. All the restaurants they mention are in walking or biking distance from us.

7. This is a haunting true story.

8. I've been so interested in gender and how we think of it as a society, but I always think about it from the girl perspective. I'm glad this documentary is looking at it from the other side.

9. This is my dream house.

10. Mind blown. Didn't even realize I was supposed to do this.

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Hulu Recommendations

D and I don't have cable so we watch everything through streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, or by buying them a la cart on iTunes. I've never actually done the math to see if this is is more or less affordable than actually paying for cable and a DVR. But, it does mean we don't have to deal with commercials for the most part which is something we both love (the exception is Hulu Plus, damn those commercials!!).

It also means that if we're in the mood to veg a little we can't just channel surf, so I end up discovering some nice little shows. One I love is a show on Hulu called Whites (I think you can watch the first episode on Hulu but need Hulu Plus to watch the rest). It's a British comedy so there are only 6 episodes in the first season. But I love it for the dry humor and sweet sentiments. And I love the cast and the actors. Roland is perfect as someone you both love and hate, there is poor sweet Bibs, and Caroline played by an actress I loved from a Netflix streaming favorite. I so hope they do another season!



For the parents out there I also recommend Mother Up. Since it's an adult cartoon it's very tongue in cheek. Eva Longoria voices the worst mother in the world, an ex-music exec forced to move to the suburbs after a scandal. She of course hates it and clashes with the local mother's and the school and wreaks havoc wherever she goes. I think Longoria strikes the right tone and brings the needed humor to allow you to enjoy all the awful things you watch her do.



And the one I most recently started watching is Misfits. Another British comedy (maybe more of a dramedy?), but there are a few seasons so there are lots of episodes you can binge watch. This one is a bit dark and at times explicit. But I've also found it at times hysterical. The character Nathan played by this actor is a total jerk but oddly endearing and he's come to be my favorite one on the show to watch. And the premise is out there enough that the show can go a lot of places. I'm in the middle of it and i hope it keeps the momentum going.

We all need more poetry in our lives

I do not have enough poetry in my life. There have been lovely but rare times when Drew and I have decided to pull out a poetry book on a lazy day, and it's always a rewarding experience. Reading poems out load can be interesting, emotional, insightful, and can spur wonderful conversation. But sadly, these days I don't have enough poetry in my life.

Last year my book club did something I highly recommend. One of our members decided that the meeting she hosted would be a poetry meeting. Everyone was asked to bring a poem and then we went around and read them out load and discussed each before going onto the next one. A really wonderful night. And it was so fun to see what the other members chose. One woman read the lyrics to Eleanor Ridby by the Beatles since she felt music was the first poetry that really spoke to her (and the lyrics to that song certainly are haunting). Another woman shared short poems her husband had written. My mother (who is also in the book club) read a poem about Africa that reminded her of her childhood there and brought tears to her eyes. Through sharing poems we ended up sharing personal things about ourselves, often unknowingly. It was beautifully intimate.

The poem I chose was "The Earth" by Anne Sexton. Not sure what it reveals about me but you may have some ideas:

God loafs around heaven,

without a shape

but He would like to smoke His cigar

or bite His fingernails

and so forth.

God owns heaven

but He craves the earth,

the earth with its little sleepy caves,

its bird resting at the kitchen window,

even its murders lined up like broken chairs,

even its writers digging into their souls

with jackhammers,

even its hucksters selling their animals

for gold,

even its babies sniffing for their music,

the farm house, white as a bone,

sitting in the lap of its corn,

even the statue holding up its widowed life,

but most of all He envies the bodies,

He who has no body.

The eyes, opening and shutting like keyholes

and never forgetting, recording by thousands,

the skull with its brains like eels-

the tablet of the world-

the bones and their joints

that build and break for any trick,

the genitals,

the ballast of the eternal,

and the heart, of course,

that swallows the tides

and spits them out cleansed.

He does not envy the soul so much.

He is all soul

but He would like to house it in a body

and come down

and give it a bath

now and then.

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Trying to figure out my skin care routine

Argh. My skin. One of my constant battles. I don't really make New Years resolutions (I prefer to think that any day is a good day to commit to changing my life for the better). But this Janaury I am deciding to commit to figuring out how to improve my skin.

I think one of the problems is I never really learned how to take care of my skin. During my early teenage years I didn't have some of the typical skin issues. And once I got on hormonal birth control my skin was great without much effort. But in my mid-twenties I decided to get off the hormones, and one of the unfortunate results was my skin exploded in ways I was not ready for. I feel like I've spent years trying to find the right combination of routine and products that will be the magic solution. The challenge is that I also just feel I am a slave to the hormonal fluctuations that happen every month. About two years ago I was actually getting regularly monthly facials, something I thought I'd try in an attempt to improve my skin. Along with some skin care tips she also told me that there sadly is not much one can do about controlling the changes in hormones that effect the skin. I sort of just have to just ride those waves.

But I also have some bad habits I know I need to change. I definitely touch my face a lot and pick at blemishes, something that of course makes the situation worse. So, here are some things I'm going to commit to:

• Reduce the amount of face touching. Seriously!
• Try a new product out for at least a month before changing it. When I read someone else's blog post about the amazing products they use I want to run out and try them. But I need to really give something a try before I decide it's not working.
• Do a face mask once a week (I'm going to try this simple one).

Other things I'm trying is using my relatively new Clarisonic as everyone raves about them. And while time and budget meant I gave up my regular facial visits (I didn't feel they made much of a difference anyway), I'm interested to try an enzyme peel at least once and if it works maybe try working it into the regular routine.

One thing I never expected was how much work it is to maintain one's skin!! Any suggestions are appreciated.

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Getting back into the routine

Wow, 2014 has started fast out of the gate. We saw in the New Year in Michigan and then the next few days were a bit busy as I worked and we prepared to come home. We spent the weekend back in Los Angeles catching up which meant restocking the fridge and working on the baby jet-lag.

But then Monday hit and it was BOOM! Back to the daily routine. That means working, exercising, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. After a few weeks of enjoying being guests at other people's homes having to take part in running my household feels like a shift.

And then there's the usual January work mania. It happens every year so I don't know why I'm surprised. Things are slow over the holidays. Clients go on vacation, everyone takes the holidays off, internally our teams are thin. But all that relaxation gives people time to reflect and put lots of thoughts together on all the things they want to do when they get back. Add that to the sense that people feel like all that time off put them behind, and the eagerness causes a bombardment of work.

So far this week I think both D and I have struggled to not feel overwhelmed with being home and jumping back full into work. I'm hoping by the end of the week we'll have gotten our stride back and everyone will have calmed down a bit. If this week is any hint though 2014 is going to be an exciting year!

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Favorites from around the web...

1. Did you use this over the holidays? We actually bought a DVD a few years ago that did the same thing that we use to warm up our loft over the holidays and it totally works.

2. I found this to be fairly accurate :)

3. I hate to admit that I can relate to this article. Everything in this feed makes me so jealous.

4. D's maternal family is Norwegian and based on what I've learned about Norwegian culture this seems to be on par.

5. This makes my city look good.

6. This quiz was making the facebook rounds before the holidays. But I was so impressed with the results I had to post it. Apparently I clearly talk like I'm from California.

7. If White Christmas is one of your favorite holiday movies I recommend reading this take.

8. I found this to be fascinating.

9. I've been very intrigued by the idea of a stand-up desk. This may be the way to implement it once I get a real home office.
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10. I think these are beautiful. I'd love to see one in person.

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Winter in Michigan

We spent about 3 weeks visiting D's family in Michigan this holiday season. His mom, step-dad, dad, and step-mom live there, along with one of his brothers. Even though everyone isn't in the same city they are close enough to be able to drive in a day. There were a few special things about the trip:

• Grandparent time: I actually didn't take much time off for the holidays, so while I worked the Pepper's grandparents looked after her. We don't see our Michigan family as much as we'd like so it was really nice for them to get to know her and bond a little. The Pepper had so much fun with them and will miss them!
• Cousins: Both of D's brother's and their families came. It was the first time everyone was together since all the little kids were born. Each of D's brother's have a child so we finally had all 3 cousins together. It was fun to see the older boys interact and play together, and it was fun to see everyone be sweet with the little baby Pepper. It also made me appreciate genetics, the Pepper could have easily fit in physically with any of D's brother's families.
• Food and wine: We certainly get fed and eat well when we go to Michigan. D's dad and step-mom hunt and fish, so we each got fresh Lake Michigan salmon, elk, venison, even some bear meat chili! Yum! And of course it being the holidays there was plenty of wine and other cocktails to enjoy.
• Winter: It was certainly a white Christmas for us. There was lots of lovely snow and cold chilly days. Being from California I enjoy the short bits of winter I get to enjoy when we visit family. And luckily we left right before things got real and the arctic wind chills hit! It was fun to take the Pepper for walks in the woods in the snow. Winter scenery can be so beautiful and peaceful.

I hope the grandparents pay us some visits here in California this year.  But also looking forward to our next Michigan Christmas.