Oh my gosh! Double Birthday!

So last week was my first run-in with the double birthday week yet.  My daughter's birthday (she turned 1!) is the day after mine, so we had two separate parties, both being fairly large.  It's good to have friends who will come over for two very busy, very hot parties. 

Being 7 months pregnant with a now-one-year-old has shown some different and interesting challenges.  These challenges have particularly affected my brainspace lately.  My husband threw me a surprise birthday party.  His ruse was that we were going to dinner and my mom was going to watch the baby.  We went to drop off the baby, and "surprise!"  I was surprised and mostly confused.  I thought, "how rude, doesn't my mom know we are going to dinner?"  Then after a long pause, I thought to myself, "no, I think we will stay for this nice party."  It took me 10 minutes to realize that my husband had been in on it the whole time!  Little to no oxygen is getting to that so-called intelligent brain of mine...

Saturday, we threw the baby a birthday party, and it was so hot.  Needless to say, I checked out right before the party started...  Like I said, it's good to have such great friends who not only put up with me but also help out when I need it.

Find your Qi-cken

I really love cooking.  It provides me a feeling of calm when I am in the kitchen creating a tasty meal.  When the food has come out delicious beyond how I imagined, I feel like there is magic in my hands.  I have a feeling of communion with the food.

I think that is part of why living with my in-laws was so difficult.  In someone else's house, the kitchen is not my own.  I had to work within the unknown boundaries of another.  As my mom likes to say, "there can never be more than two boobs in a kitchen."  (which is either one woman or two men...)  There is this unspoken, primal territorial tension between women when cooking that transcends cultural and language lines.

But I digress.  There is so much uncontrollable change going on in this time of life that it is more important than ever to have a creative outlet.  Creativity, by definition, is controlled by you.  Whether it is cooking, writing, coding, or creating workouts, there needs to be some sort of outlet that makes you feel "in the zone."  Be careful not to let it become an escape from the scary, tumultuous real life, but keep a balance of being stressed out and feeling creatively accomplished.

While you may not be able to control the uncontrollable, it is important to revel in those things that make you feel good.  Be well!

Heather Mae

It has been a Heather Mae weekend.  She had two shows, and I really enjoyed both of them.  Her project, "A Year of Songs" was showcased in both of her shows.  Her voice is so soulful and warm and the songs she writes are just so passionate I couldn't help but stop and listen and just feel it. She is going on tour this summer and I can't wait to see her play again.

Her project is displayed here.  http://www.heathermaefoard.com/fr_intro.cfm

Enjoy!