nina turns 40

reason #29 why dark chocolate is better than milk chocolate:

the kidlet doesn't like it, which means when it's in the house, it's all mine

lost in translation

Just when I thought she had stopped blogging and I was sadly considering removing her from my blogroll, Gail Armstrong of Open Brackets is back with a fine post about raising your children in a foreign culture. If you haven't discovered this gem of a blog, please go visit. Although a large part of my enjoyment of her writing comes from a shared love of a language and a culture that is not my own, her posts are so good, her voice so unique, that even if you're happily xenophobic, I promise you'll enjoy yourself.

love/hate

I have a love/hate relationship with Fall. I love these muted misty mornings that open up into golden afternoons filled with shimmering red leaves and a quality of light that makes me wish I could paint. I hate the encroaching darkness that makes it harder and harder to wake up in the morning, and cuts my evenings short. It is this way every year. I get an undeniable sense of excitement and newness right around the time that school starts, followed closely by an aching for the Summer which seemed so endless back in June. I love celebrating my birthday, and that of my aunt and grandmother, in October, but I hate how quickly the holiday season follows, with its busyness, expense and forced jocularity. Every year I am taken aback at how utterly beautiful the Fall is, and not surprised at all by the downward tug of my mood. I don't consider myself to suffer from SAD, I think it is natural that my body and mind want to follow the quieting of the earth, but I always feel that during the time between the end of Daylight Savings Time and the Winter Solstice I am simply waiting, waiting for that axis to tilt.

organic bliss

After going far too long without grocery shopping, much less being anywhere near a natural foods market, the kidlet and I finally made our way to the brand spanking (and we like spanking) new Co-op in Fremont. I was giddy with excitement as I cruised the aisles. Look! Tom's of Maine dental floss! Joy! Organic botanicals shampoo! So much fresh, beautiful, did I say organic?, produce! We got pears, we got plums, we got grapes, canteloupe, apples, red peppers, and kale (some people think kale is yucky, it is not--chard is yucky). We got soy milk, we got tofu, we got hazenuts in bulk, we got half n half, we got Scharffen Berger, we got deli food! We got so much stuff that I could barely push the cart for all its bountiful heaviness. I was filled with happiness, and barely blinked when the large sum of money required to purchase all this stuff was relayed to me. One must have groceries in one's house, afterall. Then came the Hauling of the Stuff into the Apartment. This sounds easier than it is. One of the slight disadvantages to urban living is the fact that poor folks like moi must park on the street, and therefore in order to Haul the Stuff into the Apartment, I have to pull up along the curb in the "no parking" zone that is kinda in front of the house, put on my flashers, quickly unload our bounty onto the sidewalk, make several trips back and forth to the apartment carrying heavy bags, leave said bags on floor of living room, lock the apartment back up, run back to the car and go park it legally somewhere, walk back to the apartment, and THEN put all the damn groceries away. Is it any wonder I only do this every so often?

notes to self--reminders

1) blogging about a love affair will always lead to something unexpected--even long after the affair is over

2) having regular readers makes you happy, and grateful

3) married men, no matter how sexy, charming, smart, funny, etc. are OFF LIMITS

4) putting the kidlet's artwork in the recycle bin after he's gone to bed will usually be discovered

5) drinking red wine and not eating much in the way of dinner will make you grumpy, sleepy, achy, and probably a couple other seven dwarvish things the next day.

6) blogging from work does not help you shorten your "to do" list, nor lessen the chances that you might have to come to the office on the weekend

blogo ergo sum

I'm having a sort of blogistential crisis. I'm beginning to feel like putting down the minutiae of my everyday existence is making for a rather dull blog. Now that the major drama that was my personal life has simmered down, there's not much story to what goes on around here. Bigger themes and longer posts have been percolating in my head, but I'm frustrated by lack of time to really let them develop and to shape them into something coherent and entertaining. I'm also thinking of coming out and blogging under my own name--last name and all. Plus, nina is about to turn 42, so the title is becoming irrelevent. I'm no longer feeling like someone in her 30's who just happens to have 40 years under her belt. I'm solidly in my 40's and I'm digging it more than I ever thought I would.

Bottom line is that I won't stop blogging, I'm just not sure what form it may take from here on out. Do stay tuned.

booty

Yesterday was Talk Like A Pirate Day. I have no idea where this fine tradition comes from, nor am I too terribly sad that I didn't participate in any way, shape, or form. The kidlet has a thing for pirates these days, I got him a lego-like plastic pirate ship for his birthday last year that he is just now starting to play with regularly, and he even uses an English accent--though not really pirate talk per se--when he plays with it. So, even though he doesn't understand all of it, and it has almost no pictures in it, I am reading to him from Treasure Island every night before bed. It's fun since I have never read it (even though the copy I'm reading was mine as a girl), and a much more engaging tale than most of his story books. I'm frustrated that he's reading at quite an advanced level (yesterday he asked me after seeing a a label on something, "mom, what does 'waterproof designs' mean?) and in kindergarten they're focusing this week on the sound of the letter B. Aaaaaargh!

i'm back

I have cooked with gas many times, on everything from a two burner portable stove in Mexico, to big commercial ovens in professional kitchens, to outdoor propane grills. Like most cooks, I prefer it, and I am therefore familiar with putting a match to gas and watching it flare. However, I am sitting here freezing my tootsies off right now because the pilot light on my gas heater went out and I can't figure out how to get it lit. The warning stickers all over the damn thing (in lieu of good instructions) aren't helping me feel very confident about it either. There's supposed to be some combustion chamber door that I take off to find the pilot itself, but I see no door. There are some valves that look like they might be the place to light, but when I press the button to release the gas and hold the match there, nothing--just that ominous sound of the gas coming out and me there with the match wondering when it's all gonna blow. The kidlet poking his head in there only adds to the tension. Normally I wouldn't even think of using the heat this early in the season, but Summer has done picked up her skirts and run off with the milkman or someone and it's cold in this ground floor apartment.

Sorry I haven't posted much of late. It's been an incredibly stressful time for me, but I'm starting to feel more like myself. I spent several hours with my best girl S. yesterday, saw Maria Full of Grace, and as always these days marvel at how we went from two wild women world travelers to such busy mommies who barely get to spend any time together anymore. I also had an unexpectedly lovely day today, ended up here enjoying one of the best IPA's I've ever had--nicely hopped but not overly bitter and with a bright apricot fruitiness to it.

Someone's channeling Goldsworthy

I'm too tired and stressed to write much, so here's a foto instead. The end is near--the new routine is being established and the craziness seems to be diminishing, so I'll soon be able to focus again on some fun stuff.

nina to the moon

Thanks to a tip from my girl M., I now know that the love of my life is coming to Seattle!