sun on the carpet

The world has been moving way too fast lately, and I feel as though I haven't been able to catch up. The fall was hard. The spring was harder. And now, we're headed into summer, which I hope will just be nothing but lovely.

In these moments, I tell myself to breath. And, I hold tight to the little things.

Boy Beeton and I stumbled upon this Little Free Library on the way to a birthday party. These gems are scattered throughout our neighborhood, but this one was particularly sweet.

Mr. Beeton was reading poems by Charles Bukowski. I'd never read Bukowski, but I definitely had a clearly formed image of him from my graduate school days. I opened the book to this poem, which took me by surprise. Completely at odds with the poet I thought I knew and so expressive of my own feelings about parenthood. 

Marina
majestic, magic
infinite
my little girl is
sun
on the carpet-
out the door
picking a flower, ha!
an old man,
battle-wrecked,
emerges from his
chair
and she looks at me
but only sees
love,
ha!, and I become
quick with the world
and love right back
just like I was meant
to do.

Keep sweeping,

Martha

Read My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. Watched Carol. Watching Catastrophe. 

boo

2015 shots of Halloween... and an oldie but goodie. "The sun will come out..."

Keep sweeping,
Martha

Read Mary Higgins Clark The Melody Lingers On.

the write stuff

I've been writing most of the afternoon for the first time at my new little space in our office. We cleared out Boy Beeton's nursery a while ago, but this summer we finally got the space in order. The walls are grey; the desk and bookcase are red. The accents are yellow and turquoise. I made an inspiration wall above my desk complete with some paintings from my Nana and Poppop's house, a sweet little drawing by Boy Beeton, my I Love Takoma woodcut, and a framed cover of Good Housekeeping from back in the day (a 40th birthday present from C & A). The black and white photo adds to the romance of the writer's room.

Summer updates and photos to come very soon.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Read Afterbirth by Elisa Albert.

american crime

Mr. Beeton started his first week at Johns Hopkins. That means - for all intents and purposes - I'm doing the stay-at-home mom thing from here until the fall semester starts. Darn, if it isn't hard. Tonight, all I wanted was for everyone to go to sleep so that I could plop myself in front of the television and completely zone out.

I thought I'd watch the first episode of American Crime - a show my students highly recommended. It seemed fitting, given this week's (month's? year's? decade's? century's?) cultural climate and devastating circumstances.

Yesterday, Boy Beeton and I were role playing. He was being Peter Parker to my Mary Jane. In my narrative, Mary Jane's mother heads off the circus so that Mary Jane has to move in with Peter and Aunt May. That's how she and Peter become best friends.

Peter asks me, "Hey, Mary Jane. Is your mom at the circus?"

I respond, "Yes."

Then, he says, "Where's your dad?"

I pause to think - this is a part of the narrative I hadn't yet considered.

Before I can even come up with an answer, Peter says, "Oh... wait. You might have two moms. Maybe both your moms are in the circus?"

He said it with such matter-of-factness in his voice, no hesitation that not all families look alike, that this family structure, different from his own, wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Oh, how I wish that all Americans would embrace Peter's loving acceptance. In his eyes, I saw a small glimmer of what our future could be. Our world could use a little more love and a lot less hate.

Thinking about Charleston tonight.

Keep sweeping,

Martha

Finished reading The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Watched most of Wild.

a wonderfully messy life

I've been reading Katie Roiphe's book In Praise of Messy Lives. I know I'm not supposed to "like" Roiphe, but I love the title of her book. And, since my own life - of late - has felt incredibly messy, I thought it might be comforting to read the words of someone who not only has a messy life but goes so far as to praise it.

The book, which is a collection of previously titled essays, was inspired by an article that Roiphe wrote for The New York Times on Mad Men. It's an interesting read about the phenomenon that is the AMC series, about Roiphe's mother, and about the pursuit of happiness. In reading it, I was struck by the closing passage:

In the 17th century, the metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell wrote, "But at my back I always hear/ Time's winged chariot hurrying near." He also wrote: "The grave's a fine and private place,/ But none, I think, do there embrace." Mad Men seems to be telling us the same thing, in its own stylish, made-for-television way: we are bequeathed on earth one very short life, and it might be good, one of these days, to make sure that we are living it.

Could we use, in other words, in these fine healthy times, just a little of the madness?

My grandmother died this past week. She was 94 years old, and this summer would have been her 71st wedding anniversary to my grandfather. The next day I had to go to New York City for a conference. Before we left, my colleagues/friends and I stopped to take a picture of ourselves at the Don Draper bench near the Time Life building. When I got home, I walked up the stairs, past this fabulous photo of my grandparents, read this chapter in Roiphe's book, and went to sleep.

To me, that's more than a little madness.

Keep sweeping,
Martha

Finished reading Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill.

my five minutes

A student of mine made this little video for a class that she is taking on digital media. I thought I'd share it in case anyone is interested in learning more about my scholarship (or seeing my office).

Keep sweeping, Martha

a portrait of a young girl waiting for a new year

I know this won't solve all my problems. But, right now, it feels like it will.

Keep sweeping, Martha

seven

The date of this post and the state of these flowers should say a little something about life lately around here.

More soon.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Watched Neighbors. Read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman, and Still Life With Breadcrumbs by Anna Quindlan.

life lately

We finally got our dining room painted, and we rehung these shelves so we could showcase this glassware.

While we aren't in preschool yet, we've been enjoying more group activities... soccer, for one. Go Turkeys!

And nature class with the Community School...

Boys in the woods

Friends

And weekly storytime with our favorite librarians at the Takoma DC Library, followed by lunches at Soupergirl. (Of course, that's Boy Beeton's favorite place to eat.)

Lantern, spider, snow globe, and falling down man

And some Halloween decorating...

And so very many good books!

Keep sweeping, Martha

Watched This Is Where I Leave You and The One I Love.

later's better than never

Sheryl Sandberg would not be happy with me.

If she had walked by my house on Wednesday, she would have seen me literally leaning back in my plastic adirondack chair, my feet soaking in a kiddie pool, blowing bubbles like it was my job. Which it kind of is. At least for now.

I'm not sure I care, though.

(By the way, if you work with me, you might want to skip this post. I don't want you to think less of me for leaning back instead of leaning in.)

I first heard about Sandberg and her book from one of my students - an ambitious young woman with a internship in the office of a prominent Congresswoman. When the student enthusiastically explained the premise (her mother had given it to her as a gift), I internally raised my eyebrows. It sounded incredibly problematic for a number of reasons. Sitting there, facing this eager, young undergrad, I suddenly felt very old. I could see my past self in this student, voraciously consuming Sandberg's words as I carefully planned out my post-graduation future. But realistically, from my current perspective as a new mother, trying to balance going back to work with child care, Sandberg's manifesto seemed a bit oversimplified. Perfect for a wide-eyed co-ed. Not so applicable to a thirty-nine year old, first-time mother.

Admittedly, I still haven't read the book (though it is on my "To Read" list), so I could be totally wrong about Sandberg and her advice to young women. But, I have read the criticism, and it resonantes strongly. Elsa Walsh's response in The Washington Post was particularly insightful. At fifty-five, she thinks back on her children's early years and acknowledges while it seems all consuming at the time it's really just a small, wonderful blip on the screen - one that she wouldn't have wanted to miss, leaning in at work. Allison Stevens, who writes for We News, has a similar response to Sandberg; she notes that until domestic work is shared equally amongst partners in a household there's no sense in trying to do it all. You'll just end up more tired, more angry, and more disappointed in yourself.

In her column, Stevens notes that she's "leaning back" - a philosophy which I am readily embracing this summer, even though I have a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that it might be career self-sabatoge. I still have a book to finish. But, I'm wondering now if turning two chapters into two articles would be more realistic. It would give me a lot more time for blowing bubbles, that's for sure.

In any case, I have to make peace with my career decisions this summer and into the future. Every time I think about exchanging an afternoon at the playground with an afternoon in the library, however, the playground always wins.

I keep reminding myself there are so many reasons not to feel guilty about being fully present with Baby Beeton this summer. As Walsh reminds, childhood is fleeting. And, if Baby Beeton ends up being an only, then I'll only have this one summer with a two-year old who finds such pleasure in butterflies, birdies, ice cream, and dancing to "Gangnam Style." Leaning back, in that case, sounds pretty darn good.

Some shots from our summer of leaning back.

A new favorite pastime - washing dishes (i.e. splashing, splashing, splashing!)

Hoops!

Matching shoes

A game of "whack it" - also knows as golf

One lump or two, teddy?

Keep sweeping, Martha 

i went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair

Oh my. Things have been rough at the Beeton household as of late.

Have you ever read this book?

Lately, I feel as though I've been living it. Terrible. Horrible. No good. Very Bad.

If sleeplessness were as compelling a topic for everyone else as it is for me, I'd be on my way to writing my very own saga - think Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey without the vampires or sadomasochism lite. But, unfortunately, tales of 4:45 am awakenings - complete with smiles and the practicing of new words - does not make for riveting drama, beyond the walls of our home, of course.

When Baby Beeton started walking, people told me to relax. Now would be the time that he'd really sleep like a log. He'd be so tired from racing around the house that he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes open come bedtime.

Well, I'm sorry "experienced" mothers. That's not the case at our house. Instead, we've got a wide-eyed baby boy come 1 am, 2 am, even 3 am, awake and ready to start practicing his steps.

It seems as though we have come to a crossroads. Up until this point, we've resisted any kind of sleep training, but it looks like Baby Beeton might need a little coaching in the falling-back-to-sleep-on-your-own department. Both Mr. Beeton and I agree that we want to minimize the crying - for our sake and his - so we'll be trying the go in, soothe, go out method. But we are going to try to stop rocking him until he falls asleep again. It's not doing any of us any good, I'm afraid.

Of course, all this sleeplessness colors each and every day. Forgetting your umbrella, jamming the copier, being completely ill-prepared for class - these all seem so much more catastrophic when you're operating on less than the ideal amount of sleep. (What's ideal you ask? For me, nine hours. Yup. That's how many hours I slept straight each and every night before Baby Beeton arrived. Maybe that's why this has been so tough.) It's hard to take a deep breath sometimes and laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation (having to borrow an umbrella of a student to run across the quad and make copies on the copier that you hopelessly jammed earlier for all your colleagues and which hopefully by now is fixed or you don't have a lesson plan).

Thank goodness for caramel lattes, crazy splashing in the bathtub, the public library, and Ella's pouches. It's the little things that make the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad a little bit better.

That and at least nine hours. Cross your fingers for me.

Keep sweeping, Martha

burning in my heart

For those of you who may not have heard, the DMV area found themselves smack-dab in the center of a heat wave these past few weeks. As a result, it's been too hot to blog. I've started several posts but haven't finished them. Today, however, it's a glorious 75 degrees and cloudy. I'm still recovering, though, so all you'll get from me is a top ten list, some photographs, and a short little video. Enjoy!

Top Ten Ways to Beat the Heat

10. Pick radishes. You've read about our past experiences with container gardening here and with our community garden plot here. Well, I think we finally got it right. We constructed our own little raised garden plots at the side of our house, and we've got radishes!

9. Read Ann Patchett and watch Weeds. No explanation needed.

8. Visit the National Gallery of Art. This D.C. site has lots to offer in a heat wave - air conditioning, gelato, Leo Villareal's Multiverse, and a nearly empty contemporary art gallery where little ones can crawl around until their heart is content.

7. Follow up visit to art gallery with a visit to RDF. After strolling around the art museum, we stopped off at RDF for some hummus, beer, and white sangria. A great halfway stopping point between the museum and the metro.

6. Trek out to Tysons Corner. We window-shopped, played at Barnes and Noble, and dined at Gordon Biersch. Unfortunately, a lot of other people had this same idea. As a result, Tysons Corner wasn't much cooler than our living room.

5. Learn new tricks. We thought we could make this video go viral by replacing our silly jabbering with "I'm so mad at Pepco!"

4. Drink Pimm's Cups. This drink really is the ultimate heat wave drink. Combine a quarter of a cup Pimm's with three-quarters of a cup of ginger ale. Add ice and a slice of cucumber.

3. Make baby-friendly popsicles. There are so many creative sites out there with recipes for popsicles! I made mine with yogurt and frozen blueberries, and I put them in the rocket pop molds that I bought at Whole Foods. Yummy!

2. Make your own country club. Combine one inflatable pool with one goofy grin. What heat wave?

1. Get a haircut. Yup. We finally did it. A few tears were shed (mine, not his), but around these parts, it's a hundred percent cooler.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Finished reading State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Watching Weeds: Season 7. 

Happy day-after-birthday to Fairy Godmother M! We love you lots around here.

good night sleeps

A while back someone I work with wrote me to say that she had googled my name, looking for my email address, and this site came up:

CAROLINE SMITH AND THE GOOD NIGHT SLEEPS

My colleague, who has a baby the same age as Henry (in fact, we delivered in the same hospital and are still wondering how we didn't run into each other in the hallway), thought this search result was hilarious, and I do, too. After all, a good night sleep is all I've been dreaming of this entire past year.

I've been reading Gluten-Free Girl every free minute I get this week. The chapter I'm working on now for my food memoir book is about food blogging, so instead of reading memoirs in hardback, I'm trolling through blog posts, reading about and looking at delicious food.

Revisiting these posts, I realized just the other day, couldn't have come at a better time in my life. It's funny how certain books find you at certain moments of your life.  The Novel. The Bell Jar. Animal Husbandry. These books found me when I needed them. Shauna, the site's author, has a definite passion for life, having nearly lost hers in a car accident and living, painfully, with celiac for a long time. She truly experiences an epiphany upon hearing her diagnosis and promises to live life fully and to truly appreciate it all. Her site is not just yummy; it's uplifting.

I'd like to think that I've been one to carry Shauna's zest for life. It doesn't take much to make me happy. Things like sunshine, cold milk in a mug, purple hydrangeas. But, this past year, I lost some of that. But, I'm getting it back.

And, I know that part of getting it back rests with getting, well, rest. Baby Beeton, as anyone who knows me knows, has not been a great sleeper. He's restless. He's not too hard to get to sleep, but he has had a devil of a time staying asleep. And, since we sit with him before naps and at night until he dozes off, that means a lot of work for us (I know, I know, don't lecture me... drowsy but awake... next one, I promise). It's been a tough year. As someone who was used to getting about ten hours of sleep a night (and not waking up before 8:30 pm), it's even tougher.

But, the past few weeks have been infinitesimally better. Naps are regulating themselves and night sleep has followed. Baby Beeton still wakes up quite a bit, but he'll sleep now from 8:30 pm until 6:30 am or 7 am with relatively little work for us to do during that time. It's made a big difference in the way I see the world, and it's made me realize that nothing lasts forever... even though sometimes it seems like it might. Knowing that one day he'll sleep soundly and consistently has helped me to make peace with the fact that that time isn't quite yet now. But it will be. One day.

So, today, while he napped, I took a break from reading. I took a bath. I had a cold coffee. I watched some bad reality television. I remembered all the little reasons why life is good. Good night sleeps, I'm sure, aren't far away.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Watched Away We Go (again).

tuesdays with

Tuesdays have always held a special place in my heart. My love of Tuesdays started in graduate school when Tuesday night would bring yoga, a trip to a special coffee shop on Main Street to order a latte from one of the two baristas I had a crush on, and end with Gilmore Girls. Then, Tuesdays became about quizzo with a rag tag team of Delawareans. When I moved to D.C., I tried to keep my Tuesdays special, which was easy. In a city this big, you can always find a Tuesday evening yoga class, and without discerning taste, you can usually find a Tuesday night television show to obsess over.

Today feels like one of those Tuesdays. Maybe it's because I got a full six hours sleep last night (thank you, Mr. Beeton!). Maybe it's because I've finally had a significant breakthrough on this book project. Maybe it's because it's May, filled with birthdays and my first Mother's Day. Maybe it's because we have reservations to go to Mintwood for baked Alaska. Maybe it's because I found the perfect birthday gift for Baby Beeton (thank you Young House Love!). Maybe it's because the sun is shining. Maybe it's because I've got bookclub tonight. I'm not exactly sure what it is that's given me this feeling, but I know I want to hold onto it.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Finished reading Richard Russo's Straight Man.

once upon a time

This January, we signed up for Storytime at the Takoma Park (MD) library. It was such fun! And what made it even better was that Mr. Beeton was able to go with us each week since the University of Maryland has a January session. (Grammy joined us one week, too, which was also super exciting.)

Here are a few pictures of our budding bookworm.

Keep sweeping, Martha

dear future martha

When we were visiting family in Chicago at the end of July, K's mom said, "Just wait until three months. Everything changes then." Today I was thinking I should write a note to my future self, detailing what's important to keep in mind when facing life with a newborn. The opening line would be, "Remember what K's mom said. She was so very right."

I can't believe how much things have changed in the last two weeks. When Baby Beeton first smiled, things began to get lighter, easier, and then, lately, things have really settled down. We've gotten into a groove with feeding. I no longer feel constantly stressed about the upcoming meal. He's much, much more active, wildly moving his arms and legs and grinning widely at everything Mr. Beeton, Ella, and I do. Being more active means he's sleeping more regularly. Usually (knock wood), he'll go to sleep between 7-9 pm, sleep until 1-2 am, eat, and then go back down until about 7 am (we're so lucky, I know). He's also started to nap more regularly (thanks to K's sister K's recommendation - Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child). Usually, a morning nap in the Snugabunny bouncer and an afternoon nap with Momma and Daddy or in his crib. I've never been one to crave a routine (I mean, just look at my profession), but with Baby Beeton, a routine has made all the difference in my sanity. I love it.

These are the things that I need to remind my future self of if and when my future self begins thinking about adding another one to our pack. Grins and naps... and all the items that have made my life a little bit easier these past few months. When we registered for our showers, we didn't know what the heck we were doing, but we made our best guesses. Some of our requests were hits; some misses. Here is a short list of my favorites...

1. Fisher Price Surround Sounds and Lights Monitor - Lots of people advised us that a video monitor was the only way to go, the only way that we would get peace of mind. But, we're frugal people, and we couldn't see spending that kind of money (or expecting someone else to spend that kind of money) on a baby monitor. This is the one that we ended up getting, and it's served us very well. We don't live in a mansion, so we probably could have done without a monitor. But having this on at night when Baby Beeton is upstairs makes me more relaxed.

2. Halo Sleepsack Swaddle - Mr. Beeton would disagree with me on this one. He thinks a good old fashioned blanket swaddle is best, but I had such trouble with that method that when a friend of mine from college gave us this velcro number as a gift I was over the moon. No more needing to wake up Mr. Beeton in the middle of the night and say, "Can you swaddle him?" (Baby Beeton, by the way, is addicted to swaddling. He can't get enough of it. I had to rush order a bigger one for him today since he seemed to grow out of his old one over night.)

3. The Rachel Bag by Timi and Leslie - I love, love, love this diaper bag precisely because it doesn't look like a diaper bag. But, it's got all these fabulous pockets and baby accessories that hide inside it. When I sling it over my shoulder, I hear Stacy London say, "What a cute mom-on-the-go!"

4. Anything that gets me out of the house (i.e. our stroller, our Ergo baby carrier, and/or our Baby Bjorn) - We have a variety of methods for getting out of the house, depending on Baby Beeton's mood. We scored our stroller, which is a Bugaboo Gecko, on Craigslist; a very tall woman (who lived in this amazing green building in Silver Spring) decided to sell it for half the price because she was frustrated that it didn't have an adjustable handle. We got the bassinet, the upright stroller, and the car seat converter from her for multiple means of travel. Our his and her baby carriers (Ergo for Mr. Beeton and Baby Bjorn for me) are for when we don't want to lug out the cumbersome stroller or when we want a guarantee that Baby Beeton will remain calm (he loves to be "babyworn" as much as he loves swaddling).

5. Anything Boppy - Originally, I had asked for the Boppy to help out with breastfeeding, but it doesn't really work for me in the way that I expected. Instead, I prop it behind me when I'm feeding Baby Beeton. But, it's best for morning playtime. Baby Beeton likes to sit in it and laugh and laugh and laugh. Oh, and the Boppy changing pad sets are a lifesaver. We use them in the bassinet, in the carriage, and on the changing table. Instead of constantly changing and washing sheets, we can just throw the pads in the wash when spit up occurs.

6. Breastfeeding has been a challenge for me. I must remind myself that this is not my fault for a host of reasons, including Baby Beeton losing more weight than he should have his first few days out, the crazy antibiotics I was prescribed that unleashed their havoc on my system, and my tendency to be susceptible to blocked milk ducts. There's a host of products that have made this unpleasant obligation a little more bearable (see here, here, here, here, and here... ooo! and all the herbal remedies recommended by the women working here). (By the way, things are now going swimmingly... head control makes all the difference.)

7. Angel Dear - How sweet is this little blankie? We call him Zboo, and we take him wherever we go. Thanks, Auntie M.


8. 3marthas.com burp cloths - My hairdresser at Georgetown Aveda gave Baby Beeton a "Welcome to the World" gift from Dawn Price Baby - a bib and burp cloth from 3marthas.com. I love, love, love these burp cloths. They are not only functional (essentially a cloth diaper) but also stylish (the cute little sewed on characters add flair).

9. Books, books, and more books - At all three of my showers, we got lots of books for our little prince. Right now, our favorite is Henry and Ribsy (thanks Honorary Aunt J).

10. Wee Gallery Art Cards - I admit. I was skeptical about this one. The description alone made me want to cringe: "Wee Gallery art cards are created from bold, whimsical, hand-painted originals that cater to a baby's visual strengths. The black and white images and their repeating patterns captivate little ones. Place them in the crib to transform it into a wee gallery or use them as flash cards for older children." How pretentious. But, they are pretty fabulous - especially the free ones that came from a formula company. We like them so much that we made a mobile out of them.

A friend of mind teased that any good shopaholic would be delighted to have an addition to her family. After all, a whole new world of shopping opens up. I have to agree, though with our little one comes even more limited resources. So, I'll bookmark this post to reference if the future brings more Baby Beetons. Stocking up on the essentials and eliminating the dross means more money to pour into our very own little Money Pit.

Keep sweeping, Martha

april showers

This past weekend, my sister, sister-in-law, and mom hosted my first (of three! yikes!) baby showers in Pennsylvania. They each know me well enough to know that I'm not one who craves being the center of attention, so they planned a very low-key celebration with family and a few of my closest friends. While there wasn't an obvious theme, I think they were going for "old-school" or "retro," which was perfect since that's the code by which Mr. Beeton and I live.

My sister and mom made adorable invitations using their combined crafty-ness. Since Baby Beeton's sex will be a surprise, they couldn't find any good, gender neutral invitations and came up with their own. I think they should go into business.


They decided on having brunch, which consisted of a delicious egg and sausage stratta, a French toast casserole, bagels, and some yummy danishes in a variety of flavors. My mom does not love cooking, so I even doubly appreciated her going to all this effort (and will be getting the stratta recipe from her because it was so darn good!).

They also asked guests to bring children's books instead of cards, which I thought was such a wonderful idea, especially given my chosen occupation. Very fitting. We got everything from Harry the Dirty Dog (from Honorary Aunt J) to A Day at the Seashore (from Cousin M). And, the gifts that we received from everyone were so wonderful! The thank you cards are in the mail, but I wanted to also say here just how much we appreciated everything!

My mom had the living room decorated so cute, too. She put out the cradle which has been used for several generations and filled it with books. A yellow sweater and hat that my Aunt Ruth had knit for me when I was born was hanging from it as well (Aunt Ruth is the one who collected "falling-down men" - a habit I have acquired... I told you I like old-school). And above it was hanging an alphabet banner, which my mom had made, which we absolutely love! In case you didn't know, banners are all the rage on various baby sites (see here, and here, and here). We're going to hang ours up in Baby Beeton's room (check out lil Ella).


And, for favors, my mom made these cute little pinwheels. She found candy sticks at a candy store in town in all different flavors, and she attached yellow and green pinwheels in a variety of patterns with yellow and green ribbons, also in a variety of patterns. They were adorable and looked very cute sitting in vases in bunches throughout the room.


Overall, the weekend - despite my stressing about it - was a great success. Everyone had a good time, and they all seem even more anxious to meet little Baby Beeton when he (or she) arrives.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Finished reading Cleaving by Julie Powell (depressing).

it's the little things

Last week, we had some unseasonably warm weather in D.C. Of course, yesterday, we had ice and snow, but that brief burst of spring reminded me that it won't be long before it stays lighter in the evening and ballet flats will replace the knock-off Uggs.

Lately, I've been appreciating all kinds of little things. It's been hard to get anything big accomplished on the house with the semester having starting (though we did make some significant progress on the living room and guest room - for pictures, see here). And, though we'd like to spend our days researching baby gears and shopping for baby, grading lab reports and papers, planning classes, and updating announcements on Blackboard have taken over our days and nights.

But, despite our preoccupation with all things undergraduate, there's been a slew of little things making us happy lately - an independent study lunch at The Tabbard Inn, Lil Omm yoga, a fabulous 90th birthday party in Pennsylvania, flutters and kicks, Pizza Movers, a first trip to Babies R Us with Nana Beeton, all things housewives, maternity jeans from Old Navy, Valentine's Day dinner at Mrs. K's Tollhouse, aromatherapy candles, a brand new Roku, Baby Bargains book, raincoats with treehoppers, bugaboo strollers, Sala Thai.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Watched The Social Network and Georgy Girl.

lucky number ?

Sometimes I'm amazed at how many comments some bloggers get on their sites, and I wonder how to make that happen. Recently, while in OCNJ, my sister (who knows all the good blogs) turned me onto Young House Love - a couple who blogged about their DIY home renovation projects so successfully that they are now make a living as full time bloggers (so jealous)! I've been wondering what I can do to further promote my site. Have my post updates announced in my Facebook feed? Change the name of my site? (Did you know that the term "homekeeper" has strong Christian connotations? I'm wondering if people stumble upon my site and leave confused...)

My sister insists that the only way to have a successful blog is to have giveaways. Yes, giveaways. (Apparently, she is of the belief that to make money you have to spend money.) At first, I thought that was just silly, but then, when I accidentally ordered two copies of the same book the other day, I thought, "Hey. Maybe I'll give this a try."

I'm sure that some of you have heard of Ruth Reichl - food writer extraordinaire. My new book - which is about contemporary women's food memoirs - deals a lot with Reichl because she loves, loves, loves to write memoirs. I stumbled across a book she wrote, Not Becoming My Mother, the other day and decided to order it. Then, I noticed that there was another book listed For You Mom, Finally, so I ordered that, too. They are the same book, however; Reichl changed the title when she got some flack for seemingly bashing her mother.

So... if you'd like me to mail you a FREE copy of For You Mom, Finally (the paperback edition), just post a comment on this entry. Next Friday, I'll pick the lucky winner and send whoever it may be a copy of the book. Sound good?

Now get writing.

Keep sweeping, Martha