Yet Again: A New Dawn... A New Day..

Sorry I fell off of blogging for a while. I have not stuck to my mini goals. However I have been still pushing myself to take baby steps. I have been trying to do more and more with my daughter. Deciding house chores get the back burner. Went Saturday to 2 different playgrounds with my little girl and then took her to the Bronx Zoo. Did laundry yesterday but then took my little girl to The American Museum of Natural History, which is pretty much her home away from home since she goes there so often with her Grandmother. We saw the butterflies exhibit, the African Mammals, The Hall of Biodiversity and so much more. My daughter is wonderful she makes friends everywhere she goes. She made a friend on the bus to the Bronx zoo. She made friends in the cafe at The museum, last night when walking our dog she got a free plum from the fruit guy on our corner, met a family with a 4 year old boy named Harrison. a lovely family! then got a free transformer spaceship from her friend, the man who works at the newspaper stand on 86th Street & Columbus. She loves to run up to people and say "Hi guys!" with such enthusiasm, it's hard for anyone to resist her charm. She also made a boy friend in the hall where the giant whale is at The Museum of Natural History. They were both playing with a touch screen together and having a ball.  Our pet beta fish "Ruby" seems to be a bit under the weather. she had some kind of peeling or what looked like wet tissue coming off her back fin. I cleaned her water & fed her and she looks a little better but I am still concerned, wondering if it was a fungal thing or what. I am physically tired but have enjoyed the quality time i have been spending with my daughter. I wonder as she gets older what her interests will be and how her personality will continue to develop.

Redefine yourself, be grateful, push past fears, live life. "What's stopping you?" 

My girlfriends and I have been friends since childhood and have never really vacationed together. Finally we are in our 40s and are talking about a weekend getaway. I for one am very excited about it. My mother disapproves as my daughter is going through separation anxiety now and I thought about that also. However I would only be going to Atlantic City for a weekend not away for 4 months to a foreign country. Anyway today I decide before doing our weekly chores of grocery shopping and doing the dreaded chore of laundry that I would do something fun w/ my daughter so we went to the Art Farm here in NYC. It was a lot of fun. Initially my daughter started to wig out because when we got inside she saw it looked like a school and I think she was afraid I was going to leave her. I had just purchased our entrance tickets and all she kept repeating as she got more and more upset was mommy let's go home. I tried to reassure her that I wasn't leaving her and that we were going to have fun together. just to give some background she will be 3 years old towards the end of May. She is going to some "gentle separation" classes at NY Kids and this hasn't been easy as she cries & cling the whole time & doesn't want to go. I don't know if I should keep pushing her to get past this fear or respect that she doesn't want to and just leave the classes. Anyway I digress. Brooke kept saying she was scared and wanted to leave until I took her downstairs to see the animals and then she was loving it. they had hamsters, chinchillas, chickens, rabbits, turtles, birds, frogs, skinks, a beautiful leopard gecko named Poppyseed, guinea pigs and more. She got to pet the skink, hamsters, rabbits and a chicken and didn't want to leave when it was time to go. Anyway I get very resentful towards my husband for his "being selfish" a lot of the time (that's how I often perceive it). However I am realizing instead of being angry and resentful I better start just being a little "selfish" and living my life for me & my daughter. I need to spend quality time w/ her as well and not just do the mundane errands/chores every week. I also need to do things I enjoy too not to be so resentful & bitter.

Leopard Gecko

Blue tongued skink

Nonchalant Commitment

When you fall down as a child you learn to get back up and dust yourself off and keep going. Why is it as an adult so many of us tend to stay so stuck in the muck? I really don't know but I kind of am working on this nonchalant commitment to myself. Although I keep falling back to my bad habits and get frustrated at my lack of progress or positive change I need to keep trying to push forward in small little ways in hopes that somehow these slight changes will radiate out to make larger differences down the line. So this is my nonchalant commitment.

I went and had my vision checked as I haven't done so in almost 4 years and luckily found that my eyes have not worsened so much which made me happy. My manager and friend at work just found out her dog has a melanoma in his mouth. He needs radiation treatments. My father hasn't been feeling well and went to his cardiologist and they believe that he may have some issues causing him to have the slows & shortness of breath. He is going for a stress test tomorrow. He already has 9 stents and we are hoping that he just may need maintenance on his stents and not open heart surgery.

My daughter has a flair for the dramatics and pretends to fall down or be sick and then starts laughing. She is my little angel but she doesn't want to give up the bottle, isn't fully potty trained and isn't doing well with her gentle separation classes. Perhaps this is all a reflection of my parenting skills or perhaps she's just not ready and there is a lot going on right now. Tomorrow I am taking my daughter to 2 of her new classes so I hope God smiles upon us and that things aren't 2 traumatic for either one of us.

Here is my latest owl drawing:

I actually like the drawing better in it's earlier stages than i do in it's finished state :l, see earlier stage of drawing below:

So I want to try to keep drawing birds or prey and come up with a series of drawings I am pleased with. So far I feel they all need improvement but I just recently started to draw again. I also would like to eventually get to using colored pencil again.

Upheaval

Cents & Sense:

"Another day..another dollar?" hmmmm well not so sure about that however speaking of dollars I received an email about a book and blog that sound interesting.  So I am sharing this info below:

"Do you feel like your finances and life are a mess but you're overwhelmed with even knowing where to start to get things on track? Do you wish you could carve out extra money on your limited budget to save toward paying cash for a car or retirement? Do you wish you could find a way to give more generously to the needs in your church, community and around the world?

You need to get a copy of The Money Saving Mom's Budget.

Written by well-known moneysavingmom blogger, homeschool graduate, and homeschooling mom, The Money Saving Mom's Budget is a comprehensive step-by-step plan to take you from financial mess to financial success. In a time when so many are struggling to make ends meet, this book's message is direly needed and is already radically changing budgets - and lives!

In this straightforward book, you'll learn:

How to set big goals and break them down into bite-sized pieces.

How to prioritize your time and life in order to live intentionally.

How to streamline your home and life in order to have breathing room to work toward your financial goals.

How to go from no budget at all to a full-fledged, realistic, written budget by following a simple three-step plan.

How to make a cash envelope system work for you.

How to cut your grocery bill in half (including 25 ways to save money without using coupons!).

How to save big on restaurants, travel, clothing, utility bills, prescription glasses, gym memberships, and much more.

And finally, how to cultivate contentment, embrace today, and live a rich and full life, no matter your income.

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The Money Saving Mom's Budget is available to order online from Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. It will also be on shelves in bookstores across the country tomorrow (January 10, 2012). Stop by your local Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million to pick up a copy.

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No matter your level of thriftiness or how much or little you make, you'll find help, hope, and inspiration in the pages of The Money Saving Mom's Budget.



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All of the author's profits from this book's sales are going to fund a Child Survival Program in the Dominican Republic through Compassion International. This Program helps to feed, clothe, provide proper nutrition and medical care, and share Christ with mothers and young children who are at risk of survival.

So what are you waiting for?

Purchase your copy of The Money Saving Mom's Budget today and you'll not only learn now to transform your own financial situation, but you'll also be helping make a direct impact in the lives of over 160 women and children in the DR who are living in poverty."


Also in  a blog I came across a free printable  http://livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com/, which looks like fun.

A high school friend of mine, Laura Sigad, who now resides in Israel is working on a wonderful research project. Please check out the web site to learn more about how her research is working to help immigrants, poverty stricken and children who are abused and so much more! The Center For The Study of Society. Wow I am proud to know a woman who is working to make such positive change!

Creative & Talented

I have another high school friend who is an inspirational woman as well. She
is doing a blog and selling beautiful shirts and accessories. Please check out her blog and web site:
http://www.nelesc.etsy.com/
http://nelesc.blogspot.com/

I am blessed that god has put so many wonderful creative and talented women in my life so I would like to share some of what they are doing in hopes that it inspires us to reach out, connect, and motivates us to pursue and perhaps activate some of our talents and creativity.

One of my besties, Lisa Leopold has her business called Goodie Bites:
http://www.goodiebites.com/


Then there is a neigbor of mine making earrings and other fun items, check out her site:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SevenSisterStars
 
Speaking of creative and talented I still am in awe of the work of Joel Sartore, who I mentioned in my blog posted yesterday. I bought his book called RARE last night for my husband as a birthday gift. Joel is a National Geographic photographer working on an incredible project to document endangered species in portraits. He is traveling all over to zoos and aquariums and photographing these amzing species. The book is awesome!!! So you should really check it out, and if you are interested in helping the cause: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/visions/field-test/sartore-biodiversity/how-to-help

Health & Concern

My father hasn't been feeling well and is going to see his cardiologist this Friday. I must admit I am scared and ask for your prayers for him. He already has 9 stents (I think that was the current count but there is some debate amongst my family about the number).

Edge

Well, well, well....it's been quite the week. My father, sister and daughter all had a stomach bug. My father had it the worst. He seems to be better and my daughter is on the mend although her tummy still isn't back to normal yet :(. I saw my friends Lisa and Amy briefly Friday night and was so glad I did. We were supposed to spend a lot more time together but it just didn't work out. I went shopping for a stroller wanted a light weight stroller that was well made but reclines. Apparently when you have a toddler & don't have a fortune to spend this is too much to ask. I don't understand as these are basic requirements. I bought the Macalren Volo only to find it doesn't recline & had to bring it back. I ended up with a Baby Jogger City Micro which is definitely not light weight in my opinion but has an ease of use for folding and opening. I am still frustrated though because what I was looking for was something like the Maclaran without tremendous expense but that weighs less than 10 pounds but can support a growing toddler & take abuse and yet be easy to commute with. I feel I didn't get my requirements met. I was considering the Chicco Lite Way or is it air way. I don't understand why some colors of the same model are more expensive than others though and of course the less expensive color wasn't available. I felt baffled, still do actually. So have a bit of a stomach bug and so does the rest of my family. Hopefully we are all on the mend. So in addition to trying to get my husband's photography into a gallery I am trying to get myself back to doing some art work and would like to do a series of birds of prey drawings. So far I have done 2 owls and perhaps will do a hawk or eagle next, who knows. I feel like I am in some strange space - not purgatory or something quite so severe but yet a weird in between place where changes are coming, at least one can hope or maybe it's some other form of transition or something not quite sure exactly but definitely something is going on while nothing is going on...if that makes any sense. Anyway this day just flew by. I am grateful for another day, my health, my family and friends, God's grace, a roof over my head, a job, Brooke, Truffles even Ruby, cultural diversity, music, soul, just saw this really cool site for leather hand bags....interestingly enough it's not the handbags that appeal to me as much as the artistic photos & videography, check it out: http://www.brachfeldparlaghy.com/

I came across a posting on facebook this morning by NPR that was about a photographer, Joel Sartore. He is a National Geographic photographer who is working on a project to photograph all the endangered species before they are gone and is traveling the world visiting zoos and aquariums photographing the different species.  This sounded awesome to me and I thought what a wonderful project. He mentioned the drawback is he is away from his wife and 3 children most of the time. I thought again oh that isn't too awesome. But still couldn't help but fantasize a bit about being able to travel with my husband working on a similar project and me illustrating the species so that you have both the photographed images and illustrations. Wow! what an opportunity that would be and educational for our daughter.  You should really check out the article I found it really exciting and interesting: http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2012/01/24/145523938/one-mans-quest-to-capture-americas-endangered-zoo-animals-with-a-camera His work is so awesome!!! but so is the project he is working on and if you would like to help support the  Field Test Biodiversity Project check out the following link:

Field Test: Biodiversity - How to Help - Pictures, More From National Geographic Magazine

Here are just a few of Joel Sartore's awesome shots:

So my husband and I finally submitted some of his recent photography to a local gallery in hopes of getting an exhibition. I am praying he does. Today is his birthday and what an awesome gift that would be ; ) So that was one of my baby step goals for the new year and working towards a revolution of a personal sort. I also finally did a zumba workout again last night which is another mini triumph in my daily battle towards positive change.

I have a friend who is writing a poem a day and posting them on facebook. She has inspired me and although I don't believe I can possibly do an illustration a day as a full time working mom w/ a toddler, dog, fish and husband to look after. I would like to try to perhaps maybe set up a more realistic goal for myself perhaps 1 a week or even 1 a month but need o push forward to get to creating as I'd like to again.



Okay so today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, now that was a "MAN"!!! My manager and I were just discussing how he was only 39 and yet had accomplished so much! 

My apartment is a mess, my dog smells foul. I brushed his teeth cleaned his bed and there is still a foul odor coming from him and now I'm at work and there's a foul odor coming from Necropsy. Can I not escape the mess and stench?!!!!

We have the Westminster Annual Dog Show coming up where my job has a booth and we also have our quarterly board meeting coming up where we have to present to the board everything we have been working on this quarter and somehow right now all I want to do is crawl under a rock.

I have not been doing my Zumba exercises regularly and haven't been sticking with good eating habits and I am feeling a little bit burnt out.

I have been such a crabby patty since Saturday afternoon and now my daughter not feeling well on top of things isn't helping. I am looking forward to seeing friends this weekend and only hope my disposition and energy level improve by then, as well as my daughter's. Also getting an alert from my bank that my funds were insufficient before I even got to work isn't helping either! So now I am in "F-it!" mode, where I am tired, not in the best of moods, and my eating habits are in full bloom, in addition to the stench from necropsy I can hear them sawing!!! Ugh just haven't been dealing well last couple of days and everything feels out of control & messy!

Finally had a decent nights sleep and woke up at 5:30 this morning. I have already mopped, cleaned baby bottles, done dishes and cleaned our fighter fish, Ruby's, tank. I am just waiting for my daughter's recording of Sesame Street to finish and then will do zumba before I shower and walk the dog. Although there is still tons to do I feel good that at least I have gotten a productive start to my day. I also entered a sweepstakes to win a magazine from the Home schooling page on facebook. My husband and I have selected photos he took from his recent trip to Yemen to submit for a chance to exhibit in an art gallery in our neighborhood. I so hope that he gets a show as I think it would be a great experience and open new doors for him and change his current outlook which isn't great. I also feel he has a great talent and would hate for it to just go to waste if he just feels too discouraged. Check out some of his photography at: yahyiaphotography.com. I was thinking if i can get enough of the chores done in time that maybe we can go to The Brooklyn Museum today.

We ended up just going to the Whitney Museum which although was a nice change of pace was a little disappointing art wise and went way too quickly although my daughter did enjoy the Alexander Calder Circus exhibit - which I was glad she got to see. My husband wasn't feeling well and later that evening neither was my daughter.

I had plans to go visit a close and dear friend of mine and go to a gallery opening reception and none of that happened as it was very cold and my daughter wasn't feeling well. I ended up crabby and tired and unproductive, contrary to how i started out.