… and this video delighted me. my kids loved it too, it was a great bedtime story last night! it’s all i have time to blog today, but it’s worth the 15 minutes. enjoy!
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.
Things Seen, Heard, and Mused Upon ...
If you’ve wandered the web today, you likely came across some black-out sites. Self-censored in protest of the SOPA and PIPA legislation currently before the US congress, which will end up allowing censorship of the web (among other things) if it goes through. Please check it out, and do something if you can.
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I saw Pina last night, a 3D movie about the choreographer Pina Bausch. I knew nothing about her prior to going, other than seeing the trailer several times. It was beautiful, full of raw emotional dance that was almost painful to watch. I loved it, but was a bit unsettled by it.
Would you like some ... super easy and scrumptious biscuits?
I think I’ve made these beauties three times in the last week, and they get better every time. They’re Almond Flour Drop Biscuits, courtesy of a beautiful and new-to-me blog called Roost. Before I send you over to her for the complete recipe though, as I didn’t ask permission first, just let me say they’re utterly and moistly delicious (almost cake-like in texture), take 5 minutes to make and 15 to bake, and have all of 6 ingredients. I don’t doubt you have 5 of them already in your kitchen, and the less-common almond flour is getting easier to find by the day, and is (believe me!) worth every stinkin penny that you pay for it. I used to begrudge that entire stick of butter that went into my wheat-flour biscuits anyway, as we could easily use another whole stick of liquid gold when the batch was consumed, along with those requisite drips of honey. These beauties have the sweetener hidden inside, and just need a dab of butter once they’re out of the oven. They’re also healthy, and GF and dairy-free if it matters to you. Last thought before I send you over … I’ve made them with both olive oil and coconut oil, and the coconut oil ones taste an awful lot like coconut macaroons, should you find that appealing. So head on over to the recipe here at Roost, and scroll past her drool-worthy photos to get to the recipe at the bottom. Trust me, it’s worth it!
It's fall, and I can't help myself ...
I love it. I love the cooler weather, long sleeves, crunchy walks, and all the gorgeous colors of the Northeast. It’s my favorite time of year. The crazy weather has meant that some days we’re outside a lot, and other days we’re huddled at home with tea and hot chocolate. The coats are out, the mittens dropped everywhere, but thankfully without the muddy wet boots so far :).
Our Journey So Far (by Bridget S.)
If you’ve been reading here the last few months, you’re already familiar with the writing of Bridget Straub. I love the candidness and insight she brings to the sanemoms table, and when I heard about a new creative project of hers that needs a little kick to get it going, I wanted to share it with you all! She tells the story in her own words below, so please take the time to check it out, and chip in a buck or two or more if you can … if we all gave $5 she’d be there in no time :). Good luck Bridget!
Room to Grow : A Cool New Musical for the Whole Family!
As parents, sometimes our closest friendships develop through our kids. When my daughter Tessa began kindergarten, she became friends with a little girl whose mother just happened to be Laura Hall.
Showing up, and the touch of a genius
I’m more affected than I expected to be upon hearing of Steve Jobs’ passing yesterday. He was a great man, and I won’t try to add any real perspective to the tributes flowing deep and wide all over. I simply loved his demeanor, his turtlenecks, and his seemingly indefatigable passion for making things that work well and are actually a delight to use. Not to mention sexy. I’ve long loved all things Apple, even though I stopped being able to afford Macs for my design work years ago and had to settle for my well-hated PC.
Read MoreWhere do you get your inspiration?
We spent the day yesterday at the 2011 NY Maker Faire, and to say it was inspiring is an understatement. It’s a gathering of inventors and hackers and crazy artists in the realms of science and techology and crafts and engineering and art. There were many hands-on demonstrations, oodles of booths, a giant recycled dragon on wheels, a life-size Mousetrap
I am so done with this week
The mask is finally finished! I wished it fit me today, so I could hide behind it and just breathe heavily and growl a bit …Breaking the silence on Friday night to say this week has beaten me. It started well enough, but I’m glad it’s Friday night and I can close the books on this week of school, and pray my mood doesn’t continue through the weekend! The last straw today was the cats knocking the new camera onto the floor (it was lying on the washing machine this time) and cracking the casing open. I cried into my taco meat in frustration, and gave up. It’s been a long week.Fly Away and my night off
I promised 2 weeks ago to update you after my night out to see the movie Fly Away, and I’m finally getting to it. I met up with a friend in the East Village, and we ducked into the theater just as the movie was starting. There was enough light from the screen to see that the place was nearly empty, but it quickly dimmed enough to not acutally be able to see where the rows were! After a bit of groping for seatbacks, we found a place to park.
The film, by Janet Grillo, is a heart-wrenching look at the life and struggles of a single mom (Jeanne) and her teenage daughter Mandy, who is autistic.
The New Bugaboo Jacka**… er, Donkey (guest post from Jenny)
My daughter is now nine, so admittedly I haven’t had to think about strollers for years. However, I remember the hunt well.
I must have gone through three different varieties of stroller before hitting the one that worked (and it wasn’t flawless, it just worked well). As a mother-to-be, I registered for what everyone told me was the single “best” stroller on the market: a fully loaded Peg Perego. This monster was supposed to last Anna from infancy onwards, but it didn’t work out that way. Despite the fancy detachable infant seat, the huge wheels (like a 16-wheeler for babies, it was), and the frame that wouldn’t have budged during an F4 tornado, the Peg was an epic fail. Anna hated the seat and screamed in it the majority of the time; the seat seemed a bit stubborn to “click” in and out of the car. That sturdy frame needed both hands to manage. And there was this particularly memorable moment in a mall parking lot when it refused to fold.
Breathe Coaching deadline approaching ...
Just a quick reminder mamas, Heather’s Breathe : Group Coaching for Moms signup deadline is this coming Friday the 29th … get your mojo on and give it a whirl if you’re anywhere near Baltimore! Deets here, hope you can make it!
Happy Easter and Passover too, may your weekend be a relaxing one :).
Friday Roundup ...
Gratuitious cat shot, just becase I can. Got a replacement (replica) camera yesterday via Ebay, and am able to photograph the stinkers again. Hope they don’t break this one!What’s this weather called? Oh right, it’s spring … puddle stomping yesterday, freezing hands and hot chocolate today. Rain predicted all weekend. It’s not snowing though!
Quite the week, and I’m so glad it’s Friday. Breakdowns, good news, late nights, subway dramas, and more. It’s been full. Here are a few things I wanted share, they’re all great and worth clicking through, so if you’ve got a drink and a few minutes, enjoy!
Live near Baltimore, Mamas? This one's for you!
You remember the lovely Heather, of My Mama Mojo, right? She’s written some great stuff for SaneMoms in the past, and has spent the last few months focusing on her coaching biz.
The good news is, for those of you in the greater Baltimore area, she’s offering a Breathe : Group Coaching For Moms class next month! It’s affordable, takes just 4 weeks, and offers two 
convenient time slots to choose from. I’d go if I was within striking distance for sure, I’ve gotten too bogged down lately and need a sounding board and some “mmhmm, me too!” moments in my week.
What’s it about? Teaching moms how to listen to their hearts, quiet their minds, and thrive as women and moms! Tame the chaos, sort priorities, and feel more joy while raising your kids. You’ll come away energized, refreshed, validated, and ready to tackle your many roles with new eyes and positive perspectives.
The deets? Click here for details and to register, the cutoff is April 29 so don’t miss out!
If the info looks a bit familiar to some, yes the Breathe content is originally from SaneMoms, and I’m so glad it’s being shared with some of you by such a great coach!
The 10 Minute Post, with links ...
I have the timer set, because if the boys don’t finish cleaning up their room and I don’t finish blogging, the world will collapse. Well, not quite, but if we don’t get outside again, now that it’s finally sunny like they promised it would be, we’ll kick ourselves for not enjoying a spring day stuck in the middle of February! You know? Make hay while the sun shines, or something like that.
A few links to share that have been back-burnered but are no less wonderful.
When You’re a Planner and Your Friend Isn’t: You know how it goes, you’re either the planner or the loosey-goosey one, and the two just don’t mesh too well …
Flawed and Fleeting: DaMomma hits another one out of the park. “It is flawed and fleeting, and sometimes it is work to love it. And maybe in the work of loving it is the greatness.” True words, dammoma, true words.
Close Encounter with a Stranger : Minnesota Matron made me cry, it’s touching and heartwrenching.
Had any close encounters with a stranger yourself? Mine yesterday wasn’t tragic, and only qualifies as close if you count being squished together in the subway … I wore my toe shoes thanks to the warmer weather, and had a man tell me with a chuckle that the sight of my shoes had made his entire day. Glad to help :).
Time’s up, so I have to go. Sorry posting’s been light, but I’ve had a rough few days and am just surfacing. Breakdowns in the middle of the night are tiring, ya know? Makes it hard to keep up with real life, let alone my online one.
Off to the park, have a great weekend!
Cheers,
SaneMom
Eclipse Tonight ...
Image courtesy of DJMcCready via Flickr.There’s a total lunar eclipse coming tonight, and the full details for North America and the GMT time zone are here. A brief outline is below, excerpeted from the MrEclipse.com site.
A total eclipse of the Moon occurs during the early morning hours of December 21, 2010 (for observers in western North America and Hawaii, the eclipse actually begins on the evening of December 20). The entire event is visible from North America, Greenland and Iceland. Western Europe will see the beginning stages of the eclipse before moonset while western Asia will get the later stages after moonrise. During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon’s disk can take on a dramatically colorful appearance from bright orange to blood red and more rarely dark brown to very dark gray.
If I can wake my boys up, I’m going to give it a shot. Just a heads up, it’s not something you see every day :).
Rambling out the week ...
The pile of finished pillows, positively reeking of lavendar but they’ll calm down a bit over time. It all started with Fynn getting something similar as a gift, and me having to make a replacement when it was lost, so I decided to churn out a stack of them to make a few bucks for Christmas gifts this year.Well, that was a big old blank screen for a week, sorry about that! My pillow-making frenzy for a craft fair this weekend got in the way a bit … and of course I left it all till the last minute, had sewing machine problems that made me crazy, and it rather snowballed from there.
My moods didn’t help either, as they’ve been all over the place. I’m doing some therapy-ish reading and journaling, and it’s digging up some stuff that needs to come up, but makes life extra messy in the meantime.
Friday Roundup
… on Saturday instead :). A few fab links this week, truly … please take a sec and check one or two out. Some wise words and great mom=moments.
- Kelly Corrigan, word-crafter extraordinaire, reads a brief clip from her new book Lift. “…about my mother, my daughter, my younger self and my current self. Bet you can relate.” I sure did, and I don’t even have daughters … take 3 minutes to laugh and be understood.
- Mrs G at Derfwad Manor hits it out of the park with a story about Lady Daze and Pam, I laughed till I cried and then had to share my own embarrassing story about bodily functions gone wrong … check it out.
- The Shape of a Mother is the greatest thing … REAL images of REAL moms that haven’t been retouched in any way. The truth, thank you very much, about what babies do to our bodies … and how beautiful they still are.
- On a very related note, see Own Your Own Beauty for a horrific example of what media-perfected body images do to young girls … something we can fight against.
Have a great weekend!
Two Quick Things ...
One … enter NOW to win free coaching from My Mama Mojo! Don’t miss a chance to recover your mojo now that the kids are back in school, and fall is just around the corner … just comment here for a chance to win!
Two … we’re not quite finished with our vacation after all, and are taking one more day to get home … look for a newsletter on Tuesday and hope your week gets off to a great start! It’s been a true getaway with hardly any time “plugged in” and it’s been wonderful.
Until Tuesday …
SaneMom
BREATHE Coaching for (In)Sane Moms
You love being a mom, but you love other things too …
You sometimes feel like your life’s been hijacked, and you’re not sure who you are anymore.
You get it, but you’re never quite on top of it …
For the mom that was a woman first.
You have days where you feel like you’re a bit lost, ungrounded, and flapping in the breeze …
Give yourself a chance to catch your breath and find your heart again!
Welcome to BREATHE : Group Coaching for Moms
PRESENTED THIS SEPTEMBER BY HEATHER of MY MAMA MOJO
Friday Roundup
I’m beat. It’s been a long week, and I can’t say I feel like I conquered it, but I survived it. Some weeks that’s all I ask for :). A few snippets to share …
The WC is no longer (big heavy sigh) so my blogroll has grown once again as I follow some of my fave writers from there. A choice sample from the Minnestota Matron on shopping, ER joys, and family.
This amazes me. 365 dresses in 365 days for 365 dollars.