About a year ago, I bought some fabric on a whim. It was a bunch of colors I loved, in batik style. The fabric sat around and periodically, I'd pull it out wondering what to do with it, look at it for a few days and then put it back.
About 3 months ago, I realized I had taken a photo when walking down my street on my way to the airport to fly to Paris in 2005 of some ivy that was hanging on the elementary school wall. The colors in the picture were just darker versions of the leaves as they turned color. Fast forward to two weeks ago and you'd find me in the fabric store with picture in hand, looking to get more fabric. You see, my mother-in-law turns 70 next week and I thought I'd make her a little art quilt that used the fabric and somehow took inspiration from the picture.
Here's the rub. My little creativity streak still has a desire, but no ability to coalesce. I have looked at the fabric, looked at the picture, looked at the fabric, looked at the picture...well, you get the idea. I CAN'T COME UP WITH ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE DAMN FABRIC.
Now, the birthday is closing in and the extent of what I've done is cut out a template of some ivy that I found on google images, but I didn't love it. I keep thinking about it, but no idea really seems to strike me as the 'ah ha that's what I'll do' idea. Boo.
Maybe something will come to me this weekend, but I'm gonna have to work fast to pull it off.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
More from the Annals of Breastfeeding
I find this fascinating.
An important bit of info to this story is that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for 6 months and then continue for at least a year.
A friend of mine is a pediatrician. She has a baby and just went back to work and needs to pump milk for her daughter When you pump you need to do it every 4 hours that you are away from your child. So let's say you work an 8 hour work day, that is 2 pumping times. Though your pump will remove all the milk in 12 minutes or so, there is set up time, cleanup time, storage time, so really you need to allow 1/2 an hour so you can do it all and not spill what you just made.
Her employer told her she could pump during her lunch break - probably many women do this. You get a hands free bra so you can eat your lunch while hooked up to the milker. Not the nicest way to spend your lunch break but so be it. For 8 and a half months you can spend your lunch break locked away in a room pumping milk.
However, they wouldn't allow her to take more time to pump. When she pushed they said they would give her more time, but dock her pay...she pushed more and they gave her 15 minutes and no pay dock and told her not to ask for more.
What does it say about the world that the very people who espouse breastfeeding to their patients don't make it easy for their employees to breastfeed their babies??? And, this is in the state of MA, where breastfeeding in public is protected by law.
I just don't get it.
An important bit of info to this story is that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for 6 months and then continue for at least a year.
A friend of mine is a pediatrician. She has a baby and just went back to work and needs to pump milk for her daughter When you pump you need to do it every 4 hours that you are away from your child. So let's say you work an 8 hour work day, that is 2 pumping times. Though your pump will remove all the milk in 12 minutes or so, there is set up time, cleanup time, storage time, so really you need to allow 1/2 an hour so you can do it all and not spill what you just made.
Her employer told her she could pump during her lunch break - probably many women do this. You get a hands free bra so you can eat your lunch while hooked up to the milker. Not the nicest way to spend your lunch break but so be it. For 8 and a half months you can spend your lunch break locked away in a room pumping milk.
However, they wouldn't allow her to take more time to pump. When she pushed they said they would give her more time, but dock her pay...she pushed more and they gave her 15 minutes and no pay dock and told her not to ask for more.
What does it say about the world that the very people who espouse breastfeeding to their patients don't make it easy for their employees to breastfeed their babies??? And, this is in the state of MA, where breastfeeding in public is protected by law.
I just don't get it.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Throwing it all at the wall
This is my new job search tactic. So much of our lives are up in the air that I can't think of any other way to go about it.
I'm just throwing everything at the wall and whatever sticks is what sticks.
To that end, I have an interview next Tuesday for a job I applied to a few weeks ago. It is coordinating an outreach program being launched by the Beelzebub's Foundation. They are the a capella group from Tufts that was on the TV show Sing Off. So many Boston schools are having their music programs cut that this group wants to send teachers in to run a capella programs so the students get some exposure to singing. Sounds interesting to me.
Thursday night I am meeting with the owner of a yoga studio in Belmont about teaching a few classes. She hasn't seemed exactly on top of things and that sends up a red flag, but I'm curious to meet her in person.
I've also started to put out that I could take on private students this summer and in the fall hopefully keep some private students to possibly expand my teaching.
Something in there has to take and come into a work situation that will feel right. I'm leery of being pulled in too many directions when I know my real attention is with Ella, but Harvard teaching has reduced greatly and if it can't pay the bills, I'm not staying there. I don't know that yoga teaching will produce much income, but since I'm trained in it, it seemed worth pursuing.
Whatever sticks is where I'm going.
I'm just throwing everything at the wall and whatever sticks is what sticks.
To that end, I have an interview next Tuesday for a job I applied to a few weeks ago. It is coordinating an outreach program being launched by the Beelzebub's Foundation. They are the a capella group from Tufts that was on the TV show Sing Off. So many Boston schools are having their music programs cut that this group wants to send teachers in to run a capella programs so the students get some exposure to singing. Sounds interesting to me.
Thursday night I am meeting with the owner of a yoga studio in Belmont about teaching a few classes. She hasn't seemed exactly on top of things and that sends up a red flag, but I'm curious to meet her in person.
I've also started to put out that I could take on private students this summer and in the fall hopefully keep some private students to possibly expand my teaching.
Something in there has to take and come into a work situation that will feel right. I'm leery of being pulled in too many directions when I know my real attention is with Ella, but Harvard teaching has reduced greatly and if it can't pay the bills, I'm not staying there. I don't know that yoga teaching will produce much income, but since I'm trained in it, it seemed worth pursuing.
Whatever sticks is where I'm going.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Coppin' a 'Tude
It has taken my just over five months, but I think I have finally gotten to the point of knowing what perspective I need to have on my life right now. There's no doubt I've dealt with some hard stuff in the past. In each situation I've reached a place where I decide that I'm going to emerge from the experience stronger than I've ever been; rising like a Phoenix from the ashes.
So, here I am in a very happy place but also a very hard place. No doubt life presents some challenges these days. I can, and did last night, get myself turned in such circles. I find myself wanting so badly to be who I was before; to have my body back, be in shape and able to do the yoga I did before. I want my voice back to be ready to sing for job interviews and do concerts. I want to know where we will be living and what I will do for work in the fall so I can figure out daycare for Ella. It seems, at times as though everything hinges on everything else - my physical fitness plays a role in the support for my singing, nursing Ella keeps the reflux around and that effects the singing, not knowing about work makes looking for daycare tricky and on and on and on. Last night after getting myself worked up, I managed to have freaky anxiety dreams for most of the night.
Today, while teaching, I realized that I must adopt the attitude of coming out of this experience stronger than I've been before, physically, mentally and spiritually. Being the person I was before isn't an option because now I'm Ella's mom and I wouldn't give that up for anything. I can, however, be a new version of me who brings new depth to her singing not only because I've had such a profound experience in becoming a mom, but because I've experienced my body in a new way though being pregnant. I can approach yoga with a new appreciation for my body as well. Recently, I got Sarah Powers' new book, Insight Yoga and it offers just what I need now in my yoga practice. As I sang today at work I discovered some new colors and also found that I was more willing to explore the expression of the emotion of the song.
So, let it be noted. I don't know who I'll be as I emerge from this major life change, but like the Phoenix, I'm rising and moving onward and upward.
So, here I am in a very happy place but also a very hard place. No doubt life presents some challenges these days. I can, and did last night, get myself turned in such circles. I find myself wanting so badly to be who I was before; to have my body back, be in shape and able to do the yoga I did before. I want my voice back to be ready to sing for job interviews and do concerts. I want to know where we will be living and what I will do for work in the fall so I can figure out daycare for Ella. It seems, at times as though everything hinges on everything else - my physical fitness plays a role in the support for my singing, nursing Ella keeps the reflux around and that effects the singing, not knowing about work makes looking for daycare tricky and on and on and on. Last night after getting myself worked up, I managed to have freaky anxiety dreams for most of the night.
Today, while teaching, I realized that I must adopt the attitude of coming out of this experience stronger than I've been before, physically, mentally and spiritually. Being the person I was before isn't an option because now I'm Ella's mom and I wouldn't give that up for anything. I can, however, be a new version of me who brings new depth to her singing not only because I've had such a profound experience in becoming a mom, but because I've experienced my body in a new way though being pregnant. I can approach yoga with a new appreciation for my body as well. Recently, I got Sarah Powers' new book, Insight Yoga and it offers just what I need now in my yoga practice. As I sang today at work I discovered some new colors and also found that I was more willing to explore the expression of the emotion of the song.
So, let it be noted. I don't know who I'll be as I emerge from this major life change, but like the Phoenix, I'm rising and moving onward and upward.
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