vendredi 28 juin 2013

His Eyes..

Miles has these eyes. Eyes that melt my soul.

But also eyes that draw attention everywhere we go. Big eyes like mommy, crystal blue eyes like daddy. The best of both of us.

We have NEVER been out in public without someone commenting on his blue eyes. Usually it’s elderly men and women. But it can be teenagers, new mom’s, middle aged women, or men in suits, those blue eyes catch everyone.

Everytime someone stops us to talk about his eyes, I laugh, thank them and tell them how much we love those eyes too.

But as they walk away, I think about them. About what they were thinking about when they saw Miles.

The other day we had an influx of business men in suits (at Wendy’s) smile at him as he was eating.  I started wondering if they had a little boy at home they were missing, or was their little boy all grown up now and they were remembering how sitting with a two year old at Wendy’s seemed like just yesterday for them.

I can always see it in their eyes. It’s not just a simple smile at a boy with beautiful blue eyes, its a longing for more or a sudden memory that hits them.

I always hope it’s a good memory, or that smile they shared with Miles will make them rush home a little faster after work to hugs their child they may have been missing.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of comments about his beautiful  eyes….

jeudi 27 juin 2013

Dazed and Confused Raw Blog Awards..

Dazed

Sooooo the bloggy was nominated and now shortlisted in the Arts and Culture category in the Raw Blog awards hosted by Dazed and Confused and sponsored by G-Star. Anyway, I was really honored as I am in some great company. If you have a moment, please vote for the blog. It literally takes a second, there is no registering or anything all you have to do is click. So thanks in advance if you choose My Love for You. You can vote here.

mercredi 26 juin 2013

How can that be me A.K.A. 34 weeks

Okay… really.. I promise.. I am not as huge as this picture looks. I’ll take a picture in the next couple days to prove it.. On Friday we (my sister and I) took the girls out Trick or Treating. I decided to wear white to be safe.. No one mentioned to me that White = Whale.. Holy cow…. This picture.. for some perspective was taken just minutes earlier…. Honestly not a lot has changed since the last picture…

mardi 25 juin 2013

Very Random..

I have a lot of very random thoughts lately that whisk me away and suddenly when I snap out of it an hour has passed by and I’ve done no work. Or I’m peeing (for the 20th time that hour) and can’t remember if I’ve peed yet.. and wondered how long I’ve been in the bathroom..

I was reading one of my daily reads (Beth) She is busy moving and is having guests posts for her. Today she had Sharon from Mom Generations post for her. She wrote a beautiful post about Beth and their friendship. But she shared a story about a writing assignment she gave her her Senior High School English classes when she was teaching.
I will let her tell you about it…

“I will leave you with this perfect picture for a moment… and I will take you
to an assignment that I used to give my seniors when I taught high school
English. I had them draw the “river” of their lives… the source, the
banks, the tributaries, the topography, the geography. The rapids or
whitewater or waterfalls. The bends, reaches and flow. Were there
dams, levees or canals? What did the river sound like?

Of course, I was always given a very hard time with this assignment. “Come on… that is impossible (substitute stupid, sick, psycho).” But at my gentle insistence
(translation: the threat of a big fat “O”), the artistic rivers
formed. And what was always interesting were the waterfalls. My
students generally explained the waterfalls of their lives as free-falls…
changes that could not be avoided. Changes that, well, changed
everything. And using the logarithmic scale to classify the fall, most
were the most powerful… a 10.

A 10. A fall like Niagara’s.”

Interesting… right???

I started to think about what my river would look like .. It’s not a very easy thing to imagine… but interesting.. and the end of river.. That’s where it really all begins for me.. what is the rest of the river going to look like after today?? or next week?? or December?? It’s pretty scary not to know if a giant waterfall lies ahead that you can’t see yet.. or a patch of rapids.. or even some of those really sharp rocks that are just barely beneath the water..

What does your river look like???????



This random thought also makes me think of when our nephew Alex was born. We used to sit around and think about names for him (his parents had a hard time thinking of a cute boy name) Both of their girls are named after things found in nature so they were thinking of continuing the theme and naming him a nature name too.. We came up with Clay, Brick, Cole, Hunter, Canyon, and so on.. but I was completely sold on the name River. I called him Baby River the whole rest of the pregnancy and even for just a little bit after her was born. Now he is very unmistakably and Alex. He wouldn’t pass as anything else.. but the name River still sticks with me.. (I don’t think enough to actually name our kid River.. But you never know!!!)

lundi 24 juin 2013

enough to make your heart race

The best Christmas present I’ve ever been given: hearing the heartbeat of our little nugget today at the doctor’s office!Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.[Javascript required to view Flash movie, please turn it on and refresh this page]Right near the end there the doctor says “Now you know why you’re throwing up all the time!” Oh so THAT’s why! Truthfully, I’ve been feeling better lately, but it is interesting to think that the sacrifices I am making now (nausea, healthier food choices, avoiding certain activities and foods) are only the very beginning of being a parent and from here on out sacrifices will only increase in cost.During our Christmas preparations, Dan and I discussed getting a Wii as one big joint family gift to ourselves. I was hesitant – they’re expensive, and I had to wonder how often we would use it. “We’ll have something much more interactive than a Wii in about 6 months honey.” I said. “True,” he replied “and there’s no video game better than live action Parenting Odyssey:2009.”I couldn’t have said it better. Merry Christmas all!

dimanche 23 juin 2013

my love for you is 1 yr old today..

Seamysmiling

today the blog turns one year old. working on the blog this past year has been so exciting and rewarding. i have met so many talented, creative and above all super kind folks. i want to thank each and every one of you for coming by, leaving comments, sending me emails and just being here, w/out you the blog would not exist...or it would but it would be kind of boring on this end.

i started the blog because i love to network and find out about new stuff and turn people on to new things. the blog has gone above and beyond my expectations. it's gained it's own life force and literally has started to steer me. i'm really looking forward to this year and what the blog continues to become. so thank you for being a part of this journey, it has meant so much to me.

p.s. i get my laptop back on thursday and posts will resume back to normal. i can't wait!

jeudi 20 juin 2013

[hu]Man vs. Machine..

Human_vs_machine

I spotted these string installations recently a few places around the web by [hu]Man vs. Machine. Pretty gorgeous, right?

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mercredi 19 juin 2013

A Fundraiser A Few Days Away..

Chalkpenguin

Like most of you, I have been really upset by the BP Oil spill that happened in April and continues to spill into the Gulf of Mexico today and tomorrow and the next day. Ugh. I had a moment a few weeks ago that took place after I posted images of the heart breaking photographs of the birds covered in oil on my Facebook wall. I realized that I didn't want to just post these rants and carry on about my day. It felt so wrong and self-congratulatory, like "Oh look, I care (in my social networking world and that is pretty much it)!" Gross.

So I decided to do something to help in some small way. I contacted artists that I have covered here on ML4U and asked them to donate work to a fundraiser. The response has been incredible and overwhelming! Like way beyond what I expected. Those are all the details I'll give you, as I'll be posting next week all about it. So please stay tuned...Until then I need to take a few days from the blog to organize everything. I will see you all on Monday.

In the meantime, check out these incredible chalk drawings my friend Julie sent me from the blog Little Brown Pen. So neat.

mardi 18 juin 2013

advice to sink in slowly GIVEAWAY. YAY!.

Book

***forgot to mention i will announce the winners on sunday morning!***

advice to sink in slowly is a project which began in 2006 at the University College Falmouth, where 19 graduates were asked to create a poster w/ advice and inspiration for first year students. the project has continued to grow with prints available online. and now, 24 posters from the project have been chosen and made into a postcard book.

john stanbury, the director behind the project contacted me and has offered to GIVE AWAY (yay!!) 4 books to the readers of my love for you! i just received my copy, and i love it. not only are the postcards great to send thoughtful, inspirational mail to your friends, but they also look great just taped above one's desk, or in the hall, or over that hole where you butchered the wall trying to find a stud...so please leave a comment and i will choose 4 readers at random, and you will receive a copy of this beautiful post card book from john himself. a pretty, pretty great way to start the weekend!

Taketime

Beyourself

Youarebeautiful

lundi 17 juin 2013

allisons epic dream does europe

Ok, so it wasn’t really Europe, but there were European cathedrals all around the St. Paul area.My dad was in town and we were going on a tour of all of the mid evil and renaissance cathedrals in the twin cities (naturally). Notre Dame was on the Mississippi River instead of the Seine, and Mont Saint Michel‘s backdrop was a snowy Midwestern city instead of the beautiful French countryside.There was one church with a huge spiral staircase that led to a bell tower, and a bald be-robbed monk was leading us up when the stairs gave way beneath him. He must have grabbed the railing and not fallen through, because next thing I knew the three of us (Dad, monk, and I) had turned and were running quickly down the flights of spiraling stairs, each step breaking just at our heels. It was very Indiana Jones-esque but without the John Williams score in the background. As one always does in dreams and Indiana Jones movies, we made it out alive.After that we stopped at a local park/conservatory (which also looked remarkably like the Medici gardens in Paris) to walk around for a while.A good friend, S, was there with her 1 year old daughter L¬† having a play date with some other mommies. We stopped to chat with S for a while, then she joined my dad and me and walked for a bit (apparently leaving L somewhere behind, but I’m sure it was fine – this is dream land).I should tell you that in real life, S has graciously loaned me all of her maternity clothes from being pregnant with L and it has been wonderful not to have to buy every single thing. For example, a fabulously comfy tracksuit that I change into almost daily after work is compliments of S! Yay! *ok, back to the dream*As my dad and I were were saying bye to S and going to leave, she said “Oh! I have to tell you! It’s not a Jordan!” Which somehow I instantly understood (I love dreams) to mean that she was pregnant and that it’s a girl, so I hollered back “So it’s a Julia! Congratulations!” (you know, as one does) and S got a big grin on her face and nodded. I pretended to smile back.Then, when S had turned around and was back in the gardens, I went into a fearful and hysterical crying panic thinking that I would have to give her all the maternity clothes back ASAP and I would have nothing left to wear anymore. Oh how I would miss the tracksuit and the cute velvet coat and all the comfortable work shirts!My dear dad hadn’t a clue how to console a pregnant woman whose maternity wardrobe had just been threatened, so he just let me cry it out before suggesting another cathedral to tour.

dimanche 16 juin 2013

rachel denny..

Deerbusts

rachel denny's domestic trophies seem so warm, thoughtful and tactile. the knitted fabric is meticulosly tailored to the busts, seeming almost like the original hides. taking found wools and re-creating them as her trophies skins, they're a clever take on hunting and gathering. as a knitter and lover of animals i fell in love instantly when i saw them. all her trophies, (although many have sold) are available through rachel's website. keep your eyes peeled for life size angora rabbits and a show next year at rare device.

Studio

Rabbit

vendredi 14 juin 2013

never thought Id be editing pictures of my broken-into car to post on my blog

Yea, this happened.Providencial that I have been thinking lately about how events that feel ‘bad’ are woven beautifully by God into good things, huh?We found the car like this, in front of our house at 7am on Sunday morning. It was devastating, frustrating, disheartening, and humbling. Claiming with insurance, filing a police report, arranging to have it repaired, O and not to mention cleaning up the glass shards? Not what we were picturing for our Sunday afternoon.But stuff is just stuff.This is what I am reminding myself of today.

jeudi 13 juin 2013

My day with Daddy..

I thought I’d share some random pictures from the week! Aaron is great at sending me lots of pictures during the day because he knows how much I miss Miles!

I love going for walks, but this day was REALLY cold so Daddy said I had to bundle up really tight. Auntie called me burrito baby!

This is my “Chewy Ninja” face.. you should see “blanket ninja!”


I love being outside.. and I don’t even mind all this green stuff!
My happiest time is in the morning. I love hanging out with Daddy in the morning.

I even help dad out during the day by feeding myself. Dad’s busy and has to get work done too!

I like when he puts me up tall to work with him. We get lots of work done this way..


Sometimes the only way I am happy is laying right on the desk.


Big thumbs up for walks! (And chewies)


Anytime I am outside is a good time!


Mom wasn’t really sure what was going on when daddy send her this picture!

I hang out in my jummpy when Daddy tries to do the dishes…

This one is for Mac. You just have to get your Daddy to give you the chocolate. They don’t know any better!

Baby and Daddy have so much fun together everyday. And at least I get to be there in pictures!!! Oh and on last one.. Miles has taken to sleeping with the blankets up over his face lately. Even with our video monitor and AngelCare I still worry about him! After I know he’s sound asleep I go in a pull it down. Only to wake up a few hours later and see it back over his face! Thankfully he sleeps with a crocheted blanket my mom made so it has breathing holes! :)

mercredi 12 juin 2013

my water baby

Lately, when I look at OBaby, I get flash-forwards to OBoy. We’ve reached the point in his infancy where his toddler face has started to emerge, slowly, but surely.I know, it surprised me too, OBaby.I am at such a crossroads of emotion with this whole growing up thing. Every single day he is learning to do new things and to interact so much more with me and with his environment. It is ridiculously fun to watch him reach for my coffee cup and try to drink out of it, and he’s gotten very close to grabbing my plate and pulling it off the table.O, you think that’s funny, don’t you?But then, I think about how he used to sleep the day away nursing in my arms, and I cry. I remember how he was happy to just lay on me or next to me, none of this squirming, wiggling, ‘What’s that over there? I want to go get it.’ business. And I miss it. And I fear for how fast this is all going. And I want to hit life’s pause button.Where’d my itty bitty baby go, you guys?O Mom. You’re making such a big deal out of this.Hey. It’s Mommy to you, mister.But then he’ll do something like this. Something so quintessentially baby that it makes me giggle and I realize that I’m exaggerating just how ‘grown up’ he really is. When he lays there and contentedly sucks on his toes, I can’t deny that he’s still just a little peanut. I take a deep breath and think about how he’s still my tiny snugly baby and although it’s all going so fast, I know I have many baby-filled months left to cherish.And then we can have another one.What? I’m sorry, did you hear something? No? O, me neither.

samedi 8 juin 2013

Andy Vogt..

Andy_vogt10.05.10 post update - I posted a little too soon! Andy shared this with me via email last night and I thought I would add it to the post:

---------The wood I use comes from the demolition of old houses in San Francisco, a city with no shortage of victorian-era wooden structures ~ For the most part the wood is old growth Douglas Fir that was harvested roughly 100 years ago and has been in suspended animation under plaster, inside an old wall until i find it in a dumpsters outside a construction site.--  I use it as is, with respect to color and texture.  I see the work is both drawing and sculpture.---------

I met Andy Vogt earlier in the summer and chatted briefly with him about his work. I was excited when he sent me over images last week to share with you. I love how he takes splintered almost painful looking wood and creates such beauty and control in his shapes.

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vendredi 7 juin 2013

peeled back

Friends, I pulled up so much old flooring this weekend that I can hardly see straight. There was the faux wood that the most recent owners had put down (which, hi. Why would you put down fake wood next to real, beautiful original wood? You’re not going to fool anyone.), below that was a layer of vinyl tiles of the black and white checkerboard variety, then came a semi-ancient linoleum floor, followed by the original linoleum floor (which was so fancy and new-fangled for our house’s era, 77 years ago). Each remodel had simply stacked upon the last, no one bothering to wipe the slate clear and start fresh.Because the layers were so deep, we cut rows with the skill saw then with much effort and several crow bars, we ripped it off, all the way down to the sub-flooring. Then, when the pile of discarded floors got too large, we stopped and hauled it to the dumpster.This peeling back, this undoing time, starting fresh concept is not lost on me.Through our recent financial faithfulness adventure, this weight loss journey, and what was that other change? O yes, becoming a mother, I feel like the calloused, sinful layers I had built up around myself are being peeled back layer after selfish, prideful, impatient layer.(And I thought that old linoleum was ugly.)My health and weight loss efforts have brought to light my ‘need’ for comfort through food, my belief that I deserve to eat whatever I want (see also: overwhelmed mom), and my lack of concern for the body God has given me. Our crack-down budget and new-found fiscal responsibility (Total Money Makeover fist bump) has made it apparent, O so apparent that I have very little self control over my consumerist tendencies. And now that I feel that my postpartum anxiety and depression have been consistently in check for a while (glory to God!) I am needing to be honest about my character and behavior toward my children.It’s like God can’t leave me alone, y’all. He just keeps after me, keeps trying to remodel my heart, and it’s hard. It has been especially hard lately, with so many vices and sinful tendencies coming to the surface at.the.same.time. I have honestly prayed and asked if I could keep one or two for now. You know, just put some new flooring over the anger issues and we can address those during some other remodel?No? Can I keep the laziness, then?Humph.Obviously just peeling back and seeing what’s under there is not the same as the actual work of removing the layer. Be it flooring or sin, it takes a lot more back breaking effort and a longer timeline than simply the first identifying glance. So here I am, being peeled back where scabs had grown and where I had gotten comfortable without even noticing it.I know this work is long and hard, but I also know that the result is beautiful.

mercredi 5 juin 2013

Don't Play No Games Beastie Boys, Santigold Spike Jonze..

Beastie Boys new video, Don't Play No Games featuring Santigold and directed by Spike Jonze. 11+ minutes of Barbies, explosives, miniatures, zombies, a yeti, sharks and music. I don't think music videos get any better.

 

mardi 4 juin 2013

O My Organization how to waste (less) time online

There was a growing trend in my life a few months ago to sit down at my computer with all of the motivation and intention in the world to get stuff done like write a blog post or edit those pictures or respond to that email or contact that company… and then the next thing I knew I would be looking at shoes on piperlime.com that would be so. perfect. with that dress I just got to wear to that one conference, which O, by the way I should check the weather forecast in that city and see how I should pack and hey, has Heather figured out how she’s getting to the hotel from the airport yet? I should email her.Or, stop me if you’ve heard this one, I’m in the middle of writing a blog post and I stop to peek at twitter right as someone posts a teaser of a tweet with a link to a blog post about how they were accosted for breastfeeding in public. I go to the post and read it, and she mentions in there that her local news did a story on it, so I click through to the news story and scroll down to read the comments left on the channel’s article and one of the commentators had left a link to their blog, which of course I click on and spend the next 25 minutes reading about a woman’s adorable life with her husband, 2 kids and 3 dogs in Greensboro, AR.Far, far too often I open up my laptop and *poof* 278 quadrillion distractions later I have zero to show for the last 45 minutes of my life and I really can’t even remember what I meant to do when I sat down in front of the screen in the first place.I’m not the only one with this problem, (Please. Tell me I’m not the only one with this problem.) and while I am not going to claim that every second I spend on the internet these days is filled with purpose and intentionality, I have gotten a lot better thanks to a list I made for myself.It’s a list of priorities, if you will.First of all I should say that from time to time, a girl’s gotta veg and for me that often involves hopping from site to site and enjoying myself. This list is not for those vegging times. This list is for those times when I know I need to get stuff done and be productive online and I want to keep myself from turning it into a veg session.Number 1: Create ContentI guess to some this could feel too disciplined. ‘Wow, Allison, if you have to TELL yourself to write a post, isn’t that forcing it?‘No, not really. I always want to write, I really do, but sometimes I get distracted. The simple act of having this list and stating that my first objective is to write focuses me so that I can do what I really want to do with my time. Often I will find myself clicking through a link labyrinth (O My, have you seen the adorable party dresses on ModCloth?!) instead of writing and I will repeat to myself “Create content!!!” to get back on track.Yes, I’m that creepy lady in the coffee shop mumbling to herself behind her macbook.Number 2: Respond to EmailsThis one is tricky. I don’t get to it everyday. If it’s nap time and I sit down to write, OBaby may wake up before I’m done and I never even get close to number 2 on the list. I have to give myself grace in this area (and I hope you will, too?) or else I would go absolutely crazy trying to keep up with it all.Number 3: Connect/CollaborateThese things come with being part of the blogging community and I love them. In fact, I would probably do them first sometimes instead of creating content. There are just so many friends and blogs I love to connect with that I have to set a time limit for myself (on non-veg-sessions only of course). That is just something I know about myself. It’s not that I only want to invest 45 minutes at a pass in reading friends’ blogs, it’s just that I would get so incredibly overwhelmed if I didn’t have that stopping point. I often click through comments to blogs and hop around and comment there, and I want it to continue to be about community and connection, not obligation and duty. This time limit helps my focus to be “Here’s the window of time I can afford to use in this way instead of doing something around the house” instead of “Ok, quick go to 15 commentators blogs and leave a comment on each as fast as I can.” That feels forced and unnatural to my personality and would be stressful.That list up there is written on the very first page of my blog notebook (O yes, I have one) and I reference it often.For a while now I have had a small notebook dedicated to writing. If I’m on the go and think of something I want to write about (or a way I want to describe something) I jot it down. This has helped tremendously with writer’s block – I often have at least a few post ideas I want to write about and this way they don’t get lost in the dusty corners of my mommy brain. Sitting down at my computer and opening up my idea book means that I have something to dive right into. I filled my last one up In June and now I’m using this loverly one that Melissa gave me at the Casual Blogger Conference.Besides constantly jotting down incoherent segments of text that would only make sense to me, I also use this notebook to (roughly, very very roughly) schedule out the week of blog posts. Out of the 6 or so that I usually plan out, typically 3 happen as I schedule. There’s always something that comes up (O Look! My baby is walking!!) that bumps another post, or sometimes I’m just not feeling writing about a certain topic so that post gets put on the ‘For later’ list that I reference as I start scheduling each week.Mapping out the week and upcoming posts is something I can do to be productive online that only takes 2 or 3 minutes at a time (while waiting for oatmeal to cool etc.) and it doesn’t require my face to be behind a screen when it should be available to my son.I want to emphasize here that while I have created a structure and ‘regiment’ to my blogging and online time, this is all very flexible. It has to be. This is me, my personality as written out and shared via the interwebs, not a brand I am building or a business I am running. I do these things to help me accomplish what I want to do and spend time exploring my passion, not to force myself to achieve something greater, bigger, better.I love this blogging gig and having a list of priorities and a fluid weekly concept board helps me love it more and be less overwhelmed by it.Organization Tips:Prioritize your time online to keep yourself from wasting it. What things do you want to get done first? Write it down and keep it in mind, but give yourself room to breathe.Keep something with you for the quick jotting down of inspiration you don’t want to forget, whether you’re a writer, a crafter, or a cook. Don’t loose those passion sparks before you have time come back and accomplish them.Since yesterday went so swimmingly well, I would be absolutely remiss not to ask for your input (read: I’m actually very dumb and often don’t do things the right way):What works for you with your blogging or online time? Do you schedule? Intentionally not schedule? Talk to me, Goose.~~~~~~Update: As Johanna just so nicely reminded me (seriously, where would I be without y’all?!), I am doing an O My Organization link up on Friday where we can all put our heads together and share our organization tips/failures/aspirations/success stories. Consider yourself reminded. (Now go write that down before you forget!!)