Whirling

 The Real Live Boy, The Real Live Girl, The Rest of the Fam, Training and Development  2 Responses »
Jun 272011
 

Whirling: Josie has discovered a love of dresses in which she can whirl around, although I can’t say she does it with much grace. Cuteness, yes. But as much as whirling in a pretty dress sounds elegant and graceful, it is more like clutching the front of the dress and lifting it up and out while turning without looking and crashing into furniture or walls. With tremendous enthusiasm.

Whirling: The summer is whirling along at a frenetic pace. Since the end of May, I’ve been to Berkeley, California, and camping with Noah, and to New Orleans. In less than two weeks, I leave for a week for Istanbul, Turkey. In August, we had a weekend trip to Chicago planned for Jill’s birthday, and had just decided that she and Noah should do a long weekend visiting her parents in Washington, DC, when it became clear that my mom *really* wanted to take the whole family on a big trip to Disney World at the end of the summer. We’ll be celebrating my parents’ anniversary, and Josie’s birthday, and the kids will get to spend an incredibly excited 5 days with their cousins. It’s going to be a fabulous trip — thank you That Grandma & That Grandpa!  For me, that will be 7 trips in 3 months. And we suspect that Jill will probably be sent on detail for her job, in September.

Whirling: Noah wants a bug book. And a worm book. His mind is so eager and engaged — he is completely hooked on this reading business. And he is equally excited to dig in the dirt, looking for bugs and worms. Noah is maturing, emotionally, too. He announced last Thursday that he no longer wants me to walk him in to the classroom and say goodbye with our ritual of a hug, a kiss, and him giving me a push out the door. He wants a hug and a kiss, and then to go in by himself.

Whirling: Josie is growing, intellectually and developmentally. She tests and tests and tests each thing I tell her to do or not do. If I say she must stay in the bathroom while brushing her teeth, she has her feet in the doorway, inching and watching me. If I say she has to eat more of her vegetables before she can have a treat, she delicately nibbles the edge of a fresh pea pod, then announces, “I ate more! Now can I have a treat?” She gleefully spots the letter J in books, and announces that’s her letter, and loves to tell us the letters for her classmates, to count things in her counting books, and to match things together.

Whirling: The school the kids attend has outgrown the space available. It will either move late in the summer, or during the semester. Noah will have the same teacher, but in an entirely new setting. Josie will start “big kid school” (3k, 4k, and 5k together) with a new teacher, likely a teacher who is new to the school, perhaps even someone new to the profession.

Whirling: My mind, trying to sort through the possibilities for this degree, to distinguish between the many things I’m interested in and those I’m passionate about.

Whirling: Is that how all those toys got all over the floor? I can’t imagine any other answer.

 Posted by Liza at 8:44 pm

I Have a Vision

 Crafty, Training and Development  3 Responses »
Jan 042011
 

Inspired in part by this post, and by my own tradition of creating possibilities for the new year, I made a vision board for 2011. My wonderful friend Madelaine came over and made one, too. Doing it with a friend was a fantastic idea.

I wasn’t going to blog about the vision board, because I felt a little bit shy and “woo-woo” about it. But then, if you are reading this, you already know I’m quirky.

What sealed the deal that I would write this was reading Mir’s amazing post about making hers. And especially seeing that she and I had selected an identical image, and placed it in the identical location on the board. Since I haven’t physically seen Mir in 1.5 years, and she lives ~800 miles from me, it hit all my “good woo woo” feelings and I decided I really should write about it.

You may remember that the possibilities I’m creating for 2011 are discipline and fun.

The images and words below are what spoke to me when I sat down with this idea in mind, and Madelaine and I started tearing up magazines.

2011 Vision Board

I think I’m going to add a few decorative elements, but on the whole, I’m very happy with it. And it hangs in the kitchen, where I’ll see it every day.

 Posted by Liza at 3:49 pm

2011 Thoughts: 2010 Reflections

 2 Mom Family, Academic Life, Training and Development  No Responses »
Dec 162010
 

It’s that time of year. Where my thoughts turn to looking back over the last year, and begin to plan and imagine for next year. That season starts around my birthday, and runs through to NYE.

I declared 2010 “All About Love.”

In evaluating how well that went, I think I give myself a B.

On the positive side, I love how the kids are doing with school, and where they are, except that Noah has been seriously acting out lately. Which he is also doing at home and is a major negative.

Also positive, changing careers. I love the track I am on now. There have been a few course corrections since the semester began, but I feel great about the direction in which I’m heading for 2011 — embracing my new identity as a graduate student and future academic.

The house, I love. I think we all love it. And more importantly, we still love it months after moving in — in fact, I love it more. THAT has never happened before. Usually, the bloom fades after the first couple of months in a house.

And I think we have a lot of love as a family. We could use more patience, collectively, and more listening. I would rather not lose my temper quite so often. We totally dropped the ball on implementing a regular date night this year. But overall, there’s no question that we have a loving, supportive family.

Looking at 2011, the word that keeps coming to my mind is “discipline.” Not in the punishment sense, but in the “develop regular practices you do even when you don’t feel like it” sense. I made some good progress on that, particularly this semester, but I’d like to take it to the next level.

The other word that comes to mind is “fun.” As a family, we need to make sure there are outlets for that, too. That’s not to say we haven’t had fun this year, but as I dive more deeply into this PhD program, I suspect that structuring in a little fun is a good plan.

Actually, what came to mind was, “Discipline & Fun: Getting it done!” I’m afraid that sounds ridiculously hokey. But it seems to be what’s there for me.

Speaking of discipline and fun, the blog is what’s fun for me, and I’ve set my phone’s timer twice to tell me that I need to quit blogging and get to work on the paper that’s due next.

I’m trying on that 2011: Discipline & Fun: Getting it done! theme early.

 Posted by Liza at 5:48 am

Happy New Year

 Personal, Training and Development  2 Responses »
Jan 022009
 

I’m wiped out, so this is going to be short.

My intention for 2009 is for all of my family to thrive — in health, career, friendships, and as a family.

For me, that looks like achieving the following goals:

  • When I turn 40, I weigh no more than 140. To get there from here, I will have exercised at least 100 times.
  • I begin working in a job that I love, that I can imagine being in for at least the next 10 years. The job begins in February 2009.
  • My book proposal is accepted by April 2009, and published by April 2010.
  • I have an unbelievably great 40th birthday party.
  • Nothing awful happens to me, Jill, Noah, or Josie this year.
 Posted by Liza at 12:28 am

Boring

 Training and Development  2 Responses »
Jul 142008
 

There are only two things I’m thinking about right now: how’s the baby, and how the hell am I going to get from here to wherever it is that I’m going next?

Both of those come with a lot of variables, like watching the wiggling of my belly, and worrying about how this whole layoff thing is going to affect Jill and Noah. But there’s not really anything useful or productive to say about those things yet.

I did buy a notebook with 6 color coded sections, in which I’m planning to record to-do lists for all of these chaotic areas of life, and where I’m going to try to do some imagining about what’s next.

 Posted by Liza at 10:24 pm

Happy New Year: Possibilities & Resolutions for 2008

 Are you bored yet?, Personal, Training and Development  2 Responses »
Dec 312007
 

First, a quick review. Every year since 2004, Jill and I have declared a possibility for the year. That sets the context, we hope, for plans and resolutions during the year. Last year, we declared 2007 the year of vitality, discovery, and fun.

I think we did an ok job this year, especially since until the end of December, I couldn’t have told you what the possibility was for 2007. In our peak year of success with this game, we actually had the possibility posted above the kitchen sink. I might try that again for 2008.)

Continuing with the review:

In terms of vitality, no one on earth has more energy than a healthy toddler. I’m feeling great and have lost approximately a pants size (but no weight) since I’ve been swimming, plus Jill’s thyroid condition is well under control and she’s started running again. All of us get full marks for increased vitality.

Discovery is probably an area where Jill has done better than I have — the whole car thing, getting an A in her Automotive Fundamentals class, etc. But I got a gift certificate for a cooking class for Christmas, and one for a “build yourself a bookshelf” class for my birthday, so there have been some discovery seeds planted in my life this year. And I think I’ll take credit for trying Curves and ultimately for rediscovering my love for swimming. And again, who can beat a toddler for discovery? (OK, a 4 month old, but who else???)

Fun? I think I have to give myself weak marks in this area. Yes, toddlers are fun, but I haven’t done much that’s been purely fun for me. There’s still room to grow here. Noah has begun telling us when he’s having fun, which is delightful. I’m not so sure with Jill — was the car class fun? It didn’t look like fun, it looked like a lot of work. But I could be wrong.

I think we did better with these possibilities when they were sort of funny and easier to remember. 2004, for example, was “unprecedented results!” and 2005 was “all about the boolings!” (Boolings is our silly family word for young children.)

What about 2008?

The first thing that popped into my mind was creativity – encompassing both the attempting to create another member of our family, writing, crafts, cooking, doing projects with Noah, coming up with creative ways to spend time together both as a couple and as a family.

I’m also thinking about mindfulness. Not exactly “planning” or “determination” or “getting organized” but really thinking about how we’re spending our time, whether what we’re doing is moving us towards our happiness or our goals, and what impact we have on one another and those people whose lives touch ours.

We could do a little better on nurturing ourselves, and also on nurturing each other. We’re pretty good with nurturing Noah, but he also demands it a lot more.

I toyed with a lot of different thoughts about this, beginning before I started writing this post, and continuing in the days since I began. Jill and I had one of those Big Talks about what’s working and what’s not working as well as we’d like it to, in all kinds of areas of our lives, and what we want to make a difference in next year.

Together, it came to us.

2008: Unprecedented Results Mach II

I’m also intrigued by BlogHer’s Lisa Stone’s approach to New Year’s Resolutions:

Heart - I’m committed to creating at least one date night with my wife, per month between now and September, and at least 2 more by the end of 2008.
Family - Continuing to help Noah grow and thrive, and add a new member of our family who is healthy.
Spirit - Electing a Democratic President, right now, I’m leaning towards Obama — and continuing with my Sunday School teaching.
Write - A minimum of 2 magazine articles, plus continuing with my blogs. Developing a plan to re-energize LesbianFamily.org.
Wallet - Get paid for my writing. I’m going to set the modest-but-stretch goal of 2008=4×2007, including BlogHer ads.
Health - Have a healthy pregnancy, gaining less weight than last time, and give birth to a healthy baby.
Create - Use my bran-new sewing machine for some kind of creative fun project. (Curtains? Slipcovers for the glider rocker? Maternity clothes?)
Work – Post-reorg, I’ve gotten some new responsibilities. I’d like to make the most of them, and have that recognized in a promotion.

 Posted by Liza at 7:58 am

Bloggers and BlogHers and Babies, Oh My!

 Opinion, Personal, Training and Development, Writing  2 Responses »
Jun 112007
 

UPDATED WITH BABY PICTURES (scroll to end)
I had such a fabulous weekend that figuring out where to start talking about it is almost impossible. With that, I’d better just go in chronological order.

On Saturday morning, I flew up to New York and arrived in time to have lunch with Aunt Anna and Uncle Jason before they went to the hospital for Anna’s labor to be induced! We had wonderful NY pizza and then parted ways with a promise that they’d call me as soon as there was any news.

From there, I made my way to Central Park where I met Shelli and Lizzy, and of course, Malka and Henry (and Lizzy’s husband The Mistah).

Shelli and Lizzy are even nicer and more charming in real life than in the blogosphere, and there was a near toxic level of cute going on between Malka and Henry. Especially after Henry burned off some of his “I’ve been in the car too long” energy by running laps around our park area, flirted with da ladies, and tried to chat up a group of middle aged men. Malka took on her fear of grass like a champ, and gave me hope that the clingy stage might end.

Next, I hauled off to meet Brandi, Alister, and Heather (and their charming daughter Lily) for fabulous Indian food. Lily fell asleep at the table while the grown-ups ate and laughed ourselves silly. When Alister and Heather headed home to New Jersey, Brandi and I had a drink and then crashed in anticipation of our class Sunday morning.

(Oh yeah, and in my delayed realization that I had to cross Central Park to meet them for dinner, I managed to hike “all over” the park and come out 3 blocks south of the exact spot where I started. Doh!)

Sunday morning started out colorfully — at least 3 of the Puerto Rican Day Parade marching bands stayed in our hotel, and busily warmed up while we tried to get the bell hop to store Brandi’s bag.

Then there was The Class.

Catherine Orenstein’s class, Opinion Writing (How to Write to Change the World), was fun, intellectually stimulating, and inspiring. There were about 25 of us, ranging in age from 20 to 60s (?), including students, health care professionals, lawyers, academics, business women, clergy, writers and activists, including Cooper and Emily!

I was especially excited to meet them since Cooper and I had a great email exchange last week, about the initiative they just launched with BlogHer — to organize around a single global issue and make a substantial difference, and to identify the top 4 issues of concern to women bloggers in the 2008 presidential election. They are getting fabulous participation!
The three things I most enjoyed about the class itself were:

  1. Exercises to identify our areas of expertise, and find ways to articulate them in a short, persuasive way.
  2. Clear decriptions of the core elements of an op-ed piece and how to pitch it “cold.”
  3. The other women in the class. Amusingly, one is working on an initiative with my old boss!

I have a few op-ed ideas percolating already — and I would encourage any of you who can to take this class the next time Woodhull offers it. Don’t use the excuse that you live too far away — we had a participant who flew in from Sydney, Australia!

Last but certainly not least, I left during the lunch break and flew up to the hospital to meet my new nephew Max when he was a couple of hours old.

Aunt Anna and Max AgainNewest Family Member

Max is adorable and perfect, and it was wonderful to get to meet and hold such a new little person. I’m glad I was able to help welcome him into the world.

 Posted by Liza at 5:31 am
 Older Entries
© 2012 LizaWasHere Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha