Presently

Photo courtesy of Photography by David L. Clark

This is my attempt at a fun post modeled after Danielle of Sometimes Sweet's Currently. feature. That lady has so much talent for writing and passion for her life, and I seriously admire her. Plus her kid is stinkin' cute! Here it goes...

Watching: a regular rotation of Nashville (who isn't watching it, it's strangely addicting even with the auto tuning and divas), Parenthood which my husband and I have watched from the very beginning and always makes me cry, and Grey's Anatomy with all the dark and twisty turns. We also watch Mad Men on occasion when there aren't new episodes of our other favorites. I think we're on season 3 right now. Every time we watch it I want to browse ModCloth for midcentury fashion and listen to the swing, standards, and crooners. We are also excited about watching some holiday movies, Elf and Home Alone being at the top of the list. Oh, and we just watched Leon the Professional, Natalie Portman's breakthrough role. I guess we sit in front of the screen more than I'd like to admit, but what else do broke folks do?

Listening To: right now, as in while I type, I'm listening to a Little Hurricane session on Audiotree. I've also been listening heavily to Ben Gibbard's solo album Former Lives, A Fine Frenzy's PINES along with the accompanying video, A Very She & Him Christmas, and David listens to Mumford and Sons A LOT (not complaining). Lorelei is digging Sucré, because it's her kind of dance music.

Planning: our weekend. My dad will be in town for the NFL PPK competition he has volunteered to work at for the past 7 or 8 years. He loves it because it means he gets to see a Seahawks game and have a mini vacation. He's only here for two full days with not a ton of free time, so we'll be going to dinner at Plum Bistro, a vegan restaurant in Capitol Hill and hanging out with him downtown. We really want to squeeze in going to Kerry Park so David can photograph the iconic Seattle skyline view. I'm also planning our christmas menu and trying to figure out how to decorate our tree without spending money.  So far I think food wise we're going to go nontraditional and make homemade thai food (!!!). As for decorating, David found clear string lights in the trash when we moved here last February, I grabbed some paint chips from Lowe's to string and hang for color, and I want to scavenge some pine cones to paint the edges of.

Thinking About: How I need to filter my language/behaviors/reactions better. I've been noticing how much Lorelei is picking up on them and feeling that she can act and speak the way I do when she's upset. The other night when she was not going to bed, every time I put her in her crib she was screaming "Damn it, Mommy. Come here," and that was eye opening for me because it's something she obviously picked up from me. I haven't always used strong language or reacted strongly to things she does, but she's a toddler now, very near two, and there seems to be less time when she's not doing something to push my buttons than not. That sounds like me making excuses, and it kind of is, I'm just growing more and more exhausted with all the lack of sleep, her busy-ness, and never, ever having a break from her. I am with her 24/7 with no other company or activities. We're both bored and under stimulated and we're both growing weary of each other.

Reading: gardening books and cookbooks. I really, really love cookbooks. We recently acquired Veganomicon, that I have tried two recipes from and loved. I'm also currently digging Pure Vegan, which I checked out from our local library and can't wait to own someday. It has beautiful photos and the recipes are organized by time of day. I'll be sharing a recipe I love from it this week! I've also been putting a bunch of books on hold at the library, I think sometimes I check out more than I can feasibly read or look at before they are due. I just get so excited about books. Like, I've been trying to read The Idle Parent for almost 2 months and I just have so much else I want to do all the time I forget about reading it.

Making Me Happy: life in general, despite how I seem to complain. I feel pretty content lately, as in I'm comfortable with the life I have and not really in a place where I'm constantly wishing for change. I feel like I'm getting better at living in the now and it's really liberating to not always be thinking about or hoping for whatever is next. I've stopped stressing out about how much Lorelei still wants to nurse and am letting go of notions I had of weaning her on my time. I no longer mope about my physical appearance (read: 15 pounds I still need want to lose from pregnancy) because I realize that changing it is completely in my hands, and that I can do it if I just try. I've been going to the gym whenever I get a chance and doing between 2 and 3 miles of interval training on the elliptical. Doing this makes me feel good, and I've lost 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks.

Other things I've been up to or enjoying this week: Bekah's post on water conservation. Drooling over these adorable and obscenely priced kids clothes. Conversations with Birdie. Looking at cute cases for my hand me down iPhone 1/ & 2/. This gorgeous blog and this post on meditating with children. Oh, thanks to Kelly Ann for sharing this design she did for this blog that I am really digging. And the Totally Awesome Blog Hop, giving bloggers like myself a chance to connect with other bloggers and bring in more audience. :)

What are you up to lately?