The Simple Life of Superheroes

Favorite Things

Like most people I have a tendency to let the week beat me down. By Friday I get very THE WORLD CAN SUCK IT and figured that perhaps a good habit to get into would be to think of my very favorite thing from the week to help me coast peacefully into that glorious weekend.

The changing of the leaves. Fall is finally here and it is my favorite and I love where I live so very much when it happens. There is something so magical and anticipatory about fall. Its like one long Christmas Eve. Its cozy nights and apple pies and crisp mornings and cider donuts and snuggling under blankets late into the night.

It is totally and completely the springtime of my soul. See now, that feels much better.

On running yourself ragged.

So, the last week or so I've been struggling. This schedule absolutely works for us but its getting to me the last few days. Would I trade getting up at 7 for picking him up at 2:15? No way. But I've got to admit, this week I'm struggling. My normal Monday - Friday is as follows.

Its a full force completely exhausting schedule and over the last few days I've totally hit this wall where I want to snatch up Ged and Boots, find some tents, spend our last pennies on plane tickets to Hawaii and live like hobos on the beach. I am so completely and entirely worn out. I can't keep running like this so I'm trying to make some mental notes to self.

1. You wake up at 5am. Checking your email can wait til morning.
2. For that matter so can F'ing FB/twitter.
3. As much as you miss the days where you used to stay up late at night on a weeknight talking with Ged, you will regret that decision come 5am. Kind of like beer goggles but with less STDs.
4. Everything will look infinitely better come Saturday morning when you wake up at 8am instead of 5am.

Hopefully this will help some. That and sleep. Sleep would be great. What do you guys do when you start feeling like you're running yourself ragged?

I Left my Heart on Oahu - Art Project

This post should really be titled "Why the fuck is mass produced art so god damn expensive?" but I'm really really trying to focus on the positive right now.

We've got a huge headboard that is flanked by two very lovely, very low end tables. Those end tables are below two very, very blank walls. So in searching high and low I decided to just go ahead and make my own art that was neither prefab nor expensive. The one that I'd decided to start with is a spin off on this pin. Yes I know, I'm insanely addicted to Pinterest.

Supplies acquired! I am so excited to actually see this project come to fruition!! Why Hawaii and why the heart over Oahu you ask? We were married there just over 3 years ago. I'm hoping to get this project banged out over the weekend so wish me luck! Once I'm finished I'll post a photo of how it came out and the breakdown of why it barely cost me anything to do!

Life Planner - aka getting my shit together.

So since returning to work I've struggled big time with feeling like I've got my shit together at any level. My day starts early and ends late. Most days all I want to do is climb back under the covers and give up. But working full time, taking care of an infant, taking care of a house and beyond that even trying to find time to be a good friend, a present spouse, an attentive daughter. The list is really endless. That is even completely ruling out me time which I feel myself needing more of lately.

For a while I was really struggling and trying to find a way to get everything done and to do it in a way that was even remotely how I'd wanted it done. I ended up coming across this pin on Pinterest and it was like having my eyes opened. It was so simple and obvious but so very very what I needed. I made my own version and have been rocking that shit hard for 3 weeks now. Its been amazing. Really and truly and I figured that maybe y'all might be able to find some use for it too.

Mine is divided into 7 sections as follows.

What I've Been Eating: August 4

1. BLT Pesto Pasta - I made this with spinach instead of parsley because why not get in some iron. I also left out the lettuce in the finished pasta as we're not fans of the wilted stuff. I also warmed the tomatoes thru in the bacon fat. It was INTENSELY good. The next time that my grocery has spinach on sale I'm making an entire bucket of the spinach pesto. So good.
2. Crab Rangoon - These were much easier than I thought they'd be. Definitely easier than filling the wonton skins and crimping the edges. All said, this took maybe 10 minutes. Most of the ingredients party in my fridge/pantry on a weekly basis anyways. While they bake, throw together a nice salad. Dinner, done.
3. Joy's Green Goddess Dressing - I was talking to Mel about this the other day and had to make some for the aforementioned salad. Its got so much flavor its can make you all fuckyeahsalad! which is pretty rare. At least it is in my life.
4. Chicken Enchilada Pasta - This, I can't even describe it. Its like a really good chicken enchilada except all wrapped up in pasta so its like really awesome ~fusion food except I hate that word. If an Italian restaurant and a Mexican restaurant met on match.com and well, when two people really really love each other...
5. Bacon Corn Chowder - You guys, seriously make this. Before summer corn season is over. I'm sure it'd be great with frozen corn but we made it with fresh field corn and it was TO. DIE. FOR. I'm going to have to make it at least once a week now until the corn runs out so I can get my fill before its over.
6. Pretzel Chicken with Mustard Cheddar Sauce - If you like chicken cutlets PLEASE make it with pretzels. It is ridiculously good in totally salty really really crispy ways. Also this cheddar mustard sauce needs to go on everything I decided. I want to take a bath in it. I made garlic roasted potatoes with it and we were using them to wipe out the pan of cheese sauce. If I'm being honest I may have swiped the last bits of it stuck in the corners of the pan with my fingers. I added an extra tablespoon of whole grain mustard because I like the texture.

The too long tale of my Postpartum Depression

So this isn't really the type of post that I'd intended to start out with. In my head I was hoping for something upbeat and happy and I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT LIFE RIGHT NOW because that's the place I'm in currently. However, I wanted to get this out of my head while it still lingers there. Before hormones sweep it away like nature designs it to so that you'll do this again instead of saying FUCK THAT I REMEMBER LAST TIME! Even over the course of a few months, a few weeks. A few months ago I was in an ENTIRELY different place than I am right now. I was completely and totally buried in a spell of Postpartum Depression.

So the back story to this is that I gave birth on May 10th. I was 6 days overdue and it was a less than amazing labor ending in c-section. That is another story for another time. As most moms know, those first few days in the hospital are spent oohing and ahhing over your very calm and very sleepy little baby. They also know that when you get home and your baby has recovered from the very tiring endeavor of being born, the crying begins. For some of us, there is more crying than others. Mine was a particularly fussy baby early on who struggled with reflux and a pretty whack digestive system in general. He was cranky, gassy, fussy and pretty intensely spit-upy.