the week of living resolutely, day 3

Hello again, all. I just got home from the zoo and I'm TIRED so a quick update tonight. B first, thanks for the love. I really appreciate it.

Today went well. Ross and I actually got up mostly on time, even though neither of us slept at all well due to a more-than-usually noisy NW 23rd and darker forces which will be enumerated below. I was *basically* on time to both Girl Scouts and the zoo, and although I took a nap I did so with full intent and the knowledge that I was working an eleven-hour day. Because of this I wasn't able to take the bike out, but I'm not worried about it since we walk three to five miles every Zoo Snooze. I even almost drank enough water (I feel like walking in the rain made up for the missing moisture). Anyway, the point is that the Week of Living Resolutely continues well.

In other news, last night I made 44 clove garlic soup, which, while incredibly delicious, came with--I'll try to say this delicately--dire gastrointestinal consequences for both myself and the spouse. Hence both the long and sleepless night and my intense gratitude that nobody was coming over today. It was too delicious not to recommend, but consider yourself warned.

Quote of the day:

Haylie, to Ross, over the phone: Hey, baby. How's your bod?

Ross, to Haylie, over the phone: I am a Superfund site.

Day 3 of The Week: RESOLVED.

the week of living resolutely, day 2

Day two of The Week began rather badly and looks to be ending rather well. Here's a quick reminder of my seven goals:

1. Drink enough water

2. Wake up early

3. Write

4. Exercise

5. Eat less sugar

6. Be on time

7. Restrict napping

Ross and I did not get up at our stated time of 7:00 and instead stayed in bed until 8:00, which meant he was late. I didn't get time to write today (besides right now), but I've had enough water, I didn't eat any sugar that I can think of (besides the sugar in the lemon curd I had for breakfast), and I wasn't late for anything (although this was because there wasn't anything for me to be on time for). However, these triumphs were somewhat marred by my utterly shameful fall off of the "restrict napping" wagon. I was pretty tired, so I decided to allow myself a quick catnap, which turned into two-and-a-half hours of sleeping insobriety. Yikes.

But this, like all good stories, is a story of redemption. Although ashamed by the nap debacle, I dragged myself out of bed and onto the bike, upon which I rode ALL. THE. WAY. to the zoo. For those unfamiliar with the area, this entails 3.6 miles of merciless vertical climbing. I am woman. Hear me roar.

Day 2 of The Week: RESOLVED.

the week of living resolutely, day 1

Image again borrowed (stolen) from here. I'm getting lazy.

I am a huge fan of resolutions. When I was in middle and high school I used to carefully write out a list of resolutions for the new school year every September, and I am a devoted New Year's resolutions maker. Most of all, though, I make weekly and daily resolutions. These are subtly different than to-do lists, somehow: "email Kathlene" might go on a to-do list (and is on my current one, as a matter of fact), while "drink 64 oz. of water" is a resolution. To-do lists are about accomplishing tasks. Resolutions are about doing things to become a better, happier, and healthier person. I make both constantly.

But I've been noticing something in the past few weeks--while my to-do lists change all the time, my resolutions are almost always the same. Drink more water. Write. Exercise. Simple stuff, really, but apparently I haven't been getting it. I've also been reading Gretchen Rubin's book, The Happiness Project, in which she decides to dedicate a year to doing small, measurable things to make herself (and, hopefully, by extension her family) happier. Inspired partially by this and partially by a giant confluence of other things, I have decided to make this week, May 17th through May 23rd, The Week Of Living Resolutely. For one week I'm going to try to actually do all those things I keep telling myself I need to do. I narrowed it down to seven basic things:

1. Drink enough water (defined as 64 oz., which is ludicrously hard for me to do)

2. Wake up early (defined on weekdays as somewhere between 7:00 and 7:30. I haven't decided yet for weekends)

3. Write (for at least half an hour a day. Blogging counts)

4. Exercise (for 30 minutes to an hour)

5. Eat less sugar (this has the pornography definition; I know too much when I see it)

6. Be on time (oh, gosh)

7. Restrict napping (to times that I pre-decide based on the events of the day; no more napping just because I'm bored)

Here's the thing--I realize how pathetic this sounds. I mean, "restrict napping"? Really? Yes, really. These are my little things. I share them with you simply because I'm hoping that in sending this out to the universe that I'll feel more inclined to actually stick with these resolutions. Ross is also joining me in some points of The Week of Living Resolutely (specifically, getting up early and eating less sugar).

Now for the check-in. Today went well, actually. I drank my full 64 oz. of water, which seems like nothing short of a miracle. Spouse and I got up at 7:30, I'm writing now, and I took THE BIKE up to Washington Park (Dear Nicole: Thanks so much for the loan!). I only put two sugar cubes in my tea, as opposed to my usual... actually, let's just keep that number to ourselves. I was almost on time to Girl Scouts, and I didn't take a nap.

Day 1 of The Week? RESOLVED.

jai ho

Photos from today's Bollywood-inspired fashion show. Excuse the profusion of pictures starring myself, but it must be said that I felt pretty darn beautiful. Has anyone, ever, invented an item of clothing that is more flattering and feminine than the sari? I think not.

My escort was named Noah and is in the second grade. But he assures me that he's very advanced.

lovely lovely day

It was at least 80 degrees here today. All our windows are still open and it feels like we're in the midst of a giant party because of all the carrying-ons below. Portlanders really know how to enjoy nice weather. Ross got home early today and we went for a picnic at Jamison square followed by a v-e-r-y long walk and a short nap at home. It was perfect, or nearly so (of course I had to get all nervous about something, but no matter now). I hope your day was as lovely.

Tomorrow I'm modeling (!!!) for a friend in an ethnic Indian fashion show. Pictures to follow.

Love and sunshine,

Haylie

ugh

Worked at the zoo all last night and late into the morning (as in, a solid 18-hour shift). And I have to leave to return in... wait for it... four hours and ten minutes. Yuck. Good thing I like you, animals and kids. Good. Thing.

daily

Image from here

Monday, May 10th

7:00 am The alarm goes off. After somewhere between two and four sleep cycles Rosco gets up. I stay in bed, watching him through half-opened eyes and cuddling with Creature.

7:30 am Ross leaves for work, bless his heart.

8:00 am I crawl out of bed and into the shower. I feed Creature and by 8:30 I'm out the door.

8:45-12:00 pm I babysit Berit (two). We eat peanut butter and chocolate toasted sandwiches and play a game of Charlie Harper Memory in which I barely escape with my pride intact (never, ever play Memory with small children. For serious).

12:30-1:30 pm I come home and spend an hour fantasizing about our August road trip to DC and living on a houseboat in Amsterdam.

1:30-3:00 pm Nap (o sweet elixir of life!).

3:00-3:30 pm I putz around trying to put together a shopping list.

3:30-4:00 pm I take advantage of my 90 minutes of free parking at Whole Foods to stop at Powell's, which I do pretty much every time I shop for groceries.

4:00-4:45 pm Grocery shopping. Is there anything more beautiful than a well-stocked produce section (besides a farmer's market, of course, which is basically the same thing)?

4:45-5:00 pm Unload groceries, which takes me two trips out to the car. I love shopping for groceries myself (since that means I indulge in things like hideously expensive organic milk), but I pay for it in back-breaking labor.

5:00-5:15 pm I decide our house needs a peony. Walk to Trader Joe's (for amazing whole grain chips) and buy a single peony at the next door florist.

5:15-5:45 pm Clean up. Meanwhile, Ross comes home and teases the cat.

5:45-6:45 pm While I make dinner (steamed artichokes with butter and baked tilapia... delish), Ross stakes the tomato before playing the piano.

6:45-7:15 pm We eat. The table looks lovely and we're inundated with the sunshine pouring in our window. Life is good.

7:15-7:30 pm A brief discussion ensues. We need to clean up after dinner and also research what we're going to do with our wedding photo credit (I know... we still haven't ordered our photos). Ross asks me what I want to do. The conversation goes something like this:

Me: Dishes.

Ross: Really?

Me: Absolutely.

Ross: What would be the nicer thing for me to do as a husband?

Me: Research the photo thing.

Ross: Really?!?

I love my husband.

So as Ross begins looking at the photos I put together a quick "Dishes" playlist on my iPod.

7:30-8:00 pm I do the dishes while Ross looks up photo stuff, pausing every once and a while to dance with me to such greats as "Dance Anthem of the '80s" (Regina Spektor) and "Farewell Kabarista" (Vagabond Opera).

8:00-9:15 pm Ross continues to look at photos and then separates a couple of plants into different pots. Meanwhile, I write a letter to my dad on our typewriter and make homemade ginger ale, which is currently fermenting on top of our counters. We"ll let you know how it is.

9:15-11:00 pm We watch the second episode of Tin Man, a truly, truly terrible miniseries (with a surprisingly stellar cast), based on "The Wizard of Oz," into which we have been sucked against our will. We don't recommend it.

11:00 pm Bed. We drag ourselves off the couch and go through our nightly routine--brush the teeth, wash the face, and move Creature's bed, water and litter box into the bathroom--before crawling into bed to twitch (Ross) and dream about the zoo (me).

videorama

Found this while aimlessly meandering across the web today. Delightsome.

how was your weekend?

Over the weekend Ross and I took Creature to one of our all-time favorite places, Champoeg State Park. Hilarity and charm ensued. Enjoy.

grow, baby, grow

Happy Earth Day from the garden of Ross and Haylie.

*And yes, I realize that I'm a day behind. I was at the zoo.

scenes from a celebration

As mentioned previously, Ross and I recently celebrated our six-month anniversary. Being exceedingly busy people, we celebrated over two weekends.

Weekend 1

Last Saturday (like a week ago Saturday) was our actual anniversary, which we celebrated by shopping at the Farmer's Market, Fossil, and by eating at the Burgerville truck (which was deliciously and conveniently parked outside of the Portland Art Museum).

We also planted a garden, which made me very happy indeed.

Weekend 2

Saturday (as in, the day that was two days ago) we lazed around all morning...

...before visiting Oxbow Regional Park...

... and getting ice cream at Cool Moon.

Happy anniversary (again), beloved!

go team

Dear Ross,

You may remember this picture from the hike we took several weeks ago to the Audubon Society. I include it here because it reminds me of the multitude of reasons why I love you. Thanks for always making me laugh, and happy sixth-month anniversary (and yes, peanut gallery, I know that I'm six days late). I think we're getting pretty good at this marriage business. Want to shoot for a year? Just a thought from your loving wife,

Haylie

what i always wanted

I remember once visiting the Metreon in San Francisco with my Dad. The Metreon is an exceptionally intense, multi-story, movie theater right downtown. I don't think we actually saw a movie, but we walked around some of the shops in the theater and went up to the top floor. It was a beautiful day in the city and we could see a big park filled with sunbathers, and I remember thinking, right then, that this was the life I wanted to have. I wanted to live in a beautiful city and sit in a park with music and a good book and quietly let the city move around me.

Flash forward to today. I'm sitting in Jamison Square park on my flamingo beach towel. Creature is nervously peeking out from my Powell's bag (we're still working on outdoor time). I'm listening to Iron and Wine and reading a really nerdy book about the history of the Thames river and, all of a sudden, I realize that this is it. I have exactly the life that I've always wanted. Not only do I get to sunbathe in a beautiful city (with my sweet cat as a bonus), I'm married to my best friend, going to graduate school (knock on wood), and standing on the cusp of a lifetime of adventures. And as if all of that--all of that!--weren't enough, I just discovered that the snap peas that we planted on the deck are growing like fools. It's a good life, friends.

home sweet homestead

Somedays I want to quite this whole modern living enterprise. I want to move to the country, be a writer, and have a pet pig (not a pig for pork; I just don't have that in me)...

Some chickens...

Some helpful books on farming...

A giant garden of vegetables (with perhaps a few flowers)...

And this exact view.

update

Yowza. So, we've been a little busy, apparently. And we're busy still. That being said, please excuse this hasty, bullet-point, pictureless version of what's been going on in our lives:

• In January, I accepted an (lamentable unpaid) internship with the Girl Scouts of Oregon and SW Washington. I write curriculum and, once ever two weeks, hang out at a troop meeting with underprivileged girls, which I love.
• At the end of February we took a long weekend to Seattle, during which we ate far too much food and had a generally lovely time.
• Over the last two months we've received a string of graduate school rejection letters and ONE ACCEPTANCE. Now we're trying to figure out if we can afford to attend George Washington University in D.C. We really, really want to.
• This last weekend I was in Sacramento because my dad was in the hospital. It's a long story, but he turned out to have a brain tumor and had an operation on Friday. It's cancer, but he went home yesterday. He's absolutely back to normal and ready to kick this thing in the ass :o)

That's all the news that's fit to print.

Love,

Haylie and Ross