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A Little Context

Social Media gets a lot of heat in the perfection department, and it’s totally understandable.  It’s easy to hop on Instagram, look at all these perfect little moments viewed through a hip filter, and feel like an utter piece of disorganized crap.

I may have felt that way at first, but after being around it for a few years, I’ve started to appreciate these images for what they are: Moments.  I don’t blame anybody for seeing that they’ve stumbled upon one little moment of perfection in the midst of their chaotic day, and wanting to snap a picture of it . . . and then make it look all nostalgic and ephemeral though various warm-fuzzy filters.

That being said, I’m a firm believer in the importance of authenticity, and would like to present to you:

Contextagram

How’s that for a clunky name?

I think what’s missing from Instagram is an extra caption . . . the “context” caption.  Sometimes you just need a little context to truly see something for what it is.  Like this photo:

photo (6)

The caption?

“Decoupaging food jars to make DIY tea containers.  Hopefully this doesn’t end up in the #nailedit file.”

You guys, how crafty do I look right now?  I’ve got Mod Podge, a cute idea, cute jars, cute scrapbook paper, and a glass of hipster beer.  I’M SO CRAFTY RIGHT NOW.  (So, it’s not right now . . . it was a couple of weeks ago, but still.  Stick with me here.)

Ready for some context?

Those jars have been sitting in our cupboards for nigh on two months now.  EVENTUALLY, I soaked the jars in vinegar water to remove the smell, forgot about them, let them sit in frigid vinegar water for hours until I finally mustered up the effort to scrape the labels off and wash them again.  After the kids went to sleep I poured myself a beer and began the process of decoupaging the scrapbook paper to the jars so that they would be cute while they held my loose-leaf tea.

They turned out okay.  Air bubbles and wrinkles, but still pretty cute.  I’m quite proud of them, actually, despite their flaws . . . enter, Instagram.  Because, in a rare moment of quiet and put-togetherness, I noticed that I had been crafty.  Snap, filter, sip, and paint on some more glue.

I am not really a super-crafty lady.  I dabble in Pinterest projects every here and there, and not every “here” is as successful as the “theres.”  Life around the Bonk house is a little more organized than it used to be, but Martha Stewart would still give raise a pretty snooty eyebrow if she walked in our door.  So, you’ve got to appreciate the moments when you get them right.  Right?

Now, I’m not going to say I’ll do this on a weekly basis because, let’s be honest here, can anyone count on one finger the amount of times I’ve kept a “blog series” going?  I sure can’t.  I would like to do this more than once, though.  We’ll shoot for that.

Contextagram, though.  Not sure if that name works.  I’ll think on it.

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Cross your fingers, knock on wood.

We’re about 3 weeks in to the Spring Semester, and, holy crap, it’s really not that bad.

I’m serious, it’s, like, really not that bad.

Paul’s schedule actually allows for me to spend 2 or 3 hours, 2 times a week to get my work done. Hopefully even another few hours on a weekend day as well.

That’s just INSANE, you guys! I went from constantly having my work floating around in the back of my mind (like a toy-filled bathtub that I forgot to drain) to knowing that, without a doubt, I will get to it on Tuesday. I had no idea how much this was affecting my general state of being until I actually started getting to have official work time for myself. Rather than finding 20 minute pockets of time in which to get some work done, there are now entire stretches where I cross of 6 OUT OF THE 7 ITEMS ON MY TO-DOLIST. I’m just barely short of frolicking through a field of wildflowers when I leave “work,” but it’s too damn cold outside to be doing much actual frolicking.

Also, why did I put “work” in quotation marks? IT’S TOTALLY FOR-REAL WORK!AHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAA!

Anyway, that’s not the only thing that’s going well. Our house has managed to stay at a fairly consistent level of maintained since school started back up. This is amazing. We’ve moved furniture around, gotten a little creative with the decorating, and even collected ALLOF THE TOYS in one place, organized most of them, and created a little reading nook in Charlie’s room.

This is usually the point where I start waiting for that shoe. You know, the other one? The one that drops? Why!? Why do I do that? Of course we are going to hit a few hitches here and there . . . but having things go well doesn’t always mean that immediate suckage is impending. I’m sure we’ll slack a bit, and we’ll probably get some curveballs thrown at us, but I’ve really got to work on this whole now thing. As of right now, we’ve had a good couple of weeks, and it’s pretty great.

There was a lot of sadness in my Facebook feed last week about things that don’t have much to do with me, and it’s a good reminder to stop worrying about stuff that hasn’t happened yet. Right now is going well, and also, right now is going well. That’s all.

Also, it’s nice to not have a brain full of moldy, floating ideas.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go knock on some wood and enjoy my evening.

You guys? Are things going well? Have you accomplished anything awesome? Any sweet business ventures you want to share in the comments?

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What I Learned

HAPPY NEW YEAR, BROS!

I tend to roll my eyes when I start to see all of the New Year’s Resolution posts come out, simply because I’m never good at sticking to my own. That’s my own problem, and nobody else’s, but I still don’t want to write one.
The New Year’s blogging bandwagon that I think I’m going to jump on, though, is the “What I learned about blah blah blah in 2013” one. I’ve seen a few of them about blogging, and it got the old brain a crankin’. So, here we go, dudefriends. I’ll even put the title in bold for you.

What I Learned about Blogging in 2013

My blog is like that one super-understanding old friend you have.
You know, the one who is understanding, even if you haven’t talked in a month and a half?
Now, I’m not going to say “Guys, I learned that it’s okay to not blog for a while,” because I learned that a long time ago. Nobody is such an amazing blogger that people are expecting an actual apology for a longer-than-average break in blog posts. What I did learn this year, however, is that my blog is there waiting for me all the time, and is always of great comfort to me. I’m planning on a little (FALSE, not little) revamp here pretty soon, and going through all of my old posts has been both tedious (the actual work part) and incredibly enjoyable. Reading some of those old posts feels a lot like chatting on a couch with an old friend, holding some kind of beverage, and wearing your favorite comfy pants. I’ve chuckled to myself, gotten a little weepy, and gotten annoyed all over again, and it’s been a nice reminder that it’s always here for me, and always available.

Blogging keeps me in check.

Life with kids (and even without, I’m sure) can just fly the frick right on by without so much as a pause for breath. It’s easy to continue down whatever path you’re on without stopping to evaluate your direction. Knowing that “I should really write a blog post,” tends to force me to stop and think. Cripes, I’ve been in a crappy mood. What’s the problem? Or, Wow. I can’t think of anything to complain about. This is awesome, and this is awesome, and so is this.

I am not a giveaway blogger, but some people are. That’s okay.

I’ve struggled with this idea since the beginning. I have never wanted an abundance of ads down my sidebar, and I’ve always turned my nose up at blogs full of product reviews. You guys, my blog is about words and ideas and important stuff, you know?
Okay, that’s fine. But that doesn’t make me better than anybody. It makes me different, and what have our parents been telling us since the beginning of time? “If everybody were the same, the world would be a very boring place.” That one is still hard for me to swallow, even as an adult . . . regardless of how true it is.
I’ve met a lot of people who create some awesome things, and I’m planning on featuring them and doing some giveaways this year. And that’s okay, Lauren. These things are handmade and original, and fit in with the personality of my blog.
Buuuuuutttttt the giveaway for Shout wipes that other blogger is doing? That’s okay, too. Why? It doesn’t matter what you think. They think it’s important, so . . . move along. Nothing to see here.

I have created something legitimate.

Blogs are very plentiful right now. There are bajillions of blogs out there. It’s easy to feel like you’re wasting time on something frivolous when there are so many, and you’re not even making money off of yours.
I think we all know that money isn’t the only thing that makes something worthwhile, but it can be hard to remember that sometimes. I may have a business that you can access from my website, but the blog itself doesn’t even vaguely resemble a business blog. That just doesn’t matter. I’ve catalogued memories and feelings that would simply have disappeared into the ether, and I’m very grateful for that.
I think that blogs are an epically important medium buried under a disguise of high-heeled boots and decorative scarves.
Nice to look at, fun to wear, but not all that practical.
I’ve gone through phases where I felt that way about my own blog . . . and I’m glad I’ve gotten over it.
We, bloggers, are preserving words. The fact that they are read on a screen doesn’t mean that they are any less powerful than words found on pages. It can mean many things to many people, but as a stay at home mom, it means that I have ownership of something when I feel like everything is shared and nothing is mine. We are creating spaces in which our own voices can live, rather than watching them disappear into the steam rising up from a pot of macaroni and cheese.

I should probably stop typing now.

What about you guys? If you have a blog, what did you learn? If you don’t have a blog, what did you learn? If you don’t have a blog but want to start one, what would you like to learn?

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Treading Water and Stuff and Things

Cafffffffffeeeeeeeiiiiiinnnnnneeee.
I have a feisty and tricky lover, and her name is caffeine. Lucy has not been sleeping well. She wakes up roughly about fifty bajillion times a night wanting to nuuuuuurrrrrrrssssseeeee allllll niiiiiggghhhht, and I don’t know why. One obvious suspect might be my beloved, peppy mistress, so I’ve been trying to lay off. This is always an unpleasant process. If I want more sleep, I need to (possibly, allegedly, we’ll see) lay off the caffeine. If I want to be able to make it through the day without falling asleep with my face in a pile of Legos, I need a little afternoon delight, you know what I’m saying?

(And the award for being able to turn a cup of coffee into something wildly inappropriate goes to . . . this lady.)

Anyway, we’ll see. I’m hoping that it’s just a weird sleeping phase (as it almost always is) and I’ll be able to go back to having three cups of coffee a day.
Note: Hi Mom, stop worrying about me; I’m fine, for reals. Love you. 🙂

It’s like swimming lessons all over again.
Remember having to tread water in swimming lessons? Let me just tell you right now, that IHATED HATED HATED swimming lessons. The part that I didn’t mind, until right up to the end however, was treading water. You still got to talk to your friends, and no one was forcing you to dive off of the board. Well, that’s what we’re doing right now, and we’re right up to the end. We’ve got about two more weeks till Christmas break, and I don’t think I’ve ever been more ready. Can we finish it out? Well, yeah. Is it going to be a big, fun, rest-filled, creativity-laden dance party? Meh.

Lucille
Is walking and waving and climbing stairs and about to turn 1. I’m very tired. And proud. Proud, too. Also tired.

CocoNUT
This shouldn’t be important enough information to make the update post, but that’s how much I’ve been thinking about this. Ever since I had Lucy I’ve been obsessed with coconuts. Trader Joe’s has coconut cashews, roasted coconut flakes, and coconut cranberry granola. I love them all. If you have any totally awesome coconut suggestions (other than packaged coconut water blleeeccchhhhuuuurrrggghhhhh grossssss), for goodness’ sake, please let me know!
Annnnd, that’s all for my “OMG guys, I’m soooo in love with this product right now,” segment.

Too cool for school. NOT.
When we first started hanging out with our current group of friends, one topic of conversation that terrified me was Preschool. I didn’t even want to think about it. Money, separation anxiety, quality . . . guhhh. I didn’t want to touch it with a 10 foot pole.
I am totally singing a different tune right now. We found a wonderful little preschool in our area, and we all love it. Charlie’s doing really well, minus a few too-much-energy-related issues, and I’m really, really appreciating the two hours, twice a week of work/Lucy time. I don’t feel like he’s gone too much, but I love that someone who is trained in the terrifying art of multiple-small-child-teaching is actively engaging my kid while I get to chill out and get things done.

Oh, and also.

I just ran my single brewer coffee pot . . . and put the coffee cup next to the brewing tray, rather than on it. I then proceeded to not notice the entire cup of coffee that was brewing sans mug less than two feet away from me. Sweet.

How about you guys? Anybody else treading water? Let’s compare swimsuits.