a day in the GOOD LIFE

Apparition

2012-02-03T08:29:00.001-05:00

Pajamas half off, running

Give it up for the drummer

2012-02-02T10:25:00.001-05:00

Ellie presents: Air guitar

2012-01-31T18:43:00.001-05:00

While listening to ArchEnemy

Unseasonable

2012-01-31T18:33:00.001-05:00

Windy, 58-degree high on the last day of January means quick visit to the park. Ellie must have forgotten how much she likes swings cause she couldn't stop giggling. Poor Emmie was trying to enjoy her first real swing despite the cold gusts

Double-decker (tutu)

2012-01-31T08:32:00.001-05:00

Bonding

2012-01-30T12:24:00.001-05:00

Messy

2012-01-29T09:24:00.001-05:00

Big girls eating

2012-01-28T18:21:00.001-05:00

Thumbs up

2012-01-27T11:13:00.001-05:00

Finally aced the super important skill of giving the "good job, I'm totally stoked" thumbs up universal symbol.. also, we drew on our chins with blue dry erase crayons

Film: Riding The Long White Cloud

2012-01-24T16:20:00.001-05:00

I'm in the middle of watching the coolest series of videos and it's blowing my mind. A bicycle tour of professional skateboarders across New Zealand: "Riding the Long White Cloud." I heard mention of this a while back, never had cable to catch it on TV, and recently thought to look into it. Well the film is viewable in a 5 part series (at thepredatorybird.com). Unfortunately our internet is pretty slow, so I've been struggling to get through the first couple of videos, but my excitement has helped me be patient. I don't usually have enough time to watch for more than a few minutes anyway. This whole concept is a dream to me and I'm in awe of the whole project.

It has inspired me to look deeper into realizing a goal I have merely considered in the past: biking across Ohio. Cincy to Cleveland; or, perhaps, Cleveland to Cincy. Whichever. Both. Not sure what is realistic in terms of how soon, not to mention how to prepare; to train. Maybe a solo trip (that is, if I can't convince C to get a good bike suitable for the trip!)... not sure. I'm thinking this is a couple years down the road, but maybe now is time to start planning.

I really think you, whoever you are, should watch at least one of these videos. Maybe it will inspire you, too.

Riding the Long White Cloud Part 1 from predatory bird on Vimeo.

Princess tent

2012-01-23T19:30:00.001-05:00

Emmie apparently loves this thing. Life has gotten a lot easier since she started balancing in this sitting position. And she wants to eat everything

Quarantine

2012-01-21T13:18:00.001-05:00

Getting productive

Portrait of a sick baby

2012-01-20T18:00:00.001-05:00

I swear she woke up just to attempt the "Disco Roll" (Jack Black's Dancey Dance), while still laying down

Field trip

2012-01-19T11:12:00.001-05:00

Helper (Part II)

2012-01-19T09:47:00.001-05:00

Mom has the best ideas

Helper

2012-01-17T19:01:00.001-05:00

Helping mommy make brownies, booyah!

Itsy bitsy spider

2012-01-16T15:50:00.001-05:00

I love my table time with Ellie

Light

2012-01-15T16:00:00.001-05:00

Here is my contribution (with the help of wiring genious Gary Love): a ceiling light in the babies' room. This is my ghetto quick-fix until we pick out a rad ceiling light/fan

Constructive

2012-01-15T15:55:00.001-05:00

C took the initiative to bust out this rad built-"on" bookcase, with the help, oversight, and dismay of Gary. C's motivation was fueled by her desire to prove to everyone that she could do it fast and well. And it's coming along buttery smooth. Eventually we'll slap a couple coats of white paint, and there will be shelves added. Big ups to my wifey. More pics to come

Date

2012-01-13T21:31:00.001-05:00

At Planet Smoothie with Daddy

Dare Devil

2012-01-13T15:28:00.001-05:00

I should call this

2012-01-12T14:54:00.001-05:00

the Babysitter

Choo choo

2012-01-11T11:00:00.001-05:00

Groggy snack

2012-01-10T16:54:00.001-05:00

E woke up after 3hr 45min to find Nanny and some good snacks

Monkey see

2012-01-10T15:15:00.001-05:00

I crack up

2012-01-09T21:42:00.001-05:00

...when I find stuff like this (Emmie's dried spit up) at night.

6 months

2012-01-09T14:17:00.001-05:00

This girl hates green beans. And she turned 6 months old yesterday. Woop! There it is.

Packed

2012-01-07T10:43:00.001-05:00

Fun with Aldy

2012-01-06T21:37:00.001-05:00

A few of Ellie's animals (a dog, hippo, and polar bear) saying hi to Alden before bed

Folding laundry

2012-01-06T18:53:00.001-05:00

She took over this chore as soon as she saw me folding clothes at the bottom of the steps. Helping consisted of taking all the clothes out of the hamper, piling them on a step, then taking that pile and putting all clothes back to the hamper. This happened about 15 times. Too much energy for a sick kid.

Drippy

2012-01-03T16:22:00.001-05:00

Cuddle bug

2012-01-03T14:36:00.001-05:00

Choo choos

2012-01-01T11:09:00.001-05:00

NYE: Sorachi Ace

2011-12-31T21:10:00.001-05:00

This stuff was good. Thanks Mike!

Unassisted sitter upper

2011-12-31T15:56:00.001-05:00

"Coffee?" (Nodding head)

2011-12-28T22:04:00.001-05:00

Fun Daddy-Ellie time at the kitchen table

All packed up

2011-12-26T11:32:00.001-05:00

Different opinions

2011-12-24T19:35:00.001-05:00

Sharing love with Nanny G

2011-12-24T19:23:00.001-05:00

Snack monster

2011-12-20T15:17:00.001-05:00

Cousins Draw

2011-12-19T11:24:00.001-05:00

Ellie is not sold on him yet

2011-12-17T14:36:00.001-05:00

In person anyway

Walk (+ abby)

2011-12-14T21:51:00.001-05:00

Baby steps

2011-12-13T08:07:00.001-05:00

Eat feet

2011-12-11T18:18:00.001-05:00

Skull

2011-12-10T16:47:00.001-05:00

Choo choo

2011-12-10T16:45:00.001-05:00

Lesson learned: stay home

2011-12-07T15:25:00.001-05:00

Pretty much everyday I decide it's too much trouble to leave the house with our two girls and go anywhere without help. Today was the confirmation of that feeling. We were at the library long enough to do a puzzle and change Mimi's diaper before Ellie slipped off a chair and busted her lip on the table. Shitty. I rushed our group and pile of things to the bathroom, used a paper towl to stop the blood, and even though Ellie seemed pretty okay, I decided her bloodstained shirt was too much for the Picturebook Room. We got home fast and promises of a popsicle were enough to help Ellie forget about the pain. So here she is Cheese-ing for the camera as payment for the smoothie-pop. Bloodspattered shirt and busted lip.

Wizard

2011-12-05T19:21:00.001-05:00

Commited

2011-12-04T14:15:00.001-05:00

We eat an exact sh*t-ton of pizza. We used to make homemade 'za (and crust) once a week. Since having Ellie we have resorted to take-out "pies." Lately we've broken from the major, national chains and have tested nearby, regional ones in our so-called "Tour de Westerville [Pizzarias]." I keep telling myself I want to get back to making our homemade awesomeness again and today turned out to be my chance to make that challenge a reality. So here I am, posing with my Miller High Life, whippin' up some dough. Hopefully I'll make a ton of crust that will go into our freezer, and maybe even a few pizzas to freeze, too.

Good Life, GoooooooOOOOOOOO!!!!

Morning (Part II)

2011-12-04T11:36:00.001-05:00

First flavor: sweet potato

2011-12-04T08:06:00.001-05:00

Ellie is a crazy person

2011-12-02T10:27:00.001-05:00

And I am partially to blame. But that hat, that hat was all her.

Transition

2011-12-02T09:04:00.001-05:00

Buddies

2011-12-02T08:49:00.001-05:00

Everybody poops

2011-11-30T22:43:00.001-05:00

Just to clarify: that is a plastic hippo I found in Ellie's potty, not poop. I was imagining that the hippo was going potty

Dinner art

2011-11-30T18:14:00.001-05:00

Cold walk

2011-11-30T12:39:00.001-05:00

Ellie the lion

2011-11-29T14:40:00.001-05:00

Sister Love

2011-11-29T13:47:00.001-05:00

Emmie smiles

2011-11-28T19:25:00.001-05:00

Cousins slide

2011-11-24T15:10:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving 2011

Late night

2011-11-23T23:29:00.001-05:00

Sister time

2011-11-22T13:01:00.001-05:00

First food

2011-11-22T09:25:00.001-05:00

Snuggle puppy

2011-11-21T12:34:00.001-05:00

Messy house

Big girl morning

2011-11-21T07:58:00.001-05:00

Waking happy

2011-11-20T16:24:00.001-05:00

Popsicle party

2011-11-19T18:12:00.001-05:00

Busy body

2011-11-19T12:32:00.001-05:00

Celebrating friday

2011-11-18T18:57:00.001-05:00

Playdate project

2011-11-18T12:28:00.001-05:00

Traffic jamZ

2011-11-17T14:58:00.001-05:00

Thought to bring a few new old CDs in the car on our trip to library storytime with Aunt Jess and Cousin Finn (a.k.a. "Fifi"). Pumped to realize I still had these 3 discs which apparently survived a massive purge years ago. X-Ray Spex, Dropkick Murphys, and Minor Threat. On the way to storytime we rocked Dropkick while I enjoyed a grande bold coffee with a shot of espresso (a.k.a. a "redeye" (a.k.a. a "shot in the dark"))... We arrived as a bunch of amped up hooligans, and fortunately no fights ensued. Yes, in that picture you see a pink goose bonnet and a box of crayons. Up the punks!

Story time

2011-11-17T10:39:00.001-05:00

Lighting accomplishment

2011-11-16T15:27:00.001-05:00

This light replaced an old (old, old), mini-bladed fan that probably once hung over a kitchen table. Since we moved in four years ago the fan has never worked except for the light, so it has hung there as an eye sore, torturing me day after day. At least this replacement matches the other updated light here in the kitchen and compliments our stainless pots and new pot rack. Next: replace those nast plastic blinds...

Pinecone birdfeeder fail

2011-11-16T13:13:00.001-05:00

Organization accomplishment

2011-11-15T19:02:00.001-05:00

Ikea Grundtal shelf

Felt fashioning

2011-11-15T09:59:00.001-05:00

Fun opening

2011-11-14T15:52:00.001-05:00

Rolling: Evidence

2011-11-14T14:19:00.001-05:00

Emery_rolling from d strong on Vimeo.

Crib party

2011-11-11T13:11:00.001-05:00

Felt face

2011-11-10T12:03:00.001-05:00

Cold baby

2011-11-10T10:33:00.000-05:00

Ellie paints

2011-11-09T10:58:00.001-05:00

Ellie draws

2011-10-30T10:33:00.001-04:00

Sister

2011-07-23T22:34:00.000-04:00

Exhausted

2011-07-22T21:36:00.001-04:00

Amazing (100 Days of Emery: Day 1)

2011-07-10T16:44:00.001-04:00

This is one of those "once in a lifetime" shots considering i was a fumbling idiot, trying to get the camera off ten-second-timer mode, and didn't even look through the view finder as I took this one of two shots... Amazing

Happy Birthday!

2011-07-09T09:36:00.001-04:00

Emery Angeline Love Strong was born at 10:08am on Friday, July 8 (15 months after big sis, Ellie, to the day) and weighed in at 8lb 3oz (which is quite bigger than her big sis was). All is well. Better photos to come; perhaps "100 days of Emery!"

Shine

2011-07-01T15:11:00.002-04:00

It may come as no surprise that one of the features that attracted me to C when we first met was her unruly mane of hair, so thick and curly--her locks were the embodiment of her strength, passion, and independence as dreadlocks are to the Rastafarian "soul rebel."
These pics of Ellie capture her unruly spirit as well and serve to reflect the beauty of her beautiful mommy

Ellie: Spinning

2011-06-24T16:56:00.003-04:00

This is Ellie figuring out the art of spinning. On this day, C is 36 weeks pregnant with our second daughter...

ellie_spinning from d strong on Vimeo.

Play

2011-06-21T15:05:00.000-04:00

To Market

2011-06-15T20:51:00.002-04:00

Today I remembered to visit the weekly farmers' market in town. The forecast threatened rain so we didn't ride the bike but it was a fun first trip nonetheless. The best part was smelling the flowers. The woman selling the flowers was nice enough to take some pics and send them to me.
The wet spring accounted for a measly selection of produce, but we did come home with a pack of lamb bratwurst from Northridge Organic farm--the same farm I worked on one summer at college, picking tomatoes every morning. Too bad Ellie was afraid of the farmer, Mike! Hopefully we'll go visit him and his sheep sometime this year...

First strawberries of the year

2011-05-31T21:52:00.001-04:00

Photo Essay

2011-05-25T09:20:00.001-04:00

Garden of Eden, Bikes, Babies, and coffee

2011-05-22T08:53:00.000-04:00

Finally getting some stuff done around here. Once you find the motivation to get up off the couch, everything changes for the better. I'm getting smarter about starting and/or finishing important chores during each day. This, in turn, is helping me realize my potential for doing other things--maybe art, or sewing projects, which I've been reluctant to pursue as of late.

Our garden is starting to look like something: soil has been turned; weeds have been weeded; two raised beds are constructed and finally planted (kale, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, jalapeno, onions); bush beans have been sown; zucchini mounds are mounded; strawberries seems to be doing their thing; Asian poppies are popping; irises are iris-ing; and hydrangeas look to be surviving. That AND our lawn is mowed, thanks to our gracious neighbor who said we could borrow his (working) mower.

I've been getting super excited about biking. New cycling shoes are being shipped and new pedals (Crank Brothers "Candy" eggbeater pedals!) are waiting to be installed. One of my mechanic buddies said he would go with me to take our 'cross bikes on some singletrack at a nearby trail park which has got me bursting at the seams with excitement.

Meanwhile, Ellie is becoming her own little person, talking like crazy, naming things, feeding her babydoll, walking, climbing, feeding herself, and playing in the dirt. Not to mention that she sleeps like a champ through the night and two solid naps every day.

Did I mention that "Baby 2" is almost here? Just less than 2 months away and wanting to settle on a name is driving me crazy. It is impossible but I'm starting to get pretty excited. Plus I know Ellie is going to be an awesome big sister and she is proving it every day.

And I've been loving my French press coffee lately.

1

2011-04-07T15:26:00.000-04:00

Believe it or not, this girl is turning ONE tomorrow.

My instinct is to say the last 365 days blew by, where at times it seems impossible to keep up with her. And while my head is still spinning, this last year was a lifetime where every week Ellie has evolved into a new person; every day she has learned something new and is a world away from where she was on April 8, 2010. It's so easy to take myself back to that day, precariously holding Ellie for the first time, thinking about all her vulnerabilities, all the things she couldn't do for herself; fears and concerns; predictions and hopes.

Tomorrow is big "numero uno" and the day after is the party to begin all parties. Anyway, there's a lot more to come.

Bonk

2011-03-28T13:09:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Ellie took a pretty good face-first spill outside on the driveway. The result is a scraped up, ping-pong size bump on her forehead. Although it probably wasn't any worse than any of a few of her other falls C was justifiably worried about it, and I was too, but all signs (including a cheery-as-usual mood, toothy smiles, and properly dilating pupils) convinced me things would be okay. My plan was to make sure she would wake up multiple times during the night.

After E fell asleep in her crib, my attention turned to the TV, per usual. At the same time 60 Minutes was airing a story about a project serving wounded children from war-torn countries. Featured was a young boy (10 years old? younger?) from Iraq who stepped on a landmine which blew off one of his legs, an arm, and his left eye, while completely disfiguring his face. When they showed him going through all the reconstructive surgeries and then gave a follow-up, my eyes welled with tears.

This put my worries into perspective and grounded my concern. Granted I was still sure to keep an eye on Ellie's condition, and I chose not to write this post until today when I could be sure everything was okay.

Selfish

2011-03-13T18:24:00.000-04:00

"I hope you flip over your handlebars and knock out your two front teeth you selfish son of a bitch!" Vince Vaughn as Jeremy Grey in Wedding Crashers.

This past weekend--Saturday to be exact--C and I agreed to allow each other an hour of personal time. I was excited, the day was sunny and warm and dry and perfect for a bike ride. I suited up and enjoyed every inch of a ten mile loop I improvised.

Did I mention that earlier in the day C spent her hour frosting cookies for us? Us. Granted, she had been wanting to do that for a while, using some cool new frosting bags and a tip she just acquired, but darn. I don't feel too bad, like, I know that the bike ride was quick and a huge boost to my morale, but I hate to think that it was so selfish in the light of the things C chooses to do: making Ellie a scrapbook of her first year of life, clean the kitchen, make cookies... What the eff? I'm mostly kidding. I think she enjoys these things she does. They are outlets for her creativity and things I obviously wouldn't choose if I found the free time. I hope that fact doesn't bum her out. Does it?

Thanks for checking in

2011-03-02T15:51:00.000-05:00

The world is spinning, so madly. Today was a rush. Lots of little errands and things that were orchestrated so perfectly. It is a sunny afternoon, C is home from work, and as I type this my nose hovers over a steaming hot cup of Starbucks. I got a new shirt for 3 bucks; Ellie got new jeggings--Yes, "jeggings"--and our car is finally getting the attention (read: maintenance) it deserves. It seems like the stars are aligning. Also, I start my new job this weekend! I am beyond excited to work at a bike shop. It's very possible I will suck at my new position as a mechanic, but only time will tell. I am halfway done with taxes. Did I mention that I am drinking coffee?

I've been obsessively reading articles and watching videos about bike repair and getting excited about all the fun outdoor things that warm weather will be bringing. I still haven't done anything about preparing our gardens for the year, but figure that will fall into place within the next two months.

Anyway, thanks for checking in on this blog. Ellie is huge and walking all over and babbling and her teeth are making her miserable but all is well and maybe I'll finally upload photos and videos soon! Stay tuned, but as always don't hold your breath.