6 months

I can’t quite figure out where the time has gone; Max will be 6 months old on Tuesday. He’s such a funny little man—somewhat serious and contemplative, but quick to giggle when Daddy is being silly.

Sometimes it’s still hard to believe he’s ours. I ask him “Are you real?” and he looks at me as if to say, “Well, of course!”

We are so lucky.

Motivated

I’ve found an outlet for my creativity: Cafepress! Ages ago I created a fun French Bulldog graphic that I finally dug it out of the archives and slapped on some merchandise.

The dog bowl is probably my favorite, but it works well on the coffee mug too. And I don’t even care if people buy this stuff—it’s just fun to see my design on various products. I am a huge dork.

Anyway, my big plan is to open a fancier custom shop with designs for babies and kids. I have some ideas I’ve been kicking around, I just need a little time to pull it all together. It’s an odd feeling to be so motivated.

Still life with “yam”

Jim and I have decided we need to eat more veg (as the British might say). We seem to easily get stuck in a rut. So in an effort to branch out, I picked up a couple of “yams” at the store a few weeks ago. I put the quotations there for a reason. Apparently the vegetable referred to as yams in the supermarket are generally NOT yams in the strict sense; I learned this on Wikipedia.

Anywho, after I peeled one of the “yams,” I was struck by how much it resembled a bird. So I decided to assemble a little still life on our window sill. The bottles were a gift from Jim’s uncle, who was a collector of antique bottles and glass.

Oh, and I’m pretty sure that liver cure was far from “safe”.

Scattered

My thoughts are incredibly disjointed lately. I start making a mental “to do” list, and 5 seconds later I’m wondering how much cheaper fresh whole chickens are than the roasted ones you can buy at the deli. I was always this way to some degree, but it has gotten worse since I had Max. Now my mind is on overdrive all the time. So in honor of my scattered brain, here’s a scattered post.

When Banjo and Rooster were at the “spa” during our trip to New Mexico, one of the other guests decided to “taste” Banjo’s nose, leaving a series of tiny scabs. If this happened to Rooster I would understand, because he is all attitude. But Banjo? He’s as sweet as blueberry pie. The rage I felt upon hearing that another dog had the GAUL to bite him, and that somehow the staff somehow let this happen? It was deep and furious. Luckily Banjo has healed quickly and I realized that accidents DO happen. I also know I had better get used to the concept because someday another kid will inevitably get teethy with Max at daycare, or worse, he’ll go all Jaws on someone else.

Speaking of sharks, Max has taken to oatmeal like a great white to a lazy seal. To top it off, he’s discovered how to “raspberry,” which has made mealtime infinitely more interesting. I’m pretty sure our entire kitchen is now covered in a fine coating of oatmeal bits. Maybe I could take advantage of Max’s new habit for monetary gains. A little food coloring in the oatmeal and a large white piece of paper might be all we need to achieve Jackson-Pollock-level greatness.

Which reminds me, I told a friend the other day that I am convinced my creativity has taken a leave of absence and is off somewhere sulking in a dark corner, drinking a bottle of Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill. Maybe it’s because I have little time for arty pursuits, and maybe it’s because I often feel in a fog. Regardless, I need to do something to remedy this situation.

You know who never lacking for creative content? Stephen Colbert. And Comedy Central is now posting full episodes of the Colbert Report on the web. It’s a real boon for those of us that typically keel over on the couch round about 9:15 pm.

And the best thing to eat while you’re watching the show? Why, Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream, of course! Jim brought some home a couple of weeks ago and it was delightfully snackicious. Though I am making it a point to eschew the ice cream except for special occasions since it appears my scale is stuck. I still have 10 lbs more to lose and I think it’s time to declare war and start counting calories. If I can reel in my attention span a bit, that is.