notes from a dragon mom

read this very inspiring and heartbreaking story about what it means to be a parent over at the new york times.

shout-outs

i follow a handful of new-mother blogs. it's really fun to read about a new mother's journey and watch families (that i don't know personally) expand.  via these blogs i get to watch her belly grow, hear what she goes through, and then wait in anticipation when--near the end--there is silence. the next post is always a photo of a sometimes cute, always slimy, new little human being.

omg. i always cry. it's so exciting and i'm thankful for the women out there that share such a big part of their life with people like me who are going through a similar thing. or people like me who have always loved stories of life and family and love, even before i was pregnant.

here's a list of my favorite mama and new-mama blogs. some have a huge following, some are my little secrets. either way, take a peek and say hello to these amazing women!

aura joon (bi-racial babies are the cutest and i love seeing young couples in love)
aux petit soiseaux (a lovely french-canadian couple that lives simply and beautifully)
baby mine (fashion and food tips from this classy manhattanite)
dear baby (just found this one! young couple and natural birth stories, oh my)
hank and lucy (two friends are pregnant and due at the same time and blog about it. together.)
the maiden metallurgist (my personal favorite bc of her amazing, unbridled honesty. read her story from the beginning)
marvelous kiddo (fashionable advocate of breast-feeding and baby-wearing -- not your typical attachment parent)
michelle hartney (downtown chicagoan who makes looking like a make-upped new mom so easy)
pacing the panic room (papa-blog who tends to ramble. but his kids are adorable and his wife is the reason i felt convicted to have a home birth and found proof that you can be pregnant AND sexy)
wee textile (if i have it right, she only dresses her children in organic goods. and they are gorgeous)

like to read these same kinds of blogs? let me know: which ones have i missed?

osama bin laden is dead and people are celebrating like mad men in the streets.

‎"The sacrifice to end sacrifices was made by God through the sacrifice of his son, and the ending of sacrifice means that we don't continue to sacrifice other people to make the world come out all right. Justice has been done. We've been given all the time in the world to announce that God would not have God's kingdom wrought through violence. That's good news. It's hard news, but it's good news." - Stanley Hauerwaus

quote found here via my thoughtful friend, garret.

get drunk.

charles baudelaire.

found here.

their bodies

a poem by david wagoner

To the students of anatomy
at Indiana University

That gaunt old man came first, his hair as white
As your scoured tables. Maybe you’ll recollect him
By the scars of steelmill burns on the backs of his hands,
On the nape of his neck, on his arms and sinewy legs,
And her by the enduring innocence
Of her face, as open to all of you in death
As it would have been in life: she would memorize
Your names and ages and pastimes and hometowns
If she could, but she can’t now, so remember her.

They believed in doctors, listened to their advice,
And followed it faithfully. You should treat them
One last time as they would have treated you.
They had been kind to others all their lives
And believed in being useful. Remember somewhere
Their son is trying hard to believe you’ll learn
As much as possible from them, as he did,
And will do your best to learn politely and truly.

They gave away the gift of those useful bodies
Against his wish. (They had their own ways
Of doing everything, always.) If you’re not certain
Which ones are theirs, be gentle to everybody.

rolling in the deep

wow. watch this.

another you

Ben & Zooey sing a Tom Springfield song (and I love it)

There's a new world somewhere

They call The Promised Land

And I'll be there some day

If you will hold my hand

I still need you there beside me

No matter what I do

For I know I'll never find another you

There is always someone

For each of us they say

And you'll be my someone

For ever and a day

I could search the whole world over

Until my life is through

But I know I'll never find another you

It's a long, long journey

So stay by my side

When I walk through the storm

You'll be my guide, be my guide

If they gave me a fortune

My pleasure would be small

I could lose it all tomorrow

And never mind at all

But if I should lose your love, dear

I don't know what I'll do

For I know I'll never find another you

But if I should lose your love, dear

I don't know what I'll do

For I know I'll never find another you

Another you, another you

a quote

we fall in love, we drink hard, we run to and fro upon the earth like frightened sheep. And now you are to ask yourself if, when all is done, you would not have been better to sit by the fire at home, and be happy thinking.

--robert louis stevenson

somedays, robert, yes. and other times: most definitely not.

via stuff no one told me

arcade fire and chrome

i suggest trying this at home.

roma

by matthew dickman

Last night my neighbor was looking a little enlightened,

you know, the way bodies do

after spending the afternoon having sex

on an old couch while responsible people are suffering

with their clothes on in cubicles and libraries.

He had that look vegetables get

in really nice grocery stores where the tomatoes aren't just red

they're goddamn red!

He was like that. Like a glowing, off-the-vine Roma

sitting in his living room picking pineapple off a Hawaiian pizza

and telling me about his father who was a real mother

fucker. I ask him if he still loved his dad, or if he loved him more

now that he is dead. Sure, he says, I love anything that's dead.

Someone's hand floats up onto the beach

while the body is still lost below the current, a vase of lilacs

turned brown, the black archipelago of mourners marching

up the hill. My neighbor is there to greet each of them

with a box of chocolates and a barbershop quartet in the background.

When my father died, he says opening a beer, he was no longer

my father. He was no longer a man. It's easy to love things

when they're powerless, like children and goldfish.

This is the way with enlightened people. They say things

that are so infuriatingly simple when the world is not.

So I put down my Pepsi and pull out the big card.

What about Hitler? I ask. You can't love Hitler!

My neighbor puts a piece of pineapple on his tongue like a sacrament,

sucks the juice out of it, chews it up, then turns

his head slow like a cloud and says I can love anybody I feel like loving.

And I say that's ridiculous.

And he says what's ridiculous is that you don't. And there he is again,

shining in the grocery store, pulling the bow off

the heart-shaped candies and putting one softly into his father's mouth.

via here.

if you're going to be a snob, do it well.

i don't know a whole ton about wine except that i LOVE wine. i wouldn't complain if one day i was in the position to order whatever bottle tickled my fancy when out dining (or even picking up something at mondo vino for a nice dinner by jp).

i will certainly keep these tips in mind when i am finally there. number 7 is my personal favorite.

root down in the new york times

i'm feeling pretty neat to work for a restaurant included in an article in the new york times.

root down is a great place to work and i really love justin cucci's vision (did you read the part about him turning an old morgue into his next restaurant!?!?). i can't wait to see what he does with that space.

of course, this article was not comprehensive in it's list of denver restaurants that are "heading to the garden" (or went that way a long time ago). either way, it's really wonderful to be a part of such a beautiful and thoughtful food scene -- especially since this is such a new passion of mine.

danny and annie

storycorps is a podcast that everyone should subscribe to, if they don't already listen to it in the car on NPR. every friday they air a couple of interviews from people around the nation. it's typically two people closely related in someway interviewing each other about their relationship or the past. they have recently started animating these stories and sharing them on their website. this one, especially, tugged at my heart strings.

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

easy on the ears, heavy on the language

nsfw

please do not listen to this at work without headphones.

please note, there are words used that, to some people, are possibly offensive.

however, rock on and enjoy. i can't get this song out of my head.

by cee-lo

via stuff no one told me

a little something about eggs

this article explains the labeling on eggs.

our ladies are not organic (we feed them purina layena pellets) but they are cage-free and free-range. and their eggs are oh-so tasty.

litany

by billy collins.

recited by a three-year-old. (translation below).

You are the bread and the knife, The crystal goblet and the wine... -Jacques Crickillon You are the bread and the knife, the crystal goblet and the wine. You are the dew on the morning grass and the burning wheel of the sun. You are the white apron of the baker, and the marsh birds suddenly in flight. However, you are not the wind in the orchard, the plums on the counter, or the house of cards. And you are certainly not the pine-scented air. There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air. It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge, maybe even the pigeon on the general's head, but you are not even close to being the field of cornflowers at dusk. And a quick look in the mirror will show that you are neither the boots in the corner nor the boat asleep in its boathouse. It might interest you to know, speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world, that I am the sound of rain on the roof. I also happen to be the shooting star, the evening paper blowing down an alley and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table. I am also the moon in the trees and the blind woman's tea cup. But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife. You are still the bread and the knife. You will always be the bread and the knife, not to mention the crystal goblet and--somehow--the wine.