Showing posts with label 12 in 12. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 12 in 12. Show all posts

12 in 12 (September 2013)

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

This month's 12 in 12 (on the 12th) project found us running all over, from sunup to sundown. Usually when we have a busy day like this I feel wrung out by the end of it, but this day, our travels all over town really came together to highlight to me how much our city has to offer. I feel like this post is a love letter to Norfolk just as much as it is a recording of our ordinary run-of-the-mill day.

Dear Norfolk -- we love living in you. And dear readers, don't forget to pop over and check out Darcy's and Rebecca's 12 in 12 projects at No Monsters in My Bed and Not-So-SAHM.


7:30 AM: Mornings make me feel like this too.



10:00 AM: Anouk and I venture down to Ghent for a couple of hours to run errands. We have a lot of presents to buy, as pretty much everyone we know had a baby or a birthday (or both!) in September. We bought one of the baby gifts, for my friend A.'s little girl, from Kitsch, which is such an awesome store full of handmade goodies. If you live in the area, you should definitely stop in.




11:30 AM: Coffee break at Fair Grounds. Anouk sings along to the Beatles Let it Be album and I read a poetry zine put out by high school students while I finish my drink. Why wasn't I this awesome in high school??



12:00 PM: High noon on Colley Ave.


12:30 PM: We stop by Lafayette Park on the way home to run off some steam before lunch. I just adore the gnarly old live oaks that grow there; they might be my all-time favorite trees.




2:00 PM: Naptime.



5:30 PM: Aunt Kristen is in town for the day on her way to a friend's wedding. Anouk is SO happy to see her and I think the feeling might be mutual.





6:00 PM: We walk down Granby Street to visit our favorite of the Norfolk mermaids (Miss Definitely Downtown) before Aunt Bonne's birthday dinner at Hokkaido. Happy birthday, Bon-Bon! P.S.: I swear sometimes we really do eat meals at home.



8:45 PM: A quick bath before bed.

How was your day?

12 in 12 (August 2013)

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

It's August, and therefore time for another 12 photos in 12 hours. I feel like every time this project rolls around we have a really boring day and I long to be able to put my camera aside and wait to shoot when something more interesting is happening. It's hard to find the inspiration when you're just not feeling it. But I guess that's why this project is important -- it gives me a chance to search for something special in the little moments that don't seem very inspiring. And isn't that what most of life is?

I'm sure Rebecca and Darcy had far more interesting days, so be sure to check out their blogs today too. Here's to you, August 2013! Can you believe we're more than halfway through August already?








9:45 AM: It's a hot day that's only supposed to get hotter, so A. and I take our trip to the park as early as possible, right after breakfast. Despite our best-laid plans, it still feels like we're sitting in someone's armpit. Bleh. However, the chubby baby legs (climbing so high!) made me smile.



11:00 AM: A quick stop by the Virginia Tech Agricultural Research and Extension Center, a site that I'm thinking of reviewing for the blog based on a recommendation by my friend E. It looks interesting so A. and I make plans to come back later in the week when we have a little more time to explore (and when it will hopefully be cooler).



12:00 PM: Anouk's lunch: chicken nuggets, cucumber, goat cheese, and ketchup. Lots of ketchup. Anouk likes everything with a side of ketchup these days. Mama's lunch: a second latte and a few handfuls of Captain Crunch (not pictured because it was eaten hurriedly while A.'s back was turned, I want to keep her from a horrible lifelong Crunch addiction).



1:30 PM: While Anouk naps, I try on the bridesmaid dress I'm wearing in K. & D.'s wedding to see if I need to alter it at all. I can't believe I'm going to be wearing this beautiful dress in less than two months! I can't wait to see two of the best people that I know get married to each other. It's going to be rad.




2:15 PM: I reached for this magnetic Disney Princess set when we were in the thrift store a week or two ago to distract a very whiny Anouk from trying to jump out of the cart. It worked and she basically hasn't stopped playing with it since. Totally worth the $1.50 I paid for it.



3:30 PM: Kroger! Grocery shopping goes six times faster when the car-cart is available.



4:45 PM: The Josie-cat watches the squirrels in our yard. She got a clean bill of health at her checkup at the vet last week, not one issue for our 14-year-old girl. I hope this means we'll have her for 14 more.



6:00 PM: It's too hot to cook so we go out for dinner at Guad's at Granby. Our waitress was nice enough to bring A. her own bowl of  salsa because she understands that sometimes, you just have to double-dip your chip.



7:30 PM: On the way home, we stopped for a family portrait in the window of the H&R block. If I was still a humanities undergrad, I could write a fifteen page paper on how this photo is a commentary on the attitudinal changes between the American family in today's recession versus the Great Depression of the 1930s, and I would draw allusions to Grant Wood and Dorothea Lange and Sinclair Lewis. But luckily I'm not and so I don't have to do that kind of thing ever again.





8:30 PM: Bedtime cuddles with Daddy.

12 in 12 (July 2013)

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

I was supposed to take photos for the July 12 in 12 challenge on Friday the 12th, but my camera was in the shop for its yearly tune up. Ergo, these photos are actually from Monday, July 15th. It was a pretty average day -- not a whole lot going on -- but a good one all the same. Don't forget to check out Darcy and Rebecca's 12 in 12 projects this month and to let us know if you want us to link up to you for next month's 12 in 12!

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8:30 AM: Anouk wakes up before me and greets me with vibrant purple marker outlining her eyes. "Mommy, I pretty!" I alternate between being horrified that the ink might be toxic (it isn't) and impressed with her steady hand.





9:45 AM: Now that Anouk has finally (mostly) left the putting-everything-in-her-mouth stage, I feel like I can break out my favorite dangly-beaded summer sandals, which have been in storage since May 2011. Welcome back, friends!



10:30 AM: A trip to the garden reveals that a half-dozen tomatoes have started to turn red overnight. We pick them and put them in our window, lest the squirrels eat them before we can.



11:15 AM: Playdate at Adalae and Zeke's house.


12:00 PM: A. helps me and Miss Molly get ready for Kid's Clothes Week.






12:45 PM: Temper tantrum.



3 PM: After lunch, nap, and a trip to the store, I ask A. to help me clean her room.



24 minutes (and many entreaties, threats, and finally bribes) later, the room looks like this:



These photos are probably the best representation of how I spend my days.

5:30 PM: It's James's night to make dinner (venison burgers, grilled squash, and gazpacho). Since we're off dinner duty, A. and I head outside to for some sprinkler action. The weather is perfect for this, just a balmy 97 or so degrees.





8:30 PM: Anne is finally in bed and so it's down to the sweltering garage for a workout. A month or so ago, I mentioned wanting to get stronger and J. volunteered to train me in our home gym. He is a very strict trainer and our sessions usually end with me yelling at him but it seems to be working.

How was your day?

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