Archive for 2015

Last night I cooked a dinner, and two of the dishes had only one ingredient. It was completely amazing. Don't get me wrong, I like Thanksgiving food. I like it a lot. It's comfort food (i.e. the Kids' menu in adult portions), and it tastes delicious. We ate Thanksgiving food or road trip food or takeout-because-we-didn't-want-to-mess-up-our-kitchen-for-the-Airbnbers food for at least week. Macaroni and Cheese is amazing, but it is not a vegetable. Last night we had curried quinoa, roasted butternut squash, and Brussels sprouts. I could feel every cell in my body thanking me with each bite.

Anyone else still hungover from Thanksgiving? We had a fun holiday. We traveled to Arkansas and spent 5 days with David's family in a condo. My introvert self was a little freaked out by the close quarters, but the company was good. The Wee Boy had an absolutely blast playing non-stop with his cousins, yelling to wake everyone up as early as possible, and eating sugar all week. He also pet an alligator, which you've already seen if you follow me on Instagram:

We also learned that he inherited our weak stomachs for car rides. The boy is an amazing traveler on planes and trains, but take this boy on a car trip and yikes! I lifted my screen-time rules and let him watch the iPad about 30 minutes into our journey, and he puked EVERYWHERE shortly thereafter. I ended up reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz aloud to him to kill time, which was, honestly, mostly delightful. He really liked it, particularly the Winged Monkeys and "the soldier with the green whiskers."

I got a little accidental down time yesterday, when the horrendous driving weather forced our hand. We stopped for the evening in Nashville, exhausted and ready for bed. After a swim in the hotel pool and a little alone time, I felt reinvigorated and wanted to show the Wee Boy a honky tonk. I had never even thought about it, but it turns out that most of the honky tonks on Lower Broadway are all ages before 6pm. We wandered to the Second Fiddle, danced, clapped, tipped, and eventually settled in at Robert's Western World for some comfort food and some comfort music. The Wee Boy, of course, is no stranger to live music, but he was still mesmerized. We left just before it turned 21+ and pretty much went straight to bed.

I'm now plotting the next time we can get down to Nashville for an entire day of honky-tonkin' with the Wee Boy. I don't know why I had never thought of that before.

Speaking of country music, it's time again to start forcing you to listen to my Hanukkah music. Here's a free download or listen to "Blue Dreidel No. 9" from a Christmas Compilation (I know, I know, ironic?):

Also: Louisville parents: Bring your kiddo to Mama's Hip on Wednesday morning for Family Music Jam! 10:30am, drop-in, lots of fun. $10/family. Pretty please?? We have so much fun there.

Confessions:

I have been going to bed before 9pm all week. Tonight I have an early gig, and I'm still hoping to be in bed by 9.

My kid wasn't affected in the least by the time change. I think that's what comes of him being a generally not-great sleeper. He doesn't ever care what time it is. I read updates of people whose kids are "begging to go to bed," and I am confused. A parenting success out of a failure!

I want to cook a holiday feast. I think maybe I now like the holidays. I'm not sure what that's about. Speaking of...

I saw someone walking down the street with a Starbucks red cup earlier this week, and now I wish I lived within walking distance of a Starbucks. I know. I really know. But I still want one.
I got into Yerdle for a few weeks, accumulated some Yerdle dollars to buy stuff (which I haven't used yet because I don't actually like to buy things), and now I think I have stopped Yerdling. It's a time-suck, and it involves trips to a UPS store, and I'm starting to think it's a part-time job. I have enough trouble balancing my 6 part-time jobs as it is.
We had a rental car for a month because of David's work. It was very weird, and I don't think I enjoyed it. More on that in another blog.
I really like to browse Pinterest. It is so mindless and distracting.
My feet have grown, but I do not want to part with my amazing lifetime cowboy boot collection. I am letting go, slowly, but it makes me sad.
I found a bunch of notes and letters and journals from high school in the basement, and I threw them all away after re-reading only two. Because, really, who needs to be brought back to high school, if even for an afternoon?
I am working on a new record! The songs are old (to me) at this point because I have not created anything new in ages because I had a baby who was then a toddler who was then a preschooler and I don't know how to balance art and motherhood. But I am excited to finish this record and tour it and make room in my head to create something new. (Can I play a house concert for you next summer/fall, please? Seriously. It'll be fun. Email me. Let's work this out.)
I still have culture shock, though I have been back in Kentucky THREE YEARS today. Even though I love Louisville and my family and friends, I really wish I could convince them that we should all move to Scotland. Remember, remember.

Here is a new photo, by Joseph Mays of Alien Twilight Photography. I had some new pictures taken last week, before I decided to eat all of the holiday cookies, and I'm so glad I did. Joe is a huge talent, and I'm amazed by all of the images he sent. Here's one of my favorites:

When David and I were both self-employed a few years ago, I offered him all kinds of time management advice. It was pretty good stuff, I thought, but I'm having quite a time adhering to my own advice. In the interest of completely procrastinating on actually doing work today, I'm going to make a new list of all the tips that I know help. Voila!

1. Make a list on Sunday night of what you need to accomplish that week. But don't do it right before bed because that can just stress you out. Just know that it's on the list, so it will get done. Then go about enjoying your weekend.

1a. List your to-dos by category.

My business and daily life get mixed up, so when I remember I have to pay some bills, I keep a separate "home" list. I also keep an "email/communication" subcategory, along with Bookkeeping, Writing, Home, The Wee Boy, etc.

2. Slim that list down on Monday morning of what you absolutely need to accomplish that day.

It's too easy to flip out looking at a massive To Do list. There's actually a pre-printed planne r, called the Planner Pad, if you're the ink-to-paper type, that organizes your week like this. I have trouble keeping up with both paper and Google calendar, but they have an e-version as well.

3. Identify tasks that can wait until other days and assign them throughout the week.

4. Set a timer for tedious tasks, and stick to it.

If you know you're only going to be spending 15 minutes on something, you'll know it won't be so bad. Also, it helps you stay focused -- no straying from the task until the timer sounds.

5. Only check email a few times a day.

This saves time and stops you from doing that thing where you read the email, think 'I'll respond to that in just a bit because I'm doing something else now,' and then you completely forget about that old email because it's no longer bold-faced in your inbox.

6. Leave the house.

If your house is in a state of disarray, you aren't going to get as much accomplished as you could. It's too easy to say "Oh, but laundry, but organization, but dishes, but etc etc etc." I'm sure it would be lovely to hire a professional organizer to come in and makeover your home so you feel all zen and able to work at your dining room table (or even home office if you are so lucky!), but for now: go to the coffee shop. While you are there, remember to set a timer to make the most of your time.

7. Work when you are most productive.

This one is super-hard when you have kids, or at least it has been for me. My childcare starts at 9am, but I am not a morning person. I am most productive and creative beginning at around 2p, basically just before I have to pick up the Wee Boy. If you don't have such restrictions, enjoy the freedom and make the most of it. You can set your own hours, so set them to when you can be efficient.

8. Schedule your social media posts.

You can use "schedule" feature on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. so you can post at optimum hours without being tethered to your laptop or phone at those exact moments. This ties in well with #7 -- if you write best at midnight, then write then. But schedule your post for a more prominent social media time.

9. Give yourself a break.

This one is hard for me. I am the meanest boss around. But every employee needs a break. Take a walk around the block, do a 20 minute yoga video, sit down for a cuppa, whatever will re-energize you. Just again: Set a timer, so it doesn't turn into a Netflix marathon.

10. Learn your limits.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Self-employed workers are doing the work of at least five (and probably more) employees. Understand that you are taking on a lot, and be good to yourself.

11. Remember that your job is important.

I struggle with this one, especially because so many of my friends just do not understand self-employment. Most either think I am a stay-at-home-mom or that I am available to have lunch or coffee on a moment's notice if my kiddo is in childcare. I shouldn't care what they think, but it's rough when the same friend calls every day right during the time my clients start arriving (and when they have known your schedule for 10+ years!). It's easy to be dismissive of your own career, but do your best to remember that your job is important.

Now, to follow my own advice! Singing that song from Alice in Wonderland ... "I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it." Sigh.

What are your time management tips?? I'd love to hear them.

The wee boy has had a rough few weeks. He's okay, but we had a scary ER visit because of a bad head wound caused by another child hitting him with a toy. Most recently, someone unwittingly gave him a hot dog (I'm sure this person feels guilty enough; this post isn't meant to shame anyone -- just inform others).

Now, I know it's common knowledge among vegetarians that you'll likely get sick if you haven't eaten meat in a while and you revert. I also know there are some people with magical intestines who aren't phased by meat at all, no matter how long it's been. I also know that most of the non-vegetarians of the world think this illness is completely psychosomatic.

Wee boy walking the Labyrinth to do a little
soul-searching after a rough week.

If that's your thinking, let me tell you that you are WRONG.

My poor boy -- who has never had any kind of meat (nor did I ever eat meat during pregnancy, and he's still on the high end of the growth curve, so hush your judgmental mouth about if he's getting enough protein) -- had just a few bites of a beef hot dog last week, before noticing it "tasted different than my vegetarian hot dogs, so I threw it away." And I have never seen him so sick. So sick. Both ends. Off and on for hours. Ugh, I get angry and weepy just thinking about it.

I've been giving him probiotics to help out his poor little gut, and some of the rage has left me (I was on fire with anger, even though I know it was an accident). Mostly, the wee boy feels sad and guilty because "a cow died for me" (my main reasons for being a veggie are environmental, but the wee boy's are a mixture of "what's good for the earth and for the 'aminals'") Ugh.

In good news, his reaction seems to confirm that no one else has given him meat sneakily before. And it also warns future meat-givers that any attempts will be busted.

A little deep thinking now, extrapolating from this teeny incident: it irritates me to no end that people still brush off vegetarianism. Gluten-free people get more of a pass these days, at least in America (I mean, there's a gluten-free cafe at Churchill Downs, but no vegetarian one). Maybe you're thinking that gluten is an allergy, and vegetarianism is not. But tell me -- would you feed a rabbi's child bacon, or a Hindu a cow? brushing it aside as a preference rather than an allergy? And also, vegetarians can get very ill indeed from eating meat, which might as well be an allergic reaction.

Grrrrrr. Anyway, he's fine now. I am getting over it. I know it won't happen again, at least not from this person. And before you jump down my throat, yes, if the wee boy chooses to eat meat on his own one day, that's totally fine. He can do anything he like when he's older. For now, our family doesn't eat meat.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

Maybe I'll watch this video I made of Scotland to remind me of simpler times.

I have a love/hate relationship with the bus system in Louisville. It is the worst public transportation system of any city I've lived in, BUT when it works, it works so well. I was at my destination less than two minutes after hopping on the bus this morning. Granted I was only going a mile and a half, but, still, it was quick and efficient.

Now, I have had plenty of family and friends who have worked in government, so I understand that things are not easy to change. I go back and forth between being just completely angry and grumbling things like HAS ANYONE IN METRO GOVERNMENT ACTUALLY RIDDEN ON ANY OTHER CITY'S PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION BEFORE?!?!? I get that change costs money, and I get that people in Louisville loooooooove their cars. And most of the people with the time to go to goverment meetings and public forums, well, public transportation is not at the top of their concerns list. But but but but but but but but...

Something good that is coming is that we are FINALLY -- almost 20 years after New York -- getting a MetroCard type option: https://www.ridetarc.org/mytarc/ . It's called MyTarc, and the signs have been posted on the buses all summer, telling us it's coming sometime in 2015. The website now says winter or spring 2016. This gives me hope that maybe they are going to make it a little better than the website says.

Some things I love (starting with the positive):

You will be able to buy them ahead of time and store money on them.
There are unlimited-ride options. $3.50 for a day pass and $15 for a weekly.
The cost is only $1.50 a ride, while paying cash for a single ride is currently $1.75. Note that even now you can buy $1.50 single tickets in packs of ten ($15). Of course, you can't actually buy them on the bus. You can have someone at TARC mail them to you in 5-7 days, or you can go down to Union Station like David did and buy a pack in person. It turns out you can also buy them at the Main Library or any 5/3rd Bank location, which I can't believe I didn't know having lived here most of my life. The tickets are pink and sparkly, and I love them. I keep 4 in my wallet at all times, so you and I can go on a spontaneous adventure without searching for $1.75 each.

Lousiville TARC single ride tickets.

Some things about the new system I wish they would fix:

Okay, okay, I really really don't want to be so grumbly. I'm adding this paragraph because my list of complaints, as it turns out, IS very grumbly. I know that someone downtown is working super hard and probably has had to argue to a committee or a supervisor who doesn't understand and maybe the person in charge of the system has the same gripes I have, but this compromise was the best they could do. I just really don't understand how a system that costs $5 million to update is still not as sophisticated as the MetroCard system of the late 1990s.

You can add money to your card, BUT you cannot allow your friends or family members to use your card. That is, you can't swipe twice and pay for the person behind you. Not the biggest deal, but if you have family in town, they'll need to buy their own card (which you cannot buy from a bus driver).

Your swipe comes with 1 free transfer within two hours (they say this isn't any different from now, but every paper transfer I've ever gotten has been good for three hours), BUT once the MyTARC smart card system is in place, anyone who pays cash will NOT get a transfer. The website says this will save the drivers the time of tearing off that piece of paper that seems to actually take no time to tear off at the moment.

This is the one that makes me shake my head in disbelief. You can use a credit card (not Amex, another grrrr), BUT ... "If adding value using Visa, MasterCard or Discover cards, allow 48 hours before use as fare." So, if I'm reading this correctly, I will not be able to stand at a bus stop, use my phone to add value to my card by credit card, and then get on the bus a few minutes later. Yes, I totally realize that this sounds like I'm taking for granted the amazing future in which we live, but it's absurd that the city is spending $5million dollars on a very cool new system that won't actually allow credit card purchase in an immediately-useful way. Which means the people in my we-love-our-cars-even-though-the-bus-might-be-cheaper-and-quicker-neighborhood (Highlands/Bardstown Road) are still probably not going to take the bus.

Where's the App????? Please, please, I hope I'm able to correct this blog entry and say, "My bad! Fully functioning app ready to roll out with the new cards." But seriously ... $5 million ... just toss in an app to let me scan and store my smart card, so I can ideally wave my phone at the new scanning system, but at the very least, not have to visit a website to add money to my card. And maybe the goal isn't to increase ridership (though shouldn't it be?), but it seems like it would make things a lot easier for Millennials and anyone who doesn't absolutely-have-to-take-the-bus if you could figure out a route and buy a ticket on your smartphone while standing at the bus stop (and not relying on Google Maps).

Anyway, I've been hesitating hitting "publish" on this blog for a while now because, again, I don't want to be so grumbly. Mostly, it's the credit card thing that seems completely insane to me. I love progress. I love change. I am all for people ditching their cars and riding the bus. I just think we can do better.

Again, I would love nothing more than to correct or edit or write a new blog saying that Louisville has got it right! How can I help?? I know this is just a blog. I thought about pitching an article to a news outlet in town, but I'm swamped these days. Maybe IL wants do more research and keep me posted?

This week in Louisville:

Louisville! I'm playing at Headliner's next week. So maybe if you're in town, you can come?

What else has been going on?

Reminder: Family Music Jam this week is WEDNESDAY 12/16. 10:30am. Drop-in. Come sing holiday tunes with me:) $10/family at Mama's Hip. www.mamas-hip.com