The Great Kitzmans and Catsby

We hosted a couple of very special guests recently: Grammy and Papa Kitzman! They stayed with us for the week and doted on Edie from sun-up to sundown each day. Dave and I sat back and enjoyed the reinforcement, taking advantage by working out in the morning and crashing on the couch while our poor guests did the dinner dishes. It was like having two loving live-in nannies.

Unfortunately they didn't get a great taste of East Coast spring weather. However, they were googly-eyed over Edie so I don't think they noticed the cloudy skies. They tried to get their fill while here, snapping as many pictures and stealing kisses at will. They took us out to eat and we brought them to the Bushnell Park carousel, the Capitol, and the Michaud lake house on sunny Mother's Day. All in all, we had a great time with Dave's folks, and they're planning to come back at Christmas.

In other news, we adopted a cat from the Humane Society. Dave and I are more dog people, and have never been into other people's cats. They're so fickle. But we don't have the time or energy to devote to a dog right now, and Edie is a huuuge fan of cats, so we thought, why not? Now that we own a house we can make these kind of grown-up decisions. Uh-huh.

All the cats at the pound have bios that include their name, sex, health issues, etc. They indicate whether they tolerate kids, dogs, and other cats. Pretty much 90% of the cats do not 'like' young kids. If Chairman Meow has sat on Grandma's lap while she crocheted for 10 years, it's understandable that he doesn't care for sticky-fingered toddlers. There were two non-obese female cats that didn't outright detest kids, so we took 'Bubbles' into the adoption room and got a closer look. Bubbles seemed chill, friendly, and curious, all good cat qualities. Because I am the mother of a toddler, I will give her age in months: 17. We filled out the paperwork and promptly changed her name to Catsby. (I was reading The Great Gatsby for book club...the name stuck, but I can't say I finished the book).

I'll spare you all the furry details but this cat is cool. I'm pleasantly surprised that both Dave and I really like her. She tolerates Edie, who's not inhumane, but does chase her and throw treats in her face while she's eating. She sneaks around our yard acting like a little lion, and then comes inside to get a drink and take a nap. And she is cuddly and affectionate. I told Edie her purring means she's happy. Edie said, "Happy? Happy. Happy!".

My secret garden

Anyone within earshot knows that my job has been getting me down. Ever since the new year, our department has been slammed. I work long hours doing a job that generally doesn't fit my skills and interests, and sometimes I don't get a breath of fresh air until 6pm. I often sit and wonder how I landed at such a desk, in such a place, after having a career that I loved so much in Seattle. Well, I met up with some girlfriends for dinner a couple weeks ago. A conversation with my friend about my job led to talk about "The Secret". She went through the gist of the book, and I gathered what I could over the Friday night hoppin' restaurant din. The gist: think positively, good things will come. (I'm sure Oprah, Dr. Oz, or both have exploited "The Secret" and its concepts.)

This isn't news. I've held on tight to my book "Creative Visualization" by Shakti Gawain for about 8 years now. The pages have yellowed. The principles of Creative Visualization are that energy is magnetic, and form follows thought. When I apply myself, the practices outlined help me get what I want. I've envisioned things or events that I want to happen, and made "treasure maps" and wrote out scenes as I want them to unfold. It's uncanny how many things have manifested when I put some time into envisioning my ideal scenario, from giving a work presentation with confidence, to meeting an awesome guy, to being approved for our mortgage.

I haven't read The Secret, but I believe it tells a similar story. After our conversation, I decided I was tired of holding onto a mess of negativity related to my job. It's destructive, exhausting, and unhelpful. I decided to think happy job-related thoughts, and got motivated by putting myself back on the right professional path. I had an upfront conversation with my manager, and contacted some colleagues, mostly people that I don't know, to talk about opportunities. I contacted other people within the urban planning field, both to volunteer and to inquire about their jobs and and the paths that led them there. It's within my reach to write my own story. At the risk of veering into cheese-saturated self-helpdom, I really do believe this.

When we were looking to buy a house last summer, I fell in love with ours, and getting a mortgage was a long, drawn out process that involved a charade of inept lenders on the other end of the line. There were a few months of high stress paper trails, and at times we felt that this house was going to slip through our fingers. To make myself feel better, I wrote out an ideal scene and found it recently. In it, I described our yard as a secret garden, a respite from the world. Do you agree?

I know a place where we can get away

...it's called Brooklyn!

One of the perks of moving back to CT is proximity to the greatest city on earth: NYC. It certainly helps that I lived in Astoria and worked in Manhattan for 3 years, so I have a basic understanding of how it works, and that my sister lives in Brooklyn with her family. It's so good to have a place to visit, and a reason to go. I doubt we'd just ride into the city much without a free place to crash. Before our visit last week, I asked my sis that our trip be on the cheap. She said it was definitely do-able, and was up to the task. You've heard of the $20 New York rule, right? You can't step off your stoop without blowing a $20 on nothing- a coffee, a pack of gum, a subway ride, and a beer, and your money is history.

We were on a relative shoestring but of course had to go to happy hour...

order delicious Indian food...

workout at Prospect Park...

...and eat bagels with lox, and visit the coffee shop a collective three times in 24 hours (no photos to share). Other highlights included not falling asleep during the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and Edie got her cat fix with poor, unsuspecting Zeke!

We love our Brooklyn brothers and sisters, and can't wait to go back.

Trying hard to feel cool

I don't know if a single part of my life makes me feel lame, or if it's a composite of multiple elements. Living in a suburb, which was our choice, makes me feel displaced from the pulse of culture. To any suburban-raised city-dweller, I'm sure this comes as no surprise.

Here's an example disconnection: when living in NYC circa 2006, I dreamed of moving to a new corner of the country. In my research of the Pacific Northwest I learned of KEXP, Seattle's most robust, alternative not-for-profit radio station. I streamed their station to my PC at work, and fell in love with this faraway city. I envisioned a sleepy, gloomy metropolis with good music pumping from every city bus. KEXP features live in-studios, album reviews, DJ mixes on podcast, and free audio candy on their website daily. They avoid canned radio-friendly hits in favor of a broad range of artists and genres. I mean, I like Adele as much as the next American, but the local radio slaughters her by playing Rolling in the Deep ad nauseum.

When I uprooted to Seattle, the familiarity of KEXP and its DJs served as a bridge as I settled into my new city. KEXP didn't fail to disappoint (except for Wo-Pop, their weekly foray into world music). Since the station is "listener-powered", they don't air car dealership or 5-Hour Energy commercials. Instead, they do quarterly membership drives, and their connection with the community (and Seattle's deep pockets) is broad. I was a happy supporter of this invaluable cultural resource. When we decided to move to CT, the prospect of saying goodbye to my favorite station bummed me out.

As feared, here in Hartford the local radio fails to excite or educate (ok, NPR does educate). My brother-in-law introduced me to "Somebody that I Used to Know" by Gotye this past weekend and it was the most amazing song I've heard in a while (besides The Black Keys new album, El Camino). It brought me back to my two-glasses-of-wine-and-download-iTunes days as a single Seattle gal. This song came out in December, and this was the first time I heard it? I felt late to the party.

Granted, I can stream KEXP at work on my phone, and I suppose I could download their podcasts for my morning commute....maybe that'll make me feel better about driving to work in my Subaru, off to corporate America. My other proposed antidotes to uncoolness are:
a) visit my sis and family in Brooklyn regularly
b) keep reading New York and Bust mags so I know what's up in the greatest city and the world of hip ladies, respectively
c) return to Crossfit and kick the sh*t out of suburban blues

Home Improvement on a Budget with a Toddler: Part 1

Hello faithful readers.

My mother-in-law has put in a request for more Edie photos. I admit that picture-taking (and posting) has decreased by a solid 85% since Edie's first year. One explanation is that so much more time is spent engaging and chasing her and making sure she's not climbing into the dishwasher. We are no longer staring googly-eyed at a cute, immobile, magical baby. Another reason is that Edie's hip to the iPhone and wants it. Most picture-taking ends in a grabby cry-fest. So we keep it to a minimum.

But now that I have my own iPhone I've been messing around with Instagram. With a click of a button you can make your photos look straight out of 1963 (see below) or 1982. You know we like that old timey ass shit. Anyway, I will try to post more Edie pics today.

I've been tackling some small-scale home improvement projects, including painting the kitchen (with my parents), consulting my Aunt Kitty who is making us living room curtains, framing artwork, and changing light switch covers. The woman we bought our house from straight-up loved polished brass fixtures. I do not. And I don't think anyone else in this house cares, so I'm the project designer, manager, and foreman.

I've spent quite a bit of time pouring over magazines like Rejuvenation and Smith+Noble. I mostly order samples because they're free, and I feel like I'm making some kind of progress. I'm a long-time fan of blogs such as Apartment Therapy and DesignSponge. I love collections, color, roadside finds, affordable artwork, modern design, and shoestring solutions (which is why Smith+Noble is more an idea source). Although built in the '40s, our home is in great shape and has been well maintained, but I haven't really dived into making it ours. Here's early Saturday morning playtime caught on camera. I consider this a 'before' photo. Note the lack of curtains, stopgap entertainment unit (made by my Dad circa 1978), and wisp of blue on the walls. Can you spot the kiddo?

Here's a close-up. I love the morning light.

I'll continue to post as we make progress. Next on the to-do list: paint our hallway, which is a grand undertaking that will include painting up a staircase, and installing new kitchen lights (again with the brass- it needs to go!). My Dad is eager to knock down the wall dividing our kitchen and dining room, and we're on board, but we're not yet there financially. In the meantime here's some parting family shots.

Edie's obsession: Daddy

Good night!

I'll Take Hartford for $200, Alex

Hartford is my home city but I know so little about it. Now that I work downtown I'm learning a little bit, like good places to eat (Trumbull Kitchen), good places to get an Americano (yes, they exist if the owner of Jojo's makes it), and where to find the world's most un-friendly eyesore of an arena (The Civic Center, now called XL Center, is an urban planning nightmare). My cousin Marshall and two buddies have started a custom denim company here, resurrecting old industrial sewing equipment and bringing handmade manufacturing back to the city. The Hartford Courant published a great piece last week. I want to visit their shop and when I can scrap together the cash, order some custom jeans. Go Marshall!

Here are some pics of downtown, brushed with some Instagram love.

...and home

5 sit-ups, 5 push-ups, no excuses

The 20 minute workout. Before Edie, I'd dip out of work at Makers' for a luxurious lunchtime spin class or hit up Crossfit from 6-7pm on any given weeknight, as well as Saturday mornings. There was even a time when I did Crossfit followed by yoga (followed by a scone, but who's counting?). When Edie was just a little thing we walked and walked and walked around Wallingford and Green Lake on our days home together, in addition to Crossfit (after she was in bed).

Now that I'm back on the full-time work schedule I'm happy to squeeze in a 20-minute workout. It doesn't seem like much but if I get a sweat going then I've succeeded. Yeah I kind of enjoy being sore the next day (which I haven't felt in a long time), but if I can get my heartrate up, I'm good. I work out in our garage or basement with kettlebells, dumbbells, a pull-up bar, ab mat, and good old fashioned body weight. I just ordered a jump rope and next I want to get a medicine ball.

I'm trying to figure out the best time to workout because when I get home, I want to chill with Edie and Dave. It's Edie dinner, bath, books, then bed, then dinner for me and Dave, all by 8pm. There's not much leeway. And forget about working out post-dinner (I tried). I've analyzed this a lot and I've concluded that it's the unfortunate time of 5:30am, as it won't cut into Edie time, I don't have to go anywhere, I get it out of the way, and sweating won't ruin my hairdo. But how can I wake up even earlier!? I cherish sleep as much as sweat.

Yesterday I exercised at my work gym which is very similar to a Hilton Hotel gym (small, free, kinda creepy in the basement). It was better than nothing, and there were other people to ease the creep factor. Did I mention we also belong to the JCC? We pay for it, and Dave does use it for basketball. If I think about the math I probably pay $20 every time I set foot in there. Am I their ideal customer?

Today while the mid-afternoon doldrums set in I Googled Crossfits in the area and found one that has a neutral reputation (I've heard negative things about the other local Box). I contacted the woman who runs it and mentioned we miss the cameraderie and adrenaline highs associated with Crossfit. She said stop in anytime.

I'm tempted.