Another crazy morning with 2, April 2012I want to write about having a full plate. How my current slate of two part-time paid grantwriting jobs, one part-time volunteer job at Elan's preschool, full-time mama/wife/runner of the household, and still trying to do that other writing, that creative work that feeds my soul, is too much for me. How my 2 days of full childcare, while I still feel their luxury, are eaten up in a flash. And yet I have ... more

Were you surprised? New look, same blog... more or less. Please let me know if there's anything that's not working for you with this new design. I'm a newbie to this stuff, just figuring it out in a half-hour with kids asleep, beer in hand.

After Mikhail lost his job over a year ago and started working from home, he took over our home office and a corner of our bedroom became my office. It was a plain little space, my beautiful vintage table that I used as a desk perpetually piled with projects in progress.Truthfully it was not a very inspiring place to work, but I don't usually do my creative writing at a desk anyway. I use a desk for paying bills and doing household and organization work. The work that needs more ... more

I was writing a post about New Year's resolutions, but I didn't finish it, and when I came back to it, I was in a different mood, a different place, a different person. That's the danger of not finishing something -- I either wait until the mood comes back around again, have to force myself back into it, or let it go.I will finish the post about New Year's resolutions, I will!But suddenly at 4:00 yesterday afternoon, the weariness set in. I don't know how else to describe that ... more

After both of my sons' births, Eugenia, the matriarch of Mikhail's mom's family, known to everyone as Granny, has sent me this poem.Eugenia and EmryThe Adoration-Adrie KusserowIt's morning.I pull you from the criball warm and yeasty,your hair stuck up like two soft horns,you beaming brighter than a headlightin anticipation of the nip.Silly boy,tender pink niblet,luscious little beast,water nut, love blossom,Panis bulbosa, lactata nippiana.And so beginthe verbal feversof my love-smitten Tourette's,speaking in tongueswild with metaphor,swinging from branch to branch of simile,rooting about for wordsto match your roundness, your just succulency,your ... more