Plant Nite!

Succulents In A Fish Bowl

Teri and I, taken by the instructor

March 2018

Part of my Christmas gift from Teri this year was an evening together making a terrarium. I have been to a few of the ones that are for painting a canvas - with both Tessa and Kristen on multiple occasions. I always have issues figuring out what to do with the picture afterwards. Teri had heard me complain about this aspect and thought the plant one would be a good solution. It was! We had dinner together at the pub beforehand, as these things are often hosted at a bar, and then made a little planter. It has inspired me to re-pot my other house plants too!

Also, is it just me or does Ter look the same as she did in 2006 in the photo? Way to not age over the past 12 years. This shot actually reminds me of an exact picture of her from somewhere but I couldn't find it on the blog and I am not heading over to Facebook to see if it is there. Either-way, basically if you just refer to this photo, she is still 22.

Motherhood - Regret

Excerpts from Maclean's article 'I regret having children' by Anne Kingston.

Amy deviates from the maternal script: if she could make that choice over again, she says, she wouldn’t. She never wanted children (“I was very independent,” she says)—her husband did. “It would have been a deal-breaker.” Parenthood put an untenable strain on the marriage; her husband wasn’t as involved as she wanted; they separated. Life is difficult, Amy reports: “Our child has two homes and I’m still doing 90 per cent of it on my own.”

Unsurprisingly, women who express regret are called selfish, unnatural, abusive “bad moms” or believed to “exemplify the ‘whining’ culture we allegedly live in.”

Brown called her children “the best things I have ever done” and assured readers she wasn’t “a monster” before expressing conflicted feelings: “What I’m struggling with is that it feels like their amazing life comes at the expense of my own,” she wrote, expressing remorse for “this life I wanted so badly and now find myself trapped in.”

Feeling trapped or suffocated is a common theme in Donath’s work; mothers felt “as if the metaphorical umbilical cord binding them to their children were in fact wrapped around their neck.” Many women said they felt pressured to have children.

Simultaneously, the demanding, exhausting, self-sacrificing and often thankless work of mothering [...] has never been more restrictive, scrutinized and questioned.

Research debunking the myth that babies have a bonding effect on marriage or that children bring happiness: a 2010 American Sociological Association study found that parents were more likely to be depressed than their child-free counterparts, and that people without kids were happier than any other group.

Parental regret also highlights gendered asymmetry around parenting; while fathers are increasingly active in child-raising, most child care and housework is still performed by women, as data from StatsCan’s 2015 General Social Survey indicates.

Fathers’ regret tends to be expressed with their feet, says York University’s O’Reilly. “They walk away.”

“Men’s identity is never collapsed into their parental one; if you’re a bad mother, you’re a bad woman. If a father is late at daycare, it’s ‘Poor thing, he’s busy.’ A mother who’s late is viewed as selfish and irresponsible.”

“The reality of motherhood is incontinence, boredom, weight gain, saggy breasts, depression, the end of romance, lack of sleep, dumbing down, career downturn, loss of sex drive, poverty, exhaustion and lack of fulfillment.”

Things Jason Does Not Believe In

- Religion
- Astrology
- Vitamins

Cartouche Has Returned To Me

Item Lost: My Cartouche Deck
Time Lost: Some time in Rrunuv Bayit, maybe end of 2015
Last Place I Remember: With other decks of cards on the white bookcases
Place Found: In an old plastic storage shelf which a bunch of sunglasses

Since we moved into Casa Verde a few boxes and plastic multi-drawer storage containers have been kept in our office, waiting for me to unpack them. These are filled with old jewelry, pens, sentimental items and such. They have been driving Jason crazy so I finally decided to go through them all.

I was able to whittle what I wanted to keep down to about a shoe box worth of things that have important memories attached to them, a small bag of office supplies to take into work, and apparently over 100 tampons. We donated a lot of things, including two different point-and-shoot cameras that we came across.

I think the most important thing I found was my Cartouche cards! I mentioned missing them a few months ago. So glad they weren't lost forever, going to start using them again. Let's see what the future holds!

Spring Switch

Today I switched out my winter purse, which is a basic black one - for my Spring Purse. Kristen gave me the blue and white striped bag that I use in the warmer months a few years ago. I can't believe it still looks good, the black ones I use over the winter only last for one season.

Feels good to make the switch, clean things out, reorganize everything.

TB - August 2007

Throwback Thursday - Scroll to the bottom of the month and read up. Or click on the earliest post in the month (to view the post and the comments) then keep clicking Newer Post until you finish the month.

AUGUST 2007

This month saw some considerable shifts, I made the decision not to go back to Carleton full-time and instead took a contract extension with The Department of Natural Resources. I do detail my plan to take two night courses, which I think is where I meet/met Jenn and Erin. (I also feature an adorable photo of the other ERin at the start of the month.) The other change is that Anna and Wes moved out, which I remember being sad about.

Also, I mention Brian and Tina going to Japan, but I can't remember who these people are. Did I meet them at school, or work, if so which work? Were they friends through another friend? The link that I reference in the post is long gone.

When doing these Throwback posts I like to edit them and provide updates, mainly adding in more tags or fixing spelling. Grammar and editing wise I had to do a lot with paragraphs and spacing, what was I thinking? Did I believe that I was writing stream-of-consciousness, and if so that it didn't need to be put into paragraphs?

Noted Post: I don't think the writing is very interesting, but I love the photo of my smile in the Humour post.

Not Really About The Weather

Following in the 'lion, lamb' theme that has shown up in my past few posts, I stumbled upon this painting:

"Una and the Lion"

Painting by Briton Riviere (1840/1920 - 1880)

I like allegorical paintings, though I don't think that is the right word for it. I like when the paintings are realism but the items are symbolic, telling a story. This image was inspired by The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser, an epic allegorical poem about Queen Elizabeth I. In the poem, she trains a lion so well that it doesn't attack the lamb. The lion is thought to represent Queen Elizabeth's power, her elegance and her aristocratic figure.

More Rhymes For March

I am really into this whole March - In like a lion, out like a lamb thing! I keep going back to it. Have to say, it is a much better than my usual internet wormholes that normally end up with me reading long, detailed Wikipedia articles about serial killers.

Here are some other proverbs related to this month:

A dry March and a wet May? 
Fill barns and bays with corn and hay.

As it rains in March, so it rains in June.

So many mists in March you see
So many frosts in May will be.

A Peck of March-Dust, and a Shower in May
Makes the Corn green, and the Fields gay.

March many-Weathers rain’d and blow’d
But March grass never did good.

I can't really get that last one to rhyme. How are they pronouncing blow'd so that it matches good? Also, it isn't a word, the past tense is blew. Really that one is just terrible. Lastly, there is an expansion on the well known one, that includes March:

March winds and April showers? Bring forth May flowers.

One of my favourite jokes as a kid was, "If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? Pilgrims." Oh, so clever. (And distinctly American.)

A 12-Year-Old Shopping

We pulled out chicken from the freezer this morning to make for dinner tonight. We tend to do this without really thinking about what we were are planning to do. Part way through the day we realized we were feeling lazy and uninspired - but had onions and peppers! We decided on fajitas and while we normally have a kit or two as back-up, there was a chance we were out. Jason mentioned that if we didn't have it he would run out and pick one up at some point.

The day continued, and eventually I had a short nap. Later I was woken up by Jason saying that dinner was ready. While eating dinner I asked if he had needed to go pick up a kit, and if he had gone while I was sleeping. I am always so amazed and how much happens around my while I am sleeping. Such a deep sleeper, nothing seems to wake me up. He said he had gone and I asked if he had also gotten more Cadbury Mini Eggs, which I had asked for earlier. He said, "Yes, among other things."

I was confused. We hadn't really needed anything else so I asked what else he had picked up. Sheepishly he replayed, "Salami, chips, and sour keys. It is like a 12 year-old went shopping." Yes, fajita kit, lunch meat, sour keys, chips, and a $16-bag of mini eggs - that is not an adult's grocery list.

A Watery Weekend

Had a great time at Great Wolf Lodge with Jason's family this past weekend. I love playing in waterparks! Totally exhausted today and jealous that Jason gets to work from home. The damp heat of an indoor waterpark along with hiking up tons of staircases to do the waterslides, add in running after and carrying children -- I am pretty worn out.

I also did The Wolf Tail slide, which is the same design as one of the slides at West Edmonton Mall. Jason and I went to the waterpark there with ERin and Matt last Christmas.

Out Like A Lamb

I decided to follow up yesterday's post with a bit of research on the strange animal proverb used for the month of March:

"In like a lion, out like a lamb."

Turns out it has been around forever! The Paris Review claims that one of the earliest know use of the phrase is from 1732. Here are some theories of where it may come from:

Changing of Seasons
When March starts, it’s still winter, and by the end of the month spring has started. Though technically true, the Spring Equinox (for our hemisphere) is March 20 this year. However, it usually doesn't feel like spring until well into April.

The Balance of Life and Weather
The long held belief that things should balance. So, if a month started with bad weather, it should end with nice, calm weather.

Religious
Jesus's first appearance was as the sacrificial lamb, but he then returns as the Lion of Judah. Like in Narnia! I hadn't heard of the Lion of Judah before, but this theory puts the animals in the wrong order.

Horoscopes and Constellations
At the start of March, Leo, or the lion sign, is the rising star constellation and by April, it’s Aries. Aries is a ram, a male sheep. (And lambs are baby sheep!) This one is my favourite theory.

In Like A Lion

Today I am very tired (no sleep last night) and my muscles are achy (start of my period). I was complaining a bit about all of this to R at work and she said, "March is in like a lion." I have never heard the expression used for a person and how they are feeling (but I like it!) It is definitely a weather thing, "In like a lion, out like a lamb" or something like that.

This feels like a good post to include a gratuitous Africa photo:

The Man Lion

Kruger National Park, South Africa, January 2018

Photo by Jason, no edits