Mother at Home, Sort Of

My mom is "home," in the area, staying in her childhood house, where my granny still lives. Granny just had hip surgery, and should be out of rehab soon, but in the meantime, Mom has some time to visit old friends and so forth. I stopped by for a couple hours this afternoon between jobs. It was really nice and normal and refreshing. :)

Other than that, not much news. M. is still sick, but getting better and expects to actually be off this weekend. Now let’s hope no babies interfere with our plans!

I got my car washed for the first time in about 9 months.

I got my heater turned on, at the tail end of winter . . .

I got to bed on time last night.

O.k., now I'm really struggling for news, so I'll quit before I eat any more shoes.

Midwestern Sky

Today, driving home from work, I got to enjoy a sky full of beautiful, Midwestern-style, cream puff clouds. Of course, the low, snow capped mountains in the not-so-far distance kind of ruined the illusion.

The day was good and busy. I cooked a vegetarian meal for my current postpartum clients in the morning, and started working with a new family, doing some babysitting, in the late afternoon. I had a short break between clients to meditate and start some laundry. M. called as I was leaving to say that he has a cold. :( I hope he feels better soon.

Now it's just past 7, and I'd better get home. My evening clients fed me, but it wasn't very filling, so I have to eat again when I get home, finish my laundry, and try to get to bed by 9. Eek! Only 2 hours! How am I going to do it all????

Juno

Was a good movie. Very funny. I especially enjoyed the animated music video-type beginning. Actually, all the music was good. Must add soundtrack to wish list.

Church today was nice. Star Hawk told the story for all ages, and the kids did the service. It was called "Who will Save the Earth for the Children?." Afterwords, Star Hawk gave a presentation on Earth Activist Training and such to the adults. It all really got me thinking, especially Star Hawk's story about a reporter saying that "For New Yorkers, the environment isn't really real." I think it's easy for "the environment" to be a kind of abstract concept that has to do with some place else, wherever you live. Because, even though I grew up in a rural setting, "the environment" meant things like saving the whales or the rain forests, not sustainable farming vs. industrial farming. But Sustainable living is definitely something that interests me. Hopefully, someday, I'll have the time and energy to take some Earth Activist Training and then put what I learn into practice.

Contentment

I'm having a nice, down kind of day. Actually, I have a lot to do, but somehow, being at my boyfriend's place makes it all seem less important. Hmm, I wonder why that would be . . .

Anyway, the Meet the Doulas Night went well last night, at least in some respects. We had more couples than doulas--always a nice situation--and I was the only doula there who even considers taking birth clients, so I got to talk to everyone. Maybe I'll get a client or two out of it, as well. :) That would be nice.

It rained all day yesterday and well into the night, but it let up by morning, so M. and I were able to walk to the Farmer's Market and not get wet. I made a good dent in my shopping list, but I still need to visit a Whole Foods (or maybe a TJ's, I'll have to think about that . . . ) before Sunday night, so I can make my lunch for work on Monday.

Planning to go see Juno tonight--will review tomorrow if possible.

More Rain

It is actually raining today. Not misting. Not drizzling. Raining. Not pouring, though. Just a nice, steady, wet rain. There is water on the roads, making driving a bit dangerous--going slow and having plenty of time to get where I'm going will be good. :)

Work went well. I took on a new client for a couple of hours, a couple of days next week, as my current client is scaling back on her hours. It's all good. The client I've been interviewing with has yet to make a decision, so I get to tell the people at the Meet the Doulas Night tonight that I'm available starting in mid-March. Hopefully I get at least one taker for mid- to late-March. I also get to increase my rates, but not as much as if the mom I was interviewing with had signed on. Oh, well. There's a reason for it, I just can't see it yet.

I had a couple of really nice phone conversations last night. It's always nicer to have company over the phone than to try to pretend that a book on tape is company. Although the book I'm listening to at the moment is quite a good one. I've gotten really into the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones. It has a fairly unique take on magic, and the books don't really rely on each other the way some serial books do, so you can read them out of order and they still mostly make sense.

Anyway, now I'm in the library, on their wireless Internet connection on my laptop, killing time between work and tonight's Meet the Doulas Night. Since I work more than half way to where the MTDN is tonight, so there was no point in going home in between.

Drizzle Day

At work today, the mom I'm working for commented that it was, "Starting to get kind of yucky out there." I couldn't resist "correcting" her, explaining that what was coming from the sky was "just mist" and that rain would "soak you in 5 minutes." Maybe it was a little rude, but what can I say? I'm from Iowa where a light drizzle doesn't slow anything down. It's so weird to me, out here in Cali, when people freak out about a little moisture in the air.

Anyway, I had a full day at work. I also started a new book for my Postpartum Doula certification. This one is about Postpartum Depression, and so far, it's kind of, well, depressing. Other than that, not much is new. It's 1630 and I need to get home and get busy with all the things I need to do this evening. I really shouldn't have come to the library at all, but I needed one piece of information and then got sucked into doing everything else I normally do here.

L8R G8R :)

Mitwok

I can't tell you how nice it is to have a break from work in the middle of the week to recharge. I'm making the most of it!

I'll recap the past few days:

Sunday

I would have posted on Sunday, but the library was closed in celebration of MLK Jr. Day. My church had done their MLK service last week (which I missed). This week was focused on our search for a new, settled minister, and included a business meeting after services. It was really good, because I'd been considering joining the search committee, and at the meeting, I got more information that helped me decide that that is not the job for me. Of course it was also good to see my boyfriend . . .

Monday

I went to see my granny after work. She had hip surgery on the 18th and was still in the hospital, recovering. One of my aunts (whom I hadn't seen in a while) was in town, and I got to visit with her as well. It was nice to spend some time with both of them.

Tuesday

I saw snow on the hills/mountains east of San Jose on my way home for work. That was cool! In the evening, I had an interview with a highly potential client. She wants some pretty specific, intensive support after her baby is born, and hasn't found anyone else who is willing to be as available as I am. ( I'm desperate, does it show?) I'm expecting a call confirming her plans to hire (or not hire) me by Friday morning at the latest. One nice thing about this job (if I get it), will be that she lives within 5 miles of me, and I don't even have to get on the freeway to get to her house.

Today, Mitwok

That's Wednesday in German. Literal translation would be midweek. I got some shopping done this morning, cooked several meals worth of food, folded the laundry I did over the past few days, and came here. If I can get a computer for another hour after this, I'll be doing another section of my on-line breastfeeding course for my Postpartum Doula training. Life is good. I like the rain--it feels so needed and it really clears the smog out of the air. Of course that means it is now in the ground and the water systems, but at least I'm not having to look at it . . .

Time for me to sign off this Internet session. More later.

Highlights (for children? or not?)

Work

• Follow up with old client on Wed. Glad to be done. The drive was too long.
  
• Got new client. Worked with family Thurs and Fri. Work is relatively easy. Am getting paid to study while mom and baby nap. Went from being 2/3 through required book to nearly done by ready 60 pages in 2 days. This is good. :) Book must be completed by 15 Feb.
  

Church

• Covenant group was enjoyable. Met new people and learned more about some I already know.
• Listening Circle was informative and fun. Hope my suggestions get considered.
• Found out that the volunteer job I was considering requires an 8 hr/wk commitment. Realized I can't do that and am bummed. Had been looking forward to being involved in this particular project . . .
  

Social

• Visited a school (AAMI) friend, Fri. afternoon. Was fun to see all the kids.
• BF came over for dinner and movie Fri. night. Had planned for Sat. but due to BF's work schedule exploding, could not count on that, so went for Fri. when clear that would be possible.
  

More Hugh Grant

• Movie was Music and Lyrics, with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Was fun and romantic to watch it with BF. Yet another variation in character for Grant. As I said before, that's fun to see. :)

Now must go be productive, get lots of errands done. Wish me luck! Next week will be even crazier!

Personal Recalibration Successful

Spent the weekend at home, recalibrating. It was really good to have nothing on the agenda for a few days, especially since it looks like my schedule will be quite full over the next few weeks. That's because I jumped at the chance to earn some money by taking on a last-minute client. I'll be starting on Thursday with a trial day, and if all goes well, I'll be quite busy after that. Yippee! Money is good. :)

Am looking forward to my first Covenant Group meeting tonight; especially to seeing my BF. Still can't tell you exactly what a Covenant Group is, except that they practice deep listening and offer each other practical and spiritual support. More on that later. Now must go home and meditate and eat before said meeting.

The rest of this week promises to be crazy, but since I'll be paid for my pains I'm not complaining. :) I like to be busy. It beats being board. O.k., I know, enough with the alliteration already. I'll stop now. :P

Back Home

I moved back to my apartment last night. The work is not entirely done, but what's left is just finishing touches, like the painting this morning. Nevertheless, much as I appreciated the hospitality and enjoyed the company of my host for the past week, it's good to be back in my own space.

I have a busy evening planned, with shopping and a Meet The Doula's Night in Palo Alto, but after that, I am taking the weekend OFF! I am in dire need of some Tobi Time. :) Just kidding, I don't think it's really a life-or-death situation. :) (See, see, my sense of humor is back!)

I called a potential client this morning and left a message, and I had a call from a fellow doula about another potential client around noon. This is good. Business is starting to pick up.

Now I'd better book that flight I've been talking about for days and take a look at some health insurance plans, too, if I have time.

Moody (What else is new?)

Yesterday's follow-up visit with a postpartum client went well. I feel complete with her, which is a relief. I was concerned that she would try to get me to continue working for her.

Unfortunately, everything else is on the downswing at the moment. Some things, like sleep, good conversation, a good cry, and my favorite music, have helped temporarily, but I'm still waiting on a more dramatic, lasting shift. I'm certainly due for one. :)

My productivity has been fairly low today, too. I did get some necessary reading done in preparation for an event next week, but otherwise, I've been goofing off. I guess a little goofing never hurt . . .

Now I've got 25 min to try to make a decision about flights for my upcoming conference . . . Wish me Luck!

Marbles in my head today

• Left over stuff from a number of interesting, enjoyable, and informative conversations yesterday.
• Work- and school-related projects: LLC, reference list, breastfeeding, back-up, CEU's, setting boundaries
• Flight for March Conference
• Hotel shuttle to and from airport for March Conference
• Food
• Work in apartment dragging out
• Covenant Group
• Money
• Health Insurance

Rain Again

It's drizzling and windy, which made my walk to the library quite invigorating. My prenatal last night went well. It was really good to get back into my business. My schedule is actually filling up quite nicely, which is good, because I tend to get more done when I have a full schedule than when I think I have all the time in the world.

I am getting ready for a conference through my school that will happen in March. It is interesting to be choosing sessions, etc. with my work as a postpartum doula in mind, instead of choosing them as a student midwife. I find myself making very different choices, but I still expect to enjoy the experience. Now I'm looking at flights.

Hugh Grant

I've watched 2 Hugh Grant movies in 2 days, and refreshingly, neither of his characters fit the stereotypical one that I always associate with him. You know what I mean. The diffident guy, with poofy hair and puppy-dog eyes, who is hot, but thinks so poorly of himself that he talks the whole movie to really make a move and so almost loses the girl. Think Sense and Sensibility or Notting Hill. Well, o.k., he was a bit like that in the first one I watched, Love Actually, minus the hair. But he was pretty different in About a Boy. I really enjoy watching actors who manage not to get stuck with being type-cast and do well in a variety of different rolls.

The rest of my life (outside the movies) has been up and down. Not particularly productive, and very moody. Some things have been very nice, but my emotional buttons are all on a hair trigger at the moment. Currently on a small up-swing due to fresh air, exercise, change of scene, etc. Now off to get more exercise and be minorly productive before a prenatal visit this evening.

Thunder by Social Agreement

When I was visiting my Aunts in PG over Christmas, one of them said, "Reality is a Social Agreement." Today, I had an experience of that when there was a loud rumbling overhead. I was under a flight pattern at the time, and wondered aloud whether it was a plane or thunder. The person I was with is also from "back east," and he had no more sense of how "real" the possibility of thunder in CA was than I did, but we agreed it didn't sound like a plane. Then came another rumble--this one distinctly thunder (by our agreement)--but the third rumble was definitely (we agreed) a plane. I wonder how I would have decided the matter if I'd been alone . . . hmm . . . food for thought. But if it was thunder, it's not surprising, as it has been very stormy. I don't even know if my power ever came back on, as I am staying elsewhere during the repairs on my apartment.

On another note, I watched Shreck the Third with my host last night. It's a pretty good movie, although there's not much new in it. It was certainly funny, but I thought Shreck 2 was more creative.

The rain let up long enough for a trip to the Farmer's Market this morning. I just love Farmer's Markets--food looks so much better when it is fresh, local, and out on the street. Blood Oranges are in season, and so are Madjool Dates. Mmmm, Nature's candy!

Anyway, I've got other stuff I ought to be doing, so I'll be logging off now . . . :)

Stormy

It's raining and blowing and my power is out. The last few days have been busy and fun. New Years with BF and Rockey Horror Live; quite funny once I got into the spirit of it. Successful client interview, hired on the spot! Very exciting--first time I've been hired as a birth doula. Now getting apartment ready for repairs in bathroom, which will begin next week. Better get home and back to work before the daylight fades.