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Feb 24

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Kerry: working on art

So happy! Babygirl slept for like a whole hour in her playpen and I actually spent that time working on art. It wasn’t so bad. I’m experimenting with pastels on paper, and haven’t quite found what I’m looking for, but at least it’s a start. While I was digging out the pastels, I came across some watercolors I was once working on. Now, watercolor is not really my thing, I like oils, but when I was expecting Babygirl, I had to find another medium because the oils and associated thinners are extremely toxic and can be absorbed through the skin. So I checked out a book from the library and started playing around in watercolor. Mostly I made a mess, but I wonder if I can remember anything. It might be fun to try that again.

Mostly, I can’t seem to get my mind away from finding a bigger house. Maybe I’m doing that nesting thing, and with new baby coming soon, and no place to put him, I can’t help but dream of more bedrooms. So, I’m being positive and looking online at larger houses, although really we don’t have enough time to move before new baby comes, and I don’t think I could, being as pregnant as I am. Who wants that hassle on top of the backaches and heartburn? I can still dream.

And maybe tomorrow there will be time for art again, but I’ve decided that I have to stop feeling guilty about not dedicating more time to my creativity. I am a mother first, and there will be time again. It is what I love, so I have to believe that. Right now, it might be enough to rest when I can and dote on Babygirl before her little brother arrives. My children are, after all, my biggest and best creations.

Feb 24

6 Comments

Brittany: Renewal: Spring in South Carolina

I don’t want to rub it in… okay, yes I do. Lately the weather here in Greenville has been hovering in the low 70s. The ground hog in Western North Carolina predicted winter, but the ground hog in Atlanta predicted spring. We don’t have a weather-predicting groundhog of our own, so we have been shifting back and forth between the two. First there’s a 70 degree day. Then the next day or two it’s rainy and cold in the 50s. Once you’ve grown to dislike that weather, you’ll have a beautiful sunny day again, just so you learn to appreciate it. I am in heaven.

We have been putting our zoo membership to good use lately and taking walks to the neighborhood playground as well. Like Miranda, I just can’t seem to find the time to exercise, but it seems a waste not to enjoy the sunshine. It does energize me, much to the detriment of my writing. After a nice walk outdoors, I am ready to write, which is a problem considering that I should be winding things down. But I have come to love my book, as much or more so than the weather, and all this yearly renewal is making me want to create. I sit down and think “I am going to bang out this last chapter” and before I know it, I’ve found a spot somewhere fifteen chapters back where I can write a little scene. Then there’s a touch more dialogue here. And maybe a little exposition there. I have said before that the creation of this book is less a writing exercise and more like the construction of the Winchester Mystery House. It seems that the writing part is neverending. I know I need to stop, but I am enjoying myself way too much. I’ve never finished a novel before, and now that I know I can, I don’t want to.

Feb 24

5 Comments

Miranda: A little cardio, anyone?

exerciseFor those who live in northern climates, this can be the worst time of year for exercising. If you like to run or walk outdoors, snow and ice make those activities difficult–and the jogging stroller may well be gathering dust in the garage. Even getting to the gym is less appealing when it’s 24 degrees outside.

I wonder, considering the season and the usual demands of motherhood and life, are you are able to exercise regularly? Do you feel that there’s a connection between the amount that you exercise and your level of creativity? Is exercise a time for you to work out plot lines–or simply time to turn off your brain?

For many creative women, working out is a vital part of the daily routine. I agree that exercise is an important part of the mind/body connection–and there’s no question that I just feel better when I’m running regularly. Before this pregnancy, I was up to about 6 miles three or four times a week. I was building up my program and getting excited about longer distances. I was also taking a dance class. But that all came to a grinding halt when I got pregnant. Unlike many studly women, including Jenn, I feel the need to curl into a ball during the first trimester. Now that I’m heading into the home stretch, I’ve lost most of my muscle tone and I have back pain for which I see a chiropractor weekly.

I know that if I could just get myself to do the two prenatal yoga and Pilates DVDs I bought several months ago (and have yet to open) my back would benefit, as would the rest of me–notably my creative capacity and general mood. I’m also dreaming of getting into shape relatively quickly after the baby arrives, which I have a better shot at if I start now. Not to mention all the healthy example-setting for the kids. But I still use the “only so many hours in the day” excuse. (Especially when it comes to yoga, which I find difficult to do with audience, i.e., kids staring at me when I’m trying to breathe deeply and meditate, and so tell myself I need solitude). But like most things, including finishing my book, there is no escaping the truth of “where there’s a will there’s a way.”

What happens at your house?