Lately

It's been a little quiet over here as we embraced the cold weather, battled to get the heat working in our old house, got oven some sicknesses, and kept ourselves busy with work in between. I've been drinking so much tea lately, coping with a lingering cough from seasonal allergies. Normally, earl grey is my favorite. But lately, some simple yerba mate with honey and lemon hits the spot and soothes a tickled throat. Tea in the evenings has been such a routine around here. In the beginning, the teapot would start screaming and Mordechai would race me to the kitchen. Now, he barely picks his head up to see what the new cup of tea smells like. It's the little routines that help me feel grounded.

Speaking of Mordechai, the weather lately has been so cool and he's been such a cuddler. He could spend hours on our couch, in between me and S. Whenever he's on his back I rub his belly, and when I stop he paws the air begging me to continue. In this short time that we've had him (4 months now), he's stolen my heart.

I've been listening to The Splendid Table podcast these days. I attended a baby shower out of town, and during the long, misty drive I listened to hours of Lynne Rossetto Kasper's soothing voice talk about eating your way through travels, creating recipes with hard to find ingredients, and food culture across the globe. My favorite parts are when they have great guests like one of my favorite authors, David Sedaris discussing Sedaris family dinner time, as well as when listeners call in asking her advice on what to do with something unique like espresso balsamic vinegar. It's a really great food podcast that inspires new dishes that all seem attainable.

In addition to events at the museum, I've been working from home editing blog posts for different clients of a branding company. This is one of the reasons my blog posting here has gone a bit quiet and less frequent, and also explains my lack of reading some of my favorite blogs and commenting. This time of year, everyone is incredibly busy, and this year I really feel that myself. Normally I can juggle anything that is thrown at me and I'm motivated to accomplish things that are challenging. However, this year, with responsibilities of taking care of a dog throughout the day, working from home as a blog editor in addition to working at the museum, and numerous social engagements with event season, I've been feeling stretched thin. I'm the type of person to be fond of "me" time whether it's with tea, a book, or even just watching bad TV shows on the couch with my dog. But throw in responsibility not only at work, but responsibility when I get home with blog editing and taking care of Mordechai, and I find less and less "me" time. It's been a huge transition period where I'm learning to balance an abundance of work and personal life that includes seeing friends regularly, keeping up with hobbies I enjoy like blogging, as well as kicking it back with Mordechai on my couch and an entire season of Downton Abbey. Just typing this out makes me feel a lot better about accomplishing it all and it puts into perspective how feasible it really is. Vacations and holidays like Thanksgiving always seem to come at the most needed times. It's been raining all day today, I've got biscotti in the oven, an entire pot of tea, The Sopranos playing on loop, and Mordechai drooling next to me on my suede couch. It's just what I needed.