July 2011 – Page 3 – The Creative Salad

Saying Farewell, a Sad Nest Update

I’ve been putting off writing this post because I wasn’t sure how to share this gently. In the end I’ve decided to just put it all out there and share the story, as well as my feelings and thoughts on the experience. Here goes…

Remember this nest? Those perfect house finch eggs?

The eggs hatched and baby birds filled the nest. After a few days, however, we noticed that the mama bird had disappeared. Neither David nor I had seen her. By the time we checked on the babies, we were too late. They had, in fact, died. What to do? We decided to bury them in the field in front of our house.

I felt sad about their passing. As a mama myself, I couldn’t help but relate to the situation: a mama bird, because of forces presumably outside her reach, left her babies abandoned, unable to survive without her. This is nature. This is life. As a biologist, I know this. To witness it firsthand on our porch turned out to be challenging.

Our three year old accepted their passing with such grace and acceptance. “They died, Mama. It’s okay. There will be new baby birds.” And she’s right. We talk about life cycles every day. Everything that’s born will die.

As soon as we placed the birds in the field, I started to feel better. After all, haven’t burial rituals evolved to give us comfort? I knew the birds were gone, that there was nothing more we could do. Accept and move on… after all, there will be new baby birds. There will always be new baby birds.

Shots, Posts and Tweets July Edition

I’m trying something new here on the blog: a summary of our Creative Salad posts from other corners of the web, archived here on our website. So, without further ado…

Here’s a summary of this past week’s Facebook posts and tweets, plus some fun never-before-seen snapshots to cherish and remember:

(facebook) Connect-the-dot activities at our wedding anniversary brunch

(tweet) Iced tea served in bell jars tastes extra refreshing on a hot summer day.

(facebook) Playing library, checking books in and out with the laptop and a hair brush (evidently the perfect bar code scanner)

(facebook) When David saw my new shoes, he said, “Hey, I want a pair!” (Thank you, Alissa, for the great present! I love it when you clean out your closet.)

(facebook) The ONLY downside to swimming in a saline pool: tarnished wedding band (a present handcrafted by David)

(facebook) Creative pizza toppings: today’s menu includes scrabble letters

(tweet) Wondering how long my child’s face and hands will be purple thanks to some super juicy cherries that don’t seem to be washing off… Ah, summertime fruit.

(tweet) I keep finding fantastic blogs to follow via pins on @Pinterest!

(facebook) Beading activities

(tweet) YES! Me too! RT @cafemama: stealing time from my kids when i run. I always feel it… good, but guilty.

(snapshot) Mama daughter art projects over brunch

(snapshot) Birthday cake time with the little ones

(snapshot) Princess dress-up party fun (wearing her handmade birthday crown)

(snapshot) Gearing up for blackberry season; they’ll be ripe soon!

Fitness Update

Oh-so-long-ago I wrote about my goal to lose weight. Move more, eat less. It’s working; I’ve lost weight. Not nearly as much I had hoped for in this time period, but I’ve lost some. More importantly, I’ve gone down several clothes sizes.

I’m running.
I’m walking.
I’m (occasionally) counting my calories. (Not necessarily to restrict, but to be aware! I find I’m eating less when I realize there’s how many calories in that pasta dish?!)
I’m eating healthier.

It’s challenging. Occasionally ass-kicking.

I’m not going to lie. Most nights I don’t feel like running, I don’t want to get off the couch. But David encourages me to go.

Each night I come home and thank him for helping me get out the door, because after working out and having a bit of alone time, I feel great.

My health is important. There’s no time to waste.

All photos from my evening runs via my camera phone

Simple Bedding Transformation

Our adventure began innocently enough, “Mama, I want pink sheets.” That sounds easy, right?!

Evidently not so much. We found finding affordable, plain pink, organic sheets to be a challenge. So we reused some older white organic sheets that we already owned, and threw them in the washing machine with pink fabric dye and a cup of salt, and ta-da!