What Ana Does

It was around mid-March that we were sent away from the office and asked not to return. Staffers who could work from home, were shipped off to do so. I grabbed all that I could and haven't been back to my office space. Since working from home, I'd been sitting in a corner of my dining room table. The location made sense because: a) the girls did school work on the other corner of the table, so I was there for help and to keep them on task. b) Dave took the office and spends most of his days on conference calls with the doors closed. And c) I could keep an eye on the dogs and all the other activity going on in the house. But lastly d) I could look out the window at my backyard. Sigh. It worked for awhile but, lately, I've been finding that I get UP so many times through the day (see the list above and it's easy to understand why). And getting myself resettled each time was annoying. And now my hours are increasing, so I really needed to figure out a more permanent sp...

Now that I've reinstated my working mom status, I'm developing a whole new set of daily routines. I like routines. I like a predictable framework especially in difficult parts of my day. And I especially like my mornings to be efficient and clear of stumbling blocks. (I mean, who doesn't!?) After a few months of feeling around the natural rhythms of my day and considering important daily tasks, here's what I've developed: My internal clock usually rouses me just before 6am, likely because Dave's up and moving by 5:30 to get to a 6 gym class. Instead of snoozing for 30 minutes (which I love to do), I get out of bed and head down to the basement for a 20 minute jog on the treadmill. Getting into an exercise habit is one of my BIG five-year goals and, so far, this is working well. Not only do I get a 1+ mile jog and 10 minutes of stretching at the start of my day, I finally get to catch up on podcasts again. Hooray! Without much of a commute (I swear I...

Now that I'm back to work after three years of being off, I'm able to finally SHOP unfettered and unimpeded. Sorry, but there's nothing worse than asking my husband for money to buy a new sweater. (Though, I appreciate how much pressure a single-income put on him.) So my requests for personal purchases were as few as I could manage. Now that I have a paycheck again, my first FOR ME purchase was ... pajamas! JCrew was having a HUGE deal on their PJ sets and I jumped in. I love a classic matching PJ set. The state of my current PJs are a little sad. Most of my flannel printed pants are long past retirement. And the t-shirts are usually those I won't wear in public anymore. It doesn't make for a very flattering look. So my donation pile will be growing again. So there ... that's what I bought with my first paycheck back at work!

A week in and I'm feeling pretty lucky I got this job doing what I want to do, and so close to home.  First Desk Selfie = DESKIE! 

This week is a big one. My first week of a new job. After three years of being home, experiencing all that it is to be a "housewife" -- not to mention moving my family to France and back. (No big deal.) And I'm finally back to work. My Office -- Hello! This also marks a pretty big success for me. When I left my job three years ago, I wanted to change my career path just a bit ... I had moved far away from being creative at all, and that was not making me happy. And I didn't think a career change was going to be possible or easy. And no one likes job hunting but it's especially hard if your resume says 12 years of one thing, but you want to be doing something else.  So, high-five ME! Along the way, I learned a lot about being home. It's not easy and not always fun. In fact, it's incredibly lonely. I identify as an introvert and I like my alone time -- but even I need to be around people sometimes. I was lonely ... a lot. And then there's the c...

We're coming up on my One Year Quit-viersary , the day I stopped working full-time. Yup, it's almost been a full year since I hit the bricks and did something completely ill-advised. September 23 was my last day at work. The reasons I left were serious: I was tired of the type of work, after 15 years I was not challenged and there was no foreseeable career path or advancement. Most importantly, I decided to commit myself to "righting the ship" -- to point my career back towards what I'm passionate about. Ultimately, the experiment was a success. Last month I got a full-time job offer in my ideal field. Huzzah! Just, unfortunately, I had to turn it down because ... I'm moving to Paris. So, yeah .... Financially, this has been a good wake-up call. I was definitely buying way too much, and not watching my spending. But on the upside, I was contributing to my family's monthly budget. And once that stopped, well, it's taking me some time to get used t...

For a long time, I've been resistant about bringing my daughters to the gym with me. And it was an effective excuse for years. It just felt so selfish. I as putting myself before my babies. They were so little and I was a full-time working mom, wasn't it better to spend time with them and not on myself? But, geez, this is totally dumb logic. There are plenty of reasons adults need to be active and exercise. And taking care of yourself is NOT selfish. You can't pour from an empty cup. So all parents need to take time for themselves. Duh. We teach our kids about nutrition and making good choices about what to eat, so the gym is just an extension of that. It's a habit they will need to learn, too. Pay your grocer today or your doctor tomorrow is the adage for eating right, and it works the same if you replace grocer with gym. So ... this advice presupposes YOU love the gym, and you might not. But it's never too late to find an activity you can get passionate ab...

Packing Up My Cup O Noodles for Work So all of a sudden I'm a trendy foodie, I guess. The big thing right now is using mason jars to transport food like salads, soups, cereal, etc. (Isn't it weird how popular mason jars have become?) And maybe because they use these trendy jars and they're super photogenic ( see here ), I've seen recipes pop-up in every magazine, food blog, new recipe book (like Gwyneth's) and Pinterest over and over again. If it's in Martha Stewart magazine, it's a THING. I've been using the cup o' soup recipe from Martha Stewart for the last week and it's been a total success, though I'm going to continue to experiment with other ingredients. What's inside: The noodles are a Chinese bean noodle, I add thinly sliced mushrooms, frozen corn and a few teaspoons of Miso paste. I want to add greens like scallions but I don't have any in the fridge, so today I took the last bite of spinach. Overall, very qu...

This summer is going to be bananas! I've been working through calendars and laying out plans for our summer months and it's starting to scare me. Let's review what's on the way: Dave has a week-long conference downtown and a European trip -- back to back. That's two weeks of single-parenting! I have a work conference for four days in Denver  A week later, we're flying out for a week-long camp on the east coast The day after we get back, Dave and I are getting a couples weekend in Las Vegas  A week later my in-laws are visiting, with possibly my sister-in-law and her family And my sister and her adorable daughters may also be coming for a visit around that same time.  Not to mention the mix of day camps I scheduled for the kids. Some weeks they'll be in our town, others they'll be near my office.  All wonderful, exciting events I am looking forward to, but it will make our summer -- our short, wonderful summer -- just fly by. Keeping Coo...

Trying to decide if I need a haircut. It's pretty darn long.  Though, all my favorite HGTV stars * have long hair, and if they can rehab a 100 year building with long hair, why can't I do my office job with the same?  So I'm debating.  Hello Ends - Did You Make Like a Banana and Split? * The hairstyle of my favorite HGTV stars should have no baring on my own hair. But, alas, it does.

Yup. 40. I know. I'm doing just fine with it, actually. You can't stop the flow of time, it's ridiculous to deny the years, but you CAN make the most of your days. Isn't there a poetic saying about that somewhere? Dave threw a SURPRISE birthday party for me on Friday night at my favorite restaurant. It wasn't something I would have done for myself. But I loved it. It was fun and great to chat with friends all night and eat pizza and drink wine. And not have any of the stress of planning it. Perfect. And now I know why Dave thought next weekend for Leah's party made more sense. heh. It's My Party! I love birthdays and the weekend was so fun. And the next year will be just as exciting. Besides, I always like even years better. 

The best part of being on vacation is no dishes to wash and put away. The worst part? Umm, can't come up with one. Sun burn? Daily Views Vacation means unhurried time with my family. Reading time. Swimming time. Time to eat. Sleeping in. No dogs to let out early. No school bus. No schedule. Putting Facebook on my phone because I have time to scroll through. Time to get dirty. Extra time to get clean. A different pace to the day that eases the knots of what's normal.  Related posts: Let's talk about traveling with kids 

With each season comes the opportunity to do some shopping for my girls. They continue to grow like weeds -- especially Alice. Her feet keep skipping shoe sizes! Anyway, there's nothing I love more than scouring my favorite kid clothing sites for some adorable clothes. And even though shorts and t-shirts are most needed for summer camp, it's more fun to look at dresses! Hannah Anderson is my current favorite place to shop for "good" essentials, especially the leggings, because they hold up soooo well. This little  nautical outfit  is on Leah's Spring list. I'm completely in love with it, too. And they've got red corp leggings to go with it. Hannah Anderson: Ribbon Sundress While packing for Orlando a few weeks ago, I discovered Leah has NO summer dresses that fit her. So we hit the mall Saturday evening to see what we could find on sale. Leah just got this green dress from the Gap  that's one of her favorite colors. Gap: Floral Bloom Flut...

Despite being the dead of winter with lows in the negative numbers and even too cold for Benny to walk to the bus stop, it's the time to start planning our summer camp plans. The park district camp registration is on Feb. 6 and if you aren't registering that day, there's a chance you won't get the sessions and locations you want. The horror.  We asked the kids what they want to do this summer and Alice insists on being home all day (there never was a more committed homebody) and Leah would rather "go anywhere" but back of the park district camp they were all last year. Neither of these scenarios is even close to possible, but I appreciate their input. After the success of the botanic garden mini-camp they attended for over winter break, I decided to break up their summer and send them for a few weeks at one camp then the other, which should keep them on their toes and not stuck in camp monotony. And the sessions really work together and will provide a go...

Just putting this here so I can read it in a few years ... and laugh. Morning started off as usual. Get dressed while Leah gets dressed. Leah insists on getting Molly, her American Girl Doll dressed, too. Alice doesn't want to get dressed, which is normal. Head downstairs for breakfast. The crockpot full of chicken bits that's been simmering all night to make chicken broth is ready to be put through a sieve and frozen for future use. Triumph! Make toast, open smoothie drinks and get everyone eating. Crisis: Alice's Netflix isn't working. I turn on the radio and let her pick a song. Crisis averted. I make my breakfast smoothie, pour out some of the broth through a sieve and pack Leah's lunch. While stowing lunch in backpack, and taking a cursory look to make sure math book is in there (as I asked her to do last night), I notice there is only one gym sneaker in there. She wasn't allowed to do a gym activity yesterday because she forgot her shoe ("it...

Alert! Alert! We're entering a transition month. Soccer and fall activities are ending. The days are shorter and colder. Winter coats are out, along with winter boots and all the hats/mittens/scarves I can find. And with all this change come a chance for me to gather goals for the winter months. - Wake up earlier. Leah is currently pulling me out of bed in the morning, being dressed and starving. It would help her out if I was actually getting out of bed myself. - Evening working outs. I did this once and now I'm not on the soccer field (being semi-active) three times a week, I need to find a weekly class or something to increase activity levels ... at a time of the year when I really just want to start hibernating. - Train the girls to do more stuff for themselves. Like picking up their after-school-snack wrappers. This should be subtitled, "I continue to nag my children" as that's what it feels like. - Back to weekly menu planning. Only one night a ...

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and the holidays are not too far behind. So what's on my mind this month? Here's the list ... Boots for Leah - She needs something to keep her feet warm as the temps dip. Do I spring for the $100 Uggs? She's not old enough to feel the pressure of buying the "cool" label (right?!), so can I just get the cheaper off-brand? Is there a more water-proof option? These are my current thoughts around this not-as-significant-as-I'm-making-it purchase. The Dress From The Loft I'm LOVING Clothes from the Loft - These woman's apparel mall stores (Loft, Limited, Express, etc.) have a 10-year cycle for me. Most of the time I'll walk in and immediately walk out -- nothing in their collections says My Style. Then, once every 10 years, they create a line that is just for Me -- and that's what is going on at the Loft this month. I bought a bunch of outfits, got good deals on the sales, and now I probably won't...

So, the powers that be at my workplace have decided to no longer allow us worker to open/close the blinds in our office. I came in this morning and found the strings to adjust the blinds hidden away. And the blinds completely down. Sure, I can turn them open/closed but there will forever be lines obstructing my views. My Obstructed View I heard it's to help manage temperatures in the building, but really, doesn't this seem a little petty? How will I spy on my squirrel neighbor? The Squirrel's Next out My Window

We used the day off on Monday to visit our new pediatrician (we broke up with our last doctor's office -- as awkward as that is) for Alice's 7-year check-up. She was extremely nervous about the shots. Sitting on the table with her paper dress on, I was struck by how long those legs are! And her feet are huge. Is it possible she'll actual defy her genetics and be tall?! Alice Checking Out Her Fashion-Forward Dress

Thanks to my CSA, all I eat for lunch in the summer is fruit ... and cheese, of course. Need to meet my daily cheese quota. Plums, Peaches -- and Cheddar (and Rice Cake) (Not shown -- homemade yogurt with a few berries.)