it is all up here in my head
I swear I am writing. (And not just taking silly iPhone pictures all day!) See...
Writing, writing, writing.
OK. Here's the thing...
I have one seriously big flaw. (Yes, yes, I know I have more than that, but this is the biggie!)
I have HORRIBLE time management skills.
Like, truly AWFUL!
I can guarantee you that I have not been on time for more than about 5 things in the last 5 years and these were probably all flights somewhere!
And every day, I get these amazing ideas for blog posts and things I want to write about and I mentally take notes and I start to "write" the posts in my head and tell myself that when I get home and the kids are napping, I will write and post all these amazing things.
And then I get home and the kids decide NOT to nap, or there is the freaky, never-ending, someone put the laundry on loop, pile of clothes that needs to be washed/dried/folded, or the dog is giving me the "Yo, lady, it's been three days since I had a decent walk" look, or I need to make four more calls about the Natural Urban Home (SEE, when was the last time I posted an update on THAT little project?) or I am closing the Natural Urban Mamas store and getting all the orders packed/shipped and into the hands of my amazing customers or... Well, you are getting the picture right?
I just can't seem to find the time.
Until now usually.
And NOW is 11:30 PM and it is Bedtime.
I could stay up and write for another couple of hours...
But my poor husband would go yet another night with me sneaking into bed after he has been there for 2-3 hours already and we made a promise to each other over Christmas that we would have a decent bedtime and go to bed together from now on.
And I really want to go to Bikram Yoga tomorrow morning and for this I need to put my "It's just like getting to the airport on time for a flight" mentality to work and truly get there on time. Because just like a flight, those crazy Yogis lock the doors when it is time for Bikram lift-off and don't open them for anyone!
But I promise you.
All these great posts.
I have them all up here in my head.
Please stick around for when they finally make it to the {little} screen!
Thank you and Good night,
Natasha~
DAY 30!!
Wow, I have actually done it! I have written and posted 30 blog posts (both here and on Mom Nation) in the last 30 days. I know I would not have done it had I not been Triple-Dog Dared by the ever-fabulous Jennifer Banks. And I can't thank her enough for the 'push'!
Moving my blog from Blogger to Wordpress was a big deal for me and this 30 day challenge was the perfect way for me to really immerse myself into Wordpress and really figure out all the ins and outs and cool things that can be done with their great open source blogging service. If you are thinking of making the move, I can only say one thing. GO FOR IT! It is a learning curve, but one that you will master in no time and is so worth it!
And as of today (and thank you VERY, VERY MUCH everyone) my little blog has had just over 6000 all-time views. Not bad for five weeks right? I really hope that you will all stick around for a while and keep reading and visiting!
Blogging and writing is not something that I ever thought I was any good at and what I am finding out is that I am actually not that bad at it and I am truly enjoying this form of expressing myself! I have to let you all know that all your comments, here, on Facebook and on Twitter have all been read and I do so appreciate your encouragement and I am humbled by your compliments!
I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the search terms that have directed people to my blog. Some of these have given me quite a laugh! Some make total sense and some are just kind of well....wierd!
Here they are:
- natasha breastfeeding (Okay, I really hope this was a mommy!)
- woven wrap canada (This one makes me happy and I hope they found what they were looking for!)
- hemorrhoids and babywearing (Not a problem I have had or something I think is a big BWing issue.)
- hebammenzeitschrift 2010 pdf (I have NO idea what this means??)
- hot milf pictures (Yeah baby, that's right!!)
- and my all time favourite one....
- FROZEN SPEEDOS
Regardless of how people are finding my blog, I am so glad that they are and I hope that those of you who are reading on a regular basis will subscribe via email so that you never miss a post. (See that nice little button up in the right hand corner? CLICK IT!)
I am going to write one more post this weekend and then will be taking a week off from blogging. I think I deserve it and I promise to be back regularly after that.
Thank you again for reading and sharing.
BIG LOVE,
Natasha~
Been there, done that, got chlamydia!
Is what I wanted to run around telling a whole heck of a lot of young women last night! I was at a club you see, and well....here's what happened.
I have been a regular little social butterfly this week (In Real Life, no less, not just on Twitter)! Last night was my second night out and it was for my girlfriend's stagette. She wanted to go dancing, so we started our night at another friend's house and then headed to a local "retro" dance club for more partying and to get our groove on!
My usual drink of choice these days is a lovely glass or two of a nice Malbec. Wine was definitely not an option at this particular establishment, so I opted for the next best thing, gin and tonic. Throw in a few rounds of fruity shots for all of us and I for one, was well on my way to tipsy-ville in no time.
As I sat there drinking my second gin and tonic, I started looking around at the female clientele at our chosen destination and that is when I really started feeling, A) my age and B) my mother-yness (is that a word??).
What really hit me as I watched these young women in their uniform du jour, the high-waisted, very short, short skirt and 4 inch heels, was that 20 years ago, had my life been a little bit different (or my birth control luck been a bit worse), any one of these girls could have been my daughter. And as I witnessed them getting more and more drunk, and throwing themselves all over the guys at the club, all I kept wanting to do was run up to each and every one of them and say, "STOP. You are worth so much more than this!" and also, "Seriously chickie, that skirt?? You are leaving NOTHING to the imagination." I was struck with this overwhelming urge to want to either slap them all up side the head and tell them to smarten-up and also to take them aside and share some of my hard-learned life lessons.
And then I remembered 19 year-old me, and realized that in no way would I have ever listened to an almost 40 year-old woman, no matter how hip and cool and smokin' hot she looked ;), tell me how to live my life! Oh well, girls, at least you live in an era of the Plan B pill and really good antibiotics!
So instead of going around preaching self-love and self-respect to all, I consumed even more gin and tonic and fruity shots of liquor.
And then I started noticing the men at this club. Or more appropriately.....the complete lack there-of.
They too has their uniforms. Invariably it was jeans and a t-shirt and either some version of the Beiber, a faux-hawk or a lop-sided toque on their heads. And they too seem to have some issues with respect. Not necessarily the self kind, more like the kind a REAL man should have for a woman.
A few lovely examples for you...
- I saw a complete poser in a cowboy hat walk right up to a cocktail waitress and grab her skirt and yank it up over her ass!
- Our group of 6 got kicked out of our seats for three 20-something guys who had a 'reservation' and had what I now know is called Table Service. A minimum of $500.00 and your own personal serving wench. Too much money and not enough brains if you ask me!
- And to top off the night, as I was giving the bride-to-be a hug goodnight and was about to get into my cab, two guys jumped into it from the other side! And left me, a lone woman to go find another one. WTF??? Is there NO chivalry or even common decency at all in this Generation Z?
Thus ended my night out clubbing. I realize that I am making some big generalizations about these kids and yes, I was somewhat intoxicated myself, but let me tell you, as I stumbled into my house at 2:00 AM and I peeked into everyone's rooms and saw my little family's beautiful sleeping faces, I was never so thankful for my life....
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.
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.
And then they had the nerve to wake me up at 6:00 AM! Argh!!
Slightly hung over,
Natasha~
P.S. I'm probably joking about the whole Chlamydia thing.
I have jumble mind tonight!
I wrote and rewrote a post three times tonight and decided to scrap it and come at it again tomorrow.
Instead, I leave you with a few photos from one of our walks this week!
The puddles are dwindling, as is all the snow and the kids and I can't wait to be able to play in the back yard....
...soon, I tell them, very soon!
Until then, this one is loving having her afternoon nap on mommy's back!
Goodnight everyone,
Natasha~
Dear Family: Please leave me alone....
....is how I felt this weekend.
Oh, I know, I am a terrible wife, mother, person, blah, blah, blah!
But it has just been one of those weeks.
You know how it is. Everything keeps piling up and up and up. The laundry, the paperwork, the housework, the phone calls and appointments you don't have time to make, the meetings you have to postpone, the house you are trying to build.
Everything in my life felt like it just hit the pooper this week! And I was done. DONE, done!
First of all I get the whole intervention chat LAST weekend. Then we hit some MAJOR snafus and delays with the building of our new house (more on that in a later post). My two-year old fell down the stairs a week and a half ago and just started walking again this past Thursday (I love babywearing people and didn't mind carrying her around, but the whole drama queen thing going along with it was getting on my last nerves). Professionally I feel like I have hit a crossroads and I need to make some decisions, but I don't feel that I have the time to devote to doing that, which leaves me feeling very frustrated and at a stand-still.
And then to top it all off, on Saturday, on our way to IKEA, Natural Urban Dad does his usual passenger seat driver schtick, which mostly involves telling me how to drive, where to drive, when a fucking light turns green and grabbing the god-damn dashboard every time I apply the brakes and I tell you, I just HAD IT!
We of course proceeded to have the most dumb-ass fight a discussion in the car and parking lot and I instigated the 'DO NOT FUCKING TALK TO ME WHILE I AM DRIVING' rule! And then we continued on with our day and into the evening and night, my family completely oblivious to my frustrations and need for solitude. (Granted I never said anything and they can't read my mind, but still!)
Today, I was very excited. I got to go to work! Which meant a whole FOUR hours away from the lot of them. It was great! I was at the Urban Infant Magazine Red Carpet Launch Party and I was in my element, teaching and showing families how to babywear and use baby carriers, and this always puts me in a good place.
And it was just what I needed. Just enough time for me to have that was about me, and also just enough time for me to miss them just a little bit. Plus there where cupcakes, amazing, little tasty cupcakes from Whimsical Cake Studio!
The laundry still needs doing (hello, I was not here for most of the day), I still have a to-do list that is as long as my hairy lower leg (yes, yes, an appointment for some waxing is on that list!), the house issues are not completely resolved and I still have some big decisions to make about my career.
But whatever, tomorrow is another day and I will attack all of the above with renewed gusto!
Because today, I got a little break from my family and my life and you know what? THAT is not a bad thing to want or to get.
Sincerely and slightly more sane now than I was yesterday,
Natasha~
What I believe...
I believe that in order to be a star, you have to shine your light on others. I believe that what you put out to the world comes back to you three-fold (good and bad).
I believe that we all have a purpose. Some of us are better than others at uncovering what exactly that is.
I believe that like attracts like, on a very DEEP level.
I believe in the power of connections through word of mouth and personal experiences.
I believe in being passionate about life, love and work.
I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt, even if I do end up getting burned.
I believe in collaboration and cooperation, not competition. (Although I do like a well-deserved WIN!)
I believe that ALL things in our lives happen for a reason. (Not the first time I have said this.)
I believe in taking a leap of faith, making the first move and going for it. (Even though I always think I am going to totally pee my pants right before I actually DO anything!)
And every time I look at THIS picture of myself,
I feel incredible and BELIEVE that I can DO anything!
This photo is my professional head shot. It was taken last summer, by the ever so talented Linda Patterson of Timeless Edge Photography.
Linda has a gift. She also believes passionately in her purpose as a photographer and story-teller. And she gets goosebumps when she takes the perfect shot. And quite frankly people, if she can make one dawg-tired mama look this good, it is a seriously awesome gift!
This picture of me is EVERYWHERE. My website, my facebook page, twitter, here on the blog, you name it!
It is my mark, my signature, my way of saying 'Hey there, this is ME!' to everyone in the ever-expanding world of Social Media. And it is very important to have an image like this that truly reflects who YOU are in this online world.
To that end, Linda is offering a fabulous deal to local Edmonton men and women who NEED to get a really good or a new and updated head shot/avatar/Gravatar/profile picture. Trust me people, it does make a difference!
It was not until I changed my profile picture on 'the tweeter' to the above picture of myself, that the venerable and oh, so awesome @unmarketing, Mr. Scott Stratten himself, started following me!
So, take the leap and go for it. Get your head shots done with Linda this month and trust me, you won't be disappointed.
And who knows what kind of increased and fabulous following you will soon be enjoying!!!
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.
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I also believe in the power of Social Media!!
Night all,
Natasha~
Drug Mama to Natural Mama
Once upon a time I used to do crack.... .
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.
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Okay, NO I did not really do crack.
I was a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative.
So I just SOLD the crack!
And by crack, I mean antidepressants, diabetes medications and shhhhh, (whisper) vaccines. I worked for one of the biggest Pharma companies in the world and I was DAMN good at my job (like 6 figures good)!
Selling drugs definitely had its perks. A new car every couple of years, trips to exotic locales for "business meetings", and a nice fat bonus if I sold A LOT of drugs.
Man, sometimes I really miss those days.....le sigh....
I was forced to quite that life in the Fall of 2006. FORCED (for medical reasons).
And was reborn on December 11, 2006.
Actually, I birthed a whole new person on that day and HE changed me.
Every teeny, tiny bit of me.
And he may never know how much I needed that change.
He made me the Natural {urban} Mama that I am and then his sister arrived and further added to that process.
So, here I am today.
Off the crack and ON so much more of a natural HIGH!!
Loving my {drug-free} life,
Natasha~
Intervention
It is 10 PM and I have 2 hours to get this post published! This post is about Natural Urban Dad. More specifically about the two of us. And Social Media. And how it all fits together. Sort of. I tend to throw myself into everything I do whole-heartedly. Social Media is no exception. I love connecting with my followers and those I follow both on Facebook and on Twitter. I have met some amazing people through these sites and have some great relationships with these folks both online and in real life.
Here is the problem. My relationship with my one TRUE fan is suffering. And it all came to a head this past weekend.
We have not had the most fabulous 2011 so far. I have been laid up twice since January with injury or surgery and our household routine was basically thrown out the window because of this. And not to mention that recovering from two consecutive leg injuries does not make it easy to be uhm....sexy.... with your husband, so there is that too.
I have also made a big effort updating my website and my blog this year (what else was I supposed to do when I was all laid up!!) and that takes time (especially the damn SEO part)!
So, here is what a typical day has looked like for a while around here.
Mama
gets woken up at 6 AM every day by a toddler looking for a boobwakes up.Make breakfast for the kids, get everyone dressed, check email/Facebook/Twitter while kids are eating.
Forget to eat MY breakfast.
Take C to school.
Come home or head to Cafe O'Play for 1.5 hours so L can play and I can blog/update SEO/add website content.
Pick up C from school.
Home for lunch and some playtime.
Naptime for the kids (yes, they both still nap)!!
Back ONLINE to check Twitter/Facebook and answer messages and emails.
Kids get up, more playtime.
Get dinner ready.
Natural Urban Dad comes home and kids attack him and then go crazy for an hour!! (Does this happen to everyone's kids at this witching hour?)
Cajole and bribe 4 year old and 2 year old toEat Dinner.Bathtime and bedtime routine.
Kids
try to stay up and find every excuse possible not togo to sleep.Natural Urban Dad walks the dog.
I grab my computer and engage and check in with my Facebook and Twitter community for chats and the rush hour(s) of online traffic.
Or we watch TV and I have my iPhone beside me to stay 'connected' to everyone online so I don't 'miss' anything.
Natural Urban Dad goes to bed.
I do not, for at least another hour. I work and write and tweet and I like to watch Jon Stewart on The Daily Show at midnight.
And then I go to bed.
AND....repeat.
So, as you can clearly see, I need to do better here. I need to realize who and what my priorities are and be present for my family and for my husband FIRST.
Here is part of the problem as I see it. Natural Urban Dad does not GET social media. Yes, he has a Facebook account, but he checks it maybe once a month. He does not get that what I am doing on Twitter and on Facebook is working, he hears me laughing at a tweet or watching a YouTube video that someone posted and to him it looks like I am just having fun (with everyone else but him).
Social Media is about making connections, building relationships and growing your brand. It truly is networking gold for small business owners, especially those not afraid to JUMP right in!
But here it is...
You need to use it RIGHT! I personally need to start setting limits for myself and sticking to them. You can read a whole slew of other great tips here for managing your time online. Natural Urban Dad and I had a big LONG intervention talk about all of this the other night and we have some new grown-up rules that we are going to be applying around here (dedicated US time every night, a strict bedtime together and a ban on anyone being online during family time).
I leave you now with this video. It is bloody hilarious and hit a little too close to home for me this week.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ8AUBn-4DY]
And it is now bedtime, so I bid you all a very good night.
Now, after you read this of course....turn of your computer/iPad/iPhone/BB and GO to bed and hug your spouse/partner/kid/dog!
XO,
Natasha~