Category: Life Before Kids
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Exposure Isn’t Payment
After receiving yet another request on Instagram for a free pet portrait–oh wait! Sorry, I meant a “pet portrait in exchange for exposure”–I felt like writing a post to vent a little. Maybe this post will make some of you laugh. Maybe some of you are fellow creatives and will nod sympathetically. And maybe this…
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Why I Can’t Stop Running
There are a few things that I’ve been doing with reliable consistency for years that I don’t foresee ever ending: art, documenting and running. The art has been a part of my life for long enough that I barely need to separate it from my existence anymore. As long as I’m around, I’ll be doodling…
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Painting My Dreamscapes
As far back as I can remember, I’ve had hyper-realistic, vivid dreams. I’ve decided to start painting them.
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Customers and Their Spirit Animals
I’ve mentioned a number of times what I do for a living; I’m an artist. Specifically, I sell paintings of animals and specialize in pet portraits. My style varies, depending on the painting, but my custom portraits are messy watercolors and generally quite colorful, focusing on the vibrant personalities of our pets. The colors that…
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A Brief Visit to Pennsylvania
A few weeks ago I went to Pennsylvania for a couple days. It had been my plan to visit my hometown this fall, but Ivan’s schedule is unpredictable, to put it mildly. His call shifts end up being 14+ hours overnight at the hospital and that’s outside of his usual weekday hours. I couldn’t leave…
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The Separation of Health and Fitness
The Balance I’ve mentioned plenty of times that I try to stay fit. But, let’s be honest, fitness is tough. Sure, I exercise a lot. I run at least 5 times each week and try to do some strength training as well. We eat pretty well, avoiding prepared foods and eating meals centered around vegetables and whole…
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10 Things All Dog Owners Know
If you have ever had a dog, you know what I’m talking about. These guys bring so much love into my life, I can almost overlook the utter insanity that they embody… almost.
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Connecticut, How Do I Love Thee?
Well, Let Me Count the Ways The People. Look, I’ve spent the past 2 years living in the unhappiest city in the country, according to the CDC. And maybe that’s not something I was acutely aware of, but I have been very aware of how friendly and helpful everyone has been here in Connecticut. Aside from…
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A Light Dims: Saying Goodbye to My Grandma
Trying to cope with the sudden death of my grandma, I wrote a consideration of life as a light that doesn’t go out with death, but merely dims. Memory endures.
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Life is Crazy, But the Dogs Still Love Me
I’m going to make a little admission here: my life is somewhat insane right now. In 6 weeks (holy crap balls!) Ivan will be receiving an email that is going to change our lives. He’s been interviewing for the past 2 months for residency positions all over the country. Ivan’s not the only one, either. Medical…
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What’s in a Name? (A Lot of Letters that Don’t Belong)
Is it an uncommon name or just fun to spell uncommonly, because the mistakes I get around here are bonkers!
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The Coffee Shop Caricatures
Once upon a time (quite recently, in fact) I worked for a handful of months at a nearby coffee shop. It was my in-between job after the law firm (Oh! The horror!) and before/overlapping my current collection of jobs: dog walking (that’s puppy therapy), writing and painting. Also, have I mentioned that I’ve been drawing…
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A Very Unscientific Index of Adopters
This is a truly succinct catalog of adopter types (as seen in the animal adoption sector). Also, check out her blog bourbondog.wordpress.com for more excellent reads about animal rescues and dogs in general!
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The Season We’ve Missed for Years
It’s finally here! (And, frankly, almost gone already, too!) I’m talking about autumn, of course. My favorite time of year! Since I was old enough to appreciate the unlikely reality of Halloween—I actually got rewarded with an almost limitless amount of free candy for dressing in a cape and acting wild (now that’s only possible…
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Smorgasburg
Last weekend, Ivan and I met a few friends near the Brooklyn Bridge to check out Smorgasburg. Since I’m assuming that you don’t know what Smorgasburg is, let me tell you: Smorgasburg is a weekend summer event that involves a number of restaurateurs and their respective restaurants setting up temporary shop in carnival-style tents…
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Third Avenue. Third Floor.
I told you I’d get around to posting proper pictures of our dwelling. Well, here you go! The master bedroom: And another angle with Babe’s unbreakable kennel and our cubby box: The guest room (very bare so far), which could be YOUR room if you come visit!!: Decorated walls (minimally) and our roof-access storage closet:…
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At Night the Bag Ladies Take the Bottles
We’ve passed the one-week mark and, honestly, I’m almost ready to post pictures of the inside of our apartment. Almost. On Sunday afternoon and evening, John and his girlfriend, Sarah, were our tour guides. We took the subway—an entirely new experience for Ivan and me, who’ve only travelled in the London and Brussels subways. Contrary…
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Our First Few Days
Monday at 6am, Ivan and I piled into a U-Haul (Babe in the center seat). My mom and grandma, meanwhile, loaded into my mom’s CRV (with Ajax in the back). We began our trip from Erie, Pennsylvania to Brooklyn, New York—a trip that lasted almost ten hours. By 8pm that evening, the empty U-Haul was…