Today Siah and I were sitting at the table while he enjoyed peanut butter and jelly as only kids can, reading a stack of books. He received this book for Christmas from my in-laws and I LOVE IT, especially since it is filled with brown people and non-anglo Jesus and the heart of God. We were reading about how the Bible is a story that sometimes people think is about rules or heroes or a nation, but how it's really a story about God and in the middle is a baby and that baby grew up to be the biggest hero ever, and I asked Si if he remembered baby Jesus from when we talked about him at Christmas time.

He said, "Dep, momma, dep. Yeah-Yeah love baby Jesus." (Yep, momma, yep. Siah loves baby Jesus)

I got choked so up and said, "Yeah Siah, momma loves baby Jesus too. And baby Jesus loves Siah." To which his eyes widened, and he said, "DEP!"

I have a fear of brain-washing my children with religiosity, when really I just want them to know the whole, beautiful truth and self of God. We tell the stories, we go to church, we practice life as the church, we focus on truth and love and grace in our parenting and as a family. But I know that true relationship is deeply personal, and I want to respect our children's own stories with God as they explore that. Never to have this.

When my small boy, who is just learning what it is to love someone or something ("Yeah-Yeah love hi-ho momma. Yeah-Yeah love pitates. Yeah-Yeah love Buzz.") shared an unprompted open heart about Him who I love most of all; I can't even explain. In that moment I understood what the difference was between the brain-washing and the genuine spirit. And I was humbled and overwhelmed and overjoyed and trying not to cry so that he would finish his apples while we read more stories. Language has enabled me to share this greatest love and hope and truth with him in a way that I never had been able to before.

A friend of mine reminds me that the kingdom of God comes through babies. Although I am not often able to unpack the whole of what that entails, today I was able to taste a wide and delicious slice of it. In a season of my life that has taken over my mind and soul, I very much needed to experience the washing over of the promise and spirit of God as He holds my family so much more expertly than I.

favorite

mr. joshua bennett is remarkable and i love this.



as well as this.



when one is living out their created glory you can feel it across your skin.

feather head

morning doodle inspired by the washing of a down mummy bag the mice got to... safety pins do not a patch make. wahoo for cleaning out a feathery washer drum!

on a side note, the man pad of the garage is pretty complete! and livable! for people who aren't afraid of sleeping bag-destroying rodentia!

also, september is finally over. life is slowly coming back. as long as we stop having 90-degree weather, i will survive. and my house will be clean. post-summer clean.

also, my dog is mostly blind. which is sad. she seems okay with it, though. as far as i can tell. siah loves on her quite excessively. now that he is ridiculously mobile and can throw nearly anything, they are getting along relatively well. sometimes there is a lull in the mania and we find ourselves with some sweet, rockwellian moments. sometimes...

a. yes, i'm weak sauce at the posting right now.
excuses: sick, mastitis, non-napping baby, busted dryer, crazy weather, yada yada yada

b. fall collections are oozing their way out and it is so nice to see fashion turning around after last year's sad tribute to economic depression. as off her noodle as donatella versace is, i wish i was a man because the leather jackets (and almost every other one) are so tasty. and galliano is as surreal as dali, but those suits are delicious. as much as i abhor pastels and glittery foofness, i think the chanel haute couture collection is remarkably beautiful. favorite website presenting collections: project rungay, for so many reasons.

c. we are deep in the throes of Friday Night Lights. i never want to live in texas. i moderately dread my continued life as a coach's wife. high school is hilarious and terrible and i'm very glad it's over. i LOVE the wife. that is all.

d. i like my boy even though he's a whackadoo. especially because he's a whackadoo.

bookends

We have these friends, you see, and I love them very much. We live in our house on purpose, as it fits snugly between the bookends of the most non-family family that we have. In all honesty, I am terrible at making friends. Not terrible at being friendly, which confuses most people. I am quite friendly. I was a church wife. It is a prerequisite. I can turn "on" and be engaging and charming and lovely and it is most often exhausting. Social settings that include more than 3 people generally make me hyperventilate and rehearse conversational topics in my head.

Anyway. Terrible. I am terrible at growing friendships; at taking the acquaintances to the next, knowing level. The friendships that I have have existed for many, many years. The ones I am trying to grow are slow. I like to believe that because of this weakness, there is a rooty richness to those which are present. Yes.

A few months ago one of our bookends burned down. It was horrible and tragic and terrifying and sad. And even though it is only a year that they are not right there, I have deeply missed the casualty of the every day ease of our friendship. It is hard enough to have pieces of them across the ocean for most of the year, but to have even our same-street ones far down at the beach is a slow, quiet drain on my heart.

Luckily, this isn't as depressing of a post as it has made itself out to be.

Last night we started the year the week the season with my most favorite and missed neighborhood ritual: Sunday Wine Nights. This one involved a minor trek to the temporary ocean-front beach house, but it was most worth it. There is beauty and security and peace found sitting amongst my most favorite grownups, sharing bottles of wine, and talking about family and life and Jesus while taking in winter sunsets. The way our year was starting, with the plague and messiness, I was disheartened. I needed last night. I needed the grounding warmth of those guys, the night of listening and talking and time, in order to walk into this year well. The bookends have expanded a bit for now, but roots of those relationships are growing deeper and farther into my earth. For this I am thankful. For them I am thankful.

I am not one for goals. Not being a linear thinker, it has always been hard for me to track progress and find success in the steps. Also, I seem to find too much guilt in process, so I tend to avoid them altogether. But it's the new year. And I have a tiny son and family who'd like to know him and time and energy (hah) to explore wonderful and fascinating things. So here's to starting it well.

- blog 3-4 times per week (re: tiny son and fabulous items of fancy)
- walking with the tiny son (and whomever else would like to join us) 3 times each week
- drawing more. watercoloring illustrations. general and intentional creation. perhaps once a week to start?
- house is clean more often than not
- fresh bread every few weeks
- intentionally pursuing mom and non-mom relationships
- visit the library 1-2 times per month
- complete the following books this year:
- Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places
- Jesus Before Christianity
- Infinite Jest
(and fill in the blanks with the oodles of new fiction/etc. I've unintentionally accumulated in the last few months; i.e. Christy, The Hiding Place, Naked, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, miscellany Discworld, Teacher Man, Roverandom, Til We Have Faces, The Time Traveler's Wife.... you get the picture)
- make it to church more often than not
- be creative and financially efficient with meals
- wine nights with neighbors
- communicating more regularly with the girls and family
- creative and cheap date nights

That's all I have. My brain is being overtaken by my nauseous and slowly recovering self, as the family decided to kick off the year with the most horrific stomach flu I've ever seen. Seriously. Lost five pounds in one night. Great beginning for the post-baby body plan. Hah.

Also, thanks to my ridiculously awesome photographer brother, Michael Chiaravalle, for the lovely family photo.

still pregnant

I am still pregnant and alive. my camera broke and that severely limits my visual blogging abilities. plus i am a non-communicative nerd. i apologize. (deep bow)

so for the speedy update, we're doing GREAT!!! apparently pregnancy is the one health-related thing that my body has decided to do well. which is ridiculously awesome. all of my blood work looks like that of a normal, healthy person! woo-hoo! hopefully it will last.

he moves quite a lot. it's beginning to slow down, now that he's running out of space, but often it feels like he has his own little yoga studio in my belly. apparently he enjoys listening to joey play music and kicking me in the bladder. also the beatles.

the doctor is happy with all sides of he and i; she said we could gain as much weight as we wanted to now. ha. i've never eaten so much in my life. joey is becoming quite the cook, and i've never loved cheerios so much. the acid reflux had gotten so bad that my esophagus was burned (literally!), but zantac is a miracle drug and has changed my life. it's nice to be able to breathe and sleep at the same time.

sorry it's so brief, sorry for the long wait, but i'm back and off to bed. trying to save up sleep for when it comes no more.

popping

I got into bed the other night and Joey said, "Wow, you're really starting to get a belly there!" Being the good-natured pregnant woman that I am, I laughed, "Ha-ha-ha!"

Ha.

I'm only up 3 pounds or so, but MAN it seems like more. It's popping out. Especially at night. Oh the joy.

Also, apparently during pregnancy if you don't have an immune system (due to your gastrointestinal auto-immune disease), you become a walking petri dish. Got any spare germs? Send 'em my way! We've got a party going on in my sinuses! All night long! BYO Kleenex! Fun.

Braxton-Hicks have started already. Odd and only occasionally disconcerting. Upside: women who have more BH earlier tend to have shorter labors! Woo-hoo! I'm still being really careful. My doctor was very clear last time we went (Good solid heartbeat! Sweet!), so I'm being good.

Anyway, here's what we've all been waiting for:

Up

Today I slept in until noon.

This is not uncommon for me on days off. It is disgustingly indulgent and I will continue for as long as possible because I have a feeling that the nugget will not be quite as content with seriously extended snuggling as the monster dog is.

I explained to Joey that I don't actually SLEEP until so late, but that I generally lie in bed and daydream for a good hour or more. He laughed at me. Hard.

I gave him a Stern Face.

He hid his Cracking Up Face and played some very loud Irish Punk in my direction.

I like our relationship.

Also, we spent Sunday evening being exhausted, eating chili, and watching Pixar movies.

This is a big plus for me. I've found that pregnancy has really... err... "heightened" my emotional senses. Which has leaned farther and farther toward the bizarre end of things for a Girl Who Is Severely Controlling Of Her Emotional Self. Luckily, the Navy Blues have really been helped by fantastic computer animation and John Lasseter's passion for excellence. Truth and innocence are safe retreats for me. I think they are for most of us.

Anyway, I wanted to leave you all with the next great offering from the love child of George Lucas and Mickey Mouse, Up. Because secretly inside we all believe that it's possible for even me.

and now we're on display

Hello 2009! We're back from the cold north, which wasn't too bad, actually. It was fabulous to visit mi familia, even though most of them were/ended up with the Flu of Death. Seriously, Laura puked 12 times, Bill passed out twice, Wil and Kristen had to spend the day in airplane/airport bathrooms, Claire had to spend the day in bed, and Joey had to take a day off from work (which NEVER happens). Yeep! I had the "nastiness" with none of the puking, luckily. Other than the last weekend, it was a lovely, quiet Christmas. Surprise visit from my dad (the first time in our ENTIRE marriage of 5.5 years) and Joey actually vacationed while on vacation. Many movies and chocolates and good times with old friends. Nice.

Due to much peer pressure and "be a normal preggo girl" guilt, I'm going to try and take pictures of my growing belly. Body image issues be gone! Or at least be vanquished to the closet for a little bit! Actually, as I was trying to take a relatively flattering picture of my least-confident part of myself, I found myself excited about this preggo body for the first time ever. Really. So far I've just felt bloated and awkward, but it's beginning -- just beginning -- to look like there might be a 4 inch nugget rolling around in there, pushing my intestines and lumpiness out for all to see. Which is fun. Really. We're having a good time, this nugget and joey and me. Also, Christmas Bella Bands help a LOT.

So here is me and the Great Unborn. Doing well. Tooling around. Tolerating each other's space pretty well.

dinosaurs

It is not a secret that I love dinosaurs. Not just, "Hey those giant dead lizards are pretty cool," but "Hey, seeing Sue the T-Rex at the Natural HIstory Museum made me flip my lid at 16." I really, really love these guys. Have since my friend Marissa in first grade (who had glasses and a birthday on Saint Patrick's Day) had a dinosaur sleepover party. Awesome. Especially for a 7 year-old girl. A stegosaurus would kick the tiny plastic ass of any My Little Pony. My personal favorite growing up: the Brachiosaurus. He's like the Blue Whale of dinosaurs (also a favorite), even though he's now known to not be the biggest. Also, he's from Colorado. Which is where many cool things hang out, at least for a while.

Anyway.

While digigng around in some boxes the other day, I found a collection of stories I wrote around 2nd grade. Here's one of my favorites. Verbatim. Just in case you think my first grade self is almost as fab as I think she is. Note my long-lived love of Taco Bell (curse you colitis!).


If I Saw A Stegosaurus
As I was walking down a hilll on Sunday, I saw a Stegasauras. It was fat and purpple. I named it Gina. She was nice. I brought her home with me. She had a baby. It was very cute. So we named it Cris. His favorite food is taco supreme.

The picture accompanying this lovely tale was my own illustration. I'd like to send a shout out of thanks to my mum for saving all of this wonderful what-not, and to all the archeologists of the land for encouraging my love of the pre-Barney purple dinosaur.

dr. horrible

I am a nerd. We all know this to be true. I am quite a lover of all things superhero, Tolkein, British, and awkwardly hilarious. Also musicals. And mocumentaries. So this greatly watered my humorous, nerdy self. I even laughed out loud a few times. Which is a big deal for me and tv.

Doogie Howser + Mal + campy musical hits = Great Joy In My Soul

It may be quite late, but please, enjoy.

of mums and days that start with s

My mum is one of the most remarkable people I know. I flew up to Oregon a few weekends ago to surprise her and to get some much needed face time. There are few people in my world that I can have conversations free of qualifiers with, and she is one of them. She is honest and real and raw and so very beautiful. I have always know that we belong to one another, in that very unique young mother and daughter way; and it is her that I will always call first with my wonderful terrible world-changing news. Obviously I adore her.

Part of why I haven't been posting lately is because I cannot seem to find the charger for my camera. Which means no pictures. Which is quite crippling for a visualist such as myself. Bah is what I say to this.

Important things which have been going on:

Girls Weekend '06: Favorite people, good wine, wonderful food, rich conversation. God is faithful and brings much hope. We are messy and beautiful. I will continue to burn at the beach because I am a white-assed americana. These are all good things. I created are invitations for this year's weekend as you can see here:



Yuba: Went to see Chafer and Roxanne and our favorite un-niece and nephew. There is something so wonderful and peaceful about being with people who know you quite well and are just, well, EASY. Settlers of Cattan and dark beer with pretzels and chocolate chips are soothing on so many levels. Even when the childcare ladies at Ikea are a less than comforting.

Memorial Day: The backyard is now freaking AWESOME. Seriously. You should be sad that you weren't over for the meaty barbecue and strawberry shortcake celebration that took place after a day of hard labor. I wish my camera had a magic battery so that I could share. Don't worry, pictures will come. Along with the s-l-o-w-l-e-y growing grass.

Now I am going to sleep. Because I have way to much laundry to fold to finish my clean house project. Hope you had a lovely long weekend!

right now

1. I lopped off my hair. Like a bunny.



2. I've been on a lot of drugs. Not like a bunny.



3. All of my organs are the right size and are relatively in the right place. This is good news.

4. There is a ping-pong ball sized alien chewing on my ovary. We're hoping he just goes away since he's been beaten into submission by the aforementioned barrage of drugs. It isn't as scary as it sounds. Well, maybe it is for him.

5. But I still get to live here.

one hundred

There are so many things I have to blog about right now, so many pictures to load, etc. So instead of doing that and telling you all about the wonderful awkwardness that is my actual life, I'm going to share one hundred random things about myself with you. Enjoy.

1. I haven't had my actual, natural hair color since I was 15.
2. I know what it used to be, but I'm not sure if it's even that color any more.
3. That color was a muddy, dishwater blonde.
4. Ten years ago.
5. I had my first perm in first grade.
6. Also in grades 3, 5, and 7.
7. It was never really a good look.
8. But I come from a long line of hair-dressing aunts.
9. We call them the amazon women.
10. I did not inherit any of the Danish height from that side of the family.
11. I am 5'3".
12. But at my last physical I measured 5' 2 1/2".
13. It was a dark day.
14. I tend to bake in the middle of the night.
15. Sleep has always been elusive.
16. So I read.
17. And re-read.
18. I do not brush my teeth before bed.
19. I hate taking showers.
20. Mostly because of everything you have to do afterwards.
21. And I'm really lazy.
22. I am mildly afraid of cows.
23. The lowing scares the crap out of me.
24. I am not opposed to other domestic animals.
25. I like the Simpsons.
26. Lisa is my favorite.
27. I have an unhealthy attachment to my laptop.
28. Raw almonds with raisins are my favorite snack.
29. Also with pretzels and chocolate chips.
30. There are usually 2 giant cups of water next to my bed.
31. They each have about an inch of water in them.
32. I sleep on my back.
33. With my face exactly half-covered by at least a sheet.
34. I am afraid of the dark.
35. Mostly.
36. My favorite color is orange.
37. My favorite number is 4.
38. I have a tattoo.
39. It isn't small.
40. I don't enjoy shopping.
41. Because I'm cheap.
42. Mostly.
43. I have 6 pairs of red shoes.
44. I have 5 pairs of shoes that I hold onto for sentimental reasons.
45. I haven't worn them in years.
46. They're they only thing I haven't been able to donate to the goodwill.
47. Other than the purple dress and blue sweater.
48. I resent commercials.
49. I love the smell of ocean fog.
50. I cannot tie a tie.
51. My favorite poet in 4th grade was Langston Hughes.
52. I am a pisces.
53. I am married to a pisces.
54. I have no idea what that's supposed to mean in our astrological universe.
55. Maybe our babies will smell fishy.
56. I am currently watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
57. It ranks somewhere in the mid-teens in my Lifetime Top Twenty Favorite Movies list.
58. I do not know how to barbecue.
59. My first car was a Dodge Shadow.
60. It was Superman themed.
61. I now have a Hyundai accent.
62. It is theme free.
63. I have spent significant time in 5-ish countries.
64. I hate checking my voicemail.
65. I forget that we have an answering machine.
66. Sort of.
67. I can shoot a gun.
68, And swing dance.
69. But not at the same time.
70. Well, maybe.
71. I've never actually tried.
72. I love children's literature.
73. My favorite book is "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
74. It is full of beautiful, quiet truth.
75. Much like "The Alchemist."
76. I have 12 scars on the back of my right hand.
77. They are mostly miscellaneous burns and old chicken pox scars.
78. Ewwww.
79. I rarely paint my nails.
80. I love to do event make-up and hair as a gift for people.
81. If I wasn't such a chicken I'd paint more pieces as gifts for people.
82. If I wasn't such a chicken I'd spend a lot more time creating.
83. I need to stop being a chicken.
84. Speaking of chickens.
85. I only like to eat cage free eggs.
86. Because I figure they're less stressed out and therefor less toxic than the other chickens.
87. I'd like to have chickens.
88. But I'd rather have my neighbors be my friends still.
89. I have the greatest neighbors in the world.
90. They are family.
91. We borrow eggs from each other.
92. I am excited about our vegetable garden.
93. I am also very skeptical of it.
94. I don't want to get my hopes up.
95. See, I really love vegetables.
96. And I am really, really cheap.
97. And I try to be "green."
98. But I have a black thumb.
99. Carrots have always been my favorite vegetable.
100. I ate them with ketchup when I was little.

Way to go if you made it this far! Hope you're all have a fabulous day and that you have been duly distracted from your actual life. Love, love!

hello there

SO it has been an absurdly long time since I've posted, and I haven't any sort of really legitimate reason why I've been absent from the 'ol blogosphere. It's been a rough sort of month for a variety of reasons, mostly having to do with an old, blue moldyness that wrestles with my heart. But it's all good. Here is a story of the last few weeks:

Joey turned 28, which is a very grownup age to become. We celebrated his actual birthDAY with a quiet dinner at BJ's. He was actually much happier than he looks in this particular picture.


I cook things in the kitchen and end up using half a lemon. All the time. But my lemony things are spaced far enough apart to render the unused half useless. Sort of. So I started cleaning my cutting boards with a lemony swipe after using them for a garlic or onion-ey sort of purpose. It helps.


We go to RAW, which stands for Real Authentic Worship, each Sunday night at 7 pm. It is quite and small and Joey leads music and sometimes I read a passage or poetry and we spend a purposed hour with Jesus, which is nice.


I've been sharing a lot of Pablo Neruda lately with the RAW folks. Joey gave me the Captain's Verses when we were first dating and I've loved him ever since (Pablo and Joey).


Bill turned 50. My mum had an amazing surprise party for him, full of good wine, incredible food, and really special encouragement and honoring. Seriously incredible.


Her cooking instructor/friend/folks they're going to Italy with catered and made the most delicious meal. Authentic, rustic Tuscan. Oy. The gnocci were deep and earthy and full of imported porccini mushrooms... and the cave cheese... heavenly.


My mum and I had a fabulous time together (with the greatest aunt and the husbands). I didn't realize how much I needed just to be with her (and all of them). She is amazing and beautiful and I love her quite a lot more than she even thinks possible.


Joey got a special brew from the Deschutes Brewery for our pubby birthday bash (celebrating he + mark + myself) that is deep and heavy and amazing. I forgot to take pictures at our party (ridiculous, I know), so this is the stand in.


You are nearly up to date on our world. And I need to go to bed. So. Back in the saddle I am. To bad I was never an overly "horsey" sort of girl. Ah well. The fun stuff will be coming soon. For now, it's g'night.

loose raisins

I have been trying to be a grownup this afternoon and figure out how to deal with insurance messiness when we've moved too many times to remember where the packet is. Because it is a gorgeous day, I sat on the porch with celery and rice cakes and peanut butter and raisins and decided to be happy instead of moldy and blue while I worked. Then I took some pictures. Which made it all a zillion times better.

Bella played over-the-railing fetch with me while we aired out the house.



These are my favorite shoes. They are falling to pieces because I wear them nearly every day, but I think it makes them that much more wonderful.



Also, yesterday was a perfect mathematical sentence! Hooray! We've only 7 of them this year, so enjoy them while they last!

potatoes and puddles

This is the corner of my kitchen window. It tends to fill up with miscellany herbs and lemons and other happy, cookery things.

It's been dark and cold and stormy here for the last few weeks, which is my favorite winter-time weather. I think growing up in the bay area does that to you. We've been trying to stay home on the weekends; working on projects and being cozy. This translates often into soups and stews with simple salads and crusty bread for dinner, which I love, but Joey is getting a little tired of. This was a potato-carrot-corn chowder I made up one night. Oh the joy of the leftover vegetables.


We had a particularly gnarly storm this weekend. Kit and Joey were antsy with cabin fever, so we decided our only option was to go puddle jumping. At ten o'clock at night. During the storm. Geniuses be we. After harassing Mark into coming along, we galoshed our way to the Rec Field, splashing and laughing our heads off. Joey was not as excited, walking about with his umbrella; but Kit and I did a bit of free-form slip n' sliding (sans slide) and puddle-angel making in the mud. Fabulous. You may not be able to tell, but this is the Kit-O prepping for a massive jump.

See the darkness on their sweatshirts? That's from the rain. Pre-Slip n' Slide. Pre-anything else. Just from walking. Sheesh.

Me with some red, red knees. Sliding on soaked grass is quite similar to sliding on dry carpet, surprisingly.


I'll leave you with one of the favorite moments of the weekend. Joey wrote a new song (all folky and swingy, yay!) it the new space (which will be posted about in a few days). It needed a harmonica. Unfortunately neither Kit nor I are nearly as talented as Nate, who is far off being a grownup in Indiana. So Joey made do. And played both parts at the same time so that we girls could laugh and laugh at my ridiculously gifted boy. I enjoy my family quite a bit. We are fun. And I think we'll always be.

Have a jolly day old friends!

favorite things

Bowls of fruit. Lemons, persimmons, oranges, you name it. They are so lovely to me.


Douglas adams. I've listened to this book zillions of times and it never gets old. I need to get the rest of them. My heart runs deep with nerdiness.


This is on my fridge. Joey and I realized one day that he is Charlie Brown and I am Linus. On almost every level. It is good that we have each other.

Hope you're week is full of much more sleep than mine has been. Three cheers to re-establishing homeostasis!

found

While touring a brewery with my dear family over Christmas break, I found myself leaning against a wall, distracted by the "Hazardous Condition Complaint Board." The two pics in this post are my favorites from that day. I can just imagine these wonderful, burly, testosterone-y men carefully scrawling out their warning and suggestions for the safety of the team. For reasons unknown, it cracks me up every time.

Needless to say, I am mildly addicted to the miscellaneous world of other people's secret lives. I think many of us are. As individuals I believe that we are incredibly more poingnant, humorous, and horrifying than we will ever give ourselves or one another enough credit for. Unless we are having a "crack open the ol' junior high journal" party (which I think would be fabulous when coupled with a variety of pop+rum concoctions), we don't usually get a chance to peek in at the everyday secrets and struggles of each others' lives.

Which is why I adore the internet for the two following things: found magazine and post secret. Found Magazine is an actual magazine (I received the latest one from Trinity for Christmas!) that is published... when they get around to it... People send in random notes, lists, pictures, etc. that they find about, and they get posted on the website each day. Fabulous. Post Secret is "an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard." It's incredible to see the outpouring of pain and hope and hilarity that people of all ages create and share. Please keep in mind that neither of these sites are censored, and occasionally feature pieces that are explicit and inappropriate for children.

There is something so sweet and sincere and beautiful to me about what is often seen as the mundane details of our days. These art pieces are pictures of honesty and vulnerability brought forth from our very lives. It endears me to them. Plus, it's good to know that somedays I'm not the only one who feels like this: