Calobee Doodles

Y’all, I’m going to France. I made a really expensive purchase. A totally selfish, 100% impulsive, “OMG what did I just do” purchase. I found this amazing retreat through one of the class instructors, and after wrestling my fleeting hesitation into submission, I booked it. And the flight. And bought the supplies. I’m committed. Ahhhhhhhhhh! I hope COVID doesn’t get in the way. I hope I’m not…

Our big family vacation got off to a rough start, as we made the difficult decision to put Stitch down the weekend before we left. I would rather have “The Sex Talk” a million times over than have to sit down with my kids and tell them we’re putting a pet to sleep, but we made it through. We figured the trip would be a good distraction from our sadness, and thankfully it was. I haven’t been to…

I thought I last wrote maybe a week ago? But time marches fast, because it’s been over a month since my last post. There’s just so much going on! I changed teams at work, shifting from design to development, so I’m having all the impostor syndrome feels. I’m keeping my head above water, but it will probably be a few more months of floundering before I shake it off. Just keep swimming, just keep…

a year in pandemic-land

Hello! I am alive, and my brain is very, very full. I am not feeling eloquent, but I should write things so I don’t completely forget how to human. We’ve been mostly at home for a full year. I ate inside a restaurant for the first time last week, with a friend I hadn’t seen since 2019. It was so good to sit in a public space and chat over food and drinks. The menu was overwhelming. I could have…

I picked up some new art supplies on a whim, in hopes it might inspire me to keep up a regular creative routine. I’ve been pretty consistent about sketching or painting on my iPad, but using actual watercolors is a whole new thing. Practicing in Procreate has helped my brush control, though. This was my first watercolor in the new notepad and I was surprised at how well it turned out.

…and I’m so thankful for that “in review” part. 2020 was our lost year. Most days, I feel like I’m still stuck back in March. In 2020 we missed out on vacations and socialization and time with friends and family. We spent most of our days at home. Our lives were upended in the strangest ways, from not being able to buy toilet paper, to gaining and losing a second income within the span of four…

I didn’t draw much in 2020, but a few months ago my kid requested a portrait of one of her favorite Animal Crossing characters. I dusted off my iPad today and found this guy in my files. Hello, Sherb!

My kids will always remember this as the year I put a “Fuck or Treat” sign on our front porch. 🙄🤣 “Help yourself!”

It was nice to have Halloween on a Saturday for once. We made and decorated cupcakes, and Tim set up a candy scavenger hunt in lieu of trick or treating.

The kids dressed up, but I forgot to take photos. They raided our costume collection and made do with some old robes to…

day “who knows”

And what a strange summer it’s been. Hard to believe it’s almost over; there’s already a little chill in the air in the evenings.

A close family friend gave us free reign to swim at her camp, so we’ve spent many weekend hours by the lake. This has been a lifesaver in so many ways; getting my kids to play outside is like pulling teeth (“There are BUGS outside!”), but “just add water” and you…

(I scheduled this to post 2 weeks ago, but I guess it didn’t?)

Wow, I guess it’s been a while! I’ve been meaning to write, but life is throwing a lot at us these days; I’ve started this post and abandoned it so many times. I have no wise words for the landscape of social and political unrest in the US, and yet, it’s at the forefront of my mind. I’m trying to spend more time listening and…

We’re on week 6 of staying at home for all but the necessary things, which usually means one trip to town each week for groceries and take-out (gotta support the local restaurants!)

Going to town is so stressful now. It used to be I enjoyed the 40-minute round-trip drive, listening to an audiobook along the way and back. I enjoyed browsing the store, taking my time, playing Pokémon Go when I’d…

The big bunny was cleared by the state as an “essential employee”, so we had a pretty great Easter Sunday with our immediate family. The kids were spoiled and there’s plenty of chocolate to show for it. The bunny might have placed a bulk order with Russell Stover so we have extra to last us the summer. And the bunny’s mom found a bunch of Easter heirlooms in storage, so those got passed down to…

As of last week, our county confirmed its first case of COVID-19, and as an added bonus, it was at our local hospital. The state is officially locked down, and the kids are remote for the rest of the school year.

Most of the time I’m on an even keel, but then something small will trigger a wave of feels. Usually it’s related to watching or reading the news, but you never know. The other day,…

We’ve settled into something like a routine–routine lite(tm), if you will.

Family time is all the time!

The kids are spending a lot more time sleeping in our bedroom; I wake up to elbows and knees I’m my side and a kid on the floor more often than not. So we usually wake up as a family around 7 or 7:30, and Tim heads downstairs to start coffee (my hero). We take care of the dog and get…

So, COVID-19 real talk. I’m going to make a point of documenting our lives in a bit more detail using this blog, because one day we’ll look back at this series of events and marvel at what a strange time it was.

They closed the kids’ school this week, along with many others in the state. Initially they were slated to reopen in two weeks, but then the governor changed that to “indefinitely”,…