Valentine's Day 2020

We don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day. Both my husband and I think it’s a very commercial holiday; we didn’t even celebrate when we were dating. The fact that the anniversary of our first date is January 31st (22 years!) was enough for us to just skip Valentine’s Day all together.

Since my kids started school, we’ve done a smidge more, but still not THAT much. I do step up to reasonably-above-average in the parenting department and make custom valentines for their class parties. Every year I expect them to ask for boxed sets from the store and they continue to surprise me with wanting something fun and custom.

Last year I vowed to not send candy to school. This year I vowed to not send food at all. We scoured Pinterest for ideas and saw fun sayings to go with toy airplanes. A thorough Amazon search for inexpensive airplane gliders at different sizes, price points, and availability to get here within a few days (because you KNOW we didn’t start these until a few days before Valentine’s Day) and we found these great gliders! They came in clear poly bags (which I really liked) and had a bunch of different color combinations.

I took the same cartoon faces I made of my boys from last year and turned them into pilots and I LOVE how they turned out.

I don’t think I will be able to get away with these same cartoons next year. I’ll have to make new ones.

The card stock was printed with two per 8.5x11 page and then I trimmed them with a paper cutter and folded them in half. Two staples attached them to the clear poly bags.

We found a bunch of different sayings for these, and these three were the winners. I wanted to use “you’re so fly” but my kids had NO idea what that meant. I think I showed my age.

Price Breakdown:

Airplanes: Amazon, $16.99 for 36. I ordered two boxes total for my kids’ classes, so $36.44 including sales tax.
Printing: Office Depot, color printing onto #65 card stock, $17 including sales tax
Paper Cutter: already had one
Stapler & staples: already had those

Total: $53.44 which was just about $.74 cents per valentine. And since there are 26 kids in each of my kids’ classes, we had a few extras that we gave to teachers, neighbors, and a few non-school friends. This was definitely more than I wanted to spend, but my kids LOVE how they turned out and so do I. I may have to add these to my Etsy shop for next year!

My Favorite Books

I’m an avid reader. There’s nothing I love more than getting sucked into an amazing story. If there happens to be multiple books in a series; all the better. As a kid I loved reading what most girls read in the late 1980s: The Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High. I loved Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books and the Little House books from Laura Ingalls Wilder (I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every episode of Little House on the Prairie on TV).

When my mom realized I could finish a Babysitter’s Club book in a few hours, she lent me her copy of All Around the Town by Mary Higgins Clark. It’s been more than 20 years since I read it and I can still remember the storyline. The next book of hers I read was A Cry in the Night and I was seriously hooked on her books. I probably read more than a dozen Mary Higgins Clark novels before I finished seventh grade. All throughout my teens and twenties, I read novels from Patricia Cornwell, Michael Crichton, Sue Grafton, Michael Connelly, and more that I’m not remembering right now. I remember cutting class in community college to camp out in the library when I was nearing the end of a really great novel; Patricia Cornwell was the reason for many of those days.

This week I learned that beloved author Mary Higgins Clark passed away at the age of 92. She was the author whose words hooked me into so many fascinating stories and I believe she was the one who cemented my love for reading.

I wanted to share some of my favorite books. These are the books or series that I can go back and reread over and over when I don’t have something new to read. For a very long time, I wasn’t ever able to reread a novel. So to make a list of books that I have loved enough to re-love, that’s really saying something.

All of the links in this post are affiliate links. Purchasing anything through these links helps keep my website running and me fully stocked in watercolor paint. It’s very much appreciated.

SERIES:

The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon - These will suck you in and you won’t be able to tell what day it is. It’s historical fiction mixed with romance, drama, mystery, and a smidge of science-fiction thrown in. I know some folks dislike the length, each novel is over 1000 pages, complaining that the author spends too much time with the day-to-day stuff that the main characters go through. That’s the stuff I really love; the stuff that makes me understand what 18th century living was really like, and how it could be for someone who’s lived in the 20th century. There are currently eight novels, and number nine is supposedly due out some time in 2020. Oh and there’s a show. It’s kind of amazing.

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher - I was never a huge fan of fantasy books. Hard-to-pronounce names to keep track of often lost me as a reader. A long-time friend told me I’d like the Dresden Files. “They’re not your typical fantasy books” she told me. I picked up the first four and was hooked by about the middle of book two. Wizard Harry Dresden is such a grounded and relatable character in a very believable world that is both real life and fantasy. Fantasy characters from different religions, mythologies, and more all play a part. There are sixteen books in the series (!!). Book number twelve ended in such a dramatic fashion, I’ve read a few fans wonder if the author is running out of stories for our wary wizard. Gawd, I hope not!

The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness - These are awesome stories about witches, vampires, daemons, history, science, genealogy, love, action, and holy crap just go read them. You won’t be sorry. The author takes these fantasy characters and weaves a tale that makes it all sound completely plausible in our world and makes me really look at people and wonder if they’re hiding the fact that they’re really a witch or a daemon. BBC is making these into a TV show, the first season can be viewed now. It’s incredibly short, cramming a wonderful novel into just eight episodes, but they really did an amazing job.

The Anne Trilogy by Posie Graeme-Evans - The Innocent, the first book in this trilogy, was one of the first historical fiction books I ever read. It’s a wonderful story that takes place during the War of the Roses in 15th century England. The second book takes place in Brugge, Belgium and is described so beautifully. The author manages to talk politics in short enough spurts to not lose my interest and the main heroine is such a wonderful and relatable woman.

STAND-ALONE NOVELS:

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - This was the first novel I read that delved into Biblical fiction. It tells the life of Dinah; the only daughter of Jacob from the book of Genesis. In the Bible she’s barely mentioned, but this fictional tale starts with the lives of her mother Leah and sisters. I read it before I became a mom and I loved it so much that I hoped to have a daughter and name her Dinah. That never happened (I ended up with boys!), but I have reread this novel many times since becoming a mom and the book took on a whole other dimension of wonderful and heartbreaking.

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman - After reading The Red Tent, The Dovekeepers was a novel that Amazon suggested I might like. Yup, I did. An amazing story about four very different women from very different backgrounds who find themselves all living on Masada; a fortified city high atop a plateau in Israel and inhabited by Jewish people who were expelled from Jerusalem in the first century CE. The Jewish people were hiding there when Roman soldiers began to invade. Because Masada is on top of a mesa, it took months for the Romans to build a ramp. By the time they got there, 960 Jews had committed mass suicide. Two women and five children were found alive.

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant - A wonderful historical fiction (I was on a big kick in my early 30s) that I have fallen in love with after rereading when I became a mother. Alessandra (my name in Italian) is such a beautiful character living in a turbulent and exuberant time in Renaissance Florence, Italy. It goes on about how the Medici family were big patrons of art and the rise in popularity of the friar Savonarola and the eventual Bonfire of the Vanities. It’s ultimately a story of how a headstrong woman would have fared in that tumultuous time.

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins - One of my oldest friends loaned me a copy of this book one day when we were in our mid-20s. She didn’t preface it with anything other than, “it’s kind of wacky, but you’ll like it.” Yes it was, and yes I did! The author weaves a seemingly disjointed series of tales that include a Dark Ages king who decides he doesn’t want to die, an Indian woman whom he falls in love with, pagan gods, a Paris perfumer, and beets. Toward the end the stories come together in a very satisfying way and asks lots of great questions about religion and immortality.

The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry - My mom says I was named after the last Czarina of Russia; Alexandra. The story of her family has always fascinated me along with the mysteries of whether any of her children survived their execution. Steve Berry took what is known about their story and wove it into a wonderful work of fiction. At the end of the novel, he sites all of the sources for the truths in his story too. That weaving of history, theories, and fiction has made me a persistent fan of his books. But The Romanov Prophecy was the first one I ever read, and the one I can reread over and over.

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone - Probably the only biography I have read that wasn’t assigned reading for school. I have always been a fan of Michelangelo; even when I was a teenager. One day my mom was watching a Charlton Heston film by the same title and I was intrigued. I stumbled upon the biography one day when killing time at the library in between college classes. I happened to be taking an art history class that semester and checked the book out. It so beautifully explains the struggles that most artists go through, the dilemmas of creating art for oneself versus patrons and paying clients. While Michelangelo is known for painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, did you know he didn’t want to do it? And he didn’t think he was a very good painter? He was a sculptor! Go read the book. Even if you aren’t an artist, if you have any appreciation for his art, you’ll enjoy the book.

What would you list as your favorite novels? Ones you can go back and reread when you want?

Traveling Gingerbread Man

My friend Jen has a kindergartener and his teacher was working on a project with the class; teaching them a bit about geography. The teacher sent out a paper to parents asking them to ask friends and family who don’t live in their town to send messages claiming they sighted the Gingerbread Man in their city or sometime during their travels. If they could include a photo, then fantastic. She even went on to say that email messages are fine, and even fictional messages are okay so long as they help the kids learn about different places on the map. They were mapping each sighting on a big map in the classroom.

I kicked it up a notch and had WAY too much fun in Photoshop. Here are the messages I sent:

“Hi Mrs. B's Class!

We are the Wong Family: Alex, Bill, Tommy and Matthew. We're friends of Jaxon's. We were exploring Arches National Park in Moab, Utah earlier this year and you wouldn't believe who we ran into: The Gingerbread Man! He must have been on vacation, exploring the desert. He was so nice by sharing some gumdrops with us and we shared granola bars with him on the trail. He totally photobombed us too! What a stinker!
Love, Tommy and Matthew Wong (ages 10 and 5)”

“Hi Mrs. B's Class,

It's Tommy and Matthew again, say hi to Jaxon for us, we miss him! We were on a road trip with our parents and we stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats in western Utah to see if we could watch some race cars break land speed records. Lo and behold, we saw The Gingerbread Man too! He was scoping out some rocket cars and enjoying the weather. Thankfully it wasn't too hot, but wow, it gets bright when the sun reflects off of the salt! Sunglasses are a must! Wonder where he was headed next?

Best, Tommy and Matthew Wong”

“Hello, Mrs. B's Class,

Tommy and Matthew saying hi and sharing yet another Gingerbread Man sighting. He must have had the same road trip plans as us this year. We ran into him in the north shore of Lake Tahoe, California and he joined us for a swim in the crystal-clear water. We bid farewell when we got wrinkly fingers and advised him to do the same. Since he's made of gingerbread, we didn't want him to get soggy!

I hope he had a great time on the rest of his road trip!
Adios, Tommy and Matthew”

“Hello Mrs B's Class,

It's the Wong Family again, Tommy and Matthew. We were hiking with some friends in Big Cottonwood Canyon in the snowy Wasatch Mountains of Utah this week and we ran into our old friend, The Gingerbread Man. He said he was hoping to get in some skiing before another snow storm came through, and we hope he found some slopes, because it's supposed to snow again tonight!

We hope you're staying warm this winter.
Cheers, Tommy and Matthew Wong”

A big part of me hopes my youngest son’s kindergarten class does a similar activity… so I could make more photos. Hahaha!

Alex's First Day of Freedom

It’s September 2nd and summer has flown by in a flash. This year I tried my best to pack our summer with as much fun and adventure as possible while squeezing some contract work in the crevices between travel, camping, hiking, biking, swimming, and sleeping in. We spent a week with family in California. We camped and hiked with friends. We went on bike rides (which are way more fun now that I actually have a bike!). We had a real, week-long vacation in Lake Tahoe (the first in many years). We spent lazy Sundays fishing in high mountain lakes with Daddy. We had shave ice dates, frozen custard dates, gelato dates, and lots of swimming play dates.

Now school is back in session and my youngest and last baby started kindergarten! Since I make a sign for both of my kids every year, I figured that after eight years of being a WAHM (work-at-home-mom) I deserved one for myself. In case you can’t zoom in, it discusses how I would like to be on vacation when I grow up. My favorite foods are anything I don’t have to share and hard lemonade. My hobbies include quiet time, hiking, reading, cooking alone, and anything without an audience. My teachers are Netflix and Amazon and I’m 40 years young. I thought it was fitting to take the photo from my hammock overlooking a beautiful alpine lake… which is where we spent the whole Sunday before the first day of school.

Next summer I’ll add this sign to my Etsy shop so fellow parents can have a sign of their own.

All summer my youngest has had nothing but positive things to say about how awesome kindergarten would be and I’m so happy that his first full week lived up to the hype. Every day he came home tired, but ready for another day of fun.

My kindergartener is kind and smart and quick to laugh off scrapes of bumps that might slow him down, but fully admits that a BandAid will take the pain away. He loves Crocs, Lego, Paw Patrol and anything his big brother is into. He often narrates whatever he’s doing or playing with and when asked who he’s talking to, he’ll tell you he’s narrating a YouTube video for his subscribers. He loves taekwondo and his flexibility allows him to kick higher than his own head , much to his brother’s chagrin.

My oldest started fourth grade and is really excited for what this year will have to offer. He is so smart and wants to know EVERYTHING and show everyone that he knows EVERYTHING. We joke that he’ll be a Jeopardy! champion some day. He continues to train in taekwondo every week and is currently one belt below a black belt. He will be eligible to test for his black belt next year. He loves history and we watch YouTube videos about random history together and discuss the historic places we can visit. He also loves to play soccer and run cross country. He adores fishing and camping and has rather suddenly fallen in love with exotic cars. He is also becoming a foodie and loves to cook and try new foods.

Since my printer is down at the moment, I had all of our signs printed on card stock at my local Office Depot (it was less than $2 total). They did an amazing job and in photos they almost look like real chalkboards. These signs are available in my Etsy shop in the summer and ready to be customized for your kids.

Happy first day!!

Galaxy Dyed Vans

My oldest son finished third grade this past spring and that year was the first time I had been able to volunteer in his class with any regularity. I volunteered once a week when they attended art class and I was able to get to know a few of the students and learn a little about third grade dynamics. This is the gist of what I learned:

• Third graders are still emotionally sensitive. They want to be cool, but they still suffer from the emotional instability that plagued them at the magical age of seven.

• Third graders aren’t quite old enough to believe that everything is stupid… yet. But they’re getting close.

• Third graders can be really mean!

It was so fun to be able to help out when I could and I hope I’m able to join his fourth grade class as often as I can in the fall.

A while back, my son had it in his head that he needed more expensive shoes. Supposedly, a kid in his class declared that his Keen shoes were “dollar store shoes,” and that cool kids only wear expensive shoes. Ugh.

First, I reminded him that we actually can’t buy him super cheap shoes anymore because he’ll rip through them faster than you can even say the words “Dollar Store.” Second, I explained to him that how much a pair of shoes costs means absolutely squat. What matters is if they fit comfortably, look good to you, and keep your feet dry. And it’s nice if they last a while, or at least until they’re outgrown.

Their teacher reprimanded the kid who tried to make others feel bad if they didn’t have $100+ shoes, but I did my own little passive-aggressive comeback (with my son’s blessing, of course). I made him some custom-dyed Vans.

Vans are ALL the rage among kids from elementary school all through high school. I have to admit that it makes me chuckle to see teenagers wearing the exact same pair of checkerboard Vans I’m wearing. I wear them because I like how they look and they’re slip-on, and I LOVED them when I was a kid.

We bought some plain white Vans from Journeys earlier this month and I galaxy-dyed them in green and blue, my son’s favorite colors. I used fiber-reactive dye from Dharma Trading and a similar technique that I use for galaxy-dyed clothes and baby carrier. They ended up being quite a pain to rinse, the dye inside the soles was tough to get out. I also did my best to mask off the white rubber to prevent them from being stained by the dye. Lastly, I masked off the rubber and labels when I painted stars with fabric paint.

I really love how they turned out and so does my son. Apparently a few of his friends want a pair now. #momwin

Hiking My Way Retreat 2019

At the end of March, I had the privilege of attending a retreat in southern Utah with more than a dozen really fantastic women. My friend Shanti is quite literally, a force of nature. She has a natural talent for bringing people together and does it in the most wonderful ways. She’s a writer for REI and Outside Magazine and the founder of Hike it Baby and Family Forest Fest and last year she published Hike it Baby: 100 Awesome Adventures with Babies and Toddlers. One of her recent projects has been her Hiking My Way Retreats. Twice a year she hosts women for a long weekend of hiking, exploration, running, yoga, and reflection. For the last few retreats, she’s had The Mirnavator, Mirna Valerio, as a co-host.

We explored trails around southern Utah, mainly close to Zion National Park. I enjoyed taking lots of photos, but we were lucky to have Arika Bauer with us on a few hikes too. She’s an amazing photographer and if you find yourself in southern Utah, consider reaching out to her for family photos. If anything, check out her website for amazing tips on hiking at Zion National Park and the surrounding areas.

Here are the trails we explored:

Timber Creek Overlook Trail, Kolob Canyons - This trail is north of Zion National Park, just off of I-15. We’ve driven past the exit many times, me wanting to stop and explore, but alas, with my kids, sometimes it’s better to just stay in the car and get home. This trail is short and a climb, but it’s absolutely gorgeous, especially at sunset. The clouds hung low and clung to the steep, red cliffs. The trail was extremely muddy when we hiked because of recent rain, muddy enough that I wished I’d brought my trekking poles. I almost wiped out a couple of times coming back down in the near-dark, my iPhone as my flashlight. It was an absolutely stunning hike and I cannot wait to bring my kids.

Photo by Zion Adventure Photog, Arika Bauer

Image by Zion Adventure Photog, Arika Bauer

West Cinder Knoll - This trail is popular with mountain biking because it’s open and mostly flat. We did climb up to the Cinder Knoll itself and we had a beautiful sunset view of the contrasting red rocks and the snowy mountains in the distance. It was a beautiful end to a really fun day.

What a gorgeous trail!

Beautiful woman and a beautiful landscape.

Red Reef Trail, Red Cliffs National Recreation Area - I was lucky enough to explore this trail with Shanti last year. It’s truly a hidden gem, although it’s not all that hidden anymore and was quite crowded on the Saturday we went. Because of all the snow and rain we’ve had this past winter, there was twice as much water in the creek as there was last year. The trail has lots of space to play in the creek, little waterfalls, and as it narrows into a slot canyon, there’s a fun spot where you can climb up and over a waterfall.

Image by Zion Adventure Photog, Arika Bauer

We climbed up into that big cave to stop and have a snack. We had a lovely view looking out over the creek and there was even a pictograph on the wall!

Snow Canyon State Park - Snow Canyon was a wonderful surprise (I’d never been!) and I cannot wait to bring my family there. It’s a state park just outside of St. George. It features petrified sand dunes that my kids will love to climb. Jenny’s Canyon is a fun and short slot canyon. We practiced yoga on the sand dunes at sunset and it was really beautiful.

Gould’s Wash, aka Molly’s Nipple Trail - This one is another popular mountain biking trail and features a little mountain formation that is called Molly’s Nipple. Some opted to jog on this trail and the rest of us enjoyed a peaceful walk.

Grafton Ghost Town, Grafton Gap Trail - Grafton is a historic Mormon town that resides along the Virgin River, just down the road from the entrance to Zion National Park. It was abandoned in the late 1800s and a few buildings still stand. You can explore inside a couple of the buildings too, but first we hiked a mountain bike trail that climbs up a mesa and it gave us an amazing, panoramic view of the area.

Florence Williams talking about how important smell is when we spend time outside. The trail was lined with wild sage and it smelled lovely. I’m currently reading her book, The Nature Fix and loving it!

Shanti told us that this little cliff is called the Grafton Gap and mountain bikers try to gain enough speed to jump over it.

The town of Grafton from the trail we climbed. I can see our van from here!!

Confluence Trail, Virgin River - This trail was really close to the AirBnB houses where we stayed in La Verkin. The trail meanders past a golf course down to the Virgin River and then you can just explore the area from there. We tried to get there closer to sunrise than later and it was quiet and peaceful with no other hikers. We saw a few desert wildflowers too.

On our last night, we were all gifted this bracelet engraved with “Hiking My Way - Slow AF.”

All in all I had a wonderful time and I really hope I can get the pleasure of attending one of these retreats again some day. It was amazing meeting every one of the wonderful women there. Thank you so much Mirna and Shanti!

What's in My Pack?

Not at all art-related, but I’m an avid hiker and I love to explore the trails around where I live in the Salt Lake Valley and beyond. We just got home from spending a weekend at the Devil’s Garden Campground at Arches National Park with eleven other families and we had a blast exploring trails, arches, climbing boulders, and eating really well. A few weeks before that trip, I got to spend five days in the Zion area of southern Utah with a group of amazing women where we hiked and explored a bunch of really fantastic trails.

Image by Arika Bauer - Zion Adventure Photog

Spending time with other hikers ALWAYS results in us “shopping” through each other’s clothing and gear. We are always on the lookout for items that make the experience easier or more comfortable for us. This is even more helpful when we’re hiking with our kids. Sometimes there are little items that you don’t even realize could be useful to you until you see another hiker rocking them.

This post has LOTS of affiliate links. You are under no obligation to shop through these links, but they do help keep my business going and it’s very much appreciated.

In My Pack

• Deuter Speed Lite 24 Backpack (it’s probably bigger than I really need for most of my hikes, but it’s comfy and it’s sometimes nice to be able to throw in something extra).

• Peak Design CapturePRO Camera Clip (attached to the shoulder strap, gives me the security and confidence to bring my DSLR on trail, this clip also fits on baby carrier straps or a standard belt)

• Canon 50mm f1.4 lens, Canon 18-135mm f3.5 lens, Canon 70D DSLR, and a zipper pouch with spare batteries (obviously the camera and bigger lens were used to take this photo. This camera has been so good to me in the years I’ve had it. Eventually I would love a 35mm wide angle lens… someday)

• Matador Mini Pocket Blanket or Wenzel Mini Blanket (downright handy to have, the Wenzel blanket is waterproof too)

• Adventure Medical First Aid Kit (FYI, these have the BEST tweezers for removing tiny splinters)

• Black Diamond Carbon Z Trekking Poles (they fold down nice and small, small enough to fit in the water bottle pocket of my backpack. When opened, they are too tall for my kids to use, I did that on purpose! For poles my kids can use, I have Cascade Mountain Tech poles from Costco that were $30.)

• Deuter Zip Pack Lite 2 - My Period Go-Bag (contains a few pads, tampons, wet wipes, and a pair of Thinx undies, useful for when I hike with any women)

• LifeStraw (I’ve never had to use it, but I still bring it, just in case)

• Fifty/Fifty or Hydroflask Water Bottle (size varies on the length of the hike, for long hikes, I’ll use a 2L or 3L Camelbak Water Bladder)

• Travel bottle of sunscreen (current fav for my face/body is Super Goop and Alba Botanica for my kids)

• Deuter Dirt Bag (In cahoots with the Leave No Trace initiative, Deuter made these waterproof, reusable bags designed to hold trash you find on trail. Donate to LNT and you get one of these bags for free.)

• Lots of hair rubber bands

• Bottle of useful medicines, usually Ibuprofen, Tylenol, Excedrin Migraine, and Zyrtec.

• Nite-Ize Flashlight Keychain (damned handy, I keep one on my keys too)

• Bag of random snacks, varies on the day, but usually contains fruit snacks, fruit leather, random trail bars, string cheese, and sometimes candy… because I’m all for bribery. I also like bringing cheese, salami and nuts for myself)

• My own business cards and Hike it Baby stickers

• Random carabiners, the non-climbing variety (handy for clipping random stuff to my pack, like a child’s backpack when said child can no longer carry their own)

• Glow sticks or bracelets (usually purchased from the dollar section at Target, they’ve saved me from many-a-meltdown)

Footwear
I hiked the summer of 2016 in running shoes and after rolling my ankle on trail twice, I reached out to my brother (a shoe buyer for a big retail company) and asked for suggestions on hiking boots and trail running shoes. I hated the way hi-top hiking boots rubbed my ankles when I was a teen, but my brother convinced me to give them a try again. Merrell and Ahnu are really the brands that seem to fit my slightly-wide feet and pronating ankles, AND come in sizes larger than a woman’s 10. Ahnu was bought by Teva a while back, so the models I have may be found under Teva now.

When one mom finds a great pair of shoes, others follow suit!

• Merrell All Out Blaze Aero Sport - super lightweight, almost works as a water shoe, dries quickly, nice, wide toe box

• Altra Lone Peak - a trail running shoe that is SO comfy, even if you aren’t a runner. The super wide toe box is dreamy for anyone with wide feet or bunions

• Ahnu Sugarpine Waterproof Hiking Boots - very lightweight, not much need for breaking in, they come in rad colors too

• Ahnu Montara Waterproof Hiking Boots - a little stiffer than the Sugarpine boots, but still very comfy, I use them for longer hikes so my feet are more supported

• Brooks Levitate 2 - for running, which I occasionally do when coaxed, these shoes are downright dreamy on my feet

Apparel
I rarely wear leggings on trail anymore, favoring breathable pants that have real pockets instead, bonus if they can roll up to capri-length. The biggest selling points for me are great pockets, lots of stretch, and LONG enough. I’d also like them to be available in my size, which isn’t a single digit number. I have a hard time supporting companies that stop at a size 12 or 14, when I personally know PLENTY of amazing women who are bigger than a 14 who love to hike. I don’t think I’m asking too much.

When it comes to tops, I buy whatever I can find that fits. I’m not loyal to any one brand. Sometimes I find athletic or running shirts from Target, Costco, Sierra Trading Post, or our local outlet stores. Some of my favorite shirts, tanks, and pullovers are from Champion/Target, Columbia, and Under Armour. These are my favorite bits of clothing for hiking that are worth singling out:

• 5.11 Women’s Mesa Pants - I love these pants, they come in Long, have lots of stretch, a real waistband that can handle a belt if needed, and wonderful, deep pockets. They have pockets on the hips that can hold my phone and allow me to sit comfortably. I wear them all the time, even not hiking *** These have been discontinued and replaced with the Apex pants. I’m hoping to get a pair soon and will decide if I like them better or not.

• Columbia Women’s Saturday Trail Stretch Pants - very comfortable with lots of stretch, my only complaint is they aren’t easy to find in the Long length and Regular is about 2 inches too short on me, so I wear them as capris until I can find the long ones at my local store

• Merrell AlphaTherm Mid-Layer Fleece - lightweight, warmer than it lets on by feel

• Lolë Packable Down Jacket (not as pricey a other brands, it packs down small, includes a cinch bag)

• L.L. Bean Ultralight 850 Down Jacket - it packs down into a little pouch that doubles as an inside pocket when you’re wearing it. It’s warm and comfy without being bulky.

Other Accessories, Sometimes Weather-Specific - Random other stuff that I only sometimes carry that also isn’t apparel or shoes, this stuff is sometimes seasonal.

• RoShamBo Baby Sunglasses - designed for kids but also made in adult sizes, so they’re kinda indestructible, which means I can cram them into a pants pocket or my backpack without worrying that they’ll get damaged, and they’re only $35 with polarized lenses

• AlaskiWear Hooded Scarf - warm and snuggly without giving me hat hair, I love them so much, I have two

• Fingerless Gloves - handy for when it’s cold but I still need dexterity to take photos or tie kid shoelaces, these are handmade by my aunt, but you can find plenty online

• Kahtoola MICROSpikes - handy for hiking in the snow or on ice. I also own YakTrax that work well and are WAY less expensive than Kahtoola, but they sometimes slide off my boots. If you opt for YakTrax, spend the couple extra bucks to get the YakTrax Pro with a strap that goes over the boots

• Sunday Afternoons or whatever trucker hat is actually in my car and my oldest hasn’t stolen (I’m on the lookout for a proper wide-brim actually looks decent on me

• Art Toolkit - this thing is freaking awesome for the rare times I can sit in one spot and paint, everything you’d need has been well thought-out

• Way 2 Cool Mesh Cooling Towels - handy in the summer, especially on hikes with no shade, just get it a little wet and it stays cool on your skin

• Líllébaby CarryOn Toddler Carrier - if I have room in my pack, I may bring it if I think my son will need a ride, we’re almost to the point where I won’t be carrying him anymore… almost)

• Onya Baby Pure Baby Carrier - always in my car in case another parent needs it or if I am volunteering to wear someone’s baby. I actually prefer the fit of the Onya Baby Outback carrier, plus it has a big pocket and a hood, but the Pure is what I currently have

• a Hammock - this is a relatively new item that I bring on many hikes; especially hikes where I know we will have time to play, splash in some water, or just relax. Hammocks range in pricing incredibly, but I have been really happy with this brand so far.

That’s all I can think of for now. I’m sure as I do more hiking and camping this spring and summer, I may add more.

Are you a hiker, what items are essential for when you go hiking?

Still-Life Painting and Stress-Relief

My grandma’s silver champagne bucket; this was a homework assignment. Still kicking myself for not getting an actual bottle of champagne. I would’ve enjoyed sharing it with Grandma.

When I was in college, even though I was majoring in animation (yeah, that changed), a still-life painting class was a required course in my first year. It met once a week for six hours (lots of my classes were like that) and before it even started, I dreaded it. I loved painting landscapes, but I’d never painted a bowl of fruit or a vase of flowers. The idea seemed daunting to my early-twenties self and I had no interest in a subject matter that I considered boring.

Little did I know that still-life painting class would turn out to be one of my favorite classes ever. Not only did I learn more about what makes good composition and how to use light and color in different ways, but I also learned how to paint reflective surfaces, how to paint transparent glass, how to paint folds in fabric, and how to really handle oil paints (I’d only ever painted with acrylics). But mostly, it was just a fun class. We’d crank up some music (usually Pink Floyd or Bjork) and just paint. That class became a source of stress-relief when other classes, a long commute, and work had me frazzled and feeling overwhelmed.

My second or third attempt at painting wine glasses. I loved how they turned out but didn’t love the pink fabric. This canvas is in a pile of ones I’m planning to let my kids paint over. The frame houses a different painting now.

A couple of canvases went to my grandma; whom I lived with when finishing college. She would often call dibs on canvases before I was even finished with them. A painting of fruit and a silver kettle on a purple tablecloth went to my mother-in-law. I even managed to sell two little 5x7 canvases to a random customer from my job at a picture framing store.

One of the 5x7 paintings I actually sold, eggplant, Bosch pear, and grapes in an extravagant frame. Sometimes it was fun to get to play with scrap pieces of moulding.

The other little canvas I sold, this one was my favorite with the little silver pitcher and pomegranate. I’m a little sad I don’t have them anymore, or at least have a higher quality photo, but I needed the money at the time.

Quite a few canvases were garbage too and I will eventually paint over them, or let my kids paint over them. This painting was my favorite with the copper kettle and brass bowl. It currently sits on my dresser and though I don’t love the frame, looking at it brings me back to that still-life class and the peace it brought me each week.

For some reason, that flower was the hardest part to paint, hahahah!

It’s been probably fifteen years since I painted with oils and the idea of starting up again with small children just seemed daunting. My 3rd grader has recently shown some interest, so I ordered some student-grade oil paints. Thankfully, I have a few unfinished canvases that we can doodle on and we’ll see what sparks us to put on canvas.