The blanket was my favorite character

Being the first female on my mom’s side to get a phd; being the first female to not be a teenage mother out of all my female relatives on my mom’s side; being the first to practice non violent upbringing in both our families (me and my SO).

Getting a full ride scholarship for all of my academic life: Bachelor’s, Master’s and PHD.

Getting a green thumb after thirty and having my flowers, shrubs, ferns, fruit trees and succulents thrive.

Getting on a horse after 30+ years of not doing it after a mare threw me off.

Quitting smoking cold turkey.

Working on my self trough therapeutic work to be my most authentic self.

Exercising regularly for some years now when I came from a family that did not emphasize the importance of body movement.

That is on ny bucket list! They look surreal and I would love to experience seeig them.

Chihuly’s work maybe?

My house My family My health

Baking some apple cider donuts tomorrow. Starting a soft sculpture workshop on tuesday. New barré instructor on wednesday.

You are spot on!

I had to hire a nutrionist who specializes in it to help identify hunger cues ane what they meant. I had an eating disorder growing up and Adhd on top of it so I could go days without food and not notice and also binge uncontrollably until I made myself sick.

She showed me how to navigate and I will be forever grateful.

Leather oil + dry horse poop

Fucking kidney stone.

I remember reading about this too (cannot remember where exactly. It was a long time ago) and how that practice helped shape the idea of Santa’s flying reindeer.

Worst: Candycorn aka Satan’s earwax.

Best: Mexican candy, Pulparindo for the win!

Smoking cigarrettes. I was up to two packs a day. Quit coldturkey fourteen years ago and haven’t picked it up since.

Lol yes to the “very serious conversation” bit, my kid would geta stern look at times and I always thought it was because for them, I was on “teacher” mode, very serious.

Labyrinth and The last unicorn were my favorite movies growing up. Oh! Also a very old russian animated film about a magical hunchback pony.

If some giant towering over me would sudddenly get right in my face not respecting my personal space talking in a cutesy voice I would hate it too. Maybe the giant has bad breath and/or is asking me inappropiate questions like if I have a girlfriend yet or to come and hug him. I would be terrified.

Getting down to eye level to talk to small children is the norm in early childhood education. While getting my Montessori training, we had a special portion of the program learning how to appropiately adress children in a respectful way to invite them and engage in x or y activity. Even where we had to sit to teach a lesson depending if the child is left or right handed. Small details are very very important.

Aways come down to their height level when you talk to them so you can show them and read their facial non verbal language, you want to be on their same eye level but not on their face. Don’t stare or make too intense eye contact.

Pick a topic and see how much enthusiasm the kid shows, that can be a useful clue to see if you re going the right way with your interaction. Take into account that some kids (and some adults too!) don’t like interacting at all and that is also fine.

Some popular ones are: Dinosaurs, pets, tv shows/videogames, favorite color, favorite ice cream flavor, favorite song, favorite book.

Hope this helps.

My mango tree sprouted new healthy leaves

Not me but my SO is a black belt judoka. He started as a kid and kept on practicing all the way through college where he managed to train and compete as a professional. Went to one edition of panamerican games and scored a first place.

My FIL is also a black belt judoka and at one time him and my SO taught classes for beginners and advanced students alike, they even had a class for little kids with some behavioral issues. They were beloved teachers by many students.

At one point they even had a student with impared vision and a student with impared hearing and that never stopped anyone from practicing judo safely and learning techniques.

Regarding your bit about using martial arts as self defense, I think it is more of a hollywood idea. Noone is faster than a bullet so good judgement is better than any martial art.

My SO has taught me that “It is better to be a warrior who can garden, than to be a gardener who has to go to war” and he is the most level headed, peaceful individual you can imagine.

He also says that judo is the discipline that has shapen his whole life through “Jita Kyoei” and “Seiryoku zenyo”: Mutual benefit and maximum efficiency.

“August and everything after” Counting crows

I really liked the comment about smells, so some of my favorite are: Freshly cut grass, my child’s hair, fresh bergamot peel (cirtrusy in general), baked bread.

For eau de cologne or perfume, I like Aventus by Creed, Egoïste by Chanel, Paris by YSL, Aqua de Loewe by Loewe are some of what I wear from time to time.

In my daily life I do not wear perfume, just like taking showers with nice smelling soap/shower gel. My favorite is Mangue and Coriandre by Yves Rocher.