Monthly Archives: June 2012

Why So Serious?

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I’ve always considered Halloween a night of ultimate creation. Okay, I get it. Some girls are into the whole “wear minimal clothing because it’s the one day a year that it’s allowed” thing. It’s not really my style. First of all, Halloween is FREEZING. Every year. It’s always the same. If I’m going to be walking around outside in sub zero temperatures, I want to be warm and comfortable. That’s just my way of thinking, but I totally I comprehend the appeal to being a “sexy” [insert random occupation here.]

Some of these occupations include:
-Sailor
-Nurse
-Cheerleader
-Garbage Collector

…Wait, what? That last one may or may not have been to see if you were paying attention. If you’ve been a sexy garbage collector, I don’t know if I should be impressed or sort of weirded out.

I put a lot of thought into what I’m going to be for Halloween every year, and I usually have a lot of fun coming up with my idea. This past Halloween, Blake and I were the most convincing Mary Poppins and Bert you’ve ever seen. Okay, well we were the most convincing Mary Poppins and Bert some bar in my home town has ever seen because we ended up winning the couples costume contest in which we had to stand before a crowd of extremely intoxicated dressed up humans. I carried a long handled umbrella, and hand glued the flowers on my hat. Blake carried a spray painted broom (aka chimney sweep), and allowed me to smudge black eyeshadow all over his face (aka chimney soot).

Through the ever so accurate crowd call we were inevitably announced “best dressed couple.”


I’m not going to lie, the guys who rented the Dumb and Dumber costumes totally had my vote, but we had our eyes on the prize…A little plastic trophy that said “Best Couple” on it. Boo ya!

Junior year in college my roommates and I took a trip to the mall to check out the Halloween store, which was filled with [insert sexy occupation costumes.] I stumbled across a Heath Ledger inspired “Joker” costume from the brilliant movie, “The Dark Knight.” Even if you don’t think that movie was brilliant (YOU FOOL!) we can still be buds, but I think you should reevaluate your movie preferences. Either way, you surely remember seeing the Joker at some stage in the last three years.

I glanced longingly over at the less cool women’s section of the Halloween store, and then back at the Joker costume. After rifling through the costumes and realizing even a small in men’s wouldn’t fit me (despite the fact that I snack more than a pregnant lady, I’m kind of teensy) I also realized that the store bought version of the Joker was incredibly tacky.

It was also $70.00. In college, that was equivalent to beer for six weeks, or 70 slices of pizza when the off campus pizza joint decided to start selling “dollar slices.”

When you’re twenty one, they are equivalent in their importance. I can confidently say that now I would take the seventy slices of pizza…

I left the store empty handed and my roommates and I HAYY-GIRL-HAYY’ed our way to Forever21, where it was possible by a $10.00 shirt and wear it once. The first thing I saw when I walked into the store was a purple pea coat. I turned to one of my room mates and said, “THAT is going to be my Joker coat.”

And so… the Joker costume was born.

The eve of Halloween fell on a Thursday, and because we ALL know that Halloween lasts for three days in college, I had three days of Halloween fun to look forward do. We decided to rally for a Thursday night Halloween party. After my last class of the day, I rushed home to put together my brilliant costume. I soon realized I had a purple pea coat, black skinny jeans, and tall black boots…AND THAT’S ALL! I don’t know if you’ve watched the movie, but the Joker has more going on than a purple coat, black skinny jeans, and boots. Actually, I don’t think he wears tall black boots at all, but stick with me. With only a few hours until my roommates and I ventured off into the night, I rushed to Wal-Mart and bought green fabric from the clearance section on a whim. After constructing a green vest by hand and borrowing a tie from a friend, the only thing I had left to worry about was hair and “make-up.”

First of all, I should have been a hair dresser.

My hair became the self inflicted victim of thirty minutes of intense teasing, gelling, and doing that thing where you tip your head upside-down and blast it with a blow dryer. I went through three cans of green temporary hair dye and broke a black fine tooth comb before I was satisfied with the hue and frizz level of my long locks.

Second of all, I should under no circumstance EVER be allowed to be a professional make-up artist. EVER. If you’ve been following along on the blog I’m sure you’ve heard my make up woes by now, but let’s just say that most days I prefer to go au natural. Unfortunately, without make up the whole Jokercapade would have fallen apart, so I busted out the face paint and boogied on down.

In all seriousness, if I actually attempted to create that whole smoky eye look that some girls are pros at creating, I’d end up looking like the Joker anyway, so I was definitely able to focus on the task at hand.

The Joker gets down with Christmas lights in his kitchen year round. NOTE: Knife for dramatic effect.

Nearly getting attacked by a scared terrier on my way to the party an hour later, was confirmation that I had succeeded in created the look properly.

Fast forward to Friday morning (because remember, this all took place on Thursday night) and I was lying in bed well aware that my alarm had been going off for ten minutes, and that karma had cursed me with an 8am class. I debated skipping class and using one of my absence freebies, but I managed to drag myself out of bed. It was my only class of the day, so I tried to let that motivate me. I realized it was 7:50, and my class was about a ten minute walk from my apartment, so I made a mad dash to get dressed and out the door. I pulled my hair into a pony tail, threw on a Red Sox hat, and practically sprinted out the door grabbing my backpack on the way.

You know when you get that feeling that people may or may not be laughing at you, but you put your head down and power walk to your destination in hopes that perhaps the girl behind you is wearing something funny, or that the dude on the skateboard face planted.

Well there was no may or may not in this situation. People WERE giggling at me, and after pulling the baseball hat down over my eyes, I made my way swiftly to class.

Upon walking into class I noticed the same response from my peers as I did from the random strangers I had passed on campus. Class was remarkably empty, only ten to twelve people had actually showed up after the first night of Halloween celebrations. I took off my baseball hat and my professor eyed me curiously as he handed me a blank sheet of paper.

“Miss Barton, it’s nice to see you’re in the Halloween Spirit.” He announced. There was a hint of sarcasm and satisfaction in his voice.
“Welp, it IS my favorite day of the year.” I responded. “May I please excuse myself?”
“I suggest that you do.” The class laughed as I stood up and bolted to the bathroom.

It felt like somebody had played a practical joke on me. White face paint was still caked all over my face, accompanied by smudged heavy black circles around both of my eyes and a crusting off bright red devilish smile.

The worst part of it all? The hair.
The bright green hair pulled back in the low ponytail.

I’m not sure what is worse, the fact that I assumed I had washed my hair and face after the Halloween party, or the fact that I had woken up late and completely forgotten that I still looked like the Joker. Maybe it’s a true testament to the fact that I care so little about applying makeup in everyday life, because I literally tied my hair up, threw on a baseball hat, and left my apartment without even so much as acknowledging my own reflection in a mirror.

I attempted to wash my face in the bathroom but plain water wouldn’t do the trick, I was going to have to wait until I was able to get my hands on a bottle of face wash and a face cloth. I returned to class and endured the ultimate walk of shame as every set of eyes glanced up from their papers. I took my seat and my professor began explaining what we’d be doing in class for the day.

“We are answering Monday’s exam questions in class today, so anybody who decided to come to class will have the correct answers for the exam. Anybody who chose to not come to class will not have these answers.”

Needless to say, as embarrassing as it was showing up to class unknowingly still in full hair and makeup from the previous night’s Halloween party, I did a little victory dance inside my head for deciding to get out of bed.

Green hair and all.

Nanny Chronicles

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On a frigid January afternoon just after the New Year in 2011, my two best friends (M and B) and I walked into a local café for coffee. I had just returned from teaching in Australia and it seemed like years since we’d grabbed a cup and chatted about our lives. This was the norm. Since high school, the three of us would cram ourselves around a table in a crowded coffee shop, usually much too small for the three of us, and talk about all of the sudden changes taking place in our lives, all the while acknowledging that when you step back and look hard enough, not much actually changes at all.

I had 300 dollars in my bank account, so I could barely afford a cup of coffee. You can forget about a scone or a muffin. That would have been a total luxury. Five months in Australia including rent, transportation expenses, and grocery shopping, had completely stripped my savings. I was lucky enough that M was able to get me a job at a restaurant down the street from the coffee shop a few weeks earlier, but I was only working three days a week to start out. It seemed that bills piled up quicker than paychecks came.

If you’re lucky, the breakfast bar at the café has open seats. It tends to be the most popular place to sit because it faces outside and people love to people watch. It was lucky enough that the three of us were able to find a day that we were all available for an hour to catch up, so we couldn’t believe our luck when we noticed that three seats at the breakfast bar were all vacant. Quicker than we could agree on the idea, we rushed to the seats and threw down our jackets claiming our territory for the next hour. Drinks always come second to finding a good place to sit.

After settling down with our coffee, we began catching up. The real emotion emerged when I began discussing how stressed out I was about not having a steady job. Working three days a week as a hostess at a restaurant for nine dollars an hour wasn’t exactly steady money at the time as a twenty two year old college graduate. The troublesome thoughts spilling out of my mouth like a running bath faucet were put on hold as I looked up to see a woman walking into the coffee shop with two captivating, beautiful little girls.

The blonde little girl eagerly pulled her mother toward a high top table in the coffee shop, while a red headed youngster sat on the mother’s hip looking curiously around. The woman put the youngest child on the ground and she ran to the table with her sister. The three of them peeled off their jackets, found their seats, and for the next ten minutes my distress and frustration subsided.

“HI!” The little redhead shouted enthusiastically in our direction! Instantly, a child no taller than mid thigh melted three twenty two year olds. We all waved and talked about how perfect this little family looked. The mother seemed so calm and peaceful, and the close connection she had with her children was obvious. Her body language toward her girls showed so much respect and harmony, that we were just as fascinated by the way she interacted with her children as we were with the children themselves.

“That’s G!” The little blonde piped up with more personality than any adult I’ve ever met. “I’m Q!”

“It’s very nice to meet you!” I responded. We introduced ourselves to the girls and the mother, who we came to know as N.

“Your children are beautiful! Let me know if you ever need a nanny!” I exclaimed. N’s eyes lit up like a flame and a huge smile spread across her friendly face.

“Really? We’re actually looking for new childcare!”

It happened just like that. We exchanged emails and communicated back and forth for the next week. I was looking for a new job and N’s family was looking for a new nanny. Little did I know that this family would become my second family, and we would share laughter, tears, and everything between for the next year and a half.

Having the honor of watching Q and Little G for the last year and a half has brought me so much joy. I have been able to be a part of things that have not only changed their lives, but changed the way I view the world. Nothing will level you like watching a child learn how to read, and nothing will make you laugh harder than helping to potty train a toddler. I have recently signed an offer letter and accepted a full time position with an amazing company in New York City. After an wonderful year and a half with this family, we all knew that someday I would be starting a new chapter, and I thought preparing myself to say goodbye in the months leading up to finding my career path would help. Unfortunately, when you have met and formed a bond with people, especially children, saying goodbye is never as easy as you hope it will be. I have said goodbye to many people in my life, and I know in two weeks time, this will undoubtedly be one of the hardest ones I have to make. I take comfort every day in knowing that it’s not really goodbye, because we will always keep in touch and every time I come home, visiting them will be a top priority.

I try to stay away from list posts. Sometimes I know they can come off pretentious. The only times I really do listing is when it relates to an experience that I think others will be able to relate to and maybe even take something away from. I’ve been reflecting lately on the things I’ve learned in the last year and a half, about life, my family, my friends, and myself. I’d like to take this post to share some of the things I’ve learned from being a nanny. Sharing the things that this family has taught me seems like one of the best gifts that I can give back

1. Butter sticks, chocolate pudding, and the sugar bowl are not your basic food groups – I’ve only been out of college for two years, but I remember all too well Easy Mac and Ramen Noodle meals. That being said, I am completely familiar with scrambling to find something to eat, but Little G brings a whole new light to this concept. Little G likes to adventure into the fridge. It would be great if she pulled out English muffins and Jam, which are usually located on the bottom shelf and the side of the refrigerator door. Instead she reaches for sticks of butter or the chocolate pudding. Once she even pushed the stool to the counter and found her way to the sugar bowl with a spoon. The food pyramid would not be pleased.

2. Food, water, and sleep are always the answer - This never changes. Whether you’re a child or an adult, if you’re demonstrating extreme and irrational levels of grouchiness, chances are you’re hungry, dehydrated, or sleep deprived.

3. Be flexible – We are constantly expecting children to understand the concept of flexibility (in terms of attitude and mentality) yet it surprises me how as adults, we can be extremely unyielding sometimes. Once in a while things get crazy, and you just have to go with the flow and be okay with the fact that it’s not always going to go according to plan. Actually, in my experience, it usually NEVER goes according to plan. Children look to the adults in their lives to show them how it’s done. I’ve found that demonstrating flexibility shows children that as long as everybody is safe, it’s okay bend sometimes. In other words, if camping didn’t pan out because somebody caught the flu, perhaps bungee jumping with your toddlers isn’t a safe way to show flexibility. However, an impromptu camp out in the living room with a tent, some sleeping bags, and flashlights is a great way to show that even if things don’t work out as planned, they can still work out just fine.

4. Communicate to find the root of the problem – This one came to me today as I was having a conversation with Q. Yesterday, after a long day in the sun, Q and Little G’s Dad came home from work. Melt down city commenced and Q was the mayor. Everything seemed to frustrate her. The fact that their dad wanted to take a shower, the fact that she took a nap, the fact that Little G took a nap, and the fact that ice cream before dinner was a no-go. It was a full blown temper tantrum.

This morning, I came to work and Q was in high spirits. Q and I had a conversation about the melt down and I asked her why she was so frustrated. Her answer really shocked me, because not only was it concise and honest, but it was a very adult perspective. She said, “I didn’t get to see Daddy all day, and I was angry because he wanted to shower and I just wanted to spend time with him.”

5. Have empathy – This goes hand in hand with number 4. After Q said that I stepped back and said, “You know Q, sometimes Blake and I get mad at each other too after long days. I’ve been away from him all day and he just wants to cook dinner, and that frustrates me. I understand, and I’m sorry that you were sad.” She gave me a high five and we all went outside to the pool. We think sometimes that because we’re adults, that we need different things than children need. At the end of the day it really comes down to basics: Empathy, kindness, love, food, sleep, and water!

6. Take advantage of your surroundings – Teaching children that nature is a gift and that there are adventures to be had in their own back yards is so important. These days, I grow sad when I see kids playing on iPads or iPhones. The earth has so much to offer! This week Q and G cleared out an entire section of brush in their back yard. They now have a “secret hideout.” Watching them create it brought me back to the days where I played in the back yard and built my own “tree forts” out of tree branches. To an adult, they would have looked like poorly constructed tipis, but to me, they were safe havens.

7. Silly is good. Laugh at yourself! – Dance parties, making up silly songs, and face painting are regular activities with the girls, but once in a while they throw something outrageous at me, and I always go along with it (again, as long as it is a safe choice). This morning when I arrived at work, Q and G met me at the door with hair brushes. “We made a beauty salon!” Q exclaimed. I turned the corner to see a hair dryer, squirt bottles, make up brushes, bows, banana clips, and paddle brushes. Q and G brought me to their “salon” and for the next hour I was the victim of a three year old and a six year old brushing my hair in the wrong direction, my hair sitting Cindy Lou Who style on top of my head, and bright pink lip gloss covering the entire area surrounding my mouth. When I asked little G how I looked, she cheerfully said, “Not good!” Their mother and I were dying laughing, because I looked ridiculous, but it was so much fun! Seeing how happy it made them that I was playing along with them was more important than looking nice or taking myself too seriously at that moment.



8. Cherish the little moments – Children grow up so quickly, and will never be this little again. N (the girls’ mother) is so vivacious and fun, and it’s totally energizing to see a mom step outside of her busy life to immerse herself in her children’s youth, even if it means bringing boring tasks to life. It is truly inspiring. I’ll never forget the time she told me that she had to go grocery shopping but it was already 7:00 at night. She piled the kids in the car, brought their play shopping cart from home to the super market, and let them each bring a baby doll to push in their cart alongside her. She even let them pick out food to put in their little cart. It gave a new meaning to “family trip to the grocery store.” I’ve watched N (mom) and A (dad) interact with Q and Little G for the last year, and whether it means creating an ice cream stand out of scrap wood or keeping the hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of water color paintings their children make for them, they are so good at cherishing the little moments and savoring the youth of their children.

9. Always have options ready – If humans are fickle creatures by nature, children can be downright erratic. One minute they are excited to go to the playground, and the next minute, they want to do something else. Having options means you’re ready for pretty much anything. Options don’t just apply to fun activities, but in negative situations as well. If one of the girls is doing something “naughty” I always offer safe options, and let them make a different choice on their own. It has taught me to be a more patient adult, and it fosters situational understanding and teaches children to make choices for themselves.

10. Matching is SO last season– Interestingly, mixed prints are totally in, and Little G is the main culprit. I am confident that fashion week should give credit where credit is due, and issue thanks to Little G for inspiring their biggest in seasonal trend. Little G has mixed prints mastered. Sometime she’ll come down stairs in pink camo tights, a green plaid skirt, a striped shirt, and sparkly red shoes. She always looks fabulous, and she knows it.

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Getting Musical Up In Here

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Do you ever find that it’s hard to live up to your own expectations? I feel like sometimes I have this long to do list of outrageously awesome, creative, diverse things that I’d like to do. Even though it’s physically impossible to accomplish it all in one day, or one week, or even in one month, I unrealistically stack it all up until it’s this ridiculous leaning tower of crap.

I’ve just had to come to terms that sometimes having sky scraper expectations can be more harmful than helpful. Starting a million projects isn’t always beneficial because you end up giving kaleidoscopic snippets of attention to millions of things, instead of dividing the pie three or four ways and creating larger individual masterpieces.

I mean, bigger slices of pie are always the answer.
Always. Bigger. Slices.

It just tastes better.
Especially if the slices are larger.
And if it’s home made.
And if it’s strawberry rhubarb pie…

I’m getting too far away from the pie analogy, aren’t I? Shoot. Well pie or no pie, I apologize that I have been absent lately. Do you forgive me? *Puppy eyes* Great. Fist bump

One reason I’ve been absent is because I’ve been working pretty diligently on a new article for LA Family Magazine. It’s not the weekly column I write, although I have had to work on that as well because my next piece in the Learning The Hustle column about Life After College goes live Friday.

This piece was unique and had me right in my element.

LA Family Magazine asked me to cover a concert in the Boston area, and when I saw that The Temper Trap was playing at The House Of Blues I nearly fell out of my chair.  The Temper Trap is an Australian band I fell in love with during my first visit to Australia in 2009.

You may have heard one of their bigger hits titled “Sweet Disposition.”

LA Family set me up to cover the concert with press passes, including shooting photos from the press pit.

If you know me/stalk me/have been reading my blog for a while now, you know that there are few things I love more than MUSIC, AUSTRALIA, and PHOTOGRAPHY.

Apparently pie is one of those things.

The article went live today and three photos I snapped from the press pit have been chosen. I’m going to give you lads and ladies special treatment and show you a few of the shots I took that weren’t published in the article.

After my splendid time spent in the press pit shooting pictures with my trusted Nikon D3000, I spent the rest of the concert hanging by the side of the stage and still had a stellar view. See?


My article can be found {{HERE}}
Feel free to check it out, like it, comment on it, or just give it a read if that’s what you’re comfortable with. This might actually be one of my favorite pieces that I’ve ever written.

Yes. That’s right. EVER

Beware of JAWS and Rabid Harry Potter Fans

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Hello blog world. Lovely to see you all again.

As many of you may have noticed (I appreciated one reader checking in with me via email to make sure I was alive and breathing) I have been quite absent for the last week.

It wasn’t you. It was me.
No, we’re not breaking up.

I WAS ON VACATION!

Blake and I cruised off to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for the week. As cool as Spiderman, the gorgeous weather, and eating out every night was, it was seriously even more amazing to just unplug and enjoy each other’s company. It was so relaxing knowing that the only reasons we had to wake up early were to beat the morning rush to the pool or to catch the early bus to Universal so we could take advantage of the early park admission that came with our hotel reservation.

Sometimes when you’re working hard, you forget to take care of yourself, to take care of each other, to take care of your relationship.

Blake and I are extremely happy, on most days. I mean we’re human, of course, so naturally I get grouchy when he leaves clothes on the bathroom floor and he gets grouchy when I leave the milk out after I make my tea. All things considered, we are good communicators.

We are also badass problem solvers.

“Can you take the garbage out?”
“You take it out!”
“Rock, paper, scissors?”
“Let’s do this.”
*ROCK>PAPER>SCISSORS>SHOOT!*
“Winning! Boom. Now take out the garbage.”

Of course in this scenario, I won RPS and Blake takes the garbage out.
Victory at its finest.

Truth is, it doesn’t matter how well you communicate, or how much you love each other, or how many times in a row you’ve won rock/paper/scissors, we all need a break. Some people vacation on fancy cruise ships dancing the night away to livin la vida loca while holding fancy drinks.

Blake and I prefer to act like children, posing with humans dressed as fictional movie characters, imagining how cool it would be to have super powers, all the while genuinely fearing Harry Potter fanatics. For real. Wands are weapons, folks.

No complaints.

Our excitement when we spotted these humans dressed as minions was ridiculous, childish, and utterly amazing.

Note the excitement and enthusiasm on Blake’s face. His attempt at convincing me that the big, scary shark wasn’t ACTUALLY going to eat me.

Note the LACK of excitement and enthusiasm on my face upon hearing that Blake wanted ME to replicate HIS excitement and enthusiasm about sticking my head in the giant, plastic, upside-down, terrifying creature. ABSOLUTELY not.

All sorts of international.

Day 2, Harry Potter World. This is where my fear of all Harry Potter fanatics officially begins.

Seriously, yo. Harry Potter fans. CRAZY. Aside from somebody almost impaling my chest with a plastic wand, it’s safe to say we had a fantastic week away in fantasy land. Returning to “real life” was not a smooth transition. My real sunglasses are significantly less cool than the 3D glasses I wore on the Spiderman ride, I have to abide by a 35 mph speed limit on my way to work as opposed to the 70mph Hulk roller coaster, and today it’s 58 and rainy instead of 90 and sunny.

But hey, at least I didn’t have to go on the JAWS ride, because it no longer exists. SUCCESS!