Milkmemos Blog

At the invitation of my new friend Tanya Lieberman, the host of the Motherwear Breastfeeding blog, I offer eight things you don’t know about me. This is challenging because if you’ve read The Milk Memos, you know a lot about me! The character Cate is truly me! The only exception is that in the book I say I’m not musical, when in fact I can carry a tune (if I don’t say so myself) and read music / play the piano (however, my piano playing resembles typing vs. expressing a natural musical talent).

Here goes:

1. I used to drive a new VW Beetle. Silver. (I wanted blue, but they were very hard to find in ‘99 and I couldn’t wait for blue.) I sold my practical Honda Accord to my parents after giving up the notion that I would drive it into the ground. I was TOTALLY obsessed with Beetles, driving past the VW dealership daily. We sold the Beetle and bought a Toyata Sienna minivan 2 weeks before Mary was born. Some day I’ll have another Beetle. Convertable!

2. Bleu Cheese gives me the heebie geebies!!! Ick.

3. If I had to choose my last meal, it would be a fresh fruit platter with perfectly ripe, juicy, colorful fruit. Also, I’d have delicious fresh bread and really yummy cheese on the side. I once asked a friend what she’d choose, and she said a Reuben sandwich! Can you imagine?

4. I have a tattoo on the inside of my left ankle. It started with a star about the size of a nickel which my best friend “got” me for at the Acme Tattoo Parlor in St. Paul for my 26th birthday. (I lived in Minneapolis for a few years after college.) 12 years later, I had the star colored in green (my favorite color) and added two smaller pink stars to represent the girls.

5. I got my nose pierced for my 40th birthday! I have a teensie-weensie diamond on the right side (to counterbalance my tattoo, which is on my left ankle). I love it!!

6. I can’t eat spicy food. Hot spicy, I mean. I’m talking I can’t even chew cinnamon gum. It makes my head sweat. When I eat chips & salsa, I have found that it works well to just let my chip hover over the salsa to get the essence.

7. I love folk and bluegrass music, and am 100% clueless regarding current popular music. The only radio I listen to is NPR, which I absolutely adore and should really support more with pledges. My all-time favorite musicians are Emmylou Harris and Paul Simon. I also love Nanci Griffith, Allison Kraus, Johnny Cash and Gram Parsons.

8. I don’t know how to drive a stick-shift car. My college roommate tried to teach me, but I never got the hang of it.

So there you have it. I hereby pass this on to:

1. My co-author, Andrea Serrette!

2. Andi Silverman of Mama Knows Breast

3. Angela White of Breastfeeding123
xoxo, Cate

In recognition of Father’s Day, I offer an enthusiastic (though belated) shout-out to my husband of ten years, “The Milk Man,” Chris Smith: love of my life, father of my children, grocery shopper, dinner maker, house cleaner-upper, lawn and garden keeper, bill payer, social planner, camping ace, vacation planner, amazing runner, history buff, can-have-an-intelligent-conversation-about-anything-without-being-a-know-it-all wonder, total fox, and exactly the foundation our family needs to counterbalance my wide range of emotion and tendency towards stress. I love you, Chris! Charlotte and Mary do, too!

And here’s to all the Fathers in our lives. Thank you for all that you are and do.

Love, Cate

P.S. Lest you think Chris is perfect, I add this tidbit: I just said to him (as he finished unpacking groceries and began making dinner), “You should see the blog I just wrote about you! I e-mailed a link to you.” His reply: “Babe, I didn’t know you had a blog.” Sigh. Love him still.

I have big news! No, I’m not pregnant… although part of me can’t let go of the idea of having a 3rd. Chris, my dear husband, doesn’t share my sentiments and was more than ready to get rid of the bassinet, exersaucer and high chair when we finished our basement. Of course we didn’t, and I feel better knowing that these items are still in storage, covered in dust.

My big news is… I LEFT IBM! May 31 was my last day. I’ve been meaning to blog about it, but somehow STILL haven’t found the time. How is it that you can free up lots of time, yet still be just as busy? It’s sort of like moving into a huge new house – before you know it, you’ve completely filled it with stuff and you could never move back to a smaller house.

I am simultaneously thrilled and terrified to have left IBM after 17 years! (Actually 18 years if you include the year I spent there as a college intern.) That’s a LONG time to be at one company, especially considering I spent the majority of those 18 years feeling like a curvy peg jammed uncomfortably into a square IBM hole.

The thing is, what do I do now? I mean, I know what I want to do, but how? I want to: (1) spend some substantial time working on the book — blogging, participating in the forums, adding lots of new stuff to the website, and promoting the book through all sorts of media, hospital/pediatrician outreach, lactation consultant/doula/La Leche League outreach, employer/business outreach, working mother organization networking, etc. (2) develop a freelance writing and marketing practice, building on my IBM experience and skills and further cultivating my love of writing, (3) spend more time with Charlotte and Mary — together and individually, (4) look into becoming a lactation consultant, (5) take on unfinished (and/or unstarted projects) like framing all the photos I have in envelopes and boxes throughout my house — including my wedding photos from 10 years ago, (6) keep myself healthy and do things I love, like hiking in the mountains around Boulder. And the list goes on… like when I moved into a larger home — there are infinite things that can fill the space.

I feel like I’ve won the lottery –  the time lottery. I now have all the time I’ve ever wanted. But I need to learn how to manage it effectively, so that I get a good return on my investment for myself and my family. I can’t afford to squander the time, and I’m so afraid that’s what might happen. I’ve been time-poor for so many years, how do I handle being time-rich?

It will be an interesting journey. You will be hearing a lot more from me, and I look forward to hearing from you as well. I would welcome any and all wisdom and ideas you have to offer. Please comment on this blog, or e-mail me directly at cate@milkmemos.com.

XXOO, Cate 2.0 — it’s a whole new me!