You know how as technology gets smaller and smaller, more portable and more "smart," you ask yourself when people will start embedding telephones into their ears or computer screens into their reading glasses? (OK, maybe I just wonder this. Kind of cautionary look into the future, no? I am so ahead of my time.) This morning I wished, just for a second, that I had a camera in my eyeball so I could take a picture of the adorableness laid in front of me without having to rush to get a camera or worry about light or exposure or anything else.
Let me set the scene:
My adorable child, the one I love more than Necco wafers and Diet Coke combined, was still asleep when it was time to get up and go to daycare. Normally we don't wake her up. She wakes and starts squaking from the other room, saying "hi!" over and over until someone comes and gets her. But this morning, we had to wake her, so I opened the bedroom door, peered in, and saw her in the funniest sleeping position I have ever seen. Her face was smooshed between the mattress and the crib slats, pressing against a waffle-fabric blanket. Her butt was up in the air with her knees tucked underneath. Her arms where splayed out behind and under her body. Basically, all her body weight was resting on her collar bone. How can a person sleep like this?!
I wished I could have just push a button on my temple, blinked my eyes really fast and taken a picture. It was such a funny pose. When I went to wake her up, I rubbed her back and she flipped over and stretched out as if to say, "Oh no! I have been caught! Um...uh...no, I've been sleeping soundly on my back all night! Leave me, woman!"
Thankfully, she woke up happy, with the worst case of blanket-face I've ever seen.
Such a funny baby.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Back from the dead
An illness hiaku:
Virus struck me down
Fevers and aches were the pits
Slow recovery
I had some sort of demon virus that made me feel awful for most of last week. High fevers, painful body aches, exhaustion. I am feeling much better today, but I am still a little off. Hunger and nausea wash over my every so often, but always together. Getting ready for work was pretty difficult and left me tired and sweaty. Concentrating is difficult because all I want to do is lay down. But I am definitely getting better.
And now for something much more fun to think about:
My darling baby girl, the one who can say "shoe off!" and "uh oh" and "hi Josh" and "bye bye mama" all other manner of simple words and phrases has never said "No." Do not get me wrong, I am not upset about this. She just doesn't say yes or no. Never has. Also don't confuse her lack of using the word "No" for her lack of communicating the sentiment. Oh yes indeed she gets her point across. She shakes her head from side to side for "no," or wags her finger. For "yes" it is a little dicier as it is usually just the absence of "no." I find it really funny that the typical favorite word of toddlers is not present in her current vocabulary. (And I'm sure that will change now that I've mentioned it.)
Also, Evelyn's eyes are starting to turn a little green. Some days they are wickedly blue, but others they are decidedly green. Aqua, maybe, a little blue/green mix. Maybe this is where they will stay? I don't know, but I am amazed at how different the color of her eyes can look based on time of day, color of the light, angle, clothing, etc.
Also, I love Evelyn the mostest ever. She is most assuredly the most fabulous creature to ever walk upon this fair earth. Seriously. (And I'm not just saying that because she shares my love of Necco Wafers. Which, by the way, do NOT have high fructose corn syrup! Surprising indeed. And get this, they make the colors using red and purple beets, tumeric, caramel color, and paprika.)
Virus struck me down
Fevers and aches were the pits
Slow recovery
I had some sort of demon virus that made me feel awful for most of last week. High fevers, painful body aches, exhaustion. I am feeling much better today, but I am still a little off. Hunger and nausea wash over my every so often, but always together. Getting ready for work was pretty difficult and left me tired and sweaty. Concentrating is difficult because all I want to do is lay down. But I am definitely getting better.
And now for something much more fun to think about:
My darling baby girl, the one who can say "shoe off!" and "uh oh" and "hi Josh" and "bye bye mama" all other manner of simple words and phrases has never said "No." Do not get me wrong, I am not upset about this. She just doesn't say yes or no. Never has. Also don't confuse her lack of using the word "No" for her lack of communicating the sentiment. Oh yes indeed she gets her point across. She shakes her head from side to side for "no," or wags her finger. For "yes" it is a little dicier as it is usually just the absence of "no." I find it really funny that the typical favorite word of toddlers is not present in her current vocabulary. (And I'm sure that will change now that I've mentioned it.)
Also, Evelyn's eyes are starting to turn a little green. Some days they are wickedly blue, but others they are decidedly green. Aqua, maybe, a little blue/green mix. Maybe this is where they will stay? I don't know, but I am amazed at how different the color of her eyes can look based on time of day, color of the light, angle, clothing, etc.
Also, I love Evelyn the mostest ever. She is most assuredly the most fabulous creature to ever walk upon this fair earth. Seriously. (And I'm not just saying that because she shares my love of Necco Wafers. Which, by the way, do NOT have high fructose corn syrup! Surprising indeed. And get this, they make the colors using red and purple beets, tumeric, caramel color, and paprika.)
Monday, April 19, 2010
A wild hair
Sometimes I get on a kick. A wild hair. I go off on a tangent. I get obsessed.
Yesterday my sweet husband gave me some baby-free time to go to a craft store, buy a gift I had been looking for, rummage through gorgeous fabrics and then--because I got a crazy idea in my head--make two curtains for Evelyn's room without using my sewing machine. (Hello, fusible web tape!). He is a kind husband.
Now Evelyn has curtains and my world is much better.
But then today my friend Deirdre sends me a link about all-natural, homemade deodorant. And I start reading the recipe, realizing that I have all the ingredients on hand already, and remembering that my goal for last year was to "Go Green." I read a little more about the deodorant, which leads me to a few blog posts about do-it-yourself shampoo (or no-poo, as some people call it, because you aren't using shampoo really at all), which then leads me to a recipe for homemade graham crackers, which reminds me that I want to cut out high-fructose corn syrup (or, as I call it, high-fructose death syrup). So thanks, Deirdre, for leading me to realize that I should be making all my own crackers and cookies and breads and sprouted grains and raw milk yogurt.
But in all seriousness, high-fructose corn/death syrup is pretty bad. Those commercials sponsored by the HFCS industry that say "it's made from corn, and has the same nutritional make-up as sugar, and is fine in moderation" is probably completely true. In fact, I'll give them that: It is fine in moderation. The problem is you can't eat it in moderation. It is in EVERYTHING. Cereal. Cookies. Ice cream. Soda. Oatmeal. Crackers. Pancake mix. BBQ sauce. Salad dressing. Croutons. Bagels. Jelly Beans. Ketchup. Yogurt. Waffles. Canned fruit. Mac 'n' cheese. Fish stick. EVERYTHING.
But do you see a pattern? That is all processed food. Middle-of-the-grocery-store food. The kind of stuff we should be limiting in our diets anyway. Except that is is so hard to make everything yourself, especially when you are 1.) a mother, 2.) a full-time employee, 3.) lazy, and/or 4.) human. It is particularly hard when you are all four things combined. Whole foods are best, but not always practical.
But much like my one-month vegetarianism experiment (which I liked and have been thinking about trying again...) I am going to try a "let's not buy anything with HFCS on the label" experiment. I think I might be surprised by what contains the ingredient, what doesn't, and what brands I have to switch to. Like Rice Krispies have HFCS, but Cheerios don't. Surprising.
I realize that I can't throw out all the food I have in my kitchen right now, nor can I know when I eat in a restaurant if their food has HFCS (hint: it does), but I can limit what I buy in the store and read all the labels.
So today, April 19th, begins my "No More HFCS in My Pantry" crusade. Anyone else want to join?
(There is a fairly unbiased, scientificly researched article on the subject available from TLC, if you are interested. If you want to read the biased opinions, just Google "Is HFCS killing me?!?" or something to that effect.)
Yesterday my sweet husband gave me some baby-free time to go to a craft store, buy a gift I had been looking for, rummage through gorgeous fabrics and then--because I got a crazy idea in my head--make two curtains for Evelyn's room without using my sewing machine. (Hello, fusible web tape!). He is a kind husband.
Now Evelyn has curtains and my world is much better.
But then today my friend Deirdre sends me a link about all-natural, homemade deodorant. And I start reading the recipe, realizing that I have all the ingredients on hand already, and remembering that my goal for last year was to "Go Green." I read a little more about the deodorant, which leads me to a few blog posts about do-it-yourself shampoo (or no-poo, as some people call it, because you aren't using shampoo really at all), which then leads me to a recipe for homemade graham crackers, which reminds me that I want to cut out high-fructose corn syrup (or, as I call it, high-fructose death syrup). So thanks, Deirdre, for leading me to realize that I should be making all my own crackers and cookies and breads and sprouted grains and raw milk yogurt.
But in all seriousness, high-fructose corn/death syrup is pretty bad. Those commercials sponsored by the HFCS industry that say "it's made from corn, and has the same nutritional make-up as sugar, and is fine in moderation" is probably completely true. In fact, I'll give them that: It is fine in moderation. The problem is you can't eat it in moderation. It is in EVERYTHING. Cereal. Cookies. Ice cream. Soda. Oatmeal. Crackers. Pancake mix. BBQ sauce. Salad dressing. Croutons. Bagels. Jelly Beans. Ketchup. Yogurt. Waffles. Canned fruit. Mac 'n' cheese. Fish stick. EVERYTHING.
But do you see a pattern? That is all processed food. Middle-of-the-grocery-store food. The kind of stuff we should be limiting in our diets anyway. Except that is is so hard to make everything yourself, especially when you are 1.) a mother, 2.) a full-time employee, 3.) lazy, and/or 4.) human. It is particularly hard when you are all four things combined. Whole foods are best, but not always practical.
But much like my one-month vegetarianism experiment (which I liked and have been thinking about trying again...) I am going to try a "let's not buy anything with HFCS on the label" experiment. I think I might be surprised by what contains the ingredient, what doesn't, and what brands I have to switch to. Like Rice Krispies have HFCS, but Cheerios don't. Surprising.
I realize that I can't throw out all the food I have in my kitchen right now, nor can I know when I eat in a restaurant if their food has HFCS (hint: it does), but I can limit what I buy in the store and read all the labels.
So today, April 19th, begins my "No More HFCS in My Pantry" crusade. Anyone else want to join?
(There is a fairly unbiased, scientificly researched article on the subject available from TLC, if you are interested. If you want to read the biased opinions, just Google "Is HFCS killing me?!?" or something to that effect.)
Friday, April 9, 2010
Curling class!
Alright people....the moment you have all been waiting for....curling class!!
Let me just preface some of these pictures by stating that we had to wear a lot of layers of movable clothing, hence the frumpy, mis-matched look. Also, it was hard to photograph in the ice arena so some of the pictures are dark. And finally, the pictures are in reverse order, cuz that's just how I rollz.
First, curling ice is NOTHING like hockey or skating ice. It is not slick! They spray water on it and allow the water drops to freeze into little "pebbles" and make the ice look more like a cobblestone path than a sheet of ice. You can walk on it in regular shoes no problem. I even ran on it a few times without slipping! Before our curling class I thought that the ice was normal skating ice and that curlers had to put something grippy on their shoes to get down the ice without falling. It is the total opposite. You actually have to put a sliding thing on one of your shoes to slide on the ice, while your regular shoe has all the grip you need. Cool, right?
So here is Jon, curling! We used a stablizing thing in the left hand and had the stone in the right hand. You put all your weight on your sliding foot (the left foot with the sliding attachment), push off the "hack" (like a starting block) with your right foot, and then slide...
Here I am, in the hack, ready to go. This is one of the few attempts where I didn't fall flat on my stomach. Yeah, I fell five times...
This is a lovely view of my rear end as I learn how to slide. I'm using the broom as a stablizer before we advanced on to using the stones. Notice the little red flip-flop thing on my left foot? That's the slider.
Jon, looking sexy with his curling broom. Now if I could only get him to pick up a broom at home... :)
The ice. It's a lot longer from one end to the other than it looks like on TV. In my final attempts I was able to get the curling stone all the way to the end, but I totally missed the target, and also totally fell on my arse. Jon didn't get his stones all the way to the end. You have to push a lot harder than you would think!
Kickin' it with the broom. And pink sweatpants.
Jon, contemplating how he might curl and nap at the same time.
Eight stones.
Setting up.
Let me just preface some of these pictures by stating that we had to wear a lot of layers of movable clothing, hence the frumpy, mis-matched look. Also, it was hard to photograph in the ice arena so some of the pictures are dark. And finally, the pictures are in reverse order, cuz that's just how I rollz.
First, curling ice is NOTHING like hockey or skating ice. It is not slick! They spray water on it and allow the water drops to freeze into little "pebbles" and make the ice look more like a cobblestone path than a sheet of ice. You can walk on it in regular shoes no problem. I even ran on it a few times without slipping! Before our curling class I thought that the ice was normal skating ice and that curlers had to put something grippy on their shoes to get down the ice without falling. It is the total opposite. You actually have to put a sliding thing on one of your shoes to slide on the ice, while your regular shoe has all the grip you need. Cool, right?
So here is Jon, curling! We used a stablizing thing in the left hand and had the stone in the right hand. You put all your weight on your sliding foot (the left foot with the sliding attachment), push off the "hack" (like a starting block) with your right foot, and then slide...
Here I am, in the hack, ready to go. This is one of the few attempts where I didn't fall flat on my stomach. Yeah, I fell five times...
This is a lovely view of my rear end as I learn how to slide. I'm using the broom as a stablizer before we advanced on to using the stones. Notice the little red flip-flop thing on my left foot? That's the slider.
Jon, looking sexy with his curling broom. Now if I could only get him to pick up a broom at home... :)
The ice. It's a lot longer from one end to the other than it looks like on TV. In my final attempts I was able to get the curling stone all the way to the end, but I totally missed the target, and also totally fell on my arse. Jon didn't get his stones all the way to the end. You have to push a lot harder than you would think!
Kickin' it with the broom. And pink sweatpants.
Jon, contemplating how he might curl and nap at the same time.
Eight stones.
Setting up.
Curling class #1 was a LOT of fun. Difficult, sweaty, but totally fun. My left thigh, left knee, and right ankle are all sore today (not to mention the bruises I have from falling, even if the fall wasn't very far), it was still fun! We have our second class next week and then we can join a league, if we want. I would love to join a league, but I'm not sure we can afford $35 in babysitting fees each week. We'll see what happens. The leagues kind of take a hiatus during the summer anyway, so a lot could be different by next fall. Of course, if Jon, who can't get a stone down the ice, and I, who can't keep her balance while sliding, were on the same team, it would be a very sad sight indeed. Curling!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Open for business
Fortune Cookie Tattoo is open for business!
Looking for a "John Elway is my god" tattoo? You've found the right place!
Want a "Mama never loved me" tat on your bicep? Jon can do it!
Thinking of ways to scare your in-laws? Here you are!
Ah, I kid, but not about Jon's awesome new shop. It is open. It is fabulous. It is almost completely put together on the inside. (He has a few pictures to hang and boxes to throw out.) I can't wait to post pictures of the inside because it is really cool.
The details:
Fortune Cookie Tattoo
329 14th Street
Denver, CO 80202 (map it!)
303-893-4003
Hours:
Mon - Thurs, Noon - 8pm
Fri and Sat, Noon - 9pm
Sunday by appointment
www.fortunecookietattoo.com
Looking for a "John Elway is my god" tattoo? You've found the right place!
Want a "Mama never loved me" tat on your bicep? Jon can do it!
Thinking of ways to scare your in-laws? Here you are!
Ah, I kid, but not about Jon's awesome new shop. It is open. It is fabulous. It is almost completely put together on the inside. (He has a few pictures to hang and boxes to throw out.) I can't wait to post pictures of the inside because it is really cool.
The details:
Fortune Cookie Tattoo
329 14th Street
Denver, CO 80202 (map it!)
303-893-4003
Hours:
Mon - Thurs, Noon - 8pm
Fri and Sat, Noon - 9pm
Sunday by appointment
www.fortunecookietattoo.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)