left to my own devices

Kevin's asleep, the baby's asleep, and though both of those things allow me to do anything I want to right now, I am not motivated.

I unloaded/loaded the dishwasher, made waffles, fed the baby, and pushed her down the street in her baby-trike.

That's all I'm gonna do for a while.

who needs a landscaping degree?

This is what I'm working on for this year's Beautiful Day Project. It's called "Better Homes and Gardens" or at least that's we're calling it. I haven't redesigned the pig owner's house yet, but this is what I got done this afternoon.
I have a list of drought resistant plants to work with and a budget but those are my only restrictions. (Good thing I don't get paid for it!)

The yellow house is my favorite. They made me cry...and that's why they get a barbeque! ;)

More details later...


before 


after 

before 

after 

befoe 


after 

"roll on family, roll on along..."

A few Sundays ago, there was a garage sale in our neighborhood, and I wasn't going to stop the car until I saw a double stroller in the driveway for sale.
Target aquired! Beep beep beep!
One lady said 15 bucks and then the other one said 20, since I'm not a negotiator (sorry Mom!) I bought it for 20. Plus, I think they needed the money.
It had a few problems, it obviously had been sitting outside for while, etc.

So I pulled the duct tape off of it, unscrewed the canvas off (not easy), washed it, sewed it up in a few places and a few replacment screws here and there, new clear coat on the kick plate, and it's a beauty.

Bonus:It fits in my trunk, I didn't think it would. I thought I was gonna have to wheel it a few blocks back our house that day, but it fits!

We tried it out this morning on our walk, with baby C in one side and a big plush polar bear in the other side. :)



I didn't think to take any "before" photos, but these are the "after"s.

"help, I'm being oppressed!"

This has bothered me for a long time, and now that I have my own little girl, I can't take it anymore!

The concept of the "tomboy."

I swear, every mom I talk to who has girls says "oh my little McKaila/Kirsten/Calee, she's a tomboy, she likes to play outside...run around...climb trees."

Yeah? So she likes to play? Like a kid?

What are people expecting from little girls? A strong innate desire to practice ballet formations and arrange flowers?

(If a boy likes bunnies and gymnastics, do we call him a sallygirl?)

Just because a girl plays basketball or wears pants or picks up bugs, that shouldn't make her weird. I think most little girls do those things and it doesn't make them less of a girl.

Tomboy is an ugly word. No more!!

I'm sure the British love her for her cookies

This morning I saw Nigella Lawson, sexy cooking star of the UK on the Today show. I couldn't stop staring at her-- huge tracks of land.


Don't let this photo decieve you, her shape defies reason.


I have decided she is the Dolly Parton of the culinary world.



I love Dolly, but I don't think even she would say she reached celecrity status solely on how well she plays the banjo.

Baby Tuesday

The bug got sick for the first time on Sunday. It wasn't too bad although it made me sad to see her not feeling well. By last night she was her old self again, after two different dr. visits and a trip to the drug store. She's on soy milk (yech!) for a little while until we can figure out if the cow milk is irritating her. I sure hope not. Soy milk is caca.

I hope you enjoy her zebra dress photo shoot. She has a smokin' leopard faux fur coat too for this winter, I can't wait for her to wear it!

Just like her mom, showin' the world her underoo's. 




These videos aren't that interesting. But, it's funny to watch her walk.

Today's menu: blueberry yogurt and purple roses. 

She'll point to just about anything now, meaning that she wants it. Door knobs, light switches, wallpaper-- anything. Point point point. 

This year's toddler fashion is seeing a return of animal prints and vintage converse. Low slung wasitlines and A-lines dresses are also popular this fall season. 

pretty little kevin face 

:) 

home improvement with a side of bacon

I'm currently a part of a volunteer team that is remodeling the outsides of homes that have been cited by the city for "blight". That is, their neighbors complained that they have an ugly house.
Of course these people are have reasons why they can't help themselves, they're old, they're infirm, they have mental problems. So that's where we come in.
I'm the "designer" head of the team, which also means I'm the only woman. We toured the homes and I took measurements and photos, etc, so I could draw up plans on how to fabulize the houses.
This one man's house is a crack up. He had toilets for flower planter boxes, light-up reindeer and chachskis galore out front. Then, we walk in back and find that he has a little friend living back there. I had to take a video.



I'm going to call her Miss Piggie.

Hopefully we can re-do her house, too!

again, thank you Flickr

I was seraching for chinchilla photos on Flickr, when I came upon this.



I had a chinchilla once, and I think it would have fought to the death rather than wear a costume.

I can't wait until tuesday!

I was gonna save this until Baby Tue, but I can't!

We find out whether the new baby is a boy or a girl in two weeks!

Two weeks!!!

You can't take the tacky outta me!

My wig came!
[fanfare]

I love it! I wore it to the grocery store yesterday (because I can only wear it amoung strangers). But then I felt bad when the she-butcher behind the meat counter complimented me on my hair and 'how did [I] do it?'
Moral dilemma!
I couldn't tell her it was fake. I just couldn't. So I lied, I totally did.


yes, I got my wig, and it's great. Is this the first step to mental illness? 

fake? what? 

I know, it's an up the nose shot, but you can see the length in this one. 

too GOP?

I recently desgined this "title slide" as I call them, for our latest series at church. We sat around and thought since the series is so long, we should make it like Time magazine, every week being a different cover, etc.
So this is the first one I've done. And as I'm made it, I began to feel very Christian Coalition. Like, this is a publication I would pass over in the bookstore because it looked too Republican.

It's kinda icky like that.

Oh well.

Baby Tuesday

Well she's enjoying her life as a one year old now. Only things to report are:
After watching me blow cool air on her sore butt while changing her diaper, she has learned to blow. Too bad it was after her birthday or we wouldn't have has to blow out her candle for her.
Also, she rubs her fingers together like Kevin does to get the cat to come. It doesn't work when she does it, but it's cute.
She may have said "thank you" yesterday after I handed her the little pony. Alright, it sounded more like "tankoo" but I think that's what she meant. It's yet to be repeated.



Alright I'll smile, that's close enough! 

We tried pigtails since her hair is kinda long enough on the sides. She looks miserable, but it's only because Daddy is about to leave and she knows it. 

The only thing this picture is missing is a jazz musician in the background smoking a cigarette, no? 


I bet, if you look closely under a microscope, you'll see that other crickets have big gold sparkley antenna too.  

[high pitch girl squeel!!!!]

THE MICROBUS IS COMING!!!

THE MICROBUS IS COMING!!!


AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

Edmunds.com said so!!!


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!


(Even though it says it won't look as cool as this one, I don't care, I'll love it anyway.)

You will be mine, Microbus!!!!!!

I'm sure you've all heard, but

I've been upset all week about Dwayne "Dog" Chapman and his son and brother being extradited to Mexico for the stupidest reason I have ever heard. I'm so mad I want to drive down to Mexico and protest.
A friend of mine (also a law student, if anyone cares) sent this, and I thought I'd share it:

I watch Dog: The Bounty Hunter all the time because it's just good TV. I don't know why, I don't know how, but the mix of the show is just too good to turn off.

He was arrested for a bounty in Mexico.

The guy who he arrested (3 years ago I might add) was a rapist, heir to the Max Factor throne, and is currently serving a 124 year sentence.

It's a crime to detain someone in Mexico, deprivation of liberty. . .kinda like false imprisonment here only Mr. Max Factor money was probably paying the government some hefty cash to hide him.

Dog was arrested for this crime 3 years ago, spent a couple of days in jail and then missed a follow-up hearing. . .god only knows why. . .I imagine he wasn't even told he had one, it seems ridiculous for a Bounty Hunter to not show up to his own hearing.

The original crime that Dog is being extradited for is a MISDEMEANOR. You can't extradite someone from state to state for a misdemeanor so this is totally bull*** for the most part.

The real crime was committed when Andrew Luster decided to brutally rape 3 victims. . .not when Dog went and found him hiding in Mexico. Mexico wouldn't turn him over, why should we turn Dog over for a much lesser crime?

Oddly enough, this is happening right before the midterm elections in a time when immigration reform is hot on the plate. This also follows the Mexican elections, brand new president. . .not to get into conspiracy theory but it's fun.

Here's the best story I've found about it so far.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14839076/

there's always that guy

I'll go ahead and make a habit out of critiquing undesirable men on my blog and tell you about The Letch.



It seems The Letch is everywhere.

He's a client/patient/employee at your work, he's a neighbor on your block, he's an attender of your church.

You can't escape The Letch.

The Letch seeks you out if you are, female, relatively young and not severely disfigured.

He wants you to think he's charming, although he's either old or fat. I've yet to meet a Letch who is neither, and often he is both.

If you have the misfortune to be in contact with The Letch on a regular basis, The Letch hugs you. Ugh! Listen Letches, I'm not a hugger in the first place, and frankly I'd rather hug a leper than you. (Sometimes I feel like making a shirt that says, "Jesus loves you, but don't hug me.")

I usually feel common decency pressure to make small talk with The Letch. And although I'm just mostly smiling and nodding, he's hearing "she wants me."

I assure you Letches, we women, all women, do not want you. We might want to wax your back, but we do not want you.

I finally bought one

Although it shouldn't come as a surprise, I imagine it is much to my husband's dismay that I bought a wig off of Ebay this afternoon.
I was watching Stacy London, on TV and I was burning with jealously for her big pretty hair that I can never have. So I got off the couch and bought a wig (like a crazy prego lady).
Those local readers of mine might see me about town looking like this:


(I will be wearing a shirt most likely, and probably less eye makeup.)

It's like what my hair would naturally look like if I slept in rollers and had hair as thick as a shetland pony.