2013, janu

Ahhhh. Finally, in bed. My feet and face have been coconut oiled(unrefined), my new hair cut fanned across the pillow, book freshly downloaded from the library in the iPad, lunches made, breakfasts made, dishes being washed, children asleep in their beds. Joys of joys, my one to two hours a night of "me" time.

Pinterest Experimentation

I saw on pinterest this glitter nail polish removal technique. I thought I'd give it a whirl since it is so dang hard to remove it with elbow grease. You need 10 cotton balls, or I used 5 then I tore them in half for 10. Polish remover, and 10 strips of aluminum foil. You put some remover on your cotton ball and place it on your nail. You secure the cotton ball to your finger with foil and let it sit for a couple minutes or five. I was watching a movie so I don't know how long I left it on...but you know what? I took that foil off and the black glitter polish was not there a smidge! I didn't have to rub or reapply remover! I am so happy.(it doesn't take much;)

Thankful Days 10

I am thankful for foot rubs. That's it, foot rubs.

Pinterest Experimentation

i'm stealing this idea from my friend cristal.
a lot of us spend a nice chunk of time on pinterest, and some of us have followed through on those DIY tutorials. i have done quite a few myself. my latest one was a face mask made from baking soda and juice. here is the link. i did not have oranges on hand but i did have lemon, acid is acid, right? when i put the two together i did not think of chemical reactions because the combined two shocked me at first with the bubbling and fizzing, then the third grade me shook her finger at my memory. "tsk, tsk, silly girl. remember how to make "lava"?" anyways....it smelled yummy and i gladly smeared the paste all over my exposed skin on my face, neck, and chest. i did not experience any tingling, but i do have a high tolerance to that kind of stuff. the only thing i would do different is not to do it around loved ones, i looked like a face decomposing zombie. i scared my Greek, just a little. after awhile i rinsed it off and looked for my glowing skin. i didn't glow. my skin looked clean and i am sure it exfoliated nicely, but i was not red. maybe i needed orange juice instead of lemon, but i would think lemon would have more acid. who knows. i will be doing this again, i liked it, but i will make sure i am by myself before i smear it all over.

Rant

oh how i hate political and religious rants on my favorite social network. i have so many friends with different views than i, and that is okay, it is what in part that makes them who they are, the people i love. what i can't stand is when people post things that are political/religious jab in the tummy. they make fun of the other political/religious group, say rude things, and while doing so make themselves look like an ass. when someone i respect posts political and religious hatred and lumps me in with the group they are making fun of, i immediately lose respect for that person. i don't think they realize that not every single person has the same views as they do, because if they did, they wouldn't say such awful things. since when did keeping your politics and your religion to yourself stop happening? i still follow this act of human decency, i try hard not to impart my views of politics and religion to other people without an invitation. i don't make fun of you because you are different, please try hard not make fun of me.

New Toys

i went to the restaurant supply store with the Greek's mommy today to get some doo-dads for her fine italian eatery. let it be known, i am like a tiny kid in a candy store in one of those places. even after not working in a commercial kitchen for years i drool at all the shiny things surrounding me. wide eyed i walk around slowly touching and feeling everything my fingers come in contact with. a microplane with a pink handle! a salad bowl i could fit all three kids in! a tiny mortar and pestle! i am nuts. now i want to run back to a commercial kitchen and cook till the cows come home. i did get a "treat" while we were there. i guess D thought i was being a good girl and bought me two new 9" cake rounds with, here's the kicker, two 9" silicone baking mats!!!!!! one- my cake rounds are old, battered, rusted, and dented, i needed new ones. and two- i will never have to trace my cake round onto parchment, and cut it out for the bottom of my cake pan, never ever again. i didn't know that that was a possibility. the angels were singing all around me when i saw those. i cannot wait to bake a cake now. anyone have a birthday coming up? anyone? bueller?

don't hate me:)

for the past few weeks i have either been super busy, visiting family, doing school stuff, had mastitis, or now getting over being sick again. i do apologize, i have been down for a week now and today getting out and feeling better. it's odd, just as i got over a small bought of mastitis over a week ago, my bestie, carrie in silicon valley, was getting her own. she had a little girl the day after popi's first birthday. i would have laid money down that zinny and popi would have the same birthday, but then i would have lost it all.

cousins from baltimore came to visit and we went to blue hole and had a fun summer day. we thought it was hilarious that popi figured out the olive trick out all by herself. it's in the blood.

photo by anna at lanford life is just so daily

things are getting back on track again. girls have been at school for about a month. piano starts this week, swim lessons started up last week, popi begins mother's day out tomorrow...hopefully i will find time for the gym, my sewing machine, my blog, and my kitchen. life is fast:)

Romance

growing up i based all my romantic chivalrous behavior on '80's romances involving john cusack, molly ringwald, patrick dempsey and mary stewart masterson. but really, who didn't? i wanted the boombox blasting peter gabriel outside my bedroom window, attached to john cusack of course. i wanted the guy who i was best friends with to fall in love with me and give me pearl earrings, it wouldn't have hurt if he was eric stoltz as well. i wanted the hunky senior who i had a crush on to take notice of me and give me my first kiss on a glass table a la jake ryan. i wanted to ride off in the sunset on a lawnmower with patrick dempsey. i wanted THE make up kiss during the school dance, of course i rallied for ducky instead of blaine, but you get the picture. alas none of this happened. all of my reality was awkward, and not in a cameron crowe/john hughes kinda way. well, there really isn't any point to all of this, i love these movies and associate them with my growing up even though they have nothing to do with it. they put romantic notions never fulfilled in my head. the thing is, i'm okay with it. i think having my dreams in romance is better than none at all. so, thank you '80's romances, you have made my life a better place.

say anything

some kind of wonderful

sixteen candles

can't buy me love

pretty in pink

photos found on google

music That Moves You

i tried to think of just five albums that have shaped me, that move me, but there are six. these albums have been a part of me for most of my life. they are the kind of music that washes over you, gives you tingles up and down your arms. i can sit with my eyes closed and let the music take me away, they are magical to me. what kind of music takes you over?

THE CURE, DISINTEGRATION

THE SMITHS, RANK

ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER, CAVERNA MAGICA

THE PIXIES, SURFER ROSA

NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL, IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA

PAUL SIMON, GRACELAND

LAst Weeks

we have been super duper busy. i am sooo exhausted. i'll fill you in later after i get some chores done, i have another time filled week this week, no slowing down now!

here is pop-tart eating a strawberry!

okay, i feel better now.

i done got my license, and the pic ain't too shabby either.

WoW.

blogger was down for awhile, huh? i flew out to the bay area thursday and didn't know how to tell you. then my blogging app on my genius phone wasn't working. so here i am at my carebear's house chillin', eatin', and shoppin'. just thought i'd let you know. btw, pop-star and i having a morning dance party to alphabeat and lovin' it! we heart this song....hole in my heart.

Happy Mother's Day

a lot of times i look at my life and i wonder how it got to be where it is at. it has not turned out the way i thought it would, or did it? i always knew i wanted children, i am not sure why i wanted them, i guess i thought that is what grown-ups did. they go to college, get married, buy a house, and have kids. that is what you do. i didn't realize you had a choice. i am not a "kid person", i know that sounds odd coming from a mom of three, but i don't like children in large quantities. don't get me wrong, i fell in love with my kids the day the pee stick told me i was with child, and i love all my friends' offspring, i just don't understand them. the problem is i remember being a kid, i remember my imagination, i remember my mind as a child, and i also remember knowing i was going to loose it all. how can i know and not know all at the same time? maybe i am jealous of children, who knows. anyways....that was a ramble. it is mother's day, and i am truly blessed. i would never change my life, i have three beautiful, smart, healthy, bright and incredible girls. i would and do everything i can to make sure they stay smiling. without them i would not be a mom, without them i would not get up in the morning, without them i would not be complete. even though my life is different than imagined, it is completely what i imagined. i'm talking crazy, huh? well, i hope all you moms out there had a wonderful day filled with love made from colored construction paper and glue stick. i know i did, and do...every day of my wonderfully wonderful life.

My Record Collection

cat stevens' mona bone jakon is one of my favorite albums ever.
it has many stupendous songs on it. cat stevens is a musical Greek god and i have had a super duper big crush on the 1970's cat stevens since forever, maybe that's why i like Greeks;)

i love so many songs off this lp, so i had to post 2. i wish they were both live performances, but i couldn't find trouble live. the live performance of lady d'arbanville is so awesome. cat stevens is so hot. (SHOUT OUT to my hottie hot hot Greek! I love you babe!) trouble was on the sountrack to harold and maude, my favorite movie of all time. the video is the clip with the song in the movie. spoiler alert: if you have not seen harold and maude, 1: shame on you, 2: go watch it, like now, and 3: don't watch the clip. the song trouble is not only one of the most gut wrenching songs ever but so beautiful and poignant. it triggers feelings deep inside of me, i want to shut the world out when i hear it, turn it up, sing really loudly and cry. i love that song. enjoy:)

Weight Loss!

most of you know i have been working hard since november to loose some baby weight. guess what?! i have lost 14 lbs!! so 15 would be the rejoicing number normally, but what i am excited about is what number i'm under now, i am 119:) i am sure that after breastfeeding i will loose more poundages as well, but right now i am so happy! i fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes and i am so much happier for it. also my barbarella body is still being sculpted, seeing muscle definition really gets me to the gym on time. i want that coveted midsection. i asked anissa, my trainer, if i would forever be going to the gym now, she said yes. there goes many hours i could be swinging on the porch!

Goodbye My Friend...

today we let my volvo go live with another family. i have always driven volvos. this is the first time in my life i have been a traitor to the name of volvo, forgive me but the toyota fits our family better:( and forgive me my dear friend, my dear volvo..."we had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun." parting is such sweet sorrow. you are already missed.

My Record Collection

"...at a bar called o'malley's, where we'll plan our escape."

i am a nerdy-pie.

don't let this get out, i am a huge nerd. i love all the nerdy normal things like star trek(voyager was my favorite), harry potter(i even dress up), comic books(i am a gen 13 fan), and zombies. here is my biggest nerdism, i love arthur stories. i love camelot, morgan le fay, guinevere, lancelot, merlin, all of them and all of the stories that go with them. don't get me confused with the dorks that go dressing up all medieval and play with swords; you will not find me at a ren-faire, ever. so with this love i have for arthur, i am sucked in to the deliciously dorky camelot on the television. i can't help myself:)

I miss the kitchen

and when i say kitchen, i mean the line. i miss working on a busy line.
i often watch anthony bourdain's no reservation, i originally fell in love with tony when i read his 2000 book kitchen confidential. i was working in a busy kitchen at the time as a line cook and felt a warm love of recognition with his book. it was my life in a book, and i loved it. i have not worked on a "line" in forever, and i miss it every day. it is not for everyone. i laugh when people say they want to be a "chef", they probably have no stinkin' clue what it is about. you don't know until you have lived it. we have the cooking channel now where a person can dream through the television but there is no reality in it. that is where tony gets things right. he did a special no reservation where he went back to work on a line in NYC. it was so nice to watch and tugged at places in my heart i haven't felt in awhile. there is so much that goes into working in a fast paced kitchen. i remember walking into the quiet restaurant dining room at 2-3pm with my knives. i would wear my kitchen pants, clogs, and a t shirt, hair in a ponytail all pinned back, because i would sweat. i would go to my station and get my mise en place ready. i would have to check the menu for specials to see what extra mise i needed. so, if i was on the saute station i would have to make sure i had things like stock, garlic, butter, parsley, veg, sauces, garnish, the meat not grilled, and other things. i had to make sure i had everything and everything in it's place, hence mise en place. if i did not have everything in hands reach my rhythm would get messed up, food would be messed up, timing messed up, as a result things would be out of whack and the diners would notice. you have all afternoon to get ready for the night, sometimes it took longer and you would be prepping through tickets. i hated slow nights, fun is when we were busy when we had a rush, it's when i got my rush. there is nothing like slinging hot saute pans around, having all your burners full, clean white towels folded up ready for you to get dirty, reach-ins being slammed, food being fired, everything going smooth. it is like a dance with everyone on the line, we moved in perfect unison, everyone doing their part. after a rush when things get calm, i would eat dinner or go outside sit on the laundry bin, chill out with the wind blowing on me, waiting for late diners to come in. oh how i miss it! i traded all that in for mommi-hood. another fast paced stressful job, but a different outcome.

i am a grown-up now

see that? that silver hair? it's my first. i noticed it this morning at church. i saw something glistening in the mirror while washing my hands. i thought there was paint in my hair, but i hadn't painted in awhile....it's official folks, i am a grown-up woman. it makes me kinda excited:)