Holes and Fairies and Great Big Trees

The day started out with a funny conversation. Orion was noticing some holes in his shirt and saying he couldn't wear it. He has had issues with holes in clothes in the past sometimes, and I have always figured it was just a bit of his Virgo nature, but today I decided to ask him what it was about holes that bothered him. His answer shocked me! He said, "Well, people won't think I'm cool." What....???!!! Where did he get that? I am the last person to be concerned about clothes! I am wondering if there is more to it than that, but he doesn't know how to articulate it, so maybe he repeated something he heard somewhere? I feel sad to think he is already perceiving people get judged by their clothing. And the funny thing is, a holes have been trendy for awhile now! I told him that, saying, "Actually, holes are considered to be pretty cool these days." He seemed to be intrigued by the phrase "these days" and used it several more times throughout the day. He also apparently believed me because he decided to keep the shirt on!

Today it was on to getting out holiday decorations! We had several funny moments getting out angels, which Orion insisted were Christmas Fairies LOL. Guess my kid doesn't really have a clue what angels are!

He was quite taken with this plastic "invisible Santa" that comes apart in two halves.
Lots of fun getting into the boxes...
...and unwrapping things.
He was cracking me up because he would come around the corner with each item, saying, "Make way! Make way!" in this funny deep voice.
Later that night, we went to the Beaverton tree lighting. Are you ready for the excitement?



Was that just the most exciting thing you've seen all year or what?

And a still, just because.
They were giving away free jelly beans. Happy camper right here:

Miss Cute Sweater on a cold night.
OK, this is one of those pictures I started to delete immediately. I had picked up the camera and hit the button by accident with my hand in front of it. But then I realized how weirdly surreal it is. Just whose white gloved finger do you think I captured in the one little window?
Why, Santa's of course! Big hug!
Dinner at Noodles and Co. to warm up. Jelly beans and Izze in one night? Life is Good.
Akasha and the omnipresent drool

Akasha's First Word?

She said "Ninja" tonight. I swear. Clear as a bell. Not like she did it on purpose, but still. That's an awesome first word, so I'm going with it LOL.

prop 8, the musical

Hahaha, this is classic!



If only it was this easy!

My Gorgeous Daughter and...

...the wonder of Facebook. I had heard of Facebook but thought it was just another Myspace. Then an awesome girl I know started something called The Modeling Project and decided to organize it through Facebook. So I got sucked in. And it really is brilliant - so fast and simple and user friendly. And... I found some gorgeous pictures of Sarah on her page! So of course I stole them for posting here haha.

This was my favorite:
And this is Orion's favorite:

We all survived

We got Tessi off to the train and even stopped to grab lunch to go at Cha Cha Cha. I was unimpressed with the seasonal chipotle tofu burrito. It was OK but bland I thought. Didn't taste like chipotle at all. I think Orion remembered the little place next door where we had lunch with Sarah and Don because he started to go in there first. It was kindof a funny parallel since that was the same day Sarah missed her train. Glad that wasn't the case for Tessi! Wow, is she ever a trooper. I can't believe how much luggage she had while traveling with just her and her daughter, and it never seemed to phase her. She must be alot stronger than I am! Of course it helps that Amma tends to stay close to her. All I can think of is having to manage all that luggage along with a kid who would be running all over the station!

I already have some ideas for making the next visit go a bit more smoothly. Orion didn't seem to mind having his room taken over when they were here, but he was so excited later in the day when he told Ron, "I got my room back from Amma!" I am starting to see how he takes awhile to process things, just like his father. Is this a male trait, or did it just happen to exhibit that way in my reality? So I have a few ideas about rearranging things that might help. Stay tuned....

Busy Day in the Kitchen

Some time in the morning, Tessi asked if we had any crackers since we have so much block cheese in the fridge. We didn't, but I remembered a recipe using garbanzo flour for gluten free crackers I saved and was pretty sure I had all the ingredients to. Orion was very enthusiastic about the idea, so I looked it up, and sure enough, we were good to go.

It is really a pleasure to cook with Orion these days. He has gotten to the age where he is truly helpful. Sometimes if I am holding the baby, he does things for me I honestly would have a hard time with!

Here he is cutting the dough into shapes. So they weren't very uniform, but unique is better anyways!
Poking holes so they don't puff up too much.
I am apparently on a trend of deleting photos by mistake because that is what happened to my finished product picture. I was quite pleased with them though. Garbanzo bean flour has this certain bitter taste I really don't care for. That is why it was still hanging around in my cupboard. I tried the dough and could definitely detect it, but in the baked ones, I couldn't at all! I think it was the flavor of the nutritional yeast that masked it. Tessi liked them alright as well. Enough to snack on with some cheese slices anyway!

Later I brought to fruition a brilliant idea I had recently.
OK, so this isn't rocket science, and I'm sure a zillion other moms have had the same idea, but I was proud to come up with it on my own! I have had this snow shaver sitting around for ages. I never really used it because I wasn't so keen on the idea of all the sugar in the regular snow cone syrups. Then I saw it sitting in the garage recently and got to thinking.... Wait, I can just make juice ice cubes! Even better if I buy something like purple grape juice as it will give it that authentic snow cone color! As expected, it was a huge hit! I can't wait to try it out in lots of flavors!

99 Things to do Before you Die

OK, so that wasn't the name of this when I got it from my friend Lyla, but it seems like a good one for it.

1. Started your own blog
Um....yeah

2. Slept under the stars
Plenty, and once for a whole summer as a Girl Scout Counselor!

3. Played in a band
If singing counts - isn't your voice and instrument?

4. Visited Hawaii
Twice

5. Watched a meteor shower
Lots when living in CA!

6. Given more than you can afford to charity
Hmmm, I think so....

7. Been to Disneyland/world
Both!

8. Climbed a mountain
Yeppers, several

9. Held a praying mantis
Yes! Love them! They were my favorite when I was little along with katydids.

10. Sang a solo
In church choir....

11. Bungee jumped
No and doubtful, way too scared of heights.

12. Visited Paris
No :(

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
No, but saw one on the Columbia River that rocked.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
Hmmm, cooking maybe?

15. Adopted a child
No but we have talked about it....

16. Had food poisoning
Pretty sure

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
You can't anymore!

18. Grown your own vegetables
Oh yeah!

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
No :(

20. Slept on an overnight train
Just recently! Oh wait, I don't think I actually slept though LOO.

21. Had a pillow fight
Tonight as a matter of fact!

22. Hitch hiked
No, too chicken!

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
Yeah, and always felt guilty.

24. Built a snow fort
Haven't had much opportunity for that yet.

25. Held a lamb
No, but have held a baby goat!

26. Gone skinny dipping
Love it!

27. Run a Marathon
Not a chance.

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
Only the fake ones in Vegas hahahah

29. Watched a total eclipse: Solar and lunar
Yep

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
Indeed

31. Hit a home run
Don't remember but probably not. I suck at sports.

32. Been on a cruise
Several

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
Yeah, it's amazing!

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
Only if my parents count. Need to get to Scotland and Denmark one of these days.

35. Seen an Amish community
No, but would love to!

36. Taught yourself a new language
Pig Latin!

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
??? That's an odd one.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
Not yet!

39. Gone rock climbing
Just the rockwall type. I'm scared of heights. :(

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
No, but would love to!

41. Sung karaoke
Lots!

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Yeah, it's pretty cool!

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
No but that's a cool idea!

44. Visited Africa
Nope

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
Hell yeah

46. Been transported in an ambulance
Yeah, after being rear ended and my head had a gash. Head wounds bleed alot! It was scary.

47. Had your portrait painted
Hmmm, kinda....

48. Gone deep sea fishing
Yeah! Favorite pasttime of the men in my family!

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Stop asking me all these Europe questions. :(

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
See 49

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
Both, on my honeymoon even!

52. Kissed in the rain
Probably

53. Played in the mud
Like crazy as a kid. I was enthralled with making mud pies LOL.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater
we used to go all the time when i was growing up. loved it! big old station wagon with the back facing the screen so we could lay down and watch the film.

55. Been in a movie
Nope.

56. Visited the Great Wall of China
Hope to some day!

57. Started a business
Nothing major but little things.

58. Taken a martial arts class
Tae Kwon Do! Only got to yellow belt though.

59. Visited Russia
Alas, no, yet again.

60. Served at a soup kitchen
yes

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
Yes, but for my daughter LOL

62. Gone whale watching
Yeah! Few times, once in Alaska!

63. Gotten flowers for no reason
Yep

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Used to do it on a regular basis when I worked at UCLA.

65. Gone sky diving
See 11.

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
No - Sarah and I went to Manzanar, and that was freaky enough. I don't think I could handle a Nazi one.

67. Bounced a check
Unfortunately

68. Flown in a helicopter
Yeah - couple time!

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
I wonder if there are any at my parent's house....

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
no

71. Eaten Caviar
GROSS

72. Pieced a quilt
No, saving that for my twilight years.

73. Stood in Times Square
Yeah, pretty cool!

74. Toured the Everglades
No, and sadly my husband swears he will never step foot in FL again

75. Been fired from a job
never

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
no

77. Broken a bone
never!

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
Oh yeah!

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Several times!

80. Published a book
Nope

81. Visited the Vatican
No, but if I do, I am going looking for Jesus. (Sorry, obscure Tom Robbins ref)

82. Bought a brand new car
Too many times!

83. Walked in Jerusalem
no

84. Had your picture in the newspaper
a few times

85. Read the entire Bible
Probably close to it.

86. Visited the White House
nope

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
just fish

88. Had chickenpox
yep. in high school. it was wretched.

89. Saved someone’s life
I did talk a friend out of suicide in high school. :(

90. Sat on a jury
Yeah, couple times.

91. Met someone famous
yeah, hard to avoid them when you grow up in LA LOL

92. Joined a book club
yes

93. Lost a loved one
Yes

94. Had a baby
Three!

95. Seen the Alamo in person
Yeah, and all the other missions in San Antonio - one of my favorite cities!

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
No, but I went into Mono Lake. It's also really floaty.

97. Been involved in a law suit
Not unless you count divorce. :bag:

98. Owned a cell phone
What year was this written?

99. Been stung by a bee
Yeah, just once. Gotten hit by yellowjackets more!