Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Baby Blue Lips














Monday we were in a creative mood and decided to break out the watercolors. I turned my back for one second and Mia had paint all over her face. Thankfully it is all non-toxic because then she started dipping her fingers in it and eating it, saying, "Num, num" very convincingly. If you've ever wondered how certain colors taste... she seems to have survived and you could try them all in the privacy of your own home. No one would ever have to know. =)











































Friday, September 25, 2009

The Shrine

Okay this is seriously one of the most fun things I have ever done... a few years ago as I was dipping my toes in the water of hair dyeing and cutting, my coworker Missy Gordon graciously agreed to let me practice on her - I think we did some trimming and gave her a blond panel. Anyway... inspired by my friend Rebecca who dreamed of inviting friends over to an apartment darkened and completely filled with lit candles and dressed in a black cape (with hood), opening the door and saying, "Oh, come on in, I'm almost done here..." then finishing her made-up religious ritual arm-waving while they stood by in awkwardness, I came up with this idea to prank Missy.

I invited her over to my apartment to do her hair (it was her first time to come to my house ever). Then I shamelessly misused the building photo directory to get a picture of her. I took it home and made a bunch of copies. I still wish to this day that I had made even more. I then stuck this picture in several of my picture frames, replacing pictures of my relatives and family friends with several different sizes of her work picture. Jason helped me set up a small shrine on our kitchen table complete with candles which we lit right before she arrived. As it was her first time visiting I was hoping to give the impression that I was a total creepazoid but not scare her so much that she called the cops thinking some horrible stalking movie was playing out. And also to be like, "I've been waiting so long for you to come over!!!" Creepy, right? Well she came to the door and I let her in with great anticipation. I hope I said something to the effect of, "Welcome to our home" (with crazy eyes and strange smile) or "It's so great to finally have you over." She walked in and I busied myself in the kitchen while she looked around. She saw the shrine immediately. She said something like, "What the?" And I couldn't take the awkwardness and started laughing hysterically. More than being freaked out or weirded out, which was the actual goal, she realized I was just the first person to recognize her greatness and why the heck did it take so long for someone to make a shrine for her... lucky for me I picked the right person to do this to... someone with a weaker constitution would have been so afraid! Anyway it always makes me smile to remember this awesome prank. =) I think it's even better than the time I made up a fake charity and tried to extort donations from relatives I hadn't seen in a while...













The best shrine ever.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Sheila's Illegal Salon Part 4 & Mia In Pink Sweater














You may find that, as the weather gets colder, Illegal Salon activity increases. Today is deceptively gorgeous-looking but the actual temperature is hovering slightly above freezing. So I trimmed my bangs today. I like the bangs but it got me looking at the rest of the hair. I am going for length ultimately, but I realized that one side looks shorter than the other. The problem is, I like the longer side better... I could go and get it professionally fixed, but knowing me I probably will attempt to solve the problem myself and if I botch it then I'll call someone. Or I could just put stuff in it to hide it until it grows out to the length of the good side and then trim up the good side. The cutting is the quick part. The recovering from the cutting takes so much longer.










































I dressed Mia in her pink sweater this morning. It was a gift last year from Bill and Vladia, friends of my Grandma Anne. At one point she had the hood up and her sunglasses on and resembled a baby Jackie O. You can also see from the picture above that Mia's been playing with my makeup brush lately and enjoying it tremendously. The only downside is sometimes I find it in weird places like the floor of the laundry room, or I catch it being used as a general dusting tool on the sink and toilet. Yuck.

Climbing on the toilet is a new fun thing that she is doing lately. Mostly it is done when I am in the shower and from the toilet she can flick the lights off and on and turn on the water in the sink. Occasionally she falls from her standing position on the toilet and then I leap out of the shower sopping wet to comfort her and encourage her to go do something else. Last time she fell on top of the trash can, which of course was full, and wedged herself in between the wall and the toilet... I'll have my quiet, peaceful showers back when she goes to college. Now that I think of it, I don't really mind the drama that much. =)

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Sheila's Illegal Salon Part 3

It seems the Illegal Salon is expanding. Last night I was fortunate enough to host Clare, Raoul, Gabriel and Raoul's mother at our home which is the forum for Illegal Salon's activities. Clare was the new accomplice and Raoul's mom our "victim"... her words not mine! =) I started off the cut and Clare finished the last ninety percent of it; I think it turned out great! The babies played ball and practiced taking pictures with my camera which is practically indestructible. The men drank beer and observed the proceedings with amusement; we played telemundo in the background to distract Raoul's mom from her "execution". I had a lot of fun and can't wait to see what happens next at Sheila's Illegal Salon!























































Mia actually took this shot of Gabriel, pretty good for her first day taking pictures!

Testing out my new translator for my Spanish-speaking readers...

Parece que el Salón ilegal se está expandiendo. Anoche tuve la suerte de ser anfitrión de Clare, Raoul, Gabriel y madre de Raoul, en nuestra casa que es el foro para las actividades ilegales de Salon. Clara fue el cómplice nuevo y la mamá de Raoul nuestra "víctima" ... sus palabras no el mío! =) Yo comencé el corte y Clara terminó los últimos noventa por ciento de ella, creo que resultó genial! Los bebés que jugaba a la pelota y practicar la toma de fotografías con mi cámara que es prácticamente indestructible. Los hombres bebían cerveza y observar el proceso con atracciones, jugamos Telemundo en el fondo para distraer a la mamá de Raúl de la ejecución de su. Tuve un montón de diversión y no puedo esperar a ver qué sucede después ilícito de Sheila Salón!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Cheesecake Birthday

My Dad's birthday was today. He and his friend Roselynn got to come over and eat dessert with us. I made a lemon cheesecake. To be technical it's actually called a Creamy Lemon Cheesecake Pie. It is very light and satisfying. The recipe is from the back of the Honey Graham Cracker pie crust label and you can find it in it's entirety at http://savvygirlcompany.blogspot.com.

The two important things to remember are to make it 5 hours ahead of when you want to eat it so it has time to firm up in the fridge, and also to use a fresh lemon if you can get it and not bottled lemon juice. I think it really improves the texture and taste to have the peel in it.

I had the choice to go with either light sour cream or regular - I went with the regular just in case using light would have impacted the creaminess... not something to be tampered with.

Another thing I have noted is that a certain baby, even when teething and rejecting all her regular foods, will eat this lemon cheesecake without hesitation. A girl after my own heart.















For those of you counting candles... yes the three stands for 33 years old, and my Dad was 4 when he had me. =)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Twenty Hugs

Mia is not what you would call a cuddler; as a young baby sleeping in our bed she would be stretched out completely - all the blankets kicked off - with her parents clinging to their respective edges in tortured positions. We've talked to other parents that have similar personality types, the kid that is on the go and is too busy for long hugging sessions. But every once in a while, Mia will catch me sitting on the floor and decide to wrap her soft baby arms around my neck in the best hug ever (second only to Jason's hugs). The thing is, she doesn't just give one... she comes back and back until, as the recipient, you are about as happy as you ever thought possible. Twenty hugs later, and twenty thank-you's, she finds something else to do, but there in that moment, you have found part of your reward for sleepless nights and diapers and cleaning up puke... I got twenty hugs this morning and I can tell today is going to be awesome.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Glorious Fall Day

Today was an amazingly wonderful day. Jason is on day two of a four-day weekend and we are gratefully taking advantage of it! This morning he had some work around the house to do, so Mia and I played outside and then took a nap. After we woke up all three of us went for a walk in Creamer's Field. It was perfect. It was around eighty degrees and a bright blue sky as far as the eye could see. The geese honking added to the ambiance, as well as that autumn smell that is specific to Alaska. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.





































































































































































































Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Scrambled Eggs

My husband recently discovered Gordon Ramsey's Sublime Scrambled Eggs. (Watch the video here, it is the third clip down.) He followed the instructions and they turned out wonderfully! I got inspired to recreate the entire breakfast with roasted tomatoes and mushrooms, sourdough bread, and fresh chives (though I used green onion to be onest. ) And we used sour cream instead of creme fraiche. Also at the last minute I realized I was out of olive oil !gasp! so I used butter of the salted variety. And regular salt instead of sea salt. So yeah, come to think of it I probably did not follow one thing he did perfectly. However, it turned out pretty well and it was great to have a little variety since we eat Plateau Soleil most mornings. I would say the most important thing is to start cooking the eggs on a cold pan, and let it warm as you are cooking, instead of throwing them in to a pre-heated pan. Here is a picture:















Here's Mia enjoying the swing at Pioneer Park (formerly known as Alaskaland) - she loves swinging!















Life is good!