Tuesday, August 31, 2010

san fran day one

We had a wonderful, adventure filled weekend in San Francisco. We left on Friday morning, and got back late last night.

It was a last minute trip- Danny got an awesome opportunity to be a judge in a 48 hour software competition using an open source program called Node, held at the offices of software company Joyent. Basically a lot of geeks got together with their Macbooks and created some really cool stuff. It went from 5 pm on Friday - 5 pm on Sunday.


Danny on plane #2


Me waiting for the cab.



We stayed at the Clift. An old hotel refurbished in 21st century Art-deco style. It was amazing.
Our room was small, but perfect. The water pressure was insanely furious. And the decor was Lynchian. Dreamy.

Our bed.


My side.


The purple elevator- my fave.


Mirror chairs.


Lobby lounge.


Apple/top hat chair.


Day 1: After 2 flights and a crazy cab ride into the city, we showered and headed out to Joyent. It was just under a mile from our hotel, so we walked. We immediately fell in love with the city.

The sidewalks are buzzing with people, something we don't see here. We got to the building, up to the 20th floor- with a magnificent view of the city. We met everyone, staked out the place, then headed back out for dinner. On the way to dinner, we saw what looked like a bike marathon- the street was filled with people on bikes. Upon closer look, they were just regular people commuting.

We ate at Tommy's Joynt- a famous place made more famous by Triple D. On the walk back to the hotel, I got a terrible muscle cramp in my upper thigh, which turned into a badly pulled muscle. We went to bed at 11. Way early for us!



next up, day 2...

loo-loo and the zoo

Last Tuesday, since it was a cooler day than most, we went to the Zoo. Loo-loo has been begging to go all summer, but it's been so hot. I haven't been for years.

First was the Carousel.


Me on an ostrich.


Loo-loo insisted that there would be baby tigers at the zoo. Yep.


The baby panda was her fav on the Carousel.


Yikes.


A very tall, very bored giraffe.


Even though this large statue was extremely loud and obnoxious, she walked right up to it and wanted her photo taken.


So what does this make her? A taller, skinnier gorilla?


Loo-loo is very adept at cooing. She kept this lil pigeon calm so I could get a close up. I made her sit down for a few minutes because I noticed she was dripping with sweat. Poor girl! An ice cream cone for me, and a coke for her, along with 15 minutes in the shade did the trick.



Sleeping groundhogs.



She even jumped up and down on the bridge.



She was such a good sport despite the heat, that I let her buy a seagull. It makes awesome seagull noises too.

Monday, August 30, 2010

do fun stuff


Hey everybody! Today is a very special day. It's the release of the kids music for grownups album called "Do Fun Stuff" on iTunes. ALL of the proceeds from sales will go to fund more research for PRISMS, which is a foundation dedicated to SMS, or smith-magenis syndrome. It's a rare and complex genetic disorder.

As some of you may know, I have a handicapped sister. She is my favorite person in the whole world. Growing up, my mom got lots of help form lots of people by demanding to be heard, helped, and understood. She was relentless in getting Lindsay the right education, therapists, and funding so that we as a family knew all we could to help her develop as much as she could.

So I fully support Ryan (the brains behind this album, who has a son with SMS) in his huge effort to get the word out and be heard. Since it's rare, their isn't much funding or research to help parents deal with the behavioral and mental stress of this disorder. This is a truly amazing gift that Ryan is giving to the SMS community, and I believe he will make a giant leap very possible for these very special people.

Ryan is the author of one of my very favorite blogs, Pacing the Panic Room. He is a brilliant photographer, and if I lived in Florida, I would be paying him to follow me around and photograph my life. Because if he did, it would look like I live the most perfectly balanced life of art, family, love, and sass. I don't think I would survive the humidity though.

Do Fun Stuff! Help SMS!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

timber quilted throw

Finally!

My quilted throw is finished! Remember when I started it? (yeah, back in March.)

I just love this collection.



I love the cute little birds nests on the back!



The pink binding ties everything together so well.



This is a terrible photo- but you have to see it all laid out.




Here are a few more things I have been working on lately...


Mini shadow box. The recent rainy days have inspired me.



Tweet. I love the colors- so bright!



The birdcage is wool yarn, the bird is felted wool, and the music notes are embroidered.

Mixed media has aways been my favorite way of creating...and these shadowboxes are the perfect platform! Remember my owl from a few weeks ago?

Monday, August 23, 2010

happy birthday danny!

We had a BBQ this weekend for Danny's 30th birthday. It was so much fun getting our families together! My camera battery died halfway through the party, so I gave the little camera to Loo-loo, and I took some pics with my phone. But I didn't get photos of the wonderfully delicious Peach Cobbler we had for dessert.



Danny and Linds



Mal and Olive (Nala)

Mal is a vet tech. She loves animals- and this kitty came into her clinic because her owners could not afford medical testing, and were going to just put her down. (?!?!) So Mal jumped in and saved her from death. (how could you not?)

She is a Bengal, and one of the nicest kitties I have ever met. She has been living with my parents for a week or so, and is already a part of the family. She also really likes me, which is a plus. (I wish we could adopt her!) Anyway, after they finish the testing to see if she is sick or not, we think that my brothers friend will take her.



Mal and a blurry Bella



Loo-loo, Mom and LaRue



Ta-da! No 30th birthday is complete without a Birthday Hat!




I heart my Loo-loo!



Ashkan and Danny, laughing about something nerdy.



LaRue telling us hilarious stories. I absolutely love her.


Linds. She drove 3 1/2 hours just to be here. Such an awesome surprise!




Auntie Kris and Linds sneaking some of grandmas caramel corn.



Oh wait, there's the cobbler!



LaRue, Craig and Kris.



Linds, Danny, and Chels.

With Loo-loo behind them giving them bunny ears, of course!

Friday, August 20, 2010

this week...


I have made these cookies a few times now...and they are sooooooo good!
( I just ate 3 of them)


The recipe calls for caramel sauce in the dough- but I can never taste it in the finished cookie. So I got some sweet little caramel balls in the baking aisle at Target. I added them with the chocolate chips and they are perfect.

I also added a little swirl of Starbucks Caramel Sauce on top of each cookie right before baking. And that is when I learned that my husband hates caramel sauce. What? Who in their right mind hates caramel sauce?




This week, I have had the privilege of holding a teeny tiny baby.

Van is doing well, he is busy eating and not sleeping. I got to visit with them on Monday for awhile- I even got to feed him! I was pretty stoked.

What do Van and I have in common? We have both gained weight this week!


I took dinner over to them today, and I insisted (forced Mike to give him up) on holding him while they ate. He is quite strong for a newborn- he jerks his head around, and punches and kicks. It's hard to predict his head thrashing, you think you have a good firm hold on the little guy, then his head is suddenly on his chest. You move it back as quickly and carefully as you can, but he still gets upset and looks at you like "Hey! Not quick enough!"

He was trying to suck on his thumb today. He finally got it once his Soothie was in. Pretty cute. And he was all wide eyed and staring at me too.


I love little baby sighs. Their teeny bodies just relax a little, and then they sigh.

All is well.

Tomorrow we are having a BBQ for Danny's birthday. Ha! Now he gets to be 30!
Check back for some awesome party pics!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

iphone candid

I forget about all the silly photos that live on my phone- so I finally uploaded them. Here are some of my fav's...



just dinkin around...



my cats are staring at you.



a little to the left, with more in-ten-sity!







I love beard me. So fun!





"Oh Duh!"



Yum!