Sunday, August 30, 2009

Artsy Fartsy...But Cool



Saturday afternoon we spent in Baltimore City at the American Visionary Art Museum. It was a wonderful experience for the whole family. All around the outside of the museum, there are beautiful mosaic tiles. Like this:



And the shimmery sparkly tree in front of the museum. What a beautiful sparkly creation!




The museum has tree buildings. There is the main exhibition building that has amazing artwork and sculptures by tremendously talented and creative people. Some of them almost moved me to tears. And some of them were so cute and clever, that we all were in awe. The amazing thing is that many of the artists started creating their artwork in elementary school. Like Dalton Ghetti, who started carving tiny sculptures out of his pencil lead when he was in third grade.
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The egg that fell out of that big nest This is a great place to take the whole family. There really is something here for everyone to enjoy

Friday, August 28, 2009

The Great Brazilian Self-Waxing Adventure

Ended today.

What I learned:

1. You can't be afraid of pain. Waxing in general is painful. If you can't wax your own mustache, don't. even. try. it!

2. Even if you are tough like me, you'll want to stop after a couple of rips.

3. Don't attempt to do this all on one day. I did it in phases. First phase was just the bikini line. Second was the top of the pubic bone and the perenieal area. Third was the rest.

4. You need at least three hands to do phase three. That's why I'm not completely clean. I couldn't hold the skin tight enough. (maybe having four vagi-births has something to do with this). Did I just share that?

5. It's very messy. The wax is sticky and you can't wash it off with water. You must use oil to dissolve it. At least the oil moisturizes your skin.

6. I won't do it myself again because it took a lot of time, was messy, and unfinished.

7. I will, however, go to a professional to get it done. If I can do 85% of it on myself, I could certainly have a professional (compete stranger) do the whole job.

Who's next?

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

testing, testing...1... 2...RIIIIIP!!!

So, I did a test area this morning on one side, just the 'bikini' line. The verdict - Not too bad. It burned right afterward, but it stopped hurting almost immediately. Honestly, when I get my eyebrows waxed, it hurts more. Also, when I cleaned up with the tweezers, it felt like nothing. Maybe because I was numb, maybe because the hairs were already 'loosened'.

I am fighting the urge to go back into the bathroom and finish. I can't do it now. I don't have the time, and Vivian is getting restless. (No, she wasn't in the bathroom with me)

I'll post pictures of the finished product tomorrow morning.


Ha Ha Ha, just checking to see if you were paying attention!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

three words

SELF BRAZILIAN WAX

Brave or stupid? Discuss.

TMI? Maybe

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Fly Like an Eagle - or - How Trystan Spent His 11th Birthday

At the jobsite with the Future Eagle Scout. We are constructing a paved walkway at his old middle school.Leveling the ground, in the drizzly rain and mud. We all worked so hard and got so dirty. I was so proud of Marshall for organizing and executing this huge project. Four hours later, it's finished. This was the short path. It was only about 60 feet long. Two days later, we completed another path that was 90 feet long. We used over 200 paving stones.Surprisingly enough, we didn't cuss each other out during the whole project. It might have been due to the fact that there were children and missionaries all around us, but I'd like to believe it was because of our love and devotion for each other. (Ha Ha Ha)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I guess I lied

It all started with the cinnamon rolls. Ariella knows about them. They were so fantastic and gooey and bready and sweet. Those used to be my three favorite food groups, you know? I pretty much didn't eat anything unless it fit into one of those categories. I'm sorry, Jamie. Then I got super busy working at the gym, and I stopped eating crap. And there went the sweet tooth.

Until this week. I think it's officially back!
This is Trystan's birthday cake! It's sooo fabulous! I mean, really. AWESOME! You all have eaten my creations. You know what I'm capable of. I've outdone myself this time. Seriously.


It's a devil's food chocolate cake, with my signature white chocolate buttercream frosting with chopped double stuff oreos mixed in. The white chocolate is sandwiched between two layers of chocolate cake. Did I mention that the filling tastes like the yummy delicious filling of an actual oreo? It's the combination of white chocolate buttercreamy-love and the double stuffing of the oreos. I'm a genius! (yeah, really!) Did I also mention that the filling is as high as the cake? Then it's topped with my (other) signature dark chocolate buttercream, and garnished with oreo crumbles. You have to eat a small piece. It's that rich. It took all afternoon to make, but that's ok. I like doing crazy stuff like that. Oh yeah, and I made a few cupcakes with the leftover cake batter and frosting. I couldn't let it go to waste.

One more thing: Today was Trystan's 11th birthday. I'll post more about that maybe tomorrow. We had a great day. The End.

Monday, August 17, 2009

False alarm

Yeah, it didn't last. Thank goodness. Pictures to follow.

Tomorrow

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Mourning the loss of a longtime dear friend

Sugar.

I am sad to say that I think I have lost my sweet tooth. Any of you who know me know how much I love sweets. Hell, you don't really have to know me that well to figure it out. The title of this blog implies a love for cookies at the very least.

But for the past few weeks, I have had no desire to eat sweets. No chocolate, no cookies, no pies, no ice cream, no cake, no nothing. I have eaten these things, though very sporadically. And I have eaten them only because I know I 'like' them. But I got no pleasure from eating the sweets. I was left with a funny taste in my mouth. A sweet taste that made me cringe. Even a sick feeling in my stomach.

I admit, I am confused about the change. It's not something I have set out to do. I am not intentionally eating fruit, it's just what I want. Instead of candy. Instead of cookies. Very confusing.

Unfortunately, I think this marks the end of an era. An era of baking and snacking that has defined who I am. I don't even bake anymore. My kids bake treats and they get to eat them, ALL OF THEM. No more hoarding the cookies for myself. No more eating cookies in my room while drinking DC.

It's sad. I've lost touch with a dear friend. Maybe we'll reunite soon. I hope so. Otherwise, I'll have to change the name of this blog.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Sit and Spin!

Have you ever done it? I think it's my new addiciton! Do you want to try? I'll be at the gym next Friday at 0545 if you want to join me. It's free if you are my guest. Come on!! It'll be fun!!