Skin: &Bean – Closer Nude Pale

Eyes: MADesigns – EYES_REFLEKTOR – black snow(Coming Soon)

Hair: Uw.St – Serafim-Hair coffee

Tuxedo: Musashi-Do – New Tuxedo Party in Venezia

Shoes: Kalnins Footwear – Elegance

Shop SURL

In my elementary school, the Christmas program was always put on by the 6th grade class.  And the most impressive part of the Christmas program was our science teacher, Mr. D., singing “O Holy Night”.  He had such a beautiful voice, strong and clear.

I found my mother sniffling and wiping her eyes after our 6th grade Christmas program.  “I always cry when I hear ‘O Holy Night’,” she told me, “because it’s just so beautiful.”

Fast forward twenty years or so, and I now have a three-year-old who finds herself on the verge of tears listening to “I Don’t Want to Walk Without You” or the one song on her Celtic Dreamland CD.  I have no idea if the latter is actually sad, and neither does Bean, because it’s in Gaelic.  It just has that sound of a song that could be sad, and that is enough to touch Bean’s heart in the way that these songs do.

And then last week, it was “O Holy Night”.  I glanced back to tell her that that was my mom’s favorite Christmas song, and I saw the ever-deepening frown, the quivering chin, the eyes glistening with emotion and the tears perching at the corners of her eyes.  I told her that that happened to my mom too.  She asked if it was a sad song, and I said no, it’s not.  “But some songs just touch your heart.  And you have such a tender heart.”

This morning, we watched Snoopy Come Home.  There are a lot of tearjerker moments in that movie, but perhaps the saddest bit is when Charlie Brown sings “It Changes”.  Sure enough, I saw Bean’s eyes grow bigger and bigger, the frown grow deeper and deeper.  She looked up at me, her chin all a-quiver, and croaked, “This is so sad!”  I agreed, and found myself choking up at the sight of my little girl so touched by that sad song.

And then Charlie Brown poured himself a bowl of cereal, and poured in what looked to me to be altogether too much milk.  And then he pushed it away, because he was just too sad to eat.  Then he tried to go back to bed.

That’s when Bean could no longer hold back her tears.  “He doesn’t want to go back to bed!” she cried, very upset.  “His cereal will get old!”

Une pièce obscure, des livres poussiéreux, un relan d’encens dans la gorge, et son crâne posé sur une table. Étrange librairie sur la sombre île MadPea, un lieu magique et inquiétant.

Quand soudain, à travers un rayon de lune, apparait une étrange danseuse étoile, marionnette de minuit. Une clé rouillée, i love 13, transperce son blouson de cuir Aoharu. Elle mime une danse désarticulée sur la pointe de ses pieds Slink. Le tulle de son tutu &Bean vole doucement, tranquillement, en paix comme son pendentif d’Epoque.

Location : MadPea
My Inspiration : Putain de Ballerine

Skin : League – Skin Medium – Misty – 1100L$

Hair : Buried – Danny – 250L$
Lens : Poetic Color by Lano Ling – 200L$

Jacket : Aoharu – RollupRidersJK – WithShirt Black – 380L$
Bra : Worldwide Industries – Bound Up Bandage – 200L$
Gloves : Worldwide Industries – Bound Up Bandage – 200L$

Skirt : &Bean – Signalling through the flames Mog – 115L$

Band : Reek – I Heart Bandaid – 99L$
Shoes : SLink – Ashia Ballet Pointe Onyx – 450L$

Key : i love 13 – Crinoline nights – Doll Key - 150L$

Bijoux : Epoque – La Paix – Friday 50L$
& The Black Rock ring by Callie Cline – Friday 50L$

Pose : SLink

Shop SLurls : Click

Apparently some people are terribly concerned that others are going to steal their “look.”  I think this is greedy, selfish, and stupid.  Anti-inspect shields don’t work, and we can track something down even if you won’t tell us where it’s from.  By trying to hide the source of an item, the creator may lose sales.

Most importantly, no one is going to steal your look (unless they’re one of the crazies, and in that case, you have bigger issues than your look.)  The same outfit can have a dramatically different feel, just by changing the details.  Observe.

Same outfit.  Same accessories.  A change of hair, a change of skin, and you instantly have a new mood.

Credits:
Hair: Clawtooth Somebody’s Lady – Autumn Mix, Tiny Bird Winter – Caramel
Skins: &Bean – Babushka-ya-ya – Hallow’s gift, Imagen Irene Este Rita
Jacket: Fishy Strawberry Tweed Jacket – Beige
Jewelry: Miel Cue Set
Shorts: Sn@tch Tweed Shorts – Brown – part of A Textural Experience set
Shoes: R2 Akamai – brown
Pose: [LAP] Slip – Did It Again
Setting:  BP store at Drowsy

Disclaimer:
Promotional items received: Imagen skin, Sn@tch shorts. I’m acquainted with some of the designers shown here.  However, I only blog things I like, regardless of affiliations or gifts.

….I even found an English expression for my title…it is “Carrot & Stick” ( ….combination of rewards and punishment to induce behaviour… lol) but I like the German words much more which could be translated with “Sweet Cupcakes & Whip”…

Hello!

Mixing two extremes this week – the angelic with the diabolic, the cute with the bad, the happy with the angry, the cupcake with the whip!

Awesome new release from CHEERNO, a wrap-me-in-black-tulle men outfit which I had to buy of course; COURTISANE’s and KOOKIE’s super cool boots and PHOENIX RISING’s tribute to Coco Chanel are my choice this week.

Two weeks ago I discovered Eshi’s video about an absolute cute RL couture store in Croatia. Vitabela the owner also creates for SL under the label BOUDOIR. Her creations are really beautiful, outstanding and special. Unnecessary to add that I fell in love immediately and wanted to show here.

Hope you like!

Skin – Lelutka , Eclat Light groupgift

Skirt – Boudoir , part of Bonjour Dress  NEW

Shirt, Hat, Tights – Paper Couture , part of Dancing Bears

Shoes – *GF* GField , Ribbon Slingback silver  NEW

Gloves – B@r , part from Toes Shoes

Skin – *FS* Free Speerit , Fiona Gold  NEW

Hair – <The Abyss> , Dystopia

Top – CheerNo. Deuil , Mortifera  NEW

Leggings – &Bean , Slick n Shiny silver

Tights – *Sheer* , Tights 28

Boots – *Kookie* , Athena black  NEW

Poses – Niqotine , SALE! ALL POSEPACKS FREE!

Skin – Lelutka , Eclat Light 07

Hair – MrS , Oh My God black  NEW

Top – Beauty Avatar Couture , Naoha Corsage  NEW

Skirt + Collar – Phoenix Rising , part of Coco Chanel Tribute  NEW (collar modded as it is originally part from the ruffle shirt)   NEW

Leggings – +Plus , Strap Leggings  NEW

Gloves – *COCO* , Long Gloves black

Boots – *COCO* , Knee High Boots  NEW

Pose  1st pic – Dare , black serie

Skin – LeLutka , Eclat light 01

Hair – !lamb , Oh Sugar powder  NEW

Jacket – RunoRuno , Weave Jacket  NEW

Skirt – Boudoir , part from Illustrated Dress

Boots – Courtisane , La Vivien brown  NEW

Leggings – Cynful , part from Dance-a-liscious Jumper  NEW

Necklace – Shampooo , Clock necklace

It is getting colder and darker every day now and my taste buds call for hearty and spicy food. I had planed to cook fajitas this weekend and just needed to add a few things to my shopping list to prepare a nice starter soup.

As I bought a big steak for the fajita, I decided to keep the soup meat free. The potatoes and beans make it rich anyway. I generally don’t use floury potatoes but in this recipe I think they work really well. They help to thicken the soup and make it even richer.

Cumin and chopped coriander give a kick to the soup. When the onions and garlic are nicely fried and you add the freshly ground cumin, the smell in your kitchen is amazing and give you an idea how the soup will taste like.

If you want to turn this soup into a main course, just add mince meat or chorizo to it. If you don’t eat meat, try some quesadillas with it.

Level: Easy | Time: 40 minutes | serves 6

Ingredients

3 TS of Olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finally chopped

2 medium-sized potatoes (floury), sliced in small pieces

1 green pepper, sliced in small pieces

1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can of chopped tomatoes

500 ml of beef stock (or vegetable stock)

2 dried red chillies

Salt and Pepper

3 TS of ground cumin (If you can, use whole cumin seeds and grind them with the Pestle and Mortar. The smell is just amazing!)

Fresh coriander, tomatoes and spring onion for a small salad

Preparation

1. Heat 3 TS of olive oil in a medium-sized pot and fry the onion on a low heat until soft. Add the garlic and the spices and keep frying them for another 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the potatoes, green pepper and kidney beans to the pot and cover with the stock and chopped tomatoes.
3. Add the dried chillies and a little extra salt if necessary.
4. Cook for about 20 minutes on a medium heat. Don’t cover the pot completely, allowing some of the juices to evaporate and the soup to thicken.
5. Take the soup of the heat and taste it. Add Salt and Pepper if necessary and mix in the chopped coriander.
6. To serve prepare a small salad of chopped spring onions, tomatoes and coriander lightly tossed in a little lime juice.
7. Fill the soup into a bowl and garnish with the salad. You can also add some grated cheese if you like.

Skin: &Bean – Closer Nude Pale

Eyes: MADesigns EYES_REFLEKTOR – black snow(Coming Soon)

Hat&Hair: NoaR HatHair JD *black

Glasses: old my wayfarer

Cigar: hoorenbeek – Cigar

Scarf: Emery – Striped Scarf #Black

Vest: Baiastice – Short Gilet-grey

Shirt: Baiastice – Silk shirt-dark grey

Pants: Baiastice – Italian trousers-grey

Shoes: COCO – Homme_LeatherShoes_Brown

Shop SURL

Thursday September 3rd, 2009

Nando’s action. 8:26pm.

Friday September 4th, 2009

Those crazy Christian pedophiles. Where’s the subtlety?? 2:03pm.

Elm St. 2:04pm.

A very long process…. 7:21pm.

…disrupted without an explanation. Pure horror. 7:40pm.

I finally had a burnt DVD of the above project at 1:29am.

Tuesday September 8th, 2009

Getting ready… 5:46pm.

Thursday September 10th, 2009

Tree concealed by pumpkin soup. 4:25pm.

Saturday September 12th, 2009

All Day I Dream About Subways. 9:58pm.

Scabby feet. 11:41pm.

Monday September 14th, 2009

5:03pm.

Found this near my bin. Vintage VHS. 6:02pm.

Sunday September 20th, 2009

Misplaced door. 7:20pm.

Friday September 25th, 2009

Best way to end the working week. 4:30pm.

Saturday September 26th, 2009

Rain in the tracks of Flinders St. station. Last Train Blues. 1:11am.

In keeping with the winter warmer theme, I thought you’d Enjoy! another soup recipe. This one is one of my ’sisterhood’ recipes. These recipes are a collection that I rarely divulge with anyone. Please make this one with lots of love! Without further ado, let me introduce you to my Cockle-of-the-Dockle Soup:

Nothing beats a homemade soup. Cartons are great and do have their place in this world, but making a soup is just so satisfying (and cheap!) This recipe can be adapted according to what veg you have floating in your fridge. Play about with it!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb white haricot beans (225g)

5 oz small-cut macaroni (110g)

3 tbs tomato puree

2 teaspoon dried basil

1 large onion, chopped small

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 a pointed cabbage, shredded

small handful of green beans

2-3 sticks of  chopped celery

1 courgette, roughly chopped

1 leek, roughly chopped

2oz grated Parmesan cheese (50g)

4 tbs olive oil

Salt and freshly-milled black pepper

Process:

1) Place the beans in a saucepan, then add 4 pints of cold water to them, bring them to the boil, boil for 1 minute, then turn the heat off and let them soak for 2 hours.

2) Now gently fry the onions in olive oil together with the garlic for about 10 mins. Add the tomato puree and basil, stir for a minute, and pour in the beans and the water they were soaking in.

3) Bring the soup up to simmering point, cover and simmer gently for about an hour. When the time’s up, season with salt and pepper, then put half the soup either through a sieve or blend in a liquidiser.

4) Return the pureed half to the pan, bring to simmering point, then add the macaroni and the veg and simmer for a further 10-12 minutes, stirring from time to time.

5) Serve this soup with lots of freshly grated Parmesan (or Cheddar if you’re on more of a budget) to sprinkle all over!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound bag of pinto beans
• ½ pound smoked bacon (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 large onion chopped (or ½ cup chopped) [Note 1]
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper [Note 1]
• 3 tablespoons salt (kosher salt is best)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground for best flavor)
• 1 liter chicken broth or stock (homemade is best but store bought will do)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf

Directions

Start to soak your beans at least 24 hours before you would like to plate. Before you do, however, you need to spread your beans out on a cookie sheet or half sheet pan. Remove all of the rocks that slipped through the sorting process. Also take out all of the beans that look ugly or bad. Cooking will not help their flavor! Place the beans into a container that is at least three quarts deep. Now add the salt and the beans. Add about 2 quarts of water.

Soak for 12 hours, covered.

In a medium skillet over medium heat add the chopped bacon and the Worcestershire sauce. Cook the bacon until some of the fat is rendered out. Now add the onion, green peppers, pepper, chili powder. Cook until bacon is slightly crispy and the aromatics are slightly brown. Using a paper towel, soak up all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat. Transfer all of it to your Crockpot, turned onto high. Deglaze, if needed, with some of the chicken broth or stock.

Drain your beans (reserving the liquid) and add them to your Crockpot. Now add the deglazed liquid and the rest of the chicken broth. Top off with your reserved bean liquid (which still holds significant bean flavor and vitamins). Now stir in the dried oregano and the bay leaf. Set your timer for 4 hours and cover.

At the end of 4 hours, set your slow cooker or Crockpot to the low setting and simmer for AT LEAST two more hours. However another four to eight hours would be MUCH better. Just be sure to top off the Crockpot with water to replace any liquid loss.

Finally, Remove the bay leaf and then add salt and pepper to taste about an hour before serving.

[Note 1: Individually flash frozen, chopped green pepper and onion are both economical and a great time saver. They make adding both aromatics a simple procedure that does not involve tears or breaking out the cutting board. They're normally found in the frozen section of the local mega-mart.]

Be Prepared !!
Every Friday, a group of designers will place an item in the front of their mainstore marked down for 50L, now you know the deal ! But this Friday, it’s a BLACK EDITION !! So, this time, 50 Designers will participate at this event ! You can get the items by following the Names on the list here.

Oh my god… I can’t believe it… I must change my high heels for running shoes!

From 12:00am Friday to 11:59pm on this Friday 27 November

This week, the designers are: ( hum… long list today… Enjoy it ! )

&bean
5th&Oxford
Adore & Abhor
Artilleri
Botanical
Callie Cline
Casa Del Shai EDIT: Unfortunately Casa del Shai was not able to put an item out…
CHEAP MakeUp
Clawtooth by Clawtooth
D*E*C*O
Deviant Kitties
Doppelganger Inc
Elate!
Epoque
Fishy Strawberry
Glow Studio
HooT
Katat0nik
Kunstkammer
Kyoot
L’Abel
Lamb
Long Awkward Pose
Magika
Miel
Milk Motion
Molto Bene!
!Ohmai
Penny Dreadful Arcade
Pididdle
Pig
RC Cluster
Reek
Sand Shack Surf Co.
Scribble
Sh*t Happens
Silent Sparrow
So Many Styles
Split pea
Sway’s Creations
The Plastik
This is a Fawn
Tiny Bird
Tres Blah
Turnip’s Homes & Stuff
Turquoise Unicorn Studios
Ty Zvezda
Tyranny Designs
Vive 9
Whippet & Buck

Ufff… this is the end of the list lol  

EDIT POST : Now I think all links are ok, if you see something wrong, please let me know on comments ! 

Have a good shopping guys !

A pretty quick and filling snack for four, or a meal for two. If you want to make more, simply multiply the amounts by half the people. Heck I’ve just confused myself with that, you’ll work it out.

Ingredients-

Burgers

500g good minced beef

400g can of mexican beans, or just kidney beans, drained and rinsed

tbsp tomato puree

tbsp red wine

tsp chili flakes

2 tsp olive oil

tbsp Cattlemens sauce

splash Jersey Death sauce (you can leave this out if you don’t want them too hot)

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

salt and ground black pepper.

2 tbsp oat/rye flour

Sauce-

4 tbsp creme fraiche

2 tsp piri piri sauce

small pull of fresh parsley, chopped.

Method-

Add 1 tsp of oil to a shallow frying pan and bring to a low heat, add the drained beans and the smoked paprika and fry gently for 5 minutes. Make sure the beans don’t stick with the paprika. After 5 minutes take off the heat and place the beans onto some kitchen towel to remove any oil residue.

In a medium sized bowl combine the minced beef with the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the flour and oil. The chili flakes and Death sauce are going to be hot, so if you want to be safe then wear some gloves, or make sure you wash your hands straight after doing the mixing. You do NOT want to get this stuff in your eyes. When you have a good mix consistency then add the cooled beans and form into 4 patties. Gently roll the patties in the flour, you only want to coat the outside.

If you are going to BBQ the burgers then I would advise placing them on some baking parchment on a tray and placing them in a freezer for 30-45 minutes and then straight from the freezer to the BBQ.

Going with the shallow fry method, add the remaining teaspoon of oil to the pan and bring it back up to heat. Gently place the patties into the pan and let them cook for 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the patties, and how rare you like your beef. Turn them to make sure the flour doesn’t blacken.

For the sauce, simply mix the ingredients together in a small bowl or ramekin and place on the table, or spoon over the burgers.

Serve with either chips, rice, cous cous or just on their own. Particularly nice in heated pitta bread or crispy rolls.

My Dearest Bean,

Since the moment I discovered that I was pregnant with you, I dreamed about how close we ould be. I fantasized about cuddling, sharing secrets, baking together, and having a the perfect bond. You were such a sweet baby, and we were so close. You slept with me every night until you were two. I carried you around in various baby slings for your entire infancy, it seems.

When you were two, I wondered why everyone refered to the “terrible twos,” because you were perfect, not terrible in the least. But by three, it had hit. The tantrums, the shrieking, the ornery-ness. And now that you’re four, you have grown more ferocious. I know it’s normal, and I know you’ll grow out of it. But I can’t help but wonder if I’m doing something wrong that you can be so grumpy and irritable att the time. My “Mommy Guilt” is in overdrive, blaming myself for your attitude.

Tonight, I lost it and cried. You were yelling about something, and I sat down on the sofa at looked at you and just cried. You walked over to me and asked if I was okay. I told you that it’s hard for me to play with you and be a happy mama when you are always so irritable and picky about everything. Your little face melted and you patted my back and said you were sorry. You wiped my tears away and said you’d draw me a picture to cheer me up. I got you crayons out and you drew a picture of me and you and Man Cub, and you narrated it.

“This is you with straight hair, and this is me with curly hair, and this is [Man Cub]. He likes to put his mama’s iPhone in the toilet sometimes, but she just gets new ones.” You make me laugh, even when I am sad. I told you I was sorry, and I explained to you that I just get overwhelmed because things are difficult being a single mom.

Bean, I am sorry you split your time between two homes. I didn’t want it to be this way. I wish I could share more with you about how I’m feeling these days, but I don’t want to cross that line and over-share and compromise your relationship with your father. And I don’t want you to have to carry that kind of burden. You’re my child, not my therapist. So instead I told you that my mom and dad were divorced when I was a kid, too, and that I’m sorry that you have two homes and that it has to be that way. You asked why my mom and dad were divorced, and I hesitated, not knowing what to say. So I said the first thing that came to mind. “My mom and dad divorced because my dad was an alcoholic and he wasn’t nice to live with. He was kind of mean to us. I didn’t live at his house any of the time,  though, so I don’t know him very well.”

Then you know what you did? You drew another picture. This one had me and my mom (“Grandma Sally”) and my dad. (We all looked like circles with eyes and arms sticking out, but you told me who was who.) You said, “This is you and your mom and dad being happy. Your dad is being nice in this picture, see? You are happy.” You are so sweet and compassionate, Bean, and I love you so so much. What you said next was the best part, though: “You should send this to your dad, so he can see how to be nice.”

Bean, I am sorry things are not different. But I am grateful for having the chance to be your mother. I hope I get better at this single-parenting thing, and I pray for the patience to be the kind of mother I want to be, the kind of mother you deserve. You are more than I could ever ask for. Thank you for loving me.

I’ve fallen in love with &Bean skins ever since they put their Halloween freebie at their store in October. And this week I finally bought one. I adore the lips, they are so sassy! It comes with 2 skins, one without freckles and one with freckles. I went on a bit of a shopping spree this past weekend, so this look contains some new things and some things I have stored away and forgot about. Have a happy day!

-Mya S.

You are listening to Jesse McCartney – Body Language

Credits:

Skin- &Bean -Lake Last Weekend Norm

Hair-  *ARGRACE* -KnitCap- smooth shiny -Black

Jacket- BP* -Denim Jacket Vintage

Shirt- Pididdle - Raw Bones Leotard (past weeks 50L item)

Jeans- Decoy -Inferno 88 Jeans-Charcoal

Shoes-Pididdle -Canvas Shoes Smut

Earrings- !Shampoo -Hoop Pierce Earrings (9 color changeable)

Belt- BeetleBones -WaveBelt in Black

Keys- EarthStones Jewlery - Key Ring

Glasses- {SMS} -Dotty Glasses Orange

the last few nights the bean has been coming into the bed with me sometime between 11 and 1.  he arrives in the room silently and i only know to wake up and find him because i have heard his door opening on the monitor i still use with him.  i wake up slowly and turn to see him standing silently by my bed.  he only speaks once he sees me open my eyes and turn to face him.

“mama, i need to tinkle.”

i sigh, rise from my cozy bed, and take his hand.  in the bathroom i unzip his pajama’s (he insists on footies because the pea has them) and put him up on the toilet reminding him not to start peeing until he is sure his penis is pointing the right way.  it is rote for me, we do this almost every night.  when he is done i help him get his undies and jammies back on in the darkness.  then i take his hand again and he says to me, “i want to be in your bed.”

sometimes, if the pea isn’t sleeping well, if he is sick and i have the humidifier on in his room, or if i have fallen prey to the “should’s” in my own mind i tell him we need to go back to his bed.  i tell him how cozy it is and i get in with him and lay there while i wait for him to fall asleep.  or i bring the pea’s monitor with me and i fall asleep too.  once i am sure he is sound asleep i get up and tip toe out and back to my own bed.

other times i just nod and rearrange the pillows so he can have the one i like to use, pull back the covers and pat the side i want him to lay on.  then i snuggle in with him and say, “good night beanie.  i love you.  time to sleep.”

of course, there are nights when he fidgets and fusses and generally makes me wish for morning to come so i can stop feeling so cheated.  but recently he just closes his eyes and holds onto my finger with his small warm hand and goes to sleep curled up into me.

then as the night goes on we cosleep in all its beauty.  this is, to me, the bliss of cosleeping.  the bean and i have always slept well together.  like our bodies instinctively know how to snuggle in the most comforting and comfortable ways.  the pea, she likes to sleep draped on top of me.  until she gets tired of that and then with a huff wants to move to her own space.  then back on top of me and so on in a confusing daze of hours spent wondering if she is happy.

but the bean, he slides up into me and turns away in the smoothest movements.  drapes his legs over mine which are curled up around him.  slips his small warm hand under my neck into it’s perfectly fitting spot.  when he sleeps well and sleeps with me it is magical.  it is comfortable and sweet and bonding while we dream.  we move into snuggles and out into our own space without really waking.  in the morning he presses his body tightly into mine and puts his head on my shoulder as he opens his beautiful huge blue eyes and asks me sweetly, “is it morning time?”

and i kiss his forehead which is right there in position to be kissed and enter the day with the same excitement as he has.  ”yes my love, it is morning time.”

Dear J-

We’re walking around the neighborhood looking at the lights (this is Thanksgiviing week here in the States, after all, and a lot of our neighbors have thought it easier to put their strands up while taking Halloween decorations down) pointing a few out here and there to figgy, who promptly responds, “Yeah, lights.”  I can’t help but think of last year when the only word we could get her to reliably repeat was “mee-mee” for the Christmas lights; she would walk, and point, and no matter how we said “lights” it came out “mee-mee.”

The whole vocabulary has expanded dramatically and with it her awareness of the world; her favorite sentences all begin with I:  “I want” (sticker, band-aid, mac’n'cheese, pasta, rice, TV, tissue), “I don’t want” (bath, lunch, clothes, new diaper, go outside), or “I can do it.”  She’s lost the invented words, but does a very good facsimile of what we say, and has learned, somewhere along the way, colors and basic sequences.  I have particular guilt, as I have guilt over so many aspects of my life, that I’m not doing more for her learning:  again it’s another opportunity to marvel at my parents for their patience in exerting a firm steady pressure to embrace knowledge despite our protests.

Some day — probably soon — we’ll start setting down memories she’ll be able to recall as an adult; though she still calls out for Bean occasionally (not as much as that odd first week:  “Bean, come on,” reliably though there was no comforting answering tags jingling as we were getting the leashes ready for the walk) I’m pretty sure she’ll look at pictures of him and ask what kind of dog he was (we’ll say a good one, you must realize he was getting old and crabby but under it all good, happy, and patient).  Yet that will be the same sort of projected memory that makes sense only when you stumble across old albums and a parent to explain it; our job is to catalog the now and keep it.

Mike

On today’s show: We heard Miss Cleo’s Twilight interviews.  Bean’s rental car gets stolen in Maryland (or does it?).  Seth Green talks about his movie Old Dogs, it’s the final day to enter the Miss Double D-cember contest and former Scientologist Marc Headley.

Kevin’s wife Melissa stopped by to talk about their charity Friends & Helpers  Holiday Gift Drive. TMZ’s Harvey Levin gives us the latest Hollywood gossip. Working on the show is getting us in trouble. We spin the “Wheel of Bad Animal Voices” and talk the “pimping chimps” and Ralph’s Showbiz Beat.

I am so very proud to announce that my Bean took her first steps yesterday afternoon. It wasn’t just a fluke. We got her to repeat it a few times.

She was a little camera-shy (translation: she wanted to eat the camera), so we didn’t get video yet – but we will, and I will post it.

I was very happy that her first steps were at home. I get the conflict women (and maybe men too?) have with returning to work. I would LOVE to be a stay at home mom, but it doesn’t make sense for us. I know it would have broken my heart to know that Bean took her first steps at daycare. While I love “D” and she is wonderful with Bean, she is the care provider and I am the mommy. Daddy and I get to see all the firsts in her life, not her. OK, so that is selfish… but it is how I feel.

I am sure that if I were a stay at home mom, I would be conflicted about not working – especially since I love my job. I guess it is hard either way.

For now, I will beam with pride in my daughters too trick to add to her baby resume.

Hair: null – hair_Goa_dusk

Eyes: MADesigns – EYES – MIRRORS – envy

Shades: epoque – Catastrophe Shades – Neutral

Coat: SG – TokyoCoatBlack

Tank: SG – DendiTankWhite(tucked)

Pants: M.R.M. FACTORY Color Skinny Pant *Black*

Boots: COCO – Homme_Lace-UpWorkBoots

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We started parent-child swim classes not long after Luke turned six months old (the minimum age for the classes). The classes happen every Tuesday and Thursday at the Albany Community Pool from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m.

We started taking the classes at the same time as my good friend Codie and her baby, Taylor, who was born about two weeks after Luke (despite being due almost exactly a month before Luke). Taylor is in love with the water; she is drastically different from Luke.

Luke usually is not too sure whether he likes swim class or not; I think the water makes him too cold. The pool is pretty lukewarm. We play games and sing songs, and let the babies play with toys, and kick and splash in the water. Luke kind of curls up as soon as we get into the pool. He doesn’t kick or splash, the poor guy just looks around, slightly unhappy, with this “Mom, how long are we going to be in here?” face. If you put a toy in front of him he will splash after it and try to grab it; only then does he seem to enjoy himself. If he catches the toy, it goes straight into his mouth, no matter how much I try to stop it! Remove the toy and he becomes grumpy baby again. He is also marginally content when i hold him close when we sing or play games – so he can get my body heat. When we are done with the class, his little feet are usually bluish, and you occasionally catch a little shiver. My little guy needs some more baby fat to keep him warm!

We’re just trying to get him used to the water, so we’ll keep at it for a while; I like to think of him as my water-bug-in-progress!