As I’ve now zipped up the luggage and set the lock, a few things I’ve become aware of:

1. Planes. If one has gone over my house lately, I’ve heard it. They’ve always been there, but I’m very conscious of them at the moment. One just went over here a few minutes ago.
2. Packing. I’ve heard many times that it’s better to roll rather than fold your clothes, but I never realised there was such a science to it.
   Sorry, plane. Where was I?
   That’s right, the science of packing. There’s a very strict procedure for rolling clothes so I’ve found out (here’s a diagram). Thanks to Google, I’ve found whole webpages devoted to it, like this one (which is where I found the diagram)
   

   my bundle wrapped clothes

   

   the side view of my bundle wrapped clothes

3. I’m very lucky I’ve grown up in this era of history where we have, among many other things, the internet. It’s allowed me to make all the arrangements myself, book flights and hotel rooms, find out how cold it’s been in London (and that it now seems to finally be starting to warm up!), and keep in touch with people I know in Europe who I hope I’ll be able to catch up with while I’m there.
4. Given how much work it’s been to get myself organised for this trip, I would hate to ever be doing this as a parent with kids in tow.
5. Try to align your trip preparations with a Kathmandu sale (there was an Easter one which made shopping there much cheaper. In fact, I’d never shopped there before the sale, and haven’t since – my salary is good, but doesn’t allow for shopping there on a permanent basis).

So in 24 hours from now, I’ll be several hours into my flight of nearly 24 hours’ duration. Given that I haven’t flown further than Sydney – Perth before, that’s going to be a learning curve. But it has to be done, and plenty of people have done it before. Unless I draft a post from the airport or the plane (which more than likely won’t be uploaded until I connect with the free wi-fi my hotel is supposed to have anyway), I’ll be in touch when I get to London.

On his former TV show, comedian Rove McManus used to refer to overseas locations by saying “It’s a whole other country.  You can’t get there by bus.”  That’s certainly true for those of us who live in this part of the world we call Australia (not to be confused with Austria, which I will be visiting).  Quite simply, anywhere outside of the country is inaccessible by bus.  In fact, some parts of Australia are inaccessible by bus as well (I’m pretty sure we haven’t built a Bass Strait bridge or tunnel yet).  This trip will be my first to places that cannot be reached from mainland Australia by bus.

While the lure of Tasmania was tempting (read this with sarcasm if you so wish; I’m reserving judgement), I’ve decided that if bus travel has to be ruled out, and that flights are to be booked, then I might as well take one of the longest flights our national airline has to offer – Sydney to London.  From there, it’s Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France, before heading back home via Heathrow Airport.

Everything’s booked, and almost everything’s packed, so it’s just a matter of getting as much done here at home and work as I can before next Monday.  Perhaps before then I can manage to get a few more details up here and make this blog look a bit better…

Get Ready, Get Set. A few weeks ago, it was entirely feasible for Hiram to be zooming toy cars around with a completely bare bottom a full 60 minutes into his morning “getting ready” routine. But not anymore! It turns out the prospect of a sticker is all he needs to go from sleeping to ready by 6:07 each day. I think Hiram might be considering a similar “stickers to nowhere” program for his lazy parents now.

Time Will Tell: The concept of time is starting to make a whole lot of sense to Hiram. He’s working very hard to understand spans of time, like days or months. He also likes to suggest doing activities until the big hand touches a certain number. My favorite thing is that clocks have so much authority in Hiram’s life — finally something to blame for bedtime instead of his mama!

Wire! Hiram’s favorite night of the week is choir (a.k.a. “wire”) night. He loves having dinner with his friend, using the laranalur all by himself, and then running like a maniac into the room to rehearse songs for church. Even with all this practice, he’s always been too shy to actually sing on Sundays – until now. At their last performance, Hiram felt like singing! He also did the hand motions with one hand while the other held onto his blanket.

2 Years + 10 Months

1 Year + 10 Months

She told me CD26, and I believed her. My bloodwork told me otherwise. It told me CD19.

Those two days aren’t even close! It’s not even a white lie.

Fertility un-friend. Tomorrow, I give her a chance to explain herself. We’ll see if my body temp spikes overnight.

I’ll give you an example:

For the past 3 cycles, I’ve been charting my BBT, and during each cycle, Fertility Friend (an app) tells me that I’m ovulating on CD26 of my 36 day cycle.

Since we’ve started our monitoring cycle, I’ve been going in every other day to have bloodwork and ultrasound done. This is how it’s gone:

CD3: bw and u/s – unremarkable
CD5: bw and u/s – unremarkable
CD6: sonohysterogram – unremarkable
CD7: bw and u/s – unremarkable
CD9: bw and u/s – told that my follicles were small (9mm)
CD11: bw and u/s – told that my follicles were “slow to grow” (10mm)
CD13: bw and u/s – told that my follicles were runts and they were being difficult (10mm)
CD15: bw and u/s – told that we’d for sure need to be on drugs to help “speed things along”. (14mm)
CD17: bw and u/s – told that my follicles were finally growing (16mm)
CD19: bw and u/s – (19mm follicle) told that I’d have to come in every day until I ovulate. Disappointed, but compliant, I booked every 6:40am appointment this entire week. Afterwards, I went to the car where I had a shitfit over the phone with Darling Wife, and threatened that I might lose will power because this was way too much work. That I felt like a pin cushion / piece of meat / totally violated (transvaginal ultrasound). And that she couldn’t empathize because she doesn’t have to get up almost 45 mins earlier than usual because of the appointments…..

I had a melt down.

Not a “fix my problems for me” meltdown, but rather, a “I’m bitching just to bitch” meltdown. I’ve been having a lot of these lately because I’m so stressed at work.

Anyways, I felt like an ass, because Darling Wife always wanted to be “the one to get pregnant”. But timing-wise and financially, it makes more sense for me to be the host body.

So I get to work after all my venting, teach 2 classes, help students during my lunch, teach another class, attend a staff meeting, clean up some lab chemicals, check my phone when I notice that I have a voice message.

It’s from my monitoring nurse.

She tells me that my lab results came in from today’s bloodwork, and it turns out that I’m starting to ovulate.

O v u l a t e .

But… Today is CD19!?!?!!

Wtf?

Best part is, that she cancelled all of my monitoring appointments, and the next time I go in is next Monday. Yippeee!

Today I felt lucky.

Cycle day 19, I’ve got a 19mm follicle, and it’s gonna break out soon!

Booyah!

         yen here, vouchers printed, now

         can we get some help?

We’re are now in the very excited build up to actually going on this trip at last. It became even more exciting this week when Japanese currency arrived. I’d shopped around at banks, the post office and travel agents to find not very good rates. In a week when the Japanese government poured trillions of yen into the economy to kickstart inflation and recovery, the yen fell against the pound and the dollar. However exchange rates are slow to respond – a bit like prices at the filling station – quick to go up when oil prices rise, slow to come down when they fall. Rather warily I ordered them online – well there was a bank holiday weekend in the way but they turned up fine as planned. I had looked at several sites and found the best rate and excellent service from TravelFX.com who kept me informed of progress throughout the process. Here they are: ¥1000 somewhere between £6 and £7; ¥5000 about £34 and ¥10000 about £65 – well today anyway!

There were two other important pieces of preparation. Being a little unhappy to rely entirely on showing electronic booking forms to hotels and car hire desks we decided to print out all our booking confirmations and vouchers. Our good friend Toddy posted earlier that we would need a “sturdy binder” for all of them. He was right as you can see and thank goodness we’re not on Easyjet or Ryanair with cabin luggage weight restrictions.

The other sprang from some great advice from the superb practice nurse at our local NHS surgery. Dee is suffering from a bout of sinusitis at present and was a bit concerned about its effect on the ear and head pain she usually suffers during take off and landing. “Get ear planes,” we were told. So we did. They are little clear rubbery earplugs with a grometty spiral at the outer end which helps to balance pressure and prevent pain. Sounds great, we’ll find out in a day or so if they work.

And now I wonder if anyone out there can help me? When I was in Japan in 1981, I bought a series of four etchings which we’re extremely fond of and would like to find out a bit more about. I photographed them and took them in to the ever-helpful Alisa at the Japan National Travel Office in London to see if the titles or the artist’s name would provide any clues and maybe point us at the locations they depicted. The titles proved descriptive but non-specific in terms of finding out in which part of Japan they might be. Up in the Hills, Green Fields, Poplars and Red Bird are accurate but unhelpful. She was also unable to provide a secure reading of the artist’s signature so I’m posting the etchings and a close up of the signature below and if anyone recognises places or the artist we’d really love it if you could post a comment to let us know.

The etchings:

and the signature. 

Thanks for your comments, feedback and suggestions. Now for the real fun!

totally relate to this!!!

Before I begin, I got all excited thinking I had my first follower. All giddy and crap.

Turns out, I’m following myself? (What. The. Heck.) Does everyone automatically follow themselves? I’m confused. Oh well, I’ll figure out how it all works eventually. 

Anyway, back to the original topic. 

Does everyone have a morning routine? Something they have to do every single morning?

It’s kind of like a mini OCD. Because if you don’t do that one thing or something doesn’t go right it feels like the rest of your day can just went to Hell. 

I shall show you lovely people mine! Yaaaay! (Insert arrow pointing down)

1. I go to shut off my alarm at 5:10 A.M. (I have zero period p.e. Yeah, for all you Freshman, Sophomore  Juniors, do NOT fail p.e. It doesn’t make you look like a rebel or whatever. Just comes back to bite you in the ass your Senior year.)

2. Pet my kitty, whose name is Yuki, (From the anime Fruits Basket. I know, I know. I’m such a nerd.) until 5:20 A.M. 

3. Yuki meows and trots off to the bathroom we share together and eats his food while I do my business, brush my teeth, floss ect. (I’m one of those lucky souls who has their own bathroom.)

4. I go back to my bedroom to find clothes to wear for the day. 

5. Grab my IPod along with my ear buds and unplug my phone from it’s charger.

6. Go back to the bathroom, plug my earphones in and push the shuffle button. 

7. Plug in my straightener and wait for it to heat up, and in the mean time I brush my hair.

8. Then for 10 minutes or so, depending on how much my hair likes me that day, I methodically straighten it.

9. Usually it’s 6 or 6:10 A.M by this time so I grab my make-up back and go back to my room, (I leave my straightener on, because sometimes my hair in front gets re-wavy. Such a pain.) where I then begin to paint my face. 

10. By this time it’s 6:30, so I throw some shoes on, grab my class ring, slip on my saints bracelet and make a quick sandwich. 

And that’s about it! If any of these things go wrong, then I am Godzilla the rest of the day. Or the Hulk. They’re both awesome analogies. 

Tell me something that you have to do every morning yeah? 

            is all very well, but what

            about some action?

So the sums so far show us that we can probably make our dream trip come true. Hotels are booked but all still cancellable up to a couple of days before we’re due. Some things will need to be bought and paid for now so it’s time to reach for the card wallet and do the job in earnest.

Talking of cards reminds me that business cards were very big when I was there before. This is principally a holiday but we do have a production company that can operate anywhere so after a quick discussion we agree that a joint meishi would be a worthwhile investment. In one of the quickest searches ever up pops the excellently named Japanese business cards dot com. I approach them and a couple of others and their costs seem reasonable so I set about designing our card English one side, Japanese on the other. They translate them as well and send a proof. I asked a Japanese speaking contact to tell me what I, Dee and the company did from just the Japanese side and the translation was spot on. So here we go handing out meishi - with both hands of course as etiquette dictates – to all and sundry. As it’s a joint card maybe we should hold one corner each as we hand them over. The guide doesn’t cover that. Here’s what it looks like:

That’s one task ticked off on the ever-growing Japan Trip Checklist that we both add to all the time. My next tasks are to try to sort out car rental and to buy our Japan Rail Passes. The former still proves rather tricksy – huge charges for one-way rentals, confusion over actual vehicle sizes because they are all called something different but we will get there.

The rail pass on the contrary couldn’t be easier. Buying online or in person are both possible. I opted for online, completed my form, paid the fees and received confirmation of both order and despatch. That’s when the trouble started. The letter needed a signature on a particularly wet Saturday when we were out. Red card from the postman to collect it from the delivery office. After two visits at which I was told “it hasn’t come back from the walk yet” I began to worry that our passes might not reach us but they were sent recorded delivery so insurance would cover them wouldn’t it?

Third time proved lucky although the muddy, torn envelope didn’t inspire confidence – “our post bags all leak” said the postie at the delivery office. Quickly home and open it up to find two gloriously sunny folders each with an exchange voucher each that will get us our actual rail passes in Japan. It feels like we’re on holiday already as the snow blankets the UK again.   

So to car rental again. Given the different naming conventions of most vehicle manufacturers depending on the territory - who can forget the Mitsubishi Starion –  we have no real idea what we are being offered in the quotations and whether our luggage will fit. I’d love to be backpacking and not have the bother but it might be a bit more of a struggle than either of us can cope with. So there will be suitcases and they need to be concealed within the boot when we’re on the road. We set off armed with a tape measure and case dimensions to visit local Nissan and Mazda dealerships. We have a Toyota Prius and know that we can fit them in there should we be offered one. But Nissan Tiida and Mazda 3 or 5 seem to be the most popular classes of vehicle on offer.

Having spent a lot of time filming in dealerships it was with a certain degree of embarrassment that I enter first Ancaster and then T W White and Sons with the sole purpose of checking out boot sizes (trunks for our US readers). The staff couldn’t have been more polite when faced with this odd request. It seems we don’t have the equivalent of the Tiida in the UK but that the Note is the most likely equivalent. At Mazda however the policy of naming by numbers pays off and we confirm that the Mazda 3 – considerably more economical in fuel and beneficial to our budget than the 5 or the Tiida – will fit the bill. We have a long chat to a self confessed boy-racer who reckons even he gets good fuel economy so the scales tip in favour of Mazda. One final email to Mazda Car Rental, which incidentally will change its name to Times Car Rental before we arrive, to get a re-quote for the Hokkaido leg and car hire can be ticked off the list.

Now to get some currency, check in and off we go!

http://smokefree.gov/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/third-hand-smoke/AN01985

I moved some of the screws holding the timbers together so that they were in solid wood and added new screws where needed.  Then, I turned the soil over with my garden fork.  I raked the soil out flat and pulled it higher around the edges to keep water in the bed.  I added manure and raked it in, then added fertilizer and raked that in too.  This bed is larger than number two, so I used three pounds of 5-10-10 fertilizer instead of two.  Another difference is that this bed will have no landscape fabric and no trellis.  Now, it is ready to plant.

Other activities today included cleanup of raised beds number three and four.  Bed number three still has kale growing in it which we have been eating, so I’ll leave that in place as long as possible.  We found some carrots that we missed last fall in bed number four; surprisingly, they are edible.  Bed four also has some chard plants re-emerging, and I’ll move those and some onions to bed number one.

I had a great group of friends offer their helping hands to create, all of which are part of our photo shoot (Kandie Smith – MUA, Ashley Ward – photographer, Tony Krois – creative artist). I had no pictures or drawings for them to create from, just the idea that if a bird can do it… so can we! Our base for the nests was simple chicken wire. Our challenge was making it for a person, not a bird. My friend Tony came with a truck full of weeping willow, flowers, grass and twigs. The fresh flowers will be added just before the shoot. I had originally wanted 2 nests since we have 4 photographers and 13 models. Decided to just focus on one large one that could seat 2. The amount of twigs for one nest was incredible! It took 4 of us to move it off the beach into the back of the truck. To get it to arch up around the side we had to tie in rope, wire and bungee cords. It took piles and piles of twigs to make this nest. The picture you see with Kandie in the center is 3/4 done so you will have to check in soon to see the actual photo shoot pictures in the next couple of days to see the final nest.

I have been dreaming up this ‘nesting’ concept for about 9 months. Can’t believe that tomorrow this idea is coming to fruition.  I was so excited to create the woodsy parasol. If you visit our shop you will see my collection of vintage/antique parasols hanging from the ceiling. I needed a special one for this shot that was beyond usable. Thankfully my friend Connie up the street at The Cat’s Pajamas Antiques (you have to visit this shop if you are ever in the area)  found the perfect ‘needing some love’ parasol for me. The weather was a challenge along The Mighty Columbia this morning. Holding an umbrella with heavy winds makes it quite difficult to create a ‘woodsy’ look. At moments I felt like I should be singing the soundtrack from Mary Poppins! For easier creating, I attached it to a tree. I started with slits in the cotton along each spine then added curly willow with wire. Then came more twigs, moss and black, cotton material from the cut-out portions from the original parasol.  I am confident that it will look great in the pictures but not confident that it would protect from rain.

It is now 6:30 pm. I have 3 collars to make, one pair of gloves to bead and all the dresses to iron. Minor details…. posting for my group of 13 models, 4 photographers, 2 assistants, hair stylist and 2 make up artists all the final details of our Sunday that will start at 6:45 am. Bottom line…. I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people that embrace my crazy ideas AND that during our day of creating today, it only sprinkled twice!

Even with my whole-hearted endorsement, I had trouble with the $2400 price tag.  (They will last 25 plus years and improve the quality of life- these claims are true!).  The new model is very easy to use and has the highest quality air purification system available on the market today.   Still, I was impressed with my old model (from the 80′s) because the demonstrator could not pick up new dirt like in other demonstrations (I had vacuumed my floor two days earlier as grand baby was coming over to roll around on my carpet).  I am glad my house is that clean!!!!

Looking on Ebay, you can get an older model (similar to mine) with all the attachments with a five year warranty for around $500.  This is worth the cost, believe me!  The differences in the old model ($500) and the new model ($2400) is that the new model has a better wheel base with five wheels, the power nozzle has swivel capability and is lighter weight, the pieces are easier to put together (less pieces), and it has the most advanced air filtration system.  The one sold on Ebay by Great Vacs is refurbished and sure to do a great job as well.  Once you see the difference this product makes in cleaning, you will only want a Rainbow!  Especially if your baby’s home is prone to allergies or illness, you can’t beat the Rainbow Cleaning System!

http://rainbowsystem.com/?gclid=CLW4lY2Ct7YCFYI-MgodEUEAPw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rainbow-Canister-Bagless-Pet-SE-PN2-Vacuum-Cleaner-With-5-year-warranty-and-/360626903204?pt=US_Vacuum&hash=item53f709d8a4

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• Spring is in the Air… (rainbowofdsmblog.com)

On a trip to my favorite video store, a 4 DVD boxed set series called Special Kids caught my eye. This boxed set contains 8 shows. 2  30 minute shows per DVD. I was initially quite skeptical as to how a video would be able to help a child with special needs and decided to do more research.

After reading up on the videos, I discovered that the videos were made by an award winning writer who is also the father of a child with special needs.  I also learned that Special Kids speech and skill building video programs are being used in 30 countries and 500 US school systems.

Special Kids speech and skill building video programs have been demonstrated to help many visual learners acquire verbal, reading, writing, academic, motor, play, self-help, social and interactive skills.

Special Kids 30-minute programs utilize concept-to-language association, object-to language association, action-to-language association, labeling, sequencing, modeling and generalization .  These video methods  are now proven effective in numerous university and hospital sponsored studies of high-visual special needs audiences.

In the U.S. these videos are being sold from John Sprecher’s website for USD 29.95 (or Php 1221.96)  per video without taxes or shipping .  The whole set alone would cost you USD 239.6 (or Php 9775.68).  In the Philippines, the original boxed set would only cost you four hundred pesos (Php 400.00).  At 4% of the original USD price, this boxed set is a bargain.

Here are summaries of the videos included in the boxed set:

The Alphabet

Goals: Communications, Academics, Motor
Feature Running Time Approx 30 Minutes ” Color
**Available only in DVD**

You’ll Learn Everything From A to Z! How do we talk and write and read? We use words – and the 26 great letters of the alphabet are how we make them! Join John and learn everything from A to Z! Upper case letters. Lower case letters. How to say them. How to write them. And how letters take on meaning and become words! Speech, labeling, writing, reading, generalization and association to words.

Body Parts & Grooming

Goals: Self-Help, Communications, Social, Motor
Feature Running Time Approx 30 Minutes
**Available only in DVD**

Do you know how to wash your hands, brush your teeth and comb your hair? Join John and learn all about your body and how to keep it clean. From head to toe, you’ll see that boys and girls aren’t all that different as you learn to bathe, shower, wash hair, brush teeth, even trim nails! Speech, labeling, writing, reading, sequencing, modeling, generalization, and association to objects and actions.

Getting Ready

Goals: Self-Help, Communications, Motor, Social
Feature Running Time Approx 30 Minutes
**Available only in DVD**

It’s fun to get ready for the day. Do you know how to do it? Join John and get ready, get set and go! You’ll learn to care for yourself: how to bathe, shower, brush teeth and comb hair. Then you’ll learn how to dress yourself (and undress), with emphasis on tying, buckling, zipping and buttoning. Speech, labeling, writing, reading, sequencing, modeling, generalization, and association to objects and actions.

Things in a Day

Goals: Social, Communications, Play, Motor
Feature Running Time Approx 30 Minutes
**Available only in DVD**

There are lots of great things to enjoy every day, from family and friends, to food and fun! Join John and learn all about them. You’ll discover things around your house. You’ll learn important things: telling time, answering a telephone, buckling a seatbelt. Plus you’ll do lots of fun things, too. Speech, labeling, writing, reading, sequencing, modeling, generalization, and association to objects, actions and concepts.

A Day at School

Goals: Social, Communications, Motor, Play
Feature Running Time Approx 30 Minutes
**Available only in DVD**

What’s a typical day at school like? There’s a lot to do and it’s a lot of fun! Join John and learn the alphabet, numbers, spelling, reading and writing. You’ll sing a song, watch kids color pictures and play at recess. Plus you’ll learn how to behave…from getting on the bus, to sitting quietly, to raising your hand or waiting your turn. Speech, labeling, writing, reading, sequencing, modeling, generalization, and association to objects, actions and concepts.

Shapes & Colors

Goals: Communications, Early Academics, Play, Motor
Feature Running Time Approx 30 Minutes
**Available only in DVD**

The world is full of great shapes and beautiful colors! Join John and learn circles, squares, triangles, stars and more shapes, plus reds, greens, blues, yellows and more colors. Trace your favorite shapes! Color your favorite colors! Then show what you’ve learned by identifying each one. Speech, labeling, writing, reading, generalization and association to objects

Animals, Birds & Fish

Goals: Early Academics, Play, Motor
Feature Running Time Approx 30 Minutes
**Available only in DVD**

Dogs and birds make great pets, but not elephants or sharks or tigers! Join John and meet the many cool creatures that share our world inside our house, up in the air, sown on the farm, deep in the ocean or the jungle. Plus you’ll learn many animal sounds, from moos to meows! Speech, labeling, writing, reading, generalization and association to objects.

Spelling

Goals: Early Academics, Play, Motor
Feature Running Time Approx 30 Minutes
**Available only in DVD**

Words are our great friends and helpers – because when we use words, we communicate! Join John and learn how to spell an alphabet-full of wonderful words. You’ll read and write and say words, create sentences from words and discover how sentences make a story! Speech, labeling, writing, reading, generalization and association to objects.

Special Kids is the only video modeling therapy programs in the world specifically created and produced for children and teens with all types of developmental, cognitive and learning disabilities

Special Kids is available at all Astrovision/Astroplus branches. Please call branches for availability. As this is a sale item, stocks may be limited.

Astroplus SM North EDSA  9201531

Astroplus SM Makati 8182382

Astroplus SM Mall of Asia 5560080

Astroplus SM Megamall 6331707

Astrovision Ermita 5363228

Astrovision Festival Mall 8503978

So, a Bumbo is a floor seat made of low density foam, designed so a young baby can sit up without falling over.  It is really quite clever, and if used with common sense can be nice to have.  There was a recall to add a baby safety strap, because someone had the idea to set the baby in it on a counter unattended, and the baby fell out.  (Really????  You shouldn’t leave a baby unattended on a counter?  Who would have thunk it!)  At my house, we still go old-school: a laundry basket filled with blankets (or clean clothes for that matter).  The blankets can be adjusted based on baby’s wobble needs, and toys and books can join her in the basket.

Going old-school and loving it!

Another item you will see on the shopping list is the Boppy.  A Boppy is a pillow designed specifically for nursing mothers.  I would have loved this!  (I never could figure out how to nurse sitting up, so I always had to lie down on my side.  Even I could have nursed sitting up with a Boppy!)  They come with washable covers in assorted designs.

And now for Taggies- First, let me say that I love Taggies- most of the time.  Taggies was the creative idea of a mom who noticed her baby loved the feel of the soft satin tags on her baby items.  They started putting the colorful and soft Taggies tags on clothes (footie Taggies are great), blankets, and toys.  Babies do love to touch them, grab them, and suck on them.  The problem I have with Taggies occurred when my granddaughter received a Taggies blanket made with craft ribbon instead of satin sewing ribbon.  The ribbon was colorful, but the edges were stiff, and she scratched her face, leaving a big welt that lasted most of the day.  It was then that I noticed the blanket was made in China.  I tried to deal directly with the Taggies company, but instead of addressing the problem of using craft ribbon, they sent me free merchandise.  (That was not the point- and the items they sent had craft ribbon on them, so I didn’t use them).  So while Taggies CAN be great, check your product carefully to make sure the ribbons are soft and flexible before giving it to a young child (my baby was three months old when she scratched her face).

The puppy (Jasper) loves Taggies, too!

http://bumbo.com/

http://www.boppy.com/

http://www.kidsii.com/taggies/

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This is the only way to wash your face.

I know none of you was expecting to receive unsolicited beauty advice from a savant such as moi this fine Friday, but I decided my routine was one destined to be chronicled on the internet. No need to thank me, I live for public service.

Our story starts at seven in the morning. I wake with a start, thanks to my alarm, and descend from my lofted bed. This takes a couple minutes because I don’t really want to start off my morning with a five-foot fall and cracked skull. I then eat a bowl of cereal, which doesn’t make me more beautiful, but does make me less hungry – a very important step which is followed by the most important step, Entering the Bathroom.

Once I have turned the lights on and shut the door, I shuffle up to the counter and take a good, long look at my face. I move closer to the mirror to see if I look better from that perspective… nope, not the case. Oh god, that is even worse. But I stay there. I take it in, I accept it, and I proceed to wash my face. With a washcloth. Because any other method is impractical and messy. If nothing else, this makes my face more irritated than it already was which, in turn, makes me irritated, so I turn on some One Direction to brighten my mood. Sadly, this has proven to be very effective.

And this is where it gets exciting: moisturizer. I use Clinique’s Dramatically Different, because that’s what the lady at the counter told me to do, and one of my number one rules is “always listen to ladies at counters.” Anyway, once my face is looking not-so-dramatically-different, I whip out my newly-purchased Neutrogena Skin-Clearing concealer, which is proof that magic is real. I apply this quite liberally and then smirk at my reflection because, let’s be honest, it’s kind of amusing at this point. But then I get down to business with my Nars Sheer Glow foundation, trying to pour a little bit on the back of my hand and usually getting way more than I want. Then I fret over how I’ll be wasting a little bit of that ridiculously expensive skin-colored liquid while blending some of  it onto my face with a brush, which is fun because it’s like painting.

By now, I am feeling much better, so putting on blush is easy for the most part. Sidenote: do keep in mind that between each step of this sacred routine, there is a solid minute of me staring at myself in the mirror to survey my progress. Okay, now it’s time to fill in my eyebrows and curl my eyelashes, which is stupid and dangerous but depressingly necessary. Sometimes I swipe on a little eyeliner, and every time I do this – without fail – I chastise myself for buying eyeliner with glitter in it. I dust some eyeshadow on my lids, keeping it very simple because I don’t trust myself with eye makeup symmetry, and rightly so. Oh, now we have come to my favorite part – mascara. Mascara is so fun! Except when you stab yourself in the eye with the wand, but that rarely happens. I’ll admit I have sort of an unhealthy obsession with my mascara (Tarte’s Lights, Camera, Lashes), but that’s a problem for another day.

Oops, I almost forgot I have hair on my head. It never does what I want anyway, so I usually just flip my hair the bird and suffocate it with a hat.

And there you are, dearest readers. My frustration-filled beauty routine. If you are interested in ACTUAL beauty advice, I’d recommend you go here, here, here, or here. They are some of my favorites.

Happy Friday!

Me and my Bernina in a sea of tulle

It has been a crazy week of making underskirts which means lots… and lots of tulle. I have been modifying square dancing skirts. Not an easy task! I decided to measure the length of one layer as I removed the lace from the original bottom layer, to then sew back on the lace to the new lower portion. Any guesses as to how many yards I had to remove and then put back? Guess higher… and guess higher again…. 38 yards! I have a new appreciation for these skirts and when I see one for less than $50, I will know that it is a deal. I ended up modifying 3 underskirts this week. I was sitting in a sea of tulle for what seemed an eternity.

I have been busy beading, starching and gluing feather to make some fun whimsical collars for our ‘Nesting’ photo shoot and glovelets. The gloves are truly a labor of love as I hand sew on each pearl and bead. For those of you who like vintage gloves, you know that to find a pair of gloves that fits the modern ladies hand can be considered a miracle. As I find gloves in good condition, but to small, I remove the fingers, add vintage lace and beading to make a custom pair of glovelets. They sell faster than I can make them. I suppose this is a good problem. With wedding season right around the corner, I predict that they will be gone pretty quickly. The ones in this particular picture are my favorite pair to date. The vintage lace was hand crocheted and the pearls came from a broken necklace. All of which were hand sewn. Again, labor of love. I have completed  13 pairs with one set to tea dye and bead and one set to just bead. Guess what I am doing while working at the shop tomorrow?

For being a person who was never really into theatre productions, I have to say that I am drawn to going this direction with accessories. I love the drama and theatrics of Queen Elizabeth’s clothing and accessories. I have been having fun using extra pieces of vintage lace and jewelry to make these collars. Throw in some feather and we have a collar fit for a Queen… of birds that is. I have two completed with a few more started. Who needs to sleep!

Can’t wait for you to see the final ‘look’ from our photo shoot in 3 days. Weather prediction is rain for the next seven and I am praying for a miracle. Taffeta and feather don’t do so well in the rain. Saturday is our day to make 2 human size bird nests and a woodsy parasol. So thankful for friends who like to share in my crazy ideas. Talk to you Saturday night!

All in all, it is going as planned, but not as I had expected. When I had a similar procedure done 15 years ago, I was in a short leg cast for 6 weeks and on crutches the whole time. Luckily, things have progressed since that time. The surgeon said that I’d be able to heel walk in a boot (and ditch the crutches) as soon as I was comfortable doing so. In my mind, this would be a few days to maybe a week or so post-op. I’ve always rebounded pretty quickly from surgery and really thought this would be similar. Whoa, was I wrong! My little piggy is tired and sore! Not really pain, but rather an intense itching, stretching, pulling kind of sensation. The only place I am truly comfortable is lying in bed with my foot up and an icepack on it. When I had my back fixed, after the first 24 hours, I only needed to take pain pills every once in a while – like 2 or 3 in my whole 8 week recovery. This, in contrast, still needs consistent medication even 10 days later! But, I guess part of it is aging too – I’m a few years older than when my back was done and it was a relief to get it taken care of – this is different because it only hurt when I walked.

C and the kids have been awesome – waiting on me hand and foot, coming in to bed for our morning snuggles, and making sure everyone is “calm” when my foot is out of the boot. I couldn’t ask for a more loving or caring family. Yet, being wounded is a lesson in humility – I can’t shower on my own, need to have someone bring in my plate of dinner, and retrieve my morning coffee for me. Today was the first day I drove – and had a little sense of giddiness as I was able to take the kids to school. Really, it is the simple things that are most difficult. I haven’t been able to help make dinner, clean up, do laundry, pick up the kids from school, etc. and feel so helpless. These are the foundations of my daily activities and all I can do now is aimlessly wander the internet.

We are going to the Galapagos!

Now, for some happier news, we’ve found a place on the Galapagos to spend a month! Going to the Galapagos is a lifetime dream of mine – other than perhaps safari in Africa, I can’t think of another place that I have always wanted to visit. Initially we were considering doing a boat tour, but these are very pricey ($2,000-5,000 per person!) and we have a daughter who is very prone to motion illness – making it less-than-optimal. We decided to pull the trigger and were almost ready to book, when I came across an article which suggested, “why not spend a whole month if you have the time?”. Well, guess what, time is what we have! So, with a little poking around we were able to secure a 2 bedroom flat on the main island for substantially less than what it would have cost for even one of us to do the cheapest boat tour! We will do some day tours and short hops to the other islands from our home base, but will spend more time getting to know the ecosystems, ecology and issues rather than cruising from island to island and spending less than a half day in each location. We are all VERY excited – a month on the Galapagos – pinch me!

Things to buy:  Have your parents-to-be window shop at a baby store (such as BabiesRUs) and write down brand names of things they want so that you know what you are looking for!  A deal is only a deal if it is something that you actually want.  (They can register as well and get a discount on things you can’t find at yard sales).  There will be things on the list like a Bumbo and a Boppy, and if you are like me, you’ll ask, “What the heck is a Bumbo?”  (That’s tomorrow’s post!)  Baby clothes at yard sales are usually $1.00 for an outfit.  Ebay and baby consignment stores will have clothes for $5.00.

Things not to buy used: It is recommended not to buy cribs, mattresses, car seats, or baby shoes used.  Cribs, because there have been so many recalls that you want the newest design.  Mattresses for obvious reasons.  Car seats, because safety measures are continually improved, and a new seat will provide the most updated safety for baby.  (I remember when infant car seats first came out, when my daughter was born, and hospitals would give them out for free, trying to convince parents to use them  Both her older brothers came home from the hospital in my arms in the front seat.  Glad my granddaughter is safer than that!)  Finally, no used baby shoes, because each baby’s feet develops differently, and shoes mold to their first owner.

Have fun!  You are on a mission to find as many things on the parents’ list as you can!  It is like a treasure hunt!

http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2010/02/08/dangers-of-third-hand-smoke/