Utah Or Bust!

So we leave for Utah in the morning and I am thrilled. We are waking up at 4AM and planing on leaving the house at 5PM. We are going to go visit my grandma and I know it will be a nice visit. I am just a little bit bummed about all the things we will be missing here. Jason's work party at the Aerospace Museum, the Premise party in the East Village and my old roommate is down from Portland for her 30th birthday party. All of these things are happening on the same night so I don't even know how I would be able to go to all but I am sad I am missing them. I made a pecan pie and I have some butter balls in the oven to take to my Grandma. She never eats anything homemade so I hope she enjoys the treats. I am off roll my balls in sugar and go to bed.

30 days

I am thinking about eating a vegan diet for the month of January. I just want to see if my body feels different on it. I am not 100% sure I am going to do it but I already cook a lot of vegan meals and I can bake vegan treats so I don't think 30 days will be that hard.

Jiffy Lube is lame

I posted a week ago about my experience with trying to get an oil change at Jiffy Lube. They told me that the place where the oil goes needed to be flushed because if they just fill it with new oil, the oil would turn black right away. They also told me that I needed a new air filter and that there was a pinging in the engine. When they told me this I told them that I would just take it to my mechanic and the guy said that my mechanic would say the same thing. He was wrong about all three things. My mechanic, dad of wannabe hippie said that the oil and air filter looked great and that there was no pinging. He did say that I needed new front tires but I new that so, my car is fine but I had to spend $42 to find that out. I will never go to a Jiffy Lube again.

fake or real?

Should we buy a fake or real holiday tree this year?

mushroom

I made this shirt two weeks ago but just got around to making a skirt. Liesl was shouting "no" when I was trying to take a picture but I thought she looked cute in the outfit.

fun night

I had a good time at my friend Lorien's birthday party. The karaoke machine was a hit and we had a lot of fun. I was tired by the time I got home and Jason let me sleep in this morning. We went over to the Golden Hill Cafe for breakfast and that is about it. Jason wanted time to work on his project so I am in charge of the kids right now. They are sleeping at the moment so it has been relaxing. I went to Rosie's yesterday with my sister to buy some wool felt and more fabric. They did not have that many different colors but I am excited to use it since it feels really nice. I can't wait for my AA order to come in and make some more shirts.

Winter Garden

We had a great time last night at the Linkery, Red Fox Room and Livewire. It was a very nice 4th anniversary celebration.
Today we got up and went to my parent's house to help plant a winter garden. The kids had fun and played with their cousins really well.

misc.

We went to the park today and met up with a few people from playgroup. After the park we went to my parent's house for a little while. The kids had so much fun playing with each other and my brother spent a good hour playing with them. Liesl was having so much fun playing in the sand she threw a huge fit when we had to leave. Jason just took his mother to the airport and we are going to go out to dinner later for our anniversary.

Thanks Martha!

I was a little stressed about cooking a good turkey today since I don't cook meat that often and I am definitly not that good at it. I followed a recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine for herb butter turkey and it turned out great.

I also made the garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry chutney, mushroom stuffing and gravy from the recipes in Everyday Food. It was all so good and everyone loved it so that made me feel good. My Mom and Dad just hung out with my MIL and Jason while my sisters and BIL were in the kitchen cooking. My kitchen did not feel too small and we all worked well together so it was a lot of fun. My dad brought a large folding table so we were all able to sit and eat together. Porter and Liesl fell asleep right before we ate so I was a little sad that they did not get to enjoy dinner with us but it was also relaxing to not have to tend to them. When we sat down for dinner Shauna gave each of us two kernels of corn and we said what we were thankful for and put them in the jar. Amelia said she was thankful for the cats and dogs and Henry said he was thankful for bird seeds. Shauna picked up some english peas at the farmers market by her house so the kids had fun shelling them.

4 years

Today is our 4 year wedding anniversary and I get to make my first turkey.

day 21

Jason, MIL and the kids just left to go to the Zoo so I could clean the house and start prepping for tomorrow. I should probably be doing that right now and this later but I find when I put it off until the evening it does not happen as regularly. Liesl woke up crying and cried all morning I just wanted to throw her into the wall. She cries when I pick her up and she cried when I put her down. Can a 20 month old have colic?
I made some cinnamon biscuts from my Mosewood New Classics cook book this morning and they turned out okay. I made the Black Bean and Sweet Potato Hash from the same cookbook last night and it turned out really good. I kind of had to make Porter eat it by feeding it to him but he liked it. Porter would eat his favorite soup for lunch and dinner everyday if I let him. I was out of green lentils the other day so I made it with red lentils and it did not turn out very well. Porter's favorite soup is lentils, macaroni, carrots, onion, kale and potato. I flavor it with Better than Bullion or miso depending on what I feel like. Liesl loves it too so I don't know why I call it Porter's favorite soup, maybe because that it what he started calling it. Anyway, I have rambled on long enough about nothing important and I should get to work.
An old friend of Jason's and his family are going to come over at 6 so that should be fun.

crazy kids

I was standing at the kitchen sink this morning washing dishes and Liesl came up to my crying and started pulling at my leg. I looked at her and told her that I could not take another day of her crying. I felt bad after I said it even though she probably did not understand what I was saying. My kids decided yesterday that it was crazy/screaming/whining/crying day and I just could not take another day of it. Jason is off work and his Mom is here so the kids have been happy to have the extra attention. I went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods today and I am almost positive I got everything I needed. My Mom called me right before I went to Whole Foods to tell me there was no parking. I went in another way and this lady was leaving so I waited but, she took forever to back out and a huge line of cars backed up behind me and they started honking. I got out of my car and started shouting at them and this one lady was cussing and yelling at me and said she was going to call the cops if I did not move. I got back in my car and put it in reverse and hit the lady in back of me, this made her even more mad it was really funny to see. Anyway, I am just joking I would never do that but it would be funny if I did.

deep sleep

I was in a really deep sleep this morning when my mom called to tell me that Letty the cleaning lady was not going to come. I should be cleaning the house right now because my MIL is arriving late tonight but I am being lazy. Nothing to say, maybe later.

Walk The Mommy

Liesl has this this new thing where she will walk me to where she would like to be. She turned 20 months and forgot how to walk by herself so it has been fun but a little frustrating and she has started crying when I leave the house. It makes me feel sad sometimes but I know a little crying in her Daddy's arms is not going to scar her for life.
Today I had a craft fair at my house and it was a lot of fun but there are three things that really made me mad. I can't say what they are because you know I don't want to start any shit so I will just gripe to my Mom and Jason about it. Now you are all wondering what they are and I am sorry. I will say that I am pretty sure I am never going to have one at my house again. Maybe I have inspired someone else to have one at their house?

mexanan resternaut

Today we went to Bird Park and then to Picantes the Mexican restaurant up the street from us. Porter has been asking to go to the "mexanan resternaut by Bird Park" for the last week so we decided to go.
I am going to go on a bike ride with my friends tonight and Jason is going Downtown to celebrate our friends birthday.

Hair

Six months to a year ago Porter asked me why I have hair on my body and I told him that when he grows up he will have hair on his body too. This has turned into a weekly topic in our house about how he does not want to grow up because he does not want hair on his body. One time Jason told him that he could shave it off if he wanted too so that is something else he thinks about. When Porter starts talking about it I always tell him that it is not going to happen for a long time and that he does not need to worry about it. Today on our way home from school he was talking about being 4 on his next birthday and then he said he did not want to turn 5 and get hair on his body. I told him that it was not going to happen for a long time and told him when he was 15 he would get hair and he started to get upset and said he did not want to get older. I told him that if he did not have anymore birthdays then he would not get anymore birthday cake or presents so that calmed him down. I just don't know if I should have told him something else but I don't know what you are supposed to tell a child about body hair?

Red Rover Red Rover

Thanks Lilymania for the call!

Rules:
1- Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2- Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
3- Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4- Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 random or weird things

1. I have a tattoo of a shrunken head
2. I used to think I was ugly until I was about 19. I thought my mom had to tell me I was pretty because she was my mom.
3. I avoid conflict like the plague.
4. I used to wear my Converse one shoe size smaller because I thought my size made my feet look too big.
5. I know all the words to the song "Part Of Your World" from The Little Mermaid.
6. I want to be an eccentric old lady when I grow up.
7. I love spontaneous Holford dance parties.

7 semi random tags go out to

117Hudson, anotherchancetogetitright, erinnewmanlong, streaksonthechina, notthemama,veganmomma,wilsonsilverleaf

more owls

I have been a little obsessed with owls lately. I am not that into the blue owl so I might take it out and do something else.

Oil

I had this feeling today that I might need an oil change when I was driving home from Porter's school. I went a different way and drove down a hill and my oil light went on for a second. I went home to let Liesl nap then I went to Jiffy Lube for an oil change. They tried to get me to buy the high mileage package and I said no just the basic oil change. About 10 minutes later the service man wanted to show me the dip stick and that there was no oil in the car and started talking about how bad it is for the car and that I needed to have it flushed out and all this crap. The kids were a little out of control so I just told him to do the oil change and I would take it to my mechanic later. 5 minutes later the kids were running around this dirty corner of the parking lot and the service guy comes up to me again with the air filter in his hand and tried to convince me to replace it. I was a little mean but I was frustrated and just wanted to get out of there so I said "no I just want my oil changed" in a really annoyed voice and I felt kind of bad. Anyway, I got out of there but my car is still in need of some work. It has started pinging.

twins

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meat

I went to The Lnkery for dinner last night with Sara and Ticey. I ordered the two sausage links plate and ate it all, it was so tasty. Sara, my fish only eating friend had a bite of the organic chicken link and loved it. I usual only eat meat once or twice a month but for some reason I have ate so much meat in the last week. It started earlier in the week when I was going to make some veggie chili with fake meat. I am really trying to not but a lot of processed food and I was thinking about what is really better for me. Do I buy fake meat with all the crap they do to it to make it look and taste like ground meat or do I buy some organic ground turkey? I bought the turkey and the chili was really good. Friday my Dad asked me to make some chicken soup so I did and I made myself a chicken sandwich with some of the extra chicken. Friday night at Urban Solace we had chicken and dumplings and then last night the sausages. I think I need to go on a meat detox for the next week of two.

last night

Jason and I went to Urban Solace for dinner and had a great meal. After that we went to the Turf Club to meet up with our friend Josh and his friend who was visiting from Texas. It was a fun night!

owl or pocket

Does this skirt need an owl or a pocket?

OWL

I made an owl hair clip and I am almost done with an owl shirt to sell or trade at the craft fair next weekend at my house. I am excited to see what everyone brings and buy some cool holiday presents.

Circus Class

We went to try out circus class again today. The last time we went was in August and Porter was a little out of hand and did not do that well. Now that he has been in school and knows how a class works I thought we could give it another try. Porter has talked about circus class and about going again, on and off since we went so he was excited to go today. Porter was not that into doing forward rolls but he did have fun running around and jumping on the platforms. I had Liesl in a gym class that just ended today so she is used to a lot of the exercises and wanted to join in on the class. Liesl had a lot of fun and Oli was being really cute helping her off the platforms. The teacher was helping Liesl do a forward roll and said that she was really flexible and could be a contortionist. After class the teacher asked if she could test Liesl's flexibility and she stretched her into all these positions. The teacher said that only 2% of the population are born with good flexibility. Jason is double jointed and really flexible so I was not that surprised that Liesl is too. Anyway, Porter did really well in school today and I had a good day for the most part.

boring and bad

I was talking to Jason the other day and I was wondering if anyone other than people that I know will read this blog. I am not a good writer and I really don't think my life is that interesting to read. Jason said that you don't have to be a good writer you just have to wright about interesting things or you can be a good writer and wright about boring things. Anyway, I am just boring and bad.

Today we went to a park that I don't really like but Porter and Liesl had a lot of fun. I was feeling really bad with cramps but I took some ibuprofen and was better. I was going to go buy a birthday resent and pick up some wool felt today but a friend stopped by for a while and that was fun.

wrap up

Saturday morning my mom and dad said they were going to come over to help us trim a tree. We have to take the help when they offer because it may be months before they offer again. They are really busy with their own home remodel project so we are very grateful for the help. We were just going to trim the tree to get it out of the wires but then my Dad convinced Jason that we should just remove it.
Before

After


When we were done with the yard work we went over to my parent's house to celebrate my brother and sister's birthday. Shauna was down from LA so the kids had a great time playing with their cousins. Liesl gets so excited to see Miranda it is really cute and sad that they don't get to see each other more often. There was a lot of alcohol consumed by all and we had a fun time.



Today I basically stayed in bed until 1 sleeping and trying to feel better. We went to baby Loves Disco in the afternoon and it was fun. Liesl had fun dancing and Porter had fun too but it took him a while to get into it.

goat milk

I don't have much time right now so I am just going to list some things so I don't forget.

massive tree romoval
party at my parent's house until 2AM Drunk Natalie did not show up but Trashed Natalie was there dancing on the bar in a mini skirt. I will post photos later.

Spent this morning in bed and did not get in the shower until 1PM.

Baby Loves Disco

cramps again

I seriously want to die right now this feels like labor. I had two periods with little pain when I was taking the herbs but my problem was supposed to be solved. Right now I just want to go to a Dr. and get a prescription for some drugs so I don't have to deal with this anymore. I felt the cramps coming on and I was waiting to see if they would go away but I had plans to go out so I took one Ibuprofen. I met my friend at her house and I just wanted to throw up I was in so much pain. We went to dinner anyway and I felt a little better after I ate but I just came home afterwards. This sucks. I don't know if I should go see the herbalist or try something else. Kombucha is supposed to help but I drink it almost everyday so I don't know about that. WHat else can I do other than have a hysterectomy?

8 minutes left

Okay I am going to follow Lorien and try to blog once a day for a month.
Today Porter rode his bike to the park like he does a few time a week. We kind of have a routine where we ride to the park, play at the playground and then go see if the velodrome is open. There was a cross country meet going on today and they run on the sidewalks and the trails. Porter was ahead of me and when I came around the bend I saw this lady pushing him off the sidewalk onto the grass. When he saw me he started crying and the lady said he is upset because she moved him. I just went and comforted him while my friend Kim talked to the lady. The runners were on the walkway where Porter was riding and she said 5 people told him to move and he did not listen. She said she had three kids and they all listen and he should listen. Kim told her that he is three years and what do you expect him to do it is a walkway. I was pretty upset and felt really bad for Porter. I told him that she was a bad lady and to run her over the next time. I then felt bad for saying that so I told him that she was just not nice and that we would stay away from her. When we were riding back home we had to go past all of the runners and parents because the set up right by the playground and Porter just wanted to ride slow right next to me. That was the drama for the day.