Photo taken by Josie!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tidbits from Irvine
Poor Go, home all alone. Here is what you missed today:
The girls running around in the sprinklers this morning and having a blasty blast.
This was one of the few times May wasn't using the sprinkler as a bidet. 
Olive offering her foot to Papa's scratchy face.
Olive offering her foot to Papa's scratchy face.
This was always followed by copious amounts of belly laughs.
By both of them.
I found this gem in my dad's office today.
I laughed for like 10 minutes.
Me.
Me.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Saturday
iPhone pic, doesn't my new SIL look beautiful? I'll go ahead and
answer for you. Yes.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
This is for my haircut-skeptical husband
new wavy air-dried hair. It takes a lot of focus, as you can see.
Mostly because my hands are shaking from excitement as I'm about to
attend the long awaited sealing of Harry and Sarah. That, or my Dad
drives like a maniac.
Hallelujah!
to a new cut but that doesn't mean I don't love it--i totally do. I'm
particularly excited about the low maintenance factor. This has been
flat ironed the heck out of which Natalie is oh so good at but she
also gave me some tips on how to style it messy, which I'm really
looking forward to. Natalie, you are a doll, a peach, a smarty
pants, a Twilight fanatic and I forgive you for that, and the best
stylist and buddy a girl could hope for. After being in such a
transiant position and being surrounded by other transiants, I've
realized more and more how seldom I find people who truly get me. But
you do. You always have and I love that you still do after all these
years. I wish you were my next door neighbor. Even though PA would
seriously drive you insane, I don't even care, I'm selfish like that.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
A.D.D.
I have like a gazillion other things I should be doing but I couldn't leave town without putting up some samples from the shoots I've done in the past couple of months.
Skeleton Boy
I meant to post this video a long time ago...but then I had a baby.
This video is rad. Such a good idea. We watch this all the time at our house. We particularly like 1:20 through 2:00, even though it is well after that you get the full vision of the video. I think it would be really fun to make music videos. It's a shame they're a dying art.
This video is rad. Such a good idea. We watch this all the time at our house. We particularly like 1:20 through 2:00, even though it is well after that you get the full vision of the video. I think it would be really fun to make music videos. It's a shame they're a dying art.
Brandon the Monkey
May: Mom, Brandon is coming with us to the gym.
Annie: You mean Daddy?
May: (looks at me like I'm an idiot) No. Not Daddy. Brandon.
Annie: Who's Brandon?
May: My monkey.
Annie: You named him after Daddy?
May: No! He's not Go. He's Brandon!
Apparently she has no clue what her father's given name is.
Annie: You mean Daddy?
May: (looks at me like I'm an idiot) No. Not Daddy. Brandon.
Annie: Who's Brandon?
May: My monkey.
Annie: You named him after Daddy?
May: No! He's not Go. He's Brandon!
Apparently she has no clue what her father's given name is.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Things That Are Hopping Around in My Brain Rendering Me Sleepless
1. All the crap I have to get done in the next 3 days.
2. I really like Mos Def. He is one cool cat.
3. I can tell that Conan O'Brien really likes saying Sonia
Sotomayor's name.
4. I had to let Olive cry for awhile tonight because as much as she
would like it to be, 1 in the morning is not the time for playing and
smiling and face-grabbing and face-sucking and kicking and laughing
and wriggling; she finally fell asleep about 30 minutes ago but I keep
thinking that I'm hearing her cry--but she's not. It's just my brain
making junk up.
5. My father-in-law said to me once that he hoped that heaven would
be a big, comfortable room with shelves filled with books from his
favorite authors. At the time, I thought that sounded pretty good. It
still sounds great. But how about this idea? All of your children,
you get to hold them and have them at whatever age you wanted, all the
time. I'd like that. Actually, while watching the Gilmore Girls season
finale, I saw what heaven would be like I think: when Rorie is led
through the rain and gets inside the tent and everyone from Stars
Hollow is there, smiling and clapping and shouting that they love her
and how proud of her they are. The camera scans all the faces of the
townspeople and they're all jam packed in there under that tent Luke
made. Everytime I've watched that scene, I've cried and thought
"Thats what it's going to be like." I think I get emotional because I
insert people from my own life underneath that tent. Ok, maybe I
wouldn't mind if Kirk was there too. Or Lane. Zach and Brian could
stay, too but Taylor can take a hike. He's not invited to my heaven-
tent. And yes, I am so very lame for having thoughts like these and
then actually blogging them. I really shouldn't blog at 2:30 in the
morning. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm actually going to post this.
Good night.
2. I really like Mos Def. He is one cool cat.
3. I can tell that Conan O'Brien really likes saying Sonia
Sotomayor's name.
4. I had to let Olive cry for awhile tonight because as much as she
would like it to be, 1 in the morning is not the time for playing and
smiling and face-grabbing and face-sucking and kicking and laughing
and wriggling; she finally fell asleep about 30 minutes ago but I keep
thinking that I'm hearing her cry--but she's not. It's just my brain
making junk up.
5. My father-in-law said to me once that he hoped that heaven would
be a big, comfortable room with shelves filled with books from his
favorite authors. At the time, I thought that sounded pretty good. It
still sounds great. But how about this idea? All of your children,
you get to hold them and have them at whatever age you wanted, all the
time. I'd like that. Actually, while watching the Gilmore Girls season
finale, I saw what heaven would be like I think: when Rorie is led
through the rain and gets inside the tent and everyone from Stars
Hollow is there, smiling and clapping and shouting that they love her
and how proud of her they are. The camera scans all the faces of the
townspeople and they're all jam packed in there under that tent Luke
made. Everytime I've watched that scene, I've cried and thought
"Thats what it's going to be like." I think I get emotional because I
insert people from my own life underneath that tent. Ok, maybe I
wouldn't mind if Kirk was there too. Or Lane. Zach and Brian could
stay, too but Taylor can take a hike. He's not invited to my heaven-
tent. And yes, I am so very lame for having thoughts like these and
then actually blogging them. I really shouldn't blog at 2:30 in the
morning. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm actually going to post this.
Good night.
Sent from my iPhone
Monday, July 20, 2009
Gah!
I have SO MUCH to do before I leave, it's crazy.
I have nothing else to say. I'll just leave you with the picture I showed Ruby when she asked what type of dog we'll have someday.
Aw. Right now this Boxer puppy is reminding me of Olive. Why do baby animals always remind me of my own babies? This only happens when I have an child under the age of one. Does this happen to anyone else? Weird.
I have nothing else to say. I'll just leave you with the picture I showed Ruby when she asked what type of dog we'll have someday.
Aw. Right now this Boxer puppy is reminding me of Olive. Why do baby animals always remind me of my own babies? This only happens when I have an child under the age of one. Does this happen to anyone else? Weird.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Open to suggestions
I want to take a good book to read on my trip. Something great.
Nothing lame. Nothing stuffy. Nothing poorly written. Something well
written. Something with well developed characters and an interesting
plot. Something you think about days after you finish reading it; you
miss the characters like old friends. I am yearning for a book like
this.
Nothing lame. Nothing stuffy. Nothing poorly written. Something well
written. Something with well developed characters and an interesting
plot. Something you think about days after you finish reading it; you
miss the characters like old friends. I am yearning for a book like
this.
To get an idea of what I'm talking about, here are some books I've
loved:
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Peace Like a River
The Kite Runner
Shadow of the Wind
I'd love any suggestions. And hurry!
Sent from my iPhone
Friday, July 17, 2009
This is Mainly for You, NatD
Dear Natalie,
You are the bomb dot com, org, net, gov, edu.
I can't wait to sit in your chair and gab it up while you restore my hairs. Because you are basically a rock star, a rock star since I've known and loved since like middle school, this makes me excited. It will be well needed fun after flying across the country with my raccoons all by my little self. I am already resigned to the fact that at least 5 strangers will see my boobs after I try nursing Olive in those tiny, squashed together airplane seats. Can't wait!
Awhile back, you asked me to send to pictures of how I would like my hair. Instead of clogging your inbox, I thought I would clog my blog.
This is how I got my hairs cut the last time I got them cut. I was growing out my bangs or fringe, as it were, so it was a good style for me. This was also a fitting style for my hair type.
It was a very sleek and polished cut. Though cute, it wasn't me. I am not a sleek and polished girl. On the rare occasion that I look put-together and polished, I feel like I do when I wear lipstick, which is a liar. I'm pretty disheveled most of the time but I feel it works for me and am comfortable that way.
Let's try to figuratively capitalize on this fact.
I present to you Alexa Chung. I like her. You probably do, too. And not just because she is 50% Chinese and you are 100% Chinese, but because she is cool, as are you. She pulls off looking shleppy yet stylish and cute all at the same time. At this point of my life, this is what I aspire to. I've got the shlep part down so far. Working on the style portion. Cute?...that's where you come in, my dearie.
I like how her hair looks like she slept on it or simply air dried it. This would fit into my lifestyle perfectly. Would my hair do this? It has a sliiiiiight wave to it when it's air dried and when I go to bed with it wet, but not this much. I'm wondering if razored layers would help achieve this look? Or some sort of product? Or is this like trying to pass a bill to put diet root beer in all of the drinking fountains instead of water? Was a curling iron or some other sort of heating device involved with this particular style? I hope not because I would rather not have my children see me throw a hissy fit and send styling products and devices careening into walls and crashing through windows.
I like it. But I think I want bangs again. Excuse me, fringe. Maybe. I can't decide. And blonde of course. I also would definitely go with a side part, not a middle because I'd rather not have my nose looking like the size of an RV, thank you.
I'd like to be able to grow it out to look like this, but again, my hair might be too straight to do this without much effort:
Oh, and if you could make my body look like her's while you're at it, that'd be really fantastic.
Also, it would be nice if I didn't end up looking like this:
Your pal,
Annie
P.S. - I can't get this peacock headband I've been working on to not look ridiculous. I feel like a failure. I really wanted to do this for you. I'm losing faith.
P.S.S. - The outfit you sent Olive was seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen. I've become THE WORST thank-you-card sender-outter in the past couple of years, which also makes me feel like a failure...could this be why I want a sloppy hair cut and not a sleek, presentable one? Hm...so much pyschology behind styling...
P.S.S.S - Every time I hear Skee Lo's I Wish or eat a Reisen, I think of you.
You are the bomb dot com, org, net, gov, edu.
I can't wait to sit in your chair and gab it up while you restore my hairs. Because you are basically a rock star, a rock star since I've known and loved since like middle school, this makes me excited. It will be well needed fun after flying across the country with my raccoons all by my little self. I am already resigned to the fact that at least 5 strangers will see my boobs after I try nursing Olive in those tiny, squashed together airplane seats. Can't wait!
Awhile back, you asked me to send to pictures of how I would like my hair. Instead of clogging your inbox, I thought I would clog my blog.
This is how I got my hairs cut the last time I got them cut. I was growing out my bangs or fringe, as it were, so it was a good style for me. This was also a fitting style for my hair type.
It was a very sleek and polished cut. Though cute, it wasn't me. I am not a sleek and polished girl. On the rare occasion that I look put-together and polished, I feel like I do when I wear lipstick, which is a liar. I'm pretty disheveled most of the time but I feel it works for me and am comfortable that way.Let's try to figuratively capitalize on this fact.
I present to you Alexa Chung. I like her. You probably do, too. And not just because she is 50% Chinese and you are 100% Chinese, but because she is cool, as are you. She pulls off looking shleppy yet stylish and cute all at the same time. At this point of my life, this is what I aspire to. I've got the shlep part down so far. Working on the style portion. Cute?...that's where you come in, my dearie.
I like how her hair looks like she slept on it or simply air dried it. This would fit into my lifestyle perfectly. Would my hair do this? It has a sliiiiiight wave to it when it's air dried and when I go to bed with it wet, but not this much. I'm wondering if razored layers would help achieve this look? Or some sort of product? Or is this like trying to pass a bill to put diet root beer in all of the drinking fountains instead of water? Was a curling iron or some other sort of heating device involved with this particular style? I hope not because I would rather not have my children see me throw a hissy fit and send styling products and devices careening into walls and crashing through windows.I like it. But I think I want bangs again. Excuse me, fringe. Maybe. I can't decide. And blonde of course. I also would definitely go with a side part, not a middle because I'd rather not have my nose looking like the size of an RV, thank you.
I'd like to be able to grow it out to look like this, but again, my hair might be too straight to do this without much effort:
Oh, and if you could make my body look like her's while you're at it, that'd be really fantastic.Also, it would be nice if I didn't end up looking like this:
Your pal,Annie
P.S. - I can't get this peacock headband I've been working on to not look ridiculous. I feel like a failure. I really wanted to do this for you. I'm losing faith.
P.S.S. - The outfit you sent Olive was seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen. I've become THE WORST thank-you-card sender-outter in the past couple of years, which also makes me feel like a failure...could this be why I want a sloppy hair cut and not a sleek, presentable one? Hm...so much pyschology behind styling...
P.S.S.S - Every time I hear Skee Lo's I Wish or eat a Reisen, I think of you.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
And I Felt Like a Fool
Today at the grocery store, this lady sidled up beside us and started commenting on my girls--how cute they were! Look at those blue eyes! And all that curly blonde hair! And so well behaved! She completely won me over. We small talked while I picked out produce and she surprised me when she said "I can tell you're someone special." Well, yes. Oooobviously. When someone is grocery shopping all sweaty and wearing spandex cycling pants with a padded crotch, of course they're special. Like Don't-eat-the-paste-special. But truly, in reference to her comments of my adorable and miraculously at-the-moment well-behaved children, I was flattered. But I also thought it was funny. I laughed and said something charmingly self-depreciating and then she blurts out "I'm looking for special people like you to expand my business. I have several employment opportunities I think you or someone you know might be interested in."
And it was then when I realized her empty shopping cart was just a prop in her ploy to rope me into her crazy pyramid scheme. Pfffff.
And it was then when I realized her empty shopping cart was just a prop in her ploy to rope me into her crazy pyramid scheme. Pfffff.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Chicken Artichoke Crepes
Here is the recipe for the Chicken Artichoke Crepes my pal Camie made me if you ever feel like making something completely delicious:
Chicken Artichoke Crepes
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 dash ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
1 chopped canned artichoke hearts
1/3 cup chopped fully cooked ham
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
1/3 cup mayonnaise
DIRECTIONS
For crepe batter, beat eggs and milk in a small mixing bowl. Combine flour and sugar; add to egg mixture and mix well.
Heat a lightly greased 8-in. nonstick skillet; pour 3 tablespoons batter into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper between. (you'll make around 8 total)
In a small bowl, combine the soup, Worcestershire sauce and nutmeg. Set aside 1/4 cup. Add the chicken, artichokes and ham to remaining soup mixture. Spoon 2 tablespoonfuls over each crepe; roll up tightly. Place seam side down in a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Spoon reserved soup mixture over crepes. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.
Gradually fold cream into mayonnaise. Spread over crepes. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Broil 6 in. from the heat for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.
Chicken Artichoke Crepes
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 dash ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
1 chopped canned artichoke hearts
1/3 cup chopped fully cooked ham
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
1/3 cup mayonnaise
DIRECTIONS
For crepe batter, beat eggs and milk in a small mixing bowl. Combine flour and sugar; add to egg mixture and mix well.
Heat a lightly greased 8-in. nonstick skillet; pour 3 tablespoons batter into the center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper between. (you'll make around 8 total)
In a small bowl, combine the soup, Worcestershire sauce and nutmeg. Set aside 1/4 cup. Add the chicken, artichokes and ham to remaining soup mixture. Spoon 2 tablespoonfuls over each crepe; roll up tightly. Place seam side down in a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Spoon reserved soup mixture over crepes. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.
Gradually fold cream into mayonnaise. Spread over crepes. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Broil 6 in. from the heat for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.
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