Life is Sweet and Sour

Comic Con report 2011 Baby Wearing Rocks

2011-09-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Comic Con was different this year. It was busy and not 100% fun. I think the preregistration for 2012 being such a fiasco tainted the whole weekend. Alas, we got our tickets for next year with a lot of effort from dear hubby. Looking back, I did enjoy myself and have mostly positive memories and I can't wait for next year.

This was the second year that we brought the baby. Last year he was only 7 weeks old. If you have been to Comic Con, you know that pushing a stroller around is next to impossible. I really feel sorry for those folks with strollers or wheelchairs for that matter. The husband ran into a couple with a newborn in a stroller. He was telling them about bringing our guy when he was about the same age. He told them that we had worn the baby. The wife indicated that she had wanted to do the same but her husband didn't like the idea. The obvious and in my opinion, only option at Comic Con is baby wearing. Getting around is so much easier and having the little one close so that you can check in with them is awesome. Baby got his best naps while being worn around the show floor. He found the hotel room too interesting and couldn't relax enough to sleep. I noticed that most every other conventioneer with a baby/toddler had the same idea. I saw a lot of Ergos, a few Bjorns, a Moby and one person with a Beco Gemini. Hubby and I have a Beco Butterfly 2. (Last year we alternated between the BB2 and the Moby.) Here are a couple shots from last year.

I was still learning how to use the Moby at the time, I realize now that if I had spread the fabric over my shoulders, it would have been way more comfortable. The wrap was a challenge to use with a newborn, especially one that hated to be confined. Eventually, the Moby had its place in our life, mostly at parties when I wanted to be able to get baby in and out of the carrier with ease. The Beco Butterfly 2 has been our favorite.

What a year it has been

2011-07-27T15:39:00.001-07:00

I'm sure many a new mom feels that way after the first year with a baby. So much is a blur and I would love to get as much detail recorded as possible, before things become blurrier. I had hoped to blog more about this first year as a mom but frankly I was way too overwhelmed and tired. I need to really sit down with a pad and paper and think about the important experiences I want to preserve. Time keeps right on ticking.

I am at a crossroad and even though so much has changed, there are more changes looming on the horizon. Things I haven't really wrapped my head around yet. The main issue weighing heavily on my heart is being a working mom. Before baby, I had never really invisioned myself as a SAHM, nor did I imagine that I would have the desire to stay home. Now present-life-with-baby, I find the idea of staying home the optimum choice. My parents were able to watch Little Guy when I returned to work last year which was a huge blessing. I didn't have to search out daycares. I am now on Summer break and get to experience the daily joys and struggles of being an at home mommy and I like it and yet I hesitate.

In all honesty, I am afraid. My fears are all the regular ones that many women have who struggle with this decision. I am afraid of giving up a part of me and losing the security of a decent paying job with great benefits. So much to ponder and pray about.

More sewing for baby: My first quilt

2010-05-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

I decided I wanted to make a quilt for baby. I went online and searched for "free easy baby quilt pattern". I got several great results but ultimately settled on the Urban Baby quilt by Valori Wells.

I used various space and robot themed fabrics. It is definitely a crazy quilt. Sewing together the top was fairly easy, it was doing the "sandwich" and actual quilting that was challenging. I was glad that the blanket was relatively small. For the quilting, I tried to "stitch in the ditch" on the the sewing machine. It was so hard to stay in between the seams and it started to look messy. I was getting so frustrated until I decided to switch to a pretty zig-zag stitch. I'm sure this isn't the proper way to quilt, but it served my purpose. I also machine stitched the binding. I am really satisfied with how that turned out. I wasn't sure how to do a proper mitered corner but just kind of played with it until it worked.

Prepping the Baby's Room

2010-05-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

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We've been busy around here preparing for our little one's arrival. We painted his room blue. I had initially wanted something less obvious for a boy but ultimately decided that blue matched the fabric I had picked out and he would be able to grow with the color. I sewed two bed skirts, one for the crib and one for the day bed that will remain in his room for the time being. I used the pattern from Amy Butler's book, Little Stitches for Little Ones. It was easy and I am happy with the results.

I also felt the need to do some fabric dying. The largest project was the chair cover. We had a red Tulsta chair from Ikea. I bought a white slip cover and some orange RIT dye. I used a large plastic tub that we have around to put drinks and ice during parties.

I was nervous to use my wash machine because I had heard that it can stain the tub and I wasn't sure of the results as I have some "fancy" HE washer that doesn't fill with water until you close the lid, which then locks unless you push pause, in which case all the water then drains out. I had great results using the large plastic tub and hot water. I kept the fabric in the dye for an hour. Technically you are supposed to stir the fabric for 30 mins but this was too much for my back. I did stir it in 5 minute intervals with no set pattern. I tried to keep all of the fabric submerged for the whole hour.
At first, I was concerned that the color might be too bright. Now that I have lived with it a while and see how it works in the room, I am satisfied. I had such success with the slip cover, I decided to dye the white duvet cover for the day bed a nice apple green. The color couldn't have been more perfect.
All in all, I am more than pleased with how baby's room came together. I can't wait to show it to him.

The posters we found online from The Land of Nod. The crib is the Gulliver in birch from Ikea. It got great reviews online. I love the small foot print and that it comes with everything needed to convert to a toddler bed. The price was nice too, about $150.

Adventures in Cooking up a baby: Crying in public

2010-02-25T18:18:00.001-08:00

Today I had a prenatal appointment. I am currently 24 weeks. I'll be 25 weeks tomorrow. They did the usual, protein-in-the-pee test, weight, then blood pressure. Not sure why they think it is a good idea to take your BP after they weight you. At any rate, my blood pressure is fine. The midwife said she is happy with my weight gain so far, about 6 lbs in total, especially since I was "over weight to begin with". I could tell she didn't buy my low thyroid function theory. (I test within Kaiser's normal range) Even when I explained that as soon as I became pregnant, I lost 10 lbs.(When you are overweight, the health care providers always assume that you eat like crap and don't exercise.) In fact, one appointment I went in and had lost 2 lbs by their scale and she was concerned it was because I had morning sickness, I explained that wasn't the case, and she said, "Oh well maybe you have just cleaned up your act." Nasr stuck up for me on that one, because I do eat healthy. My conclusion is that pregnancy has boosted my thyroid function. I'm also hoping that pregnancy will permanently fix my hormone levels as well. Everything else with my pregnancy looks fine. Baby looks and sounds great.

I had to book my next two appointments on my way out. I am so stressed about taking so much time off for appointments. Especially when Kaiser only has appointments in the middle of the day that would have me driving to Clairemont for work, only to leave at 10:30 to drive to Kaiser El Cajon and then back to work in Clairemont. I broke down crying at the reception desk when there were no appointments available at a decent time. The lady I'm sure is used to crazy pregnant ladies so she was really nice to me and went out of her way to find some appointments that would better suit my schedule. She didn't just book the next two, she booked all my appointments until the end of May. I feel like such a silly person crying. In looking back, I think it was the weight conversation that upset me and the appointment issues were the final straw.

Adventures in cooking up a baby: "Number Two"

2009-12-17T20:46:00.000-08:00

While some women carefully butter their bellies to prevent stretch marks, I am obsessively tending my colon to prevent hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids are like stretch marks, once you get them, you can't get rid of them. Anyone who knows me, knows I am keen to talk about poop, especially at the dinner table. Pre-pregnancy, I am not an everyday bowel mover. Sometimes I will go through phases and be able to go everyday. I love those times and wish they could last forever. Inevitably they don't last and I have to really put some effort in to keep things moving. They say, "eat lots of fiber and drink plenty of water." Check and check. Sometimes I think I could eat a whole bag of prunes and still not go. As a pregnant woman, I am of course more stopped up. (Those pesky hormones.) I am taking psyllium twice a day as well as eating my high-fiber, plant based diet. I am having some success in that I am able to produce a little something most days, but most of the time nothing really satisfying. I am keeping track of my poops on my calendar. For successful but unsatisfying days, I put a "P" with a straight mouthed emoticon-face-thing. On the rare occasion that I really feel good about the results of my bathroom visit, my calendar has a "P" with a super happy, smiley emoticon-face-thing. In his new book for people having a baby, Dr. Oz recommends something in addition to the fiber and water treatment. He suggests trying 1500mg of chlorella per day. I took my first dose today. I am hopeful.

Today at our 14 week appointment, we heard the baby's heartbeat. I am still tripped out. I can't believe there is an actual person growing in there. My bump is still small, in fact the first night I noticed it I thought I was just bloated. I also can't feel baby moving around yet so it is easy to feel somewhat disconnected. After hearing the heartbeat, I am more at ease.

Custom Boo Kaniza

2009-10-02T23:21:00.001-07:00

Boo is our 15 year old Persian cat. We adopted him about 10 or 11 years ago, it's easy to lose track. I was hesitant to adopt an adult cat but someone at work was looking for a home for Boo so we took him. At the time, we had another cat called Jazz. He was a huge Tabby and would bully Boo like crazy. As a result, Boo was aloof and frankly very strange. One day, Jazz went outside and never came home. We are quite sure he became King of the Coyotes, wearing a crown made out of bird bones and a rabbit pelt cape, or Boo took a hit out on him. Either way, he was gone and our house was better for it, even though I was sad at the time.

Boo slowly became friendly and loving. Yet still strange, sometimes he would stare at us from a distance, we joked that he was studying us and then reporting back to the Mother Ship his findings. As he has gotten to know us and trust us, he has become one of the most social cats I have ever met. To the point of hanging out amongst the action when we have parties. Now that he is older he has become a bit needy and if he could have his way, we would hang out at home all day sitting on the couch so that he could nestle in our laps. Nasr's lap trumps mine unless I have the blanket, then it is a tough call.

Like I've said before, I think Boo is the cutest most interesting looking cat I have ever seen. I like to pay tribute to him as often as sanely possible with out seeming like a crazy cat lady. Thus I present my custom kaniza ala Boo.

Richard Walker's pancake house

2009-09-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Nas and I tried a different breakfast place. Richard Walker's Pancake House is downtown on Front street. This place operates with a line system, meaning when you get there, line up and the host seats you when you get to the front of the line. The line was pretty big when we arrived. I thought it would take at least 45 minutes and ran down the street to buy some coffee, leaving Nasr to hold the line. I was heading to Starbucks on 4th and Market, a semi long trek from the restaurant. I got to First and Market, literally one block away, and noticed a Lion Coffee shop. I stopped in and picked up a cup. I hurried back to the restaurant, the line had moved considerably while I was gone. Our potential breakfast/new restaurant experience got exponentially better knowing that we wouldn't have to wait as long as initially thought. I can't imagine we waited longer than 20 minutes although my gauge might be off because of my side trip. As we got toward the front of the line, the hostess gave us a menu to look at. They have some pretty unique looking things. Some of the menu items are very similar to the Original Pancake House (OPH), our ultimate favorite breakfast place. It would be interesting to try these common items and compare them, especially the Dutch baby/ German pancake.

After looking at the menu, I decided on the Dutch Harvest. It is a baked "pancake" filled with veggies and topped with cheese. I am a traditional pancake girl, ordering this was quite a departure from my typical preferences. By the time we sat and ordered, I knew we would be back and I would be able to taste their traditional panners so I felt comfortable with my adventurous choice. Nasr ordered the spinach crepes, yipee something vegetarian so I was able to taste it. His crepes were good and he liked them. He got the potato pancakes on the side. I really loved my food, but it was impossible to finish, way too big.

Another note of importance, the coffee. We are so used to OPH and their manner of serving you coffee every 2 sips, that we are spoiled when we go anywhere else. Most other places we are lucky to get 2 full cups through out the entire meal, often the refill comes after having sat for a very long time with an empty cup. Well, Richard Walker's is a tough rival to OPH. The server was like a coffee ninja filling my cup without my even noticing, sometimes before I was ready to have it filled throwing off my coffee/creamer ratio. Speaking of, they serve real cream for their coffee, just like OPH. It looks like our favorite breakfast place just got some competition. I am totally looking forward to going back. Check out their menu. http://www.richardwalkers.com/

I am a freak!

2009-08-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

It is official, I have taken the cake on this one. I just did my 20 minute run/walk workout in my house. I didn't get my ass out of bed this morning while it was still cool and frankly I just wanted to get it over with so I did it in my house. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I ran through the living room and into the kitchen and back again. At some point I moved the dining room table over so that I could "run around" my dining room as well. 600 square feet never felt so big. The cat couldn't stop looking at me with his confused face on though.

This was my second workout of the day. I really need to get in shape and am determined to jump start something. I did the 45 minute Kathy Smith kickboxing workout. It is a killer and I hope to see some results this week with my amped up routine. I have one more workout to do today, yoga.

Good Food, Great Friends

2009-08-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

Mexican Sangria:

4 cups red wine ( One bottle)

2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 cup fine sugar

2 limes or apples sliced to garnish when served

Combine wine, fruit juices and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.

Make ahead of time so that the flavors can combine. Keep in fridge and serve with ice if you want. I served cold from the fridge. This is a good way to tart-up really cheap wine. I used Crane Lake, which is a $3 wine I got from Henry's. I actually think this wine is worse than 2-buck-Chuck on its own. It was quite delicious with fruit juice and sugar added to it. Of course, what isn't?

I had our friends Heath and Kim over for dinner. Nasr had a practice so it was just the four of us, including little Liam. I served black bean burritos, cold asparagus salad and sangria. It was a nice evening to just hang out.

The first day of the rest of my life...

2009-08-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

... was supposed to be a week ago Monday, then it got postponed until Friday. Inevitably Friday came and went so absolutely it was gonna start on the following Monday. Today is Tuesday and tomorrow, for sure, I will start my running regime.

My running history in a small nut shell:

New Years 2007 my sister and I signed up for the Disneyland 1/2 marathon with the goal of starting to run. Neither of us are athletic nor had any desire to run before this. We started off slow and built up our mileage. We completed that race and then trained for another one, the Run Surf City half, which we completed February 2008. I will spare you the gory details except for this, Disney was 100 degrees and Huntington beach was pouring down rain. Not ideal race conditions, but we completed them and felt accomplished and proud.

I haven't run consistently since, yet all the while fantasizing about various races I want to complete. You kinda gotta run to be a runner! My sister however has continued to kick ass and has completed 2 half marathons since. To get my own ass in gear, I signed up for the Carlsbad half- marathon scheduled for January 2010. It is daunting and frustrating to have to build up my mileage again. I am so out of shape, I can't believe I let myself go like this... waah, waah, waah. Oh well, enough, I have to move on. I am starting with a beginner training schedule that I found on line. It is ten weeks, 3 times a week. It looks like this:

Week 1- 2 min run, 3 min walk x4

Week 2- 3 min run, 3 min walk x4

Week 3- 4 min run 4 min walk x4

Week 4- 6 min run, 4 min walk x3

Week 5- 6 min run, 3 min walk x3

Week 6- 8 min run, 3 min walk x2

Week 7- 10 min run, 2 min walk x2

Week 8- 12 min run, 3 min walk x2

Week 9- 15 min run, 2 min walk x2

Week 10 - 30 min run

Vegan Faux Fish Tacos ( Rubios Copy Cat)

2009-08-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

While I have never tasted an actual Rubios fish taco, my dear omnivore husband has eaten his fair share. I tweaked a copy cat recipe I found on line and made it vegan. This recipe gets the hubby seal of approval, which is a big deal because his eating tofu is usually out of obligation. I guess everything tastes better beer-battered. I had never fried anything until I tried this recipe. I must admit I was a little nervous. It was surprisingly easy. I use my $7 IKEA wok. It works perfectly. I pour the used oil into an empty jar when I am finished. Also, a note about beer. Some beer or perhaps most beer is not technically vegan. If you are concerned, you can use water in place of the beer or seek out a vegan beer. If you are vegan, you probably already know which ones those are. Enjoy!

Faux fish Tacos (vegan Rubios copycat recipe)
serves 8

Ingredients:

Package extra firm tofu (frozen in the package and then thawed,
this gives a "meaty" texture. After it is thawed, drain under weights when ready to use)
corn tortillas

BEER BATTER
1cup flour
1cup cold beer
garlic powder(to taste)
pepper(to taste)

WHITE SAUCE
1/2cup veganaisse
1/2cup plain soy yogurt
garlic, to taste (I use at least one clove)

Salsa ( I use premade "fresh" salsa from the store)
1garlic clove, peeled and minced
6tomatoes, ripe, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2onion, minced
2cilantro leaves, chopped, stems removed
2jalapeno chiles, seeded and chopped
1 1/2teaspoons salt
1/4teaspoon pepper

oil(for deep frying)

Garnish
Nori sheets to add that "sea" taste
1cabbage shredded
1lime, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS
Prepare salsa; reserve.
Mix flour with favorite spices such as garlic powder, red or black
ground pepper.
Stir the flour mixture into the beer and mix until well blended.
Put the vegetable oil into a deep skillet and bring to 375°F
Cut tofu into 1/2 in thick "fillets", dip in batter and place in
oil. Cook until batter is crispy and golden brown.
Heat corn tortillas lightly in a skillet until they are soft and hot.
To assemble, on each tortilla layer the tofu fillet, white sauce,
salsa and cabbage and a piece of nori . Top it off with a squeeze of lime.

Adventures in custom figure painting

2009-07-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

This year at Comic Con, I bought a Toy Qube blank Kaniza figure. This is a picture of the what I bought. It is two pieces. The "head" comes off to reveal a bean looking figure underneath. I saw the shape and knew that I had to have it so I could make a Boo figure. Boo is my Persian cat, who is so cute that I am convinced that I could trademark him and sell his likeness to all the Collectors-of-Cute. He is a pop-culture legend in my own mind. It's about time he starts pulling his own weight around here any way.

Check out some blanks here.

Collage art pieces

2009-07-30T16:21:00.001-07:00

Chicken Man

Sweet and Sour

Busy Bee

and

Goodness

I took a collage/multi media class last year at the San Diego Art Department with my friend Lynn. We started taking classes so that we would be forced to create. This class opened up a whole new aspect of art to me. The teacher was Karen O'Brien http://www.keobrien.com/ who is a fabulous artist. She was so inspirational and generous with her materials, skills, time and talent. I wish I could learn more from her, but she has moved to the Pacific North West. These are some pieces that I made with techniques I learned from her. I am partial to the Chicken Man. I know, I'm not so creative when it comes to names.