Public Congratulations to Heidi and Chris!

Heidi and Chris you two are absolutely amazing and I am so glad you have found so much joy in each other. I too would like to spend the rest of my life with you guys... you know in a platonic sort of way... mostly...

I love you!!!!!!!!

PS: Well done on the proposal Chris. Ben just said "I love you. Okay, let's be married."

I Used to Be a Badass.

Okay, great... so two of my daily bloggers recently posted about climbing.

I used to Climb all the time. I loved it. I used to say that i was better on vertical surfaces than horizontal (and anyone who has seen how often i trip myself would agree).

I have climbed all over the southwest including Joshua Tree, various parts of Arizona and outside Boulder, Co. Once i even got to meet and climb with Lynn Hill.

In Prescott i started two all women climbing groups: The Boulder Bitches (climbing giant boulders without ropes). and The Crack Whores (Trad Climbing: or aka climbing cracks and placing protective gear up in the crack as you go).

I used to go on so many adventures: backpacking, kayaking, climbing...

I used to drink water with mosquito larva in it because it was the only water around in the bottom of the vast canyon we were stuck in for a week or two...



I have been on top of glaciers, inside the arctic circle, at the bottom of the grand canyon, stuck inside ancient anasazi ruins in the side of a cliff face waiting out a flash flood.


and now i'm sad.....

Oh and about the Cabbage:

Ma Petite Chou-Chou

I bought new shoes. Well, I bought Ben shoes and he bought me shoes but since we share the checking account I guess it doesn't really matter who paid for what...

There are very few things i'm "girlie" about. And i hate to say it, but shoes are one of them. Now to be fair, I only own one other pair of heels and about 4 sets of sneakers, 3 pairs of clogs, and 4 pairs of boots (one of which is a hiking boot, one snow boot, one pair of wellingtons, and a pair of motorcycle boots from 1999)

Anyhow, Ma Petite Shoe was having a sale this weekend and as i've finally found the perfect every outfit, every occasion dress shoe!

These are my new shoes:
Note: When i showed my boss, who is also a shoe fiend she did not swoon over them she said "those are interesting." I guess i don't have good taste in shoes after all... but i sure like em.

Tasty Tuesday 4: Monday

Tuesday fell on a Monday this week.

j&i brought the goods. This week it was Pinto Beans and Corn Bread.



Accompanied by good beer and air conditioning.

I'm raising an evil genius

Also this morning Esther was crawling around on the bed between a sleepy and just woken mom and dad. When Dad opened one eye, peered out at her and said "hi."
Esther looks right at him. Raises her hand in the air and says "hiiii."


Then when my mother got there she did it again...

Also she can now:
wave (sort of)
clap
feed herself little puffs (like cereal)
and when you say "Esther, jump-a-da-bump" she bounces up and down.

Also: i can't believe i haven't told you all this yet, SHE HAS HER FIRST TOOTH!!!!!! (it's on the bottom for those of you who were placing bets).


And if you're wondering where the "evil" part fits in... all you have to do is take one look at her eyes and know she's up to no good.

birds....

so firstly: Last week, Ben and I woke up to a bird sitting in the window by our bed... just sitting there... so we took pictures.



secondly, Esther is so darned cute it kills me. This is her playing with her monster's teeth.

and trying to pull off his arms...


and thirdly, yesterday we had a raving good time at the Orioles game, courtesy of Rex. Thank You Rex!!!!!

New Phone New Phone!!!!

My number has changed: 443-798-5123

And for all those who have made fun of me over the years, I have finally replaced the dinosaur. I had a very "antique" Motorola/verizon model. On the upside it was incredibly durable so durable in fact, that when it was accidentally drowned we got a refurbished version of the same one just cause i drop the damn phone so often.

I am now on Cingular, for those of you who are also on it and want to call me for free. AND I think this one will work at the house so you don't have to call my parents house in the event you want to reach us at home.


So there is the new handsome devil on the far right. The dinosaur in the middle. And i threw in the mouse cause it's so damned cute... also you can see the size difference.

Call me!

Tasty Tuesday 3

Homemade Pizza (with Rice Flour Pizza Dough) and Salad.

Toppings included:
Artichoke Hearts
Kalamata Olives
Spinach
Broccoli
Goat Cheese crumbles
and Goat Cheese Shredded

Mmmmm mmmmm Doooood!

We also finished up the evening with Ian asking Trival Pursuit questions from a very old version of the game. One thing i realized: Not only am i slow, but my knowledge of US presidents is severely lacking.

My Birthday Weekend.

When I came home from work on Friday:
b: You're in a good mood. How was your day?
l: Not particularly great. But the drive home was good and traffic free. aaaaaaaaaand this is the start to my birthday weekend.
b: It's not a "birthweekend" it's a "birthday" silly girl.

Saturday:
My sister came into town friday night. And saturday saw all us girls (mom, casey, esther, and i) on a shopping trip to gabriel brothers in york. We spent far too much money on fun, cheap clothes, shoes and household items... and then we dropped by giant for donuts and starbucks for some bucky's special brews. Once home we proceeded to again try on all our new outfits in front of the fantastic mirror in Mom's new studio.

Uncle Jack and Charlie came to deliver a new washer and dryer and then stayed for a loverly dinner. Sandra joined us later on her way down from a Rugby tournament in Philly. A lovely grilled fish, squash and spinach from One Straw Farms, potatoes from a neighbor's garden, and fried tomatoes from the corn lady's van....

And for desert Birthday Pie from the amish market!

We awoke Sunday morning at 6am to Esther kicking us in the face. And after an hour of coercion finally got her back to bed to sleep in until 8:30. Then it was Apple Dumplings for breakfast and then Casey babysat so Ben and I could take a lovely midday jaunt in the canoe. After a nice swim and some romantic carryings-on. We went home and played in the grass and then napped. Ben installed Esther's new car seat.

And then we were off to j&i's to drop off Esther and be escorted to a lovely Mexican dive in b-more for some food reminiscent of simpler times, and the Mexico vs. Paraguay soccer game. Mexico won. And so did I with some of the best Mole i've ever eatten.

We walked up to Vaccaro's for some desert. And then we were picked up by our loverly chauffeur and taken back to j&i's for a beer and rowdy game of chase the baby.

All in all it was a wonderful birthday!

Let's hope this 28th year of life (i'm 27 now, so this means i'm beginning my 28th year) is a bit more mellow and without as many sharp learning curves as the 27th year was.

Thank you everyone for my amazing presents!
-Casey did an amazing drawing of Esther, she also gave me earrings and shorts from American Apparel. She also did a fair share of babysitting over the weekend.
-Dad got me a massage from Susan Chalker
-Mom paid for our shopping excursion on Saturday and for treats afterwards (also for my bday pie and apple dumpling breakfast).
-Rex and Esther got me a new car seat for Esther in the hopes that it will make car rides with her a bit more bearable.
-j&i babysat for Esther while Ben and i went to dinner. They also paid for dinner. AND i got Eleanors! (only mine are pink, white and brown)
-And Ben had a long list of things he wanted to get me, among them a dirt bike... however, he finally settled on desert. Boy how i love desert. Oh, and he finally shaved. Oh how i missed that upper lip! I forgot what a boy-faced cutie i married. That beard had me convinced we were much older than we actually are.





This is a video j&i made while babysitting for Esther on Sunday.

Tasty Tuesdays 2 & the 4th.

Also we missed Tasty Tuesday this week cause of the holiday. j & i came to the 4th instead. Along with Rex, Dolores, Yaya and crew, and some neighbors (the one's with the monkey).

It was a good time with Venison BBQ (yum!) and some fireworks which E and I missed cause she got scared and it was well past her bed time.

So happy 4th everyone.

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE NINI, AUNTIE MARY, and SNUGGY!

my Mohawked baby.

Apparently Ben gave my baby a Mohawk and then took pictures of it while i was at work. Cause I just pulled pictures off the camera and I haven't seen these before.

She sure does make a cute punk rocker... When i was pregnant she used to kick like crazy any time i would play the Pixies.

Nut... Tree...

TastyTuesdays!

Tuesdays have now become my favorite day of the week. Aside from being the first friday in my week (as i have wed and thurs off every week) we now have dinner guests every tuesday.

Jes and Ian come over and we dine on whatever delicacies we can scrounge up. Hoorah!

So last Tuesday we had Adobo and for dessert, Bebe.

My Gardens

I've always sort of had a black thumb. Well not black exactly, probably more of a murky brown. In Arizona I had a couple of pots on my back deck full of dirt. I didn't plant anything in them though. I let the elm tree over the house drop seeds into it and the little baby elms grew there. Along with some random grass that somehow made it's way into my dirt buckets. Which is to say, i grew weeds.

But since moving east I'm bound and determined to make some sense of growing things. I mean, how hard could it be? Plant stuff in dirt. Occasionally add water. Sometimes some shit. And watch it flourish, right?

Anyhow, Ben and I have started a large veggie garden with some relatively independent plants (mostly squash and tomatoes but also lettuce, brussel sprouts, potatoes, peppers, eggplants, and onions).






I have also started an herb/flower bed below my porch.

As an impulse buy at the garden store I bought a Hibiscus plant. I know nothing about Hibiscuses (as in is that how it's pluralized?). Anyhow, it didn't have any blooms yet but a quite a few promising buds.

The other morning Ben was out on the front porch dumping the coffee grinds into the garden when i hear, "Holy Crap! Did you see this?" Esther and I go running out onto the porch (okay, not running but as fast as Esther can pirouette on her little leather shoes with me holding her hands) and low and behold a dinner plate sized flower.

So Hibiscuses are my new favorites. Apparently you can make tea out of them.

Pictures from Kistin and Heidi's visit

Kirstin (West) and Heidi are two of the strongest women I know. They, time and again, saved me from myself.
We all went to college together out in Prescott, AZ. Now a year and a half after graduation. Heidi is living with her partner Cris up on a lake in Maine. And Kirstin is in the early stages of creating her own t-shirt company (well in between long tours across the country).
I'm trying to get Kirstin to settle in Baltimore, but without much luck so far.

Anyhow, I'm sure they're reading this, so: I miss you. I love you. And Esther has the best Aunties in the world.

My new Favorite Blog

Rare Bird Finds

Lots of fun things to pretend you have money to spend...

Standing Ovation

In the last few weeks Esther has been practicing her standing. Sometimes she even attempts a step (but so far without success, thankfully too. I'm not sure i'm ready for the walking to begin).

So I was able to get a few shots yesterday of her newest physical achievement.

WOOT! WOOT!s all around

A WOOT! WOOT! to my beloved for seeing the dentist for the first time in four years and not having a single cavity!!!!

A WOOT! WOOT! to my big brother for the Kodak sponsorship on his XC bicycle trip.

A WOOT! WOOT! to my mother for taking 1st place in the second largest national trap shooting competition in the U.S..

More Beach Pictures.

a surly Esther chomping on her pacifer.
Early morning Oma time.
Esther's new friend, Linda.
Playing at the pool with cousins; Stacia and Olivia.
from left to right: Ryan, an escaping Olivia, Stacia, a bundled and sleepy Esther, me, and Ben.
What a good lookin' family.
Ben and our little potato.
I think they're watching us swim with Esther...
And there we are swimming with Esther for the first time.
She smells so good.
this will embarrass her some day... her kooky mom...

I love this face. She looks so suspicious.
I'm playing with her spare chin... it;s just so soft.
The mommy rack.... it's so weird having boobies...
Isn't the view loverly? This is the deck of the house where we stayed.
Precious play time with Oma
That ball is as big as she is... Doesn't stop her though.
This is her "I want to eat the camera" face.
And this is how she drinks out of water bottles. She loves them...