Take the Pearl Pledge Against Cervical Cancer

Did you know that January is National Cervical Cancer Awareness month? Please hop over to my Laugh in Bed blog for a very important post about cervical cancer awareness.


Go over there and read more about the Pearl Pledge. We're trying to  get 4,070 pledges – the same number of women who were expected to die from cervical cancer in 2009 – before Mother’s Day (May 9, 2010).

I'm also giving away 5 Pearl of Wisdom Pins. So, go already!

Blogging on the Brain

I know I've been quiet here recently. It's because I've been working on some new blogs. I'm totally bitten by the writing bug. Everything I do, I think, "Hmmm, that might make a good blog post." I need to start carrying around a notebook to jot down all my ideas.

I'd love it if you visit (and subscribe!) my other blogs. Each one is a bit more specialized, as opposed this one, which is kind of a mish-mash. I'd love to hear your feedback. What you'd like to see on each blog. Suggestions of topics, etc.

To make life easier, here are the links:

• Cup of Creativi-Tea: I'm sharing all things creative, whethere it's cooking, sewing, or kid crafts. Maybe some bellydancing (that's creative!). I'm also adding lots of tutorials.
  
• I'm Not the Nanny: Parenting stories, with some musings about raising biracial kids in a racially conscious world
  
• Laugh in Bed: Intimacy and relationships. Maybe some sex. 

I'll still post here occassionally until I get the other ones established! Thanks for reading!

Hanging in There

Just popping in to say that I'm still here. Still pregnant. I'm having internet troubles but hopefully will be resolved soon.

Playing Catch Up--Have Some Pumpkin Cake

Ever since the day Sophia got the stomach bug (almost 2 weeks ago, yikes!), I feel like I've been playing catch-up. I have a lot of blog posts planned in my head to share with you. Oh, and joining Facebook hasn't helped.

We hosted a Healthy Choice Just One Bites Emmy watching party. Not only did I get to watch cutie pie Neil Patrick Harris host the awards, they even showed a great clip of him as Dr. Horrible. A new clip! Too bad Nathan Fillion got so much screen time in it. We were also able to munch on some yummy Healthy Choice food too. A more detail posts with pics to come! Here's the clip if you haven't see it yet.



Sophia starts preschool tomorrow. Yay! Both of us are excited. Even hubby is taking the morning off so he can take her to school too.

My birthday is Thursday, and then I'm leaving for Blogalicious early, early Friday. I'm driving to Atlanta with fellow blogger Urban Mama. Hopefully she'll be patient with me as I have to get out of the car and stretch my prego body every 4 hours.

Blogalicious is my first blogging conference, though I'm no stranger to conferences (thanks to our annual Passion Parties conference). I can't wait to report back!

In the meantime, while I try to get caught up (and ready for baby, D-day in 6 weeks), here's some pics of one of our favorite recipes, pumpkin spice cake. Sophia picked green food coloring for the honey cream cheese frosting and since we still have sprinkles from this past Christmas (do sprinkles go bad?), we just went for the whole shebang!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. (I know, there's less than 2 hours left to my anniversary) I've been so busy lately, we forgot it was coming up until a few days ago. So no special plans for tonight. We've been together since my freshman year in college.

Thanks for putting up with me! I love you so much! You're an amazing husband and a fabulous dad! (That's our wedding picture)

Organization Is Not My Forte

Sophia starts preschool in the fall. It's via the Child Development Lab program at our local high school. Basically it's high school students who are in the child development program. They (with the help of their HS teacher) lesson plan and teach preschoolers.

I've heard great things about it. The little ones get lots of one on one attention. And it's super inexpensive (compared to the private options near us). I don't even need to co-op. The only downside so far is that she won't start school until October. That gives me a month more or less to myself (for 4 mornings a week) before baby boy comes along.

That doesn't mean I can't get excited about school and school supplies! Thank to OfficeMax, I received an awesome box of school supplies in coordination to their Organization webcast with Peter Walsh from TLC's Clean Sweep. The supplies are totally cute, with owls, hearts, and birds. Thank goodness I have a girly girl. Sophia has already claimed the drawstring backpack and pencil set. The composition books are all mine though!

I got some great tips on the webcast and Twitter chat. That picture above is what my desk looks like on a good day. On a bad day, you can't even see my desk. Plus it's L-shaped so you can just multiply by 2 or 10. Then when I can't stand it any longer or I really need to find something (usually the latter), I do a purge and clean it off. Sad and pathetic. I know. And I work from home so in addition to the household bills and papers, I have all of my Passion Parties stuff.

Here are the tips that stuck with me from the webcast

1. Color code things. Whether it's books in your kid's library (science, fiction, etc), or the papers on your desk, pick and color and stick with it.

2. Keep a pencil holder on your desk. I have 2 mugs full of pencils on my desk. I guess that might be too many.

3. Instead of buying gifts for your children's teachers, purchase school supplies instead. Recommended for pre-k teachers: glue sticks, tissues, washable markers, hand sanitizers (thanks )

4. If you show how much you value organization, your kids will too. How do I get hubby in with the program?

5. One in, one out. This definitely something I have a problem with. Hubby is worse than I am. He complain whenever I tell him he needs to get rid of something. I'm tired of sorting his gazillion pairs of holey sock (which he tries to hide the fact that they have holes).

Of course right after the webcast/chat, I was totally inspired to do some purging. Now that it's the end of the evening (as I write this), I'm totally being lazy.

What about you? How do you keep your household organized?

Special thanks to OfficeMax for sending me those totally fabulous school supplies! (I was not compensated for this post nor was I made to write it. I really enjoyed the organization tips and hope you get something from the webcast too.)

Edited to add: The clipboard in my goodbox was broken. I emailed about it and received a response in less than 12 hours! They're sending a replacement. Kudos!

Dreaming About New Projects

Not much sewing lately, as I have been completely exhausted. And I am writing this at a friend`s house. Their keyboard is programmed for Japanese and I cannot find the damned apostrophe key. It also randomly decides to type in Japanese.

Apparently it is really hard for me to not use contractions. All I can find is the backwards apostrophe, like this <`>.

Okay, I`m totally giving up. Will try to blog another time. When I`m at my own damned computer.

To Sell or Not to Sell

Since I've been a sewing maniac the last couple of weeks, some of my friends have been telling me I need to sell the clothes I make. Or I should make and bunch of and sell them. I've had many people tell me I should sell my crafts.

It's something I've debated myself. My main question is, will people be willing the pay the prices befitting a handmade product? Not just any handmade product. As a seamstress, I charge $20+ an hour for custom clothing orders, plus materials. I have 5+ years of profession costume construction experience. I know I'm worth it. Will others think so too?

Will making mass quantities of any item take the joy out of creating for me? I get bored making multiples of items. Depending on what I'm making that could be copy #2 or copy #5. I've always defended my position on not selling mainly for this reason. I'm a Passion Consultant, and earn my income that way. The profits are great, and I don't have to manufacture any of the products.

Has that reason become my crutch? I've been enjoying sewing and crafting so much lately, why not get paid to do what I love? Or is it the pressure of society to be validated by money? It would be nice to make enough money to pay for the craft.

So far I have no answer. My girlfriend suggested that I teach a sewing class, like one on how to make the girl's drawstring top dress. I kind of like the idea of teaching others how to sew. I like teaching. My brain doesn't want to deal with the logistics of finding a space (my apt is too small), enough sewing machines, and trying to find enough people to take the class.

What's your take on it? How much would you want to pay for a high quality handmade children's clothes? Do you want to learn how to sew?

The One Where Sophia Cried

Ready for the ultrasound results?

Drumroll, please.

There is a floating baby penis inside my uterus. It's a boy!

Sophia totally cried when we told her. Maybe it was because she didn't want to leave her playdate or she was tired and cranky, or maybe she just really wanted a sister. Why? Because when she plays Cinderella, she needs a sister to play her ugly stepsister. Yep, you heard it right.

This poor sibling is going be subjected to lots of torture. As any younger sibling should be--ask my younger sister.

I loved the office where we got our ultrasound done. They didn't ask me to drink a gallon of water before I came. Nope, didn't even ask me to drink any water (but I did, only because I was thirsty). They didn't push on my stomach in a painful way.

And within 2 seconds of putting the ultrasound thingy on me, the tech saw a penis. How efficient is that? I still have to back because the baby refused to cooperate and turn around. So they want to see the baby's belly just to make sure everything's okay.

Has anyone every done the 4-D ultrasound thing? I keep seeing ads for it but the baby looks sort of freaky in the pictures. Like a little alien.

And no, I'm not put a picture of the baby's penis on my blog. Even though they did give me a print out.

Time to think of boy names.

Simmering

I'm still here. Just simmering. This second round of baby growing has me napping a lot. I'd sleep all day if I didn't have a bouncy 3 1/2 year old to take care of!

Tonight I'm craving chocolate milk in my favorite over sized mug. It's good old fashioned milk with Hershey's syrup. It does stir up moments of childhood.

Hubby worked all day today in an incredibly long shift--it's 11pm and he's still not home. I let Sophia take a late nap and just got her asleep.

Just finished Katherine Center's Everyone is Beautiful. It's a beautiful book. For some reason, I love reading novels about grown women who find themselves. Sometimes they are too sappy or outrageous (not in an entertaining way). This wasn't one of them. The main character was very real and believable to me. I could picture myself in her shoes.

I loved Elena's discovery that she could do something that was just her--no kids, no husband. Just her. It's a hard concept for many moms. Even harder to put into action. Plus I love that Elena's son believes that plump is beautiful--because that softness makes hugs so much better!

I'll leave you with that. Make yourself a cup of chocolate milk. I forgot how good chocolate milk is.

What is your blog's personality?

I discovered Typealyzer via Christine Kane (listen to her music, if you like female folksy type). You can see how your writing on your blog fits MBTI. Here's what it says about me:

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

I agree with the first half of that but I'm not sure that the 2nd is all me. What does yours say about you?

This is one of my favorite songs by Christine Kane, No Such Things as Girls Like That.

A date!

Wow, hubby and I actually went on a date last week! We had passes to a sneak peak of The Duchess starring Kiera Knightley. I didn't know much about the movie, except for a really short blurb in some magazine I can't remember.All I needed to know was it's a period costume drama.

Bring on the fabulous costumes! Bring on guys with sexy accents. And there was a special cocktail hour at the fancy schmancy Ritz-Carlton Georgetown before the screening. I had a sexy drink called, what else, the Duchess. It was tasty, all I remember that it had fresh blackberries and raspberries in it. Hubby had the Duke, which had strawberries and fresh basil. We got there late and missed all the good swag from the party but hubby won the door prize, which was dinner for two at the Ritz! How awesome is that? My 30th birthday is coming soon, so I think that might be a good time for another date.

The Duchess was such a great escape. It's about the life of 18th century aristocrat Lady Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, played by Kiera Knightley. She was stuck in a loveless arranged marriage and unable to be with the man she loved. To top it off, social decorum also meant that she couldn't stop her husband from sleeping around. Whew! It definitely makes me appreciate the freedoms we have as women today. Kiera Knightley did a great job. In a role like this it's so easy to overact, but she didn't. And Ralph Fiennes, who played the Duke, is an amazing actor. I know he was the villain, so to speak, but he played the Duke with such subtle nuances.

If you're going to see the movie, definitely bring a hanky. It's a drama, I tell you! Did you know Lady Georgiana is an ancestor of Lady Di?

Let me talk about the costumes! They are beautiful. And sewn so beautifully. She had on a different outfit in every scene. The detail was amazing. This is the first dress we see her in, still an innocent young girl.
You can see more detail pictures at the official website, but The Costumer's Guide has some great stills from the movie too. I think the fashion from the 18th century is gorgeous, but I definitely would want to wear a corset all day! Not to mention, as royalty, the clothes were so complicated you couldn't remove them by yourself.

The movie is based off a the book Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman. She was quite a celebrity and politico for her day. I'd love to read more about her than just her love life. Off to add it to my list on Paperbackswap.com.

My New Horrible Obsession

I'm sort of a closet Joss Whedon fan. While dating hubby in college, he got me into Buffy the Vampire Slayer tv series. He had a crush on Sarah Michelle Gellar (which thankfully passed quickly, lol). So when I heard about Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along musical, I just had to check it out. Whedon has a knack for humor without becoming campy.

I mean it's Neil Patrick Harris! Singing! He's hilarious! I definitely had a crush on him during his Doogie Howser, MD days. Of course Nathan Fillion from Whedon's Firefly series in it too. Sorry I went a little link crazy, but if you haven't seen any of Joss Whedon's work yet, you are missing out!

So for your watching pleasure:

Random smiles

This is what hubby surprised me with last night when he came home from work. He was really mysterious about where he bought them. Apparently some guy down the street from the Spy Museum was selling them really cheap. Hey, I got flowers unexpected, I can't complain. This definitely made my day since Sophia was sick all day yesterday. She had some mysterious fever that spiked at 103.6 F early this morning. I was a bit concerned but thankfully she's much better today. I, however, was dead tired from waking up a gazillion times last night.

So while we caught up on our days, I trimmed the stems and put them in vases. Actually I ran out of room in our one vase, so I pulled out some jars. It was really pretty. We had enough to put some in the bathroom, in the living room, dining table, and my nightstand. So as I walked throughout the house today, I saw them and it definitely made me smile.

What has someone done to surprise you lately?

I'm melting! I'm melting!

Remember how I said to be careful when ironing your sequined applique? I was doing laundry (and I could be caught up if we would stop wearing and dirtying more clothtes--but that's a whole other post) and in my haste threw my new cool owl t-shirt in the dryer. Yep, in the dryer. My old dryer in my apartment that has only 2 settings: air dry and Sahara Desert hot. Yep.

My poor owl is now blind. Let's take a moment of silence. His eyes melted. I should be happy the rest of him didn't melt. This was also the day after I told hubby, "If you wash my owl shirt, don't put him in the dryer."

Lesson learned. Now I need a new non-sequined applique to throw in the dryer!

Summer Activities

One of my favorite bloggers, Tech Savvy Mama is having a great summer reading giveaway! Today's the last day to enter, so go check it out! She gives great suggestions about great ways to keep your kids reading during the summer. Fortunately Sophia loves books, she can't get enough. I hope that she never loses that. You should definitely read her other entries too. Have you ever wondered if your child spends too much time on the computer? Or want to know what are good sites for the kiddos?

If you want to discuss your kids' tech time, check out her Lilaguide group, Tech Savvy Parents.

My parents are in town, so I don't have a lot of time to blog. We're going to pick blueberries! Full report later.

Pink puffs

Just reminding myself that spring is here. The weather has been a bit gloomy and wet. I took this picture last week right outside our apartment. I inherited a fancy digicam and have been playing around with it for awhile. Hubby's gotten some great pictures from it too.

I hope it's warm and sunny where you are!

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Peep Show

I saw this on Heather's blog and just had to share it!

My new obsession

Actually it's an old obsession. Books. Are you addicted to books too? Here's me when I'm at Borders. Just imagine I have the angel version of me on shoulder and the devil one on the other. You know, like in the cartoons. Com'on, just play along.

Devil Me: Oooh, what a cool <insert almost any genre here> book. And I have this coupon

Angel Me: Wait, I need another book like I need another hole in my head.

Devil Me: Still, it's gotten good reviews.

Angel Me: But I have tons of other books waiting to be read.

Devil Me: I'll read this one right away. I won't let it sit around.

Angel Me: Maybe I'll just look for this book on Paperbackswap.

Whew! Saved by Paperbackswap. What's that you ask? I joined a year ago, thanks to my friend Heather. Basically, when you join, you take all of the books you don't want anymore (or ahem, never got around to reading and never will, NOT like me, ahem), paperback or hardback and list them to your Bookshelf. Then you trade with other people The best part is that it's FREE! All it costs is the postage you pay to mail out books that other people request. There's a credit system to keep track of how many books you've sent out and received.

Even though it's a used book site, I've received books that are in almost new condition. Like Betz White's book Warm Fuzzies. Don't even get me started on all the craft books I have! I've also gotten books for the toddler here. Right now she's into Clifford. I just scored 26 Clifford books! All free! It's starting to become an addiction. I'll scour the Friends of the Library book sales to find books to swap. But hey, I could be addicted to crack right? This one is cheaper, not to mention legal.

So what are you waiting for? Join Paperbackswap. And if you click on my banner or one of my links, I get a free book for referring you. Of course you don't have to use my link if you don't want to. Cause I don't need any more books. Right? Right.

PS There's also Swapa DVD. Oh yeah! Great my hubby who wants to collect the Moonlighting tv series on DVD.

Tags: books, dvd

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