He's an ARTIST I tell ya!

At the tender age of 3 1/2, Brent has produced this masterpiece triptych called "Robots," individually titled "Robot," "Robot Dancing," and "Robot."(My favorite is the sassy lil guy on the right. I think he looks like quite the dancer but Brent says only the middle one is dancing.) Brilliant use of the Crayola Washable marker medium. (Click on it so you can see past the pink text... sorry about that.)

I got a LAPTOP!

I'd love to brag about it but even if I knew what all these letters and numbers meant I still couldn't remember them all. It's actually fairly bottom of the line but it serves my purposes. I know it has a nice clicky keyboard that I don't typo on as much as the smushy one on Will's work laptop, and a wireless real mouse so I don't have to use the touchpad one, and Will says it has a DVD player/burner/ripper and a Webcam. Wonder if I can figure out how to use all that. All I know is now I can install Firefox, I can Remember Me all my logins, and I don't have to avoid fun websites because of viruses anymore! (No, not P0RN. It was a Blockbuster banner ad that virused the work laptop and got my websurfing privileges curtailed. Bah.) And I can buy a cute laptop bag like the one I had made for Ana in 2007. (I think she liked it.)



I ordered that at larainedesigns.etsy.com -- check her out!

Oh, and I can't believe it but American Idol has sucked me AGAIN this year. Danny MyWifeIsDead(HeartSmush) and ILookLikeRobertDowneyJr with MyCuteLittleGlasses FOR THE WIN!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I went and found some good heartsmush pictures for a little trip down sentimental lane. :)

Here is a smooch. Timeline: unsure but likely around 2006. Participants are my doggie Reese and the lovely Sophia, daughter of the lovely Renee.


Some snuggles. Timeline: 08/14/08. Participants: My mom & Gigi.


And a sweet serenade. Timeline: 07/14/08. Participants: Will & Brent.


Sleeping Together, hee hee! Timeline: 10/29/07. Participants: Brent & his great-grandmother "Mamash".


And of course, loving family time. Timeline: 01/17/09. Participants: Gigi, me, Brent's guardian lion named "Tiger", Will, and Brent the budding photographer!


All my love,
Ceci :)

Cool! An Award.



This is a cute lil net-virus-award thingie. I like the badge. :) Thank you for the nomination, sweet Judy.

So, here's the instructions for my nominees:
1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 8 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

Aaaand here are my infectees, I mean nominees: Ana AKA the Inimitable Entrelac, Kim, Mary, Sally, mom, Ria, Helen, and Adriana,

P.S. In the "You learn something new everyday files": I went and looked up 'inimitable' after I typed it because I realized that I honestly had no freakin' clue what it means. It means 'surpassing imitation; matchless'. Makes sense. I just knew it somehow meant really, really cool.

CREAMY JALAPEÑO DIP
Similar to that great stuff from Chuy's!

1⁄3 cup pickled jalapeños
Juice from pickled jalapeños, to taste
1 packet buttermilk ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise (not reduced-fat)
1/2 bunch cilantro, stems removed, chopped

Place the jalapeños in the blender and purée until very fine, using juice as needed. Mix the dressing mix, buttermilk, mayonnaise and cilantro in a separate bowl; add to puréed jalapeños. Mix in blender. The dip is best if you refrigerate it overnight. Serve with chips or fresh vegetables, or use as a salad dressing.

(Credit: chron.com/food)

Officially Coming Out

It's been another full week and I don't have a single photo of my kids to post. I added two rows of entrelac to my current Quant (it's a whopping 3" across, yo) but I haven't taken a picture of that either.

So, it's time to admit it.

When I'm not changing diapers, doing the hide n seek thing with Brent, or playing doorman to the dog parade, I'm happily buried in the Twilight forums on Ravelry, doing searches on YouTube for cheesy old 80s videos, and cracking dirty jokes with internet buddies via instant messages. In short, I'm having a second teenagerhood. And yeah, I occasionally do the dishes and even a little laundry. But only when I really have to.

So now you know my secret. Do you still love me? (My husband does, seeing as the surge of immaturity has been accompanied by a renewed surge of teenager-ish hormones.) (Rampant overshare is another symptom of my malady, apparently.) (As is babbling and an inability to stay on topic.)

In other news, a new source of income has (hopefully temporarily) overcome my months-long need to be as frugal as possible and I got the okay from the man and our bank account to take $100 and spend away. A list of the things that made me happy:

1) A handmade little red/pink felt sewing kit from Gauge which has been longing to be mine since early Fall. That it is so lovely and yet waited for me is a sign that it was meant to be.

2) A locally sewn green/yellow/cream fabic crochet hook case, also from Gauge. I will get photos of both soon. Maybe.

3) 5 new paperback books: Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Márquez; The Dust of 100 Dogs, by A.S. King, for which incidentally I love the cover art; and the first 3 books in Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series. In an attempt to salvage my IQ a bit, I've started with the Márquez. He's a Nobel laureate, ya know. And a Colombiano, like my mom.

and 4) 2 skeins of drop dead gorgeous hand dyed merino/tencel sportweight. I actually have a photo of that, though only because the seller provided it. Isn't it lovely? (And no, I have no immediate plans for it, though I'm thinking it would make a lovely Revontuli-bastardized-to-be-a-capelet.)