curly hair

One time when Rose was 2 she was watching me curl my hair and asked me if I would curl her hair.  I said no because she was 2 and I was afraid that she would be too squirmy and that I would burn her sweet little scalp or ears.  She replied, "No, you're 2 and I'm the grown-up.  Can I have my hair curled?"

Finally, after over a year of asking, I agreed to curl her hair.  She held still the whole time!  I couldn't believe it.  Actually I can because she's very patient and not squirmy normally.  I guess was remembering back to the days when I was a little girl getting my hair curled by Amber.  My scalp and ears haven't forgotten.

When I was a little girl I desperately wanted curly hair.  I begged my mom to let me get a perm.  Unfortunately, I came out looking like a poodle.

intriguing

I love a good documentary.  Forks Over Knives is up next on my must-see list.  I'm not a vegan eater but I believe profoundly in eating healthy.  I think this documentary will be very educational and intriguing at the least.  I've heard good reviews.

i hope, i hope, i hope...

Rumors are flying about the iphone 5.  No official word from Apple yet but with a release pattern of mid-summer each year I am really hoping the iphone 5 is next up.

snow day

My winter childhood is filled with memories in Utah sledding with my brother and sisters, snow drifts taller than I was, and the stinging of my freezing skin as we came inside to warm ours freezing fingers and toes by the wood burning stove.  Still to this day it doesn't feel like winter without the snow.  Our first (second?) snow, we got a whopping 4 inches.  Rose was hoping for enough to make a snow fort but it was plenty to sled on, so she was happy.  She told me several times that we need to go to Utah next winter so that we can make the snow fort.

Rose with her 11 yo BF, Grace.  She is so good to Rose.

covered in snow and loving every second

lock screen calendar

I stumbled across this cute calendar made by Ollibird.  You can download it for free to use as your lock screen background for your iphone or ipod.

the satorialist

I often wondered what the Satorialist said to his subjects before he took their picture.  I really enjoyed this short documentary of his work.  2 words come to mind when I look at this blog:  be yourself

new hobby

I picked up a new hobby over Christmas.  My sister Buffy taught me how to crochet.  Yay!  I didn't realize I was going to like it so much but it's become rather addicting.  I've crocheted 2 1/2 hats for Rose and have yet to have one turn out her size.  I'm determined though, sometime this week she will be sporting a hat crocheted by yours truly!

It's actually really easy and I like it because it will be easy to make my own pattern.  I'll post more pictures after I've practiced a bit more.

puzzle action

We are a puzzle making family.  Here's Rose doing what she calls "puzzle action".

snack party

I have to capture everything that makes up Rose.  I can't help it!  I want to remember her exactly as she is at this moment because time passes far too quickly.  I know that I'm going to turn around and she'll be 16.

I promise she doesn't wear pajamas all day.  ;)

Then the party moved to her room and included more friends....  Polly, Loofa Monkey, Dog the Polar Bear, Tilly Hilly, Big Baby, Pooh, Ady (80), and Teeny Pinocchio.

dance class

Rose LOVES her dance class.  Recently she has decided that she's going to dance on point.

first snow

A few days ago we had our first snow.  Unfortunately it was only very little but we did have enough to sled down our hill a handful of times.  And Rose was able to do a snow angel.

Meusiamy

One of our favorite breakfast foods is Meusiamy.  It's a modified recipe that I found in my favorite cookbook, Crazy Plates.  We originally called it Meusillini but when Rose was 2 she pronounced it Meusiamy.  And so the new name was born.  It's always a hit with visiting family.  

____________________________________________________________________________

Meusiamy 

Ingredients:

3 c old fashioned rolled oats

10.6 oz plain greek yogurt

1-1/3 c orange juice (maybe a little bit more if it's too thick)

1/3 c light cream

2 tbsp honey

2 c frozen raspberries

1-1/2 c frozen blueberries

1 c frozen blackberries

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine oats, yogurt, orange juice, cream, and honey.  Fold in frozen fruit.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Serve cold.

Hint:  Refrigerating the muesli overnight makes it creamier. Sprinkle individual servings with a tbsp of low-fat granola if you want to add some crunch.  

Yield:  6 servings

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Enjoy!

vivian maier

Vivian Maier was an unknown amateur street photographer living in Chicago in the 1950's.  She worked as a nanny for nearly 40 years and in her spare time walked around the streets of Chicago taking pictures.  Her work was only recently discovered in 2007 when a historian, John Maloof, bought her negatives at an auction.  The kicker is that she died just 4 days before he finally came across her name in the box.  Will she become a household name?  We shall see.  Documentaries, books, etc are due out over the next couple of years.  You can see her work at this link.

Here is a little snippet of her life....


Thanks for the tip, Em.  :)

breast cancer

I just finished listening to an interview on NPR with Dr. Marissa Weiss, a breast oncologist.  This interview was a good reminder of how important it is to take care of ourselves.  Dr. Weiss talked about how the breast is the favorite place for cancer to occur.  She explains that breast cancer used to be pretty uncommon about 100 years ago.  Most people believe that it has to with genes you may have inherited from your family.  That just isn't true.  Breast cancer genes only explain 5-10% of breast cancer cases today!  What has changed over the years are changes in our outside environment and changes in our inside environment.

Inside:
     stressful lives
     lack of sleep
     obesity - makes extra inside hormones that influence breast cell growth and
           triggers more insulin growth factor.  The chemicals in the environment, that
           act like estrogen, dissolve in fat and your body can harbor them.

Outside (that we bring inside):
     alcohol
     smoking
     food - (for example, corn/soy grown with Atrazine and Roundup.  These
            are herbicides that rock the boat and mess up the balance of your
            hormones.)

She answers this question:  Why breast cells and not a different part of the body?

"The breast is a very unique organ.  It is the only organ to essentially fully form after you have been born.  All the other organs, including the very beginning of breast tissue is formed in the first 3 months of pregnancy.  During that time breast cells are exquisitely sensitive to any kind of genetic insult as they are building themselves.  The breast is the only organ in the body to fully form and over a 10 year period of time from ages 8-18 and into your 20s-----that is when what you are eating, drinking, breathing, and using are the actual building blocks.  That is when you are building the foundation of your future breast health.  For example, exposures to DES when you are building your breasts in utero produce higher risk of breast cancer in mothers as well as the daughters later in life.  Bisphenol A (BPA) can have a permanent effect to the way the breast in formed if you are exposed to it in utero or later on during breast development.  Also, the estrogen receptor that runs operations in most breast cells is like a sponge for all of these chemicals while it has a monogamous relationship with estrogen it is ready to respond and is quite promiscuous when it comes to all of these other chemicals.  They can turn on breast cell growth.

What has also happened is that girls are going through breast development way earlier.  (ages 8-10)  As soon as the breasts are made they are ready to respond to these chemicals and the breast cells remain immature and overactive until full term pregancy, which is the first time the breast is forced to grow-up and get a job breastfeeding.  What has happended today is that breast development is happening earlier and earlier.  Many women are delaying their first full-term pregnancy, not having children at all, or not breastfeeding.  And during that long stretch (from birth to adulthood) breast cells are immature and very responsive to outside chemicals that you may bring into your inside environment.  Those combination of reasons explain largely why breast cancer has become the most common cancer to affect women."

Dr. Weiss is also a recent breast cancer survivor.  She talks a bit about that.  Here are some of the things that she is doing to keep herself healthy....

     -  lost 13 lbs, maintains a healthy weight
     -  exercises 3-4 hrs/wk
     -  eats hormone free sources of meat or dairy products
     -  avoids produce that is heavily treated with pesticides - berries, apples,
        peaches, celery, bell peppers, etc.

There is so much more that she discussed.  I couldn't possibly cover it all.  If you are interested, definitely listen to the interview.  It was really eye opening.  It was a good reminder of how we, as a society, need to stop treating ourselves like garbage cans.  Have respect for yourself and do what is necessary to stay healthy. One step at a time.

And because a post is boring without a picture...  :)  here's Sweet Rose picking out a card for her daddy.

girls and clothes -- it starts early

Rose has started this thing where she lays out her outfits as is she's wearing them to check if the outfit goes together.

 

then she decided to "try it on"

 

for a couple of months Rose didn't want to look into the camera.  i was baffled by it because she's normally such an agreeable child.  but she's back to being her old-ham-self....   almost.  these last ones melt my heart!

 

 

toy bag

My sister, Amber, made the cutest bag for Rose to carry her Littlest Pet Shop toys.  It opens up into a complete circle so she can use it as a playmat too!  How genius is that?  Amber thought up this design herself.  I think she needs to sell these on Etsy, don't you?

it has a magnetic button for the flap

Rose didn't want to model it for me so her friend, Grace was a stand in.  :)