Children.

I recently stumbled upon a link while getting my daily fix of E. Falc. It lead me to a site made by a couple who are looking to adopt another child and it really touched my heart.




Megan, the woman who, along with her husband Shane and son Carter, is hoping to adopt, has a heart condition that "could cause pregnancy to be dangerous for her."


I don't think that I've shared it on here, but there is a decent chance that I won't be able to have babies. Some of the chemo drugs that I was given may have made me infertile. Scrambled up my eggs. I'm keeping hope in my heart and I haven't give up the thought that there are still a few perfect little eggs in me.

Please take a look at their site and please pass the word around about this lovely little family!

Speaking of children...

Everyone needs to drop what they're doing and check out the videos on YouTube about the PS22 Chorus in New York. Holy crap. These fifth graders are singing Cold Play, Regina Spektor and Bjork songs! I wish all music programs could be like this.

And, speaking of music... Nic and I are going to see Death Cab for Cutie tonight! Eeeep!

Hope you all had a great weekend. Goodies and pictures from mine to follow!

Polar Bear Swims.

Today, I:

* Woke up 15 minutes before my alarm went off all refreshed and ready for the day.

* Went for a 9 a.m. Polar Bear Swim with Nic. We skimmed all of the bloaty bugs off the top and then took forty-five minutes to actually get all the way in the water. She did a crazy total of 46 (was it?) laps and I did a whopping 6. I'm pulling the "I-have-one-leg-and-am-incredibly-out-of-shape-plus-asthma" card. I'm a big girl, I can do what I want. ;]

* Got some college schedule stuff worked out. I'm hoping to take Sign Language and Literature and Composition this Summer. I want to (among other things) be an author... did you know that?

* Went to Old Navy in search of a two-piece bathing suit so I don't feel frumpy in my old lady stule one-piece. I found one! A white top (Nic said that I looked "Yachty") and a plaid-ish frilly bottom. And no, you cannot see. Give me a few more weeks worth of polar bear swims, okay? ;]

* Went "flashlight shopping" during said bathing suit trip. The power went out and they decided to keep the store open... but it was dark inside! It was really, really fun!

* Got a free Apple-Chai Infusion from Starbucks! The power was also out at this little House of Beverage, which meant that they couldn't take credit cards... I ended up with a free drink!

* Had a nice long chat with Lori, from The Nova Studio, about some volunteer work that I'll be doing. I'm SO excited! I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled I am. Eeep!

* Edited a few pictures.

* Went back to Old Navy to pick up the bathing suit pieces that Nic wanted... it was the the Bathing Suit Fairy, I swear!

* Headed back over to Miss Nic's house for a supposed evening swim, but discovered that the water was fricken' freezing. We vetoed and decided to eat corn and talk while the sun set. Hahaha... that's kind of romantic sounding! I love that lady SO much.

* Came home to see my gorgeous Husband rocking out and playing his PSP simultaneously. He just oddles my noodle. Plain and simple.

* Made almost-vegan Veggie Crumble burritos for dinner with kale, chard, soy cheese, organic tomatoes, bell peppers, a spice mix made from organic cumin (this is THE "taco" spice), ground hot pepper and a little sea salt, all wrapped in fluffy white tortillas (keepin' it real).

* Took the movie, Bratz, that nic and I rented, back to Hollywood Video. We actually know one of the guys who was in the movie and we both screamed like school girls when he had his little speaking part. Too good. We're proud of you, Mr. Rad!

* Spent the last few hours loafing on the internet. I have no shame.

In a few minutes, I will:

* Brush my fangs and wash my face.

* Snuggle into bed.

* Read a little bit of Neil Gaiman's, American Gods.

* Give my handsome Husband a kiss good night.

* Sleep.

Goodnight, Moon.

Please Remember.

"Cracks make for character, and authentic character makes for soul."

- Rachel Ashwell.

Love yourself.

Faults, lumps, wiggles, pimples, wrinkles, tears and all.

Hot and Grumpy

Today was hot. I was hot. I got sweaty and cried and made Dustin take my pants and shirt off (which, of course, he didn't mind doing at all) and had him turn a big fan on me. Yuck.

I also ate really poorly, which only further made me cranky and gave me funky heart palpitations. It was really neat, actually, because I only reaffirmed to myself that eating healthy and getting lots of water is a good thing for my body.

Tomorrow is a new day!

When You Give a Man a Camera...

... he'll take pictures of his face.

Oh how I love that face. I loved even more that he told me he was impressed with how well I took pictures of my own face, with my arms being short and all. *rolls eyes* Men, right?

I did have fun editing this picture of him. His face is so much more exciting than mine! Big brows, piercing eyes!

I have been thinking of getting tattoos on/around the scars on my stomach (shown) and my back. I took my top off (score for him) and let him draw on me with a pen. The one on back (where my lung was taken out) didn't turn out very well, but this one on my stomach captured my heart a little. I think it would also look cute with a little girl, dress blowing in the wind, balloon in hand? Maybe I'll request that during our next drawing session.


Last summer, when I started creating this blog, I had switched my diet to a mostly vegan one. After I my sickness and surgery in August, I returned to the world of carnivorism, mainly because my stomach was so messed up and meat, for some reason was easier on me to digest. Backwards, I know.

Recently I have decided to go most back to being mostly Vegan. I'm not doing any meat (with the exception of an occasional piece of salmon), I don't eat any milk or milk products and very little eggs (only when they're in baked goods, which I don't eat to much of as it is). I will use organic honey, which is a vegan no-no, for facial masks (makes my skin SO soft!), but I don't really dig the taste.

I will be posting recipes, pictures and other food goodies as I venture deeper into this awesome lifestyle!

Dustin and I are looking for a small house to rent in Downtown Antioch. I'm so excited! We're ready to be on our own again -- have our own space, kitchen, ect. It's been a little hard trying to find a place that will let us bring our dogs, but as any of you that actually have dogs know, they're part of the family. If you don't want them, you don't want us!

Hope you all had a very nice Friday.

-xo-
Violet

Easter and the Eggs.

Our Easter was nice and quiet. I had a cold (dang you, sporadic spring rain), so I laid low for most of the weekend. We had to make a trip out to my Grandma's house for an Easter Brunch, but other than that, I was a Couch Bunny.

The night before Easter, I doodled on some eggs and dipped 'em in the stinky cups of Paas dye.

The massive tub of crayons that my Mother In Law has collected. Pick a color, it's in there.

My "little" brother Joey (Joe, to his friends) and his kick ass shades. This kid looks good in any pair of sunglasses ever. It's amazing.

One of the pretty Dunch (Dinner-Lunch. Hahaha) tables at Grandma's. She has a wonderful little (huge, actually) house in a town called Hollister. It's in the South Bay, by Gilroy (garlic!) and about an hour from Santa Cruz.

Ahh! Hollister is in a pretty rural area and when were about to leave, I looked over and saw this thing on Dustin's shirt. I did a double take and it was this black, hairy spider with cobalt blue back legs. Ugggh! I have the shivers just typing this. He tried to flick it off and it jumped off of his shirt and landed on his pants. Eeep! My Daddy was a hero and flicked that creepy, furry beast to the ground. Now, I'm not normally a killer, but that thing had girth. I wanted nothing more than to roll it over with left wheel, but Dustin wouldn't let me. He's such a nice one.

My Daddy, or Peeto, as we call him. Don't know where it came from, but it sure has stuck!

My adorable little cousin Timothy. He ate the hell out of that strawberry cupcake, too.

Ah! Adorable!


This is my cousin's little girl, Amalia. CUTE. This little girl loved her bubbles. She spilled them all over the concrete and just had to smooch her hands in the mess. I stuck my little fingers out and joined her. Bliss!



Mustard tinted fields filled our ride home with color.

Oh Spring, I love you!

Happy Sunday.

To all of those that celebrate Easter, may you have an awesome one.

To all of those that don't -- have a nice Sunday!


Pictures, handmade stamps and ceramic goodness to come!

<3

Did I Mention...

...that Blogger is weird and makes the spacing in my posts look funky? YUCK.

Berkeley, Bubby and Little Crafties.

On the 14th (yes, of last month!), Scarlett (who will be called Nic from here on out!) and I ventured out to Berkeley for a day of shopping and girly fun. We took BART, which we both enjoyed, and found our way to Telegraph Avenue.

We were on a mission to find boots and cute vintage goodies but ended up only finding the goodies. Nic had been looking for an awesome pair of flat, round toed leather boots... kind of Equestrian style ever since our trip to San Francisco. She still hasn't found them -they're hiding very well! Little buggers.

Anyways, we walked (well, she walked and I rolled. Team work!) up and down the street, visiting hot little shops. Our favorites included Buffalo Exchange (I scored a sweet cobalt and black shirt, plaid and ruffled. Oh my!), Mars Mercantile and our favorite, Sway. At Sway, I scored a beautiful grey dress and some sunglasses and Nic got a pair of jeans that fit her PERFECTLY. I mean... they fit her so well that the rest of the world should be weeping. It's amazing. The store actually reminded me of a mini Anthropologie, but everything was 1/3 of the price.

*A word on Anthropologie -- I love the store. Everything that they carry is unbelievably cute and fashion forward, yet vintage-y at the same time. BUT (yes, there's a 'but'), that store makes me feel SO poor! I don't think that I know anyone who would be able to plunk down $338 for an above the knee dress. Seriously folks! Who is able to buy a whole outfit there and not go into debt?!*

After a long day of shopping, Nic and I decided that we wanted some kebabs. We headed towards D'Yars, a little place with "fresh and natural Middle Eastern Cuisine." OH MY GOSH. It was delish! They also don't use MSG, which rocks because I'm allergic.

Nic's Beef Kebab plate. Her onions are so purple and pretty that I just want to steal 'em and keep 'em in a little box to look at.

I got a Chicken Kebab plate, complete with yellow (is there a name for this? Saffron? rice, homemade hummus, flat bread, cucumber dipping sauce and a Greek salad.

Of course, all of that eating made us... hungry. Ha! I had never had gelato before and it was declared that EVERYONE needs to try gelato at least once. Mmmm...

That concludes our Berkeley Trip.

----
Here are a few pictures that I took a day or two ago.

Dustin (Bubby) and I goofing around. This was the only picture that didn't have a tongue sticking out or a face scrunched up! I have to beg that guy for a serious picture... no good! He's such a pretty boy. *sigh*

I've been feeling a little bit more crafty lately and these two are the tiny things that I've made and happened to take a picture of.

This little guy's name is Whootie and he' just adorable. I got him at Michael's in a little dollar bin kit and I *really* need to iron him. I keep bumping the yellow plate and he just dissolves, little plastic beads everywhere. He's the cutest little fellow and I can't wait t have him all squish and solid at the same time! I think I smell and addiction to Perler beads coming on...

Lastly, I made this phone dangly-thing a few weeks back. I have this big collection of beading tools and supplies and decided that the little Winnie-the-Pooh plastic toy hanging from my phone was a little... you know.

I each of the little charms means something to me but their meaning is a secret and I won't tell! My favorite is the little glass bird bead that happens to actually be out of focus in this picture. I love birds. Be prepared to see many more.

I've been listening to a lot of Spencer Bell , The Kills and Cold War Kids. More on my the musical loves-of-my-life later. ;]

Hope you all have a great Thursday!

- Violet