Confessions of a Pretty Girl, Part II

Do you ever look back over your lief and notice things? I do. I tend to be rather introspective and for some reason I feel the need to share with all of you.

I always joke that I had real rough few years, when it comes to my looks, and I'm just now coming out of them. In a way it's kinda true. Not that my face has changed at all or anything, mostly how I view myself.

I never felt pretty growing up, I never was the pretty girl. I never learned about hair or makeup. in high school, I may have had a cover girl compact or two, but that was about it. My hair was my natural color, long and I never used conditioner. I just never knew how to do that stuff. I always looked at girls who could and envied them. Then I went off to college and and started cutting and coloring my hair and doing all sorts of crazy things too it. My lifelong love of body modification started. But I still didn't know what I was doing.

Five years ago I went through a divorce and started cosmetology school. I had to start dating again, and I got to spend all day long playing with hair and makeup. All those cool things that other girls knew how to do, I got to learn how to do to. It was so much fun. So my hair got bigger and bigger and my makeup got heavier and brighter. Pretty soon I was the only one in the grocery store with a five inch high pompadour and teal eyeshadow up to my eyebrows. But I loved it. Then I started working at Marios and discovered the beauty of custom blended mineral makeup. Perfectly blended to my skin tone. And I started getting real facials and using professional skin care. So everyday I wear full makeup. It makes my skin look flawless and I love it. For the first time in my life, I feel pretty. People tell me I'm pretty. My mom tells me I'm pretty. My husband tells me that I look great first thing in the morning with last nights makeup smeared across my face, but I'm pretty sure he's just saying that. I've grown my hair out and I love to curl it and it makes me feel pretty too.

So I start to feel l only look good with full hair and makeup. I mean, with my job, I have to wear makeup, it's not an option to throw my hair back in a ponytail and just go. Then I go on maternity leave. I tell myself that I'm still going to do my hair and makeup while on leave. I'm not going to just 'let myself go'. Ha! Who was I kidding. First off, I was so pale that first week after the blood loss, that my makeup wouldn't have matched even if I had wanted to put it on. Then I never really felt like putting it on. So the last six weeks I have worn makeup maybe 7 or 8 days. My hair has been in a ponytail 9 days out of 10. I have gone to meetings, dinner, lunch, coffee, church, everywhere with no makeup and a ponytail. Know what? I got pretty used to seeing myself fresh faced and clean. It's not bad. in fact, it's pretty good. I kinda like myself like this. It sure makes putting on makeup fun. It feels like a mask almost.

So I've spent the last six weeks being just a mom. Tomorrow I go back to work, now I'm a mom and a working woman again. The makeup and curling iron will come back out. But you know what? Now I'm just as comfortable without makeup as I am with it. I love all my faces. (And I love my dear friend Laura for all the facials.)



The beauty industry is so interesting to work in. The things we do to our bodies to enhance ourselves intrigues me. I hate that as women, we don't feel content being just natural, but I love the way we can make women feel amazing just by altering their hair color or adding some makeup. And in the end, I just love making women feel good about themselves.

I'm gonna see if I can find the original 'Confessions of a pretty girl' I wrote it a couple of years ago. I think it's about being a mother, the most beautiful thing I can imagine.

Let's be friends!

I have a lot of friends. A lot of different kinds of friends. People sometimes remark that they wouldn't think I would be friends with this person or that person. "Well, they're not really your type" they say. Which I kinda get. By 'my type' they mean, just like me. But honestly, how boring would it be if all my friends where just like me?

There is this super trendy salon here in Westport called Lady Luck. There's a couple of them, Lady Luck, Choptops, Salon Medusa, that are full of the tattooed alternative types. People tell me they expect me to be working at a place like that, not a high end salon in the classy conservative side of town. Well, a couple of things about that. A - most of the people that go to those types of salons can't afford me, or to maintain their look. They often get a one time funky color then never touch it up. B - I'd be working with and on people just like me. How boring.

I am a people person, that's part of why I do so well at what I do. And people intrigue me. Why they are the way they are, their life experiences, why they do what they do. I'm interested in the schoolteacher, the pharmaceutical rep, the software engineer, the 70-year-old grandma, the midlife gay man, the 16-year-old kid, the never-married-never-want-t

o-be, with kids, no-kids,the liberal, the conservative, the blond bombshell, the Wiccan, the down-home-country-girl, the jock, the biochemist, the b-52 pilot,the stay-at-home-mom, the career woman, and the cheerleader. I am friends with people twice my age and people half my age. I am friends with my parents. All of these people, I enjoy their company. I want to go out to lunch, I want to hear about their lives and hear their insights.

So many people have so much to offer to the world, but get so stuck in their own little cliches and circles that they don't even know how to relate to other people. Let me tell you, 99% of the time, you do have something in common with every person you meet. You just have to find out what it is. You never know who's going to really get you, or touch in some way that you never thought possible, or bring some insight to your life that you may have completely missed before.

Variety, truly is, the spice of life!

My much-requested sugar cookie recipe

This is my much requested recipe for Bradshaw Cookies, so named because the recipe came from Mrs. Bradshaw years ago. They are quite possible the best sugar cookies in the world. the recipe is unique in that it uses sour cream to keep the cookies moist after baking. It's also best to have a stand-up mixer for these because I have burnt out the motor on several hand mixers making these over the years, but it can be done. I use all raw sugar and organic wheat flour when I make them, it give them a heartier flavor that I love, but bleached flour and refined sugar will give you a really light fluffy cookie too. It's up to you! Enjoy!

2 cup sugar 1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter 6 cup flour
2 eggs 1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla 3 tsp baking powder
12 oz sour cream


Using a mixer cream butter & sugar, eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl add soda to sour cream. In another bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Alternately add soda-sour cream mixture and flour mixture. Roll out on floured board to 1/3 - 1/2 inch thickness and cut into shapes. Handle dough lightly. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrease 6 to 7 min. This recipe makes about 5 dozen cookies.


Cream Cheese Frosting


1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 box powder sugar (1lb)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp vanilla
little milk

Mix together and add food coloring

For our dear friends Steve and Christine Hayes. Betcha can't eat just one!

Homemade Marshmallows

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
powdered sugar for dusting

You must have a stand-up mixer with a whisk attachment and a candy thermometer for this recipe

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of the mixer and allow to sit while you make the syrup

Combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees. Remove from heat. With the mixer on low, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly. Generously dust a 8x12 glass baking dish with powdered sugar. Pour the marshmallow mixture in the the pan, smooth the top and dust with more sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out. Turn the marshmallow out on a board dusted with powdered sugar and cut them into squares. Dust your hands with sugar and the knife to prevent sticking.

Makes 20-40 marshmallows depending on the size you cut.

These are kinda a sticky mess, but so, so good, they are totally worth it. I usually only make them once a year. You can really experiment with theses, too. add food coloring, or different flavors, roll them in crushed peppermint, or dip them in melted chocolate. OR dip them in melted chocolate THEN roll them in crushed peppermints :)

Spinach-Bacon Quiche

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
9 eggs
1 1/2 packages cream cheese, softened
3 cups (12 oz) Swiss cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 package frozen spinach, thawed
1/2 onion, finely diced

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in flour, cook and stir until bubbly. Gradually add milk, cook over medium heat until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and let cool. Combine cottage cheese, baking powder, salt and mustard, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Slowly add cream cheese, cottage cheese, and sauce mixture. Fold in Parm, Swiss, bacon, spinach and onion. Poor into two greased 10 inch pie plates. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Top with fresh slices of tomato. Serve immediately with mimosas and coffee to your nearest and dearest friends.

Pasta Bolganese

I don't know how authentic this was but it was incredible. So, my version of Pasta Bolagese

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
2 cloves garlic (or a spoonful of the pre-chopped kind)
3 carrots
1 stalk of celery
1/2 and onion
1/4 of a red pepper
1 cup dry white wine (or sake)
1 small can tomato paste
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup cream or milk
fresh basil
fresh Parmesan
1 bag of pasta

Brown turkey in skillet. Chop all vegtables and place in another large skillet with olive oil and saute over medium heat for 7-8 minutes, till just soft. Add wine and reduce down for 4-5 minutes. Add tomato paste as stir till combined. Add meat and chicken broth. Simmer over medium heat until reduced and thickened, about ten minutes. Add milk or cream and cook for a minute longer, just to heat up the milk. server over pasta Top with freshly cut basil and shredded Parm. Enjoy your super tasty dinner and rocking culinary skills.

FYI - we love fresh Parmesan cheese but don't have a grater, we like the big slices, so we buy whole chunks of parm cheese and use our potato peeler to slice paper-thin slices off the block. The flavor difference between that and the pre-shredded stuff is phenomenal. It only takes another minute or so and it is so worth it.

Something to Live For

I know us punk rock types aren't supposed to really want family and kids. I mean, sometimes it happens that we get surprised with a pregnancy and then we raise our kids with mokawks and skull and crossbone onesies while rocking them to the Ramones and the Descendants. But truly, this is what we were designed to do. Have kids. I mean, it's the biological purpose of sex. To procreate. And maybe having kids isn't right for you, but for me, it's something to live for. It's not always fun, it's almost never glamorous or cool, it's dirty, tiring and frustrating. But I look at my little one asleep in my arms and I love her so much it makes me want to cry. I look at the things we sacrifice in our budget to provide for our kids and I know that it's all worth it. And if I have to spend a Saturday at Chuck E Cheeses or read one more book before bedtime or have a dirty house cause there's no time to clean, it's okay. Because I am doing my best to make sure this kids grow up happy and healthy and can do anything that they want too.

Roxi was four weeks old yesterday. We dedicated her to God in front of our family and friends yesterday. I got to thinking about her birth. I was looking at my 'wall of fame', a collection of random pictures from the last 15 years in odd, mismatched frames. Close to 20 different photos, mostly of me and my friends and family. I was thinking that I almost died 4 weeks ago. I wasn't really ready to admit it when it first happened, but looking back, I know that it really did happen. So I was looking at these photos and thinking about dying and thinking about what it would have been like to have all those photos come to an end. Does that make sense? I record my life through a camera lens. I think we all know I take way too many pictures. I have too many family photos on the walls at home. But I love them. How weird would it be for them to just stop.

My mom was going to get a foster baby that had been shaken and beaten pretty badly, might not make it. 2 months old. And I looked at Roxi and thought "what if someone snuffed your life out?" All those moments I've shared with Ashley that I would never get to see with Roxi. And what about Ash? What if she died at age 5 and I never got to see her go to high school or get married or have her own kids and career and life?

Life really is such a magical, amazing gift. We go through each day not really realizing how lucky we are to be here, and how many people are watching us, are being blessed by us, that we are still here. You might not think your life is much, but to someone else, your life is everything. To your mom, dad, best friends, who knows who else, watching you be alive is phenomenal.

Don't really know where I'm going here, just ranting really.

On a side note, talking to a friend the other day about my delivery. I told her I would definitely do something like a birthing center next time and she just laughed and told me no way a birthing center would take me. "Why?" I asked. "Honey, she said, you are a high-risk pregnancy. You have to be in a hospital from now on." I denied being high risk for a while, but she convinced me. It kinda floored me. I never thought of myself as high risk, even after what happened. I guess I still kinda think I'm invincible, that the rules probably don't apply to me, if I just set my mind to it, I'll be fine. I am a very stubborn person, you know. So anyway. I'll admit it. I am high risk. But don't try to talk me into an epidural. That is just going too far :)

Roxi Ophelia Simmons

Well, they never said having kids was easy right?

Little Miss Roxi was sure taking her own sweet time getting here, but for many many reasons, I don't believe that inducing a healthy pregnancy just for the convince or comfort of the mother is the right thing to do. God designed our bodies and He knows what He's doing, so unless there is a true medical reason for it, just let nature do it's job. So I was due Feb 12. It was now Feb 20th. I was sitting at home all day with Ash, Brian was gone till about 430. I was so so pregnant and miserable and we just had to get out of the house. Enter Chuck E Cheese's. Where $15 buys you 100 tokens and hours of entertainment for the kiddo. So off we go. Some lady in line asks me when I'm due. I tell her "last week" She can't believe it. I really tall, so I hid my babies up in my torso pretty good, so I never look as pregnant as I am.

While we're there I keep getting contractions, which really isn't all that odd, I've been getting them for weeks ow, progressively stronger. It's hard to tell if these are still braxton-hicks, or if they're really going somewhere. So I'm finally so miserable, we get cotton candy and go home. I lay on the couch for 45 minutes timing things. Brian gets home. We time some more. Yes, they are definitely 7-8 minutes apart. Yes, they definitely hurt. Pretty sure this is the real deal. So I get up and make supper, try to get Avatar to finish burning, cause I think I'd like to watch that tonight. After supper I call Fran, my midwife. She tells me to head over to my folks and try and take a nap before things get real bad. We pack our bags, put food out for the cats, grab the dogs and head over. It's been snowing and freezing rain for the last 4 hours, so we get stuck in all this traffic because of the 5 accidents we see on the way over. Sitting in a car is not a fun place to have contractions, mind you.

We get to my folks and I try to lay down. The contractions are getting stronger. I have one, then another one almost right away, I decide to time them and they are now 3 minutes apart. The sleep thing is definitely not happening. I call Fran back, since she lives in Lawrence, almost an hour away, and with the weather and all I want her to have plenty of time to get here. It's about 8:30. She heads out, I go to take a bath. The hot water helps a lot. I find that if I lean forward and rock a bit, it helps me relax through the contractions and eases the pain. I'm in there for about an hour when my folks get home. I get out. Laura shows up and my mother-in-law Jeannie. Fran makes great time and gets here by 10. She has another girl due 3 days after I was. She got a page from her 15 minutes before getting to my house. What are the odds, she's in labor too? But Fran ia already here, so we get her :)

So things get more and more intense. Fran suggests I get into the tub again. I do and it helps. Then things get really intense. We start to hit transition. Brian is in the tub with me and I have to throw up. He really, really, doesn't do well with that. SHe he's got his head down and his ears plug's as Fran holds a bowl for me. Neat. Nothing like spousal bonding over puking in a hot tub during labor.

around 11:45, I decide I need to stand up. The tub isn't doing it for me. So I get out, walk/crawl around a bit to find a position that I like. I end up with Brian sitting on a chair and me kneeling in front of him, leaning on his legs with my arms wrapped around his torso for support. It was great. It was hard to hold myself up because I was so tired. I have visions of just getting this kid out then face planting onto the floor to sleep. It sounds so nice. But back to reality, I am pulling muscles in my legs and arms from straining. I really want to sit down, but I know that I won't be anymore comfortable. So I keep it up. I'm trying to push as hard as I can, but I'm just so tired. It's so hard, because you just know you have to push push push and keep going.. There is no break, there is no rest. Finally I feel her drop down into my birth canal. Ladies, I cannot imagine having an epidural and not feeling this. It hurts, yes, but it is the most amazing, insane, breathtaking feeling in the world. And at the time, it feels damn good cause you know it's almost over. So finally, finally her head comes out and of course, she's got a had up by it. The shoulders won't come out with that arm there, so Fran has to try to push the arm back in. This was probably the hardest part of the whole thing. And unfortunately, this also causes me to tear in about three different spots. I'll leave it at that. Did I mention that Fran keeps getting pages from the other couple and is talking to them on the phone while delivering my baby? That woman in nuts.

So Roxi makes her entrance at 12:57 am, Sunday Feb 21. She is 9 pounds, 7 ounces. I am in awe that I had a second baby that size. Awe. And she has a ton of hair. And it's curly! She I hold her in my lap to wait for the cord to quit pulsing. Basically, the cord continues to deliver blood to the baby after delivery for 5-ten minutes. If you cut that cord prematurely, like they don the hospitals, your baby loses out on about 30% of their blood flow. Turns out I have a very, very short cord. Which may play into what happens later. She she can't really go anywhere but on my lap. So everyone ohhs and ahhs over her. Ash comes in. We all smile and take pictures. We finally cut the cord and pass baby off to adoring grandparents. My placenta still needs to come out. After it does, the uterus should clamp down and stop the blood flow that has been going into baby, but now that baby is gone, needs to stay in me. My placenta is about half out. Ash is very intrigued by this. She keeps getting closer and closer and and asking tons of questions. Then everything finally comes out and with it a lot of blood. Ash goes "I got some on my face!" My dad says "I'll wipe it off for you" she says "That's okay, I already did." Nothing phases this girl.

Unfortunately, a little too much blood came out. Quite a bit. So I start to feel really warm, and light headed and my ears start ringing. I say "I'm going to pass out" As I go down I hear Fran say "I need a 911 call". I wasn't out for long, but I remember feeling like I was just napping. I came too and all these people are yelling at me and I just keep thinking Why are they yelling at me? Then I remember everything. They get me a pillow and get me laid down on the floor. Fran is massaging my uterus, which entails her pushing really really hard on my abdomen. It hurts. After what I've just done, this is really really not fun. And everyone just keeps yelling at me. So then the paramedics get there and put me on some oxygen and off we go. They get an iv in me in the ambulance. And they keep asking my lots of questions. Brian told me later that I was so white, even my lips where white. When we get to the hospital they keep remarking on my color. I keep telling them I cultivate that pale look, but they weren't buying it.

Gets a little graphic here - So pretty soon I have three iv's in me and an ob nurse has her hand all the way up me, cleaning out the rest of the placenta and they're massaging my stomach again. When they do this, it gets my uterus to contract, which slows the bleeding. They put me on a full drip of Pitosin which chemically makes this happen. I look over at the ambulance gurney and see pools of blood on it, which scares me a little bit, but the ringing in my ears has stopped and pretty soon they say I'm stable and send me off to the ob floor. They want an ob doc to take a look at me and stitch me up. We get to the room around 3:00. They decide Roxi can stay (she's not a patient, I am) as long as someone stays with me. Brian and my mom stay. So I dose for a bit but they keep coming in to check my blood pressure and stuff. Finally, at 6:30 am the doc shows up. She stitches me up, among other things that I won't go into detail here, and I'm pretty sure it's was more painful than the actual delivery. I know I yelled more then than I did at the delivery. So she's finally done and I can go to bed. It was kinda funny because Brian had passed out about an hour ago and didn't wake up at all during the whole process. Mom was there and held my hand, which was great.

The nurses really where wonderful at St Lukes. I expected a lot of flak for the whole home birth thing, but everyone was really great about it. They asked a few questions, but no one gave me grief. I think the doc who stitched me up was a little irritated, but she didn't say anything. It was just her attitude. They asked how long I wanted to stay, I told them I'd like to go back home as soon as possible. They said most people stay for a couple of day, but I'd rather chill at home than in a hospital with a bunch of ivs and crappy food. They told me that they would give me blood transfusion if my hemoglobin got below 8. The last time they tested me it was at 7.9, but by the time they came back in to tell me, I was feeling much better, haven eaten a bagel and taken a bath, so they went ahead and let me go, which kinda surprised me, but there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to a lot of what they do.

So I went back home around 12. The last few days have been a lot of resting. I get stronger everyday. Roxi is great. A dream baby. Sunday night Brian was up with her till 2, then he went to sleep, she woke up again at 3, so I had her from 3-4, then she went back to sleep and we all slept till 7. Really not bad for a newborn. Last night, my milk came in, so I never even had to get out of bed. I just rolled over from side to side and she nursed while we all slept. I woke up a lot, but never having to actually get out of bed, amazing.

So, home birth. It was wonderful. Except for the almost dying part. But we really couldn't have known about that. There's a lot of different things that could have caused it, big baby, short umbilical cord, heredity. Brian says no more babies. We'll see about that. But I'm pretty sure my family will not let me do another home birth. I don't really know how things looked through their eyes that night, but it must have really scared them. But the important thing is, I'm here and healthy. There was a lot of praying going on that night, and a lot of prayer leading up to it. But during the birth, being able to move around the house as I wanted, getting comfortable however I wanted, even having my dog there with me, all these things made for a really wonderful birth experience. Even how I feel afterward, especially down there, I feel so much better. Much less pain, which really surprised me. When my mom told me what things looked like when they were stitching, I expected much worse. So I am recovering very nicely and have a beautiful new baby girl. I will be at my parents house probably till Friday, feel free to stop by and see us :)

Brian asked if I wanted his version of the events. I said "sure". He said "No more babies, the end"

We'll see.

The Soundtrack to 2009

My 5th annual. That's kinda a big deal, right?

1. Stuff is Messed up - The Offspring - This could pretty much be the theme song for the last decade.

"You know it’s all about the dream
The ends justify the means

Shopping Sprees, RPG’s,Ecstasy
Atrophy,Genocide, Pimp my ride
Politize, Euphemize, Injustice everywhere
Apathy, I don’t care, Hurricanes
Climate change

Therapy, I won’t tell, Rehab and LOL
Worldwide calamity, TV Reality, Euthanize, supersize
Death squads and boob jobs, VIP infamy
Gratify instantly"

2. Last One to Die - Rancid - An unabashedly in-your-face anthem that celebrates the fact that after two decades, they can still pack the club and inspire fanatical followers.

3. Generals Boombox - The Street Dogs - See previous blog to describe why this song is on here.

4. True Believers - The Bouncing Souls - Also blogged this one recently. A song about my best friends

"We live our life in our own way,
Never really listened to what they say,
The kind of faith that doesn't fade away
We are the true believers"

5. Galway Girl - The Elders - A great local Irish band. This song is a Steve Earle cover, but I like the Elders version of it. It's about a guy falling hopelessly in love with a girl, he says "What's a boy to do, cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue". Probably why I'm partial to it.

6. Black Betty - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - I've been listening to a ton of Nick Cave this year. He's great for just about anytime, but particularly bonfires and late night road trips. His cover of Black Betty is genius.

7. Maison Creole - CC Adcock & The Lafayette Marquis - Dirty swamp rock. Makes me want to get sweaty and dance real close to Brian. Maybe eat some crawfish and gumbo.

8. Whiskeys Gone - Zac Brown Band - One of my new favorite bands. They have a few popular hits on the country circuit right now, but they're best stuff is definitely the lesser known songs. This one sounds like something Hank III would sing.

9. Raging Sea - The Elders - Another one from The Elders. This song is a chanllange to try and learn all the words and then keep up with, a blast live.

10. Runaway - Love and Theft - Besides a fun band name, this song embodies the spirit of anyone that ever wanted to just hit the road and never look back. You feel me Jay?

11. Don't Take Me For Granted - Social Distortion -

"I'm your worn in leather jacket
I'm the volume in your...teenage band
I'm the dreams you had walking down the railroad tracks

I'm your first taste of romance
I'm your first broken heart on a Saturday night
Guys like us ain't got no chance
But I'm the thing that keeps you and me alive

So take me down the road
take me to the show
its something to believe in
that no one else knows
but don't take me for granted

I'm the blood on your guitar
I'm that wave you caught back in 1975
I'm as strong as a thousand armies"

12. She is Beautiful - Andrew WK - Okay, don't laugh! It's a great song and it reminds me of a fabulous couple that I know and makes me very happy for them. And it gets you all pumped up on the way to work in the morning.

13. Old White Lincoln - The Gaslight Anthem - "You and your high top sneakers and your sailor tattoos." I just love that line!

14. East Bay Night - Rancid - A song about home. I could write one about Northeast Nights, or Franklin Ave Nights, or West Bank Night. Just glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about a part of your life.

Also, If I could add the entire cd that Tony made for me, The Return of the Blues Cowboy, I would. But I can't find the paper that tells me what is all on it. But I love it. Thanks TQ.

Listen, love it, live it.

Till next year...

Hightop sneakers and sailor tattoos

Me and my mom

My two favorite daddys - my daddy, and my baby daddy

My little fashionista. How do you like the snow boots with the sundress :)

What can I say, even cowgirls get the blues.

Hey internet family, what's up? Well, as I inadvertently twittered a few nights ago, the rumors are true. I am pregnant. I pretty much feel like crap. At all times. Which is supposed to be a good sign. So mostly, if I'm not at work, I've been sleeping. I went to the doc a few weeks to get a blood test, just to make sure things were okay. She thought some of my levels were low so she put me on some hormones for the first trimester to help strengthen my uterus or something, to help this baby along. Actually, since I got them, I've been feeling much better. Still just really, really tired. Only a few more weeks of this. Brian has been wonderful. He cooks supper (frozen tatter tots and frozen chicken strips, but still) and lets me get quick naps in. Which is nice cause we barely get to see each other. I've been heading to bed around ten every night. I remember from Ash though, that I felt really great by the fourth month, so I'm really looking forward to that. The really fun thing is, I'm in Robb and Katies wedding in October, which means, pretty pregnant, in that really form fitting dress. I won't even tell you what size I ordered it in! Good thing I have a good seamstress down here. She can work wonders, I'm confident.

It's been a bit introspective around here lately. Ashley will turn five this summer. So I'm remembering five years ago, pregnant with her. How different life is now. I never saw this for me, back then, but I love it. It's amazing what hard work and a few years can bring you. I am eternally sad to have left Mpls, but somehow, I feel freer down here. I'm not sure what it is. I miss so many things bout my old home so dearly, but I'm discovering so many wonderful things about KC, too. Our new neighborhood is fabulous, and I know that you don't need a house to build a life, but I feel a real stability in having one. Like I don't have to worry about leases, and moving and getting something bigger and better. We can just get on with the business of our lives. So it's super exciting to be planning to have a baby, to decorate a real nursery (red wall and band posters), to plan ahead and save. To have my husband be really, really, excited to have his baby.

When I was pregnant with Ash, I lived in that little apartment on Franklin. That summer, me and my sister would go to Hidden Beach all the time. I was huge! And I had my little bikini and I'm sure people stared, but it was hot and the water felt great on my big 'ol body. We'd get Sebastian Joe's Ice Cream on our way home. We stated the tradition of Sushi Sunday because of the great happy hour 12-5 at Sushi Tangos. The chefs there knew as much about my pregnancy as my mom did! I was laying behind Angela on her bed one day, talking to her and the baby kicked her back. She was the first one other than me to feel Ash kick. And then I went into labor and headed to the hospital. Then people stared showing up. Probb, Shorty, Jim, Kyja. Ryan, I had like 15 people at the hospital just waiting. And they stayed the whole 22 hours! Jim played his guitar for me at 4 am, Robb did his best to tick me off and Shorty and Kyja gave me back rubs. It was wonderful.

So I'm thinking I really want to do a home birth with this baby. Brian is not convinced, but I'm working on him. Last time, I really wanted a midwife, but my mom talked me out of it and I've really regretted it. Dr Agee was great, but I was on and iv and pitosen and heart monitors and all this crap that I didn't want. Granted, my refusal to take drugs and the size of Ash (10 lbs!) made for a really rough labor and a lot of the was necessary, still, I hated it. So this time around, I'm sticking to my guns and doing it my way. I know Brian is just worried about me and the baby. I've already set up appointments to meet with midwives that specialize in home births. And I talked to my folks about doing it at their house. They have a double jacuzzi bathtub in their bathroom. It's be perfect. Both of my parents are nurses and you can believe that their first interest will be our safety. I think we'll be just fine. And Ash can be there for the whole thing, I won't have to find alternate care for her. She can go sleep in her bed if she wants to and she'll just be a room away. There's plenty of bed for mom-in-law and anyone else that wants to be there. And after the baby is born, Brian and I can sleep in a bed together, a nice big comfortable bed. People can come visit us there, not some clinical hospital. And hospitals are breading ground for nasty bacteria and virus, especially anti-biotic resistant strains. Our baby will be much safer at our home. People treat pregnancy and labor as a problem that needs to be drugged and fixed. It's actually a wonderful experience that I want to have in a happy, warm, comfortable environment. So if we don't do a home birth, we will defiantly do a birthing center somewhere, with a hospital the very last thing we have to do, if things go poorly. I really thought my mom would be against this (she loves modern medicine) but she's totally on board! She told me that after seeing how well I did with my first one, I'll do great at home. It's nice to have her support. And I don't think my dad is loving the idea of a baby being born in his bathtub, but hey, we'll clean it!

So that's most of the news for now. I'm gonna go pass out.

(Follow my inane daily updates at https://twitter.com/Lotus_and_Otis)

Thr rumors are true

I just never could keep a secret. Especially when people start to wonder why I'm giving up coffee and eating all healthy and stuff. So, baby on the way. Due late February. So far things are going well, I'm feeling really good, just really tired. I've been going to bed at ten just about every night. So keep us in your prayers, keep this baby strong, keep me strong and that things continue to go well.

We went to a concert the other night. Our baby's first official concert :) We're calling him/her Deuce until we get to meet him/her and pick a real name.

So... Meet Deuce...

Gee Whiz, what a weekend.

The Beautiful Ashley Roze, ready for church
Me and the band - Tobe of the Street Dogs
Brian's broken nose
Me and my lover
The Crazy Eye


I really feel my age. Lets see, so Sunday morning I decided to go to Tulsa to see the Street Dogs cause I love them and they keep skipping KC when they tour. So I put some feelers out and Ben says he'll go and my mom will too. Which means we get to drive my mom's car. Which is actually a really nice car. Fast. So Sunday afternoon I lose my voice. I feel like crap. Monday, more of the same. So I dip out of work early and go to the doctor. The conversation goes like this.

"Doc, I have the swine flu"
"No, you just have allergies"
"No, I think you misunderstand what's going on here, I have the swine flu, I'm dying."
"No, you just have allergies."

Needless to say, she sends me on my way with allergy meds. Meanwhile, my left eye has gotten very red and gross. I nickname it The Crazy Eye. I wear my glasses for the next three days. Which are actually new and the right prescription and rather cute. Things are looking up and I almost have my voice back and we get up at the crack of dawn on Thursday. Ben comes over and I cut the hawk before we hit the road. I decide to Twitter the whole trip. Ashley keeps calling Ben 'Nick'. Ben wants to know if he can drive the car. Mom decides he can drive and she'll sleep. Instead I watch Mom have about three mini heart attacks as Ben drives her car in ways it has never been driven (by her at least). We get to Tulsa. My eye freaks out again and I have to take the contacts out. I forgot contact solution. We go to Wal-greens and get stared at (mohawked and tattooed). Some guy really likes Ben's hair and my tattoos.

Later that evening I'm sitting outside in my cousin Rebbecca's backyard holding her 4 month old daughter, Kai. Ben is playing blues on the electric guitar (Rebbecca's husband used to be in a punk band so he and Ben talk shop for a long time). It's a beautiful 75 degree day and I can smell fresh cut strawberries. It's a quiet, fabulous moment.

Dinner is over and we head to the show in some dive bar. People stare at us more. I try to convince some guy that I am the most Martha Stewart type girl he'll ever meet. He tells me that I can't be with that shoulder tattoo. He asks what's wrong with my eye. I tell him about The Crazy Eye. The show starts. Ben and I are running around having a great time scaring Tulsa folks, despite the fact that I can barely breathe cause of the 'allergies'. Singing along to every song. Two songs in Mike yells "Kansas City, I want to see you dance!" I guess he recognized us. Great show and afterwards, we are talking to Mike and Tobe, who asks me about The Crazy Eye as well. So they invite us back to the bus to hang out with them and Alkaline Trio, who is also touring with them, but didn't play that night. We don't go cause I am too tired. Ben hates me.

So heading back home the next day and I sleep. A lot. Which irritates Ashley. I have lost my voice again. We run to the grocery store real quick and start getting ready to go see the Offspring. Ben and Kelsie come over and we grill some burgers and put Ben's hawk back up. We tell Brian and Kelsie how lame the crowd at the Tulsa show was. Off we go to another show.

The crowd here sucks too, We don't like Amberlin so we stay out for that, but head in when Alkaline trio starts. very, very push pit. Lots of big dumb frat boy types who think it's just an excuse to hit people. So I get thrown around a lot. I fall down a lot. They play This Could Be Love and Brian and I dance together in the mosh pit. That part was great. The Used was next and we skipped that, the Taking Back Sunday who put on a killer set, I thought. Then the Offspring start and the pit gets really wild. So Brian finds me at one point and says,"I feel like my nose is broken". I look and it looks like a half moon. I mean, it is screwed up! So we laugh for a minute then get serious and head out of the pit.

Long story short, he has no idea what or who hit him and he shattered it into about eight pieces. He goes in on Friday for surgery to fix it. I 'm pretty frustrated. I mean, we're just getting our finances under control and this happens! I have no idea how much it's going to cost us, but I'm assuming a few thousand dollars. But it's broken so bad, he has too! So anyway, I'm sure it's really painful and uncomfortable for him too. I'll keep you all updated. So anyway, we decided we may be too old for mosh pits. From now on, we'll be the boring people in the back. Neato.

Other news, I think I may start writing a book. I dunno. It's an idea that was brought up to me and I keep throwing around. It occurs to me that while my life is not that interesting, I have a good way of making a mundane story entertaining. I think that's why half of my clients go to me. well, that and my stunning color expertise :)

Sigh. I used to blog so much...

I just get so tired anymore. So what's up, what's new. i have felt like death for the last several days, as many of you know. So I got my little self into the doctor today and it's just really, really bad allergies. So I got some prescription allergy meds. So she tells me that they may make me drowsy, to take them while ate home to best gauge how they affect me. How, I ask you, does only being able to take them at home help me? I mean, I have lost my voice the last two days at work. My voice is important to me! My clients come in to hear me talk, to hear my stories (apparently I'm pretty talented at turning my run-of-the-mill suburban/revolutionary life into an interesting saga). So I keep losing my voice and kids, it just plain hurts! So anyway, my eye also started turning really red at work today too, so it turns out I also have an eye infection. Killer. She gives me drops and says that if it's not better int morning, to go see an eye specialist. Great. That sounds promising. Besides, I have two booked solid days on Tuesday and Wednesday and I need the money! But I can't work with an eye infection. So this better be resolved by morning.

I have decided to trek down to Tulsa to see the Street Dogs on Thursday. I haven't had a road trip in a while so I'm excited. I mean, the house will suffer, for sure. My weekends are time to grocery shop and clean, laundry all that, but it will be okay. Brian will live off of Totino's party pizza's and watch bad movies (he was watching BloodRayne today. I mean, seriously, I have never seen a worse movie. Everything, the costumes, the accents, the acting, the set design, all of it.) So anyway, Ben in coming (my concert buddy) and my mom, cause I have a couple of aunts in Tulsa. So that will be interesting. Two punk rockers and my mom in the (what is it Ben?) GS35. Then back on Friday for the Offspring show. Playing with Amberlin (throw rocks at them), The Used (gag, makes me want to shoot myself), Taking Back Sunday (who I actually like), and Alkaline Trio (I like them too). Busy busy weekend. I'm excited. You see why I need this allergy/eye infection thing cleared up NOW! I have faith that when I wake up in the morning, I will feel like a whole new person.

So, Week 3 of the new budget. We are doing awesome! Basically what I did was make a monthly budget. I have a space for everything, from mortgage to pets (dog food) to clothing to entertainment to allowances. Then I went through the month of may and wrote down each paycheck and what was getting paid from each one. So before May even started, I had the money divided up and spent. So we get to use our debit cards for gas and that's IT. I made it pretty flexible, with our allowances and with our entertainment fund. But once it's gone, it's gone. It was neat though, I was at Target and bought some new clothes and I didn't feel guilty about it, because it was budgeted! It honestly takes a lot of stress off of me, because I know that all the bills will get paid. In fact, in three weeks alone, we have made $300 in credit card payments! At this rate, we can have all of our credit card debt paid off in four months. Then all we have left is my school loans. I have a meeting with our financial adviser on Friday (between getting back from Tulsa and going to the Offspring) and we are opening a 529 which is a college savings fund for Ashley and we'll start making monthly deposits in there and also transferring our IRA into a Roth IRA. The rumor is that the government will be doing away with the Roth IRA's in 2010 because they are such a good deal for the public and such a bad deal for the government (post-tax investments vs per-tax). But if you already have a Roth, you'll be grandfathered in. So we'll start making monthly deposits into that too. They're small now, but after we get the credit cards paid off, we can start adding bigger payments. Theses are all thing that I've had to learn about recently, but are oh so important for our future. We understand that we will never make six-figure salaries, but that doesn't mean that with careful money management and restraint, we can't live very comfortable lives. We are on our way. For example, we don't have car payments right now, we own both cars outright. So I opened a savings account and we are putting $200 a month in it, like it's a car payment. So at $200 a month, in three years we will have $7200+ interest. You can buy a very decent used car for that. And then we won't have any debt, any interest we have to pay. So then maybe we start saving $300 a month instead and in three years we have $10,000 in the bank. Instead of piddling our money away on interest payments, we're thinking ahead and buying things outright. SO anyway, money management. That's where it's at.

I heard a quote tonight - Capability breads humility. It means the better you are at something, the less you have to talk about how good you are at something. So I guess I need to shut up about being a stellar colorist.

I think the allergy meds are kicking in so I'm gonna log off before this blog goes really weird. Look out for updates, photos and yes, probably videos, about my weekend.

Next week - Gogol Bordello

A perfect day

What a lovely day. I swore off all errands and cleaning for the day. First I met with my friend Ashley and took our kiddos to Deanna Roze farmstead where the kids can feed baby goats from bottles, feed adult goats, ducks, fish, cows, and just about every farm animal you can imagine. There is a fishing pond and a hayride and a pony ride. If you can handle about 100 other screaming children, it's actually a run time. And free. Then I took my mom out to a fancy lunch for mother's day. I used to do that all the time for her and haven't much the last few years. The older I get though, I realize time is more important than anything else I can give her.

After that Brian and Ash and I went to pick up the dogs. Maddi got spayed and Strummer was hanging out keeping her company. We got lots of compliments int eh waiting room on how well trained Strummer is. Which makes me feel like we're doing a good job. Maddi is our new foster. She has been with us two weeks and has gained ten pounds. She is a full-blooded border collie. She came to us weighing 14 pounds and scared to death of everything! She will now come when called (sometimes) and will let us pet her. She still won't voluntarily spend any time out of her kennel though. She's such a sad little thing, but I think she'll recover well. We'll probably have her most of the summer, I expect. Doc thinks puppy mill, but the shelter she came from said abuse. Anyway, it's a sad thing to do to a dog.

After we got home Ash watched a bit of a movie and I sat outside and read while Brian climbed our apple tree and cut off branches (we've decided to put the poor tree out of it's misery) while the dog and the cat roamed around beneath him. It was pretty funny. It was such a nice peaceful few minutes. Then we made spaghetti carbanara and garlic bread and ate outside in the beautiful 75 degree weather. Lovely.

Brian left for work and Ash and I decided to take the dogs for a walk. That was a trip. I have one dog I'm trying to teach to heel and another that has probably never been on a walk in her whole life. Challenging, at best. By the end though, Strummer seemed to be getting pretty good at heel. Won't it be nice when I can take him on a walk without a leash! I think it's possible.

Then I just acquired My Neighbor Totoro, which I'm pretty sure is one of the greatest kids movies ever. And surprisingly well-dubbed into English. You go, Dakota Fanning. I'm so happy to have it for Ashley. I need to get her more of the Studio Ghibli stuff, but since she can't read I need stuff that's been dubbed. It's better than nothing right?

So anyway, now I'm doing a nice at home facial and my my pores are looking very polished indeed. All in all, it was a perfect day off. The only thing better would be if Brian was still home and maybe a bit of winkedy-wink-wink.

Time to read some more Sookie Stackhouse.

Summer's Coming

Oh boy is it gonna be a busy one. Brian tore up the back half of the yard and put down seed and fertilizer. "It's all in God's hands now" he told me. It will take an act of God to keep those dogs out of the fenced off area, that's for sure. It looks like one of my tomato plants isn't going to make it. It's the Beefeater though, so I don't care too much, the Heirloom is looking good. I still need to plant my sugar snap peas and herbs. That's all I'm doing this year. We don't have much are for a garden and with all the big trees, no area in the yard that gets enough extended sunlight. So I'm planting in pots on top of the dog house.

I have this old china hutch that my mom gave me. You've probably seen it in pictures. I love it cause it holds so much, but it looks pretty dated, and not in a good way. So I have a plan. A rather ambitious one. I want to remove the glass and replace it. That part will be easy, it comes right out. But I want to find a specialty glass place that will make me new panes, maybe with something cool like a sparrow etched on it. Then I want to replace all the knows. Again, very easy. Here's the hard part. I want to sand it all down and refinish it. I want to stain it really dark, like a mahogany or something. I know it will take a lot of time, but I can work on it at night while Brian is at work. I've never done anything like this so we'll see how it goes. I'll fumble through it, like I do everything else grand that I attempt, I'm sure. Like that time I tried to sew Ashley an Easter dress. Never again, folks, never again. But anyway, when it's done, it will be stellar. And much more usable. And my mother-in-law gave me her china set and it's a really nice simple cream colored set. I want to display it in the hutch, but not the way it is now. And I need to get rid of all that bar glassware that I have. But I kinda like having martini glasses, margarita glasses, highballs, rocks glasses, champagne flutes, red wine glasses, white wine glasses, about fifty shot glasses, traditional Japanese sake set, traditional Japanese teas set, two french presses, two shakers, a jigger, kids, I got it all. And I don't use any of it anymore. But I like having it. We'll see. I just need to rearrange.

Also, I need to start on my church cookbook.

And I need to start on my cookbook.

I have a lot to do.

I went through an did up a budget for us. It turns out we have about $900 a month unaccounted for. That means, not going to pay any bills. That is unbelievable! We are hemorrhaging money! I've got to find it. So I sat down and made a list of every week for the rest of the year and who gets paid when and were. Then for the month of May I wrote down what gets paid each week, where all the money needs to go. So we'll see how this goes. It seems like we're always struggling at the beginning of each month, the middle is okay, but then in anticipation of the beginning of the next month, we're broke again at the end of the month. I really want to even things out and get everything under control. I want to know where our money is! And the problem isn't Brian, I know it's me. It's just, with double incomes, we have a lot more money, but we have double the bills too! So I'm getting used to managing all of this. I mean we have to budget dog bills, dog food, clothes for Ash, gas, car repairs, even the food I like to cook to take to our friends houses, hair product! Makeup! Color for my hair, color for Brian's hair! And I need to stop eating at Dean and Deluca a couple times a week. And he needs to knock off Chipotle. We can do this. I'll let you know how it goes at the end of May.

Today is my two year anniversary at Mario's.

Tattoo Number ?

Mmmm, I'm not even sure anymore. It's funny I was talking to a friend today after my latest acquisition and remarking about how to most of my friends, and certainly to my clients, I am the 'tattooed girl', but until today, I haven't really felt like the tattooed girl. Now I think I am on my way. I mean, I have all these little ones, only one big one. And truly, a lot of those early ones, I barely even count. So today I started on my first project tattoo. It will eventually be a 3/4 sleeve. We outlined the top portion of it and I have an appointment in two weeks to get the lilies colored. And that will have to do for now cause he's going on tour to japan for two months and I'm gonna really start working on that whole baby thing. But I'll feel pretty good to get that much done for now. I'd say I probably have four or five more sessions to finish it all the way below my elbow. But you can see the potential and envision where it will eventually go.

So anyway. Other than the part that pretty much went into my armpit, this tattoo was such a breeze compared to my other recent ones. Even my back hurt more, I think. I mean, I barely feel it right now. When I got the inside of my arm done, that burned for hours. It was pink and puffy for days.

So anyway, since I only have one day off this week and spent half the day at the tattoo shop, I have lots of stuff to do. Laundry, clean the kitchen. Clean up from our mohawk session. Shower. You know, the usual.

Oh, yeah, Keira may be meeting her adoptive family tomorrow. I'm a little sad to see her go. She is so sweet. But, that's one less being to clean up after around here. As if one dog, two cats, a kid and a husband weren't enough, right?

And that picture of my sitting on the couch? Ashley took that. She turning into quite the little photgrapher :)

Rage and Grace

So wow, I feel like I haven't blogged in forever. It has been a couple of weeks and that's so odd for me. So anyway, what's new? I got a root canal and the filling did NOT fall out, regardless of what I thought late one night. In fact, it seems to be doing quite well. Ashley is home from her two week hiatus to Mpls and I am reminded of why I cherish her so much. And am reminded to cherish her. She is such an incredible blessing in my life. Speaking of blessings...I am not pregnant. As of today. I was talking to a friend today who is finally pregnant after years of trying, about how it's such a disappointment, every month. How for so many women, when they're late, it's that terrible sinking feeling, that oh, crap what am I going to do? And for others, when they're late, it's hope and rejoicing and excitement. It's so interesting that something so mundane can really cause so many different reactions. So anyway. Not pregnant. Kinda sad, but that's okay, we haven't been trying for long.

On another topic, I am starting a total money makeover for our family. I just made the finally payment on the surgery for Brian's arm yesterday. Now I am in the process of figuring out what we owe who. My goal is to have us completely debt free in two years. With enough money in savings to cover three months of expenses, from mortgage to daycare to groceries. That means no more credit cards ( we don't owe a lot, relatively speaking, but I still want it gone). I want my school loans paid off and any other random stuff too. I still have seven years left on my school loans, but if we really focus, I think w can do it. So lucky for all of you, you're along for the rid. I plan on journaling our progress. it occurs to me that I am 28 and have very little to show for it and if I really sit down and figure it out, we owe more than we are worth. That's not the legacy I want to leave for my children. I want to live free and not have to worry about money of interest rates of emergencies. I don't exactly live paycheck to paycheck, but close enough. I want a cushion in the bank. Money is a dumb thing to worry about and I'm doing what I cant to remove that from my life. Imagine! Living debt free, completely cash based except for our mortgage! We'll see. The first thing I need to do is cut up my credit cards, which I am avoiding by writing this blog. I'll do it tonight, I promise!

This could be a movie sequence, I think

So I am in my bathroom this morning minding my own business combing Ash's hair when the dogs start barking up a storm so I go look out the window and it Linda, who I'd fogotten was coming over for a haircut so I go down to let her in and notice that there is a small river flowing from my washing machine across my basement floor (thank God into the drain). So I let her in and we run into look at it and the washing machine is overflowing, water is just pouring out of it and we unplug everything and that doesn't stop it so we turn the water valve off and that doesn't work (old valves that won't turn off all the way) so we try to turn the water off to the house in the meantime I'm yelling for Brian to wake up (who is exhausted from his four hour color session on his tattoo yesterday then had to go straight to work). I tell him that the washer is overflowing and he jumps out of bed and I tell him to put pants on because Linda's here and he runs downstairs and tell me to find a wrench so as I'm digging through he tool box a putty knife slices my finger open, I mean deep! So he's finally getting the valve to turn off and it breaks off! Which is funny cause when we moved in his mom told us that the valves were old and corroded and they needed replaced but my dad said no they were fine. So I told Brian not to tell his mom about this! So we got the water shut off to the whole house know, the valve to the washing machine is broken, and we need a new washing machine.

Brian goes back to bed, I cut Linda's hair and the dogs go back outside and hump each other (since they're both fixed I guess it's okay right?)

And it's not even noon yet.

Life in my little world

Here are pictures of our new foster dog, Kiera. She's super sweet and will make a wonderful family dog for someone. Also videos of Ashley hosting her first sleepover with her best friend Ashtyn.

Summer Tour Madness

So, new concert announcement, The Offspring will be here May 22 for Buzz Under the Stars with Alkaline Trio, The Used, Taking Back Sunday and Anberlin, which is awesome right? But then I check out The Offspring's official tour announcement and they are touring with several opening bands and the one that is supposed to be with them through May is the Street Dogs, which we all know happens to be one of my favorite bands, but they are not on the Buzz line-up. What the crap is that? Everyone else gets the Street Dogs and we get to a crappy whiny band like The Used? My luck just sucks!

In other news:

Brian gets more tattoo work done tomorrow (finally getting some more color on his side)

I hate hate hate Ed Hardy!

My new Lux De Ville purse shall arrive any day.

We got our first foster dog last week. She came to us as Coconut which we thought was perhaps the dumbest name for a dog ever so we renamed her Kiera. She was definitely neglected. She is a seven month old border collie mix. When she came last week she was not potty trained, had no idea how to play, with us or our other dog, she was a little skinny and attacked our dog whenever he came near her. Now she has gained five pounds, learned how to play fetch with a ball, and is potty trained. She follows Strummer where ever he goes, they play together in the back yard and she sleeps in Ash's room when Ash goes to bed. She is a completely different dog! it's so neat to see what a good stable family can do for a dog. She will make some family very happy, we think.

I went to the dentist last week and need a root canal and a crown. That's what you get for not going to the dentist for nine years. Rotten teeth. At least Ash's looked good. She didn't inherit good teeth from me, that's for sure. Tomorrow is her first eye exam.

Ash is going to Mpls next week and I am painting my house. And having happy hour with Tony. And sleeping, sleeping, sleeping in. Sleeping in.