New To Us

In which I scrapbook for the first time

2008-11-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

It's my grandma's 80th birthday in a few weeks. Her daughters, one of which is my mom, are throwing her a huge shin-dig over Thanksgiving weekend. In Utah. In keeping with our Celebrating Thanksgiving Outside of the US of A tradition we'll be in Canada and not in Utah that weekend. Oh well, no 80th birthday party for us. (Sorry Grandma. Maybe next time!)

At this party my mom and her sisters plan on presenting my grandma with a scrapbook with a photo page for every single one of her kids, grandkids and great grandkids. Months ago an e-mail went out from my aunt assigning us our scrapbook pages. I was told I needed to make a page for me. One for The King. And one for Babboo.

Dude, three pages.

Oh yeah, did I tell you that I've never ever scrapbooked before?

(Just because I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints [Mormon] doesn't mean I automatically know how to scrapbook. Let's just get that straight.)

These scrapbook pages were supposed to include pictures of us with my grandma. I figured this was no problem as I have tons of pictures of me with her over the years. I even have quite a few pictures of her with Babboo. (No pictures of her with The King though.) I sent my pictures off to be printed a few weeks ago and then contacted my older brother Biff to see if he wanted to get together with me to scrapbook.

He's never scrapbooked either.

Man, what kind of Gay and Mormon are we that neither of us has never scrapbooked before?

(Bad ones, that's what kind.)

Last Thursday night Biff and I headed to the local craft store to purchase our scrapbooking supplies. First off, we weren't even sure what types of supplies we needed. We both knew we didn't want to spend very much money. The helpful lady suggested we buy the 12X12 paper and then just coordinate with some matching card stock to accent the photos.

Sounded easy enough.

Especially since I had loads of cute card stock at my house. I bought three pages that had red in them. My brother bought one page that was so ultra butch that it was also super gay. (He really should have just bought a damn rainbow page for as gay as his page turned out. I loved it!)

We headed back to my house and I unloaded my supplies as well as the multiple pictures I had printed out of me with my grandma through the years.

I quickly found out that I had way more pictures then would fit on the 12X12 page. Basically each page would only hold three pictures. I had to choose wisely.

I decided to put a few old pictures and a few new pictures on my page. Babboo's page is full of pictures of him with my grandma. Then instead of The King getting his own page I decided to have the last page be pictures of my little family. (I didn't have any pictures of The King with my grandma. Go figure.)

I found that I also owned more supplies then I realized. Who knew that all the stuff I use to make my own cards can also be sued for scrapbooking?! Really, I had no idea I was so supplied.

Even my brother was a little taken aback by my stash. I mean, dude, I even own a paper cutter, fancy scissors and glitter. (Oh man, I have loads of glitter.)

Once we got started time just flew by. Really, I have no idea how long it took the two of us to make four pages, but by the time we were done we were.....done. My kid was covered in glue stick and my floor was covered in glitter. And all we had to show were a couple of pages.

Today I'm mailing our pages so my mom can put them in the book to present at my grandma's birthday party next week. I suggested my mom make a color copy of the entire book for herself. I'm pretty sure this scrapbook is going to be priceless and a huge hit with my grandma.

My pages aren't the craftiest things in the world. But hey, I know my grandma will love them. And really, we all had fun making them!

Yes you can fit two people in a voting booth

2008-11-05T07:01:00.000-08:00

I registered to vote on my 18th birthday. At that same time I signed up for absentee voting. I was going to be moving away to college in a few months and I figured voting in the mail would be the easiest way to do it.

And so I voted absentee for the past 13 years.

But then we moved into our new house this summer, smack dab in the middle of a Presidential Election and I was afraid that something would go wrong with my address change and I would be able to vote. So months ago I did an online address change for my voting registration. I figured I would just in and vote. You know, with an actual number 2 pencil and a hole to fill in.

Babboo and I picked up The King from the bus stop last night and headed to our local voting local. Thankfully we only waiting in line for about 2 minutes (seriously). I got a little nervous when they said my name wasn't on their list. The King's name was, which was good. But dude, MY NAME WAS NOT ON THE LIST.

What if I wouldn't be allowed to vote?

I was shuffled over to a line and told I could vote using a provisional ballot. I admit I had never heard of this. But whatever, I was going to get vote.

And so, with my husband waiting off to the side and my child with me in the booth, I voted.

Voting, in real life and not by absentee, is pretty thrilling. Maybe I'll always do it this way!

My eyes are now "bare" and "natruale" apparently

2008-10-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the thing. I had a $5 coupon to try Loreal's new Bare Naturale Mascera. Plus Target had another coupon for $1 off. With a deal like that I couldn't not try it out. Right? It's not like I'm some sort of mascara whore or anything. Mostly because my eyelashes are already black and on the long end of the spectrum. So really I'm not looking for a mascara that will change the world for me...I just need something to take my lashes to the next level.

Typically I just buy the Sephora brand mascara. And it seems to work just dandy. But with this awesome coupon I wanted to try the new Loreal mascara.

Honestly my first thought was how light the package was. I'm not sure how much mascara should weight, but this bottle feels like it's full of air. Odd, I know. The texture of the mascara is pretty liquidy. But not so much that it runs off your lashes...it just isn't goopy when applied. This can be a good thing if your lashes tend to get all gooped together. The brush seems to work just fine and I haven't had any problems with my lashes sticking together.

What I have noticed is how I look like a freakin' raccoon every night after I wash my make up off. I don't use a specific eye make-up remover, but with this mascara it seems that maybe I should. It just won't come off. To some people this might be a good thing, but to me it just drives me batty. I find that I have to use a Q-tip to remove the last of my mascara the NEXT MORNING AFTER MY SHOWER. Yep, nothings taking this stuff off.

I'm not sure that my lashes are going to stop traffic any time soon. Like I said, my lashes are pretty okay, so I'm probably not the best demographic for mascara. But the Loreal Bare Naturale mascara is getting the job done, for now. Plus, the price is right.

I'd definitely buy it again. But only if I can get another $5 off coupon.

Anybody else out there tried it? What did you think?

For Your Chewing Pleasure

2008-10-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

I'm addicted to this gum.

I'm spending potential nap time to tell you about it and possibly limit my supply by letting you in on this secret.

My mom turned me onto this but had trouble finding it, so we spent a few days buying and discarding other similarly packaged gums before shouting EUREKA! in Target.

It's Dentyne BLAST, people. Winter Chill is the flavor. Trust me, your entire mouth will thank you.

The only sad part about this whole package is that it packs a wee NINE pieces of numminess. Can you not bulk-pack it? Like 20 packages to a package...so like 180 pieces? That might keep me happy for a week or so.

New Technology -- Read About it HERE FIRST!

2008-10-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

The date: October 2, 2008
The place: Upstate New York
The technology pioneer: that'd be me, Mrs. Squirrel.

The technology? Call-waiting.

Seriously. First time ever. Is the beeping always that loud?

I guess you could say I was bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker

2008-10-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

By now everyone has heard that Sarah Jessica Parker has her own clothing line, right? It’s called Bitten and you can only buy it at Steve & Barry’s, where everything is under $20!! But Steve & Barry’s isn’t located in downtown Seattle. I think it’s more of an east coast thing. Right? Anyway, there isn’t one in Seattle.

When we went to NYC last summer I made sure to stop at the local S&B to check out SJP’s Bitten line. At that time I bought a new winter coat, a pair of pants and a t-shirt. They were all under $20. I was happy with my purchases. (I have gotten so many compliments on the coat. Really, it’s cute.)

I had heard that there was a Steve & Barry’s in the state of Washington, I just wasn’t sure where. Well, last week I got online and found out it’s located in Everett city mall. Everett is about 40 minutes away from Seattle and also on the way to the local outlet mall. Last Saturday, with my mom in town, we decided to head out to Steve & Barry’s and the outlet mall. Hey, might as well hit them both.

It was going to be a perfect day.

My goal for that shopping day was to get some jeans that I could wear with regular shoes. You see, I’m short. Not super, duper short. But short enough. I’m about 5’ 5” and I have to wear every pair of pants I own with heels. Even my jeans are worn with heels. I wanted some pants that fit sans a 3” heel.

I was hoping to find some jeans at Ann Taylor. I love their jeans and figured the Petite ones would be perfect. Except guess what? The Ann Taylor loft didn’t have the jeans I liked. So yeah, NO JEANS.

But then I remembered that we were also going to check out SJP’s Bitten line later that day. And I knew the jeans would be less then $20. Hey, you can’t go wrong, right?

My mom and I walked into the store and instantly I fell in love with the new Bitten coats. But yeah, upon closer inspection it seemed a little cheap looking. Cute, but maybe a little too cheap. The jeans, on the other hand, looked pretty good. And for $9.98 I was sold. Even before I tried them on.

I grabbed my size in a "short" and ran into the dressing room. I thought they fit nicely and my mom agreed that they look decent enough. Especially for $9.98.

And so I bought myself a pair and I've been wearing them ever evening after work since last Saturday.

They aren't as dark of a wash as I would want. But again, for $9.98 I'm happy. And dude, the "short" isn't too short for me like most "shorts" are. In fact these are just the perfect length. I think I could even wear them with a bit of a heel, if I wanted to.

I'm anxious to hear what the rest of you think about Sarah Jessica Parker's Bitten line. Seriously, do tell!

Hello Craig! I'm Stacy. Let's do business.

2008-09-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

I'd heard of this Craig's List thingy and wanted to try it out before I was the last person on earth who'd used it...well, besides John McCain.

First, I looked there for a painter for The Back Porch Project. Right away, I found a young whippersnapper who listed a friendly ad and linked to his website featuring lovely before and after shots. I hired the young man on the spot -- I couldn't help it. I just had to give him a shot, since he was working so hard at establishing himself in the painting business.

Did I ask for references? Negatory. Did I get other estimates? Oh no. I just hired him and ... it worked out great. Whew. That could have turned out poorly, like the last 8 years of presidency. Just saying.

Next, I decided to sell my Hello Kitty coffeemaker. I was in one of my four stages of Depression: Purging material goods. Other stages include: Overeating, Shopping and Sulking. Purging is my favorite. While I heart longtime my Hello Kitty coffeemaker, I rarely used it, and we have no place for it in our kitchen. It sat at work, unused, and even though the little happy kitty perched on top of the coffeemaker could make even Strom Thurmond crack a smile (if he weren't dead.)(he's dead, right?), I had to part ways with it.

I wanted it to go to a loving, enthusiastic home, and after listing it for $15, I got nothing but crickets. Until...

an interest buyer in Ohio emailed me.

But wait, aren't I suppose to be wary of non-local buyers? Shoooot. What to do, what to do?

I emailed the prospective buyer and explained my hesitation. She emailed me back with her understanding of my predicament but still enthusiastically wanted the Kitty. I could feel her desire. She loved the kitty coffeemaker. She NEEDED the coffeemaker.

For God's sake, people...she tattooed Hello Kitty on her arm.

Long story shortish, I googled her Hello Kitty wanting ass, Facebook'd her, and realized unless she had an elaborate online fake persona, this girl was realin' and dealin'. I wrapped that bloody coffeemaker with enough bubblewrap to cushion a friggin Frigidaire and mailed it off with a nice note and a prayer.

One week later and looook who made some dough! This girl.

Tomorrow: Live-Blogging a Live-Show!

2008-09-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will try something new related to blogging: I'll be live-blogging the making/attending of The Martha Stewart Show down in New York City! One of my bestest bloggy friends forwarded me an email about the Martha Show looking to fill her audience with bloggers. I hopped on that like stink on Diaper Champ and rounded up a friend to join me on the early train to NYC!

There I will be schlepping my laptop, a breastpump and assorted superfluous cosmetics so in the slim chance the camera pans my way, the light reflecting off my shiny forehead won't blind you, in the viewing audience..and what if I need my berry-colored gloss? Unless my eyes are bloodshot from getting up so g.d. early...which is why I'll also bring my more brown-based Prescriptives lipstick. Also? If you hear a loud whirring during the show, it's probably me pumping. I'm sure that won't interfere with production, right? Good.

We'll see how friendly New York is to breastpumping moms! Amtrak? Martha Stewart Show? Random shops and restaurants? I'm taking my pump to the streets. Let me in! Let me near your outlet! Let me pump!

As for live-blogging, which was really the point of this post, this should be about perfect for me -- the consumate second-guesser. I can write, publish, rephrase and republish, say something new, publish, rephrase and expand on, and continue this stream of consciousness right through the morning. Should be a good time, even if I won't be sitting near live reindeer.

I do wish she was going to be there...or this blogging icon. I'm trying to not to be ungrateful for the guests lined up...I'm trying to summon some excitement. I'm just not into food, political or gardening blogs. At all. The headlining guest? Sure as shit I'm excited.

What if we get to question Perez...what do you want to know? Anything from Martha?

Hair like you just walked off the beach?

2008-08-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

Last year I bought Bumble & Bumble's Surf Spray. I'd read about it over at Amalah's Advice Smackdown and decided I needed to try it. My cousin was working at a salon, so she got it for me for a steal. I think it was marked at $16 and she got it for me for $8. Which is still more then I can afford, but I went for it anyway!

My natural hair is already ~~wavy~~ ~~curly~~ not straight, so I wasn't quite sure what this surf spray would do to my hair. According to the Bumble & Bumble website the Surf Spray is:

Excellent for wavy types and surfers with winter blues; adds body to fine hair; a nice texture for silver hair.

According to Amalah's Advice Smackdown:

The whole point of the product (Surf Spray) is to add a bit of "grit" to your hair, aping that salt-and-sand crazy flyaway look you get at the beach.

I know the beach hair that Amalah's speak of and I know that I love it and want it. I used the Surf Spray as directed on the bottle:

Work through damp or dry hair; let dry naturally or blow-dry with a diffuser. Or on dry hair for detailing and adding lift at the roots. The less you touch it, the longer it will hold.

The thing is, I wasn't sure how much to use. I usually don't use a lot of product, so I didn't use a lot of the Surf Spray. Maybe six sprays throughout my hair. (Two on each side and two on the back.) Plus, I didn't want to waste all of this spendy product in this trial phase.

I saved it for special occasions and then mostly forgot about it. Yep, I forgot about it. I'm not sure if that means it didn't really work, or what. But I didn't use it that often.

A few weeks ago, while shopping at my local drug store I saw a product I hadn't seen before:

Sunsilk Waves of Envy Sea Mist.

According to the Sunsilk website:

Recreates a beachy look in a bottle. Sea salt attracts moisture from the air to create the perfect conditions for tousled beachy look.

Best of all if was only $3. I bought a bottle and tried it out the next day after I got out of the shower. Since it is so cheap I wasn't afraid to use a ton of it. And that's what I did, I sprayed and sprayed. And then I used my fingers to twist some big pieces of my hair. And then I used my diffuser, like I always do.

And while it doesn't make me look (or feel) like this:

It does make my hair look like this:

And, let's be honest, that's plenty good enough for a $3 bottle of hair product.

Visiting Woodland Park Zoo for the first time

2008-08-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

For Babboo's first birthday I took him, along with some family and friends, to a small zoo outside of Seattle. The King was deep in the middle of building the new house, so we left him at home to work.

Last Friday The King and I decided to cut out of work early and take Babboo to the local Woodland Park Zoo. The King hadn't been to the Woodland Park Zoo since he was a kid and Babboo and I had never been there.

Hooray for trying New Things!

The afternoon started off great with a visit to the gorilla house. Oh my goodness, my heart about melted when I saw the mommy gorilla all snuggled up next to the baby gorilla. It reminded me of all the nights Babboo and I slept like this when he was teeny tiny. (Dude, saggy nipple alert.)

As we were walking away from the gorilla house I noticed our friends walking toward they. I guess we weren't the only ones with the idea to leave work early for a trip to the zoo. I'm no mathematician, but I'm thinking the odds of running into our friends rights as we were both getting to the zoo are pretty high. I mean, not to sound like too much of a nerd, but dude, what are the chances?

I spent most of the day making my kid pose for all the usual pictures. I mean, what mom doesn't dream of having their kid's face on a butterfly?

I know I've always dreamed of it.

I've also always wanted to see what Babboo would look like as a caterpillar.

(For the record, he'd be a very cute caterpillar.)

Or how about a picture of my kid riding on a bear. Oh yes, it's long been a dream of mine.

And a dream of The King's, if I'm being honest here.

Of course it goes without saying that Babboo's favorite part of the day was eating his first push-up bar. He couldn't push that darn thing up fast enough. Of course it ended up breaking and ice cream wound up everywhere but in his mouth. Poor kid.

One of the crazy parts about hanging out with these certain friends of our is that our kids names are a little too close for comfort. Of course I paid no attention to this when we named Babboo. I hate having to call after them when they run away.

"Luke, Leia*, get back here!"

People look at us like were some type of freaky George Lucas fans

Of course Babboo and little Leia love hanging out. (Yes, Babboo is wearing the pants that I patched up for him. I think they are adorable.)

All in all, we had a very lovely time at the zoo. Only made that much nicer because of our friends.

* Not their real names. But you get the picture, right?

Dear Target, I Love You.

2008-08-22T17:35:00.001-07:00

I normally don't post my weekly Target finds here. I don't think I've even shared with you my addiction to orange handbags and totes. Why not start now?

I simply MUST because I'm in love, people, LOVE! L-O-V-E with my latest orange addition to my shoulderwear collection!

Loookkkeeeeee it. Love at first sight does indeed exist. As soon as that graphic popped, I planned out which Target to head to after work (the superstore, naturally -- better selection), grabbed a sandwich and pop from the little cafe across the hall and checked the clock. Oh crap. I still had 15 minutes left of work. Blahblahblah work gets done, then I hit the parking lot!

NOW nothing stood in my way! PAPRIKA PURSE -- YOU WILL BE MINE!

My GOD it took me several loops around the handbag department (yes, I know it's like 3 shelves) before finding it. I was sweating it though, peeps. Maybe our Targets wouldn't be getting the satchel. Maybe they've already been scooped up. Maybe MY SWEET PAPRIKA SATCHEL WASN'T TO BEEEEE.

But alas, there she was. On the fourth shelf (as I said, it was a superstore. duh!). If I didn't have to quickly drive home to pump, then deliver another bottle to daycare for the Nugget, I swear I would have swapped purses right there.

Eventually, the ceremonial purse swappage took place, and even though sporting a (gorgeous) paprika satchel in late August could be considered a tad premature, me no care. You jealous. Jealousy ugly. Booo you!

Regress much? Oops. Sorry!

So there you have it! Another stunning orange accessory to accompany my orange canvas satchel, orange canvas-poly-something-SO-not-organic tote, and orange canvas diaper bag.

Welcome home, love.

Oh yes, this old thing?

2008-08-17T22:06:00.000-07:00

Why shoot... I haven't introduced to this blog yet the GREATEST new thing in the past 5 months and 2 weeks of my life... it's The Nugget!

Just look at him! Isn't he cute? See, now you're not angry with me for never posting over here...I've been busy pinching those CHEEKS! He's dreamy. I'm in love...all over again.

Having two children definitely more than doubles the work, but the highs of having children also reach so much higher, which I didn't think was possible. The lows, unfortunately, also dip further into hair-pulling-out-dom. They don't last as long, though -- I can't wallow in the tantrums. I don't have time. I calm one, then calm the other and then it's go time. Distraction! Shiny happy things! Weee let's throw stuffed animals at each other over the guestroom bed while I shield Baby Nugget with a pillow! What? You don't play that game?

It does get better...for those of you thinking of having two or in the overwhelming throes of having a new baby or two. It gets great, in fact.

Jojo and The Nugget are such different babies (well, Jojo is a Big Boy, and he'll tell you that). What we were used to with Jojo's infancy can now only be remembered -- through our swiss cheesed memories, or thankfully, those captured on film or video. But let's see if I can remember some of the main differences:

Jojo -- pooped at least three times a day.
The Nugget -- poops every 8-10 days.

Jojo -- came out big, but then slimmed down
The Nugget -- came out somewhat big and has only got bigger...he's currently only five pounds lighter than his older brother!

Jojo -- hated baths for the longest time.
The Nugget -- loves to lounge and kick in the tub. No worries!

Jojo -- spit up only a handful of times.
The Nugget -- spits up handfuls after every feeding.

Thankfully, they share many commonalities -- like that we're flipping crazy for them, they're both healthy and thriving, and they love to snuggle, smile and coo.

I'm so happy being the mother of two boys. Every day I learn something new about them and about myself, and even if at the end of the day I'm achingly exhausted, I still look forward to tomorrow's adventures.

Jojo's new role as a big brother has been incredible to watch. He seemed to understand that his brother was in mommy's belly, but I wasn't sure how it would be once he saw the screaming bundle of Nugget. We introduced him to his brother right away. He just kind of looked, repeated his name, then continued on opening his Big Brother present we brought with us to the hospital.

The nurses needed to take the baby for testing, so Mr. Squirrel and Jojo accompanied the Nugget in his rolling bassinet up to the nursery. While Mr. Squirrel and Jojo took their places in front of the glass outside the nursery, a group of touring expectant parents entered the hallway to check out the facilities.

"Look who we have here," said the tour guide, a nurse, "a brand new baby."

One of the expectant fathers wondered aloud if the Nugget was a boy or a girl.

Jojo informed them: "That's baby brother. MY baby brother. Baby Nugget."

He's been proud, protective and loving ever since. I think Jojo would label his new baby brother as we would: a wonderful gift who gives us great joy.

And now maybe I can dress myself a little easier

2008-08-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

The King and I have been married for eight years (or it will be eight years on Monday). And during those eight years I've asked him to buy me a full-length mirror. Every birthday, Christmas, anniversary, and Mothers Day I ask for one.

Yes, on every single gift-giving holiday I make this one request:

"Buy me a damn full-length mirror already!"

And every time The King tells me of his plan to build an entire wall of mirrors in the bathroom for me.

The idea sounds awesome and something I'm totally down with. But dude, it has yet to happen. We've built two houses and neither of them has a wall of mirrors.

On Monday night we went to IKEA to procure more curtains for the new house. Oh yes, I'm still working on hemming curtains for the million and six windows in our house. (While I'm cursing the amount of windows in the house right now, I'm sure I'll be thankful for them come the dark months this winter.)

Anyway, back to IKEA.

While The King was busy loading our cart up with pots for our new deck (that's right, we have [part of] a deck!)...I waltzed over to the mirror section and dreamed of one day having my own full-length mirror.

Then it hit me. Yeah, just throw a damn mirror in your cart and call it good.

And so that's what I did.

For our anniversary on Monday, I'm asking The King to get out his hammer and nails and hang my new mirror to the inside of my closet door.

(I am kicking myself for not doing this years ago. The stupid thing was only $9.)

($9, people. Why did I wait so long?!)

(I won't have to wait until I get into the office to use the full-length mirror in the bathroom at work. Now I know what I look like before I leave the house.)

Having a birthday isn't "new", but being 36 is!

2008-07-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Squirrel is 36 today. It's her latest New Thing and it's very fabulous. Just like she is.

Here's hoping that we can all look at fabulous as she does when we're her age!

Keeping it real at BlogHer '07

I've never done an iron-on quite like this before

2008-07-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

Babboo has this one pair of jeans that my mom bought him. They've always been my favorite, for whatever reason. When he fell down on his way home from school and got a hole in the knee I was bummed. I hated to see the end to my favorite little jeans.

I hoped The King's mom could cut them off, above the hole, and make them into shorts for our upcoming trip to Europe. Unfortunately the hole was too high to make shorts. Instead I decided to patch the hole, ala circa 1977!

Of course patching a hole in jeans is something I had never done before. I didn't even have any instructions, just a small piece of left over patch material The King's mom gave me.

It can't be that hard to do, right?

First, you start with a super cute little pair of jeans. With a hole in the knee:

Next you need to cut the patch to the right size of the hole. (I used the bottom of a cup to get the sizing correct.):

I wasn't sure what setting to use on my iron. So yeah, I just used "cotton". I figured it would need to be pretty hot:

Then I placed the patch over the hole and tried to decide exactly where I wanted the patch to go.

Next I started to iron it on. I pushed down pretty hard, but I'm not sure if you really have to. Seriously, where are the instructions on how to do this properly?

Of course I did all this while Babboo was taking a nap on the couch. And I used my timer setting since The King was busy in the back yard building our deck.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with how good the iron-on patch worked. I just hope I did it right. I mean, I didn't have any instructions! I could have been missing the very important step that includes using glue. Or water. Or an actual thread and a needle.

Whatever. I'm sure these will work just fine!

Hey look, I'm talking about bikini waxing. Again.

2008-07-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

My unofficial title is Interweb Queen of Brazilian Waxing. You all know that, right? It’s not a title I take lightly. So what if I gave myself that title. It’s still important for me to stay up to date on the latest Brazilian waxing trends.

(Oh yes, there are trends when it comes to waxing Maybe one day we’ll talk about pubic hair coloring. And geometric shapes.)

I had purchased the GiGi Brazilian Bikini Microwave Wax Kit on Amazon a while back, but continued to get waxed professionally. Unfortunately we’re going on vacation this weekend and I didn’t have time to make an appointment to go into the spa. Our vacation will involve some bikini time, so I knew I needed to clean myself up a little bit. Which meant I was doing my own brazilian wax, at home.

I’ve done this before using the Nair at home wax and it’s been fine. Really, I never had any complaints. But this GiGi brand is a hard wax and that’s something I wanted to try.

Using a hard wax means there is no messy cloth strip used to rip your hair out. Instead you apply the wax, which then hardens, and you simply pull it off with ease. The product description says its “fast, efficient and gentle”.

Guess what?

It totally was. With a little help from my trusty chair in my vanity area and a mirror I was able to get the job done. It took less time, was easier, cleaned up better and, I PROMISE, hurt less. Way, way less. (This might be less because of the product and more from my deadened nerves.)

I’m 100% totally hooked on this product. So much so that I’m pretty sure I’m going to forgo getting brazilian waxes done professionally. With the money I save from no more spa visits I can buy as many at-home kits as I want and do this every other weekend.

Is GiGi paying me to say this?

I wish.

If you’ve been nervous to try giving yourself a wax (any type of wax), I would recommend you try GiGi’s out. And if you want, I can even come over and help you heat up the wax in the microwave. Don’t believe the directions and heat it for more then a minute.

Remember, Hair Free Is The Way To Be!

In which I learn how to use my sewing machine

2008-06-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

I never took a sewing class in high school. I wanted to, but Sewing 101 was only taught third hour. And I had Yearbook Staff third hour. I was smart enough to know not to drop out of the yearbook staff for some crappy sewing class.

(Looking back I’m pretty sure sewing skillz would have helped me better then the photo cropping skillz I learned during my stint on the yearbook staff.)

What I’m saying here is that I have no idea how to sew. If placed in front of a sewing machine I can sew a straight(ish) line. But please don’t ask me anything about patterns or threading bobbins.

Please.

Long ago I inherited an old sewing machine from The King’s mom. It came in its own carrying case and had its original Operators Manual. It appeared to be awesome. Did it work? Who knows?!

This weekend I found out that it does, in fact, work.

(And by “work” I mean that I read the manual and figured out how to sew a straight line using said machine.)

Using my own skillz that I have amassed over my thirty plus years on this earth, I used my awesome hand-me-down sewing machine and hemmed our new IKEA curtains in our master bedroom this weekend.

Check out how they looked Before. All long and dumb looking. This was so not going to work in our new house. (You like the blue painters tape stuck on the wall? Yeah, I'll tell Babboo. He's very proud of his handy work.)

It took me a few minutes with some stick pens and a tape measure, but eventually I figured out where I needed to cut the curtains before I began sewing. I hate the cutting part. It's so permanent.

Gulp.

(Yep, I am wearing my iPod. I hadn't quite yet finished the "Twilight" series. I finished it on Sunday night. It rules.)

(Yes, that's our bathroom doors stacked in the corner. We're still waiting for the hardware before we hang them. For now, no doors on our bathrooms. Remember that before you think about coming out to visit.)

(That is Babbo's orange tool box on top of the pile of doors. Dude, I wish he could actually help out. We sure could use it.)

I began sewing as soon as Babboo went down for his nap. I wasn't sure how much I could get done before he woke up. Plus, I didn't know how long I'd be able to stand and sew. (As of Monday night we didn't own a table.)

I decided I'd do double duty and use both the hemming tape (provided by IKEA, thanks) and sewing the hems. First I ironed the hemming tape on and then the fun part (the actual sewing?) began.

I was surprised when I found that I actually liked doing this. Really. It was fun. And easier then I would have imagined.

I hung up the first (of four) panels to see how it turned out. May I say...it turned out perfectly. There was just the right amount of distance between the curtains and the radiator.

Preston approves of my handy dandy sewing skillz. Although he may not approve of his new haircut. Poor cat.

Okay, so the sewing took a little longer then I expected. Babboo woke up in the middle. And I wasn't in the mood to stop. I was on a roll and didn't know when I'd get the chance again. So I plopped the kid in front of the back door so he could watch The King and Papa work on our deck.

This little plan worked perfectly. Babboo was totally content to just sit on his chair, eating animal crackers and "helping fix". I'm such a smart mom. (Haaa!)

After too many hours to admit to, the curtains were completed.

I'm pretty proud of myself. But not proud enough to start sewing my own clothes. Or anything besides a straight line.

So tell me, anybody out there actually made their own curtains from scratch? Is that hard? Cheap? I mean, should I try that or just stick to IKEA curtains?

2 years, 8 months

2008-06-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

that's how long it takes for me to shrug of styling (um, brushing) Jojo's hair. Suddenly, my son's hair whacked out and needs occasional brushing. Oh no. I won't commit to daily brushing. And you should have seeeeen the smirk I gave the stylist at SnipIts who recommended some kiddie mousse to me. Was she for real? I was searching for the hidden camera but never found it.

But this hot mess? I did the ol' lick palm and flatten (that's FREE, ladycakes!)...which, admittedly, looked awful and forced me to grab my brush.

I probably need to start having Jojo do it himself, but he's still rather skeptical of brushes and combs, since we rarely use them on him. A slow introduction to the art of hair maintenance, I'm guessing, is in order. Maybe mommy can find him a Curious George brush next time I'm at Target...

No Tip Necessary!

2008-06-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has had kids knows the wonderful gift of food delivered to the sleep deprived family.

We gratefully accepted meals from neighbors and my moms group. Mr. Squirrel and I marveled at the thoughtfulness and sighed at the ease of making a nutrious dinner simply by following the heating instructions thoughtfully included with the congratulations note attached to the pan.

With the casseroles coming to an end, and my visiting mom not returning to town for a few weeks, we stared bleakly into each other's eyes and considered ordering pizza...but then I remembered the gift certificate from my colleagues for FamilyChef -- SIX Mega Meals meals we could choose and have flown to us within days!

My husband and I pulled up the website and chose our six meals: Zesty BBQ Pork Ribs, Savory Beef Pot Roast, Jumbo Buffalo Wings with Peach Cobbler, Bavarian Meat Loaf, Chicken Cordon Bleu and Southern Shrimp Creole. Thinking of the nursing newborn, I tried to pick meals that didn't contain too much spice, tomato sauce or onions, thereby eliminating most of the pasta dishes. That's fine by me -- bring on the meat, ya'll!

Oh were we excited when the package arrived! Thankfully, we thought ahead to make room in our tiny side-by-side freezer by eating the perogies, ravioli and other items we'd forgotten about in the past months.

The package from FamilyChef arrived in a tightly boxed styrofoam cooler, packed in dry ice and indicating the need to immediately unpack & freeze. The six meals were packed efficiently and labeled clearly -- obviously, the company takes packaging and shipping seriously.

As soon as my husband arrived home, we heated up two of the meals. The website indicates that each meal serves up to two people, but with our appetites, I knew we'd each need our own meal. Plus, we tend to make the "main course" of any meal, and the side dishes usually consist of bagged salad or one vegetable item. We still don't have the "full meal" down yet, so the protein and vegetable or starch contained in each MegaMeal would be it for us.

Hi. Meet the Bavarian Meatloaf and Chicken Cordon Bleu before they're devoured by hungry and sleep-deprived parents.

It took only three days for us to eat our way through the six MegaMeals, and that includes sharing some of each meal with our toddler, Jojo. I'm a little shocked and please to report that all six meals were delicious.

I'll admit -- I'm no "foodie," but I also know bland and overspiced. These meals were neither. I kind of expected them to be underspiced, so I'd set out the salt & pepper...the first night. After the first two tasty dishes, I knew the next four would be equally delicious. Even my husband, who tends to criticize ("make suggestions") had nothing but glowing praise...not once did he wish for more garlic or for them to ease up on the paprika. It was allll goood.

So if you're looking for the perfect gift for new parents, your friend who lives alone and hates to cook or even grandparents, the Squirrel family heartily suggests thinking of FamilyChef. I guarantee your loved ones will thank you!

The New House

2008-06-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

Last week, after moving into our new house, Carly sent me an e-mail and asked me what my favorite thing in the new house was.

Wow, my favorite thing? That's a hard one. Mostly, I told her, I was just happy to be out of our one bedroom apartment. I'm happy to not be sharing a bedroom with my Sweet Babboo. I'm happy to be able to shower while The King also takes a shower (in his own shower.) (Dude, we don't shower together. Nekkid boys? Gross.)

So after living in the new house for a few more days and thinking more and more about Carly's question, I figured out what truly is my favorite thing about the new house.

And so, may I present you with video, as proof of it's awesomeness:

So tell me, what is your favorite thing in your house?

*Please don't judge the messy house. We're still trying to unpack things. And, be assured, we bought a toilet paper holder which should slow down Babboo. But um yeah, it hasn't been installed yet.

In which my new commute kills me

2008-06-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

When I first moved to Seattle (over eight years ago last weekend), I was afraid of riding the bus. Okay maybe not afraid, but I was definitely nervous about it. Maybe cautious is a better word.

Yeah, I was cautious of bus riding.

Which means that I would rather walk up the hill to my apartment then take the bus.

Over time I realized this was lame. I was being lame. I needed to grow up and just figure out how the bus system worked. So I asked one of my coworker (who was also newish to the city) to teach me how to ride the bus. He explained what direction my bus pass needed to face when I scanned it. He told me all about Free Ride Zones and when you had to pay when you got off the bus or when you got on the bus (depends on what direction from the city you are headed).

After my tutorial I started riding the bus. I had this new found freedom that I loved. I was able to get a free bus pass from my work and using Metro's website to plan my trips, I could go anywhere.

I felt so lame for missing out on months that I could have been hopping around the city with my bus pass in tow.

(I can be such an idiot sometimes.)

So that was like seven years ago and about a million bus rides ago. Dude, I consider myself to be a bus-riding-fool and I've taught my kid to be the same. For years I rode the bus to and from work everyday. I would pack a book and just enjoy my time alone. (Well, as alone as you can be with a bus full of commuters.) I didn't think anything about waiting in the rain for my bus to come. I adjusted and just wore a hat. No big deal.

Almost three years ago we moved to downtown Seattle where my commute consisted of walking a few blocks to my office every day. This new commute didn't allow for any "alone time" or book reading. Basically it was just enough time to listen to two short songs on my iPod.

I quickly feel in love with my new commute and found myself bragging to anyone at my office that would listen about how awesome it was to get to work so fast.

Dude, I walked to work.

AWESOME.

I remember someone once mentioning to me that I was probably ruining myself with this commute. I mean, he said, there was no way I would ever have another commute as awesome as the one I had while living in downtown.

We moved into our new house last weekend. There went my two-song-commute.

I'm back to daily bus rides into the city for work. The King takes Babboo with him on the bus in the morning and I bring him back with me in the afternoon. (The King works much later then I do, so this allows Babboo to be in daycare for less time then typical.)

For some reason the bus ride home is perfect. There is always a bus waiting for us when we get to the bus stop and the ride is like 15 minutes with a short walk to our house.

But, for some odd reason, my commute in the morning is a k-i-l-l-e-r. It is taking me over an hour from door to door. What in the crap am I doing wrong and how I can fix it?

(Don't answer that.)

I just need to get a better handle on my morning commute. And maybe get a good book to read. That way I might actually look forward to my commute time.

So yeah, commuting on the bus might actually turn into a good thing.

Wish me luck.

So tell me, am I the only person that has been ~~afraid~~ ~~nervous~~ cautious about riding the bus?

What's on your Netflix queue?

2008-05-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Rhi posted on her blog about some coupons she had for a free month of Netflix. I jumped at the chance to help her unload one of her coupons. Sure, The King and I had used Netflix when they first started, a million years ago. But things were different now. They offer so many different options and movies and goodness. I was itching to try it again.

Plus dude, it's a free!

I signed up for the highest program; 4 movies at a time, unlimited for the month. Dude, if it's free then I'm going balls to the wall. I knew what I wanted to put on my queue instantly:

The entire first season of How I Met Your Mother.

The King and I spent last weekend in a daze of Barney and Marshall. And we loved every (FREE!) minute of it. But after watching about 38 million episodes of HIMYM, we weren't sure what else to put on our queue.

Then I remembered my birthday was coming up and about how I'd always wanted The King to watch Lonesome Dove with me. So yeah, I added that to the queue. We're about 2.5 hours into the mini series and I think (I think) The King likes it. Although he's having a hard time remembering who all the characters are. Frankly, this surprises me.

I have a few more minutes of Hairspray and then I can return that movie. And then 27 Dresses is coming. And then Waitress and Dan in Real Life. It's very clear that The King has added nothing to our queue. That's probably for the best.

We have until June 4th to cancel. I hate to say, but we'll probably cancel after our free month is up. We really just aren't that into movies (especially since we don't watch rated R movies, ever!).

Plus, season two of Dexter isn't available on Netflix.

So tell me, do you Netflix? What do think the pros/cons of it are? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

My first Flickr Group - Mission: Put Together

2008-05-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

At the start of May OperationPinkHerring and RA put together a fun little online group called Mission: Put Together.

Mission: Put Together is about trying to be more "put together" with your work attire and then posting pictures of yourself to a the M:PT Flickr group. This mission isn't about showcasing your most expensive items or your tightest jeans. It's about putting together more "intentional and cohesive, but not necessarily trendy or expensive" outfits. And then, you know, posting pictures for all the world to see and judge.

(We don't judge. We only love.)

RA started the month off right by posting this picture of her wearing a saucy dress with some gorgeous red accents. Then OperationPinkHerring kept it real by posting this picture of her in the mirror simply holding her shoes since she doesn't have a full length mirror. (I don't have one either. Note to The King: I wouldn't mind a full length mirror in the new house.)

And here's where me and my New Thing enter into this scenario. My first Flickr group!!

On the first day of May, I accepted the Mission. I would try to be more put together at work in May. I would share picture for all of the interweb to view.

It started with a plain cotton shirt and some jewelry. Oh, and a crappy picture taken in my work bathroom with some toilet paper in the background. Nothing says "put together" like a rogue piece of TP.

The next day was Friday, and I was a little better about my outfit. Okay, so the picture wasn't better. But I tried a little harder to be put together. (Dude, why is my work bathroom so damn dark?!) It must be noted that on this day, a coworker asked me about this particular look. She was all "what is that, a jacket?" I explained that it was a blazer. And then I told her I liked the sweats she had chosen to wear that day.

This week started with me wearing the shirt I get the most compliments on. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the color (deep purple). Maybe it's the texture (satin-yummy!), or maybe because it's loose and people think it's a maternity shirt. Whatever...it was on sale. And it's cozy.

(I'm standing like an idiot to try to showcase my shoes. Bought at a thrift store. BRAND NEW!)

By Tuesday I was a little tired of sneaking into the bathroom at work with my camera and trying to take a picture of myself in the mirror, sans flash, even though it so just dark in there. Instead I tried to take a picture of my outfit while standing on the toilet at home. This is how I have to assess my outfits at home, due to my lack of a full length mirror.

Yeah, I didn't really have better luck. I had to hunch down so I wouldn't hit the ceiling. Plus dude, I'm standing on a toilet. (The fact that I'm wearing my favorite red shoes does help a little. At least I think so.)

This morning, before heading out to walk to work, I tried out the timer on my little camera. (Which, we all know, I'm not that good at using.) The picture turned out a little less yellow. And dude, my super cute and furry cat is in it. So pretty much, that makes any lame outfit cuter.

It's been more fun to choose my outfits knowing that they will be posted on the interweb. It makes me spend a little more time on my hair. (Look at how many times I've actually straightened it in the last few days! Go me!) It also has encouraged me to dig deeper into my vast jewelry collection.

Thanks RA and OPH, for taking the time to encourage me take the extra time in my day to present myself a little better.

So now, why don't YOU (yes, I'm talking to you, all sitting there in your cubicle in your sweat pants and flip flops) head on over and join the Mission: Put Together Flickr group. We'll all do it together and it will be fun.

In which I take your advice

2008-04-21T07:01:00.000-07:00

Hi. I got bangs.

Thanks for all of your suggestions on what the crap to do with my hair! It's been a week and I haven't cursed them yet.

And although you would think, by the look on my face, that I hate my new bangs, I do not hate them. What I do hate is 6:30 on a Monday morning.