Good Hair

I thought I was becoming quite the curly hair master and felt pretty well-informed...
then I watched this.

It has been fascinating to read about the debate over this film's subject and its cultural/political significance (read this for a fresh, and probably accurate, perspective on the film). Up until a year ago, I had no IDEA this issue even existed! I now realize that little girl hair is one thing and this white mama has a lot of other things to learn before Mia becomes adolescent.

I welcome all insight to this new (to me) world of relaxers, weaves, or otherwise from women who know...please...

(Anna, Asia, Charlene- if you are reading, this includes you!)

Ocho!

We've got teeth! Follow the green arrow that actually looks like a green toothpick if you can't locate them.

Mia is often getting herself into precarious situations in order to entertain her mom and break up the ennui of everyday tasks (like laundry).

Here is one of our weekly post-church photos. She looks especially beautiful in tropical colors. We are excited to ditch the pantyhose soon! They don't make for pleasant diaper changes.

Mia is mesmerized by Gma K's Valentine's gift despite its increasing appeasement to gravity.

*Please don't make fun of my homevideo voice in the following clips (or any). I know it's bad and I'm self-conscious about it*

She enjoys playing a modified version of peek-a-boo where eye contact must be maintained. We

think it's really sweet.

Aaaand she has finally decided to retire from her rolling/pivoting mode of trasport.

Thank you for indulging our obsession with Mia's milestones.

I'm Cured...

...of my seafood phobia, that is. David has begged me throughout our marriage to cook 'im up fish and many other sea dwelling creatures. I have outrightly refused each time due to the gag reflex which kicks in whenever pairing slimy, wiggly, and once living, things with even the idea of ingestion.

After losing a bet over some insignificant thing, I finally agreed to seafood on my own grounds: fresh halibut (caught by Dad R in Alaska and supposedly the least fishy fish ever invented) + a little Giada De Laurentis.

Check out her Halibut in Artichoke and Tomato Broth. I served it over brown rice and parmesan.

Here I am eating my first plate of fish ever (at least that I can remember), and it was yummy! Omega-3 fatty acids, here I come!

In the Dog House

In the middle of New Year's night, I awoke to an orange sky outside of my bedroom window. I jumped out of bed to see if the world was ending and discovered that our backyard was ablaze. Apparently, our dogs were tired of being neglected and became arsonists in order to attract some attention. It reminds me of a Far Side comic.

At the time, however, it was less than funny- Emotions are pronounced when you are suddenly awoken. Our first thought was that the pups were burning alive...scary! We found them, however, safe in their indoor kennels (we rarely bring them in for the night) phew! Our first resort was a fire extinguisher (thank you, mom, for supplying us with all of the safety items in our home). The fire extinguisher scene was almost comic...it did nothing. This was a BIG fire and it was only about 5 feet away from our house. Our hose was frozen. It was past midnight on New Year's... While David was breaking up the ice in the hose I was ineffectively flinging hay/brush out of the way in an attempt to avoid spreading and debating the pros/cons of calling 911. In the end, we got the fire out ourselves, but it took us a while to recover.

Here is the moment we first broke the news to Winston. He was devastated.

In an attempt to compensate for the dogs' demotion in the family, David spent all of his free time building this pooch-mansion. It still needs to be painted and roofed, but it's current state maintains the luxury we were going for. It's got an awesome R value (no more electric heating for us), and vaulted ceilings in the living room area. Best of all, David can fit in it quite comfortably in case he ever needs to take a trip to the "dog house."