4th of July… in November?

by Lucky Red Hen on November 3, 2008

What the freakfreak? I assembled a 4th of July blog post of our FABULOUS time at our friend’s place on Lake Sammamish (yay that we live here again because I look forward to it every summer), but somehow it didn’t get published (I don’t think). So here’s some Independence Day goodness just in time for tomorrow’s voting.

These neighbors volunteered to monitor the perimeter
and keep others a specific distance from the fireworks barge.

The view of the party from the barge.
Piper fishing (plastic fish).
You can see how close the barge was from the dock.
Check out that view… isn’t it saaweeet?!
Piper chillin’ in the tethered inflatable island.
Brett and Will… aren’t they festive in their red?
Jake and baby Roxie (red, white & blue).
The cousins minus Owen (they arrived later) and Roxie.
Um, Jack, that’s for baby’s ;)
I ADORE this picture – that’s my boy!!!
Boat going out with 99.8% of people I’m related to.
Ben and Piper are waving at you
(lotta waving on the blog lately).
Hey, Bob. I kept telling him he’s a hunk
(…kinda Clint Eastwoodesque).
That dark blob between the docks?
It’s a GIANT BEAVER that comes around
about dinner time to chew on trees
(particularly the expensive & newly planted ones).
“Heeeeeyyyyyy, I’m Brett!”
Jason getting bombarded by the pipsqueaks (Will, Alice & Piper).
This guy was channeling Mexico weather.
What a pretty lady.
Meet Bob, our host extraordinaire!
This guy reminded me of Dane Sanders.
Cute couple (she’s got fantastic eyelashes).
Ahh, backlit by delicious golden sunshine.
Something was reeeeeally loud for Alice.
Jake’s 1/2 deaf so he didn’t notice at all.
Suns going down, fireworks are a comin’.
My guy with the weird shadow hair :)
Britanny teaches you that hydrating is important
as well as sexy and hip!
The Host’s brother, Tedd, with his ammo
(we geeked out on gear talk).
Other boats starting to gather ’round for the show!
Brett helping Alice, Will and Owen with sparklers.
Bridgette and Owen.

PSA: Figure out where you’re voting tomorrow and give yourself plenty of time to wait in line!

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Hair Do(n't)

by Lucky Red Hen on November 3, 2008

NOVEMEBER 2 (really, I posted this yesterday but it showed up underneath instead)
(sorry for the teenie weenie pic… it’s from my iPhone)

Last time I went to a Beauty School for a Do, it turned out FANTASTIC. But that gal (Kylie) has graduated (both from HS and Beauty School) so I have to start all over.

Fortunately, Bridgette, Mark + Owen are here unexpectedly for a few days vacation. Unfortunately that means that we decided it’d be a good time to get the family picture taken (sans Bryant + Brad since they’re in Chile for another year) for the folks’ annual Christmas letter with picture. Now, I don’t mind getting my pic taken. I hope I don’t look fatter than I am (some angles are just not flattering as others – and I’m not saying I’m FAT, so don’t patronize me by trying to convince me that I have a fantastic figure – spare me), but I try to give it my Alma Mater best.

Which is a little tangent I’d like to share for a sec…

It’s better to have pictures of you TRYING to look good than you grimacing, hand in face, turning away, yelling “Don’t take my picture!” or running from the camera. Practice in the mirror, turn your PnS (point-n-shoot) on Timer and let it click away while you move around and check out all the possible poses to find the most flattering.

You might say, “But I don’t have make-up on,” or “I’m too fat.” You know, it is what it is… get over it and take a picture. Then you’ll have pictures to compare your BEFORE and AFTER looks and appreciate them each for what they are.

Pictures are cool… you should have some of yourself, if not for you then for your family, friends, kids, husband, wife (hopefully you don’t have both of those) or 11 o’clock news. You never know when you might be on the news (Ben and I were on our first date).

P.S. If you’re an iPhone lovah, click the iPhone link at the top of the page for a video. I love that guy!

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox

by Lucky Red Hen on November 1, 2008

7YO: Mom, when you was a little girl and you touched the giraffe… did you get green spots or red spots?

Me: Red (and it’s when I was pregnant with her, not so little of a girl, haha)

7YO: Oh, okay. Did they itch or not?

Me: Yes, they itched very much.

(she runs off to her room, pausing at the doorway to turn and tell me something)

7YO: Wait JUST one SECOND (pointing her finger in the air like she just had an idea.)

(she runs further toward her room and paused again, this time out of sight but within ear shot)

7YO: I mean, maybe not one SECOND but maybe ten minutes.

She was back within 10 seconds after finding the book she thought of, Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox, by Erin Dealey and illustrated by Hanako Wakiyama. Kids have interesting minds.

We will be reading it after lunch :)

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Happy Cocoa-ween

by Lucky Red Hen on October 31, 2008

No, I’m NOT nekid in the reflection.
Yes, I AM waving at you
(it’s customary to wave back)
at 1:18 pm PST on Halloween.
And, yes, I should’ve wiped the stove
down before I took the picture.
Next we fill MY mug with cocoa,
pero and hazelnut flavoring.
The little blonde girl gets only
cocoa and hazelnut flavoring in hers.

She downs her warm goodness with a
peanut butter and honey on whole wheat
sandwich, while stirring in her Tigger mug.
My mug is a handmedown from the 80’s
(thus the country blue heart
and swags of flowers).

Q: Tell me some Halloween fun things…

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Looksie What I Got

by Lucky Red Hen on October 30, 2008

Can you spy with your little eye…
…CJane’s “Enjoy It!”
Look at all the delicious content (and Safeway bag)!
Look how happy she is to be here!
P.S. I’d like to publicly declare that I USUALLY use my reusable grocery bags, but I was in a hurry today and left them in the car. Hubby’s grandparents are coming tonight with my FIL, BIL & girlfriend, SIL & two girlies (her hubby’s at school tonight) in addition to us four. I guess I didn’t need to tell you who all was coming, except that I needed to so I could count how many people (12, and I used my fingers) to cook for (roast & veggies, some in the crock pot with the roast my fav way and some oiled/salted & roasted in the oven sans roast, baked potatoes, Pugliese Bread with mixed greens ala roasted walnuts, apple slices and Bleu Cheese Dressing – don’t you just love spelling it blEU?!? I do).

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Saturday the 18th – Tove PisaRelle, Artist

by Lucky Red Hen on October 13, 2008





Artist’s Reception – Tove PisaRelle
Saturday, October 18th from 5 to 7 pmComplimentary hors d’ouvres + wine tasting with Ray Bloom

I’m excited to help my new friend Lisa with her gallery at Norrgard’s Optik this weekend. If you’re in the area this Saturday night, stop by and see me and meet the artist of the beautiful work you see above!

The gallery does NOT charge a commission to display, show or sell art but instead insists that at least 20% (which is usually a minimum commission) of the art sale proceeds is donated to the local Children’s Country Home (remember I talked about it here). Isn’t that WONDERFUL?

Artist Bio:
Tove PisaRelle graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing from California State University at Long Beach in 2003. She was born and raised in Seattle and currently resides in Kingston on the Kitsap Peninsula. Although her degree focused strongly on the human figure she found her passion in creating landscapes without the human element. Her paintings are derived from her imagination which allows her to fully enjoy the process of painting and her desire to be a part of her finished paintings. Viewers have commented on her work as invoking restful and peaceful feelings as well as the abstract and even a sense of being reminiscent of areas throughout the mid-west and eastern states.

Children’s Country Home

Mission:
To enhance the quality of life of medically fragile children by providing 24-hour healthcare services in a loving, family centered home guided by the values of dignity, compassion, sharing and stewardship.

Children’s Country Home serves as an extension to the child’s own family, providing individualized care for each child. We believe that children should be served in the least restrictive setting possible, and make every attempt to provide an atmosphere that is similar to a child’s home.

The house has bright, colorful rooms, extensive yard and a specialized and caring staff. Families are encouraged to participate in all aspects of their child’s care and staff work in conjunction with the family in planning and treatment.

Contact Lisa Norrgard at 425.485.2600 or lisanorrgard@yahoo.com for more information.

Leave me a comment if you might stop by (or if you wish you could – so that should be EVERYONE, teehee)! I’d love to see you :)

The Gallery at Norrgard’s Optik
17423 139th Ave NE, Woodinville 98072

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Ebonics

by Lucky Red Hen on October 8, 2008

(psst… thanks BruceBruceBruce for the 24-70… here are my first images from my new/used lens)
This boy of mine cracks me up. All. The. Time. And he wants to crack up his classmates. All. The. Time. Because of the latter, we’ve been getting notes from the teacher on a regular basis. His latest offense is sharpening his pencil… he breaks it so that he’ll have to get up and sharpen it. That’s not the problem (so much), but on his return to his desk, he fake-trips down the aisle. Not once, not twice, but three times in ONE trip, causing disruption of the class with giggles and guffaws. That’s my boy, my funny little boy.
So the teacher gives the kids warnings up on the board. You’d think this was embarrassing, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. [For those who don’t know him, I should explain that he’s a gooood kid, not violent, kind and helpful, talks cleanly and is a favorite among his peers and leaders. He’s a sweet boy who loves to snuggle, draw, create and explore.] At a certain point he’ll have to suffer some minutes from recess to stay in class and be put to work (which he LOVES doing) and writes up his own note about his behavior for us to sign and return.
Today’s read (spelling intact):
I owed recess because
I cept draking my pencil
(his b’s and d’s get mixed up).
I think I can improve by
not having to get this sheet ever agian.
(His previous couple notes home read:
I think I can improve by
not doing it agian.)
We’ve emailed the teacher and I stopped by the school and talked to her AND his last year’s teacher to show that we’re committed to nipping this in the bud and finding a way for him to express his personality without disrupting the class and causing havoc for the teacher.
Another funny about him today was his spelling test practice.
Instead of DIDN’T he spelled
DI N’T and I couldn’t help but
go into Ebonics and say
with some sass,
“Oh NO you DI N’T!”
We laughed and he eventually got the proper spelling down pat :)

And this little girl, she just warms my heart. I’m going to have a handful of somethin’ with her later, but so far she’s happy as a clam at 1/2 day kindergarten. As she gets off the bus at the end of her day, the entire bus of her classmates shout their farewell’s and she pops her hand up in the air in a quick traditional princess wave without looking back :)
THIS little stinker on the other hand… she’s REAL cute, but REALLY noisy when she spies something move outside our windows. She’ll perch herself at the back door and tennis-style watch for runners or dog walkers (the occasional horses too) to pass on the trail that runs behind our house. Her freak out bark pierces our ears instead of her intent of warning the passersby. We try telling her that they can’t hear her, but she just won’t listen :p
We’re decked out for Halloween, far sooner than anyone else we’ve seen in the neighborhood. We [heart] Halloween!
I thought this was a funny image… our German armoire that’s stuffed with craft supplies and the rack next to it that houses the leftovers. So many projects, so little time. When I look at this picture, I can see so many stories in such a small, little space. The two bunnies, apron, watermelon fabric, glass rocks, two packs of twistable crayons (God’s gift to mothers everywhere), ME pin cushion chair, Longaberger sewing basket, the purple cup, the two tiny containers on top of the paper storage and the chunk of fabric on the top shelf. Oh the stories.
Hey, look… proof that I [heart] Target too!

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Secksual Deezire

by Lucky Red Hen on October 3, 2008

We have a teenage friend that’s nuts for this shirt from American Apparel. Funny, we had the same shirt when *I* was a teenager. It changes color from hot/warm to cool/cold in kind of a tie-dye sort of way.

However, my curiosity isn’t about the shirt as much as it is about the ad.

In the picture shown, I can’t tell if the person is a boy (stash) or a girl. Maybe that’s their point – it works for both boys and girls… unisex. I think it’s kinda trashy of a picture not only because of the look on the face, but where the hand was that made that face. Perhaps this post makes me look prude, which isn’t really a trait I’m known for or even in my Top 10, but I’m annoyed that it seems advertising keeps getting naughtier and naughtier – especially aimed at the
youth.

When I went to the AA site, the thermochromatic shirt wasn’t easy to find (I had to link from the ad). Instead I ended up seeing magazine covers (h0m0secksually targeted) that are reeeeally too suggestive (and that’s putting it lightly) for a place that’s geared to teens: up-close nekid guy playing the drums, showing pretty much everything but barely covering the actual stuff; woman with a pleasured facial expression, brea$t out and her hand downstairs; guy in small b!k!n! briefs with his hand down his cr8tch, finger in his nose and two hands coming from behind him pinching his nips. These are all COVERS of the mags, not like others that strategically hide the raunchier images between the pages. The product images make me feel slightly like it’s getting close to kittie pron (or that’s their inspiration); the girls look about 14yrs old.

NOW I’m going to date myself, but I remember the days that suggestive reading material wasn’t available at grocery check-out, it was ordered via the mail and came in brown paper packaging; product images were of PRODUCT and not underage-looking grooming-to-be-pron-star girls; if people WERE used in product images, they were smiling and covered; at the stores, the product was shown on modestly dressed mannequins and not 15 foot suggestive pictures (A&F, Vickie’s Secret) that lure you in as you walk by.

I know that it’s advertising’s job to make people want their things, but I wish we didn’t have to keep going down the slippery slope of secksual desire to make it happen. I think the advertising industry is a major contributing factor in the increase of inappropriate secksual desires (ISD). Sure, I am not the barometer of ISD, but my opinion (that can probably be backed up by fact but I have things to do and no time to research) is that this world is dealing with more lewd conduct these days than it did twenty years ago.

Am I the only one that thinks so?

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →