Jeff Fell For Another Girl

I knew it would happen sooner or later.

Jeff is in love with someone else.

Of course, I love her, too. We are honored to have been asked to be godparents to our friends Jackie and Mike's new daughter, Baby L! She was born on 3/3/10, and I have never seen Jeff so in love. It is adorable. He just stares at her with googly eyes. He is a major baby-hog. He talks to her when he feeds and burps her.




He is going to be such a great dad someday!

Thanks, Tree!

Tree over at Mother of Pearl It Is, one of my new favorite blogs, was so sweet to give me these awards:




For the "Beautiful Blogger" award you need to:
* Thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
* Pass this award on to 15 fantastic bloggers you’ve recently discovered.
* Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won.
* State 7 things about yourself.

For the "One Lovely Blog Award" you need to:
* Thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
* Pass this award on to 15 fantastic bloggers you’ve recently discovered.
* Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won.

Now...I am passing the "One Lovely Blog Award" AND the "Beautiful Blogger Award" to 15 of my favorite ladies in Blog world:

Stacie from Simply Stacie: Besides the fantastic giveaways and reviews, Stacie is a pretty amazing woman

Lisa from Lisa Leonard Online: Lisa's jewelry and photography are eye candy, but her sweet stories, kids, and family love tug at the heart just as much.

Shauna from ShaunaGlenn.com: Is it 5 o'clock yet?: She just cracks me up!

Jamie from Being Jamie Lynn: Jamie is fun, sweet, and inspirational.

Kelly from M&K in Sickness and Health: Kelly is always in my heart and smiles through the toughest situations.

Maria from A Mind Lively and at Ease: I found Maria by reading her superb memoir, Ukrainian Vignettes. She's a talented writer with fascinating views on life.

Courtnee from Moments of Whimsy: If only I were as stylish as my pal Courtnee. She is also great for advice, and a fabulous mom.

Katie from Katie the Reader and Writer: I was lucky enough to get the most wonderful in-laws. Katie is my cousin by marriage, and also now one of my closest friends. You'll find book reviews and other musings at her blog.

Jenn at Life with Loaf: Here, Jenn chronicles her pregnancy. Check out her beauty blog, Jenn XOXO's Beauty Blog. This girl is so talented!

Solanah from Vixen Vintage: I want to be her, or at least spend one day with her wardrobe.

Eva from thefourthdoor: A college pal, E can DIY anything!

Bianca from Goodnight Little Spoon: Her mail art is extraordinary.

Alli from Alli's Original's Blog: Alli makes beautiful jewelry and tells her adoption story on her blog.

Monica from Monica Wants It: Monica is the queen of finding good deals at Goodwill and turning them into lovely decor. She's also quite funny and very supportive.

Lily from Adventures of a Military Family of 8: I just don't know how she does it!

Check these blogs out! Ladies, if I did pick your blog, feel free to pass the awards along, or ignore them. : ) If I didn't pick your blog, it doesn't mean I don't love you! Feel free to participate anyway.

And now for the 7 facts about me:

1. I have ridiculous irrational fears, including but not limited to Kevin Bacon and search lights.

2. I can "name that episode" of The Brady Bunch in 3 seconds.

3. I know an endless amount of fun facts/ useless trivia and will randomly spew them out, resulting in my sounding not unlike the Rainman in various social settings. ha!

4. I was the youngest person in NJ to get a boating license, but I can't swim, even though my husband is a swim coach. Fear of drowning (a result of being held under water by a cousin when I was 7) keeps me on the sand or deck, getting a tan.

5. I've never really traveled, but I'd like to. I went to Canada when I was 2 (so I don't really remember it) and to Puerto Rico for a weekend a couple of years ago, but I don't really count that as leaving the country.

6. It was my dream to sing on Broadway, but I don't see that happening. I really miss singing.

7. When I first started dating Jeff, I thought it would be a two-week fling.

Tell me a few fun facts about yourself!

A Crock, Indeed

I do not like to cook. (Thank goodness Jeff does.) I just don't enjoy it. It stresses me out, too many things can go wrong, then you end up disappointing people. ugh! Plus, I get so tired of looking at whatever I am cooking, that by the time it is done, I just am not interested any more. I am also terrified of getting burned, so I try to stay out of the kitchen.

Bad wife? Oh well.

Anything I do make has to be really simple and generally idiot-proof. So far, Jeff likes mostly everything I have made him and he hasn't yet been poisoned(although I did set two oven mitts on fire last week). I thought that getting a Crock Pot would make things even more simple in the kitchen, but I have realized that I was wrong.

I guess I had this image in my head that I could throw in some mud, a few rocks, and maybe a dash of salt and pepper into the pot and it would make me a glorious feast...

Here's news if you haven't heard: making food in the Crock Pot is just as much work, it just takes a reallllllly long time!

Who knew?

So... you chop, mince, dice, slice, and all the prep work that I hate. The house smells amazing all day long, your mouth is watering, and you sit down to eat. And that's it. No confetti or anything. Just waiting. Lots of waiting.

I realize that part of the draw is theoretically being able to set the device and go to work to come back to a hot meal, but let's face it. I can't even leave the house if my toaster or hair dryer is plugged in. If I left a Crock Pot on and left the house for any length of time, I would lose my mind with worry. Plus, I am pretty sure Piper is bold enough to jump up on the counter and break into the pot.

Am I the only person who thought that maybe, just maybe, a Crock Pot would create just a teensy bit of magic?

Does anyone have super simple recipes they'd like to share?

My Poor Hair

I have put my hair through hell in the last month. I actually feel bad for it.

My hair is difficult. It's long right now, which is good. The cons are that it is still, as always, weirdly wavy, frizzy, and super soft/fine. Bobby pins even slip right out. Also, my scalp is really oily, so I have to wash it every morning or, ewwww. Plus, I have to alternate products/brands every other day or my hair gets weighed down.

I've always heard that the less you wash hair, the better it is for you and the more it will behave, but could not fathom going any amount of time without shampooing. So, I did some research ('cause that's how I do), and got the idea to go "no-shampoo," and use a baking-powder paste to wash and diluted apple cider vinegar to condition. This was supposed to give my hair time to get into its natural rhythm of oil production and give me easy-to-manage, voluminous waves, as well as prtecting me from evil chemicals (sulfates and silicones). This worked really well the first week, but by the end of the second week, I was jonesing for suds. My waves were great, but I couldn't do anything else with my hair, not even a ponytail. I was caught by my best friend's mother in the shampoo aisle of ShopRite (they day after telling her about my baking soda experiment), with a crazed look in my eye. My husband also did not appreciate the fish-n-chips/salad dressing in the bathroom (the vinegar smell dissipates after you rinse, though). So, I caved and bought shampoo, although a sulfate-free one.

After about a week of the SLS-free shampoo, I was noticing my hair was being weighed down, and still missing the suds in good ol' chemicals (which don't make shampoo work any better, by the way). I checked the label of my new products, and sure enough, it contained evil silicones. Eeeeek! I ran to Target and bought Suave.

That was only Part 1.

This past Tuesday, my mom and I decided it would be fun to go to the local beauty school to get our hair done at a good price. Her hair turned out supercute, but I guess the girl who did mine was in remedial classes. I specifically said, "highlights with color only, no bleach." She bleached. I almost passed out. Then, I picked a deep red-brown (RB5) toner. I don't know WTF she did, but it turned out traffic-cone orange. When she took the towel off, she actually said, "I think it looks great!" I said, "I think it looks like the episode of the Brady Bunch when Greg Brady uses the hair tonic that Cousin Oliver is selling and ends up with flourescent orange hair for graduation. Please fix it!" I pick out another, even darker toner. It turns out okay. No, I do NOT have pictures. It looked damaged and Jersey-shore-esque.

Two washes later, it was back to the stripey orange, now with an ashy twinge. Lovely. I emailed my regular hairstylist, who is allergic to hair color, so she cuts my hair out of her home, but didn't hear back from her in time for my sanity (she has a lovely newborn!). I couldn't even look at myself, so I went to the salon she used to work at for help. I told Al, the owner, to put me down for a 911-SOS treatment.

Luckily, Al and stylist Amy were able to save me with a chocolate brown color with subtle auburn tones.

Thank you, Revelations Salon in Turnersville, NJ.

Sew Much Fun

Since I have tons of free time right now, I have been spending a lot of it at my parents' house in my mom's sewing room. I have learned all sorts of fancy tricks from mom. She should go pro. When I was in 2nd grade, she made all of my teacher's bridesmaid's dresses, as well as my prom dress in high school, not to mention a billion costumes for high school dance/cheerleading events and outfits when I was a little girl. She also is pretty handy at whipping stuff up on the fly without patterns, whether it's an outfit for one of my sister's photo shoots, or the time in college when I called my mom and said,"I need a pirate costume. I'll be there in 45 minutes to pick it up!"

A few weeks ago, we made my favorite craft of all time. I have a friend who is going through a battle with breast cancer (my mom is a survivor!), and a bunch of our pals from all over the country each made squares for a quilt to send to her. It was amazing, if I do say so myself.




Mom and I made the one with the photo, the birds, the flower with ribbon, the angel with the heart, the holly hobby angel, and the K with the flower, which was made from silk flower petals form a friend's wedding (all the girls who participated planned our weddings together, with the exception of my mom, of course!) Mom and I also put the whole thing together. It was lots of fun and made with lots of love.

In addition to the quilt, I made some pajama pants (flannel with a Kermit pattern) and a baby blanket for a friend's shower. I need some new pattern ideas. I don't know what I'd like to sew next. Hmmm...