Remember this entry?

Well, we have a problem.

Last November, when Willa was first diagnosed with Cold Induced Urticaria we weren't sure what to expect. We gave her medicine almost every night for months. The medicine made it more manageable. If it wasn't too cold Willa could even play outside for a few minutes. But, it was a constant concern.
She had hives all the way through May. Basically, if it was 55 degrees or less, she got hives.
They never really seemed to bother her though. Occasionally she would tug at her ears, but that's it. The summer was great because I spent three months never having to worry about the urticaria. We had a couple of instances where Willa went swimming in a relatively cold pool, and she didn't get any hives. I stupidly took that to mean her urticaria was getting better. I convinced myself that it was getting better, that it wasn't a big deal.

Then, a few weeks ago it was 55 degrees and cloudy outside. I took Willa and Dexter on a long walk. About halfway through the walk Willa started to get some hives. I headed home, but we were about 20-30 minutes away at that point. Willa started to cry and and pull at her hands which were now swollen and covered in hives. She kept saying "Mommy, it hurts!" I was helpless.
Here are some pictures:

I was completely traumatized. Completely.

I had to deal with the reality- Willa has Urticaria. She might outgrow it, but that usually happens after 5-7 years. She's only had it for a year. She might never outgrow it.

We can't live in Manhattan where you have to walk everywhere.

Urticaria is rarely life-threatening, but there is something instinctual that happens when I see my kid swollen and covered in hives- I feel like I must fix it.

I can't fix this.

After that traumatizing episode I completely freaked out. I told my husband that we should move to California. In my usual psychotic fashion I started researching towns in California.

For a few weeks I was spending my time applying to pre-schools in Manhattan, while simultaneously looking at pre-schools in California. I was driving myself insane. I had to cover all the bases. I didn't really want to move to California. I mean, if I could convince all of my friends and family to move there, I totally would, but our entire life is on the East coast.

I was praying fro a miracle.

So finally, my husband and I had a long talk.

We both finally said the words "We can't move to Manhattan."

And I was relieved and heartbroken all at once.

And then we decided we would compromise. We aren't moving to Manhattan. We aren't moving to California. We are staying in the town where we have lived for the past year and a half.

Here is how I feel about that:

As much as I am a mature, responsible adult, I still have childish fantasies. I wanted to live in Manhattan. I wanted to hang out with my friends all the time. But this isn't an episode of Friends. Perhaps I am mourning the loss of my fantasy instead of the reality. Sure, if I lived in Manhattan I probably would have seen my friends more often, but not that much more often. They all work a ton. And who's to say that a bunch of them won't move out to the suburbs too.

The town and the area we live in is fantastic for kids. There's no denying that.

True, I wrote before about how I felt like I didn't fit in here, but maybe I need to make more of an effort. Maybe I need to go to some of the vegetarian meetups in the area so I can meet other like-minded people. Also, the mother's helper has only been here a few times, but already I can see what a huge impact having a little help can have on me. I think that if I have a little help, and spend a little time on myself, I'll be much happier.

I still hate that my husband works 10-12 hours a day and then spends another 2 hours a day commuting, but we have to do what's best for our kid.

At least here I can take her from the house to the car, and from the car to the library, or the Y, or the store, etc. As opposed to Manhattan where you have to walk everywhere.

And as much as we were willing to spend extra money to live in Manhattan, it makes so much more sense financially to stay here. To not have to constantly worry about money will be nice.

I must admit, it's always been great being able to say I grew up in Manhattan. There's something special about it. I wanted that for Willa too.

I still have doubts about whether or not we should be staying here. I don't like the idea of my kid having to take medicine every day for 6 months out of the year. Plus, I HATE the cold. I wouldn't mind living in a place that's warm. However, our whole support system is here, and we don't think it makes sense to start a new life on the other side of the country when there's a possibility that Willa might outgrow this in a few years. We want Willa to grow up surrounded by her Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents.

The weird thing about all of this is that I have absolutely no resentment towards Willa. I would do anything for her. She's getting so big, but she's still so small and fragile. I must protect her. And the only way I can sleep at night is if I know I'm doing what's best for her.

This is what's best.

I am trying my hardest to make the best of this situation. To be excited about the prospect of living in a bigger place, of not having to deal with all of the Manhattan school drama (I will write a post about that one day), of enjoying nature.

Manhattan is my home. It always will be. But maybe it is/was my childhood home. Maybe it's time for me to stop clinging to my childhood. Maybe this new town can be my grownup home. Maybe I just need to give it a chance.

Posted by torrie at 09:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)

Keep in mind that they are both 2 1/2.

Willa- "I like your pretty shirt"
Friend- "Thank you"
Willa- "You're welcome"
Friend- "Look at my belt"
Willa- "It has airplanes on it!"

FIN

Also, this picture warms my cold, unfeeling heart:

Posted by torrie at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm having one of those times in my life where I feel like I'm at a crossroads. I have a lot of things going on right now, and a lot of big decisions to make. Sometimes I feel like I'm fighting an uphill battle. Between the physical issues and all of the things that need to get done, it's overwhelming. I'm just trying to stay positive- I'm constantly teetering on the edge of depression. I battle every day to make sure I don't tumble down that path.
I've started several posts and haven't been able to finish them. I can't seem to find the right words.

So instead I will share this with you:

Last Saturday we went to Harvest Fest at Stone Barns Center.
We started out by checking out the flowers, fruits, and vegetables in the organic garden. We sampled the strawberries and green beans right off the vine. Then, WIlla did some hay jumping, before we said hi to the sheep and turkeys. After that, we had an awesome lunch and watched WIlla play with the other kids and roll down a hill. We finished up our time there by listening to some awesome live music.
It was a fantastic day- the kind of day that helps me get through the tough days.

Here is a slideshow of the best pictures of the day:

Posted by torrie at 09:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Willa is fascinated with parties. We've been lucky to attend several in the past few months.
One day we were driving to a party. Willa was very excited. She asked us a bunch of questions including "Will they have cake at the party?" That lead to a whole conversation about cakes which lead Willa to say "Mama, you make a star cake with me?" I said "Sure, I'd love to make a star cake with you."

I think it's very important that I follow through when I promise things to Willa, so a few days later, we made a star cake together.

The funny thing about this whole situation is that Willa doesn't usually like cake. She doesn't really like sweets, but I did notice that she liked the whipped cream that was on a cake we had at a party, so I decided to ice and fill our star cake with whipped cream.
She loved it.

I made vanilla whipped cream, and then separated some of it and added cocoa powder to make chocolate whipped cream to fill the cake with.

The cake itself was a healthy banana cake made with whole wheat flour, and agave nectar instead of sugar.

It was a hit.

As someone who grew up in the kitchen baking with her mother, and then eventually went to culinary school and became a chef, I can not tell you how awesome it was to bake with my own child.

*As requested, here is the recipe for healthier Banana Cake:

*If you make this recipe please let me know in the comments.

Posted by torrie at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Posted by torrie at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So, we have a situation.

Our oldest cat, Annie's health is declining. It's not a surprise considering she is about 16 years old, but the fact that she lives in our bedroom, makes everything more complicated.

The first problem-
Annie eats only wet food, for several reasons, but mostly because her teeth have decayed, and the vet isn't comfortable putting her under anesthesia to clean her teeth at her age. I have come to terms with the fact that my bedroom occasionally smells like a fish market, but now there is another food related issue. In the past few months, Annie has become a SUPER sloppy eater. I'm not sure I can adequately express to you how sloppy. The entire wall that her food bowl sits against has cat food particles ALL OVER IT. SO does the floor. And the bed skirt. AND, if you walk to the other side of the room, you will find cat food particles on the wall there too, because apparently Annie has made a habit of walking around with a mouth full of food and then shaking her head (this is our guess, anyway). If any of you have elderly parents or grandparents, you will totally get what I'm saying. It's like life comes full circle- you need a bib at the beginning AND the end of life.

So, now my bedroom is coated with cat food particles, and kitty litter, which brings me to the next problem-

I can not say enough negative things about having a kitty litter in my bedroom. The smells (WHAT THE HELL IS IN THAT CAT FOOD?), the litter everywhere (including ON MY BED), and the scratching that wakes me in the middle of the night- all suck, but not as much as Annie's other fun new problem-
Um, how do I say this? She's less AWARE of her ass these days. Like, on an almost daily basis I find a turd somewhere in our bedroom. Sometimes ON MY PILLOW. Let me tell you, there is nothing better than coming to bed EXHAUSTED only to find a turd on your pillow. And sometimes there are skid marks (gags). I'm not sure if it's a loss of bowl control, or a grooming issue, but we were already having to contend with a lot of vomit (Annie has always been a "vomiter"), and now there is bonus poop.

So for those keeping score, our bedroom is pretty much covered in cat food, kitty litter, poop and vomit. Anyone up for a sleepover?

The newest problem is that Annie sleeps on the edge of the bed, actually sometimes half on the bed, half on my husband's night stand, because cats are WEIRD. Anyway, I was kind of liking this situation because Annie used to sleep on my head every night. But, now- and I swear I am not making this up- she keeps falling off the bed in the middle of the night. REPEATEDLY. Last night it happened FIVE TIMES. I'm assuming she just falls deeply asleep and then the next thing you know she is on the floor, but she doesn't do it quietly, oh no, that would be too much to ask. She often takes items on the nightstand with her- last night it was the baby monitor. There are a lot of nails clinging to the sheets and blankets, which often leads to her hanging off the bed by one nail- which means I have to wake up and try to untangle her, which is a fun festival because she it hissing and trying to attack me the whole time. She can't figure out that she just needs to retract her claw- even after having this happen eleventy billion times.

So between eating as though she is using a chainsaw as a fork, scratching in the kitty litter for 20 minutes at a time- only to fill the room with an aroma that burns my nostril hair, leaving turd presents everywhere, vomiting under (or on!) my bed, and falling off the bed, I am getting virtually no sleep. And when I get out of bed in the middle of the night to pee, or perhaps to untangle a certain cat, I pray that I don't step on anything wet or squishy.

*I am not looking for advice. I just needed to vent. If you leave a comment about how I should "just get rid of her" or "put her to sleep" I will probably not publish it.

Posted by torrie at 02:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

I thought I would share with you something fun that I came up with-

For one of my best friend's baby shower I did a cupcake buffet.
I thought it would be fun, because everyone could have their cupcakes however they wanted them, plus, cupcakes are so much easier to transport when they're not already decorated.
You can make everything ahead. So easy!

I made three kinds of cupcakes- Chocolate, Vanilla, and Lemon.
I made four kinds of icing- Vanilla Buttercream, Fudge Frosting, Vanilla Whipped Cream, and Marshmallow Fluff (That one was store bought).
I had three kinds of toppings- Sprinkles, Chocolate Chips, and Coconut Flakes.

The possibilities are endless-
You could make red velvet cupcakes, orange cupcakes, banana cupcakes, etc.
You could omit the vanilla in the butter cream and add almond, lemon, or orange extract, or some strong coffee.
For toppings, you could use mini M&M's, crushed up candy bars, nuts, etc.

I broke the buttercream into smaller batches and colored some of it blue and pink. I made cute little signs too, and put them in picture frames. I cut out small strips of paper and hot glued them to silver twist ties that I bought at a party supply store, so I could make tiny signs.

All of the ingredients were organic or all natural. Even the food coloring, sprinkles, and paper cups for the cupcakes were all natural. Whole Foods had an amazing selection.

Here is my amazing buttercream recipe. It has been featured on Smitten Kitchen. If you read the comments there, you'll see that it really is the BEST buttercream recipe.
This recipe is the largest one that fits in a 5 quart mixer. Feel free to cut it in half.

2 cups of egg whites (Approximately 14- depends on egg size)
3 Cups of sugar
5 Cups of Butter, softened
1 Tablespoon of Vanilla

Whisk egg whites and sugar together in a big metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure bowl is sitting above the water and not in it. Whisk frequently until you can’t feel the sugar granules when you rub the mixture between your fingers.

Pour mixture into your mixer's bowl (make sure to wipe the condensation off the bottom of the bowl before you transfer it to the mixer's bowl) and whip until it turns white and about doubles in size.

Add the vanilla.

Finally, add the butter a stick at a time while whipping.

It may take a loooong time for the buttercream to come together. Don't worry- this is normal.
If it is too soft, you can chill it in the fridge for a bit and re-whip it.

This buttercream can be frozen. I stretch out some plastic wrap and plop some buttercream in the middle. I fold it up like a little package, pick it up, stretch out more plastic wrap, turn it 1/2 way, and wrap it again. It will keep in the freezer for up to six months. To reheat it- put it in the microwave in one minute increments at half power. I take it out and massage it after every one minute cycle to break it up a little. When it is softened (but not too soft!) I cut off one corner of the plastic wrap and squeeze the buttercream into my mixer's bowl and re-whip.

You can make chocolate buttercream by adding cocoa powder to taste. You can add a few tablespoons of strong coffee either by itself for coffee buttercream, or with the cocoa powder for mocha buttercream. You could also omit the vanilla and add whatever kind of extract you'd like. It's a very versatile icing.

In the near future I'm hoping to make a video showing you how to ice a cake with this frosting.
If you try the frosting, or have a cupcake buffet, please let me know if you enjoyed it in the comment section.

Posted by torrie at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

We've had a lot going on lately.
Here's a recap:

The morning of July 4th our town had a celebration on the town green. Willa had a great time.

She loved when everyone was singing.

She also enjoyed playing with the older kids.

July 4th is a special day for us- my husband and I met 12 years ago on July 4th.

That night we were supposed to go out to dinner and then see the fireworks, but both Willa and my husband weren't feeling well, so we had to stay home. I was disappointed because the 4th of July is my favorite holiday, and I was really looking forward to the fireworks- but, lucky me because the next town over has a great fireworks show, and we could see them perfectly from our front stoop.

The following Monday the husband and I drove to the Catskills and stayed in a little bed and breakfast BY OURSELVES for two nights. It was my first time being away from Willa, and it was actually much easier than I thought it would be. Maybe that's because she was with my mother, or maybe it's because it was the right time. Either way, we had a great time. The grounds of the Bed and Breakfast were beautiful.

We also went to my favorite place in the world for the day, Mohonk.

The day after we got back, we went into the city and Willa got to go to Central Park with her father while I had a newborn photo shoot.

Then on Saturday we went to my cousin's little girl's birthday party. Willa pretty much thought it was the best thing ever because she got to wear a crown and get a tattoo.

She also got to dance with a ribbon streamer. I'm not sure if I've even seen her so happy.

After the party, we went over to my in-laws house. Willa always has a great time there because they have guitars and a piano, which she loves to play.

Yesterday, we went to our first game at the Mets' new stadium Citi Field. I have mixed feelings about it because I'm very sentimental about Shea stadium.

But, I got to meet Cow Bell Man, so I can't complain.

Posted by torrie at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Perhaps the best part of being a parent is watching your child experience things for the first time.
Sometimes when I'm watching Willa enjoy something, especially if it's something that I enjoy too, I feel like my heart might explode.

Lately we've had a lot of those experiences. There are three that stand out:

1) On Willa's second birthday we took her to The Bronx Zoo for the first time. The highlight, without a doubt, was the Carousel. I was worried when we first got on that the combination of movement and loud music might scare her, but she loved it. She thought it was the greatest thing ever.

She's still talking about it almost 6 weeks later.

2) For Willa's birthday my mother in law gave her a tricycle.

Willa was thrilled. She kept yelling "BICYCLE!"
So, a couple of days after her birthday party we took her for her first official ride. She was so excited to wear her helmet.

She didn't want to get off.

3) Right before Willa was diagnosed with Cold Induced Urticaria I had signed her up for swim classes at the Y. When we found out that people who have Urticaria can become anyphylactic in cold water I got really nervous. I took her for her first class anyway, armed with an epi pen. The water was cooler than I had hoped and after 15 minutes in the pool Willa's legs were covered in hives. Plus, Willa didn't like the LOUD male swim instructor and she clung to me the whole time. We never went back to swim class.
We figured we'd try again in the summer when it was warmer. I spent the whole winter worrying that because we weren't exposing her to swimming that she would be afraid of it. And then, a week after her second birthday it was warm and she was refusing to nap. So, I asked her if she would like to go swimming and she said yes. We headed over to the Y. I didn't even bring a swimsuit because I thought there was no way she was going to spend any amount of time in the pool. Boy was I wrong. SHE LOVED IT.

She kept saying "I swimming in da pool!"

I sat on the sideline watching her swim with her father, my eyes filling with tears.

The minute she was done we stripped her wet bathing suit off and got her into dry clothes. She only got one tiny hive.

She starts swim class next Tuesday.

Posted by torrie at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

My daughter turned two, but I'm the one who learned the valuable lesson.
I wanted everything to be perfect, so I drove myself crazy.
I had to make all the food, most of which couldn't be made ahead.
I was embarrassed by my crappy backyard, so I decided to take on a major landscaping project the day before the party.
The weekend went as follows- On Friday, Willa's actual birthday, we went to the Bronx Zoo. It was Willa's first time.
It was fun, but physically exhausting.
On Saturday, we spent all day either working in the backyard, cooking, or cleaning up the house for the party. Then, on Saturday night we went to a friend's open house party. We only stayed for an hour, and then we came home and got back to work.
By the time the party started at 11am on Sunday I was exhausted and frazzled. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I made a ton of food (there were about 35 people at the party), less than half of which was eaten. We were hoping to have most of the party in the backyard, and we tried, but it was really cold. Everyone ended up cramming into our small apartment. As far as I could tell no one was judging us for our crappy place, and no one was blaming us for the cold weather, and yet I drove myself crazy about it.

I should have just been enjoying my daughter's party.
Part of the problem was that we couldn't afford to have it at one of those toddler gym places, or have it catered, but I very easily could have ordered a few pizzas instead of serving tea sandwiches.

My favorite moment of the weekend might have been Sunday night, when everyone had gone home, and just the three of us were having a quiet dinner together- Willa tried the little cake I made for her (that she wanted no part of during the actual party) and she said "It tastes good!"

Next year, when my husband is actually getting paid a real salary, I will pay people to do all the work, or I will rent out a place, and I will relax and enjoy my daughter's birthday.

Because I was so busy running around, I didn't take a ton of pictures (I didn't even get a picture of the cake!) but here are a few highlights:

Posted by torrie at 09:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

You are more amazing than I ever could have imagined.

You are brilliant, and beautiful, and kind, and funny.

You are unusual, and complex, and difficult.

You are good, but not easy.

You give hugs and kisses without being asked. You say please and thank you without any prompting.

You have a great imagination.You are my buddy, my pal.

You love to read, sing, and dance.

You love animals.

You are the center of attention, the hit of the party, and you light up a room when you walk in to it.

You blow me away.

I love you more than I could ever tell you.

Love,

Mama

*You can see all of the pictures of Willa's first two years here.

Posted by torrie at 08:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)

If everyone could see this picture, the world would be a happier place.

Posted by torrie at 08:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Posted by torrie at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

My husband, age 3:

Willa, 20 months:

Sorry I've been MIA.
Life has been crazy busy lately. Perhaps someday soon, I'll write all about it.
But right now, I'm trying to figure out what role I want the internet to play in my life.

Posted by torrie at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

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Posted by torrie at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Instead of spending Willa's nap doing something productive, I went through all of my pictures on Flickr, and put together slide shows of each of the last 4 years.
There are certainly a lot of moments and people dear to us who weren't captured. These are not my "best" pictures- some are unflattering, some are blurry, etc., but they are the pictures that most accurately depict that year.

2005 was about me recovering from career ending shoulder surgery, tons of physical therapy, finding out my dad's cancer had metastasized, a major back injury, and my husband's internship.

In 2006 I was pregnant 3 times (!!!), had two miscarriages, landed an ad campaign with Nikon, Turned 30, had my pictures in The New York Times, traveled a bunch, and had the enjoyable part of my pregnancy with Willa.

2007 was perhaps the most important year I've ever had. I had a very rough pregnancy and was bed ridden for months, Willa was born, my husband became chief resident, and my father passed away.

2008 has been interesting. Willa was modeling, my husband turned 30, finished his residency, and started his fellowship. We moved, my pictures were published in a book, I re injured my shoulder, Obama became president elect, and Willa was diagnosed with Urticaria.

Posted by torrie at 07:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

She's turning in to a little girl. Time is flying by. Wasn't this just yesterday?

And now she is so smart. And has so may opinions. And I feel like it's all going by so fast.

I'm trying to savor every moment.

New article up at Alpha Mom.

New review up on my review blog.

Posted by torrie at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Yesterday morning when I got Willa out of her crib I noticed that one of her hands looked mottled and like it had bug bites on it. I assumed it was spider bites.
She was acting fine and it didn't seem to be bothering her.

We had our first class at the Y shortly after breakfast. It was awesome and Willa had a great time. However, during the class I watched as what I had thought were bug bites, spread up her arms and then onto her face.

(this picture does not do it justice- it looked HORRIBLE)

My husband happened to meet us at the class (he was just getting home from work after working a 25 hour shift) and he decided to call the doctor. Our doctor wasn't in the office, so we spoke to his partner. he wanted us to bring Willa in.
We really love Willa's pediatrician, but he's in the city, so it's a major pain in the ass to see him.

So we took Willa to get something to eat, during which time her rash got even worse- her arms and face were covered in hives, and then I drove into the city with Willa and my husband sleeping in the car. When Willa woke up her rash was gone. We were right outside the pediatricians office, we had driven all the way in to the city, and now her rash was gone. So, we went in to the pediatricians office and told the receptionist that we wouldn't be needing the appointment. Then we walked around our old neighbor hood for a while.
It was cold yesterday, and when we had walked for a bit, we noticed that Willa's rash was starting to come back, But, we also noticed something else, whenever we went inside her rash got better.
So, the cold made it worse. WEIRD.
The doctor ended up calling us and he wasn't that worried about it because Willa didn't have a fever, and she didn't seem itchy.

Today, when Willa woke up she didn't have a spot on her.

Then we ran some errands. We were hardly outside- just walking from the car into stores, but her cheeks got a little splotchy. When we came back home her skin looked normal again- that is until we took Dexter for a walk this afternoon. As we walked, Willa's face broke out into hives. She looked like she had some horrible disease. When I brought her home and took off her coat I realized that the rash was on her arms again too.

We have no idea what's going on.
Is she allergic to the cold? Is it just a reaction to a bug bite that is exacerbated by the cold?
My husband is currently on the computer doing some research.
Tomorrow I'll talk to the pediatrician again.

It's never boring around here.

Posted by torrie at 07:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Posted by torrie at 07:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

God, I love her.

Posted by torrie at 08:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

Mookie is home.

Right before I went to pick him up he started straining to pee again. The vet said that if he doesn't pee tonight that I'll have to bring him back in the morning and they will perform surgery on him.

He's been home for two hours and he keeps going in the litter box and sitting there and no pee will come out.

I am praying that he pees soon.

In the meanwhile if you all could send some healthy vibes his way I would really appreciate it. I believe in the power of positive

To repay you, I will share this slide show with you:

Posted by torrie at 07:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

A few weeks ago we were visiting my mom for a few days at her house, in the Pocono Mountains.

We went to this amazing little secluded spot in the forest to do a little hiking.

When we were done we met my mother down by a stream to collect our things.

My mother was standing in the stream. When Willa saw her she started pointing and flailing her arms indicating that she wanted to go in the stream too.

We didn't have a bathing suit for her with us. Nor did we have any sandals.

We decided that life is too short, so we let her just walk into the stream with her shoes and clothes on.

She just walked in with no fear and started splashing around.

It was one of those moments as a parent that I will always cherish.
It was one of those moments that I remind myself of when times are tough.
It was one of those moments that makes it all worthwhile.

Posted by torrie at 01:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

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Look who has their two front teeth:

Posted by torrie at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)

Posted by torrie at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

So, we started feeding Willa solids a couple of days after she turned five months.

Our pediatrician wanted us to wait until Willa was six months old (the current guideline).
Some people may not agree with us not listening to our pediatrician, but I just knew she was ready for solids.
The recommendation used to be four months, but because of the rise in children with food allergies, doctors now recommend waiting until six months.

We debated about whether or not Willa was ready, but we finally decided she was because:
No one in either my family or my husband's family has any food allergies.
She was exhibiting all of the signs that she was ready, including grabbing at our food.
She is physically the size of a six month old (she's 90% for height and 75% for weight).

Only time will tell if we made the right decision, but I'm interested to hear what you guys have to say.

How old was your child when you started them on solids?
Does your child have any food allergies?

Posted by torrie at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)

Dear Willa,

One of my favorite bloggers (she had me over to her house for dinner once and she made me an ice cream sundae with caramel sauce and M&M's and then we stuck Cheerios to her dog's head- how could I not like her?) writes a letter to her daughter every month. I am horrible writer, and I don't have a lot of free time, so I can't/won't do this every month, but I had a few things to say.

You are such a good baby. I would never call you an easy baby- you constantly need stimulation, but there have been entire days when you didn't cry once. You smile and laugh all the time. I especially love when you wake up in the morning. You are in such a good mood, and you're all warm and snugly. Sometimes I'll bring you into bed with me and you will snuggle next to me and smile while you touch my face. Those are my favorite moments- all of us in bed together.

Your beauty scares me. I never tell you that you are beautiful; I tell you that you are smart. I don't ever want you to rely on your looks to get ahead in life. At first I thought maybe I just thought you were stunning because you were mine, but everywhere we go people comment on your beauty. People actually stop me on the street and in stores to marvel at you. You look up at them with your big blue eyes and smile. I must admit that I'm happy that you are strapped into your stroller because I'm afraid that someone might run off with you.

You love the animals. You watch them with a look of fascination on your face and you laugh and try to talk to them whenever they walk by. We are teaching you how to be gentle with them, and so far you are doing a good job.

They love you too.

When you were a few weeks old I resisted giving you a bottle because I was afraid you wouldn't want to breast feed. Well, we had a great lactation consultant who showed us the right way to use a bottle and we never had a problem. Now we have a problem, but it's the opposite of what I was afraid of. Having someone give you a bottle is not as convenient as it sounds. Every time you have a bottle I still need to drain my breasts, so I have to pump. You are a very quick eater, so it's usually just easier for me to breast feed you. We went a couple of weeks without giving you a bottle, and now you REFUSE to take one. You only want the boob. This means that I can't leave you alone for more than a couple of hours. I'm glad you like me, but it would be nice to be able to go see a movie with your father once in a while.

You are not a big sleeper. You take after your father. This is very odd for me, because I come from a family of big sleepers. Even the adults take naps. Before you came along I was sleeping 9-10 hours a night. You take two (three if I'm lucky) 1/2 hour naps a day. That's it. At night you wake up several times. I am very tired. God forbid you poop in the middle of the night because then it's party time and you don't want to go back to sleep. At least that's something you get from me- you get really happy after you poop.

You LOVE trees and plants. You get very excited when you see the trees swaying in the wind. You laugh and babble and kick your feet. I love that you love nature and it makes me feel guilty for living in the city.
You also love water. Your favorite time of day is bath time. When your father is home he likes to give you a bath. I usually stand in the kitchen making dinner listening to him singing songs while you splash.

You are totally a daddy's girl and sometimes when I watch you two together I think my heart might burst. The love that I feel is so overwhelming that I forget to breathe.

You love books or anything with writing on it and you love when we sing to you. You try to sing along.

You are very healthy and strong. You've been rolling over from front to back for a while while now (you were a day shy of six weeks the first time you did it!) and th other day your father put you down in th middle of the bed on your back and when he turned back around you were on your belly. He was stunned. You were smiling, obviously proud of your accomplishment.

You are so awesome that I admit that I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like there is no way the universe could have gifted me with such a fantastic child, and it's all going to be taken away from me.
I hardly told anyone that we had a health scare with you recently. You have a lump in your leg. I was terrified that it was something horrible. That the doctor might say the "C" word to us, but it turns out that it was just a reaction to a shot you got. I have never been so relieved in my life.

There's something I want to thank you for. I don't know how I would have gotten through my father dying without you. Your smile is infectious, and without you I probably would have been curled up on the floor crying. Thank you for giving me a purpose and for being such a wonderful distraction.

When I was a little girl all of my friends wanted to be ballerinas, or veterinarians, or doctors. I just wanted to be a mother. That's all I've wanted my whole life.

You were worth the wait.

Posted by torrie at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)

Part of a new series I put together called "My Kid Has More Style Than Me".

Posted by torrie at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

If you are a girl baby:

-You must wear pink at all times, otherwise, even if you are wearing a dress, people will ask if you are a boy.

- You CAN'T wear blue. God forbid. Everyone knows that only boys can wear blue.

-Don't even THINK about wearing anything sports related because as someone said to me once "But that's BOY clothing."

-Your stroller should be pink or purple or covered in butterflies. Only boys ride in blue or black strollers.

-You can't wear jeans (unless it's a jean skirt) because OBVIOUSLY boys wear jeans. Even if the stitching on the jeans is PINK.

-You must have hair, otherwise you must be a boy.
To clarify:
Hair = Girl
Bald = Boy
This explains why people do this to their children.

I hope I've made myself clear.

Obviously a boy:

Posted by torrie at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)

Posted by torrie at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

My dad died on Saturday.

I visited him on Friday (my birthday) and he wasn't doing very well. I asked him if he wanted me to cancel my weekend trip and he said to me "That's the last thing I want you to do. Go have fun."
I spoke to his doctor and asked her if I should cancel my trip and she said "I haven't placed him on critical watch yet, so I think he'll be fine through the weekend." I asked her how much longer she thought he had and she said "A week. Two weeks top."

I sat in the chair next to my dad's bed and wept while he was sleeping.

I kissed my dad on the forehead, said I would be back Monday morning, told him I loved him, and left the hospital.

I reluctantly left for my trip to Massachusetts on Friday night. II was supposed to sing at the Guthrie Center on Saturday night. It took us 4 1/2 hours to drive there, through pouring rain. We got there at 11:30pm.

On Saturday morning at 10am I got a call from the hospital saying that my dad's blood pressure was low and they were going to place him on critical watch to be cautious. I asked his doctor if I should drive back and she said "If you're asking me if I think he'll die today the answer is no, but there's always a possibility. Why don't you call me back at 3:00 to check on him because I will have re-evaluated him by then."
At 3pm I called and the nurse told me the doctor wouldn't be available until 4pm.
At 4pm I was breast feeding Willa when the phone rang. It was the hospital calling to tell me my father had died.

My first instinct was to feel guilty about the fact that my father died alone.

But the more people I talk to, the more I'm starting to believe that my father didn't want me to watch him die.

My nephew told me that when I was out of the room when we visited him on Wednesday, my father said to him "I'm in a lot of pain. I don't have much longer. Don't tell Torrie , I don't want to ruin her Birthday."

Another thing that in a strange way made me feel better is that my dad's dog died on Thursday. He was nine years old, had no known medical problems, and had just been walking around and wagging his tail that morning. He just went to sleep and didn't wake up. Thursday was the day my dad really started to go downhill (I think he waited until Saturday to let go because he didn't want to ruin my Birthday). I think his dog just didn't want to live without him. We didn't tell my father that his dog died. They are together now.

I have spent the last three days visiting the funeral home, writing lists, making DOZENS of phone calls, and planning two memorial services. All with a baby suckling at my breast. You can't imagine how hard it is to call people and tell them that their friend died. My dad had a lot of friends.

I am on auto-pilot. I don't think it's really sunk in yet that my father is gone.

Tomorrow The New York Times will be doing a featured obituary on my dad. I'll try to link to it if I can.
* Update- they didn't make it to press in time. I think it will be in tomorrow's paper. I'll update when they let me know.

I have had several people people ask me where they can make a donation in my dad's honor.
Here are two options:
The American Cancer Society
or
The QAR project

You have no idea how much all of your kind words and support have meant to me.

*Update-Here's an article about my dad.

Posted by torrie at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (55)

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I have mastitis.
It is causing me to have a 102 degree fever, chills, dizziness, exhaustion, and lots of pain .

This would normally be awesome, but it is especially awesome, because my oldest friend is getting married this weekend. And I'm a bridesmaid. And I'm making the wedding cake. And the wedding is three hours away.

To add to the fun:

-I made a big batch of buttercream icing only to discover that I had bought SALTED butter.
Anyone want some salty icing?

-I went to pick up my bridesmaid dress today. I have gone back twice to have it altered correctly. It still doesn't fit right.
I got in my elevator after walking the twelve blocks (round trip) in the heat, with my fever, only to realize that one of the detachable straps was missing. I desperately need the straps, otherwise everyone at the wedding is going to see some boobs for free. The lady at the tailor didn't secure the straps, AND didn't close the bottom of the bag that the dress was in.
I cried in the elevator.
Then, I had to retrace my steps to try and find the strap.
I found it.
That is about the only thing that has gone my way today.

Did I mention that I'm also taking care of a five-week old?

At least she's cute.

Posted by torrie at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)

Posted by torrie at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)

Willa Elizabeth!

Born on May 15th at 2:30 pm
6lbs. 6oz.
19 inches

Story coming soon....

Posted by torrie at 08:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (72)

Words I can not hear enough of when uttered by a sonogram technician:

Perfect
Excellent
Just right
Right on target
Beautiful
Spunky

Today I had my 36 weeks sonogram. (I'll be 36 weeks in two days.)
The baby was measuring 5 1/2- 6 lbs (PERFECT!).
The above picture does not do justice to how awesome this ultrasound was. My mother and my husband were there too.
We got to see her face (I burst into tears), her fists, her little feet kicking me in the ribs, her butt, her tummy (so round), and her brain (I may be biased, but it looked big to me).
She even got the hiccups during the ultrasound.
Her umbilical cord is not wrapped around her neck (Mine was and I almost died during my birth).
The placenta and the amniotic fluid looked great.

I am on cloud nine.

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This picture is part of a new photo series I'm doing called "The realities of pregnancy and motherhood".

Don't get me wrong- I'm thrilled to be pregnant- I just feel like most people aren't honest about what it's REALLY like to be pregnant, or to be a mother.

I'm curious-

What surprised you most about pregnancy and /or motherhood?

You don't have to have been pregnant or a mother to answer this question- if you've never been pregnant, or a mother, but watched someone else go through it, what surprised you most?

Posted by torrie at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (35)

I was less than thrilled.
My back has gotten so bad that almost nothing is worth sitting in an uncomfortable chair for hours on end. Not even Martha.

Posted by torrie at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

What?

Am I the only one who wears an afro wig and a tiara while watching American Idol?

(Photo taken by Schnozz.)

Posted by torrie at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

On Thursday night we went out to dinner at a Japanese restaurant with a couple of friends. One of my friends ordered what appeared to be a beautifully plated appetizer:

Then we realized that there were Pringles sticking out of it. Who would have thought potato chips would be considered garnish?

On Saturday a friend of ours gave us a present to celebrate the fact that we are having a girl. It seemed like an adorable little outfit, until we saw the tag:

Is it just me, or is that a really demented way to describe an outfit that an infant will be wearing?

I hope you all had as good a New Year's Eve as we did.

Posted by torrie at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

Because I certainly don't know what the hell to call it.

Posted by torrie at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Check it out:

I totally have a bump!

Wait.

Why are you laughing?

Shut up! It totally IS a bump.

Maybe next week I'll take some bump pictures with my belly covered because then you can really notice the bump (and then maybe all those fucking perverts will stop favoriting my belly pictures on Flickr).

Also, I don't think I wrote about this, but I was having trouble eating enough. I hadn't gained any weight in about three weeks and I had only gained 3lbs total.
Well, sooooo not a problem anymore. I've gained 3 lbs in the last week and a half and I'm eating ALL THE TIME.
Really.
I have a friend I keep wanting to call, and I realized today that the reason I haven't found time in the past couple of days to call her, is because every time I think of it I'm eating something and I don't want to chew in her ear.
I might need to make an exception to the it's not polite to chew in someone's ear rule, otherwise I might never talk to anyone on the phone again until I give birth.

I want to slap the me from two weeks ago who was all "I can't eat enough! Whaa whaa whaa!"

And I'm sure 40 week me will want to say to me from two weeks ago "Remember when you were all where's my bump? Well here's your fucking bump! Happy?!"

Posted by torrie at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Last night I shaved off my husband's goatee.

This might not seem like a big deal to most of you, but we've been together for 9 1/2 years, and I've never actually seen his face.
We have talked many times over the years about shaving it off, but we never got around to actually doing it.
It was always "I can't believe we are living together and I've never actually seen your face" or "I can't believe we are engaged and I've never actually seen your face" or "I can't believe we are married and I've never actually seen your face".
You get the idea.
So I guess now that I'm carrying this man's baby, I wanted to make sure he wasn't hiding anything from me under that wiry mass of hair.
So, last night we bit the bullet.
To say I was freaked out would be an understatement.

Here is the before:

Here it is after I shaved off the bottom part so that he could have a porn star mustache for a few minutes:

This was the point where I started to get REALLY freaked out.

This is pretty much how my face looked for the rest of the shaving:

Quite possibly the best picture ever taken of me.

This is about a fifth of the hair that came off his face:

Here is the after picture in which the husband looks stoned because his family has some weird genetic mutation which makes it virtually impossible for them to keep their eyes open for pictures:

Here is a closeup:

He's going to close shave it today (I just used the electric clipper last night) so we can get the full effect.
Then, he's immediately going to start the process of growing it back so that I stop rocking back and forth and mumbling to myself.

Posted by torrie at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

The baby is "perfect"!
The baby is "perfect"!

Maybe we are actually going to have this baby!

All this AND Britney files for divorce from K-Fed, the democrats kick the republicans' ass, AND Donald Rumsfeld resigns!?

Oh happy day!

Did I mention that they said the baby looks "perfect"?

Here's a picture of the baby sucking its thumb:

To see a couple of more sonogram pictures check out my Flickr page.

Posted by torrie at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)

We went out with friends on Friday night.
While we waited for our table at Serendipity, we walked down the street to Dylan's Candy Bar.
One of my friends decided to have some sourpatch kids.
I watched in horror as he haphazardly popped two or three in his mouth at a time.
I explained to him that there was a right way to eat sourpatch kids- that you must savor them.
He argued that there are "different" ways of doing things. That people have different "opinions".
And then in a feable attempt to prove me wrong, he shoved all of his remaining sourpatch kids in his mouth.

Dammit people!- there is a right and a wrong way to do things, and that's just WRONG.
I'm still twitching.

Posted by torrie at 09:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Tracy made this picture for me.
(The picture was too wide to post here, so you'll have to click on the link.)

If you don't get it, watch this.

Posted by torrie at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I went to the docotor today because I was having some shooting pains.
It turns out that the pain was just from my uterus expanding so rapidly.
I had an awesome sonogram. The baby was moving around and the heartbeat was strong.

If you click on the picture you'll see notes explaining what you're looking at.
This is the farthest I've ever gotten in a pregnancy.

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The sonogram was perfect!

Baby had a strong heart beat!

Posted by torrie at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Thanks to my mother-in-law and my husband's work allowance.

It will be used mostly for the research my husband will be doing, but I will cherish what little time I have with it.

Posted by torrie at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

So, um, apparently I'm a photographer now. I thought it was pretty cool when a couple of my pictures were featured in the Style Section of The New York Times, the German magazine Max, and several websites, but then I was chosen to be a part of Nikon's new national ad campaign for their new camera, the D80:

I can not even begin to describe what an honor this is.

Starting tomorrow (October 4th) one of my photographs will also be featured on their website. * I just found out that it might be a couple of more days before my picture is on the website.

I've also been doing some head shot/portrait type stuff, including pictures for Heather.

It is so wonderful to be recognized for something that you are so passionate about.

*Update- If you are interested in seeing the ad in person, here is a list of the magazines it is running in:

Shutterbug
Outdoor Photographer
Pc Photo
Popular Photography
Demystifiying Digital
Popular Science
PC World
MacWorld
Family Fun
Parents
T&L Family
National Geographic
National Geographic Adventurer
National Geographic Traveler
Outside
Travel & Leisure
Newsweek
Time
US News & World Report
People

Posted by torrie at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)

This is the reason why

-My arms look like this
-I can't go to Stanley
-I just ate crackers for breakfast
-I refuse to get a manicure even though I could really use one
-I am so hungry that if I don't get food NOW I will kill everyone within a three block radius
-I burst into tears over how in love I am with my husband
-I am apprehensively happy

Posted by torrie at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)

Here are some pictures from our vacation.

Posted by torrie at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

The husband and I are leaving today for a week's vacation.

We'll be spending a few days at my mom's in the Poconos, and a few days here.

I probably won't be posting much while I'm gone, if at all.
I might post some pictures on Flickr.

Have a great week!

Posted by torrie at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Happy now???

Posted by torrie at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

If you don't read Sarah Brown's blog you are missing out on some of the most clever writing on the internet.

She's also the creator of bershon.

Posted by torrie at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Today is my last day in my twenties.

In my twenties I have:

- Met, fell in love with, and married my husband.
- Graduated from culinary school, worked my way up to executive pastry chef, and won a gold medal at a culinary competition
- Had three surgeries, including a career ending shoulder surgery.
- Adopted Dexter, Mookie, and Itsy.
- Lost my beloved Grandmother.
- Had two of my photographs published in The New York Times.
- Made many great friends.
- Left my comfort zone and moved to a new city.
- Been pregnant twice and lost both pregnancies.
- Found out my father has terminal cancer.
- Started eating better.
- Gained 27 pounds.
- Lost 8 of those pounds.
- Discovered and fell in love with the internet.
- Read too many books to count.
- Had LOTS of sex.
- Learned a lot about myself.
- Stopped letting people walk all over me.
- Became a brunette.
- Almost come to terms with my nose.
- Learned a lot about myself.

It's funny; I use to think I needed to accomplish everything by the time I turned 30. Now that 30 is here, in some ways, I feel like my life is just beginning.

I'm excited to see what's in store for my thirties.

Posted by torrie at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)

An update on this post about my hair.

I finally made a decision about my hair. It was about time considering the ends of my hair had turned blonde and the roots were brown. It was NOT a flattering look.
Also, I switched hairdressers. My old hairdresser was all right, but both times I lost the pregnancies I had seen him the day before. Call me superstitious, but it was time for a change.

I decided I wanted a layered cut and to dye it brown.

Here is the result:

Please excuse the lack of make up and the luggage I'm packin' under my eyes.

*update* Here's what it looks like when I let it dry naturally (In the picture above it had been blown staright.)

Posted by torrie at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

... to my sweet little boy. He turns six today!
They grow up fast.

For more pictures of Dexter click here.

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Today is our three year wedding anniversary.

When the rest of my life is a mess, at least I know I got one thing right.

Posted by torrie at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

Posted by torrie at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Internet I have a VERY important and life changing decision that I need your help with:

Should I stay brunette or go back to blonde?

I was a blonde for 27 years and then I started dyeing my hair brown

It was fun, but to be honest, I don't really feel like myself.
I was always "Torrie with the long blonde hair".

So, here are some examples of the blonde me:
(It's kind of hard to get the full effect on these small pictures, so click on them to view the larger size.

There are a couple of more examples on Flickr.

And here a few examples of the brunette me:

Other options:

Blue

Black

So, please tell me what you think looks better. Try not to make your judgement based on the qaulity of the photos.

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You can view the pictures from my recent trip HERE.

This is one of my favorites:

Posted by torrie at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I'm leaving for my trip today. We're spending two nights at my Mom's house in the Poconos, four nights in Montreal, two nights in New Hampshire, and one night in Boston.
I don't know if I'll have internet access after Monday. If not, I will be walking the streets of Montreal, twitching.
If you've emailed me and I haven't gotten back to you, I apologize- I have 30 emails sitting in my inbox- I've been feeling overwhelmed, and they're going to have to wait until I get back.

Please enjoy this picture of Mookie in my absence and talk amongst yourselves.

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So, I was taking Dexter for his morning walk. Dexter likes to carry a toy when we go for a walk:

I must also preface this story by saying that Dexter LOVES children and babies.
I'm not sure where his obsession with little ones came from, but maybe it's because they taste good:

Mmmmmmmm, TASTY!

Tastes like chicken!

Anyway, back to the story-

Dexter and I were crossing the street. On the sidewalk we were approaching, there were several people, including a couple with a todder in a stroller.
As we stepped up onto the curb the father jumped in front of the stroller and started yelling "NO, no, no!"
I said "It's OK, he won't hurt her."
To which he responded "No, no, no!"
"He's a therapy dog" I said, getting frustrated (I was in NO MOOD for ridiculous people).
And then he delivered a line that I will never forget:

"KEEP IT AWAY FROM MY HUMAN"

Blink. Blink.

Did he just say "Keep it away from my human"?
All of the people standing on the curb had their mouths hanging open in disbelief. A few chuckled.

Keep in mind that during this entire incident Dexter was wagging his tail and holding his stuffed animal in his mouth, unaware of his power to strike terror.
I'd also like to point out that his wife was with him, but she never said a word. She just stood there with this look on her face like "If I say anything he's going to beat me again".

After my initial shock wore off, I said "I feel really sorry for your daughter because when she's an adult she won't be able to walk down the street because of her fear of dogs"
He gave me an eloquent rebuttal of "That's fine".

Um, actually, no it's not FINE.

So, I said to him, "It's really unfortunate that you're putting your own fears on your child" and then I turned and crossed the street.

This happened on Friday. I've spent all weekend analyzing it.

Why did he say "MY HUMAN"? Why didn't he say "my child", or "my daughter", or "my little girl"?

Who refers to their child as "MY HUMAN"?

The first questions everyone who I tell this story to asks me is "Was he foreign? Did he not have a command of the English language?"

He spoke perfect English.

* Side note: Have modern day humans lost all of their instincts?
I'm asking this question because things like this happen all the time. Dexter will be skipping along with a giant rainbow colored stuffed octopus in his mouth and some people will still be terrified. I have no tolerance for people who have one bad experience with a dog and then, subsequently, are terrified of ALL DOGS. I've gotten screwed by tons of people and yet I'm not scared of ALL PEOPLE.
I truly believe that if I had grown up in the middle of the jungle and never seen a dog before, that when I saw Dexter, walking down the street, tail wagging, with a stuffed animal in his mouth, I would be able to read his body language and realize that he meant me no harm. This would be especially true if another person ASSURED me that he was docile.

Tracy came up with the only explanation that makes any sense:

The man and his wife were aliens who couldn't conceive a baby, so they came to earth and stole a human baby. They had never seen a dog before, so when they saw Dexter they freaked out and thought that this vicious monster might eat their precious human baby.

Yes.

Vicious.

Evil monster.

It all makes sense now.

Posted by torrie at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)

I just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my gorgeous husband.

I am not eloquent enough to put into words how much I love you and appreciate you.

My life is better because of you.

Thank you for EVERYTHING.

Posted by torrie at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

This is what happens to my hair when it rains for three days straight:

Posted by torrie at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

One of the flowers that woman let her dog pee on.

There is an ANT in my apartment.

I live on the thirty-second floor.

That is one resourceful ant.

Posted by torrie at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Mookie is feeling better every day, although he's still tired:

My mother was here this weekend and she bought me some beautiful tulips:

Yesterday the husband and I took Dexter to Central Park. I took a lot of pictures, especially of flowers:

I also took a picture of this wall that I thought had an awesome design:

And we saw the Greek Parade:

On the way home I saw a Forsythia bush and I took a branch home to put in a vase:

And then we found some baby pigeons who had fallen out of their nest:

We put them back in their nest. I hope they make it.

My father got here last night. He's staying with us for two weeks, because I am putting him through a cleanse, so we can kick his cancer's ASS!

For those of you who are interested, I've updated my Cafe Press Photography store. Please let me know if there are any pictures you'd like to see on products, that I haven't added yet.

If you'd like to see the rest of the pictures I've uploaded check out my Flickr page.

Posted by torrie at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I took this at a gas station rest stop. Proof that beauty can be found anywhere.

Posted by torrie at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Posted by torrie at 05:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

This, ladies and gentlemen, is my nephew.

He's 20 years old and an aspiring actor.
He's going to be the next Tom Cruise (except for the being a gigantic, insane asshole part).

I know I'm biased because he's my nephew, but isn't he just adorable?

Posted by torrie at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)

Posted by torrie at 05:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

For those of you who are interested, one of my photographs will be in the Style secton of The New York Times tomorrow.

It will be in an article about people who take self portraits.

Unfortunately, because the picture is part of a collage, I will not be given credit.

See if you can spot me.

* Update- Actually, it's two pictures.
Here's the link.

Posted by torrie at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)

You guys are lame, but I'm still playing so here you go:

1) My favorite picture of myself

This was on our wedding day. I love how this picture captures how HAPPY I was.

2) My favorite picture of me with someone I love

This was at the Las Vegas airport, probably about six years ago.
I was visiting my mom and the husband (then boyfriend) had been skiing in Utah and was meeting me in Las Vegas.
I hadn't seen him in a few weeks so I was VERY happy to see him.
A friend of ours came to the airport with me to pick him up and snapped this picture.

3) My favorite picture of me as a baby/child

I was about two in this picture. I love my blonde hair and how happy I look. I also am digging the overalls.

Posted by torrie at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Let's play a game.

A photo sharing game.

Post on your blog the following pictures:
1) Your favorite picture of your self
2) Your favorite picture of you with someone you love
3) Your favorite picture of you as a baby or child

And, please tell us a little something about each picture.

Leave a comment and let me know if you played so I can check out your pictures.

I'm going to go search through my photos so I can play too....

Posted by torrie at 01:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Posted by torrie at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

Last night we got our dinner from an Italian restaurant. Mmmmmm thin crust pizza.
They sent us some rolls.

This was one of the rolls:

The husband was freaking out. AND he refused to eat it it because it looked like Mookie.

See the resemblance?

Posted by torrie at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)

A few months back I couldn't take it any more. Every time I walked into my kitchen I would get angry and start to twitch.
I needed to do something about the hideous linoleum floor.

I dragged the husband to Home Depot, which was an interesting experience to say the least.

$30 and one afternoon later, we had this:

Not bad, eh?

Andrew Dan-Jumbo, watch out!

Posted by torrie at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Posted by torrie at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)