Front and Back... Side to Side

They are mostly front-loaded babies... at least for now. 

walk o' the weeks

See. you guys are spoiled. I could put these on Facebook, but I thought I'd put some extras here... at least first. You get some bonuses for pretending I'm interesting

7-17-23-30

Fundal Height:

8 cm =  aprox size prior to preg. 

15cm @ 14 weeks 

24cm @ 18 weeks

30cm @ 22 weeks 

34cm @ 26 weeks

41cm @ 30 weeks

toffee O'Chocolaté

Still eating lots of veggies.

Yet to resume my no sugar commitment. I think I am ready, except that I am still obsessed with coming up with my own chocolates recipes. If I don't figure it out while everything is fresh, I'll forget and have to start all over.

Basically, that means that until I am satisfied with my creations, I will continue consuming far too much sugar...and now we know why Mario Batali is so plump.  

It's an unhealthy obsession, but at least it's distracted me from chain-watching Doc Martin episodes. I don't know why it grew on me so much. Season one isn't super amazing... but it somehow consumed me. Call it the Portwenn effect.

Who wouldn't want to live in Portwenn... even if it is just Port Isaac with a cooler name. 

Anyhow. Ugly, but deliciously successful was my attempt to take a loved and rarely used toffee recipe, alter it, alter the proportions of my chocolate to make it less sugary (for the sugar center).... and I got these hideous but yummy candies.

Chocolate covered toffees. Yum

Still working on the recipe: there was far too much butteriness in the toffee pan (wasting away), the toffees varied from softly brittle to chewy, and it was hard to get the chocolate to stick. However, I did finally find a carmel recipe that DOES NOT USE CORN SYRUP, so I am going to try those out. I'm aiming for a chocolate delight that makes Reisin's cower in shame. Shame, I tell you, Shame. 

The Evolution of Chocolate

Remember when I used to like Hersheys? Then I discovered Utah Truffles and I thought I would never again eat Hersheys... (except I did have a Hershey relapse at the last family reunion.SHHHH.  Don't tell)

But, then I was trying really hard not to eat highly processed foods, chemicals, and such... but I still made exceptions for Utah Truffles and their chocolate covered cookies. Because they are awesome, and because I could never seam to find chocolates without all sorts of hydrogenated oils and soy crap in them. But that is okay, right? You can't expect a girl to go with out chocolate, can you? Marketing says I need it, and marketing would never lie.

Then recently, with much help from Carrisa, I found a few pure and simple ones THAT ACTUALLY TASTED GOOD, because some of those health food company candies are just strait up nasty.

Not quite a Utah Truffle, but for a real food ingredient chocolate, this one isn't bad.
Better than Hershey's at least.

Cant find the proper photo, but 365 makes a Coconut chocolate (without milk)
that has real ingredients and is pretty decent.

@ $5 for 2.7 oz, (available at Whole Foods)
Brett really liked this 4 ingredient chocolate, but it just quite didn't do it for me.
The ground cocoa beand in this brand give it a gritty texture that grows on you.

Don't usually favor the chili chocolates, but this is the one that gave me hope
for a simple and pure ingredient chocolate.  Really liked the flavor the chili added. 

The one that EVERYONE loved, and quite possibly everyone's favorite. 

The problem comes when you don't want to be spending 5 bucks a bar (a week)on chocolate. So, I got some new cocoa to try at 50% off, and told Brett to make me chocolate. Unlike my mother, he didn't say "poof! You're chocolate!"
What can I say, my husband is a genious. He nailed the flavor and ingredient proportions in about 10 minutes using only 3 ingredients. I altered it to 4 ingredients, and have been experimenting to try and nail the gritty sugar texture issue. It's a work in progress, but I just might be happy enough to never buy pre-made chocolate again.

INGREDIENTES MATTER. Not all cocoa powder tastes the same,
and cheep coconut oil isn't fragrant. Might take you a few different cocoa powder brands
to find the chocolate flavor that you prefer. 

looks smoother than it is :) Melts in your mouth, but sugar is gritty.

I used some old IKEA ice cube molds I had,
stuck them in the fridge for a while, and popped them out.

So far I've simmered the sugar in water until softball to caramelize it,
but when I blend it together, the sugar just re-chrystalizes,
but at least it is a finer grit. 

Because it's held together by coconut oil, they melt at body temperature,
but they should keep in a cool room for a while.
I just keep them in the fridge to be safe. There (in theory) they would last several weeks. 

Thinking I can fix the gritt issue by making carmel balls
and dipping them into the unsweetened cocoa/coconut oil mixtutre.

A little Hippie

I've never been one for drugs, The Grateful Dead, or for wild baby making with strangers, but there has always been that part of me that likes to make things from scratch, strait from mother earth. A small, but intact hippie side.

I fear the day this quote gets old to me. 

Think about it: My fascination (and unfortunate simultaneous apprehension) with foraging food from the forest, my complete distrust with government agencies like the FDA, my secret desire to photograph cows and ride unicorns... I mean seriously, a good 20- 40% of me would be completely happy in Portlandia. Have you heard? The Dream of the 90's is alive in Portland...

Yup. I made it. 

Well, the last 8 months or so I have been playing around with the hippie art of toiletry making.  Overall, I've liked it. I even wasted a few hours designing labels.

I didn't make the Bath Salts, though I got some homemade ones as a gift, and I had to make a label!

(Look! I put a bird on it...)

1. Toothpaste: Not too hard, nor too expensive, but I don't really like getting it out of a mini tub, so I need to figure out how to put it into a tube instead. Still, it's nice not to have flouride in my toothpaste. More or less BAKING SODA mixed into COCONUT OIL, plus a few drops of food safe ESSENTIAL OIL as you please, and some STEVIA for sweetness (since stevia is supposed to be non decaying or something) google a recipe, you will find it. 

Top left: A batch of deodorant that separated a bit as it cooled ( I didn't like it in a tub anyway). Bottom right, toothpaste in a little tub. I get it out with a tiny popsicle stick... but looking for a better solution. 

2. Deodorant:  Took some getting used to not having an anti-persperant, but after a while my body adjusted to the deodorant, &  I didn't sweat as much, even when I exersized.

Coconut oil+Baking Soda (odor absorbing) +Cornstarch or Arrowroot( moisture absorbing, I think)+Tea Tree Oil (antibacterial)+ Oil's of smells you like. (google a recipe). 

 Pros: I don't have to pick from smells like "theres a rosebush in my armpit" & "smells like teen spirit (or maybe just a girls over-parfumed locker room)", and you can make it without aluminum (connected to Alzheimer's disease). Con's: I was so self conscious at first that I spent several weeks asking Brett if I smelled like a crazy old lady, or if I had B.O.

I poured my deodorant  into an old deodorant bottle and let it cool. Makes for easy application. 

3. Sugar scrub: Paying 10 bucks for sugar scrub is ridiculous, even if it is a luxury... and then their was the time a store bought sugar scrub smelled so good I tasted a little bit of it and it was nice and sweet with a disgusting chemical after taste. Well, I made my own (with Carrisa) and it was delicious, edible, exfoliates my face(and lips, or feet, or legs, or husband) when needed, and is moisturizing. 

The proportions were  something like 1 cup SUGAR (we used raw with the big crystals),  1/4 cup HONEY (antibacterial), and 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin OLIVE OIL (moisturizing, doesn't clog pores)

4. Face Toner: I also never used toners really, but I found a recipe and experimented with it, AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. The rose water is an antiseptic, supposed to be PH balancing for the skin or something, and also supposedly anti aging. What I really LOVE about the toner though is that I never have flaky dry skin anymore. I swear glycerine is absolute magic. 

My favorite homemade toner is actually so moisturizing that I rarely use face lotion anymore

ROSEWATER+FEW DROPS OF GLYCERINE

You can simmer up your own rosewater if you have rose petals sans pesticide, but I have to buy mine (boooo).

5. Eye Make-up Remover: I should have put this one first because THIS IS THE ONE THAT STARTED THE WHOLE THING. Plus it is my second favorite homemade toiletry. I ran out, and couldn't get over the fact that even the cheep stuff is like 5 bucks a bottle. Here is my complicated recipe (are your ready?):

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (EVOO)

Got it? did you write it down? Seriously works awesome. Now, you can play around with it. I've diluted it with water (shake before using).

6. Hand sanitizer: Also not something I used a lot, but It is nice to keep a spray bottle of it in my glovebox for when I want to munch on a snack in the car after prop shopping and touching dirty things in D.I.

VODKA and WATER, mixed 1:1. Add a few drops of essential oil if it floats your boat (I use lime). I pour mine into a mini spray bottle like the rosewater/glycerine one pictured above. 

7. Face Lotion: This one is still in the works. I rarely use any anymore (remember the magic Glycerine in my toner, if I feel dry, I usually just spray my face with the toner a few times).  Occasionally I've put something extra on before bed though. Sometimes Olive Oil, Sometimes a varying combination of OLIVE OIL + AVACADO OIL+ CASTOR OIL + COCONUT OIL. All of these are skin safe, as it don't clog your pores. Wipe away exess, you'll be a little oily while it absorbs into your skin, so I usually do it at night. True, sometimes I get a a few blemishes, but it is no worse than before I used these. I think it's just hormones... and they never seem to be the pussy kind, just the kind that look a little red. 

AND AS FOR MAKE UP MAKING...... 

I haven't tried this yet. I recently found my favorite foundation ever, but then started getting worried about some of the ingredients in make up... do you absorb them? I know there are a lot of people out there who wont use Parabins (and other ingredients I've never googled) in their make up. Anyhow, In the search for a new more natural foundation I found one with just water, vegetable glycerine, clay, rice bran oil, and iron oxides in it. And heck, if Iron Oxides were good enough for the Venus of Willendorf they are good enough for me. It actually matches my skin decently. The texture, though, is a little odd. At first it is normal, but as you blend it in it starts feeling like... um... clay. 

So, I started looking up foundation recipes, and I am tempted, but buying the ingredients in bulk is a bit much for experimentation, so perhaps another day. 

I Know what I did this summer 5

I'm afraid I've lost all sense chronology at this point... I'm skipping around a lot. This one is in September  and I still have photos from July and such, but this one was small, so why not.

B went to present at a software user group, and since they decided a week  before that he should be there both days instead of  just one, they couldn't get him a room, and put him up next door in a condo with  2 bedroom (both queen beds), plus a hide-a-bed couch,  3 full baths plus 2 vanities, full kitchen, living room, laundry,  and a balcony with a private hot tub.

So, even though I had a ton of work to do, Brett insisted I come. I worked in the hotel a lot, but in the evenings I got great food at the conference, and for the first time in years I got Brett into the hot tub with me.

I wasn't a fan of the hybrid native american/hunter's lodge/ aztec decour as a whole, but I loved this storage bench.

And there were two of these pig benches I adored. 

I still know what I did this summer 4

This summer, we wen't to Lake Arrowhead where B's Family has a timeshare.

and, of course, the shoes had to come. 

Carrisa and I went on hikes most mornings

I stood kinda funny near a rock

 

I wore the same tank top that I wear in almost every hiking photo I take

Though my sunglasses do change

Carrisa and I found a pretty Meadow at the top of a dirty, neglected, steep trail.

We played a few games of Aquire... which, to my surprise, Carrisa enjoyed. 

I found the the most innovative car wash ever, but no one else was as amused as I. 

Carrisa and I perused some antique stores. 

I found my favorite door ever.

And a funky birdcage

And another cute door

We tried out the Newsprint transfers on our nails.

I bought and returned 2 pairs of sunglasses  4 or so times. 

Predictably, Brett bought another puzzle at the toy shop. 

The cousins played some video games. 

In true Valantine family form, we played a lot of card games. 

  

I <3 playing Michigan!

We got Tracey hooked on Bambuu (and found out how long a 5 player game can last)

Trump family+ double pinochle+ marriage+ King in every suit+ 9 of trumps=most amazing meld ever (only one card not worth points)

It was awesome.

The END.