Stella rocks the mic

announcing...

(no, its not a baby)

The web site for J. Mandala Studios is now live! 

www.jmandalastudios.com

Or for those who have trouble spelling our name (and when family has a hard time, you know its bad)...

weddingdresspaintings.com. 

Check it out!

PS - you can also become a fan on facebook.

the right way to read a book

Stella shows Stephen what for:

culebra!

Ah, faithful readers, thanks for sticking with us during our summer blog-lapse. We've been traveling a lot but are now home. The wailing and gnashing of teeth may now conclude. We're back and ready to bring you more baby pics and random observations!

But first, we shall briefly summarize our trip sans baby to Culebra. It's a teeny tiny island in the Caribbean, just off the coast of Puerto Rico. It is heaven on earth. There is a teeny tiny town on the island, it has a name, but people just call it "town". There are no resorts. We stayed in a fantastic guest house on the water in town. "Fantastic" here means charming and colorful and air-conditioned. I've been trying to get Stephen here for years, but the prospect of going to the Caribbean without a resort was sort of daunting. (My friend Janet and I fell in love with this place a few years back).

Here's something we learned: if you have a great balcony, but no door to it, you can just build some stairs up to the window and call it a door. No one will mind! Just tell people to duck. This was the "door" to the (fantastic) balcony in our room.

Here is the outside of our guesthouse. It was right on the harbor, where the town is. Everything is walking distance in the town. There are just a few restaurants but they are tasty!

The beach there is amazing, one of the best in the world, it has seriously turned us into beach snobs. I know it sounds silly, but that sand is as soft as powdered sugar. And pristine. Locals come over from PR and spend the day picnicking, but it never really gets crowded. This might seriously be the best beach I will ever visit. One end is calm and good for swimming, you can snorkel right from the beach, and the other end gets some pretty big waves for bodysurfing. Here's Stephen, right before getting totally trashed by that wave:

Our home away from home:

Another thing we learned - this time the hard way. If you think you might get seasick, and you have the choice between a 90 minute ferry ride and a 20 minute flight, spring for the flight! Even if it is scary! We flew back off the island in a propeller plane, here was the view out of my left window. The plane only fit like 6 people and the pilot was right in front of me. They ask you your weight when you make a reservation, and tell you exactly where to sit. You don't dare lie. What a thrill. I was afraid to even turn all the way around to talk to Stephen - in a plane that small you just don't want to be shifting around. 

We also visited San Juan, but the focus of our trip was really the beach. We want to go back as often as possible. Next time I think we could bring Stella, and maybe a cousin or grandparent to help entertain her. Volunteers?

so helpful!

Stella loves her cousin Gabe, she has been trying to teach him to clap and blow kisses. Pretty dang cute!

spaghetti girl

one more reason I love Obama

Last Monday I was laid off from my job, which I loved very much. It was a complete shock. Donations are down, and the organization had to take some pretty drastic measures. 

I had the good fortune to work for a great organization with some truly amazing people. I will miss that and remain a committed supporter. 

But I'm looking forward to what is next. I could use some new challenges, and while this is a horrible time to be laid off, there are a few silver linings. 

Thank you, President Obama, for helping laid-off employees keep their health insurance! Part of the stimulus plan included a provision that allows laid-off employees to pay only 35% of the normal COBRA premiums for the first 9 months. This is the difference between $1467 and $507 per month to continue our health care coverage. For us, this means I can sleep at night. I don't know for sure (yet), but I suspect that $1497 is more than I will get in unemployment. I am sure that for many others, not having this 35% plan would mean going without coverage. Yikes. Especially when you consider that medical catastrophes are one of the leading causes of bankruptcy, losing your house, etc. 

I've made a personal commitment to work out every day that I am between jobs. It will help me stay positive, manage stress, and give me something else to talk about. I'm considering documenting my fitness and weight loss efforts in a public forum. Helps with the accountability. Since finding time to work out was a challenge before, there are no more excuses!

I'm taking a bit of time for some vacations we had already planned, but really am anxious to get into a new position as quickly as possible. Would love to hear ideas if anyone has them!

birthday girl

There is much to say. But so little time! Our rosebud turned one. Somehow she has bloomed from this:

To this:

She may still look like her daddy but she is learning to shake it like her momma.

my brilliant husband

Back in the days before Stephen and I dated, I had a nice little apartment with a hot tub outside and a sunroom off the bedroom that I used as an art studio. I had all kinds of crazy projects going on back there. One of these projects was born of necessity - I had a favorite pair of shoes that were in need of replacement. Problem was, they were the perfect mix of heel, platform and bounciness - and of course I couldn't find anything else like them anywhere. I analyzed the slope of the last (and found out what a last was) and replicated it. All I needed was something strong and sort of bouncy - I figured that if I could get the last, insole and sole together I could just make it into some sort of sandal. I figured cork would be a perfect material, so I saved some wine corks and began to assemble them into the requisite shape. One could say I possibly had too much time on my hands. Stephen likes to joke that if he hadn't come along I would still be off somewhere, trying to make my own shoes. hee. 

All this is background on just why it is that we have a large quantity of wine corks in our house. I'm always thinking I'm going to make something out of them. But, drumroll please... Stephen found a use for them before I did. 

So it's springtime in Texas, which really is a pretty spectacular thing. For just a few short weeks, people in snowbound places feel envious of our weather. It's a sentiment that doesn't really return until October or so. We're really enjoying the courtyard we put in last fall, 

and the fountain especially has been pretty entertaining for the bambina. 

Stephen had the idea to throw some of her bath toys in there... good idea, but a little short-lived as she can't reach far enough in to fish them out, and there are just a few of them. But then... inspiration strikes. Ladies and gentlemen, may I please introduce you to what is sure to be a craze among the junior circuit: corks in the fountain. 

All you need are a couple hundred corks and a fountain. She spent hours picking up the corks and putting them in the fountain. Then moving corks one by one on to the ledge, then into the fountain. I tell you the possibilities are endless! The great thing is they float, so once enough are in there, she can bat them around with her hands or even take some out. Cleanup is easy with a colander. This is our new favorite game. Go Stephen!

April 1st Free Zone

I really don't like April Fool's Day. To be frank, I got tired of always being the sucker and never being able to successfully turn the tables on Jess. She is a master at fooling me (comes from her family). After several years of marriage she got me so bad that I used one of my few but extremely helpful "if you loved me" cards and declared our family a no April Fools zone. I realize that this all sounds a bit pathetic, but I have to protect my innocence from the truly evil and wicked Jessica.

She once told me that "a fool can be a good husband for a clever girl." You see what I have to love. Happy April Fool's Day!

spring break

Since so many of her cousins were out of school last week for spring break, we decided it would be a good time for Stella to get some extended family time. She and Stephen left for Montgomery the previous Wednesday, and I came down for the weekend. They were having so much fun, they stayed the whole next week and I went down again for the weekend - but this time there was no way I was coming home without them! 

They did all kinds of fun things, and Stella learned a lot about being heard in a crowd. She had a ball - I think it was kid heaven. Me, on the other hand - I worked late a lot. I don't like being home without them. 

Whenever they leave town without me I think I'm going to get all these things done - this time I thought I would:

• build Stephen a dream desk for his home office (and no, I've never built a desk before, I'm just pathologically optimistic)
• paint a diamond pattern on the dining room walls
• catch up with friends
• clean the whole house 
• work out every day
• get a pedicure

In reality, I: 

• uploaded my cd collection to my mac (takes forever!!)
• completed the transition of what was formerly known as our guest room/tv room/home office into just a guest/tv room
• did all the laundry
• organized all kinds of random stuff (that I'm sure will only be noticed by me)
  
• saw a couple of friends
• got two bike rides in

I'm pretty darn thrilled with that. I also got some good time trying to figure out just what this mac can do. Stella is also very interested in it, she put this video together about her adventures:

more arboretum pics

I realize that not everyone wants to plow through the bajillion photos on our Flickr page, so here are my favorites:

baby daddy

Stephen, circa 1972:




















Stella Rose, circa last weekend:
















Somehow I don't think anyone is going to be asking for paternity tests anytime soon. :)

stella jonas?

We had a great weekend. Picnic yesterday at the arboretum with the Thomhousers - weather was spectacular and it was so refreshing to just be outside for a few hours. I think that may be one of our new favorite places. We got a membership so now we can go hang out there any time we like. The place is so beautiful - we got lots of great pictures. You can see them on our Flickr site and on Becca & Chris' Flickr site too.

Stella's hair is getting pretty cute. It's starting to curl a bit at the ends - kind of flips out like a little baby hipster. Very curly when it is wet. We haven't cut it or anything, so it is of course longer on top than anywhere else. She and I had lunch with our friend JP on Saturday, and I think he hit the nail on the head when he pronounced it "boy band hair":

we've gone mac! and other updates after our hiatus

Our home PC succumbed to a particularly nasty virus, providing just one more reason to get us into the Apple store. My new macbook is my first-ever personal computer, if you don't count my old 386 hand-me-down in college that was great for papers and solitaire but didn't even have a modem. And I don't count that. :)

Speaking of viruses, we have been hit hard lately. Yesterday was the worst with all three of us down for the count. OH MAN I was starting to panic. Stella had been so miserable Sunday night, she just whimpered in our arms until about midnight. Fever around 102. Couldn't sleep, just would lay on us as we rocked her. Jenny had the brilliant idea to put on some music to distract her. There was a CD of czech polkas in her stereo, so we put that on. She loved it. Picture this sad little girl who can't bear to even hold her head up, but then she hears that music and her little arm goes out waving like a conductor. Then around midnight, it was like someone flipped a switch - she was ready to play like her old self. Healing power of polka? Could be. 

Anyway we took her to the doctor Monday, she's ok, just got some kind of bug with a sore throat. Then early Tuesday morning Stephen came down with some kind of intestinal flu. As I was telling my boss that I needed to be home, I heard this awful thud. He had passed out in the bathroom. So yeah, I needed to be home. I spent yesterday trying to keep the two of them away from each other and properly medicated, then I got a fever and felt very faint in the afternoon. Why do we live so far away from grandparents again? I really can't remember!

Stephen and Stella took an extended weekend at his parents' house a few weeks ago. Gotta love the sink baths.

Stella in the fresh country air.

We had a nice visit from my Dad & Jenny last weekend, unfortunately Stella was getting sicker and sicker and was not her usual self. I guess they will just have to come back for another visit. And unfortunately for them, we seem to have sent them home with the same bug that has us down.

Today Stella is doing much better, she seems to have her mojo back. She has also found her first hiding place. I heard her in the bathroom but could not find her, then I looked in here:

This evening Stella and I ran out to get something for dinner. We were finally up for eating but could not quite muster the will to cook. I got this picture of the flowering pear tree in our front yard. It is in bloom - the weather has been lovely lately and the plants are quite confused and think it is springtime. I love this tree - when in bloom it has the most lovely perfume that just floats in the air. So it's not all bad news around here.

Stella spent 10 minutes last night trying to put on one of Stephen's (thankfully clean) socks. Not on her foot, of course. On her head. I don't know what she was trying to accomplish, but she would put it up on her head, almost like she wanted to play peek-a-boo with it, but then realizing her face wasn't covered, just kept trying. I helped her drape it across the top of her head, wondering if that was what she wanted. She paused for a moment, pulled it down and tried again. Tried draping it around her neck, same thing. All I can think of is that she wanted it to be bigger. It was the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.

Here we are at the Mardi Gras parade in Oak Cliff on Sunday. She had a good time but got tired. Later that night she had a fever of 102 - her first real fever. Monday we took her for her first sick doctor visit. She's fine now, just a little virus.

We had a great weekend with my sister Judy and her boyfriend Josh, who came for a visit from SLC. Judy narrowly avoided being named "aunt doody" (kids usually have a hard time with J sounds) when Stella produced a credible "juju". Yay for Juju! We had a great time with them, went to the park and swings and all kinds of stuff I would be able to show pictures of - except that we had left both our cameras at Nana's house. Juju took some good ones, I'm patiently waiting (HINT HINT) for her to email them to me.

Thoughts from a Househusband

Today I have reached a point that I never thought existed. I am sitting here wishing my sleeping Stella was awake. Until today I have relished the freedom that her naps allow me. In the last couple of weeks she has become so much fun, I miss her while she's down.

baby's got some new skills

Kiddo loves her some peekaboo - this was last week. Now she is actively hiding herself under blankets, teddy bears, whatever. It's pretty cute.

She can multitask. Now that she has learned to hold her bottle with her feet, that frees her arms up for all kinds of things.

And now this - I found this shopping cart toy at a garage sale two weeks ago and she went crazy for it right away. We were going to put it away until her birthday because she was not quite stable around it - would pull it over, not a good thing to pull up on because it moves, etc. Lucky for her we are lazy and it never made it to any form of storage beyond "by the wall in the living room". She would pull up on it, and if we were nearby, we would hold it still for her so she didn't fall down. Then yesterday I come home and she can do this:

burleygirl

So one of my Christmas presents from Stephen was a bike trailer. He placed the order from REI and it was backordered, then they said they wouldn't be getting any more after all - must be a model change. They had a floor model, but it was missing a part. So we went in to the store to check out what else they had.
Have you ever been to REI in January? They have the best sale. All their sale stuff goes down another 50%. Turns out they sell the missing part to that floor model, so they gave it to us for free, and we got a $550 bike trailer for $179. SWEET! It also converts to a regular stroller, jogging stroller, and even a cross-country skiing trailer. I don't think we'll use the skiing thing, but it's nice to think that we could. Kiddo seems to like riding in it, but is not a fan of the helmet.

green garage sale

Saturday morning Stella came with me to the lake to work out with my running buddies. I say 'work out' instead of 'run', since I was just up for a walk this time. I have misplaced my iPod, and while I know I can run without it, it is not as much fun. So I figured I will save my knees and burn almost as many calories with a brisk walk. Baby girl enjoyed the scenery and dogs. On the way home, we stopped at a garage sale, just to see what we could find. I LOVE garage sales - maybe it is the treasure hunter in me, maybe it is the haggler in me, who knows. It's a slice of pure entrepreneurism at its most basic level. And now I can love them for two more reasons: they are environmentally friendly and great for kids.
So I'm not just cheap, I'm reducing waste in our landfill. And if I find a toy or something for Stella, that means one less plastic thing has to be manufactured new.
Garage sale lovers, hide in shame no more! Be proud to shop in the most eco-friendly manner possible! No bags, no signs, no manufacturing! And don't forget to negotiate!