Monday, December 24, 2007

have cold, will get cupped.

this is what happened at the acupuncturist's office last week, when i went in for a cold---not only did behnaz the nice acupuncturist stick needles all over my eyes, and entire sinus area, forehead, arm and ankles to clear up my decongestion, she cupped my back! it wasn't at all painful or unpleasant, it was actually very relaxing and soothing, esp with all the new agey music playing softly in the light-filled room, with the buddha statues lording over me. (that's not me in the pictacure below though--i'll have you know my back is much nicer than that one). that was last thursday, and ever since, i've gone through umpteen boxes of tissues and my nose has been running like a broken tap.
i have to say, the visit to behnaz's office as referred by my midwife's office, since i can't take any prescription cold or antibiotic medicine (not that those will help), has piqued my interest in all things alternative and chinese medicine. i've been looking up all sorts of things on the internet, and am convinced that ancient chinese medicine has all sorts of wisdom that i've never really investigated. it makes a lot of sense, to eat well, to eat yin/yang/hot/warming/cool foods for your body and to seek balance. right now, i'm drinking a lot of ginger tea with honey, and i've read that i need to eat red beans for my kidneys, which controls the water/elimination and nasal passages elements of the body. all of this actually reminds me of my granny, who used to get treated with chinese medicine all the time.

merry christmas, happy new year, happy everything. will update the baby alert, as soon as baby's train arrives at the station.......stay tuned.

Sunday, December 09, 2007

a perfect day: magic hour at hermosa beach



37 weeks!
sunday, late afternoon, nearly sunset. last night's rains gave birth to one of the most perfect, beautiful, picture-postcard sunny days today, that one can only experience in sunny southern california, crisp, clear, blue, gold, orange and white. that was the color of the beach at hermosa beach, all turquoise and radiant sand, seagulls flying ahead, little kids playing on the pier and sledding down sand dunes. we've got about three weeks to go, and counting. john and i are happy and pleased as punch.

at left, the beach at hermosa, looking south toward palos verdes peninsula in the far background.

baby names and more baby project runway




last night, john and i met up with his old high school buddy, pat, and his wife chris, for dinner at belmont shore in long beach. it was slightly drizzly, rainy, and we had dinner at this lebanese place that's pretty good, sunnin cafe. pat and chris both suggested 'patrick' and 'christopher' as first names for our little boy. hmmm... all great names! names are so important! so hard to choose! but we've decided (i've decided for the both of us, rather) that we're going to let the baby tell us his name when he arrives. so far, john has two favorites, 'donovan' and 'liam,' which are not favorites or first choices of mine. my first name choices are 'callum' which means 'dove' in gaelic... and 'connor'. chime in, people! let's take a vote:

a. donovan
b. liam
c. callum
d. connor

this week, my non-sewing self is happy to say i made this kimono from marthastewart.com. it WAS easy, as they said it would be. i took the time to read the instructions (which i absolutely hate doing) but it worked out in the end. i had a piece of plain muslin, added single bias tape to the neck and as ties, and voila, a kimono!

you can see more of my beginning sewing projects here
.

Friday, December 07, 2007

t-shirt into baby pants


t-shirt into baby pants, originally uploaded by deniro and mango.

another pair of cute pants! big thanks go to those sewing bloggers out there in interweb land.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

she's washin' dishes...and baby clothes....she's so ambitious, she even sews

to help with my manic, waiting-for-baby energy, i've taken up sweatshop-style sewing, without patterns, without lessons, just pure gut instinct to make SOMETHING for the baby, by hand. wiht the help of some great sewing bloggers, who seem to be up my alley with their style of 'no stress, no pattern' seamstressing (as i sorely lack any and all sewing technique or actual skill), i've made baby clothes, or rather, pants! i'm pleased as punch, as old t-shirts in the back of my drawer have become little pants for our soon-to-arrive little boy. 24 days to go and counting...

more sewing projects (and cute pics of my cats) can be seen here:


Friday, October 19, 2007

7 months! hooray

just an update: 10 weeks to go, and counting. i'm feeling great, walking, and on a wheat-free, sugar-free diet as prescribed by my midwife. birth, here we come!
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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

25 weeks!


25 weeks!, originally uploaded by deniro and mango.

i just realized i haven't been taking pics of my belly as i should. here i am, with baby in the belly at 25 weeks. 15 weeks to go!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

babymooning


this weekend, we're off to to this romantic, exotic locale, me and my honey and baby in my belly......

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

dog gone days

we went to the dog beach in palos verdes over the weekend, with fellow beachgoers lia, jack, and dogs sunday and loona. here i am, hiding from the sun under the umbrella as django keeps watch.


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photo: the pregnant me.

Monday, July 30, 2007

get your motor runnin' in san pedro!

my free-wheeling days of walking into odd, sketchy, curiosity-driven places (dive bars), like this cultural landmark in san pedro, a low-brow biker bar, is over. if you do end up at walker's cafe in san pedro, grab a coke and a cheeseburger from the grill at this dilapidated, granny-decorated -interior, drunken-harley-biker crowd gathering place located near the perilous cliffs of pt. fermin lighthouse, all windswept and dramatic overlooking the cool blue pacific. as an 'expectant lady' i've learned there are limits to my dealings at dive bars... oh well. bye bye, dive bars. hello, gymboree.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

odd cravings report

so guess which one in the house is pregnant having strange cravings?

person y:
XLNT tamales from the deli aisle
avocado ice cream
'light' peanut butter ice cream (1/2 the fat)
bacon, bacon, bacon

person z:
maraschino cherries
pickle juice
crackers
nutella straight from the jar

Friday, July 13, 2007

mr. cherry tomato head


mr. cherry tomato head, originally uploaded by deniro and mango.

take a look at the big schnoz on this cherry tomato that fell off the vine from my tomato garden.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

guess who's coming to town?

*High five to the little squirt! (seen here at about 12 weeks gestation )


*Clarification: That is not a beer bottle in the baby's hand, as some have inquired about this post.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

corneille, my hero!



this guy's story is amazing. a survivor of the rwanda genocide, he lost his family and lived to tell about it, as well as becoming a hot european pop star in france. we'll see more of this guy, for sure. very sad, very triumphant tale.