Happy Halloween!

We did our Halloween preview photoshoot this afternoon.
I may switch Maia to a long sleeve white shirt and leggings so that she won't be confused for a penguin angel - seriously, a passing neighbor said that (??) Anyway, they both love their costumes, and that is really all that matters.
Oh my goodness, you put a little lipstick on her and she looks 15. Yikes!

Meanwhile, after my last post, Regina gave me a tip to look at these crowns by Bitterbetty. I took one look and knew I had to make them for Sofia's party. I had been planning something less spectacular, like a couple steps up from a 1970s Burger King crown, but her tutorial seemed pretty simple, so I went for it. I ended up deviating from her process because I couldn't find the right gold leafing powder, but I ended up with something very similar. And again, Sofia loves them, so there you go.

Halloween and Birthday Preparations

Any guesses what Sofia is going to be?

Maia is going to be a white dove. She had originally wanted to be a robin and I'm not sure what changed her mind, but it's pretty much the same costume, different color. I'm hoping to be done this weekend so I can move on to preparations for Sofia's birthday party the day after Halloween.

We are going to have a Kings and Queens Brunch. There will be just a couple friends and Maia. I'm thinking of making crowns, but they're going to have to be pretty simple. Then they will have brunch, restaurant style with a menu, a couple games and we'll call it a party. Sofia has requested chocolate mousse. Oh my. Where does she get these ideas?

After Chris' backpacking weekend extragavanza I was looking at my pictures from my Summer Field trip back in 1994. I decided to scan my favorites in for archiving purposes. It's funny how few pictures there are from those film days. We spent 8 weeks in the Inyo National Forest near Treasure Lakes, and then Saddlerock Lake. Chris came up at least a couple times and we climbed Hurd Peak during a break. We also took a side trip to "Dogtown", the family vacation house that is no longer, near Coulterville. I really enjoyed the scenery while I was up there but I spent a lot of time writing to Chris about how miserable I was. I ran across those letters recently too. Tee hee. So silly. Anyway, here are the pictures.

Mountain mom

Mountain mom
Originally uploaded by Berinder

Chris and a couple friends went backpacking this weekend to Matlock Lake, Kearsarge Pass, and Mt. something or other (eastern Sierra out of Independence). Bobby (one of his companions) titled this "Mountain Mom", which seems pretty fitting. Chris was my savior in college when I had to prepare for the 8-week summer field camp in the Sierras. Chris' companions, although not lacking enthusiasm, did lack some experience and perhaps there was a little figurative hand holding. Chris is also the voice of reason, which apparently came in handy, too. There are more pictures here and here.

Makes me want to go. Who wants to babysit?

Baby Shower

And they're off! Phew! I feel like I'm in the land of many unfinished projects. It feels good to get one done. It was a short and sweet print job. Only 30 invitations and only two screens. I'm pleased with the turnout. I did the drawing in Illustrator, separated the color, printed each in black and then burned the screens. The photo is a little goofy because I had to smudge so many things out. You know, privacy issues. This is the internet afterall. So this morning Sofia came to me with this heart and asked me to write down the names of the people I love. I was making lunches and running late (what else is new) and asked her to please put it on my desk so I could do it later. A few minutes later she came back with something written on the back and she read it to me.

Love is beauty
Love is kindness
Wonderful things happen to lovers
Love is kissing and hugging
and happiness
Love is snow and sparkles too
It is two people getting married when grown

I don't have to tell you how neat I think Sofia is and how wonderful an artist she is. Now she's a poet too.

Is it wrong...

to love this so much? I had to go to Paper Source this weekend. I know, twist my arm. Turns out, this particular store is just a couple miles away and has been open for months, maybe even a year, but it was my first trip there. I could probably spend hours in there looking at all the pretty things and could probably spend a bundle too. But I didn't. I did buy the above "Shape + Color Guide" along with some notecard paper for baby shower invites. I'm doing a gocco print and I'm going to try embossing powder for the first time. I'll post pics as soon as they've been sent out...

Remember when I said if I got busy with work that I'd still have time to get it all done? Well, I'm being put to the test. I've got a fast turn around work project this week (paid work, yay!), a pumpkin patch field trip, two school newsletters, a camping weekend complete with inlaws coming, and baby shower invitations to get out. Let's just say there won't be any homemade yogurt at our house this week.

Oooooo, ahhhh, camera stuff

We decided to replace our 50 mm lens that was stolen from our car over a year ago. I had volunteered to take some photos at Sofia's school and realized that it would definitely come in handy. We also took the plunge and bought a nice flash. We're calling them our early birthday presents, to the tune of a couple months early. That's ok, we'll still be enjoying them when our birthdays roll around (Chris and I have birthdays a week apart). So here are my first victims...

Look at this face... don't you want to squeeze it?

And this one... she wasn't cooperating, go figure. These were shot indoors in daylight, no flash.

Here is Miss Cat, with the flash bouncing off the ceiling, nighttime.

Here's another one of Miss Rocky, with flash to the face. I had to include it for obvious reasons.


And here I am with and without flash, daytime. Having fun.

Oh, and here's a funny. The other night in the shower, Maia looks at me longingly and says, "Mama, will I have long boobies when I grow up?" Yes, my dear, I'm afraid you will.