Birthday Reminiscence

As Liam's 3rd Birthday is fast approaching I have been thinking about a lot of things.  I have been going through many things from the past 3 years and looking back on the amazing journey that we have already had together.  I would never known such an amazing love as the love that he has shown to me and brought into my life.  I am so blessed with the opportunity to guide him and walk by his side in this lifetime.  I don't know where the time goes, flying by before your eyes one moment they are aren't even able to hold their own head up.  Then they are exploring the world around and crawling, before you know it they are walking.  And the talking and becoming independent and actually thinking about how things work, and how to break and recreate things.  How to tell right from wrong, and stranger from friend.  How to tell a difference in humor and situational humor.  All of this journey has been more that I could have ever imagined thus far.

With that being said I wanted to share some of Liam's awesome videos as a flashback to his amazing little self.  Enjoy!

Cookbook Contemplations

Hello my amazing supporters.  I really need your input on this one.  I have been seriously considering putting together a cookbook by Thanksgiving of 2015.  I want to be able to go through all the trial and error before then and get some of my food photography improved upon.   I would like to hear any and all honest opinions about whether or not you would be interested if I were to actually go through this.  What sorts of things do you think that I should add or take out? 

My vision would Have a section for each type of Meat (ie, Pork, Beef, Chicken, Fish/SeaFood) Desserts, Appetizers, Healthy Choices, Soups & Salads.  It would probably flow about the same as any other cookbook but I want something that would stand out.  I want to be able to have something fun and dynamic such as an alternative ingredients food wheel and what the effect of the different ingredients would have on the dish in terms of flavor, etc. 

I would love to be able to vamp up the website and would need someone who can help with blogging and getting my own .com going for a reasonable price.  I would like to expand my fan base to be at least 10 times what it is right now.  I would love to hear any ideas from people who have been successful at getting their blog out there. 

I have considered getting a better camera to do video of me cooking, but I have definitely gone back and forth on this.  I am not sure if a lot of people would really be interested in seeing how crazy and messy it can get in my kitchen as a single mom.  Most of the ones that I have watched are so laid back and organized, and with my soon to be 3 year old sous chef, that isn't always feasible haha. 

I am currently working on an actual list of all of the things that I would need and then what I would want to have in order to make this plan actually go through.  For anyone that can offer any advice, both positive and negative I would love to weigh all of my options.  If any of you have any services that you can provide that can be helpful I would definitely welcome that as well.  

Thank you all for hearing my jumbled plans as I reach a better organized thought process.  Thank you all for your continued support in my blogging endeavor, and I look forward to many more and great new things in the future!  Hope everyone is having an amazing weekend!


-Britt

Pool Fun with Liam

To know Liam is to know that he loves to play outside, especially when water is involved.  Here are some hilarious photos and videos from a day of great fun that I wanted to share.  Every little boy needs to know how to have fun with water...  as well as how to sound like an emergency siren :)  Enjoy!

Liam Playing with a Gecko

Good evening my wonderful audience,

I just wanted to share a couple of hilarious videos with you that are interested in the Liam aspect of my blog.   Liam has seen a Gecko once for just a few seconds and it immediately ran away.  Tonight as we were getting ready for bed, we discovered another one that was missing part of it's tail.  It may
have been hurt because it was not as skittish as most of the geckos we find are.  This was a great opportunity for Liam to get to be up close and personal with one.

He approached this opportunity with both fear and excitement.  He was most comfortable touching the gecko with a small sticker so that he didn't have to actually feel it with his finger.  In his excitement he got a little rough with the sticker to gecko contact and we were teaching him how to be gentle with the gecko.

After awhile it was running past bed time, and I didn't want Liam to end up accidentally hurting the gecko, so we got it onto a piece of paper and freed it.  Liam was distraught that the gecko went away.  He kept going back into the bathroom to look for it, when we told him it went to bed and that it said good night and goodbye he would cry.  This happened several times before he would finally let it go and go to bed.

I captured some awesome squeals of delight and wanted to share them with you.  Enjoy!

OCD: A Heartbreaking Love Poem

Earlier today I came across one of the most unique and heartfelt poems that I have ever heard in my life.  It was written and read by a man named Neil Hilborn with OCD and tics.  He is a very brave man that bared his heart and soul in front of other people and I commend him for that.  It is the type of poem that would never be received int he proper way without him reading it himself.  He entered into a poetry slam and was videotaped reading it aloud.  It brought tears to my eyes each time that I have heard it and you can feel the power of his words and the emotions behind them.

If you don't know what OCD stands for it is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  Wikipedia defines OCD as "Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry; by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety; or by a combination of such obsessions and compulsions. Symptoms of the disorder include excessive washing or cleaning; repeated checking; extreme hoarding; preoccupation with sexual, violent or religious thoughts; relationship-related obsessions; aversion to particular numbers; and nervous rituals, such as opening and closing a door a certain number of times before entering or leaving a room. These symptoms can be alienating and time-consuming, and often cause severe emotional and financial distress. The acts of those who have OCD may appear paranoid and potentially psychotic. However, OCD sufferers generally recognize their obsessions and compulsions as irrational, and may become further distressed by this realization." And a tic is described as "A tic is a sudden, repetitive, nonrhythmic motor movement or vocalization involving discrete muscle groups. Tics can be invisible to the observer, such as abdominal tensing or toe crunching. Common motor and phonic tics are, respectively, eye blinking and throat clearing^"
 With that background definition, if it is new to you than you can have a new realization to how amazing it is that he was able to stop washing his hands after touching her, and how he is now able to leave the door unlocked, and leaves the light on hoping for her to come back.  It just breaks your heart.  On one hand I can imagine how difficult dating someone with these behaviors would be,  IT would require an insane amount of patience and time.  Obviously the novelty wore off for this woman, and I hope that he can find someone worthy of him that can give the patience and time that he deserves.  Either way his heart break breaks my heart with it's pain.  

Old Music Reviews: Bic Runga

I have decided to review old music CDs.  I think that most of the new music is crap, mostly beats with nothing more to offer.  I own a ton of old CDs and have even more older songs on my IPOD.  With this being said there are some CDs and artists that may have been lost in the fray.  I would love to review them now and hopefully I can interest even one person.  I was going through CDs trying to look for something that was low key that I could jam to whilst working on stuff on the computer and not waking my son up.   Bic Runga jumped out at me, and made me remember the never-ending repeat of the amazing song "Sway."  If you have never listened to Bic Runga and if you have never heard the song "Sway" you missed out on something amazing!  Let me be the one to share it with you for the first time, or to remind you of it's musical awesomeness. 

First off let's get to know Bic Runga herself.  Her full name is Briolette Kah Bic Runga.  But she records as Bic Runga.  She is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose first album was entitled "Drive." and debuted at number 1 on New Zealand's Top 40.  She is one of the highest selling New Zealand artists of recent history.  The Bic part of her name is Chinese for jade (pronounced Bec).  Let me just say that personally it is strange that I have always loved her and later in life I ended up learning Chinese....  The crazy coincidences in life.  Bic Runga's mother definitely must have had an influence on her in life as she was a Chinese-Malaysian lounge singer from Malaysia.  She ended up marrying Bic's Vietnamese father who was a soldier on leave.  Bic has been recording music since she was only 4 years old, with her two sisters.  One of which is a member of the music group Stellar and the other is a session singer.  She could play the drums, guitar and keyboard by the time she was in her mid teens.  Bic has released 4 studio albums as well as 2 compilation albums.  Most recently she released a greatest hits compilation in December of 2012, which I will be investing time and money into acquiring as this is exciting news to me. 

Let's get back to her amazing song "Sway."  I first got hooked on Bic Runga and this song thanks to the original American Pie movie and the great soundtrack.  in the late 90s and early 2000s, I bought a LOT of soundtracks, as it was a great way to find new artists and great new music and singles to fall in love with.  "Sway" was so amazing that it led me to buy her second album Beautiful Collision which was released in 2002.  It is a great independent album however and great chill music.  A lot of it flows into itself as far as song change goes and progression throughout the album.  This isn't a bad thing, but as far as an album standing out for itself I think her initial album Drive would be better for that and definitely her latest compilation "Anthology."  Once I invest in this I will do a full review, song by song for those interested. 

"Beautiful Collision" is a definite Cd worth taking the time to listen to however, I love the entire thing.  On par with popular artists such as Sarah McLaughlin, Dido, and Norah Jones (when she doesn't go too bluesy) if you are interested in that kind of sound, this is definitely for you!  "Beautiful Collision" also debuted at number 1 on the New Zealand charts.  The album is currently peaking at five on the Best Of All Time List in New Zealand (*as of October 2012).   She is the only female musician on the list.  The album went 11 times platinum in New Zealand.  Give it a listen. 


I will share with you my all-time favorite Bic Runga song "Sway" as promised and then my favortie song off of this CD "When I See You Smile."

"Sway" -Bic Runga

"When I See You Smile" -Bic Runga

Please check out and support Bic Runga at her official website

Bic Runga Official Site

Incriminating Themselves: Dumb Criminals Part 1

Many criminals end up self incriminating themselves.  The other day I read about a gang member that was caught due to the intricate detail of a tattoo on his own body about a murder he has committed that had been unsolved for years.  Now there is another man whose rap lyrics led to an arrest.... A girl who posted a YouTube video bragging about robbing a bank... Are these people too over-confident or too ignorant to keep from getting caught?  Or are they just ready to be caught?  Not that I don't want criminals to pay for their crimes, but these people are one short cry from the Darwin awards?  *The Darwin awards are presented each year about people who die or come close to death due to their own stupidity.

First I am going to go over the rap lyrics that lead to an arrest in an unsolved murder in Virginia.  Police were able to solve a double murder from 2007 due to rap lyrics, within these lyrics the rapper Twain Gotti aka Antwain Steward made a song describing the murder.  The song was called "Ride Out" and lyrics are as follows: “Listen, walk to your boy and I approached him, 12 midnight on his traphouse porch and everybody saw when I [expletive] smoked him, roped him, sharpened up the shank then I poked him, 357 Smith & Wesson [unintelligible] scoped him,” Police believe that this was a gang related killing and Mr. Steward was already considered a subject but until he incriminated himself in the song there was not enough evidence to tie him to the murder.   I also want to point out the fact that the gang he was affiliated with was called Wickzoo....  Need I say more?  For the full story you can follow the link: Rap lyrics lead to arrest in unsolved murder

 

News video featuring part of the song "Ride Out"

Now let's talk about stupid criminals and tattoos.  Recently a gang member was picked up on a minor offense and had his tattoos photographed for record.  He was apparently so proud and confident of his work in the unsolved murder that he had many details unreleased to the public graphically depicted within his tattoo.  Unfortunately for him a detective that had worked on the original unsolved case happened to now be working in the department that had photographed his tattoos and came across the incriminating evidence.   This man was in a Los-Angeles gang called Rivera-13(affiliated with MS-13?)  The murder occurred in 2004 at a liquor store and the tattoo graphically showed specific lighting around the store and depicted a peanut being killed (peanuts are routinely used to represent rival gang members).  The tattoo also shows a chopper gunning down the peanut.  The man Anthony Garcia went by the name Chopper in his gang. 

"Each key detail was right there: the Christmas lights that lined the roof of the liquor store where 23-year-old John Juarez was gunned down, the direction his body fell, the bowed street lamp across the way and the street sign — all under the chilling banner of RIVERA KILLS, a reference to the gang Rivera-13.
As if to seal the deal, below the collarbone of the gang member known by the alias "Chopper" was a miniature helicopter raining down bullets on the scene." Shortly after being picked up and taken to the police station he confessed to the killing.  For the full story you can see: gang tattoo leads to arrest or also los angeles gang member convicted on tattoo

Moving on to a Nebraska teen who was convicted of robbing a bank thanks to a YouTube video she uploaded about it.  She titled the video "Chick Bank Robbery."   In the video she brags about stealing a car as well as robbing the bank.  To further self incriminate herself she shows off the money that she got from the bank (over $6K) as well as showing her smoking a full bowl of weed in the video.  She must have made the video right away because apparently she is wearing the same clothes in the YouTube video that she wore when she robbed the bank.  The video is a written confession to the crime and claims to be a victim of the government.  In the written confession she decides to mention "fun facts" about herself including the facts that she is married, pregnant, and has AIDS. 
You can read the full story here: Chick Bank Robber

"Chick Bank Robber"

Man Parts in the News....

This evening I was going through news stories and came across the one from Monday about the subway employees.  One who would freeze his pee at work and the other one who was putting his penis on the bread.  First of all WHY oh WHY would you do either of these things, especially at work.  Where there are cameras to catch you, and if that wasn't enough, why don't you take your own pictures and spread them all over the web thanks to social networking sites!  Why do people always have to do disgusting things with food.  Why is it not enough to leave someone's food alone, make it and give it to them cleanly.  I never understood the whole messing this people's food in any dirty manner.  This is very juvenile and unacceptable to me.  Probably another big reason why I prefer to cook my own food.  I am picky and want to have control over as much of my food cooking process as possible. 

subway-employee-puts-penis-on-bread

Of course curiosity took over and I decided (mainly for blog purposes) to search through other recent news to see what I could find.  I also came across an article talking about famous men and their sexed up selfies.  Weiner made the news again.  I guess with a name like that he can't help but live up to the hype haha.  If you are going to send anything through any sort of digital medium.  You must always know that it is always out there for the world to see no matter how careful you are.  Just make sure that you can stand up next to that picture with a "Hell yes that is me and I look amazing" kind of attitude and you should be fine.

guys-we-dont-want-see-your-sexed-selfies 

Next I came across "The Gothamist" a New York online publication that seems to have a plethora of penile stories.  Of course the top story right now is a supposed "smallest penis in Brooklyn" contest that is being held.   I guess someone out there is trying to prove that he doesn't have the smallest penis?  I don't know why anyone would want to enter this contest especially if you thought that you had a chance to win....  You are more than welcome to read other great penis related news by following the link haha. 

 http://gothamist.com

And then of course I came across this gem of a story in today's news about a news reporter who was from a local station in Saginaw Michigan and giving a report on live television.  During this time she is indicating areas on a street map where road construction is taking place.  During this drawing phase, she accidentally draws a penis, while on live television.  That poor reporter will never live this one down haha.  It is quite hilarious to watch!

 

sometimes-you-draw-a-penis-by-accident-on-tv 

 I definitely wouldn't want to leave the women out, although this is somewhat unrelated, I came across an  energy drink website called "pussybythecase.com"  The headlines and testimonials are enough to leave you with tears in your eyes, of course that is assuming your mind is as dirty as mine is.....   Such as "Pussy Preferred "Compared to a cup of coffee, Pussy gives me mental energy and focus for a tough workout without keeping me awake at night later on."-A Devoted Fan"  This one kills me "Make sure you have plenty of PUSSY around the house for your next party or when friends drop by. There never seems to be enough Pussy to go around. Order yours today!"   And finally at the bottom of the page you will see  "Looking for Pussy?  Have it discreetly delivered to your door!"  This statement makes me wonder if this is really JUST an energy drink, why does it need to be discreetly delivered to your door.  Is this some sort of code for sex???  Supposedly, this is a legitimate energy drink product made by a British man, but who really knows for sure.....

http://pussybythecase.com/ 

And last but not least, you know how I love to cook, so I leave you with "11 Ways to Make Food Shaped Like Penises!"  This goes through everything from penis shaped eggs to start your morning out right to Penis pasta, to children's cakes made from phallic shaped cake pans, and of course the fully effective penis jello shots!  Enjoy! 

11-ways-to-make-foods-shaped-like-penises

Vehicular Heat Exhaustion PSA

Earlier today I came across an article that featured a video about vehicular heat exhaustion.  In the video a woman knowingly leaves her child in the car and goes into a grocery store to pick up a short list of items.  She locks the car, leaves all the windows up and does not leave the car running.  I would assume that the child is about 18 months to 2 years old.  He is young but seems unable to speak.  As the mother is in the store shopping it shows what happens to the child as the car heats up.  There are 2 people that walk by and see the child inside.  One waves to the child and then goes on her way.  Another woman tries the doors, but as they are locked she keeps going on her way.  By the time that the child has reached unconsciousness a man is coming out to his car and finding the doors unlocked finally breaks in.  We are to assume that he is too late at this point. 

Now I think that forgetting your child in the car is a travesty and that you need to do whatever it is that you possibly can to ensure that you do not forget your child in the car.  However knowingly leaving your child in the car so that you can "run an errand."  In the video ad, the mother is going around in a shopping cart.  What can be so horrible about bringing your child into the store and having them sit in the shopping cart?  I do not understand this.  It in inexcusable to me.

I never go more than an arms length away from my child with my son.  I never even leave his car seat uncovered.  I cover his car seat with a blanket during the day so as not to have him get burned on the car seat when he gets into the car. 

Here is the video, although I warn you that is is hard to watch even though it is just a re-enactment.  

http://thestir.cafemom.com/toddler/158650/horrifying_ad_shows_what_15

And here is the original article of the story.  Please feel free to pass along this message to anyone who may need to watch it for a wake-up call.  Or possibly even for a reminder.

Flashcards with Liam :)

Just wanted to share the awesomeness that is Liam.  In these videos you can hear his cute little voice going through flashcards and making various animal noises.  Man am I lucky to be his mom :)  I hope to always continue to teach him new and positive things.  He absolutely loves to sing his own version of the ABCs and thrills at learning new words and colors and sounds!  I just love his little mannerisms and how he needs things to be a certain way, just like mommy.  :)  Share in the joy that is my little man :)

The awesomeness that is "Bu De Bu Ai"

As I was contemplating what to write about tonight, I decided to peruse my facebook posts for inspiration. I came across my notifications that one of my former Chinese classmates birthday was today.  I knew that she loved to laugh at cheesy Chinese music videos and went youtube searching for a birthday themed ones.  The one I discovered was a Chinese love birthday song.  This made me remember another Chinese love song "Bu De Bu Ai." by the internationally famous Wilber Pan.  We had many great times with this song with my incredible Chinese class.  Never have I met a group of people with a better all around sense of humor.  With that being said I am going to make the assumption that the majority of the people that read my blog do not also speak Mandarin.  Therefore I have included the English translation video for you to enjoy. *The English translation is very literal and therefore not great but you can get the gist.  I am thinking that whoever translated this was a Chinese speaker that did not have very good English skills.  Either way just reading the lyrics itself is quite entertaining haha.  Don't let it distract from the song though (you can do that in a moment)!  It is a very beautiful song in case you have never heard it before. 

Now we come to one of the most amazing lip syncing duos of all time.  The Back Dorm Boys.   In this rendition you will see them lip syncing to Wiber Pan's Bu De Bu Ai.  (The same music video that you just watched with the atrocious English translation.)  If you don't find these guys funny than you must be lacking in sense of humor.  Everything about their lipsync is hilarious.  They go all out and the facial expressions make the video.  These gentlemen have also lip-synced many other great songs including some Backstreet Boys songs.  Feel free to check out more of their awesomeness on YouTube.  Enjoy!

Belly Pilates

Belly Pilates with Rania Review

I bought the DVD Belly Pilates with Rania a few years ago.  I have done it many times in the past but I am always in so much pain from sore muscles afterwards that I am no good at sticking with it.  Let me give you some background on the video:  Belly Pilates is a workout designed by revered Belly Dance fitness instructor Rania Bossonis and created in 2008.  In it she combines Belly Dancing & Pilates to do a lot of flowy and isometric moves.  Rania has many other Belly Dance inspired workouts that I will check out in the future to include Belly Abs, Belly Yoga, Belly Dance Fitness, & Belly Dance Fat Burning.  You can buy it on Amazon new for about $7 or used for less than $2.  It is a great workout to get many muscles in the legs, shoulders and abs.  I would suggest a lot of stretching afterwards.

Mychal and I have been working out in the evenings at home and we take turns deciding what we do.  So I challenged him to my belly pilates DVD.  Let's just say that I don't think he was expecting it to be as hard core as it was, and I spent more time giggling at his groans of movements than working out.  He claims to already be sore and is dreading how he will feel when he wakes up in the morning.

If you want to check out any samples of these video just look up Rania & Belly and all kinds of workout videos associated with her come up int he results.  I perused through a few but couldn't find one from Belly Pilates, it seems to be one of her first videos created and she seems to have gotten better production and helpers in the background since she first started.  I would definitely recommend Belly Pilates, as it is only about a half hour workout and then you are done.  It looks like the rest of her videos would be great as well.  Enjoy toning those abs, and feeling the burn in the morning :)