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Handstitched children's crown

dooce — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:30:25 -0600

The owner of the the Etsy shop Mette, Kristin Rasmussen, sent Leta this gorgeous crown, and I was so impressed with the quality of the craftsmanship that I had to post it here. You'd never find anything this cute and so well made in a big chain store. I love that it's not affiliated with any specific Disney princess, and so when she plays with it she pretends she's a make believe queen who presides over "all the land and all the castles." Although, she did once ask me if I could get her one of these with Cinderella's face on the front.

by dooce in Daily Style

A tiny glimpse of loyalty

dooce — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:19:55 -0600

Leta has a stomach bug for the second time this week, and the doctor is all, has she thrown up her liver yet? No? Then you're overreacting. So we've got her hopped up on over-the-counter medication and plugged into various episodes of Strawberry Shortcake, and then all of a sudden Chuck shows up from his basement lair, climbs onto the couch beside her and snuggles in. THIS DOES NOT EVER HAPPEN. Maybe because she's on his team when it comes to Coco, and he wants to make sure she doesn't cross over? Maybe because he senses she's sick and he's just being adorable? I don't care about the reason, I just had to document this occasion so that I have proof that he once acted like a dog.

by dooce in Daily Chuck

Torquil Campbell of Stars

dooce — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:06:02 -0600

One of the highlights of the Outside Lands music festival was not only getting to see these guys live, but also to be able to shoot them from the photo pit. And then they go and make my life complete by playing the song "Elevator Love Letter" to start their set. That was the song we played in the car on the drive to the hospital to have Leta, and so it is the soundtrack to the end of my pregnancy and the tumultuous, exhausting, and thrilling months that followed her birth. I barely kept my shit together enough to hold the camera steady.

by dooce in Daily Photo

Here's your mommyblogging

dooce — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:18:40 -0600

Yesterday I met a woman who told me that earlier this year she had taken her two young sons on a trip from Utah to New Zealand. On a plane. I specify that part because the only way I think I could travel that far with young kids in such a confined space would be through some yet-to-be-invented magic trick where we all go to sleep in our own beds and wake up on the beach 8,000 miles away. If you're a magician and that idea just inspired you, how about taking it a step further and make it so that when I roll over in the sand I'm face-to-face with a trunk full of money. Being straddled by Brad Pitt in a thong.
I asked her how she survived that long of a flight with two kids and she said it was simple. She told them both that the airline had a designated area specifically for time-outs: in the cargo bay. Down below. With all the luggage and maybe a ferocious wild animal or two. In fact, see the lady in that seat over there? When she checked her luggage she made sure to ask about whether or not her pet lion would be comfortable there at the bottom of the plane. And then made the offhanded remark that she hadn't fed it in weeks.
I thought this was genius and decided that if we ever find ourselves on a long flight with Leta that we'll tell her she better behave or we'll take away her parachute. And then when we survive the crash we'll go home and let Coco look at it.

by dooce in Nubbin

Recycled tunic dress

dooce — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:03:31 -0600

I was actually browsing Etsy shops in bed one morning looking again for clothing for Leta when she looked over at my screen, pointed specifically at this dress and said I LOVE THAT ONE. It's from a shop called CourtneyCourtney, and the artist uses new and recycled fabrics. That day Leta's favorite color was red, so of course this one spoke to her. Luckily, this morning her favorite color was still red, so there was no struggle getting dressed, none at all. And because of that I already marked today in the VICTORIOUS column, instead of the one titled WOULD RATHER HAVE SKEWERS JABBED UNDER THE NAIL OF MY BIG TOE.

by dooce in Daily Style

My delicate little flower

dooce — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:53:14 -0600

Jon captured this shot of Coco this morning after she and Chuck spent a good half hour wrestling in the backyard, and the juxtaposition is a little funny because she had just flipped Chuck over on his back and dragged him by the neck across the concrete on the porch.

by dooce in Daily Chuck

Regina Spektor

dooce — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:39:50 -0600

Holy crap, is this woman amazing live. She sang her first song a cappella, occasionally tapping her forefinger into the microphone to establish a beat, and this sent the crowd nuts. Several women in the front row were so frenzied that they reminded me of the videos of teenagers seeing The Beatles for the first time. She reminds me a lot of Tori Amos in the sense that she is really in tune with the crowd, knows why they came to see her, and knows exactly what to give them.

by dooce in Daily Photo

Humanities major vs. English major

dooce — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:48:37 -0600

While watching one of the many Olympics recap montages and snacking on heavily buttered popcorn, both Jon and I can't believe that some of the swimmers' bodies are actually real. I've already mentioned to Jon more than once that if Michael Phelps can eat 12,000 calories a day and still look like that, then maybe we should get a pool.
"And then look at Dara Torres!" I scream, pointing to a set of abs that could probably pull an eighteen wheeler out of the mud. You'll note that I pronounce her first name as if it rhymes with Laura. Because I'm dangerous that way.
"That's DANA Torres," he says, boldly correcting me.
"No, it's DARA."
"DANA."
"DARRRRRRRRRRRA."
"You're wrong."
"You're delusional."
Suddenly, the voiceover talks about Dara's (pronounced like Farrah) medals, and Jon claims victory.
"Not even," I say.
"You pronounced it totally wrong," he points out shielding his head from potential assault.
"But at least I got the letters right."
"Doesn't matter, my pronunciation was closer."
"Correct letters trump closer pronunciation."
"You just made up that rule, Heather. Pulled it right out of your ass. When the history books are written it will show that I won."
"In that case, it will also show how much restraint I showed by not dumping this entire bowl of popcorn on your head. You'll have won, but everyone will have been rooting for me."

by dooce in Nubbin

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver

dooce — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:27:05 -0600

This is one of my favorite new acts in recent years (I wrote about him here), and I was lucky enough that I got to stand just a few feet away and take photos. Totally unpretentious and down to earth, and he sounded even better live. At the end of his set he told the crowd that he was only allowed to sell one piece of merchandise at the festival, so he brought sweatshirts. From Wisconsin. I don't know why, but I find that weirdly adorable.

by dooce in Daily Photo

Buffet

dooce — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:15:50 -0600

This is the bin where we store all the dog food, and the day before it was time to refill it we were going to dump out the hand full that was left and wash it out. But the dogs were going nuts because we were NEAR THE FOOD BIN, TOUCHING THE FOOD BIN, LOOKING AT THE FOOD BIN, so I took pity, saved some water and let them have a go. And afterward that bin was cleaner than the day we'd bought it.

by dooce in Daily Chuck