5/25/11 Twofer

*Post Deleted for Lap Band Book

5/11/11 Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

*Post Deleted For Lap Band Book

5/3/11 I Blow

I had a perfectly wonderful Sunday with DD.  She planned a whole 'Birth- Day' (belated birthday) for me and I had a blast.  It was a whole 'artsy' day, so right up my alley, and SO thoughtful!  It's days like this that make you so proud of your child (and I'm not saying this because the day was about me, but because of the person she's become).  I know some of you are struggling with teens, so I'll remind you that they actually turn into wonderful adults some day, hang in there.

We spent some time at her apartment and she gave me a silver bracelet that was handmade by an artist out of spoon handles that has my initials on it...very pretty, and very cool!

We went to visit her new BF's townhome that he's gutted and has been renovating for a year.  He's close to being finished and it's really well done.  The place has great bones and he left just the right amount of the old (beams, brick, lath, etc.) and it's perfectly balanced with his new sleek modern renovations.  He's a hard worker and such a nice guy. 

We then went to a huge art show in an old brewery warehouse...very cool.  Then lunch at a wonderful Thai place (I was able to even eat a 'fresh'/uncooked spring roll just fine...thank you Band Goddess). 

Then the highlight of the day.  DD took me to the Pittsburgh Glass Center (studios and classes).  I've told you that I've done lots of stained glass and DD worked summers making stained glass for a glass artist who sold it.  Well, I've never done glass blowing, so she signed us up for a class! 

We made glass pond floats.  OMG, so much fun!  I picked white and blue swirls for mine (it has to cool in the annealing kiln for a few days...can't wait to see it done and floating in my pond).  Here I am with the glass artist...getting ready to blow.  I'll just point out here that I refrained (OK, after deleting it twice) from titling this post 'blow job'...no 'content warning' for you to have to click through on this blog...you're welcome, LOL.

You know I'm full of plenty of hot air!  I think I embarrassed myself (OK, DD) yelling 'I'm Chihuly!' as I finished the float...just something exhilarating about all that heat! 

And here's DD picking her colors next to the 'glory hole' where the glass gets melted (I think she picked orange and yellow...hard to tell when it's all lava orange when you're working on it).

She then took me to the glass show the Center had going on, so we browsed and I bought a few glass pendant necklaces for DD and I to remember the day.

It was the perfect B-Day!

5/2/11 Oh Happy Day

It's certainly been a memorable few days...

What a day (May Day) for the U.S. (It always scares me when I see 'Breaking News' interrupting TV programming...so good last night to see good news for a change)!  Bin Laden dead just a few months before the 10 year 9/11 anniversary...I hope this gives our victim's families some small peace.  I'm still in shock that he was in a mansion and so near a Pakistan military facility .  I hope this takes some of the wind out of Al Qaeda's sail.  I'm also happy that DH is back in the country from Italy, but I'll be glad when he's home from his second trip out west here.  As much as I fight this, to keep them from winning, unfortunately, the terrorists have succeeded in keeping some fear in my heart in regards to air travel.

In other news I was intrigued that Kate Middleton, excuse me, the Duchess of Cambridge, is purported to be 5'10" and 120 lbs. (and rumored to have been on a diet, which dropped her weight quite a bit).  It caught my attention, because I was just under 5'10" and 132 lbs. at my wedding, and let me tell you, I was too skinny...one of the few times as an adult I wasn't trying to lose weight, but lost a few pounds just due to the 'wedding stress'.  That gives Kate a BMI of 17.2...yes, that's well into the 'underweight' category.  My first thought...all those poor brides that will be buying look-alike wedding dresses hoping to look like her.  Although I thought she looked beautiful (and it was a beautiful wedding), I wish she hadn't dieted to get quite so thin...more unrealistic images for our girls to struggle with (and another new diet to gain followers)...who didn't want to look like tiny Cinderella on their wedding day back in my day?...that tiny waist...heck even her feet were tiny!

...off to a busy day, have a good one all!