inked

5 hours, and only one break. i get Badass Points for that, right?

we started late, mostly because this tattoo is a coverup, so it took a while to get the stencil placement just right. Jeff, the artist, has a light touch (and the quietest machine we'd ever seen), and is an absolute pleasure to work with - he has a great sense of humor, and we spent a large chunk of the session talking about various paranormal experiences we've had. super interesting!

because it was almost 10pm when it was finished, E and i opted not to cook the lamb. instead we got tacos and ice cream, and came home to watch more ghost stories on TV before pretty much collapsing into bed. we slept in, and had a very quiet Sunday...a little bit of cleaning, and a lot of just hanging around, which was lovely. and with the lamb already prepped, dinner was easy - all i had to do was prep the asparagus and put everything on baking sheets, and i did that while the oven was preheating. 40 minutes at 375 degrees later, we had melt-in-your-mouth lamb chops and perfectly roasted asparagus tips! E left for work shortly after dinner, and i crawled into bed and slept for about ten hours. i'm a big believer in sleep aiding the healing process. ;o)

so, that brings us to this morning. would you like to see the finished piece?

 

it's perfect! i love it! it's exactly what i wanted, right down to the little dead bunnies (which might just be my favorite part). this pic was taken at a downward angle, just after completion...i'll post another, straight-on shot once it's healed. currently, it's under 3 layers of wound-protecting plastic, which is a first for me. Jeff said to leave it on for three days, and i'm trying to decide whether or not that's overkill. i really really want to give it some air...but i'm also really really enjoying the protective features of the plastic. nothing can rub against the tattoo, showering was painless, that sort of thing. maybe i'll take it off after i shower today. yeah. once i work up the courage.

Tattoo Day!

i'm hydrated, well-fed, and freshly caffeinated. 4x4 gauze squares and paper tape have been purchased (extra protection for the first couple workdays), artwork has been approved, and all that remains is to charge my ipod, change clothes, and head to the studio. an hour from now, i'll be sitting in the chair.

i'm nervous, excited, and exhausted, lol.

Mom is in California til next saturday, so E is staying here with me for a couple nights. last night, we went to dinner at the Fort St Brewery, which has the most delicious Scotch eggs and chicken and waffles! so good! but we were out later than intended, and i didn't get to sleep until almost 1am. my alarm clock was set for 9am, but by 6:30 i was fairly awake (a combination of excitement and Houdini tap-dancing on my pillow), and by 7:30, any further sleep was a lost cause. so unfair. but at least there was lots of snuggling!

i had one client at 11, then hit the store for bandages and dinner supplies - lamb chops (currently marinating in A1, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, garlic powder, and balsamic vinegar) and fresh asparagus. hooray for fresh, seasonal noms! and hooray for grilling weather!

time to get ready...

Easter weekend

all three shifts at the stamping plant met their quotas for the week, so they all got a three-day weekend! three whole glorious days (nights!!) off for E, in which:

- we looked at Mars and the moon with the telescope and discovered that you can stare at them with your naked eye(s) for what feels like hoooouuurrrs without any appreciable movement. but magnify them, and watch as they pretty much zoom across your field of view. especially Mars. that red f*cker is FAST.

- i walked 90 pounds of energetic, 11-month-old rhodesian ridgeback puppy, and am still sore. (it was one of my friends' two dogs. why, oh why, didn't i walk the wiener dog instead?)

- we went bowling on Good Friday and i reaffirmed that, while i am right-hand dominant in daily life, i am a left-handed bowler.

- i had a wonderful time baby-wrangling Little E so that E could take professional-quality pictures of her. thank God for tutus and sleeveless dresses that can be slipped onto a toddler while allowing her to keep one (alternating) hand on the fascinating remote control.

- we went to Eastern Market and emerged with quite an assortment of goods: pesto, beeswax, morel mushrooms, a flat of various herbs, two large bowls of potted salad greens, vanilla beans, five pounds of pork belly, and two pots, white and pink, of blooming hyacinths. Me: "how the heck are we going to carry these hyacinths?" E: "Magic."

- it was confirmed that the strawberries, peas and radishes came through last week's freeze just fine, but we lost the lettuce. oh well, we can plant that again.

- sweet italian sausage tortellini was tossed with pesto, topped with avocado, tomato, and grated cheese, and eaten with much enjoyment.

- five pounds of pork belly was coated in maple syrup and whiskey, smothered and rubbed with a mix of salt, brown sugar, garlic powder, and pepper, stuffed into ziploc bags, and put into the fridge. yep, we're attempting homemade bacon!

- we found a nipple on our pork belly, and i was...discombobulated? whopperjawed? of COURSE there was a nipple on it, because it was pork belly and that's where a pig's nipples ARE. i just...wasn't expecting it.

- my love affair with chia seeds was renewed after they powered me through a full afternoon of deep tissue massage and i wasn't hungry at all.

- Mom and i drove to Holly for Easter brunch with family. waffles, quiche, mimosas, and chocolate bunnies for all!

 Happy Easter!

(aren't you relieved that that wasn't a picture of a pig nipple?)

spring! spring! spring! spring!

FINALLY!

Awesome:

the weather is warming up, there are buds on the trees, NHL playoffs are about to start, and we may get our first spring thunderstorm tomorrow. we have peas, radishes, and lettuce coming up in the garden, and tomato, basil, and onion seedlings started indoors. my hairy feminist legs and i have even gotten to rock a pair of shorts this weekend!

Not So Awesome:

i broke a toe last week, the Jeep has a little coolant leak, the weather's been too fickle for us to use our new telescope, and i am fighting off a cold.

strong chai tea with added honey, lemon, and ginger should take care of the cold (especially if i throw a little whiskey in), and for good measure, i am adding middle eastern garlic paste to all of my food. no time for sick! can't happen!

last week, E woke me up and said she had something to tell me. "i made an emotional purchase", she said. "please don't be mad!"

immediately i worried that maybe she'd bought a puppy. (we really want a dog, but now is not a good time!)

she opened the bedroom door to reveal...a telescope! a REAL telescope, that will show us Mars and Jupiter and the rings of Saturn and the Orion nebula and just about anything we want to see! we can get up close and personal with the moon!!!!! obviously, i was not mad AT ALL. we can't wait to take it to Fest, and we're planning a weekend trip to the dark sky park near Mackinac City this summer.

two weeks from now, i will have a brand-new tattoo. it's a memorial piece for my late kitteh, Lucky, who was born when i was 11 and lived for 20 years and 8 months. she was my baby, my Tickypants Piefacehead, and i've wanted to ink her sweet face on my skin since she passed 3 years ago.

oh! E has started 8-hour shifts! she likes it much better, though we both wish the company had waited a wee bit longer. she was already pulling overtime, and the switch to 8's took away her usual days off, so last night was her first night off in 11 days. poor girl!!! she's been in really good spirits, though, and definitely has more energy. yesterday she stopped at the grocery store on her way home for milk, coffee, and roses (just because!!), and made me breakfast - something she loves to do but hasn't had much time for. (i'm perfectly ok with making my own breakfasts, but that girl makes eggs in a nest like no one else!!) she's fast asleep right now, and i'm about to make a big pot of tomato/beef/green bean stew that she can chow on this week. we can even have dinner together before she goes in! what a nice change!

here's the Tomato Roast Stew recipe:

1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 lbs beef stew meat
Olive oil
2 15-oz cans tomato sauce
1 6-oz can tomato paste
Water
2 pkgs frozen green beans

In large pot, brown the stew meat with garlic and onions in olive oil. Add the tomato sauce, two can-fuls of water, tomato paste, and green beans. bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Uncover and simmer for another 20 minutes. Salt to taste.

the big wait

last Friday, a federal judge struck down Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage...

...and on Tuesday, the State was granted a stay, which means no marriages until they can appeal the ruling.

one step closer. one tiny, itty-bitty, VERY IMPORTANT step closer.

we're not in a big giant hurry. as far as we're concerned, we already have a rock-solid marriage. making it legal will be pretty amazing, but we'd like our much-loved out-of-state friends to celebrate with us, and we'd like to have a nice ceremony and fun reception, so, hey - more time for us to plan, right?

over the weekend, we started tossing ideas around again: maybe an outdoor ceremony and reception, with a bonfire; definitely vows and a handfasting, with some God thrown in. we'd be ok with mid-summer or early fall. wedding dress for me, and E is leaning toward a tux, but we don't care if our friends and family show up in jeans. maybe one mom will be willing to make our favorite dark chocolate cake? maybe we can get our marriage license at the courthouse in downtown Detroit? what about giving our vegetarian friends two main dish choices, letting them vote, and serving whichever choice wins?

how about i start making paper flowers that we can glue on streamers?

 

the time's going to pass anyway, right?

cake season

hi! long time no see, huh? sorry about that, the brutal and extended winter brought the accompanying "Blahs" in full force. work was slow, life was slow, and i found myself sans motivation to do...well, much of anything, lol.

i've continued to go to the gym (and can run at least a full mile, with hills, without stopping), but it's been kind of haphazard. and it doesn't help that it's "that" time of year again.

oh, yes.

Cake Season is upon us.

there is an abnormal concentration of family birthdays this time of year. i start things off on 2/21, followed by my older niece on 2/25. Mom is 3/10, E's niece is 3/12, my older sister is 3/15, E's mom is 3/18, and E herself is 3/22. throw Fat Tuesday into the mix (anywhere from mid-February to early March), and it's pretty much a cake-and-doughnut-and-heavy-food bonanza. delicious, but slightly stupefying.

we still have the cat, who has earned the name Houdini for her ability to disappear and reappear at will. she manages to slip out the door unnoticed, EVEN WHEN YOU ARE WATCHING, and shows up on the back deck shortly afterwards. she spent a full 4 hours out there last month before we realized she wasn't sleeping under a bed somewhere. sweet, weird, kitty.

Little V turns 2 next month, and i'm working on a set of play food. her favorite foods are pizza and strawberries, which are really fun to make! she's also getting eggs, pancakes, bacon, and chocolate sandwich cookies.

  (pizza-in-progress)

i turned 35 a few weeks ago, and you know what? i like it! i feel...more free somehow. like i unlocked a new level in Life.

E might start 8-hour shifts instead of 12-hour shifts. we're REALLY hoping she stays on midnights. as much as it sucks not to sleep next to her every night, we'd get to spend more time together each day actually hanging out. we sure manage to cram a lot of fun into the time we do get together, though - last Thursday, we went downtown for Nick Lidstrom Night at the Joe - they were retiring his jersey number before the game, so we gave ourselves plenty of time to eat and make it to the arena by 5:30. we ate at Detroit's most famous Irish pub, The Old Shillelagh. E had never been, so it was way fun to enjoy that first with her (i'd been once, on a St Patrick's Day, when my older sister decided it would be great fun to take her two underage sisters to a bar and not slip them any beer). i ate the biggest burger of my life, and the waitress was very impressed! we walked down the block to Astoria Bakery in Greektown, to continue our pastry-smuggling tradition. E got an enormous piece of chocolate torte, and i got a chocolate mouse, which turned out to be a 3-inch-tall chocolate cake ball with a cream cheese frosting head (HEAVEN). after managing to cram our treats into our coat pockets (i still don't know how that torte survived), we took the People Mover, and joined the mob waiting for the arena doors to open.

do you see that?? BLUE F*CKING SKIES. and the river was clear of ice!! slowly, slowly, we are heading toward spring.

we had great seats, in the corner behind the home net. this is what it looked like, pre-ceremony, with the huge number 5 in red carpet:

the Stanley Cup is down there, along with the Conn-Smythe and Norris trophies. up in the right-hand corner of the picture, you can see the other retired numbers. the ceremony was really sweet (and much better than the game, which we lost, 3-2), and they gave Lidstrom a brand new Dodge truck and an African safari. (the Vietnam vet next to us: ""20 years, and he gets all that? i put in 30 years at my job and didn't get squat!")

well, it's time to shower and get ready to take Mom out for her birthday dinner. no idea where we're going...as of last night, she was still undecided. hope your Sunday is sunny and peaceful!

fauxcaccia

you guys. this BREAD.

it's this Peasant Bread recipe, and it's just glorious. easy, quick to throw together, and gooooooood.

i made it in the bowls once last spring, but opted for the 9x13 pan this time around. oh right, and we didn't have any rosemary, so i sprinkled dried basil on top.

presenting: Fauxcaccia!

 just out of the oven...

...and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, because i may have forgotten to eat today, and i couldn't wait for dinner.

NOMNOMNOMNOMNOM!

please, please, PLEASE make this bread. you won't be disappointed!