kids art: ready for take off!

Ready for take off!

Ethan tagged along with me on another trip to Michael's. Again, he found lots of things he wanted to make but, decided on a wooden model airplane kit. The boys enjoyed building their own airplanes with dad's help. Then the planes sat around for a week or 2, waiting for the right time to be decorated. It has been HOT here in the desert and we are in hibernation mode so, this weekend was the perfect time to bring out the art supplies and get painting.

We reused an egg carton as a paint palette, it is sturdy and holds lots of colors

Ethan working with his favorite colors: blue and green

Hudson working with his favorite color: red

new and improved "paint bucket"

I have to admit I need to work on getting the art supplies out in a particular order. I seem to start backwards - planes then paint then tablecloth then smocks - that is all wrong! They boys are already trying to dip into the paints before the table is set up and their shirts put on. So, I packed all the needed supplies: paints, brushes, cup, egg cartons, smock shirts and a tablecloth into the new and improved "paint bucket". Hopefully this makes our next painting adventure setup run a bit more smoothly.

Once again for only a buck, this little kit proved to be a lot of fun, it let them become the pilot and the designer!

easy pesto spaghetti

Tonight I'm making Easy Pesto Spaghetti. Pesto is an aromatic herb paste that has its origins in Italy, where people have been making it for hundreds of years with the brilliant green basil that grows wild on the hillsides. I found a super easy recipe online. It's not exactly traditional since it doesn't use Parmesan cheese or pine nuts but, you could certainly add those ingredients if you wanted.

See Easy Pesto Recipe.

painting in progress, dandelion

fireflies

Painting in progress montage

Before the East Valley Art Guild Critique, 7-16-09

Fireflies painting completed, 7.19.09

east valley art guild

I went to the East Valley Art Guild July meeting last night and I brought a painting along for the critique! I had them look at my fireflies painting in progress. Overall it received a nice reaction. Everyone liked the colors and the consciousness was that it needed a more yellow in the fireflies and more depth in the sky & grass. However, a few people liked it just as it is and voiced concerns of overworking it. So, I plan to give the piece one more working session and see where I end up. Almost there ... I can't wait to hang this painting on the big yellow wall in my kitchen!

beautiful music video

Above is a beautiful music video I stumbled upon today for Iron & Wine's Boy With a Coin, directed by Lauri Faggioni. I love this song and the choreography is amazing!

eggplant parmesan

photo found at foodnetwork.com

This is what I have planned for tonight: Melanzane alla Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmesan). I love eggplant. It is one of my most favorite foods and I have been making this dish for years. All the breading, oil and cheese make this dish quite high calorie so I've decided to try and lighten it up with a recipe courtesy of Eating Well. They reduced fat by coating the eggplant with egg whites instead of whole eggs and baking, rather than frying, the slices for a lighter version of this classic.

See Eggplant Parmesan Recipe.

scorpion sting!

Logo for Scorpion Tequila ... I couldn't bring myself to post a picture of a real one!

We live in an area of Arizona that is surrounded by a gorgeous natural desert landscape. We regularly see jackrabbits, prairie dogs, lizards and lots of birds; all of which are wonderful. Not so wonderful is that mountain lions, snakes and "eeek!" scorpions are also known to roam nearby.

This week I was stung by a scorpion at 4:30 am in my bed. Freak out time!!! I have an unhealthy fear of scorpions, which began after we had kids; children under the age of 5 are the most at risk and that really scares me. I am grateful that it stung me since both Ethan & Hudson were asleep in my bed at the time.

So you wanna know what happened? I awoke to the a sharp pain in my calf. I thought maybe I pulled a muscle earlier that night at yoga. I stretched my leg out and then bent my knee to stretch the other direction proceeding to squish the scorpion in my leg! eeeww. I stood up, checked my leg and found 2 small sting marks which quickly started swelling. After checking the bed I found a small (less than an inch) smooshed scorpion. I got really nervous and Googled scorpion sting (what would we do without the Internet in times like these?)

About.com suggests that if you are stung by any scorpion, including the venomous Arizona Bark Scorpion, here are some immediate actions you should take:

1. Wash the area of the scorpion sting with soap and water.
2. Apply a cool compress on the area of the scorpion sting. Ice (wrapped in a washcloth or other suitable covering) may be applied to the sting location for 10 minutes. Remove compress for 10 minutes and repeat as necessary.
3. If stung on a limb (arm or leg) elevate the limb to heart level.
4. Call the Banner Poison Control Center Hotline at 1-800-222-1222. If you develop symptoms such as numbness or tingling of extremities or face, blurry vision, or muscle twitching, roving eye movements, go to the nearest emergency room. Young children and older people who are stung by a scorpion should be taken to the emergency room immediately.
5. Keep your tetanus shots and boosters current.

Luckily, I did not experience any symptoms worthy of a trip to the emergency room. After about 6-8 hours of applying an ice pack the pain finally subsided and the swelled areas were gone.

In the western U.S. only one species of scorpion venom is considered very dangerous to humans. Yep, we have it here in Arizona. It is called the Arizona Bark Scorpion. It is straw colored or opaque and usually less than 2 inches long and is the only one that prefers to climb walls. The Arizona Bark Scorpion is most dangerous if the person stung has an allergic reaction.

painting in progress, fireflies

painting in progress, fireflies