The Chin Incident

Salem recently received her first big 'ouchy'. The funny thing is, this is the very same first 'ouchy' that I earned when I was around her age.
How it all went down: She slipped and fell in a gas station bathroom while washing her hands. Her dad swiftly brought her to the hospital where her chin was glued and bandaged. Yes, glued.

Note: The photo below is of her fixed up chin. The red lips are from a cherry Popsicle. 

Salem's fixed up chin!

My 'fixed up' chin. (sorry for the nostril shot)

 Now, I did not have the same pampering with my injury. I hit my chin on the basement cement floor and split it open. Shortly after, my father (who is a physician) sewed it up on the kitchen table. Unfortunately for me there was no magic skin-glue in the 70's.

Salem has been a surprisingly good sport about her accident. She's even excited about the possibility she'll have the same scar as mine. She calls the scar, The Chin Line.

carry-us-away

carry-us-away
Originally uploaded by AshTreeNoFeet

A new work in progress: "Carry Us Away"

Offensive Advertising...

I've never been one to take offense at much of anything. Seriously, I'm just not that kind of gal. However, I logged on to the site today to share a story with you, gentle reader, only to find some seriously disturbing advertising - see above.

Usually the great and mighty Google places advertising on blogs based on content. What that means to me (forgive me if I'm incorrect here) is my stories should loosely mold what will be advertised. Like for instance, I spoke about Salem and how she's learning to read. That lead to an ad for a learning center.

Lets examine the last post: Pumpkin and Tonic. Correct me if I'm wrong, but where is there any mention of a child smearing poop around or digging in a diaper? Sure, pumpkin as a cooking medium is sort of messy and baby poo-like in nature, but where did this talk of 'smearing' come into play? Perhaps I pissed some sad little Google employee off somehow.

Pumpkin and Tonic

This is one of Salem's photographs. I had to share as I thought it had some interesting qualities.

1. I love the perspective / angle
2. Strong application of foreground / background subject matter
3. Powerful composition
4. Complementary color scheme
5. I especially can appreciate the food and beverage combo here. You see me enjoying a piece of pumpkin pie while sucking down a gin and tonic. This combination of libation and confection is rare, especially since we're approaching springtime. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed pumpkin pie outside of the winter holiday season. Never mind the odd pairing of pumpkin and gin.

Hey Starbucks! Lookout, Pumpkin Gin-&-Tonic-Lattes may be a big hit in the fall.

Things She's Said This Week

The hilarity that has come out of Salem's mouth this week has been stellar. A couple snippets that stand out in my mind:

While going for walk, Salem jumped up on Mr. Pants' shoulders and proceeded to stick her bum out at me. Like I've said before, I don't spank my child for two reasons. 1. I don't believe that corporal punishment is effective. 2. My daughter actually likes being spanked. Yeah, chew on that. So, she was up on his shoulders sticking her bum out at me and said "Haaaaaa-eeeeeey! My booty is ripe for pinching!"

Ripe for pinching? Are you kidding? I asked her where she got that little line and she was unable to provide an answer. I promptly requested that I never hear her say that again.

Monday when I picked her up from playing with her buddies I asked her if she had a good time. (Names have been changed to protect the innocent.) "Well, I would have had a good time if my arch-nemesis, Jane wasn't in my face all the time!

We were in the car talking about how she needs to practice her reading skills. I went into a spiel of how reading effected my life in a positive way; allowing me to be more independent and empowered...blah blah blah. She responded, "I don't need to be too much of a good reader, mom. I'm a a child. If I can't sound it out by myself then maybe I shouldn't be reading it, like maybe its something not for kids. Anyway, I don't need to read to watch iCarly."

On our way to the YMCA where she plays with the kids while I work out: "Mom, I don't feel like playing here today, all the little baby kids always snatch away the toys I want to play with." me: "Well, maybe you should think about sitting down with a book or color while you're there and not play with the toys babies might like, they don't know how to share yet..."
Under her breath and in an embarrassed tone, she stated "....but I like to play with the baby toys..."

I was getting ready this morning for work, chatting away at Mr. Pants as he lay in bed. In walks little miss sassy and with her best valley girl interpretation, she asks:"Uh Mom...are you like, talking to yourself?!"

The Joust

The Joust
Originally uploaded by AshTreeNoFeet

This piece titled The Joust will be on display at the Highlanderfor the Power-Ups art show, Thursday March 25th.

The art show is featuring pieces inspired by video game culture. This piece is inspired by the Atari game "Joust".

And! it will tie in nicely with my upcoming show in May at the Radial Cafe.

Power-Ups...Works of Art Inspired by Video Game Culture

I will be showing at piece at the Highlander on March 25th if any of you nutty nut bars are interested...

Weird Science

"Mom, when I grow up, me and Lola (her buddy) have decided we're going to the moon! Yep, we're going up there to scientate it."

(scientate - a new word coined by my child. Read on for an explanation of what this means...)

me: "Wow! The moon, huh?...so, how does one 'Scientate' the moon?"
her: "Well, we scientate the moon by going there. We find cracks and stuff up on the moon!"
me: "Then you scientate the cracks?"
her: "Yes, we will do that!"
me: "How does one scientate the cracks on the moon?"
her: "Well, you find 'em then you take a piece of white rope with gray spots on it to match the moon colors, shove it down in the crack, then put cement over it."
me: "Rope and cement, huh? Scientation on the moon sure sounds thorough!"

I wonder where she learned this trick of filling cracks with rope? We did just recently spend time down at my dad's in Florida. He's notorious for tinkering around the house and fixing odds and ends - all in his own way.

Urban Outfitters - Kiddie Section

This looks like a photoshoot for Urban Outfitters - if they had a kiddie section.

This is Salem and her pals at the notorious Monkey 'Pound-Your-Eyes-Out' Joes for her buddy's birthday.