3 Ring Binder

We did it! Yes, that's right, we . For my third adventure with eating The Whole 30  way, my husband (willingly) and our daughter (kicking and screaming) joined me! What a thrill (or pain-in-the-ass depending on who it is I'm dealing with) it was to have them both on board with the only eating plan designed to jump start good eating habits for life by eliminating processed sugar, grains, vegetable oils, and dairy (my husband's only hold-over from the last time I did it).  Results - we survived!  Not only that, we made some very important discoveries along the way.  Here are mine: My daughter's stamina for complaining knows no bounds.  Eating well will not cause an underweight person to lose weight. Well Fed has inspired me to move from mere eater to cook! (No small feat.) Our kitchen is too small. We will never buy mayonnaise again! (We make our own a la Well Fed.) Corn, sugar, and soy derivatives are in almost everything!  You can go to a party,...

I found this sign on my daughter's door on Opening Night. She made it for herself. Could that be any cuter?

Yesterday’s WSJ reported on the continuing legal battle between the well-heeled shoe designers Christian Louboutin (CL) and Yves Saint Lauren (YSL). The battle surrounds the legal use of the trademarked color red on the outsoles of women’s fashion shoes.  In 2008, CL was able to obtain a trademark registration of this “lacquered red sole on footwear,” as shown in the following picture in the trademark application: The trademark was granted and so it would appear that he has a case against the use of the same “lacquered red sole” as shown by other designers. Attorneys for CL claimed the use of the same bright red soles by YSL would be the wearing down or dilution of his trademark. In its complaint, CL showed red shoes with red soles by YSL (like those on the right above) citing that they infringe on his trademark. (The gorgeous pumps on the left are iconic Louboutin). Were you thinking that the clunkers on the right might be CL’s? Can the government grant a trademark to a colo...

by Robert Burns (25 Jan 1759 - 21 July 1796),  1788 Humid seal of soft affections, Tend'rest pledge of future bliss, Dearest tie of young connections, Love's first snow-drop, virgin kiss. Speaking silence, dumb confession, Passion's birth, and infants' play, Dove-like fondness, chaste concession, Glowing dawn of brighter day. Sorrowing joy, adieu's last action, Ling'ring lips, -- no more to join! What words can ever speak affection Thrilling and sincere as thine!  Happy Robert Burns' Day. The poem is found under both titles. I prefer the title " To a Kiss " to the other ; the first captures the import of the action in different situations -- as does the poem -- rather than concentrate solely on the final parting.  It's lovely either way. 

Here is the result of my first foray into paleo kids cuisine (or Life Without Bread as my daughter might dramatically lament). First, you take the Dean & Deluca tunafish salad recipe - which uses lemon juice, garlic, carrots, red onions, chives, celery, and parsley - take out anything your kid will balk at, use the Well Fed homemade mayo, hollow out a cucumber and voila! A veritable boatload of good stuff that's fun to eat. Sometimes, presentation is important.  If your kid is anything like mine, it'll be gone before you get back to the table with your own lunch! I'm sure it would work just as well with chicken salad: Chickacanoe.

In search of a bit of clear white space, Turning off my designer’s eye, I seek only a breakfast place, Recounting my weekend with a sigh. This mess of incongruity is the Monday table: Fraught with papers, books, and half-eaten fare. I strain and wonder, How am I able To finish Sunday night with this mess lying here? Reading headlines of the papers I pile, Belongings of other rooms I stack, Housewares to be washed, I collect and smile, This effort is my life, it’s not my lack. As I recount another fruitful weekend, Filled with activity, joy, and with thought, It’s not my housekeeping that’s gone off the deep end, It’s simply my is still approaching my ought . 

As far as we'll let them. PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo . If you think more arbitrary government power will not protect intellectual property owners from infringement but will more likely be used to censor the internet, penalize its providers, and crush free content, please let your Congressmen know that you most emphatically do not approve of these horrendous bills. http://www.sopastrike.com/strike Read the bills here and here .

make the bed! Seriously, if there is ever a time where I think to myself thank god I lift weights, it's when I'm changing the sheets on my bed. Our bed in someone else's way cool room. As slaves to modern minimalist design tastes, we own this awesome funky clean-line Japanese-style platform-like bed. Sadly we do not have a foam mattress, but a standard innerspring which weighs roughly 7,000 lbs. Even more sadly, instead of an actual platform, we have slats across the base (not sure why).  The platform around the bed (what I refer to as its running board) and slatted interior adds a level of difficultly to the dressing-the-mattress feat because tucking in the corners to remotely resemble the inspiring clean lines above means reaching to pick up its corners approximately twelve times each change, four times each tidy making. This means holding the top of a 300 lb. dead lift out in front of you while magically maneuvering the corners and lengths of the bedding layers ...

Compared to previous years, I'm a day late and thousands of dollars short, but I hope you enjoy my little end of year family retrospective in pictures anyway.  Happy New Year, friends.