Ambigram Drop

"Lindsy" & "Ricky" Ambigram	"Rian", "Ravyn", "Renae" & "Garyn" Ambigram Circle
"Center of Influence" Ambigram
"Loner" Ambigram	"ARC" & "GAC" Ambigram
"Kirsty" Ambigram
"Unique" Ambigram	"Hansen" Ambigram Armband

Shower Cakes

Last weekend we had our 2nd baby shower, this time with family. We had a lovely time out at the park. And look at the awesome job my mom did on the diaper cake ~



There were some equally lovely *real* cakes there as well. The checkered cake was a collaboration between a cousin & her husband. So cute!



We are also in the process of painting the furniture, finally! It is taking multiple coats, so I'm taking my time with the crib, but the changing table is finished other than a few touch-ups. Next week I might actually have some pictures to share! There is still plenty to do & to buy, but we are feeling a lot more prepared after the weekend.

Ambigram Drop

"Hakuna" & "Matata" Ambigram	"Brayden" & "Bailee" Ambigram Cross
"Ellsworth" Ambigram	"Leslie" Ambigram
"Juliana" & "Alex Tyler" Ambigram	"This Too Shall Pass" Ambigram
"Taylor" & "Tony" Ambigram	"Bautista" & "Capacillo" Ambigram

Nancy's Garden

Everything seemed to be blooming the last time we visited Justin's mom. There was so much loveliness, but something was wrecking havoc on my sinuses.











And a dramatic shot of the front doormat, thrown in for fun ~

Popiah

A while back I picked up a Chinese & Thai cookbook from the library & was intrigued by a recipe for "Popiah". The photo made it look as if an omelet was replacing a tortilla in your typical 'wrap' ~ I had to try it!

After looking around online for the actual pronunciation of Popiah, I realized that the book has their egg-to-flour ratios a bit off and the wrapper is supposed to be more like a thin crepe (I imagine it would be similar to the wraps used in Mu Shu?). But my heart was set on the eggy goodness I had imagined from the photo...

So, first you make up a bunch of wrappers ~



Heat up some ground pork, shrimp, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, onion, and a little soy sauce for the filling ~



And grab some lettuce, green onions and Hoisin sauce. Now we are ready to assemble!



At the table you take a wrapper, spread on a little of the sauce, and lay out a few lettuce leaves. Then you pile on some of the filling, sprinkle with a few green onions (whoops, forgot!), wrap & eat!



Mmmmm....



The recipe suggested this dish as a party food and used 4-5 different kinds of meats and a large assortment of toppings. After ditching about half of the ingredients, and using those crazy eggy wrappers, I'm sure our version had little to do with traditional Popiah. We loved the way it came out though, so I guess will just have to change the name! I know that we want to thin out the wrappers a smidge next time and use a smaller pan (hence the irregular shapes), but that may be all we need to change ~ these things were sooo good!

7 Months (31 weeks)

I'm hauling around a lot of weight these days (and it's not just in the belly anymore). I think you can see quite a difference from this & the 5 months shot. Even taking & editing these photos wore me out! Everything does....

Justin was shocked to hear that one of his classmates just had their baby 2 months early. He started rounding up emergency numbers and we are both pretty eager to get that furniture painted and put together now! (Not this weekend though ~ it's Mother's Day!) While I wouldn't wish for it to come that early, 1 month is not sounding so bad right now!!

The good ~ Tonight we are having our first baby class (birthing), and next Wednesday is our first shower! The bad ~ We found out that our deductible for the birth is going to be twice the amount we had thought (and saved already). It will be doable, but I'm not happy about it. And the ugly ~ We didn't get any good shots from the 3-D sonogram because *someone* decided to hold all four appendages in front of his face the whole time. Just photo after photo of colored blobs ~ Oh well!

Ambigram Drop

Here is another ambigram created for future merchandise ~

"Summer" Ambigram This will be used on a future "Summer" Longboard by Break the Silence. No (close-up) shots of the boards yet, but there's a video where you can see them in action!
"Mario" & "Lizbeth" Ambigram	"Justin" & "Heather" Circle Ambigram
"Fortanach" Ambigram	"Hotchkiss" Ambigram
"Duane" Ambigram Cross	"Baumgratz" Ambigram Cross
"Wade" & "Gina" Ambigram

Ambigram Tats

"Miri" & "Jacob" Ambigram Tattoo ~
Original ambigram here.



"Matthew" & "Darron" Ambigram Tattoo ~
Original ambigram here.



"Tita" Ambigram Tattoo ~
Original ambigram here.



And here is one that hasn't been posted here yet...
"Family" & "Matters" Ambigram ~



"Family" & "Matters" Ambigram Tattoo ~