Let's scare the children!

So i just finished reading Rumpelstiltskin to Elise. Man alive what a messed up story that is.  I haven't read it since I was little but it reminded me of all the treacherous fairy tales I was subjected to as a child.  "Scarytales" were uncensored in our household; my sisters can vouch for this.  If there was any kind of torture or sinister behavior in the story we not only knew about it but our Grammy and mom made it a point to expand upon and emphasize it.  It's probably why I like horror/creepy/scary/sick movies so much, why Halloween is my favorite holiday, etc. 

 If you grew up listening to The Little Orphan Annie poem by James Whitcomb Riley every night-you'd understand. This combined with 10 years of catholic school and I'm surprised I can leave the house in one piece. We censor some of the stories we read to Elise but she's still exposed to all the classic fairy tales-for better or worse.  

 I leave you with a poem by Longfellow that was recited to me every day of my early life. All curly haired girls can share in my plight:

There was a little girl,

Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,

She was very good indeed,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

Hipster

Mommy got some new Rayban Wayfarers-she's bringing the 60's/80's back. Mike took these snazzy shots in the car on the way to Palisades Park. It was a chilly day (read: high of 58) but it was sunny so we goofed around at Palisades Park which sits on the cliff above the PCH (pacific coast highway). We live right down the street so it is a convenient place to run, stroll, hang out, chase people? So Elise still hasn't grasped (or refuses to acknowledge) the concept of running for exercise, even though she sees mommy do it all the time. So you can imagine the fun that ensued-"daddy! I'm gonna chase that man!" and then of course she runs after the poor jogger screaming at him. We ended the evening at "the cholo" for some yummy margaritas:-)

you can't make this stuff up

Elise woke up from her nap and asked for mommy. Mommy came to the door and Elise slammed it in her face and said "Mommy, I don't love you anymore" nice. She then danced around the living room saying "mommy, you are like a love letter and I am the pretzel who loves you"  over and over again. And then ran up to Daddy and grabbed him as hard as she could in his nether regions. ouch. poor guy. 

we have no idea what we have created. Mommy said to Daddy "and you want more of these?" and he winced. haha

I also made her a beautiful broccoli dish for dinner and she said after one bite "mommy, this just isn't working for me" 

But she likes spaghetti with meatballs:

Vampires are so misunderstood

Fruit bats:

I have been sitting here this evening reading about folklore and mythology-god bless the internet-and I stumbled across a discussion where someone asked "how can I become a vampire?" Apparently there are many ways to achieve amateur vampire status. But this person wasn't interested in the usual goth parties and drinking blood-he read/saw Twilight too many times. The discussion petered out after that-oh, wow. look at the time, good luck with that!
Not too long ago I reread Bram Stoker's Dracula-one my favorites and it reminded me of this picture (not the one above-thats a vampire bat) we have of Mike when he was in Australia holding a fruit bat and how jealous I was because I want to hold one too. They are so darn cute. I love bats and if I could be any nocturnal creature I would definitely be a bat. They also creep me out..in a good way.

and who doesn't love FrightNight? hee hee

this picture is as though i'm saying: What?! what vampire? I didn't see anything..what bite?

ok...i've been watching too much True Blood.

Update: we are still looking for the picture of Mike with the fruit bat-it's a good one..we'll find it

Earthquake part deux

or at least the second one we've felt. Apparently there are several a week but too small to feel. Unlike the 5.4 one from the summer that really scared Holly, tonight was only a 3.4. Phew.  

When it's gray/grey in LA

sigh. What do you do? Everything is outside here-with good reason.  I smell a museum or aquarium day in my near future. It's supposed to rain for the next 8 days. I know I shouldn't complain (my family in New England is rolling their eyes) but I have been spoiled rotten with nice weather for the last 7 months. Although, it does give Elise and I an excuse to put on rain jackets and walk around our pretty neighborhood splashing in the puddles and finding snails. Oh, the power of positive thinking gets me through any catastrophe;-)

Maple Syrup

When Mike gets the syrup in em' he gets all antsy in the pantsy....

Your Daily Elise

more...

good lord...

The Lost Files

Thank you Erik for tagging us in hundreds of pictures on facebook. It's going to take some time to wrap my brain around most of them but I have started pulling ones I love...

Erik playing air guitar:

Us
Fran eating the biggest pizza ever:

Holly and Mel

Mel gnawing on a crab:

Funniest picture ever:

Did somebody say bananas?

The debauchery bear:

3am pizza in heels and a beehive:

For some reason, eating seems to be a main theme

There will be more...no one is safe

OK computer

Mike was able to use his mad skills to fix my laptop. What a relief..and I'm sure anyone reading this must be like, good god are they boring..hahaha. We are not that boring though-promise. I've got celebrity stories, crazy good restaurant recommendations, tales from the beach and beyond. Oh, and my favorite drink of the year-a jasmine lime cooler. They serve that little piece of perfection at Peet's. Hmm, Ambrosia apples?..We eat way too many of those. I'm going to tackle some breakfast dessert involving lavender. Yes, my new spice rack has lavender. As well as some other cylinders filled with love.
Well, that's all I got. Cheers:-)

Toddlers are a menace

So sorry about that mom and dad!

Tonight we bid farewell to our laptop computer.  Eyes gleaming and mischief at the forefront of her mind, Elise threw the computer from the top of our bed to the floor below.  Our bed is really really high (mommy has to lunge herself up in high jump fashion) so you can imagine the impact. It made a few sick noises, sad beeps and silence.  Thankfully we have our main desktop computer and everything of importance is backed up. But still, what a pain. More for mom-like most of Mike's electronics-it had become Holly's hand-me-down.  Although, this could be a somewhat reasonable bargaining chip for a cool new computer that can do everything. Do they make those yet? 

A Collection of Photos, by Mike

Peace and Love

Our friend Katie took this picture a few days ago and I really like the simplicity of it. It was one of the most beautiful days at the beach in awhile. Lots of dolphins swimming and birds we've never seen. And completely empty!

Questions we'll never know the answers to

such as..why does Mike feel compelled to do this to Holly every time he grows a new beard or moustache?

I Just Love Vacation!!!

I wanna go on a tropical vacation...but I'm having a hard time convincing Froehler it's a necessity.