Stained Glass / Balls Out

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Stained Glass - I was blown away when I cut up this orange; I've never seen one before that was sectioned in this way. I'm not thrilled with how this picture came out, but I was only able to take one shot before my son came over to the table and demanded to know why I was taking pictures of his orange, because he was hungry.

Tara: Balls Out - I'm not sure the car balls are helping to make this pink car more manly.

Kawaii Pastry / Rainbow Foods

Kerry . Tara


Kerry: Kawaii Pastry - This is also completely normal in Japan. (Kawaii means, approximately, "cute".)

Tara: Rainbow Foods - I made sure ROY G BIV was represented in the table settings and separated three 1lb bags of Skittles by color to make a centerpiece that children couldn't get the concept of. By the end of the party my centerpiece was just two bud vases with green and purple Skittles. I loved the way the fruit platter turned out. Although, if I make this again, I'll either get grapes to represent green or get more than two kiwis and also learn how to correctly cut them so I don't waste so much trying to get the skin off. I would also like to give a public service announcement about that caramel fruit dip. This was my first time ever buying and consuming this product. If you've never bought it, don't. It will forever ruin fruit for you. Never again will fruit be a healthy snack option because you will want to douse it in that delicious, soft caramel. Trust me on this.

Tentacles / Rainbow Cake

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Tentacles - This is completely normal in Japan.

Tara: Rainbow Cake - I promised my daughter, M@ggie, that I would make her a rainbow cake this year for her rainbow themed birthday. I made the cakes the night before her party and put it together in the hour between leaving her Build-a-Bear party and the time guests started arriving at my house. First though, I had to get the food ready and since we've all been sick this past week we didn't really do anything but shop in preparation for the party. So while I cut fruit to make a rainbow fruit platter (tomorrow's pic) and got the other appetizers ready, Josh put up decorations. I used a cake leveler for the first four layers then guests started arriving and started crowding my kitchen. I wanted to start icing it and be done so I quickly eyed the red and orange layers and used a bread knife to level them myself. Apparently, my eyes suck since those two layers are way too big. Oh, well; it tasted good.

Cymbal / Apocalyptic Snowmen

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Cymbal - Every time we go to the music store, my son sits down at every single drumset in turn. They are usually all electronic drumsets, but one day last June (this is an old picture) there was one that was not only a "real" drumset, but a kid-sized one at that. (He actually has a kid-sized drumset, in his room, still in the box. He knows what he has to do to earn it - he just hasn't done it yet.)

Tara: Apocalyptic Snowmen - I made these cookies this past Christmas. They're from Calvin and Hobbes. I thought it was fitting since today, in the middle of February, it was over 70 degrees. I'm still sick so I didn't even get to go out and enjoy it.

Ume / Sick Day

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Ume - It is cold. Really, really cold. But the blossoms have already started. I'm pretty sure that these are ume (plum blossoms) - they're the first ones that bloom. Brace yourself, there are going to be a lot of blossom pictures once sakura (cherry blossom) season starts.

Tara: Sick Day - My necessities of the day. Tissue, moisturizer for my sad dry nose, ChapStick because of all the mouth breathing, water in a plastic cup so I don't have to keep picking up our extremely heavy glasses, and of course Jell-O. I'm starving but it's the only thing I can consider eating. Why don't they make Jell-O with medicine inside of it? I'm kind of high on meds right now so I'm not sure if that's a brilliant idea or stupid.

Love Snow / Sweet Love

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Love Snow - It doesn't snow in the part of Japan where I live, pretty much ever. That was one of the things that was told to me when I first moved here, in a reassuring tone of voice - "Don't worry, it doesn't snow here." Like that's a good thing? I lived for seven years in places where it didn't snow; and yeah, Hawaii's weather was picture perfect every day and I wish I was still there, but geez. It is so much harder to deal with cold weather if you don't get even a little snow now and then. I mean, what's the point?
Well, tonight is the third time it's snowed in the past few weeks; and what's different about tonight is that it is STICKING! I stepped out onto my balcony and took this picture with my trusty Lensbaby Composer w/Creative Aperture Kit. Heart-shaped snowflakes! Happy Valentine's Day!

Tara: Sweet Love - I thought this would be cute for Valentine's Day. I feel the subject has the same qualities as the holiday. Candy is not real food, but generic. A little bit of candy is a treat, but too much of it will make you sick. Candy is bad for your teeth, just like Valentine's Day since it causes excessive candy eating.

Fish Out of Water / Big Wheel

Kerry (Top) . Tara (Bottom)

Kerry: Fish Out of Water - Brandon has some interesting ideas about where his goldfish crackers should go. Under no circumstances are they to be eaten directly from the Take & Toss snack cup that they are in when I give them to him.

Tara: Big Wheel - Shrek never had a chance. This particular Shrek talks when a button on his chest is pushed. I kept hearing, "I'm an ogre!" and "Buuuuuurrrp." I look and my son is trying to kill Shrek.

Fireworks / Breakfast

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Fireworks - I know, I know, again with the hibiscus bush! What can I say, I see it every day when I take Brandon to the park. Anyway, something about it reminded me of fireworks, not just with the bursts of pink and orange in the center of each flower, but in the way that the big white flowers burst out at you from the green foliage, like fireworks, and there are other flowers that are somewhat past their peak drooping in the background - like with fireworks.

Tara: Breakfast - My son eating his breakfast of bananas and grapes. I didn't realize until after I gave it to him that the bowl matched the food.

Lazy / Kisses

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Lazy - I was feeling really uninspired today, so I just snapped a picture as my camera was sitting on the desk in front of the computer. And, yeah, I'm eating ice cream.

Tara: Kisses - I'm totally being lazy too. At least Kerry took a picture yesterday. I couldn't even be bothered with that. This picture is old. It's just my son giving me some kisses. Which are the best by the way.

Parking Lot / Dessert

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Parking Lot - Yesterday, Brandon lined up a bunch of his cars (actually two trains, a jeep, an airplane and a truck) on Brian's leather chair. Like a parking lot, I guess.

Tara: Dessert - After dinner my husband got me a bowl of ice cream and when I told him I only wanted one scoop he gave me this. He always has to make everything artistic. He's so sweet.

The Yin and Yang of Holiday Ice Cream / Death 8

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: The Yin and Yang of Holiday Ice Cream - Back in October, we went to Coldstone after dinner (at Cheeseburger in Paradise). I couldn't decide between the Pumpkin Spice and the Chocolate Mint - so I got both. Halfway through, I looked down and saw this. I swear to you that I didn't do any arranging or sculpting. [This is a backup entry. I am traveling and was unable to get to a computer to upload a picture today.]


Tara: Death 8 - This is a pastry that is so good, it will kill you. Kill you dead. It's a croissant shaped like a figure eight. Instead of holes like an eight, it has Bavarian cream. Then chocolate is drizzled over it. My husband named these Death 8s because there is no way this thing is good for you. We found these at Wal-Mart. (Don't judge! We know Wal-Mart sucks but it's all we have!) I suggest you go to your local Wal-Mart and buy these and then immediately shove them in your mouth.

Delayed / Summer Corn

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Delayed - Stuck In Oakland. Fabulous.

Tara: Summer Corn - I gave my son a corn on the cob for the first time last night. After five minutes this was the only damage he made to it. He liked it so much that he would get stuck on a spot and he forgot to eat more of the corn. He just kept rubbing his teeth on the same parts.

Napoleon Cymbalhead / Watermelon Me

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Napoleon Cymbalhead - We have a lot of random stuff lying around our house. A lot of it (like this Napoleon Dynamite Mad Libs) is stuff that was neatly put away until Brandon grabbed it. We then end up sticking it somewhere where he can't reach it - which is pretty much limited to the kitchen counter, the (middle of the) dining room table, and on top of the computer armoire. The Mad Libs and the finger cymbals are on the telephone table, which he could actually reach if he stood on the couch. (Which he sometimes does.)

Well anyway. Napoleon Dynamite has cymbals for a head! That's just wacky!!

Tara: Watermelon Me - I'm kind of addicted to watermelon. During its season I average about one a week. With no help from my husband who, like all fruit that isn't an apple or a banana, hates it. He grew up in a house that didn't have have much fresh fruit. Where as I grew up in a house that had a mini farmer's market in the kitchen. So me? I freaking love fruit. Especially watermelon.

As soon as I buy a watermelon, I cut it up into bite size pieces, put it in my designated watermelon tub and put in the fridge to chill. Whenever I feel the need, I go to the fridge, get my tub and a fork. I have to admit that I only have to do this about three times before the watermelon is gone. This last time while I was cutting my watermelon, my husband thought it he would be cute and carve my name out of the watermelon that was leftover on the rind. He then tried to make me feel bad for not eating my name. I made him taste it to see why I had left that part on the rind. As soon as he tasted it, he quit making me feel bad.

Artistic Expression / Sunbathing Buddha

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Artistic Expression - Lately we've been finding things around the house that defy any explanation other than Brandon's budding artistic temperament: artfully stacked toys, unexpected juxtapositions of household objects, and this little installation that we found next to the front door today: Kix lined up at regular intervals (note how they curve around the corner). It was so impressive that I almost didn't want to clean it up. (Please disregard the fact that the rug is badly in need of a vacuuming. It's essentially a doormat.)

Tara: Sunbathing Buddha - This is a Buddha we keep under the lamp on the top shelf of our bookshelf. We're not Buddhists but we appreciate the religion and we just like the Buddha. My husband bought him for two dollars at a Chinese restaurant.

Trifecta of Deliciousness / Below the Below

Kerry . Tara

Kerry: Trifecta of Deliciousness - I spent a lot of time wondering what would be a suitable subject for this, our innaugural installment. I mean, first impressions, start off on the right foot, and whatnot. I guess that what I ended up choosing isn't all that spectacular - but it pretty well encapsulates my Sundays. After yoga class, I stop at Jamba Juice and get smoothies for myself, my husband and my son. Much of the rest of the day is spent trying (unsuccessfully) to get my son to drink his smoothie from a sippy straw cup, and cleaning up the spills that result when he insists on drinking it from the Jamba Juice cup instead. At any rate, I thought that the colors were pretty. (Red = Pomegranate Paradise; purple = Acai Supercharger; yellow = Tahiti Green Tea.)

Tara: Below the Below - My husband is a musician so my son and I went to see him play at Africa in April in Memphis. While my husband's band set up on stage, they had these people talk about how important it was to pull your pants up. One woman kept repeating, "We don't want to see your below the below so pull your pants up."

Then a rapper came out and busted out the oldest school beat on his Casio keyboard and rapped about how you need to pull your pants up. "Be a man, take a stand and pull your pants up. No one wants to see your boxer shooortsss." I MUST find this on iTunes.

Editor's Note: You can go here to listen to the most awesome rap ever. The guy who runs the Pull Your Pants Up Missions also runs a few other organizations. One of them is about helping kids and I find it ironic that the mascot for that one is a guy who clearly hasn't pulled his pants up.