Thanksgiving

I had a splendid Thanksgiving with my family.  And I am so, so, so grateful for each and every one of them.  My brother, mom, grandmother, and I took a few pictures on our last day together :)

 

 

 Thanks for a wonderful holiday :) :) :)

Malysh

Malysh, or baby in Russian.  I had to write a little on babies, especially since so many people are having them right now (but don't worry, I'm not one of them)!!  Okay, okay, I'm also writing about this so I can remember what I would like when I have a baby....   Anyway, finding unique and fabulous gifts can be difficult, but here are some ideas in case you are looking (just click on the name and it will take you to the website):

The Baby Bullet

I consider this a "must-have" for parents who want to make their own baby food.  It's quick, portable, and most importantly, you know where you food is coming from!  **And if you purchase it on the website, you get The Magic Bullet as well as the baby steamer/sterilizer as a free added bonus** :)

Sonogram Frame

That first moment that you see your baby is priceless, so let's capture it forever!  These frames are great for any baby nursery!  I happen to like the white, because white will pretty much match everything, but if you have darker wood furniture, the wood frame works beautifully too.

Inglesina Fast Table Chair

You better believe I will be purchasing one of these guys.  You can attach it to almost any table and it's extremely light and portable.  The best part: easy off fabric that is machine washable!  

Sweeter Than The Tea

Of course, what baby outfit would be complete without a "Carolina Babies, sweeter than the tea" one-sie?!  And yes, I have already purchased one!  But for those who don't live in the Carolinas, don't worry, they also have other states as well! 

Moby

The Moby, as in my baby is so mobile in this fantastic wrap!  I love this wrap not only because of the closeness between the parent and the baby, but also because it is comfortable and just happens to come in a variety of styles and fabrics for any season!

Okay, so these are just a few items that I think every parent should have for their newbie.  I'm a huge fan of baby items that are unique, comfortable, and organic so I hope this helps!!

Science...but really Math

Gator Balls

My brother is a ping-pong genius.  And I mean that in the most awesome way.  I don't know where this talent came from, but it preceded his amazing skill at tennis.  Yes, he will school you with slices and then make you eat clay whilst you grumble at his feet (not really, but he will still school you). 

So, at UF, while he isn't on the court, he's doing the next most logical thing...sorry mom, it's not studying: shooting trick shots with ping-pong balls.  Gator balls.  Gator balls of fury.  

 

  

 

This last video is called Bigger Better Gator Balls...never mind that they forgot the comma...grumble...oh, and that is my brother, Ryan, making that shot :)

There are several more videos, but I think these are the best.  College education at it's finest.

Bloody Awsome

 

This is exactly why I fear the water.

Science

See what I succumb to from work??!!

???

What is that and why is it green???

Mangos

Mamacita

For my birthday, my mom took me on a hike to Chimney Rock.  It was awesome.  Well, the stairs were not awesome, but the views were!  Usually there is an elevator that takes you up to the top part of the hike...otherwise you have to climb about 1000 stairs.  Well, littleknownstous, the elevator was "out of order".  Suffice to say that I was holding onto the rail for dear life on the way back down to keep my legs from collapsing.  Other than that, the hike was nice.  :)


You know...some of this...

And a little of this....

And some more of this...

Until finally!!!

Bailey, of course, had no trouble at all climbing the gazillion stairs.

Bailey did not want to take the picture.  I think the waterfall was making her nervous.  What lab doesn't like water???

Woohoo!!  Made it to the top of the stairs!!  

Did you notice the hat??  Ryan got it for me for my birthday.  It says RF for Randi Frazier, not Roger Federer.  Just to clarify.

The Bear!!

So there have been several instances where I have seen evidence of "the bear" that notoriously roams about our yard...tearing open the trash and distributing it throughout the yard, bending the fence, footsteps in the night...you know, the usual.

But this time I saw him.

Let me lay it out for you.  My mom and I just got back from brunch and we drove back up to the cabin so that my mom could get Bailey, our chocolate lab.  So I'm sitting in the passenger seat of the car (windows down) with a plate full of meatballs on my lap.  Obviously I'm not paying attention and starting aimlessly out the passenger-side window when I hear a small noise on the other side of the car.

The bear is literally 10 feet away sniffing at the air.  I froze in place and quickly decided that if I were to try to run to the cabin, I would become dessert.  (Not really--I think this bear is friendly, but I don't want to press my luck).  Because of my adrenaline rush, I yell out "BEAR" (I couldn't think of what else to say), and he looks my way.  Then I grab my camera.

Working Out

I hate don't like working out.  It could be a combination of waking up early, wearing non-cute gym clothes, and walking into a room full of sweaty, muscle-bulging people...but mainly I'm just lazy.  I can find much better things to do with my time...like sleeping!  Or eating!  Or playing angry birds on my Nook :)  Thanks Handsome Tay.

 And then you get "The Greeters" who have been awake and alert since 3:30 that morning just waiting to say hello to you as you stumble into the gym.

Uuugg.

Gyms need to have a "light weight" section for people like me who can't lift over 20 pounds and don't want people who are lifting over 100 pounds staring at them.  

However...I just discovered ZUMBA!!!

I might just be going to the gym more often now!  Thanks Zumba for saving my workout!!

Angry Birds

I love to read.  Lately, that form of reading has been occurring on my Nook (my birthday gift from Handsome Taylor).  I'm in reading heaven!  Not only can I read books, but magazines, cooking articles, comics, house plan ideas...!!

However, I have discovered that I can also play games.  Fun, amazing, take-up-your-reading-time games.  Angry bird games.  Oh yes, Randi Frazier has finally unlocked the hidden awesome-ness of Angry Birds.

Do you Bamboo?

I have a new toy.  It's name is Bamboo.  And it's awesome.

Bamboo is my new graphic tablet that allows me to draw and fun stuff like that.  I don't know how to use Adobe, but Bamboo, in it's infinite wisdom, also works with that kind of program too.  Every now and then, I will draw a comic, because, comics are just soooo much better at describing things than my words.  Thank you mom and Roger!!!

My next project: SHARK WEEK SHIRT!!

Here is my next project: a shark silhouette shirt for shark week :)  I'll post pictures after it's done!

I haven't quite decided on the shark picture that I want to use, but it would be something along the same lines as this image.  If you have a better one, let me know!!

Baby makin...shirts!

Handsome T's older sister, Meredith, is pregnant with twins.  Twins, as it turns out, runs rampant in his family.

Handsome Taylor (left) is an identical twin with Garrett (right...obviously): 

Their mom, Angela (left),  is an identical twin with her sister Cecilia (right):

Cecilia's grandsons are very handsome identical twin boys: 

Phew!  I'm pretty sure that it only passes through the women's family line...pretty sure.  So now Meredith is pregnant, and while her twins aren't identical (boy and girl), I can still make them fantastically cute twin stuff:
 

I wanted to make some one-sies, but I didn't really want to order them since it wouldn't be completely hand-made.  So, I decided to make them using this idea I got from a friends blog.  Using fabric paint, freezer paper, and some creativity, she made ridiculously cute Harry Potter shirts.  Here is my attempt at one-sies as well as directions in case you would like to try it as well!

Step 1:
Get your material together.  This is what you will need:

An iron

Freezer paper
Tulip fabric paint
Foam paint brushes

Xacto knife (and scissors)

The fabric of choice: deliciously cute one-sies

And the most important things to have while being creative...

Step 2: 

Freezer paper has a shiny side and a dull side.  If you are printing your image to the freezer paper, make sure you print it on the dull side (this goes for if you are drawing/tracing your image as well).  

Step 3:

Once you have your image on the freezer paper, carefully and slowly cut the image out using your xacto knife (or if you are really talented, a pair of scissors).  If you have images (or in my case, letters) that have parts to cut out inside them (i.e. O, P, A), make sure you save them!

Step 4:

Iron the piece of freezer paper you want (shiny side down) onto your article of clothing...several times.  Just to make sure it's sticking!  

Step 5:

Using your foam paint brush, paint your image (and make sure you stay inside the boundaries of your image!).  After the first coat of paint dries, you can add an additional coat so that the likelihood of your beautiful piece of artwork staying beautiful is doubled.  Also, to ensure that the paint doesn't go through the fabric, place a piece of wax-paper between the two layers.

 Step 6: 
This is the best step!  You can peel the freezer paper off of the clothing (after the paint has dried, of course).  For the wee little pieces, you can use tweezers if you can't grab them off with your fingers.

W is for Williams (Meredith's soon-to-be last name)

Ta-Da!!