Just some photos from the chocolate candy making class yesterday before Eda's big birthday bash! (I'll post photos from the party soon-ish)

The Earl Grey infused truffles with a dark chocolate shell were yummy. We're definitely gonna have to attempt that again. =)

“I say to you, this morning, that if you have never found something so dear and precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren’t fit to live."

I'm noticing more and more that little Sophie is getting more "clever" by the day. I'm not talking about learning new words and signing to me that she needs to go potty. I'm talking about strategizing to get her way.

For example, she will at first simply reply "no" when I mention that it's her bedtime. After I remind her again it's her bedtime and that she has no say, she will reply "no" again and violently shake her head. Eventually I just pick her up and get her ready for bed and she will kick and scream in retaliation. However, at some point she realizes that no amount of retaliating will keep me from tucking her into bed so she switches her strategy to misdirection.

You see, we've been teaching her sign language for some time now and we get very excited when she signs for something she wants. We praise her and clap in excitement when she signs for something correctly. So, the little squirt takes advantage of this fact by randomly signing for things to keep me away from the crib. She'll sign for "toilet" even though she had just finished going. Then she'll sign for "milk" so I'll take her downstairs to get her some milk from the fridge, but then promptly refuses it. Of course, her sign language vocabulary is still fairly limited so she eventually runs out of requests, but only after I've taken her back downstairs and up again at least once.

After that, it's off to bed and after a few minutes of crying in despair she promptly falls asleep. It's amazing how that little brain is constantly observing and analyzing her surroundings. I need to keep on my toes so I don't get outwitted by a 1 year old. =)

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/jun2008/bw20080612_882775.htm

A very interesting article. Houston consistently ranks towards the top, and New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles consistently ranks towards the bottom. The numbers are all cost of living adjusted.

But do they adjust for the heat and humidity in Houston? =)

Tinkered with some interesting lighting combinations this weekend and got some decent results!