Last year, I made my daughter a homemade Baby Gaga costume and really had no idea what I was going to make her for Halloween 2011. At the last minute, I had an epiphany and decided that I was going to make a unicorn costume for my 2 year old! I had no idea how easy or hard it would be, but it ended up being fairly easy and came out SUPER cute. Here is the final product:

I had a vague idea on how I wanted the costume to look, but after visiting the fabric store, they didn’t have any of the fabrics I needed for my original vision. So, I headed over to the sale fabric pile and started digging. I ended up with a low-pile white faux fur, a longer white faux fur, purple faux fur and this really neat looking purplish velvet with metallic sparkle. I then picked up some gold spandex for the horn and hooves.

Fabric to make DIY unicorn costume:

I started the costume by making the hood, since I figured that would be the most important part of a unicorn costume. I made the hood out of the low-pile white faux fur, lined it with the purple sparkly velvet and made the ears first.

Unicorn costume with ears:

After successfully making and attaching the unicorn ears to the hood, I made the mane and horn. For the horn, I sewed the gold spandex onto a piece of felt and made a cone. This gave it enough body to stand up on it’s own without being to hard or heavy. For the mane I cut strips of the long white faux fur and the purple fur.

Unicorn hood with horn and mane:

Unicorn mane backview:

I sewed the strips of mane in alternating colors into the seam of the hood. Then I hand sewed a piece of gold trim in a swirl pattern down the horn and hand sewed the horn to the hood. Finally, I sewed the lining in and the hood was finished!

Finished unicorn hood:

I then procrastinated until the day of Halloween to make the rest of the costume, so I don’t have pictures of the individual pieces (oops!). But, I made a simple sheath dress out of the low-pile white faux fur, with a zipper front. I attached the hood to the dress and made a tail out of the long white faux fur that I sewed to the back of the dress. I then made arm and leg warmers out of the gold spandex and attached fur to the front, so that the gold spandex fit over her shoes and hands to look like golden hooves.

Here are some more pictures of Sydney’s super cute homemade unicorn costume in action!

Last year, I made my 1-year old daughter a homemade Baby Gaga costume for Halloween and it was a HUGE hit. I finally got around to posting the pictures and even made a funny Baby Gaga video (see below).

The costume was really fun to make and it was easier then it looks. I would say you would need intermediate sewing skills to make a DIY Baby Gaga costume, just because sewing spandex can be a little tricky. Or, you could find a baby leotard and go from there. The trick is the hood and attaching the wig to the hood, since most babies will wear hoods, but most will not wear a wig. Sydney actually really enjoyed wearing her Baby Gaga costume and kept the hood/wig on for the entire party. I was shocked!

Here is Sydney busting out her best Baby Gaga dance moves and more pictures of how the Baby Gaga costume was made:

If you are looking for a funny/hilarious costume for your baby or toddler, I highly recommend the Baby Gaga costume. It was really fun! I’ve been thinking long and hard about what I am going to make Sydney for Halloween 2012, so I’m hoping I can top the Baby Gaga costume!

More pictures of my homemade Baby Gaga toddler Halloween costume:

Well, what do you know…there really was a baby in there! On July 26th at 11:10pm, my daughter decided it was time to be born. Introducing Sydney James Rest!

I gave birth to this little cutie pie in a Puerto Rican hospital with NO pain medication. All I can say is WOW. There were no complications but that whole child birth thing is certainly an experience!! I will write more about that later …

In November 2007, my Dad came down to Puerto Rico to help me out with the house. He was here for 10 days and we had a major altercation that caused his immediate removal from my property and I’ve not spoken to him since. My dad has some issues and whatnot, but I’ve always defended him, put up with whatever he has going on at the time and I’ve always been a daddys girl. It’s been a hard road but I love my dad. Since we had this falling out, I’ve thought about it nearly every day. I wished that he would call me, email me, write me a letter, telling me that he loved me and that he was sorry. I’ve talked to my grandmother about it briefly and she has urged me repeatedly to write my dad a letter, hoping that we could reconcile. As a matter of fact, I spoke with my grandmother 3 days ago and promised her that I would send the letter to him before my next trip to San Diego (in less then two weeks).

Today I was minding my own business and I got an IM from my dad.

Dad: How are your eyes?

I don’t have the exact IM transcripts, but essentially it comes down to this…He decided to “break the ice” and pop back into my life like nothing happened and me to be all honky dorey with it. I asked him to apologize for what he did and he said no. I told him fine, then stop trying to talk to me, said bye and signed off IM. I had to sign back onto IM 20 minutes later so I could get some work done and the madness started. Here is the exact transcripts:

AIM IM with (summersdad) 2/6/08 2:35 PM

Dad: relax, change your name
Dad: your not a hogan
Dad: just the way it is
Dad: its all good
Summer: Your being so fucking childish.
Summer:If your pride is worth disowning your daughter, then fucking go for it.
Dad: naw, I have tracked you all my life
Dad: just the way it is
Summer:WHy is it so hard for you to say your sorry? You’ve alienated every single friend/family member you have ever had
Dad: if it isnt good enough, then too fucking bad
Summer:All you need to do is apologize
Summer:And no, “trakcing me” isn’t good enough.
Dad: just change your name and disrepect others
Dad: deal?
Summer:Yeah, okay. That helps
Dad: beat up on those that have that looked after you
Summer:I’ve never disrespected you, so don’t try and fucking turn it around.
Summer:Yeah, and I’m SO mean to you and beat up on you
Dad: its your deal
Dad: you assaulted you MOTHER
Summer:I’ve forgiven you for stupid shit my entire life and you just laugh it off.
Summer:Your the one that hit my mom (and never apologized)
Dad: you dont have to forgive me for anything
Dad: I hit your Mom?
Summer:Yep. You sure did.
Dad: yall are silly
Summer:You hit her with a telephone book. But, let me guess. You don’t remember that either
Dad: if i hit her she would have hurt bad
Summer:Whatever. You’re one tough son of a bitch I guess
Dad: tru dat
Dad: get ovcer it
Summer:I’m over it. Accept what you did wasn’t cool and apologize.
Dad: naw
Dad: I have done everyone well
Dad: make up whatever stories you want
Summer:Okay. Well just accept the fact that I love you and I have never been hurt so much by anyone in my entire life. You win! Have a nice life
Summer:Bye
Dad: talk shit if you need
Dad: wont change my life
Dad: I was there
Dad: take your hurt to me personal
Dad: have it your way
Dad: wont work
Summer:If you’re so over it. Leave me the fuck alone.
Dad: deal
Dad: just change your name
Dad: your not a Hogan
Dad: you said it and I agree
Summer:If you’re so over it. Leave me the fuck alone.
Summer:If you’re so over it. Leave me the fuck alone.
Summer:If you’re so over it. Leave me the fuck alone.
Dad: I will bnever impose again
Dad: just never disrespect the Hogan name again please
Dad: your not a Hogan
Summer:If you’re so over it. Leave me the fuck alone.
Dad: change your name tomorrow
Summer:If you’re so over it. Leave me the fuck alone.
Dad: deal?
Dad: its a good deal
Summer:If you’re so over it. Leave me the fuck alone.
Dad: walk out
Dad: quasebarth, rest, i dont give a fuck
Dad: walk out
Dad: its a good deal
Dad: change your name tomorrow
Dad: you will never be a Hogan
Dad: we screwed you on the name thang
Summer:I could stoop to your level and say SO many hurtful things. If you’re so over it. Leave me the fuck alone.
Dad: hang withg your mommy
Dad: deal?
Dad: you will never touch me again
Dad: beat up on clowns that cant hang
Dad: stay out of our lives
Summer:”our lives”? You and your Vodka?
Dad: its a good deal
Dad: rock on, out of our lives
Dad: you will never disrepect another Hogan again
Dad: deal?
Dad: rock oin jmy dear
Dad: I luv ya but wont ever tolerate you again
Dad: or your clown b/fs
Dad: its a good deal
Summer:If you’re so over it. Leave me the fuck alone.
Dad: hang with your mommy
Summer:I do.
Dad: rock on
Dad: I do leave you the fuck alone
Dad: rock on
Dad: as always you get what you want
Dad: just dont have jive ass b/fs show up where I am
Dad: its a simple deal
Dad: I made that clear
Dad: rock your world, dont show up in mine
Dad: life can be simple
Dad: and change your name
Summer:This has nothing to do with anyone but you and me. You can blame whomeve you want for your actions, but hopefully you know the truth deep down in side. Like I said if you have no interest in having me in your life, fine. Then leave me alone and stop pretending like you give a shit about your daughter.

< This is where I left my computer, to go play poker >

Dad: I took you off the accounts and propertys
Dad: I will leave you alone
Dad: have
Dad: its not an issue
Dad: just change your name
Dad: your not a Hogan
Dad: never have been
Dad: deal?
Dad: do it tomorrow
Dad: I dont tolerate clowns
Dad: dont ever touch me again
Dad: deal?
Dad: beat up on your Mom
Dad: have dogs bite 2 year old faces
Dad: dont EVER Disrepect me again
Dad: its not going to happoen
Dad: its a good deal
Dad: as you said we be done
Dad: rock on

3:16 PM

Dad: just change your name tomorrow
Dad: please
Dad: and never disrespect us again
Dad: your out
Dad: clowns dont rule
Dad: thats just the way it is and always will be
Dad: your out
Dad: you arent a Hogan, have never been, dont EVER disrespect us again

3:41 PM

Dad: as you said” we are done and Im changin my name
Dad: do it tomorrow
Dad: dont hesitate
Dad: imitation jive ass clown Hogan, get OUT
Dad: now all you have to deal with is the RESTS and QUASEBARTHS, get out
Dad: do it tomorrow
Dad: its a good deal
Dad: center of the universe
Dad: cool deal
Dad: rook on
Dad: rock your world and dont impose
on us again
Dad: its a cool deal
Dad: for all of use
Dad: us
Dad: rock on
Dad: disrepect the Quasesbarth name and the RESTS name next time
Dad: we be done as you said
Dad: never mention the HOGAN name again
Dad: your out
Dad: and no Hogan will EVER come to your jive ass toxic zone
Dad: its a good deal for everyone
Dad: damn, Ive been down here for a year but my Mom and Bro havent shown up?
Dad: or my friends
Dad: whats up?
Dad: your out
Dad: cool runnin

4:07 PM

Dad: change your name tomorrow, younpromised me
Dad: Im liken Summer Rest
Dad: take take of him and his family
Dad: it works for me and ALL the Hogans
Dad: your out
Dad: just dont come back when your in trouble
Dad: after all, its your world
Dad: stupid imitation smart jive ass clowns

4:40 PM

So, there you have it. I almost didn’t make this post because it’s just embarrassing, but here is the proof that I TRIED. I’m not going to waste any more of my time worry about or caring about someone that treats me like shit.

Like I explained to my grandmother, my dad has gotten away with some pretty silly shit his entire life (like driving a bulldozer through the side of my grandmothers house, throwing a telephone book at my mom, accusing me of being on drugs, etc.) and has failed to apologize to ANYONE. He just waits for years to go by and hopes that people will forgive and forget. Everyone does stupid things in their life, and I’ve certainly done some stupid shit myself, but I have always apologized for being a dipshit. I don’t think that is too much to ask.

While my family spent time together in San Diego, exchanged presents and ate good food, I got to spend Christmas alone. I spent 12 hours cleaning my house, I ate two Fig Newtons and some cheese and crackers for my Christmas dinner and stared at the ceiling until I finally fell asleep.

So, how exactly did this happen? Where is my loving boyfriend? Oh, he decided on Christmas morning that he should drive to San Juan because his new surfboard landed today…and that I should stay home and clean the house because we have guests arriving today. It just so happens that Stefans best friend is flying into San Juan on Christmas (late at night) too, so after consulting with his buddies when he was out surfing, he decided that it would be selfish if he drove to San Juan to pick up his surfboard and didn’t wait the extra 10 hours to pick up his buddy.

Yes folks, that’s right, “selfish”. That is the exact word Stefan used.

So, off Stefan goes at 1pm, to make the 2 hour drive to San Juan in order to pick up his new surfboard and then wait in San Juan until Connor and Diannes flight arrives at 12am. Then, Stefan was supposed to transport Connor, Dianna and his precious new surfboard back home by 3am.

Notice that I said “supposed to”.

That’s because I awoke at 7:30am this morning, alone. No Stefan, no Connor, no Dianne and most importantly, no surfboard (yes, I’m being sarcastic). Now, what would you think if your friends were supposed to be here late last night and they are currently 5 hours late? Yep. They must be dead on the side of the road. Right? Now, normally you would just call said friends and see where the fuck they are, but shortly after Stefan drove off on his valiant mission, my cell phone ran out of batteries. And my phone charger is in the truck that he drove off to San Juan in. (That also left me alone on Christmas, with no food in the house and no phone to call my family to wish them a merry Christmas…rad.) So, I wake up frantic because my boyfriend MUST be dead because there really can’t be any other reason why he would be 5 hours late after ditching me on Christmas, I contrive a device to suck the last seconds of juice out of my cell phone and was able to retrieve the following voicemail from Stefan,

“Hey babe, it’s 1am and Connor and Diannes flight has arrived safely. Unfortunately my board is stuck in customs, so we’re going to spend the night in San Juan and hopefully we’ll be back in Rincon, surfing by noon…”

OH. So Stefan spent Christmas at an expensive hotel in the city, had an excellent Christmas dinner at some fancy restaurant, gambled at one of the casinos in San Juan and hung out with his best friend and his wife. Cool. I’m glad to hear that they are going to try and make it home soon so they can go surfing…

I don’t care what anyone says, this is elfin’ hilarious!

As much as I wanted to be all Scroogy and hate it, elfing Stefan, Kuta, Shawn and myself made me laugh…Click on the picture to see us dance!

Thanks for the tip, Michael!

Now, one thing that most people know about me is that I’m a realist. I hate drama. I love facts. I don’t like to speculate. After hearing the facts and looking at the fire map, I was 100% sure that my moms house was destroyed by the Witch Creek fire that mowed through Ramona. Where she lives is close to where it started and is dead center of so much destruction. Here are the latest maps of homes that where destroyed. The bubble is pointing to the street that my Mom and Gary live on and all the red houses shown are homes that were completely destroyed by the Witch Creek fire:

I honestly can’t believe that her house made it through and I am SO SO SO happy that it did. It was only one of a couple houses that are left standing in her community. The police gave my Mom and Gary 3 minutes to evacuate in the middle of the night. The police said that if they did not get out now, they would arrest them. They had to leave behind everything, including the horses and dogs. I still can’t believe what an amazing miracle it is that everything turned out okay for them.

I’ve been really upset all day because I was absolutely certain that my moms house, horses and dogs all got burned up by the San Diego Witch fire. See the star on the map below? That is where my mom and her husband Gary live. And the red is where the fire has already burned through:

They got evacuated last night, and there hasn’t been much info on what has been burned down. BUT, one of her friends snuck through the police barricades and visited her house. It’s still there! Apparently one of the few left standing in Rancho Santa Teresa (which is what her neighborhood in Ramona is called). And the dogs and horses are okay for the time being (my moms friend fed them all when she snuck through). So keep those positive vibes coming until this is over. The fires are nowhere near contained and the santa ana winds can switch direction with no notice at all.

The fire is traveling fast and swallowing up homes left and right. My grandparents live in Poway and I thought they evacuated earlier today, but I just found out they they havn’t. I’m going to assume they know what they are doing and try not to worry. Over 70 homes have been fully engulfed in Poway and this is not even close to being over.

From what I understand, my brothers house in Rancho Santa Fe is also in danger. They were watching the flames move over the mountain on his web cam, but the power has since gone out. Luckly his house has no exposed wood and the roof is slate (rock), so fingers crossed.

I can’t beleive this is happening again.

More info on the fires at SignonSanDiego.com and the fire update blog.

My grandma has been digging through pictures lately and gave me this one of my mom, Rita Robin Quasebarth, circa 1971:

Doesn’t my mom look like a “Rita”? Haha…maybe that’s why she went by her middle name her whole life. I’m pretty grateful that I didn’t get the last name of Quasebarth (no offense grandpa!). Don’t you have to be able to spell your name to graduate from kindergarten?! I would have been held back at least 5 years. It took me that long to really figure out the difference between a lowercase “g” and a lowercase “q”, let alone to spell Q-U-A-S-E-B-A-R-T-H correctly…

Well, looks like my brother is famous again. My mom just emailed me this scan from the August 2006 Wired Magazine:

First he’s in the New York Times and now this. Total bullshit, how am I supposed to win my parents love away from him, when he keep pulling this “famous” crap…Jerk…haha

Edit: Here’s the Shawn Hogan Wired article online.