pjs

man i love pjs. if i'm not in public, it's a pretty safe bet that i'm in my pjs. they're just...better than real clothes.

lazy saturdays

slept in, played with kitties, got a massage, played with kitties, took a nap, played with kitties, ate too much mexican food, played with kitties...

happy birthday, amanda!

progress

progress

the two kitties are making excellent progress... they're not cuddling yet, but they can at least be in the same room without someone (scoop) hissing and getting all poofy. meanwhile, the little one (whom we've been calling gumbo) is a ball of crazy kitten energy. he wants to play with everyone and everything at all times. it's exhausting!

it's good to be home

that's pretty much it. i had an amazing time in austin - shopping, eating, drinking (ahem), and spending time with friends - but it's good to be home. :)

austin

austin is one one of the coolest towns in texas... it's a college town, full of hippies and live music and good food and some of my best friends. i'm in austin right now, on a shopping trip for work, feeling like a lucky girl... but missing my hubby and our kitties. love you guys!

the first day of school

i'm not in school anymore - and i'm fine with that, believe me - but i always loved the first day of school. armed with my best new outfit from back-to-school shopping and a brand new binder and fresh pens and pencils, i would head into school with a strange combination of anxiety and excitement. new schedule, new books, new teachers, new possibilities, and new adventures. what's not to love?

happy first day of school!

macaroni grill

has the best bread. ever. hands down.

a new addition to our family

as of 9:30 this morning, our little scoop has a baby brother!

he was a stray that was living in the apartment complex of a woman at my office. some of her friends were fostering him but could only care for him until this weekend. she talked to me about him forever and showed me pictures and videos and i just couldn't resist! we've been thinking about finding a baby brother or sister for scoop for a really long time.

you can't really tell from the picture, but he's the tiniest and scrawniest little guy in the whole world! he's about 6-8 weeks old, and he has the biggest paws and ears you've ever seen. there is a little chunk missing from one of his giant ears, which makes him look kind of like a little bat.

i want to call him batman, but i'm open to suggestions. alan and i have never been able to name a pet on the first day.

i will admit, so far scoop is not a big batman fan. i think he's a little freaked out about this tiny little intruder in his house, but i'm sure that in time scoop and batman will become the best of friends!

send me on my way

i would like to reach out my hand

i may see you, i may tell you to run

you know what they say about the young

well pick me up with golden hands

oh may see you, oh may tell you to run

you know what they say about the young

well i would like to hold my little, hand

i will run I will. i will cry i will.

i would like to hold my little, hand.
i will run I will. i will cry.

send me on my way, send me on my way

send me on my way...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDdokE1rAMw

board games

yes, i am a big nerd and yes, i LOVE board games*.

candy land, chutes and ladders, guess who, connect four, sorry, monopoly, jenga (remember jenga?), chinese checkers, trivial pursuit, sweet valley high (yeah that's right), dominos, uno, clue junior (i never got into clue for grownups), scrabble, taboo, balderdash, yahtzee, cranium (perhaps the best game ever), catch phrase, pictionary - i love them all!

...except for risk... i don't get that one.

*and other social games usually played at a table with friends and/or family

new contacts day

new contacts day is one of the very best days... when you put in a brand new pair of contacts and you can't even tell you have anything in your eyes; and you can see everything - even the tiniest details - with crystal clarity... it makes you thankful for the power of eyesight, for the man who invented corrective lenses, and, of course, for new contacts day!

new job sushi II

i just got back from a fantabulous evening of sushi and wine with my girls to celebrate my friend's new teaching job...

girl talk + devil rolls + wine smuggling + new apartments = happiness!

corn on the cob

few foods are as fun to eat as corn on the cob. it's like a billion times more fun than corn off the cob, for sure. and way more fun than broccoli or spinach.

pancakes

this morning, for the very first time in my whole life ever, i made pancakes (from scratch!) for breakfast. we were up late last night and we slept in pretty late this morning, and pancakes just seemed appropriate. they were vegan (and delicious, if i do say so myself) and they were the perfect excuse to use the maple syrup that my parents brought us back from their recent trip to vermont.

fresh flowers

it's so nice to have fresh flowers in the house - it just brightens up the whole place and makes it feel so happy!

team usa

i love the olympics!

i love the fact that for seventeen days, people from a million different ethnic and cultural backgrounds can put aside their differences and come together for an absolutely awe-inspiring series of events.

i love the overwhelming sense of pride and patriotism that i get when i watch all of those incredible athletes - they have such amazing strength, talent, determination, and discipline. i'm so proud and happy for all of them.

sand castles

you just don't go to the beach and not build a sand castle. i've got no skills, but it's really just the most fun ever... i'm sure it has something to do with being ridiculously immature.

just for fun, some sweet sand castle-building tips can be found here...although admittedly i will probably never spend $35 on any sort of super deluxe sand kit thingy.

the details

scoop has a tiny little patch of fur on his right front paw that is white. he doesn't usually hold still long enough for anyone to actually be able to see it, but man is it cute. and it's a tiny little secret that only a very few people know about.

driving home

on my way home from work today, the sun was low in the sky and shining brilliantly as the clouds from yesterday's rain slowly dissolved; i hit every single green light and hummed along to sweet melissa...

evite

i have to say that i think evite is one of the niftiest inventions of all time. it's so easy and you can invite as many people as you want to any kind of party you want and it doesn't kill any trees and your friends can rsvp right away and there are a ton of supercute designs or you can design your own!

the impressionists

alan and i went to the kimbell in fort worth today to see the impressionists exhibit. it was a pretty amazing collection of some of the most famous (and beautiful) paintings by monet, manet, degas, cezanne, pisarro, renoir... mostly it just really made us want to go back to paris though. *sigh*

cat surgery

not really.

this morning our cat tried to eat something that wasn't food (not unusual) and got it stuck in an uncomfortable place in his mouth. he spent several minutes making weird faces and trying to get it out but it wasn't working. alan and i had no idea what was going on and so we had to hold our poor cat down and pry his little mouth open (which he of course hated) and try to figure out what was stuck and where. we finally found the culprit (a piece of fake christmas wreath in alan's closet) and managed to get it out of scoop's teeth. tweezers were involved. and it wasn't pretty. but scoop is all better, and that's all that matters.

happy birthday, sara!

102 things to be thankful for

i like to hear about other people who live their lives with an attitude of gratitude... so when i found this little article by craig jones i decided i would share:

"life in the fast lane. that's how many of us live. we are so busy that we don't take the time to reflect on the good things we have. sure life is tough but there is a lot to be thankful for. remember those things. reflect on those things. here are a few to get you started.
a beautiful song
a comfortable chair
a cool breeze
a drink of cool water
a full moon
a gentle rain
a glass of cold milk
a good book to read
a good coat
a good husband
a good pillow
a good wife
a scenic drive
air conditioning
banana splits
beaches in the morning
beautiful women
birds singing
blue jeans
brothers
butterflies
butterfly kisses
ceiling fans
children laughing
christmas morning
clothes that fit well
comfortable shoes
compliments
computers that work
cooing babies
creme brule
dark chocolate
dishwashers
diversity
dried pineapple slices
fairness
crackling fire in a fireplace
flowers
freedom of religion
freedom of speech
fresh ideas
friendly dogs
good conversation
good eyesight
good friends
good health
good movies
good teachers
good tires
grace
grandchildren
grandma
grandpa
hair spray
high-speed internet access
holding hands
homemade ice cream
honest people
hugs
ice cubes
indoor plumbing
kind men
kittens
laughter
live christmas trees
morning coffee
parking spaces near the front
peanut butter
plenty of closet space
polyester
polite drivers
porch swings
pregnant women
puppies
quiet mornings
rainbows
remote controls
roasted peanuts
shade trees
silk pajamas
sisters
smiles
snow covered mountains
snowflakes
soft toilet paper
sunrises
sunsets
thanksgiving dinner
that i wasn't in the obituaries today
the color of autumn leaves
the ocean
the smell of a sunday roast cooking
the smell of homemade bread
the words "I love you"
tire swings
true friends
uninterrupted dinners
warm kisses
warm showers
whipped cream
white puffy clouds
wrinkle-free clothes"

the return of the (not-so-)killer tomatoes

i'm pretty excited that we're all allowed to eat tomatoes again. i don't love them as much as most people, but they sure do taste good on a portobello burger, and i know that alan was missing them pretty bad.

andes mints

i could eat a hundred of them. all at one time. they're that good.

vacation

alan and i are going to new orleans, our very most favoritest city in the whole wide world (or at least in this country)... our trip isn't planned for another month, but we're both so excited about it already! new orleans is our city, the city where we fell in love - we went there three times in our first year together, and we haven't been back in four years. i can't wait to walk down bourbon street and hear the crazy mixture of a hundred different zydeco and jazz songs coming from every single shop... stroll around jackson square and have coffee and beignets on the patio at cafe du monde... order a hand grenade from tropical isle and say hi to steve the bartender (probably doesn't work there anymore, actually)... visit the otters at the aquarium and savor the spicy mediterranean flavors of cajun and creole cooking... laissez les bons temps roulez!

the dollar theater

alan and i went to our local dollar theater this weekend to temporarily escape reality (and the 107-degree heat), and we finally saw iron man (for two dollars! wow!). anyway, i know everyone already knows this by now, but that movie was really good! yay iron man!

a good day for football

a couple of things:

1. former redskins wide receiver art monk and former redskins cornerback darrell green were officially inducted into the pro football hall of fame this weekend. there were so many redskins fans at the ceremony that the mayor of canton proclaimed it "redskins day" at the hall of fame.

2. the redskins and the colts are kicking off the 2008 (pre)season tonight in canton in the hall of fame game. i can't believe football season is back already - it seems like last season just ended.

i can't wait!

update 8/4: the redskins won their first preseason game 30-16 over the colts!

back flips

alan and i went down to the pool this morning after our walk, and it was just lovely. there was no one else there, and the water temperature was perfect. i did all of the handstands and flips that i always loved doing as a kid at the pool when i used to pretend/believe i was a mermaid... meanwhile alan pretended not to be jealous of my amazing talents. i couldn't have asked for a happier or more peaceful saturday morning.

my honey is home

alan had to go out of town for work again this week, this time for four nights. it was pretty rough - i'm just no good at being without him. but i'm happy to report that he made it home safe and sound this afternoon, just in time for us to lock ourselves up in the apartment and cuddle on the couch all night!