GPOYW

We are sharing a "cardamom and ginger shake", so I will give you only 1 guess where I am in this photo.  But, seriously people, look at how he has his hand over mine...I mean, are you kidding me with this kid?  I am so in love!

GPOYW

Last night, My Beloved was asking if there was anything special I wanted for my birthday.  I asked if we could celebrate it like it was any other year.  And then I dreamt he'd surprised me with a 3-day weekend to Playa del Carmen.

My subconscious knows how to live.

May 2006
Bonefishing (on spinners for cryin' out loud!) in Boca Paila

Kissing Summer Good-Bye

For the duration of this Labor Day weekend, I will be reading smutty novels and eating only beer and ice cream.

If I feel inspired, I may take a shower.

All are welcome to this party.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

GPOYW

For my 16th anniversary, My Beloved* gave me 16MB of memories

in the shape of R2D2 and C3PO.

*He so gets me.

GPOYW

Me and two of my aunts

The one on the left sent me Christmas presents every year until I turned 16, including my favorite pair of gold stud hearts, even though I am one of >20-some nieces and nephews. The one on the right took care of my dying aunt and her family.  Then, she won the lottery.  (I heart karma.)

Seriously, people would pay good money for the kind of family I have!

GPOYW

Crazy faces on the merry-go-round!

GPOYT

Before

After

I came in well under 25", which was my goal, so yeah me!

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Ok, so I'm off by a day.  Here's why:

Biggest day of my career so far!

(NB: There were two other presenters, but I didn't take a picture of their names in order to preserve the innocent :)

Elliot

 From this...

...to this, in less than 4 years.

I'm so excited, too, my friend!

GPOYW

Me, Rasnoses, and Rocket bonding over picture books about cold, forlorn wildernesses.

I Dare You Not To Guffaw Aloud

Thank goodness for Mimi Smartypants, who led me here.  Tonight I chose her over wine to help me relax before bed.  It was a good choice.

What is so awesome about this series (and, please, scroll down the page to see all the magnificence) is how well she captures the fraught expressions.  This woman knows humor and her Flemish masters, too!

Halfway

Saturday marked the half-way point in my Master's program.  The last two weeks have been a bit brutal with way to many rolling deliverable deadlines at work plus, for school, one 2hr final, a group presentation, and two 6-page papers all due this weekend.

Honestly?  I totally phoned it in this block. (<-we call them blocks in this program as opposed to semesters or quarters).  I did none of the readings, sat in the back, and only spoke up enough to get the full 10% credit for class participation.  In spite of this approach, it was still a grueling grind to get to yesterday.

To charge my batteries, I shopped in the Italian market and bought some sausage, fresh pasta, and two kinds of chai, came home, borrowed the neighbor's dog for 20" of fur therapy, ran 3 loads of laundry, got caught up on 30 Rock and Parks & Rec, and fell asleep on the couch at 8:30pm reading a trashy novel.  Today, I slept in until 10am (10!  whoot!), did my exercise tape, cleaned out my closest and bureaus to switch over to summer clothes, cleaned the bedroom and the bathroom, and bought tons of starts from the local home store.

Now, I'm writing this insanely boring blog post and next I'm going to see if I can find the ukulele sheet music for the theme from Bob's Burgers.

Seriously?  My life is so unbelievably perfect right now.  /sigh

photo credit

GPOYW

Dogsitting 

Sad City

We saw these horses at the Philadelphia Art Museum.  They looked trapped in these boxes, threatened by the machinery around time, like they are straining to get free.  The "caution" tape only adds to the drama.

Star Magnolia blossoms.  Like the tree is so happy to be in springtime that it put out these little pompoms to wave with joy.

GPOYW

Ah, Spring!

Like a Warm Hug

The neighbors down the street got a new puppy.  Toby is a blond golden retriever with black sloe eyes and a waggy butt.  He's 3mos old and easily on his way to 80lbs. I want to carry him in my pocket all day long.

When we were in Charleston, SC (and not Savannah, GA) we saw a woman standing the storefront of an ice cream shop eating her dessert.  She had all the appearance of someone who had been kicked out of the restaurant, which is, I think, what drew my attention.  But then, I noticed she had a brand spanking new black lab puppy at the end of a leash.  Like a moth to a flame, I crossed the street and asked her if I could meet him.  He let me love on him and then plopped back down onto the cool tiles.

Meeting a friendly dog is like a warm hug.

GPOYM

Twin #2, like me, hates turkey.  

So, for Thanksgiving, we both got our dinner out of a bottle, instead.

GPOYW

I heart FaceTime.

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Me and Dr. Robert Sharrar, co-worker/friend/mentor at Drexel MPH invocation

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Me and two kewpie dolls 

Last game of the season for Camden Riversharks