Friday

What I Listened To Today While The Kiddies Napped

1. Poison & Wine- The Civil Wars
2. C'est la mort- The Civil Wars
3. Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue- Crystal Gayle
4. June Hymn- The Decemberists
5. Thanks For Nothing- Middle Brother
6. No One Knows My Name- Gillian Welch
7. Nightswimming- R.E.M
8. Chelsea Hotel #2- Leonard Cohen
9. He Doesn't Know Why- Fleet Foxes
10. Blue Ridge Mountains- Fleet Foxes
11. Fly- Nick Drake
12. New York City's Killin Me- Ray LaMontagne
13. Fade Into You- Mazzy Star
14. Lost In My Mind- The Head and The Heart
15. Scarlet Town- Gillian Welch
16. Die Die Die- The Avett Brothers
17. As Tall As Cliffs- Margot and the Nuclear So So's
18. Call It What You Will- Joe Purdy

Thursday

Thursday's Errands

1. Great Harvest Bread- we picked up a cinnamon swirl a honey whole wheat
2. Galleria- exchanged a pair of ripped leggings and returned a pair of too-skinny jeans at Baby Gap
3. Target- we had to return 3 items, and I needed contact solution
4. Whole Foods- we cleared out the on-sale Naked Juice case and picked up some dried organic blueberries for a recipe
5. Trader Joes- we went in for homemade pizza fixins and a few other things

Wednesday

Different Names For The Walks We Go On

1. Trash can and back
2. Around the block
3. To the fountains
4. To Beau's office
5. Busch Stadium
6. The Arch
7. The library

Tuesday

Shows I Could Probably Easily Stop Watching, But Probably Won't

1. The entire Bachelor franchise
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. CSI:NY
4. Law & Order SVU. I am not happy about Elliot leaving.
5. Real Housewives of Wherever. I think the accident knocked my tolerance for them out of my head.

Monday

Why Today Was Not So Great

1. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid being hit by someone who ran a red light and then later had to swerve out of my lane to avoid being hit by a tailgate that fell off of the truck in front of me
2. R got sick this morning at preschool-he's been feverish and whiny and tired all afternoon
3. I had to have a couple emotionally tough phone calls
4. Andy's aunt is not getting better
5. My now 3 day headache is making me feel like a crazy person
6. I got assigned to "deli meat" as what I have to bring to the first party in W's preschool class...do they not know that my baking powers are unlimited? That I can make themed snacks and elaborate fruit presentations?! That I am a vegetarian who gags when I touch deli meat?
7. I ran out of Mad Men episodes, and now I just have to wait and wait for new episodes. I shouldn't have watched all 52 episodes in one week.
8. Puddy puked three times today. Twice while I was just trying to leave the house this morning. Nevermind. Make that five. He is literally puking (twice) right now as I type this.

Sunday

Coming Up In October

1. Getting my hair cut for the first time since June
2. Andy and I are going on a kid-free trip to Los Angeles to visit our friends Mark and Kara
3. I'm going to the dermatologist
4. The annual Reinberg Bonfire in Washington
5. Halloween- I believe this year we will have a beautiful princess and a handsome prince
6. The Martin's halloween party
7. I am trying to squeeze in a Branson trip one weekend

Saturday

Today

1. I cleaned the house and Andy took the kids to the City Museum
2. Meghan McKenzie came and visited me!
3. I had a junky-for-me lunch...veggie burger with mustard and onions, cheddar SunChips, and a Coke
4. Andy and I watched this week's Biggest Loser, one of our favorites to watch together
5. Andy's been spending a lot of time at the hospital with his family because his aunt is really sick
6. The kids and I made smoothies and our favorite chocolate-banana brownies
7. R ran around the house all afternoon with his sunglasses on and his inflatable light saber saying, "I'm He-Man!" and calling Puddy Battlecat and trying to sit on him. Puddy= not amused.
8. Dinner- the kids had Gardein strips and sweet potato fries and Bolthouse Farms Green Goddess drink and I had a salad with spinach, romaine, peas, broccoli, and carrots.
9. When Andy came home, he watched He-Man with the kids
10. The kids are making pallets on the floor for a "campout" and pushing back their bedtime.
11. We are watching the Arkansas/Alabama game- not looking good.
12. I busted out my wintertime fuzzy slippers last night and will be wearing them until May.

Friday

The Unhealthy Amount of Chocolate Chips and Such In My Fridge

1. Two bags of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips
2. One bag of bittersweet Ghiradelli chocolate chips
3. One bag of Hershey's cinnamon chips
4. One partial bag of Nestle butterscotch chips
5. One bag of semi-sweet Ghiradelli chocolate chips
6. Two bags of 365 vegan chocolate chips
7. One partial bag of Nestle minis chocolate chips

Thursday

Every Hour

*this is a snapshot of what we are doing every hour, all day yesterday
1. 7:00 am- Blow-drying my hair
2. 8:00 am- Pushing R on his turtle "motorcycle"
3. 9:00 am- Driving to my friend Karin's house with R
4. 10:00 am- Karin's house
5. 11:00 am- Still at Karin's
6. Noon- Still at Karin's
7. 1:00 pm- Making lunch- cheese quesadilla and guacamole
8. 2:00 pm- Watching Mad Men and organizing my new recipe folder
9. 3:00 pm- On the phone with Missy
10. 4:00 pm- Outside on a walk down Washington Avenue with the kids and Puddy
11. 5:00 pm- The kids are "taking care of me," which includes lotion, wet washcloths, combs, brushes, Band-Aids, and barrettes
12. 6:00 pm- Making dinner for the kids-egg sandwiches and quinoa and carrots
13. 7:00 pm- Washing my face
14. 8:00 pm- Standing by the elevator waiting on Aaron
15. 9:00 pm- Rosalita's for dinner and margaritas with Aaron
16. 10:00 pm- Still at Rosalita's
17. 11:00 pm- Watching Ringer

Wednesday

Our Stay-Home Tuesday and Thursday Activities

1. Fancy breakfasts
2. Stay in pajamas way too late
3. Movie and popcorn
4. Fun lunches
5. Painting
6. Wild art time
7. Long walks with Puddy
8. Reading lots of books in bed
9. Baking
10. Walk down to get gelato or smoothies
11. Baths that are really just playing in the water- no soap
12. Painting nails
13. Put up the tent and the tunnel
14. Hi-Ho-Cherry-O

Tuesday

Things That Are Annoying Me Lately

1. People, in general
2. Things that I view as a waste of time
3. High-pitched squealing. Coming from my toddlers.
4. The high price of school photos
5. My dog keeps peeing in the hallway or the elevator
6. Headaches, that I never had before, but I guess a concussion can leave you prone to them forever
7. My inability to find a great pair of jeans
8. How slowly some people walk across the street when you motion them to from your car
9. How long it has taken Nordstrom to open at the Galleria. Now that it's just a week away after all these 4 years, the annoyance has surprisingly increased. Open already!
10. My dining room table. Always looks disgusting. With or without a tablecloth. I would throw the whole thing out the window if I knew it wouldn't hurt anyone and if I didn't have to clean up the glassy mess.
11. Finding something that was once delicious but was hidden in the fridge and now is spoiled and has to be thrown away
12. Laundry. I usually actually like to do laundry.
13. I need a night out.
14. Stepping on Brio track
15. My throat has been killing me for days. I just want to swallow properly and pain-free.
16. Bachelor Pad. Thank goodness it's over. It's good enough to watch, but somehow bad enough to not enjoy.

Monday

R's Shoes

1. Gray New Balance sneakers
2. Brown Toms
3. Black, high top Converse All-Stars
4. A pair of tough brown and green cowboy boots
5. Gray and black Western Chief rain boots

Sunday

Things I Appreciate About W's New Class

1. They sing a song during every transition, in the line, before they eat lunch, during circle time...there is nothing like having a cheerful song in your heart.
2. They are very mindful of cleanliness and sanitary practices.
3. Her two teachers dress very nicely, proving you don't have to look like a slob when dealing daily with toddlers.
4. Her teachers are the two nicest people I have ever met.
5. Parents are welcome to stay anytime they wish.
6. Her teachers think I pack good lunches.
7. There is a good mix of wild boys, spacey girls, chatty girls, leaders, followers, and quiet boys.
8. Her teachers are very respectful towards the children.

Saturday

Why I'm Thankful For My Friend Matt Mooney

1. When one of my old boyfriends broke up with me over e-mail, Matt was next to me in the computer lab (Matt was always next to me in the computer lab) and told me the guy was an idiot then took me down to the cafe and bought me a juice and a muffin to cheer me up.
2. He told me to stop wearing body glitter on my shoulders and chest sophomore year. Again, Matt, thank you for that.
3. He teaches me so much about faith and endurance and perspective long-distance via his blog.
4. He never made a move on me. All of my guy friends back then used to make a move on me. You can't save a friendship after that.
5. Any time I'm feeling blue, I can picture him doing the Chris Farley Chippendales dance, and I immediately feel better.
6. My senior year of college, when I missed him, he let me constantly drive to Fort Worth to visit him. I was lonely that year.
7. He is one of the funniest people I know, in a very smart and non-obvious way.
8. My old friend Josh Bell told me to stop wearing overalls because they looked terrible on me. When I asked if he agreed with Josh, Matt just smirk-ily nodded in agreement. (I wasn't a stylish person back then, so again, thanks Matt.)
9. His house was my second home in college, even though his roommate creeped me out.
10. You never get away with anything with him.
11. He is a very non-fussy, easy, and faithful friend.

Thursday

What I'm Loving Lately

1. Nature's Path organic "Love Crunch" granola. So good plain, with almond milk, over ice cream...
2. Reading poetry to the kids
3. I've been listening to, almost exclusively, Summer of Love/Monterey Pop hippie music
4. My new boots
5. Making W's school lunches
6. R is starting to talk!
7. A center part in my hair
8. My newly configured laundry room
9. Little new, red potatoes
11. This video. Don't you just love bluegrass, or is that just me? The majesty doesn't start until 2:40, so skip to that time.
12. Buttered, whole grain toast with hulled hemp seeds. My new favorite snack.
13. If I get the guts to dye, this hair color. Clearly I won't look as hot as she.
14. Yang Yang's art. I met with him at the art fair last weekend, and he was a sweet and gracious man. His art is beautiful, and for me- somewhat reminiscent of Chagall.

Wednesday

Little Quotes I Put On W's Boards I Made For Her

1. Feel the wind blow our wandering hearts like a feather (from the David Gray song, Shine)
2. Art does not reproduce what is visible, it makes visible (my favorite quote from my favorite artist, Paul Klee)
3. Don't you fear, when you dream, waking up is never what it seems (a lyric from Say Goodnight by Beth Nielsen Chapman)
4. April brings the primrose sweet, scatters daisies at our feet (a line from The Months, a poem by Sara Coleridge in honor of her birth month)
5. The glory of this imperfection (from David Gray's New Horizons)
6. Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life (a Pablo Picasso quote)
7. Nature's first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold (a line from the Robert Frost poem Nothing Gold Can Stay)
8. Hath won my affection and bound my soul fast (a lyric from Thy Mercy from Caedmon's Call)
9. We were born before the wind (the first line from Into the Mystic, by Van Morrison)
10. He determines the number of stars and calls them each by name (Psalm 147:4)
11. Turn around and say good morning to the night (Elton John lyric from Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters)
12. May the sun shine warm upon your face (a line from an old Irish/Gaelic blessing)

Tuesday

Today's Menu

1. Carrot cake Clif bar, orange juice
2. Wrap with black beans, spinach, sweet potato, kale, and salsa, carrot sticks, water
3. I am currently eating a slice of raspberry blackberry pie my parents picked up from the Kirkwood Farmer's Market
4. Quesadillas and guacamole for dinner tonight
5. I will probably eat another slice of pie for later night dessert

Monday

Numbers-Art Fair Edition

1. 7-greeter stations
2. 2-information booths
3. 29-hours I spent working at the art fair this weekend
4. 10- roasted corn, sweet potato, black bean empanadas I ate at the Commerce Bank welcome party Friday night
5. 3- times I rode in a police vehicle with lights and/or sirens going
6. 2- old ladies I gave rides in the golf cart to their car
7. 4- new t-shirts I have, despite the fact that I rarely wear t-shirts
8. 3300- dollars the painting cost that I fell in love with
9. 6- young, emerging artists who showed their work at the fair
10. 4- metal animal hooks I bought
11. 208- artists this year
12. 18- restaurants at the fair
13. 5- Dr. Pepper's I drank over the weekend
14. 1- water I drank over the weekend
15. 5- different crafts W and R did in the Creative Castle kids area
16. 1- golf cart flat tire
17. 6- times one of my old man volunteers tried to kiss me
18. 3-times I went to the bathroom on Saturday. Only 3 times all day!
19. 4- really rude people I had to encounter
20. 37- art fairs a man told me he went to with his wife, and she still won't even go to one Rams game with him. Good luck with that, buddy.

Sunday

What's Hurting Right Now

1. My forearms
2. My calves
3. My eyes
4. My knees
5. My shoulders
6. My lower back

Saturday

R's Favorite Things To Watch On TV

1. Clifford the Big Red Dog
2. Clifford's Puppy Days
3. Sesame Street
4. Dinosaur Train
5. Finding Nemo
6. Lady and the Tramp- Scamp's Adventure
7. Spirit
8. He-Man

Friday

Why Yesterday Made Me Proud Of Myself

1. Accomplished my entire to-do list from yesterday, except for grocery shopping, but that was a bad Thursday activity, so I'm saving it for when I have at least just one child with me.
2. I baked blueberry bread.
3. I organized our endless stock of art supplies.
4. Our laundry room looks phenomenal and I now have a great place for said art supplies.
5. I e-mailed all of my art fair volunteers.
6. W's closet looks beautiful as well, and I now have a place to rotate small toys out (beading strings, puzzles, paper dolls, blocks, etc)
7. My husband is taking a huge pile to Goodwill today.
8. W made picture frames for her Arkansas family.
9. I took the kids to Forest Park for a Member's Picnic and we had a great time.
10. The kids and I took Puddy on two long walks.
11. I did these last two lists all by myself with two kids with me all day because A was gone from 8AM-midnight.

Thursday

Today's To-Do List

1. Put away the kids summer clothes
2. Make a list of what clothes the kids need for fall
3. Clean out the laundry room
4. Grocery shop for the weekend
5. Organize pantry cabinet
6. Clean the house
7. Do laundry

Wednesday

Pinterest Pet Peeves

1. Crafting with paint samples
2. Furniture made from pallets
3. Those mummy dogs- made from hot dogs or viennie wienies and crescent rolls- that just won't seem to go away
4. When someone, instead of repinning one of your original pins, goes to the website and pins it themselves also
5. When the pin's description ends with "GENIUS!" or "Why didn't I think of this?!"
6. While most people think it's a great go-to spot for teacher gifts, I think the opposite. I think teachers don't want your homemade crafts. You might think, "but they did love it!" Well, I was a teacher, and I pretended to like a lot of things, too. At least attach a gift card or something. My favorite gifts were thoughtful letters/notes and a gift card.
7. Maybe #6 has roots in this other pet peeve of mine...crafts that have cheesy taglines, like a bag of Rolos (I mean, your teacher served your family for an entire school year for little pay- give her something nicer than a bag of Rolos!) with a tag that says--YOU ROLO-VER THE REST!
8. I should stop now before I continue to offend people

Tuesday

Spotify Today

1. Pearl Jam live
2. Hem
3. Adele
4. David Bazan
5. Margot and the Nuclear So-So's
6. Buffalo Springfield
7. The Mamas and The Papas
8. Ricky Skaggs

Monday

This Morning's Dunkin Donuts Order

1. Coconut for me
2. Apple & Spice for me
3. Chocolate iced with sprinkles for R
4. Butternut for Andy
5. Chocolate glazed for Andy
6. Pink iced for W

Sunday

My Dream Show

1. Emmylou Harris
2. Alison Krauss
3. Gillian Welch
4. Dolly Parton
5. Joni Mitchell
6. Patty Griffin
7. Indigo Girls
8. Lucinda Williams


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saturday

Today

1. Well, I fell asleep last night at about 8:30, and slept until 8:30, so I woke up with 12 hours of sleep under my belt.
2. Andy was gone all morning on a 51 mile ride
3. I showered and cleaned the house
4. My great friend Jaimie and her daughter Brooke came over and visited with us
5. I am currently on the Internet and eating leftover California Pizza Kitchen (Yesterday was a hard day, and my sweet husband took the kids and I shopping and out to dinner last night because I needed it)
6. Nap time for everyone
7. Tonight the kids are spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa, and we are going out to eat and to GILLIAN WELCH with the Langs. Not too shabby.

Friday

My Must-Haves For Fall

1. Short boots (Somewhere between cowboy boots, those old "half-boots" that were popular in the late 80s/early 90s, and my dad's steel-toed work boots. I'll know them when I see them)
2. A gold belt
3. A couple new plaid button-ups
4. Patterned tights
5. Long-sleeved tissue tees
6. Striped henley, boyfriend-fit
7. A cardigan with some bones and structure. Not like all of the wrap-around, loose ones I always lean towards
8. A knit poncho
9. Aaron got the cutest black dress this week, and it inspired me to get a perfect black dress
10. I have this mental image of the perfect pair of jeans, I've yet to find them, though
11. A statement collar necklace
12. A chiffon bow blouse. I love this one.
13. Opaque black tights and navy tights and gray tights. I love tights.
14. Military-inspired jacket
15. A long, airy, pleated skirt
16. this

Thursday

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

*this list was taken from the episodes of the Food Network show The Best Thing I Ever Ate
1. Totally Fried- Fried artichoke tapas plate at One 19 North in Kirwood, MO
2. Pizza- Patsy's Pizza in New York City
3. Wake Up Call- Sweet potato pancakes in Nashville, TN at Pancake Pantry
4. Between Bread- the avocado/sprouts pita from Karyn's Green in Chicago
5. With My Hands- Hush Puppies from Oceanic in Wrightsville Beach, NC
6. Hometown Favorites- Stoby's cheese dip in Conway, AR
7. Cheesy- Cavatelli al Forno from Rosebud on Rush in Chicago
8. Chocolate- the Chocolate Mess at Marketplace in Conway, AR
9. Guilty Pleasures- cinnamon rolls from the bakery at Silver Dollar City
10. Chilled Perfection- house margarita at Rosalita's Cantina in downtown St. Louis
11. Simply Irresistible- the fried pickles at Fitz's in U City, MO
12. Sweet Tooth- can I say my sister's vegan chocolate pie with strawberries? I think so.
13. Appetizers- Spinach and artichoke ravioli at McGurk's in St. Louis
14. In a Bowl- the tomato garlic soup at Almond's in Clayton, MO
15. Hidden Treasures- Coconut cream pie at the Blue Owl Bakery in Kimmswick, MO
16. With Fruit- Candied Walnut & Grape Salad from Dewey's Pizza in St. Louis
17. Best I Ever Drank- A goji berry & acai slushie from Karyn's Raw in Chicago
18. Bang for the Buck- vegetarian dinner #1 at El Maguey in St. Louis, with the white cheese dip all over the top.
19. At a Deli- the egg salad sandwich at Burger Heaven in New York City
20. Under Wraps- the old Weedwacker wrap they sold at Wild Oats in Little Rock
21. Cake Walk- strawberry cake from Stoby's in Conway, AR
22. With Chopsticks- Buddha's Feast with brown rice from PF Changs, anywhere
23. On a Stick- Tofu on a stick at Terrene in St. Louis
24. Ice Creamy- Peach ice cream in a sugar cone at Kilwin's in Asheville, NC
25. Childhood Favorites- chocolate milkshake from Jane & Ed's in Crane, MO (long gone)
26. All American- veggie burger and fries and a root beer from Fitz's in U City, MO
27. New Orleans- Snowballs. They put every other sno-cone in a state of shame. So good, and you can only get them in New Orleans. Don't be fooled by sno-cone shacks that claim to be New-Orleans style. They aren't.