no.

snow!

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

say what?

who: taylor and sister no.2

said what:
taylor: "you can't spell family without lies!'

sister no. 1: "you mean families."

taylor: "oh. right!"

in reagrds to: the lovely family time around the holidays.

thanks.

some photos from my thanksgiving day at sister no. 1's country cabins.

i started with one...

miss. madison


then the other boots wanted to join in.


those faces...

he is such a ham!







the wainwrights and the rhorers.


she was stealing sips of my soda when she thought i wasn't paying attention.


my favorite days are when she acknowledges that i'm her ge-ge and she loves on me. this day was one of those days.


forcing calan to hangout with me and madi on the hammocks.





total action shot. i was trying to take a picture of the grown one but as always, the little ones stole the show.


but here's his show stopper.


sister no. 1 with her baby no.3

bunny.

Happy B-day, Besty

she's 21 and enjoying every minute of it!
hope this is one of the best birthdays ever, Tobi!
Happy, Happy Birthday!

oh bill...

all the things i want...

by luxedeluxe

ooooh... it's so pretty!

all the things i buy...

for one of the first times ever... function won over form with me! i extend my workspace with an extra display i had laying around because working on a 13 inch screen can be a bit constructing. i had been eying the wireless mac keyboard for sometime but it lacked the 10-key i so frequently find myself needing. i opted for the wired chiclet-like keyboard for two reasons... 1. it was less expensive and 2. i got more keys for my change. though i would have loved it's wireless counterpart, i'm happy with my choice.

countdown.

i'm counting down the minutes!

7 miles on 30 minutes.

This is gonna take a while!

ike.

the city of league will soon be under mandatory evacuation so i'm outta here. hopefully it won't take me 6 hours to make it the atx.

circe 1954.

if, and that is a BIG if, i attend my high school reunion, there are two separate occasions and i may just wear this little get up to cocktail hour. it's all about the skirt! when it is all on, it looks a little housewifey circa 1954.

all the things i want...

Stork Scissors

all the things i want...

it is a classic!

cupcakes.

okay, okay.... so i have jumped on the cupcake craze! i know, i'm a little behind but it's frickin' cupcakes... it's not like it's a new discovery or something. i picked up this cookbook at WS about two weeks ago and while i don't exactly need recipes for cakes in cups, i was interested in the clever combos they had come with from rocky road to jumbo malted chocolate chip cupcakes.

for labor day, the roberts had a little get together and i made tiramisu mini cupcakes.... not be best attempt but hey! it gives room for improvement!

my first faux pas was the mini idea. there is alot going on with this cupcake so i think you need a lot of cake to make it work.

my next uh-oh was that i used silicon liners. while they are amazing, i needed a paper liner for this sweet treat. you are suppose to inject the cupcake with a liquor/coffee mixture and with no liner on the cup, the cake doesn't hold as much as it should.

my last oh-no was the frosting or lack there of.... i'm not sure if the marscapone mixture was suppose to be a glaze or a frosting.(btw 'cupcakes', that is what's in your freezer in the throw away container. dispose of it as you wish.) there are no egg whites in the recipe so i'm guessing a glaze. and i'm not liking that so much so i think i'm going to fluff it up some way.

i'm going to attempt another batch but make them full size and go about the drenching and frosting a liiiiitle bit differently. and maybe add a something to kick it up. stay turned for how they turn out.... i know you are all holding your breath in anticipation.

all the things i buy...

talk about impulse buy... i love it so much but i'm not quite sure if the colors work on me. i'm holding on to it for a few more days hoping to find some great shoes to make it come together.

I <3 u..

But why are you so slow in the lc?! AND out of coke?! I mean...

nie nie

by blue lily

i came across stephanie nielsons blog about two weeks ago when another blogger posted about a horrible accident that had occurred August 16th, 2008. for the next few hours i was completely engaged in the nie nie dialogues. i was consumed by how much this young woman was madly in love with her husband. emotions ran over me as it pulled up wonderful memories and horrible heartbreak that i feel for my sbj. not only is she a loving wife but a dotting mother of 4... at 27! simply amazing. i think that is why she has captivated me and thousands more. her simplicity.

since i have become of aware the nielsons, i lay awake at night thinking of them and their family and what they must be going through. and i wake up wondering how they are coping and what changes have occurred. i pray that the family is not bestowed with the job of grieving, knowing the toll that it will take on the family is weighing heavily on my heart. i pray one day they will be able to rejoice when stephanie and her husband, christian, can join the family that adores them to the ends of the earth.

since the accident, stephanie and her husband are both in a burn unit in mesa, az. while their children are being taken care of by a wonderful community of siblings who reside in utah. i encourage you to read stephanie's story and then read what a wonderful and amazing job her family is doing from her sister's, jane, point of view.

since the accident, the family has been bombarded with a huge amount of love from their local community and to much of their surprise, the blogging community. efforts are being pulled together to support this gracious family in their time of need. i encourage you to read about all of it. and maybe you too will feel what i felt and send your support as well.

it's inspiring to see what people will do. INSPIRING.

a boy and my dog.

not only do i love nephew no. 2 because he has an old soul and a simple disposition but because he embraces my boys when everyone else pushes them aside. thanks dawson. xoxo