the crumber

i took the kids and bill to eddie v's for his birthday. it is always so fun to indulge the kids (and bill for that matter).....
food and service that are both just delicious. manthie and i took bill last year, and at one point she said, "it isn't as fancy as it was last year." i realized this was because the waiter had not yet come by between courses with the "crumber."
well, thank god, he did finally come by and all was well and right in the world. and to top it off, manthie has her very own crumber now.

link to hello kitty has no mouth

this is not only hilarious but also well written....

gotta love fiona and hello kitty...and my sister for being such a good mommy.

HELLO KITTY HAS NO MOUTH

good old fashioned swimming hole

yesterday afternoon i sat grinning from ear to ear. for bill's birthday, we took the kids to cypress valley canopy tours and for an over night stay in the tree house there called the lofthaven. we arrived and did a zip line canopy tour through the cypress trees along the creek. this place has a low impact footprint and runs entirely from on-site solar, water, and wind provided energy. in our world of work, tv, computers blah blah blah, it was nice to unplug and get back to adventure and nature.
in the pic you can see the lake behind this platform we are on. well, here is where the ginning came in. since we were overnight guests and there is only ONE treehouse, we were all alone. (the owners live on site but we didn't see them at all after the businenss closed down for the day). the kids wanted to take an evening swim, so we went down to the swimming hole. they had a zip line in to water, and a rope swing. simple swimming fun. no floaties, no diving toys, no fancy suits...just good old fashioned fun at the swimming hole with our family.

if you haven't allowed yourself to get away from the hustle and bustle...go find a swimming hole, get down to your skivvies and swim a while. rope swing from a tree = added bonus.

....through the air with the greatest of ease

i took flying lessons this morning. this was one of the all-time best experiences i've had. four years instructing on high ropes courses had nothing on this. maybe it is because i'm older now, my body doesn't feel as athletic, or this simply takes more effort....but i can't wait to do this again (...already trying to figure out how I can go again before they leave town)...

more pics....

Hill Country Ride for AIDS.....I made it!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE FOR THE 2008 RIDE

We did it!~ Thanks for your help~!

I know there were some nay-sayers, but, YES, against all odds, I finished all 50 miles of the 2007 Hill Country Ride for Aids....and even better...my heart was changed and touched in a significant way last Saturday.

Factors that put the odds in favor of my failure:

• Previous bike injuries and accidents: 2 with one resulting in 900 stitches in the face and a broken jaw.



• My bike is NOT a road bike, but is a mountain bike.



• Said bike was unloaded from the truck and actually had cobwebs on the spokes.



• Said bike was unloaded from the truck and once pushed a few feet, made a terrible squealing sound.



• After taking bike to "tune-up station" --it was determined that both the extreme high end and low end of my gears were not functioning and could not be repaired.

NONE of this deterred me, nor discouraged me. I was there to have fun, raise money and ride, baby! RIDE!

Thanks so much for your financial support of the ride, and for your encouragement. Below are a few of the things I learned on my ride:

• Wildflowers are so much prettier up close. Whizzing by in a car you miss so much. Looking just a few feet ahead and focusing on the beauty close by makes challenging hills much more do-able. Just like life, goals are good, but don't loose sight of the power of the small steps in between.



• Bill and I rode the whole way--together. When doing something challenging, it is good to have support and encouragement. He is a much stronger rider, but staying with me was more fun for both of us. I never felt alone, and I always felt encouraged.



• 2 specific times, half way up challenging hills, an unknown voice spoke out "YOU CAN DO IT" at just the moment I might have given up. I'm not sure who that woman was, but her words kept me on the bike. Don't be afraid to let others help you....even strangers.



• It is GOOD to push your body and mind beyond, way beyond, their comfort zones. We all really are stronger than we think. So much of our weakness is really only in the mind.



• Lastly, it was good to be outside myself and to be a part of such a loving and supportive community. There is no judgment, only LOVE, as David Smith, the director of the ride says, "Loved, exactly for who you are."

LOVED EXACTLY FOR WHO YOU ARE.
Thanks again for helping me raise funds.

So far, the ride has raised $529k with a goal of $500k! All of the funds going to 9 different Aids organizations here in the Austin area.

I can't wait to do it again next year..... :)

reading up

love to read up on the blog and see where i have been. It has been a great year. just celebrated one year of flan, one year of love, one year of dogs, one year of lots of good things. good stuff. a nice fit. about to be threefive. hmm. not bad.

on another note. LOST is back at a new time 10/9 central.

peace --oh and the dogs say hello

i'm craving this......

 

trouble

i came home to this little one half dressed in a grocery bag. hmmm....wonder what she has been up to.

 

more

these are yummy too. love to go dancin' and this was from a few weeks ago when we went for the first time in a while.... 

yummy

my goodness, he is yummy 

noah and fiona

Ok....who has the cutest nieces and nephews :)

i've been BOO'd

I've been boo'd. Welcome to the suburbs. Bill and I are in our new house in the suburbs (don't tell anyone i really like it and am thinking of selling the house in town).

anyway, the other night the doorbell rang and when we went to get it, there was a package at the door. People are so nice here. Where i come from, if you did a ding-dong-ditch, and left something at the door--it was a bag of poo on fire. Well, apparently in the suburbs they do this cutesy thing where you leave a goodie bag on the porch and you are supposed to do the same for 2 more neighbors on the block. All secretly and all little prizes at the door.

Bill had been BOO'd before in other neighborhoods--and sure enough, i've seen the little "I've been BOO'd signs out and about on people's doors--in my neighborhood and others around Cedar Park.

And to think, in tarrytown, where I grew up, we just ding-dong-ditched. As they say in real estate location, location, location.

:)

my thought for the day

inside all of us, especially us women, is this creature that we have always been. somewhere along the way and in life, especially in the context of relationships, we lose the shape and form of that being. our boundaries become translucent. we need to keep remembering who we are and hold on to that. not that we can't change or evolve, but we must not lose that core of who we are....THAT is what begins us as beautiful.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1) - Cite This Source
lose  /luz/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[looz] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation verb, lost, los‧ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to come to be without (something in one's possession or care), through accident, theft, etc., so that there is little or no prospect of recovery:
2. to fail inadvertently to retain (something) in such a way that it cannot be immediately recovered:
3. to suffer the deprivation of: to lose one's job; to lose one's life.

afternoon nap at petco

hey check this out.
even hamsters spoon with the one they love. good stuff, eh. (i actually took this photo in person...no web poaching of photos here).

only in austin

this man was lounging with the rest of us who were playing hookey at Barton Springs Pool here in Austin last friday. nice.