Blackberry Shmackberry

Last night was originally going to be our Book Club gathering to discuss Sarah's Quilt, but since Jana can't find a copy of the book and because Jenn and I were nowhere near finishing (this is unusual) we decided just to get together to talk. Apparently that's what we needed to do because we had no trouble filling the 4 hours of time we spent together! As I drove home last night, I thought of several things we didn't even have time to cover. Wow.



Collette got these very tasty cookies from a new place in American Fork called Smart Cookie. She thoughtfully (and humorously) labeled the chocolate mint cookie "Not for Jana" because Jana s mint.


This is a shot of my plate of goodness. We had spinach dip and french bread, wheat thins with cream cheese and chipotle, french fries and fry sauce from JCW's (my contribution), the best berry mix salad ever (strawberries, black berries, blue berries and raspberries), plus the fabulous cookies from Collette. It was sooooo good.


This is what cute Collette looks like when she has a giggling fit. At one point she was laughing so hard she couldn't talk to tell us why. It turned out to be because Jana said something that reminded her of an episode of Friends she'd just watched (she knows EVERY episode). This was highly amusing.


This is a shot of the clock when we finally stood up to leave, wow that's a lot of talking.


Here is our self-portrait (this is a new thing we'll be doing each time we get together) courtesy of Jenn's long, monkey arms. I love it! (L to R: Jana, Collette, Jenn and Amy, back: Me and Michelle)

After book club, I went to the grocery store at midnight to get some fun food items for Landon's birthday (birthday post to come later) breakfast and totally forgot that I was wearing this seriously stained shirt! Aye Carumba! You see, while taking my very last bite of fabulous fruit salad the blackberry I was going for went rogue on me and landed on my shirt. Horrified and annoyed I carefully went to retrieve it when it decided to roll down the rest of my shirt!! Good grief. Jana was in the middle of telling us a serious story so all I could do was eat that pesky blackberry and then put a napkin over my shirt to hide it. I found this stain highly distracting and somewhat comical because it looks like a stain from a laundry detergent commercial.


Anyway, I took this self-portrait at the grocery store to document my humiliation. Fortunately I was the only costumer in there, and most of the employees were stocking shelves, but I still had to face the cashier. I told her what happened but I could still see amusement and judgment in her eyes. I had to resist retelling my story when the bagger came and started bagging up my groceries. I felt like a freak.

**Have you ever gone out in a public
place with a heinous stain?
Do you have a hard time talking
when you get the giggles?**

La Vida Loca

I'm living la vida loca here with Claudia and her family, so there's no shortage of happenings.


Claudia has been talking about her birthday gifts for me ever since she got here, but hasn't given them to me yet because they aren't wrapped. It's so funny, she's so pleased with what she has for me and is excited to give them, but wants them to be a complete present. She did give me this lovely floral arrangement yesterday though. She bought the flowers and the container last week during her 5 hour (!) trip to Taipan Trading, but didn't have the floral foam or wire cutters to complete the process. She was totally delighted when Alfredo arrived (from her aunt's house) yesterday and had finished the project. It's beautiful and is now on my kitchen table.


Claudia drove my car for about an hour yesterday, and then right before I had to leave for my ward book club she saw that it had a flat tire! Alfredo just started laughing and said "You see what happens when you live with the Missy." So I ended up driving their car and they stayed home with Whitney while Randy and Landon were at soccer.


We took this self-portrait as we were waiting for Alfredo to get some stuff out of their car so I could take it to book club. I just had to laugh at the flat tire, their car load of stuff, Alfredo's incredibly laid back way and the fact that I needed to be leaving right then. When I'm with them I shift into a go-with-the-flow, easy breezy kind of that I never am any other time.


Our ward book club discussion of Persuasion was delightful. The woman who volunteered to lead the discussion also offered to host it in her home, so that was a treat (it's usually at the church). She had this whole tea set up, complete with 5 kinds of sugar. I have never had any tea in my whole life so this was my first herbal tea experience. I chose Peppermint Tea because it seemed most likely to be the least offensive. It didn't really like it (it felt like I was drinking gum) but I enjoyed using the teacup and I definitely appreciated her efforts. We only had 6 ladies there (which is pretty normal) but it was fun.

{Notice the cute Joy plate Janae sent me for
my birthday there in the background.}

So Claudia and family stayed her last night and it went quite well. I turned the kids' room into a guest suite of sorts and then the kids camped out on the floor in our room on tons of blankets and pillows. It worked marvelously. They'll probably be staying awhile longer, but I never know because they totally fly by the seat of their pants. It's fine with me. Anyway, Claudia made French toast for breakfast this morning, which made me laugh because I NEVER cook breakfast ever. She was asking my kids if they wanted some and Landon said "I don't know what that is." How funny. I don't like French toast because it's too eggy for me, and Landon didn't end up liking it either.



Poor Whitney is still not feeling good (though not puking regularly so she's easy) and is camped out on the couch. When I asked her how she was feeling this morning she said, "Why do you ask?" Hmm, I don't know, maybe because I'm your mother and you threw up 3x yesterday!


In other news, I got this cute belated birthday gift from Anne yesterday. The book opens up and is an accordion photo album, so I'll have to make something cute out of it. Thanks Anne! I love how the birthday goodness keeps going.

I also got this marvelous birthday package from Kelly yesterday. (I have no idea why the picture is showing up like this, I've loaded it multiple times and it's not coming through clearly.) I'm always so happy to receive a book, especially one I've never heard of before. She also sent a little book of quotes about books, which is such a perfect gift for me. The cute post-it pad says "I dreamed my whole desk was clean..." so I'm wondering if that was made just for me. She also sent a mini bag of my favorite Cadbury eggs, which is looking like lunch right about now. Thanks Kelly!!!

So this morning Alfredo took my car to the Walmart Tire Center to be fixed and he's been gone over 2 hours already. It is such a gift to me to have him taking care of this that I'm giddy. I haven't gotten out of my pajamas yet and it's past noon. Delightful!

**Do you enjoy having house guests?
Do you like tea?
How do you feel about French toast?
Do you make breakfast every day?
Do you mind dealing with flat tires?**

I'm Here

Oh my, I missed a day of posting, I don't like that. But my day of freedom didn't pan out because I slept poorly the night before and was zombified yesterday morning, then Landon got sick while sleeping over at my parents' house so Lori brought him home. It was fine because I hadn't made any plans to go out and had just been puttering around the house, but it wasn't a day off at all.


Lori and I ate lunch (she brought McDonald's), talked and then made caramel popcorn to take to Amie's house that night. Since Jimmy is out of town I "encouraged" Amie to host a little night of creativity, so me, Claudia, Michelle, Hannah and Lori ended up hanging out at Amie's house to eat, chat and work on projects. It was very fun, though it took me awhile to detox from the frustrating, traffic-filled drive out to freakin Eagle Mountain. I really must get over that, but it's very frustrating to me.



I ended up enjoying myself and actually got quite a bit done. I framed 3 pictures, wrote 9 thank you notes, cut out some good mail labels and made some cards. Not too shabby. My favorite parts of the evening were when Claudia tried to explain how Mexican's keep their mother's maiden names and their father's last name. It's confusing on a good day, so to listen to her explain it while adding in her own opinions and changes was hilarious. I also thoroughly enjoyed our self-portrait photo shoot. Hannah held the camera and we all tried to squeeze into the frame, it was so funny.


Claudia and I got back to my house around 1:00am and got her set up in our luxurious guest room (a.ka. the couch). She was reading a magazine and I was lamenting the fact that it's hard to reach to turn off the light in that position, and then stumbled onto the notion of giving her a headlight to wear. I ran and got Landon's headlight from his room and set her up with it. She was laughing and slightly reluctant to wear it, but ended up being sold on the idea immediately after trying it and actually said "I'm glad you insisted Missy!" How about that?


Today has been a very casual day at home so far. Whitney returned from the sleepover at my mom's house (courtesy of Amie shuttling her home, thanks so much) sick. Good grief, we never get sick and now Landon is fine and Whitney is on the couch mellow as can be.

Claudia spent the morning on the computer enjoying the stability of the desk, the chair and the keyboard (remember her crazy set-up at home?) and updated her blog. I gave her a little blog tutorial and taught her how to do links and add things to her sidebar, so that was fun.


Tonight I have my ward book club and the kids both have their first soccer games of the season (but it's so hot still, it feels too early for soccer!). I'm not sure what we're going to do because Whitney is in no condition to be playing soccer, but Randy has to go coach Landon's game while I'm at the ward book club. I suppose I could miss if I really had to, but since I'm in charge of it I never feel like that's an option. Fortunately I'm not hosting it or leading the discussion tonight, but I still feel responsible to be there and want it to be a good turnout. We'll see.

**What are you up to today?
What should I do about tonight?**

Life is Good

Today has been one of those days that has left me feeling like life is good. I know I have many other days where I should feel like that, but all too often I am struck with a random mood swing, headache, fatigue or the blahs and just don't feel that way, luckily today I actually recognized and enjoyed the goodness of it all.

This morning I had a short phone call with Betsy (which is always a treat), I got to talk to Kristi on the phone as well as I was getting ready to head out for the day. I dropped my kids off at Michelle's house and then went down to Provo to meet cute blogger Lisa for a tasty lunch at La Dolce Vita. (I rarely go there and yet that was my 2nd time in less than a week.) We hung out, ate and talked for about an hour and a half and had a good time. I love that I can go to lunch with a blogging friend and feel like we have so much to talk about that the time just flies by. That's such a huge perk about blogging.


After that I picked up a couple bags of pebble ice at Sonic and drove to Michelle's house to pick up the kids so we could join Amie and her kids at Seven Peaks. Poor Lucas was under the weather so Michelle and Eva stayed home with him, and Max came with us. We never go to Seven Peaks that late in the day (almost 4:00pm) but Amie had told her kids they could stay until it closed at 8:00 so we knew we had lots of time. The kids entertained themselves beautifully so Amie and I sat and talked in our fabulous, Costco lawn chairs for almost 3 hours before we even got up to get wet. (Though she had gotten wet earlier with her kids.)


Someone offered us their single tubes as they were leaving so Amie and I took them and went down Tube Run (a big slide). We very rarely go down the slides, but there were no lines and we had free tubes so we had to do it. There's a holding area at the top of the slide so that the rider can get situated before it's her turn to go down, while I was getting situated I was having a hard time moving the tube because I was pretty much suctioned in place! I hope it wasn't because of my girth, but now that I think about it it has to be, there was no air getting through the hole in the tube and my butt!! (How embarrassing.) I feared I would humiliate myself by not being able to get down the slide, so imagine my surprise when I finally moved the tube into the stream of water and was immediately swept down the slide and spun around so I was facing backwards for 3/4 of the ride. Yikes! I was screaming like a banshee and felt like a complete spazz. It was a fun ride, but oh so disconcerting to go down backwards like that. I ended up having a sore throat the rest of the night because of my screaming. We also ended up spending time with the kids in the wave pool and the lazy river, so we really enjoyed the best of both worlds today.

We finally left the park at 8:15 so we ended up spending a full 4.5 hours there. It was cool to see all the pools and everything empty as we were leaving and to see the sun setting, we actually weren't hot when we got into the car. (That's a first.)

After dropping Max off and visiting with Michelle for a little bit we headed home (it was 9:20pm). My mom had invited the kids to sleep over tonight and tomorrow night with Adam and Amy's girls so Randy kindly offered to drive them out to freakin Eagle Mountain so he could spend some time with them. Lovely! I took a hot, hot shower (I was actually cold from still being wet from Seven Peaks) and used the fabulous Lemon Sugar Scrub that Becca sent me for my birthday. I love this stuff! It has the perfect, clean smell and it's not overpowering. It was such a delight to exfoliate and enjoy some aromatherapy at the same time. I've got to see if they sell that stuff in a bigger container because I'm using it every day.


Now I'm enjoying uninterrupted blogging time (delicious) and then am going to watch one of my Netflix movies (I currently have 3, She's Having a Baby, Much Ado About Nothing, and Wives & Daughters) while I paint my toenails.

So today is definitely a "life is good" kind of day. I still had minor irritations like feeling overly warm as I got ready today, rushing around and being trapped behind incredibly slow drivers, a piece of noodle flew out of my mouth at lunch with Lisa (I never found it again), the left boob shield part of my swimming suit detached from the inner lining and provides even less support than before (oh dear), I did not come home to any good mail, and there's a gynormous spider and web on our front porch light that's giving me the willies, but really life is good.

**Do you have "life is good" kind of days?
Do you like crazy water slides?
Are you a screamer on rides?**

Sunday Thoughts

Michelle's post about daring to be different, along with the comments from my Questions & Answers post has got me thinking about the beauty of being an individual. We all have different gifts to share, and those include spiritual gifts. I found this quote and thought it was a great reminder of what some of those are.

"The gift of asking, the gift of listening, the gift of hearing and using a still small voice, the gift of being able to weep, the gift of avoiding contention, the gift of being agreeable, the gift of avoiding vain repetition, the gift of seeking that which is righteous, the gift of not passing judgment, the gift of looking to God for guidance, the gift of being a disciple, the gift of caring for others, the gift of being able to ponder, the gift of offering prayer, the gift of bearing a mighty testimony, the gift of receiving the Holy Ghost."
--Marvin J. Ashton

**What do you think??**

Crazy Claudia

I have never had a friend like Claudia before, most likely because she is the most one-of-a-kind person ever. She is a crazy combination of spontaneity, generosity, honesty, self-deprecation, joie-de-vivre, family, spirituality, humor and style. There really should only be one Claudia because the world probably couldn't handle another one! Whenever she comes to visit I feel like I have no idea what I'm in for, and I like it. This trip is no exception, she started by showing up totally unexpected at the blog party last weekend and has filled my week with phone calls, lunch, a visit to BYU, Creative Friday, a movie night out, dinner out, a movie at home and sleeping on my couch (under the softest blanket ever which Kristi sent for my birthday).

We went to La Dolce Vita for lunch the other day, and Claudia bought huge gumballs from the machine which ended up entertaining us as we attempted to blow bubbles at the same time for a self-portrait.

We went to the BYU Art Museum and the bookstore, which was fun because we used to walk together every morning (9 years ago) and often circled BYU campus. It was also freaky because we felt so old, the students look like babies! We're officially old enough to have a child in college! (Her more than me, ha!)


This was the scene towards the end of Creative Friday today. Claudia's husband Alfredo had to borrow jumper cables from my neighbor because their car died, the kids were all over the place, Claudia was changing Jorvik's diaper on the front lawn, meanwhile Alfredo was late for meeting his friend for the Father & Son camp out they were going to overnight. It was crazy!


Claudia then opened her 40lb purse and began pulling things out of it while she searched for her taped together phone (which ended up being on the table next to her already). She either carries no purse at all and has a credit card or cash tucked in her bra (hilarious) or she carries an enormous bag full of the most random stuff. Michelle and I just laughed and laughed as she showed us all the crazy stuff in her purse, most disturbing of which was this HUGE letter opener! What in the world??


She also had multiple dvds, a tape recorder, nail polish, lipstick, stationery (including an envelope addressed to me with a card she loves but hadn't written in yet), a bracelet she bought for a friend, the top of her brother's blender which she had accidentally broken when it fell into the fancy waffles she was making for breakfast at his house this week, and so much more. I can't imagine anyone else carrying around such a bizarre bag of tricks...only Claudia!


The three of us had fun trying to get a good self-portrait. Michelle and I were jealous and disturbed that Claudia's face looks so thin, what's up with that? I seem to be growing chins by the day $#@!%.


I guess this could explain why. Claudia and I went to see "No Reservations" last night (very enjoyable) and then went to JCW's for burgers, fries, fry sauce (so good) and a chocolate Oreo shake, plus some good conversation. It was a great night.


Everyone should be lucky enough to have a good friend like Claudia, she is always a burst of fresh air and energy when she visits, and reminds me that I need to be better about going with the flow, seizing the opportunities around me, having fun, and not taking myself too seriously. All good things. She is the most genuine person I have ever known. She never tries to be something she isn't. She can be wearing a faux fur coat, costume jewelry, heels and make-up one day, then pajamas, no make-up, with spots of Oxy10 on her face the next day (in public), both are so her! Oh, and she loves to eat! She thoroughly enjoys eating out and oooh and aaahs sincerely even if it's just a cheeseburger from McDonald's, I love this about her.

**Do you know anyone like Claudia?
Are you spontaneous and easygoing?
Do you have friends that make
you want to be more fun?**

Questions & Answers

At the blog party last Saturday almost everyone answered a sheet with 4 blogging-related questions. The answers are interesting and similar. I thought you'd all like to see what everyone wrote and then add your opinion too. Enjoy!


What types of things do you find inviting on a blog?

• --I love pictures and blogs that are not super busy aesthetically.
• --Lots of pictures, personal stories, talking about personal struggles.
• --Pictures, funny stories, personal stories that I relate to, especially ones that make me cry, and travel.
• --Banners, pictures, honesty.
• --Definitely pictures. Not too busy.
• --Photos, personal stories, links to favorite sites, product reviews.
• --Pictures, thoughts that inspire me, feeling connected with others.
• --Photos, words (deep thoughts), design, reality (the good and the bad), inspiration.
• --Pictures, layout, content, games, recipes, contests, deep thoughts, travelogues.
• --Pictures, sharing recipes or just life experiences.
• --Pictures definitely.
• --Pictures, wit, thoughtful posts.
• --Color/layout, pictures (my biggest obstacle to posting, unfortunately), new ideas to try.
• --Pictures, title.
• --Pictures, fun ideas, similar interests.
• --I enjoy the photos.
• --Pictures, links, pleasing colors, black text, sidebar interests.
• --Pictures, blog designs, sidebars, just about anything.
• --Love seeing others' personalities come out through layout, color choice, pictures, links.
• --Pictures, ideas, recipes, updates from friends, good and struggles.
• --Pictures, honesty about their life, not too cluttery looking, shared insights and mistakes.
• --A profile picture, preferably one that actually looks like them.
• --Craft ideas--Pictures (probably because I'm so bad at taking them, I like to see really good pics)
• --Funny stories
• --People that are obviously similar to me and I could easily be friends with, but would never be presented with the opportunity.
• --Keeping in touch with friends
• --Really great writing (because I'm so bad)

What types of things turn you off from a blog?

• --If the posts are consistently depressing. Too many colors.
• --When the person isn't specific in their stories or personal information, making me feel distant.
• --Nothing so far...I love how everybody expresses in their own way.
• --Paragraphs super long--break it up! No photos.
• --Blogs that look like businesses, advertisements, pictures that aren't centered, words, words, and words without pictures.
• --Continuous negative rants.
• --Super long entries, blogs that only have "day to day" entries like "Today I..." mix it up instead.
• --I want every one's blog to reflect them, so it turns me off when it doesn't seem real.
• --Lack of updates, lots of complaining, any kind of pornography, black backgrounds, lack of pictures.
• --Long posts with no pictures.
• --Forever long posts with no pictures.
• --Nothing--I'm a book whore and a blog whore, anything for something to read.
• --Font or font color that I can't read.
• --Language, negativity.
• --Time needed to read long posts. Light color text or funky fonts that are difficult to read.
• --Colors that are bright and text that is hard to read.
• --Not much.
• --No current post.
• --Really long stories day after day.
• --I need paragraphs and pictures! I hate sifting through a huge chunk of text, especially if there's nothing insightful, funny or real about it.
• --Cartoons for profile pictures, it's confusing and off-putting.
• --Posts only about kids, not about themselves and what they're going through.
• --Fake posts that don't have a hint of real life in them.
• --Nothing- a blog is a personal thing. I don't care if they post long paragraphs, no pictures, cartoons as profile pictures, bad color scheme- whatever. Maybe they aren't computer savvy, maybe they don't understand how to post a picture (like me) or maybe they hate pictures of themselves (like me) my opinion- you can immediately tell if you are going to enjoy their blog based off of a post regardless of the fancy things going on. There are blogs I don't read because I don't think we would connect. They post about things I don't care about, so I don't make an effort to read them regularly. I don't expect them to change their blog because of me, because it is their blog. You take what you get.

{Our jazz-hands group photo.}

What do you love most about blogging?

• --Having a forum where I can get support. Reading about other people's lives, struggles and triumphs!
• --Getting a look into people's lives. Sharing common struggles. Connecting to people you wouldn't normally have thought you had anything in common with.
• --I can talk about myself for hours and people listen and comment! I love meeting and connecting with people all over the place. Everybody has things to offer and things I can learn from.
• --The shortcut to friendship! Outreach from the comfort of my own home.
• --The writing. I really like putting form to my thoughts. Next the connecting. I've become better friends with good friends and good friends with strangers. I've learned a thing or two, as well. Who knew about baby powder in the hair?
• --Keeping in touch with friends, getting ideas for parenting, crafting, creativity in general, spiritual insights.
• --Having a record of my thoughts, feelings and experiences; and being connected and inspired by such incredible women.
• --Connections with women I normally never would have met. Realizing I'm not the only one who feels overwhelmed...I'm not alone.
• --Friendships made, useful information, journaling, photo journaling, kindred spirits, reconnecting with old friends. Staying connected to the world while staying at home with my kids.
• --Posting pictures and stories about my children. I love that my children check it out, they feel special.
• --Knowing what's happening with my friends and family. And that women are going through the same "daily" stuff I am! And I have a record of my life!
• --Documenting my life. Keeping in touch with friends and family.
• --Community, spreading of ideas, the record of my life.
• --The comments that people make.
• --Meeting new people and knowing I'm not alone in my feelings and struggles with life.
• --Getting "inside" someone's head. Feeling closer to friends.
• --Feeling connected with so many women, feeling inspired, getting ideas on everything. Feeling like I am not the only one dealing with xyz.
• --Getting to know new people and knowing I am not alone with what I am dealing with in life and I'm not crazy!
• --I love the journaling aspect, the sisterhood, the creative ideas, inspiration, the examples of goodness, gratitude and generosity.
• --Keeping in touch so easily.
• --I love the way it has made me view my life as something interesting and worth documenting. I never knew I had so much to say and share. It's life affirming and motivating for me.
• --Getting caught up on lives.
• --Keeping friends and family in the loop.
• --Getting in touch with old friends that I haven't seen since high school.
• --Seeing amazing photos.
• --Getting great craft ideas.
• --Meeting friends in similar situations.

How have you changed since blogging?

• --I've started training for a marathon, lost 20 pounds and just do a better job at setting and keeping goals.
• --I'm more open to meeting new people.
• --I have learned to be more analytical and thoughtful about my experiences. I have also learned how important it is to take the time to invest in other people's lives. Most importantly, I have learned to STOP and enjoy life. Oh, one more thing, I have learned how much I love my sisters!
• --Much bigger support system!
• --Yeah, I'm more willing to meet people I "meet" online. I would never have done that before. And I admire people I might not have been friends with before.
• --I feel so enriched by documenting my own experiences and finding so much common-ness with so many friends.
• --I have become more outgoing, more thoughtful (used to be but this has stretched me). I believe I can be creative. My life seems to be inspired. Don't feel alone.
• --Thinking about others and sending good mail.
• --I have become more aware of lives that are similar to mine. Experience shared. Thoughts expanded. Reconnected with old friends. I have also become more aware of the similarity of most women. We are more similar than we are different.
• --I am more aware of what is going on around me. I take my camera everywhere now!
• --Still pretty new at it, but I can see the potential for it to be life-changing...who knows what will happen.
• --I HAVE MORE GUILT IN MY LIFE (because I don't write enough, nor do I comment enough!)
• --I have kept a more consistent record of my life--way better than a journal.
• --More aware of things I could blog. I'm a little better at journaling, but still not great.
• --New friends, more community feeling.
• --I am more thoughtful. I act on my intentions without worrying if I am lame. I care more about others.
• --I am more willing to share experiences and I am journaling more about my family. I take way more pictures.
• --I look at each day differently, especially experience with my kids. I feel like I've found this fantastic creative outlet. It's my "happy pill."
• --Extended myself more. Acted on intentions.
• --I see everything as a potential blog topic. I want to take pictures of everything. I have learned lots about my friends and family. I want to reach out to others more.
• --I have a better sense of self. I admire qualities in other people, but ultimately want to improve myself, and with blogging this seems to be a daily thing for me.
• --I am more careful about my posts. I limit more of my information, because of random people coming up and telling me they read my blog. I'm willing to give people more chances than I was before. I'm more thankful for what I have.

**Interesting eh?
How would you answer these questions?
(You can post anonymously or email me if you'd like.)
Any surprises here?
I guess pictures are a pretty big deal.**

A Better Day

I really don't know what happened to me yesterday afternoon, it was literally a hit-and-run with my bad mood. I went to our Activity Day Fake Sleepover and was fine, then came home to find Claudia, Alfredo and their boys at our house. So we had an impromptu gathering, complete with the tasty cheesecakes Tasha had brought to the blog party (they are so good, thanks Tasha!).


Claudia, Alfredo and the boys stayed until about 11:30. We had a good visit and bounced all over the place with our topics. The kids did great together. It was fun to see them again. I commented that I didn't remember seeing Jorvik's teeth when we spent the week with them last September, but then realized it's because he rarely smiled and was super serious. Well he's over that and is a totally cute, smiley baby (almost 2 years old) so we saw a whole lot of his teeth last night. What a doll.

Alexei laid down in the middle of the action and went to sleep, how about that? No fuss or anything, he just got cozy and cacked out completely. I was impressed.

Foolishly I didn't take any pictures of me and Claudia. We're going out to lunch today so I'll document this rare chance for us to be together.

In other news, I'm very behind on thank-you notes (though this is a good problem to have) and have some more good mail and birthday gifts to report (woohoo).


Chanel sent me this cute thank you note for sending her these cards for her birthday. I get a little thrill every time one of these makes its way back to me. Thanks Chanel!


Claudia sent me one of her classic notes written in silver metallic ink (so I had to hold it just-so under the lamp to be able to read it). She wrote some really nice things about me and totally made my day. She has a gift for sending cards just because.


My sister-in-law Daniela actually sent me a good, old-fashioned letter. She's pretty good about writing me letters every now and then, so this was a treat to get.


Amy sent me this nice thank you note for sending her these cards for her birthday. She always says something delightful when she comments on my posts or sends me good mail. Thanks Amy!


Natasha loves to torture me with creepy Louisiana creatures so she sent me this postcard from her outing to the Alligator farm. I totally got the willies just from looking at her post about it. Thanks Natasha, I couldn't help but notice that the postcard Luci sent from there had no alligators on it at all.


Neighbor Jane Payne (who is not really my neighbor, but would be the best of all neighbors if she were) sent me this darling sucker with a note attached to thank me for the birthday gift I sent her. She mailed it in a clear box filled with this confetti paper so it was fun to open my mailbox and see this waiting for me. Thanks Jane!


Shawna sent me two of these marvelous Ritter chocolate bars, a cute little notepad and a nice note for my birthday. I don't know if there's a blogging community conspiracy to keep me fat, but I'm loving all this chocolate. Thanks Shawna!


Marie knows of my love for cute pencils so she sent me this pack of Canadian pencils. I have sharpened most of them and have them in the various pencil holders throughout the house, I love them (I especially love how the erasers are different colors). Thanks Marie!


Jen sent me these darling file folders for my birthday, and I think they're wonderful. Thanks Jen!


Jennifer brought me this beautiful and funky plant to the blog party just for hosting it! (I want to be that kind of person too.) I'm really hoping I can keep this alive because I love it. Thanks Jennifer!


Rachel brought me this bag full of goodies to the blog party to thank me for hosting it (what a gal!). I didn't get to open it until the next morning and was delighted by all the fun stuff in the cute bag. I especially appreciate her nice words in the card. Thanks Rachel!


Hannah brought this cute note to the blog party along with a donation to help pay for the room. She also came early and stayed late to help set-up and take-down. Thanks Hannah!

This Sonic card from Laurie and Becca arrived in the mail yesterday. They have to order these online since they don't have Sonic in California. Thanks you guys!

As always, the mere act of documenting my good mail has left me humbled, thankful and inspired. It makes me want to get moving on my many thank you notes and miscellaneous good mail items I have here just waiting to be sent. Hopefully, it makes you feel that way too!

**Any good mail going in or out of your house?
Have you ever come home to unexpected
friends waiting for your return home?**