Once upon a slime...

I've had chai troubles this week. It's true.
Two examples from this week:

(a) I decided to make my own chai latte from a powder mix + hot water in my trusty to-go mug, as a substitute for Starbucks (YUMMINESS GALORE!) Chai latte. But, much to my dismay when I opened the lid to take my first sip, it was slimy! Yes, Slimy! GAG! No chai for me!

(b) After my aforementioned traumatizing experience I consoled myself by hiking to Starbucks the following day for a REAL (YUMMINESS GALARE!) chai (mmmm... hot, steamy, creamy and delicious). When I told the Barista what I wanted, he casually mentioned that they were "fresh out of chai", thus shattering my blossoming anticipation. Sigh.

As my new sister, Kristin, says: "... if you don't succeed, chai, chai again."

Fall leaves on campus

Okay, in response to all the requests for more fall photos...



Can you find George?














If I could bottle up the smell of fall I would and then send it to you.

And his name is...

No Sugar Allowed!

Baby Mac seems to really enjoy sugar so I find I'm much more comfortable if I don't eat it. :-) Here's to vegetables and protein and maybe a LITTLE less rambunctious activity!

fall colors

Are starting to come out all over campus. SO BEAUTIFUL!

approximately 27 weeks

Sorry, I don't know why I look so tired in this photo. :-) I'm actually NOT that tired. At least you can see what Baby Mac looks like currently.

When a princess faces winter...

I think Fancy is picturing the following provisions for winter: extra large ear muffs, hot Jacuzzi baths, leg warmers, down comforters, warm bran mash every morning (with a little molasses), individual heaters for each stall and good movies (say, the “Black Stallion” for instance) all night whilst tucked away with the barn doors and windows shut.

Reality may look a little different: Blankets on super cold nights/days, shavings and hay in each stall in preparation for snow days and lots of good food to help put meat on the bones in an effort to keep away the chill. Poor princess Stink! How will she survive?

house = home

Some recent photos of our little bungalow.

External Influences

Observing the responses of Baby Mac in utero to different outside stimuli has made me really start thinking about what kinds of things I would love for him to be familiar with and to learn to respond to. This video made me laugh and was a good reminder that babies pick up on so much more than we recognize, so the things we say, the things we listen to around them are important, even at this stage of development. Baby Mac is usually quiet when I'm talking with someone, but when he hears music he is a bundle of activity. He particularly loves when I play the piano, and I wonder if that isn't in part because he actually feels the vibration of the tone coming through the instrument?

Fall

I love fall because I can wear a sweatshirt and my favorite scarf from Ireland, drink hot chocolate, walk along the golden leaf littered ground, breathe in crisp air, start making holiday cooking plans, observe the trees which are painted an array of green, yellow and red, brush my fluffy horse, cuddle with my Bear under a blanket and rejoice that the summer heat is behind us again.

Beach Trip with the Big Boys

Here are some photos of my weekend trip to Austin for the beach trip with the horses. We had so much fun, even though we did get rained out on Saturday night (hey, that's the stuff that memories are made of).

Why I miss Austin

You never know what you might see on the way to the airport. :-)Yes, this was a real Skittles salesman. Hmmm.

It's the small things...

Have you ever looked really closely at Normal Rockwell's paintings? They are particularly remarkable because he paid such close attention to the details of ordinary life. He somehow managed to capture those seemingly incidental happenings of every day life and people and put them on canvas. His paintings remind me to stop and consider the small things in life that make it life.

Some things I noticed today:
A happy little chipmunk scampering up and down a flight of stairs, leaping onto the banister, hurling itself off the banister into an obliging bush nearby and then back to the stairs. So much energy and enthusiasm in that little force of nature.

A man whistling "Fur Elise" out of tune as he cheerily worked on replacing one of the light bulbs in our building. It might have been off-key, but his rendition of Beethoven brought a smile to my face.

The smell of homemade pumpkin bread when I woke up this morning... residual from last night's undertaking. Made me want to climb out of bed, heat up some tea and curl up on the couch with buttered slice in hand.

The birds chirping outside - you know, they sound different when the weather changes. Are there "cold weather birds" and "hot weather birds"?

The progressive change in the leaves' color - Fall is steadily approaching and bringing with it chilly nights and cool days. The heat of summer is hopefully behind us!

Happy 1st day of October!