this weekend was bea's first ever trip to austin. she had a blast!

the two of us girls (well i guess all three of us technically) went on a walk saturday morning and i took this pic:

a contemplative bea imagines her life among the cacti and bluebonnets...

it was such a productive weekend, but was incredibly tiring! aaron and lindsey hosted us thursday night and bea got to get some of her energy out with her new buddy, stoneleigh the lab :) even though it was a busy weekend, we got to squeeze in a trip to our favorite spots and ate at z tejas, maudies, AND hyde park grill!! yumm....

i have SO much to look forward to...

i wonder what kind of day its going to be when you wake up with the pointer sisters' "neutron dance" stuck in your head...



i wish i was kidding... happy wednesday!

ps - bonus points to anyone else who can spot balky from 'perfect strangers' in the video.

today's post is dedicated to miss mary michelle martin, who was kind enough to take me on a date for my anniversary and who is always looking for a giggle:

an oldie... but a goodie....

i have been trying to finish this month's book club selection like a mad woman this week since we meet today and actually immensely enjoyed the book - which i wish i had the discipline to read and absorb slowly but instead had to quickly devour and in the process probably missed out on some of its value.

i read this passage the other day and it just struck a chord with me:

People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. And thank God for it.

eat, pray, love by elizabeth gilbert

bea is a total slut for anything remotely soft that she can sit or lay on. i'm not even talking about the couch or a bed (which would clearly be her first choice). this girl will create a makeshift pillow or bed out of just about anything.

i'm folding clothes right now in my living room and turned to throw another clean towel on the stack i had going and this is what i saw...

gotta love her.

while i get ready for work, i tend to leave the back door open so that the dogs can come and go. i found bea hunting a squirrel this morning....

first she hides to stalk her prey...

a view of her crouched position from the front...

the squirrel taunting her from a tree...

close up of the squirrel in question...

after a fruitless mad dash toward the tree, which of course sends the squirrel packing to the neighbor's yard, bea contemplates what went wrong...

i was having so much fun watching bea it occurred to me that i didn't know where casey was. i found him burrowed under my unmade bed covers. i love the look on his face when i pull back the covers to see him...

guess what?? the girl who just moved into the office in front of my desk went on vacation last week!!

who gives a crap, right?? right!! why do i know this?? because apparently she thinks that now that she is in an actual office (and not a cube like us lowly workers) that she can talk at any volume without the sound traveling past her door.

i'm not kidding. i do not know this girl at all (though i can say if you are going to lighten your hair to that shade of blonde, you really need to follow up with the eyebrows) but i do now know all about her vacation. i've heard about 5 times that the altitude was crazy and how 2 glasses of wine made her really drunk up there! i've heard about the triathlon that was in town and the great scenic pictures that she took. i now know all about how expensive the food was and how she'd love to go back!

i have learned all of this from sitting in my desk chair... while speaking with my indoor voice.

folks, we have another double digit "first"! (and no, thankfully i'm not talking about my bra size this time.)

check out the countdown up there!! 98 days to go and counting... can you believe it?!!

today is a dark dark day.

no i'm not talking about the ominous weather. and no i'm not talking about the fact that its friday the 13th.

i was in a good mood when i stepped IN to victoria's secret to be fitted for new bras. i've known for weeks (okay, maybe months) that my bras were no longer fitting. a trip to the mall with my sister last week confirmed my secret shame as she laughed and laughed in the dressing room at the way i had stuffed my new pregnant boobs into my previously great-fitting bra.

my mood when i stepped OUT of vicki's was distinctly more sober. yes, the bras fit great, yes they were ridiculously priced as usual. but there is just something about a double letter bra that makes a girl frown on the inside...

yes, you read correctly. we're in the double letters, people. 3 months to go and lets all cross our fingers that the girls stop while they're ahead!

i had my monthly doctor's appointment on friday and had a 1 hour glucose tolerance test.

meet my arch nemesis:

ahh... the generic orange "glucose drink #050". how i remember you fondly. you tasted faintly of melted orange popsicle mixed with flat mcdonalds orange soda.

first of all, outside of a cake eating contest with a really great prize, i'm not sure if there would be any reason in life to ever consume this much sugar in a) one sitting or b) such a short period of time. it is an odd feeling.

secondly, i was all about the challenge. as you know, i tend to be a teeny tiny bit competitive (who me?!!) and my body was ready to kick this glucose test's ass. it was actually even doing a little bit of shit talking... "don't you MAKE me prove i love sugar!!" "oh you think you're gonna make ME change MY diet?? i don't think so, glucose drink!"

an hour after grimacing on my last swallow of orange nastiness i had my blood drawn too see how effectively my body had broken down the sugar and got the results yesterday. i passed with flying colors!!! woohoo!!!

i celebrated with easter candy and a heaping serving of my mom's homemade banana pudding. its like i said... don't you MAKE me prove i like the sugar!! :)

casey and bea are such world weary travelers...

(can't you hear casey humming "on the road again..." a la willie nelson??)

what a busy weekend!! i spent friday in austin with kevin and helped host a wedding shower on saturday.

here are some fun pics: