Another day at the hospital. Saw the usual character art — as well as a fun mascot-character-guy down by the cafeteria. He made me smile. And that’s a big deal in a place like that. We spent the day in the same surgery unit as the one from three years ago – and even walked…

Crunchy, gooey gifts of goodness from a dear friend at work has me pining for fall.  Loving the chillier temperatures and stores’ Halloween displays. But what I’m really loving is this sweet sentiment. Now THAT’S a fortune. And given some of the stuff that lies ahead for my little family, good fortune is most welcome. …

“Be compassionate…and take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be a better place.” — Mitch Albom

Children’s hospitals are fascinating to me. Between the vibrant colors, whimsical designs and funky characters, no detail is too small. There’s just so much care put into every aspect of the decor. Electric trains suspended from the ceiling and running the length of the entry. Enormous butterflies hanging overhead. Tropical aquariums. Big, bright zoo animal…

Just a few images from last week before getting started with this week. Sharing some results from time spent rummaging through my iPhone photos. First, there was a vivid sunset from a walk in the park… then there was this guy. As if taking my child to an oncologist wasn’t scary enough. This is the first…

…National Teddy Bear Day. (to this day, my beloved bear still has his place of honor on my bed)

Goodnight room Goodnight moon Goodnight cow jumping over the moon Goodnight light and the red balloon Goodnight bears, goodnight chairs Goodnight kittens and goodnight mittens Goodnight clocks and goodnight socks Goodnight little house And goodnight mouse Goodnight comb and goodnight brush Goodnight nobody Goodnight mush And goodnight to the old lady whispering “hush” Goodnight stars…

  Cutest little convertible gave me an excuse to fiddle around with some photo apps on my phone… …while these massive mums gave my heart an excuse to do a “fall is coming” happy dance at the market. And tomorrow is already mid-week! I’m still in love with this holiday weekend.

“Having spent the better part of my life either trying to relive the past or experience the future before it arrives, I have come to believe that in between these two extremes is…peace.” I saw this quote today and it really resonated with me. All afternoon I’ve been trying to figure out what’s made me…

This about sums up our Saturday:  Steamy, stormy, slothful.  It is not an exaggeration to say that we did nothing today but eat, couch, and watch the US Open.  Drew at least had the decency to shower/change his clothes, but I didn’t bother to change out of my pjs. And it was the best day…

Get a load of what’s going right here in St. Louis! While we’ve been watching the US Open on television every day, we’ve got the US Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships going on at Dwight Davis right under our noses! These are without question some of the most amazing athletes I have ever seen. In fact,…

https://www.youtube.com/v/ykp7xV8uYbs?version=3 1.) The gospel according to Sesame Street. Get Along.  2.) US Open, baby!  3.) More than halfway to our long weekend. 4.) Nutella for breakfast. And dinner. And everything in between.5.) People who do really nice things to brighten your day – like give you a Hello Kitty key chain.6.) Both kitties seeking me…

The cutest crackers in the world have now become the cutest slices of bread in the world. That’s right. I bought Goldfish bread. AND Nutella. Rock ON! And more excitement from today…Okay, I know that everyone thinks that their kids are really cute, but click on this link and take a look at the upper…

I’ve seen a few of these pretty babies flitting about lately. In a month or two, they should start heading out of town. One of my favorite times of the year. And I’ve been looking into following them. I’m seriously thinking about paying a visit to the monarch wintering site in California in January or…

What do you suppose a dog in the back of a Beemer convertible daydreams about?

Red Velvet Cookies with White Chocolate Chunks 1 box of Red Velvet Cake Mix 1 cup of All-Purpose Flour 2 sticks of softened butter 1 egg 2 cups of White Chocolate Chunks Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, add butter and mix until soft and fluffy.  Slowly add cake mix and flour….

A new discovery on a trip to the market with Tanner. A stellar idea in adorable packaging. Made us both laugh. Who’d have thought that applesauce could be funny! But for whatever reason, we appeared to be the only ones in that store who were smiling. I don’t know what it was, but most shoppers seemed so…

A walk along the paths at a nearby sculpture park brought butterflies… ….hugging trees… …and other loveliness. Strolling at a leisurely pace, I went back and forth between my canon and my iPhone, taking in the familiar installations….  …and some not so familiar ones. This was one of several pieces from a new interactive installation…

Last night we drove by an elementary school in our neighborhood. It seemed to be kindergarten open house because lots of little tykes and their parents were walking hand in hand to and from the school. Bright white sneakers…colorful, shiny backpacks…fresh haircuts…endless excitement…  it was so cute. I couldn’t help but think back to my…

Chalk this up to cat weirdness. And cat owner weirdness. Today I ran across a blog on tumblr called The Cat Scan (click here). Okay, so I’m twisted, but I thought it was hilarious.  People. Literally. Scan. Their. Cats. Hmmmm. Wouldn’t you know, as fate and good luck would have it, I just bought a…

So just for fun, I started a new blog today on tumblr.  Don’t get me wrong, prettykitty isn’t going anywhere. This is where I keep my favorite things and the most random of thoughts. But I felt the need to:  a.) try something new (tumblr is kinda neat),  b.) have a down and dirty blog…

Tonight we went shopping for some decent clothes that will enable my college freshman to attend weekly chapel on campus. Mission accomplished. Sort of. We came home with several pairs of nice khakis and … Sponge Bob Square Pants Legos.  Like mother, like son. The child will never grow up.  Although the mother did manage…

Morning storms brought in clouds that reminded me of a movie poster. A movie about alien invasions or something like that. Then the root system below reminded me of a movie, too. Like a slithering tree from Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter or something. Mother Nature can be a little creepy sometimes. The…