Baby birds are almost a guarantee at the office thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Bird, but could it be that we’ll have ducklings at the house? This pair was in the yard when we got home from dinner tonight. We all just cracked up. I know this is a great place to raise a family,…

Guess who’s rebuilding in the office parking garage for the third straight year? Here is a quick glimpse of Mrs. Bird. (Apparently Mr. Bird doesn’t show up until after Mrs. Bird has finished the nest.)  The Bird Family reminded me of Patrick & Eugene’s “The Birds and the Bees.” The song is cute, but in the…

The kids are at that age that they get a kick out of doing some of the things they know they’re too old to do. Like coloring Easter eggs. No hiding them, but coloring was fun. (lady bug sticker was mine, obviously.) From an Easter card my sister sent to me: How can you tell…

Apparently Country Bear Jamboree is prepared for the holiday weekend. As weird as it is and as much as I hate to admit it, I get the biggest kick out of that bear. I smiled the whole way to work after I saw his change of boa. Hope they get him those oversized plastic sunglasses…

These blossoms in front of my office are so beautiful — as long as you hold your nose.  Doors and windows open, scents of spring drifting through the screen…both kitties were digging it. This was at the back door off the kitchen, so they were good company while I made cupcakes for tomorrow. Lemon recipe…

…a Hello Kitty kite stuck in a tree. *bummer* …cloud lace across the sky. …dogwood buds on the tree out front, thinking about blooming.  What a gorgeous day.

You know those “remember when” discussions that your family brings up every year around certain events or holidays? This photo is one of our “remember when” events. We can’t remember his age for sure, but we think that Drew was in the fourth or fifth grade in this picture. Given that one child in this…

Chocolate bunnies, peeps bunnies, cookie bunnies…the ears always go first.  I can’t help myself. This cute little guy came from lunch at Companion.  Tonight, Tanner and I wandered around Powder Valley while Drew studied for his upcoming ACT. I’d like to say that the smile in this photo is evidence of our happy, functional family, but….no. The…

I was asked to make some “large, hippie-type” earrings based on a design from an overpriced (but really beautiful – wow!) catalog. I had so much fun making the first pair that I made a second pair. I’ll be interested to see which pair she chooses.  And Murphy camped out on my bed while I…

In the realm of useless trivia, did you know that the word “news” is actually an acronym standing for the four cardinal compass points — north, east, west and south. How cool is that? Thank you, Twitter. I’ve retreated to the computer to check out the news and to, well, escape NCAA basketball. And it…

Spring Break is almost over and I’m celebrating by taking tomorrow off! A trip to the bead store is in order and I’ll make a few new pieces. I might even start a new batch of recycled newspaper beads. Beyond that, I am going to do…absolutely nothing. And I cannot wait. No alarm, no hose,…

A type of magnolia? I’m not sure, but I noticed five of them blooming on the way to church tonight. And each tree appears to have a bird’s nest in it (vacant, I’m assuming). Seems like a smart place to build a nest, actually. Makes a lot more sense than the water pipe in my…

Since the kids are at my folks’ house this week for spring break, I wasn’t in a particular hurry to get home. I hadn’t been to Laumeier in a while, so I figured I’d go there and walk the trails.  Nothing new in the way of artwork, but it was a unique experience just the…

A nice, long hike today. Green is trying so hard to push its way through. I think I remember from last year that the green cluster of leaves below is a Virginia bluebell, so it should have beautiful flowers really soon. But why a Virginia bluebell would choose to root itself here in the Midwest…

Saw this steeple replacement while taking a different route home from work. Don’t see this every day. Now I’m home with my praying kitty, so happy that it’s Friday.

Tonight’s project: chocolate stout and crimson velveteen cupcakes. I recently bought a new cupcake cookbook, not fully recognizing the implications of the word “vegan” in its title. I’m not a vegan. I’ve managed to phase out meat from my diet for Lent, but not a vegan. I bought the cookbook for the wide variety of…

Every now and then I read a blog of “Dear So and So” notes. It’s really funny. It’s the blogger’s way of expressing what he/she is thinking about someone without actually saying it out loud. A couple of things happened today that instantly brought “Dear So and So” notes to my mind. When I picked…

Artwork by my boss. She created and painted everything you see. So cool. Is it wrong to start planning for the weekend on a Tuesday? I have already identified a Saturday hike if the weather holds out and lots of spring cleaning stuff to do. I might even take my holiday decorations out of my…

This morning I saw an article on tinybuddha.com called 10 Ways to Be the Person You Wanted to Be as a Kid. What a perfect way to start a Monday. There’s some great stuff in there. But as I looked at the list, it dawned on me that I really haven’t grown up all that much…

{03.12} …rain out my office window, kitty in my bedroom window. {03.13} …trinkets at Mom & Dad’s house on a weekend trip to Jeff City. {03.14} …weathered building next door to Central Dairy on an ice cream run for the family. Awesome. Now we’re home and March Madness has taken over our house. Brackets have been printed…

Chocolate. Covered. Peeps. Totally lacks the cuteness factor of its colorful, shell-less counterparts, but still awesome. This was one of several useless, temporary-happiness-inducing purchases made today at the drug store. This induced the most happiness, though. Except for maybe some over-the-top red nail polish that says that it will dry in 60 seconds. On the rare…

It’s probably time to let the birthday tulips go. But they look pretty neat in an Addams Family sort of way. So I’m hanging on to them just a little while longer.  This weekend, I inexplicably picked up a yoga magazine at the airport. I still haven’t figured out what prompted the purchase. I don’t…

So I made donut holes for breakfast this morning. Don’t they look great? Ummmm….they weren’t. They were vile.  Drew (after one bite): “Mom, what’s the cream stuff on the inside? It tastes funny.” Cream stuff? There was no cream stuff. I hadn’t cooked them enough. It was gooey dough. A dozen and a half of…