My Favorite Magazine and a Bubble Bath

Yesterday I woke up with a sore throat. Yuk. It stuck around all day, lightened up at night and got worse during the night. This morning I woke up not so bad and got worse around 4pm. I've been gargling with hydrogen peroxide and colloidal silver, taking echinecea and goldenseal and praying my heart out that it is not strep throat AGAIN. Today was the first day I took J back to his reading teacher from after our break and I came home and literally fell onto my bed. H asked me if he could draw me a bath, make me clotheless and put me to bed... lol. So he did. Well both, really. He prepped my whole bath for me, I lit some candles, he got my InStyle and I sat and soaked and read that thing from cover to cover for an hour and a half. Oh yes and he brought me dinner in the bath. If I wasn't so sick I would've felt extremely pampered, but you know what I did any way.

Girlie Day

Today I went on a picnic with a girl from church. I'd made the plans earlier this week and completely forgot as the week just FLEW by. She emailed me last night so we set up a picnic for today at the Arboretum. I made a baby greens and spinach salad with avocado, chicken, and Italian raspberry dressing that is the mildest yummiest raspberry dressing I've ever had - not at all tart. I made a sweet raspberry sauce for the strawberry, orange, mango, peach, grape, and apple fruit salad I brought. Yum!

She took off and the boys and I trekked down the path to feed the ducks... and the geese... and the fish... and the turtle... and the blue small crane looking bird. The geese attacked us for a few minutes, but the boys got to pet a duck (probably not the most healthiest thing to do, I know!) and watch the fish swarm around one piece of bread.



Afterwards we met up with my neighbor and her precious baby girl, mom and one of her fun sisters, at Whole Foods for Jamba Juice and Rice Dream bars.

Tonight I went to dinner at Cheddar's with a friend. We ate light and then ran by Costco for a meal for a couple at church with a new baby that's been in and out of the hospital. Then to Cheesecake Factory for Kahlua Creme Coffee cheesecake and took it to eat ate by the fountain at the Arboretum (again!). She went to Cali on vacation and brought me the cutest skirt back from Gossip on Melrose. Fun fun!

Third Tooth

J is losing his third tooth and it's freaking me out. The first two he twisted out on his own. This one I grabbed a paper towel and tried to remove it since he's been bugging with it all day, but all I succeeded in doing was making it bleed. And asking him if it hurt and he replied, "I can handle it." Now he's got a paper towel on it to stop the bleeding and I'm freaking out! Ack!

Update 10:02pm: It came out! We wiggled it a few more times and I'm sure he played with it all day. When Daddy got home we were at the neighbors and I sent J home to see if Daddy would get it out. J came back saying "Daddy says he needs pliers." Oh joy. He played with it some more and I sent him back in an hour to see if Daddy could get it this time. In the end J pulled it out himself. He's pulled all three out himself so far! B says J was playing with it in the mirror and he turned around and all he saw was a puddle of blood on the counter and a tooth in the middle of it. He came back with one tiny tooth. Soooo cute. And such a big man! He said it only hurt a little.

Saturday Night Whole Foods and Congress Ave. Bats

All day Saturday was rough. J's birthday party was on Sunday and Saturday I was dealing with pretty much everything to take care of it. So Saturday night I took myself out to go see something I've wanted to see for a long time - the bats under the Congress Avenue bridge. That was amazing, they kept coming and coming. There must have been thousands under there. Then I went over to Whole Foods to treat myself like I've always wanted to. This Whole Foods is the landmark headquarters store and has about six different areas that are their own restaurants in themselves. It's always so overwhelming I never know what to order. But THIS time I knew what I wanted. North Trattoria - the Italian pasta bar. Money was no option, so I ordered a vanilla Italian soda - I haven't had one of those in way too long it was sooo good, bruschetta, and cheese tortellini with roasted bell peppers and asparagus, fresh cooked right in front of me with a super friendly waitress which was nice. It was all absolutely delicious and blew me away. The bruschetta was like none I've ever had before. Warm melted halved cherry tomatoes, slightly melted fresh mozzarella balls, heaps of herbs, and perfectly grilled baguette. Yum! I almost took a picture of my Italian soda but the waitress was looking at me weird so before I had to make up some story that I'm a food blogger I stopped. Besides it was almost gone at that point : ) .



The bats coming out from underneath the Congress Avenue bridge. This was amazing! They kept coming for at least five minutes and that's just when I left!! Before they took off when the sun set you could just hear them - their high pitched noise, but they were tucked up underneath the bridge where you couldn't see them.


The most delicious bruschetta I've ever tasted.


The cheese tortellini with roasted bell peppers and asparagus

Heartbreaking

Read "A family is gone, and a city is left to grieve". She was my Grandpa's Great Niece, and would be my 3rd Cousin, making her children my 4th cousins. She had confided in her mother three weeks prior and showed her bruises caused by an abusive relationsip. I never knew them, but my Grandma has known her mother since she married my Grandpa and it breaks my heart.

How sad that she didn't get out at an earlier time. How does a woman get to a point where her husband, boyfriend, significant other, whoever treats her so incredibly badly and still think she would be a bad person or not be loved if she didn't put up with it? Or that is the best she can get and someone far greater wouldn't love her? I ask this not only for her, but for all the women I know who put up with abusive relationships, verbally, mentally, physically, or otherwise and don't seek healing for their battered hearts. The ones who are too scared and don't know where to turn. My plea is for you to find one person to help you and don't leave that person's side until they do. God will carry you through. The pain will be great, but how much greater if you don't do anything about it.

Perfect Date

My Perfect Flower


Perfect Stop


Perfect North by Northwest Restaurant


NXNW Perfect Outside Seating


NXNW Perfect Outside Seating


Perfect Entertainment on a Break

Perfect Couple


Perfect NXNW Cobb Salad and Quail Salad


Perfect Roasted Garlic Bulb & Goat Cheese Appetizer


Perfect Bottle of Champagne


Perfect Champagne and Entertainment


Perfect View


Perfect Entertainment

Perfect Goofball

Perfect Far Away Glance

Okay I'm not THAT delusional. It was just such a good night everything seemed so wonderfully perfect.

Reasons I Love Today

I stole this idea from My Life is Brilliant. I decided I needed it to gain a perspective on today at the beginning of FREAKIN' PMS.

-The new clothes I got this weekend have been worn and now are freshly laundered, dried, and hung up in my closet ready for me to wear again.

-J and S are not wrestling : )

-I spent an hour and a half just breathing and pruning all the hail damage off my flowers and sweeping my porch so it's back to it's outside room status

-My sister came over and let me vent for half an hour

-J is enjoying his Ipod Shuffle and speakers we got him for his birthday and I am enjoying the music

-The Family Stone was at the $1 rental place at HEB and now I have it to watch at my leisure. And my neighbor has Rumor Has It for me to borrow.

-There's an adorable brand new 3 day old baby next door with the silkiest softest long black hair that I can go over and hold anytime. Except for some reason I'm afraid to hold her like I'll infect her!!

-My house is clean.

-It's a GORGEOUS day outside - 81 degrees with a cool breeze.

-Mother's Day is this weekend and I already bought cards to send out.

B's Brother is Here

We now officially have TWO family members in Texas : ) . Well, and the four that are attached to the one. And all the friends that feel like family here. MP is in an apartment just a few flights of stairs away. We are happy. He is happy. I pray God brings the people into his life that will support him in growing in his relationship with God, believing Him and all that He says He will do.