palm springs bike trip with dannielle's cute mom (who does NOT SPEND THAT MUCH TIME ON FB?)

{l to r: jody, dannielle, micki}

a few weeks ago i had the good fortune to enjoy a lovely 2 days in palm springs with my bike and my bff's.



we geeked up in our bicycle-wear (is there ANY biking clothing that looks cute on a person unless they weigh 115 or less? lame.) & cruised the flat surfaces that the city had to offer us.

and it was good.


my friends even withheld their disapproval at my riding sans clips & shoes: {gasp}

but nobody seemed to really notice my fashion faux-pas--could it have been because of this breathtaking view?:

or perhaps this one:

you can even pluck fruit RIGHT FROM THE TREES! in palm springs, california:

naturally, there was much ingesting of food to be done--we enjoyed dinner (two nights in a row!) at long-standing palm springs tradition las casuelas--


dannielle's delightful mother, andrea, was right in the middle of all the action with us:

the next day i had my first mediterranean food experience with dannielle's brother, matt, and his lovely bride, micki--it was surprisingly good! even though it was kabobz spelled with a z:

we were sad to leave, but took solace in the magnificent rainbow that bid us farewell as we drove out of town:

i am thankful for my tribe of weirdos

here's to you NOT wrestling with the turkey today:






things i am genuinely thankful for:

a husband who makes me an omelette every single morning. just because he knows i love it so--he's a caretaker and there's nobody better at it than him.

a daughter who is a responsible big sister, who gets good grades and tries hard to please her parents.

for another daughter who takes pride in her school work, is a wonderful organizer, and has a soft spot for her catties.

and yet another daughter who keeps her bedroom clean despite living with the littlest sister, who loves to read and also give lots of loves and hugs.

and, finally, for the caboose who holds us all together and keeps us laughing at what she'll say next. we love hers.


for these things, i am truly grateful. happy thanksgiving !

brandon flowers with the biggies

lovedLovedLOVED the brandon flowers concert we saw the other night with kyle & kami--


kami & i must have called each other on the telephone like in 7th grade and coordinated our outfits--gray shirt & black sweater with flower for kami, black shirt & gray sweater with flower for mindi.

great minds think (and dress) alike:

we had a pretty sweet spot over on the front side of the stage where we could lean against the bar and not have to shove people or "box out" for our space. (we might be getting a tad bit old.)


brandon was certainly very happy to see us there--here he is, pointing us out in the crowd:

i was delighted with his cover of bette davis eyes:

we got to see russ's assistant manager and her bff's show their devotion to brother flowers in bedazzled form.

i must say i was a bit envious of their flower power:

for his last song, brandon brought out surprise guest & killers drummer ronnie vannucci for a pretty sweet acoustic version of when you were young:



perfect.

CAT-ASTROPHE.

i made russ buy me this cat box sign the other day--it cost $31.00 plus tax.


he said it was ridiculous. i said it was an INVESTMENT IN MY HAPPINESS.




martin & dave agree:

fear is NO factor: sadies 2010 for kaitlyn and her friends

{l to r: katie, ben, brooke, andrew, keairra, jake, bree, mckay}

katie & her buddies went to their sadie hawkins dance the other night and had such a good time--


their FEAR was FACTORED earlier in the day when they competed for prizes and the ultimate title of FEAR FACTOR CHAMPION.



each team displayed their logos proudly:

& then contestants were invited to participate in the beauty of.....




ketchup-drizzled m&m and "dirty diaper" dining:

worm/cricket gathering (only 30 bucks for 1000 worms--bargain!) in which russ upped the fear by throwing in my worst nightmare:

mustard-covered marshmallow drop & catch:

goldfish swallowing (bree swallowed TWO!):

and, my personal favorite, a happy meal shake:

in which THIS stud was the only finisher:

they took pictures before the dance:

and some couples showed quite a flare for the dramatic:

all in all, the girls were lovely:

and the boys meant BUSINESS:

the end.

FIRST place at the jdrf walk and we're DAMN PROUD!

i was informed that all of the awesomeness above snagged us FIRST PLACE in the "t-shirt" category at the jdrf walk we ruled in september--



but we might have to admit: was it ever even a question?


(we think not ;)



the only thing i wish we could have done was perform an awesome pseudo-rock-dream-sequence like this little clip that i have been in love with.


plus, how awesome is zach galifianakis?


SO:

thankful thursday

things i am thankful for this week:




kids that look cute in their halloween costumes:

friends who have an equally as evil sense of humor as i do & who will stop to take a photo of this:

(thanks, caylor)





& for the fact that chuck norris is STILL a big deal in the czech republic:

what's better than one halloween cat costume?

FELINE halloween costumes.

(no. he is NOT lying on the kitchen counter. it just LOOKS like it.)

note to reader: i am NOT the only person messed up enough to dress my catties:

cap'n dave's dolphin safari by the numbers: dad and mom go to dana point.

price for two adults to experience captain dave's dolphin safari: $110.00


threatening clouds in the sky the morning of: approx. 600,000

number of times i said, "this isn't going to be a re-creation of 'the perfect storm' today, is it?": at least 5


number of times i envisioned THIS happening the night before: countless

signs posted for the rbc's birthday at the dock: 1

self-portraits taken of us for our "kissing" portfolio: 1

(you're welcome, girls.)

people we saw throw up while on the ship: 3


number of times we threw up: 0


camera batteries dropped straight into the pacific ocean: 1


number of curse words uttered after dropping battery straight into pacific ocean: 5 (allegedly.)


number of dolphins spotted: 1 million (give or take a few hundred thousand)

different types of dolphins spotted: 3 (common, bottlenose, and risso's)



we got to stand at the bow of the boat (i resisted the urge to yell, "i'm flying, jack! i'm flying!!!") and watch the dolphins as they "drafted" off the boat--it was so cool:

dollar amount we spent while high-pressured into buying cap'n dave's "wild dolphins and whales of southern california" cd before we could exit the watercraft: $20




value of experience: PRICELESS.

chandler went to sleep with the bathtub on or Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

are you ready for even MORE fun with numbers?

alright, let's GO!


suppose that the father & mother of a family goes to the late movie.

let's also suppose that one of the children (but which one? we don't know--so far, it's NOBODY!) turns on the bathtub and leaves the water running.

then, let's say that children all go to bed with the water STILL running.

then, maybe, dad finds out that the house has flooded when he steps in 4 inches of water at approx. 1:30 A.M.



so, just how many fans would it take to dry out the wet, soggy mess?

if you answered "NINETEEN", then you are correct.