sunday morning

Hi All

And Happy Sunday morning.

I don't have all that much to report really. Jes and I spent all day looking at stuff for houses. We looked at couches and stoves and frigs and washer and dryers. We also continued to worry over what shade grey to paint the living room and what color green would look good in the kitchen. do we own a home? no, not yet. but keep your fingers crossed. All I know is that I could NEVER be a personal shopper for a living. It wears me out and makes me real cranky real quick.

We also have watched a few movies lately. We watched "Nick and Norah's playlist" or whatever it is called. I love the guy that plays Nick, but that has been true since Juno. It's pretty funny. A little slow in places, but worth a rental. We also watched "Secret Life of Bees" a definite must watch if not only b/c Queen Latifah AND Alicia Keyes are in it, and other people. And then we watched "Death at a Funeral" a sort of funny british comedy. Jes wasn't feeling it. Parts of it were funny, but if you miss it, its not the end of the world.

Today I have some work to do and then I hope to go to the Think Pink women's basketball game to show my support. I think Jes is going for a bike ride with Angie B. this morning. She went with Angie T. last weekend. She only rides bikes with people named Angie. Just kidding.

Anywho my sister sent me some lovely pictures of her family. Or maybe I stole them off Facebook. Either way, here are a few.

Let us begin with Zach and a cupcake for his first birthday:



ooh i want to eat that belly.

Next is the boys (ben and zach) together. cuties:



and finally the whole family. how lovely.



ok that is that. I need to give larry purrbox his pills and get jes's hiney out of bed.

welcome etta

i am thrilled to present the newest baby in my life: etta pearl





and here is one of her with her moms christie (holding her) and becky. what a lovely family:

almost one year old vs. cupcake

you tell me who won:



happy almost birthday baby boy zach
love, auntie donna who lives so far away
:(

our friday

good morning dear readers,

I hope this blog finds you happy and well rested.
it is sunny here in the ATL and word on the street is that its supposed to be in the 60's. this is a much needed break from the ridiculous cold we have been dealing with. i am ready for spring already.

so this is going to be a sponsored blog entry, brought you by mary and dusty's two babies.

First up, Blue the wonder dog. Don't you just want to snuggle him?



Blue is joined by his sister Davis. Also a little sweet muffin:



Ok, now that we have the sponsors out of the way, let me tell you about our night last night. Jes and I got spontaneous yesterday and she picked me up from work and we headed to Atlantic Station, which is this mega mall sort of town within a city. There are condos and lofts there and seriously you could never leave there and be ok. Because it was Friday night, it was filled with MANY irritating people, but we were on a mission so that didn't matter.

We went to see the two exhibits there. One is called "Dialogues in the Dark" and the other is "Bodies." Y'all, you should check these out. I am pretty sure both are in other cities, so google it if you can. Thank god, Billy Joel just started to play a jaunty tune to accompany my blogging. Heaven forbid I type in silence. Anywho we went to Dialogues in the Dark first. My student told me about it the other day and I was like "oh I have got to take Jes to that" so I did. Basically Dialogues in the Dark simulates what it is like to be blind. Yall it was bananas. Me, Jes, and eight people from Alabama (for real, that is not an "Alabama joke") were all ushered into a darkly lit room with canes in our hands. They say a little ditty, then the lights go off and it is pitch black. You can not see your hand in front of your face. It's the weirdest thing ever. So in comes Margaret, our guide. She takes us through a "park," a "grocery store" (where we feel the produce and bags of rice), on a "boat ride," through a "city" (this was the only place I had a moment of panic b/c I got stuck b/w some construction--i think-- and a car maybe)and then finally to a "cafe" where she sat us down and told us about how she lost her sight. She was hilarious and boisterous and totally understanding when I stepped on her foot and ran into her a million times. She kept saying "come to the sound of my voice" really loud b/c all the Alabamians were talking and yelling a lot. If you have the time and the money, seriously check it out. It was a great exercise in using your other senses AND being reminded of what a privilege it is to see. Seriously.

After that we went to an adjacent exhibit called "Bodies." This is where they basically take the skin off of people and let you see all their muscles and organs and shit. It was really intense as well. We were both pretty worn out from the Dialogues in the Dark so we didn't read every single thing in bodies, but it was still really visually engaging. I especially liked the stuff on the digestive system and fetal development. Oh and the comparison of healthy lungs to lungs of a smoker. There is a place you can deposit your pack of cigarettes if you feel so moved. I would suggest you do one, then maybe go get lunch and then come back for the other, or do them on two separate days. Its a lot to take in, but I am so glad we checked them both out. Once a science geek, always a science geek.

Anywho, after that we went to dinner and then came home, I watched the rest of "Sober House" and then fell asleep on the couch. It's a good thing I went to bed so early b/c Larry meowed the entire night. Seriously I was up (though Jes got up and fed them much more than I did) it felt like every hour. This was a great way to break up the anxiety dreams I was having all night. FUN TIMES.

Ok Jes is going for a bike ride with Angie T. today and I am going to my office to get some students recs and a review article done and to begin on the second set of revisions of my dissertation manuscript. I also hope to work out.

Happy Saturday yall!

higgins vist

So far this has been a stellar weekend, and I feel like it is only going to get better.
On Friday night after work, Jes and I met up with Higgins and had drinks and dinner at U Joint. Jes caught Higgins up on all the trashy television we watch: Rock of Love, Double Shot at Love, and the L Word. I am certain she must think less of us, but that's ok, we love the trash.

Saturday morning we got up and go to doing some errands. It was sunny and warm (in the 50's) and I was immediately in a good mood. I also got to go to TWO of my favorite places: target and the post office. Who can complain? We met up with Sarah, Kim, the boys, and Kir and Higgs for lunch at Mellow Mushroom. It felt so good to just have some of the gang together AND not only were we celebrating Higgs visit, we were also celebrating Nolan and Becker's first social outing (i.e. lunch with us). Look at them, they are overwhelmed with glee. First Becker:




and here is Nolan, also estatic:




We all had delicious sammies, except Higgins who had a delicious spinach salad with tofu of course. As an appetizer, we got these garlic cheese pretzel things. The gang loved them. On our way out, I tried to capture a few pictures of everyone on a lovely Saturday afternoon. Here are a few pics:






Can you tell what is different? It's like one of those "Goofus and Galant" things from the "Highlights" magazines we used to read as kids.

Anywho after lunch, Higgs and Kir came back to our house (we carpooled) and we all chatted for a minute in the parking lot where it was warm and sunny. Then they went on their way to Zesto for ice cream and then on to a walk I think. Higgs departed today (oh bother) but I think we convinced her to try and return in the summer with her hubby Bobby. Here we are before they leave:




After that Jes and I ran a few more errands and then met up with Emma and John for a hot minute at Joe's coffee house in East Atlanta. Emma asked Jes and me to be in this feature of GO! Magazine where they talk about lesbo couples who have been together for a long time. They needed a picture of us, so Jes asked Emma to do an impromptu photo shoot. Overall, it was pretty painful b/c I have double chins and hate how I look in most pictures, but it was fun nonetheless. Here is the winning shot:



when we got home we wrote a little ditty to go in the mag and sent it off. then we made dinner (it was not that good) and watched "vicky christina barcelona" also not great even though there were all kinds of beautiful people in it.

today we are going to superbowl it up with softball folks and then off to sarah and kim's for more superbowl and the hell word (read: L word). Keep your fingers crossed that Jenny actually dies today and Max finds a razor and shaves his ridiculous beard.

Oh, here are two pics that John and Emma think could be our album cover should Jes and I ever start a band:





Happy Sunday and Go Steelers!

mumbai and pushin' it

Good Sunday Morning Yall:

After a glorious night of very vivid dreams I woke up to the sun shining in my face (read: I woke up at 8am when the sun was actually up, not a minute before) and larry on my chest meowing.

I have a full agenda today including brunch with neighbors, grocery shopping, cooking not one but TWO soups for sarah, kim, and the boys- italian wedding soup and rustic shrimp stew- and recycling. i think we are going to work out somewheres in there too.

Surprisingly we had a pretty full weekend, which, when juxtaposed with my slothlike and sleepy existence of last weekend, is pretty funny. On Friday night we met up with Nikki and Christina and saw Slumdog Millionaire. Yall, this is a powerful movie. First of all, the plot, though some reviewers have called it trite, I think is imaginative. An orphan from the slums of Mumbai, makes it to the Indian version of "So You Want to be a Millionaire" and knows all the answers because of the specific life he has led. I love so many of the actors in it, especially the main character, Jamal as a little boy. He is such a mufffin:



I also love the man who plays the investigator in the film. He also played the dad in the "The Namesake." I think he is so handsome. So, back to the film: interesting plot, great acting, and visually breathtaking. The director? producer? used some really interesting techniques: these really jumpy shots, saturated colors, and then just some really jarring images of the juxtaposition of serious poverty and serious wealth. All in all, I loved the film and think you should go and see. I mean it ends in this Bollywood type dance number. Who doesn't love that? (this is while the credits are running). If you see it, let me know what you think.

We spent Saturday morning running around doing errands like picking up cats pills and getting necessities at Target and such. Then we went and hung out with Jes's parents and ate dinner. Once again her mom came through with this delicious Lemon Tuscan grilled chicken. Good stuff yall. After dinner and discussion with the parentals, we headed home, gave larry his pills and then headed out to Buford Highway to do Karaoke with Angie and Elin and friends for Elin's birthday. In general, karaoke is kind of crazy to me, but what was the craziest is how I clearly do not know most of the words to songs I grew up singing. I have only done karaoke (actually sung) once before and that was at my friend Molly's 30th bday. I sang "Music" with Molly. I was horrible. This time I sang "Love Shack" with Elin and then, as a present to her I sang "Push It" by Salt n Pepa. I didn't even really need to look at the words b/c I had that shit memorized. Don't remember how fly SnP were? Take a look:



My favorite was Spinderella, the dj, she is in the middle in this picture. Anywho after I pushed it (dance moves included) we pushed it on out the door and came home and passed the fuck out b/c we were T.I.R.E.D.

Overall, great weekend. Looking forward to our social engagements today and then off to another week of work at my awesome new job.

Happy Sunday yall!

my date with jes

tonight, jes picked me up from work and we went to the gym to work out
everybody and their brother, mother, gramma, and next door neighbor was at the gym so we only worked out for 30 minutes.

after that we went out to dinner at this place we have been wanting to try. its a middle eastern restaurant called mezza. it was delicious. we shared hummus, these cilantro garlic potatoes, and chicken swarma. for dessert we had some weird banana nut ice cream. it tasted pretty good but the texture was not so good. the potatoes were crispy and divine. the hummus was nice and garlicky and lemony but had too much tahini for me. the chicken, alas, was not as good as pita inn, but was good in its own way.

it was a lovely date with my lovah.

not much else to report except i love our new president. i feel hopeful and happy and i hope that doesn't go away. oh and i hate the cold weather.

peace.

two reasons why i love today

1. this is who is in charge of america:



1. this is who is in charge of my belly (the fake dog version):



i spent most of the morning crying in a room full of my co-workers. then i got back to work, then i came home and we watched the neighborhood ball with our friends and cried some more.

for dinner jes and i ate the (fake) pigs in the blanket we were going to bring to nikki and christina's party. we couldn't go there b/c our car is broken. so we stayed home and jes watched it on tivo. oh yeah, i cried then too.

my friend nifa went to the inauguration with her pregnant partner. they stood and waited and froze their butts off, but she said it was amazing. the pictures of them waiting in some tunnel to get to their seats gave me anxiety just looking at them. but i bet it was amazing to feel the energy of the crowd, you know?

anywho, i am spent. all this hope and joy and change can take a lot out of you, you know?

happy first day of the best thing that has happened to this country in a REAL.LONG.TIME.

Friday Night Blogging

It's me and the boys tonight. Jes is out getting drinks with friends.

I am watching house hunters while I drink yet another hot toddy.

I am trying to rally until 9pm when I plan to take some generic nyquil pills and hit the hay. Y'all I am OVER this cold. For real. Today my nose and eyes just starting running and really have not stopped. I look like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and my sinus are just throbbing. I almost used an entire box of kleenex at work and then finally I gave up and came home.

Billy Joel next door has stopped playing and I hope it stays that way b/c earlier when he was playing I seriously almost started crying (technically I already was b/c my eyes won't stop tearing up, but you get the point). The noise just made my head hurt.

My second week of work was as good as my first week. I got my computer, a phone, and my office supplies so I ready to go! I am off on Monday for Martin Luther King's bday and then I am excited to watch the inauguration on Tuesday with co-workers. I think I am going to make some red, white, and blue cupcakes for the occasion. GOBAMA! That looks like I am cheering for Alabama State, so let me revise: GO OBAMA!

Not much else to report here. It's just been work and fighting off illness here in the mansion. I am willing myself healthy so I can hang with Sarah, Kim, the boys, and Ruthie this weekend. If I can't get healthy, I will take a rain check, but I will be so so sad.

Ok Everybody Hates Chris is on. Happy Friday!

california peeps

so now i am blogging during gossip girl and then i think 90210 is next
we just watched this crazy disturbing movie called "towelhead"- let me know if you have seen it and what you think about it. it made my stomach hurt the whole time.

so on to better news
this weekend we did a lot of running around and hanging with friends
on saturday afternoon we hung out with sarah, kim, the boys and both their grammas!
i got to feed nolan and jes go to feed becker and they are both perfect and little and expressive. it was so nice to catch up for a bit with sarah and kim and to meet sarah's mom.

after that we met up with kennie, kelli and their daughter em who were visiting from california. on saturday we went to one jumping place and on sunday we went to another. the first one was less busy and more bouncy and the second one was packed, had lots of kids, and had these really cool high slides. i think em liked both. they both smelled like feet. here are some pictures:












my favorite parts of our time with em were these:

1. when kennie and and em went down this huge slide she said "daddy that was a daisy" (instead of doozie). so cute

2. when we were about to leave kennie and kelli told em that she had one more jumpy thing and then we were leaving. she went on the jumpy thing, bounced off, and then send said "ok, it's time to go!"

3. i bought em some balloons and on the way out, one popped and then kelli accidentally let go of the other two and they floated up to the sky. i *really* thought em was going to lose it and you know what kelli did? she got on my cell phone and "called" some character from the little einsteins and asked him to go up in his rocket, catch the balloons and bring them back to their house in california. em was like "oh ok." how fucking GENIUS is that? i mean jes and i were floored.

ok that is it for now. by the way, i hate the new chuck bass. he is a weiner.

new years eve

new years eve was a good day
i worked during the day (to make up for missing monday while we were in tampa)
and then we ate dinner- i think we went to u joint and i got a delish chicken philly with my favorite: TATER TOTS.
we went over to angie's house for some little yummy treats and a drink then we headed over to beth and odette's house for their new years eve party
it was a really great party- at first it was kind of chill with just few people and then more and more people showed up and it got more rowdy. i had a great time.

here is a pic of jes and me before we left for angies:



and here is one of us and angie:



here is odette and jenna:



and here is one of jes, andi and leigh after i said "say cheesus christ":



and here is the gang with baj:



at midnight we were in the basement dancing and i couldn't think of a better way to bring in the new year. we headed home around 1am and hit the hay. tomorrow i start my new job and i am really excited about it.
happy sunday!

beach

hi people
so here i am blogging while jes watches "rock of love bus" on VH1
hot.tranny.mess
she has just realized that she went to high school with the brunette from atlanta
apparently she stole jes's boyfriend in 8th grade
i think she is a lesbian

right after christmas jes and i rented a car and drove down to tampa to see mary and dusty who were visiting mary's mom. i was SO EXCITED to get to see them for a few days i didn't really think about where we were going. yall it is sunny and warm in tampa in december so we were able to go to the beach, swim at the pool and get a tan! it was so lovely. mary's moms house was really beautiful and open and there were all these breezes, it was so lovely. here are some pics from tampa:








The last day we were there we went to the Big Cat Rescue, a sanctuary for lions, tigers, panthers and so on. it was so amazing. you were so close and the cats were all so cute. my favorites were the ocelots and the white tiger who played a game of chase with her boyfriend the lion. so cute.









the weekend was sunny and divine and relaxing. mary's mom pam made all this food, i got to see mary's bro joe and meet his sweet gfriend catharine, and i ate WAY TOO MANY of mary's delish homemade cookies. it was a great time.

i will keep you posted on the brunette.

i just can't stop yall

i promise i will try and slow down on the pics of the boys, but they are so cute, its hard not to share. here are some pics of jes and me feeding baby boy nolan:





i love how baby boy is holding my finger. it makes my heart explode.

so we are gearing up for our new years eve night. i am so cold yall. i know its probably colder where most of you are, but i want the warm breezy sunshine of tampa.
i can't wait to just "flop" (this is a katie lebesco term) around on the couch tomorrow with jes. i need a nice day with the kitties doing a whole lotta nothing.

i hope you have an outstanding new years eve and new years day. be safe, have fun, and get yer groove on.

all i want for christmas is two baby boys...

HO!HO!HO! y'all.

i hope you are all enjoying your holidays.
i have had a nice relaxing few days and i think the next few days will be much of the same.

i am thrilled to announce that Sarah and Kim had their baby boys earlier this week. Nolan and Becker were born on Sunday and both they, Kim, and Sarah are all doing well.

Jes and I got to see everyone on Monday and hold both boys. They are both really adorable. Nolan came out first (butt first to be specific) and he has huge cheeks. Next came Becker who weighs less than Nolan (less cheeks) but is longer. I can not wait to get to know these boys and watch them grow. What a wonderful holiday treat.

So- here is the most important part- the pictures.

First up, one of the boys in their supa dupa cadillac crib:



and here is one of mr cheeky mc cheekerson Nolan:




and then one of his little bro Becker:



Happy Holidays Yall!

random stuff because i am awake

so larry woke me up at 4:30 am to feed him and i can't fall asleep.
i play this game with myself when this happens. what i do is give myself a deadline and if i don't fall asleep by that time, i have to get up and do work. while this is hardly "work" here i am on the couch with VH1 on and horace on the red chair next to me.

i have had a bunch of pictures on my desktop waiting to be blogged about, so i thought i would do a catch all post. before the pictures though, let me tell you about my anniversary dinner with jes last night. our friend mia had told us about this mexican restaurant called Nuevo Laredo and since Jes would eat mexican food everyday for the rest of her life if she could swing it, we decided to check it out. mia told us about this thing called a "holy taco"- it's MASHED POTATOES, CHEESE, ONIONS and then normally it comes with cabbage too, but we got that on the side b/c it hurts my belly. it was so good. we also got chicken enchiladas, which jes was bonkers over. i liked the sauce and i think it was a corn tortilla, but it was dark meat and the fattiness of dark meat sometimes makes me sick. we also had guacamole and sangria that was delicious as well.

we were both stuffed to the gills when we left so i had to take a little nappy to digest and such. then we went over to nikki and christina's for a little conversation and mexican train dominoes.

ok so lets get on to the pics. first up is one of me and katie from when i met up with her, john, and molly in brooklyn:



and then here are some of my nephews. the first one is of ben and zach going sledding last week where they live in colorado. the second pic is of my nephew ben on his 5th bday. kath got someone to bring snakes and lizards and stuff for the kids to play with. how fun!





and then last but most certainly not least, is my friend from high school maria's son liam. how cute is he?



ok david cook's video (american idol winner)is on for the SECOND time since i have been up on vh1. i mean really, could they not find anything else to play?

happy saturday yall.

just so you know...

i have been butt nuts in love with jes for seven years yall!

happy anniversary to us.

a few things i forgot

1. the madonna concert was good. we went with nikki and christina and everyone had fun. she played a lot of oldies but goodies and of course the dancing was rindonkulous.

2. on the way to the madonna concert, on the marta, jes found my VERY FIRST GREY HAIR. she pulled it out and i put in my pocket, but it's not there anymore. oh bother. it is my first step to being a silver fox. hells yeah!

3. tomorrow jes and i celebrate our 7 year anniversary. i have a good feeling about this year for us. 7 is my favorite number.

happy december yall.

since you been gone...

so it's been a minute, but i am going to do my best to catch you up.
here is the agenda:

1. sarah and kim's baby shower
2. halloween
3. our trip to new york
4. the madonna concert

here we go:

so like a month ago angie, elin, jes and me threw sarah and kim a baby shower.it was a lovely afternoon- good friends, good food, the celebration of two baby boys. after we ate they opened presents and then we made some onesies. jes and i made a pair that said "hot" on one and then "mess" on the other. we made another pair that had "beer" on one and then "wine" on the other.

here is everyone at the dinner table:



and here is one of angie, elin, sarah, kim, jes and me:



the weekend after the shower was halloween. jes and i decided we wanted to dress up but it had to be low budget, comfortable, and easy. we decided to go on salt and pepper shakers. here is a picture:




and here is an upclose of jes's belt buckle, it says JESQ, short for Jesquire because Jes passed the bar. HOT!



and here is one of jes and me with lindsey, who was dressed as sarah palin from the early days (beauty queen):



and here is one of nikki and christina, they were sweeny todd and the lady who makes the meat pies in the movie:



in celebration of jes passing the bar and to celebrate her 29th (yes the big 30 next year), we went to new york to see glennda and our other friends. it was such a great trip filled with good food, drinks with friends and nice walks through brooklyn and manhattan. here is a picture of glennda, jes and me waiting for the F train:



we met up with lawyer folks at the bar nowhere. here is a picture of jes, linda, and erica:



and here is one of jes and pony:



on saturday morning jes and glennda relaxed at the homestead while i walked up to tea lounge to meet up with katie, john, and their baby girl molly. look at how cute she is:



and here is one of the whole family:



how cute are they? pretty cute.

on saturday night we went to cattyshack, but before we left we played a little sexy dress up. first up, sexy glennda:



and then TWO sexy jes pictures. work it girl:






while at the cattyshack i was texting with azad and he referred to glennda as "the girl who looks like vigo mortenson (sp?). glennda didn't like that, so she took this picture to send a message to az:



knuckle sandwich

on sunday morning nancy got to new york so we got to hang out for a minute before we left to come back to atlanta. we got one last shot with the family before we came back:



since we got back we have just been working and freezing our butts off. we had a great thanksgiving with jes's folks filled with great food and lots of relaxation.

so to round out this post let me leave you with two pictures of my sweet babies:

larito:



an mr. ho ho: