Please. Make. The. Drilling. Stop.

Construction in the office since last Friday.

Everytime the noise stops, I'm so so hopeful....

And then it starts again and my hope gets dashed to pieces.

I am wearing headphones today while I sit at my desk. They aren't making much of a difference....

Cold and wet

In the middle of an afternoon tropical rainstorm here. I had to run something out to someone in a car, and got soaked. To the bone. Now I'm shivering in the chilly air conditioning. Only 30 minutes left of work. I think hot chocolate will be required to tide me over!

Second star to the right, and straight on till morning!

This summer in London, in Kensington Gardens, Peter Pan is coming to life.

What a magical way to experience one of the most loved children's books of all time.

I absolutely love the story of Peter Pan, and always dreamed that Peter and his band of lost boys would someday show up on my window and I would get to fly away to Neverland and fight Captain Hook. While the Disney cartoon is loads of fun, reading J.M. Barrie's words is incredible. He completely transports his readers to the action of Neverland. I will be rereading the book this summer and anyone lucky enough to be traveling to London should try to get tickets to this amazing theatrical event!

I did it!

Another pink drink for the bride, please!

Last night I went out to celebrate my friend Meg at her Bachelorette party! A really fun group of girls, a beaming bride-to-be and lots {lots!} of cosmopolitans. I had fun playing photographer with Erin's camera and Meg was just adorable. I don't think I've ever seen anyone so happy and so excited. I can't wait until the wedding on Saturday! Congratulations!!!!

Oh Danny McCoy, you're the cutest Decepticon fighter in the world

Last night we went to see Transformers and it was a great time. I loved the movie, even if it is a little {lot} bit too long. So many funny parts and lots of little touches that I thought were fantastic. Cute boys in combat gear walking and fighting in slow motion is a welcome addition to any film, and hearing one of Tulip's favorite quotes was rather amazing. There were so many parts that had me laughing {hard} out loud, and one in particular still has me giggling this morning. Great summer movie!

My Dad is Brilliant

When I was a little bitty girl, my family got a book titled “My Dad is Brilliant!” I cannot remember where this book came from or for what occasion the book was purchased. This book was incredible, because it seemed as though it had been written about my very own dad. My dad is strong, my dad is wise, my dad is funny and most of all, my dad is brilliant.

When I was in high school, I learned how to drive (kind of). My dad bracingly sat in the car with me as I herky-jerkied it around the church parking lot. My dad is patient. When I was in high school, I wanted so badly to be a singer and an actress. My dad spent countless hours sitting at the piano with me, singing songs over and over again. My dad is encouraging.

When I was in college, my dad ran the New York City and the Boston Marathons. I’ve never been more proud of him, than those fleeting moments of seeing him in those little yellow shorts, pushing and pushing as hard as he possibly could to keep on going and finish the race. My dad is strong, my dad has shown me what it is to endure.

Last year I had a heart-wrenching phone call with my dad, with me standing, sobbing, on 56th Street in New York City and he, weeping on the other end, at his office in Ohio. My dad is strong, my dad is loving, my dad is wise, my dad is brilliant.

Now I have dreams of becoming a published writer. My dad thinks this (and anything I dream to do) is awesome. He will read, offer suggestions, offer encouragement, never do it for me, prod and provoke until greatness comes. My dad is smart.

Nearly daily, I call him. It’s our morning tradition (which hiatus is nearly over!!!). Nearly daily, the best moment of my day is when I make him laugh. His laugh validates my thoughts, punctuates my writing and pleases my daughterly heart to no end.

My dad is so very handsome. My dad can rock a pink shirt like nobody else. My dad can cook dinner, make pancakes and sugar cookies, pick good movies, and direct music with gusto.

My dad is good. My dad is loving. My dad is kind.

My dad is BRILLIANT.

Happy Father’s Day! I love you so much!!!!!!!

Great, great movie

Today is so much better

Last night I got an astounding 10 hours of sleep. After some seriously frustrating sleepless nights and innumberable Diet Cokes, I feel human and oh so happy again.

I'll admit that it wasn't an unaided sleep - yesterday while playing with the puppy I got at least 23984718573249857 mosquito bites and took a Benadryl to combat the itchiness. The Benadryl curbed the itchiness and swiftly sent me to the Land of Nod, where even Tulip's precious little voice could not reach.

I am really looking forward to this evening. I'm off the Botanical Gardens this evening with a new friend and luckily will not be yawning into the flora. Yay! And it's Thursday, with only one more day until the glorious weekend!

UPDATE: Ummmm, apparently I'm not that well rested....because it's 4:40pm and I just now realized that my tshirt is on BACKWARDS. All day long I sort of felt like I being choked by my collar and now I know why. It's a black crewneck tee, so I don't think any of my coworkers noticed. Until I told them, while we all giggled. Slightly embarrassing but pretty funny.

Can I get a Dangity Dang?!?

Our mom is here for a month!
We got tickets to the Beyonce concert!
The Tory sale shut down Rue La La this morning!
Tulip whiiiiiined and barked all night long!
I’m super sore from working out last night!
It’s only Monday and I can’t WAIT for the weekend!

I hope everyone else is having a fantastic day too.

Darn, darn, darn!

I find it's generally unwise to let on to someone that you have low expectation of their abilities. Jessica and I have gently and (somewhat) jokingly suggested to one another that maybe Tulip doesn't learn as quickly as other puppies and that perhaps she's goofy and loveable but maybe not that quick.

Our dear darling has now gone out of her way to prove her intelligence to us. That magical bark collar? Yes....well.....Tulip has figured out that while a BARK will set it off, a WHINE will not.

whiiiiiiiine.

whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.

(You must reeeeeeead that in a high pitched puppy voiiiiiiiiiiice.)

WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE.

All night long.

Rarrrg.

Running clothes but no shoes

So sad. I hate when a workout day gets wasted....

Wednesday at noon

Few things in life are as sweetly satisfying as walking your puppy past honeysuckle bushes on a warm summer afternoon.

Prong collars, bark collars, and crates, oh my!

{I know it looks horrifying, but I tried it on my arm and it really doesn't hurt. It's just a bit uncomfortable, and we only use it when we take her on walks. And we were taught how to use it appropriately. So it'll be ok.}

Tulip’s life has been turned a bit upside down since our meeting with the dog trainer, and the results, I must admit, are nothing short of stunning.

No longer do we have a howling cage-fighter puppy. Now we have our floppy-eared, cuddly puppy back who magically seems to enjoy obeying commands. It’s really remarkable. She sits when we tell her to sit and grins so proudly at us when we praise her. Her little buns practically hit the floor before we’re done giving the one-syllable command. Sometimes. Other times, she still needs to be reminded how the physical motion of sitting is accomplished. But she's improving so much!

And the barking? That epic, ear-drum shattering all-night barking? Thanks to the most expensive mosquito repellant on the market, also known as a citronella bark collar, the barking has been abolished. We put the collar on her last night around 8:00PM and proceeded to make dinner. One bark. PSSSFT!!!! Right into her face. She had absolutely no idea what had hit her. While hard to watch her be uncomfortable, it was actually pretty funny as she circled the area, trying to figure out where the stinky stink came from. A bit later, bark! PSSSFT!!!!

Then came the true test, bed time. We put her in her crate, tucked her in with our tshirts for added comfort and shut the door.

Bark! PSSSFT!!!!
Bark! PSSSFT!!!!
BARK BARK! PSSSFT!!!! PSSSFT!!!!

And then she slept until morning.

Thanks, I'll take it

{Photo by Absolutely Beautiful Things}

On my way back from lunch today, my new boss commented that I looked "very South of France." I'm wearing a black pencil skirt/black tee combo topped off with dark sunglasses and black flats. It was especially nice considering the rather intense heat situation happening outside and that I was on my way back in from a lusciously sweaty run. Such a lovely compliment and I appreciated it very much.

{Photo by kate spade}

Additionally, I have decided to announce publicly (mainly to hold myself accountable to someone) that I am working on a project. A writing project, to be specific. I have discovered over the last few years that I'm exceptionally gifted at setting good and creative goals for myself, goals that help me learn and grow. I am exceptionally less gifted at the day-to-day discipline needed to achieve said goals. Especially with creative ventures; it's one thing to set aside an hour each day and go running, it's a completely different beast to commit to writing 2 pages a day. 'Tis harder, in my opinion, as you can't schedule the surfing of creative brain waves. (Or at least I can't.) But to me, nothing is more fulfilling than writing a page and then looking back and realizing that moments (or hours, depending on the current level of writer's block) ago, that little piece of action simply didn’t exist. It’s such a great feeling.

So there ya have it. I'm writing something. That's my summer goal. Next summer’s goal is to get to the South of France.

What are your goals? Please do share, it'll be fun.

What I did over the weekend

What a busy, busy weekend. After multiple errands with E (the very best errand-running buddy!) and dropping him off at his car, we scavenged for lunch and found a perfectly cute, perfectly perfect little gem of a restaurant. Il Posto Cafe. Where they have several varieties of grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade oreo cookies. Major, major yumminess. AND (joy of joys) I discovered that they have H&H bagels. REAL H&H bagels. Shipped down daily from New York. An everything bagel, toasted, with cream cheese and sliced tomato. Doesn't matter where it's eaten, it's delicious. It made here feel that much more like home.

Then, because we were feeling all dreamy and romantical following our decadent lunch, we drove around the Garden District looking at the pretty homes. After finding a wedding party boarding their special wedding streetcar (so fun - the streetcar was covered with pink tulle and flowers - June in New Orleans is filled with weddings!) we went home to our little home and proceeded to fixer-upper for a while. Painting in bikinis while keeping a puppy out of the paint is always a fun game. Then it was on to puppy kindergarten, where we were informed that our little darling has some.....shall we say, behavioral deficiencies. Yes, tell me something I don't know. But we all had a good time and are now hard at work enforcing the lessons we learned. Lil' Tulip is learning. Slooooooooooooowly.

A couple of sleepless nights later (Tulip is back in her crate at night and vociferously protesting her lot in life, from 1AM to 5AM when we finally gave in and let her out. Weak!) here I am. The weekend was a great one. Lots of fun, lots of great news, lots of happiness.

This weekend, Tulip goes to kindergarten

And we could not be more excited!

"It's raining, it's pouring......!"

The sky is looking greenish and ominous. It's about to start pouring here. The summer rains have begun.

Some good life lessons:

1. ALWAYS carry an umbrella with you. The one in the car won't keep you dry on the way to the car.
2. Keep an extra pair of rain boots in the office. You will need them.
3. Keep extra umbrellas in every possible location. Cars, office, front porch, back porch, gym, etc.
4. Realize that no matter how hard you try, you will not stay dry. No one does. It's part of the fun!

Aaaand we're back to our regularly scheduled programming

Back at "work". Phmph. This morning I was greeted like a long-lost bayou princess. They clearly missed me more than I missed them.

First day of Jessica's summer "job", which means lil' Tulip will be living a bit more of her daytime life in her luxurious cratey-crate. Which also means we will be arising a fair bit earlier to ensure she gets some nice, proper exercise before her 8 hour nap. Which today (because she still can't run - I mean, she can run, we just feel like we can't run her on a leash yet) meant frolicking in the front yard. While Jessica read the paper. While I took a nap on the porch. Napping while the sun rises is fabulous. The perfect way to begin your day.