Happy Birthday Izzy!

Today is Izzy's birthday! We helped celebrate last weekend at her super duper fun party! Izzy wanted a slumber party, but since Izzy and her pals were a little too young, mama Courtney decided a breakfast pajama party would be the next best thing....and it ROCKED! First off, we all went in our pj's, then the kids make their own sleep shirts, played in the bazillion swimming pools, and topped it off with yummy strata and a HUGEMONGOUS Round Rock donut 'cake'!!!!

a few of my favorite shots... all of them are here

Happy Birthday Sweet Izzy!

Summer's Greatest Hits

With Labor Day coming up, does that mean summer is ending? While I'm looking forward to the cooler days for fall, I'll miss all the water play and all the fun in the warm sunshine. Here are some of my fave shots from the fabulous summer of 'o8.

Mia's pal, Layla

my loving Honey
my honey showing our snapper how to write 'i love you' in the sand Mia's friend, T who happens to be Layla's lil bro...this one makes me giggle every time!

my fave flowers from Ita's garden...Ita is my mama :)
Mia with her Ita watering...one of Ita's fave things to do in the whole world



Mia's friend, Zephyr
Mia's Nana...Daryl's mom...at Port O'Connor. This is my most fave shot of her ever.

check out other summer shots with Stacey at The Land Of K.A.

Casa T...the fun continues

It's Wednesday, so Mia was at Casa T today! Her first day was last week, but today she spent the whole day there...napped and everything...for 2 hours!!!!! I love how Andrea blogs about Mia's day there. I can be a fly on the wall. I've noticed I truly enjoy watching Mia with her her teachers. Ms. Andrea, Miss Jennifer (Mia started swim classes at Emler again yesterday. Yes, she's still a fish...Bonus: we saw Anika fish and Mama Anja there, too! and Anja's super smart cousin who just earned her masters of law at Harvard!!!!), and Ms. Misty her nastics coach. Mia is her own person, and I love that. If you'd like to read about how I spent my day hop over to my blog all about me :)

all of the following shots were taken by Andrea

Mia loves puzzles ( i love how she's holding the one in her left hand)

I think she was making a little doll...she's entranced...it's a very good thing

ahhhh Mia the girl who's in charge of the napkins

(i heart the little specks of green paint on her L thumb)
Lovely Sophia pushing Mia on the swing....I'd know those lil piggies anywhere!
girls digging the sandbox...I heard it's Mia's fave place to hang

i NIA

remember Aralyn? well, i'm happily on her mailing list of super fun stuff...this week i receive an invite to experience NIA, Tango or acting classes...how fun is she? i opted for the NIA class. i've done it once before, and thoroughly enjoyed it. i've been wanting to add some exercise into my life and this kind comes with so much more.

today, after i dropped of Mia at Casa T, i got a haircut, had a quick bite at WF and hoped over to Congress and 9th to Aralyn's pad.....pet her sweet pig, Ara, before walking in to her funky cool home. when Aralyn saw me, her face lit up and told everyone, 'this is Tanya! she's fun....she drums'. what a super fab intro. then we NIA'd. Julie was an amazingly positive and joyful instructor. we focused on our spines...i even got to wag & drag my tail (the one that would be there if i had a long tail. i LOVE that she said to shake it...feathered or furry...what OPTIONS! ) on the ground, dance and sweat and we closed by focusing on our chakras. wednesday's from 12-1pm, at Aralyn's, is where i'll be. it was everything i needed and so much more.

to finish up my day gone wild, i stopped by my honey's office for a quick kiss & a plastic spoon (my fine dark chocolate bar had melted in this Austin heat....so i ate it with a spoon) before i spent 1 1/2 hours at Half Price Books...then off to pick up my happy happy happy child from Casa T.

i heart wednesdays

it's my cycle...i can cry if i want to

exactly 28 days ago this is what was going on, and it's that time of the month to revisit those feeling. instead of crying on my friends kitchen floor, this time I broke down in the middle of drum class. i was having a hard time with a new rhythm, i felt like my voice was not being heard ...add frustration and embarrassment to the mix and you get a beautiful little break down. i felt so much better once i escaped (20 min into the class) and was driving on the highway towards home.

i know this is cyclical. i've been taking great care of myself (friends and their kids came over to play, received an amazing Thai massage, had a cleaning lady in, taking my omega 3's and having a bit of chocolate when needed...super dark chocolate actually helps a great deal) and taking it easy. i have not snapped at Mia and the only harsh thing i've said to my loving and understanding husband was, in a very firm voice, 'i NEED you to get out of the kitchen'. i had planned to make a medium egg, but he preferred scrambled...wayyyy too much to deal with :) while i'm 'in it', i'm aware that i'm overreacting and that it's all hormonal, but it's real to me. i do try to keep myself in check, while still being gentle with myself, and do make sincere amends.

everyone dreads the visit by Aunt Flo, but i welcome her with open arms....she so generously brings with her total relief.

Just One Day?

Ya know when you meet someone for the first time, and everything falls into place oh so nicely? That's exactly what happened when we visited with David (Dee/Nana's brother), Sheila, Irene and Juliet. Since they live in Manhattan, and we live in Austin, there just aren't many chances to hang out. We've exchanged a few holiday cards... but that's it until last week when we all hung out for one afternoon while they were in town. Everyone had the best time, and I know we'd LOVE to see them more often! Sheila was soooo easy to talk with...about everything, and poor David was up and down the elevators (or as Mia would say, alligators) fetching their camera, a sweater, bug repellent...and just to give the girls a ride up and down the alligator...um, elevator. That just comes with the territory when you travel with 3 ladies :) We had a tasty lunch and then swam in the pool till the rain came. All I can say is 'just one day?'

I just realized that I don't have a single shot of Tom and Dee, but they're always around...just look here, here, and here or my flickr family page!

I had a fun time processing these shots...even got to play with the texture tutorial from photo pal, Christina. Here's a before and after of the lovely Sheila, and then the rest.

my honey is behind Joe (guy getting hugged by Sheila)..this is the only shot of him :(

Nuad Bo'Rarn

Sara did this to me and it was amazing!

i'm having a hard time finding words to explain the process or express how fabulous it felt...still feels. i was stretched, pulled and pushed in all sorts of interesting positions. sometimes it was like a game, trying to figure out if it was her hand, elbow or foot that was pressing against (insert major or minor muscle of choice here). it was beyond relaxing and not at all painful. the stretches were deep and warm...just right. the best part about getting the right leg done was that i had a left :) this is now my massage of choice, and lovely Sara is my therapist :) i feel like i'm not doing Sara or her work justice. i'm at a loss for words.

Update: it's the next day, and i'm seriously still feeling the super effects of the massage. my muscles and joints still feel relaxed...no soreness or aches....quiet the opposite. i'm sitting up straighter and my body just feels like a well oiled machine. i was just able to notice how weird my typing posture was and was able to relax. hmmmm there just may be something to this Thai massage stuff ;)

this just may be something i need in my arsenal against PMDD.

Sara, i LOVE you...and your feet, elbows, hands....and KNEES!!!

Almost Fifteen ~ Best Shot Monday

Last week, some of Daryl's relatives came into town from NY. We all got together for lunch then a dip at the hotel pool. Regardless what the rest of us were doing, Irene was entranced by her well-read book....unless she was on her cell phone....the life of a girl at (almost)fifteen.

for more looks visit Tracey's

and the rest of the birthday

let's just wrap it all up and finish with the tales from my birthday. after my lovely birthday brunch with friends, flowers, chocolate and dinner from Daryl, I thought my beautiful birthday was finished. but nooooooo.....

apparently Daryl and Andrea had been in cahoots for weeks...along with everyone that came to my Super Duper Surprise Birthday Bash! while i was innocently drumming with friends, there was a party going down at our house. the problem with it being a surprise was that i didn't know about it. so, if i didn't know about it, how could i be expected to be there on time? i was an hour late! i was so floored when i walked in and saw our entire home filled with family and friends, that i just shut the door until i was composed enough to try again...that happened three times. finally into my party and was just bamboozled by who was there. many who i'd seen that very day! i did underestimate their sneakiness!!! and it was AWESOME!!!!

Bonnie took some super fab shots, and here are some of my faves:

i took these last two shots.

my cake... Mia (2 1/2 yrs old) and Andrea (34 yrs old) couldn't wait till i blew out my candles :)

Mia does love her cake
thank you! it was a birthday to remember!