A Request

You lurkers who have been pregnant, please tell me:

1.) How long did it take you to get pregnant?

2.) Did you feel any very-very early symptoms? Like, ridiculously early symptoms?

3.) DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FOR ME PLEASE

Thank you!

Twinzies

Janie Bryant, Costume Designer for AMC's Mad Men, WHICH I LOVE

Today a coworker found my doppelgänger.

An Open Letter To My Sandals

To My Dearest Saltwater Sandals,

My time with you this summer has been brief, too brief. The snows of June and the rains of August made me savor each day I had with you in July. I tried to be fair and wear each of you equally, I hope no one felt left out.

But the winds of change, they are a'comin', there's just no denying it. I awake to a chill in the mornings, I need a sweater for my morning commute. The afternoons are lovely and warm, but the breezes are brisk and the shade is cold. I'd like to bring you out more but it's just not working like it used to.

It's not you, it's me.

I will remember our summer with fondness. I will think of you often when I am with my boots and galoshes. I will think of visiting you again from time to time, but I will decide in the end that it is just too painful. We need a clean break. We need to move on.

I will see you again next summer, when the air is warm and the sun is bright. Until then, I hope you enjoy your time in the plastic storage bin with the rest of the flip flops and sandals I have loved. Please keep the gossip to a minimum.

Love,
Natalie

Lentil Festival!

this weekend the holbrooks partied hard at the lentil festival.

we ate lentil ice cream.

You have to taste it to believe it, I think.

we listened to yodeling cowboys in neck ties.

you can even buy custom-made bouquets of dried wheat, feed to your llamas in your back yard with, I suppose.

Tina, you fat lard! Come get some DINNER!

and then we sat around while my Holbs took a phone call.

It smelled like vinegar outside. I don't suppose that has anything to do with Lentils, though.

The Kids Are All Right

Saturday night there was a youth dance. I was there to chaperone. Let's be honest though, I was there to be awesome.

For this dance, we hopped in our rigs, drove 40 minutes even further into the middle of nowhere, parked in a grassy lot in the middle of rolling wheat fields, and set up a DJ stand under a giant tree.

While we waited for the dance to start I wandered to a nearby barn and watched a few chicks hatch, said hello to two skittish goats, and then stepped in some poo. Then I found a pig sty and flirted with some very amorous hogs.

I think they fell in love with me, just a little bit.