Oscar

There was no room in my parents' car for Jules' Oscar balloon, so he came home with me. He's spending some time on my dining room ceiling.

This is where I spent my day. It was fabulous.

Grover

This is Jules holding up the Grover I got her at Sesame Place. I got a clearer shot, but I liked the blurriness of this one.

Hugs from Bert

If you ever take a child to Sesame Place, definitely spring for the character breakfast.

Joe's Favorite

So, Liz got me hooked on this amazing sub at an Italian sub shop near her house. It's called a Joe's Favorite, and it's got chicken, spinach, sour cream, peppers, onions, and maybe some other stuff. I feel like I'm not doing it justice with this paltry description. Trust me, it is the crack of the sub world. Inexpensive, highly addictive, totally delicious. Okay, that comparison went off-track at the end.

So, on my way to the Gibsons' tonight, I stopped to get one. I felt a little guilty passing within ten minutes of Liz and Zack's and not stopping in, but it's their fault I'm addicted to this sandwich and also Zack once did the same to the Gibsons, so I figured it all evens out in the end.

Packing for the weekend (and anticipating allergies)

Baked french toast

Yum!

Flowers cascading down the hill

Julia, at the school, after the musical

She found herself in a delightful forest of drums.

And then she tried to scale the stage.

More scenery from the musical

I painted those letters on myself. The slight crookedness was totally intentional.

Snoopy's Doghouse

I love the cartoony look of it.

My prize

I won a Mental Floss trivia contest and my prize arrived in the mail today. What should I film?

Hideous, I know.

This was my dinner tonight. Sheetz mac n' cheese. Look away.

"Ah, the glorious sound of cold, hard cash. Nickels, nickels, nickels!"

Melis is putting up the show You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown this weekend. The sets look great. This is my favorite bit of scenery. I wish I could put it in my apartment.

My favorite gum

Whenever I go to NYC, I stock up on my favorite gum in cinnamon and peppermint flavors. New York is the only place I can find it. This last time, I went to a street vendor and grabbed a couple of packs. The vendor pulled out a box of the gum and said, "Wait, miss. Here, I make you good price." I wonder if the street vendors know about me, the crazy gum girl.

First position

Julsie, learning first position, in her new ballet slippers.

Sunrise over the valley

I got this shot the only way I will ever get a shot at 5:30 in the morning: I didn't go to sleep the night before.

BTW, these are the best pickles ever.

Recital, Night 2

Lex's ballet group.

Dew covered blossoms by my front door

Recital, Night 1

We went to Lex and Mags' recital tonight. This is the ending pose to Lex's group jazz dance. (She's the V in LOVE. Jen and I agreed she got the best pose of the group.)

Additions for my jar o' tickets

One perfect Magnolia Bakery cupcake

The world's largest indoor miniature village

I passed this on the way home from NYC and of course I had to stop. I love this kitschy stuff. It makes me imagine families in the '60s piling into the Chevy and going for a Sunday drive to see the miniature indoor village.

Central Park

The Highline Park

In New York's Chelsea section, there's an old elevated train track running through the city. It's recently been converted into a park.

This last shot is where the park is being expanded. It will eventually be three times its current size.

The fountain on 50th and 6th

Views from the Top of the Rock