You think you know....

So, you think you know who this little guy is, right? You are thinking I've lost my mind, because, like duh...it's Curious George...right?!

Not in our house.

In our house, he is known as "Ne-Nooots"...bet you didn't know that....

And this lady? You think you know her as Grandmommy?....

Nope. Wrong again....her name is "Howse". (or house...with the emphasis on the "OW".)

Bet you didn't know that either. Aren't you glad you do now?

Oh!, to be this cute...

So, I don't have much to say....just that this little guy brightens my darkness and turns me to mush on a daily basis. I know I am a (little) biased, but SERIOUSLY....can you even believe the cuteness...I mean, really?!

I am so blessed.

Books, bonfires, belts and babies....

I kinda don't want to write a new blog post, because that just means that our trip to Asheville was already moving that far into the past. Ugh, time moves fast. But, we've been keeping busy.....

Lj has had one thing after another...(but what else is new...) He had a big school project due last week that he had to present to the class (not merely reading from his paper, but speaking intelligently about what he read ) I am terrible at that sort of thing, I always crack up...forget what I am saying...and generally turn a bright shade of purple. But, he seems to do this sort of thing well. It's not surprising really, he always has enjoyed the spotlight. :)

Anyway, he picked his main character to discuss from the book Oggie Cooder. It's a funny little book about a kid that can "charve" - chew and carve cheese into just about any shape. Lj. loves this book. Anyway, he did great. If you already know how to get to his school webpage, a video of it is there. He had to illustrate his character as well. This was more of a challenge for him than the writing and presenting part of the project. We had a few bumps in the road, but I think he did a great job in the end.

The big news of this day was that he also had his belt test for his Recommended Black Belt. Each color belt has two cycles to it; the first cycle is the "recommended" belt and the second is the "decided" belt. He got all "excellents" and a few "outstandings" on his report for this belt test. This is really a feat! We are so proud of him and are just in awe of how far he has come. It's amazing to see the accomplishments and to see how proud of himself he is. His big test for 1st Degree Black Belt is in March. CRAZY!

I was so sad though to miss both the testing AND the ceremony. I mean seriously....that just sucked. J was supposed to tape the test for me, but it seems he had an issue with a. running wild and deciding just before Lj's turn that he was going to unload a big stinker in his diaper....leaving all who were within whiffing distance with strong feelings of disgust, distaste, and dislike...:(

We went to a fun bonfire at my sister and brother-in-law's on Sat. night. It was their 1st annual backyard bonfire...to enjoy the fall-ness. It was freezing cold, but was soooo fun. We stayed way too late for the kids but had a great time. Of course, it was too dark to take good pics with the i-phone...thus, nothing to share. One day, I will have a camera with charged batteries so I stop missing great photo ops!

And Sunday, we got to visit an old friend and his wife to bring them some food and a little something for their new baby girl. This was so exciting because they had previously lost their baby boy and had suffered a number of miscarriages. This little cutie-pie was ADORABLE. And I got to work on a little project for her........

It is always fun doing girly gifts. I get my pink out that way...I also found the cutest hat that I found on Etsy... put in the bucket with a few other goodies. I will definitely have to remember it again next time....

Asheville!

We went to Asheville last weekend to celebrate our anniversary. It was a second choice, of sorts, to Colorado - but that turned out logistically to be too hard on me...so, we decided to stay a little closer to home and make our trip a little shorter. It turned out perfect! Neither of us had been since we were in middle and high school so it was almost a whole new adventure for us. The weather was perfect and we just had a great time without a schedule to have to attend to.....and I loved every minute of it.

We stayed at this wonderful little Bed and Breakfast down in the old historic district near downtown Asheville. It was such a beautifully restored house with luxurious rooms. We stayed here. Our room looked out over the koi pond in the gardens so we opened up the windows and breathed in the fresh air and listened to the waterfall at night. Aahhh......I can still hear it if I close my eyes and ignore the distracting sounds in my own house.

Every evening the hosts would put out a fabulous spread of yummy hors d'oeuvres and wines and the guests would gather for about an hour and talk about their adventures of the day and where they were going to dinner that night. Every morning, the owners made a scrumptious 3 course breakfast of homemade, BEAUTIFULLY light pastries, fruit, and some sort of lovely main dish....like homemade belgian waffles with bananas foster, or an egg scramble with goat cheese and fresh herbs and a roasted beet and mixed baby greens and chevre salad. The owners were total food people so their food recommendations in town were the best too! Seriously, the food this weekend was amazing! I don't normally write about the food on vacation...but I couldn't get over how fresh, how local, and how amazing it all was....something we are severely lacking near our home. One of the guests commented on how the chocolate cake the night before was the best she ever had. (I agreed...very light, and a hazelnut cake interior...) Her husband piped up "and she's had a lot of chocolate cake". Hilarious.

We spent all of Saturday at the Biltmore Estate. J wasn't so sure about doing the whole house tour thing; he thought he'd get bored....he didn't. Let me first set the scene for you....it was the quintessential fall day; blue skies for as far as you could see, colors starting to change in the mountains, breezy but sunny, in other words: JUST GORGEOUS. From the minute we pulled up to the gate and started the drive through the grounds to the house, it was like an enchanted forest. I kept expecting to see a shire and a few hobbits running about. We spent about an hour walking through the gardens just in awe of the beauty of it all. We did the self-guided tour of the house and thought it was really cool and then walked down to the bass pond...another gorgeous trek. We hit the winery, had lunch on the patio while a bluegrass band played with a wide open meadow and the mountains as our backdrop scenery. Seriously!! I could hardly stand it.... I was in such a state of peaceful bliss. The night was topped off at this fabulous little quirky restaurant in town that served "mexican/californian cuisine" and had the best handmade habanero margarita. Weird sounding but seriously good.....

Friday night in Asheville was an art walk. Now, I used to participate in these ALL the time. My world was full of art openings, and art walks...oh, how I miss that. But, we stumbled into this gallery and found artwork by a Chicago-based artist Byron Gin. Funny he isn't an Asheville artist, but we both fell in love with his work, nonetheless. This is a great site with all of our favorites.

oh, one day...

I guess you get the idea. It was a great trip. The one downer side of it all....we went out to The Grove Park Inn on Sunday to take a gander and check out the views from the terrace for lunch, which WERE stellar...but the food was terrible and way overpriced and the hotel itself is way overrated (in my humble opinion.) But, it still an amazing LOOKING hotel from the outside anyway. But looks can be deceiving ...underneath the layers of pomp there isn't much substance. And that's my deep philosophizing for this blog post.

Pics below....

Our quaint little B & B : The Black Walnut Inn

sitting in front of the bass pond soaking in the fall goodness

Cheesy self-portrait in front of Biltmore

Awesomely gnarly vine and sun poking through at the gardens

Iris in bloom with small house in the background

More!

More pics through the gardens at the Biltmore Estate....

Crazy cool tree...

October 2.....

1999!

Wow. It doesn't seem so long ago really, but on the other hand, a whole lifetime has happened since....

Was it really ten years ago that these young kids embarked on this crazy adventure? And, we haven't seen them since....

just kidding.

In all seriousness though, it was such a beautiful day in Colorado that October day. I haven't regretted a day spent with him since (other than using our time more wisely..:) and I look forward to all the adventures to come. (please, let there be more adventures!) I know that sounds like heather's daily cheese...but for real, I mean it. It hasn't been all sunshine and roses (actually not many roses at all...:) and there have been the days that we get on each other's nerves, but for the most part there is no-one I would rather spend my time with. No-one I laugh quite as much with. No-one who just "gets it" and gets me quite as well. No-one who can turn my moods by making a joke about them. I am glad I picked him....and he chose me. He's a lucky fella....but more than that, I am a BLESSED girl.

I had a dream last night that woke me multiple times with racking sobs. Literally, tears were running down my face.... I dreamt that J. and I were not yet married and we were skiing in Breck. I have skiing dreams frequently and sometimes I remember how to ski and sometimes I don't. (Kinda like running dreams, where you just can't get your legs moving right... )

Anyway, we ended up at a house with other friends. J. then told me he no longer wanted to be with me, but with someone else instead - that he was choosing her. Now we weren't married in my dream, but we had been together forever! It was so matter-of-fact and heartless the way he was telling me this. After being shell-shocked, I proceeded to grab all my clothes and stuff them into my backpack....sobbing all the while. Nothing would stuff fast enough, I wasn't making any progress. He left for awhile, then came back and said he thought a little more about it, and yes, this was what he wanted. It was awful! Like I said, I woke up 2 or 3 times and realized I was just dreaming so I rolled over and held on tight....but then proceeded to fall right back into the same dream. Ugh, needless to say, I didn't get much rest. But, I am so relieved that something like this never happened nor do I have to worry that it ever will.

We are taking a little trip for our anniversary. I hope our camera is up for it...it's been fritzing out...as well as our scanner, thus the grainy pictures I had to post. Sorry they aren't clearer. But you get the idea....

So, to my other half:

I am so blessed that you are my husband and the father of our children. I couldn't have picked a better person to share my life with. You are my "only true sweet one"...my head...my heart...my future. Thanks for putting up with me for the past 10 (+3) years! I love your commitment, your character, your creativity, and your hot bod. (let's see if that gets by anyone...)

Thank you for giving me two beautiful babies and for taking such good care of us all. I love you!

"I love you honey, oh, yes I do, you know that's true of course...and if your dog or cat ever dies, I'll buy you a...."