A Boring Post + Pictures

I've had a revelation, thanks to a blind playdate Annabeth and I had a few weeks ago. The sister-in-law and 2-year-old niece of a friend of mine came over to play. They had just moved to Houston after spending 6 years in Durham, England, which was one of our favorite places to visit when we were living there. We bonded over hot tea, although after she left I realized that since I make it a little backwards I probably looked like the British version of a country bumpkin. Or a poser. Take your pick. (I like to put the milk and sugar in the cup and stir it up before I pour the hot water. Does anyone else do that?)

My new friend told me she drinks 5 cups of tea a day, and that's after cutting back from one every hour of the workday. Needless to say, I realized that I could be benefiting so much more from tea! So I added a cup in the late morning and it has changed my life. Waking up at 6 AM to have my quiet time before the kids get up has been a very positive change for me. I wish I had done it sooner. But I've become rather dependent on naps, which is not realistic every day. Anyway, my mid-morning tea is helping so much. Sometimes I even skip the afternoon one.

Now that you're crying tears of boredom, here's an assortment of pictures from my iPhone. I know you're just so thankful you stopped by today.

This is evidence of the hottest day in the history of Houston, Texas, which happened in August (the 20th, I think). It was BEYOND. I got to host some friends from out of town that day and, bless their hearts, it was just so horrid. It wasn't actually 120 degrees but for the temperature gauge to even draw close to this is insane in the membrane.

These are the chips that I became addicted to this summer. However, I came down with a stomach virus after putting them in a taco salad and it cured my addiction.

My dad called me a few months ago to tell me about this huge trout he caught. I said, "Oh, good, Daddy! Are you going to cook it for us?" He might have used a minor expletive to express his state of flabbergastedness at my suggestion. It may have sounded something like "Heck no! That was a career trout!" Here it is, folks - Dad's career trout.

Here's my mom trying on some Willy Wonka sunglasses.

There was a clothes basket sitting by the laundry room door, just waiting for mama to tackle it. Inside was Annabeth's special blanket - AKA Giraffe Babies - which had suffered a baptism of the most unfortunate kind in the night. The house had gotten very quiet and I didn't know where Annabeth was. This is how I found her.

It was the most adorably tragic sight I'd ever seen.

This is a light fixture at a local hamburger joint.

I just love art.

My guys playing Guitar Hero.

This is the day Annabeth let me put pigtails in her hair. She will not let me do a ponytail (so ironic) but I achieved this by telling her she would get to wear two bows.

This is the day she wanted to stroll her baby dolls down to the school to get Jackson. It appears that she's had a haircut but she really hasn't.

Curtis, AB and I went to the Zapp Hall antique show this week. We had lunch at Royer's at Zapp Hall and it was incredibly yummy.

This is the shrimp BLT. It has become legendary in my memory, much like Goode Company's BBQ chicken sandwich at the rodeo.

Thanks to the orange lei, Annabeth fell asleep flanked by her lamb purse and baby doll.

Have a great weekend, people!