So, I’m still a little freaked out that my best friend (since 7th grade) Lori and I are actually mothers and have two daughters each that are about the same ages. For the longest time, Lori and I were partners in crime. We were FAR from being domesticated mothers. We were Thelma and Louise (in a non-violent way. Oh, and we definitely did not run into anyone as hot as Brad Pitt is in that movie. Unfortunately.) Let’s just say that Lori and I had too much fun together to settle down and be moms. No. Way.

Arden, trying to give the perfect expression:

Ella, close up:
Ella and Arden hanging out before going to “camp” so Lori and I could go to the spa!

This beautiful owl was perched on a post in the Hummingbird Garden located outside our room. He never moved! I was literally this close to him. No zoom lens needed!

I hate perfume. I’m so annoyed when someone wears too much of it. If I can smell you before I see you, that’s not good! Needless to say, I am in love with Christopher Brosius’s fragrances: http://www.cbihateperfume.com/. I found his perfume in a wonderful boutique in Austin called Bows and Arrows http://www.shopbowsplusarrows.com/. The bottles were so simple, the names captivating, the smells mesmerizing. I couldn’t resist. I HAD to buy some! Here is an excerpt from Brosius’s poem titled “CB Manifesto”:

The poem is printed on his large bottles. The scents are beautiful! I bought Narcissus from the Metamorphosis series. He describes the scent as “. . . clean running water over mossy stones, the wind gently blowing through green leaves.” It is AMAZINGLY fresh and light. Today I bought about five 2ml bottles (they’re about $12 each!) to try–At the Beach, The Summer Kitchen, (ocean)/Eternal Return, Greenbriar 1968, and CB93. Aren’t the names cool? And the descriptions of the scents are so poetic. I’m sooo excited to wear them or even mix them! It’s not perfume but subtle everyday smells that sort of “waft” around you.

The house we’ve lived in for more than 10 years sold in 5 weeks. We are moving out of it this Thursday. Tonight was the last night my daughters will sleep in the house on 1915 Bethlehem. Arden acted whiny all day, and I wasn’t quite sure why. Did I not think she might be troubled by our sudden dishevelment? I always read her a book before bed. But, her books are packed. This sent her into a hissy fit! When I told her tonight was her last night in the house, she burst into tears and said she didn’t want to leave her room, that she liked it. I cried with her. Not because I particularly like her room, but because of the memories the room brings to mind. This was the room where we stared in awe at her tiny little newborn self on the change table in the dim light. Where I lay her on the floor for a baby massage, her tiny legs still scrunched up like a newborn and quietly watched me caress her soft skin and whisper to her, what will you be? what kind of person will you be? How will you sound? The room where she lay in the Moses basket, I on the twin bed, drifting in and out of sleep, waiting for her to stir. This was the room where she play with her Barbie dolls, colored, watched dvds, dressed in tutus and butterfly wings.

Twice I crossed paths with two photographers this past week. The first was with my friend Abbie who I met when I taught at Presbyterian School 3 years ago. Her warm smile drew me in, but her Canon 70-200mm lens really got me! When we first met, we were both tinkering with the idea of being serious photographers. We love the art and talked about it every time we saw each other in the school hallways.