guess what.

it's time to move this blog. so much of this little internet portal is dedicated my dear libby and it always will be. it is the story of our friendship, documented, preserved and archived forever.

But i need a new space, a new look. you can understand.

And i must fess up, i've been cheatin on this lil blog. for the past few months, i have been posting to another site behind all of your backs and without further ado, i reveal to you:

www.amegrowsinbrooklyn.tumblr.com

Not to worry, the blog will be much of the same but different too. There will be more photos and less secrets. Tumblr allows you to network with other bloggers - they can copy your posts (giving you credit) and I can do the same when i come across something i feel is worthy of amegrowsinbrooklyn. More good news for those of your who enjoy procrastinating as much as i do: there are already 10 pages of posts.

I hope you enjoy.

my girl

Libbyloo 1998 - 2009

my dear girl, this photo was taken just last week. you led the way on our walk in the woods and when you went too far out of the way, we called you back and you ran toward us excitedly, your tail wagging behind you. this is who you were, independent, with a mind of your own, feisty - but loyal and devoted through and through. you gave us 11 years of happiness and friendship and love and laughter. how lucky we were that you were our dog, you made our lives better and we will never forget you - the way you motioned with your head to the pantry when you wanted a treat, how you "yelled" at mom when you wanted more food, how you trotted happily alongside dad on a walk, how you sat for hours in the garage and in the driveway watching nothing everything. the ups man will miss your greeting and so many of our friends will miss how you nuzzled your head between their knees to say hello. i will miss all of you - your tail thumping against the hardwood floor when you hear me get out of bed, the look of recognition on your face when i walked through the door, your paw pushing on my arm, asking me to keep petting you, your pink tongue and the overgrown tufts of blond fur. you were a wild puppy. so full of energy, chewing on everything, such a change from our docile golden before. i had begged for you, pleaded to get a golden puppy and i was determined that we would all love you as much as we had with Maho. and now 11 years later, you have left your mark - we adored you. what more could we have asked for than so many good years with you, knowing we gave you a wonderful life and in return, your unwavering love and companionship. i knew we were at the end last weekend and i spent so many moments with you, telling you i loved you, scratching you behind the ears and letting you know that you were a good girl. i cried then too, smelled you and felt you, memorizing you and starting to let go. you knew that i was saying goodbye and this week, you were ready to go. mom and dad wouldn't let you hurt for even a second and this morning, it was time for us to let you go. we won't focus on these days, we will try not to - we will remember and honor you as the strong-willed, beautiful girl that you were for over a decade. we are so lucky, so blessed for our years together and i promise not to forget that - you.

Libby girl, thank you. you will always be my sweet girl and i love you so.

thanksgiving 2009

The morning after

Mom's chocolate bundt cake

Mama Ipri's cherry pie

big punkin

father-daughter-dog walk in the woods

M. before the Turkey Trot

furry legs

Pumpkin muffins

my weekend

My Saturday in one really long sentence:

I worked at an event all morning and into the afternoon, came home, slipped on my snuggie and snoozed before heading out to our big event (not in my snuggle) that evening where i finally got to introduce myself to my celebrity boyfriend (who signs his emails "XO") who upon meeting me, said "so nice to put a face with a name."


so he pretty much told me i was stunning. awesome.

Yesterday i got to spend the day with my non-celebrity husband who is way more handsome, funny, charismatic and charming then my celebrity boyfriend. We drank gingerbread coffee and made french toast with homemade bread. Then i went out for a run - a 5.5 mile run to be exact; who cares if i'm waddling around today? I did laundry and snoozed some more before husband woke me up, wondering when we could eat dinner. It was 4:50pm. We made an early bird special of mac and cheese and ate it while watching Elf, a true holiday classic. Seriously.

Brother of the year

Brother's response to my syringe request:

I will mail some up. What is your address. I will send u some different sizes. We have a big one like the size of a giant hotdog.

Love comes in all shapes and sizes, apparently.

My response (just so you don't miss out on a single exciting moment of our correspondence):

You inject things all day so i guess you would know the correct size. Donut ball equals small tumor? Not funny. I guess i'll take medium. Was that an option?

NOT ALL AT ONCE!

The comments and suggestions on Thanksgivingpalooza have been flooding in. I mean, just pouring into the comments section of the blog and overwhelming my inbox. i cannot keep up with all the ideas, let alone the good ones.

I jest.

WHERE ARE YOU PEOPLE?

Do I have to commit to cooking a Julia Child recipe every day for a year to get you people to flock to this blog and comment? sorry, no can do for various reasons (mainly because i have no desire to de-bone anything, let alone a duck.)

Ok, fine. I see how it is.

Nursery Rhymes.

Well, it wouldn't be thanksgiving unless i somehow inflicted some level of discomfort on my immediate family. And so, as per usual, i have given out the annual thanksgivingpalooza assignment. And truthfully? it kinda sucks this year. I suppose i've poured all my creative juices into writing lately and there's not much left. excuses, excuses! Seester tried to convince me that this assignment stood a chance but i'm not sure i'm buying it. doug is really struggling and usually he blows right through these things. I'm contemplating scrapping the whole thing but i don't have a back up yet. do we skip a year? bow our heads in silence? finally give in and perform interpretive dances? I just don't know.

Anyways, here's the email I sent informing them all of their turkey day assignment:

Listen up people! I am pleased to announce the 2009 Thanksgiving Poem Form (even though i may have cheated and already told you guys what i had planned when we were in Asheville)

Drum role please...

NURSERY RHYMES! Can you even stand it? Too cute, i know.

You may choose any nursery rhyme but you must change the lines to reflect why you are thankful during this special holiday season. Below I have provided you with a list of nursery rhymes to help you brainstorm and find the rhyme that's perfect for you.

Also, I heard somewhere that if you don't participate in Aunt **'s silly games, your unborn child may never forgive you. Just sayin. I like you all very much and look forward to eatin turkey and all the fixins with you real soon. I got my eye on your stuffin so watch your back....