word to the mental health professionals.

make sure that when i google you, i can't find your facebook page where you are dressed up in an inappropriate outfit. and also make sure i can't see your twitter feeds, ya know, the ones where you're complaining about work.

our kids are just as smart as us. they will google you and find out all that you post, just like i did today.

confidants.

in case you couldn't tell: a duck, mr. potato head, tinker bell.

recents.

recent jaw drop: it made me say DOUBLE YOU TEE EFF. can you believe this? i'm surprised the judge wasn't fired before he quit.

recent deal: invisalign. thirty percent cheaper at uop and ucsf's dental schools. holllllllller! yes, i'd be seeing a student but also a professor. totally worth it, right?

recent observation: everything on twitter is about following. how do you become a leader?

friendly reminder from your neighborhood voter.

it's the first tuesday of november, pretty much my second favorite day of the year.

as the drama ends in afghanistan, it's a good reminder to get your vote on. today. utilize your privilege and do something with it.

oh, what's that? you didn't know we vote today? that's okay. go here and find out where you need to be before the polls close. hurry, you're running out of time.

the iphone is changing my family's life.

all of my sibs have iphones, it's official. i noticed it today when my sister-in-law, courtney, sent me an email with a photo of her newly earned dublin marathon finishing medal. the bottom of the email had the "sent from my iphone" message.

i write this not to be pretentious, but to tell you that the weekly voice memos and video clips i get emailed to me from my nephews who live eighteen hundred and seventy four miles apart is revolutionizing not only our communication, but our relationships. i am in awe.

sort of related side note: i highly recommend the family plan with whoever your cell phone carrier is. saves me thirty dollars a month. booya.

the secret to apple pie.

is thinly sliced apples. (thinner than the ones in the photo)

best sunday in a really long time, anyone? church, facials, and making a beautiful mess in the kitchen.

julie and i made: armenian apricot soup, curried apple couscous, and FOUR gingery apple crumb pies (with thinly sliced apples, of course).

i am making a conscious decision that this week is going to be better than the last: too many tears, spit, and headaches. thank you, michele, for the best cheer-up-cause-you-kick-ass card.

winks and brows.

my mom and i ventured to kansas city last thursday through sunday. my brother, daniel, and his wife, autumn, have a two and a half year old, samuel, and a six week old, aiden. my mom told samuel that we would be having a four day party so the kiddo was high on candy and the excitement of presents the entire time. apparently you can throw four day parties if you're a grandma.

the trip included ribs, too many mcdonald's ice cream cones, an iphone adventure, a gingerbread house, going to a pumpkin patch, lunches and coffees and dinners, candy stores, river fire down the missouri river, a fire truck, a carriage ride and live jazz.

miss my fam already!

okay samuel, you can have one pez.

"wait. buddy. where'd all the pez go?"

"in my mof, aunty em, see!"

universal plane rule.

i would like to pass a bill in congress. no, i am not a senator or a congressperson. however, yes, i am an informed citizen who has much experience with sitting in the middle of three seats on airplanes.

the middle seat is so awful. you can be stuck between two people who hit it off and want to talk over you the whole time or you can be sitting next to someone who thinks it's okay to pass the imaginary boundary line of thigh space. but the worst? the one thing that we should make into law? the arm rests. if you are the one who must endure the middle seat, you should be entitled to both arm rests. BOTH. not one or none but BOTH. it should be like compensation for having to fly in such awfulness.

call your local congressperson or senator today in order to fight for your armrests, and your rights as an airplane goer.

she doesn't know i'm doing this.

some of us were fortunate to get an email from our dear friend michele stating that she FINALLY started a blog. and some of us were fortunate to know michele while we were in college. and some of us were even fortunate to get to work for michele after college. but few of us are fortunate to call michele our mentor, wisdom provider, or tell-you-how-it-really-is-no-bs-involved friend. if you don't fit into any of those categories, i feel very sad for you. HOWEVER! now she has a blog. which means you can fit yourself into a NEW category! it shall be called the fortunate enough to read michele's blog category. now go. bookmark it and soak it up like a sponge. what are you waiting for? go, already!

mm: the pressure is on. password: spoon.