In the current trend of before and afters ...

Today was Jeffrey's last day of classes in his first year of law school.

Here he is on his first day looking a might meek and scared of the world:




And here he is, confident with one year down. Maybe not. But he's looking confident ...



I think the tree in the background has grown, too!

And You Grows Up and You Grows Up

Like mother like baby (and other baby tucked underneath)


Disapproving ENHANCE!


Remember when ...


Jeffrey has suggested we name them after celebrity babies since these doves have nearly as much press.

There are now four babies. But the one mom never leaves for photo ops. Time to take Suris 1 and 2 to the park with Crazy Tom Dad!

Happy Birthaversary!

One year ago, a guy who looked sort of like Mel Brooks as Yogurt in Spaceballs started singing at us and ringing little bells.

Since then, we've ended newspaper careers, moved to a new city, started law school/new jobs, rocked law school/quit jobs, got a new job, had money woes, pet woes and just general feelings like we may end up living in cardboard boxes. We even lived in a tiny hotel room with a recuperating dog, a poodle, one computer and very little space.

We've discussed it ... and we think we'll try for another year!

And happy birthday to Jeffrey!


Jeffrey working on his "Blue Steel."


Birthaversary Flowers for me!

It's A Bird!

I noticed the roosting dove was sitting awkwardly on her nest, so as soon as she took a break from her vigil I popped out there with my camera ... just in case ... and there was a brand new baby dove!

Enhance!



Not nearly as atrocious looking as the baby starling I tried to save once.

On Saturday, I pulled Jeffrey away from his studying to head out to the Mesquite Valley Nursery to buy plants for my garden plot. I planted eggplant, yellow squash, bush beans, cantaloupe (or musk melon as it says on the package ... but that name is not appetizing), a cherry tomato plant complete with cute orange cage, and watermelons. In between the vegetation I planted marigolds because they A) thwart aphids B) grow in the ridiculous heat C) are mighty cheerful! Whoever had my plot before had painted the end posts purple so my garden has a color scheme of cute!



Also, I signed up for Twitter account just like Jeffrey and Keith so you can follow me through my day. You can follow me here on my blog, or you can sign up for a Twitter account of your own to respond to my journeys and to have journeys of your own. I don't know why anyone wants to do this. Except that once Jeffrey and Keith signed up I found myself wanting one of my own. Just another waste of time and energy for the good of the order!

Gala Event

Friday evening we attended the U of A Student Bar Association's annual gala event. We attended, despite having several really good Netlfix options (Kat picks! Bourne Ultimatum, Strictly Ballroom, Monsieur Ibrahim), because Jeffrey is in SBA and—well, he has a sense of duty.

So we got dressed up and went out. I'm a terrible party photo taker and these really suck on both quality and coverage. I never had a lot of experiences taking pictures at parties, somehow I missed out on all of those classic shots of girls at drunken sorority events where a group of friends, faces splotchy from all the festivities, line up like a chorus line in logo sweatshirts and take pictures with plastic cups raised to be displayed later on a bulletin board. I mostly stayed in my room and watched late night TV with the guy downstairs.

SO! Here's the run down of the night and some pics!

6:45 pm - Take pictures outside of apartment of outfits. Jeffrey refuses to work to get the John-Travolta-Cuff-Buttoning move right for the photo and ends up looking kind of cranky.





7 pm - stop at bank for some cash for the cash bar and take pictures of my head because I wanted to see my earrings.



7:20 pm - arrive at gala event, park car, head for entrance behind several other couples. door is locked. try another door. door is locked. walk around to back, past the dumpsters and find the entrance.

7:45 pm - finally find the actual drink line and stand there for a while checking out outfits. dim lighting prevents taking pictures of anything. Mostly the girls are wearing slinky satin dresses or column dresses with spangles and glitter. Lots of cocktail dresses and a few REALLY short black dresses (really shirts? that looked like they maybe had pants to match? but were discarded with crossed fingers that their butt's wouldn't get cold?). And the mens were in suits, or at least pieces of suits. There were a few vest/shirt combos running around. One guy went in another direction all together and wore a full suede getup your grandfather'd be proud to wear to the council meeting in Creektown, USA, complete with cowboy hat. While in the line we visit with a guy named Pete who is either A) functionally autistic B) drunk C) drunk and functionally autistic D) crazy and should be given some space in case he is a fear biter.

8:15 pm - head into the ballroom where round tables designed to seat 10 are set up. Since no arrangements were made in the drink line to sit with anyone because we are socially retarded, we sit in an empty table against the wall. An older couple (she's a urologist, husband had previous business and now is in law school. Biggest concern of night: whether to book gala event location for daughter's bar mitzvah in 2010, decides not to). A couple that acted like they wanted to sit with us but then just stole two of our chairs. Another couple (his name is Ken(t?) and she is a gorgeous Japanese girl whose name is fun to pronounce when introduced but then immediatly slipped my mind) and then full-suede outfit guy and date. Full-suede outfit guy is going to work in Yuma after law school so we discuss what it's like living there. Jeffrey keeps elbowing me to shut up because "I'm going to deaden his soul." I guess you just can't say anything nice about Yuma, even if you try.



9:00 pm - Give up on dessert being served. Head to the admission table where Jeffrey (always dutiful SBA member) and I take up our post to welcome late arrivals. Dessert immediately served in main room. Damn!

9:15 pm - DRAMA! law student girl and guy in suit dramatically start arguing and he shoves her outside. Through the window from our Dork Table we can see them fighting and gesturing like, well, two drunk law students. Slightly concerned for their safety and ability to not physically abuse each other, we keep an eye on them. At one point, when they disappear from view, friend Ted pokes his head out the door to make sure everything is OK. As Ted leans in the doorway, a douchewad guy yells at him for eavesdropping and tells him to go back inside and that the fighting couple aren't a show. I call out guy on douchewaddiness and he apologizes to Ted.



9:30 pm - stint at boring table over, mingle and chat with few law student girls I know. Most of which are fairly trashed all ready. Notice Outside Fighting Couple getting their picture taken with the hired photographer. Smile! and then go back to fighting.

9:35 pm - get photo taken with professional photographer who tries in vain to take a picture of us where I'm not in Jeffrey's armpit. Fails.

9:40 pm - go back inside and sit back down next to urologist and try to score some dessert from the waitstaff. Create idea for new sitcom called "Bad Waitress" and begin discussing plot lines. Make up a song for sitcom. Then we watch people dancing to eighties remixes and sort of being drunkenly stupid. Wait patiently for dancing to wind down so they can call out the raffle winners. We have tickets in for a Westlaw basket of goodies and rock climbing lessons.

10:30pm - Jeffrey wins Westlaw basket of goodies. When other people go up for their raffle prizes, there is a lot of hooting and hollering. When Jeffrey goes up, one person kind of yells "Jeffrey!" but it is a quiet affair.



11 pm - leave for home

Evening Highlights:
We looked awesome
Jeffrey winning raffle

The Good Earth

Since January I've been planning on creating a container garden on my patios.After the threat of frost was gone, I was nearly ready. 

When my mom came out to visit, we went to a few garden centers around town and what we discovered is that even to plant ONE tomato plant, we were going to need a 5-gallon container of sorts. We looked into the new craze of upside down tomatoes, but couldn't quite find the right product and didn't really have the energy to make one from scratch.

So, tomato-plantless, I decided to try to find some kind of community garden I could participate it. 

My Google search led me to Tucson Community Gardens. For $12 a month, you get a plot, water (on a timer!) and advice. Score.

One of the gardens is near my house so I made Jeffrey go with me to experience our first monthly meeting.

My plot was a little soggy for tilling today, so we took the water off of it and am going to let it dry out. On Tuesday I'll go back and till it up, mix in the "amendments" (bullshit. literally.) and by next Saturday it will be ready to plant! Tomatoes! Squash! Melons! Maybe Some Kind of Flower!

Plot Before Plot After

It's the two-faced man ... er ... baby!

What's so awesome about this story is that people think she's a god reincarnate. What's not so awesome is the parent's reluctance to have her looked at by modern medicine in case something's really wrong with her ... I mean besides having TWO FACES!

But let's not dwell.

Enjoy!

How Do You Like Your Eggs?

Just as my research suggested, my dove family has laid two eggs in their makeshift nest on my back patio!I'm not sure why they left them for not more than a minute, but it was enough time for me to sneak out (um, yeah, I'm kind of stalking them. I was watching when she left, watching when she came back and I'm still watching!) and grab this shot.

They seem determined to stay. I've gone out there a few times to do stuff and they haven't flown away. I've watered all the other plants (except for the portulaca they've nested in. That will just have to be sacrificed.) including a geranium not but 10 inches away.

I also installed a drying rack out there that required drilling, standing on precarious porch furniture to do the drilling, and me uttering curse words under my breath as I tried to lash together the canes. And then they didn't leave even when I put scary pink shorts on the line!

My other projects this weekend included making Jeffrey and I fabric lunch sacks so we didn't have to keep buying brown bags.

And later tonight I'll get around to making my new shower curtain out of an Anthropologie table cloth that I bought on super sale over the summer but that doesn't really go with our current house decor. Currently I have it clothes-pinned into place so I can evaluate the plan of action!

Eggs! I'm going to have baby doves!!!

Little Tiny Stitches

Last night I was poking around online, like usual, and came across my next craftiness.

Anything that looks like a monkey can maybe do it, but has awesome supplies is right up my alley!

With all the babies (Lena! Tammy's Cousin!) being born in the coming year, I can stitch all kinds of cute things on onesies, make dog bandanas for all the dogs in NE, NC and AZ! Millions of  throw pillows and ... I don't know ... pen cup cozies!

Here are some of my new favorite & highly coveted items from the site (OMG! Everything comes in pink!):

There is a man outside singing

For the last hour, a man has been outside singing. He's sitting on a bench listening to headphones oblivious that anyone might be listening ... or maybe he doesn't care. He is singing off-key and it's oldies and instead of making me feel joyful at his freedom, somehow it smacks of ill mental health and is freaking me out.

Also, some doves have moved in. My back porch has window/rail boxes with flowers in them. The doves in the area have been popping by, roosting for a bit and then taking off again. I thought it was sweet.

I guess they were house hunting because they've moved into the end unit. Momma dove has been plunked in place for the last hour and a half while Poppa dove has been bringing over nesting materials. 

Half of me is so giddy at having birds. The other half, the half not influenced by having a preschool-teaching mom, is annoyed that I will likely not be able to sit on my porch so I don't disturb the eggs. According to several web sites I poked my cursor into, doves lay two eggs, two days apart and the take 14 days to hatch. Then another several weeks until they fly away.

Criminy!

March Madness Heading into April

March has been a crazy month here. Every weekend was taken over by fun activities.

Horseshows, Keith and Shaleah came to visit, and most recently, my mom was here.

She came for a quick visit during her spring break. We drank a TON of coffee, 

did some shopping, took a few riding lessons, and went to the botanical gardens to see the butterfly display.

While she was here, she also became disgusted that Jeffrey was sitting on a hard metal folding chair to study. Immediately putting me in a harsh crappy light as "uncaring, callous Jeffrey monitor" I quickly jumped in that I had offered on many occasions to go out an purchase a more appropriate sitting device for a studying crazy person and had been rebuffed many, many times.

But it seems, as long as it isn't me making the suggestion (he never takes my advice!) it's gold!

So here is Jeffrey and his new mother-in-law-enforced chair:

And my dress for the spring law student gala 

thingy (Anthro for $40? What!?):

It was a great mom visit!