Anyway, it turned out pretty cool, if I say so myself and I've thouroughly enjoyed my copy. I hope to be inspired to do more in the future.

- I had coffee with the always lovely and wise Dana

- I volunteered in Elle's class during Writer's Workshop - helping the kiddos write, edit & publish their stories - they're so CUTE (I do this every Monday now)

- I enjoyed my husband for lunch

- I took a refreshing fall afternoon walk with Charlie Brown

- ...and I received a wonderful package from Irene, my Parisian sister, as I like to call her.

Behold!

I should note that the adorable émilie book is mine (ALL MINE!), the French teen mag is for Natalie, the Babar coloring book is for Anna Sofia and the newspaper is for the entire family to enjoy (Elle kissed it - ha ha ha).

Not shown: Elle's favorite Haribo strawberry gummy candies, a passion for which she developed when Irene gave me some to bring home when I visited last year and Irene's incredibly gorgeous postcards. Yes, postcards with an "s." I ordered only one but somehow a couple more snuck through. These cards are so much more than vehicles of correspondence. These cards are ART. The paper that they're printed on alone is worth drooling over. I hope Irene doesn't mind me gushing about them to you and telling you that you'd be an absolute fool not to order some to keep and gift. They're just THAT gorgeous.

Also, I hope the multiples weren't a mistake (remember, I ordered only one) because I have no intention of being honest and returning the surplus. Shhh, don't tell Irene. :D

Merci, amie cherie. Je t'aime.

My first attempt at peephole photography. Really, it's door viewer photography in my case. You're supposed to do it with an actual door "peephole" and a point and shoot set on macro but since I killed yet another pocket cam, as I like to call them, I made up my very own funny contraption with an oversized door viewer to use with my D80.

All this photography garble may be boring to some but it's very exciting to me and way better than the post I could write about my inability to cope in the face of adversity. Like say when your dog disappears, you get a not-so-fun phone call from your child's teacher and your 3-year old eats half of your last pair of disposable contact lenses rendering you temporarily blind and dizzy.

Yes, yesterday was a very bad day.

Today, however, was positively peachy. The dog was found, the superior parenting unit in this family (Guy) is on top of the bad grade situation with the patience of a Saint and I was able to purchase a new box of contacts to tide me over to my next appointment despite the fact that I'm overdue for my yearly.

But, really. I need to learn how to DEAL. You know, instead of completely checking out, shutting down and crying myself to sleep over my lost puppy, that is. Sigh. I recover nicely but yeah, implied crisis is not my forte. Like, at all. The thought of losing Charlie Brown forever without knowing what happened to him, without any closure other than just letting him go in the figurative sense classifies as crisis for me. I can and have dealt with a lot in life but that? Well, I can barely stand the thought of it. The sadness of that bleak scenario overtook me last night and the suffering was great. It almost made me wish I didn't love that damned dog so much. But, of course, I'm glad I do.

(uploaded a bunch of pics to flickr last night)

So, October turned out to be super busy alright, but not for the reasons I originally thought. I ended up dropping one class (which was a brilliant move in hindsight) and then wound up spending my Anna-free weekdays volunteering,  lunching with Guysito (which is truly my favorite pastime because it feels like vay-cay-shun -- sappy, yes, but true), reading The Twilight Saga at Natalie's urging (loved it!) and dutifully failing the Biology course I'm taking. I haven't officially failed yet but I'm not too hopeful for a passing grade on this one, guys. As Stuart Smalley would say, and that's OK, because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it, people like me... Seriously, I've finally met a course I don't like. I was equally doubtful and optimistic that it would and would never happen but sadly, it has. I LOVE some of the people I've met in Lab, though and that alone is worth the tuition. I love awesome people.

Of note:

- Halloween was lovely. I did everything I do, including the school treats and parties and pumpkin carving and roasting pumpkin seeds. However, Halloween night was almost eerily quiet. My sister and I reminisced about how Halloween night used to seem like a parade of costumes in the neighborhood streets. Sad that it is no longer. I blame the churches with their goddamned "Harvest Festivals" and "Trunk or Treats." Where's the fun in that? Halloween is just not the same without pennies, apples and a couple of rusty razor blades in your treat bag. Such a pity. Freaking Holy rollers have to go and ruin everything. (joke!)

- The Twilight Saga. (insert sing-songy Awesome! here) Probably part of the reason I'm flunking but so worth it. I am a Literary major after all (this month) and I'm not greedy with my GPA. You know how I'm a major proponent of "good enough" and a fair-weather everything. So bring on the good books! And the bad grades! ha ha ha Stephenie Meyer spins a good yarn. I'm seriously impressed and do encourage you all to check the books out, if you haven't already. Yummy, brain candy. fo' shizzle

- OBAMA. Yes! Still so jazzed about that one. Last night, I made good on my promise to Elle to throw an Obama party and, quaint as it was (just us & Guy's Mom), it was lovely. Pizza, cupcakes & ice cream all around! And in a bit of innocent child un-political correctness, Elle kept calling the chocolate cupcakes  "Obama cupcakes" and the  white cake ones "McCain cupcakes." Is that not HILAIR? I thought so. Just like the vote, the chocolate ones were the most popular. So, there you go. A little confectionary-political humor.

That's about it from here. I've spent most of the weekend outside with the cheeldren. ALL four of them (Charlie included). We had gorgeous weather and well, you know there's nowhere I'd rather be than tossing a football with my dainty girls and Charlie as monkey-in-the-middle. Especially with Anna Sofia dressed up as various princesses and fairies.  Quite the scene to an outsider, I'm sure. ;) Natalie has a seriously good arm, by the way. Guy taught her how to throw. We also blew bubbles, kicked around a soccer ball, swung, did gymnastics and the girls danced & lip synched to iTunes playing on the laptop. It was every bit as wonderful as it sounds. Wouldn't it be nice if every weekend were equally as obligation-free and absolutely sublime? Yes, it would.

The people have spoken. What a wonderful day in history. I'm most excited for my children. That they get to grow up in a world where HOPE is alive means the world to me. Truly, more than words can say.

Edited to add: Lights on for Obama!

(Be sure to turn on your volume)

Thanks, Lulu!