a week in the life : thusrday (love thursday)

thursday - LOVE thursday-day 2 of 29 gifts- street giving


today was a great day. it shows in my pics, in the sheer volume of them, that is always a good indicator of my day, or of a good one at least. we got up had breakfast 1 and 2 , we eat like hobbits around here, kellen almost always has a second breakfast! got cleaned up talked to some more charity contacts, and headed out for Portland. i needed to pick up a regift for andie (she knows what it is so i am not ruining any surprise here) that kellen so kindly shredded the first purchase and decorated my room with while he was supposed to be napping a few days back! grrrrrr. but any excuse to go to the "city" is a good one for me. and now my toddlers are so street savvy. they hold at every crosswalk, they walk the whole way never asking to be carried, i no longer lug a double stroller everywhere, they love the sights, the smells, they look in every store front and see things i've never noticed. fresh eyes, child eyes, the best! they found the giant pirate and mugged by him for a few shots, we got our purchase and they got some jingly indian bangles for them; shiny, sparkly, treasures that jingle on your wrist what could be better? we gave spare change to a student collecting for darfur aid outside a coffee house we heard the music of new orleans and went up to investigate. it was a fab threesome playing, a trumpet , banjo, and tuba , and tunes like "when the saints go marching in" and "you are my sunshine". they were fantastic treat, we bought their (The State Street Traditional Jazz Band) CD to give our support to them. and yes they were really that good. we trolled the bookstores i was on the hunt for "the Giving Tree" but to no avail. but in 1 book store i did come across a stand that said "100% OFF" , whah? huh?!?! no lie it is FREE i is aptly titled "GIVE+TAKE", by Stona Fitch. the deal is I give to a charity or person on the street, whatever , and i pass the book on so the next person can give. it is THAT simple. and truly PERFECT. Stona said "free their books and their minds will follow", GENIUS!   how the universe works when you have your eyes open. truly amazing. ok then back down street , grabbed street vendor hot dogs for lunch and off to another errand at remy's. need me some new smartwool socks since yesterday i had to cut a pair off my feet if you recall. lol.   remys is great because the kids always get a free balloon, how happy is that? sparkly bangles AND a free balloon AND a walk in the city AND free street music, come on now a goooooood day we got going here. while checking out the cashier asks if i'd like to donate a dollar to Camp Sunshine why yes i would LOVE to. we got a pretty paper pumpkin and kellen signed his name in nice big letters, a token for our giving and it is now hanging with all the other givers in remys. balloons in hand and home, but wait then i see it, THE TREE, the most amazingly orange tree. it was the definition of fall. i parked again an crawled all over and under it taking shots. truly could have stayed there all day, but i figured A- it is in the drive through lane at the bank, probably NOT looked kindly upon to camp there all day with a camera, and B- i had 2 toddlers waiting for me to quit it and take them home. ok so i did. oh but the tree and the colors, the orange and blue sky, well i am in love. totally smitten with this color combo, so i made it the focus of today's mosaic. pretty? oh yesssss i think it is. kiddos are now a napping, waiting for hubby to come home, i am planning meatloaf, onions and pierogies for dinner. maybe a walk, oh did i mention it rained again today, TWICE! but no matter. mother nature was quite fickle today to say the least. rain-sun-gray-rain-sun-blue. but we did get some sun and some beautiful blue to go with my lovely orange. sigh. oh and i MUST do my dip pic for anide she was so on it this week and here i am in love with a tree, sorry andie!   taylor?  well she is mia today so not anywhere in here i know it. she got up, got herself off to school, walked to her nanny's house then to her friend's house and then to her youth group meeting tonight so she will stroll in around 9pm. just so you don't think i locked her in the basement for the whole toothpick impalement issue.