a life beyond running shoes.

i do have the cutest baby on the planet - baby gap just did not agree. here he is being the cute kid that he is....showing off his teeth. if you would like to see what constitutes a cute baby and this photo is not sufficient, you can look at www.babygap.com and see the semi-finalists of the casting call contest. so, we didn't win....i guess that means micah needs to be brilliant and cute in order to get some amazing scholarship to college!! thanks for voting for his pictures, though.... and mostly for agreeing with me that he is amazingly cute.... you can see for yourself that he totally should have been in the semi-finals... oh 'twell.

last night we ventured over to grand army plaza for the start of the holiday season. they had a whole lights celebration with mayor bloomberg, a band, some kids singing, and lights. they lit the monument that stand behind us....including the holiday "cone." not tree - too christian...so they opted for a cone - very festive. these are the galts: laura & jamison and their twins, arthur and adaline. they are micah's best friends; well as much as anyone can be a best friend at one-and-a-half. the light spectacular was not what i was anticipating. i can't say with any honesty what i was actually expecting, but i doubt that the lighting of the cone was really it. it was still fun to see others from the church, including the browns and some other friends. i believe that this wednesday is the lighting of the rockefeller tree which we will NOT venture out for..... i am too pregnant for that! fyi - four weeks and counting!!!

in a game of scrabble i have never gotten a score this close from a single word. my friend, carolyn, in the midst of thanksgiving cooking and i played a quick game. she got triple letter for a "j" and double word score and ended up with 66 points from the word "juicy." holy cow. she creamed me. i was not thrilled and i even had words like valium, quail (i was missing a "t" for quality), teeth... and she still creamed me. i am working up for a rematch. at least my team creamed hers last night in taboo!

it was 45 degrees out this morning when micah and i walked john to the office. all i could think about was if i would have worn my hat or just an ear thing if i had gone for a run..... i see people almost every day running and all it does is enforce the longing i have to be out there. i know stef would have had a hat & gloves on, i know that i would not have moved to my "winter" pants yet and that i would have had on two layers under my jacket. it makes me feel good to still think in terms of running when i approach weather. perhaps it is a strong indicator that i will one day be back out there hitting the pavement. by the way, five weeks to go.

i was sad it was over. that is the sign of a good read. it is the story of jewish cousins, one from prague & one from brooklyn, that create comic books during the era of WWII. the overwhelming themes of escape - from germany, from oneself, from the past - create an intricate story that moves past the backdrop of american pulp fiction & pop culture...which added considerable enjoyment to the story. now, i need to start cracking on my next book club book - i am behind the eight ball just a bit.

okay, total girl moment to refer to grey's anatomy (i know) but wait!!! i was watching last week as john tends to have appointments on thursday nights (intentional - i wonder)...well, anyway. a guy i went to high school was on the show and even had a speaking part. he played joe's boyfriend, walter. he got to fall and hit his head and have it stitched up by dr. burke. how cool is that. way to go jack yang! another star sighting - our friend, shane, will be in law and order: CI tonight as the bad guy - oh boy! and in kathy news, i had a girl's day out yesterday. pastor's wives take manhattan. we window shopped in soho, played dress up (well, i did not), had lunch in nolita, got our nails done in chinatown, drank hot chocolate in little italy, AND saw a movie. phew. we were busy. it is amazing what a mom can do without her kids. i had a great day and then was excited to come home to my family... who has a new edition - nemo, the fish. it is all micah can ta...

i totally forgot to announce which pictures i entered for the contest. based on the criteria, i picked a picture that i felt fit each category well. photo 2: for its composition and artistic quality; photo F: cuz everyone loved it and it really does express his personality; photo A: for its personality & artistic quality; photo B: cuz i am the mom and it was my favorite pic - i love his tongue out; and photo C: cuz it is cute. well, there you go. thank you for your input and while it may seem like i didn't use it cuz i went with different pictures, i did use your opinions. the unanimous winners were: F, A, C. a lot of folks like H & 5, but the quality wasn't all that "contest" worthy for H and i just couldn't decide about #5. I could have gone that way instead of C. so, there you have it. i think we find out at the end of the month who the finalist are...then it becomes a voting thing. thanks for humoring me!

okay, not really but john and i did have two nights out in a row. he was officiating a wedding on sunday night, so we got to attend the rehearsal drinks & dessert party on saturday night as well. wow, were we tired on monday morning... okay, actually we left before the cake & dessert from the wedding actually. but it was an amazing wedding. it was at the botanic gardens here in brooklyn - stunning!!! there was champagne flowing and the food was excellent....the best part, though, was the band. they absolutely rocked. i only wish i did not have swollen feet and could have really boggied the night away. here we are all decked out: by the way, i only have seven weeks till segundo's due date!

just to let you all know - F is the unanimous winner, if there needed to be just one. H would be second and C & A would be tied for third. #5, #1, B are in the running for the fifth entry..... i'll keep you posted & thank you, THANK YOU, for voting.... feel free to pass it along to others who may have an opinion.

three more options..... i promise no more. so vote away!!!! there were some awesome pics from a friend of mine - but i didn't take them..... bummer! PHOTO 4 PHOTO 5 PHOTO 6

gap is having a contest....due november 3rd. JUDGING CRITERIA: 34% overall appearance of the baby as shown in the photo, 33% overall personality of the baby as expressed through the photo, and 33% quality of the photograph. I can submit five photos....please vote and let me know which you think convey the criteria......not all are the greatest pictures but i need 5..... you can either comment or email your vote. PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2 PHOTO 3

JUDGING CRITERIA: 34% overall appearance of the baby as shown in the photo, 33% overall personality of the baby as expressed through the photo, and 33% quality of the photograph. I can submit five photos....please vote and let me know which you think convey the criteria...... PHOTO E PHOTO F PHOTO G PHOTO H

JUDGING CRITERIA: 34% overall appearance of the baby as shown in the photo, 33% overall personality of the baby as expressed through the photo, and 33% quality of the photograph. I can submit five photos....please vote and let me know which you think convey the criteria...... PHOTO A PHOTO B PHOTO C PHOTO D

not that kind of group - my book group.... we met friday night to discuss our latest adventure in reading. jonathan safran foer's novel; he happens to be another brooklyn author. his story was good. of course, we had read nicole krauss's book "a history of love" not too long ago - he happens to be her husband. well, i think they wrote the same story....not really, but there are some uncanny similarities to the two novels: main narrator is juvenile, multiple tales, old world/new world, multiple narrators, detatched mothers, etc. while i think i enjoyed her novel more (more fluid, more engaging), after our discussion friday night - i did enjoy this one. i laughed out loud at times because of osker's naivete and innocence coming out. the narrator's youth allows the reader to not feel the weight of the sorrow because of the humor tied in with the sorrow. the heavy boots don't weigh down the entire novel, yet it is still a tragic novel about post 9/11 s...

one fun thing about having visitors is that the possibility of doing more than our normal routine is easier because we have more hands on deck. i convinced them that it would be a fun outing to hit the central park zoo. it was a great trip and one i would not have done on my own. micah LOVED the polar bear in part because it was going "night, night." he did not like the cow - even though it is one of his favorite words. the sheep were a bit much for him as well. i think he like the penguins & monkeys - mostly because they are behind glass and there is not risk of one getting up in your face, like the llamas. here is micah sporting his "gator" tee shirt sitting on g'pa's lap. micah loves g'pa's duck voice.....and even got used to being chased in the apartment. both g'ma & g'pa are referred to as "ga." impressive for a multiple syllable word in micah's world. our next visit from a grandparent is when my mom comes...

so friday i made beef stew with red wine and vegetable (page 398). as per the note, i made it in advance because it allows the flavors to set - as is good with most stews. the difference in this stew is that it lacked the soup like quality i enjoy in a stew....but i guess that is what makes a stew versus just a soup. there is no water or stock in the recipe - it is cooked in red wine. it made the meat delicious but left i didn't like the flavor enough to dip my bread in. it was a good try and one i will probably try again, but not anytime soon.

could it be possible that alien life forms have taken my child and replaced him with a pod-person? of course not right, but boy does it feel that way sometimes....especially during a cycle of real discipline issues. as he wakes from the gentle slumber of lullabies and blankies, i hear the gentle voice of my toddler say, "NO." now, who is he talking to and why is that his first word when waking? what in the world?! i mean really. i am really being challenged as a mom in my willingness to be consistent for his sake (and my own sanity) is disciplining him. what is acceptable and what is not is the name of the game right now. if i fail to be consistent it comes back ten fold. like turning on the tv. he is allowed when given permission but this week he has really tested that privilege....or when refusing to get into the stroller - arched back, locked legs. how can 23 pounds be so difficult to manage....is he really stronger than me and i didn't realize it? oh brother...

"any christian who is not a hero is a pig." at first glance perhaps this might sound totally offensive....but give it some thought (and a grain of sand since it is from john irving). really and truly though, should not every christian be a hero?! i do believe that in my complacency i would argue this statement is a fallacy. if i am honest though, with the life of christ as my example, i have to conclude that i should be a hero......and i should re-read owen meany . shouldn't my life be fundamentally categorized by serving other people - even in small ways. isn't that being a hero - being an advocate for another person, having someone else's life mean more than your own - the laying down of my life for another......sound like some scripture there? i was struck by this quote during our fall retreat this past weekend. i'm not sure i heard much else due to chasing around a toddler... but it was a good weekend. this is our family at the apple orchard. micah...

so, my dear friend, stef, came to brave whatever was next on the menu. little did she know that she was going to get more tears than good food & conversation. oh, the tears were from micah who was simple opposed to the general idea of sleep last night. anyway, dinner was tasty - if i do say so myself. the garlic-scented tomato salad (page 548) was delicious. so yummy!!! i did a repeat of the cucumber & orange salad for a refreshing side to the butter and rosemary sauce (page 169) on angel hair. very delightful. i did leave out the beef bouillon cube as my guest is a vegetarian, so i will definitely try this again for dinner for my family with the subtracted ingredient to compare. overall, dinner was delightful minus the background chaos of a crying baby. oh 'twell....next time dinner is at her house - no baby, just roxy!

i love the idea of getting dressed up and it being fall and how it sets the tone for the next two holidays. my sister sent micah these awesome ghost pjs.... she rocks! (they are blue - not black....i'm not a scary mom) we are still working on the halloween costume and trying to do it through hand-me-downs. we'll see if anything fits in a couple of weeks. happy fall!