Nap

Today's Beautiful Thing is a lazy nap on a hot Saturday afternoon. Zzzzz...

Yummm!

Today's Beautiful Thing is having Italian food delivered for lunch. Last weekday of the fiscal year. Hard day. (More hard days ahead.) But lunch was seriously good. :)

bright!

Today's Beautiful Thing is bright red hair. Yay! I always forget how pretty the color is until I get it done again. Too bad reds fade so fast.

Bonus Beautiful Things: spending a few hours with my good friend, Chris and my hairdresser, Julie. Love the girl talk.

Reunited

Today's Beautiful Thing is driving my very own little red car again. What a difference it makes to drive a car that is little, quick, and fits me to a T. I missed her while she was gone. :)

new nails

Today's Beautiful Thing is my pretty new set of red nails for my cousin's wedding. Red nails are always my favorite. :)

Pictured: The Bride, Kari, and her Maid of Honor, her little sister, Kristy. Aren't they pretty?

Just right

Todays Beautiful Thing is dropping off my small car for a tune up and having the service department give me a free loaner that's not too big. I was ready to beg them not to give me a large sedan, van or station wagon. I'm just not used to big cars. Color me happy.

Splurge

Today's Beautiful Thing is a weekend splurge. I try to eat a low fat diet during the week, but today the hubby and I couldn't resist a wonderful little taco shop in our old neighborhood. I had a taquito, a tostada and a taco. Yummmm...

Pretty!

Today's Beautiful Thing is getting something pretty in the mail. I ordered this dress (in a dark red color), it came, and I love it. The fabric is thin, but rather heavy so it hangs nicely, the skirt is a full circle and it goes all the way to the floor. It makes me feel very girly. :)

Update: The Bonus Beautiful Thing is the hubby likes it too. Told me to order another one--which I did. A dark navy. I'm tempted to order the black as well. We'll see.

Friends

Today's Beautiful Thing is Friends. We had some friends over tonight. Lulu had a friend over as well. It was a nice evening.

Trader Joe's

Today's Beautiful Thing is Trader Joe's Market. I found some yummy things there for tomorrow night's snacks.

House Help

Today's Beautiful Thing is getting some help from the hubby. We are having some friends over Fri night and he's been helping me to clean a little bit every night.

Lulu

Today's Beautiful Thing is the silly way Lulu plays with anything you give her. Just like kids with the empty box, an empty pudding cup can be more fun than a $20 dog toy.

a new USB cord

Today's Beautiful Thing is my new USB cord. With this great item, I can share a photo of the group of us at dinner Saturday night. L to R: Kay (front), Sandra (back), Jill (Back), me (front).

Family day

Today's Beautiful Thing is a family BBQ! Happy Father's Day!

Jill!

Today's Beautiful Thing is getting a chance to hug a long-time online friend in person. I met up with pals Jill and Kay (and new friend Sandra) today. Kay lives a couple of hours away, Sandra a half hour or so, but Jill's from Missouri and, though I've known her online since '99, I've only met her in person once before! She and her hubby rode their motorcycle the entire Route 66. I want to be Jill when I grow up. Retirement ain't what it used to be.

(Note: pic is the view of Laguna Beach I promised yeserday. Pic of Jill as soon as new USB camera cord gets here.)

Pretty digs for the night

Today's Beautiful Thing is staying the night at a pretty beachside hotel. Pic of the room today. Pic of the view tomorrow. :)

Surprise!

Today's Beautiful Thing is a surprise party that actually surprised the birthday girl. :) We had a nice time at our potluck lunch and the food was fabboo.

Fruit Salad

Today's beautiful Thing is the fruit salad I made for tomorrow's pot luck in honor of my supervisor's birthday. I can't wait to eat it. Yum! Happy Birthday M!

Icecream

Today'sBeautiful Thing is a scoop of icecream after a long walk. :)

quiet

Today's Beautiful Thing is a quiet sick day. I stayed home from work with my icky tummy, watched a little TV, trolled the net and snoozed. Lulu kept me company. I didn't accomplish anything and I don't feel bad about it at all. Sometimes I need to do that.

New Doors

Today's Beautiful Thing is finding our new doors. There isn't a good pic of them online, but I posted the best one I could find. We are going to buy 5 of them along with new black levers and hinges. Yippee!

Fun

Today's Beautiful Thing is fun with family. I spent the afternoon at my cousin Kristy's house. She gave a wedding shower for her sister, Kari. It's always fun to see the family--especially some of my mother's cousins who I usually only see at weddings and funerals. I posted pic of Kari making a funny face. As soon as I get my new usb cord for my camera, I'll be able to post pics from yesterday. I have some cute ones of Kari and Kristy and Kari and me. :)

Looking forward

Today's Beautiful Thing is a free night in a pretty waterfront hotel. The hubby's work is footing the bill. While he attends a couple of meetings, I will be enjoying the hotel, the scenery and the free wireless. One week to go!

Goals

Today's Beautiful Thing is having a goal. I'm enjoying the new things I'm learning at the day job and my goal is to improve a little bit each week. I'm looking forward to meeting it.

shower shopping!

Today's Beautiful Thing is shopping for my cousin Kari's bridal shower. Her wedding is on 7/7/07 and her shower is Saturday. Mom and I are going in on the gift so we can buy her something good. :)

Cake!

Today's Beautiful Thing is leftover birthday cake. Yummm...

I'm walkin'

Today's beautiful Thing is taking our nightly walk. It's a great way to unwind and it leaves all three of us more than ready for bed. Night! Zzzzzzz....

a do-nuthin' kind of day

Today's Beautiful Thing is planning to do pretty much nothing all day. After all the hard work that was yesterday, today is mainly for relaxing and preparing for tonight's democratic debate--which is equal to a big sporting event at our house. Go Dems! Rah! Rah! Rah! :)

Also, a Great Big *Squee!* I just noticed that Claire added my humble little blog to her Roll of Honour! (Look for the link to my blog in the sidebar on the right of her blog.) I couldn't be more thrilled!

If you can't beat 'em...

Today's Beautiful Thing is a successful family party. The in-laws have been red wine aficionados for the last few years. Since the party for my MIL and FIL's birthdays, and all the family present enjoys it, we served a cab and a red zin. THey were a hit. Surprisingly, no one (except the dh, my mom & me) touched any of the other bev selections.

cooking

Today's Beautiful Thing is cooking. I spent the evening making a big pot of chili and a birthday cake for my in-laws' birthday party tomorrow. I love to cook when I have time time and I enjoy feeding the people I love. "Food is love" as my Grandma Sally used to say. I miss her. Love you Grandma.