Proof is in the Pudding Candy

Though some of us prefer M&Ms of the verdant variety, it seems that the blue ones have all sorts of magical powers.

Things I never thought I'd say #142: How cute is that little lab rat??

Good News Spilling Around

Here's an uncharacteristically upbeat roundup of the News of Our Lives:

1) Dave made it through surgery yesterday, is lapping up broth and J-e-l-l-o, and is envisioning his impending freedom from the hospital. Great news!

2) We saw this very J-specific bumper sticker in a Richmond mall parking lot over the weekend and risked being caught taking a stealthy photo. Note also: "Do Not Meddle in the Affairs of Dragons for You are Crunchy and Good with Ketchup."

3) Charlottesvillans, rest assured! Mike Comer has been apprehended and Glenmore's $666,000 may soon be returned. Turns out, he was in Wintergreen last night, right where they found his car a month ago. Was he hiding out up there the whole time? Or was it too hard to resist that visit to a ski slope in July? Thanks to Don for the early morning scoop and to the Corner, the local radio station that predictably woke us up this morning with just enough detail on the Comer story to encourage us to roll over and hit snooze.

4) Good, though possibly premature, news on the Ben's Job front. Paperwork approving his hire (read: promotion) has gone through to HR. If we recall the last time we waited for HR to approve his hire, though, we may still have a long slog ahead. But it's progress! We'll take it! Anything to beat this blasted 97% humidity, high of 90 degrees weather. And who among us doubted that Virginia was a pleasant place to be four seasons of the year? ;-) Ben has been handling the heat with afternoon swims, followed closely by a mad dash back to the air conditioning. The shot above illuminates more my call for him to squint into the sun toward the camera than it does his pure pleasure floating about and frog-swimming.

And 5) Birthday Month has come to a very happy close, thanks to my Sunday shopping spree in Richmond during which I spent my gratefully-obtained birthday money on kitchen-related loot. I am now the proud owner of a French press, gingham napkins, a large glass pitcher, two "Alaska dessert bowls," and a very shiny brushed-chrome Cuisinart limited edition hand mixer, which will get me through the cold, dark, lonely nights when I long for my beautiful, enormous, won't possibly fit in our apartment's galley kitchen Professional 600 Series KitchenAid stand mixer.


Behold! Evidence of a hand-mixer and "Alaska dessert bowls" featuring chocolate mousse, my alternate dessert fixation of the month. Thanks, all, for your help celebrating this joyous Birthday Month! ;-)