She Likes Purple

Tea Collection Giveaway!

A while back, Tea Collection reached out and offered me a gift certificate to spend as I wanted on any of their products. A very nice offer, of course, and I said yes because I've liked their clothes and gifts for ages.

In fact, I usually head to their site among the first when I want to pick up a gift for a friend with a new baby or kid's birthday. I love their classicly sweet clothes for newborns and original-yet-adorable clothes for older kids.

Here are some of their current things I love:

{From top to bottom, left to right: Saltwater Sandals, Skinny Pointelle Leggings, Super Taco Truck Tee, Fiesta Plaid Shirt, Tin Ornament Henley, Dueling Tigers Pajamas, Skinny Cord Cargos, Simple Satire Sneaker}

Beyond their site and products, though, I want to give some quick kudos to their customer service. They were a dream company to work with. Their pitch was personal and thoughtful, they gave me plenty of time to select what I wanted and then receive the products to write about, and each email we exchanged was professional yet friendly. Maybe it's the marketer in me, but I know it can be a challenge to pitch effectively and personally, and I really appreciated all they did.

I finally settled on some fall-ish things for Kyle because he doesn't have a lot. It's either summer or winter in Texas, except for a few weeks that are chilly-in-the-morning-yet-warm-in-the-afternoon.

We got the Adios Bicicleta Tee, the DF All Stars Hoodie, and another t-shirt, too, that we layer with a white thermal tee.

The clothes are out of our usual clothes-for-Kyle budget (mainly because we keep that budget pretty pathetic), but they're fantastic. Well-made, really cute, and we've gotten big compliments on them, too.

If you would like a few pieces from Tea Collection (and you would, I swear), then it's quite possibly your lucky day. I have a $75 gift certificate for one reader to use as they'd like. Just comment below, and I'll randomly select and announce a winner by November 8th.

Good luck!

Race Recap: Fort Worth's Vampire Run

In addition to my weekly half-marathon training recaps (although I'm skipping last week since I did nothing beyond this 5K, I KNOW), I've also decided to recap each race I run. (You can see my last race -- the Rahr's 5K -- recap here.)

It was the Vampire Run's first year, which meant there were certainly a few kinks, but I was eager to run an afternoon race since my half has a 5:30 PM start time. I gathered my Running to Drink crew and nearly all of us signed up or showed up. (We have a Facebook group where we post runs, happy hour invites, links and tips, and it's been awesome.)

I hadn't run in a week before the run, and I never know if a few days off will recharge my batteries or suck the will to run straight from my bones. This was a little of both.

The run kicked off fine, although my entire group shot out in front of me. I couldn't find the energy to push myself much at the start, but I'm glad, since I needed that saved energy for the last half mile, WHICH WAS AWFUL.

A few pros:

• The course. It was through a local park and on a trail, which was nice, and it was well-marked (I've run quite a few races where the miles aren't even marked; what the hell is UP with that?)
• The weather was amazing.

A few cons:

• One water station. Most 5Ks have just one water station, and I'm sure this is a budget issue (right?) but, man, I need more water than that even for just three miles. I think I'll try running with my own water next race. 
• The kids. I know! I sound like an asshole, but (generally speaking) kids aren't the most considerate runners. They sprint at full speed and then stop right in front of you to walk or tie their shoes or talk to their friends or dance (I wish I were kidding).
• Timing. They timed us on the gun time, not our chip time, so I have no real idea what my time was.

My time:

Gun time: 31:26
GPS time: 31:54 (Of course, I forgot to hit stop until I was at the post-run water table chugging water, so....)

Then my entire group went to eat Mexican food and drink margaritas because our Running to Drink name isn't about gatorade, as if you thought it was.

Next race: A local 10K in two weeks

The Blathering 2011: Austin!

First, let me point you to much better Blathering recaps, each delightful to read and smile your way through, even if you didn't go but definitely if you did. Then, let me say that, for me, there's both too much to say and yet no words to say it all with. I don't know how that's possible, but it is.

I want to share dozens of funny stories and link to every lovely, hilarious, stylish, smart lady I met and I could (really, everyone was incredible and I both solidified friendships and made brand-new ones), but I thought I'd sum up all the awesomeness by saying:

Three years ago I read Christina's post, although I can't remember for the life of me how I found it, and fell a little bit in love with her.

Everyone knows that life moves fast, that babies grow into toddlers, toddlers to teenagers. We have all seen it before, we know it is true. Just like so many lessons handed to me this year, the passing of time has never been as evident. Or so hard, so trying, so damn fantastic.

Christina now writes for Style Lush, writes me emails, sends me champagne art for my kitchen, and when she walked into the Blathering house, I finally got to meet a friend I've had for years.

That's what the Blathering is, ultimately. It's the chance for so many of us to hug friends we've just met yet loved for years. It's also the chance to make new friends we'll hug at the Blathering 2015, reminiscing about the dusty, queso-filled time we first met in Austin.

See, blogging is big and blog friends always seem to live too damn far away but, thankfully, the Blathering seems to stop time for a short time and shrinks distance for a little while.

{This photo borrowed from the lovely and so pretty Jen!}

I hope you can make it next year, and I hope I can make it every year, but I'll be always grateful for every friend that this crazy little space on the internet has given me.

I'll be always grateful for the chance to take my online friendships off, for one perfect weekend each year.

(A few more of my photos here.)

Sponsored post: Healthy Lifestyle Tips

Thanks to Tervis for sponsoring my writing. Visit their website http://www.tervis.com to learn more about the world’s first smart cup.

***

Sponsored posts can be eye-roll inducing, don't I know, which is why I only agree to write one if it's a topic I'd write about anyway. For instance, when Clever Girls and Tervis asked if I'd write about smart and healthy lifestyle tips, I jumped at the chance because this is something I've wanted to write about for a while.

I have a few tips, you see, that I've gathered after finally incorporating work-outs into my ridiculously busy schedule (and we all have busy schedules, am I right?). It can be done. You can work out and focus on healthy habits while also commuting and parenting and squeezing in date nights and paying bills and doing laundry and maintaining a social life.

• Find a work-out partner or organize a work-out group. This might be my top fitness tip of all time, actually, because it's been the one thing to completely change my attitude about exercising. When you have someone waiting for you at 6am at the gym across town, you just back out a lot less often, and you enjoy the work-outs a lot more. 
• Embrace early work-outs. Okay, this sounds a little awful, I know, but after a few months of frequent early morning work-outs, I can genuinely say I've never regretted a single one. It's the work-outs I skip that I regret. You feel fantastic afterward, you've started your day on a healthy foot, and you come home after work without any guilt about collapsing onto the couch.

{Early morning trail run}

• Accessorize. This sounds like a strange tip, but if you have the right music, the right shoes, the right-fitting and most-comfortable clothes, and a few other right things, you can focus on the exercise and very little else. 
• Schedule, schedule, schedule. I usually plan all of my weekly work-outs on Sunday evening. I mark them on my Google Calendar and also on a Google doc I keep. This is invaluable to me. When I don't have every last work-out planned, I spiral into an "I'll just think about it tomorrow!" train of thought. Sure, I sometimes bail and things come up, but this schedule keeps me honest more than ever before. 

So, tell me, what are your healthy living tips for the busiest among us?

***

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. To learn more about Tervis, visit their website http://www.tervis.com.

Half-marathon Training: Week 12

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11

***

This is a bit of a cop-out post because last week was insane and I ultimately worked out very little. Elizabeth came into town on Wednesday afternoon, and we headed south on Thursday for a long weekend of debauchery in Austin for The Blathering. The Blathering is not a half-marathon training get-together, you should know, so my work-outs were basically all sidelined, but I did eat fabulously and drink at least one jalapeno margarita that was so delicious, it deserves a post of its own, but all that makes for a light training recap post.

Tuesday: 3 miles

Kristie and I were going to do a measly 2.5, but we pushed on and did 3. Because we're badasses, that's why. (Or wanted to get home faster, whatevs.)

Saturday: 6 miles

I organized a small run on Saturday morning in Austin, and it ended up being just five of us (Sarah, Julie, Kristie, Katie, and me), and we ran-slash-walked around the North Austin neighborhood we were staying in. It was so humid, and it was kind of ridiculously awful when I decided we could tackle this steeeeeeep hill around mile 3, but it was also kind of wonderful.

I loved running with a small group like this. Sometimes we were all together, sometimes we pulled away at our own paces, but when we reached our front door and Kristie decided to push on the extra .2 miles to make it an even 6, the other four of us just joined suit behind her. Even though so many of us (read: me) were just done. Running is such a magical community, and it continues to remind me of this, over and over. 

This whole weekend was incredible in hard-to-describe ways, even though I hope to try and describe it all soon (tomorrow? Friday? I need more hours in the day!), but that Saturday morning run was such a highlight for me.

Thank you, ladies.

13 Things

I'm heading to The Blathering this week (hooray!) and am pretty stoked about it. I love Austin, I love the ladies I've met through the internet and through blogging, and I really love eating. Combine all these things, and the weekend's a win before it even starts.

If you're going, and we don't know each other that well, here's a little about me. (And here are the 13 Things I wrote pre-Blathering in 2009. Many of them still apply!)

1. I want to meet each and every one of the attendees. I love meeting new people, I love finding out what I may have in common with each person. Sure, it's possible we don't read each other's blogs (or don't read them often), but that's okay! We can still become fast friends, and I hope we do.

2. I like karaoke. If the night inches toward that outcome, I'll probably sing "Don't Stop Believin'" loudly and very horribly.

3. I'm training for a half-marathon, so while it's not really of character for me to get up early during a weekend away to run a bunch of miles, I'll be doing just that this weekend.

4. (So, tell me to put the third beer I'll most likely be drinking on Friday night down, ok?)

5. I co-edit and co-manage two awesome sites (Style Lush and Food Lush) that I'm really proud of, but mostly I'm ridiculously excited to have so many of the writers of those sites in one space at one time. (Not to mention, all three editors together for the first time. There will be excited screams, unfortunately for anyone with ears.)

6. I live in Texas, and I'm one of those annoying people who complain constantly about living here while getting stupidly offended if someone else talks badly about it (unless they too live here).

7. I like to have dessert on vacation. So, yeah, who's with me?

8. My phone dies a lot. I need a new, much-better battery, so if you're trying to get a hold of me and I'm not answering and that's becoming really frustrating for you, you now have something in common with my husband. I'll give you his number, and he'll probably answer, so you can commiserate with him.

9. I'll take a tequila shot. I probably won't take any other kind of shot. I don't know what this says about me.

10. I'd rather walk a mile than pay to park, but I realize that's annoying, so I'll try to curb that particular facet of my cheapness this weekend.

11. I plan to bring a big purse, so I can carry a pair of flip-flops with me when we go out at night. I love heels, I just don't wear them often, so this is how I reconcile the new me with the old. Wear the fun shoes! But bring back-up.

12. I have no idea when or how this will work, but I really want to steal away to my favorite Austin coffee shop and just read for a little while. Is there anything that screams VACATION more than reading, in a coffee shop, without anywhere to hurry off to afterward?

13. I plan to eat the heck out of some queso even though queso is readily available to me on a daily basis. (Remind me and Natalie to tell you our HILARIOUS queso story, by the way.)

***

You know, it's kind of overwhelming to travel anywhere to meet a big group of people, especially when you don't know every single person in that group. I'm as nervous as you are, but it'll be fine. We'll have a great time. We'll get to know each other better and leave with fun stories and deeper friendships.

We'll be reminded, for either the first or second or hundredth time, that the internet can be about making money and branding and social media networking and Klout and all that stuff that has its place -- and I actually enjoy a lot of those things! -- but the internet can also be about making real and lasting friendships.

The Blathering is about finally taking those friendships offline, sitting in a backyard with those friends, sipping beers and talking about life together.

See you in Austin!

Half-Marathon Training: Week 11

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

I've been slightly veering off my training plan the last couple weeks as I work my new gym membership into my schedule. I make sure to work in my long runs, and I try to get in another run or two beyond that, but the addition of more cross- and strength-training has been a positive physical change. My legs were constantly achy and tight just a few weeks ago, always on the verge of a possible injury, I feared, and they feel so much better now.

So, this week:

Monday: yoga

I swapped out a run for yoga, which was great. It was a nice and easy way to start the week and there was a pretty intense ab section mid-class, which reminded me I've been pretty much ignoring that area for months.

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: Body pump

This was my strength training for the week, and it was pretty challenging. The instructor was also very pregnant and in much better shape than I'm in. That's a nice, humbling way to start the day, am I right?

Thursday: AM Run & PM Kickboxing

Oh, boy, this run. It was supposed to be 4 miles and I think I made it maybe 1.5. I didn't feel good, at all, and I nearly puked before, during, and after. I had to stop and sit down at one point, even. I think this was more about being really poorly rested the night before than anything else.

Kickboxing was the last thing I wanted to do, but I rallied and actually had a little bit of fun, and a great work-out, which was good after such a crappy morning. (Although I laughed re-reading this post from four years ago.)

Friday & Saturday: rest

Sunday: 6-mile run

I had to do this long run solo because of scheduling conflicts with Kristie, but I woke up, got ready, and headed out. The first 3.5 miles were ok, not too bad, and then I hit the sunny part of the trail, and was hot and tired, and I had to stop and walk a little. Instead of getting overly discouraged, I would just push myself to run as much as I could and then walk when I needed.

I probably walked a total of a half mile, maybe? I finished 6 miles in 1:05, which is still about a 10:30 mile (a little faster than my average pace, even). So, I feel pretty good about it.

Funny enough, I hate walking during any run. I'd rather slow way down than walk, and I think that's more about what walking does to me mentally than anything else. But, at the end of this run, especially with the time I still managed to clock, I felt great.

So, I had to walk. Big deal. I still ran for most of it and finished 6 miles well within my pace's window.

This particular run changed my view of walking mid-race, and it was a real motivation-booster for me.

***

So, three things: 

1. What do you think about walking mid-run? 

2. I saw this quote on Pinterest Saturday night, and I swear I repeated it to myself a hundred times during my long run:

"It's never a question of can you but will you?" (yeah, not always that simple, sure, but it certainly changed my perspective this particular day)

3. This post by Linda was poetically perfect for me to read today, especially the last paragraph:  

Still, maybe that kind of running holds its own magic. You can do this, you can do this. Say it enough and you start to believe it. Say it enough and it stops just being about running.

There's so much to say to this, and I even attempted to respond in depth, but all I can really think to say is: yes, yes, yes. And then yes a million more times.

I love this

From bessie.viola's own love list:

I love time with my girlfriends with a bottle of wine, just talking and laughing until we have tears in our eyes. I have loved – loved – scaling the tasks of motherhood with these women.

I've only just begun to realize that my circle of people to love and trust and lean on doesn't necessarily have to include someone who makes me feel shitty or judged. That kind of seems like it would be a no-brainer, I know, but it's not. Not for me, at least.

I'm finally learning that I get to decide who is on my team, who will scale life, motherhood, etc., with me, and that team should only consist of really kick-ass people, who drink wine and laugh and love with me.

Your team should be similarly awesome.

Half-Marathon Training: Week 10

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9

Monday: cross

I did Level 2 from the 30-Day Shred.

Tuesday: rest

I think my rest included the Teen Mom 2 finale.

Wednesday: 4-mile run

This run wasn't bad at all. It was a little hilly, which is always annoying, but the weather was nice and I felt pretty strong throughout.

Thursday: 3-mile run

Now, THIS run, I wanted to stop the entire time. Training is hilarious. You can run four miles one day and have no problem and then struggle through a shorter distance the very next morning. Hoooooow?

Friday: Should have been strength

I cancelled on my early morning strength training date with Kristie. I realllllly wanted to sleep in. (Well, sleep in till 6:45 instead of 5:30, which is depressingly not that much later.)

Saturday & Sunday: Should have been 5 & 3 miles, respectively

It rained all weekend and my running partner was out of town, so I didn't get EITHER run in. I'm not proud. But, I'm trying to keep it honest here.

I have ambitious plans this week, and I hope to stick to them. Keep your fingers crossed.

***

This week I also signed up for 24-Hour Fitness. For my cross and strength, I really enjoy group exercise but my current small town rec doesn't include classes and any independent place I've tried (yoga, Zumba, etc.) is only affordable if I have a Groupon-type discount. They were also waiving the initiation fee for a limited time, so I signed up.

I go to my first class tonight, so I'll keep you posted.

***

Also, as we were running one morning this week, a car stopped to let us cross the street and then the driver rolled down his window to holler out, "Keep it going, ladies! Good job!"

It was such a small gesture. It doesn't take much effort to speak, you know? But, it was just what Kristie and I needed at that exact moment. That small, random act of encouragement will stick with me and, I hope, motivate me to do something similarly encouraging for other runners and exercisers.

It's also nice to keep in mind, in general, I think. Look around for someone who might be in need of a little encouragement today. Give them a high-five, a smile, a "you got this!" It's so small. But, then again, it's not. It's huge.

Love List: Revisited

More than three years ago, I wrote a love list, inspired by an article Kristin Armstrong had written. In it, she said:

"If you ask me today what I truly love, I can easily tell you I love God, my family, my friends, fireworks displays, a good red wine, staying up late with a mystery novel, a sweaty run, painting abstract art, indulging my organizational compulsions, laughing until no sound comes out and taking my time. If you had asked me when I was married what I loved, I would have automatically told you the things that I loved about my husband..."

In 2008, pre-Kyle, this inspired me to write down what I loved. I'm doing it again, with the same rules. This isn't what I love about other people, not even what I love about Kyle (who I kind of love a lot), but just what I love.

I think it's okay to fully enjoy being a wife and mother, while also fully enjoying other things.

***

I love the quiet stillness of a house at 6am, when the sky is still inky and gray. I love a frosty pumpkin beer, with a sugar-rimmed glass. I love gazing at maps of all kinds, imagining future trips. I love the colors of a real, non-Texas fall. I love reading each item on a menu before ordering. I love genuine, unwavering, heartfelt support and encouragement ... both giving and getting. I love race finish lines, with a crowd of strangers cheering from the sidelines and a sea of runners believing in themselves, some for the very first time. I love the Friday Night Lights series finale so much, it's nearly hard to talk about. I love the clink of champagne flutes. I love Mumford & Sons, Greenday, and the Dixie Chicks. I love the last page of a good book, and how I read it slower than any other page, to savor the art of it. I love walking through Target, on pay day, alone, with nowhere to be. I love freshly washed sheets on a cold night. I love that week in Texas, in late October or early November, when the weather and the colors and the smells just perfectly erase every horrible moment of summer, and each and every one of us think we could live here forever. I love fresh to-do lists. Fine, I love the CW and every crappy-and-cheesy-yet-totally-enjoyable teen drama it produces. I love the beaches of St. John, the lights of Vegas, and the cable car chimes of San Francisco. I love yoga, which is a crazy new love I am surprised by. I love a good star-crossed love story. I love scary movies. I love, love, love the Texas sky, big and wide and beautiful. I love new nail polish. I love a large, milky iced coffee. I love that one line of that one song and how it vividly reminds me of an old, missed, outgrown, sweet life. I love a good cheeseburger. I love my black-and-white checkered kitchen floor. I love organizing my inbox. (Does that make me nerdy?) I love the first hour of vacation, when there are days upon days of a clear, to-be-filled-with-whatever-we-want itinerary. I love hand-holding. I still love a good game of poker. I love Santa Fe. I love a bubbly Kir Royale. I love food magazines, practically all of them. I love pears and raspberries and just the right watermelon. I love the Golden Gate Bridge. I love pizza, oh so much. I love gas station snacks on a road trip. I love handwritten notes, no matter what they say. I love a good country bar, with two-stepping and cold beer and how a man's hand rests just-so on the small of your back as you both shuffle around the dance floor. I love well-made crab cakes. I love 20-minute hot showers. I really, really love when the scale reflects the work. I love throwing a party, from the menu to the cocktails to the moment the guests arrive. I love loyalty, especially in the face of sickness or craziness or just plain carelessness. I love that love hangs on. I love that I have people I can call at 2am, if I need to. I love Pinterest. I love gravel roads. I love that I have faith we'll see a female president in my child's lifetime. I love my cowboy boots. I love eye contact and cutting to the chase. I love hiking to the top of something. I love a good brunch with a good mimosa and good company. I love taking my time. I love that moment in a run when a surge of adrenaline shoots through me, and I feel I'm meeting my full potential. I love Ryan Gosling, there I said it. I love horseback riding. I love Indian food. I love deep-sea fishing. I love the rain. I love purple flowers. I love naps. I love baking.

I love those moments, few and far between as they may be, when I am sitting on my couch, with a good song playing, and a blank screen in front of me, when I feel -- even if for just a quick, don't-blink-you'll-miss-it moment -- like a writer.

I love that I know my mother loves me.

I love Thursdays.

I love that I really and truly believe the best memories of my life are still to be made, and that no matter how bad one particular day might be, I am in charge of how I feel when I close my eyes.

I love champagne and mashed potatoes and my book club and I really love that, on most days, I feel I have everything I never thought I could wish for while still believing I've only just begun to pursue my dreams, that I can be both filled with gratitude and filled with drive.

I really love, still, to this day, Veronica Mars.

***

What do you love?

Where I Force Mike to Record the Accent Vlog with Me

So, yeah, there's this vlog-type thing popping up all over the internet, and it's basically one big, crazy way of proving we all speak kinda weird. Except for me. I speak absolutely awesome.

You'll believe that for another .3 seconds before you hit play.

(While there's a special shout out to Natalie and Jonna (and Adam!), we love you all equally, you must know.)

So, do we have accents?

Half-Marathon Training: Week 9

I am halfway through my training. This means I'm supposed to run a half-marathon in nine weeks. Acutally, less than nine weeks, if you can believe that, which I cannot at all. Oooooh, nervous tummy.

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8

This week was kind of weird because Mike's schedule was turned upside down at work and my running partner was out of commission, so lack of Kyle-wrangling and lack of motivation prevented a couple runs. I got the long run in, though, which perhaps foolishly makes this week a success in my eyes.

Monday: Should have been a 3.5-mile run

I bailed on this morning's run because Kyle is doing this really adorable* thing where he wakes up like a million times a night requesting various things like juice or more blankets or kisses or NON-WHITE SOCKS I AM NOT KIDDING. I love my son, you know this, but, MAN, does eBay sound appealing when I blurrily see 3am and 3:30am and 4am, all before I'm supposed to be up at 5:30 for a run.

*HAHAHAHA NOT ADORABLE AT ALL

Kristie and I did make it to yoga on Monday night, for a great fire series class, though

Tuesday: should have been a 2-mile run

Crossed wires foiled this run.

Wednesday

Rest

Thursday

Yoga 

Friday: cross

I did a 30-Day Shred video for my cross

Saturday: should have been a 3.5-mile run

I squeeeeeezed in a 1.75 mile run (I had about 20 minutes before I needed to get ready for dinner), and it was fine. I was proud I got out and ran around my neighbhorhood when I wanted to bail since I was so short on time. Good reminder that doing something is better than nothing, I guess.

Sunday: 5-mile run

I really can't believe I did this and that it wasn't even that bad after basically taking a week off from running. It was boring, more than anything. I mean an hour of running (well, 55 minutes) is a long time to do any one thing without stopping unless that thing is watching the CW (just me?). But, this was ... kind of nice? I guess? I mean, I rarely feel fantastic during a run. It's always about 10 seconds after I stop when I feel I can and should conquer the entire world, but this run was kind of enjoyable for a while in the middle.

I rewarded myself with coffee and a Target trip. It was a nice morning indeed and then Kyle and I went to the park and made cupcakes together for Mike's birthday. Sunday win!

***

A couple questions for you:

1. What workout videos do you love? I am a tried and true 30-Day Shred loyalist but my copy broke and while I can occassionally download certain levels from my DirecTV queue, I'd love to pick your brains about other awesome videos I should be trying instead.
2. What do you eat for breakfast/lunch (if it's relatively healthy)? I'm really struggling with my diet. I'm making poor choices and eating too much (especially at night) and I just need a little eating inspiration. So, tell me what YOU eat for breakfast and lunch, especially if it's good for you and also just plain good.

Until next week!

Happy Birthday To Kyle's Best Friend

The other day, in the car, I asked Kyle who his best friend is because a mom at school had told me that whenever she asks her son the same question, he excitedly says, "Kyle!" I thought it'd be cute to hear him say this boy's name.

"Hey, buds, who's your best, best, best friend?"

"Daddy," he said, very matter-of-factly. He's said daddy every time I've asked since.

That was probably gift enough for Mike since being Kyle's dad is the thing Mike enjoys most, right in front of motorcycle racing and new episodes of Futurama, but today is his birthday so I went ahead and gave him the big pot he had asked for, so he can make mashed potatoes all fall and winter.

(I could make fun of his birthday request, but I'm totally asking for a food processor for mine.)

I think everyone knows by now how much I love Mike. He's smart and funny and very, very kind, and his son thinks he's the greatest guy on the planet and his son is right. But, today is still his birthday, so it's all worth repeating.

As Kyle would say, "It's your happy birthday!" So, babe, live it up, make some mashed potatoes, watch some Futurama, remember how much we love you. Today, tomorrow, every other day too.