More Scorpios!

Apparently 9 months before this very day (give or take a month) was a very successful day for conception, no matter what the year. Today we have not one, not two, but 4, possibly 5, birthdays to announce!

So without further ado, happy, happy, happy, happy (happy) birthday to Dad (aka Grandpa) and Megan (aka first granddaughter and my goddaughter and niece, not to mention the little princess and the boss of the family ... whew, so many titles!). Dad, my apologies for the photo, but I just could not resist! And a happy birthday wish going out to my Fabbo friend, Christin, AND to our dear wonderful friends Glenn (and Michelle??) who we miss so much. (Michelle, is today the actual day, or is it just right around now? I can never remember, horrible friend that I am!).

My goodness, what a busy birthday day!!



In honor of this major birthday day, we voted . . . again. HA! Just kidding. Actually, I spent your special day driving ALL over North Dallas hunting for white disco pants and go-go boots. Just for you. Really. OK, for me and Mark. But I did think of you all and the fact that I should be at home working and updating the blog rather than waiting until the last minute to find Halloween costumes! Alas, I had absolutely no success in my hunt (well, no success for the price I was willing to pay). So now we are up the Halloween creek without complete costumes! Stay tuned until next time to find out if we solve our mini Halloween crisis in time!

Happy Birthday, A. Karen (AKA The Queen Mother)!

We have been quite lax with the birthday wishes around here. I have no excuse. However, I can redeem myself with the fact that I contacted the missed birthday wishees (including Aaron, Heather, and Jay) via e-mail or phone or Hallmark e-card or Facebook or what-have-you. Because I am overdue with a post and because it is my favorite godmother's birthday, I thought I would write a quickie.


Welcome back from Aruba, Auntie Karen! It sounds like it was a blast, and we are quite extremely jealous that we were not there, celebrating and relaxing with you. I'm also hoping that all is set for you to "enjoy" using The Card! We will raise our glasses in a toast to you this evening (and the next evening, and the next--you know how much we enjoy a celebration or three). Have a very, very happy birthday! We love you!


In honor of your big day, Mark and I performed our civic duty/privilege at the voting booth (with Mark, my U.S. citizen husband, voting for the first time in his life. No photos of the momentous occasion . . . not allowed in the voting booth, of course. I thought about telling everyone there it was his first time . . . like maybe they'd make a big deal of it, like at the Rocky Horror Picture Show or something. But he insisted that we lay low and act like normal voters. Bah humbug!)

Weekend Update

We took a mini-vacation this weekend to explore the wonders of Oklahoma. And it turns out, there are wonders in Oklahoma! (Yes, that's me on the left, and yes, my hair is SUPER short.)

The Joffes are/in OK

We headed north to Lake Murray, where Dave and Donielle had rented a little cabin. Though we didn't do much, it was great to get away and to see some different terrain. There were little hills, different (bigger) trees, and a beautiful lake with actual shorelines where you could walk right into the water without having to fight off weeds and bugs and who knows what else lurks along the Texas lakeshores. Although it was a sort-of three-day weekend and although all the cabins were booked up, the lake was empty (presumably because it's autumn and much too chilly to be boating, what with those 80 degree temps and all!). We saw maybe three or four boats on the water the entire time (including a souped-up pontoon boat that I'm pretty sure went faster than Eric's (oops, I mean, Uncle Gary's) motor boat).

Lake Murray as seen from Tucker Tower

Saturday evening, Dave and his family rented kayaks to explore the lake, while Mark and I took the dogs for a walk. Sadie and Kai (who has become a full-on water dog) chased each other, as well as whatever rodents and frogs they could scare up, all over the place. Later that night, after a relaxing dinner of lasagna and a fun game of Apples to Apples, we all fell asleep watching reruns of Saturday Night Live. Aaaah, relaxation!

Kai the Explorer

Tired Pooches

Sunday, Dave and Donielle cooked up a delicious breakfast, providing us with the energy for some exploring of Tucker Tower and other spots around the lake. Once again, the dogs (and the rest of us) had a blast. A relaxing barbecue lunch afterward, and we were on our way. A quickie trip, but still a good time.

Mmmmmm, breakfast

Lindsey, Lexie, and AJ atop Tucker Tower



Mmmmmm, lunch

And next time we are in OK, we will be sure to keep our camera at the ready, as we missed out on some classic shots, including a three-wheel motorcycle/sidecart towing the world's smallest trailer carrying a tiny replica of an old 1950s' Chrysler (huh) and the best Burma-Shave-style series of 10+ billboards advertising what I think might have been the only bar in the county.

Heaven Is a Queen-Sized Bed

Or at least that's my definition of heaven this week. We moved onto Grady Court just in time for the annual neighborhood block party. And not only are our neighbors super nice, they are also super generous. We left the party with bellies full of food and beverages, smiles on our faces, and an ironing board, coffee table, two cute little chairs for the bedroom and the office, sheets, and a mattress. Nice welcoming committee! Our house is actually starting to look like a house. We even got some of the screens in place, reducing the number of flies, moths, and mosquitos at least by half!

The weather is cooling off here and is almost really pleasant. I found out that because our little house is situated on top of a "hill" and there are no trees in our large backyard, there is nothing to stop the wind/breeze from blowing through our windows, keeping us nice and cool, even on some of the warmer days. Fresh air is lovely! I might even need to put on a very light sweater soon, if this keeps up.

I seem to update the blog when Mark is off at work . So once again, no pictures, as they are all on his computer. We'll try to get some from Neil and Tina's wedding, as well as a few shots of the house sometime soon. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Debbie and Eric (no, not my cousins Debbie and Eric; that would be weird) who semi-officially tied the knot in Yosemite last month and who will be making the whole thing officially official later this month in San Francisco. I am so incredibly happy for you both (though I'm not sure you even read this blog, so hmmmm, there is that).

Happy autumn to all of you lucky enough to have one!

So Behind ...

That's what we are, and no excuse. Well, no excuse except for moving, cleaning out the old apartment, getting settled in the new place, refurnishing the new place with all the items we sold off/gave away/dumped on our friends in Denver, flying off to the Sierras for Neil and Tina's wedding (GREAT TIME!!), trying to launch Mark's clothing line (well, I'm not working on that, but Mark and Dave are, full time), trying not to procrastinate too much on work (that one's all me), squeezing in the occasional workout, cooking our way through the latest Cooking Light magazine (sort of a la Julie & Julia, but not really), and ... well, I think that's everything, though I'm sure I'm missing something in there.

We owe you pictures. We owe you stories. We owe you stuff. But for now you all need to settle for these two short paragraphs, letting you know that we are still alive and well and that we hope to be a little more settled next week. We're just happy to finally have Internet access at home again. We missed our daily connection!