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So, we moved. It was a successful move…I managed to throw my back out after packing up box #4 and we only got 4.5 hours of sleep the night before the movers were to arrive, but we are in and we are still semi-sane and we LOVE THE NEW SPACE! Currently I am sitting at my new Steelcase yellow butter cream colored desk while Cooper is working from his gray Steelcase desk next to me. I have a desk! And a dog! And a bigger kitchen! And stairs in our space! And I hear trains all the time (which actually isn’t bad at all…surprisingly!). I have completely moved on from our last space and havn’t had guilt pains moving from it (except for moving away from the great street).

Whoa, hold on…a dog just came and sat on my lap and said he needed some attention.

Ok, I’m back. Until I get some good photos to post of our place I’ll leave you with this:

Yes, that is correct. I heard about it through thefunctionkey.com who I found through Twitter. I can’t wait to try it! My question though…how can it be a diet product?

Last weekend was one heck of a whirlwind. I am surprised I survived! Can’t beat quality time with family and friends and a ton of good food. When I say a ton a fun I mean a TON of food. My cheeks are larger, no doubt.

Some photo highlights (but they don’t cover half of the events!):

We…

Had breakfast with my mom then went straight to lunch with the Rues and Vidergars then…

Went out to dinner where Amelia really wanted to be just like Assi…

We ate a big chocolate donut as my b-day cake. Thanks, Cyril! Soooo good…

 

After the b-day cake we went out with Ashley and John for more dessert. Aye carumba!  (Great to see you guys!)

The next day we had family over for b-fast and once they left we went off to the CIRCUS! Yes, I felt really bad for the elephants and tigers, but you have to overlook it when you have a 2.5 year old or 5 month old on your lap…

Then Cooper and I went to the Great American Beer Festival and saw/drank the fruits of Pat and Rachel’s labor…the beer is amazing! If you ever see Bruery beer on the shelves, buy all that you can…you won’t regret it…

The 27% beer was a life experience, no doubt…

The next morning as hard as it was we went to church to listen to Amelia sing a song with the rest of her class of 2 year olds. She was a star. Then we took photo after photo of Nora…

And of course, Amelia…

Then, you guessed it! PUMPKIN CARVING TIME!!

After all of these action packed days I don’t know what to do with myself. Oh, wait…that’s right…pack for your move on SUNDAY! I currently only have one boxed packed, that’s it. As I always say in times like these, “Screw me over and pass the peanuts.”

Thanks, folks, for all the b-day notes. I try to avoid making a deal out of b-days but you all made me feel very loved (Actually, maybe I should be thanking Facebook…just kidding…kind of).

ants at the beach….genius video!

Beached from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Some really sad news today…Katie Reich has passed away. As Wade and I said over and over…it always seems to happen to the best people. You can see her story at CaringBridge.

Oye. It is the last weekend of Oktoberfest and all I have to show for it is this ridiculous photo that I made for work but never got to use.

Don’t you just love the juxtaposition of my dad in his lederhosen and Cooper (whose head was photoshopped on some accordion dude’s body) in a semi-modern/frilly/girlie room? I think it is Cooper’s noggin that really makes the image great.

Hmmm…perhaps a trip to a good German beergarden is in order (one with beers in boots, preferably).

Actually a couple of beers would be good. This past month has been a weird one for the Beckords…my dad is dealing with a cancer scare; my older bro is gearing up for a 6 month sail with his wife; my sister and her family are in a state of flux with kids who don’t sleep, a potential move and just general major life/job transitions; my little bro started his first ever 8-5 which is never easy to adjust to; and Cooper and I are moving. All the while my mom gets to worry about the each and every one of us.

I say, “Beers for everybody!”

Woops. We are ridiculous. First we cause ourselves some ulcers then we go back to the apartment we debated about for far too long and now we are moving in October. No, we don’t have time to move, and no we are not made of money, and no I am not as excited about the neighborhood, but I LOVE THE SPACE!! This photo doesn’t do the place justice…I’ll just have to take more. So, yes we are moving, and yes I am terrible at getting organized to move, and yes this is going to cause a larger ulcer, and yes it maybe doesn’t make a ton of sense, and yes we will get to take care of my bro’s dog for 6 months, but yes…I AM EXCITED! People come visit! I promise the bathroom is not right next to the living room anymore…but now you might want to bring ear plugs if the sound of a train passing by bothers you.

The view from the perspective of a 2.5 year old….

This past weekend the “girls” (mom, sister and my two nieces) were visiting while Cooper went for a man fest with some guy friends in Mississippi. Boy it is great to be with girls. Not that boys are bad but having some time with the girls you love most is such an amazing thing. We did all the best things you can do when the weather was as perfect as it was…we… visited my new apartment (!!!), went out for lunch in North Berkeley, walked to parks and spent HOURS playing, went out for Naan ‘n Curry, ate chocolate ice cream, took my sister to a spa, went to Cheeseboard, walked to a pizza joint for pie and pitchers of beer, went out to breakfast with one boy (brother) then to the street festival right outside my apartment. It was all so much fun and so tiring that we accidentally got to the airport early so we all took naps in the car. The hard part: when we have to leave each other. We tend to get “ferclempt” and shed some tears. Some may call it girl power, others may just see it as a super close bond. All I know is that I love the girls in my family.

Guess Who from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo

Ummmm, this is great. Couldn’t have been a better song choice. I used to rig Guess Who? by putting the faces in exactly the same order on both boards then telling my component “we are supposed to put down who we have before we start”…that way I knew right away who their person was and I always won. Yup, I was that kid.

A quick installment on things I love…

* Waking up in the morning and pressing snooze for an hour and a half then telling yourself, “Self, you don’t need to get up for anything. Turn that thing off and keep sleeping.” Then doing it!

* Drinking coffee or any warm and soothing liquid (or thick pudding-ish spicy hot chocolate) out of white mugs where the lip is so fat you can barely get your mouth around it (a bit of an exaggeration but you know what I mean).

* Walking from Rockridge to Berkeley and stopping in favorite shops for as long as I want.

* Going to the Half Priced Bookstore and loading up on their really good $1 clearance books.

* Drinking good beer.

* Quality lining in clothes. Especially little details that no one else will see but make you feel really happy. (i.e Cooper’s Ted Baker suit with pimpin’ lining or the inside of a pair of shoes that no one really gets to see but you love it).

* Thinking about making a key lime pie. Maybe actually making it will induce even more love.

* A student or artist setting up a free screenprint of Obama on Berkeley’s campus. Awesome screen print and color choice (a pumpkin orange). I loved seeing folks (young and old!) take off their shirts to get the print. I considered taking mine off but thought against it, then thought…”It is Berkeley! People will support me!”…then again thought against it.

* Seeing a potentially homeless man smoking a cigarette, wearing clown face paint and ACTUAL CLOWN SHOES! A kid and his mom walked by…the kid was excited but I would have been scared.

* Asking random strangers who are eating ice cream “How is it?” People are always pleasant while eating ice cream.

* Going to my favorite park in Berkeley to watch dogs and happy folk enjoy life.

* Boba Thai iced tea. I’ve mentioned this before, but I had to mention it again.

So, I’m trying to get into this video world a bit and figure out how to do it for my jobby job. Cooper and I were testing a mic the other night and this is what came out of it…(WARNING!! I look disgusting, I am dressed like a grandma, and I need botox to plump my lips up. Please overlook the visuals and just listen to the audio).

Cornish Game Hens from Ali Beckord on Vimeo.