Holy sad sack! Have I been a downer lately, or what?

On the Lance yes, I suppose I have been. This is where I go to sort out my feelings because I feel it’s socially unacceptable to weep publicly. Online I can mope in my slippers and caftan, listen to Bon Iver and wear my homely glasses while surfing YouTube for videos of pugs being adorable.

In person however, I’m quick to laugh at jokes, RSVP yes to parties, dress semi-attractively (hello trendy black glasses!) and carry on intelligent conversations with a fair amount of sophistication and crude humor.

What I’m getting at is this: blogging is my Haagen-Dazs and Sleepless in Seattle. It’s where I go when I’m feeling vulnerable, PMS-y and tolerant of Meg Ryan’s dopey acting.

Pug woes aside, I’ve had a lot of good laughs over the last couple months. You wouldn’t know it if you only read my blog. So in the spirit of reminding you that I’m still a good time, I’ve decided to share with you some of the things that went right in September and October – in photos of course.

Joe was in charge of getting our son ready for preschool one morning. This was the note he wrote for himself the night before so he’d remember what to pack in Hank’s bag. Let me translate for you: water, cheese, applesauce, sandwich and George (as in Curious) backpack. I found this to be almost as amusing as pug videos on YouTube.

This kitchen set was a major score. I bought it off a dude for $30 on Craigslist. It was apparently a Pinterest project that his wife coerced him into crafting and that his son outgrew in a year. Yay for me. One man’s Pinterest trash is another man’s Pinterest treasure. Hank now “cooks” me pancakes every morning for breakfast and I didn’t have to craft A DAMN THING.

My mom came to stay with us for two weeks in September. It was glorious.

Joe and I went on vacation 45 minutes away from our house. It was also glorious.

This package finally arrived at a blog reader’s apartment in California. His name is Michael and in APRIL he won a photo caption contest on the Lance’s Facebook page. Three months later I shipped his prize. (I’m not one for instant gratification.) In September, it arrived back at my house stamped RETURN TO SENDER. Last week I mailed it AGAIN, this time to the correct apartment number in California. Three cross-country trips later, Michael’s prize found a home and a name – Wolf Shitzer Esquire the Third, AKA Henry Pawllins. (His name, not mine.)

Meet Henry Pawllins.

Oh, and this happened one morning.

And this happened on a different morning.

Joe lost 20 pounds by cutting his dinner consumption in half and adding copious amounts of raw spinach to his plate. Many of you on Facebook have followed his foray into eating this single vegetable every day for two months and many of you have wondered how on earth this diet works. I don’t know, but he looks faaaaabulous!

Henry dressed as Pee-wee Herman for Halloween and killed it.

Joe and I dressed as Wayne and Garth. Killed that too.

I returned to yoga – with underwear on. I looked nothing like this.