What Would Jane Austen Do?

PS Latte , originally uploaded by houston mamacita . First pumpkin spice latte of the year

With an assist from a certain little sister. [Not pictured: Emmet. He was busy begging cookies off the bake sale ladies.] Also: I can't believe this guy let a bunch of 3rd graders wash his '57 Thunderbird.

IMG_0669 , originally uploaded by houston mamacita . Thursday afternoon we took E&B to meet author Jon Scieszka. If you haven't read The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales , you're missing out. Emmet's new favorites are the Time Warp Trio series. Even his memoir looks good.

Reading I've been on the library waiting list all summer for this one. Watching So funny; so disturbingly true to my life. Listening to

A Dining Table and His Victim , originally uploaded by houston mamacita . or, Why I Don't Live at the P.O.

...about electing Andre Dawson to the Baseball Hall of Fame . Andre Dawson! The Hawk! One of three members of the 400 (home runs)/300 (stolen bases) Club. The guy who won an MVP award playing for a last-place team that paid him a whole $500,000 . What is wrong with people? Sign the petition, y'all ! Photo courtesy Blue Pinstripes Blog

I love it when my sister Peetie calls. I just got off the phone giving her directions to Hermann hospital. She is on her way to see a friend. His story is long, but it involves a sawed-off 12-gauge with no safety, a pack of Australian Shepherds, a four-wheeler and a bottle of Crown Royal. It seems he was injured while protecting his demesne in Deweyville . Her friend (a welder) is down half a pinky, but otherwise okay.

Reading Bridge City Cardinals Coach: Cris Stump, Lettermen R/L: 12/26. Starters returning O/D: 5/5. 2008:4-4/2-3 district. Player to watch: WR Caleb Kellogg (6-0, 165, 4.5) [Oops, he moved back to Louisiana.] Other prospects: QB Josh Lemoine, RB Matt Menard, S Cameron Dishon, CB Zach Heinze [Papi's cousin] 2009 notes: Hurricane Ike ruined many Bridge City homes and forced the Cardinals to cancel three games, but coach Stump's squad managed to claw its way to a .500 record and looks to improve upon that mark in an uninterrupted season. Helping them achieve a potential playoff run will be reigning 21-3A NOY RB Menard (89-541, 4 TDs) and all-district QB Lemoine (72-149-1,094-5, 8 TDs). CB Heinze (4 INTs) returns after an all-district season in '08. Making the playoffs a year after a painful '08 would be impressive. Game to watch: Hardin-Jefferson at Bridge City, Week 6. GO BIG RED! Watching Things I like about this show: the concept, Lynne Koplitz Things I do not like...

...you should think about getting this one from the Gap . Bless their little hearts, they're trying so hard these days. I just wish I could show them $160 worth of love.

Emmet: Remember that time Momma was supposed to take us to the Perseid meteor shower viewing party at the George Ranch ? Becca: Oh, yeah, but we never got to see the meteors! Emmet: Nope. The old cow decided we should get Mexican food on the way down there... Becca: ... and promptly got drunk on two strawberry margaritas! Emmet: Then she made Daddy drive us all home... Becca: ... and she conked out by 9. Emmet: She always was a lightweight lush. Becca: Yep. So anyway, let's go with the cheap nursing home. Emmet: Damn straight. Gorgeous photo of the George Observatory via slipshod snapshots (not by me, obv. )

Reading Listening to I listen to Dan Zanes even without the kids in the car. It's just how I roll.

next stop: Portugal , originally uploaded by houston mamacita . I'm in Maine, bitchez. And it's foggy and 65 degrees. I'm kinda tired right now, but here is a picture of the Atlantic Ocean. More later, and at flickr.

My in-laws keep chickens. They had eleven eggs set to hatch on July 28. E&B desperately wanted to be there to watch it, but we had to be in Houston that day. So we had a hatch day party with a few friends. We made decorations and drank sparkling cider and ate the cupcakes Letitia decorated. Some people like to post photos of their perfectly coordinated parties with matching suites of letterpress stationery, ribbons, balloons, etc. But I think that parties are the rare case where quantity trumps quality -- don't you agree?

via Mighty Girl . Warning: a spot of naughty language.

bougainvillea on Shepherd Drive , originally uploaded by houston mamacita . taken this afternoon.

Porter and Hollister Hovey are my favorite blogging sisters. I love looking into their world. Porter is dying for a walk-on role in Mad Men . Look at this picture -- how perfect is she? So you need to go vote for her . Thanks.

0728091018.jpg , originally uploaded by houston mamacita . Okay, I take it all back. Carnations can be cute. We usually have leftover altar flowers in the office, and they're almost always carnations and gladiola. So partly out of necessity, I decided I like this arrangement for carnations. I'll let you know if I figure out what to do with the glads.

I know this isn't any kind of revelation, but let me suggest, in case you haven't tried it yet, the following breakfast: a thinly sliced apple, with almond butter sprinkled with cinnamon. Yum.

You heard about this, right? It actually looks pretty scary for a kids' movie, but it's such a great book -- how could we not see it? Where the Wild Things Are opens October 16.* *Just typing the word "October" makes me think about cool weather and how much I love the fall. [Perhaps I've mentioned that.]

Courtney over at Style Court has been running a great series about Artists' Palettes. You should check it out . Not that me posting 4 words plus Hulu clips isn't a great series, but hers is way better.