Here puppy, puppy

I've had a rough week at work and thought this might bring a smile to yours (and my) face. Summer is puppy time in hunt kennels. One day during the summer we took CMB's new horse up to our kennel property to ride and start getting him used to hounds. While there we got to play with the new puppies. There are very few things cuter than hound puppies. My daughter, CMB, is in the center with the lemon colored puppy. The other two are our huntsman's kids. Happy Friday!

Manner will Always Matter

Are good old fashion Southern manners going away? The NY Times seems to think so. According to an article found HERE. Although the article was interesting, I refuse to believe it. I think manners will always matter and I am raising my kids with that in mind. Saying "yes, please" and "no, thank you", waiting until everyone is seated before begining a meal, writing a thank you note, standing when a lady leaves the table, and a hundred other small things are what matter. They may seem like an outdated way of behaving but I think how you present yourself and how you treat others is important. The overall mood of the country and the anger I see only serve to reinforce that. Manners and civility are the better course rather than ranting and raving. It's not always easy to do but it always pays off, at least in my experience. I'm going to give you a specific example from my professional life. Two years ago the manager that hired me left for another position and I was shunted about the department and had staff added, then realigned. It was not a good experience. I was always polite and helpful and never refused to do what I was asked. Although it seems like I should have been more angry and forceful the utlimate response was a new manager and a great review commending my positive attitude and grace under a less than ideal situation. Are manners on the way out? Not in my household!

Cousins

I tend to do alot of posts on cousins. My kids have alot of cousins. On Hubby's side they are the youngest and there are 15 cousins older than my kids, the oldest of whom is married with kids. On my side my kids are the oldest and there are only my sisters two. However, we see them the most since we live close. My sister's son and OPB are besties. However, this post is girl cousin based. My daughter, CMB is 8, my sisters little girl E will be 3 next week. They haven't really had alot in common until now. E is finally old enough to ride the pony and CMB loved that. This past weekend we had a race meet on the day before our opening hunt. CMB rode her new horse Dancer and E made her debut on the pony, Baxter. CMB used to ride Baxter but has finally grown to tall. You can see Baxter behind the girls and the trailer. He's totally darling and a great first leadline pony.

Opening Meet

This past weekend was the opening meet for the Los Altos Hounds. We were a little anxious because it was the first time that CMB's new horse Dancer had been out on a formal hunt. We've had him out several times during the pre-season autum hound training but a full on hunt is a little different and opening meet is a big deal. I am thankful to report that he was very good. The weather was quite warm and dry here in NorCal but we still had a great time.

Hopeful wants out of the trailer! I love the hounds. They are so sweet and darling.

This is our whole group. From left to right are my father, me, CMB, my mom and my sister.

Mom, me and CMB. Getting ready to go!

CMB calls my father Abu. I've been taking this same shot of the two of them every year at opeing since her first opening meet when she was 3. She is 8 now and this is her 5th opening meet.

CMB and Dancer. The begining of a wonderful new partnership. He's about 15 hand high so she ought to do for her for the next several years. By next season they should be ready to go first field and jump.

I love Bobbi Brown makeup. He tinted moisturizer is one of my absolute favorites. I also adore the gel eyeliners and cream eye shadows. Her palettes are also amazing. She has a nack for putting together the right shades so that they all work and nothing is left out. Currently I am loving this tortoise shell palette. The Nordstrom's web site describes it as follows:

"A flattering collection of warm neutral makeup for medium to darker skin tones, this palette lets you go from soft to smoky in no time flat. The eight shadows in the Bronze Tortoise Shell Eye Palette are designed to be layered—there's no blending required. Start with the lightest shade, then layer the darker shades until you get the desired intensity. Tortoise-shell glasses inspire the special limited-edition compact—Bobbi's muse for this collection.Shades include:- Banana Eyeshadow.- Gold Nugget Sparkle Eyeshadow.- Amber Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow.- Copper Cocoa Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow.- Tiger's Eye Metallic Eyeshadow.- Bronze Metallic Eyeshadow.- Olive Sparkle Eyeshadow.- Espresso Eyeshadow. "

It feels like the perfect combination for falls richer colors. What do you think?

Help out San Mateo Park School!

Hello and happy Monday to all my lovely readers. Hope your weekend was fabulous. I wanted to ask for your help. Everyone knows about the dire straights most public schools are in these days. Well, A few months ago our Grant Team (of which I am a member) submitted an entry for a proposed tech lab with new computers, iPads and printers for San Mateo Park School. Voting is now open and the school needs everyone's help to win up to $50,000 in The Clorox Company’s Power A Bright Future grant program so we can do it!

Help us secure funding to "Create a Technology Lab that Empowers Teachers to Engage all Students"! There are two easy ways to vote - and you can do BOTH daily!

We need your votes daily until December 9th!

Text clorox8968 to 44144

AND you can also vote on our nomination web page at http://tiny.cc/votepark
You may vote one time online AND one time via Text per day. Please share this great news with your family, friends and neighbors so they can vote too!

Our school is a wonderful place. The teachers and the staff are truely amazing. It's a math/science magnet school and we want to keep making it even more amazing. If you could spare a moment to help that would be fabulous!

Mad for Plaid

I love plaid and last night looking in my closet I realize that it is possible that the plaid shirts may have taken over from the navy striped ones. J Crew has done several great plaid shirts this fall and most of then have taken up residence in my closet. I really love their "Boy Shirt". It's slim and neat, not sloppy and it has a presence and style, whether worn with jeans or a pencil skirt. What do you think? Are you "mad for plaid"?


I love this navy with cream and red plaid shirt. It has the brass colored buttons too. I am wearing it to work today with dark trouser jeans and ballet flats. I also like the look of it as they styled it on the web site and might try it with my camel trousers. I also plan to wear it under my navy tippi sweater with the cuffs rolled back and my bronze ocher pencil skirt.

I know they have re-released this tartan shirt but I bought mine last winter. Looks great with black pants and is very festive and yet I don't think it screams "Christmas" so loudly that it couldn't be worn other times.

I loved this navy plaid shirt above so much that I also bought it in the red color. This one looks great with cords and jeans and is a weekend staple.

I also bought the fabulous quincy tartan shirt which appears to be sold out on the web site so I can't find a picture. It looks great under the navy Tippi and also under the camel one. I may need an intervention!