Living The Good Life

A couple weeks ago, slipped in the far reaches of my mailbox, I found a note that took me back to the good ol' days of elementary school.   You know what I'm talking about. Remember how you would just be sitting at your desk, one leg pumping back and forth, pencil eraser nudging your bottom lip, as you tried to puzzle out those mind-boggling multiplication tables?  And then, out of the corner of your eye, you would see Andy passing a note to Melissa, who would then pass it on to Mark, who would then palm it off to you right before Mrs. Nelson turned around from the blackboard.  Your name would be written all in cursive and curly-q's on the clumsily folded paper.  Carefully, stealthily, you unfold the paper to find: Well, InterAmerican sent me a 'check yes or no' note, and it raised the same sensation of anxiety that those old love notes of yesterday used to inspire.  Instead of the traditional, "do you like me?" question, it was the "will you continue...

I'm a big fan of my friend Jill's blog.  She and her family are currently living in Japan and she is documenting all the family adventures they are experiencing during their time in Asia.  She recently wrote that she hasn't been blogging for awhile because things are starting to feel normal for her in Japan, there is the "been there, done that" feeling about the things she comes across on a day to day basis.  I know exactly what she is talking about...I'm starting to feel that way about Ecuador.  It isn't that I don't know I am having the experience of the lifetime, it is just that the experience is starting to feel like normal life.  That is, until this past weekend. This last weekend, which marked the first break in 9 weeks of school (crazy, right?  No one is supposed to spend that much time with 6th and 7th graders in one pop), Dave and I had one of those Ecuador adventures that makes us hardly believe we are lucky enough to live this life.  Thursda...

Our very talented friend over at The Bat Ranch , has once again started his 31 Doodles to celebrate the spooky month of October.  We here at the Richert Ranch are big fans and wanted to let you in on this web-based art show.  Check them out, I can guarantee you won't want to miss a doodle! And our artist of the week (or two) is Ingrid Michaelson .  She's great, yes?  I found her while stress-shopping on iTunes.  Is there anything better than stress-shopping at iTunes?  Instant gratification for only $1.  Beautiful