It is a glorious day. It's sunny and 80 degrees. Weather.com tells me that even though it's 80 degrees it actually feels like 79! You know what that means!!!! No humidity!!! Me and my Aveda anti-humectant thank you, Mother Nature! It was actually chilly when I took Roxie outside last night. We are on day two of windows open and no a.c. which feels and smells fantastic. It gives me a little extra energy knowing that the change of season is coming soon.

We went to the zoo this morning. There is a 56 year old chimp there that just had a baby. This is big news in the zoo world. Good Morning America even did a story on it on Sunday. Most chimps lie to me about 40-45 years old so this chimp, Susie, is old. And then to have a baby! I guess they took her off birth control (I had never thought about birth control for animals before that!) to help her health thinking there was no way she'd get pregnant but she did! The baby chimp (yet to be named) is adorable - so tiny! I could watch them interact all day. Read more about the story here.

Well, can you tell I am 34? It was my birthday yesterday. The boys did a great job of making it a special day, including a 6 foot banner listing 34 things they love about me. A few of my favorites:
*gives us 21 things
*turns off lights for us and we like it
*takes us to Target

Brian wrote down whatever they said. It is totally adorable and precious and it will hang in my room until Andrew rips it down....which will probably be later today.

Jackson got me a pair of earrings for my birthday. When I saw them, my first thought was, "Well, if there's still a receipt, these are going back." They are huge black sparkly stars that dangle dangerously close to my shoulders.

Then he said, "I picked them out just for you. Do you love them, Mommy? Try them on!" So I did and he said, "Woah! Those are so pretty on you! I thought they would look perfect in your studio. I knew you would love them."

I will keep them for the rest of my life.

I'm getting new running shoes from the Manhattan Running Company as my other gift. I am excited to go in on my first Preschool-Wednesday and get fitted for the shoes that are going to make running easy and painless and make the hills my friend. That's what will happen, right? That's why I paying the big bucks for shoes, right? RIGHT?

I taught 8 lessons yesterday. It was the first day of school in Manhattan so it was also the first day of my fall schedule. The highlight was when I asked a new, 1st grade student if he was looking forward to starting piano lessons. He told me that no, he wasn't. That's when I have silent conversations in my head about how I'd really like to respond.

I am going out to the deck to soak up the last of the August sun and read a new library book. I've had about 6 of them on reserve all summer. Wouldn't you know that it's my turn for all of them at the same time? Today I think I will start, "The Hand that First Held Mine" by Maggie O'Farrell. I just finished Jennifer Weiner's latest. Her first book, Good in Bed, remains one of my favorites. She's written several since but none of them have been as good as that first one.