Ramblings on a Tuesday

'Tis the season of all things pumpkin.  Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin scones, pumpkin donuts... and pumpkin ales.  A local brewpub called Olde Peninsula recently debuted their seasonal pumpkin ale... which is slightly really fantastic, and tastes like pumpkin pie in a glass.  Below is a sampler of all the brews that Olde Peninsula has on tap.  Can you guess which is the pumpkin ale?

(hint: third from the right)

 This is another example of what a vegan eats: vegan hot dogs.  This brand is Tofu Pups, which are good, not great.  So I paired em up with some sauteed onions (which, in my opinion, make everything better) and hardcore mustard.  YUM.  (Side note: the hot dogs themselves are very teeny... so if you can't actually see them in the mess of bun and onion, that's why.)

My new favorite Pandora station is the Passion Pit station.  Makes me feel like I'm in the mall at a fancypants hipster store.  Have I mentioned that I love shopping?

Last night I went out to dinner with my sister and brother-in-law, as well as a couple friends from Grand Rapids.  Lissa, who grew up with Liz and me, and her husband Jeremy came to visit with us.  And we had a fabulous time!

Um... would you believe that this is the same baby on both sides of the photo below?  WHERE did my baby go?  What happened to the dark hair and that squishy little face?  Don't get me wrong, she's still beautiful, but she doesn't even look like the same person!  I picked Sol up from daycare yesterday; apparently she's started walking behind a little walker/scooter-thing, and Daycare Lady said she has about 6 teeth ready to pop through her upper gum.  SIX TEETH!!!  Again, what happened to my itty bitty baby?

Do you see what I'm sporting today?  I'm wearing maize and blue, and this bracelet to show my support for Dawn and Donald Webb and their family.  The Webbs are family friends who lost their dear daughter and unborn grandson just over a year ago.  Today is Day 5 of the trial, in which Ken Bluew is charged with (among other things) first-degree premeditated murder of Jenny Webb, who was 8 months pregnant with their son Braxton.  You can read about the story/trial here, and if you're so inclined, you can follow live Tweets of the trial by following Andy Hoag with the Saginaw News.  This story hits close to home for me for many reasons, and I have plenty more to say on it, but it deserves its own post on another day.

I wish I could end my ramblings on a more positive note, but my heart feels especially heavy lately for the family of Jenny and Braxton, and my thoughts are with the family as they endure yet another day of waiting on justice for a cold and senseless act of selfishness - the ultimate act of selfishness.  Keep the Webbs in your thoughts and prayers... and send some positivity their way.  And please oh please, try to live a life of love and kindness.  In the end, that's all we can really do to contribute to a better world.