Birds have taken over this blog post.

(Even though at first, you'll think it's about my husband.)

Happy Monday morning, friends!

Can I be honest with you? There are several things I want to talk about today. Like the Bleet-Up, like my new favorite yoga studio, like the fact that Anthony Bourdain, Bill Murray, and Quentin Tarantino should just admit their collective crushes on Austin, Texas and all buy a summer home here together.

HOWEVER, none of these topics are allowing themselves to congeal into proper blog posts.  Why? I think it's because all I want to talk about is the fact that Ross comes home from the Amazon in nine days.

Nine days! We are in the single digits now. Can you believe it? Nine days until Claudia gets her favorite human back, nine days until I swerve into Austin Bergstrom Airport, nine days until I burst, snarling and wild-eyed, into baggage claim and vigorously hump my husband's leg. Family, I'm sorry you had to read that.

But here's my question: What do you do with a man who's been living in the jungle for two months?

It's cultural re-entry I'm talking about. I'm not saying Ross has gone native or anything. But you go from living very simply - one might say aescetically - for a long while, and then you come home to America with its bells and whistles and Olive Garden (heart) and Bravo TV (double heart). That's right, I said I like Olive Garden. And I don't care who knows it!

So are there things you can do to make it easier for the person coming home?

I've been joking with Ross that to help him out, I'm going to turn the house into a setting he's used to. Namely by dressing Claudia up as a baby jaguar. Really not too much of a stretch there.

And it's true, I am redecorating. Oh, nothing drastic.  Just a kitchen remodel and a new pool! some new art for right now. How do you like these guys?

Sparrow, meet Rooster. You two shall fight over avian territory in my home office.

I'm going through a rather strong bird phase right now. They fly across my dining room:

Fluttered onto my bedroom walls:

And can be seen preening, in my bathroom.

They've even started a little nest on the back of my neck, where I have a bird tattoo.

While we're on the subject. Last weekend, a real life birdwatcher found his way over to my blog! Everybody, I'd like to introduce Mikael.

Obviously, this is not Mikael. It's a photograph he took, one of several on his little Austin birdwatching blog. It really is so cute and calming.  I've been reading it every day since he commented here.

happy monday, all!

P.S. - I started this post last night while I was a little bit drunk.

P.P.S. - I fear I may have made some irreversible interior decorating decisions while I was drunk.