"Because you're standing still ..."

I've been sitting here a while this morning, surfing around trying to find things to cure my blues ... you know, things that will induce some laughter or even a smile. I found this:

Dancing Machine

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... and now I have a crush on the guy in the video. But he made me smile. And laugh.

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Jimmy is dying again. This time, it's not his back, it's the flu. Or a cold, disguised as the flu. (I suspect the latter, since we both had a flu shot 3 weeks ago.) He stayed home from work yesterday, and looks to be doing it again today. yay.

Oh yeah ... Happy Birthday, Jimmy! And Mary, Happy Birthday to you, too! Here's what Astrology.com thinks about the both of you:

Your personal ruling planets are Jupiter and Moon.

You are tolerant and forgiving, always ready to overlook mistakes and give others a second chance. You expect the best from people and draw it out of them, and you enjoy making others comfortable and happy. Because of your emotional generosity, your life is rich with friends, and often financial blessings as well.

You have a buoyant, cheerful disposition and reach out to others in a warm, open, friendly way. Your emotional generosity and lack of pettiness is well known among your circle of friends, and people often seek you out for help, sympathy, or advice. You are always willing to overlook others' faults, and you sometimes overdo your charitableness.

You are easygoing, agreeable, and tolerant, willing to overlook others' mistakes, forget the past, and begin again on a positive note. You enjoy making others comfortable and happy, and sometimes overdo your generosity. You often feel that "everything will turn out all right no matter what I do", and so become lazy and lackadaisical.

Your lucky colors are cream and white and green.

Your lucky gems are moonstone or pearl. Your lucky days of the week Monday, Thursday, Sunday.

Your lucky numbers and years of important change are 2, 11, 20, 29, 38, 47, 56, 65, 74.

Famous people born on your birthday include Amos Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. John Mayall, Jeff Fahey, Cathy Moriarty, Kim Delaney and Andrew McCarthy.

I have to say though ... parts of that don't really seem to fit with Jimmy's personality. The whole "emotional generosity" and "overlooking others' faults" thing ... not so much. But it DOES fit Mary, so maybe Jimmy works hard to hide that side of himself from me.

I wish he'd work as hard to cover his mouth when he coughs in the kitchen. *sigh*

Happy 49th, honey .... it's all downhill to that coveted AARP membership from here!

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A survey seen on MySpace this morning:

1) Are you an Aunt/Uncle?
I am - I have two nephews and two nieces.

2) Can you do a cartwheel?
I doubt it. I haven’t tried in centuries; and my upper arms are so weak, they'd probably crackle into a zillion pieces if I were to try now.

3) What was the last movie you saw in theaters?
I can't remember ... maybe "Evening" last summer?

4) Do you eat vegetables regularly?
Ashamed to say, not nearly enough.

5) If you were going to get a body piercing, where would you get it?
I wouldn’t. No, thank you.

6) Do you ever hang out with someone of the opposite sex?
I hang out with my Jimmy occasionally. And my son, too.

7) What is the weather like right at this very moment?
Sunny and cold.

8) What is something you can’t wait for?
I can't wait to be finished with my Christmas shopping and decorating, so I can sit down and enjoy it.

9) How many times have you been to Canada?
Zero.

10) Have you ever had a reptile as a pet?
Hell to tha NO!

11) What is your favorite fruit?
Right now, it's oranges ... we bought a big box from the Riverside Band. But I'm having hard time coming up with a fruit I don't like.

12) What song is on your MySpace profile right now?
"How Far We've Come" by Matchbox Twenty. Yes, I'm over 35 and I have a MySpace page. Shut up.

13) Who was your last missed call on your cell phone?
Kathy.

14) Where are you most ticklish?
The arch of my foot, I think.

15) How many hours a week do you normally work?
Zero!

16) Who’s your number 1 on myspace?
Emilie. I'm her number 137. Go figure.

17) Do you have deep dark secrets?
Who doesn’t?

18) When was the last time you were sick?
I guess the last time I was reeeealy sick was in August, when I was dealing with the whole twisted intestine thing.

19) What color is your car?
White. With black scratches.

20) How many siblings do you have?
Two, both sisters. Unless you count the half-brother I've seen twice in my life, and the half-sister I've never met. In that case, it'd be four.

21) Have you ever gotten caught sneaking out?
Nope. Frances wasn't too strict with the rules.

22) Did you ever try running away from home when you were younger?
Nope.

23) What makes you the happiest?
I'm happiest when everything is going along smoothly in my kids' lives.

24) How do you feel when you see a child at the store throwing a “Tantrum”?
Glad it's not my kid.

25) Where do you want to be right now?
Here is OK. Although I wouldn’t mind being on a warm white-sand beach with my toes in the blue water, either. In the recliner with Miss Squishy might be a nice place to be, too ... if her tummy's full and her diaper is clean.

26) Have you ever finished a Rubik’s Cube?
No.

27) When is the last time you drank too much?
Friday, November 16th. Somebody kept buying rounds of Lemon Drops. It was not my fault.

28) When was the last time you rode a bike?
I cannot remember.

29) Do you have any vacation plans for this summer?
This summer? As in 6 or 7 months from now? I hope to be vacationing on St. George Island, along with Michael and Patti again.

30) Where were you 1 hour ago?
Sitting here, clearing the sleep out of my eyes, and looking for something to read.

31) Who will be your next kiss?
Jimmy and his germs are off-limits. I may kiss his cheek when I tell him "Happy Birthday" later. But it'll probably be when I kiss Emilie goodbye on Friday. I don't get many kisses.

32) Do you kiss a lot of people?
Just family. And the computer monitor when I find a new picture of Johnny Depp online.

33) Are you wearing socks right now?
No - I’m wearing warm slippers, but my feet are cold anyway, and the ceramic heater is blasting away, 12 inches from my feet.

34) When was the last time you went out of state?
In October, I went to North Carolina for the day with Laura and Melody.

35) Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?
I have not.

36) What was the last thing you had to drink?
Water.

37) What are you wearing right now?
PJ's and slippers.

38) What was your last purchase?
Yesterday I bought a sweater at Ann Taylor Loft, miscellaneous crap at Target, and a few groceries at Publix.

39) Last thing you ate?
I had a bowl of chicken & dumplings for dinner last night.

40) Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
See above: Sweater at Ann Taylor Loft. I also bought a hoodie and some "Happy Pants" at Target. On Tuesday, I went to the consignment store to pick up this month's money, and I found a Gap sweater, an Eddie Bauer hoodie, and an Ann Taylor sweater ... all looked brand new, so all came home with me. Score!

41) Are you a sexual predator?
NO, I am not. Unless your name is Justin Timberlake.

42) What is in the backseat of your car?
A CVS bag with pink tissue paper in it, bought on that fateful "too much to drink" night I wrote about earlier. It was a friend's birthday party, and I stopped on the way there to wrap her little gift. And an umbrella. And probably the windshield thing that blocks the sun when I'm parked, which I hardly ever use.

43. Three words to explain why you last threw up?
Gastric By Pass.

45. What was the last movie you watched?
My last Netflix choice was a documentary called "Wordplay" ... about people who love crossword puzzles. Zzzzzzz. I'll be watching "Capote" in the next few days.

46. Do you think Barbie is a negative role model for kids?
No. I think Britney and Paris are.

47. What kind of car does your father drive?
When he was alive, he drove a clunker truck ... I have no idea what kind. He loved it.

48. Do you like scrabble?
I do.

49. Where did you attend high school?
Hardaway High School. Columbus, GA.

50. Favorite scent?
Clean Baby.

52. Last television program you watched?
South Park, last night ... a re-run about Mormonism (Dum dum dum dum dum). I was too sleepy to watch the 10 PM episode. If it was new, the DVR got it for me.

55. Does your family own any boats?
Nope.

56. Something you can’t live without?
My family and friends.

61. Where were you when 9/11 happened?
Driving to Garden Ridge for a job interview. They could only offer a seasonal job and it paid minimum wage. I didn't accept. I came home and watched the news coverage the rest of the day.

62. How often do you read books?
Every day.

65. Describe the computer you are currently using?
Um. It’s a Dell computer. It’s about a year old, except for the monitor, which was made in 1710.

66. How long does it take you to get ready to go out?
About an hour, from the shower to the car.

67. Will you donate your organs after you pass?
Sure!

68. Have you been outside of the USA?
Yes, to the islands we visited on our cruise.

69. Would you ever get your nipple pierced?
HAIL no.

"Save it for a rainy day ..."

Was that just ONE weekend? My God, it felt like several. At least.

Rainy Monday here, you? I'm dog-sitting today, and she has some intestinal distress happening. Not sure whether it was her trip to the kennel over Thanksgiving or what ... but her tummy is not happy. And that means lots of trips out to the yard, in the cold rain. Ah, Monday.

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Sooooo ... the weekend. Thanksgiving was everything I imagined ... lots of work getting the meal prepared, incredible mess in the kitchen, and it took 4.2 minutes to eat "The Meal". Everything tasted great though. (Kay and Kathy, I wish you had been here!)

One last-minute change to the menu: I decided not to do the Gooey Butter Cake and made a recipe Emilie brought home from work instead. They had a Thanksgiving meal at the office on Monday, and someone brought this dish that everybody loved. The recipe was shared, and we decided to give it a go. It was definitely a hit, even the Non-Food-Person (Jimmy) had more than one helping. It came without a name, so we have christened it:

Pumpkin Pie Cake

1 16-oz. can pumpkin

1 12-oz. can evaporated milk

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix this and pour into a 9 x 13 baking pan that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray.

1 box of Duncan Hines Yellow Butter Recipe Cake Mix (dry)

1 and 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Sprinkle these over the top of the pumpkin mixture.

1 and 1/2 sticks butter (melted)

Pour this over the dry cake mix and nuts.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until lightly browned.

Frost with a mixture of:

1 16-oz. box powdered sugar

1 8-oz. cream cheese

1 8- oz. Cool Whip

Goodness.

Oh yeah, the turkey brining ... I ended up using a cooler with ice to house the turkey in the brining bag. I used a huge plastic bag I bought at Williams-Sonoma to hold the turkey in the brine, but after I got it all in there, I was worried that it would leak overnight ... and it was incredibly unwieldy, all that liquid in a bag ... so I used the cooler instead of the fridge. I roasted it slow and covered it with foil, until the last hour or so ... then I uncovered and basted it with butter until the temperature was over 165 degrees. It rested for about an hour while I finished the rest of the meal, and yes. It was moist, very full of flavor, and everything "they" say about brining is true! I'm even thinking about doing another one for Christmas.

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Miss Squishy brought her Mama and Daddy over to watch the Clemson/Carolina game on Saturday night. Won't say too much about the game, other than "Whew!" That was a close one. Can't tell you how hard it is to watch those Tigers play sometimes.

On to the BABY ... she is not quite 3 weeks old, and this marked her first visit to Nana and Papa's house. She was awake for about half the time she was here, and for a good bit of her awake time, she was concentrating on the chatter coming from my mouth. When her head was on my shoulder, she leaned back a little bit so she could see my face, and pretended to listen intently. Way to melt your Nana's heart there, Squishy.

Love. Love. Love.

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Yesterday was dreary and cold. Em and I took a walk with The Beast and came home with runny noses and frozen ears and hands. That, and seeing a few houses with the Christmas decorations already up made me want to come home and decorate. Laziness prevailed though ... we'll do it next weekend, I think.

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Today is "Cyber Monday" ... the biggest Internet shopping day of the year? Whatever. I think about Christmas shopping and I start hearing white noise in my head. I can't focus. I have no idea what I'm doing ... or when I'm going to get around to doing it. Ugh. I hate it. I may or may not shop on the Internet today. I may or may not shop on the Internet tomorrow.

What I am doing today is laundry. And a lot of standing in the rain, holding a dog on a leash.

"Turkey lurkey doo ..."

I can't muster that old Thanksgiving Spirit. With only three of us around the table tomorrow, I'm fearing it will feel like any other weeknight meal ... only I'll be really tired since I just cooked for 2 days. I miss my family very much. When Dad was alive, they'd make the trip us here on the day before Thanksgiving, somehow surviving the terrible traffic between here and Atlanta ... and as soon as they came through the door, it was Holiday Time in my head. Daddy loved to eat, so Thanksgiving was a happy time for all.

Jimmy doesn't enjoy food. Period. Emilie hates all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes. And here I am ... with my bypassed gastric, still loving the idea of food but unable to eat more than a few bites of anything.

Still, I'm starting the food preparation as soon as I finish up here this morning. Traditions die hard around me.

I'm brining the turkey this year ... a first for me. I bought the Turkey Brine from Williams-Sonoma. It has all the spices and flavors mixed together, and all I have to do is dissolve it in boiling water, and then cool it. I'll let you know how it turns out. I had planned to skip having a ham this year (see above, only 3 of us here), but on my last grocery run, I gave in to tradition and bought a small one. If nothing else, I love the smell of a ham baking. And it's protein ... yay, protein.

What else am I cooking? I do love to talk about food ...

=== Dressing: Grandma Owens' recipe ... made with homemade cornbread, Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix, broth, celery, onions, spices, and LURVE, baby.

=== Giblet Gravy: Again Grandma Owens' recipe, but tweaked around a little this year ... hopefully improved and not ruined.

=== English Peas: Jimmy's favorite food on the planet. He'll be the only one eating these. I guess it says a lot about whether or not you're a food-lover ... if, when asked what your favorite food is, you answer, "little green peas", you're probably NOT a foodie.

=== Green Beans w/Bacon & Tomatoes: New recipe.

=== Collard Greens: Call me weird, but I love to smell these simmering away on the stove. I'll be doing this one today.

=== Mashed Potatoes: With butter, cream cheese, AND half & half. Oh, baby.

=== Black Eyed Peas: So Emilie can have a veggie on her plate.

=== Strawberry Pretzel Salad: We may be the only family in America that uses this as a "salad" instead of a dessert, which is what it really is. We serve it with all the savory food.

=== Deviled Eggs: Along with olives, and bread & butter pickles on a relish tray. Have you tried Wickles yet? If you love bread & butter pickles, and if you love spicy stuff ... you should see if you can find some ... Publix carries them here. I'm the only person who likes them in my house, but MAN they are tasty.

=== Yeast rolls: Yay for more carbs.

=== Gooey Butter Cake

=== Pecan Pie

=== Sweet Potato Pie

Yeah, that's right ... three desserts for three people. Shut up.

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Happy Thanksgiving. Take a nap tomorrow ... it's the law.

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens ..."

A couple of Christmases ago, Jimmy gave me/us a Sleep Number Bed, also known as a Select Comfort Bed. I think I loved it from Day One, although there may have been a few nights there at the beginning when we had to get used to the change. His Sleep Number is as high as he can crank the thing ... mine is a 40 (I think), and I'll occasionally let the air out and go to a 35 when I want to sleep in mashed potatoes.

Several months before we got the Sleep Number bed, we purchased a pricey little Ragdoll kitten. Two years later, she's not so little anymore. The Ragdoll is a large breed, and Adam and Brandy's Ragdoll is proof of that fact. Their Bubba The Cat is over 20 pounds of pure sweetness. Our Maggie is a female, so she's a bit smaller ... in fact, I can't remember what she weighed at her last checkup. I think it was around 14 or 15 pounds. But I can tell you what she weighs in the middle of the night.

How can I know this, you asks? I'll tells you.

Every single night lately, I wake up between 2 and 4 AM with FIFTY POUNDS of dead-weight sleeping Ragdollness on top of my legs. She used to sleep, all curled in a furry ball, NEXT to my legs at the foot of the bed. That was fine. Hell, it was wonderful in the winter ... my own purring foot warmer. But now?

Now I wake up, realizing I can't feel my feet anymore. Her dead-weight on my shins has cut off the blood supply to my toes. I also can't MOVE my feet. I can't express to you how heavy she feels as she's dead to the world, snoring and having kitty dreams. I move my legs, trying to make her MOVE ... she never even notices. Last night, I finally managed to wiggle enough that she toppled off my legs onto the bed ... and she kept snoring! I never woke her up.

I woke up an hour later ... and she was back on top of my shins. What the hell!

That cat is ruining my beautiful relationship with my bed.

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Mary, here's the Gooey Butter Cake recipe. I'm surprised you don't have this one, it's been around for years and years. It's always a hit, wherever I take it ... and I take it everywhere. My sister Kay shared this recipe with me at least 20 years ago, and it's slightly different than the one made famous by Ms. Paula Deen (Paula's has more butter in it!), but Jimmy says this version tastes better to him.

Gooey Butter Cake

The Butter Cake Layer:

1 box yellow cake mix, dry

2 eggs

1 stick of melted butter

1 tsp. vanilla

The Gooey Layer:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

16 ounces powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan with a non-stick spray.

Combine the ingredients for the Butter Cake Layer and mix with a wooden spoon. This batter will be too thick for a mixer. Drop in spoonfuls all over the bottom of the baking pan, and pat into an even layer that covers the bottom of the pan.

Using an electric mixer, combine the ingredients for the Gooey Layer. Mix until smooth. Pour this mixture on top of the Butter Cake Layer.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Center of the cake should be a little "wiggly" when you remove it from the oven ... it'll firm up as it cools.

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Here's Miss Squishy this weekend as she showed support for the Clemson Tigers, despite the efforts of Mr. Bowden and the football team ...

I hope her little hand will hold mine for the next 50 years ...

Her Mom and Dad started the whole "Squishy" business ... and for now, it truly fits.

"I shall call her Squishy and she shall be mine ... and she shall be my Squishy" -- a paraphrased Dory quote from "Finding Nemo"

"Same old story ..."

TV Talk ahead:

My DVR erased Survivor before I could watch it. The nerve. I'll read the recap online today at some point, I'm sure.

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... if that damn writer's strike messes with Lost in January (or whenever it's supposed to air again), I'm going to ... well, I'll bitch really loud to the wall. Nobody else cares, I think.

But yay, Real Housewives of Orange County is back. And y'all, when I watched poor Vicki worry about "downsizing" and giving up her 5000 sq. ft. home for a TINY little 4000 sq. ft. shack, my heart hurt for her. Awwwww. They'll be so CRAMPED!

Then I heard her tell the contractor that her budget for putting in a pool in the back yard was TWO. HUNDRED. AND. FIFTY. THOUSAND. DOLLARS.

No pity for you, Vicki.

Gawd, I love that show. It makes me feel so ... normal.

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Jimmy spent a few days in Puerto Rico this week, but he's home again safe and sound. Just in time for some winter, by the sounds of the forecasters. The next few days will only reach the mid-50's for highs. And that's cold enough for me, thankyaverymuch.

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Saw Miss Squishy on Tuesday evening ... she's prettier every time I see her! It's a very difficult thing for me to stop sniffing her neck. She smells like heaven.

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I've been putting off having blood drawn for my 18-month checkup appointment with my surgeon. Imagine that. Me, procrastinating! If I don't go tomorrow, I MUST go on Monday. Otherwise, the results won't make it back to him in time for my appointment on the 30th.

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Today I am baking a Gooey Butter Cake for Jimmy to take to work tomorrow for their Thanksgiving office celebration. That'll hopefully put me in the mood to finally start planning my Turkey Day menu. I did buy some stuff to make a brine for the turkey last week. But it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving to me, so I'm slow with the plans. Looks like it'll be a low-key and quiet holiday here this year. Brandy and Adam aren't totally sure of their plans at this point. And we did consider driving to GA to see everyone there, but then we realized that Em must work on the Friday following Turkey Day. So that plan got scrapped. Oh well, when it's all said and done, we'll eat some good food, watch some TV, and be lazy. Sounds lovely, actually.

I'll miss "family" though. BUT ... there's always an Open Invitation, people. If you can see your way clear, come on up. We'll have plenty.

"It's getting better all the time ..."

Happy to report that Friday was a good day for the new family. At least that's what they tell me ... they still seem awfully worn out to me!

But it was a quiet, low-key kind of day, and they rested in between L'il Bit's mealtimes.

Best news of all: When she nursed at about 6:30 PM, she did so without the help of "The Boob Tube" (as her Daddy had started calling it)! Don't know if the trend continued, since I left before the next feeding ... but I have my fingers crossed that they didn't have to mess with that anymore last night.

Did she get MORE precious and beautiful on Friday? Why, yes. Yes, she did!

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In other news:

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Well, imagine that. There IS no other news in my world.

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Planning for Homecoming today, where hopefully Brandy and Adam can relax and get some more rest. I'm headed over there in a bit to run the vacuum and put some dinner in the crock pot for them.

Happy Weekend!

"My mind is on the blink ..."

Just a quick update ...

Baby, Mom, and Dad are all doing just great. Although Mom and Dad are especially tired. Li'l Bit is in the hospital room with them 24/7, which leaves very little time for rest. I'm going to try my best to convince Adam to take a few hours and go home to lay down today. He's "resting" in a chair that pretends to be a bed ... for what looks to me like an average of 3.2 minutes at a time. He admitted yesterday that his back was hurting.

(Her name will continue to be "L'il Bit" for blog purposes, in keeping with her Mom and Dad's blogging anonymity. Yes, I know I've used their real names here ... and they never yelled at me about it. But I plan to respect their wishes on the baby name matter. Besides, if you're a family or a friend, you already know it. And if not, pretend her name is L'il Bit ... at least until another nickname sticks.)

She's beyond beautiful. And I swear I'm not saying that using my "Grandma Eyes". She really is. And I had totally forgotten how soft a baby's skin is. She is totally edible.

As of last night, she was working hard to frustrate everybody ... she's hungry, and getting quite impatient for her Mama's milk to come in. The hospital's lactation specialist came in late yesterday afternoon with a temporary solution ... a complicated tube system that allows the baby to nurse, which stimulates the milk production; and at the same time allows the baby to drink a small amount of formula, to fill her belly up. After the first go-round with this set-up, L'il Bit was one happy camper. She laid on her back and stared at the world with happy thoughts for about an hour. She even got the hiccups.

Emilie came home last night, and reported that the next try didn't go quite as smoothly, but hopefully during the night they had better luck. I know it's frustrating.

Especially when the whole "tired" thing is still so new.

I'm so proud of my kids, I can't even tell you.

"You're the poet in my heart ..."

Welcome to the world, Precious One.

May the sunlight find your face

Even when the rain does fall

And get back on your feet again

Every time you slip and fall

Keep your heart wide open

And always taking in

And even when it's broken

Be strong enough to fix it up again

Oh, little baby girl

Sweet little baby girl

I wish I could hold your hand in this great big world

Oh, little baby girl

And I hope your hands are steady

And never need to make a fist

And I hope that when you're ready

You get one never ending kiss

And I hope that deep inside of you

There's a sweet eternal song

And I hope the words are pretty

And that you'll always sing along

And I hope your friends are many

And your laughter's always loud

To help you when you're lonely

And pick you up when you're down

I hope your eyes shine bright, love

And learn to see the light

Take the time to listen

Decide yourself what's wrong or right

Oh, little baby girl

Sweet little baby girl

Be strong in this great big world

Oh, little baby girl

("Baby Girl" by Will Hoge)

"In the end, it's right ..."

She's 25 years old today. I was 23 when she was born. She's so much wiser at her age than I was then.

My birthday wish for her is the same as it's been every single year for the last quarter-century.

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow

And each road leads you where you want to go

And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose

I hope you choose the one that means the most to you

And if one door opens to another door closed

I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window

If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile

I hope you never look back, but you never forget

All the ones who love you, in the place you left

I hope you always forgive, and you never regret

And you help somebody every chance you get

Oh, you find God's grace in every mistake

And you always give more than you take

But more than anything, more than anything
My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small
You never need to carry more than you can hold
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too
Yeah, this is my wish

(Rascal Flatts, "My Wish")

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl. I love you.

"We'll leave the big door open ..."

Busy day ahead today ... and it started again at 4:30 AM. What's up with that? Yesterday, I was wide awake at 4:30, and the same today. I ended up just coming in here to the computer and reading for a couple of hours.

I should have put on my shoes and gone outside to walk. Duh.

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Emilie shares this picture of Halloween, 2007: Hansel and Gretel ... sorta. These two aren't brother and sister.

The only thing missing is a beer stein in his left hand. Too cute.

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Did you watch The Office last night? I heart Jim Halpert. He seemed miserable last night, which made him even more human to me. Although I didn't quite understand the whole Finer Things Club ... it felt very out of character for Pam, in my opinion.

Best line from last night: "The eyes are the groin of the face." It's true, you know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah ... it's just TV.

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It's almost Baby Time!

"Center of attention ..."

Holy crap. It's November.

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We had about 3 or 4 groups of childrens at our door last night, begging for candy. A disappointing Halloween, for sure.

Grumpy Old Lady Moment From Halloween, 2007: The kid from across the street made a 2nd appearance at the door, with a different group of friends around 8:30 PM. He pushed his way to the front of the group, and loudly announced, "You'll let me have more candy since I live across the street!" Then the little punk stuck his grimy hand in my candy basket and grabbed a fistful of chocolate.

The smile never left my face, but inside I was calling him and his Mama a few choice names.

Punk-ass kids these days.

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So I worked a little bit and finally finished moving all my older "LiveJournal" posts over here. They are not quite as fun to read as I was imagining, but at least now I'm all in one spot on the Internets. In the archives, everything before November, 2005 is the old LiveJournal fluff.

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I wish my husband would tell me my hair looks nice when I go and spend money to have it trimmed and un-grayed. I realize there's not much nice to say about my hair, but a half-truth like, "Your hair looks nice, honey," beats, "You got your hair cut again? I thought you wanted it to grow out," any day of the week.

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There's a small seed of thought, wayyyy in the back of my head, that I want to start running. Jogging, if you will. I'll give you a minute for the shock to wear off.

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You ok?

I know. It's CRAZY. But my friends have started it. They've already run a 5K without me. And last week, one of those afore-mentioned friends actually ran a 26-mile marathon. At this point, I can't imagine doing a slow jog for more than about 30 seconds. But if I start ... and keep trying ... it's bound to work, right? I mean, I don't THINK I was born without a Running Gene. I just can't remember ever running. That's sad, really.

Anyway, I think I'm going to give it a shot. Maybe.

If I can find a good bra.