My baby's getting glasses!

I'm having to adjust to the whole idea.

Turns out, she's EXTREMELY far sighted. I don't understand how, since it seems like she tries to get as close as possible to things she's trying to see, but, well, I'll trust the eye doctor's expertise over my own.

We picked her out some purple frames with butterflies on the side. They're very, very cute.

No on-site lab for her optometrist, so we'll have to wait a few days. She isn't happy about waiting, and she really isn't happy with the whole dialating-her-eyes thing. I told her that was the worst part for most grownups, too.

Because her case is so severe, the doctor is only giving her half the prescription now. She's going to check her again after a month to see how her eyes have adjusted.

I guess we'll have to take new fall pictures now, once the new frames come in. I told Anna Marie that since it was so early in the week, maybe she'd have her new specs by the weekend.

She really believes that no one will recognize her with the glasses on. I guess she'll be disappointed when her red hair and personality give it away.

And for those of you wondering what my daughter looks like as a leopard:



She wept bitterly when I had to wash off her spots last night before bed, even though I told her that leaving them on would dirty up her pillowcase.

"I did not want you to do that!" she cried.

Poor little leopard.

Family Fun Day!

Yesterday, we took Anna Marie to Family Fun Day at the auction where Dad, Mom, and Jason work. It was the first-ever, so we didn't know what to expect.

First, the kids went door-to-door in the offices, trick-or-treating. Anna Marie insisted that since we were inside the auction, it was safe for her to go on her own. I did get a bit nervous when she took longer coming around the corner than I thought she should have, but it turned out fine. She hung out with my Dad's assistant, Sheena, and her kids.

Then, we all went into the auction bay, which was decorated for the occasion. Anna Marie especially liked the "ghosts," which were really white balloons covered in white bags, hung from the ceiling fans.

There were basically three activities: fishing, a tatoo station (temporary, of course)and Pin Da Nose on Da Pumpkin (I'm not kidding - that's what it said - I guess it was a Brooklyn pumpkin.)

She was blindfolded.



She pinned da nose on da pumpkin. Well, velcroed really.



And she won a miniature Rubic's cube-type key chain for her trouble.



For lunch, we had hot dogs - really good, all beef hot dogs. They were really, really good - I haven't had a good dog in a long time.

If you notice, she's wearing her soccer uniform. That was her costume, partly because she'd had an 8:00 a.m. game and we didn't change her, and partly because her other costume - a leopard - had been in Amanda's floor board during a storm and her windows were down, so it was sopping wet. We didn't have time to wash and dry it before we had to leave for Family Fun Day.

They also had a pinata, and a costume contest. Unfortunately, Anna Marie was in the same division as some kid dressed like the un-dead, and he beat her.

Today Amanda came over, and we made Halloween cookies. That story is over on Anna Marie's blog (aren't you proud of me for updating it twice in one week?)

Tonight, we're going "church hopping." The local Methodist church has a fall festival, and then the Church of Christ has Trunk or Treat.

We're cancelling our Tuesday night Bible study, and handing out treat bags from our church to the kids in the neighborhood. We'll fill them with candy and toys, and put a sticker on the outside that says "Jesus loves you and so do we" and has the church name, number and address.

I'll probably make some chili or some such too, for those who come over to help make and give out the bags.

We also went to a carnival here in Senatobia on Friday night with Dad. Mom was out of town, and the rest of us went to ride the ferris wheel. It.was.freezing. We rode the wheel, and then Anna Marie rode the merry go round. While Jason, Amanda, and I went on the Tilt-a-Whirl (big mistake after eating Huddle House!) Dad took little AM on one last ride. He gave away his last two tickets, because it was so cold and we just couldn't take it anymore. I don't have any pictures, and, amazingling enough, I don't know if Amanda got any either. It was really dark, so it would've been difficult anyway.

So now we're just counting down the time until we get ready to go to the festivals. I'll have to change my little leopard into her spots, and try to get her to stay still long enough to draw some whiskers and a nose on her face with my eye liner.

ROAR!

Sometimes, my job is JUST NOT FUN

And sometimes, well, it just IS.

This morning I've experienced both.

I've written two stories about two murderers, one who killed his own three-year-old daughter just so he couldn't identify him to police for shooting the other people in the house. He wanted an appeal to his death sentence, and the state supreme court said, "Uh, no." Good on them.

I've also gotten invited to Madidi.

For those of you who don't know what that is, check out the picture at the top. Go on, I'll wait.

Back? Good. See that guy on the left side of the picture? Know who that is?

Ten points to those of you who figured out it's Morgan Freeman. (Except this is like Whose Line is it Anyway, and points don't matter. But good job!)

He lives in Clarksdale, Ms., for those of you who didn't know that already. He owns two restaurants down there - one is a blues club called Ground Zero, and the other is a French fine-dining type place called Madidi.

It will be the fanciest place I've ever eaten, and I don't even have to pay. In fact, I'm getting paid to go.

It's for a symposium on health, and since I'm a journalist, and since I also sat on the local board of our Mississippi in Motion program (ironic,no?) I've been invited.

We're going next month, and I don't even have to drive! I can ride with our local Extension Office agent! Sweet, huh?

I've already started scoping out the menu, but I don't know what they'll serve us.

And the next big decision - what to wear? I have the aforementioned black wrap dress, and the aforementioned black boots. That might be a possibility. Or, I might use the occasion as an excuse to buy something completely new and different.

And yes, I know the chances that Morgan Freeman will be on the premises are slim to none, but a friend of mine did spot him at his blues club once. So, there is always the possibility, especially since I'll be part of a big, important group.

Say it with me now: MADIDI!

It's that time again!

Official Thursday Weigh-In time.

This week's results:

Weight last week: 175
Weight this week: 173.5

For those of you who are math challenged (like me), allow me to clue you in: that means I lost 1.5 pounds this week!

Yay! That means my weigh-in did make me as happy as my new boots!

Woohoo!

You've heard of the "Fat guy in a little coat"

Well, you have if you're an SNL fan of the Chris Farley years.

Anyway, this is "Big legs in some tall boots."

I've wanted some tall boots practically forever, and now, thanks to our friends at Payless, their BOGO event, and, most especially, a VERY helpful salesgirl, I am now the proud owner of these:



Don't they just ROCK?

Here's a tip for those of you who, like me, have, ahem, large calves. I guess it only works for stretch boots.

Just like when you're trying to zip up a dress by yourself that zips in the back, and sometimes you have to bring the dress up a bit in the back and zip a little at a time (or at least that's what I do), you scrunch the boots down, zip, scrunch, and zip. Then, when they're all zipped up, just pull them up over your big ole calves.

I was really wanting some not quite so pointy-toed or pointy-heeled, but I think these will really work out nicely. I have one of those wrap-dresses everyone is wearing this season (and I see a lot of them with boots like this, which I wouldn't have thought of myself, but I think looks nice) and a peasant skirt I'm trying to get some more wear out of.

I also plan on wearing them under my new Gap jeans, when I'm trying to look, you know, saucy.

Oh, if only my Official Thursday Weigh-In tonight can make me feel as good as these boots have!

And don't worry - I'm not the only one at my house who got the BOGO lovin'. Anna Marie scored a new pair of tennis shoes, and Jason found two pair on sale.

And not a Ricki Lake in the bunch.

(When I was in college, I had many, MANY people tell me I look like Ricki Lake. I even had someone at church ask me if I was her.)



I don't know who most of these people are, but Britney Spears? Really?

Oh, and I've definitely decided I want a nose job for Christmas. Brian Robertson was right in the fourth grade - my nose does take up 80% of my face!

I guess it should be called…

Anna Marie's once-a-month world.

Because that's how often I get around to updating the darn thing.

Enjoy some Potato Pie

And the baring-your-soul word for today is:

Perspecitve.

I never realized until this past week just how important your perspective can be.

It can make you or break you.

For instance, as I'm typing this, I am FREEZING. Do I have heat? Yes. Am I going to turn it on? Probably not. Why? My perspective says I'm broke, so I want to wait as long as possible before turning the heat on for the first time.

Am I broke? Not really. It's just my same old cheapskate perspective. I was broke for so long, I haven't gotten out of that mentality. Until now.

Is my life really the big, ugly mess I thought it was a couple of weeks ago? Probably not. Did my life change in the last few days? No.

What changed? My PERSPECTIVE.

You know what makes it harder to see when your perspective is all messed up? That perspective is what you're seeing, so you don't know it's wrong.

Like the Newsboys song that says "They don't know they're breathing bad air."

I didn't know I was looking at things the wrong way. Someone had to tell me. Several someones, actually.

I'd like to thank those of my friends and family who helped me "snap out of it" and/or just generally listened to me. Sometimes, when you talk something out, it helps you come to the conclusion you're after.

Sometimes, that conclusion is helped along by the input of others.

This week, I've had both. And both helped me immeasurably.

I'm not saying that I won't ever lose perspective again. I did it just a couple of nights ago, when I couldn't find Anna Marie's soccer socks, the ones that go with her uniform.

Those things have found some black hole of oblivion. I promise, they are NOT in this house.

She has another pair of soccer socks that she wears to practice, and she could wear those. But I just about came unglued looking for the others. I'm not kidding - it was NOT pretty.

After the smoke cleared, I looked back on how silly it all was. Like Jason said - they're just socks. They aren't worth getting as upset over as I did.

I just felt like the inability to find the socks somehow reflected on my mothering skills. Moms are supposed to be able to find stuff, right?

Well, not this time. I still don't know where those little buggers are.

My BFF, Marcia (we've been friends since we were 13) and her boyfriend came down yesterday to watch Little AM's soccer game. Afterward, we did a couple of things in town and then had lunch at Quizno's.

We talked about how hard it is to keep the right perspective in this day and age. The world would tell us that to be successful we need a new car, and a big house. We need perfect measurements and never a hair out of place.

Problem is, those things just aren't important. I was bellyaching to my husband the other day about the standards we use to measure success. Know what he said? (He's the strong, silent type).

"Do you have what you need?"

That's all. I may not have a complete wardrobe (partly because of the weight-loss process) but I have clothes. I don't have a new car, but I do have transportation. I don't own a big home, but I do rent a cozy little bungalo from a sweet older woman.

I have a job. It isn't the best-paying job in the world, but it's inside a (relatively) climate-controlled building, not in the elements. I'm not on my feet all day, and I'm pretty much left alone to do my job. I also have the flexibility to take off if I need to, and Anna Marie is always welcome to come in and get some water from the water cooler.

And that job gives me practice, and credibility, for what I really want to do - be an author.

I wish I was at home instead of working, but I don't have to send my daughter off to daycare every day. With my husband's schedule, he only works outside the home one or two days a week. She goes over to Ms. Kim's to play with her son who is the same age, and will be starting kindergarten at the same time - so she already knows at least one kid when she starts school. The rest of the week, she's at home with Jason or at my mom's.

I have family and friends who care about me. Some of them have never met me in person, but they still care.

I have a good husband and a bright, beautiful daughter. We're all healthy.

And we all have a relationship with God. What more could I want?

How about a little perspective.

Official Thursday Weigh-In

Sigh.

I re-gained the half pound I'd lost last week.

I'm going to chalk it up to my "little friend" coming to visit today.

Although, I'm NOT willing to chalk up all my "soul baring" to that too.

I'll do better next week. I promise. In the meantime,



Get thee behind me, candy corn.

I want a monkey to play peek-a-boo with.

Although, Jason told me I already have one, and her name is Anna Marie.

(Har, har, honey.)

Seriously, we watched Curious George last night, and this is a movie I'd watch even if I didn't have a kid.

It was that good.

I almost cried several times.

Oh, how I wish that monkeys in real life were as intelligent and cute as George, and made good pets, and helped us see the lighter side of life! No, in real life, monkeys are dirty, and smelly, and, as I understand, don't make very good pets at all.

While we were watching the movie, these were in the oven:



I know what you're thinking: "She's on Weight Watchers! What is she doing with those?"

I'll tell you a little secret: they're made with pumpkin.

I got the recipe from the Hungry Girl. I took a box of mix (the lowest fat I could find, with 1 gram per serving) and added a 15 oz. can of pure pumpkin. Not the pie filling, just the plain stuff. That's all. Nothing else. The pumpkin replaces the egg, oil, and water.

I am a brownie fiend. The fudgier, the better. I've been known to undercook mine so they'd be gooier. And those little ones from Little Debbie? MY FAVORITES!

These were good. Usually, lowfat brownies tend to be "cakey" but these were actually pretty good. The serving size on the box was 1/20 of the mix (hello?) but my servings were more like 1/10, so I doubled the NI. They clock in at (my calculations) about 4 POINTS each. They would be fewer, but the fiber cap is set at 4 grams and these have 6.

I think I've found my new favorite dessert. In the future, I might make them in muffins, so that portion control is better. And really, who doesn't like a cute little muffin? I also may get some Cool Whip to go on top, and make it all fancy-like.

Oh, and apologies on the picture - my "food porn" skills aren't as good as my sister's. She takes pictures of nearly everything she makes and posts it to all her vegetarian/vegan friends across the globe. Me, I was just trying to find a corner of my kitchen that wasn't covered in drying dishes or brownie mix. I now realize I should've put the white plate on something other than my white washing machine lid.

Stay tuned for the Official Thursday Weigh-In!

If you take a kid to Oxford…

She's probably going to end up in the lap of a Nobel Prize winning author.



Acting very silly.

Or maybe, she'll just be investigating a British phone box.



Whichever. She will, however, have a really good time, except when she's complaining that her Aunt Manda is "wasting her time" taking pictures.

In Amanda's words, "You knew how I was when you married me."

The not-so-itsy-bitsy-spider

This was living in the bushes near my front door on Saturday morning. In fact, I think it's still there.

Don't know if you can tell, but it's GINORMOUS. It's about the size of my hand.

So, all you spider experts out there - what is it, or, how can I find out what it is?

HELP!

Wherein the Turners do fondue

Wow - what a weekend.

I'm posting from home today, because I have a dentist appointment and decided to take the whole day off.

Yes, my appointment is at 3 p.m. Shut up. I have three sick days and three vacation days left, and my time resets on November 11.

Plus, it's one of those rainy, nasty days that I always wish I could stay home. And so I am. Anna Marie is over the moon.

Anyway, on Friday night, Jason decided that his fondue pot (a gift from mom)had gone unused long enough. We had some raspberries from the auction (which I'd been pairing with Dove dark chocolate - yum!) and some fondue chocolate. We didn't have any fuel, but we had some tea lights.

Anna Marie saw us trying to get the chocolate to melt, and we tried to explain the whole fondue concept, but she didn't get it. In fact, she said, "I just don't get it. I wish I got it, but I just don't get it."



This is Jason explaining the fondue process, and telling her that it's considered bad form to let your mouth close around the fork (since you'll be putting it back into the chocolate).



And this is Anna Marie taking her first taste of a chocolate-covered raspberry.



What's gonna work? Teamwork!

On Saturday morning, we had an early soccer game (8 a.m.? That's crazy!) and then decided to go to Tunica. No, we weren't trying our hand at the blackjack table - Anna Marie had gotten a Gap gift card for her birthday, and it was just as close to go there (and help the money go further) as it was to go to Memphis. Actually, it was closer.



Before we left, we went by mom's house to get Amanda. Dad was having more concrete poured in his shop.

This is how Anna Marie felt about it before the truck started pouring:



And this is how she felt after:



Anyway, Gap was a sucess, and I even found a pair of jeans for $12.50! I have never bought anything from Gap, so it was quite exciting.

Yesterday Mom, Amanda, Anna Marie and I went to Oxford to walk around the square. I got a couple of gifts at Square Books, Jr., and we ate at the San Francisco Bread Company.

As you can see, I needed a day off after the weekend I'd had.

Now I just have to make sure I don't squander the day by sitting around in my PJs drinking coffee all day.

So it seems Valerie was trying to tag me.

So, here is my tag post. It's my very first one!

The rules are : List 5 weird things about yourself or your pets. Tag 5 friends and list them. Then, those people need to write on their blogs about 5 weird things, and state the rules, and tag 5 more people. Don’t forget to let the people you tag know by posting a comment on their blog!

As if there hasn't been enough weirdness around here this week.

1. I don't like mayo, unless it's in chicken or tuna salad or slaw. And even then, it can't be very much in there.

2. I twiddle my thumbs. Drives Jason up the wall in a big way.

3. I have a scar above one of my eyes, from where my mom was cutting my bangs when I was 6 and she got me with the scissors.

4. When I'm tired, I find myself rubbing my thumbnail across my bottom lip. My mom says I've been doing this since I was a baby. I have no idea why, and I usually don't realize I'm doing it until I'm in the middle of it.

5. I like Weird Al's new album. There, I've said it. It feels good to get that out.

Now, I tag: Lissette, Donna, Amanda, Barbie, and Babykins.

Oh, and one more thing - in the midst of my bellyaching -



My kid has learned to read.

Last night as I was putting her to bed, she pulled out her "Little A" book and, basically, read it to me. She needed a little help sounding out some of the words, but she did it. I don't think she memorized the book, because we only read it to her a couple of times and we haven't read it in a couple of weeks.

It's like the last vestage of babyhood has been rippped away. Now, anything is possble.

Sigh.

Official Thursday Weigh In

Ok, here goes:

Weight last week: 175

Weight this week: 174.5

Down .5 lbs.

Hey, I'll take what I can get!

Welcome to "Bearing Your Soul Week" at Melz World

(Hey, if Amalah and Dooce can do it, so can I.)

I promise, I'll get this line of thought over with pretty quickly. I just thought that someone out there might have some insights to help me. I can't afford therapy, and I have no insurance, so medication is out, so I have to work though these issues on my own.

Insecurity.

Does anyone else deal with this? I feel like I'm a 13-year-old wallflower at the school Christmas dance. But I'm not 13, and it's not Christmas, and I don't dance anyway.

A month or so ago, I told my mom about a recurring dream I'd had since I was in college. In the dream, I'm running from something. No matter how or where I run, I can't get away.

It's terrifying.

She told me she thought that my dream represented fear. Sounded fair enough. So, I researched fear, and researched it in the Bible, and wrote a sermon about conquering fear. It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Well, I think I've taken the "fear" thing one step further: insecurity.

I heard a child-development expert say once that most adult issues can be traced to a childhood event. For instance, I have a problem with disappointment. When I was six, my dad left us up in Memphis for several months to work a job in Texas. When he was coming back, he called to tell me that he had a surprise for me.

I was excited! I thought it was a new Barbie doll.

It was a ceiling fan. A brown one.

Not that I didn't need a ceiling fan, but I was six. I've had a problem with expectations ever since.

I can't pinpoint a childhood event that began my insecurity, but many, many events have reinforced it.

I do remember that my mom left me to my own devices quite a bit, both before and after she had the other kids. I don't know if that did it or not, but that realization in the middle of the night last night made me feel REALLY guilty about encouraging Anna Marie to play more independently.

The reinforcements were early and often. Observe:

• I was teased mercilessly in school. I was overweight, and my hair always looked bad because we couldn't afford real haircuts, and my clothes were mostly hand-me-downs. I did have a couple of aunts who would buy me nice clothes, but for the most part, we were on our own.

It got to the point that whenever I passed a group of people talking to one another, I assumed they were talking about me.

Insecurity.

• When I was in middle school, we went to Texas to visit family. One of my cousins begged my dad and her mom to let me stay after my family was leaving. However, when everyone was gone, she sat me down in the kitchen and told me that we didn't know each other, weren't friends, and that wouldn't change in the few weeks I'd be down there, so don't even try.

Insecurity.

• I've done many stupid things in my life, like thinking some girls at a Camp Meeting service were motioning to me to sit with them, and they weren't, and I didn't realize it until I was already seated by this group (of complete strangers). They wanted the girl in front of me.

Insecurity.

• I come from a very "demonstrative" family when it comes to affection. My husband does not. When we were dating, he only got up the courage to tell me how he felt during a given "phase" of our relationship when I cornered him. (For instance, "We'll be seniors next year. Where is our relationship headed?) I always had the fear in the back of my mind that he was really in love with my best friend Rachel, but that she had told him that I had a thing for him, and he felt sorry for me, so he asked me out instead.

Insecurity.

I could go on, but I won't. In fact, I could talk about Valerie (Random Thoughts), who had a tag post, and tagged someone named Melissa, but I didn't know if it was me, and I didn't want to feel silly (my problem, not yours, Valerie!) so I didn't answer.

And for an insecure person, I have one of the worst jobs possible - I'm a journalist. At a small newspaper. Where we don't get praise or encouragement very often.

I think that the first step to resolving an issue is realizing that it IS an issue. And I did that, in the middle of the night last night, when I woke up at 1:30 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. I know that my sister's impeding life change is helping bring this out. What will I do without her opinion about things on a daily basis? I guess I'll have to rediscover my decision-making skills on my own.

By the way, if anyone is still reading, and if you have any insight into how to make children feel "secure" (and assuming it isn't too late for my 5-year-old) I'd really appreciate the input. I'd hate to see her in this same position in 25 years.

On a lighter note than yesterday …

This is the conversation Anna Marie and I had on our way home from church last night. She had told me during her Rainbows class that she was thirsty, and I got busy and forgot to get her a drink. I had to run by the bank and make a night deposit on the way home, and that's when she remembered she was thirsty.

AM: Mom, I'm thirsty.

Me: Oh, sorry! I forgot to get you a drink. We'll be home in a few minutes and I'll get you something.

AM: I want Sprite.

Me: We don't have any more Sprite. You'll have to drink something else.

AM (Crying!): Well, when my daddy took me to the auction yesterday [Jason took Anna Marie with him Monday when he had to go to the food service to get stuff for this week that he forgot to order] he got me some Sprite, and I threw it away, and I wish I wouldn't have, because I didn't know I would want Sprite today!

My poor, poor, little Sprite-aholic!

I tried to tell her all about the "bubbles" in the Sprite, and how that if she did save the Sprite the bubbles probably wouldn't be any good. It didn't seem to help her much.

We didn't have Sprite, but we did have Fresca, so she had some of that when we got home. And she was much better.

Warning: sentimental schmaltz ahead.

If you don't like mush, you might want to tune out now.

See, this post should be about my Saturday, about how Anna Marie made TWO goals at her game - one for her team, and one for the opposition - and going to India Palace for lunch, and having Indian food for the first time.

And then going to an Asian market, and being nearly knocked down by the smell of fish, the likes of which I haven't smelled since I went deep-sea fishing off the North Carolina coast one summer during college. (MMM, chum.)

Instead, it's about my sister, Amanda. See, she's moving on with her life.

And it's killing me. Not so softly.

She's been planning this transition for a while now, but yesterday it became a reality.

Amanda works with me, and has for nearly three years. But she feels its time to move on, and yesterday she was (thanks to a co-worker who was looking out for his own best interests) forced to go ahead and give her notice.

Her last day is November 3. Then, she's going to England for a couple of weeks, and then, who knows.

(Oh God, I'm starting to tear up again. I've resorted to listening to my three Flight of the Conchords songs over and over to keep my spirits up.)

We haven't always had a good relationship. Growing up, I was really ugly to her. I mean, REALLY ugly. Did you know that once, when we were in school (she in first grade, and me in fifth, the only year we attended the same school) that I slapped her on the face, just because a friend dared me to?

Told you I was ugly to her.

But you know what? She's grown into a better person than me. Maybe if I'd had a big sister treating me like crap my whole growing-up life, I'd be a better person now too.

I tell her this all the time, but she dismisses me. She's got it so much more "together" than I do.

She knows who she is. I'm still searching, and I've got nearly a four year head start on her.

(Here come the tears again. Good thing she sits with her back toward me so she can't see this.)

I know we'll still be sisters, even if we don't see each other every day. It's just that we've gotten so close in the last few years, I don't want to lose that. She's the closest thing to a best friend I've got. I don't even trust myself to go shopping for clothes anymore without her input.

And, she's doing something she's always wanted - going to England. There are things I've always wanted to do, but my own fear and neuroses have held me back.

Did you know I've written a couple of books? And that I'm working on more? And that I write songs, including some very clever children's songs?

No, you probably didn't, because I've always been too afraid of rejection to do anything about them.

Did you know that Amanda is my weight-loss inspiration? And that she has introduced me to all sorts of cool things, like tofu and Indian food and Midtown Memphis?

And that when I moved back home, I dressed like an old lady, and she made me throw out all my clothes and get hip, new ones? She performed her own "makeover story" on herself and then did one on me.

She has a way of making her dreams come true. Like, last year she and some friends went to Nashville to hear Coldplay. Have I ever been to a concert like that? No. When Third Day came to Memphis last spring, I hesistated buying tickets until it was too late.

So here we stand. My little sister has a passport. She's going to England. She's quit her job here, which is something I'd love to do but of course I have responsibilities and she doesn't and my options are a wee bit more limited than hers.

(Grammer flashback! Fused sentences!)

And then when she gets back, she's probably moving to Memphis. Where she can go to Grizzlies games anytime she wants and eat Vietnamese food and do all that other cool stuff that a middle-aged mom doesn't get to do.

Good on ya, Amanda. Good on ya.

Finally! Birthday pictures!

(And, I'm saying that in the nicest possible way, AMANDA!)

Birthday party pictures at Flikr

Enjoy!

Official Thursday Weigh In

Ok, so now I'm starting to regret doing this. Here goes:

Weight last week: 174
Weight tonight: 175
Change: +1 lb.


Total since August '05: 62 lbs.

If I could've just gotten Anna Marie to be born on my mother's birthday, I'd have had one party to go to this week instead of two!

Sadly, I probably won't be able to weigh in next week. Mr. Lee (my publisher) has asked our general manager and me to teach his Newspaper Management course at Ole Miss next Thursday.

The class runs from 4:00 - 6:30 p.m.

Oxford is 45 minutes away.

Weigh in is from 6:00 - 6:30.

You do the math.

Quite possibly the best soccer picture ever

Amanda took this after the game Saturday. It's my mom's sister Debi (on the left) with Anna Marie and Mom. Aren't they all just the cutest? Anna Marie has her blue star she earned for "best effort."

(She's already earned the three stars you get for not being a very good player - "most Christlike," "best sportsmanship," and "best effort" - and it'll be interesting to see what she gets next week.)

However, she is improving - she's actually going after the ball! And KICKING the BALL! We are making progress!

Amanda and I took her to Conger Park yesterday. I got Papa John's (we don't have one down here, so it was something special) and we stayed just about an hour, because it was HOT. And sunny. And did I mention HOT? Then I took her to Wal Mart to spend the $10 that our office manager, Faye, gave her. Here's the joke from Faye's card:

What did the frog order at the drive thru?

(Wait for it, wait for it …)

FRENCH FLIES!

(She's 5. It was a big hit.)

Also - we are still not ready with the Best Birthday Party Ever pictures, so you'll have to make due with this. I have just one thing to say to y'all:



Feed The Robot.

Happy Birthday, Peasnap!

Anna Marie is 5 today!

This is the picture we used on her birth announcements. Many people said they thought it was a "stock photo" until they realized that was Jason kissing that baby.

Of course, it was taken by Amanda. She's been The Official Anna Marie Personal Paparazzo right from the beginning.

I have NO IDEA where the last five years have gone. And it's funny - I can look at this picture, and I still know it's Anna Marie. She looks the same, except bigger and with more hair and attitude.

She had a ROCKIN party yesterday. That post will come later, and probably at her blog. It's the first time we've had her party at our house, and I realized something - when everyone is gone, you have to clean up! Who came up with this arrangement, anyway? Very unfair.

At least she got lots of loot for our trouble. Including the soccer goal (Aunt Manda bought it) and a size 3 ball (from Aunt Naw) and, from my dad, a Lightning McQueen radio controlled car.

And yes, that title says "Peasnap." When she was born, they wrapped her up and only her tiny little head was showing. Mom said she looked like a pea in a pod, thus the name "Peasnap." That's our little pet name for her now.

I'm taking off work after lunch (have to cover a County Supervisors meeting this morning) and we're going on a picnic. To Conger Park, her favorite park in the whole wide world. I'm so glad it's a pretty day!

Happy Birthday, Peasnap.