This is what punishment looks like in Melz World.

I came home Monday to a silent house.

As Jason walked through the kitchen, I said, "She got on 'red', didn't she?"

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Because the house is so quiet," I answered.

In an effort to encourage Anna Marie to follow the rules at school, we've told her that if she gets on "yellow" she loses computer for the afternoon, and for "red" it's the TV too.

So, on those days, the house is quiet - because Jason and I don't watch TV either. I know, it's kind of a punishment for us, too, but, whatever.

Anna Marie makes a HUGE mess on those days, because with no electronics to keep her occupied, her imagination goes into overdrive - usually involving lots of paper, and tape, and stuffed animals.

And sometimes, it spills outside to the sidewalk.

She did this while I was cooking dinner.



It's what she had to write, over and over, in her journal at school.

"I will stop talking in class."

And this little confession was out there as well - like her own version of Post Secret.



"I am on red Mom and Dad."

After dinner, when I was trying to clean the kitchen, she took her sidewalk chalk to the concrete block building in our backyard. She asked me to come help her color the parts she couldn't reach.

(How did she draw the outline, and then find herself unable to color in that outline? Beats me.)



Editor's note: the following photographs were taken by a seven-year-old. They are unretouched.





While I did the hard work, Anna Marie took a little "photo safari" around our backyard.







(That is Spiderman's mask, and a Pokemon ball, per Anna Marie.)

She also took a picture of me with the finished product:



And I returned the favor.



Yes, I busted up my hands (and a couple of fingernails) on that concrete. But we have been studying The Five Love Languages of Children in Sunday School, and Anna Marie and I took a "love language test" on Sunday. And I discovered that her main love language is "acts of service," which means that she feels most loved when someone is helping her do something (and feels most like she's showing love when she's helping someone with something.)

It makes perfect sense to me - I thought that she just never wanted to do anything alone, but really, she wanted to feel like she was helping, or someone was helping her. So now, I'm trying to be more understanding of behavior I had thought was a bit annoying.

Makes me wish we'd have taken that test a long, long time ago.

Raccoon update

Oh, did I forget to update on the wildlife taking up residence in MY residence?

I was a bit busy when we got home - sweeping, mopping, and wiping down the bathroom, helping Jason with yard work, and bandaging Anna Marie's back after she slipped and skinned it on a tree.

(Don't worry. She's fine!)

When we left for church yesterday morning, we did an inspection of the outside of the house. And lo and behold, one of the mesh screens covering a vent hole was displaced.

Seems God did tell that raccoon the easiest way out, after all!

After church, Jason did an inspection to make sure there were still no vermin up there, and patched up that displaced mesh. We think we've solved the problem, for now.

(And really, if someone had come after you with a giant fishing net and a spear, and all you were trying to do was escape, would you come back?)

Anna Marie was much relieved to learn that we were raccoon-less now. And we both prayed that God would help that critter find a better place to live than our house!

And now, we have little raccoon prints in the dust in the attic, as a reminder of his visit.

Trapped in the attic

(When I told Amanda this story, she asked me if "trapped in the attic" was anything liked Trapped in the Closet. I told her that I was unsure if there was a midget or a cell phone involved.)

Y'all, the fun never stops here at Melz World.

Earlier in the summer, we noticed a hole in the trim around the front of our house. It's an older house, and we need a new roof, so it isn't a stretch to think that it needed replacing too. Jason told the landlady, who told him to take care of it and send her a bill.

That was in July. He went out of town, and never got "around to it."

Last week, he saw some squirrels scouting out the hole (which is, of course, attached to the attic) and decided it might be a good idea to take action before winter set in.

So, this afternoon, after we served lunch at the auction, we bought some materials and he came home to fix the hole. My dad came over, and in about an hour and a half, the job was done.

Now, as I was fixing my coffee this morning, I thought I heard something in the attic. I told Jason, and he said he'd experienced the same thing but when he'd checked, there was nothing. He said it was just something on the roof.

(Note: roof is not the same as attic.)

Dad and Jason had worked through dinner, trying to use up all the daylight, so they left to grab a bite. A bit later I was in my room folding clothes, and I heard the most awful racket up above me. It sounded like scratching, and pounding, and something throwing itself against the wall!

(Note: the hole was above my bedroom window.)

I called Jason, and told him I was 99.9% sure there was a squirrel trapped in the attic.

He came home, took a shower, and started working on the computer. When I went into Anna Marie's room to put some clothes away, I heard it again!

This time, he went up to investigate - and I've never seen him exit a space so quickly in my life.

"It's not a squirrel," he said.

"Oh, no - its a rat!" I exclaimed.

"No, it's not a rat. It's a raccoon!"

Oh, yes, dear friends, there is a real live piece of wildlife living above my humble home.

Jason said the thing just stood there and looked at him!

I called my mom, to see if my brother had any friends in possession of a raccoon trap.

Nope.

I called Amanda, to give her the chance to photograph this real life wildlife - and she immediately thought of the parallels to a certain R&B singer's wildly ridiculous opera.

I finally called Cathy, one of my co-workers, because I knew her boyfriend was a die-hard hunter.

The boy has a digital camera hooked up where he hunts, so he can count the deer.

I think he was intrigued, because a few minutes later she called to ask me if we needed them to come over.

They showed up with a giant fishing net.

Jason showed Jamie where the animal was, but he was unable to get it into the net. At one point, I heard Jason's saw, and the next thing I knew, Jamie was going up the attic steps with an angled piece of wood.

"I'm gonna spear me a raccoon," he announced.

Fortunately for the raccoon, that plan didn't work either. He had wedged himself into the overhang area, and he wasn't coming out.

They left, sans raccoon. (Cathy said Jamie wanted to mount it if they caught it.)

We figure the thing is nocturnal, and woke up and tried to get out the same way he got in. Jason left the light on up there, and Anna Marie and I prayed that God would tell the raccoon to go to one of the vents in the overhang and burrow his way through the mesh.

When we get up, we'll see if anything looks like he got out - if not, we'll either be stopping by the Home Depot on the way home (did you know those traps cost $50?) or calling the law. It's been suggested that, with the threat rabies, they may have a trap.

(And yes, we have a wildlife rehab outfit, but I don't know if they only take injured animals.)

(And no, I WON'T be traversing into the attic to get a picture. Are you crazy?)

Official "Thursday" Weigh-In

Oh, y'all. I'm so sorry about not posting last night - especially since a.) I didn't weigh in at all last week, and b.) I actually have good news!
I dropped another 1.5 lbs. this week, taking me to 145.5. 91.5 pounds gone.

Guess I must have worked harder than I thought on the house on Tuesday!

In other news, my most awesome sister posted the pictures she took at Anna Marie's birthday shindig. Feel free to take a look!

Ferris Beuller'sMelissa Turner's Day Off

I think I need a day off from my day off.

What did I accomplish today? Not what I'd hoped, but:

* Took out the trash. That might not seem like much, but Jason usually takes it to the curb on Monday nights. And last night we were in bed, and he said, "Oh, I forgot to put out the trash." And I said, "Don't worry. I'll do it." And then he said, "But what if you don't get up in time?" And then I said, "Don't worry. They don't come until around lunch."

Guess what time I heard the garbage truck? 8:30 a.m. I had to scramble to find a pair of flip flops, and run out to meet the truck. Just in time!

* Washed the curtains from two rooms, and dusted those rooms. And felt embarrassed at how long it had been since I'd done either of those things. Unfortunately, "dusting" in the bathroom is always more time consuming, because the moisture in there binds with the dust to make an impenetrable gunk that requires much elbow grease.

* Cleaned out Anna Marie's room, to include sorting through three drawers, a clothes basket, and another basket full of stuff to be put away. I also hung a shelf in there to display some of her stuff, and rearranged some of the furniture.

* Found some black and white photos that I never knew we'd taken, and arranged them into a frame we already had (which I spraypainted to match my current decor, using spraypaint I already had) with a matte from another, broken frame. I then hung the resultant collage in my living room, in a space that was empty and bugging me greatly.

I really, really have gotten a lot accomplished today, but you wouldn't know it to walk into my house because it was all in Anna Marie's room and the bathroom. I'm sure Jason wondered just what I'd been doing all day when he first walked in and found me, still in my jammies, watching TV on our bed.

(Oh, I also made homemade applesauce with some apples which Anna Marie had dropped and bruised yesterday, and ordered 50 prints from Snapfish for the sum of $0.30 plus shipping.)

I'm so exhausted (and I should've worn my tennis shoes, because I was barefoot all day and my feet are KILLING me now) and now I have two days worth of work to catch up on when I get to the office. I would've liked to have gotten some scrapbooking done - or, heck, some DVR caught up on - but the look on Anna Marie's face when she came in tonight and saw her room made it all worth while.

She immediately promised to keep her room clean "forever," but we'll see how long that lasts!

Silence is golden . . . not!

I can't talk, y'all.

Now, for some folks (like, say, my husband) this might not be a big deal. But if you've ever met me in real life (or, read one of my blog posts) you'll agree - for me, it's a HUGE deal.

It started last week, when my sinuses started going haywire. And gradually, over a couple of days, my voice got worse and worse - until, on Saturday, it pretty much went kaput.

KAPUT!

I took Anna Marie to the circus, and no voice. (Yes, I have pictures, no, I haven't messed with them yet. Remember, patience.)

I went to church yesterday morning, and attempted to participate in Sunday School. No voice. I had to mouth the words to the praise and worship songs, because, again, no voice.

It was starting to come back a little, but then we went to small groups last night, and, although I tried my best to rest it, I just had to use what little voice was there. By the time we started home, guess what - no voice. Again.

It's just awful, y'all. I had to take Anna Marie to the doctor this morning for a checkup, and try to explain to the doctor how she was doing without the benefit of my voice. I'm off work today, but I dread going in tomorrow because I won't be able to rest my voice like I'd like.

(Maybe I'll take off tomorrow too, he he. Anna Marie is off, and I think she wants to go to the auction, but who's to say I don't deserve a bit of time alone?)

On the bright side, I am sipping a cup of mocha coffee, made in the new coffee maker which Jason bought me this morning. Half price at JC Penney's, y'all!

Now that my coffee future is secure once more, I can dedicate the time I'd spent trying to find a new machine to something more rewarding - like, say, RESTING MY VOICE.

(Sorry - that caps lock is the only way I can get any volume right now.)

Maybe this little detour from my normal gabby ways will teach me something about listening, or being still, or some such.

Or maybe I should just take up sign language.

What a week, what a week!

(Did you catch that, in The Wizard of Oz? As the Wicked Witch is melting, her last words are "What a world! What a world!" I love it!)

Once I recovered from the outrage of last Saturday's failed trip to the farm, a whole new crop of nastiness sprung up in it's place. But enough about that - let's get to those pictures I promised you, oh, about a week ago!



This is Macy, my brother's three-year-old stepdaughter. Cutie Patootie! Also, not used to getting her picture made, unlike Little AM who has been getting hers done since she was about five minutes old.



Two years ago, we brought Anna Marie to this same park, and had her picture made in the same place. One day when I'm not feeling so lousy, I'll grab that from Amanda's Flickr photostream.

She spent a lot of her time at the park swinging…





While Macy, well, she ran around. She's three. That's what she does.



Obviously, those two had a spectacular time. I was still a little put out about the previous unpleasantness, but at least the girls enjoyed themselves.

The rest of my week has consisted of meetings, and sickness, and a "perfect storm" of events which ended in Anna Marie sleeping on top of me on the couch during a thunderstorm.

At least she slept - once she quit talking to me.

I don't know what I've got, but I feel achy and yucky, and my throat is sore. No fever, and not really "stuffed up" either - and let me tell you, it's darn near impossible to figure out what will make you feel better when standing in Walmart's Health and Beauty Aids in that condition.

I made an Executive Decision to stay home from church and rest last night - I hated doing that, and Anna Marie hated missing, but I felt so awful I didn't feel safe driving up there and back.

There will also be no Official Thursday Weigh-In today, because I've made a second Executive Decision to skip WW tonight. I have good reason - one of the boards I cover has had to change their October meeting to 6 p.m. tonight, and trying to weigh in, eat, and get to work in 30 minutes or less is just not some stress I'm about to put myself under. I've come this far - I'm not dropping out, and I know I'm not going to gain five pounds in a week because I didn't know exactly how much I weighed.

(Yes, I've come a long way in the last three years.)

To top it all off, my coffee maker died. Yes, I know, I've sounded that alarm before, but I think this is it this time. Now, it won't even take the water out of the tank to pretend it's going to make coffee. Thankfully, I have a stash of Target-brand pods for my Senseo to get me through until such time as my budget will allow for a replacement.

This is one of those weeks which I'll be glad is over - and not the least because next week is fall break, and I'm thinking I'm going to take a little vacation of my own.

Caveat emptor.

In other words, "Buyer beware."

Also known as, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

(Before I go further, did you know that in the book Gone with the Wind Scarlett opens up a store, and calls it "Caveat Emptoreum" or something like that, because she likes the sound, but doesn't really know what it means? I don't remember if that's in the movie or not, but if my BFF Marcia wasn't probably in bed right now I'd call and ask because she used to watch that movie at least once a month.)

(But I digress.)

So, last night Jason decided that today would be the day for Anna Marie's birthday celebration at the aforementioned Cedar Hill Farms. After some finagling and making sure that Amanda could make cupcakes on such short notice, we agreed to meet there about 2 p.m.

I thought there would be picnic tables nearby, but I couldn't find any, so we popped open the back of the Amazing Technicolor Dream Van (funny story coming later on that), unpacked a table which happened to be back there, and had a picnic right there in the parking lot.

After she opened presents, we prepared to enter the farm proper.

Unfortunately (especially for a "word person" like me) the tickets were not as clear-cut as one might expect from a door-to-door salesman.

The ladies at the admission told me that those tickets were only for the "night time" attractions, and that they didn't start until next weekend.

Wait. What?

After some discussion, it was clear that we were not getting in to Cedar Hill Farms on my hey-look-at-me-I-got-a-great-deal tickets.

Was I disappointed? Sure I was. But I managed to keep my cool, and think on my feet, and lots of other cliches.

I remembered that Anna Marie's favorite park in the whole wide world was just a couple miles up the road, and that there was plenty of shade there, and that she (and my new niece, Macy) would be more than happy to play there.

So that's what we did. My brother and I sat on a bench and watched the kids play, while the others stood around and talked or wandered around taking pictures. And, for the record, I have a few pictures too, but my camera is in the living room, and I'm in bed, and well, I just didn't feel like getting up to get the camera. You'll just have to wait.

Remember, patience is a virtue.

I promised Anna Marie that we'd go back in the evening in a week or so, and reminded her that if she knew anything at all about me she knew that I was NOT about to let $30 in tickets go to waste.

Oh, and the funny story - Anna Marie had spent the night with mom last night, and we planned a trip to the kitchen supply store in Memphis for this morning. We took the van, mainly because it had gas in it, and it's a good thing we did - because when we were in the parking lot at the park, there were no spaces. (Funny how a family reunion and two birthday parties will do that.) Another car figured this out, and tried to back out of the parking lot.

Which resulted in their backing into the side of our van, despite Jason's vehement protest on the horn.

The driver got out, as did Jason, and offered his insurance information. When Jason looked at the "damage," he realized that there was just a bit of paint transfer from the other car and told the other driver he wasn't worried about it.

"Are you sure?" the guy said.

At which point Jason simply pointed to the Amazing Technicolor-ness of our van.

Guess he thought that white paint was just one more for the collection.

After the problem at the farm, that little exchange was just what we needed to lighten the mood.

Dude just better be glad we weren't in my car, because it's all one color and he wouldn't have gotten off so easily.

Official Thursday Weigh-In

Holding steady - that's where I am this week.

Holding steady at 147.

I wonder sometimes if this is as far as I'll get, if my body's "default" setting is right here, around 150.

At what point will I know that? At what point will I say to myself, "Self, this will do."

(That, by the way, was a line from a song we learned for youth camp one year, which had to do with the house built on sand and his next door neighbor, the house built on the rock.)

(But I digress.)

Anna Marie has had a fabulous birthday - I sang to her when she was getting up, per her request; she had a sausage biscuit for breakfast, which is her favorite; I ate lunch with her at school and brought the mini cupcakes, which were a hit; and she stayed on GREEN.

She was a little bummed that the only gift she received today was the electric pencil sharpener which Jason presented her with after school (because she can never find her smaller one at homework time), but I reminded her that she hadn't had her party quite yet.

Seven. I can scarce believe it, just like I can scarce believe that 90 pounds is gone.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Seven.

Riddle me this

Why is it, that when Peasnap Catering (you know, that unlikely pairing of my husband and my mother, sounds like fodder for a reality show) needs help, I take off from my cushy desk job and pitch in?

Not that I mind helping. I enjoy working with the food stuff. Maybe a little too much, but that's not my point.

My point is - who helps me at my job? Who is there when I have to be in three places at once, or I have to work late every night for a week?

Hmm?

In case you haven't gathered, I'm going to the auction tomorrow. My aunt's mother-in-law passed, and she (the aunt, not the mother-in-law) hired us to cater the funeral - no, I'm not kidding - so my mom is going to do that, while I fill in for her in the cafeteria.

Looking over the menu for tomorrow, I think I'm going to have some herbed chicken breast and vegetables, and I'm actually looking forward to it.

(Who am I kidding - after I spend an hour behind the steam table dishing that stuff up, I'm going to want no part of it. I'm going to head straight for the salad bar.)

Jason, mom, and dad catered the visitation tonight - at the funeral home - while I stayed home with Anna Marie and made the cupcakes for her birthday. No, it's not until Thursday that she'll be taking them to school, but she's also taking some to church on Wednesday night and I know I won't feel like cooking them tomorrow.



I'm no Amanda Raney, but those are (Pillsbury Reduced Sugar) yellow mini cupcakes with vanilla icing I tinted orange, and candy corn or pumpkins on top.

(Don't tell Jason, but I ran out of the cheap stuff and had to dig into his name-brand stash, which includes the newly-discovered and previously-mentioned caramel flavor.)

(Serves him right for keeping the stuff in a giant glass pumpkin in the middle of the dining room table.)

I also sprang for cupcake liners this year, since I figured out that not even silicone bakeware is completely stick-proof. They're cute and fall-themed.

It's my mom's birthday today, but she's going to have to get Amanda to make her something. I'm all tapped out.

It's a good thing I only make these things about once a year - otherwise, due to my penchant for licking the bowl clean, I'd be bigger than a house.

I gotta get me one of these!

Especially since Jason has discovered Caramel Candy Corn!

Birthday crisis averted!

So, remember two days ago, when I was all freaking out about the impending seventh birthday of everyone's favorite red head?

Random door-to-door solicitor to the rescue!

I was about to walk out the door of my job yesterday afternoon, and this guy came by. And he had some stuff to sell. And normally I don't give these types the time of day, but I knew he was legit (mostly because they'd come around last year too, and I think someone else in my office had bought what he was selling.)

And what was he selling?

Tickets to this place:



Cedar Hill Farms is just a few miles north of here, in the next county.

Anna Marie had brought home a flier from school this week, and asked to go. And then this guy comes by, and sells me 10 tickets for $30, which would cost me about $15 each if purchased separately. (Serendipity!) And with those tickets (which he assured me can be used all at once if I so desire) we can go on hayrides, and through a corn maze, (or MAIZE as they cleverly call it) and all sorts of other fun, fall-ish stuff.

Instant birthday party!

And I'm pretty darn excited, because they have picnic tables, so we can just bring some food and have ourselves a good old time.

Now all I have to do is figure out a date and a time, and narrow down the 10 guests, and we're all set!

Woohoo!

Official Thursday Weigh-In

Wow, I'm getting a really scary looking warning at the top of my posting page, telling me about a scheduled outage at 4 p.m. PDT - let's see, that's, um, carry the two, divide by four - 6 p.m. local.

Hmm. Is that today, or tomorrow? Guess we'll find out. Or, we've found out already. Whatever.

I gained a pound this week, taking me back up to 147. The nice WW lady urged me not to be upset, and I was all, "Pshaw! I've been doing this three years! A little ole pound isn't going to get me down!"

So I keep doing what I do, and occasionally throw in a fancy dessert plate at a fancy fashion show luncheon, and life keeps on rolling.

And I try to roll with the punches.

Today is Thursday, September 25, 2008

This means several things.

1. According to QVC, we have approximately 90 days until Christmas. And I have made no preparations! What is wrong with me?

2. It is four days until my mother's birthday. And I have made no preparations! What is wrong with me?

3. IT IS ONE WEEK UNTIL ANNA MARIE'S BIRTHDAY. AND I HAVE MADE NO PREPARATIONS! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

(Can you tell I'm feeling just a wee bit stressed? But what else is new?)

Once again, we probably won't have a birthday party for Anna Marie, because, well, we still have some rather awkward family situations, similar to last year but also somewhat different. And once again, the magazine has taken all of my energy (and it STILL isn't quite done yet). So I'm trying to make it up to her, by taking her to the circus that's coming to town the next week.

(Buying her love! Yes!)

Also, she has fall break and a doctor's appointment that next week, and I'm planning to take her fall break off from work and maybe use our buy-one-get-one-free Japanese food coupons to get her first Hibachi dinner.

(Big spender buying her love, no?)

Maybe, one of these years before she leaves the house, the awkward family situations will cease, and she'll have bonded with some of the kids at school or something, and the magazine won't bleed me dry, and we can have a proper party.

Maybe. Or maybe, this pattern will repeat itself year after year, and Anna Marie won't have any memories of birthday parties, but she will have done every special event in Memphis and the Mid-South.

Can't buy me love, everybody tells me so…

I finally did it.

I joined Facebook last week.

Go on. Check if you don't believe me.

(Well, you can only check if you already have a Facebook account. But if you don't have one, you can get one, and then you can check.)

Back? Good.

I don't know what made me do it - I think it was all the people complaining about the "new" Facebook as opposed to the "old" Facebook. And quite honestly, I don't know the difference since I joined after the change, so it isn't a big deal to me.

(Another thing I joined several years late - Arrested Development. On Hulu. Why did I never watch this show when it was on?)

(Come to think of it, why did no one watch this show when it was on, causing it to be prematurely cancelled? And when did Jason Batemon get to be such a good actor? But I digress.)

Back to my point - I now have a Facebook. Complete with pictures. And friends. And Flair! Even some Flair that has Anna Marie's picture on it - how cool is that?

Is it wrong to admit that I'm actually kinda enjoying Facebook? That I wish that I'd made the plunge a long time ago, just like I wish I'd watched Arrested Development a long time ago.

If loving them is wrong, I don't want to be right.

Not exactly how I pictured spending my Friday night

Anna Marie had an appointment at her eye specialist yesterday. The office is about 30 miles north of here in the next county. She and Jason left straight after school, while I still had to finish my pages at work.

I left work a little early, since I'd taken a short lunch break; stopped at the grocery store; and was about to start dinner when I got a call.

"I need you to come get us," said the voice on the other end.

"Why?" I asked, inquisitively.

"I think the clutch cylinder on the Jeep is out."

The Jeep. The vehicle that was just fixed two days ago. That a friend helped him put back together in exchange for his looking over a computer. The Jeep that not only ruined a pulley and the water pump with its little stunt last month on the highway, but also locked up the new alternator that was put on it in South Carolina.

(Did Jason tell the nice lady at the auto parts store HOW the thing locked up when he exchanged it? No, he did not.)

I turned the oven off, put the muffins I'd mixed up in the fridge (we were to have breakfast for dinner) and drove up.

Since we were all starving by that point, we went to Zaxby's (where the nice manager lady agreed to let me have all celery with my wings instead of fries!) and on to the parts store to get some brake fluid. My dad had suggested that Jason put the fluid in the cylinder and try to get the Jeep back home.

Problem was, the fluid went in the top - and right out the bottom.

We called for my dad, who was eating dinner. He and my mother arrived on the scene about 45 minutes later, which would make it about 7:30 by this point.

Somehow, my dad got the Jeep home by switching gears without using the clutch. Jason drove dad's truck (because my mom had forgotten her license) and we three girls rode home in my car.

Oh, and of course, when we took the Jeep to mom's, Anna Marie stayed.

(Oh, and she wore that striped shirt to school for her pictures. And discovered that one of her friends had the exact same shirt.)

I've just finished baking the mini muffins, so maybe we can have them with dinner tonight. If Jason doesn't eat them all when he wakes up, that is. I need to get in the shower, because it looks like I'm going to be driving my mom to the chiropractor this morning.

Is that how I envisioned spending my Friday night? Nope. But like I told Anna Marie, it could've been much worse. We were in a parking lot, not stuck on the side of a road like I've been so many times. We had just eaten dinner, so we weren't starving. I had my car, so we could leave and get the stuff we needed. And she and I took a lovely walk in the cool fall weather around the shopping center, where we saw multi-colored appliances, and a baseball game playing on the TV in a sports bar, and the most paint samples that she'd ever seen.

And, most importantly, we were together - which I guess is what really matters after all.

Official Thursday Weigh-In

Well. Here we go again.

Tonight's weigh-in was actually the bright spot in my evening - I lost 2.5 pounds this week, taking me down to 146!

My WW leader told me that in just 11 more pounds, I'd be at the top for my weight range, and I could make lifetime - the most important part of which would be that as long as I didn't gain more than two pounds, I wouldn't have to pay!

It would be like getting a raise!

That was the BEST news I'd had all day - especially since I'm trying to work on an assignment which I seem unable to complete to my boss's satisfaction, and I thought TODAY was picture day, so I sent Anna Marie in her favorite red polo, only to learn that TOMORROW is picture day, and I seem unable to find a shirt that is up to her high standards.

Folks, I even went to far as to go to Walmart after my WW meeting to buy her a NEW shirt, because she was crying so hard when I left. Except, she was STILL crying when I showed her the new shirt, because it wasn't what she wanted.



(I don't know if you can tell, but it's striped, and it's shimmery, and the buttons are rhinestones. What's not to like?)

And I'd apparently promised her that she could wear the red polo in her pictures, and that wasn't happening.

And she's made no secret of how upset she is with me.

And she's been crying for the past hour and a half.

And at this point, she'll wear whatever I present her with in the morning.

And she'll LIKE it.

Just wish I could say the same for my boss.

I feel like I've been hit by a Mac truck

more animals

Right in the stomach.

I don't know what's come over me, but I woke up feeling really icky today.

(And no, I'm not pregnant, but thanks for asking.)

I had to take Anna Marie to work with me today, because they're having teacher meetings and I didn't want her to miss her dance class this afternoon by going to the auction. So, she stayed in my office for about 30 minutes while I went to a meeting, and then I made sure the magazine revisions were uploaded, and then we left.

And I still feel blech.

And she wants me to play Monopoly with her, but all I want to do is lay in bed.

And in about an hour and a half, I have to wrestle her into her tights and take her to dance.

And then I've got to have her at church by 6 p.m. to get ready for a special something-or-other that I found out about last night.

And she isn't taking my "tummy ache" excuse for a reason not to play the board game, so here I go.

Hopefully, I won't pass out from the blech at the dining room table.

I don't think I match the new tiny lampshades and curtains very well.

I must really, really love you guys

Because my contacts are EXTREMELY dry, and I'm EXTREMELY tired, and yet, here I am.

Posting those pictures from last night.

If you've never been to Pei Wei, I highly recommend it. I got a kids meal of teriyaki chicken, with brown rice. Great, except they made me buy a $1.75 adult drink instead of a 50 cent kids drink - but I still got out of there pretty cheap, and without having to worry about eating too much.

Here is my Mom and Amanda. Aren't they cute? Almost as cute as Fernando Ortega was earlier in the night!



And here is all three of us. I know - I look HORRID. I promise my hair looked decent when I left the house, but then a huge wind blew it to kingdom come as soon as I got out at the church.



Darn you Hurricane Ike! *waves fist in air*

I also regret that I only has my camera phone with me, which Amanda assures me is the reason these pictures turned out the way they did due to the lack of flash.

(Though I had a flash on my last cell phone, but this one is supposed to be a "smart phone" and has no flash. Not very smart, if you ask me.)

Ok. That's it. That's all my obligation to the blogosphere for today. Now off to bed!

Pictures? You wanted pictures?

Did I hear someone say they wanted pictures? Oh, you there in the back. I heard you!

And I'm happy to oblige.

Here are the pictures I took JUST THIS MORNING of our new chandelier. I'm glad I waited, too, because you'll notice the new curtains on the window in the background! Yes, we've managed to live in this house for four years and never adorn that end of our living space. But now it's official - all the windows have curtains! Hooray!







(Oh, ha ha. I just noticed that the table isn't centered under the light fixture. Oops!)

Anna Marie says now our dining area looks even more fancy with the curtains than it did before. If we get any fancier, I just don't know what we'll do with ourselves.

Speaking of Anna Marie (nice, segue, huh?) she handed me this photo when I picked her up from children's church yesterday.



It was taken last week at Biker Sunday (naturally.) That's Pastor Bob, our childrens/assistant pastor, and his Harley that he rode into children's church. She said not all the kids got their picture made on it - just the ones who wanted to, and of course, she wanted to.

She also wanted to make sure I was going to put it in my "picture book" (a.k.a. scrapbook.) I think I see some Harley Davidson paper in my future!

I was going to post some pictures I took with my phone at Pei Wei in Memphis last night, after Mom, Amanda, and I attended a Fernando Ortega concert at a church there. Alas, I could not get the computer at home to recognize that I'd plugged in the phone, so I couldn't get them off. Perhaps Jason will help me later, and you can be so jealous of the fun we had.

(Not really. It's just a couple of pictures from dinner. But we did have fun! And Fernando Ortega is just about as cute as a button! I'm so glad we went!)

And…

I uploaded the magazine on Friday afternoon! Hooray!

There will be revisions and re-sends, of course, but that is a HUGE weight off of my shoulders. No, seriously - I literally felt lighter after I was finished!

Hopefully, some of that will show up at the scales on Thursday.

Because I want an iPhone like a fat kid wants cake

(Especially if it's store bought white cake with buttercream frosting, so sugary it makes you want to pass out. And you get a corner piece with lots of that frosting.)

(Mmm. Frosting.)

Anyway - over at The Parent Bloggers Network they're having a contest! With help from Capitol One! And the prize is an iPhone! And all I have to do is tell you how I'm teaching little AM about money.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy, right? I mean, come on - just look at what I've already posted this week! It's destiny!

So here's the question: when do you start teaching kids about money?

My answer: as soon as you get the hospital bill.

Kidding! I'm kidding! But I do think that the earlier, the better.

I've already discussed how I have to choose my words around Anna Marie. She, like most kids, doesn't understand the concept of money very well. For instance, I can't tell you how many times she's asked why we haven't gone to Walt Disney World. And my answer is always the same - because we haven't saved enough money. And her answer is always the same: then why don't I go to work, and make some more?

Oh, if only it were that simple.

Just like it's difficult to teach kids that having a checkbook full of pieces of paper with your routing number on them doesn't guarantee sufficient funds to buy stuff, it's difficult to make them understand that just because you earned some money, doesn't mean you can spend it willy-nilly.

There are wee small roadblocks to that philosophy, and around these parts we call them food, shelter, and clothes.

We've already made her start saving for things she wants that are extra (like Webkinz or Build-A-Bear). And now, I'm going to follow Karen's suggestion that she save for that Nintendo DS she wants.

This morning, I had a talk with her about saving. Because when I wanted an iPod, I had to save for it. And when her dad wanted a Zune (and for the love of Pete I can't figure out why he did) he saved for it. So if she wants that video game, she's going to save for it.

Her birthday is in a couple of weeks, so she's going to ask for money and/or Target cards. In fact, I have a $5 Target card I got for buying a bunch of Kashi stuff this week, so I may give that to her for seed money.

During football season, the cheerleaders come around selling ribbons and tattoos. And if she stays on "green" enough during the week, she gets money for that. But now, she's got the option of using that money to save for her DS. And, she thought that was a great idea!

(Let's see, though, how she felt when the other kids were getting stuff this morning and she wasn't.)

Instead of telling her we're broke all the time, I try to couch it in terms of "priorities." Because I could take the rent money to buy an X-Box, but then we'd have a little trouble the next time it rained. Shelter is a priority!

And, I could take my tithe money each week and buy her something with it, but one of our priorities is honoring God with our finances.

It's hard to teach her about priorities when SpongeBob is sponsored by the Evil Toy Conglomerate and her friends are getting iPod Nanos and cell phones for Christmas in kindergarten. But I think that's the best way to teach kids about money - not scaring them into thinking that they won't know where their next meal is coming from if that isn't an issue, but letting them know what your family values and chooses to spend its money on.

(And it doesn't hurt to teach them about the possibility of winning those things we want either, does it?)

Official Thursday Weigh-In

I'm beginning to feel like I don't even DESERVE to have these things, because I'm apparently NOT FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS very well.

Like the directions that tell me that finishing off the bucket of cookie dough you're supposed to be spooning out onto baking sheets is not a healthy way to eat.

(Oh, yes I did.)

Anyway - I gained a half pound this week, which could also be attributed to the fact that I ate something a full two hours later than I normally do on Thursdays, and that food was still in my system.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Pay no attention to the woman with the bucket of cookie dough and the spoon.

On having a literal-minded kid

Really, aren't they all that way?

Karen left a comment laughing about my using the term "out of my budget" when telling Anna Marie why we can't (or won't) spend money on something. I have a very good reason for choosing my words carefully - and apparently, Jason hasn't learned that lesson yet.

Did you guys ever hear the phrase "cash-free society?" Well, if you have small children, it just isn't true! Since she's started school, we have to keep cash on hand several days a week for lunches, or "snack store," or the ribbons the cheerleaders come around every Friday peddling to unsuspecting youngsters.

Add to that the need for offering on Sunday, and you see my point.

Problem is, we don't carry cash - and haven't since before we were married. We started using our debit cards in college, and haven't looked back. Want to know why we never go to the Waffle House here in town? Because they don't take cards!

So, this weekend (as you've already read) we were pretty busy. And on the way to church Sunday, Jason fished around and found a few cents to give Anna Marie for her Sunday School/children's church offering.

"That's all you've got?" she asked. (Before you start to think she's greedy, let me interject that it was about 50 cents total, which she would have to split between the two offerings. And you know how churches like to have offering contests!)

"That's all the money I have," Jason innocently responded.

As soon as he said it, I knew he'd messed up. I KNEW where her mind would go, and tried to issue a correction - it was all the cash he had.

It fell on deaf ears, though, because Anna Marie went into panic mode.

"But how will we eat Backyard Burgers on Thursday?"

Yep. She didn't worry about food that day, or the days between Sunday and Thursday, or even how we'd put gas in the car or pay the other bills.

She thought her weekly "date" with her dad was in jeopardy.

Kids eat free at our BYB on Tuesday and Thursday nights. And every Thursday, while I fast before weighing in at my WW meeting, Jason and Anna Marie go across the street for dinner. Folks think it's so cute - the two of them out like that. They don't know it's because she's eating free, and he doesn't want to have to cook!

(And, for the record, I have a Women's Ministry meeting tonight, where we'll be eating, so the two red heads will probably end up over there tonight too.)

We don't even have to spend gas money to get over there, because, as I've stated about a bazillion times before, it's literally in my back yard. Unless the weather is bad, they walk!

And I don't want Anna Marie to think we're destitute all the time. I'm just cheap, or the item in question is something that we just don't want to buy. So I tell her it isn't in our budget - which is completely true. Especially when it comes to the Nintendo DS she's been asking for, or the iPod Nano, or the cell phone.

Totally not in our budget.

So let that be a lesson to you, all those who deal with small children - think before you speak! You could have a very panicked child on your hands!

I saw the light at the end of the tunnel

And it was connected with a speeding train.

(Oh, for the record, Heather won the iPod. Which is cool. I already have one, so I guess I was being a bit greedy in hoping for an iPod touch.)

(It couldn't have happened to a nicer person, though!)

(Unless, of course, that person was me.)

Anyway - I got home Friday night, and Jason informed me that we had a catering job on Saturday.

(Jason had also hung the chandelier that my brother had faux-finish spraypainted on Monday! Yay!)

And, those two facts together somehow meant that we had to make a trip to the next county, to look for tiny lampshades to put atop the lights in the chandelier.

(He had spied the tiny lampshades here in town, but there were only six of them and we needed eight. Just so you know.)

We went to no fewer than eight stores Friday night. No tiny lampshades, except those which were "out of my budget" (as I tell Anna Marie when something's just too dang expensive.)

(My budget = the cheapest I can possibly find something, by the way.)

Saturday, we went to another two stores, where we found a few to add to those we ended up buying down here. So now, tiny lampshades inhabit my dining area.

Pictures? You want pictures? Well, then, you're going to have to wait for another post, my friend!

So, Saturday was super-busy too, and Sunday - well, let's just say that we left home about 9:00 a.m. and returned about 8:30 p.m.

And just when I thought I might have a few minutes to catch my breath, I realize that I have another special section due in two days, and the magazine still isn't sent to the printer yet.

Good thing I had that second round of coffee at lunch today.

The race is on!

Ok, so this is a bit of a shameless post.

I'm trying to win an iPod Touch from The Networking Masters and this is all part of the plan.

Now, if only I can beat Heather@Desperatelyseekingsanity to the punch - but she's way better at networking than I am, so this may be a lost cause.

Seriously, I've been thinking that I need to up my networking game for some plans I've got spinning around in my head.

And speaking of "head" - head on over to that link, and good luck!

Official Thursday Weigh-In

Am I EVER going to get finished with this magazine?

I mean, I know I wasn't wanting to overstress myself to get it put down last week, but now, it's feeling a bit ridiculous.

Hopefully we'll get something accomplished on it tomorrow, and by "something" I mean "finished."

Anyway - I gained a pound this week, so I now weigh 148.

So now you understand why I had to put all that other stuff at the top of this entry, because I didn't have very good news to report at all.

Aren't there TV commercials that state that just the act of being stressed makes you gain weight? And you know if it's on TV, you can believe it!

Remembering Harold Staubitz

(Before I begin - have you ever had a night when sleep was so hard to come by that you actually started debating the necessity of sleeping? No? Just me? Sorry.)

Jason sent me a rare text message yesterday:

"Mom called. Harold Staubitz died."

I was immediately taken back to South Carolina, where we lived for four years before moving to Mississippi.

(Well, not literally. I was still in my office, which is good because I was pretty swamped. But you get the idea.)

Harold Staubitz and his wife were members of our church. Three of their four children had also attended there at one time or another. Jason taught piano to one of their granddaughters when we first got married.

He was retired - maybe on disability. He had pretty bad diabetes, which may be what finally took his life. Jason said he'd heard that Harold's leg had been amputated in recent years.

If my memory serves me correctly, he was having a particularly bad time with his health when I was pregnant with Anna Marie, and Jason was visiting his hospital room on September 11, 2001 when I called to tell him what was going on.

I don't know what his ethnic background was, but he was always speaking Italian and making pasta e fagoli for our church's annual Super Bowl Soup and Salad Supper.

When we had our housewarming party after we got married, Harold brought a gift bag containing some salt, and a loaf of bread, and some sparkling grape juice (since we don't drink). He told me what each gift represented, but for the life of me, I can't remember just now.

As I lay in bed last night, unable to sleep, I couldn't help but smile at his memory.

He and his wife (who worked at the Dollar Tree in town) would come by and help me at the soup kitchen I ran, sometimes volunteering if I had to be off for a doctor's appointment or a church trip. His diabetes left him with a good bit of nerve damage, and he shuffled a little when he walked, but that didn't stop Harold from trying to help the less fortunate.

Their daughters started riding the bus to church when they were small, and after years of coming to see their kids in church activities, the parents finally asked Jesus into their hearts and started coming as well.

He loved to hear me sing - he called me a maestro - and when his three-day-old, premature granddaughter died, he asked me to sing It is Well at the service.

And yes, that was at least as difficult as you would imagine it to be.

He and his wife always had a kind word, and I'm sure that packed up somewhere I still have the porcelain baby shoe they gave Anna Marie for a shower present.

I've often wondered how they were doing, and I guess now I know, at least in part.

When I get home tonight, I plan on finding a card to send to his wife.

And for a while to come, I'll be remembering Harold Staubitz.

So, to answer your question

Did I delegate?

Heck yeah I did.

Did we finish the magazine on Friday?

Heck no we didn't.

But we also didn't stay in the office until midnight like previous years.

I'm a little tempted to go in today and work on it - oh, nevermind. The moment passed.

(That didn't take long!)

I did wake up entirely too early this morning, after staying up entirely too late last night watching the Clean House 100th episode special. Good thing Anna Marie was at my mom's, because she hates that show.

We're having a good weekend so far. On Saturday, Anna Marie and I met one of my cousins and took our kids to see a production of Sesame Street Live. Before we got to the venue, though, I got a call on my cell phone.

It was our childrens/assistant pastor, Pastor Bob.

He said that the church had bought an ad in that county's paper to promote this weekend's Biker Sunday, but that it hadn't come out on Saturday like it was supposed to.

(For the record, it did come out on SUNDAY, but that's not my problem. For once!)

Pastor Bob said they'd been trying to get a reporter to come cover the event, but couldn't find one. And then he remembered that I'm a reporter! So he asked me to bring my camera and do a story for them to submit to their paper.

Did I say yes?

Heck yeah I did!

Yesterday's service was a blast! Anna Marie was so excited, because she got to wear jeans and a bandanna to church. Most folks were decked out similarly, except for Jason - he stuck to his old standby of khakis and a polo.

There were bikes everywhere - in the lobbies, on the sidewalks, and in a big group in the parking lot.

I thought that the volume of the praise and worship sounded louder just because I was sitting on the front row waiting for the motorcycles to come through, but Jason said it was loud further back where he was too.

Also, the set list included Evanescence and Daughtry. Slightly modified, of course, but still - we rocked.

And then, just before the sermon - three motorcycles entered the sanctuary!

And then, a big burly tattooed guy got up and told everyone how much God loves them, no matter what they've done or where they've been!

(Not the pastor, by the way. The guy in charge of the church's motorcycle ministry, who actually wears his gear to church every Sunday.)

Pastor Bob rode his bike to children's church, too. Anna Marie said he did a few laps around the room before coming to a stop.

(He also made sure that ALL the kids were seated before he drove in!)

I sent my story in to Pastor Bob last night. My pictures didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but I guess they'll realize that I'm a better writer than I am a photographer.

Last night, we had a Labor Day picnic at the same deer farm where we'd celebrated Memorial Day. Except, it was SO much hotter! Anna Marie got there and went directly to the sand volleyball court. And then on two hayrides - without us!

(My mom kinda freaked out about the hayride part, but I don't know why. She went last time, and she knew that they stayed on the church member's property, and that the sides of the trailer were about eight feet high, and completely enclosed. She's nearly seven - I think she can handle hanging out with her friends and a few responsible adults without us for a few minutes.)

The Kid was so busy playing, she didn't even eat dinner! I had to heat her up a frozen pizza when we got home.

Like I said before, she's at mom's, so I don't know how she slept. After a day filled with motorcycles and volleyball and hayrides, I'd venture that she's pretty pooped - but then again, she is Anna Marie, so anything is possible.

Speaking of being tired - I just realized I forgot to make my coffee this morning. The lack of caffeine is starting to kick in!

I'd better go remedy the situation - stat.

Official Thursday Weigh-In

Hey - I just noticed that my last post was number 500! That makes this number 501, like the Levi's jeans I've never had a pair of!

Well. After spending all day wishing I could convince Jason to let me order a Vera Bradley knockoff bag from QVC, I went and weighed in.

For the first time in two weeks.

Full of fear and trembling.

And apparently, trembling burns lots of calories, because I lost a pound - 147, 90 pounds lost, nearly back to my all-time low of 146.5.

And my buddy who made me the mix CD? She's a pound and a half from 100 lost! I'm so proud of her - and not a bit miffed that she's going to beat me there.

Please send some good prayers and vibes my way, though - tomorrow I'll be working on our magazine! I'd hoped to have it finished so that I could enjoy the long weekend, but it looks like one of the ads won't be ready until next week. As it stands, I'm going to delegate some of the work to two of the other girls in the office, and maybe betwixt the three of us, we can get most of this monstrosity knocked out.

Have a great weekend!

Women rock (the vote)!

Just the other night, I came back from a Walmart run to see Anna Marie had pulled out some of my old Schoolhouse Rock videos.

And one of the segments was "Suffering until Suffrage."

And I had to explain to her what the song was about.

And then today, I get a text message from Amanda (the sister, not one of the two sisters-in-law) wishing me a happy 88th anniversary of the right to vote!

Awesome!

(By the way - I scoured YouTube for a copy of the song to post here, but was unsuccessful. Why can't the women voters get any YouTube love?)

I love to vote. I didn't start until after I graduated college, because I moved 500 miles from home a week after I turned 18 and knew I wouldn't get home often enough to do so. But now - oh boy, now I'm a voting machine!

(Well, not literally. Then my chads would probably be hanging. Or worse yet, pregnant.)

In South Carolina, where I first registered, we had to declare a party affiliation.

(We also had to draw a map to our house, which I thought was a little odd, but it was my first time to register so I kept my mouth shut.)

But in Mississippi - well, it's a free-for-all. No ID? No problem! Heck, if I wasn't so well known in the community, I could probably go vote under my sister's name since she moved to Memphis. And that free-for-all means that I can vote in the primaries of the other party! And I do! Not for sabotage, mind you, but just because I know that voter turnout is so abysmal that any little bit helps.

(On the flip side - if you vote in one party's primary, you can't vote in a runoff if the other party has one. You have to kind of hedge your bets with that one.)

And on the subject of voter ID - I happen to think that opposition to such measures is just ridiculous. Have you seen the bill that didn't pass in our state? (You don't live here. Of course you haven't.) It wasn't just a driver's license that would be acceptable - you could bring a birth certificate, or a Social Security card, or probably even your Kroger Plus Card. And if you had none of those, the state would issue you an ID for free! No one who operates in polite society today would be left out!

So, ladies, congratulations on being able to vote. And if you don't, shame on you! Lots of people worked really hard to get you that vote!

Even if you can't get excited about the issues in an election, you owe it to yourself, and that star-spangled girl from Schoolhouse Rock to cast your ballot.

(Title) writer's block

I just could not come up with a snappy title for this post.

Let me tell you what it's about, and then maybe you can help me. That's what we do around our office when we need a headline and we're stumped.

This entry is about taking Anna Marie to the fair on Saturday.

Alone!

I did not want to go. I'll admit it. I was happy that it wasn't over 100 degrees like it was last year, but it was raining. And I was tired. And I had other things to get accomplished on Saturday, and if I wasn't taking pictures for the paper, I probably wouldn't have even gone.

But I did. We did. Anna Marie and I.

(Where was Jason? Snoozing away, of course.)

Admission was only $2 each, and I bought Anna Marie a "fun pass" that entitled her to play on 7 or 8 blow-up thingies (moon bounces, etc.) as much as she wanted for another $3.

So that's what we did. Mom gave her $5 to buy a snack (as a bribe for her to eat breakfast?) but more on that later.

Anna Marie spent most of her time on those inflatable things, which were under one end of the arena where the fair was held, while I took pictures.

(Yes, I left my nearly seven-year-old child alone for a few minutes at a time while I walked around and took pictures. All of the inflatables were in one spot, and she understood she was to go NO WHERE away from those without me. Not even if someone told her they were taking her to me - no one. And to talk to no one that I hadn't OK'd first, be they an adult or a teenager. And, that there were several adults we knew manning those inflatables, and if she needed anything, she was to find one of them and have them call me.)

(Also - I checked back on her every few minutes. And if we had been anywhere else other than here, I wouldn't have ever dared to do it. That's the end of my mommy-justification for the day.)

One of the things she did while I was around - boxed some random kid.



I can hear her now, getting all up in his grill.



Yeah, that's what I thought. Punk.

There was a film crew from Sweden there, doing a documentary about Southern food. I knew they were European because no one down here wears shoes this cool.



And what would a county fair be without livestock? This cow was headed for a milking contest. The poor girls looked like they hadn't been milked in several days.




Ok, so that part about all the inflatables being in one place, inside? Not completely true - there were several waterslides outside, and I promised we could do those last.





Yeah, that water was as nasty as it looks onscreen.

So, about the snack - we settled on some nachos and a shaved ice. Which took up not only the fiver mom gave her, but a dollar of mine as well! But the worst part was that as we were sitting inside the arena, so she could eat on the bleachers, I knocked over the shaved ice! None of it got on her, but she cried real tears about it.

I felt badly, too, because I didn't have enough cash left to get her another.

Luckily, the cow milking contest started, and she was distracted for a while.

Nothing like observing a little hard farm labor to fascinate a little red-haired city girl.

Official Thursday Weigh-In

Not!

Ok, so I didn't go weigh in tonight.

I know! It's awful! I'll give you a minute to return your pulse rate to normal.

Tonight was Anna Marie's open house at school, and it started at 6:00 p.m.

Technically, weigh-in is supposed to begin at 6:00 p.m., but the ladies are usually there about 5:30 p.m. But, every time I try to weigh in and leave to get somewhere early, I run into some kind of snag - they're late, or there's someone who needs a lot of special attention, or something.

Plus, I don't like to eat before I weigh in (because, let's face it, I still have plenty of fat to show up on the scale, without adding dinner) and it wouldn't have given me time to eat before open house. So I'd just now be getting dinner.

And now is when I have to go put Little AM to bed.

And so it goes - my first time to willfully (meaning not out of town) play hooky from weigh in.

Don't worry - I'll be back in there next week!

Just when you think one more interruption is going to make your head explode

Ever have one of those kinds of days?

The kind when you have something REALLY important and REALLY pressing to get finished, and you're on a deadline, but yet the whole world is calling/emailing/visiting you?

You know you have.

I had one of those today.

I had an early meeting to cover, and then a staff meeting waiting on me when I got back to the office. Afterward, I worked for about two hours on the special edition that was due today before stopping for lunch.

An hour after I got back for lunch, it was time to go get Anna Marie from school.

(Sidebar: I discovered today that true terror is a six-year-old getting into your car, and saying, through clenched teeth, "I really, REALLY have to go to the bathroom" when you're faced with the prospect of another 10 minutes of school traffic.)

(Panic ensued. Luckily, an accident did not, as I stopped at our county courthouse on the way back to the office and whisked her to the bathroom.)

(But I digress.)

Of course, it's pretty difficult to work when you've got that six-year-old asking you to sharpen her pencil so she can do her homework, when she can darn well sharpen that pencil herself.

(It's also difficult to work when the folks from whom you requested information nearly a week and a half ago aren't giving it up. But I digress again.)

Phone call after phone call. Email after email. I thought I was never going to get done.

When I finally did get up from my desk for a minute, to retrieve some papers from the printer, there stood one of my Weight Watchers buddies! She and I are neck-in-neck to see who can get to 100 lbs. lost first. I think we're tied right now.

I'd seen her last week on my way out, as she was on her way in, and we talked about how stressful our lives had become lately and how hard it was to deal with it all without constantly raiding the fridge.

She'd really been on my mind the last few days, so I'd been praying for her situation - and apparently, I was on her mind too.

"I came to see you," she said. "You've been on my heart."

And she handed me a CD she'd burned.

It was a mix tape! Well, a mix CD. She has a very long commute to work each day, and has some songs she listens to in an attempt to keep herself positive and keep her spirits up.

And she made me a CD of some of those songs! I was so touched!

And just when I didn't think I could do with even one more interruption, I got one that I just couldn't do without.

And now every time I listen to those songs, I'll think of my friend, thank God for her, and send a little prayer her way.

Thank God for those kinds of interruptions!

Never put off until Monday

What you should be doing all weekend.

I've got to quit letting this blogging thing get behind - both my reading others, and my posting - because then it ends up taking more time than I have to spend.

Not that you guys aren't totally worth it. I'm just sayin'.

So, here's a bit of randomness from my weekend.

* It's official. My coffee maker's built-in grinder is finished. I do have some ground coffee (mocha - yum!) but I also have a box of beans that must not go to waste! Since I can't afford either a coffee grinder, or a whole new set up, right now, I'll have to get creative. Like, borrowing the coffee grinder which sits in our kitchen at work and grinding all the beans at once.

Not the best solution, but the only one I can think of that won't cost several days' wages.

I do intend to save up for another all-in-one unit, though, because I like the convenience of putting the beans in when I load up the machine the night before and having the whole operation running when I get up.

* Speaking of getting up, I'm afraid that if I want to work exercise into my morning - and it clearly isn't working to work it in at night - I'm going to have to rise another half hour early during the week.

5:30 a.m., here I come.

* Between Jason (accidentally) hitting me in the nose with the cabinet door on Saturday night, and Anna Marie (accidentally) hitting me in the nose with her fist tonight when I was trying to help her get settled down in bed, I'll soon be in need of a new nose to go along with my new coffee maker.

If I didn't develop a bruise from Saturday's altercation, a nice one should show up from tonight. And now I'm also developing a headache from the blow.

* I could really use a few prayers/good vibes right now, because I've got two big projects - our football special edition, and our magazine - that have to be finished in the next two weeks. And early deadlines next week because of the holiday. And my normal work. Oh, yeah, and after that, a probable murder trial. So, yeah, I'm just a wee bit stressed right now. Breaking down in tears (when coupling these factors with some other current stressful situations, none of which I have any power to change right now) is not an uncommon occurrance in my life right now.

Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be able to slip away at lunch and attend my book club meeting, which I haven't been able to do in a couple of months because of prior commitments.

Hope everyone else is having a better day than I am!

Official Thursday Weigh-In

Warning: there is NO telling what I'm about to type, because I just took two Excedrin PM. Read at your own risk.

After one heck of a day - the coffee grinder part of my machine isn't fulfilling it's God-given purpose, grinding coffee; I attended a luncheon meeting with a bunch of other newspaper folks, and then almost forgot to go take two pictures when I got back; something went awry with the van when Jason was getting Anna Marie from school and I had to go pick them up - I stumbled my way into the church gym where my Weight Watchers meeting is.

(HEADACHE! I'VE HAD A MASSIVE HEADACHE ALL DAY!)

(So bad that I took Pamprin at lunch, because I didn't have any other pain relievers with me.)

Anyway - I lost 2.5 pounds of the 3.5 I gained last week, and am now back to 148 (89 pounds lost).

By the way - if you're wondering how Anna Marie is doing in first grade - she got into trouble the first three days (for talking, of course) but has been doing better the past three. My sister suggested that since she was getting into trouble, we should take her out and let my dad homeschool her.

(If you knew my dad, just that prospect alone would be hi-freakin'-larious. And the two of them argue CONSTANTLY, about such mundane things as the right way to play checkers. A big fat bunch of nothing would get accomplished each day.)

But here's the best part - Amanda thinks the whole operation would make a great reality show! And I totally agree. But when I was telling Jason during dinner tonight, Anna Marie was not convinced.

"No!" she said. "He's a mechanic. He can teach other people to be mechanics."

Now, my dad is prone to "sayings." One of his sayings is, "I don't play. I quit school on account of recess."

And Anna Marie has apparently been paying attention to my dad's educational philosophy, because she continued with her reasons for not having her Papa homeschool her.

"You don't think Papa would make a good teacher?"

She replied in all seriousness:

"He quit school at the time of recess."

Coffee crisis - AVERTED!

Those of you out in Blogland didn't know that this week, I've been wrestling with my own private coffee crisis.

Saturday morning, I awoke to the realization that I was out of coffee pods for my beloved Senseo machine. And I was out of my Gevalia coffee for my tricked out grinder/coffee machine. And I was expecting a shipment of Gevalia at any moment so I didn't want to go buy more coffee.

In other words, on Saturday morning I awoke to NO COFFEE!

In less than a year, I have become a coffee fiend. So you'll imagine my delight when, after pawing through my kitchen cabinets, I emerged with a bag of ground coffee which Jason had been given at a food service trade show a few months back.

Crisis averted! Or, so I thought.

I have become a coffee fiend, it is true - unfortunately, thanks to my choice in coffee makers (the Senseo and the grinder which tells me with wee small marks how many beans to insert for my four cups) I have become a coffee fiend without knowing how to brew a cup of coffee.

Go ahead. Point and laugh.

So, I found the scoop that came with my coffee maker, and, trying to remember what I'd been told by Alton Brown, I scooped one scoop for each cup of coffee.

(I was later told by some folks at work that it was one scoop for every three cups. That seems a bit weak to me - I guess I should consult my friend LaJuan, who is the most serious coffee drinker I've ever met. Well, next to my friend Barbara, who never goes anywhere without a cup in tow.)

The coffee was pretty good, even if it seemed to be a bit less than the machine should've made for the amount of water I poured in.

Sunday, I repeated the procedure. I got a little less coffee in return this time.

Monday, I got less coffee still. By now, I was getting a bit concerned.

But Tuesday, oh, Tuesday was the worst - for the four cups of water I poured in, I got maybe a half-cup of coffee in return.

Needless to say, I left my house yesterday sans coffee. I substituted a Coke Zero - Breakfast of Champions.

My Gevalia came in yesterday morning (the Mail Guy brought it by my office, to save himself the trip of getting out of his truck at my house) and I was determined to figure out what was going on.

At lunch, I prepared the coffee maker as usual, with the whole beans. I got about a half cup of coffee again. After I ate, I looked inside the coffee maker and saw a good bit of water left in the reservoir. Like any enterprising journalist, I unplugged the unit to investigate further.

(Also, to dump the water into the sink.)

It poured. And it poured. And it poured. And I have NO idea where all this water was coming from! But at the bottom of the reservoir, I spied two rogue coffee beans, perhaps refugees from my loading the grinder while it was still in the unit.

I decided to run water through the already-ground beans, because they didn't appear to have had very much run through them the first time. I got more coffee, but it took forever - like 30 minutes - to finish brewing.

After dinner last night, I found a flashlight. At the bottom of the reservoir, in the drain, I thought I saw a coffee bean - perhaps an explanation for my water woes.

I tried several different mechanisms for getting at the suspected bean - coffee stirrers linked together, a bendy straw, and, finally, a wire coat hanger with a paper clip attached at the end.

What did I get? Big fat nothin'.

Jason suggested that I take the machine to my dad, but my coffee addiction centers started screaming - "No! That'll take DAYS! I need my fix TOMORROW!"

I decided to take my chances. Last night I loaded the unit up, set the timer for about 15 minutes before I was scheduled to get up, and held my breath.

(Not really - that would've made it really hard to sleep.)

And this morning - success! I don't know what I did last night, but I had my coffee waiting on me when I stumbled into the kitchen!

Now, I'll poll The Internets about the proper coffee-to-water ratio. I received some mocha coffee in yesterday's shipment, which is already ground, and I don't want to waste a drop.

Because mail-order coffee is a terrible thing to waste.