Block Partay!

Our school has its own way of letting the students find out who their teacher is. The teacher shows up at your house during a specific time period to let you know you'll be in their class.
Well, last year we spent about an hour and a half with our noses smooshed up against foggy windows waiting. Finally as other kids in the cul-de-sac discovered their teachers, we ended up outside excitedly chatting (and waiting!) for our teacher to get there.


Sooooo, this year my neighbor gave me the idea of having a little grill session out front while we waited for the teachers. We ended up having more than our cul-de-sac show up.

First we put Joe to work filling water balloons.
He'll learn not to ask, "Is there anything I can do to help out?"

Then there was the water balloon tossing.
I think there was only one successful toss between partners.

Obviously they don't seem to mind.


What I thought would be a cute cake turned out looking more like a really pathetic triangle instead of a school pendant.


Lots of fun people. Plus, the losers behind the camera who weren't willing to get in the frame. You people....


Water balloons are always a good idea. They stayed up way past their bedtimes, but at least they didn't need to go home to take they're bedtime baths.

Anyway, after cooking 60 hot dogs and hamburgers, we all had full bellies and we were all excited for the school year to begin!

Polka-Dots

My friend, Shelley, needed reading pillows and curtains for her 1st grade classroom. She sent me home with the polka-dot material, and I went crazy figuring out the rest of the details. I don't think I've ever had so much fun doing a project.

They're even cuter in her classroom.

Take Your Pick

Reasons I've actually given people when they ask me

"why did you cut your hair?".

• What?! It's CUT?!?
• To lose weight (I am in a contest after all)
• I'm selling it to the highest bidder
• It was too sticky underneath all that
• I thought that's what you wanted me to do
  
• Donating it
• My hairdresser was bored
• I'm keeping it as a pet
• The last time we spoke, you implied that long hair was ugly
• I wanted to look more like you
• I was feeling like I belonged in San Angelo, TX
• Everybody's doing it
  

So if you're wondering why I cut my hair, I say take your pick from the list above; because in all honesty it's because of lots of reasons and most of them are listed above.

BTW, the hair weighs less than a 1/2 lbs.

The 'Do

To do this properly (for historical purposes and such -- because I AM going down in history for something) I'm going to post before and after pics.

With some curls.

And without.



15 inches, baby!

I really hate taking pictures of myself.


Then again, maybe it's just not very flattering to be in front of a camera.
Before photos taken by: Bradley
After photos taken by: Emmy

Thanks, monkeys.

Chop Chop

I cut my hair.



OFF.





You wanna see?






Okay, well first I need to explain that I had butterflies in my stomach all morning long and made frequent stops to the little girl's room. Then I was sitting in the salon chair, my knuckles were white as I gripped the arms (as if I'm getting my teeth drilled without Novocaine) and explained to dear Tabitha (my adorable, forgiving hair person) that the sound from the friction of the metal shears breaking each individual strand of hair was making me want to vomit.

And she said, "Good thing you have a cape on, 'cause there's no going back now."

And there you have it.

EEEEK!

I'll post all the "cute" pictures in a few minutes. Stop scowling, Ste still hasn't seen it yet. I'll feel like I'm cheating.

Wanna Be Like Mike

I wish I were more like Mike.

I guess, first of all, you should meet Mike.

Mike's a 56 year old VA Vet who still suffers from PTSD and lives alone in a motel room somewhere in Milwaukee. He's morbidly obese, missing most of his teeth, and smokes more than anyone should be allowed. We met him while living in the medical center in Houston.

Begging the question, right?

Mike keeps up with us the old fashion way. There's no IM-ing, no writing on my Facebook wall. He doesn't text or email. He writes us a letter asking us how we're doing and what the weather is like about once every two or three months and calls to check in about twice a year. I LOVE THAT!

I remember in the third grade, I had a pen pal somewhere in New England. That excitement and anticipation of getting the mail was palpable. Though, with this fast-paced world, we find ourselves annoyed with junk mail. But most of all we lack time to pen letters to one another and instead use emoticons and LOLs to let people know how we feel. I have a sense of gratitude for Mike in allowing me this infrequent opportunity to take the time and sit at my desk and write out my questions to him of how his aunt is doing and whether or not he likes his doctors.

Thanks, Mike. You keep me grounded when I need it most.
By the way, the weather is great.

Da*n the Joneses

There are 7 houses in my cul-de-sac.

Four of those houses have children under the age of 21.

As of last Thursday, three of those houses have the Wii.

Let's all guess which house doesn't.

Now, you all know I'm a sucker for peer pressure. Heck, I bought Girbaud Jeans in junior high (despite how their pockets made your derriere look the size of a barn and a tab on the fly that TOTALLY drew the eye). But now I feel obligated to buy a $400 system just to fit in. We all want to have that "cool" house that all your kid's friends want to come to hang out. For some reason I really want to be that house because when I was growing up mine was never that house.

When is it too much?

Where do you draw the line at keeping your kids "fitting" in?

And when do you tell them "don't worry, I still think you're cool." ?
BTW, no kid wants to hear that statement from their parent.

Oh, actually have several friends with the surname Jones. Love them all.

Allergens

A snippet from a conversation from this morning:

Bradley: It's been 10 minutes! Anything, yet?

Me: Nope. No allergic reaction.

Bradley: Are you sure? How do you know for sure?

Me: My eyes would look swollen and my chest would feel tight. You'd be able to tell just by looking at me.

Bradley: (with much chagrin) Aw, man.

Isn't he sweet.

Backstory: I tried out a new pain medication this morning. I'm sadly allergic to ibuprofen (she once was my best friend). We weren't sure if this would have similar results, so I prepared the kids and said they might get to go to a friend's house if I swelled up like a Macy's balloon. No such luck.

Summer Regrets

It's funny (or not). There are two more weeks left until school starts. I'm all bummed out that we didn't do more this summer. If you'll recall this entry, you'll see how time can certainly change one's perspective.

Okay, okay, I'm still looking forward to school.

But sadly, so is Bradley. What does that say about me?

The Runs

Because of this little diet thingy goin' on, I've been eating eggs a lot (way too much) for breakfast. You know, watching the carbs and all.

Lately, I haven't been so much eating them as I have been choking them down.

I'm wondering if there's some amazing way of cooking them up that I don't know about. Doubt it.

But as I was eating them (AGAIN!) this morning, I thought of my sister, Kristen as well as my friend, Shelley who might as well have over-easy eggs be against their religion (in fact I'm pretty sure Kristen's still in therapy over childhood traumas with runny eggs and Shelley had to choke down some bile because of the picture above). Now, I don't totally abhor the things, but they make me a little queasy if I don't have something else with them.

So tell me (because I obviously can't think of anything else to blog about)

How do you like your eggs?

Eager

I really want to be settled.

We've moved 6 times and been married only 7 years. I'm waiting for that 7th and final move (okay, maybe not FINAL move, but at least somewhere we can be for longer than 2 years). We're planning on waiting until the new year, but...

These rising interest rates are giving me a rash.
The lowering of housing costs are making me antsy.


Anybody got a couple hundred thou' they want to lend me at, oh, I don't know, 3%?


Juuuuust checkin'.

Breaking Dawn

I had to finish the fourth and final book of the Twilight series before I could post about the night it came out.

If you're a dork, keep reading.


Some ladies and I headed over to Barnes & Noble for the midnight release. It was totally fun. First we met downtown for a delicious Italian meal (Thanks again to Tracy L*!).
Then for some crazy reason, my friend Angela actually talked me into dressing up like one of the characters. Can you say,"GEEK"!? I was feeling like a trekky for a while. Then when people actually asked to get their pictures with me I thought, 'nah, they're the trekky. I'm just a sucker for peer pressure.'

Here are some pics from the evening.

L to R: Me (with my huge head), Shannon, Angela, Shelley, Tracy, Michelle, Stacey.

We're pretty hot. Plus, "Edward" called during our appetizers and said that "he'd take care of the meal." So cute to whomever set that one up!

L to R: Shelley, Moi, Angela, Stacey

According to the judges, I was runner up for Victoria....I swear it looked way cooler in real life. Then again, I was wearing espadrilles and I'm not sure Victoria hunted in those; Alice, maybe.

I need another release to come. Those midnight parties are about as wild and crazy as a Mormon gets.