It does too count

Changing the background of the blog is a legitimate post.  I swear!

#5 for G.P.G.

I hope this cupcake cake is a big hit!  Grayson, hope your birthday has been wonderful.  There is no way you're really five years old!

We all love you!
Tia, John Sam, Caroline, Tokyo & Zing

This is what moving looks like

These pictures don't look too bad, but it got much worse after I put the camera away.  So much junk and so much stuff.  If I could afford a pink She-Can, I'd get one delivered in the front yard and have it filled up in about a week.  That is, if I could work on it continuously, instead of between life, work, and school.  The worst part is, I don't even have everything moved over here yet.  Gah!

Moving and changing are stressful things.  Some parts of my heart are very sad.  Some parts of it are extremely pissed off.  And don't forget that secret compartment where I stash all the guilt.  There is also a place that hopes a new start is the right choice.

Life has changed for me in the last 12 years.   A little good, a little bad, and a little ugly.  This is one of those times when you wish you'd learned how to refold the map, so when you have to get it out again to use it, it's not so faded or crumply that you can't read it. 

I pray that I can smooth out the map so I can figure out where I need to go. 

Turkey 2011

It is not Thanksgiving unless we

have the oyster cracker mix 

This rose is from that first

batch that I cut and posted

previously. Long lasting-

Zing says gobble, gobble!

Goofy due to sugar, I

mean, turkey cookies...

Happy Thanksgiving!  Notice the

height and CG's artwork behind

my head. 

Whew, I'll be glad when I'm past the "letting

the bangs grow out" stage. John Sam

has perfected the stance ;-D

Grandma/Great-Grandma 

Happy Thanksgiving

Petty

Tomorrow I’ll post about things I’m thankful for. Today, however, is one long petty vent.

Clean up after your dog. This doesn’t mean everyone but you. There’s no excuse for your dog to go to the bathroom right next to the poop bag pickup dispenser that the City gives you free of charge and not clean up.

These “all in for clean air” radio commercials and billboards are annoying the crap out of me. If you are in a city park outside, and someone is smoking next to you, get your derriere off the bench and move out of the vicinity of the smoke. Just like, if a car was running and stinky diesel fumes were coming out of the exhaust, you would move somewhere else. You wouldn’t create a website and an advertising campaign to rid the world of cars that use diesel fuel. Trying to outlaw cigarettes in outdoor public parks is stupid. And selfish. And, probably illegal. At least I hope it is.

November is for celebrating Thanksgiving. It’s not the warmup lap for Christmas. Is it silly that I feel Thanksgiving gets the shaft every year? Heck, Halloween even got ripped off somewhat. Is there anybody really out there who buys Halloween candy and tinsel at the same time? If you do, please post a comment because I’d like to meet you.

Why isn’t anyone bitching about gas prices anymore? Currently it’s $3.26 per gallon. When gas prices first started going up a couple of years ago, everybody was outraged, but now, it’s just the new status quo. Yeah, yeah, it’s not $4.03—but who else remembers when it was $1.88 per gallon? I do, and we need to get back to that.

Speaking of high prices, the coffee creamer I use has gone from $1.89 to $4.79. Huh?! That’s one little luxury that has now been eliminated from my budget. The creamer is delicious, but hardly worth $4.79.

If you’d like to cut in front of me at Publix, I would mind a whole lot less if you would just ask if you can go first since you have 1 item and I have 12 items. I’d gladly let you check out first. You don’t need to gab on your cell phone and act like you’re not paying attention and drift in front of me accidentally. Also, it is horrifying to hear you tell the person you’re talking to that you’ve had a stomach virus for a couple of days…….right before you cough on me.

The tiny dry scratch in my throat needs to move along. That’s right baby, just MOVE ALONG. I’m not hosting you for Thanksgiving. Sorry!

I believe I’ve covered everything on my mind. Thanks for listening!

Big Time Rush!

I'm going to be on the Cool Mom list until further notice.  Look who the kids met today at the K-mart in Kissimmee:

No, you aren't seeing things.  Your vision is not wonky.  From left to right at the table, it is CARLOS, LOGAN, JAMES & KENDALL from BIG TIME RUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess the tall guy in the middle probably works at K-mart--he is not part of the band.  LOL!!

JS and CG got all their autographs on both of their posters, and got to talk to each of the guys personally.  They were so nice and gracious, and um, very cute!!  Both kids got high fives.  It was hard to get all of BTR in one photo because of the mob. I took as many pictures as security would let me! Here are some more highlights.

 

I think this is one of the best surprises I've pulled off for the kids.  And just for the record, Logan is my favorite.  :)

Arbitrary photos

I don't know if I've ever seen a

butterfly with stripes like this.  Have you?

Taken in front yard foliage at Harding.

Just an expression I love from my sweet JS 

This succulent looks like a rose,

which of course is why I bought

it.  I googled and think it is

"echeverria" but I'm not sure

which variety it is.

I've always hated on hibiscus flowers. 

They just bug me.  BUT this nice

red one in front of the house made

me take a photo of it.  Pretty!

My attempt at photo'ing the almost full moon

on the day before the full moon.  Not great

These are the first 3 blooms from

one of my brand new housewarming

rosebushes. Yes, they smell as pretty

as they look.  Everyone at work has

commented on them :) 

The Lady @ the Intersection

Most mornings on my way to work, I get stopped by a certain red light at a certain intersection. The impatient side of me is vexed by that, but I realized there is serendipitous reason the light catches me.   A black lady walks up to that intersection every day. She is dressed in business attire and carries a purse and a small suitcase. She also happens to carry a white stick with red on the bottom because she is blind.

She stops for the light, and when it turns green and she has the right of way, she crosses the street. She keeps her stick in front of her, tapping it to the left and right. When she gets to the other side, she turns onto the sidewalk and keeps walking. I don’t know where her destination is. I see her almost every day, though, and she is amazing.  She knows exactly where she's going.

Her steps are confident, not hesitant or timid. She doesn’t stumble or make a misstep. She doesn’t miss her left turn or forget to dodge the branches of the tree on the right side of the sidewalk that are a little too low—she goes right around them. If it weren’t for the stick, nobody would realize she had a disability.

I have the blessing of sight, but there are times when I just can’t see my next step. I stumble, hesitate, crash and burn. I envy that lady’s poise and how she can anticipate obstacles in her way and pass them by gracefully.

I aspire to be like the lady at the intersection. And I will be her…… even if it takes me a little longer to get there than I have the patience for.

****************************************************

Later after din-din I will post pictures that aren't related to each other in any way at all, except that they've all been stuck in my camera for quite some time. This is in no way an attempt to boost the pitifully low post count.  ;0

Zing

Looks like someone is getting

to feel right at home now!

Of course he never gets on the bed like this because he knows he's not allowed on the bed.  BUT when I have the camera going, he is more interested in the flash than following the rules.  Because you know good & well, he never gets on the bed with me.  Never.  Such a good boy!  And he may or may have not gained over 1 pound in the 16 days he has been with me.  ;-D