Happy Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I like the way the neighborhood comes out together, it is a night of neighborly love. I have high hopes for meeting neighbors and having a lot of fun. I am busy working on getting Lily worn out enough to take a nap today. She really doesn't do naps well anymore, but then she has grouchy evenings. Hopefully a very busy active day will wear her down enough to take an afternoon nap and then be extra perky for a night of fun.

New Pants

The weather here has been on the chilly side this past week. We have had to unpack our long pants. Turns out that Lily grew quite a bit in the 7 months we have been here. Like about a foot. Her pants are up to her knees. I hadn't noticed. Wish we could wear shorts all year long, save money.

hair

hair
Originally uploaded by marshamlow

Thanks for the nice comments about our hair. Funny story: Often people ask us, where did Lily get her hair color? Looking at Jeff's dark brown hair and my dark blond/light brown hair and Lily's white blond hair. Jeff always answers politely with information about our genealogy and I always have a smart remark. I usually say, "the milk man." I think this is a little embarrassing to Jeff, but isn't it sort of an implication of my infidelity to ask such a question in the first place? I always think rude question, rude answer.

PS, Angel- I have to blow dry my hair too. Or it looks horrid, see slide show of fall muster below. Not so much to straighten but to add a bit of volumn.

The Why Girl

Here are some recent shots of the girl who asks, why? Why can't I play in the street? Why can't we take the dog to the store? Why is it Saturday? Why, why, why - all day long. And one of my new haircut. Have a good weekend.

Fall Muster

Over this past weekend we went to our first Fall Muster. The paper said it was between 9AM and 5:30PM. It worked out best for us to go first thing in the morning, and at 8AM we were all buckled into our car and driving down the road. We arrived right at 9AM ready to see a Civil War re-enactment. We were excited to see things get blown up. We had read that they had added several cannons to the battle.

However, we were soon to discover that the battle did not occur from 9-5. In fact there was nothing going on at 9AM. No food being sold, no battles being fought...

It turns out that during the Fall Muster, a bunch of people (more than 100) get together. They dress in Civil War period costumes. Men, women, and children; they all spend the weekend out at the re-enactment site. They spend the night, they re-enact a weekend in the life of the soliders who fought in the civil war. It is not just the battles. They slept under white canvas tents, they were cooking breakfast over an open fire. All of them slept out in the fields, in the camp that was designed to be as close as possible to a camp during the civil war.

At 9AM when we arrived they were just getting up and rustling up some breakfast. Soon there was a morning church service, then a commander's call, then some practise exercises and later, at around 2PM the battle would occur. We had a bit of fun wandering around the campsites. Everyone pretty much ignored us. We were the only people there, not participating in the Muster. We saw a couple of people talking on cell phones.

We wandered over to the battle field and took a close up look at the cannons. Lily had a blast running in the open field. All that open space and she was in heaven. They told us other folks don't normally show up until noon. I guess this is a lesson learned, in Mississippi, even if an event starts at 9AM never show up until noon. OK, now I understand.

Thursday Thirteen # 11

I have been trying to lose weight for 20 years, every year I seem to gain about 5 lbs over the course of the year instead of losing. Except this last year, I remained the same, and the year before I lost 15 lbs. I have tried many different diets (only free ones). Read many diet books (from the library). I feel like I should be a weight loss expert by now, except for the fact that I still need to lose weight. Here are some of the things I have learned...

1. If I remove treats from my day to day life, I need to replace them with some other type of reward or I feel punished. Books, magazines, shopping, calling a friend, I have tried a lot of things, but it is hard to find something to replace afternoon cookies.
   
   
2. If I give up sugar, flour, potato, and white rice for two weeks - I no longer have any hunger pains or cravings, ever. But those two weeks - require a padded room.
   
   
3. I hate breakfast, gagging it down sucks, all the skinny people I know in my real life do not eat breakfast.
   
   
4. I have to exercise every single day at the exact same time or I get off track and skip it.
   
   
5. If I go to the diabetic section of the store and buy a lot of sugar-free crap, it helps me get through those first two weeks of giving up sugar.
   
   
6. I think I am resistant to change. I find it really hard to give up sugar and white stuff and start exercising all at once.
   
   
7. I do a two week: before the diet actually starts period, where I get off the sugar and white stuff and I start to exercise. Except since I am not technically dieting yet, I eat sugar-free pies and brownies and I don't exercise-exercise I do low impact low effort-just get in the habit type exercise. It gets me in the mood.
   
   
8. Do you skinny people really eat breakfast?
   
   
9. Can you tell I am about to go on a diet? How fun is that?
   
   
10. Do you have any recommendations?
    
    
11. Do you have any tips for something to "treat myself" instead of afternoon cookies?
    
    
12. I am making meat loaf and mashed potatoes for dinner, you know last meal and all. MMM.
    
    
13. Do you think walking around the mall for thirty minutes counts as exercise?
    

Happy TT. To find more lovely lists of Thursday Thirteens visit:
The Thursday Thirteen website
Technorati Thursday Thirteen tag.

One Sweet Treat to Read

Lynn from A Tired Mama has given me this awesome award. It is so cute. I can't wait to pass it on. This award was created by the obviously creative and talented Trista from the blog The Pumpkin Patch, she wants all of us to pass this award on to our favorite readers. All of my readers hold a special place in my heart, I have decided to pass this award on to the following people because of how much they have given to me and in hopes of brightening their day.

Mrs. Grumpy: AKA Laura is my newest blogging buddy. Laura's writing is phenomenal and everyday she helps me to realize what is important in my life and where my focus should be. Laura recently and unexpectedly lost her beloved husband Leonard and she is sharing herself so completely as she bravely faces one challenge after another. Laura is simply the kindest and bravest person there is. She doesn't quite know that about herself but all her readers, we know it. For Laura, when you next see your husband, remember how much you love him. Today won't be the last day you see him, but if it were, you wouldn't be too tired or busy, you wouldn't have something else on your mind. Today, look in his eyes and make sure he realizes how much you love that he is your husband. And go read, I Promise Not to Laugh During the Seance.

Next up is Lorelei: who has two blogs and I never know which one to read or to link, today it is: MVP Support. Lorelei and I have so much in common, we are both students at UMUC, although she recently finished her degree and joined the working world. I was amazed by how fast she got a great job, then wham they laid her off. How awful is that, first you have your dream job and then it is gone. Lorelei is a gifted writer and a sweetheart. I appreciate that she stops by and leaves me comments everyday rain or shine.

And then there was Angel. Angel is going to be mad at me for not putting her first on the list. Angel likes to give me a hard time because she is actually a real life friend. I love Angel for a million reasons but the thing that stands out in my mind is that Angel is the type of person who doesn't settle for second best. She wants her life to be the best it can possibly be and she will not be happy until ... We recently read the book Flirting with Forty and had a discussion about women and happiness. Angel was the only one who said, that she is NOT happy. I love her honesty with herself and with us.

Kim has taught me a great deal about how to get the most out of life. Because I was really poor and really resentful of how hard I worked as a single mom and how wasteful all my married, earning more, working less, co-workers were with their money, I became hateful toward people who spend money on materialistic things. We all have friends and family members who take the spending thing too far, but I project that toward anyone who has anything. Starving kids and all. Kim is the kindest person, and she has taught me that it is ok, to take care of yourself and your home. You can within reason make your home a lovely beautiful place that makes you proud and happy without being an evil person. The people in our lives can help us grow and learn another perspective and knowing Kim has taught me that spending money is not evil. Except if you have kids, a new car and no health insurance-then you are wrong.

I hope that those of you reading this will take the time to go stop by and say hi to my friends up above and feel free to take this adorable award and pass it on to some of your readers. I am trying to spread the love with these awards, I have another one to give out tomorrow. Except all this linking and such takes freaking forever.

sticky fingers

Lily and I have just been so busy lately. Nothing really exciting to say about it all. We go here and there, we have fun everywhere. She has been spectacularly well behaved lately. Except when she is over tired or hungry. Other than the WHY phase we are going through, she is going through the make-believe phase. The make-believe phase is my favorite! We play school, house, have tea parties, take trips to the moon, it is so much more fun than doing puzzles and building things with blocks.

In order to keep peace and harmony in our home, Lily and I play together everyday for a couple of hours in the morning. She usually picks what we do, except that I buy a lot of educational crap and try to convince her that doing those things would be so much fun. Like, workbooks, I call them game books and we go through our game books learning our numbers and letters. That is what I mean when I say Lily is obsessed with something, I mean that everyday for ages she will choose to do the same exact thing during our play time. For a year it was puzzles. Before that it was blocks. For a couple of months it was counting. Then it was the workbooks. Now it is make believe. Sometimes I can convince her to do a workbook, but mostly it is tea parties and school. I am the student. Along with all the babies. I just wanted to clear that up.

After our morning play time, Lily and I go out and about. For awhile I was not doing that so much because of the heat. And because it turns out I was anemic. Now I am taking iron, I feel great and we are back to our schedule and amazingly Lily's behavior has improved. Who would have thunk it. Yesterday we went to the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, a local children's museum. Only this place is set up precisely for Miss Lily. It has a huge yard, with tree houses and play houses and a train. And then inside. It is an enormous two story building filled with rooms of make believe. There is a pretend grocery store, with isles, and shelves filled with food, with a cash register, etc. Then there is the pretend hotel, where you can put on a hat and gloves, and jewelry and sit down to a fancy tea. There are also cakes and cookies. There are dozens of rooms filled with all kinds of fun make believe. We have so much fun there. Except yesterday. We were the only ones there. She ran me ragged for two hours, my muscles are screaming today. Up and down the stairs, sit down, stand up, go, go, go. I think they should sell it as the mommy boot camp. I had never seen such a happy little girl.

On the way home we went through the McDonald's drive thru and I got Lily her first ice cream cone, which she ate in the backseat of the car. She did really well. We were giggling as I drove home and she dripped ice cream down her hands. I don't imagine this was a terribly interesting story, but it is all I have for now. I am busy writing code and having tea parties. Lily's new room is a good size, I am thinking of making her a little tea party corner.

Oh and this weekend we are going to the fall muster. Which is a civil war reenactment. My first, I am very excited. The Yankees are coming, the Yankees are coming!!!!

Why I'll Never Be a RockStar

We were having a terribly busy but fun day. I had been running around since 7AM. Right after putting the chicken in the oven I remember a few things I really needed at the store, I left Mandy in charge of the oven and Lily and I buzzed up to the store for a quick pick up. Just as I pulled into the parking lot a really great song came on the radio. As I turned off the car, in the middle of the song, I had an overwhelming desire to finish the song. I hummed it softly under my breath. But, the diva in me took over and I began to really belt out a couple of lines. I put my all into the song, I sang with feeling, with flavor. I really love to sing. I was really having a good day. Very busy, but things were going well, I was getting things done, no snags. The song just errupted out of me like a volcano.

Lily: Mom, what are you doing?

Me: Singing.

Lily: Can you stop it, please.

The thing is that I love to sing. I sing along with the radio. I sing that song in my head. I sing loudly, I sing it with feeling. But, I sing very badly. My whole life I have been singing badly, but having kids, who are always asking me to stop, has taught me that I really do sing quite badly. I have two cute little Simon Cowells living with me. Isn't that lovely? I guess it is better than trying out for American Idol only to be humiliated in front of the entire country. According to my kids I would be featured in the worst portion.

What Kind of Reader Are You?

I got this one from Katya:

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Dedicated Reader
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Get Over It

This morning Mandy sent me a text message from school. It seems that she forgot to bring the receipt showing she had paid to take the PSAT test and they would not allow her to take the test without the receipt. I called her to ask if I could bring her the receipt or if it was too late. It was too late. She was beside herself, ready to cry. I actually cried, but I waited until we were done talking. She had paid for this test with her own money, money that she had worked very hard to earn. She is also not such a hot test taker and she has been working very hard at practicing for this test, and she really understands how important taking this test is in regard to her college future. She was just devastated.

At that moment I didn't really think it was necessary for me to get mad at her or tell her all the things she already knew. I thought it was important to tell her: there is nothing more she can do about it, she needs to let it go, she needs to get over it. We will figure out something to do about the test. Buy a book, find something online, maybe there will be another opportunity to take the PSAT. We will find a solution it is not the end of the world. We all make mistakes. I hope I was able to help her to start feeling better, she was pretty upset.

Later I got to thinking about it. I was thinking that this was probably a really good life lesson. I know that is mean and insensitive to her feelings. In a way, I was thinking that all those tests in school are really not all that efficient at preparing us for the rest of our lives. I am a really good test taker, but that doesn't really help me get a job or be successful. Didn't really help me get a job, earn money, or be happy.

I have been noticing lately, that a lot of the people who are my age, my friends and Jeff's co-workers have achieved success in their lives by this point. Jeff for instance is very successful. I have noticed that the people who seem have a lot of career success don't seem to be the same people who did really well in school and did really well on those tests. Seems that they have other skills either instead of in addition to the ability to pick the right answer in a multiple choice environment. Like the ability to fail. Have you ever noticed that some people when they mess up they just crawl under the covers and hide from the world unable to face the world for having made a mistake. And other people, just get over it. I think that the ability to get over it is a real key to success and to happiness. One of the things I really am hoping and working toward preparing my girls for in their lives.

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UPDATE: Mandy called me later to tell me that she had taken the test after all. It seems that when she called to tell me that she was not able to take the test, this meant that she had noticed that she had forgotten the receipt and she had concluded they would not allow her to take the test. So, she went to her first period class instead of reporting to the testing area.

The testing people noticed she had paid for the test and was not present so they paged her over the intercom to come to the testing area and take the test. Then, they waited for her to get her butt to the testing area before they started the test.

An Award for the Spirit of Christmasz

The dear and sweet Lynn from A Tired Mama has given me An Award For The Spirit of Christmas and I am passing this award on to: Shelia, Marion, Luckzmom, Katya, and Natalie. Who have all been very kind to me.

To pick up your award go to Santa's Community Blog: The Spirit of Christmas Award

The award is given to bloggers who have the spirit of Christmas, that is to say that they show kindness toward others. If you know of a blogger who has this type of spirit, why not stop on by Santa's blog and pick up this award and pass it on to one of your blogging buddies.