Still Transitioning

Didn't get much accomplished yesterday regarding Thanksgiving/Christmas decorations. Chris & I basically relaxed on the couch and watched the Alabama game. KJ played at Evvy's most of the afternoon and T was at the game w/ friends. Chris worked at the lax store earlier in the day but closed in time for kick-off. He brought home Roly-Poly sandwiches for lunch and for dinner we ordered a pizza. So healthy.

T came home from the game feeling a little sick (she swears she only had a couple of beers at the fraternity) so we snuggled on the couch last night and watch Lord of the Rings 2. I think #3 is on tonight. She was supposed to have All-star lax practice this afternoon in preparation for their tournament in Atlanta this weekend. I woke her up around 10 AM and she was burning w/ fever. I gave her 2 tylenol and sent her back to bed. She's been laying on the couch most of the day in her jammies and had some soup for lunch. Chris, however, went to her All-star lax practice. He's such a goober. He bought himself a girls stick (very different from a boys stick) so he could get a feel for the game (that just what we need in this house -- more lacrosse equipment). Last night he was on some website and copied down a bunch of plays to teach the girls today.

Today I'm getting a lot done. All the Thanksgiving and Halloween stuff are packed away. I didn't put everything in the attic because Chris will need room to maneuver in there when he gets the tree and the big decorations out. I love setting my table and I love putting all my Santa's out. I also enjoy doing my kitchen. I try to make it look like a candy store and use a lot of candy and food as decorations. I'm also thinking of changing things up a bit this year. We've been in the house 9 years and I feel like every year it looks exactly the same. When Chris gets home later today he & his little partner in crime will do the outside lights and decorations. KJ asked him to stop at Michaels on his way home from practice today and buy her a gingerbread house kit and matching Santa hats for her & T for this year's Christmas picture. I just need him to bring home some milk. And maybe something for dinner.

Party Elves

So it's that time of year again when KJ's Elves come out to party. She technically only has one official Elf but she has some managed to identify every Christmas stuffed animal she owns as an Elf as long as it is wearing a red Santa hat, has a candy cane somewhere on it's body or is holding a present or a piece of holly. She's made beds for them in front of the fireplace and these damn Elves are like bad Gremlins on acid. The other morning the girl Elf was hanging from the living room chandelier. She had her boots on but no jacket. Not sure what happened there. The other morning the penguin was in the freezer. That was the same night we had a fire outside so I'm thinking he couldn't take the heat. This morning the Elves had cheeze-it crumbs and empty ginger ale cans all over the fireplace mantel. Must have been some party.

Nothing like having the phone ring @ 6AM

My dear, goofy, retired parents who have nothing but time on their hands must have hit the mall at the crack of dawn this morning (which is horribly ironic if you know anything about my family -- dad worked in retail for 40+ years and HATED to be anywhere near any type of store on his day off). Still not sure how my mother dragged him to the mall at 5 AM today. Anyway, they called the house around 6 AM (damn those old people and their new fangled cell phones!) wanting to know what kind of digitial camera T wants for Christmas. I let Chris deal with it. I think I would have hung up on my mother.

Today Chris is at the lax store. Oh the joys of owning your own business! All of the kids who work for us went out of town w/ their parents for the holidays therefore the bossman has to cover. It actually works out well -- Chris gets a lot of administrative stuff done when he's up there and, for some weird reason, I think he gets more customers than the boys. I think people see his car, stop in to say hello and end up buying stuff.

Today I plan to take down all the Thanksgiving decorations (yes, there are a lot of them) and start putting out my Christmas stuff. I think T has plans to go to Austin's for lunch this afternoon. Some of his family that couldn't make it for Thanksgiving dinner is coming over today. Not sure what's going on w/ tonight's football game. T really isn't sure if she's supposed to participate in pre-game. I'm starting to get a cold so I'm not sure if I'm going to deal w/ sitting in the bleachers. My eye is watering, my nose/throat are clogged up and I've been sneezing all morning.

Puppy Update: We did not get the Trixie from Talladega. The breeder finally returned my e-mail and said she had gone out of town last weekend and her daughter took a deposit from someone else. A little lack of communication on their part, total lack of doggie on ours.

Gobble, Gobble

Turkey Day is just about over. According to Chris, today's Turkey was one of my top 5. He said it was "ridiculously" good. As a matter of fact, he said the turkey was so good he was going to blog about it. Believe it or not, I didn't even have any. All day cooking and I didn't even have any turkey. I had plenty of mashed potatoes, plenty of stuffing (must be carb-loading) a couple of crescent rolls and I had tons of green beans. It's no secret that I don't like to cook or bake, however, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Thanksgiving. It's the one meal I can really, really "do." I even time everything just right.

T went to Austin's house around noon and met most of his family. She looked so pretty today in a gray sweater dress (that I "forced" her to wear). They came over to our house around 4 just as we were getting ready to eat. Austin said his mom's turkey was a little dry so he wanted to try mine. T didn't eat much (Austin's mom made a turkey AND a ham) but she was a trooper and helped me clean up the dishes and the kitchen. KJ helped peel some of the potatoes for dinner. She begged me to help but then got bored. Today KJ told me she can't wait until she's old enough to have a boyfriend. It was really cute. I think she has a little crush on Austin.

It's a pretty nice night out and Chris and the kids made a fire in the fire pit. Chris is getting VERY aggravated w/ one of our neighbors. Her dog(s) bark all the time. She's not home a lot and the dogs are beginning to get out of control. There have been nights were I can hardly hear the TV. It's really bugging Chris tonight because he's trying to relax w/ the kids on the back deck.

Getting ready for turkey day

Sunday night KJ had Magster and Evster sleep-over. The girls were really really good but made a big mess upstairs. It is now Wednesday and KJ is STILL cleaning up the mess. For some reason they like to try on her clothes and go thru her closet. Not the dress-up stuff but the everyday kind of clothes and they like to put on fashion shows.

I drove the girls home on Monday around 11 AM and had such a bad headache. I finally broke down and called my doctor. He phoned in a migraine prescription for me. I haven't had a chance to pick it up yet, though.

Tuesday I went grocery shopping and in the afternoon I drove T to the Summit to meet w/ friends. We shopped for a bit and then Chris met us up there and we all saw Madadgascar 2. OMG. I laughed my ass off. One of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. The penguins and King Julian had much, much bigger parts in the sequel. Bernie Mac and Alec Baldwin were also really funny. After the movie we went to PF Changs for dinner. Delish! I had 2 Mai Tai's and was feeling pretty groovy!

Today, we're cleaning and baking in preparation for Turkey Day. It's just going to be the 4 of us for dinner (may be 3 depending what time T goes to Austin's, maybe 5 depending on what time they come over here). I think The Levs may join us for drinks and desserts later in the evening.

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving !!!

Just Chillin'

KJ & I are relaxing today. I'm watching the Jets game eating some Smart Food (Jets are up @ the half), she's watching Suite Life of Zack & Cody (which I have to admit is a cute show. I also like iCarly on Nickelodeon). We have absolutely zero plans to leave the house today.

Chris & T are on their way home from Tampa. The BamaLax Girl's Elite Team won the Derek Pieper Memorial Cup earlier today so they'll be driving home as champions! They played 2 games yesterday and T scored in one of the games. Chris said she had an amazing goal in this morning's game and in the championship game she shot but hit the goalie in the foot. So now the Girl's team qualified for the NDP Tournament of Champions in Tampa in January. Chris's boy's team has already qualified so now it looks like the whole family will be going to Tampa. It was a big lacrosse weekend all-around: the Magic City Men's team had a tournament yesterday against teams from all over the southeast and 2 of Chris's All-star players are in Baltimore for the Diamond Showcase (they woke up yesterday to 22 degree weather and snow!).

We're still waiting to hear from the breeder in Talladega regarding the female shih-tzu we want. KJ is totally freakin' out because this lady hasn't returned our call from last night requesting directions. I don't know what KJ is going to do if she doesn't get this puppy.

Hopefully, this will be Trixie!!

I think T & I would like to see Twilight tmorrow. I'm hearing mixed reviews -- some critics are saying it was poorly made w/ cheesy graphics but definately hits it's target audience: 15-year old girls who read the books and their mom's. Um, yep. That's me & T (except she's only 14).

Yard Sale Saturday

Let's see -- where to begin. KJ's girl scout troop spent the night at the McWane Center. Lindsey's mom drove the girls to the McWane Center and the troop spent the night in the lowel level (Worlds of Water or something like that). Instead of the submarine, they called it the "slumberine." Apparently it was very, very cold in the water level and one of the mom's got up in the middle of the night and left w/ her little girl. Lindsey & KJ got home around 8:30 AM and Lindsey stayed and played.

KJ & I are still working on our "puppy fund" and had our big yard sale today (more like I stood out in the freezing cold while she & Lindsey played inside in the nice warm, cozy house). Chris told her he'd give her half ($200) but she had to come up w/ the rest. She cleaned out her piggy bank and had $43 in change. We made a little over $80 at the yard sale. What a waste. I spent so much time yesterday setting up the tables in the garage. I really thought I was going to sell a lot of books. Guess I'll put them on e-Bay. Anyway, the dog lady said she would sell us the shih-tzu we want for $350. Looks like we'll be driving out to Talladega Sunday to pick-up "Trixie!"

Chris & T are having a good time in Tampa. T played 2 games today, won both and T scored in one of the games. Chris said it was a really nice goal. He said although they won the 2nd game, it was an ugly game and not very well played. This afternoon Chris was playing in a coaches game and I think T is supposed to play 2 more games Sunday. They'll probably get home very late Sunday night.

Psycho-Squirrel Update: I think Pyscho Squirrel is dead. Tonight KJ & I were watching TV and heard a loud BANG in our fireplace followed by a little squeal. I swear, it almost sounded human. Like a little pip-squeak kind of noise. Hope the little f**ker broke his neck in the fall.

It's Flippin' Cold Here!

I think today was a high of 44. The sun was shining and the sky was bright but it was pretty darn chilly! When Chris ordered sweats for the lax team he ordered me an extra pair. They are the comfiest sweat pants I have ever worn. I'm so short I always have issues w/ the length. This pair is a little long but not much. They have pockets and instead of elastic on the legs, it's a relaxed fit.

Got a lot done today. Did a lot of de-cluttering and stuff. Getting ready for my big garage sale. Hope the cold doesn't keep the yard salers away.

I think when Chris & T return this weekend we may have a new addition to our family. KJ & I have really worn Chris down on the whole puppy idea and we have the go ahead to get what we want (which is a female shih-tzu we can name Trixie). Boy, Taylor is going to be mad. She really, really, really does not want us to get another dog. I told her I'm going to teach the dog to pee in her shoes.

So I guess my little girl's growing up. She had a book fair at school today. Last night I told her I would come to school today to help her pick out some books. She said, "it's OK mom. I got it." She had $10 in her wallet and said she didn't need help at the book fair. So sad. Guess my book fair days are over.

Some miscellaneous random celebrity news: Pete Wentz & Ashlee Simpson had a baby boy they named Bronx Mowgli. Are you kidding me? Bronx? Mowgli? As in the Jungle Book?

Tonight (or actually Midnight) was the premiere of Twilight. I'd love to go tonight but I promised Taylor we could go one day next week.

Never saw this one coming: Paris Hilton and Benji Madden have broken up. Aaawwww

Obits

Guess I need to start reading the obituaries for our hometown on-line like my friends Julie & Tracy do. Just found out today via Facebook that a boy we went to high school with passed away from an aneurysm. He was 41. His family's been thru a lot -- his older brother was killed in 9/11. From what the obit said, John had a couple of kids and he met his wife in high school but the obit didn't give her maiden name.

Screw the Special K

It has been very well established and discussed at length my lack of morning participation (lay men's terms: I'm not a morning person). My biggest gripe/complaint/pet peeve about the morning is the sound of a spoon clanking against a cereal bowl. It is quite possibly one of the most annoying sounds on the planet. It is my "nails against the chalkboard." This is why every human should eat pop-tarts for breakfast. Other than the crinkly foil wrapper, there's virtually no sound, there's no dishes to wash, they are available in a variety of flavors to meet every one's tastes, you have the choice of heating them up or eating them right out of the package and pop-tarts are completely portable. The perfect food!

Ooops! My bad!

guess I won't be winning any "Mother of the Year" awards. KJ was legit this afternoon...she slept for over 2 hours on the couch and just threw up her dinner. Nothing but fun and games folks.

Daughter #2 is a Pyscho Hose-Bag and Daughter #1 Hoards Hangers

KJ was a cranky, whiny, crying mess when we got home from school today. Holy crap. She was fine in the car when I picked her up from school on the car pool line but the minute the garage door closed she turned into a total nut-job. I asked her to get her backpack out of the backseat which turned into "Oh my God! Why do I have to do everything? I'm tired. I'm hungry. I felt like I was going to vomit ALL day today. My lips are chapped." There are only a handful of steps from the garage/basement to the kitchen so you can just imagine. I made it to the top of the steps first and locked the door behind me. I told her she couldn't come in the house until she calmed her ass down. I'm telling you -- there is a big fat DHR file w/ my name written all over it.

T had to dance tonight during halftime of a high school basketball game. She had on the wrong "game day" shirt (quelle horror!) so she called at 8:45 AM and I had to run the correct shirt to her at the freshment center. I had to go into her room to get the shirt she needed and could not beleive what a mess her room was. She had clothes EVERYWHERE and 6 or 7 half empty bottles of water. I couldn't even tell what was clean or dirty. That's not what aggravated me though. The fact that there were thousands of empty hangers in her closet aggravated me. The other day I was doing laundry and asked both of my lovely daughters if they had any hangers in their closets so I could hang up some shirts. T looked at me, said, "No mommy" and batted her eyelashes at me. She is officially a Hanger Hoarder.

happy anniversary

Today is an anniversary of sorts for Chris & I. 26 years ago today (yes, you read correctly, 26 YEARS AGO!), Chris "asked me out." We were in 10th grade. We had been in a science class together but he was horribly mean to me and even told me one time that "he'd ask me out but I was way too short." I really thought he was an ass. A cute ass but an ass nonetheless. Then, one night we went to a party @ Trout's house (Dave from the football team) and things just clicked. I went to the party w/ my 2 friends named Joanne (Joanne W and Joanne K and my friend Mike) but ended up hanging out w/ Chris all night. Somehow got separated from my friends and had to call my dad to pick us up (no cell phones back then). So, my dad's first impression of his future son-in-law wasn't the greatest -- Chris was sporting an earring at the time and probably smelled like beer.

I have discovered my inner Geek

yes, I am officially a nerd. I've been watching a lot of the History Channel. I especially like shows about the Civil War and Europe (i.e., I really Cities of the Underworld and I've been watching a lot shows on the Dark Ages, the Crusades, etc.). The good thing about watching nerdy shows is that I have the family room to myself. No one else wants to watch TV w/ me.

Somebody Please!!!

Buy me a freakin' puppy already!

Good day

had a nice Saturday so far despite the inconsistent rain.

Katie slept over last night after the Varsity game. They went to a friend's house for a little get-together and came back here. T had the 8:30 AM ballet class and Katie joined her. I picked the girls up at 10:30 AM and took them to TJ Maxx. T has nothing to wear to church except jeans and we also found out this week she has nothing appropriate to wear to a funeral. So, she ended up getting a couple of sweaters and 2 sweater dresses to wear w/ boots. From there we went to the lax store so I could cover for a couple of hours while the boys had All-star practice. Katie & KJ stayed at the store w/ me while T drove to the fields w/ a couple of boys from the store. They had practice from 12 to 2 PM, T's All-star practice started at 1 PM. It was one of those days where we had kids all over town. KJ brought a couple of movies and we watched HSM2. The store got a little busy and I had some nice sales. I'm looking forward to just relaxing tonight. I've got the heat on and I'm going to get snuggly w/ my blankie in a few minutes. Not sure what time the Alabama game in on today but I'm sure it will be on one of our TV's.

whew! I'm scared. Big Time

So yesterday I enrolled in on-line real estate course and I'm a nervous wreck. It's something I've wanted to do for a very, very long time but have put off for various reasons (some valid, some ridiculous). I know the housing market is in the crapper right now but I'm thinking that could be a good thing for me. Not so many people are looking at real estate as a good career move AND current agents may be feeling the pinch and getting out the industry.

So, wish me luck!

T-bone

is home from school today. She's got a bad headache and her stomache's bothering her.

T had her Dance Team photos after school yesterday. They did a group photo wearing their pre-game uniforms and then they took an individual shot for the yearbook in the same outfit. Then the girls chose whatever "spandex" outfit they wanted for their personal photos. T wore her black spandex pants and a long-sleeve shirt.

After the photo session we met Chris at the mall and each of the girls got some shoes. T really wanted a pair of Wallaby's ($105) and KJ bought a pair of Steve Madden furry boots (she's a size 6 already). We had dinner at Johnny Carino's and then had a nice night at home relaxing as a family.

Got a lot of laundry to catch up on today. fun, fun, fun

Hmmm -- what to blog about today?

KJ makes fun of me if I give a run-down of my day (i.e., "Woke up @ 4 AM w/ a headache, etc.). So as of right now, 11:10 AM, I don't have much to blog about.

KJ came home from MK's (the friend formerly known as Magster) sleep-over party, put her pajama's back on and totally vegitated on the couch yesterday afternoon. She feel into a really deep sleep and I had to wake her to get ready for dance. Holy crap. I awakened a beast. She was whiny, cranky, her hair was all wild and she couldn't even stand up straight without falling over. She put on a sweatshirt and we met Chris up at the store rather than take her to dance. We stopped at Zaxby's on our way up to the store and dropped T off at her class. KJ sat on the couch at the store and watched "Elf" to relax. T & Chris totally jump out of bed w/ smiles on their faces every morning. The rest of us in this house need some time to acclimate.

MK & KJ

KJ went to a sleep-over party last night for her friend MK (formerly known as Magster). They went to see High School Musical 3 and then back to MK's for the sleep-over. MK said they fell asleep around 2:30 AM. MK used to be known as Magster but KJ has informed me that she's outgrown that nickname and it is baby-ish. She will now be known as MK. I think my little girl's turning into a "tween."

T-Bone hit T-Town

Last night the BamaLax All-Star Elite girls high school team had a scrimmage against the University of Alabama's women's club team. Alabama only won by one goal in a pretty exciting game. Considering the BamaLax team has a couple of 8th graders and a couple of 9th graders, I'd say they did pretty well against a women's team. It was quite chilly last night and after the game everyone went to Newk's for salads and pizzas.

Yes, Al

despite Penn State's horrible loss this weekend and their subsequent decline in the college football polls, you, on the other hand, have moved up considerably in the cousin rankings. You are ahead of Ben but behind John & Rachel and my cousin's on my dad's side of the family.

It's been almost a week

since Election Day. And to all the people that blog or post on local message boards saying, "Get Over it" I say, "Grow Up." The phrase "Get Over It" is immature and horribly insensitive. You may as well add "na na na na na" on the end of that sentence. And to the all the people that claim they voted intelligently and made a wise decision I say, "good for you." So did I. I voted on the issues most important to me and my family. I'm not a democrat, no one in my family is on government assistance and I didn't vote for Obama just because he's black like so many of his supporters did. We own our home(s) and we are small business owners. My decision was not based on random e-mails, chain letters or YouTube videos. It was based purely on the issues most important to me and my family.

Pay It Forward

Have you ever heard of the concept "Pay it Forward?" Basically, if someone does something nice for you, you turn around and do something nice for someone else (preferrably a stranger).

So today I have to work at the lax store for a couple of hours while Chris and the boys have All-star practice. I had to stop on the way and get gas because Chris didn't fill my tank up when he was done driving my car around the state of Alabama yesterday (I won't go into it here; that's a whole 'nother post for another day). Big joke among my family and friends is that I never have cash on me. If I can't pay w/ my Discover card, it ain't gonna happen. I paid for my gas w/ my card and I had $5 cash on me. I planned to go inside, grab a coke and a snack to eat while I was sitting at the lax store. They had small Smartfood bags for $.99; big bags for $2.99. I grabbed a big bag and a bottle of coke. The old guy behind the counter winks at me and tells me he's gonna give me the "game day discount" because I'm wearing an Alabama t-shirt and an Alabama ball cap. He only charged me $.99 for the big bag of Smartfood. So, I get $2 and a handful of change. As I'm walking to my car this guy walks over to me and starts telling me how he and his girlfriend drove up from Montgomery on their way to Bessemmer and they ran out of gas and have no money (she's sitting in the car w/ a baby on her lap -- no car seat in sight). I hand him the $2 and all the coins I had. I know it's not a lot but truly, it was all the cash I had on me. So, because the old guy gave me a break on my Smartfood, I was able to help someone else out. Therefore, I Paid it Forward. I did my good deed for the day.

Crackberries

Woke up this morning around 5:30 AM (actually, it was 5:33 AM Ben time) w/ a killer headache. I moved to the couch so I wouldn't wake Chris. He got the girls ready and off to school. Took a couple of Excedrin's and went back to bed for a while. Woke up around 9 AM and felt like a million bucks!

Chris & I switched cars today so I could take his car in for an oil change and brakes. Got to the auto department around 10 AM and sat there until almost 3 PM. 5 freakin' hours! Fortunately I had "Breaking Dawn" with me and the time went fairly quickly. I also walked over to the AT&T store and got a new phone. My old phone was starting to poop out on me and turn off every time I ended a call. Sometimes it was even turning off in the middle of a call. Soooo, I bought a new Crackberry and had fun this afternoon playing w/ it. It's very pretty -- silver w/ pink buttons and a pretty pink paisley pattern on the back. After the AT&T store I walked over to Johnny Rockets for lunch and had a BLT on wheat toast and a vanilla shake. I know, I know. I have such a glamorous, exciting life. Can't help it. That's just how I roll.

T had to dress tonight for pre-game at the Varsity game. It's kind of wet, damp and chilly tonight so we decided not to go to the game. We dropped her off and went to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Iguana Grill. I had a grande Mango Margarita and after dinner I enjoyed a Tia Maria on the rocks. mmmmm! delicioso! as my friend Dora the Explorer would say. Unfortunately KJ kept calling me "Alice Alcohol" all night. They learned about the dangers of drugs and alcohol during Red Ribbon week at her school. Wow. Mommy has 2 drinks for the first time in months and I'm suddenly Alice Alcohol. I told her if she didn't be quiet I was going to stop on the way home and pick-up a couple of cigars. She then said she would start calling me Tammy Tobacco. God forbid Chris has a beer. She'll start calling him Daddy the Drunk.

Forgot to post this yesterday ---

I was so caught up in the election results yesterday I forgot to mention this!

You see the craziest crap at the pediatrician's office. As many of you know, KJ suffers from migraines. We had an appointment w/ our pediatrician to discuss treatment options, etc. Well, while we're waiting in the "well child" room, this mom walks in w/ a kid approximately the same age as KJ (9 years old). They sign in and sit down across from us in the waiting room. The mom opens up her purse and hands the kid a Monster energy drink. It was 9:30 in the morning. Of course, KJ sees this, turns to me and says, "Can we stop at Bruno's on the way home and get me a Rock Star??"

Not much to Say today

Slept pretty good last night but I feel like I could sleep a lot more this morning.

T has to dance at the freshman basketball game this afternoon and she has dance at the studio later tonight.

Friday is a varsity football game but I'm not sure if we're gonna make it. T has to be there to for pre-game but I don't think Chris will be home in time for kick-off.

This weekend is the last weekend of Fall Ball lacrosse. Looking forward to having our Sunday's back.

Still putting away Halloween decorations and slowly getting my Thanksgiving stuff out. Love my little pilgrim people.

No. Really. You can keep the "change"

So I guess this is the 2nd time in her life that Michelle Obama is proud of her country. The rest of us are disgusted and contemplating moving out of the country.

The only good thing to come out of this election is that I can look many of my neighbors in the eye and give them a little smile -- McCain won the state of Alabama. We didn't buy into the hype and did the right thing.

I am so ... at a loss for words? I am so ... more than disgusted -- maybe "afraid" is a better word to describe what I'm feeling? Frustrated and disappointed in my fellow Americans perhaps? Did we forget 9/11 so quickly? What do we really know about this man?

If you need me, I'll be hiding under the covers. Call me in '12 when this is all over.

I'm done

I voted. Took all of about 60 seconds. Actually took me longer to drive to the polling station than it did to vote.

Obama Gives McCain the Finger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBMdWxcFXQg
Wow, very classy Obama.
OK. I'll admit I've used the move a couple of times (especially to one of the mom's who accompained us to Europe this past summer). However, I am not running for political office and no one caught me on film doing it (that I'm aware of).

Colin Powell

Earlier this morning I read a blog where someone made a comment about Colin Powell's recent endorsement of Obama. This individual thought that Powell's reasons for endorsing Powell were succinct and very specific which lead her to believe it was not racially motivated. Are you freakin' kidding me? Of course it's racially motivated. Do you really think a black person is going to freely admit they are only voting for Obama because he's black? Nope. They say they're voting for him because he's the most qualified candidate. Oh really??? If a couple of years in the Senate (emphasis on a "couple") and voting "present" qualify you to be leader of the free world, someone please tell me where I can get a gig like that. I could really use the retirement benefits. Voting "present" is like T & KJ attending class but not really participating. When the teacher calls on them to do a math problem on the blackboard, they simply reply "present." Lame, lame, lame. Shame, shame, shame. I feel a major headache coming on.

I hate Mondays. I really, really do.

T got home from ATL safe & sound. A little tired but she had a great time and she showed me a couple of the dances she learned.

As always, this will be a busy week around here. T has all-star lax tonight, the girls dance on Tuesday, nothing planned for Wednesday (yay!), dance Thursday, football Friday.

KJ & I are doing our best to wear Chris down and buy us a puppy. I've been in touch w/ the breeder our friends bought their dog, Lola, from. They've sent some pics of a male and a female shih-tzu they have. I like the male, Chris & KJ like the female. KJ & I have decided that if we get a female dog, we're going to name her Trixie. T is vehemently against the idea of another dog and has made it very clear that she will have nothing to do with it. She told me she helped take care of Buddy, she will not help take care of the next one. I showed her the pics the breeder sent and she said the dogs looked "gross" and looked like "Gremlins." So, KJ & I thought if we got the male dog we'd name him Gizmo after the Gremlins movie. Thanks T!

Boy Shih-Tzu

Girl Shih Tzu

KJ's school is doing a FunRun fundraiser this year instead of the annual Fall Festival. I've been attending Fall Festivals at that school since 1999. Just doesn't seem right not to have one. Anyway, this FunRun sounds interesting. The kids are supposed to run 35 laps. I can tell you right now KJ will be lucky if she can run 35 feet. Our neighbor's daughter participated in this FunRun at our parochial school and my neighbor said they cheat and mark off little itty bitty laps so the kids can get in the full 35 laps and the school gets all their money. This must be the hot new fundraiser -- friends of ours live in Vestavia and their son hit Chris up for a corporate donation from the store.

So tomorrow's the big day. Don't forget to get out there and vote. I think everyone is going to be on pins & needles Tuesday and the TV coverage is going to be ridiculous. I'm going to try my best not to watch CNN or Fox News. It will just give me a headache and upset stomach.

T-bone

A couple pics from one of T's freshman football half-time routines. They kick it old school for the freshman games and wear big baggy black sweat pants, orange tanks and black sneakers but for varsity games they wear fancy black leotards and black jazz shoes.

Talked to T for a little bit last night. She had such a good time yesterday at this dance clinic/competition. She took a jazz class and a ballet class in the morning and in the afternoon she took a tap class and a hip-hop class and said everything was "amazing." She said the tap dance was taught by Nick Drago who won "Step it Up and Dance." We watched the show faithfully and he was one of our favorites. We were happy he won. T said he was so energetic and fun and crazy. The hip-hop class was taught by Benji who won "So You Think You Can Dance." Never saw that show so I don't know much about him but T said he was great, too.

Chris is headed to T-town today to play some lax. Alabama has an alumni game each year (current players vs. Alumni). Let's face it folks, Alabama doesn't really have a lot of alumni that played lacrosse so Chris and a couple other guys from his men's team help them out and play. One of the boys that played for Chris the last 3 years is a freshman @ Alabama and he will be covering Chris today. Conor plays defense, Chris plays offense. We've been trash-talking w/ Conor all week on facebook and this morning KJ told Chris he needs to stop at Children's Hospital and pick-up a wheelchair for Conor. Oh no she didn't!

Happy birthday Pop!

B-day shout outs to my dad. I've been sooo bad lately -- I haven't sent b-day cards to anyone. I buy them and forget to mail them. KJ's on the phone w/ Grammie & Pop as I type. It's always a big joke in our house...the girls ask Grammie & Pop if they dressed up for Halloween and how many trick-or-treaters did they get? (not many considering Grammie & Pop spend their winters in a retirement community).

Nice day planned -- Chris is at lax practice and then he has a couple of lessons to do. KJ is going to Camp Coleman w/ her scout troop today. I think I'll take down the Halloween decorations and start putting out some more Thanksgiving kind of stuff.

T is in ATL for the weekend. A bunch of them from the dance studio drove out last night. T forgot ATL is an hour ahead and called at 7 AM this morning to tell us she's awake and getting ready to head to the dance lessons. She then called a couple of minutes ago and said she had a jazz class and a ballet class and loved them both.

So Halloween was a little weird last night. KJ had a good time but it was strange. I think I had 10-15 trick-or-treaters. The last wave of kids came @ 6:45 PM. Chris also said there were a LOT of houses with nobody home. Our neighborhood seems to go in phases -- when T was little there were TONS of kids and everyone decorated and had a great time. Now those kids are older and we have a bunch of little, little kids in the neighborhood. KJ's somewhere in the middle. There aren't very many kids KJ's age. Thank God she has Evvy. They walked around together and KJ spent the night at her house. Somewhere along the way KJ also lost a tooth. KJ looses teeth like crazy. I can't imagine she has many baby teeth left.