I want me some pumpkin!

It's a TRAVESTY. Pure and simple.

My local Star-coffeeplace no longer has pumpkin scones. OR pumpkin loafs.

WHAT THE HELL?!?! ARGH!

Who came up with that grand idea?

A marble loaf is not going to cut it. Never.

Strike. Strike. Strike! **

Oh. I guess not. I still need to get my Cinnamon Dolce Latte...



**As a sidenote...Did anyone watch Grey's Anatomy on Sunday?

But it's just water, right?

I need some HELP people!

I've just been informed that Valentine's Day is two weeks away. TWO. WEEKS!

Have you got a gift lined up for your special sweetheart?

I got something in mind for MY husband. You wanna know what?

A PRESSURE WASHER!


He-he-he-he! [snort-snort]


No. Seriously. That's what I'm buying for him.

In the land of the desert we've got LOTS of dirt. It's everywhere. So we need that thing in the baddest way. We need to clean off the back patio. We need to clean off the front walkway. We need to clean out our trash cans! It'll be easy to clean off our cars too.

As you can plainly understand...it's a gift that'll benefit us all.

The only problem is that I have no idea what kind will be sufficient for our needs.

SO.....I ask you my internet friends. Which one do you recommend. What manufacturer. What model. What PSI. What horsepower.

HELP ME please!

It's a happy baby dance...

Oh no...not for ME!

Did I scare you all?

Ha! One of my good friends (GF) from when the Princess was a baby is pregnant.

It took GF a long time to get pregnant with her son. Her son who is 4 days younger than the Princess.

We weren't sure if she'd ever had another baby because she had such an awful birth experience (which is a story for another day).

It was weird when I got pregnant with the Bear when the Princess was 18 months old. Turned out that our other good friend (GF2) was also pregnant. GF2 had a daughter who was 1 month older than GF's son and the Princess.

So GF2 and I were pregnant at the same time. AND we were due within 2 weeks of each other. GF was out of the loop on this one. GF was ecstatic for us though.

Turns out this pregnancy is a bit of a surprise. You see, GF turned 40 last year. So she didn't think she'd ever have another child. And they weren't trying for another either. So wham-bam...she's pregnant!

And she just found out that she's having a girl. FABULOUS!

I am so happy for GF and her husband. They are terrific parents to their son. Generous. Good hearted. I can't wait until JUNE!

Reading away...

It is such a joy to have an option nowadays at bedtime.

I have always read one book to the Princess after her bath.

Since November she's had a few options. She can have ME read her an entire book. She can read an entire book TO me. Or I can read a portion and she can read a portion (usually I take one set of pages and she'll take the next set).

It's so fun listening to her sound words out. Listening to her reading skills develop. Hearing the inflection in her voice when she realizes there's a question mark at the end of a sentence. She'll go back a couple words and read it so that it sounds like a question. And when there's exclamation point? She'll do the same.

I only need to help her every now and then when there'a word that goes against all the rules she's learned so far. You know how the English language is. She realizes that "PH" makes the "Ffff" sound instead of "pu-huh". She now knows that when she sees "KN" at the beginning of a word that the "K" is silent. Deciding what sound a vowel will make in a word still stumps her at times. And flowing the letters together needs a little more work.

But she is working at it. A LOT! And it's amazing sitting next to hear and just hearing her try and triumph over the words.

It's a small world

We hear this comment a lot.

"It's a small world..."

I mean, EARTH is a huge planet. It is. There are so many places to live. So many places to visit.

All the gadgets and gizmos that people have in their backpacks, their purses, and attached to their arms and waists. Amazing!

But what really gets me is when you see someone you know. In a place you would never have suspected.

We've all been there. The days when we are a total mess. You parents know what I'm talking about. When you've just thrown on whatever outfit is handy (and hopefully clean) and you've barely had time to brush your teeth. You're out with your kids to do a quick errand when BAM! You see someone you haven't seen in ages. And you look like crap. Yup! The only thing to do is put a huge smile on your face and greet them. Right?

Okay...that is NOT the kind of thing I'm really referring to when I say "It's a small world...."

What I'm talking about is when you are someplace away from home and you unexpectedly run into a friend.

Now where is the most unique place that YOU have met a friend?

For me, I had just graduated from college. My folks bought me the BEST graduation gift ever. It was a 3 week trip to Europe. It was one of those for ages 30 and under. One of those not so glamorous but OH-SO-FUN quick trips through Western Europe.

I went with my good friend who had also just graduated. She and I had never traveled together so that in itself was an adventure. But that's for another entry at some other time.

We'd been on the trip for about a week. We'd left London. We'd seen Paris - The Louvre the Eiffel Tower. We'd been to the South of France. And we were in Rome.

After dinner that first night (around 8pm), the entire tour took a walk through the neighborhood our restaurant was located. It was a clear night around. Not a cloud in the sky. Cobblestone walkways between these old buildings. It was a picture postcard of what you would think old Italy would look like when the walkway opened up into an amazing square. It was an open area where a bunch of walkways ended up. It had a beautiful fountain in the middle. And it wasn't little. It was half the size of a football field.

What was even more interesting was that it was a weeknight and there were people gathered in this square. There was a group playing music. People walking about talking and laughing. It was so relaxing. Then...

"Delta Sig!" **

[pause-pause] What did I just hear? Did I hear what I think I just heard?

"Hey you! Delta Sig!"

I turned to the voice and it was a business fraternity friend of mine. And it was not just some fraternity friend. It was one of the most fantastically amazingly handsome guys in the fraternity. Think California golden haired surfer boy. All the gals around me were a-twitter as he and a couple of his buddies came over to me.

"What are YOU doing here?"

"No...what are YOU doing here?"

"I'm on a 3-week tour of Europe. How about you?"

"Oh yeah. We just got here (Rome) yesterday. We'll be headed back home next week"

"How long you been here?"

"Oh, we've been backpacking for about 4 weeks now."

Okay folks. You amazed? My friend had been backpacking through Europe for a month. And I had just got over there for a week. And we BOTH were in Rome. In this SQUARE. At 8pm at night. At the SAME TIME!

Now how much of a coincidence is that?

Come on...tell me...give me your story!

I'm SO important...yeah...right...

We've all witnessed it.

THOSE people.

You know the ones. The ones who walk through life thinking they are just SO important.

The ones who cut you off on the road.

The ones who turn right at an intersection when there are 3 signs saying "NO TURN ON RED".

Today, I came across one of THOSE.

I walked into the local taco shop for a breakfast burrito. There were 3 guys laughing and eating. Obviously, some construction guys taking a few minutes for breakfast and starting out their day. Then there was a gal sitting in a booth alone. With her back to the counter. Talking on her phone. Talking really LOUD.

I went up to the counter and smiled at the lady behind the counter.

"May I please have a #1 breakfast burrito to go?"

I paid and I sat on the side facing the counter.

I sat there quietly in a small booth.

A minute later.

[garble-garble]

The lady behind the counter had said something. My ears perked up because no one had moved.

"Number 1 breakfast burrito!"

I grabbed my purse. I walked over to the front of the counter and smiled with a puzzled expression on my face.

"Is that mine? or hers?" as I glanced to the other gal in the shop.

The lady smiled at me. She looked over at the other gal who was still talking on the phone. She picked up the bag and handed it to me.

"This one is YOURS."

I quickly walked out of the shop. The other gal in the shop? She was STILL talking on the phone. I don't even think she realized that I had walked off with the burrito that was supposed to be hers....

Girls only

My husband and my son are gone.

Not gone. Gone.

They drove up to see my ILs. Actually, to help them MOVE. Remember?

Anyhow, they left around 4pm. And it's been SO nice.

The Princess and I went to Tar-jay and meandered through the store for 45 minutes. We got lipstick for me. Contact paper for an art project. And an insulated water container for her lunch. That's it! 45 minutes! Oh yeah....I forgot that darn banana-nut loaf from the indoor Starbucks.

We got home and neither of us was hungry. So...only the art projects at hand. She helped me cut up paper and photos. Then she helped me cut around the protected pieces of paper & photos after I put them all between sheets of contact paper. Who needs those fancy laminating machines? Contact paper works just as well.

We ended up eating a not-so-healthy dinner. Mini corn dogs. At 7:15pm. Uh...normally we would already be upstairs getting prepped for bathtime. He-he-he....

But she is now safely snoozing (read that as snoring) upstairs.

And me? I was able to get some work done. AND now I'm able to surf the net without anyone bothering me!

It is so nice when it's just the girls!!!!

Pipa Girl

Did anyone watch Regis & Kelly the other morning when they had that actor ".....Hughley" on for the 2nd day?

I just about snorted my coffee up into my nose during the banter they do first thing.

Kelly Pipa (as Regis calls) her put her hip talk into action.

She said "Homey" and "Damn" and some other slang word within a minute.

Even the actor "....Hughley" noted her street talk.

Kelly was a giggling fool and "....Hughley" was the dead-pan comeback.

It was TOO funny.