Sabrina? Seriously?

I can't believe Sabrina the Cheetah girl was voted off tonight. I may be in shock. I may have to boycott the show next week. I'm so agitated that Len and Bruno dogged her performance this week.

Bah Humbug.

No Shoes For You!

There is rampant discrimination of wide width feet among shoe stores all over the Midwestern United States.

Or, at least at the outlet mall in Osage Beach Missouri.

Weekend Link

I leave in an hour or so for shopapalooza. I've still got some last minute packing to finish before E3 wakes from her nap, but I'm mostly organized for mobilization, I think.

There are a couple of websites I've been meaning to mention here, so I'll leave you with them for the weekend. You know, yet another reason to cozy up with your computer.

Good Search is a search engine that will make a donation to charity. I have The ALS Association of St. Louis selected for my searches, but there are other worthy organizations and you only have to type your favorite in to see if they participate. They lay on a guilt warning that you should only do legitimate searches or your organization could be eliminated from the program, which means every time I do a search I feel that it's probably not worthy, but that's probably just me. Also, while I've never had problems, Rob says he doesn't always like the search results so keep in mind that your mileage may vary.

My Life List is the blog of author Jill Smolinski. Her most recent book, The Next Thing On My List was a fun read and her blog is a slightly different spin-off of a "Things To Do Before _____" list.

"I recently gave myself an unusual challenge: EVERY DAY I have to do ONE THING that I've never done before...or that scares me...or that just sounds fun."

It's an interesting read-along in a seeing things from a new perspective kind of way.

Finally, while Dooce is certainly no new discovery, when I've been at the computer for a while E3 likes to demand my attention by asking, "Can you show me some Chuck pictures?" I can rarely refuse - she adores Chuck.

Beam

Note teacher jotted on E1's report card today:

"E1 your report card is amazing. Thank you for always trying your best and for your positive attitude in class. Keep up the hard work. :o) Mrs. B"

I can't really ask for more than 'trying your best' - and her report card really IS amazing.

NASA TV

Did you see the space shuttle launch this morning? E3 and I watched it, and she thinks it would be fun to be an astronaut...although, she may be basing that opinion on the Boinga episode of Backyardigans.

Remember back at the beginning of the school year when I said E1's fourth grade teacher admitted to pretending to converse with 'Houston' at the NASA website? Now you can see what the astronauts see by watching NASA TV. Scroll down on the right and click 'watch NASA TV'.

Earlier they were showing satellite images of the California wildfires.

Down Goes Osmond

Did you see Marie Osmond pass out? E1 and I were stunned, like most of the live audience of Dancing With The Stars tonight. I was slightly amused by those in the audience that let out a chuckle - a testament to the silly sense of humor Marie Osmond has shown us this season, I think, assuming they immediately thought she was being overly dramatic about the judge's critique. I realized after she went down that I had been hearing her labored breathing while the judge was talking, but it didn't register at the time. What an odd season this has been.

For the record, Sabrina is my pick to win it. In the past I've never felt that comfortable making a pick this early, but I'm putting my (hypothetical) money on her.

My real money, on the other hand, is going shopping this weekend. I'm stealing away with the women-folk of Rob's family to a condo near an outlet mall. There are 18 of us aunts, cousins, and in-laws; cell numbers have been exchanged and we're smack-talking about the liquor we're bringing. A five-gallon 'whiskey bucket' has been mentioned.

I'll be looking for shoes, and tops, and shoes, and sweaters, and shoes, and maybe some Christmas things. Oh, and maybe some shoes.

My closet is woefully lacking in the shoe department - I've got several pair that I've gotten since having kids (because, of course, the pre-preg shoes never fit again) but almost all of them are the 'these'll do' kind. You know, the kind you get because you need a different pair and you look around and...settle? There will be no settling this weekend, and I look forward to shopping and trying on with no little hanger-ons trying shoes on themselves, and purchasing some well-fitting, sassy zapatos.

Rob has got a busy weekend planned with and/or without the girls, including a soccer team party, cutting firewood, and a sleepover E1 will attend. They will also probably enjoy all the fun things about Mom being gone - like loud music and eating sunflower seeds. All-around fun, I tell ya.

Clay Pigeons

B.Y.O. Ear Muffs

Where's My Cake?

I've been avoiding this post all week because I couldn't decide what was most appropriate to celebrate my 200th post.

I thought about sharing the message in a recent junk mail:

tell is caret trusteeship

so be glut falconer

You don't have to work hard if you have a huge men part

A do congress nonchalant agreement

If I got strange searches that resulted in a click to this site, I could list those as a 'first time' type of thing. I never get anything too wild though - mostly searches on skunks and bee stings.

I could update on my neighbor stalking: Thursday, as E2 and I walked to the Post Office the new-mom next door was out by her car putting on a sweatshirt. I made eye contact and said, "Hi", but that's all my introverted self could manage without blurting, "So are you moving in or what?" I thought that might be rude.

She said, "It got cold!"

I said, "Yes, and so suddenly!"

And then we continued on our ways. There's more moving-in type action over there today.

We are in various stages of illness here, which I can use to blame my lack of posting energy. Last weekend was an all-around Albuterol inhaler weekend for E3, and she's still coughing and snotty. E1, Rob, and I are all stuffy and coughing as well.

E2, if you noted above, stayed home from school on Thursday. As we were leaving my in-laws Wednesday night she began celebrating a festival of bodily fluids. In yet another display of awesomeness, my Father-in-law cleaned up the...mess...while I ran home for clean clothes for her. Once the...mess...was gone my Mother-in-law gave her a bath. Grandma Carol doesn't do well with...messes...such as that and had to remove herself from the scene. Grandpa Bob, now enjoying his retirement, stepped in to take E3 to gymnastics on Thursday so I could hang here with E2.

Tonight Rob and I will be attending his 20th high school reunion. We missed the 15 year reunion because we were out of town at a wedding, and at the 10th I was about halfway through my pregnancy with E1, and so, was piecing things together because I didn't need maternity clothes yet, but not much of what I had fit. It was a bit of a style show for the female classmates, and while I don't feel the need to be all decked out, I don't want to be underdressed tonight. It's at the winery, and if Rob and I were just going out there to hang out for a while, either alone or with friends, I'd wear jeans, ankle boots... Actually, on a night like tonight I'd wear jeans and a shirt and sweater - it's going to be chilly, but we'd still try to sit out by a fire pit. However, it's inside...happy hour with appetizers and then music and I don't know if jeans, a sweater, and boots will cut it or if I should go for something dressier... Regardless of what I decide, I'm putting gloves in my coat pockets in case we wind up outside by a fire pit.

It will be a night of laughs I think, if we don't let our upper respiratory congestion get in the way. In leiu of cake celebrating my 200th post, I'll have to have a glass of wine.

Won't You Be My Neighbor... Even Though I'm Stalking You?

In mid-August, the house across the street from us was sold as part of an auction. The original homeowners had passed away, one as recently as this spring, and the family chose to put the house and much of the 60+ years of contents up for the highest bidders.

We were like the rest of our neighbors - interested in who would purchase the place and hoping it wouldn't be one of the local ill-reputed rental home landlords. We wanted neighbors - not residents who might skip out in the middle of the night after beating the life out of the house, leaving it to look like a dump.

The day of the auction, I tried nonchalantly reading a book on the front porch all 'la di dah, I sit out here every morning'. However, after going back inside to get sunglasses, then back inside for a bottle of water, and THEN back inside for a bottle of Gatorade (it was a hot, sunny day and our house faces East) I had sweat running down my scalp and was feeling light-headed, and it was still two hours before the house was up for bid. I retreated to living room and read the book there while keeping an ear on the proceedings outside.

To give some credence to how hot of a day it was, not long after I returned inside an older gentleman at the auction passed out and an ambulance was called to the scene.

Finally, 12 noon rolled around and a short time later there was a round of applause. By the looks of the congratulations being given, I decided a younger guy had won the auction. Binoculars (yes, I would so stoop to that level) revealed that I didn't know the dude...or his wife/girlfriend, who appeared to be pregnant. AND, before you think I was passing judgement on her appearance - I based that assumption on the fact that she sat in a lawn chair in the shade for the better part of the auction, even when the dude was bidding and won, plus, when they got ready to leave he pulled their car up right to the curb near where she sat and gave her a two-handed help-up. Based on my own experiences with pregnancy - particularly with E2 who was born in Sept - I pegged those activities as pg related.

The birth announcement for their baby boy was in the paper last week.

Apparently there's a 30-day wait or something before closing in the case of estate auctions - at least that's what my hair stylist said. Sure enough, it was mid-September when we began noticing quite a bit of action across the street...lots of family/friend help, the presence of a flooring company for a few days in a row - refinishing hardwood, judging by the machinery and noises, and painting, painting, painting.

I KNOW! How stalker-ish do I sound?

In my defense, my excitement over the possibility of real neighbors and the desire to welcome them properly with say, some cookies and a 12-pack of beer has escalated my interest in determining whether they're moving in or not. Also my couch, which is where I spend the kiddies nap time (laundry, paperwork, text-messaging, reading, dozing off) faces the big ole picture window that looks directly on their house. It's like watching a big movie screen.

Despite all my nosiness, I've been trying to brace myself for the rental property outcome and consoling myself with the thought that at least it's not one of the ill-reputed landlords we know...and still hoping for neighbors.

Friday night, I noticed two things. The paint in the front room, the living room I believe, was a pale green. If it was rental property, wouldn't they paint in neutral colors? This is the same thought I had regarding the apparent re-finishing of hardwood flooring, by the way - would the refinish hardwood for a rental? The second thing? A scarecrow lawn ornament.

PERSONALIZATION! It could be argued that it's there for curb appeal, but I'm choosing to look at it as personalizing their home. Not everyone enjoys a scarecrow in the front yard, you know. I promise I'll refrain from picking up that beer or baking those cookies until I see actual moving-in though.

Stop, Thief!

Albert and Anna were robbed! Wayne should have been eliminated. My one big gripe with Dancing With The Stars is that people vote by popularity and not by quality of dancing.

Yes, yes, Wayne Newton is an American Icon. Fine. But he's a sucky ballroom dancer.

Be With Myself In Center...Clarity...

We had a busy weekend with some late nights and my introverted self is overloaded.

Judging by E1's behavior today she's feeling the same way.

E2 sustained an ankle injury in a strange teeter-totter accident but thankfully, nothing that required an urgent care visit.

E3 clocked her eyebrow on the above water fountain at the park which left blood running down her face but again, thankfully, it's merely a flesh wound.

In the photo, E3 (on the left) and her second cousin were having a grand ole time splashing in the water fountain. Of course, they were soaked before it was all over and so was that poor baby doll dressed like Piglet.