5am BABY!

No, we didn't go shopping at 5am on Black Friday. We went at 6:30 and it was fantastic. My mother, Petra, and unwitting participant Natche and I hit Walmart, Toys R Us, Michaels and Old Navy...and did we make out like BANDITS.

The only disappointment: we didn't get the Vtech Learning Laptop. At $14.99, it apparently sold out at 5:01am. So if you see it on the Internet at a decent price, pop me a note.

I will say to those of you who think I'm completely out of my gourd for shopping on Black Friday at that ungodly hour that it was not as bad as you might expect. Walmart had HUNDREDS of people working the floor and I got my 1GB flash drive (for $14.99, I might add) without delay. And there were still a few 42" plasmas ($988) available when we got there.

Next time I think I'll be better prepared. I'll figure out which "loss leader" I *have to have* (e.g., the laptop) and I'll hit that store first and early. So yes, Al, I plan to be out at 5am next year.

Out of blog message

I realize I should've posted an Out of Blog message but that still doesn't excuse a ten-day absence. So sorry.

I was back at my mom's in Texas for the holiday and I think you all will remember that she STILL HAS DIAL-UP making it virtually IMPOSSIBLE to do anything remotely related to the Internet, writing on the blog included.

But here I am, back at home and it feels great. I promise to be more diligent re: the blog and I'll write a recap of the visit as soon as I can. Thanks for understanding!

Please, please, please

Don't tell my daughter that the after-school snack I'd lovingly prepared for her --a bag of fruity Cheerios--will not be available and is instead satisfying her mother's mid-morning craving.

Have you tried them yet? The fruity Cheerios, I mean. They're fantastic!

I'm such a bad mom.

Am I jealous?

Hell, yes! Right now, Al is down in WEST PALM BEACH where, according to weather.com, it is 80-degrees and sunny.

Oh, and to add insult to injury, she's not just there tanning her ass on the beach. She's HERE getting ready to see THIS.

Truth be told, I'm not jealous, I'm envious. I'm in the cold, raw Northeast and she's at a parking lot in Florida sipping margaritas.

I definitely drew the short stick.

Tee hee!

I just heard a clip in which President Bush used the word, "intrasigence" when discussing Iran's position on their nuclear program.

It. cracked. me. up.

I'm so tired...

This pregnancy is kicking my ass. I'm exhausted ALL of the time. Seriously exhausted. I get home and it's all I can do to get everyone fed (not well, but fed) and settled.
I'm ~14 weeks now. Shouldn't I be feeling better? More energized? Seriously. The third trimester is going to suck, so if this is the best it's going to get, I'm in trouble.

Whew!

Batch 6GE0609 (Easy Tabs) was not part of the acetaminophen recall. No metal shards down the throat for me!

In case you've recently purchased the generic brand of acetaminophen, check out the FDA's site to see if your tabs were affected:

Acetaminophen Recall Batch List

The child who never smiles...

Every spring/fall we have Petra's school pictures taken and invariably, the child REFUSES to smile. We even practiced this year. We begged. We pleaded. And, she agreed to show her pearlies.

But. It. Didn't. Happen.

She's still very cute, but once in a while, I'd like to see a smile.

P.S. Don't you love the cheesy background? I have to say, here, I think it works!

How long can I hold out?

I just finished my 13th week of pregnancy and I'm still in my regular clothes, but I have to wonder how much longer I'll be able to hold out. The waistbands are (for sure) much tighter than they used to be and I find myself (excuse the TMI) picking my pants out of my dupa a lot more these days.

So what do you think? I'm hoping I can hold out until 16 or 17 weeks, but that puts me right around the beginning of December and with the way ( and amount) I've been eating, I'm not sure that's realistic.

I'll take a picture of the bump soon and post it. Just don't be surprised when you see that the weight gain isn't limited to the stomach region. My butt and thighs, I believe, will bear the brunt of this pregnancy. Oh, lucky me.

La la la

Sung to the tune of that annoying little ride at Disneyworld:

"It's a blue world after all,
It's a blue world after all,
It's a blue world after all,
It's a blue, blue world."

I live on the border....

of one state. I mean, literally on the border. Go approx. 1 mile and you're in another state, one in which I lived for years.

Living on the border is great: we benefit from our new state's laws, but in most cases, feel like we never left our former state. ESPECIALLY NOW. Our local news, commercials and programming actually come from our former state. So all of our political ads focus on a race that impacts us to a degree (we both work there) but one in which we CANNOT vote.

So here's my dilemma: I know NOTHING about my new state's politics, primarily because all of the televised debates I've watched have been for the other state's gubernatorial race. So what do I do? Do I vote knowing nothing about the races here? Or do I cram on the Internet and try and learn as much as possible?

Happy Birthday, Biko!

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday, dear Biko,

Happy birthday to you!

Happy 6th birthday, Biko bear!

So why hasn't she blogged about this week's Lost?

...because my friends, I'm still recovering. You kill off my favorite character, you have to expect that I need a bit of time to mourn. How I will miss the (sometimes) machete-, (other times) Jesus stick-wielding guy.

And let's face it: Triple A is a fantastic actor. I mean he certainly beats (hands down with a machete) that clown they have playing Paulo.

So please understand if I'm somewhat blue for the next several days. It's taken everything I have to get to this point. Sayonara, Mr. Eko.

Know that you were loved and will be missed.

That was some burger!

I had *the weirdest* dream last night, brought on, I believe, by the BK BBQ Stacker I inhaled last night...

All I ask: please don't judge.
_________
Setting: Interior, A's house
Mood: Somber

Me: A, I am so sorry to hear that Leo (A's sweet chow-mix dog) passed away.

A (sobbing): I know. I know. It's so tragic.

Me: Just know he's in a better place. He's somewhere, up in heaven, doing cabaret with Liza. All is well.

THE END.
_________
Need I say more? I should go back and ask the drive-through guy what sort of "spices" they put in those burgers.

Trick or Treat

We took Petra trick or treating with a friend of hers and the two little girls had a wonderful time. They received so many "aww, aren't they cute?", and "oh my goodness! Look at the little princess and the jaguar!", it was insane.

Luckily for them, cute costumes on little girls go a loooong way when it comes to scoring candy. Most people let them choose their own pieces or gave them several different candies instead of just one.

Oh, and when did people start handing out FULL-SIZE candy bars? Natche and I are going to have a field day!

You didn't think we were going to let our baby girl rot her teeth, did you?