It Was a Lovely Evening

Happy Halloween!!!!

The Ladies' Granny(my ex MIL) had a mastectomy about 6 weeks ago, so they haven't been up to spend the weekend with their dad in a bout 2 months. I knew that seeing the Ladies in their costumes would really perk her up, but I wasn't really willing to not have Halloween with them, so I did the ultimate sacrifice and am spending the weekend with my ex.

This afternoon we carved pumpkins, and here's how they turned out:

And here they are out on the porch tonight:
As usual, the Ladies' costumes were hand sewn by my step-mom. She does such an amazing job. Thank you Gramma!!! Gert was Cinderella, and Essie was Dorothy. I have to say they were both rockin it BIG TIME!!! We went to a lot of "Trunk or Treats" at some churches, and then around the neighborhood their dad lives in.

Here they are together:



Gert as Cinderella:

And Essie as Dorothy (Gramma even included a basket and a Toto dog with her costume!)

All in all it was a lovely evening. They are both running around in a sugar-induced coma, heaven help me. It seems it would be better to eat the candy first and THEN to Trick or Treating!

I hope you all had a lovely, safe, fun Halloween!!! Don't forget to turn your clocks tonight!!!

MISSING

So last night I was pondering my next blog post. See - I'm trying to get back into the swing of it! I thought about either recapping So You Think You Can Dance or telling you about my new job. But I really wanted to draw pictures for both of those. Cause it's been a LONG time since I sharpied, and I DO love doing it. (Are you new to my blog? If you are and are lost about the sharpies - check this out... and this)

So I set out to find my sharpies.

I went to the marker box in my closet, pulled it down and opened it up. Hmmm... no sharpies.

I checked the unpacked box by the computer. No sharpies.

Kitchen drawer? No.

Ummm... bedroom closet??? No....

Have I mentioned we live in a REALLY small apartment? Well... we do... and the above listed search places pretty much totals a complete home investigation.

I sat down on my couch... thinking thinking thinking....

(crickets chirp)

It would seem that in The Great Move of 09, my sharpies have been.....

Misplaced.

Lost.

Kidnapped.

Okay... I don't have proof of the last one, but it doesn't SEEM that far out of reach.

So now I must replace the sharpies... there are too many exciting things coming up that MUST be captured in sharpie. (Right EE ladies??????)

So the question is... do I buy the pack?

Or... do I go to the alter?

(My heart is starting to flutter just LOOKING at that picture)(Does Office Depot have a wedding registry??? Cause if they do, when the time comes, I'm going for one of everything)

Who Does He Remind You Of?

Yesterday, my dear, sweet friend Angie posted her regular Monday Morning Eye Candy, and one of the gentlemen she featured was Madison from the show Million Dollar Listing. (Are you watching this show? I am... I have to admit. I love houses and in my next life I would LOVE to be a Real Estate Agent) It's about 3 young (and COCKY) real estate agents in LA. Oh my GOSH do they have EGOS!!!! But it's fun to watch them try to navigate the world of real estate, especially in the major downturn of the housing market (like they're having to slum it by listing houses that are "only" one or two million dollars).

Now, probably the most egotistical of the 3 is Chad Rogers. Constantly fixing his hair... they've shown his bathroom at home and he has more beauty products than ANY woman I've ever known. Here's a shot of Chad:

The first time I watched the show I just sat thinking WHERE have I seen him before??? He looks SO familiar.... then it hit me:

He's Albert Ingalls long lost son.

Ladies Day

If any of you follow my Facebook, you know that my beautiful Essie became a WOMAN this week. Her body has been showing signs of it coming for AGES now, so I was prepared. And given Essie's... um... dramatic nature, I was ready for the torrent of anger and emotion that would come with this unwelcome visitor (like as she's developed breasts - she hates them and plans to have them removed when she moves out of the house... wanna take bets on her changing her mind?) SO... as she told me that she'd gotten her period, she was so calm and matter of fact about it! No drama, no nothing. Totally, typical Essie. She's freaks about the stuff I DON'T expect freaking over... and she's totally cool with the stuff I think will bring on the drama.

Mr. B suggested that perhaps Essie and I should have a bit of a "Welcome to Womanhood" day to celebrate. The lovely Kat agreed to watch Gert for a few hours, and Essie and I made plans. I suggested pedicures, or hairdos, (clothes shopping was out - Essie HATES shopping for clothes)... she didn't care for any of those ideas. Then I suggested we go to the top of Stone Mountain -something she's been wanting to do for ages. While not exactly along the vein I had in mind, it was her day, so away we went.

As we were driving towards Stone Mountain, I was watching for the trams, just to point out and say "Look Essie - that's where we'll be a in a little bit"... but I wasn't seeing them. I thought perhaps I was just not looking at the right times. Pulling up to the tram entrance, we see the sign... "The Sky Lift is Closed Today".

Crap.

There were tears. We tried to think of plan B... Big Target... Ikea... Haircuts...... then I hit on it - World of Coca Cola!!!! My trusty cheap, no frills phone managed to give me directions to the place. We found it and headed in.

After checking out these cool bottles, we were let into this REAL cool area with all this neat Coke memorabilia. It was the last place we could take pictures, so I snapped a couple. I DIDN'T get one of the thing I REALLY wanted - a Norman Rockwell original painting!!!! Have I ever expressed my love for Norman?

I LOVED all the retro stuff!!!!

This is where I vent for a moment. They said at least 5 different times that this was the LAST place you can take pictures until the tasting room. And as we're walking through all these exhibits there are people snapping pictures left and right. The same thing happens at The Biltmore. Ok... I understand that it seems silly, and that in general they don't want you to take pictures because of copyrights and wanting to sell you pictures for WAY MORE in the gift shop. Yeah, that sucks. But it still just annoys me that people feel it's okay to just go ahead then and take pictures. Ok... rant off.

So our favorite area by FAR was the tasting room. They have drinks from all over the world. Our favorites were from Asia and Africa - lots of different fun flavored Fantas. Our least favorite was Beverly from Italy. Essie said it tasted like barf.

But by far, our VERY favorite was good old CocaCola from the U S of A. Here's Essie happy to try a sample
And hamming it up for the camera... in Coke Camo.

And a little proof we were there!

It's New Job Eve....

my brain is churning tonight.... there's a million thoughts, probably only 1/5 of which relate to starting a new job tomorrow. There's friend issues, and relationship issues and money issues (swear to you this first pay check can't come fast enough), kid issues, ex issues.

But tomorrow I start a new job. In a new town. I don't know anyone there, and other than the 30 minutes I spent with my new boss when she interviewed me, they don't know me. I have the opportunity tomorrow to reinvent myself. I could be witty, or quiet, or demure (HA HA - yeah - neither of those 2 would last more than about an hour)... I could be a die-hard fan for a sports team I've never cared about... i could like NASCAR... I could be a quilter in the making. It's kinda weird, isn't it? I'm not even sure what to CALL myself tomorrow. Right now they call me Elizabeth. But half the people I know around these parts call me Lizzy. But Mr. B and my family call me Beth. Which one am I?

I've always been a pretty open book. Should I still be?

Are there things about me that I want to change? Is now a good time to do it?

I tend to be someone who goes out of their way to make people happy. Sometimes to my own detriment. Should I keep doing that?

Sometimes I keep things in so I don't hurt other people's feelings, but in doing so hurt them, and me, more. Should I stop doing that?

Sometimes I let the stress of what's going on in my life affect what kind of mom I am. yeah... that just needs to stop. Period.

Sometimes I get REALLY jealous of people.

Sometimes I think really bad thoughts.

Sometimes I get angry.

Sometimes I really want to eat a whole pizza. Sometimes I do it.

Sometimes I wonder why anyone would want to be a part of my life.

Sometimes I wonder why someone wouldn't want to be a part of my life.

Sometimes I think maybe I should just move to Australia.

Sometimes I get nervous thinking about tomorrow.

Sometimes I get really excited thinking about tomorrow.

I'm excited to meet new people. I'm excited to hear their stories about their lives and get to know them better. I'm excited to work in a really nice building.

I'm scared about how to pay for daycare.

I'm scared that my daughter is flunking classes.

I happy that my other daughter's teacher can't say enough good things about her.

I feel bad that my girls would compare themselves to each other.

I wish people would do what they say they're going to do.

I wish I was more patient.

I wish I had funny stuff to blog about again.

I wish I could afford to go out to lunch every day.

I hope people know I'm not a complainer.

I hope people know that I'm so appreciative to have this job, and that I'm BEYOND appreciate for the things they have done for me.

I hope people like me tomorrow.

I feel like I'm starting middle school tomorrow.

I need a new notebook or something.

This stream of consciousness blog has been brought to you by the letter B, the letter L and the number 5.

Happy TO YOU!!!!

Roses are Red

Little girls are Twirly

It's a wonderful day

For a wonderful Girlie

Roses are Red

Big is my Butt

Some of you know her

As the mom of the Nuts

Roses are Red

Boom goes a Cannon

Happy Birthday to my

Dear sweet Wonderful SHANNON!!!!!

Here's a picture of her the first time I met her - almost ONE year ago!!!

So......

I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WITH THESE PEOPLE

IN THIS BUILDING

I START MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I HAVE INSURANCE!!!!!!!!!!!

IT STARTS MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rainbow Coalition

The Ladies don't have school today. I... well... I don't work. So we're hanging out. Mr. B brought us breakfast on his way to work. Then we started coloring together, and then I accidentally colored on Gert's arm... maybe more than once... and things went... Uphill from there.

Look at my flat, trim tummy. Oh wait... that's Gert.

A mudskipper... with clothing

Gert's kneecap gets a special scene!

Can anyone tell me who this is on my leg?

Gotta go cheap with the holiday decorations this year

A ghost with pigtails on Essie!

Little Lizzy

I was going through some stuff today and found these... thought you'd like to see me when I was little bit.... I'm not sure of the ages on all of them, but the first two are labeled with Sept 72, so I was 7 months old then.

Notice the avocado green tub? The sink and toilet were the same color :)

I'm guessing that toy string across your playpen thing wouldn't fly by the safety patrol these days. It's a miracle I'm still here.

Mmmm. nothing says the '70's like Black Plether Recliners!

Awwww... so cute - and check out that multi-colored shag carpet.
Our house was KICKIN' IT 70's STYLE!!

These I'm obviously older... I think the boat picture may have been taken the summer I bit my tongue riding in the boat.

Look.... a plaid of sorts....